“You know, I could just go as myself. This isn’t what I originally looked like, after all,” I quipped as I stood in the back room of Rarity’s boutique, surrounded by dozens of different cloths and fabrics, the difference between the two words something that still eludes me. Rarity favored me with a dramatic gasp.

“How could you say something so awful in my presence, Ranma?” Rarity pouted at me as she took my measurements for some unknown reason. I had been by the boutique for some new clothes not two weeks ago, but Rarity insisted she needed to measure me all over again.

“Because I love the way you react when I do,” I teased and she swatted my shoulder with a huff.

“You are simply impossible Ranma,” She shook her head as she tried to hide a slight smile.

I should probably explain why I was in Rarity’s backroom ‘tormenting’ her. All Hallows’ Eve, or Halloween for the regular folks, or Nightmare Night for the pony folks was tomorrow night. It was just another oddity that both Halloween and Nightmare Night took place on approximately the same day. About a week ago, Pinkie had come up with the idea to spice up the holiday. Instead of picking our own costumes, we’d put our names in a hat and whoever drew our name got to choose our costume.

As it so happened, Rarity drew my name and Rarity being Rarity, she insisted my costume be perfect. Especially since this was my first Nightmare Night. She knew full well about Halloween, she just didn’t care. Any excuse to go all out, I suppose.

Speaking of going all out, Rarity couldn’t seem to settle on what, exactly, she wanted me to wear. I had also been forbidden from adding my input into the proceedings. I had the distinct impression Rarity wanted to dress me in something very feminine, but couldn’t decide if she wanted to go for feminine demure or feminine sexy. I also had a faint inkling that Rarity had wanted to draw Rainbow’s name. Rarity’s ire might have also been slightly roused when I was the one who drew Rainbow’s name.

So all in all I was resigned to my fate. I wasn’t as opposed to dressing femininely like Rainbow would be, but it gave me a bad case of imposter syndrome, so I tended to only do it in private or when I was in swimwear. Unless you counted me doing my exercise routines in a sports bra as dressing femininely and there is an argument to be had there.

“I wonder…” Rarity mused before suddenly grabbing my arm and dragging me to her bathroom, where she proceeded to fill the sink with water and dunk my head before getting to work. When Rarity was finished manhandling my hair, although I’m sure she’d object to me calling it such, she took a step back to look at her hard work…work that had involved sweeping my hair over my right eye.

“Ranma, darling, give me your best ‘seductive’ look,” Rarity ordered.

“Flirty or ‘I want you in my bed now’?” I asked somewhat sarcastically.

“Second one,” Rarity replied with dead seriousness. Personally, I was becoming deeply concerned, wondering what kind of costume would require me to make bedroom eyes, but I complied.

“YES! That’s it! It will be perfect!” Rarity shrieked with energy approaching manic levels and dashed out of the bathroom, leaving me to check the mirror to see what she’d actually done to me.

My new hairstyle reminded me most vividly of the hairstyle sported by Helen Parr from the Incredibles, but there was a veil of it covering my eye, giving me a more sensual look. Honestly it made me think of some kind of seductive spy, going around bedding enemy spies to get their secrets before ending them after a night of passion.

“There are worse things in the world than being a character from one of Rarity’s trashy romance novels brought to life,” I decided. Little did I know I was on the right track, but a little off on the specific subgenre.

About an hour later I was back in the back room, blindfolded. Rarity wanted my costume to be a surprise until the festivities the following night. So I was poked and prodded and dressed up while my mind conjured endless possibilities for the end results. My every attempt to get a hint out of Rarity met with abject failure. So I went home that day torturing myself by wondering what my costume was.

The Next Day – Nightmare Night

I really shouldn’t have been surprised when Rarity wouldn’t let me have the costume until minutes before the party and further insisted she put it on herself while I was blindfolded again.

“Is all this really necessary?” I asked as she dressed me.

“Ranma, trust me, it’s all about presentation,” Rarity’s smirk was evident in her voice as she pulled away the blindfold. As I took in my appearance, I was surprised. Not by the very flattering emerald green cocktail dress that hugged my curves, that had been more or less expected. The surprise came from the demonic horns on my head, the bat wings on my back, and the spaded tail.

“You made me a succubus,” I said as I noticed the tail moving about as if it were actually real.

“You can thank Twilight for the life-like additions. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without her,” Rarity smirked, looking entirely too pleased with herself. She was currently dressed up in her own costume, a fisherwoman. Starlight had been the orchestrator of this particular turn of events, much to Spike’s eternal dismay. At least Rainbow had been kind enough to choose a firefighter costume for him. There were much, much worse things he could have been.

“Now, come along my little demon of the night, I want to show you off to the others,” Rarity giggled.

“Careful, I’m not a particularly picky succubus; I’ll happily nom on a pretty girl’s life force too,” I grinned wickedly at the fashionista, wiggling my fingers in a faux-threatening manner.

“Someone save me from this ferocious predator,” She said dryly and I pouted.

“I could be a ferocious predator. You don’t know,” I said petulantly. Rarity just arched an eyebrow at me and I submitted. Rarity grabbed my arm in victory and dragged me to the party.

So there I was. I had been sick all August, tried to write in September, but hated literally everything I typed. Suddenly it was the last week of September and I hadn't written a thing. Writers' Block is awful. But then, two nights ago, I was experiencing a particularly bad bout of sleep deprivation and self-loathing when suddenly inspiration struck! Suddenly I plopped down a couple thousand words in the span of a day, this included.

On that note, Standing United Chapter 2 should be dropping in the next week or so.

Also, this is part 1 of 2. Why does this need 2 parts? You'll see~