Welcome to the Nightmare Hotel!
To my beloved son, Bob,
By the time you read this, I will already be gone. You remember when your mother and I told you about our old world? How you were the first human to ever be born in it? Call it simple superstition, or whatever you want... I always thought it to be a sign. A sign that you were made for this world... and that you'll do something great for it one day.
It seems that day draws nearer, though.
I've been dreadfully sick these past few months. It's one of the reasons why we couldn't let you come visit the Hotel, yet. We would've celebrated your arrival without any problem! There are so many things I wish I could tell you.
But alas, I doubt if I have enough time to document it. And so, I leave it at this...
I'm giving you the Hotel, son. It's yours to expand, and yours to run. The entire building has been sanitized and, with a little Unicorn Magic, purified as well, courtesy of the locals that live in Hollow Shades.
I've already enclosed the deed to the Hotel in this letter. You should find it in the envelope, alongside the letter, if you haven't spotted it yet.
I know it's a huge responsibility for you. I wish I could've told you sooner, so that you can prepare for a trip, since you're all the way in Canterlot, now.
But the staff here need your help, now more than anything. They are... different from the rest of the locals. The Hotel is their home, and without someone to run the place, it will, unfortunately, wind up demolished, or fall into disrepair.
No doubt they will be surprised to see you, seeing how you and I were the only humans left after your mother...
Anyways, I want you to know that I love you. Always have, son. I wouldn't trust this with anybody else.
I know you'll do me proud. You always have... and you always will.
Your father, Anon Smith.
You grasp onto the letter and sigh. It's been a long month for you... but finally, you're ready to move on.
As you look outside the train's windows, you mentally note the lack of colorful scenery and grasslands that you spent so long growing up in. Now, it's just dark woods, with the occasional wagon and dim light in the distance.
You're getting close to Hollow Shades, now.
To be honest, you've never really seen the Hotel. Your father spent the past ten years running the place, and mailed thousands of bits to your mother and you for costs of living in Canterlot. However, you ended up sent to the orphanage after your mother passed away within the second year. Your father wanted to come get you, but he was turned down after a group of representatives went to the Hotel to investigate the living environment.
You didn't catch what they told you, aside that it wasn't safe for a child at the time.
They did, however, allow the money to come in for your foster parents.
One month ago, though, you were given a letter, instead of the bits. Your father had worked himself to death... for your sake.
And now, here you are, sitting in the train car, waiting for the inevitable hiss to come from the wheels, and the conductor to call out the name...
"Hollow Shades! Now arriving in Hollow Shades!"
You look up from the letter and weakly smile. Slipping it back into your envelope, you pack it up in your suitcase and head out.
The entire town is fairly decent sized. You recall the old articles of them rezoning the place and building it back up after the "Pony of Shadows" was defeated all those years ago. To see the place in person would fascinate you, for sure.
But your mind is elsewhere, right now. You need to find that Hotel... or whatever's left of it. It has been a month since you got the letter, after all.
You would've gone immediately, but there was too much on your plate at the time. You had a few businesses to sell, a home with furniture to sell, and a bank account to transfer over to Hollow Shades.
But, you digress.
As you take the road closer to the forested area, you mentally note that, location-wise, it seems the place was pretty far from the Train Station. It seemed pretty odd to you, to say the least, as usually a great business strategy is to have lodgings of any kind fairly close to the main entrance to a town or a city.
On the brighter side, though, it's also past the Well of Shades, which is a significant landmark to the town. You'd wager that most of your customers are going to be tourists and families that are on a trip to admire it... so it's not a complete loss.
You make one more turn to the right, and follow the road up a hill. Then, you pause, and frown as you bear witness to an unfortunate sight.
The glorious, five-story Hotel your father left you... is a worn out, tattered mess. Several windows have been boarded up, the fence is rusted open, and the woodwork is dark, cracked, murky-looking, and possibly termite-infested. The ashy red shingles of the roof appear to also be missing several pieces, and a couple holes can clearly be seen on top.
You gulp and approach the place, despite your instincts telling you it's a lost cause, until you reach the front door... or doors, in this case. You're too hesitant to even move at first, but eventually you gather your courage, reach your hands to the handles, and push the double-doors open.
You flick the light switch a few times, and sigh. Power's out, which means you'll either have to check the Fuse Box, or call an expert to get the power up and running again... for a price, of course.
A price you likely can't afford, due to the repairs needed for this place.
You know a little bit about basic nuclear reactors. Just chunk about six fuel rods in it, and it'll cover about three weeks' worth of power.
At least, that's what they said in Science Class.
You head over to the Front Desk, and check behind it. To your relief, there's an Oil Lamp rested neatly in the cabinet.
With a light source in hand, you make your way to the left hallway, where you'd assume the reactor is.
As you go down the hallway, though, you can't shake an uneasy feeling... it's almost like you're being watched from the shadows.
But you pay it no mind, and make your way to the door at the end.
You open the door, and are met with a stairway that leads down below. Step by step, you make your way to the basement, and are met with another hallway behind the stairs.
With a sigh, you continue down this hallway. However, you notice that there's quite a few webs on the walls. Spiders. You'd have to hire an exterminator at some point.
Once you reach the door at the end of this hallway, you check inside.
To your relief, you see the reactor down below a short flight of stairs. You go up to it and open the hatch.
Your hunch was correct... it's only empty.
You check around the room for about a minute, until you come across an old, opened box. Approaching the box, you lean down and check its contents.
It only contains a single Nuclear Fuel Rod. It'll be enough to at least power the hotel for three days, you wager.
After taking one of the older, spent rods from the reactor, you slip the new one inside, and close the hatch. There's a lever next to the reactor, which you'd imagine toggles the whole thing.
You pull the lever, and the reactor slowly cranks to life.
The lights begin to flicker above you, before finally coming to life. This makes you smile a bit, as your vision isn't as impaired as it once was.
You turn off your lantern to save fuel, and go up the stairs, and back into the hallway.
With the lights now on, you can see it much more clearer... and the sight makes you shudder a bit. Literally everywhere on the walls, you can see spider webs... thick ones, too.
You dare not to touch them, as you've got a hunch it could be thick enough to hold you in place... and you dare not imagine the size that spiders can get in this place.
As you go to leave the hallway, you could swear you hear the sound of hooves clopping around overhead. Could you already have customers?
Or could it be an intruder?
You shudder at the thought, and decide to take it slower. Once you reach the top of the first flight of stairs, you slowly crack the door open.
You blink in surprise when you see the back of a mare speaking to someone that's out of your visual range.
Quietly, you get closer to get a better look, and to listen in on what she's saying.
"I'm telling you, Sandy! I didn't touch that thing! You know how dangerous it is for us to mess with it!" a feminine voice says from out of your view.
You see the mare move, so you assume the next voice is coming from her, and that she would be Sandy. "Well, someone must've done something! I mean heck, the power doesn't just come on by itself!"
