//------------------------------//
// Halloween 
// Story: Little Stars 
// by Holy 
//------------------------------//

     You take in a long breath from the fresh air and feel the wind move around you. You let your hands sift through the grass you're sitting in. An almost relaxed feeling washes over you as you lean your head back against the cold stone. You want to open your mouth and speak, tell her about Adagio's birthday, how you're feeling, how much you miss her, but it didn't seem entirely appropriate. You let your hand find it's way behind your back and rub your fingers over the name "Sunset Shimmer" engraved into the stone behind you.

"So you come out here every week?" Rarity asks you, holding her arms close to her chest. She's leaning up against the gravestone in front of you, just watching.

"Three times a week, usually. If I get a decent lunch break then I'll spend it here, or if I get a little time before the girls get out of school," you say, putting your hands back in the grass.

"What do you... do?" she looks around the graveyard with a hint of confusion on her face. It's not like you see many other people sharing lunch with a chunk of stone and a patch of grass around here. You guess some people just have an easier time letting go.

"I'll usually talk to her, or just sit here I guess."

Rarity raises her eyebrow and tries not to let a shiver overtake her. Fall is about to give way to winter and you can feel that harsh nip of the cold wind through your jacket as well. "Talk to her?"

You let your eyes fall from hers. It feels weird saying it out loud after doing it for so long. "It just makes me feel better."

Rarity looks at the grass underneath you. "Well, if it helps you. I suppose we all deal with things in our own way." You let your hands sift through the grass again, wishing Rarity wasn't here so you could talk. She looks around the graveyard awkwardly for a moment before breaking the silence again. "I have the girls Halloween costumes done. I think you'll like them," Rarity says, an excited smile crossing her face.

You let out a sigh. "I think the dresses for the wedding were more than enough. You really didn't have to do that."

Rarity waves her hand at you. "Darling, we've been over this. I really don't mind. I don't think I've ever done Halloween costumes before and your girls were perfect guinea pigs for my designs."

It's your turn to raise an eyebrow at her. She gives you a sheepish smile once she realizes her own implications. "Not that I was doing anything too experimental. They should be run-of-the-mill as far as costumes go."

You have a hard time believing that. Through all of the years you've known Rarity, nothing she ever made was "run-of-the-mill". Hopefully it isn't anything too extravagant. You'd rather not parade around three peacocks if you had a choice. "I'll believe that when I see it."

You take in another deep breath of the fresh air and decide to finally get up. You could talk to Sunset another time. "Well, the girls should be getting out of school pretty soon. I probably shouldn't keep them waiting tonight. Sonata'll have a fit if she doesn't get into her costume as soon as possible," you say as you bring yourself to your feet.

Rarity gives you a little laugh and stands up as well, digging around in her purse for a moment. "I did bring this for her," she says, pulling out a rose. She walks over and places it in front of Sunset's grave, looking between you and the headstone awkwardly for a moment. "Um... I miss you, Sunset. I hope... I hope you're doing well, wherever you are. I'll be sure to keep you husband out of trouble."

You raise an eyebrow at her, but she doesn't look like she wants to banter right now. Her face turns somber as she stares down at the grave of her old best friend. "M-maybe I'll have more to say next time," Rarity says clearing her throat and looking away.

"That's alright. I'm sure she appreciates it."

The two of you head back to the parking lot in silence. Your wife is definitely still on your mind and it seems like she's on Rarity's too. By the time you get to your cars, you still haven't spoken.

"Well I guess I'll see you later, Rarity," you say, opening the door to your car.

Rarity holds a hand on the door for a moment to stop you. "Actually, I had a favor to ask."

"Oh?"

"Would you mind very much if I were to accompany you tonight?"

You smile at her. "Looking to get some candy?"

She crosses her arms over her chest. "Please, darling. It'll go straight to my thighs. I just wanted to spend some time with the girls. It's been ages since I've been on any sort of outing with them."

"Sure, just come by my house around six. I should have the girls ready to go by then."

Rarity nods at you. "See you then," she says, a hint of excitement on her face.





