In attempt to get over tramautic pasts, the Dazzlings regale in a tale of Sleepy Hollow...
Its Halloween, and everyone is excited for the big nightmare night to come! All except for Trixie. With a Halloween party in need of preparing, and knowing full of the location of the party is being hosted, a tramautic memory from Trixie's childhood returns to haunt her. But with hopes to get her back in the Halloween spirit, the Dazzlings regale in a tale; The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow.
Please Note: Reading the previous stories or other entries are not required to understand this story.
Special Thanks goes to Scholary-Cimmerian and Bricklayer for all of their help when I needed it. Thank you guys.
The feeling of summer had come and now it was gone. September had long gone by and now it was reaching near the end of October. Now the weather was starting to change into a blissful cold, an environment everyone in Canterlot was trying to adjust to. Not only that, but even the trees were changing too. Once green and full of life, now descending into yellows, oranges, and reds.
Around the city and in town, people were setting up for the big nightmare night itself, Halloween! Costume shops were opening, candy was being sold out in stores, and everywhere as far as the eye could see there was a decoration of a jack-o-lantern, a ghost, spiders, skeletons, zombies, Dracula, Frankenstein, you name it!
And walking in the town after a long day of doing some shopping, was Adagio Dazzle; dressed in a long warm trench coat that kept her skinny body warm in the cold wind. She took a deep breath, smelling the fresh air around. A small gust of the wind blowing through her hair, and the sounds of excited adults and children were all around. She smiled as she watched them excitedly run through some of the streets, eager to go somewhere, probably fun.
Walking past several people, a series of thoughts went through her head.
Adagio Dazzle's log, October 24. Its late October, and only a few days remaining until we hit Halloween. Everyone's starting to show their anticipation for the big trick or treating night. Their enthusiasm is rather friendly to see... though I do wonder as to whether this holiday is worth the celebration. The memories of our poor days in the past have been clouding my judgement. But I'm willing to give this holiday a shot, and to just enjoy it with my closest friends. I imagine with them at my side, along with my absolutely adorable girlfriend, this will be a holiday we will remember for days on. As long as no threats from Equestria or this very world come to combat against us, I hope...
As she stepped into the elevator at the Jigsaw plaza, she watched the doors close as the elevator began to take her up to the penthouse. A few beeps and dings as she kept going up, past several floors and flights of stairs. Eventually, she reached the top and at her stop. She stepped out and walked to the front door of her penthouse, now decorated for the holiday. A small floormat with a spooky cobweb design, and the front door had a foam skull hanging.
Putting her key into the door, she unlocked it and walked inside. Taking off her coat, she put it on the coat rack.
"Girls, I'm home! Aria? Sonata?"
No one said a word. It didn't even look like anyone was home. But wait; what was sitting on the kitchen island countertop? It didn't look like it was there as it should, this looked new.
She walked to the kitchen, her heels making contact with the tiled floor. She looked at the small tag on the side of the box, addressed to her.
"Adagio. Bought these at the market, though you'd enjoy these -- Aria, Sonata," Adagio read. "Mmm..."
She was about to reach the top, but she stopped. Aria and Sonata bought something out of nowhere, making it unclear as to what the contents were inside the colorful box. Not to mention that it was close to Halloween. This had to have been a joke, shouldn't it?
Hesitantly, with a kitchen knife she cut through the ribbon holding the entire box together. And with a careful hand, she pulled the top off the box--
"AHH!" Adagio freaked.
She let out a high shriek at the zombie head that just shot out of the box. The next sound to follow was uncontrollable laughing that made her groan and roll her eyes.
Turning her head, she saw Aria and Sonata appear from one of the halls, laughing hysterically.
"We got you!" Sonata laughed, pointing at her.
"I didn't think you were going to fall for it, but Sonata was right!" Aria held onto her sides.
Adagio looked at her sisters with an unamused face. "That's not funny."
"Yes it is!" Aria howled.
Adagio rolled her eyes. "You decided now would be the time to finally get the jump on me?"
"You were pretty vigilant this month, we wanted to strike when you least expected it," Sonata giggled.
Adagio groaned. "Well if you two are done laughing, can you please get the candy out of these bags?" Adagio set the grocerry bag down on the counter.
"More? Didn't you buy a ton last week?" Sonata asked.
"Yes, but knowing how much people eat candy at this time of the year, and our little end of month event, I think we'll need all the candy we can purchase," Adagio replied, pulling out a few bags. "Oh and that reminds me, Aria, I got a few more pieces and supplies you need to finish your costume."
"Oh sweet, thanks!" Aria said, clutching the bag like a little kid.
"And Sonata, I also found the last pieces for yours."
"Yay!" Sonata cheered, giddy just like Aria.
"Do you have your costume put together yet?" Aria asked, ogling the costume pieces she was given.
"No, not yet. But I'm hoping before the end of the week, I will have finally put it together," Adagio replied, pulling out some of the bags of candy. "Any word from our friends, do they need any costume pieces or parts?"
"Not that I've heard, last time I checked everyone was all good. But maybe your girlfriend will need some help," Sonata commented, plopping herself on the couch. Her fingers pressed the remote, turning on the TV.
"Yes, maybe," Adagio said, starting to think about it.
Aria then had an idea. "Actually, that reminds me, has she seen the place where we're setting up the CHS Halloween party?"
"I'm not sure she has, no. But since I'm walking with her later this afternoon... I think I'll go ask her," Adagio said, walking back to the front door.
"Wait, you just got back, now you're going back outside again?"
"I know, but I just needed to drop off the candy and costume supplies. I'll be back soon, I promise," Adagio said, grabbing a spare key. And then she slammed the door behind her, leaving the penthouse.
Aria just stood nibbling on a piece of candy, while Sonata stayed laying back on the couch.
"How much you want to bet Adagio's going to be completely focused on Trixie saying how great she is to even pay attention to what pops up next?"
"I think we all know that's gonna happen," Sonata said, not even looking to her sister.
After she made it down into the main lobby, she saw Trixie sitting in one of the chairs eagerly waiting for her.
"Trixie!" Adagio smiled.
"Adagio!" Trixie smiled back, almost tackling her in a hug attack. She nuzzled her girlfriend, making her giggle in delight.
Adagio smirked and gave a kiss on her cheek. "Now what do you say I show you where we're throwing the CHS Halloween party?"
"Oooh!" Trixie cooed with some excitement.
"Come on!"
With hands holding one another, the two of them left the Jigsaw Plaza. They walked back out into the cold air, making Trixie shiver a bit from the cold.
"We're near the end of October, and November will be soon to come. And then before you know it, Christmas time will be here."
"Yeah, hard to believe," Trixie said.
As they walked, Adagio wrapped her arm around Trixie's side, placing her hand just above her thigh. Trixie couldn't help but scoot a little closer, wanting to stay warm next to her girlfriend.
"I can't believe we'll be spending Halloween together," Adagio whispered, kissing her cheek.
"Our first Halloween," Trixie replied with a little excitement.
"Enjoy some candy, some scary movies... maybe I can ask for your help in getting back at my sisters."
Trixie giggled, "I'm sorry, what?"
"Lets just say I apparently don't know the 'zombie head jumping out of colorful box' gag."
Trixie smiled. "Oh, I've seen that before. Don't think that's the right word, but I have seen that before."
"Did someone pull that prank on you?"
"Um... no, I just saw a prank on HoofTube with that," Trixie blushed.
"Mmm... I see."
Trixie cleared her throat. "So, um, are we getting close to this place that you said was going to be the Halloween party?"
"We should, actually. Let me see," Adagio said, looking at the houses, "okay, lets see... oh, there it is."
Adagio and Trixie stood at the end of the street, gazing up at the attraction. Haunted Horror Party House was the name, reading on the wooden sign mounted in the grass. It looked like your typical haunted mansion; rickety, old, boards barring up the windows. It looked more like it belonged to someone who was once rich, or even a place that housed mental patients. But it was certainly big, with a big circular path to drive in, drop off people, a stone fountain in the middle that was now filled with nothing but moss and vines. Leaves danced about, its trees were bare, and it looked like an absolute mess. Of course, that was its intents and purpose, so it was done well.
"What do you think, Trixie?" Adagio asked, smiling at the destination that would make the perfect party. But Trixie didn't reply. "Trixie?"
When she looked back to her girlfriend, she didn't look surprised or even excited. She looked petrified. She was staring intently at the house like she was in a trance, with a scared face. Eyes widening out of her skull, and a few whimpers of fear.
"Trixie, you're not scared, are you? It's just the outside decoration," Adagio said.
Trixie gulped and took a step back from the house. "Adagio... I have to go."
"Go? But we just walked here, I thought you said you were going to help me."
"I didn't know this was what you meant!" Trixie panicked as she backed away. "Adagio, I just... I-I-I... I can't!"
Trixie started to walk away.
"Wait, Trixie!"
"Don't chase me, I can't help you!"
Adagio wanted to chase after, but she didn't. She didn't know why she didn't go running but she just didn't. She was too confused and disappointed to see her girlfriend just run off like that. And just like that, Trixie had ran off and away, leaving her girlfriend alone and confused.
Adagio hoped the next day would be a lot smoother and Trixie would explain her spur of the moment freakout. But she didn't. All morning she tried to talk to her and get her to open, but she wouldn't budge. She was an iron gate that had been padlocked, unwilling to open.
Everyone else was starting to notice Trixie's sudden quietness about what happened the night before. Any time that anyone had any mention of the house, Trixie would immediatley shut up and not speak. Everything else she was okay to talk on, but she stopped whenever a single word about the house came up.
"So let me see if I get this straight," Vinyl said as she walked with Sonata to their lockers. "Adagio shows her the location where we're setting up the Halloween party--"
"--Mmmhmm," Sonata replied.
"--She drops dead silent--"
"--Yep!--"
"--and then she runs away without saying another word?" Vinyl finished.
"Yep yep, yeppity yep!" Sonata chirped.
"Hmm...", Vinyl said, thinking. "Well, I'm not sure how well I know how to handle this kind of situation. Trixie has admitted to being afraid, but I've never seen a case like this. People, sure. Activities, sure. But houses?"
Sonata tapped her chin. "Maybe she saw a monster in there? Or maybe a ghost!"
"Sonata, ghosts aren't real," Vinyl said with total disbelief.
Sonata looked at Vinyl with a deadpan face. "Oh so ghosts aren't real, but yet you're talking to an immortal seapony in a teenage girl's body?"
"... fair point."
Sonata giggled. "But in all seriousness though, maybe she saw something from that place that probably traumatized her."
"Yes, but what could have scared her? I mean, I know she's a little scared at some moments, but it wasn't... it wasn't as bad."
"Then why don't we find her, and we'll talk to her. Maybe we can get her to open up. Besides, she has all of us, doesn't she?"
Vinyl nodded. "I suppose. And I do hope the poor girl understands she can talk to us if she needs to."
The lunch break came, and per usual, everyone came speeding like a stampede struggling to get to the front of the lunchlines to get their food, hot and ready. And once everyone got their foods, tables were taken up and the cafeteria was filled with the sounds of people chatting and eating.
Trixie was the last to sit down at her group's table, all eyes adverted to her. She hesitantly looked up, feeling like she was being watched by an army of cats.
"Um... hi?" Trixie blushed, smiling with nervousness.
"Trixie. It has come to our attention that Adagio had shown you the location of the CHS Halloween party. Upon showing you, you ran away without so much as a 'goodbye'. Is there something bad that we don't know about?" Bon Bon asked.
Trixie froze. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Trixie, you ran away from your girlfriend without any words, that doesn't just happen without reason," Vinyl said.
Trixie turned her head, looking away from Vinyl.
"Trixie, please, we're not here to make you feel bad, we just want to know what's going on, that's all. Did something at that house scare you?"
The little dork didn't say a word, and just kept her head away.
"Please, we're worried about you. This isn't like you, we just want to help you. You can talk to us, we're not going to judge you. Please?" Octavia pleaded.
Trixie frowned.
"Sweetie, please, it's okay," Adagio said, patting her shoulder, rubbing it.
Trixie still wouldn't budge. But then, Adagio had an idea.
"Hey. How about this. Perhaps my sisters and I can tell you a tale from our immortal past of something similar that you went through?"
Trixie whined a little. "I don't know..."
"Come on, pleaaaaseee? Maybe it'll make you feel better?" Adagio asked, giving her a full on puppy-dog begging look.
Trixie was entranced by that adorable face making the whimpering look. "... Curse your adorable beauty, I can't say no."
Adagio giggled and nuzzled her dorky girlfriend's cheeks, purring like a cat.
"Yay," Adagio squeaked. "Okay, so let me see... what story to tell? Hmm... Dead Man Tell No Tales, can't really tell that one," Adagio thought, tapping her hand. "Frankenstein, no, no... that didn't go well for us... What?"
Everyone was looking at Adagio with a disturbed look.
"Wait, are you saying... you and your sisters caused the Frankenstein creation?"
"Um... no. But we might have done something despicable to give a Ms. Mare Shelby an idea," Adagio winked.
Everyone's faces didn't change. Now they were having much more disturbed thoughts and ideas just from what Adagio was implying. And why wouldn't they?
"But I do know a story in particular that I think could be rather fitting. Something that fits with Trixie's underlying fear of that house. Places with that kind of creepy outlook can play tricks on your mind... much like the one that had befallen upon me and my sisters, in Sleepy Hollow..."
"Way back in 1819, my sisters and I had moved into a new home, a home that was very close to a little forest called Sleepy Hollow."
Two horses let out soft whinnies as their hooves clopped on the rocky path. The two of them were working together and pulling a cart, holding a few barrels of wine, and three young ladies; Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk. The three of them were dressed in a few old soldiers outfits, the ones worn by those they fought alongside in the American Revolution, dressed in blue. Adagio was reigning in the horses, leading them to where they needed to go, while Sonata and Aria hanged out on the wagon, kicking back and relaxing.
"We moved to the quiet hills of the Hudson river, not very long after the American Revolution. We were hoping for a change of scenery, having participated in a war and just wanted to return to a simpler life. A life of peace, relaxation, and simple friendly interactions."
The horses wandered through the forest, and the soft sounds of birds chirped and sang in the air. The trees surrounding them were in beautiful colors; yellow, orange, and red, all so breathtaking. And just up ahead was a wooden bridge, just the thing to cross and then they would be on the other side. Town would be very close.
