> Love Beats Stupid: No Treats
>  by chillbook1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Only Tricks
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Halloween, a night synonymous with evil, demons, sin, ghosts, and terror. The day for jokes, the day for scares, the day for disguise. There was something intriguing to the human mind about being something they are not. Whether it be something scary, something cute, something imaginary, or a real person, people just seemed enthralled with the idea of changing their identity, even if it were for but a single day

Though normally thought to be a ritual for children, dressing up for Halloween was a tradition, in Canterlot City, that transcended age barriers. Most people of the city, regardless of age, found themselves in a costume of some sort, so much so that almost every workplace allowed, or even encouraged, dressing up at work (the students of Canterlot High School were ecstatic to see their very own Principal Celestia lose the bet she placed with her sister, which forced her to attend school the day before Halloween in a full banana suit). 

Everyone was in costume on that Saturday, especially the seven girls that were formerly known as the Rainbooms (though, with the addition of the Twilight Sparkle native to their world, the group was now eight). They all threw themselves into the holiday, spending hours or even days to perfect their costumes. Some weren’t necessarily appreciated, like when Rainbow Dash showed up to Pinkie’s costume party in a plaid shirt, tied to reveal her midriff, dusty blue jeans, and a large cowboy hat, in an admittedly decent imitation of Applejack (she even spent time learning and fine-tuning her Southern drawl).

Other costumes were more welcome. Princess Twilight, for example, was dressed as the demonic form her human counterpart had taken on during the Friendship Games. Sunset Shimmer and Crystal Prep Twilight, finding humor in the theme, decided they would follow suite. CP Twilight was dressed as Sunset Shimmer’s demon form, while Sunny herself decided she’d go as the rainbow-fied, ponified version of Twilight Sparkle that had defeated the Dazzlings. 

Speaking of the Dazzlings, they were of the few who weren’t particularly fond of the idea of costumes for Halloween. It was fun the first hundred or so times, but after 200+ years of Halloweens, the practice had finally lost some of its magic. That is not to say that the Siren trio were ignoring the holiday. They agreed that a scary movie marathon was most certainly a way to spend the holiday, so, on that spooky Saturday, they gathered on the couch, acquired some popcorn, and popped in some of the best and worst horror movies of all time.

At around 11:00 AM, when their marathon had hardly even started, Aria realized that Sonata wasn’t watching the screen. Instead, the ponytailed Siren had her face hidden away in her hands, trembling in her fiancé’s arms.

“Seriously?” asked Aria. “What’s up with you? This movie isn’t even all that scary.”

As she said that, the killer captured his victim and promptly removed their head with a hearty pull of the hair.

“See? This movie is, like, thirty years old. These effects are so cheesy,” said Aria, slightly mockingly.

“I don’t do well with blood,” mumbled Sonata. Aria snorted with disbelief. “I’m not brave like you are. You’re never scared of anything.”

“Come on, this isn’t scary. You want scary? Scary is when Adagio makes you wax her legs.”

"Oh, ha ha ha," laughed Adagio dryly. "For the record, it was no fantasy of mine to have you pour hot wax on my legs and rip off my epidermis." Though it was years ago, Adagio could still feel the stinging. "You didn't even do it properly... And I'd have done it myself, if it weren't for my ten broken fingers!"

"You shouldn't have had your hand in the door," shrugged Aria.

"I was opening the door so I could get into the car! You weren't even coming with me, you were just walking past and slammed it into my hands."

"Why were you waxing your legs?" asked Sonata in confusion.

"I had a date." Adagio rubbed her temples in annoyance. It was a terrible memory. 

"And you really needed your legs waxed while your fingers are broken?"

"I felt it would be double-rude to show up with broken fingers and hairy legs," grumbled Adagio. "I could do something about one of those things, so I did." Aria snickered at what she felt was genuinely a funny memory. Definitely something to bring up next time they had drinks with the girls.

"How'd that date go, anyway?" asked Aria.

"He never called back. I wonder why," said Adagio scathingly.  "Maybe it had something to do with my half-hairy legs. I looked like-"

Adagio's phone rang, the ringtone being an emo-rock song by a band that Sonata recognized as Tears of Plague, a group that Adagio wasn't known to be a fan of. Adagio answered her phone and pressed it to her ear.

"Hey, how is it going?" Adagio asked. "Mhm. Really? Already? My, they're making good time, aren't they? Right. Okay, on my way. See you when i get there, love." Adagio hung up her phone, pocketed it, and then rose from the couch.

"Where you off to?" asked Aria.

"A party," answered Adagio vaguely. Aria raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"At noon?" she inquired.

"You're going to call me a geek, but if you absolutely must know," said Adagio. "Silver and I were talking about video games, and that game from a couple years back, Until Dawn. There's a ton of choices in the game that affect what happens to the characters, so many that nobody has ever been able to compile a list of causes to effects. Silver and I decided that we'd get as many people as we could, we'd set up some PlayStations in his living room, and be the ones to make the list. It's my turn to play."

