Scootaloo and the School of Ghouls

"Scoots! Take one guess where we are!" Apple Bloom said with an odd mix of mirth and wariness.

Scootaloo gave a terrific yawn, Apple Bloom wincing slightly at the look of her now two to three inch long fangs. "Mmmm... the North Poll?"

"No silly, we're at Bogmorts!" Sweetie grinned. "Or at least the town near it."

Scootaloo's eyes widened as she blinked their thoroughly rested, now piercing red selves. "Man, I must have really been out of it..."

"You slept like a rock bein' doused in warm milk, sugar," Apple Bloom smiled, before waving her towards the door. "Come on, let's get going, though! You too, Pipsqueak."

"Mmmm, Captain Sparrow!" Pipsqueak grunted groggily, his eyes still shut. "What arrrr ya doin'?"

"Come on, Pipsqueak!" Apple Bloom said, giggling as she shook him.

"OI! WEST ZEBRICAN TRADE COMPANY SHIP FIRIN' UPON US! GOTTA MAN ME POST!" Pipsqueak cried, suddenly rocking himself out of his web and landing with an 'oof' on the floor.

The group of fillies couldn't help but laugh as Sweetie crept over to help Pipsqueak up on his hooves.

"Ugh," Pipsqueak groaned, rubbing his head as his eyes fluttered open. "Was I bloody sleep talkin' again?"

"Hahaha, at least it wasn't the worst case scenerio," Scootaloo smirked. "Remember when you slept walked that one time and almost attacked Ms. Hardknock with an umbrella? 'Yar, ye undead swine! Eat cutlass!'"

The group let out another hysterical laugh, Pipsqueak rolling his eyes with a bemused smile. "Got myself in a ruddy bit of trouble with that one."

"Ya kids getting off the train or are you looking to find out how hobos live?" a train mate grunted from the door, signaling them towards the train's entrance.

"One second!" Sweetie beamed merrily, the train ghoul giving her an annoyed look as he moved on.

She and the rest of the crusaders then gave a shiver, before opening up their travelling sacks and pulling out thick wool sweaters.

"Awwww, Granny Smith stitched me this one," Apple Bloom smiled….  at least before noticing the red heart on its front. She quickly sweat-dropped at that. "Uggh, I'm definitely gonna get made fun of for this, though." Shrugging, she then sighed, slipping it on. "Ah well, better than being an icicle."

"Yeah, I don't want to have to thaw you by a fire or anything," Scootaloo chuckled, now glancing out the window for the first time.

It was steamy, even if their cabin was quite cold, meaning the temperature outside must have been quite brutal. Then again, if her father could take it, so could she. She quickly moved towards the window, rubbing off a bit of fog to view an arctic wasteland. At least from this view, there wasn’t even a tree to add a bit of diversity to the barren, fields of white. Bogmorts must have been on the other side.

"Jeez, couldn't pick a more habitable place to set up a school, couldn't they?" she said with a smirk.

"Talk about a test of endurance," Pipsqueak grunted, now wearing a brown sweater himself. "And I thought the time Captain Sparrow took a trip around the Northern Pass was bad. Only the seals would build a school up there."

At that, a voice made itself known from the door.

"Oi, you lot bout done gettin' yur knickers on?" Pipbossa grinned, now in fleshy form without the moon upon him, his face slightly flush. "Was wonderin' if I could stay round with ya, if that's alright."

"Na, that's fine," Sweetie said, before smirking slightly. "Did Princess Trollestia give you trouble the whole trip?"

Pipbossa gave a hearty sigh. "Lass, ya have no ideah. The way she was pickin' on me I thought I might have bloody painted a target on meself. Safety in numbahs, I always say."

Creeping past him then came Metus, giving a somewhat hopeful look towards the group, almost as if she wanted to say something to them, before sauntering on.

Scootaloo couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She knew her position well. Lonely, insecure, and most of all... unsure where she belonged.

"Hey, Metus!" Scoots quickly called, giving her a bright smile.

Metus' eyes widened slightly, almost as if surprised anyghoul was talking to her, before she quirked her head and glanced at the young filly as if she were a sight to be studied. "You're Scootaloo," she merely stated.

