1. Late Nights

The Break of Dawn
Chapter 1
Late Nights

With a quick flare of her wings, Rainbow Dash landed in a slow trot on the cobbled streets of Ponyville. The sun hung high overhead, bathing the world with its golden light and baking the ground in the heat of summer. Reaching a hoof up to her forehead, Rainbow wiped away the beads of sweat gathering there and sucked in a breath of thick, stagnant air. She let it out slowly, scanning the street she'd landed on for a few moments before spotting what she was looking for and heading towards the blessedly air-conditioned cafe.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped through the glass double doors, taking a moment to enjoy the refreshing coolness before looking out over the veritable sea of tables and ponies hiding from the heat. The table she was looking for wasn't exactly hard to miss; it not only contained the most hyperactive mare in Equestria, a pony who would grab anypony's attention, but it also seated the newest Princess who, it seemed, still couldn't gain control of her wings.

“Hey girls,” she greeted, weaving through the tables and chairs until she reached the one with her friends and pulling out the last remaining empty seat for herself. “What'd I miss?”

“Well Rarity was just talking about how her new summer hats are selling super-duper fast and Fluttershy said that the heat was affecting her poor little critters and Applejack was-”

Applejack rolled her eyes, jamming her hoof into Pinkie's mouth. “Nothin' much. Most of us just got here.”

“Indeed... although it seems some of us are more here than others...” Rarity noted, glancing towards Twilight, the alicorn currently seated against the wall with her wings fanned out wide against it and her head slumped back. Quiet, near-inaudible snores emanated from her muzzle.

Fluttershy, sitting on the opposite side of Twilight from Rarity, awkwardly leaned away from one of the alicorn's impressive wings. “She's barely said a word since she got here... you girls think something's wrong? She's been like this for a couple days now...”

“I'm sure she's fine,” Applejack said, watching Pinkie with a cautious glare as she removed her hoof. “Probably just up late studyin' again. Y'all know how she is.”

“Maybe she was up late studying how to be a super spy!” Pinkie offered, sounding totally serious. She leaned forward over the table suddenly. “Maybe she's already a super spy, and spent all night doing her super spy stuff.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “I don't think Princesses moonlight as spies, Pinkie. Somepony wanna wake her up?”

Before anypony could offer, Twilight yawned loudly, stretching out her forelegs as her head fell forward. Slowly, her eyes opened, and she blinked heavily, before freezing as she noticed the five pairs of eyes resting on her. She blushed. “I did it again, didn't I?”

Rarity nodded. “I'm afraid you did, dear. Is everything quite alright?”

Twilight sighed, momentarily struggling to get her wings pressed back against her sides before giving up and slumping forward onto the table. “Yeah, just a late night again. I'm really sorry girls, but the Princess just sent me a bunch of new books to study. Stuff about Equestria's legal system.”

“It's fine, Twi,” Rainbow said, waving her hoof dismissively. “Long as you ain't hiding a new Daring Do book from me to read it yourself first, that is.”

Twilight smiled, shaking her head. “Trust me, Rainbow, these aren't anywhere near as interesting as Daring Do.”

“Were you being a super-secret spy!?” Pinkie asked enthusiastically, grinning as she leaned over the table conspiratorially.

Blinking, Twilight regarded the mare for a few seconds, noting that Pinkie was steadily growing closer, slowly but surely pushing into her personal space. “Uh.... no?”

“Okie Dokie Lokie!”

Applejack sighed, hooking her hoof over Pinkie's shoulder and pulling the mare back into her seat. “Don't be puttin' too much pressure on yourself, ya hear? Even you princesses need breaks from time to time.”

“Hopefully tonight will be the last night,” Twilight said, leaning her head back against the wall. “One more night... it'll be nice to actually stay awake during our outings again.”

“Do you maybe want some company?” Fluttershy offered quietly. “It's always easier to work when you have somepony there with you. I know Spike's there but he really shouldn't be staying up so late...”

Twilight sighed. “No... Spike goes to bed long before I do.” She looked up, smiling thankfully at her friend. “I'm fine, Fluttershy. Like I said; just one more night and I can hopefully start fixing my sleep schedule... that's going to be a nightmare....”

“Ha! Only you would have a schedule for sleeping, Twi,” Rainbow guffawed.

“Technically, everypony has a sleep schedule, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight corrected with an exaggerated role of her eyes before looking away bashfully. “Although... most don't actually have it written down...”

Rainbow and Applejack snickered.

“Do take care of yourself, Twilight,” Rarity urged. “No offence but you look like you haven't had a proper sleep in weeks, when it's only been a few days.”

Twilight sighed. “It's the wings, isn't it?” She asked, motioning to the appendages still spread out against the wall. “I haven't quite gotten the hang of preening... does it really show?”

“Uh....” Rainbow trailed off awkwardly, “I wasn't gonna say anything, but since you're asking... Twi, I've seen foals who preen better than you do.”

Cheeks burning a little brighter, Twilight crossed her hooves on the table and buried her face in them. “I can't even properly control them! I never learned how to work these things; I wasn't exactly born a pegasus and all I have are books...”

“Heh, maybe when I start giving you flying lessons I'll teach you some of the finer points of wing care... first though, you really need to learn to control them,” Rainbow said, reaching over and patting Twilight's shoulder. “Try relaxing your shoulders first, then bringing them in.”

Twilight looked up, examining her wings and nodding slowly. She rolled her shoulders, letting her muscles relax before trying to bend her wings. They barely twitched. “Aug! They won't work!”

Smothering her mirth behind a hoof, Rainbow got up from her seat and walked around to Twilight's side. “Here, just let them go slack for a second.” When the alicorn complied, she carefully grabbed the leading edge of Twilight wing and gently folded it in until the entire thing rested neatly against her barrel. Repeating the process on the other wing, Rainbow nodded approvingly before she went back to her seat. “There. Better?”

Twilight sighed, ruffling one of her wings with a hoof. “Much. Thank you, Rainbow.”

“Excuse me, but are you all ready to order?”

Pinkie grinned up at the waitress who had approached the table. The mare seemed a little nervous, and as Rainbow leaned back in her chair, she caught site of a few other waiters and waitresses hiding in the kitchen and watching nervously. She chuckled.

“You're gonna need more paper,” Pinkie said, motioning to the small slip the waitress had brought with her.

Somehow, in a feat that nopony would never fully understand, Pinkie was comparable to a black hole when it came to food. Always ordering the most and making it vanish just as quickly as it showed up, nothing could escape her pink event horizon.

Rarity's normally shining white coat was looking a little more green than usual as she watched the mare eat, while most ponies at the table tried to ignore her. Rainbow just snickered while Applejack tried to hide her enjoyment at Rarity’s awkward shifting. The meal was mercifully short lived, and before long the table was filled with empty plates and surrounded by content ponies with full stomachs.

Twilight looked significantly better after eating, though the dark bags still hung under her eyes and her feathers were a mess, perhaps somehow worse than they were at the beginning of the meal. Slowly, the mares stood from their table and said their goodbyes as, one by one, they went their separate ways, each braving the heat to return to their respective lives and duties.

“See ya, Fluttershy!” Rainbow called, waving as the mare walked out of the cafe, a small wave of heat briefly rushing in through the opened doors. Giving a sigh, Rainbow stood from her seat. “Well Twi, I guess I should- Twi? Twilight?”

The alicorn had once again slumped back against the wall, snoring rather loudly as her wings slowly fanned out in her sleep. Rainbow sighed, reaching a hoof over and shaking the mare's shoulder. “Twilight? C'mon, Twi; everypony's gone.”

“Huh? Wuzzat? Where's the- oh.” Twilight blushed, sitting upright and wiping away a small line of drool trailing down from the corner of her mouth. “Everypony left already...”

Rainbow smiled. “Yep, and I was just about to leave to.” She paused, watching as Twilight rubbed her eyes and stood up slowly, stretching and yawning. “You sure you're alright? You want some company or somethin' while you read?”

Bones cracking quietly as she stretched, Twilight grunted softly before focusing on the question. She shrugged. “I'm sure you have more exciting things to do today than sit around in a boring old library.”

Rainbow shook her head. “In this heat? I'd die if I tried any training and all my weather work's done for the day. Besides, my house gets real hot 'til the sun goes down. I'd probably prefer it in the library... even if it is boring,” she added with a teasing smirk.

“Well, if you want,” Twilight relented, heading for the door. “I have to warn you though; the place is... a bit of a mess.”

“Isn't it always?”

Twilight rolled her eyes and together the two made short work of the walk back to the library under the scorching heat of the sun. Hardly a single breeze blew across the hills outside of Ponyville, and even less found its way between the many houses and shops lining the streets. Very few ponies braved the heat outside, leaving the sun-baked streets desolate and only encouraging the pair to walk faster as the library came into sight at the end of the road.

With a loud, appreciative sigh, Twilight opened the front door of Golden Oaks library and stepped in, quickly followed by her sweating companion who closed the door quickly, thankful to be away from the stifling heat.

“Spike?” Twilight called, glancing around the silently chaotic state the library found itself in, much like it always was during her study sessions.

Rainbow glanced around the towering stacks of books and papers, a small smirk spread across her lips. “One more night, huh egghead?”

Twilight blushed, grinning sheepishly. “Well... maybe a day and a night?”

“You can take a break you know? I'm sure the Princess wouldn't mind if you took a few days to finish all this... whatever it is,” Rainbow explained, motioning around her at the towering stacks.

“It's really not so bad...” Twilight trailed off, frowning. “Spike!?” She repeated, still getting no response. Sighing and rolling her eyes, she said; “Knowing him he's probably down by the lake. I did give him the day off, I guess... you want anything?”

Rainbow shrugged. “You got some lemonade or somethin'?”

“I just might. You know where the Daring Do is; go ahead and I'll be back in a second.” With that the alicorn disappeared into her kitchen, leaving Rainbow alone in the front room to manoeuvre her way through the books to the shelf in the back where she knew her favourite books hid. It was a veritable jungle in the front room, but she made it without toppling a single tower, an act she took no small amount of pride in. Her eyes trailed up to see the spines of her favourite books lined up neatly on the shelf, and if she didn't know better she'd have sworn she almost started drooling.

Scanning the spines, she frowned slightly when she reached the end without seeing a new book, but shrugged it off as she picked out a random one from the middle to read. Rainbow made her way back through the obstacle course to the couch next to the fireplace, slumping down onto it and flipping the book open to the first page just as Twilight cantered back into the room with two glasses of lemonade in her telekinetic grasp.

“You could just take the book out, you know?” Twilight offered, passing one glass over to Rainbow as she sat down at her desk against the far wall. “You don't have to stay here.”

Rainbow's eyes narrowed. “You know it almost feels like you're trying to get rid of me.”

“That obvious?” Twilight asked with a sigh, her shoulders deflating slightly as the pegasus nodded at her. “I'm sorry, I'm just really busy with this stuff and I think you'd much prefer it if you were somewhere less... well, nerdy.”

Shrugging, Rainbow sank back into the couch. “Nowhere's more comfortable to read than a library, Twi. Besides, if what you're doing is really that boring then you could use me around to liven things up a bit, especially if Spike's out doing whatever it is baby dragons do.”

Twilight relented with a slow nod. “Alright, I guess. If you're sure. Feel free to leave anytime though.”

Rainbow made a motion with her hoof to acknowledge the sentiment, nose already buried deep in her book. Twilight snorted, smirking slightly before turning back to her desk and pulling out a map.

Hours passed in the library, silent save for the occasional shuffling of papers and ruffling of feathers. Time passed without any real meaning as noon gave way to evening and in turn evening to night. The sun was setting behind the mountains when Rainbow finally pulled her muzzle out of her book, yawning and stretching languidly as she slithered off the couch.

“Twi?” She called, glancing around the room after noting the distinctly empty desk beneath the darkened window. Frowning, Rainbow trotted over and looked outside at the sky, wincing as she realized just how long she'd been there.

“Twilight!?” Still no response came, and Rainbow sighed quietly, assuming the egghead was too wrapped up in a book or some-such to hear. She brushed it off, opting to let the alicorn study in peace. Before she could leave, however, something on the desk caught her eye.

A map of Ponyville had been rolled out across the wooden surface and various ink markings had been scrawled across it, mostly indecipherable scribbles of nonsense. One thing she noticed was a few houses with X's through them, as well as a few circled with what seemed to be notes jotted down around them.

Rainbow squinted, trying to decipher the scribbling but ultimately failing as she shrugged and turned away. Probably some princess business or something. Reaching up she pushed the window open, fanning her wings and jumping through into the cool air of sunset. With a few hard flaps she took to the sky and turned towards her home, intent on finding some dinner before hitting the hay.

Rainbow Dash shot upwards, blankets flying from her bed as her eyes sprang open. The sound of her heart pounding filled her ears along with her own breathing as the quiet night air wafted through her bedroom. Waiting in dead silence, she calmed her heart and held her breath, ears swivelling.

The thing about cloud houses was that they were incredibly silent. They offered excellent insulation against the noises of the outside world, and they didn't make a single creak as they floated in the sky. Rainbow had long since grown accustomed to the unrelenting silence. The only problem was that it wasn't silent.

Quiet, almost inaudible hoof steps could be heard as somepony tried their best to walk silently across the cushy clouds. Had the house not been so silent on a regular basis, they might have gotten away with it. But silent it usually was, and as a result they were caught.

Acting quickly, Rainbow leaped from her bed, but caught herself on her wings before touching the floor. She hovered in place for a moment, focusing in on the source of the noises in her house. From the sound of it, there was somepony in her living room. Just one, and they hadn't been invited. With a silent flip Rainbow flew smoothly out her bedroom window and circled around the house until she was at the front door, landing softly on the porch and pressing her ear to the door. The noises continued; quiet steps, the shuffling of items, the opening and closing of doors.

She took a breath, held it, slammed her door open, and charged inside. “Who's there!?” Rainbow demanded, fanning her wings as much as she could and quickly scanning her front room. Silence; the noises stopped. For a few tense moments, nothing happened. Her heart beat loudly in her ears as she strained to hear anything. Eventually, as she let out the breath she'd forgotten she'd held, a few more hoof steps sounded, and a shadowed figure peered around the doorway.

“Who are you?” Rainbow growled, lowering her head threateningly and beating her wings once.

The pony stepped out further, their own wings fanning out as they stepped into the silver light of the moon streaming in through a window. Blood red eyes shone with a hunger that sent a shiver down Dash's spine. Besides the eyes they looked like a regular stallion; a simple deep orange coat with a short, spiky blue mane.

Saying nothing, the pegasus took a step forward, then another, while Rainbow held her ground. He grinned, and Rainbow's eyes grew wide as two white fang slid out of his gums, protruding down past the rest of his teeth so far the fangs remained visible even when he closed his mouth.