Aria understood perhaps half of what Adagio said, just enough to gather that Adagio was ditching them. She half-expected it. It was textbook Adagio Dazzle; Make a commitment and then bail for some guy she just met.

“Who’s this Silver guy, anyway?” asked Aria, slightly annoyed.

“Her boyfriend. Remember? You met him when you got back from Equestria?” said Sonata. Aria still drew a blank. “They’ve been dating for months now? He has that big Russian friend who broke the table at McDonalds?”

“Oh! Emo-freak!” said Aria in realization. “Wow, you’re still with that rag? Why?”

“You know, it’s funny you should say that,” said Adagio venomously. “I just asked Sonata the same thing the other day.”

“Bite me, Dag,” sighed Aria. “If you’re gonna go, just go. Don’t bang that big head of yours in the doorframe.”

Adagio grumbled something angrily under her breath, then headed out the door, leaving Aria and Sonata alone with their movies.

“We can watch something else if you want,” said Aria, noticing that her fiancé was still cowering in fear.

“N-no, it’s fine. I’d like to finish at least this one,” whimpered Sonata. Then, her voice became more somber and sinister. “I’d like to know some techniques, so I’ll know what to do if I ever catch you with another woman.”

Aria stared at Sonata uncomfortably for several minutes before the two broke into wild laughter. Aria planted a kiss on Sonata’s forehead, who returned with a kiss to the lips.

“A woman after my own heart,” cackled Aria. “You had me going there for a sec.”

“I know, right? I’ve been trying to find a way to get to you lately,” laughed Sonata.

“I swear to God, my freaking heart stopped for a second there. I was all like ‘How did she find out?’”

The two stared at each other uncomfortably for an even longer period, and then the two laughed even harder than before.





During the twelfth hour of their marathon, Sonata received a text message. At the time, Aria was in the kitchen, “feeding” Achilles (she refused to admit that she was also petting him, rubbing his tummy, and babbling like an infant). 

“Hey, babe! I gotta go help Adagio get home!” called Sonata. “Apparently, the video game thing turned into a Smash Brothers drinking game. I guess she won?”

“Don’t crash the car!” was the only response Aria gave before going back in for another round of snuggles with their pitbull.

“I swear, you’re the second bravest thing in this house,” said Aria, scratching her dog behind the ears. Achilles barked appreciatively, which Aria rewarded with another round of petting. He barked, which Aria translated in her head, like she always did when she spoke to Achilles (Which was often).

“Yup. Your best friend and fiancé are huge cowards,” yapped Achilles.

“They sure are, buddy. They sure are,” agreed Aria. “Still, I’m marrying Sony, and I couldn’t get rid of Adagio if I tried. Gotta deal with em somehow.” Achilles barked, then took a sip from his water bowl. To Aria, this had a very clear translation.

“Who gets me in the divorce?” asked Achilles.

“Oh, there’s not gonna be a divorce, little buddy,” promised Aria. “But me. I get you in the divorce. Sony would forget to feed you or something dumb like that. And I can’t leave you with your no-good, uppity owner. I’m never gonna let you go.” She rubbed Achilles’ head, and he responded with what was certainly a happy bark.

“Yay!”

“You’re damn right, ‘yay’.”

Aria smirked at her dog, for Adagio never took care of him and that de facto made him Aria’s, and then pulled out her phone. She was a little annoyed that her fiancé and her supposed best friend just ditched her like that. Judging by the time, they wouldn’t be back until the next day, which basically nullified the whole point of the scary movie marathon.

“Adagio’s gonna get it this time,” said Aria to no one in particular. “I swear, as soon as she sobers up, I’m gonna break my foot off in her-”

Her phone buzzed, a text from Sonata. Most likely an excuse as to why she was also drunk and needed a ride home as well. Granted, Sonata had only been gone for a few minutes, but if anyone could get plastered in that short amount of time, it was Sonata.

“Hello, Aria Blaze,” read Aria. “I have something that belongs to you.” A second later, and there was a picture message. The image was grainy and dim, but Aria could easily tell that the picture was of a tied, bound, and crying Sonata.

“Ugh. This,” said Aria, rolling her eyes. She typed back a simple response: Where is she? Then, deciding that the message was too plain, she added: If you touch her, I swear to God, I will murder you!! The return message came rather quickly, and with a grim amount of ominousness.

“If you want to see her again, you’ll have to play my game,” Aria read. “308 Shores Drive.” Aria sighed and slipped her phone into her pocket.

“Well, sorry, Achilles. I gotta go handle this,” said Aria. She scratched him one last time under the chin. “Do me a solid and pee on Adagio’s bed, okay?”

