G5 Adventures in Hocus Pocus

by ponydog127

Enter the Sanderson Sisters

As the group entered the house, they were in awe to see it looking as fancy on the inside as on the outside. Pipp and Zipp were heavily reminded of home upon seeing it, but didn't want anyone in Salem to learn of their princess title until it was relevant.

On the table next to the group was a small, plastic cauldron, probably to go with a witch’s costume, with boatloads of candy inside, making Dani’s eyes grow wide. “Jackpot!”

“Ooh, this is fantastic unicycling!” Izzy said as they got some candy out of the bowl. “Whoever lives here must have excellent taste.”

“Max Dennison.”

Everyone looked up at the sudden voice, and a young girl in a Victorian era dress came down the stairs, smiling at them. Max's eyes widened... he knew this girl-- the same one he tried to speak to earlier that day. “Allison...”

“Ohhh... that's Allison, huh?” Hesperia said jokingly as Allison came down the stairs and spoke up again. “I thought you weren’t into Halloween.”

“I’m not, I’m just taking my little sister, Dani, around with her friends.”

“Hello!” Izzy waved cheerfully, and Allison looked surprised among seeing them, but still smiled and waved back before turning to Max again. “Well, that's nice.”

“I always do it.”

“My parents made him,” Dani said. “But they don't know Hesperia and the ponies exist.”

“We would, uh, appreciate it if you didn’t tell anypony else about us, Allison,” Sunny said politely. “We’re not gonna be here for a long time, and we don’t wanna attract too much attention.”

“Oh, sure thing,” Allison said with a nod, surprisingly calm
“Would any of you like some cider?”

“Yes, please!”/”No.”

Allison turned to prepare five cups of cider— one for herself, one for Max, one for Sunny, one for Izzy and one for Pipp. “Ooh, thanks!” Pipp sipped her cider. “So, how’s the party life?”

“Boring. It’s just a bunch of my parent’s friends. They do this every year. I’ve got candy duty,” Allison explained before turning to Max’s little sister. “By the way, Dani, I love your costume.”

“Thank you,” Dani said politely. “I really like yours too. Of course, I couldn’t wear anything like that because I don’t have any… what do you call them Max? Yabbos?”

Max nearly choked on his drink while Allison laughed in amusement. “Max likes your yaboos. In fact, he loves ‘em.”

“Dani, uh… that’s a little bit of a sensitive topic for a kid your age,” Zipp chuckled nervously. “We need to talk about that later.”

“I’m really into witches,” Allison said to get off the topic. “Really? Me too!” Dani said enthusiastically. “We just learned about those sisters in school.”

“You mean the Sanderson Sisters?” Allison asked, causing Dani to nod. “I know all about them, my mom used to run the museum.”

“There’s a museum about them?” Sunny asked, her history loving side showing through her wide eyes. “Yeah,” Hesperia nodded. “But they had to shut it down due to some spooky things happening there. Too much of a spooky place if you ask me.”

“Well, why don’t we go to this old Sanderson house?” Max suggested, but Dani shook her head violently in response, Hesperia doing the same thing. But Max being Max, he decided to ignore his little sister's warning, too focused on Allison and her beauty. “Well come on, make a believer out of me.”

After a moment, Allison seemed to agree. “Okay, let me change. They’ll never miss me.”

After Allison went back up the stairs, Dani pulled her brother close. “Max, I’m not going up there. My friends at school told me all about that place. It’s weird.”

“Maybe Dani’s right, Max,” Zipp frowned. “If both Dani and Hesperia are worried about that place, maybe it's not such a good idea to go.”

“But guys,” Max argued, “this is the girl of my dreams.”

“So?” Dani asked. “Take her to the movies like a normal person.”

“Dani!” Max said roughly to get his sister's attention. “Look, just do this one thing for me and I’ll do anything you say. Please? Please?!”

Dani seemed to think on it a moment before coming up with the perfect idea. “Next year we go trick-or-treating as Wendy and Peter Pan, with tights, or it’s no deal.”

