The Night That Normal Changed Its Meaning
A dark green pegasus pony darted through a set of three hoops, then turned and successfully cleared another three. His brown mane and tail folded back as the air rushed around him. He flapped his wings and took another turn, but he didn't realise that he had turned the wrong way. He crashed into a solid cloud and was knocked out stone cold.
***
He slowly opened his eyes, seeing bright white all around him.
"Am I dead?" he muttered.
"No..." a high pitched voice said, giggling.
"Where am I?"
"The hospital, silly!" the voice said again.
The pegasus took a look around him and saw three ponies; a pink earth pony with brown hair, a grey pegasus stallion with white hair and an older orange stallion with brown hair. The pony quickly identified the three. The pink and the grey ponies were his best friends and the older one was the doctor.
"How long was I out for?" he asked.
"A few hours." the doctor replied.
The green pegasus looked to his wings and saw that there seemed to be nothing wrong, but his head was pounding like crazy. He reached a hoof to touch it but failed to make contact with his own face.
"W-where's my face?" he cried.
"Relax, doofus, it's still there! It's just flat from that wicked faceplant on the cloud." the grey pegasus laughed.
"Oh. Thanks, Leopard." the green pegasus smirked; he was used to insults from his best friend.
"How are you feeling, Shan?" the pink unicorn asked.
"Dandy, except half of my face is pressed into itself." Shan Widow, the green pegasus, sighed.
"Oh...right. Sorry."
"No, it's fine Sparkie."
"You were always a bit of a derpy hoof with your flying." Leopard laughed.
"Says you! You hit the second ring on your first time!" Shan returned a menacing laugh.
"Pfft. My mind was on better things."
The doctor began to look impatient, everyone went quiet. He held Shan's snout.
"W-what're you doing?" he asked in a whimper.
"This won't hurt a bit. I'm just fixing your face." the doctor replied.
The doctor pulled hard at Shan's face, he resisted the temptation to scream. His face just needed that quick tug and it was as normal as ever; except for the big black mark on his muzzle.
"Ah, that mark might he there for a while." the doctor giggled.
"It looks cool!" Leopard commented.
"Oh, I hope you're alright, Shan." Sparkie sighed.
"I'll be fine, I'm tough!" he gloated.
Leopard nudged him hard in the stomach, making him let out a loud "OOF!".
"Or maybe not." Leopard laughed.
***
Leopard and Shan were walking outside the Camus, looking to get a snack from the nearby bakery. Leopard was describing a myth he had heard about once.
"...and so the vampire ponies mercilessly hunt down their prey, not giving up until they're dead! When they go in for the kill, KASPALSH, pony guts everywhere! But not for long, the vampire'll eat up those guts in an instant, then go off to worship the devil pony, leaving the carcass of the poor, innocent and dead mortal lying on the street."
"Sounds...lovely, Leo. I'm kinda put off eating now." Shan laughed.
"Just makes me want to eat more!" he cackled, "you sure you don't want something?"
"Maybe a drink...I dunno."
"Cherryade?"
"In the name of the pony Gods, no. Too much like blood."
"Put you off the colour red?" Leo chucked, "ah what's wrong with a little blooooood?"
He flailed his hooves around at the green pegasus.
"Yeah, you might be taking it a tad too far, Leo." Shan sighed.
"Whatever, sorry," replied Leo, "if you ain't eating anything I'll stay put too."
"You sure you don't want something?" Shan asked.
"I can wait until dinner. Hay spaghetti night, right?"
"Yeah." Shan sat down on the pavement.
"You a little down?" Leo asked.
"Just tired. My face still hurts."
"Right. Well mathematics wont help at all. Wanna bunk?" Leo smirked.
"No, it's fine. I have midnight class to worry about for the moment."
"Why do you take midnight class anyway? It's good for nothing."
Shan didn't answer. He saw a particularly strange pony walking slowly on the road. It was very tall and wearing shaggy brown robes, so it was difficult to distinguish it's gender or species. It's face was hidden and it had a long flowing blue mane.
"What's with the emo?" Leo sniggered.
The pony turned around and walked up to Shan and Leo, examining them closely, then dropping a leaflet to them and walking onwards.
"Creep." Leo whispered.
Shan picked up the leaflet with his hoof and read it in his head.
"What's it say, Shanny-boy?" asked Leo.
"Cirque Du Freak. I don't speak fancy."
