Chapter 1: Monster Street?!
Moving sucks. Especially if you're moving to a neighbourhood called Monster Street. What's up with that? Is it like a warning or something? Anyway, I'm Crimson Rose, a 12-year-old unicorn filly from Magicrania, a city in Austailia. I never thought I'd move to Coltalina. Especially to a neighbourhood like this...
My dad lifted up a ladder to the ceiling of our new house. I could see him working through the window while I eyed my new home. It was gloomy and old, the left side of the roof falling apart. The roof tiles were black and most of them were broken. House #18 (MY house) was dark grey with spider webs covering nearly every inch of every wall.
My mom stumbled out of a moving van parked near the board walk. Her hooves were full of books. She was holding up a sofa and some other items with her magic.
"Hi Hun!" she called out to me, the books blocking her face. I nodded in reply, but I wasn't sure she saw from under all the stuff she was carrying.
She entered the house and left me alone in the spacious garden, looking around. Some rose bushes were off in the right corner, touching the oak wood fence surrounding the place. Otherwise it was all grass and grass and grass. Pretty boring huh?
I dug my hoof in some bare patches of dirt, staining my pink coat. Oh well; I would take a shower later.
I had already made a small hole when I heard my mom shout, "Crimson, go around the street and find somepony to play with! Make some friends and don't just stand doing nothing!"
"OK MOM!" I shouted back, frowning. I wondered what sort of freaks would live here. Probably freaks like me and my family. I headed off, chuckling at my own joke.
After opening the creaky gate of my new house, I went down the street, passing old buildings that looked very similar to mine. When were these things made? Soon I was lost in my thoughts as I wandered on by the oddly-empty homes, until I saw House #29.
It was a new house; the paint wasn't cracked, all the windows had glass and even the roof seemed perfect. But then... why was it boarded up? Wooden planks blocked the windows and the door. A sign in the front yard said, "KEEP OUT OF PROPERTY".
I had just started to move on, when I saw a small flicker of light escaping from the attic window. Curious, I pushed open the gate in the front yard (which was strangely unlocked) and walked on the stone path towards House #29. I lifted my hoof to knock on the door, but hesitated. What if that light upstairs was just my imagination?
Stepping back, I looked up to the window; it was barely shining, as if someone had lit a candle. But there was a light. Gathering my courage, I pressed my hoof on the wooden door and knocked three times.
I went to check the window. Somepony had blown out the candle or whatever it was. Shrugging it off, I opened the gate and continued my neighbourhood exploration. As I retied the hair bands in my mane, I felt that creepy sensation on my back which always meant there was someone watching me.
Finally, I turned around to look over the boarded-up house, checking to make sure there was nopony there. I thought I saw a pair of silver eyes watching me from that same attic window.
The eyes disappeared after a few milliseconds, maybe they saw me glancing at them or something. Deciding it was just a trick of the light, I resumed my walk, passing the old houses of Monster Street.
"What are we going to do with her?" I asked my husband. Sooner or later, I knew my daughter, Crimson Rose, would notice the changes that occurred every time one of us became 13 years old. Why, she might even go through her first transformation.
"I know you want to tell her, but it can wait. Let her settle in first. She never even knew about this place!" my husband told me reassuringly. He patted me on the back and nodded towards the pile of furniture in the corner of the living room. Right, back to work.
"But Scarlett Sunflower, I think it's better not to surprise her," I reasoned as I moved a black, leather sofa with my blue magic. I watched my husband pull a dining table easily into another room, using his incredible earth pony strength.
"Stop worrying Moonlit Tulip!" he scolded me from the dining room. I cringed at the way he said my full name. We always called each other Hun or Dear. I went silent after that, attending to the furniture that needed to go in the different rooms.
In the end, I pulled in my daughter's things and left them in front of her room. She would probably want to set them up on her own. That filly has been very keen on using her magic for everything.
Scarlett Sunflower came to me and said quietly, "Sorry Dear. I shouldn't have gotten mad like that... Hey aren't we going to place this stuff?" he asked, pointing a hoof at Crimson's things. I shook my head no and he nodded.