Without waiting for an ‘answer’, Aria grabbed her purple jacket and headed for the door. She was not particularly in the mood for this tonight, but she didn’t have much in the way of options. All she could do is “play the game”, as it were.

It wasn’t gonna be fun.





Aria stepped through the doors of the abandoned building, looking around expectantly. Aria was on the hidden southern tip of Canterlot City, easily the most dangerous place in Canterlot, and a place most teenagers scarcely went. 

Luckily, Aria only looked like a teenager.

“Alright, where is she?” Aria asked nobody. “Hm… Probably the basement.”

She couldn’t tell what the building used to be, but it looked like it might’ve been a department store or supermarket or something similar. The room she was currently in was as bare as it was dark, which was, to say, very. There were no shelves or racks that could give any hints as to what to the shop sold before it fell into disrepair, and Aria was working based on the building’s location and old, fading memories alone.

She explored deeper into the darkness, her eyes slowly adjusting to the lack of light. Then, remembering she had the most perfect tool for any situation possible, she pulled out her phone and used it as flashlight. Just as she did, she received another text message from the person who had Sonata.

“We’re waiting,” it read simply. Aria sighed, mostly annoyed with the situation.

“Just bite the bullet, Aria, it’ll all be over soon,” she muttered to herself. After stumbling around for a bit, she found a stairway leading down, which was just as dark as the room Aria was currently in. If anything, it was even darker. Still, there wasn’t anywhere else for her to go, and she descended into the deep, dark cellar.

Aria soon reached a landing, which was nearly entirely pitch-black. The only light at all was from strips of glow-in-the-dark tape, which seemed to be directing Aria. She followed it through the darkness, stumbling slightly across the imperfect concrete floor. The tape led her up a small flight of steps and into some sort of observation box. It was about the size of a bedroom, with a large control panel of sorts. Just in front of it was a large window with slightly tinted glass. The window was mostly useless as of now, due to Aria’s inability to see more than a half inch in front of her.

“Hm… Okay, so what now?” asked Aria. She inspected the control panel, unable to make out more than a few buttons. One of them she could decipher was a big, red button that appeared to control the lights. Aria pressed it, there was a soft hum throughout the basement, and the lights in the observation box came on. Now, Aria could see the entire panel, and the two most noteworthy buttons being marked each with a picture of Sonata and Adagio.

“Hello, Aria Blaze,” said a garbled, warped voice. It came from nowhere, yet reverberated from everywhere. “I’m glad you could make it. Would you like to play our game now?”

“I’m not in the mood for games,” said Aria. “Just give me my girl so I don’t have to break your spine.”

“Oh, I do intend to give her back. However, you’ll have to decide if that’s what you truly want,” said the voice. “Whether or not Sonata returns to your possession is entirely up to you. You’re going to have to play my game first.” Aria groaned in disgust.

“Seriously, how cliche can you be? Can somebody say ‘Jigsaw’?” sighed Aria. “Fine. I’ll play your stupid game. What’re the stakes?” She felt certain she knew the answer, but felt the need to ask anyway.

Two spotlights beamed down from the ceiling, projecting light down onto two figures that were formerly sitting in shadows. The sight was sickening. To Aria’s left, her arms and legs tied to the chairs, was Sonata Dusk. To her right, her bindings the same, was Adagio Dazzle. Aria couldn’t quite make out everything about their trap, but she noticed what appeared to be two large car batteries sitting near each of their feet, with wires running up their bodies, wrapping around their torsos.

“Do you like my little project?” asked the voice mockingly. “It was a lot of hard work, but it seems to be worth it. Why don’t you say ‘hello’ to the girls. That blue button to your right should activate the microphone.”

Aria leaned forward, tapped the blue button, and cleared her throat. Time to see how well her acting stood up over the years.

“Guys? Are you okay?” asked Aria, trying her best to sound panicked.

“A-Ari?” whimpered Sonata, looking around. “Where are you?!”

“They can’t see you, by the way. I notice you’ve ignored Adagio,” said the voice humorously. “Why don’t you make her feel safe? Reassure her.”

“Me and Dag have an understanding. She knows that I’m not going to let some creep like you hurt her,” said Aria. “He hasn’t hurt you, has he? Cause I will snap his neck if he did!”

“Oh, I’m not going to hurt her,” said The Creep. “But you might. You may have noticed the two large buttons on the control panel decorated with the faces of your fellow Sirens.”

“What’s your point, Creep?” demanded Aria. The Creep laughed, which did nothing to improve Aria’s mood.

“My chairs, while very impressive, are far from perfect,” explained The Creep. “I can only provide one of them with power at a time. As problematic as that is, it actually works to my benefit. I only want to kill one of them, anyway. So, here’s the plan: I’m going to let you choose. The button to your left will electrocute your fiancé, while the one to your right will electrocute your oldest friend. Now, take your time, there’s no rush. This is a life-changing decision, one that’ll-”

“Sorry, Dag, you had a good run,” said Aria. “1,200 years isn’t bad.”

