It was the day of Nightmare Night. All the ponies were getting ready for the celebration at hand and Zhou was busy prepping the farm for it’s usual festivities. There was bobbing for apples, pumpkin catapults, all kinds of games for ponies of every age to enjoy. He was busy putting up all the hanging decorations in the orchard, getting the hayride for all the little ones ready.

“This will be a better Nightmare Night than all the ones we have done put together.”

He said to himself after he put up the last fake ghost and stood back with his hands on his hips, admiring his handy work. He then heads back to the house to take a lunch break, but then he hears something eerie call out his name, like a quick whisper.

Zhou~

He quickly turned and shifted his eyes in each direction. Looking for the source of the voice. However, he could find nothing. He scratches the back of his head and shrugs. Then begins his walk back to the house. Not giving the voice a second thought.

“Hmm, must go going crazy. It wouldn’t be the first time.”

He said while poking fun at himself. He chuckles lightly and makes his way back to the house and grabs something to eat in the kitchen. He made himself a nice big bowl of soup that was full of shredded chicken and noodles. Luckily all the ponies that knew him understood that he ate meat, but they didn’t have to fear him eating them, thankfully. He was the only one in the house at the moment. The others must still be getting everything ready. But he was only in for lunch, poor guy didn’t get to grab breakfast this morning so he had been looking forward to finally getting something in his belly. Once he had finished eating and washed his bowl out, he makes his way back outside and runs into Applejack on the way out. She smiles up at him and lightly pats his chest.

“Got hungry huh?”

He nodded with a chuckle. She could still clearly smell the scent of the soup he had made.

“Yeah, that’s what I get for skipping breakfast. Was just so excited about prepping for tonight though.”

Applejack gave a giggle and nodded, knowing that Nightmare Night was one of his favorite holidays ever since he had his first one.”

“Well, most of everythin’ is done. Big Mac could use your help with the bails of hay though. We need them for both the hay ride and for settin’ them up for ponies to sit for breaks. Mind givin’ him a hand?”

Zhou nods and lightly pats her shoulder as he walks by.

“Consider it done, AJ.”

“Thank you, Z. Y'all be careful now.”

“Come on, I am an earthbender. This is easy work for me!”

She chuckled again and poked fun at him.

“Yeah, only because Ah know you will find some kind of lazy way to distribute them across the farm.”

She knew him well, a wicked smile formed across his face. As his plan was going to be both fun and quick.

“Just make sure to watch your head, AJ. I am glad Apple Bloom is with her friends, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to do this.”

--A Few Moments Later--

BOOM!!!

A flat stone rose as it launched the hay bail across the farm in a perfect place, then another, then another. Applejack watched in amazement as they landed in a nearly complete circle. She shook her head with a sigh but smiled at his accuracy.and skill.

“Boy howdy. Sure wish Ah had skills like him. Though, Ah really do hope he like my costume. I just hope it won’t be showing too much fur.”

Applejack wanted to look amazing for him. Ever since he told her about how he felt about her and how he thought she was absolutely beautiful. She has had it on her mind every day and is starting to have similar feelings for him as well. Well, more like hidden feelings that have slowly rose to the surface and are getting harder to contain day by day. Little did she know, however, that one of hr best friends was having the same exact feelings about him as well. Would it create tension between the two? One would assume so.

--Nightmare Night--

Zhou walked around the farm making sure everything was in order. He smiled at all the colts and fillies running around in their costumes and enjoying themselves with the games and food that was offered. Applejack was nowhere to be found though, nor were her friends.

“Hmm, she must still be getting ready And the others must be on their way here.”

Zhou was acting as sort of a security measure, making sure that there wasn’t any issues forming about the farm. He had his hook swords with him, just in case something like that did occur. However, something cause his eye when he was about to walk past the orchard. A black and purple fiery orb of sorts appeared to be floating behind the tree line. Zhou arched a brow and slowly made his way towards it.

“What the…?”

