Chapter 22: Halloween Spirit

It was fall in Canterlot City. There was a nip in the air, the leaves on trees had changed color, and the days got shorter. People were also getting ready for Halloween. Stores were selling costumes and candy, scary movies were showing up in theaters and on TV, and pumpkin patches were opening.

While most people were looking forward to the scary holiday coming, but Fluttershy wasn't. The shy teen wasn't a fan of Halloween. Ever since she was a little girl Halloween had terrified her. She didn't like the scary decorations, spooky noises, and people scaring her.

One day, while Fluttershy was in her room doing her homework when there was knock at the door.

"Come in." she called.

But the door didn't open. Confused, she got up and went to open her door. When she opened it, to her surprise there was no one there.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, someone in a zombie mask jumped out and screamed. Fluttershy shrieked in terror. The "zombie" then pulled off their mask to reveal Zephyr Breeze.

"(Laughs), got you good, sis."

Fluttershy scowled.

"Zephyr Breeze!" she snapped.

"What's going on here?" asked Mrs. Shy, as she came into the hallway.

"Nothing, Mom. Just a little Halloween fun." Zephyr replied.

"It wasn't funny Zephyr. You know I hate that."

"All right, you two, calm down."

After soothing her kids, Mrs. Shy went back to her laundry.

"Come on, sis. You've gotta get over this fear of Halloween."

"I can't help it. Halloween is scary."

"It may be scary. But can be fun."

And he walked off.

"(Sighs), brothers." Fluttershy sighed.

At school the next day, the Mane 6 minus Fluttershy were talking about their Halloween plans.

"I say we start with a scary stories at my house." Twilight suggested.

"Then we can work on our costumes at mine." piped up Rarity.

"Sounds like fun, ya'll." replied Applejack.

"Too bad Fluttershy won't be joining us." said Pinkie Pie.

"You got that right." agreed Rainbow Dash.

"Remind me why doesn't like Halloween again?" asked Twilight.

"She doesn't like all the scary stuff." explained Applejack.

Just then, Fluttershy walked up to them.

"Hi girls." she greeted.

The others greeted Fluttershy.

"I guess, you were talking about Halloween? It's okay, I don't mind."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, just because I don't like Halloween doesn't mean you have to stop your plans."

The friends told Fluttershy what they had planned.

"That sounds nice." Fluttershy replied.

"What are you gonna do?" Twilight wanted to know.

"I'll just be at home in my room."

"Well...if you change your mind you're welcome to join us." replied Rarity told her.

"Thanks."

When Halloween came, people dressed in their costumes, got their last minute candy, and got ready to go to their evening events. Fluttershy stared out her window, and saw everyone looking like they were having fun.

"Why do people like Halloween anyway?" she asked herself.

Angel hopped over to her, and nuzzled her. She smiled, and pet him. Then there was a knock at her door.

"Who is it? And if this is another prank Zephyr go away."

"It's me, sweetie." called her dad's voice.

"Oh, come in, Dad."

Mr. Shy opened the door, and revealed he was holding their house's candy bowl.

"Listen, Fluttershy, I hate to ask you this but can you run out to the store and pick up another bag of candy."

"Me? Why can't you do it, or mom, or Zephyr?"

"Your mom's in the shower, Zephyr's at a party, and I have to take an important phone call for work. Please Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy sighed and then agreed. So she left her house, got on her bike, and biked to the store.

There it was slim pickings, but she managed to find a couple good sized bags. After paying for them, Fluttershy started biking back home. As she biked, she looked around. Lots of people were smiling, laughing, and having fun.

It didn't look very scary.

"Huh, maybe Halloween isn't so bad." she thought.

When she got home, she gave the bags of candy to her dad.

"Thanks for getting these, Fluttershy." Mr. Shy told her.

"No problem, Dad."

A few minutes later, Mr. and Mrs. Shy handed out candy to the trick or treaters. Then Fluttershy brought something up they weren't expecting.

"You know, guys. Maybe Halloween isn't as bad as I thought."

That surprised the couple.

"Why Fluttershy this is very unexpected of you." Mrs. Shy told her.

"And I was wondering...would it be okay if I went out with my friends tonight?"

That surprised the two even more.

"Well...that's fine with us. Just as long as you're home by your curfew." Mr. Shy replied.

"Thanks, bye."

After giving them both quick kisses, she dashed out of her house, and to her bike.

She rode to Twilight's house, and rang the doorbell. Twilight Velvet answered it, and allowed her to come in and go up to Twilight's room. As she made her way up the stairs, she ran into Spike.

"Hey Fluttershy. What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Hi, Spike. I came to be with my friends." she informed.

"But Twilight said you'd be staying home tonight. You hate Halloween."

"I know, but...maybe it isn't so bad."

"Well with your friends I can bet your views will change."

In Twilight's room, the girls were sitting on Twilight's bed with the lights out, and telling their scary stories. Applejack was holding a flashlight in her face, and finishing her story.

"...and they say if you go into the cemetery on the anniversary of her death, you'll see her wandering around."

"Good story, Applejack." complimented Twilight.

"Very creepy." Rarity added.

Just then the door opened, and the girls shrieked.

"Hi, girls." Fluttershy greeted.

The other girls turned and saw Fluttershy standing in the doorway with Spike.

"Fluttershy, what are you doing here?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yeah, we thought you said you were going to stay home." Pinkie added.

