Guilt of a Phantom

by Powerdrainer

Shadow of the Night. Part 4

Edits done by Halusm, and King of Kings.

Shadow of the Night.

Part 4.

<<>><<>><<>>

Danny and his friends once more found themselves in the room where their shared nightmare began; standing around the pedestal with, as they had just learned, three of the Elements of Harmony.

Nothing was said between them as they observed the three crystals slowly rotate in the air. The soft, warm glow coming from them a welcoming beacon in the cold, dim room they were in.

"So, what now?" Danny asked, breaking the silence.

They had all been pondering that very question for some time now, but hadn't yet devised a plan. Before, they would be simply ‘transported’ to whatever place Nightmare Moon thought to send them. But everything had been quiet for a long time now. Too long.

There was nothing to tell them where to go, or what to do next. No clue. No door hidden away in the shadows. Nothing. Nothing at all. It was unnerving to say the least.

Both Danny and 'Sam' knew that Nightmare Moon would not just give up like that, and they had been on edge ever since their unlikely allies vanished into thin air. Danny's nervousness also made Tucker act jumpy, causing him to react to the emotions and feelings Danny tried to keep contained.

Tucker jumped up from the sudden noise, and gave an annoyed grunt as he realized it was only Danny.

"I honestly don't know." 'Sam' answered a bit ashamed, embarrassed that she was just as lost as Danny. "I guess we just have to wait this out."

"Wait what out?" Tucker asked. "Nothing’s happening!"

"He does have a point there, Sam. Shouldn't something have happened by now? Maybe this Nightmare Moon character gave up, or something." Danny said, not really believing that himself.

"Danny, believe me. I’ve seen what she is capable of, and what she’s done in the past. She wouldn't just give up like that. No, she’s planning something, and it frightens me to think about what it could be."

"Yeah, that's another thing that’s bothering me. You keep telling me all these things, but I don't know them myself, so I know it is not some memory of mine… I think. And you said that you were an outside force coming to help me." Danny summed up with a slight edge to his voice as he turned to 'Sam'.

Her eyes widened as she recalled what Frostbite had said to her not too long ago, and she could see Danny slowly connect the pieces.

"Danny, don't. Now is not the time."

"It's as good a time as any," he said as he indicated the empty room. "Sam. Who are you really?"

"Danny, please don't. I can't tell you."

"And why not?!" He asked with a slightly raised voice.

"Because… Because there is a time and place for everything. But this is not the time, nor is it the place. All you need to know right now is that I am your friend, and that I am here to help you." 'Sam' answered with a sad voice as she looked down, not meeting his eyes.

But her emotions got the better of her for a moment, and a flash of green showed in her eyes. And, although she looked down, the green glow shown in the dark room was a dead give away to Danny as to what she was. That just left the who.

"You're a ghost!?" He yelled before 'Sam' could slap her hand over his mouth, her eyes darting around the dark, empty room in panic.

"Don't let her hear you. She already plans on draining your energy. What if she also gets a hold of mine!?" She said with a panicked whisper.

Danny grabbed her by the wrist, and pulled her hand away from his mouth.

"You better have a damn good explanation then!" He said with a forced calm, but anger was seething within him. Anger directed toward the ghost that dared use the memory of Sam to 'help' him.

Unfortunately, he forgot about the whole deal with Tucker. And while he managed to remain relatively calm, Tucker didn't.

With a battle cry that would make many a techno geek scream in fear, he tackled 'Sam'.

"Danny, quick, while she’s down!" He yelled, straightening his beret before it could slip from his head.

"Okay, I didn't see that one coming." Danny said, conflicted with what course of action to take.

"Come on, dude. Hurry. Take this ghost down!" he shouted while 'Sam' was trying to push him off of her.

"Keep it down will you?" She yelled through her struggles, attempting to remove the clingy nerd.

"Eh, you guys," Danny said weakly, not sure where to start to solve this mess, when something caught his eye.

A flicker in one of the shadows. Not a flicker of light, but one of deeper darkness.

"You guys!" Danny repeated more urgently.

There it was again, bigger this time.

"What are you waiting for man? Do something!" Tucker commanded, not noticing the shift in Danny's behaviour.

"Let go of me, Tucker! You don't know what you’re doing." 'Sam' told him with a raised voice as she continued to struggle. She didn't notice the shift in Danny either, or that the room suddenly became darker.

"You guys!" Danny shouted.

"What!?" Both 'Sam' and Tucker yelled as Danny finally got through to them.

"I don't think we’re waiting anymore." He said in a panic, staring into the glowing green eyes of a very angry entity.

A shapeless shadow condensed in the darkness, but the intensity of the eyes staring down on them left no room for doubt as to who it was.

"Oh," was the only thing Tucker said as he lost his grip over 'Sam'. And 'Sam' could only stare in horror as the eyes focused on her.

"No!"

A wicked grin formed underneath the glowing eyes looking at 'Sam' as Nightmare Moon looked at her with hunger in her eyes.

With a menacing cackle Nightmare Moon's warped, shadow like body expanded in every direction, filling the room. Only the glow of the elements seemed to break through the suffocating darkness, but eventually they too failed. The set not yet complete, and their hopeful glow was lost to Danny as he was forcefully spun around by the many wisps of darkness that assaulted him.

Tucker yelled loudly as he crouched down, crossing his arms over his head as a means to defend himself.

'Sam' was tossed forcefully as Nightmare Moon began her relentless assault.

All three of them shrieked in pain as dark tendrils wrapped painfully around their wrists, jerking their arms behind their backs, and keeping them firmly locked in place. Another set of shadows immobilized their legs, and finally a dark mist settled around their bodies, fully sealing them in, as a dark patch formed over their mouths, gagging them utterly.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Nightmare Moon asked evilly as she stood before 'Sam' in her full form. "What a pleasant surprise."

A dark tendril wrapped around 'Sam's' throat, making her gasp as she was lifted in the air by it.

"I have to say, I was quite surprised when I heard your…pet so lovingly call you a ghost." She said as she slowly walked around 'Sam', shooting a quick glance at Tucker with the word pet.

"Ooh, all this night I have been working so hard to drain our disgraced hero here," Nightmare Moon continued as she stepped closer to Danny, who looked at her with a murderous glare.

"Danny Phantom. Or should I say Danny Manson? That is what you call yourself now, isn't it?" The only reply she got was a piercing glare, which didn't impress her all that much.

"Oh poor Danny. Poor, poor Danny. Such tragedy, such pain. And all because you were too slow. If only you had acted faster, maybe things could have been different." she said, now slowly circling around Danny.

"I can take it away, you know. That pain." she offered with a soft, tender tone; her tail lightly brushing past his face. "All I ask in return is your power. Give me what I want, and I shall remove your pain." She offered as she stepped back in front of him, slowly moving in closer until her lips brushed against his cheek, whispering in his ear. "You need never feel pain like that again. All you must do, is give me the powers that caused you that pain."

Danny's eyes lost focus, and his mind hazed over as her poisonous words set in. A sliver of darkness taking root in his brain, corrupting his thinking. Something the current tenant of darkness wasn't happy about.

"Just let go, Danny. And I promise that all your problems will be spirited away. Just say the word, and you will be free." Nightmare Moon spoke softly in his ear,

The glow in Danny's eyes slowly dimmed as his free mind was clouded with the darkness of Nightmare Moon. He noticed that the shadow covering his mouth had vanished, and he was able to speak again. But what was it that he needed to say? He knew the words, didn't he?

His unfocused eyes shifted to Nightmare Moon, standing before him. She could see the struggle happening within, as his mind was slowly losing the battle for control.

"Mmmpfh, Mmmphfff." Came the struggling sound of 'Sam', and Danny felt his eyes drawn to her.

A spike of clarity shot through his mind, making him shake his head in confusion, before the cloud reasserted itself in his consciousness.

"Don't pay her any attention, Danny." Nightmare Moon said as she used her hoof to guide his head back to her. "She is only part of your problem. Just forget about her. She isn't real, remember?" She continued, making sure she was between Danny and 'Sam', blocking his view on her.

"Just do as I tell you, and all your problems shall be obliterated."

"My… problem..." Danny said slowly, his pupils widening and shrinking without control. Green flashes showing in his irises.

"My... problem..."

"Yes, say it." Nightmare Moon said with an eager whisper.

"My problem..." Dany said, his eyes snapping back in focus as they turned completely green. "The only problem I have, is you telling me what to do!" He roared, making Nightmare Moon rear back with her ears flat on her head.

"WHAT!?"

"Heheheh… Forgot about me, Moony?" A rough voice said through Danny's mouth.

"You!" Nightmare spat, seeing Shadow through the glow in Danny's eyes.

"Me! And I must say, I am not at all happy with you trying to take over my master. So back off, nag!"

'Sam' watched in amazement as Danny broke away from the shadowy bonds that held him. Tucker was unresponsive, his eyes also glowing green as he was linked to Danny.

Nightmare Moon stumbled back in shock, never having expected this to happen. How did this pathetic drone of a shadow manage to break her bonds? Or for that matter, how did he manage to overpower the darkness she had placed in the human’s mind?

"What are you?" She asked, dangerously.

"Well, the answer might be a bit cliche. But really, there is no other way to say it." Shadow said with a smirk, and Nightmare Moon could only blink dumbly at his response:

"I am your worst nightmare!"

"Pheawy!" 'Sam' managed to mutter through her gag as she gave Danny a deadpanned look, only to realize that Danny was not talking at all.

"Right, let me fix that." Shadow said as he raised Danny's arm.

The shadows that had captured 'Sam' and Tucker vanished, giving them their freedom back.

"How did you do that!?" 'Sam' asked in confusion, while Nightmare Moon roared the same thing.

"Did you forget, Moony?" Shadow said, ignoring 'Sam' for the time being. "We are the same. I am what I am today because of you. Your energy flows through my being, and the same holds true for you. Heh, it looks like you're not the only one in charge any more." The mocking tone dripped off his words as he gave Nightmare Moon a taunting grin, sensing her rising anger.

"Fine!" She spat. "Don't think that will stop me! Or did you forget, I just found another source of power!" Danny's face fell with that statement, and Shadow cursed himself for this slip.

"If I can't have your energy, I will just have to drain Sam. But that should not be a problem, right? Seeing that she is not really your friend."

Shadow turned Danny's head, and looked at the girl in question. For a moment Danny's eyes shone even brighter as he looked at 'Sam', then he gave a sideways glance at Nightmare Moon.

"Maybe she is, maybe she isn't. But I won't let you hurt her." He spoke with a double voice, his own mixed with Danny's, giving it an eerie echo.

"You really think you can stop me!?" Nightmare Moon challenged as she absorbed the shadows around her, making her grow larger.

"Just me, no. But with all of us," Shadow said, indicating 'Sam', Tucker, and the faint light from the elements glowing in the dark. "You don't stand a chance."

"Then perhaps I need to pad the odds in my favor." Nightmare Moon said darkly as a tendril shot out of her mane, wrapping around 'Sam', and pulling the girl towards her.

Shadow sucked air in through his teeth in mock shock, but clearly showing he was less than impressed with what she did.

"Oh, Moony. Did you forget? Already!" Shadow said with a tone one would use to lecture a child. "We have the same power, you and I. You formed from me, and I formed from you. But, unlike you, I became better, stronger, smarter!"

With a snap of his fingers, 'Sam' was released from Nightmare Moon's hold, dropping her to the ground.

"What!?" Nightmare Moon said with equal confusion and shock, even a hint of fear crept through, but she hid it well.

Looking wide eyed at Shadow and 'Sam', her head continuously moving from one to the other, trying to figure out what was happening. Unaware, she took a step back, increasing the distance between herself and that wretched Shadow.

'Sam' also looked at Shadow, seeing the glint of his consciousness through Danny's eyes.

Wearily, she stepped closer to him, if only to get away from the nightmare at her side.

"Danny?" She asked hesitantly, making sure that Nightmare Moon was still in the corner of her vision as she approached the impossible to understand man.

"No, sorry." Shadow spoke through his master's mouth, sending a chill down 'Sam's' spine.

"What is happening? What are you?"

"I could ask the same thing to you." Shadow shot back with a quick glance, "But we have more pressing matters to attend to, so that will have to wait." He then returned his attention back to Nightmare Moon.

"So, Moony. Now what?"

"Now what!" Nightmare Moon shouted, shaking from rage, "I am done with these games. I will drain you both. I will take what I want, and there is nothing you can do to stop me." She roared. "You think you are in control? That you have any chance of living through this? I am the master of darkness and shadows. I am the queen of the night. And you are but a mere shadow. A shadow that will bow down to me, your one, and only true master."

"Meeehh… Let's call that plan B. I actually have something better in mind." Shadow said, enormously unimpressed by her display of 'power'.

Grabbing 'Sam' and Tucker by their wrists, Danny's eyes flashed a brilliant green, and shadows started to twist and swirl around the trio. Tucker was still standing motionless, eyes aglow. But 'Sam' looked around in panic, not knowing what was happening. And Shadow, he gave a challenging look to Nightmare Moon before the shadows completely obscured his vision.

The vortex of darkness that covered the three humans grew larger and larger, threatening to consume the entire chamber they were in. But, as the dark mass came within touching distance with Nightmare Moon, it collapsed in on itself, disappearing as fast as it appeared. And the three humans, they were nowhere to be seen.

"What!?" Nightmare Moon said, unable to believe what had happened.

"What!?"

"GHRAAAAAGGGHH!!!"

She screamed out in anger, slamming her front hooves into the floor, cracking the ancient stone in her rage. A faint light hit her face, and she snarled as she turned to look at its source. Her anger swelled as she saw three of the objects she hated more than anything. The Elements.

She growled under her breath, when an idea struck her. A twisted grin found its way onto her muzzle as she approached those accursed objects. They couldn't use them if they were broken, and she would break them, in oh-so-many pieces.

Charging her horn, she focused all the energy she could muster at the rotating crystals.

A massive explosion rocked the room, and debris and dust fell down all around her. Blinking her eyes rapidly to clear it from the dust that had fallen into it, she looked up to see the results of her effort.

"WHAT!?"

She could only stare in shock at the sight.

Everything in the blast radius was destroyed. Everything, save for the pedestal, and the Elements, which were still rotating in place, undamaged, almost mocking her.

"I will get you for this, Danny Phantom. Mark my words!"

<<>><<>><<>>

It was quiet. No sound could be heard in the dim, messy room filled with various forms of strange looking technology. Desks were littered with half finished gadgets, testing tubes that had strange, glowing contents in them, and a large doorway that was embedded in the wall, sealed with a massive iron blast door.

There wasn't much light with lamps turned off, and most of the illumination present came from the various shades of green glowing goop found in the glass tubes on the desks and shelves placed in the room.

There was a flicker in the dimness, and the green glow intensified as dark wisps of shadows started to form in the center of the chamber. Slowly spinning around each other as they grew in volume and speed, gradually becoming a spiraling vortex of pure darkness. Growing larger and larger, until it covered most of the room, yet leaving every object found in the chamber untouched.

And then, abruptly, as if someone had burst a balloon, the vortex vanished. Leaving behind nothing more than three humans. One teenage girl who looked around in confusion, and two males. Danny and Tucker. Both their eyes were still glowing, and Tucker was still unresponsive.

"What happened? Where are we?" 'Sam' said frantically as she looked around the room.

"Where everything began!"

'Sam' turned around, and faced Danny, seeing his eyes were still aglow.

"Shadow?" she asked hesitantly, receiving a small nod from him.

"What are you? And for that matter, how did you do that?"

"So many questions, but so few answers." Shadow spoke as he slowly walked through the room, looking at the closed portal where his master's destiny changed.

"My master has many questions as well, but he never received an answer from you. So why would I give you what you won't return?" He asked, giving 'Sam' a sideway glance.

"I ehh... I can't, it simply is not yet t-"

"The time." Shadow finished. "Curious."

Slowly he turned around and looked 'Sam' straight in the eyes. He could see the glowing eyes from his master in hers, seeing the glow that was his. And he could see it was ever so slowly fading.

"Time seems to be always against my master, even before I knew the meaning of time." He said softly, picking up one of the many random gadgets lying on a workbench, studying it. "I don't like it. Time, I mean. It always seems to be running out."

He placed back the object where he found it, and, once more, returned his attention to 'Sam'.

"I know what you are. And I have a good idea who you are." He said, causing 'Sam's' eyes to widen in shock.

"But I am not yet certain. My master’s mind is in turmoil, courtesy of Nightmare Moon. Memories are breaking free, and are mixing with each other. It is a mess. I do not control it, nor do I understand it. I am not complete, and my strength is failing. Nightmare Moon ripped me apart, and it was through nothing more than luck that I managed to hold on. And this little stunt I just pulled cost me a lot of my energy. I will not be able to remain like this for much longer." He told 'Sam' as he slowly walked around the shocked girl.

"But before I return to the shadows of my master’s mind, there is an issue we need to deal with."

"An issue?" 'Sam' asked warily, not sure what to make of the strange entity possessing Danny.

"Yes. Like I said, I have a fairly good idea who you are, though I am not sure. Master is slowly regaining control over his thoughts, and I am positive he will figure it out, eventually. But I do know that, so far, you have been helping master. For now, that is enough for me."

"What do you mean?"

"When I recede, I will leave no memory of what transpired since the moment your… friends disappeared. Master will be confused, but he has enough to deal with right now, and wondering who you are is not going to help him."

"What!? You can do that?"

"I believe I can, but not for much longer."

"But how?"

"I was created from a mistake. A mistake of my own doing. I am Nightmare Moon. And yet, I am not." He said as he lifted one of Danny's hands, looking at it.

"Then, who? Who are you?"

"Who am I?" He whispered as he dropped Danny's hand to the side, locking eyes with 'Sam'.

"I am the Shadow of the Night."

The second he said that, the blast doors of the ghost portal hissed open, revealing the green, swirling vortex of ectoplasm.

"And this night has only just begun!"

He finished as he, 'Sam', Tucker, and the entire room was suddenly covered in an ominous green glow.

A faint glow suddenly came from Danny's body, and a dark entity rose up out of him, while Danny returned to his human form.

Shadow looked down at the overly shocked girl, and turned around, preparing to move through the portal.

"WAIT!!" 'Sam' called out while reaching out for him.

Stopping in mid-air, he turned to look at her once more.

"What are we supposed to do now?" She asked as her hand lowered to her side.

"Only Danny can answer that. But only if he can separate truth from deceit." Shadow answered before flying through the portal, closing it behind him.

"What?" 'Sam' shouted after him as the lights flickered on. "That honestly isn't helping me at all."

"’Sam’. Who are you talking to?" Danny asked with a groan as he rubbed his head, looking around in confusion as he tried to figure out what had happened.

"And, where are we?" He asked as he blinked his eyes without coordination, not yet recognizing where he was.

"Wait….. What!" Danny started as he finally realized where he was.

"My parent’s lab! What are we doing here? How did we get here? What is going on!?" He rambled, asking one question after the other, but never leaving any time for an answer to be given. Which worked out perfectly for 'Sam', as she didn't know what to tell him. But she knew she had to do something, to tell him something, to help the confused man to calm down.

"Danny, calm down. We're safe." She said in a soothing voice. "This is just another one of Nightmare Moon's tricks." She lied, hoping that she sounded sincere. Fortunately for her, with Danny more focused on his surroundings than her, he missed any hint that she might be lying.

"Right, Moony." He said without thinking.

'Sam' raised her eyebrows in shock, thinking that, maybe, Danny remembered something after all, despite what Shadow had said. But Danny didn't appear to even realize what he just called Nightmare Moon, and he just continued his somewhat panicked observation of the basement.

"But why here? Why did she bring us here?" He asked after a while.

"...Ehhh..." Shrugging, 'Sam' didn't know what to say. She knew she couldn't just lie again to him, but she couldn't tell him what had happened either. She needed a distraction. Something that would take his mind off this. At least for the time being. She would probably also figure something out for….

"Wait. Where's Tucker?" 'Sam' asked after the belated realization.

"... Wasn't he with us when we came here?" Danny asked as the both of them looked around the room, his previous concerns forgotten, for the time being.

"Yes, he was." 'Sam' said, when both of them heard a loud snore.

Lying next to one of the many workbenches, partially hidden from sight, lay Tucker, fast asleep. Snoring every once in a while, while clutching his beret tightly with both his hands. A small string of drool seeped out of his mouth as he mumbled incoherent gibberish in his sleep.

"There he is." Danny said, scratching his head in apparent confusion.

"Is he… sleeping?" 'Sam' asked out loud, not sure how she should feel about this.

"Looks like… And it seems like he is dreaming too. How does that even work? We're in a dream already, right?… So, what. A dream in a dream….. Wasn't there a movie or something about that?" Danny asked, bewildered.

"Don't know, don't care." 'Sam' groaned as she looked down on the sleeping teenager, slightly nudging him in the side with her foot.

"Yeah, that is not going to work."

"No, but I know something that will." 'Sam' said with a devilish grin as she walked to the lab's alarm system, and activated it.

Red lights flashed, and an alarm blared through the small room. Danny clamped his hands over his ears from the deafening cacophony, while giving a dirty look to 'Sam', who returned his look with a smug grin.

"GHAAAA!"

With a scream that was mostly obscured from the loudly wailing alarm, Tucker bolted up in shocked panic as his eyes shot in every direction, trying to find the source of the disturbance.