Together we walked down to the kitchen and started to prepare dinner.
A newspaper floated beside me as the wind blew it away. I picked it up with my magic before it was out of reach. My eyes scanned the pages and articles as I walked along, not even paying attention as I picked up my pace, soon trotting after my newspaper. That was the problem with my magic; it always made the items I held float away from me.
Suddenly, I bumped into a pony. The shock caused my magic to let go of the newspaper and let it be carried away by the wind. I turned my attention to the young pegasus colt sitting on the board walk, dazed.
"Sorry!" I said, handing him a helping hoof as he got up.
"Yeah, it's OK. I bump into EVERYPONY!" he admitted with a wink.
He had had a dark-grey coat, a shaggy, blue mane, and haunting, orange eyes. White freckles dotted his cheeks. I noticed he was smaller than me, but he looked older. Oddly, his wings were giant and hung by his sides, nearly hiding his cutie mark; a smirking half-moon with a star on the top right next to it.
"Who ARE you?" he asked me, narrowing his eyes. "Never seen you around before."
"I'm Crimson Rose. Though I just moved into House #18, so I'm new here." I explained as his expression changed from suspicious to evil.
"Cool. I'm Night Prank. Let me give you some advice; watch your back. In Monster Street, everybody cares for themselves. Besides, I might play a few pranks on you. After all it's my special talent. But I don't get your cutie mark... a rose tied with a bow?" he replied as he quickly dusted himself off.
I looked at my cutie mark. To be honest, I wasn't sure what it meant either. But I wasn't going to look like a dumb-pony in front off Night Prank. After all, he might become my first friend and I need to remain on his good side, so that I don't get pranked on.
"It, um, means that I am a good... gardener? And I am very tidy..." I said, unsure. He didn't seem to notice and just nodded his head as if to say, "Lame talent, but OK".
"I'd better be going now... don't want my mom to get mad that I'm late for dinner!" he said, starting to trot away.
"Wait! Where do you live?" I called out after him, struggling to keep up with his steady pace.
"House #29." Night Prank said, leaving me in the dust as he took to the air, shouting a "Bye!" which I barely heard. I wondered what he meant by House #29. Nopony lived there as far as I knew. Who would want to live in a boarded-up house? This was very confusing...
Dinner! I nearly forgot. Galloping home, I sorted my jumbled thoughts until I reached that creaky, old gate. Finally, I entered the house and the amazing smell of my mom's famous Spinach Soup floated into my nose.
I know that lots of ponies hate spinach, but my mom's soup is delicious. She puts in these spices from Coltba, which makes it really good.
It felt good to rest my legs after that long walk. I enjoyed my soup as I sank into the soft cushion on the chair. My parents were looking worried, but that didn't matter right now. I just focused on enjoying my soup.
"Hun, have you been feeling itchy lately?" my mom asked me.
"No. Why?" I replied as I lifted a spoonful of soup into my mouth.
"We were just wondering because... um, because your coat looks a bit dirty today?" she answered lamely. I rolled my eyes at her amateur lie. There should be a Lie Class for grown-ups or something.
Throughout dinner I thought about Night Prank. There was NO WAY he could live in House #29. But then, maybe it was him that caused that light I saw in the attic window? Everything was so mixed up. And what did he mean by "watch your back"? Is anyone going to hurt me?
I pulled back the grey polka-dot curtain in front of the bathtub. I lowered myself into the foamy water, letting a warm sensation creep throughout me. A rubber pony floated around through the bubbles, my emerald eyes following it on its peaceful journey across the tub.
Pulling off my green hair bands, I let my loose mane spread around in the water. It felt really good to just relax after such a stressful day.
The bathroom had a window, which made me feel uncomfortable, because anyone could just look inside and see me all naked. I know ponies don't normally wear clothes but I don't like it if anybody is just staring at me while I sponge my coat.
