Chapter 3: Chasing Shadows
Chapter 3: Chasing Shadows
Sugarcoat stood with her arms crossed over her chest in the middle of Twilight Sparkle's living room, peering curiously down at Lemon Zest as the other girl slowly climbed to her feet.
"Does it hurt?" Lemon asked as she stood up straight, twiddling her thumbs in front of her. "You know... becoming a vampire? Because I'm not totally against the idea."
"Um..." Sugarcoat hesitated.
"You know what, I don't care if it hurts... just do it to me. I want it." Lemon stepped forward, baring her neck at Sugarcoat. "I want to join you, bite me!"
Sugarcoat stepped back as the other girl stepped forward. "Hey, this seems a little short notice... I really feel like we should get to know each other better first or something..."
"You'll bite Twilight but not me? Come on, that's not fair!" Lemon Zest jumped on her, trying to pull her head toward her neck while Sugarcoat struggled to free herself and hold the shorter girl back. They stumbled into the kitchen, Sugarcoat's back hitting the center island in its center.
"Lemon Zest! Get off of me! I'm not going to bite your neck!"
Suddenly the lights turned on and Lemon Zest paused, looking up to see Twilight Sparkle standing with a finger on the light switch and her other hand covering her rapid giggles.
"Twilight? You've already turned?" Lemon gaped.
"I didn't turn into anything, come on, get down from there." Twilight approached to gently pull Lemon down off of Sugarcoat. "When you showed up out of nowhere I called Sugarcoat for the real story, and she asked me to help her with this little prank."
"Prank?" Lemon Zest blinked. "It was all a prank the whole time?"
"It wasn't intentional at first." Sugarcoat reached up to shift her glasses back into place on her nose. "You guys just reacted so strongly to my story I thought it might be fun to keep it up."
"Dude..." Lemon Zest cackled. "You're amazing! That was the best prank I've ever been a victim of!"
"Thank you." Sugarcoat put her hands on her hips. "Now we really should go find the others before they freeze to death out in the cold."
"Oooh! Let's hunt them!" Lemon rubbed her hands together eagerly. "We can bring them home after we scare the crap out of them a bit more!"
"I could go for a little more fun." Sugarcoat smiled. "But we need a way to find them."
Twilight raised a finger. "I don't think that'll be a problem. Spike knows what you all smell like by now, he can track them wherever they go."
"Excellent. All that leaves then is getting you two dressed appropriately."
It wasn't long before they set out into the night, each clad in a black cape with their hair properly done up in knots against their heads. Twilight's dog, Spike, led the way, his nose sniffing the sidewalk quickly as they went, but his gait was quick and sure. They made their way through the cold darkness, soon making their way up the steps towards Crystal Prep Academy. Spike stopped at the front door, looking up at the towering building.
"The scent goes inside here." He stated definitively.
Sugarcoat crossed her arms with an approving nod. "It makes sense. It's warm in there, and there's lots of room to hide. Very strategically sound."
"Not enough room to hide from us, isn't that right Spike?" Twilight knelt down to scratch her puppy behind the ears appreciatively.
"Heh, you know it, Twilight." Spike's tail slapped against her arm happily.
"Come on, lead the way." The school doors let them in easily and they made their way through the darkened hallways, letting the lights from Sugarcoat and Twilight's cell phones light the way, along with the high windows on the walls letting in the soft moonlight, while Spike sniffed his way forward.
There was an uncomfortable stillness in the air, almost casting an ominous pall over the school. Sugarcoat couldn't help but think there was something she was overlooking here. The hallways of Crystal Prep were all familiar to her, of course, but the ones Spike was leading them down looked extra familiar. They were being led towards the gymnasium, in fact. It seemed strange to hide in such a wide-open section of the building instead of a classroom full of desks.
"Hey, Sugarcoat?" Lemon Zest's voice cut through the stillness.
"Yes, Lemon Zest?"
"We're going to the gym... isn't that where they keep the archery gear?"