"Errr, yeah, that's me!" Scootaloo beamed, sweat-dropping slightly.

A beat.

Metus continued to gaze upon him with analytical eyes, before eventually saying, "you know. I thought the daughter of Sleighbell would be menacing. Unapproachable. But you... you're not what I expected."

"Oh... uh," Scootaloo said, sighing slightly. "Sorry to disappoint you, I guess."

She then squinted an eyebrow, however. "I'm not disappointed. You just seem... friendly, is all."

"Heh, well thanks!" Scoots smiled.

Pipsqueak raised his eyebrows.

"She seems a bit... off," he whispered to Sweetie, who quickly gave him a look.

"Be nice," she whispered back. "We shouldn't go judging books by a cover. Queen Veorlis isn't Queen Chrysalis, after all."

"I'm just saying…" Pip grunted.

"But yeah, I..." Scootaloo said, wincing slightly. "I mean, we, were wondering if you'd like to hang out with us," she smiled. "You know, experience this whole new thing... together!"

"Hmmm… interesting," Metus stated blankly, though Scootaloo thought she heard a bit of relief in her voice. "Yes, I think I'd like that. It might be... fun."

"Well, come on then! Let's get going before we end up heading back to Terrorsville," Apple Bloom grinned, leading them the way down the train.

At this point, Scootaloo could actually feel a bit of... something rising in her. It seemed to be a mix of both apprehension and excitement. She couldn't tell which was overpowering which... but she could say one thing: it wasn't necessarily a bad feeling.

After a minute or so, they had made their way down the train and out the back door... and as soon as they did, their jaws dropped.

Before them sat a castle that would rival anything she had ever seen, even Princess Celestia's. Even through the heavy snow that fell all around them, she could still see its looming presence in detail. There were spires and turrets shooting up every which way, with no particular order to them, and massive walls of ice-encrusted stone forming an ancient boundary around its perimeter. To put it bluntly: it was the epitome of over-the-top, both literally and figuratively, as it seemed content to pierce the storms above like an angry, smited archer shooting at god.

"Now that... is a sight worth travelling across any sea for... even the sea between seas..." Pipsqueak said, his eyes filled with wonder.

Before the castle was a small town of sorts, and looking it over she soon realized: even ghouls needed heat, at least some of them, as she could see plumes of smoke rising from chimneys on every house within it. Scootaloo felt lucky she had even seen it, the castle overtaking it by a grand degree.

"Alright, sourcubes!" a voice called, its origin making itself known through a throng of tiny ghouls'.

"Sourcube?!" Apple Bloom said, her eyes widening as she viewed the sight of Applejack... at least a very furry, clawed, and yellow-eyed version of her.

"If I can have yall's attention, please!" 'Applejack' announced again, this time gaining their heed. She then smiled. "Yeah, I know it's a wicked sight. Had my jaw dropping down to the core of the world first time I saw it, too. But yall want to see the inside of it, right?"

The group gave a series of enthusiastic cheers.

"Good to hear!" she called. "To those of you who don't know me from Terrorsville, mah name's Applemoon, me n' my brother Big Macinslash beside me are the ground keepers of this here school... well, what little ground ain't covered in snow that is."

"Eeeeeyup," another voice called, a horrific, Lycan version of Big Macintosh.

"Mmmm, why was I expecting him to be a chatterbox or something?" Scootaloo smirked.

"I guess every version of Big Mac is a pony of few words," Apple Bloom shrugged.

Pipsqueak quirked an eyebrow.

"You know, I wonder what part of this place isn't covered in snow?" he asked.

"A few portions are used for growing food," Sweetie stated, gaining odd looks from her friends. "What?! I did some reading on the way." She then cleared her throat. "Anyway, apparently, they used a bit of magic to keep a few areas in 'snow shields', including what's called the Forbidden Forest.'"

"Oi, I forgot how much of a bookworm you could be, Sweetie," Scootaloo chirped, smiling her way.

"Mmmm, might come in handy," Apple Bloom smirked.

