//------------------------------//
// Hunting the Hunter's Hunter.   Equestria 
// Story: Guilt of a Phantom 
// by Powerdrainer 
//------------------------------//


Edits done by Halusm.



Hunting the Hunter's Hunter.



Equestria.



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


It was a bright and sunny day In Amity Park, and Danny, Sam and Tucker were walking through the street, heading towards the cinema. 

It was a slow day for them, as there weren't many ghost problems to deal with at the moment. They were just idly chatting with each other, minding their own business, and just enjoying their free time.

Sam said something, but Danny missed it.

"Huh? What did you say, Sam?" he asked, earning an eyeroll from the girl.

Sam repeated what she said, but still Danny didn't hear what she was saying. It was as if her mouth was moving, but no sound came out.

"Ehh, what?" he asked in confusion.

Sam smacked and shook her head while Tucker repeated what she had said, but Danny was still unable to hear anything. 

Suddenly, the colors of the surrounding area shifted; going from bright, warm colors, too grim and dark. A puff of cold air rose up from his mouth, and the three jumped together in a well practiced reflex. 

Back to back they looked around, trying to spot the ghost that was there, and it was then that Danny noticed that the streets were empty. No one else could be found out there, but them. Cars stood empty on the street as if those driving them had just vanished, newspapers blew away in the wind, and the buildings appeared to be abandoned.

Then, without warning, a yell pierced the silence that had settled around them, and Danny turned around to see Sam rubbing her shoulder as if something had touched it. 

He tried to ask what happened, but no sound came from him. Then, as he turned to his other friend, he saw that Tucker had a look of absolute fear on his face, pointing to something behind Danny himself.

Danny's blood ran cold as he slowly turned around, and his heart almost came to a stop when he saw the abomination floating behind him. A horrific, twisted figure. Larger than he was, less color than a corpse, two ghostly, intangible tails instead of legs, and a very large mouth, yet lacking any other facial features. 

Danny screamed out in fear, but was still unable to produce any sound as he jumped away from the thing as it slammed a three digit claw on the spot he'd stood a moment ago. 

The blow carried enough force to slam a small crater in the street, and Danny, Sam and Tucker turned to run away from the thing, not wanting to be anywhere near it. But, after only a short run, Danny stopped and looked back. 

Seeing the ghost slowly making its way towards them, he tried to shout a warning to his friends to stay back, but even now his voice failed him. Luckily, they seemed to understand, and ran into a nearby alley to stay clear from the inevitable fight.

Glad that his friends were somewhat safe, Danny turned back to the ghost that was now eerily close to him. 

'I'm going ghost!' he yelled in his mind, still unable to speak. But, to his horror, the transformation never happened. No bright ring of light around his midsection. No black jumpsuit with his trademark logo. No green glowing eyes. No ghost powers. 

'Oh no. What is happening?' he thought as he looked at his hands, trying to make them glow with ectoplasmic might. 'Why am I not transforming?'

He looked up as a shadow suddenly fell over him, and he found himself staring into a large, oversized mouth filled with sharp teeth. He would have screamed if it were possible, and he turned to run away as fast as he could, unable to defend himself.

The ghost slowly followed, taking his time to play with his prey. Sam and Tucker were quick to follow, but kept a safe distance between them and the abomination of a ghost that was slowly hunting their friend. 

Danny, running as fast as he could, tripped a few times in his haste, and eventually found himself trapped in an alley with no exit. Desperately, he tried to call on his ghost powers again, but to no avail. 

He pushed against the wall keeping him from escaping with all his strength, but without effect as he was unable to go intangible and pass through. He felt a tremor going down his spine, and slowly, hesitantly, he turned around, seeing the ghost floating at the entrance of the alley. 

'Oh no!' he screamed in his mind as the ghost resumed it agonizing slow pace towards him.

Pushing his back against the wall, he frantically looked around to find a way out of his predicament, but unable to find any way to escape. Looking back, he saw the ghost drawing nearer and nearer, his oversized mouth forming a twisted, menacing grin as it looked down on its helpless prey. 

'I need to get out of here!' Danny's mind screamed, while his heart was pounding in his chest. 

Suddenly, he spotted a door halfway between him and the ghost. Had it been there the entire time? He didn't know, nor did he know if it was unlocked or not, but it was his only chance at an escape. So, with a soundless scream, he ran towards the door, closing the gap between him and the horror hovering nearby. 

Danny found he was in luck, as far as one could call it such, that the ghost didn't decide to speed up, and was able to reach the door when there were only around five meters between himself and the abomination. 

Danny slammed into the door with all his weight, but the door wouldn't budge, and all he had to show for his efforts were a sore shoulder and slowly approaching doom.

'Oh, no no no no no' He repeated over and over again, frantically pounding into the door in an attempt to open it. But every attempt failed, and his actions became more panicked by the second as the ghost crept closer and closer. However, in a single moment of enlightenment, he decided to turn the doorknob and pull instead of push. 

Instantly, the door opened without a problem.

'You've got to be kidding me.' he thought sourly, staring dumbly at the open portal, only to remember his predicament as he felt a shadow fall over him again. 

'Ow shi-' Danny thought as he jumped through the opening, a split second away from a powerful fist slamming into the ground he stood prior, creating another crater while debris was sent flying.

Danny, quickly getting up, closed the door with a slam. He knew it wouldn't stop the ghost, but he acted in sheer panic at this point, and any rational thought was gone. And, as the door slammed shut, he turned around to see where he was, and his heart almost stopped. 

He knew this place. He didn't know how or why, but something about it just made him feel… dead. Really dead, and not the twilight zone he would be in as he turned into a ghost. 

He quickly scanned the room he was in, taking note that everything screamed familiarity to him. But why? 

DVD's lay around in a scattered pattern, along with damaged radio's and broken tv's, overturned shelves, depositing all that was displayed on them over the floor. Further back, a large hole in, what appears to be the front of the building, was covered with police tape and wooden planks. 

Without warning, Sam and Tucker appeared out of nowhere, making Danny jump in surprise as they caught him unaware. 

The two seemed to be out of breath, a haunted look on their faces. It only took a moment for Danny to find out why that was. A large explosion sent the three teenagers flying into the far wall as the ghost, still hunting Danny, blasted through the wall. 

Tucker fell to the ground, unconscious, while Sam managed to remain conscious, though she struggled to get her bearings. Danny wasn't doing much better himself. The blast, and subsequent blow against the wall had knocked the wind out of him, and the blow he received against his head made the world spin as he struggled to remain awake. 

For a third time he felt a shadow fall over him, but this time he was unable to get out of the way as a massive claw grabbed him by the throat, lifting him up and forcing him to look the abomination in the face it didn't have.

Danny kicked and clawed at the ghost that held him, gasping for air as he did so. In another attempt to free himself, he tried going ghost again, and that was where the pain started. 

It felt as if thousands of red-hot knives were plunged into his body, making him scream in agony as his voice finally worked again. And, only after what seemed an eternity, the pain stopped.

Done with what it did to Danny, the ghost threw the helpless human halfway across the building. 

Danny slammed on the floor with force, making him unresponsive to what was going on around him. And, for a moment, he just lay there, unable to do anything except feel all of his body scream out in agony. But, after several long seconds, he managed to pull himself up. Barely able to keep his balance, nor see, as his vision was blurry. 

The ghost saw its helpless prey, and channeled the powers it just stole in its hands, readying itself to unleash a most powerful attack. When it was ready, the thing threw the ball of energy towards Danny, who, standing unsteadily on the spot, was unable to stop nor dodge it.

"DANNY!!! Sam yelled as she ran over to him, pushing him out of harm's way and catching the blast intended for him herself. 

Danny, lying face first on the floor, looked up in time to see Sam's outline in the glaring light. Hearing Sam's piercing scream, her body slowly vaporized.

"Oh no! Oh no no no no no. SAM!" he shouted. "NOOOO—" He yelled out as the world started to collapse around him, not noticing the glowing, toxic green eyes looking at him from one of the shadows.


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


"—OOOO!" Danny yelled as he fell out of his bed. 

Covered in a cold sweat and panting for air, he slowly pushed himself up and sat against his bed, head held in his hands.

"Wha.... What was that?" He whispered to himself, wiping away the sweat on his forehead. "I've never had that dream before, not like that. It was the same, but entirely different." he droned on, slowly looking up and out of the window, seeing the sun slowly peeking out over the horizon. 

"Sam," he said, barely above a whisper, unable to keep the tears forming in his eyes. 

He didn't understand why his 'dreams' had returned, or why they were this different, but he couldn't shake the all too familiar feeling of loss and failure. He always felt like this, but the kindness of the ponies here did help him bury it a bit. But now, with the twisted nightmare he just had, the crushing guilt came back in full strength. 

He would always be haunted by his past, but he had gained the small flicker of hope that, maybe, his nightmares had finally stopped. He hadn't had one for several days now, and slowly the sensation of relief and escape began to build. But now those comforting feelings were stripped away from him in a horribly twisted mockery of what had happened to Sam all those years ago. Still, even if the nightmare was different, the conclusion was all the same. Sam is dead. Dead because he failed her.

Screaming out in frustration and anger, he slammed his fist on the floor. It didn't help him relieve him of his anger, but only added to it as he now also had an aching hand. At least he had his ghost powers that would help him heal faster than any regular human, so he didn't worry too much about it. It was, however, a good thing that his house was as secluded as it was. Had anyone heard him, they'd most likely come to see if everything was alright. And he didn't feel like explaining what was going on to anyone. Not now, not ever. 

He knew that it would be impossible for him to get back to sleep, not after that horrible dream he just had. So, instead, he made his way to the shower, cleaned himself of the sweat still covering his skin, then prepared himself for the day of work he had. 

Still, the images of his nightmare wouldn't leave him alone, and he stood under the running shower for over fifteen minutes, not moving an inch. Many conflicting emotions ran through him: Anger, guilt, shame, regret, grief, hate. And so absorbed he was in his own misery, he failed to notice something when he turned on the light. Something rather obvious. 

He didn't have a shadow.


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


Two green glowing orbs floated around in the pitch black bedroom of Danny. They were the only indication of the dark entity that was there. But still, if one were to look close enough, instead of running away screaming, they could see the orbs seemed confused and conflicted. 

It were the eyes of an entity that only recently gained sentient thought, and was unable to understand what it had just learned.

'Why master angry? Didn't I do good?' it thought. 'I stopped bad pony. I returned dreams. I controlled dreams. Why master not happy?' it questioned itself in a broken speech pattern. Despite the energy it gained from the bad pony, and its newfound ability to talk, it still had a lot of learning to do before it could form coherent sentences. 

It didn't understand. Why was its master not happy his dreams had returned? He always had them. Well, as far as it knew. And it thought his master would be happy if it stopped the bad pony from removing his dreams. But now it wasn't sure. 

