The King of the Dovah

"What do we know so far." I asked the guard next to me coldly as I stared through the crystal mirror to the chained pony on the wall who was done in a spread eagle way. Even his wing's were chained down just in case. The pony was bereft of his armor and weapons showing the lithe form most pegasi possessed with nothing but a loincloth to cover his modesty.

"Nothing yet your majesty. He never answers us and whenever we get too close he tries to take a bite out of us." stated the guard as I kept my gaze solely on the bat pony for a moment before deciding on the next course of action.

"Then maybe it's time I have a little chat with him myself." I said and before the guard could protest I was already heading for the door and into the room.

As soon as I entered I caught the assassin's attention and he glared at me with his burning red eyes that looked oh so familiar to me but for some reason I could not place them. We never broke eye contact as I pulled up a chair and took a seat just a couple of feet from the chained up prisoner. For a few moment's neither of us said anything and just stared at each-other, as if testing the other's fortitude before taking the plunge.

"...you will die." were the first words spoken by my captive and honestly I wasn't impressed.

"Is that all? Usually someone likes to go into more detail on how they will kill me and then quote on quote, 'desecrate my rotting corpse.' Though I don't see how your gonna do that with your current situation." I reply calmly before the bastard actually had the audacity to laugh of all things.

He laughed for a good few minutes and I was content to wait for him to finish since this either meant one of two things, he was either just a crazed nut who wanted to take me out for shit's and giggles and I could just execute him here and now. Or he was so confident that he was going to tell me something important just to stroke his own ego. Either way I get my answer.

"You really are as confident as he said you were. He also said I would fail to kill you, but then again killing you was never the goal. Once he learns that I have failed he can then start moving forward with his planes." said the pony more to himself than anything and now I was curious on who exactly this he was that my captive was speaking of. Maybe somekind of assassin leader?

"And who are you speaking of that seems to have sent you to die with nary a care. Tell me and I'll be sure you see him in Oblivion soon enough." I say and instead of anger, resentment or even fear the bastard just gives me a fanged smile as his eyes shine with a sick glee that I'm finding a hard time trying to remember where I had seen it before.

"Oh I have no doubt about that, after all, you already killed him once."

Now my eyes narrowed in suspicion. As far as I knew most of the magic using races of this world abhorred dark magic which included necromancy. Plus the only person of real note that could have followers like this guy was Sombra but I seriously doubted the former ruler of the Empire was back. If he was he would have tried to take the city already as from the very first encounter I knew that the stallion was driven by his pride and arrogance and would not have waited this long before making his move to take back the throne.

"And who have supposedly killed? If you hold such reverence from them then they must be important, yet I can't seem to put a name to the person. So how about a name to refresh my memory?" I asked hoping he would give it to me.

Just then the ponies glowing red eyes grew brighter and his fangs longer as his smile stretched to levels that could match Pinkie's. The sight was unnerving and I felt my instincts screaming at me that something big was about to happen with this guy. I still could not have ever anticipated what his next words were, and even if I could have I still wouldn't have believed it.

"Lord Harkon." Was all the pony said before his body suddenly thrashed as it began to change.

His dark fur turned as pale as death and his eyes sunk in to become two balls of flame surrounded by darkness. His form grew to nearly seven feet tall with his muscles gaining some mass as well. Crown-like spikes grew from his head as his fingers became long, gnarled claws of black steel. Finally his face shrunk a bit and became more bat like with two slit's for his nostrils. It had been a while since I had seen a creature like this but the memory was forever ingrained in my mind from the very moment I first saw it, this creature was none other than a Vampire Lord, and he served the once dead ruler of them Harkon, Serana's father that I had slain in his very manor along with the rest of his coven.

The transformed ponies newly enhanced strength easily tore through his bindings as he roared and soon after lunged at me with claws extended to rend my flesh and his fangs bared in order to drain me of my life giving essence. Thankfully while I was still in shock my body's natural instincts forced me to move as I rolled to the side as my attacker smashed the chair I was in to bits.