His eyes met Danny's, asking him what was going on without any words. Danny answered him with a slight nod of his head towards 'Sam', and, as Tucker looked towards her, the alarm shut off.

"Are you alright, Tucker?" 'Sam' asked with fake innocence, struggling to keep a straight face as she saw his wild, accusing glare.

"I was, just a moment ago." Tucker said bitterly, glaring daggers at the girl he knew was responsible for his less than subtle wake up call.

That did it. Starting with a low chuckle, 'Sam' started to laugh at the priceless look on the disturbed face of Tucker. His hair sticking out a bit, and with a wet spot of drool on his cheek while he was still clutching his headwear against his chest.

"Oh, ha ha ha. Laugh it up." He said bitterly as he pulled himself up, placing his beret back on his head.

"I think she is way ahead of you with that." Danny sputtered, trying to keep his own laughter down.

Tucker only gave a ‘humph’ in annoyance while crossing his arm, obviously not happy with these turn of events.

"Hurry up, Maddie. There's trouble down in the Fenton lab." The voice of Jack called out from the room above, making the trio downstairs snap their heads towards the staircase, and the rapidly approaching, hulking form of Danny's father. Followed shortly after by his mom, Maddie. Both of them were holding an early model Fenton blaster, and were threateningly waving it around the room, searching for any form of danger.

"Uh oh." Danny muttered in panic as his mother's gaze locked onto him, the light reflecting in the lenses of her protective goggles giving her an ominous look.

Swallowing loudly, Danny prepared himself for what was to come. He was gone for years, and, dream or not, this was going to be ugly.

"Danny?" Maddie said with a raised voice. "What are you and your friends doing down here?"

"Ehh… What!?" Danny asked, perplexed.

"It isn't safe here, boy! A level three ecto alert just went off, and it came right from here." Jack said, his tone low and suspicious. "There is a ghost down here, and I'll find it." Both 'Sam' and Danny gulped at that.

"Ehhh… Actually, mister Fenton. I set of the alarm." 'Sam' admitted nervously, trying to keep her composure. "I accidentally hit the control console over there, so there is nothing to worry about." She hoped her forced smile wasn't too obvious as she said that.

"Wait, there isn't a ghost?" Jack asked, sounding rather dejected.

"Um… No." Danny said nervously, a drop of cold sweat was slowly trickling down his forehead.

"Oh, boo… I really wanted to test out these babies." Jack said disappointed, and the sound of his and Maddie's weapons discharging resonated through the room.

"It's alright, dear." Maddie said as she patted him on the back. "We'll find a ghost one day, then you'll get your chance." This statement made Danny and 'Sam' raise their eyebrows in confusion. "Just be glad nothing happened to Danny and his friends."

"You’re right!" Jack shouted with his usual exuberance. "One day, I, Jack Fenton, will find a ghost. And I will pull it apart, molecule by molecule. Just you wait."

"Ehhh… didn't you guys already find some ghosts?" Danny asked in complete confusion.

"Oh, don't be silly, dear." Maddie told him with a kind smile. "We've never seen a ghost before, but we will one day. One day, when we figure out how to get the ghost portal to work. Now come on you three, let's get out of here. This is no place for you." Maddie said as she gently, but firmly, led the Danny, Tucker and 'Sam' out of the lab.

"Why doesn't she notice that I am an adult now?"

Danny asked in a whisper to 'Sam', rather stunned over that little fact.

"Maybe it’s because they are meant to see you as a teenager. Remember what they just said, about never having seen a ghost before?"

'Sam' asked, receiving a small nod from Danny.

"I think that they’re a memory from the time before, or just after your portal accident. It would explain certain things with how they just acted."

Danny didn't answer after that. He kept silent as he thought over what 'Sam' had just said, and what this could mean for him.

But, as a result of the confusion a moment ago, no one noticed that the alarm system was still turned off. And only a few minutes after the small group had left the strange room, the blast doors of the ghost portal opened again, revealing the swirling green vortex that led to the ghost zone. An action that should have triggered the alarm, but something that went down in complete silence, save for the sound of the engines working to open the thick metal doors covering the opening into another dimension, and the hollow sound of steps.

Out of the vortex of glowing green stepped a lone figure. A small figure, but one who showed strength through the muscle honed by years of hard work. Luminous green eyes slowly moved around as the ghost scanned the room it found itself in, only one question on the individual's mind as she stood there before the opened portal.

"Where in tha hay am Ah?"

<<>><<>><<>>

Danny, Tucker, and 'Sam' carefully followed Danny's parents into the kitchen, seeing some kind of device lying on the kitchen table.

Danny's eyes widened when he saw the object, and knew exactly what it was, what it did.

Maddie walked up to the table, holding a blowtorch. Where she got it from, Danny would probably never know, but what she did next was all too familiar to him. Using the torch, she fused several small components of the device together, the flashes and sparks coming from both the fire and the gadget shown in the reflection of her safety glasses, and a satisfied smile graced her lips.

"Ok. Two more days, and it is finished!" she exclaimed happily.

"Hold on." Danny thought. "This is really familiar. But something’s not right… Wasn't Jazz supposed to be here?"

"What did you say? It's done!" Jack said excitedly as he eagerly grabbed hold of the device, lifting it up. "The Fenton Finder is done!" He exclaimed as he held the device out before him in a poor attempt of an heroic pose.

"This baby uses satellites to lead you right to the ghosts."

"It uses what, to track… what?" Tucker asked uncomfortably as he slowly moved in front of Danny. And Danny and 'Sam' both gulped audibly, making Danny look at her with a questioningly glance, before he returned his attention back to his father, and the ghost finding device.

"Welcome to the Fenton Finder. A ghost is near!" An artificial voice spoke up from the device Jack was holding. "Walk forward." The device instructed.

Holding the gadget before him, Jack walked towards Danny and his friends. The device started to beep faster and faster with every step he took. Tucker, 'Sam' and Danny walked backwards, trying to keep a distance between themselves, and the device. But they were backed into the wall, and Jack stepped in front of them, nearly pressing the device against 'Sam's' face.

"Ghost located! Thank you for using the Fenton Finder."

"What?... Hmm, that can't be right!" Jack said, confused, as he observed the device, trying to figure out why it didn't work.

"Of course it isn't, hehehe." 'Sam' said nervously, constantly shifting her gaze between Jack, the device, and the questioningly look Danny gave her. "Certainly I am not a ghost."

"Hmmm. No you're not." Jack half muttered. "I would know if you were, even if I have never seen a ghost before. There must be something wrong with the Fenton Finder." He grudgingly admitted.

"Well, dear. I did say it would still be two days before it was done." Maddie spoke up, acting as the voice of reason.

"Wait, it isn't done?! Why didn't you say so?"

"I did. Twice." Maddie said flatly, resisting the urge to facepalm. She loved Jack dearly, but sometimes he could be a bit… dense. And it was times like this that she had to take a deep breath just to calm down, or she might just do something stupid herself. After all, it was Jack's 'enthusiastic' behaviour that resulted in her being a black belt martial artist.

She started practicing this form of combat as a way to let off some steam, and to simply hit things. She was by nature a woman of logic and reasoning, but occasionally she needed to unburden her frustrations, and just hit something for the sake of hitting it. That ‘something’ was often her fighting instructors. And with Jack being… Well, Jack, she became an expert in no time at all.

"You did?" Jack said, sounding surprised.

"Yes, I did."

"Oh, sorry Maddie. I guess I got kinda carried away there for a moment." Jack said apologetic as he lowered the device to the ground, targeting the lab. But no one seemed to notice the consistent beeping coming from the Fenton Finder, as they were otherwise occupied.

****

"Now what 'n tarnation was that?" The ghost wondered as she looked up the staircase, hearing voices coming from above.

****

"It's alright Jack. You meant well." Maddie said with a smile, already over her slight annoyance.

She grabbed the device out Jack's hands, and placed it back on the kitchen table, starting to inspect it. Neither noticing the hushed conversation happening between Danny and his friends, as they were standing with their backs turned to them, more focused on their invention for the moment.

"You mind telling us what that was about?" Danny asked 'Sam', who was trying to keep a calm face, but was freaking out inwards.

'Why did that have to happen to me?' She thought in panic, not answering Danny's question. 'Shadow just made him forget about that, and now here we are again.'

"Sam?!" Danny said, his tone telling her that she better have some kind of an answer.

Fortunately for her, it was at this exact moment that a puff of cold air escaped from Danny's mouth, and she herself could feel a cold chill travel down her back.

"Danny, was that-" Tucker began, but was never able to finish as they heard Maddie suddenly gasp, and she turned to the trio with surprising speed.

"Danny!" she half shouted. "You're going to be late for school!"

"Wait… What?... I haven't gone to-... Oh wait… What?" Danny sputtered in confusion, his train of thought completely derailed.

'Sam' mentally sighed out in relief. For now, Danny seemed to have forgotten about what had just happened. But the chill she felt in her spine was still there, and she knew that whomever had caused it, was still around. And seeing how things had been going, it was probably someone they had to deal with sooner, or later.

'Although," 'Sam' thought. 'Shadow brought us here. Is he involved with what was going on now as well?'

She couldn't dwell on this particular train of thought, as Maddie rushed the three of them out of the house, and into the Fenton Family Car. Which was actually the Fenton Assault Vehicle, but not right now.

With screeching tires, and a cloud of smoke, the Fenton Assault Vehicle… eh... The Fenton Family Car, shot off towards Casper High.

As the cloud of reeking smoke slowly dissipated, a pony faded into view. Sunlight shone onto her snow white mane and dull orange coat, while glowing green eyes watched the car move away at high speed.

"She lied." The ghost said with a frown, when a gasp drew her attention to her right.

A startled passer-by looked at her in fright, unable to say anything as he pointed a finger at her, hoping that anyone else was seeing what he was seeing. But, surprisingly, no one else was around.

"Well howdy there, pardner!" The ghost joyfully greeted with a friendly nod, and the bystander screamed out while running away as fast as he could.

"Humph. Rude much?" She said as she watched the man run away. "Oh well, it's not like Ah have time fer that anyhow."

Returning her focus to the slowly shrinking car, she began to run after it. The clopping of hooves reverberated through the streets as she picked up more and more speed. All the while, her form was slowly fading out of view. And, as the last traces of her existence disappeared from sight, so did the sound her hooves produced from contact with the hard road.

<<>><<>><<>>

Shadow was watching his master and companions as they encountered Danny's parents. He had planned for this, set it up in such a way that his master would be put on the spot.

It was a long shot. His master was used to lies and deceit, but maybe this would help him in the long run. But something changed. Something he didn't plan for. Something he should have thought about. And, once more, he found himself dealing with a mistake of his own doing.

The events changed. It was a small change, but a significant one. Instead of Jack confronting Danny with his Fenton Finder, it targeted 'Sam' instead.

A ripple went through Shadow's physical form, invisible in the surrounding darkness.

He felt the energy of Nightmare Moon, the same as his own. He should have realized it immediately, but his waning strength made him sloppy and sluggish. He had failed to notice Nightmare Moon was changing things herself, upsetting the balance. And now, it was already too late. She made her move, and the effects were all too clear. He wondered how this would affect his master, and his judgment in the coming events, but he knew that his own work was only just beginning.

Shadow had made the first move, and Nightmare Moon responded in kind. Now it was up to him to make the next move. The Queen versus the Shadow.

"So… that's how it's going to be?" Shadow said slowly as he looked into the darkness around him, knowing that Nightmare Moon could both hear and see him.

"Very well then… Game on!"

<<>><<>><<>>

Teenagers were screaming in fright as they saw the massive object barrel down towards them. Its loud roar and large plumes of smoke distilled fear in any that found them anywhere near the approaching beast's path. Most ran away to safety, bunkering down in the closest building, Casper High School. A small group of the more brave teenagers, however, chose to remain and watch the events play out.

With a screeching, sideways stop, the massive machine came to a stand still, momentarily disappearing in the cloud of smoke coming from the abused tires.

The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife as the teenagers saw three outlines slowly come into focus through the thick haze. They had heard of this, the story of the town's crazy folks, and the things they did. Everyone spoke of it behind their backs, but few had ever witnessed it. They didn't know what to expect, but whatever it was, it was going to be awesome. And most likely very, very embarrassing. Just the way they liked it.

"Goodbye, dear. You and your friends have a nice day now." Maddie called out happily after her son, before she slammed the door shut and drove off at great speed.

Silence.

It was quiet. Dozens of pairs of eyes were focused on the trio who were just dropped off. A small cloud of smoke still lingered around them, saving the three from the massive stare down for just a few more precious seconds. But they knew, they could feel it. And Danny could feel a cold sweat starting to form as, ever so slowly, the faces of all his former high school bullies came into focus.

"Hey, everyone. Look! Fentoast got dropped off by his mommy!" Dash Baxter shouted while pointing at Danny, who was standing completely frozen on the spot.

A deafening chorus of laughter rose up, and Danny, although being an adult, could feel himself shrink down into himself. Some things never change. Dream, or not.

"This... Is…. A…. Nightmare!" Danny said slowly, swallowing a dry lump down his throat.

"What's the matter, Fentoast? Too afraid to go to school alone?" Baxter continued, much to the amusement from everyone else.

"Yes, it is." 'Sam' muttered her reply to Danny.

"We need to get out of here!" Tucker implored, his eyes nervously shifting from left to right.

"Hey, loser. I asked you a question!" Dash said with an angry snarl as he walked to Danny, not noticing he had to look up with every step he came closer to him.

Baxter grabbed Danny by the collar, and pulled him down, almost pressing his face into Danny's.

"I guess I need to beat an answer out of you then!" He said loudly so everyone could hear him, raising his fist with his threat.

"Let him go, Dash!" 'Sam' said bitterly, glaring at the bully.

"Oh, so now you have brought your girlfriend to fight for you, huh?" He taunted as he sized up 'Sam', clearly not impressed.

"She is not my girlfriend!" Danny shouted.

"I am not his girlfriend!" 'Sam' yelled at the same time.

Both of them blinked dumbly after that, giving each other a surprised look.

Before anything else could be said or done, a loud bell rang out over the area surrounding the school, signaling to everyone that classes were about to start.

"Hmph… You're in luck, for now." Dash threatened, then he pushed Danny backwards, causing him to stumble. "I'll see you after school, Fenturd."

"Did… Did that really just happen?" Danny asked, completely bewildered.

"...Yes… Yes it did." 'Sam' answered dumbfounded, not sure who was responsible for this particular… 'Dream'.

"Welp... I don't know about you guys," Tucker suddenly said, breaking the awkward silence that had formed between them. "But I am all for skipping school. Wanna go hang out at the Nasty Burger?"

"Agreed." Both Danny and 'Sam' accepted wholeheartedly.

All three of them turned to leave, not sure what to do, or where to go next. But they knew that they were not going anywhere near the school. But, before they could even take two steps, a cold chill went down 'Sam's' spine, and a cold puff of air escaped from Danny's mouth.

Danny, 'Sam' and Tucker all looked around, trying to figure out where the ghost was that had set off Danny's- and, unbeknownst to the boys -Sam's ghost sense.

"Wooohoooohooohoo..."

A strange, yet feminine sounding wail came out of nowhere, and the trio pressed their backs together as they looked around for the source of the cry. Slowly, in front of Danny, a figure faded into view, and he had to blink several times to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Still, he could only stare completely dumbfounded at the creature before him.

A dull orange coat, and snow white mane and tail. A cowboy hat sat on top of her head, and glowing green eyes looked back at him. There was an image of an orange crystal apple displayed on either side of her flanks, and a white glow surrounding her body. Yet, it was the strange pose the ghost before him had taken that completely confused him.

Standing on her hind legs, while flailing her front legs in the air. And her lips were slightly puckered as she once more started to wail, flailing legs and all.

"...A… Appl..e… jack?" Danny stuttered, unable to perform any form of coherent speech as he was too flabbergasted with what he saw; drawing the attention from 'Sam' and Tucker.

"What the…." 'Sam' shouted as she saw the ghost standing in front of Danny.

"Dude. Are you all seeing what I am seeing?" Tucker asked, but never got a reply.

Shaking his head, Danny snapped back to his senses.

Now being able to think more clearly, he began taking in the scene in front of him.

Sure, this was strange, but with everything that had happened to him during the last few hours, it was not something that was cause for panic. Seeing the familiar pony standing there, balancing on two legs and a slight smirk on her face, he asked the first thing that came to mind.

"Applejack… What are you doing?"

"Aw, shoot. An' here Ah thought Ah could scare tha three of ya." She answered as she fell forward onto all fours.

"Danny, you know her?" Tucker asked, somewhat weirded out with the strange ghost pony.

"Yeah... I guess. She’s the pony that runs Sweet Apple Acres close to Ponyville." Danny answered.

"There is so much wrong with that sentence." Tucker replied with a flat tone.

Danny shot him a sideways glance, and a quick roll of the eyes, but didn't say anything about it.

"So… AJ. What are you doing here? Or better yet. Why are you a ghost?"

"Tha hay Ah know. All Ah know is that Ah stepped outta this green swirl thingy down in some weird lookin’ room, an’ Ah heard ya'll talking 'bout some ghost finding thingamajig." Applejack answered as held a hoof against her chin, then shrugged.

"Wait, you came out of the portal?" 'Sam' asked nervously.

"Sure did." Applejack said with a friendly nod, then her face became serious as she focused her attention on 'Sam'. "Now about you, miss-"

"Ahum."

With a slight eep, Applejack disappeared from sight, and Danny, 'Sam' and Tucker hastily turned around; only to see the school's principal, mister Lancer, walking towards them, an angry scowl on his face.

"Taking our time to get to class?" Lancer asked with a condescending tone.

"Lancer, is that you?" Danny blurted out at seeing his old teacher.

"Yes, Daniel. It's me. I understand it is hard to remember me, seeing it was a whole day since the last time we saw each other. But it shouldn't be much of a problem, if only you paid attention. Something the three of you clearly have trouble with, as the bell went off ten minutes ago." He said almost monotone, clearly having dealt with this kind of thing enough times that it had become more of a bother than anything else.

Danny, 'Sam', and Tucker only blinked dumbly at that, unsure how to respond.

"But seeing that I have your attention now, perhaps we can start with the introduction of another class you will be attending later today. Detention!"

"What.. You don't honestly think that we are going to detention?!" Tucker spoke up.

"Yeah, we’re kinda in the middle of something." Danny added.

"Oh, do tell. What could be more important than school?" Lancer asked with fake interest.

"Ten hours of uninterrupted sleep." Danny answered.

"Video games." Tucker said second.

"Dark poetry." 'Sam' finished.

"Funny." Lancer said, but clearly showing he found it anything but. "I shall remember this while I think about what kind of punishment you three will receive during detention."

"Good luck with that." Danny said with a fake laugh. "It's not like we will be there anyhow."

"Oh really?!"

"Yes." Danny said defiantly while crossing his arms, giving a challenging look to Lancer.

Lancer only gave a smug smirk in return.

<<>><<>><<>>

"How the hell did he do that?" Danny asked out loud, his voice echoing slightly in the mostly empty room; sitting behind one of the schools writing desks, his legs sticking out far behind the table as he was far too tall for the small design.

"I honestly have no idea." 'Sam' answered as she sat at a similar table.

"Did the guy just go full ninja on us, or something?" Tucker asked unsure, completely confused. "Teachers should not be allowed to do that!" He added more as an afterthought.

The sound of a door opening turned their attention to the only door in the room. Ever so slowly, the door opened, accompanied with the sound of hinges squeaking. It was obviously an attempt to get the three 'students' nervous as Lancer opened the door.

"Well then," Lancer said. "Here we are." He closed the door behind him without a sound.

"I would have you know that I just had a rather interesting telephone call with all your parents, and they were not all that happy hearing that you managed to end up in detention right at the start of school. Neither am I. Not only was your behaviour unacceptable, but it also forced me to put you in here right now. And, unlike what you might think, my time is not infinite. And I have more important things to do besides dealing with you three." Lancer said, somewhat irritated.

"Like what? Giving bad grades to your students?" Tucker asked bored, resting his head on his hand.

"Like disciplining students who think they make the rules." Lancer answered stiffly. "And speaking about making the rules." He added, turning his attention to 'Sam'. "I thought you would like to know that your suggestion for an all vegetarian school lunch is approved. However, seeing that you are currently here, you will have to miss it."

"Wait!... All vegetarian lunch?" 'Sam' repeated, a tinge of fear in her voice.

"All vegetarian lunch..." Tucker repeated in horror. "NOOOOOOO!!!"

'Sam', Danny and Lancer looked at Tucker with various levels of confusion. Lancer being more annoyed than anything with the unwanted interruption.

"Yes, all vegetarian." He repeated flatly.

"Uh oh." Danny muttered, remembering where this was supposed to be going.

"Now, although I would love to sit here and waste my precious time on the three of you, I have other duties to attend to." Lancer said, already thinking about the all-meat buffet back in the teachers lounge. "So I will leave you with this simple assignment." He went on as he placed several sheets of paper on each of their desks, along with a pencil.

"While I am gone, I want you three to write down why it is wrong t-...." He began, when he suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

"Why it is wrong ta lie," he finished, speaking with Applejack's voice.