“Alright, that's officially the weirdest thing I've ever seen. What the heck are you? Some kind of Changeling or something?” Rainbow asked, her hooves taking a small step back of their own accord.

The pegasus chuckled and shook his head. He smiled wider still, digging his hooves into the ground, and tensed his wings. His eyes flashed a deeper red and he launched himself forward, his wings giving a powerful beat and propelling him forward at an alarming speed.

“Whoa!” Rainbow rolled to the left, just barely escaping his wing's reach. She tumbled once, twice, before finally getting back onto her hooves. Turning just in time to see him crouch for another pounce, Rainbow spun around, planting her fore hooves on the ground and bucking out as he launched. She felt her hooves make contact with his face, a satisfying crack sounding out as he was sent flying back, colliding into the wall.

“Alright, calm down now,” Rainbow urged, taking a step towards his crumpled form. “I don't wanna hurt you, just tell me why you're here.”

The stallion looked up at her, a small trail of blood running down from the corner of his lips. “Why am I here?” He asked mockingly as he climbed back onto his hooves. He licked his lips, moving around the fangs still protruding from his mouth. “I'm here for your blood.”

Rainbow blinked, raising an eyebrow. “What the heck are you- Hey!” He pounced again, and again she rolled. This time, however, he predicted her doge and stopped himself short, immediately diving again before she could recover. He slammed into her and the both tumbled across the floor until they hit a wall, the stallion landing on top.
“Get... off!” Rainbow shouted, struggling against the floor. Her eyes widened as she quickly realized she'd been rendered completely immobile. This stallion was strong – impossibly strong. Her forelegs gave hardly a twitch as he bared down on her, grinning like a maniac. He opened his mouth, almost hissing as his fangs seemed to grow longer still.

With a flick of her wings, Rainbow managed to throw her weight to the side, making the stallion lose his balance and allowing her to slip a foreleg free from his. She wasted no time in drawing back and punching him across the cheek, knocking him off her and allowing a moment's breather as she scrambled back to her hooves.

“Look, I don't know what your problem is, but I've had it. Don't say I didn't try playing nice.” Rainbow took to the aggressive, launching herself at him while he was still standing back up and knocking him to the floor, sending him tumbling under her dining room table. It took mere seconds for him to stand up, knocking the table to the floor as he growled lowly.

His eyes seemed to pulse angrily as he panted heavily, muscles tensing and relaxing just beneath his skin. He let out a feral shriek of rage as he charged, using his wings to aid his hooves and increasing his speed. Rainbow just barely leaped out of the way, but was forced onto the defensive as he made a tight turn and kept running at her. She dodged again, but he whipped his wing out wide and slammed it into her side, winding her and knocking her into the wall.

Without giving a second's hesitation the stallion whirled around and tackled Rainbow, driving his head into her chest and forcing her back onto her hind legs against the wall. She lashed out with a foreleg, aiming for his jaw, but he caught her hoof in his own and pinned it to the wall next to her head. Her other foreleg was quickly pinned as well, and he leaned forward, forcing her to face him muzzle to muzzle.

A sliver of true panic lanced through Rainbow's heart as she kicked her hind legs furiously at his own to no effect; it was like kicking solid steel. He grinned before opening his mouth wide and tilting his head, leaning forward.

“Get off of me you creep!” Rainbow shouted, thrashing madly as she felt his breath tickle the hairs on her neck.

Suddenly, the front door slammed open and a soot-black unicorn charged in with a shining sword held in a similarly black magic glow. The mare's dark indigo mane blew in the wind as her eyes widened in horror. “Get off of her!” She shouted, charging forward.

“Ah!” Rainbow cried out as she felt something sharp pierce the skin of her neck and sink into her flesh. A sickening slicing sound filled the air, and the stallion's body fell back away from her. His head remained hooked on her neck.

The blood drained from Rainbow's face like the blood splattering out of the stallion's head. She fell to her knees as his head finally let go, rolling a few times before stopping, staring up at her with a wicked grin and lifeless red eyes.

“Rainbow? Rainbow!?” The unicorn ran forward, sword discarded, and skidded to a stop next to the pegasus just in time to catch her head as she fell backwards. Her vision blurred slowly as she looked up into the unicorn's face, her black coat shimmering and changing. Rainbow’s world quickly faded to black and she passed out in the unicorn’s hooves.

“Please... Rainbow.... no....”

A raging inferno of flames consumed a once lush green forest, turned brown and black from the unrelenting heat. Rainbow Dash lay on the scorched ground, staring up at the smoke-blotted sky. Everything around her had been consumed by fire, save the small patch of blackened, dying grass she lay on. The sweltering, smothering heat licked at her coat and singed her feathers.

Slowly she stood, smelling the earthy, woody smoke from the destruction that was her world. The flames' reflections danced in her shimmering magenta eyes as she spun around, looking for a way out. Unfortunately, nothing escaped the burning and all she could see was fire and the death it wrought. Opening her mouth proved to be a fatal mistake as she got a mouthful of soot and sparks that burned her tongue and choked her lungs.

“H-help...” she wheezed through the smog settling in her chest. Her voice was frail and weak. Flaring her wings she jumped up into the air, only to be caught by a harsh updraft and thrown up, her wings faltering just long enough for the descent to be a painful crash back onto the burning ground.

Finger-like tendrils of fire seeped along the ground, reaching for her hooves and forcing her to retreat to the center of her shrinking clearing. The sound of crackling flames and snapping wood filled her ears while the smoke made her eyes sting and tear up. The forest became a blur of angry reds and oranges, getting closer and brighter with every passing second.

“Somepony... please...” Rainbow's please were cut short by her own coughing as the very air around her tried to suffocate her cries for help. An intense heat stung at her right wing, sending a stabbing pain racing along her nerves. She screamed as she looked over and saw the tips of her primary feathers burning, the flames slowly travelling up her wing. Waving it frantically only seemed to encourage the fire, and before she knew what happened it had engulfed her entire wing with a searing heat.

Another scream tore itself from her throat, allowing more smoke into her lungs as the other wing caught fire as well and her clearing was reduced to the grass beneath her hooves, flames licking at her belly and singeing the hair from her legs. Pain clouded her mind and she fell into the fire, screaming and writhing as heat and flames consumed her being.

“Ahhh!” Rainbow Dash shot upright, panting and shivering as she felt the cold sweat covering her body. Her world was dark, but darkness was better than fire, and a bed was better than the floor of a forest. Hastily checking her wings, she breathed a sigh of relief as she found them unharmed, if slightly disorganized.

Blinking, Rainbow's eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness around her, and she could make out the small room she found herself in. A bed lay beneath her and a blanket at the foot. Against the opposite wall a small vanity mirror sat, her own crimson eyes staring back at her through the blackness.

2. Terms and Conditions

View Online

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.”

3. Internal Inferno

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The Break of dawn
Chapter 3
Internal Inferno

“Luna! Luna stop!” Twilight yelled, frozen on the spot. “She hasn't turned yet!”

The princess didn't remove her eyes from Rainbow's own. “It matters not; once their eyes have turned colour they lose themselves to the curse. I'm sorry, Twilight; the Rainbow Dash you once knew is dead.”

“Uh... well, I dunno about other ponies, but I feel fine,” Rainbow said, taking a cautious step back. Luna's sword followed, still pressed to her throat. “I don't feel like killing anypony, if that's what you're worried about.”

Luna's eyes widened. “Nopony has kept their mind after the curse has taken them; you should be a mindless vampire by now!”

Rainbow blinked. “Well... I'm not, so if you wouldn't mind...” she motioned to the sword, which was hesitantly lowered. Breathing a sigh of relief she lifted a hoof to her neck, rubbing gently and taking taking a few steps back.

“What is this? Some kind of trick?” Luna demanded, whirling around and glaring at Twilight. “I do not appreciate petty pranks! Your letter led me to believe she had been bitten, when clearly she's-”

“She was!” Twilight protested. “I saw it with my own eyes. Look,” she prompted, pointing back at Rainbow. “Look at her back; that's just from being outside in the sun.”

Luna held a pensive frown as she circled the pegasus, her sword remaining close by, humming with an ethereal energy that kept Rainbow's mind locked on the blade even as the Night Princess touched her wing. Completing a full circle, Luna leaned down, putting herself muzzle to muzzle with Rainbow. “Open,” she commanded blandly.

Blinking, Rainbow took a moment to figure out what she meant, but took too long as Luna's magic forced her mouth open and peeled her upper lip back uncomfortably. “I hon't tink tis is-”

“You have all the signs of vampirism... but...” Luna's eyes narrowed as she released Rainbow's muzzle and stared into her eyes, slowly moving her left and right, watching as Rainbow's eyes tracked her movement. “You have remained immune to the hunger...”

Twilight stepped forward hesitantly, standing next to Luna. “What do you mean? I thought it took two days for vampires to change fully?”

Luna leaned back, returning to Rainbow Dash her much missed personal space. “It takes roughly two days for a vampire to turn fully, yes, but the curse takes their mind within minutes of the bite. Otherwise it's likely they'd walk out into sunlight and die instantly. Somehow her mind has remained whole, even as her body changes.”

“Are we gonna keep talking like I'm not in the room or-”

“Is it possible she's immune?” Twilight asked, cutting off Rainbow's question and eliciting a groan from the pegasus. “Like any other disease; some ponies are just naturally immune to the disease all together.”

Shaking her head, Princess Luna sighed thoughtfully. “If that were true, then why has she changed at all? No... it's almost like...” she trailed off, eyes suddenly growing wide.

“Princess?” Twilight ventured slowly, frowning at the extended silence.

Luna lifted her fore hooves, placing them against Rainbow's temples and closing her eyes, horn lighting with a deep blue glow. Rainbow's eyes shot open wide, though she no longer saw the world around her. Instead her vision was filled with a bright, nearly blinding white light, slowly dimming to blackness as her eyes rolled back into her skull and she passed out, her body being caught in Luna's magic glow.

“Rainbow!” Twilight darted forward, but was held back by a single midnight-blue hoof as the limp pegasus was levitated over and placed atop the bed gently, laying with her burned back facing the ceiling. “What did you do to her!?”

“Relax, Twilight,” Luna urged gently, sitting at the side of the bed. “She is merely asleep; I wish to see inside her mind, and to do so she herself cannot interfere.”

Twilight shifted, still worried as she watched her friend sleep seemingly peacefully. “Do you have an idea?”

“I do.” Luna confirmed, a slight smile gracing her lips. “If I'm right, we may be able to cure her, or at the very least prevent the curse from taking her mind.” With that she lowered her head until her horn was resting against Rainbow's forehead. Her eyes closed and her horn glowed, leaving Twilight alone in the room as she shifted her weight from hoof to hoof anxiously. Just as she was about to find a chair, Luna's head snapped up and she jumped back, panting raggedly.

“Well?” Twilight leaned forward eagerly. “Can we cure it? Is she going to be okay?”

Luna jumped back at the voice, head snapping around and taking in her surroundings. “I... I don't know...” she walked back up to the bed, examining Rainbow's sleeping form. “She... something stopped me before I could fully enter her mind... which means I might be right, but it also means we have a problem.”

“Problem? Isn't it a good thing that you're right?”

Shaking her head, Luna took a breath, thinking a moment on how best to phrase her ideas. “While I may be right, it is very important that we make sure, else we risk losing her to the curse. If I can get into her mind, I can put up something like a ward within her, to ensure the curse is locked out permanently. But something’s stopping me from going inside, and it's likely the same thing that has thus far protected her mind.”

“And... what's that?” Twilight asked slowly, nervous about what could be powerful enough to keep the Princess of Dreams out of a pony's dream.

Luna lit her horn, a glowing, misshapen window appearing before them. A blurry, red shape formed in the magic. “I saw this before I was blocked out, and I believe it is what's responsible for protecting her.”

“That...” Twilight squinted as the fuzzy object came into view. “That's... the Element of Loyalty?”

“I believe it is,” Luna said, removing the picture from existence with a quiet pop of magic. “If I'm right, then the Element is protecting her from the curse's mind-altering effects. Unfortunately, the curse has put an enormous amount of stress on the Element's magic, and it cannot tell good from bad, instead blocking anything that tries to enter Rainbow Dash's mind-scape. As strong as the Elements of Harmony are, alone they are relatively weak, and under the constant battering of the curse, I fear we do not have long...”

Twilight swallowed nervously. “How much time do we have?”

Glancing out the window at the sun, then back to Rainbow, Luna shook her head sadly. “She may not last to see the noon-time sun.”

“Okay...” Twilight breathed deeply, beginning to pace. “Okay... I can fix this, we can still save her. If the Element of Loyalty is guarding Rainbow's mind, we need something that can break through that magic, right?”

Luna frowned. “If we break through, so too will the curse. We need to get through without breaking the barrier. Something like...” she trailed off, looking at Twilight's cutie mark.

“What if we... Luna?” Twilight stopped her pacing, noticing the Princess's eyes following her. “Princess Luna?”

“I know what we can do,” Luna announced suddenly. “How familiar are you with mind-magic?”

Twilight blinked. “I've read a few books, but never tried any spells. But what good would me knowing magic like that do if we can't get in?”

“But you can get in; the Element of Loyalty may guard against influences both good and bad, but it won't defend from itself.”

“I... don't follow,” Twilight admitted.

Luna rolled her eyes. “The Element of Loyalty is not the only thing that possesses the magic of the Elements of Harmony.”

“But what else-” Twilight paused, eyes growing wide as Luna's implications dawned on her. “The other Elements of Harmony would be able to slip through without breaking the barrier... you want me to-”

Luna nodded.

“But I can't!” Twilight protested. “What if I mess up? What if I let the curse in? I hardly know any mind-magic, and I'm nowhere near as good at is as you. I couldn't-”

“Calm yourself, Twilight,” Luna instructed forcefully. “It'll be okay; I will be able to guide you once you are inside, linking to you through your own mind once you are in Rainbow Dash's. I'll be able to instruct you on what to do.”

“But what if I-”

“Could you do anything worse than what will happen to her if we don't keep the curse out of her mind?” Luna asked pointedly, sharpening her gaze at Twilight, the alicorn flinching back at the scenario – a scenario that would come to pass if she did not do this.

A few deep breaths later, Twilight nodded. “Okay, I'll do it.”

“Good. Lay down next to Rainbow Dash and we'll begin. You must act quickly; with every passing second the Element's barrier grows weaker. Some of the curse may already be slipping through.”

Twilight nodded firmly, continuing to breath deeply in a feeble attempt to calm her racing heart. Clambering into the relatively small bed, Twilight laid on her back next to the sleeping pegasus, shifting a moment before nodding to Luna. “What do I have to do?”

“For now, nothing. I will link your sleeping minds, and will be able to guide you once inside. Good luck, Twilight Sparkle.” She reached forward, placing one hoof against Twilight's forehead and the other on the back of Rainbow's her eyes drifting shut.