The rushing of hooves sounded as the doors were flung open and my attacker turned to confront them but was tossed back by an extremely powerful stream of lightning that slammed him into the opposite wall. Turning to the source I saw Serana in the doorway with a look of insurmountable rage plastered on her face as she stared down one of her own kind with contempt.

"So the traitorous daughter shows herself. Now you shall pay for defying our master!" roared the pony turned Vampire Lord as he used his wings to launch himself at Serana, but was met with a wall of magic that stopped him cold, thanks to the two unicorn guards behind Serana with their steel swords at the ready and their teeth bared in anger at the face of the threat.

Before the vampire could make another attempt on my companion's life I decided to put an end to it and thought of the perfect shout to stop him.

"TIID KLO UL!"

The wave of blue energy extended outwards and time itself slowed before me before I prepared the second step of my plan and drew magic to my hands as they began to surround themselves in red hot flames. With a thrust of my hands I unleashed my Fire Wall spell but instead of making a 'wall' I formed a circle around the Vampire Lord. Just then the world sped back up just as I had finished my spell and extinguished the flames from my hands.

The vampire was still on his flight path but immediately stopped when his claws reached the flames and he pulled back with a screech of pain as he cradled the now burned limb. He quickly turned and glared at me as I smirked at him.

"Like it? Since you didn't show the more obvious signs of being a vampire aside from the eyes and fangs I assumed you were well fed, too bad for you that not only weakens your powers but makes you more susceptible to your weaknesses, namely fire." I said smugly as he began to growl.

"Are you alright?" suddenly asked Serana as she moved up beside me with four guards moving to surround the vampire with their weapons at the ready in case he made a move. I also noticed the fire enchantments upon the blades which made me smile at how prepared my guards were thanks to Aela and Farkas training them.

"I'm fine Serana, just a little surprised and a whole lot of pissed off. I don't know who brought your bastard of a father back from the dead but I'm gonna send his pale ass back to Oblivion along with the fucker who brought him back as soon as I find them." I growl as I turn towards the still trapped undead.

"Alright bloodsucker I want to know where Harkon is and the one who brought him back. Do that and I might just cure you of your vampirism and send you on your way without life imprisonment or even death." I demand and after a second of debate the vampire smiles.

"It doesn't matter. I was sent here to die anyways so I have no need for your 'offer'. But I will say that Lord Harkon wants revenge for what you two did to him, and he will have it if it is that last thing he does!" roared the vampire with an insane laugh before leaping into the flames that still surrounded him and letting himself be burned to ashes by the spell, all while still howling with his insane laughter.

I could only look on with cold indifference as hundreds of thoughts ran through my mind on what Harkon was doing in this world and who had summoned him as well as for what purpose. Then Azura's warning came back to me and now everything she had said made sense. But her words had indicated that there was more than one enemy of my past that would resurface. The mere memory of all the powerful foes I had faced back on Nirn made the blade of worry twist in my gut. This world, and by extension, my Empire were not yet ready for the level of terror that those people could bring.

After dispelling the flames from my spell I turn and face the four guards that were still in the room and awaiting for my next orders. If my enemies of the past were truly coming back for revenge then I would make sure that they met the same fate as back then, lying dead at the end of my blade. Only this time it won't be just myself and a companion or two, but rather an entire nation willing to fight back.

"Gather the guards and search every building in the empire! I want every inch of our lands searching for more of these bloodsuckers! Check every sewer, cave and basement and when you do use the 'Sunlight spell', if they are one of these bastards then they will burn from it. If they try to resist then put them down, but if you can then restrain them and bring them to the dungeons. Also from now on make it policy to have everyone, no matter their species, checked in the same manner if they want into the city. As a matter of fact infuse the barrier with the same spell. If Harkon wants to kill me then he is gonna have to meet me on my terms. Now go!" I commanded and with a quick salute my guards were off to spread the word.

