Guilt of a Phantom

by Powerdrainer

Meet the Princesses. Part 1

Edits done by Vates Despero, Halusm, and King of Kings.

Meet the Princesses.

Part 1.

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

Bone piercing screams echoed through the green void as the faded forms of the lost souls gathered. Joined together in their shared, blank minded existence, they began to circle around one another, picking up speed as more and more gathered in the dance of faded death. One final, soul piercing wail came from the collection of entities, and a rip in the fabric between worlds was formed. A portal, connecting the Ghost Zone with the mortal realm.

The portal, a green vortex comprised of the lost souls doomed to roam the endless void of the Ghost Zone till the end of time, wailing in misery as they were forced in between the planes of existence, hanging in the cool, early morning air. Glowing like a ghastly beacon.

Mere moments after it started, the wailing stopped, and the green vortex spun languidly on the spot allowing anyone, and anything, entrance to both sides. And someone was crossing.

Glowing green eyes scanned the world before him, as the rising sun reflected off of his exoskeleton, a grin spreading across his face.

"Oh, I do love the smell of fresh prey in the morning," Skulker remarked sinisterly, before using his thruster pack to fly towards the glowing green dome covering the city of Amity Park. Passing through it without hindrance, as the portal closed behind him with another wail.

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

An icy wind howled over the desolate plains of snow and ice, covered in a layer of darkness from the night, only just making way for the light of dawn. No life could be found here, except for one or two ponies, who had to be crazy to be there. No one in their right mind would venture out there, in the middle of nowhere. Yet, there they were, dressed warmly against the biting cold and stabbing winds that ruled this place.

Yet, they weren't alone.

Several small fly like machines flew through the air, struggling to hold their position due to the harsh winds, and the numbing cold that was interfering with their systems. Several drones froze up, and were blown away, never to be seen again. But the few that were able to remain active scanned the area for the spectral build up they were detecting, coming from somewhere out there in the desolate plain.

There, a waver in the air.

It drew the attention of not just the drones, but that of the ponies as well. They all turned to get a better look at this strange occurrence as it grew larger, and the drones' internal alarm went off. Two more of the already strained machines short circuited from the sudden increase of energy, and they, too, were lost to the winds.

The ponies, however, faced a different kind of problem, as the energy coming from the disturbance was not magical in nature, but spectral.

The energy built up higher and higher, expanding and warping the air, revealing strange structures in the distance, yet distorting the image enough to make it impossible to tell what they were. The ponies however were unable to marvel at this phenomenon, as they were too busy struggling to maintain their hooving, as the energy reacted to their magic. They felt drained, sick, lifeless, unable to feel any joy in life, when, in a titanic burst of spectral energy, which decimated the remaining drones, a large city appeared before them. A city made of pure crystal, with a massive castle in its center.

One of the ponies, fortunate enough to be standing further away from this occurrence than the rest of his colleagues, dragged himself back to the small shelter they stayed in. Knowing his duty, and determined to follow it through, he dragged himself to the warmer air found inside.

"Must… alert... the… Princess…"

But unbeknownst to him, he and his fellow ponies were being observed by a pair of glowing green eyes. Glowing green eyes with a red iris in their center.

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

Danny rolled out of his bed with a groan, landing on the floor with a dull thud.

Groaning like a zombie, again, he slowly rolled onto his back, while his tired mind, still very much asleep, was trying to catch up.

And, as it did so, he became aware of a few things. Not sure how much though, as he was still too far submerged in the drowsy, fuzzy cloud of fog that obscured his mind. But he did notice the slight headache, which suddenly became that much worse as he became aware of it. The second thing to pierce the fog would be the party hat sitting askew on his head, but his brain struggled to remember where it came from. Then there was the fact that he was lying on the floor, which was odd as well.

Groaning yet again, he finally managed to push himself up, and he wished he hadn't done so as a stab of pain shot through his already troubled brain. Placing a hand against his head, and rubbing his forehead, he blinked uncoordinatedly as he looked around the place he began to recognize as his bedroom.

Another groan left him, and he slowly dragged himself up, taking notice of all the confetti littering the floor. It was then that his brain finally managed to catch up, panting loudly as it tripped over the streamers covering it.

"Right, Pinkie's party," Danny groaned as he lumbered into the bathroom, stepping under the shower and fumbling with the controls. He let loose a scream when he was suddenly assaulted by the piercing cold of the water falling on him. He swiftly became aware of yet another thing. He was still wearing his clothes.

Releasing yet another groan for his rapidly growing collection, he clambered out of the shower, dripping wet, and removed the soaked clothes before trying again, now making sure the water was at least warm enough to prevent his manhood from shriveling up entirely. And, as the now warm water descended down onto his body, his tired mind finally started waking in full, and memories from last night came back to him.

The party. Twilight. The dancing. Twilight. The punch. Pinkie. More punch, and with a strange aftertaste. A wickedly grinning Pinkie. Twilight, again. Cake. Cupcakes. Muffins. A grey, wall eyed pegasus fighting him over the last muffin. More punch. And things became kinda blurry after that.

"Man, what did that crazy mare put in the punch?" Danny muttered as he felt life return to his body in a non transformative way.

Still. Even as his memory returned to him, as well as the life in his body, he couldn't shake the nagging feeling something was still trying to catch up with him. Something important. But every time he tried to figure out what it was, his mind only came up with the blurry image of a certain purple pony saying something to him. What it was, for the half life of him, he couldn't remember.

"Meh. It's probably nothing," he muttered as he closed his eyes and just enjoyed the warm water.

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

It wasn't nothing. Oh no. It was not nothing at all.

Mere seconds after he got dressed, a knock came from the front door, and Danny opened it to see who it was. There, standing in front of him, was Twilight Sparkle, saddle bags on her back, looking at him expectantly.

"Uhhh… Hi?" Danny said, trying to figure out why she was here.

"Danny," Twilight said with a smile, which slowly began to fall as he just stood there, blinking dumbly, "Are you ready to go?" she asked him.

"Uhh…?" He replied dumbly, before his eyes widened in realization, and a hand found his face with pain inducing speed, "Aww, crap. That's right. We're going to Canterlot today, right?"

"You forgot!?" Twilight said, sounding hurt, and even more annoyed. "Even though I reminded you about it last night?"

Suddenly the blurry image of Twilight Danny had a moment ago cleared up, and he remembered her telling him about the trip to Canterlot the next day.

'And thank you, brain. For once again letting me down,' he thought sourly as he shot Twilight an apologetic smile.

"Eh, I'm sorry, Twilight. I have been having a hard time getting up today. Don't know what it was that Pinkie put in that punch of hers, but it really took me for a loop."

"She didn't?" Twilight asked with a groan, face hoofing before sighing out. "She does that to everypony, save for the foals, whenever she feels they need an extra dose of 'happiness'."

"Uhh, an extra dose of what now?"

"Don't ask. Some things are better left unknown."

"O-kay…" Danny said dumbly, before addressing the more pressing matter. "But, uhh… Would you mind coming in, while I grab something to eat real quick?" He asked, and a slight twitch showed in Twilight's eyes.

"Oh no, mister. I have made up a very strict schedule so we could get the most out of today, and you're not going to mess things up like that. I would have to reschedule everything," Twilight told him, sternly, before she picked him up with her magic, carrying him with her, and closing the door behind him with a small burst of her magic.

"You can eat something on the train, though," she added, the harshness gone from her voice.

"How fortunate," he muttered sarcastically, arms crossed over his chest as he, floating upside down, looked around, receiving several stares from the ponies milling around the town. But his attention was drawn to the strange tingling sensation he felt all throughout his body, before he shook it off, assuming it was just how her magic felt.

'Man, it's later than I thought it was. What time is it?' he wondered as he finally registered the number of ponies outside. Then, looking towards the tall clock tower standing near the town square, he gained his answer.

'Huh. Only nine forty? Okay, this is a sorry excuse for a hangover, I thought it was much later than that. And does the sun have to be that bright?' he wondered, flinching a bit from the light assaulting his eyes.

But, before he could delve deeper into this puzzling subject, both his and Twilight's attention was drawn towards the rapidly approaching mare, colloquially known as Ruby.

"Danny?" She said, confused, as she came to a stop looking at the floating, upside down, human.

"Hey, Ruby. How's it hanging?" He joked, and Twilight cut her magic, rolling her eyes.

Landing on his face, Danny let loose a groan as he pulled himself up, glaring for a moment at the coy looking purple pony, before turning to his colleague.

"Are you alright?" Ruby asks.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. I've been hit worse," Danny answers, feeling the strange sensation diminish. "So, what brings you here? If my groggy memory serves me well, and I'm not sure it does, then shouldn't you have half a shift back at the cafe today?" he added, and Ruby let out an annoyed sigh.

"Yes, unfortunately," she groaned.

"Is something wrong?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, unfortunately," Ruby groaned again, "And Danny needs to come with me," she told both of them, before adding a quick "Sorry," to Danny.

"What, why?" Danny asked, while Twilight's eye began to twitch some more.

"Just… Just come with me. You'll see," Ruby said with a sigh, hoof pressed against her face.

"Ehh, can it wait? You know I have the day off today, and I did have plans," he told her, giving a nod to Twilight standing by his side.

"I doubt it will take all that long, but you really should come," Ruby told him again, urgently.

"Ehh, I guess?" He muttered, and turned to Twilight.

"Just go," the aforementioned mare said, with a strained tone. "The train will not arrive for another ten minutes and thirty-five seconds, so there is still a little bit of time. I will go ahead and buy you a ticket, while you do… whatever. Okay?"

"Okay!" Danny replied gratefully. "Thanks, Twilight. You're the best," and with that he hurried away with Ruby, heading towards the cafe. Leaving Twilight behind, with a forced smile and twitching eye.

'THIS IS NOT GOING ACCORDING TO PLAN!' She shouted in her head, as she forced herself to the station.

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

At the same time

Metallic wings buzzed, and the two small cameras making up the robotic insect's eyes readjusted, focusing on the human who was held aloft in a purple energy field. It picked up on several confusing signals, coming from its sensors, as it observed the human and the pony walking in front of it. It would need a better look, a better chance to filter through the strange interference it received. A strange combination of spectral energy, as well as the magical energy coming from the pony.

True, the latest adjustment to its sensors made it possible for the drone to ignore the strange energy found all throughout the world. And it was also capable of ignoring the more refined energy coming from the ponies. But, for some reason, the confusing combination of both spectral energy and magical energy threw it for a loop.

Wings buzzed again as the drone flew after the human and pony, following them from a safe distance, as it tried to translate the strange readings into something it understood.

A new pony showed up. A creature with a deep red coat, and a mane and tail which glistened like a ruby in the sunlight.

They stopped as they talked, and the strange purple energy coming from the purple pony vanished. Now, without the confusing interference, the drone was able to get a proper read on the human, and its internal alarm went off.

Metallic wings buzzed rapidly as it flew away, heading towards the main hub to tell its master about its find.

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

"Okay, what's the trouble?" Danny asked as he arrived at the cafe, seeing the few other waiters who work during the weekend, as well as Quick Grill standing outside the establishment. The stallion stood with hoof against his head, a frown showing on his face while he took several large, deep breaths, clearly trying to calm down.

"Just… Just see for yourself," he muttered darkly as he pointed at the door.

Danny, suddenly feeling nervous, moved towards the door, hearing his boss mutter something as he walked past him.

"And I thought that pink menace was troubling. She's got nothing on those three."

Standing before the door, unable to see inside as it was currently closed, he reached out, and turned the knob. He opened the door slowly, hearing the same creak he did the night before, and looked inside.

He froze on the spot at what he saw.

"Hi, Danny," a sheepish voice greeted him.

Danny blinked dumbly.

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

Twilight stood impatiently at the station, holding two train tickets aloft in her magical grasp, waiting for the horribly tardy human. Still, she couldn't be angry at him, much. He was only late because he went out of his way to help his friend, after a night filled with Pinkie Pie's powerful premium party punch no less.

Yeah. She remembered those mornings.

Still, there were only two minutes and twelve seconds remaining before the train would arrive, and she didn't know what to do if Danny wasn't there yet. She had already told the Princesses she would bring him along. But if he didn't show up soon, she would have to leave without him. And if she did that, she would have to tell the princesses that she failed to bring him with her. And if she had to do that, the princesses would think she was tardy herself. And if they thought that, they would think twice before giving her another assignment. Maybe Princess Celestia would think she wasn't competent enough to remain as her personal student, and take her away from Ponyville, leaving behind her friends. Which would mean their bond as friends would be strained, and might even break, causing the Elements of Harmony to become useless, opening up the world of Equestria to all kinds of nefarious creatures.

Silence.

Okay. Maybe that wouldn't happen. But could she take the chance?

