Delayed Shuffle Off This Mortal Coil
A Witch, a Ghost, and Twilight Sparkle
Twilight didn’t even need to check her book to banish ghosts anymore. As she stood in Sugar Cube Corner’s basement, watching the writhing mass of anger and pain slowly disappear, she chanted words that she had long since mesmerized with almost a sense of boredom.
The ghost certainly looked scary, with its furious eyes and wailing screams, but Twilight knew it couldn’t touch her if she just kept talking and channeling her spell. After a few more seconds it vanished completely, banished from the mortal realm once more.
Twilight sighed, rubbed her horn, and took a swig from her water bottle. The day was saved yet again. She dumped some salt on the floor for good measure and climbed back up the stairs where Mrs. and Mr. Cake were waiting anxiously.
“Is it gone?” Mr. Cake whispered, peering down the stairs past Twilight. Though he was probably whispering because it was late and his foals were asleep more so than because he was afraid.
“Yeah,” Twilight replied with a yawn, “all cleaned up.”
“We’re so sorry to call you at such a late time,” Mrs. Cake added, “but it was started to get a little, oh, rowdy? And we were worried about waiting until morning.”
“It’s fine,” Twilight reassured her, “these things always happen at night. But I’m sorry it had to happen at all. I’ll tell Pinkie to be more careful when she comes to visit.”
The couple’s expressions grew more concerned and for a moment Twilight herself was worried about what they were going to say. But her fears were quickly banished as Mrs. Cake continued talking. “Oh, I hope she doesn’t blame herself. The foals still love it when she comes by, and we do to. I wouldn’t want her to stop because of some uninvited guests.”
Twilight couldn’t help but smile at their genuine love for their mutual friend. “I’m sure it won’t come to that. I’ll just let her know to keep a lookout for tag-alongs next time.”
After receiving a few baked goods for her trouble and wishing the couple well, Twilight was on her way.
She had to stifle a few more yawns as she made her way across town and back towards her library. It was very late and Twilight had been staying up later and later recently. That plus the strain of all that spell casting left her feeling drained.
But even though she wasn’t paying particular attention to where she was going she wasn’t tired enough to ignore the rapid twitch that suddenly infected her tail.
Immediately she stopped in her tracks and scooted a little bit closer to a nearby house so she was under it’s awning. Not a second later a tile fell off the roof and shattered on the road near where Twilight had just been standing.
Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks Pinkie.” And then, deciding now was as good a time as any, she lit her horn yet again and cast a dome of magic around herself.
It was the same spell she had used less than an hour ago on the Cakes’ basement but instead of revealing a tormented soul hell-bent on revenge, her grinning pink friend faded into view.
Pinkie Pie was dead. And had been for over a year now. Her death had been…bad. So bad Twilight didn’t like to think about it. But that bad death had meant that Pinkie’s restless spirit had stuck around and Pinkie’s own shining personality had made it so her haunting the town was more fun than traumatizing.
“You’re welcome, Twilight!” Pinkie chirped once she had solidified enough to be heard. “You should really watch where you’re going silly, you could have gotten hurt.”
Twilight couldn’t help but smile at her late friend’s concern. “Sorry, I’m a bit tired as I had to stay up late cleaning up some ghost’s mess at Sugar Cube Corner.”
Pinkie’s typical smile dropped into a confused worry. “Huh? Did I do something wrong? I know I can’t really ask the Cake’s if I can visit but they don’t usually seem bothered by it.”
“No no no.” Twilight almost put a hoof on her shoulder in comfort but remembered herself at the last moment and simply waved dismissively. “They love having you around, don’t worry about that. It’s just that, well, sometimes other ghosts follow you.”
Pinkie pursed her lips in thoughts. “Oh. They’re not as nice as me, huh?”
Twilight slowly shook her head and carefully continued walking home. Pinkie followed, though she bobbed in the air next to Twilight rather than pretend to walk with her. “Not really. They don’t seem to like living ponies that much. Do you… talk to them, ever? The other ghosts I mean?”
Pinkie shook her head, looking thoughtful, and Twilight felt bad for ruining her good mood. “Nope. I see them around sometimes but they never respond to anything I say. They’re always just hissing and shrieking and stuff.”