"Me neither, but I think the words 'cirque' and 'freak' kinda stand out, derpy."
"Right. So it's a freak show?"
"AWESOME!" Leo shouted.
"Keep it down."
"Sorry, shy guy."
"Main attractions include; the pony who can eat anything, the bearded mare, The Great and Powerful Trixie and more." Shan continued reading.
"Trixie? Doesn't sound 'great and powerful' with a name like that." Leo snarled.
Shan shuddered and gasped in sheer horror.
"Leo, look at the picture of her."
"What? It's just a re-OH MY GOODNESS."
Even Leo who normally loved the idea of a freak or mythical beast pony was freaked out by this. 'The Great and Powerful Trixie' was a unicorn. A species of pony that was thought to be extinct a millennia ago due to mass hunting by barbaric ponies. To claim to own or know one in this modern day was almost an insult because of the reminder of the ponies of the past and their violent ways.
"We gotta go to this!" Leo smiled.
"What?! It sounds awful!" Shan said.
"Exactly! Fun, fun, fun!"
"It's at midnight tonight at Horsylvania Theater...tickets on door. Oh shoot, midnight. Oh well! Looks like I can't come! I have midnight class." Leo faked a large grin.
"Screw midnight class. Bunk it. You're coming to this with me."
"You could go by yourself, I wouldn't want to miss midnight class."
"You would. To see the unicorn."
"It's probably not even real!"
"Won't you regret it when I've seen a real-life unicorn and you haven't? 'It's horn was so freaky!' 'Whoah, you are so brave Leo, have all my babies'. The mares'll love me!"
"I don't see your logic in that. I'm still not coming." Shan stood up and began to walk back to school.
"I dare you."
"I don't have to listen to your childish threats, Leo. I need to go to midnight class tonight."
"Come with me or I'll tell Sparkie how you feel!" he grinned.
Shan stopped in his tracks and blushed, he quickly turned around to Leo.
"Alright, you got me. I'll go."
"Sweet! Lay one on me!" Leo laughed, sharing a hoof-bump with Shan.
***
Later that night, in their dorm, Leo and Shan were getting ready to sneak out of campus to get to the local theater.
"Are you sure about this, Leo?" Shan asked for about the tenth time.
"Yes, yes, yes. A thousand times yes! Can we just go?" Leo replied, putting down his horror story magazine.
Shan slowly nodded. The two slowly trotted out of their dorm. It was after lights out and the hall monitors had just returned to their sleeping places too; the perfect opportunity for them to sneak out. They approached the gate, which was locked shut.
"We'll have to fly over the wall." Leo said.
"Really? You saw what happened to me this morning." Shan pointed out.
"I'll carry you, you big wuss!" Leo laughed, flying above Shan and grabbing him.
He took him over the wall and set him down on the other side. They made their way in the dark of the night to the Horsylvania Theatre.
***
The place hadn't been used in years; this show can't possibly have got any legal permission to use it either. Outside stood the ominous figure who gave the colts the leaflet. It rose it's head and spoke in a booming deep voice.
"Have you come for the show?"
"Y-yes." Leo replied, tried to cover his fear.
"Is your friend here for the same purpose?"
"Yes." Shan whispered.
"Two teenage colts?" the pony smiled.
The pony unhooded herself. She had a unicorn horn and pegasus wings. She was a deep royal blue and had a moon cutie mark.
"Oh gosh, a unicorn!" Shan gasped.
"Are you Trixie?" Leo asked.
"Trixie, I am not. For I am Luna! Owner of Cirque Du Freak!" she said joyously, a much different tone from previously.
"Where do we get tickets?" inquired Leo.
"From me, little ponies. Lets see...I have one for you and...aha! The fun has been doubled! Two tickets!" she smiled.
"How much?" Shan asked suspiciously.
"Free of charge for two colts as handsome as yourselves!"
Shan and Leo blushed. They liked this Luna character a lot. Leo took the tickets and they walked in through the entrance.
"Enjoy!" Luna smiled.
The two were gone and somepony walked up to Luna.
"They're both the ones we foretold." the blue pony said.
"But which one is which?" Luna asked.
"We will have to wait and see. The Great and Powerful Trixie is needed onstage, my dear Luna." Trixie crept back into the shadows.
***
The inside of the building was absolutely bursting with ponies of all shapes, sizes and colours. Earth ponies and pegasi alike.
