Night Crawlers

A flight over the village revealed a group of ponies heading home from somewhere, talking and laughing. Oh, how Spirit envied their freedom. A purple earth pony, a pale yellow unicorn, and a pink earth pony. The pink one bounced instead of walked. She stopped and slowly began to circle the three like a bird of prey. This would be tricky. She'd have to somehow get two of them away from a third, then the rest would be easy. She descended further, so her dry, ominous wing beats could be heard. The yellow unicorn was the first to turn around, her eyes growing wide in panic.

"Um, guys, I think I'm going to head home." She then ran at a full on gallop.

The purple one was the second to say she was going, then ran after the unicorn, her heart pumping faster. Spirit could feel it.

"Hey! Wait for me, you guys!" The pink one called after them. When they wouldn't stop, she slumped a little. "Bummer." Then she caught sight of Spirit. Spirit bared her fangs in a smile. This one would be easy pickings.

The pink one slowly began to back away, then started running as fast as her legs could carry her. She was no match for Spirit's aerial speed, however, and the vampony quickly closed in on her, tackling her to the ground.

"Oh, I do love a good chase." Spirit licked her lips.

"D-don't hurt me, please-we can be friends, can't we? I'm Pinkie Pie!" The pink pony perked up.

Spirit leaned down to feed. She brushed aside a bit of her prey's curly mane.

"Wait...you're going to kiss me? That's pretty forward, but maybe that's how you greet ponies where you're from-"

The rest of her words were drowned in a scream.

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Sweetie Belle was reading. Reading was pretty much the only thing to do, and it was all she really felt like doing besides sitting and looking out the window. She glanced at the clock. It was barely three in the morning.

There was a knock on the door, and Sweetie Belle yawned and assumed her usual position; peeking around the wall to see who it was, and hear the conversation.

"Twilight?" It was Mrs. Cake.

"Yes?" Twilight looked up from her book, yawning, and headed over to the door.

Mrs. Cake looked disheveled and flustered. "Pinkie's been attacked. We thought you'd like to know."

Twilight's pupils shrank. "Sweetie Belle! We're going to the hospital." Sweetie dashed down the stairs, abandoning the book she'd been reading on her bed. They ran until they got to the hospital.

Blinking magical lights were everywhere. Pinkie Pie was being carried on a stretcher. She looked so fragile, so weak. Emergency workers were everywhere, but Pinkie was oblivious; the only sign she was even alive was the occasional whine of pain and the steady rise and fall of her chest as she breathed in and out. Twilight whipped her head around, searching for some pony who could tell them what was going on. She barely noticed Sweetie Belle clinging to her leg. "Ah! Excuse me! Nurse Redheart!" Redheart heard Twilight's shouts and came over. "Do you know anything about what happened to Pinkie Pie?"

"She was attacked. We don't know by what, but she's very weak from blood loss and that was made worse by her running. She should be fine, but I really must get back. You'll be able to see her tomorrow." Nurse Redheart dashed off.

Twilight looked down at Sweetie with a gentle gaze. "Come on, Sweets. Let's go home. Nurse Redheart said we can see her tomorrow."

The two headed home, the sirens following them away.

**************

They headed into the hospital. "You go ahead and sit down, Sweetie, I'll tell them we want to see Pinkie Pie." Twilight walked over to the desk and began talking to the receptionist.

Sweetie took her book and sat down. She had been reading about vamponies and various other supernatural creatures in the hopes of discovering what attacked Rarity. She found the book rather interesting, 'Vamponies and Other Members of the Occult'. Flipping through the pages, one caught her eye. She flipped back and found a blurry picture of a winged pony. The caption read;

"Supposed sighting of a vampony in northwest Fillydelphia"

She continued reading, but she didn't get very far when Twilight signaled for her to come over. "Pinkie is in the same room as Rarity. We'll be able to see her while we're here." Sweetie Belle gave a little bounce of glee.

They entered the room. Rarity waved. She was looking a lot better, but she was still weak. Pinkie Pie looked terrible.

Her hair was no longer poofed up, and was instead messy and wavy, not quite Pinkamena style. Her eyes were closed, but Sweetie Belle would bet her flank they were bloodshot and tired-looking. Her coat was pale, and she barely moved par breathing. The heartbeat monitor next to her bed beeped, but even her heartbeat seemed faint, as if it wasn't sure the next beat was worth it. She was asleep.

She suddenly jolted awake, her heart beating faster as indicated by the monitor. Breathing hard, she caught sight of the two visitors. "Oh, hi guys." Her voice had lost its usual pep and speed, instead talking a little slower than a normal pony, and she sounded sad. Sweetie was right; her eyes were bloodshot. She was unrecognizable.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Sweetie Belle pulled out the strongest weapon in her arsenal - her sheer fillylike cuteness. Pinkie reached out a hoof and patted Sweetie absently. "Yeah."

"I remember going out with Vinyl and Berry... Vinyl was in Ponyville for a while, and we wanted to do something special...  then Vinyl said she was going to go, and started running... then Berry started running.... I didn't see... that thing...that was following us.... I saw it behind me.... I started running.... it caught up to me and tackled me.... it leaned down... then I remember screaming.... then some pony picked me up on a stretcher and carried me here...I must have fallen asleep at some point."

Pinkie stared vacantly at the wall behind her. Sweetie Belle climbed up on Pinkie's bed, and quietly began to sing. "It's true some days are dark and lonely..."

Rarity joined in, her voice somewhat hoarse. "And maybe you feel sad, but Pinkie will be there to show you that it isn't that bad." She started coughing. Twilight patted her.

Pinkie perked up. "There's one thing that makes me happy, and makes my whole life worthwhile! And that's when I talk to my friends and get them to smile!" She giggled. "I can't believe you still know the words. Here's some water, Rares." She pushed Rarity's water cup a little closer to her. "Thank you, darling." Rarity went to pick it up with her hooves.

"No, bad Rarity!" Pinkie shook her head. "You're supposed to try and use your magic more, so you can build your strength back up. Doctor's orders!" Rarity sighed and levitated her cup. The glow around it was dim and flickering a little, but steady. Pinkie clapped. "That's progress! She almost dropped it earlier." Pinkie added.

Rarity smiled weakly. "Yay." She sipped her water.

"Pinkie, do you know what attacked you?" Twilight took on a serious tone, or as her friends called it, "her Canterlot voice".

Pinkie instantly deflated, like a pink pony-shaped balloon. "It...was a pegasus, but at the same time it wasn't. You know Luna's guards last Nightmare Night?" The three ponies listening nodded. "She looked like that. I could tell it was a she, because her nose was curved. Her coat was pale, like buttermilk."

Silence filled the room. The same creature that attacked Rarity.

"The plot thickens." Rarity whispered, then began coughing again.