A sudden, vicious falling sensation overtook Twilight's mind as the world melted away and was replaced by a blackened void on all sides. She could still feel Luna's hoof on her forehead, and as she took her first step the world began to form around her. From beneath her hooves soil spread, quickly being covered by bright green grass. Trees sprung up all around her, growing taller and thicker than even those in the Everfree Forest within seconds.

The leaves above rustled in a gentle breeze, and everything stopped as a blue sky faded into existence through the tiny breaks in the canopy.

“Twilight? Can you hear me, Twilight?” Luna's voice called, ringing inside Twilight's head.

“Y-yeah...” Twilight muttered, still shaken from the sudden transition. “I have to admit, this is not what I expected Rainbow's mind to look like.”

“Now is not the time for sightseeing. Can you see Rainbow Dash?”

Twilight glanced around the small clearing she found herself in, shaking her head. “No... though it doesn't exactly look cursed in here.”

“That's good; it means the curse has not yet seeped in. Quickly, find Rainbow Dash; she'll be the source of the barrier's power, and from there we should be able to put up more permanent methods of holding the curse at bay.”

“Right...” Twilight trailed off, sighing as she recognized the true scope Rainbow's mind-scape. For all she knew it could be as big as an actual forest, and she didn't have time to be bumbling around for hours. “Got any ideas on how to find her?”

Luna was silent for a moment, presumably thinking. “Look for any kind of activity. She'll be at the heart of the barrier, and the curse will be doing everything it can to get at her.”

Twilight nodded to herself, fanning her wings and taking to the air. With a few shaky flaps she flew above the tops of the trees, gasping as she saw the area around her. “Princess... I think I found the barrier...”

“Is it holding?”

“Not for long it isn't...” Twilight shot off like a rocket towards a large, translucent, reddish dome in the center of the forest, crackling with immense arcane energy. All around its edges smokey crimson tendrils ran through the trees, slithering like snakes across the shield and occasionally poking at its rapidly growing cracks. In the center of the dome a fire raged, smoke wafting up and gathering in the top of the dome poking out high above the trees.

“I need to get in there,” Twilight shouted as she drew near.

“If it is the Element's power, you should be able to pass right through without issue.”

“I don't think the shield’s going to be the problem...” On cue a smokey tendril lashed out from the top of the tree, flying through the air like a spear aimed directly at Twilight's heart. She rolled to the side with a grace that surprised even her. The smoke practically hissed as it switched direction.

“What is it, Twilight? What's going on?” Luna called worriedly.

“I think it's the curse; it's attacking me,” Twilight answered through a grunt as she had to dodge another tendril.

“Listen very carefully, Twilight,” Luna said, voice tense. “You cannot let it so much as touch you. Your mind is vulnerable in there, and it could easily infect you. Your Element may protect you like hers did but we cannot take such chances.”

Apparently realizing Twilight was an easier target than Rainbow, a large blob of smoke snaked away from the shield to focus on the flying alicorn, sending yet more tendrils at her. “Easier said than done...” Twilight muttered as she ducked and dove out of the way. The smokey appendages didn't stop their pursuit when they missed, forming a cloud that chased Twilight through the sky. Lacking the focus to teleport, her only hope was outrunning it.

“Once you've passed through the shield you'll be safe. You must get there at any cost, Twilight.”

Twilight nodded to herself, streamlining her body like she'd seen Rainbow do so many times as she aimed herself down at the cracking, crackling barrier. It was only a few hundred yards away now, but more and more of the curse's strength devoted itself to catching her, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to stay out of its reach. “You don't have to tell me twice.”

Doubling the speed of her wings, Twilight tucked herself into a ball to avoid a pillar of smoke launching up past her, spike-like tendrils launching from the column and flying at her in a heated race to the dome. Heart beating wildly in her chest, Twilight's eyes narrowed. Just a hundred yards to go.

Tendrils surrounded her, acting like bars to a prison cell as they kept pace, slowly closing in. Fifty yards.

Another smoke pillar rose up, missing the tip of Twilight's wing by barely the breadth of a feather. Twenty yards.

Suddenly, the curse changed tactic, and started climbing up the dome, hoping to block her escape. With only ten yards between her and her goal, Twilight curled herself into as small a ball as possible, cannon balling towards the barrier as the smoke rapidly tried to block her path.

“Princess...”

“Are you okay, Twilight? Did you make it?”

Twilight took a deep breath, her lungs filling with ash a soot. “I'm in... and it's not good in here. If anything it looks more like the curse is in here than out there.”

“The curse is trying to consume her mind, Twilight; the Element's magic may be protecting her but the power still comes from her. She would subconsciously be able to feel the curse trying to take over, and that would manifest in her dreams. Can you see her?”

“No... all I can see is fire... but she should be at the center, right?” Twilight confirmed, already flying towards the middle of the dome where the flames were highest. Looking back, her eyes widened as she saw a large crack forming where she'd passed through the barrier, the smoke angrily pounding against the magical shell.

“The hard part is over, Twilight,” Luna assured, though her voice still carried a heavy edge with it. “We can't let our guard down just yet, but as long as you can find Rainbow Dash you should be able to keep the curse out of her mind permanently.”

“You still haven't told me how exactly I'm going to do that, Princess” Twilight noted.

“I believe the phrase you'd use is 'we'll burn that bridge when we get there', yes?”

Twilight cringed at the oddly appropriate mix up. “Well, you're not entirely wrong...gah!” She rubbed her eyes as the smoke stung at them. “I can't see anything from up here... I have to get down there somehow...”

Lighting her horn, Twilight flew down into a small clearing, still consumed in fire. She pointed her head down and set off her spell, generating a massive gust of wind. The flames around the clearing burned hotter, but the clearing itself was smothered beneath the onslaught of air. Landing in her small space, Twilight quickly formed a small barrier around herself to protect from the heat and fire, already trying to close back in on her. “I hope she's alright...”

Moving her shield with her, Twilight slowly forced the fire to part as she walked through the burning forest, the crackling flames louder than her own thoughts. Every now and then she'd hear a harsh crack or a thunderous boom, and the red-tinted barrier above, blotted out with smoke and flaming trees, would shimmer as it struggled to hold. The curse's onslaught was relentless, and before long a spiderweb of cracks had formed across the dome.

“Princess...” Twilight asked uneasily, stopping in a clearing and looking up to the dome above her.

“What is it, Twilight? Have you found her?”

“Not yet, but...” Twilight trailed off, glancing around the flames. “If we can keep the curse out of her mind... could we cure it? Could we have saved all the other vampires if we'd taken the time to try?”

“Twilight...”

“Did all those ponies really have to die?”

Luna was silent for a long few moments, leaving Twilight along with the howling flames. After an eternity of silence, Luna answered; “Yes. We cannot cure a pony once they have been infected.”

Twilight nodded to herself slowly, not entirely believing the answer. “Then how can we cure Rainbow Dash? Her mind isn't the only thing being infected, she-”

Suddenly, from the depths of the inferno and louder than the flames came an ear-piercing scream. Twilight's head snapped towards the source, instantly recognizing the voice.

“We'll discuss this later, Twilight; the shield will not hold much longer.”

Begrudgingly, Twilight agreed and took off galloping into the blackened trees, forcing her own personal barrier to keep up with her as she tore through the wall of flames trying to consume her.

“Rainbow!?” She called, skidding to a stop and straining her ears to pick up anything more. All she heard was the blazing flames surrounding her. “Rainbow Dash!? Can you hear me!?”

In the distance, near silent over the flames, came a response. “Twi...light...?”

Twilight whirled on her hooves, ears swivelling trying to track down the voice. “Rainbow?”

“Twilight...?”

The voice came again, its weakened, breathy tone audible through the fire. Twilight took off towards the source, jumping through a wall of flames and coming to a wide open clearing surrounded in angry red flames, the tips of which were licking at the forest's canopy. In the centre, surrounded by blackened grass and scorched earth was Rainbow Dash, her mane a frayed, soot-fill mess. She was laying on her side, chest rising and falling slightly as she struggled to breath through smoke. Her wings, however, were the worst; what little feathers remain were charred beyond recognition, and most of the skin was badly burned.

“Rainbow!” Twilight ran over, expanding her shield to encompass the entire clearing as she knelt by the pegasus's side. “Can you hear me, Rainbow?”

Rainbow's head shifted and her eyes opened blearily. “Twi... what's...” she broke off into a heavy fit of coughing brought on by the smoke, recovering enough to speak after a few seconds of hacking. “What's going on?”

Twilight bit her lip, glancing around the fire. “We're inside your mind right now. Just hang on and we'll get out of this just fine.”

Shifting slowly, Rainbow struggled to sit up, her limbs covered in burns and her coat scorched off in more places than it remained. “This is in my head?”

“Yeah... but it's not supposed to be like this.”

“Have you found her, Twilight?”

“She's right here,” Twilight affirmed. “She's in bad shape though. What's going to happen to her?”

“Nothing, as long as we can stop the curse now,” Luna assured slowly. “The wounds are purely mental; they won't affect her physically in the real world.”

Twilight breathed a small sigh of relief. “Alright... now what do I have to do?”

“Putting up a barrier will not be sufficient; in time, it too will break,” Luna explained slowly. “You must purge the curse from her mind entirely.”

“How exactly am I supposed to do that?” Twilight asked aloud, glaring at the sky as though Luna were looking down at her.

“I... do not know,” she admitted, “But the Elements of Loyalty alone had the power to hold of the curse for almost half a day on its own. The combined strength of your Elements may be enough to defeat the curse. It will free her mind, but not her body.”

Sighing, Twilight stood. “Don't we need all six Elements of Harmony to harness their power?”

“To harness their full power, yes. But as long as there is a connection between at least two Elements, they have some power. Do as you normally would to harness the Elements; it may not be as strong as normal, but you should be able to do something.”

Twilight nodded. “Okay... that kind of makes sense.”

“Uh... who are you talking to?” Rainbow asked suddenly, her wheezy voice catching Twilight off-guard. The pegasus clambered slowly to her hooves, standing on shaking legs.

“It's a long story,” Twilight muttered, reaching a wing out and wrapping it around Rainbow's waist to aid in balance, and action the pegasus accepted gratefully as she leaned into Twilight's side. “For now, we need to clean your mind of the curse.”

Rainbow blinked. “The curse? Is that what all the fire is about?”

“I think so... but it's not going to be as easy as just putting it out.” Twilight lifted a hoof, pointing out through her barrier towards the cracked, reddish dome in the sky. “Out there is the curse, trying to get in here.”

“So... how exactly are we going to do that?” Rainbow asked, squinting through the smoke towards the barrier outside. “Last time I checked you said there was no way to cure the whole vampire thing.”

Twilight glared out into the flames, hoping Luna picked up on some of her anger. “So I thought, but apparently there's a way.”

“Not a cure, a prevention.” Luna stressed. “Hurry; if you wait too long then-”

The ground beneath them began to shake as a thunderous banging filled the air. Twilight's eyes grew wide as she looked up, losing her balance and falling to the floor as she watched the red dome above them shatter into thousands of shimmering pieces. The shards fell down into the fire, a reddish smoke fallowing behind as it raced towards the ponies huddled in the center of the burning forest.

A furious wind blew through the clearing, stoking the flames and making them grow higher still as they consumed the forest beyond the shield that had once contained them. A howling came from the distance as the curse flew through the scorched underbrush.

“Twilight? Twilight what happened in there? What's going on?”

Swallowing thickly, Twilight took a nervous step back. “The... the shield... it”

“What?”

“The shield broke!” Twilight shouted, instinctively doubling the strength of her own force field. “It's coming for us; the curse is coming!”

4. Children of Nightmares

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The Break of Dawn
Chapter 4
Children of Nightmares

Twilight ground her teeth together, pumping as much of her magic as she could into her shield as the flames around them closed in. Red smoke seeped along the ground, feeling around her barrier for a way in.

“Ahh...”

“Rainbow?” Twilight looked over, the pegasus falling away from her side and clutching her head with her hooves. “What's wrong? Rainbow?”

“It's...” She trailed off, clenching her eyes shut as she fell onto her side. “It hurts...”

Twilight's eyes widened. “The Element's shield broke... and you were the source of power... the feedback must have been immense.”

The pegasus curled into a tight ball on the ground, holding her head in her hooves as tears gathered in her eyes. “Twi...”

“Gah!” Twilight cringed as a tendril of red smoke smashed at her shield, sending a ripple of energy pass through it. The barrier shrank, and the smoke struck again.

“Princess Luna?” Twilight called, panting as she struggled to maintain her shield. The curse continue to push, forcing the dome to become smaller and smaller. She glanced over to Rainbow, still curled up on the ground, gasping in pain.

The curse seemed to sense her desperation as it redoubled its attacks, striking the barrier with a renewed vigour and spreading cracks through the magenta magic. Twilight grunted, horn glowing brightly as she forced as much magic as she could muster into what was left of her shield. Her effort proved fruitless, however, when a deafening shattering sound filled the air, and the barrier broke apart into shards just like the Element's had.

Time seemed to pass in slow motion as Twilight's eyes widened, the force of her shield being smashed knocking the wind from her lungs and making her stagger back a few steps. The curse moved in quickly, writhing like a nest of snakes. Twilight turned and dove, throwing herself over Rainbow's crumpled form in a last ditch attempt at protecting her. Clenching her eyes shut, she waited for the inevitable.

Suddenly, a massive explosion filled the sky as a white orb of energy fell from above, slamming into the ground in front of the two ponies. Twilight slowly opened her eyes, looking up at the imposing form of Princess Luna, standing over them like a guardian angel, eyes glowing white with a mane that writhed with energy.

The Princess's horn lit and a shockwave of energy exploded from its tip, forcing the curse back as she rose into the air without the aid of her wings.

“You shall not take them,” her voice boomed, shaking the trees. The force alone put out the fires closest to the them and sent the smoke retreating into the trees.

Twilight looked on in awe as Luna's horn lit up and a beam of pure magical energy shot out, shooting forward and clearing a path through the trees as big as a house. The curse hissed in what could only be pain, the sound coming from all around them as the tendrils writhed, lashing out randomly.

“P-princess...”

Luna glanced over her shoulder, her furious, glowing eyes softening. “Sleep, Twilight Sparkle. All will be fine now.”

On command, be it a spell from Luna or of her body's own accord, Twilight's eyes drooped closed and the world went black even as the sound of blazing fire continued to ring in the background. It too faded away with time until Twilight was left in a void, empty of all things. The area was so vacant, blackness failed to accurately describe it and silent was an understatement.

Then, in a flash of light, Twilight’s eyes flew open and she was staring at the ceiling of her guest bedroom. A cold sweat covered her body, making her shiver even beneath the blanket covering her.