"I hope Luna only charmed us into our tickets. They better have paid." Leo snorted, sitting down.
"Something tells me she liked us." Shan laughed.
As soon as Shan, the last pony in the room, sat down the lights dimmed quickly. Chattered quietened down. Smoke emerged on the stage and Luna walked forth to the front. She was wearing a shiny crystal tiara and a beautiful dress to match her mane. People muttered when they saw her unicorn horn, which was carrying a small bag with magic.
"Welcome, fillies and gentlecolts, to Cirque Du Freak!" she announced, "just a word of warning, the faint of heart must leave. Now."
A few ponies slowly got up and walked away. Luna opened her bag and blew some dust from it to them. They ran quickly when the dust got to them.
"Amazing stuff, this. It makes one run away from a situation back to their home and they will never remember a thing of what they were doing," she laughed, "now that the brave of you are here to stay I would like to introduce our first act. May I present to you Twinkie Pie; the colt who can eat anything! I hope you brought your trash, because he's really hungry!"
She stepped aside and nothing happened for a few seconds, then there was a loud thud and the entire room shook, then another and a continual chain of these loud noises. A large shadow slowly stepped to the center of the stage, covered by the mist made from the smoke machines. The mist cleared and revealed a pony that was essentially a giant pink blob with some yellow hair. The audience began to laugh, whoop and holler.
Leo reached under his seat and found an empty drink bottle.He stood on his hind hooves and everypony stopped making noise and looked at him. He held the bottle high in the air and threw it directly at Twinkie Pie. The pony simply opened his mouth and swallowed it whole. The audience began to cheer and throw whatever hey could find at him. He just kept his mouth open and took it all in, then attempted what looked like a bow and waddled off stage.
"Let's hear it for Twinkie Pie!" Luna cheered, the crowds followed.
She signaled for everypony to quiet down and took the center of the stage again.
"Now, everypony, for this next act, I need you to all be very, very quiet. The slightest bit of noise will set our next performance off like a rocket and I am not joking." her face turned from cheery to very stern and serious.
The crowd fell deadly silent. Luna began to whisper.
"I present to you, the Manticore."
Two very small ponies wearing hoods wheeled on a cage. inside was a horrible creature, asleep and snoring very loudly.
"You may stroke it, but be very gentle and quiet." Luna whispered.
The two ponies brought the cage to the stairs between the audience. Ponies reluctantly reached out to feel the creature. Leo did so too and sniffed his hoof, then brought it to Shan to smell. Shan backed up quickly and almost gagged, Leo snickered quietly.
Then the worst possible and most embarrasing thing happened. Right as the manticore was next to somepony, he farted. Farted. The gastric release echoed loudly across the theater and the manticore opened an eye quickly. Everypony wanted to scream but they held it back. The manticore roared loudly and slashed at the pony who farted, digging its claw into his hoof and slicing it clean off like a butcher knife on ham. The pony screamed at the top of his voice.
Luna blew a different dust from another sack at the manticore quickly, looking very panicked as she did so. Her magic guided the dust to the creature and forced itself up its nose; it returned to its noisy sleep. The dishoofed pony whimpered quietly, looking at his blood quite violently gushing from his open leg as the two small ponies brought the manticore to backstage. Another two came on at the same time as the others left and walked up to the pony. One of them had a horn sticking out of its hood which scared the pony even more; but his fear didn't last for long.
The unicorn levitated the arm and held it where it used to be, then the other got some materials from up its sleeve and simply stitched the hoof back on, good as new. The pony gasped loudly, testing his hoof by waving it around; it was fully repaired. He started to applaud the small ponies, as did the rest of the audience. Shan especially liked their act of kindness in such a dark moment. The audience cheered as the hooded ponies returned silently backstage.
Nothing eventful happened throughout the next few acts; except for a colt who was half snake and commanded a boa, he kept looking towards Shan curiously. There was a mare with a beard that wouldn't stop growing, then she simply forced it back into her chin. A pegasus with only one wing who could do amazing somersaults. After him, Luna stood the the middle of the stage again.
"Fillies and gentlecolts, this is our final performance for the night. This is the one you've been waiting for folks, it's happening right now! May I present to you the elusive, the magnificent, the Great and Powerful Trixie!"
