Chapter 1: A meeting
‘’My Queen.’’ The vampony bowed his head. ‘’Visitors have arrived from the lands of the living.’’
‘’And why, pray tell, did you think I should be informed of that?’’ Rosa Maledicta regarded the stallion with a cool gaze.
The vampony nervously licked his fangs. ‘’They are from Equestria.’’ He paused for a moment. ‘’One of them is an alicorn.’’
Rosa blinked in surprise. ‘’Celestia is here?’’ she asked, alarmed. What reason would the Princess of the Sun have for coming so far from Equestria?
The vampony shook his head. ‘’No, the alicorn is not Celestia. Based on her appearance, we believe it is Twilight Sparkle, together with the other Elements of Harmony.’’
Well, that wasn’t quite as bad as Celestia. Or perhaps it was; the Elements had defeated beings like Discord, after all. ‘’Where are they currently?”
‘’They are approaching Magehold,’’ the vampony answered. ‘’Shall we have them imprisoned?”
Rosa shook her head. ‘’No. Escort them to me. I wish to know what they are doing so far from their home.’’ A gesture of her hoof dismissed the vampony, who bowed before leaving the room.
Once the door fell closed, Rosa looked around her room. It was filled to the brim with ancient tomes of powerful magic, stored in bookshelves that lined the walls or stacked upon piles on her desk. A high window showed the storming waters of the Sea of the Dead, high waves slamming against the rock and stones.
A queen-sized bed stood against the wall, untouched. She had not used it ever since she turned into a vampony. Next to it stood a large wardrobe, inside of which hung various robes and dresses for all manner of occasions.
Rosa walked over to the wardrobe and pulled it open. Her eyes roamed over the clothes. Too dark, too magical, too vampiric.
Her eyes stopped at the second-to-last dress on the right side. A smirk slowly crept upon her face. Yes, that one would do nicely.
‘’How far, darling?” Rarity asked.
Twilight resisted the urge to facehoof. Honestly, she loved her friend, but Rarity had been asking the same question ever since the boat had dropped them off half an hour ago. ‘’We’re almost there, Rarity,’’ she replied.
‘’I can see towers!’’ Rainbow called out as she flew down. She had flown forward to scout the path ahead. ‘’Half an hour tops.’’
‘’Good,’’ Applejack said. ‘’Ah don’t want to stay here any longer than needed.’’ The earth pony mare was carrying most of their camping supplies, with Pinkie carrying the rest.
Speaking of, the pink pony was currently talking animatedly with Fluttershy, quite literally bouncing from excitement, as she was wont to do. Fluttershy, on the other hand, was nervously glancing around, even as she was talking with Pinkie.
Suddenly, several dark shapes appeared in front of them. Immediately, Twilight and her friends drew together.
‘’Greetings,’’ one of the shapes said, as it moved forward revealing it’s identity; a vampony. ‘’We are to escort you to Magehold.’’
Twilight frowned. ‘’On whose orders?’’ she asked.
The vampony’s blood-red eyes bored into her for a moment, before he answered: ‘’Queen Rosa Maledicta.’’
Rosa sat at the head of the Dread Council. She was wearing a blood-red dress with black tinges, and on her head was an obsidian crown with spikes and an amethyst embedded in the centre. The masters of the Coven of Blood sat in the other chairs, with one representative from the Uu’t U’kra Voodoo Cabal and one from the Ghoul workforce.
The doors opened, and the vampony that had informed Rosa earlier entered first, followed by the Equestrians.
Even in the Dread Peninsula, tales of the Elements of Harmony had reached, and Rosa had listened to them better than most. She knew well how each Bearer looked, what their Element was, and to a lesser extent about their personalities.
‘’Welcome,’’ she greeted them, once the doors had closed again. ‘’I am Rosa Maledicta. You stand in front of the Dread Council.’’
Twilight Sparkle moved to the front, and bowed her head. ‘’Greetings, Queen Rosa. It is an honour to be received here,’’ she said. ‘’I am Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie.’’
‘’A pleasure, I’m sure,’’ Rosa said dryly. ‘’But you did not come here for idle chit-chat.’’ She leaned forward and flared her vampiric aura. ‘’Do tell what reason you have.’’
To her credit, Twilight Sparkle appeared unfazed by the aura, even as the rest of her friends reacted in their own ways. Rosa had to suppress a frown; never before had she encountered mortals that could so readily resist her allure. Perhaps it was a side-effect of the Elements of Harmony?
‘’In my castle in Ponyville,’’ Twilight began, ‘’there is a map, called the Cutie Map. It is a magical artifact of great power, made by Harmony itself. It shows me, my friends and on occasion others where a Friendship Problem exists, and which pony is needed to solve it.’’
‘’And you believe such a ‘Friendship Problem’ exists here?” one of the Coven members asked with a sneer. ‘’Please, do not insult us so.’’
Rosa held up her hoof to silence him. ‘’For now, they are our guests,’’ she reminded the Council, before lowering her hoof again. ‘’Please, continue,’’ she said with a nod to Twilight.
Who cleared her throat, before continuing, ‘’My friends and I would like permission to stay in Magehold for a week or so, to determine the nature of the problem.’’
‘’Preposterous!’’ the same Coven member from earlier shouted. ‘’The living do not belong here!’’
Rosa glared at him. ‘’They are our guests. Or do you really wish to antagonize an alicorn?’’
The Coven member sputtered, then hmph-ed and settled down, glaring at everyone else in the room.
Rosa turned back to the living ponies and gave them a smile. ‘’You shall be permitted to stay one week,’’ she announced. ‘’After that week has passed, you will have to leave if you have not found this problem.’’
Twilight bowed, as did the other Bearers. ‘’My thanks, your majesty,’’ Twilight said.
Rosa nodded, before gesturing for them to leave. They were escorted out by the guards again.
‘’My lady, where should we send them?” the leader of the guards asked.
‘’To the visitor rooms,’’ Rosa replied. ‘’But make sure there is nothing in there that will kill them. I’d hate to have to resurrect them.’’
The vampony bowed. ‘’As you command.’’ He turned around and left.
Twilight and her friends were led through the hallways of Magehold by the guards. While no one was fool enough to stand in their way, more than a few eyes watched from the shadows.
‘’Where are we going?” Twilight asked no-one in particular.
Without turning around, the lead vampony replied, ‘’We are headed to the visitor’s quarters, where you will stay.’’
‘’Have a seat, please,’’ Rosa said, gesturing towards one of the chairs. She sat down in another, and Twilight sat down opposite her.
‘’So,’’ Rosa began, ‘’have you found the ‘Friendship Problem’?’’
Twilight nodded. ‘’We have.’’ She shifted nervously.
‘’Oh?” Rosa leaned forward. ‘’Do tell.’’
Twilight gulped. ‘’You.’’
Rosa raised her eyebrow ever so slightly as silence filled the room. ‘’I’m afraid I don’t follow.’’
Twilight smiled. ‘’Well, it’s very simple…’’