BloodLust

Chapters

Once Bitten, Twice Fluttershy
Crimson Nectar
Love at First Bite
A Silver Lining?
Gee, Fangs a Lot
Turn Around, Bright Eyes
Dangerous Desires
A Race Against Time
Hunger
Epilogue: Eternal Love

Once Bitten, Twice Fluttershy

It was late that night when Fluttershy heard something heavy hit her window.

The little Pegasus was startled out of her sleep with a gasp, sitting upright and nearly hurling Angel Bunny, whom she'd been cuddling with, across the room in the process. "I'm sorry, Angel..." she whispered "I didn't mean to give you a jolt." Fluttershy turned to look out her window; outside, she only saw the full moon, but could tell by some saliva spattered on the glass that something had rammed into it. "Let's go outside and see if our visitor is still here, huh Angel?" she said in her dulcet, singsong-y voice. The white rabbit huffed, just wanting to go back to sleep.

Making her way downstairs, Fluttershy was only slightly nervous as she stepped softly towards her front door. Sure, she didn't know what awaited her, but for all she knew, there could be some poor animal in need of her help. Hopping down from atop her pink-maned head, Angel landed on a stand near the door. He struck a match to light the candle that was sitting nearby. Fluttershy took the long metal handle of the candleholder between her teeth and stepped outside, walking around to the back of her cottage, just below the window where the collision had taken place.

Her blue eyes scanned the environment, but couldn't quite pick up anything unusual at a precursory glance. However, it didn't take long for the dim candlelight to cast itself upon something on the ground: something small, furry, and moving.

Fluttershy gasped and nearly dropped her candle.

Feebly attempting to crawl away was what appeared to be, for all intents and purposes, a vampire fruit bat. Fluttershy's mind quickly conjured up memories of the infestation that had occurred at Sweet Apple Acres many years earlier, and how her friends had told her she'd been magically transformed into a fruit-sucking bat pony. Nonetheless, she didn't resent the bats; in fact, she loved them as much as any animal, and managed to get a portion of the orchard set aside for them. Now, it appeared that this particular bat, who must have gotten lost to be so far away from the orchard, needed her help.

"Oh, you poor little thing." Fluttershy thought. "Let's get you inside, shall we? Fluttershy will take good care of you." Gingerly, she knelt on her forelegs and scooped the injured bat up in her soft, feathery wings. The bat hissed in protest, but otherwise did nothing towards its pony protector.

After getting the bat inside, where Angel and her other animal friends had lit more candles and lanterns, Fluttershy could see that there was something very wrong with this creature. The crash into her window must have been caused by the injury to its right wing: it almost looked as though a predator had attempted to rip it off. There was a great tear up the patagium, which was slowly bleeding, and the bat's "arm" had what appeared to be bite marks. Additionally, now that she was in brighter light, she could tell that this wasn't a fruit bat. It was smaller overall, with shorter wings, smaller ears and eyes, a bigger nose and claws, and all around sharper teeth. Indeed, Fluttershy didn't quite know just what it was. "Well, I've never seen a bat like you around before." She pondered aloud. Her eyes glanced back down at the torn membrane, and she winced. "Ooh, you're hurt pretty bad... and the vet's not in until the morning..." Fluttershy bit her hoof nervously and glanced at Angel, who was nervously wringing his paws.

The yellow Pegasus swallowed hard. "Ohhhh, I know what I have to do, but neither of us is going to like it..." She picked up the bat in her wings again, who again hissed in protest, more loudly this time. Walking over to a nearby wall and knocking her hoof against it, a secret door slid back, revealing a staircase leading underground, lit by candles in wall sconces.

"Mama Fluttershy can fix it, little one... down in her secret knitting cave..."

Below, in a room covered wall to wall in soft creations of hers, Fluttershy laid the bat down on its back on her workbench. Going to her closet, she dug around in her ample supply of materials. She took out a spool of black thread, handing it to Angel without looking, and kept rifling through containers. Knitting needles would be far too big, she knew. She needed... "Aha!" she exclaimed. She'd finally found a fine sewing needle, much like Rarity used.

Back at her workbench, she held the bat's wings down with her own, using a spare cloth held in her muzzle to clean up the bloodied wing while Angel strung the needle with thread. The bat acted as though it knew what was going to happen, and protested the impending operation by screeching its head off. Once she was done with cleanup, Angel handed the threaded needle to Fluttershy, who looked down at the bat longingly.

"Oh, I'M SORRY, LITTLE BAT!" She squeaked out, almost on the verge of tears.

Holding the needle gingerly between her hooves, she began the delicate, lengthy process of sewing up the torn patagium, pushing the needle through with a hoof, carefully pulling it through with her teeth, trying not to prick herself, and repositioning the needle to repeat, one stitch at a time. The bat was screaming louder than ever, but that wasn't the only thing wrong with it: it had begun salivating at the mouth, and the whites of its eyes, though bloodshot at first, soon became a full, rich red. Angel, guarding his sensitive ears from the patient's squalling, quickly grabbed a cotton ball and stuffed it in the bat's mouth, feeling proud with himself. Alas, this only served to make the bat angrier; it spit the cotton back into Angel's face, who tumbled backwards off the workbench.

By this time, Fluttershy was just putting the final stitch in the bat's wing, upon which she cut the thread with her teeth and reared back to admire her work. "There, little bat, isn't that better? You should be able to fly again after a few days..." She reached her left forehoof forward to stroke its fuzzy stomach... which was a mistake.

The bat managed to work enough of its wings out from under hers to allow it to lash forward, sinking its fangs into the flesh just above Fluttershy's hoof. She screamed from the pain and being startled, falling backwards onto the floor. The bat, in a superpowered rush of adrenaline, took a couple long strides and leapt into the air, completely ignoring its pain. It flew out of the cracked front door, never to be seen again.

Wincing, Fluttershy rolled onto her hooves, Angel doing what he could to assist her in standing. "Well that wasn't very nice." She muttered in a pouty voice. Glancing down at her hoof, there were two dripping red dots where she'd been bitten, but other than that, she was no worse for wear. Some of her animal friends, having already observed what happened from the stairs, rushed to get her some bandages. Fluttershy applied a gauze wrap to her foreleg and flew back up to bed, her hoof still feeling tender to walk upon.

By the next morning, the bite marks would be mostly gone... though the marks were not all the bat had given her.

Author's Note

Please excuse the title of this chapter; I know, it's overused, it's cringey, but I like it. Prepare to see a lot more title puns as I write more chapters.
Not my first FiMFic, but my first here.
Hope you enjoyed!

Crimson Nectar

When the sun rose, accompanied by the pleasant chirping of birds, the pink-haired pony rolled out of bed. Testing her injured hoof, she found that a night of sleep had done it good, and it was now much less painful to walk upon. When she removed the bandages, which weren't stained with very much blood, she realized that the bite mark was hardly visible, mostly covered by her plush yellow fur. With a small smile and a nod of approval, she fluttered downstairs for breakfast.

After about five minutes, and with help from her animal friends, Fluttershy had prepared herself a nice variety of foods, spread out across her kitchen table. She rubbed her hooves together in anticipation. "Alright little ones, let's dig in!" she said cheerfully. As the animals all began devouring their preferred breakfast treat, Fluttershy daintily sampled some oatmeal.

But something didn't taste right. "Hmm" she thought. "Maybe it just needs more sweetening." Yet no matter how much butter or sugar she added, the oatmeal still tasted like dirt. "Well, that's odd." she said aloud. She reached for a teacup to cleanse her palate, yet the tea, too, was revolting. "Ech!" She spat it back into her china. Fluttershy became frantic, wondering if somehow all of her food had gone bad at once. She quickly grabbed the pitcher of milk on the table and proceeded to chug it, but could barely get started before retching. The whole thing tasted sour! When she bit into the toast, though it was golden-brown and buttery, it tasted blackened and burnt. A bead of sweat formed on her fair forehead. She flew up to her cabinet, reaching into the back for the bag of coffee beans that Rarity had gotten her on her last trip to Canterlot. Before her hoof could touch it, she remembered that she thought coffee tasted bad under normal circumstances, so this probably wouldn't help.

Not far from it, though, she noticed a bright orange carrot, fresh and tempting. Swift as a Wonderbolt, she grabbed it up and took a bite. It tasted as though it had sat in the earth for millennia and had borne thousands of generations of weevils. Fluttershy shuddered at the taste, but thought that she needed something in her system. She forced herself to down the whole carrot, greens and all. "There!" she said, feeling accomplished. "That wasn't so bad, was it, Fluttershy?" Her petite stomach rumbled in response.

Minutes later, she was throwing up in the sink.

"This is ridiculous!" she said once Angel had cleaned her muzzle up. "Friends, I think I'm going to have to go out and eat. Surely something in Ponyville is palatable, right?" Fluttershy took a minute to prepare herself to face the world before fluttering out the door; just to take a chance, she sampled the green grass of her front lawn. It too, tasted as though it had been coated in garbage. She spat out the foliage and fluttered away towards town, the local deer shooting her confused looks.

At Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie was pleasantly perplexed by her friend's request.

"You want... ALL the cakes?"
"Um... yes. I'd like to sample everything you've got."
As Fluttershy looked about the shop awkwardly to check for anypony's attention, Pinkie took advantage of her distraction to confront a chaotic inner monologue only she and Discord could possibly follow. "SHE WANTS ALL THE CAKES!"

The pink party pony began serving up various colorful dishes posthaste, with the kind of hyperactive gymnastics that must counteract all the junk food she eats. Fluttershy took a single bite of each, trying her best to keep a straight face as she internally grimaced with each horrid flavor. The chocolate, the vanilla, the cinnamon, pumpkin spice, and mint... all they tasted like was dirt, mud, ash, emptiness, and disappointment, in no particular order. After Pinkie Pie had dished her up close to 100 cakes in just under three minutes, Fluttershy wiped her mouth with a napkin and stood to leave.

"Aww, where ya goin', Fluttershy?" She asked, a look of disappointment beginning to creep in. "We've still got 1,256 more cakes to go!" "I'm sorry, Pinkie," said Fluttershy "but I think I'll have to take a rain check on the rest." The pink pony paused, perplexion pervading her profile. "Is it Number 1,257? Because I thought I hit the buttercream a liiiiiiittle too heavily on that one." The Pegasus shook her head. "No, Pinkie, it was... fine. I'm just, um... I'm full, that's all, so, uh... how about we continue this at a later date?"

Pinkie Pie was busy digging into Number 1,257. "Sounds good to me!" she said through icing-covered lips.

Fluttershy made a rush for the door, but on her way tripped over some toys the Cake Twins had left on the floor. Stumbling forward into the wooden door, it swung outward swiftly, but Fluttershy caught herself. After a moment, she noticed that the door had impacted something very solidly; this was followed by a loud "OW!" from the other side. Stepping outside and closing the door, Fluttershy found a blue, rainbow-maned Pegasus rubbing her nose. "Oh! Rainbow Dash, I am so very sorry! I-I-I tripped a-and fell into the door and..." Rainbow righted herself and patted Fluttershy's shoulder with a hoof. "Aw, it's okay, Fluttershy! Accidents happen, am I right?"

"Yes, I suppose s--" Fluttershy started to speak, but cut herself off after noticing something.

A fine trickle of red liquid was exiting the Pegasus' nostril.

She must have smashed into the door hard enough to trigger a nosebleed. Fluttershy was captivated by this red droplet. So gently it caressed her nose, pulled downward by force of gravity into a bulging droplet leaving its scarlet trail down her cyan face. So radiantly did it glisten in the sunlight, each ray glinting off the liquid's tense surface putting Fluttershy deeper into her trance. It looked marvelous to her eyes; no wonder Rainbow was so energetic, so full of vim and vigor... she had the most succulent, crisp, resplendently red lifeblood flowing inside her.

"Rainbow, you're... you're bleeding..." said Fluttershy softly, reaching her hoof forward to wipe the droplet away and present it to her. Rainbow Dash recoiled, putting her own hoof to her nose and retrieving a similar splatter. "Oh shoot, you're right!" she said with surprise. "I'd better see the doctor about this, huh?" She quickly put her head to the window of the door she'd impacted, calling inside to Pinkie Pie.

"Hey Pinkie?! Can I come back later and pick up Scootaloo's birthday cake?"
The pink pony behind the counter nodded and said something, though her mouthful of buttercream icing muffled whatever it was.
"I'll see you around, Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash parted with a small smile and zoomed off into town.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy still stood on the front stoop of the bakery, astounded by the ruby bead she held on her hoof. Rapt with morbid curiosity, something deep inside her told her that this, among all things, would be edible.

Slowly, carefully, she put the drop of Rainbow's blood to her lips, sucking it in.

Her eyes rolled back at the overwhelming taste. It was the best, most replenishing thing she'd supped all day. The rich taste of iron might as well have been saffron to her, so rare and so sublime was its bitterness. The crimson nectar of the gods tantalized her taste buds as it slowly worked its way into the back of her throat. Normally, blood reaching the stomach is a trigger to make one vomit, but just this small bit of fluid which her body now perceived as food was enough to keep her stomach from regurgitating the vile cakes she'd sampled earlier.

