Give Up Your Ghost

Deep within the Everfree Forest, Twilight Sparkle and her friends are gathered around a warm, crackling campfire in the middle of a chilly summer's night. The moon has risen, the eerie hooting of owls and rustling of branches and leaves helps set the mood for the scary story Rainbow Dash has been telling. The glow of the fire lights up her face, and her ominous grin as she reaches the climax of her story. The five of her friends are huddled close to each other for comfort as they shiver and tremble from fear, except for one: Twilight. She looks on unphased, without a single twitch or sign of fear.

"And so," Rainbow Dash proceeds with her story. "The filly galloped as fast as she could into the woods, but no matter how fast she was, she couldn't outrun the sounds of flapping wings chasing after her. A shadow loomed over her, and the creature landed before her, blocking her path. With nowhere else to turn, she froze in fear."

"Noooooo!" Pinkie Pie shouts.

"Yes, Pinkie! And the creature stepped toward her, taking its time as if to savor the moment. The filly fell down onto her back, and the creature's face was revealed by the moonlight. It was a pony, but his face was pale-white, and his eyes were blood-red. He smiled, showing off his long, terrifying fangs. The filly screamed as loud as she could, but nopony would come to her rescue this time. . ." Rainbow Dash backs away from the fire until she is completely shrouded in darkness. Everypony looks to each other, still frozen in fear.

"W-W-Where'd she go?" Applejack asks.

"I don't know, but I can't look!" Fluttershy whines as she hides her face behind her hooves. The fire is suddenly snuffed out, and everyone's hearts skip a beat as their eyes widen from shock.

"If this is another one of Rainbow Dash's practical jokes, it is most certainly 'not' funny!" Rarity declares.

"You can say that again," Applejack reassures.

"Why would I do that? Did you not hear me the first--"

"Never mind, Rarity!"

The breeze suddenly stops, and everypony is afraid to move a muscle. The sky has suddenly become crowded as thick, smoky clouds roll in to block out the moonlight. Alone in the darkness, the five of them grasp onto one another for some sense of safety with only the sounds of their own heartbeats.

"I can't take it anymore," Fluttershy says as he peeks out through the space between her hooves. "What's going--"
A dark figure plummets from above, landing before them with a thud, spreads its wings and follows up with a shrill hissing noise.

"HISSSS!"

"AHH!" The ponies scream in terror, bolting in every which direction to escape the horrid creature. Twilight, who's still sitting calmly in her spot sighs as she casts a spell from her horn to bring the fire back to life with a spark. The creature falls backward, rolling over in uncontrollable laughter. Everypony else peeks out from their hiding spots upon hearing the laughter, and find the creature to be Rainbow Dash herself.

"Rainbow Dash, are you kiddin'?!" Applejack asks angrily.

"That was, as I said earlier, not funny!" Rarity yells.

"Oh, come on. How could you guys 'not' have seen that coming?" Rainbow Dash asks.

Fluttershy pokes her head out from the bush she's been hiding behind, "I-Is it safe?" she asks.

"Yeah, it was just Rainbow Dash pullin' one of her usual pranks," Applejack informs with a disapproving look.

"You guys just gotta toughen up!" Rainbow Dash encourages. "I mean, just look at Twilight, she didn't even flinch!"

"That's because I wasn't afraid at all," says Twilight.

"Really? Not even a tiny bit?"

"That story was so grotesque and barbaric!" Rarity adds. "I don't see how no pony couldn't have even the slightest reaction."

"It's just because I know Vamponies don't exist."

"Are you sure?" Rainbow Dash asks dubiously. "There could be one . . . right BEHIND YOU!"

Twilight giggles, "Sorry, Rainbow, but make-believe monsters just don't scare me."

"What about ghosts?!" Pinkie Pie shouts as she jumps in from out of nowhere.

"Ghosts?"

"Yeah! Like the ones that go boooooo!"