No sooner did she speak than the soft thwip sound signaled the release of an arrow from its bow. All three of them yelped in shock, and Twilight dove for Spike as the arrow sailed, barely visible, right past them through the light from Sugarcoat's phone.
"Yes. Yes it is!" Sugarcoat whirled to run down the hallway away from the gym, Spike clenched tightly in Twilight's arms as they ran. The sound of several more arrows being fired followed them, followed by the sound of the arrows rebounding off of the stone walls around them. One came so close it bounced off of the floor and smacked sideways into Sugarcoat's ankle, getting between her legs and sending her tumbling to the floor.
"Sugarcoat!" Lemon Zest grabbed her and hauled her to the thankfully close hallway corner, where Twilight joined them with Spike moments later. The three of them leaned against the wall, panting and stunned.
"Twilight..." Sugarcoat panted.
"Yeah?"
"I feel like we've gravely miscalculated."
"Agreed."
From the hallway past the gym they heard another thwip sound, and they barely got out of the way before the arrow skidded across the wall they'd been leaning against with a horrifying scratching noise.
Lemon Zest waved her arms in the air furiously. "Stop firing! We're not vampires! It was a prank!"
"Oh right, you're not vampires now that you're on the receiving end! Suck wood blood-suckers!" Sour Sweet's voice echoed down the hallway as a storm of arrows flew towards them.
The three girls jumped to their feet and charged down the hallway again, narrowly avoiding the small hailstorm of arrows from one of Crystal Prep's most decorated archers. The wood bounced and scraped off of the walls and floors all around, and more than once an arrow passed right by where Sugarcoat had been moments after she lurched to one side.
They found the next corner and whirled down it, but didn't stop running this time. "We've got to get out of here!" Twilight huffed, out of breath.
"The door isn't too far! Keep going and we can outrun them!" Lemon Zest surged ahead of the other two, skidding out into the main foyer only to come to a dead stop, staring ahead toward the light from the windows on the front entrance.
Twilight and Sugarcoat joined her to see Indigo Zap crouched on one knee in front of the doors, an arrow already nocked and trained on the three of them.
"Indigo, I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to go so far." Sugarcoat raised her arms over her head. "It was all a prank, we're not vampires."
"Yeah, that's exactly what a vampire would say." Indigo pulled back on the string. The breath caught in Sugarcoat's throat and Twilight squeaked, wrapping Spike in her arms and turning him away from the arrow. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the other exits from the main foyer being covered by Sour Sweet and Sunny Flare, coming down the hallways with their own arrows nocked and ready to launch.
Sugarcoat huffed despite her terror. "Indigo, listen to me. You're being stupid and gullible. Stop it."
"Wouldn't I be gullible if I listened to you and then got eaten?"
"She has a point there." Lemon Zest chimed in.
"Nobody asked you." Sugarcoat glared at her flatly.
"So what're we gonna do with them?" Sunny Flare asked as she reached the end of the hallway. "Shooting them doesn't feel right. I mean... what if they're telling the truth?"
Sour Sweet's hand on her string almost looked like it was itching to let loose. "Let God sort 'em out."
"Wait, I've got it." Indigo glanced up at the clock handing above one of the doors. "It's almost sunrise. We can tie them to the flagpole outside, and if they don't explode when the sun hits them, they're telling the truth."
Twilight Sparkle sighed wistfully. "It wouldn't be the first time I was tied to that flagpole anyway..."
Sugarcoat let herself be escorted outside with her two companions, followed by the three archers until they all surrounded the flagpole outside, where the Crystal Prep Academy flag flew proudly over the courtyard. Sunny Flare grabbed some rope from a janitor's closet and tied the three of them to the flagpole with Sour Sweet's help, while Indigo kept her bow at the ready. Thankfully their black vampire capes gave them some protection from the chill wind.
"Come on, isn't this a little extreme?" Spike paced around the flagpole nervously as the two girls tied their knot. "I'm not sure what vampires are, but I know Twilight isn't one. Twilight's amazing!"