"D-do you think it was a g-g-ghost?!" a higher-pitched female's voice stutters.
Sandy waves a hoof dismissively. "Pfft! Don't be silly, Violet! You know as well as I do that ghosts don't exist!"
"B-b-but you don't know that! W-what if we just d-didn't s-s-see them, yet?!" Violet stammers.
"Heh... perhaps it is a ghost! Maybe... maybe it's just stalking us, Violet!" the first female's voice taunts. You can swear you hear Violet whimper.
Sandy stomps a hoof down. "Quit it, Nighty! You're scaring her!"
You're about to approach them, when you feel something sticky latch onto your back. Before you could even react, the world spins at a rapid rate, and you find your arms completely bound to your chest.
Then, an unseen force pushes you on the back, into the Main Lobby. No doubt, despite you being very, very dizzy, you've just been spotted, and the girls' attention is now on you.
You shake the dizziness off, and look up at them, and nearly have a heart attack at what you see.
Sandy is a yellow-coated mare with a mid-length, red, side-parted mane and a neatly combed tail. What catches you off guard is the one large red eye that she has, instead of two normal eyes. She also has three bright freckles on each cheek, and a pair of tiny fangs sticking from the corners of her mouth.
The one you'd assume is Violet is a violet coated mare with a long, dark purple mane and tail. Her unique trait is that she has three purple eyes, instead of just one or two.
The third mare, likely Nighty, is probably the closest to normal out of the three. She has a dark blue coat, with a short, light blue mane and tail, two yellow cat-like eyes, a pair of bat-like wings, and a long pair of fangs protruding from the corners of her mouth.
The three of them huddle together, shivering at the sight of you. It at least calms you a bit, knowing they aren't looking threateningly at you.
You all stare silently at each other for another moment, before you clear your throat.
"Umm... hi?" you manage to say.
Immediately, the three of them scream at the top of their lungs, and run away.
"EEEEEEE! G-G-GHOST!!!" they all shout as they vanish into the hallway.
"Hey! Girls, wait, he isn't a... ghost..." comes a new female's voice, as you hear scuttering noises of several thin appendages tapping on the floor. You hear a firmer tap on the ground, like a light stomp, as she swears, "Ah, horseapples..."
Then, from the corner of your eye, you spot the source of your dilemma - and needless to say, you're even more terrified from this one than the other three.
A white coated mare scutters past you... but she's far from ordinary. She has the upper half of a pony, with two white hooves, and the lower half of a white fuzzy spider, with eight thick legs protruding from it. Her mane is short and bright pink, and she has a web-like tail hanging at the end of the spider-like back, which is braided in a manner that it splits from the center.
With a sigh, she turns to face you, revealing her four small, red, orb-like eyes... and all of them lock down on you.
She's, in your opinion, very scary by normal standards... and to add to that, she's now glaring at you. When she leans closer to your face, you wince, flinching at the spider-like creature.
"Alright, talk bub! Who the heck are you, and what are you doing in our home?!" she demands.
You open your eyes and blink a few times. "Your home?!"
"Yeah! This place was abandoned a couple years ago, so my friends and I agreed to take this place over as a shelter! WITH the former owner's permission, at that!" she says.
You close your eyes and struggle to break free from the web. This doesn't go unnoticed.
"And don't try to break free, buddy! With enough webbing, I can even hold dragons in place!" She then gets closer to you. "Now, answer me! Why have you invaded our home?!"
"Look, I don't know what you're on about, but this hotel is legally mine! I even have the deeds to prove it!" you declare, now starting to feel a bit bugged by her attitude... no puns intended.
She raises a curious eyebrow. "Oh really, now? Well, how about you show me, then?"
"I will, if you can get these webs of off me!" you demand.
She rolls her eyes and sighs, walking to your side. "Fair enough, then... but try anything, and you're getting webbed to the ceiling!" she threatens.
You're about to make another remark, when you feel her grip onto the web. Curious, you turn towards her, and almost immediately regret it as she opens her mouth, revealing several razor-sharp fangs.
She lunges at the web, and snaps it in half, freeing you from your bindings.
You stand back up and brush your legs off, while she looks up at you, now a bit more nervous because of the height difference.
She stands up to your knees... and though she's still shorter than you, she's still a spider, and that size is quite huge for one. This fact alone makes you a bit hesitant around her, as well.
Remembering that you have her attention, you reach into your suit jacket and pull out your envelope, with your dad's letter and the deed to the hotel. You pass it to her, and she lifts it up with her hooves, squinting all four of her eyes to get a better look at it.
Then, once she checks your father's letter, her eyes shoot open.
"Wait... so you're the owner's son?!" she asks, now sounding a bit alarmed.
You nod your head and take the letter and deed back from her, slipping them back into your suit jacket. "I am... so now, who are you? And by extent... who are they?" you ask, motioning towards the hallway the other mares ran off.
The spider mare sighs, rubbing the back of her mane. "I guess I owe you that one, then... my name's Misty, and they are my friends... only friends I have in the world, matter of fact."
"What do you mean?" you ask, only for her to deadpan at you. She motions her hooves at herself.
"What do you mean, 'what do I mean'?! Take a look at me! Heck, you saw them, too! Ain't that hard to guess why they're the only friends I've got!"
You wince at her volume, but nod your head nonetheless.
She looks away from you and crosses her hooves over her chest. "We're half-bloods, dude... one half of us is Equestrian, while the other half... is monster."
You begin to feel a bit sorry for her, and the rest of them, as she continues.
"Every creature takes one look at us, and either run away in fear, or try to pick a fight, and force us to run away. Do you have any idea what that's like?! Not having a place to call home, or being rejected from any type of 'normalcy' that every creature around us gets?! We're freaks of nature! We're... we're what everyone refers to as 'living horrors'! Nightmares!"
You wave your hands up. "Okay, I get it! But to answer your question, yeah... I do understand what it's like."
"Oh really, now?" she asks, before looking you up from head to toe. "... Yeah, I suppose you would understand, now that I've got a clearer look at you. To be honest, you ain't quite like the rest of 'em, yourself. In fact, you kinda resemble a shaved minotaur, or some kinda alien thing... just like your father."
You nod your head. "Yeah. I grew up in Canterlot, too, so you can imagine the odd looks I got. Princess Twilight was kind enough to let my mother and I stay at the castle for a bit, while my dad ran this hotel to send us money. To be honest, he and my mother were divorced before I was even born, so they didn't really have any issues being apart... but that's not the point. The point is, I was given odd looks growing up. Heck, I still get the occasional double-take, and the whispers never stop."
She gives you a strange, distant look, before slowly nodding her head. "Then I guess we're all in the same boat, to a degree..."
"Yeah... I guess we are. And so, what do we do now?" you ask.
