Moonlit Eternity

Chapter 9

Rainbow awakened from her slumber early the next morning in Steel's bed at the forge. She yawned lightly and batted her eyes tiredly. She stretched and got out of the bed, hearing the sound of pattering water come from Steel's bathroom. She walked to the door and listened, confirming her suspicions that Steel was getting a shower before they left. She briefly considered getting into the shower with him, for one reason or another, but decided against it. It seemed like something she shouldn't do at that time. She turned to go back to the bedroom, but turned her head and mulled over it some more.

'Maybe...' She thought. '...Nahh.' She turned again. She took a few steps and turned again. She bit her lip. The temptation was nearly impossible to resist. 'Buck it. Might as well...' She moved toward the door, a heavy blush forming on her face at the thought of what her and her flame were going to do in the sexy environment. She began to pant lightly with arousal at the mere thought. Her eyes half lidded, she approached the door, putting her hoof on the knob.

"Okay..." She whispered to herself. "Here we-" She was interrupted by the door hitting her square in the nose as Steel came out of the bathroom. Rainbow fell back onto her rear, both from suprise and pain, clutching her nose. "...Ow..." Steel's eyes grew wide as he rushed to her side.

"Oh, Celestia! Are you okay?" He said to her, kneeling down and putting a hoof on her shoulder. She nodded slowly and looked up at him.

"Who the hay leaves the water running when they get out of the shower?"

"It would have gotten cold again pretty quick if I had turned it off. I was going to come wake you up so that you could get a shower. Are you sure you're alright?" She nodded and got up. Her embarrasment obviously noticeable as she looked away from him.

"I'm fine, babe...thank you for being so concerned. I... I guess I'll have that shower now..." She was still blushing heavily from her earlier thoughts as she ran into the bathroom, shutting the door quickly. She wiped the steam out of the mirror and looked at herself. Her nose was bleeding slightly. She wiped her nose with a tissue as she silently chastised herself. "Idiot...idiot..." She said as she got into the shower. Steel looked at the door in bewilderment. He shrugged to himself as he looked down at the floor where Rainbow had fallen. A few drops of her blood sprinkled the floor from her nosebleed. He gulped and shuddered at the sight of it. The smell of it. He quickly ran to his kitchen and grabbed a paper towel. He wiped up the blood before he began to frantically search for the matches he knew he had. The seconds passed as he looked, the temptation and hunger slowly eating away at his resolve. Finally, after opening one of the drawers he found the matches. He quickly struck one and burned the paper towel over the sink. He sighed in releif as he put the match out with the water and rinsed the sink out. Rainbow came out of the bathroom at that point, refreshed and clean.

"Ready to go?" She asked. Steel nodded and smiled.

"Yeah. Let's hit it."

"Hey, listen...I'm sorry I sounded so irritated back there. It was sweet of you to leave the water running for me." She said as they walked out of the house.

"Its fine, Rainbow." He said. "I'm sorry I nearly killed you with a door." She laughed. After he locked the door she pressed her body against his as they walked side by side down the street to Twilight's library to meet the others.

"I'm so lucky to have a coltfriend like you..." She said contentedly as she nuzzled him. Steel merely smiled and nuzzled her back.

_____

"Boy howdy, this is gonna be a long trip." Applejack said, adjusting her stetson as she appraised the map that her Granny Smith had supplied her with. "It's gonna take us a full day and a half just to get through the Everfree forest, and that's usin' the quickest route, then we gotta take a train from Ramblin' Rock Ridge to Fillydelphia, then a day by boat across the Equestrian sea, then another day on the train to Lost Child Canyon. Sheesh."

"What's wrong, Applejack?" Rarity said, playfully slapping Applejack's shoulder. "Intimidated by a little walk through the woods?" Applejack looked at her, slightly annoyed.

"You're kiddin' right? You're saying this to me. You, Miss "Mah-mane-is-more-important-than life itself"?" Rarity chuckled.

"Oh, Applejack, you take things so seriously!" She said as she turned to go talk to Twilight. Applejack bucked her in the flank lightly, sending her forward a couple of steps. "OH! So uncivilized..." Applejack chuckled quietly to herself. Pinkie snickered, earning a glare from the white unicorn.

"Nice one, AJ!" Rainbow said, coming into the library with Steel. "I wouldn't have done it any other way!" Rarity harumphed from across the room at that comment. "I'm just teasing you, Rarity." Rainbow added before she gave Applejack a quick hoofbump. "So, what's this?"