You look down at Adagio, aggravation building up inside you. It's way too late to buy another costume and you know she's not about to put on one of her old ones. Aria and Sonata are already getting antsy and you can't hold them off much longer either. Adagio is spinning around in the big mirror in your room, a big smile on her face as her eyes look over her brand new costume. Sonata is beside her, fighting for space to check herself out as well. Aria's sitting on the bed, looking bored in her devil outfit as she swings her legs off of the side.

"What's wrong with it, Dad?" she asks as soon as she looks up at you and sees the sour look on your face.

"I really don't think that outfit is appropriate for a girl your age, honey."

Adagio looks shocked for a moment. "What? What's wrong with it?"

"Well..." you look her over again. It would be a cute purple witch outfit, if not for it showing off her bare shoulders and midriff. "Don't you think you'll be a little cold out there, Adagio?"

She looks between you and the mirror a few times. "I don't mind. I really like the way it looks."

You cross your arms over your chest. "I think I'm going to get you a shirt to wear under it."

"What? I don't think that's is how Aunt Rarity wanted me to wear it, Dad."

"I know," you say, deadpan.

Your doorbell rings. That's probably Rarity, just the woman you want to exchange a few words with right about now. You go downstairs to check it, all three girls following close behind you, bags in their hands ready to go trick-or-treating.

You open the door and greet Rarity with a flat expression.

"Hi, how are you do-- what?" she asks when she notices your unamused expression.

"Really, Rarity?"

"What's the matter, darling?"

You open up the door all the way and motion towards Adagio. "How did you think this was appropriate?"

A blush comes over Rarity's face for a moment as she realizes what she's done. "Oh... well, I am used to making more, adult costumes for Halloween," she says. Memories of all the scanty halloween costumes she made for Sunset and herself flash back into your head. None of which are things you'd like to see your daughters in.

"Well, it's not really that bad," Rarity says with a sheepish smile.

"Aunt Rarity, Dad says I should put a shirt on under this, but wouldn't it make the costume look bad?"

"Well..." Rarity starts, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Ugh, can we just go already? I'm getting bored," Aria says.

"Daddy, if we wait too long all the good candy will be gone!" Sonata chimes in.

Rarity walks in and leans down towards Adagio, trying to move the fabric around her body so that not quite as much skin is showing. It's a futile effort, really. There's no way she's walking around the neighborhood without half of her tummy showing.

Adagio holds her arms out and lets Rarity look at her costume. "Do you think I need to change, Aunt Rarity?"

"Honestly, sweetie, I don't think it's that bad. You like it, don't you?"

Adagio nods her head. "I like it a lot better than the dinosaur costumes we all had to wear."

Rarity laughs as that memory passes through her head. How could she forget the year you and Sunset brought three little velociraptors up to her house for halloween.

"Well I think you should be fine, darling. It's only for one night."

You cross your arms over your chest again, clearly not happy about it. "Next time I'm supervising your costume selection, Rarity."

She lets out a giggle. "I think that's fair. So girls, are you ready to go trick or treating?"

"Yeah!" Sonata yells. Adagio gives a sweet little nod, and even Aria gets an excited smile on her face. "Let's go!" Sonata shouts before bounding out the open front door like a bolt of lightning.

"Sonata, wait for us!" Adagio says, running after her.

Aria snaps to attention once she realizes she just got left behind, quickly darting after her sisters. "Hey, wait for me!"

"Well, no going back now," you say, letting Rarity out the door first as you close and lock it behind you.

The night air nips at you as soon as you step away from your house. You can't see it on Adagio's face yet, but you can imagine she's starting to regret not listening to you. You walk with Rarity to catch up to the girls and head towards the first house, each of your girls toting excited smiles as you ring the doorbell and they get their candy.

A couple of houses pass you by as the darkness creeps in. The girls with their bags getting heavier and the neighborhood activity slowly transitioning from excited toddlers to the older kids walking around by themselves. You can tell Adagio is avoiding your gaze once you notice the goosebumps forming around her midsection, reluctant to admit you may have been right. Your agitation only grows when you start catching some of the neighborhood boys' lingering stares settling on her for a little bit longer than you'd like.

