Applejack knew Fluttershy had a kind heart. It was one of the reasons she respected the animal caretaker. She honestly understood her side, and if this crisis arose on any other day besides Apple Bucking Day Applejack would have considered other means to peacefully solve the problem. However, she had already lost a good portion of her fields to these varmints, and her prized blue ribbon apple was also at risk as long as they were around. When expressing her desire to stop these vampire bats by any means necessary, even in a violent approach if they had to, she could see the look of disappointment and hurt in Fluttershy’s eyes.

Sometimes there was such a thing as being too kind, and this was a time when one had to buckle. She remembered all the horror stories Granny told her about vampire bats and how close they came to losing the farm. She was not going to let that happen. This entire farm was the lifeblood of her family, and if it died then they did too.

And Applejack Apple would not let that happen as long as she breathed. Thankfully, they had found a way, thanks to Twilight’s spell casting abilities, to make sure the varmints stopped eating her apples. Although Fluttershy was reluctant to use her stare to help, Applejack and the others eventually persuaded her to accept their plan.

She watched as Rainbow Dash brought in the last of the vampire fruit bats via tornado and made sure they stayed in their place. It hurt seeing that she had to sacrifice so many apples to keep them in line, but it was all for the greater good. “Good work, everypony!” shouted Applejack as she looked over her friends, all of whom appeared proud of their achievement. All of them, except for Fluttershy.

Facing her reluctant friend, Applejack stated, “Now all we need is yer stare, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy nervously pawed the ground, guilt lingering in her eyes as she asked, “A-are you sure about this? It’s not too late to build that shelter...”

For a split second, Applejack looked into the pleading face of one of her best friends and doubt crept into her mind. She knew Fluttershy didn’t like to use The Stare unless she really needed to, and even then she hated forcing animals of their own free will to obey her. However, the moment Applejack saw all the bare trees the bats wiped out, she put such doubts to rest and nodded her head firmly.

With a heavy sigh, Fluttershy turned around and flew to the bats, who spotted her at once and hissed, their tiny talons and wings protectively covering their fresh apple food source. While Applejack and the rest of the gang tensed up, ready to come in should they attack, Fluttershy shook her head with pity. “I really really really hate to do this to you. I just hope you can forgive me.”

She closed her eyes and everypony held their breath. Then, Fluttershy opened her eyes and released the special skill known only as The Stare. Applejack had seen it used many times before, but each time, she couldn’t help but be both afraid and amazed at its power. Just seeing the bats freeze up as their willpower was sucked away sent a shiver down her spine. Fluttershy had said that she never tested The Stare on ponies before, and quite frankly Applejack didn’t want to find out if it was possible or not.

Applejack was so mesmerized by the use of The Stare’s power that she almost forgot the next part of their plan. Turning to Twilight, she nodded at the alicorn, who quickly stepped forward, horn glowing. Twilight’s magic reached out and surrounded the bats with a purple glow, while Fluttershy maintained her stare to make sure they didn’t move an inch.

However, as Twilight continued to cast the spell something happened that none of them expected. They twitched and convulsed involuntarily as though in pain, and Applejack almost jumped out of her hooves when the wailing cacophony pitched higher. It was like the shriek of the damned howling in the air as the bats began to tear up. Although her eyes were still in Stare mode, Fluttershy gasped in horror. “Twilight stop! You’re hurting them!”

“I... I can’t...” Twilight muttered, gritting her teeth. “If I stop, I don’t know what will happen! Keep them still!”

Fluttershy bit her lip. “But...”

“Darn it, Fluttershy! Keep them varmints still!” Applejack ordered, stomping her hoof. This was enough for Fluttershy as she continued to focus back on the bats, but Applejack noticed a single teardrop fall from her eye. Once again, Applejack began to doubt their actions, but more specifically her own. She had just yelled at Fluttershy and worse, made her cry. Whether this worked out for the better or worse, she knew she was going to have to make it up to Fluttershy later.

Just as she turned her eyes back on the bats, she began to see what was actually going on. They were transforming. A purple wave of light began to shine over each of the bats, turning their dark black coats into different hues and shades of color. The spectrum perfectly matched the various colorings of the fruit bats out in the west orchard. Applejack didn’t know how this was possible, but it didn’t matter since she and her family had no problem with normal fruit bats. They lived in fruit trees, feeding off the insects they found. The fruit itself was eaten sparingly and only by the females for reproduction purposes, giving them the strength to bear more fruit bats. That was why they were born half fruit and half bat.

