The Halloween Hoax: Part Two

     "Agreed. This party is going to be remembered for a decade at the least." Dandelion fussed with her pale blue Caylis wig until it was settled in the right position.

     "You got that right," muttered Maraqua, who had also changed into her costume for the party.

     A giant orange banner that read 'Happy Halloween' in dripping black paint hung from one corner of the ceiling to the other. Dozens of glowing Spyder Lights hung from the walls, and fake Spyder webs were found on every piece of furniture. Pumpkin-shaped candles were strategically placed on the windowsills and tables, giving the room a soft, warm glow to everything. An old record player that Jen had found in the attic was playing creepy gypsy-camp themed music in the corner. The refreshment table was loaded with bowls full of candy corn, gummy worms, and other sweet confections. Jen and Fyora were busy carrying plates full of pumpkin pasties, witch hat cookies, and mini Pumpkin Chip Surprises to add to the table. Or at least, Jen was. Fyora was more into eating the treats on her plate.

     "Well, Sunshine and I'd better go out and start waiting for the guests to arrive," Dandelion said. After adjusting her wig once more, she applied a bit of strawberry lip gloss before opening the front door.

     A couple of minutes later, the Halloween party was in full swing. Maraqua walked around the living room, offering pumpkin pasties and glasses of chilled Haunted Milk to random pets. She spotted various Halloween costumes, including mummies, faeries, and the occasional Dr. Sloth wanna-be.

     "Tiffany, so nice to see you could make it," Sunshine said, as Tiffany and her two best friends (a Camouflage Poogle and a Faerie Ixi) walked through the front door. They all wore Fanciful Seaweed Dresses and wigs with blue streaks in them.

     "Well, I obviously couldn't miss the annual Halloween party," Tiffany replied, smirking. She twirled a strand of blue-streaked hair around her hoof.

     "Sunshine and I wanted to make sure that this would be the best Halloween Party ever, so we even went to the trouble of hiring waitresses," Dandelion boasted, flipping her hair. "Maraqua, could you come here for a minute?"

     "Pumpkin pasty?" Maraqua said with a forced smile, holding the platter out to Tiffany and her friends.

     "Awww, you look so cute in that witch outfit," Tiffany gushed, taking a pumpkin pasty off of the platter.

     Maraqua forced another tense smile, then walked away scowling. She started searching for Fyora and found the Usul standing next to the refreshment table.

     "Hey, Maraqua!" Fyora waved to her sister. She was licking a Brain Tree Lolly. From the looks of her full platter, Maraqua concluded that Fyora probably hadn't moved an inch since the beginning of the party.

     "Hi, Fyora. Listen, I think it's time for the plan to start."

     "Really? Yay!" Fyora took one last lick of her lollipop. She snickered as she stuck it to a random Jetsam's costume cape as he walked by.

     "Well, first we'll need to find a way to get rid of Jen," Maraqua said. "She'll definitely know something's up if she sees that we've changed out of our witch costumes."

     "Hmmm..." Fyora popped a witch hat cookie in her mouth, then chewed thoughtfully. "I got it! Just wait right here for a couple of minutes." Fyora slowly made her way across the room and into the kitchen where Jen was refilling the punch bowl.

     "Hey, Fyora." Jen continued pouring a huge bottle of Bubbly Twirly Fruit Juice into the crystal punch bowl.

     "Jen, I... uh, found a... a Buzzer in the closet... which is upstairs," Fyora stammered, "and... um, I think we need to capture it and send it to the Petpet Protection League."

     "Really?" Jen looked confused. "You know, Fyora, it's just a harmless Buzzer. I'm sure we'll be able to take care of it after the party."

     "No!" Fyora yelled. She slapped her paw over her mouth and said, "I-I mean, I think we should really take care of this now."

     "Okay, if you say so," Jen said, looking slightly puzzled. Nevertheless, she followed the Usul upstairs.

     "The Buzzer's in here," Fyora said, hoping that she sounded convincing. She pointed to a small closet where Jen usually kept their winter coats.

     Jen opened the closet and looked around. "I don't see a Buzzer."

     "Oh, it's in there, alright. I think it's behind the coats," Fyora insisted.

