Book One
Prologue
Flash Sentry walked through the lonely streets of Agartha. He, and many others, had arrived there in a freak explosion. The explosion had caused a hole in the barrier between the worlds and so many ponies had gotten sucked in. Flash flexed his wings and was about to take off when he heard something. It sounded almost like footsteps. He folded his wings and headed towards the source.
Prince Blueblood followed the tan pegasus through the rugged streets. The concrete was cracked and the buildings were sagging in on themselves and boarded up. There seemed to be a feeling of danger and excitement in the air. Almost like one could run into anything and everything. Blueblood had seen the pegasus before in Equestria. He had escorted the crystal princess once. Blueblood had a feeling deep down in his gut that Flash had something to do with the fall into Agartha.
And he was determined to test out his theory.
Something was was watching him. Stalking him. He could feel it. His first instinct was to run but he knew that if he did, it would only seal his doom. Caramel could feel the sweat on his brow and he could suddenly hear every chirp of every bird and the skittering of every lizard. Please just be a rabbit or something, he thought. It was then that Caramel passed a street light. He saw a shadow towering over his own. He froze. It was a mistake. The shadow (of the pony stalking him, of course) stopped too. He heard a chuckle behind him.
"You shouldn't have done that."
Flash had the worst feeling. The absolute worst. Something was about to happen. Something bad. He started to run. He could have sworn that he heard footsteps behind him but he ignored it. He followed the faint sound of scuffling and his gut. It wasn't long until he found the source. A light brown earth pony with brown hair was being pinned down by a... mare... The mare was doing something to him. He struggled but she was holding him tight. Her head was inclined down to his neck, her rose-red lips locked on his throat. He let out a gurgling sound. Flash heard a gasp behind him. He and the mare turned around, startled.
"What are you doing!?" Blueblood demanded.
"Prince Blueblood?" Flash gaped. Blueblood grunted. The mare stared at him blankly. Then, she did something that made Flash's skin crawl. She smiled. With crimson liquid oozing down the corners of her mouth and dripped onto the ground. Her teeth and gums were covered in the stuff and her teeth, God her teeth, were scary on a whole different level. They were about and inch and a half long with fine, sharpened points. They were curved and red.
Red with blood.
"Oh. My. God." Flash had gotten training but this was nothing he'd ever dealt with before. That mare was a... a... dare he say it...?
"Vampire!" Blueblood screamed. He pulled out a freshly peeled bulb of garlic. "I never knew I would need this but the first time is always the best..." The mare gave him an amused look. Flash took his chance and shoved her off of Caramel. Caramel coughed and stood up shakily.
"Thank you." he wheezed.
"No prob. Now, I have to help this idiot." Blueblood was cornered. The mare took the garlic and kissed it. She actually kissed it!
"This isn't some novel, Princey. Let me remind you that those fiction novels are made by ponies." the mare hissed. She grabbed Blueblood's arm. She froze. A look of horror crossed her face. Bluebood was terrified. Something was happening. Something big. The only problem was, he didn't know what was going on. A strong, electrifying feeling rushed from the touch. It shot straight through his arm and hers. It spread throughout their bodies. It made his fur stand on end and his mind panic. He could feel her mind. They were being joined as one.
What is HAPPENING!? Her thoughts screamed. It was chaos but he got one thing out of it. There was a word, a phrase, the name of their fate if you will. Something that explained exactly what was going on. Blueblood gasped and wrenched his arm from the mare. He turned and ran.
"Run!" he yelled. Flash and Caramel didn't need to be told twice. They were off, faster than lightning. Blueblood took one last glance behind him, then disappeared into the night. The mare stood there, numb and confused. She'd never felt anything like that before. She knew what it was deep down. She couldn't believe it. The mare closed her eyes and leaned on a tree. She slowly slid down to a sitting position and cupped her face in her hands.
"Damn... what just happened...?"
The three stallions didn't stop running until they reached the better parts of the town. There were a few ponies walking around. The buildings were peeling but they were brightened up with light and customers and the faint smell of already-eaten suppers. The roads was no longer made of dirt but cobblestone. A few carriages lined the concrete sidewalks. Flash bent over and placed his hands on his knees and panted.
"Everypony okay?"
"I sure am." Caramel wiped sweat from his brow and smiled. "I want to thank you again for-" Flash raised a hand to stop him.
"I told you, no problem." Then, he turned to Blueblood, who was still flustered. "What were you doing?"
"What?" the tired unicorn looked around, dazedly.
"You were following me. What was up with that?"
"Aren't you a guard? You should have known I was following you!"
"You could have been hurt!"
"I-"
"Nothing but a nosy, stuffy noble and you could've gotten another civilian hurt!" Blueblood glared at Flash. He brushed his clothes off. Stupid, uncouth guard, he thought. Caramel stepped in between the two stallions. His T-shirt and denim jeans were torn and dirty, Blueblood noticed. Flash's plaid collar shirt and black jeans were dirty too. He was the only one looking presentable. The mare hadn't harmed him even though she'd caught him.
"I think we all need to go our separate ways." Caramel stated. He stared at Blueblood while saying it.
"Fine." He turned and left. He didn't look back.