Trotsylvania

Journal of Cheese Sandwich

I can't stop seeing it. The way the Countess looked at Pinkie's picture scared me, like I have a part to play in a story I don't know.

Inside his room in the castle, Cheese was shaving in the mirror. His stay in Castle Dracula had been uneventful for the most part. Aside from the aloofness of his host, and the howling of the Timberwolves, and the fact that he seemed to be confined to his room, the stay had been uneventful. He hardly would see any sign of his host or the three ponies who he'd met the first night, Lyra, Trixie and Bon Bon. Every day at different times, he'd receive a tray of food and then nothing. Sometimes he'd be loaned a book, or something else to help him pass the time, but it was never given to him. He always would receive it outside of the door of his room. The door to his room opened silently, revealing the Countess. Cheese had his back to the door, and so didn't see her, yet he thought he could FEEL her presence, like her hoof was touching his back. It startled him, and caused him to cut himself with the razor. He turned around to find the Countess entering the room, levitating some of his clothes and placing them on the bed.

"I didn't hear you come in," he said.

"Be careful cutting yourself. It's more dangerous than you would think," the Countess said, almost gliding over to Cheese. As the stallion turned back to the mirror, he almost saw the lack of an image of the Countess. With a growl, she ducked out of view and the mirror cracked. Cheese gasped, as the Countess chuckled, straightening herself up. "A vile trinket of a pony's vanity. Maybe you should consider growing a beard, my friend," she said, taking the razor from the stallion, who stood still. Out of his view, the Countess raised the bloody razor to her muzzle and licked it off, having to stifle her moan of bliss. It had been too long since she'd tasted fresh blood. "Did you write the letters I asked for?" she asked.

"Yes. Here they are," Cheese said, hoofing them to the Countess. With a smile, the Countess grabbed them with her magic and took a quick look at the addressees. Satisfied, the Countess levitated the razor and went to the side of Cheese, slowly dragging the razor up his neck.

"Should you leave these rooms, you won't go to sleep in any other part of the castle, I trust? It's old and has many bad memories. I don't want you getting hurt, Mr. Sandwich. Be warned," she said.

"I understand, Countess," Cheese said, trying not to betray the uneasiness the pony made him feel. As she drew the razor up again, she caught the reflection of the World Goddess necklace Cheese wore. With a roar, the Countess sprang back, launching Cheese over to the window. The howling of the Timberwolves increased.

"Don't place you faith in trinkets of lies like that. We're in Trotsylvania, Mr. Sandwich. Trotsylvania isn't Canterlot. Our ways aren't your ways. You'll see many strange things," she said.

"I've seen strange things already! Timberwolves chasing me through a blue inferno!" Cheese snapped, opening the window. The howling became clearer, making the Countess laugh!

"Listen to them. The children of the night. Ah, what sweet music they make," she said.

"Music? That's what you call it?" Cheese asked, finding the Countess out of the room. He frowned. There was more to his host than met the eye, and he was going to find out what. Suddenly, out the open window, Cheese saw something that froze his heart in fear. It was the Countess herself, SCALING the outside wall of the castle and growling like some kind of otherworldly beast. The howling Timberwolves seemed to pick up, as he saw her scale the wall down and around to the back of the castle. Nothing more needed to be seen. He was going to find out what was in the deep bowels of the castle. What did Dracula not want him to see?

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The Countess navigated through the vast expanse of the castle after scaling the wall, to where the three ponies waited in the main foyer.

"Is everything being prepared?" she asked. Lyra nodded.

"Yes Mistress. The mares are all on schedule."

"Good. Should you find our guest in need, bring him whatever he wishes in the castle. We must keep up appearances to make him unsuspecting. This one is different. He's headstrong and suspicious. This won't be as easy as it was with Moondancer," the Countess said.

"We'll make sure that he stays in the dark, Mistress." Trixie said.

"Good," the Countess said, stroking the faces of her brides, before heading deep into the bowels of the castle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o0o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I did as Dracula asked. I wrote three letters. To the firm, my family and my dear Pinkie. I told them nothing of what I'm afraid of because I know she will read them. I know what I am now. I'm a prisoner.