A few minutes passed until the energy surrounding the bats disappeared in a bright flash that made everypony cover their eyes. Applejack heard a loud yelp and the sound of something crashing nearby before the glow evaporated. She looked up at the tree to see her suspicions were correct. Each vampire bat on the tree had been turned into a normal fruit bat, ranging from apples to strawberries to pumpkins. Confused and startled, the fruit bats fled from the tree and scattered.

Applejack was about to do a cheer in celebration for saving her farm, but she heard her friends cry out Fluttershy’s name. She quickly turned around and gasped. Fluttershy had crashed into the ground and lay on her side, twitching in pain. She and the gang wasted no time rushing towards her and helping her up.

“Fluttershy, are you okay?” Twilight asked, placing a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder and steadying the wobbling pegasus.

Fluttershy opened her eyes and, for a split second, Applejack thought they had suddenly changed to the color red, but it was gone as soon as she saw it. Chalking it up to a trick of the light, Applejack pushed the thought away before turning to Rainbow Dash. “Dash, get some water from the farm.”

“On it!” Dash shouted before zooming like a rocket towards the main barn.

Fluttershy sat on her haunches as she clutched her head and moaned in pain. “My head... What happened? Are the bats okay?”

“They’re fine, darling,” Rarity assured her worried friend while nuzzling her. “They turned back into fruit bats, normal ones might I add.”

“I don’t understand how that happened. Maybe I did the spell wrong?” Twilight asked out loud while rubbing her chin.

“Who cares?! We managed to save Applejack’s farm! This calls for a celebration!” Pinkie Pie shouted while spreading her front legs and throwing confetti into the air. It was blown away when Dash flew back at top speed, holding a mug of water in her hoof.

Twilight levitated it to Fluttershy, who began to drink the whole thing like she had been trapped in a desert for days. “Well, I’m worried about Fluttershy. She doesn’t look so good,” Twilight pointed out.

“She is starting to look a bit pale,” Spike commented as Fluttershy finished her drink with a sigh of relief. The others got a closer look at her and nodded in agreement upon seeing her yellow fur slowly lose its color.

Applejack took her hat off and placed it over her heart before looking at Fluttershy with regret. “Fluttershy... Ah... Ah’m sorry. Ah didn’t want ya to get hurt on account of me askin’ ya to do somethin’ ya didn’t want to do. Ah’m really sorry.”

Fluttershy shook her head and gave Applejack a weak smile. “It’s.. it’s okay. I’m sure I just strained myself from using The Stare for so long. I’ve never held it like that before. Maybe a good night’s rest will help me.”

“Sounds like a good plan. I’ll take her home,” Rarity said as she helped Fluttershy back to her hooves, guiding her towards the direction of the exit of Sweet Apple Acres. The others quickly said their goodbyes and well wishes for Fluttershy’s recovery before they began to walk back to the barn.

“So how did you transform them into normal fruit bats, Twilight?” Spike asked, riding on her back. “I thought the plan was to make them not like apples anymore.”

“I don’t know, Spike,” Twilight answered, her eyes narrowed as she went into that “serious study” face that Applejack had always seen her with whenever she was using that big brain of hers. “There are spells that can transform creatures into another, but that spell I used didn’t feel like any of those at all. Now that I think about it, I think this was a better outcome for the bats than our original plan.”

“How so? So the bats don’t eat apples. What’s the big deal?” Rainbow Dash asked, lazily flying above them.

“Because, Dash, if we made the vampire bats stop eating apples, then what else were they gonna eat?”

This made the whole group stop in realization. Without anything to eat, the bats would have starved to death and would have been wiped out. Applejack was only grateful that Fluttershy wasn’t here or she would have fainted on the spot. And as much as she hated vampire bats and saw them as monsters, she wasn’t the type of pony who wanted to go and kill a bunch of animals.

“Wow, good thing that spell worked as it did huh,” Spike commented.

“Yeah... but I’m still a bit concerned about Fluttershy. I hope the spell didn’t do anything to her,” Twilight muttered, her ears flat against her head. “If something happens to her...”

“Come on, Twilight,” Pinkie Pie said, wrapped her foreleg around Twilight’s neck. She smiled and continued, “It’s was a transformation spell, right? So unless Fluttershy starts turning into a dragon or snail or some other type of animal, she’s going to be alright, right?”

