//------------------------------// // Frights At Midnight // Story: The Great and Daydreaming Trixie's Adventures // by ShadeJak //------------------------------// “The past of the town of Hollow Shades remains the source of many an old ponies’ tale to this day,” the Equestrian Lore teacher explained before the class of young unicorn fillies. Trixie had studiously attempted to take notes whenever she took time away from doodling in her parchment. She admittedly did enjoy the spooky stories, but the teacher had the speech pattern of somepony who hadn’t slept in days and it was losing the filly’s interest quickly. “The Headless Horse is a very well-known campfire story, it is said it sometimes patrols the streets of this dreary town at night, drawn to the supernatural energies supposedly emanating its vast, intimidating Midnight Manor that remains hidden away within the woods at the far corner of the town. Nopony goes near it, and some say it’s haunted, and that its former owner still dwells there, walking its halls and continuing life beyond the grave…” Trixie’s interest was finally and truly piqued despite the monotone of the instructor. She’d heard the tales of the Headless Horse ever since her dad told it on a camping trip a few years ago, but this one was new to her. Immediately the filly raised her hoof. “Yes, Miss…” the teacher looked at the roll call sheet, it still being the second day and having yet to become completely accustomed to names. “…Lulamoon?” “What kind of pony lived there?” Trixie asked. “Well, there’s a lot of tales around it,” the teacher explained. “Some say she died long ago, having lived back before the banishment of Princess Luna. Very little is actually known about her when she was alive, only that she inherited the manor from a long family line that chose to live there rather then Canterlot to distance themselves from other pony nobles after Equestria’s founding. Being very reclusive, she gained many rumors, including one where she was a sympathizer of Princess Luna’s treachery, due to her having a fondness for the night. In fact, they say that was the only time anypony ever saw her.” “Like a vampire?” Trixie asked, eyes wide with curiosity, only to sink a little at several giggles from her classmates. “Well, there are some who claim that, but as I said, very little is known fact and most is old ponies’ tales. While it is true the batponies that used to function as Princess Luna’s personal court took residence in the once-abandoned town after her banishment, perhaps due to its almost permanently overcast skies appealing to their nocturnal nature, next to nothing is known about the unicorn Countess’s manor. Some claim their distant ancestors served her in life, and that the manor is in fact, haunted, but it may just be silly boasts for all we know,” the teacher replied. “Hmph, who would be so desperate for attention they’d boast about things that aren’t true?” Trixie mused with an eyeroll. Still, an actual vampire pony and a haunted manor would be neat to learn about, even through such a sleepy, tiring monotone like the teacher was using was beginning to lose her again… ~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Nopony dared visit the notorious Midnight Manor, a massive and imposing estate that competed with the Castle of the Two Sisters in terms of sheer size and was said to be haunted. Even the batponies who lived in the dark town of Hollow Shades wouldn’t go too close to it, fearing the Countess Midnight Shade, the final heir to the noble family that had founded the town generations before its current residents moved in, still roamed its halls and preyed on anypony foolish enough to enter her home. But that was about to end, once and for all. For the Great and Fearless exorcist and monster hunter Trixie Van Horsing intended to enter the manor and put a stop to the undead countess’s reign of terror over the town! “Are you really so sure about this?” the aging batpony bartender asked as he slid the black-cloaked, fedora-topped unicorn filly a glass of milk. Within the tavern, several other batponies that had once talked amongst each other had now put their full attention on the blue filly; some of them snickering at her preposterous claim, others fearful she would go through with it. “Trixie Van Horsing fears nothing! Not ghosts and goblins, nor ghouls and ghosts! For too long has this town lived in a shadow of fear from that manor, the Countess Midnight Shade must be laid to rest for good!” the filly declared, tossing back her cloak and revealing the belt and straps she wore that held celestial water, a sun talisman, and a crossbow. “Even the most foolish ponies haven’t dared go past its gates, young filly,” the batpony warned, a crash of thunder and lightning went off outside as if to emphasize his words more ominously. “But if you are