"What the?!" Danny shouted as all three of them looked at the middle aged man standing before them. He had his arms crossed over his chest, a slight smirk, and glowing green eyes which looked back at the three persons before her.

"APPLEJACK!" Danny shouted as he jumped up, knocking over his table in the process.

"Ah sure am, sugarcube."

"Eew… That is just wrong." 'Sam' said with a shudder.

"I say. I will have nightmares for years from that." Tucker cried.

"Ehh... Is somethin' wrong?" Applejack asked.

"Is something wrong?! Applejack, you’re in the body of our teacher, calling me ‘sugarcube’. There are not enough words to describe just how wrong this is!" Danny half yelled at the mare currently in the body of his former teacher.

Silence.

"Whoa nelly. Ah didn’t think ‘bout that." She said with a look of embarrassment, which only made Tucker, Danny and 'Sam' yell out as they turned their heads away from the ungainly sight.

"Please, just stop?" Tucker pleaded as he pulled his beret over his eyes, shuddering.

"Yeah, what he said." Danny agreed.

"Ditto." 'Sam' added.

Applejack only gave a nod in understanding, and walked to the door. Or stumbled, more like it. Stepping out in the hallway, she left Lancer's body, flew back in the room, and slammed the door shut behind her.

"What happened?" Lancer mumbled to himself, standing on unsteady legs as he tried to figure out where he was. "Ugh. These kids will be the end of me."

Slowly he walked away, holding a hand against the wall for support as he did so. He needed to take a small break, and he knew just where to do that. And seeing that he would be there to recover from whatever it was those three rebels had just done to him, he might as well grab a quick bite. A thin smile found its way onto his face as he thought about the large meat buffet that awaited the teachers in the teachers’ lounge.

'And thank you, Sam. Now there is more for us.' He thought, not noticing the various hovering pieces of meat as they zoomed above his head towards the school storage room.

"Ok, he's gone." Applejack said after she heard Lancer slowly stumble away.

Turning to the three humans, she regarded them all with a scrutinizing look.

"Eh, AJ." Danny spoke up. "What are you doing here?"

"Ah ain’t got tha foggiest idea." She told him. "All Ah know is that Ah stepped outta that portal thingy, and Ah heard yer friend here lie ta yer folks an' ya." She pointed a hoof at 'Sam', and giving her an accusing glare.

"Lying? Lying about what?" Danny asked to both Applejack and 'Sam'. He knew something was up after the whole ordeal with the Fenton Finder, but he forgot about it thanks through his mother's actions, and everything that happened when they arrived at school. But now, Applejack reminded him about the thing the Fenton Finder had said:

''Ghost located! Thank you for using the Fenton Finder.''

"What do you mean, I lied? I didn't lie." 'Sam' lied, which only caused Applejack to glare at her.

"Do ya see this mark here?" Applejack asked as she pointed a hoof at the image on her flank. "Do ya know what this is?"

"Ehhh..."

"It is mah Element, Honesty." Applejack answered for her.

"And that means?" Tucker asked.

"It means," she said as she turned her head to him. "That Ah can tell whether somepony is lying, or not."

"Wait, you can do that?" Danny asked somewhat impressed, but also worried about his own secrets if this was true.

"Yes, yes Ah can." She confirmed with a confident nod.

"Now, missy. Ah don't know why ya did it, but it ain't right ta lie ta yer friends. Doing so will break their trust when thay find out. And breakin' one's trust is tha fastest way ta lose a friend-"

"FOOOORREEVVVVEEERRRRRRR!!"

All of them looked around the room, trying to figure out where that voice had come from.

"What… What was that?" Tucker asked as he stared at the ceiling.

"Don't ask me." 'Sam' replied.

"I know that voice." Danny muttered.

"What the hay… Pinkie Pie, is that you?!" Applejack yelled at the ceiling, but didn't get a reply.

"Is that normal?" Tucker asked the mare who seemed to know more about what just happened.

"Normal, no. But Pinkie Pie? Yes."

"Okay… That didn't answer anything." Tucker muttered as he scratched his head.

"With Pinkie Pie, there isn't really an answer." Danny told him without thought.

"Wait, you know what that was about?" Tucker asked, baffled.

"Nope, and that's the whole point."

"That… does not make any sense."

"Exactly." Applejack confirmed with a lopsided grin.

"But-"

"Don't… Just don't." 'Sam' said with a groan, holding her hand against her head, feeling a slight headache forming from all this nonsense.

"Right... Now, where were we?" the ghost pony said, tapping her chin with a hoof. "Oh yeah, ya lying ta yer friends."

"Oh crud." 'Sam' groaned. 'How am I going to get out of this?' she thought with a mixture of panic and annoyance.

"WHO CHANGED THE LUNCH MENU!?"

The angry shout resonated through the school, rattling the windows. Panicked screams of the students and teachers followed mere moments later as they all fled.

"Oh, that's how." She muttered.

<<>><<>><<>>

A small moment prior.

Shadow wasn't pleased. He made this construct, and brought them there so his master could focus on the truth regarding himself. Instead, thanks to the change Nightmare Moon made, 'Sam' was now put on the spot. Revealing the truth of her spectral origin so soon after he made his master forget about it. Yet, all he could do for now was watch and wait for his energy to recover.

He observed the events with a scowl on his face.

Nightmare Moon was slowly regaining control, and was making minute changes every so often. Slowly tipping the scale, and causing an unbalance that was distracting Danny.

Shadow cursed himself for letting things get this far out of control. He was supposed to protect his master, yet he was the cause of all the trouble as of late. And now, thinking that he had found a loophole in Nightmare moon's plan, he found himself lacking the strength to maintain the cover he made for those three. And because of that, she was ever-so-slowly pushing Danny to focus on the wrong thing, and buying herself more time.

He knew he had to change something, anything, for his master to stand a chance at finding what he didn't even know he was looking for.

And then there was her. Not Nightmare Moon, but her. Shadow knew not what to make of her, only that she was a great source of headaches. Not only was she causing all kinds of chaos for Nightmare Moon- which wasn’t entirely bad -but she also managed to slip through the cracks of his waning strength and send a message to his master. Albeit a single word.

How she did it, Shadow would probably never know. She shouldn't even be able to do what she is doing right now. But his master's memories showed that doing things that should not be possible was just the norm for this colorful persona.

Still, she was a distraction to Nightmare Moon from time to time, so he wasn't complaining… much. But even so, the balance was disrupted, and Shadow had to do something to bring back some equilibrium.

Searching his master's memories, he looked through anything regarding this particular day in Danny's life that could be of some use. He would have preferred to make more of a change, but he was limited in what he could do, for now. Still, one particular memory proved useful, if only to provide the distraction for Danny to focus his attention elsewhere. But there was also this pony to deal with. Applejack, his pawn. He brought her here to help his master, but now, thanks to some pushy queen, she was now focused on the wrong person. She, too, needed to be distracted, while he looked for a better solution for this problem. Fortunately, the memory he found would help with the distraction of both Danny and Applejack.

Gathering all the energy he could spare, he manipulated this snippet of thought, molding it into something that would be of some use to him. Unfortunately, he was unable to force his will over this new entity, and she would act just as the memory recalled. Still, it was nothing his master couldn't deal with. He only hoped that Nightmare Moon wouldn't act first.

<<>><<>><<>>

"Now what in tarnation was all that?!" Applejack yelled over the sound of screams.

"The lunch lady." Danny, 'Sam', and Tucker answered flatly, knowing that yell all too well.

"Come again?" She asked, not sure that she heard that right.

"The lunch lady." Danny repeated, receiving a blank stare from the pony ghost.

"She is the ghost of a former lunch lady this school had. She kind of stuck around, and caused all kinds of trouble whenever someone changed the school menu." He clarified.

".... Is tha' normal?" Applejack asked, completely baffled with this revelation.

"Ehhh… Think of it as with Pinkie Pie. Don't question it, it's easier that way." Danny answered after a few seconds thought.

Applejack opened her mouth to reply, thought better of it, and closed her mouth while giving an understanding nod to Danny.

"So, now what?" Tucker asked. His voice sounding much louder in the suddenly very quiet school.

"I think we all know the answer to that." Danny answered. "We deal with whatever it is that Nightmare Moon throws at us, and then we see what happens next."

"But what 'bout yer friend lying ta ya?" Applejack asked, unsure.

Danny looked at the mare for a second, then gave 'Sam' a scrutinizing look, thinking for a moment.

"Whatever it is she is keeping hidden for us, I'm sure she has a reason. She has helped us so far, though. And I’m sure she will continue to do so." He answered, his voice full confidence as he said this.

"Are ya sure, sugarcube?"

"Yes." Danny stated with a nod. "I trust her."

'Sam' was at a loss for words after Danny had said that, and she could feel a bit of moisture gather at the corners of her eyes. Still, a stab of regret went through her as she also realized that his trust was partially misplaced. Applejack was telling the truth when she said that 'Sam' was lying, and 'Sam' knew that she could not yet reveal the truth to Danny, no matter how much she wanted to do so. It was simply not the time. Still, she was determined to help him, no matter what. Hopefully, she would be able to keep him from finding out about her for a little while longer. But luck had not really been on her side ever since she submerged herself in Danny's mind. She knew that Nightmare Moon would exploit any and all weaknesses she could find. And although she hated to admit it, she herself was a weakness. How much, though, depended on herself.

"Thanks, Danny. I won't let you down." 'Sam' told him with a small, sincere smile.

"Okay, if ya're sure." Applejack said after a moment, shrugging.

"I am. Now, let's deal with this meat wagon." Danny responded somewhat upbeat, earning him a small groan from 'Sam' over his less than funny remark.

"Ehh… When ya say meat wagon, what exactly do ya mean?"

Opening the door, Danny turned to answer the mare, turning his back on the oncoming threat.

"What I mean is th-... GHAAAA!"

Danny yelled as a massive hand, made from various cuts of meat, grabbed his entire body and pulled him through the door and into the hallway. Dragging him over the floor, past the school lockers- many of which were left open as their owners had left in a hurry.

"Is that..." Applejack tried to ask, but stopped as she had to resist the urge to gag.

"Yes, yes it is." 'Sam' answered, knowing how the mare felt, but doing a better job at hiding it.

"Noooo, not again!" Tucker almost cried as he fell to his knees, earning him some strange looks from the other two. "Meat, oh delicious meat. Why do you betray me again?"

"...Wh… Wha’s wrong with him." Applejack asked while suppressing the need to breath. Being a ghost did have its advantages right about now.

"Oh so many things." 'Sam' answered, blinking as she realized that she had said the same thing not too long ago.

"Okay… So, Danny’s in trouble, right?" Applejack continued, ignoring Tucker.

"Meh, he can handle himself." 'Sam' said, the smallest tinge of worry threading her words.

"Should we help him?"

"Probably."

"And… what 'bout him?" Applejack asked, pointing a hoof at the sobbing male in the room.

"He'll be fine."

"You sure?"

"Positive. Now, let's get going. Tucker will catch up when he is ready."

Shooting a quick glance at the troubled human rocking on his knees, Applejack followed the dark haired girl into the hallway after Danny.

Silence.

"....Meat…."

Tucker whispered as he slowly looked back up.

"You have betrayed me for the last time. Now, I will get my revenge."

He said menacingly, lifting both his hands, balled into a fist. A knife in one, and a fork in the other.

"And revenge is a dish best served rare."

****

In the darker recesses of Danny's mind, Shadow facepalmed, hard. And Nightmare Moon, she was laughing so hard that she was afraid her tail might fall of.

'Maybe I will keep this moron as a pet when all this is over.' she thought as she clutched her sides.

<<>><<>><<>>

*Crash*

*Wham*

"Will you j-"

"Graahhh!!"

"Guess not." Danny sighed out.

Danny was held tightly in a death grip, unable to escape from the hold the lunch lady meat monster had over him. Every time he would try to free himself, she would slam him in the ground, wall, or ceiling. Even trying to just talk to her seemed to enrage her, furthering his acquaintance with the school’s architecture.

"WHO CHANGED THE LUNCH MENU!?" She roared again, tightening her grip on him even further.

"Really, is that all you care about?" Danny asked, frustrated, trying to go intangible once more to escape her clutches.

*Crash*

"Okay, enough of this!" He groaned through clenched teeth.

He began gathering all the energy he could in his hands, causing several beams of glowing green to shine out of the fist that held him. More and more energy flowed into the growing orb that was hidden from view by the massive hand, and the lunch lady looked down at him in a mixture of shock and anger.

With a loud yell, Danny let go of the concentration of ectoplasmic power.

The hand exploded with a wet blast.

Dropping to the ground, Danny took in several lungs full of air now that he was no longer constricted. He was still in his human form when she grabbed him, so he still had the need for air. But he started to cough and gag violently as the vile air filled his lungs, and a shower of singed meat and various juices fell down on top of and around him.

"Ow man… This is so wrong." He coughed as he could feel the meat and juices rain on, and slide off him.

Going intangible for a moment, the mess fell off of him, and onto the floor, leaving him clean once again.

"Oh dear. Are you alright?" An elderly woman with pale green skin asked, as she hovered above the mess made when her meat body fell apart.

"Yeah, no thanks to you." Danny grunted, and shot a blast at the lunch lady ghost before she could rebuke.

"Danny!" 'Sam' called out as she and Applejack ran towards him. "Are you alright?" She asked as she came to a stop near him.

"Yeah, I am. Can't say the same thing about her though." Danny said as he pointed to Applejack, who was trying very hard not to throw up from the sight that greeted her.

"Oh…. Maybe I should have warned her." 'Sam' muttered.

"You think?" Danny said. "Just get her out of here. I'll deal with Miss Casserole."

'Sam' was about to respond to that, when they all noticed that the various pieces of meat began to move. Sliding and hovering towards a single point, growing larger and larger until it towered over the three, casting a large shadow over them. Two glowing green eyes formed in the top of the pile as it slowly formed into a head, and a pair of arms and legs jutted out of the mass.

"What the hay is that?!" Applejack yelled as she saw looked up at the giant meat monster.

"Oh deary, how rude of me." The enormous meat roll said, sounding genuinely embarrassed. "I am the lunch lady. I am responsible for the meals of the students of this school, ensuring they eat enough meat. Meat is important, you know. It makes them grow big and strong." She told the frightened pony, whose face was showing a disturbing shade of green.

"Drumstick?" The lunch lady asked as she offered the mentioned food to the pony, whose eyes were pinprick at that.

"She's a vegetarian, you big ball of cholesterol." 'Sam' uttered as she swatted away the drumstick.

"Then prepare to be destroyed." The lunch lady roared as her demeanor made a one eighty.

She lifted her arms, and merged her hands into a solid lump of meat, clearly planning to crush the three individuals. Or to force feed them. With her, you never really know.

"Run?" Danny asked with relative calm.

"Run!" 'Sam' answered.

Applejack gave only a weak nod, not trusting herself to speak. The three of them turned, and ran away before they could be crushed.

<<>><<>><<>>

Nightmare Moon was watching the events play out before her. She was livid, that much was certain. She was pushed aside by this shadow, this nuisance, and only because he managed to surprise her. Well, that wouldn't work any more, she would make sure of that. But even then, she was unable to intervene directly in the mental construct he created. She could feel he was weakened from the exertion he forced himself through. Her main advantage was that the weaker Shadow became, the more faults and cracks formed in the layers of his construct. It was not enough to tear it down, but enough to allow some 'modifications' of her own design to pass through. But even then, she was not able to place a pawn of her own and steal Danny's powers. The best she could do, for now, was making the pawn of Shadow targeted the wrong human.

It wasn't much, and she hated that she couldn't do more. But it was a start. It was a change that would, hopefully, bring her prey out of balance. And she would be there to 'catch' him. Even so, she could feel her rage rise when she saw the monstrosity that captured Danny, and the energy he wasted to escape from her grasp. Energy that should be hers. Energy she knew Shadow would use against her.

Nightmare Moon's form distorted from her anger, twisting and rolling around as a thick smoke. She was a fool to underestimate the drone that would become Shadow. He was smarter than she thought, and now it had come back to bite her in the flank. And worst of all, she made him like that. Her powers, weak as they might have been at the time, shaped him into what he is now, and he was using everything he 'learned' from her against her. Her dream shaping, her ability to give 'life' to memories, and her ability to absorb one's powers through their dreams. She hated to admit it, but she knew she was bested by this fragment, this shade. But she would never allow some unworthy being to get away with such a transgression, and she would make sure that, when all this was over, she would tear Shadow apart, molecule by molecule.

Until that happy moment arrived, all she could do was sit back and wait for the right opportunity. A moment where she could tear apart the layers of Shadow's construct, and take control once more.

Still, it would be difficult. Sitting back, and doing nothing was not what she was used to. She, Nightmare Moon. Queen, Goddess, Ruler of the Night and all of Equestria. Sitting back, that just wouldn't do. She was one for action, of overwhelming her enemies with her divine powers. To rip them apart, and make them kneel for their one, and only true leader. And she would destroy any that would challenge her, or her rightful titles. To sit back and watch was torture to her. To watch those idiots bumble around, thinking that their efforts would make any difference. Their short, puny lives were meaningless, and everything they did would be insignificant compared to the vast, amazing feats of Nightmare Moon.

But there she was. Unable to do anything more than be a nuisance. It angered her, yes. But she knew that anything rash would only work against her. So she waited, watching. Waiting for the right moment to strike.

<<>><<>><<>>

*SLAM*

The ground shook from the force as the giant fist made contact, and Applejack and 'Sam' ran away from the solid lump of dead animal before they became a part of it. Danny, however, stayed back a bit, but only to make sure the others could escape without the lunch lady following them.

Watching the two escape, his world was quickly filled with darkness and meat as the fist descended on top of him.

The lunch lady looked down with a smirk on her face, thinking that she managed to take out the first of them. But her look of victory was quickly replaced with one of shock as a flash of white light emerged from underneath her fist, and a less than impressed ghost flew up through her hand.

Arms crossed over his chest, Danny shot an annoyed look at the meat monster before sighing deeply and slowly shaking his head.

"You didn't think that that would take me down, did you?" He asked, only receiving an angry roar in return. "I see."

The meat lady made a wild swing at Danny, who avoided it with ease. Shooting a beam of energy himself, he hit her right in the chest, filling the hallway with the odor of fresh bar-b-que.

Making a quick turn to the left, and turning intangible, Danny avoided another wild swing of condensed cold cuts.

Bellowing in rage, the meat lady attacks grew wilder and wilder as her anger blinded her. She slammed holes in the walls. She formed craters in the floor, and pieces of the ceiling fell down. Danny saw this, and he knew that he needed to get her outside. He was aware that none of this was actually real, but if this place came down, his friends might still get hurt. So, shooting another beam of energy at her, he tried to lure her away.

The blast hit the meat lady, and caused her meat body to fall apart.

Floating above the mess, she gave Danny a wild, enraged look while her hair moved around as if possessed. Danny gave her a one finger salute, and flew through a nearby wall, hoping she would follow him.

Completely blinded by the insult just given to her, she gathered all the loose pieces of meat, and rebuilt her body. There were several dark parts, steam coming off of all the places that were burnt thanks to Danny. With a shout, and a crash, she forced her way through the wall; leaving a big hole in her wake as she charged after the halfa.

"So, you did decide to come out and play." Danny joked as he peppered her with bolts of green energy. Forcing her to shield herself, and, in turn, letting parts of her arms and lower body get hit and cooked from the relentless assault.

Moving away blindly, the lunch lady stepped onto the school's courtyard, out in plain sight and in front of all the students, teachers, and parents who were called not too long ago. All of which looked up at the behemoth in fear, amazement, and shock.

Several screams sounded as a bright green flash hit the meat monster in the back, causing her to stumble forwards, almost falling over. Several gasps of surprise and shock followed moments later as Danny flew over the meat mountain, hitting her with more and more bolts of energy.

"Honey, are you seeing what I am seeing?" Jack asked with barely suppressed excitement as he watched the spectacle.

"Yes, I am." Maddie replied with the same level of eagerness.

"Haha... Ghosts. I knew that they were real." He said triumphantly, only to shout out as a stray bolt of energy flew past him.

"Sorry!" Danny shouted at him, hanging still in the air for a moment.

Seizing the opportunity, the lunch lady lurched forward and slammed Danny away into the school.

Wrecking walls, and flying through classroom after classroom, Danny eventually came to a stop as he crashed into a chalkboard and slumped to the ground.

"Danny!" 'Sam' shouted as she ran into the room, having seen what happened as she and Applejack were in one of the rooms Danny crashed through. "Are you alright?"

He could only groan in response, and she and Applejack rushed to help him.

Grunting, Danny pushed himself up. Shaking the dust off his head, he tried to stand up, but was held down by a hoof on his back.

"Now hold on, sugarcube. Ya took a nasty beatin’, an' ya cain't jus’ go back out there like that." The mare said worriedly when loud screaming could be heard coming from outside.

"What’s going on?!" 'Sam' shouted as she ran through the pummelled classrooms, stopping at the 'window' Danny added to the school, and looked outside. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw the meat monster attack all the spectators, her parents, as well as Tucker's and Danny's. The last were putting up somewhat of a fight, but only Maddie had some success as she scored a few hits. It wasn't enough to count, though.

"Oh no." 'Sam' said with a horrified whisper as she observed the carnage.

"What’s happening?!" Applejack shouted at her, still several classrooms away as she helped Danny.