“I guess...”

“So let’s stop worrying about such gloomy thoughts and have ourselves some apple pie to celebrate saving Applejack’s farm!” Pinkie Pie suggested, pulling out such a pie, still freshly baked and warm too, from wherever it was that Pinkie Pie stored her endless supply of items. The smell soon had everypony’s stomachs grumbling, and they couldn’t help but nod their heads in agreement.

They made their way to the barn, but their worries of Fluttershy still lingered in their mind.

Three days had passed since the vampire bats turned back into fruit bats, and Applejack thought the worst of her troubles were over. That was until she found out from Apple Bloom that the new fruit bats had been fighting with the old ones over territory and killing each other. She couldn’t leave dead animals on her farm, and picking up their bodies for burial was starting to interrupt her other chores.

With no other choice, Applejack had to ask Fluttershy for help again. The farmer reluctantly made her way down the path where she spotted the lonely cottage near the Everfree Forest. She still felt guilty for forcing Fluttershy to use her stare on the bats and would rather let a few days come between them so she could fully recover. However, she was running out of options.

Arriving at the front door, Applejack knocked on it as quietly as she could, knowing that her timid friend still got spooked by the simplest of unexpected noises. “Fluttershy? It’s Applejack. Ah need to talk to ya.” There was no reply. She could hear a few animals inside scuttering around but nothing else. Applejack knocked again, this time with a bit more force. “Fluttershy? Everything okay in there?”

Maybe she’s out? Applejack thought when she got no reply a second time. She was about ready to turn around and head home when the door unlocked and opened. Applejack looked down and saw Angel peering back with relief on his face. Applejack raised an eyebrow at the sight of this. Normally, the rabbit wore of look of annoyance at everypony, so seeing any other expression on his face made her suspicious.

“Howdy, Angel. Fluttershy home?” Applejack asked.

The little rabbit waved his paw for Applejack to follow him as he made his way towards the stairs. Applejack shrugged and closed the door behind her, making sure not to step on any one of the dozens of critters Fluttershy took care of while she walked. She quickly looked around and saw that most of the animals were quiet; too quiet in fact. Somethin’s wrong and Ah don’t like it.

Applejack followed Angel up the stairs until they reached Fluttershy’s room where he knocked on the door. A few coughs were heard that sounded so painful it made Applejack wince. “W-who... is it?”

“Fluttershy? Ya feelin’ alright, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, now worried herself.

The door slowly opened and Applejack reared back in both shock and dismay at what had become of her good friend. She had seen sick ponies before with both common and serious illnesses, but she had never seen anypony as sick as Fluttershy.

The poor mare appeared half dead from the condition of her faded yellow fur. It almost looked like she’d been dipped in bleach. Her eyes were completely bloodshot, and she wiped away tears that slowly slid down her face and into her runny nose. Her mane was an absolute mess, something that would give Rarity an aneurysm if she ever saw it. Fluttershy’s wings looked like they hadn’t been preened and she was barely standing, ready to collapse at a moment’s notice.

Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak when her eyes widened and she started to cough again. Applejack made sure she was out of the way as Fluttershy covered her mouth with her hoof, saliva spitting out with each hack. It went on for a good while, longer than most coughing fits Applejack had heard, and she was forced to watch as each cough dragged Fluttershy closer to the ground while Angel patted her back.

Finally, she stopped and began to catch her breath while Applejack shook her head. “Land sakes, Fluttershy! Why didn’t ya tell anypony y’all were this sick? I could have sworn ya were gonna cough up a lung.”

“It’s... it’s okay, Applejack. I’m... I’m...” Fluttershy tried to finish, but she moaned and placed a hoof on her head, wincing in pain.

Applejack stepped forward and placed her hoof on Fluttershy’s forehead before shaking her head. “Yer burning up, that’s what. Come on, let’s get ya back to bed.” With little resistance, Applejack was able to guide Fluttershy to her pillow and sheets, covering her up nice and warm. “Darn it, girl. Yer sicker than a dog left out in the rain for too long. Ah’m gonna get the girls, and we’re gonna make sure ya get better, okay?”

“O-okay...” Fluttershy whispered as she laid her head down and closed her eyes. Applejack could hear faint whispers of pain as she exited the room and made a beeline for the door. She already planned out the route that would lead to each of her friends’ houses as well as the hospital to see if they could have a doctor make an emergency house call.

