Somewhere in the dark, deep caves, where no pony dares to go, a monolithic door made of black stone stood, untouched for centuries, for millennia. The door was carved and covered with ancient symbols. Behind it was a large room with carved, black stone columns. In the centre of the room stood a black coffin made of marble.
Suddenly, glowing orange symbols started to appear on the coffin. It opened, revealing a pony inside. 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.
Sharp fangs peeked out of stallion's mouth. His tail was long and black. His cutie mark represented a full red moon with bat wings.
The stallion himself was very big. He had his forelegs 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 crimson red. 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.
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 received 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 old foe, the Vampire King has returned.
Long time ago, fearsome vampires walked among us, thirsting for blood. And above them all, Nicholas, the Vampire King, stood. He is a true creature of night which heart is as black as the darkness itself.
Ponies talked about him, feared him. Some said that he ate foals for breakfast. It is, of course, a lie. Instead, he took foals from their families and transformed them into vampires.
Nicholas is two and a half meters tall, which means he is the tallest pony ever. His fur is pale gray, his mane is midnight black. His ears are pointed, his fangs are long and sharp. His eyes are slit pupil and red, glowing in the darkness.
He used to live in an old castle somewhere in Foal Mountains. Ho one has ever seen the castle itself, it is protected with some sort of magical barrier of unknown nature.
When me and my sister grew up, the Elements were discovered. During Discord's reign and some time after it, vampires were not present in Equestria, or were hiding somewhere.
When they appeared again, me and my sister managed to convince a few of them to join us and stop hunting ponies to feed on. After a few years, Blood Potion was created. It helped vampires with their urge to drink blood. That's how lunar pegasi appeared - a few decades after the potion was invented, vampires' urge for blood disappeared, along with the majority of their strength and abilities, as well as weaknesses. Blood potion has also changed their appearance a little.
But the majority of vampires didn't like the potion. They said that it tasted terrible and was not as satisfying as the real blood.
Vampires that were on our side helped us to discover where Nicholas was hiding. We engaged him in a combat. He did not surrender, so me and my sister had to use the elements. Nicholas was vaporized, black ash was all that left of him. After a few days, all vampires disappeared, probably left Equestria forever, leaving only lunar pegasi. We thought that Nicholas was gone for good.
It seems he wasn't.
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. Tirek is much of a brutal force user than a tactician, and you know it. The Vampire King is entirely different. He can wait for months, years, decades. And only when all preparations are made, he step out of shadows to strike.
The King possesses many forbidden abilities, such as necromancy and hypnotizing. Do not look him in the eyes! Do not trust him. You must be smart to uncover his plans.
And do not lie to him. No one lived long enough after that.
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. And by 'good plan' I mean a really 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 upstairs, looking for a shelter to hide.
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 ago, assigned by Celestia herself to Twilight's castle, just in case.
Twilight went 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 Ah'm tired like a mule."
"It's time for us to save the day. Again," Twilight answered simply.
"Oh yeah!" Rainbow Dash cheered, her sleepiness disappearing in a blink of an eye. "To Tartarus boring days, time for an adventure!"
"I don't think it'll be too much of an adventure," 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 it will be hard, but..."
"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 sighed, fighting the urge to facehoof. "Do you know how strong he is?"
"No matter how strong he is, we will defeat him!"
"Are you serious? We know nothing!"
"Twilight, dear, we don't know anything, you are right," Rarity said. "But I think that you know something, don't you?"
Twilight nodded, and 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. "Maybe if we get more information..."
"Uh, Twilight?" a sleepy dragon stepped inside the throne room, holding something in his claw. "There's...*yawn* a book from Celestia."
Twilight grasped the book with her magic and levitated it to herself. Book's cover was black and its title was 'Tenebris Creaturas'. She opened the book and started reading while Spike headed back upstairs, mumbling something about a good dream interrupted.
"Hm... Imps, succubi, incubi," Twilight listed, turning the pages. "Thestrals... Aha! Vampires."
Twilight started reading.
VAMPIRES
Appearance:
- Fur:
White, pale-gray, gray, dark gray, black, or pale shades of turned pony's coat.
- Mane:
White, black, or dark shades of turned pony's mane.
- Eyes:
Red, orange, blue, green, purple (no shades).
- Differences from ponies:
a) Bigger appearance - head or half head taller than normal;
b) Slit-pupil eyes;
c) Canines (nail sharp);
d) Curved horns without spirals (turned unicorns);
e) Bat-like wings (turned earth ponies and pegasi).
Picture, turned pegasus stallion.
First appearance:
About 1000-2000 Pre Discordian Age (no specifics).
Last appearance:
66 After Discordian Age.
They drink blood, kidnap ponies to turn them into vampires (mostly foals).
How to fight against:
Wooden stake to the heart;
Incineration;
Direct sunlight;
Elements of Harmony.
5. Silver.
Garlic and indirect sunlight weakens vampires.
"Holy apples, those vampires are sure as scary as Tartarus itself," Applejack shivered. "How are we supposed to defeat their king?"
"Well, since the Elements of Harmony can't be used, and killing him is not an option, then the only one is Friendship Rainbow Power," Twilight answered. "But I don't know how it works."
