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// The Box Ghost's Attack 
// Story: The Mishaps of the Equestrian Portal 
// by JuneLuxray2 
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	The rest of Saturday had not produced any ghosts yet in Equestria. The next day Rainbow Dash asked Danny and Maddie to come help create a rainstorm for Ponyville; the pegasi in town needed help again. Danny had spent the entire time being fidgety and nervous and always glancing around. The boy did his work quietly and moved rain clouds into a giant clump with his mother.

Maddie eventually could no longer ignore it. "Danny, what's wrong?" she asked as she pressed a cloud up further. She passed it to Danny, who moved it to where Rainbow Dash gestured. He groaned.

"Mom, the portal doesn't have any sort of door to close it and a lock won't be put in place for a week! What if a ghost attacks? How am I going to balance both Earth and Equestria? I can't even duplicate right!"

Rainbow Dash frowned at him. "Danny, we ponies can handle it. We're tough. You're gonna worry yourself sick if you don't calm down. What could happen?" she said, leaning against a cloud idly. Of course, just seconds after she spoke Danny gasped and a blue puff came out of his mouth.

The two other pegasi stared at him for a second and then Rainbow pushed a cloud up to him. "Get in, get in." she said. Danny darted into the cloud while Rainbow and Maddie leaned against it, acting casual. A flash surrounded the cloud and he popped out of it. He sat on it, scanning the town for the ghost.

Screaming reached his ears and turned to the northern portion of Ponyville to see boxes of all sorts flying. He groaned. "Oh, are you kidding me?"

"Box Ghost again? Oh yeah, I'm scared now." Rainbow remarked sarcastically. Danny took off and headed for the site of the ghost attack. Ponies of all sorts were running around, not sure where to hide. An earth pony ghost with a box cutie mark was laughing as he phased out of the ground.

"I AM THE BOX GHOST PONY...AGAIN! And I WILL scare the masses of ponies here!"

Danny flew up to him, scowling. "You again? Always. All the time. Can't you just get into the thermos already and be done?"

"Never! For I am the Box Ghost! And I-" He was cut off as Danny raised a hoof and froze him. He then popped open the thermos and captured him swiftly. The pegasus let out a sigh and then paused; murmurs surrounded him. Danny looked around himself; this part of town was a mess. Boxes and all their contents had been spilled and frazzled pegasi feathers were here and there that had been dropped in the frenzy by frightened ponies.

It was not that that caught his attention. It was the fact that everypony was staring at him. Unlike in Amity Park when he had first been made public, nopony was screaming. The brave ones were coming out of their hiding spots and were staring at him in awe. The ghostly pegasus stared at them for a bit longer before fading out of view and fleeing.

Seconds later the cloud that his mother and Rainbow were by flashed again and Danny popped out. He gasped. "How many saw?"

"What, you transform? Just us two, but we already knew." Rainbow replied. He shook his head.

"No, no, how many civilians saw me? As a ghost."

Maddie frowned. "Well, you kind of froze up. It's not really your fault, sweetie."

"Yeah it is. I could've been much more cautious!"

"Whatever. We'll talk about this when the rainstorm's ready," Rainbow Dash said, "We need a few more clouds and then we're good."

They finished up the work and, with Rainbow, began to jump up and down on some of the clouds. The clouds only needed the small push before they began to pour. Rainbow thanked them and Danny said he just wanted to go home. So he and his mother returned from weather duty to their home. They were going to go back to Amity Park through the portal right away, but the Cutie Mark Crusaders had interrupted. The fillies had been waiting for Danny to return, and as soon as they did, they surrounded him, happily chattering.

"That was so awesome!"

"You should've seen the way you got the ghost!"

"This sort of thing needs to happen way more often! Can we help next time?"

Danny raised a hoof. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, girls, remember, secret identity." he said. The girls shushed and nodded proudly over the fact they were in on such a secret. Danny frowned. "How many ponies saw me?"

"Everypony!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, "Some ponies snapped photos of you, I mean, um, the ghost pony while he was beating the ghost!"

"Yeah, you're, I mean, um, the ghost colt, is like the town's new Mysterious Mare Do Well! Can we please be...I mean, do you think he might let three little fillies help him? We could be the Cutie Mark Crusader Ghost Hunters!" Scootaloo exclaimed.

"YAY!" they all shouted. Danny grimaced.

"Oh...this is so not good." he muttered. Sweetie Belle gave him an incredulous look.

"Why? I mean, you're a..." She stopped herself from using the word 'superhero.' "The Ghost Colt, as they're all calling him, is getting good attention for stopping the ghost. Why wouldn't, um, he want that sort of attention?"

"Because, girls," Danny said tiredly, "he really doesn't want attention. He was kind of hoping nopony here would know about...him."

The crusaders all simultaneously let out a chorus of "Oh,'" finally understanding. Their ears flopped down. "We're mighty sorry about what happened," Apple Bloom said, "but now that it's out in the open, can hunt ghosts with...him?"

Maddie cut in this time. "Well, what would your sister say, Apple Bloom?"

Apple Bloom sighed. "'Of course not, not in a million years.'"

"And your sister, Sweetie Belle?"

Sweetie Belle looked away. "'Good heavens, Sweetie Belle! You could get hurt doing that! Leave that to Danny and his parents.'"

"Scootaloo, I'm sure if your family knew, they'd disapprove of the idea. It's much too dangerous, girls, and it's a lot of work. You know, I don't think I got my cutie mark until I was about fourteen. Of course, I'm a you-know-what, so I don't know for sure. But I remember at fifteen figuring out what I wanted to do." Maddie said, "You girls still have all the time in the world. I have seen things you're all good at, but it's up to you to discover them."

"But we're tired of waiting for our cutie marks!" Apple Bloom complained. "Featherweight got his cutie mark before we did! Do you know how sad that is?"

"Girls, your frustration is well understood, but patience is the key. It will reveal itself with time, just like my son's, ah...issue."

"Hey!" Danny protested. The crusaders nodded, a little bummed. Danny finally sighed and gave in. "If you're good, he may find time to show you a ghost trick or two. Not hunting; maybe a few powers."

All gasped with glee. "Really?" they all said. Danny smiled slightly.

"Sure. Not any dangerous ones. Just safe ones like spectral manipulation and invisibility and stuff."

"We don't care! Awesome!" Scootaloo said. "When, when, when?"

Danny wracked his mind. Not only did he have to help make sure the portal got closed up, he also had to start studying for finals. With luck, he'd be done in a few weeks, when summer ended. "I dunno. We'll get around to it. I...he has finals and stuff to take care of, and then he goes on summer break."

The girls gave disappointed groans but agreed and left. Danny and his mother headed home. Danny felt his heart sink as he thought further. Danny Phantom was out in the Equestrian public.