Return of the Vampire Kingby EluChaptersThe ReturnThe PlanNever Judge a Book by Its CoverThe Return"It all happened on a night." - Rainbow Dash. There was a rainy night in Equestria. Pegasi had to make a rain because plants needed it to grow. Somewhere in the dark, deep caves of Diamond Dogs, a door made of stone stood, untouched for centuries, for millenniums. Behind it was a large room with black stone columns. In the centre of the room stood a black coffin. Suddenly symbols started to appear on the coffin. They were glowing orange. The coffin opened, revealing a pony inside it. It was a stallion. His fur was short and pale gray, his skin was very pale. His black mane was combed back and tied in a ponytail. His tail was long and black and was tied in a ponytail as well. His cutie mark represented a full red moon with a black vampire bat inside it. The stallion himself was very big. He had his legs crossed on his chest, and his head was propped with a soft, white pillow. The stallion wore a black cape with a hood. Suddenly he shot his eyes open. Their color was between red and orange. The eyes had vertical pupils. The stallion slowly got up from the coffin and stood on his four legs, revealing to be two and a half meters tall. He looked around but didn't find his regalia: the crown and scepter. The stallion turned to the door and closed his eyes, concentrating. A door started to glow red, then shattered into pieces. The way to freedom is now opened. Half an hour before. Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, was sitting in the library reading a new book. It was already 23:30, but the book was so interesting Twilight just couldn't stop reading even for a moment. Suddenly, her number one assistant, Spike the Dragon entered the library and ran to Twilight, holding a scroll in his claws. "Hey, Twilight! I've got a letter from Princess Celestia!" he said, panting. "It is written that you must read it as soon as possible." Twilight looked surprised. She hasn't had any letters from the Princess of the Sun for months, and now here it is - the letter of great importance. Twilight grabbed it, opened it and started reading. Dear Twilight Sparkle, My sister has been having nightmares for two days. She said she had seen a long gone pony, the one who spread fear across Equestria when me and my sister were just fillies. I'm afraid that the fearsome Vampire King has returned or is to return. I don't know what is he up to, but I know for sure that he is extremely dangerous. Maybe even more dangerous than Tirek was. The King possesses many forbidden abilities, such as necromancy and hypnotizing. Do not look him in the eyes! And remember! He is more than two thousand years old. He is very clever, so don't try to confront him without a good plan. Good luck, Yours, Princess Celestia Twilight sighed, turned to Spike and said: "Well, the rest is over." "What is it, Twilight?" the dragon asked worriedly. "A new enemy has returned. The king of vampires." "A v-vampire?" Spike asked in trembling voice. "Are y-you kidding m-me? I hate vampires! They want m-my warm b-blood!" The dragon ran to stairs and went upstairs, looking for a shelter. Twilight sighed and looked outside the window. It was a rainy night. The moon was full and shined bright. Nopony but a few guards were in Ponyville. The guards have appeared two days before and were guarding Mayor Mare's residence. Twilight went down the stairs and to the throne room. She summoned the map and tapped on every cutie mark of her friends. Half an hour later a meeting was held in the throne room. All of the six were here, most of them were sleepy and a little wet because of the rain. "Twilight, why did ya call us here?" Applejack asked and yawned. "Ah have been working all day and I'm tired like a mule." "The new enemy has returned," Twilight answered. "Wait, wait, hold on a second," Rainbow Dash said. "How can a new enemy return? It makes no sense!" "Actually, it does," Twilight disagreed. "Do you know anything about the Vampire King?" "All I know is that parents use him to scare foals to go to sleep." "Do you know that he is real?" "What do you mean? Do you mean..." Rainbow Dash paused. "That we are... Going to fight... The Vampire King?" "I know you fear..." "No, you don't get the point," Rainbow Dash interrupted. "It is going to be AWESOME!" "There is no awesomeness about fighting the Vampire King!" Twilight raised her voice. "Do you know how strong he is?" "Do you?" "Well, I..." "Girls, enough!" Applejack interrupted. "This argument ain't leading us anywhere!" "Yeah, I think you're right, Applejack. Twilight, I'm sorry for not taking you seriously," Rainbow Dash apologized. "Apology accepted," Twilight smiled. "I kind if expected that from you, you fighter." Everyone laughed. "Well, now we must be serious," Twilight said after wiping away her tears. "Now..." Twilight told her friends about the letter and who are they fighting against. "Wow, that sounds really serious," Rainbow Dash said. "So, how are we going to defeat him?" "I have no idea," Twilight said. Everyone gasped. "Twilight, you always have a plan for anything!" Pinkie Pie said. "You have a plan for making cupcakes, you have a plan for your day, you have a plan for our days, you have..." "And now I don't," Twilight stopped Pinkie Pie's speech. "I didn't really think about anything like that. I think we must go to Canterlot to search for any information about vampires to defeat the King." "I'm afraid you are not going anywhere tonight," a vibrating, low voice said. Everyone turned their heads to the voice and found a stallion with a cape and a hood on, standing in the front entrance. The water dropped from his cape, making a puddle on the crystal floor. "You are surprised to see me right here, aren't you?" the stallion asked and took off his hood. His face looked pretty young despite being very pale. His glowing eyes slowly turned from one pony to another. No one dared to look him in the eyes. "Vampire King..." Fluttershy said in trembling voice and fainted. "Why yes, it is I. Did I hear thee right,thou is going to destroy me? And why thou want to destroy me?" the King turned to Twilight, who has shown no signs of fear. She looked somewhere between his eyes, avoiding direct eye contact. "Why is thou so hostile towards me?" "You suck out the blood of the innocent," Twilight answered, gritting her teeth. "How much blood have you sucked out already, Vampire King?" "Believe me or not, but not a single drop of blood was in my mouth since I woke up," the stallion replied and grinned, showing his sharp, white fangs. There was no blood on them indeed. "Oh, forgive me for my manners, I am Nicholas, the great King of Vampires. I ask thee, which year is it?" "It is 2015 since Equestria was founded," Twilight replied. "So I indeed was sleeping for two thousands of years..." the King rubbed his chin. "Well, thank thee for the information. Now, I have to leave thee." The Vampire King turned around and left the throne room. As soon as he left, Fluttershy woke up. Twilight tried to stand up but was unable to move. "Can anyone move?" she asked. Everypony answered negatively. "Well, I think we have to wait until his magic wears off." "Twilight, how could he entered the castle without us knowing?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Haven't you casted protective spells on it?" "I have but he broke them, I think," Twilight replied. "How come ya didn't notice that?" Applejack asked. "I have no idea," Twilight said and got up from her throne. "Oh look, his magic wore off!" Everyone got up from their thrones and stretched their limbs. Then they all went to the outside. But none of them could see anypony in darkness, as the clouds covered the moon. Nicholas was already far from the six, taking night train to Canterlot. He asked for a note about Canterlot and now he was reading it. 'The city was built after the conflict of two sisters?' he asked himself in thought. 'They had a strong connection if Celestia left the royal castle because her sister became evil.' Other night passengers, mostly bat ponies, looked at the stallion with interest. Not everyday you can see a stallion as tall as Celestia. No one recognized him as the Vampire King because his cape covered his cutie mark. "Passengers! Prepare your tickets!" the Controller announced, accompanied by a couple of night guards. A pony by pony, they made their way to the Vampire King. After asking a pony for a ticket, the Controller asked it to show its cutie mark if it cannot be seen. The Controller now stood in front of the King. "Your ticket, please," he asked. "Here you are, sir," Nicholas answered and handed him his ticket. The Controller looked at it, then raised his eyes to meet Nicholas's ones. 