Why would master not like his dreams? He always had them. The shadow searched its limited mind, trying to find something, anything that could explain its master's behavior. It remembered years of those dreams, a filthy apartment, a job master didn't seem to like, and many hours of self loathing.

It was confused. Nothing of what it remembered matched what master was doing ever since they got here. And, as it looked around the room it was in, it saw it wasn't nearly as messy as its old home. But why? Master always lived like that. His job was similar as his previous one, but it got a sensation of the memory it didn't understand: Pride. And, until it restored his master's dreams, master hadn't pained himself with his memories. But why? Why was master doing everything different now? What had caused this change in its master's behavior? 

Then a memory came before him. A memory of what that orange pony had said.

'Ah shucks, it's no big deal. It's what friends do, isn't it?'

There was something about what the orange pony had said. A word that had a lot of meaning to its master. A word that made its master feel things the shadow didn't understand. Feelings that made its master behave like he hadn't done before. But why? What was it about that word that made its master feel like that? That one word. This 'friends'?

"...Fffrienndsssss...." It said in a low, hissing voice. The word felt alien to it, and if one were to look closely, they could see the outlines of the shadow shimmer in the darkness as if they were twitching limbs. 

'What friends are?' it questioned itself, determined to find out. Through its master of course.


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


It was midday, and a bell rang at the ponyville school. Foals of many colors rushed out of the building, cheering because the seemingly endless and mind numbing obligation known as school had finally come to an end, and they had finally regained their freedom. 

Three fillies, however, didn't rush away like the others did. Instead, they had already planned what they would do now the class was dismissed, and were on their way to carry out their well thought out plan.

"So. Explain to me again what it is we are going to do to earn our cutie marks?" Sweetie Belle asked Scootaloo, who had the latest brilliant idea for them to try.

"How many times do I need to tell you, Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo sighed out. "We are going to earn our Cutie Marks doing something more awesome than catching ghosts," she said eagerly as her wings buzzed with excitement.

"And what exactly was it again?" Apple Bloom asked.

"We are going to catch a manticore. That has to earn us our Cutie Mark." Scootaloo explained to her friends, already picturing the totally awesome Cutie Mark she was going to get.

"Ya sure that is such a good idea?" Apple Bloom asked, uncertain. "Ah mean. We do need ta get inta tha Everfree Forest ta find a manticore."

"Yeah. Don't you remember what happened the last time we were in the Everfree Forest?" Sweetie Belle added.

"Pfff," she sighed out with plenty of lip flap. "What, are you two chickens?" Scootaloo said irritably.


****



Meanwhile, at Sugar Cube Corner.


Pinkie Pie was working diligently on the next batch of cupcakes, when, all of a sudden, she sprung up and her legs started to shake in a seemingly random pattern.

"What? Shaking legs, a pinching knee and an itchy right front hoof. Somepony used an old joke in the wrong way," she said as she looked up at the ceiling, seemingly staring into forever. It was almost as if she could see the author typing the very words you are now reading. 

Creepy.

"I know, right." Pinkie said to the ceiling.

"..." 

Very creepy.


****


"Hey, ah'm not a chicken!" Apple Bloom said defiantly.

"Neither am I!" Sweetie Belle agreed.

"Well then, prove it." Scootaloo challenged her friends, before running off to the edge of the forest.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shared a defiant look, not wanting to be called a chicken, rushed after their pegasus friend who had left them in the dust.

The three of them ran past the café Danny worked in a rush, earning some shouts of frustration from the ponies sitting there as they headed for the forest. 

Danny, too, watched them as they sped past, slowly shaking his head before he continued with his work, struggling to keep up with Ruby.


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


Danny was hard at work, trying to keep up, despite his exhausted state. He was able to hide it fairly well at the start of his shift, but after several hours of hard labor his fatigue started to show. He slowed down to a margin of his normal speed, and had to drag himself forth to get anywhere. But, despite his best efforts, he started to make more and more mistakes. Taking up the wrong orders, or delivering the wrong food. He apologized every time, but his fatigue was wearing him down, and he wouldn't be able to keep this up for long.

"Danny, could we talk with you for a moment?" Ruby asked him after the busiest part of the day was over, indicating to him to follow her.

"Eh... sure." He replied, already having an idea what this was about.

Ruby led Danny into the back of the café, out of sight of the guests that were still there. And, as he entered the room, he saw Quick Grill waiting there for them.

"Danny, do you know why we asked you to get here?" Ruby asked Danny, a hint of worry in her voice.

"I have an idea, yes." He replied tiredly.

"I thought I told you I won't tolerate any slacking, kid." Quick Grill told him with a gruff voice, upset with Danny's poor performance, but slight concern did crack through the edges of his voice.

"I know, and I am sorry." Danny said as he slowly rubbed his head, "It's just that I have had a horrible night's sleep thanks to some really messed up dream, and I have been up since the crack of dawn because of it," he explained as he struggled to suppress a yawn.

"What! What do you mean?" Ruby asked, concerned, not understanding. "Didn't princess Luna guard your dreams?"

"Ehu... What?" Danny said in sleep deprived confusion, not understanding what she meant.

"You know, Princess Luna. She and her sister visited you some time ago." Ruby said, almost shocked, unable to believe he didn't know who the princess was.

"I know who she is," Danny said in a half groan, and Ruby released a quiet sigh of relief when he said that. "But I don't understand what you mean with her guarding my dreams," he continued, and Ruby gave him a confused look, surprised that he didn't know about the princess' duties.

"Don't you know, Danny? Princess Luna watches over everypony's dreams, and helps those that have a nightmare." Ruby explained, looking at him with concern.

"I don't know what you're talking- yawn -about. But if what you say is true, then she isn't doing a very good job." Danny told her, struggling to keep his eyes open.

Both Ruby and Grill's mouth were hanging open from what he just said. Nopony in their right mind would talk about the princess like that.

"Kid, I think it is better for ya to go home and lie down because you are not making any sense right now." Quick Grill said, unable to keep his disbelief from entering his voice.

"Don't worry, sir. I can make it through th-" 

"That wasn't an offer, kid. Go home, rest. And come back tomorrow when you are well rested and can think straight again." He continued, cutting Danny off, leaving no room for debate.

"But.. I... Fine, I guess." Danny conceded defeat with a sigh.

"Don't worry, Danny, I can take it from here. You just rest." Ruby told him with a genuine smile. 

"Yeah, I'll try." Danny said wearily, not looking forward to going back to bed, afraid of the nightmares that might plague him if he would.

Ruby and Quick Grill looked at Danny as he walked away, not knowing what to make of the human's strange behavior; watching in silence as Danny closed the door and left them there, leaving them to their own thoughts.

"Something strange is going on with him," Quick Grill remarked after a few moments.

"Yes, I know. Why would he say princess Luna didn't help when he had a nightmare? She always helps everypony in need," Ruby responded.

"Indeed," was all Quick Grill said.

"You think it's possible? You know, for princess Luna not to be there when he needed her to, I mean." She asked, uncertain.

"I do not know. But if it is, then why?" He replied hesitantly, not wanting to believe such a thing. "Let's just see how he will be doing tomorrow. Maybe it's nothing?"

"Yeah, maybe?" Ruby muttered.


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


Danny was slowly making his way home, dragging his feet as he barely had the energy to lift them. Despite his tired mind, he couldn't help but think back to the conversation he just had with Quick Grill and Ruby. He went over it again, and again; the look of disbelief on their faces concerning him the most. Why didn't they believe him when he said he had a poor night's sleep due to a nightmare? After all, it is not really possible for someone to control the dreams of another like they said Luna did. 

'No wait, it is possible.' His tired mind suddenly remembered as the memory of Nocturn resurfaced. 

Nocturn, the ghost of sleep and dreams. The entity that had trapped all the citizens of Amity Park in a never ending dream, while he fed on the energy the people generated while they slept. He would then use this energy to help him in his attempt for world conquest, and enslave all of humanity. Fortunately for Danny, and the world, he was able to break free of his dream prison, and help his friends and sister escape as well. And, together, they were able to stop Nocturn before he could implement his plans.

Despite his fatigue, Danny forced one foot forwards, then the next, while his mind went over the possibility that Luna was a creature like Nocturn. Still, despite what his tired mind could come up with, he couldn't shake what Ruby had said about Luna helping those who had a nightmare, instead of absorbing the energy of those sleeping. He tried to figure it all out, but his exhausted mind wouldn't let him. Instead, it only gave him a headache.

"Ugh. I'm too tired for this." he quietly muttered as he continued on his ridiculously long walk home.

He was only halfway there, when he heard someone call his name. 

Tiredly, he looked around to find whoever it was who was calling him, and he saw Applejack run towards him with a worried stricken face.

"Danny! Hey Danny, hold on there!" She called out as she approached him.

Danny did just that, despite how tired he was. Waiting for the mare to come to a screeching stop, panting lightly as the dust settled. Danny felt his nerves go on edge as he noticed the clearly noticeable worry displayed on Applejack's face, pushing back his fatigue.

"Hey AJ, What is going on?" he asked the frantic mare, sensing something was amiss.

"Danny, have ya see Apple Bloom anywhere? She an her friends should've been home hours ago, but they're nowhere ta be found." Applejack said in a hurry. "Rarity's also looking fer Sweetie Belle, an' Dash said that Scootaloo ain't on her usual spot either. All mah friends are looking around town, but we can't find any of them. Please tell me ya've seen them?"

"Ehhh," Danny began, thinking back. "Hold on, I did see them earlier today." He said, causing Applejack's frown turn in a relieved smile.

"Oh, thank goodness. Where did they go?" she asked, relieved.

"Eh, I saw them run to the forest over there." Danny answered as he pointed to the Everfree Forest. Applejack's look of relief was immediately shattered, replaced by one of pure horror.

"The Everfree Forest! Please tell me ya joking? Please!?" Applejack nearly pleaded as grabbed Danny by the shoulders, looking worriedly into his eyes, hoping to see any form of deceit.

"Eh, sorry AJ. But that's where I saw them go... Is that bad?" He asked, not understanding the mare's behavior.

"Bad!? BAD!?... It's a disaster. Don't ya know what kind of dangerous critters live in there? Oh no, Ah've got tha tell tha others." She all but shouted as she returned to all fours, running back to town with impressive speed, leaving Danny in the dust as he  watched her go.

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" he muttered after a moment, before running towards the forest himself. His fatigue all but gone as adrenaline started to enter his system. Even though he no longer tried to be a hero, he couldn't just run away when someone was in trouble. And if Applejack's frantic behavior was any indication, those three fillies were in a heap of it. 

Thanks to his adrenaline induced speed boost, he was at the edge of the forest in no time at all. Stopping at the edge, and looking past the trees standing in front of him, he could only see a few meters before darkness swallowed all that lay beyond. Despite his earlier bravado, he had to gulp as he saw the ominous density of the forest before him; an eerie feeling emanating from it. Taking a deep breath, and stepping forwards, he reminded himself of all the scary things he had been through to help him calm down, recalling he'd been through far worse than just a creepy forest.