"This here's the map that's gonna lead us through the Everfree Forest. It's gonna be tough. Half of it's gonna be uphill, and there's timber wolves and diamond dogs, and-"

"Don't worry, Applejack." Steel interjected. "I'm scarier than anything we're going to find in that forest." He smiled and winked at Rainbow.

"Right." Applejack said, rubbing the back of her head. "Still, ya can never be too careful." Steel nodded.

"Oh, I hope Opalescence will be okay without me..." Rarity said, worried. Applejack smiled.

"Don'tcha worry none, Rarity. Opalescence and Winona are gonna have a great time!" She assured the white unicorn.

"Cloud Kicker's gonna take great care of Tank, I know that for sure." Rainbow Dash interjected. "So...Are we all ready to go?"

"We're still waiting for Fluttershy. She's a little late." Rarity said. "Maybe just tending to her animals before she leaves." Rainbow groaned.

"She knew that she needed to be here at four." The cyan pegasus said in slight irritation.

"Woah, cool your jets, filly." Applejack said, putting a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder, brows furrowed. "We're all doin' this so that you and Steel can be happy. You know Fluttershy. She'd never letcha down."

"Well yeah, not intentionally..." Rainbow mumbled.

"Rainbow, it's fine." Steel said. "It's completely fine. You need to learn how to be patient. Just because everypony isn't here at four sharp doesn't mean the trip is in jeopardy."

"Yeah, but-" She started.

"No buts. It's going to be fine. Now sit down, and relax. You're gonna need all of your energy." He said as he ushered her to the couch in the lounge they were currently in. Rainbow grumbled quietly as she sat down. "Guys, we don't have to do this. Seriously. This trip could be very danger-"

"I don't want to hear another word about that, Steel." Twilight quickly interrupted him. "We're going with you, and that's that. We're doing this because we want to. You're our friend, Steel, and we're always there for our friends. Right, guys?"

"Right!" Pinkie exclaimed. She took a deep breath. "Becaaaauusseee weeee aaaaaarrrrrreeee-" She started to sing, but was cut short by Rarity. Pinkie huffed, furrowing her brows.

"It would be ridiculous to abandon you now, of all times, dear. We're here for you no matter what." The unicorn said. "Sorry, Pinkie Pie. I have a small headache." Pinkie smiled warmly and nodded.

"But that's the thing, Rarity." Steel said. "You wouldn't be abandoning me, you-"

"Stop it. Now." Rainbow interrupted him.

"It's happenin', sugarcube. Get used to it." Applejack said sternly. Steel sighed and sat down next to Rainbow.

"Sorry I'm late, everypony." Fluttershy said through her teeth clenched around a basket as she came into the library. She put the basket on the center table.

"Finally! Where were you, Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked, putting emphasis on her question. Fluttershy shrunk back and hid behind her long pink mane.

"W-well...um...I was..making croissants for everypony for breakfast....You know...for...energy..." Fluttershy said, frowning and looking down, fidgeting with her front hooves. Rainbow's eyes widened slightly as she lifted the cloth on the basket. Sure enough, there were multiple delicious looking steaming croissants in the basket. Rainbow felt a sharp sting of guilt shoot through her gut.

"Oh...well...that's uh....very nice, Fluttershy...Thanks." Rainbow said, rubbing the back of her head. She looked at her. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Rainbow Dash..." Fluttershy said, smiling. "I understand that you're feeling on edge." Rainbow smiled back at her.

"A croissant actually sounds lovely! In all the excitement, I had forgotten how famished I was." Rarity said, walking up to the basket and removing one of the pastries. Everypony walked up and took one. Acclaim was heard from everyone, making Fluttershy blush. Steel took one and ate it. He tasted absolutely nothing, but acted as if it was the masterpiece he knew it was.

"This is amazing!" He said enthusiastically. Rainbow's ears perked up as she looked at him and smiled. He winked at her.

"Oh...it's just some old recipe I made up...I'm glad you all like it." Fluttershy said.

"Are you kidding? This is the most scrump-dilly-umptious amazetastic croissant I've ever had!" Pinkie squealed, snatching another from the basket. Applejack walked up to Rainbow, who was still feeling quite guilty over how she had acted.

"Told ya." The farm pony said. Rainbow nodded.

"Yeah, you did." She responded, looking down slightly in shame. They all continued to eat until the treats were completely gone. They all sat for a few minutes before Twilight stood up.