so confident… or foolhardy… to enter, I advise you work fast, for come midnight hour she is said to awaken from her grave!” “I will find her and end her before she can!” Trixie declared proudly, floating up the glass of milk and chugging it down. “Then beware, it is said the manor is full of many perils, and no doubt she will be well-hidden,” the bartender replied as Trixie hopped down from her barstool and started for the door. “Trixie Van Horsing wouldn’t have it any other way,” the filly said with a confident smile as she walked out the tavern door. ~ The gigantic manor of black stone and metal spires loomed over the young monster hunter like a towering demon; its many windows barred shut or cracked here and there and its iron gates laying open as if inviting any fool to enter. As she drew ever-closer, Trixie could feel a chill forming in her body, defying her claims of being fearless. The windows, for an instant, were illuminated by a strange, teal light as if something were there, but it was gone as quickly as it had come. The filly shook her head, refusing to let this stop her. Ponies depended on her success against the evil vampire Countess and she would deliver! Lightning crackled across the sky, a crash of thunder followed. Trixie watched as the eyes on the dragonlike face that served as a door knocker glowed and the door suddenly opened itself with a loud creak. Cautiously, the filly entered, looking around the main hall but seeing very little due to the darkness. A loud thump was heard behind her, causing Trixie to turn and discover the door had slammed shut and trapped her inside. In another flash of lightning, Trixie could see a large, unused chandelier above her. Narrowing her eyes and feeling the place could use some illumination, the filly charged up her magic and fired a blast of light at it, lighting all the candles above and getting rid of the darkness, allowing her a far better look at her surroundings. The main hall boasted a dusty, white tile floor covered in red carpet, though it was worn and dirty from centuries of neglect. A pair of suits of armor stood on either side of a great stairway that lead to the next floor, each with their foreleg around a spear and covered in cobwebs. At the top of the stairs was a great portrait of two wealthy unicorn nobles, both in upper-crust finery and regalia of the older days of Equestria. The stallion stood in a regal pose, the mare embracing an unseen foal wrapped in a crimson bundle. Their eyes both had a cold, almost condescending gaze that matched the frowns beneath them, as if glaring down at any who entered. Ascending the stairs, Trixie placed her hoof on the portrait. “The parents of the Countess… how appropriate. If only they’d have known what their daughter would become,” Trixie said, before noticing an inscription beneath it on a gold plate. A secret that this manor keeps, down below from the sun its Countess sleeps! At midnight’s call, she comes out to prey. Where she cannot be seen, will be found the way! Trixie rubbed her chin with her hoof. “Where she cannot be seen, will be found the way?” she wondered aloud, only for her thoughts to suddenly be interrupted by a strange wisp of light that flew down from above and circled her. “Back, spirit!” Trixie ordered, and as if in response, the ghostly orb flew towards one of the suits of armor and entered it. The armor suddenly shook, its helmet that served as its head turning completely around and teal light glowing from its eyeholes. Without a word, it began to walk up the stairs towards the filly. “Back, I say!” Trixie yelled, firing blasts of magic at it that seemed to do very little to deter its advance. Bathed in an ethereal teal light, the armor’s spear hovered up next to it before shooting forward at the filly, who’d barely leaped out of the way in time and avoided getting impaled. The animated armor grunted and swung its metal hoof at Trixie, who quickly guarded with a magic barrier. As the metal monstrosity continued to beat against her barrier, the young monster hunter crouched down, ready to make a move and deactivated it. The instant her barrier went down, Trixie floated out her sun talisman from her bag and hovered it in front of herself. The possessed suit of armor began to back away, as if warded off by the gold talisman. Grinning, Trixie used her magic to send it at the armor, and the moment it impacted against its chest, a bright light erupted from the openings of its metal body before it collapsed in a lifeless heap. “That takes care of that. Now to find the Countess!” Trixie declared, galloping down the hallway to the right of the portrait and using her magic to light the candles along the way to ensure she would not get lost. As she continued, the young monster hunter discovered several closed doors on each side, and no certainty of which to