“Hmmm.” Twilight wished she knew more. The supernatural world was an untapped pool of knowledge. But Celestia had advised her against digging too deeply. The Princess had been shocked but more or less on board with the Pinkie-ghost situation but she had cautioned Twilight about trying to learn too much about what lay beyond.
After all, it wasn’t like she wouldn’t find out one day. And it was best that they didn’t rush said day.
“Well, just keep an eye out for any tag-alongs when you visit people, okay? And come get me if any of the other ghosts seem to be upsetting anypony.”
One thing Twilight did know for certain is that there were a lot more ghosts around ever since Pinkie had died. She didn’t know why, exactly, but she had tried to handle it on her own. There was no sense in getting Pinkie worked up over something she obviously had no control over.
“Okay,” Pinkie agreed, more sullen than Twilight had wanted to make her.
“So, Nightmare Night’s coming up,” Twilight said, quickly changing the subject, “any plans?”
Pinkie instantly perked up in classic Pinkie fashion. “Yeah! Me and Dashie are going to do a presentation at the schoolhouse and then prank all day! She even said she was dieting so I could eat more candy without ruining her body.”
Twilight smiled fondly as Pinkie continued to ramble about her plans. Nightmare Night was the only time of year she could be seen by most everyone and even possess specific ponies. Rainbow Dash had let Pinkie borrow her body last year and it was no surprise she was doing so again.
They made it to Twilight’s library and she interrupted Pinkie’s thoughts with a quick clearing of her throat. “Hey, I would love to stay up and talk more but I really have to get some sleep now.”
“Awww,” Pinkie whined overdramatically, “but it’s so hard to be out during the day. I wanna hang out!”
“I know, but we’ll have plenty of time soon, right? I really…” She yawned, not even trying to stifle it. “Gotta go to bed now. My horn is killing me.”
“Hrrmmm.” Pinkie kept her pout for a few more seconds before she smiled again. “Okie dokie Lokie bye bye Twilight!”
And then she was gone. No fading, no flash, just here one moment gone the next. Twilight rubbed her eyes and cut off her spell, twinging a bit at the headache that was starting to form.
She went inside her home and was surprised to see the front room lit up. Not with the overhead lights, however, but instead with candles placed around the room.
A real fire hazard to a library and decidedly not how she had left it.
“Spike?” She called out, “Spike, did you light all these candles?”
The door slammed behind her and Twilight jumped and spun around, only to come face to face with a strange stallion that she had never seen before.
“You are in terrible danger,” he hissed into her ear, his oily mane draped around his face like a wet mop.
Twilight screamed and punched him in the face.
She was just as shocked as he probably was as he went tumbling back and smacked into the door. Twilight had honestly thought he was a ghost and that her punch would do nothing. She hadn’t expected to make such solid contact.
“Aurgh!” The brown stallion cried, clutching his nose, “Ma’am why did you do that?”
“Why are you in my house?” She asked back, her voice rising with panic and adrenaline. She was used to ponies being in her house, it was a public library, but not in the middle of the night.
He scrambled back to his hooves, obviously trying to maintain an air of dignity around his throbbing nose and flipped his cloak out dramatically behind him. “You, dear pony, are in grave danger.”
Twilight sparked her horn to life and pointed it at the intruder. “Is that a threat?”
He faltered and took a confused step back. Twilight noticed his lack of horns or wings. Which meant he either broke a window to get in here or she had forgotten to lock the door. “What? No, of course not. It’s a warning. And-” He dipped his head into what looked like a rehearsed bow. “An offer of aid.”
Twilight stared at him blankly but did extinguish her horn. “And who are you, exactly?”
He seemed to perk up at that and gave another sweep of his cape. “My name is Broom Stick, and I am a witch.”
“A witch? Like Zecora?” Technically the Zebra was a witch doctor but that was as close as Twilight had ever heard someone claim.
“Perhaps.” Broom Stick wrapped himself in his cloak and skirted around Twilight, staring at her intently as she craned her neck to follow. “I am a master at all things dark, occult, and supernatural. I have studied my entire life to that which is unseen and hardly believed. And you, my dear pony, as well as this entire town, are in grave danger from one such entity!”
