Costume Quest
Twilight looked out the kitchen window as she scrubbed her loofah into the dirty plate she held. Alfredo sauce was, surprisingly, quite hard to get out if you let it sit there and harden for a bit. The warm water that passed over her hands soothed her, however, so she was complacent to just leave them be as she absentmindedly stared at the browning leaves flying in the wind.
A few days had passed after the meeting at Pinkie Pie’s house, and not much had transpired since. They took their mid-term tests (Rainbow managed to scrounge up a “C”), had their daily lunches, and did their homework; all according to Twilight’s expectations. Her relationship with Sunset remained unchanged as well, much to Twilight’s dismay. Sunset didn’t seem to act any nicer or more coquettish towards Twilight than normal, making Twilight think that Sunset calling her cute was just a one-off thing; something girls say to each other without putting any real meaning behind it. Maybe she didn’t even really mean what she said.
Maybe she doesn’t really think about me at all.
Twilight sighed. Friday had come and her parents were out of town for the afternoon, meaning she had to prepare dinner for herself. Chicken alfredo was easy enough, and she resigned to quietly eating alone at the kitchen counter while reluctantly fantasizing about Sunset eating with her. Being alone wasn’t that bad when she went to Crystal Prep. The idea of having friends was so foreign to her that she could dismiss the whole idea and pretend that she didn’t need it, that it was beneath her. Now that she’d had a taste of what true companionship really was, she found it harder and harder to not want more out of it, to really feel loved by someone that she loved back. And Twilight had to admit, some part of her wished she had still retained those old ideals. Feeling lonely sucked.
Twilight’s gaze drifted downward, spotting a cute reminder that she wasn’t ever truly alone, even without her friends or family around.
“Hey, Spike,” smiled Twilight, still scrubbing away at the plate.
Spike looked up at her, panting happily and with a small amount of drool slipping from his mouth. “Hey, Twilight. That Alfredo sauce smells really good.”
Twilight giggled. “Is somebody hungry, mister?”
Spike wiped the drool away from his mouth and chuckled. “So, what gave it away?”
“Alright,” Twilight grinned, “I’ll get you your food when I’m done here. Should only be a few more minutes.”
“Welllll, you could let me lick off some of that leftover Alfred sauce. There’s gotta be some left on the spoon at least, right?”
Twilight shook her head. “Alfredo sauce has much too high of a concentration of sugar to be healthy for dogs, Spike. I couldn’t possibly be okay with letting you have any.”
Spike’s ear twitched. “Hey, I’m here for a good time, not a long time, Sparkle. One little lick wouldn’t hurt.”
Rolling her eyes, Twilight shut off the water faucet, laid the plate down to dry, and patted her hands down with a towel. Bending down to get closer to Spike, she booped him on the nose before making her way out of the kitchen. “Nothing but the finest refined dog chow for my little guy. Straight out of the bag.”
Spike groaned. “At least let me eat some wet food tonight, huh? You have no idea how much torture human food is to me. It smells so good!” He followed her out of the kitchen and down the hallway to their laundry room, where Spike’s food containers lay.
“Hmm,” Twilight pondered. “I guess you’ve been a pretty good boy, lately. You haven’t even pooped in my bed while I was asleep in a few months, so . . . that alone I’d say is worth celebrating.”
“Hey!” retorted Spike. “A man’s gotta go when a man’s gotta go. It’s not my fault you like sleeping in on the weekends.”
Twilight giggled. “A man?” She picked out a can of the wet dog food they’d recently bought.
“What?” asked Spike. “Okay, a grown dog, if that’s what you mean. You know what I’m getting at.”
“Hah! What I’m getting at is that you’re still a puppy.” Twilight bent down and rubbed Spike on the head. “A cute, wittle, baby little puppy. And one that I love very much.” She smiled as her teasing visibly got to him, making her way back to the kitchen as he scowled.
Spike puffed his chest out as she picked up his dog bowl. “I like to think I’m pretty mature for my age. You know they say I’m about seven years old in human years.”
Twilight shook her head as she poured his food into the bowl. “Seven years isn’t an adult, Spike. It’s barely even a kid. Do you know how little I was when I was seven? I was shorter than that chair over there.” She bent down and set Spike’s bowl on the floor, who excitedly went up to it and started eating, almost forgetting the conversation they’d been having.
“You know,” Spike said as bits of chicken and other goop fell out of his mouth while he chewed, “now that I’m, uh . . . what was that word you used to describe me? Sentient?”
Twilight grimaced at his eating habits. “Ugh . . . sapient.”
