Twilight Sparkle wakes up, her body aching and throbbing. She tries to open her eyes, but darkness is all she sees. She is tied up and blindfolded. Strangely, her mouth is not gagged. The smell of blood penetrates her nostrils, giving a strange pleasure to her neurons. She speaks loudly:
"Hello? Is anypony there? What is going on?!"
A voice echoes in Twilight's ears. A stallion's deep and raspy voice.
"I see you have awakened. Strange. Most take a week or more to wake up. You took nary but a night."
"Who are you? What's happening? Why do I smell blood?! Where am I?! Where are Rainbow Dash and Spike?! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"
"Are you so loud all the time? Where you are is of no importance. As of your friends, I do not know. I do not care either. You are the important part of the events that occurred yesterday's night."
"What are you talking about? And why am I tied up?"
"The process is painful and makes the body thrash while it sleeps. I don't need a flailing unicorn mare breaking my few possesions while she sleepwalks. Your restrains may have caused you to feel your body throb. It shall stop soon, after your first taste. Now that you are awake, I shall remove them. Make me mad, and I'll put them on again, and this time I will gag you, too."
She feels her bindings untie themselves, and fall down to the floor. The blindfold falls, too. She opens her eyes, and sees nothing.
"What's going on? I can't see. How can you see in this darkness?"
"What the hell? How can you not see? I thought your transformation was complete."
Twilight hears steps. They are heavy and loud, and slightly muffled. Whoever is here, it must be somepony large and heavy, perhaps as big as Big Macintosh. Finally the steps are right beside her. Twilight feels a magic field probing her from the inside of her eyes, then move on to her torso and heart.
"Seemingly, your conversion is not complete yet. Strange. Most don't wake up until they are fully converted. The process drains them from their magic and stamina. You must have great magical ability. You'll make a good servant."
"Servant? What do you mean by servant?"
"I assumed you were a well read mare. Surely you must know the meaning..."
"Of course I know the..."
"BE SILENT, YOU INSOLENT BITCH! I WILL NOT HAVE MY SERVANTS BE SO ARROGANT AS TO INTERRUPT ME! NOW SHUT YOUR FUCKING SNOUT AND LISTEN, YOU IMPUDENT WENCH!"
Twilight tries to scream at who she presumes is her captor, but feels compelled not to, for some reason.
"Now, you will obey my commands because I started your process! And I mean that you will be forced magically to do so! You shall be my slave."
Twilight waits for him to stop speaking before speaking herself.
"Master?" She speaks with all the rage she can muster. "May I ask, what is this process you're talking about?"
"Do you not remember the events of last night?" He pauses for a moment.
"...Of course you don't. I keep forgetting that part. It's like I am being affected myself. I have to speed this up a little. This may feel a little uncomfortable."
Without preamble, the male unicorn casts a spell. Twilight feels ethereal tentacles prod her fur. Now the tendrils are below her skin, giving small shocks to her muscles as they make their way to her head. The sudden impact of the magic in her brain causes her to fall to the floor, unconscious.
She opens her eyes, and feels her head throb and ache, but the strange force that drilled into her skull was gone. She sees the damp walls of a cave, and hears snoring from behind her. Twilight turns around and sees a unicorn stallion.
He has a white coat, and a long, dark blue mane that falls over his head. In the center of his forehead rests a long, thin, pointy horn. Both his body and his mane are covered in dirt, grime and dark red spots, the only clean place being his horn. He is really tall, easily as big as Big Macintosh, possibly taller. He is also quite thin, his ribs showing through his skin. Twilight remembers his somewhat muffled steps and takes a look at his hooves.
What the...? He has fur on his hooves?! Wait a second... I can see! But why? There's no visible light source. Is this what he was talking about?... Why am I thinking about this? I have to write to Princess Celestia so she can help me get out of here, and away from this crazy stallion.
Twilight looks around, looking for anything that she can write upon. There is nothing but rocks and some roots hanging from the roof of the cave. There is no kind of paper, no ink, no quills, nothing of the sort. It doesn't matter to Twilight. She knows spells that would make the roots into paper, and the rocks into ink and a decent substitute for a quill. She starts to focus on pulling the roots off the roof and near her. The roots stay still. Bewildered, Twilight focuses again, to no avail. She feels drained, as if her magic had been taken away. She feels helpless.
She suddenly notices the snoring is gone, and turns around. The white unicorn stands up, and opens his eyes. Twilight takes a look at them. Twilight takes a look at them again, not believing her eyes. They seem to glow, crimson light emanating from the red irises. His eyes are bloodshot, and the whites of his eyes don't look white, instead being colored a soft shade of red.
"What is wrong with your eyes?!" She asks. The stallion just gives her a deadpan look.
"You keep challenging my assumptions of your intelligence. Can you not deduce what's happening?"
