The crescent moon was high above the lands, barely covered by a thin sea of pale clouds. The stars twinkled in the dark canvas of the sky, seemingly giving the sparkle to the blanket of snow below them. The crisp night air surrounded the black chariot as it rose higher and higher. Despite the cold winds near the clouds, the inside of the chariot remained warm and comfortable for its three passengers.
Daring Do was glued to the window, fascinated by the majestic view it allowed her to see. Despite being a pegasus, she had rarely ever risen so high; when she did, she often didn't have the time to look around and marvel at the scenery. But now, she had all the time in the world to take in the mountains, the sky, the clouds, everything that lay in front of her eyes. Lights of distant settlements, treetops of the forests, grass of the plains, everything was in her sight. On the horizon, she could almost see the spires of Canterlot.
Nicholas watched her from behind his orange-tinted glasses, his expression relaxed and calm. He had been deep in his own thoughts for a while now, wondering about Zebrica and what it had for him. The sudden call disrupted his plans, taking him by surprise. After so many years, he wouldn't expect anyone to remember his kingdom, but Zebrica did, and it made a call to him. His scouts were scattered around the world, searching for allies; however, they found him first this time.
Next to the Vampire King, a zebra was sleeping soundly, wrapped in a warm cloak from head to hooves. He was the messenger who went through the snowy plains to deliver the invitation. With his mission mostly complete, he relaxed on the seat, preparing for the next day.
"Regele meu," a voice was heard from the outside. Nicholas turned to one of the windows and saw the closing vampire flying to the side of the chariot. His expression was unreadable behind a protective mask, but his voice was worried: "Noi suntem urmăriți."
The Vampire King looked through the back window, and indeed, there were two equine shapes flying behind the chariot, hiding in the clouds not too far away. His eyes allowed him to see the same armor he saw on the guards in the Frozen Gem. It came as no surprise to him – ponies were alert to the presence of the vampires now. Without a doubt, they spread out across the mountains to scout the territory and managed to notice the chariot.
"Nu ataca," Nicholas ordered with a firm shake of his head, "Nu le arăta că le putem vedea. Procedați conform planului."
"Înțeleg, regele meu," the vampire nodded and returned to his place.
"Is something wrong?" Daring Do asked with worry. She looked out the back window but her sight wasn't nearly as good as Nicholas', so she couldn't see the small shapes following the chariot.
"We shall see," the Vampire King replied vaguely.
Around a minute later, everything calmed down. Daring Do returned to watching the night sky, the zebra was still asleep, and Nicholas only glanced through the back window from time to time to confirm that the ponies were still following the chariot. However, his attention turned to the adventurous mare by his side. For a few long moments, he silently gazed at the stars with her.
"It is beautiful, isn't it?" Nicholas quietly said to Daring Do, "If the scourge of the sun didn't push us to live underground, we would gladly settle on the surface to witness this night until we could see no more. To live under the night sky, to see it with our own eyes... 'Tis something to live for. More stars than even the ageless can count in their lifetime, and the vastness of the great cosmos... Hast thou ever thought about it? Hast thou thought about what lieth beyond this world?"
"I think it's the first time I'm looking at it, and... it is beautiful," Daring Do said in awe. Her voice was quiet in respect to the presence of the night, "But... I haven't thought about it much."
"Thy treasure is what was once lost in our own world, I understand," Nicholas nodded, "However, it is not the only wonder out there in the whole universe. Each star thou seest might have a world just like our own. The distance between them and us is immeasurable, so we might never see those worlds with our own eyes, but they are there. Countless planets circling or being circled around by a star, unexplored vast worlds of wonder..." he trailed off, a dreamy look on his face. In a few moments, he returned to reality and turned to Daring Do, a question on his mind, "Tell me, thou art an explorer, art thou not?"
"Yes, I am," she replied with great interest, turning her whole attention to the Vampire King, wondering just what he had in store for her this time.
"Then wouldst thou like to see just how much there is to explore, how much knowledge there is to learn?" the vampire asked in a mysterious tone. After receiving a simple nod, he continued, "Then thou shalt know an experience unlike anything thou hast seen before. To understand the night, thou hast to see it," he lifted his robe and lowered the wrap around his muzzle. After bringing his pale foreleg to his face, he bit on it slightly, letting some blood flow, "Take a drop, taste it, and thou shalt see."
Feeling slightly disturbed, she was about to decline, but the promise kept her interest. It was one in a lifetime experience, and as an adventurer and explorer, she was ready to learn, no matter what it took. Soon, a drop of blood fell on her tongue, and she swallowed. In a moment, her heart skipped a beat, her eyes widened, and stars reflected off of her pupils. Her body went numb, and if not for Nicholas, she would fall to the floor of the chariot.