I gazed into the evening sky through the window glass. The sky was streaked with beautiful lines of lavender, pink and some blue where the night had already came.
Suddenly, a shadowed pegasus flew across the sky, with wings that looked more dragon-like than the soft, feathered wings of a normal one. I sank into the bubbles and peered into the sky again; the pony or whatever it was had flown away. Maybe it wasn't there in the first place. Maybe I was just imagining weird things because of my weird day.
I took off my bunny slippers and placed them in front of my bed with my magic as I climbed into my fluffy covers. I snuggled into the layers of blankets and wished my parents good night. They clicked off the light and closed the door.
I couldn't fall asleep. Never feeling comfortable, I kept on turning around in my bed. Mom was right, I WAS feeling itchy. And more... furry.
My eyes adjusted to the darkness fairly easily and I brought my hoof up to see it. I gasped when I saw my neon-pink coat a bit longer than usual. It was hard to keep myself from screaming.
Throwing my blankets off, I held my sick stomach with one shaggy hoof. The sight of my long fur had made me really grossed-out. Stumbling into the bathroom (which was, luckily, right in front of my room), I went to the sink and waited for a minute.
I heard barfing noises from the bathroom as I lay in my bed.
"Scarlett, Hun, is Crimson... puking?" I asked my husband, wide-eyed. He snored in response. How could he sleep through such noise? Earth ponies amaze me.
Sunflower rolled around the bed and bumped into me. I ignored him like I do every night. Do all earth ponies roll around in their sleep? I've seen Crimson do it a thousand times even though she's a unicorn.
I pushed my husband away, maybe a bit too hard, since he fell off the bed and made a loud thumping noise as he hit the floor. I looked at him; his eyes were closed and he was sound asleep.
Cringing, I heard more disturbing noises from the bathroom. Deciding to check on my daughter, I pushed off my blankets and tip-hooved to the bathroom.
Creaking open the door, I whispered, "Crimson, are you OK? Your vomiting woke me up."
"Sorry mom," she said, wiping undigested food from her mouth. Just then, I noticed her changes. Her whole coat was furrier and her mane had grown longer, making it look unkempt. She caught me staring at her and glared at me.
"Hun, I'm sorry you had to go through this but the truth is..." I considered telling her everything but I knew that would make Scarlett mad, so instead I said, "the truth is that our family always goes through these changes when they're close to 13. It runs in the family."
My daughter stared at me for a few seconds before whining, "But how do I make it go away?"
I shook my head sadly while whispering quietly, "You can't. Once it's started, it happens every night!" I pointed to my longer coat.
Crimson blinked once, twice, before shaking her head and saying, "This is impossible!" Her legs wobbled as she slowly walked towards her room, while she wished me "good night" in a shaky voice.
Deciding that the problem was solved, I headed back to my room, where Sunflower had somehow pulled himself back up onto the bed. His own red coat was much longer than usual, looking a lot like Crimson's shaggy pink one.
I climbed into the bed and pulled the covers over me, closing my eyes as my husband's rhythmic snoring lulled me into sleep, letting me explore the never-ending land of dreams.
Why was my mom so weird? My whole body was growing thick fur and she said it runs in the family?! Is she crazy or something, because this is definitely not normal.
Shakily, I fell asleep. Unfortunately, sleep was awful. I had really strange nightmares where my whole family grew really long fur and we couldn't get it off no matter what. Then I dreamed that Night Prank was that silhouette I saw from my bath. He had turned into a dragon-pony or something.
I woke up sweating. Throwing my covers off, I went down the stairs and into the kitchen. After flicking the light on, I poured myself a glass of water and gulped it down in an instant.
Feeling better, I returned to my room. But before I had went inside, I went into the bathroom because I felt weird again. Only this time, the itchy feeling was in my eyes!
The darkness didn't bother me. I had adapted to it a long time ago. Seeing in the darkness always came easy to me; maybe THAT should be my special talent!
Walking up to the sink, I peered into the mirror hanging above it. I nearly screamed from what I saw... my eyes were glowing!
