Fanged in Ponyville

Chapter One: Camaraderie with a Vampire

"Okay Mr. Bear, no more destroying Beaver McToothsome's dams, all right? Fluttershy asked the brown bear she had been having discussion with over how angry it had been at the dam that prevented it from fishing in its favorite spot.

The brown bear roared, then moved off down to a portion of the river it had been promised was a better fishing spot.

See you, Beaver McToothsome," Fluttershy said. The beaver banged its thick tail against the dam, and she fluttered off happily on her pegasus wings.

She then went to visit some squirrels who were having trouble cracking a new kind of acorn that had cropped up on a tree near a bog outside Ponyville. Fluttershy was pretty sure a yak or some kind of bird had tossed seeds that grew into that tree. She had a feeling it might be those baby elephant sized cardinals that had flown through last spring, Rainbow Dash had had a lot of problems with them, and some other pegasi too. By the time Fluttershy was called in to communicate with them, the horde of red avians had already flown off.

She got the squirrel stuff sorted out, using a nutcracker she carried in her saddlebag, and then she tended to a few more animals, which was always fun, she loved being around furry friends, woodland creatures were quite the blast.

The moon was in the sky, three-quarters of the way full and waxing, quite beautiful, and Fluttershy was on her way back to her cottage from the Evergreen Forest, where she had been helping a platypus lay her eggs, when she heard a scream.

"No, get away from me…ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Fluttershy zipped in the direction of the screaming,along a different path through the Evergreen Forest than she had been to visit the platypus. She arrived at a clearing to see…a creature, she didnt know what tocall it, looked feminine though, she had pale skin, platinum blond hair (mane?, except she couldn't have been a pony, she was too tall for one thing, andher muzzle was too short). She had a very pretty face too, except for the sharp fangs sticking out of her mouth, extending from her upper jaw, and currently sunk into Rainbow Dash's neck, where she was draining blood…

Slurping sounds reached Fluttershy's ears. She was about ready to smash into this menace, clearly a vampire, who was hurting one of dearest friends. Is this what really vampires looked like? Not the fruit bat sort that had pestered Applejack at point until she took Fluttershy's suggestion. The dangerous kind that (probably) couldn't be reasoned with. And yet, Discord had been reasoned with. Perhaps not all hope was lost.

Fluttershy was about ready to scream (though it wouldn't be loud) for the vampire to release her friend, when the vampire did so without prompting. Rainbow Dash looked very woozy and crashed into a dozen tree trunks as she zipped along away from the clearing.

"Pony blood is so tasty," the vampire said, licking her lips.

Fluttershy was very terrified for her friend, Rainbow Dash was going to be a vampire now, sucking the blood of other ponies, and Fluttershy had to stand up to this bully, who had done that.

"Hey, how dare you bite my friend!"

The vampire glanced around, then spotted her. "Oh, hello! She said, sweetly, with a wave. "I saw you in her memories, you're one of her best friends, right?"

It was definitely going to be easier to deal with a foe who could talk. Not that communicating with creatures was typically a hassle for Fluttershy, but no non-four legged creature had ever spoken this clearly in her presence.

But then what the vampire had said registered. "Wait, you ate her memories?" Fluttershy asked, appalled.

"Oh no, I just see them when I slurp. She still has them all intact."

"Okay, but you still converted her! Which is not very nice!"

"Um, what?" the vampire giggled, putting a hoof over her mouth. Except it wasn't a hoof. Fluttershy didnt know what to call it. There were four long protrusions and one short, curved one, on each of them. Also, this creature was wearing an ice-blue dress, Rarity would be bedazzled by it. That dress certainly seemed like high fashion. You think I converted that pony? Madeher into a vampire? No, you misinterpreted how this works.

"What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked, wings flapping, hovering a few feet above the ground.

Turning someone into a vampire is something one has to choose to do. It is also a major burden to force onto someone. I wouldn't just thrust that on a random pony. Just wanted a drink, y'know."

"Oh, well, thats good," Fluttershy remarked. "But you still hurt my friend. Which is so not right."

"Oh no, she's going to be having some fun fantasies, and her blood will come back, hearts do that, you know, fill ponies with blood again."

Fluttershy had to admit this was true. "Okay, but still, vampires shouldn't be running around here, especially when my friends are the targets."

"I know it looks bad but Ihjave just as much a right to be alive as you, so…vampires gotta live, you know.

The vampire started to trot away. Though did it count as trotting on only two legs? Fluttershy fluttered after her. "Hey, I'm not done speaking with you!"

The vampire turned around, her braid whipping behind her back, swinging like a pendulum. "You disapprove of my way of life, there's no more to discuss."

"There kind of is, though, Fluttershy said. "Like, I've never seen any creature like you before."