It was in that moment she knew she had to have more.

That night, Fluttershy lay in bed, still feeling satisfied from the single drop of blood she'd consumed earlier, but wishing she could've sucked at Rainbow's nose like a nursing foal. From the taste of her ichor, she could tell that Rainbow was quite healthy; fitting, seeing as she was a nationally-known hero and a professional athlete of sorts. She had to keep herself in prime condition. Fluttershy pondered this further: not only could she taste Rainbow Dash's health, she could see it, too. Her illustrious coat, those powerful wings, her strong, shapely legs attached to that body, petite, like her own, yet muscular...

Fluttershy realized what she was feeling, but let herself feel it anyway.

For many years, she'd suppressed what she felt for Rainbow Dash. Though the two had known each other since childhood and had always been close, she felt that letting her know that she wanted to be anything more than friends would jeopardize what they already had. And she certainly didn't want to sow the seeds of disharmony among the Council of Friendship, unbalancing them with two of its members starting a relationship. Still, she thought, perhaps keeping it a secret wouldn't hurt anypony… that is, assuming Rainbow wanted a relationship in the first place. She'd never been seen fawning over anypony but herself. "To be fair," Fluttershy thought "she does have the looks worth fawning over." The yellow Pegasus allowed herself to smile at that.

Maybe, she began to wonder, there was a way she could satisfy both her thirst for blood and her newly reawakened hunger for Rainbow Dash... Fluttershy knew what she had to do. She dreamt about it all that night.

Author's Note

Just for future reference, if any big-name YouTubers should ever make an audiobook version of this (y'know, just in case,) I'd love it if Fluttershy were voiced by Jennabun and Rainbow Dash by Brittany Ackerman. They're my personal favorite impressions for the two. X3
(EDIT: Or PurpleRoselyn and Mary Medley, since they're an adorable couple and Flutterdash shippers to boot.) :scootangel:

Also, I'm sorry for the P alliteration in the cake shop. I couldn't resist.

Story's just getting started, don't worry!

Love at First Bite

She had planned everything out perfectly for that day.
She knew exactly what she was going to do.
Now, she just had to do it.

Fluttershy sat out on her front step, looking up at the dark, looming storm clouds gathering over the Everfree. By her reckoning, it was pushing six in the evening. It was now about a week after the incident at Sugarcube Corner; she'd managed to entice Rainbow Dash into a visit with the prospect of discussing the Daring Do novels. Fluttershy had spent the week reading them both to familiarize herself with the material and to distract herself from her hunger. As it turned out, they actually weren't bad books. They were tense and full of adventure, and she could see why Rainbow Dash liked them.

Fluttershy herself had also been quite tense this past week. She had tried to curb her hunger by forcing down the most basic foods made as bitter as possible to try and match the ferrous taste of blood; sometimes it worked, but most of the time it made her sick. The only drink she could manage was water, which was good, since her stomach had been hurling quite a bit of it into the plumbing.

Aside from reading, being sick, and planning out today's events, she'd done a lot of grooming, tending to her mane, fur, and feathers, making herself as plush and comfortable as possible; this also played into her plans for the rainbow Pegasus.

As Fluttershy watched the clouds and focused on the remembered taste of Rainbow's rich lifeforce, she noticed her familiar jet trails across the sky. It wasn't long at all before the tomboyish pony had alighted in front of her.

"Hey, Fluttershy!" she greeted. "How's it going?"

"Oh, just fine, Rainbow Dash, but it's better now that you're here."

"Tell me about it!" She rolled her eyes and jutted a hoof at the sky. "The Cloudsdale Weather Team has whipped up one heck of a storm for tonight, and they couldn't have done it without yours truly! Of course, that means I'm exhausted now..."

"Oh, why don't you come inside?" Fluttershy offered, pushing her door open. "I've got tea and finger sandwiches ready if you'd like to get started reading."

"That sounds perfect. Thanks Fluttershy!"

The frail Pegasus nodded and showed her friend inside, shutting the door tight against the strengthening winds. Normally, her animals would all have hunkered down inside her cottage to weather such a maelstrom, but they were notably absent... very likely, they could sense something malicious within their host.

A few hours later the two Pegasi were sitting next to each other on the couch, talking about their favorite passages from the latest book. Fluttershy was just commending Daring Do on a rather treacherous escape from Dr. Caballeron's henchponies when she was interrupted by a deafening clap of thunder.

KA-CHOOM

Her pupils shrank in surprise, and she quickly swaddled herself in a blanket.

"Oh, come on, Fluttershy, it's just a little thunder. You know what thunderstorms are like." Rainbow Dash coolly remarked.

"Yes, and I don't like them." The meek Pegasus countered. She covered her face with her wings as another thunderbolt fell.

KRRRA-A-ACK

"Oh, now, you've faced storms before. Remember when you helped me with that hurrica--" Rainbow Dash began to reminisce, but some sharp words from Fluttershy cut her off.

"This wouldn't be a problem if you hadn't planned a storm for tonight!"

Rainbow fell silent for a moment. "Fluttershy, I..." As she searched for her words, another thunderclap fell, this one boisterous enough to send Fluttershy lashing towards her, throwing her forelegs around her neck and casting the blanket over both of them. She buried her face in Rainbow's shoulder and whimpered.

"Fluttershy, I'm sorry... I'm not the one who plans these things, a-and I should've let you know so we could hang at my place, above the storm. I'm sorry."

She heard what sounded like a muffled "mmkay" from Fluttershy, who still didn't look up at her for the whipping winds and driving rain. They sat there silently for some time, Rainbow holding her in a forearm, occasionally patting her head.

Finally, the blue Pegasus said, "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" and offered a warm smile.

Fluttershy's tear-streaked face met her own. "A-Anything?"

"Well, yeah buddy. You name it, and the awesomest pony in all of Equestria will get it done!"

Fluttershy sniffled. "Well... I guess there is one thing..."

Her cheeks flushed red. "How about..."

Fluttershy's left hoof lowered itself and began drawing circles across Rainbow's collarbone.

"… you let these hooves go wherever they want tonight?"

Rainbow's eyes were like saucers. "...WHAT?"

"Come on, Dashie..." Fluttershy pleaded. "Surely you've felt what I have before?"

Rainbow Dash was still awestruck by her friend's proposition. So what if she had? That still didn't excuse such directness on Fluttershy's part! She was going to express these thoughts as words, but a combination of things stopped her. For one, Fluttershy seemed so vulnerable, so scared from the storm; she couldn't possibly make herself upset her even more. Then, there was Rainbow's own senses... Fluttershy felt incredibly soft, and she must've been washing her mane with something new, because it smelled fruity and fantastic. Furthermore, the soft, hot breath on her neck reminded her that she was in the arms of a beautiful mare who she'd been close friends with for many years. Though everything felt so right, her mind was still hesitant.

"Fluttershy…" Rainbow Dash managed to sputter. "I-I-I'm not sure I like where this is going..."

Fluttershy's circling hoof moved to Rainbow's chest.
"You will."

The Wonderbolt swallowed hard. That voice, that little whisper, had set something off. "Oh... heck, why not?" she thought.

"Um... o-ok-kay Fluttershy…" she said, her breath quickening as she chuckled nervously. "W-what d-did you have in m-mind?"

Fluttershy hummed demurely as if regarding this question for a moment. "Well... how about I kiss your neck?"

"Okay." said Rainbow Dash, timid as a mouse.

She was putty in her hooves as Fluttershy closed the gap, her pillow-soft lips caressing the velvety hide of Rainbow's neck. The blue Pegasus closed her eyes, sitting there, paralyzed by a swirl of emotions: confusion, fear, innocence, arousal. She made happy little moans as the Element of Kindness continued to massage her neck with tender kisses. Rainbow's breathing became ragged and she bit her lip. Fluttershy smiled devilishly and slowly began moving her hoof southwards, continually making circles in cyan fur.

"Oh, Fluttershy..." Dash managed to squeak out in her raspy voice. "I'm so glad this is happening..."

"Me too." Fluttershy crooned. "I've been hungry for you all... day... long.

Fluttershy bent Rainbow's now-glistening neck and prepared her fangs. Her eyes flashed red at the thought of tasting her crimson nectar again.

Rainbow Dash lay there, eyes closed tightly, sporting a goofy smile, as if waiting for whatever happened next to push her over the brink. Fluttershy regarded her from this position of power.
Readying her fangs...

…

She put her head in her hooves and started to cry.

"I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRRRYYYYY!!!!!

Fluttershy leapt back, hovering in the air above her couch. Rainbow's eyes snapped open and she turned to face her. "Oh Fluttershy, don't worry! You were doing great! If you want, I can do that to you! I'll even do it th---"

"That's not the problem!" She lowered herself onto the seat. "I'm so hu-u-u-ngry-y-y!" Fluttershy said between sobs.

"And you've got me right here!" said Rainbow Dash, trying her best to be encouraging. "I mean if you want to eat me, go ahead and eat me." She cocked an eyebrow mischievously.

Fluttershy glared at her, causing both Dash's smirk and her libido to vanish. "I mean," she began "that everything I eat or drink tastes like absolute road apples!" Dash covered her mouth in shock, never having heard such language from Fluttershy.

"The only thing that tastes good anymore is blood, and I've been running off that single drop of yours for an entire week!" Fluttershy took another moment to sob as Rainbow processed this information silently. "You tasted SO GOOD, I... I wanted to get you over here so I could get you vulnerable and feed off of you, not to mention let out some of these... these... urges I've been holding in over you!" Fluttershy breathed rapidly in between sobs. "I couldn't make myself bite you! I want the blood, but I don't want the violence!"

As Fluttershy continued to cry, Rainbow Dash's face became inquisitive. Gently, she pushed up Fluttershy's muzzle to look at her teeth. Sure enough, there were two pearly white fangs beginning to sprout.

"Fluttershy? Mind telling me what's been going on?"

Fluttershy told Rainbow all about the events of the past week, how she'd helped the mysterious bat, how it had bitten her, and how all food turned to ashes in her mouth. It didn't take an egghead like Twilight to deduce that the bat's bite must have caused this condition, but that it couldn't have been a vampire fruit bat. As far as Fluttershy knew, blood-drinking bats didn't live in Equestria, but then again, she'd never seen a bat like this before.

"I don't want to be like this forever, Rainbow Dash! I miss the taste of tea! Of butter! I miss the taste of everything! I don't have it in me to be a bloodsucker!"

"Don't worry, Fluttershy. You won't be a vampire forever. I swear to you, as the Element of Loyalty, that I will find a cure for this disease!"

"Thank you, Dashie. That means a lot to me..." An unusually loud grumble caused Fluttershy to double over and clutch her stomach. Rainbow Dash looked at her sadly... she glanced towards the kitchen, then bit her hoof.

A few minutes later, Rainbow Dash emerged from the bathroom, with a bandaged foreleg, a knife in her teeth, and a shallow bowl of redness in her wing. Upon realizing what she'd done, Fluttershy gasped, but before she could say thank you, she found herself already across the room, guzzling Rainbow's healthy, luscious offering. Rainbow recoiled in disgust, but was happy she could help ease Fluttershy's pain. Upon emptying the saucer, it clattered to the floor and Fluttershy exhaled sharply.

"Thank you... so much." she gasped out.

"Yeah, I'm sorry Fluttershy, but that's the last time I'm doing that for you." She flew over to the sink to rinse off the knife. "From now until we get you cured, you're going to have to drink from other things."

"But I told you, I'm not cut out for violence!" She protested through bloodstained lips.

"Well, if we put our heads together, I'm sure well figure something out, but for now, you'll have to make do with what I've just given you." She looked Fluttershy up and down. "How long do you think you'll last?"

She daintily wiped her mouth clean, looked down at her abdomen, then back at Dash. "About a week?"

"Well make sure you feed whenever you get the chance. You never know how long it'll be until your next decent meal, nor how long until we get you cured." Rainbow Dash put reassuring hooves on her friend's shoulders.

"But I don't want to take their blood by force!" Fluttershy said.

"Well, I don't know exactly how you'd get blood without taking it by force." Rainbow replied. "I just hope you won't have to live off of it for much longer."

Rainbow Dash turned to leave, but Fluttershy stopped her by grabbing her tail.

"Um, Rainbow Dash..." she muttered. "Please keep this a secret from everypony, okay?"

Rainbow smiled. "My lips are sealed."

With that, she gave Fluttershy a small kiss on the cheek and left, flying off into the now tranquil sky. She wasn't quite sure why she kissed her; it just felt like the right thing to do. After the night she'd just had, Rainbow Dash would have a lot to think about... most of it involving Fluttershy.

A Silver Lining?

Fluttershy awoke the next day with a smile; with the sun shining brightly through her window and the pleasant night of sleep she'd had on a full stomach, she almost forgot that there was anything wrong with her. It wasn't until she went down to the bathroom and found the dried remnants of Rainbow's bloodletting that she was reminded of her grisly new appetite. Her stomach grumbled slightly, prodding her for sustenance.