Taking another step into the forest, and another, he slowly lost himself in the shadows cast by the trees. But not everything of him followed. A dark spot remained at the edge of the Everfree, rippling and shifting as it tried to make sense of this new sensation. It was having trouble to keep the different, unknown feelings apart. Something it was trying to do ever since its master woke up, but it only grew more confused when the orange pony came to its master.

There was something with her. A sensation that was strangely familiar, but different at the same time. Distress was emanating from the pony. This was not the same feeling it learned from its master. Then she spoke, and what she said made master react in a way that was even more unfamiliar and confusing to the shadow. A mixture of feelings, all directed to those three small ponies that attacked master the day before. But it wasn't anger or hate. No, it could understand those feelings. These were different, very different. 

Any other would say it was a concern it felt, as well as a sense of duty to help. To do anything in his power to help those who can't help themselves. But the shadow didn't know any of that, and thus it added to its ever growing confusion. 

Its master didn't behave as the shadow was used to, but the shadow also felt another sensation. A force so powerful it scared the shadow. It was something that made its master run in the forest, and go look for the three small ponies that had jumped him. A force that, despite the shadow's best effort to place it as it followed its master, it couldn't figure it out.

Life.


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


As Danny went deeper and deeper into the forest, it became increasingly difficult to see. So much so that he had to resort to his ghost powers. Once more, he was reluctant to do so. But if what Applejack had said about dangerous animals living here was true, then those three fillies were most likely in big trouble, and he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he didn't do everything in his power to help. 

Closing his eyes for a moment, he stood still on the spot as he focused his energy. Slowly opening his eyes, his mortal blues now burned with the green might of the afterlife, his ghost vision. 

To any other it would just seem like two glowing eyes, but for Danny it was a different story altogether. The darkness of the forest lifted, and objects that were once hidden came into view. Now able to see where he was going, and able to avoid the roots of the massive trees standing everywhere, he started walking again. And, as an added bonus, his hearing was also sharpened while using his powers like this. Making it possible for him to hear the faintest of sounds from a respectful distance away. Using these abilities to his advantage, he went deeper into the forest, looking for the three fillies. 

After searching for several minutes, he heard the sound of people talking. It was faint, but the voices sounded distinctly feminine. Thinking he was in luck, he rushed his way over to where the voices came from, only to come to a quick stop when he saw it was Applejack with several other ponies he knew. Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and even Fluttershy, which he thought was odd, seeing how she got scared when he only said hello. Then he also noticed another pony with them.

'....No wait! Is that a zebra?' he thought as he came to a quick stop. 

Clearly the group had heard him, and they turned to where Danny had stepped out of the shadows. 

Acting more on reflex than anything else, Danny quickly reverted his eyes back to normal, hoping they didn't notice anything.

"Danny! What are ya doing here?" Applejack asked, startled, not expecting to see him here in the forest.

"Well, you see. The thing is..." he began as he looked at the group of ponies standing before him, each having a look of surprise at seeing him here. Although Pinkie seemed rather happy with him here, while Rainbow Dash seemed to avoid his gaze. The zebra, however, looked at him with a mixture of confusion and suspicion. "After you told me your sister and her friends were missing, I went looking for them, too."

"What! All on your own, in the Everfree Forest!?" Twilight exclaimed, dumbfounded, but with a hint of admiration. 

"Ehh, yeah." He answered. "Maybe I didn't really think that one through," he said more to himself.

The ponies and Danny stared at each other for what seemed an uncomfortably long time, but was in reality only a few seconds. Then Applejack moved towards Danny, reared up, and hugged him. 

"Thanks." Was all that she said, her voice thick with gratitude.

"For what? It's not like I found your sister, or her friends." Danny said, dumbfounded, as the earth pony continued to hold him.

"Maybe not, but ya didn't hesitate ta help ta find mah sister when Ah came ta ya. Even goin' as far as ta go inta tha forest alone ta do so," Applejack said as she tightened the hug.

Despite the serious situation they were all in, the ponies couldn't help but smile at the scene in front of them. Even Zecora had a thin smile on her lips, but she couldn't shake the ominous feeling she got from the lone human.

After several more moments, Applejack let go of Danny and gave him a warm smile, before returning back on all four legs. 

"Okay..." Danny said, followed by an awkward pause; his cheeks a dark shade of red that, thankfully, wasn't easily seen in the dark forest. "With that done, how did things go on your end?" he asked the group in general.

"Not well, I'm afraid," Twilight answered with a sigh. "We asked our friend, Zecora, if she could help, seeing how she knows the forest much better than us. But we haven't had much luck so far," she continued as she introduced Zecora to Danny, who gave a curt nod to him, which Danny returned, feeling a strange tingling going down his spine from the way she looked at him.

"But what should we do now? It will take forever to find my Sweetie Belle in this ghastly forest." Rarity whined as she lifted her hoof to see the mud sticking on it, making her shudder.

"It would probably be better if we split up. This will allow us to cover more ground much quicker." Twilight answered almost immediately. "And, seeing how there are eight of us now, we can go in groups of two, four in total." This earned her some approving murmurs from the group. 
 
"Okay, let's see. Applejack, you go with Pinkie Pie. Rarity, you go with Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash, why don't you go with Zecora. And then I will go with Danny." Twilight said, dividing them into groups, and they quickly moved to their assigned partner. All, except one.

"Ehh, Twilight," Rainbow Dash spoke up. "Is it alright if I go with Danny instead?" she asked as she shot a quick glance at the aforementioned human, before looking away again.

"Eh, I guess that is fine. Then I will go with Zecora. Okay, is everypony, and human set?" Twilight asked as she stepped next to Zecora, receiving various confirmations from her friends.

"Before we go, you should take this. It is a signal we cannot miss." Zecora spoke up, surprising Danny that she spoke in rhyme. 

Zecora gave each group a small bottle with some kind of fluid in it, earning some confused looks as most of them didn't know what it was.

"Because we will now all drift apart, I give to you a Lightning Shard. When what we seek has been found, shatter this vial on the ground.It will produce a light straight and true, which will lead us directly to you. But keep a safe distance, hold that in mind. Or you might find yourself gone blind."

Zecora explained impressing Danny to some extent with her rhyme, while it also creeped him out a bit as it reminded him of the time he was under the Ghost Writer's Christmas curse, making him, and anyone close to him, speak in rhyme.

Danny accepted the small bottle with the 'Lightning Shard', and put it in one of his pockets. He then noticed the conflicted look he got from Rainbow Dash, who held a bit of distance between him and herself.

"Okay, everypony. Let's go!" Applejack called out, and she and Pinkie walked away. Well, Applejack walked. Pinkie chose to pronk instead.

The others also walked away, each group going in a different direction. But, when Danny also began to move, the multi color pegasus lagged behind for a moment before slowly following him.


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


Zecora and Twilight had spent the last several minutes walking in silence, leaving the others far behind them. 

Following the path Zecora had shown, Twilight, despite the situation they were in, couldn't help but look around at all the strange plants and trees that grew in the forest. She had a keen sense of observation, taking in all the different plants, and remembering them to look up later when she had the time. She did, however, also notice something else. Zecora was unusually quiet. She didn't speak much to begin with, only when it was necessary. But even for her, this was too quiet.

"Zecora, is something on your mind?" Twilight asked as she illuminated the path ahead with her magic.

For a moment the zebra didn't reply, almost lost in her own thoughts as she scanned the forest for any sign of the foals. Then she spoke.

"This friend of yours, this human. I must ask. Did you know he wears a mask? Although he seems kind, bright and smart. It is obvious darkness has stained his soul and heart. To hide his pain he wears this mask, but something is making this an almost impossible task. Something has hurt him in body and mind, it is impossible for him to leave it behind. This in turn caused a presence of old, to once again slowly take hold. Darkness lay near, of that I am sure. Something so foul, I doubt there's a cure. I doubt he knows, or maybe he does. But this is connected to a great loss."

Zecora spoke in her usual, cryptic manner, and Twilight slowed down a bit, almost stopping as she stared at her striped friend with wide, confused eyes.

"What, how do you mean?" Twilight asked after a moment, not understanding what the zebra was talking about.

Zecora took a long moment to think, carefully choosing her words. Until she told Twilight the four words that she never thought she would hear from her.

"I do not know."


<<>><<>><<>>
 

For the past ten minutes Danny and Rainbow Dash walked through the forest in search of the foals. Nothing was said between them, and there was no sound other than the crunching of leaves, the snapping of small twigs and the occasional screech of a nearby bird. 

Despite what Applejack had said earlier, Danny still had to see one of those dangerous creatures she said lived here. But, looking around at the scenery, he didn't have much trouble believing that she was telling the truth about them.

"Hey, uhm... Danny." Rainbow Dash hesitantly spoke up, finally breaking the silence.

"Yes." Danny said a bit stiffly, not looking back at her.

"Look, I just wanna... I mean.. About yesterday," she stammered. 'Ghaa, why is this so difficult?' she thought.

"What about it?" Danny said, tensely. He already had an idea this was why she wanted to go with him instead, but he just didn't want to talk about it.

"I just want to say, I'm sorry, alright." She said with noticeable effort. "It's just, I didn't know, okay!?" she added hesitantly, making it sound like it wasn't completely her fault.

"No, you didn't." Danny said as he stopped abruptly, making Rainbow Dash walk into him. Slowly turning to look back, he looked down at the pegasus that was backing away from him with a sheepish smile on her face. Her awkward smile disappeared, however, when she saw the angry look on Danny's face. "I told you to stop. Heck, AJ told you to stop. But. You. Just. Kept. Pushing!" he said slowly, putting as much emphasis on each word. "Why do you think I told you not to pry into my personal life like that?" He all but shouted, making her flinch from the harsh tone of his voice.

He watched the mare sitting in front of him, ears folded flat as she looked down. And, despite her attempts to keep a brave face, it was clear to him that she was hurt by how he just yelled at her. 

Taking several deep breaths to calm down, his anger towards the mare slowly dissipated. It was true, she really didn't know. Not until he shouted what happened to Sam. And although he felt he was justified to be angry, he didn't feel like she deserved how he just acted to her. After all, she had just apologized to him. 

Sighing, he knelt down so he was at eye level with her and placed his hand on her shoulder. 

"Look, Rainbow. I'm sorry I yelled at you, but this... thing is kinda hard on me. It is not something I enjoy thinking about, let alone talk about it, so I just acted. And although I can understand that you were curious, you should have listened when I told you to stop. But seeing how you just did apologize, and by the looks of it, feel rather bad about it, I am willing to let it slide," he told her with a sigh.

Rainbow Dash, hearing the change in his voice, looked back up. Looking straight into Danny's eyes as he knelt in front of her. 

