//------------------------------// // "I just wanted to take a walk." // Story: Dracula's rising // by belmontzar //------------------------------// In the span of a few hours, Dracula was certainly pleased with his servants. A bat was fluttering about him chattering about random gossip he had heard in the town, as well as how it found this huge castle and the supposed leaders of the modern day. Skeleton soldiers and living suits of armor had begun patrols along the corridors as they were repaired. Zombies shambled along lead by Lesser vampires and squadrons of blond and brunette Witches. "So even though they are called 'princess' they are by definition the 'queens' of the world as we would see them?" Dracula asks softly as the bot bobs up and down happily. "and there are four of them each controlling a special aspect of something?" The bat pauses as if in thought and shakes her head. "There are the Rulers of the Sun and moon, Celestia and Luna, who run the majority of the government as a monarchy. A third princess said to be the 'Princess of Love' that rules over what is called the Crystal Kingdom, and the fourth is an enlightened Unicorn that simply has that giant castle in the town." the bat replies softly before she perches on her master's shoulder. "According to our intelligence the fourth one, a miss Twilight Sparkle, does not run the town or have much real authority at all. Shes more of a figure head that seems to randomly leave town with some of her Fellow Bearers." "Yes the Elements of Harmony. your cousin spoke of those, apparently six simple ponies bore incredibly powerful positive emotions and used those emotions as some sort of magical weapon." Dracula taps his chin a few times as he contemplates it all. "Only now this weapon is not available and the 'heroes' have taken to random trips?" "Twilight Sparkle is supposedly very intelligent in regards to the pony population. Her lack of authority and these 'trips' around Equestria feel like they are related. As if the reason she holds no authority is why shes allowed all this travel, or perhaps because of it." The small Bat confirms. "thought to be honest, it was strange how easy it was to gain all of this information from just listening to people." "You have been out there, and watched these beings for days now, tell me, what would you recommend we do next?" Dracula asks, smiling softly as the bat flies off his shoulder and seems to hover, flapping her wings in mental confusion. The sound of hissing snakes and a particular set of bones draws the Vampire lord's attention to Death and Medusa. "Ah Good to see you Medusa. How goes reconstruction of your lair?" "Swimmingly sire." The Gorgon replies, the snakes in her hair hissing as if to enhance the S sounds she made, though she did not do so these days. "The Tunnels and Water ways have been repaired and returned to function. Sewers, swamp lands, and plumbing have been complete. Al that remains is my Statue resting place." The Greek creature of Myth fiddles with the Toga she wore at the moment and blinked her pale Green eyes. "There are rumors that this is a place of peace, among the snakes and reptiles. Do these words ring true?" Dracula nods simply and smiles. "Yes from what I have heard. I also intend to keep it that way, though once the Arena is complete I'm sure your Warrior Lizard men will have plenty of ways to keep busy. My main worry comes from how the residents of that town, Ponyville, will react to our castle when it is found. I highly doubt the many patrols and sounds of repair have gone unnoticed." "I worry you place these ponies too highly. If they are anything like the humans then they are likely blind by choice. Choosing that which they wish to believe." the Gorgon brushes her hand along a few of the snakes in her hair. "We have all felt that sting Sire. I hope you are correct, but do not be surprised if things come another way." The bat flaps up and nods. "so why don't we go out and find them first? If WE go out to speak to THEM instead of THEM freaking about the castle, we might not be seen as totally evil monsters." The Gorgon chuckles and slithers off as Death walks closer pondering the idea. "There is plenty of merit in the idea. Besides, if this princess of the night is so attentive with her moon there is no doubt she will soon find us." The Reaper says in a soft tone. "The young one may be correct on this idea." "I still worry about making contact before all of the outer wall repairs are complete Death. While I agree with the basic idea the little bat has come up with... I cannot help but worry that our arrival will spark fear and that the will suddenly attack us." He replies softly and slowly. "I believe I shall go and explore for a bit... see this Everfree forest for myself. Perhaps I may even find a solution to our problem." ------------------------------------------------------- "Oh no.. please... stay back I do not mean any harm, I'm not dangerous, oh please please don't eat me." Dracula rubs his fore head as a yellow pegasus mare with pink hair seemed to shrink lower and lower into the ground as he sighs. "That was never my intention please do not worry. None of us are going to harm you." The golden armored Final Guard at his right Seemed to face palm, as on my right A second smaller golden knight which was riding atop of a giant usually threatening wolf called a Warg. The Warg's rider shrugs as his mount seemed incredibly happy to see the still freaking pegasus. "I'm sorry my friend scared you like this." Dracula says calmly giving the Warg a gentle swat to the nose. "Its... not? But it just jumped out of nowhere.." The Yellow one seemed to try and relax and upon seeing the sorrowful look on the giant wolf's face, immediately gave it a hug, nearly de-seating the suit or armor riding on top. "Oh its OK I know you didn't mean to scare me, you just a cute little puppy aren't you?" The two suits of armor and the Vampire all shared a look as they regarded the happy tail wagging Giant monster of a wolf as it playfully nuzzled the Pegasus that would probably vanish in two or three bites. "Oh your just so big and so adorable with your burning eyes and that giant fluffy fur." The rider gave up and climbed off his wolf as it then collapsed into a crouched shockingly adorable position. The motion shook the ground as trees around them complained and birds squeaked in irritation. The shock wave slowed down, the warg Rider helping the final guard back to its feet. "Besides.." the pegasus says looking over at the trio of bipeds. "It was you three who scared me. Not this great adorable pile of fluff." She smiles rubbing the wolfs chin, making its tail and paw slam the ground repeatedly, unsettling even more birds, and re introducing the armor suits to the ground. "I thought it was the being on the wolf that was hunting me down, what with that giant spear and the glowing eyes." "I'm sorry my men scared you Little pegasus is there anything we can do to make it up to you?" Dracula asks softly, the suits of armor look at him. "well I was working on.." Dracula, The Prince of Darkness to some, the Lord of Castlevania, Bane to All Who Live, The Impaler, and to a few the Polar opposite of GOD him/her/itself found himself chuckling as he and his elite guardians were reduced to picking flowers and gathering herbs. The Pegasus sat on top of the Warg leading to a very strange and admittedly hilarious sight. Which probably explains why the purple alicorn, who appeared in a bright flash of light, seemed to suddenly suffer cardiac arrest. So now Dracula, Lord of Vampires, was chasing his own Wolf and its riding pegasus, while carrying what his subjects would call one of the Princesses of the land. A swift trip down memory lane, and a name shouted by the yellow pegasus, confirmed that the comatose equine in his arms was miss Twilight Sparkle. The Forest line broke off as the Warg halts at a small cottage. The yellow pegasus, who had introduced herself as Fluttershy shortly before Twilight's arrival, became a blur of motion as the Alicorn suddenly vanished from Dracula's grasp, a flash of pink tail and a slamming door was all the vampire could register. The living armors soon arrived as Dracula found himself pacing in place. It did not take long for Ponyville to notice them. The vampire spotted a growing crowd and sighs. "I just wanted to take a walk."