     Jen stepped all the way inside the closet and pushed a coat aside. "No, it's not-"

     Fyora quickly pushed the closet door closed, grabbed a nearby chair, and lodged it underneath the door knob. Then she shouted, "Jen, are you okay?"

     "Fyora, open the door!"

     "I'm trying! I-I think it's stuck!" Fyora wiggled the knob anxiously as an extra effect. "Wait, let me grab the closet key from your room! I'll be right back!" She spun around on her heel and smiled. Step one was accomplished.

      *~*~*

     "Okay, Fyora, here's your Princess Allita costume." Maraqua pulled out a primrose-colored dress, a creamy white tunic, and an extremely curly blonde wig.

     "Are you sure this is something Princess Allita would wear?" Fyora asked, trying on the wig.

     "Well, these dresses are the best I could find on short notice," explained Maraqua. "Plus, I doubt any of Dandelion and Sunshine's classmates have ever read Secrets of Maraqua or have even heard of Princess Nokia and Princess Allita. They won't have a clue what the princesses actually look like." She put on a sea foam and dark green blouse with a matching skirt. Then she carefully placed a black short-haired wig over her head. "Okay, now that we're finished dressing, it's time for the white face powder. You know, for the ghostly effect."

      *~*~*

     "Hey, Sunshine, have you seen Maraqua or Fyora?" Dandelion couldn't find them anywhere for the last ten minutes.

     "Nope, not a clue," Sunshine said. "I wonder where they-" She was interrupted by a loud gasp.

     "Look!" A Scorchio dressed as a skeleton pointed to the stairwell. All of the other pets looked towards the direction he was pointing to.

     There, on the topmost stair, stood two ghostly girls. The shorter of the two had ridiculously curly blonde hair and was wearing a dress with a tunic. The other one had short, black hair and wore a green blouse-and-skirt set. Their faces were paler than a Ghostkerchief, and they both wore sparkly gold tiaras that closely resembled the two that Sunshine had in her room.

     "Attention, citizens of Neopia Central," said the black-haired girl, "It is I, Princess Nokia, and my sister, Princess Allita. We hail from the land of Maraqua. I-"

     A Zafara dressed as a princess exclaimed, "Hey, nice costume!"

     "This is not a costume, peasant," replied Princess Allita, "I am far too royal to participate in your little Halloween party-" She paused, her eyes set on the refreshment table. "Are those pumpkin cookies?" The girl ran down the stairs and pushed everyone out of the way to get to the refreshment table.

     Chaos broke out in the crowd. Princess Allita had pushed Tiffany into a table, and an Elephante had fallen face-down on the wooden floor. Pretty soon, everyone was tripping over each other.

     Tiffany got up, her wig completely lopsided. "Hmph! This is the worst Halloween party ever!" She glared at Dandelion and Sunshine, then stomped out the front door.

     A couple minutes later, everyone was making their way to the front door and thanking Dandelion and Sunshine for the party and their 'ghostly surprise' ending.

     "Great party, guys," Briana the Snow Kougra congratulated them as she left.

     "You're welcome." Dandelion smiled and handed her a Halloween gift bag. As soon as all of the guests left, she and Sunshine confronted Princess Nokia and Princess Allita.

     "So, princesses, care to explain?" Sunshine's eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms over her chest.

     "The only reason we decided to do this was because we knew that you guys were going to take all of the credit for this party," Maraqua admitted. She took off her wig and sighed. "Let me guess. You're going to tell Jen that we ruined your party now?"

     "Are you kidding? You guys made this party even better than I imagined!" Dandelion exclaimed. "I mean, without the whole 'Princess Nokia and Princess Allita' ending, this party would have just ended as an ordinary party that people will forget about over the next few days."

     "Plus, did you see Tiffany's face when Fyora pushed her?" Sunshine giggled. "Totally priceless!"

     "Well, I tried to apologize." Fyora took a bite out of her pumpkin cookie.

     "You know, now that this party is over and everything, I have the distinct feeling that I'm forgetting something," muttered Maraqua, tapping her paw against her chin thoughtfully.

     Meanwhile, in the closet...

     Jen pounded on the closet door and whimpered, "Uhhh... Fyora?"

The End