"Oh dear..." she muttered to Angel on her shoulder "I guess what I had last night didn't last as long as I'd hoped it would." Scratching her chin with her hoof, she looked towards the kitchen; her stomach growled more loudly this time, almost as if protesting any actual food.

Fluttershy set Angel down gently on her couch, leaving him with a carrot.

"You stay here, Angel. I'm going out for a little bit." The white rabbit looked at her sadly, but did as he was told.

Fluttershy mulled about Ponyville nervously, looking for anyplace she could possibly sustain herself. If other ponies waved at her, she smiled with her lips tight together, fearful of revealing her newly acquired canines. Despite all of this, she tried her hardest to act normally; she met a few of her friends in town and exchanged pleasantries with them.

Applejack had tossed a free apple her way; she took it into an alley and practiced biting it, temporarily quelling her urge to sink her fangs into something. Rarity had invited her into the boutique to get her opinion on some new designs; when she wasn't looking, Fluttershy dug through her trash looking for scrap tissues that might hold blood from where she'd jabbed herself with a needle, though she found none.

Eventually, Fluttershy decided to isolate herself, both to think and suppress her instincts. As she walked along the road, she occasionally passed other ponies, but she still felt as though she were cold and alone.

"I'm cold..." she thought "...that's an odd feeling." Indeed, the sun was shining brightly through a cloudless sky in the waning days of summer; she should've been at least pleasantly warm, if not a bit hot, but she didn't feel a thing, aside from a gentle breeze, which to her felt almost like frost.

"Maybe I just need food, that's all." Fluttershy began anxiously scanning her surroundings for anything she might get blood from without much effort.

Overhead, she saw Ocellus, Silverstream and Smolder leisurely flying about. "Oh no, not my own students..." she thought.

Up ahead, she saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders laughing and playing while kicking around a ball. Surely they'd be easy to bring down; such small ponies wouldn't put up much of a fight.

"Oh, I couldn't possibly!" Fluttershy gasped internally. "They're far too sweet and innocent!"

Startled out of thought by a resounding noise, Fluttershy turned to look behind her. The kindly yet clumsy cross-eyed Pegasus had conked her head into a shop's wooden sign. "Oh, now that's just low-hanging fruit!" Fluttershy internally scolded herself with a disgruntled face.

Fluttershy became increasingly nervous as her stomach got louder. Her head shot around, looking high and low for any potential meals before locking eyes upon a large, bright building: the hospital.

Quickly, she shook her head clean of such thoughts. "NO." Fluttershy forced herself to walk away, visibly shocked and ashamed. "Fluttershy, they'd send you to Tartarus for that!"

Having made her way back home, Fluttershy's stomach had only grown louder. She rubbed her head with her wings, stopping to rest near the small stream by her home. It was then that she noticed one of her animal friends nearby, an otter, had caught a large fish and was dragging it ashore. Fluttershy licked her lips as her eyes bore into its glistening scales.

"Um, excuse me, Mr. Otter," Fluttershy squeaked as she approached gently "do you think I could borrow that?"

The otter looked at her curiously.

She lowered her head, taking the fish's tail in her teeth. "I'll give it right back, I promise."

The otter wasn't happy with his meal being stolen. He clamped down on the fish's head and began pulling in the opposite direction.

"Oh, come on now..." Fluttershy pouted "Let's not fight..."

Soon enough, though, she herself was getting angry as well. The two had soon entered into the fiercest game of tug-of-war that had ever been performed with a dead fish. Fluttershy's eyes were beginning to turn red, and she was snarling as loud as the otter was.

Eventually, the fish couldn't withstand the tension any longer. The two combatants fell apart, each clutching one bloodied half of a fish in their jaws. Fluttershy quickly moved to lap up as much blood as possible while the otter fled with what remained of his catch. Piscine blood had a very salty flavor, but Fluttershy was just happy to be eating again.

"Hey Fluttershy, I think I---"

Fluttershy quickly snapped to attention, facing the direction of the voice. Fortunately, it was only Rainbow Dash, who bore a similar look of stunned silence upon seeing Fluttershy sitting on the ground, blue eyes peering out through a face splattered with scarlet blood.

"...Aaaaaas I was saying, I think I might have some ideas as to how we can fix you." Rainbow Dash picked up awkwardly from where she left off, pointing to the saddlebags she carried on her back.

"Oh... well... that's good." Fluttershy replied, smiling meekly through the embarrassing moment she'd been caught in. "Let's um, let's go inside, a-and I'll get cleaned up..."

Fluttershy washed the blood from her face as Rainbow opened her saddlebags, dumping a load of books onto the coffee table. "I went to Twilight's and borrowed every book I could find on vampires." She said, looking determined. "I told her that I wanted to get an early start on my Nightmare Night costume." She turned to regard Fluttershy as she approached. "I figure if we do some reading, we might stumble across a solution for your affliction."

Fluttershy shrugged. "I suppose that's as good as anything I could think of."

Dash immediately started flipping through books, with Fluttershy joining her on the couch. Sorting through the various hardcovers that Rainbow had brought, she came across one that piqued her curiosity.

"Rainbow Dash, what exactly is Dusk?"

"It's some kind of sappy romance novel with a vampire in it." Rainbow replied. "And according to Twilight, not a very good one."

"Um, Rainbow... why would you think a romance novel would help cure me?"

Dash's cheeks flushed pink, her eyes growing wide as she peered up from behind a book. "I, uh..."

Fluttershy's bashful smile only increased her friend's own embarrassment. Rainbow Dash stammered, unable to produce any meaningful response. All at once, Fluttershy decided to muster her bravery and ask one simple question.

"Rainbow Dash, do... do you like me?"

"Well of course I do, Fluttershy, you're like, my best friend..."

"No, I mean... d-do you have a crush on me?"

Rainbow hid down into her book, muttering something.

"What was that?" Fluttershy asked.

"I'm not sure." said Rainbow Dash, only slightly louder.

Fluttershy was getting a nervous lump in her throat, but the urge to get this off her chest compelled her to keep speaking.

"Well, I have a crush on you, you know? I think I always have."

"Uh huh."

She took a deep breath. "Well, um... I was hoping that maybe... after we get this cured... we could be... more than friends?"

Rainbow's reddened face rose up to meet hers. "So... that night... the way you were... kissing me... that wasn't just a trick? You really feel that way?"

Fluttershy nodded. "I think you're beautiful, Rainbow. You make me feel this way."

The Wonderbolt's rose-tinted face grew even brighter. She couldn't believe that she, her style, her body, actually made somepony feel that way. It was deeply flattering.

"You know, Fluttershy, I..." Rainbow's voice trailed off into indistinct gravel among her self-consciousness. The two shared a meek smile. "I, well, I, um... I think that... um... maybe?"

Fluttershy leaned forward, planting a sweet, innocent kiss on her lips and holding it there for a blissful eternity. It was simple, more of a peck or a nuzzle than an actual kiss, but it nearly made Rainbow pass out. Something about this mare made her feel weak and demure, and, if she were to be honest with herself, she'd say she actually liked that. Maybe it was because she was older than her, Rainbow being the youngest in the group, with Fluttershy second only to Applejack in seniority. Maybe it was because they both had exteriors that belied what they were capable of: just because Fluttershy seemed timid didn't mean she couldn't be strong, and just because Rainbow Dash seemed rough-and-tumble didn't mean she couldn't be tender, caring, or even downright insecure at times. She wasn't sure what it was, but whatever it was, she liked it.

If friendship was magic, this was something more.

As the yellow Pegasus broke off her kiss, Rainbow did her best to avoid shaking.

"I'll give you some time to think on it, then." Fluttershy said sweetly.

Rainbow Dash didn't need much more time to think on it. She was certainly in love, she just needed to figure out how to show it to Fluttershy. She knew that if she just tried to tell her, she probably wouldn't be able to talk straight; instead, she would show her through action. She absolutely had to cure Fluttershy now, and she wouldn't rest until her friend could rest in her embrace without wanting to exsanguinate her.

Rainbow cleared her throat, breaking the awkward silence. "So, let's see what we can do about your..." She paused to sound out a book's long word in her head "...vampirism."

After perusing the dusty old pages and coming upon a section listing various herbs that could be useful, Rainbow Dash leapt up from her seat with epiphany.

"Fluttershy, I think I know somepony who might be able to help us!" Noticing the concerned look upon her face, Rainbow put her hooves on her shoulders. "I know you didn't want anypony to find out, but I really think this would be a smart idea."

"Well... who?" Fluttershy asked.

"Zecora."

Author's Note

Just realized that this is my first Month of Macabre since I became a brony.
In the words of Fluttershy, "woo-hoo."

Gee, Fangs a Lot

The air felt wet and muggy in the Everfree that evening as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy made their way through the thick foliage surrounding Zecora's hut. Upon approaching the humble abode carved out of a gnarled tree, Rainbow knocked tunefully on the heavy door, and after a few moments, Zecora answered.

"Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy! My Pegasus friends! Come in and relax, I've got time to spend."

"Thank you, Zecora." said Fluttershy in her usual quiet politeness.

"Zecora, we've got a problem." Dash got straight to the point as she closed the door behind them. "More specifically, Fluttershy has a problem."

"As an expert on unusual maladies, we thought you might know how to treat it." The afflicted mare added.

"I shall treat what ails you to the best of my ability;" Zecora began, putting a reassuring hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder. "now Fluttershy, tell me your issue, and grant me some clarity."

Unable to find words that she thought would suit the situation, Fluttershy simply opened her mouth. Two white fangs could easily be seen protruding, as they were growing in very quickly. Zecora's eyes widened as she moved in for a closer look.

"Oh my..." She poked one from the front with her forehoof. "...this is quite a serious concern. What else can you tell me? What else have you learned?"

"Well..." Fluttershy began unsurely. "My sense of hearing has been heightened, I've been prone to more... primal instincts, and my body kiiiind of rejects all food except for... um... blood."

"It all started after she was bitten by some freaky-looking bat." Rainbow Dash said.

Zecora put a hoof to her chin, deep in thought; a look of concern spread across her face.

"This is, as I feared, an ailment most grand. I've seen it before, but never thought it would come to this land."

"W-What do you mean?" Fluttershy's face was pale.

"You see, back when Equestria was naught but ice and snow, the land was ravaged by foul windigoes."

"Everypony knows that story." said Rainbow Dash. "What does it have to do with Fluttershy being a vampire?"

"Well, while Equestria was under such attack, the zebra lands were infested with giant vampire bats. Their bites caused symptoms similar to these... a cure can be made, but... not with ease."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Fluttershy asked, sounding concerned as opposed to impatient. "I'll help you make it if it'll speed things along."

"It will take herbs from my homeland to reverse your grim physique." Zecora said, the gears in her head turning, mentally noting everything she'd need. "To bring them all here could take at least a week."

"A WEEK?!" Fluttershy exclaimed, her wings popping open, one of which struck Rainbow Dash in the face. "Or maybe even longer? How am I going to feed myself until then? I've had enough trouble making it this far!"

"Ooooow, Fluttershy! Watch your wings!" Rainbow said, rubbing her cheek. As she pulled her hoof away, Fluttershy and Zecora both noticed a light scratch drawn across said cheek. Curiously, Zecora ruffled apart the flight feathers at the end of one of Fluttershy's wings; inside was a bony spike growing out from where her wing would typically end. It appeared to be growing its own membrane as well.

The beginnings of bat wings.

"I shall work as quickly as I can, Fluttershy." Zecora said, immediately gathering small vials and jars off of her shelves and forming the beginnings of a remedy in a large ceramic bowl. "Without the vital herbs, it will be hard, but I shall try."

"But until then?" Fluttershy said sadly.

"I'm afraid I've nothing good to tell you." The zebra mare replied. "Until I've made some progress, there's nothing I can do."

The yellow Pegasus sighed and looked to the floor. Rainbow put a reassuring hoof around her, lifting her into the air by her own wing-power.

"C'mon, Fluttershy, we just gotta get your mind off it. Maybe we can go... count the fireflies or something? Summer's ending, and they won't be around much longer!"

Ever-persuaded by anything involving animals, Fluttershy went with Rainbow Dash to take in the night air. Though she put up a face of ease and enjoyment, the back of her mind writhed with thoughts of her condition. Would she really wind up a vampire forever? And if she did, would she have to start taking live prey? She'd already had a taste of Rainbow; what if her animal brain drove her to want more? What if she turned Rainbow into a vampire too? Or her other friends?

Fluttershy couldn't bear the thought. She loved her friends too much to put them at risk. Especially Rainbow.

These thoughts and their kin had the Element of Kindness nearing exhaustion by the time she got back to her home. Rainbow Dash, wishing to spend more time with Fluttershy in the hopes of distracting her from the grim truth, told her she'd be back in a minute. She was hungry, and knew that Fluttershy had stopped keeping pony food around, and so, the fastest flier in Equestria dashed into Ponyville in search of some for herself.

