//------------------------------// // Heavy In Your Arms (Equestria's Darkest Hour II) // Story: The Phantom of Canterlot High // by Lucky Seven //------------------------------// Ghost Zone Sunset peered out of the Specter Speeder’s window, her face pressed up against the glass as she looked at the vast expanse of the Ghost Zone. Her eyes sparkled at the dazzling sight. Neon green swirls of ghostly energy lit up a sky that stretched like an endless void. Several islands floated across the vast nothingness, and Sunset’s eyes widened. “This place looks amazing.” “Yeah, looks,” Danny replied. “But trust me, you don’t want to run into some of the ghosts that call this place home. In fact, you’d be lucky to run into one that doesn’t want to kill you.” Sunset gulped, taking a moment to look back at the group. “What do ghosts have against humans? You and Ember make it sound like they hate anyone that isn’t a ghost.” “Don’t worry,” Tucker said, “That’s not how it is at all.” Sunset let out a sigh of relief. A relief that was immediately stamped out of existence by Sam’s quick follow-up. “Yeah, they hate each other, too.” “Uh, are all of these ghosts just fueled with nothing but rage and evil?” Sunset asked, concerned with the answer she might receive. A single green ghost passed by the Specter Speeder, and she leaned away from the window. Maybe this trip wasn’t the best idea after all. Danny nodded. “Most of the ones we know? Yes. But I guess there are a few that are more an annoyance than an actual threat.” “Like Klemper,” Tucker laughed. “I thought he was gonna hug you to death the last time we saw him.” “Ugh, don’t remind me. I’m pretty sure my ribs are still bruised,” Danny groaned, annoyed at the mere thought of the friend-seeking ghost. Images of all the ghosts he had battled flashed through his mind, until he eventually settled on a ghost so weak and insignificant that not even Sunset would be afraid of him. “And let’s not forget the Box Ghost, oooooh!” “The… Box Ghost?” Sunset repeated the name. “What does he do?” “Exactly what it sounds like,” Sam answered. “He literally uses his mind to throw around cardboard boxes, calls himself the Box Ghost, and always loses.” “Well, hopefully we run into plenty of Box Ghosts, then,” said Sunset, peering out the window once more into the neverending green expanse of the Ghost Zone. As she watched what felt like an endless stream of ghosts zip and zoom around the void, she wondered how many of them were--or, in this case, not--as dangerous as this Box Ghost they talked about.  Her attention was once more drawn back to her companions as a high-pitched beeping began emanating from the cockpit’s control panel. She watched as Tucker finagled with the many buttons at his disposal. After a moment, she watched in awe as some of the metal above him retracted, allowing a small screen to slowly extend downwards. The windshield, which took up most of her field of vision, was suddenly covered up by a sheet of metal extending from the floor. “Huh, that’s new,” Sam commented. “Yeah, I figured I would make some modifications to the Specter Speeder after that whole disasteroid incident,” Tucker said, clicking away at a couple more buttons. With one final press of his finger, the alarm that had been buzzing in their ears stopped. “Fully armored shield plating, as well as a screen for us to see through.” “What the heck was that for, anyway?” Sunset asked, panic seeping into her voice. “Did something happen? We’re not gonna die out here, are we?”  Tucker studied the screen for a moment, his eyes scanning over the message. Thankfully, he didn’t appear to seem overly concerned. “It looks like an anomaly was detected just ahead of us. The ship deployed its defense system as a precaution.” Danny’s eyebrow rose, and he finally saw fit to re-enter the conversation. “What sort of anomaly? Are we talking some sort of huge ghost or…?” “I don’t know,” Tucker replied, shrugging. “And even if I did, that’s not our concern right now. We need to find out who, or what, was tampering with the entrance to the Ghost Zone.” “Speaking of that, where are all the ghosts anyways?” Sam asked, pointing at the screen. The other three were quick to huddle around the tiny monitor, jockeying for a good view. Sure enough, she was right. All they could see through it was an endless skyline. “Weird. I swear I saw a few out there just a minute ago,” Sunset said, pointing a thumb out through the window. However, even in the spot where she saw ghosts meandering about, there was only empty space and green ghostly energy. “Where did they all go?”  “Well I’m pretty sure I found our anomaly,” Tucker announced, drawing their attention back to the viewing screen. “It looks like there’s a huge mass of ghosts huddled up in one spot just ahead.” When they all looked up toward the center point for all the gathering ghosts, a grand tower stretched into the dark green sky, gears ticking around said tower like metallic clouds. It was Danny who broke the silence with a dreaded, “Well, this can’t be good.”  “Well, that’s a surprise,” Sunset grumbled, her fingers rubbing down her temples. “A bunch of creepy ghosts huddled by one dark, creepy tower. When would that ever lead to anything good?”  “All the more reason to check it out,” said Tucker, adjusting the Speeder’s pace and directing it toward the looming tower. The crowd of ghosts expanded out to the very edge of the small island. “Think you can give us some of that wicked intangibility to skip the line, Danny?”  “Gladly,” Danny said with an equally wicked smirk.  When Danny pressed his palms against the control panel, Sunset watched with a curious look. With an abrupt grunt, he disappeared before her eyes, and the invisibility spread like liquid across the entirety of the ship. After a few moments, the ship came back into view, but everything looked… faded. Sunset looked down at herself and gasped. She waved an invisible but not invisible hand in front of her face.  “Whoa, cool, so you can make things this big disappear, too!”  “That’s nothing,” Tucker commented. “He and all the other ghosts worked together to make the entire planet intangible once so that an asteroid wouldn’t destroy it.” “Whoa,” was all Sunset could manage. “Glad I picked the right ghost to be friends with; you know, the one that’s not evil.” “Well, I wouldn’t say all ghosts are evil. Mostly the ones with a grudge of some sort, which is, well, most of ‘em.” Danny chuckled awkwardly.  With the Specter Speeder now intangible, the vehicle phased through the crowd with ease. Despite being invisible, that didn’t rid them of hearing, which allowed them to catch the upset noises coming from the various ghosts surrounding the island. The group drove straight inside Clockwork’s tower, and Tucker slowly landed the speeder. Once Danny released his hands from the panel, everyone returned to their visible forms in a blink.  “Alright, guys,” said Danny, “let’s look for Clockwork.” Tucker nodded, pushing a button and unbuckling himself. The door to the Specter Speeder opened, and he shot up from his seat. “And, make sure you stick close to us,” he said to Sunset, who nodded in return.  The group unloaded out of their ship, and Sunset couldn’t help but look around the citadel as they walked. “Wow, there uh, there sure are a lot of clocks in here.” “I mean, his name is Clockwork,” Danny chuckled. “I’m guessing it comes with the job description.” “All these clocks, and yet… no Clockwork,” Tucker noted. “Those ghosts outside seemed pretty angry. Do you think he’s hiding? Or worse?” “Clockwork? No way!” Danny exclaimed without hesitation. “There’s no way any of those ghosts outside could even lay a finger on him. After all, he knows everything.” “Everything?” Sunset asked as she scanned the interior of the grandfather clock-esque tower. She stared up at the multitude of clocks hanging in midair, becoming lost in the hypnotic tick-tocks ringing in the air.  “Yo, you good?” Sam asked. Sunset shook her head, finally managing to break free of the trance she’d found herself in. “Y-yeah sorry,” she called back, falling back into line with the group. “Just a little overwhelmed. I’ve never seen a place like this before. Is this Clockwork guy a good ghost, or is he one of the bad ones you mentioned earlier?” “He’s… honestly, it’s hard to really say,” Danny answered. “I want to say he’s gotten me out of a jam once or twice, but he just says it’s part of the gig.” “I would say being the master of time is more than ‘a gig’,” a voice rang out from above, one that Danny recognized all too well, “although helping you has grown to be an all-too-common occurrence.”  “Clockwork?” Danny called out, looking around for any sign of the time-manipulating ghost. With a flash of light, the man in question popped into existence in front of the foursome. “Dude, what is going on out there?” “I’ve been expecting you and your friends, Danny,” Clockwork replied, and in the blink of an eye, the elderly ghost transformed into a small child, and thereafter, a full-grown man. Sunset blinked at the display in awe, overwhelmed with a sudden abundance of questions, but Clockwork quickly cut off any chance she had to do so. “Come with me, we have an important matter to discuss.” Floating over to a large pair of double doors, Clockwork waved his arms outwards, the doors mimicking the movement and slowly creaking open.  