As Twilight walked along the path ahead of her, flanked by all of her friends from Ponyville and led by Vinyl, she couldn't help but wonder how her life was going to keep changing. Two of her closest friends had been revealed as vamponies. Vinyl had told her that she knew at least nine vamponies, and four were surrounding her presently, and that made her all the more curious as to who the next five would be. It all seemed too surreal.

"Alright, Sugarcube... there's a little tellin' need be done so's ya know everythin'." Applejack said from beside her, drawing Twilight's attention. The Apple mare had a comforting smile, though one could tell that she was more than a little nervous due to whatever they were heading towards.

"A-about what? Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy are vamponies. Vinyl already told me how some vam-"

"No sugarcube... Ya need t' listen." Applejack said, nodding to Fluttershy.

"Twilight... I'm the same age as you. Pinkie really is a year younger than me. We haven't been vamponies for long. I... I was turned after you met me." Fluttershy said as she lookied away, her frame quivering as though she were on the verge of tears and scared stiff. Twilight stopped and put a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder, drawing the mares attention. "What happened?" Twilight asked softly, making Fluttershy look up at her friend and take a deep breath. She wasn't going to like re-living this, but Twilight had a right to know.

"Manticore."

Twilight's eyes went wide. The thought of her demure friend surviving an attack by a manticore, even with her seemingly 'supernatural stare,' was edging once again into the realm of the absurd. But then, this had been the most absurd night that Twilight had ever had. Hay, she hadn't even heard something of this magnitude in reading a plethora of books, including the genres of horror, fantasy and adventure, in her younger years.

"Wha-"

"It was a rogue. Probably figured out that Fluttershy would help ANY creature in need and used that to lure her in." Rainbow Dash said in a surprisingly flat and angry tone. As if she had... seen.

"You... you were there." Twilight said. It was a statement, she knew better than to ask, she knew by her friends tone alone that she had seen the whole of the ordeal.

Dash nodded, her expression saddened as she looked over at Fluttershy. "I was heading to see her with Pinkie Pie. We're just walking along when Pinkie stops dead in her tracks, eyes wide. I asked her what was up, only to have her take off like a pink lightning bolt! I took off after her and we got to 'Shy at the same time." At this, Dash involuntarily shuddered. For her, the memory was just as fresh as if it had happened yesterday.

Rainbow Dash practically fell out of the sky as she saw a manticore pull it's stinger out of Fluttershy's side and leap back, eagerly waiting for its prey to expire. She remembered seeing the gash in her friend's side as the yellow pegasus collapsed. She remembered seeing the pool of dark crimson growing on the ground as Fluttershy started to bleed out. Above all though, she remembered what she had heard from Pinkie Pie. The animosity, the pain, the pure hatred that had laced Pinkie's voice as she addressed the fearsome creature that had attacked Fluttershy was something that Dash would remember to her dying day.

"You REALLY shouldn't have done that..."

Looking over, Dash had yet another scene burned into her memory that day. The crimson eyes, almost glowing in the twilight. The sickly smile, a picture of absolute insanity. The fangs, bared as a guttural snarl left Pinkie's throat. The muscles that snapped taught like bands of iron as the mare beside her tensed.

What happened next didn't really register for Rainbow until it was all over. In a single instant of blinding speed and flying blood, Pinkie Pie rocketed across the clearing and tore the manticore's throat out and took its tail clean off. As the beast had whirled around in blind pain, she had stabbed it in the chest with its own stinger. As the predator fell, Pinkie listened to the dying creature howl in pain as her pin-straight hair moved slightly in the breeze. Giving it a final glance, she whirled around and kicked it in the head so hard, her back hooves broke through its skull. The manticore lay in a bloody heap as Pinkie Pie pulled her hooves back, pieces of grey matter still clinging to them. Dash lost whatever contents her stomach had in it at the time, despite her attempts to keep it down. When she looked up again, she saw Pinkie cradling Fluttershy's head and silently crying, her hair still pin straight as her tears fell. Her fangs were still clearly visible as she had choked out a half-sobbed "I'm sorry!" and bit into the yellow mares neck. Fluttershy's eyes burst open as she screamed, a long scream of untold pain that shook Dash to her core.