"She is attacking everyone from the school." 'Sam' shouted back. "And our parents as well."

"WHAT!?" Danny yelled as he struggled to get back up, which the pony next to him didn't allow.

"Sit down, Danny. Ya need ta rest." She told him.

"AJ, trust me. I've been through worse than that. I'm fine." Danny lied, but the strain of everything he has gone through over the past several hours finally caught up with him, and he wasn't sure if he believed it himself.

Applejack didn't believe it either, and it showed; giving him a scrutinizing look, seeing just how tired and weakened he really was.

"Ah don't buy it." She said, pushing him down to prove her point.

"Sorry, AJ. But I need to help them." Danny said as he turned intangible and stood up. Walking towards the hole in the side of the school he made, his manly strut somewhat lessened by the obvious limp.

"Danny, wait!" 'Sam' shouted as she grabbed him by the arm before he could do something stupid. "Danny, you’re in no condition to fight. Please, don't do this to yourself." She pleaded, holding his arm tightly.

"Sorry, Sam. But if I don't stop her, then who will?"

The sound of someone clearing their throat turned their attention to the ghost pony standing behind them.

"Ya do know ya ain’t tha only ghost here, right?" She asked. "Or did ya get hit tah dang hard on tha head?"

Not convinced, Danny looked the mare over, trying to get a read on her.

"You sure you can take on this thing? You weren't handling yourself so well last time you saw her."

"True, but Ah ain’t alone in this, am Ah?" She said, giving a piercing look at Sam. "Ok, missy. Don't ya think that now would be a good time ta tell tha truth?"

"Wha-" 'Sam' began, but was interrupted by a loud scream, and she saw the lunch lady slamming a crater in the ground not too far from where her parents were.

Looking at Danny, Applejack, and back to the sight outside, 'Sam' finally relented, and her arms flopped at her side as she let go of Danny's arm.

"Fine." Was all she said, and her body started to change.

A white glow appeared around her as she grew larger, her body maturing into that of a young adult, a head shorter than Danny. Her eyes became a glowing green, but her black hair remained mostly the same, except that it turned white near the tips, and the small tail she kept in her hair let loose while a white collar formed around her neck.

Her clothes changed as well. She wore a black top with long sleeves, which turned white at the end, and connected to her index finger on each hand. The back of the top extended in a cloak reaching down to three quarters of her legs, with an upside down v cut in the back, and was open from the front; which showed long, black pants, with white boots similar to the ones she wore in her human form. But the greatest change that happened to her, were the large bat wings that came out of her back.

Looking down, she turned to Danny.

Sighing deeply, she looked up at him, and green eyes met green eyes. She could see the shock in his eyes, and for that moment, nothing else registered for either of them. Not the screams, or the crashing noises coming from outside, nor the attempts Applejack made to gain their attention.

"Sam?" Danny croaked as he had trouble finding his voice.

She nodded her head while giving a weak smile to him.

"Now you know." She sighed as she looked away once more.

A hand held her by the chin, and brought her gaze back to Danny's. She could see the countless questions in his eyes, and she knew that she would have to answer them eventually. But, she hoped that at least that could wait till the time was right.

"Why didn't you say?"

"It wasn't the time… It still isn't the time. But we were out of options."

"So… You really are her, right?"

"I... Yes... It's me."

She closed her eyes again, knowing that he would be angry with her for lying to him, for not telling him sooner. Instead, Danny held her in a tight hug, and her eyes flew open when he did so.

"Wha… You… You're not mad?"

"Mad…? I thought I lost you. How could I possibly be mad?"

'Of course,' Sam thought. 'Danny will always be Danny, no matter what.' And as she returned the hug, Danny tightened his grip around her.

"AHUM!"

Pulling away from each other, they looked down to see Applejack looking up at them with a slight smirk, but an urgent look in her eyes.

"This whole reunion is all nice an' dandy, but aren’t ya’ll forgettin’ ‘bout somethin’?" She asked as she pointed at the carnage outside.

"Oh, right." Both of them said as they were reminded about what was happening.

Sam looked back at Danny and was about to speak, but he cut her off by placing a finger over her lips.

"Just go." He said with a sad smile.

Sam gave a nod, and jumped out of the hole, extending her wings as she flew up.

“Are ya okay, sugarcube?" Applejack asked as she looked at the spot Sam had just stood in.

"I’m not sure." Danny answered. "But now is not the time to figure that out."

"I reckon it ain't." She sighed. "Well, Ah better go help her." The mare said, and she flew up to meet Sam, who was waiting for her high above the ground.

Sam saw Applejack fly up to her, and she quickly blinked the moisture out of her eyes. She revealed the truth to him, yes. But he would forget about it the moment he would wake up. Just like everything else that was happening right now. It was unfair to him, and she hated it. But even then, it would help him in the long run, hopefully.

"Are ya alright?" Applejack asked as she hovered next to Sam, looking at her with worry.

"Yeah… Yeah, I'm fine. Just something in my eye." Sam said.

Applejack knew that that was a lie, but thought better of it to mention it, seeing what had just happened between her and Danny.

"So, wha' do we do now?" She asked instead.

"I have no idea." Sam answered, and Applejack knew that, this time, she was telling the truth.

"Aw, hayseed."

<<>><<>>><<>>

Moving through the hallways like a shadow, following his nose like a bloodhound, Tucker tracked the trail left behind by his new nemesis.

He knew all there was to know about this most elusive of opponents, and he used his knowledge to the best of his advantage. Coming to a halt at an intersection, he tried to figure out where to go; left or right.

Looking down at the ground, he saw something that piqued his interest. Crouching down, he ran his finger through the wet trail that covered the floor, and sniffed it.

"Meat trail." He muttered as he followed the trail down the right corridor, and knew where to go next. Standing back up, he resumed pursuit of his prey, the cutlery held in his hands shining in the lights that flickered on and off. He was getting close, he knew it. The smell was getting stronger. That, and the screams he could hear coming from outside.

Following the wet trail into the school storage room, he was greeted with severe destruction. Holes were punched through the walls, and the floor and ceiling weren't in much better shape either. On his right, he could see a large hole in the wall that led outside. Giving a nod of determination, Tucker climbed over the rubble blocking his path, and stepped out in the sunlight. Following his nose to his prey, he came up to a scene he wasn't expecting.

Complete and utter chaos.

There was the lunch lady in all her meaty glory, his nemesis. But there were also all the other students of his school, as well as the teachers. All of them were screaming, and running in panic as the lunch lady attacked them. And then he saw them, his parents, as well as Sam's and Danny's. They too were swept away in the mass of panic and fear, save for Maddie Fenton, who was shooting at the large form with a prototype blaster.

The ground shook as the giant slammed both fists into the ground, leaving behind a crater as she lifted her fists up again, ready for the next attack. Which came not long thereafter, and Tucker struggled to keep his balance as another tremor shook him.

"Where's Danny?" He wondered as he scanned the skies, his own objective forgotten for the time being.

"I know he wouldn't just do nothing{/I]. He has to be there somewhere."

Unfortunately for him, as he was looking up trying to find Danny, he missed that the lunch lady had spotted him, and was moving towards his position. Only when a shadow fell over him did he notice something was wrong. And, when he turned to look, he stared right into the angry green eyes of Miss Meatloaf.

For a moment, Tucker felt weak in the knees, but he steeled himself. And so, with determination (and a shining set of cutlery) he marched towards the pile of meat, planning to enact his revenge.

With a scream, the lunch lady slammed her fist down towards Tucker. But he calmly side-stepped, and she completely missed him.

Seeing his chance, Tucker stabbed his fork deep into her fist, and with his knife, deftly cut out a piece of the meat, wasting no time to take his first taste of vengeance.

The lunch lady's eyes shot open in surprise. Her shock was soon replaced with anger, as Tucker stabbed the fork in her hand a second time, followed shortly with a third and fourth. The fifth time, she pulled her hand up, dragging Tucker with it, using his fork as a handhold. Lifting him up to eye level, the lunch lady looked at him with hatred pouring out of her eyes.

"What?" Tucker said while hanging several meters above the ground, using nothing more than a fork to keep himself up.

She didn't yell. She didn't scream, or roar. She only looked at Tucker with a burning hatred as she pulled back her free arm, preparing to deliver a crushing blow.

"Oh no ya don't!" Applejack shouted as she descended with high speed.

Turning around mid-flight, she aimed her hind legs at the large fist pointed at Tucker. She hit the limb with a tremendous force, snapping back the arm. But, the meat also gave way, and her legs became stuck in the colossal fist.

"Aw ponyfethaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Applejack cursed as the lunch lady flailed her arm, trying to dislodge the pony. The motion inadvertently caused Tucker to swing wildly, and he was forced to hold on tightly to his impromptu handhold.

But, unfortunately for him, the wild swinging loosened the fork, and he felt himself slipping.

"With my last breath, I curse you, gravityyyyyyy." He shouted dramatically as his hand slipped from the shiny piece of metal still partially lodged in the fist of the lunch lady, and he fell to the ground.

"Gotcha!" Sam said as she caught Tucker, but he kept screaming as if he was still falling.

"Oh, will you give it a rest." Sam groaned with a roll of her eyes, and Tucker snapped his eyes open, realizing he was no longer falling to his doom.

"Wait... What?" he wondered as he looked around, seeing the ground slowly coming closer as he was lowered to his feet.

"Pfhew.. Thanks Danny, for a mome…." Tucker began, but trailed off as he saw who was holding him.

"..... SAM!?...."

"Sheesh, can you be any louder?" Sam complained as she flinched from the sudden outburst.

"I… You... Ghost…. Danny… Huh?" He muttered, his brain unable to comprehend what he was seeing.

Setting him down on the ground, Sam let go of Tucker, trying not to meet his gaze. He might just be a memory, but he was still a part of Danny, and still so much like the boy she remembered. She might as well have been standing before the real him.

"Yes... It's me. The real me, no more lies." She sighed as she looked up at him. "I am a ghost, Tucker. This is what I have become." She revealed as she spread her wings, casting a large shadow over the field where she was standing.

Tucker looked at the ghost in utter bewilderment, unable to come up with any form of reply. Not that he was given the chance to come up with one, as Applejack called out to them.

"Heey ya’ll, whooaaaall. Aaaa littleeee help pleaaaase!" The mare blurted out as she was flung around like some ragdoll, her hind hooves still stuck in the meaty fist.

Sam shot a quick glance at Tucker, before she sprung into action, and flew up to Applejack.

She dodged left and right, trying to keep up with the wild motions the lunch lady forced the pony ghost through. Stretching out her hand, she tried to grab hold of one of Applejack's free, wildly swinging hooves. But the chaotic movement made this a difficult task, and, on several occasions, Sam was almost hit in the face with both hooves. Intangibility certainly saved her there. Which also reminded her.

"Hey, Applejack. Why don't you turn intangible?" She shouted at the mare, trying to stay close to her.

"Ah am. She doesn't let me, somehow." Came her reply.

"Figures." Sam muttered as she swung to the side, one of Applejack's hooves passing through her head.

Squinting her eyes in focus, Sam followed the path the mare was taking, preparing to take action. With a loud yell, Applejack was swung towards Sam again. Seeing this, Sam's eyes shot open, and she reached out her arms to grab hold of Applejack's front hooves. She managed to do so, but one hand slipped away almost immediately. The other, however, did find a grip, and she was instantly pulled along on the wild ride, almost dislocating her shoulder in the process.

Sam grunted loudly through clenched teeth from the sudden stab of pain, but refused to let go of the pony that needed her help. So, through sheer stubbornness, she grabbed hold of the hoof that slipped through her hand, and planted her feet on the surface of the meat mountain.

Pulling with all her strength, Sam struggled to free the mare. But, slowly, she managed to pull Applejack's hooves free with a few precious inches. Still, it was not enough to free her, but it was progress.

Unfortunately, the lunch lady noticed what was happening, and figured that she could not let such a golden opportunity go to waste. Placing her other hand above the two struggling ghosts, she lowered her hand with crushing speed, intending to flatten the two spectral creatures.

A sudden stab in her back side made her stop just shy of the two ghosts, who were watching up at the hand with fear in their eyes. Turning her upper body around, the lunch lady looked down to see a knife and fork deeply lodged in her left buttocks, and a dark skinned boy that held them.

"Hey, forget about me?!" He shouted as he pulled the fork out of her, and stabbed it someplace higher, using it to pull himself up.

"Tucker?" Sam said with astounding surprise.

"How dare you?!" The lunch lady roared at Tucker, who only arched an eyebrow at that.

"Easy, like this." He answered simply as he pulled out his knife, and jammed it in the backside of the meat ghost, pulling himself up with it.

The lunch lady roared out again as the knife cut into her. Her anger growing beyond control, she pulled back her hand and morphed into a solid lump of red meat. Launching the mass towards Tucker with breakneck speed.

Tucker could only stare at the mass in horror.

A flash of green blinded everyone, and a scream of pain reverberated throughout the area. Sam, Applejack and Tucker all blinked their eyes to clear their vision so they could see what had happened.

One by one, they took notice of the smouldering stump that was once the lunch lady's arm. The entire limb was blasted off, leaving nothing behind, save a blackened stump near the shoulder, and a large, almost liquefied mass lying on the ground below.

"Hey, you better pick on someone your own size!" Danny yelled as he flew in with speed, and delivered a solid blow to the head, causing the lunch lady to rear back.

Using this moment of confusion, Danny sped towards Sam and Applejack, helping the first to pull free the latter. When the pony was free, and flying on her own power, Danny hurried to Tucker, and helped him back on the ground.

"Wow, Tuc. I'm impressed." Danny told his childhood friend with a respecting nod.

"Aah, you know me. Fixing computers, dating advice, climbing giant meat monsters. I'm all good with it."

"Heh, yes you are." Danny said with a grin, but it soon faded as he saw who were running towards them. "Oh crap." He groaned moments before he was suddenly captured in the Fenton Grappler.

"I've got you now, ghost!" Jack Fenton exclaimed as he reeled Danny in. "I'll teach you not to attack our children, or to play with your food."

Lying in front of his parents in a heap, tangled up in the net, Danny had to suppress the urge to roll his eyes. Focusing his powers, a glow formed around him, and he stood up, the net moving cleanly through him.

Jack looked at Danny, and then his ghost catching net, then back at Danny.

"Oh… Right." He said embarrassed, awkwardly scratching his neck. "Ghosts can move through things."

This time Danny did roll his eyes.

"No matter, I'll catch you with the Fenton thermos!" Jack shouted as he threw the Fenton Grappler over his shoulder, and pulled said thermos from behind his back.

He popped the lid, and aimed the instrument of any ghosts doom at Danny, who stepped back in shock. Only for him to realize nothing was happening because the device was not working.

"Drat." Jack muttered as he shook the thermos. "One day I'll get this thing to work."

"Don't worry, dear. I got this." Maddie said sweetly, then turned to Danny with a murderous look in her eyes as she pointed one of their heavy duty blasters point blank at him.

"Oh crap." Danny managed to say before he was blasted over the school.

"DANNY!" Sam, Tucker and Applejack shouted as they saw their friend fly over the school, and out of sight. Their shout drawing the attention of the "professional" ghost hunters.

"Tucker, look out!" Maddie shouted as she aimed her blaster at the two other ghost she saw. "There are two ecto entities near you! Back away slowly."

"Whoa, Mrs. F. That isn't necessary. They're friendly." Tucker said urgently as he jumped in front of Sam and Applejack.

"Good grief!" Jack uttered as his eyes opened in realization. "They must have already gotten to him."

"What!? No!" Tucker shouted, not sure if he should be insulted, or not.

"That is exactly what I would say if I were controlled by a ghost.

"Hmm hmm." Maddie hummed in agreement. "Don't worry, Tucker. We'll blast that ghost mind control right out of you! Just hold still." She said as she lined up her sight, targeting the three individuals in her crosshair. "Oh, Tucker. This might sting a bit." She added with a motherly tone.

"This is a joke, right?" Tucker baffled as he looked into the barrel of the blaster, seeing the green glow intensifying as its power increased. "She is joking, right?" He asked over his shoulder at Sam.

All she could do in reply was shake her head, unable to take her gaze away from the weapon aimed at her.

"Ehh…Shouldn't we run?" Applejack asked nervously as she watched the weapon, feeling her already cold body temperature drop several degrees more.

"TOO LATE!" Tucker yelled as Maddie pulled the trigger, firing the beam of energy towards them.

All three of them closed their eyes, and screamed in fear, expecting the worst. Except, nothing happened. Wearily opening their eyes, they looked up to see why they were still standing, and in one piece.

Standing before them was Danny, holding a shield of energy in front of himself, catching the shot fired by his mother.

"Are you guys alright?" He asked over his shoulder as he dropped his shield.

"We are now." Sam said gratefully.

"Good, then you deal with her." Danny said, giving a nod to the rising pile of meat. "And I will deal with this."

"Are you sure about that?" Sam asked, eying his parents, who looked at them in confusion.

"Ehh... I'll get back to you on that one." He answered. "Now go!"

Giving him a confident nod, the two ghosts, and human ran and flew towards the newly reshaped monstrosity, trying… something to deal with her.

"Okay." Danny muttered as he looked at his parents. His mother aiming the blaster at him, and his father fumbling with the thermos. "Now what?"

<<>><<>><<>>

Shadow was observing the events eagerly. True, it was unexpected for Sam to reveal the truth about herself, but it might prove to be helpful in the coming events. And anything that could help his master was more than welcome. Still, something was not as it should be. Mainly, the change brought on by Nightmare Moon. Although it proved to be helpful in regards to Sam revealing the truth, it also served to keep his master from being truthful. So, seeing him standing before his parents, Shadow hoped he would do the thing he needed to do. Reveal the truth, and accept who he really is. No more lies. Not to himself, nor his friends or family.

So, standing there before his parents, Danny was deciding whether he should tell the truth, or continue his lie. Even if this was only an illusion, a dream made by Shadow, it was still real enough to cause conflict in Danny's psyche, and Shadow could feel it.

Sensing the need to give that final push, and help his master accept the truth, Shadow reached out to his mental construct, intending to make some small changes. But he lowered his guard as he did so. And Nightmare Moon was quick to jump in.

"Fool!" she shouted through the mental link that they were all connected to, but only she and Shadow were aware of.

Shadow tried to block her out, to keep her from corrupting this construct. But he was already too late.

<<>><<>><<>>

Nightmare Moon grinned with malice as she breached through Shadow's defense, and into the many layers of his construct.

Before, she could only see the construct in its full form, the final product, as it were. But now, moving through the background, she could see things as they actually were. Each object, each person, all of them were a separate piece joined together in one great whole. Tinges of glowing green were mixed in with every separate piece, and glowing strands of energy extended out of it all. Criss-crossing around in a spider web like fashion, all of them connecting in the center. A center which was Danny. The human around who all of this revolved. His body shone with the green energy Nightmare Moon desired. The energy that should, and would be hers. And to see it wasted in such a way, spread out around this plain of mental construction, it sickened her.

Her own constructs would not work like this. They would not use the energy of Danny, mainly because she had no access to it. And the only way she could gain even the slightest amount of this precious power, was to place a leech in the construct's design. Something that could interact, connect, and drain Danny through these connections that were now around in abundance.

An evil grin found its way onto her muzzle as she observed the many strands of energy flowing out of Danny, and into the world Shadow had made. If she could connect with only one of these, she could drain this bald ape herself, without the use of any useless pawns.

Moving closer to one of the strands that shone brightest. The one that was connected to the dark skinned boy, this Tucker. The connection between these two was one of the strongest she could see, and she eagerly reached out to it, her body shaking in anticipation as she could already imagine the influx of power she would gain from this. Yet, before she had a chance to do so, a piercing pain shot through her chest, and she screamed out in agony.

In her moment of self indulgence, she had missed Shadow, who rapidly approached her from behind. His right arm raised, and his hand morphed into a wicked claw. Using his momentum, Shadow dug his claw into Nightmare Moon's back, and pierced straight through her chest.

Extending his arm even further through the hole in her body, he reached up, and grabbed Nightmare Moon by the throat, cutting her scream off as he squeezed and crushed her esophagus.

"I don't think so!" Shadow hissed in a low, angry tone as he pulled Nightmare Moon away from the source of power.

Nightmare Moon struggled, she fought, but the grip Shadow had over her, and through her, was too much. Her strength was waning, and she knew it would be over if she didn't act quickly. Looking at the strand of energy before her, so close, and yet so far away, slowly moving away from it.

There was only one chance she had left, only one thing she could do. But she had to be quick, as her window of opportunity was shrinking.

Focusing all the energy she could muster, Nightmare Moon shot her tail towards the glowing strand. It connected, and twisted around the power source, firmly holding a grip around it.

Shadow released an angry hiss, but was rooted on the spot as he was forced to see what was happening to both Nightmare Moon, the mental construct, and his master.

Nightmare Moon's body shone with a brilliant green light as she drained Danny's power, increasing her strength. The increase of power also forced Shadow to release her, and withdraw his arm from the hole he punched through her body.

He saw as a brilliant glow filled the gaping hole, and her body mended itself from the injury.

Nightmare Moon turned around, and her glowing, angry eyes focused on him. A blast of power flung him away into the surrounding darkness, and the haunting laugh of Nightmare Moon followed after him.

