Author's Note
Hello friends! this is the beginning of a little story i have planned for Halloween. This story will have three chapters. The first one which you are viewing now, the second coming on the 15th, and the last one of course, being on the 31st, Halloween. I was going for an Edgar Allen Poe vibe so tell me what you guys think! Enjoy!
Chapter 1
Twilight Amethyst Sparkle was the newest resident in the quaint town of Ponyville. It was a quiet place with rolling fields and a booming shopping district. She and her younger brother Spike had moved there over the summer, a few weeks ago to be exact for a fresh new start.
The suffocating summer heat was replaced by the slow crawling chill of an approaching autumn, one season the young woman couldn't wait for. Chilly dark nights were something she lived for, craved. As a writer she was always getting influences from her surroundings, and a town like this one was sure to give her some interesting ideas.
It was full of history. Not just in its founding, but in its urban legends and events too. (Twilight had read up on it at the local library one week,) But in all of the books that she's ever read about this particular town, she never saw anything about the supernatural.
Being a writer of course, a notion such as that would have been completely absurd to her. But lately she had been feeling as if someone was watching her, following her with their eyes at night as she dressed and undressed. Even doing mundane things like taking out the trash or preparing dinner. She'd ask Spike if he'd seen anything and the boy simply shook his head.
There were no perverts on the street. She was sure of that. There was the Smiths, a nice sourthern family with a daughter to whom Twilight spoke to on many occasions, an old married couple, and a young woman about her age, (possibly younger) who occupied the house next door. She seemed to live alone, coming in and out all hours of the night as she pleased. It wasn't really a big town anyway, so any perverted behavior would spread like wildfire.
But still....the thoughts didn't put her mind to ease. Running a hand through her hair and sighing, Twilight looked at the clock on the wall that ticked every second. Taking a sip of her coffee she turned back to her Macbook and opened a word document, determined to write. As she began to do so, a chill ran down her back.
She knew it was silly to believe in such a thing as ghosts, but as of late she would consider it a theory. Twilight shook her head. Preposterous. Maybe what she needed was a break from her work. Her deadline was quickly approaching, but she decided her mental health was more important than her next book.
She stretched her arms high above her head, humming as her bones satisfactorily cracked. Scratching her belly, she went to turn on the TV when she heard the French doors leading into the backyard slam open. She jumped, pausing with the remote in her hand. "Spike?" She called.
The teenager had left out earlier to hang out with some of the friends he had made since they've been in town at the park, but he hadn't specified when he would be back.
She got no answer.
Another chill ran down Twilight's back. She rubbed her shoulders, padding over to the hallway where the French doors were and poked out her head.
Looking out into the yard, all she saw was the outline of trees as the last of the sun dipped behind them, painting the sky a orange hue, and a few feet of dry grass in front of her thanks to the porch light that had automatically turned on when she stepped out.
Clicking her tongue, Twilight closed the doors and turned around to go back to her laptop only to be scared out of her witts by the teenager in front of her. "Jesus Christ, Spike! You should have warned me you were in the house!" Her scolding voice rose higher and higher to the younger boy's amusement.
"Did I scare you?" He asked with a pleasant grin on his face. "Are you afraid of the things that go bump in the night?" He teased, making claws with his hands.
She slapped his shoulder. "You are such an ass!" She growled, stomping past him. "I was absolutely terrified! I thought you were some, some pervert!"
Spike let out a loud laugh. "A pervert? Twilight don't be silly! This town only has like 800 people. If there was a pervert everyone would know!" He saw the worried look in her eyes and sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Look Twi. You're twenty four years old. There's no such thing as ghosts or anything that goes bump in the night."
Twilight looked into his eyes searchingly. Seeing he was serious, she sighed herself. He was right. She was just being paranoid. Maybe she just needed to take a break from her writing all together. It was stress, just stress. Yes, that's exactly what it was.
But the glowing red eyes that reflected off the window behind her should have told her otherwise.
Since Spike had school and she didn't want to let her paranoia get the best of her again, Twilight wound up trudging though piles of fallen leaves to the local café, happily titled The Witch's Brew. To any outsider, it would appear as a place set up for teens to hang out the few days before and during Halloween, but to everyone who lived in the town it was an odd place that was there year round that usually got busy this time of year.
Ironically it was a few days before Halloween, and the fake spider webs, orange plastic jack-o-lanterns and black cat cut outs scattered around the shop was a glaring reminder.
Piper, or "Pinkie" as the locals liked to call her was the usual barista at this time, and she was happy to see Twilight the moment she stepped though the door. "Hey new girl! How's that brother of yours doing?" She bubbled, throwing a friendly wave the other girl's way.
Twilight flashed her a smile as she walked up to the counter. "He's doing alright. Can you make me a warm apple cider?" She asked, looking at the menu above her head.
"No coffee today? Usually when you're here you get that triple shot expresso thing." Pinkie observed, writing Twilight's name on the cup before handing it to the girl who worked next to her.
Twilight shook her head, taking out her wallet. "I think the coffee is starting to get to me. I've been really paranoid lately. Like, I feel like someone's watching me, you know? It's weird because it only happens when I'm the only one in the house."
