//------------------------------// // Halloween Special: Trick or Treat // Story: The Chef's Life // by vincent789 //------------------------------// "Twilight are you ready?!" Shining shouted towards Twilight's room. "One more minute! I think I got tangled with my clothing again!" Twilight whined in the background. "What character are you playing again?" Shining asked. "An insane clown, why?" Twilight asked in return. "It's just. How did you get tangled up this time?" Shining asked confused. "Hold on. I am almost free." Twilight said cautiously. "There!" Twilight said as she revealed herself. Despite what Twilight said, her costume was very cute instead of scary. "Uh. That doesn't look like an insane clown." Shining said confused. "Oh no! These clothing is meant to make ponies believe I am sane. Until I get closer and show my real identity." Twilight said in a cute warning tone. "Any other tricks you have up your sleeves?" Shining hoped. "Yup. I recently learned how to cast illusion spells." Twilight said very excited. "So what are you going for? Trick or treat?" Shining asked. "Trick! I don't care about the candy this year." Twilight said mature. "Oh? And how are you going to pull that off?" Velvet asked behind Shining. "I am joining this year's haunted house attraction as actor." Twilight said proudly. "Oh? How did you pull that off?" Night asked. "I scared the previous clown so much, he is in the hospital in a coma. They said I somehow managed to traumatize him. Whatever that word means." Twilight said while smiling. Shining looks worried at Velvet and Night. They simply shrugged it off. "That is great! Is that why you are already dressed up?" Velvet asked. "Yeah. I am going to be at the final room. If you are interested, come see the haunted house. I will see you three there!" Twilight said as she ran off to join the group. "Are you ready my little scare devil?" The leader of the haunted house group asked. "Yeah!" Twilight said excited. "I already prepared your room. Go over there and have some fun." The leader said with a wicked smile. "Yeah!" Twilight said with a creepy smile this time as she ran off towards the haunted house. "About what she said. Is that true?" Shining asked the leader. The leader looked at Shining and shuddered, "Yes. It's a wonder that he was the only one. The others had nightmares for days." He said scared. "Oh. That wasn't a joke, huh. I can pay for the mental damage." Velvet offered surprised. "No. Its alright. He is shocked and impressed what your child did. Only for this year, will we allow it." The leader said proudly. "Okay. When is the ghost house opening?" Shining asked. "In three hours. That way the actors have time to get into their roles." The leader said. "I see. I can't wait to get terrified by my own sister." Shining said somewhat worried. "If she fails to scare you, then none can scare you." The leader said as he walked towards the haunted house or mansion as some calls it. Meanwhile Twilight got the lighting and some other effects ready. When another well known actor approached Twilight. "Hey Twi. I have some things to explain to you." The actor said. "What is it?" Twilight asked interested. "I hope that the situation I am sampling will be rare, but in case of emergency. Don't be afraid to stop the attraction. We don't want stallions dying of an heart attack. Or more extreme cases of ponies getting injured while getting scared. A good scare is fine, but if the guest isn't moving after a minute of being scared, you can stop the attraction to call in medical services." The actor explained. "Of course. I am only tricking them. I don't want it to be more than a trick." Twilight said in agreement. "Do you see that red button near the emergency exit? That is the emergency stop button. When pressed, the attraction stops and the medical services are on their way. It will also turn the lights on, so if the darkness disappears. That is why. It will also stop all music, sound effects and general effects from operating. We will have to fully reset your room before we continue." The actor explained. "Will the intercom say anything?" Twilight asked. "It will. It says in a loud pony-like voice that the attraction has been stopped, to not panic and wait for further instruction." The actor said. "What about the other actors?" Twilight asked. "They will stop their act. That includes you. Stop your act if the button has been pressed anywhere else." The actor explained. "Understood. I will keep an eye open for it." Twilight said. "Good. Get back to work and I hope to only see you, after we are done." The actor was about to leave when Twilight has one last question. "Wait! What if I somehow fall asleep?" Twilight asked. "We have ponies watching you. In case of such an event." The actor said. "Okay. Have fun scaring others!" Twilight said as went further with preparing for her role. Meanwhile outside people were getting a bit hyped up, when outside the haunted house it said that a new clown has joined the family. Ponies and Stallions were asking the staff about it. One of the most well known ponies that have their own house actually got an answer. "We made a filly clown temporarily join the family. She scared the previous clown into the hospital." The staff explained. "A child? Isn't that a bit risky?" The pony asked. "It is. But she is extremely skilled in playing her role. We expect her to exceed out expectations." The staff said smiling. "Understood. I can't wait then." He said. After the three hour mark had passed, the haunted mansion sprung to life. And the actors were being told to get ready. The lights went dark as Twilight waited for the first guest. The first guest was that pony that also owned her own haunted house. She was happily getting scared by the usual ponies and stallions. Until she reached Twilight. "Aw. Aren't you cute." The pony said. "Hahahaha. Cute? Me?" Twilight said in a distorted voice. Somewhere between very chipper and very evil. The pony immediately backed away. "Where are you going?" Twilight said as the door slammed shut behind the pony. The pony jumped as she was sweating quite a bit. Twilight then turned serious for a moment, her eyes still looked blood shot. "So you have come for nurse Maniac? Good! I can always use a guinea pig." Twilight said. "No. Nonononono. I have come for a check up. I swear!" The pony said downright terrified. "That can't be. Let me bring out the chainsaw so that I can check your insides!" Twilight screamed as her voice turned very high and she let out a maniacal