All the while, Sunset continued watching him change forms with interest and amusement. “Do you always change ages while you talk?” Clockwork turned to Sunset with a sly grin. “Yes.”  “Why’s that?” There was a pause. “Because it’s fun.” The room they entered was even more marvelous looking than the rest of the tower. Sunset was enraptured by the sight of patterned gears and high arches, taking in her surroundings slowly, lest they overwhelm her. What truly grabbed her attention were the numerous phantasmal viewing screens plastered throughout the room. They appeared to be glimpses into different worlds. On one of them, she spied what looked to be Danny’s home. Eventually though, she found herself staring at one world in particular. Clockwork floated next to her. “Seem familiar?” “That’s… Canterlot High,” Sunset said. She looked up at Clockwork and gave him an incredulous look. This couldn’t be real… right? Rubbing her eyes, she turned her attention back to the screen. It was definitely real. “But—” “How?” he finished for her, and she nodded. “Think of this room as an observatory. Not of the stars, or even the heavens, but of every world attached to this one.” “Hold on,” Tucker interjected, “I thought the Ghost Zone was only connected to Earth. How the heck can you see her world, too?” Clockwork pointed up, another window allowing them to peek at the real world appearing above him. “Watch, and see how your choices can have an impact not just on your world, but others.” The four stared intently at the image he was displaying. In it, they could see what looked like… “Tucker?” Danny said, eyebrow raising. There he was, piloting the Specter Speeder, with… “Sam? What is this?” That question was answered as the foursome watched the Tucker and Sam of the past rip open a portal in front of the ship. When they phased through the portal, they appeared in a familiar high school, and a burst of memories made Sunset gasp. “This is when they came to get you back from Equestria!” “Yes,” Clockwork confirmed. With a snap of his fingers, the presentation paused. “However, you four are only familiar with this half of the story,” he continued. With another snap, the playback continued; this time from a different perspective. It didn’t really appear to be focused on anything in particular, only a patch of what could best be described as the sky in the Ghost Zone. Suddenly, a sound akin to fabric being torn was heard. The once-pristine black and green view was quite literally ripped open, as reality itself seemed to tear apart. Through the zig-zagging hole, the four could see that same image of Tucker and Sam arriving at Canterlot High School. “I don’t understand,” Sunset said, walking closer to Clockwork. “What does my high school have to do with this Ghost Zone?” “I think I know,” Danny spoke up. “When you two modified the Fenton Portal to travel to Sunset’s world, you must have ripped open a hole in reality itself.” Clockwork nodded. “Precisely. And now your world,” he said, pointing to Sunset, “is experiencing the worst kind of leak one can.” Sunset’s eyes widened as the gravity of the situation suddenly became clear to her. “A ghost leak.” “So that’s why Earth has been so quiet!” Tucker exclaimed with a snap of his fingers. “After all, why go to Earth and get your butt kicked by Danny when you can go to a world that’s never dealt with a ghost infestation?” Danny walked up, taking a place next to Sunset. As the video began to shift once more, it was his turn to be surprised. “... Is that?” “I believe you’ve had a run-in with Spectra before.” Clockwork pointed to the woman on the screen. That wasn’t what had Danny’s attention, however. “It looks like she’s been through the ringer,” Danny observed. The room around her was ransacked, papers and school supplies scattered haphazardly across the floor. Bruises covered the ghostly counselor’s body, her eyes fallen shut. In the corner of the screen, a pair of feet walked into focus, the owner of them standing over Spectra. “Someone’s in the room with her.” “Yeah, but who?” Sunset asked. “Could it be another ghost?” “I’m not sure,” Danny said as the video panned up, revealing what looked to