"No, I can't!" She stated forcefully, stomping a hoof on the platform.

"You can't, what?" A voice spoke up, and Twilight turned around to see Danny walk towards her.

"Oh, hehehe, nothing. Just some crazy thoughts going through my mind," she answered with a relieved sigh, smiling at him as she gave him his ticket.

"Thanks. How much do I owe you?" Danny asked, but she just shook her head.

"Nothing. I invited you to come with me, so, as a good host, I should take care of the expenses."

"Ehh… You're sure? I really don't mind paying for myself," he asked her, earning himself a slight glare from Twilight, but the smile on her face betrayed her.

"No. But I am glad to see you at least know how to behave like a gentlecolt."

"A what now?"

"Ehh. Man... Gentleman," Twilight corrected herself, and a steam whistle signaled the arrival of the Friendship Express.

Stepping on board and finding a spot, they sat next to each other as they waited for the rest of the ponies to either step on, or off, of the train. And, after several long minutes, the train rocked into motion as it began its journey towards Canterlot.

'One minute twenty two seconds too late,' Twilight though, before shaking those thoughts away. 'Okay, stop it. We're on our way, and such a small delay won't hurt us… I hope... Oh, come on. What's the worst that could happen? Danny and I will go to see the princesses, and I'll show him the city a bit. Nothing could possibly go wrong with that,' she thought excitedly to herself, looking at Danny with a somewhat nervous smile.

"Soo… What was going on at the cafe?" she asked to take her mind off matters.

"...Tha… I... I'm not really sure. Nor do I know how to properly explain it. Let's just say it is a strange [url=http://www.fimfiction.net/story/168243/silver-spirit-ghost-of-equestria]story[/url], and leave it at that."

"Oh, come on. It can't be that bad," she said, and Danny looked at her with a serious expression on his face. "Can it?"

Danny raised a single eyebrow in response, before proving her wrong, and Twilight wasn't sure whether she should facehoof or laugh.

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

"Are you ready, sister?" Celestia asks Luna, both of them sitting in her bedroom chamber.

"I... I think I am," Luna answered.

Today was the day Twilight would come by to visit Celestia. And this time, she would also be bringing Danny Manson along.

Normally, it wouldn't be of much importance to Luna, seeing how she would sleep during the day. But she would always make time for her friends, especially those who saved her from the corruption that had claimed her so many centuries ago. And she looked forward to seeing Twilight again. Danny, however, sent a chill down her spine. What was it about that human? What was it that defied any logic, and made it impossible for her to see his dreams? And, most importantly. Who did those horrible orange eyes belong to?

True, she looked forward to Twilight's visit. But it was somewhat overshadowed by Danny's presence as well. However, as her sister had told her several times now, she couldn't just sit in her room, cowering under the blanket like a scared little filly. No, she would have to confront her fears, and show it that she wasn't afraid. But she was, truly.

Any force that could block her from the minds of those dreaming was not something to take lightly. And, with the possible involvement of ghosts… She shuddered at the thought. Still, she wasn't afraid of Danny. No. Their time together before was short, but she did learn one or two things. The reports Twilight and her friends made also helped.

Danny Manson. A human living and working alongside her ponies, doing his best to make the most of every day. And, if the report Twilight sent was to be believed, he also entered the Everfree Forest on his own in search of the missing fillies Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo.

A human, with no magic, or any other defensive capabilities to speak of, going into the forest like that. She wasn't sure if he was brave or just stupid, but he had heart. And she admired him for it. Truly, if she had shown more consideration for the well being of others, maybe she wouldn't have descended into the darkness of the Nightmare.

"Good," Celestia said with a gentle smile. "Now, come. You'll see there is nothing to be afraid of." And with that, she and her sister left the bedroom chamber, heading for the kitchen to get a cup of coffee for the night Princess; or maybe two, or three.

Today was going to be a long day indeed.

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

"So, are we all ready?" Rolling Stone asked as he stowed his ghost scanner in his saddle bags, looking at the rest of his team.

"Ready," Blue Ice responded.

"Ready," Ornate Charm confirmed.

"Ready," Sound Wave replied, trying to keep as professional a stance as possible since she was still in hot water over yesterday's fiasco.

"Good, then let's go. We only have one shot at this, for now. So we better make it count. The subject is gone for the day, so it is up to us to make a complete spectral scan of his house, top to bottom," Rolling Stone commanded them, and they replied with an understanding nod.

They were already standing on the outskirts of Ponyville, waiting in hiding for over an hour now to make sure Danny Manson actually left. And, after he had left, he wouldn't return. And while they were waiting in hiding, they'd made some last minutes adjustments to their gear to make sure it would work properly this time.

Now though, with Danny gone, having been forcefully taken by Twilight and her magic, they were clear to enter and investigate his residence. But they would have to be careful, lest somepony see them when they enter. But, as far as they could see from their hiding place, Twilight had only closed the door and didn't actually lock it. That would make things easier for them. That, and the fact that most of the doors around this village were usually unlocked to begin with. It was a very trusting community indeed.

As they quietly made their way over to Danny's home, Ornate Charm went ahead to see if the door was indeed unlocked, while the rest stayed hidden behind one of the walls. Looking around to see if anyone was looking, Ornate Charm reached out, and turned the knob, finding no resistance, and the door swung open for her.

Motioning for the others to hurry up and come in, she looked around once more, before closing the door behind her, after all of them were inside the home of Danny Manson.

"Alright, you all. You know what to do," Rolling Stone says in a lowered voice. "Scan everything, but leave no evidence of us being here. If you find anything that is locked, don't force it open. Don't knock anything over. And, for Celestia's sake, don't make any sound that might give us away!" He ordered, and they silently confirmed his commands.

None of them, however, noticed the three pairs of eyes looking at them through the window.

One of them flashing green.

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

'So, are you ready?' The question ran through her mind, again, and Dani wondered if she was.

It had been a difficult morning, to say the least. Not because of any trouble, or other unforeseeable things happening. No, it was something that was expected that caused the trouble in the early morning. Mainly, her trouble getting out of bed.

True, she was one of those who stayed up late, going bump in the night. But she was also one of those who, once lying comfortably in the blanket's warm embrace, couldn't be removed from the bed without calling upon some divine power to get her moving.

But they managed. Or, more precisely. Tucker managed.

Grumbling under her breath as she stood in the embarkation hall, waiting for the tear to open up to Canterlot, she kept going over and over in her mind how he had managed to do so.

She couldn't figure it out. But she did know that, after she had woken up, enough, and she was reminded what day it was, and what she was supposed to do, she surged into motion with a burst of energy unknown to her at such an early hour.

Now though, she stood prepped and ready, waiting to cross over to the other side.

Looking around at her team, she mentally rolled her eyes. All around her stood the many experts from the Fenton Cooperation, carrying their various tools, as well as overseeing the many crates they would have to take with them to start the construction of the ghost containment chamber, as Tucker had explained to her.

She sighed faintly, not liking this. And not just because she herself was a ghost as well. She was here, officially, to oversee the construction and to report back should anything go wrong, or if parts were missing. Unofficially, she was supposed to search for Danny, and report back anything she found. But, and here was the tricky part, she would have to do so without drawing suspicion to herself, or anyone noticing her missing. Which would mean she could only effectively go out and search during the night, when most, if not all were asleep, and she could go around without much trouble.

Sure, she could turn invisible. But unseen is not unnoticed. That is to say, she would be missed by those now standing around her.

It was annoying, really annoying. But, she reasoned, at least she was as far away from Vlad as she could get. Plus, she had the chance to find her cousin/twin brother. Yes, that alone was worth the trouble. Still, it would be difficult. It was a big world out there, and she found it unlikely she would just run into him like that.

But, even with all that, there was still a pressing matter causing her patience to be tested. Mainly…

"When is this thing going to open!?" She asked aloud, annoyed, impatiently tapping her foot, clad in the boot given to her by Valerie.

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

"They didn't!" Said Twilight, struggling to keep her laughter down.

"Would I make up something like that?" Danny asked, chuckling a bit himself.

"No, I guess you wouldn't."

"Still, got some extra free time while they sort out the mess," Danny said, relieved he didn't have to deal with it.

"Oh my," Twilight said, laughing. "Their sisters are not going to like this."

"Yeah, no kidding," Danny returned the laugh, looking outside the window, seeing the rapidly approaching city of Canterlot.

'Huh. Didn't think it would take that long to tell that story,' he thought, before shrugging it off.

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

"So, where to?" Danny asked as they stepped off of the train.

"Just follow me," Twilight instructed. "The princesses aren't expecting us for several more hours, s—"

"Wait, then why did I have to hurry like that?" Danny asked, annoyed.

"Because I have planned out the entire day, see," she told him as she levitated up a rather lengthy checklist. "First, we board the train at nine fifty two. Then the time taken to travel to Canterlot, before taking several minutes to explain to you the schedule I've made."

"Wait, what?" Danny said in disbelief, and Twilight showed him the list. "Well, damn. It really is there?" He said, amazed and confused as he looked at the checklist.

Checking off this item from the list, Twilight told him to continue, and together they headed into the city, with Danny still confused as to what exactly was going on in that head of hers.

'She actually put that on the list?'

Shaking his head, he just went with it, not sure what to make of all these crazy ponies.

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

The quiet metallic tapping of insectoid legs sounded through the large marble halls, too faint for anyone to hear it, unless they actually paid attention. Several of Vlad Masters' small drones climbed the walls of the castle the Princesses lived in, attracted towards a strange source of, of... Well, not ectoplasm, but something like it. A strange energy signature resembling ectoplasm, yet different all the same. What it was, they were unable to determine, even with their shared processing power. And, instead, they searched out this strange energy, tracking it to the two larger ponies found in the castle. Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna.

They understood their programming. Track down anything with an ectoplasmic signature, and ignore the ponies' magic. Unfortunately, these orders were now conflicting with one another.

If they scanned for magic, they saw all the ponies, as well as the world around them. And, as ordered, they ignored this. If they scanned for ectoplasm, however, they saw… something. Something not quite like ectoplasm. In an attempt to figure out what this strange phenomenon was, they scanned for any magical interference, and that is where things became troubling for their limited processing capabilities.

Without magic taken in the equation, there was a strange, unknown ectoplasmic signature coming from the two ponies. Put magic back in the equation, and it showed… System error.

It wasn't ectoplasm. And yet it was. It wasn't magic. And yet it was.

The drones were confused, stuck in a logic loop as they tried to figure out what to do, and which order to follow. Ignore magic, and get confused by the strange readings. Or allow magic to enter their scans, and get confused by the strange readings.

They climbed the walls on a basic program, hide and seek, as most of their processing power was used to solve this conundrum. One or two of the drones short circuited as a result, dropping to the ground, legs twitching in an electrical spasm.

Whatever this energy was, it was neither ectoplasm, nor magic.

It was both.

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

Feet pounded on the floor as the experts of the Fenton Cooperation moved through the tear, taking all the equipment with them as they did so. The roar of a forklift drowned out the sounds of hard labor, as it brought through the heavier crates, aided by a small team of unicorns. And, before long, everything was finally transferred to the magical world of Equestria, completely cluttering the room of arrival.

The truck headed back to Earth, no longer needed, while everyone else gathered around.

"Okay, listen up everyone," Dani called out. "This was just the easy part," she announced, and a grayish mare with an electric blue mane and tail took her place.

"Okay, everyp— one. Listen up. My name is Technal, and I am in charge of this operation. Now, we need to get all this stuff down into the crystal caverns found under the mountain you are now standing on. Most of the things here will be easy, and our unicorn team will take them to their designated location through teleportation. Some things, however, as I think we all know, will not be so easy," she told them.

"Unicorn magic does not react very well to some of the devices here, so we must take them with us the hard way. We will have to stick to the side roads, mostly out of sight, as the Princesses, and I, do not want any public disturbance, nor do we want anypony to learn about what is going on with all these things. It was difficult enough to keep the latest ghost breach from the masses, and it will prove even more difficult to keep a contingency of both humans and ponies hidden for long. So, we will split up in small groups, each taking some of the things with us, while the royal guards will escort us to where we need to go. Follow their instructions, and, please, stay out of sight. The last thing we want is a panic," Technal instructed them, and Dani stepped back up.

"Okay, you've heard the w… eh... mare. So, gather your things, and split up in small, easy to move groups," Dani ordered, and the human experts did just that, while a group of unicorns grabbed the larger crates they could take with them in their magic, before teleporting away, leaving some of the humans standing there, staring dumbly. "And keep your heads together. We all know they can do magic, so stop staring like that!" She added, rolling her eyes.

"Okay, lead the way," she told Technal, who stood next to her.

"Certainly," Technal replied. "But security protocol first," and she guided them all towards the facility's scanner room, one small group at the time.