"Those who lived in the land say that if you wandered through the drowsy, dreary patch of land called Sleepy Hollow, you would hear strange sounds and see very frightful spirits or apparitions. But the most horrifying of these apparitions was the ghost of a soldier, who's head was taken out by a cannon-ball, during the Revolutionary War. Legend has it, that the spirit of this headless horseman rides for each night, in search of his missing head..."
As they approached the bridge, one of the wheels went over a rock, making the wagon shake around. And unfortunately, one of the barrels rolled from out the back, onto the road.
"Whoops! Lost one!" Aria shouted.
Adagio got the horses to stop, and she got off the driver's seat. She joined her siblings as they all helped lift up the barrel, and push it back onto the cart. One man or woman alone couldn't lift up a single barrel, this required a team effort. Putting all their backs and maximum effort into it, they lifted up the barrel and rolled it back onto the wagon.
"Perfect! Now if you two can, perhaps you can make sure it can't roll out an escape this time?" Adagio asked.
Aria rolled her eyes. "Okay..."
"Got it!"
Sonata and Aria got back up on the wagon, and pushed the barrel back a little, making sure it couldn't easily roll away. Adagio folded up the ramp and locked it back up into position, securing it so the barrel wouldn't fall out again. But as she did, she heard a strange sound.
Wood being bent and falling echoed to her ears, like a tree had started to collapse. Instantly she turned her head, gasping a bit.
"What was that?"
And just then, she heard the sound of a twig snapping.
"Who's there!?"
And she could hear the sounds of clopping hooves on the ground. But it wasn't coming from behind her, where the two horses were standing. She slowly went back to check, and she could see the horses hadn't moved from their original positions. She turned back forward, down the forest that they were traveling through, hearing more of the same trotting sounds.
"We shouldn't be here after dark... we have to get out of here."
Adagio rushed back to the driver's seat and cracked the whip on the reigns. "Lets go, boys!"
The horses whinnied and then they started to move again, this time picking up a quicker pace than before. They sped out of the forest, and went straight for the wooden bridge, crossing it without any issues. Adagio did not dare look back, she couldn't think of it. She heard the rumors of the forest, but she would not believe any of them were true! Sure she could believe the soldier dying with the cannonball, but not their spirit existing in a full form and living in that forest!
And so like the wind, the sisters and their wagon escaped the forest just as the sun began to set.
After school, Adagio and her sisters met up in one of the classrooms; AKA their practice room. And waiting for them there were three of some of their classmates; the three most popular boys at CHS. Not because of their looks, but because they were as nice as they could be, that's what made them so popular around the school.
Flash Sentry, the blue-haired guitarist who Adagio had met long before after the Battle Of The Bands incident. Micro Chips; one of the smartest techies in school who's IQ was higher than any of them had expected. Last but not least; Sandalwood. An eco-kid, with a mind-set all about peace and love, everyone just called him a hippie, but he didn't care. He knew what the intent behind the name was.
"Hello boys," Adagio smirked, winking at them. Aria and Sonata just giggled from her ever-forever seductive speaking.
"Hey, what's happenin'?" Sandalwood greeted, sitting back in his chair.
Aria greeted Sandalwood with a small fist bump before sitting down in a rolling chair for herself.
"How are you boys? Everything okay, I should hope?"
"Yep!"
"Positively!"
"You know it, bro," Sandalwood replied.
"Excellent!" Adagio's hands clapped. "Now, our friends should be here in a few minutes, but in the meantime, I thought maybe we could just see how you all were doing," Adagio said, holding her head up with her hands with a rather teasing grin. The boys faces blanked, wondering what the intent was behind that rather mischievous snake-like grin.
Sonata giggled. "She teases everyone, don't let her think she's up to something."
And coming right through the door was none other than Octavia and Vinyl, arriving in the nick of time.
"Sorry we're late, luv. I'm afraid the new combination on the locker isn't doing so well," Octavia said, sitting down.
"Its fine, Octavia," Aria empathized, patting her shoulder. "Been having a problem with mine since we got here."
"Stupid new lock systems...", Sonata grumbled.
"Anyways, boys, girls. We have much to discuss. First off, big CHS Halloween party coming Halloween night, we've only got one week for final preparations, so we need to get the final tasks done and accounted. Luckily for us, I have accomplished one of the goals needed," Adagio said, checking off a box on her checklist in her hand. "We have the amount of candy needed, and we picked up some spider-web cotton as well. Has anyone else gathered some supplies or materials we could possibly use for the party?"
"Oh, I got something!" Micro Chips called. "After an extensive amount of digging in my room, I found a few pieces for robotic arms that I had used for robotics club a few years back. I believe if we could cover these limbs up, they could make for a few jump-scares on people passing by."
"Oooh... I like that, use that, definitely use that," Adagio grinned, mischievously. "That's amazing, great work Micro."
Micro Chips grinned.
"Sandalwood, what about you, do you have anything particularly haunting?" Adagio asked, leaning back.
"Yeah dude!" Sandalwood reached over and picked up a small box. "In this box, right here, I've got plenty of rubber spiders, snakes, bats, and any other bugs people find freeeeakkky...."
Aria Blaze was the one to reply. "Ohohohoho, use that, please!"
"You got it!"
"What about you, Flashie?" Sonata asked.
"Oh, well, I couldn't find much but... I do have a few speakers with me that I use for band practice. Maybe we could use them for playing creepy sounds?"
The Dazzlings grinned.
"Now that's more like it. Excellent, everyone. This is all coming together, very, very well. But I can't help but feel we're forgetting something, something important..." Adagio tapped her heel on the floor. "What was it..."
"The jobs--"
"--the jobs, right! Yes! Thank you, Sonata. Anyways," Adagio continued, "We're all taking on specific jobs and positions at the party, and eventually we'll switch things up every now and then. As the one putting all of this together, obviously I'm the hostess," Adagio winked, "Our bandmates, Song Of The Sea volunteered to play a few songs now and then, but of course, making way for other people who wish to stand up and perform with them. Flash, I understand you and your band wish to perform for the crowd?"
"Yeah!"
"Perfect! That's two bands, and tons of karaoke time... and plenty of tracks from Amy's records. Catering; Lyra, Bon Bon, and Sandalwood, you wanted to help cater?"
"Absolutely. I make some serious mean egg rolls."
"Perfect!"
"Don't forget, we've also hired Bulk Biceps as the bouncer. No uninvited guest gets inside without passing his muscle," Octavia clicked.
"And in addition, we've cleaned up some of the halls and other areas of the mansion so that if people wander around, they can without inhaling possible poisonous gasses in the air," Sonata said.
"Wait, what do you mean--"
"--I didn't say gas!" Sonata interrupted.
Vinyl and Octavia giggled.
"Well, maybe we can help set up some small props and functions for a few scares," Vinyl offered. "After all, what's Halloween without some scares?"
"Or even spooky games?" Octavia grinned.
"Oooh, I like it dude. Come on, tell us!"
"Alright, so here's how it goes. We set up a few puzzles, and then there after..."
After their meeting was over, everyone was going home for the day. And to the surprise of Adagio Dazzle, Trixie was outside in the hallway waiting for her.
"Sweetie!" Adagio squeaked. She nearly jumped on Trixie with a hug attack, making her smile. Adagio's hus were always the best, and she loved every one that she got. Trixie snuggled Adagio and she nuzzled her, making Adagio purr like a kitten once more.
"You really are a kitten, aren't you?"
Adagio wiggled her eyebrows. "Maybe."
Trixie blushed, making her girlfriend smile even more.
"Now what are you doing out here, I thought you'd be home by now."
"I would, but I was kinda hoping maybe I could just go home with you? I talked to my mom, she said I could sleepover with you, if that's okay?"
Adagio smiled. "Its always okay, sweetie. Now what do you say we go back to the penthouse?"
"Oh get a room!" Aria scoffed, stomping past the two lovebirds.
"Oh don't mind her, she's just jealous," Sonata giggled, walking past Trixie.
"I am not jealous!"
"Yes you are!" Sonata sing-songed.
Adagio giggled, holding her girlfriend's hands as she walked.
"Say, um. While we walk... perhaps you could continue where you left off?" Trixie asked, rubbing her head.
"Oh? Someone wish to hear more of the Sleepy Hollow tale?" Adagio grinned.
Trixie blushed. "I-I just want to know what else happened, t-that's all."
"And that's perfectly okay with me," Adagio smiled, kissing her cheek. "Now where were we... oh right." Adagio cleared her throat. "We had just arrived in the town where Sleepy Hollow resided. Being new wasn't really much a delight, especially with all of the glares from the people around us. But regardless, we just decided to find the land we purchased and start setting up our home..."
"Not only did we carry tons of wine and other alcoholic beverages that you my dear should not be drinking, we did bring a few useful items as well; tools, clothes, some food, etc era."
The wagon was parked on some mud and dirt, right next to the spot where the Dazzlings were planning to make their new home. Unloaded, everyone was laying down against the barrels, trying to catch their breath from trying to lift all of that weight. The immortals were strong for sure, but picking up heavy loads like that was a difficult task.
"Girls... anyone else just want to... lay back... for awhile?" Adagio asked, panting.
"Agreed..." Aria moaned, laying her head against the wooden barrel.
Adagio moaned. "Girls, I know we're tired but come on, we got to get building."
"Noooo..." Aria and Sonata simultaneously moaned.
Adagio wanted to just drag them by the hair to get them up, but she knew they weren't ready to get back up on their feet for some hard labor. Ever since they left for the trip, they had gone for long days without end, doing nothing but hauling a wagon and trying to keep enormous barrels from falling off. They weren't ready to get back up right now.
"Okay, lets take a vote. We'll lay down for a bit, but after say, half an hour... we get back up on our feet to try and get something together so we'll have a roof over our head for the night. All in favor for resting for a bit, say 'Aye'.
"Aye..."
"Aye..."
Both sisters moaned out of sheer tiredness and fell flat on the ground, their heads slamming against the soft sand. Adagio grabbed a glass bottle and just took a big sip out of it, tasting the sweet apple cider that ran down her throat.
"Mmm... that's the stuff."
"Ahem?"
"AH!!!" Adagio shrieked.
Struggling to get on her feet, she stumbled and tumbled around as she tried to get up, and whipping behind her back was a small rifle which she clutched in both arms. She pointed it at the person who said hello, panting and gasping as she got up.
But to her surprise, it wasn't someone there to intending to shock her. It was the opposite, actually. A woman with pale green skin, and auburn hair, dressed in black and blue.
"My, you're a jumpy one. Sorry, miss, I didn't mean to frighten you," the woman replied.
Adagio sighed in relief and she pointed the rifle down. "No, no, its alright. I shouldn't have opened with a rifle pointed at your heart. I'm afraid having spent the last few years in war hasn't really helped my sense of well-being."
"War?"
"Long story. Anyways, where are my manners, I am so sorry. My name is Adagio Dazzle," Adagio extended a hand. "Might I ask who are you, Miss?"
The woman acknowledged her hand and shook it. "Oh, right! My name's Red, Red Threadmaster."
She smiled and shook her hand.
"Nice to meet, Ms Threadmaster. And these are my sisters Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk," Adagio said as she looked back down to the two of them both still sound asleep, "Who apparently still aren't waking up."
"Long journey?"
"I'm afraid so, yes. And I--"
Adagio stopped talking. She could hear some very loud grumbling come from her digestive system, right at her stomach. She chuckled a bit, rubbing her head in embarrassment. "Oh. Was that my stomach? I think I'm a bit hungry."
Red giggled. "Why don't you and your sisters come over to my place? I can cook you three a meal."
"Oh, are you sure? I don't wish to impose..." Adagio asked.
"No, its no trouble at all. Think of it is as my way of saying, 'welcome to the neighborhood'."
Adagio smiled and let out a soft squeak. "Yay. Oh, wait. I better wake up my sisters."
She turned around looking at the two girls who were still fast asleep.
"Girls, time to get up. Get up. Get up!"
The both of them snored very loudly, completely distorting Adagio's cries.
"Do you need me to--"
"--No, its alright. I know just how to get them," Adagio giggled. She cleared her throat and looked down at them with an evil grin. "Girls. We ran out of wine."
"WHAT!?" Aria and Sonata snapped.
Both of the girls immediately jumped up with devilish snares.
"You drank all the wine, I swear--"
"--Kidding!" Adagio laughed. "I thought that would wake you two up. Girls, I want you to meet Ms Red Threadmaster."
"Nice to meet you both," Red said. "So, shall we come along?"
"Right. Lets go!"
"Wait, where are we going?" Aria asked, fumbling on her feet.
"I offered to make dinner for you three. My way of saying 'welcome'."
It was a very short walk over to Red Threadmaster's home. Not too far from the school house, the little jail, or even from the farmer's market. Her house was rather quaint and lovely, fresh paint all over on the outside. The house sat next to a small river, with a bridge to cross over to the other side.
The interior of the house was very lovely as well. A fireplace to keep the house warm during the cold winter, plenty of furniture to sit on when talking with guests, as well as a couch to lie down on. And plenty of beds to sleep in for a night's rest.
All four of the girls (Red included), sat at the dinner table, with food all around. Chicken, corn, vegetables, and other cooked meals all around. Red and Adagio were cutting into their food and eating like proper mature adults, while Sonata and Aria just started gnawing like hungry animals. They hadn't eaten anything in a while and they didn't care if anyone told them to stop chewing and gnawing, they were going to do as they please.
Red didn't bother to question their animal-like eating, she could tell they were very hungry.
"So, tell me Adagio. When you said you were in a war, did you mean... as in a revolution?"
Adagio nodded. "Very much so, Red. My sisters and I fought alongside heroic men, fighting together to claim our freedom, our rights, and our independence."
Red gave a resounding nod, acknowledging her statement.
"We did not dare stand down, and we would only keep fighting for what we believed in!" Adagio cheered, jumping out of her chair and raising her chicken leg high into the air like a sword. Red giggled at her excitement, making Adagio blush a little from embarrassment, sitting back down.
"Right... Well, what made you choose to come to this town?"
"All we wanted was a nice change of scenery. We wanted a place where it was calm and peaceful, a place with no eminient dangers or threats."
Red smiled. "Well, I believe you've come to the right place. This is a very lovely town, very peaceful, and thankfully barely anything bad happens around here. Well, most of the time. If anything does, you'll hear it very soon. Any local news or juicy tidbits spread around like honeysuckle in Chincoteague."
"I see. Well, have there been any local or current tidbits that we should know of?" Adagio asked.
"Well, the only one up in the air is with Miss Van Tassel."
"Who's she?"
