Prologue - The Dark Side of Fate
It had just turned 10:30 PM, and Princess Celestia had already fared Twilight a goodnight, but Twilight was anything but tired. In fact, she felt very curious and adventurous that night. She occasionally thinks of all the things Princess Celestia doesn't say to her in her bed when she has trouble sleeping and thinks why she hides it. It was a way of getting tired by thinking too hard and going to sleep, but not tonight. Tonight was different.
Twilight tossed and turned in her bed, thinking about one thing: the basement of Canterlot Castle. She'd never seen it, even as Princess of Equestria, and that had always bothered her, but never as much as this. It become so bad that Twilight had begun to hallucinate voices telling her to go down there, scaring her away from as much sleep as possible. But now, Twilight had had enough.
"Augh!" Twilight groaned as she flipped her bumpy covers up from the bed in frustration. "I can't take it anymore!"
The disgruntled mare threw herself out of her bed, her mane looking like chipmunks were living in it, and headed out the door. On both sides of the entrance, two guards stood puzzled.
"Is something wrong, Princess?" one guard asked.
"Nothing I can't handle on my own, Flash." Twilight responded casually.
"Try not to get yourself in trouble, then. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you."
"Thank you for your concern, but I'm positive I'll be alright," Twilight said as she bowed and headed left toward the basement.
I wonder what's down there? A hidden treasure? A monster? Or maybe a legendary document of some kind!? Twilight thought to herself as she wandered down the silent hallway, bobbing her head left and right with each passing thought. It was so silent in the hall that Twilight could almost hear her thoughts being spoken to her. The hall began to get more and more ominous as she walked down it. Less and less guards appeared as Twilight began to take note of the spiderwebs in the corners and the broken lights. She had almost never been down this far without the Princess by her side.
You'd think Celestia'd want to keep this place covered with guards if she's so afraid of ponies coming down this way... Twilight thought. Suddenly, a quiet shrieking noise erupted from the left, evoking Twilight to flinch and prepare magic on her horn. All she saw was an old, wooden door with cracks and a generous amount of cobwebs.
Twilight grew a concerned face as she inched toward the door, hoping that nothing would pop out like in a horror movie. Damn her curiosity, for this time, it may have gotten her killed. But alas, it did not, or at least not yet. She opened the door, shaking like Pinkie Pie after a sugar-cookie eating contest, only for it to reveal something Twilight did not have the fondest of memories with: stairs. A lot of them. The irritated mare did not like what she saw one bit. But after just an eye roll, she lit up her horn, pressed on inside, and closed the door behind her.
Suddenly, Twilight heard the noise again, the shrieking one, except this time it was louder. She stopped and looked all around, but found nothing around her. Whatever the sound was, it must have been further inside this dark, dank place. The darkness surrounded her like a rockstar and his fans, relentlessly pounding on her, telling her that there was no way out of this now.
After three or so minutes, she had finally reached a stable, flat floor full of dust and, what do you know, more cobwebs. Spiders really liked Canterlot Castle apparently. Suddenly, Twilight heard a very quiet sound and stopped dead in her tracks. She really, REALLY didn't want to look up, but with a gigantic gulp and a shaking head, she bobbed her head up and saw something that spooked the spirit right out of her: a bat. Scared out of her mind, Twilight let out a scream and ducked for cover as the bat shrieked and flew forward, away from Twilight.
When Twilight lifted her head, she finally got a good look at the room that she had entered, and it creeped the living hell out of her. Twilight grew a disgusted face as a reaction to what she saw: a very old prison with a lot of bones and forgotten memories. No wonder Celestia forbade Twilight to come down to the basement; the basement was an old, forgotten prison.
The unnerved mare inched forward, shaking with every sound of a small wing's flap. She felt as though she was accompanied with something more than the bat. Something like another pony. But all she saw was cell after cell of bones after bones. There was nothing of relative interest.
"Augh," Twilight moaned. "Well, this was pointless. Why would I be banned from here, though...?"
Twilight sat down to think about it, until she was spooked by a rather high pitched voice coming from a cell to the right.
"Who is that!?" the voice asked. Twilight glanced right to the cell with a gasp to see something she'd not thought to see in an old jail like this: a pony. "Is that you, Sakuya?"