'Thou do not need to see my cutie mark,' the Vampire King ordered the Controller mentally. His eyes widened in fear and he opened his mouth to call guards. 'Thou do not need to draw attention to us, do thou?' Nicholas said mentally, addressing the pony before him, shutting him up. 'Thou don't want to die, do thou?' The pony gulped and went on to check others' tickets. An hour later, Canterlot streets. Nicholas slowly walked, looking at the signs, hoping to find a sign of antiques shop. He found it in the centre of a small street. The King entered the shop, ringing the bell. The owner of the shop looked up from his book and greeted the king. "Good evening! How can I help you?" "Where do thou have crowns?" Nicholas asked. "Yes, I've got plenty of those," the owner said, getting up from his chair. "I even had to build another room for them." The two walked to the nearest door and opened it, revealing a big room full of different crowns. Nicholas could tell that most of them were fake. He entered the room and looked around. He noticed a crown on a shelf on the right wall. It was a big crown. Its base was a silver ring. The front of the crown had a bat with opened wings. There were also four spikes, each represented a bat's wing. Nicholas pointed at it. "That crown? Good choice, sir!" the owner of shop said, grabbing the crown with his hooves and walking back into the main room. "This is a crown of the King of Vampires, but I think you already know that." "And I'm taking it," the King said. "It will cost you five thousand bits, sir," the seller said. "Don't thou knowest who I am?" the King asked in menacing tone. "Should I?" the seller said, pushing a button under his table with his hind leg. The King took off his cape, revealing muscular body with big bat-like wings on its sides. Suddenly the seller felt himself unable to breath as if something was suffocating him. "I am the Vampire King!" Nicholas said angrily. "I am the crown's owner!" The seller's eyes widened in shock. He was chocking and gasping for air, but was unable to do so. His vision started to fade as he fell. Suddenly he felt himself free and able to breath. He coughed and stood up. "I do not need thee dead, not because of thine lack of vision," the King said calmly. "I know thee hath called the guards. Give me the biggest saddlebag and put the crown in it." The seller made a small nod and took a big saddlebag from a pile near the exit. He shoved the crown inside and handed the saddlebag to the King, who put it on, then put on his cape. "Is there another way out?" he asked. "There is a manhole in the roof just above you," the seller answered. The Vampire King stood on his hind legs and opened the manhole with his front hooves. He jumped and got to the roof. He turned to the street and noticed two guards, hurrying to the shop. As soon as they entered it, the Vampire King jumped down and went back to the train station. Suddenly another two guards appeared right in front of him. "Halt!" the first one ordered. "Who goes there?" the second one asked. "You do not need to know," Nicholas whispered and made them fall asleep with the help of his magic. The stallion crossed them and continued his walk towards the station. He hoped to get back to the cave before the dawn. The Plan5:00, dawn. Nicholas was lying in his cave, resting. His saddlebag along with a cape lied near him, taken off. The King has been thinking a lot since he came back to his cave. He never expected himself to be asleep for more than a few days, so he has never got a plan for such a situation he has got into. He has no allies, no one in particular to rely on. He is all alone. Suddenly something caught his eye. A bit of sunlight was in the cave, slowly moving towards the King. He stood up and backed a bit. He knew that sunlight will either kill him, turning him into ashes, or hurt him a lot, literally burning his skin. In his own thoughts, Nicholas didn't notice the sunlight touch his skin. He jumped in surprise and ran back into shadows. He looked at his right front leg, expecting to see burns. But his skin was clear, as if sunlight never touched it. The King slowly walked to the sunlight and exposed his right front leg to it. He felt the warmth but didn't feel the pain. He slowly put down his hoof and walked in the sunlight. A realization hit him like a train. "I... I am no longer hurt by sun!" he said, raising his voice. "I am able to walk in the light, haha!" He fell, laughing hard. It was like he became fully insane. He laughed, rolling on the stone floor. Pure joy filled him up. He thought that he is the happiest pony in the whole Equestria, in the whole world. He has never felt himself better. After more than two thousand years, he is able to walk freely in the sunlight, not fearing to be burnt. "Hello? Is anybody here?" a young, stallion's voice came from the cave's entrance. Nicholas stopped rolling, stood up and walked into shadows, observing the cave. A stallion entered it. And he was a bat pony. He had gray fur, black spiky mane and tail, black wings, blue slit-pupil eyes. He was a little taller than normal stallion would be. "Hello?" he asked, looking around. "Is that who I think it is?" "If thou is expecting me, then thou is right," Nicholas said, walking out of shadows, revealing himself to the stallion. He jumped in surprise, widening his eyes. "Is that really... You, my king?" he asked in trembling voice, bowing to Nicholas. "Are you really... Alive?" "Rise, Shadow Catcher," the King ordered. Shadow Catcher rose from the stone floor and looked at his king. "What are your orders, my King? Shall I tell everypony you're back?" "First of all, thou must answer some questions, Shadow Catcher," Nicholas said. "It has been a while since I was here last." "As you wish, my king. I will tell you everything I know." "How many of us, vampires, are here, in Equestria?" "Plenty. About two hundred." "Where do you all live?" "Most of us live in caves, but we've got our capital, if you can call it like that." "And it is?" "Hollow Shades, my king. It is more a village than a town, but it could be worse," Shadow Catcher answered. "Our main underground city was destroyed fifty three years after your disappearance, my king." "Is there any important event that will be soon?" "Equestria Games, my king. It is an event of great importance. Lots of ponies compete for glory in many athletic pursuits." "And where is it held?" "The event is to start in two month. The town hasn't been chosen yet," Shadow Catcher answered, rubbing his chin. "Are you suggesting taking part in this event, my king?" "Thou is the smart one, Shadow Catcher," Nicholas grinned. "Yes, I am suggesting it." "But... We don't even have a stadium for Equestria Games!" Shadow Catcher answered. "In fact, we don't have anything, my king." "Well, show me the capital then. And tell me the whole story of what happened since I disappeared." "As you wish, my king," Shadow Catcher said, bowing, and flew outside the cave along with his king. Half an hour later, at the Hollow Shades. "So, this is the capital thou was talking about?" Nicholas asked, observing the village. The village wasn't too big. It had about twenty houses overall, two small shops, a small hotel, a big town hall with a fountain, and a big statue of the Vampire King in the centre of the village. "Yes, it is our main town, my king," Shadow Catcher answered. "Do you like the statue we've built?" "Yes, it is quite accurate," Nicholas said, looking at the statue. The statue was indeed quite accurate. The King was standing on his hind legs in battle stance. He was wearing battle armor, his crown, and a necklace with a big, red ruby in it. The ruby was glowing faint red light. "So, my king, Hollow Shades was built a few years after our main underground city was destroyed. Ponies forbade us to have any kind of weaponry, we can't live near them, we can't take part in any kind of elections, we can't hold the public office. In fact, the only thing we are allowed to do is to live here, not showing to ponies." "So we've lost that war, haven't we?" the King said. "Unfortunately, yes. Without your command we couldn't do anything right. We had to surrender, my king." "And now we don't even have enough strength to have our revenge, right?" "Yes, it is so. And what do you think about Equestria Games?" "Oh, I have a plan for the Games," the King answered. "We shall have them in our village this time. Of course, we must put much effort in it if we want to succeed." "And what shall we do exactly?" "We must win the Games," Nicholas answered. "This way, ponies will believe