open first. Moving her forehoof at each door, Trixie deduced through eeny-meeny-miney-mo to go through the second door from the end on her left and opened it. A snarling ghost pony emerged instantly, its eyes glowing a same teal light as the previous spirit she'd encountered as it flew at her. In a panic, Trixie rushed into the door behind her, only to discover herself back in the hallway emerging from the fourth door on the left, the ghost still in hot pursuit but now with two others having joined it. Gritting her teeth as she ran as quickly as possible, Trixie used her magic to open the door ahead of herself and ran in, only to find herself back in the hallway emerging out of a door at the end on the right side with her pursuers now having been joined by another suit of possessed armor. Rushing down the hall to a different door, Trixie used her magic to open it and then found herself once more back in the hallway, only this time the supernatural creatures pursuing her were now the pursued. They paused as if realizing this and turned, snarling at the filly and rushing at her again, prompting her to retreat back into the door she came out of and upon finding herself again brought into the hallway, Trixie stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of a double of herself emerging from the door mirroring her shocked expression before both immediately retreated back the way they came. Finding herself in the hallway yet again, Trixie found she was alone this time and let out a sigh of relief. “Well, that was certainly interesting!” the filly mused, when suddenly all the doors but the one on the end also opened, revealing ghost ponies and animated armor suits that quickly advanced upon her. “Enough of this!” Trixie bellowed, not wishing to get caught up in another bizarre chase and once more floating out her talisman. The supernatural beings froze in their tracks and recoiled, driven back as Trixie smirked at them. “If you’ll excuse her, Trixie Van Horsing now has a meeting with your master!” she declared, quickly using her magic to open the door behind her and rushed in, closing it right away. Looking around at where she’d ended up, Trixie discovered she had found herself in front of a winding stairway leading up, a series of windows showing the thunderstorm outside along its side. Taking a deep breath, the filly galloped up the stairs, ascending as fast as she could to reach their top. Surely this would lead her to the answer of the Countess’ riddle! Seconds later, Trixie Van Horsing found herself standing before another door, the sound of water beating against it suggesting she would be finding herself outside. Opening it with her magic, Trixie found herself emerging from a decrepit tower and onto a narrow stone bridge connecting to another part of the manor’s roof where the entrance to what she gathered was its personal clock tower awaited. Galloping across the bridge, Trixie paused as a flock of bats suddenly flew out from underneath, fluttering around her in a panic. “No! Away, foul creatures!” Trixie ordered, curling up to shield herself from the frenzied animals long enough to light up her horn as brightly as possible and drive them off. In a wonderous flash of light, the bats immediately backed off and flew away as quickly as they could, leaving the young monster hunter by herself once more. Satisfied, the filly stood back up and raised her hoof proudly in triumph. “Ha-ha! Trixie Van Horsing triumphs again! Is that all you can muster, evil Countess of the night?” she declared, only to be answered by a sinister whinny. Her eyes widened as she slowly turned, and there behind her stood a looming figure of a horse without a head! "...Trixie had to go and say that..." she muttered nervously. The Headless Horse pawed at the stone roof, preparing to charge at her. Trixie, however, did not give it a chance to do so as she immediately galloped for the doorway ahead of her and opened it, closing it behind her as fast as she could while her new pursuer broke into a gallop of its own. The filly leaned against the door as she heard the entity’s hooves beating violently against it from the other side. She knew she couldn’t stay here all night, not when she had a vampire to slay! Her expression brightened, however, when she noticed a fallen plank of wood in the room she’d ended up in and floated it into the bar hooks on the door, closing it effectively and allowing her to move away from it. The pounding continued, however, prompting the filly to run as fast as she could up the creaking stairs overlooking the old clock’s inactive gears. As she stood at the top of the stairs, a massive bell hung lifelessly before her, connected to the face of the clock that made up its only window. It did not appear as though there was any other way out except where the Headless Horse was