//------------------------------// // The Day The World Looked Pink-ie Pie // Story: Guilt of a Phantom // by Powerdrainer //------------------------------// Edits done by Halusm. The Day The World Looked Pink-ie Pie. <<>><<>><<>> Celestia was walking towards her balcony, preparing to bring forth a new day for her beloved ponies to play and work in. It was a task she loved doing, even after so many countless years. Each day was as unique as her ponies were, and she loved to see what each day would bring. Of course, there were the less than exciting tasks, such as her day court. But that was a small price to pay for the fulfillment she got from watching her ponies play, grow, and learn during her days.  This one was just like all those before, and she was eager to get started. Opening the balcony doors with a pull of her magic, Celestia stepped out into the cool morning air. Taking a deep breath, she took a moment to enjoy her sister’s handiwork. Where she was an artist with the day, she could only marvel at what her sister did with the night. Each star in the night carefully placed, each aurora a skillful brushstroke on a dark canvas. It all came together in a true work of art. Her attention was broken, however, by the gentle flapping of wings. And, looking in the direction the sound came from, Celestia could see her sister fly towards her room.  It wasn't strange for Luna to go out at nights and roam the skies as she watched over their subjects, but Celestia did find it weird that she was returning mere moments before she would raise the sun. What else was strange, was the fact she seemed to come from Ponyville, and it wasn't difficult for Celestia to connect the dots. She would have to talk with her sister about her late night trip, see what it was all about. But first, she had a sun to rise. <<>><<>><<>> The sun was slowly rising and birds were waking up, filling the air with their joyful song. A cool breeze went through the town, and today promised to be another warm, pleasant day. Ponies were waking up with a smile as their morning started with the warming sun provided by their princess, and all of them prepared for another day to interact with their friendly neighbors and townsponies.  All of them, save for the sole human living in Ponyville, who was currently freezing his hairless flank off.  Danny's day started alright enough. Waking up early for some reason, and feeling more rested than he had ever done in years. But his cheerful demeanor slowly changed with a chilling sensation, literally. It started out as something small, but grew out to a massive problem in no time at all. He first noticed it when he was under the shower. A cold sensation, making him think he got the temperature wrong. But, no matter how much he increased the temperature of the water, this cold sensation grew and grew. And before long, he realized that this was a bigger problem than he originally thought.  The first clue that brought him to this realization was the fact that the temperature of the water had now reached the boiling point, and steam came out of the shower head instead of water.  Danny didn't know why the showers here would even go that high with the temperature, but that was not important to him. What was, was that he realized his ice had built up to dangerous levels, and he needed to release it, or risk freezing up. Getting dressed as fast as he could, Danny hurried to get outside, but a last minute thought made him stop in place. There was no way he could explain to anyone why he was cold on a warm day, especially seeing how he was the only one wearing clothes. It would raise suspicion, and that was something he was trying to avoid. Even though it was still dark outside, and the chance of him running into someone was minimal at best, he didn't want to take any chances.  Knowing he didn’t have much of a choice, he turned invisible. He took notice of how he didn't have much of a problem doing so, but not paying it any mind right now. He also went intangible, as a door suddenly opening and closing like that would also give him away. So, invisible and unable to be touched by anything, Danny moved away from Ponyville as fast as he could run on his shivering legs. He was fortunate that he spotted a lake not too far out of town not too long ago during one of his exploratory walks, and it was exactly the thing he needed right now. A large body of water, just waiting to be frozen.  Making good time getting to the lake, as the soles of his shoes had frozen and he could practically skate there, Danny found himself standing at the edge of the crystal clear water in no time at all.  Not wanting to make a mess of things, and accidentally freezing something he shouldn't, Danny flew up and to the center of the lake, before letting gravity take a hold of him again.  Falling down in the water, he sank to the bottom, his eyes, invisible for any to see, were a glowing blue. For a moment the only thing happening in the lake was the rippling of the water where Danny had fallen in, until it had smoothed out and the water was calm again. Then, the first spot of ice began to form. It moved through the water like a dark fog, freezing everything it touched as it moved faster and faster, leaving nothing unfrozen as, in mere moments, the entire lake had frozen solid from the top to bottom.  