"Out of all the different types of monsters that exist in fiction, ghosts are the ones I find the least likely to exist in reality."

"Well, then what do you believe in?" Rainbow Dash asks.

"I believe in science, and scientifically, there is no possible way that ghosts exist. There's just no proof."

"Ugh, talk about a stick in the mud."

"Come on, you girls don't actually believe in ghosts, do you?"

"Well," Applejack begins. "Sometimes the doors to the barn open and close all on their own, and I ain't got no reasonin' for it."

"That's just the wind, Applejack."

"Sometimes," Rarity starts. "I'll catch a glimpse of what appear to be glowing eyes at night!"

"That's just Opal. Cats' eyes just have that appearance when it's dark and there's just a tiny bit of light to reflect off them."

"One time," Fluttershy mumbles. "I was in my living room, and this big, scary shadow loomed over me. When I turned around, nopony was there!"

"Fluttershy, that was your tail; it's always been your tail."

"Oh . . . right."

"Pinkie? Any reason why you believe?"

"Sometimes I hear voices!" she says bluntly with glee, as everypony turns their attention to her all at once in confusion.

"Umm. . . What do they say?"

"Pretty much anything. We talk about the weather, what our plans are, our favorite sweets, favorite treats--oh, his favorite are the chocolate chip vanilla cupcakes!"

"Pinkie, it just sounds like you were talking with a customer."

"But--"

"Rainbow?"

"Oh, I believe in ghosts alright," Rainbow Dash confirms. "Whenever I go out on my nightly flights, I swear somepony's always following me. I can hear them, and sometimes I catch a figure before it vanishes behind the clouds."

"Okay, Rainbow, we're not moving into another scary story."

"I'm being serious!"

"Well, you know there's plenty of birds that fly around at night."

"A bird?!"

"And if you're going to say it's too big to be a bird, I'm ninety-nine percent positive it's just your eyes playing tricks on you."

Everypony takes a moment to ponder over everything Twilight has said, and they all lower their heads as they come to agree with her deductions.

"Well," Applejack begins in a defeated tone. "I guess all that does sound pretty reasonable."

"Yes, I don't suppose there's any arguing against it," says Rarity. "Thank goodness, because if a ghoulish creature was living in my boutique I wouldn't spend another minute in there."

"See? Now you all have nothing to be afraid of," says Twilight.

Just then, the fire slowly dies out. This time, everypony's reaction is much closer to Twilight's first reaction to the fire being blown out. None of them flinch, and are instead slightly annoyed by the happening.

"Oh, not again," Rarity whines.

"Rainbow, will you cut it out?" Applejack demands.

"It wasn't me this time!" Rainbow Dash objects.

"Girls, I think the fire just needs some more wood. We should go gather some."

All in agreement, they all go their own separate ways to forage for fresh wood to burn. Twilight wanders the woods without an ounce of fear despite being all alone. She is calmed by the sounds of the owls hooting and crickets chirping, as she knows it to be nothing more than harmless forest creatures. No misshapen bushes or trees are enough to trick her eyes into thinking it to be something out of the ordinary. She feels a sense of accomplishment after enlightening her friends to the truth. Now they won't mistake any of those ordinary things for evidence of the supernatural, and they can now rest easy. As Twilight relishes in her triumph, she loses her balance, and her body is sent tumbling down a steep decline she hadn't payed any attention to.

Upon reaching the bottom, her head knocks into a tree trunk. The pain almost forces her to stay on the ground as she rubs her head in an attempt to help ease the pain. Her vision is slightly distorted, and stars shimmer everywhere she looks. Something she isn't too sure is a hallucination or distortion of reality, is what appears to be somepony standing nearby, as though she had landed directly before their hooves. The darkness coupled with the obstruction of her view by the tall grass surrounding her makes it difficult to tell.

"Excuse me, Miss?" the stallion asks. "Are you okay? Looks like you had quite a trip."

