"You guys sure you're up for this?"

Billie throws herself over the minky pillow as she lays on the wooden floor of the tree house. Her two other friends, a couple of slightly younger goats by the names of Lou and Lily, pack their things for a night that Billie insists will be the "craziest, wildest social event of the century", (of course, heavily exaggerating).

"You bet. The opportunity to study ectoplasmic phenomena isn't something one comes across every day, you know."

The young, nerdy goat, Lou says with all the precociousness of a sitcom child actor as he shoves book after book into his knapsack.

"My dads say I s-should go out and m-make more friends."

The little wallflower of a goat, Lily, chimes in with a soft-spoken coo. She sits with her legs crossed and leans over a lilac pink plush pillow that matches the large bow tied around her waist.

"You guys will love it. Barnaby's not so bad once you get to know him, and all his ghost buddies are super funny."

Lou looks over to Lily, adjusting his glasses as he reads her quivering body.

"You look nervous, Lil. Never seen a ghost before?"

Lou leans in somewhat smugly, and Lily retracts slightly.

"I didn't even k-know you believed in g-ghosts."

Lou recoils, somewhat offended as he cleans his thick glasses, revealing his normal-sized eyes beneath his Coke bottle frames.

"Why wouldn't I? Phantom apparitions have been proven to be tangible and evident beings within our magically woven world... Also, I'm curious to ask if white magic really does work in reverse on the undead."

Billie raises her head from the pillow, thoroughly curious.

"Why would you wanna know that?"

Lou rolls his eyes.

"Obviously for canonical consistency."

The squabbling goats are interrupted when a familiar voice yells up to the tree house from down below.

"Hey, you three! If you still wanna go to that party, you better get your goat butts down here and get rollin'! You're burning moonlight!"

Billie leaps down from the tree flat onto the ground, catching herself from falling down as Lou crashes down on his own and Lily daintily climbs down the ladder with a wince. Aristotle stands there with his arms folded and a not-too-pleased expression planted on his face.

"Now, remember what I told you, in exchange for going to this party, I want the house kept spotless for the next week."

Billie brushes herself off.

"Yeah, I know. Thanks for letting me take them, by the way."

He looks over to the other two goats, the nerdy one still rubbing his head and the dainty one very slowly inching her way down the ladder.

"You three are in way over your heads. Don't come back dead, you hear?"

He says in a deadpan manner. Billie chuckles.

"We won't. You worry too much."

She turns to her friends.

"Hurry up, ya lazy bums!"

The three goats stammer off into the forest, Billie much farther ahead than the other two. Lou trails behind, lugging whatever heavy crap is weighing him down in that bag of his. It weighs almost as much as he does. Lily tries her best to keep up, bless her soul. Through the dark, creepy woods, past trees with knotholes, and down a long and winding dirt road, they make the long trek to their destination.

"I don't know what Aristotle was so uptight about. The sun's barely set."

Billie complains as she slides down a steep hill on her rear end. Lou rolls down behind her, knocking her over like a bowling pin. Lily, as usual, tries to evade their shenanigans by shuffling her way downhill, avoiding obstacles like she was made of glass.

"A-are we a-almost there?"

Billie turns to her tired friends, filled with endless optimism of her own, enough for the two of them.

"Just a hop, skip, and a doggie paddle away!"

Lou rises from the ground, adjusting his filthy glasses as he stumbles to catch up.

"That last one didn't even make any sense, Billie!"

Nearly an hour later or more. Who's keeping track at this point? Sun has fallen, and the trio stands before the mansion.

"Quite lofty, indeed. Are those flying buttresses?"

Billie shrugs.

"Pff, I haven't seen one butler in the entire time I've been here, especially lady butlers that can fly."

The other two just look at each other, not knowing how to respond. She approaches the front door. It spreads side to side on its own as (un)usual. Before they can even set a single hoof inside, the radiant host himself spirals into their presence, greeting the three with a joyously shrill welcome.

"My wonderful goat friend and her colleagues have arrived! Oh, joyous joy of all joys!"

The small goat with the turtleneck steps before him.

"Excuse me, are you the host of this entertainment venue?"

Barnaby droops his long neck downward, answering the child upside down with his tongue hanging agape over his beak.

"Indeed I am, my precious little poindexter."