be just an average high schooler. “It’s just a student?” “Come now, Danny,” Clockwork said, pausing the video on a frame revealing the student’s face. “Look closer.” Danny wasn’t sure what Clockwork meant by that, but he focused intently on the figure looming over Spectra. Their view zoomed out, and the boy on screen delivered a swift kick to her face as she began to stir on the ground. Then he spoke. “Come on, Spectra. You’re not even trying to make this fun.” “No, that’s not…” He trailed off, watching as Spectra’s attacker continued his vicious assault, peppering her face and arms with kick after kick. Suddenly, the student collapsed, a pair of ghostly legs remaining in his stead. Legs that went right back to work harming Spectra. Having seen enough, Danny turned back to Clockwork. “How?” Clockwork pointed to his right, another ghostly monitor popping up. On its screen, a very familiar ghost was wandering through the halls of Clockwork’s tower. Three out of four people in the group collectively gaped at the scene unfolding, shocked at the prospect of him simply wandering the corridors of a time master’s tower, but this was merely the beginning.  The Box Ghost stumbled into the central room, the room they were presently standing in. He looked beyond lost and confused, but a twinkle glistened in his eyes as something caught his attention. He floated over to a counter where only a singular, terrifying object sat.  “You gotta be kidding me,” Danny muttered.  “There’s no way he’s that dumb!” Tucker shouted.  The Box Ghost’s hands clutched the thermos, and he turned it this way and that, observing the metallic container. “Hmmm,” he mused, scratching his chin. “It’s not box-shaped, but it does look like it contains something. Maybe it’s a cylinder shaped box.” His other hand reached for the lid, and with another thoughtful hmm, he twisted the white lid and pulled it off the thermos. The Box Ghost peered inside the thermos, seeing nothing but black from within. For a brief second, the group managed to catch sight of a blur of black spilling out of the container.  However, the Box Ghost seemed to have missed the fact that he released the most powerful and terrifying ghost to ever exist. He leaned away and placed the lid back onto the thermos.  After giving it another long look, the Box Ghost shrugged, said, “Meh. Not boxy enough,” and threw the thermos aside as if it were mere garbage. And with that, the ghost flew away, vanishing out of the tower and from their line of sight. The screen buzzed to gray, then blanked out entirely.  “Oh, no, he’s definitely that dumb,” Sam said. “And just so you know, that’s the Box Ghost.” “... Oh,” was all Sunset could manage at the sight she had just beheld. “Well I’d say he definitely lives up to being an annoyance.” “Um, not to change the subject so quickly,” Tucker said, pointing back to the screen with Spectra, “but look who’s wailing on her.” “Wait… that’s you!” Sunset yelled, turning to Danny, then back to the ghost on screen. “But how can you be here and there at the same time? And why is the other you so much bigger?” “It’s an evil alternate future version of himself,” Tucker answered for him, only serving to raise further questions in Sunset’s already overloaded mind. Yet her questions would remain unanswered, as Tucker continued, “But how can he still exist if Danny never turned evil? I thought Danny cheating on the C.A.T. was what caused that chain of events.” “He exists outside of the timestream now,” Clockwork said, turning back to the screen. They all followed his gaze, and gasped as the evil Danny grew a bit larger, his muscles bulging out. “And he’s growing more powerful with every ghost he takes down.” “Can’t you go there and stop him?” Danny recalled. “I thought you could travel to any point in time.” “No. The bridge between this world and that one is now broken. We are merely observers,” he said, and Danny’s hopes came crashing down. “And even if I could, this is not my situation to resolve.” “Well regardless, we have to figure out a way to get there and save everyone,” Sam spoke up, poking Clockwork in the chest as she did. “Because you’re just as guilty in this as we are. After all, you let that idiot mess with the thermos.” “Even Masters of Time need a lunch break.” Bringing their attention back to the display, he snapped his fingers once more. The view changed to one of the girls Sunset had come to call a friend, and she gulped. “Watch closely.” The foursome did just that, watching the screen intently. None of them said a word as the scene began to unfold, the words at the bottom of it reading, Future: Five Years. Where Canterlot High School had stood lay nothing but ruin. Rubble and debris and glass scattered across a once luscious green field. The high school flag was torn and splintered, hardly recognizable from age and abuse. The only indication that this was the high school was the fractured statue of the horse, its head long since splintered off.  