A chill wind blew through the quiet castle corridor, causing the tapestries to ripple and shift. In the autumn, nights in Transylvania could sometimes get incredibly cold, and tonight was looking to be no exception. Flickering torches provided the only vestige of warmth, and threw wild shadows across the walls as a woman strolled silently past them
Young by the standards of her people, Mavis had deathly pale skin with shoulder-length jet-black hair, and was wearing a set of black tights, a long black sweater that hugged her figure, and matching black lipstick.
Another breeze swept through the corridor, and Mavis decided that she had better bring it up with one of the staff. The cold didn't bother her in the slightest, but some of the newer guests were less inured to the cold than her, and her father would undoubtedly go ballistic if even a small aspect of the hotel wasn't absolutely perfect.
That was what this castle was; Hotel Transylvania. Once a refuge for a very specific kind of clientele, Mavis' father had recently opened it up to a far wider demographic, which brought with it a far wider selection of things to be careful of. More importantly, at least as far as Mavis was concerned, it was her home.
Walking a little faster now, Mavis kept an eye and an ear out for any of the hotel staff. As she turned a corner at the end of the corridor, she finally spotted one of the porters shambling quietly along, wearing the hotel's bright red uniform with matching hat. "Excuse me?"
The porter turned to face her slowly. His skin was pale and waxy, his eyes were bloodshot, and a faint scent of rotten flesh rose from within his uniform. The zombie groaned and took a faltering step towards her.
"Oh, hey, just letting you know that there's a breeze coming through the corridor back there. I guess someone left a window open somewhere," Mavis told him. The zombie moaned curiously, and she held up a hand. "I know, we don't have any cold-sensitive monsters here at the moment, but there's humans here now. You know what my dad will be like if one of them catches a chill or something."
"Vhat's going on, who has caught a chill?" A deep voice echoed from the shadows. A shade split off from the others and suddenly morphed into the shape of a tall man with deathly pale skin, short black hair styled into a widow's peak, an elegant black suit with a billowing cape and, drawing the eye like a sabre, a pair of elongated fangs poking out from his top lip.
Dracula. The most famous vampire in the world. He also happened to be the owner and founder of Hotel Transylvania, and Mavis' father.
"No-one has caught a chill, dad," Mavis replied quellingly. "I just noticed that there's a bit of a breeze in the corridor back there. I guess there's a window open somewhere."
"A breeze?" Dracula turned a furious glare on the zombie. "Vhat do you think you're doing leaving a vindow open? Vhat if Dennis catches a cold?"
Mavis rolled her eyes. Of course Dracula's first thought would be about his grandson. "Dad, Dennis can't catch colds. He's a vampire, remember? You got your wish." She scowled at the memory of how desperate her father had become at the thought that her son might not be an actual vampire.
Dracula gave her a sheepish smile. "Ah, yes, of course. Vell, ve still have humans here, ve cannot risk vun of them catching a cold. Find the vindow and- vait a minute?" He looked around curiously. "This is an interior corridor, there aren't any vindow's here?" Dracula frowned and glanced at Mavis. "Show me vhere you you felt the breeze."
"Okay." Surprised by her father's shift in expression, Mavis obediently led him to where she had first felt the breeze leaving the zombie porter behind. Dracula's expression became ever more grim as they approached the breezy corridor. Sudden mood swings were hardly abnormal for Dracula, he had a tendency to be more than a little childish, but this sort of dourness was rare. It was unsettling. "Well, uh, here we are?"
"Hmmm." As if on cue, a chill breeze blew through the corridor, ruffling Dracula's cape. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me."
"What's wrong, Dad?" Mavis asked, but Dracula had already stalked off down the corridor. Curious, she followed him until he stopped before a stretch of blank wall.
"The breeze isn't coming from outside, it's coming from inside," Dracula said cryptically. Reaching above his head, he pressed down on a certain brick and a chunk of the wall suddenly slid inwards, then swung open with a loud grinding sound.