Lou immediately pulls out a notepad and begins asking an onslaught of obnoxiously specific questions pertaining to the undead.

"How long have you been dead? Are you really made of ectoplasm or is it just dead flesh? Can you phase through walls? Do ghosts enjoy Halloween or are they psychologically burnt out by the holiday for being a garish appropriation of their culture? Do ghosts fall in love or get married?..."

Barnaby is already worn out by the child. Nearly half of the sentences have gone in one ear, been processed as "blah, blah, blah" and exfiltrated through the other. He doesn't wish to be rude to his guests, so cleverly, he calls upon a scapeghost, screaming into the sky.

"Binky!"

A chubby orange ghost poofs before Barnaby, saluting the owl as if he were its master. Barnaby proceeds to delegate his hosting duties, leaning into the jolly, orb-like being floating beside him.

"Binky, would you be a doll and answer all of this child's insipid questions for me?"

Ah, Binky, always reliable and none-too-bright, volunteers with poise and overwhelming enthusiasm for the unfortunate task.

"Yes, sir!"

Barnaby then turns his attention to the cowering little one.

"Oh look! Someone wrapped me a sweet little gift, complete with a bow and all. Hoot!"

He runs his long, black talon through the loop of Lily's silky, pink, lacy bow. Lily stares at Barnaby, quivering, her large, kitten-like eyes filled with dread.

"Y-you're not gonna eat me... a-are you?"

Barnaby loops his coiling neck around her, curious to inquire.

"That depends... Are you delicious?"

She continues to cower and Barnaby feels semi-required to reassure her. He drapes his talons over her shoulder.

"Billie is a loving and caring friend, judging from what I've learned so far. I doubt she'd allow her companions to be eaten by ghosts."

The energetic ghost owl zips back to his original position, spreading his wings in a vaudevillian manner as he invites all the guests inside.

"Enough of the introductions! Let's get this party started!"

The floodgate opens, and the guests step and float inside. Barnaby's mansion seems to be noticeably different every single time Billie sets foot within. This time, it's done up to the nines, like a Halloween Hootenanny of the grandest proportions. Where once a humble, drab carpet was laid, a shiny and glowing neon dance floor appears. Where a fireplace once hung, shooting smoke into the heavens, a massive turntable, surrounded by towering speakers, stands, blasting rave music almost deafeningly loud, operated by a tiny orange ghost with sunglasses and oversized headphones.

Billie's eyes become flying saucers, filled with excitement. She'd never been anywhere so cool in all her life. The other two kids seem quite impressed and filled with awe as well. Barnaby approaches the three with plastic cups filled with a bright neon liquid he assures them is simply ghostly punch. It tastes of a smoky, slightly sour tangerine flavor. Billie digs it.

Powerful, rib cage-pounding music fills the room as Billie gets her groove on with some of the pudgy orange ghosts. Barnaby laughs seeing the children attempt to enjoy themselves. Lily, all by her lonesome is approached by a silly ghost with a big bow wrapped around her whole body.

"Whatcha got there, kid?"

She points to the drawing pad in Lily's bag. Lily, ever nervous, stammers bashfully as the curious ghost inquires.

"Oh, h-hello. It's my d-drawing pad. I s-sometimes make art."

The ghost is surprised. She cracks bubblegum as she takes an interest in the art, describing her life.

"In life, I was a model, surrounded by artists. Ya might not know from this little ball of orange nothingness, but I was quite the looker."

She sighs.

"But those days are long gone now."

Lily looks down at her bag, pulling out her book. She approaches the ghost.

"I'd like to draw you."

The tiny, round ghost turns to her.

"Really? But I ain't the sleek and slender curves I used ta be. I'm just a circle now."

Lily opens her book for the ghost. She reveals her gallery for the ghost to see. Her art is exquisite, far more advanced than most children her age as her prowess in understanding form, shadows, lighting, color-theory, and framing are put on display. The ghost is shocked. It ranks up there with the professional adults she hired to represent her in life.

Lily flips past many different pictures she's made, from paintings to watercolors, to little nick-nacks she's made. The ghost peruses her portfolio.

"Wow, kid, you're a prodigy! You know that?"