"No. I'd need to know more about what's happening to deduce accurately what's happening. I only know that now I can see in the dark without light sources, that I can't do magic, and that it's, somehow, your fault. So please, tell me, what is going on with me? What did you do? Who are you?"
He sighs."Perhaps a more visual demonstration will show you."
The dirt covered stallion stands up and bares his teeth.
He laughs maniacally as he grows fangs and canines. Twilight's eyes grew like plates. He can't... This can't be true. THIS CAN'T BE TRUE!
"THIS CAN'T BE TRUE!" She screams, red tears flowing from the corners of her eyes.
"It can't..." She sobs.
He stops laughing, and stares at her.
"But it is true. You know it now, that the fabled myths are not mythical. You and I are the same, my servant. You..." He paused dramatically. "Are a vampire. And I, Viktor von Reißzähne, am your new master!"
The sun enters through the stained glass at Canterlot Castle's court room, and reflects on the white fur of Princess Celestia. She sits on her throne, listening to her nephew go on and on about his supposed "improvements" on the way she and Luna run the country. She feels thankful that she managed to come up with the spell she now used.
"...and finally, after the relocation of those bloody peasants off Canterlot, and to somewhere more fitting, perhaps Ponyville, you should appoint me as yours and Luna's Councilor and Vizier."
She had divided her mind, one part focusing on Prince Blueblood's droning about the lower classes, while the other distracts itself, checking the balance of the Harmonic Plane. She finds odd the new arrangement the place took, with many floating white panels of energy through a hallway. As she nears one of the panels, it presents her an image of herself, sitting on her throne at Canterlot Castle's court room.
"For the 74th time, Blueblood, those good ponies you referred to as 'bloody peasants' are going to stay. Not only they remind us of the place we would be if we hadn't been born in this luxury, they do most of the hard work around here. Or do you wish to relocate the staff that serves you on your home to Ponyville?"
Blueblood puts his hoof on his chin, looking as thoughtful as he can.
In the planes, Celestia feels something; a dark, looming sensation washing her over. Something is amiss. She looks at the panels, hoping they, perhaps, would tell her what caused this strange shift in balance.
"Nephew, I must go."
"But auntie, you haven't even told me if you would accept me as your vizier. I demand you answer me!"
"Guards, please escort Prince Blueblood out of the castle."
Celestia fuses her mind together into one. Her horn projecting a golden aura, she slides the throne and reveals a door, with a hole in the center. Celestia puts her horn in the hole, and the door glows golden, revealing a coffer studded with diamonds. She opens the chest and looks at the Elements of Harmony.
Her jaw drops in horror at the sight. The tiara emblazoned with Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark, once golden and shiny, is now a dull gray, with a crack in the middle.
This... This cannot be!
A day had passed. Or at least Twilight thinks so. It was hard to tell without the sun, or the sounds of the animals. Time seemed to be meaningless in the cave. Her mind tortures her with images of things to come; Of Princess Celestia’s reaction, of the possibility that the very presence of the princess would harm her, of what she may do to her friends. She noticed, a while ago, an intoxicating smell. She assumes it is blood. She feels weak, and hungry.
I can’t feed. I won’t. She thinks.
The smell tempts her. Twilight knows it won’t harm anypony now, since it was stored now outside their bodies, but still, she refuses to fall in temptation.
“You still don’t drink. I must ask ‘why?’” says Reißzähne. “You have become a superior being, even in servitude to me. We are as gods. And you still care for the lesser races. We are the future. This, you must accept. To your desires, you must now submit.”
“You’d wish that, wouldn’t you? Well, I won’t! I won’t betray Princess Celestia, I won’t betray my friends, and I won’t bow down to you!”
“Kneel.” He orders, his voice full of hatred. She grudgingly obeys.
“And yet you say you won’t bow to me. You are lucky the only thing I can’t make you do is feed. Still, it is a two edged sword. It will be so much more satisfying to break you. Starve, if that’s what you want. Maybe your friends will even forget that you ever existed.” He speaks, an unbearable rage in the coldness of his voice.
Twilight:
I must ask for your and your friends’ presence in Canterlot Castle as soon as possible. I'm afraid something has happened to the Elements of Harmony. This must be resolved as quickly as possible. Please come as fast as you can.
Princess Celestia
An hour has passed since Celestia sent the letter, and no answer has come. Worry painting her factions, she closes her eyes, holds the coffer in her hooves, and disappears in a flash of light. She opens her eyes, knowing her teleportation has been a success. She is in the middle of Ponyville.
"What the..." A passerby mutters, speaking the thoughts of everypony else, before bowing.
"No time for pleasantries, my subjects. Where is Carrousel Boutique?"
Everypony points with their hooves to the carrousel shaped building. Celestia gallops at full speed. She stops to knock on the door, but the door opens by itself.
"What's going on... Princess Celestia?!"
"Time is short, Rarity. We must find the rest of the elements now. I'm afraid something terrible has happened."