Mavis blinked in surprise. The castle was riddled with secret passageways, she had known that ever since she was a child, decades ago, but she had never once seen this one before. The passageway within the walls was dark, musty, and draped from wall to wall in immense spiderwebs. It couldn't be more obvious that no-one had been in there in a long time. "What's in here, dad?"
"An old secret. One I had hoped vould remain buried for another few hundred years or so," Dracula replied. He gestured for Mavis to follow before heading inside, sweeping the cobwebs aside.
The passageway curved around after a short distance, twisting and turning like a miniature maze. After a few minutes of walking, the two came to a small, dark room. Dracula snapped his fingers and several torches around the room blazed into life, illuminating a tall object, a full head taller than Drac himself, leaning against the wall, covered in a thick black sheet. The sheet shifted as a cold wind blew out from whatever was underneath it.
"Unbelievable. Vhat is that oversized cockroach trying to do this time?" Dracula kept muttering under his breath as he stepped over to the sheet and whipped it off in one smooth movement, revealing an ornate mirror set in intricately carved black stone. Neither Mavis nor her father cast any reflection, though that was hardly out of the ordinary, but not even the torches and the stone walls could be seen in the mirror; there was just a black expanse where the reflection shoul be. Even as they watched, a cold wind blasted out of it.
Mavis stared at it in amazement. "Whoa, what is that thing?"
"A portal to another vorld," Dracula replied. "And a particularly annoying former guest of the hotel. I kicked her out over a century ago, back vhen you vere still a little baby." He growled as another gust of wind blew out of the mirror. "For the love of all that is dark and unholy, vhat kind of game are you playing this time, Chrysalis? I still haven't forgotten vhat you did all those years ago, so if you think you can pull a fast one over me you've got another thing coming!"
Muffled voices came from the mirror. The two heard footsteps coming closer, then suddenly moonlight shone through the mirror as someone swept what looked like vines from the other side of it.
The creatures on the other side of the mirror were like nothing Mavis had ever seen before. They looked like giant bugs, coming up almost to her waist. One had a bright orange carapace, with pale blue wings and matching compound eyes, while the other had a muted green carapace with yellow wings and eyes.
"Who the heck are you?" Dracula asked with a scowl. "If this is another one of Chrysalis' schemes tell her I'm not falling for it! She's banned from this place, permanently!"
The two bugs looked at each other in surprise. "I think we should tell Thorax about this," the orange one said bluntly.
The green one nodded. "Yeah. You go find him, I'll wait here."
Mavis watched curiously as the orange bug hurried off, four chitinous legs carrying it out in a jittery kind of trot. "What are those things, dad?" She whispered.
"Changelings. Horrid little creatures that feed on stolen love," Dracula replied, not bothering to lower his voice. "And they are still all banned! I haven't forgotten!" He snapped at the remaining changeling.
"Hey, we don't follow Chrysalis anymore!" The changeling shot. "She's banished from the Changeling Kingdom, and we haven't stolen love since King Thorax took over and showed us how to share it instead."
Dracula opened his mouth to retort, then closed it again and stared suspiciously at the changeling, stroking his chin while humming thoughtfully.
Mavis didn't have the faintest clue what was going on, but the thought of another world, and other monsters, was too interesting for her to easily turn away from. "Um, dad? What exactly happened between you and this Chrysalis person?"
"She tried to kidnap you and take your place vhen you vere a baby, to try and feed off of my love for you," Dracula replied, not taking his eyes off the changeling. "Luckily, ve found out and put a stop to her schemes, banishing her back to her own vorld for good."
Stunned at the thought that an otherworldly villain had tried to kidnap her as a baby, Mavis suddenly gained an extra appreciation for why her father had been so overprotective over the years. Casting a sideways glance at the changeling, she pulled her father aside and whispered, "They say they don't follow Chrysalis anymore, but…"
Dracula nodded. "Yes, it could just be a trick, and I don't want to risk exposing Dennis to a cruel beast like Chrysalis, but that changeling might actually be telling the truth." Seeing Mavis' stunned expression, he explained, "Chrysalis is one of the most egotistical fiends you can imagine. She demands that all of her changelings call her Queen Chrysalis, so if they're not calling her that now, there's a chance that she's actually not around anymore."