Danny flew up through the thick layer of ice, looking down at it with some form of amazement. "Wow. That's more than last time. I really needed to let this out," he said as he lowered himself on the cold surface, tapping the ice with his knuckles.  "I just hope no one finds this anytime soon," he murmured, and flew back to his house under the cover of darkness, and his invisibility.  It was a short flight, but he enjoyed it all the same. Closing his eyes, which didn't really work as he could see through his lids, he just took a moment to feel the air blow against his skin, while the first rays of the rising sun shone through him, reveling in the feeling he hadn't felt in a long time.  Freedom. His day was only just beginning, but he already knew today was going to be a great day. <<>><<>><<>> Luna was sitting on her bed, fidgeting with her crown held in between her hooves. Looking at the symbol of her supposed power, she only felt a sense of unworthiness. Why should she have a seat of power if she didn't have the power to be useful? How could she be the Princess of the Night, when the night caused nothing but discomfort for one, and she was unable to help?  It made her feel weak. A feeling she had felt not too long ago, when Twilight and her friends had used the Elements on her corrupted counterpart, returning her to her former, filly-like self. And, although she had grown back into her old self, an equal to her sister, she didn't feel like it. Sighing out, she absentmindedly threw her crown to her side on the bed while staring out through the open balcony doors, watching the sun climb higher and higher in the sky. A new day was starting, and the ponies were waking up to live another day, well rested from their slumber during her night. All of them, except one. Whatever it was that was troubling Danny, and, whatever energy it was that Luna sensed, she knew it was nothing good. She could feel it; a shiver going down her spine. A feeling of dread not unlike those she felt when her corruption first began to whisper its poisonous words to her. A knock came from her door, but she ignored it, not wanting to interact with whoever it was that was standing at her bedroom door. Another knock sounded, followed shortly thereafter by another. Sighing out irritably, Luna turned to look at the source of the frustrating noise. Another knock came. Gritting her teeth, she was about to use the full force of the royal We, telling whoever it was to just leave her alone. Protocol be damned. A golden glow surrounded the door knob, and without a sound her bedroom doors swung open. "Although I'm respecting your privacy by knocking," Celestia said with a faint grin as she stepped inside. "I'm asserting my authority as your older sister by coming in anyway." Equals her flank; this was just the kind of thing her sister would do. Groaning out her frustration, Luna slumped down before letting herself fall backwards, her hind legs sticking up a bit in the air, and her front legs lying splayed to her sides.  "Sister, what matters made you decide to barge into my room?" Luna asked with as much calm as she could, but there was a distinct edge to her voice. "Why don't you tell me. I saw you arrive back at the castle not too long ago, mere moments before I was about to raise the sun." Celestia replied, walking over to her sister's bed. "What, isn't a mare allowed to go out for a flight every now and then?" Luna bit back, not wanting to deal with this right now.  Ignoring the tone of her sister, Celestia sat down on the mattress, taking a place next to her sister, completely missing the dark crown, as it was partially obscured by Luna's mane billowing over it.  Celestia's eyes shot open in horrified realization, and only one thing came to mind at this very moment. "By my flank, that hurts!" She yelled as she jumped back up, and Luna fell off her bed in hysterics. "Hahaha. Ne… Never bef- Pfhahaha.[/i] before in Equestria ha- ha.. Hahaha pffha. has that been more true." Luna wheezed, her sour mood completely gone. Neither one of them noticed the sound of hooves stomping in the hallway, as Luna was laughing too loud for them to hear. And the first clue the two princesses found that they were no longer alone, was when a small group of both solar and lunar guards stood in the open doorway. "Your majesty, is everyt..." A solar guard asked in alarm, only for him to trail off as every one of them saw princess Luna roll over the ground laughing, clutching her sides. And, at the center of attention, a red faced Celestia who was rubbing her sore flank.  "...Is everything alright?" He finished after a moment. His loud, alarmed voice replaced with one of confusion, and a hint of something else entirely, as he watched the Solar Princess rub her flank.  "Yes, everything is just fine," Celestia replied hastily. "You are dismissed." Slowly backing away from the odd, and "compromising" sight, the guards never looked away until they rounded the corner, much to the embarrassment of Celestia and, most definitely, to the amusement of Luna. "And don't speak about this to anypony!" Celestia quickly added as the guards slowly moved out of sight. "Oh, thank you Tia. I needed that," Luna said, chuckling after she had managed to regain control over herself. "I didn't," Celestia said sourly. “That's why it was so funny." "Oh, ha ha. Laugh it up." "I already did." 'Oh, it is on!' Celestia thought as she glared daggers at her sister, who could only smirk in response.  A golden glow surrounded her horn, and a similar aura showed around the pillows found on Luna's bed. Looking wide eyed at first the levitating objects of fluff, then at her sister. Luna was about to protest. But her voice died down in her throat as she saw the large, slightly manic grin on her sister's face. "Oh buc-" Luna uttered, before a pillow assaulted her face, cutting her off, before the full barrage of pillows was unleashed onto her. Popping her head up from underneath the small hill of pillows lying on top of her, Luna shot a challenging look at her smugly grinning sister. Charging her horn with her own magic, she threw multiple feather filled bags at her latest enemy, taking no prisoners.  A battle started of such massive proportions it would be talked about by future generations. A battle of will, strength, honor, pillows and feathers. There would be no victors, nor would there be any losers. All that would remain, and that would stand triumphantly as the bodies of the combatants lay spent on the floor, would be the mess left in their wake. Laughter and feathers flew around as, with a pull of magic, the double doors of Luna's bedroom closed shut.  <<>><<>><<>> "There, all better now?" Celestia asked her sister, sitting next to her with a wing draped across her back.  "Much," came Luna's simple, but relieved answer.  Both of them had spent the better portion of an hour going crazy with their impromptu pillow fight, and the room looked like a hurricane had blown through it. Luna's bed was completely overthrown, and the mattress lay halfway across the room, while the blanket was hanging from a large chandelier. Feathers covered the scene, sticking out of the strangest places one could imagine.  The princesses also didn't make it out of all of this unscathed.  Both of them had more feathers sticking out of their mane and tail than they had on their wings. Celestia's horn had pierced one of the many projectiles of fluff, and the now mostly empty pillow was hanging limply on one side of her head. Her crown was lost during this moment as well, lying scattered somewhere on the floor.  Luna, although free from any pieces of cloth hanging on her horn, had the misfortune of opening her mouth to yell at her sister during their stress relief session. And Celestia, acting without any hesitation, had flung a pillow at her, using her magic to make it explode in her face. Luna still spit out a feather every now and then.  And both their manes stuck out in every direction without any form or purpose, completely ruining the image of grace and nobility.  They were a mess, and neither of them cared. It had been some time since they had let their manes down like this, and both of them were glad they did. Even though Celestia was still a bit sore that it started over her sitting down on Luna's crown, both literally and figuratively.  "I'm glad to hear it. So, mind telling me what happened that made you go out at night?" Celestia asked after a pause, going back to the topic she tried to discuss with Luna when she first came here. "The human, Danny Manson," Luna answered, her good mood falling a bit. "I figured as much," Celestia said, pushing her wing into her sister a bit more in comfort. "Something…" She sighed deeply. "Tia, something is very, very wrong. Whatever it is that afflicts Danny's mind, it would seem it is spreading." The wing on her back pulled away a bit in shock, and Luna looked at the distressed face of her sister.  "Spreading how?" She asked with forced calm. "I do not know. But this night I sensed the disturbance Danny emits coming not just from him, but the element holders as well." Fear replaced shock on Celestia's face, a look not many had seen, as she was always careful to keep a mask of kindness to all. Her sister, however, was one of the very few Celestia was comfortable enough with to show the mare hidden behind this mask. And right now, all there was to see was a frightened mare. "How?" She asked with a slight waver in her voice, "Are they alright? Is Twilight alright?" "As I said, I do not know the how. As for the elements, and Twilight. As far as I could sense, they shared in the feelings of pain and fear Danny has, but they seemed otherwise fine." Luna answered, and she could feel Celestia's wing pull again.  "However," Luna added after a moment, making Celestia's head snap to her again. "There was a another change as well." Luna hesitated for a moment. She was planning to enter Danny's mind through force, and thus, breaking into his very being. This was something she wasn't proud of, and she didn't like the idea of sharing this little bit of information with her sister. She was, however, unable to come up with any other excuse as to why she would fly all the way to Ponyville without informing her sister. And if she lied now, Celestia would only find out later. Breathing in deeply, Luna continued speaking. "I went to Ponyville because I grew tired of just standing on the sidelines and unable to do anything. I... I planned on entering the mind of Danny… through force," she said, and flinched, awaiting the inevitable rebuke from her sister, which never came.  