Shadows danced off of his form as he moved and Twilight frowned deeply. “Did you light all these candles in my house?”
“Yes,” he said in way that made it clear he was trying to appear serious and mysterious all at once. He gestured to the candles, all perfectly arranged in a circle around the room. “I’m afraid these are the only things keeping a horrible phantom from entering your home. Yes, Miss Sparkle, I am speaking of life after death. I am afraid you are being haunted. By a ghost.”
Twilight almost expected a peal of thunder to sound with how gravely he spoke and how dramatically he struck his poses. But none such rang out so Twilight was left blinking at him in silence as he stared intently at her from the middle of the room.
After a moment Twilight chuckled and rubbed her face with her hoof. “Oh, oh Celestia, sir, I am so sorry.”
“I know you do not believe me,” Broom Stick continued in his monologuing voice, “but I swear it is true. In fact, I’d wager that this ghost has had you in its sights for quite a long time.”
“No, that’s not it. I completely believe you.” She clarified, extinguishing some of the candles with her horn as Broom Stick gasped in shock. “I just, I’m sorry to bring you all this way, or wherever you came from, for nothing.”
“It’s not nothing,” he insisted, trying to move in front of her, “and stop that! Ghosts are incredibly dangerous if they get into one’s dwelling.”
“Yeah, I know, but I’ve been dealing with some pissed off little ones for a few months now. They’re nothing I can’t handle.”
“My good lady, I believe you have misunderstood the circumstances.” Now he was talking like she was a child who he had to inform that the tooth fairy wasn’t real. It was starting to irk her how little he was listening. “It is not a few minor ghosts that you have to worry about. A powerful one has taken root here. Most ghosts are no more than rabid animals but this one, oh this one, it can plot. It can get you when you least expect it, drive you insane, even possess your very body.”
“Yep.” Twilight switched on her overhead light and flicked off the last of the dangerous candles. “You’re talking about Pinkie.”
“I-“ He stopped. Stopped talking and stopped desperately trying to relight the candles in order to stare at her dumbly. “Pinkie?”
Twilight yawned and rubbed her eyes. “Yeah, she’s my friend. And she’s the ghost you’re talking about. Look, I really need to get some sleep but if you actually are a ghost expert you’re welcome to come back in the morning. I need to figure out how to deal with these smaller ghosts that keep following her around.”
“Wait, back up, you know the ghost?”
“Yes,” Twilight shoved him roughly towards the door, “and I’ll tell you all about it if you come back in the morning. But now it’s way too late for either of us to be up.”
“But-“ He protested, hooves scraping on the floor.
“It. Is. Bed. Time.” And with that, Twilight shoved him out of her house and locked the door behind him.
***
The next morning Twilight had completely forgotten about her late night visitor until she opened the front door and almost ran straight into him again.
“Miss Twilight.”
“Gah!” Thankfully, this time she avoided punching him though she did leap back a good few feet.
“Twi? You good?” Spike asked, coming to peer around Twilight’s back. He had a spatula in claw from making morning omelets. “Who’s this guy?”
“A home invader,” Twilight groused, trying to get her heart rate back under control, “But he said he could help with the ghost problem.”
“I am Broom Stick, good sir.” Broom Stick nodded at Spike. “A humble witch at your service. I’m afraid you are being targeted by a very dangerous spirit.”
Spike’s face twisted with worry. “Uh oh, does Pinkie know about this?”
“Pinkie is who he’s talking about,” Twilight explained before shooting Broom Stick a glare, “and we’re not going to do anything about her. I just want to know if you can help us get rid of the smaller ghosts that keep following her around.”
“Oh, well,” Spike nibbled on his lip, twirling his spatula thoughtfully, “maybe we can wait until after Nightmare Night? I thought having a haunted house this year would be really cool.”
Twilight rolled her eyes while Broom Stick gasped in horror. Again Twilight got the distinct feeling there should be a thunder crash when there just wasn’t one. “Young Drake no! Nightmare Night is our deadline to get rid of the spirits. If they are still around by that date then I fear their powers will grow exponentially and not even your own bodies will be safe!”