She looks over towards the hallway. "Well, I suppose the first step would be making sure those numbskulls don't start running off into the woods again. Heavens forbid Sandy try finding berries to survive off of." she says, giving a slight chuckle. Then she turns towards you and waves a hoof in a stopping motion. "I'd suggest you keep a safe distance, though. They might start throwing things at you if they see you close to me."
You raise a confused eyebrow. "They thought I was a ghost, though. Objects would just phase through them."
She shrugs and smirks at that. "Yeah, but they're idiots. They'll throw things regardless of who it is they're aiming at."
With a defeated sigh, you nod your head. "Fair point... well, I'll wait for y'all in here, then. Besides... there's something we all need to discuss, anyways."
"And what's that?" she asks, now curious.
You give her a stern look. "The fact that you all illegally claimed a property that's under my legal ownership."
"What?! But dude, we don't even have a place to stay! Are you kicking us out, or something?!" she asks, now with a look of fear on her face.
You quickly dismiss her fears by shaking your head. "What?! No! I wasn't even thinking of kicking y'all out! It's more of a proposition that can benefit us all! Just... just get your friends over here, please. That way I only need to explain it once."
She thinks it through for a moment, before nodding her head, her fear having left her, though she still looks at you in suspicion. "Alright, then... but if you're thinkin' of rezoning this place into a circus, I won't mind webbing you up again!"
Again, you shake your head and wave your hands defensively. "Don't worry, it's nothing like that! Please... you can trust me!"
Your last sentence makes her look down a bit, as if lost in thought for a moment. Then she nods her head and looks up at you. "Alright, then... I'll hold you to it."
And with that, she scutters into the hallway, leaving you in your lonesome.
You walk over to the front desk and take a seat on the chair in front of it. It creaks a bit, but doesn't break on you, thankfully.
You're definitely going to need some new stuff to decorate the place... but first thing's first... you're going to need to discuss something with these intruders.
Flashback: Three Years Prior...
You are a confused and younger Sandy Shore... and today was perhaps one of the worst days of your life. Not only did you expose your secret to the one you thought would be your true love, but now, you find yourself on the run because of said colt.
And it was all because you took that stupid amulet off!
For about ten years now, you had an amulet that hid your secret... which was to say it makes your face look beautiful in the eyes of the beholders... not with your one big eye, but with two gorgeous eyes.
You used this amulet to get through school. You used this amulet to make friends. You used this amulet... to fall in love with this one colt three months back.
His name was Rocky Road. It was almost like you were both the perfect couple in high school: a Rocky Road that leads to the Sandy Shore. Almost poetry, if you say so yourself.
You both graduated early: you being sixteen, and him being nineteen. But you both wanted more... but you both wanted to be completely honest with each other before you would get more... intimate with your relationship.
And so, you confessed that there was a secret you've been holding for a long time, now... and he gave you his word that, no matter how bad it was, he'd understand.
You took that amulet off then... the amulet your mother spent her life's savings on... and your true form was revealed before his eyes.
The look of terror on his face is still embedded into your mind to this day... how he reeled back... how he started screaming at you... how his terror became rage... how you approached him to calm his nerves... and biggest of all, how he struck you in the eye before you could get too close.
He called the guards from the window, while you were picking yourself up off the floor. You couldn't see at all - your eye was bruising up horribly... but you could remember where the door was. And so, you ran before he, or the guards, could get a hold of you, and do who-knows-what.
You shudder to think of it.
Which leads to the present time. You've left Filly Delphia, and are now lost in the Hollow Woods. Your eye is getting slightly better, but everything's still a blur. The voices of the ponies and creatures behind you are still there in the distance... they didn't want you to leave, but they didn't want you to stay.
No, these... these monsters were in it for blood... your blood!
And so you keep running away... until you bump into something fuzzy. You begin to scream when you hear another female screaming right in front of you, and fall on your back, curled up.
"P-please don't hurt me!" you plea.
Despite your blurry vision, the other female appears to have a white coat and a pink mane... but the blurs are too heavy for you to see her eyes.
She gasps and leans closer to you. "Oh, you poor thing! Hold on, I know these mushrooms that emit an ice-cold chill! It'll help with the swelling!"
"N-no, wait! They're coming! Th-they're coming to get me!" you stutter.
"Who is?" she asks, only for the noise of the crowd to get closer.
Then... you hear a familiar voice.
"There it is!" Rocky calls out from a distance.
Your fears, alongside your fatigue, soon overtake you, and you fall unconscious, unable to bear witness to whatever happens next.
You are a very, very angry Misty Meadow, and after seeing your new one-eyed acquaintance's look of terror, along with her horrible condition, you feel your anger is well justified. You see the brown-coated colt charging in with a couple guards and a group of his buddies right behind him. Although your vision isn't even slightly good, you can count at least seven of them total.
Or at least, far too many of them for you to handle... without some prep work, first.
You hurry over to your acquaintance, pick her up with two of your legs, and hoist her over your back, securing her with two of your eight spider legs. Then you rush further away - the world around you both becoming a blur, and the sounds of their hateful voices growing more distant.
Finally, you reach a cave. You decide to hold up here, and help treat your patient's eye. Gently leaning her against the wall, you scurry deeper into the cave, where you last remember seeing those cold mushrooms.
Upon finding them, you pluck a few from their spots and make your way back to your patient. Her breathing indicates that she's still alive, at least... but her shivering makes it clear she's getting colder. You may have to hold these mushrooms up to her, and treat her in moderation, so she doesn't catch a cold... or suffer from hypothermia.
She sneezes a bit and groans, as she bumps her head against the wall. Yep... definitely awake, now.
"Here, put these over your eye." you tell her, offering the mushrooms to her.
She yelps a bit at your voice, before quickly calming down; her memories likely returning to her now. Then she nods her head gratefully and takes the mushrooms from your hooves, doing as instructed.
"Th-thank you... w-who are you?" she asks.
You have a seat next to her and reply, "My name's Misty Meadow... but you can just call me Misty, if you want."
"Misty... th-that's a good name! But... w-why are you helping me?" she asks.
You lean a bit closer and help her apply the mushrooms to her swelling eyelid. "Well... let's just say I'm not quite like the rest of 'em."
"You're... y-you're not?" she asks, as her eyelid slowly creaks open just a squint. When her pupil drifts over to your legs, she gasps, and you wince a bit, expecting the typical response.
"You're... y-you're a..." she begins.
You weakly smirk at her and add, "A freak, I know."
But she shakes her head and weakly smiles back at you. "You're... a half-breed! J-just like me!"
You raise your eyebrows, caught off-guard by her comparison. Then you laugh a bit, nodding your head. "Heh... yeah, I guess we are one in the same in that regard, aren't we?"
Then a tear falls from her eye, and she sighs in relief, while you continue poking the mushrooms onto her swelling eye. "So what happened to you, anyways?" you ask curiously.
She sighs, before recounting her story to you.