Lily is genuinely surprised by the response. She doesn't personally think her art is anything special. She is elated, coming out of her funk and losing her anxious stutter as she wags her little tail joyously.

"You really think so?!"

The ghost introduces herself.

"Sure. The name's Doll, by the way. It's kinda a nickname I got around here. Every time Barnaby hosts one of these shindigs, I like to show up and make the new ghosts feel welcome, ya know, break the ice a little bit. Anyway, keep it up, toots, you're goin' places. Don't let those drawin' skills go to waste, kid, you hear?"

Lily laughs, finally feeling as though she's finally starting to fit in.

"I won't."

Doll winks at the kid.

"Also, your bow is totally cute. It's SO your color."

Lily feels so much better. She allows her spirit to be free, pursuing other ghosts to show her art and interact with them. She spends most of her night drawing them as they pose for her, getting some tips of the trade from dead artists, collaborating, and everything. Lily's never been particularly social, so it warms Billie's heart to watch her beloved friend find happiness and solace among the ghosts.

She checks in on Lou, who's gotten himself set up at a table away from the ear-blasting pop and techno of the living room. He's got his little game of Goats and Goblins laid out on the table and he goes over the rules of war and battle with his ghost friends.

"Okay, so the object of the game is quite simple but can be played in many different ways. It's mostly up to the board master to determine the rules. It can become quite complex, but for novices like yourselves, I'll break it down simply."

The ghosts surround him. Many of the individuals were warriors or mages in their past lives and are quite intrigued about a modern-day attempt at simulating the tides of war and the roles of warlords and such. They pick up the playing pieces, toying with them. Lou looks over to one not-too-bright ghost as it attempts to eat a druid.

"Okay, wise guy, spit it out."

The ghost plays dumb as the piece falls through its body onto the floor. Lou rolls his eyes.

"Spit what out?"

A very tall and extremely muscular former Viking with an ax lodged in his ghostly head bends over the board, his gigantic muscles rippling as he takes a piece and holds it up to his eyes, squinting as his bushy brows block his eyes.

"Vat is dis piece?"

He asks with a Scandinavian accent.

"That is the humble white mage, a very important support class in any team. While gentlemen like yourself perfect your offensive prowess, the white mage stays in the back, healing and providing all sorts of beneficial buffs to the attackers, granting them defensive capabilities."

The rippling ghost places the piece on the table with a loud crash, unaware of his own strength. Lou attempts to keep the pieces from falling to the floor as the others laugh.

"Vhen I get back to Valhalla, I vill try to find vone of these 'vhite mages'."

It is then that Lou removes one of his most coveted pieces from his bag, a limited-edition prototype necromancer.

"Now, these guys, you'll love. The devious necromancer usually maintains the role of crowd control, summoning ghosts, zombies, skeletons, and other undead friends."

The mummy at the party takes immense interest.

"Now this is what my kingdom needs, a necromancer."

Now that she feels confident that her friends will be okay without her, Billie hits the dance floor and starts burning a hole in the floor with her sick moves. The night becomes a blur and the thumping beats of the slow ballads merge into one, seemingly uninterrupted song. Billie keeps herself fueled on punch, only ever stopping to use the bathroom and then heading back for more chaos.

Hours pass, and Billie is running low. Her friends, even pacing themselves playing several games of GoG and completing commissions for ghost friends, are growing tired. They've never been particularly good dancers, but they give it a shot, releasing pent-up nerd energy onto the stage. A slow ballad is inserted to pace the room as ghosts and guests pair up seemingly automatically.

Most ghosts know the drill at this point and have preset dance partners they favor, but Lou and Lily are caught completely off-guard, and it seems, almost by fate, that they're stuck together. Even Billie was hoping for this as she sidelines at the ballad section until the host himself coaxes her into a dance. She chuckles at the opportunity but accepts.

Lou and Lily stare at each other in a Mexican standoff of verbal exchange. Their faces become redder than the strobe lights. Lou figures he might as well make the first move.

"N-never thought this situation would arise."

Lily responds.

"Me neither."

He goes to ask her, but she interrupts.

"Wanna dance?"

He laughs awkwardly.

"Sure."