With nothing but a lit candle, Cheese left his room and headed down to the bowels of the castle. He was going to find something, anything that would explain the strange tendencies of the Countess. Cobwebs adorned the walls, as the squeaking and scurrying of rats made for a truly chilling atmosphere. Were it not for the candle, Cheese would have been trapped in darkness. Even with her out of sight, Cheese could almost feel the Countess's presence the deeper he went. He found that he had found a separate parlor, with ancient tapestries and draperies. Finally, he came to a large wooden door. It didn't look like he'd be able to open the thing without making noise, so taking a deep breath, he clutched the handle and pushed his full weight on the door, opening it. The room he was in was huge. There were goblets and chalices and other objects of gold and silver lining the walls. A large wooden chest was situated on the wall to his right, and there was a set of curtains that were drawn. Placing the candle on one of the pillars above him, Cheese opened the chest, finding what looked like perfume bottles and brooches and other more feminine things. He was puzzled. Yes, the Countess was a mare, but he couldn't see his captor WEARING things like this. Perhaps these belonged to the Countess's deceased wife. Picking up one of the bottles, he opened it and watched as the liquid inside dripped UP. Like it had a mind of it's own, the perfume dripped up to the ceiling. He shook his head. For as long as he'd live, he'd never understand magic.

Cheese.

He started. Who'd said that?

Cheese, come to me.

The voice oddly sounded like Pinkie. Closing the bottle and placing it back in the chest, Cheese approached the drawn curtains in the room. As he reached to pull them back, they did so of their own accord, revealing a large square bed. Realization dawned on him. This must've been the Countess's bedroom. But, there was no sign of the mare.

Lay down, Cheese. Lay down.

Every fiber of his being was warning him not to. But, the voice made him curious, along with the fact that the bed looked VERY inviting. Carefully laying down, Cheese felt SOMETHING shift in the bed. Before he could move, the sheets lifted to the reveal Trixie. The stallion's eyes widened. He hadn't seen the unicorn since his first night in the castle, and the look she was giving him now could only be described as hungry. She grinned, sliding up his body, then hissed at the sight of the World Goddess necklace he wore. Melting it with her magic, the unicorn dragged the tip of her tongue up Cheese's neck, and then back down his chest. Cheese gasped, throwing his head back in ecstasy. Dragging her tongue from his chest to his right foreleg, Trixie grinned as Lyra and Bon Bon entered the bed too. The two other mares licked down Cheese's neck to his chest on either side, their eyes red. The stallion opened his eyes, and gasped. Above the bed was a large mirror, and where he thought he would see the images of the three mares, all he saw was his own scared expression. That's when Trixie grinned a fanged grin, biting down on his arm. Cheese yelled in pain as the other two held him down, leaving bites down his chest. His blood started running down his chest and his arm, and he was helpless to do anything. The mares were too strong. Crawling back up to his face, the three mares placed wet kisses on the side of it. All four ponies were lost in ecstasy, when a huge explosion sounded. Flying in the room, her bat wings flapping furiously and her red eyes shining with rage, was the Countess. She roared at the three mares, who leapt off of Cheese in fear of their Mistress's wrath. Trixie leapt up onto the ceiling and crawled into the darkness, and Lyra and Bon Bon slinked away intertwined with each other.

"HOW DARE YOU TOUCH HIM! HE BELONGS TO ME!" the Countess roared. Trixie hissed.

"You've never loved! What do you know of it?!"

"BE SILENT! You know nothing! I have loved harder and stronger than you could ever imagine," the Countess said, landing onto the stone floor. Cheese sat up in the bed, his eyes wide. "And I shall love again." With a sinister grin, the Countess stroked the manes and faces of her brides as they lay at her hooves, moaning and mewling.

"Are we not going to have anything tonight? We've been starving," Bon Bon said. The Countess smiled.

"Of course not. I am always going to look after my brides," she said, flaring up her horn and levitating a linen bundle into the room. Cheese gasped, hearing the coos of a baby. The Countess lowered the infant down to his brides, who immediately took the child into the corner and, punctuated by the screams of the infant, ripped into it's body, draining it of it's blood. Cheese was horrified, shaking his head. The Countess finally made eye contact with him, staring him down in defiance. It was a clear message. A message that he would NEVER be leaving the castle. Cheese screamed, throwing himself back on the bed. The Countess smiled, eliciting a laugh so evil, it would have made the beasts of Tartarus come to heel.

Author's Note

Whew! That was intense, huh. Okay. The next chapter is going to be the Countess's ship ride to England which means the massacre of the crew of the Demeter. Be warned. It's gonna get bloody. Like, really bloody. This story doesn't have a gore warning for nothing. This next chapter and subsequent chapters will be QUITE bloody.