"You don't think it could just be a trick?!" Mavis asked incredulously.
"Maybe," Dracula admitted. "I guess we'll have to see what this King Thorax has to say." He glanced back at the mirror. "Speak of the devil."
Mavis looked around and saw a large changeling standing in the mirror. This one was much taller, with bright green carapace, jewel-like amethyst eyes and matching wing covers, three gemstones embedded in its chest, and a huge pair of curved orange antlers.
Dracula wrapped his cloak around his body and drew himself up to his full height, looking down at the newcomer imperiously. "So, you must be King Thorax."
Thorax nodded. "That's right, I'm the new ruler of the Changeling Kingdom. Um…" He cocked his head to the side curiously. "Who are you?"
The lack of recognition clearly threw Dracula off. "Who am I? Vhat do you mean, who am I?! I am the great vampire, Dracula! I am the one who banished your vile Queen from my Hotel Transylvania!"
Thorax coughed awkwardly. "Sorry, but I've never heard of you. I'm sure I've heard of Hotel Transylvania before, though." He rubbed a chitinous hoof under his chin as he thought. "Did Chrysalis mention it before she was deposed?"
The little changeling by Thorax's side suddenly gasped and pointed at Dracula. "I remember! You're Mr Bleh Bleh-Bleh!"
Mavis clamped a hand over her mouth in a vain attempt to hide her snort. She could see the colour rising in her father's cheeks already. Apparently, some old movie had depicted a fictional version of Dracula saying that bizarre phrase, and now almost every human that came to the hotel said it to him whenever they met him, saw him, or even talked about him. Unfortunately, the real deal had never said 'bleh bleh-bleh' in his incredibly long life, and he had some strong opinions on the phrase in particular.
Put simply, he hated it. With passion.
"How dare you! I have never said that ridiculous phrase in my life!" Dracula shouted, forcing Mavis to bite her lip to keep from laughing. "Where did you changelings even hear that phrase?!"
"Chrysalis came up with it herself," Thorax replied. "I remember now, she said something about it being a gift for an ungrateful host, or something along those lines."
Dracula's face boiled with barely contained rage. "Chrysalis vas the one who started that?! I vill ruin her! I'll tear off her crooked horn and shove it vhere the sun doesn't shine!" He flung an arm out, pointing a taloned finger at Thorax. "Bring me Chrysalis! I vill show her vhat happens to those who mess around vith me!"
Thorax cocked his head to the side. "I'm afraid I can't do that. It's like we said, she's not around anymore. The last time I saw her, she was a statue in an Equestrian garden."
"She vhat?" Dracula blinked dumbly. "Hold on, Equestria, that… that's the place she vas alvays complaining about. The land vith the ponies."
Thorax nodded. "That's right. Together we managed to defeat Chrysalis, and a couple of other lunatics in the process, and she was turned to stone for her crimes."
The dark turn the conversation had taken took Mavis by surprise. Glancing at her father, she saw that he was just as shocked as her.
"Chrysalis… turned to stone?" Dracula stared blankly at the changelings as he struggled to process what he had heard. Eventually, he frowned and crossed his arms. "I vant proof. I vant to know for sure that this isn't just some trick of hers to get back into the hotel."
The two changelings shared a look that was equal parts surprised and exasperated. "Do you think the ponies would let us drag her back here?" The little changeling asked.
"Not a chance," Thorax replied flatly. He arched a chitinous brow as he turned back to Dracula. "But you could come through and see for yourself if you want. The ponies, and us changelings, are always looking to make new friends."
Dracula looked taken aback for a moment, but then he smiled widely. "Oh, oh yes, that's a, uh, good idea. I'll do that. Let me just, uh, fetch a few things before I come through."