<<>><<>><<>>

"Okay. Now what?" Danny asked himself as he stood before his parents, watching his mother aim the blaster at him, while his father was fumbling with the thermos.

Suddenly, as if he was stabbed through the core of his being, Danny screamed out in pain as he grabbed his sides, falling to his knees. The world around him changed as well. The bright blue sky turned dark, and a thick ominous fog settled around them. Danny could feel himself weakening, but didn't know why. Why was his power leaving him all of a sudden like this, and why now?

Pain blurred his vision, and the last thing he saw before darkness claimed him was the barrel of a fully charged blaster aimed point blank at his head.

<<>><<>><<>>

Sam, Tucker and Applejack were closing in on the meat monster, intending to stop her destructive rampage, one way or the other. But they were not entirely sure as to how to do it. Tucker was, after all, only a part of Danny's memory, and was, despite his efforts, ill suited for the job. Applejack was a wildcard. Sure, she was a ghost, too, and had her powers. But she seemed mostly unaware of them, and was more focused on revealing the truth than anything else. Sam, however, was another story.

She was a ghost, had been a ghost for several years by now, and she learned how to use her powers that came with this change over those years. Still, she hadn't been in an actual situation like this for all that time, and suddenly being plunged into this caused her to lock up mentally. Still, she was sure that among the three of them, they would be able to find some way to take down the lunch lady. After all, Danny had managed to do so all that time ago. And he was not even fully in control of his powers at the time.

But before they could do anything, they heard Danny scream out in agony. Turning around, Sam saw him fall to his knees, clutching his sides.

She rushed to his aid, but mere seconds after he fell down the sky turned dark, and a thick fog obscured her vision. A strange sound behind her forced her to stop her attempts to reach Danny, and see what was happening.

Sam's eyes opened in shock as she saw the meat monster's body twist and turn as her body changed. At first, the meat body fell forwards, catching itself with its arms. But then the arms changed into long, slender legs with hooves, and a similar change happened with the legs of the meat form. The head shaped itself into the face of Nightmare Moon, while a black coat of fur covered the body. An ethereal mane and tail took form on her body, the specks of light filling them burned with an intense light, clearly full of power. A wicked grin formed on her muzzle as she looked down on the small creatures below, their tiny form almost similar to that of an ant compared to her giant form.

"Oh no!" Sam gasped in horror as she realized what happened.

With renewed determination, she flew as fast as she could towards Danny, knowing that he needed her help now more than ever. She just hoped that she wasn't already too late.

<<>><<>><<>>

Dark green glowing eyes burst to life in the ominous dark of Danny's mind. A burning hatred shone in them, giving them that much more of a glow.

Shadow was burning with rage, and his form showed this. His body twisted and warped around and over itself as if it was made of a black fire, and specks of green joined the waving pattern as energy leaked from his hands.

Once more his carelessness cost his master. He knew that his form was incomplete, that he was lacking something that allowed him to be fully in sync with everything around him, but this was ridiculous. Whatever it was that he needed to allow him to focus, he would find it. But for now, he needed to keep his head in the game another way, his master's life depended on it.

A scream of agony reverberated through the darkness, and Shadow knew exactly what it meant. His eyes, already a solid green glow, burned even brighter as his form turned into a raging inferno. He roared out loud with bared, glowing fangs. A war cry to Nightmare Moon. Telling her that this fight had only just begun.

Shadow shot forward with blurring speed, using his anger to push himself even further than what he normally would be able to do. The glow of his eyes leaving two green streaks in the otherwise dark void as he raced towards the glowing green form of Nightmare Moon. The glow surrounding her body increasing with every second that she was able to drain more and more energy from Danny.

Shadow knew she was expecting him. How could she not? Still, he continued his frontal assault, only picking up more speed, intending to forcefully knock her away from the source of energy. But before he could reach her, a glowing green shield blocked his path, and he slammed into it with the full force of his momentum. His form fell apart in a black smoke, and it took several seconds before he was able to reform himself.

"HAHAHAHA, you fool. Do you think you stand a chance against me, now? Not only are you doomed to fail, but your foalishness also gave me exactly what I wanted. A direct line to this pest's power." Nightmare
Moon shouted triumphantly at him, laughing hysterically at the building rage from Shadow.

"That may be so." Shadow rebuked, struggling to keep himself under control. "But you forget one very important thing." he told her as a strand of green energy burst forth from Danny, through the shield Nightmare had made, and connected with Shadow.

"I never wanted to do this, but you leave me no choice!" Shadow shouted back at her, absorbing more and more power from his master, pushing Danny dangerously close to the brink.

Nightmare Moon watched with a mixture of shock and fascination as shadow's eyes burned as two beacons in the night, and his hands turned claws channeled a massive amount of energy into them.

With a roar, Shadow slammed into the shield, shattering it. The backlash caused Nightmare Moon to lose her grip on the strand of energy emanating from Danny, and she shook her head from the dizzying back blow.

With a roar akin to that of a wolf, Shadow slammed into Nightmare Moon, clawing at her, and delivering hammer-like blows to her head. But Nightmare Moon shrugged off most of the attacks. Now full of power, she hardly felt most of the hits, and, instead, she attacks Shadow with some of her own.

Their battle was immense, and, with each blow they delivered onto the other, a portion of the construct Shadow had made was destroyed. Punching, blasting, and clawing holes in the already corrupted layers, adding another problem to the already exstensive list of Shadow's master.

<<>><<>><<>>

"Did she just turn into a giant horse?" Tucker asked, absolutely confused with the weird turn of events.

"Do you know what is going on?" He asked Applejack, but received no reply as she was staring up at the giant alicorn. Eyes wide with fear, and her mouth open in a silent scream.

"Ehh, are you alright?" Tucker asked as he waved his hand before her eyes, snapping her out of her fear induced paralysis.

"T- th… That is… That is Nigh-... Nightmare Moon!" She said with a weak voice, shrinking into herself as Nightmare Moon's piercing gaze fell onto her.

"Wait. That's Nightmare moon?!" Tucker shouted as he looked up at the giant.

Both of them watched as the giant lifted on of her front hooves, and held it above them.

"We should run now, right?" Tucker asked with shaking knees, not sure if he would be able to do so.

Applejack only gave him a frightened look, telling him exactly what she thought without a word.

But before either of them could begin to make a move, Nightmare Moon slammed down her hoof on top of them, laughing maniacally as she did so.

But, suddenly all around her, things started to change. Holes appeared out of nowhere. Nothing more than dark, empty voids. No dream existed in those places, as if those parts were destroyed from memory. But she had no time to dwell on this, as she felt a sharp pain coming from the hoof she just crushed those two lower forms with. More and more the pain increased, and a green glow started to show through her hoof. Then, without warning, her hoof exploded. Leaving behind nothing but a smouldering stump.

"Now, that'll teach ya not ta step on us like some vermin!" Applejack yelled, a green glow surrounding her front hooves.

Hovering slightly above the ground, she pointed her glowing hooves at Nightmare Moon. And, on the ground beneath her, was Tucker. Holding his arms over his head as a means to protect himself.

Looking back up, Tucker blinked dumbly as he realized he was still alive.

"Alright, pony girl." Applejack said with a sly grin. "Time ta get this rodeo started."

<<>><<>><<>>

Sam raced to Danny, cutting through the blinding fog without any thought about anything that might get in the way. All that mattered now was Danny's safety.

She didn't know how it happened, but it was obvious that Nightmare Moon found a way to drain Danny's power directly. She had to help him, but, unfortunately, she was not able to fight Nightmare Moon head on. But she would be able to save him from anything else she might throw at him. And right now, that was the memory of his mother pointing a fully charged blaster at him. There was just one small problem. When she turned to look at the lunch lady, and watched her turn into Nightmare Moon, she kind of lost direction on where Danny was. Flying blind through the suffocating layer of dark fog, Sam desperately called out to him, hoping against all odds that he would be able to answer.

Then, a lucky break. Parts of the fog disappeared into thin air, and Sam could see that other parts of this dreamscape were missing as well. But that was not what caught her attention. What did pique her interest were the trio of people some distance away. One of them a white haired male clutching his sides in pain. Another, his mother pulling the trigger of her weapon.

"NOO!" Sam yelled as she reached out her hand to Danny.

<<>><<>><<>>

Madeline Fenton was holding the prototype blaster in both her hands, aiming it at the ghost that had endangered the school, and everyone in it. Of course there was all the chaos going on around her, but certain damage in the construct that dictated her own thought processes made her oblivious to anything but the ghost kneeling before her.

Her weapon beeped, indicating it was fully charged. There was no need to aim, as the ghost was right before her, seemingly incapable of moving. She knew what she had to do, it was part of her job after all. but, as she pulled the trigger, a stray thought entered her damaged mind.

"This ghost does look really familiar."

The weapon's glow increased as it was about to release yet another beam of lethal energy, when, suddenly, it powered down, its energy levels showing it was out of power.

"What?!" Maddie said confused, when she noticed a sticky note on the side of the gun.

Maddie, I forgot to charge the weapon. Jack. PS, can I have another cookie?

"Jack!" Maddie said slowly, a tinge of anger in her voice as she turned to look at her husband.

Hearing his wife's voice, and seeing the note he left on the weapon, Jack knew immediately what this was about. And, right now, he would rather deal with that meat monster bare handed than with his wife.

"Care to explain this?" Maddie said as she held the small note up to his face.

"Ahaha… Funny story. You see, I-" Jack stammered, but he was interrupted when Sam flew by and grabbed Danny, flying him away from all of this.

The look Jack got from his wife would be enough to make any ghost tremble in fear.

<<>><<>><<>>

Shadow sighed out in relief. He was able to change the events in such a way that his master would be spared from the fate Nightmare Moon had placed onto him. But, as he soon learned, this also made him vulnerable to the next attack from Nightmare Moon.

It was a risk he had to take, and it paid off, but now he was on the receiving end of attacks, and Nightmare Moon was unrelenting. He endured blow after blow, feeling his energy slowly drop, and seeing the construct he made crumble and fall apart.

Still, it was worth it, as Sam was able to pull his master to safety, and give them some more time to figure something out. But even then, things were looking bleak for his master. Most of his strength was gone, absorbed by Nightmare Moon. And she was using it all to fight both himself, his master, and those with him in the mental construct.

"You fool! Do you really think he still has a chance against me? All you did was delay the inevitable." Nightmare Moon proclaimed, her voice coming from every direction. "Most of his power is mine, and soon the rest will follow. You know this to be true, and yet, you fight me. We both know you can't win, so why waste the effort? Your master is out of power, and you are powerless to do anything. Face it, I, Nightmare Moon, the one and true ruler of the night and Equestria, have bested you."

Shadow growled in anger. What she said was true. The part that she was better than him, that is. Still, there was one last thing he could do. It was a long shot, and it would almost certainly blast him back to the depths he crawled out not too long ago, but it was a risk he was willing to take.

"Oh, Moony. When do you learn?" Shadow taunted as he began gathering his powers. "All this talk about how great and powerful you are, and yet you can't finish off a single human. I guess it is only natural. If there is one thing humans are good at, it's surviving."

"Ha, is that all? Well I guess you are right. Humans do survive. But it is all they can do when faced with a god like myself. They won't be able to rise up against me, as they are too weak. They won't be able to live in comfort, as I won't let them. All they will be able to do is survive. Humans are weak, just like you."

"And that is where you are wrong!" Shadow stated as he released his power, blinding Nightmare Moon in a flash of green.

"Humans have more power than you think. Not through magic, or their inventions, but through compassion for others. And a human protecting those they care about will go through any length to do so. And you know what? I, too, am human."

Shadow said this as his body slowly faded as there was no energy left to sustain himself. All of his remaining energy sent back to Danny. But, as he faded into the darkest recesses of Danny's mind, there was still one last thing he had to do.

"And, if humans are so weak, then why don't I make mine a bit more powerful?" he said with a grin, before his face faded away as well.

Shaking her head, Nightmare Moon cleared her vision from the spots that obscured her sight. It took several moments, but finally she was able to see what Shadow had done. It took a while to register where she was, but when it clicked she screamed out in rage. Shadow had used part of his energy to push her out of the dreamscape, and back to where she began. Back where she was only able to observe Danny through the cracks in the construct he made, and now reinforced.

Still, she couldn't detect Shadow anywhere, and she was free to try and force her way back in the construct. Which, thanks to her boost in power, would be a lot more easier. But it would still take time. But, as she tested out the strength of the reinforcement Shadow had made, she found out that she was once more able to assert some of her control over the dreamscape. Danny and his friends were shielded from her, but not from what she could create.

For now, that would have to do.

It is not like Shadow had done anything else that could thwart her, she was sure of that.

<<>><<>><<>>

'Please be okay! Please be okay!'

The words repeated over and over again through Sam's mind as she carried the unconscious form of Danny to the safest place she could think of in this twisted dreamscape. His home. It was probably futile, but right now it was all she could come up with. She knew that, even in this old of a memory, there were still several objects that could be useful in protecting Danny. Most of them those prototype weapons his parents had built at the time.

So, flying as fast as she could, Sam hurried to the Fenton residence, ignoring the screams of the people on the streets. Most of them were fading away anyhow, as the mental construct was damaged. Hopefully this wasn't the case with her chosen location to bring Danny to.

Sighing out in relief as she saw the tell tale sign of the unusual architecture the house had, Sam descended to street level. Turning intangible, she flew through the tarmac of the road, and into the basement of the house.

Placing Danny on the floor, she hurried over to the security console she had used earlier. Powering back up the device, she pressed a variety of buttons, activating every system that she could find. And an artificial voice called out everything she did.

''Ghost shield, online.''

''Weapon systems, online.''

''Fenton command center, online.''

''The ham in the fridge, expired.''

''Increasing drain on city's electrical grid, commencing.''

''Electrical blackout, in progress.''

''Downloading Doorways new updates, in progress.''

''Downloading Doorways new updates, complete.''

''New updates found.''

"Really?!" Sam said to the console as she stopped pressing buttons, "What has that to do with anything?"

''A new ham has been ordered.''

Sam slapped her hand against her face, slowly dragging it down as she barely suppressed a groan. She wasn't sure who was to blame for this. Jack, and his strange affection for food, Danny for this weird memory, or what was happening thanks to Nightmare Moon. But she couldn't spare the time to worry about that. Not if her attention was needed elsewhere. Mainly, the unconscious male on the ground.

Danny had changed back to his human form while Sam carried him away, and even that was cause for concern. His transformation back was even different than what it used to be. It still happened in the same way, but the ring of light that would form around him was almost non existent. Barely there at all. It showed just how little power he had left, and Sam worried that Nightmare Moon had managed to drain him of all his power.

Sam knelt down to Danny, placing her hand on his head, feeling if he was still warm.

He still was, but a cold, clammy sweat covered his brow. His breathing was shallow, and he was shivering uncontrollably. He was in a bad state, and Sam felt completely useless. She came here to help him, but it would seem that it was all for nought.

Sighing out, she shot a look at the portal Shadow went through after he dropped them off in this dream, and an idea came to her. Maybe she could follow Shadow to whatever place he went, as she doubted that the portal would actually lead to the Ghost Zone. maybe it was possible to fight Nightmare Moon from her side of this nightmare. But that would have to wait for now, as a weak, pained groan brought her attention back to Danny. She knew he couldn't stay on the ground like this. So, lifting him up once more, she flew up through the ceiling, and towards his old bedroom.

Looking around, a wave of nostalgia came to her. The all too familiar messy room with the various posters of video games and space ships looked strangely comforting to her.

Sighing out, she placed Danny on his old, now too small, bed. Placing the blanket over him, and making him as comfortable as she could. It wasn't much, but it was all she could do for him at the time.

Taking a step back from the bed, she had to resist the urge to just stay with him. She was needed elsewhere, and she couldn't afford to get distracted. But, before she left, she leant closer to Danny, brushed a lock of hair that fell over his eyes aside, and kissed him on the forehead.

"Stay safe." She whispered.

Turning away from the bed and its single occupant, Sam turned intangible, flew back to the basement, and towards the ghost portal. Taking one look around, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and flew through the blast doors, and into the swirling green vortex.

But, moments after she left, Danny started to twist and turn in his bed. A green glow emanating from his entire body as his breathing became stronger and more rapid. After a moment the glow receded from his body, safe for a red glow coming from his right arm, which covered the lower part of his arm and hand.

The red glow became brighter and brighter, bathing the room in an ominous glow. Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the glow vanished, leaving behind a large gauntlet made from a shiny metal, with the fingers ending in a sharp point each. Six differently shaped slots were found on the side of the gauntlet, three of them filled. A pink crystal butterfly filled its intended holding place, as well as a blue/white diamond shaped crystal, and a red crystal shaped like a lightning bolt. A faint glow came from them as, ever so slowly, Danny's hand balled into a fist.

<<>><<>><<>>

The world was a mess. There were holes everywhere, places where no active form of thought was taking place, and they were growing rapidly as everything they touched was lost in this abyss. Tucker and Applejack were having a difficult time keeping their focus between these many black holes, and the giant Nightmare Moon.

Applejack had been able to prevent Nightmare Moon from crushing Tucker and herself, by destroying the hoof she stomped down on them. But it didn't seem to hurt her in the slightest. And to make matters worse, her injury healed within moments. Forcing the two to run to safety, before Nightmare Moon would try to stomp them out of existence again.

They didn't have many defensive capabilities either. Sure Applejack had her ghost powers, but she didn't really seem to know how to use them, save for the most basic of attacks. And Tucker. Well, he had his knife and fork. So only Applejack was capable of doing any form of damage to the giant that was determined to crush them, so the only thing they could do was run, and fast. Which revealed another problem. Four legs are faster than two, and Tucker struggled to keep up with Applejack, while also staying ahead of the giant. There was only one solution to this problem, and neither one of them were all too happy with it.

"We will never speak of this to anyone." Tucker said as he climbed onto Applejack's back.

"Agreed." She confirmed.

Wrapping his arms around her neck, Tucker held on for dear life as Applejack galloped away from the giant. She could have flown, but her earth pony instinct was shouting at her that this was not how she should do things. She was a ground pounder, and darn proud of it. That whole flying experience she had when she was fighting that horrible meat monstrosity taught her that the hard way.

"So, what do we do now?" Tucker asked, trying to keep an even voice as the bumpy ride shook him from side to side.

"Tha hay if Ah know. For now, let's focus on not gettin' stepped on." Applejack replied with slightly labored breath.

Looking back over his shoulders, Tucker could see the giant come closer to them, one of her steps was equal to the distance Applejack managed with six strides at full speed.

"She is getting closer. Go faster!" Tucker shouted as he could feel the ground shake when the giant took another step.

Applejack only gave an annoyed groan in return, unable to reply as she was pouring all her strength into her legs. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw a giant hole of emptiness swallowing the ground before her, and she had to swallow a dry lump through her throat as she knew the only way to get away from Nightmare Moon was straight ahead.

Sucking in as much air as she could, she picked up the pace. Tucker yelped out as he almost lost his grip from the sudden acceleration. Closer and closer they came to the hole, and Tucker closed his eyes while screaming out. At the last moment, Applejack pushed off with her hind legs, and jumped as far as she could. But she fell short, and, halfway over the void, the two started to fall to their doom.

"Earth pony instincts be damned." Applejack thought as her eyes glowed with determination. "Ah ain't goin' down like this."

Using her ghost powers, she flew back up, and to the other side. Placing her hooves back on solid ground, and taking a moment to catch her breath, before picking up the pace again and running away from the approaching horror.

"Ya can open yer eyes now." She told Tucker, who was still holding on tightly.

Tucker warily opened his eyes, and saw he was still in one piece, and not falling to his doom. Then he saw Nightmare Moon, and how she simply leaped over the hole that almost claimed the two of them.

"Eh… Say, apple pony girl. Any chance you know anything to take down that giant pony girl back there?" Tucker asked hopefully as he snapped his head back forward, not wanting to look at the approaching giant any longer.

"Ah… Ah'm sorry, panth, but no. Unless you know something?" Applejack answered with labored breath as she ran through the street.

"No I don-" Tucker began, but stopped mid-sentence as he saw a large green dome covering one of the houses several blocks away. "Over there!" He shouted while pointing at the house. "Go there."

Making a sharp turn, Applejack ran towards the location Tucker indicated. Barely getting away in time as a large hoof crashed down on the spot they occupied mere moments before.

"Ya sure 'bout this?" Applejack asked as she looked at the glowing green dome, not quite trusting it.

"Yes, trust me. It is Danny's house, and the ghost shield is already active."

"Ghost shield?"

"Yeah, it keeps the ghosts out."

"Ah hate ta burst yer bubble, but Ah am a ghost!"

Silence.

"Right, I knew that." Tucker said awkwardly. "Just go there. I'll be able to turn down the shield and get you inside."

"Ya sure?"

"Do you have a better idea?" He asked instead.

".... Right… Danny's house it is." Applejack replied after a few short moments, picking up her pace as she did so.

<<>><<>><<>>

Amidst the rubble of the partially destroyed school there were two persons lying on the ground, partially covered with the debris of the building. How they ended up like this, they weren't completely sure. But it might have something to do with that giant horse ghost plowing through the building, sending debris flying in every direction.

With a groan, Maddie pushed away a small table that had fallen over her legs. A quick inspection later, and she was sure that she wasn't injured. Looking to her side, she saw the large mass that was her husband, almost completely covered with objects from the school.