By the time she finishes, you're looking out at the entrance of the cave, seething in anger. She gave that punk her heart... and he ripped it in half like that?! Just because she's different from him?! You're half-tempted to just run out there, spin them all into webs, and leave them to their fates in the forest - maybe even draw a few timberwolves their way...
But your new friend's pleas get to you. Despite how much they've wronged her... she still begs you to not do anything drastic like that. She wants you to spare them.
When you ask her why, she simply replies, "If we take any of their lives like that, it wouldn't just bring us monsters back to the ancient ways... it would also make us even bigger targets for the guards to hunt down!"
And despite your prideful nature... you admit defeat on that one. She's right, after all. You can handle a few punks no problem, but the entire Equestrian Guard? That'd be suicide without a doubt!
So you just take your seat beside Sandy, as she introduced herself during her story. You'd help her with the swelling eye, but you decide to spin the mushrooms into a web that sticks to her eyelid after a bit of improvising.
Then, you both close your eye(s) and drift into a slumber, cuddled together so as to share body heat.
You wake up to the sound of commotion. Your eyes shoot open, and you look over towards the entrance - light! Torches! They're still hunting your friend... and now, they're on their way to you as well!
By the time you're up, and your senses are back in order, you hear the sounds of hoofsteps echoing through the cave. Then, you spot the leader of the rabble, glaring at both you and Sandy.
"There they are! After them!" he shouts.
You quickly react by shooting a web across the walls, making a makeshift barricade for them. Once done, you sigh in relief.
Your relief, however, is short-lived as one of their torches burn right through it! You back away, before moving between them and Sandy, ready to defend her with your life.
"There's nowhere left to run now, freaks! I'll make sure you never haunt our city, nor eat our friends, ever again!" he shouts.
You're about to respond to him, when a different female's voice echoes from behind you. "Eat your friends, huh? Heh... now there's an idea..."
Suddenly, a black blur rushes past you, and rams him several meters back. The wind kicked out of his lungs, the colt slowly stands back up while the group behind him look amongst themselves, then back at us.
You look to your left, and blink in surprise at a new presence with you... a bat pony!
No, wait... bat ponies' fangs are much, much shorter than this mare's... could this be a...
"V-VAMPIRE!" the colt shouts in alarm, reaching over for his torch.
The vampire chuckles, before nodding her head and approaching him. "That's right... and you happen to be trespassing into my cave, unannounced! Does this mean you're bringing me sacrifices? Or are you the sacrifice here?"
She grins maliciously, before flapping her wings outward, blowing the torch's flame out.
You can no longer see very clearly, but you can definitely hear the sound of their hooves rushing out of the cave.
They're gone... and you have this vampire to thank for that!
You look over at her and raise a hoof to ask a question, but she seems to have beaten you to the punch.
"Don't worry, you both can stay here. You're... not like those bozos out there." she says, smiling brightly at you. Her smile, though, is short-lived when she looks at Sandy and winces. "They did that to her?!"
You nod your head and look back over at her. "Yeah... those heartless beasts came from Fillydelphia, judging by their accents."
"... Hmph. And they called us the monsters... how is she?" she asks, approaching Sandy worriedly.
You sigh. "She's pretty cold in here. Poor girl looks like she's been through Tartarus three times over. Hasn't woken up, yet."
She hums, rubbing her chin in thought. "Hmm... well, if that's the case, we'll need to get her close to a warm fire." she says, before looking over at the torch. "Can you light that up?"
You follow her eyes, and nod your head. "Yeah. Might take a little bit, but I can probably work something here."
"Good... I'll go out and find some berries for you both." she says, stepping towards the entrance.
"Wait! Uh... before you go, I never did get your name!" you call out.
She turns towards you and smiles again. "Name's Nightshade Sonata. Or just Nighty for short."
"Well... thank you so much for helping us there, Nighty! I'm Misty Meadow... it's nice to meet you! But please... be careful you don't get caught by them!" you tell her.
She chuckles at you, shaking her head. "Ha! Oh, don't worry, I'll be back in a jiffy. Besides, those stupidheads can't take me, even if they tried!"
And with that, Nighty flaps her wings and leaves at a blurring speed, before you could even open your mouth to say anything further.
You sigh, before approaching Sandy, and cuddling up to her again. You then try to get back to sleep.
You are the night... the fierce, determined night. They call you "Nightshade Sonata", one of the last remaining true-blooded Vampires out there. And now, you have made your first few friends!
Well, one at least.
They understand you, for the most part... and this is just the silver lining you needed! Someone who you can share your sorrows with!
Maybe two, if the other one's interested. Naturally, though, you have an inkling they'll both be on your side. After all, you freaks stick together like two sticky corners of duct tape!
Your vision in the night is beyond compare to those cowards that hunt for you and your new friends. You could easily wipe them clean out from this view... but something in your gut tells you that wouldn't end well.
And besides that, you're a vampire... but that doesn't make you a murderer! If anything, your appetite can easily be quenched by fruits just like your Bat Pony cousins... albeit they don't have flavor like blood does.
Plus, if you were to get someone willing to let you feed, it's not like you can stomach all their blood! You'd probably be content enough with just a pint or somewhere around that amount!
But, you digress.
Your vision zooms in on a few berries that look edible enough for mortals, so you rush down and pluck them quickly, using your wings to knock them off the bushes, and your hooves to carry them.
You move the berries from your hooves to your left wing, which you outstretch into a makeshift bag-like shape. With this, you'd have to walk, but there's no way the colt and his friends would be dumb enough to hunt for you! Not after how badly you intimidated them!
"... But what about your friends? They might go back for them!"
You freeze in place, before groaning. "Ah, crud..."
You hurriedly make your way over to the cave, carefully so as to not drop too many berries. To your relief, you see the two of them inside the cave, cuddled together in their sleep.
You make your way inside, and gently place the berries near your friends. The sound, however, doesn't go unnoticed, as Misty's eyes shoot open and she looks over towards you.
Then, she smiles and nods her head gratefully. "Thanks, Nighty."
You smile back at her and nod your head. "You're welcome... now come on, we need to get a fire going for her."
And so, the two of you start striking a few stones together over the torch. You eventually notice a spark and, before long, the torch reignites.
Misty sighs in relief, then takes her spot near the other pony. This makes you wonder who she is and, by extension, what brought them here to begin with, aside from the hunters.
You both spend a great deal of the night exchanging stories, with you keeping your distance away from the torch. It's not because the light kills you, though. Only direct sunlight can really do damage to you, but even that isn't an instant death sentence. If anything, you'd probably be able to trot around for an hour at best before you'd pass out. And that's if you're exposed directly to it the whole duration.
No... you just prefer the cold. And as the age-old saying goes... "fire is hot, not cold".
The two of you have a few good laughs as you each recall funny moments in your lives. Of worry-free moments that were small blessings in disguise.
Eventually, though, she has to get to sleep. You bring this up, and she agrees, falling asleep with the fire still going well. She used a few webs to add as kindling, while you figured you'd grab a few branches to add to it.