"Okay! Let's go!" She said. Everypony agreed as they all prepared to leave. Rainbow walked to Steel and kissed him on the cheek.

"Well..." He said. "Here goes nothing." Rainbow smiled as they walked to the front door of the library.

"No." She responded. "Here goes something."

"Oh, barf." Steel responded with a smirk. Rainbow shoved him playfully.

"I'm trying, okay?"

_____

All of the ponies stood in front of a path into the dark, terrifying abyss they all knew as the Everfree Forest. Applejack held up her map. She looked it over and over, surveying all of the coordinates and landmarks. She raised an eyebrow.

"Alright...it looks like this is it...y'all ready?" Applejack said. All the ponies nodded, save for Fluttershy, who merely trembled and muttered to herself.

"I suppose so." Twilight said as she stepped forward. She turned to Applejack. "Are you sure this is the fastest route?" Applejack nodded.

"Sure as sugar is. It'd take two days to make it completely around the Everfree Forest by train, but half the time if we go through it." She responded.

"That makes sense. So, let's get moving now. We're losing daylight." Rarity said as she began to walk along the path. They all began to follow her. Steel put a hoof around Rainbow Dash's shoulder, pulling her closer as they entered the dark woods. For hours, they walked, getting further and further into the forest, strange and unfamiliar noises surrounding them. Pinkie ambled along happily, humming a small tune to herself. Fluttershy, though hopelessly terrified, moved forward, flinching heavily at every small sound that came from the darkness around her. She had shrunken down so low that her saddlebags nearly dragged the ground. Applejack, though slightly scared, moved forward confidently, bravely looking ahead, focused on her task. Twilight and Rarity walked side by side, making idle conversation to try to ease the stress.

"Couldn't we have gotten Zecora to guide us through here?" Rainbow asked. "This would have been a lot easier with her."

"Zecora's out of town getting some special herbs. She won't be back for a few days." Twilight answered. "Trust me, I checked." Rainbow smiled, sighed and nodded.

"Of course." She said. She looked over at Steel, who seemed to be in intense personal thought. She tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey." He snapped out of his apparent self-trance and looked at Rainbow. "You okay?" She asked, her eyes conveying her worry. He nodded and kissed the top of her head. Rainbow nuzzled him, her ears splayed back in affection.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Just thinking about things." He said. She nodded. Pinkie Pie slowed down until she was right next to Rainbow. She leaned close to her cyan friend and raised an eyebrow. Rainbow, in turn, raised an eyebrow at Pinkie.

"What're you looking at?" Rainbow asked. Pinkie giggled.

"Noooothing..." She said. "Just a filly in..." Pinkie assumed a very dramatic position and batted her eyelashes heavily. "Looooovvvee..." Rainbow's expression changed to one of suprise as she blushed heavily.

"W-what?" Rainbow said, looking to the side. "Pinkie you-" She looked at Steel, who looked back at her and shrugged lightly. Rainbow heard an incessant mad giggling coming from Pinkie. She was undoubtedly getting heavy amusement from embarrasing Rainbow like this. Rainbow looked at her pink friend slowly. Pinkie, still cracking up, looked at Rainbow, then at Steel, then at Rainbow again. Rainbow Dash got into a pouncing position.

"Oh, your dead, Pinkie." She said. Pinkie smiled at her widely.

"You'll have to catch me first!" Pinkie responded as she tapped Rainbow on the shoulder "You're it!" Pinkie immediately sprinted away from Rainbow, who immediately gave chase. They bobbed and weaved between tree branches and through bushes. After a few minutes of this speed driven madness, Applejack laughed to herself. Rainbow noticed this and ran up to her apple farming friend. After tapping her she uttered,

"You're it, Applejack!" Before she ran away. Applejack immediately ran at Twilight who had been watching the game. She ran away by instinct. After a few seconds of chase, Applejack managed to catch up to Twilight and tapped her.

"You're it." She said before immediately running the other way. Steel, who had been watching the game smiled at these events. He did not expect Twilight to use a teleportation spell to appear behind him in an instant. She tapped him and giggled.

"You're it!" She said, laughing. Steel immediately dashed toward all the other ponies in the game. By this time, Fluttershy had reluctantly joined in, at the urging of Rainbow Dash.

"Ugh..." Rarity said, tossing her mane. "How immature." Steel stopped next to her and looked at her.

"Why is it immature?" He said.

"Well, It is a game that foals play..." Rarity reasoned with the stallion. Steel smirked at her.