"Yeah," the vampire said, with a smile. "You shouldn't have, but–"

"I'm sure it's in here," said a voice, that wasn't super close but still it rang out. "And no one shoot it, I want to be the one to slay the vampire."

Fluttershy was pretty sure she had heard this voice before, but couldn't quite place it.

Without knowing what was happening, Flutershy felt arms wrap around her, and the vampire pulled a squirming yellow pegasus into…the bark of a tree.

Let me go!" Fluttershy shrieked.

"No," said the vampire. "We need to hide in here."

"Why?" Fluttershy asked, giving up the struggle. She was already in the tree anyhow, and didn't know how to get out without the vampire aiding her, and demanding to be let free didn't seem the way to go about this.

"I can't let you give me away," the vampire said, exhibiting her fangs in a smile. "Like I said, I'm in it to survive."

"I can understand that, but couldn't you just hide in here?"

"If I let you out now and they see you, they'll know exactly where I am."

"Why? I'm not going to say anything?"

"It's a vampire trail," explained the odd, two-hoofed creature, though it was still wrong to say she had hooves at all but Fluttershy didn't know what the vampire called what helped her stand at the bottom of her body "If you leave now, they can just follow the trail straight to me."

Fluttershy was baffled by this but still had to ask her next question. "Okay, but can they hurt you in here?"

"Yes, if they use the right weapon, and the leader of those assassins will use the right weapon."

."That's scary," the pegasus had to acknowledge.

"Yep," the vampire said. Then she grinned broadly, which was probably meant to be reassuring but didn't exactly come across as that due to her long protruding shivered, but reasoned with herself that there was nothing to be frightened of. "What say you we introduce ourselves?"

"Um, I suppose we could do that," Fluttershy said.

"Sweet," the vampire said, hugging her. "I'm Elsa."

"Um, I'm Fluttershy but not exactly comfortable being embraced by a vampire."

"Fair enough, Fluttershy," Elsa said, releasing her hold on the pegasus. "But um, I'd like to stroke your mane, if at all possible."

"I'm not a pet," Fluttershy said.

Elsa shook her head. "Didn't say you were. Just, your pink mane is really cute."

"Wel, that is quite the compliment," Fluttershy said. "I suppose you can pet it, but not for too long, okay?"

"Got it," Elsa said, reaching out to stroke the pink, which she did a couple of times, after which she started tickling Fluttershy behind her ears…

It felt quite good actually, way better than Flutterhsy would've expected. Did vampires just naturally know how to make a pegasus feel good? It was interesting to consider. She wondered how Elsa would respond if she asked such a direct question in that regard. But she wasn't going to.

And then, Fluttershy had an image burst into her head which caused her to blush, where she'd rub her forehooves against the vampire's hip, provided Elsa allowed it. But Fluttershy shouldn't let herself go that route. Still, she couldn't help but acknowledge that Elsa was mighty pretty…

Elsa then pressed the curved protrusion, the small ones, on whatever her forehooves happened to actually be called, into either side of Fluttershy's neck.

"What was that for?" the pegasus asked.

"Look," Elsa said, with a smile.

Fluttershy turned to gaze at the tree bark, and though she could still see it, she also now saw through it like a mist. She looked up at Elsa, who held a finger to her lips and encouraged her to watch.

A male pony with yellow fur and brown mane seared, racing along with a crossbow set across his back, his mouth would be used to fire it, the weapon that would pierce somepony or some animal he targeted in front of his neck. Fluttershy recognized him, this was Cheese Sandwich, who helped plan Rainbow Dash's birthday party recently. Along with Pinkie Pie, they split the preparations.

"What's he doing?"

"He's one of the vampire-hunters," Elsa said. In fact, I'd wager he's the leader."

"Cheese Sandwich? Really?"

"Do you know that pony?"

"Um, only a bit, I mean, he planned one of my friend's parties…"

"The one I just bit the neck of?"

"Yes, actually," Fluttershy said. "But, would like you to not bring that up."

"Trust me, she's having an amazing time, woolgathering and all that jazz."

"So you've said. But what would you biting me do?" Fluttershy asked.

"I have no intention of biting you," Elsa said. "Unless you happen to want me to change you into a vampire." She smiled broadly.

Fluttershy gasped. "Why would I ever want you to do that?"

Elsa shrugged. "There are various reasons why you might want to become one."

"But then I'd be dependent on the blood of other ponies! And," Fluttershy added, shuddering. "Those hunters out there will want to strike me down!"

"Vampire powers are enticing though," Elsa said, as they watched a silver pony with light yellow mane and tail at the trunks of a couple of trees. A dark blue pony with cerulean mane and tail came over to her, and said in a deep voice, "Not that way, Egladine. You won't find the vampires in there."