“Right!” He dove back into his food and vacuumed more into his mouth. “Now that I’m sapient, would it hurt to put my food in the kitchen like the rest of the family? Makes me feel a little excluded.”
Looking away from the mess Spike was making, Twilight said, “Okay, first of all—and I never imagined I’d have to tell this to a dog before—but don’t talk with your mouth full. It’s rude. Also, like, really gross. Secondly, mom and dad wouldn’t like that. Dog food has a certain . . . smell to it that is pretty distinct, and they don’t want the kitchen smelling that way. And I don’t want them finding out that you’re sapient.”
“Hmm,” Spike mumbled, food somehow on his eyebrows. “That’s fair, I suppose.”
Twilight stretched her back as she leaned against the counter. “Mmm, the weekend’s here and I still don’t know what to dress up as for Halloween. Is it weird to be so stressed out over that? OH! And I need to put up those decorations that Pinkie Pie gave me.” She massaged her eyeballs with the tips of her fingers. “Ugh, who knew celebrating holidays was so much work!”
“Why are you so stressed about it, anyway?” Spike asked.
Because I want to impress Sunset and have her compliment my costume. “Uh . . . I dunno. No reason?”
Spike arched his brow. “Really?”
Twilight giggled nervously. “Heheh . . . it’s just . . . one of those things, you know? It’s my first Halloween with friends, and I don’t want to be the only one there with a terrible looking costume. It would be embarrassing.”
Spike, now done with his food, licked his lips of any remnants before looking suspiciously at Twilight. “Interesting. So, it has nothing to do with one specific person, or anything like that?”
Blushing, Twilight gazed up at the ceiling. “Pssh! What? No! Why would—NO! I don’t even know what you’d be implying. What person? I don’t even know a person!”
“Uh-huh.” Spike walked up to Twilight and stood on his hind legs, indicating to her that he wanted to be picked up. She smiled and did just that. “Whatever you say, Twilight,” Spike continued.
Twilight pet under Spike’s chin as she made her way through their living room. “And what if the other’s costumes do turn out bad? What if this was a whole terrible idea to begin with and it’s somehow all my fault.”
“Woah, woah, there, Twi.” Spike held up a paw. “There’s no way it could be your fault. And you’re all gonna make awesome costumes. All of you. You girls are probably the most creative group in town.”
Twilight began ascending the staircase to the second floor. “What? Are we? I don’t think so. Maybe the other six, but not . . . not me.”
“Look, Twilight, as a dog,” he paused as he noticed Twilight laughing at the notion of taking advice from a dog. “As a dog, I happen to get around a lot. You know, pee on a few fire hydrants, sniff a few buttholes, that kind of thing.”
“Spike!” scolded Twilight. She reached the top of the stairs and made her way towards her room.
“I’m just speaking the truth here, Twilight” he continued. “Anyway, people from all across town talk about you seven. Everyone knows about the ‘super talented girls of Canterlot High.’ And let me tell you, Twi, when they say that, they’re not talking about Trixie.”
Twilight frowned. “Hey, don’t be mean to Trixie.”
“I’m not,” said Spike. “What I’m trying to get at here, Twi, is that everyone knows how talented you are. Those girls have saved the world five times now—well, one of those times was from you, but still. And you are one of the smartest girls in the state, if not the smartest. Whatever issues you have going on in your life, Halloween costume or otherwise, I know that you have it in you to work past it and come out the other side. I don’t think it, I know. So, I’m not even worried about it, just like you shouldn’t be worried about it.”
Twilight set Spike down on her bed, a rim of tears in her eyes. “Wow, Spike. That was really sweet of you. Thank you. It really means a lot.” She spun around and leapt backwards onto her bed, letting Spike cuddle up to her and rest his head on her chest. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe the right idea will just come to me.”
Spike tiredly shook his tail. “Glad I could help.”
Taking her phone out and resting it on her bedside table, Twilight pondered things for a brief moment before springing herself up in bed, unknowingly tossing Spike off of her. “I’m gonna call Rainbow!”
Spike grimaced, rolling himself back onto his belly. “Or . . . maybe not.”
Opening the Call app on her phone, Twilight pressed the button for Rainbow Dash’s number and held it up to her head.
It rang once . . .
Twice . . .
The third ring was cut short, and the familiar voice of Rainbow Dash appeared on the line.
“SUP?!” it said.
“Hehe, hey, Rainbow,” Twilight began. “How’s it going?”