“What?!” shouted Adagio in disbelief.

“Er… uh… You sure you wouldn’t want to think about it a bit?” asked The Creep. “More than… Well, none?”

“Nope, I’m good. It’s not that hard of a decision to make,” said Aria. “If I have to choose between the two, I’m gonna save the one who’s gonna put out.”

“Aria Blaze, if you kill me, I swear to God, I will be waiting for you in Tartarus!” shouted Adagio. “I’m going to give the term ‘living hell’ a whole new meaning!”

“Well, I’m coming, babe.” Aria slapped her hand on the Adagio button. All the lights in the basement and observation box shut off, leaving Aria in total darkness. Adagio shouted angrily for a bit, and then there was a loud buzzing.

And then there was the screaming.





Aria was not very happy with what she had to do. It was an awful, horrible thing that she never should have had to do. One day, she’d find the one responsible, and make them pay for what they had done.

That awful, horrible thing being, of course, carrying her unconscious fiancé. She didn’t really care about the choice.

“Jesus, I’m putting you on a work-out plan,” grunted Aria, hefting the thin and spindly, but deceptively and almost comically dense, Sonata up the stairs. It was a long way home, and it’d be even longer with roughly a trillion pounds of airhead strung over her shoulder.

“Ari…” whispered Sonata sleepily.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m here,” said Aria, gently lowering Sonata to the floor. She leaned against the doorframe leading to the basement tiredly. “You okay, babe?”

“He got Adagio…” sighed Sonata. “Oh my god, he-”

“I know, I know. It’s gonna be okay,” promised Aria. “Do you think you can walk?” Sonata bit her lip in thought, then nodded. “Good. Come on, we’re getting the hell out of here.” 

“What’re we going to do?” sniffed Sonata. “He just… I can’t believe he just…”

“Try not to think about it. I’m just glad you’re safe,” said Aria. She sighed in irritation. “How did this happen?”

“He got Dagi first. Well, no. He got Silver first,” said Sonata, reliving the horrible memory. “Adagio was really shaken up. She wouldn’t tell me what happened, but… She was covered in so much blood… She wouldn’t stop shaking. Oh my god, she’s dead. Over a thousand years, and some human just… God.”

“Let’s just focus on getting out of here,” said Aria, slightly dismissively. “Jeez, what can we do about this?” She ran her hands through her long pigtails. “We can’t just… What in Tartarus is that?!”

It appeared to be a woman, though it wasn’t entirely clear, given the state of the person. Their skin was greyish, and torn in several places. Their hair was singed at the ends, and a flat, tangled, mangy mess of discolored locks. The person wore some sort of hospital gown, a gown that seemed to have melded into their skin. Their eyes were vacant holes of darkness, beaming nothingness and despair. The most prominent feature of this person, however, was the jagged, crooked, gnarly scar across their forehead. The figure tilted its head at Aria and stepped forward, opening its mouth as it did.

“Oh my god…” gasped Aria. “Is that…”

“You…” it groaned. The voice was very familiar to Aria, having been the voice that had been leading/oppressing her for a thousand plus years. It was a voice that Aria used to loathe, and it belonged to someone that Aria reluctantly called her friend.

“Dag?” said Aria uneasily. Adagio took another lurching step forward, bringing with her the stench of dead, burned flesh.

“You… b….”

“Sonata, get behind me,” ordered Aria. She had gotten into a great many fights in her day, but never with a ghost. Somehow, she thought the odds of her besting an actual specter in a bout of fisticuffs must’ve been quite low.

”Aria… You…” moaned Adagio. She practically dragged herself towards her friend.

“Aria… you… bitch…”

And, just as quickly as she appeared, Adagio disappeared, bursting into  cloud of dark, burned orange smoke. Even Aria, who wasn’t intimidated by anything, was a little spooked by the ghastly apparition. She’d never seen that much anger, even in Adagio.

“Are you freaking serious?” asked Aria. “Ghosts?! I have to deal with a psycho killer and ghosts?!” She turned to check on her fiancé, and rolled her eyes in annoyance when she wasn’t there. “A psycho killer and ghosts and a disappearing fiancé?!” Aria turned, and found herself nose to nose with the ghost of Adagio Dazzle. She was even more tattered now, having lost about 10% of the skin on her face, most of her hair, and both of her eyes. The scar seemed even bigger and more rushed and uneven.

“Killer…” whispered Adagio. She reached for Aria’s face, her fingers melting right through. When they did, Aria was gripped with a sudden drowsiness, one that she couldn’t shake. Adagio grinned evilly, her dark, void-like eye sockets beaming out hate.