“I am glad you're awake.”

Twilight snapped her head to the side at the recognizable voice, turning to see Princess Luna sitting in a chair next to the bed. For the first time since Twilight had met the alicorn, she looked tired. Even her mane seemed to be drained, flowing slowly and hanging low against her neck. Her eyes travelled down, looking at the pony lying in the bed next to her. In what little moonlight streamed through the window she could see Rainbow Dash lying beneath the covers, her chest rising and falling slowly. The pegasus's fangs glinted in the silver light, and Twilight frowned before something struck a chord in her sleep-hazed mind.

She looked to the window, frowning at the moon rising high into the sky. “What-”

Luna stood from her chair, the action silencing Twilight's half-voiced question as the alicorn walked over to the window and looked out across the sleeping town. “You have been unconscious for several hours after your ordeal with the curse inside Rainbow Dash's mind. You displayed an impressive amount of magical prowess, especially for a pony as young as yourself, even if you are an alicorn now.”

Twilight blushed slightly at the compliment, but quickly focused her attention on Rainbow Dash. “Did... did it work?” She asked, motioning towards the pegasus.

“The curse has been purged from her mind, yes,” Luna answered with a nod, though she did not share Twilight's relieved smile. “We need to keep an eye on her as she recovers. I was hoping you both would be able to use your Elements to cleanse her mind, but the circumstances did not allow for it. As a result, I was forced to use some more... damaging techniques.”

“Damaging?” Twilight echoed warily.

Luna sighed. “She's not in any real danger, but... her mind will take a while to heal. The curse had already done some damage when you went in, and it was only made worse with everything that happened. When she wakes up, she may not be entirely herself, and her memory is almost certainly damaged. With time, everything will heal, but it may take a few days.”

Twilight nodded slowly. “As long as she'll be alright...”

The Princess's frown grew harder, and she turned from Rainbow's peaceful face to Twilight. “But we have other matters to discuss; I want to know how a vampire not only made it into Ponyville, but managed to turn a pony – an Element of Harmony, at that. I left Ponyville under your protection, Twilight. You said you could handle it.”

“I-I could!” Twilight protested suddenly, before hanging her head. “Everything started changing after you left the Rising Dawn in my hooves, Princess. At first it was just little things; vampires were a little bolder, we lost one of our members to a banshee about a week ago, but... a few days ago...” she shuddered. “It's like we threw a rock at a beehive; activity spiked. There were more sightings than I'd ever heard of before. We did what we could to keep it under control...”

Luna's expression grew concerned. “Why didn't you contact me? This is serious, Twilight.”

“I thought it wasn't a big deal,” Twilight admitted with a shameful sigh, “Just as soon as it happened, it stopped, and we assumed it was just a coincidence; a bunch of attacks all lined up with each other, that was it. The vampire here in Ponyville was the last sighting we had to take care of, and it would be over. I don't know how, but he slipped through my wards. He didn't kill anypony, but he went straight for Rainbow Dash, like he knew who to target.”

“Activity has always been abnormally high here; Ponyville houses the Elements of Harmony, and now the newest Princess of Equestria. I am not surprised you have attracted some unwanted attention,” Luna explained. “It's entirely likely he was targeting Rainbow Dash.”

Twilight took a shuddering breath, shaking her head. “It's over now though; we've managed to keep them under control, and only a few civilians were hurt. None dead.”

“As much as that is a relief... I fear it is not over, Twilight. I do not believe in coincidences...” Luna rubbed her chin with a hoof, still looking out the window at her night. “I did terrible things as Nightmare Moon. Horrible things, that I struggle to even comprehend now. What I turned ponies into for my own selfish desires...” a tremor ran down her spine.

“I found out rather quickly that, as a last ditch effort, Nightmare Moon wiped key memories from her own mind before she was defeated. Through doing this, she has locked the secrets behind these creatures from me, and I am unable to even begin creating a cure - should one even be possible. I fail to comprehend what was going through my mind when I was Nightmare Moon, but none of it was good.

“I founded the Rising Dawn to help clean up the mess Nightmare Moon left behind, a mess that has been growing and festering in the darkness for a thousand years. It has become a disease, a plague on Equestria. My hooves are stained with the blood of thousands of ponies across thousands of years, and with each passing night I fear the disease grows stronger.”

Twilight slowly climbed out of bed, taking a hesitant step towards the midnight blue alicorn. “Princess, what are you saying?”

Luna took a breath, turning away from the window slowly. “I believe that something big is coming, Twilight. The reason I left the Rising Dawn in your care was so I could pursue certain... leads on my own, without being burdened by other ponies. What I found is... disturbing.

“Vampires who could walk beneath the sun, Ghouls that could leave their cemeteries, Rakiim who did not become visible in the light.” Luna paced passed Twilight and up to the bed, gazing down at the slumbering pegasus.

“A vampire who can keep her mind intact... my creatures are changing, Twilight. Evolving for survival just like ponies did. I fear that the Rising Dawn have expedited this process, forcing them to evolve faster to stay alive. A thousand years of hiding in the darkness as per Nightmare Moon's command, waiting for the day their creator would come back and lead them into the light. They have become their own entity now... and they grow more powerful every night.”

Twilight took her turn looking out the window, mind racing with the possibilities Luna's discoveries opened. A world where monsters didn't need to hide in the shadows to survive. “What does this all mean for Equestria? How do we stop it?”

“There were whispers,” Luna started, turning to face Twilight. “Rumours of a group of Vampires who had become... sentient, for lack of a better term, ones not linked to The Ancients. They sought knowledge, and power. Somehow they made themselves stronger, developed the mental capacity for more than senseless violence - they are the reason I put in so many protective measures for the Rising Dawn. They were designed to lead Nightmare Moon's army of monsters, and they have filled that roll without their creator's blessing. It is my believe that this group intends to advance other creatures like they did to themselves, and assemble an army to wage their own war against those who live in the light.

“If they succeed, then we will have a full scale war on our hooves, and Equestria will not be the only country at risk. Our world as we know it is about to change if we do not do something.”

Twilight's eyes were wide, and a tremor of fear ran through her mind as the full scale of the situation dawned on her. She fidgeted slightly, looking down to the floor. “Princess... I know you don't want to, but... we need help. If we tell-”

“My sister will need to be notified, yes, and I suspect I will have a very long... conversation with her,” Luna said slowly. “It was something I wished to avoid but circumstances have forced my hoof. I would rather Celestia find out through me rather than putting it together herself through murder reports.”

“The Rising Dawn need to be informed as well,” Twilight muttered, glancing over to Rainbow, still unconscious in the bed. “Our next meeting is tonight... I don't know what I'm going to tell them.”

Luna gave a small smile to the younger alicorn. “I'm sure you'll do fine; I would not have left them in your care if I did not think you could handle it. I would accompany you, but I need to have that talk with my sister before things get too out of hoof. We will speak more once I have dealt with Celestia, and I have no doubt she will wish to speak with you before long as well. Good luck, Twilight.” She lit her horn, preparing to teleport herself back to Canterlot, when Twilight suddenly called out.

“Princess, wait! What about Rainbow? Is she going to be okay? Can we cure her?”

The Princess of the Night hung her head. “I don't know. I managed to seal the curse from her mind, but purging it from her body – especially when it's already taken hold – is another question. It is not like an ordinary spell that can be reversed; it is a disease, an entity all on its own - a living being. For now we should count ourselves lucky she has retained her mind, and hope to find a cure.”

Twilight nodded slowly, eyes fixed on the pegasus in the bed. “Okay... I'll bring her with me to the Rising Dawn meeting; maybe somepony there has heard of a potential cure. We have hunters there from even before Nightmare Moon was defeated.”

“Are you sure it is wise to bring a vampire to a meeting of vampire hunters?”

“We'll be fine,” Twilight assured, more to herself than the Princess. “I can handle them, and they're reasonable ponies... as long as Rainbow doesn't do anything... stupid.”

Luna raised an eyebrow, but let it go with a shake of her head. “Whatever you think is best. Farewell, Twilight. Should you need me, you know how to reach me.”

With a flash of light that filled the room Luna was gone, leaving Twilight alone with the pegasus sleeping in her guest bed. She watched for a short few moments, focusing on the mare's shining fangs, and sighed as she turned away. Rainbow needed the rest, and she had to get ready for a meeting. With a flick of her horn the door was opened, and a sleeping baby dragon fell into the room, crashing onto the floor and jolting awake.

“Ahh! Twilight! Princess Luna! Rainbow Dash! Sleeping! I...” he trailed off, rubbing at his eyes and looking around the room, eventually looking up to a lavender alicorn failing to suppress her giggles. He didn’t seem to notice, and immediately jumped onto his feet, latching his arms around Twilight's foreleg. “Twilight! You're awake! I woke up when I heard a bunch of shouting and when I came into the room you and Rainbow Dash were asleep on the bed and Luna was here and she told me to get out and let her focus but I kept asking what happened and she threw me out and locked the door and I've been trying to get back in but I must have fallen asleep and what happened are you okay?”

Twilight giggled, placing her free foreleg around Spike's back. “I'm fine, Spike. Luna was just helping Rainbow Dash and I with... and experiment involving dreams,” she lied with a smile. “You know how good she is with dreams, so I asked her to help. Nothing's wrong.”

Spike sighed in relief. “I was so worried; Princess Luna looked worried and I heard her say something about a curse?”

“It's nothing, Spike; don't worry about it. However, it is midnight, and it's no time for baby dragons to be up and about.”

“But Twilight!” Spike whined. “I've been sleeping all day! It's like as soon as I was kicked out I fell asleep. I'm not tired!”

Twilight grimaced. “Why does her answer to everything have to be putting ponies to sleep? Or dragons, in this case.” She sighed, shaking her head. “Why don't you go make yourself a glass of warm milk and try to go to bed? If you don't sleep tonight your sleep cycle is going to be thrown off for a week.”

Spike sighed, but ultimately gave a nod. “Fine... but why is Rainbow Dash still here? And still asleep?”

“She's... helping me, still. Now go on; I have to take some notes,” Twilight explained halfheartedly, pushing past the dragon and descending the stairs to the first floor of the library, before turning and heading for the basement. Stopping at the door, she turned and watched Spike make his way begrudgingly into the kitchen.

Twilight's shoulders slumped slightly, but shook it off as she opened the door and descended into the darkened basement, closing herself in. Her horn provided only a few feet of visibility, just enough to see the next step.

Upon reaching the bottom she flared her magic, reaching out and finding a switch on the wall. Flicking it, Twilight shielded her eyes from bright florescent light as they hummed to life, illuminating various machines and tables, as well as a bed and vanity shoved off into one corner. She frowned at it, shuddering slightly and turning away, towards a row of bookshelves against the wall.

Walking over, Twilight's horn lit and she reached up with a hoof, picking a book off the shelf and placing it on a table. She leaned forward, moving the books aside to reveal a small hole in the wood at the back of the shelf. Around it, in white chalk, was a ring of runes and spell lines. Pushing her head into the shelf, Twilight slid her horn into the hole. The white chalk around the hole glowed a bright blue before slowly fading to purple. When she pulled her horn back, the runes pulsed with arcane energy.

In a flash a perfectly round hole was cut out of the bookshelf, revealing a small, square room behind it. Stepping through the circle, edges crackling with magic, Twilight walked over to the far wall. The room seemed to be little more than a small storage area, walls lined with grey bricks and a simple wooden floor.

With a few taps of her hoof across seemingly random bricks, the wall gave a shake, dust falling from between the bricks, and slid back into the wall before moving aside, revealing a simple wooden frame inset in the wall. With a flash of magic the frame started humming lowly and the air inside started shimmering. The air seemed to thicken until it was an opaque turquoise sheet, rippling like water.

Twilight nodded approvingly at the freshly opened portal before turning away. Now that the portal was open, other members of the Rising Dawn would start filtering in through their own portals, into he now-opened headquarters, each waiting for a fresh batch of orders and reports.

“Whoa, what's this all about?”

Twilight jumped at the voice, eyes falling onto a cyan pegasus standing at the top of the stairs. “R-Rainbow! You're supposed to be asleep still!”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “With Spike's snoring? As if. When I woke up you and Princess Luna were both gone, so I figured I should come find you. I did not expect to see... this,” she exclaimed, motioning towards the portal humming gently behind the alicorn.

“I'll explain in a second... first though, how are you feeling?” Twilight asked cautiously, remembering Luna's warning.

Rainbow gave a halfhearted shrug. “Like normal, aside from a headache. What I wanna know is what the heck you two were talking about before the Princess did whatever she did to me, and what you did to me after.” She shuddered slightly. “All I can remember after passing out is fire...”

“It's... a long story...”

“So was the whole vampire thing, and you certainly didn't take too long to explain that,” Rainbow deadpanned, flying down the stairs and stopping next to a table, pulling out two chairs and sitting in one herself. “So sit down and start talking.”

Twilight fidgeted slightly, mentally noting Rainbow's fairly average behavior as she complied with the demand. “How much did you get from my conversation with Princess Luna?”

“Most of it was gibberish to me, but I remember you saying something about me being immune to a curse or somethin'. I dunno; it's all really hazy,” Rainbow explained, furrowing her brow in concentration. “She did something to my head, and the next thing I know everything's on fire and...”

“And...” Twilight asked, motioning with a hoof for the pegasus to continue.

Rainbow frowned, her eyes meeting Twilight's. “I remember you showing up... then... pain. Nothing but pain, like I broke a wing only...”

“Deeper?” Twilight offered. She sighed when Rainbow nodded. “That was magical feedback from the barrier the Element of Loyalty put up around your mind to keep the curse out. You were its power source, and when it broke all the power you were feeding into it was sent back into you. I got the same when my shield broke, but not as strong since I was consciously controlling the barrier and I was ready for it, able to bleed off the energy instead of take it.”

“Uhh... sure... all I know is it hurt. After that, it all kinda fades out.”

Twilight nodded, thinking quietly for a moment. “I'm afraid I don't know much more than you do. Luna showed up right after that, and the next thing I knew I woke up here.”

“Okay but...” Rainbow scratched the back of her neck. “Why exactly were you in my head again?”

“Oh! Right, you were asleep for that part. Well, to make a long story short, the curse that turns you into a vampire was attacking your mind, trying to convert you into a full vampire, but your Element of Loyalty acted as a sort of antibody warding off a disease, and-”

“English, Twi.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Your Element saw the curse and protected you from it. It couldn't hold forever, though, so we had to go in and find a more permanent solution. I'm not entirely sure how, but Luna managed to keep your mind intact.”

“Wait, does that mean she cured me?” Rainbow asked excitedly, reaching up to her mouth and frowning when she felt her fangs slide out from behind her lips.