While her friend was gone, Fluttershy stepped into the bathroom to freshen up, but before she could run a bath, her reflection in the mirror distracted her. More specifically, she was distracted by the fact it was starting to disappear. Even when the vampire fruit bats had turned her, she could still see her own reflection; in fact, that's how Twilight got her to use The Stare on herself long enough so she could turn her back magically. But now, Fluttershy's reflection was tenuous, blurry, and about a quarter transparent. She could still see well enough, however, to discern that her fangs had fully grown in in the time she'd spent away, her irises were very slightly changing color, and her earns had a bit of a prick to them now.

Looking upon this increasingly vampiric visage filled Fluttershy with a resentment--neigh, an anger--she didn't know she possessed, and in fact, probably wouldn't have, were it not for her heightened primal instincts. Scowling disdainfully at herself, she only knew that she wanted whatever had caused this gone, out of her, forever.

It may have been a small step that came to Fluttershy's clouded mind, but it was a start.

Barely hovering into the kitchen, she rummaged in the cabinets underneath the sink until she found what she sought: a somewhat grungy, underused pair of slip-joint pliers. Floating back into her bathroom, she pulled up a stepstool in front of the mirror to sit on, and ran the pliers under hot water to cleanse them. Sitting down, she took a deep breath and strengthened her resolve.

Wielding the tools awkwardly between her forehooves, Fluttershy clamped the metal jaws around her right fang, both of which glistened wet in the light.

With determination, and no small amount of self-loathing, she began to pull.

Wrenching and tugging at the pointed devil, Fluttershy was somewhat fearful of the pain she knew was coming; a bead of sweat formed on her fair forehead as she thought back to losing her baby teeth as a filly, and how much fun that wasn't. Unfortunately for her, there'd be no Tooth Fairy to leave bits under her pillow this time, but defanging herself might help preserve her sense of who she was--something altogether more valuable than money.

Finally, after a timid cry of distress, the fang popped loose from its socket, but was still attached by ligament. Seeing the tooth dangle made Fluttershy sick to her stomach, and so she closed her eyes tightly and twisted the pliers, pulling her head in the opposite direction. It was almost as though the vampirism within her didn't want to let the tooth go, but finally, with a sickening noise and a blinding jolt of pain, it came loose. Fluttershy's own reddish vital fluid poured forth from the gaping injury; her blood tasted beyond foul, and burnt her tongue like acid. With small tears of frustration coming from her eyes, she flung the tooth onto the tile floor defiantly, and realigned her instrument of self-torture to grasp her second fang, repeating the gruesome process.

After the grievous affair was over, Fluttershy had bled over most of the sink, her bathmat, her muzzle, chest, and forehooves, the pliers, and portions of the floor where she'd flung her despised dentition. Her anger now calming, she mopped the blood from her gums with a hoof towel as the pliers clattered loudly to the floor. The mess, she thought, she'd take care of later. For now, she was just glad to have those accursed growths out of her mouth.

"There." She said, pleased. "Now that that's done, maybe I can--AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"

Fluttershy shrieked in horror as her eyes met her reflection.

Her fangs.

They'd already started to grow back.

Rainbow Dash arrived back with food and a few things she'd stopped by her house to grab. Upon seeing Fluttershy nowhere around, she began calling out.

"Fluttershy? Buddy?" She said, setting her things down on the table before flying about the living room.

"Sorry I took so long! The line at Hayburger was massive, and I had to stop back home and feed Tank. If you want, I brought some Daring Do books if you, you know, might be intere--"

The cyan mare's voice trailed off as she looked towards the bathroom door. It was cracked, with light shining from within, accompanied by faint sobbing wafting out. She gently floated towards the door, peeking in slowly while knocking on the frame with her other hoof.

"Fluttershy, are you okay? I thought I heard you cr--- SWEET CELESTIA'S MARE HEAT, WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

"THEY JUST KEEP GROWING BACK!" Fluttershy exclaimed, throwing her hooves up in desperation before breaking into a full-on cry of hopelessness.

Rainbow immediately rushed to her friend's side, stroking her mane and speaking softly, like a mother comforting her child. She helped Fluttershy wash the blood away, though all the while the mare kept crying; few words, mostly tears. If Rainbow touched the vampiric blood, it was hot and acidic to her as well, and was careful not to get it on her hooves. Looking around at the mess Fluttershy had made, she shuddered, her eyes widening. What kind of torture had this innocent little creature been putting herself through? It made Rainbow sick to her stomach, but before it could make her retch, she was distracted by something she heard her friend say.

"I... I didn't ask for this..."

"I know, buddy." She said, pulling her into an embrace. "It's not your fault... and frankly, you don't deserve this, either..."

As the night became darker, Rainbow carried Fluttershy in her forelegs upstairs and tucked her into bed, still holding her in a comforting embrace while she slowly let nighttime take her. It wasn't long before Rainbow Dash slipped off into sleep as well, nestling down into the comfy bed and her friend's body heat, or rather, the remainder that the vampirism hadn't taken yet. It was a good thing that one of the things Rainbow had retrieved from her house was an overnight bag, "just in case."

Author's Note

I made my own teeth hurt writing this. :pinkiesick: :fluttercry:

Moderators, if this warrants a "Self-Harm" tag, I'll gladly add it.

Also, one of my favorite gags in any movie is in Evan Almighty; when Steve Carrell's titular character tries to shave off his divinely-sent beard, it's grown back as soon as he looks in the mirror again. I absolutely love that whole scene, and wanted to reference it with Fluttershy's fangs, though they admittedly don't grow back quite as quick... and she certainly didn't find it hilarious. I'm sorry, girl. :fluttershysad:

Also, "Sweet Celestia's mare-heat" is one of the best pony expletives I've ever heard. :rainbowlaugh:

Turn Around, Bright Eyes

The gently drifting sunlight from the window calmly brought Rainbow Dash forth from her slumber as it contacted her eyelids. She gave a small yawn and prepared to roll out of bed as usual, but halted upon being unable to move her right foreleg. This, of course, was because it was pinned beneath a soundly sleeping Fluttershy. Rainbow smiled at this beautiful mare she lay next to, an unusual feeling called love beginning to well up within her. As Dash fully embraced her true feelings, which, until now, she'd been trying to temper, she nestled herself back down into the warm bed and against Fluttershy's soft fur and fell back asleep.

As Fluttershy slept, she dreamed.

The dream was pleasant, involving a sunny field of wildflowers and lots of butterflies. Just beyond the field lay a small gulley carved out by a stream; the babbling waters ran into a thick forest past huge trees taller than Fluttershy could imagine in real life. From among the gnarled roots of one of these giant trees stepped a small deer, which began drinking from the stream as birds fluttered and sang overhead.

Overlooking this scene from the roots of another tree stood Fluttershy. Or at least, what seemed like Fluttershy. The creature slowly climbing atop her wooden perch seemed altogether more animalistic, more primal. The yellow mare slunk like a feline along the span of a large root, watching the graceful creature below. The little gulley was filled with sunlight, and seemed truly picturesque as she viewed it from above. The deer raised its head to glance around itself before returning to the stream. Fluttershy hadn't been noticed.

Slowly, the mare got to her hooves, though in the fuzzy recollection that is often left after dreams, they may have been claws. She approached the edge where the great snarl of roots climbed down the cliff face; the sunlight cast upon her was unpleasant, but she was driven on by instinct. Taking a moment to prepare herself, she locked eyes on her target below. Taking a deep breath, she leapt from the edge, popping open her bat-like wings to silently glide down through the vast open space.

The deer didn't notice her until she was more than halfway to it. Fluttershy outstretched her forelegs with a screech; the deer looked up in a panic and attempted to run away, but the mare was upon it before it had a chance. Her vision went completely red after that, her ears filled with noises of fear and struggle as she sunk her teeth into something warm and furry. The sensation of hot blood filled her mouth as the deer squealed; both bodies trembled, one from terror, one from delight, as the mare felt her teeth crushing bone and shredding sinew.

Suddenly, the carnage stopped. The predator pulled back her head upon detecting an odd taste.

A feather? In her mouth? Deer don't have feathers...

Fluttershy popped up from the bed with a shriek. Rainbow Dash, startled, almost fell off into the floor.

She quickly whipped her head around to check on her friend, whom, fortunately, she found frightened, but intact. Fluttershy's pillow, meanwhile, had been torn to shreds, its downy stuffing flung everywhere, and bits of it hung from her lip.

"Uh... Fluttershy?"

There was an awkward silence as a bit of pillowcase fell from her mouth. Fluttershy realized what had happened and how easily her friend could have been hurt.

After a moment, the mare fell back to the mattress with tears in her eyes. She attempted to bury her face behind her hooves and mane, but Rainbow Dash put a gentle hoof on her cheek and looked her in the eyes, which, despite being a bit off-color, were still Fluttershy's eyes.

"Want to tell me what just happened?" Rainbow asked the poor mare.

"No..." she said, sniffling "...suffice to say it was vampire-related."

Rainbow brought her friend in close for a hug, which Fluttershy happily reciprocated, absorbing the loving warmth as they lay there in the sunlight, bedsheets strewn about. After a few moments she pulled away, allowing Rainbow to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"I'm here for you, Fluttershy. I'm not gonna let this take over you. We will find some way to fix it." Rainbow paused, watching Fluttershy as she trembled in her embrace and held back tears. She didn't know if she should say what she really wanted to... but Rainbow had always been one to throw caution to the wind.

"Fluttershy... I love you."

The vampire-touched pony looked at her friend in surprise, almost jumping. Dash's cheeks flushed a rosy pink as she stumbled with her confession.

"I-I know this seems like an odd time to say so, but... I..." She chuckled awkwardly as she played footsie with Fluttershy beneath the covers.

"Y-You do? Even though I'm..." Fluttershy was trying not to get too emotional herself.

"Fluttershy... you've been my friend as long as I can remember. I'd never abandon you. I'd always had... certain feelings I couldn't explain when it came to you, but... when I saw you there, sleeping soundly next to me, my heart skipped a beat. I... I know now that... that I want to be with you forever, Fluttershy. And I know that we've still got work to do to get you back to normal, but I want to stand with you even after and keep you safe from harm."

Fluttershy could hardly believe what she was hearing. Her heart throbbed in her chest, and for a moment, she felt as normal and as healthy and as happy as she did before all this started. She couldn't prevent a small smile from forming.

"I... want..." Rainbow bit her lip as she struggled with the last few words. "...to love you, Fluttershy. To do anything and everything for you."

Fluttershy was overjoyed, and a bit of her excitement leaked from her eyes.

"D-Dashie..." she said with a sob. "I... I... I love..."

But Fluttershy couldn't make the words come out. Looking at Rainbow's smiling, blushing face, she lost her senses. Instead, she simply scooched closer to Dash and threw a hoof around her. The blue Pegasus closed her eyes and brought her face in closer for a kiss; Fluttershy leaned in, opening her mouth to receive it.

She fully surrendered, melting like putty into Dash's embrace. She'd never had such a sublime feeling before in her life; she felt a shiver course through her as a hoof was run through her mane, and a wing stretched out to hold her barrel. Fluttershy couldn't think during all this, her head instead filled with swirling clouds of myriad emotion. Dash's tongue frolicked in her mouth, sometimes tickling along the roof or trying to embrace her own, all the while careful of the sharp fangs within.

Finally, Dash took a quick breath through her nose and kissed deeper. She practically grabbed Fluttershy's tongue with her own and brought it into her mouth. Fluttershy squeaked at this, never having kissed in such a fashion; nonetheless, she soon found enjoyment in it, pulling Dash closer and taking dominance in the situation. Dash gave a muffled giggle of delight as Fluttershy tried to force her tongue deeper; she turned her head slightly and attempted to let it do so.

Fluttershy's breath became increasingly ragged as the kiss lasted longer and longer. The sensation of her hooves on Dash and Dash's hooves on her lit a fire in her body like she'd never imagined before. Soon, the quick, shallow breaths through her nose sounded almost like whimpering, but her partner could tell that Fluttershy was far from distressed. Dash could feel her friend's legs shaking at the delight of these new experiences, so she reached her hooves down and pulled Fluttershy's hips closer to her body in an attempt to quell the quaking. Her yellow wings flapped in excitement as Dash took her dominance back.

Finally, Dash had to rest her tongue, and carefully pulled herself out of their intense lip-lock. A small trail of saliva followed her as Fluttershy's tongue lolled out of her mouth as she panted like a dog. She planted a gentle, lingering kiss on Fluttershy's exposed throat, a reminder of their steamy evening on the couch some nights ago. Running a hoof through the fur on her chest, Dash looked at her through half-lidded eyes.

"H-How... was that?" she asked, catching her breath.

Fluttershy simply whinnied in response.

"Do you... want me... to...?"

"It might be too late for that." Fluttershy replied breathlessly. Dash gave a mirthful squeak.

"C'mon," she said amid her subsiding flurry of emotion "I'm sure there's chores and stuff to do. Not like either of us are going back to sleep after that anyway." Rainbow Dash booped her friend on the nose, eliciting a giggle, before rolling out of bed.