"She's the richest girl in this town. And all of the men seem to think she's absolute fairest in all the land, the lot of them. If you meet her, I would recommend to stay on her good side. She's a nice woman, but sometimes I swear, some people can be a little too rich for their own good," Red said, taking another bite into her chicken. "Though if anything... stay away from Mr Crane, or the Roll couple."
"Why?"
Red rolled her eyes. "They're not bad people, but sometimes they can get a little carried away in believing ghosts or myths of folklore like elves or banshees."
The siren shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I think its nice to believe in something, even if it hasn't been proven. Sometimes its interesting or even a little exciting to think about something that's supernatural."
The woman shook her head, trying to comprehend what she had said, but she wasn't going to argue.
"Suit yourself. Just don't listen to any talk of the Horseman... Oh, do you girls need some beds to sleep in or a place to stay until you can get your home built?"
"No, its alright. I'm sure we'll get our home finished by tomorrow."
"Then how about you girls sleep over for the night."
Adagio wiped the crumbs from her lips, cleaning her face.
"No, please, its okay. You've done a big service for us already, just for making us dinner."
"Adagio, I insist. Helping people is what we should do, and I like to make a good first impression."
Adagio couldn't help but give a seductive grin. "My dear Threadmaster... I believe you already have."
Adagio parked the car, and the three sisters got out. Trixie too.
"So wait, she told you about the people in town, and vaguely mentioned something about a horseman... but you didn't react or do anything?"
Adagio admitted, "We were all very tired from endless walks and fighting. We just wanted to take a really long rest, and well... yes, we didn't take much notice of that little detail. Which now that I think of it, we really should have caught that."
"I still wasn't happy when you hogged all the whiskey," Aria nagged.
"Aria, this was over 190 years ago!"
"I don't care!" Aria ranted. "Word of advice Trixie, something to keep in mind for if you take her out at some places, she doesn't like to share."
"Hey, that's not true! I shared some of my meal when we went on our first date!" Adagio said.
"Really, did you share any other time?"
Adagio stopped to think, drawing a blank.
"Um..."
"You see? She doesn't share, and she's a total narcissist," Aria grumbled, pushing the button for the elevator doors.
Adagio scowled. "I am not!"
"I listened to you talk to your mirror all morning and tell yourself how gorgeous you are!"
Trixie raised a brow, making Adagio blush a bit. She rubbed the back of her head, chuckling a little.
"I do that to raise my confidence," Adagio blushed.
"Sure you do..." Sonata teased.
"Oh hush," Adagio said, wanting to change the subject as quickly as possible.
Trixie giggled when she stepped in. "Adagio, its okay, I don't mind. No one's perfect."
Adagio sighed and shrugged her head. "I suppose so. Unless you're me," she winked. "Oh, that reminds me, Trixie, have you got your costume picked for the big nightmare night?"
"Yeah, actually. But um..." Trixie blushed.
"What? Is it a character, something obscure?" Adagio asked.
"Well, its kinda hard to explain. I'm not even sure how much of a costume it really is," Trixie rubbed her arm. "But I can show you later, if that's okay."
"That's perfectly alright with me."
The elevator dinged, and the four girls arrived to the penthouse, finally home.
"I can set up a mattress for you Trixie," Sonata said, about to walk to one of the closets upstairs.
"No, no, its perfectly alright. She can bunk with me. After all, it's much nicer to sleep knowing that the girl of your life is by your side," Adagio purred, kissing Trixie's cheek and nuzzling her.
Trixie only blushed harder. "Adagio..."
"Okay, now you're just pushing it, can you stop? Please?" Aria complained.
"Geez, someone's in a sour mood," Sonata replied, opening up one of the cabinets in the kitchen.
"Well, the whole lovey-dovey thing gets old after awhile. It reaches a certain point when it starts to just become grating," Aria grit her teeth.
"Nag, nag, nag..." Adagio retorted.
As Adagio reached up into the cupboards for some cups for some much needed drinks, Trixie started to pull some school supplies out of her backpack. They would need to get some homework done, and then some much needed detoxing time...
As night fell, everyone was heading off to bed. Trixie had finished brushing her teeth and was walking into Adagio's bedroom where she'd be sleeping for the night. Ever since the couple have started getting dating, they had been getting closer and closer. And one of things that they were now starting to do as a couple was just cuddle each other as they rested.
When approaching the bed, she could see Adagio had already gotten the covers open, patting the side of it for Trixie to climb in. Trixie's cheeks went red and she slowly moved in, getting under the covers next to her more than beautiful girlfriend.
Adagio kissed her forehead, smiling at her with such affection.
"Every night that I get to cuddle you always makes me happy," Adagio cooed, nuzzling her cheek.
Trixie nuzzled back, holding her close. She hugged her tightly, not wanting to let go. It just made Adagio pull her even closer.
"So, um, Adagio. Any chance I can hang out with you again tomorrow?"
Adagio sighed. "I suppose if you want to but... I'm taking all of the volunteers over to the mansion to set up the Halloween party."
Trixie's loving face turned sullen. "Oh... that. Right, I... I forgot."
But Adagio still smiled, positively. "Hey, how about this. Why don't you come and join us? We could use some help, plus you won't be alone, there's plenty of students coming to help."
Trixie frowned, and looked away. "I don't know..."
Adagio's hand brushed her cheek. "Sweetie, please. Sometimes the best way to get over your fear is to confront it. I just want you to be able to get over your fear. I promise I won't abandon you. Just come and help us. Please?"
Trixie hated every square inch of that mansion. Every little centimeter, ceiling, glass frame, down to the last floorboard. She remembered how scared she was back there, how scared she was to be alone... and separated. But things were different now. Times had changed, and she wasn't alone anymore. She had new friends, she had classmates accompanying her, not to mention... she had a partner now. She had someone by her side who would be there all the way.
Trixie looked back into Adagio's beautiful sparkling eyes, nodding at her. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt if I was with all of you guys."
Adagio squeaked. "Yay." She kissed her cheek and nuzzled her again. "This is going to be so fun, I promise!"
Trixie sighed, knowing in full what would be happening for tomorrow. "Yeah... fun."
Adagio kissed her cheek, and booped her nose. And as she pulled the covers over, she pulled herself closer to Trixie, wrapping her arms around her body. Trixie felt her slender smooth hands wrap around her sides, but she couldn't help but smile, knowing that her girlfriend was there to keep her safe.
"I promise, Trixie. This is going to be a lot of fun," Adagio whispered, kissing her cheek. "Goodnight sweetie."
Trixie yawned and curled up for a peaceful night's rest. "Goodnight Dagi."
And so, Trixie dreamed on for the rest of the night of just being closer with Adagio, and delicious Halloween candy.
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."
"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."
The very next day, Adagio made it her mission to track down the two people who scared her girlfriend so many years ago. True it was several years ago and she was a little girl when they pulled their prank, but she wanted to know a bit more about them. Maybe they had changed after all of that time, or maybe they were still the same after those years. Adagio preferred the former over the latter.
Regardless, she knew just where to track em. Their lockers! But first, she would need to step over to her locker. She went over to open it up, but first, a little precaution. She unlocked the lock, but just as she was about to open it, she moved with the locker door and slided to the side, away from the open locker's cabinet.
Upon opening, she could hear a soft roar, and a a small party popping sound. A small burst of rubber spiders fell out of the locker and landed on the ground, all falling with small thuds. Adagio rolled her eyes, and looked at the note taped to her locker.
"'Haha, got you, again'-- real mature, Sonata. Very mature," Adagio deadpanned, getting her things.
Slamming her locker shut, she immediately bypassed the rubber spiders. As she made a turn, she unwrapped the plastic wrapper around a chocolate ball, mounted on a lollipop stick. Just down the hall, she saw two girls. Very purple skin, but different styles of hair. Definitely the girls that had been described in Trixie's story.
Without either girls noticing, Adagio continued to approach them until she stopped dead in their tracks. She smirked. "Lavender Lace and Fuchsia Blush.".
The two girls froze. Turning their heads, they saw the former siren dressed in that tight siren's outfit, leaning against the locker with a small lollipop in her mouth, sticking out like a cigarette. She gave them all the bedroom eyes look, making them fluster in worry.
"Good afternoon, ladies," Adagio purred, taking the lollipop out of her mouth.
The two of them gulped.
"Adagio Dazzle," Fuchsia began.
"Very lovely to see you both today, how are you two?" Adagio asked, still keeping that seductive grin.
"Fine, fine. Got my costume for Halloween done, very excited to show it off. But then I learned a little something about the house we're in... someone died in the house, right?"
"Actually, no. That was just a rumor. Someone told us a long time ago that someone died in it," Fuchsia admitted.
Adagio nodded, suspiciously. "I see..." She took a soft bite out of her lollipop, making a small crunch, making the two girls cringe.
"Doesn't that hurt?"
"This isn't actually a real lollipop. This is just a piece of chocolate that's given like a lollipop," Adagio explained.
"Oh."
Adagio took another soft bite, relishing the sweet milky candy flavor in her mouth. With a gulp, she cleared her throat to talk once more. "Now, I have questions for you two. What are your thoughts on Trixie?"
Both of them froze.
"Well, um... why do you ask that?"
"Part of me is a little curious if you have any regrets... surely some that I'm sure would be worth letting out," Adagio queried.
Lavender frowned. "Is she... is she okay?"
"I'm sorry?"
Lavender spoke louder. "Is she okay?"
"Physically, yes, but maybe some exercise could help her be in a bit more shape during gym--"
"No, I meant, in general," the blond interrupted.
"To answer, yes. But unfortunately still has some issues thanks to you two scaring and traumatizing her as a little girl!"
The two shamefully hung their heads.
"I somehow knew that'd happen," Fuchsia cooed. She looked up at Adagio with a guilty face. "Adagio? Look, I know you're standing up for her, and that's great. But if we can be honest... we just want to apologize to her."
"Well maybe you should--I'm sorry, what did you say?"
Lavender nodded. "We're not kidding. Look, after what happened years ago, we felt so horrible. We just wanted to show her a good time with a little adventure, we didn't... we didn't want to put her in a situation where she would get hurt. And that floor, oh gosh... we didn't know that floor would collapse. And seeing her almost fall through, I... I was so scared, I didn't want her to die."
Adagio's brow raised, continuing to suck on her lollipop. "Continue..."
"Trixie was getting pushed by everyone in school, we just wanted to help her not be afraid. We thought if we took her inside that house, maybe we could show her that not everything is as scary as it seems. But none of us ever thought she'd actually believe that the house she'd enter would actually be scary," Fuchsia explained.
"And we never intended to scare her so much that'd she cry," Lavender's heart snapped on a string. "When she came out of that hole, and seeing her so scared, I... I never felt so horrible in my life."
Adagio let their explanations slowly sink in. Their guilty faces, their dry speaking, their dead on looking in the eyes. They weren't hiding anything suspicious or lying. Years of seduction and manipulation to survive had helped her learn to tell when someone was being honest or lying to her face.
"So. You two really want to talk to her and try and make up?"
"Believe me, we'd like to, but she never wants to see us again. We tried to talk to her so we could apologize face to face, but she shut us out. She refuses to talk to us or hear us out. Not that I blame her," Fuchsia said.
The siren stood silent. She tapped her heel, thinking.
"Mmm... I see. Tell you what, I'll talk with her. Maybe I can arrange a meeting where you two can make up for it. But I'm letting you know, it's going to require a lot of effort."
"We'll do anything we can," Lavender said, honestly.
"Very well. I'll see what I can do. Have a good day, and don't forget... I'm watching you," Adagio winked, walking away from them.
Hmm, don't seem too bad. Guilty conscious, definitely. Wishing for redemption, Adagio thought. Perhaps they want to make up with her. Very interesting indeed. Very interesting, girls. Just like Van Tassel and old Bones...
The next few days or so, Adagio and her sisters began to assemble their home. With the help of Red, of course. After most of their house was finished, the gang decided to take a little break, going over to a local pub that had been set up in the town. Sitting at one of the tables, all of the girls got drinks filled with sweet apple cider.
With one sip, Red could hear the girls sighing in relief and pleasure from the strong taste.
"Ah... that's the stuff," Sonata said, savoring the flavor.
Red chuckled. "You three seem to really enjoy your cider, don't you?"
"The stuff helps with the pain," Aria said, taking another sip.
"The pain?"
"Well, pain as in, emotional pain. Losing several people we called family in the heat of battle, I'm afraid," Adagio answered, somberly.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I... I didn't know," Red apologized.
"Its okay. You didn't know."
"Unless you're a witch?" Sonata stood up, accusing.
"Sonata, sit down!"
"Sorry!"
Sonata slammed herself back down into her chair, making Red giggle. "You don't actually believe in witches, do you?"
The three of them starred at Red with a slightly insulted glare.
"That depends. Are you going to insult us if we say we do?"
"No, I wouldn't. But may I ask, why?"
Adagio took a bite of her food that she had bought, and looked at Red with a smile. "Well, Red, sometimes its really fun to think about. I think its fun to believe in something, even if it has never been proven. And having gotten started on History Of New England Witchcraft, its rather exciting to think about."
"Well if you believe that's exciting, then I think you may want to know of something about this town. Sleepy Hollow, actually," Red began, "Those who believe in the witchcraft and ghosts and spirits believe that a spirit lives in those woods. If I am correct, I believe during this war you speak of, there was someone who's head had been shot clean by a cannonball."
All three of their heads jolted up.
"And legend has it, this headless horseman rides for each night in that drowsy, dreary glen, in search of long lost head..."
The trio gulped.
"Was there anything said about what would happen if he finds someone?"
"I don't know. As far as the legend goes, he carries a flaming pumpkin which he throws at anyone in his path. Whether he obtains you and carries your spirit, I'm afraid I don't know. But that's as far as I can recall. I don't know, I'm not a believer in these sort of things," she said. Turning her head, she scoffed. "Oh brilliant."
"What?"
Their heads looked to Red's direction. A man dressed in a sporting coat, flashing a big cheeky grin was talking to a few girls at another table. The women he was talking to all seemed very impressed and intrigued by the things he said, but the sirens couldn't make out a word.
"Burly Bones," Red spat. "The man loves to show off his muscles to try and make all of the women swoon. He can show off all he wants, but that does not mean I'm going to fall for him."
"What, is he the town's braggart?" Aria asked.
"No, I think that's what she's saying," Sonata observed.
"Well I don't wish to be anywhere near that pig," Red stood up, "I'm going to chop some more wood, hopefully I can get it done. I'll join you three later to help finish the roof."