"Oh, she's thirteen. She's got to start learning about these things somehow," Rarity says, trying to defend herself after yet another annoyed look from you.

"I'd rather teach her myself than let some boys three years older hurry the process along."

Rarity gives you a sheepish smile as she catches a boy ogling your daughter herself. "So I may have gone a bit overboard... Next year's costumes will be more appropriate; you have my word."

You let the girls get the next house on their own as you talk with Rarity. The three of them seem capable enough with Adagio taking the lead; she even rings the doorbell and makes sure her sisters are right beside her the whole time. Before too long you won't even have to be here to look after them any more, though you're not entirely sure how to feel at that thought.

"It seems like yesterday we were up there asking for candy as well," Rarity says wistfully.

"Yeah, but we were in high school and probably should've been doing something more productive," you say with a little smirk as the memory of a the big group of all of your and Sunset's friends went around the neighborhood during that last year of high school.

Rarity let out a quick laugh. "Dear, you know very well we were never going to get Pinkie to give up a chance at free candy. She was still calling us to go trick-or-treating our junior year in college. I wouldn't be surprised if she's out tonight with her husband trick or treating."

You let out your own chuckle now as a smile crosses your face at the memory. You and Sunset almost passed up a Halloween party that year to give into Pinkie. You shift your focus back over to your girls, not really up for letting that conversation play out.

Unfortunately, you got caught up in that memory just long enough to let your girls get into a staredown with the other neighborhood kids. Even though the two groups of girls played together quite often, they stand now in the middle of the street motionless, waiting for the other to make the first move so they can get out the best counter.  You sigh as you catch up with them. Knowing Aria's track record with them over the past couple of months, this wasn't going to end well.

"I see you losers have barely gotten any candy," The short-haired girl named Indigo said with a smug grin, standing in front of her little red wagon piled high with candy. Two of the other girls stood beside her, looking like they were ready for some kind of showdown.

Adagio steps forward to say something, but Aria is quick to cut her off. "We only just got started Indigo, by the end of the night we're gonna have way more candy than that little pile."

"Ha! Fat chance, Aria," one of the other girls said, you think her name is Sunny something, but you really don't remember. "Since no one in the neighborhood even likes you, all you're going to get is all the bad candy no one else wants."

"She's a lot less of a brat than you three are," Adagio says. She takes a quick look back to make sure Sonata is behind her. Since they ended up stopping, Sonata's busy burying herself in her candy bag looking for something good, completely oblivious to the standoff going on in front of her.

"We're not the ones who have to hang out with girls two years younger because we don't have any other friends," the last girl says in a monotonous voice.

Adagio lets out a quick huff. "Well at least I'm not so emotionally immature I had to be held back a grade," she says, making the grey-haired girl's eye twitch for a moment. Sugarcoat, you think that one's name is.

"I bet your mom just bought you all that candy anyway, Indigo. There's no way you could've actually earned it," Aria says.

"Oh yeah?" Indigo's lips turn up into a little, haughty smile. "Well at least I have a mom."

Uh oh. You take a quick step forward towards Aria after you hear that one. There is no way this is going to end in anything other than another talk with Indigo's parents if you don't do something. To your surprise, Rarity grabs Aria by the shoulder before she can stomp over to Indigo.

"Aria, dear. Why don't we get back to trick-or-treating, hmm? You don't want to waste time arguing when you could be getting candy, do you?"

Aria jerks around a couple of times, then changes her angry expression to a pout up at Rarity. "But she said--"

"I know, dear, but do you really want to get into another fight and get in trouble with your father? When you could be getting candy?"

You finally step in front of Adagio. A quick look at her face shows you some apprehension, as you're sure she's had to break up plenty of fights that started just like this one. "All of you, go back to trick-or-treating. I don't want to have to tell your parents you've been starting fights again."

