As Daring Do approached the ominous, imposing tree, she grinned fearlessly. Judging by the light shining out of the nooks and crevices, it was still inhabited. It was late, and the light cast long, menacing shadows up to Daring’s hooves.
She’d only heard tales of the monsters that dwelled within. Legend has it that once upon a time a bright and studious unicorn lived there, but one day she had cast a spell and was never seen again. Some claim to still hear mad cackling as they passed, but they were too scared to investigate.
But Daring wasn’t scared; she wasn’t scared of anything!
Silently approaching the door, she knocked on it four times and waited to see what would happen. The sound of ancient tomes and hooves scraping across the wooden floorboards within, and Daring readied herself in case the crazed mare was aggressive.
Suddenly the door opened, and candlelight flooded the doorway.
“Alright, buddy. Hand over the candy!” Daring Do commanded.
“Rainbow Dash, aren’t you a little too old for this?”
“Aww, how’d you know it was me?” Rainbow Dash pouted as she stood at the door to Twilight’s library.
“Because you told me you were going as Daring Do,” Twilight Sparkle sighed. “That’s why I told Spike not to dress up as Daring this year.”
“Did he dress as my sidekick, Short Square?” Dash pressed excitedly.
Twilight glanced behind her before returning her gaze to Dash, “No, I think he’s trying his old dragon costume. I’ll be surprised if it still fits him, though.” Twilight shivered as a gust of wind swept in from outside. “Would you like to come inside?”
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to decline when she glanced down at her candy bag, “Eh, I guess I can stop for a little bit,” Dash mumbled, “It’s gonna take me a while to eat all this.”
Twilight eyed Dash’s haul in disbelief, “Have you been trick or treating already?"
“Well, I wanted to make sure I had time for pranking,” Dash replied as she trotted in and collapsed on a cozy reading chair, pulling out some sweets. “I have to beat Pinkie’s prank last year when she baked rainbows into the sweets.
Twilight grimaced as she recalled the previous year’s events. Walking back over to a book pile, she resumed the organizing she had been doing prior to Dash’s arrival.
“This year I’ve got plans,” Dash continue as she stuffed some sweets into her mouth, “I’m totally going to top Pinkie with these. I’ve had all year to think them through.”
Twilight frowned, “Do you have to do pranks every year?”
“Of course! It’s Nightmare Night! It’s the best night of the year for pranking—” Dash suddenly leapt up from her seat. “—Hey, do you want to pull some pranks with me?”
Twilight’s frown deepened as she levitated several books over to a nearby shelf, “Rainbow Dash, I’m not even in my costume. Why don’t you do something other than pranking?” she suggested.
Dash rubbed a hoof under her chin in consideration, “Hmm... nah,” she replied dismissively through a mouthful of sugar.
“Well, could you at least do something productive?” Twilight sighed. “I need to get my costume ready. Do you think you could take Spike over to the party at the Town Hall?”
“I can’t fly all the way to the Town Hall after eating this many sweets!” Dash protested, smacking her lips.
“No, no!” Twilight gasped, “I don’t mean fly him there! We’re in no rush. I just want you to walk with him.”
“Walk with him? Can’t he walk himself?” Dash complained.
“Yes, but I want to make sure—”
“What do you think?” a voice interrupted proudly. Dash and Twilight looked up to see Spike race down the stairs. He wore a battered dragon costume that was far too small for him; the fabric was stretched and ripping in some places.
Rainbow Dash couldn’t contain her laughter. She collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, “You look ridiculous!” she laughed, earning her a glare from Twilight.
“What she meant to say,” Twilight hissed, “Was that perhaps your old costume is a little too small for you?”
Spike sighed in resignation, “Well, what else am I supposed to wear?” He spared a glare at Rainbow Dash. “She’s already taken Daring Do.”
“Hey, I said I’d be going as Daring all year,” Dash protested. “Why don’t you go as my assistant?”
“But I’m already Twilight’s assistant,” Spike deadpanned, “It’s not nearly as fun as it looks.”
“Spike!” Twilight pouted.
“It’s fine,” Dash giggled. “I have an idea. I have an old Wonderbolts costume you can try on.”
Spike’s eyes widened, “You mean I get to be a Wonderbolt?” he gasped in awe.
“Of course!” Dash grinned. “C’mon, it’s somewhere at my house.
Spike looked up at Twilight pleadingly. The mare stared back for a second before she sighed in resignation.
“Fine,” she groaned. “But straight after I want you to go to this party.” This time it was Spike’s turn to groan, but she ignored him. “Dash, make sure he goes.”
“Twilight, I’m not—” Spike began.
“Mayor Mare’s speech is important, Spike, and everypony will be there.”
“Yes, but it’s not for another two-and-a-half hours!” the dragon protested.
“Well, you can just enjoy the music and Dash’s company until then,” Twilight replied.
Rainbow Dash snapped out of her daze, “Whoa, whoa, whoa! No pony said I was staying for this party. I have pranking to do!”
Twilight kicked her and whispered, “Please, Dash. I’ll be there in like thirty minutes. I just need to get my costume on.”
"Thirty minutes?" Dash complained.
Twilight gave the pegasus her best puppy-dog eyes. Rainbow Dash found herself struggling to resist.
“Fine,” she growled, “But then I’m gonna go pranking.”
“Then you can do whatever you want,” Twilight sighed, before yelping in surprise as she was suddenly barged out of the way.
“So can we go grab the Wonderbolts costume?” Spike asked, eagerly pushing the unicorn out of the way.