"I was...but then I decided to join you guys in your Halloween activities. That is...if you'll still have me."

Her friends smiled at her.

"Of course you can join us, darling." Rarity told her.

"We're glad to have you." added Twilight.

Fluttershy smiled, and felt happy.

After sitting through one more scary story, which wasn't too bad to Fluttershy, the girls and Spike went to Rarity's house to get their costumes.

"But I don't have a costume to change into." Fluttershy mentioned.

"Don't worry, darling." Rarity assured her.

"I have many different outfits you can wear."

When they got to her house, the girls got their costumes. Twilight was going to be a wizard, Pinkie was going to be a cheerleader, Applejack's costume was a scarecrow, Rainbow Dash choose to be Daring Do, Rarity was going to be a princess, and Spike dressed up as dragon.

"Now I have many different types of outfits and other pieces of clothing. So you just pick somethings out."

As the other girls got dressed, Fluttershy put together a last minute costume.

A few minutes later, the girls were already dressed and waiting for Fluttershy.

"I wonder what she'll be." thought Rainbow Dash.

Just then, the door to the bathroom opened, and Fluttershy stepped out. She was wearing a dress with frills, knee socks, black shoes, and had her hair in braids.

"Well...what do you think?" she asked them.

"Your costume's cute, Fluttershy." said Applejack.

"But what are you supposed to be?" wondered Spike.

"I'm a doll. What do you think?"

The others smiled at her.

"It's a great costume, Fluttershy." said Twilight.

"You look great." added Pinkie.

"Absolutely adorable." Rarity complimented.

"Ya look great." told Applejack.

"Awesome." Rainbow Dash replied.

Fluttershy smiled at the compliments, and then they all left.

They went to the a local Halloween party at the park.

"See Fluttershy? Looks like fun, huh?" asked Spike.

She looked around, and saw many people of all ages having fun.

"Yes, it does."

"So what should we do first?" asked Twilight.

"Ooh, let's start with a hayride." Pinkie suggested.

"Good idea, that way Fluttershy can see everything." said Rainbow Dash.

And off they went, luckily they were able to catch it before it left. They rode around, and took in the sights. There was a bouncy house, games, food, and a corn maze.

"You have any ideas what you wanna do next, Fluttershy?" wondered Applejack.

"Hmm, why don't we try the corn maze?"

The girls looked at each other nervously.

"Uh, are you sure, Fluttershy?" Rarity questioned.

"There may be some jump scares and other creepy things." Twilight mentioned.

Fluttershy looked thoughtful for a moment. Was she ready for such a step? But she'd come this far, and she did have her friends with her.

"I can do it." she told them with a small smile.

And the others smiled back.

After the hayride, the girls and Spike went to the maze. Mr. Cake was in charge of letting people in.

"Hello girls, happy Halloween." he greeted.

"Happy Halloween, Mr. Cake." replied Pinkie.

"Step on it, and enjoy."

And they all entered the maze. As they walked, smoke began to fill the air, giving the atmosphere a more spooky feeling.

"Remember Fluttershy, if you start to feel scared just tell us." Twilight informed.

"Okay."

They continued on, and creepy music started playing, and just then some skeletons popped out of nowhere. The girls shrieked, but then snapped out of it.

"It's just some decorations. No biggie." told Rainbow Dash.

"Oh right, just decorations." Fluttershy replied.

They walked further into maze, until they came to a fork in the maze.

"Which way should we go?" wondered Applejack.

"Left." Rarity, Pinkie, and Twilight said.

"Right." Rainbow Dash piped up.

"Well I also pick right, so Fluttershy either you be a tie breaker or we split up."

They all looked at her, and Fluttershy made her decision.

"Well...I choose right."

"Then I guess we're splitting up."

And they split up.

Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy went down the right path, the creepiness continued. When they turned a corner, they saw a black coffin.

"W-what's in there?" Fluttershy asked.

"I don't know." replied Applejack.

Just then, there was a tapping sound coming from inside the coffin.

"I think we should go now." Rainbow Dash said.

The girls turned around, and hurried off. They went down another way, and saw some jack-o-lantern bowls. All of them said free candy.

"Don't mind if I do." Rainbow Dash thought.

"I wouldn't mind a treat." Fluttershy added.

"Me neither." said Applejack.

They each reached into one of the bowls, but was meant with a not so good surprise. They felt something gooey, cold, and slimy. The girls pulled out their hands in disgust.

"Gross." replied Fluttershy.

"Yuck, that definitely ain't candy." Applejack remarked.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Rainbow Dash told.

After a while, the girls managed to get out of the maze.

"How'd it go with you guys?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Well we ran into spider webs, a ghost, and a talking skull." said Twilight.

"It was really creepy and scary." Pinkie added.

"Not to mention a little messy." Rarity replied.

The girls then looked at Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy, how're you feelin'?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah, we understand if you want to go home." added Twilight.

But to their surprise, she smiled, and replied.

"Actually, I'm okay."

The girls were surprised.

"Really?" asked Pinkie.

"Sure the maze was a little creepy, but to be honest it was sorta fun."

Fluttershy then explained that rush of adrenaline felt pretty good, and besides she was having a good time with her friends.

"Well I say let's enjoy the rest of the festival." declared Rainbow Dash.

And they all hurried off to enjoy their Halloween.

That's chapter 22