Inidigo's eyes widen for a moment before she sticks her tongue out at Aria before walking off. Aria jerks around in Rarity's arms for a second before finally giving up and going limp. You let out a sigh, thankful you didn't have to go home early to treat a few new scrapes and bruises.

"Good thing that's over. You girls ready to get back to it?" you ask with a smile to try to soothe the now-heated temperaments.

Aria finally snaps out of Rarity's grasp. "You heard what she said, Dad. Let me go after her!"

"And what is that going to accomplish, Aria?"

Aria grits her teeth and clenches her fist as she looks over at Indigo fading off in the distance. "It'll teach her to not mess with me," she says indignantly.

"That hasn't been working out very well so far, Aria. Let's just enjoy the rest of the night, okay?"

Aria crosses her arms over her chest in a pout, looking away from you once she knew she wasn't getting her way. "Ugh, whatever."

"Found it!" Sonata says, yanking a bright blue lollipop out of her candy bag and voraciously tearing apart the wrapper and sticking it in her mouth. You let out a quick laugh and shake your head. That girl could ignore a hurricane if you gave her enough candy.

You put your hands on Sonata and Adagio's shoulders to turn them away towards the other end of the street. The last thing you need is another run-in with the other girls tonight. "I think we've been out long enough, don't you think, girls? Let's go to another couple of houses and go home."

"But I haven't filled up my whole bag yet..." Sonata says, shooting you a quick pout as she looks down at a candy bag that's almost as big as her.

"I think that's enough, Sonata, come on."

"Wait, we have to stay out for another few hours! I can't let Indigo get more candy than me!" Aria says, looking up to you desperately.

"It's already getting late, Aria. We're going to go to a couple more houses on the way back but that's it."

Aria starts again, saying something about how you had to at least buy her some candy to compete with Indigo, but Rarity stepped in instead to say something to her. You didn't really catch it, as your attention turned to Adagio. Surprisingly, she didn't have anything to say about your early departure. Her attention is focused up on Rarity instead. She looks... anxious for some reason as she watches Rarity talk Aria down from her candy collecting competition. You don't end up saying anything for now as you guide the girls up the street and back home.

After a few more houses and even more candy later, you finally get out of the cold air and back into your own house. Aria's indignant expression is already forming on her face as she looks down at her candy bag. She crosses her arms over her chest, knowing it's not nearly enough to compete with Indigo. Sonata runs immediately into the living room and dumps the mountain of candy out onto the floor before looking back over to you.

"Can I have three this year, Daddy? I promise I won't stay up," Sonata asks, her sad, pleading, puppy-dog eyes flicking between her newfound treasure and you.

"That's fine sweetheart. But nothing big, alright?"

"Yay!" Sonata shouts, diving into her pile as soon as you gave her the word. For a moment you're afraid you might actually lose her in there.

Rarity takes her coat off and sets it down before leaning over to Aria, giving her a sweet smile to try to make Aria's disappointment wash away. "I know you didn't get as much as you wanted, dear, but how about we start trading candy with your sisters? That way you can get all your favorites."

Aria lets out a defeated sigh. "I guess so..." she says as she follows Rarity into the living room.

You catch Adagio's eyes wandering upstairs and you can already tell what she wants by the occasional shiver she's trying to hide from you. "Want to change clothes, Adagio?"

She gives you an embarrassed smile. After being so adamant about it she hates having to admit you were right.

"I'll keep guard on that candy for you," you say as you take her bag from her. She darts up the stairs, one thick sweater in particular surely on her mind.

You make the girls a couple of glasses of water and a take out a set of wine glasses for Rarity and yourself. Once Adagio comes back down the stairs in some more appropriate attire, you hand out the glasses to everyone sitting around on the living room floor. Rarity already has a pile of candy sitting in front of her that Aria and Sonata don't like and every now and then she'll act as the referee when one of them shouts no fair at the other, making the final decision for your girls on how much a bar of chocolate is worth against a handful of lollipops.