“Slumber....” she growled. Aria fell to the floor, her mind gripped with black. Adagio looked at Ari’s fallen figure, crossed her arms across her chest, and grinned almost playfully. She turned on her heel and vanished into burned orange mist.





Uncomfortably, Aria found herself stirring awake on a bed of leaves and twigs. She wasn’t prepared for her nap, and didn’t find herself particularly rested. What she did find, however, was that she was becoming increasingly more irate with the game of cat and mouse she was being forced into playing. Now, through no action of her own, she found herself in a forest that she wasn’t altogether familiar with. Aria reached into her pocket for her phone to discover that it was gone, replaced by a walkie talkie. With no better course, Aria brought the walkie talkie to her face and pressed the button on its side.

“Yo? Where am I?” she asked.

“Ah, so she finally joins the land of the living, eh?” chuckled the voice on the other end. The Creep. Though, if Aria were to say her two cents, she’d say that he sounded different. Lighter. Almost feminine

“I’m not in the mood for this crap,” Aria growled. “Just tell me what you did to Sony, or else we’re gonna have some issues.”

“Ever the aggressor, Aria Blaze,” laughed The Creep. “Very well. I’ll direct you to her. You may not like what you find, though.”

As The Creep supplied Aria with directions, Aria felt as if she was going deeper into the woods, which was about what she expected by this point. During her walk, she remained as silent as possible, listening only to what The Creep said, and never once responding herself. This way, she could focus on Sonata.

“And, right through that clearing, you’ll find them,” said The Creep.

“Them?” asked Aria as she confusedly pushed away the brush that was in her path. What she saw rendered any verbal explanation unnecessary.

There were three levers, each with a different colored handle, sticking out of the trunks of three separate trees. Standing just a few feet from Aria, raised on a platform several feet tall, were Sonata, who seemed to be in fine shape, Sunset Shimmer, who was slightly bruised and cut, and Twilight Sparkle, who was so beaten that she could barely stand. Wrapped around each of their necks was a noose, attached to a bar above their heads. Along said bar were pulleys, wires, hinges, and tiny blades, each attached to a wire that was hooked and locked in place. The platform resembled a stage, with the bar for the ropes reminiscent of an area to hold spotlights.

“Aria?” croaked Sunset Shimmer. She seemed to have just started regaining some of her breath. 

“Sorry, Aria…” said Sonata, just barely choking back a sob. “You had me, and then…”

“What the hell is this?” demanded Aria into the walkie talkie.

“Heheheh. I’ve always wanted to say this. Let’s see how my impressions are.” The Creep cleared his throat. “I want to play a game…”

“Seriously?” asked Aria.

“Oh, you’re no fun. In any case, this is the next challenge. Despite its appearance, this one is quite simple,” said The Creep. “On the stage before you are three women you should be very familiar with. Going from your left to your right is the one you would call your best friend, now that Adagio has... moved on, so to speak. Next to her, the woman who enabled you to confront some of your inner demons in order to be the best possible fiancé for Sonata.”

Aria looked Sunset, then Twilight, up and down, trying to get a gauge on their mental state. They were about as Aria would expect.

“And, on the right, we have the returning champion,” finished The Creep. Aria could almost imagine him extravagantly flourishing his arm to punctuate Sonata’s importance. “As I said before, this one is simple. There are three trees near you, each one with a colored lever. Red for Sunset, purple for Twilight, and blue for your precious Nata. Pulling one lever will cause the blades to fall, severing the rope of the person you chose. However, it will also sever the wires beneath the stage that are keeping the trapdoors from collapsing. You can save one, but at the cost of the other two. You have ninety seconds to decide, or I will decide for you. My choice involves at least one extra death.”

“Aria, I know you wanna save Sonata,” sighed Sunset Shimmer.

“Thanks for your understanding,” said Aria. “Most people-”

“But don’t do that, what’re you, crazy?! Save me!”

Aria was not expecting that.

“Dude… You do realize that we’re supposed to be getting married, right?” said Aria.

“Aria, if you save me, I’ll marry you. Come on, I’m way hotter than Sonata, anyway!” Sunset gestured to herself, panning her arms up and down her body. “I mean, seriously! I’m more your type, too. Think about how similar we are!”

“Sixty seconds,” The Creep reminded them.

“Isn’t that your girlfriend over there?” asked Aria, pointing at Twilight, who was now angrily grunting and mumbling. “Shouldn’t you be asking me to save her?”

“I would be, if I wasn’t also on the chopping block! If you can only save one of us, why not the one who’ll be the most fun?”

“Thirty seconds…”

“Alright. Deal,” said Aria. Sunset’s face practically glowed.

“Really?!”

”No, you idiot!” Aria shook her head, grabbed the blue lever, and pulled it with all her might. She closed her eyes and covered her ears, but couldn’t quite block out the sound of snapping necks and two dying women gasping for air.