Looking back up at her sister, Luna saw the disappointment in Celestia's eyes. But there was something else as well, something she didn't expect to see there. "Although I am more than disappointed in the fact that you would do such a thing, I can only hope it was for the best. So please, tell me what you learned." Celestia said in a business-like manner. "That's the thing. I didn't learn anything," Luna said in frustration, throwing her front legs in the air "Before I could even try and attempt the spell, I sensed an enormous energy coming from him, and the elements as well. He woke mere moments after this, and I was forced to flee from his room before he could see me." Celestia was at a loss for words, stunned into silence. Whatever it was that was happening with Danny, it could, and already was, becoming a major problem. Something that entered one’s dreams, and causing discomfort in a way she wasn't sure she understood was troubling enough. But Luna, master of dreams, was unable to do anything about it. They needed to find out more about Danny Manson, find out more about his background. Who he is. Where he came from... What happened to him.  "I will have to send a letter to Twilight, and inform her about these new circumstances. But I will have to make sure not to mention anything about what happened to herself, and her friends. Not only would it prove to be a frightening factor, but it would most likely also serve to alienate Danny from them, and maybe even turn the entire town against him. Danny might not even know he is doing all of this, and someone who is already going through whatever this is, does not deserve something like that." Celestia spoke as she stood up, slowly making her way to one of the windows overlooking the city.  "Still, we need to make sure this spread is stopped before more of our ponies are afflicted. Come night time, I will be there by your side to shield the minds closest to Danny. Hopefully we will be able to contain this disturbance to him alone. It isn't ideal, but it is the best we can do under the circumstances." She sighed out as she let her head hang, slightly shaking it, making several feathers fall to the ground. "I just hope we are able to solve this," Luna said as she stood next to Celestia. "For all our sakes." "Indeed." <<>><<>><<>> Twilight slowly woke up, her pillow held tightly in her hooves. The sun was shining, and it hit her squarely in the face, making her groan as she did not yet feel like waking up. But now that she was, she felt it impossible to go back to sleep. It was unusual for her to stay in for this long, but after the amazing sleep she had last night, she didn't want to get up just yet.  Releasing a drawn out groan, she pushed herself up, her eyes looking into forever as they blinked uncoordinatedly, and her mane stuck out in every direction.  Stumbling out of her bed, as her blanket had wrapped around one of her hooves, Twilight made her way to the bathroom, taking the time she needed to make herself presentable to the world. Down below, in the kitchen, Spike was working on his and her breakfast. It was nothing special, just a sandwich and some orange juice, but it would be a nice start of the day, he figured. Gathering all the ingredients he needed for the sandwiches, he could hear Twilight walk back out of the bathroom, her routine complete as fast and efficient as always.  "Good morning, Spike." She greeted in a chipper tonel, smiling at him. "Morning Twilight," he replied with his arms full of food. "I'm making us some breakfast. It won't take long, so just wait for a moment." "Thanks Spike," she said gratefully, then paused as a thought came to her. "Say Spike. Why don't we just go out to get something to eat in town, my treat." "Ehh... Sure, but why?" He asked, dropping a carrot from his grasp. "I'm not sure. I just feel like it," Twilight answered, and went over the few establishments in town they could go to. One, however, stuck out to her more than any other. "And I know just where to go." "Okay, let me just put all of this back then." Spike told her as he moved back to the fridge. "Go ahead, I'll wait. Oh, and Spike. While you're at it, could you get that spell book of mine? I might as well practice my magic while we're there.” "Sure thing, Twilight." Came the muffled reply as Spike had almost disappeared inside the fridge, putting everything back in place. "Thanks, number one assistant." <<>><<>><<>> Danny was working together with Ruby to prepare the cafe for another day of guests coming to eat, and they were making quick time doing so. Mainly because Danny was feeling like he was standing on top of the world, and didn't feel as much restraint with using his powers. He put the tables into place, moving them around as if they didn't weigh anything. Which they didn't; not for him. Moving around with a broom to remove any of the leaves and other things that had blown onto the terrace during the night, Danny and Ruby were done in no time at all.  