“Yeah, Pinkie can possess ponies on Nightmare Night,” Twilight said to Broom before turning back to her friend, “Spike, I’m going to go talk with this nice gentle colt. Can you hold down the fort while I’m gone?”
He gave a little salute with his spatula. “No problem. You go bust those bad ghosts.”
He closed the door behind him and Twilight walked away from her home, Broom Stick trailing along behind her. They were only a few steps away when Twilight noticed a pretty hefty ring of salt around the treehouse. She kicked a section of it away; she wasn’t about to deny Pinkie access to the public library. That was a right every creature had.
Broom Stick did not appreciate this act, however, and quickly scrambled to try and reclose the circle. “Miss Sparkle! I don’t know how to impress upon you that you are in danger. Let me help you, and stop undoing all my hard work.”
“Look, Mr Stick,” Twilight said, continuing to walk away. She also had errands to run this morning and she had learned that if you let every insane thing slow you down you would never get anything done. “I do appreciate what you’re trying to do. Really! And I do want to learn some things from you if I can, but the problem isn’t as serious as you think it is.”
“No, I’m afraid it’s not.” Here he grabbed her by the shoulders, asserting aggressive eye contact. Twilight wondered if he was hot in that big cloak. “After what you said last night and how you are acting now I can only assume it is much much worse.”
Twilight ignored that and moved into a state of mind she was intimately familiar with. Learning. “Where are all the smaller ghosts coming from?”
Thankfully, he was able to switch topics just as quickly. Probably because they were still discussing ghosts. “The head ghost is leading them here. They come to it like moths to a flame. It’s how it gathers strength.”
Dang. So Pinkie was attracting them. That’s what Twilight had assumed but she had been crossing her hooves the two events were unrelated. “Hold on, gather strength? Like a strength in numbers situation?”
He shook his head. Gravely. Like he did everything. “Perhaps in one sense. But more literally the more of the lesser spirits are in the area the more the head phantom’s power grows. It is why Nightmare Night is a prime time for ghosts. The gates between planes opens just enough for small spirits to get through and the more of them there are the stronger the head ghost becomes.”
Double dang. “So you’re saying the reason Pinkie can possess ponies around Nightmare Night is because there are a lot of other ghosts around?”
“Correct,” he said, letting go of her shoulders and backing out of her personal space, “so you see, if we get rid of one, the small ghosts or the head ghost, we will get rid of the other.”
“Hmm,” Twilight tapped her hoof to her chin, “that is a problem.”
“Now you understand the grave danger you and this entire town are in!” Broom Stick declared, sweeping his cape out dramatically again. The effect was slightly emphasized by a chill autumn wind blowing past. Which felt appropriate.
“I know someone is in danger,” Twilight relented, “But I promise you Pinkie would never hurt anypony.”
Broom Stick frowned deeply. “The fact that this ghost has convinced you of such is disturbing. It must be dastardly indeed.”
“She’s not,” Twilight emphasized, “and stop calling her it. Now come with me while I run errands and tell me everything you know about the ghosts. There must be a solution in there somewhere.”
“There is a solution! As a witch I can banish the head ghost and-“
“Without hurting Pinkie,” Twilight interrupted, continuing on her way, “now are you coming?”
Broom Stick huffed but followed her. “You are being very stubborn, you know that?”
“When it comes to my friends I’m always stubborn.”
***
Days passed with Twilight working tirelessly with Broom Stick brainstorming a plan to stop the oncoming ghost apocalypse.
She learned a lot from him. How ghosts are made, different kinds of ghosts, what the difference between a phantom, poltergeist, and ghost was, and powers that ghosts could have.
It was all very interesting but none of it very helpful.
Every time Broom Stick offered up a solution to their impending problem Twilight had to veto it since it usually involved shuffling her friend permanently off this mortal coil. Which is why she had confined him to the library at night and places unfrequented by Pinkie during the day. She didn’t need him doing something drastic while Twilight’s back was turned.
And the worst part was that he wasn’t even trying to come up with alternatives. While Twilight was grilling him for information that could help everypony it seemed like his only goal was to convince her he was right.
“Miss Sparkle if we do not track down the head ghost in the next few hours ponies lives could be at risk!”