“Sony?” said Aria, her eyes still squeezed shut. The silence that returned her stopped her heart. “Please, for the love of god, please tell me I did not hit the wrong lever.”

She opened her eyes, with a mix of surprise and annoyance when she saw that not only was Sonata missing, but so where Sunset and Twilight. She raised the walkie talkie to her face.

“How do you keep getting to her?” asked Aria. “How can you possibly be moving this fast?!”

“Some would accuse me of magic,” said The Creep. Now, he sounded like he did the first time the two spoke. “I’m partial to the idea that I am simply that brilliant.” He laughed. “I could have a magical portal system stretching across the town for all it matters. All you need to worry your pretty little head about is how to find your girl, and how you're going to pass my last challenge.”

“This is getting old, fast,” grumbled Aria. She's dropped the radio into her pocket, then headed for the stage. Maybe that would give her some sort of clue as to where to find Sonata. She crossed the clearing and reluctantly admired the work that The Creep had put in on the stage. 

“Psycho killer or no, this guy must’ve been a beast in Shop class,” mumbled Aria. She pushed herself onto the stage. The mechanisms that kept everything in place were certainly more intricate and complex than Aria could ever do herself.

“Ugggggh…”

“You are frigging joking!” shouted Aria, because she knew where this was going. She leapt off of the stage, trying to discern where the noise was coming from. The noise was very familiar, from all the movies and tv shows Aria had seen over the span of a thousand-ish years. She could recognize the sound of the living dead in a heartbeat.

Slowly, two figures lurched from beneath the stage. Using the trapdoors as a means of exit, the two groaning, shuffling corpses pulled themselves up. Twilight and Sunset clambered over one another, their eyes dead and glassed. Their skin had a graying, clammy, dead sort of look to it, and a blueish hue to their faces. Slowly, creepily, the two deceased displaced  Equestrians staggered to their feet.

“This can’t be happening. Psychos and ghosts I’ll accept on a bad day,” said Aria, backing up uneasily. “But zombies?!”

Aria turned to run, slamming right into a figure about her height and tumbling to the floor. The figure she had run into was none other than the ghastly figure of Adagio, which Aria wasn’t aware even had a physical form to bump into. Aria stared with her best attempt at fear at the ghost before her, then spared a glance at the crawling undead that were snarling and snapping their way over to her. She did the only natural thing one could do in that situation.

She got the hell out of dodge, and ran with her pigtails between her legs in search of her fiancé.





Aria had never gotten a workout quite like this. Running from two zombies and a ghost through the dense forest. gave a cardio routine the likes of which you could scarcely get otherwise. Though Aria was sure she lost at least Twilight and Sunset ages ago, she wasn’t quite sure about Adagio’s vengeful spirit. The angry phantom didn’t seem to be bound by walking or running, and apparently did whatever it is that it pleased. Nothing could be done for that, so Aria tried to push it to the side of her mind. It didn’t matter, anyway. Just find Sonata, and this would all be over.

“Ari!” The shout came from someplace north of where Aria was currently at. Already heading in that direction, Aria kicked her burning, aching legs into overdrive through the brush and dense forestry.

“Sony!” she called back. “I’m coming!”

“Aria!” Sonata was louder this time, not much further away. Aria pushed through the woods and trees until she could all but hear Sonata’s breathing. She stepped through the brush and into a clearing, where another one of The Creep’s constructs stood. It was reminiscent of a ring for boxing or wrestling, except the ropes were replaced with barbed wire and the ring posts were replaced with some sort of strange boxes that Aria couldn’t quite identify. In the middle of the makeshift ring was Sonata, who saw her beloved Aria and instantly perked up.

“You made it!” squealed Sonata.

“Yeah, yeah, thank me when we’re out of this creepy forest,” said Aria. She swung her leg over the second rope, ducked under the first, and stepped into the ring. As soon as she was clear of the ropes, she heard a humming from the ring-post boxes, and the ropes themselves began to crackle.

“What the heck is this?” asked Sonata. A snapping twig from behind her caught the attention of both Sirens. Out of the darkness stepped a man wearing some sort of mask, with two sharp pincers where the mouth should be. Aria didn’t really know what it was supposed to be, until she focused on the eyes, or, rather, how many eyes there were. Eight.

For the first time all night, Aria Blaze was genuinely terrified.

“Hello, girls,” said The Creep, his voice dark and warbly as per usual. “How sweet of you to trap yourselves for me. I was afraid I’d have to incapacitate at least you, Aria.”

“Oh my god… You’re wearing his shirt…” gasped Sonata. The Creep glanced down at his black t-shirt, emblazoned with the dripping black logo of “Tears of Plague”.