"Really?" she asked, cautiously optimistic.

"Yeah, sure. Just promise me you won't ask me about that again. Okay?" he said as calmly as he could. 

Rainbow Dash, looking at him with hopeful eyes, knew he spoke the truth.

"I promise!" She almost cried out as she lunged forward, wrapping her hooves around Danny in a hug, glad that she hadn't turned him against her. A few seconds later, she realized what she was doing and quickly let go of him. "I mean. Sure, if that is what you want." She said in a poor attempt to act cool, looking around to make sure nopony had seen her.

"Okay. So are we good, or are there more surprise hugs coming?" Danny said with a grin, playing in on the pegasus tomboyish pride.

"Ooh, careful buster, or I buck your skinny behind all the way to Canterlot." She threatened mockingly with squinted eyes and a challenging grin.

"Ehh, okay.... Just to be sure. When you say buck, what exactly do you mean by that?" He asked with raised suspicion.

"Duhu. My hind legs, your flank, and enough force to kick you all the way back to the capital." She said with a smirk. "Why? What did you think I meant?" She asked, slightly confused.

"Ehh, let's just forget about that." Danny quickly evaded the question as the heat on his face rose a bit, a dark shade of red coloring his cheeks. Quickly standing up and turning around, hoping that the reddening of his face went unnoticed in the darkness of the forest, he continued with the search.

"No really wha-... Ow come on!" Rainbow Dash said in a raised voice as she realized what Danny thought she meant.

Danny quickly continued walking with a firm pace, not looking in the direction of the mare that was shooting daggers with her eyes.
            

<<>><<>><<>>
 

It happened again. 

First, there was anger. Then there was... something. 

Danny's shadow had once again detached itself from its caster, looking at the scene in front of it. 

Master was angry with the blue pony, and understood why. She didn't stop when master said she should, and because of that, master became angry with her. 

This it could understand. But what happened next, it couldn't. 

Master's demeanor changed completely, from angry, to annoyed and then, relieved. Glad he was able to resolve the issue. But he didn't use any force. Why not? Instead, they just talked. And then the blue pony wrapped her hooves around him, seemingly trying to choke its master, just as the orange pony had tried. But master didn't seem to fight it. Instead, he seemed to appreciate it. Enjoy it, even. 

It didn't understand any of it. Was this the 'friends' the orange pony talked about? 

It didn't understand. But what truly confused the shadow, was what it felt when it was one with its master. The feelings it shared with him through their shared mind. They weren't unpleasant, but they were unknown, alien, and the shadow hid away from them as best it could. But master seemed to embrace them, appreciate them, and truly like them. 

"Friends?" It said smoothly, but with a lot of puzzlement, as it was slowly learning the meaning of the word.


<<>><<>><<>>
 

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Twilight asked in confusion. "First you tell me all that, and then you tell me you don't know what it means yourself." 

"What I told you was certainly true, but I see it did confuse you. When I first saw him I took my chance, and observed him with a single glance. For, you see, the eyes act as a portal. Revealing to you the soul of every mortal. And although his actions are a good deed, there is a warning you should heed. His eyes are almost impossible to read, remember this next time you should meet. And although he and I have just met, I sensed something unusually dead. But that is not all there is to tell, because his actions show he does mean well. What it is I sensed about him, I cannot tell on only a whim. His actions are just, and his heart is good. But I sensed a darkness drenched in blood. What this means, I cannot tell. But I know it does not bode well."

Zecora explained in the same cryptic manner she first did to confuse Twilight, which did little to nothing to help the young mare understand what she was talking about. If anything, the ominous warning Zecora gave made her feel even more nervous. Why would Zecora say such things? What is it that she sensed? How is this connected to Danny? Twilight didn't know, but was determined to find out. But not now. Now they had bigger problems to deal with.


<<>><<>><<>>
 

Danny and Rainbow Dash had searched for the three fillies for some time now, and the night was slowly making an appearance, increasing the suffocating darkness which already covered the forest. 

Danny, unable to use his ghost senses with Rainbow Dash with him, felt a pang of irritation now his ability to see was greatly diminished, resulting in many stumbles and falls as he tripped over the many roots that covered his path. The first couple of times it also resulted in a muffled snicker from Rainbow Dash, seeing how she was hovering slightly above the ground instead of walking. But after the umpteenth time, even she stopped laughing over Danny's misfortune. And, instead, she flew ahead a bit, giving Danny a warning every time she noticed a large root sticking out. She didn't spot them all, thanks to the darkness, but she was able to reduce Danny's meet and greet with the ground by quite a bit; something his face was very grateful about.

They've also been incredibly lucky not to have run into any of the animals that lived in the forest. They did hear them, no doubt. A rustling of the leaves, a low growl, or the sound of large animals running. But fortunately, they never met them up close. 

Still, with nighttime approaching, the activity in the forest was picking up, and both Danny and Rainbow Dash knew that, if they didn't find the fillies soon, they had to call it a day. Neither of them actually said that, of course. They would never give up like that. But as the shadows of the forest became slowly darker and darker, they had to slow down to a mere crawl to make sure Danny wouldn't fall and attract unwanted attention.

'Damn it. If only I could use my ghost sense. I might already have found them by now.' Danny thought in frustration, but was unable to act on his thoughts. Not without Rainbow Dash noticing his glowing eyes in the otherwise dark forest. 'Wait... Dark forest.' he realized, mentally face palming. But, seeing how he was not doing this physically, it couldn't be compared with the performance done by Carl. 

'Okay... let's see if this works. Shadow.' he thought as he kept an eye on Rainbow Dash, making sure she wasn't looking at him.

It was difficult to tell at first, the darkness obscured the shadow completely. But, eventually, he saw two green glowing eyes looking at him from behind a tree, placed in such a way that Rainbow Dash was unable to see them from where she was.

'Shadow, move ahead of us. See if you can find the children we're looking for. If you do, come back to me and show me where they are.' He ordered, receiving a confirming nod before the shadow disappeared in the dark.

"Yo, Danny. What are you doing there standing by that tree?" Rainbow Dash quietly called out, and Danny realized he'd come to a stop while giving his commands to his shadow.

"Eh, nothing. Just thought I saw something, but it was nothing?" he lied, quickly catching up with her. Fortunately, not tripping over anything.

"Well, don't just stop like that. There are a lot of creatures out here that can seriously hurt you," she said lowly, seriously. "Of course you aren't in any real danger with me with you, but you should still try to keep up with me," she added as she returned to her boastful self.

"Yeah, sure thing, Dash." he said as he saw two green glowing orbs flash in the dark before vanishing. 'Hmmm, something is different!' he thought.


<<>><<>><<>>
 

Through the darkness it moved, blending in with the environment seamlessly. A creature of shadows, moving through a world of darkness. The shadow was completely in its element here, moving from tree to tree, bush to bush, trying to find the three small ponies its master was looking for. It was an order it wasn't used to, but it was determined to do as its master ordered it to do. 

Gliding through the dark, it soon reached the point where, in its former, less developed state, it would vanish and return to its master. Now though, it was able to continue on its search as ordered without trouble. It was still linked to its master, but with less constrictions. It wasn't free to do as it pleased, nor did it wanted it to, but it did gain the option to make its own decisions. The energy he absorbed from the bad pony gave it more strength. And, in the dark of night, it seemed to be a bit stronger, allowing it to move beyond its former boundaries.

The shadow sailed through the nightly forest, spotting various kinds of creatures. From the small birds sleeping in their nests, to large wolf like beasts made from wood. Their green glowing eyes piercing the darkness just as the shadow's did. The shadow, determined to carry out its order, stopped momentarily to observe these wooden wolves, feeling a strange kinship with the creatures. Although their wooden bodies were at one point alive, part of a greater whole as the tree they once belonged to, now they were dead and dry. Held together by a possessing force, shaping and holding the wooden construct together. Their green eyes giving some indication as to what this force might be. 

The wolves howled loudly as the shadow circled around them, almost as if they could sense the presence of the dark shade. 

The shadow made one more rotation around the wolves, before continuing on its path, searching for the three small ponies. 

It sailed through the forest, undetected. Moving past trees and bushes, over small creeks and small drops in the terrain. It moved like this for a little while longer, until it heard something. The faint sound of running and screaming. Screams voiced by multiple individuals. There was also the sound of a large, angry beast, revealed to the shadow by a loud, reverberating roar.

The shadow quickly moved to investigate.


<<>><<>><<>>
 

"Wait! Did you hear that?" Rainbow Dash asked, her ears swiveling around, trying to pick up the sound she just heard.

"Eh, no. What did you hear?" Danny asked, straining his hearing to pick up what she'd heard, mentally cursing that he was still unable to use his ghost senses with the mare present.

"I'm not sure, but it sounded like a r-.." Rainbow Dash began, but was suddenly interrupted by a very loud roar. And this time, Danny, too, had heard. Loud and clear.


<<>><<>><<>>
 

The shadow rushed through the forest, heading towards where the sound had come from. It didn't take long for it to find the source, as a trio of loud screams led him directly to the small ponies he was ordered to find. 

The three fillies stood with their backs pressed against a large cliff wall, a look of fear on their faces as they tried to find a way out of their predicament, only to discover they were completely blocked, except from where they had come from. 

Just as it was ordered, the shadow was about to return to its master and point him towards the fillies. But, before he could leave and get its master, something else showed up. 

A very large beast, larger than the wooden wolves, stepped out of the shadows and roared loudly at the ponies. The shadow watched as the fillies pressed together, shaking in fright as the unusual animal slowly crept closer. An animal with the body of a lion, the wings of a bat, and the tail of a scorpion. 

Now, had the shadow's intelligence more time to develop, it would have spent some time wondering how such a creature could exist. But, with his slowly developing, but limited mind, it could only watch as it felt a scary, unfamiliar sensation. Fear. Not from its master, but from itself. 

The fillies screamed again as the beast lunged forward, but did not yet fully attack them. It knew its prey was trapped, and it could afford to play with them for a while. This caused the shadow to feel yet another emotion. Anger. Its mind was limited, but formed from its master. And its master wouldn't sit by idly when others were in danger. Especially children. Not understanding anything of what it was feeling, but acting on a deeply rooted moral instinct, the shadow ignored its master's command and lunged forward. Acting on its newly discovered instinct, but not fully aware of what it was doing. 

He saw the animal raise its claw to deliver the finishing blow, and all limited rational thought left the shadow's fragmented mind as it flew directly into the beast. 


<<>><<>><<>>
 

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were huddled together, holding tightly onto each other as the kept their eyes closed, waiting for the end. 

They waited, and they waited, but the pain never came. No crushing blow from a large claw. No deafening roar. No razor sharp teeth that would slice through their skin and flesh. Nothing. 

Slowly they opened their eyes and looked at the manticore, and they let out a scream as they saw its claw mere centimeters from them, holding still mid-strike. 