Adagio sifts through her candy with uninterested motions, pushing it around until she finds a wrapper she can fiddle with for a while before putting it back and looking again. You trace her eyes over to Rarity again, an unsure expression on your daughter's face as Rarity talks with her sisters with a smile on her face. You don't bother to bring it up now, anyway.

Once you hand the glass to Rarity, she gives you a raised eyebrow as you sit down on the couch. "Planning something else exciting this evening, are we?" she says coyly.

"Wouldn't want to have something without offering my guest. I figured you might appreciate it after a long day."

She swirls it around in the glass for a moment before taking a long sip, giving you a quick smile before she sets it down on the coffee table. "Well you'd be correct. Thank you."

"Oh, could I have some juice too?" Sonata asks. She completely drops her attention from her candy once she witnessed how much Rarity enjoyed that sip.

"That's not juice, Sonata," Adagio says, still looking down at her candy. You didn't care for her flat tone, but you decide not to say anything.

"Huh? What is it then?"

"It's that gross stuff adults drink before they have alone time," Aria says before sticking her tongue out.

Rarity shoots you a concerned look once she hears Aria knows what it tastes like. You just shake your head. "It's a long story," you tell her, still a little disappointed in Aria for crawling all the way up to that cabinet just to try all of your alcohol.

"Is it medicine?" Sonata asks.

"I dunno. It's the stuff Sunny's parents drink a lot before they tell us to play outside and not bother them for a few hours."

Adagio raises her eyebrow for a moment, obviously contemplating something before a deep blush washes over her face and her eyes affix down at her candy, not daring to meet the gaze of anyone else in the room.

You have to stifle a laugh for a moment at the sight and you spot Rarity having to do the same at Adagio's sudden revelation.

"You'll learn about it when you're older, alright, sweetie?" you tell her.

"Oh... okie dokie," Sonata says, shifting her attention back to the candy bracelet, blue lollipop, and piece of chocolate sitting in front of her. That was a lot easier than it should have been.

"Do you have the candy you want picked out, darling?" Rarity asks them.

"Wait! I still need to pick my last one," Aria says. Her eyes dart over her pile of candy desperately like she's trying to defuse a bomb. She finally yanks out a little package of twizzlers, a weight seemingly lifted off her shoulders as she sets it with the other pieces in front of her.

"What about you, Adagio? Do you have what you want?" You say as you look down at her. Her blush is gone, but you notice she doesn't have a single piece of candy out in front of her.

"I... I'm not really hungry."

You raise an eyebrow at her, a little concerned. "Are you sure?"

Adagio just scoops all the candy up into her bag and pushes it over to you. "I think so. I'm kind of tired. I think I'm going to just go to bed."

You purse your lips for a moment as Adagio climbs to her feet. Strangely, she doesn't want to meet your gaze and instead just turns towards the stairs. She doesn't look sad or anything, so you try not to worry about her too much. "If you say so, sweetheart. I'll see you in the morning."

She shoots you a quick goodnight back before disappearing into her room. Neither of her sisters seem too concerned either, as they devour their allotted pieces of candy with reckless abandon.

Rarity crawls up onto the couch next to you, the worry on her face telling a different story. "Is she going to be alright? Her mood seemed to turn after that whole debacle with the other girls."

"Something tells me that's not what it is," you say, thinking about how she looked at Rarity. It was certainly a strange behavior after having Rarity in her life for so long. "At any rate, I'll make sure she's okay in the morning. Think it's time to put the girls to bed." You look over at the clock, confirming your suspicion. It's already a good hour past bedtime.

Rarity gets up and puts on a motherly smile. "You heard him, girls. It's time for bed."

After a little bit of disappointed whining and making Aria spill all of the candy she tried to smuggle out of her pockets, you gather up everything in their candy bags and put it away for the night, breathing a little sigh of relief that you don't have to worry about the girls' constant begging for dessert after dinner for another few months at least. Once the girls are up in their rooms and everything seems quiet enough, you sit back down on the couch next to Rarity and work on finishing that glass of wine.

"Are you ready to finish our alone medicine, darling?" Rarity says with a playful smile and another swish of the red liquid in her glass.