that we are no longer dangerous. They will allow us to do whatever we want. And then, we will have our strength back. We shall return our warrior past, we shall become the strongest! And we shall rule over the ponies. We shall have our revenge. If they, after two thousand years, still think we're just monsters, then we'll be their nightmare." "But, my king, there is a big problem. There are four alicorn princesses, and they are extremely powerful. We can't fight against them." "Then we will frame them for something they would never have done, Shadow Catcher," the King grinned. "But I will tell thee later. Tell me, who is in charge of this village?" "I am, my king," Shadow Catcher answered. "What do you want me to do?" "Tell other vampires that I'm alive. But don't draw too much attention to it. Tell them not to tell anypony but other vampires about it. Then you shall order to start the construction of stadium. Hire the best architect you can find." "As you wish, my king," Shadow Catcher answered and trotted to his residence. The King chuckled and followed him. Meanwhile at Canterlot Twilight Sparkle, her friends, Princess Cadance, Princesses Celestia and Luna held a meeting in the throne room of Canterlot Castle. "So, Twilight, what do you want to tell us?" Celestia asked. "The Vampire King has indeed returned. He walked in my castle without drawing any attention," Twilight answered. "I don't know what he's up to, though. He could just bite me and all of my friends, but he simply asked the year, told us his name and walked away. Oh, and we couldn't move for some time even after he left." "That's odd of him..." Princess Celestia rubbed her chin. "Luna, you have bat pony guards. Didn't they tell you anything about their king? They have very strong connection with him, so it wouldn't be unnoticed if their King has returned." "Nay, they haven't told us anything, sister," Princess Luna answered. "But they were a little... strange. We think they felt the return of their King." "Try to look for the King in Hollow Shades. This is the first place he would go if somepony of his kind found him," Celestia said. Luna nodded and flew out of the castle, heading to Hollow Shades. "And what are we going to do?" Twilight asked. "We can help!" "He's too strong for you six. If he managed to freeze you in place, then your mind can be gone under his control if he wants," Celestia disagreed. "If you want to help, then you must train how to resist mind control. I will teach you. And I will double the guard around your castle, Twilight." "We will come tomorrow, I promise. If we want to defeat the Vampire King, we will learn anything that helps," Twilight said and went out of the throne room with her friends, heading back to Ponyville. "And what am I supposed to do, aunt?" Princess Cadence asked. "I have a special task for you," Celestia answered. "You must find a perfect spy." "Me? Find a spy?" "Yes. You know what a spy should know. It was you who got kidnapped without me knowing. You know how Chrysalis acted when she was you. You must find somepony who will not draw attention to his or her sudden appearance among bat ponies." "I will try my best," Cadence said and flew out of the throne room. "Permission to enter, my king?" Shadow Catcher knocked the Nicholas's door. "Thou may enter, Shadow Catcher," the King replied and opened the door with his magic. Nicholas has chosen this room as the largest one at the small hotel. The room had two windows, a big square table, a soft carpet, a big, soft bed, suitable for Nicholas due to his size, a big wardrobe, and a big chest with large lock. In the chest Nicholas kept his crown. Nicholas was sitting at the table, reading a book. "Equestrian History" was its title. "I came here to report to you, my king." "I am all ears." "I hired the best architect, his name's Abbot Sugar." "Oh, I know his name. He's a vampire now, isn't he?" Nicholas asked. "Yes, he became a vampire when he was thirty three," Shadow Catcher nodded. "That stallion didn't want to die, so we gave him an opportunity to continue to impress ponies with his architecture" "Shadow Catcher, thou did great," the King said and grinned. "No one's better than thee." "I am very grateful, my king," Shadow Catcher nodded. "And thou shall continue as planned." "You believe in me and I'll do everything for my king," the stallion nodded again. "Your plan will succeed, I promise." Never Judge a Book by Its Cover12:00 Fluttershy was sitting on a sofa in her house. She was writing a book about animals. She decided to let ponies know how to properly take care of their pets and how to act towards different kind of animals, how to understand them and how to become friends with them. Fluttershy had so much to write that she's been writing for four hours already. She described everything perfectly, with as many details as possible. Suddenly someone knocked her door. Fluttershy closed her book, put down the quill and got up from her comfortable sofa, heading to her door. She opened it and saw Princess Cadence. The Princess had a small, pink saddlebag on her back. "Um, hello," Fluttershy said. "How can I help you, Princess Cadence?" "I want to talk to you, Fluttershy," Cadence answered. "May I enter, please? It is a private talk." "Oh, of course you may enter," Fluttershy said and stepped aside, allowing Cadence to enter the house. They walked to the sofa and sat. "So, Cadence, what do you want to talk about?" Fluttershy asked. "Well, I need you for a special mission. I want you to spy on bat ponies in Hollow Shades." "Me? A spy? Why me?" "Because you will not draw attention. If me, or Twilight, or her other friends would come, they will draw too much attention. You can say that you came there to continue writing your book about animals," Cadence said, looking at the book Fluttershy was writing. "Oh, that will be good idea!" yellow pegasus said in cheerful tone. "I want to find out more about fruit bats, vampire bats, and maybe I'll find out who are bat ponies!" "But don't forget that the Vampire King may be there," Cadence frowned. "He will suspect you in spying. He is not stupid, so somehow he will catch you," she opened her saddlebag and put out a necklace. It was made of gold and had a green round gem in its centre. "It is very dangerous, you're going alone, so take this," Cadence said and gave Fluttershy the necklace "If you get caught, press on the gem. It will tell us you're in danger." "But how am I going to explain why I have this necklace in the first place?" "Tell them it's from your relative or something like that." "Oh, okay." "The Vampire King can't do anything directly, so he will try to use his minions. And he would not want anypony to draw attention to Hollow Shades, so he will be very careful, and you must be very careful too. Bat ponies do not like any other ponies too much, so don't expect to be welcome there." "I will do my best!" Fluttershy said. "But wait, if the King will manage to take control of my mind?" "That's why you're having this necklace. It will protect your mind. The King will not be able to take control of you unless you take off the necklace." "But what about my friends? Do they know where I'm going?" "They all were informed about this, don't worry," Princess Cadence answered. "Good luck, Fluttershy." Meanwhile, at Hollow Shades. "You wanted to see me, my king," Shadow Catcher said. He was in Nicholas's room. The Vampire King himself was sitting at the table with his front legs crossed. "Yes, I did," the King replied. "How is it going with the construction?" "Everything is fine, my king. The architect has hired the best workers. Unfortunately, they are not vampires like us." "As long as they are getting paid they will do their job and won't ask any unnecessary questions, Shadow Catcher," the King said. "How much money do we have?" "About four thousand, my king. It will keep workers working only for a month, if not counting needs of Hollow Shades." "Why are we so low on money?" "The income isn't great, my king." "Well, I have a solution for that," the King grinned. "I've buried a chest of great treasure. About five thousand bits. And if two thousand years have passed, then they will cost a great value if sold to right ponies. I've buried the chest around here somewhere. " "And I must find it?" "Thou is the smartest, Shadow Catcher. The chest is buried under the biggest tree, if it's not dead and dry by now." "After I find the treasure, I must find a pony who would pay lots of money for ancient money, mustn't I?" "Thou's right. Find the richest pony who likes ancient things. Try to get as much money as possible. And, Shadow Catcher, when will the stadium be built?" "It