There was something about this sickness that Applejack didn’t like this one single bit, and she had a feeling that it wasn’t something simple like a fever or a cold. She only hoped it wasn't fatal or contagious.

Needless to say, when the rest of the girls learned about Fluttershy’s illness they were quick to drop everything they were doing and rush straight to her aid. Doctor Stable, along with Nurse Redheart, hastily arrived via Princess Twilight’s orders. She rarely liked using her powers as a princess, but when it came to her friend’s well-being she had no problem using whatever resources she had.

Unfortunately, the two medical ponies were unable to properly diagnose what was wrong with Fluttershy. She had no bacteria or virus that they knew of, but proper scans showed that her inner body was failing her. Despite her pleas that she would be fine, Doctor Stable suggested moving Fluttershy into the intensive care unit of the hospital while they tried to figure out what was wrong with her and hopefully cure it. Fluttershy, however, refused to go. She didn’t like the idea of being in a hospital or leaving her animals behind and unattended. However, she agreed that if she didn’t get better in a few days, she would come straight to the hospital for treatment.

The gang had no choice but to make sure they kept a close eye on Fluttershy and care for her. Doctor Stable did recommend that the girls come for checkups almost every day, to make sure it was not contagious and wear protective masks and gloves. It had been three days since then, and none of them showed any of the symptoms Fluttershy had, nor did her own ill signs fade in time either. They had tried contacting Fluttershy’s parents, in case this was a genetic disease from the family, but when Rainbow Dash went to find them in Cloudsdale they had learned they were vacationing in the Griffin Kingdom.

Despite a lack of improvement, Fluttershy’s friends did everything they could to help her feel better. Rainbow Dash would sit down and read every Daring Do book she had, and sometimes the others would join in to reenact certain scenes for Fluttershy’s amusement. Rarity sewed a specially-made quilt for Fluttershy to warm herself with, using the best fabrics she had. Applejack and Pinkie Pie brought lots of healthy food for Fluttershy like porridge and soup, although she ate very little. One of the first things that disappeared was her appetite, although she was often quite thirsty. And finally, Twilight made sure she and Spike attended to Fluttershy’s animals to reassure her that everything was okay.

Even the town pitched in to help when they heard one of their premier members was seriously ill. They brought get well cards or gifts for Fluttershy and visited as often as they could. Seeing the love and concern so many ponies had for her made her smile, knowing that she was blessed to live with such good friends.

Fluttershy was wearing such a smile while watching Pinkie Pie and Spike perform an impressive dance routine with some of her animal friends. Finishing their final musical number, Fluttershy and all her friends clapped their hooves in applause as the dancing group bowed.

After the animals left one by one, though not without small, goodbye kisses to their caretaker, Fluttershy. “Thank you. It was very lovely.”

“Aw, shucks it was all Pinkie’s idea,” Spike said, pointing his thumb at the party mare.

“Yup, but I couldn’t have done it without you, Spikey!” Pinkie Pie complimented while giving the little dragon a noogie.

“You both did great. And I think it’s helped put an even bigger smile on Fluttershy,” pointed out Twilight while Fluttershy blushed. “Why I bet she’s already on the road to recovery right now.”

Fluttershy sighed before grabbing a glass of water and chucking it down greedily. Rarity took the glass and started to clean it with a few supplies she brought with her. “Honestly, Fluttershy, you shouldn’t drink so fast. It’s bad enough you get those coughing fits as it is. You don’t want to start choking on the water, now do you?”

“Sorry, Rarity,” Fluttershy whispered, licking her lips as her eyes drooped. “I just feel so thirsty all the time and I can’t explain it. Water’s just not doing it and neither is juice.” Her eyes widened as she then suddenly went into another series of painful coughs, but only a few this time. The gang winced with each she let out one as Applejack quickly patted her back to help her out.

“Ah think Fluttershy needs some bed rest, y’all,” Applejack suggested, which led to five heads nodding in agreement. She tucked Fluttershy in bed as they all wished her a good night’s rest before leaving the room as quietly as they could while the dreary pegasus slowly closed her eyes.

That small peaceful moment only lasted for a short while until the gang could heard Fluttershy coughing again. Their previous gentle smiles faded into frowns as they looked at each other, more worried than ever for their sick friend. “It’s been days and she’s still looking like horseapples,” Rainbow Dash whispered, kicking the floor with a growl. “Is there any sort of medical magical stuff you can do, Twilight?”