"You sit right there and relax, Fluttershy. You've had a tough couple of days. I'll take care of your chores for you." Rainbow Dash planted her friend directly onto her couch, covering her with a blanket and passing her a book to read.

"Thank you, Rainbow, but that's really not necessary." Fluttershy replied. "Last night took a lot out of me, but I'm feeling fine now." The mare suddenly found herself interrupted by her own growling stomach. "Well... except I'm getting hungry again."

"Don't sweat it, Fluttershy!" Dash said with bravado. "I think I may have actually devised a temporary solution."

Rainbow dashed into the kitchen, retrieving a glass from the cabinet and filling it with water from the tap. Placing it on the counter, she then rifled through the drawer until she found a small paring knife. She clenched it in her teeth as she made a pinprick in the flesh above her hoof, squeezing out two or three drops of blood into the water. She stirred it with a spoon until the water took on a pale reddish tint, then returned to Fluttershy.

"Try this!" She said with a smile. "It's not very much, but it should hopefully get you by, and cause minimal pain for me."

"I thought you said you'd never do that again?"

"Well, that was a lot more blood and a much deeper wound. I can spare a few drops here and there."

Fluttershy sipped at the pale, pinkish liquid. Truthfully, it only tasted very slightly like blood, but she appreciated Rainbow's gesture, so she smiled up at her.

"I-It's good!" She fibbed. "That's very kind of you, Rainbow Dash."

The blue mare hovered over and kissed her forehead. "So," she continued, "what do you normally do for your morning chores, Fluttershy?"

She put a hoof to her chin. "Well, I usually water the flowers in the flowerboxes, sweep the front walk, feed the chickens, and check the salt licks near the edge of the woods."

Rainbow gave a salute. "I can handle all that and more!" Angel Bunny appeared from underneath the couch, hopping up to tug on Fluttershy's tail. He gestured about the room with his paws, but the mare failed to notice the lack of other animals in need of help he was trying to indicate.

"You can go help her too, Angel. I'll be fine right here."

Rainbow swooped up the white rabbit in her forehooves and headed for the front door. Angel crossed his little arms.

"I'll see you in a few, Fluttershy!"

"You know where to find me if you need me!"

The yellow mare nestled down into her blanket, cracking open her book as she reclined in the shade. She idly sipped at her blood-water; it wasn't that satisfying, but it did remind her of Rainbow, which relaxed her. Hopefully, Rainbow could be trusted with the chores without too much going wrong. She didn't want to have to track another chicken through the woods, especially when it might be frightened of her, as so many of her animal friends seemed to be since her incident.

Author's Note

That's right, it's back! :yay:

I promise to have a longer, more plot-progressing chapter of this out before the end of this (horrid) year. In the meantime, I'm glad you all enjoy this story so much, flawed though it is, and continue to read it and my other works. Happy Nightmare Night!

Very special thanks to hyreia, who helped with writing and proofreading this chapter. If it hadn't been for her, this story would still be languishing in a dusty corner of my library, so be sure to give her some love! :heart:

Dangerous Desires

Zecora trotted briskly about her apothecary, going back and forth between a large, old book and her shelves of components, checking her inventory and gathering all that she would need to brew up a cure for Fluttershy-- she hoped. She was still lacking the special ingredients from her homeland, which she had urgently sent for first thing that morning. It would have to come a very long way by boat or airship, and, intercontinental postage being what it was, could very well take up to a week to arrive-- time that Fluttershy didn't have. As she gathered the ingredients she had on hoof, she silently prayed that she and Rainbow Dash would be able to keep their patient and friend under control, and stop an outbreak before it occurred. If a plague of this sort was anything like the stories that Zecora had heard in her youth, all of Ponyville could be doomed.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash zipped around the Sweet Feather Sanctuary, checking in on various animals, but finding few of them around. She refilled feeders and cleaned up nesting areas, but only encountered the odd songbird or the usual butterflies and bees. There were no deer about, nor even small animals like squirrels. The only rabbit that she'd seen lately was Angel, who sat atop her head as she performed her duties. Even Harry the bear, the largest animal currently living with Fluttershy, was nowhere to be found. Rainbow scratched her chin in thought.

"This is... weird." She mused aloud. "What could be causing the animals to up and leave?"

Angel jumped about and mimed gestures on Rainbow's noggin, but Rainbow didn't speak rabbit, so his input went unheeded.

"You don't suppose they're scared of Fluttershy, do you?" The mare said as she flitted along towards the pond. "She's taken such good care of them for so long... but maybe... maybe they can sense what's happening to her. Their instincts tell them she's no longer safe to be around... oh, but even the bear? I wouldn't think a bear would get frightened off quicker than a bunny like you, Angel."

Angel sat down in a huff, with crossed forelegs and rolled eyes.

Rainbow Dash made her way to the edge of the pond, where she found only two animals- a frog resting on a lily pad and a snake sunning itself on the rocks. Looking up at the bright, cloudless sky, Rainbow decided to take a rest and enjoy the day. The frog and the snake looked briefly at her as she plopped herself down on the sun-warmed rocks at the water's edge and stretched. Angel Bunny was careful to keep as much distance between himself and the snake as possible.

"So," Dash began, striking up a one-sided conversation with the animals "either of you two need any food or anything?"

The frog uttered a small grunt and lashed its tongue at a nearby fly. The snake hissed softly and curled up on its rock, resting its head on a bulging stomach. Angel winced and shied away behind Rainbow Dash.

"I'll take that as a no."

Dash rested her wings and tired back, stretching them out on the warm rocks and gazing up at the sky. A smile spread across her face as she thought about how her day had begun; indeed, for a moment, she was able to cast off the looming shadow of Fluttershy's illness and picture a brighter future, one with them living together happily surrounded by animals. It was a thought she'd never say out loud, since she was always a flier at heart, but Rainbow would gladly live a life on the ground if it meant being close to Fluttershy. She could practically feel her heart soaring as she pictured her sweetheart's warm smile and loving embrace; knowing that she felt the same way towards her made Dash want to Sonic Rainboom five times over.

"Isn't Fluttershy just wonderful?" Dash asked eagerly, rolling over onto her tummy. "She's got such a kind heart, loves taking care of all you animals, and she's just so darn nice to everypony. She's got big ol' doe eyes and she makes the cutest little faces and she's SOOOOOOO soft to the touch!" Rainbow found herself emitting an uncharacteristic squeal as she fawned over her love to her silent audience in the same way that she once made over the Wonderbolts.

The stars were visible in her eyes as she turned them on the animals present at the pond. The snake had fallen asleep. The frog merely gave a ribbit in reply.

Suddenly, Rainbow popped back up into the air.

"That's right! I can't dawdle for too long, I've still got chores to do! Fluttershy is counting on me!"

Angel Bunny mimicked the act of spreading seed on the ground. Rainbow scooped him up in her hooves and tousled his fur.

"That's right, Angel! We still need to feed the chickens!"

Quick as a flash, Dash had retrieved a bag of corn from storage and arrived at Fluttershy's chicken coop. The hens in the yard below squawked and rustled their feathers as they called to Rainbow to feed them. Cradling the bag, she made several passes over the yard, scattering the feed which the birds scurried to peck off the ground. While they were busy eating, Rainbow took a moment to survey the coop; she put fresh hay in the nest boxes and checked for any signs of disrepair.

"Huh, that's strange..." Dash said to herself as she counted the nests. "There are eight nest boxes but only seven chickens..."

Fluttershy sat back on the couch and reminisced about the good times she'd spent with Rainbow Dash, not least about waking up next to her and what life events led up to it. Despite everything horrid that had been happening to her lately, for a moment she was able to let her heart flutter and be sated with love, knowing that she could finally be honest with her feelings for Dash. She closed her eyes and smiled, curling up in her blanket and imagining she was tucked beneath cyan wings, protected from everything in the world. Fluttershy felt as though she could hear Rainbow's gentle breathing in the breeze, as though she were actually curled up next to her. She began to salivate as she thought back to kissing her best friend, and how much she yearned to do it again.

Suddenly, Fluttershy found herself snapped out of her reverie by a gentle clucking sound. One of her chickens had made its way in through the cracked door, and now stood beside the coffee table, looking up curiously at Fluttershy on the sofa, tilting its head this way and that.

"...Oh! Hello, little one." Fluttershy cooed. "How did you get out of the yard?"

The bird simply clucked in response.

"I suppose it doesn't matter..." the pony continued. "It's... nice to have you here..."

Fluttershy found herself eyeing the bird in a way she never had before, but felt powerless to help it. She absentmindedly ran her tongue over her fangs.

"Here, chicky-chicky..."

It hadn't taken Dash long to locate the hole in the wire fence where one of the hens managed to scratch her way out through the soft soil. Now, she flitted about the area surrounding the cottage, making clucking noises in an attempt to locate the missing bird. Angel had jumped off of her head to search on the ground with his eyes and nose.

"Here, little chicken! Come to Rainbow Dash! Baaaawk! Buck-buck-buck-buck BRAAAW--"

Rainbow found herself interrupted by a sizeable apple being hurled at her head.

"OW! Wha... Hey!"

Angel Bunny stamped his feet urgently and indicated a trackway of narrow, birdlike footprints making their way through the dirt in the direction of the cottage door. The realization hit Rainbow like a ton of apples.

"Oh no...

Her wings were moving her towards the door before she even realized it. Dash warned Angel to stay back as she swung the door open, unsure of what lay within.

Fortunately, Rainbow appeared to have arrived just in time. The frantic hen was struggling to wrest herself free from Fluttershy's grasp, but the vampiric mare hadn't yet laid into her meal. Rainbow bolted over to the side of the couch, grabbing the chicken in her own forehooves and attempting to pull her free. Fluttershy's grip was strong and there was a brief struggle, but finally, Dash managed to rear back hard enough to pluck the frightened hen from her predator's clutches. Before Rainbow could say anything in response to her friend's behavior, though, Fluttershy had thrown off her blanket and was hovering on the wing, her face mere inches away from Dash's. A fierce, raspy hiss flew from the back of her throat, and her eyes seemed to glow red with primal anger. Dash could feel the moisture on her face and carefully backed away, cradling the traumatized chicken.

It wasn't but a moment later that Fluttershy's senses returned to her and she realized what had happened. Still hovering, she glanced down at her own hooves, then back at Dash, before covering her mouth in shock. Her eyes remained a reddish tint, but Rainbow could tell that her friend was back in control. Shaking in fear, Fluttershy lowered herself back down to her seat, her wingbeats sounding less feathery and more leathery than they had before. Large tears began pooling in the corners of her eyes; she cloaked herself in her own wings for comfort and laid her pointed ears flat against her head.

"D-Dash, I... what did... I... I'm losing control..."

Fluttershy threw her head into her hooves as her emotional dam broke. She sobbed loud enough to be heard outside, where Angel waited by the door, fearful and despondent. Dash set the chicken down, which quickly fled outdoors, and sat on the couch to comfort her friend, whose chest was heaving with anguish as she wept.

"Fluttershy... you couldn't help it." Rainbow wasn't sure if what she had to say would help. "But you managed to snap out of it before anything bad happened."

"I-I snapped out of it because of you, Rainbow..." She managed to calm her voice enough to deliver a muffled message from behind folded wings. "As soon as I saw that look in your eyes... a-as soon as I realized I'd frightened you... something snapped... and I took control over my instincts again. If you hadn't been here, I... I might have..."

"Eviscerated a chicken." Rainbow thought.

With a sniffle, Fluttershy raised her head to look upon Rainbow once more. Her fangs were now permanently visible after she'd almost made use of them.

"I need you here."

Her voice was barely above a whisper. This, combined with her wet, pitiful eyes powerfully tugged at Dash's heartstrings. The gentle forehoof she felt pawing at her knee didn't help, either.

"Fluttershy, I have responsibilities... as much as I really, really want to stay here and look after you, I'm going to have to go. Maybe it's time we tell Twilight. I'm sure she and Zecora can look after you and figure out some way to-"

"No, Dash, please!" Fluttershy's voice suddenly jumped in pitch, sounding almost panicked. "I feel like I'm enough danger to you and Zecora just by being like this. The LAST thing I want is to threaten anypony else. And besides, if word gets out about this, the whole town would be thrown into a panic! Imagine the whole "Zecora is an evil enchantress" mishap but ten times worse. I beg of you, Dash, DO NOT let ANYPONY else near me!"

Rainbow sighed heavily; of course, she didn't have a problem taking care of Fluttershy, but it wouldn't be easy to explain to their friends and neighbors why neither of them had been seen for several days. After all, Rainbow was both a weatherpony and a Wonderbolt, and Fluttershy wasn't the shut-in she once was.

"What will I tell Twilight and the others then, Fluttershy?" She fluffed her wings out like a mother bird for Fluttershy to scooch underneath, which she gladly did. "I'm sure they're already wondering where you've been."

"Just tell them I've been sick." She said, as though it were that simple. "It's not wrong. And if they ask to see me, just say that I haven't felt well enough to have ponies over, but not to worry since you and Zecora are taking care of me."