A very loud fanfare blared through speakers dotted around the theater room as a pony slowly walked onstage, blending with the mist that blanketed the performance. She wore a hat and cape which were the only distinguishable features in the mist. She stood on her hind hooves and the mist cleared quickly, revealing herself. She was a light blue with bright red eyes and a fang going over her bottom lip. She had no cutie mark but a large black blotch. Her hooves were as black as if they hadn't been cleaned for decades. There was a large scar on the right side of her face.
"I am The Great and Powerful Trixie!" she announced.
Shan looked over her curiously. Leo was on the edge of his seat. He turned to Shan and whispered.
"Do you know who that is? I just realised!"
"The unicorn from the leaflet?" Shan replied.
"No! She's Trixula! The vampire pony from one of my magazines!"
"I don't read your magazines. They're all a bunch of hooey aren't they?"
"No way. I can tell it's her distinctly. If she is a unicorn, I can be sure."
A pink aura surrounded her hat and it slowly lifted up, revealing her blue-white mane and more importantly, her unicorn horn. Leo was astounded. The hat kept lifting up and it hit the ceiling.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie will now jump up and bring the hat back down." she announced calmly.
"No way! That's way too high up!" a pony in the crowd shouted.
She smirked and bent her back hooves. She sprung up an amazing height and grabbed the hat with her hoof and slammed back down onto the stage. The audience went wild, more mad than for any of the other acts. She put her hat out for them to be quiet, then her horn began to glow and she closed her eyes and thought hard. She muttered something under her breath as a bead of sweat ran down her scar.
"Go to the chosen one." she whispered inaudibly.
The hat disappeared.
"Hey, cool! Shan! You're wearing the hat!" Leo exclaimed.
Shan looked up, he was wearing Trixie's hat! Everypony cheered. Trixie looked intently at Shan and then smiled.
"Why don't you come onstage, young colt? The Great and Powerful Trixie could use an assistant!" she laughed.
Shan was unsure at first, but he was having so much fun at this show. He happily walked onto the stage and took a bow, everypony cheered again.
"YEAH, SHAN! SHOW 'EM WHO'S BOSS!" Leo screeched.
The audience began silent again. Trixie focused her magical aura on her hat again and it grew and literally ate Shan. The audience gasped, then Shan was spit upwards and landed with his hoof balancing his body on the tip of the hat. The audience laughed and cheered loudly.
"Looks like in Horsylvania, hat wears you!" Luna laughed.
"Alright, Shan was it?" Trixie asked, helping Shan down from the hat and putting it back on her head, "can you stay here and entertain the crowd? The Great and Powerful Trixie needs to go grocery shopping."
Without a word, Trixie walked out of the theater. Shan stood awkwardly for a second.
"I...uh..." he muttered.
Then the door to the room opened quickly and a blue flash leapt on stage. Trixie was back with about 4 bags of shopping.
"Done! Did you make them laugh their flanks off?" Trixie asked.
"I'm not the funnies pony around." Shan said, blushing.
"What;s that on your nose?" Trixie asked.
"I flew into a cloud during flight training this morning." Trixie then said, exactly in Shan's voice.
"I was about to say that!" she continued.
"How do you know what I'm about to say?!" the two exclaimed at once.
The audience was in hysterics, but after seeing Trixie travel so fast, Leo had gone silent and sullen.
"I'm afraid that's all The Great and Powerful Trixie has to show you tonight! Please give your loudest hooves and hollers to my brilliant assistant, Shan Widow!" she smiled, holding up Shan's hoof.
Shan was about to ask how she knew his surname, but he was washed out by the amazingly loud audience. Him and Trixie both took a boy and he returned to his seat. Trixie returned backstage but took one last look at Shan and Leo before going behind the curtain.
"Thank you all very much for coming! I can see in your hearts that none of you will ever speak of this to someone who was unaware of the show," Luna said, reaching into her sack, "and for the others..."
She blew the dust at a small amount of ponies, they galloped away quickly under its effect. The audience then screamed with waves of cheers. All except Leo who sat staring at the curtain Trixie had just gone behind.
"I'll meet you outside, Shan. I just wanna look around the theater for a bit." he said under the cheers.
"You sure? I can look with you." he replied, he was clapping as hard as he could.
"Nah, I just wanna look by myself."
"If you're certain." Shan said, joining the leaving crowds as he waved to Luna for a last time.
The entire audience but Leo had cleared.
"You must leave." Luna said.
"I want to speak to Trixie." he replied sternly.
"You cannot, she is busy." she said.
