Give Up Your Ghost

"W-What do you mean? Too late for what?" Twilight fearfully asks.

"Eerie D'Leery, he's done this to you, hasn't he?" Princess Luna asks. "I had no idea this was even possible. However, it appears you're still tethered to your body. Perhaps there is still something that can be done. You must tell me, what sort of game is this miscreant playing?"

"He . . . He told me that I have until sunrise to scare one of my friends, otherwise, I-I'll be a ghost. . ."

"Forever; I see. He's truly outdone himself this time, and if he thinks there will not be consequences with this, he is mistaken. He's most certainly violated his contract with this. . . I hope."

"Contract? What's going on?!"

Princess Luna stands up from her throne, and briskly steps down the carpeted stairway to meet Twilight. In the center of the room, a large, crystal ball sits comfortably on top of a concrete column. The tip of Princess Luna's horn glows a bright white, and inside the ball, a scene begins to play. Twilight approaches, mesmerized by the glow and colors emanating from within the crystal ball. "Long ago," Luna begins. "Eerie D'Leery was once a normal pony such as you and I, but an evil wizard cursed him, and trapped him in the spirit world. He was corrupted, and tormented the lives of anypony he came across to feed off their fear. As time went on, he grew more and more powerful, and his reign of terror seemed unstoppable, yet he yearned for more. He desired a fear that would quench his thirst, so he aimed for mine. He tried and tried, but he could not get me to scream nor tremble. I stood up against him, and in that moment, he lost majority of his confidence. Against me, he was weak and powerless, but I was willing to offer him a chance to change. He accepted, and I had come up with the perfect deal." A long scroll poofs into existence, so long that it droops to the floor. "I wrote out a contract, listing every boundary and limitation I could think of that he must follow. Otherwise, I'll ensure there won't be an ounce of fear for him to feed off of. In exchange, I've agreed to allow him to roam freely and live off the fear that he needs, with much restraint. However, it must not have been as concrete as I had hoped."

"This . . . really isn't a dream," Twilight says, baffled as she skims through the long list of limitations on the scroll.

"I wish it was, Twilight, but if scaring one of your friends is the only way he'll relinquish you back to your body, then that's what you'll have to do."

"B-But isn't there something you can do?! Couldn't you cast a spell to send me back?!"

Princess Luna regretfully sighs, "I'm afraid not. My magic won't be of any use, but that doesn't mean that there isn't anything I can do. I'm going to scour this contract to see if there is anything I can use against Eerie in this matter. In the mean time, you must do what you can to best Eerie at his game."

"I . . . I don't know if I can," Twilight somberly turns away. "I've already tried scaring Applejack and Rainbow Dash, and I couldn't even get them to jump."

"Twilight, this is exactly what Eerie is counting on. He's hoping on breaking your spirit--no pun intended--and you cannot let him win. A failure or two doesn't mean you should lose confidence in yourself. Pick yourself up, go out there and get that scare. For your friends."

"You're right. I can't just give up on them." Twilight lifts her head confidently. "Eerie D'Leery won't win; I promise."

"That's the spirit--also no pun intended. Now, go, and show him you won't go down so easily."

Twilight is engulfed by the fog, and is transported back to the same spot in the woods before she was summoned by Luna. As the fog clears, Eerie pushes up the ground like a trapdoor, giddy with excitement to see Twilight as flames roar from behind him. "Whew! Sorry I took so long," Eerie apologizes as he climbs out from the ground. "Housekeeping never puts things back the way they should after tidying up the joint." Eerie slams the trapdoor shut, once again becoming part of the ground leaving no trace of it behind.

"You have housekeepers?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure, they've all got eight legs and live off of molten lava and snakeskin, but they get the job done! Anyway, this is the book I was talkin' about." Eerie holds out the book for Twilight to examine the cover and read the title.

"Haunting . . . for dummies?"

"You betcha! This little gem will be perfect for a beginner ghost such as yourself. So, let's get crackin'. This'll be very simple, you'll see!" Eerie flips through the book until he spots just the lesson he's looking for. "Ah-hah! Ethereal transformation and morphing. Clear your head of all things other than what you will yourself to be, and do not be distraught or distracted during the process, otherwise it will fail. So, go ahead and try to turn yourself into a . . . a cockroach!"

"Ick, a cockroach?" Twilight squirms. "That's disgusting."

"Oh, get over it. They're delicious, full of protein, and they make great pets! Now, go!"

"Alright, here goes." Twilight shuts her eyes, and in a flash, she transforms.

"Well, good try, but you've already done the goose thing."

