Return of the Vampire King

12:00

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..."