"Uh uh! You two are taking your own notes, this time!" Sweetie grunted. "We're not making this a repeat of school in Ponyville!"

Before she could respond, Scootaloo was interrupted by the voice of their caretaker.

"We'll be takin' ya up to the school," Applemoon continued. "Now, everyghoul give one last check to see if ya remembered all yur sweaters and homemade tar soup, cus as soon as we step hoof away from this here train platform she's heading back home!"

At that, the group did as they were commanded. Scootaloo gave a brief look through her sack, it having only a sweater she didn't need, her now not-so-mysterious message left from her adoption, and a few goodbye and good luck notes.

'Live long and party! It's always best at dusk, anyway!' - Pinkie Pie.

'I hope the sweater I gave you will keep you warm in the coldest of nights. Good luck, dear Scootaloo.' – Rarity.

Smiling warmly, despite the cold environment, she closed her sack.

She was all set.

At that, a series of screams could be heard, what looked like ghostly, bat-winged pegasi pulling a series of carriages into sight.

"Void Callers are giving the all clear, ma'm," one of them announced, giving Applemoon a stern glance. "We have the green light. However, they have announced they want to inspect every last one of the young ghouls for... contamination."

"Mmmmm, yeah," Applemoon groaned, rolling her eyes. "Fine, it's Shadowed's orders in the end, I suppose."

"Void Callers? Contamination?" Sweetie said, the group turning to Pipbossa for guidance.

"Bloody Hell, I knew this was going to happen," he laughed. "Ah well. The Void Callers be creatures of Null Space. Nasty, hooded blokes who will suck the happiness right out of ya. Last I heard they were workin' for Cthulhu. Must have made good on his promise to send soldiers to tha Nightmare Realm."

"So they're uh... Elrdrick Abominawatchamacallits? Like Slendermare?" Apple Bloom said, raising an eyebrow.

"Eldritch Abominations," Sweetie corrected.

"What she said," Apple Bloom groaned, rolling her eyes.

Pipbossa gave a nod. "Mmmm, that they be, lasses."

"Creatures of Null Space," Metus said, gazing Pipbossa over. "My mother always said they were real..."

Pipbossa gave a hearty laugh. "Well, it's good that ya be believing in ghost stories, lass,” he said, before narrowing his eyes and saying in a low tone, “You're in one."

He then took a bite out of a frozen apple, wincing as it nearly shattered his teeth. "Ah, damnit all! I hope they have some bloody fires goin' inside that school of thars."

"M-Me too," Pipsqueak shivered. "Never was one for the cold."

"Alright, everyghoul hop aboard!" Applemoon called.

The group gave nods, some more (though slightly jittery, thanks to the cold) excited murmurs echoing about as they climbed aboard the multiple carriages. Though Applemoon gave Apple Bloom a slight smile as she lept upon the wooden vessel, the only thing Scootaloo received was a set of narrowed, suspicious yellow eyes.

☼☼☼

"Hkkkkkkkk-click-click-click-click-click-click!" a void reaper growled in a low, menacing tone, it and his kin of four others circling the group of (surprisingly) frightened ghouls as they stood upon a high, outer tower.

They were nearly ten hoof tall, humanoid, hooded beings. And just as Pipbossa had described, their mere presence gave Scootaloo a feeling of pure dread... of hopelessness, and everyghoul in the group seemed to feel the same way. Scootaloo could just tell they weren’t shivering because of the cold. They were ten times worse than even Metus, who's slight bit of passive fear she generated Scootaloo was now starting to get used to.

"Mmmm, what does six clicks mean again, Big Mac?" Applemoon asked Big Macinslash.

"Not sure," he grunted. "Should have brought mah translation guide."

"S-Sis..." Apple Doom, the sister of Applejack's counterpart shivered. "W-What are these guys here for, exactly?"

"Orders from above," Applemoon sighed. "Sorry, I can't tell ya much, sept the last thing I want to do is cross Shadowed."

Scootaloo watched with wary eyes as the group of Void Callers continued to circle...

…And then, one paused.