And now it was the afternoon of Nightmare Night and still neither of them were any closer to their goal.
Twilight closed the supernatural reference guide she had been reading and glanced at the Earth Pony. “You’ve been saying that for the past week! Can’t you look for any outside the box solutions for once?”
He glared right back at her over the library’s table. “Well maybe I could if you could stop being such a stubborn mule for once.”
She stood up, stomping her hoof on the table for emphasis. “I’m not being stubborn just because I won’t let you kill my friend!”
He matched her energy, rearing up onto his back hooves with his front on the table. Twilight clenched her jaw when his taller frame made the move more dramatic than hers. “And I’m not being closed minded when I tell you that you don’t know what you’re dealing with. I am the expert here!”
“And I’m the expert on my friend!”
Broom Stick huffed and shook his head. “You’re impossible.”
“And you’re very unhelpful,” Twilight snorted.
Broom Stick gasped as if she had just said the most offensive thing in the world. “I have literally presented at least three solutions to your problem. Just because you think you’re too good to take them isn’t an indication of my ability.”
“Uhg,” Twilight yelled, shoving the table away from her. Sending Broom Stick tumbling back into a sitting position. “I’m going to clear my head before something snaps. Don’t bother me unless you actually want to try and work together.”
She stormed off before he could retort, up the stairs, passed her bedroom, and out onto her balcony.
There she took a few calming breaths as she watched the autumn leaves of her house sway in the breeze and listened to the chatter of ponies getting ready for the celebration.
All was calm. She was calm. And no stupid witches were going to mess that up.
“Boo!”
Twilight yelped and stumbled away from the balcony as a white figure appeared from below it and flew right into her face.
A white…sheet… with two magenta eyes peering out jagged holes.
“Rainbow Dash! It’s too early for pranks.” Twilight wasn’t really angry at her though. It was hard to get angry at something you knew was inevitable.
The sheet giggled and two blue hooves tore it off the pegasus. “Guess again!”
“Pinkie!” Twilight said in a mix between delight and worry. It was the same face as Rainbow Dash but her short mane was now in a distinctive curly style. Even after days spent with Broom Stick, Twilight still had no idea how Pinkie did that to manes. “What are you doing here?”
“Duh,” Pinkie said, sticking her, or Rainbow’s, tongue out, “pranking you! I wanted to get started early with all the stuff we have planned and Dashie suggested pranking you before you could get your guard up.”
“Is Rainbow Dash here?” Twilight asked, looking around as if she could spot the Pegasus. That was futile, however. Broom Stick had told her that, even though they were outside their bodies, the spirits’ of the possessed couldn’t be detected like regular ghosts.
Pinkie giggled again. “Yep! She’s making silly faces behind you.”
Twilight snorted, because of course that was what Dash was doing, before she sobered up and glanced worriedly at the door to her library. “Look, Pinkie, while it isn’t like I’m not happy to see you I-“
“Yeah, hey,” Pinkie interrupted, poking Twilight on the nose, “I haven’t seen you around at all for the past couple of days! And sometimes your house has salt and stuff all around it and I can’t get in.” She leaned back and her ears flattened in a heartbreakingly sad way. “Have… have you been avoiding me?”
“No!” Twilight quickly denied, trying to spare her friend’s feelings, “I mean, yes, but not in that way. You see there’s this new pony in town who-“
Pinkie gasped, hooves to cheeks as all sadness evaporated. “A new pony? Oh my Celestia, why didn’t you tell me? I gotta plan a party for them! Where are they? Who are they? What’s their favorite cake flavor?”
“Pinkie,” Twilight hissed, waving a hoof about as Pinkie started hopping around her, “be quiet! I don’t want him to hear-“
“Miss Sparkle!”
“Sweet Celestia can I not just finish one sentence?!?”
Broom Stick ran up the stairs and onto the balcony, so fast that he tripped a few times on his own hooves. “Miss Sparkle I’m afraid that calamity is upon us! Death has come to our door faster than I anticipated and we have absolutely no preparations. If we don’t act now we will all be doomed!”
Thunder crashed at that exact moment, punctuating his sentence and casting dramatic lighting on the three ponies.