will be built in a month and a half, my king. After the construction I will invite the inspector. She will choose our town, my king." "If she will not, bring her to me," Nicholas grinned. "I know ways of making her do what I want." "As you wish, my king. Your word is my command," Shadow Catcher bowed, went out of Nicholas's room and closed the door behind him. 14:15, Hollow Shades Fluttershy has finally reached the village. She had a saddlebag with lots of things, so now she is very tired and needs a place to stay. She walked to the nearest bat pony and patted on its shoulder. "Um, excuse me..." "Yes?" a bat pony turned around. It was a mare. She had long dark red mane with few stripes of crimson, magenta eyes, gray fur and dark purple wings. She was a little taller than Fluttershy. "What can I help you with?" "Um, well, I need a place to stay. I will be very grateful if you tell me where I can stay, please." "You could stay at the hotel but it is closed for reconstruction. You can live with me if you want." "Um, do you really want me to stay? I don't want to make you uncomfortable." "Don't worry, dear, you're welcome to stay. Come with me, please. Oh, and by the way, my name is Ignis," the mare said, turned around and walked to her house. Fluttershy followed behind. A minute later they were near the house. It was two story building, its walls were painted pale red, its roof was covered with black tiles. If not the colors, the house would suit Ponyville. "Come inside, dear," Ignis said, opening the door and entering her house. Fluttershy nodded and walked inside, closing the door behind her. She saw a large room. It had a small table made of pinewood, three chairs of same material near it. There was a small sink and an oven in the corner of the room, two doors near the sink which led to bathroom and toilet. There was also a stairway to the second floor. "You can put your saddlebag near the exit, no one would touch it." Fluttershy nodded and took off her saddlebag, putting it near the exit's door. "So, what's your name?" Ignis asked, sitting herself on a chair. She invited Fluttershy to do the same. "I am Fluttershy, mrs. Ignis," Fluttershy answered. "I came here to study bats and vampire bats. And, if you are okay with it, I want to know more about bat ponies." "Oh, so you are writing a book about animals, right? And please, call me Ignis." "Yes, I am," Fluttershy nodded. "But what about bat ponies' history? Can you, please, tell me?" "Our history is not something I'm very proud of," Ignis frowned. "But I will tell you." "Well, I know our history way better than most of other bat ponies do. I am two thousand five hundred sixty two years old. And please, don't be so shocked. Two thousand years is the average age here. Most of us became bat ponies not by birth but with the help of other bat pony. We are also called vampires. Sounds sinister, right?" Ignis made a short laugh. "However, we don't need blood or any other liquid of a living creatures to survive. We managed to get everything we need like fruit vampire bats do. They suck out the juice from apples, receiving everything they need. We do the same thing but we need more apples, of course." "Now the sad part of story. As I've said, we managed to get everything we need from apples. Before we figured out how, we had to suck out blood from other ponies or living creatures. We were hated for that." "There were a few things a vampire gets when he or she become ones. First of all, it's immortality. But we're not invincible, so it is possible for us to die, but the cause will not be the age. In fact, no one ever aged from the moment he or she gets bitten. For example, there are a few "foals" in our village, but they are not "normal" foals. They've been living for much time, they are at least five hundred years old, so most of them know more than an average pony would in its late age. The second a vampire gets are changes. Our bodies changes, and changes a lot. Our furs' colors become a shade of gray and our furs become longer, our manes' color darkens. We get wings and fangs. And, most significant change is the change in our eyes. They become glowing and slit-pupil. Most of us have eyes of red or orange color, but a few of first bat ponies have their original color of eyes, like me and some other bat ponies." "If you're okay with it, can you, please, tell me about the Vampire King?" Fluttershy asked. "About Nicholas?" Ignis frowned and rubbed her chin. "Well, if you want to know..." "Long time ago, before I became a bat pony, we and Nicholas were best friends," Ignis sighed. "Well, he was smart, kind, and very loyal. He never left me when I was in trouble. And he spoke only truth, even if it could hurt him. Well, he was the best pony I have ever met," the mare chuckled sadly. "But, sadly, he became worse once he became a vampire." "It happened on a night. He was working with his family and me in the garden when vampire bats came. There were lots of them, they invaded the garden in search for food. And they saw Nicholas... I wish that what happened to him will not happen to anypony else. He was bitten all over his body, he was overfilled with vampire bats' poison. Few minutes after he became a vampire. He became much more taller, even taller than Celestia is now. His fur changed from white to the lightest shade of gray, his brown mane became black. And his eyes... They used to be blue. They've turned orange with a shade of red. And he grew dark, big wings, and sharp, long fangs. The pony I knew died that day... The Vampire King has risen from ashes. The second after he woke up, he growled and bit me in the neck, turning me into a vampire as well." "Um, but why wasn't you bitten when those vampire bats came?" Fluttershy asked. "I managed to find a shelter along with Nicholas's parents," Ignis answered. She cleared her throat and continued. "So, Nicholas became the fearsome Vampire King. I think that that amount of poison he was filled with made him insane. He turned from the kindest pony I once knew to cold dead hearted vampire who longed for power and blood," Ignis sighed sadly as a tear ran down her cheek. "I wish that day never happened to be his last. I didn't lose my sanity, and I tried to reason with Nicholas. But he has become something I feared he would. He became a complete opposite of who he was..." Another tear ran down Ignis's cheek. "Oh, I'm so sorry for asking, I didn't want you to become so upset..." Fluttershy said, looking at her hooves. She felt herself as if she has committed a crime against ponykind. "No, someday I would have to tell somepony about that, and this day has come," Ignis said, putting a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder. "Do not worry about me. Worry about him. Nicholas never made it, he disappeared two thousand years ago." "Ignis," Fluttershy called. "I want to tell you something..." "What is it, my dear?" "Nicholas is alive," Fluttershy said and looked at Ignis. She was shocked and sat with her eyes wide and jaw dropped. "H-He is?" Ignis asked in trembling voice. "H-How?" "Ignis? Are you alright?" "Y-Yes, I'm fine. I'm fine. So, do you really tell me the truth?" Ignis asked. "Is he really alive?" "I swear to Celestia I'm not lying. I came here to find out whether he is here or not." "Then... He is here, Fluttershy," Ignis said. "I have felt a strange feeling this morning. Like somepony familiar has come back. Now I understand... But what are you going to do with him?" "I don't know, honestly," Fluttershy said, rubbing her ear. "After what you've told me I'm not sure anymore... At first, me and my friends thought of banishing him to Tartarus." "No, don't do it!" Ignis protested. Another two tears ran down her cheeks. "Please, don't... I love him. I can't leave him knowing that he is alive! Maybe there's a way to bring his sanity back! Please, don't banish him! He is one of the dearest ponies to me..." "Ignis, I promise," Fluttershy paused. "I will try to help him. I will try to bring his sanity back. And I will dissuade my friends from banishing him." "Eternity Promise?" "As long as I live, as long as I can breathe, as long as I can smell, as long as I can see, I shall help Nicholas to become who he was," Fluttershy. "And let my oath be heard by those who have the power to judge me." Suddenly something flashed between Ignis and Fluttershy. The sparkle quickly disappeared, leaving a little bit of white smoke. "But if something goes wrong, do you promise me not to hurt Nicholas?" Ignis asked. "He has been suffering all his life." "I promise," Fluttershy answered. "Me and my friends shall not let him suffer any longer. We will help." "Thank you, Fluttershy," Ignis said and hugged the pegasus. "Thank you..."