Quirking its head, almost as if it were curious, it began to turn to Scootaloo… slowly, before beginning to drift towards her, hovering an inch across the snowy, stone floor.

Scootaloo gave a gulp, before taking a nervous step backward, the group of her friends doing the same thing.

"Hey! Watcha doin thar?" Applemoon growled angrily towards the being, though Scootaloo thought it was probably more for Apple Bloom's sake than hers. "Yeah, I know there's a few mortals among them, don't mean ya gotta give em a whiff of those nasty cloaks of yours."

The Void Caller merely gave a dismissive growl, continuing to close in on the young vampire and her friends.

"Hkkkkkkkk-click-click-click-click-click-click-CLICK!.!.!"

That seemed to catch the other creatures' attentions, for they soon joined in with their brother, the quintet of them forming a line and pausing. The clicks they emitted were now starting to sound like that of a rattle snake's tail.

"Hkkkkkkk-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK!.!.!"

"Hkkkkkkk-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK!.!.!"

"Hkkkkkkkkkkk-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK!.!.!"

"Get away from them, moon damnit!" Applemoon roared, now galloping forward to stand in front of the group.

"W-What do you think they want with you?" Pipsqueak squeaked.

Scootaloo shook her head. "I-I'm not sure... but...” She then squinted. “…Why do they seem familiar?"

They then began moving again, growing ever closer to her...

"EEEP!" the group shrieked.

"Hkkkkkkkk-click-click-click-click-click-click!.!.!"

…And then came the piercing light of the Nightmare Realm's moon, a blue beam from the heavens landing upon the creatures and sending them into a spasm of hideous shrieks.

"Yeah, like that don'tcha?!" a certain voice called from the heavens.

Her eyes widening in awe, Scootaloo looked up to see Rainbow Dash, her busy completely desecrating a portion of the titanic snowstorm above, actually piercing a massive hole in the cloud layer that seemed to be nearly a half a kilometer up, though she was sure it was just her imagination.

The Void Callers continued shrieking, flying off the tower and into the storm.

"Yeah! That's what I'm talkin' bout," Applemoon grinned. "Use the stick if nothin' else works!"

"Mmmm.... Shadowed's not gonna be happy, though," Big Macinslash grunted.

"Yeah well, he should know better than to trust Cthulhu's cronies. I don't care if they say he's on our side," Applemoon muttered.

"You kids OK?" Rainbow Dash smiled, landing besides a now very relieved Scootaloo, the group of young ghouls in the crowd looking at her in amazement.

"Y-Yeah," Scootalloo gulped. "I'm fine..." She then shook her head in disbelief. "Jeez, that was amazing, though, Rainbow Dash!"

"Heh, well, just doing my new job," Rainbow grinned.

"Job?" Sweetie said, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah! You see, seems the mortal world has one leg up on the Nightmare Realm, that being noghoul here knows a darn thing or even how to do weather control, especially not at the level of yours truly!” she smirked smugly. “I'm in charge of keeping the storms over the castle at bay, as a few werewolves here will probably like."

"Mmmmm... moooooon," Applemoon droned dreamily, her and the rest the Lycans in the group basking in the light of it.

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "Mmmm... yeah." She then leaned closer to Scootaloo. "I wonder how long she's been up here?" she whispered.

Scootaloo gave a slight giggle.

"Whelp, thank ya kindly Rainbow Dash. Our Rainbow could never do anything like that," Applemoon grinned, snapping out of her moon transfixiation.

"S-She couldn't?" Rainbow Dash said in disbelief, before smiling widely. "I mean, uh- of course she couldn't! She may be the Queen of Death, but I'm still the Queen of the Skies!"

"Meh, I don't care what that Lycan says, Rainbow Death could totally do that," Bloody Tiara muttered to herself. "Mortals thinking they're tough stuff in our realm, bleh!"

"Shut up! You may not love the moon, but some of us here appreciate it," Apple Doom growled, her sharp teeth gritted.

"Bah, I'm not surprised you'd be a mortal lover," she grunted.

"Yeah, well, I learned my lesson after Nightmare Night. But apparently, you haven't!"