Dani held back as she watched the experts enter the room, seeing the door close, and hearing the scanner activate. She felt a tight knot form in her chest because of it. She knew Tucker wouldn't let her down, and she was sure she would be able to go through there without any trouble, but still. What if he was wrong? What if the scanner did find her spectral energy? Tucker said her energy was the same as Danny's, and the modifications he had added made it possible for Danny to go through without any trouble. And, with her being his clone, she shouldn't have any trouble either. Still, what if?

After several more groups, it was finally Dani's turn, and she entered the scanner room, along with the remaining humans still there.

The door closed, and a green laser like grid descended from the ceiling, while another swept towards them from the wall. The two grids of light moved over them all, scanning them, looking for any spectral energy. And it found it.

The scanner lagged for a split second as it scanned Dani, finding the energy it was looking for, before the newly added subroutine triggered, recognizing the unique energy signature belonging to only two beings. The grids continued their scan, ignoring Dani, as ordered by the new subroutine, and they gave the all clear; not finding anything else, opening the doors of the chamber.

"Ah, please, this way," Technal said, standing on the outside of the room, while Dani sighed in relief.

'So much for the easy part,' she thought as she followed the mare to the building's backdoor.

Opening the double doors, they were greeted by a small group of guards, waiting to begin the task of escorting the humans to the newly created hidden entrance leading to the crystal cavern.

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

Soarin flew through Earth's sky, having just left the tear facility based in Amity Park. After yet another strict training regiment with the rest of the team, he was now enjoying a little time off to spend with his special someone. Still, he took his time as he enjoyed the cool morning air, watching the early morning sun shine its light over the world.

Taking a moment to enjoy the sight, he landed on a small cloud, sighing contently.

Looking down at the city below him, he could see the humans move around, appearing as ants to him from that height, while his cloud lazily drifted away on the wind.

He let out another pleased sigh, before jumping off, spreading his wings, and resuming his flight, unaware of the glowing green eyes observing him through a pair binoculars, a grin showing on the metallic face of... Skulker.

"Well, look what we have here," he growled excitedly, and faded from view as he followed the pony, checking his weapons systems on the go.

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

"Okay, so where are we going?" Danny asked again as he followed Twilight through the city.

"We're just going to make a quick stop first, as there is somepony I need to see first. Don't worry, it shouldn't take long," Twilight answered, smiling as she trotted through the streets, happy to be back home again. Not that she didn't like Ponyville, but there would always be that special bond between her and the city she was born in.

They moved through the city, staying mostly to the larger streets, while every now and then Twilight would take them through a side alley, knowing the quickest route to get to her destination, and staying on schedule. Though she also made sure Danny still got a proper tour, and the explanations needed with the sights they saw.

Danny, taking it all in, was amazed with how much he missed the last time he was here. Granted, he was still running away, and didn't spend any time looking at the city around him. But he was quickly catching up. Twilight was also a great help, as she pointed out many things he wouldn't even have noticed himself. It was obvious to him that this is where she came from. That, and she told him that fact several times, as she told him about several fillyhood 'adventures' she had with her older brother, and some doll called Smarty Pants throughout the city.

Taking yet another side alley, they came close to the Tear facility where Danny first arrived in Equestria, and Twilight was quick to tell him so.

"Hey, Danny, look. That is the building where the tear is located. We're near the back of it, but it is all sealed off, obviously," she said, before stopping. "Hmm, seems something is happening," she added as she saw a pair of guards blocking their path, keeping them from advancing.

"Sorry miss, sir. This road is currently sealed off," one of the stoic guards said as they approached, holding up a hoof to signal them to stop.

"What, why?" Twilight asked.

"Sorry, miss. It's classified. Please find another route to get to your destination."

"Fine," Twilight grumbled. "I will just teleport us to the other side," and she began to channel her magic to do just that.

The guard, however, was quick to intervene.

"Sorry, miss. But we can't let you do that either."

"What, why not?"

"It's classified."

Twilight narrowed her eyes at the guards, making them gulp as they knew very well who she was. Still, they had their orders, and couldn't let them pass. Fortunately, for them, Danny stepped in before the situation could deteriorate further.

"Come on, Twilight. Why don't you show me some other parts of the city?" He asked, guiding her away and around the corner of the alley they came from.

"Oh, I will find out what this is about. They ruined my entire schedule," she said angrily, stomping away, while Danny stood frozen on the spot, watching the puff of cold air drifting away in the sky with wide eyes.

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

A few minutes prior

Dani walked out last, making sure no one lagged behind, before following the group. Stepping out of the compound, she found herself in a narrow passage between buildings, shadows covering everything.

Sighing, she followed the rest of the group she was with. They left in small groups, each ten minutes apart to make sure they wouldn't draw too much attention by leaving in mass, as they began their walk to wherever that cave entrance was.

She knew she still had a lot of work left to be done. Work she wasn't particularly interested in, but she knew she had to do it to maintain her cover. Still, she quietly sighed in frustration, and a momentary flash of green showed in her eyes, a smirk finding its way onto her face.

The irony of it all, of how they were all working on something to contain a ghost, while she herself was a ghost. But that also meant she would have to be careful when and where she used her powers. Still, making her eyes glow like that, for the split second she did, wouldn't hurt her. It was too faint for any of them to pick up on with her walking at the back. Unless, of course, any of them had a ghost sense, like she had. Still, her smirk fell as she thought about everything she was supposed to help with, knowing it was going to be a difficult job to keep up appearances.

'Ugh. This is going to be a loooong day.'

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

It took a moment for Danny's body to unfreeze, and he hurried to catch up with Twilight, who was angrily stomping away after having been denied passage through the alley by the guards. Danny, however, couldn't worry about that, as he was too busy struggling to accept what had just happened.

'Tha… That was my ghost sense. And for the second time today as well. But there aren't supposed to be any ghosts here, right?' He thought, nervously looking around, when the sun finally managed to reach down into the alley they were walking through, projecting his shadow on the ground.

'Unless...' He thought, unsure, seeing a momentarily glint of his shadow's green eyes in the dark shade. 'My ghost sense did also react to that Mort fellow. Is he around here?' He wondered, looking around, but unable to find the skeletal pony wearing a cloak.

'Oh, I hope it is him,' he thought nervously, eyes shifting around as he looked for any sign of ghostly activity.

"Danny, is everything alright?" Twilight asked, having turned around when she noticed Danny was lagging behind, seeing him look around nervously.

"Ehh… yeah… Yes, I'm… alright. Just thought I saw something... strange," Danny answered nervously, giving her a fake smile.

Raising an eyebrow, Twilight stared at him.

"You thought you saw something strange? Like what?"

"Honestly. I'm not sure myself," Danny answered, being sincere.

"What did it look like?" She asked, pressing the matter, hoping it might answer a few things about what was happening back there with the guards.

"Ehh..." Danny began weakly, when he thought of something. "Say, don't we have a schedule to keep," he reminded her, and Twilight's eyes widened in horrified realization.

"Oh my gosh, you're right," she shouted, and picked Danny up with her magic for the second time that day; causing him to feel that weird sensation throughout his body again, as she hurried away in a gallop; drawing the attention of the ponies walking through the streets as she rushed out of the alley, Danny in tow, upside down, arms crossed, a flat, annoyed look on his face.

'Well, that could have gone better,' he thought as he looked at the dumbfounded faces of the ponies around, seeing several of them snicker, or laugh out loud.

'A whole lot better.'

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

Soarin glided through the air, angling himself towards the buildings up ahead. At his current speed, he would arrive at Jazz's place in a few minutes, but he wasn't in a hurry. It was a nice, calm day. A warm sun, with a few clouds scattered here and there. Looking down, he noticed the many humans living in the city looking up at him, most of them still not used to the sight of a pony flying over their heads, even though he had followed this route many times now.

But something was nagging at him. A feeling that something was off. And, taking a closer look at the humans down below, he noticed that they were not looking at him. In fact, they seemed to be looking at something behind him, obviously terrified, as they began to hurry inside whatever place they could get into.

Yes, something was definitely not right, and he got his first clue what it was when he spotted the shadow following his own.

Stopping in mid air and turning around, he was ready to confront whatever or whoever it was that was following him.

Nothing. Nothing at all.

Feeling somewhat nervous, he looked down, trying to spot the shadow he noticed earlier.

It was gone as well.

A shiver went down his spine as he looked around, expecting the worst. Then a shadow fell over him, and slowly, hesitantly, he turned around. His pupils shrunk to the size of pinpricks as he looked at the metallic ghost hovering a mere inch away from him.

"Boo," Skulker said with twisted humor, and he noticed the pony's wings lock up.

"Well, this is no fun," Skulker muttered as he dove after the plummeting pony. 'Oh well. Guess you can't hunt them all,' he thought as he easily caught up with the falling pony, seeing the fear in his eyes.

They fell and fell, the ground approaching rapidly. Soarin fearing for his life, Skulker looking down at him with a feral grin as he readied his net.

The ground came closer and closer, and just when it seemed they would surely slam into the concrete below, Skulker acted. In a flurry of motion he launched his net, catching Soarin, and reeling him in. Making a rapid one eighty, he set his thrusters to overdrive. They stopped their descent at terminal velocity with bone shaking force, before the upwards thrust overcame the pull of gravity, and the two of them shot away, leaving a horrified Jazz behind, watching it all.

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

"Wow. Nice place," Danny remarked as he and Twilight stood before one of the more upper class mansions. It was a clean white, two story high building, with several balconies looking out over the city. A large, lush green garden surrounded the estate, with many brightly colored flowers bringing life to the area, and a neat stone path leading from the front door, to where the two of them were standing. Twilight had a happy smile on her face, while Danny gawked at the luxury of it all.

"It is," Twilight agreed, and she opened the gate blocking their path, entering the premises.

"Wait, where are you going?" Danny asked, watching as Twilight walked towards the impressive building. "You can't just go in someone's garden like that, can you?"

Twilight gave him an amused giggle as she motioned for him to follow her. "Oh, don't worry. I know the ponies living here. I meant to see them before meeting with the princesses, so don't worry."

"Uhh, okay? If you say so," Danny replied, a nagging feeling telling him that this would, somehow, be more complicated than that.

Together they walked over the short path, stepping in front of the door, and Twilight rung the bell with her magic.

A three chimed bell rung, sending forth a pleasant sounding melody. Several moments passed in silence as the last of the melody played out, before the door was opened by a light blue magical aura, revealing a grayish white unicorn mare, with a two toned light purple and white mane. She had a trio of stars as her Cutie Mark, and looked almost the same as Twilight, save for her color scheme and Cutie Mark.

The mare looked at Danny with surprise, craning her neck to look up at him, causing her to miss the purple pony standing next to him.

"Uhh, can I help you?" She asked.

The sound of somepony clearing their throat drew her attention down to the mare next to Danny, and her eyes lit up while a large, beaming smile broke out on her face.

"Twilight," she said happily, pulling Twilight into a hug.

'uhh… what is going on?' Danny thought.

"Hi, mom," Twilight replied, and alarm bells went off in Danny's mind.

'Wait! What!?'

"I want you to meet Danny," Twilight said with a large smile as she introduced him to her mother, both of them looking at each other with expressions of surprise and shock. Then a smile broke out on Twilight's mother's face again, which somehow did not put Danny at ease. Especially as her eyes shifted between him and Twilight, her smile taking on a somewhat devious edge.

'Oh, crap.'

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

Many murmurs, gasps, and even whistles of amazement came from the group of humans as they were brought into the large cavern room. Massive crystals covering the floor, walls and ceiling, each glowing faintly from the energy trapped within, giving off an eerie glow of purple and pink. Crystals which also helped to illuminate their path as they descended the long, narrow path carved into the mountain mere days before they arrived.

"Wow," Dani said breathlessly. "Not what I was expecting."

"Yes. It is quite something alright," Technal agreed. "This is the largest cavern we could find within this labyrinth that runs throughout the mountain, and it should be exactly what we need to set up this operation."

Dani hummed in agreement, before turning to one of the nerdier looking members of her team. "Hey, you," she said, her voice echoing off of the walls, making everyone turn to her. "Not all of you. You, three to the left," she groaned out, and the aforementioned person pointed at himself. "Yes, you. You're the expert on where to most effectively place this project of ours?"

"Ehh. Indeed I am, ma'am," he replied with a slight slur, and Dani instantly disliked him.

'Ma'am, my ass. Do I look that old?'

"Right. So, what are your thoughts on this place, in regards to what we're here to do?" She asked, trying to keep a neutral face, while the man pushed his glasses back on his nose, looking over his tablet as he studied the schematics.