Pinkie looked up at an innocently floating cloud. “Nice timing, Dashie.”
Broom Stick seemed to notice Pinkie for the first time. His eyes widened and he took a protective step in front of Twilight. “Miss Sparkle, stay back. I’m afraid that is not your friend anymore. She has been possessed.”
“Broom Stick, no,” Twilight groaned, “I mean, yes, she is possessed but, no, that’s still my friend.”
“It’s a ghost Miss Sparkle,” he insisted, pulling a book out of his cloak and holding it threateningly towards Pinkie, “the head ghost I’m afraid.”
“Yes I know,” Twilight said, wrenching the book from his grip, “that’s Pinkie. My friend. The ghost.”
“Give me that back,” Broom Stick said, thankfully turning his attention away from the confused Pinkie, “Miss Sparkle we are in danger. We have to banish this phantom or we will be swarmed by ghosts in minutes.”
Twilight nodded but held the book with her magic up and away where Broom Stick couldn’t reach. “Okay, let’s figure out how to do that without banishing Pinkie as well.”
“Banishing me?” Pinkie asked, staring wide eyed at the two of them, “What’s he talking about Twilight?” She crinkled her nose and took a step back. “And why does he smell so weird?”
Broom Stick obviously didn’t think they were too in danger for dramatics. He swept his cloak out and struck another dynamic pose. “I am a witch! All those of the supernatural are naturally unnerved at my presence.”
Pinkie blinked Rainbow’s eyes at him. “That’s why you smell like burnt cheese?”
Before he could answer every window in sight started to rattle as if it were in an earthquake and a loud and mournful howl filled the air.
Pinkie’s eyes went wide, Twilight froze, and Broom Stick lunged at the book, only for Twilight to yank it away at the last moment and back away from him.
“Twilight give me the book,” he insisted, advancing to her, “in it is a spell that can end all this.”
“I know exactly what spell you’re talking about.” Twilight continued to back away from him, holding the book protectively behind her head, “and I also know that it will hurt Pinkie if you use it! You’re supposedly an expert on this stuff, figure out some other way to protect the town.”
“There is no other way!”
“Uh, Twilight!” Pinkie said. She had flown up a ways. Either to get a better look at the oncoming ghost storm or to get away from Broom Stick, Twilight didn’t know. “There’s a lot of ghosts coming. The really mean kind.”
Twilight glanced up at her and in her brief distraction Broom Stick took advantage to lunge at her again.
Unfortunately, he was anticipating Twilight moving again and when she didn’t he ran full body into her, knocking them both off their hooves. And Twilight, at this point, had backed up into the balcony railing so when she got sent flying off her hooves she also went flying over the banister.
“Twilight!” Pinkie cried and Twilight had a few heart stopping moments of pure free fall before strong blue hooves grabbed her around the barrel and she was lifted back into the air and deposited safely onto the balcony.
“Oh my gosh Twilight, are you okay, are you okay?” Pinkie asked, flitting around Twilight in worry. The hollowing of the other ghosts was growing louder now or maybe that was just Twilight’s heart beat pounding in her ears. Pinkie turned to Broom Stick with a frown but she seemed to be looking past the frozen stallion. “Dashie stop yelling at him, he can’t even hear you.”
Broom Stick snapped out of his horrified stupor and cautiously approached Twilight and Pinkie Pie. “I…you…” He shook his head and turned fully to Twilight. “Miss Sparkle, first I am so incredibly sorry.”
The wind picked up into storm levels and the balcony doors slammed shut.
“But!” Broom Stick said quickly, turning to Pinkie. “More importantly you saved her.”
Pinkie looked at him like he was insane. And from what Twilight had seen that wasn’t uncalled for. “Of course I did! She could have gotten seriously hurt or… or worse.”
He stomped his hoof and then pointed it at her. “But you’re a ghost! I can tell it’s still the ghost possessing that body. Why would you save her? Ghosts’ only goal is to make more ghosts.”
“Because!” Twilight barked, regaining her strength enough to surge at him and press her face close to his. “As I’ve been telling you this whole time, she's my friend! Even if she’s dead we’re still friends.”