The Return"It all happened on a night." - Rainbow Dash. There was a rainy night in Equestria. Pegasi had to make a rain because plants needed it to grow. Somewhere in the dark, deep caves of Diamond Dogs, a door made of stone stood, untouched for centuries, for millenniums. Behind it was a large room with black stone columns. In the centre of the room stood a black coffin. Suddenly symbols started to appear on the coffin. They were glowing orange. The coffin opened, revealing a pony inside it. It was a stallion. His fur was short and pale gray, his skin was very pale. His black mane was combed back and tied in a ponytail. His tail was long and black and was tied in a ponytail as well. His cutie mark represented a full red moon with a black vampire bat inside it. The stallion himself was very big. He had his legs crossed on his chest, and his head was propped with a soft, white pillow. The stallion wore a black cape with a hood. Suddenly he shot his eyes open. Their color was between red and orange. The eyes had vertical pupils. The stallion slowly got up from the coffin and stood on his four legs, revealing to be two and a half meters tall. He looked around but didn't find his regalia: the crown and scepter. The stallion turned to the door and closed his eyes, concentrating. A door started to glow red, then shattered into pieces. The way to freedom is now opened. Half an hour before. Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, was sitting in the library reading a new book. It was already 23:30, but the book was so interesting Twilight just couldn't stop reading even for a moment. Suddenly, her number one assistant, Spike the Dragon entered the library and ran to Twilight, holding a scroll in his claws. "Hey, Twilight! I've got a letter from Princess Celestia!" he said, panting. "It is written that you must read it as soon as possible." Twilight looked surprised. She hasn't had any letters from the Princess of the Sun for months, and now here it is - the letter of great importance. Twilight grabbed it, opened it and started reading. Dear Twilight Sparkle, My sister has been having nightmares for two days. She said she had seen a long gone pony, the one who spread fear across Equestria when me and my sister were just fillies. I'm afraid that the fearsome Vampire King has returned or is to return. I don't know what is he up to, but I know for sure that he is extremely dangerous. Maybe even more dangerous than Tirek was. The King possesses many forbidden abilities, such as necromancy and hypnotizing. Do not look him in the eyes! And remember! He is more than two thousand years old. He is very clever, so don't try to confront him without a good plan. Good luck, Yours, Princess Celestia Twilight sighed, turned to Spike and said: "Well, the rest is over." "What is it, Twilight?" the dragon asked worriedly. "A new enemy has returned. The king of vampires." "A v-vampire?" Spike asked in trembling voice. "Are y-you kidding m-me? I hate vampires! They want m-my warm b-blood!" The dragon ran to stairs and went upstairs, looking for a shelter. Twilight sighed and looked outside the window. It was a rainy night. The moon was full and shined bright. Nopony but a few guards were in Ponyville. The guards have appeared two days before and were guarding Mayor Mare's residence. Twilight went down the stairs and to the throne room. She summoned the map and tapped on every cutie mark of her friends. Half an hour later a meeting was held in the throne room. All of the six were here, most of them were sleepy and a little wet because of the rain. "Twilight, why did ya call us here?" Applejack asked and yawned. "Ah have been working all day and I'm tired like a mule." "The new enemy has returned," Twilight answered. "Wait, wait, hold on a second," Rainbow Dash said. "How can a new enemy return? It makes no sense!" "Actually, it does," Twilight disagreed. "Do you know anything about the Vampire King?" "All I know is that parents use him to scare foals to go to sleep." "Do you know that he is real?" "What do you mean? Do you mean..." Rainbow Dash paused. "That we are... Going to fight... The Vampire King?" "I know you fear..." "No, you don't get the point," Rainbow Dash interrupted. "It is going to be AWESOME!" "There is no awesomeness about fighting the Vampire King!" Twilight raised her voice. "Do you know how strong he is?" "Do you?" "Well, I..." "Girls, enough!" Applejack interrupted. "This argument ain't leading us anywhere!" "Yeah, I think you're right, Applejack. Twilight, I'm sorry for not taking you seriously," Rainbow Dash apologized. "Apology accepted," Twilight smiled. "I kind if expected that from you, you fighter." Everyone laughed. "Well, now we must be serious," Twilight said after wiping away her tears. "Now..." Twilight told her friends about the letter and who are they fighting against. "Wow, that sounds really serious," Rainbow Dash said. "So, how are we going to defeat him?" "I have no idea," Twilight said. Everyone gasped. "Twilight, you always have a plan for anything!" Pinkie Pie said. "You have a plan for making cupcakes, you have a plan for your day, you have a plan for our days, you have..." "And now I don't," Twilight stopped Pinkie Pie's speech. "I didn't really think about anything like that. I think we must go to Canterlot to search for any information about vampires to defeat the King." "I'm afraid you are not going anywhere tonight," a vibrating, low voice said. Everyone turned their heads to the voice and found a stallion with a cape and a hood on, standing in the front entrance. The water dropped from his cape, making a puddle on the crystal floor. "You are surprised to see me right here, aren't you?" the stallion asked and took off his hood. His face looked pretty young despite being very pale. His glowing eyes slowly turned from one pony to another. No one dared to look him in the eyes. "Vampire King..." Fluttershy said in trembling voice and fainted. "Why yes, it is I. Did I hear thee right,thou is going to destroy me? And why thou want to destroy me?" the King turned to Twilight, who has shown no signs of fear. She looked somewhere between his eyes, avoiding direct eye contact. "Why is thou so hostile towards me?" "You suck out the blood of the innocent," Twilight answered, gritting her teeth. "How much blood have you sucked out already, Vampire King?" "Believe me or not, but not a single drop of blood was in my mouth since I woke up," the stallion replied and grinned, showing his sharp, white fangs. There was no blood on them indeed. "Oh, forgive me for my manners, I am Nicholas, the great King of Vampires. I ask thee, which year is it?" "It is 2015 since Equestria was founded," Twilight replied. "So I indeed was sleeping for two thousands of years..." the King rubbed his chin. "Well, thank thee for the information. Now, I have to leave thee." The Vampire King turned around and left the throne room. As soon as he left, Fluttershy woke up. Twilight tried to stand up but was unable to move. "Can anyone move?" she asked. Everypony answered negatively. "Well, I think we have to wait until his magic wears off." "Twilight, how could he entered the castle without us knowing?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Haven't you casted protective spells on it?" "I have but he broke them, I think," Twilight replied. "How come ya didn't notice that?" Applejack asked. "I have no idea," Twilight said and got up from her throne. "Oh look, his magic wore off!" Everyone got up from their thrones and stretched their limbs. Then they all went to the outside. But none of them could see anypony in darkness, as the clouds covered the moon. Nicholas was already far from the six, taking night train to Canterlot. He asked for a note about Canterlot and now he was reading it. 'The city was built after the conflict of two sisters?' he asked himself in thought. 'They had a strong connection if Celestia left the royal castle because her sister became evil.' Other night passengers, mostly bat ponies, looked at the stallion with interest. Not everyday you can see a stallion as tall as Celestia. No one recognized him as the Vampire King because his cape covered his cutie mark. "Passengers! Prepare your tickets!" the Controller announced, accompanied by a couple of night guards. A pony by pony, they made their way to the Vampire King. After asking a pony for a ticket, the Controller asked it to show its cutie mark if it cannot be seen. The Controller now stood in front of the King. "Your ticket, please," he asked. "Here you are, sir," Nicholas answered and handed him his ticket. The Controller looked at it, then raised his eyes to meet Nicholas's ones. 