Unbeknownst to the six, a hooded stallion with red glowing eyes watched them from outside.
Nicholas, as soon as he made his way to the surface, noticed large crystal castle. He was interested in seeing to whom did this castle belong.
After he'd heard the six mares talking about him, he took off and flew to the Everfree Forest.
'What is Rainbow Power those six were talking about?' he thought. 'Interesting how the things have changed after millennia. Hm, and where did the Elements go? I should check the Tree of Harmony, if it's still where it was all those years before.'
He glided through the night air above the forest. Soon, he saw the Castle of Two Sisters.
'Hm, the castle is in ruins. This is far more interesting...'
The stallion landed near the bridge to the castle, then flew down, landing in front of entrance to the cave where the Tree grew.
He carefully made his way to the tree, looking out for any who would have seen him.
As soon as he reached the tree, he saw that the Elements were in their places.
'Their magic is weakened, the tree itself too, I can sense it,' the King thought. 'Maybe that's why ponies don't use them anymore?'
He stopped and examined the Tree with his eyes.
'Their shapes are different, too. Hm... Six elements... Six ponies at the crystal castle... Celestia and Luna no longer possess the Elements? How interesting... Are they even alive by now? I have much to learn... And I know where I can find all the answers.'
The stallion turned around, made his way out of the cave, and flew up to the skies, heading towards Foal Mountains.
'And if the Elements cannot be used...' Nicholas started to grin. There is nothing but Rainbow Power that can stop me. They say that they don't know anything about it... It is my opportunity to learn it before they do and prevent its usage!'
The King chuckled darkly.
'They are all doomed!'
Capitol Unul — Întoarcere
Nicholas was flying above Foal Mountains. He had spent at least fifteen minutes trying to find Vamoras, the city of vampires.
Nicholas looked at the night sky and saw that the moon was shining red. He smiled, knowing that his destination is near.
He looked down and saw what he hoped to see. He saw a mountain which peak was cut off, leaving a huge lake inside the big crater. In the center of the lake, large city stood, which had two circles of stone walls. The first one was big and protected many houses, the second one was smaller and rounded the gothic castle. The castle itself towered above the city, at least two hundred meters high, the main tower being three and a half hundred meters high.
The city was connected to the side of crater by a large and wide stone bridge.
Nicholas flew closer and saw that the torches on walls were lit and there were guards on the walls. He flew to the bridge and landed. He walked across it, coming to the big double doors. He touched the doors with his front hooves. The doors glowed red and opened, revealing a crowd of vampires. Mares and stallions stood there silently, staring at their king.
"Behold!" Nicholas addressed his subjects in the Royal Voice. "Your king hath returned! Regele tău a întors!"
And the crowd bowed. Cheers started piercing the air. The vampires were happy to see their king returned.
A unicorn vampire in dark armor trotted to the king and bowed. There was a saddlebag on vampire's back. His fur was black, his mane was white. He had blue eyes. His cutie mark was covered by his armor.
"Your majesty... We were waiting for you." he spoke with voice full of surprise and admiration of his king. "We thought that you... Died."
"Rise." the king ordered. "Tell me thy name."
"I am Fier, General of Armata de Vampiri, your majesty." the vampire answered, rising. He was at least one and a half meters tall.
"Good, General. I remember thee." Nicholas said and started walking towards the castle's main building, gesturing the general to follow. The crowd parted, allowing their king and general to pass.
"What do you want to hear, my king?" Fier asked. "You were away for so long, many things happened in Equestria."
"What I want to know first is how long hade I been away."
"Two thousand three hundred sixty eight years, one season, forty eight days." Fier replied.
"Long indeed." Nicholas replied. "Well, what were the main events that occurred while I was gone?"
"Our spies have collected the information, sorted it, and written it in readable, short form." Fier replied, opening his saddlebag and levitating a handful of paper. Soon Fier's horn blue glow was replaced by red glow. Nicholas brought the papers to himself and started reading.
"Hmm, let's see..." he muttered to himself. "Nightmare Moon, Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, Changelings, Tirek, Crystal Empire..."
The two walked through the city to the castle. Five minutes later, they reached it and entered the great hall of the castle and were now walking towards the throne room. The hall was gothic styled, it was empty, it only had four different passages, two on the left side and two on the right. The great hall led further into the castle to the big stone double doors.
The floor of the hall was covered by a soft red carpet. The walls of the hall had big windows which allowed the reddish moonlight to enter the hall.
The castle was clean, no dirt nor dust anywhere.
"The information is complete. I am satisfied with the results of our spies' work. They deserve some rest. General?" Nicholas addressed his companion.
"I will inform them as soon as I can, my king. How long will they rest?"
"A year will be enough. They deserved it. From now on, I shall receive the information directly."
"As you wish, my king. What else do you want to know?"
"Were any new ponies turned into vampires after I'd disappeared?"
"We had to disappear quickly after your defeat, my king. Only a few ponies were turned into vampire after the princesses used the Elements on you."
"I expected that." Nicholas replied.. The two entered the throne room. It was large and gothic styled as the rest of the castle. Two large tapestries hanged from it's ceiling.