“I’m not well versed in healing arts, Dash,” Twilight answered, lowering her head in shame. “Even if I was, Doctor Stable said that magical exposure could make Fluttershy worse. Maybe it might make her better, but nopony knows what we're dealing with.”

Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves while glaring at the floor, but Twilight placed a hoof on her shoulder and smiled. “But I have good news. I contacted Princess Celestia yesterday, and she promised to send her own personal doctor to help Fluttershy out. Doctor Gold Heart is one of the top medical professionals in all of Equestria.”

Everypony’s eyes lit up with hope upon hearing this and Twilight couldn’t blame them. She herself was starting to really worry about this illness that Fluttershy had. She had researched for days, but found no recorded incidents similar to this one. She could only hope the princess’s doctor could help. They had tried everything they knew, from home remedies to even potions by Zecora, but nothing seemed to help. There were nurmous illnesses that showed symptoms like these, but there was no sign yet of how it developed and without a proper idea on what disease it was they couldn’t really do treatment. A dark though in Twilight’s mind made her wonder if there was even a way to cure her at all. What if this disease was fatal? What if—

“Hey, girls?” Spike asked, eyes focused on the door in front of them. “Fluttershy hasn’t stopped coughing... and it’s been five minutes.”

Twilight felt her heart freeze in her chest as fear gripped it. Another moment passed, enough to catch the looks from the others, and then the bedroom door slammed open so hard it was almost ripped off its hinges. Inside, Twilight released her magical hold on the door and skidded to a stop at the sight before her. Fluttershy was coughing into her hoof over and over again, but now her entire body was shaking as she struggled under the covers. It was like something inside her was twisting and turning.

Twilight fought down her fear as she quickly looked to her friends who were as equally horrified as her. “Quick!” Twilight, shouted, snapping them out of it. “Hold her down and get something to calm her down!”

Rainbow Dash and Rarity quickly left the room while she, Pinkie, and Applejack rushed to Fluttershy, who was coughing so hard it almost sounded like a lung was trying to come out. They grabbed and held her down, saliva coming out of Fluttershy’s mouth and splattering all over their faces.

“Girls...” Fluttershy whimpered between her coughs, her eyes tearing up,” ...H-help...”

“She’s turning blue!” Spike pointed out as he watched from a distance, shaking with fear.

Rarity soon returned, Rainbow Dash behind her, as she carried in her magic a needle shot. “Take this! It’s one of her sedatives! I’ve seen her use it before on Opal and it calmed her down in an instant!”

“Fluttershy ain’t some animal! She’s a pony! Won’t that kill her?!” Applejack argued, doing her best to keep Fluttershy’s foreleg from smacking her.

“It’s only a small dose! Enough to calm her down and nothing more!” Rarity, with the shot ready, moved to Fluttershy’s flank and turned to Twilight, steely resolve behind her eyes. “I can do this.

Twilight looked at Rarity and then at Fluttershy before nodding. Rarity carefully poked Fluttershy’s cutie mark as the gang did their best to keep her still. The drug soon entered Fluttershy’s bloodstream, and she began to shake less and less until it, and her coughing, finally abated.

Everypony started to breathe again as Fluttershy fell onto her pillow, taking in deep breaths. Sweat poured down her brow, along with tears, as she tried to speak, but all that came out were gurgles and gasps.

Twilight laid her hoof over her heart, expecting it to burst out of her chest any second now. That was too close...

The others looked to be just as relieved and tired as her, each of them eyeing Fluttershy like she was a time bomb ready to explode. Not a single sound was heard inside the room as Fluttershy wrapped the covers around her like a lifeline. There was a flicker of newborn hope in the room that perhaps she could finally rest, a hope erased when she put her hoof over her mouth and started coughing again. Everypony got up, ready to assist, when something came out of Fluttershy’s mouth that froze them all in their tracks.

Now, Twilight was pretty sure her heart had just stopped.

Fluttershy’s eyes widen as she stared at her hoof. “Is... that...”

Nopony answered because there was no need to say it. It was red and sticky. Its very smell made every hair on Twilight’s body stand up straight. She knew what it was. They all did.

Blood.

Fluttershy stared at her blood-covered hoof until her eyes rolled back in her head and she fainted on her pillow. Instincts kicked in as Twilight rushed to Fluttershy, charged her horn, and the two of them were gone in a flash.