She heard what sounded like Rainbow stretching on the other side. “Eh, it’s going pretty good, Twi. How ‘bout yourself? You must miss me. I know the past five hours since you saw me last must’ve been pretty hard.” Rainbow chuckled at her own humor, to which Twilight only rolled her eyes and grinned.
“You’re funny,” she said. “And yeah, I’m good. I do miss you, for your information. At least a little bit. Whiiiich kinda leads me to my next question.”
“Uh-oh,” Rainbow replied. “You finally gonna pop the question? I’m gonna tell you upfront, Twi, I don’t do wedding dresses, and I’m not gonna wait ‘til marriage to—”
“NO! No, that’s not what I was going to ask, believe it or not. Wait . . . sometimes I have a hard time telling if you’re serious or not. Do you really want to—”
Rainbow cut her off. “No, Twilight. I don’t really want to marry you. I mean, don’t get me wrong, you’re really cute, and I like you a lot, but I didn’t really mean that. Except for the ‘not waiting until marriage’ thing. Totally meant that, hehe.”
“Perv . . .” Twilight replied.
“Oh, as if you wouldn’t!” shouted Rainbow. “Now, what was it you were gonna ask me again?”
“Oh yeah! Um . . . so, I have no idea of what I want to wear for Halloween and I was wondering if you’d like to go shopping with me to find something.” She waited, a voice in the back of her head telling her that Rainbow was going to shut her down.
“Uh, yeah, I guess,” Rainbow replied. Twilight sighed in relief. “Didn’t Pinkie say we were supposed to surprise each other with our costumes, though?”
Twilight shrugged. “Yeah, but . . . I honestly have no idea and could really use your help. Even if it’s just going to some costume store somewhere.”
“Wouldn’t Rarity be a better person to call, though?” Rainbow asked. “Uh, not that I don’t want to go or anything, ‘cause I totally do. You and I haven’t hung out one-on-one in . . . ever? Have we ever done that?”
Twilight thought for a moment. “Um . . . we went and got ice cream at Ice to See You that one time. That was fun.”
“Oh yeah, after school that one day, huh? Good times.” Rainbow cleared her throat. “But, yeah, um, Rarity is probably making a dress for herself, and I’m sure she’d jump at the chance to make one for you, too.”
Twilight winced. “Yeahhh . . . Rarity’s a little too . . . good at what she does? If that makes sense? I just want a little thing that fits the holiday, not something that the Queen of Manegolia is going to wear.”
“Hah!” Rainbow chuckled. “Yeah, I hear ya. She totally would do something like that.”
“So, do you have any idea of what you’re going to wear?” asked Twilight.
“Heh, what, is rolling myself up in toilet paper a little too low budget?”
“Haha . . . Maybe just a little.”
“What if it’s used toilet paper?”
“Ew, Rainbow!” Twilight laid back down on her bed. “That’s gross! You’re gross!”
Rainbow cackled. “Yeah, well, I try.” She made a grunt which sounded like her standing up. “I’ll figure it out when I get there, Twi. No point worrying about it now. Or . . . ever, really. I don’t really care too much about the costume part.”
“Fair enough,” sighed Twilight. “Sooo . . . tomorrow? That sound good? Around three at the Halloween Store?”
“The Halloween Store,” Rainbow echoed. “’Bout how long you think it took them to come up with that name, Twilight? Five minutes?”
Twilight giggled. “Maybe less. Probably less.”
“Three sounds good. See you tomorrow, Egghead.”
“See you then, jock strap.”
“Hah!” Rainbow laughed. “That’s a good one.” Before Twilight knew it, Rainbow had hung up and a dial tone was all that remained.
Twilight locked her phone, letting her arm collapse down beside her as Spike lay his head on her chest once more.
“Sounds like you’ve got a plan,” he said, eyes closed.
Twilight grinned. “I guess I do.”
“I like Rainbow,” Spike said. “She’s funny.”
“Yeah,” Twilight closed her eyes. “She is.”
“Not as pretty as Rarity, but . . .”
Twilight playfully swatted him on the butt. “Don’t get too comfortable, mister. We’ve still got to set up Pinkie’s Halloween decorations.”
“Eugh, do we have to?” Spike stretched, getting all the more relaxed as he leaned in to Twilight.
“We don’t have to, we get to.”
Spike sighed. “Well lucky me.”
---
Twilight tugged at the hem of her skirt as she approached the Halloween Store. The cheap banner with a stereotypical sheeted ghost swung daintily in the wind above the automatic sliding door, emblematic of the hasty preparedness involved in setting up the store itself. She checked her watch; three o’clock exactly. Twilight smiled. Another example of perfect promptness in the books.