“Yeah, c’mon. I’m pretty sure I remember where I left it,” Dash said, grabbing her abandoned candy bag and sailing across the room towards the door.
Twilight looked as if she was about to say something else, but thought better of it and instead simply called out, “Be good, you two!”
Spike grinned excitedly as he chased Dash out of the door and the pair raced towards Rainbow Dash’s cloud house.
“C’mon, Dash! What’s keeping you?” Spike called up from below.
“It’s not that cold!” Dash yelled back as she raced through her messy house, searching for her old Nightmare Night costume, “I know it’s here somewhere.”
She’d been searching for almost twenty minutes now, and despite searching every room, she’d been unable to find it.
“I’m a dragon. We don’t get cold, we get bored,” the reply sailed back up.
Rainbow Dash clicked her tongue, “Do you want me to find this costume or not?” she yelled.
She was only met with silence. With a smirk, she entered one of the old closets. Flicking on the light, she coughed as the dust-filled room was illuminated. Every surface had a thick layer of dust like icing on a cake, and the small room smelled of old things.
As Dash walked into the room to investigate, the dust clung to the inside of her throat, making her mouth dry. She promised herself a drink of water upon her escape. Searching all of the shelves, however, Dash couldn’t see anything that might have been her old Wonderbolts costume. Sighing in defeat, she was about to give up when she noticed that there was an old chest of drawers at the very far end of the closet.
She recalled receiving it from one of her close relatives to congratulate her on getting into the Wonderbolts Academy. However, even though Dash wasn’t one for fashion, she knew hideous when she saw it.
The drawer was pink.
Surely, she wouldn’t have hidden the costume in there? Creeping warily over to the cupboard, she opened it and peeked inside.
“Oh, for the love of Celestia!” she cursed, pulling out the old Wonderbolts costume. “Why didn’t I just look in here first?”
“What’s going on up there? You’ve gone all quiet,” Spike called.
“I found—” Dash hacked violently and rushed to grab a drink of water, costume in tow. Once she’d gulped down the drink, she flew down to Spike.
“You okay?” Spike asked, noticing Dash’s red face.
“Huh? Yeah, was just dusty in there,” Dash wheezed.
“Dusty?” Spike gasped in horror. “You mean you don’t dust?”
“It was in a closet,” Dash grumbled. “Although I don’t dust anyway.”
“Doesn’t it get really dusty in there?”
“Wind dusts for me,” Dash replied nonchalantly.
Spike shifted uncomfortably until he saw the costume. Suddenly his eyes lit up in excitement, “Can I see it?”
Dash looked at the costume, then back at Spike, “You know it’s not really made for a dragon. There’s nowhere for your claws to go through.” She scratched her ear thoughtfully. “Maybe we should go see Rarity and see if she can fix it up. She’s usually good at that kind of stuff.”
“Anything to put off going to this party,” Spike grinned.
The doorbell of the Carousel Boutique chimed, and in walked Spike and Rainbow Dash.
“Terribly sorry, but we’re closed on Nightmare—” Rarity gasped as she trotted over and spotted her guests, “Rainbow Dash, I don’t normally see you here.” She wrinkled her nose. “You... you aren’t expecting me to make you a costume last minute, are you?”
Rainbow Dash sighed and pointed to her hat and garments, “I’m Daring Do, duh. I’ve already got a costume.”
“Quite,” Rarity sighed.
“But what about you?” Dash giggled, motioning to the unicorn’s get-up. “What are you supposed to be?”
Rarity smiled as Dash pointed out her costume. She was dressed in a thin, black dress with a pointed hat sat atop her head. Marked on her face were several masterfully crafted warts. For lack of a better word, she looked quite hideous.
“Whatever do you mean, Rainbow Dash? This is me without my makeup on,” she replied.
Rarity giggled at her friends’ dumbstruck expressions.
“No, I’m a witch, of course,” Rarity continued, “Are you two getting ready to go trick or treating?”
“Err, yeah,” Dash said as she recovered, “That’s why we’re here. I’ve got my old Wonderbolt costume for Spike to wear, but... you know, hooves.”
“Oh.” Rarity’s face fell. “So you have come for help with a costume,” she mumbled. It was only momentary, however, as her face brightened once again. “Fear not. This will only take me a minute. Luckily I already know your size, Spike.” She glanced at the dragon. “Speaking of, I’ve not seen you in weeks, Spike! My, how you’ve grown!” She patted the drake on his head before retreating to her sewing machine, costume in tow.
Spike shifted uncomfortably under the attention and wrung his tail in his claws. The boutique was quiet, save for the snipping of scissors and the clattering of the sewing machine.
“So,” Dash said, breaking the silence, “You got any plans for Nightmare Night, Rarity?”
“Oh, just the usual,” the unicorn replied as she trotted back over. “Here we go. All done.”
Spike’s eyes were as wide as gemstones as he stared back in awe at the costume. The sleeves had been cut and stitched back to make up for his shorter and thinner arms while still allowing them to bend easily. It still had far too much room for a pony’s ears, but Spike didn’t care as he put on the costume.
“How do I look?” he asked excitedly.
“Like a real wonderbolt!” Rarity complimented. Rainbow Dash cast a sideways glance at her, and the unicorn giggled nervously. “Hehe, if I may say so myself.”
“Yeah, well thanks for this, Rarity.” Dash said. “Maybe I’ll see you sometime later.”
“Why, but of course! Don’t let me hold you up. I still need to finish putting my makeup on, after all!” she added with a wink.
Rainbow Dash motioned for Spike to follow, and the two exited the Carousel Boutique.
