//------------------------------//
// Halloween Come and Gone/Heading Home 
// Story: G5 Adventures in Scooby-Doo! and the Goblin King 
// by ponydog127 
//------------------------------//

Soon after dawn breached Coolsville, the maintenance workers began taking the carnival equipment down by the pier, and the gang stuck around to watch a night full of memories disappear. “Well, gang,” said Fred, “another Halloween Carnival come and gone.” 

“I hate to say it, but don't you think we're getting a little old for this stuff, Freddy?” Daphne asked. “It does seem a little bit silly to go around pretending to believe in monsters and non-Equestrian magic,” said Velma, looking at Krudsky’s old poster. “Even if it is just one night a year.”

“Real or unreal. Like, what’s the difference?” Shaggy asked as he and Mystique were in front of the mirror, causing the little earth pony mare to giggle. “The truth is, you never know where your next scare is gonna come from,” she said. “You just gotta find the courage to deal with it face-to-face!”

All of a sudden, their reflections in the mirror changed into that of the cackling headless horseman, causing them to scream and jump right into Velma’s arms. “Like, it’s the headless horror from the Halloween world!” Shaggy trembled. But, then, Scooby’s head popped up in the reflection, making the group sigh in relief.  

That was something they couldn’t explain, but Scooby had only one thing to say in response. “Scooby-Dooby-Doo!”

As they all laughed at the Great Dane's silly antics, the portal to Equestria opened up nearby, prompting Sunny to smile and toss the costumes the ponies wore earlier back to her friends. “That’s our cue. We still have a Nightmare Night party to go to back home.”

“Will you be back?” Mystique asked. “I’d sure like to see you guys again.”

Misty smiled as the gang was brought into a group hug. “You can count that we’ll always be back, whether worlds or minutes away.” 

“Oh! One more thing!” Velma said as she reached into her pocket. “We must have found this while we were searching for you last night.”

In her pocket was the cutie mark crystal that they were looking for, causing Sunny to gasp and take it. “Yes! Thanks, Velma!” she smiled. “Seven down, two more to go!”

And then, waving goodbye to their friends for now, they hopped into the portal to head back to Zephyr Heights.

Another Unity Quest was behind them... and they only needed two more crystals to go until Paradise's reforming time would come...

...unless she was able to carry out her new plan first.