The Neighbor's House Across The Street

Alpha was about to go inside before he heard a voice he was very familiar with. "Hey Alpha!" The wolf turned around and saw his best friend and next-door neighbor, Dual Blade.

Dual was a blue pegasus with a black mane, light-blue mane highlights, and glasses. He wore a dark blue unzipped hoodie over a bright red t-shirt, black sweatpants, and black and white sneakers, there was a basketball under his arm as well.

The wolf turned around and gave the pegasus a small smile. "Hey Dual..."

The blue pegasus walked up to him, pointing in the direction of where Alpha's parents went with his thumb. "Did your parents just drive away?"

"Yeah, they went to California to visit my mother's friend." He sighs. "It just sucks that they don't believe me about Ms. Hope's house!"

"Cheer up bud, it's almost Halloween." Dual puts a hand on Alpha's shoulder. "In 1 day and 6 hours, it's candy time!"

Alpha sighs. "Dual...I don't think I'm going trick or treating this year..." He was about to head into his house, but Dual put his ball down and turned his best friend around to look at him again.

"C'mon Alpha, you're gonna break your amazing 10 year streak!"

"Yeah 10 years of running, pranking, and fighting....including nearly getting us both killed with my powers..."

"But Alpha, we've been trick or treating since we were both 5 and as we got older it started to get more and more fun. But now you don't want to do it at all?"

"Dual, we're both 15...we shouldn't be trick or treating anymore anyway. We got more things to worry about then wasting time with stupid kid-stuff...guess I'm getting too grown up..."

Dual sighed, picking up his basketball again. "Okay man...hey want to play some ball?"

Alpha shrugged. "Yeah sure..." He got down from the steps as Dual moved Alpha's basketball hoop into place.

"And no mind powers! You always use it just so I could miss."

The blue wolf laughed. "I'm not promising...it's entertains me."

"Just don't use it..." He throws the ball at Alpha. "You serve."

Alpha threw the ball back at Dual and the pegasus grabbed it, dribbling it on the wolf's drive-way. The pegasus went passed his friend, he used his wings to help him jump higher, ready to throw in a basket.

Alpha smirked and looked at Dual, using his powers to mind control him and make the pegasus throw the ball away from the hoop.

He laughed as he watched Dual fall to the ground, landing on his butt after he stopped controlling him. "Alpha, What the buck!! I said no mind control."

"Hey, If you get to use your wings...it's only fair that I get to screw with your mind." Alpha replied, smiling.

Dual let out a huffed out sigh, getting up and rubbing his butt to try and calm the pain down, he looked around. "Where's my ball?" Alpha looked around and when he saw the ball his eyes widened, Dual looked at him confused and looked in the direction he's facing and he made the same reaction. "Oh no..."

Both teens ran from Alpha's house across the street and stopped right at the edge of the sidewalk in front of Ms. Hope's house, Dual sighed with sadness, his ball was right in the middle of her lawn.

Alpha placed a comforting hand on Dual's shoulder. "Sorry man..."

He was about to walk back home but Dual grabbed his shoulder. "Hang on there Alpha...you're the one who got my ball there so you get it."

"Dual...your basketball just landed on Radiant Hope's lawn...once she finds it, it's gonna get destroyed."

The blue pegasus sighed and placed his hand on his head. "God dammit...I paid 30 bits for that ball..." Alpha looked at his watch and at the window's of the house as Dual continued. "You have no idea...how much freakin crap I had to go through just to get those coins...now it's like I just threw it all out of the bucking window...my mom is gonna kill me man!"

Alpha held up one finger to shush him and he whispered. "Hope didn't come out yet..."

"So?"

"So, maybe she's sleeping..." Alpha sighed and puts both of his feet on the grass. "Alright...I'll get it."

Dual placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'll never forget this...you should hurry though..." He pushed Alpha further onto the grass as the wolf looked back at him then at the house with a determined look.

"Go..." Alpha started to sprint, his feet crunching on Hope's lawn as he kept looking at the ball.

Just as he was about to pick it up, he heard the sound of a loud creaking door open up, he looked up and saw Radiant Hope scowling at him and pointed at the wolf. "YOU!!!"

Alpha gasped. "No.."

Dual yelled from the distance. "ALPHA, RUN!!!!!"

Hope ran down her steps towards Alpha and tried to grab him, but the wolf ducked out of the way, he lost his balance a bit and his foot scraped her lawn, a piece getting ripped off. He shakes his foot and the piece of the lawn goes onto the concrete walkway leading to the house.

The middle-aged unicorn looked at the piece of lawn on the walkway and slowly raised her head to look at the wolf with a calm face but clearly a snapped tone. "What have you done..."

Alpha put his paws up and shook them fast. "Oh no no no...I'm so sorry! Please I-I didn't me-"

"You are....DEAD!!!!!!" Alpha ran down the walkway with Hope in hot pursuit as Dual was yelling at the wolf to run faster.

Hope grabbed onto Alpha's arm and pulled him back onto the lawn. "HELP!!!! DUAL BLADE!!!!"

Dual grabbed onto Alpha's other arm and he tried to pull him towards him, Hope still held onto Alpha's other arm and both ponies began to have a tug of war match with Alpha as the rope.

"LET GO OF HIM, YOU MONSTER!!!!" Dual yelled.

"YOU TWO WANT TO BE DEAD CREATURES?!?!?!?" Hope yelled back.

"NO! I LOVE LIFE!!!!" Alpha cried.

"WHY CAN'T YOU JUST STAY AWAY FROM MY HOUSE!!!!!" Alpha looked at Hope and used his powers to mind control her, making her let go of his arm, making him and Dual tumble onto the street.

Alpha lost focus which made Hope get out of her trance, she backed up a bit holding her head till she tripped over the grass piece Alpha ripped from her lawn and she came crashing down with her body hitting the walkway hard. Both teens looked at Hope and they both gasped.

"Nononononono...." Alpha said, getting up and going over to Hope's unmoving body, his fingers going to her neck to check her pulse, feeling nothing. "No!!! Dual, call an ambulance!!!"

The door to Hope's house then quickly closed.

A few minutes later, an ambulance arrived and two paramedics put Hope's body on a stretcher. Both boys watched with shocked expressions as the paramedics roll the stretcher to the ambulance.

As this was happening something shined into Alpha's eye, looking at the ground, he went over to the object and picked up a large silver key, he closed his paw and puts it in the pocket of his jeans.

The paramedics put Hope into the back of the ambulance and the EMT began to drive the emergency vehicle away from the house without turning on the siren, which only made Alpha stare at the ground in pure regret.

"No siren...never a good sign..." Dual said, both teens looked at Hope's old house and saw the blinds were open a bit.

"I'm a murderer..." Alpha replied.

"No you're not...they were lots of times when you nearly killed creatures."

"Yeah but they all lived...I actually killed someone for real..."

"Yeah but you're not a murderer....when it's an accident they call it a manslaughter."

Alpha gagged a bit. "I think I'm gonna puke..."