'Thou do not need to see my cutie mark,' the Vampire King ordered the Controller mentally. His eyes widened in fear and he opened his mouth to call guards. 'Thou do not need to draw attention to us, do thou?' Nicholas said mentally, addressing the pony before him, shutting him up. 'Thou don't want to die, do thou?' The pony gulped and went on to check others' tickets. An hour later, Canterlot streets. Nicholas slowly walked, looking at the signs, hoping to find a sign of antiques shop. He found it in the centre of a small street. The King entered the shop, ringing the bell. The owner of the shop looked up from his book and greeted the king. "Good evening! How can I help you?" "Where do thou have crowns?" Nicholas asked. "Yes, I've got plenty of those," the owner said, getting up from his chair. "I even had to build another room for them." The two walked to the nearest door and opened it, revealing a big room full of different crowns. Nicholas could tell that most of them were fake. He entered the room and looked around. He noticed a crown on a shelf on the right wall. It was a big crown. Its base was a silver ring. The front of the crown had a bat with opened wings. There were also four spikes, each represented a bat's wing. Nicholas pointed at it. "That crown? Good choice, sir!" the owner of shop said, grabbing the crown with his hooves and walking back into the main room. "This is a crown of the King of Vampires, but I think you already know that." "And I'm taking it," the King said. "It will cost you five thousand bits, sir," the seller said. "Don't thou knowest who I am?" the King asked in menacing tone. "Should I?" the seller said, pushing a button under his table with his hind leg. The King took off his cape, revealing muscular body with big bat-like wings on its sides. Suddenly the seller felt himself unable to breath as if something was suffocating him. "I am the Vampire King!" Nicholas said angrily. "I am the crown's owner!" The seller's eyes widened in shock. He was chocking and gasping for air, but was unable to do so. His vision started to fade as he fell. Suddenly he felt himself free and able to breath. He coughed and stood up. "I do not need thee dead, not because of thine lack of vision," the King said calmly. "I know thee hath called the guards. Give me the biggest saddlebag and put the crown in it." The seller made a small nod and took a big saddlebag from a pile near the exit. He shoved the crown inside and handed the saddlebag to the King, who put it on, then put on his cape. "Is there another way out?" he asked. "There is a manhole in the roof just above you," the seller answered. The Vampire King stood on his hind legs and opened the manhole with his front hooves. He jumped and got to the roof. He turned to the street and noticed two guards, hurrying to the shop. As soon as they entered it, the Vampire King jumped down and went back to the train station. Suddenly another two guards appeared right in front of him. "Halt!" the first one ordered. "Who goes there?" the second one asked. "You do not need to know," Nicholas whispered and made them fall asleep with the help of his magic. The stallion crossed them and continued his walk towards the station. He hoped to get back to the cave before the dawn.
The Plan5:00, dawn. Nicholas was lying in his cave, resting. His saddlebag along with a cape lied near him, taken off. The King has been thinking a lot since he came back to his cave. He never expected himself to be asleep for more than a few days, so he has never got a plan for such a situation he has got into. He has no allies, no one in particular to rely on. He is all alone. Suddenly something caught his eye. A bit of sunlight was in the cave, slowly moving towards the King. He stood up and backed a bit. He knew that sunlight will either kill him, turning him into ashes, or hurt him a lot, literally burning his skin. In his own thoughts, Nicholas didn't notice the sunlight touch his skin. He jumped in surprise and ran back into shadows. He looked at his right front leg, expecting to see burns. But his skin was clear, as if sunlight never touched it. The King slowly walked to the sunlight and exposed his right front leg to it. He felt the warmth but didn't feel the pain. He slowly put down his hoof and walked in the sunlight. A realization hit him like a train. "I... I am no longer hurt by sun!" he said, raising his voice. "I am able to walk in the light, haha!" He fell, laughing hard. It was like he became fully insane. He laughed, rolling on the stone floor. Pure joy filled him up. He thought that he is the happiest pony in the whole Equestria, in the whole world. He has never felt himself better. After more than two thousand years, he is able to walk freely in the sunlight, not fearing to be burnt. "Hello? Is anybody here?" a young, stallion's voice came from the cave's entrance. Nicholas stopped rolling, stood up and walked into shadows, observing the cave. A stallion entered it. And he was a bat pony. He had gray fur, black spiky mane and tail, black wings, blue slit-pupil eyes. He was a little taller than normal stallion would be. "Hello?" he asked, looking around. "Is that who I think it is?" "If thou is expecting me, then thou is right," Nicholas said, walking out of shadows, revealing himself to the stallion. He jumped in surprise, widening his eyes. "Is that really... You, my king?" he asked in trembling voice, bowing to Nicholas. "Are you really... Alive?" "Rise, Shadow Catcher," the King ordered. Shadow Catcher rose from the stone floor and looked at his king. "What are your orders, my King? Shall I tell everypony you're back?" "First of all, thou must answer some questions, Shadow Catcher," Nicholas said. "It has been a while since I was here last." "As you wish, my king. I will tell you everything I know." "How many of us, vampires, are here, in Equestria?" "Plenty. About two hundred." "Where do you all live?" "Most of us live in caves, but we've got our capital, if you can call it like that." "And it is?" "Hollow Shades, my king. It is more a village than a town, but it could be worse," Shadow Catcher answered. "Our main underground city was destroyed fifty three years after your disappearance, my king." "Is there any important event that will be soon?" "Equestria Games, my king. It is an event of great importance. Lots of ponies compete for glory in many athletic pursuits." "And where is it held?" "The event is to start in two month. The town hasn't been chosen yet," Shadow Catcher answered, rubbing his chin. "Are you suggesting taking part in this event, my king?" "Thou is the smart one, Shadow Catcher," Nicholas grinned. "Yes, I am suggesting it." "But... We don't even have a stadium for Equestria Games!" Shadow Catcher answered. "In fact, we don't have anything, my king." "Well, show me the capital then. And tell me the whole story of what happened since I disappeared." "As you wish, my king," Shadow Catcher said, bowing, and flew outside the cave along with his king. Half an hour later, at the Hollow Shades. "So, this is the capital thou was talking about?" Nicholas asked, observing the village. The village wasn't too big. It had about twenty houses overall, two small shops, a small hotel, a big town hall with a fountain, and a big statue of the Vampire King in the centre of the village. "Yes, it is our main town, my king," Shadow Catcher answered. "Do you like the statue we've built?" "Yes, it is quite accurate," Nicholas said, looking at the statue. The statue was indeed quite accurate. The King was standing on his hind legs in battle stance. He was wearing battle armor, his crown, and a necklace with a big, red ruby in it. The ruby was glowing faint red light. "So, my king, Hollow Shades was built a few years after our main underground city was destroyed. Ponies forbade us to have any kind of weaponry, we can't live near them, we can't take part in any kind of elections, we can't hold the public office. In fact, the only thing we are allowed to do is to live here, not showing to ponies." "So we've lost that war, haven't we?" the King said. "Unfortunately, yes. Without your command we couldn't do anything right. We had to surrender, my king." "And now we don't even have enough strength to have our revenge, right?" "Yes, it is so. And what do you think about Equestria Games?" "Oh, I have a plan for the Games," the King answered. "We shall have them in our village this time. Of course, we must put much effort in it if we want to succeed." "And what shall we do exactly?" "We must win the Games," Nicholas answered. "This way, ponies will believe that we are no longer dangerous. They will