“Not cured, exactly, but... well, you won't turn into the same kind of vampire who bit you. You'll still be you – mentally, at least. Normally the curse cripples your mind, turning you into a creature that knows nothing but killing.”

Rainbow shuddered at the thought. “Well at least there's that good news. So what exactly is that for, then?” She asked, pointing towards the portal still shimmering in the background.

“That's a portal to the headquarters of the Rising Dawn; we have a meeting tonight, and I need to tell them something from Princess Luna,” Twilight explained casually. “Oh, and you're coming with me.”

“Wait, isn't the Rising Dawn, like, a group made to kill vampires? Which I now am?” Rainbow asked. “You sure that's a good idea?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Why does everypony think that? They're perfectly reasonable ponies, Rainbow; as long as they know you're not gonna bite anypony we'll be fine.” She paused, glancing to a clock hanging on the wall and frowning. “The meeting will be starting soon.”

“Alright... if you're sure...” Rainbow shook her head and stood taking a step towards the portal. “So how is this gonna work?”

“Just let me do the talking. Oh, hold on.”

Rainbow turned just in time to see Twilight light her horn. With a flash of magic her lavender coat darkened to a soot black, her mane changed to a uniform deep indigo, and her cutie mark shimmered. The six pointed purple star faded and was replaced by an image of a sun rising over a silver shield. Even her wings faded from existence.

Noticing Rainbow's hanging jaw, Twilight smirked, asking; “How do I look?”

“Like...” Rainbow trailed off, looking away as images of a headless body raced across her mind. “Like Dawn Guard. Why-”

“Because of the nature of the Rising Dawn, we can't know who each of our members are in case one of us gets turned into something and tries to go after the other members. Only Princess Luna knows everypony's true identities; unicorns use their magic, while earth ponies and pegasi have specially brewed potions to disguise themselves, for both our meetings and while we're out hunting, in case we’re seen.”

Rainbow frowned in confusion. “But I thought the vampire thing, like, broke your mind? Would it really matter if you all knew each other?”

“Vampires keep some basic memories and ideas, as do most other creatures. They'd have a desire to go after certain ponies if they knew who the hunters were; their bestial minds would label them as threats. It's why there's always been a lot of activity around the Elements of Harmony.”

“A lot of activity?”

Twilight nodded. “At least twice a month.”

“Huh...” Rainbow blinked. “And I never even noticed...”

“Then I was doing my job right,” Twilight said with a smile, turning back to the portal. “Okay, here's the plan; just agree with anything I say, make sure they know you're still yourself, don't do anything that could be... threatening, and try to keep your fangs in.”

Rainbow clenched her jaw a moment, fangs sliding back up into her gums. “Right, anything else?”

“Whatever you do, don't call me Twilight; my name, as far as they're concerned, is Dawn Guard. I'm in charge of protecting Ponyville as well as the Element bearers and Princess Twilight. Twilight Sparkle has no idea about any of this.”

“Okay, I think I can do that, Dawn.”

Twilight smiled approvingly. “Follow me.” She stepped through the portal, the viscous liquid stretching around her before she broke through the surface and walked through, disappearing before Rainbow's eyes.

“Alright, let's see who these guys are.” Rainbow stepped forward, prodding the portal with a hoof before pushing it through and stepping down on what felt like cold stone on the other side.

5. Meeting the Dawn

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The Break of Dawn
Chapter 5
Meeting the Dawn

Moving through the portal felt like trying to swim through syrup, and Rainbow wasn't taking the chance of trying to breath while still inside the muck, even as the air was forced from her lungs. Her eyes were shut tightly as she finally felt her face emerge from the portal, her lips unsealing as she greedily sucked down the damp air on the other side. Planting her forehooves on the cold, stone floor she pulled the rest of her body through, shuddering as she felt the gunk mold around her wings like a gel.

With a final pull the tip of her tail popped out of the portal, making it jiggle like jelly. She fanned her wings, shaking out her feathers as the feeling of the gunk lingered. Finally opening her eyes, Rainbow scowled at the soot black unicorn before her, trying desperately to retain her mirth.

“Oh har-har, laugh it up T-... Dawn,” Rainbow corrected quickly. “You could have at least told me what that was going to be like.”

“Sorry, Rainbow; I didn't realize it was your first time using a portal like that,” Twilight admitted with a guilty smile before turning away and swinging out a hoof. “Anyway, this is the headquarters of the Rising Dawn.”

Rainbow's followed Twilight's hoof out to the area around them. It was a relatively large hall, made entirely of cold grey stone bricks. The room was lit by standard torches lining the walls between various archways, casting flickering red and orange lights on a long wooden table stretching down the center of the hall. Inside each archway was a portal near identical to the one she’d just walked through, presumably linking the homes of the other members of the Rising Dawn. The table itself was lined with chairs and – to Rainbow's surprise – none of the chairs were empty.

“Dawn Guard!” A deep, rough voice called, a grey-coated stallion leaning forward in his chair. “You're late.”

Twilight gave a bashful smile towards the stallion as he got a round of grunted agreements from a little less than two dozen other ponies around the table. All of them had similarly dark coats and manes, though Rainbow guessed they were all disguised like Twilight.

“My apologies, but I just had a conversation with Princess Luna,” Twilight explained, motioning with a subtle gesture for Rainbow to follow as she approached the end of the table, pulling out a chair at the end and sitting down. She motioned for rainbow to do the same next to her.

“The Princess?” One of the members asked skeptically. “I thought she left the Rising Dawn?”

Twilight nodded slowly. “She did, but as she explained it to me she had her reasons, and we need to-”

“Who's that!?” Another member shouted, a pegasus mare this time. She slammed a hoof on the table as she half-stood from her seat, pointing accusingly at Rainbow Dash. “We can't bring non-members here!”

Sighing and rubbing the bridge of her muzzle with a hoof, Twilight said, “Yes, I know, and if you'd listed for a second I'd-”

“Wait, isn't that Rainbow Dash? What's an Element bearer doing here!?”

Rainbow scowled at the stallion's tone, giving a sidelong glance to Twilight as the unicorn continued to rub at her muzzle. “I'm here to shut you up!” Rainbow snapped. “Now let her explain.”

Instead of silencing the table, Rainbow's demand only riled the gathered ponies up further. All of them started shouting their questions at once. Rainbow's face soured at the reaction, but she wilted when she caught sight of the glare Twilight was shooting at her out of the corner of her eye.

“Dawn...” A unicorn stallion sitting on the opposite side of Twilight from Rainbow whispered. “What's going on?”

Twilight sighed again. “It's a long story, Shiny,” she muttered under her breath.

Rainbow raised an eyebrow at the name, but remained silent as Twilight lifted her head from her hooves. “Alright everypony!” She shouted, to no avail. Her attempts only seemed to add yet more fuel to the fire. The questions grew into full fledged shouted demands and it all turned into an indiscernible cacophony of noise.

“Silence!” Twilight slammed her hoof into the table, the wood cracking under the force of the blow. The room quieted instantly as Twilight stood from her chair, forehooves resting on the table as she leaned forward. “You all have questions and concerns, but we will get nowhere if you do not allow me to explain the situation.”

When nopony else spoke up, Twilight sighed happily and sunk back into her chair. “Thank you. Now, as we all know, there's been a spike in activity recently.”

“I thought you said that it wasn't anything to worry about,” Somepony piped up, before withering under the glare Twilight shot their way.

Frowning pensive, Twilight nodded. “I did. However, new information has come to light that makes these events more troubling than they seem on the surface. As Princess Luna explained to me, she believes there is a group of vampires attempting to form the army Nightmare Moon always intended them to be, and they are preparing for war.”

“War?” A stallion scoffed, leaning back dismissively. “I've killed dozens of the things; they are no more threatening than a colony of Diamond Dogs. They are weak to the light, and that will always be their downfall, no matter how many of them there are.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes at the stallion. “And if they weren't?”

The stallion raised an eyebrow. “Weren't what?”

“Picture a vampire, whose flesh did not boil beneath the sun. Imagine-” Twilight paused, giving a sidelong glance to Rainbow Dash, “Imagine a vampire, who kept their mind in tact; just as intelligent as you or I.”

The ponies gathered around the table leaned forward suddenly, various eyes widening, while others were rolled in doubt.

“Our enemies are evolving. Princess Luna thinks that there is a group of vampires who are capable of making other night creatures immune to sunlight, the very weakness that allows us to defeat them time and time again.”

“Please, Dawn Guard, you cannot be serious.” The same stallion from before said, standing from his chair and drawing attention to himself. “If such things were possible, why have we not yet encountered them?”

Without missing a beat Twilight rose from her chair as well. “They are intelligent, Night Blade; they are biding their time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.”

“But where's the proof!?” He protested. “You can't expect any of us to take this seriously if you do not offer us some sort of proof that these things are even possible.”

Twilight froze momentarily, glancing around the table before her eyes fell on the pegasus sitting next to her, glaring daggers at the stallion she was arguing with. A moment's debate ran through her mind, before she relented, falling back to her seat. “You're right, you shouldn't believe what you cannot see with your own eyes.”

Night Blade opened his mouth, but stopped what a magical glow forced him back into his chair as Twilight motioned for Rainbow to stand. “This is why I brought Rainbow Dash. As you all know, there was a vampire sighted in Ponyville a few nights ago. He slipped through my wards, but ultimately fell. However-” she leaned over, and whispered something in Rainbow's ear. Rainbow did a double take, raising an eyebrow, but sighed and returned Twilight''s encouraging nod.

“I could not stop him from turning another pony.”

On cue Rainbow Dash opened her mouth and allowed her fangs to slip free of her gums. The effect was instantaneous; everypony currently seated at the table jumped to their hooves and backed away, reaching for weapons they didn't have with them. Unicorns charged their horns, some picking up chairs and wielding them like lion-tamers, while pegasi and earth ponies dropped into fighting stances. The unicorn sitting on the opposite side of Twilight grabbed her and pulled her away, putting himself between her and Rainbow.

“Why did you bring that monster here!?” A unicorn demanded, advancing slowly with a blade formed from her own magic. “It could've killed us all.”

Twilight rolled her eyes, pushing past the stallion who'd pulled her away and standing next to Rainbow, who seemed to be growing more and more uncertain about the situation. “Please, if she was like the others do you really think she'd have just sat there for this entire time?”

“What was it you said about them biding their time?” Night Blade growled.

“Look, do any of you really think I'd have brought her if it would put anypony at risk? I've been in the same room with her all day, and she hasn't even tried to bite me.”

Nopony seemed convinced, and they started moving in and surrounding the pair.

“We can't trust her!”

Twilight sighed. “Will you all just look at her? She's kept her mind intact; free from the curse. She's living proof that such things are possible.”

“Great; you proved it. Now kill her before she turns somepony else!”

“Like I'm going to kill an Element bearer,” Twilight deadpanned. “You can't all be so blind as to not see this for what it is.”

A circle was formed, with the only break being a gap for the table. “All I see is a monster, a killer who shuns the light, and can be nothing else,” Night Blade said as the circle started tightening.

“Uh... Twi...” Rainbow whispered, low enough as to not be overheard. “This might not have been your best plan.”

“Hold on a minute!” A stallion shouted – the same one who'd pulled Twilight away. Pushing his way through the circle, he stood beside Twilight, though he made sure to keep the disguised alicorn between himself and Rainbow. “Maybe we should give her a chance. If what Dawn says is true then she could be useful. This could also open the path to creating a cure.”

“It has been over a thousand years, and no cure has ever been found; what makes now any different?” Night Blade countered defiantly.

“Her,” Twilight deadpanned, motioning with a hoof towards the pegasus next to her.

Rainbow fidgeted, her wings spreading slowly of their own accord. “These guys wanna fight, Twi.”

“Why should we even trust you, anyway?” Night Blade demanded, leading the advancing circle until there was just a pony's length between them and the three they were surrounding. “Princess Luna just up and left, leaving you in charge. So tell us, Dawn Guard; why should we trust you? You come here, saying you have spoken personally with Princess Luna about far-fetched tales of impossible things.”

“I'm gonna fight 'em,” Rainbow growled, lowering her head and spreading her wings further.

“Rainbow!” Twilight snapped under her breath, maintaining her glare on Night Blade. “Look, I know this is all very sudden but we have to stay calm and think about this rationally, we-”

A unicorn lunged with her magic blade, lashing out at Rainbow. She jumped back just in time to dodge the strike, but the swing triggered the circle to stop as the very air in the rooms seemed to freeze. A few, tense moments of silence passed as everypony waited for the next move with baited breath.

Night Blade stepped forward, emerging from the circle. “You have brought a vampire to our meeting place, endangering us all, and still you stand by her side. You are not trustworthy. All those in favour of removing Dawn Guard from power?”

The only three ponies who did not raise their hooves were Rainbow, Twilight, and the stallion still standing next to them.

Night Blade nodded approvingly. “Kill the vampire and remove Dawn Guard.”

“Enough of this madness!” Twilight shouted, but her demands were drowned out by the battle cries of those around her as they lunged towards Rainbow. A chair was broken over her already burned back, sending a searing pain lancing up her spine and straight to her mind, and she snapped. Her already crimson eyes grew even more vibrant, seeming to pulse with the beating of her heart. Her breathing grew ragged. The very air around her seemed to scream with rage as she focused her infuriated gaze on the pony who had swung the chair.

“Rainbow? Rainbow look at me. You need to calm down,” Twilight urged, removing her attention entirely from the rest of the ponies, who remained still as they watched the muscles beneath Rainbow's skin flex and relax, pulsing in time with her eyes.

Night Blade smiled triumphantly. “You see? You say it kept its mind, but in reality it is just as feral as any other monster. Kill it.”

“Only because you provoked her!” Twilight shouted as she lit her horn. Just as Rainbow lunged forward with a shriek of rage an opaque black barrier rose up in front of her. She bounced off, falling to her side and rolling. She stood just as the bubble of soot black magic closed off entirely, trapping her in the bubble. She turned, looking for an escape until her eyes fell on the sole other pony trapped with her.

Twilight allowed her illusions to fade, her wings fading back into view and her coat and mane dimming back to their regular colours. Though her magic stayed black. “Rainbow, calm down.”

If Rainbow heard the call, she showed no signs of listening as she growled, lowering herself and preparing to strike.

“Come on, Rainbow; fight it,” Twilight urged, even as she lit her horn. With a bright flash she summoned a long silver staff. “I know Luna said you wouldn't be yourself but I didn't expect this...” she muttered to herself, levelling the staff in front of her.

Rainbow Dash lunged, using her wings to aid her as she launched off the floor and sliced through the air with her forelegs extended, aiming straight for Twilight's chest. The alicorn side-stepped the strike easily, cringing as she hit Rainbow on the back of the head with her staff.

The pegasus, disoriented from the relatively gentle blow, crashed to the ground. “I really don't want to hurt you, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight insisted as Rainbow clambered to her hooves quickly, instantly jumping back into an aggressive stance. She snorted, charging with her fangs bared.