Rainbow scratched her chin. "Well... I guess it's worth a shot."

"Thank you, Dashie." Fluttershy purred, nestling herself into Rainbow's feathers and fur and closing down her eyes for a nap... at least, until a loud grumble emanated from her stomach.

"Ah-haha, right..." said Fluttershy. "I... guess I had a reason for wanting to attack that chicken."

"Hmm..." Rainbow adjusted her seating, bringing her forehooves into view. "You know, I think she gave me a little scratch on the wrist here in all the commotion..."

She glanced over at Fluttershy, patiently waiting.

"If you're VERY careful and DON'T use your fangs, I'll let you take a little bit. A LITTLE bit."

Fluttershy's eyes lit up, which, given her vampiric persona, was rather eerie.

"Oh, thank you, my love."

Rainbow detected a little redness in both their cheeks.

Gently, she brought the thin red streak on her foreleg towards her friend's waiting snout. After a couple of instinctual sniffs, Fluttershy's eyes dilated and she began to lap at the wound. Rainbow Dash felt a trickle of blood emerging from the wound, and, much like a vampire bat's, Fluttershy's saliva kept the blood from clotting. The yellow mare's eyes closed gently as she concentrated on feeding, and Rainbow thought she could detect quiet squeaks from her throat betraying her happiness.

Two or three minutes passed before the vampire's hunger had been sated; fortunately for Rainbow, she'd lost less blood than she feared. Fluttershy slowly pulled her mouth away, a watery red trail running down her chin. She took a deep breath and settled back down onto her haunches.

"...That was great." She said, bashfully looking away from her friend. "Thank you, Rainbow Dash..."

Before she could reply, Fluttershy tasted her mouth and raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"You're blood type Qa+, aren't you?"

Rainbow's eyebrows jumped a bit. "Uhh... I think so, yeah... how can you tell?"

Fluttershy shrugged. "I guess I can just... tell now."

Luckily, passing off Fluttershy's illness and bedrest requirements went off with little issue, and Rainbow Dash was able to return to the cottage to spend another night- this time, laden with gifts that her friends sent her, from get-well cards to flowers to various cure-all remedies and comfort foods she wouldn't be able to eat. Rainbow got those instead, and she had to admit that Granny Smith knew how to make a good tomato soup despite specializing in all things apple.

Fluttershy found it a little awkward to go to bed after dark, her instincts telling her she should be up, but with enough coaxing and promises of cuddles from Rainbow- promises she was only happy to fulfill- she finally got some good shuteye.

When they awoke the next morning, however, they were both in for a surprise.

Sunlight wafted in through the window, gently waking up Rainbow Dash as though knocking on her eyelids and asking to be let in. She yawned and stretched as she usually did, and barely managed to suppress her giddiness at once more waking up next to Fluttershy. Gleefully, she popped in and planted a kiss on her sweetheart's cheek...

...but unexpectedly, Fluttershy gave a mild noise of pain.

"Fluttershy? What's wrong?"

Slowly, she started to roll over and face Dash, who was now hovering above the bed.

"Whatever that was, Dashie, that's a rude way to wake somepony up."

"What? It's just a kiss, a little peck on the cheek. How did-- OH MY LEAPING LUNA!"

Unknown to Fluttershy, the left half of her face, the half not buried in the pillow, was horribly sunburnt. In some places, it even seemed as though her fur had started to burn away. There were flakes of skin and horrid blisters peeking out from beneath her yellow coat, and even behind the fur, Rainbow could see the distinct redness that tinged half of her entire face. The thin skin of her poor ear looked as though it had been stuck in a deep fryer.

"What?" asked Fluttershy innocently.

Rainbow quickly grabbed a hoof-held mirror off of the vanity.

"Rainbow, you know I can barely make out my reflection anymore."

She passed the mirror to Fluttershy regardless. "Half your face has a monstrous sunburn!"

Fluttershy peered deeply into the mirror while reaching a hoof up to touch her left cheek. She winced in pain and caught the reflection at just the right angle to see the damage. Naturally, she gave a shrill scream of fright and leapt back against the headboard of the bed.

"It's alright! It's alright!" Dash reassured her. "I'm sure Zecora has some aloe vera! Wait right here!"

Rainbow rushed out of the nearby window, making sure to close the blinds in her iridescent wake. Carefully, Fluttershy picked up the mirror again and examined what little she could make out. It didn't take long to notice that she was grasping the mirror in the claw on her wing, which was increasingly devoid of feathers. As she turned her head this way and that, she felt an uneasiness creep up from the pit of her stomach, and a fearful realization dawned on her once more.

She was losing herself.

She was becoming a monster.

Author's Note

Horses have 7 blood types!
Okay, technically, they haven 7 blood "systems" - but more than 400,000 antigenic combinations. It's quite difficult compared to humans!
I picked one at random for Rainbow from this chart, not sure of any significance to a given type. I guess any equine scientists prowling FimFic can let me know.
Blood typing in horses provides information useful in diagnosis, management or prevention of antibody associated adverse reactions (ucdavis.edu)

A Race Against Time

Zecora had been quick to supply Rainbow Dash with some ointment for Fluttershy's crispened skin before ushering her out the door. She hated that she had to act so curtly, but the medicine mare needed all her focus at hoof to prepare the cure for her friend's affliction. She had most of the ingredients now and surmised that the crucial herbs from her homeland would arrive before much longer. Regardless, Zecora had begun preparing the base for the potion ahead of time, knowing that the final crafting process could take a while and that every second she could shave off was more time for Fluttershy.

Sweat beaded on her forehead as she loomed over her cauldron, stirring the brew and occasionally jetting back to her reading desk to rustle pages in the archaic tome that bore her recipe. Zecora wasn't sure if she had ever put this much effort into a single concoction in her lifetime, but she knew she didn't have the time to ponder. She kept the fire going all hours of the day and night, keeping the magical stock bubbling and hot and the air of her dwelling as heavy and humid as the jungles of her homeland.

"I must keep at my work and spare not a breath," Zecora thought as she labored. "or condemn Fluttershy to a fate worse than death. Still, when the young mare is once more mild and meek, I shall take to my bed and stay there for a week..."

While Rainbow Dash sped off to Zecora's hut, Fluttershy sat sullenly on her bed, carefully staying away from the window's rays, and collected the feathers she'd molted during the night. She half-heartedly counted them, more focused on the increasingly visible webbing that was taking their place. The hooked claws on her wings were fully in, and it wouldn't be too much longer before her wings were completely bare. The thought of what was happening to her felt like a stake through the heart, and she probably would have let herself cry if she hadn't noticed something else: mixed in among her own plumage, a fluffy, powder-blue feather, one of Rainbow Dash's.

Fluttershy gave a small smile, barely noticeable, as she held it up, making her nose twitch with its faint scent.

"Oh, Rainbow..." she thought. "You've been with me through all of this... actually, you've been with me for a lot longer, through thick and thin since we were fillies... I never want to be withou..."

Fluttershy tried to finish her thought, but for some reason the ending wouldn't come.

"W-Without... with... wih..."

A strange feeling overtook her faculties, as if something were creeping up and slowly consuming her mind. Her words turned to images, to feelings, to lived experiences with their sights, tastes, and smells. All thoughts of Rainbow turned to her shape, her movements, her overwhelming sensory presence; Fluttershy felt her heart beating faster and her body responding to it. She could sense Rainbow's traces as though she were sitting next to her - how she smelled, her physical health, and especially the pheromonal cocktail that drove a primal hunger deep within Fluttershy, a hunger not of the stomach, but of the loins... or... perhaps both?

Suddenly, Fluttershy felt back in control. The odd sensation disappeared, as if something inside had snapped her back to normal. She could think in words again. Before she had time to process the strange occurrence, Fluttershy's attention was once again back on the feather, and her mind drifted from Rainbow Dash to the rest of her friends.

"They must be so worried about me..." she thought. "I can't imagine what Twilight or Rarity or Pinkie Pie must be thinking right now. I wish I could see them, to tell them I'm okay, but I g..."

She trembled. Something wasn't right.

"G... gah... I gah...g..."

The feeling of loss returned. Once more, she could sense her friends as if they were in front of her, but the concept of 'friends' wasn't registering. Instead, she once again fixated on their condition, their every strength and weakness. The ones with horns emitted especially strong magical auras and would be dangerous. The two without horn or wing would be easiest, she felt, and each had their challenges and benefits. The orange one was especially strong, but also especially lean and vital; if she could be brought down, she would provide excellent fuel in her currently weakened state. The pink one, on the other hand, was soft and vulnerable, if very fast; if felled, her own stores of fat and energy would prove useful once the snows came...

Fluttershy snapped back into her own thoughts, but the foggy feeling didn't completely leave. Everything around her seemed blurry, distorted in some way she couldn't identify. She tried to tell herself she needed to go back to bed, but the message was garbled; something about 'bed' didn't quite make sense. Then she thought maybe she needed water and looked over next to her... but the water was in some strange thing, not a stream or pond like it should have been. And it was next to an even stranger, shiny thing that made a steady ticking sound. Its little whiskers moved slowly upon its flat face, and it didn't have the sense to cower from her. Where even was she right now...?

Once more, reason returned, though her short-term memories were oddly missing. She recognized Angel, however, and beckoned him to come and snuggle with her. The little rabbit gave a careful hop across the bedspread towards her, but in the blink of an eye he was recoiling in fear. As he hopped down and sped out of the room, instinct told the mare to pursue him, but she was too physically tired.

Any words that tried to form in her mind died and fell away before they could be realized. The room began to spin. Sounds, smells, thoughts, experiences. Everything blended together into a fugue state that felt both comfortable and distressing, natural and unnatural, dominant and passive. If she did try to process what was going on, she didn't succeed before she lapsed out of all awareness.

What came afterwards were sensations more than anything else.

Heat. Coolness. Quiet. Noise. Calm. Violence. Stillness. Movement. Pleasure. Pain.

And then she fell asleep.

At first, Rainbow was terrified, dashing to Fluttershy's side to make sure she was still alive and breathing. Assured of that, a moment followed to catch her breath and allow her confusion to dawn. How had Fluttershy wound up stranded in one of the Everfree Forest's many shaded groves, passed out on the ground with a head wound and a trail of bedsheets behind her?

A brief look around the crime scene coupled with some inductive reasoning powers she'd picked up from Daring Do books allowed her to hazard a guess. Clearly something, whatever it was, caused Fluttershy to bolt out of the house, and the blankets must have protected her from the sun. The scattered trail of linens showed she had wandered around, or was tracking something... to eat? Some torn-up earth and a mass of hoofprints nearby showed there was a struggle. Looking closer, Dash found cloven hooves among the familiar pony tracks - probably deer. Two different sizes of track indicated more than one - a parent and child. And since Fluttershy was unconscious with a gash above her eye, it stood to reason she'd taken one or two swift kicks in the botched hunting attempt, allowing her prey to escape.

Rainbow slowly shook her head as she alighted and knelt to pick up her sleeping friend, careful to both keep her covered in blankets and avoid the acidic blood weeping from her brow. The flight back to the cottage was slow and careful as Dash made sure to avoid any large patches of sunlight, all the while thinking on the situation in which the two Pegasi had found themselves.

"What are we gonna do, Fluttershy?" She asked as though her friend could read minds. "If Zecora doesn't get that medicine mixed up before long... no, I'm not letting my mind go there. We'll just have to keep hiding this... making sure nopony sees you... and that you can't hurt anything..."

Rainbow let her thought trail off as she realized how impractical it would be, but steeled her resolve nonetheless, focusing on getting Fluttershy home instead of giving in to despair. When she finally arrived at the front door of the cottage, she couldn't help but notice how eerily quiet it all seemed without any animals present. No singing of birds, no buzzing of insects... even Angel Bunny was nowhere to be found. It was as though life had left that part of the Everfree as undeath crept into its shepherd.

Dash silently bore Fluttershy over to the sofa, leaving her cocooned in disheveled sheets and pulling all the blinds in the room as tightly shut as they'd go. She carefully cleaned and bandaged the cut above her friend's eye without waking her from her pacific sleep, and likewise applied the aloe vera to the opposite, sunburnt side of her face. Dash watched her for a moment, observing her breathing to make sure she was truly alright. She tilted her head to the side and ran a hoof through her rainbow mane in worry. Her mind wandered to happier days of yore, her heart welling up with the wish that they could return to them. She hoped beyond hope that Zecora's medicine would do the trick, and that it would be ready soon. Even though she tried to put on a brave, optimistic face, deep down, Rainbow worried, and she didn't know how much more she could take.

Nonetheless, she thought, she had done all she could do for now. It was probably best that Fluttershy get her rest anyway. Quietly hovering to another corner of the room, Dash quickly found a nice soft chair and began catching a few extra Zs herself.