The sound of Fluttershy's scream and the sight of Pinkie Pie pulling her fangs from her friends neck had shocked Dash out of her traumatized stupor and replaced her lack of cognition with pure rage as she rocketed over to Fluttershy and knocked Pinkie Pie away from her. As Pinkie Pie hit the ground, Dash was right there and kicked her as hard as she could, sending her flying again. Scenes of what had just happened flashed in Dash's mind along with the feeling she had gotten years earlier when she found out she had almost lost Fluttershy during the race that had resulted in both of their cutie marks. The feeling she had when she heard her friend was moving away from Cloudsdale. The feeling of elation when she found out she was getting posted to Ponyville as a weather pony because she knew Fluttershy was there. The feeling of rage because now, she would never get the chance to say what she had wanted to say for years. Several punches and kicks followed each thought until finally, Dash had Pinkie Pie pinned up against a tree by her throat. Her hooves were hanging limply at her side as she looked at Dash with tear-filled eyes and tried to speak.

"Dashie, I'm so-hrrk!" Pinkie had been cut off as Dash had pushed her hooves harder into Pinkie's throat.

"Y-you... Why?WHY?!! TELL ME WHY DAMMIT!!! WASN'T IT BAD ENOUGH THAT SHE WAS GOING TO DIE BECAUSE OF THAT DAMN MANTICORE?! NOW YOU HAVE TO GO CHOMPING INTO HER NECK TO FINISH HER OFF?! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!! " Dash yelled, tears streaming down her cheeks as she tried with all she was to understand what had just happened in front of her. She just knew she had just watched Fluttershy die by Pinkie's hoof. Some ponies would likely say it was a 'mercy killing.' That Pinkie did her a favor by killing her instead of letting the manticore's venom work its way like acid through Fluttershy's system, painfully eating away at her, leaving her to only scream in agony before she died. Dash knew what a manticore sting did to a pony, she had heard stories from her uncle who was in the Everfree border patrol. Some of those stories had scarred him the way the scene that had unfolded before her would scar her forever.

"WHY?! WHY?! Why?" Dash asked as she choked back sobs, letting go of Pinkie Pie's neck and collapsing on the ground in a heap. "Why... Fluttershy... Why?!"

Curling into a ball, Rainbow Dash wept. Long cries of sadness wracked her body as she tried to curl up that much tighter. She cursed Celestia, that something like this should happen to Fluttershy. Why did it have to be her?

It wasn't until a raspy voice caught Dash's attention that she stopped crying.

"I-I'm sorry... I'm so sorry Rainbow. I had to."

Her head snapped up as she recognized the voice as Pinkie's. Scowling at the pink mare, Dash's teeth chattered with barely contained rage and sorrow.

"Y-you MONSTER!!"

As Dash stood up, fully ready to unleash her fury on the pink mare again, she heard something that stopped her cold.

"R-rain... bow...?"

She couldn't be. There was no way! If the manticore didn't kill her, then Pinkie- There was no way!

"Rainbow... don't..."

She looked. She had to. What she saw made her cry tears of joy.

Fluttershy was alive. She looked at Dash with a mix of sadness and pain as she tried to get to her hooves. It took Dash all of half a second to bolt over to Fluttershy and look her over. Though the gash was still there, much to Rainbow's disbelief, the wound was closing right before her eyes. The color was returning to Fluttershy's eyes... but it wasn't their usual color. They were coming back a dark crimson, much like Pinkie's had been. Looking over to Pinkie Pie, Dash saw her trying to raise up slowly. The damage Dash's assault had done was evident in the bruises and cuts to the earth pony mare's body and face, but it caused Rainbow Dash to realize three things very quickly.

One: Pinkie Pie was a vampony and now, so was Fluttershy.

Two: She hadn't been finishing Fluttershy off, she had been saving her.

Three: She had just attacked one of her best friends as viciously as any manticore ever could.

"Oh Dear Faust! Pinkie, I'm so, so, sorry! I... " Dash said, still cradling Fluttershy close to her barrel as the earth pony mare finally rose to her hooves with a sad but understanding smile.

"I-It's okay, Dashie. I know what it must have looked like. I had to act fast though... manticore venom is quick and painful. If I hadn't done what I did... She'd be screaming in agony right now and there's nothing anypony could have done but listened and watched."