"Okay, thanks Red!" Sonata smiled. "Oh, and thanks for the cider!"
Red smiled. "My pleasure, Sonata."
She walked out of the pub, with the three Sirens alone. And wouldn't you know it, the moment she left, the man started to walk towards their table. He was rather intrigued to see new faces over in a far booth. Who were these gorgeous young women, and when did they get here? They didn't seem to be from anywhere he knew, or anywhere he traveled. Maybe they were visitors? Only one way to find out.
"Hello there," the man said.
Adagio raised a brow, taking a sip of her cider. "Hello. Who might you be?"
"Why surely you must have heard of me? Burly Bones? The strongest man in town?"
Adagio and her sisters looked to one another, shrugging.
"Oh right, you three are new in town. My mistake. Burly Bones is my name," he said. "Who are you?"
Adagio took another swing of her cider. "Adagio Dazzle. And these two are my sisters, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk."
"Very lovely to meet you three. May I ask what brings you to our town?"
"We just want some peace and quiet, dummy," Aria deadpanned.
Burly Bone's nose scrunched up. "I'm sorry?"
"I'm afraid the last few decades on us have been very rough, we just came to this town for some peace and quiet," Adagio replied.
"And cider!" Sonata cheered, raising her glass up. All three of them clinked glasses, taking sips.
"Well I must say, its very nice to meet you three. Say, if you don't mind my asking, I would actually like to get to know you fine young ladies some more? Maybe you can meet me over at the Van Tassel party?"
"And when is that?" Adagio asked.
"Its later tonight. I can talk to Miss Van Tassel, get you three invited. And after all, if you three are new in town, maybe you can meet more of the lovely people in this town that way.
Sonata seemed happy with the idea. Aria was still grumpy as usual, but that was only because the rest of her cider had been gone, and she didn't have anything snarky to reply back with. Well with Adagio's foot slamming on her own to keep her from talking.
"We'd love to come!"
"Excellent. Then I suppose I would see you dames later tonight. Do be wary, Miss Van Tassel's the fairest in the land," Burly replied. "Sounds like you three may have some competition. Have fun, and be careful, should someone harass you, let me know. I will show someone how not to treat a lady."
The man gave them a wink before leaving the pub.
"Well then. An invitation, and a way to meet more people. I think that went rather well," Adagio grinned.
"Did you have to slam your heel onto my foot?" Aria growled, feeling her toes.
"We're trying to be polite, Aria. We can't be rude."
"Think you'll ask him out?" Sonata asked.
Adagio chuckled, "Oh, Sonata. Dear heavens, no. Burly Bones may have some fine muscles for sure, but I'm afraid his confidence and over-longing of claiming of his greatness and his attributes are a little... how do you say it... much?"
"That's kinda hypocritical of you," Sonata pointed out.
"How?"
"You're a complete narcissist, Adagio," Aria deadpanned again.
"No I'm not. I just think my sly and seductive body is more happy with someone who doesn't think highly of themselves, and who will adore me for the sexy queen that I am. Is that that narcissism, or is that the heart speaking?"
After school, Aria met up with Octavia and Bon Bon who all gathered back at the penthouse. Everyone else said they would come over to hang out as well, but they had to run some quick errands first. But for the three of them, it meant some time to do a little scheming...
"So, what're you thinkin' Aria?" Octavia asked.
"Well, for starters, we need to get them away from the rest of the party. I was thinking one of the old guest rooms, here." Octavia's finger tapped on a spot on the plans. "From there, the fun can really start..."
Bon-Bon's knuckles cracked. "Sweet..."
Aria and Octavia look at her with some slight fear.
Bon-Bon stared back at them and pouted, defensively. "What? I'm just cracking my knuckles here! Sheesh, you guys... I'm not a psycho..."
Aria quickly shrugged it off. "...Anyway, so we get them in this room here. It leads into another room, apparently an old nursery according to the original plans." She paused, with a small wicked smile. "You know how Trixie said that those girls told her a kid died in the house? I thought we could have some fun with that rumor..."
"Heh. Wicked."
"Yeah. But I think it needs a little bit more. A big finish of some kind."
The front door opened up, and coming inside was none other than Trixie, looking more cheerful and happy. After all, the school day wasn't such a bad day. Aced her geography test, delicious lunch, and of course, plenty of time to be with her friends.
"Hey Trixie, how's it going?"
"Its going okay, nothing bad."
"Nobody gave you trouble?" Octavia asked.
"What? N-no, of course not."
Aria gazed back down at the schematics of the house, and then back to Trixie. "Hey Trix, can I ask ya something?"
"What is it?"
"I just need your opinion. What do you think would be scarier for the house... fake blood from the wall, or maybe a pop-up ghost or zombie?"
Trixie shuddered in fear and disgust. "Ugh, both of them sound pretty bad!"
Octavia smiled. "Hey, that could work! We could use BOTH of them! Thanks, luv!"
Bon-Bon vindictively replied with a "Hehe, yeah, that'd do the job..."
The magician was confused. "W-wait, what are you talking about?"
Bon-Bon and Octavia glanced at each other. Aria, quickly tried to move the papers out of sight, but Trixie manages to snatch them.
"Nursery room... ghost... basement?! Payback prank!?!" She chucked the papers onto the floor, appalled. "I can't believe it! You want to do something awful to those girls?!"
"It's not awful if they have it coming. And they do."
"Yeah. They really do," Bon Bon agreed.
"No! I mean, yes they did something bad, b-but that doesn't mean..."
Before their dispute could have gone further, someone else walked through the front door. This time, Lyra Heartstrings.
"Hey Bonnie! Got a second? Sorry to interrupt, but its really important!" Grinning eagerly, Lyra came bustling in, chattering happily with the cutest smile on her face. "I got some great ideas for a costume and I wanted to ask what you thought--"
It took her a second, but she quickly found out something wasn't right. She blinked, seeing the upset-looking Trixie, and the other girls who looked very uncomfortable.
"Hey... what's going on?"
Without saying a word, Trixie just handed Lyra the crumpled paper that had fallen to the floor over to the ninja. Lyra folded it out a bit to get a clear look. At first glance, it was rather bemusing. But then with a second glance, she quickly saw the true intents behind the schematics.
"Bonnie! I can't believe it! You want to pull a prank on those girls?"
"Hey, fair is fair. They scared Trixie, let's give them a taste of their own medicine."
"No! That's not fair at all! Aria, Octavia, you can't think this is a good idea."
Octavia shrugged, looking a little guilty. Aria frowned, out of annoyance.
"Hey, Lyra, listen to me. You girls - Trixie, Octavia, all of you - have been the best friends my sisters and I have ever known. I'd do anything for you all... and when I find out that some, some backstabbing creeps traumatize my sister's girlfriend years ago and never had to answer for it, you know what? That makes me pretty freaking mad."
"I still want to punch them good for it," Bon Bon muttered to herself.
Lyra put a hand on her hip, one of her eyebrows arching sternly to her best friend. "Bonnie..."
Bon Bon shook her head. "Sorry, but nope. Nuh-uh, no way, nope! They hurt Trixie, I want to give them what for!"
Their dispute was quickly interrupted, a la katana whipping out of nowhere, two in fact, pointed at the three companions.
"Whoa, hey! Watch the sword!"
"Lyra, what's the big idea?" Octavia hollered.
Lyra kept her hands gripped, pointing her blades at her friends. She had no intent of slicing or dicing, but at least keeping them where they stood would be suited enough. At least until they would agree to not go through with their plan.
"I can't let you do this. What they did was a mistake, we should give them the chance! This isn't right!"
Aria, for once, tried to be the voice of reason. "Lyra, I promise, we're not going to take it THAT far. I'm not suggesting we actually hurt them, that's not what we're doing."
Lyra shook her head, unconvinced. No way, she didn't buy Aria's words.
"What's all the fuss about?" Sonata's voice called, going down the stairs from her bedroom to the main kitchen.
"Oh get a load of this, Aria is--"
Once again, they were interrupted. This time from the last people arriving into the penthouse; Adagio and Vinyl.
"What's wrong, Trixie?"
Trixie sighed heavily, in disbelief. "It - it's nothing..."
Adagio frowned. "It doesn't sound like nothing."
Aria quickly spoke up, hoping to turn the situation around. "It's fine, Adagio. Nothing to worry about--"
"--Aria and Bon-Bon want to pull some kind of revenge prank on the girls who scared Trixie!"
"Lyra!!" Bon Bon piped up.
"What?" Adagio said, flabbergasted.
"What? It's not like we're gonna kill them, jeez!" Aria complained. "Everyone keeps thinking we're going to do something horrible..."
"Seriously, we promise, this isn't about hurting anyone!"
"It's just some payback for what those girls did to Trixie!" Bon Bon ranted.
There was a heavy, tense pause. Almost no one had a clue as to what to even say. Until Vinyl broke the silence.
"Girls. Perhaps if I may interject something on the matter?" Vinyl said, grabbing everyone's attention. She looked to Aria and Sonata with a sad frown. "Don't you all remember that pranking is what caused this whole mess to begin with?"
Octavia felt stung. "Vinyl..."
"Octavia... I get that you're not doing this to hurt them. I do. But it's not your decision to make. Not yours, not Aria's, not mine, none of us."
Lyra nodded. "She's right, you know. You're not the one that got hurt."
"It's Trixie's decision to make. Not yours, or anyone else's," Adagio finished.
Aria desperately wanted to argue back, but she found no use. They were right, it wasn't her choice. After all, Trixie was the victim, and not her. Crossing her arms and huffing, she said, "Fine. Trixie, what's your call?"
Trixie had been quiet almost through the whole conversation, and now with all eyes locked on her, she felt more anxious than ever. "I just... I don't know... I don't want to hurt anyone..." She looked away, not wanting them to see a small teardrop roll down her cheek. "I just wish this was over with..."
Adagio wanted more than ever to just quickly end the fight, but she knew this problem wouldn't automatically go away. Knowing her siblings, they would still go through with the plan and pull it on the girls before they could get the chance! Unless... she thought. Maybe they could actually stop them from actually succeeding. If they could get to Fuchsia and Lavender first, maybe they could warn them about their plan!
Adagio sneakily smiled as an idea rolled in her head.
"Actually girls... perhaps you should do it and get it done," Adagio said, trying to sound as normal as she could. "Do it."
Aria and Bon Bon smirked.
"Now you're talkin'. Wait, why are you suddenly agreeing to let us do it?"
"Because I know nothing I can do will stop you, so who am I to stand in your way?" Adagio said, innocently.
Aria snickered. "Trust me, this is going to be worth it!"
"One more thing," Adagio interrupted, "...I know someone who I think would be more than willing to help out."
"Yeah? Who's that?"
A sexy wink accompanied her smile. "Oh, you'll find out..."
Trixie looked to her girlfriend with a sad face. "Dagi..."
Adagio looked back to Aria who was back at it with the scheming. And once they looked away, Adagio carefully pulled Trixie with her back outside the hallway to speak. Checking for the door to close, Adagio snickered.
"They won't have any idea..."
"Adagio, can't we just talk to them? I don't want to scare them," the little dork whimpered.
"Oh don't worry. We are."
Trixie blinked. "Wait, we are? But you just--"
"Sweetie, I'm not perfect. But I know a way you can finally make up with them, and ensure that the prank doesn't go according to plan," Adagio said. "We'll send them the invitations to the party, hopefully praying they'll accept them, and if they do, we'll ask one of the boys to notify us if they arrive and once they do, we all sit down and have a nice peaceful chat about what happened, and hopefully keep them from falling for Aria's prank. Trust me, I know Aria doesn't take pranks too far, but I know we can get her back."
Trixie felt herself smiling at the idea. Once again, Adagio had an idea that couldn't possibly fail!
"Now, all we have to do is just get to them... and end this unresolved issue once and for all. But for now; what do you say we finish up some costumes? I could use a hand," Adagio asked, in a sing-song voice.
Trixie smiled. "I love to!"
Adagio smiled back. But as she was about to reach for the door--
"--Wait."
Adagio looked back and was met by an almost surprise attack from Trixie, who wrapped her arms around her and held her, giving her a kiss on the lips. Adagio's eyes slowly closed and she held Trixie back in a warm and tender embrace. Breaking from the kiss, Adagio stroked Trixie's cheek, and nuzzled her right after, making Trixie giggle.
Halloween had finally arrived. The night for trick-or-treating would fall upon them later that evening. But now, it was just a regular day at school, like any other day. But on the positive side of things, the students were granted permission to wear Halloween costumes to school. Almost everyone was very happy at the announcement, but were a little disappointed by the condition to not to bring any toy weapons or masks inside the school. Disappointing that they couldn't dress in full, but at the same time, they understood why such conditions were set.
Lavender and Fuchsia were dressed in costume just like everyone else. Lavender wore a green outfit that covered her skin in full, except to up to her shoulders. Green gloves were worn as well, a pair of yellow boots and yellow holsters. The black wig helped make her character more recognizable to some of the comic-book fans nearby.
"Hey, Lavender! Wicked costume," Sandalwood complimented, offering a high five.
Lavender rubbed her head. "It's not that wicked..."
"No, seriously, looks awesome. Love the detail."
"Well, t-thanks. But I think yours is better," Lavender said.
Sandalwood looked down at his Tye-dyed shirt, jeans, extended dreadlocks, open toed shoes, peace buttons, all of it. Then gazed back up to Lavender.
"Not really, no. I might just sit home and watch some crummy horror flicks."
"So no parties, or anything?"
"No. Why?"
"Well the Halloween party's tonight, don't you wanna come?"
Unbeknownst to Lavender, someone in the halls was listening very close. Someone dressed with a gray turtleneck sweater, and a pair of blue lit-up goggles.
"Yeah, but we weren't invited, so there's no reason to show up. Also, that's a little rude to just show up uninvited," Lavender chuckled, slightly.
"Aw, shucks. You should come, its gonna be amazing."
And with that, Sandalwood just walked away to hang out with some more friends. Lavender looked down to her belt, and dug her gloved hand into the little pouch that was hanging by her left thigh. Reaching in, she pulled out a small mirror to take a quick look at herself. Just one small piece of lipstick, and it'd be finished. Popping the cap off of some green lipstick, she applied some of it to her own lips, finishing the overall costume.
Putting her makeup kit away, she found Fuchsia coming her way. Fuchsia was dressed in a superhero outfit as well, albeit slightly different. Green outfit with yellow gloves and boots with some armor plating. There was also a graphic design of a yellow octopus sprawled across her stomach.