Now, they both have a comfortable campfire, and you have a pair of friends to watch over for the night.
The following morning, you would introduce yourself to Sandy, as she reveals then. To your surprise, she was very welcoming to you, despite you being a vampire.
You agree to let them live here in the cave with you. And for the next year, you three become the best of friends.
But then... after a year passes, something interesting happens. A new, unseen creature takes refuge into your cave, unknowing of your presences - a male, at that. His hair appears to be a bright gray color - a clear sign of him being fairly aged, though his face still lacks wrinkles... perhaps middle-aged?
He looks old enough to be your father.
With not much else to do, as your friends hide in the darkest corners of the cave, you gather your courage, and approach him cautiously.
You are Anon - a man, aging up in his life, and perhaps nearing his time. For the past few months, you've been coughing an awful lot. It wasn't until last year, though, when you were given a startling sign... blood from your coughs.
A sign of Tuberculosis... or at least the start of it. It's not that bad, though. You only go into a coughing fit occasionally, and even then it's not always bloody... so you could very well just be worrying over nothing.
You're not really that concerned by it, though. You've lived your life, seen quite a few amazing things in this world. From the many brave exploits of Princess Twilight Sparkle, her rise to power, and the union of the nations, to many, many more things you've yet to list out. You admit, though, you weren't alone in this world when you appeared here, and had some help coping with being in an alien world.
Your former wife, Nona, was there with you. At the time, you both were perhaps an inseparable pair. You had a wedding here in Equestria, and grew closer together... but then, after a heated argument, you both decided it was best to break up, and go your own separate ways. She moved to Canterlot with your unborn son, while you moved to Hollow Shades, a newly refurbished town that became a tourism hotspot.
With the right contacts, you were able to have a hotel built in said town. You made quite a lot of money in the process. You stockpiled a bunch of it for emergencies, and sent most of your earnings to Canterlot by mail, so that your son could get the education he needed. After hearing of Nona's death, you felt a bit heartbroken, but remained vigilant in making sure your son got the education he needed.
Your staff members, however, were concerned about your health the past few years. They urged you to see a doctor, but you disagreed. They likely wouldn't know how to handle humans, anyways, so it would be a waste of money that your son could have.
Then, after a heavy coughing fit you had last year, your staff vacated the hotel, and it closed down.
But you still had your stockpile, and it was still your property... so, you continued to send money to your son, despite the hotel being closed down.
Cost of living wasn't that big of an issue. It was just you, after all, and frankly your appetite was starting to get lesser and lesser.
Now, here you are, sitting in a cave after deciding to go on a hiking trip. You aren't lost, though... you're just needing some rest before you head back to the hotel.
You've already made a campfire, and are resting against the cave wall. With a relieved sigh, you close your eyes for a bit, and bask in the warm air.
That is, you start to, when the sound of hooves to your left catch your attention. You raise your left eye open, and blink in slight surprise when you spot a dark-coated mare approaching you.
The glistening of her fangs can be seen, but you pay it no mind. You've seen Bat Ponies before, so you just guess she's one of them.
"Well hey there! Sorry, I didn't notice you in the darkness." you tell her. Scooting to the right a bit, you gently pat the corner on your left, as a means to let her know it's safe to approach you.
She seems a bit hesitant to do so, though, and this makes you frown. "Oh... nah, it's fine. You don't have to come over if you don't want. I'm already used to it as-is."
This makes her speak up a bit. "What do you mean?" she asks, tilting her head.
You chuckle a small bit. "Well, for starters, I'm one of the last two members of my species on this planet. Most folks haven't seen a human before, even in the 25 years I've lived in this world!"
"In this world... wait... are you telling me you're an alien?!" she asks, now sounding a bit fascinated.
You nod your head and smile at her. "Sure am! Human is the technical term for my people, but if it's easier for you, 'alien' also works."
She then approaches you a bit more... but stops when you cover your mouth with your elbow and begin coughing up a storm. "A-are you alright, sir?!" she asks.
When you finish your coughing, you nod your head and wave a dismissive hand. "Yeah, I'm fine... just a cough for now... at least I think it is."
She carefully approaches you, shaking her head. "No, that can't be good! We need to get you to a doctor!"
You shake your head and reply, "Nah, I'm fine. Besides, I need to save up as much money as I can for my son."
She doesn't agree, though. "Your son needs you to be alive and well! I doubt if he'd want you to die for his sake!"
"Eh, he won't be that bothered by it. Besides, he hasn't seen me, yet... doubt if he even will."
She blinks in surprise at that. "Wait... you've never even seen your son, before?!"
You shake your head. "Nah... divorced my wife about twenty five years ago. She wanted to stay in Canterlot, while I wanted to explore as much of this world as possible. Made quite a fortune, though, once Hollow Shades was rebuilt. Got a hotel there... well, it was a hotel. Sadly, though, the staff ran off, leaving me alone in the place... save for one."
She seems a bit downtrodden by your story. "Jeez... they really just up and left you in your condition like that?! That's... horrible!"
You shrug your shoulders and weakly smile at her. "Ah, well... it is what it is."
She rubs her chin in thought, before shaking her head. "Well, that's not how it's going to be! Tell you what... my friends need a much better place to stay, and you need all the help you can get! So... what if we moved into your hotel, and helped you with your condition?"
You look over at the fire, and sigh. "Well... if you insist, then I don't see why not. Just... keep a safe enough distance, if you can. And if I start coughing up blood, I'll need you and your friends to avoid touching that blood. It can be a deadly disease to humans. There's no telling what it could do to non-humans, though!"
She nods her head. "Understood, sir."
"Name's Anon, by the way." you tell her.
She smiles warmly at you and reaches her hoof out. "Nightshade... or just Nighty, if you want. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Anon."
You slowly rise to your feet and shake her hoof. "Pleasure's all mine, Miss Nighty." You then look over towards the deeper end of the cave. "So... where are your friends, anyways, if you don't mind me asking?"
Nightshade turns around and whistles. Then, from the darkness, approaches two other mares - one with a spider-like body, and one with a big, rose red eye.
You aren't even slightly bothered by them, though. Rather, you're fascinated. The cyclops mare is first to approach you, a look of wonder on her face.
You kneel down to her level and stretch a hand out towards her. "Well hey there, ma'am! My, you've got such adorable-"
"I-is it my eye?" she stutters, but you shake your head and reach a hand out to her left cheek. She eeps a bit as you gently pinch it.
"Nah, it's those adorable freckles! Kinda reminds me of an old friend I had back in Ponyville!"
When you let go of her cheek, she seems to blush a bit. She smiles, though, and doesn't appear offended in any way.
You then notice that the spider-looking mare is still keeping her distance.
"Excuse me, ma'am... please don't take this the wrong way, but... are you able to spin a web?" you ask her.
