“…And that’s not even bringing up the fact that this thing has like a magical perpetual battery and can record and store well over twelve hours of HD video and audio.” Ember was saying as the van slowed to a stop. “Oh, and it even has night vision.”

“Cool,” Xander said, in a surprisingly genuine tone. “But, what does a thing like that cost?”

Ember laughed nervously. “A lot, actually. It’s okay, though. The loan I got for it has a low interest rate.”

“We’re here, kids,” Cheerilee said over her shoulder as she undid her belt and opened her door.

Someone opened the side door and after her fellow students had disembarked, Twisty hopped down from the van, dead grass crunching underfoot. She brushed off the front of her pants and did what everyone else was doing: staring up at the castle.

The massive stone structure practically loomed over them, its spires jutting into the darkening sky. The whole thing looked uneven, like it hadn’t been planned out properly before being built. The towers were all different heights, and even from here the stonework on certain sections looked distinctly different. And to top it all off, the thing just plain looked like it was ripped from an old cartoon. Twisty would not have been surprise if there was a flash of lightning behind it to drive the point home.

“Quaint,” Scary said sarcastically eliciting a smirk from Twisty.

“The Mayor’s here,” Reuben said, pointing to the only other car parked nearby.

“She said she might be,” Cheerilee said, shouldering her duffle bag. “Okay kids, grab your stuff and follow me. And in case it wasn’t already obvious, don’t mess around on the bridge.”

There was a chorus of acknowledgments as the students picked up their luggage and followed Cheerilee and Reuben to the bridge. Cheerilee gingerly stepped onto the first plank, easing her weight onto it. When it held she nodded to herself and waved for the others to follow her.

Twisty swallowed dryly and locked her eyes forward, doing her best to ignore the creaking of the bridge as she followed closely behind Reuben. When she had reached the halfway point, a sudden gust of sea wind hit the bridge. Twisty screwed her eyes shut and grabbed hold of the ropes that served as handrails. The bridge swayed violently, but the wind soon died down and the bridge settled back into its gentle rocking. Twisty blew out a breath and kept walking.

“You okay?” Flare asked from behind her, genuine concern replacing her usual sparkly tone.

Twisty nodded. “Yeah, it’s just that… I’m not a big fan of heights.”

Flare raised an eyebrow. “You’ve never had trouble doing the pyramid.”

“There’s a big difference between the top of the pyramid and-” Twisty swallowed dryly and gestured to the space and to the dark waters below them. “And that.”

Flare simply nodded in reply.

Thankfully, the rest of the walk across the bridge was as uneventful as it was short. Twisty let out a noticeable sigh as she stepped back onto solid ground. The group made its way over to the massive pair of double doors and collectively came to a stop.

After a few moments, Reuben spoke up. “Do we knock?”

“The Mayor never specified,” Cheerilee said, staring up at the castle. “Maybe I should-”

There was a sudden and loud groaning like an ancient beast awakening as the doors both swung open. A green Unicorn mare dressed like something a hippie threw up stood in the center of the doorway, arms thrown wide in greeting.

“Welcome!” she shouted happily.

Twisty cringed, partly from the sudden and loud noise and partly from the mare’s almost painfully bright appearance. Her fellow students seemed to concur with her. Except for Scary, who merely giggled quietly.

“Knows how to make an entrance, her,” Scary whispered in Twisty’s ear.

“Hello, my name is Daisy Wiss,” the Unicorn said. “But please, call me Daisy. I’d like to invite you into my lovely home.” Daisy beckoned them forward, turning and walking back inside the castle.

Twisty watched as Miss Cheerilee shrugged and motioned for the class to follow her. They all passed through the doorway and down a short hall to another set of large doors. Daisy pushed these open as well and they entered into a circular room. The Mayor stood waiting in the room, grey overcoat wrapped tightly around her.

“Evening, class,” the Mayor said. Her smile seemed a bit forced.