"So you're going with superhero, too?"
"Yeah, pretty much," Fuchsia shrugged. "I thought it looked awesome. And superheroes are awesome too!"
Lavender giggled. "Yeah."
Just then, the bell rung.
"Oh no, we're gonna be late! Come on!"
Lavender and Fuchsia picked up their feet, and began to scurry to their next class, along with the rest of their rushing classmates.
At the lunch hour, Lavender and Fuchsia managed to squeeze into the room and find a table for themselves. As they looked around, they could see some people dressed in a few familiar costumes, some of which they recognized as the villainous Power Ponies. But there was a heroic Maneiac to balance out, so that helped complete the image.
A Daring Do was found, there were some Roman and Greek costumes in sight, some pirates, aliens, cowboys, a whole variety.
"You think some of these guys have a bit too much time on their hands?" Fuchsia asked, taking a bite of her sandwich.
"Mmm... nah," Lavender shrugged. "Sometimes people just dedicate enough to get the entire look down, I'm not sure its much of a time-waster."
"Maybe for you, but they're gonna only have that for one day, why try and get all that time and effort?"
"Because, sometimes trying to pull off the look and style takes dedication. Its not like just wearing one hat and you're done, you know?" Lavender said.
Fuchsia rolled her eyes. "Yeah... I know..." Looking around, she watched some of the other students sit down and enjoy their meals. Occasionally, she would point out another costume or so, or at least a cosplay she found cool.
"You heard the rumor right, about Countess Coloratura?"
"Remind me again? What rumor?"
"Apparently she's considering coming here to CHS, something about looking to spend time away from a life of fame and fortune."
"Mmm. That makes sense," Lavender shrugged, nodding.
"Think Adagio will introduce her to this place?"
"Maybe. That girl's got the confidence to show off just about anything, really."
"Well hopefully she keeps her focus on showing off the school and not herself," Fuchsia giggled. "Sweet girl, but total narcissist."
"She's not that much of a narc. She does like to say how great she is, but she at least has consideration for those around her."
"True, true... sorry, been hanging out with the wrong crowds," Fuchsia admitted.
Ten minutes before the bell would ring. Nothing but the sounds of some of the light buzzing from the hallway lights. Possibly from them about to short out, or needing repairs.
But there was only one person remaining in the hallway. That same individual with the black goggles covering her eyes. The lenses were flashing bright blue, as part of the costume. The individual looked down in her right gloved hand, looking at the single envelope that was clutched. The figure grinned before walking towards one of the lockers. Standing in front of it, the gloved phalanges shoved the envelope through the open vent holes of the locker, sliding it in perfectly.
One the mission was done, the person in goggles walked away and giggled. Part One of the mission was done, now all they would have to do is wait and get confirmation...
The final school bell had rung, and now it was time for everyone to go home. Like every day, they rushed to their lockers, struggling to leave, crowded hallways, the usual. Lavender and Fuchsia however, did not wait for the crowds to die down. Instantly, they rushed just like everyone else, and scrambled to get to their lockers.
"So, what do you want to do tonight? You wanna binge watch some Ghost Activity?"
"I don't know, those movies are kinda... not scary? Why not see something that's actually scary?" Lavender asked.
"Well, sometimes its more fun to rip apart the bad stuff."
"True, but--"
A small bap hit Lavender on the top of her head as soon as she opened up her locker. But it wasn't anything that she had shoved in the back of the cabinets or leaning over the edge of a shelf, no. It felt more soft and flat like paper. Looking down, she found the source; an envelope.
"What the heck?" Lavender said.
Fuchsia looked down. "You had an envelope in there?"
"No."
Lavender picked it up and flipped it over. Two names put onto the cover, both of theirs. Looking simultaneously, they blinked in confusion. Lavender's fingers slipped under the end of the back and flipped it open. With her fingers, she pulled out the letter inside and unfolded it out. Their eyes were glued to the paper as they read the words that addressed them.
Lavender Lace and Fuchsia Blush
You two are cordially invited to the Halloween Party down at Underhoof Road. All you must do is show this invitation to our guards, and they will let you inside. Once you come inside, find me. I'll be dressed in full, with the glowing blue goggles. Of course, if it means nothing, just ask the bouncer for who the Screenslaver is. I hope to see you both at the party, and I hope you two will have a wonderful time. Arrive at 7:00 PM, at your earliest convience.
You three are cordially invited to the All Hallow's Eve Celebration, October 31st at Sunset
We will await your arrival,
Van Tassel
Things were taking a turn for a better for the Dazzlings. As they were told, they did indeed get an invitation from the Van Tassel family, invited for their party. With only a little preparation, the girls got dressed up in formal dresses and walked to the party. Adagio sported a dress in pure purple, Aria's was blazed in a dark green, and Sonata Dusk showed off a pink and white dress that screamed of royalty. It was a half-hour walk, but it did not matter. The cold moor of the night did not help, unfortunately. So cold!
But they arrived in a nick of time before the wind blew harder. Their hair blowing behind their heads from the wind, showing off those beautiful curls. On the front porch, they could see a man dressed in a formal coat and pants, accompanied by dressy shoes and a scarf around his neck.
"Oh, Miss Dazzle, wonderful to see you," the man on the porch said.
"Good to see you to, Mr Van Tassel."
Adagio shook hands with the elderly man, and he shook hands with her sisters. With a small bow, he gestured to the inside of the house, allowing them to walk inside.
"Thank you sir, glad to be here," Adagio smiled, walking past him. When they passed through the door, a brush of nice warm air hit their tender skin. No longer was the cold. And music was in the air! There were a few guests clapping along with the melodies coming from the violinists. There were a few people joining hands and performing dances together, accompanying the sounds. Others were sitting around, chatting, laughing, having a few drinks. The maids were seen coming around, passing some food around and offering them to the guests.
"Well, this just might be the welcoming party we needed," Adagio smiled, putting her hands on her hips.
"Girls, you made it!" Red Threadmaster greeted.
Red appeared just from off to the side, walking to them with a few glasses of rum on a tray. She offered it to them, to wit, they all accepted from her.
"Thank you Red, very glad to see you," Adagio smiled.
"Thanks for the rum! I know what I'll be doing tonight," Aria chuckled, taking a swing of it from her glass cup.
Adagio stared at Aria with a scowl. "Throw up inside the house, you'll be sleeping outside."
Red chuckled. "I'm sorry?"
"Aria throws up after five shots of anything with alcohol," Sonata squeaked.
"I do not!"
"You threw up on The Hardrock," Sonata pointed out.
"I was seasick!"
"That's what you said when you threw up on Hoover's shoes," Sonata sing-songed.
Red rolled her eyes. "Bickering like this just makes me thankful I don't have a sister."
"Adagio Dazzle?"
Adagio's head turned. It was Burly Bones!
"Bones."
"Very lovely to see you again, Miss Dazzle, Miss Blaze, Miss Dusk. Good to see all of you here again."
Aria was busy swinging down another drink, raising her hand up for him to wait.
"If you wish to be the receiving end of Aria's stomach waste, I recommend you stand back as far away from her as possible. She can't exactly handle all that rum."
Aria swallowed the remains of the rum in her drink and wiped her mouth clean. "Don't tell me how much I can't handle," Aria hiccuped, "I'm good!"
"--And the drunk spirits return," Adagio deadpanned.
"Spirits?" A woman asked from the side. Adagio rolled her eyes, chuckling.
"It was only a figure a speech, Ms...?"
"Right, you don't know me. My name is Rum, Dry Rum, is thy name," she introduced. She shook Adagio's hand. "Sorry to startle you, but I was worried you might have seen a spirit."
"Oh you mean like the supposed spirit that dragged off that fool of a schoolteacher?" Burly Bones snarked.
All three Dazzlings stopped. Their heads slowly turned to look at both humans.
"I'm sorry, 'fool of a schoolteacher'? What exactly do you mean...?" Adagio asked.
"Oh dear, here we go again..." Red complained.
"We had a wonderful schoolteacher in this very town," Dry Rum began. "We mostly referred to him as Mr. Crane. Not only was he a wonderful schoolteacher, but he was very eccentric too. He studied all sorts of myths and legends of ghosts and spirits and--"
"--wasted all of his time chasing fairy-tales," Burly Bones interrupted.
"So we can agree on one thing," Red genuinely said.
"Now, hold on... What happened to that schoolteacher?" Adagio asked, leaning forward on the side of the bench.
"Oh come on, don't tell me you're actually buying that drizzle," Red complained.
"Please, Rum, continue."
"Right, right. Anyways, Mr Crane was invited to a party here just last year on this very night, on Hallow's Eve. But alas, the poor dear was too distracted by our stories that he didn't even see what time it had begun. It had just passed midnight, and Mr. Crane had to travel home as fast as he could. He scurried along, trying not to waste time, but then... he showed up."
"Who?" Sonata asked.
"The Headless Horseman..." Dry Rum said in an ominous tone. "The Horseman found Crane, and when he was found, he ran as fast as he could. He tried to make it for the bridge, and he managed to cross it in time. But it was too late. The Horseman threw his jack-o-lantern, and disappeared off into the night. People around here might say that he just moved away, and some like me know that he was carried away... because from that night on... we never saw him again."
Adagio for once actually start to feel a bit on edge. "Never?"
"Never."
"Oh come on, Adagio, its just an old tale to scare off people who are new around here," Burly Bones replied. "You won't let something like that scare you, will you?"
Adagio wasn't sure what to say. She wanted to say no, but she didn't.
"Oh please, you have to be joking."
The leader of the trio looked to the most popular man in town. "I don't know if it is true... but its important to know any myth and legend in your surroundings so you can prepare for the worst."
Burly Bones scoffed. "Suit yourself." And without another word, he just simply left Adagio alone to dance with the other guests. Most boring man ever, Adagio deadpanned inside. She looked back to Aria and Sonata who didn't change their expressions. They were a little concerned for sure, but they weren't sinking into the depths of fear like Adagio was.
"Don't you girls wish to dance?" Red ask.
"Mmm, no thanks, I think I'd just be depressing to have. You go ahead," Aria said, plunking down next to the fire.
"Me too. Besides, none of the men in here are cute..." Sonata pouted. She too, sat down near the fire for warmth.
"Adagio?"
Adagio looked to her sisters, and then back at Red. She simply shook her head, but Red could understand. She just simply shrugged and went off to join the rest of the dancing guests. Adagio, happy to just be with her sisters, sat down on the couch, cuddled up with a blanket.
"Rum, perhaps you can regale us in some more stories? Do you know any others?"
"I do, in fact. Have you heard of the Fair Folk?"
They shook their heads, saying no.
"Well the Fair Folk were some of the most disturbing manifestations to ever come into our world. They were the unknowable creatures of the forest. They used humans as playthings, torturing them, sometimes even having their bodies for food..."
While the rest of the guests ate, drank, and danced, the Dazzlings indulged themselves into spooky stories and wild speculations for hours, long into the night. And drank, of course. The actual rum helped them enjoy the story just a little bit more than usual. And with all that rum and whiskey, their fears were slowly melting away...
Hours had gone by, and the party had come to a close. The Dazzlings were laying about on the floor, dozing off from the whiskey and rum they had drank earlier, and were near the fire for warmth. They didn't even hear the sound of the man walking down the stairs to the open room. Only the clap of his hands woke them up.
"Alright folks, its time for you to go to your own homes," the man said.
The Dazzlings snapped out of their slumber when they heard the clap, all jolting up at once.
"Oh? It's over?" Adagio said, getting back up on her feet.
The only other people still inside the house was the couple who were telling stories on and on for the girls.
"Oh dear, look how late it's become," Dry Rum said.
"Um, sir, if I may, where is Red? Red Threadmaster?"
"She left the party hours ago, its past midnight."
All three of them stopped.
"P-P-Past midnight?" Adagio stuttered. Her head flipped back to gaze outside. It was pitch black outside, and it only made her eyes sink into her skull.
"Oh I'm glad I don't have to walk through Sleepy Hollow on a night like this."
"Say girls, don't you have to pass through Sleepy Hollow on your way home?" Another guest said.
"Why, um, yes," Adagio said.
"Well if anyone can handle the Headless Horseman, its you three."
"We can? I mean, yes, of course we can!" Adagio said with confidence. She looked away from everyone with an honest nervous face. "I think..." Truth be told, she wasn't sure. She heard the rumors, she heard them all. She wasn't one to truly believe in ghosts and spirits, but knowing the strange tales and myths and creatures that came from Equestria, the likelihood of ghosts was very likely.
But they had to get through there either way. There was no way avoiding the inevitable. Her sisters all got up, and they all left the house, together as a pack.
They walked for about ten minutes before approaching the sign that pointed straight for Sleepy Hollow. The sign that pointed to the glen was very old, its painted words faded from having stood for many years. It stood out of the ground, arched with a menacing tilt, like someone had ran right over it. With nothing more than determination left, they took big deep breaths and walked straight for Sleepy Hollow...
Trixie carefully rested her final costume piece on top of her head, now she was ready. She stood in front of her mirror, taking a quick look at herself. This outfit in particular wasn't something she'd normally wear, but she only wanted to wear it for Halloween. Technically, she wore a witch's outfit, but this one was a bit more... out there.
Leggings were colored in orange and black stripes, with pointed shoes of equal color. A skirt with a very jagged design, held by a leather belt which had little small key-chains displaying images of magic wands over moons. A sleeveless orange, black, and white top held by tiny straps over her shoulders. Her wrists were covered by black and orange glovewarmers, and small bracelets that sparkled. The last piece was just a witch hat, with a yellow bow wrapped around the top, and a tiny jack-o-lantern hanging off the tail like the silver bell of an elf hat.
"Oh, Dagi, I hope you love it," Trixie giggled. Maybe it was some of Adagio's narcissism or self-loving attitude rubbing off of her, but she actually thought she looked good.
She skipped down the stairs, landing on her feet when she made it back to the main floor. In the kitchen, she could see her mother, Sunflower, cooking.
"Okay mom, I'm going to head out."
"Just one second..." Sunflower said, walking out to take a look. "Oh sweetie, you look so adorable."
Trixie blushed. "Mom..."
Sunflower giggled. "I bet the boys are going to fall head over heels for you."
Trixie's face only went more red. "Yeah, somehow I don't think that's going to happen..."
Sunflower stopped and looked her in the eye. "Just promise me you'll have fun, okay?"
"I will. I promise."