laugh as all the sound effects and effects turns on. The pony screamed and fainted on the spot. Twilight wasn't sure if she should continue or not, so she continues until her act finishes. Twilight proceeds to bring out a bloodied chainsaw and slowly walked closer as the chainsaw activated and the sound effects play in harmony. According to the script, the pony should now run around Twilight and flee to the next room. As the door opened while Twilight was starting the chainsaw. However a minute passed and the pony didn't respond. Twilight groaned, as she placed the chainsaw on the ground and pressed the red button. "The attraction has been stopped. The work lights will now turn on and all the acts will be halted. Please do not panic and wait for further instruction." The intercom explained. The leader entered Twilight's room and immediately saw the guest on the floor. He checks her pulse, before carrying her outside into the hooves of the medical team. "When did she faint?" The leader asked. "Right before the final act. Before the chainsaw was brought out." Twilight said. "Thank you. I will reset your room." The leader said. The leader then proceeds to press several buttons as Twilight's act was reset. "Something tells me, this is going to happen a lot more." Twilight groaned. "If so, that means you do your job well." The leader praised. "Alright. As soon as reset myself. I will open the door." Twilight said. "Ponies and Stallions. This ride will now continue. The room you were in, will now only activate for the next group. Turning the work lights off." The intercom said. As the work lights darken, the actors reset their act and wait for the next group. Twilight opened the door and started her act. This continued the next several hours. And another dozen or so emergency stops. Until eventually, Twilight's parents and her brother entered the haunted mansion. "Alright. Everything was scary. But this will be the scariest." Shining said extremely worried. "You can say that again. Your daughter has caused more emergency stops than we have five years combined." The staff complained. "Is she too scary?" Velvet asked somewhat proudly. "Yes and no. The ones that passed her, say that she is awesome. Many came out with cold sweat thanks to it. The other are simply fainted and were escorted out." The staff explained. "So she is simply a good actor?" Night asked. "She is. She plays the maniac nurse very well. Almost too well." The staff said. The group in front of Twilight's family finally entered. Shining looks to the exit and saw the group of ponies carry their stallion friend out. He had fainted. "When did he fainted?" The staff asked. "At the chainsaw part." They said. "Thanks." The staff said. "The young actor nearly pressed the red button because of it." The group admitted. "Good. It seems most fainted ones, faint at that spot." The staff said. "Wait how many has fainted because of her?" The group asked curious. "Atleast half of the guests that entered the attraction. Which means about five thousand fainted because of her." The staff admitted. "Wow! That is awesome and worrying." The group said as they walked off. "Uh. Isn't that going to cost a lot of money?" Shining said worried. "The attraction has been stopped. The work lights will now turn on and all the acts will be halted. Please do not panic and wait for further instruction." The intercom suddenly came on. "Another one." The staff said. The staff member walks around the back and saw that it was Twilight, again. "Twilight?" Velvet asked. "Twilight." The staff confirmed. "Ponies and Stallions. This ride will now continue. The room you were in, will now only activate for the next group. Turning the work lights off." The intercom said once again. "Your turn. Good luck!" The staff said to Twilight's family. Twilight's family proceeds to go through it almost entirely. Only to be stopped in front of Twilight's door. And another emergency stop. This time it took a bit longer, one of the guests had a heart attack. So after ten minutes longer than normal, the door finally opened. Twilight's family walked inside, and Twilight repeated the same act again in front of them. And as soon as the chainsaw act came online. Velvet, Night and Shining all had fainted. And for the first time, Twilight swore. "God damn it!" she said. Twilight finally had enough. So she pressed the button for the last time. Which ones again caused the work lights to go on. The leader immediately walked into the room and understood why Twilight responded this fast. "Leader. I quit. I can't do this anymore." Twilight said aggravated. "I know. You did very well. The clown has already recovered to take your place." The leader said with a small smile. "How is mom and dad and Shiny?" Twilight asked worried. "They are fine. They simply fainted. Shall I escort you home?" The leader asked. "I would certainly appreciate it." Twilight said somewhat happy. The leader of the haunted mansion and Twilight both walked back. They were levitating the three fainted family members of Twilight. Twilight was saddened by the whole event. "I guess I am better left to go for treat instead." Twilight said drooping. The leader gave Twilight a kind smile, "You did fine. This job requires some acting and some patience. You had acting down, you only need a bit more patience. It will help you in your future." he said. "I know. I just wish it was a scare and a laugh it off. Not to the point of fainting." Twilight admitted. "Scaring people is an art. Scare them too much and they faint. Scare them too little and they give you cute comments. Scare them enough that they jump, but not that they flee." The leader wisely said. "If scaring is not a good job for me, then what is?" Twilight asked confused. "I am sure you will soon find out. But for now, take these cookies. Consider that your salary for helping us today." The leader said as he gives Twilight very cute looking cookies. It was a cookie in the form of a pumpkin, with orange and black icing. It almost looked too real. Twilight was kind of peckish from all the hard work that she immediately took a bite. "This is amazing! Not too sweet, not to salty. Just perfect!" Twilight said excited. "Wow. That is quite the description right there. Perhaps you will become a small chef." The leader said. "A chef?" Twilight asked. "Yeah. Such an individual makes good food to make others smile." The leader explained. "That is so awesome! I hope I can be a chef someday." Twilight said excited. "Yeah." The leader and Twilight high-fived.