Pinkie blinked. "Wozzerz. That sounds terrifying. You know, if I were you, I would look into this. Sounds supernatural." She suggested, taking the money from Twilight and handing her back her change with the cup.
Twilight snorted, taking a sip of her cider. "Yeah, okay." The tone in her voice was clearly skeptical. "I've read over the history of this town twice. There was nothing in any of the books that said anything about the supernatural. Besides, don't you think it's a little too close to Halloween to be taking something like this so seriously?"
Pinkie pursed her lips. "Well...possibly the reason why it hasn't been documented at the library is because they don't want the public to find out." She gave Twilight a wary look.
"What?!" Twilight barked sounding surprisingly astounded.
Pinkie glanced at the clock before looking back at Twilight. "I have a thirty minute break for lunch so why don't we go sit down and talk about this?"
The charming book store they went to was all the way on the other side of town. They drove in Pinkie's sedan, Twilight drumming her fingers on her laptop case nervously.
Inside was chalked full of books lining the walls and the shelves in front of them. It was no Barnes and Noble's but it seemed like it got the job done considering all the college students in a lot of the many worn out arm chairs reading Tolstoy or Shakespeare.
They found a secluded area, one where Twilight could work on her laptop and talk to Pinkie in private.
"Okay, so what's this about?" Twilight whispered so that no one could hear. She leaned in close as Pinkie began to speak.
"My Nana, before she passed, used to tell me all kinds of super duper creepy stuff that used to happen in this town when she was a kid." The barista looked both was before speaking again. "And apparently they're starting up again."
"Again?" Twilight repeated a little loudly, which got her a collective of "shhhs". Sheepishly she lowered her voice. "What do you mean again?"
The pink haired girl gave her a worrisome look. "There was a sheriff's report that two girls who had been hiking in the back woods had been brutally murdered." Her face turned a pale green. "Mauled even."
Twilight looked confused. How could that possibly be a supernatural happening? That could have just been some unfortunate bear attack. Last time she checked, bears weren't supernatural.
"I know what you're thinking," Pinkie told her with a wry smile. "But this wasn't your ordinary bear attack. My dad's the head honcho down at the station and I saw the pictures he brought home. That was no bear attack." Pinkie started to shake, her breath coming out ragged.
"Pinkie, hey, calm down alright?" Twilight said, rubbing her back. "Just, can you tell me what you think it is?" She asked slowly as to not pressure the younger woman.
Pinkie exhaled deeply. "It might be a werewolf. Either that or a really pissed vampire. I'm not saying that that's what you're dealing with, but I'd look into it if I were you." She patted Twilight's shoulder. "Well, I gotta get back to my shift. You want a ride home?"
Twilight declined her offer off politely. "Oh, no thank you. The walk home isn't very far, and it'll give me time to think."
Pinkie shrugged. "Alright. Tell me if you find anything. Later Twilight." She waved to the woman as she left.
Twilight was left to her own devices now, and she decided that she should get home. It was around two thirty now, and she wanted to be home by the time Spike got out of school. Slugging her laptop bag on her shoulder and throwing her now empty cup in the garbage, she made her way out into the chilly October afternoon.
By the time she had gotten back to the house, it was a little past three. Sighing, she rolled her aching shoulders and pulled out her key, only to hear a loud bang from next door. Carefully putting her bag down, Twilight crossed the yard and leaned over the gate separating the properties to investigate, but didn’t hear anything more.
That is, until she heard Spike scream at the top of his lungs.
Her ears twitched. “Spike?” She said out loud. “Spike?!” She called out, cupping her hands over her mouth. “Where are you?! What’s wrong?!” When she didn't get an answer, the young woman hopped the fence and went running into the backyard.
There she found her neighbour on top of Spike holding him by the sides of his hoodie and growling at him. Spike was trying to pry the older woman off of him, but she obviously had some type of weight advantage over him. Twilight ran over to them.
“Hey! Hey! Stop!” She said, pushing the girl off of him. That must have knocked her back to her senses, because the prism haired young woman was furious.
“Is this your kid?!” She asked in a gruff voice, pointing to the younger boy. She stood up, and Twilight now was fully aware why Spike couldn’t get her off of him. She was a few inches taller than Twilight, maybe by three or four, and she looked like she worked out a lot. She had glowing tan skin and a powerfully set jaw.
“H-He’s my brother. Why were you wrestling with him on the ground?!” Twilight demanded, trying to sound as intimidating and demanding as the other woman did but failing.
“He was sneaking around back here poking though my stuff! I have half a mind to call the police on this little brat!” She said, getting angrier by the minute. She looked like she was going to explode any moment.
Twilight put her hands up in surrender. “Whoa, okay, we can work something out here, can’t we? Something that doesn’t involve the cops or you beating up?” She tried to negotiate hopefully. She had a feeling it wasn’t working.
“Just take the kid and go! And make sure he stays out of my fucking yard!” She shouted. “If I catch him back here again, you won’t have time to save him!” Twilight’s stomach dropped. Something about her words made a chill run up her spine.
Even as they walked into the house she could feel that woman’s eyes on her, watching her. Could she be the one that’s been watching her this entire time? Twilight shook her head as she set her laptop bag on her desk. She didn’t even want to think about that right now.
But another chill told her otherwise.