Sunflower smiled and pulled her daughter in for a hug. Trixie hugged her back, and was ready to head out--
"One more thing..."
"Aww, Mom..." Trixie whined.
"One quick photo."
Trixie sighed. "Okay..."
Sunflower quickly pulled out a camera and snapped a cute photo. Once she was done, Trixie grabbed her keys and began to get ready. She stepped outside, her eyes adjusting to the dark atmosphere, accompanied by small bits of light from the spooky jack-o-lanterns.
She walked into her car after unlocking it, and pulled out onto the street. Seeing it was now free, she drove on out to her first location! She had a friend to pick up before she would head to Adagio's apartment.
After parking the car, she walked up to the front door and ringed the doorbell. In a few seconds, the door quickly opened up, revealing her friend who stepped out. Light purple skin and blue eyes visible under her costume. A dark purple suit, looking like something you'd wear to work. But what made this outfit stand out some more was the small brooch that was visible near the neck, and the spandex tight mask that covered the entire head leaving only the eyes and mouth visible. And while not clear, a small indentation of a butterfly was on the mask head.
"A party hosted by the heroes of Canterlot? It makes the perfect feeding ground for my little Akumas..." she said in a deep voice, attempting to sound like a man. She tapped her cane on the ground and pointed up at the air, like she was directing a beast to fly. "Fly away my little Akuma, and heroize a kindred spirit..."
Trixie giggled. "Nice monologue, Starlight."
"Thanks Trixie," Starlight smiled. She jumped on Trixie, giving her a hug. Trixie hugged back.
"You look really good, Le Papillion," Trixie winked.
Starlight giggled. "Thanks. So I guess you're trying to go for a new witch, or..."
Trixie rubbed the back of her head. "I wore it cause... I think Dagi would like it."
Starlight smirked. "Oh really?"
"Y-Yeah," Trixie stuttered.
Starlight just replied with a simple boop on Trixie's nose, and locked the door behind her. "So. Shall we go?"
Trixie smiled and led her to the car. Once Starlight was inside, Trixie turned on the ignition, and drove out again.
"So tell me, why did you invite me? I don't go to CHS, and you told me it was a CHS party."
Trixie still smiled. "Well, because you're my friend, and I think you should be invited. Besides, Adagio's inviting someone from outside of CHS as well."
"Know who she is?"
"Not really. But Adagio says she's bringing her in to help make Aria and Sonata's revenge prank backfire."
Starlight fiddled with her suit while her friend drove. "Remind me again why they're going through the trouble of doing this prank?"
"Because they're my friends, and they care about me. But that doesn't mean I want them to pull it off."
Starlight had nothing else to say. Or really, any idea what to say. But it didn't matter since they were arriving very shortly. As soon as Trixie parked the car, the two friends into the main lobby and went into the elevator. Once the elevator had stopped to the penthouse floor, they got off and walked to the main door where the Dazzlings would be.
The door opened up, allowing Trixie and Starlight to walk in.
"Hey, Adagio? I'm here. Where are you?"
A single light flipped on, projecting the figure that was standing in the room. Someone dressed in dark blue jeans, a gray cotton turtleneck and black gloves. The final piece of the costume was the mask covering the entire head, all in black. The only things that stood out was the pair of goggles and the mouthpiece that helped the masked person see and speak.
"Adagio is not here anymore. She was too busy staring at her screen, reading words off from another screen... Screens are everywhere. We all use these screens, we allow ourselves to get controlled by screens... but screens, are controlled, BY. ME. Screensla--" the masked person started coughing."Agh!" Wheezing and coughing, the mask was lifted off the head, revealing Adagio Dazzle's face, as well as freeing the massive hair that had somehow been contained in her mask. "I can't breathe in this thing!"
Once she had her oxygen collected, she breathed in and out to calm down. "I'll fix that mask, I need to get some more air holes in there."
Putting the mask on one of the kitchen chairs, she looked back at Trixie's costume.
"Oh Trixie..."
Trixie blushed. "D-Do you like it?"
"Trixie, you look so adorable!" Adagio hugged her girlfriend, purring like a cat. Trixie's cheeks only went more red. "I love it!"
Trixie blushed hard, once she was let go from the hug. "G-Glad you like it..."
Adagio giggled and kissed her cheek. "You look absolutely gorgeous, Trixie." Her head turned to Starlight. "Starlight, very good to see you too."
Starlight smiled. "It's nice to see you too." She looked around. "Um, where's Aria and Sonata?"
"That's Slugslinger to ya!"
Coming down the stairs was Aria, dressed up in old western style of clothing. Holsters by her sides, spurs on the back of her boots, black vest over her shirt, and a cowboy hat with a brim that blocked her eyes from sight.
"Back in the Old West. I was the toughest fighter and rough rider you'll ever see," Aria said in her best Western accent she could say. "Now ya'll need to listen carefully, don't touch my guns cause they're the finest revolver's I've got."
"Aria, do not--"
And without even listening, Aria whipped one of the revolvers up and shattered a glass cup on the marble countertop. Adagio scowled. "You're paying for that cup, Aria. Now where's your sister?"
"Right here!" Sonata said, zipping off the stairs, landing on her feet. When she landed, she too was revealed to be in costume as well. Dressed in Roman battle gear, with a small helmet on her head with a blue crest, a sword by her side, and painted scars on her face. "Ready to set off for battle! Oh hi Papillion."
Starlight gave a small bow, acknowledging her presence.
"So, what people are you going to heroize at the party?" Aria asked.
"Mmm, maybe someone stood up, perhaps someone in need of confidence..." Starlight thought out loud with a wink.
Suddenly, they heard the sound of someone knocking on the door. Adagio opened up the door, allowing the two guests who were on the outside, in. Their arriving guests was Lyra and Bon Bon. Lyra was dressed as a Japanese chef, and Bon-Bon in a simple cat costume; dark clothes with cat ears, and painted-on whiskers and nose.
"Hey girls! Oh my gosh Sonata, you look amazing!" Lyra cooed.
Sonata grinned. "Thanks! You too!" She looked to Bon-Bon. "Aww, you're a kitty! That's nice!"
Bon-Bon blushed. "Thanks... I'm not one for dressing up, but Lyra really wanted me too, so here I am. A cat."
Lyra giggled, playfully stroking the top of Bon Bon's hair like you would to a cat. "Hehe. I'll make sure to chop up some sashimi for you, neko!"
Bon-Bon rolled her eyes at Lyra's playful banter. Then suddenly, there was another knock at the front door.
"I got it!"
Aria answered the door. Everyone else, too busy focused on talking to one another didn't see who arrived, until they heard Aria laughing.
"Nice. Nice outfits, you two!"
The girls arriving this time were Vinyl and Octavia. Octavia was dressed in dark, very punk rock clothes. As she grinned, she made the fake fangs in her mouth visible, accompanied by a few carefully painted dabs of "blood" running down from her lips to make her costume apparent.
"Thanks, luv! You look great yourself!"
Aria snorted some more, stepping away from the door. When they walked inside, everyone tuned to look at the last arriving guests.
"You're a... vampire?" Bon Bon asked, tilting her head.
"Punk vampire, Bonnie."
Sonata stifled a laugh. "And Vinyl?"
Vinyl rolled her eyes, huffing and puffing; her arms folded slightly. She wore white dress, with two prominent bite marks painted on her neck.
"Oi, a vampire's gotta have a bride," Octavia stated.
Bon Bon and Lyra were visibly giggling, making Vinyl sigh.
"I knew I shouldn't have taken that bet..."
The British vampire lightly patted her on the back, smiling fondly at her. "Cheer up, Vi. It's just one night. Next Halloween, you can dress me up however you wish."
Vinyl couldn't help but smirk. "Don't make promises you don't want to uphold, Tavi."
"Now we just need to wait for one more; has anyone seen Amethyst?"
Once again, another knock on the door. Adagio smirked and she opened up the door. On the other side, was indeed Amethyst. She walked into the penthouse, very stiffly. Very robotic, actually. A blank, neutral face stayed. A pair of black sunglasses covered her eyes. Dressed in a black leather jacket, pants, and dark gray shirt, she stared at everyone. She kept her head moving in a slow stiff manner, keeping in tune with her robotic acting.
"I am looking for Lavender Lace. I was told she was going to be here, where is she?" Amethyst asked, trying her best to give the most authentic Austrian accent. But her attempt only made everyone laugh.
"She's going to show up at the party, Amy. Her and Fuchsia."
Amethyst stopped. "I'll be back."
"Agreed. Everyone, lets go! We've got a party to host!" Adagio cheered.
Once everyone arrived, the party was now rockin' on. Tons of music blaring out of the speakers, students and guests dancing and talking among each other, some enjoying some of the party games, it was a full house. It was so loud, you could easily compare it to a rave or a college party.
The girls went off in their own separate ways in the party, collective in groups. Adagio stayed in the main party room with Trixie, Starlight, Vinyl, and Lyra. While Aria and Sonata left with Octavia and Bon Bon. Adagio knew they were going to have their plan set into motion, but she wasn't worried. She informed the bouncers to let them know of the arrival of the main targets; especially the other guest they had invited. But for now they would just hang out in the dance party, with a few games.
Octavia, Sonata, and Bon Bon were all gathered together at the main foyer, waiting patiently for Aria to come back. She stepped away from the group to look for someone somewhere in the mansion party, but they were waiting an awful long time.
"What's taking her so long?" Sonata whined.
"She'll be here soon, just wait."
Eventually Aria came back being followed. Fuchsia and Lavender, in fact.
"Oh boy," Bon Bon muttered.
"Stay calm, Bon Bon, its okay," Octavia replied, patting her shoulder.
Lavender and Fuchsia looked up to see the other girls who were nearby.
"Um, is something wrong?" Lavender asked.
Bon Bon tried her best to look convincing, but she could feel it not working inside.
"No. Nothing at all."
Fuchsia tilted her head, but shrugged. "Look, is Trixie up there?"
"Yeah, she is. We thought there would be less noise up there, too loud down here. Just go down the hall, and down to your right. She'll be up there somewhere, there's some living room area up there."
"Okay," Lavender nodded.
But before she and Fuchsia went up the stairs--
"Wait."
Aria and Sonata held back a groan of annoyance.
"What?"
Lavender looked into Aria's eyes, dead on. "Thank you for letting us have a chance to make things up."
Aria blanked. Sonata too.
"Well, um... no problem," Aria cleared her throat.
Lavender smiled, and she led Fuchsia up the stairs. And into the brightened hallway, they left. Aria smirked and chuckled. "The plan is all going together... now I'm going to grab our other guest."
"No need!" Sonata called out. "Found her!"
Octavia, Bon Bon, and Aria looked over to Sonata who was standing with her.
"Excellent... okay, you know what you need to do?"
The guest shrugged her shoulders, not entirely sure.
"Okay, here's what's going to go down..."
So for the next few minutes, Aria broke down the plan to their assistant, who understood quite well the intentions. No more words to share, everyone quickly rushed up the stairs to begin their plan. Scare time had come, and now it was ready to get into action...
15 minutes went by, and there was no sign or indication of anyone arriving. Adagio and her group stayed against the wall, ready to enter the hall if they had to run all the way to the foyer.
"I don't like this, we haven't heard from them in a while. They should be here by now, shouldn't they?" Trixie asked.
"Yes, yes they should..." Adagio worried, gathering her team together. She pulled up a small walkie talkie, and spoke. "Sandalwood, where exactly are Lavender and Fuchsia, have they arrived yet?"
"Yeah dude, Aria and Sonata found them!"
Adagio's face drooped. "What?"
"Yeah, they said something about taking them to apologize to Trixie upstairs. Why?"
Adagio grabbed her own face and groaned. "You had one job, Sandalwood. One. Job!"
"What, what happened?" Vinyl asked.
"Aria and Sonata got to Lavender and Fuchsia," Adagio moaned.
"What!? Well, wait, what about that girl you said you hired, what about her?"
"Let me check. Sandalwood, has our other guest arrived, the one I told you that wasn't from CHS?"
"Not yet dude! I don't even know what she looks like, you didn't tell me! What she look like?"
"She's short! Should sound like a baby Pinkie Pie."
"That doesn't sound good."
Adagio rubbed her temples. "Okay, how about this. She should sound like a younger version of Pinkie, does that help?"
"Okay, much better. Hang on, I'm checking with the others..." Sandalwood replied.
Adagio stood for a moment and waited.
"Oh. Um... Adagio? I have some good news, and some bad news..."
Adagio threw her head back. "What's the good news?"
"Good news is, she's already here. Ringo let her inside."
"Well what's the bad news?"
"Well, Sonata found her a couple of minutes ago and walked with her upstairs to the second floor with Aria. Something about needing her for a prank, or something?"
Adagio dropped the walkie-talkie with a scrunched up, eye-twitching death of a stare. She felt like ripping her hair out, and screaming at the top of her lungs.
"They got to them first!?"
Trixie didn't even need another word. She pushed through the crowd to get to the front of the stairs leading to the second floor. "Alright Aria. Try to scare them huh? Well I'm gonna make sure that doesn't happen. Ready or not, I'm coming up there!"
Trixie's feet picked up and she began to run up the stairs. Adagio raced after as well, accompanied by her friends. She hadn't felt this determined to move so fast since the Battle Of The Bands. Now if she could stop them from pulling them off in time like their escape not too long ago...
Whether they were ready or not, the Dazzlings walked through that cold and creepy moor known as Sleepy Hollow.
The moon was high in the dark, cloudless sky; a gleaming crescent of silver against a backdrop of deepest black. The air was dry, and bitingly cold; Sonata's breath hissed between her teeth as she followed. Adagio and Aria on the route back to their home. Leaves rustled beneath them, almost the only sound that could be heard on the moorland.
The silence was awful. It wasn't simply quiet, it was oppressively so. The emptiness of the night drew in on them - even Aria, fierce and stubborn Aria chafed at the cloying weight of the midnight hour.
"A-are we there yet?" Sonata asked. Her words came out as a slight stammer, and she could not quite say it was the cold that made her teeth chatter.
"Not quite," Adagio shook her head, "It's still over the next hill and across the bridge."
Aria half-laughed. "Don't worry, Sonata, we'll be out of the scary dark soon," she teased, with a bit more effort than she would care to admit.
Sonata pouted. "Not funny, Aria!" she snapped, "I'm not scared!"
“Both of you, please calm down,” Adagio ordered, wearily. “It’s cold and dark, but we’ll be out of it soon enough.”