Dash nodded somberly, looking down at Fluttershy's pained smile. She may not have been feeling the effects of the manticores powerful venom, but she still had a gash in her side that was no doubt causing her great pain. Presently though, Dash just carefully hugged her friend close to her as silent tears slid down her cheeks. "I thought I lost you Fluttershy... I thought I lost you." The words came out as choked whispers as she absentmindedly nuzzled the butter yellow pegasus in her arms. Looking into Fluttershy's eyes, Dash saw similar tears running down her cheeks. Her smile though, was becoming less pained.

Suddenly, Fluttershy's gaze drifted down to Dash's body. Glancing back up to her eyes and back again, Fluttershy cleared her throat and said "Rainbow... you're covered in blood." Looking down, the prismatic mare saw that she was indeed rather drenched in blood. A shiver went down her spine as she realized that, had it not been for Pinkie, Fluttershy would either be in pain unimaginable or dead at that moment. It dawned on her suddenly, that Fluttershy's eyes were back up to meet hers. Looking up, the sight shocked Rainbow. Fluttershy looked at her with uncertain but hopeful eyes, and biting her lip, making a single fang stick out. Dash had to admit, despite the situation, the sight was incredibly... hot.

"Uuhhh, 'Shy?"

"Yes, Rainbow?"

"W-what's with the look?" Dash asked as her cheeks tinged a light pink.

Fluttershy blushed crimson and looked away. "I-it's nothing..."

"C'mon 'Shy... It's me. You can tell me anything."

Looking back at Dash, Fluttershy couldn't stop herself from licking her lips as she realized that she heard the athletic mare's heart beating in her chest.

"I... well... I'm..."

"Yeeeees?" Dash said, giving the stuttering mare a confused look.

"I'm... thirsty."

Dash's eyes shot wide open as she jumped backwards of her own accord, allowing Fluttershy to fall to the ground with a soft thud before she even realized what happened. As soon as she did, she scrambled back to Fluttershy's side and cradled her head again, apologizing profusely.

"Oh, Faust! I am SO sorry Fluttershy! I don't know what came over me! I-" Dash was stopped when Fluttershy's hoof came to rest on her lips. Looking up, Rainbow saw that Fluttershy was looking away again as her voice and body quivered. Sniffling, she said "I-It's okay Rainbow Dash... I... I understand." Fluttershy said before she passed her tongue over her new fangs and sighed. "After all... I know what I am."

Dash was at a loss for words. She wanted to say something, anything, in order to comfort Fluttershy. To let her know it was okay. To make the mare before her know everything was fine, even if she herself wasn't sure it was. Feeling a hoof on her shoulder, she looked over to see Pinkie Pie smiling at her lopsidedly, her hair having regained its poofy curls. "Dashie, can I talk to you for a second?"

Looking back to Fluttershy, who simply nodded, never turning her gaze back to the mare holding her, Dash nodded and gently set Fluttershy down before following Pinkie. Her eyes never left the quivering body of her oldest friend.

"It's okay, you know..." Pinkie's voice said, causing Dash to turn her head to look at her.

"What do you mean?"

"Your reaction just now. You actually handled that pretty well, considering you rushed right back to her. You care for her more than you know Rainbow Dash. You've shown that whether you realize it or not."

"I..." Dash slumped. She didn't know what to do. She just knew that in the last ten minutes, her life had been thrown the biggest loop since her sonic rainboom.

"Will I be turned if she drinks from me?" Dash asked, not entirely sure why the words were coming out of her mouth, but never more certain as she spoke them.

Smiling, Pinkie shook her head. "Nope. It takes a few years to learn how to sire a fledgling. I've only been able to do that myself for two years now."

Dash's interest piqued at that. "How long have you-"

Her question was cut off as Pinkie spoke. "Not important right now. Right now, what's important is that you get over there to your marefriend and let her suck on your neck a bit." the poofy-maned mare said with a wink and a nudge from her flank that sent Dash stumbling towards Fluttershy.

“Marefr-... Wha-?!" Dash started to respond, but was shut up by Pinkie's knowing smirk. Some things were just better left unquestioned when it came to Pinkie Pie. Shaking her head, Dash walked over to Fluttershy and touched her shoulder with a hoof.