“Evening, miss Mayor,” Twisty and the others replied back in near perfect unison.

“Good evening, miss Mayor,” Cheerilee and Reuben said together, each tripping over the other’s sentence.

“Good evening,” the Mayor echoed back. She straightened up a little and adopted a tone Twisty had heard at every one of the Mayor’s speeches. “Everypony, I’d like you to meet my good friend Daisy Wiss. She is the mare that owns this estate and she has agreed to give you all a tour. For a small fee, of course.” the Mayor added with a cheeky smile. Daisy gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up. The Mayor cleared her throat. “Well, I see you all have your luggage and I’m sure you’re all eager to set it down someplace. Daisy will show you all to where your rooms are.”

There was a noticeable beat before Daisy spoke up. “And from there we will begin the tour. Follow me, please.”

Daisy turned and walked down the hallway to the right of the entrance hall, the assembled ponies following behind her. As she led them past numerous doors and hanging paintings, she began what sounded like a rehearsed speech.

“The area we are currently in was the initial structure built here on this little island just over two hundred years ago. It was originally supposed to actually be an entire castle, but they only managed to complete the front wall. You’ll see here where one architect leaves off and the next carries on.”

Daisy pointed to a section of the wall where the stonework noticeable shifted from larger bricks arrange rather loosely to a smaller and tighter pattern.

“From here the masons and their masters completed the courtyard and main housing section. However, as you’ll no doubt see, it seems through either poor planning or by insistence, the gardens lack a wall blocking them off from the water. Strategically, it’s unsound. But when the sun rises over the water, I think you’ll understand why it was never corrected.”

Daisy led them down a branching hallway and came to a sudden stop. Cheerilee, who had been only a few steps behind her, ran into the poor mare’s back, Reuben soon running into her as well. Twisty narrowly avoided continuing the impromptu comedy routine, even if Ember didn’t.

“Oomph,” Ember let out a grunt. Luckily, Scary and the others was more on their toes.

Daisy turned around, blushing as she brushed off Cheerilee’s front. “Sorry about that. I’d just noticed we’ve stumbled upon one of my tenants.” She turned around and stepped to the side. “Class, I’d like to introduce Miss Valerie Morlin.”

Twisty moved around Reuben to get a better look at their surprise guest. The first thing that struck her was just how large the she was. It was a she, with breasts like those it had to be. Her frame was wider than the average pony’s; it even rivaled a Gryphon’s. She was covered in scales, a vibrant emerald green over her back, arms, and head, but a softer viridian on her throat and down through the middle of her chest and underbelly. At her waist, where on a pony legs would be, her body became a tail that stretched out into the hall behind her. Her head was that of a serpent, hairless, with fiery eyes smoldering behind a pair of black rimmed glasses. She wore a dark blue suit and skirt, a few buttons at the top popped to tease a hint of cleavage and show off the suit’s blood-red lining.

It took Twisty a moment, but she recalled that in one of Ember’s Daring Do books, Daring had met a creature much like Valerie Morlin. A Lamia, the book had called her.

Valerie blinked and quickly drew her tail around herself. “Oh, Daisy, I didn’t know you had guests.” her voice tickled Twisty’s ears.

Daisy coughed. “I didn’t tell you about the tour?”

“No, but it’s quite alright.” Valerie smiled. “It’s nice to see some tender young faces.”

“She rents a few rooms.” Daisy explained. “You write books, right?”

“Among other things.”

“I apologize for the intrusion, Miss Morlin,” Cheerilee said quickly, walking up and shaking Valerie’s hand.

“It really is no trouble at all. And call me Val,” Val said, sticking to a lip smile. “Anyway, I was on my way to bed. But I’m sure I’ll see you all later.”

It was certainly odd, but Twisty could swear that just before Val turned and slithered off, the Lamia deliberately locked eyes with the Earth Pony. The look was almost lustful. Twisty blinked and shook her head, Val already vanishing around a corner.

