At Carnstein Manor

The storm was still raging outside. The sky periodically lit up with the frequent flashes of lightning. The booms of thunderclaps could be felt even from inside the manor. The winds roared and threatened to topple down trees. There was no way Spike Drake was going to get back home in this weather. He had no other choice but to stay at Carnstein Manor for the night.

Speaking of which, Spike was sitting in-between Twilight on his left and Rarity on his right. Their proximity to him threatened to press their chests into his arm. Spike was extremely nervous. Not just from the fact that he was in a house with nothing but beautiful girls, but the fact that two of them were sitting so close to him.

After a few minutes of heavy silence, Twilight eventually spoke up. "So Spike, since we're new here, why don't you tell us a bit about yourself".

Spike gulped before he spoke. "I'm thirteen years old. I go to Owl Hill Middle School. My favorite animals are bats"

When Spike mentioned his favorite animal, the girls' eyes all seemed to light up. They all seemed to like that bit of information. Maybe their favorite animals were bats, as well.

"What about your family?" Pinkie asked.

"I just live with my mom. My dad died before I was born" Spike replied.

Rarity put a delicate hand on his knee. "I'm so sorry to hear that, darling"

Spike blushed from the physical contact from this lovely creature. "I-it's okay. I help my mother in any way I can"

"You're quite the dutiful son, aren't you?" Rainbow asked.

"Yeah" Spike said with a smile. "I love my mother"

"What does your mother do for a living?" Fluttershy asked.

"She's a wildlife biologist. Funnily enough, she specializes in bats. Maybe I get my love of bats from her."

"While the subject of your mother is on the table, I was wondering: why didn't your mother come with you to welcome us to the neighborhood?" Applejack asked.

"That's because she's not even in the country right now. She and her team are in Australia on a research trip" Spike replied.

Suddenly, the full gravity of what he just said snapped into his mind. He actually revealed to perfect strangers that he was not only alone, but he was going to be by himself for quite a bit of time. The girls around him gave no visible reaction to this news, but something about their eyes said that they were somewhat pleased to hear that.

Why the hell did I just say that?!, Spike thought to himself.

Wanting to change the subject, Spike cleared his throat. "What about you guys? You all look a bit young to be living in a big mansion like this without parents"

Rainbow laughed. "Says the thirteen-year-old middle schooler who is left all by his lonesome by his mother"

"Fair point. Well?"

Twilight spoke first. "I run my grandmother's antiques business. She's got antique stores across the whole nation"

"That sounds like a lucrative business. Have you ever received any stolen items?" Spike asked.

"No, we make sure the items we get are from reputable sources" Twilight replied.

"What about you, Rarity?" Spike asked the girl to his right.

"I'm a fashion designer with boutiques across three states" she replied with a hint of pride in her voice.

"Rainbow?"

"I'm an athlete training for the Olympics" she responded.

"What sport are you training in?" he asked.

"Swimming and track" she replied.

"Pinkie?"

"I'm a baker. I love baking all sorts of sweets for people. My sisters are miners" Pinkie responded.

"Fluttershy?"

"I help out at animal shelters and wildlife sanctuaries. I love animals" she replied.

"Applejack?"

"My family runs a large apple farm. The cider we make is said to be the best in the country" she replied.

"Cool. Sounds like you all make enough money to collectively pay for this place" Spike said.

"Yeah. We're all pretty loaded" Rainbow stated.

Spike let out a sleepy yawn that brought tears to his eyes. He wiped the tears from his eyes and looked at the girls.

"Aaaw! Are you getting tired, Spike?" Rarity asked.

"Yeah. It's getting pretty late" Twilight said. "Let's show Spike to one of the guest rooms"

With that, the girls and Spike all stood and walked out of the room. The girls led Spike up a set of stairs to the second floor. The second floor of the manor was just as lavish as the ground floor, with candles and paintings and even a few gargoyles here and there. Twilight led Spike to a door near the end of the hallway and opened it.

The guest room was interesting. There was a large bed with curtains surrounding it. Near the front of the bed was a desk. A bookshelf with old-looking books sitting within it. A nightstand sat the the side of the bed with a glass and pitcher of water. The bed looked so welcoming, with fluffy pillows and a mattress that looked bouncy. The covers and blankets looked warm and soft.