He takes her hoof in his. She places her other around his shoulder, his turtleneck embarrassingly damp from sweat. He places his hand at her waist and they lean into each other. Lily lays her head on his shoulder, listening to his heartbeat through his neck. She finds it soothing like an emotional crutch to get her through her nervousness. She closes her eyes as the heartbeat somehow finds itself in sync with the song. Lou lays his head on hers. Her head is warm and her fur is like a silky pillow as the two drift into an automation.

As she casually dances with the significantly taller host, Billie's attention is almost entirely drawn to her friends. She smiles at just how perfect they are. She draws Barnaby's attention to it, and even he finds it precious.

"I totally ship Louly"

She says, barely audible to Barnaby, who whispers in her ear.

"Make that two."

She notices and laughs as he tosses her high into the air, giggling as she's caught. They're so glad the two newcomers are having such a good time. Before they know it, the song bows out and the couples disperse. Billie is almost sad that the moment is over as the goats separate, laughing at each other's nervousness, and realizing just how silly feeling awkward around friends is. Lily plays with her floppy ear as she faces away from Lou.

"Y-you're a good dancer, Lou."

He chuckles.

"Y-yeah. You too."

She looks up at him, noticing.

"Y-you're s-stuttering too?"

He stands there, realizing what just happened.

"Yeah... I guess I was, wasn't I?"

They decide it's time for them to go about their business and reflect on what just happened. They try not to think about it too much, but they'd each be lying if they said those thoughts didn't distract them. Billie has been letting loose, cutting the rug, dancing in a conga line with many, many ghosts, and even engaging in the acts of what she assumes to be vandalism that the ghosts insist Barnaby will snap back together later.

She rides the chandelier, screaming "WOO" as it snaps from the ceiling and crashes into several ghosts below. They laugh at the mayhem. Many hours have passed at this point, and Lou and Lily are ready to call it a night. Billie, however, continues to try to stay energized. As the bags form under her eyes as she was ready to quit hours ago, she sets foot into the kitchen and runs the sink as cold as she can into a cup with some iced cubes from the freezer.

"Gotta stay awake. Must not sleep."

As the warm feelings of exhaustion start to set in, Billie dumps the cold water onto herself. Immediately, she is jolted awake by the stimulus.

"Woo! That's better!"

The ghostly host cranes his neck around the doorway, peering inside with utmost interest.

"What are you doing?"

Billie is startled. Dropping the cup on the floor.

"Who, me? Oh, I was just, uh, getting a glass of water."

Quickly, she grabs the cup from off the floor, smiling falsely and sweating. Barnaby stares at the bizarre child like she just grew a third eye (and it wasn't his fault).

"Getting sleepy, are we?"

Billie denies the accusation, swatting it away like a noisy and pesky housefly. She can't fool Barnaby. He knows for a fact no such pest exists in the house with him on patrol. He smiles, cheekily implying he's aware of what she's doing. He taunts her.

"You know what? Perhaps I could use a picker-upper myself, Hoot! How about I throw on a pot of coffee?"

He sets a pot to brew. A warm aroma of coffee beans fills the kitchen as the coffee-maker bubbles and makes hissing noises. Curious, she inquires.

"Where did you get that coffee machine? It wasn't here before."

He simply looks at her, and with no shame whatsoever, bluntly admits.

"I stole it."

He looks at her with a candidly dumb, dimpled look on his face. Billie goes back into the party to get lost in ghosts and tries to dodge Barnaby. The bags under her eyes grow heavier and heavier as she tries to avoid the need to sleep. Lou and Lily moan excessively about wanting to go home. They were ready to go hours ago. Lou inquires of her as Lily rests her head on his shoulder, entirely passed out.

"What do you say we wrap it up and hit the road, eh? We had our fill. I'm starting to get a headache and poor Lily just wants to get to her comfy bed. Also, my arm is falling asleep from her laying on it."

Billie folds her arms as she addresses the exhausted goat.

"First off, you two are so cute together that I can't stand it!… And second, we can't leave!"

She throws her arms in the air in desperation.

"If we leave now, all these ghosts are gonna think we're totally lame and Barnaby will never invite us to a party ever again!"

Lou is rightfully mad and calls Billie out on her selfish behavior. He unintentionally wakes Lily, who's started to become cranky as well.

"News flash, Billie! We're living beings. We need to sleep!"

Lily coos, injecting her opinion.