“B-but what about the Horseman?” Sonata glanced back, squinting into the shadows of the trees around the path, “Do you think he’s real?”
Inside, Adagio was screaming 'yes' in fear. But she didn't show it. Instead, Adagio shook her head. “No, it’s just a story,” she said, putting a firm tone into her voice as she said, “There’s no ghost in these woods—"
A shrill scream echoed through the trees. Sonata yelped in terror and grabbed onto Aria’s arm tightly. Aria grimaced, her eyes moving around rapidly as she and her sisters tried to pinpoint the source of the unearthly screech.
Then, Adagio sighed.
“Girls, look,” she said, pointing to a distant branch, where a small shape was perched. The three sisters all gazed at the figure of the owl, silhouetted on the tree limb there. The bird twisted its head around, tawny eyes staring into the dark. It screeched once more, an eerie sound, before spreading its wings and taking flight, vanishing into the shadows so quickly it may as well never have been in the first place. Silence fell in the wake of its departure, but to the Sirens it was a blessed relief now.
Finally Adagio spoke up. “See? There you go. It was just an owl. Nothing to be afraid of.”
Adagio laughed in spite of herself at the idea of the familiar, light bickering of the two sisters.
“Come on now,” she chided lightly, “there’ll be time for that once we get home-“
A sharp, dry snap pierced the night, shutting up all three Sirens once more.
It may have been just the sound of a twig snapping, but in that moment – in the dark and the cold of the midnight hour – it was the most frightening sound on Earth. None of them moved, none of them dared to breathe. The silence descended on them again, heavy as the grave. A minute passed, in awful, total quiet….
Before another sound made itself heard to the three sisters.
Tlot-tlot. Tlot-tlot.
The sound of horses’ hooves, striking the cobblestones of the path. Drawing closer, ever closer…
And then, silence once more.
“H-hello?” Sonata squeaked, in little more than a whisper. “Who’s there?”
Adagio summoned up her voice, and called out, “Who are you?”
Aria matched her call with a shout of her own. “Stay back, I’m warning you!”
Nothing.
Nothing but the chill of the autumn, and the silver gleaming of the moon.
And then Adagio saw it. Almost right there, as if it had always been there, at the edge of the moorland.
"Who... who are you!?"
A great black horse, head swaying from side to side, pawing the ground with a mighty, iron shod hoof. And on its back, wreathed in dark clothes and cloak, was a rider, indeed, as the stories said… A rider with no head.
Adagio’s heart skipped many beats. Her breath hissed out of her lungs and she could not get it back. Sonata whimpered, trying to put forth some sound as the terrible rider and his fearsome mount loomed in the darkness on the moor.
“H-h-headless,” Aria repeated, as if saying it would do anything, anything to make the apparition go away.
Adagio started to lose her voice just from the sight of it. She started wheezing. "Hea... headless horseman, headless horseman..." Adagio’s voice returned to her, and she made it known at the top of her lungs. “HEADLESS HORSEMAN!?”
As if responding to her words, the great black horse reared up on its hind legs, and its rider let out a shrill, bloodcurdling laugh--
And the Horseman and his mount charged, and the Sirens screamed and ran. They immediately ditched
Hoofbeats thundered in the night, as the great black horse and its nightmarish rider hurtled after the three sisters.
“Hurry! Towards the bridge!” Adagio shouted, as the Horseman’s chilling laughter rang through the night.
The three of them ran, ran like they never had before, as the pounding hoofbeats bore down on them, the shrill cackling of the headless rider sounding ever louder and ever closer--
Sonata stumbled, her shoe catching on her dress, and she nearly fell as she continued to run. The almost-fall took her off the path and away from the other sisters; she pushed on, still running, even as branches whipped against her face and she could hear horses’ hooves closing in and hot breath almost right at her neck-
She screamed, as something grabbed her arm and yanked her hard to the left. The thunder of hoofbeats rolled past and into the woods out of sight.
“Let me go!” Sonata started to scream, before she recognized Aria’s face before her.
“It’s just us, come on!!” Her sister said, swiftly pushing her along, back onto the path towards the bridge and to safety. Adagio drew close to Sonata’s side, her heart pounding, as she couldn’t help but think of how close she’d been to losing her…
They were at the top of the hill, which led down a stretch of dirt road to the river and the bridge spanning it.
The words from the story crossed their minds:
Once you cross that bridge, the ghost cannot reach you.
“Hurry!” Adagio said, as they ran down the hill towards the bridge.
“I’m hurrying!” Sonata pouted.
“What do you THINK we’re doing?!” Aria snapped.
They had got only halfway down the hill when they heard the thunder of hooves again.
And that awful laugh, drawing ever closer…
The Horseman and his mount came charging out of the dark, sparks flying from the great horse’s shoes as they struck the earth. The headless rider’s cloak billowed out as he rode full-tilt towards his quarry; the cape spreading out like the wings of a monstrous bat--
Bearing down on Adagio, the Horseman grabbed for her as his horse thundered past. The eldest Siren fell to the ground as she dodged away from the specter’s grasp; hitting the ground, she rolled painfully down the slope of the hill and into the cold grass.
Unsteadily Adagio got back up, her dress torn at the shoulder. She hissed in pain, clutching a sore spot on her leg, wondering if she could still run…
“DAGI!!” Sonata’s voice shrieked, as the cackle resounded again, and the roll of hoofbeats drew near.
Adagio whipped around, and she would never forget the sight before her:
The great black horse, red eyes rolling madly, steam puffing from its nostrils, sparks flying as it bore down on her… and the headless rider in black, looming like Death himself, laughing that shrill, impossible cackle…
“No!!”
Aria had never thought she could yell so, but in that moment, she did.
And she and Sonata, forgetting the bridge, forgetting their terror, forgetting everything except their sister, ran at full sprint to their sister, to try and fend off the ghoulish rider bent on taking her from them.
They grabbed Adagio and pulled her back to her feet, even as the Horseman drew up right in front of the three Sirens.
The black horse reared up, hooves kicking out, eyes blazing. Its spectral rider laughed again, even louder than before, and he drew a sword in one hand.
The three sisters all thought the same thing, but only Aria was the one to say it.
They all turned and ran, harder than ever before, back towards the bridge.
Hooves thundered behind them, sparks flying from the horse’s pounding steps, and the Horseman swiped and slashed at them with his sword as he rode up alongside them. Aria pulled Sonata out of the way of a strike that would have had her head otherwise – and Adagio lost a chunk of hair to the hacking, chopping blade.
“Almost there!! We’re almost there!!” Adagio panted as they drew closer, so very close, towards the bridge and the path across the river.
The Horseman doubled his efforts. His horse charged ahead, up to the path. Turning his horse around, the Horseman reared up in the saddle, blade raised high, with one more peal of wild laughter, before charging towards them.
The steel glinted, for just a moment, in the thin light of the moon.
“Down!!” Adagio yelled, and as one, the three Sirens threw themselves to the ground as the Horseman thundered by. Aria nearly rolled into the nearby river, but caught herself.
“Come on, hurry!” Sonata helped her sister back up as they sprinted the final dozen feet to the entrance of the bridge.
Adagio glanced back, daring no more than the briefest glance, to see the Horseman already turning his mount once more…
Then she looked forward, and ran across the bridge with her sisters to the other side of the river.
"Yes, yes, yes!!!" Adagio cheered. "Haha!" She turned around with a shaken up, but admittedly smug feeling. "I'll have you know, we're mythical creatures just like yourself, but we cannot die! And unlike you, we aren't going to vanish!" Adagio mocked with a lot more shake in her chuckle.
The horse let out an angry whinny, watching them. But the horseman wasn't going away so soon. A cackle escaped from the headless neck, and the flaming pumpkin was being raised up.
"Adagio... I think now's the time for us to go!" Sonata said.
"Wait for my signal!" Adagio ordered.
With one last shrieking cackle, the Headless Horseman threw the pumpkin. The jack-o-lantern came flying right at the girls, hurling like a baseball. It only took a few more seconds, and then suddenly, everything just stopped. A bright red flash beamed through the forest, but only for a few seconds. Suddenly, the light died down, and everything was silent.
The Dazzlings weren't anywhere to be seen, and neither was the horseman. All four had vanished from the surrounding area. And all was silent...
Lavender and Fuschia had no idea what was about to lie ahead of them. They were just told to come upstairs to the second floor of the house, where upon walking, they could see a few other party guests hanging out. Most of them just moved upstairs to talk without the abundance of loud noises and what not. Somehow, even the Dazzlings found a way to make the upstairs fun.
As the two costumed friends walked on by, they could see some of their classmates indulging in some of their own fun. Mostly from people playing some horror games in some of the various rooms. But up ahead, they could see Aria, Bon Bon, and Octavia waving at them, gesturing them to come on over.
"Hey, come on over!"
"So why did we need to come all the way up here?" Fuschia asked.
"Because Trixie wanted to talk alone, although I question her choice of location... but she is here. Just go through the doors here, she should be down this wing of the house. Though fair warning, do not use the loo, the pipes are not responding properly," Octavia said.
"Oh, well, alright. Thank you," Lavender nodded, walking through the double doors. And once they were inside, Aria and Bon Bon slowly closed it.
The mischievous trio all shared a few hands of fist bumps and high fives.
"So what do we do now?" Octavia asked.
"Ladies, we just need to wait, and listen. They'll either come back this way screaming like children, or they'll use the other set of doors and scream back there. Either way, they'll finally understand what happens when you mess with any of my friends," Aria said, stretching her neck, making a few bones crack.
"Sheesh. You sound like you've reaallly wanted to do this for a long time," Bon Bon said, a little concerned.
"I've done stuff like this before. Believe me, I am the master of pranks. Although I'd like to see Rainbow Dash try and top me. There is nothing on this planet that can scare me--"
"ARIA BLAZE!"
Except for the shrill cries of her older sister. Adagio and Trixie stomped down the hallway, faces beat red like they were ready to kill everyone in the room. And their eyes were locked onto all three of them, but mostly Aria.
"Aria!" Trixie glared. "What are you all doing!?"
"We're getting back at them for what they did to you!"
"What have I told you? I just want this stupid pranking to be over!"
Trixie unlocked the doors, yanking them open so they could come out. Except, the two girls weren't directly in sight. "Where did they go?"
They weren't in sight. In fact, all they saw was some ominous smoke and barely lit orange lights flickering in the hall.
"Guess we're going to have to find them," Trixie grunted, walking into the scare hall. Adagio, equally annoyed, followed after her. And hesitantly the rest of the girls who were united in this prank followed after them.
The entire wing of the mansion they walked through had been decorated and lit to the brim as a legit haunted mansion. It was almost pitch black, they only had a few lights here and there with just a bunch of noises. A pop-out ghost jumped out, making Aria jump, and it only made Trixie look at it with an unamused glare. She rolled her eyes, and just kept on walking. And another thing popped out to scare her, this time someone in a zombie costume, moaning and groaning as if they desired blood.
"Hey Scott," Trixie said, passing by.
The zombie pouted, saddened that he couldn't scare her.
"It was a good try, Scott," Bon Bon said, patting his shoulder as they walked by.
More noises played from small speakers and sensors that had been rigged. Stuff like maniacal laughing, or little flashing lights to make lightning flashes. And even with all of them playing, none of them were phasing Trixie.
Not even when a coffin opened up and a makeshift Dracula stretched his arms out to grab, Trixie still didn't have any visible reaction.
"Okay, Trixie, explain to me! How are you not afraid of any of this?" Aria said, flabbergasted.
"I watched a lot of horror movies, I've grown desensitized now," Trixie deadpanned.
"But what about Sunset Shimmer, that didn't--"
"--Why would I not be afraid of her? Of course she scares me!" Trixie groaned.
And another scare was attempted by a cardboard clown popping out from the corner. Trixie just rolled her eyes and brushed past it.
One more door was opened, finally leading the group to the end of the scare-dome. Thankfully they didn't have to go much further, as Lavender and Fuschia were right there. Trixie moved closer, trying to get a look at them, but they didn't notice her. Their skin was pale and they were paralyzed with fear at whatever they were looking at. Just in front of them, there was a big-screen television standing in front of them, and on the screen was a creepy girl with dirty dark black hair covering her entire head.
Trixie did shiver a little bit, but not enough to be running away. On her left she saw the double doors to exit the scare-dome and she opened them up, ready to drag them out. But then something else started to happen. The scary girl on the TV was getting closer and closer... and she started to come out of the television.
The scary girl growled and moaned as she got closer, making both Lavender and Fuschia scream for their life. Declaring that it was enough, Trixie managed to yank both Fuschia and Lavender through the doors and everyone slammed them right behind the group once they were out. Finally freed from the scare-dome, they snapped back to reality. And they saw Trixie right with her.
"What the--Trixie?" Fushcia stammered. "Wait, you weren't... why aren't... what is happening!?"
Adagio glared at Aria, Octavia, and Bon Bon intensely. "Well? Do you three have something to tell them?"
Aria wasn't laughing or taking joy in her revenge idea anymore. Thanks to the angry sister looming over her, she and the other two shrunk. "Well... we... might have set you two up to be scared as revenge."
Lavender couldn't believe what she heard. "You did what?"
"We hated how you hurt Trixie so we put you two in a scare hall to get payback for what you did to her."
Lavender and Fuschia didn't have a word to say. Not one. They just looked at Aria with clearly upset looks, and started to stomp away. Trixie was also upset, sharing a glaring look but she didn't run after them right away. Aria however, did. Along with Bon Bon and Octavia who pursued them.
"Forget it, Blaze!" Fuschia snapped, hearing them run after them. She was trying so hard not to explode, but she was on the verge of it. Lavender was too, based on her red hot face. Scared, angry, upset, there were so many negative emotions all rumbling together that it was hard to narrow down. And they completely ignored their surroundings as they stomped their way back into the main party room, brushing past all of the guests who were having a better time.
"Wait. Hey, come back here! Look, I'm--"
"--Forget it, Aria!" Lavender yelled, her cheeks now visibly red. "I get it! You wanted back at us, well guess what, you finally did it!"
Aria tried to stop them, but it was no use. They burst through the doors, not looking back for a second. Adagio, equally stammered to see them gone, turned to look at Aria and Sonata with a look of disapproval.
"Well Aria, I hope you are satisfied."
"Why were you trying to stop me?"
"You helped her, aiding and abetting in a prank that went against what Trixie wanted!"
"They needed a taste of their own medicine!"
"Enough!"