"'Shy?"

Fluttershy cringed, but turned her head to look at Rainbow and said "Y-yes, Rainbow?"

Rainbow smiled and nuzzled Fluttershy. "It's okay. You can... you can d-drink from me." The stutter in her voice telling of her trepidation. Fluttershy started to try and move away but was stopped as the gash in her side from the manticore stinger reminded her that it was still there. Hissing in pain, Fluttershy looked at Dash, a hungry look in her eyes before she closed them and shook her head.

"No, Rainbow Dash... I- It's really okay, I'm-"

Any argument was cut short when she felt a hoof tap her head. Opening her eyes, she noticed that Dash was giving her a stare to rival her own. Shrinking a bit, she buckled under the gaze of Rainbow's rose colored eyes.

"I.. I am a little... thirsty." She finally squeaked out, looking at Dash's neck. Leaning closer, she saw Rainbow flinch, but not move away. "A-are you sure?" Seeing Dash nod, Fluttershy hesitated for a moment before wrapping her hooves around Rainbow's neck and biting into her. The sudden spike of pain made Rainbow gasp, but the pain was soon replaced by a pleasant warmth that spread throughout her as Fluttershy drank. Melting into the usually shy mare's embrace, Dash wrapped her arms around Fluttershy as well, simply enjoying the moment. Under a tree, not far from the two pegasi, sat Pinkie Pie. The same knowing smile never left her face as she watched Fluttershy feed.

"And so it begins."

"And well, that… that’s pretty much the story of how I became a vampony." Fluttershy said, looking back over at Twilight as they walked.

To her credit, Twilight hadn't slipped into her "freak out zone," nor was her mind blank. It seemed that she was coming to terms with the fact that ponies that she had now known for years, had been vamponies. However, one question did keep coming back to her.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

The group of friends looked uneasily at each other before Applejack sighed. "Twi, sugar... Y'all kinda had a bad habit uh slippin' over t'loco on us. It's not that we didn't wanna tell ya. Ah'll tell ya now that it was tough to keep it from ya. As Faust is mah witness, none of us liked it... But we couldn't risk it."

"All of you knew?"

Each of them reluctantly nodded, still uneasily glancing from one to the other. Pinkie Pie looked like she was about to speak again, but she was promptly cut off as her ears perked up and her head snapped around to look ahead. Fluttershy had frozen and was looking ahead as well. Looking ahead herself, Twilight saw that Luna, Vinyl and Amaranth had all stopped, and were looking at a section of forest in front of them that seemed to emulate pure darkness.

Walking a few steps ahead of the group, Vinyl smirked into the darkness. “It’s been a while… My friends.”

As the six friends joined Luna and Amaranth, Twilight became acutely aware that the nine of them were not quite alone in the forest as she heard one, two, and then three sets of hoofsteps coming towards them from the darkness in front of Vinyl. The forest seemed to conceal their forms in inky blackness until they reached the edge of the clearing. Three mares. All as white as alabaster, with manes of black, red, and purple. They stopped a short distance from the larger group, their expressions emotionless as they all spoke as one.

“Melody… Many years have passed since you came here last. Why do you come now, to the dark of the forest?” The monotone of their voices and their slight smirks gave Twilight, and her friends from the look of it, the creeps.

Vinyl cocked her head to one side and raised her sunglasses to look at the three expressionless mares. “Uh… We came to wake Artemis up?"

Again, the mares spoke as one, each of them cocking their heads over, expressions staying neutral. "Why do you wish to wake our mistress?"

"Uuuuhh, girls... Are you okay? You sound… different." Vinyl asked, her unease showing in her voice.

Their smirks grew into dangerous smiles as their eyes narrowed and they started creeping forward. “Whatever do you mean, Melody? We have not changed… You have.”

Author's Note

HUZZAH!!! ANOTHER CHAPTER!!

Well, this time around I had a proofreader. A big shoutout goes to Rainbow Ninja for being said proof reader and for putting up with the fact that I disappear for weeks on end. Or that I don't write for weeks on end at least. Oh well, you get the idea!

ENJOY!!