Which was a good thing, as the first two customers were already showing up.  Danny recognized them as Twilight and that purple lizard he saw several days ago.  "Good morning, Danny." Twilight greeted happily, giving him a warm smile. "Morning, Twilight. And uhh..?" "Spike," Spike finished, crossing his arms over his chest while giving Danny a flat look. "Right, sorry," Danny said, rubbing his neck awkwardly. "Oh, it's alright," Twilight said, earning an eye roll from Spike. "You two were never properly introduced. Danny, meet Spike. My number one assistant, and little baby dragon brother." "Hey, I'm not little." Spike huffed. "Hold on, you're a dragon?" "Well, duh. What else did you think I was? A lizard or something?" "Well… yeah, actually." Danny admited, before slapping his mouth shut. Spike's mouth hung open, before he forcefully closed it, and his face turned into a scowl. Twilight, however, had trouble keeping her laughter down, and held a hoof against her mouth to hide the smile from Spike. "Why would you even think I am a lizard?" Spike grumbled. "...Well, I thought dragons were bigger. The last ones I saw certainly were," Danny answered, before realizing what it was he said. "You've seen dragons before?" Spike asked, his scowl replaced with honest curiosity. "Where?" 'Oh damn. Think Danny, think. They would never believe it if I told them about those ghost dragons….. Or would they? Oh crud, they’re staring at me. Tell them something, anything!' he thought in a mild panic, before deciding to just go with it and see what happens. "Ehh… Some years back a ghost dragon wreaked havoc in one of the shopping malls back on my world." He told them, being as truthful as he could.  Both Twilight's, Spike's, and even Ruby's mouth hung open after he told them that, unable to reply to what he had just said. "Come again?" Twilight said after a moment, the disbelief showing on her face. "A ghost dragon?" "Pretty much. I don't know much about it. I wasn't there, and only know what the news report said," he lied, but he hoped it would avoid any other unwanted questions. Twilight and Ruby looked at Spike, who in turn was fidgeting on the spot after hearing that little fact about dragons. "Twilight. Am I going to be a ghost someday?" "Of course not, Spike," Twilight said as she pulled him into a hug. "You will never become one of those nasty ghosts." Danny mentally flinched at her words, but didn't react in any other way to it. "Thanks Twi," Spike said after a moment of being comforted. "But if I am going to be a ghost, I'll be the most awesome ghost there is." He puffed out his chest with his boast, making Twilight giggle a bit as she rubbed him on the head. "I'm sure you will. But let's move on from this subject, and do what we came here to do," she said, and turned to Danny. "So, are you open? Because Spike and I are starving." Her eyes shot open mere seconds after she said that, the ghost talk still very much apparent on the forefront of their minds. "Starving as in hungry, not actually starving starving and becoming a ghost, hehehe[/i]" "I know what you meant," Danny said as he held up his hand to tell her to stop. "And yes, we’re almost open, but you can have a seat now if you want." "That will be perfect," Twilight said with a slight awkward smile, and she and Spike were led to one of the many empty tables.  Danny, still needing to do several small chores, did take their order for drinks. It was all there was for the moment, as Quick Grill was still preparing the kitchen. And, after having given the both of them what they wanted, he made quick work of the rest of his to-do list before the rest of the day’s customers could show up. And, while he did that, Twilight levitated her spell book in front of her, reading the instructions for her next spell. How to turn an apple into an orange. <<>><<>><<>> Some time had passed, and Twilight and Spike had finished their meals not too long ago.  Twilight, always working on the next spell she could practice, had placed one last order; a single apple. Not for eating, but for magic practice. Danny, who was catering them, was more than happy to oblige. He had seen magic in use several times since he came here, but to see a spell being done like this was somewhat new, and he was more than a bit curious of what she would do. So, after having given her the apple she wanted, he shot a look every now and then at her while he served the other ponies sitting on the terrace.  A purple glow surrounded the apple, and its form began to bubble and stretch as Twilight applied her magic, only for the spell to fail and the fruit to wobble a bit on the table.  "Try again, Twi. You can do it," Spike said supportively as he stood next to her. "Phew." Twilight sighed as she wiped away the transpiration on her brow. "This spell is a toughy, but I feel lucky this time." She said with confidence as she charged her horn with magic. "One, two, thr-ghaaa!" she yelled out as she was tackled by a pink blur, her spell shooting away without aim.  