“That’s right!” Pinkie said, bouncing in the air, “I would never hurt anypony, I promise.”
Broom Stick looked between the two of them for a moment before his face hardened with determination. “I believe you. I’m sorry I didn’t before but I do now. There is a very easy way to stop the ghosts coming to bring ruin onto this town.” He pointed at Pinkie and also a random spot in the sky. “I need you to get back into your own body. Yes, of course I can see you. I’m a witch. Now do it!”
Pinkie nodded, matching his serious determination, and her eyes rolled back into her skull. She slumped, her hair uncurling, but her eyes popped open before she could hit the ground and Rainbow Dash was back in her own body.
Dash lifted her head to glare at Broom Stick. “This plan of yours better not hurt anyone else bucko or you’ll be the next ghost around here.”
“Yeah!” Pinkie said, suddenly appearing, in full pink glory, right next to Twilight, “You already almost hurt Twilight.”
Broom Stick turned to Pinkie and gave a humble bow. “I promise this will put neither you or anyone else in danger. You simply must absorb the ghosts.”
Pinkie blinked. Twilight stared. Rainbow Dash cocked an eyebrow. “Uh, wanna say that again in a way that makes, like, any sense?”
Broom Stick waved his hoof about, as if trying to snatch the explanation from the tugging wind. “These ghosts are all lesser. Fragmented. They are attracted to the head ghost, you Miss Pinkie, and augment you. They fuel you. If you simply absorb them you will not only get rid of them as a threat but also become extremely powerful with your supernatural abilities.”
Twilight gaped at him. “I have been grilling you for information for days and you never even mentioned this before!”
He huffed and had to shout to be heard over the wind and the howl. “Because it would be an absolutely stupid idea to let a dangerous ghost know it could get more powerful. I didn’t know she was nice!”
“But I told you she was!”
“Okay well I didn’t believe you!” He spit some of his mane out of his face and glanced worriedly at the darkening sky. “Can we argue about this later?”
“How do I absorb the ghosts?” Pinkie asked. She didn’t have to shout at all and her mane was undisturbed by the wind that was now making the tree branches aggressively sway. Being dead had a few benefits.
Broom Stick grabbed the book from where Twilight had dropped it and shoved it towards Pinkie.
Rainbow Dash, thankfully, stopped it before it could slide through Pinkie and fall off the balcony.
“Read the last passage and open up your soul,” Broom Stick instructed, “I wish I could explain more but it’s mostly a feeling type thing.” He turned to Dash and Twilight and grimaced. “We should probably go inside for this.”
Rainbow nodded and gave Pinkie a salute. “Do great Pinks. Get more super cool ghost powers.”
Twilight gave her pink friend a worried look. “Stay safe. If it seems like the spell is backfiring or anything stop right away and we’ll figure something else out.”
Pinkie blew a raspberry at her. “Relax Twilight, what’s the worst that can happen? I’m already dead.”
Twilight opened her mouth to scold her for that frankly inappropriate joke but Broom Stick was already shoving her through the door. Once all the living ponies were through he latched it and proceeded to shove a table in front of it. “Trust me, we’re going to want to stand back for this. Also, I hope you have insurance.”
Twilight and Rainbow obediently backed up a few steps, though they continued to stare out the glass door intently.
On the other side Pinkie was starting to read. Which looked a bit awkward for her since she couldn’t pick up the book in anyway. She was hunched over it, her mouth saying something the ponies inside could see but not hear, and as she spoke she started to glow.
It was faint at first but with how dark it had gotten outside it became fairly noticeable fairly quickly. A pink light emanated from her and as the light grew brighter the first ghosts started to appear.
They launched themselves at Pinkie, shades of ponies that could barely be identified as such. The spirits swirled around Pinkie like water into a whirlpool before they funneled into her.
Twilight flinched when the first ghost collided with her friend but Pinkie herself didn’t seem to notice at all. She just continued to read, not even looking up as more and more ghosts started to flow into her.
At Twilight’s side, Rainbow Dash looked tense and unsure. But even if she wanted to say something in protest no one would have heard her. The howling was now so loud the ponies all had their ears plastered to their heads and still it felt like the sound was piercing into their skulls.