“Moving along, class,” Daisy said, leading Twisty and the others down a few more twists and turns before stopping at another corridor, this one lined with doors.

“Here are the rooms. The ones that have been upgraded to more modern standards, anyway. Their placement is yet another that suggests this was indeed a place of luxury and not ever meant as any sort of genuine stronghold. The windows again face the water and the walls are no thicker here than anywhere else.” She took a deep breath and smiled. “Well, enough of my ramblings. Please, pick yourselves out a room, get yourselves settled and then come back out so we can continue the tour.”

Behind Twisty, Token perked up a little. “We pick or own rooms?”

Daisy nodded. “There isn’t much difference between them, but at the very least you’ll have some control over who your neighbors are.”

Twisty’s fellow students quickly scattered, opening bedroom doors and peering inside excitedly, chattering as they attempted to work out who was going to be next to who. Twisty joined them; turning the door handle and pushing it open to reveal a bedroom that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a modern hotel. The lack of a TV not withstanding.

“And there’s no need to double up!” Twisty heard Daisy call after them.

“And in this scene, the unaware prey unpack their belongings,” Setter said to himself as he watched the students picking out their rooms on the monitor screens, loudly chewing a stick of gum.

He watched as Daisy approached the school teacher and the lawyer. Hidden microphones picked up their conversation.

“Well, they certainly seem excited.” Daisy said, nodding towards the students.

“I’m surprised you didn’t leave the rooms as is,” the lawyer said.

Daisy smiled. “A good portion of the rooms are still in their original state. In case any future visitors want the authentic package. Oh, and while we’re still on the subject of rooms, you’ll find the, ahem, adult lodgings on the fifth floor.” Daisy pulled an old fashioned iron key from her pocket and handed it to the teacher. “You two pick out whichever one suits your fancy.”

“Why just the one key?” the teacher asked.

“One size fits all,” Daisy said with a smirk. “And if one of you needs the key, I’m sure the other will be close by. We’ll resume the tour once you get back.” And with that she walked off to watch the students pick out their rooms. Merry was loitering nearby, looking just as bored as Setter felt.

The lawyer and teacher looked at each other.

“The Mayor told her,” they said in unison. Smirking, they began climbing the nearby stairs.

Setter scoffed and turned his attention to the screens showing the inside of the rooms.

“I wouldn’t bother putting the underwear in the drawers there, asshole. You’re not gonna be here that long.” The Pegasus leaned back in his chair and yawned. “Come on, come on, let’s get on with the tour already.”

“Setter,” came a sudden voice, accompanied by a burst of static.

Setter jumped, falling out of his chair. Spitting swears, he scrambled to grab the walkie-talkie from the table. He took a steadying breath and pressed the button on the side.

“Yeah, Boss?”

“I want you to take down who is in which rooms.”

“Sure thing, Boss.”

“And don’t sound so glum. Your marefriend will be along soon.”

“Funny,” Setter replied, dropping the walkie-talkie back on the table. He sighed and climbed back in his chair, grabbing a notepad and a pen from his desk. He scooted the chair over to the monitors, staring at them with a bored expression.

And then, an idea crossed his mind.

Setter pushed his chair back over to the table, where a radio sat among stacks of snacks and drinks. He fiddled with it for a moment before he managed to get a clear station.

“Hey, guess who’s still listening to a pre-recorded broadcast. It’s you, silly! Anyway, the real party will be starting soon. You’re listening to Radio Vinyl. Here’s some tunes for ya.”

Setter grinned and turned his attention back to the monitors. On one the teacher and the lawyer were oohing and ahing over the suite they had chosen. They were getting pretty handsy about it, too. Setter was almost disappointed when the pair didn’t start fucking right there.

Moving on to the next set of monitors, Setter watched as the mare with the headphones bobbed her way through the unpacking of her gym bag. Marking off what room she was in, he moved on to the Zebra, watching him hop on and off the bed in his room.