Chapter 2: Aw Man, School?
I woke up to the loud banging of someone knocking on the front door. Why so early? Don't ponies ever sleep in? I dragged myself out of bed, throwing the covers off and letting the cold creep over my legs, giving me goosebumps.
"I GOT IT!" I yelled towards my parents' bedroom. Quickly, I went downstairs and opened the door to reveal a grey-coated mare with a short, black mane shooting out in every direction.
Looking at her stone-grey eyes, I asked, "Can I help you...?"
The odd mare said cheerfully, "Hello, I believe you're Crimson Rose, Moonlit's 12-year-old daughter?" She brushed back a strand of hair into its seemingly correct spot.
I nodded and then turned back to the house. To the visiting mare I said, "Wait here. I'll get my mom." I ran to mom's bedroom and bucked the door open.
"Wakey-wakey mom! You have a visitor!" I shouted at my parents, who stirred in their sleep but didn't wake up. Growing frustrated I stomped to my mom and shook her as hard as I could. She opened her eyes groggily and glared at me.
"What was that for, Crimson? Ever heard of beauty sleep? It's pretty much six thirty in the morning. Go back to bed." she said as she yawned, waving a dismissive hoof at me.
"Mom, somepony's at the door. They're looking for you!"
"Ugh, alright Crimson." my mom groaned as she sat up and stretched. I shot her a look, clearly meaning can you hurry up? She ignored me and continued her slow escape from the blankets.
Finally, we headed down, leaving dad to sleep in. Lucky him.
My mom gasped as she saw the visitor. She exclaimed happily, "Stone Crave! Long time, no see!" They hugged each other, making me stare in confusion.
"You know each other?" I asked, my mind completely muddled. My mom and Stone Crave grinned.
"Oh, we've been friends ever since your mother was born!" she explained, putting a hoof around mom's shoulder. I blinked in shock. Wait... my mom was born here? Why didn't she ever tell me? That's just weird.
"I'd really better be going though, my newborn needs to be fed," Stone Crave said to my mom, "so, I'll see you later. Can't wait to meet your husband!" Winking she started to trot back in the direction of her house (probably, I don't even know where she lives).
"Bye!" my mom called out after her friend. I waved to her, still pondering. Then an interesting question popped into my mind.
"Hey mom, why didn't you wake up early today? You're usually a morning mare." I asked, raising my eyebrows.
"I woke up a bit after your vomiting," she answered, making me blush at the mention of my little experience, "because it sounded like someone was breaking into the house or something. Maybe they were going out, but nothing looked stolen."
Uh oh. I had hoped it had been just a nightmare, but my misadventure last night came back to my mind. I remember seeing my eyes glow in the mirror and getting this wild feeling... as if I had so much energy but couldn't spend it on anything. Then I had charged out of the door, shaggy coat and all, straight onto the street.
I couldn't remember much after that. Flickering images of ponies gasping and running away, and howling coming from somewhere near me... or I was the one howling. I also remember the free way I had felt the wind stroke my mane as I ran faster than I ever had before.
So, it was probably not a nightmare. But I don't get it. I woke up in my bed, though I don't remember getting back to the house. Oh well, never mind about that; I'll figure it out later.
"Anyway, Crimson, I've got some great news!" my mom chirped. "You're going to school tomorrow! Isn't that the best news ever?"
My jaw practically dropped to the floor. School. Tomorrow. Was my mom crazy? I can't go to school so early, I just moved here! One of my eyes twitched in disbelief.
"Mom, you have got to be kidding me." I said blankly, my eyes looking at nothing in particular.
She shook her head and continued blabbing about the school. "Did you know that it's only for unicorns? You'll get to learn a lot of magic and train your control! There you will have so many friends! The blog said they are a very accepting community with lots of social foals that are eager to get to know new students! Isn't that great?" She smiled so widely, I wondered how her face could fit it all in.
"Uh, if it says so in the blog, that doesn't mean it's exactly true," I mumbled grumpily, "besides, I don't even WANT to go to school yet. I don't have any supplies!"