"What do you mean, Princess?"
Instead of replying, Celestia opens the coffer, revealing the broken jewel laying within. Rarity's pupils shrink as pinpricks. Without a word, she runs towards the town's library. She opens the door, to see the place is empty. She runs around, opening every door, but no Twilight is to be found, and for that matter no Spike either.
She runs back to the streets. Princess Celestia waits for her there.
"She's not here. She's not here!" She cries.
The words echo in Celestia's mind for a second.
"Let's go get everypony else, quickly!"
"I can't find her! She's not here!" Fluttershy cries out, standing atop Rainbow Dash's house, which is made of clouds. Her voice has become a high pitched shrill from the worry. In the ground, two earth ponies, a unicorn and an alicorn receive the news, their hearts heavy with sorrow.
"What in tarnation should we do now? We can't just wait for them to arrive!" Applejack says, as she held a sobbing Pinkie Pie, her pink hair falling in flat strands, pointing straight to the ground.
"Princess, don't you have a way to search for her? To sense her magic or some fancy stuff like that?"
"I'm doing exactly that, Applejack. However, her magic print is strangely weak. She must be underground, in some sort of cave, with her magic weakened. It's the only way this makes any sense." Celestia says. This only causes everypony to be more worried.
"Wait. What is that..." Everyone looks at her with a glimpse of hope shining in their eyes. "Dragon magic? It's getting close. Everypony, go southeast!"
They gallop southeast, to the border of the Everfree forest. They hear voices yelling.
"HELP! HELP!"
They run to the voice. Flying out of the forest comes a cyan figure, screaming for help, as a purple one rides over the cyan.
"Princess Celestia!" Rainbow Dash and Spike say. "Twilight's been kidnapped!"
"How... How can this be happening?!" Rarity cries, as she turns to comfort Pinkie.
"Rainbow Dash, what happened?" asks Celestia.
It was a nice, pleasant day in Ponyville. The sun shone through the thin clouds that the weather team had laid, the air was dry, but not too much, and the temperature was cool, but not too cold. A rainbow trail moved through the sky, finally landing in front of the door of the library.
This is it, Rainbow Dash. You've been doubting yourself for weeks, but now you're here. You're gonna ask her out. Just, don't screw it up, okay?She thought to herself.
She knocked on the door, and was answered by a voice that said "Coming!". The door opened, and she saw a purple dragon behind it.
"Oh, hi Rainbow Dash"
"Hi, Spike. Is Twilight in here?"
"Yeah, I'll call her. Say, you've been coming over a lot recently."
"Oh, really? I didn't notice." Rainbow Dash said, a bit flustered.
"Wait a second." Spike said as he turned around and went into the tree. Half a minute passed, and a lavender unicorn came out of the library.
"Hello, Rainbow Dash. How are you doing?" Twilight Sparkle said. Rainbow Dash didn't respond, instead looking at her with her mouth slightly ajar, like she had just been subject to an anaesthetic spell. After a few seconds, she shook her head and answered.
"Hi, Twilight..." She said, awkwardly avoiding her friend's gaze, which made her seem a bit like her friend Fluttershy.
Oh crap, I can't do this. I can't! What if she doesn't like me? I don't even know if she likes mares! For all I know, she's straight! What am I going to do?!
She didn't show her nerves, her face instead looking at nothing in particular.
"Rainbow Dash, you're sweating."
The pegasus shook her head twice, suddenly aware of the beads falling from her forehead.
"It's... from flying here. Anyway, I wanted to tell you something..." Her voice trailed off.
Suddenly, the sound of books hitting the floor, followed by Spike's annoyed groan saved Dash from the awkwardness. Twilight quickly turned her head.
"Spike, what happened?"
"Sweetie Belle, that's what!"
"I'm sorry, Spike! I thought I could levitate it!"
"Well, at least it isn't on fire like last time." He deadpanned
Twilight turned around, and walked inside the library. Rainbow Dash's eyes laid on Twilight's form, unfettered by the looks of those passing by, until she caught herself doing so. With Twilight gone for a few seconds, she could put her thoughts in order, steel her resolve and just tell her already.
Seventeen seconds passed before Twilight returned, seemingly satisfied by Sweetie Belle's apology, followed by the white unicorn filly, who ran off to Carrousel Boutique.
"So, Rainbow Dash, you wanted to tell me something?" Twilight Sparkle inquired. Rainbow Dash gulped and sighed.
"Well... IhavesometicketstoagigbyabandandIwantedtoaskyouifyouwantedtogowithmeifyoudon'thaveanythingelsetodo!" Rainbow Dash said. Then she Closed her eyes and looked away, blushing, expecting rejection to hit her, her hopes withering in the air. Twilight stood silent, her brain struggling to process what Rainbow Dash had said, mostly because she spoke quite fast.
A few seconds passed with no answer. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and turned to look at Twilight.
