My Haunted Neighbourhood

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!