"Aren't those orders a bit extreme Raddin?" suddenly asked Serana as she placed a comforting hand on my shoulder to which I let loose a tired sigh.

"You and I both know how Harkon is. I could care less if he came after me with an undead army, but now I have an Empire and citizens depending on me to keep them safe and help them prosper. I will not let him, or any other enemy of my past harm them as long as I am still breathing. I'm going to need yours and the other's help with this, are you ready to follow the Dragonborn into battle once more Daughter of Coldharbour?"

"When did I ever stop?" she replied with a smile before moving over to the pile of ashes that was once the vampire and began to gather them into a small jar she pulled from her robes. Guess I can't blame her as since with a lack of vampires in this world, vampire dust was a rare commodity so she wouldn't have many chances like this.

'If you want a war Harkon, then I'll give you war!

It had been over two weeks since the incident with the assassin and discovering Harkon had come back from the dead, or in his case undead, to try and get revenge on me. In that time I had really beefed up the security of the Empire and so far I have discovered something really concerning.

There had been about thirty other vampires inside the Empire's walls as well as four caves in my lands that housed about fifteen vampires each. All of them were crystal ponies from my city and while most of them were able to be captured and cured, a few of them had to be put down which I didn't like to do but it had to be done.

From there on, no one was allowed outside the walls without an armed escort and I had constant patrols going so if one of Harkon's servants wanted to make a play they would have about a snowballs chance in Oblivion of making it more than five feet before finding a blade from one of my guards in their chests. And while the guards were basically being run ragged they did not complain as they were informed of the situation and were very dedicated to making sure their home stayed safe from this new threat.

Now however I was dealing with a new type of threat, or an old one if I looked at it the right way. That didn't mean I liked it however as compared to this finding and killing Harkon was as easy as eating a sweetroll.

"...."

"..."

"...she can't be serious can she?" asked Brynjolf as me and my 'inner circle' as we were called, along with the element's and Ember stared at the piece of parchment before us bearing the seal of Equestria along with a few golden tickets.

"Seems pretty serious by the looks of it. Sensible? No. Serious? Definitely." pointed out Erane.

"I don't like this. I think we should decline this 'Grand Galloping Gala.' We still have a Vampire Lord running amok somewhere and while we've rooted out most of his insurgents I don't think it's safe to travel until he is dealt with permanently." suggested Aela with Farkas agreeing with her.

"But this is where a summit is also being held with other leaders of the world, to not attend would put us in a bad light with others. While we could care less for Celestia and her nation the other nations could still hold potential allies for us." pointed out Aranea.

"Well having the dragons as your allies already helps you out as at the very least any other nation would be hesitant to attack you. So that helps at least as we will be able to announce our official treaty at the summit as well." pointed out Ember.

And so the constant back and forth's on what we should do considering the gala/summit continued for a few more minutes before I had finally had enough and decided to make my decision. Cause in the end I was the one who would be going to the damn thing.

"Enough! I've already decided I'll be going, but if Celestia thinks I'm gonna follow her rules at her little 'party' she's got another thing coming. Aranea! How is the construction on our latest project coming along and will it be ready to take me to Equestria?" I asked the new head of the technology/Dwemer department.

"It should be, all we need is to put it on the main railway that connects to Equestria along with the instillation of the new Soul Gem engine we developed. Do you plan to make an entrance?"

"Hey if I'm gonna be meeting possible future allies and enemies then might as well leave a lasting first impression am I right?" I say with a shrug and a smile that everyone smirked at.

From there we went on to plan for the Gala that would be coming within the following weeks and who would be watching over the Empire while we were away. If Celestia thought that I would back out of this political opportunity then boy was she in for a big surprise. By the time I was through I expected to have made quite a few allies, but I was more than ready for a few enemies as well.