It never surprised Rainbow Dash that she could sleep most of a day away. Even if she seemed perfectly well-rested, the mare possessed the innate talent to drift off to sleep just about anywhere she thought looked comfortable. Many were the days she spent curled up on a cloud drifting over Ponyville, having lulled herself asleep thinking about Pinkie Pie listing every single type of cupcake or Twilight lecturing on Haycarte's Circle Theorem. So naturally, it was no surprise that she'd found it easy to sleep in one of Fluttershy's antique parlor chairs, the fluffy cushions and oddly textured upholstery cradling her like a nice stratocumulus.

What was a surprise was the fact that Fluttershy had since woken up and was hovering mere inches from her face.

Dash's eyes opened slowly at first, then immediately popped the rest of the way up as soon as they spotted the yellow and pink shape bobbing up and down before them. She immediately threw her body back with a less-than-calm noise, bringing the chair with her as she careened towards the floor. A quick roll right-side-up allowed her to pop open her wings, ready for anything... but instead, Fluttershy simply floated there as if nothing was wrong. After a second or two, she did pick up that something had just happened that startled her friend.

"Oh! I-I'm sorry... did I scare you?"

"Fluttershy! Yes, you scared me! Why were you just floating there, staring at me from inches away?"

"Um..." Fluttershy put a hoof to her mouth and glanced around the room but seemed to lose her train of thought very quickly. Instead, her attention turned back to her own hoof, which she began licking and grooming as a cat would.

"Fluttershy, come on now." Began Rainbow Dash, slowly approaching her. "I'm not mad, I just don't know-"

Before she could reach out to rouse her friend from distraction, however, the mare's eyes grew narrow and fixated upon her. Suddenly, Fluttershy lashed out, snarling at Rainbow Dash and baring her fangs, slick and glinting in the evening candlelight. Dash recoiled again, her ears pinned back and her hooves retreating a few steps.

"Fluttershy...?"

Hearing her name uttered in Dash's nervous tone must have triggered something within her, for Fluttershy alighted upon the floor and carefully moved towards her with gentle eyes and a submissive posture. Almost tiptoeing, she took care to wordlessly reassure her darling that everything was fine. The blue Pegasus couldn't help but let her guard down a little as Fluttershy nuzzled up against her cheek so lovingly, moving on to rub her own mane against hers...

...But what started as affectionate quickly became awkward, then unnerving.

"Uh, Fluttershy?"

Said mare worked her way down Rainbow's body, rubbing her ears and cheeks across her shoulders, her torso, her wings, as though she were claiming her for herself. Normally, Rainbow wouldn't have complained, but something didn't feel entirely right, entirely genuine about this attention she received. She was briefly distracted as Fluttershy's tail flicked in her face. The mare rubbed herself against the Cutie Mark on her flank, and then her focus very quickly turned elsewhere, her sniffing snout attempting to probe places that made Rainbow blush.

"H-Hey! What's gotten into you?!" She very quickly spun her rear away from Fluttershy, confronting her with a furrowed brow and reddened cheeks.

"Now look, I know your instincts have been getting stronger and stronger, but you need to try to fight th-"

Before Rainbow had realized what had happened, Fluttershy had done something completely unthinkable to her normal self: she'd stepped forward and put her tongue in Rainbow's mouth. What was thrilling nights ago became upsetting in a way she'd not known before. Rainbow squirmed and shot her eyes around as their muzzles pressed together but decided to at least try and enjoy it for Fluttershy's sake, shutting her eyes with a look of discomfort still writ across her face. As Fluttershy plied her lust at Rainbow's mouth, she slowly unfolded leathery wings and wrapped them around her, not a plume to be found as she cradled her treasure.

Then, almost as quickly as the kiss had started, Fluttershy pulled away... and lunged for Rainbow's throat.

Fortunately, the Wonderbolt's instincts acted quick enough to whisk her out of the leathery wings and towards the ceiling, narrowly avoiding the strafing fangs. An angry hiss emanated from Fluttershy's throat as her lover-turned-prey escaped from her clutches.

"FLUTTERSHY!" Rainbow scolded. "DON'T do that! I told you to fight it! If you're hungry you can just ask me."

From her lofty position, however, something once again seemed to have changed in her friend below. Fluttershy staggered, a hoof grasping her head in pain as she flattened her ears. Rainbow was much more cautious in her approach this time.

"Fluttershy...?"

Said pony tried to look up at Rainbow Dash, but found herself disabled by her seeming headache.

"Ngh... D... D-Dashie...? I... aah..."

Dash carefully hovered low to the floor, brushing aside Fluttershy's hoof and mane to look in her eyes. Though they turned from blue to red some time ago, now even her sclerae seemed pinkish and bloodshot, almost as if an infection was setting in.

"Fluttershy, do you remember anything that's happened in the past few minutes?"

"N... N... No..." She continued to tremble and hold her head.

Rainbow Dash felt a nervous sweat break out on her forehead. There wasn't much more holding back she could do; if Zecora didn't have her medicine ready and soon, there would be nothing left to save.

She needed to watch after Fluttershy... but she also needed to keep herself safe.

There might be a solution, she thought.

"H-Hey Fluttershy?" said Dash, just above a whisper. "Back when, um... when the bat bit you...? You know, when this all started? Where did that happen?"

It took the mare a minute to comprehend what was said and find the right words to respond.

"U-uh... i-in my sewing room... I-I..." She gestured towards her front door. "I found the bat o-out there... ngah... a-and I took it... down here..."

Unsure of who was leading whom, the two made their way towards the secret sliding door to Fluttershy's underground knitting room. Rainbow let her go ahead down the stairs to continue her tale, but she didn't follow. By the time she realized she was alone and turned around, Dash had already slid the door back.

Though the door was hard to distinguish from the wall surrounding it, Dash made sure she secured it properly; having quickly retrieved a hammer and nails from elsewhere in the house, she nailed one end of a wooden board into the door and the other end into the wall, ensuring it could not be slid open. Fluttershy's voice from within sounded like she was being buried alive.

"RAINBOW DASH, HOW COULD YOU?!" she sobbed aloud, screaming to be let out, straining her voice until her cries sounded like gravel.

It tore at Rainbow's heartstrings, and she herself began to cry as well, even as she nailed more spare boards onto the door. She knew that she could do nothing to help her friend, and she knew that her own life was in danger if they continued to be in proximity. As difficult as it was, Rainbow continued to shut up the love of her life in an underground cage, awaiting the time she could be cured.

When she ran out of planks, Rainbow curled up against the door and bawled like a child.

Zecora paced around her cauldron, occasionally lifting the lid to check its simmering or poking the fire to rekindle the ashes. All she needed now was that last ingredient, the precious dried herbs from her homeland. She hoped they could still be found, that they still existed; it had been so long since the vampiric affliction had last struck, she wasn't entirely sure if they could be. Nonetheless, she kept both ears well open, eagerly listening for any kind of knock at the door...

Or a crash into the upper branches of her arboreal home. That worked too.

Rushing to the front door, the zebra turned her head this way and that before finally being alerted, by gently falling leaves, to the presence of Ponyville's cross-eyed mailmare above her, tangled in the foliage.

"Uhhhhh.... Zecora?" she spoke with an innocent, slightly congested voice. "There's a big envelope here for you."

Author's Note

I have to give immense thanks to the lovely Hyreia for helping me organize, compile, and proof this chapter, as well as just generally keeping me in positive spirits and motivated to write all throughout. She's an amazing pony and a real rising star on this website. Please go send her all the love and support! :pinkiehappy: :heart:

Hunger

The cries were anguishing.

Rainbow tried her best to shut out Fluttershy's wails and weak strikes at the door as she nervously paced the cottage, hoping Zecora would step through the front entrance at any moment to deliver her healing concoction. The poor, afflicted mare trapped behind Rainbow's amateur carpentry screamed until her voice was raw and fatigued. Judging from the coughing and hacking that began to overtake her voice, Rainbow, safe on the outside, would have assumed she were coughing up blood. Whatever was going on on the stairs to the knitting room, the Element of Loyalty could hear it all whether she wanted to or not.

After several moments, the coughing, heaving, and straggling wails stopped. All was silent behind the door.

Rainbow gave a quiet gasp, her eyes quickly darting to the barricade. A tear formed atop her cheek as her every moment with Fluttershy flashed before her eyes. Every adventure with their friends, every moment saving Equestria, every quiet afternoon lazily exploring Ponyville.

Was it all over?

Dash took a few quiet steps towards the door to listen more closely, her heart in her throat.

Suddenly, a terrible guttural shriek came from beyond the wood, accompanied by bashing and slamming the likes of which would make a yak jealous. Dash hurriedly threw herself against the door, hoping they both could withstand this renewed assault.

"Don't hurt yourself like this, Fluttershy..." She thought, pushing herself against the door with all her might. "Then again... she's so infected she probably doesn't feel any pain anymore..."

Zecora could barely make out anything in her hut for all the magical haze her tincture gave off, but she continued her chanting as she carefully added the final ingredient that had been delivered just in time... at least, she hoped. When last she stepped outside, the moon was on the rise. The fact that Fluttershy was running out of time was one that she simply had to put out of her mind as she finished a ritual not performed in centuries.

When she'd finally incorporated the herb into the mixture, the bubbling in the cauldron intensified for a moment and the mist belched from the liquid's surface like an erupting volcano. Zecora had to shield her eyes and nose from the onslaught on her senses, but after a few moments, the calm returned. The potion had taken on the appearance as described in her old manual, and while much of it had effused away, there was still enough left in the cauldron for more than a few doses.

Hopefully, Zecora thought, one was all they would ever need.

Where Fluttershy's desperate cries had filled Rainbow's heart with pain, the sound of splintering wood now filled it with dread.

Despite her best efforts, it had barely taken Fluttershy more than a minute or two to gnaw, bash, and snarl her way through the door. Rainbow could do nothing but back away slowly with her hackles raised as she unbelievingly watched a forehoof, then a fanged muzzle, then another hoof, break away at the boards and try to force their way through a self-made hole.

Dash couldn't bother to think in this moment, only to act. Refusing to abandon her friend and any chance of saving her, she quickly grabbed up an assortment of nearby objects from the kitchen and, blocking the way to the front door, stood to face whatever was about to emerge from the hidden passage.

But as a glowing, blood-red eye came into view, Rainbow's deepest animal instincts told her one thing that her mind couldn't accept: this wasn't Fluttershy.

Though she looked about like she had when under the fruit bats' spell, this creature was altogether more ferocious. It craved not nectar, but blood, and was determined to glut itself on the nearest thing that breathed. Its teeth would've been more at home in a wolf's mouth, or a bear's, but looked nightmarish in a pony's muzzle. Not only long fangs but carnassials too glinted in the growing moonlight. The claws at the thumbs of her batlike wings now looked more like talons, sharp and wickedly hooked. Her hooves were about the only thing that seemed unchanged, for even the texture of her coat and mane had morphed to suit the will of this illness. Her Cutie Mark, much as before, had become three pink bats with red eyes.

As she slowly emerged from the door, growling under her breath, the creature paid no mind to the various splinters and pieces of wood that clung to her flesh. Nothing was going to keep her from her prey of choice. Her wings spread out slowly and menacingly, casting a grim shadow on the floor of the once-peaceful cottage.

Rainbow Dash, with a little hesitation and no small amount of fear, reared back the hoof holding a teapot and launched it in the direction of the predator. Though it satisfyingly shattered across the creature's face, leaving a long cut across her muzzle, she merely shook her mane and continued her ceaseless march forward, eyes locked on those of her quarry.

Her legs trembling and her wings tense, Rainbow couldn't but throw a couple more items lamely at the creature before her courage broke and she jetted for the door. Immediately, the creature was after her on its leathery wings, a horrific screech accompanying its single-minded desire to kill. Dash managed to shut the door between the two of them, hoping to stall for a few seconds while she broke into full Wonderbolt speed towards Zecora's abode. Yet another door, this one unlocked even, was no match for the creature's might, and while she couldn't fly as fast as her prey, she nonetheless trailed her into the night sky, crying out for blood as she went.

Dash knew she had to keep tabs on her pursuer; if she were allowed to wander off in the direction of Ponyville, or civilization in general, there could be a full-scale pandemic on hers and Zecora's hooves. So, the tiny part of Dash's thoughts that were still together told her to keep flying, lead her in circles or something, until she tired or could be subdued. The rest of her mind told her to fend for herself, since she didn't like being mercilessly hunted by the terrifying specter of what used to be her friend.

Thinking quickly, she analyzed the landscape below her; at her speed, she'd reach Zecora before long. Folding in her wings, she quickly dove towards the forest below her, the cold air biting at her face as she fell. Judging by the sounds behind her, the predator followed. Closing her eyes just long enough to break through the leafy canopy, Rainbow popped her wings back open and proceeded to put her agility training to the test, weaving in between and around the twisted snarl of branches which kept the Everfree shaded in the day but now felt like a deathly maze.

She could hear branches crashing behind her, leafy boughs being knocked to the forest floor as the fiend chasing her fell further behind.

"Just gotta keep moving..." Dash thought. "Almost to Zecora's..."

Left...

Right...

Up...

Down...

Right...

Up...

...CRASH!