"I'd love to go with you."
HELL YYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rainbow Dash thought eloquently.
"Why did you have to bring Spike with us?"
Why are you so naïve, Twilight?! This was supposed to be a date!
"I just couldn't leave him alone. And Rarity was too busy to take care of him."
Dusk painted the sky red as they waited in line. The auditorium was a tall, grey building made out of concrete. It had windows without glass so the wind would pass easily through the building. One of the walls was covered with a pink banner, with a distorted photograph of the torso of a pony holding a guitar in his hooves. The banner proudly stated "Hearts and Hooves Massacre! Only Tonight!"
Rainbow Dash couldn't avoid feeling strangely neglected by her friend, her plans to woo Twilight Sparkle shattered by her beloved's ingenuity. The tickets felt heavy in her saddlebags. She wondered, exactly, where she had gone wrong.
Perhaps she thought I invited her as just a friend. Hell, I'm not even sure that she likes mares. I should have thought this through. What the hell was I thinking?!
"Tickets, please." She heard a mare say.
She suddenly noticed that she had dozed off, and that she had reached the end of the line.
"Tickets, please." The mare repeated. Rainbow Dash pulled out the tickets from her saddlebags, and handed over to the ticket mare, who then moved aside, revealing a turnstile. Rainbow, Twilight and Spike walk through it, and then walk through some stairs. At the door to the seats was a stallion giving out earmuffs he had in a bucket.
"What are these for?" Twilight asked the stallion.
"The band is legally obliged to give them out in concerts, lest they be sued." The stallion answered. Twilight picked up two pairs of ear muffs, put one on and gave the other to Spike. Rainbow Dash scoffed at the precaution, but still took a pair, putting them in her saddlebags.
At last they took their seats. They were marked G41, G42 and G43. Through the glass ceiling, Rainbow Dash looked at the night sky. Today was a dark night, lit only by numerous stars, as there was no moon. Rainbow Dash frowned and squinted when she saw something floating over the auditorium. The silhouette had the shape of a pony. Rainbow Dash blinked, and the silhouette was gone.
Must've been my imagination.
After a few minutes of waiting, the lights were turned off at the seats, and turned on at the stage. From the left entered two unicorn mares, a unicorn stallion and an earth pony. The earth pony walked to the drums, and the three unicorns proceeded to levitate two guitars and a bass guitar.
"I don't know why they gave us the earmuffs, Twi. I mean, the albums are rather soft sounding, you know?" Rainbow Dash said. She was gathering her resolve to do something, anything, to show what she felt. She shifted in her seat, moving closer to Twilight, until she could almost feel the warmth of her body. Twilight turned to look at her friend, now so close, theey could almost touch. A spark of recognition started to shine in her eyes.
Then, the band started to play. A wave of sound suddenly assaulted Rainbow Dash's eardrums. A scream of anguish left her throat, but went unnoticed by everypony but Twilight and Spike. Twilight's horn lit, a lavender aura inside Rainbow's ears appeared, reconstructing flesh and organs, while Spike took Rainbow Dash's earmuffs and put them in her head.
Damn it, I was so close! Stupid timing!
"Wait for me, I'm going to the bathroom." Twilight said, leaving Rainbow Dash and Spike alone at the exit. They were in the path just outside the concert hall, which was close to the forest. The trees threw shadows that seemed to move, and, though she wouldn't admit it, scared Rainbow Dash a bit.
"Thanks, Rainbow Dash. And I thought you just invited her to, I don't know, date her or something."
Rainbow Dash looked at him, a miserable look on her face.
"I was that obvious, huh?"
Spike blinked, then stared at her for a few seconds, mouth wide open.
"Holy crap, you were?! I was joking!" He finally said, still staring at his friend.
"Hey, It's not like you ruined everything, or something like that. It's just... well, Twi's so naïve, you know? I thought I was being clear with her, about this being a, um, what's the word, uh... intimate thing."
"Well, I heard you and her talk, and you didn't say anything about going with just her. You should've been more obvious about it."
"I was relying on clues, okay?"
"Why?"
"I don't know. I asked Rarity to lend me some of her sappy novels, to prepare myself. It obviously didn't work, though. What do I do?!" She yelled.
"I don't know. You could kiss her, or something." Spike answered.
It was so simple, and yet she hadn't thought about it until now. If her beloved was so innocent, she would state the obvious in an unmistakable way. It was perfect.
This is going to go so well!
Rainbow Dash and Spike heard some steps nearing, and turned around. It was Twilight Sparkle, who walked across.
"Do it now." Spike whispered to Rainbow Dash.
"Hey everypony, ready to leave?" Twilight asked to her friends.
"Actually, there's something I wanted to show you, Twilight. Just close your eyes, and wait."