"Forgive me, adventurer," he said, his voice slightly muffled, growing more distant with each word, "This experience is done better if thou art surrounded by warm pillows and covered with a soft blanket on a comfortable bed. But thy lust for knowledge dictates thee to learn whenever possible. May it be so, then."
His voice faded away, and Daring Do could no longer see the present. Her consciousness traveled outside of it, shifting to the times long past and forgotten by most.
The mare felt light as a feather, caught by the rough wind and flown without any control. Carried across an immeasurable distance, she could feel something coming to her. A certain thumping resonated inside her head, a sloshing sound accompanied it. Images flashed before her eyes, too quickly for her to understand, all blurring together in an incomprehensible mess.
Then suddenly, it was nothing. For a long moment, everything was pitch-black and absolutely silent: not even a thought was heard, and no feeling was present. An emptiness, one that was complete. Rapidly, a vision came to her; nearly in an instant, she could see everything. She was floating among the many stars of the night sky, and the red moon, Lună Roșie was in front of her.
The cosmos was not black and neither was it blue. Many eons ago, the universe was born with many colors to create its eternal beauty. Spanning across the infinity, it spread far and wide, giving birth to stars and planets, to systems and galaxies. With time, the galaxies faded away, the stars burned out, planets turned to dust; and yet, the new replaced them constantly in a timeless cycle of birth and death.
The dust of the long-gone stars reflected and changed the light of the existing stars, turning it into a show of marvel and wonder. Light traveled thousands of light years to reach the eyes of those willing to see. Many of those stars had already died by the time their light could be seen by sapient beings, by those who could understand this light in a certain, intelligent way. The stars captivated the minds of the sapients for as long as sapients were alive.
The cosmos was not silent either; a deep hum resonated throughout the universe, traveling unseen distances and through the ages of time. Slow, gentle; sometimes rapid and rhythmical. No matter how quiet it was, the silence was never absolute. It might be true that no living being would ever be able to hear it, but there was no complete silence. Even in the most silent room, one could hear their own heartbeat and pulse, their own breath, and sometimes, even the flow of blood.
The universe was a giant, infinite organism with its own flesh and blood. It breathed, it lived in a way that a small being like a pony would never understand. From their perspective, even a mountain was gigantic. A single tree is a marvel to them, for it is taller than a single pony would ever be. However, their own planet was just a speck of sand among many in the sea of cosmos, floating through space to nowhere and yet to everywhere. Such concepts evaded even the smartest of the pony kind and other beings inhabiting a lonely blue rock floating in the cosmic void.
But no matter how close-minded any of them were, the cosmos was there before they came and will be there long after they were gone. No one knew what was there beyond cosmos – and if there even was a place where cosmos didn't exist. No one knew if it was truly infinite or ever-expanding, and perhaps no one will ever discover such deep knowledge.
Philosophers and scientists argued through centuries about what was there beyond their own little world, and yet the truth was as far away as it always were. Gods, spirits, myths, and legends were born and then died, all in pursuit of cosmic knowledge. Neither a scholar nor a believer could find their answers, and both found their rest in death. Each and every generation of ponies, griffons, yaks, kirins, and many other different beings tried to understand the vast universe, and yet it was elusive and mysterious, seemingly hiding from them on purpose.
Daring Do realized that it was not her who listened to Lună Roșie but Nicholas many years ago. Looking from his perspective, she could only see the pale gray fur on his muzzle, but it was apparent she was indeed watching through his eyes. He was the first one to listen to the revelations of Lună Roșie, the first one to earn the knowledge of the cosmos, and now the adventurer received a gift containing this knowledge, a fruit from the tree of the universe.
She opened her eyes and found herself back in the chariot. Her maw was slightly opened as she gazed out the window, her eyes being able to see the whole beauty of the night. However, it soon faded, returning to the usual dark canvas with small white spots dotting it. And yet, her vision was open now, and she could see more even in such darkness with her weak eyes.
Daring Do opened her maw to say something but no words came out. Helplessly, she was silent, unable to find the words to describe what she had just seen. She blinked a couple of times, still coming to her senses and the reality as a whole.
"That is exactly why thou needst to experience it to understand it," Nicholas told her, "Thou simply cannot describe it. No matter what, a clear picture will tell thee much more than any words ever could. And now, thou shouldst rest. We have a whole day ahead of us."
The adventurer simply nodded and adjusted her position on the seat. She closed her eyes, and soon, a calm and peaceful dream came to her, allowing her to relax and dive into the sea of consciousness to view what she had to say to herself in ways that she might not even understand.