"Maybe you're a vampire and we should tie you up too." Indigo smirked.
"Don't you dare!" Twilight snapped as Spike whimpered and ducked behind her legs.
"You know, I've never been tied up before." Lemon Zest jerked at the ropes. "It's actually kinda-"
"Please don't." Sugarcoat leaned back against the cold metal as she met eyes with Indigo. "You know, I didn't think this friendship was going to work out when it first started. But honestly? I think I've really had a lot of fun tonight."
"Yeah?" Indigo finally lowered her bow and arrow to her side now that the ropes were secure. "Why didn't you think it was gonna work?"
"It just seemed frivolous to me. We had almost nothing in common, we don't even share most of the same classes. I didn't understand how it could possibly work. But yeah, over time it..." She trailed off when she looked beside her and saw Twilight Sparkle beaming brightly with a toothy grin. "You look really smug right now."
"Sorry, I don't mean to interrupt... it's just I sort of felt the same way when I met my new friends." Twilight smiled. "I barely knew what to expect when I transferred to CHS, but it's been absolutely amazing. I'm just glad you guys got to find what I found here."
"You could always come back to Crystal Prep, Twilight." Indigo suggested.
"No thank you... lots of memories... but if you guys want to hang out outside of school some time, I think I'd be up for that."
"Yeah, sure... if you don't burst into flames in ten seconds." Indigo glanced toward the horizon, where the first golden rays of the sun were just emerging.
The light grew brighter by the moment, watched by the six teenage girls and their hiding dog in the middle of the Crystal Prep academy courtyard. It rose into the air, until at last the light moved over the girls directly.
"AAAAAHHHHH!" Lemon Zest let out a powerful shriek of agony that nearly made Sugarcoat's heart stop. Indigo Zap, Sour Sweet, and Sunny Flare dropped their bows in shock, then quickly fumbled for them, but by the time they got them trained on Lemon Zest the scream of pain had faded into riotous laughter.
"Holy crap, I am so sorry, I couldn't resist!" Lemon laughed with her head leaning against the pole. "Your faces are too perfect!"
"Geeze..." Indigo let out a puff of air and lowered her arrow. "You almost got three new air holes..."
"It looks like we're not vampires after all." Sugarcoat pointed out. "Can we get off this pole now?"
"Yeah, sure." Indigo, Sour, and Sunny quickly removed the ropes binding the other three girls, letting them move away from the pole and stretch out.
Sour Sweet let out a loud yawn, putting one hand over her mouth. "Oh man I didn't sleep a wink last night... with all that excitement I really need to snooze, badly."
"I think we could all use some sleep." Sugarcoat agreed.
"Let's head back to my place and get some shuteye," Lemon Zest offered. "This was supposed to be a slumber party, after all. And you're welcome to come too, Twilight."
"I'd like that..." Twilight giggled as Spike left into her now-free arms. "As long as you don't mind dogs."
"Naw, he's a cutie anyway." Lemon Zest scratched Spike behind the ears with one hand. The dog grinned, his tail pounding Twilight in the chest as he leaned his cheek against Lemon's chest and licked at her chin.
The group of girls moved to head down the sidewalk in companionable silence, until Sunny Flare moved into step beside Sugarcoat.
"There's still one thing I don't know." Sunny Flare commented. "How did you make the lights go out at the perfect time after you finished your story?"
Sugarcoat yawned, hiding a smile behind her hand as she kept walking.
"S-Sugarcoat?" Sunny's step faltered a bit.
"Let's hurry up. I really need some sleep." Sugarcoat smiled to herself and rushed ahead of the group, knowing the others would keep up with her.
This was the longest Nightmare Night any of them had gone through in their lives, but strangely it was also the most satisfying. Perhaps Twilight was right when she talked so much about the magic of friendship. Well, she wasn't sure about magic, but it certainly made life more interesting.
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Okay, that was pretty fun.
I had a nice little grin throughout the story.
This would make a great series of misadventures.