"Jack?" She called out to him, crawling her way over to him.

"Jack?!" She tried again, more urgently.

"...an .. ave a.. ony….. mmy." Came the garbled response, and Maddie hurried over to her husband. Seeing one of the school's textbooks lying over Jack's face, she pulled it off of him, and threw it away.

"Jack!" She tried again, slapping him in the face as he was out for the count.

"Can I have a pony, mommy?" Jack mumbled, not reacting to his wife at all.

"Come on, Jack. Wake up!" Maddie said forcefully as she gave him another slap in the face, but getting no reply, save from the slightly incoherent mumbling over a pet pony Jack wanted.

"Oh dear." Maddie sighed in defeat as she started to remove more of the debris from Jack's body. "This will take a while."

<<>><<>><<>>

"Is this going to take any longer?!" Tucker yelled as he held onto Applejack for dear life.

The two of them hurried over to Danny's house, but were forced to make a slight detour, as Nightmare Moon crashed through several buildings, blocking their path with the debris this created. Applejack was zigzagging through the streets, and jumping over the many chunks of walls, or otherwise, that tried to hinder her progress.

"If it is takin' tah long, then why don't ya do tha runnin', an' let me sit on yer back for a change!" Came the irritated response through labored breath.

"Nevermind, I'm good." Tucker said quickly.

"Ah thought so." Applejack grunted as she turned another corner, heading straight for the glowing green dome that covered Danny's house.

"Almost there!" She shouted, and almost tripped over a brick she missed.

"Careful!" Tucker said, looking back over his shoulder. "We can't allow her to catch up with us." He shouted as he saw the towering form of Nightmare Moon moving towards them, simply plowing through the buildings in her path as if they weren't there.

"Ah know, Ah know! Now shut yer pie hole, an' let me run!"

Tucker wisely chose to listen to the mare, and kept quiet as Applejack continued her sprint to, what they hoped, was safety. But even then, he couldn't help but yell and shout every once in a while when Applejack made an especially sharp turn, or high leap. But eventually, they reached the glowing dome. And Applejack, determined to go for the house at full speed, seemed to have forgotten about a certain fact Tucker had told her the shield did.

"Applejack, stop!" Tucker yelled, making the mare come to a screeching halt.

But not in time, and Applejack became closely acquainted with the glowing dome as she slammed head first into the green wall. Tucker, however, did not have such a problem. No, he went through the green shimmering field, and was sent flying through one of the windows of the house, face planting on the carpet of the living room floor. And ended up right in the line of sight of the house security system.

Groaning, Tucker pushed himself up. Shaking his head to regain his focus, he slowly stood back up.

"Hey Applejack, are you okay?" Tucker called out to the mare still stuck on the other side of the shield, unable to pass through it.

"Yeah, I'm fine. How about you?" she replied.

"I-" Tucker started, but was interrupted by a whirring noise coming from behind him.

Looking back, Tucker eyes widened in fear as he saw one of the security lasers pop up out of the ceiling, aiming for him.

"I've been better," he answered.

"Sorry ta hear it, but could ya please hurry an' let me through this shield thingy? Things are gettin' kinda dangerous out here." She shouted back, and her statement was enforced by the sound of another building collapsing.

"Y- Yeah, sure. No problem." Tucker answered with a squeak, swallowing the lump stuck in his throat as he didn't dare to move.

"Why are these things never easy?" he asked himself as he began to build up the nerve to run for cover.

Taking several deep breaths, he calmed himself down. Taking a moment to remember where the securities control system was, he formed a plan of action. It mostly consisted of running a lot, and trying not to get hit. But, hey, it was something.

"Well, here goes," he said simply.

With a dive forwards, he sprung into motion. The laser tracked him, and shot off a beam of focused energy, but missed his target as Tucker used his forward momentum to roll out of harm's way, and jumped back up to run behind the wall separating the living room with the hallway.

"Ha, I've made it." Tucker said proudly, when a chorus of sound brought his attention to the many lasers deploying all around him.

"Ow, son of a bi-"

"What tha hay is goin' on in there?!"
Applejack called out to Tucker as she heard the noise, but didn't get a reply. She couldn't ponder on this, though, as a looming shadow overhead brought her attention to the towering figure of Nightmare Moon standing behind her.

A look of pure hatred showed on her face as she regarded the miniature mare cowering before the glowing dome. She might not be the real Nightmare Moon, but she was connected with the one she represented, and everything that she saw, Nightmare Moon would also see. Everything that would happen to her, Nightmare Moon would know. And she knew what had happened to her duplicate. She knew what the embodiment of honesty had inflicted on her form. She would make sure the orange mare would pay for that transgression. No one, pony or human, real or imagined, would be allowed to damage her royal form and get away with it, alive.

The glow in the eyes, mane and tail of the duplicate intensified with the energy Nightmare Moon had drained from Danny, and was now pouring into her obedient pawn. Lifting a giant hoof, it began to glow with the energy of the undead, bathing Applejack in a deep green glow as she backed up against the green shield, standing up on her hind legs, and pressing her back against the solid surface while bringing her front legs up in a means to shield herself.

"Now, cain't we jus' talk 'bout this instead?" She asked meekly, her eyes darted from side to side, trying to find a way out of her predicament.

The only reply she got was a cold, hard, angry stare from the nightmare towering above her.

"Tucker, now would be a good time!" She shouted at Tucker without breaking her gaze on the being before her.

"Tucker!?" she cried out as she didn't get a reply, looking in fear at the giant glowing hoof above her, watching as it shot a beam at her in seemingly slow motion.

<<>><<>><<>>

Chaos. Destruction.

Order. reconstruction.

Pain. Anger. Grief. Loneliness.

Smiles. Joy. Fun. Laughter.

Friendship.

Guilt.

Longing.

Life.

Death.

Sam found herself in the nether zone of Danny's mind, frightened with the damage she found. Snippets of Danny's memory and fantasies appeared before her, torn apart, and mixed together until it was impossible to separate the two. She knew she had to expect the worst, but this… Never could she have imagined this.

Nightmare Moon was tearing Danny's mind apart to gain what she sought. Bringing forth memories of her own making, forcing Danny to deal with it all, clouding his mind, corrupting his thinking.

Sam felt sick to her stomach when she saw the destruction done to her friend's mind. She knew she had to act fast if she would have any chance to undo the damage caused by Nightmare Moon, if that were possible at all.

For some time she had been looking for Shadow, hoping that, maybe, he could help her. But she was unable to find him, and the destruction she found herself in didn't provide much hope to find him in one piece. Still, she moved on. Hoping that she could find something that could help her help Danny. Whether it was Shadow, or the place Nightmare Moon decided to reside in. But that also raised a question. What would she do when she found Nightmare Moon? It was obvious that she had managed to obtain most, if not all of Danny's power. And, although Sam had her own strengths, she wasn't all that confident that she would be able to take on this corruption on her own.

A maelstrom of thoughts flew past her, shaking her out of her own thoughts. Many voices could be heard coming from the strain of thoughts. Some her own, as she saw flashes of Danny's past, from before her death.

Looking around in the void she found herself in, Sam saw that several more of these memories moving around, all heading in the same general direction. Not knowing where else to go, she decided to follow the flow of memories and thoughts that rushed past her. Following it deeper into the darkness that surrounded her, not knowing what to expect.

Sam followed the flow of thoughts for what seemed like hours, watching as more and more thoughts and memories joined in what began to look like some kind of migration. All of them converged onto a single point, the place where Nightmare Moon was.

Sam halted in her tracks, shocked with what she saw. Nightmare Moon had changed, her features more refined. Strength radiated off her body, and a green glow shone from her eyes, mane and tail. She appeared to be studying the memories and thoughts of Danny, and didn't seem to notice Sam hovering in the void not too far from her.

Turning invisible, Sam watched as Nightmare Moon tore apart another one of Danny's memories. Watching as she absorbed the knowledge from the mind of Danny, learning everything she could about Earth, humans, their technology, and the ghosts that roamed this world.

With each new burst of knowledge, Nightmare Moon's wicked smile seemed to grow even larger. She didn't care in the slightest about the human whose mind she was destroying. All she cared about was herself, and any knowledge she could obtain from his mind. She was still unable to directly enter the mind of Danny, thanks to Shadow's final attempt to thwart her, but it didn't matter. She would be able to tear down his defenses, in time. But for now, she would use her newly gained strength to pull more and more thoughts and memories from the parts of Danny's mind that weren't protected. It wasn't anything majorly important, but even then, it proved to be very educational.

Humans. They were a weak species. Weaker than even a mere earth pony, and no magic to call upon. And yet, they were the dominant species in their world. Using not magic or muscle to fortify this position, but their knowledge, and the technology they had managed to create with it.

She had to admit that she was impressed with what these hairless apes had managed. Especially these rockets, as they seemed to be called. The ability to travel into space, and even to the moon. It intrigued her. Not that she was in any way interested to go back there herself, after having spent a thousand years trapped on the object she represented. But to see this race of weaklings being able to achieve such a feat, perhaps she had underestimated her prey. It would serve to explain why she had so many problems absorbing this one's power.

Pulling over another memory, Nightmare Moon observed the mixture of images and sounds, before tearing them apart, absorbing the knowledge contained within.

Pain. Fear. Despair.

The sudden rush of negative emotions shook her to the core. Not that she wasn't used to these kinds of emotions, she bestowed them on so many oh so long ago. But to feel them herself like this, and with such intensity. A shudder went down her back as she warily regarded these new memories.

Taking the time to study them more intently, making sure that she wouldn't get caught off guard again, she found a small treasure trove of knowledge.

A ghost portal forming an unstable doorway to the realm of the dead. Danny standing in the middle of the unstable vortex, screaming in pain as his body was changed. The powers he gained, and subsequently learned to control. The knowledge he found as he went through the portal.

The ghost zone.

Nightmare Moon froze on the spot when she found this memory, almost unable to comprehend what she was seeing.

Green, green everywhere. Dark green, slightly darker green, even darker green still. Green covered the entire region, as chunks of free floating rock hovered around at random spots. Many different terrains occupied these floating land masses, ranging from barren rock and tropical jungles, to an ancient castle belonging to the ghost king, Pariah Dark.

"So much knowledge!" Nightmare Moon crowed with a pleased shudder, completely absorbed in the memories of Danny. Sam, noticing this, took her chance, and flew closer to the corruption occupying her friend's mind.

"This Pariah Dark sounds especially interesting." Nightmare Moon said evilly as she sifted through Danny's memory, making Sam shudder from the suggestive tone.

'We really need to stop her, before things get even more out of control!' Sam thought as she slowly moved closer to her target.

Too absorbed in the knowledge contained within the memories of Danny, Nightmare Moon didn't notice that, ever so slowly, Sam was making her way over to her.

More and more she sifted through Danny's mind, and more and more she learned. About Earth, humans and their technology, ghosts, and the world they came from. She knew this ape was not a genius, not even close. But even then, his memories proved to be very educational.

Eventually, she came to the end of this memory strand, and her senses returned to the here and now.

She felt a presence, something that didn't belong here with her. And it wasn't Shadow. She knew what his presence felt like, as they shared the same energy. No, this one was different, and yet, familiar at the same time. She had felt it before. She felt it as she squeezed shut this individual's throat back in the main hall of her former home. Or, the memory of that place.

"So, I see you figured out that resistance is futile, and came to me to surrender." She spoke up, and Sam froze on the spot, turning invisible in reflex.

"Oh, don't bother hiding from me. I can sense you right behind me. What were you trying to do anyhow? You don't think you are a match for me." Nightmare Moon continued, not even bothering to turn around to speak to Sam face to face.

But Sam didn't worry about the fact that she could sense her. She did, however, worry about what Nightmare Moon had asked her. She did know she was more powerful now, but how much? And was she stronger than her? And, most importantly, what was it that she was going to do? She really didn't have much of a plan, and that worried her. Normally, she would have some idea on how to proceed with things, but now, she had just flown headlong into this mess without thinking. Almost like how Danny would do things, most of the time.

"Hmmm, no answer? Not that I was expecting any." Nightmare Moon said after a moment of silence, and finally turned to look behind her. Their eyes met, even if Sam was still invisible, Nightmare Moon knew exactly where she was.

"Why do you even bother to try and hide from me? Surely you know that this is pointless. I control this place, and everything in it. And I know that you are there, Samantha Manson."

Sam faded back into view, shooting a hateful look towards the corruption. Nightmare Moon, however, didn't seem to mind. In fact, she couldn't help but mockingly grin towards the woman before her, not feeling threatened by her in the slightest.

"Don't think you will get away with this." Sam said darkly as she slowly lowered herself to Nightmare Moon's level, but keeping a relatively safe distance between herself and the corruption.

"Oh, but I already have. Soon I will have the full power of your friend, and no one, not even you, can stop me. Even Shadow failed to save Danny, and it cost him his life." Nightmare Moon proclaimed triumphantly, the green glow coming from her body increasing with the twisted sense of pride she felt.

Sam, though, could only feel nausea. She might not have had the chance to
get to know Shadow, but he helped her and Danny. And now he had given up his own existence, trying to keep them safe from Nightmare Moon. No wonder she was unable to find him.

"Oh, don't worry about him." Nightmare Moon spoke up, seeing the look on Sam's face. "He wasn't even really alive to begin with."

Sam's eyes turned completely green as her hands balled into fists, a green glow surrounding them with sparks shooting from them from barely controlled anger.

"He was more alive than you will ever be!" Sam shouted, her wings folding open in an aggressive stance.

Nightmare's eyes flashed towards the large bat wings coming from the woman's back. An approving look flashed over her facial features, but only for a split second. Within moments, her cold eyes locked with those of Sam, watching, waiting.

Sam blinked, and when she opened her eyes again, she found Nightmare Moon directly in front of her, almost pressed nose to nose.

"Ghaaa!" Sam yelled as she reared back, her wings flailing in an attempt to keep her balance.

"Take this!" she shouted as she shot a beam of ectoplasme towards the corruption.

Nightmare Moon moved to the side, causing the attack of Sam to fly past her head, completely missing her. With a grunt of effort, she retaliated with a blast coming from her horn. Shooting a beam of green energy, mixed with the darkness of her own, towards the spectral woman.

Raising her hands, Sam formed a shield before her that took the brunt of the force, but it still pushed her backwards by several meters.

"What!?" Sam said, shocked. "You shouldn't be so strong already!?"

"Fool!" Nightmare Moon said in response, laughing wickedly as she did so. "I might have only just claimed these powers as my own, but I have the memories of your friend showing me exactly how to use them.

This only angered Sam even more, and with a shout, she shot a twin blast of energy towards the corruption. Nightmare Moon managed to dodge one of them, but the second managed to score a hit on her. Blasting her back with force, and sending her spiraling out of control in the dark void.

With a strong flap of her wings, she regained control. But only in time to see the angry glow from Sam's eyes as she slammed into her, hitting her with an energy charged fist against her muzzle.

"Why you insolent brat! You will pay for that!" Nightmare Moon yelled as she pushed away from the angry woman, charging her horn with the stolen energy she had.

Sam faded out of view as she turned invisible, and Nightmare Moon held onto the energy she had stored in her horn.

"You are even more foalish than I thought you were. Have you forgotten? I can sense where you are," she called out to the energy pattern she could feel coming from her far right, but something was wrong.

"I was never hiding in the first place!" Sam spoke in her ear as she turned visible again.

Nightmare Moon reared back in shock and surprise, but she didn't have a chance to respond after that, as Sam hit her with the full force of her twin ectoplasme blast.

Flying away from the force, Nightmare Moon was confused as to how she was able to sneak up to her while her energy showed she was not even near her to begin with. Then it hit her. Or more precisely, Sam hit her. Both of them. Two versions of the angry ghost flew towards her. One coming from the spot Nightmare was struck, the other came from the place Nightmare could feel the energy coming from.

"A duplicate." Nightmare thought as she regained control of her backwards tumble.

"Neat trick!" She growled as she dodged the attack of one of the two Sam's. "But it won't work again."

"Then I guess I just have to try harder." The second Sam said as she delivered an uppercut, slamming Nightmare Moon's mouth shut, causing her teeth to loudly clack as they were forced back together.

"Ghaa… How dare you!?" She said, dazed, shaking her head. "I am a god, you insolent fool. And you are all beneath me. And I will not allow you t-"

Both Sam's looked at each other with a look of annoyance from the small rant. Nodding, they both charged their hands, and shot four beams of energy into Nightmare Moon's body. Cutting her off before she could finish.

"Some god." They both said sarcastically as Nightmare was sent flying through the empty void once more.

A quick flash between their eyes, and a slight nod, and both Sams flew in separate ways. One followed Nightmare Moon as she tumbled away from them, the other flew towards the shreds of memories, hoping she could still mend some of the damage done.

"GHAA!!" Nightmare Moon shouted as she stopped her wild tumble, seeing one of the two ghosts coming for her. "You will pay for that!"

Closing her eyes in concentration, Nightmare began focusing the energy she had drained from Danny, using the knowledge she had obtained from his mind to do so.

"You're not the only one that can be in two places at once!" She snarled as a glow surrounded her body.

The glow intensified as Nightmare Moon visibly showed the effort she needed to use this power. Suddenly, a second form of her began to emerge from her original self, Pulling away from her like a cell dividing. However, something went wrong, and the two bodies were pulled back together, merging back into one form. Except the heads, which remained separated.

"WHAT IS THIS?!" Both heads yelled, looking at each other in shock.

"Heh." Sam uttered with a laugh. "I was hoping that this would be the case." She said to herself as she observed the two headed pony.

"You hoped for what!?" Nightmare Moon shouted as both her heads glared at the smirking woman. "You knew this would happen?"

"No," Sam answered with a mocking grin. "But I hoped. And it would seem I was right."

"Right? Right about what?!" Nightmare Moon growled angrily towards her latest nuisance.

"Now why would I tell you that, huh?" Sam said mockingly. "Telling you what you did wrong would not really work out in my favor, now, would it?"

"Fine!" Nightmare Moon growled through clenched teeth. "If you won't tell me, I will simply drag the answers I seek out of your mind!"

Sam's eyes opened in surprise and shock as Nightmare Moon suddenly lunged at her, only for her to almost lose her composure with what happened next.

As she prepared to attack Sam, both heads came up with a different approach to do so. And, as she lunged forwards towards her prey, one head moved left, while the other moved right. Unfortunately for her, the right head moved left, and the left head moved right, causing the two to collide in the middle, and completely dazing herself with the unintended headbut.

'This suddenly became so much easier.' Sam thought with a pleased smile, watching the corruption struggle with the conflicting signals two heads caused to a single body. 'I just hope I can stall long enough for the other me to fix things.' she added to her train of thought as both Nightmare Moon's heads turned to her, shooting daggers at her with her eyes. If looks alone could kill, then Sam would be fine regardless. She was already dead.

<<>><<>><<>>

"Please let this work." Sam pleaded as she brought the snippets of Danny's mind back together, and channeled some of her more specialized power into the fragments, hoping it would be able to mend the damage.

She watched with anxiety at the destroyed memory, seeing the glow of her energy pulse through the cracks and tears.

With a sigh of relief, she saw how, ever so slowly, the cracks and rips in the mental object started to fade and smooth out. Some damage would remain, a scar on his mind, but most of what made Danny Danny would remain. If only her other self was able to distract Nightmare Moon for long enough, buying her the time she needed to restore what she could.

She hoped that her hunch about Nightmare Moon being unable to properly use Danny's powers was accurate, as it would prove to be valuable in her attempt to stall her. It did make sense. She might have Danny's power, and the knowledge gained from his mind, but she lacked the experience to use it. So there might be some unforeseen consequences for her if she used this power without the proper know how. She just hoped it would be enough.

With a flash of light, the memory was made whole again. Letting go of the mental image, Sam could see it was a memory from many years back. Back when she, Tucker and Danny were still together in their rag tag group of professional unprofessional ghost hunters. A slight smile found its way onto her face as she remembered the event herself, and she wished things could go back to those simpler times. With a small sigh, she moved to another cluster of memories, starting the healing process all over again, not noticing the dark form that slowly moved towards her.

<<>><<>><<>>

"Stop being such a bother and do what I tell you to do!" Nightmare Moon growled to herself, one head fighting with the other.

"No, you do what I want. I am obviously the real Nightmare Moon, and not a lower duplicate like you." The other head hissed back.

"How dare you call me a lower form!? I am far greater than you will ever be!"

"Actually, you are both equally annoying." Sam said flatly, getting rather annoyed with the banter between the two Nightmare Moon personas.

"Quiet!" both of the heads roared out, their eyes glowing with rage.

"Meh." Sam answered with a shrug.

"Now, listen you lower version of myself. You will do as I tell you, and together we will attack and defeat this bothersome ghost."

"And why should I listen to you? Obviously you are the fake, and I should be the one making the plan of attack."

"Oh be quiet and listen." One head growled to the other, before explaining her plan to the other half of herself.

"You do know I am still here, right? I can hear everything you say." Sam spoke up, reminding Nightmare Moon that she was still there.

"I know that!" The head explaining the plan of attack shouted, while the other rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"I would not have made such a critical mistake," she said. "Clearly I am the real Nightmare Moon."