Twilight turned her staff sideways and lodged it in Rainbow's mouth behind her fans, twisting it and wrenching her head to the side. Rainbow fell to the ground as the staff slipped from her jaw.

“I know you can still hear me, Rainbow.” Twilight took a few steps closer to the prone pegasus, fearing for a moment's she'd done some damage. However, as soon as she got close Rainbow jumped to her hooves again and knocked the staff out of Twilight's magic with a wing. Jolting in surprise at the grasp being broken Twilight was left with no time to react as Rainbow tackled her to the ground and pinned her.

With a sickening crack Twilight's head hit the stone floor and her vision of the cyan pegasus above her swam. Lighting her horn Twilight gathered a small pall of energy between them, but before she could use it to blast her adversary off her she felt a sharp pain lance through her horn from Rainbow's hoof striking against it. Her spell shorted out with a few harmless sparks harmless sparks. “Rainbow don't!”

Rainbow leaned forward slowly, hissing as she opened her jaw wide. Twilight clenched her eyes shut as she forced magic through her still aching horn. Shrouding her neck in magic, she hardened it as best she could as she felt Rainbow's fangs push against her makeshift armour.

Confused by the resistance, Rainbow paused and drew back, giving Twilight the chance to struggle out from under her. Unfortunately, Rainbow's already impressive strength had grown much stronger since she'd been bitten, and even the latent strength of earth ponies contained in the alicorn was not enough to push her off while she still held her focus on protecting her neck. The pegasus growled at her for the movement and bit down as hard as she could on Twilight's neck, the magic crackling and starting to crack.

“Listen to me, Rainbow. You need to calm your mind and take control or this is going to end very badly for both of us,” Twilight whispered, panting with the exertion of her magic. “I know you're stronger than this.”

Rainbow paused, but didn't remove herself from Twilight's neck. Swallowing nervously, Twilight continued. “You promised you wouldn't hurt anypony, remember? You were strong enough to protect your mind for hours, when most ponies fall in minutes. You can fight this.”

Slowly, painfully slowly, Rainbow pulled back until she could look at Twilight directly. Their eyes met, pulsing crimson and lavender locking, and for a moment all was still.

Suddenly Rainbow jumped backwards, magenta eyes growing wide as she backed herself up against the wall of Twilight's bubble. “T...Twi...?” her voice was shaky and uncertain.

Breathing a sigh of relief Twilight stood up, picking up her discarded staff and teleporting it away with a pop. She looked at Rainbow for a moment, noting the change in eye colour, before smiling. “I knew you could do it.”

With a flash of magic – as well as a small wince – Twilight was once again Dawn Guard, and she lowered her shield. All around her the members of the Rising Dawn watched carefully, ready to attack at a moment's notice. “We're fine,” Twilight announced, glancing over to the pegasus. “Right, Rainbow?... Rainbow?”

Rainbow's hooves were shaking as she continued backing away from Twilight with wide, fearful eyes. She backed away until she hit a pony behind her and she yelped, jumping into the air and flying straight into the portal she'd originally come through.

Twilight frowned, watching portal's ripples slowly die down.

“You let it get away!” Night Bade shouted. “You have no right to lead the Rising Dawn!”

“She has every right to lead us! Princess Luna herself appointed her!”A stallion cried, running forward and leaning in to whisper; “What happened in there? Why'd you throw me out? I could have helped!”

Twilight shook herself, turning away from the portal. She looked out across the sea of angry faces, her gaze eventually standing on the stallion next to her, the only one who'd supported her and Rainbow dash. She sighed. “They want to know why they should trust me... so I'll give them a reason.”

With a flourish of magic wings appeared at her sides, though they remained black as night. She was met with a round of gasps as she lifted herself into the air and allowed the rest of her illusions to drop, revealing her coat, her mane, and her cutie mark.

“I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, appointed by Princess Luna herself to lead the Rising Dawn and charged with keeping Ponyville, as well as the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, safe from any of Nightmare Moon's creations. Those who still wish to defy me, speak up now.”

Twilight glared down at Night Blade as he took a few steps back from her imposing reveal. He opened his mouth to say something when the unicorn stallion stepped forward and dropped his illusions as well, revealing a white coat and a two-tone blue mane. “As acting Prince of the Crystal Empire, former Captain of the Royal Guard, and her brother, I advise against saying anything.”

Lowering herself to the ground, Twilight smiled gratefully at her older brother. “You really didn’t have to do that. I feel bad enough using my title for this. But now that you have... can you take care of this?” She glanced over her shoulder. “I need to go talk to Rainbow...”

Shining Armour smirked. “I don't think they'll be too much trouble. Go help your friend.”

“Thanks.” Twilight turned and ran through the portal, leaving a ring of stunned ponies in her wake. Shining walked to the center of the ring.

“So, let's talk about how you just tried to overthrow my sister and kill one of her best friends.”

Rainbow Dash wiped the tears from her eyes as she flew furiously through the night sky, a sickening ball building in her stomach as a large white structure grew larger in the distance. Her mind was filled with thoughts and emotions that she failed to fully comprehend.

Eventually she landed on the porch of her own cloud home, and once again she froze as she placed her hoof on the handle. A war raged within her, one that made her blood turn to ice as she pushed, the door still slightly ajar from her previous attempt. This time, though, when she stepped through into the darkness of her home, illuminated only by the dim light of early-morning streaming in from the outside, she didn't turn tail and run.

She walked forward, eyes fixed on the red stain still haunting her floor, remembering the fountain of blood that has streamed down her neck.

She remembered her promise, and she fell to her knees, staring down at the small patch of lost life.

I won't be like him. Her mind repeated, over and over and over.

“But I am...” she muttered, lifting her own hooves to her face. The hooves that had tried to hurt – no, kill – one of her closest friends.

“I am exactly like him...”

“I'm glad to hear you admit it.”

6. Dawning Discoveries

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The Break of Dawn
Chapter 6
Dawning Discoveries

Rainbow jumped at the icy voice, taking a few hastened steps away from the telling bloodstain. Head whipping around, her eyes widened as they fell on a familiar pegasus stallion, with a deep orange coat and a spiky blue mane. His eyes were cold and wicked, shining a brilliant crimson in the dim light of the moon.

For a moment Rainbow's jaw worked uselessly as she stared at him. He smiled at her reaction, showing off gleaming white fangs hidden behind his lips. “Well, I suppose I'd be surprised to see me as well if I were you.”

“Y-you...” Rainbow trailed off as a hoof rubbed her bruised neck gently, a ghostly memory of pain tickling her flesh.

The stallion nodded as he walked casually into her open kitchen, searching through her cupboards. “Yes, I'm the vampire who bit you last night. I have to say, I'm very pleased with how you've taken to the curse. Like a fish to water, as the expression goes.” He frowned, shutting the cupboard. “You don't keep this place very well stocked...”

As the shock drained slowly from her system, Rainbow's mind recalled a very distinct image of a headless stallion. “How are you-”

“Alive?” He asked, giving up on his search and walking away from the kitchen. Rainbow stepped back, preventing him from getting too close. “Well.” Lifting his head, the stallion ran his hoof along a distinct scar circling his throat. “It wasn't pleasant, being without a head, but you know what they say; what doesn't kill you and all that. But enough about me; let's talk about you.”

Rainbow swallowed thickly, keeping a constant distance from him even as he walked over and sat on her couch. He motioned for her to join, but when she made no move to accept his offer he sighed. “Please, it's not like I'm going to bite you again.”

Rainbow didn't budge.

“Fine, stand there.” He leaned forward, cupping his head in his hooves as his eyes shone curiously. “Now tell me; how does it feel to be one of us?” Before Rainbow could answer, he grinned and continued; “Feels good, right? All that strength, the power? I bet you could fly at double your previous top speed now. All for some fairly minor drawbacks.”

“M-minor!?” Rainbow gasped. “You call burning in sunlight minor? Becoming a mindless... monster who drinks blood is minor to you!?”

The stallion shrugged. “Well, minor once you get used to them. Though it seems you managed to skip out on one of those. Tell me, why doesn't the curse control your mind?”

“I could ask you the same question,” Rainbow growled, spreading her wings threateningly. “Now get out before I buck you out.”

“Please,” he scoffed, “your hunter friend couldn't kill me by taking my head off, do you really think you so much as stand a chance against me?”

“I'm willing to give it a shot.”

The stallion stood, his ever-present smile wilting just a hint. “And then what will you do? Go back, try to live your normal life again? I've got news for you; you're a monster now. Just like me. If you think you'll ever be able to live normally again, you've got one heck of a reality check coming up.”

Rainbow's chest tightened as she remembered attacking Twilight, and her resolve faltered for a second. “They'll find a way to cure me, and I'll be fine. I won't hurt anypony.”

“Can you keep that promise?” He'd gotten up next to her without her realizing, and she jumped back as his hoof touched her shoulder. “I'm offering you a real life, where you won't have to worry about not hurting anypony. The world is shifting, Rainbow Dash; you have a chance to get ahead of the tide.”

Rainbow shuddered at his ice-cold touch, quickly pulling herself away. “Like hell I'd ever do anything you say.”

The stallion sighed, letting his hoof drop to the ground. “I'll always be ready for you to change your mind. Now, how about we-”

“Rainbow?”

Rainbow jumped at the sound of Twilight's voice as the alicorn landed on her doorstep. She pushed through the door, and her jaw dropped as her eyes landed on the visitor. “You...!”

“Well, you know what they say about three being a crowd,” he muttered. “It's time I depart. Farewell Rainbow Dash, Princess,” he spat, stomping his hoof and evaporating the cloud beneath him. He fell through, snapping open his wings and flying away from the rising sun.

Twilight tried to give chase, skidding to a stop over the hole he'd left. “Hey!... Dammit, there's no way I'll catch him...” She sighed, falling back onto her flank and rubbing the bridge of her muzzle. “Okay, now we have a problem. But first...”

Rainbow shuffled backward awkwardly as Twilight turned to her. “Uh... h-hey...”

“Rainbow...” Twilight trailed off as she glanced out the window. “We should probably head back to my place; the sun will be up soon, and this place is way too open for you.”

“I can't...” Rainbow muttered, turning away and hanging her head.

Twilight frowned. “Why not?”

“B-because...” the pegasus shuddered, biting her lip. “I... I'll try to hurt you again...”

“Is that was this is all about?” Twilight asked with a roll of her eyes and a hint of laughter on her breath. “It's not your fault, Rainbow. You had no control over it.”

Rainbow shook her head. “But I still did it! I don't even know what happened I just... I just lost control! It was like my body took over...”

“That's because it did,” Twilight stated matter-of-factly. She glanced down to the hole in the floor again. “But we seriously need to talk. I promise you won't try to hurt me or anypony else ever again, okay?”

“How can you promise that?” Rainbow whispered, still refusing to make eye contact.

Twilight smirked. “Because your eyes aren't red anymore.”

“W-what?” Rainbow lifted a hoof to her face, as though it would allow her to see her reflection. “How... why?”

“It has to do with how Luna purged the curse from your mind. But believe me when I say you won't lose control like that again,” Twilight assured, walking over and placing a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. “Now can we please go back to my place?”

Hesitantly, Rainbow nodded.

The pair landed in front of Golden Oaks Library just before the sun rose over the mountains, allowing them just enough shade to get inside and away from the windows. Careful not to wake the still slumbering dragon, they made their way silently into the darkened basement, lit only by the faint light given off by the portal, still active in the small room behind the bookshelf.

The fluorescent lights were flicked on once again and Twilight hurried over to a filing cabinet sitting off in a secluded corner. “So,” she started, flipping through the files in the top drawer. “What was that vampire doing in your house?”

Rainbow ground her teeth. “How about I ask my questions first?”

“What?” Twilight looked up from her files, looking confused a moment before her eyes widened. “Oh.”

“Yeah, I'd like to know what the heck happened to me back there and why you seem to think it's no big deal that I tried to kill you.”

Twilight gave a small smile. “It has to do with how Luna purged the curse from your mind.”

“You already said that,” Rainbow deadpanned.

With a sigh, Twilight turned away from her filing fully. “In regular vampires, it's called a blood-rage. It's what happens when they become extremely… agitated. It happened to you because, though the curse is no longer in your mind, your mind itself is currently weakened. Your body, in which the curse still resides, took over when it felt as though it were in danger, and fought back. You literally lost control to your own body, and that's not your fault.

“Because you managed to fight it back shows that your mind, and your will, is stronger than the remnants of the curse till clinging to you body. That's why your eyes aren't red anymore; that was the last traces of the curse itself, and you fought it off,” she explained.

Rainbow scratched the back of her head. “So... that won't happen again?”

“Not unless you willingly let it,” Twilight said, once again turning to her files. “Now can you tell me why he was in your house?”

Rainbow was hesitant to speak, still sorting through the new information in her mind. Eventually, she said. “I don't know.... he said something about a changing world or something.”

“You mean he hasn't lost himself to the curse?” Twilight asked, surprised.

“Sure didn't sound like it,” Rainbow huffed. “Tried to get me to join him or something. Though he doesn't know how I managed to not go crazy; he was asking about that.”

Twilight made a small sound of victory as she pulled a file from her cabinet, carrying it over and placing it on a metal table as she took a seat. “Well, that's some good news. What worries me is the fact that he's still alive.”

“Yeah, what the heck's with that?” Rainbow demanded, shuddering slightly as vivid images pushed to the front of her mind. “I mean I kinda saw you... ya know...”

Sighing, Twilight flipped open her file and revealed a picture of the stallion in question. “Not all vampires are created equal. I didn't know at the time, but he's no ordinary vampire.”

“How's that?”

Lighting her horn, Twilight brought forth six other files, flipping them all open onto the table. “Meet the seven original vampires; the very first ones Nightmare Moon created over a thousand years ago. We've dubbed them 'The Ancients' for obvious reasons.”

Rainbow blinked, looking across the images. Most of them seemed like perfectly normal ponies, except for the fact that they all had identical crimson eyes.

“These seven were the core reason the Rising Dawn was founded. Alone they are stronger than any other creature that Nightmare Moon created. Together...” Twilight trailed off, letting the silence speak for her.

“So basically I was bitten by one of the strongest vampires in the world and for some reason he's interested in me,” Rainbow summarized. “Well isn't that just great.”

Twilight smiled. “Actually this could play out in our favour. The Ancients moving about puts them in a position for us to end them once and for all. Not to mention you being turned gives us a wonderful opportunity to learn more about vampires in general.”

“I dunno, you seem to know a lot about vampires already. Certainly more than I do.”