currently trying to get in. A fact which quickly changed when Trixie heard the sound of doors splintering as their assailant bucked them down. She shuddered as she heard the Headless Horse approaching, trying to think of what to do next and looked through her things. The crossbow would do no good, and the talisman was unlikely to scare away something that didn’t have eyes, or a head for that matter. She then recalled the small jar of celestial water she’d brought, and an idea came. Smiling, she floated out the jar and smashed it at the top of the stairs her pursuer would be reaching any minute now and waited. Five seconds later, the Headless Horse did not disappoint as its neck rose into view, followed by the rest of it as it took its first step onto the floor where the filly waited for it. The moment it did, the spirit’s hoof began to smoke, and suddenly luminous blue flames erupted from it after. The Headless Horse recoiled for a moment, as if confused by what had happened before attempting to advance once more. As it did, however, smoke once more began to rise from its hooves, then up its legs and body with increasing intensity as it attempted to reach its prey. Trixie began to back away, but before the terrible specter could reach her, blue flames erupted all over its body. The Headless Horse reared back in agony, letting out one last terrible whinny before vanishing in a flash of sacred fire. Letting out a sigh of relief, the filly took a step back, and noticed the odd echo of loose wood under her hooves. Climbing away from the old rug and brushing it aside with her magic, Trixie discovered a trap door underneath. Smiling, she nudged the bar lock loose and floated the door open with her magic, discovering a small stairway underneath. “Prepare yourself, Countess, for the brave and remarkable Trixie Van Horsing draws ever-closer!” she declared proudly as she quickly descended the stairs, her horn lighting the way as it lead her down to a door she discovered upon opening lead to an incredibly posh bedroom. Looking around, it was rather well-kept in comparison to the rest of the manor, with a polished gold bed frame boasting a plush red mattress and canopy, along with a mahogany dresser, a painting mostly covered by a curtain, and most curiously of all, a large mirror. “Hm, by Trixie’s assumption, this would be the Countess’ bedroom when she was alive. But why keep it so clean? And why have a mirror when vampires have no reflection?” she wondered aloud. “Wait… where she cannot be seen, will be found the way!” she said, excitement building with every word and causing a small squeal of glee to escape the young monster hunter as she approached the mirror. It was embedded into the wall, so she would not have been able to move it aside. With no other option available, Trixie used her magic to float a chair at the mirror and shattered it completely, revealing a hidden passageway behind it. “And this must be the way to the evil vampire pony’s crypt!” she announced, floating out her crossbow and galloping down the stairs the passage lead to. ~ The further she went, the more dank and cavernous the place seemed to become, as though it had brought her to a basement or cave under the manor; indeed a perfect place for a vampire to hide from the sun were it to ever shine here. At the bottom of the stairs she found herself in a spacious tomb, the faint chattering of bats could be heard on the ceiling above, though none of them seemed to acknowledge her presence. A few stone caskets lay on either side of the thin path going down the middle, leading to an ornate, crimson coffin with yellow gold trim around the edges. By her guess, this was the resting place of the feared vampire Countess Midnight Shade. Approaching the coffin, the filly grinned widely as she knew her quest had finally reached its end, and now all that remained was to remove the lid and pierce the heart of the creature laying within with her silver crossbow bolt. “At long last, Countess, your reign of evil shall—” RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNGGG!!! The tiny red and gold alarm clock sitting next to the coffin went off impossibly loudly like a… ~o~o~o~o~o~o~ …School bell’s ringing, causing Trixie to jerk up in her seat, awake and noticing other students floating all their things into their bags and hurrying out the door. Staring down at the doodles of herself as a monster hunter and several ghost ponies and bats on her parchment, Trixie let out an annoyed sigh as she quickly used her magic to gather them into her saddleback and head out the door to her next class. The daydreams she’d been having had been so much more exciting then this class had been, for the most part; of that much, the filly was certain! “Stupid vampire alarm clock…” she grumbled to herself, vowing to be a more successful hero next time.