Billows of black smoke rose into the sky in the background, the fires beneath them giving a dim orange glow. In the distance, one could hear the sounds of panicked people running and searching for help that will never come.  Emboldened by the dire scene around her, Ember McLain stood defiantly in front of her old school. The world had certainly seen better days, but the majority of them for her had been anything but ideal. “It never gets old,” she said, addressing a figure slowly creeping out from the debris. “Does it?” “The only thing that’s getting old around here is me,” the mystery girl replied, finally coming into view. “How have you been, Ember?” “As good as it gets when you’re being hunted by an evil Danny,” she answered with a smirk. “How ‘bout you, Dash?” “Aside from the constant fear?” Rainbow Dash chuckled, but the sound lacked the life it once had. She coughed as dust settled in her throat, and she added, “I’m alive. That’s all I can really ask for.” The Rainbow Dash of the future had clearly been through a lot. Her hair was cut shorter, akin to a buzzcut, exposing severe burn scars to her forehead. Fastened into the side of her hair was Fluttershy’s old butterfly hair clip. She ran a hand over it softly, memories of their friendship running through her mind as she looked around at the decaying remains of Canterlot. Ember regarded her old friend with a look of sympathy. “I’m sorry. I know she meant a lot to you.” Rainbow’s eyes welled up as she spoke. “I miss her.” She grit her teeth and clutched her hands into tightened fists. “Dang it, I miss all of them! I just…” Tears messily dripped down her chin. “I just want to see them again.” A sudden explosion rocked the ruins of the school, rubble collapsing even more than it had at this point. Rainbow Dash and Ember braced themselves, shielding their eyes as a wicked green cloud of smoke enveloped the entrance the former had just walked out of. As the flash slowly dissipated, the two took a peek and to their abject horror, saw an all too familiar silhouette peering at them from in the smoke. “Oh, don't you worry your pretty little head, Rainbow Dash,” it said, sauntering into view, revealing Dan Phantom. “That can be arranged.” Pointing his palm towards the pair, a wave of energy burst forth and enveloped them as his laughter echoed through the city.  The screen disappeared as Sunset watched her friends seemingly perish, her heart beating in her chest like a vicious hammer. A rush of emotions ran through her, but she managed to collect herself before she allowed panic to overwhelm her. One question loomed more than any other. “I-Is that my world’s future?” “Yes,” Clockwork confirmed. “But you needn’t worry. Time has a way of working itself out.” “How can I not worry!?” Sunset yelled, tears forming in her eyes. “That evil Danny killed all of my friends!” Danny placed a hand on her shoulder, sending a warm smile her way as she met his gaze. “It’ll be alright, Sunset. I’ve beaten my evil self before, and I can do it again. We’ll find a way to save them, I promise.” Sunset took a long breath in, and her shoulders dropped in sync as she released an exhale. The calming presence on her shoulder kept her steady, and around the tears, she smiled back at Danny.  “Not this time,” Clockwork spoke back up, grabbing everyone’s attention back. “The burden of saving her world falls not on you, Danny, but on another.” “Another?” Danny repeated, confused. “What do you mean another? Like someone from her world?” Much to his chagrin, Clockwork simply raised his staff, flicking the top of it and causing all of the screens they’d been viewing to vanish. “When the time comes, you’ll know,” Clockwork replied, the world around them beginning to blur. “But for now, our meeting is at an end.” “Wait, but I have so many—” Danny blinked, and within that moment, they had been returned to the Fenton household, right by the portal. The others stared around in confusion just as he was. He finished his sentence lamely as his thoughts remained focused on what Clockwork had said. “Questions…”