//------------------------------// // XIV - Hallowe'en // Story: The Misadventures of Sunset Shimmers // by Yukito //------------------------------// Hallowe’en was always Sunset’s favourite holiday of the year, no doubt about it. Sure, Christmas came with free presents, and Easter had its chocolatey goodness, but Hallowe’en carried Sunset’s favourite pastime as its tradition – pranking others with absolutely no repercussions. Especially Twilight Sparkle. Every year, she made it a point to one-up herself in making Twilight scream in terror, and every year the look on Twilight’s face was simply precious. This year would be no different. Twilight Velvet opened the door soon after Sunset had knocked on it. She couldn’t help but smile as she saw Sunset Shimmer dressed in her outfit: a fiery wig and a red dress with orange streaks, and red body paint complete with red, pointed ears. “Oh, my. And what do we have here? A scary demon come to take our souls?” Twilight Velvet giggled, stepping aside as Sunset Shimmer invited herself in. “And what is Twilight going to be this year? A wet blanket?” Sunset asked with a laugh. “She’d better not be ‘under the weather’ again this year. I intend to go trick-or-treating until midnight now that my parents think I’m old enough.” “Until midnight?!” Twilight Velvet gasped. “Oh, I don’t know. I mean, you’re both still so young and-” “I’m fifteen years old now, and Twilight will be soon, too!” Sunset argued. “Besides, you let Shining Armor stay out until midnight when he was thirteen, from what I hear.” “Yes, but Shining was a lot more responsi- dependa- … Shining Armor was training at the gym every day, so there was little chance of-” “Being more muscular gave him a better chance against a psycho with a knife?” Twilight Velvet sighed. “Okay, okay, I’ll… I’ll let you and Twilight stay out until midnight, but under one condition: you stay with Shining Armor the entire time.” “What?!” a voice shouted from the living room. Shining Armor soon rushed into the room, dressed in a tuxedo and black cape with his hair slicked-back. He removed a pair of plastic fangs from his mouth and said, “Mum, I already told you I’m going to see a movie with Cadance tonight!” “Shining honey, you now that those movies aren’t worth the cost of admission. You can simply rent it while you’re out.” “But-” “Don’t argue with your mother, Shining,” Night Light said as he entered the hall, putting an arm on his son’s shoulder and leaning in to whisper, “And besides, those ‘moves’ you were gonna use don’t work, trust me. She’ll either be too engrossed in the movie or too scared to kiss.” “Cadance doesn’t scare easily, but she does get bored easily,” Shining whispered back. “Then let me put it this way: a responsible big brother who watches out for his little sister and sacrifices his whole night to keep her safe. Don’t you think that will earn you some ‘brownie points’?” “… Mum, I’d be happy to escort Twilie and Sunset tonight,” Shining said with a bow. “I suppose I could ask Cadance if she wants to come, too.” “So, where is Twilight tonight?” Sunset asked, looking over the fancy dress that Twilight Velvet was wearing, and then the tuxedo worn by Night Light. “I’m guessing that you two are leaving soon for some kind of party, so she’d better hurry up and get ready.” “I think she’s in the kitchen,” Velvet said with a grin. “Why don’t you go and check?” With a nod, Sunset walked through the hallway and entered into the kitchen, remaining unfazed as the pantry door opened and a black blur jumped out, shouting, “Boo!” “Hello, Twilight,” Sunset said, raising an eyebrow as she looked over Twilight’s black bear costume. “Uh, nice um… A bear, huh?” Twilight Sparkle frowned and looked down at her costume. “No! I’m the Hidebehind!” “Oh!” Sunset Shimmer looked over the costume once more and scratched the back of her head. “You really can’t tell that from just looking though. Just like last year, you chose a really obscure figure to dress up as.” “There’s nothing obscure about the Jersey Devil! I don’t know why people kept thinking I was a dinosaur,” Twilight said with a huff and a pout. “Anyway, I’m not going to let you scare me again this year! This time, I’m going to get you!” “Uh-huh. Is that why you got that fake spider ready?” Sunset asked, pointing to Twilight’s shoulder. “Huh? I didn’t get a-” Twilight froze, and slowly began craning her head to the right. “S-S-S-S-S-S-” “YAA!” “KYAA!” Twilight crouched and covered her head, only realising just a few moments later that Sunset Shimmer was laughing. Turning to her shoulder, Twilight saw no spider. “Oh come on!” Twilight yelled, standing up and stamping her right foot. “That doesn’t count! I wasn’t ready!” Sunset Shimmer wiped a tear from her eye as she regained her composure. “T-That’s kind of the point… Whew. You are just too easy, Twilight.” Twilight’s face turned bright-red. “I am not!” “Hey, what’s going on in here?” Shining Armor asked as he entered the room. “In Sunset scaring you again?” “NO!” Twilight shouted as she stormed past her brother, stomping her feet as she walked. “Oh come on, Twilight!” Sunset yelled after her friend. “It was just a joke!” “You know she scares easily,” Shining reminded Sunset before folding his arms. “And then I have to deal with it when she has nightmares this night every year.” Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Nightmares? Still?” “Last year, you pretended to lose your arm after sticking it out of the car window.” “… Yeah,” Sunset said with a smile. “That was fun. Difficult to prepare, but well worth it.” “She passed out!” “Okay, okay! I’ll try not to use anything bloody or gory this year.” Sunset put her fingers to her chin. “I’d better call Babs and tell her the plan has changed, then.” The sound of the doorbell rang through the house. “Just take it easy this year, okay? I told Mum I’d watch over you but I think you’re responsible enough on your own.” Sunset gave Shining a knowing grin. “You’re saying you don’t want me and Twilight ruining your date with Cadance, aren’t you?” “If all goes well, I might be able to convince Cadance to spend the night.” The sound of the front door opening echoed through to the kitchen. “Oh? What are you planning to do if she does?” Sunset asked with a chuckle, turning Shining’s face red. “Well, I’ll try not to cramp your style, stud.” “CADANCE!” screamed throughout the house. Shining Armor and Twilight ducked their heads back into the hallway to find Twilight hanging off of a woman in a green dress with grey skin and dark-green hair, braided and styled to look like snakes. “It’s good to see you again, too,” Cadance said as she lowered Twilight down. She turned to face Shining Armor and Sunset Shimmer. “H-Hey, Cadie,” Shining greeted, walking towards the girl and giving her a quick kiss. He pulled back when he heard sounds of giggling and turned around to scowl at Twilight and Sunset. “Grow up…” “So, what movie do you have planned for us?” Cadance asked as she held back her own laughter. “Oh, about that… I’m afraid there’s been a change of plans. See, Twilie and her friend are gonna be out late tonight, and so my mum asked me to watch over them…” Cadance frowned at the news. “You couldn’t have told me that sooner? I got dressed and everything.” “Well, I was thinking… if you don’t really have anything else planned tonight, I mean, since we were going to see a movie anyway, maybe you’d like to… come with us?” Shining put on his best smile as his confidence wavered. “Y’know, trick-or-treating?” “Trick-or-treating?” Cadance asked with a raised eyebrow. “You’re inviting me to trick-or-treating at our age?” Shining gulped, now sweating bullets. “W-Well, I mean, if you don’t want to-” Shining Armor was interrupted by a finger to his nose. “Just kidding,” Cadance said with a wink. “I’d love to go with you, Shiny. And I’d love to help look after Twilight with you, too.” Shining Armor smiled, and released a huge breath of air. “Hey!” Sunset protested. “What about me?” Cadance giggled. “I didn’t think you would need looking after.” “Don’t let her fool you,” Shining laughed. “She probably needs more watching over than Twilie does.” “What?!” Sunset yelled whilst Twilight laughed. “Well then, should we be on our way before all the good candy is handed out?” Shining asked. “Shining,” Cadance said with a smirk, “Could it be that you’re looking forward to this more than you’re letting on?” “I don’t know what you mean,” Shining said as he pulled out a black plastic bag from his coat. “… What? It never hurts to be prepared.” “Riiiight.” Cadance walked through the door as Shining opened it, followed by the two younger members of their group. “By the way, Twilight?” Twilight turned to Cadance with a smile. “Yes?” “Nice teddy bear outfit,” Cadance said warmly. “It’s really cute.” “GAAAAH!” Twilight roared as she turned back and stomped down the walkway, leaving a confused Cadance behind. “W-What did I say?” “Trick-or-treat!” Sunset and Twilight cheered in unison as they presented their open bags to the elderly lady who opened the door. “I’m not a teddy bear!” Twilight clarified. “Oh my! My husband would have a heart attack if he saw your costume!” the lady said as she dipped her hand into a jar of candy and poured some into each of the two girls’ bags. “He’s so terrified of the Hidebehind that I sometimes have to make him sleep downstairs whenever he has nightmares about it.” Twilight smiled. “Finally, someone gets my costume!” “Congrats!” Sunset said as she inspected the new contents of her bag. “It only took about fifty houses and twenty-eight passerbys, too.” “Oh shut up.” As the two turned to leave the elderly