Fire. His entire existence was nothing but a torrent of flames. He couldn't remember if he was still in the land of the living, or the realm of the dead. Dumah didn't even know how long ago the first lick struck his skin, but it felt like eons. The only other sensation he knew of was a feeling of vertigo and displacement. The same feeling he had when his soul was ripped from his body the first time, during the surprise attack long ago.
He wanted to give up. He lost his kingdom once again, and was proven that the powers that he honed for the eons while trapped were nothing in the grand scheme of things. His legacy came to an end.
Something was amiss however. The pain began to subside, and that sense of vertigo began to grow as the moments melted away. After a while, he felt like he was being flung through the cosmos themselves. With this sudden shift, another impression began to seep into his consciousness. A soothing weave wound lovingly around what was left of him, easing the pain to the point of causing it to cease. Relief washed over, as the strange weave continued to work its magic. Not even the burning flames all around did him harm at this point. Before long, he felt whole again, with his entire physical body fully restored.
Within a few moments, he felt his disequilibrium intensify, delivering a strange sensation as if he were dropping from a high altitude at a faster and faster pace. He smiled inwardly, thinking he's going to the very place where a failure like him belongs. At least hell is kind enough to mend my burns before they submit me to agony. The dark irony caused him to laugh as he anticipated his arrival.
Dumah, third Lieutenant of Kain's Empire, Master of the Northern City and the Eternal Mountain Shaker, was for the very first time surprised at what came next. He hit solid ground with a rock cracking smash, one knee bent, and one fist planted on the surface of his landing point. He figured, when the fire and the thickest smoke finally cleared, he'd see the desolate wasteland of his punishment. A land he'll proudly march through head-on to endure his torment. When it did clear from his vision, he was instead greeted by a lush forest surrounding him. Licks of flames above him dissipated to reveal clear blue skies. Something that hasn't existed to him for a thousand years. Slowly rising to his feet, he surveyed his surroundings. Everything was beautiful. Everything was alive. Everything was perfect. It unnerved him. He knew in the deepest part of his soul he was no longer even remotely near Nosgoth.
The sound of a strong heartbeat caught his attention, as he looked off to his side, and spied a small equine creature not hidden very well. It was of curious design, for sure. A brilliant alabaster coat, and an impossibly royal purple and curled mane. Stranger still, the animal had a little horn poking from its forehead. Nothing like he'd ever seen during his youth. The creature's heart rate picked up, as it seemed to have took a step back, probably nervous about his powerful stature. He always had that effect on lesser beings. Never the less, the little horse thing was of no interest. Horse blood tasted terrible anyway.
"And the soul of an equine would probably be worse," he mused, before he turned to leave the crater he made. He didn't get one step out before he heard something call to him.
"Wait!" the little, feminine voice spoke. Dumah paused, and turned to the source. It was that curious little creature again, looking up at him. He considered he must be hallucinating, or some poor human was playing a pathetic trick or something. After all, there is no way that a tiny horse can speak.
"If you wish to converse with me, do not use a beast of burden as a mask. Show yourself," Dumah commanded with his deep, authoritative voice.
The equine stepped back, and looked... offended? Strange, he didn't realize that horses could convey emotions on their face. It wasn't until what came next that he realized the situation.
"Beast of BURDEN? How DARE you speak to a lady like that!" the alabaster mare said with an undignified huff.
Dumah stood there, stunned. His aged and powerful vampiric mind attempted to process the logic being presented to him, but it all seemed a bit too unreal. All of his other thoughts came to a screeching halt, except for one that he was just able to utter in an even and powerful tone. "What are you?"
"What am I?" the little creature said incredulously, "Darling, I should be asking YOU that. You certainly aren't a dragon, and you seem far to... green to be a minotaur..."
More questions began to pop up in his head. Dragons, minotaurs, talking small horses? He thought, What sort of hell have I been left in? Shaking his head lightly, Dumah slowly approached the little being. The dread and fear that all but evaporated when the equine had outburst soon returned in full force, as her eyes widened and her little form took a few shaky steps back. Dumah's titan stature cast a looming shadow over her easily, emphasizing just how insignificant she was compared to him. He leaned forward slightly.
"I will not ask you again. What. Are. You." He punctuated slowly.
"Well," she started, fidgeting slightly, "My name is Rarity, a high fashion designer from-"
"I do not care for your trade or name," Dumah dismissed lowly, "If I am to know of what realm I now exist in, I want to know your species. Perhaps then I'll be able to piece together what happened..."
Rarity huffed once again, but sighed slightly realizing that the monster before her had a point. There was little reason in explaining ones backstory if the listener doesn't know about the basics of the world. "Very well," she started once again, "I am a unicorn pony, one of the three main types of ponies in Equestria."
"Unicorn," Dumah uttered, rising back up to his full stature. "Then, I'm in a land of myth. How curious." The ex-clan leader looked to the clear sky for a moment, then turned away from the little being and headed north.
Flabbergasted and a little irritated that she was being ignored, she trotted after the strange creature. "Hey, wait just one moment!" she demanded, "You may have gotten your answers, but I certainly did not."
"Then ask, and be gone with you. I do not need companionship, especially from nothing more than a would be steed such as you."
Well, I NEVER, she thought about saying, but held her tongue, not wishing to get on the giant thing's bad side. "Fair enough," she puffed, before asking, "What manner of creature are you, per say. I've never seen something quite like your build before. That ghastly Elvis character comes close, but that armor plating and skin tone causes such heavy contrast."
"I'm a vampire." He stated simply.