The girls looked at Trixie who frustrated beyond belief. "I don't care about pranking, I never wanted to prank them back! I just wanted this problem behind me, all I wanted to do was talk to them to make up, but now I can't! They're probably going to head home and never want to see me, you, or any of us ever again. So now, thanks to you, my chances of putting this behind me are gone! Thank you so much!"
Trixie threw her head back, groaning loudly, almost yanking at her own hair.
"Actually, they're not going anywhere," Vinyl said.
"What makes you say that?"
Vinyl pointed to outside. Trixie took a look, seeing where Lavender and Fuschia had gone. Actually, they didn't really leave. They just walked outside, and sat themselves on a curb in between some cars, away from the guests and from everyone else, it seemed.
Seeing that she had her chance, Trixie grew a smile on her face. "I know what to do."
Trixie got an acknowledging nod from Adagio, and she walked through the doors to another party room to try and make it back to the front of the house. Aria was about to move forward until Adagio stopped her. "The best thing we can do right now is let Trixie handle this her way, and leave them alone," Adagio snapped, glaring at the girls responsible for the pranks. "And I expect you three to apologize."
Aria, Bon Bon, and Octavia sunk where they stood. But they still looked outside as Trixie was walking towards them.
Fuschia and Lavender sat on the curb outside the house, looking away from everyone and everything around them. The only thing those two wanted right now was to go home and never look back. This party wasn't worth it, even if they got scared. It wasn't fun without knowing what was planned, or even getting scared... by the girls who saved their school from complete magical mayhem and terror.
But something unexpected happened; Trixie was out here, approaching them.
"Hey."
Their heads lifted and they were shocked to see a friendly face from their former friend. That girl they scared by mistake so long ago was coming back to them?
"H-Hey, Trixie," Lavender froze, not sure what to say.
"Mind if I sit with you two?"
"Um..." Fuschia looked over to Lavender, who gave an 'okay' nod. "Sure."
Trixie lowered herself down and sat her skirt covered behind on the curb with them. "I'm sorry you two were scared back there. I didn't tell any of them to do that."
The two were shocked.
"You didn't?" Lavender questioned.
"No, I didn't. I'm really sorry, they can be defensive sometimes. They just wanted to stand up for me, and I didn't want them to do that... no matter how insane it was."
Fuschia and Lavender looked at each other, and then back to Trixie. With a brave face, she spoke.
"Trixie, I... I think we should be the ones to apologize, not you. What we did all those years ago was really horrible of us, and we didn't know it was going to scare you that much. We just..." Fuschia sighed. "We just wanted to show you not everything was scary."
"All of those mean kids scaring you and picking on you, we didn't want you to feel like you were nothing. We thought if you came through that house with us and gave you a scare, we'd show you it was only us, and maybe you'd see that not everything is scary, we... There's no excuse for what we did."
Trixie softly frowned. But she wasn't feeling as bad as she did so long ago. Honestly, hearing the truth from these two, and letting them open up to her honestly felt good. Great, even!
"We didn't know it would scare you, and I can definitely say, we didn't know that floor was going to give out, so... I'm sorry. I'm sorry we took you into that stupid house, I'm sorry for scaring you... I'm sorry for being a bad friend," Lavender finished, sighing with her eyes tearing up a bit.
"And I'm sorry too. Honestly, I wish I could go back and stop us from doing something so stupid... I understand if you don't want to talk to us anymore, and if that's the case, that's fine. We deserve it."
Trixie didn't say a word, but instead, silently thought both of their words over. If she was a little girl again, she should have been frustrated or upset. But she wasn't. Trixie wasn't that little girl anymore. All she wanted was to finally move on from the past and make things better right here and now. And it didn't take a scientist or some magic to figure out that the former friends were telling the truth, just from their shaky voices, desperately trying not to break down crying.
She stood back up on her feet, moving in front of the two of them. Lavender and Fuschia looked back up, seeing that Trixie had extended a hand out to help them get back on that feet. And she gave them nothing more than a hopeful and friendly smile. Lavender wiped a tear from her face, and got back on her feet, taking Trixie's hand. Fuschia took a hand as well, and the two were now facing Trixie, eye to eye.
One of them was about to speak, until Trixie pulled them close and held them in a long, necessary, and much needed hug. The magician rubbed their backs, holding them close as they moved close to Trixie and held her in an equally necessary hug too.
Adagio and the girls saw everything through the windows. None of them could believe their eyes.
"They're hugging it out?" Sonata tilted her head.
"But what about what they did, that's not something you can just..."
"Aria," Adagio interrupted. "What they did so long ago was an accident. Accidents happen. What matters is whether you choose to learn, or make the same mistake."
After a much deserved hug, the three girls finally broke out of it. Now all three of them were showing those friendly smiles from so long ago.
"Can we start over?" Trixie offered with a smile.
Lavender and Fuchsia nodded.
"I'd like that."
"Me too."
"So... I guess what have you two been up to since then?" Trixie asked.
"Not much. We've practiced instruments, tried out for soccer, tennis, you know. What about you?" Lavender asked.
"Oh... usual. I have magic, so... that's a thing, that's happening, apparently," Trixie blushed, getting the two to giggle. "I'm now dating Adagio Dazzle, that's great."
Fuschia grinned with a cheeky expression. "I will never figure out how you managed to land the hottest girl in school."
Trixie blushed. "Fuschia..."
"Come on, we've seen how all the boys look at her. She could get them to bend to her will with a snap of her fingers," Lavender exclaimed.
"But she's not that kind of girl. Unless there's some scary alternate universe version of her that I don't know about?"
"I don't... wha... never mind. Still though, Trixie, congrats on being in a relationship. That must be big," Fuschia continued, bringing the conversation back around.
"It is. Honestly, being with Adagio has... it's made me so happy. I can't express enough how great she makes me feel. Whenever I'm around her, I feel confident, I feel... she makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, you know what I mean?"
"I can get that," Lavender smiled. "I'm happy for you Trixie. You've definitely come a long way from that girl I met in 6th grade."
The magician smiled back at them. "Thanks. Now could we talk to my friends, explain to them that we're all good?"
The two girls nodded and walked with Trixie onto the sidewalk, following her back to the house.
"How did you even find that outfit?"
"What do you mean?" Trixie asked.
"Well that outfit kind of makes you look attractive. Not that I swing that way, but seriously, you look great," Fuschia said.
"Heh... I just, saw this. I thought I'd wear it, maybe get some more confidence?"
The sound of a thumping bass from the party hit their ears once the doors opened up again, greeted to the sights of teenagers dancing and rocking out to the music. The 'bouncers', which were the jocks basically dressed as Secret Service people (paid by Adagio to make sure nothing bad or horrible went down for safety reasons) stood by, monitoring the party. And they were totally okay as Trixie, Lavender, and Fuschia walked on by the guests, finding Adagio and the girls over in a corner.
"Hey," Adagio greeted to the two guests that they had just traumatized.
"Adagio," the two said in unison.
"I believe my sister and a few of my friends have something they'd like to say," Adagio stated, bumping her sister along with Octavia and Bon Bon to step forward.
The three of them would have been resistant and still refused to say no, but after seeing how Trixie approached them from outside, their opinions changed. And it made it more painful to try and come up with a proper apology.
"Lavender, Fuschia. What we did was wrong. Very wrong," Bon Bon started, stepping up. "When we brought you up there, we didn't want to hurt you or attack you."
"We just wanted you to understand how Trixie felt to feel so scared and afraid. Though, looking back at what we did... there's no way to properly say that what we did was too far and over the line," Octavia added. "I don't expect you girls to accept anything we say, but... I'm sorry."
"Me too," Bon Bon added.
Aria sighed, scrunching her temples. "Okay. I'll say it too. I'm sorry as well. I don't know any other way to express it, because I am the worst with words, but... agh! I'm just so frustrated, I made you two upset, and now I made my older sister and her girlfriend upset, can I do one thing without making anyone mad!?"
Lavender and Fuschia were a bit surprised by her out of nowhere burst, but they weren't mad. And when Aria stopped ranting at herself, she noticed the two girls weren't upset.
"... You're not mad?"
The two looked at each other and back to them. And they said nothing as they shook their heads.
"You're really sorry?" Fuschia asked, wanting to confirm.
"Ugh, yes! I'm sorry! What I did was stupid, and if I could undo that, maybe I would! But I--"
Aria didn't finish. Fuschia had moved in and was giving her a hug. The middle siren didn't know how to respond, and hesitantly slowly moved into the hug. Bon Bon and Octavia weren't sure how to react either, that is until Trixie softly yanked them in so they could join in as well.
"Come on..." Trixie encouraged, bringing everyone in for one massive group hug.
Lavender moved in as well, and now all six girls were hugging each other.
"So can we promise to move past this? No more pranks, no more trying to cause each other pain?"
"Agreed," everyone said.
Lavender and Fuschia looked at each other, and back to Trixie again with soft smiles.
"Thanks for giving us another chance," Lavender smiled.
"What friends are for," Trixie agreed.
"I dunno about you, but I think after all of this, I'm going to go get some candy at the snack tables," Fuschia nodded, walking to the snack stands.
"Me too, I'm famished," Lavender agreed.
The two friends left, leaving the group of girls to sit by themselves, peacefully.
"Okay, new rule. Next time any of you decide to tell me some backstory about someone who used to be a friend who did something bad, leave me out of it so we don't have a repeat of this," Aria suggested.
"Or you could just not immediately jump to revenge seeking. I told you revenge never leads to happiness," Adagio shook her head.
"You are such a hypocrite, you know that?" Aria pouted.
"I know. But I look good doing it," Adagio winked, sticking her tongue out.
"Wait, wait, Adagio. You didn't finish that story, what happened next?" Trixie asked.
"Well Trixie, there wasn't really much to tell..."
The next morning was much calmer than the dreadful night that had taken place before. Of course no one was there to see what had happened. In fact, as Red was walking towards that bridge, she stopped in front of it, noticing something big and obvious right before her eyes. A shattered pumpkin with a scary face carved into it, but something reflective inside.
"No one had known what happened to us that night. Some believed we moved away. Others say we were carried away by the Headless Horseman..."
Red squatted down, pulling something shiny inside the pumpkin. To her surprise, she saw a soft red pendant, shimmering as the sunset. She rubbed her chin, thinking a little. "This cannot be... those legends aren't real. None of it is."
"Is that another pumpkin?"
Red saw Dry Rum was walking over to her path, helped with the aid of a cane for her weak legs.
"Another one?"
"What is that jewel?"
"Hmm? Oh, it's Adagio's pendant. I do not know why it is here... you said she was on her way home with her sisters, correct?"
"I did," said Dry Rum, looking at the pendant for herself. "Must have been the horseman. This ought to convince old Bones."
Just then, they heard the sound of a whinnying horse, clopping its hooves along the ground. And riding on the horse was Bones, with a smug face. "Convince him of what?" And he just chuckled, riding off to work.
"We left behind a jewel from one of our adventures to throw off anyone looking for us. As for the horseman; I can tell you this. I do not know if what we had seen was real, or a figment of our imagination. But I know this. After that night, we chose to move and hide once again, set ourselves back on the road. The road that would take us to find our new home, and salvation. It didn't come that day... but we knew one day, we would finally find a place to call home."
"The end."
Everyone exchanged a few nods.
"Not bad."
"Eh, it was alright."
Aria's mind however was not thinking about the story. "Wait, something just occurred to me. Where's that little girl we asked to lend a hand?" Aria rubbed her chin.
"You mean that little girl?"
Aria turned around, almost jumping in the air when she saw her. How did she even sneak up on them so fast? She was close to be on the verge of screaming when she saw her take her long black wig off, revealing a poofed up minty blue hairstyle that stuck up in the air, on a girl with tan pink skin.
"Oh, hi Silverstream," Adagio smiled.
"Adagio! Hi! I didn't know you were going to be at this party!"
"Wait, you know this kid?" Sonata asked, gesturing a thumb to her.
"I've been her history tutor for the past few weeks. And I have to say, I'm rather fond of her," Adagio smiled, ruffling up her hair, making her giggle. "I brought her here so she could hijack your prank plan... but it seems that also backfired."
The little girl blushed. "Heh, sorry..."
"That's okay. Besides, we should probably make sure we get you back to your school, I promised to look after you for a bit, but you shouldn't be out this late," Adagio said.
"Aww, but can't I stay? This party looks fun!"
"No," Adagio said sternly.
"Aww..." Silverstream pouted.
"You can go to these parties when you're older," Adagio said, walking her to the front door. She waved to her friends, letting them know she would take her home and come back.
When she walked outside, she halted in her tracks. Her skin ran cold, and she felt paralyzed with fear. She couldn't move, not in front of that. It was dark, but she swore she saw a dark black horse trotting on the road just up ahead. The house was on a cul-de-sac, and it was smack dab in the middle. But when the horse got closer, her nerves started to get the better of her. She slowly took a step back, and felt like she was about to shriek, but she had no voice to speak.
And the rider? The rider was in dark clothing, and there was no visible head. There was no head attached to that body, and she swore that pumpkin sitting in his arms was flaming. The walls were closing in on her, and she swore lightning and thunder was clapping ahead even though the only weather was the stars in the skies--
"Oh, Adagio, hey!"
A big voice boomed from the headless horseman who showed up. A familiar voice, thankfully. One that made her soooo confused.
"Bulk?"
A head popped out from the top of the headless suit, revealing the head of Bulk Biceps. The coach of Canterlot High, and true to his word, he had the biggest biceps that anyone had ever seen. Students swore he skipped leg day just to have all that muscle in his pecs.
"I thought I'd stop by, see how the party is going!" Bulk said. "Sorry for scaring you, my head got stuck!"
"O-Oh, it's alright Bulk. No need to apologize," Adagio replied. "How did you even acquire a horse?"
"A buddy of mine is a horse trainer! He let me borrow Moonshine tonight!"
And the horse whinnied as a reply.
"Heh, I see... Hope you two have a fun night tonight, and Happy Halloween," Adagio smiled, waving at him as she walked Silverstream to her car to take her back. She heard the smiles and laughter of nearby children in the neighborhood, all in awe at the sight of the big horsie that was here in this very spot of the neighborhood. She smiled, giggling to herself, thinking about how silly it was she thought the Headless Horseman had come back.
Just like the scary ghost girl that had been conjured in middle school rumors, this was nothing more than a figment of her imagination. And to the various party guests, trick-or-treaters, or nearby passersby, it was just a fun sight to see among the many costumes, decorations, and candy tonight on Halloween.