“Well, it helps to have a personal connection with the pony who created the vampires,” Twilight explained. “But we don't know everything; before Nightmare Moon was defeated, she wiped memories from her own mind to keep Luna from knowing everything about vampires. We know a lot, but there are things we could never hope to learn without a... willing subject.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow at the choice of words. “You're not turning me into a lab rat, Twi.”

“No! No, not at all!” Twilight assured quickly. “Just... a few tests... to find a cure, if one is possible. Not to mention it would answer so many questions about vampires.”

The pegasus's eyes narrowed. “I'll do the tests to find a cure, not because you're curious. Get me?”

“Of course! But back to the matter at hoof, we need to act quickly. If The Ancients are moving, it means the group of vampires Luna told me about could very well be working with them.”

“Group?” Rainbow echoed curiously. “You mean the guys you were talking about back with the Rising Dawn? The ones who are trying to form an army or whatever?”

Twilight nodded as Rainbow sat down in the chair next to her. “That's right. We knew about The Ancients already from Princess Luna, but they've never done much. They were Nightmare Moon's first vampires, so they all have flaws. She experimented on them like guinea pigs, trying to find what worked and what didn't. As a result, they all have special powers and flaws. We never knew much about them except what little Luna had, including these pictures. If he kept his mind, that means others among them might have as well.”

“I dunno, he seemed pretty crazy the first time I met him. Like, he didn't say anything at all, just attacked me,” Rainbow said, glaring into his picture’s blood red eyes. “He didn't seem all that... smart.”

When Twilight didn't say anything, Rainbow glanced over to see the alicorn pursing her lips in thought as she pulled the file closer, glancing over the few short lines of text available. She frowned. “According to what we know, he should have lost himself to the curse... unless...”

“Twi?” Rainbow asked wearily as Twilight's face twisted with dread.

Twilight jumped out of her chair and ran to the stairs. “Spike!” She shouted, magically altering her voice to make it louder. Her hoof tapped rapidly against the floor as she waited.

“What?” Spike grumbled, bleary-eyed and yawning as he opened the basement door. “The sun's hardly even up, Twilight.”

“Get down here!” The alicorn snapped, lighting her horn and bringing a quill and parchment from a nearby table. She scribbled a short note out and rolled it up as her draconian assistant reached the landing. “Send this.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “Princess Luna again?”

Twilight nodded and passed the note from her magic to Spike's claw. He took a breath, preparing to send it, before his cheeks bulged out suddenly and her burped loudly. A burst of green flames materialized into a letter, which Twilight caught and brought forward.

Luna spoke to me. We will be there shortly

-Celestia

“On second thought, Spike... go make some tea. It's going to be a long day,” Twilight said, crumpling her letter into a ball and throwing it aside.

Spike raised an eyebrow but shrugged it off as he turned. “What kind do you want?”

“Do we still have the orange-blueberry stuff?”

“You mean the one Princess Celestia likes?” Spike asked, peeking over his shoulder and receiving a nod. “Yeah, I think so.”

Twilight smiled gratefully. “Excellent, just bring it down here when you're done. And if anypony shows up, tell them the library's closed. If it’s one of our friends, send them to me.”

Spike waved a claw over his head to show that he'd heard as he disappeared around the corner from the basement door. Rainbow cleared her throat, drawing Twilight's attention. “What was all that about?”

“We're going to have company pretty soon.”

Right on cue a loud knock rang out from the door, loud enough to reverberate all the way into the basement of the library. A few seconds later, Spike's surprised shout could be heard; “P-Princess Celestia! Princess Luna!”

Rainbow's eyes widened “Oh.”

Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Twilight, and Rainbow Dash all sat around a small metal table in the basement of Golden Oaks library. Each had a teacup in front of them that was once steaming, but had long since cooled without so much as a sip being taken. Rainbow Dash had, for the most part, remained quiet as Celestia, Twilight and Luna talked, though she found herself paying attention to what they were saying rather than zoning out like she usually did.

Luna had commented on her eyes, and after she and Twilight explained what had happened, Luna agreed that it shouldn't happen again and that she shouldn't feel guilty – not that hearing it helped any. Spike had brought down sandwiches for breakfast, and her stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten in over a day due to her being asleep for most of it. After wolfing down three of them her stomach was full, but some small part of her was still hungry.

And that thought made her worry. She fidgeted uncomfortably in her chair, glancing anxiously around the room, beads of sweat rolling down her forehead. On some instinctual level, she knew exactly what was happening to her.

“Rainbow Dash?”

The pegasus jolted upright as the ruler of Equestria called her name curiously. “Uh... y-yes, Princess?”

Celestia frowned. “Are you alright? You seem rather... distressed.”

Rainbow swallowed nervously, shooting a pleading glance at Twilight who was looking at her much like the Princess. “I... uh... I'm fine?”

“Rainbow...” Twilight trailed off as her eyes narrowed, scrutinizing the pegasus, before they suddenly grew wide. “Rainbow?” She repeated, asking a silent question that made Rainbow flinch.

Rainbow smiled and sat up a little straighter. “I'm fine, just...” her fangs shot out from behind her lips, and she quickly lifted a hoof to her mouth to hide them. “Sorry, still having a little trouble controlling them. I'll be fine.”

Luna turned back to Celestia slowly to resume their conversation, while Twilight's eyes remained on her friend. Rainbow glanced to the Princesses, then back to Twilight, and nodded subtly. Twilight nodded back, and slowly stood from the table. “Princess Luna, I think I know what their plan is.”

“Oh?” Luna visibly perked up at the information. “Do share, Twilight.”

Twilight lit her horn and brought over a folder, laying it out on the table. Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Isn't he one of The Ancients you told me about, Luna?”

Luna nodded, looking up to Twilight. “He is, but most of them do not have the capacity for intelligence like the group has displayed. Where are you going with this, Twilight?”

Twilight pointed to Rainbow. “He's the one who bit her, and I saw him again just a few hours ago. He got away, but... he retained his mind, Princess. However, according to Rainbow Dash, when he first bit her he was mindless. Which means one of two things.”

“Either he was faking, or...” Luna trailed off as her eyes lit up in recognition. “Something happened between the two encounters that made him sentient.”

Nodding, Twilight brought the rest of her folders forward, keeping an eye on Rainbow who continued to fidget in her chair. “You said these vampires found out how to make themselves immune to the sun. Could it also be that they found a way to give sentience to other vampires as well?”

“Would that be possible, Luna?” Celestia asked curiously, turning to her sister.

“In theory,” Luna said slowly. “It would take a knowledge of vampires greater than my own. However, if that's true then that means...”

Twilight pushed the folders towards the two princesses. “I believe the group is trying to give even more power to The Ancients, and is in turn using their power as a means to make other vampires stronger. If one has already become sentient, how long until the others are found and made to be the same? What if they are given the power to survive in sunlight?”

“We wouldn't be able to stand up to their combined power...” Luna looked up from the folders, meeting Twilight's gaze. “This isn't good, Twilight. We need to stop them before they find any of the other Ancients.”

Twilight took a step back from the table. “Exactly.”

Rainbow jumped up with a yelp as a sudden thump rang in her ears. All eyes were drawn to her as she chuckled awkwardly, standing from her chair. “Uh... bit my tongue...” she offered, pointing at her fangs for emphasis as she eased slowly back into her seat. Celestia and Luna turned to face each other, discussing the new possibility Twilight has proposed. Their voices were drowned out by a steady pounding in Rainbow's ears. She turned, searching for the source of the noise that apparently only she could hear.

“Rainbow... come with me,” Twilight whispered, leaning down to the pegasus' ear. Her quiet voice sounded like an explosion right next to Rainbow, making her wince painfully.

“S-sure...” she stood shakily, and the pounding in her ears multiplied, until she could pick out three distinct patterns. Three distinct beats of thumping, thundering thuds.

Twilight said something to Celestia and Luna but for Rainbow everything had been drowned out by the rhythm filling her mind. She was starving, even if her stomach was full, and she finally realized what the sound was.

Three rhythms.

Three ponies.

Three hearts.

“Twilight...” she whispered, though she had to shout to hear her own voice above the beating.

Twilight nodded as she lead the way towards the basement stairs. “I know, Rainbow. Hold on, I'll help you in a second.”

Rainbow's hooves shook as she climbed the stairs. “I.... I'm hungry...”

Author's Notes:

Happy.... next Monday?

Yeah... sorry guys. Those of you who follow my blogs already know what happened, but for those who don't... basically I got sick and was unable to write a new chapter. Unfortunately, I still am unable to finish the next chapter, but I also need to post, so my backlog must be dwindled down to one chapter. I do apologize, but from now until I can replenish my backlog updates will be slowed to every other Monday. Hopefully I shouldn't need to do that and by next week I'll have my backlog back, but just in case, that's what might happen.

Anyway, this chapters starts to introduce the true plot for this fic, and that is built upon in chapter 8. Chapter 7 is more focused on character development.... and it has a really evil cliffhanger. Not sorry about that.

As always, let me know what you thought! I do so love comments.

7. Bleeding Hearts

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The Break of Dawn
Chapter 7
Bleeding Hearts

Rainbow's hooves shook as she paced around the guest bedroom. The curtains and been drawn shut to protect her from the light, but she was having a hard time keeping herself from simply jumping out the window and letting the sun decide her fate. Even with only one other pony in the room, her ears still rang with the beating of her heart, and if she strained she could hear the Princesses talking all the way in the basement. The sound of Spike's scaled feet scampering across the floor in the main room was as loud as a pony speaking right next to her.

“Rainbow...” Twilight whispered, lowering her voice as much as she could and placing a gentle hoof on the distraught mare's shoulder. “You need to calm down.”

“Calm down!?” Rainbow roared angrily, shoving the hoof from her shoulder and whirling around to glare at the alicorn, no longer caring that her fangs were on full display.

Twilight took a hesitant step back, giving a small nod. “I know this is hard for you, but we knew this was going to happen eventually.”

“You did, maybe,” Rainbow muttered, more to herself than Twilight. “I kept telling myself, over and over, that I wasn't going to be like the others. I wasn't going to be like this. But just look at me.”

“Rainbow, you're not like the rest,” Twilight assured, still in the quietest voice she could muster.

“Look at me!” Rainbow screamed, grabbing Twilight's shoulders with her hooves and staring into her eyes. “I can hear your heart, Twilight. I can hear it, and it's driving me crazy because I know that part of me wants to... to bite you and...” she trailed off as tears formed in the corners of her eyes. “I already tried to kill you once, Twi... I don't want to do it again.”

Twilight placed her hooves on top of Rainbow's own, smiling as comfortingly as she could. “You're not going to hurt anypony, Rainbow. And even if you tried I'd stop you.”

“P-promise?” Rainbow asked, almost sniffling.

“Promise,” Twilight said with a firm nod. “But right now we need to take care of your... condition.”

Rainbow shuddered. “H-how? I don't wanna... you know...”

Lighting her horn in a magenta glow of magic, Twilight brought forward a few items from her bathroom. She sighed. “If you're going to stay alive long enough for us to find you a cure then we're both going to have to get used to this.”

“Get... used to it?” Rainbow looked up hesitantly as Twilight pulled back.

Twilight nodded. “Do you know what a blood transfusion is?”

“Transfusion?”

Twilight levitated a tube into view, tipped with a thin metal needle. “It's a medical procedure used on ponies who have lost a lot of blood. A donor of the same blood-type gives some of their blood to replace what the injured pony lost.”

Rainbow cringed as she watched Twilight bring the needle closer to herself, examining it for a second before stretching out her foreleg and placing the needle against her fur. “T-Twi...?”

Twilight smirked. “I've donated blood a few times before, mostly back in Canterlot. Never thought it'd be used like this though.” Taking a breath and squinting her eyes, she slid the needle beneath her skin straight into a vein.

Rainbow had to look away as a rich red liquid started flowing through the short tube, but her hyper-sensitive ears could hear it flowing. The sound made the hunger gnawing at the back of her mind grow stronger, and she peeked hesitantly over her shoulder. Twilight was collecting her blood in a small mason jar. “Twilight.... stop...”

“What's wrong?” Twilight asked worriedly, though she didn't remove the needle from her foreleg.

“I just... I can't do it,” Rainbow shuddered as the sound of blood flowing into the slowly-filling jar resonated in her ears. It was louder than water, slower and thicker. “I don't know how you can be so calm about this... I mean... look at what you're doing to yourself! For me...”

Twilight gave a small smile. “When I came into your house two nights ago, I had been tracking that vampire for almost a week. Somehow he'd gotten into Ponyville without triggering any of my wards...

Twilight, disguised as Dawn Guard, glared at the trees lining the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. Their branches ruffled slowly in the midnight breeze, as though they were laughing at her. Nothing seemed out of place, and yet, she knew something was wrong. Her wards, set up to trap, track, or kill any vampires who tried to enter Ponyville had been broken. Not just activated; actually broken.

“It doesn't make any sense!” She shouted at the forest, only a few waving leaves responding. “Those wards were virtually undetectable... how could anypony have broken them?”

She sighed, shaking her head as she re-applied the wards and turned. “If it was the vampire, then I have a problem. Where could they have gone?” Reaching into her saddlebags with her magic, Twilight pulled out a large, rolled up map of Ponyville, spreading it out before her.

“Probably the closest place with ponies... which would be Fluttershy's cottage.” She scratched the back of her head. “But I already checked there, and she was the only pony nearby.”

Twilight groaned, slumping her shoulders and shifting as the sword sheathed across her back slid around to a more comfortable position. “I know some vampires have higher resistances to magic than others but this is ridiculous! At least one of those should have worked.”

As if to prove her point she lit her horn, running a trace using the signature her tracing ward should have placed on anypony who triggered it. Nothing. Turning back to her map with a tense frown, her eyes narrowed. “Shortest distance possible to ponies...”

She drew a line connecting the edge of the forest and Fluttershy's cottage. Then another one connecting the edge of the forest to Rainbow's cloud house, crossing over the lake instead of going around to the bridge. The second line was almost as short, but only for somepony who could cross a lake.

“Unless they were a pegasus... oh no, Rainbow.” Twilight dropped her map where she stood and took the air, flying as fast as her inexperienced wings would carry her across the nighttime sky. Sure enough, the flight took her only a few moments, and as she landed on the doorstep her heart sank as she saw the front door slightly ajar.

“Get off of me you creep!” Rainbow's voice shouted from inside, and Twilight's heart jumped from her hooves to her throat as she drew her broadsword in her magic and slammed the front door open, charging in. Her eyes widened when she saw her rainbow maned friend pinned against the wall, the vampire already at her throat.

“Get off of her!” Twilight shouted, readying her sword as she charged across the room. Rainbow cried out just as she let loose a single, precise swing. For a moment the room was silent, moments dragged out by Twilight's speeding mind, then the stallion's body fell to the ground in a heap, blood springing from his neck. His head, however, stayed attached to Rainbow's neck by his fangs, already sunk deep into her neck.