"Okay... I just hope it isn't some kind of prank." She reluctantly closed her eyes. A few seconds passed before Twilight's curiosity got the better of her and she slightly opened her right eye. She saw for a fraction of a second cyan fur, and felt for a second warm breath in her muzzle.
"Wh-" was all Rainbow Dash heard before her lips smashed against Twilight's. It felt so good, to finally share her feelings with her, to not be misunderstood, to feel the warmth of her skin on her lips. Twilight hesitated for a moment, stunned at the realisation, but then kissed back, opening her mouth a little, running her tongue over Rainbow Dash's. She was enthralled by this new sensation, by the warmth of Rainbow Dash's fur. A minute had gone by, but it felt like hours, hours neither of them would've minded to have passed kissing, until Twilight started to feel out of breath, and broke the contact.
"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked softly. They heard a loud thud, and before Twilight could turn around, she fell to the floor, knocked out. Over her loomed a large unicorn stallion, covered in dirt, whose horn shone a dark blue and lifted Twilight Sparkle.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!!" Rainbow Dash and Spike both screamed as they lunged over the stallion, but in a flash of light, he disappeared, and then appeared back thirty meters away, covered in the shadows of the trees of the Everfree.
"Be lost, you fools, lest you suffer her fate." He said, before running to the insides of the forest.
Spike jumped over Dash's back, and they followed the white stallion into the shadows of the Everfree.
"...and then, after we reached a spot where there wasn't as many trees as before, he just teleported again, and he was gone. We couldn't find him or Twilight anywhere, so we ran, trying to get out of the forest and get a way to contact you, princess. Do you know where se is?" Spike says. He took over the recapitulation of what happened last night, because Rainbow Dash stopped to cry halfway through.
"I don't know that, yet. But, if you could point to the direction from which you came from, I may be able to find her. I hope you didn't get lost." Spike turns around and points ahead.
"Lets go, everypony!" The princess exclaims as she charges on through the trees.
Twilight's stomach roars, desiring to be filled. To distract herself, she focuses on regaining her magical faculties. She tries to pull one of the dangling roots that hang from the ceiling. A lavender aura, covers the plant, and with some effort, it falls to the floor of the cave. She lifts it to her mouth, and bites it. She retches and spits it.
What the hay...? Why was that so bitter? It's a root. It should be only a little bitter, not taste like that! She thinks.
"Did you not like the roots? I myself have sampled them. Sadly, blood does not fully nourish the body. Solids must be taken from time to time. These Everfree trees taste delicious, don't you think?" Reißzähne speaks mockingly, while he lifts a golden vial. The smell that comes from it is amazing.
Twilight refuses to answer to him.
"Answer me." He growls, his voice deep and cold.
"It's bitter."
"Ah, yes, I keep forgetting. Everything tastes bitter, when you haven't drank." He levitates the vial closer.
The smell is irresistibly wonderful. It smelled like one of Pinkie's cupcakes, only a thousand times better. The smell promised warmth and pleasure should it be drank, and Twilight's stomach roars. She walks near, almost touching the flask with her muzzle. She sees the crimson ichor move inside it, oh, so tempting.
"NO! I won't drink it!" She hits the flask with her muzzle, causing it to spill its contents on the floor of the cave. She then eats a bite of the bitter root.
"Suit yourself, my dear." Reißzähne says, and walks until he is facing her. "Such a beautiful face you posses. It's such a pity to see it consumed by hunger." He speaks as he strokes her cheek, leaving the cold trail of his hoof over her face. Twilight shivers. "Why must you do this to yourself? Why do you self inflict this pain? Why do you deny yourself this pleasure?" He continues, his hoof rubbing Twilight's neck.
"Stop it! Get off me!" She screams. She tries to fling him away with her magic, almost by instinct, but to no use. His horn flashes, a ghostly light filling the cave. Twilight is covered in a pale aura. She tries to scream, but her mouth is kept firmly shut.
"Stop me." He mocks, his voice hopelessly cold, as he runs his hoof over Twilight's stomach, slightly prodding, until he finds a soft spot. He then forcefully hits her, knocking the air out of her, then lifts her in his hooves and throws her to the floor.
"I'll break you, through any means necessary. You will obey my every whim." He says as he comes closer. "After this, you'll drink, or else, I'll do it again, and again, and again." Twilight's eyes show her fear, but she can't scream. She stares with growing horror at the stallion, and tries to close her eyes, but he forces them open, as he walks closer.
"I'll fucking break you, and you'll grow to love it." He triumphantly states, as he turns around, and kicks her with all his might, sending her flying across the cave, the sound of cracking bones filling the air. He walks to her, and hits her face with his hoof, leaving a red mark as tears flow over her face. Then, he kicks her, shifting her position with every blow, until they both are looking at the same direction.
"You are mine now." He whispers to her ear, but before his torture could truly begin, they hear the sound of ground being lifted, and see a glowing light entering through the ceiling.