Max, in a million years, would never agree to such a thing if there wasn’t an extenuating circumstance lingering with it. As Dani was about to turn away, Max quickly grabbed her arm. “Okay, okay, deal! Deal.”

Dani smiled and patted her brother's arm, and Sunny and her friends glanced at each other with the same look on their faces. And it was a look that told them that this wasn't gonna turn out well.

XXXXXXXX

After Allison had gotten changed, they left the party and walked to the outskirts of town, where Allison was explaining the history of the cottage as they approached. “Legend has it that the bones of a hundred children are buried within these walls.”

“Oh, great…” Hitch shuddered. “It’s like the witch’s ghost mystery all over again!”

As soon as the group approached the gate of the house, Misty immediately got a bad feeling that centered in her gut. This looked too much like Opaline territory, and it wasn’t something she felt comfortable in.

But, she didn't want to let her friends down either... so nevertheless, she ventured inside with the others. Sunny and Hitch pushed open the gate, and when they got to the cottage door, Allison pushed it open, leading them into the pitch black house. “I can hardly see a thing!” Zipp said, struggling to see. “Well there’s a light switch around here somewhere,” Allison said as they stumbled around in the darkness. That's when Max found a display of lighters and plucked one out, lighting it. “Found a lighter.”

“Misty and I will help too!” Izzy said, and the two unicorns lit their horns to help Max get to Allison. Thanks to their light, Allison found and flicked the light switch, illuminating the entire cottage. “Whoa...” Sunny said with wide eyes. “Check this out, ponies!”

“Yeesh… looks like it needs a dusting,” Hitch brushed some dust off his hooves after wiping the shelves. “Here’s the original cauldron, and upstairs is where they slept,” Allison showed the group around. Izzy took another step, but turns out it was a bad board, causing her to nearly fall below the floor, but luckily, Pipp quickly pulled her back. “Careful where you step, guys,” the diva pegasus advised. “These floors look really old.”

The group took extra precautions as they neared a display case close to them, unaware that lurking green feline eyes were watching them. “This is the spellbook of Winifred Sanderson,” Hesperia pointed out, a little interested in the book's history. “It was given to her by the devil himself. The book is bound with human skin, and contains recipes for her most powerful and evil spells.”

“I get the picture,” Dani told the griffin. That’s when Max's eyes fell upon a candle in the corner. “What’s that?”

“Oh...” Allison whispered to make it seem more obvious. “It's the Black Flame Candle.”

Max walked over to the plaque below the candle and read the information out loud. “Black Flame Candle. Made from the fat of a hangman. Legend says that on a full moon it will raise the spirits of the dead when lit by a virgin on Halloween night.”

“Ugh... too creepy if you ask me,” Hitch shuddered in fright... just as Max brought out his lighter with a mischievous smirk. “So let’s light the sucker and meet the old broads.”

The ponies, Hesperia and Dani instantly shook their heads, but Max seemed to dismiss this as he glanced at Allison. “Wanna do the honors?”

“No thanks.”

Max shrugged, but before he could light the match, the same black cat that was watching them from the outside ran up from behind him and tackled him, frightening the group for a moment before Max threw the cat off him with a yell. “Stupid cat!”

“Okay, Max, you’ve had your fun. It’s time to go,” Dani said, clearly startled. “Come on, guys.”

“Max, I think she might be right,” Sunny said. “Let's go.”

“Oh, come on,” Max rolled his eyes. “It’s just a bunch of hocus pocus.”

The ponies, Allison and Dani quickly spun around at that. “Max, I’m not kidding this time! It’s time to go!” Dani tried to warn, but Max simply ignored her and lit the lighter. “Max, no!!”

Max directed the flame from the lighter toward the candle, lighting it. But, as soon as he did, the flame went from its orange-yellow glow to a coal-colored flame, causing Dani to cover her eyes and the ponies to gulp. “Uh oh…”

Suddenly, the electronic flame-looking lights in the chandeliers began to burst, making the group easily frightened as a strong wind began to blow and the entire cottage went dark. As the group began to move around again, the entire cottage began rumbling and green light moved throughout the floors, causing the friends to scream and hold on as tightly to the nearest object they could find. When it all seemed to clear, everyone panted to catch their breath. “Uh… what just happened?” Hitch asked as he and Zipp got up, and Dani put on her hat again. “A virgin,” she directed a glare toward Max, “lit the candle.”