The purple beam ricocheted off of the roof of the cafe, then the ground, almost hitting Danny who yelled out as he dived down, before hitting an unfortunate bird sitting on a nearby tree branch. In a puff of free falling feathers, the bird vanished from its spot. Down on the ground, Twilight was currently being constricted by Pinkie Pie, who was holding her in a spine crushing hug.    "Pinkie, why did you do that?" She asked irritatedly as she pushed the pink mare away. "Because fun is funerific. Especially if you can have it around a friend," Pinkie Pie answered happily while wrapping her front legs around herself several times, making it look like she didn't have any bones. Then, her legs unwrapped again and twisted around in a blur.  "Whatcha doing?" She asked innocently, her front hooves pressed against each other.  "Trying to turn that apple into an orange," Twilight answered as she walked back to her table. "But you kinda threw her aim off," Spike told her, and an orange with wings flew over them. "Wheee. What a cute orange birdy," Pinkie pie said cheerfully as she jumped up a bit. "Do me next, Twilight! Do me, do me!" And she turned around mid jump, only for her to knock into Rarity, who was wearing a cloak which was covering most of her body, save for her head and lower front legs, which were covered in pink fabric. Shaking her head from the slight daze, Pinkie immediately turned her attention to Rarity.  "Ooh, Rarity. Wanna see Twilight turn me into an orange? It's gonna be funna fun fun!" Pinkie Pie gushed excitedly, bouncing on the spot while Danny grumbled, stood back up and dusted himself off. He could hear Rarity say something about the ensemble she had made, but he didn't care much about that. Mostly because he was almost turned into a fruit himself. That was just what he needed. Part human, part ghost, part fruit. There was no way any ghost would take him seriously if that would have happened.  "Ghaa, this is terrible!" Pinkie Pie gasped in horror, drawing Danny's attention back to her.  "I admit it is perhaps not my finest work, but-" Rarity was cut off as Pinkie Pie pressed her face against hers. "You had total awesome amazing fun, and I missed out on it!" Pinkie Pie said, her eyes poking out of her head several times as she said that. "Wait. What if there is more awesome amazing fun with friends happening somewhere in Ponyville that I am missing out on, TOO!" She said, horrified and shot off, leaving Twilight, Spike and Rarity in a small cloud of dust. "We weren't going to turn her into an orange, I swear." Spike said while holding his claws up in a shrug, confusion showing on his face. "Okay, that settles it." Danny muttered. "That pony is crazy." <<>><<>><<>> It hadn't taken long for Danny to regain his rhythm, and he was moving around the cafe, bringing the ponies their ordered food without any problem at all. Unfortunately, this wasn't going to last long, as merely half an hour after Pinkie Pie had left, Danny was hit by a pink freight train, spinning him around on the spot. Fortunately, depending on how you look at it, he wasn't the only one.  Twilight, again in the middle of casting her spell, was also flung around by the pink blur that was named Pinkie Pie. Her spell fired and shot away to nowhere, bouncing off of several inanimate objects before hitting a frog in a nearby pond. "Wrabit," the orange with frog legs croaked before jumping in the water. "Pinkie!" Twilight shouted at the pink blur that shot by. Hearing her friend call her, Pinkie dug her hooves in the ground to slow down. The forward momentum of her speed made her dig a trench deep enough for her to vanish in it completely, and she stuck her head up to look above the surface before directing her attention to a watch hanging around her neck. "What in the wide, wide world of Equestria are you doing now?" Twilight asked as she and Spike walked over to Pinkie Pie. "Timing myself on galloping back and forth between the swimming pool and Sweet Apple Acres," Pinkie Pie replied hastily as she jumped up and down rapidly around Twilight. "I'm trying to cut down my time so when Rainbow Dash dives off the swing I can run to Sweet Apple Acres to help with the barn raising, and then to be back in time to see Dash hit the water after doing a double flip," Pinkie Pie explained in one breath. "Huh. If I cut my time by only twenty minutes, I'm good," she added as he looked at her watch again. "Hahaha. Oh Pinkie. I'm afraid no matter how hard you try, the only way you'll be able to pull something like that off is if there's more of you to go around." Twilight said in good nature as she levitated her table upright again, placing the apple back on top. Pinkie Pie stood frozen on the spot, eyes wide but her pupils small. The sound of a clock ticking could be heard coming from her as, with the rhythm of the ticking, her head began to cock to one side.  