//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Haunted Night // Story: The Legend Of Dazzling Hollow // by FourShadow //------------------------------// The next day after school, the Dazzlings and friends arrived over to the mansion that was the base for the Halloween party to come. Still had that rustic and decrepit look as it did the first time Trixie had seen it. Of course, this was the outside. No one had actually seen what the inside of the house had looked like. As Trixie got a good look at the place, she gulped. She could feet her legs start to tremble and shake at the memories at the awful place she was before. "Alright everyone, let's go over some ground rules. Inside of the house has gone through a series of renovations since its unfortunate collapse and poor construction in 2005, but it has been completely reinvented and used as a renting party house for all sorts of occasions. And on Halloween night, it becomes our party house," Adagio addressed. "There are still some small little... construction, areas that are in desperate need of repair, so please avoid them by going around the orange cones and safety signs that have been set up." Everyone replied with resounding nods and 'yes's. Adagio stepped forward and opened up the door of the house. As she walked inside, everyone began to follow behind; including Flash Sentry, Micro Chips, Sandalwood, and soon everyone else. The last person remaining was Trixie who was still standing in fear. Adagio quickly took notice. "Sweetie, its okay. I know the front looks scary, but I promise the inside isn't. Its just a normal looking house with a creepy outlook." Trixie gulped. "Um... o-okay..." She took a single step forward, taking an inch closer. Then she took another step, now she was two more. And then another, and another and another until she was finally on the front doorstep of the house. "See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" Adagio patted her shoulder. Trixie nodded, still afraid. "Come on," Adagio wrapped an arm around her side, finally getting her to walk some more and get inside the house. When they walked in, Trixie couldn't believe her eyes. The house that she remembered before was dank, and decrepit, and disgusting, just like the outside. But it wasn't. The inside of the house looked like your typical modern day house. If you were to walk in, you would find it completely normal, and not really sharing any connection with the arches on the outside that held the roof and upper levels. "Okay, so," Adagio clapped her hands. "Just from this foyer structure alone..." Everyone looked around. A set of stairs led to another floor, probably above. But in the foyer they were in, they could see a living area with a fireplace, some couches and chairs, a few plants. It seemed more like the waiting room of some psychiatrist office than it did a room for a mansion. "We could perhaps leave this entire section alone and just make it like an area for everyone to detox and calm down from some of the wildness," Flash suggested. "Mmm, I like it. Definitely doing that, leave this area alone. But I know this house has a little party room, so that will be our main party room. Everywhere else we can convert into some miniature scare/game rooms. But leave the main foyer, and the bathrooms alone," Adagio agreed. Walking into the hallway, they saw a few pieces of artwork that had been framed and hung on the walls. A few small cabinents with some potted plants draped over them, mostly for decoration and display. Nothign too out of the ordinary or bizarre here. When they pushed the next set of doors open, they walked into a massive open room. It looked like a ballroom, for galas and parties to be staged. "And here is the room where the main events shall unfold," Adagio smiled. Everyone looked in awe at the room. Already it was started to get decorated in Halloween fun. Fake cobwebs, some streamers, hanging trinkets like witches, spiders, goblins, sticks tied together for a logo of a mysterious witch, etc. A small stage had been set up as well, with a few lights and speakers set up as well, as well as some tables. "We have most of the equipment that we need set up, but we won't need any of the real stuff until we finally get the party started. Until then, lets get to work!" Half an hour went by since everyone got to work, and even with the surroundings, Trixie was able to help out. She carried some things, she helped put up some decorations, it wasn't that bad. Of course, it was only made better by the fact that she had her best friends with her to put all of this up. "So, um, Adagio, what do you think?" Trixie asked, gesturing to the wall that she finished decorating. "Trixie, that looks excellent! Just the amount of webs we need. In fact, I dare even say that you've almost finished the room..." Adagio pondered as she looked over in the corner. "Of course, we