I love Lemon. She's just so zesty.
I hope to see more about these girls before too long.
6496316 Indeed!
Super cute!
Faulty logic on Indigo's part. Sugarcoat has been outside loads of times, and never exploded.
"Then who was flickering the lights?"
HHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!
I LOVE IT!!!! I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!
I Can't stop laughing!!!!
Ha, wonderful! I'm surprised this hasn't gotten more attention!
Shadowbolt six are go! This was totally awesome.
I totally called it!
Oh no.
Aw, poor Twi.
Pro-tier stuff right here,
s6.postimg.org/dd47s96ap/Pirate_Approved.jpg
It just goes to show that, sometimes, you can be too convincing an actor. 'Overly convincing' being sort of Sugarcoat's primary oeuvre.
Amusing story, and a big improvement over the preceding one. I'm definitely interested in more of these.
6500168
media.giphy.com/media/pS9V2BsFJP6OQ/giphy.gif
Nosferatu!
Ok, this is awesome.
Can I just say that I love how you've written Sour Sweet in this?
Lemon Zest is still the best, of course.
This was glorious in its entirety. I loved it even more than the previous entries in this series of yours, and I am looking forward to more shadowbolts hilarity.
Okay, that settles it. You can do no wrong, writer. You can do no wrong. That has got to be one of the best lines and moments I've seen in fiction. It was so epic that I can't put it into words how epic this was. You do the best Sour Sweet.
You really know how to make these characters feel alive. There were two things I loved about this that shook it up. Lemon Zest wanting to be a vampire was rather funny and it's always nice to see at least one person freak out the monsters, or in this case, prankers by just going along with it. As before with Starswirl, changing up how it goes was brilliant.
A lot of horror movies don't get how humans can readily arm themselves if given the chance and be deadly, especially vampire movies. Having it turn on Sugarcoat and the others like that was brilliantly comedic and I'm glad I've read this story. I am definitely keeping an eye on this series because this is comedy and character gold.
This story was a lot of fun--especially Lemon Zest (I guess she's going to be my favorite Shadowbolt).
The only problem I have is how the managed to get into their school at night. I doubt it would have been left unlocked.
Still don't know who flicked off the lights.
Hey there, lemme first says that Im a big fan of your take on the Shadowbolts crew. This story right here is another example of how well you did it.
That being said, Is it okay for me to write a short "alternate universe" take of this story? In which Sugarcoat was actually a vampire? Its going to be rather dark and bleak. Possibly with what people would've called as "Bad Ending" sorta thing.
6638418
I certainly have no objection, just let me know when it's complete so I can read it. I'm quite interested.
This was way too much fun to read. I can see this as an episode of an Equestria Girls cartoon.
Can I borrow some money? I need a new pair of sides XD Great story!
6828178
I am going to use Leechy Bitenstein for my next vampire character.
That was fun. And I admire Lemon Zest's move at the end there... what is life if you don't get to pretend to scream in agony every now and then?
Well, this was a nice read. Bravo, sir.
Oooooooooh! And from Sci-Twi, too!
Well played.
Ouch.
This was a joy to read!
Need...............to..............find my............flanks from....laughing
So I've only just started reading your Shadowbolt Adventures series, and if the rest are anything as good as this them I'm sure I'll reach the end quite soon.
This was a great and fun short story. I really like how you captured the character of each Shadowbolt.
Although as someone who does archery, I was absolutely horrified by what they got up to.
I want to write a fan fiction of this fan fiction.
Sugarcoat:" I'm not a vampire, I'm actually a witch." Not related to my fanfic idea, maybe I will combine them.
I know this may not be what the uploader had in mind but due to the events in Chp. 3 we may like to add something to show a content tag of bondage.
I get the idea about it being or not being a tag but in this case it fits, the way to girls check if someone's a vampire will have that 'hint' even if it's not sexual to start with.
Again just saying.
8276641
Nope.
Sugarcoat...? H-how did you turn off the lights?