Twilight looks down at herself to find that she has in fact taken the form of a goose once again, and is angered. She repeatedly shuts her eyes and continues to try and morph into a cockroach, but only ends up becoming nothing but different species of birds. Her heart races from stress, unsure of what's keeping her from bringing that image of a roach in her mind into reality. "Come on, bird brain!" Eerie teases. "Don't you wanna scare your friends?! At this rate, you might as well forget about 'em!" In that moment, Twilight realizes what's holding her back. If she's going to succeed, she must ignore that looming thought of never being with her friends again. She takes a moment, wiping her mind clear of all thoughts and worries despite Eerie's constant badgering. "What's the matter? Giving up already? Ugh, and I thought a teeny tiny pest would've fit you best!" In another flash, Eerie gasps at the sight of Twilight. She crawls up a tall piece of grass, and twitches her long antennae. "Huh, well it's about time. You were really starting to bug me, but let's see you do it again. How about a pony that isn't you?!" Instantaneously, she turns into a pony that looks absolutely nothing like her. She raises an eyebrow, cockily glaring at Eerie. "Heh, don't get too comfortable, sweetheart. We're not quite done!"

One transformation after another, and lesson after lesson, Twilight suddenly succeeds with flying colors. Eerie observes as Twilight flies through his lessons as though her ghostly instincts have instantly kicked in. Whatever he throws at her, she manages to pull off. It gets to the point to where Eerie closes the book, tosses it over his shoulder. "Well, I think you're ready to start doin' some 'real' scaring!" Eerie rushes to her with a diploma in his hoof, and places a graduation cap atop her head. "This is the proudest moment of my life!" Eerie flashes a camera in her face, disorienting her. "I know it was a rough thirty minutes, but you made it! Have you picked out a college yet? No? Good. You think I'm bad? Those college professors give me a run for my money! Hence why I never went to college, and look how good I turned out! So, how do you feel?"

"I feel . . . spooky."

"Ha! Then let's get a move on!" Eerie stomps his hoof on the ground, and roots burst through the dirt, wrapping around their legs and pulling them down into the ground. They are spit out into a different part of the forest, and both land face first into the grass. They rise up, and Twilight spots Pinkie Pie hopping through the woods just a few meters ahead. Twilight turns to Eerie accusingly, to which the offended Eerie looks to her in innocence. "What? It's not me this time; I swear!"

"Alright, good. Now, how should I approach this? I'm not too sure what Pinkie's afraid of. She is the one who taught us to laugh at our fears after all."

"Twilight!" Pinkie shouts, waving directly at Twilight.

"Hold on, Pinkie! I'm trying to think of how to scare--w-wha--?! She can't see me, right? I thought you said--"

"Twilight, there you are!" Pinkie scampers with excitement towards her and Eerie. "Have you had any luck with the firewood? I've been looking, but I keep thinking about those ooey-gooey marshmallows back at camp! It's like they're calling my name!"

"P-Pinkie . . . you can see me?"

"Uh, duuuuh! Of course I can see you! Oh! It looks like you've met my friend, Eerie!"

"YOU'RE FRIEND?!"

"That's right! I tried to tell you about him, but you wouldn't listen. He's the one I always talk to when you guys aren't around! What are you doin' here, Eerie?!"

"Oh, just helping your friend out with her firewood hunt," says Eerie. "She looked like she was having some trouble, so I figured why not lend a hoof?"

"Aw, that's so nice of you!"

"NICE?!" Twilight shouts flabbergasted. "Pinkie, he's a--!"

"He's a real hoot! I know! It's a lot of fun having him around in the bakery!"

"Speaking of which," Eerie starts. "I just thought of a new joke! Would you like to hear it?'

"Would I?! Lay it on me!"

"What do you call a unicorn with two horns on Hearth's Warming Eve?"

"Umm, I don't know! What 'do' you call a unicorn with two horns on Hearth's Warming Eve?"

"A reindeer!" Both Pinkie and Eerie burst into laughter, as Twilight can suddenly feel her sanity slipping from the sheer absurdity of seeing the two of them gleefully laughing coupled with the poor quality of his joke.

"Eerie! Mrs. Cake and I are gonna whip up a whole new batch of chocolate chip vanilla cupcakes tomorrow! Are you gonna be there?"

"Sounds like a plan to me!" says Eerie. "I'll see ya there."

"Sweet! Well, I'd better get back to getting that firewood! See you guys later!"

"Pinkie, wait!" Twilight calls out, but Pinkie takes no notice as she dashes away with full speed. Confused and baffled, Twilight looks to Eerie in disbelief. "H-How . . ?"

"Hey, I never said 'nopony' could see you. Pinkie just happens to have a uh . . . a gift. If I were you, I'd pass on scaring this one. Trust me, I've tried. She is one tough cookie!" Eerie laughs, but Twilight is not at all amused.

"Alright, Eerie, get it out of your system. I've still got Rarity and Fluttershy left to scare, and I'm not going to lose."

"Oh, with an attitude like that, I sure hope you don't. Otherwise--" Eerie leans closer, and a snake-like tongue pokes out from his crooked smile, "--you're going to be very disappointed when you do."