still need to figure out what to do with that hole there--" Trixie flinched, pointedly looking away from the hole in the floor that her girlfriend was eyeing. But Adagio didn't see Trixie's sudden fear. "We should definitely find some way to fill it up, so no one can fall in..." Trixie whimpered, although very faintly. Taking a step back, she shut her eyes and folded her arms, hugging herself discreetly. "I know that they put some cement down there; but I don't know, maybe we could set up a fishing pool there. You know, one of those games where you fish for a prize. What do you think, Trixie?" Adagio turned her head, startled. Trixie, had now backed away several steps away from the spot where the hole was. As far away as she could, actually. Their friends were starting to notice her sudden fear as well. "Trixie? What's wrong?" Sonata asked. "Alright, sweetie, I'm really concerned now. Please, tell me what's bothering you," Adagio stepped up, cautiously walking towards her girlfriend. Trixie could only mutter. "I don't know, I don't know." Aria however didn't approach this with subtly. "Uh, yeah, you do. So come on and just tell us--" "NO! I CAN'T!!" Trixie had finally burst. She couldn't take it anymore, and she had exploded. But now the entire room had gone silent. Everyone who had been trying to help out with the party were now turning their heads to the one who had yelled. A stunned silence had fallen over the room. Finally overwrought, Trixie simply her face in her hands, embarrassed. Adagio frowned, "Oh, Trixie..." "Hey! Give her some room! Come on, back out, back out, take five guys!!" Aria shouted, trying to shoo everyone out of the room. And everyone did just that, they stopped working and moved down the hallway to the main foyer for some R&R. People began to clear out, partly due to Aria's order, and help from some others; Flash and Sandalwood, mainly. As they cleared, Adagio held her girlfriend close in attempt to comfort her. Hugging, kissing her head and just holding her close. "It's okay, it's okay..." Trixie was still upset, and was visibly whimpering. "No, it's not... I'm so sorry..." "No," Adagio firmly said, "no, you have nothing to apologize for, sweetie." "Mmm..." Trixie moaned, still feeling embarrassed. The couple continued to hug it out, holding each other in a sweet, tender embrace. Adagio rubbed Trixie's back reassuringly, trying to calm her down. Seeing that the area they were in wasn't such a good place to talk, Adagio and Trixie ended up moving from the room, moving into another into another part of the house. The other Dazzlings and the rest of their friends came close behind. Moving into the kitchen of the mansion, everyone sat down on some of the countertop chairs and other dining chairs in the room so they could talk. "Sweetie, are you sure that you're feeling better?" "A, a bit. It's just..." Trixie chewed on the words for a minute, before they came out. "It's just this house. I hate it, I got t-tricked into going here before and..." "Tricked?" Vinyl asked. "What in the world happened, luv?" Octavia queried. "Octavia, she doesn't have to--" "No, no. I'll - I'll tell you." "You will?" Sonata tilted her head. "Trixie, dear, you don't have to. Nobody here's forcing you to," Adagio comforted. Trixie took a deep breath and sighed. "No, it's all right. I, I should just get it off my chest... Sit down, and I'll tell you what happened..." Everyone took a seat in the chairs, as Trixie took a seat too. "Okay, so... it all began a few years ago, before I met any of you. I was 11 years old..." "I was a freshmen, just started 6th grade. And just like before when I met all of you guys, I was socially awkward, anxious, and shy." A little girl in a white T-shirt walked past some other freshmen, quietly moving past, idly by. No one ever saw her, no one looked at her. Compared to everyone else, she felt like she was the smallest person in the school, and was the only thing walking in the hallway. "No one liked me, no really had interest in me, I was just... there. I wasn't super athletic, or into sports like everyone else. I was more into fine arts and performing. While all the girls cheered during soccer or football games, I was in the school, playing a board game... by myself." "Now that's just sad," Vinyl stated. "I think that's kinda obvious," Sonata replied. "Girls! Please, Trixie. Continue." "Right, right... anyways." In a single empty classroom, a little girl just sat at one of the tables by her lonesome. She had an entire board game set up with all the cards and pieces out. But she didn't have anyone else around. She just had herself. Everyone else in the school were all gathered on the bleachers on the soccer field. While everyone was out there, cheering for their school's team to win the game against another school, cheerleaders cheering them on, Trixie stayed put. Soccer or other athletic activity