As he got closer to it, it started to drift away from him, weaving and circling through the trees as it headed deeper into the orchard, the mark darker part of it anyways. It was off the beaten path where the hayride was being used. Curiosity got the better of him, however, and soon he gave chase. He leaped through the orchard after the orb, sometimes even swinging from tree to tree to catch up to it. Though eventually, it brought him to an opening in the orchard. The orb stopped in the middle for a moment, then proceeded to speak with Zhou.

”My my~ You are quite the agile human, aren't you? Especially for one your size.”

Said the eerie ghostly voice with a light giggle. Clearly, it was a female by the sound of it. And the fact that she knew he was human caught his interest right away.

“How exactly do you know what I am, spirit?”

”Because, silly boy. I am from your world as well. Well, from your spirit world anyways. I am the spirit of the shadows. And I have been watching you for quite some time.”

The orb approached him and began to circle around him, the tail gently brushing against him in a flirtatious manner. Zhou kept an eye on the orb, however, ready to respond should she try to attack him, but so far it seemed like she was enjoying his company.

“But how am I able to see you? I thought only the avatar could see spirits and communicate with them. And clearly, he isn’t in this realm. And how did you get here anyways? You are a far way aways from home.”

The orb bounces around in front of him, then responds.

“I know I am. I have been trapped in this realm for quite a while now. Hoping, praying that a human would come along and release me from this place. But not just any human would do, oh no. They had to be strong in body, mind, and heart. And who should come to this land but you, my dear earthbender? I watched you grow from a young boy to a finely matured man. The devotion you have for your training, your loyalty towards your new family and friends and your sheer willpower. They are qualities such as a spirit such as myself admire greatly in human. So, here is what I ask of you. Would you allow me to use your body as a portal to return to the spirit world from where I came from? And in exchange, I shall grant you the powers of the Wraith.”

Zhou’s eyes widen as that name. He heard the legends when he was younger, but he never believed it to be true.

“You mean...the same Wraith that was one with the shadows and took down nearly a whole fire nation army in one night during the one-hundred-year war? THAT Wraith?”

She lets out another giggle.

”Ah~ Someone has done their homework I see. Such a sharp-minded man you are. Yes, that Wraith.”

He stood there in complete shock, still quite surprised that the spirit of the shadows truly existed. He looks to her again and crosses his arms.

“So what? Am I to become a killer that will slit the throat of evil beings in this world if I accept your gift?”

She lets out a loud, but adorable laugh.

”Oh my dear, what you do with the gift of the Wraith is none of my business. You can do whatever you wish with it. You could become a simple thief for all I care. You have experience in that line of work, don’t you~?”

He lowers his head and forms his hands into fists, the spirit sees this and goes quiet for a moment

”Oh, don’t worry, handsome. I didn’t mean anything negative by it.I know that you only stole to survive back when you were alone. I see nothing wrong with that. But you are a better person now. And you should be proud.”

She floats closer to him and gets close to his face as if she was gazing into his amethyst eyes.

”So then, do we have a deal?”

Zhou thought about it for a moment, the nodded.

“Alright, I will act as your portal. But first, tell me the rules of the Wraith. What can and can’t I do?”

“”The power of the Wraith is it’s own. Meaning once to you the form of the Wraith, you will not have access to your earthbending at all. And while in this form, you are susceptible to pure light magic, and the light of the sun. Should you be touched by any of this in the Wraith form. You will be injured very severely, possibly even die. SO I caution you to use it only when it is night time. Now the upside to this is that when you are hidden in the shadows, even in plain view, no one will even notice you are their. So wherever you see shadow, simply stand there and you will go unnoticed. Not to mention you can travel from shadow to shadow as quick as light. And should you need to form a temporary spot of shadow to get you where you need to go? You can do that as well. Be warned though. Should you use your new abilities too much, your shadow essence will drain. Should this happen, make sure you retreat to the shadows in order to refill your lost energy. Those are the rules and regulations of the Wraith.”

Zhou nodded and listened to her intently. Taking in all the needed info he needed from her. After which he nodded again after she finished.

“I understand completely.”

”Very good~. Let us get started then.”