“Planning on getting some action are we?” Setter snickered before checking the next screen.

Setter only managed to just catch sight of the Changeling leaving his room to wait in the hall. Setter scoffed, switching to the room that held the blue one. She was fiddling with a hand-held camera.

“Might be some good footage on that,” he said as he made a note on the notepad, speaking aloud as he wrote. “Get the-” he consulted the files spread out over his desk “-Brumbilander’s camera.”

The next two screens were a lot less interesting.

“Bat-pony-goth-bitch taking her journal with her, and miss captain of the cheer squad is moving in, apparently.” He smirked. “Let me guess. Is that your overnight bag?”

Sighing disinterestedly, Setter moved on to the last screen. “And here we have-”

The words died in Setter’s throat as he watched the pink mare on his screen wiggle out of her jeans. She sighed and quickly began pulling her shirt over her head. Setter fell out of his seat again, falling heavily on the floor. He scrambled back to his feet, getting close to the screen.

“What’s your name?” he said to the monitor, daring to look away long enough to find the mare’s file. “Twisted Ankle, eh? Oh, you are just the best, aren’t ya?”

On the screen Twisted had pulled her shirt up to just beneath her pert tits. And then she stopped. She allowed the bunched up portion of the shirt to drop back down and pulled another pair of jeans from her suitcase.

Setter let out a frustrated sigh and slumped back into his seat. It was still something to watch the young mare hop her way into the jeans, but his mood was still soured by the teasing. Twisted ran hand over her mane and left to join the others in the hall.

Setter made another note on the notepad and tossed it away, resting his chin on his fist as he watched the school group assemble itself back in the hall. In the background, the song faded out.

Cheerilee walked beside Reuben as the tour guide, Daisy, led them away from the rooms and deeper into the castle. Ahead of her, her students had clustered together, while behind her the Mayor walked a few paces behind. The older mare looked simultaneously anxious and bored.

“You okay?” Cheerilee said in a hushed tone over her shoulder.

The Mayor perked up, blinking, and then quickly nodded.

Cheerilee merely nodded back and faced forward again. After a minute or two of walking, a thought snuck its way into her head. She slowed her pace until she was walking beside the Mayor.

“Hey, are you on the same floor as me and Reuben?”

The Mayor raised an eyebrow before suddenly shaking her head. “No, I’m staying with Setter. I mean Daisy.” she added quickly.

“In the far side of the castle?”

“Yeah, over there.”

“Oh,” Cheerilee was quiet for a moment. “Who’s Setter?”

“My new assistant.”

“What about Raven?”

“Setter… is my second assistant. Raven’s on vacation and Setter is filling in for her.”

“Oh,” Cheerilee nodded. “Hey, is he that cutie that delivers the mail.”

“Yeah, I gave him a promotion.” The Mayor jerked her head forward. “This next part is good. You should probably listen.”

“Right,” Cheerilee said, taking the hint and catching up to Reuben just as Daisy approached another door.

“And this is the trophy room.” Daisy said, sweeping her arms wide as she pushed through the doors.

Cheerilee suppressed a yawn as Daisy launched into another speech. The Unicorn first pointed to the various animal heads adorned the walls, each frozen in a roar.

“Most of the heads you see up there are the genuine article. The few that have been replaced with replicas were those deemed unjustly displayed. But, ignoring the savage practices of the past will only lead to their repetition. Hence, the fake heads.”

She tapped one of the roughly half a dozen glass cases that sat on pedestals that dotted the room. Each glass case housing some sort of golden trinket.

“Now, there is a story behind each and every one of these and I will be happy to tell them to you, but not today.” She grinned and pointed to a case holding a three-sided ceremonial dagger. “But, I promise the story behind that one puts most Daring Do books to shame.”

Next, she gestured to the fireplace. Two overstuffed chairs flanked it, and above the mantelpiece sat a massive double-barreled gun.