Rarity halted in her tracks. She's only ever heard of the term in dark/fantasy/romance novels, and through one of Fluttershy's wildlife lectures, but never seen a real one before. To be honest with herself, she was a little disappointed. I figured they'd be more fair skinned, and lovely in the daylight, she thought, remembering the 'Dusk' series of books she owned and stashed away under her bed. I never knew real vampires were so... massive, and terrifying. She gulped, letting the fear return once again.
The creature laughed, "I do not eat equines, if that is what you are concerned with. On the contrary, I've long since abandoned my desire for blood. Centuries suspended in perpetual limbo will do that to a soul..."
The fashionista chuckled nervously, "Y-yes, quite." Before she could ask anything further, her horn flared up again. It didn't take long for the familiar pull to happen to her once again and not a moment later began trotting right past the creature. "So sorry to chat and run, but gems are calling me!" Uttered as she continued on in the distance.
Dumah watched the curious being wander past him for a moment, but ultimately he payed no mind. That was when she started zig zagging in and out of the bush, going in random walking patterns that his ire became aroused. Worse when she disappeared for a few moments, before cutting in front of his path of travel suddenly and without a word. It seemed like his peaceful travel would not be evident any time soon, especially while the little being is still here. He could just step on it, and be on his way, but that would be less than dishonorable. "What are you doing?"
"Hunting gems," she said offhandedly, clearly no longer paying attention to Dumah's presence.
"If a gem is anything like the shiny little pebbles humans squabble over, then I doubt one needs to be running around in such a disarray pattern to seek them." he muttered.
She had no idea what a human was, but never the less, she replied to the vampires doubt. "True, but when one is looking for the 'sweet spots', one needs to do all she can to triangulate any potential caches. Careful planning and location marking can yield more results than just mindless digging, after all. When you're in the business of style creation as long as I've been in it, you learn some tricks of the trade and utilize them to your best advantage."
Dumah continued to trudge forward, making another attempt to ignore the little creature. He feared if other beings like her were just as intrusive and as much of a bag of wind, he might have to start doing a few dishonorable things to shut them up.
"Found i~it!" Rarity sung, as she trotted over to a clearing directly in front of him. At the edge of the clearing was a dead end with a rocky mound set up as a wall before him. Dumah resisted the urge to bring his hand to his face, and calmed his demeanor. There's always an obstacle... Before he could consider looking for a way around the large rock formation, he felt something give underneath his feet where the ground had sunk slightly. Something was wrong. Before he could evade the disaster, the earth fell beneath him, causing him to tumble down a lengthy open hole, rubble chasing him down the entire way. The moment he hit the ground, striking his head hard enough against a rock, he blacked out.
-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-
This was a terrible, horrendous turn of events for Rarity. The once white fashionista, now covered in dust and grime after the fall, sat in what appeared to be a dank, open holed cell, far below the surface. The only other exit was blocked by stalagmites and stalactites, which knitted the opening, making it impossible to leave. Darkness was everywhere, and she felt all alone. It was a blessing that no one noticed her ten minute panic induced freak out, but it only marked the situation for terrible news once she was calm. Turning back, just barely able to see in the dark, she was able to make out the outline of the vampiric being she was with. Lying flat on its back, half buried under rubble, and with what looked like a stalactite sticking through his chest. She wasn't a doctor, and wasn't exactly strong enough to remove some of the heavier rocks from the creatures torso, as much as she tried when she saw him the first time. As such, she feared the worst for the poor, albeit frightening monster. With a withered sigh of dismay over the predicament, she shuffled her legs, and lied upon the ground. Closing her eyes, she hoped to gain enough rest to be able to think of a plan of escape from this nightmare.
The sound of harsh voices and the shuffling of footfalls caught her attention however, causing her eyes to shoot open. She looked, around, and saw a dim light growing brighter in the corner of the barred rock opening. Two bipedal grey dogs wearing beat up vests and black, diamond studded collars approached the cell, one holding a torch aloft. The torch holder's shorter companion seemed awfully familiar to Rarity, but it wasn't until he spoke that she recognized that particular diamond dog.
"Heh heh, pony indeed fell for trap," the dog in the red vest mockingly giggled in a shrill, cracked tone.
"Y-you..." Rarity stuttered, "What's the meaning of this? Why have you kidnapped me again"
"Payback, pony!"
"Payback?! I sincerely hope your joking. YOU kidnapped ME last time! If anyone should be getting payback, it should be me, but I'm not the vindictive type."
"Pony humiliated and stole from us! Fido still have hard time hearing from pony's whining! King angry because you took everything we dug!" the dog barked at his prisoner. Recomposing itself, it continued in a calmer, more sinister tone, "But, we get back every last gem you take. You dig for us! And wear this!" He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a muzzle, to which Rarity shrieked, shrinking backwards.
"N-no!"
"YES! You work! You don't talk! You give EVERYTHING you took! You no leave until we satisfied!" The nasty dog cackled, as if he were enjoying the little fashioner's torment. His companion joined in laughing at the prisoner. They slowed to a stop, only for the diamond dog in red to say one last thing. "Rover will enjoy this, and so will King, and rest of us! Sleep, for hard labor is ahead for pony."
Before long, the two dogs wandered off to leave Rarity in the darkness. Alone with her thoughts once again, she let out a slight sob as her situation sank in. She wasn't just a prisoner, but a slave too. Unless her sister figures out that Rarity is trapped in a cell below White Tail woods, there was little hope that she'd be rescued in a timely manner. Especially when considering her captors in question made it quite clear her tricks wouldn't work this time. That wasn't even to mention that there was an injured being right beside her that needs the assistance that she couldn't provide. If she ever wanted to get out of here, she'd need a miracle.