"Well, the room is certainly large enough," he confirmed, looking around. "But those crystals might cause some interference, given their internal glow, indicating there's some energy inside. We will need to take a moment to study them to make sure they will not interfere with the equipment we're going to install. I don't expect too much trouble with that, but we need to know for sure."

"Okay. And how long do you think that will take?" Technal asked, hoping this wouldn't throw off their time schedule.

"Unknown," he answered, "but with the help of the experts you have to provide, it shouldn't take too long."

"I will send somepony to you immediately," Technal told him, before turning to the guards' Captain. "I will go and get the rest of our team down here, you know what to do," and with that, she left, leaving the white stallion with the two toned blue mane to oversee things, and to keep everything in check.

"Okay everypony and human. The unicorns are still in the process of bringing all the larger equipment down here, as you have probably noticed," he began, several flashes of light coming from behind the group of humans and ponies as the aforementioned unicorns blinked into existence, along with the large, heavy crates, before vanishing again in another burst of light.

"Guards. Help our guests in any way they should need, while they set up shop. We need this done fast and effective, and without any incidents," he instructed those under his command, earning a crisp salute, and a, "yes, Sir" from them all, before turning to the black haired woman on his right.

"Ma'am, go ahead."

'Again with the Ma'am,' Dani thought irritably, but gave the stallion a confirming nod instead.

"Okay everyone. You know what to do. So… ehh... get to it," she instructed awkwardly, and the humans began to open up the crates, murmuring amongst themselves, while checking if everything was present.

"Not much for giving instructions, I take it?" Dani heard the stallion ask, and she turned to look at him as he approached her.

"That obvious?" She asked with a weak laugh.

"I'm afraid so," he replied. "I'm Captain Shining Armor, the pony in charge of these fine mares and stallions."

"Dani. Dani Spectral," Dani introduced herself. "And I'm in charge of them," she said, pointing over her shoulder at the men and women inspecting their gear. "Although, I must admit I'm kinda new to the whole leading thing. I mostly work alone, out in the field, catching ghosts. Not stuck in a cave, working on some sort of crazy ghost jail."

Shining Armor quirked an eyebrow, looking Dani over as if he was inspecting her. "You hunt ghosts? I have to say. You don't look like it."

"That's just because I'm not wearing my ghost suit," she replied with a grin, trying her hardest to keep herself from snickering.

"Ghost suit?"

"Oh, just a little something I wear for protection while hunting ghosts… But it's mostly a side job. Most of my time is spent being the assistant of Tucker Foley, who is in no small part responsible for the latest tech involved in this construction," she quickly added, remembering her supposed role as an assistant.

"I see," Shining Armor said, when a flash of light, followed by a yell brought their attention to the scene unfolding before them.

It would seem that, during the teleportation of another crate, the volume of one crate overlapped with that of another. Which, thanks to the failsafe designed to prevent matter from fusing together during teleportation, resulted in the crate already in the physical plane being forced away, before tipping over. Breaking open, the contents of the crate scattered across the cavern floor, leaving several angrily shouting humans standing around it, and two very embarrassed and ashamed unicorns, who were responsible for the safe transit of the cargo.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Dani shouted, as she and Shining Armor hurried to the scene.

Everyone, human and pony, stood around the mess created, looking down at it with anger, annoyance, irritation, and, in the case of the ponies who were responsible for this, fear for having messed up like this.

"Well," Dani began lamely, "there is always something that breaks during a move."

Everyone stared at her. The humans in annoyance. The ponies in confusion. And their shared looks made her wish she could just turn invisible and drop through the floor. Which she could, if there weren't so many damn witnesses.

'Yeah. This is going to be a very long day, indeed.'

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

"TUCKER!"

The door to Tucker's personal lab at the factory slammed open, showing a panting, frantic, Jazz.

Tucker and Valerie turned to look at the woman in a hurry, the double doors slowly sliding shut behind her. The sheer fact she was able to slam sliding doors open showing that, whatever it was that was going on, it was serious.

"Jazz, what's going on!?" Tucker asked as he and Valerie hurried to the distraught woman, seeing the tears staining her cheeks.

"SOARIN! He's… he's…" Jazz stuttered, before breaking down, sobbing.

"Jazz, calm down. You're not making any sense," Valerie said, placing her armored hands on Jazz's shoulders "Take a few deep breaths, and calm down."

Nodding her head, Jazz did as she was told. Several long seconds ticked by, with only the sound of deep breathing, and the occasional sobs coming from the red haired woman. Then she looked up, her red rimmed eyes looking at her two friends.

"Now, tell us what happened. Who is this Soarin guy?"

"Soarin is the pony I'm in a relationship with," Jazz began. "He was supposed to visit me for a day, when… when…" She began sobbing again, but a gentle shake from Valerie snapped her out of it.

"When, what?" Valerie urged her on.

"WHEN SKULKER CAPTURED HIM!" She shouted hysterically.

"WHAT!" Both Tucker and Valerie shouted.

"I watched it all. It happened so fast. Skulker just appeared out of nowhere, and he took him," Jazz cried on Valerie's shoulder, who patted her on the back, trying to comfort her.

"But why? Why would he do that?" Tucker asked, troubled.

"Don't know, don't care," Valerie answered coldly. "What matters is the fact that, clearly, the shield is no longer effective. Something we feared would happen after what I found with the Box Ghost, plus the intrusion that happened not too long ago. And worse, now they're capturing ponies."

"Yes, but there has to be a reason for him to do…. Oh no," Tucker began, when a horrifying thought came to him.

"Oh no, what?" Jazz squeaked, watching Tucker run to his private computer.

Typing rapidly on the keyboard, he pulled up a list of every pony that had ever gone through the ghost hunting training. His fingers froze on the keys as he found what he was looking for.

"DAMNIT! I should have thought of that!"

"What!? What is it?" Valerie asked as she and Jazz hurried to look at the screen, seeing the various physical reports on the ponies.

"What are we looking at?" Valerie asked.

"You know how we thought the ghosts might be trying to break into Equestria? And how the ponies' magic interferes with the ghosts' ectoplasm?" Tucker asked in a cold voice.

"Yeah, but what does that have t—" Valerie began, but Tucker cut her off.

"What use is it to go to the ponies' world, if you can't even defend yourself against their magic? GHAA! How could I have been so blind?" Tucker scolded himself. "I should have seen it. I should have known. Especially after the theft."

"Theft? What theft" Jazz asked, worried.

"The theft of several Specter Deflectors," Valerie answered, having already heard about it.

"But, what does all of this have to do with Soarin being taken?" Jazz asked through sobs.

"We have the deflectors to shield us from the ghosts," Tucker explained. "But, theoretically, they could be altered to shield the wearer from the ponies' magic instead."

"And they just took Soarin to test out if their deflectors work," Valerie stated, catching up with Tucker.

"No, I don't think they've gotten that far yet," Tucker countered. "Look, " he told them, showing the information on the screen. "The ponies, no matter if they're unicorn, pegasus, or earth pony, all have magic. And, although they use it in different ways, it is the same energy. But, there are different variables to deal with, so, should one want to alter a deflector, they would need direct access to their magical energy to do so."

"You mean they took my Soarin to... to… to experiment on him?" Jazz asked, horrified.

Tucker's only response was a dark, grim frown, telling her everything she didn't want to know.

"NO! WE HAVE TO SAVE HIM!" Jazz shouted.

"And we will!" Valerie stated determinedly, walking to the bench where her weapons lay, Tucker having just finished their newest upgrades.

"I'm going with you!" Jazz said, picking up one of Valerie's blasters.

"I don't think so, doc. You're st—" Valerie countered, when she was interrupted once more. Not by words, but by a cold, harsh stare which held the burning fury of a thousand suns.

"I'm. Going. With. You!" Jazz stated firmly, leaving no room for objection, which Valerie did anyhow.

"Hate to say it, but I only have room for one on my board. There is no way you can come, unless you can fly."

Jazz, taken aback by this, began to stutter as she tried to come up with a solution to this problem, when Tucker came into the conversation with the answer she was looking for.

"She doesn't have to, if she uses this," he told them, typing a quick command on his keyboard.

A hidden door opened behind the bookcase in his lab, leading into a secondary room, in which stood…

"Is that what I think it is?" Jazz asked, amazed, while Valerie let loose a long, slow, drawn out whistle.

"It is. Just don't scratch the paint job," Tucker told them with a smirk, a glint showing in his eyes that Jazz had seen many times before, back in the old days when he was still ghost hunting with Danny and Sam.

"Now, go. I will distract everyone, while you get out there and save this pony."

"You're not coming with us?" Valerie asked, sounding surprised.

"No. I'm sorry, but I'm not there yet. Just do me one favor?" He asked.

"Anything," Jazz replied.

"Give them hell!"

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

Danny stood frozen on the spot, sharing an uncomfortable eye contact with the pony just introduced to him as Twilight's mother, who looked at him with a large smile, before turning to look at her daughter.

"Twilight," she said happily. "I'm so glad to see you, and to see you found yourself a special somepony."

"Wait! What!?" Twilight said, mirroring Danny's thoughts, while a heated blush burned through her fur, giving her face a deep shade of crimson as she stepped away from her mother, sputtering incoherently. "Wha… You… We… I… He's not my special somepony."

"Well, of course. He's a human, but why should that matter," Twilight's mother replied. "Oh, but I am so glad you finally found someone. Your father and I were starting to worry you would eventually marry one of your books."

Now thoroughly embarrassed, Twilight and Danny both stood speechless with glowing red faces.

"Velvet, dear. What is going on?" A dark blue stallion with a darker blue mane and tail asked as he walked up to the trio, giving a surprised look at Danny.

"Night Light," Mrs. Velvet said excitedly as she turned to her husband. "Twilight's here. And she brought her special someone.

"What!?" Night Light said, shocked, and he looked Danny up and down, a frown forming on his face.

"NO!" Twilight yelled, bringing everyone's attention to her. "Mom, we're not a couple. We're just friends, and I am just showing Danny around Canterlot," she explained with a burning red face.

"What, really?" Her mother asked, and Twilight gave a nod, making her mother sigh disappointedly.

"So, you're not with my daughter?" Night Light spoke up, looking at Danny, who shook his head in reply. Night Light's frown vanished in an instant, and he stepped closer to Danny, lifting a hoof. "Good, then I won't have to go into detail about what would happen if you hurt my daughter."

"DAD!" Twilight yelled.

"LIGHT!" His wife gasped, but he ignored it.

"My name is Night Light, as you undoubtedly have already figured out." He introduced himself to Danny, holding out his hoof, which Danny nervously grabbed in his hand and shook. "And this is my wife, Twilight Velvet," he continued as he introduced his wife. "Now, might we know the name of the human who raised my wife's hopes, before our daughter quite expertly dashed them?"

"Ehh…" Danny uttered, his mind having trouble starting back up as it had just run off to a nice quiet place so it didn't have to deal with the embarrassment happening, "... My name is Danny, Danny Manson."

Night Light and Twilight Velvet reared back a bit after Danny introduced himself, looking at him as if they had seen a ghost.

"And, no. I am not related to them in any way," Danny quickly added, tired of that reaction from everyone he introduced himself to.

"I see…" Night Light said, he and his wife still looking at Danny.

"Mom, Dad. Stop staring at him," Twilight said, rolling her eyes. "And can we come in, or should we keep standing outside?"

Twilight Velvet's eyes widened as she realized she was keeping both her daughter and her not special someone standing outside. "Oh my, where are my manners? Please, come in," she told them, motioning for them to enter. Seeing the awkward smiles on the faces of her daughter and Danny as they glanced at each other, a faint smirk formed on her own.

'Maybe there's hope for her, after all,' She thought as she closed the door with a push of her magic, as she and her husband followed the two inside. 'Maybe,' she pondered as she thought about her other guest sitting in the living room.

"Oh, and Twilight," Velvet called out to her daughter. "You'll be delighted to know your foalsitter is here."

"Cadance is here?" Twilight chirped excitedly, and hurried into the living room, "CADANCE!" She shouted happily as she saw the pink Alicorn of Love sitting on a seat cushion, drinking from a cup of tea, which she promptly set down as she gave the excited purple pony a large smile.

"Twilight," Cadance said, standing up and moving to Twilight, who promptly started doing… something that seriously confused Danny. Even more so when Cadance started mirroring her.

"Sunshine, sunshine," they both chanted, while bouncing on their hoof tips, before dropping down on their stomachs, covering their eyes with their hooves, "ladybugs awake"—they uncovered their eyes, and sat up, clapping their hooves together—"clap your hooves"—before turning around, dropping their chests, and shaking their rears at each other—"and do a little shake."

They both laughed as they hugged each other, while Danny stood there dumbfounded. Something Twilight's parents found amusing, as they were more than used to this little ritual between their daughter, and daughter in law.