The head fell away as Rainbow fell to her knees, face white as a ghost. “Rainbow? Rainbow!?” Twilight ran forward, catching the pegasus's head as she fell backwards.

“Please... Rainbow... no...”

Twilight felt tears spring to her eyes as her sword clattered to the ground and her disguise faded. Brushing the prismatic fly-away mane out of the way, Twilight leaned down and examined the two holes on Rainbow's neck, already bruising.

“No... Rainbow please no... not you...” Twilight whimpered, doubling over the mare as tears streamed from her eyes. Her breaths came in hitches and gasps as she sobbed over her unconscious friend.

A feeling of dread welled up from deep in her gut as she realized what this meant, and she cried harder. Slowly, she stood, still crying, and took a step back. Collecting her sword in her magic, she acted before her emotions could argue and brought it inches from the pegasus's throat, ready to strike with a single thought.

“I'm sorry, Rainbow.... I'm so sorry...” Her tears blurred her vision as the tip of her sword rested against Rainbow's neck, pressing against it slightly.

“I... I have to do it...”

Twilight watched the mare's chest rise and fall peacefully, before it hitched suddenly. Rainbow groaned, clenching her eyes shut and wiggling. Suddenly, she screamed in pain, writhing on the floor. Twilight pulled her sword back instinctively before Rainbow could impale herself on it, watching in horror as the pegasus convulsed on the floor, writhing and screaming.

She'd always heard the transition was brutal, but never before had she actually seen it happen before her own eyes.

“Oh Rainbow...” her sword clattered to the floor as she walked over slowly, careful to avoid the flailing limbs. Twilight slid over until she was next to the pegasus and laid down, quickly wrapping her hooves around Rainbow and trapping the mare's hooves against her own chest. “I'm so sorry... I can't kill you...”

Rainbow whimpered, struggling weakly against the embrace, but she stopped screaming.

Twilight wiped a tear from her eye. “It looked so painful... but I couldn't bring myself to kill you and spare you from that. Maybe it was selfish, but I couldn't imagine what it'd be like if I did... I'd never be able to look the rest of the girls in the eye and... and I'd never see you again.

“I decided then that... that I'd do anything I could to help you. It was my fault that vampire got in, my fault he turned you. If there is anything at all I can do for you, I'll do it without a second thought.” She pulled the needle from her foreleg, the mason jar having filled nearly completely over the course of the story. “This is nothing; I'd do this for a friend in a heartbeat. I've done this for strangers I'll likely never meet on the off chance they'll need it. Now, I’m doing it for you.”

Rainbow swallowed slowly, looking down into the deep red liquid in the jar. Her face reflected in its surface, staring back at her with a pensive frown. “Twilight I... I don't blame you.”

“I know...” Twilight smiled kindly as she stood and walked out of sight, tucking her needle away in the bathroom. “But I still blame myself, because it was my fault in the end. Now drink; it'll help you.”

“Really?”

Twilight sighed. “I honestly don't know... but at the very least you won't be... craving for a while. I don't know if it'll help with anything else.”

Rainbow nodded, lifting the jar with a hoof. Her heart beat madly in her chest and the hunger gnawing at her mind screamed at her to just drink it even as her nose wrinkled at the metallic odor. Only a monster would drink this… her mind taunted, stilling her hoof. You promised yourself you wouldn't be like him, but look at what you're about to do.

You're nothing but a disgusting monster, preying on the guilt and loyalty of your best friend and drinking her blood.

Rainbow's hooves shook, the thick liquid sloshing around in the jar. The amplified sound making her nauseous. She jumped as she felt a hoof rest itself on her shoulder from behind, a few drops splashing out and running down the side of the jar. “It's okay, Rainbow.”

“I... I'm not like him, Twilight... I can't do this...” Rainbow muttered, turning away from the jar, though she did not put it down.

Twilight's hoof left her shoulder for a moment before she felt both of the alicorn's forelegs wrap around her barrel from behind. A purple muzzle peaked into the edge of her vision as Twilight rested her head on Rainbow's shoulder. “You'll never be a monster, Rainbow. It's not your fault you have to do this, and I willingly gave it to you. Drink.”

Rainbow shuttered, a tear sliding from her cheek as the sincerity in Twilight's voice stemmed the tremors running through her hooves. Slowly, in halting bursts of movement, she brought the jar to her lips. A strong, pungent odor filled her nostrils and made her cringe. The alicorn's hooves gave a reassuring squeeze around her barrel, and after taking a breath of the rancid smell, Rainbow tipped her head back.

For how strong the smell was, the taste was even worse. She was no stranger to the taste of blood, but the amount carried with it a thickness that she wasn't prepared for. Yet, even as she tried not to gag on the first, thick swallow, some small part of her mind rejoiced in the feeling and taste. That thought made her want to throw the jar as far away from her as she could, but the feeling of Twilight's body pressed against her back gave her the strength to continue.

She gave this to me to keep me alive, Rainbow thought, struggling to keep another mouthful down. Every swallow made the liquid taste a little less terrible. She feared it would start tasting good before too long. We'll find a cure... this is just for now... I may never have to do this again…

Rainbow paused, lowering the jar from her lips and taking a few breaths. The same small part of her mind that encouraged her to drink in the first place stuck her tongue from her mouth and ran it over her crimson-stained lips, collecting every last drop she could find. Looking down, she noted with some small sliver of pride and a painful wave of disgust that half the liquid had been drained.

“Feeling better?” Twilight asked in a whisper, pulling herself away from the pegasus's back.

Giving a small nod, Rainbow turned to face her. “Y...yeah, I think so...” The hunger from before had been silenced to little more than a small nagging at the back of her mind, egging her on to finish the jar. Her hearing, still amplified, was no longer deafening. Though Twilight's heartbeat could still be heard, it no longer rang in her ears like a thunder cloud right next to her.

Twilight smiled gently. “I'm glad. You gonna finish that or can we save it for later?” She asked, motioning to the jar in Rainbow's hooves.

Rainbow shook her head, bile rising to the back of her throat at the thought of trying to get down any more. “N-no... I'll be fine... I hope.”

“You will be fine, Rainbow,” Twilight assured, taking the blood in her magic. She sealed it with a sparkling magenta barrier over the top and teleported it into the very back of her refrigerator in the basement where it wouldn't be found. “We should really get down to the Princesses; I said we'd only be gone a minute or two.”

“Yeah... sure...” Rainbow shook the feeling of drinking blood from her mind, her nose wrinkling as she smelled it still lingering on her own breath. She followed Twilight back down to the main floor of the library, passing Spike has he busied himself with tidying what little mess could be found in the near-spotless home. He offered a wave and a smile which Rainbow couldn't bring herself to return as she went straight for the basement door.

She halted suddenly, holding out a hoof and stopping Twilight from opening the door as her ears swiveled.

“Rainbow?” Twilight questioned slowly, but she only got a hasty shushing.

Rainbow frowned, focusing on the sound of the Princesses talking.

“So you've told me,” Celestia said, “But I'm not asking if she's cured, I'm asking if she's safe.”

“We can't know for sure,” Luna relented. “not until tonight when she finishes turning. Even then...”

“So we can never truly be sure?” Celestia stressed, her voice demanding a straight answer.

Luna sighed. “No... we can never be totally sure that Rainbow Dash is safe. But her mind is clear, I did so myself. She's-”

“A possible threat right under our muzzles,” Celestia said firmly. “I've ignored possibilities like this before, and you know well how it ended.”

For a time, Luna was silent, before finally offering a quiet; “Twilight will not be happy; she cares deeply for all her friends, including Rainbow Dash. I believe this incident has only deepened that feeling further...”

“As important as my student is to me, Equestria's safety, as well as her own, takes precedence. I'm sure I can make her see things for what they are.”

“Rainbow?” Twilight repeated, noting the growing frown on Rainbow's muzzle.

“They don't trust me, Twi.”

Twilight blinked, raising an eyebrow. “Don't trust you? What are you talking about?”

Rainbow lowered her hoof and opened the door, making a show of strutting down the stairs as Celestia and Luna turned to look at her. She smiled, making sure her fangs were hidden within her gums. “Princess. What'd we miss?”

Celestia frowned while Luna averted her eyes slightly as Rainbow and Twilight returned to their seats. For a time there was silence, before eventually Celestia tried to break it. “Rainbow, how do you feel?”

“Fine, why?” Rainbow asked, not even trying to mask the accusatory edge in her voice.

Stifling a quiet sigh, Celestia hardened her eyes. “It seems we were overheard. However, that does not change my decision. Rainbow Dash, I'm afraid I must place you under arrest for the safety of Equestria.”

“What!?” Twilight shouted, her jaw dropping. “Y-you can't do that! She hasn't done anything wrong!”

Rainbow failed to hide her surprise at the vigor in which Twilight defended her from the pony that had practically raised her. “Twi, it's fine, if they don't trust me then-”

Twilight whipped her head around. “It is not fine! You haven't so much as tried to hurt anypony, why should you be thrown in prison?”

“Twi... you and I both know that's not true...” Rainbow muttered guiltily.

“What are you... Rainbow, I told you that will never happen again. You're not some mindless monster who deserves to be locked up just because you were turned.”

Celestia cleared her throat, smoothly cutting her way into the conversation. “I thought you of all ponies would understand, Twilight. Is it not your role as a member of the Rising Dawn to kill these creatures before they can harm anypony else?”

“Yes of course, but the monsters we kill are not innocent. They're already dead by time we find them, beyond help, and the ones we find are usually trying to hurt ponies” Twilight protested firmly.

“And what makes Rainbow Dash so different? The fact that she has, temporarily, retained her mind? What would happen if Luna's seal fails, if the curse takes over her mind one day?”

Twilight hesitated a moment, before setting her face into a determined glare. “Then we'd find a way to cure her again.”

“I have already told you, Twilight,” Luna interjected quietly. “A cure may not be possible.”

“That doesn't mean one is impossible!” Twilight argued. “The point still stands that you can't punish her for a crime she might commit. A crime that she'd never commit as long as the curse does not posses her mind.”

Celestia rose from her seat in a single fluid motion. “The matter is not up for debate, Twilight. I'm sorry, but I must insist that Rainbow Dash accompany me back to Canterlot. It is true that she cannot be convicted of a crime she might commit, but I hope she will see why this is a necessary precaution and come with me willingly.

“We cannot be reactive in this matter; we must be proactive. Which means eliminating danger as it presents itself. Including Rainbow Dash,” Celestia explained calmly. “Rest assured that she will be treated well, and this will give us a chance to study her and perhaps create a cure.”

“I'll tell you right now, Princess. I'm not going anywhere,” Rainbow said, keeping the frustration out of her tone as she leveled an even stare at Celestia.

Twilight placed a hoof on the pegasus's shoulder. “I won't let you take her, Princess. If she ever presents a danger then...” she swallowed thickly, closing her eyes and looking away. “I'll do what I have to – but that won't happen!”

“Can you promise me that, Twilight?” Celestia asked, leaning forward over the table and bearing down upon her student. “Can you promise me without any hesitation that, if Rainbow Dash loses herself to the curse, you will... take care of it?”

Twilight nodded firmly, keeping her gaze locked with her mentor's. For a few tense moments there was silence as the two seemed to argue without sharing a single word. Eventually, Celestia broke eye contact.

She sighed as she sat back in her chair. “If this is how it has to be, very well. I trust you, Twilight,, and as much as I worry, I cannot forcefully arrest her before she has done something to earn such punishment. However, in an effort to stem any possible danger I will say this: Until further notice, Rainbow Dash shall be placed under your direct care. Should anything, and I do mean anything, seem off about her, then you must do what has to be done. If you cannot, then you are to contact either myself or Luna and we will take care of the matter. Am I clear?”

Suddenly the bookshelf, sitting quietly on the far side of the room, burst open with a thunderous explosion. All heads turned to look as a single pony emerged from the resulting smoke. A unicorn with a white coat and two-tone blue mane stumbled into the basement, coughing and wheezing.

“Shining!” Twilight cried, knocking her chair to the floor as she rushed over to her brother.

Shining took a moment to catch his breath. “Twilight... princess... hurry; it's the Rising Dawn... we-”

“Are they still fighting?” Twilight asked worriedly.

The stallion shook his head as breath finally returned to his lungs. “No, we were attacked. Dozens of them came through the wall. I don't know how they found us but... they were grabbing everypony, stuffing them in bags and carrying them away.”

“What?” Luna rushed over, freezing in her tracks as her eyes grew wide, staring at the portal hidden behind the bookshelf. Twilight glanced up, following her stare until she found a rather tall unicorn stallion with a red coat and dull blue mane. Seven other ponies stood behind him, each with a matching pair of fangs.

Twilight's jaw nearly dropped when she recognized the faces of all seven of The Ancients.

“Why hello, Nightmare Moon,” the leader's haughty voice called with a chuckle. “Though I suppose you go by Luna now, don’t you? It has been so very long since we last saw each other. Perhaps some catching up is in order. Surely you have time for an old friend?”

Luna's expression grew into a furious snarl as she charged her horn. “Silence! You were never a friend of mine!”

“Tut tut, such anger. Still, I suppose we weren't really friends, were we? No... our relationship was more... master and slave. Or rather, Mistress, I suppose. Still, that was a long time ago, and I have since broken the shackles that bound me to your will. What do you say? Shall we let bygones be bygones?”

Celestia joined her sister as she too lit her horn, the air around the two alicorns crackling with a violent energy. “Who are you?”

The pony smiled, revealing pearly white fangs. “Why, how rude of me. Please, allow me to introduce myself. My name, as given to me by Her Royal Highness Nightmare Moon, is Night Walker. Though times have changed and I have given myself a name more fitting of my power.” He bowed low to the ground, grinning.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Princess. My name is Alucard.”

Author's Notes:

Homage to the most famous vampire ever, reference to one of my favorite anime's, or lazy name design? You decide!

Apologies for the lat upload; was busy today and this monster needed editing.

So, as of today, it's been a month since I finished a new chapter for this story. I'll keep working at it, though, and hopefully have something in two weeks for the next update. I really don't want to take a break right after something this big, and so close to the end of the intro chapters (yeah, we're still just getting thing started here).

For those of you who were wishing to see Dash bite Twi... well, what did you expect? The act of drinking blood is, for Rainbow Dash, accepting what she's become. Until now it wasn't really... real. It was a thing, but it hardly affected her. This was supposed to hit her like a truck.

Don't lose hope yet; I may or may not have plans for an actual bite to occur when the method in this chapter isn't available to them.... oh, yes, so many plans.

Also the flashback had absolutely nothing to do with a certain amazing picture. Nope, didn't influence me at all.

As always, let me know what you thought down below. I'll try to having something more in two weeks, promise. I'll be done my side project in a few days so I'll be able to focus more completely on this.