“This old thing? Well, our dear friend Silver wasn’t using it anymore,” chuckled The Creep. “I couldn’t very well come meet you two with all that blood on me, and he happened to be my size.” He glanced down at the shirt again. “I’m not a fan of these sort of bands, though. You kids and your zombie Hollywoods and bloody dance floors. I don’t think I’ll ever understand.”

“Aria’s about to kick your butt! Think you’ll understand that?!” shouted Sonata. Aria shrank away in fear as The Creep took a step forward.

“Sorry to break it to you, darling, but it doesn’t look like Aria will be doing much of anything,” laughed The Creep. “I think she’s a bit spooked.”

“I’m n-n-not scared,” stammered Aria. The Creep stepped forward again, and Aria reflexively backed up. Sonata just gawked at her supposed savior incredulously.

“Seriously? Are you freaking serious?” she demanded. “He’s killed three of your friends, all in front of you, and you’re scared of the spider mask?!”

“I’m not scared!” lied Aria, her face reddening in both anger and embarrassment. “Look, this isn’t about me!”

“Oh, but it is about you,” said The Creep. “This whole night has been about you, you and that woman standing there next to you. I knew you’d pick Sonata. I’d never let you pick otherwise. It wouldn’t work. This is about you, Aria Blaze, making the ultimate choice, and you, Sonata Dusk, deciding whose happiness is more important to you.”

“No! I’m done playing your games!” snapped Aria. She faltered slightly as she concentrated on the creepy, hairy spider face, but she managed to stand her ground. “You’re smart, I’ll give you that. You’d have to be to do all this alone. So be smart some more, and get out of here before I do. I’ve got a lot of flaws, I’m not too big to admit that. I’m moody, I’m aggressive, I’m belligerent, and I’m possessive.” Aria cracked her knuckles threateningly. “And if you think you can just touch my girl and walk away, then this messed up chick has got some things to teach you.”

The Creep just laughed, then gestured forward. Another spider-masked figure, a female this time, stepped out next to him, followed by another, and another still. Aria’s face fell, and she could almost imagine the smirk on The lead Creep’s face.

“I can’t take all the credit,” chuckled the first Creep, Creep A.

“Behind every great man is a great woman,” said Creep B, the first female to join the original Creep. “In this case, it’s three women.”

“That makes a lot of sense…” said Aria.

“It is time for the final challenge,” said Creep C, her voice slightly harsher than her companion. “Care to explain, Boss?”

“Yes, of course. This one is my favorite,” said Creep A. “Aria Blaze, and the woman you love, Sonata Dusk. Aria has been fighting all night for her love. Now we will see just how much her love is worth. One of you will die here tonight.”

“Huh?” asked Sonata.

“All that remain is deciding who,” said the last Creep, the one who hadn’t spoken before. She sounded almost nervous.

“A choice that falls on you, Aria Blaze,” said Creep C. She withdrew a knife from her back pocket and handed it to Creep B.

“Either must die at the hands of the other,” hissed Creep B. Creep A took the knife from his female disciple and tossed it into the ring.

“For neither can live while the other survives,” finished the first Creep. Aria looked down and lifted up the knife to her eyes. The blade was greasy, and not especially sharp. To kill someone with it would be hard and painful for both people involved.

“Freaking nerds,” muttered Aria. She stood up straight and slowly made her way for Sonata, gripping the knife tightly in her hand.

“Ari?” said Sonata. Aria was practically standing over her, holding a sharp weapon that could be used to kill another being and secure her safety. She did the one thing anyone would expect.

She handed it to Sonata.

“Come on. Do it,” said Aria. To her annoyance, and slight relief, Sonata began to laugh. She dropped the knife to the floor and hugged her fiance.

“Nice work, guys,” said Sonata. The Creeps removed their masks one by one, revealing Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, Adagio Dazzle, and the lead Creep, a white haired boy who, after a bit of thinking, Aria placed as Adagio’s boyfriend, Silver.

“Well done, gals. I wrote the thing, and even I couldn’t have imagined this playing out so well,” said Silver with a grin. “Of course, I should’ve been prepared for greatness, considering who directed it all.”

“Oh, if you think that’s going to earn you points, you’re a hundred percent correct,” said Adagio. Her smirk slightly when she noticed how fake Aria’s shock was. How disappointing.

“But… You three died,” said Aria. “All of you are dead, I saw you die!”

“Your magic is as sharp as ever, Sparky,” said Sunset, crossing her arms across her chest.

“I’m just glad to know that we haven’t gotten rusty through lack of practice.” Twilight reached her hand over and punched fists with her girlfriend.

“Guess we have some explaining to do?” said Sonata with a grin.





Twilight and Sunset had departed, and Aria, Sonata, Adagio, and Silver were all walking to Silver’s van, which was about a half a mile away. Well, Aria and Silver were walking. Adagio and Sonata were actually riding on the backs of their respective boyfriend/fiance. 