Nicholas gazed at Daring Do with much interest. She seemed to be a simple pony from the outside, barely distinguishable from the crowd, and yet she yearned for knowledge about everything that she could see. This thirst for knowledge was very apparent in her actions. When he saw her first, she was very careful about what she thought were relics of the past. She cared about them more than most did, and she had a certain spark in her eyes. In his long lifetime, the Vampire King had rarely encountered such ponies, much less had the chance to talk with them personally. For decades and centuries, he had been searching for someone who would pass his knowledge to the rest of the world, enlighten it with the arcane and the mysterious. He had taught many vampires what he knew, but ponies hadn't come this close to it before. Now, he had the perfect opportunity to teach someone who was very interested in what he had to offer.
Knowledge brought loneliness, it made him detached from the lower world, for his mind floated in the ocean of cosmos. He sated his material and physiological desires such as food, water, aesthetically pleasing things like art and music, and lust for someone else. He had it all, and yet he didn't have something many others had. There was no end to his journey in sight, no final goal to achieve. Was it unreachable? Was it something that he would never have?
He looked at the night sky. Many worlds lay out there in the stars, distant galaxies calling for exploration, and yet a part of him wished to find something in his own world. It was a familiar feeling, but he had forgotten it after years of struggling to survive and learn. He was consumed by his responsibilities, and the rare opportunities to relax were spent in his bedroom enjoying a glass of blood and maybe satisfying a mare on the bed. However, such moments were few and far in between; they didn't leave much of a sensation after everything was said and done.
He chuckled quietly to himself. He hadn't thought about such a thing in a long time, and it seemed that it was the pony who helped him understand those things. Now he knew he wanted something more, something that he didn't yet have. A thing which was forgotten in the past, something that left barely a memory.
Nicholas closed his eyes, releasing a soft sigh. It was a time long past and gone, and he had only a trace of a memory. Did it even happen? Or maybe it was a dream? He couldn't tell. A long while had passed since then, and the only reminder was back at the castle, hidden deep beneath its foundation. A pulsating crimson orb in a dark room, a living shape moving inside it.
His eyes shot open. No, it was a nightmare. At least, he hoped it was, for he didn't know what he would do if it were the reality. And yet, it was as vivid as if he knew it for a long time. In any case, there was no use thinking about it at the moment; he had important things to attend to this day.
Princess Luna and the six mares were sitting at the table in the local hotel. The night was still young, the ponies were sleepy, but important things needed to be done. Despite the sleepiness, the ponies were anxious, nervously shifting in their seats. The alicorn had an uncertain look on her face but otherwise displayed no emotions.
"I suppose everyone here knows whom we are dealing with," Luna spoke slowly, "Vampires. The looks match the description, and the vampires are no doubt hiding somewhere in the mountains. We don't know what they do or want, but I know one thing for certain – they know about us."
"We'd know more if I could just catch him..." Rainbow Dash grumbled, her ego still hurt after she failed to catch the vampire.
"Excuse me, you did what?" the princess swiftly turned her attention to the pegasus, a shocked expression on her face.
"I, uh, I saw him running away, so... I went to catch him," the pegasus replied with hesitation, "He didn't look that strong, but he got away."
"It was quite foolish of you," Luna said sternly, "Be thankful that he didn't hurt you."
"If he tried-"
"He would've succeeded," the alicorn cut her off, raising her voice, "If he wanted, he'd fight you, and you would not come out of that encounter unscathed... or maybe even live at all. Did you forget that he had a sword?"
"It didn't look like he had one..."
"Are you being serious, Rainbow Dash?" Luna looked the pegasus in the eyes, making her cower slightly with the angry gaze, "He wore a robe. In my years of experience, I learned that many things can be sneaked underneath them, including various deadly weapons," she paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts and deciding what to say next. The room was silent. "Case and point are, you could've been seriously hurt because you overestimated yourself and underestimated the vampire. Do not do it again, or I swear I will drag you all the way back to your parents so that you could explain your reckless actions to them."
Rainbow Dash wanted to retort, but Luna's glare kept her silent, and so she let out a huff and looked away, knowing better than to continue arguing. A few moments passed in silence, and Luna let out a sigh, knowing that the ponies would object to her next statement without any doubt.
"In any case, all of you are going home."
"Your Majesty, pardon me, but... I feel we could do more than that," Twilight spoke up quietly, trying not to aggravate the lunar alicorn further. Her friends nodded to her statement with Rainbow Dash being the most enthusiastic one.
For a few seconds, Luna thought about it despite wanting to refuse outright. The six mares were young, but they have proven themselves in the past. They freed her from the nightmares and stopped the Chaos Spirit from plunging Equestria into disharmony. These six ponies weren't warriors and neither were they perfect, but they had already done plenty of notable deeds.