allow us to do whatever we want. And then, we will have our strength back. We shall return our warrior past, we shall become the strongest! And we shall rule over the ponies. We shall have our revenge. If they, after two thousand years, still think we're just monsters, then we'll be their nightmare." "But, my king, there is a big problem. There are four alicorn princesses, and they are extremely powerful. We can't fight against them." "Then we will frame them for something they would never have done, Shadow Catcher," the King grinned. "But I will tell thee later. Tell me, who is in charge of this village?" "I am, my king," Shadow Catcher answered. "What do you want me to do?" "Tell other vampires that I'm alive. But don't draw too much attention to it. Tell them not to tell anypony but other vampires about it. Then you shall order to start the construction of stadium. Hire the best architect you can find." "As you wish, my king," Shadow Catcher answered and trotted to his residence. The King chuckled and followed him. Meanwhile at Canterlot Twilight Sparkle, her friends, Princess Cadance, Princesses Celestia and Luna held a meeting in the throne room of Canterlot Castle. "So, Twilight, what do you want to tell us?" Celestia asked. "The Vampire King has indeed returned. He walked in my castle without drawing any attention," Twilight answered. "I don't know what he's up to, though. He could just bite me and all of my friends, but he simply asked the year, told us his name and walked away. Oh, and we couldn't move for some time even after he left." "That's odd of him..." Princess Celestia rubbed her chin. "Luna, you have bat pony guards. Didn't they tell you anything about their king? They have very strong connection with him, so it wouldn't be unnoticed if their King has returned." "Nay, they haven't told us anything, sister," Princess Luna answered. "But they were a little... strange. We think they felt the return of their King." "Try to look for the King in Hollow Shades. This is the first place he would go if somepony of his kind found him," Celestia said. Luna nodded and flew out of the castle, heading to Hollow Shades. "And what are we going to do?" Twilight asked. "We can help!" "He's too strong for you six. If he managed to freeze you in place, then your mind can be gone under his control if he wants," Celestia disagreed. "If you want to help, then you must train how to resist mind control. I will teach you. And I will double the guard around your castle, Twilight." "We will come tomorrow, I promise. If we want to defeat the Vampire King, we will learn anything that helps," Twilight said and went out of the throne room with her friends, heading back to Ponyville. "And what am I supposed to do, aunt?" Princess Cadence asked. "I have a special task for you," Celestia answered. "You must find a perfect spy." "Me? Find a spy?" "Yes. You know what a spy should know. It was you who got kidnapped without me knowing. You know how Chrysalis acted when she was you. You must find somepony who will not draw attention to his or her sudden appearance among bat ponies." "I will try my best," Cadence said and flew out of the throne room. "Permission to enter, my king?" Shadow Catcher knocked the Nicholas's door. "Thou may enter, Shadow Catcher," the King replied and opened the door with his magic. Nicholas has chosen this room as the largest one at the small hotel. The room had two windows, a big square table, a soft carpet, a big, soft bed, suitable for Nicholas due to his size, a big wardrobe, and a big chest with large lock. In the chest Nicholas kept his crown. Nicholas was sitting at the table, reading a book. "Equestrian History" was its title. "I came here to report to you, my king." "I am all ears." "I hired the best architect, his name's Abbot Sugar." "Oh, I know his name. He's a vampire now, isn't he?" Nicholas asked. "Yes, he became a vampire when he was thirty three," Shadow Catcher nodded. "That stallion didn't want to die, so we gave him an opportunity to continue to impress ponies with his architecture" "Shadow Catcher, thou did great," the King said and grinned. "No one's better than thee." "I am very grateful, my king," Shadow Catcher nodded. "And thou shall continue as planned." "You believe in me and I'll do everything for my king," the stallion nodded again. "Your plan will succeed, I promise."
Never Judge a Book by Its Cover12:00 Fluttershy was sitting on a sofa in her house. She was writing a book about animals. She decided to let ponies know how to properly take care of their pets and how to act towards different kind of animals, how to understand them and how to become friends with them. Fluttershy had so much to write that she's been writing for four hours already. She described everything perfectly, with as many details as possible. Suddenly someone knocked her door. Fluttershy closed her book, put down the quill and got up from her comfortable sofa, heading to her door. She opened it and saw Princess Cadence. The Princess had a small, pink saddlebag on her back. "Um, hello," Fluttershy said. "How can I help you, Princess Cadence?" "I want to talk to you, Fluttershy," Cadence answered. "May I enter, please? It is a private talk." "Oh, of course you may enter," Fluttershy said and stepped aside, allowing Cadence to enter the house. They walked to the sofa and sat. "So, Cadence, what do you want to talk about?" Fluttershy asked. "Well, I need you for a special mission. I want you to spy on bat ponies in Hollow Shades." "Me? A spy? Why me?" "Because you will not draw attention. If me, or Twilight, or her other friends would come, they will draw too much attention. You can say that you came there to continue writing your book about animals," Cadence said, looking at the book Fluttershy was writing. "Oh, that will be good idea!" yellow pegasus said in cheerful tone. "I want to find out more about fruit bats, vampire bats, and maybe I'll find out who are bat ponies!" "But don't forget that the Vampire King may be there," Cadence frowned. "He will suspect you in spying. He is not stupid, so somehow he will catch you," she opened her saddlebag and put out a necklace. It was made of gold and had a green round gem in its centre. "It is very dangerous, you're going alone, so take this," Cadence said and gave Fluttershy the necklace "If you get caught, press on the gem. It will tell us you're in danger." "But how am I going to explain why I have this necklace in the first place?" "Tell them it's from your relative or something like that." "Oh, okay." "The Vampire King can't do anything directly, so he will try to use his minions. And he would not want anypony to draw attention to Hollow Shades, so he will be very careful, and you must be very careful too. Bat ponies do not like any other ponies too much, so don't expect to be welcome there." "I will do my best!" Fluttershy said. "But wait, if the King will manage to take control of my mind?" "That's why you're having this necklace. It will protect your mind. The King will not be able to take control of you unless you take off the necklace." "But what about my friends? Do they know where I'm going?" "They all were informed about this, don't worry," Princess Cadence answered. "Good luck, Fluttershy." Meanwhile, at Hollow Shades. "You wanted to see me, my king," Shadow Catcher said. He was in Nicholas's room. The Vampire King himself was sitting at the table with his front legs crossed. "Yes, I did," the King replied. "How is it going with the construction?" "Everything is fine, my king. The architect has hired the best workers. Unfortunately, they are not vampires like us." "As long as they are getting paid they will do their job and won't ask any unnecessary questions, Shadow Catcher," the King said. "How much money do we have?" "About four thousand, my king. It will keep workers working only for a month, if not counting needs of Hollow Shades." "Why are we so low on money?" "The income isn't great, my king." "Well, I have a solution for that," the King grinned. "I've buried a chest of great treasure. About five thousand bits. And if two thousand years have passed, then they will cost a great value if sold to right ponies. I've buried the chest around here somewhere. " "And I must find it?" "Thou is the smartest, Shadow Catcher. The chest is buried under the biggest tree, if it's not dead and dry by now." "After I find the treasure, I must find a pony who would pay lots of money for ancient money, mustn't I?" "Thou's right. Find the richest pony who likes ancient things. Try to get as much money as possible. And, Shadow Catcher, when will the stadium be built?" "It will be built in a month and a half, my