"See something you like?" Twilight Velvet asked Danny after the little show was over, making him turn a healthy color of red once again, while he sputtered in embarrassment. Night Light, however, shot an unamused look at his wife, before glaring at Danny.

However, Velvet's words also brought Danny's presence to the attention of Twilight and Cadance. The first with a brightly burning face, the latter with a curious look and kind smile towards the human in the room.

"Why, hello," she said kindly. "And who might you be?"

"Cadance, this is Danny," Twilight said, introducing him to her. "Danny Manson. And no, he is not related to them." She continued, and Danny gave her a faint smile in appreciation. A faint smile which did not go unnoticed by Cadance. "And definitely not my special someone!" Twilight quickly added as she glared at her mother, who feigned ignorance.

"Well, it is always a pleasure meeting one of Twilight's friends," the pink alicorn with a pink, purple and yellow mane said. "My name is Cadance, Princess of Love, and Twilight's former foalsitter," she introduced herself, and Danny awkwardly shook her offered hoof, while his mind was going over what she had just said over and over again.

'Princess of Love… What have I just gotten myself into?'

"She is also the best sister anypony could wish for," Twilight quickly intervened, making sure her mother couldn't push this awkward meeting into something even more awkward between Danny and Cadance.

"Sister?" Danny said, surprised.

"Sister in law," Cadance clarified.

"I see. Twilight mentioned an older brother. I take it you're together, then?"

"She did?" Cadance said, surprised. "Well, that's a first. She completely forgot to tell her friends about Shining Armor. at least, until she got the wedding invitation. Oh, and yes, Shining and I are married."

Twilight Velvet, who had moved next to her daughter during this small conversation, gave Twilight a small, but not too subtle nudge in her side, a knowing smirk on her face when the topic of marriage came up, making Twilight sputter and step away from her, giving her mother an annoyed glare, while Velvet only smiled innocently.

"SO!" Twilight cut in loudly. "Is Shiny here?"

"I'm afraid not," Cadance replied, as Danny backed away a bit, bumping into Night Light, who gave him a warning glare. "No, Shining is currently on an assignment from my aunts. Something about a highly important delivery, which needs guard protection," she said with a small shrug. "He couldn't go into much detail, though," she added with a slight hint of annoyance.

"But enough about that," Velvet said. "Twilight, Danny, why don't you take a seat," she offered, pointing at several seat cushions for them to choose from, "And tell us all about your undoubtedly interesting life in Ponyville?" She told them, while also making sure to place Danny directly next to Twilight, much to the amusement of Cadance, who giggled behind a hoof, recognizing the first signs of something interesting indeed.

"Now, you just make yourselves comfortable, while I fetch you something to drink." Velvet told them, and walked to the kitchen, eyes meeting those of Cadance, and they both shared a faint smile.

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

"Weapons?"

"Check."

"Targeting computer online?"

"Check."

"Thruster pack ready?"

"Check."

"Activating eng—"

"CHECK! Let's go, already!" Jazz said, irritated, for once forgoing the sacred art of the checklist in favor of saving Soarin.

"Okay, okay. Sheesh. Don't bite my head off, will ya," Valerie replied. "We just need to wait for Tucker to give the go ahead, so this doesn't get noticed."

"I know, I know. But I can't be bothered with these… these STUPID checklists when he is in danger.

'Wow,' Valerie thought, turning back to the controls before her. 'She's got it bad.'

Suddenly, a loud, rapid, high pitch alarm went off. Joined by red flashing lights, while an alert sounded over the building's P.A. system.

"All personnel. A ghost has been detected. Please leave your stations, and move in a calm manner to the exit nearest to you. All personnel." The message repeated itself over and over again, and Valerie and Jazz looked at one another.

"Is that Tucker, or what?" Valerie asked, when a static click came over her and Jazz's earpieces.

"Okay, you two. I got things going up here, and the ghost portal room should be cleared in a few more moments. Valerie. Use the large green button on the console to open the way to the portal room, things should explain themselves from there. Good luck," Tucker's voice informed them over the comms, and with another 'click' he cut off the transmission.

"Well, you heard the man. Strap in, and lets give 'em hell." Valerie said with a feral grin, slamming a fist on the green button Tucker told her about, and watched as the wall before them slid open.

"Did you know about all of this?" Jazz asked, wide eyed, as she looked at the swirling green vortex of the ghost portal some distance ahead in the adjacent room.

"No, no I didn't. He's been busy, for sure," Valerie answered, giving Jazz a sideways glance, a spark in her eyes. "And I have to say. I really like this hidden side of his. Who knows what else he keeps hidden up his sleeve?"

"I'm just surprised, and a bit hurt, that he never told us about any of this," Jazz replied. "But right now, I couldn't care less." Looking at Valerie, she gave two final words. "Punch it!"

"You've got it," Valerie replied, grinning, and she keyed the thrusters, rocketing them forwards, and into the green vortex leading to the Ghost Zone.

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

Several minutes earlier.

Tucker closed the hidden door to his secret project, glad he had decided to go through with it after all. It certainly came in useful now. And, perhaps, also in the dark days to come. Now, though, he had a rather difficult task he needed to deal with. Mainly, clearing the building of everyone so this less than legal trip into the Ghost Zone wouldn't get noticed. Mostly because, besides the obvious issue of Jazz and Valerie about to cross over, none of the 'experts' had ever gotten the idea of actually going through the portal themselves. It was an act of ignorance that served Tucker and his friends well. Because, if any of the 'experts' were to enter the realm of the Ghost Zone, along with their biased opinion towards ghosts, things would get very ugly, very fast.

Luckily, it had not come to that. And the only people who knew you could safely enter and exit the portal were Tucker, Valerie, Jazz, Dani, Danny, and Vlad. That is, of course, not counting the ghosts.

But should anyone see Jazz and Valerie enter the portal, there would be an investigation. Something that could, and most likely would, lead to them discovering the Ghost Zone. And, should that happen, everything would fall apart.

So, sitting behind his computer, Tucker used his knowledge of the company's system to look through every possible option available to him.

And something caught his attention.

There, in the boardroom of the director's, he noticed something peculiar, but not unexpected.

Vlad's spectral signature.

It would seem that the good old, kind hearted mayor of Amity Park was in some meeting or another with the rest of the board. Which, Tucker realized with a devious smirk, he could use to his advantage.

He knew about Vlad bugging the systems for his own gain. He knew Vlad had altered the system's scanners so he wouldn't get noticed. And he let him, so as to not draw any attention to himself. Now, though, he would fix some of the damage done by good old Vlad.

Entering the long line of code in the command screen, he reset the scanners back to default, before quickly restoring the blind spot for both Danny and Dani.

Now back in action, and without Vlad's corrupting software running in the system, his system, he sat back, smirking, as he watched the live feed from the boardroom. Watching as the window's shutters closed, while a flashing light went off along with an alarm. Several security weapons deployed from the ceiling, all targeting Vlad who, in order to keep his other half a secret, ducked under the table, cowering as the beams of green shot overhead.

True, it wouldn't take long until the system would be reset. And, most likely, it would be blamed on a system malfunction; he'd make sure of that. But this little bit of chaos would buy Jazz and Valerie the time they needed. So, keying the secure channel to their communication devices, he relayed the good news to them.

"Okay, you two. I got things going up here, and the ghost portal room should be cleared in a few more moments. Valerie. Use the large green button on the console to open the way to the portal room, things should explain themselves from there. Good luck," he told them, using the camera in the portal room to watch the wall adjacent to the portal open up, and his pride and joy, on which he had worked for a couple of years, shoot forward, entering the wild green yonder.

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

"So, Danny. What brought you to Equestria?" Cadance asked.

The group of ponies and single human had been sitting together, chatting a bit while they drank their tea, with Danny telling them a bit about life on Earth. Which, naturally, brought up the subject of ghosts. Something Danny was less than comfortable talking about. He gave them simple answers, which did not give away too much about just how much he knew, yet more than enough for them to think twice about going to Earth for a casual trip or whatnot.

Still, this topic of discussion now brought them to the question Cadance had asked him, and Danny knew he had to choose his words carefully.

"Well, eh, you see… I wanted a change of scenery, so to speak. The place I used to live, well… It had a bit of trouble, the undead kind of trouble," he answered grimly. "I've been going from place to place, trying to find somewhere nice to live. But… Yeah, no such luck. So, when I realized there was a chance for me to move here, it was a no brainer. I packed my stuff, went to the nearest tear facility, which just so happens to lead directly to this city, and got on the train to Ponyville from there."

"Really? But didn't you leave everyone behind, then? Your family, friends, anyone?" Cadance asked, concerned, and Danny felt her eyes, as well as those of the others burn into him.

'What have I gotten myself into, indeed.'

"Well, you see. The thing is…" Danny began weakly, then sighed. "My family would be a part of the reason I came here, and it's not really a pleasant story. So, if you don't mind. I would rather not talk about it," he answered, twisting some truths, while keeping what he said believable.

"I'm… sorry to hear that," Cadance replied, looking at him with pity.

'Yeah, me too,' Danny thought, and quickly changed the subject.

"So, you're a princess, right? Do you live in the castle up here?"

"Oh, no. I do not," Cadance answered with a laugh. "My aunts live there, but I don't. No, Shining and I live in a nice house not too far from here, actually."

"Aunts?"

"Princess Celestia and Princess Luna," Cadance clarified.

"Ah, okay. That makes sense," he replied lamely, making Twilight poke him in the side, resulting in him squeaking a bit, while Velvet looked at the two of them with a knowing smirk. Which Twilight saw, and she quickly scooted away from Danny a bit, blushing, and she turned her attention to the clock on the wall, so she wouldn't have to look at her mother.

"So, Danny," Velvet began with a fake innocent smile. "How has life in Ponyville been treating you? Anypony nice you've met?" She asked, with a not so expertly hidden undertone.

"Oh my gosh. Danny, we're going to be late!" Twilight suddenly shouted as she bolted upright. "We need to go now!"

"Huh? What is the matter, Twilight?" Her mother asked.

"Danny and I have a meeting with Princess Celestia, and we are going to be late!"

"But you've just gotten here," Velvet said, confused, nodding her head to the clock.

A sudden burst of Twilight's horn took them by surprise, and the hands of the clock shot forwards several hours.

"See, late. Come on, Danny," Twilight practically ordered, and she, once again, used her magic to levitate him up, right side up for a change, and rushed outside, her head burning a bright red.

Twilight Velvet, Night Light, and Cadance looked at the two, smiles on Cadance and Velvet's faces, and an unsure frown on Night Light's.

Cadance, recognizing the first signs, and knowing just how blind Twilight could be in matters like this, quickly acted. Her horn shimmered for a moment, and a small magical pink heart formed on the tip, before following Twilight and Danny, easily catching up to them, as Twilight, in her hurry, had trouble opening the gate.

The heart split in half. One half moving to Danny, the other to Twilight. The magical essence connected with the two, and fused back together.

"Cadance," Night Light said tensely. "Please tell me you didn't just do what I think you did."

"Okay. I did not just do what you think I did."

A flat look was Night Light's only response to his daughter in law.

"Oh, Nighty," Velvet said, smiling. "Why don't you like Danny? He seems like a nice, uh... human."

"I suppose," he replied, seeing his daughter hurry away, with Danny still trapped in her magic.

"He just worries for his daughter," Cadance said. "All good fathers do. But I agree, Danny seemed like a nice human."

"I guess he is," Night Light relented. "At least he isn't a ghost. So I guess he's got that going for him."

"Oh, Nighty," Velvet said, rolling her eyes. "You always think everypony is some no good being around your daughter."

She and Cadance laughed at that, heading back inside. Followed shortly thereafter by Night Light, muttering to himself.

"Mares. Can't live with them, can't live without them."

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

Danny was being dragged along by Twilight, held aloft in her magic, and many ponies were staring at him. But none of that registered to him, as he was currently feeling a painful stab in his heart. It began simply enough, the same weird feeling as Twilight grabbed him in her magic. Yet, something changed when she was fumbling with the gate. A weird buzzing feeling overwhelmed him, a strange sensation that spread all throughout his chest, and settled down where his heart was. It was a painful, freezing sensation, which was countered by a comforting warmth at the same time.

It was something that he didn't understand, and it frightened him. He felt as if he was both glowing and freezing from the inside at once, and he didn't even notice when Twilight approached the castle, panting loudly as she sat down on a nearby bench, sitting Danny down next to her, oblivious both to Danny's pained wince when another stab went through him, and the shaky cold breath that escaped his mouth.

Neither of them knew that Cadance had used her magic on them, and her magic slowly moved through Danny's chest, flowing towards his heart. However, unlike with Twilight, where the magical essence connected with, and settled down in her heart, here it was pushed back by Danny's power. The warming glow of Cadance's magic was unable to reach his heart; a heart touched by the chilling embrace of death. A wall of ice surrounded it, impenetrable to the magical energy. It pushed and prodded, trying to find a weak spot, anything to allow it to enter and warm this cold and frozen heart. But no such spot was found.