Though her mind slipped for just a second, it was enough to derail her. She just managed to clip a stray limb with one of her own, and the snag sent her tumbling down into the undergrowth. Bouncing along the earth, she came to rest in a small clearing, the moonlight hauntingly gazing upon her. Dash had been in worse scrapes, she thought, though few of them involved as many thorns. As she sat herself up slowly, her foreleg burned with pain. She clutched it close to herself with a wing and glanced about her surroundings. Though she couldn't make out any features from a pony's-eye view, she knew she couldn't be very far at all from Zecora's hut. She hoped that she might have a moment to catch her breath and prepare for the final leg of her journey.

But suddenly... noises. From the brush.

Dash's ears snapped to attention, followed shortly by the rest of her. It was hard to make out from the dim light among the trees, but it looked as if the entire forest was moving towards her. It didn't take long for the eerie green eyes to emerge from amid the shadows, followed by a gnarled, woody claw.

A timberwolf.

The ligneous beast pawed its way out from among the Everfree, a rugged growl in its throat as it zeroed in on Rainbow Dash. From a distance of no more than 50 feet, she could hear its teeth gnashing, its jaws readying to leap forward and devour her.

"Didn't think I'd have to deal with two thing wanting to eat me tonight." She thought.

Brushing off her injuries as best she could, Dash pulled herself back up to her hooves and prepared for fight or flight but would end up freezing instead as another surprise came her way. From somewhere in the muffled distance of the forest, a shrill noise, almost like the whistling wind, was gradually growing louder... before it suddenly burst forth from the branches.

It was the bat once again. But this time, her focus was on the timberwolf.

Rainbow's eyes watched in horror and amazement as the little yellow flier, so diminutive compared to the hulking wolf, latched herself onto its neck and began strafing it with her clawed wings and smashing it with her rear hooves. Both creatures snarled, howled, and whimpered in pain as one tried to shake the other free of its body. At one opportune moment when the wolf's thrashing had let up for just a moment, the bat withdrew her head and went in for a larger, more powerful bite. Naturally, the wolf thrashed and whimpered more, fear now invading its eyes, but it was too late. Having made a sufficient opening in the creature's bark-like armor, the vampire proceeded to carve her way through the timberwolf's neck, vines in lieu of muscles snapping with each sickening crunch of her jaws. The mournful cries of the sylvan beast eventually faded, and its vegetative form, held together by nature's magic, was undone as its lifeless head thumped to the ground.

The victorious predator almost seemed to admire her kill for a moment, and Rainbow wondered if she had killed the creature for her own protection, out of some sense of protectiveness that lingered towards her. Then she looked at the severed head again and realized that wolf could just as easily have been her. The beast's eyes had turned back upon her. It was then that Rainbow noticed the gash on her foreleg, the one that had struck the branch. During the spectacle, she'd unknowingly bled down her hoof, the streak of red smudging onto part of her torso as well. Once again, she nervously locked eyes with the creature, whose eyes were fixed upon the wound and upon her. Those sinister, unblinking eyes...

There was a moment of silent tension between the two, as though trying to decide who would act first. Rainbow was ready to take to the sky with a twitch of a muscle. Her opponent stood catching her breath and licking her lips, likewise ready to leap at a moment's notice. Rainbow wondered if this was where it all would end.

There was another crackling sound in the bushes. Predator and prey both turned to it.

"Shetani!"

Zecora stood in the moonlight with a stern, grim countenance. She had equipped herself with a facsimile of armor from her homeland and strapped to her sides were several vials of a strange greenish liquid. She also carried a knife and wooden stake strapped to her shoulder.

"Hii inaishia hapa."

The zebra grabbed up the knife in her muzzle, and, gritting her teeth around the handle, carved a line of red into her own fetlock. The creature's eyes immediately focused in on the fresh wound, and a hiss emanated from its toothy maw. Zecora prepared herself to run back from whence she'd came as she made herself the next target.

"Rainbow Dash! We must lead her back towards my tree!" Zecora called out as she began to turn tail. "We must trap her and dose her to set our friend free!"

Nodding, Rainbow leapt into the sky again, her wings sore but more than capable of carrying her to this crucial victory. She made sure to keep track of Zecora from just above the canopy; whenever the vampire got a little too close, she would risk a flyby to grab her attention or give her a gentle smack with her hoof, distracting her just long enough to buy time for Zecora's hooves.

Finally, when Zecora's hut came into view, it looked more beautiful to Rainbow than Canterlot ever did. There was still a fair bit of distance between the zebra and the beast hunting her, so Rainbow dove closer to her ally's side.

"What's the plan?" she asked briskly.

"We must get her to fly in through my door. I've set a trap there that should pin her to the floor!"

"I've got just the thing!"

Sweeping through her flightpath to grab her attention, Rainbow led the creature in a high loop through the night air to give Zecora time to reach the door. Holding it open and giving a whistle, she signaled with her wounded hoof in the direction of the trap. Giving herself one last burst of speed, Rainbow pulled ahead of the ever-more-frustrated predator that pursued her, finally placing herself in the doorway, all six limbs spread wide to expose as many of her injuries as possible.

The two Pegasi once more locked eyes. The vampire gave the loudest screech yet witnessed, her mind flowing with nothing but the urge to kill and feast.

But she would not sate her hunger this night. Just before the two made contact, Rainbow Dash ducked and rolled out of her way, missing the creature's muzzle by what felt like a hair's width. The bat had little time to realize what had happened and crashed headfirst into Zecora's wall, knocking over or shattering many vials on her shelves. One particular gourd knocked loose a wooden post holding in place a rope system; as the creature hovered over the pit where the cauldron had once sat, she suddenly found herself attacked from above. A thick-corded net, weighted down with stones and other heavy objects, fell from the ceiling and dragged her to the earthen floor, hissing and screaming in anger.

"Quickly, Rainbow Dash! We have no time to waste!" Zecora said as she donned a pair of heavy leather stockings for her forehooves. "We must pry open her mouth and give her a taste!" Plucking one of the vials from her armor, she tossed it across the room to Dash's nimble hooves. As the furious creature writhed and gnashed her teeth in the net, the two of them approached cautiously, Zecora from behind. They shared a determined glance.

"Wait for my cue, and you'll know what to do."

Rainbow nodded once more and gave a steady exhale. Her hooves cradled the vial carefully as she watched Zecora approach the thrashing animal, its face cut up by glass and its coat glistening with sweat. It was almost astounding to Rainbow how this sickness had taken such a gentle creature as Fluttershy and turned her body into a perfect killing machine. This close, it was easy to see muscles emerging that Fluttershy had never possessed, and that Rainbow had to work hard to maintain. But of course, this wasn't Fluttershy, she thought. It was time to fix that.

Zecora, her forelegs protected by her stockings, managed to put the creature in a headlock and fit its mouth through one of the gaps in the net. Still, Dash could tell that Zecora was using absolutely all of her body's strength just to attempt to hold the creature in place.

"Dash, now!" said the zebra, trying to snap the Pegasus from her reverie.

Furrowing her brow, Dash carefully approached the creature on the wing, hovering just above the net until she felt safe enough to lower herself almost on top of it. Though the creature still flailed and snarled, Zecora managed to get a hoof on its snout to pry its mouth open. Dash, careful not to drop the vial, removed the cork in her teeth and slowly poured the elixir down the creature's gullet. Though it coughed and kicked at them, they could now breathe a sigh of relief.

"Is one going to be enough?" asked Dash.

"One should be plenty to ease our friend's woes. But it may not hurt to drip-feed another dose."

After a few minutes more of thrashing and trying to escape from beneath the net, the creature finally settled down and, seemingly exhausted, fell asleep. Every 10 or so minutes, one of them would don the leather stockings and drip some more of the medicine onto the bat's tongue. In between, they bandaged each other's wounds, spoke of their worries, and caught each other up on events. But more than anything, they held each other - they cried together over this whole experience and watched their sleeping friend with hope and fear. Dash had never known Zecora terribly well prior to all this, but she was sure that they would now be lifelong friends.

The two stood vigilant over the sleeping Pegasus, administering her medicine regularly throughout the night, unable to sleep. But hope finally dawned early that morning, just an hour or two before sunrise. When the creature began to rustle, Rainbow prepared herself for the worst. But when the face twitched and the eyes slowly opened, they were the soft blue eyes of a friend. Fluttershy had returned.

"R... R... Rainbow...?"

Author's Note

A lot of Castlevania music got me through writing this.

Epilogue: Eternal Love

Fluttershy sat upon her freshly made bed surrounded by flowers, gifts, and cards full of get-well wishes from her friends and family. They'd all been very understanding about the whole situation, and while plenty of them (namely Twilight and Applejack) wished that Rainbow had simply come and gotten them to help, they were sympathetic about the position Rainbow had been put in, and of course, felt terrible for what Fluttershy had to suffer through. Zecora came by regularly to redress Fluttershy's wounds - fortunately, they were the only reminders of the incident, since a full course of the potion had removed any traces of vampirism within a week. And of course, Rainbow Dash stayed by her side constantly to provide whatever she needed. In fact, she was just now bringing her her lunch; since Fluttershy had regained the ability to taste pony food, she'd developed quite an appetite.

"Here you go, miss." Rainbow playfully curtsied as she placed the plate on Fluttershy's lap. "Carrot sandwich with clover and daisies. Do you need any more water?"

"No, I'm fine. Thank you, Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy gave her characteristic warm smile in return. Reaching a hoof to her side, she gently patted Angel Bunny, who was sleeping next to her. Both Pegasi were also glad that Fluttershy's animal friends were quick to return once they sensed that all was right in the world again.

Rainbow carefully leaned on the bed near Fluttershy. "Sure was nice of everypony to give you all this get-well stuff. Heck, Rarity even made you those super-soft nightclothes to sleep in."

Fluttershy glanced down at the long nightshirt she was wearing, a lovely teal green and soft as a duckling's down. It certainly helped pad her injuries against the bed when she slept, but mostly it served to remind her of her friends' love and support, something which she was even more grateful for now.

"Yeah... hey, um... Rainbow?" Fluttershy replied, partially hiding behind her mane. "I-I just wanted to say I'm s-"

"No, don't say you're sorry, Fluttershy." She curtly interrupted, but quickly adopted a gentler tone. "You've got nothing to be sorry for. It wasn't you that hurt me. I know you weren't fully in control. You told us yourself; you don't remember anything that happened before waking up on Zecora's floor."

"That may be so, but..."

"And hey, you had no idea any of this was going to happen anyway. So don't worry about it, okay?"

Dash finished that thought with a smile that always made Fluttershy's heart melt a little. It felt so good to have a friend so devoted, so willing to risk it all for one's own good...

No... they were more than friends now, weren't they, she thought.

"Um... Dashie?" she gently piped up "Can I say one other thing?"

"What's up?"

"...You know I love you, right?"

Rainbow gave a small chuckle. "Of course I do."

She took one of Fluttershy's hooves in her own.

"You know I love you too, right?"

She nodded giddily. "I do."

The two brought their muzzles together in a sweet, intimate kiss, witnessed only by the sunshine. When they pulled apart, they looked into each other's eyes, and without saying a word, they knew. They knew that their love was eternal. No matter what happened, that feeling would always be there.

Fluttershy had her Dashie to make her brave, to help her through the hard times, and to inspire her to step outside her comfort zone. Rainbow had her Flutters to make her slow down and think, to enjoy the simple things in life, and to be a more considerate mare. And whenever they embraced, felt that warmth between them, all felt right with the world, especially after having nearly lost it all.

They didn't need to say it for each of them to know. They knew they loved each other, and they knew they each looked forward to spending forever with each other. So many exciting avenues in life lay before them. But before they could travel Equestria or raise animals together, or even slip beneath the covers and explore the feelings her illness had intensified, Fluttershy needed to rest and recover. So, after a few minutes of chatting and kissing, Rainbow Dash glided out the bedroom door and quietly closed it behind her.

Author's Note

I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you who have stuck with me during this journey and followed this story to the end. It's been a long time coming. When I started writing this story, shortly after discovering MLP, I wasn't entirely sure what direction I wanted it to go in. Then, of course, I had other ideas and went off to explore them. Over time, I started to write off BloodLust as an early experiment that had withered, and it sat here for a while as an albatross around my neck... but I didn't want to give up on it. I remembered being so proud of publishing my first fanfiction and the positive reception it had gotten. I believed, for myself and everyone else, this story deserved a proper ending. And now, it has one.

It's hard to find the time (and especially, the motivation) to write anymore, but it feels good to know, A, that when I do manage, I can still produce something I'm really proud of, and B, that at least a few people will get something from reading it. I want to extend my special thanks once again to Hyreia, who has helped me focus and bring out my best for these last few chapters. I'm not sure how much I would actually accomplish without her around, so she deserves credit for helping this little book find its back cover. With her motivation and friendship, I hope to eventually cash the checks my brain has been writing for the past 5 years and finish all of my loose-end stories.

Thank you all once again for reading and enjoying BloodLust - what began as an awkward first attempt at pony fiction but eventually turned into so much more for me.