“Hey, Twi!” Rainbow’s voice called behind her, causing her to spin around. In all honesty, Twilight was surprised Rainbow had made it on time. She had a habit of being “unfashionably late” to things.
“Hello, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight retorted. “Nice to see you again.”
“And on time!” replied Rainbow. “I knew you’d hound me for showing up late today, so I made sure I gave myself good enough time to get here.”
“I’m impressed.” Twilight crossed her arms. “And I wouldn’t ‘hound’ you about it.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes before using her middle finger to pantomime pushing a pair of glasses up on the bridge of her nose. In her nasally-est voice she could make, she said, “Mmm, Rainbow Dash, I told you to be here promptly at the strike of three, and here we are at three o’ two and I can’t see thy face anywhere! How dare-th thee?” She dropped the voice. “Sound familiar?”
Twilight shook her head in exasperation. “Wait, was that supposed to be me?! I don’t sound anything like that! And why did you give me a Shakespearean accent?”
“Bahahahah!” Rainbow exploded, slapping her knee in excitement. “I don’t even know! Sounds like something you’d do.” She wrapped her arm around Twilight’s shoulder as she, too, began to chuckle. “You read all his stuff, don’t you?”
Twilight poked Rainbow in the side. “I happen to be both a fan and a student to many of his—”
“Told ya.” She jiggled the rim of Twilight’s glasses. “Straight up nerd.”
“Pffff,” Twilight sputtered. “Let’s just go inside. I’m wearing a skirt and it’s cold out.”
The two made their way through the double doors as Rainbow pressed on. “Why do you wear a skirt in the first place, then?”
Twilight shrugged. “I don’t know, it’s just my look, I guess. I don’t normally wear jeans.”
Rainbow stretched the fabric of her shorts in Twilight’s direction. “You should totally just wear spandex like me. It’s warm when it needs to be, cool when it needs to be, and it really shows off what I got going on, you know? For anyone who happens to look.”
“Yeah,” Twilight smirked, “I don’t know. It just doesn’t look too comfortable. Besides, I don’t really have anything ‘going on.’ Not like you do.”
Rainbow snickered. “And that, Twilight, is where you’re wrong.” Making their way into the inner part of the store, Rainbow quickly looked at a nearby stand that caught her attention. “Holy crap, Twi, look!”
Running over to an eight-foot-tall Grim Reaper statue, Rainbow immediately tested his scythe to see if it was real or not. Disappointedly, she found it was plastic. “Lame.” Spinning around to face Twilight, Rainbow said, “Hey, Twi, this would make a good MyStable profile pic, huh? Me standing next to this thing? Take a picture for me.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t it a bit cliché? Showing the world how close you are to death, yet still avoiding its lethal touch?”
Rainbow rolled her neck in irritation. “I don’t need the whole English-teacher-analysis here, Ms. Sparkle. Just take the picture for me, yeah?”
“Alright, fine.” Twilight pulled out her phone.
“Loooove you, Twi,” Rainbow called.
“You too,” said Twilight as she aimed her camera at Rainbow, who posed with double sign of the horns with her hands.
*Click*
“Thanks,” Rainbow returned to Twilight’s side. “Just so you know, there’s gonna be a lot of that today. It’s, like, ninety percent of why going to Halloween stores is so awesome.”
“Is it?” inquired Twilight. “I’ve never really been to one, actually. Only once when I was really little.”
“What? Did you do anything cool with friends before us?”
Twilight rubbed the side of her arm, embarrassed. “Not really . . .”
“Oh . . .” Twilight could tell Rainbow thought she overstepped. She quickly moved to change the tone. “Well that’s gonna change right now. Come on.” She grabbed Twilight’s hand and began moving her spot to spot within the store.
“Let’s look at the masks!” Rainbow directed. She brought Twilight over to a line of masks, the sight of which was slightly off putting to Twilight. She felt claustrophobic just at the sight of them. “So, Twi, what did you have in mind for a costume? You like nerdy stuff, right?” She picked out a white helmet and put it on her head. “Hey, look at me! I’m a, uh . . . trooper . . . guy.”
“Stormtrooper,” Twilight corrected. “And to answer your question, I don’t really know. Although, to be honest, I wasn’t exactly planning on wearing a mask.”
Rainbow took off the helmet and began scanning the lineup as she placed it back on its hook. “Let’s see, we got all the usual stuff. Godzilla, Skele-seer, Carnival Cat, evil clown—Pinkie would like that one—bloody hockey mask—is . . . is that William Shatner?”