wasn't really her cup of tea. And while she was happy to just be inside doing her own thing, she did miss the feeling of talking to someone instead of it being herself and/or her stuffed animals. Now once in a while there was another student or a teacher walking outside in the hallway, either to get some belongings or to check up on something, but for the most part they just let her be. She flipped the game board around so she could move the next player piece. Small tapping hit the plastic board as she moved through some of the spaces. But when she looked up, she could hear two people wandering through the hallway. Probably stopping to go to their lockers for their things. But as they were going down the hall, they stopped. Their heads turned to see the bespectacled girl sitting in the room by herself with no one to talk to or play with. One of them poked their heads into the room. A pale-purple skinned girl with blond hair poked her head through the door, accompanied by another one with much more darker skin and dark magenta hair. "Oh, uh, hey. Sorry, we didn't know there was someone else still here," the blond girl greeted. "T-That's... that's okay," Trixie stuttered. "Say um, what are you doing, actually? Shouldn't you be outside with everyone else?" "I-I'm... I'm not a... s-sports... fan." The blond girl shrugged. "Fair enough. To each their own." This time the purple decided to talk. "But isn't there anyone out there that you can talk to?" "Um... no." "Don't you have any friends here?" Trixie shook her head, sheepishly. "What about any sisters or brothers, do they go to school here?" She shook her head again. "I'm an only child." "Oh shoot, I'm sorry," the purple-haired girl said. "Oh, I'm Fuchsia. Fuchsia Blush. And this is my friend, Lavender Lace." "H-Hi," Trixie replied, sheepishly smiling. "I'm... I'm Trixie." "Oh, right, I remember, you're the new girl. Nice to meet you," Lavender said, opening a palm up to shake her hand. Trixie hesitated, but she slowly reached out and shook her hand, properly greeting her. "You're not much of a socializer, are you?" Fuchsia asked. "N-Not really, I'm um... I'm not good with talking to people," Trixie stammered. "You're talking to us, aren't you?" Lavender smiled. "I think you're doing just fine." Trixie blushed. "Heh..." "What are you playing, if you don't mind me asking?" Fuchsia asked, finally looking down at the board game in front of her. "M-Monopoly," Trixie said. "But shouldn't you be playing that with more people?" "Yeah, but I don't have anyone to play with, so I just play with myself," Trixie replied, sinking a bit in her chair. Lavender and Fuchsia looked with some small frowns. A moment of silence had hushed into the room. But after they looked to each other, the two of them were smiling with ideas. "Mind if we play with you?" Trixie blinked. "Y-You want to play with me?" "What fun is a game if you're playing by yourself?" Fuchsia asked. Trixie couldn't believe this was happening. They were actually offering to play a game with her, and not let her be all on her own. Not even sure what to say, she just slowly nodded, and the two girls pulled up chairs and gathered close, getting ready to play. "So who are you playing?" Lavender asked. "I picked the top hat," Trixie said, picking up the game piece. "Then I guess I'd like..." Lavender continued, looking at her options. "I think I'll play the car." "And I've got the thimble," Fuchsia picked. "Okay, so, let me just make sure I still know how this works..." Trixie said, picking up the instructions. "Um... okay, I think I've got it." "For the first time, I felt like I had finally made friends. Fuchsia and Lavender were there for me when I needed them, and they always made me happy. Whenever I was hurt, they were there. Whenever I needed some cheering up, they were there. If I needed a shoulder to cry on to mourn loss, they were there for me as well. And in turn, I was there for them as well." "So where exactly does the fear of the house come in?" Bon Bon asked, curious. "That's where we get to October, late Halloween night. I finally convinced my parents to let me go trick-or-treating alone, and so I joined up with Fuchsia and Lavender. We hit houses all over my neighborhood that night, but then... came the one house I would soon regret stepping into." The trio of trick-or-treaters skipped down the block, sporting out in their costumes with a massive amount of loot in their buckets. "So, where do we go next? Want to hit the Rich's house, I know that place is stocked with the motherlode of candy; Kinder Regels... mmm," Trixie smacked her lips, just thinking of that sweet candy. "Actually, there's some place I want to stop at real quick first. I think it could be fun," Lavender said. "What? What's that?" "This place!" Everyone's heads turned, gazing up at a mansion that had been boarded up. Trixie could feel a cliched lightning