lady’s doorstep, they noticed that their escorts were missing. “Shining? Cadance?” The sounds of giggling attracted their attention back down the path that they had come from. The two agents were still en-route to their location when they stopped to have what appeared to be a little tickle-fight. “Oh come on!” Twilight shouted as she walked towards them. “Do you two have to do that out in the open?” “Sorry, sorry,” Shining laughed as he and Cadance released each other. “So, get anything good?” “We did,” Sunset answered as she unwrapped a piece of candy and threw it into the air, catching it in her mouth and swallowing it whole. “You guys have been missing out, though.” “You really shouldn’t eat like that,” Cadance said. “You might choke.” “I’ll be fine,” Sunset said in a dismissive tone. “Anyway, try to keep up or we’ll leave you behind.” “We’ll try,” Shining responded, before watching as Twilight and Sunset took off towards the next house. After receiving their candy from the gentleman at the next house that they visited, the two were annoyed to find that, once again, their escorts were holding them back. “Well, we need to backtrack that way anyway,” Sunset said as she threw another piece of candy into her mouth. “Cadance said not to do that,” Twilight cautioned. “You might choke.” “Oh, come on, Twilight. I’m not going to-” Sunset stopped and almost gasped after throwing another piece of candy and attempting to swallow it whole. The gasp was stifled as said piece of candy found itself lodged in her throat, blocking the girl’s windpipe. Grasping her throat with one hand and attempting to spit the candy back out, she reached her other hand out to plea for help. “Sunset, are you-” Twilight’s concern only lasted for a few seconds, before she gave her friend a deadpan stare. “No, wait. This is just another one of your tricks. Well nice try, but I’m not falling for it this time.” Twilight turned around with a harrumph, leaving Sunset to her silent pleas for help. “Yeah, yeah. Just catch up whenever you’re ready,” she said as she began to walk back towards Shining Armor and Cadance. Sunset’s eyes grew wide and tears started to fall as she watched Twilight walking away, her vision becoming hazy with each passing second. ‘T-Twilight, wait! I can’t… breathe…’ “Are you okay?!” Sunset felt some pressure around her body and her chest tighten, before she spat out the piece of candy attempting to take her life. As she gasped for air and took in heavy breaths to make up for the oxygen that she desperately needed, she heard a footstep behind her and turned around. “That was close! You alright there, Sunset Shimmer?” Sunset nodded her head at the question posed by Babs Seed. The freshman was dressed up as Frankenstein’s monster, complete with fake stitches all over her clothes and her body. “Thanks, Babs. I didn’t know you knew the Heimlich maneuver.” “Eh. I tried it out thinkin’ I’d be a good doctor, but then I saw all the stuff ya have to do to get a medical degree and was like, ‘no thanks!’.” Babs looked around. “So what’s up? You out here all alone or somethin’?” Sunset shook her head. “No, I’m with Twilight, her brother, and her brother’s girlfriend.” “Huh. Why didn’t they help ya then? And where are they?” Sunset bit her lip. “T-Twilight, uh…” Sunset reached a hand up and scratched the back of her neck. “I-I dropped my phone, so I came back to get it. I’d better go catch up with them, actually. They’re probably gonna start worrying.” “Well, it was nice seein’ ya again. Too bad we had to cancel that prank tonight, though.” “Eheheh… Y-Yeah…” “Hey Babs! You coming?!” Babs waved over to the two girls standing at the other side of the road before turning back to Sunset Shimmer. “Later, Shimmer!” “See you later,” Sunset replied as she waved goodbye to the retreating Babs. Moments later, she turned her gaze downwards, before turning around and walking slowly back to where Twilight and her friends were. “So I was thinking later we could-” “Would you stop flirting already?!” Twilight shouted, interrupting Shining Armor’s advances as she approached the two. “You’re slowing us down!” “What’s the big rush?” Shining asked. “I thought you didn’t like Hallowe’en, anyway. You’re always so scared when it’s this dark.” Twilight scowled at her older brother and resisted the urge to kick his shin. “That was years ago!” “More like last year,” Shining muttered. “I’m not a child anymore!” Twilight finished with a huff, folding her arms. ‘Besides, I want to finish before midnight…’ “Uh, where’s Sunset Shimmer?” Cadance asked, looking around and finding no sign on the other girl. “Oh, she’s just playing a prank on me, again,” Twilight said with a roll of her eyes. “I told her to take it easy on you,” Shining sighed. “We’ll just wait for her to catch up to us.” Only seconds later, Twilight heard