"Thank ya kindly again, Rainbow Dash. Dunno what got into those crazy things," Applemoon smiled, before gesturing the group towards a tower entrance. "If yall will follow me, now, though. There's one heck of a feast waitin' for ya."

☼☼☼

The Great Hall, like the castle, was also an impressive sight to behold. There were four, long tables stretched across its length, with a massive, long black carpet stretching between the second and third down the middle length of the hall as well, with the symbol of Edeathstria upon it at three points, a strange thing that looked like a white, spiky wreath. A massive blood fountain sat in the middle of the hall, the carpet stretching around it in two, from which Scootaloo eagerly gathered a goblet of the delicious substance.

The ceiling of it was actually transparent (thanks to Twilight Sparkle’s magic), and high above, Scootaloo could see the hole Rainbow had cleared in the heavens was still just that... a hole. Apparently, pegasi magic wasn't something to be underestimated anywhere, as Rainbow was currently in the hall as well, and not outside keeping it clear. This let a brilliant moon beam down upon everyghoul, one brighter than she had ever seen in the Nightmare Realm, its layers of fog usually obscuring it to a degree. Some of the ghouls seemed to love this, while others, like Scootaweb, winced slightly.

On the far side of the room was a fifth table, where a number of ghouls (and ponies, now) sat: the teachers and staff of the school. Behind them were four, flowing banners. One was black, with a large, detailed red moon upon it. The next was blue, with a black camarilla painted over it. After that was a red one with a scythe upon it, a green snake circling its stem. The last was green, with a nasty looking eyeball in the epicenter with a mass of black tendrils stretching every which way from it.

Scootaloo was easily able to point out the members of the staff table, as she had seen many before. Twilight Sparkle sat there, chatting with Ms. Soulshard about something. Rainbow Dash was next to them, talking with Applemoon, though with a bit of apprehension on her face. On the other side was a smirking pony who Scootaloo recognized as Trixie Elphaba, the counterpart of Trixie, a pony who had nearly brought Nightmare Night to ruin for both sides of the fence, though she made up for it slightly at the end. She merely glanced upon the ghouls in the hall, as if studying them.

There was also Big Macinslash, Flutterfright (Fluttershy's counterpart), and a few empty chairs. However, in the middle of it sat a set of jagged, black set of metal armor, with red spikes jutting out of it at multiple angles. It seemed to be sitting still.

Shrugging slightly at this, Scootaloo made her way back to her table, where her and her new friends were sitting and enjoying a massive feast. There was everything from apple pies to blood pies, from scrambled eggs (both rotten and regular) to hay bacon. Scootaloo supposed they had Twilight Sparkle to thank for the non-rotten food most ghouls seemed to enjoy eating.

"I'm sorry..." Metus said mournfully, glancing at Sweetie next to her.

"For what?" Sweetie said, raising an eyebrow. "You haven't done anything!"

"It's just... the fear I seem to put in ghouls around me... I can't really control it..."

"Oh, that?" Sweetie smiled, shrugging. "Don't worry about it, I'm starting to get used to it!"

"Oh... that's good," Metus said blankly, blinking.

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. She was a bit of an odd duck. Though still, she was sure she could call her a friend after a while. After all, what wasn't weird about the Nightmare Realm?

After a few more minutes of dining and chatting, Twilight Soulshard tapped a glass set upon the staff table, smiling merrily.

"Hello, young ghouls from all stretches of Edeathstria!" she announced, standing up. "May I have your attention please!"

At this, most of the ghouls in the hall quickly gave her attention, all except the ones hanging around Bloody Tiara (and their numbers were growing quite large.)

“Ahem. Please, may I have your attention!” Twilight called again.

The chatting didn’t cease.

A vein then sprung forth upon the Lich Queen's head.

“Hooo boy, here it comes,” Pipsqueak winced.

"I SAID. MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE?!" Soulshard roared in her demonic voice (something Scootaloo was still getting used to.)

To Scootaloo and her friends' giggles, Bloody’s group quickly snapped their attention towards her, the banshee queen’s eye twitching slightly.