The magic began to grow weak, fading out, when, all of a sudden, a faint glow of the purest white blue light came from Danny's heart; reaching out to the fading glow of Cadance's magic, pulling it inside. A magic that could melt hearts, coming in contact with the power of a being whose heart was touched by death's cold embrace. Slowly warming it, mending an old scar that had first allowed it to grow so cold.

It wasn't nearly enough to fully undo the damage. Indeed, it would take a lot more of this 'warmth' to break away the icy shell surrounding his heart. But the first cracks had been formed, and the pain Danny felt began to recede, allowing him to feel a slight tinge of warmth that hadn't been there before.

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

It took a few more minutes for Twilight to catch her breath, and for Danny to relax and feel at ease with the strange sensation going through his body. After they had finally caught their breath, and the two of them had started their walk towards the castle, Danny asked the question that had been on his mind for a little while now.

"So, why exactly did we go to your parents?"

"Well… Princess Celestia sent me a letter some time ago, in which she told me my mother said hello. So, I thought that since we were going to Canterlot today, I could also pay them a little visit… It didn't really go the way I thought it would."

"No kidding," Danny replied sarcastically.

"Yeah," Twilight answered, only half paying attention as she realized they were going to meet the Princess ahead of schedule. Something she wasn't sure was a good thing, or a bad one.

But they were going regardless, and soon they walked over the large bridge towards the main gate, two guards standing stoically at attention, spears in hoof.

"Hello, you two," Twilight said in a familiar tone as she approached the two guards.

"Miss Sparkle," they replied simultaneously, giving her a curt nod.

"We're here to see Princess Celestia," Twilight told them.

"Yes, you've been expected. As well as your human companion," one of the guards informed her, and Twilight gave them an appreciative smile as she was allowed to enter, Danny following her a moment later, looking at the two guards in confusion.

Waiting a moment until he was sure they couldn't hear him, he turned to Twilight.

"Say, are those two twins or something?"

"No, why do you ask?" Twilight replied.

"Well, they look the same. Same colors, mane and everything. Except for their voices, those are different."

"Oh, that," Twilight said, laughing in understanding. "No, they look like that because of an illusionary enchantment placed over their armor. All the guards have it," she explained, pointing towards a small group of identical guards. "See. When they take their armor off, they revert back to however they looked originally."

"Really?"

"Yup, " Twilight quipped. "It was one of the first things I did research on when Princess Celestia took me in as her personal student."

"Wait, you're her personal student?" Danny asked, surprised, and Twilight looked away, embarrassed.

"Yes. You see, my magic is more powerful than most unicorns. In fact, I even turned my parents into potted plants during my entry exam, while I was trying to hatch a dragon's egg. Which I also did, only to have the baby dragon grow through the roof. Celestia intervened, of course, seeing that I had lost control over my magic, and everything turned back to normal. After that, she took me in to teach me how to control my magic."

"Wow!" Danny breathed out. "And what happened to the dragon?"

"He is now my number one assistant back in the library in Ponyville."

"O-kay…" Danny said, speechless.

They walked in silence for a little bit, Danny going over the facts Twilight had just told him, and he made a mental note not to piss her off. Then, looking around the large, high marble halls they were walking through, he wondered how Twilight knew her way around, as every hallway looked identical to him. But he reasoned it was because she was the princess' personal student. It seemed logical, so he focused on something else instead. Mainly, the large double doors they were approaching. A guard with a spear stood on either side of the door, looking at the two of them with their piercing gaze, but not reacting, until they came within knocking distance of the door.

"Hi, Bronze Shield, Iron Hoof," Twilight began, recognizing the two stallions, despite their magically altered appearance. "My friend and I are expected by Princess Celestia. May we enter?"

The two guards looked at her with surprise and suspicion, clearly noticing something that wasn't right.

"You're early," Iron Hoof, the guard on the left, said. "The Twilight Sparkle I know is never early."

"Nor late," Bronze Shield added. "She always arrives precisely when she means to."

"So, knowing this. Who are you?" Iron Hoof demanded, giving both her and Danny a glare, which put Danny on edge.

Rolling her eyes, Twilight shot the pair a wicked little grin.

"Why, I'm the mare who knows that you"—she pointed a hoof at Bronze Shield—"have snuck into the kitchen when you thought nopony was looking, and 'liberated' a slice of Princess Celestia's cake," she said, and Bronze Shield gulped while giving an awkward smile as Twilight turned to Iron Hoof. "And y—" she continued, before he cut her off.

"Miss Twilight. Go right ahead," he said nervously, opening the doors for her and Danny.

"Thank you kindly," Twilight said with a smug smile as she entered the throne room, followed by Danny, who gave her a look of amazement. His attention was then drawn to the massive room, and its marble floors. Thick marble pillars reached to the ceiling, and large windows, through which the sun illuminated everything in a warm light. And a long red carpet, which led to the large throne, on which Princess Celestia was sitting, busy reading a scroll with a worried frown.

Hearing the doors open, Celestia looked up from her letter, surprised to see Twilight and Danny coming in as she wasn't expecting either of them for a while longer. But that was hardly an issue for her, as she teleported the scroll, as well as the glasses she had perched on her nose to her personal chambers, glad to take her mind off of the letter's contents for a moment, and she stood up, walking towards the excited unicorn.

"Twilight," she said happily, smiling.

"Princess Celestia," Twilight called out, giving Celestia a hug, leaving Danny standing a few steps away, feeling awkward.

Celestia, head down in order to return the hug, looked up at Danny, who was watching the two awkwardly. She let go of Twilight, and turned her attention to him, giving him a kind smile.

"Hello, Danny. It's a pleasure meeting you again," she told him, and Danny, unsure what kind of action to take after seeing Twilight hug the Princess, hesitantly held out his hand. Celestia, chuckling a bit, placed a gold clad hoof in his open hand, giving him a gentle shake.

"It's nice meeting you, too," he replied, releasing his hold on her hoof.

"I have to say," Celestia continued, "I was expecting the two of you later today."

"I'm sorry, Princess." Twilight quickly apologized, ears folding flat on her head.

"There's no need for that," Celestia replied, chuckling over Twilight's predictable response. "It gives me a reason to take a little break from work. So, please, don't worry about it," she told Twilight, giving her a small nudge in the side with a wing.

"Now, come," she told the two of them, "This is hardly the place for a friendly chat, wouldn't you agree?" She continued as she motioned for them to follow her, leading them to a sun covered terrace outside, where Danny noticed there was already a table set up, with a small bowl of fruits. As well as several seat cushions, one of them occupied by Princess Luna.

Luna looked up as she heard them approach, and she flashed a kind smile towards her sister and Twilight, though it fell a bit as she looked at Danny. Mentally scolding herself, her smile returned, and she gave a curt nod towards Danny, who gave an awkward "Hello," in return as he sat down across from her.

"Twilight, Danny. Tis a pleasure meeting you two again," Luna greeted them, giving a momentary look to her sister as she sat down next to her.

"Princess Luna," Twilight began. "It's wonderful to see you again."

"The feeling is mutual," she returned.

"Indeed. We have been looking forward to seeing the two of you," Celestia said. "Especially after that last letter you sent us, Twilight. It certainly was… an interesting read."

"Letter?" Twilight began, before she remembered the letter she wrote the day before. The letter she wanted to incinerate due to its contents. The letter she could not destroy because Pinkie Pie suddenly burst into her library and basically foalnapped her. The letter which she couldn't find after she returned home. The letter which she now realized Spike had obviously sent to Princess Celestia, "My letter! Oh no. Spike must have found it, and sent it to you. I'm sorry, Princess. I meant to rewrite it, but Pinkie Pie was… well, Pinkie Pie."

"I see," Celestia replied with a faint smile, "But that isn't really important right now. But my sister and I are curious as to how life has been treating you, the both of you?"

"Indeed. I most certainly am curious to find out about, as I believe it is they say, what you've been up to," Luna added, and Twilight gave her a beaming smile, more than ready to answer any question they had for her. It was kind of like a quiz, and she loved quizzes.

Danny, however, was currently munching on an apple, much to Twilight's shock, and she immediately teleported the fruit away, leaving Danny to bite down on thin air. Which caused Celestia to release an unlady like snort, while Luna chuckled behind her hoof. Whatever tension she might have felt towards Danny when he arrived was gone for the moment, though the thing she saw during her attempts to enter his dreams still weighed heavily on her mind. But, for now, the ice was broken, and she felt at ease with the human sitting across from her, watching him glare at Twilight as he, defiantly, grabbed another apple and bit down on it; Twilight returned the glare as she used another teleportation spell.

Yes, he did seem like an enjoyable being. That was something she and her sister could both agree on, as they watched the interaction between the two of them with great amusement.

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

The green void around them shot by in a blur, not stopping for anything, while the scanner was locked on to several objects from the human world, all neatly grouped in one place.

"And that's where we're heading," Jazz said, almost growling as she looked away from the scanner to inspect her weapon.

"It shouldn't be long now till we get there," Valerie commented as she herself took a look at the scan. "Maybe you should put on one of those suits Tucker has stored back there. It certainly wouldn't hurt," she suggested, and Jazz, looking back at the small storage compartment, nodded her head in agreement.

"Yeah, you're right," she said.

"Of course I am."

Jazz, rolling her eyes, opened the small storage compartment, pulling out a pitch black, full body suit specially designed to provide as much protection against small ectoplasmic discharges as possible. It wouldn't be much help against the more serious discharges, but it was more useful than the clothes she was wearing.

Stripping down to her underwear, she looked over her shoulder through the large viewport, and into the green void, eyes narrowing. Pulling on the skin tight suit which showed off her curves, she zipped it closed, and put her hair in a ponytail so it wouldn't get in the way. Grabbing a weapons belt from the storage compartment, she slid it around her waist, putting two blasters in the holsters, and rummaged through the compartment to find anything else useful.

"Damn… You're serious," Valerie commented as she looked over her shoulder at the woman preparing for war.

"You better believe it," Jazz replied as she turned to Valerie, pulling a couple of ghost grenades out of the compartment, and attaching them to the belt.

'Wow. Not sure who should be more scared of her. The ghosts, or the guy she's with,' Valerie thought as she returned her attention to where she was going.

"How much longer?" Jazz asked as she sat down, the green glow of the Ghost Zone reflecting off of her black suit with an eery shine.

"Not long now," Valerie replied.

"Good," Jazz muttered darkly. "Good."

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

Soarin's day had turned out to be less wonderful than he had originally expected. It started well enough. Getting up early, eating something at the barracks, sharing a couple of dirty jokes with his fellow Wonderbolts, before going to Earth to spend some more quality time with Jazz.

Then, he showed up. Him, the ghost who, who….

Soarin flinched at the memory. Or, he would have, if he wasn't immobilized in some sort of strange energy field. It wasn't magic, nor was it spectral energy, as far as he could tell anyway. But there was definitely some kind of strange, paralyzing energy field coming from the device beneath him. All he could move, were his eyes. And they shifted around rapidly as they scanned the room, noticing four figures hovering nearby, their faces hidden in the shadows.

He recognized the largest of them, though. The ghost who was there during the Baltimare incursion. The ghost who was, in no small part, responsible for the mental scars he now had. That was also the reason he froze up when he saw him. A terror so severe that, despite his training, he just locked up.

And now, now he was stuck here, forced to endure whatever it was they had planned for him.

Soarin was trying to swallow the lump in his throat, fearing for his life, when he noticed something back in the shadows, behind the four ghosts. A blur of motion, only there for a split second, and he was sure his frightened mind was just playing tricks on him.

And he would have continued to believe that, if the blur hadn't suddenly showed back up again, followed a moment later by an explosion.

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

A few minutes earlier

Jazz and Valerie were close to the position the scanner told them Soarin was being held at, currently hanging back in favor of stealth. Something Jazz wasn't all that happy with, as she wanted to go in guns blazing. But even she had to agree that they didn't know what they were up against, and that stealth would be preferable over tearing down the walls. At least, until they knew what the situation was.

Besides, Valerie, as Specter, was more experienced when it came to things like this, and Jazz knew it. She knew that, if they were going to have any chance of rescuing Soarin, Valerie would have to call the shots. And so, they were holding back, going over their options.

"Okay," Valerie began, "so far we know that Skulker is with your boyfriend. But we can't rule out there being other ghosts as well. So, we go in quietly, assess the situation, and act from there. Also, stealth is not really your thing," she told Jazz, plain and simple, earning herself a glare, but she ignored it. "So I will go in alone. I can see what we're up against, and go on from there. You will have to wait here until I give you the signal to come in. And don't act on your own. You're more likely to get your pony boy killed if you do. Am I clear?" She said, having slipped into her alternate identity as Specter.