footsteps approaching and turned around with a smug grin as the defeated-looking Sunset Shimmer came her way. “Ah, there she is. Sorry your plan didn’t work this time.” Sunset’s eyes glanced into Twilight’s, and then quickly moved away. “Y-Yeah. Too bad, huh? Oh well, guess we’d better move onto the next house then…” “Are you alright?” Cadance asked as Sunset walked past everyone, concern in her voice. “Of course!” Sunset responded quickly. “Come on! Pick up the pace, you two!” “Or I’ll tell Mum you neglected your brotherly duty to make out with you girrrrrrlfriend,” Twilight threatened with a smirk. Shining Armor raised his fist playfully as Twilight ran down the street excitedly. “Well, good to see she’s enjoying herself. I guess she really is getting over her fear of the dark.” As Shining Armor followed after Twilight, Cadance walked alongside Sunset Shimmer behind him. “Hey, is everything okay?” she asked. “Huh?” Sunset turned to Cadance. “O-Of course. Why do you ask?” “Well, I’ve had some experience with children- I mean, younger people, and I’ve sort of developed a sixth sense for when they’re distressed about something.” Cadance brought her voice down as she asked, “What happened? I won’t tell anyone.” “… Well, just now, I nearly…” Sunset bit her lip and averted her eyes. “Er, what I mean to say, is that Twilight saw through my prank.” Sunset scratched the back of her head. “I pretended to be choking on some candy, but Twilight just walked away… I guess I feel a bit sad that it didn’t work out like it usually does.” Cadance examined Sunset’s actions carefully as the younger girl spoke. She put her fingers to her chin and hummed in thought. “… Or could it be that you’re uneasy over the fact that Twilight so easily dismissed you when you were ‘choking’?” she asked, receiving a hesitant nod from Sunset Shimmer. “I guess it just frightened me. I mean, what if it was for real? I know that Twilight would blame herself forever, and seeing my best friend turning her back on me like that…” “But you know that it wasn’t intentional,” Cadance said. “You know that Twilight would never try to hurt you or anything, don’t you?” “Of course I do.” “Sunset, come on!” Twilight called out, drawing her friend’s attention. Sunset Shimmer looked over to the smiling girl waving towards her and ran towards her. “You’re pretty enthusiastic tonight.” Twilight beamed. “Actually, I’ve been reading this book on facing your fears. I guess it’s been working.” Sunset smiled and followed Twilight to the door of the next house. After knocking on the door, a young girl with long red hair and dressed as a bottle of wine opened the door. “Trick-or-treat!” “… One second,” the girl said before ducking back inside of her house. The door opened again moments later and the girl poured some chocolates into Twilight and Sunset’s bags, and then into Shining Armor’s. “Whoa!” Sunset shouted, startled by the elder brother’s sudden appearance. “So, finally decided to join in?” “… Cadance said I should be doing my duty better,” Shining mumbled. “You got scolded,” Twilight chimed, earning a huff from her brother. “There you go,” the girl said as she pulled her bowl of chocolates back. “They’re from my mum’s collection, so they should be pretty good.” “Thank you, Berry Pinch,” Sunset said, earning a blush from the young girl as she closed the door. “You know her?” Twilight asked. “She’s a freshman at our school,” Sunset explained. “Same age as Babs.” “What the?” Shining Armor asked as he pulled out one of the chocolates, which was shaped like a small wine bottle. He examined the back of the foil closely. “These have alcohol in them!” “They do?” Twilight asked nervously. “They do?” Sunset asked excitedly. “They do,” Shining confirmed, “And that’s why I’m gonna have to confiscate them. You two are too young!” “No way!” Twilight shouted. “I’m a big girl! I can handle it!” “You’re only fourteen!” Shining argued as he grabbed Twilight’s bag. “No faaaaaaair!” Twilight complained as she tugged back. Meanwhile, Cadance had approached Sunset Shimmer to continue where they had left off. “Listen, about what we were talking about-” “It’s okay,” Sunset said, watching Twilight and Shining’s tug-of-war with a huge smile. “Look at her. She’s having the most fun I’ve ever seen her have this time of year. I don’t want to take that away with my silly worries.” “Are you sure that you’re fine now?” Sunset nodded. “Yeah. I just want to help her enjoy this night, and enjoy it myself, too.” “Alright, fine!” Shining said finally. “You can keep those chocolates, if you don’t tell Mum and Dad! And you have to take them responsibly, by which I mean one a day at most!” “Deal!” Twilight replied cheerfully. “Also, you owe me one big favour!” “Hey!” Sunset stifled a laugh, which drew the attention of the two siblings. “If you two are