"Eugh. Like I said, you are both equally annoying!" Sam groaned as she slumped her shoulders. "Really, you have been at it for the last ten minutes. Are you going to do something, or should I come back some other time?"

Nightmare Moon gritted her teeth in response, her anger rising over the disrespect from this insolent fool. She would have to take care of her, sooner rather than later. For now though, she would have to put up with any and all remarks from the human as she continued this act of ignorance. She had to stall her, if she was to succeed with her plan. It was a long shot, but it could provide her with the answers she sought in regards to why she was unable to use her newfound powers.

"Fine, have it your way!" Nightmare Moon roared as, in a sudden act of cooperation between the two heads that took Sam by surprise, she launched forwards to the human ghost.

"What the?!" Sam shouted as she dodged the sudden attack.

"What's the matter? I thought you wanted me to do something." Nightmare Moon mocked.

"I think she doesn't know what she wants." one head said to the other.

"I think you are right." The other agreed, for once.

"Oh, I've had enough of this!" Sam muttered, and a green glow surrounded her hands.

"Hah, what do you plan to do? Simply shoot me with your weak attack?!"

"No." Sam answered as she shot forwards towards Nightmare Moon. "I have something else in mind."

"What are you-" Nightmare Moon shouted, but was cut off as Sam slammed her hands against the opposite sides of both her heads, knocking them together with a resounding thud, before the two merged back together into one.

Not stopping there, Sam continued her assault as she shot a beam of energy point blank in the mare's chest. A scream of pain escaped her lips from the blast, and a heavy glow of anger shone in Nightmare Moon's eyes as she looked up at the woman responsible for it.

An energy charged fist slammed into her head, sending it spinning to the left from the blow and the sudden discharge of undead energy. Giving a mighty flap with her wings, Nightmare tried to put some distance between herself and the angry woman. But a boot connecting with the back of her head showed her that this was a futile attempt, and her head snapped forwards from the blow.

"Don't think I will let you get away with this!" She groaned as she tried to regain her senses.

"Funny. I was about to say the same thing to you." Sam said, coming from the side of Nightmare Moon.

Nightmare Moon's eyes shot open as she looked to the left, only to be blinded by a green flash of energy that blasted her away.

<<>><<>><<>>

Sam flew through the nether zone of Danny's mind, somehow having been able to strike down Nightmare Moon. She wasn't sure how it happened, and she was still on edge in case it was all part of a larger scheme. But whatever the case, she had to check up on her other self, and make sure everything was going as planned. She could see things were already improving, though, as more and more intact memories appeared around her. They had their scars on them, but they were once more in one piece. But she could see there was still a lot of damage left, and it would take a long time to heal all the damage. If only she could split herself up more than just two times, but that was not within her abilities. Her powers were more specialized in helping and healing. Useful most of the time, but right now, it was a rather annoying setback.

Still, even with only the two of herself, a lot had already been done. A small smile worked its way onto her face as she came closer and closer to her twin, seeing her other half diligently working on yet another cluster of shattered memories. She must have sensed her other half coming up behind her, as she looked back through the corners of her eyes, before focusing her attention back on the memory cluster before her.

"Is it done?" she asked as the other Sam came closer, sounding somewhat coldly.

Arching an eyebrow over the tone of voice from her other self, Sam answered the question asked.

"I think so, but I am not entirely sure."

"You think so!" The other snapped as she turned to look at her mirror's image. "What good is that? Nightmare Moon could still be out there, and I am having enough difficulties with fixing this damage as it is."

Moving back a bit, Sam looked at her duplicate with a wary look.

"Something is different about you." She said with a suspicious tone.

A sigh came in answer.

"Look, I have been under a lot of pressure to fix all of this under the promise that you would deal with Nightmare Moon, and now you tell me that you aren't sure whether or not she has been dealt with." The Sam responsible for repairing Danny's memories said, sounding somewhat exhausted.

"At least tell me that you found some weakness that we can exploit, that certainly would help."

Still looking at her other self with some level of suspicion, Sam slowly moved back to her. It would make sense that she was tired, her healing ability did drain a good deal of energy from her. But her fight with the corruption was anything but easy, and she was still doing relatively fine. Something was off, but she could not put her finger on it. Still, the other Sam's request was fair, and she didn't see anything wrong with sharing this knowledge with herself.

"As a matter of fact, I did. It would seem that mine... Our guess about Nightmare Moon not being able to properly use Danny's powers was correct. She has the power and the knowledge, but not the experience. That certainly became obvious as she tried to duplicate herself."

"So, that's it." The other Sam muttered, her voice sounding cold and distant.

"What?" Sam asked her duplicate.

Instead of giving an answer, the second Sam began to laugh. Softly at first, but it picked up on volume until the loud menacingly laughter filled the entire space around the two women.

Sam readed back from her doppelganger, recognizing the voice behind the laughter. She watched in horror as the form of, what she believed to be her other self, began to twist and turn, slowly forming into the corruption she had just fought. Before her stood Nightmare Moon, laughing wickedly with bared fangs.

"What!?" Sam shouted as she reared back, a look of shock, fear and anger fighting for dominance on her face as she looked in the cold green glowing eyes of the corruption that had tricked her.

"Fool. To think you would give up such vital information so easily. I had expected better from you, but it would seem all humans are simple minded creatures. Thanks to you I now know what I have to do to use my newfound power. For that, your destruction will be quick and, mostly, painless."

"Oh yeah!? Well, think again. I am not giving up that easily." Sam shouted as she channeled her energy into her hands, the green glow lighting up her entire form.

The least bit intimidated by Sam's display of stubbornness, Nightmare Moon reared up on her hind legs, spreading her wings, and her mane and tail moved around as if a storm was blowing. And her horn shone a toxic green. It was a display of power, nothing more. But Sam froze on the spot regardless. Not because of any display of strength or power, as Nightmare Moon intended, but because of the wings spreading out feom her back. Long, strong bat wings.

Sam's wings.

Nightmare Moonsaw what Sam was looking at, and spread out her wings just a little bit more.

"Like what you see? I do have to say, these look a lot better on me than they would ever do on you, wouldn't you agree?" She said with a devious smirk, watching Sam fume with anger.

Sam was boiling with anger, stray sparks of energy burst from her hands, which were shaking with how tight she was clenching them. This creature, this corruption. Not only did she steal Danny's powers, but now she also took her wings. Sam felt violated to the core of her being, and her energy surged to the surface. Her eyes and hands glowed a bright toxic green, and an angry, throaty growl escaped her lips as she prepared to hit the corruption with everything she had.

"A-a-ah." Nightmare Moon uttered, her smirk turning into an evil grin.

Her horn flared with her magic, and the struggling duplicate of Sam was brought into view.

Held tightly in bonds made from shadows, Sam was fighting to free herself. Yet, Nightmare Moon had made it impossible for her to simply fade through her bonds, or use any of her other abilities. She couldn't even return to her other half, and so, she could only use her physical strength. Which proved to be completely useless. She looked down at her other self, watching her look back at her. She struggled more and more, but she was unable to free herself. Nightmare Moon had her, and there was nothing she could do against it.

"Looks like I got another thing of yours as well." Nightmare Moon said mockingly. "I wouldn't do anything you would regret!" she continued, her tone turning deathly serious as she constricted the bonds that held one of the Sam's prisoner, causing the woman to gasp out.

Sam knew she was beat, and she forced herself to stop channeling energy into her hands. The glow gradually died down, but she didn't unclench her fists, which shook noticeably as she tried to remain calm.

Seeing the glow vanish from her adversary's hands, Nightmare Moon knew she was now in control of the situation. And now, here she was. Having drained most of the power of one ghost, and the possibility of gaining the strength of another. But she could take her time with this one, as she now had more than enough power to keep her occupied for the foreseeable future. She had to learn how to control this power, or it would be useless to her. Something that became abundantly clear when she tried to make a duplicate of her own. Fortunately, she was more than a one trick pony, and she used her ability to form a mental construct of herself. using it as a decoy to keep the one human fighting her occupied, while she would deal with the unsuspecting other.

It took some effort, but it paid off handsomely. The only two kinks in her plan were the fact that she had to pose as a human, which did not sit well with her. Although, she had to agree that the wings were something she could get used to. The other one was that she would have to play along for the time being. Healing the memories she had destroyed, as to not draw any suspicion towards herself. It really was not how she did things, acting all caring and such. She was one of action and destruction. She would tear down anything and everyone in her path, not patch them back up. Still, it would prove to be good entertainment later when she would tear apart these memories again.

Smirking, Nightmare Moon looked down at the human before her. And, with a flash of her horn, she bound the one remaining ghost that was still free, while bringing the duplicate to the side of her other half. Keeping them apart for several meters, but close enough for them to see the desperation in each other's eyes.

"Did you really think I would be defeated so easily? I expected better from you. Danny certainly seems to hold you high in that regard. Always the one of logic when the time demands it. Yet, it seems that you walked right into my trap."

Silence.

"What, no answer? No clever comeback? Not that it matters, really. There is nothing you can do, nothing you could have done. Danny's powers will be mine, and so will yours. But not right now, no. First, I will make you watch how I tear down your friend, your love. And, after I am done with him, and you are crushed and broken from your guilt, I will drain you too." Nightmare Moon said, her words cutting deep within Sam as she felt completely powerless to do anything.

With another flash of her horn, Nightmare Moon brought the dreamscape Danny was in into view. Forcing both Sam's to watch the events play out before them. Watching as a giant version of Nightmare Moon was about to vaporize Applejack, while Tucker stared death in the face as multiple lasers fired upon him. And Danny, he was lying on his bed, exactly where Sam had put him before she left. Twisting and turning on the spot, covered with a cold sweat. His right arm was covered under the blanket, while his left hand grasped at nothing.

"See," Nightmare Moon said triumphantly. "it is already happening."

"NO!" both Sam's cried out, watching in horror as they saw Danny struggle under the mental strain.

Suddenly, the lights in Danny's room started to flicker while an ominous red glow shone from underneath the blanket. The various items in his room started to fly around, or turned into something else entirely. Amidst of this all, Danny slowly rose up from his bed, levitating a meter above it in his prone form.

"What!? What is the meaning of this?" Nightmare Moon shouted as she watched the strange events play out.

Suddenly, the entire room became dark. Nothing could be seen, and only the sound of objects falling to the ground could be heard. Then, just as suddenly, light returned to the room, showing the trio of spectators what was going on once more.

All three of them gasped out. But where Nightmare Moon did so in shock and confusion, there was a distinct sound of hope within the voice of both Sam's.

The room was littered with the objects that floated around mere moments ago. And Danny, he was nowhere to be seen.

<<>><<>><<>>

Tucker swore as he saw the many lasers deploy and aim for him. He knew he couldn't run away from this one, and all he could do was close his eyes while pressing his back against the wall. He knew he was finished, he just hoped it would be quick. But, seeing the large amount of firepower aiming at him, that wouldn't be a problem.

He could hear the whirring of the weapons as they charged their energy, focusing it into a concentrated beam of light designed to take out anyone that would be unlucky to find him or herself in its path. Whether they were ghosts, the government, Jazz's ex ghost boyfriend of which she didn't know he was a ghost, or, as in this case, Tucker.

Taking a deep breath, Tucker steeled himself for the inevitable onslaught, not knowing what to expect. So, when he heard several popping sounds, he couldn't help but scream out in fear as he hunkered down while covering his head with his arms. Several long seconds passed, and Tucker was still breathing. He didn't feel any pain, nor did he hear any weapon discharge. Carefully, he opened one of his eyes, and what he saw made his eyes pop open with surprising speed.

A red glow surrounded the laser turrets, and with a distinct popping sound, they turned into something completely different. Whether it be a potted plant, a teddy bear, or a badminton racket.

"What the..." Tucker muttered, before trailing off as he heard a loud scream coming from outside of the house.

"Applejack!" He said breathlessly as he rushed to help the ghost pony still trapped outside of the ghostshield.

<<>><<>><<>>

Applejack's eyes were closed, and her back was firmly pushed against the unmoving shimmering green shield that stood in her way. She had her own set of powers, that much she knew. But she had no idea how to use them, safe for the most basic of them. And even then, they would not suffice against the giant before her. She was trapped, with no way out of this mess.

A deep green glow shone through her eyelids, and she knew that it would be any moment now. Any moment, and Nightmare Moon would unleash her attack onto her. She just hoped it would be quick and painless.

A bright flash made her see spots in her vision, even with her eyes closed. And the distinct sound of an ectoplasmic charge being fired filled the air. The light grew brighter and brighter the closer it came to her, while its sound drowned out everything else. A foul smell filled her nose, and before long she started to hack and cough as her lungs filled with the vile smell. Her eyes shot open from the burning in her lungs, and it was then that she realized that she was still in one piece.

Swallowing loudly, she slowly looked up, seeing the bright glow of green energy mere inches from her face. The heat radiating off of it singed the hairs on her muzzle, resulting in the foul odor that assaulted her sense of smell. But none of that drew her attention, as she was too enraptured with the impossibility of the situation she found herself in.

She should have been obliterated. Instead, she found herself still intact, yet frozen on the spot as she looked right at a massive gathering of energy powerful enough to destroy a city.

"W-what?" she struggled to say, staring unblinkingly at the mass of energy.

"Hey, Applejack!" Tucker's muffled voice came from inside the house. "Appleja-... WHAT THE...!?"

Standing behind Applejack, separated only by the green shield, stood Tucker. Standing with his mouth wide open as he stared unblinkingly at the mass of energy suspended in mid air.

"Applejack." He said slowly, his mind having trouble restarting. "How are you doing that?"

"I- I'm not." she replied, never looking away from the mass of energy, afraid it might start moving again if she looked away.

All the while, Nightmare Moon growled in frustration as she forced more and more energy into her attack, not knowing why she wasn't hitting her helpless prey.

To say she was surprised when her attack just stopped like that would be an understatement. But now, now she was growing more and more frustrated. It didn't make any sense. She was in control, everything should happen as she saw fit. And yet, here was something that didn't obey her command. Something that dared to defy her. And it was her own blasted attack.

Suddenly, without warning, the focused ectoplasme shot back at her, hitting her center mass, and blasting her away several streets as she screamed out in pain and rage. She slammed into the ground with a mighty slam. Her large frame crushing several buildings as she came down.

Applejack and Tucker were too stunned for words. And, unbeknownst to them, both Sams and the Nightmare Moon who was controlling her larger counterpart, were sitting on the sidelines outside of the mental construct. All three of them stunned into silence. Although, Nightmare Moon also had a wildly twitching eye as she sat with her mouth slightly ajar.

"Wha- What happened?" Tucker asked in a whisper.

Applejack was about to answer, when a flicker of red light in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Looking behind her, and up at the roof of the house covered by the ghost shield, she saw the now all too familiar sight of an angry ghost.

"Look!" She said as she pointed her hoof up, showing Tucker who was responsible for what had just happened.

Standing up there on the roof, with an angry scowl on his face, was Danny. Both his hands were balled into fists, one of them covered with the shiny metal of the reality gauntlet. A deep red glow shone around the gauntlet, while a deep, toxic green glow covered his other, white gloved hand. His eyes glowed with an intensity not seen unless he was very, very angry. And the power exerted from the gauntlet made the air around him ripple like a wild river. The three crystals on the side of the gauntlet were shining with their own light, mixed in with the red. Pink for kindness, purple for generosity, and red for loyalty.

All three of them glowed, but it was the pink one that shone the brightest as its energy was used to protect Tucker and the ghost pony standing close to him. Danny wasn't sure where he knew this pony from, but, somehow, she seemed familiar to him. But who she was would have to wait, as his attention was required elsewhere. So, seeing that his friend, and this pony were safe, the pink light faded away in the deep red of the gauntlet, and the purple glow intensified.

It was time he gave Nightmare Moon the generous ass kicking she deserved.

Raising the gauntlet, he focused its power, and warped reality as he saw fit. A red glow surrounded Nightmare Moon, and she found it impossible to stand back up, no matter how much she struggled. All that she did manage to accomplish, was knocking down several more houses within her reach. Her futile attempts to regain an upright stance halted as a loud, thunderous sound reached her ears. Looking up, she saw that the sky, dark as her night, slowly began to glow with a burning intensity, and that the clouds were circling around with hurricane-like speed. Lightning shot out of the clouds, illuminating the sky even more, and allowing her brief moments to see what was coming for her. Although, it was hard to miss, as the closer it came to her, the more the sky lit up with this orange, burning glow.

Looking up, she looked right at the giant asteroid heading straight for her. Fire burned away at it as it entered the atmosphere, and the clouds ceased to exist as it punched through them.

"By my moon." Nightmare Moon said in a fearful whisper as the burning glow of the plummeting rock reflected in her eyes. And, in the moment before it hit, she was sure she saw the shape of a skull in the ghostly green asteroid.

<<>><<>><<>>

"What was that!?" Nightmare Moon screeched as she saw the crater the asteroid had slammed into the surface of the earth, completely obliterating her mental mirror's image.

She could only stare in shock at the tremendous force the asteroid had unleashed, only for the shock wave and lethal debris to be swept out of the sky by a single gesture from Danny. Causing nothing else but her pawn to be destroyed. Her anger rose to levels even she didn't believe possible, and foam started to form at the corners of her mouth, while her ears and left eye were twitching wildly. She was losing control over herself, losing herself in blind rage towards the ridiculously stubborn human. Why can't he just do what she wanted, and let himself be drained of the remainder of his energy? No, he had to fight her, and by the looks of it, with some level of success.

"What is that thing?" Nightmare Moon growled through gritted teeth as she paid close attention to the gauntlet Danny was wearing.

"Something that has even the odds," one of the two Sams spoke up.

"You are no longer in full control here," the other added. "Danny now holds the power to change things as he sees fit."

"WHAT!?" Nightmare Moon shouted at the two with enough force to blow back their hair. Then, she remembered something that Shadow had said to her before he vanished.

"And, if humans are so weak, then why don't I make mine a bit more powerful."

"So he did manage to make true to his words." She thought bitterly as she took another look at the half ghost, and its latest addition of devices to use against her.

"You!" She suddenly spoke up, turning to the two captured women behind her. "You will tell me what this thing is, right now!"

"And why should we?" One of them said defiantly.

"Because, if you don't, I will simply have to scour your friend's mind to find the answers I seek. You don't want that happening now, would you?"

Two pairs of eyes opened wide in shock, only for them to squint into an angry glare while both Sam's gritted their teeth.

Nightmare Moon had them there. They were unwilling to give up anything that could hurt their friend, but, right now, the only way they could prevent Nightmare Moon from causing any more damage to Danny's mind, was by giving her the answer she wanted themselves. It was a horrible choice, but it was the lesser of two evils. So, begrudgingly, they answered.

"That thing is the reality gauntlet. Whoever holds it can control all of reality." One of them began.

"We first learned of it when we had to fight someone named Freakshow. He had the gauntlet himself, and used it to fight Danny, and to bring harm to both Danny's, Tucker's and my family." The other continued.

"There, happy now?" The first asked with a sneer.

"Oh yes. Very much so." Nightmare Moon answered with a manic grin as she lit her horn, using her magic to search for this particular memory, and see how she could best use it against this troublesome ape.

The strand of memories came to her, and she absorbed the knowledge contained in it.

For a moment she stood there, unresponsive, as the memories played out in her mind. But, ever so slowly, an evil grin formed on her muzzle as the full impact of these memories became apparent

Both Sams shared an uneasy glance between each other as they noticed the grin on her muzzle, and they began to try and free themselves again in her moment of unresponsiveness. But, before they could even free one of their arms, Nightmare Moon came back to her senses with a manic chuckle.

"Oh yes, That would be just what I was looking for." She said to herself.

Focusing her gaze back on the scene playing out in the mental construct, she began to alter certain portions of Danny's own little nightmare. And, although she still hadn't full control over the mental construct thanks to Shadow, she was sure that this would take care of him, once and for all.

<<>><<>><<>>

Several minutes earlier.

Danny watched the asteroid slam into the surface, obliterating Nightmare Moon. The ground shook with a tremendous force, and boulders the size of houses were launched all around the city. A massive cloud of dust, ash, and smaller debris moved out of the impact zone, riding along the shockwave from the impact.

Danny narrowed his eyes as he saw the destruction happening before him, and, with a simple gesture of his hand clad in the reality gauntlet, he removed all traces of the approaching apocalypse, leaving nothing behind, save the giant crater the space rock had slammed into the surface of the Earth.

Giving a slightly approving nod, Danny looked down to see Tucker and this strange pony ghost staring up at him. A spike of recognition stabbed through his mind as he saw the dull orange pony, yet he couldn't figure out where he had seen her before. Shaking his head to regain focus, he jumped down off the roof of his parents home, and landed before Tucker and this pony.

"Danny." Tucker said, almost in awe. "That was absolutely epic! But where did you get the reality gauntlet?"

"I… I don't know." Danny answered as he looked down at his right arm, lifting it a bit to get a better look at the reality bending object. "But it seems there is a lot I don't seem to know." he continued as he placed his left hand on his forehead, grimacing slightly from the dull headache that he had ever since he woke up.

"Like what?" Applejack asked concerned.

"Well, for starters. Who are you supposed to be?" Danny said as he turned to look at the pony standing to his side.

A look of hurt and confusion found its place onto Applejack's face from Danny's words, and she didn't exactly know how to respond to what he had just said. But Tucker was able to find the words that were eluding her for the moment.