"Funny, because..." He said before leaning up to her and tapping her shoulder. "You're it." He ran away laughing heartily to himself. Rarity sighed an smiled to herself. She shook her head as she began to chase Fluttershy. The game went on for a good half an hour before everypony, save for Steel was completely tired out. They all sat down for a rest, winded and breathing heavily.

"Hoo dawgies!" Applejack said. "That sure was fun!"

"I concur." Rarity agreed. "It really helped to take the edge off."

"Games make everything better!" Pinkie said happily. Rainbow nodded as Steel sat down next to her, laughing. He stopped after a few seconds, however. He remembered that no matter how much fun they were having at that moment, they were still on a journey to find the pony for Steel to kill, not to mention drink his blood. At that moment, the sound of rustling and twigs breaking sounded from across the clearing. They all looked in the direction of the noise.

"Did you guys hear that?" Rainbow asked her friends. They all nodded. Fluttershy shrunk back, whimpering and hid under her hooves. Steel stood and walked toward the source of the noise.

"Steel!" Rainbow said. "Get back here! You don't know what that is!" Steel ignored her as he stood firm to protect his friends. The shade provided by the massive canopy of trees shielded him from the sun, so he was at his full power, ready for any threat that would present itself. The rustling continued for a half a minute, everypony's breath caught in their throats. Finally, after a few minutes with no noise, Steel looked at the girls.

"Okay...let's get moving."

_____

The group continued to walk through the Everfree Forest for many hours, along the designated, poorly maintained path. They made small talk with each other in an attempt to stay entertained. They even played different games like "I Spy" to pass the time. The group stopped in a small clearing to take a much needed break. As it started to get dark, Twilight sat next to Applejack, who was examining the map. After a few moments of silence, she spoke up.

"Are we making good time, Applejack?" Twilight asked.

"Well, considerin' we played that game of tag back there, Ah'd say yes. We're makin' great time. There's horseshoe rock right over there." She pointed toward an oddly shaped rock that did, in fact, resemble a horseshoe. She put a hoof where horseshoe rock was on the map. "Assumin' this map's correct, and my Granny's maps always are, we could stop to camp for the night now and still get to the boat crossin' the Equestrian Sea on time easily." Twilight smiled at this. Even though she was willing to push herself to the limits for her friends, she was, in fact, dead tired and relished the oppurtuninty to get some rest. She stood up and announced-

"Okay, everypony! We can make camp for the night here and get moving in the morning in plenty of time for the boat. We're going to need this rest." Everypony agreed, save for Rainbow Dash.

"But we need to get there as soon as possible!" Rainbow said, walking up to Twilight. Twilight, who didn't feel like arguing with the headstrong pegasus was in the process of aquiescing when Applejack stood up.

"We've been walkin' all day." Applejack said, slightly annoyed. "They're not about to quit on ya. Give 'em some slack." Rainbow sighed and nodded, walking over to Steel and sitting down.

"Chill out, Rainbow." Steel said. Rainbow glared at him. "Oh, you're just tired." Rainbow inhaled and exhaled lightly before nodding.

"I guess so." She said. "But, I'm not quite satisfied with just stopping here. You and me. Let's go for a walk."

"A walk through the Everfree Forest?" Steel asked rhetorically. "I don't think so."

"Oh, come on, Steel. It's like you said, you're scarier than anything in this forest."

"I was overstating it a little."

"You know what I mean. Think of it as our third date." The other ponies "Oooohhh'd". Steel rolled his eyes.

"Alright, fine." He said as he stood and began to walk with his marefriend. "Don't wait up, guys."

"Have fun, y'all!" Applejack said. "Don't go too far, y'hear?" They continued to move through the woods.

"So, is your nose alright?" He asked her.

"What do you mean?" She responded, blushing a little, trying to play it off.

"From this morning. I kind of nearly killed you." He said. She laughed.

"No you didn't. It was just a little nose bleed. I'm fine."

"Well, you looked like you were going to cry." He responded before he pulled Rainbow into his front legs for a hug. "Are you sure everything is okay?" Rainbow giggled lightly and blushed at her coltfriend's worry.

"I'm fine, okay? Seriously, I don't even feel it now." Steel nodded.

"Okay. I was wanting an excuse to hug you anyway." He said, smirking at her as they continued to walk.