done, I believe we still have quite a few houses left. And only a few hours until midnight.” Twilight puffed her chest out with pride. “Oh, you don’t need to worry about me. The way tonight’s been going, I don’t think I’ll have any problems staying out until well after midnight.” “I’ll hold you to that then,” Sunset said as she began to walk towards the next house, Twilight walking alongside her. “Are you sure it’s okay to let her have those chocolates?” Cadance asked Shining as the two followed behind them. “I doubt that Twilie would eat any of them anyway.” “I was referring more to Sunset Shimmer. Do you really think she’d stick to only one-a-day?” “My deal was with Twilie only,” Shining replied. “As for Sunset… I’ll think of something,” he said, with some level of dread in his voice. “Eighty pieces!” Twilight cheered and began to sort her loot into their respective categories. “Darn. Only seventy-eight,” Sunset grumbled. “Looks like you win this year.” “Hah! In your face!” Twilight shouted, before blushing and clearing her throat to regain her composure. “S-Sorry. I read a book about gloating but it didn’t specify how much volume to use… Anyway, this marks my first victory this year so I’m happy!” Sunset Shimmer smiled and nodded her head. “Hate to say it, but you’re right.” What followed was a long yawn. “Well, I guess I’d better head back home. Try not to have any nightmares now.” “Oh trust me, I won’t.” After seeing her friend to the door and waving her goodbye, Twilight returned to her bedroom to finish sorting her candies. She was interrupted by her phone ringing and promptly answered it. “Hi Mum, I- Oh, Lyra! Sorry, I thought that… Wait, why are you calling me this late? … Huh? Is Sunset okay? … Choking? But that was just- B-Babs saved her?” Twilight’s hands began to shake and her sweat began to drip down her forehead. “A-Are you serious? … I’ll call you back!” After ending her call, Twilight quickly punched in another number. “… Sunset? Um, about earlier, when you were… ‘choking’ on that sweet…” “Oh, that. Yeah, guess I didn’t fool you this ti-” “Was that for real?” … “It was, wasn’t it?” “… I-It’s alright. Babs was passing by and helped me.” “But if she wasn’t there, you could’ve… O-Oh my gosh. Sunset, I’m so, so sorry, I-” “No, don’t be. It’s my fault, really. I guess I just pulled one-too-many pranks on you. Y’know, the whole ‘boy who cried’ wolf thing.” “But those were just pranks! You were choking, and I completely turned my back on you.” Twilight wiped a tear from her eyes and held back a sob, though doing so resulted in a very audible hiccup. “Hey, stop that! Look, I’m fine, and it’s not like I’m blaming you or anything.” “But… But still… what if it happens again?” Twilight asked between her sobs. “I’m so, so, so sorry, really!” “I told you, it’s alright! … But you’re right. It won’t be funny if it does happen again, and it’s not like I can just stop pranking you. After all, it’s just so much fun to see your face afterwards!” “H-Hey!” Twilight cried through a little laughter. Her tears were beginning to dry up. “So then… what should we do?” Silence carried for a few moments before Twilight snapped her fingers. “I got it! We’ll make a safe word!” “A safe word?” Twilight nodded. “Yeah! That way, if something like this happens again, you can just use your safe word and I’ll know it’s for real!” “Huh. That actually makes a lot of sense. Alright then, how about ‘S.O.S.’? It’s simple and easy to remember.” “Got it! So from now on, that’s our safe word! And uh… I hope you’re feeling okay…” “I told you, I’m feeling fine! Now stop worrying or you’ll give yourself nightmares!” “I’m too old for nightmares!” Twilight protested. “But just as long as you’re okay, that’s all I need to know. I’ll see you tomorrow, Sunset.” “Yeah. Try not to eat too much candy before bed.” After hanging up and placing her phone down, Twilight noticed a figure standing at her doorway and froze when she saw Shining Armor standing there. “H-How long have you been there?” Twilight asked, startled by her brother’s sudden appearance. “Uh… since you established a ‘safe word’…” Twilight gasped and her face turned a shade of red equal to Shining Armor’s. “Uh, I just came in here to tell you you should be getting to bed… So, uh… good night.” As Shining Armor shut the door, Twilight scrambled to her feet in an attempt to explain herself to him, but she was too late. “Wait! It’s not what you thiiiiiiiiiiiiink!” As Sunset recounted the night’s loot once more, certain that her bag was heavier before returning to Twilight’s house than it was afterwards, she couldn’t help but feel that she was missing something. “Ugh. What am I missing here?” Sunset looked over every type of chocolate and candy laid out before her carefully. The large ones, the small ones… “Wait, where are those alcohol ones?!”