"... Fine," Jazz agreed through gritted teeth. "But you better hurry."

"Sorry, babe. That's kind of the opposite of being stealthy," Specter countered, as she entered the aft compartment of their shiny new ship. Closing the hatch, grabbing a thruster pack, and opening the side door, she jumped out, exploiting the lack of gravity to fly silently through the void, and only using the thruster to adjust her course.

She moved towards the strange contraption, which looked vaguely house shaped, but consisted primarily of electronics and other technological doodads she couldn't begin to name. Having heard from Tucker about humans being the ghosts in the Ghost Zone, she flew towards one of the walls, closing her eyes as this completely went against anything she was used to, and phased cleanly through it.

She felt the sudden pull of gravity bringing her down, and she opened her eyes as she caught herself with lightning fast reflexes, making no sound at all.

'Huh, so there is gravity in their buildings, as well as on their land,' she thought, remembering the time Skulker had chained her to Danny, and brought them to his personal hunting ground.

Looking around, she activated her suit's HUD scanner, pointing her in the direction she needed to go. And, silent as a specter, she moved through the various corridors and rooms, seeing all kinds of strange electronics and machinery, getting a good idea whose home this was.

"Jazz," she called her friend over their com line, her helmet preventing any sound from coming out. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes, what do you see? Is Soarin there?" Jazz replied after a moment.

"Haven't seen him, yet. But I think I know whose home I'm sightseeing in."

"Normally I would be thrilled to hear about it, but I doubt it's really important right now," Jazz replied, irritated.

"Well, considering what Tucker told us, about the ponies' energy and such, I think it's somewhat important." Specter countered, peeking around a corner, seeing a flight of stairs going down.

"Oh?"

"By the looks of it, I'm over at Technus's place," she continued, looking around.

"... That... actually makes sense," Jazz replied, sounding worried. "He certainly has the expertise to work with those deflectors that were stolen."

"Indeed. Although I'm not sure how Ember and Spectra fit in with all this," Specter said, moving behind cover as she noticed Skulker, Technus, Ember, and Spectra hovering with their backs turned to her.

"What?" Jazz asked, confused.

"The're here. Along with Skulker and Technus. The last one seems to be working on some kind of weird gizmo. And… Oh…" she said, before trailing off as she spotted the light blue pony, hanging suspended in a field of unknown origin.

"Oh, what?" Came Jazz's reply.

"I found your pony," Specter responded grimly.

"WHAT!? Is he okay?"

"Don't know. They're keeping him suspended in some kind of energy field. Technological, not spectral, if my scans are correct anyway. But that's not important right now."

"WHAT!?" Came the predictably angry response.

"What I mean is, he seems unharmed, and out of any immediate danger. Plus, the only ghosts I can see are those four I mentioned earlier. And I'm not picking up any other ghosts on my scans, so I guess it's just the four of them."

"So, now what?"

"Hold on," Specter replied, hearing Jazz groan, as she looked around.

That field, it was technological in nature, which meant it needed a power source other than ectoplasm. And knowing Technus and his affinity for anything electrical, she had a good guess as to what she was looking for. And she appeared to be in luck, as, behind her, there was a long, thick, black electrical cable, which she could trace all the way back to the contraption that was holding Soarin in place.

"Perfect," Specter purred as she grabbed one of her standard grenades, the kind that just went boom.

"Jazz, forget stealth. I'm going to shake this party up, and you're invited. Give me a thirty second count, and then you're in."

"Affirmative," Jazz replied, her voice tense, as she mentally started to count.

Specter grinned as she primed the grenade and placed it against the thick, black cable, surging into motion to get as far away as possible, and diving behind some crates when the explosive detonated.

Skulker, Technus, Ember, Spectra, and Soarin screamed when the explosion happened, Soarin dropping to the ground as the field lost its power. The ghosts, however, turned to the small crater, their eyes glowing intensely as they tried to figure out what had happened.

Their answer came in the form of two bolts of green energy connecting with Skulker's face, with explosive force. Skulker roared, while Specter blurred into motion, firing at the four ghosts as she went. Technus screamed in rage, his home invaded and his invention damaged, and he fused himself with his humble abode, turning it against the intruder. At the same time, Skulker deployed his weapons, taking aim at the skilled ghost hunter. Ember launched a destructive sound wave at her, which Specter skillfully dodged. While the vampiric shade shifted into her true form, blending into the shadows, and sneaking up on her.

But she wouldn't get far as, with an enraged battle cry, Jazz phased through the wall in the Specter Speeder, flattening Spectra against the large viewport.

"Eeww," Jazz said with a shudder as she saw the shadow ghost sticking to the glass, and she activated the windshield wipers to get her off of it. But that only resulted in her getting smeared out across the window, and Spectra now looked more like an ink stain with green eyes, than the parasitic specter she truly was.

Unable to see through the viewport, Jazz rushed out of the vehicle with blasters drawn. She let loose a fierce battle cry as she jumped into the fray, shooting at everything in sight. Which, due to her lack of training, consisted mostly of the floor, walls, and the ceiling. Which, since Technus had possessed his technology based house, did more damage than she would have expected had she been in a more rational state of mind.

As it was, though, she rampaged through the scene like an elephant in a porcelain store, blindfolded, while going through a sugar rush, on rollerblades. Most of her shots went wild, hitting the possessed walls, and thus causing Technus a great deal of discomfort, making the house shake and groan in response to his grunts and groans. Skulker and Specter, however, looked at her, unimpressed. Skulker with a flat, annoyed look, Specter with a hand firmly placed against her helmeted face.

"Does she even know what she's doing?" Skulker muttered.

"Do you even need to ask?" Specter replied, hand still against her face, before she lifted her other arm sideways, blaster in hand, and shot the cybernetic hunting fanatic point blank in the face.

Ember, seeing her boyfriend get shot, flipped her guitar around in a rage, and swung it at Specter like a battle axe. Specter tried to dodge, but Ember still managed to score a hit against her leg, and she went down in a tumble. She quickly rolled onto her back, pointing both blasters up at the ghost of rock 'n' roll past, squeezing the triggers, and letting fly a salvo of green bolts.

Ember faded away into thin air, moving in for the kill, but sadly forgetting about Specter's helmet scanner, and the ghost hunter adjusted her aim to the right, before squeezing the triggers. Time seemed to slow down as she watched the two concentrated bolts of glowing green erupt from her blasters, flying in slow motion to the spot where her scanner told her to aim, and seeing Ember fading back into view. Already busy preparing her own attack, and not yet fully registering the green balls of doom suddenly flying towards her, Ember fully materialized, and was only able to look shocked, when the two bolts hit her in the stomach.

Time snapped back to normal again, as Ember toppled forward gripping her stomach, momentarily disabled, and Specter quickly got back up. Feeling a painful throb coming from her leg, but ignoring it, she moved to the downed ghost, clubbing her on the head with one of her blasters, knocking her out.

"That's one," she said, then turned to check on Jazz when a whirr drew her attention, and she saw a large glowing green cannon drop from the ceiling.

"You've got to be kidding me!" She shouted as she somersaulted out of the cannon's crosshairs, knowing Technus was at the trigger.

Blurring into motion, she zigzagged to throw off his aim, making him hit the walls and floor on multiple occasions, effectively tricking him into fighting himself.

Specter smirked as she realized what was happening, and knew it would make it easier for her to move around, as she knew Technus would not risk just shooting around like that anymore. Her smirk grew into a feral grin as she ran past the flattened, smeared out Spectra, who was still being wiped by the windshield wipers.

"Two down, for now," she counted, heading towards Jazz, who now had an angry hunter after her.

Jazz, inexpertly jumping from cover to cover, fired at Skulker with her blasters, finally hitting him, if only because he was closing in on her. Skulker, looking less than impressed, stepped within reach, ignoring the hits he sustained, and swatted the weapons out of her hands. Then, grabbing her by the wrist with his large metallic hand, he lifted her up.

Specter saw this, and surged into motion to help the struggling woman. But she was stopped by Technus, who finally wised up, and removed himself from his house. Only to possess multiple devices lying around, forming a robotic body for himself, now standing at twice her height.

Looking up into the green glowing screens that acted as his eyes, Valerie could only roll her eyes as she grabbed a ghost grenade, sizing him up.

"Seriously? Are you overcompensating for something?" She taunted, and primed the spectral explosive.

Dropping it at her feet, she rolled away, while Technus looked dumbly at the beeping device at his feet. Then, it blew up, and he was forced out of his robotic creation by the expanding ghost shield, which also blinded him. And, with a scream, he slammed into the wall of his home, dropping to the ground.

Meanwhile, Jazz, having seen Valerie use her grenade, was reminded of the one she had herself, and she quickly grabbed it with her free hand. Activating it, and dropping it on the ground, it rolled away between Skulker's legs, coming to a stop a meter behind him, while Skulker looked at the device with a defeated look.

"Oh, come o—" He began, when the grenade went off. The flash blinding him and Jazz, while the ghost shield it produced launched him away, separating his true, pint sized self from his ecto skeleton. However, without him at the controls of his suit, the hand holding Jazz locked up, and she was flung along with it.

Jazz crashed into the wall along with the armor and the massive weight, along with the awkward angle, resulted in her hearing and feeling a sickening snap, and she screamed in pain as her wrist broke.

Specter, having seen what happened rushed to her friend, only to be stopped, again. This time by the rising shadow known as Spectra.

"So, done window shopping?" Specter taunted, and Spectra snarled in response. "Well, seems like the ugly hasn't been wiped off of that face of yours," Specter continued, and Spectra launched herself at her human foe.

Jazz, whimpering as she tried to free her wrist, glanced at the fight between Valerie and Spectra. However, she couldn't focus on that, as she had to free herself. Should Skulker return to his armor, and find her still there… Well, he would be quick to share his displeasure.

She continued struggling to free herself, unfortunately with little success. But her pained sounds drew the attention of yet another creature there, and he struggled to get to her, still too shell shocked with everything that had happened.

"Soarin," Jazz said, shocked as she looked at him, seeing the haunted look in his eyes.

He didn't look up at her, and sluggishly moved himself towards the trapped woman. Placing his hooves on the locked metallic hand, he used his greater than human strength to pry open the metal trap enough for Jazz to pull her hand free, releasing a grunt of pain as she accidentally moved her hand.

Looking at Soarin as he sat next to her, seeing the same detached gaze he showed when he first came to her. She realized that the events that happened here were clearly working in on the trauma he had gone through in the past.

Jazz looked up at Valerie, seeing her nimbly fighting off Spectra when a small, almost comically so, groan drew her and Soarin's attention. They both watched as a small green blob like creature stomped over to them, glaring up at them from his diminutive height.

"You," Jazz growled as she looked down at the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter. "How dare you!"

"How dare I? I am Skulker! The Ghost Zone's greatest hunter!" Skulker replied in a squeaky voice.

"You…" Soarin begun, looking down at the small green ghost with anger and disgust. "YOU ARE THE ONE WHO DID ALL… THAT!"

"Yeah, what's it to y—" Skulker replied, when he suddenly found himself flattened by a hoof, which pounded down on him again and again and again and again and… Well, you get the idea.

"Soarin," Jazz said calmly as she placed her good hand on his withers. "I think you got him," and she led him away towards the vehicle she and Valerie had come in, leaving behind a small puddle of green goop, two small arms and legs sticking out on the sides.

Soarin, breathing heavily, followed her lead as he gritted his teeth.

All this time. All that time. It had been… that thing the entire time. That small, insignificant thing. That small, insignificant thing that killed…

Jazz could feel him shaking through her hand, and she knew Soarin was not taking it well. How could he? But right now they all needed to get back to safety. Or, looking at Valerie, who was laughing maniacally as she fought both Spectra and Ember at once, clearly in her element, the two of them at least needed to get to a safer place.

Entering the craft, Jazz closed the door behind her, and rushed to the controls, using her one good hand to back out of the building and put a safe distance between it, and them.

Looking at the strange and creepily shaped building, Jazz turned away from it with a shudder, focusing her attention on Soarin, still sitting in the aft compartment.

Moving next to him, she sat down with a sigh, wrapping her uninjured arm around him as she pulled him close, staring at the same spot on the wall he was.

"How are you holding up?" She asked after a moment of silence, feeling him tense up. Sighing, Jazz laid her head against his neck. "You know you can always talk to me when you need someone to listen."

"... All this time…" Soarin said quietly, his gaze dropping down to the floor. "All this time, it was that thing! That small, STUPID, LAUGHABLE THING!" he suddenly roared, slamming a hoof into the metal floor, leaving a dent. "I… He… It… You," he stuttered, before he turned to Jazz. "You came for me," he said, his voice breaking.