"Thank you," Soulshard smiled. "Anyway, I'm sure you'd all appreciate a long, boring speech by me, but I'll try to keep it brief. First off, and for the first time in nearly two centuries, welcome to the Bogmorts School of Sorcery and Synergy!"

Everyone in the audience let out a cheer, even Bloody and her ilk.

"What was once Edeathstria's prime academy for learning the art of scaring, magic, and everything in-between, is now back in business! And despite its... somewhat chilly location, I'm sure you'll all find warmth within these sacred halls eventually. For in them have treaded many of Edeathstria's most famous figures, and were constructed by the highest tier of them! Those of which the four houses that you will eventually be divided into represent!" She cleared her throat, pointing at the banner with the moon upon it. "The House of Noctus, founded by Nightmare Moon, our loving princess, who unfortunately due to more... pressing matters is unable to attend the gathering. "

"Awwwwww...."

The undead Twilight gave a slight, hidden sigh, before pointing towards the flag with the eyeball on it. "The House of Void, named by our friendly ambassador from Null Space, Slendermare!"

The group let out a cheer.

"Alright, Slendermare!" Apple Bloom called, grinning. Scootaloo and the Crusaders raised an eyebrow at her, to which she shrugged at. "What? He turned out to be a pretty good dancer."

Soulshard then turned towards the next banner, it with the scythe upon it, before, in a somewhat disgruntled tone announcing, "The House of Mortus, founded by Blackfire, the longest living and most famous reaper in Edeathstrian history!"

Scootaloo clopped her hooves politely, though Bloody's banshee-spawn voice nearly made her deaf via her over-enthusiastic cheers. Scootaloo caught Rainbow giving her a slight glare, to which she was grateful for.

"And finally, the House of Winter, founded by the oldest vampire to ever walk this world, Sleighbell Wintercall!"

Scootaloo took a sorrowful gulp upon hearing her father's name, before joining her friends in enthusiastic applause.

Soulshard then raised a hoof. "Unfortunately though, as much as I'd love to continue to lead this school, that task has not been appointed to me.”

The young ghouls about gave a series of confused murmurs.

"Huh?"

"What in the world?"

"Mom said Ms. Soulshard was going to be leading this place... what's going on?"

"Sorry," Soulshard simpered, before clearing her throat. "No, that task has been appointed to someghoul much more experienced than myself. Someghoul who has thoroughly earned the title with his continued, honored service to Edeathstria.” She then smirked, glancing at something directly ahead of her. “Someghoul who should be here.... right about... now."

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow, looking towards the two, massive metal doors to the hall.

...

C-CLANK!

They suddenly flung open, a large blast of cool, winter air sailing into it.

"Oooooh yeah!" Scootaweb grinned a few chairs down from them. "I hope this is who I think it is!"

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow her way, before glancing back at the door.

Suddenly, a series of blackened tendrils began creeping around the edges of its frame, clinging to the wall, looking almost like shadows. Then, making a piercing noise that sounded sort of like a loud hiss, the tendrils lept from the door and began sliding across the walls.

They were massive looking entities, ten in all, over ten hooves thick and stretching the length across the hall, all heading towards that set of armor sitting in the middle of the staff table. As Scootaloo watched with awe, the tail ends of them eventually followed the tips, and after a few more seconds, there was nothing left of the tendrils at all....

CLANK!

Then, to her shock, the metallic armor took a step to the left, the interior of it now looking... much darker than before.

CLANK!

It took another step, a light growl emanating from it.

"Friggin' wicked!" Apple Doom called a few seats away. "It's him!"

CLANK!

CLANK!

CLANK!

CLANK!

Slowly, menacingly, the shadowy armor continued to move, before finally, it stood in front of the staff table, its metallic head facing their way. Twilight Soulshard then quickly moved to its side with a massive smile on her lips.

"Ghouls of Bogmorts, may I introduce you to the first headmaster to grace these halls in nearly two hundred years," she announced, before leaping an enthusiastic hoof his way, and roaring with enthusiasm Scootaloo had never heard from her before:

"My brother, SHADOWED ARMOR!"

And the hall erupted into a roar of applause.