king. After the construction I will invite the inspector. She will choose our town, my king." "If she will not, bring her to me," Nicholas grinned. "I know ways of making her do what I want." "As you wish, my king. Your word is my command," Shadow Catcher bowed, went out of Nicholas's room and closed the door behind him. 14:15, Hollow Shades Fluttershy has finally reached the village. She had a saddlebag with lots of things, so now she is very tired and needs a place to stay. She walked to the nearest bat pony and patted on its shoulder. "Um, excuse me..." "Yes?" a bat pony turned around. It was a mare. She had long dark red mane with few stripes of crimson, magenta eyes, gray fur and dark purple wings. She was a little taller than Fluttershy. "What can I help you with?" "Um, well, I need a place to stay. I will be very grateful if you tell me where I can stay, please." "You could stay at the hotel but it is closed for reconstruction. You can live with me if you want." "Um, do you really want me to stay? I don't want to make you uncomfortable." "Don't worry, dear, you're welcome to stay. Come with me, please. Oh, and by the way, my name is Ignis," the mare said, turned around and walked to her house. Fluttershy followed behind. A minute later they were near the house. It was two story building, its walls were painted pale red, its roof was covered with black tiles. If not the colors, the house would suit Ponyville. "Come inside, dear," Ignis said, opening the door and entering her house. Fluttershy nodded and walked inside, closing the door behind her. She saw a large room. It had a small table made of pinewood, three chairs of same material near it. There was a small sink and an oven in the corner of the room, two doors near the sink which led to bathroom and toilet. There was also a stairway to the second floor. "You can put your saddlebag near the exit, no one would touch it." Fluttershy nodded and took off her saddlebag, putting it near the exit's door. "So, what's your name?" Ignis asked, sitting herself on a chair. She invited Fluttershy to do the same. "I am Fluttershy, mrs. Ignis," Fluttershy answered. "I came here to study bats and vampire bats. And, if you are okay with it, I want to know more about bat ponies." "Oh, so you are writing a book about animals, right? And please, call me Ignis." "Yes, I am," Fluttershy nodded. "But what about bat ponies' history? Can you, please, tell me?" "Our history is not something I'm very proud of," Ignis frowned. "But I will tell you." "Well, I know our history way better than most of other bat ponies do. I am two thousand five hundred sixty two years old. And please, don't be so shocked. Two thousand years is the average age here. Most of us became bat ponies not by birth but with the help of other bat pony. We are also called vampires. Sounds sinister, right?" Ignis made a short laugh. "However, we don't need blood or any other liquid of a living creatures to survive. We managed to get everything we need like fruit vampire bats do. They suck out the juice from apples, receiving everything they need. We do the same thing but we need more apples, of course." "Now the sad part of story. As I've said, we managed to get everything we need from apples. Before we figured out how, we had to suck out blood from other ponies or living creatures. We were hated for that." "There were a few things a vampire gets when he or she become ones. First of all, it's immortality. But we're not invincible, so it is possible for us to die, but the cause will not be the age. In fact, no one ever aged from the moment he or she gets bitten. For example, there are a few "foals" in our village, but they are not "normal" foals. They've been living for much time, they are at least five hundred years old, so most of them know more than an average pony would in its late age. The second a vampire gets are changes. Our bodies changes, and changes a lot. Our furs' colors become a shade of gray and our furs become longer, our manes' color darkens. We get wings and fangs. And, most significant change is the change in our eyes. They become glowing and slit-pupil. Most of us have eyes of red or orange color, but a few of first bat ponies have their original color of eyes, like me and some other bat ponies." "If you're okay with it, can you, please, tell me about the Vampire King?" Fluttershy asked. "About Nicholas?" Ignis frowned and rubbed her chin. "Well, if you want to know..." "Long time ago, before I became a bat pony, we and Nicholas were best friends," Ignis sighed. "Well, he was smart, kind, and very loyal. He never left me when I was in trouble. And he spoke only truth, even if it could hurt him. Well, he was the best pony I have ever met," the mare chuckled sadly. "But, sadly, he became worse once he became a vampire." "It happened on a night. He was working with his family and me in the garden when vampire bats came. There were lots of them, they invaded the garden in search for food. And they saw Nicholas... I wish that what happened to him will not happen to anypony else. He was bitten all over his body, he was overfilled with vampire bats' poison. Few minutes after he became a vampire. He became much more taller, even taller than Celestia is now. His fur changed from white to the lightest shade of gray, his brown mane became black. And his eyes... They used to be blue. They've turned orange with a shade of red. And he grew dark, big wings, and sharp, long fangs. The pony I knew died that day... The Vampire King has risen from ashes. The second after he woke up, he growled and bit me in the neck, turning me into a vampire as well." "Um, but why wasn't you bitten when those vampire bats came?" Fluttershy asked. "I managed to find a shelter along with Nicholas's parents," Ignis answered. She cleared her throat and continued. "So, Nicholas became the fearsome Vampire King. I think that that amount of poison he was filled with made him insane. He turned from the kindest pony I once knew to cold dead hearted vampire who longed for power and blood," Ignis sighed sadly as a tear ran down her cheek. "I wish that day never happened to be his last. I didn't lose my sanity, and I tried to reason with Nicholas. But he has become something I feared he would. He became a complete opposite of who he was..." Another tear ran down Ignis's cheek. "Oh, I'm so sorry for asking, I didn't want you to become so upset..." Fluttershy said, looking at her hooves. She felt herself as if she has committed a crime against ponykind. "No, someday I would have to tell somepony about that, and this day has come," Ignis said, putting a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder. "Do not worry about me. Worry about him. Nicholas never made it, he disappeared two thousand years ago." "Ignis," Fluttershy called. "I want to tell you something..." "What is it, my dear?" "Nicholas is alive," Fluttershy said and looked at Ignis. She was shocked and sat with her eyes wide and jaw dropped. "H-He is?" Ignis asked in trembling voice. "H-How?" "Ignis? Are you alright?" "Y-Yes, I'm fine. I'm fine. So, do you really tell me the truth?" Ignis asked. "Is he really alive?" "I swear to Celestia I'm not lying. I came here to find out whether he is here or not." "Then... He is here, Fluttershy," Ignis said. "I have felt a strange feeling this morning. Like somepony familiar has come back. Now I understand... But what are you going to do with him?" "I don't know, honestly," Fluttershy said, rubbing her ear. "After what you've told me I'm not sure anymore... At first, me and my friends thought of banishing him to Tartarus." "No, don't do it!" Ignis protested. Another two tears ran down her cheeks. "Please, don't... I love him. I can't leave him knowing that he is alive! Maybe there's a way to bring his sanity back! Please, don't banish him! He is one of the dearest ponies to me..." "Ignis, I promise," Fluttershy paused. "I will try to help him. I will try to bring his sanity back. And I will dissuade my friends from banishing him." "Eternity Promise?" "As long as I live, as long as I can breathe, as long as I can smell, as long as I can see, I shall help Nicholas to become who he was," Fluttershy. "And let my oath be heard by those who have the power to judge me." Suddenly something flashed between Ignis and Fluttershy. The sparkle quickly disappeared, leaving a little bit of white smoke. "But if something goes wrong, do you promise me not to hurt Nicholas?" Ignis asked. "He has been suffering all his life." "I promise," Fluttershy answered. "Me and my friends shall not let him suffer any longer. We will help." "Thank you, Fluttershy," Ignis said and hugged the pegasus. "Thank you..."