Author's Note
Sorry for the delay. I got stuck thinking on how the fuck I was supposed to continue the story. You may think it was the bit about rape, but no. It was the Rainbow Dash flashback. Hope you liked the chapter. Will be posting chapter III before Halloween.
"What is the meaning of this?" Reißzähne says while he turns around to see the cracks that form on the roof of the cave. White light shines from above the cracks, and as the light touches his coat, his grip on Twilight Sparkle weakens. She struggles against his magical hold, trying to break free, until a searing pain comes, as one of her broken ribs stabs her lung. She tries to cry out in pain, but the grip around her mouth is still too strong, even when weakening by the moment. She tries to move the broken shard of bone, her horn lightly glowing a pale lavender as her aura mixes with Reißzähne's. She feels the bone move outside of the lung, but she doesn't pull it out completely, to avoid internal bleeding. She then tries to move in the opposite way, moving slowly inch by inch.
The roof suddenly starts floating, and makes way for air and sunlight, and Twilight looks up, and sees the silhouette of six ponies, one larger than the others, and a dragon. She suddenly feels Reißzähne's grip on her go, and tries to stand up, but when she does, she feels the bone shard she held in her magic move, and realizes what few magic power she had a minute ago was gone as she feels the bone move inside her lung. She screams in agony, and falls down to the floor.
"Twilight!" She hears, and then sees a flash of blinding, yellow light, as Celestia and her friends appear near her, followed by an anguished scream of pain.
"What are you doing here?! How did you find me?!" Reißzähne screams at Celestia. Celestia turns around, and when she sees the white stallion, a flash of recognition shines on them, followed by a measure of confusion.
"Viktor? You can't be here. You're dead! I saw you and Morning Star die!"
"They never found our bodies, did they? You underestimated my master's gift, Celestia." He smugly spits. "The gift I gave to this mare!"
Twilight can't believe her eyes. Upon her gaze, Celestia's face transformed almost instantly. Just a few instants ago, her eyes displayed sadness and shock as she saw her student's broken body lying on the ground, but now, only a cold and terrible fury shines in Celestia's factions. She walks slowly towards the vampire, who cries out in pain every time she takes a step, as if the princess' very presence is harmful to his body.
"What have you done, Viktor? Why did you do this?"
"Because I can!" He says, laughing mockingly at Celestia.
"You're not going to reason with me, are you, Viktor? Fine, have it your way, if that's what you want." Celestia's horn lights up, and Reißzähne is covered in a yellow aura, and he screams in agony. She brings him until they look eye to eye, and says:
"Where is Morning Star?"
"I'm not going to tell you. I'd rather die than betray my master."
"Where is he?"
"I'd ask my new servant to attack you, but I'd rather not. She didn't obey me when I told her to drink, and I had to discipline her."
"That mare you attacked is my student, Twilight Sparkle. You have one more chance to repent, Viktor."
"Huh. So that's her name... You see, even your student bows to the might of my master's gift."
"Where is Morning Star?"
"Go to hell, Celestia! I'll met you there the day I become a traitor!"
"You leave me no choice." Celestia muttered softly, and then slammed Reißzähne against the wall of the cave. She then turned around to face Twilight.
"Is it true? What he says he did?"
Twilight struggles to breathe through her bleeding lung, but finally gathers the strength to answer.
"Yes, but I haven't drank." she coughs. "He tried to force me to," cough "but I didn't budge, so he beat me up," cough "and tried to rape me." A tear runs down from her eye. "Can you heal me, princess?"
Celestia walks closer to Twilight, and lies down at her side, covering her in the warmth of her wing.
"I can't, Twilight. My magic would burn your insides. But, I can still be near you." Tears running down her face, Celestia nuzzled Twilight Sparkle, and hugged her with her wing.
"So, is he dead, princess?" Rainbow Dash asks. Twilight had fallen asleep a few minutes ago, and everypony else sat around the unconscious stallion, watching over in case he woke up.
"No. Vampires are resistant to physical harm, even when near me or the sun. I merely knocked him out."
"Why? I mean, he's a murderer, and a rapist, and he hurt Twilight! He deserves to die!"
"I didn't know you felt so strongly for Twilight, Rainbow Dash. As for why I have spared him, he's our only chance to fix this. He's the disciple of an old student of mine, Morning Star. Morning Star may be the only one that knows how to reverse this, and Viktor knows where he is. Even if I wanted to kill him, I would have to wait until we know where is Morning Star before doing so."
"But he won't tell! How are you going to do that?!"
"I won't. Luna has her methods, so I will ask for her help." Celestia pulls some grass from the chunks of roof she had pulled off to get to the cave, and, in a yellow flash, a sheet that resembled paper appeared. Another flash, and a small vial filled with ink appears as a chunk of rock disappears. Celestia plucks out one of her feathers, and writes in the sheet.