"What do you mean, who is she? She is Applejack, the ghost that has been helping us ever since we ran into trouble back at our school."

Danny's hand moved back to his forehead as another spike stabbed his fragile mind, and he had trouble to maintain his balance for a moment, causing Applejack and Tucker to more and more worried with every passing moment.

"Are you okay, dude?" Tucker asked as he placed his hands on Danny's shoulders, holding him upright.

"Ye... Yeah… It's just. I've heard that name before, I think. But where?" Danny mumbled, and Tucker and Applejack shot each other an uneasy glance.

"What happened to you?" Tucker asked his friend, his voice filled with concern for Danny's well being.

Applejack's shared the same feeling of concern for Danny as she looked at him, seeing him wobbling on his feet, only being held up by the support of Tucker. Then, her eyes lit up as she realized something.

"It has ta be Nightmare Moon, she is doing this ta him."

"What? But how? Danny just slammed an asteroid into her, there is no way she could do this to him now."

"Ah'm not so sure. Remember, Ah know when somepony is dishonest. And that giant Nightmare Moon Danny jus' took care of, well, there was something off 'bout her. Like she wasn't really there at all."

"What do you mean?" Tucker asked.

"Ah… Ah'm not sure." Applejack admitted hesitantly.

"Well, that is not going to help us right now." Tucker said. But before Applejack could reply, Danny almost collapsed onto himself, if it wasn't for Tucker holding him up.

"What happened ta him!?" Applejack nearly shouted as she rushed to help Tucker from keeping Danny from falling down.

Tucker was about to reply, but he was stunned into silence as a large ripple moved around the entire area. Everything it touched became distorted, only for everything to return as it was when it passed.

"What was that?" Applejack asked, voice lowered.

"I have no idea," Tucker replied with the same tone of voice. "But I know it isn't anything good." He added as he looked down at his friend, seeing the three elements in the gauntlet glow even brighter.

<<>><<>><<>>

Several minutes earlier, before the several minutes earlier.

A loud mechanical roar sounded through the otherwise empty streets. Screeching tires, and swaying lights illuminated the damaged buildings as the Fenton assault van rounded the corner, following the giant spectral abomination that was wreaking havoc in their fair city. Behind the wheel was Maddie Fenton, a determined, yet angry glare on her face. By her side was Jack Fenton, eating a cookie Maddie gave him so he wouldn't distract her. And, in the backseats of the van, were four other adults; the parents of both Sam and Tucker. They were buckled up, and holding onto anything they could find for dear life as the wild, yet expertly driving of Maddie was shaking them around like ragdolls.

"So tell me," Tucker's father began. "Why exactly are we here with you?"

"Yes, shouldn't we be looking for our children instead of going on this wild goose chase with you?" Sam's mother added, frowning in irritation from another wild bump on the road.

"First off, it's not a wild goose chase, but a wild ghost chase." Maddie answered tensely as she gave another sharp turn on the wheel of the van. "Secondly, in case you didn't notice it. Tucker was riding on the back of one of these ghosts, heading to our house. Now, I don't know what is going on, but I am going to find out. And your son is the best bet we have right now."

"That may be, but what do we have to do with this?" Jeremy, Sam's father, asked, earning himself a glare from Tucker's parents.

"I'll tell you why." His wife spoke up before any other could reply. "Our daughter always socializes with their sons. Clearly they are both a bad influence to our little girl, and we should get her out of this mess as soon as we can."

"Hey!" Jack spoke up, finished with his cookie. "It's not like our ghost hunting activities have ever put your families in any danger."

A shock hit their van, and everything distorted as a result of it. Slowly, the metal of the vehicle began to remold itself, forging itself into a large steel cage with ghost green bat wings growing out of the roof. Their seatbelts, meant to keep them safe, turned into a glowing green rope, twisting and turning around them, preventing any of them to move.

"Until now." Jack added sheepishly, before a gag placed itself over their mouths, cutting anything they had to say off. Still, this didn't stop the angry glares he got from the four parents now struggling in the cage behind him. And, all they could do, was watch through the bars of the cage as they were flown to who knows where.

<<>><<>><<>>

The distorting ripple moved all throughout the city, leaving nothing untouched. Everywhere it went, objects of every size warped, twisted and turned, moving in ways that they were never meant to do. And yet, as it moved further throughout the city, everything that was touched returned to the shape they were in prior to the distorting ripple touched them. Yet, there were two things that were different; a change forged out of the warped reality. Firstly, the Fenton house fell into ruin, every system in it shutting down, and any of the supplies that could be useful turned to dust. Secondly, a sphere of energy formed in the center of the crater made by the asteroid, growing in size the further the distorting ripple moved throughout the city.

Gradually, the sphere took on a more refined shape, as arms, legs, a torso and head started to emerge from the glowing orb. Cold violet eyes looked around the terrain as the glow surrounding this new entity died down, and harsh, mad laughter reverberated around the crater as he saw the wonderful destruction all around him. He held his cane tightly as he raised it up to the sky, and another mad cackle could be heard, before he vanished in a flash of purple.

<<>><<>><<>>

"Danny! Come on, wake up." Tucker almost pleaded as he sat crouched down at his friend's side, shaking his upper body, and slapping him in the face, trying to get some reaction out of him.

"Isn't there anythaing else we can do?" Applejack asked worriedly, keeping an eye out for any sign of trouble.

"Like what? We have already searched the house ever since the ghost shield failed. There is nothing here that can help us. Nothing that can help him." Tucker said, a hint of defeat in his voice.

"Now, Ah won't have none of that!" Applejack said sternly to the frantic teenager. "And Ah am sure neither would Danny. Now, think Tucker. There has ta be somethaing that we can do."

"Like what?! The house security system is down, and none of the computers here work, thanks to whatever that weird ripple was. There is nothing here, this place is basically a ruin. The only thing I can think of is to get Danny back on his feet. Maybe he knows something?" Tucker replied, and was about to give Danny another slap against the face, when, in a blur of motion, Danny grabbed Tucker by the wrist and his eyes snapped open, showing two glowing green orbs. With a forceful blast coming from the reality gauntlet, Tucker was sent flying backwards, and Danny slowly pushed himself up on his knees, before standing up completely.

Tucker, partially imbedded in the wall, looked at his friend with a mixture of pain, anger and relief. Glad that his friend was back on his feet, but less than thrilled that he pushed him away like that.

"Danny!" Applejack yelled in panic. "What was that for?"

"He attacked me, Applejack. So I hit him back." He stated calmly as he kept Tucker in his sights.

"Wait, ya know me?" Applejack asked, confused as he didn't seem to know her before he collapsed.

"Of course I know you, why shouldn't I? The better question would be, who are you?" Danny asked threateningly as he raised a glowing green hand towards Tucker.

"Who am I? Danny, it's me, Tucker, your best friend. We've known each other since… forever."

"Likely story." Danny said, trying to hold a defensive stance, but pained groans from the stabs going through his mind threw him slightly of balance.

The glow around his hand flickered in response to this, and Danny had to shake his head to refocus.

"Danny?" Tucker said hesitantly as he looked at his friend, carefully trying to pry himself of the wall.

"Don't you move." Danny barked, steadying his hand, and bringing his fluctuating energy under control.

Applejack stood there, watching nervously as Danny threatened his old time friend, but unable to remember him. She had to do something, but she didn't know what, and she didn't want to make things worse. But anything she thought of would most likely result in Tucker, or herself being shot by Danny. Still, there had to be something she could do? After all, she had to be here for a reason, right?

Her ears twitched as she heard a faint whispering. Quickly looking around her, she was unable to find anyone that could have done that, seeing that the only other two were before her. One barely able to stand, and the other still stuck in the wall.

There it was again, and her ears twitched as they tried to focus on the source, but were unable to. Suddenly, without warning, the world around her seemed to slow down, and the colors seemed to darken around her. She looked at Danny, and the pulsating green glow around his hand seemed to warbol slightly, almost frozen in place.

"What? What is going on?" She asked, slightly panicked, but managed to keep it mostly under control.

"Applejack."

She froze on the spot as a faint, but clear voice spoke to her. Her pupils had shrunk to the size of pinpricks from fear. But, slowly, they returned to their normal size as the voice continued to speak. And, right then and there, she knew what she had to do.

<<>><<>><<>>

Applejack stood there, watching nervously as Danny threatened his old time friend, but unable to remember him. She had to do something, and now, she knew what. That didn't mean she liked what she had to do. Closing her eyes, and taking several deep breaths to calm herself, she took a small, but determined step forwards.

"Danny," she spoke, drawing the attention of the confused half ghost.

"Yeah, what is it?" he replied, not taking his eyes of the unknown human who claimed to be his friend.

"Ah am really sorry 'bout this."

"What? Sorry about wha-" He asked, confused, but was cut off as Applejack possessed him.

Danny fell to his knees with a scream, scratching at his face with both hands, leaving scratching marks on one side thanks to the gauntlet's sharp edged fingers. His eyes, convulsing in their sockets, glowed a sickly green, followed shortly later by the veins surrounding his eyes. Except, they began to glow a bright orange, and, gradually, the orange glow began to overwhelm the ever present green as memories resurfaced, and the truth of who he was became clear to him once more.

<<>><<>><<>>

"What is this?!" Nightmare Moon gasped in disbelief as the darkness surrounding her, and the two bound ghosts behind her, turned a bright orange, spreading out all around the trio, and connecting with the destroyed and damaged memories.

She reached out to the closest of memory strands, but was forcefully repelled when the orange light came in contact with her darker energy. She hissed out in pain as if she had been slapped, and she, as well as both Sams, watched as the memories touched by the light began to glow with the same intensity and heal themselves. A look of amazement was plastered on the faces of the two bound women, but a look of anger, and maybe even a bit of fear, was seen on Nightmare Moon's

One by one the memories touched by the light began to move, alive once more within the mind of Danny. And the various scenes from his life was seen by the three spectators present. His life, from the first memory he had, to the very moment in time they were at right now, played out before them, but impossible to observe as the stream of memories moved faster and faster, showing nothing but a blur as all the pieces fell back into place.

A wave of orange descended onto them, burning away the last pieces of darkness, safe for Nightmare Moon, who formed a protective shield around herself. Both Sams, however, welcomed it with an honest smile while closing their eyes, basking in the warmth coming from the pure energy. Their bonds dissolved, and they merged back together into one being, no longer giving the headache of dealing with two of them at the same time. She was carried away on the wave, transported back into the false truth Nightmare Moon tried to force onto Danny. Leaving behind a screaming alicorn as Sam, smirking, gave her the finger.

<<>><<>><<>>

The energy moved further and further, leaving nothing untouched. The truth was hidden, damaged, broken, and it had to be restored. Everything dark and destructive, anything that could, and, possibly, would obscure the truth was swept away. Everything, except one small fragment of darkness.

It was darkness, made from the blackest of shadows, yet it was not corrupting. Energy radiated off of it, but none of it was sinister. Understanding, truth, sadness, and guilt. All of these forms of emotional energies radiated off of it, and it drew the attention of the energy. Not that it was able to think or such, but it had one objective. To heal anything broken, and restore the truth. So, reaching out to this sliver of darkness, it connected with it, and began its task to restore that was damaged, not showing any sign of hesitation when the sliver of darkness slowly grew into a dark hand; grasping at the glow as if it was a life line, reaching out to it to pull himself out of the deep.

<<>><<>><<>>

Danny sat on his knees, screaming his lungs out, while his eyes glowed a bright orange. Ever so slowly, he managed to move his hands down to his chest. His hands turned intangible, and he forced them into himself, grabbing onto the possessive pony, and forcefully pulling her out of him. It took a lot of his strength, and, when he finally managed to pull her out, the whiplash of energy blasted the two apart, turning Danny back to his human form.

"Woo… hee..." Applejack wheezed, lying limply amidst the rubble. "Let's not do that again."

Gritting his teeth, Danny forced himself upright, glaring at the apple bucking pony.

"Applejack, what the hell?! Ghosts don't possess ghosts, it's dangerous!" Danny shouted furiously.

"Ah… Ah know. Ah jus' had ta do it." She replied weakly, still breathing heavily.

"You had to do it! Why!?" he snarled back.

"Because… he told me so."

"Who? Tucker?" Danny asked bitterly, then he fell silent as sudden realization came to him. "Tucker." He breathed in a whisper, looking back to see his friend still stuck in the wall.

"Oh, don't mind me. I'm just hanging around." He said, sarcastically. Then he, too, realized something. "Wait, you remember me?"

Danny nodded dumbly at him, not sure what was going on, but he had a pretty good idea who might.

"Applejack, mind telling me what just happened?"

"Sure thaing." She said as she stood back up, no longer out of breath. "Ya see, there was this strange voice tellin' me how Ah could help ya remember, seeing that yer memories an' such were corrupted by Nightmare Moon. So, Ah helped ya ta see tha truth again."

"By possessing me? And what do you mean, a strange voice told you?"

"Yup, and Ah cain't rightly explain that second one. It was jus' there. Sounding rather weak, but still there."

"That isn't really reassuring." Danny muttered.

"Agreed," Tucker said with a flat look. "But can SOMEONE help me out of here first?" He glared at them from his less than comfortable spot in the wall.

"Oh, right. Sorry about that." Danny said awkwardly as he grabbed onto Tucker's arms, and pulled him out of his concrete embrace.

"Yeah, sure." He replied as he dusted himself off. "So, this is all nice and such, but what do we do now?"

His answer came in the form of a harsh, shrill laughter, and Danny, Tucker and Applejack turned to look at the individual standing in the hole in the wall where the front door used to be.

"Oh, look at that. The freak, the nerd and the pet. Why, you could be my main attraction, if I wasn't here to destroy you."

"What the…? Who's that?" Applejack asked, taking a few steps back.

"It can't be," Tucker said in disbelief.

"It is," Danny groaned bitterly, looking at the individual standing there before them.

Pale white skin. A thick jacket, colored a deep, almost black purple. And a bowler hat with the same color scheme. Two earrings with a gem attached to it, shaped like a starburst. A solid gold cane, a deep red gem placed at the bottom of the cane, while a golden sculpture of his head was placed at the top. And, to top it all off, a mad look in his cold violet eyes.

"Freakshow."

Author's Note:

And here we are again. The next chapter, and boy is it big. This seriously took a lot out of me, and I am glad to put this giant finally on this site. I also updated the first four chapters, not counting the prologue. I improved the grammar and spelling in those a bit, using the comments posted to help me find them, as well as re-reading everything to find the things that were still hidden in the mess of words.

Anyhow. I hope you like this chapter. And, per usual, let me know what you thought, what was wrong, what could be better, and what you liked.

Powerdrainer.

Comments

[sonicfan21]

You magnificent bastard she was the real Sam all along.

[Vates Despero]

Haven't read the new chapter yet but just had to comment on this... it's not showing up as an update under my faves. No alert and it is only visible under "Show all", pure luck I saw it.

[Kouen]

Okay I really like this story, but I have to say that I've never liked dream sequences. At all. And this is a ridiculously long one. The idea that so much of the interaction is fake and most of the characterization that happens is worthless really turns me off from them.

That said, I'll try not to let it turn me off from the story. Looking forward to the next chapter.

[Powerdrainer]

3978553 Hah, sorry to hear that you don't really like these dream chapters. But know that it is not entirely for nothing. The things happening in this dream sequence will have some effect on things in the waking world, so there is that. But I do have to say that I am getting a bit tired myself with these dream chapters, no pun intended. This whole thing was supposed to be only one, maybe two chapters long, but it kept growing and growing. Still, there are only two chapters left, now that I have published the most of it. But even then, there is still a lot to be done in this dream sequence, and I am with the hardest part for myself here. The Twilight scene. I have had a hard time coming up with a good role for her, and it was a comment one of my readers gave that pushed me in the right direction with that. But even then, it will be somewhat difficult for me to properly do that one.

But I digress. The things that happen here will have some effect in Danny's life, either big or small, so don't worry about that. For now, though, I will take my time to write a good next chapter, and work on something else within this crossover world I have created. Thank 3923949 for that, she gave me the idea.

[Powerdrainer]

3979743 The feeling is mutual.

[Powerdrainer]

3976728
iambrony.steeph.tp-radio.de/mlp/gif/196640__safe_pinkie-pie_animated_spike-at-your-service_spoiler-s03e09_moustache.gif

[sonicfan21]

3980555 Nice choice of GIF, sums it up in the perfect pony way.

[Powerdrainer]

3981094 You have no idea how long I have waited for someone to mention it.

[Dawn Darkling]

"Yes." Danny stated with a nod, "I thrust her."

THIS is the most hilarious typo, EVER!

[Powerdrainer]

3982231 .... Well, it is still being edited.... Yeah....
quickmeme.com/img/84/84c916f1724a5403d01cdbb08f22ce2c437ebe69633a423f225d27f5f9d97941.jpg

[Dawn Darkling]

I f---ing loved this chapter. (I had to go do errands before I could finish it.)
Especially the visualization of the Shadow being healed and made complete.

[Powerdrainer]

3997348
31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m92mnt3dFy1qc5ffho1_1280.png

But seriously. It would seem that I simply forgot about the font size. Nothing too difficult too fix. In fact, I was already working on editing the earlier chapters to spot and fix mistakes like this, as well as grammar and spelling issues. I have already improved the first four chapters, and this one was just waiting to be done next. You just found this before I did.

[candyman20XX]

Finally read this story, and now I must wait for more...

I'd be more upset about the interval between releases if you didn't create such gargantuan chapters.

I'll be waiting eagerly for future updates.

p.s. got a fav and thumb from this sugar addict

[Powerdrainer]

4014027 A sugar addict, huh? Somehow, this comes to mind.

[Rainbow Kirby]

Okay I really like this story, but I have to say that I've never liked dream sequences. At all. And this is a ridiculously long one. The idea that so much of the interaction is fake and most of the characterization that happens is worthless really turns me off from them.
That said, I'll try not to let it turn me off from the story. Looking forward to the next chapter.

This.
I read your reply to it, but still... This.

[Powerdrainer]

4053654 Honestly, I'm not really surprised. I really am getting tired with this arc myself, and I am trying to make the two remaining chapters as short as I can, I have to do them, though, or things will just not work as well as I want them to. Still, the next chapter is already over 10k according to the word count, so I need to tie an end to this. Fortunately, I am almost done with this one, and I can almost begin on the last chapter of this arc, finally. I really want to continue with the actual story myself as well. And, if things hadn't grew so large as it did, I would most likely already be writing the chapters that will play out in season 3. But still, the fact that things did grow this large is somewhat of a good sign, I guess. This story is alive and developing all on its own at this point. And, with everything that "Grows" into it, I get all kinds of new ideas to make this world bigger and more alive. So, for that. Do know that I am trying my best to bring an end to this insanely long arc, because I really want to continue with Danny's life in Ponyville. I do have some funny ideas for those chapters, but I can't rush things. I rather take the time, and do things right. Than that I make a mess of things because I want to end this story arc.

[The Slending Angel]

4056106 Are the Elements of Chaos going to come into play sometime in the future? Humans could easily wield all 12 Elements, at once if it pertained to the story.

[Dark_Night]

"Yes." Danny stated with a nod, "I thrust her."

Yes you do.

Wait what?

[King of Kings]

"What are you?"

Well...I'll tell you what the shadow isn't!

[King of Kings]

Everything, safe for the pedestal, and the elements, which were still rotating in place, undamaged, almost mocking her.

Everything, save for the pedestal, and the elements, which were still rotating in place, undamaged, almost mocking her.

[King of Kings]

With screeching tyres, and a cloud of smoke, the Fenton assault vehicle… eh.. The Fenton family vehicle, shot of towards Casper High.

With screeching tires, and a cloud of smoke, the Fenton assault vehicle… eh.. The Fenton family vehicle, shot off towards Casper High.

[King of Kings]

Its loud roar, and large plumes of smoke distilled fear in any that found them anywhere near the approaching beast's path.

Its loud roar, and large plumes of smoke instilled fear in any that found them anywhere near the approaching beast's path.

[King of Kings]

With a screeching stop, the massive machine came to a stand still, momentarily disappearing in the cloud of smoke coming from the abused tyres.

With a screeching stop, the massive machine came to a stand still, momentarily disappearing in the cloud of smoke coming from the abused tires.

[King of Kings]

"Ehhh… Think of it as with Pinkie Pie. Don't question it, it's easier that way." danny answered after a few seconds thought.

"Ehhh… Think of it as with Pinkie Pie. Don't question it, it's easier that way." Danny answered after a few seconds thought.

[King of Kings]

out in the darker recesses of Danny's mind, Shadow facepalmed, hard. And Nightmare Moon, she was laughing so hard that she was afraid her tail might fall of.

Out in the darker recesses of Danny's mind, Shadow facepalmed, hard. And Nightmare Moon, she was laughing so hard that she was afraid her tail might fall of.

[Time Waster]

And Nightmare Moon, she was laughing so hard that she was afraid her tail might fall of.

off

[SpyketheRAWRCat]

This story's really really great and all, bit the word count is honestly kind of intimidating ('°^°)

[sillers]

Launching the mass towards Tucker with brwaknecking speed,

Thats gonna have to be a newly discovered speed

[Powerdrainer]

10901219
It's next to ludicrous speed. Fixed it, though. Thanks.