"I want to speak to Trixie." Leo repeated.
"Will you leave if I allow you?" Luna sighed.
"Yes." Leo said.
Luna trotted backstage and came back with Trixie.
"Oh. The Great and Powerful Trixie was expecting Shan." she said.
"Well you're gonna have to expect me more often," Leo smirked, "'cause I want you to turn me into a vampire."
Trixie stood looking at him for a moment.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie shall not. You are not as the prophecy has foretold." Trixie said.
Shan entered the room again.
"Leo? Are you talking to someone?" he asked.
Leo stood silently. Now he was annoyed at Shan for interrupting him. He didn't want to tell his best friend about his plans.
"Just about to leave. Come on, Shan." he sighed.
"No, Shan, come here." Trixie said quickly.
"Uh...alright." Shan said, slowly walking down to the stage.
"Your friend has just asked Trixie to make him into a vampire. Would you miss him if Trixie did?" she asked.
"You did what?! Are you..." Shan gasped, "back to the point, of course I would."
"What if Trixie turned Shan into a vampire? Would you miss him, Leopard Dart?" she asked
"Not really. I'd be jealous as hell." he snorted.
"Thanks." Shan laughed.
"I'm not joking." Leo said.
Trixie looked at Shan directly in the eyes.
"Shan, you are the chosen one of a prophecy. You must become a vampire, it is as destiny states. Trixie will turn you into one. Otherwise, Trixie will have to kill you." she said.
"What?! Wait, what prophecy? And why would you have to kill me? What the hell is going on?" Shan shouted.
"Trixie will explain all only if you let Trixie turn you into a pony vampire."
"Do it." Shan said.
"What?! No way, you can't abandon me like this!" Leo said.
"I can still stay with you. I bet all those vampire myths are fake. Now how do I become a vampire?" Shan asked.
"Give Trixie your hoof."
He held out his right hoof and Trixie bit into it with her fang. Shan yelped but held still. Trixie then bit into her own hoof with no trouble, then placed her hoof on Shan's. Shan felt woozy and nearly fell over, but he kept himself straight up. Trixie removed her hoof.
"Congratulations, you are now a vampire pony and you must stay with Trixie for the rest of Trixie's days." Trixie said softly.
"Congratulations. You have tuned your life around and made one person hate you with all his heart." Leo shouted.
He flew fast out of the theater without hearing a word from Shan.
"What have I done?" Shan cried, "why have I done this? What's gonna happen? Trixie! Give me answers!"
"Trixie will tell you in time, but now, don't you feel sleepy?" Trixie asked, "Trixie will tell you all you need to know tomorrow."
"I shall show you the bed chambers." Luna smiled.
***
Back at Horsylvania Boarding School Campus, Leopard had angrily made his way back in. He hated Shan now for taking what he truly thought was his rightful place as a pony vampire. He loved the stories he'd read and wanted to be one, but Shan, who had never even heard of or believed in the concept, just becomes one like that. He was alone in his dorm, or so he thought. A perculiar creature scared the living daylights out of him.
"Who are you?" he growled.
"I am the one to make your dreams come true." the creature laughed.
"You can make me into a vampire?"
"Close enough to it."
"Whadda ya mean by that?"
"I can use my magic to turn you into a Vampaneze. It's like a vampire, but we're much more ruthless."
"Whatever. Make me whatever. I want revenge on Shan."
"Ah yes, Shan, your ex-best friend. He betrayed you badly, did he not?"
"Yeah, the bastard. Wait, who are you?"
"Me? Oh, I'm Discord. Lord of Chaos."
"And you'll make me a Vampaneze?"
Discord snapped his fingers.
"Done." he smiled.
"That's it?" Leopard asked.
"Kind of. First, you need to kill and drain a pony to finish the Vampaneze creation process."
"Where's Shan? I'll kill the damn bastard."
"Oh, not Shan. He's hidden by vampire magic. However, you want revenge on him?" Discord smiled sinisterly.
***
Sparkie's roommate was away on holiday and she was the only on in her dorm. She slept peacefully at this early hour, not noticing the sounds of hoofsteps around her. Leopard smiled deviously and looked at her. She woke up and almost screamed at the sight of him. His eyes had become solid red. He quickly unleashed a breath on her and she was knocked out. What happened next was not pretty.
***
The entire dormatory was covered in blood stains and all that was left there was the empty carcass of a pink pony they called Sparkie.