Luna
Morning Star and Viktor weren't dead, and have returned. I have captured Viktor, and I'll be taking him to you for interrogation on the whereabouts of Morning Star. He also infected Twilight Sparkle. Please, come get us, and bring a carriage. We are in the Everfree forest. I will create a beacon marking our position. Please, come quickly.
Celestia.
Celestia's magic glows a dark green, and the letter combusts, its ashes traveling through the hole in the roof, and with a final yellow flash, a glowing yellow ball appears on the floor.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, VIKTOR VON REIßZÄHNE?!" screams Luna as she flies through the air, a carriage flying behind her. Dark clouds covered the forest, following her, and as she finishes those words, lightning strikes. Reißzähne shakes his head, briefly disoriented after having been woken up after his unconsciousness.
"Oh, you have brought little Luna here with us, Celestia?" He mocks, seemingly without caring for his life.
"You'll see how 'little' she is now, Viktor."
Luna lands, her face contorted in a hateful mask of rage, resembling her former self Nightmare Moon. From her radiated dark energy, covering her in a dark mantle. Her steps rumble through the ground, and her eyes shine pure white.
"It's been a while, hasn't it, Luna? I'm sorry I can't offer yo-"
"BE SILENT, YOU VILE WORM! NOT ONLY DID YOU KEEP ON WITH YOUR SINS, BRINGING DEATH AND PAIN TO COUNTLESS PONIES, YOU DARED TO INFECT OUR SISTER'S APPRENTICE WITH YOUR WRETCHED POISON, AND YOU DARE TO JEST IN FRONT OF US! WE ARE BEING MERCIFUL BY ONLY MAKING YOU TALK! YOU AND THAT MASTER OF YOURS DESERVE PUNISHMENTS WE DECRIED AS TOO HORRIBLE TO CONSIDER WHEN THE NIGHTMARE POSSESSED US!"
"Oh, are you done? My ears are ringing. And yes, I did give her the gift, and there is nothing you can do about it. You could kill me, but you don't have what it takes. Even when you were Nightmare Moon, there wasn't much death. Strike me down if you dare! Are you not an Ali-"
"WHEN WE ARE DONE WITH YOU, YOU'LL BE WISHING DEATH WOULD HAVE COME SOONER THAN US!" Luna yells at him, as a dark aura covers his muzzle, rendering him unable to speak.
"Where will you take him, Luna?" Celestia asks.
"To the ruins of our old castle, Celestia. There will be dark magic at play, and we'd rather keep it off Canterlot Castle. Goodbye, sister, and may you have luck." Luna's horn shone blue, and a dark spot appeared in the air. Luna drags Reißzähne near her as she walks to the spot. She sinks her hoof in it, and darkness cover her and the white stallion, and after a few seconds, their shapes dilute into nothingness.
The carriage, pulled by two thestrals, lands near the entrance to Ponyville's hospital. Rainbow Dash carefully lifts Twilight and puts her on her back. Everypony enters the hospital.
"What the... Princess Celestia?!" says a nurse with white coat and a pale pink mane. She quickly bows before looking at the battered body of Twilight Sparkle.
"Wait for a second, I'll bring a stretcher." the nurse says, as she runs through a hallway, and quickly she is back, pushing a bed with wheels. Rainbow Dash carefully positions Twilight on the bed. The nurse disappears in the halls of Ponyville's hospital.
"What will happen now, Princess?" Pinkie Pie asks, her mane hanging in a straight curtain over her eyes.
"Now, Pinkie Pie, we wait." Celestia answers, a tear running down her cheek.
"Princess, I'm afraid Twilight isn't reacting to the medication." Nurse Redheart says.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, while we've managed to put her broken bones back in place, the healing spells we tried to use to mend her bones and her lung didn't work, and there isn't compatible blood for a transfusion. She has little time."
A few minutes pass, as Celestia made up her mind. If she didn't feed Twilight, she would bleed to death, but who knows what wold happen if the blood entered her system. She had wondered, at times, if Morning Star's and Reißzähne's condition had clouded their judgement, driving them to the bloody violence of their lives.
"Give her the transfusion."
"But the blood isn't compatible! She might die from that!"
"Please, just try it." Celestia says, her eyes betraying her desperation.
"Okay, but I'm not sure it would help in any way. Please, follow me."Says Nurse Redheart, slightly fazed and surprised at seeing the princess so vulnerable. The princess followed the nurse through a long, white hallway, and they stop at a door labeled 'Transfusions'. Nurse Redheart enters the room, and walks out holding a bag of blood. They make their to room 162, where Twilight Sparkle lies in a bed, her torso covered in bandages, a catheter connected to her right hoof. A machine alongside Twilight's bed show a X ray image of her body, showing her broken ribs, held in place only by the bandages in her body. A beeping, regular sound is heard to another machine, connected to a mask Twilight wears, covering her mouth and nose.