Mavis frowned and crossed her arms. She knew that tone. He had absolutely no intention of going through the portal, he was just trying to end the conversation and get away quickly. Acting on an impulse, Mavis piped up, "I'll come too, if you don't mind."
"Mavy?!" Dracula whipped his head around in surprise, but Mavis ignored him.
"Of course not, you're more than welcome!" Thorax said eagerly.
Dracula spluttered as he blatantly tried to come up with some excuse to keep her from going. "You, uh, vh-vhat about Dennis? He'll get lonely vithout his mother."
"He'll be fine, I'm sure Johnny can manage him on his own for a little while," Mavis countered. "I'll just let them know what's going on, then we're ready to go. I won't be long."
Thorax waved as Mavis strode out of the room. She didn't bother to slow or even look around as her father followed her, trying to get her attention. Only when the pair were out of the secret passageway and back in the castle corridor, with the hidden door securely shut behind them, did Mavis stop abruptly and turn to him.
Dracula barely managed to stop before he crashed into her, stepping back awkwardly as he overbalanced. "Vha… Mavis, vhat do you think you are doing, vhy did you say that you vill go through that portal?"
"Because I want to see the changelings for myself, to make sure that they're not a problem, and I want to make sure that you stay out of trouble," Mavis replied. "You are going through the portal, aren't you?"
"Of course I'm not!" Dracula exclaimed. "Vhy vould I vant to do that? This is probably just some stupid new trick by Chrysalis."
Mavis scoffed. "A minute ago you were half convinced that the changelings were telling the truth about Chrysalis, now you're saying it's still a trick? What's really going on here?"
"There's nothing going on here," Dracula said innocently. In response to Mavis' disbelieving look, he sighed. "Fine. I just don't see the point in messing around with the changelings vhen ve don't have to. Besides, they could still be lying."
"It didn't sound like the changelings were lying," Mavis countered. "Why not give them a chance? It would bring in more customers, and it would reunite our people with monsters that haven't been seen in a century."
Dracula appeared to consider it for a second, but he quickly shook his head and drew himself up as if delivering a speech. "No. I don't trust Chrysalis, and I don't trust these changelings. Ve are not going, and that is final."
"Final?" Dracula baulked as Mavis rounded on him. "Final? I'll tell you what's final, I am going through that portal. With or without you."
Dracula backed away as his daughter advanced. "But Mavis, I… vh-vhat about Dennis-"
"Don't bring Dennis into this!" Mavis snapped. "After all of the awful things you did to him to try and get him to show his fangs, you are the last person who gets to tell me what I can and cannot do with my son! And since you keep saying you don't trust the changelings because of what they did to me, let's review what you have done, shall we?"
There was a loud thud as Dracula was backed up against the wall. He tried to stammer out a half-hearted defence, but Mavis ignored it. "First, you set up a fake village full of disguised zombies to convince me that humans were evil creatures who couldn't be trusted, and that I should spend my eternity locked away in this castle, on my 118th birthday! Then, when a human finally did stumble across the castle, the man who would become my husband, you sent him away because you didn't like the fact that I liked him!"
"Y-yes, but I did bring him back," Dracula said meekly.
"Next, you offered to look after Dennis while Johnny and I went to visit his parents. You swore that you had accepted that he might not become a vampire." Mavis pressed on until her fangs were inches from Dracula's throat, forcing him to tilt back and away from her. "Instead, you dragged him all over the country trying to force him to show his fangs. You threw him off a tower for crying out loud! And then! Then you had the audacity to try and lie to me about it! Yet somehow, after all of that, even after you got your wish and Dennis showed that he is a vampire, I still forgave you. If I can forgive all of that, then you can at least give these changelings a shot at redemption. And if you won't, then I will."
Without another word, Mavis swept away, storming through the corridors in a thoroughly vile mood. She wasn't quite sure why she was getting so worked up, but something about this situation, and her father's reaction to it, was getting right under her skin.