Spike walked over to the bed, took off his shoes and socks, and sat down.

"Thank you for letting me spend the night" Spike said to the girls.

They all collectively smiled sweetly. "No problem. Just make sure to sleep well"

The girls all left the room to let Spike sleep in privacy. He laid down under the covers and laid his head on the pillow. He fell asleep almost immediately.

Later In the Night

Spike could feel another presence in the room.

He got the suspicious feeling that he was no longer alone in the room. He could feel a... presence in the room with him. He opened his eyes and looked around the room for any sign of the entity he sensed. As he looked from left to right, he could make out no sign of a presence through the bed's curtains.

After a few more minutes had come to pass, Spike laid his head back down on the pillow. He looked up at the ceiling to think about what exactly he had sensed.

Twilight's face and glowing red eyes greeted him. Spike's own eyes widened at the sight. He would've screamed, but Twilight put a clawed finger to his lips to shush him.

"Sssshhhh. It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you" Twilight cooed to him in a soft voice.

As Spike continued to stare at her, he realized that she was hanging over him from the ceiling! She slowly crawled down towards Spike using her hands and bare feet. She crawled until her face was an inch away from his. Spike's breath caught in his throat. His heart was beating a million miles per minute. What was she going to do to him?

Twilight adjusted herself to where she was almost pinning him to the bed. Twilight and Spike continued to lock eyes with each other. He hadn't been able to take his eyes off of Twilight's. There was something about her eyes and face that was starting to calm him. He felt strangely safe in Twilight's presence. He couldn't figure out why.

"Just relax, Spike" Twilight cooed. "I promise this won't hurt too much"

Twilight leaned down and started licking his neck. Spike was super surprised. If this was a dream, he didn't want to wake up. He simply sat there. After several more licks, Twilight started to press her already-sharp teeth against the tender flesh of his neck. She was grazing her teeth along his neck, sending shocks up his spine.

Then Twilight suddenly bit down on Spike's neck, breaking the skin. It was painful. It felt like hot coals were stabbing his neck. Spike couldn't scream, only gasp and groan. He could feel Twilight sucking the blood from his wound.

Spike couldn't believe it! He was being fed upon by a vampire! This girl was a vampire! And she was drinking his blood!

After a few seconds of this, Spike could feel himself becoming numb from the pain. In fact, he started to feel great. He felt like he was floating on clouds. Spike started to giggle from this sensation. His vision started to swim. He couldn't focus on anything except this feeling of euphoria.

Twilight soon let go of Spike's neck and began to lick it. Spike's wounds healed instantly. Spike could feel himself slipping away into unconsciousness. Twilight looked down at him with a smirk on her face and a stream of blood running down her lip and chin.

"Thanks for breakfast, Spike. This is just a sweet dream" Twilight said before Spike fell asleep.

Spike got the best sleep of his life after that.

Same Night- Just Before Dawn

When Spike woke up, he could see that it was still night outside. He felt strangely weak, his arms and legs feeling like jelly. He got out of the bed and walked over to a mirror to see if he looked how he felt.

Spike looked very pale. He looked like he was a hospital patient. His eyes were somewhat bloodshot and his neck felt sore on one side. He started to feel strangely hungry, too. He hobbled over to the door to see if he could find food.

The storm was still raging outside as Spike was walking down the stairs. He had to hold onto the railing to keep himself from falling down the stairs. When he got to the bottom of the stairs, he had to take a few moments to catch his breath. Just walking down the stairs was too much for him.

"What's going on here? Why do I feel this weak?" Spike said to himself. Then a thought entered his head.

"Perhaps... what happened wasn't a dream, after all. If that's true, I may be in a house full of real-life vampires! And vampires actually exist!" Spike thought aloud.

"Actually, we don't like being called 'vampires'" a familiar voice said.

Shocked, Spike looked at the top of the stairs to see Twilight and her friends looking down at him with those eerie smiles of theirs.

"We prefer to be called 'Strigoi'" Twilight said.

Author's Note

Well, Spike just his first ever encounter with Strigoi. How will this turn out? Find out next time on "Bleeding Nights"!