“And that is an antique hunting rifle. Not as fancy as modern weapons, sure, but I swear nothing puts a hole in a charging Minotaur quite like that thing does.” Daisy giggled. “But, I urge you to leave that thing be. It might still be loaded and it is quite… temperamental. Anyway, moving on!”

Cheerilee smirked as Daisy made her way to the door on the far side of the room. She led the group through it and into another hallway.

“Now, as I’m sure some of you have noticed by now, there are a lot of doors in this place. There’s whole sections of this castle where you would never have to set foot in the a hallway to get to where you needed to go.” She chuckled. “Again, not exactly a very tactical design choice, but certainly helpful for stringing together interesting locations.”

Cheerilee raised an eyebrow as Daisy practically skipped down the next hallway and then the one after that, forcing Cheerilee and the others to move at a half-run to keep up with her. Daisy finally stopped at the end of a hallway indistinguishable from the rest, a pair of double doors blocking the way forward.

“Okay guys, this next one is my favorite.” Daisy said with an excited giggle before she pushed open the doors to reveal a massive and dark room.

As Cheerilee followed after her, Daisy all but shouted her next speech, her voice echoing in the room. “At one time, this might have been a church of some sort. Unfortunately for some the castle’s previous owners, some of the other previous owners cleared the room out. Now, it serves as one part dinning hall and two parts-” Daisy clapped her hands and numerous lights flicked on, illuminating the space “-entertainment hall.”

Cheerilee grinned. She understood why Daisy had been excited. The hall was the size of a gymnasium and it certainly lived up to the labels Daisy had given it. Flanking the way they had come in were several long wooden benches and table, stacked high with all manner of food and refreshments. In front of one of the hall’s walls sat several rows of theater seats, an old-school projector was set up behind the seats. And further back, Cheerilee though she could make out what seemed to be several speakers and a tangled nest of black cables.

Daisy laughed as she watched the group fan out, either bee lining for the food or going over to examine the projector. “Now, I know you were told this was an educational field trip, but it is Nightmare-Night. I happened to have found a big box filled with film reels right next to that old projector. If you are so incline, I have cued up a classic. Grab some refreshments and find your seats.”

Cheerilee’s students chattered happily as they descended on the food tables, gathering up platefuls to unsteadily carry to the theater seats. While her students clustered together in the first few rows, the Mayor chose a seat in the far back corner. Shaking her head, Cheerilee looked over to Reuben. She smirked as she watched him, a stacked pyramid of sandwiches in hand, find himself a seat and then courteously place his jacket over the seat next to him.

Cheerilee walked over to Daisy. “I’m impressed.”

Daisy blushed and shrugged. “I’m amazed this all worked, personally. I thought I’d have crashed and burned before we even got to this part. Or that this part would crash and burn.”

“Hey, take it from a mare that does this for a living. You are a natural at this. Have you ever taught a class before?”

Daisy shrugged awkwardly. “Kind of. It really is a boring story though.” she nodded her head towards Reuben. “You should probably go keep him company. I’ll get the projector up and running.”

Cheerilee smiled and wandered over to Reuben, sitting down beside him and allowing him to put an arm around her.

He leaned in to whisper in her ear. “I bet this right here is going to be way better than having sex on some old bed.”

Cheerilee smirked and after a quick check to make sure no one was looking, placed her hand firmly over Reuben’s groin.

“I’ll take that bet,” she hissed teasingly in his ear as the familiar hum of a projector started up behind her.

Behind them, Daisy clapped her hands again and the lights in the room dimmed as the projector threw the films onto the wall. Cheerilee made herself comfortable in her seat, leaving her hand right where it was, enjoying the feeling of Reuben squirming.

A familiar soundtrack faded in as the movie began.

Author's Note

"Damnit, Wraith! Where's all the tits and gore you promised us?" is what I imagine some readers might be saying, thinking, or typing in the comments. Fear not, reader, they'll be here soon.

Ish.