"These ghosts have been so sweet and nice to us, but we just can't party like they can."

Billie tries to argue.

"Nonsense! We can make it! Just a few more hours and we can go home. I promise."

Lou rises onto his tired legs approaching her. She raises her hooves defensively as he points at her.

"Look at you! You look terrible! The bags under your eyes are so big I could fit my laptop inside!"

Lou helps Lily up from the ground. She stands next to him, folding her arms and scowling at Billie just as much as he is.

"Well, if you wanna stay up until you collapse, go right on ahead. I'm going home. Come on, Lil; let's get outta here."

He takes her by the hoof and they move toward the front door, slamming it shut behind them. Billie stands there, dumbfounded at first, then angry, feeling betrayed. She yells at the door, knowing very well that they're both out of earshot. She stomps her hoof in frustration.

"Fine! Who needs ya?! I can party all day and night long all by myself!"

She blows raspberries like a petulant child, not even realizing everyone's staring at her.

"What are you guys looking at?! The show's over!"

Arrogantly, she leaves the room to mingle with some ghosts she hasn't embarrassed herself in front of. She enters the foyer, where the more sophisticated lot are conversing about boring adult topics she could only pretend to be invested in.

Another hour of talking and schmoozing goes by, and Billie is really starting to show her fatigue. A posh upperclassman with a top hat addresses Billie personally. He'd been going on about stocks and bonds or something, basically, grown-up stuff she knows nothing about, and she holds her coffee, nearly dozing off and spilling it on the floor.

"Young lady!"

Her head darts around. Her eyes have deep circles and are red and stinging. She's been awake for so long that she can no longer tell what's real and what's not, and in a haunted mansion where EVERYTHING is weird, that's quite alarming.

"Huh? What? No, I'm not asleep. Why would you think that?"

She laughs a phony and completely in-denial laugh as the ghosts stare at her.

"I was asking what I should do with these dividends and you completely ignored me."

She answers with all the maturity of the uninformed child that she is.

"I don't know. Sell them to your business partners or whatever."

Oddly enough, the ghost takes her advice, completely unaware that she is making up an answer on something she knows absolutely nothing about. It makes one wonder how these ghosts had the financial means of playing the stock market in the first place.

Billie wanders around aimlessly, lethargic and irritable, barely able to hold herself up as she props herself against a wall. Barnaby approaches her, still boundless with the same perky energy and enthusiasm as usual. His neck spirals around her and she becomes startled slightly. He smiles innocently at her.

"Having fun? Hoot!"

Billie is so tired she can't even speak coherently anymore. She slurs her words and mumbles to the point where she doesn't make sense anymore, even to Barnaby of all people.

"No, momma, I din't eat all th' pizza."

She slides to the floor. Barnaby stares down at her for a moment. He shakes his head in shame.

"Tsk tsk tsk. Alright, young lady, your time has come."

Billie becomes alert. Her eyes widen as she looks to Barnaby for mercy.

"You're not gonna kill me fer fallin' asleep at yer party, are ya?"

Barnaby places his talon to his chest, honestly offended she'd even suggest it.

"What?! Heavens no! Hoot! I wouldn't dream of it, my dear. But it is quite evident that you've met your match."

She tries to argue her case.

"But Barnaby—. "

He places his finger on her lip, silencing her.

"Hush now. I won't hear another word. I'm taking you kids home. You've had enough partying for one day."

He whisks the small goat outside over his shoulder where the others await. Lou and Lily had forgotten how to get home and were too angry and embarrassed to suck it up and say anything. He scoops the two small other goats, tossing all three on his back as he expands his form to the size of roughly that of a dragon. Barnaby, the massive ghostly owl, takes to the sky with the three goats clung to his waistcoat. As he soars, his black feathers bristle elegantly in the wind.

Barnaby flies in the direction of Billie's hometown with a dedicated expression planted on his face. He's been unnervingly quiet the whole time. Billie wonders if he's mad at her. She speaks to him quietly.

"Barnaby?"

He responds with a smile and the same whimsical cheer in his voice as usual.

"Yes, my little sweet pea? Hoot! Hoot!"

Billie retreats, speaking softly and somewhat cowering in shame.

"... I'm sorry I lied to you... and told you that me and my friends were cool and that there wouldn't be any problems at the party."