Slowly, the fillies' breathing returned to relatively normal under the circumstances; and they slowly, deliberately, moved away from the kill zone, never leaving the manticore out of their sight. 

They flinched back as the beast moved its claw. But instead of a swift, deadly swipe, it moved its claw away, slowly setting it back on the ground as it looked at the fillies with a lot of confusion in its glowing green eyes.

"Wha... why aren't we dead yet?" Scootaloo squeaked in a hushed, fearful whisper as she shakily looked at the manticore.

"Ah... ah don't know?" Apple Bloom answered, equally afraid.

"....Should we try and leave?" Sweetie Belle asked with a small voice. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo couldn't give her an answer though, as, suddenly, a blue blur slammed into the manticore and a large flash of light blinded them.


<<>><<>><<>>
  


A few minutes prior.


Danny and Rainbow Dash rushed to where they'd heard the roar come from. Rainbow, who was a lot faster, called out several times to Danny to pick up the pace; only receiving annoyed grunts in return as he was already going at full speed, barely avoiding the roots of the trees. With a huff, Rainbow sped up a bit, coming up at a large cliff face. 

"I think we're almost there!" She shouted back at Danny as she came up on a small clearing, being able to see what happened there thanks to the light of the moon which was no longer obscured by dense, overhead foliage. And what she saw made her stop in her tracks, but only for a moment. The sight of Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle cowering in fear before a manticore, their backs pressed against the wall, kicked her defensive instinct into overdrive. 

Roaring a fierce battle cry at the beast, she shot forwards with blurring speed.

Danny, only just managing to catch up, came to a stop next to her, panting loudly, when she shot off. Looking at the scene before him, his eyes widened in disbelief. But it wasn't from the strange beast, or that it stood completely still, its claw raised above the fillies. No, it were the glowing green eyes it had. And Danny clearly recognized them as his shadow's. 

But that couldn't be, right? His shadow was never able to do that, wasn't it? He needed to be sure, and he didn't have much time either as Rainbow Dash was rapidly approaching the beast.

'Put the claw down!' he thought, hoping that it wasn't so. But, to his shock, the large animal obeyed, confirming his suspicion. 

"But how?" he said barely above a whisper, before he remembered the small bottle Zecora had given him, and took it from his pocket. 

He had only a vague idea what to expect when he smashed it, but the warning about going blind did give him some indication what to expect. So, with all the strength he had, he threw the bottle against a nearby tree, and quickly shielded his eyes. There was a large flash of light, illuminating the entire forest for a split second, and nearby birds flew away in panic, squawking loudly.

And, even though he had covered his eyes, he had to blink several times to get rid of the spots.

"So, that's what she meant." He groaned as he rubbed his eyes, momentarily unaware of his surroundings. 

After several tense minutes, his vision had returned, and he immediately looked at the fight unfolding before him.

It seemed that the bright flash of light had driven out the shadow from the manticore, because he noticed that its eyes were no longer a glowing green. And, as he concentrated, he could feel a presence in his mind where his shadow's fragment would reside. But it felt different, larger, unlike anything he had ever felt from is darker counterpart.

'You and I are going to have a long chat after this is done.' He thought in angry sarcasm, not expecting a reply.

'Yes, master.'

Danny froze up, not moving an inch. 

That voice, where did it come from? It sounded close, very close, but he couldn't see anyone nearby, save from Rainbow Dash and the fillies.

"Who are you? Where are you? Show yourself!" Danny half yelled, making sure Rainbow Dash and the fillies wouldn't hear him.

Obeying its command, the shadow moved its fragment from its master's mind, and slowly rose up before him. Danny reared back as he saw his shadow presented itself, glad that it was next to impossible to spot in the darkness, lest someone might see it.

"Master," It spoke in a low, slightly distorted voice, and Danny's eyes went wide while his jaw almost fell to the ground..

 "You can talk!?" Danny yelped in shock and surprise.

"I c-can now," it spoke with slightly broken speech.

"But ho-..." Danny muttered, but was interrupted by a loud roar and a scream from Rainbow Dash as the manticore scored a lucky hit, slamming her to the ground.

"Dammit, I don't have the time for this. Okay, look. I don't know what is going on, but I need to help them. You stay here, and don't let anyone see you. I will deal with you later," he said in an angry rush. How long has his shadow been able to do all this? Still, the shadow's latest action did give him an idea how to deal with the current situation.

Danny groaned as he let out a long, deep breath. "I can't believe I am going to do this." He muttered as he levitated himself up a meter.

Turning invisible, he flew up and rushed towards the large predator as it was about to deliver the finishing blow to the downed pegasus. 

He flew into the beast with speed, making it rear back as he possessed it. A glowing, pale white light flashed around the beast for a moment before vanishing. And, as it opened its eyes, they were a glowing green once again.

'Okay, I have no idea how to control this darn thing, so I better just make this quick.' He thought, struggling to work with four legs. 

Taking a deep breath, and assuming a poorly fighting stance, he roared with all the might this beast had. Doing so the others out there would hear him, and rush to the scene. Then he tried to quickly spin around and run away, but his inexperience with four legs made this an almost impossible task. With effort, he was able to wobble his way back into the forest, seeming more like an injured animal than the ferocious beast the manticore was. Slowly, though, he got more accustomed to the extra two legs, and picked up a the pace.

Still, he never fully figured out how to walk with four legs, and it showed. But, eventually, he was far enough away from Rainbow Dash and the children for him to safely release his hold over the animal; which he assumed was male, seeing the wild mane on the lion's head.

Looking around in confusion, the manticore didn't understanding where he was, or what happened to his prey. The beast slowly circled around, trying to get his bearings, then sniffed the air, looking for the scent of his meal.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you go back," Danny sighed out as he turned visible again, making the beast jump back a bit before setting up to strike. "And I wouldn't suggest that either," he added coolly. 

The manticore didn't listen, of course. Here was an easy prey, ready to be devoured. And having already lost his earlier prey, he would have to do. With a mighty heave, the manticore swung his claw at Danny, passing clean through him. 

The manticore stared dumbly at his claw, blinked a few times. Maybe he had just missed? So he tried again, and again, hitting nothing but air every single time, while Danny just sighed out from the oversized cat's attempts to hurt him. 

"Really, you can't hit me. For your own sake, just stop." Danny said, unamused.

This only made the manticore more enraged as he thought the hairless beast was taunting him. So, with a growl, he launched his spiked tail at him, trying to impale Danny on the poisonous tip, but failing miserably. Not letting up, the manticore tried again and again, each swing becoming more wild as he became more agitated with the stubbornly difficult to hit prey. Eventually, he managed to strike the spot where Danny stood with such force the spike on his tail got stuck in the ground. 

"Okay, I've had enough of this pointless behavior." Danny said, slightly frustrated as he grabbed hold of the bulbous part of the tail and channeled his ice power into it, forming a large ball of ice around the lethal part of manticore's tail. 

The manticore gave a hard, panicked yank on his tail, pulling free. But the weight of the ice made it impossible for him to lift it up, and was forced to drag the now useless limb behind him.

'Now to finish this,' Danny thought as he channeled energy into his hands, making them glow a toxic green.

Releasing a twin blast of ectoplasm, he hit the manticore right in his chest, illuminating the forest with a toxic green light. He made sure the energy was not enough to kill or seriously injure, but more than enough to scare the oversized mutant cat away. And, with a yelp, the manticore ran away with his tail dragging behind it, not wanting to fight with something that could use magic like that.

"And now to return to Rainbow and the kids." Danny muttered as he flew back, his legs turned into an intangible tail while he turned invisible.


<<>><<>><<>>
 

The crusaders just sat there, mouths agape and completely dazed by what they just saw. First, Rainbow Dash was fighting the manticore with relative ease. Dodging its wild swipes with no problem whatsoever. But then the manticore got lucky, and hit her right on the head. She wasn't knocked out, luckily, but was seriously dazed from the blow. 

Seeing his new target was no longer capable of defending herself, the manticore readied himself to finish her off. When, all of a sudden, it reared back and roared. Then, a weird white glow came from it for a few seconds before it vanished. And when it opened its eyes again, they were glowing green once again. 

The fillies didn't know what this was, but were unable to move or look away. They saw it wobble as it took on a very strange looking fighting stance, then it roared. It was louder than anything they had heard before, and the ground shook slightly as the beast let out its thunderous war cry. 

Then it spun around and left, yet it looked as if the manticore was injured, wobbling away. Neither of them knew why. 

Rainbow Dash had landed some serious hits on the beast, but not enough to hurt him like that. And, as they saw the manticore slowly wobbled back into the dark of the forest, the fillies finally unfroze and rushed to the downed pegasus.

"Rainbow Dash. Are you alright?" Scootaloo yelled as she shook the mare, trying to get a response out of her idol.

Rainbow groaned slightly, slowly rolling over, and the fillies sighed out in relief.

"Ow, hayseed. Did anypony took the number of that chariot?" Rainbow Dash slurred slightly, rubbing her head.

Despite the situation, the Crusaders couldn't stop a small chuckle escaping them. Rainbow Dash then shook her head, trying to get rid of the disorientation, before jumping up and scanned the area, trying to find the manticore that had managed to hit her.

"What, where did he go!?" she yelled out in disbelief and frustration.

"It just ran away, sort of." Sweetie Belle answered.

"What, how do you mean, sort of?" Rainbow Dash snapped, her blood still boiling over the fact the manticore got in a lucky hit, and knocked her down.

"Well, he seemed to try and run away, but he moved as if he was injured." Apple Bloom spoke up, only for all of them to fall silent when a sudden, bright green flash lit up the night, followed shortly there after by a loud yelp. The four ponies looked at the darkness where the flash had come from, not knowing what it was, or what it was that made that sound.

"What was that?" Sweetie Belle asked as she partially hid behind the older mare.

"I... I don't know." Rainbow Dash replied, trying to sound brave in front of the three fillies.

Suddenly, there was the rustling of leaves near them as they heard something approaching. The fillies huddled behind the multi colored pegasus, who took on a fighting stance. Crouching down a bit, wings folded out, and a sneer on her face as she prepared for anything that could show up. Yet, for everything she was expecting, it wasn't the tall form of Danny that made itself apparent.

"Relax, it's just me." Danny said worriedly as he noticed Rainbow Dash's stance, ready to strike.. 

"DANNY!!" Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle yelled as they ran towards him. 

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle grabbed him by his legs in an improvised hug while Scootaloo bounced happily in front of him.

"You're here too?" Apple Bloom said, happily.

"Yeah, I am." He replied as he tried to pry the two fillies of his legs. "And, Rainbow," he said as he looked up at her. "Sorry I was unable to help you out there. That run took a lot out of me," he lied, but he was glad to see she was unharmed, except for a dent in her pride.

"Hah, not that it would have mattered. I was this close to beating him, you wouldn't even have had a chance to get close." Rainbow Dash boasted.

