Yellow and orange leaves fell gently past the windows of the Cutie Mark Crusader's clubhouse. The three fillies were gathered inside.



"Empty sacks?" Applebloom asked.



Sweetie Belle nodded. "Check!"



"Trick-or-treating map?"



"Check!" Scootaloo cried, examining their planned route. She was happy that her crayon-drawn map of Ponyville was still getting some use.



"Costumes?"



The three fillies looked at each other in a moment of awkward silence. Who was supposed to be in charge of the costumes again?



"Great. Just great." Applebloom groaned. "Tonight is Nightmare Night and we don't even have costumes!"



"What about the costumes Sweetie Belle made for the talent show?" Scootaloo said with a grin. "Those were pretty scary."



Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes.



"Ah know!" Applebloom exclaimed excitedly. "Why don't we ask Rarity?"



"Rarity said she's busy today." Sweetie Belle muttered. Then, with a twinge of sadness, "Just like always."



"How about Fluttershy? She knows how to sew!" Applebloom suggested.



"I want my costume to be SCARY!" Scootaloo said. "Fluttershy would probably make us into ballerinas or bunnies or something."



The crusaders sat on the clubhouse floor for a few moments, thinking. "Twilight Sparkle!" They cried suddenly in unison.



"She has that book about ghosts and stuff!" Scootaloo said. "She knows what's scary."



"I bet she could turn us into real monsters!" Added Sweetie Belle. "We wouldn't even need costumes!"



"Yeah!" Applebloom exclaimed, nodding eagerly. "Ah'm sure she'll help if we ask politely. And if that doesn't work, we can resort to the puppy-eyed stare. Nopony can resist!"



The three fillies clopped their hooves together in agreement. "Cutie Mark Crusader Nightmare Night costume mission! Yay!" They yelled. Together, they galloped into town toward Twilight Sparkle's library.



***



That night the crusaders gathered once more in their clubhouse.



"Maybe that wasn't such a great idea." Scootaloo sighed, realistic blood dripping from her vampire fangs.



"You think?!" A transparent Sweetie Belle snapped in an ethereal voice. "Half of Ponyville is trying to hunt us down!"



Zombie Applebloom gazed sadly at the empty sacks with rotten eyes. "And we didn't even get any candy."