A Vampire Tale: Return of the King

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.