Twilight chuckles nervously as she gets up from the grass still holding onto the top of her head, "Yeah, I just need to get back to my friends."

"Well, what's the rush? Maybe you should rest for a while longer before you hurt yourself."

"I suppose you're right. My name's Twilight Sparkle, and you are?"

With her vision now settling down, she's able to get a good look at the stallion before her. His coat of fur is a caramel brown, and his somewhat long, combed mane is of a much darker shade of brown. His face is innocent, and his smile gives off feelings of harmlessness.

"My name's Cracker Jack, my friends and I are camping out here tonight. I was just on the lookout for some firewood."

"Really? Me too!"

"Awesome! But . . . I'm a little afraid."

"Why?"

"Just being out here reminds me of something that happened to me not too long ago. You might think it's silly, but I swear I saw a ghost."

"Ugh, not you too."

"What do you mean?"

"I had this same conversation with all my friends back at our campsite. I had to explain to all of them why their 'supernatural' experiences were just everyday occurrences."

"So, you think you could explain mine?"

"I'm positive I could. Just tell me what happened."

"Umm, I don't know."

"I won't laugh if that's what you're worried about."

"Well . . . can you promise?"

Twilight giggles and playfully rolls her eyes, "Yes, I promise."

"No, there's a certain . . . special way you gotta promise."

"Ooookay, how do I do that?"

"It's a secret promise that only my friends and I know. Whenever we need to keep a secret, or swear to go through with something, we say it so we know that we mean it. I'm sure you and your friends have something like that, right?"

"Actually, yes! We do, and I completely understand."

"Perfect. Then can you just say the words: I, then your name, give up my ghost."

"Umm, it's a little strange, but okay. I, Twilight--"

"Oh! And uhh--raise your left hoof! You have to do that too."

While following his direction, she looks to him with an awkward glance and a raised eyebrow. "I, Twilight Sparkle, give up my ghost." Once the last word leaves her lips, she feels a bizarre sensation overwhelm her body. The world around her appears to be spinning out of control, making her nauseas and confused. The trees and grass start to melt and malform into peculiar shapes. The only thing that remains the same is Cracker Jack, who's smile has become much more dubious, and his eyes much less innocent than before. "W-What's happening?"

"Well, I was just about to tell you my story!" Cracker Jack then steps toward her. "I was wandering through the woods just like this, all alone." With a blink, the color of his eyes change to a glowing yellow. "Then I bumped into this peculiar stallion." The color of his coat of fur shifts to a pearl white, and his shirt morphs into a striped suit and red tie. With every word he speaks, his voice grows more raspy and demonic. "He was the only friendly face around, so I trusted him. Oh, what a mistake I had made." He smiles, and his clean, white smile has turned yellowed and ugly. His combed mane flares up into a crazy style, and turns from brown to a yellowish green. Twilight trembles in fear upon the completion of his transformation. She falls to the ground as he continues to loom over her with an insane look in his eye. She can almost see the treetops and moonlight through his slightly transparent body. "He then ripped the ghost right out of me, and--! Wait a minute. . . No, this story isn't about me. It's been about you all along!"

"No!" Twilight screams. "It's impossible! There's no such thing!"

"Are you sure?" The ghostly stallion grabs hold of Twilight's hoof, and holds it up close to her face where she finds it has somehow become just as transparent as him. In a panic, she examines the rest of herself, gasping and whimpering as she can clearly see through her own body. She then notices somepony laying on the ground beside her, a pony so identical that it can only be her own, lifeless body. "So, still don't believe in ghosts?"

The ghostly stallion laughs as Twilight desperately tries to make sense of all this in her mind, but the only signal coming from her brain is telling her to run. Fearing for her life, she turns and gallops as fast as she possibly can into the woods, screaming and shouting for her friends to come to her aid as the ghostly stallion continues to laugh and mock her in the distance.

"Ha-ha! Go ahead and run! We've still got lots of fun to have, you and I. . ."