She takes a couple steps back, now glaring at you distrustfully. You notice this and sigh, shaking your head. "Sorry, that was a bit insensitive of me."
Your apology seems to get through to her, though, as she takes another step towards you. "You're apologizing? For what?" she asks.
You shrug your shoulders. "Idunno... thought that question offended you. I don't wanna offend anyone here."
"Oh... y-you didn't offend me. I just..." she begins, but you raise a hand up to stop her.
You then weakly smile at her. "I understand. You're just being cautious, right? Stranger-Danger, and all that?"
She sighs, before nodding her head. "It's nothing personal, it's just... almost every time I've ever met someone, they either try to fight me, or run off."
"Well, they're just a bunch of idiots, if you ask me. Your coat looks amazing, and the fuzzy legs makes you look beautiful in your own way!" you tell her.
Her cheeks begin to flush red at that. "B-beautiful?! I-I've never..."
You chuckle a bit, which makes her fluster a bit more. She puffs her cheeks out and glares at you, crossing her hooves over her chest. "Hmph! Y-you're just teasing me, aren't you?!"
You shake your head and wave your hand again. "Nah... it's just you've got the most adorable face I've ever seen while you're angry!"
Nighty snickers a bit at your words, and nods her head. "He's got you there, Misty! You look absolutely adorable with your angry pouty-face!"
She begins to laugh a bit more, until a web slings over her mouth, carefully so as to not cover her nostrils, though.
Your eyes widen at that, and you look over at her. "Wait, so you can shoot webs?!"
"That's right! So choose your next words carefully, bub!" she threatens.
You can't help but smile widely at this revelation. "Wow... that's so cool!" you finally tell her, which catches her off-guard, yet again.
"W-what?! That's supposed to scare people! N-not impress them!" she stammers.
You shake your head and reply, "Sorry, but that kind of ability reminds me of one of my favorite superheroes!"
"What kind of superhero shoots webs from their body?!" she asks, now full of disbelief.
You raise a finger up and reply matter-of-factly, "Why none other than the incredible Spider-Man, of course!"
You then go on about describing the story of Spider-Man to her, while the others listen in awe. Your enthusiasm and joyful demeanor of your favorite superhero doesn't go unnoticed, as they begin asking questions, and share their enthusiasm about the story.
Even Misty seems to warm up a bit to you.
By the time you finish the tale, it's already getting late. You look over at the entrance of the cave, and sigh. "Well, I've gotta get back to the hotel soon." You then turn towards them and smile. "At this hour, most folks in Hollow Shades are already at home... I can probably sneak y'all in without any trouble. Then, you can each make yourselves comfortable!"
"Yeah!" they all cheer... except for one.
You look over at Misty, who still seems a bit hesitant about your offer. She looks up at you and then asks, "H-how do I know you aren't lying, though? J-just trying to butter us up so that we can walk right into a trap?"
You sigh, and lean down to her level. Then, you reach your hand out and smile as warmly as you can to her. "It's just a matter of trust... I can understand if you don't want to come with me. In fact... if you want to stay, I'll encourage your friends to stay here with you. I'll head out, and you won't have to worry about me ever again."
She looks away and sniffles a bit. "E-every time I met someone new... n-none of them were this kind to me..."
"Misty..."
She shakes her head. "W-what if you're taking us to some kind of zoo, though? What if you're planning to parade us like a bunch of animals?!"
"Misty, it's nothing like that!" You then slowly lean your hand closer to her. "Misty, please... you can trust me!"
Your heart pours out for her. She must've had it very rough in the past. You can't even stop the single tear falling from one of your eyes, as you sympathize for her.
She notices this, and frowns for a bit, before looking over at one of her hooves. Then, after taking a deep breath, she places her hoof in your hand and weakly smiles, nodding her head.
"Alright, then... I'll hold you to it."
Present Day...
You are Misty Meadow... and you feel a small stream of tears fall from your eyes, as the flashback hits you like a flyswatter to the face. The sincere concern for you, from a stranger... you're feeling a sense of deja vu.
Then you brush the tears from your eyes and a determined look adorns your face. You have a job to do... and that's to get your dummy friends to realize that he isn't a ghost.
Now if only you knew where they went...
You hear the sound of whispers in the distance, and go to investigate.
When you arrive at one of the abandoned rooms, you duck your head quickly to dodge a pillow that was chunked your way.
"G=GO AWAY, MR. GHOST! Y-YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE IN HEAVEN!" Sandy cries out.
You roll your eyes and smirk at her. "Boo."
She screams and leaps off the bed, but pauses and peeks her head up... then glares at you when she discovers what happened.
"Hey! That's not funny, Misty!" she whines.
You can't resist laughing at her dilemma, though. This makes her cheeks puff out, and she glares at you, pink-faced and embarrassed.
"Oh, you're right, it isn't funny! It's downright hilarious, is what it is!" you say, rightfully earning the pillow that flies into your face.
"Hmph! A-anyways, what are you doing in here?" she asks, now calming down a fair bit.
You pick the pillow up and brush it off, while approaching the bed to put it back onto. "I'm here to collect you doofuses, so that we can all go to that 'ghost' of yours."
"W-WHAT?!" she practically screams, but you raise a hoof to stop her.
"It's sarcasm. He isn't really a ghost." you say, making her look down. You then spot the tears falling from her eye.
"B-but... we saw him lying th-there... h-he was... I-I swear he was..." she stutters.
You sigh, and wrap her in a warm hug. "Shh... I know. And you're right... he was. But this isn't him that's in there."
"I-it isn't?!" she asks, before a look of realization adorns her face. "Wait... are you saying that's his..."
You nod your head. "The one and only son of his! Now come on, we need to hear him out! Uh... did you happen to see which way the others went?"
She nods her head and motions towards the doorway. "Violet's in the room across from here. Nighty went a little further down the hallway, though."
"Which room?" you ask.
She shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know. We all split up, and I ran in here before I could even see where she turned, other than further down the hallway... can't be too far, though!"
You sigh, rubbing your temple. "Well, that's just great. It'd take me hours at least to track Nighty down, then!"
Sandy pats you on the shoulder. "Here, why don't you just go to Mr. Anon's son, and let him know we're on our way? I'll go collect the others."
You nod your head. "Yeah... I guess that'd be for the best. Beats us having to search for each other afterwards. Just tell 'em all to meet up at the Main Lobby. That's where he said he'll be."
She gives you a salute and rushes out of the room, while you take your time strolling down towards the rendezvous point. You'd tell Mr. Anon's son that they're on their way when you get there.
You are a slightly less afraid Sandy Shore, and you're currently in the room across from where you were. Thankfully Violet is too afraid to even throw something at you, giving you time to let her know it's only you.
"Don't worry, Vi! It's only me!" you call out from within the dark room.
You hear her moving around underneath the bed, and lean down to see her. Needless to say, she's very shaken up about this ordeal.