strike and thunder clap overhead the house, even though it never happened. Just the condemned outlook was enough to make her want to leave. "... Well we came here, we've seen it, lets go," Trixie said all at once. "Wait, Trixie, please. I just want to get inside that place real quick. Please? Its really important," Fuchsia begged. "For what?" Trixie asked. "I need to get some pictures for an art assignment. I'm supposed to do digital editing on an inside of a house, and I think this house is the best one! There's so much I could do with it!" "Oh..." The bespectacled dork whined. "Please? Just for a few minutes?" "Oh, alright..." Trixie moaned, questioning everything she was doing right now. "Great!" Lavender and Fuchsia got Trixie and they all ran into the house. Thankfully, the door hadn't been padlocked or even boarded up. So with a chance to get inside, they opened up the door and walked inside. Within, they could see a few tools like some sawing tables and scaffolding set up. "So what's going on in here?" Lavender asked. "Apparently this house is going through some renovations. The last people who owned this place said they wanted to turn it into a bed-and-breakfast or a party house." "How come? Why not just keep it a mansion?" Trixie asked, looking around at some of the scaffoldings in the dark. "Well... I'm not sure you should know," Fuchsia teased. "Fuchsia, come on, behave yourself. Just get your photos, and lets get going. I want to get home before 9:00." "Come on, just let me tell her, it's nothing." "Ugh, fine!" Lavender groaned. "Sooo... what's going on here?" Fuchsia giggled. "Well, I don't know how much you'd believe this, but... apparently a spirit lives here." Lightning flashed over her face when she said that statement. "Wait, what?" Trixie asked, concerned. "A ghost, a spirit. Apparently the last people who owned this house were moving in as it was under construction. They had a daughter as well, somewhere around our age. But unfortunately... during its construction, she died, falling through the floor. They found her in the basement, but... she died. And so, she was buried under the basement, and rumor has it, she still wanders to this day... in search of trespassers who walk into her house..." Trixie was shaking and trembling with every word of her story that had been told. "W-Was there anything that made her spirit stand out?" "Well, only thing I can really name was messy and raggedy hair, and glowing red eyes. But that's all I know, every time she's mentioned, people only see her body as nothing but a dark shadow. Like all over, you can't even tell if she's wearing anything," Fuchsia replied. "But its just a story." Trixie gulped, chuckling with fear. "R-Right... just a story..." "Oooh, perfect spot!" Fuchsia said, looking down a hall. "I'll just be right back, just wait right here. Plenty of moonlight, I think we can still see you." Fuchsia went running down the hall, looking to get a spot for her photography. Lavender rolled her eyes, groaning. "I better make sure she doesn't get lost. We won't be too long, I promise," Lavender said, running after Fuchsia. "But wait, can't I just--" Too late. Lavender had ran away, and she was now gone from the vicinity. "--follow. You?" Now the place had gotten scary. With Fuchsia and Lavender long gone, the entire room became a horror show. The only sounds that she could hear were the sounds of the wind blowing outside, and some of the minor sounds of the house. Small creaks in the floor, a few soft sounds of little nails dropping. It was so dark, she couldn't see a thing, only the light from the moon provided her some light. Trixie's heart pounded against her chest when she saw how alone she really was. "Okay... its not bad, its okay. Its just a house under construction," Trixie's teeth chattered. But the next sound that came after didn't reassure her. She heard a very odd sound, like a door just slowly pushing open. Her body drew cold, looking to the source. But it wasn't from the main door, and she couldn't see any doors open or close in her vision. She didn't recall seeing or feeling any doors nearby. But she could hear one down all the way the hall. She gulped. "Lavender? Fuchsia?" She cried. No reply. "Ohh... I don't want to go down there," Trixie whimpered. She slowly started to walk to the hall, but it quickly turned into a run. She pulled out her trusty flashlight, and shined a light down the hall, starting to run through it as she ran to the set of double doors ahead. She pushed them open, greeted to some more light from the moon shining in. She could see a giant empty room, very much like a gala, or a ballroom. It was a mess! Floor was broken up, parts and broken pieces of wall and pipes were everywhere, it was no wonder how someone could have walked in there. "Lavender? Fuchsia? Please, come on, this isn't funny! Where are you two!?" Trixie