"Certainly wouldn't mind after today," you say as you pick up your glass again.

A moment of silence hangs in the air before Rarity decides to speak up. "Well that was certainly more excitement than I've seen in quite a while," Rarity says as she sinks into your couch a little more, throwing one of her legs over the other and letting her head rest against the cushion.

"What, you don't have the occasional mexican standoff over candy in your high-class parties?"

Rarity lets out a little laugh. "Oh, heavens no. I haven't been to a 'party' ever since the last time I saw Pinkie Pie. All I really do anymore is design, design, design, alongside an unhealthy dose of accounting. If I'm lucky I may take a trip out to Canterlot once in a blue moon to see how things are going with that store."

"Can't you hire someone to do the accounting for you?"

Rarity runs a hand through her hair to let it fall over her shoulder and onto her chest, letting out a sigh as she looks up at the ceiling and takes another sip of her wine. "I suppose I could, but I hardly know what else to do with myself as it is. I can't imagine what I might do with those extra hours to myself as well."

"I thought you'd be mingling with the bigwigs and marrying your prince by now," you say jokingly.

Rarity lets out a wistful sigh and looks down at the reflection in her glass. "Well not all dreams come true..." she says solemnly. "Where would I even find a prince, anyway? And what would he want to do with a bored, middle-aged seamstress?"

You can feel a tinge of regret in Rarity's voice. "Hey, you never know. You certainly haven't lost your looks from high school at least."

Rarity gives you a quick giggle and rolls her eyes. "That's sweet of you to say, but it's everything I can do to fight the nightmare of aging."

A few moments pass before Rarity sits up and looks at you, a gentle, hopeful expression overtaking her. "This may sound odd... but do you think we could have more nights like tonight?"

"Huh?"

Rarity clears her throat. "Um... I just mean with the girls. You know, just so I could spend a little more time with them."

"Oh," you say, "of course, Rarity. I'm sure they've missed you, and I wouldn't mind a little weight off my shoulders too. It's always nice to spend some time with an old friend too, anyway."

She lets out a quick sigh of relief and looks off towards the floor. "I had a nice time tonight as well..."

You both catch each other's gaze for a moment, not entirely sure what to say to each other before you look away, both clearing each your throats awkwardly as the silence seems to linger for a little too long this time.

Rarity takes one last sip out of her glass and gets up off of the couch, walking over to the coat she laid on the dining room table beside the door. "I think I should be heading off before it gets too late."

"Oh, sure," you say, taking the glasses over to the kitchen before meeting her at the door.

"So you're sure you won't mind me being over here a little more often?" Rarity says as she slips her coat back over her shoulders.

"Of course not. Wouldn't want you dying by boredom if I can help it, and I certainly won't pass up a chance at a break from the girls every now and then."

"Wonderful," she says with a delighted smile. "I'll call you soon then," she says before leaning in to give you a quick hug.

You wrap your arms around her, expecting a quick pat on the back before she walked out the door, but instead she nestles into your chest for a moment, letting out a breath as your arms settle around her body. A strange feeling fills your chest as you feel her embrace, something you haven't felt since Sunset died. You suddenly don't want to let go, just wanting to stay like this for a few more hours as the relaxed, contented feeling of having someone else against you after so many years washes over you.

You let your hands slip off of Rarity, resisting the urge to kiss her and tell her you love her like she's Sunset just going out to a trip to the store. A lump quickly forms in your throat and you have back away from her.

Rarity clears her throat, looking away from you, apparently realizing the awkward length of the hug as well. "W-well I'll talk to you soon. I hope you have a good night," she says as she opens the door and walks away, granting you one last look before she closes it behind her.

"Y-you too," you say weakly as the door finally closes in front of you.

You stand there for a few seconds, not entirely sure what to think. Once you finally think about it, it really had been years since you'd even touched another woman besides Cheerilee, and even she never really gave you this feeling. You take a deep breath and head up to your room for the night. This isn't something you want to worry about now, especially not with Sunset so suddenly fresh in your mind.