It didn't take long for Mavis to reach the corridor leading to her room. She reached for the door to her bedroom, then paused and pulled her hand back, taking a deep breath to calm herself. She preferred to avoid having her son see her unreasonably angry whenever she could.
Pushing the door open, Mavis couldn't help but smile when she saw her two favourite people sitting together on the bed.
Jonathan, her husband, had a mop of messy ginger hair on his head, and deep brown eyes that she could cheerfully spend hours looking into. He was the first human she had ever met and, despite having met many more since, he was still by far her favourite. Curled up in his lap was the best little nightmare that had ever happened to either him or Mavis.
Sporting a shock of incredibly curly hair even more vibrantly ginger than his father, Dennis was only a few weeks over five years old, and was happily reading a picture book while Johnny stroked his hair. The two looked up as Mavis walked in, and both gave her such warm and genuine smiles that it made her heart flutter. "Hey guys, how's it going?"
"We're cool, Mavy, Dennis was just showing off his sick reading skills before bedtime," Johnny said languidly.
"I'm reading, mommy!" Dennis mumbled sleepily.
Mavis drifted over to the pair and knelt down, ruffling Dennis's hair. "You sure are, my smart little guy. Just make sure not to stay up too late, okay?"
"Okay, mommy," Dennis replied, yawning widely.
Mavis gently stroked his cheek and looked up at Johnny. "I've got a favour to ask." Johnny tilted his head curiously. "I've just found out about one of dad's old secrets and-"
"Is it the collection of mermaid shells Murray convinced him to stash?" Johnny asked.
"No, it's- wait, mermaid what?!" Mavis shook her head, filing that little horror away for later incineration. "No, it's a portal to some other world. There's monsters there, too, but I want to go through and make sure it's safe before we start letting them stay here. I shouldn't be gone for more than a couple of days."
Johnny nodded. "No worries, me and Dennis can hold down the fort here until you get back. Right, little dude?"
"Right, daddy dude." Dennis smiled up at them, almost falling over backwards as he overbalanced in his half-asleep state.
"Quick question," Johnny put in. "Is Drac going with you, or…?"
Mavis was about to shake her head when a deep voice echoed through the room, "Yes, I am."
The three looked around to see Dracula step into the room. "Dad? Are you sure?" Mavis asked.
Dracula sighed. "I still don't trust Chrysalis, or the changelings, as far as I could throw them, but you were right. I should at least give the changelings themselves a second chance."
A chill breeze wafted out from the portal, ruffling Mavis' hair. Thorax was waiting exactly where they had left him, along with a handful of smaller changelings in a variety of bright colours.
"Sorry about them," Thorax said apologetically. "We've never had visitors like this before, so everyling is a little eager to meet you. Are you ready to come through?"
"Not if ve don't have to," Dracula muttered under his breath.
"We're ready," Mavis said loudly. She made to step forward, but she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.
Dracula held up a hand apologetically. "The portal spits you out on the other side a little… abruptly. Let me go first and show you how it's done." Suiting actions to words, he strode towards the mirror and reached out a hand.
The instant Dracula's hand touched the mirror there was a bright flash and the vampire was yanked through the glass surface, disappearing with an undignified, "Bleh!" Mavis watched, fascinated, as Dracula shot out through the other side of the mirror and landed in a crumpled heap before Thorax.
It took Mavis a moment to realize that Dracula had shapeshifted as he went through, though the form he now bore was unlike any she had seen him use before. He looked like some kind of pony in plushie form, with dark grey fur, black hair and tail, and a pair of great black batwings.
"Whoa, what?!" Thorax took several steps back, staring in surprise at Dracula. "What happened?!"
Dracula groaned and got to all fours, flexing his wings experimentally. "The portal changes those who go through it. If you think this is crazy, vait until you see vot you changelings look like on our side." He checked himself over once more before looking back over his shoulder. "Okay, Mavis. Your turn."
Mavis felt a shiver of anticipation as she looked at the mirror with fresh respect. This thing really was a portal to an entirely different world, one that she was about to visit almost on a whim. Concern flashed across Dracula's expression and, realising that he was mistaking the reason for her hesitation, Mavis confidently strode forward and stepped through the mirror.