"W-wah!?" Twilight shouted as she rocketed backwards. "Who are you!? What are you doing down here!?"
The pony stepped forward, revealing more of her body in the light. She was pure white with a beat up scarlet hat and had wings that looked as though they belonged on a Hearth's Warming tree. "My name's Flandre Scarlet. And since you aren't Sakuya, who are YOU, Mrs. Purple?"
"Twilight Sparkle, P-Princess of Equestria," Twilight nervously responded.
"But I thought Patchi was the Princess... that doesn't make any sense," Flandre muttered, putting her hoof to her chin.
"Who's Patchi? The Princesses of Equestria are Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and recently me. Why are you down here, Flandre?" Twilight asked.
"I... I dunno. I was locked up for 'too much power', but I barely know how to use it and never hurt anypony. All I want is to see the outside," Flandre responded rather cheerfully.
"How long have you been locked up here?"
"About 495 years."
Twilight blinked twice and shook her head. "Say again?"
"I said 495 years, dumb dumb."
"Wha...? How? Ponies only live for..." Twilight trailed off as she noticed the horn peeking out of Flandre's blondish mane. She then glanced down at her wings, which danced along with the jittery mare. "...You're... you're an alicorn."
"Whut? Well, I dunno what that is, but I'm really bored. Can you get me outta here? I want to do something fuuuun!" Flandre whined.
"Ummm... er... I don't know if that's a good idea..." Twilight said, looking left and right nervously.
"Why noooooot? I won't do anything bad. Sakuya would get mad at me if I did bad things."
"Who is Sakuya?"
"The maid of the castle that comes around every so often to take care of me. She hasn't been around lately, though, and I really, REALLY gotta pee," Flandre said as she jumped around some more.
"So, if I let you out, you PROMISE that nopony will get mad at me or anything and that you'll behave?" Twilight asked once again."
"Yup."
"Well, alright. Let me just get this lock here...." Twilight said as she figured with the lock with her magic. Flandre grew a smile as she bent down to watch Twilight up close. As Twilight looked up at her face, she couldn't help but notice something that was not familiar among ponies: fangs.
"Uh... Flandre... do you have... fangs?" Twilight asked.
Flandre nodded. "Sure do! I'm a vampire. Rawr."
Twilight jumped back, mouth gaping open. "You're a WHAT!?"
Flandre rolled her eyes. "I saaaaaaid, I'm a vampire! ....Rawr."
"W-well no wonder you're locked up! That's crazy!" Twilight yelled.
"Oh, please. You honestly think I'd come up and suck your blood out? I just wanna have some fun. Don't judge a vampire by its fangs," Flandre rebutted.
"Oh.... fine.... but try one move and it's back to the cellar with you." Twilight warned as she picked the lock. In no time at all, the lock clicked and the door of the cellar screeched open and Flandre carefully stepped out of the cell and on to the floor. She spun around a couple times to gain her footing.
"I've never been on this floor. Just the cell's," Flandre said, feeling at the ground.
"You've never touched this floor in 495 years?"
"Nope."
"That sucks, plain and simple." Twilight said as the began walking toward the staircase.
"Yeah. Hey, but thanks for getting me outta there. I woulda gone coocoo... if I haven't already, that is," Flandre said. The two ponies had now reached the stairs and light shined from the cracks. Flandre paused.
"What's up there?" she asked.
"Canterlot Castle. It's been my home recently. Come on, it's late, and I need my sleep, so let's go to my room and rest up for the night, okay?"
"Well, I'm so anxious to see the world, but okay. If that's what it takes."
When Twilight opened the door, Flandre looked as though she had seen the most handsome stallion in Equestria, mouth gaping open at everything that she saw. She fell on the rug and began to roll on it.
"It's so pretty! I want it ALL!" Flandre said, smiling with huge eyes.
"But this is the icky, uninhabited part of the castle. The rest of it is much prettier."
"I really can't imagine it, but I guess I'll see and be amazed."
Twilight nodded as they headed back to the room for a good night's sleep. Little did Twilight know what she had done. Not only had she released the emotionally unstable Flandre Scarlet, she had put all of Equestria in danger. They both fell sound asleep, and as they did, angry eyes peered in through the window
"What a fool she is to release her..." The bat with the scarlet hat thought as she flew away into the night sky, only able to imagine the terrors to come.