Twilight smirked as she picked up a feminine masquerade ball mask and placed it over her eyes. “Am I mysterious enough?”
“Well,” Rainbow huffed, “it might look better if you put it behind your glasses.”
“Oh . . . right.” Twilight took her glasses off and placed the mask back over her eyes, batting her eyelashes as she did so. “Ready to take me out on the town, Ms. Dash?”
“I gotta say,” Rainbow admitted, “it does look pretty on you. I can imagine a scene where you and your star-crossed lover are staring at a giant fish tank together, only for him to see you through the glass and go, ‘Who’s that mysterious girl?’ And that girl would be you, Twi.”
Twilight blushed, her mind immediately replacing said mystery man with a certain girl with a sunny disposition. Oh, if only it could happen like that. But I doubt there’d be a fish tank at the Halloween party at school, right? She cleared her throat, placing the mask back on the hook. “Interesting,” she said.
“Don’t worry about it,” Rainbow said, noticing Twilight fantasizing once again. “I got the idea from some old movie. Oh, hey, check this out.” Rainbow took a pair of devil horns and placed it on Twilight’s head before placing one on her own. “Put your glasses back on, I’m gonna take a picture.”
“Oh, okay.” Twilight did so as Rainbow took out her phone, put an arm around Twilight, and snapped a picture with the front facing camera. She looked at the picture. Aww, that looks nice, she thought. We’re both smiling.
“Oh, I am totally posting this,” Rainbow said, tapping a few buttons so she could post it on various social media accounts as she dictated her caption aloud. “’Having . . . lots . . . of fun . . . with . . . my best friend . . .’”
Aww. Twilight smiled. Rainbow could be so sweet sometimes.
“’Hashtag . . . feeling . . . horny . . .” Her lips curled up, waiting for Twilight’s reaction.
“WHAT?!” Twilight shriek-whispered.
Rainbow waited.
“. . . O . . . Ohhhh,” said Twilight, finally getting the pun. “That’s good. You’re good.”
“See?” Rainbow snickered as she removed the horns. “I can be pretty smart sometimes.”
Twilight nodded. “And that ‘sometimes’ is decidedly not when you’re at school, right?”
“Hey!” Rainbow pointed a finger at Twilight. “. . . True. But it’s not my fault all our classes are boring. ‘Sides, with my head ADHD-ing around all the time, it’s hard to stay focused.”
“I know it is.” Twilight placed a hand on Rainbow’s shoulder. “I’m just teasing you a little. You do fine at school. Could do a little better, but . . .”
“Hey, check this out!” Rainbow pointed, changing the subject. She walked them over to a stand of plastic swords, ranging from katanas, pirate swords, medieval swords, and more. She took one of the pirate ones and tossed it to Twilight. “Catch!”
“Oh!” Twilight fumbled over and over again with the sword, but finally managed to grab hold of it. “G—got it!”
“En garde!” Rainbow quickly swiped at Twilight’s sword, making a “Hah-HAH!” noise as she did so. Twilight tensed up, closing her eyes to protect Rainbow from “damaging” her. She quickly thought better of herself, however, and positioned her hands around the grip of the sword.
“You’re on, Captain Dash!” She swiped back at Rainbow, and the two quickly began play fighting in the middle of the aisle, taking turns making dramatic gestures with their swords.
“That’s Rainbow Beard to you, scallywag!” Rainbow spun around 360 degrees and took a slow jab at Twilight’s lower leg. Twilight playfully screamed—quietly of course. “Hey!” said Dash, “What’s yer pirate name, landlubber?”
“Um . . . ummm,” Twilight thought for a moment, still trading slow blows with Rainbow. “Twilight . . . Sp-arr-kle?”
Rainbow had to clutch her stomach from laughing too hard. “Hahahah! You are such a dweeb! Oh, that is awesome! Sp-arr-kle! Hahah!”
Twilight smiled. “I’m pretty proud of myself, thank you very much.”
“Oh, you definitely should be!”
In what Twilight had originally thought would be a quick in-and-out trip with her and Rainbow, she found that minutes flew by as the better part of an hour was spent with the two laughing, playing, trying on dumb costumes, and taking pictures with as many cute or dumb faces they could muster. As four o’clock neared, Twilight was feeling a great sense of satisfaction. Sure, she’d had fun hanging out with the girls in a group, going to whatever mall trip or summer camp they’d all agreed upon. But for the first time in her life, Twilight was spending some quality one-on-one time with what had to be one of the best friends one could have in the world. She almost felt like crying; all those years of solitude, isolation, and loneliness were finally over. She’d finally found where she was supposed to be.