A split second later, everypony was rushing out of the house.

Applejack had been in this situation before many years ago. She was only seven when they brought her Ma and Pa into the hospital after the attack. The smell of the blood all over them from the timberwolf bites that had haunted her entire fillyhood was now coming back to her. But that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was the ending to it all. That moment when the doctor walked up to her and her family and shook her head, saying that she would never see her parents open their eyes ever again.

It shattered her world and she swore never to suffer such a devastating blow again if she could help it. Now it looked like her promise was going to be broken and her world would crumble into dust once more. She didn’t dare look at the faces of the ones she called friends, sisters and family in the same breath, because she knew they were feeling that same fear.

Rainbow Dash had already flown ahead of them, faster than she had ever seen the pegasus fly, leaving the rest of them to gallop by hoof. For the first time in her life, Applejack cursed being an earth pony and not a teleporting unicorn or flying pegasus. It took them only twenty minutes to gallop all the way from Fluttershy’s cottage to the hospital at the other side of town, a feat Applejack would have taken pride in if she wasn’t so worried about Fluttershy. The group didn’t even bother giving their names, nor did they need directions to find out where Fluttershy was being taken.

The trail of blood was enough.

By the time they entered the ICU, she saw Rainbow Dash comforting a crying Twilight, who looked pale as death itself. The effects of their run finally hit the group, and they collapsed, breathing heavily. Only Spike, who rode on Pinkie Pie, was unaffected.

“How... is... Fluttershy?” Rarity demanded as she summoned air into her lungs. Her mane was ruined and her body was covered in sweat, having never pulled her body through such grueling exercises until now. The primed up mare would have normally complained about such a look on her, but right now it was the last thing on her mind. All she wanted was to know if one of her best friends was alright.

“I...” Twilight hiccupped a few times through the tears before she managed to continue. “I... brought her in... the nurse shouted ‘Code Blue’ and took her away. She was still coughing up blood as they took her inside and I... I don’t know what to do!”

They watched as the strongest of them, their leader through every trial, fell to the floor in shambles and bawled her eyes out. Rainbow Dash was the first to hold her, then Spike, then the others. They held each other, crying alongside her, trying to be strong together. They hoped, they prayed, they begged the powers that be that one of their own would not be taken from them. None of them ever thought, in all the dangerous adventures they had gone through, that they could die. They were the Elements of Harmony: the six invincible friends who could deal with any evil.

But now they were a small group of weak and crying mares, who wanted nothing more than the gentlest of them to come home.

Inside the ICU, a single sound was heard. Doctor Stable and the nurses all looked at the pony laid out on the table. Her eyes were closed for all of eternity, her suffering had come to an end.

They had tried to find out what was wrong. Every scan and piece of medical equipment they used turned up negative. No internal bleeding. No pathogens of any kind. Not a single sign of what had happened that caused her body to completely shut down.

Doctor Stable closed his eyes and cursed the sound ringing in his ears. He hated that sound. It was a sound of failure. The sound of sorrow to come. Stable had heard it many times, both during his internship and when he graduated from school. It was a sound he never got used to. Every doctor feared they would hear a special sound that let them know it was over for them. They couldn’t go on anymore.

For Doctor Stable this was his. This single, depressing, sorrowful sound was the sign that his career was over. He could never find it in his heart to continue practicing medicine. A short career of ten years as a doctor and it was all over because he failed to save this one mare who was so sweet and innocent, a hero to everypony alive in Equestria.

His nurses looked at him, to ask him to say the words that none of them wanted to hear. With every ounce of his being he uttered a single sentence. “Call it.”

Nurse Redheart, with tears in her eyes nodded. “Time of death... six forty-two.” She slowly covered Fluttershy’s head with a white sheet.

Another nurse shut off the pulse reader and then all that was left was silence.

Link to Illustration 1
Link to Illustration 2

Author's Notes:

This is my first attempt at doing a somewhat horror story. It's heavily based on the original Dracula story and it will feature bloody artwork in the future by my good friend James Corck (http://jamescorck.deviantart.com/). He's the one behind all the art when I got the idea of having black and white (with red) art work for the entire fic. It's all planned out, but the art works are commissions so it will take me time to pay for each of these so this story will update as time goes by but not on a schedule or anything.

I hope you enjoyed the beginning though. Later