wailed. She took a step back, but then she heard the sound of a crunch. That wasn't from her foot. Someone was there. Someone made that crunch. And it came from behind her. Recognizing all that would go wrong if she did, she turned around to see who was there. And when she turned-- "BOO!!!" "AAAHHH!!!" Trixie screamed at the top of her lungs, and she fell on her back, slamming into the floor. But even worse, was she could hear the floor under her, start to crack. She felt it shake and rumble under her, and instinctively she rose up to try and get away. But before she knew it, part of the floorboards she fell on started to fall apart and fell from under her. She screamed when they broke, her arms clutching onto the edge of the ground. "Trixie!" And quickly, a pair of arms grabbed her and pulled her up just as the rest of the floorboards disintegrated. As she was finally on solid ground, she took a giant run away from it, and looked back. Fuchsia and Blush were the ones who had saved her. But then it hit her. They were also the ones who scared her. "Trixie, are you okay?" Lavender asked. Trixie wasn't okay. In fact, she didn't even know what to say right now. What could she say to a friend who had done a stunt like that that almost got you killed? She felt like someone had beat her up, hard. A pain that emitted in her heart. A pain that started to make tears in her eyes water. "No, no, Trixie, wait, I can--" "No! I don't want an explanation! Just leave me alone and never talk to me again!" Trixie ran out of the ballroom, and pushed through the doors. Fuchsia and Lavender followed too, chasing her down the hall. Surprisingly, Trixie's speed was picking up and theirs was slowing down. Trixie must have been really determined if she was going to try and run away from those two. The dork pushed through the front door and "Wait, Trixie, please!" Lavender cried out. "Come back, its okay! Its just us!" But it was too late. She was long gone. Just like magic, Trixie had ran far as she could, away from Lavender and Fuchsia. Their hearts snapped when they saw the tear stains on her face, all of that fear that she was clearly showing. They had no intention of scaring her like that, not to the point of making her cry. That's not what they wanted at all. They wanted to chase after, to give her a big hug just to calm her down. But neither of them could muster the courage to get up and chase after her. "Oh, Trixie..." Lavender's soul crushed. "What have we done...?" Trixie didn't look back to even hear them speak. She just ran... and ran... and ran. Tears running behind, all of her loot gone. Gone into the night... "And just like that... something that should have been fun became my nightmare. I couldn't sleep for a week after that day. And after that... I was scared to even try and make a new friend, worried that I would be tricked into something like that again, and repeat a near-death experience..." A silence was in the room. A breathless, shocked, silence as everyone processes what they were just told. "Oh, Trixie... I am so sorry..." Adagio opened her arms and pulled Trixie into a much needed hug. She wrapped her arms around her adorkable lover, letting Trixie breathe heavily as she tried to calm herself down. Sonata didn't say anything. She couldn't even find anything to say. All she could do was cup her hands over her mouth, looking appalled, and with some small tears forming in her eyes. Aria was just as appalled as Sonata, only she looked more furious than she was sad. If she could yell, she would. But upon noticing her upset sister, she killed the urge within to scream at the top of her lungs. She turned her attention to Sonata, putting a supporting arm around her younger sister and giving her a reassuring hug. Lyra was speechless. "I - I never knew..." Bon-Bon, was seething. "I swear, if I ever run into those - those girls again..." Bon Bon then whispered something unintelligible, probably some swear words included. "I think you can call them worse than that," Octavia hissed. "Octy..." Vinyl frowned, just as appalled. Octavia frowned as well, and she and Vinyl squeeze hands, a gesture of quick reassurance between them, as Adagio and Trixie finally broke from the hug. "Sweetie, what happened all those years ago was awful. Nothing like that should have happened, especially to a little girl." Trixie sighed. "Look, what happened all those years ago is in the past." "And?" "... no that's really all I got, its just all happened in the past." "But still, something doesn't seem right. Didn't you ever talk to those girls after that?" "No, never. I couldn't stand to face them after that, I just couldn't!" "Hmm... Well then I think I can." "What? Adagio, what do you mean?" Trixie asked. Adagio stood up. "Tomorrow, I'm doing a little hunting. I need to have a little chat with Lavender and Fuchsia. And this time... the seduction is going to work."