As the afternoon rolled on, Twilight and Rainbow had found themselves near the back of the store, where the more “creative” items were available. Paper and bits of plastic for people to form into their own shapes, glitter, sparkles, and gels for them to decorate with. It was here that Twilight finally thought she’d find what she wanted, whatever that happened to be.
“Hmm, perhaps I could make a wizard hat out of these stars,” Twilight said, mostly to herself. She looked at Rainbow Dash. “There’s actually wizards in Equestria! Did you know that? Princess Twilight told me last time I talked to her. Isn’t that cool?”
“Yeah,” said Rainbow Dash, obviously uninterested. “It’s like that one movie with the little boy wizard in it, what’s it called? Lord of the Flies?”
Twilight went stone faced. “There are so many things wrong with that sentence that I don’t even know where to start.” She returned her gaze back towards the shelving before quickly glancing at Rainbow. “Although that is a good book, too, if you were to read it.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” Rainbow crossed her arms as Twilight sorted through craft paper. “Speaking of Princess Twilight, Twilight—woah, that sounds weird…”
“Told you it would be confusing!” interjected Twilight.
“Yeah, well . . .” Rainbow continued, “anyways, Sunset texted me today saying the Princess wrote her back—me back—and said she’s way too busy with Nightmare Night stuff in Equestria to be able to come to our thing. Which makes sense, I suppose. She probably is setting it all up for Ponyville, or something. Isn’t that something a princess would do?”
Twilight shrugged and mumbled an “I dunno.” Inwardly, though, Twilight was happy. She somehow, strange as it was, saw Princess Twilight as competition for the affection of Sunset Shimmer. If anything, Twilight thought, the Princess was probably way more impressive to Sunset than she ever was. It probably wasn’t a competition at all.
“’Sides, it doesn’t really matter much,” Rainbow said. “We’ve got each other. And, we’ve got . . . Maud.”
“Oh yeah,” remarked Twilight, “I forgot about Maud. She seemed, uh . . . nice.”
“Yeah, Maud is, uh . . . well, she’s something all right.” Rainbow placed her hands on her hips. “I met her a few years back at a sleepover at Pinkie’s place. She, uh . . . hoo, she really likes rocks.”
Twilight stood up straight and subconsciously pushed up her glasses. “Geology is fascinating, Rainbow Dash. I could see why Maud would take an interest in such things.”
“No, you don’t get it, Twilight.” Rainbow placed both hands on Twilight’s shoulders and looked her dead in the eye. “She really . . . likes rocks. Really.”
“O—oh . . .” Twilight stepped back. “Y-you mean like . . . sexually?”
“What?! NO! What? N—no, Twilight!” Rainbow looked disgusted, if only for a moment. “Actually, um . . . maybe? Probably not. Ew. I hope not. That’s not what I meant.”
Why am I so awkward? “Oh, okay. Sorry. I don’t know why that’s the first thing I thought of.”
“Yeah, no, don’t worry about it. You’ll see what I mean on Tuesday. She’s . . . she’s a Pie, all right. Just, like . . . in the opposite direction as Pinkie. Still really strange. Not quite as cute. . .”
“I see . . . Ooh!” Twilight picked up a burgundy sash, one that she quickly looped around her neck and swung over her shoulder. “With a shield, and one of those swords we played with, I could look like a Romane warrior or gladiator! Ooh, or the emperor! You know, like Marcus Aurelius?!”
Rainbow blinked. “Uh . . . totally.”
Twilight was practically shaking with excitement. “Ooh, this is so exciting! I love when inspiration hits me like this! I’m not very good at costume making, but . . . maybe if I found some armor over in the outfit section I could string some things together, make it look good! Oh, I think that’ll work. I’ll definitely look good and historical enough to impress S—” Oops. “Uh, impress . . . you . . . girls. With my costume. Heheh . . .”
Rainbow smirked. “Uh-huh.”
Twilight bent down and searched the bottom row of shelving. There was nothing there, of course, she just didn’t want Rainbow Dash to see her face burning a deep crimson. She slightly looked to her side, noticing that Rainbow’s body language was changing; a smug and confident lean against the shelving unit.
“Soooo . . .” Rainbow began, a tease in her voice. “Does she know?”
PANIC. “Uh . . . what?” Twilight still stared straight ahead. “Does . . . does who know? Who do I know? What?”