"So I take it that 'nap' of yours was part of the plan, then." Danny mocked with a coy smirk, earning a few giggles of Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo, however, wasn't as amused.

"Hey, take that back. Rainbow Dash would have totally bucked his flank if he hadn't run off. Isn't that right, Rainbow?"

"Hah, you know it, squirt." Rainbow Dash said with a cocky grin, before they all turned to look towards the general area Dash had come from; hearing the thunderous sound of multiple hooves hitting the ground at high speed. Almost all at once, the entire search party showed up. 

"Apple Bloom!"

"Sweetie Belle!" Applejack and Rarity shouted as they rushed towards their younger siblings, pulling them in a tight hug.

"Oh my dear Sweetie Belle, thank Celestia you are safe. I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to you." Rarity wailed as she held tightly on her sister. 

"What in tha world were ya three thinking?" Applejack said, trying to sound serious, but unable to keep the relief and happiness on finding her younger sister out of her voice.

"Ah-Ah'm sorry sis. We were only trying ta earn our Cutie Marks." Apple Bloom said, her ears folding flat against her head as she noticed the disappointed look on her sister's face.

"Do Ah even want ta know what it was this time!?" Applejack half asked, half groaned. Already knowing that she wouldn't like the answer.

"We were trying to catch a manticore to see if that was our special talent." Sweetie Belle said quietly, not looking up at the disappointing glare Rarity gave her.

"A manticore! Is that what we heard?" Twilight asked, shocked, amazed the fillies didn't get themselves killed this time.

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo never answered that, but their faces told the entire story.

"Oh my, but why would you even try to do that? I mean.. if you don't mind me asking." Fluttershy asked the three fillies, before her shyness took over, and she partially hid behind her mane.

Sucking in a deep breath, Scootaloo answered: "Because we wanted to try ghost hunting and catching first, but Applejack said we weren't allowed to do that. But we really, really wanted to try it out because it is really, really cool. And we want to get our Cutie Mark by doing something cool. But Rainbow Dash then told us we could get our cutie mark doing something even more awesome than ghost hunting, so we—" She said in one breath, then suddenly stopped as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shot her a glare. "—I mean, I got the idea we should try to catch a manticore and see if that is our special talent," she finished, smiling sheepishly to the adults present that looked at her with their mouths partially agape. Danny once again had to shake his head, not believing the audacious plans these little ponies could come up with.

"You what!" Applejack yelled as she and Rarity shot an angry glare towards Rainbow Dash, making her flinch, before looking back to the three fillies, definitely not amused.

"You. Three. Are. In. So. Much. Trouble!" Applejack and Rarity yelled simultaneously, the intensity of their voices matching the manticore's roar in strength and ferocity. 

The three fillies flinched away, folding their ears flat against their heads in an attempt to block the volume, but failing miserably. Even the others reared back from the outburst, glad that they weren't the ones targeted.

"We're sorry." The three young ponies said in unison, confirming Danny's suspicion he had the other day that they had a lot of practice with it.

"Ya bet yer sorry!" Applejack said with forced calm.

"Of all the things you have done, this has to be The. Worst. Possible. Thing!" Rarity added with drama, but the intensity of her voice made it clear she was more than a little mad with her younger sister.    

"And don' think we'd forgotten about ya." Applejack said sternly as she looked down at Scootaloo. "We might not be able ta punish ya, but we'll make sure Bellflower hears 'bout this!"

Scootaloo looked down at this. In one part because of any punishment she might get. The other, because it reminded her about the pony who tried to replace her mother. Her jaw tensed in a flash of anger. And as she looked around at all who'd come to look for them, Scootaloo noticed she wasn't even here to begin with. 

Snorting, she looked at her friend's sisters. Feeling another pang of anger that their family, at the very least, cared enough to look for them. And although there was Rainbow Dash, who she looked up to as some kind of older sister, this feeling of anger, and even a hint of sadness just wouldn't leave her alone.

Applejack and Rarity were about to continue scolding their sisters for their foalish behavior, telling them that they should know better. But, before they could do so, Zecora stepped forwards, looking around as if she was searching for something.

"I understand your sisters need a stern talking, but I suggest we start walking.
This forest is unsafe, especially at night. It is full with creatures that could cause a fright."

Zecora warned all of them with her rhymes, still looking around to make sure there wasn't anything sneaking up on them. Her eyes seemed to linger on the spot Danny's shadow was still hiding, but she soon looked away, scanning some other part of the forest.

"Zecora is right!" Twilight said. "The forest is full of dangerous animals, and we have been lucky nopony got seriously injured," she said with some relief as she looked at the fillies.

This caused for some hushed murmurs as suddenly every pony present, safe for the lone human, looked around the forest. They showed various forms of fear over this. With Fluttershy, huddled in a tight ball, barely peeking past her mane as she shook visibly, being the worst. Zecora, on the other hand, just looked around with a calculating gaze. Showing no fear, but holding a serious look as she watched the forest around them all.

Danny, however, just scratched his head. Still not knowing what animals lived in here other than that oversized cat, or manticore, as he heard them call it. He shrugged mentally as he followed the retreating group out of the forest, looking around in a curious fashion, unlike the studious gaze Zecora showed. 

'I still don't have much of an idea what is living here, but if that cat thing is any indication then it won't be much good. Still, it is kinda spooky here. Guess I'm right at home, then.' Danny chuckled softly over his lame joke. 'Speaking about spooky. Shadow, return.' he commanded  his specter, making a dark blur approach him from behind. He deliberately stayed at the back of the group because of this, because, despite the darkness consuming almost everything, two green glowing eyes would be noticed.

'Don't think I forgot about you. When I get home, you and I will have that chat of ours!' he thought in a frustrated tone, but some suspicion and possibly a bit of fear seeped through as well. 

What exactly was 'living' in his head.


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


As the group of ponies and human walked back home through the forest, they kept looking around nervously, afraid that something would suddenly jump out of the bushes and attack them. Even Danny, who at first was rather nonchalant about the place, was feeling jumpy. The darkness, which almost seem to entomb them, started to wear on him. He wasn't the only one, though. Everyone present in their group was affected by it. Not all as much, of course. Zecora was the calmest of them all, followed shortly by Twilight. But, despite her best efforts to keep a calm mind, Danny noticed her frantic shifting of the head. Almost as if she was trying to look in every direction at once, shining the purple hued light from her horn everywhere. 

The others also showed signs of anxiety, some more than others. Rainbow Dash kept as much a brave face as she could, but it was clear she was on edge. Nervous twitches of her wings every time a branch snapped in the dark distance were the most obvious signs. Applejack seemed similar to Rainbow Dash, but behaved more aggressively every time there was some unknown sound. Which was obvious, seeing how she was watching over Apple Bloom. Rarity seemed more worried about Sweetie Belle's muddy appearance though, silently scolding her over the terrible state her mane was in. But when he looked closer, he saw she was just as worried and protective as Applejack, and he was sure that anything that would threaten her younger sister was in for a fierce fight.

Pinkie Pie was.... well Pinkie Pie. She was bouncing around with a large smile on her face, but somehow managed not to make a single sound every time she landed on the ground, despite it being covered with dried leaves, small twigs and branches. From time to time, she even 'Giggled at the ghostly' as she explained to Danny, still giggling as she did so. And no, the irony was not lost on him. 

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were all huddled together, Rarity and Applejack keeping them in the middle of the group, while Dash flew above them, The three fillies didn't say much. Instead, they just looked down as they were guided out of the forest by the others. Only looking up when they heard something that would also provoke a reaction from the others.

Then there was Fluttershy. She was... troublesome. When the fillies were still unaccounted for, and possibly in danger, her protective instinct took over, making it possible for her to enter the forest and help with the search. But now that they were safe, she had a hard time keeping her composure. Keeping herself as low as possible, hiding her head behind a curtain of pink as she slowly, very slowly, crept forward. In fact, Danny, who was walking at the back of the group, accidentally stepped on her tail once or twice because his long paces easily overtook Fluttershy's slow crawl. This caused her to shriek out and latch onto the first thing that was in hooves reach. Which, of course, was also Danny. And, although it did provide for some relative amusing moments, with the mare clinging tightly onto Danny's torso, no one there could enjoy it.

Eventually, after they walked for almost an hour, the group finally emerged from the forest, glad that they were finally out of that "Dreadful place" as Rarity had put it. 

Zecora bid her farewell through her usual rhymes, and left the group as she returned into the forest. Danny asked, almost in shock, why she would go back in there, but everyone there assured him that she knew what she was doing, and that she lived there.

After that was cleared up, Danny split off from the group, telling them he was turning in for the night now the children were safe. Everyone thanked him for his help. Even the crusaders gave a quiet thanks, but didn't dare to speak up louder as they were still in a lot of trouble. 

But, as he walked home, he didn't notice the lingering look he got from Twilight; too deep in thought about what had happened in the forest with his shadow to notice.

Someone else, however, did notice.

"So, Twilight. Got your eye on somepony?" Rainbow Dash said with a soft chuckle as she hovered directly next to her ear. The others heard too, and they all turned to look at the flustered unicorn.

"What!? Rainbow Dash! The crusaders were almost killed by a manticore in the Everfree Forest, and you ask me about that, now!?" Twilight said in a simultaneously flustered and condescending tone as she looked at the still grinning pegasus.

"Yeah they could, but they didn't, so that's that. But," she began as her grin widened, making Twilight a bit nervous. "Even with all that, you are the one checking out Danny's flank as he walks away." Rainbow Dash pointed out as she victoriously aimed her hoof at Twilight.

"What!? Rainbow, n-"

"Oh my. How did I not see this earlier!?" Rarity gasped in sudden realization, "Following him around, seeing what he does. Even asking us for help to keep an eye on him. Oh my dear, you got it bad, don't you? But you go about it all wrong." 

"Rarity, wha-"

"I know you tend to study up on everything, but this isn't something you can just learn from a book. Honestly dear, what were you thinking? Instead, you could have come to me. Oooh, I can see it now." Rarity swooned, completely ignoring Twilight, whose face was becoming redder with every passing moment. "I could help you find a dress that would certainly catch his attention. It would be nigh impossible for him to look away as he is enraptured by how stunning you ar-"

"Rarity" Twilight shouted, her face almost a glowing red. "I do not have a crush on Danny," she sputtered, more embarrassed than ever.

"What? Are you sure dear?" Rarity said, confused as she was so rudely cut off.

"Yes, I am sure!" Twilight almost yelled in response. Her face now actually glowing red as she looked at the fashionista, then at the rest of the group.

Rainbow Dash was rolling over the ground, unable to stop laughing. Applejack had placed her hat in front of her face, hiding the amused look she had. Pinkie Pie was.... sad that she had to put away the party supplies, which she was going to use to celebrate that Twilight had a crush on Danny. Fluttershy was more composed, but she, too, held a hoof against her muzzle as she chuckled softly. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, however, were beyond saving as they rolled around the ground, laughing so hard that tears streamed down their faces. 