"Don't worry, dear! The school provides everything! I swear that this will be the best educational opportunity you'll ever get!"
I groaned in despair and trudged towards the house, dragging my hooves across the grass and occasional spot of mud. All the while, my mom bounced alongside me, going on about all the "wonderful" things at the school.
Zoning out, I ignored my mom and thought about how hard it would be to find foals that would be willing to be friends. The one thing I did catch from my mom's unstoppable talking was that the school was called A.S.S.: Arcane School Superior. Say laaame! I don't want to go to a school called ASS! That's ridiculous!
I sighed and marched to my bedroom. There was no way I was going to school tomorrow. I spent half of the day reading while my parents put the rest of the furniture in place.
Turning onto page 204, I got a great idea. Running downstairs I yelled to my dad in the kitchen, "I'm going for a walk! Coming back at dinner!" Secretly I thought, See ya later, suckers!
After running down the street, I stopped at house #29. There it was with its boarded up windows and door; completely deserted. The silence was making me feel uncomfortable so I said loudly, "Hey, Night Prank, it's me, Crimson. Are you here 'cause this is kind of awkward..." I trailed off, having nothing else to say.
After waiting for a few minutes, I grew bored. Yeah, I know that house #29 isn't my property but when you're bored you just do stupid things. So I picked up a rock near the board walk and threw it at that top attic window. It made a small "clink" sound as it bounced off a plank.
I levitated it with my magic and was about to throw it again when I felt soft breathing on my back.
"Crimsooon, Crimsoooon..." a raspy voice whispered behind me.
"Scarlett, I think she had her first change." I told my husband nervously. I didn't know how he would react. "We have to tell her. She has to know." I used my magic to put away a few spoons in a drawer.
"We'll tell her in good time, don't worry. Right now, we have to get settled in properly. Crimson is OK. Besides, it's not like it's in the newspapers or something!" he joked, drying a plate with a baby blue towel.
I gulped. If that was out in public... Just then, the bell rang. I rushed over to see to the door. A rolled-up newspaper sat on the doormat. I couldn't see the articles properly so I unrolled the paper.
"Scarlett, we have a problem. Your hypothesis wasn't exactly correct!" I showed him the newspaper, nearly shoving it in his face. He gasped: on the front page stood a blurred photo of Crimson Rose with her shaggy coat and mane, terrorizing ponies.
"Buck my life." Sunflower grumbled under his breath.
I froze. Who was behind me? Slowly I turned around only to face a horrifying sight. A pony's face; all bleeding. Deep wounds dragged over its cheeks and one of its bloodshot eyes was falling out.
I felt my lunch rising up. Putting a hoof to my mouth I choked back a scream. Suddenly the pony pulled its face off. There stood Night Prank, smirking as he held the bleeding pony mask.
"You little... I will get my revenge!" I said, pointing a hoof accusingly at the jokester.
He grinned wider and said, "You? No way! You'll never be able to beat a prankster like me!" He boasted, striking a pose. I facehoofed and cursed unhappily.
I turned back to house #29 and asked him, "You live here? It's kind of, let's say weird." I didn't get a reply. Huh? I thought. I looked around for Night Prank. But he was gone.
I woke up, refreshed. Yesterday I had just gone home after Prank left. Looks like I fell asleep. My good mood dropped as I remembered what day today was: my first day of school here.
Sliding down to breakfast, my mom greeted me with a nervous smile. "It's OK dear, you're going to be fine today!" I think she was trying to convince herself more than me. My dad handed me a saddlebag.
"Your snack is inside. Have a nice day, Honey!" he pushed me out of the door and rushed me along. "Don't want to be late right?" he said.
I just nodded and headed to school, looking at a map my mom had given me.
After about ten minutes, I arrived at a giant building, a wide sign saying "A.S.S." in golden letters. I sighed and headed in, pushing open the glass doors and arriving in the middle of a current of foals rushing to get to their classes. I pushed my way through them and muttered, "I wonder what will happen today..."