Zhou lowered himself to his knees and sat on the back of his heels, placing his hands on his thighs with a nod. The spirit’s orb began to expand and glow brighter as if she was gathering energy and getting ready to attack. She flies into his body with great speed and lifts him into the air. He floats there with his hands held out at his sides as the black and purple fire begins to engulf him. He thrashes about in slight pain as he felt a burning sensation going through his body. The fiery aura clears and reveals the young man cloaked in black and red clothing that had strange symbols on them that glowed a bright white. He falls to his feet with his head lowered, slowly lifting it before opening his eyes.

With that finished, The spirit lifts out of his body and begins to drift up into the air. Another giggle coming from her as a small portal opens up behind her.

”Consider the Wraith's garments as an extra gift. Thanks again, handsome. And good luck with those two mares. I imagine it’s going to be quite an adventure in of itself.”

Before he had time to respond, she vanished into the portal without another word, leaving him alone in the quiet darkness of the orchard. He looks down at his hands, then along the new clothing that the spirit had left with him, noticing the glowing marks on his arm and on what appeared to be a..cloak of some sort. This must indicate how much power he has before he recharges.

“Well, at least I don’t have to worry about a costume tonight.”

He said to himself but noticed his voice had an obvious change to it. Everytime he spoke, there was a whispery tone to it before his words even came out.

“Oh wow...the girls are going to FREAK when they see this…”

Once he makes it back out of the orchard and into the area where everypony was. He walks about the crowd as if everything was alright. He noticed that in the moonlight, his energy wasn’t drained nor did it hurt him. This was a good thing, nor did smaller light like lanterns and such hurt him either. So he was safe. However, he wasn’t safe from the eyes of the others as all attention turned onto him. He heard a collective ‘Oooooh…’ As ponies started to gather around him

“Wooooow...great costume!”

Exclaimed one mare.

“What are you supposed to be?”

Asked a stallion.

“Well, it’s called a wraith.”

“What’s….a wraith? It looks pretty scary…”

Said a filly who was hiding behind her mother.

“It’s...a bit of a long story.”

“Z, where are you?!”

He heard Applejack call his name and smiled under his facemask.

“Oooh boy.”

He said before making his way through the crowd to find her, he approaches behind her and lightly taps her shoulder. She whips around and appears to see….nothing.

“What in tarnation...Ah could have sworn somepony was behind me…”

Zhou blinks a few times and waves his hand in front of her.

“AJ, I am right here…”

“Zhou…? What...where..? I can hear you but I can't seen you…”

Zhou blinked a few times then looked down, his was completely cloaked in black except for his eyes and markings on his clothing. He was standing in Applejack’s shadow. When she said he couldn’t be seen at all in shadow, she really meant what she said it seemed. He steps back a bit, reappearing in front of Applejack. She lets out a surprised scream and falls back on her rear, scooting away from him a few feet.

“Th-that’s your costume…? I never saw you workin’ on it! It looks super scary! But how did you...I mean you weren’t there and then…”

“It’s a long story AJ…”

“And your voice...Zhou, you don’t sound like you. What the hay is goin’ on?”

He walks over to her and offers her a hand, helping her up to her hooves.

“Let’s just say...I ran into a spirit and did her a favor, and she gave me something in return. I think it was a fair trade.”

She blinked a few times and shook her head.

“I swear, you get into the strangest situations, Z. No wonder Ah worry about you so much.”

“Your costume looks great by the way, AJ. You look very pretty.”

She was wearing a mid length brown duster that matched her hat, a black leather top and black leather short that was snug in all the right places. All with a golden sheriff star pinned to the jacket He definitely did like what he saw.

“You..really like it, Z?”

“I do AJ. Then again, in a costume or not. I...think you are beautiful either way.”

He said as he looked to the side a bit. As did Applejack, a heavy blush coming across her cheek.

“Well ain't you just a sweet talker...come on, the girls just arrived. They are going to be so surprised when they see you like this!”

She grabbed his hand and lead him along. The rest of the night went off without a hitch. Everyone was having a good time. What Zhou didn’t know, is that the critical choices he’d have to make in his life would also affect his path of the Wraith. What will happen? Even Faust herself wasn’t quite sure.

Author's Note

There you go everyone, enjoy!

May the darkness grant you peace.