"Oh my. Well, should you ever change your mind, my offer still stands." Rarity offered as she slowly backed away, making Rainbow Dash snort out in laughter as she continued to spastically kick her legs in the air.

"Let's just get back to the library so the fillies can tell us what happened exactly." Twilight said forcefully, marching home as the laughter of Rainbow Dash and the fillies followed after her. 


<<>><<>><<>>
 

The moment Danny arrived back home, he locked the door and covered the windows, making it impossible for anyone outside to see what was going on within. But, as a result, it also became impossible for him to see, as the moon's light was now also blocked out. Of course, to him this wasn't really a problem to begin with.

"And now to deal with you," Danny muttered as his eyes turned green, allowing him to see once more. "Shadow, show yourself!" he said out loud, not worrying that anyone would hear him at the moment.

In a flurry of movement, he saw the dark shape that was his shadow form and detach itself from him. The shadow rose up from the floor, almost looking like a balloon inflating as it took on a three dimensional shape. Now standing before him, Danny noticed that his shadow looked different. Not in shape or form, as it could change it on a whim. But its face, or more precisely, its eyes were different. Before, he only saw an almost mindless being, capable only of doing what it was told. A drone. But now, there was a look of intelligence in its eyes. A look of a creature that was learning. Learning about itself and the world around it. 

"Master," it spoke, its speech becoming more clear every time it did so, but there was still a patchy tone to it.

Danny clenched his fists at this, hoping that he had just imagined the whole thing, but it proved not to be so.

"Explain!" he said in a forced, calm tone. "Explain how you are doing this!"

"Master was in trouble. Shadow protects master, but shadow too weak." It told Danny.

"In trouble? With who?" Danny asked angrily, but confusion broke through.

"Bad pony," it answered. "Bad pony tried enter master's mind, but shadow fought back. But shadow weak, pony strong, very strong. Shadow need be strong. So shadow took shadow of bad pony, making shadow stronger, smarter.... confused." It added almost in an afterthought.

"What!? What bad pony? Who are you talking about?" Danny yelled in disbelief.

"Pony pri- prin- prin... master Wunaa." it said, struggling with the unfamiliar words.

"Princess Luna!?" Danny said as he reared back in shock.

"Yessss." it responded with a hiss, its form twitching as if it was in agony when Danny said that name.

"And she was trying to enter my mind!? Why?" Danny asked fearfully, not wanting anyone to see what was locked away in there.

"Do not know. But she bad pony, she touched by darkness. Shadow felt it, shadow took it, used it, became stronger from it," it answered. 

"And now what? You are capable of doing things on your own now, not following my orders. It was you that was possessing that cat thing in the forest, wasn't it?" Danny said, fearful that his shadow might go rogue one day.

"Yesss." It answered simply.

"Why?" 

The shadow was silent for a long time, not knowing how to answer that. It floated before Danny as its outlines twitched erratically while it thought. 

"Why?" Danny repeated.

"Little ponies," it said.

"What?" Danny said in confusion.

"Little ponies were in danger. Shadow felt... felt something. Shadow did not listen to master to.. to help little ponies." It said as it visibly shuddered when he said he disobeyed Danny.

"You can feel?" Danny shouted at the latest revelation.

The shadow didn't say anything, only nodding its head as it thought back to the confusing and conflicting feelings it felt when it saw the fillies being in danger.

"What is going on with you!?" Danny asked, more to himself than his shadow, but it replied nonetheless.

"I... I not know.. Master. Shado-.... I- I am confused," the shadow said, when it suddenly stopped mid-sentence. Its slowly growing mind finally personalized itself, right in front of Danny. 

"What did you say?" Danny asked in disbelief.

"I am confused," it... no, he repeated.

Danny's eyes shrunk to the size of pinpricks as he could only look at the slowly developing individual floating before him. Panic was the only thing on his mind at the time. He came here to get away from ghosts, to finally be at peace. Instead, it might very well be that he brought something just like Penelope Spectra into this world, and he felt sick to the stomach. Once again, his powers gave him the finger, and possibly caused for a very dangerous form of ghost to slowly enter the world. But, maybe, there was a chance his shadow wasn't going to hurt others in time. If what he said was true, then he did just save the lives of those three children. But Danny needed to be sure. Shadow might have been a part of him, but he couldn't forget how he 'obtained' his shadow specter. 

"Shadow..." Danny started hesitantly, "Why did you save those children exactly?" 

"It... it is what master wou- would have done." Shadow answered.

"What!?" Danny said, confused. Of every possible answer he was expecting, this was not one of them.

"I made from you. I part of you. Master w-would save little ponies. I save little ponies," Shadow explained.

"So, you mean that you did what you did, because it is what I would do?" Danny asked, cautiously optimistic. The shadow nodded.

Danny let out a deep sigh of relief, not even realizing that he had been holding his breath until now. It seemed that his shadow, despite its origin, had developed the same mindset as he had.

'He probably used my mind as a template.' Danny thought as he looked at the shadow, 'But still. I can't shake the feeling I am missing something.'

Danny sighed out again. He needed to clear his head if he wanted to think this through properly. And that also meant he couldn't use any mentally developing hitchhikers while doing so. 

"Shadow. I want you to stay in the attic until I return, understood?" he ordered, hoping that it would still listen. To his great relief, his shadow nodded and flew up towards the small attic Danny had yet to see for himself.

"Fortunately, that still works." Danny muttered as he looked around, then unlocked the door and stepped out in the night. 'I haven't done this in years, but I know it is exactly what I need right now.' he thought as he closed the door behind him and walked to a hill near his house, looking up at the clear night sky filled with stars. 


<<>><<>><<>>
 

The shadow was hiding in the dark attic, just as his master had ordered him to do. 

His master was confused, which was normal, seeing Shadow was also confused. Master had asked him many questions, and he had answered. Yet he was glad master hadn't asked about the dreams. Because, deep down, there was something… Something else. Something that didn't want master to know about the ability to control dreams, not while he was still learning. Shadow felt a strong need to learn more about these ponies. These six brightly colored ponies who, for some reason, made him feel angry. But why? Why would he be angry with them? What did they do to him? 

Shadow's confusion continued to grow as his mind did the same. A mind which was formed to resemble that of its master, but there was something else as well. Something completely alien, and it scared him as he looked at the moon through a small window located in the attic.


<<>><<>><<>>
 

Sitting in the library were nine ponies. Six sat in a semicircle around three fillies, who told their story about what had happened tonight.

"Okay, so let's see if I get this right." Twilight said as she pressed her hoof against her head. "You were chased by the manticore until you got trapped at that cliff where we found you?" she stopped as she looked at the fillies for confirmation. Seeing them nod, she continued. "And then the manticore attacked you, only to stop mid-swing, allowing you to escape." Another pause, another confirmation. "And his eyes were green?" she asked.

"Glowing green, actually." Sweetie Belle corrected.

"Right, of course." Twilight said in disbelief, "Then Rainbow Dash attacked him and a bright flash of light appeared shortly after?" another nod. "Then the manticore attacked Rainbow Dash?"

"Yeah, but she was totally avoiding his attacks." Scootaloo said eagerly before her smile fell from her face. "I mean, until she got hit that is." 

"The manticore's eyes were also normal again," Apple Bloom added.

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that." Sweetie Belle replied.

"Riiight," Twilight said, finding the story somewhat hard to believe. "And then, with Rainbow Dash out for the count, the manticore was making a move to finish her off." Twilight and the rest couldn't help but cringe at the thought, and Rainbow Dash had admitted that it was true, but only because he got in a lucky shot. 

"Yeah," Scootaloo said in a small voice, looking down.

"But then something really weird happened!" Sweetie Belle piped up, snapping everypony out of the depressing thought of their friend almost being killed by a manticore.

"Do explain!" Twilight said, already knowing what it was because the crusaders had retold their story three times now.

"The manticore just suddenly reared back, as if he was hit by something. It even roared out as it did so." Apple Bloom told the group of ponies sitting before them in a semicircle.

"Then this really weird glow sur-sur-.."

"Surrounded." Sweetie Belle said the word Scootaloo was struggling with.

"Yeah, that. He was sarounderd by a weird glow, and then his eyes were all glowing green again."

"Then it just roared and walked away." Apple Bloom continued, "Only, it looked like he was injured and such. Almost as if he didn't know how to walk on four legs all of a sudden."

"And then we went to see if Rainbow Dash was alright." Scootaloo said.

"And then I tried to find where the manticore was, only to see it was gone. But the weird thing was that shortly after, we saw a green flash and heard a sound as if some animal was hurt," Rainbow Dash finished.

"Ya sure ya didn't git knocked on tha head ta hard, Rainbow?"Applejack asked the pegasus, having a hard time believing all of this. "It's jus' mighty unlikely."

"Look, I know how it sounds, but it's true. I saw most of what happened what they said." Rainbow Dash said in defense for the Crusaders. "Besides, I'm sure Danny would say the same thing if he were here."

"Yes, about that. Where was Danny in all of that?" Twilight asked.

"Meh. Apparently he was tired from the run towards the crusaders. Two legs really are slowing the guy down, so he was standing on the side catching his breath." Rainbow Dash said nonchalantly, not really thinking about it.

"Really?" Twilight said somewhat in disbelief. "He saw you and the crusaders being attacked by a manticore, and didn't do anything about it?"

"Actually, Twilight. Ah have ta agree with Dash here." Applejack said. "Ah've seen him run before, an' he ain't all that fast. He really ain't built fer speed, that much is true."

"Okayyy," Twilight said, doubtful. "But we all know what it could mean if all of this is true." she said with a shiver in her voice.

"A.. Ah rather not think 'bout it." Applejack said wearily.

"But, Twilight, dear. Surely you're not talking about... about them." Rarity said with venom in her voice.

"I'm not sure. It shouldn't be possible. It can't be possible."Twilight sighed out, unsure, "I will ask Danny what he saw before I jump to any conclusions. Maybe he saw something that could explain all of this." She said as she tried to come up with another explanation for what had happened in the forest tonight. "Why don't you all go home for tonight and get some sleep. Maybe we can figure this out after we have some rest."

"That sounds like a mighty fine idea." Applejack said as she and the rest of the group got up, save for three young fillies.

"But Ah'm not tired ye-aaahwn." Apple Bloom said, but was interrupted by a large yawn. She didn't want to go, she wanted to know what they were talking about.

"Uhu. An' tha sun rises on its own." Applejack said, sarcastically. "And don't ya think yer out of trouble, missy. Ah'll see what yer punishment will be tomorrow." 

"The same goes for you, Sweetie Belle." Rarity added.

"AAAAWW." Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle groaned as they were led out of the library by their older sisters. Followed shortly by Scootaloo and the rest.

