Along a dark, deserted road,
There stands a stark and grim abode
An old manor house looms, black and tall
Shrouded by a grave and deathly veil
Beyond the ancient wrought-iron gate,
A thousand nightmares lie in wait
For dark things dwell in this house of fear,
And none but the dead dare trespass here

“Hurry up, Willowshine!” Blaze hissed quietly, standing on the ground outside her window. “Snowstorm will be here any minute!”

“I’m coming, okay? I had to get the video camera packed,” her sister answered, jumping down from the windowsill, a bag hanging from around her neck.

“Sure you did,” Blaze whispered as they walked around to the front of their house. “You were telling yourself to toughen up and stop being such a scaredy-cat, weren’t you?”

Willowshine smirked at Blaze. “You wish, don’t you? Do you have the board?”

“Yes!” she replied quietly, nudging her shoulder. She suppressed a laugh.

The moonlight illuminated the driveway as the two 17-year-olds stepped in front of their house. “It’s not too early, is it?” Blaze murmured nervously, looking from side to side. “I mean, everyone’s gone home, right?”

“I can’t see anyone.”

“I wish Snowstorm would hurry up and get here,” Blaze muttered, shifting her computer bag so that it lay a bit more comfortably against her leg.

“There she is! Turn the camera on, doofus!” she said after a minute, pointing to a dark gray and white mare that was walking down the street towards them. Willowshine pulled out the video camera with her magic, turned it on, and began filming.

A date blinked on the bottom of the video camera screen: October 31. Below that, was a time: 9:34 P.M.

“Come on, Willowshine! Snowstorm is looking for us!” Blaze nudged her sister, trying to push her down the sidewalk as quietly as possible.

Willowshine stepped back as her sister trotted forwards and followed her as she marched down the street, waving at the pony who was standing in front of a scratched-and-dented wagon that looked like it had seen better days.

Snowstorm pulled down the ramp of the wagon and Blaze climbed in, then nodded for Willowshine to give her the camera. She handed it over as she took a small hop, jumping into the wagon. The result was a semi-loud bang. Snowstorm and Blaze both shushed her.

Their cousin shut the ramp, then walked around to the front and backed into the harness. “Sit down, guys. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.”

The wagon bounced down the dirt road, skipping along with a nearly broken wheel. “Weren’t you going to get a new wheel?” Willowshine asked as she tried to grip the edge of her seat, her magic still holding the video camera aloft.

“I was, but the shop’s closed today. It’s Nightmare Night, remember?”

“Oh, I remember,” Willowshine said quietly, her face pale. Blaze grinned.

The wagon bumped along in silence. “Willowshine, is there enough battery for the entire séance?” Snowstorm called back, breaking the uneasy silence.

“Yes, of course. And even if we run out, I have an extra battery.”

“But do you really want to waste footage time getting a battery out of your bag?”

“Okay, then, I’ll turn it off.”
•••••

“Here we are!” Blaze announced as Snowstorm stopped the cart on the side of the road after a couple of miles, and Willowshine turned the video camera on again. Snowstorm got out of the harness and pulled down the ramp, letting her two cousins jump out onto the gravel road.

A thick mist had settled over the world. “Are you sure no one’s coming? It’d be quite a story, wouldn’t it? Three kids run over by a random wagon on Nightmare Night, just in front of the haunted castle?”

“No, no one’s coming, it’s Nightmare Night! And, considering the castle’s past, it wouldn’t really be a surprise, would it? After the Pies, no one would be terrified. Just upset,” Snowstorm answered.

The three teens walked a little ways a long the grassy side of the road. Even though most roadsides were littered with empty beer cans and cigarettes, the small stretch of land next to the abandoned castle had nothing there, at all.

They reached the tall, wrought iron gates at 10:01 P.M.

The gates were rusted and covered with ivy. A padlock lay against the gates, looking ready to fall apart. Blaze picked up the padlock with her magic. It fell apart instantly, cutting her hoof as it fell to the ground. Blaze gave a tiny gasp of pain as she clutched her bleeding hoof, before tearing off a bit of her jacket with her magic to wrap around it. Her blood had already dripped onto the forest floor.

“You okay Blaze?” Willowshine asked, coming forwards to the gate.

“Yes, thanks.” Blaze reached forwards with her good hoof to push it open, but before her hoof could make contact with the rusted wrought iron, it swung open mysteriously, creaking as it moved inch by inch over the leaf-covered ground.

“Alright, then. Let’s go,” Blaze said, trotting past the gate. Snowstorm followed her, and Willowshine had no choice put to follow, the camera floating level with her eyes.

The path up to the castle was long and twisted, but open to the full moon shining through the mist. Leaves crunched underhoof, and that was the only sound. No animals lived around the abandoned castle; perhaps they too sensed something evil here.

Blaze, Snowstorm, and Willowshine climbed the stairs up to the large wooden door. Blaze gave it a small push; it swung open ominously. The shadows stretched, and no light was to be found inside. Snowstorm took a flashlight out of her bag, and Blaze took one out of her bag, too. They turned them on, and the light only sent the hall into an even greater darkness. “Come on, Willowshine. No backing out now,” Blaze said, her voice threatening to shake and reveal how scared she was.

The three teens stepped across the threshold and into the castle. It was exactly 10:07 P.M. as they walked into the veil of darkness. It was a minute later when the doors swung shut behind them, and locked.

•••••

Three Area Teens Still Missing
Parents of the three teenagers who have been missing since October 31st report that they still have hope that their children will be found safe and unharmed. In statements given to the police, friends of the missing teens reported that the three Ponyville High School seniors had plans to hold a séance on Nightmare Night in the castle of the royal pony sisters, the deserted castle just beyond the Everfree Forest.

This once-beautiful Celestian castle has stood unoccupied for the last 23 years and has since fallen into a decrepit state of disrepair. The castle has been the site of several unexplained occurrences since the mysterious disappearance of its last owner, Princess Chandra, giving encouragement to the local rumors that the mansion is haunted. Chandra vanished in 2099 along with her sister, Lila, and her niece, Belladonna.

Sheriff Gregory Longstorm and his deputies have investigated the manor and reported no noticeable signs of forced entry. “There’s something very wrong about that place,” stated Longstorm, whose brother had dropped dead in front of the manor from heart attack a few years ago. “You can actually feel it. Something’s just not right. My brother never had heart problems before he walked past that decrepit castle, and Richard Thompson was the happiest man I knew—why would he commit suicide in that creepy place? I just wish the city would tear it down so we could be rid of it, once and for all.” Cont. page C2.

•••••

Ponyville Holds Funeral For Missing Teens
The town of Ponyville has finally admitted defeat in its search for the three missing teens, who went to the castle of the royal pony sisters on Nightmare Night to hold a séance and never came back out. The police searched for bodies but came up empty hoofed, so a memorial will be put down instead of an actual gravestone.

The service for Blaze Shy, Willowshine Shy, and Snowstorm Dash will be held on December 23 at Hikary Funeral Home. Cont. page B6.

Author's Note

Please excuse my attempt to create pony names. I'm not very good at it.

And yes, the poem is based off of Nox Arcana's Darklore Manor. I do not own any of that music or the stories that relate to it, you know the drill. Just don't call the cops on me! I own nothing, I swear!