"But I thought I read somewhere that vampires can conceal themselves in tree trunks," the silver pony protested.

"If Cheese Sandwich hasn't declared that as a way of detecting them, I don't trust it," the blue pony insisted, leading her away.

"Yeah, I don't want to be a part of any of this," Fluttershy said.

"I dunno, the powers are pretty cool," Elsa said. "And also, I could use a friend."

"I do know a thing or two about friendship," Fluttershy admitted.

"What's something you're passionate about?" Elsa asked.

"Animals," Fluttershy answered, promptly. "I live in a cottage with tons of them around and I'm always flying around to help others. It's one reason I favor Ponyville over Cloudsdale. Only birds up there, generally speaking"

"Ah, well, when you're a vampire, you might have a power related to animals. Doesn't that sound cool?"

Fluttershy had to admit that it did. Even so, she had misgivings.. "I still don't want to bite the necks of other ponies, though."

Elsa shrugged. "It's not so bad, at least you don't have to be dependent on regular food."

"Okay, but what if I became a vampire and don't know how to bite ponies properly?"

"Oh, I could teach you!" Elsa said, excitedly, her eyes shining.

"Hum, I'll consider it I suppose," Fluttershy said, to which Elsa beamed. "But for now, I don't see that in my favor."

"That's okay, you might come round, or you might not, but I really do hope we'll remain friends."

"I think there's a good chance of that," Fluttershy said, smiling.

They had to hole up in the tree for two more hours before Cheese Sandwich and his vampire-hunting party finally dispersed. Elsa and Fluttershy could only see around the tree but apparently Elsa's hearing had enhanced so that she could hear hooves across the entire Evergreen Forest from their location.

During that time, Elsa stroked Fluttershy's mane and tail, pampered her wings, and tickled her neck, and Fluttershy serenaded her with a song, she didn't have a problem with a friend listening to her sing, just doing it publicly would make her nervous and freaked out.

It did start to get cold in the tree toward the end of their stint in there. Fluttershy shivered and remarked on it, but Elsa seemed evasive when she answered, wouldn't look in Fluttershy's eyes, as she said, "Probably just the effect of being trapped in a tree for so long."

Since it was clear following those two hours, they exited through the bark, Elsa's arm (as she had told Fluttershy it was called), around her waist as she pulled her out.

They'd had so much time in there that Fluttershy now knew that what Elsa stood on were called feet, and her arms ended in what were called hands, with the protrusions being known as fingers. Elsa claimed that where she came from, all the sentient creatures were built like her.

"They have animals there though, right?"

"Oh yeah," Elsa said. "Plenty of furry critters there. But we can't talk with them."

"Most ponies can't communicate well with animals either, Fluttershy said. "My cutie mark allows that to happen."

"What's a cutie mark?" Elsa had asked, brow furrowed. And so Fluttershy had gone into a discussion of cutie marks, showing the butterflies on her flank and mentioning Rainbow Dash's. then those of her other best friends.

Elsa had said she hadn't had any friends in all her years, not since she was really little, like seven, and her friend then had been her four-year-old sister, who she was forced to separate from for reasons Elsa wouldn't go into.

They had quite a fair amount of conversation for a pair who had only known each other for a couple-and-a-half hours to dive into.

But all that had passed and now they were in the Evergreen Forest with moonlight spilling over them.

Fluttershy yawned hugely. "Guess I've got to get to bed."

"I'll be up all night, vampires aren't diurnal," Elsa said. "But I hope to see you again."

"Friends always have a way of finding each other," Fluttershy said, smiling, and Elsa grinned back before turning around and gliding above the forest ground, about a third of an inch above, in a way that made it look like she was skating. Fluttershy blinked, she thought she saw a trial of ice following Elsa's movements, but that had to be from exhaustion, it was pretty late.

She decided to use her hooves to get her home; she was too tired for flight and anyway, unlike Rainbow Dash, she was perfectly comfortable trotting in general.

She went toward her cottage, barely had time to check up on Angel, and was soon fast asleep on her sofa, too tired to go up to bed and tuck herself under the covers. And when she was in her night visions, she was introducing Elsa to Twilight, who panicked and alerted Cheese Sandwich to hunt down the vampire, shooting Elsa with a harpoon, while her pegasus friend watched and screamed…

Fluttershy woke up with cold sweat pouring down her forehead, she had to sail into the kitchen to get a glass of water, and pet the snoozing rabbit, before she could feel comfortable enough to try for sleep again. That wasn't enough though as she spent twenty minutes shaking violently, the horrible images of her nightmare floating in her mind, so she got out a happy storybook and read a chapter of it till her teeth stopped chattering, and finally she drifted off to a more peaceful slumber in which Pinkie Pie was baking cupcakes that for some reason featured crossbows in icing on top of them…