"I-is the g-g-ghost gone, yet? I-is it safe, now?!" she stutters.
You gently reach a hoof down to help her out of the bed. "Actually, Vi, it was a false alarm. There is no ghost... it was actually Mr. Anon's son!"
She gasps as she reaches her hooves. "Oh, no! I hope we didn't scare him, or hurt his feeling!" She yelps. "Oh my goodness! D-do you think Misty hurt him by accident?!"
You cover her mouth with a hoof and giggle. "Don't worry, I'm sure he's fine! He just wants to meet us, that's all! At least I think he does... I don't know. He mostly just wants us to meet him in the Main Lobby."
She nods her head. "R-right... got it! But what about Misty and Nighty?"
"Misty's already there. I just have to find Nighty, then we'll regroup at the meeting spot." you explain.
She rubs her chin in thought, as all three of her eyes drift towards the doorway. "Hmm... I think I saw her take a left at the end. Didn't hear her hoofsteps going up higher than the second floor, so hug the left side up there."
You give her a grateful nod. "Will do, thank you! Can you make it to the Main Lobby on your own?"
She nods her head and weakly smiles back at you. "I-I think so. Misty's there, so I should be okay."
Giving her shoulder one more pat, you both head out, and split ways - her going right towards the Main Lobby, and you going left, towards the staircases.
Once you reach the top of the first staircase, you take a stroll through the hallway straight ahead, checking the right rooms as you pass by them (seeing how you're moving backwards this time). Finally, once you're about halfway down the hall, you hear a sniffling in the room over, and investigate.
The door's locked, though. You gently knock on it, and call out, "Nighty? Are you alright in there?"
"J-just go away!" she calls back.
You sigh. "It's important, Nighty! I-"
"I heard, already... it's not a ghost. It's Mr. Anon's son!" she retorts.
You mentally facehoof. Of course she'd be able to tell, what with her immense sight and hearing. "Then why aren't you gonna meet up with us?"
"Because... I don't want to, what difference does it make?!" she retorts.
Yep... she's definitely upset about something. "Please, Nighty... we're your friends! You can tell us what's wrong!"
She's silent for a moment, before you hear the door click. Then she slowly cracks the door open, and you can see her eyes glowing in the dark.
"This doesn't get past the two of us. Deal?" she asks.
You nod your head, and she opens the door up, beckoning you inside. Without hesitation, you follow her inside, and have a seat on the bed.
She approaches you and hops on the other side of it, fidgeting with her forehooves.
You clear your throat. "So... what's wrong?" you ask.
She sighs, looking over at you. "... I don't trust him."
"Why not?" you ask, now a bit more curious.
"Because he's from Canterlot." she replies, catching you off guard.
"What difference does that make, though?" you inquire.
She rolls her eyes. "Oh, come on! Haven't I told you this story already?"
You shake your head. "Not that I remember."
Then she sighs again, shaking her head. She looks away from you, as she recalls a few memories. "Have you heard about how difficult it was for the Bat Ponies to return to Canterlot, after Princess Luna returned?"
You recall the stories your mother told you when you were a filly, and nod your head. "They had to go over numerous meetings first, then following that, they had to follow up with tests for citizenship to become official."
She nods her head. "Right... so take that into consideration when I ask this next question... did you hear about how Vampires returned to Canterlot?"
This time, you're a bit confused. You rub your chin in thought, before shaking your head. "I... can't say I have."
She nods again. "That's good, then... because we didn't go back to Canterlot."
Then you consider her words a bit more thoughtfully. Namely, "returned", and "back".
"What do you mean by you didn't go back to Canterlot?" you ask, a bit hesitant for your answer.
She curls up her hind legs, until she's in a fetal position, and shudders a bit. "Let's just say... the Bat Ponies had it way easier than Vampires... when the Unicorns invaded our mountain."
You gasp. "What?! But I thought Canterlot Mountain was uninhabited back then!"
She shakes her head. "That's what the scholars said. They burnt the books and scrolls that mentioned otherwise... but my grandmother told me all about the truth behind it."
There are massive cave systems within Canterlot Mountain, even to this day. Numerous crystals, countless treasures... all of which once belonging to my ancestors.
We lived peacefully in the caves, only going out to feast on the blood of the creatures that roamed the lands... or the insects that dared approach.
But then, one fateful day, the Unicorns arrived, and they brought with them the powers of the Sunlight. Their leader, Princess Celestia, took one look at us, and shuddered at the sight of our feeding habits...
We had just hunted a group of cattle who, despite being alive and mind-controlled to not feel any pain, were not willing to give us a little bit of their blood to survive... not without force, at least. It was a matter of survival.
Despite our need to survive, we were labelled monsters, and immediately driven out of our home by the princess's guards.
This was thousands of years ago, before the reign of Discord. My grandmother was just a filly back then... and to this day, they passed the legends over to us... of how we were the true Canterlotians... who in the end, were driven away, doomed to live within the shadows.
[/hr]
As you listen to her pour her heart out, you feel the tears falling from your eye. You both sniffle a bit, as she continues.
"And... a-and I was only three years old when my mother went to Canterlot among the Bat Ponies to reclaim a place there... she never made it home." she says, closing her eyes, and letting more tears fall down her cheeks. "Doesn't take a genius to know what happened... they either banished her into the dungeons... or they killed her, then and there."
You say nothing, but pull her into a hug... a hug which she quickly returns without hesitation.
You both just sit there, comforting each other. While you heard all kinds of great rumors of the "Princess of the Sun"... this is the first time you heard about this side of her.
What's more, this is the first time you've seen Nighty cry like this.
When you both break free from the hug, you wipe her cheeks and shake your head. "I can't believe you've gone through that kind of pain... it... it must've been rough."
She nods her head. "From the age of three, I had to grow up with an abusive father... at least for three years. Then, I ran off, and lived in the woods around here ever since."
You nod your head, and look over towards the door. "Right... but... I still don't think Mr. Anon's son is like the rest of those monsters in Canterlot, though."
"What makes you say that?" she asks, curiosity in her voice.
"Well... for one thing, he isn't a Unicorn. And second, he's also like you in the sense that he lost a parent close to him! And third... he's the son of Mr. Anon, himself! The kind soul that practically gave us this home!" you say.
She sniffles a bit more, as she looks away from you. Then, after a bit of thinking, she shakes her head. "I... I don't know, Sandy."
You then puff your chest out. "Then tell you what! If he tries anything... I'll beat him up for you!"
This makes her chuckle a bit, before gently patting you on the shoulder. "Ha! Oh, please... you couldn't even hurt a fly!"
You puff your cheeks in annoyance. "Hmph! Can too!"
She rolls her eyes and smirks. "Okay... tell you what. I'll go over there, just to humor him. But if he expects me to just submit to unreasonable demands, I'll just give 'em a piece of my mind!"
"That's the spirit!" you cheer, giving her one more hug.