"Always," Jazz replied, brushing her hand against his face, and Soarin leaned against her.

"But… But why?... How…?" He stuttered after a moment, the situation finally sinking in in full.

Jazz hesitated for a moment, realizing that she would have to explain some… difficult things to him. But, before she had the chance, a loud explosion took them by surprise. Soarin, who was already at the end of his nerves, jumped up with a girlish scream, while Jazz jerked herself around to the viewport, jarring her broken wrist, and flinching in pain.

"WHAT… WHAT WAS THAT!?" Soarin screamed , looking around in fright.

A trio of knocks coming from outside their craft turned their attention to the closed hatch. Jazz, drawing her blaster, moved to the control panel to open said hatch, while Soarin looked at her in disbelief, seeing the woman he loved, the woman he knew could never hurt anyone, key open the hatch, aiming the blaster at whoever it was that knocked.

He was more than a little confused, and realized his previous question had gone unanswered as well. And, after taking another good look at the woman he thought he knew, he noticed something else as well. Mainly, the skin tight, black suit she was wearing, showing off her curves, and leaving very little to the imagination.

Somehow, his earlier questions didn't seem to matter as much right now. But when Jazz lowered her weapon, and allowed another human inside, he found that not only had those questions returned, but they had brought along some friends that made him wonder if he ever truly knew Jazz.

"Specter," Jazz said with a small smirk, looking back at Technus's home, seeing a large smoking hole in one of the walls. "Subtle as always."

"Heh, you know me," Specter replied, her voice warped by her helmet speakers. "Never going out without a bang." She then turned to the confused and bewildered pony sitting behind Jazz, cocking her head in thought. "You know you've got some questions to answer, don't ya?" She told Jazz, who gave Soarin an unsure look.

Sighing, she nodded. "I know. Never thought it would happen like this, though," she said, moving to sit down next to Soarin again, when another pained wince flashed across her face as she accidentally moved her wrist.

Seeing this, Specter grabbed Jazz by the shoulder, guiding her to a nearby seat, and sitting her down. Looking at the wrist, and having little medical knowledge, save for what she had learned from patching herself up, she looked up at Jazz's face, who could see herself in the toxic green visor's reflection.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, this is gonna hurt a bit," Specter told her, and she quickly realigned the broken bone, resulting in Jazz screaming out in pain. Specter then opened a hidden storage compartment in her suit, pulling out a small can of self hardening foam. Spraying it over Jazz's wrist, it quickly began to foam up, becoming rigid and solid.

"There, that should hold until you can get to a doctor," Specter informed her, then looked at Soarin.

Sighing, she looked back to Jazz, and stood up, moving to the craft's controls.

"You do what you've got to do," she said. "And I'll handle the trip back."

Jazz gave a nod of acknowledgement, and moved towards Soarin, who was looking from Specter to Jazz in confusion.

Sitting down next to him, Jazz let loose a deep, tired sigh. The events having caught up with her, and her energy drained.

"Soarin," she began.

"Jazz," he started.

""We need to talk.""

Author's Note:

Okay, as stated above, this has taken a long, long time indeed. For complaints, let me redirect you to the customer complaint guy.

So, with that taken care off.

I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, and are eager for the next one. Also, as usual. Let me know about any mistakes. What could be better. What you thought was funny. Or just some random comment. Also. Somewhere in here is the 300 000th word. Can you find it? I'd like to know which it is...

-Powerdrainer.

Comments

[Vates Despero]

Somewhere in here is the 300 000th word. Can you find it? I'd like to know which it is...

OK.

"Well, considering what Tucker told us, about the ponies' energy and such, I think it's somewhat important," Specter countered, peeking around a corner, seeing a flight of stairs going down.

It's the red 'a'.

[Alchemo Arrow]

So it's time for the Crystal Empire to return? That should be interesting.

[Mountainmanmad]

Out of curiosity, how often do you update your stories?

[Powerdrainer]

5341523 I have no good answer for that one. I work on multiple chapters at a time, plus the time my editors need to fix the mistakes I've made. Although this time things took much, much longer than normal. I try to keep the time in between chapters to a minimum, but I can't give any guarantees for how long it takes.

[Mountainmanmad]

5341540
As good of an answer I expected to get! The chapter was longer then normal as well so I figured that was the reason for the delay. Don't worry about setting a time limit for yourself, it can only hurt your writing.

[ArcaneVisions]

I'm not gonna lie, I liked the chapter but I kind of just browse any text that isn't Danny or dani. The other stuff can just be behind the scene stuff that I Guess ill eventually see at the forefront.

[Warrior Kitten]

Meet the Princesses. Part 1. · 4th Dec 2014 21,164

Deities Above! Hm, should I spend my time reading this now, (11:33 pm) or wait till I wake up?

Decisions, decisions.

[Powerdrainer]

5344021 31.media.tumblr.com/6e03f673ba78184eaa4ab8183f019716/tumblr_inline_n5gmmdx9V11rjf3sr.jpg

[Powerdrainer]

5341723 Actually, the reason for the delay would be my editor. Although this chapter was completely edited and ready to be published for quite some time, it had to wait for the chapter of Silver Spirit due to the overlapping of the chapters. Things happened in this chapter that are important in SS, and vice versa. However, my editor, Vates Despero was taking a long, long, LOOOOONG time with the edits of the chapter of SS. If not, these chapters could have been published a month ago or something.

[AtTheCrimsonFckr]

5341540
[sie=22]"WHAT… WHAT WAS THAT!?"
"WHAT… WHAT WAS THAT!?"

[littlewashu45]

That's was a really good chapter and a really good read. I can't wait for the next chapter. :D

[Warrior Kitten]

[sie=22]"WHAT… WHAT WAS THAT!?" Soarin screamed , looking around in fright.

'nuff said

[Warrior Kitten]

5346437
Incorrect. It would be [size=22]"WHAT… WHAT WAS THAT!?"

[AtTheCrimsonFckr]

5347349 yeah I know how how did you keep it from sizing up

[Warrior Kitten]

5347690
I put a command in the command. Like this [si[b][/b]ze=22]see?

[MidnightSun]

Hmmm, but that small teaser Soarin left, is a certain captain of a certain aerobatics flight team dead? Or is it somepony else completely?

[Powerdrainer]

5346437 Thanks for informing me about that.

[Borderline Valley]

As interesting as this story is, I find it hard to read.

The formatting is a change of pace that doesn't really bother me once I get into it, but that's the most minor bump in the road. The fact that you split everything up into so many sections lets you hand me something like 8-10 cliffhangers in a single chapter, only some of which get resolved by the end of it all. It's really kind of frustrating. It leaves me feeling like not much happened over the course of 211 hundred words.

There's some good tension, but the fact that you're telling so many parallel stories in the same fic like this means that the tension seems to last forever. If you only ever stuck to one perspective it feels like the story would be over already, and I find myself begging for simple progressions and advancements. I'm not sure if this can be fixed, or even should be fixed, or what, but it makes it hard to read for me.

Rather than something like: Event 1, Event 2, Event 3.
I'm getting: S1 Event 1, S2 Event 1, S1 Event 2, S3 Event 1, S2 Event 2, S3 Event 2, S2 Event 3, S3 Event 3, S1 Event 3.
Roughly the same story, but many times the amount of words to read in order to get through it.

Specifically, while the adventures and trials of Danny's old friends & family are interesting and relevant, I'm here to see what happens to Danny and it's taking a long time for rather little to happen to him. It's somewhat frustrating.

[ty2manie]

Argh! Am I going to wait another 4 months? I hope not. It's great story, but after whole 4 5 MONTHS, I can hardly remember what happened before. :( But, as i said before, awesome story. :)

Sorry for my english, it's not my native language and i'm 13 yrs old :P

[AtTheCrimsonFckr]

5347740 Oh thanks.

[Powerdrainer]

5349025 I certainly hope not. I work on the chapters as much and as fast as I can, but even then I do not know how things might turn out. The next chapter for GoaP is well under way, but it needs some more time to shape into something I am happy with. The next chapter for SS is still sitting, though, as I am trying to break through a particularly nasty block I am dealing with with the Baltimare Incident's next chapter. I know what I want to do, but I find it impossible to put it on paper. So I am also working on some other small things to try to break through that obstacle and get things back on track.

[ty2manie]

5350751
Oh, I know that feeling, bro :/ I mean, I don't write any fics, but I have it in drawing... Well, keep up the good work

[Powerdrainer]

5355212 25.media.tumblr.com/aaea2dc1579e7755eee433b35551b53a/tumblr_mhwwlrRpwl1s0sz7go2_1280.png

[Vates Despero]

5348061 ... When did you even do that? It wasn't in there when you first sent it to me... which is when I checked all the formatting. Ahh, ok, revision record says that was added five days after the formatting check. That's how I missed it. Note to self, do a final formatting check after editing.

[nightmaster0]

Great chapter.

[candyman20XX]

I suppose if this story updated, that means the sister story has finally caught up?

I would assume that this means that we may see a faster update for next chapter, can't wait for more!

[Raistlin]

Just a question: why did Sam give up on Danny? Being in a relationship with a ghost shouldn´t be a problem for him.

[Powerdrainer]

5385007 I never said she gave up on him. Then again. they have not been put in a situation where they could come together... much. Sure, there are still feelings between those two. But, despite the two of them meeting, only Sam remembers. And even then the situation they found themselves in when they met was less than ideal for anything to happen. And then, of course, there is still the untold story I am still working on. After all, she is currently working with Clockwork to save Danny from certain doom.

So, in short. I never said she gave up on him. But, I also didn't say they would end up together. Nor am I denying it. There are still a lot of things going to happen, both with Danny and Sam, as well as the ponies. Lots and lots of ponies. So, you will just have to wait and see what's going to happen.

[NobleValor]

So, Danny met the parents and Cadance. I'm still uncertain if I should have sympathy for his plight or if I should be amused at his misfortune.

[Powerdrainer]

5407925
31.media.tumblr.com/6e03f673ba78184eaa4ab8183f019716/tumblr_inline_n5gmmdx9V11rjf3sr.jpg

[NobleValor]

5407962 Touché.

[shapeshiftingpedro]

If Twilight keeps carrying Danny around like that, people are going to start thinking that he's a ghost what with him floating around so much.

[King of Kings]

More punch, and with a strange aftertaste

You've been roofied Danny! Drugged, taken advantage of, unwillingly inebriated...check to make sure Twilight's not there!

[King of Kings]

"I don't think so, doc. You're st—" Valerie countered, when she was interrupted once more. Not by words, but by a cold, harsh stare which held the burning fury of a thousand suns.

Come on, Valerie! You should know better than to argue with anyone with the word Doctor in their title! Especially when someone that they care about is in danger!

[King of Kings]

"The're here.

This should be "They're here.

[astromormy]

Noooo, my hopes for DannyXLuna are dwindling.

[Zubric]

"Okay, you two. I got things going up here, and the ghost portal room should be cleared in a few more moments. Valerie. Use the large green button on the console to open the way to the portal room, things should explain themselves from there. Good luck," Tucker's voice informed them over the comms, and with another 'click' he cut off the transmission.

I’m getting a head Stargate Vibs here. That’s a mention that they’re basically flying what is the equivalent of a puddle jumper

[Yoshifu101]

Heya Heya!

Before I begin my rant, I wanted to say that I’m kinda new to your story and that this is the type of Danny Phantom crossover I’ve been looking for! Especially since it’s kinda hard to find a decent Danny crossover of any kind without it being filled with only the over the top angst and darkness.

Ok, I know I’m pretty late (over 7 years but who’s counting) but I wanted to get something off my chest before continuing to read the rest. But no matter what I say next I really like this story and I’m going to keep reading anyways. I hope you don’t think I hate this story or anything like that…

Ok…
I uh feel really disturbed by Twilight’s and Danny’s relationship and how it’s developing. Don’t get me wrong, the idea of them being together is pretty cute. But the way they are both being emotionally manipulated by outside forces like NMM and Cadance makes it feel forced and unnatural. I don’t know if it’s just me but that level of emotional manipulation terrifies me to my very core…

If that ever happened to me and I found out, I would probably move away to a log cabin in the woods and probably be scarred for life. I don’t think I would even wish that kind of emotional turmoil on my most hated enemies. But based on the comments and the Romance tag for the story, I have a pretty good feeling the Danny/Twilight pairing is a set in stone plot point that isn’t going to change anytime soon…

I guess what I’m trying to say here is that I really hope what I fear doesn’t come to pass to our beloved heroes. Danny definitely deserves better than that. Poor ghosty.

---

Ok, with that outa the way…
*gives complaint to box ghost*
Back to binge reading this story!