"You don't need an excuse to hug me." Rainbow said, stopping again and looking up at him. "Just like you don't need an excuse to kiss me." He smiled and kissed her softly and lovingly for a few seconds before breaking it and continuing to walk. They continued their short walk in a comfortable silence until they heard the sound of running water. Rainbow's ears perked up as she looked up at him. He nodded toward the source as they quickened their pace toward this sound. After a few more seconds of walking, they came upon an astonishing sight. A beautiful waterfall that fell into a medium sized pond. Crickets chirped as the sun set in the horizon. Steel Anvil looked down at Rainbow Dash. He smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"What are the bucking chances?" He said, half laughing. She laughed as well and started to sprint toward the water. "What in Celestia's name are you doing?" He asked her.

"What do you think?" She responded. "Going for a swim! Care to come along?"

"I think you're forgetting it's Autumn!"He said half laughing.

"Oh, come on!" She said, turning to him and walking backwards toward the water. "Haven't you eve-" She was cut short when she fell backwards into the ice cold liquid. She came out, wide-eyed and gasping. "HOLY HAY, THAT'S COLD!" Steel nearly exploded with laughter. Rainbow thrashed about for a few more seconds before suddenly slowing down. "Y'know..." She said, raising an eyebrow. "It's not half bad when you get used to it." Steel shook his head before he ran for the water. Rainbow smiled as he jumped high over her head and landed in the middle of the small pool. He came up and sighed with releif.

"Feels great!" He said. Rainbow shook her head.

"How can it feel so good to you, and nearly torturous to me?" Rainbow asked him.

"I'm a vampire, remember?" He responded, treading water. "I have no body heat."

"Oh yeah..." Rainbow said, nodding her head slightly. She blushed with embarrassment. "Sorry."

"Don't be. It's no bother at all." He said quickly before shooting under the water. Rainbow gasped lightly and looked around for him, checking to see if he was planning some kind of trick. Sure enough, she felt a pair of hooves wrap around her midsection as a massive force threw her in the air. She screamed as she flapped her wet wings, failing to take flight. In a moment, the pressure of falling left her body as she opened her eyes to see Steel holding her in his hooves as they fell back down to the water. He kissed her as they fell into the small lake. Rainbow broke the kiss as she floated back upwards, followed by Steel. He smiled at her as he came up, only to get a punch in the shoulder from the pegasus. He looked at her, expecting to get yelled at for his dangerous show of affection. She was smiling, however, as she burst out laughing. He laughed with her as she put her hooves on his shoulders. She locked lips with him as he tread water, holding both of them up. They disconnected and touched their foreheads, both of their ears splayed down. Rainbow giggled.

"Come on." Steel said. "You really will catch cold if we don't get you dried off. They both exited the water and layed down, watching the waterfall. Celestia's sun had given way to Luna's moon at this point, the land bathed in a bath of darkness. Rainbow looked over at Steel. Despite the fact that he was smiling contently, he looked weak. Very weak.

"Steel," Rainbow said. "how long has it been since you last...fed?"

"A week, why?" He asked.

"You look really sick."

"I'm fine." He assured her. "I'll be okay. Let's just worry about the journey ahead, alright?" Rainbow took what he had said with a grain of salt, as she looked at the ground in front of her. She shook her head as she stretched her neck out in front of him. He raised an eyebrow. He gulped in nervousness.

"What are you doing?" He asked her.

"You need to feed, Steel." She said, closing her eyes. "You said you can do it painlessly...so drink my blood." Steel's eyes widened as he gasped lightly.

"No." He said.

"Just do it." Rainbow reaffirmed.

"Absolutely not!" He said, raising his voice slightly.

"Why not?" Rainbow asked, also raising the tone of her voice.

"Do you have any idea how horrible and violating that would be?!" He responded, now yelling. "I'd rather die!" Rainbow was slightly hurt at this. She narrowed her eyes indignantly.

"I'm not going to let you starve, Steel!" She yelled back. She stood up and stomped her hoof. "Now just...do it, already!" Steel stood as well. Rainbow noticed that his legs were trembling slightly.

"I said NO!" He screamed. Rainbow recoiled slightly at this, an extreme look of hurt overtaking her face. She teared up.

"Why not?!" She screamed back. After this, however, the tone of her voice dropped back down to normal speech as she looked at the ground. "Y-you...you wouldn't be hurting me." She said, choking back a sob. She shed a tear as she looked up at him. "I want you to..." Steel, now realizing that he had taken this too far, immediately took her into a hug, which she returned in full. He stroked her rainbow mane and kissed the top of her head. He felt her tears wet his chest, yet, she did not sob once.