The throne itself was large, made of dark wood and covered in red fabric. It also had a white, soft cushion to sit on.
Nicholas walked to the throne and sat on it, finally relaxing. Something clicked behind the throne and a black crown levitated onto Nicholas' head. The crown was adorned with three red gems: one round, right in the front center, and two rhombic ones by sides.
The King shivered in pleasure as the crown landed onto his head, spreading a feeling of safety, complete control and power through his body.
"Very well, then." the king spoke, his eyes flashed solid red. "General Fier?"
"Yes, my king?"
"Who was in charge during our absence? We have a desire to meet him or her."
"Law Enforcer was. I will find him and bring him here."
Fier trotted down the hall and exited the throne room.
Three minutes later he came back with a dark gray, old-looking pegasus vampire. His short black mane had streaks of gray, his muzzle had some wrinkles. It all indicated that he was turned into a vampire when he was old.
His cutie mark was an upside down sword.
He walked to the throne and bowed to his king.
"Rise." Nicholas ordered. The vampire did as ordered. "Now, tell me when thou becamest a replacement for me?"
"I was never meant to replace you completely, my king. I was eagerly awaiting your return as others did."
"I do not remember thee. When wast thou turned?"
"A few days after your disappearance, my king."
"Tell me the reason why wast thou turned."
"I have never seen vampires as mindless, bloodsucking creatures. I wanted to learn why everypony hated vampires, my king."
"Art thou satisfied with the result of thy research?"
"Yes, my king. And this castle has been home for me for a very long time."
"Very well. Tell me, didst ponies try to contact us?"
"They searched for the castle, your majesty. Yet they've never found it, right under their snouts."
"Good. Are we ready for a massive siege of our castle?"
"Yes, my king. The castle's defenses were never better! Our army is well trained, and all citizens know what to do if someone tried to take our castle by storm."
"Very well, Law Enforcer. Thou hast done well, keeping this castle in acceptable condition. Thou art dismissed." Nicholas waved his hoof. Law Enforcer bowed and went out the throne room.
"My king?" Fier addressed to his king.
"Yes, General?"
"What are we doing now?"
"I have a plan. However, everyone should celebrate my return. I shall address my subjects in half an hour. I need thee to announce this so that they will be ready to see their kind once again."
"Will do, my king!"
Nicholas was in his bedchambers, preparing for public appearance.
His bedchambers were big, main colors were red, black and white. A big bookcase stood at one of the walls, filled with lots of ancient books. The room had big windows and an open balcony, which had the best view of the entire vampire city and the red moon itself.
Big, king sized bed was near the window. The bed had white sheets, white and soft pillows, and a warm red blanket.
A table with an armchair stood near the bookcase, filled with empty notebooks and filled ink pots, ready to be used.
Nicholas has put on his royal attire, ready to see his subjects after all years of his absence.
He stood before the mirror, smiling to himself.
Nicholas was standing on the balcony of the castle, observing the crowd of vampires below.
"Ladies and Gentlecolts!" he spoke, his voice amplified by magic. "Here I am, standing here once again!"
The crowd cheered.
"Yes, you all heard it right! I have returned! I have been away for so long, yet here I stand, alive and breathing!
No known force can destroy us, vampires! Even both princesses couldn't! No magic can!
Today, we celebrate of our return! The world will be reminded of what we are! They have forgotten that we exist, they forgot how they feared us!
I still remember those dark times when we were less than quarter of a hundred. Back then, those ponies pushed us around like we were nothing, like we were some unintelligent monsters!"
Nicholas's voice grew louder and stronger.
"And yet here we are, more than a hundred of us, standing here tonight! We are smarter and more powerful than any monster can ever be! We survived! No force can stop us, no magic can destroy us, no one can defeat us! We are the shadows, we are what ponies fear most!"
Suddenly, his voice became quieter and colder, yet strong still.
"They dare to think that everything is theirs, yet the night is ours. They claim to know everything, yet they do not remember us. They claim to have defeated the most powerful beings, yet here I stand, here we stand."
Nicholas looked the crowd over. They were silent, waiting for their king to speak again. He deeply inhaled and continued his speech.
"I swear upon my blood, I shall have my revenge. All of us shall. We shall return to glory, and no one will be there to stop us from becoming what we deserve."
Half an hour after, Nicholas was back, sitting on his throne. Before him Fier stood.
"So, what is your plan, my king?"
"Lots of preparations must be made before we strike, General. First, we do not reveal ourselves to ponies, not yet. They must not be aware of us for as long as possible."
"Understood, my king."
"Very well. So, I was made aware that there is a pony that is indebted to me... Well, not that pony himself, his descendant. This letter..." Nicholas levitated a letter, sealed with red wax. "Is supposed to be delivered when the time is right. The time has come, General. Thou must deliver it as soon as possible to the White Wolf. Understood?"
"Yes, my king." Fier accepted the letter. "May I take my leave?"
"Thou may. Let the red moon guide thy way."
Fier bowed, hid the letter somewhere in his armor, turned around and exited the throne room.
Nicholas smiled.