As everypony had left and Twilight was the only one standing in the library, she thought about what the fillies and Rainbow Dash had told them. 

It couldn't be real, right? It wasn't possible. But what they had said sounded a lot like... that. No, she needed to clear her head and think logically about this. Wild accusations weren't going to help her, and she still had Danny to talk to. Maybe he could shed some light on all of this.

She slowly walked out of the library, making sure not to make too much sound so Spike wouldn't wake up. Which was unlikely anyhow, considering how fast he sleeps. 

Stepping out into the night, Twilight made her way over to a small hill not too far away as she looked up at the night sky.

'I bet a bit of stargazing will help me clear my mind.' she thought.


<<>><<>><<>>
 

As Twilight slowly made her way towards the hill further ahead, she kept thinking about what the Crusaders and Rainbow Dash had said. Glowing green eyes, and a strange glow surrounding the manticore, it all just sounded so familiar. But it couldn't be, not after Baltimare. 

The Crusaders were too young to remember it, but Twilight and the rest of her friends did. They didn't know everything, and what they know varied per pony, but she knew more than them. She knew more because she is Princess Celestia's personal student, and as such, heard more than the common pony. Still, even her knowledge was limited. The princess made sure that nopony heard more than they should, and only revealed partially what had happened in a public press conference. They didn't do this to keep secrets, but to keep their subject from finding out exactly what had happened in a way to protect them from the truth. And, although Twilight wasn't privileged to know the full extent of the situation, she did find out some of the more intimate details regarding the Baltimare incident, as it became known shortly after. 

She never saw a ghost personally, thank the stars. But she heard enough to know that, what the fillies said they saw this night, was eerily similar to what was reported of ponies being possessed. A shiver went through her spine as she thought of the implications of what this could mean. If a ghost did manage to get through, then others could do too. She hoped it wasn't so, but the similarities made it difficult for the purple mare to come up with a different idea as to what this could be.

As she walked up the hill, she noticed somepony else lying in the tall grass that covered the incline of terrain. 

"Hello, is anypony up here?" She asked, before mentally face-hoofing. Of course there is somepony there, she just saw him or her. It was a clear indication that she needed to clear her mind.

The pony reacted to Twilight's question by sitting upright, its form clearly not that of a pony.

"Yeah, I'm up here." Danny replied when he spotted Twilight a few meters away.

"Danny? What are you doing here?" She asked in surprise.

"Just looking at the stars, trying to clear my mind. What about you?" He asked in return.

"Eh, the same, I guess." Twilight answered in slight surprise. From the limited observations she had made of him, she hadn't thought of him as one that would enjoy stargazing. And not only that, but he even chose the same spot she would frequently visit to do just that. Her friends never showed much interest in the subject either, other than the occasional meteor shower. But that was different. But here was Danny, doing something she enjoyed doing herself too. She was pleasantly surprised to find out they had something in common.

"Are you alright?" Danny asked when Twilight kept looking at him with an unfocused gaze.

"Huh, oh, yes. Yes I'm alright. Kind of zoned out there." She answered after she shook her head to regain focus.

"Aha... Well, if you came here to look at the stars as well, you're welcome to join me, more than enough room, I guess." Danny said in an offhand manner as he lay back down again, hands folded behind his head.

"Eh, thank you." Twilight said, a bit flustered. Never before had somepony, human or otherwise, asked her to join them stargazing.

She slowly walked towards Danny and sat down at his side, a slight blush forming on her cheeks. Fortunately it was dark enough to go unnoticed. Her blush intensified somewhat as she slowly lowered herself and lay on her back in a similar fashion as Danny. This pose left her somewhat exposed, and she quickly covered her more private parts with her tail as she looked up, trying to ignore the heat radiating from her face. 

Danny didn't seem to notice, though, as he was looking at the stars above, forming constellations he never saw before. 

"It certainly is a nice view." he said, snapping Twilight out of her embarrassment as she now, too, looked up.

"Yes, it certainly is. Princess Luna sure made a beautiful night sky tonight." She answered after a few moments.

Danny raised his eyebrow at this as he gave Twilight a sideways glance.

"How do you mean: Princess Luna made the night sky?" he asked in confusion. No one makes the night sky, it just is there as it is.

"Well, like I said. Princess Luna moves the stars to form a different view each night." Twilight explained to Danny, who gave her a look of disbelief.

"What?" Twilight asked after a moment.

"She moves the stars!?" Danny said somewhat mockingly, not believing it.

"Yes, she does!" Twilight retorted, not liking the tone of his voice.

"That is impossible." Danny said confidently. He might not have finished his school or anything, but if there is anything he knows a lot about, it's space.

"What!? How can you say that?" Twilight asked, shocked.

"Don't get me wrong here, I know you have this strange energy here."

"Magic!" Twilight corrected him with a hint of bitterness.

"Right, magic. But to suggest that she can move the stars, I don't buy that. After all, you know what stars are, right? How far away they are?" Danny asked as he continued to look up, ignoring the stare he got from Twilight.

"Of course I do." Twilight said offended, how couldn't she know. "Stars are small magical orbs, created by princess Luna who takes care of them every night. Just as I said." She said smugly as she proved her point.

Danny just looked at her in a state of shocked disbelief, unable to comprehend what he just heard.

"What!? That is not how it is at all!" he finally said after a while.

"Yes it is! All the books say so." Twilight said victoriously, thinking that she had proved him wrong with that piece of logic.

"All the books say so," Danny said in a flat tone. "Did Luna ever tell you that those books were correct, or did you just assume it to be?" he asked.

"Well, no. I never asked. Why would I? Multiple books tell this is how it is." Twilight said, puzzled by what he was saying.

"Maybe you should. Many people can write many things. Doesn't mean it is true. You should always question what you learn, instead of just accepting it at face value. Because, what is written as truth today, could be completely wrong tomorrow. But if you don't ask the questions you don't want to ask, then how would you even find out. Besides, if I'm right, then your books are wrong and Princess Luna wouldn't be able to move the stars!" 

"What. Why!?" Twilight asked, sounding both shocked over what he had just said, and curious about what he could mean.

"Okay. What is a star? Really?" Danny asked.

"I just told you. It is a magical orb made by princess Luna."

"Wrong. A star is a sun, and the sun is a star." he told her. 

Twilight looked at him in disbelief for a moment, before she burst out in laughter.

"Pfhaha... Th- that is ridiculous." she sputtered through her laughter. "The sun is far too big to be a star, just look at how small they are," she countered what Danny said while pointing up.

"That would answer my other question it seems!" Danny stated, making Twilight look at him in confusion once more. "You don't know how far away they are!"

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked, now genuinely interested.

"They are that small because the stars are that far away. Really far away. Light Years, to be precise." He explained to the confused mare.

"Light years?" She repeated, never before having heard the term. 

"You know. The distance light travels in a single year." 

"Which is?" Twilight asked eager.

"About five trillion, eight hundred seventy nine billion miles a year." He answered simply, and Twilight looked at him in stunned disbelief.

"And that is only one year. Most stars are tens, if not hundreds or thousands of light years away from us. Some even millions. That is why they look so small. They are just so far away. A lot of those stars are even bigger than the sun here, you know. Much bigger. And this is also why I don't believe princess Luna is moving the stars, because it would mean she is able to move multiple objects, most of them larger than the sun, over a distance that would take light thousands of years to cross. Not only would that mean her magic is able to cross that distance in an instant, and thus moving faster than light itself, which I find difficult to believe. But it would also mean that, if it were true, it would still take hundreds, or even thousands of years before you would see a change in the constellations, as it would take the light hundreds or thousands of years to get here in their new position." he explained to the completely silent mare lying next to him. "And, something that makes the thought of princess Luna moving the stars even worse. What if there are worlds like this one located around the stars out there? What would happen to them when their sun just flies away like that? What would happen to those living on them?"

"But... that can't be. It would mean my books are wrong." Twilight said in horror, not wanting to believe such a thing. "But if you're right, then explain to me how princess Luna is able to move the stars then. I have seen her do it." Twilight countered after she took a moment to recollect herself.

"She's probably only moving the light. Which is impressive on its own, but she isn't moving the stars." He replied almost immediately.

"She moves... the light?" Twilight said stunned.

"Yeah. Any object with sufficient mass can do that. A large gravitational pull that can bend the path of the light. The sun can do such a thing. Planets too, albeit less than a sun. And don't get me started on a black hole. Those things are nasty. I guess that Luna uses her magic to alter the path of the light, making it appear in a different place. But the stars themselves don't move at all." He explained as he shot Twilight a sideways glance.

Twilight just lay there, looking at the stars. Trying to wrap her mind around what Danny just told her. If it was true what he said it would change everything she knew about astronomy.

"Bu-... wha-... How do you know all this?" Twilight asked after several minutes.

Danny just looked up at the stars for a long couple of minutes before answering.

"When I was a kid, I always wanted to become an astronaut. Someone who would go out there, and see the wonders of the universe." He said as he waved his hand in a random direction towards the stars, indicating the whole of them. "I always tried to learn as much as I could about space and rocket science. Probably the only thing I actually studied for," he said with a wry grin.

"You wanted to become an astronaut?" Twilight asked, taking note of the past tense.

"You can't always get what you want," he answered simply.

"I see."

Many minutes passed after that. The two just looking up at the starry night in silence. A slight breeze made Twilight shiver a bit as it hit her exposed belly, and she subconsciously moved a bit closer to Danny.

"It has been a while since I last done this." Danny said suddenly, letting loose a sigh.

"Done what?" Twilight asked.

"Just lie back and just look at what is around me."

"Then why didn't you do it more often?"

Silence was her only answer. And when Twilight finally looked at him, about to repeat the question, she saw he had fallen asleep.

"Stallions," she muttered, before using her magic to levitate him up, and, slowly, moved him back to his home. His prone form drifted through the air, surrounded by a purple aura, which Twilight used as an impromptu flashlight so she could see where she was going.

After a short walk, she stood before Danny's house. And, with a flash of her magic, she opened the door and led herself and Danny in. She moved Danny towards the bedroom, and placed him on his bed and left. But, before she closed the door to his bedroom, she stopped and looked at him once more. A slight blush crept on her face as she thought back at the moment they shared on the hill. It wasn't anything special, but to have somepon-... someone to share something like that. It made her feel rather giddy. But it wasn't the same feeling she got as when she received a new book or completed an assignment from princess Celestia. This was different, and she didn't really understand it. 

She closed the door of the bedroom, and did the same with the front door as she stepped out into the night, feeling an unfamiliar feeling slowly spreading through her being. But she was so absorbed by what had happened just now, and what she was feeling, that she completely forgot to ask Danny about what he saw in the forest, or what Zecora had told her. She also failed to notice the glowing green eyes staring at her from a small window in the attic. Eyes that shifted from confusion to anger, and back. A fight happening in the newborn mind of the shadow. A being that recognized her from old memories. 

Memories that weren't his own.