"Heh... thanks for the boost in confidence... now c'mon, I guess we shouldn't delay any longer." she tells you.
With a nod, you both make your way over to the Main Lobby.
You are Bob Smith, and currently, you're doing a head-count.
There's Sandy Shore, the mare with one eye. You have a gut feeling her vision is actually quite impressive, due to the extra large size of her eye, and the lack of a need to focus. This could probably make her very skilled at spotting people in need of assistance.
There's Misty Meadow, the spider mare. You're pretty sure she can work wonders with all those legs of hers... perhaps she can make a bed, fluff pillows, and do all the handy work that housekeepers can do? Or, perhaps she can work a kitchen? Who knows... maybe both?
There's Violet Spring, the mare with three eyes. To your surprise, you saw her name in the Guestbook, on the very top. Turns out, she used to work here, since her secret is very easy to hide... just close the eye on the forehead, and adjust your mane to where it's directly over it. She can work the guestbook again, since she's very shy about getting up close to others... at least this way, she'd have a desk, and her main focus will be on the book, anyways.
Finally, there's Nightshade Sonata, the Vampire, as she clarified to you. She's an enigma, to say the least, only giving you subtle nods and head-shakes at whatever you ask. However, if she's anything like the vampires your mother told you during Nightmare Night, she's got incredible strength, resilience, speed, and endurance. With this, she could probably be the one who guides guests to their rooms.
It's all coming together in your mind... and it makes you smile. This could probably be one of the coolest hotels in history! Thousands of creatures will swing by, and pay you all just to meet unique friends!
You're done being the "freak"... and you have a feeling they are, too. If you can just find a way to make them feel at ease with others... maybe they can see that the world out there isn't as bad as it seems?
You clear your throat, as they all look up at you curiously.
"So now that we've all introduced ourselves, we can safely say we aren't all strangers here, correct?" you ask.
They nod their heads.
"Anyways... I want to carry through with what my father left... and that's to not only run this hotel, but also, to provide a safe, secure shelter for the four of you." you add.
They each nod again, but you frown a bit.
"Sadly, though, it appears the place is wearing out of shape... chances are, it could even collapse if we don't pay for repairs. Luckily, though, I have enough to handle that, and maybe refurbish the furniture... but then, comes another issue."
"What's the issue?" Sandy asks you.
You look over at her and reply, "Food. Drinks. All of that. We can't have you four living off of things scavenged from the forest forever. We'll need to buy fresh supplies from the marketplace. We'll need to buy cleaning utensils, and all that stuff. Which can't be done without money... and after buying the repairs and the bare necessities, I don't think I'll have enough for much more than a week's worth for us all."
They gasp. "Th-then what will we do?!" Violet asks.
You smile at them. "That's where this idea of mine comes into play. Once we've repaired this place back into working order, we'll open the place to the public!"
Again, they gasp. Misty shakes her head quickly. "No way, outta the question! Do you realize what they'll do to us the moment they see us?!"
Nighty nods her head in agreement, while Sandy and Violet look at each other uneasily.
You raise a finger to stop her. "That's where my job comes in, though."
Misty folds her hooves over her chest. "Go on, then."
You clear your throat. "I'll theme this hotel in a manner that suits us, and make it where they are aware of what we all are! I'll give the hotel a Nightmare Night theme, make it where the rules of the place prevent them from threatening you all... heck, I'll even direct their blows towards myself, in your stead!"
Nighty tilts an eyebrow at you. "And why would you do that?"
You put your hands on your hips and nod your head towards her. "Because I feel like it's what my dad would've wanted. He clearly wanted the four of you to live happy, normal lives, right?"
"That's... correct." Nighty adds, rubbing her chin in thought.
"Well, think of it as my way of seeing to that! I want you four to have happy lives, like he did... but in order to do that, we'll each need money to cover the wages. So... that's why I'm offering you all a job here." You kneel down to where you're eye-level with all four of them.
Then you reach your hand out. "I can't run this place by myself... I need all of your help in order to make our lives better. Please... join me, and we can all work together to fight back against the prejudice, and prove to the others... the world... that we're just as normal as they are, if not better than normal!"
They look at each other for a moment, before huddling together, whispering amongst each other. Then, when they break from the huddle, Misty clears her throat.
"Will we be getting paid?"
You nod your head and chuckle. "Naturally! I'll even split up 20% of the earnings for each of us!"
She nods her head. "That seems fair... alright, I'll do my best, then." Then she places a hoof over your hand.
Sandy is next to approach. "Will we get to keep a room to ourselves?"
You nod your head again. "But of course! You can even keep whichever rooms you've already claimed as your own!"
This makes her giggle, before placing a hoof over Misty's.
Violet approaches. "U-umm... w-will we be able to take breaks?"
You shrug your shoulders. "However long breaks you need, Vi. I'll be sure to cover you each when needed."
She nods her head before placing her hoof over Sandy's.
All eyes look over towards Nighty. She crosses her hooves over her chest and huffs.
"You know, Nighty... I can donate some blood for you, if you'd like." you tell her.
Her ear twitches a bit, and her cheeks flush red. "Y-you'd do that for me?"
You nod your head and smile. "Of course! How much blood do you need?"
She replies, "Typically, an ounce of blood could satiate me for about a week, as long as I also mix in a few insects and maybe some fruits."
"Then I'll donate an entire pint for you, in that case... deal?" you ask.
She looks at her hoof for a moment, before sighing. Then, giving you a determined glare, she nods her head. "Alright fine, but I expect a down-payment soon!"
You chuckle, nodding your head. "Sure thing, Nighty. I'll have a bag ready for you by tomorrow."
This makes her smile, as she places her hoof over Violet's hoof.
You look at the four of them and smile. "Well, my friends... welcome to the Nightmare Hotel!"
And with that, you all raise your hand (and hooves) in the air and cheer.
This would be the start of a good friendship.
Journal Entry: #1
Today, you managed to find a group of mares in your father's old hotel. Granted, you still wonder where the bits came from, if his hotel was closed for two years prior. Did he really have that much money already stockpiled up?
Where did it come from?!
There's still so many questions you have yet to find the answer for... but you have a feeling that, in time, you may find an answer to them. And best of all, you won't be alone in your search for these answers!
You don't know what the future may bring, but you have a gut feeling these mares will play a huge part in it, regardless. And so, with that in mind, you can rest easily tonight... knowing that you're no longer alone in this world.
And they don't have to worry, either. By your word, you will not let them down. After all, you've got a family reputation to uphold!
You are Bob Smith... and this... is the Nightmare Hotel!
Author's Note
So begins our new journey! I'd like to apologize for the long delay, but after the whole "Pandora" fiasco, I had to recuperate my mind, and work out a few things.
And so, I made this chapter over 10,000 words long as a means to make up for the lost time! I hope y'all enjoy this adventure!
Have a happy Nightmare Night, My Little Bronies! 