Barnaby responds, oblivious to the notion.

"Hoot! Who said anything about there being any problems?"

They finally pull into Billie's home town and Barnaby lands. The kids climb off his back and he returns to his standard size. Barnaby kneels to Billie, noticing she's grown visibly upset. He looks her in the eyes and she faces away from him, tears starting to form as she sniffs to hold them back. She tries to explain her morale.

"It's just... ever since we met, you held being able to attend your party as some sort of big deal. You wanted to kill me so that I could attend, so after we became friends, I thought you'd want me to attend your party. But I got selfish, and I got my friends all roped up in this just to try to prove to you that I could party just as hard as any of you ghosts and I got scared."

He looks at her sympathetically, cocking his head to the side to try to understand. He places his talons on her shoulder and speaks to her kindly.

"Why in the world would you be scared?"

She can't even hold back anymore. She sniffs as the tears roll down her face.

"I was scared that if I couldn't party as hard as you and the big boys... you wouldn't want to be my friend anymore!"

She throws her arms around him, begging for his forgiveness. He's entirely taken aback by the response. Her friends look on in shame as they watch her fall apart in his arms. Slowly, he wraps his wings around her in comfort as his face turns to an expression of sorrow.

"Is that what this is all about?"

He lets her weep into his shoulder as he tries to respond gracefully.

"This is all my fault. Hoot! I've put too much peer pressure on you."

She raises her head, rubbing the snot from her nose onto her arm as she looks him in the eyes.

"Allow me to preface that parties aren't everything. You and your adorable little friends here, you all mean so much more to me than some silly ghost party. I would never stop being your friend just because your mortal body cannot keep pace with us."

She tries to catch her breath, blubbering embarrassingly.

"Y-you w-wouldn't?"

He shakes his head as he smiles compassionately at her.

"No. If it's any consolation to you, not even MY parties last forever. Hoot! Even if we don't get tired, per se, as ghosts do, we do, admittedly, grow bored of the monotony eventually, and we go about our merry ways."

She smiles for a second, rubbing her eyes, but then she remembers.

"Doesn't excuse the fact that I was still a huge jerk to my friends."

Lou and Lily pull up to her, wrapping their arms around her.

"We heard the whole thing. I forgive you. I had a lot of fun teaching the ghosts all about role-playing."

Lily leans on her.

"Yeah. Me too. I got to make a lot of pretty commissions for the ghosts and they were so happy. I even made a picture for Barnaby to hang on his fridge. It'll take a lot more than some dumb argument to drive us away. We love you, Billie."

Barnaby wraps his large wings around the whole group as Billie laughs to herself and begins to feel like a massive heel.

"You guys. I don't deserve any of you. I love you all too."

Barnaby releases his embrace when he realizes that Aristotle had been standing there the whole time, and even he's getting all choked up. He pulls himself together, getting back on track. He sniffs.

"So, you kids had fun, right?"

She turns to Aristotle.

"Yeah. We had fun. I don't think I'm gonna be going to any more parties any time soon."

He leans over to her.

"That's good. That gives you plenty of time to catch up on all those chores you've been missing out on."

She chuckles.

"Yeah. I guess chores don't sound too bad."

She runs into the tent so that she can finally catch up on some much-needed sleep, fully prepared to get down and dirty with a plethora of chores. Lou and Lily say their goodbyes and wave as they depart for their respective homes. All that's left is Aristotle and Barnaby. He speaks to the ghost owl with his hands on his hips.

"You know, I had you pegged all wrong. I thought you would be nothing but trouble... but you really are good with them. I wonder, have you ever had any kids of your own?"

Barnaby turns around to take flight. He looks back at Aristotle with a hint of pain in his eyes.

"I used to... but that was a long time ago. Anyway, I'll see you around..."

He takes off into the air and Aristotle watches as he flies off into the distance. When the bird is no longer in sight, he heads inside.

Billie had already headed to bed. Within seconds, she's fast asleep under the covers. Aristotle checks in on her. As she rests peacefully, he leans over to her, running his fingers through her tuft of purple hair, and plants a gentle kiss on her head. Aristotle walks over to the door, looking one last time as he turns off the light and closes the door.

"Sleep tight, kiddo."