Misty blinked in confusion. “A what?”

“But wait...” Sunny trailed off, thinking about what the info about the candle said earlier. “If the candle was lit by a virgin, doesn't that mean...?”

The remnants of the electronic lights suddenly sparked into real flames, and even the fire under the cauldron sparked to life. A cackle rang through the air, causing everyone's hairs on their necks to stand on end. That meant they had to do only one thing.

Hide!

Everyone dove in different hiding places as the door flew open to reveal three witches gone for the past 300 years… the Sanderson Sisters themselves. “We are home!” Winifred declared with a smirk as her sisters jumped around in celebration. “Oh, sweet revenge! Do you see, sisters? My curse worked perfectly!”

“That's because thou art perfect, Winnie,” Mary told her sister as the group peeked out from hiding. They couldn't believe their eyes-- the Sanderson sisters were back! As Mary rambled on about how she knew she left the cauldron boiling, Sarah reached up into the loft thanks to a stool and pulled down a long skinny object. “My lucky rat tail!” she exclaimed. “Just where I left it!”

“Blech... they're like Opaline, but worse!” Misty shuddered. “And... a little stupider.”

“But who lit the Black Flame Candle?” Winifred looked over at the candle for a moment before turning to her book in the glass case, tapping the glass until it opened its eye. “Wake up! Wake up, sleepy head,” she said. “Oh, I’ve missed you. Did you miss me too? Come on now, we’ve got work to do.”

“Winnie?” Mary called. “Yes?” Winifred turned to the sister in question, who replied back, “I… smell… children.”

This made the entire group in question sink further back into their hiding places, praying they would not be seen. “Sick ‘em!” Winifred spat, and Mary began to follow her nose toward Dani and Pipp's hiding place. “It's a little girl,” Mary said as she sniffed. “Seven... maybe eight... and a half.”

Pipp found it strange that the middle sister didn't smell her in any way, but was too scared for Dani to be worried. “Ooh, let us play with her!” Sarah said joyously, beginning to sing the same tune that she used on Emily Binx:

Come, little children
I'll take thee away
In--

Fortunately, Winifred covered her younger sister’s mouth before anymore could be sung. “Come out my dears. We will not harm thee,” she called out, putting on her most sickening-sweet voice. “We love children!”

Mary slapped her hand upon the counter, causing Pipp and Dani to yelp and pop out of hiding. The sisters looked at them in surprise, before Pipp and Dani each put on a distinguished face, but Pipp was the first to speak. “We thought thou would never come, sisters.”

“Greetings, little ones,” Winifred greeted sinisterly. “Twas we who brought you back,” Dani fibbed, making Winifred gulp down her words. “Imagine… such a pretty little… child. And what a darling young... pony too.”

“And they’re so well fed, aren’t they?” Mary laughed as she poked at the two girls, causing them to shriek. Zipp and Max found their anger rising from their hiding places. How could those sisters be so... so... disgusting and ruthless?! “Tell me, dumplings,” Winifred took Dani by the hand while Sarah nudged Pipp forward. “What is the year?”

“1993,” Dani answered, and the witches gasped in surprise. “Sisters…” Winifred pushed Dani into a chair, and Sarah pushed Pipp onto her bottom. “We have been gone… 300 years.”

“Well, Winnie, how time flies,” Mary chuckled. “When you’re dead!” Sarah exclaimed, and Dani laughed alongside the sisters, with the most faked laughter in the world... until she noticed the sisters glaring down at them. “Well, it's been fun,” Pipp said nervously, “but, uh... I better take Dani home before it gets too late.”

“Oh, stay for supper,” Winifred nudged them back down. “I'm... I'm... I'm not hungry,” Dani shook her head. “Oh… but we are!” Mary said just before the witches grabbed them and started to take them over to the cauldron.