“Mmm-mmm.” Rainbow squatted down, eye level to Twilight. “Does . . . she know?”
Twilight looked away. “I-I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about, Rainbow. W-what? Are you thinking of somebody else?”
“Uh-huh.” Rainbow stared holes in the back of Twilight’s head, and she felt it. “Twilight.”
What was she to do? Does she tell her? What if she does tell her? Would she go and tell Sunset? Rainbow hasn’t been one to keep things quiet. But on the other hand, she was a pretty good liar when she needed to be. She was one of her best friends, but what if her knowing would ruin everything? Ohh, what do I do? Where do I go?
Twilight sighed. “No . . . no, she doesn’t know.”
“Theeere we go,” Rainbow patted her on the back. “See was that so hard?”
Twilight stood straight up and looked at Rainbow, who did the exact same. “It was, yeah. Kinda why I haven’t told her yet.”
Rainbow’s face scrunched in confusion. “Wait a minute . . . Didn’t you used to like that Timber guy from Camp Everfree?”
Twilight blushed. “Um . . . a girl can like . . . two things . . .”
“Ohh,” nodded Rainbow. “I getcha. Same with me, kinda. Uh, only, I only like girls.”
“Heheh,” Twilight chuckled. “I know, Rainbow. I can tell.”
“What, it’s that easy to tell? What gave it away, all the posters of female athletes on my walls, or the fact that I’ve never talked to a boy, like, ever?”
Twilight hid a snicker behind her hand. “A lot of things, Rainbow. Those included, yes.”
Rainbow grinned in turn. “No, I knew you guys could tell. Just like I could tell you liked Sunset from a mile away.”
“What?” Twilight panicked. “Y—you could tell?!”
“Um, yeah.” Rainbow raised her eyebrow. “In fact, I’ve been thinking of a way to bring it up to you today, I just didn’t have a good in until now. Maybe it’s just ‘cause I have a knack for scoping out, um . . . girls looking at other girls, but . . . I can see the way you stare at her, Twi. It’s pretty frickin’ obvious. You practically drool all over her.”
Twilight clapped her hands to her cheeks. “Oh no! I didn’t think I was like that. Oh, I must look like an idiot! Do you think she knows?”
“Mmm, I don’t know. I don’t think so. I think the rest of us know, though.”
“Really?” Twilight was shocked. She thought she was being subtle all this time.
“Really. I mean, I haven’t talked to them about it or anything, but I think they know. It’s kind of an unspoken fact between all of us.”
Twilight buried her face in her hands. “Ohh, I am not good at this. I’ve never had a crush like this before. I mean, I had one on Timber, but not like this.”
Rainbow crossed her arms. “What is it about her that you like, anyways? Uh, not that I’m criticizing your choices or anything, she is pretty cool.”
Twilight sighed. “She is.”
“And hot.”
“Oh, she really is.”
“So, what is it?”
“Hmm . . .” Twilight never really thought about it before. It just kind of was. “I don’t really know. She just has this sort of . . . charm about her. She’s smart, she’s cute, she’s funny. She’s cool. She was the first person to really connect with me once I moved here. And when I . . . you know . . . turned into an evil, magical demon, she was the one to look inside and see me for who I really was. She saved my life that day, not to mention everyone else’s. I tried putting my feelings aside for a while, not knowing that I was . . . like that . . .”
Rainbow gave her a look.
“N—not that that’s a bad thing!” Twilight waved both hands. “Obviously, heheh . . . but, I didn’t know that that was who I really was. But these last few months of hanging out with her, unable to take my eyes off of her, unable to take my mind off of her . . . it kinda became pretty obvious what was going on. It just took me a little while to realize it.”
“Wow,” Rainbow smiled, “that was actually kind of beautiful. In a way. Ahem . . . if you like sappy stuff like that.”
Twilight dug the ball of her foot into the ground. “Heheh, yeah. It’s kinda been on my mind for a while.”
“I can see that.” Rainbow paused for a minute. “So, when are you gonna tell her?”
Twilight rung her hands together and pondered the idea. “. . . I don’t know.”
“Well you gotta tell her, Twi! You guys would go so good together!”
“You think?” Twilight beamed. “That really makes me happy that you think that.”
“I know that, Twilight.” She pantomimed blowing smoke away from her finger gun. “Trust me, I know a thing or two about girls being together.”
“Wait . . .” Twilight pondered, “You’ve never actually been in a relationship before, have you?”
“Pshh, buhh, uh, that’s not important!” Rainbow argued. “What’s important is that you tell her how you feel. She needs to know, regardless of how it goes down. You can’t live your life being in love with your best friend, Twilight. It’ll hurt too much.”