Nurse redheart disconnects the serum being given to Twilight from the catheter and puts the blood bag in. The dark red liquid starts to flow into her veins. Five minutes pass without reaction.
"Strange, they tend to react negatively to the incompatible blood around this time."
"Look, nurse!" Celestia exclaims, as she points with her hoof to the X ray display. Slowly, the bone start to mend, and after three minutes, Twilight skeleton is as good as new.
"This is impossible! The magic wore off already!" Nurse Redheart says as she runs to the X ray machine, and pushes a few buttons. The display switches to a view of Twilight's internal organs, the hole in her lung gone.
Celestia walks near her student and nuzzles her, tears flowing from her eyes. She is safe now.
I saved her! But, have I damned her by saving her life? What if there is no cure? What have I done?
Author's Note
I promise next chapter will actually feature Twilight as a protagonist, and so will most of the rest of the fic. I just wanted to use this chapters to show how crappy life will be now for Twilight. Hopefully, next chapter will be ready for Christmas. This is because I want to start another fic.
Reißzähne can tell he is shrouded in magical darkness, as if it was natural, he would see clearly. Time had been a blur since Luna took him away, but if he had to guess, it couldn't have been more than a day. He had tried to move, but it was of no use, as he discovered when he felt the bindings in his hooves.
So, that's what it feels like.
He feels a rush of air run over his belly as he starts to float, and then it stops as he is put over a cold metal sheet. He feels his limbs move, and more cold metal snaps over his hooves, keeping him in place. The darkness dissolves, and he sees himself in the ruins of the old castle in the Everfree forest, a bright, white light showering over him from a glowing crystal.
"Brace yourself, Viktor von Reißzähne. Your interrogation is about to begin." He hears Luna at the end of the room, and she sees her come near him.
"If you wanted me to fuck you, Luna, you could've asked. I may have even accepted, although you are nowhere near as attractive as Celestia is, or even her little student."
"Are you so gone from equinity that you only think about sex and blood? Truly, you are pathetic." She walks nearer, almost touching him. Reißzähne hears her heartbeat, growing closer and closer, and futilely tries to release himself from the metal holding him prisoner. She stares at him in the eye, then closes her eyelids, and her horn starts to glow a dark blue.
"I'll have you know that I, with help of my master, have grown to complete immunity to truth revealing spells. It is futile to try, and I will gladly enjoy whatever torture you can muster."
"We shall see, Viktor, how truthful is that." Her voice has deepened. The dark blue in Luna's horn changes to a sick dark purple, and her eyes emit a similar light. She opens her eyelids, her pupil a vertical slit, the whites of her eyes a light turquoise. He sees her smile, her teeth now pointed, before falling into unconsciousness.
"...sample, I need a..."
"...presents double the amount of..."
"...hell is going on?"
"...strange is going on, Princess. I think..."
Twilight slowly blinks twice as she wakes up. She looks around, wondering if she just passed out and the last two days had been just a nightmare. She tries to speak, but her throat is dry. She looks for a button to call for a nurse, and she finds it behind her head. She presses it.
Seven seconds pass, and Nurse Redheart shows up. She stares at Twilight, her pupils stretched wide.
"You've awakened, Miss Twilight." She finally says, her voice oddly cold.
"Yeah, could you bring me some water, please?" Her eyes daze off for a second, as if she hadn't heard right, then she turns around and walks out of the room.
"Twilight!"
A cyan blur enters the room, and almost crashes over Twilight.
"Twilight! I was so worried about you! I thought you were gonna die..."
Twilight takes a good look at Rainbow Dash. Marks of long dry tears cover her face, as do wet spots from recently cried ones. There are bags under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept in various days. Her mane is more disheveled than usual, and wild hairs stick out. Her eyes betray a slight nervousness inside of the look of joy.
"That I was going to lose you."
Again, the kiss takes her by surprise. The sweet contact makes her blush, but it ended quickly, much to her chagrin. But when she looks at Rainbow Dash, something in her eyes had changed. The nervousness was gone, replaced by pure, unadulterated bliss. Twilight near her face to Dash's, and kisses her deeply. Time flies by as they kiss, lost in their happiness, until Twilight hears a soft thumping grow stronger at each passing second. She breaks the kiss.
"Dash, could you move to the other end of the room?"
"What for?"
"Could you just do it?"
"Okay..." Rainbow Dash gives Twilight a puzzled look, but moves off Twilight and to the wall at the other end of the room. As she moves the thumping gradually becomes softer.
That's.. her heartbeat. I could hear her heart so loudly. But why... It all was true.
"It all happened." Twilight mutters softly. Rainbow Dash turns her head, and sees the anguish in her eyes. She walks near Twilight and hugs her, as tears run over their faces.
Author's Note
A short interlude to set up the next chapter.
Also, based on my experiences in writing this fic, I've come to understand how hard it is to write good romantic subplots. Just wanted to say that.