“You’re telling me that you went through all of this just to scare me?” demanded Aria. “How much time and money did you spend on this dumb prank?”

“Just enough,” laughed Silver. “It wasn’t all that hard, really. I had some friends who have less of a life than even me, so they were a good bit of help. None of this could’ve been possible without Sonata, though.”

“It was all her idea,” agreed Adagio. “While I did help her flesh it out a bit, and Silver supplied us with the scripts, props, and costumes, this is her baby.”

“We’ve been plotting this for weeks. I hope we didn’t scare you too much!” said Sonata, quite pleased with herself.

“Oh, blast! I left my phone in the planning room!” said Adagio. “Damn, it’s way back…”

“That’s okay. I’ll take you,” offered Silver.

“You’re too slow. With me on your back, it’ll take you half an hour to get there and back,” complained Adagio. Silver raised his eyebrow questioningly.

“You know, you could always walk.”

“You know, you could always try Tinder.”

“I’ll get it,” said Sonata. She hopped off of Aria’s back and ran back the way they came. When Adagio was sure that Sonata was gone, she halted Silver and jumped off of his back. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, her suspicion only growing when Aria didn’t react.

“Okay, when did you find out?” asked Adagio. Aria looked at Adagio with a lie on her lips, but the look on the lead Siren’s face made it very clear that there was no point.

“I’ve known for weeks,” admitted Aria. “It wasn’t really anyone’s fault, I just pay more attention than you guys think. Sorry.”

“Oh, man, you knew?” groaned Silver. “You weren’t scared at all?”

“Well… Those masks kinda got me,” allowed Aria. “And the ghost thing was good, too.”

“Ghost thing?”

Aria rolled her eyes. She knew that this whole thing was riddled with cliches, but she was hoping she’d avoid this particular one.

“Oh, how original,” said Aria blandly. “This is always the point where a real ghost or something comes around and everyone just laughs it off.”

“Seriously, I didn’t plan for any sort of ghost thing. Zombies was as far as I went,” said Silver curiously. “Babe?”

“I’m just as lost as you,” said Adagio. “Aria’s just trying to mess with us. It’s not important. I do have a question, though. If you knew from the start, why go along with it?”

“After all the times I’ve messed with Sony, I think she deserves a little bit of revenge,” sighed Aria. “Remember the day I first asked her out? I told her that we were going out to eat sushi.”

“What’s so bad about sushi?” asked Silver. “I love sushi.”

“We’re part fish, remember?” said Adagio. Silver’s eyes widened, and he laughed in total shock. He knew that Aria didn’t like him, but he certainly liked her. He thought that, given enough time, he could potentially make Aria a good friend.

“I couldn’t find it!” A few moments later, Sonata caught up to the others. She was gassed, but still rather energized from the adrenaline that came with tricking and spooking the master spooky trickster.

“Oh, I have it,” said Adagio. “Sorry, it was in my pocket the whole time. I guess your stupidity is finally starting to rub off.” Sonata stuck her tongue out Adagio, then leapt onto Aria’s back. Aria, having been with Sonata for this long, had long since gotten used to randomly catching her.

“You were really brave, Ari,” squealed Sonata. Aria grinned slightly.

“I just did what I had to to protect you,” she said nonchalantly, as if she thought she deserved no praise for her work. Adagio and Silver shared a glance, but kept all judgements to themselves.

“Ya know, if we beat them to the car, I might have a reward for you,” said Sonata sensually. That was all Aria needed to hear, and she ran as fast as her legs would carry her (and, by extension, Sonata).

“Oh, come on! Not in my van!” groaned Silver. “I just cleaned it…”

“Let them have it. Aria deserves it,” said Adagio. “It’s not easy for her to do something like this. Letting Sonata seem smarter than she is is probably as close to sweet as Aria could get.”

“Hm. I guess you’re right.” Adagio leaned down and kissed Silver on the cheek.

“Plus, after what we did on their bed, I think this makes us even.”

“True… One thing has been bothering me, though,” said Silver. “What was Aria talking about? With ghosts?”

“Oh, that was me. A girl has to have some secrets,” giggled Adagio.

“Just when I think you can’t possibly get any hotter, you show me that manipulative, evil mastermind part of you.” Adagio laughed, then kissed her boyfriend again on the cheek.

“You’re lucky I think it’s cute when you kiss ass like that,” she chuckled. “Happy Halloween.” She pointed forward. “Now come! We have video games to play and candy to consume!”

The two ran off through the woods, and, after they were positive that Aria and Sonata were done in the van, they all piled in to enjoy the rest of their night. The trick might not have worked on Aria, but she had to admit, it was sort of fun to pretend. And, at the end of the day, that’s what Halloween was about; playing pretend, tricks, and, if done correctly, treats.

Aria was sure that she did it correctly.