Twilight thought she heard a tinge of pain in her voice. “Will it really?”
“Yeah . . .” Rainbow said, scratching the back of her head. “It will. I’m not saying you gotta do it right now or anything. Just . . . keep it in mind as things go forward, huh? The chance to do it might come up sooner than you’d expect.”
Twilight nodded. “Yeah, okay . . . Okay. I’ll try and find a way to tell her, eventually.”
“Eventually,” Rainbow finished. “Now come on, let’s finish finding you that costume.”
Rainbow lead Twilight around the store as they continued to gather supplies for their respective costumes. But while she was present in the here and now, the back of her mind was mulling over all that Rainbow Dash had told her. She did need to tell Sunset how she felt, else her heart might explode. Metaphorically speaking, of course. She didn’t know the time, and she didn’t know the place, but she did know that they were going to be together next Tuesday for Halloween. All she needed to figure out now was how to get the two of them alone.
As she glanced over at the girl next to her, Twilight noted, a bright thought surfaced among the deluge of worry. No matter what Twilight does, and no matter the outcome, she would always have an amazing group of friends that will love, assist, and support her throughout any hardships. And that, Twilight thought, was worth its weight in gold.
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How on earth are you making your alfredo sauce? 'Cause as a roughly even mixture of butter, cheese, and heavy cream I've never found it to be anything one could describe as sticky or sugary.
8479523
I’ve had it with sugar in it to make it slightly sweet. And it’s stuck because it’s dried to the plate, not because it’s sticky.
8479527
If you use the proper amount of butter it'll never stick to anything under any circumstances I've experienced. As for the sugar, I guess there's no accounting for taste?
Wow, all your missing is a knife glove and you'd have the trinity of Slasher film references.
good chapter loved the friday the 13th and halloween movie references
thoe i cant see rainbow dash not being a star wars fan she loves stuff like that
also for some reason this update did not show up in my feed
8479715
Oh really I didn’t know they made an OJ Simpson movie
8479750
Glad you caught that!
And yeah, at least in my head cannon, this Rainbow is pre-the equivalent of Read it and Weep for Equestria Girls, so she hasn’t accepted the nerdy life yet. But I totally get what you mean.
Thanks for reading, though! Also, it’s strange that you didn’t get notified. Can anyone else vouch for that? Am I doing something wrong?
8479770
she plays video games that is a nerdy thing
8479866
Yeah, that’s true. But it’s also kind of an athlete thing nowadays.
Whatever, man, I’m just making stuff up as I go along. I like the nerd/not nerd dynamic between the two of them.
8479758 I meant Freddy Kreuger:
cdn.costumewall.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/freddy-krueger.jpg
I mean you put in references to the other iconic slasher movie villains.
8479929
Haha I know. I was making a joke.
8479870
hope im not coming off as argumentitive
8479957
Just explaining my methods.
I know you're not.
In case anybody was wondering, there will be no update today for two reasons:
1. I was stupid and can't count. I thought October only had four Tuesdays, not five, so I was planning on one chapter per Tuesday and the last one landing on Halloween.
2. Point one doesn't matter anyway, because school has been heating up and chapter three isn't even finished yet.
I still want Chapter 3 & 4 to release a week away from each other and end on Halloween, so I'm skipping this week and will continue to publish next Tuesday. Hope to see you then!
Ooh I'm really enjoying this story so far. I love the interactions Twilight has and how well written she and her friends are. Keep up the good work and let the SunLight shine!
8509684
Thank you kindly! I’m working on Chapter 3 now.
I loved this! The one on one with Rainbow was excellent! Keep it up, you’ve got a dedicated reader in me.
8561437
Thank you for both of your kind comments! I, too, want SciTwi X Sunset to be canon, although I know it most likely will never be. Guess that's what fanfictions are for! I'm very glad I've got a dedicated reader in you. The last two updates have been late and slow (obviously, as Halloween has long been over) primarily because of school getting in the way of my free time. However, my last paper for the semester is going to be over with Tuesday, and then I'll have a five day weekend to myself due to Thanksgiving. If all goes as planned, chapter 3 will come out somewhere in there. Thank you for your patience, and I hope to see you there!
Really enjoying this, and the pairing could still happen. As long as the series continues, there's hope.
This is so cute! Please continue
8997696
I’m working on it! Life and school have gotten in the way, but I’ve got a big part of the next chapter already written up. Hopefully, it will be released sometime soon.