"Rainbow..." He nearly whispered. "I'm so sorry. I overreacted. You only wanted to help me. I won't feed on you..." He struggled to find his words. "Because I love you too damned much. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I accidentally hurt you." Rainbow looked up at him, wide-eyed from hearing these words.

"You...you love me?" She asked. He nodded as he looked down at her.

"Very much." He responded. Rainbow smiled with joy as a new wave of tears made their appearance.

"I love you too!" She said before planting her lips on his passionately. She kissed him fervently, lightly pushing him until he went on his back. They continued locking lips until Rainbow, in her passion and ecstacy, slipped her tongue into Steel's mouth with a moan. Steel, in turn, did the same as they continued to kiss. Steel moved down and kissed Rainbow's neck. She moaned with pleasure as she dropped her body down on his completely. The area between her legs coming into contact with his knee. Rainbow, at this sudden and unexpected sensation, gasped, her eyes widening. She closed her eyes and moaned, blushing heavily. Steel noticed this.

"Are you okay?" He asked her. She nodded. She smiled and opened an eye.

"Yeah..." She said, breathing heavily. "I...I like it..." She continued to grind on Steel, increasing her pleasure. Steel began to feel a hardening between his legs when a high voice called out-

"Steel! Rainbow! Where are you guys?" Both Steel's and Rainbow's eyes widened as they immediately got off of each other and took up casual positions and pretended that they had been talking the entire time. Rainbow was still blushing heavily however.

"We're over here, Pinkie!" Rainbow called. "And so then, me and Applejack raced through the running of the leaves!" She sounded convincing, as if they had been talking the whole time.

"That's awesome." Steel responded. Rainbow nodded as Pinkie Pie came ambling up into the little area.

"Woooowwww!" She marveled. "This is so pretty!" She looked at Steel and Rainbow and raised an eyebrow suavely. "And romaaaantic..." Rainbow blushed even more and giggled.

"Yeah. We just found it on the walk and decided to take a swim." Rainbow explained.

"Okay! That's cool." Pinkie said. "But you two should come on back! We're making super-amazing s'mores!" A roaring campfire sounded great to Rainbow at that moment as she nodded.

"Sure. Let's go." They all stood up and began to walk back to the camp. After they walked for a few seconds, Pinkie turned her head to look at the couple, her eyes half lidded and an eyebrow raised yet again.

"Oh, and next time, you guys should look for a nice, quiet secluded place." She turned back ahead and kept walking as Rainbow and Steel's eyes widened.

"W-w-what do you mean?" Steel stuttered.

"Oh, nothing." Pinkie said happily as she started bouncing. "I can't wait for those s'mores!"

_____

"Mmmm! Those are some great s'mores!" Rainbow exclaimed as she took a chewy bite of graham cracker, molten marshmallow and melted chocolate. Everypony else in the group was enjoying it thoroughly as well. Pinkie has already consumed half the supply, eating s'more after s'more after s'more. Rarity was trying as hard as she could to eat the messy treat daintily, but she was failing miserably. Applejack was savoring the taste, taking a bite and chewing it as long as possible before swallowing it and taking another one. Fluttershy and Twilight were happily eating theirs as well. Everypony was enjoying their treats for sure, save for Steel Anvil, who looked at the snacks in a sort of trance-like state with a mournful expression where a happy one should be. Everypony noticed this before too long.

"You okay, babe?" Rainbow asked him. This seemed to snap him out of his strange state of mind.

"Me?" He said. "Oh yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Twilight said, becoming worried as well.

"Yes." He said. "Thank you."

"You wanna talk about it?" Applejack said. "Might make ya feel better."

"It's something that happened a long, long time ago. It doesn't even matter anymore." He responded. "Let's just forget about it."

"If it doesn't matter, then why are you looking all sad?" Rainbow asked him.

"You don't want to know about it." Steel said. "It's not a pretty memory."

"We're willing to help you in any way we can." Fluttershy said, joining in the conversation. Pinkie poked her head in and nodded extremely quickly.

"We're here for you, darling." Rarity said, reassuringly.

"It's about the night I was turned...the night I lost everything I held dear to me." He said. "So if you really want to know, girls...sit down, and I'll tell you."

Obligatory End-of-Chapter Author's Note: Alright. That's the end of this chapter. The next chapter will reveal everything about Steel Anvil and the vampire that turned him, Brick Smasher. This next chapter is where the Dark tag REALLY comes into play, so be ready. I decided to add the sex tag to avoid pissing anyone off, due to the risque content of this chapter. Cheers, everyone!