The transition was… odd. The instant she touched the glass, Mavis was yanked forward by an invisible force. She felt a sudden shock run through her whole body, as if she had dove through the surface of a frozen lake, then suddenly found herself hurtling through the air like a cannonball.
It took Mavis a second to realize that the mirror had transformed her just as it had her father, but by then it was far too late to try and correct her flight and she hit the floor with a bump, rolling end over end until she finally slid to a halt on her belly.
"Mavis! Are you alright?!" Dracula was instantly at her side, reaching down with a wing.
"I'm fine, dad," Mavis said reassuringly. She was used to shapeshifting, so the sudden change in form wasn't an issue for her, though she could have cheerfully done without the embarrassment of arriving in such an undignified way. Getting back to her feet, or hooves in this case, Mavis tidied her hair with a foreleg and looked up at Thorax, who was now head and shoulders taller than her. "So, uh, hi! I'm Mavis, daughter of Mr Bleh Bleh-bleh"
"I'm Thorax, king of the changelings," Thorax replied with a bow of his head, ignoring Dracula's indignant spluttering. "Welcome to the Changeling Kingdom!"
Mavis looked around curiously. They were standing in a large room that almost resembled a cave, with thick green vines and ivy covering most of the irregular walls. "Um, nice place you have here," Mavis said politely.
"It's something of an improvement over the last time I visited, I'll give you that," Dracula put in. "I do miss the oppressive darkness and sinister shadows, but I'm glad the aura of despair and starvation has faded avay. It vas too clichéd."
"Says the one who lives in a creepy castle in the middle of the haunted woods in Transylvania," Mavis muttered.
Thorax chuckled and turned away, gesturing for them to follow. "Come on, I'll show you around. We've made a lot of changes since Chrysalis was evicted."
"Have you found a vay to feed other than by stealing love from other creatures?" Dracula shot.
"Actually, yes," Thorax countered sharply. "These days we share love with each other. In fact, discovering that we can do that was the catalyst that led to Chrysalis finally being kicked out."
Mavis glared at her father, who at least had the good grace to look contrite. The two vampires fell silent as they fell into step behind Thorax. The corridors outside were largely undressed stone, coated in places by thick vines and patches of ivy.
"This is our main hive," Thorax explained. "We have a few smaller ones dotted around, but this is the biggest, and the seat of our government. We also have a few families looking into emigrating into the surrounding countries."
"Emigrating, or infiltrating?" Dracula asked.
"Dad!" Mavis hissed.
"Vat? It's a fair question, they are changelings," Dracula countered.
Thorax chuckled. "To be fair, infiltration was about the only interaction we used to have with other races in Chrysalis' time. Thankfully, these days things have changed dramatically."
"How so?" Mavis asked, more to keep her father quiet than anything.
"For a start, our colors and form are a result of sharing love rather than stealing it," Thorax replied. "Aside from that, we're adopting different aspects of things such as holidays from other cultures, to make up for what Chrysalis wouldn't allow us to have."
"That sounds… scary," Mavis said quietly.
"It can be, especially given the difficulty we have had finding our own path now that Chrysalis is gone," Thorax admitted. He allowed himself a small smile. "To be honest, though, most of the time, I actually find it pretty exciting. There's so much out there for us to see, and to learn, and it's so much more satisfying to live in this world as builders, rather than parasites. To stand proudly alongside our neighbors as friends and allies instead of hiding in the shadows."
Mavis couldn't help but feel a little kinship with the changelings. She certainly understood all too well how he felt. "It seems like we have more in common than I thought."
"I'm glad to hear it!" Thorax said brightly. "And if you or your father want any more proof of how we have changed, just take a look at this." He stopped next to a hole in the cave wall, the simplest form of window, and gestured outside. Mavis looked outside and gasped loudly. "This is what the Changeling Kingdom has become."
