Dark Laughter

In Pinkie Pie's dreams, she was frolicking through a field of red flowers, feeling happier than she had in a long time. Pinkie bent down and nibbled on the crimson petal of a daffodil, and was surprised that it didn't taste or smell floral and sweet, instead it was salty and tangy, like a rusty penny (don't ask she knew what that tasted like). Pinkie started giggling at the funny taste, and was soon laughing hysterically.

"Salty flowers! That's just...hahaha!" Pinkie squeaked, laughing so hard tears came out of her eyes as she took another bite of the red daisy.

Pinkie looked up as she heard the sound of hoofsteps. There, on the other side of the red meadow, was Fluttershy, facing the other way, wearing a crown of red daisies. Pinkie galloped up to meet her friend, beaming.

"Fluttershy! These flowers are salty! Isn't that just the funniest thing you've ever seen?"

Fluttershy turned around, and Pinkie gasped as she turned back into Flutterbat. "Pinkie Pie, don't you know what these flowers are?"

"Besides hilarious?" Pinkie quipped.

"They're blood."

"What?" Pinkie screamed as all the petals on the flowers melted, turning into hot red liquid. The liquid kept rising, and rising. Up to Pinkie's stomach, her back, her neck, her chin, threatening to drown her.

"Fluttershy, help me!" Pinkie yowled to the bat-pony, who was flying above the blood torrent.

"Pinkie Pie..." Fluttershy whispered, sounding far away.

"Help me! Please!" Pinkie pleaded. But all that came out was a gurgle; the red liquid was past her mouth, covering her eyes.

The last words Pinkie heard before she was sucked under were, "Pinkie, wake up!"

Pinkie jolted up in Fluttershy's bed, sweating and shaking. Wait...why was she in Fluttershy's bed? There was something super-duper big that had happened last night, something Pinkie couldn't put her hoof on.

"Good morning, Pinkie. I'm glad you're awake," A quiet voice said from off to Pinkie's left. Pinkie turned her head to the side, her fluffy mane bouncing, and saw Fluttershy...except she wasn't Fluttershy. She was Flutterbat! Pinkie was about to scream when memories of the night before came rushing back to her. Going to Fluttershy's house, learning that she was a blood-sucking bat-pony, letting Fluttershy drink her blood.

"Morning, Flutters!" Pinkie said, beaming, as the initial shock wore off.

"Are you...okay?" Fluttershy asked.

"Fine as a fiddle!" Pinkie replied happily, checking herself to see if she was hurt in any way. Her blue eyes focused on two little puncture marks on her left foreleg. That was where Fluttershy bit her. Pinkie was pretty sure she was imagining it, but some of her fur around the bite looked a bit darker.

"Thank Celestia," Fluttershy said. "It was so hard to stop d-drinking. I thought...I thought I was going to kill you!" A few tears pushed their way out of her eyes.

"Don't be sad! You didn't, and that's all that matters! Are YOU okay now?"

Fluttershy nodded. "Yes. I'm not...thirsty anymore."

A sweet aroma filled the air, and Pinkie's stomach growled. "Whoa! You might not be thirsty, but I'm hungry! What's for breakfast?"

"I made pancakes. With sweets added in, because I knew you'd like that. Besides, you're supposed to eat sweet things after you, er, donate blood." Fluttershy didn't mean this as a joke, but Pinkie guffawed anyway, making her smile. Pinkie never failed to do that.

Fluttershy helped Pinkie out of bed, as the party pony was still a bit woozy from blood loss, and led her into the kitchen, where Fluttershy served Pinkie a heaping plate of pancakes and a glass of orange juice.

"Mmm!" Pinkie squealed as she dug in. "These are de-lish! Are you gonna have some?"

"I don't think I can. I managed to eat normal food when I was still fighting the bat-pony urges...but just the thought of eating makes me sick now."

"More for me, then!"

Once Pinkie was finished with her breakfast, Fluttershy sat down across from her at the table. "Pinkie, we need to talk. I don't know what I'm going to do now."

"We're going to Twilight's to have her put up the spell again, remember, silly?" Pinkie prompted.

"Well, that would be great, but the spell would just w-wear off again after a while."

"We should still do it anyway!"

"I guess you're right. It's only a short-term solution, but it's all we've got right now," Fluttershy mused.

"Then let's go!" Pinkie stood up, seemingly better.

"Wait!" Fluttershy tried to shout as Pinkie began to rush out of her cottage. "I can't b-be seen like this in town."

"Hm, yeah," Pinkie agreed, zooming back in in an instant. "We'll have to be spies to sneak through town! But first we need some dark outfits..."

"Um, I was thinking of another way," Fluttershy breathed. Pinkie hardly heard her, but froze in her tracks as she ran to Fluttershy's room to look for dark clothing. Normally, Pinkie would've just ignored Fluttershy, but she knew her friend was on edge right now, and needed her attention.

"What's your idea?" Pinkie asked, trying to sound respective.

"Well, Twilight's library is at the edge of Ponyville, so I was thinking that we could go around Ponyville and come in from behind. That way nopony in Ponyville will see us."

"Wow, that's a much better idea! And we'll get to take a cool nature walk through the Everfree Forest while we're at it!"

"What?" Fluttershy whimpered.

        "Well, the forest surrounds town," Pinkie reasoned. "We'll have to cross through it!"

        "Actually, you know what, I'm liking y-your idea better now," Fluttershy chuckled nervously. "I'm pretty sure I have some spy outfits for the two of us..."

        "C'mon, we've been through that forest so many times now! It's not scary at all!"

        "To me it is!"

        "Yeah, maybe if you were just some little pegasus," Pinkie said. "But look at you! You're a big, menacing, fanged, winged bat-pony! All those monsters'll be running for cover!

        "You really think so?" Fluttershy looked at herself. She did look terror-inducing. "Okay, we'll do it," Fluttershy agreed. Pinkie cheered, and bounced outside, Fluttershy trailing behind. But just as Pinkie was about to leave Fluttershy's cottage, she fell to the ground, grasping at her mouth with her hooves. "Owowowow, my teeth!"

         "Did I put too much sugar in the pancakes?" Fluttershy asked nervously.

         "No way! There's no such thing as 'too much sugar' for Pinkie Pie!" But just as she said this, Pinkie let out a small yelp and fell unconscious. Fluttershy dashed forward and pried the zoned out Pinkie's hooves from her mouth. Fluttershy felt around with her own hoof in Pinkie's mouth, looking for rot or gum disease. What she found was much, much worse.

          "Oh, no," Fluttershy cried. She looked at Pinkie's teeth and saw them elongate and sharpen to become fangs.