"I noticed that during the night, there is a strong magic force emitting from a certain direction," Twilight continued, hoping to persuade the princess, "It grows stronger during the evening, peaks at around midnight, and then slowly fades away as the morning comes. I think we can track vampires down and find where they are."
"A sensible idea," Luna admitted with a slow nod, "Alright, I suppose you can stay for a little longer... How do you propose we track down the vampires, Twilight Sparkle?"
"We'll have to start the search during the evening when their magic grows stronger," the unicorn was quick to reply, "We can't go out in the morning or during the day because the magic is too weak at that time to determine the direction. But..." she summoned a map with some markings placed on it, "I've been working on it for a few hours, and I think I found the angle. From our position-" she pointed at the mark depicting the settlement of Frozen Gem "-the direction is to the north, slightly to the east," her hoof went over a triangle shape on the map, the longer side of which was near the settlement, and the opposing top of the triangle was marked with a question mark that was placed on the depiction of the mountains, "I'm sure the precision will improve when the night comes and we are closer to the source of this magic."
"Then we shall begin next evening," Luna nodded, "We must rest well for the night."
As the morning sun rose higher and higher in the sky, the black carriage neared its destination. It flew over the vast sea separating Equestria and Zebrica, descending to one of the coastal cities as per instructions of the zebra guide who was awake at the moment. Daring Do was waking up, groggily blinking and yawning. Despite having slept on a simple seat, she felt very well-rested and ready for the coming day. Once she was fully awake, she looked out the window.
Below them, an immense savanna was visible, spanning from the coast to the horizon. A city sprawled on the shore of the sea, and a lone river flowing through it and deep into the land.
"Hast thou been to this city before, adventurer?" Nicholas asked Daring Do with curiosity.
"A few times, yes," she nodded, "Malihai is one of the oldest cities in Zebrica. Probably not as old as some of Equestrian cities, but it is a successful trade center and the capital of Zebrica," she gestured at one of the biggest buildings in the city, a castle of an unusual orange color and rounded, smooth shapes, "This is Tumaini Nzuri, the Castle of Good Hope. It is a display of wealth and power, but it is more than that – it houses one of the largest libraries in the world with books and scrolls dating to pre-Equestrian times."
"Very interesting indeed," the Vampire King nodded, a spark of curiosity appearing in his crimson eyes, "I always admire those who preserve the knowledge. Whoever put the time and effort into building such a majestic castle deserveth their praise. We have spent countless years collecting all that we could to put it in our own library, we can certainly appreciate the effort. And perhaps, we can even take a look at what is stored in Tumaini Nzuri."
"Not everyone is allowed in the library," the zebra finally spoke, warning the two, "Teachers and scholars are, and they are to pass the knowledge to others."
"I suppose I qualify as one or the other, but we shall see what the ruler thinketh about it," Nicholas nodded in understanding.
In a few minutes, the chariot gently landed near the entrance gate to the city. It stopped at the side of the road, making sure not to obstruct it for other carriages and zebras that went on hoof. A small crowd assembled, curious about the arrival of the sudden guests. In the distance, the gates of the castle opened and five zebras came out of it and swiftly headed towards the carriage.
"Wait here, please," the zebra said, glancing out the window, "I will inform the queen about your arrival."
Nicholas and Daring Do nodded, and the zebra exited the chariot, coming to meet with the incoming guards. Meanwhile, the vampires that pulled the chariot, as well as a couple of guards, took their places around their king in a circle, not letting any zebra come any closer than they already were. Whispers were exchanged among them in the crowd, curious and interested gazes were aimed at the cloth-wrapped guests.
"Anxious, art not thou?" Nicholas asked rhetorically, "I believe 'tis thy first time accompanying royalty. What dost thou think about the situation?"
"Honestly, I don't like much attention," Daring Do replied, "At least, not to... me. I use a pseudonym to sign my books."
"I see," the Vampire King raised a brow slightly, "Well... most of thy body is covered. I'm fairly certain no one will recognize thee as either Daring Do or as..." he looked at her questioningly.
"A.K. Yearling."
"Or as Yearling," Nicholas nodded, "Believe me, I understand the need for privacy and calm more than most. Anyway, it seemeth we shan't be staying in this chariot for long."
Confirming his words, Zebrican guards gave them a go, and the chariot continued on its way into the city, slowly wheeling through the main street straight to the castle. The guards made sure that no zebras came in the way of the chariot, separating the crowd. The chariot rode through the market, behind which the castle stood. A winding pavement made the chariot rock slightly in its tracks, but otherwise, everything was calm if not slightly anxious.
Meanwhile, the zebra guide hopped back into the chariot and took a seat across the king.
"Welcome, Your Majesty," he said, "Queen Damu Msemaji is waiting for you."