The light outside continued to grow brighter and pinker. When it was so intense it hurt to look at and Twilight could no longer make out Pinkie’s shape within, hooves roughly grabbed Twilight and Rainbow’s shoulders and forced them to the floor just as a bone chilling shriek pierced the air and every single window in the library shattered into a million pieces.
And then there was silence besides the beating of their hearts.
“I think…” Broom Stick said, peeking his head up from where it had been protectively tucked beneath his hooves, “It’s over. We’re safe.”
Both Twilight and Rainbow Dash immediately scrambled to their hooves. Twilight chucked the table bracing the balcony door away and Rainbow simply flew out of the now glassless window.
“Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash called.
“Are you alright?” Twilight added, trying to avoid stepping on any glass, “Are you still here?” If she had disappeared… if Pinkie was really gone…
“Twilight!” Something grabbed Twilight from behind and pulled her into a cold hug.
Sputtering, Twilight initially tried to break free but immediately stopped when she noticed the pink hooves wrapped around her.
“Pinkie,” she gasped in disbelief as it dawned on her that Pinkie Pie was hugging her, “Are you… are you alive?”
Pinkie snorted like that was the funniest thing she had ever heard. “No silly.” And then the pressure of the hooves disappeared off of Twilight’s back. Pinkie didn’t remove them, she simply made herself completely intangible. Then she pulled back, moving right through Twilight, until she was floating far enough away for Twilight to properly see her.
She was still very obviously a ghost, kind of see-through and kind of cold, but she had a more solid look about her. It was like seeing somepony who never got enough sleep after their vacation. The exact difference was hard to put a hoof on but they seemed to positively glow with energy.
“Whoa, Pinkie, looking good,” Rainbow Dash complimented, inspecting her closely.
“I’m feeling good,” Pinkie said, doing a little flip in the air, “I feel like I could party forever and ever and ever and ever.”
“She has certainly increased in power,” Broom Stick spoke up. He was still standing by the broken door and had his eyes averting like looking directly at Pinkie was painful. “I predict she will keep all of her Nightmare Night abilities year round.”
Rainbow pumped a hoof. “Ah, heck yeah, year long party.”
Pinkie gasped, hooves on her cheeks and eyes bugging out wide. “Oh my gosh, party! I have to throw Broomy a Welcome to Ponyville Party.”
The stallion shook his head and backed out the door. “Thank you, but no. As a witch spending even this amount of time in the presence of such a powerful ghost is… difficult. I’m afraid I must take my leave.”
Despite how annoying he had been all week, Twilight was saddened by the news. “Alright, well if you're ever nearby just know you’ll always have friends in Ponyville.”
He smiled, touched. “Thank you Miss Sparkle.” Then he stood up straight and struck a dramatic pose. “And now the great witch Broom Stick must take his leave! I bid you, adieu.” He tossed his cloak so that it covered his whole body and then the fabric fell to the ground, no Broom Stick in sight.
Pinkie clapped politely, managing to even make noise. But her smile dropped a little and her posture slouched. “It’s sad that we can’t throw a party for him. I’ve missed welcome parties.”
Twilight and Rainbow exchanged a knowing look and Twilight approached the pink ghost. “Well, you know there is someone we have to welcome back to Ponyville.”
Pinkie turned to her, wide eyes blinking in confusion. “Huh? Who?”
“Duh!” Rainbow said, flying into the air, her eyes glistening with emotion, “You, you dork!”
It took Pinkie a few seconds but when it clicked in her brain her smile was brighter than the moon. She lunged at Twilight and Dash and managed to pull them both into a hug at the same time.
And they could feel her.
And they could hug her back.
Author's Note
Hi! I need to figure out how to write with reckless abandon again so when I saw this contest like a week ago I was like: Hmmm, yeah I'll try to write a story by Halloween.
And it worked! I had great fun writing this story and felt very little pressure from myself to get it right since the deadline was so close. Thanks Spook Contest!
I also drew the cover art which was fun. I've been drawing a lot recently even though I haven't been posting it anywhere. 
This story was inspired by the story The Monster Mash: Gallows Humor it's a pretty old story but give it a read as it's one of my favorites.
Proofread, as always, by Shipmun