As their sisters screamed, Zipp and Max finally reached their breaking point, leaping out of hiding. “HEY!!” Max shouted angrily. “Let go of my little sister.”

“And my sister!” Zipp snarled as the other ponies came out of hiding. “You have NO idea who you're dealing with!”

“Roast ‘em, Winnie!” Mary encouraged. “No, let me,” Sarah volunteered. “Let me play with them!”

Raising her hands to the sky, Winifred summoned some electricity before shooting it at the group, and while the ponies and Hesperia were able to get out of the way, the blast knocked Max to the floor. “You-- there!” Winifred used her lightning to slam Hitch and Izzy into the wall. “MAX!!” Dani screamed and tried to go to her brother, but Mary kept a firm grip on her while Sarah kept a steady grip on Pipp, and Winifred used her lightning to levitate Max into the air, with the intention of frying him to a crisp. “Quick!” Sunny cried to the others as they managed to slip by the witches. “We have to do something!”

Izzy pulled a loose board from out of nowhere before rushing over to the witches. “Hey, witch-face!” she cried, causing Mary to turn around. And as soon as she did, Izzy hit her so hard with the bat she went unconscious, and this caused Pipp to kick herself away from Sarah.

Once she was away from the witches, Dani grabbed her candy bag and rushed to her brother's aid. “You leave my brother alone!!”

She quickly hit Winifred with her candy bag and Winifred went down. Max was released from the wall, falling to the floor, where Misty and Hitch rushed to his aid, just as the cat attacked Winifred.

Once the others had safely left the building, Zipp helped Max up to the top of the loft to finally confront the witches. “HEY!!” Max shouted, causing the witches to look up. “You have messed with the great and powerful Max, and now must suffer the consequences. I summon the burning rain of death.”

The witches turned to one another in confusion, just as Max lit the lighter when they weren’t looking, making the witches think he made fire. Then, Max lifted the flame to the sprinklers, which caused them to turn on and drench the witches, who fled under shelter in terror. “Ha! That’s what you call ‘drowned with terror’!” Zipp joked. But as they climbed down from the loft, they slipped on a puddle of water and fell right on top of each other. The cat that attacked Max earlier then approached them with a stern look on its feline face. “Nice going, Max.”

“Y-You can talk?!” Max froze with wide eyes. “Yeah, no kidding,” the cat rolled its eyes. “Now, get the spellbook!” However, the two were too stunned to move, so the cat meowed loudly and swatted at them to get them moving again. “Come on! Move it!”

“Max!” Zipp called. “Use this to break the case!”

She tossed Max a large pole, which he used to shatter the glass, much to Winifred’s horror, and grab the spellbook from it, just before the group made their escape, joining the cat before they ran after him to a safer place. “Confound it!” Winifred snarled. But then, she noticed something odd about this ‘burning rain of death’-- it was just water!

Mary stuck out her tongue and drank some water that rained down from above. “Most refreshing.”

“Yoy idiots! The boy and ponies have tricked us!” Winifred shouted to her sisters. “And they’ve stolen the book! After them!”

The sisters followed them outside, when they stopped after exiting the cottage gates, seeing the road in front of them, not recognizing it right away. “Tis a b-black river,” Mary trembled. “Perhaps it is not too deep,” Sarah said. To make sure, Mary and Winifred pushed Sarah onto the road, making her realize it was as firm as stone. “Why, it’s a road!” Winifred said as the youngest sister jumped around. “Sisters, my book!”

They began to march down the road when flashing lights and sirens made them scream and bolt back to the cottage. Boy, were they gonna have to adjust to this modern age before they took anyone’s lives…

Comments

[Lucasnike123]

I don't want to complain, but I would have put this title:

The Return of the Sanderson Sisters.

---

And also, for Sunny's cheerleader costume, I would have added "zombie style" to make her a "zombie cheerleader", like Genormica mencioned in the Halloween short of the movie "Monsters vs Aliens"

What you think?