An alarm rang, and her eyes shook in their sockets in response. "That's it Twilight!" Pinkie Pie shouted excitedly as she jumped towards the purple mare, kicking over the table again as she leaned over it. "The legend of the mirror pool!" She shouted in twilight's face, then shot off. "Legend of the who what now?" Twilight said, lying on her back after having been pushed over by Pinkie Pie, and she pushed herself back up. "Pinkie!" Twilight shouted after her. "I'm familiar with loads of legends, and I have never he-" "Does this mean practice is over?" Spike asked hopefully. "Of course not. Back to work," Twilight said, already forgotten about her exuberant friend. "Yeah, I hear ya." Danny thought as he, too, returned to his work; not sure what to make of Pinkie Pie's strange behavior. <<>><<>><<>> Celestia was sitting on her throne, waiting for daycourt to start. She had only a few more minutes left until those doors opened, and her beloved ponies would come to her for anything, from the problems in their village or city, to a blessing for a marriage. But, more than often, it would be about any simple, sometimes even silly, problem that they could most likely solve themselves, but found it necessary to ask her how to proceed regardless.  Adjusting herself a bit on her throne, she found a spot that didn't agitate her flank. Why it still hurt was beyond her. All she knew was that it did, and that this was going to be a long day because of it. Finally finding a spot that was relatively comfortable, she sighed in quiet relief and ordered the doors to be opened. The hooves clopping on the marble floor reached her ears, and she was pleasantly surprised to see an all too familiar face. "Your majesty," Technal said while bowing before her princess. "Rise my little pony. Tell me, what brings you here? It is not yet time for our session where you teach me about the humans’ technology." "No Princess, I am here for another reason." Technal said after straightening herself. "There has been something on my mind ever since the breach at our facility, and I found it prudent to discuss this with you." "Very well, let's hear it." Clearing her throat, Technal spoke again. "Well, the thing is that this breach has shown that, despite all the protective measurements taken, it was, and might be possible again for a ghost to breach our facility. And, if we're not careful, to enter the population. I believe it wise to invest in extra security. To be more precise, this," she said, and showed a detailed diagram on the laptop she pulled out of her saddlebag.  "What exactly am I looking at?" Celestia asked in puzzlement, the technological schematics impossibly complicated for her. "Something to detain ghosts, permanently." "I’ll take your word for it. But, I do understand the scale that is shown on these diagrams. It would take a lot of room, not to mention the cost." "Agreed. This is a conclusion I came to myself as well. However, as for the room, I believe the crystal caves underneath the castle should prove more than useful for the task. Not only would it provide us with the room we need, but it is also out of sight for anypony else. The cost, however, is another matter entirely. I have studied the inventory of Fenton Corporation, and most of the technology needed is available, and should not cost all that much. However, some things would have to be custom ordered, and everything will have to be installed on site." Celestia raised an eyebrow at this. "Clearly you have put a lot of thought and time into this." "I have," Technal said, a fire burning behind her eyes. "A ghost broke through, and I won't let it happen again. But, if it does, I will not allow it to go anywhere far. This will work, I'm sure of it. All it needs is the funding, and your approval." Celestia was taken aback from the intensity from the mare's words. Normally she was a cheerful pony, friendly to all. Maybe a bit high strung from time to time, but that was something she was more than used to. Still, she didn't show her surprise over the mare's shift in behavior, and she studied the plans a bit more thoroughly.  "It will take time to construct, that much is obvious. And I am not entirely sure it is needed. Yes, a ghost came through. But security has been improved, and Fenton Corporation is working on it as well. Do we really need it?" she asked Technal. "I believe we do, Princess. Ask yourself this. Wouldn't it be better to have it, and not need it, than need it, and not have it?" Celestia thought about this for a long moment, weighing her options. What Technal said made sense, and the events that had happened in Baltimare were all too clear in her mind. This latest breach showed the system was not foolproof, and, if it happened once, it could happen again. No, Technal was right. Better to have it and not need it would be the more desirable option. "Very well, we'll do it your way," Celestia said, and Technal struggled to contain her excitement. "And I want you to oversee this project, as you came up with it. However, I also want to have a team from Fenton Corporation here as well to oversee the construction. We are still learning how to use the humans' inventions, and no matter how good some of us have become in using them, there is still a lot that we do not understand. If this is going to work without a problem, then we will need their help." "Certainly, Princess. And thank you," Technal said with a bow.  "How soon can you start?" Celestia asked. "How soon do you need me to start?" "Immediately." <<>><<>><<>> Danny walked out of Sugar Cube Corner, holding two muffins in his hands. He was on his lunch break, and he decided to try his luck again with the finer baked goods after the fiasco with Applejack a few days ago. The rapid stomping on the ground brought his attention to the rapidly approaching stampede caused by three fillies he knew all too well, and his eyes widened in horrified realization. "Hi Danny!" Scootaloo shouted as she ran past him, almost tripping him. "Sorry Danny!" Sweetie Belle said next, running behind him and causing him to lose his balance before he fell backwards onto his rear. "Bye Danny!" Apple Bloom called out to him as she jumped over his legs, kicking up a bit of dust where she landed on the dry dirt path. Groaning and rubbing his back as he pulled himself back up, Danny shot the three fillies an annoyed look. "That's the second time those three have knocked me on the ground," he muttered as he dusted himself off. Then, a horrified realization came to him, again. Where were his muffins? Looking around almost in panic, Danny found them lying nearby, covered in dirt, and partially crushed underneath the hooves of one of the fillies. "OH, COME ON!"  Grumbling under his breath, he quickly cleaned up the mess and prepared to go another day without lunch. Only for him to be handed another muffin by Cup Cake, who had seen the entire ordeal, and went out of her way to make his day just a little bit better. Danny couldn't help to have her kind smile spread to his face as he accepted her gift, and he enjoyed the treat all the more for it. <<>><<>><<>> Twilight was sitting behind her desk in the library, studying the spell she'd practiced earlier this morning. She was trying to figure out if this spell could be used to turn objects into other fruits as well. And, if possible, turn fruits into other, more practical, things like quills or ink. A loud slam shook her out of her study with a scream, and she looked around in frightened confusion, before realizing where the sound had come from.  Muttering under her breath, she walked to the front door, using her magic to open it. There, stuck to the door like a pancake, was Scootaloo, giving her an awkward smile while Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle stood before the two of them, struggling to contain their laughter. Twilight had to take a moment to let the situation sink in. She looked at the two fillies standing before her, clearly having trouble to keep their composure over their friend’s unfortunate situation. Sighing out and shaking her head slightly, Twilight finally got a grasp on what was going on. The crusaders were at it again, and that often led to massive destruction all around. "Girls," she began, a hint of suspicion in her voice. "What are you doing?" Apple Bloom looked at Sweetie Belle, who in turn looked at Scootaloo. Neither of them said anything for a while, and Twilight frowned a bit at them over the distraction they caused. "Well... ehh. You see," Sweetie Belle started hesitantly, hoping her friends would help her out with this. "We came here to... To..." "Ta find ah book... for an... assignment for school," Apple Bloom added after a momentary pause. "Uhum," Twilight hummed as she raised a single eyebrow. "And why is Scootaloo stuck to my door?" she asked, before realizing what it was she said, and using her magic to pry the filly from the woodwork. "Ehh... Because we-" Scootaloo began, and her friends shot her a look. "I mean, I got a bit too carried away with all of this, and ran here as fast as I could." She said, and Twilight noticed Scootaloo was struggling to keep a straight face in some kind of discomfort. "Seeing that I really wanted to find the book about that thing we needed to do."  Twilight wasn't convinced, and she looked at the three fillies with a flat, deadpan look before sighing and shaking her head. "And what is it that you really want?" "A book," Sweetie Belle replied. "Really?" Twilight asked while blinking dumbly a few times. "Why?" She added with suspicion thick in her voice. "Ta read about manticores." Apple Bloom answered. "Why?" Twilight asked again, beginning to sound like a broken record. "...Because we want to know why it was behaving so strangely," Scootaloo added slowly, clearly choosing her words carefully. "So let me see if I get this right. You want to read a book about manticores to find out about certain behavior, and this is after you almost got eaten by one last night?" Twilight summed up. "Ehh… Yes?" Sweetie Belle answered with a large smile. Twilight looked at the three with a scrutinizing gaze, trying to read the three fillies like her books. But her skills in reading other ponies were somewhat lacking, and she wasn't all too sure what to make of these three. "So, a book?" she said again, earning a confirming nod from the three fillies before her. "Just a book? No crazy scheme to earn your cutie marks?" This time the three shook their heads, albeit hesitantly. Noticing this, Twilight had to make sure they wouldn't do anything they or she would come to regret. "Fine, but you have to promise me not to do anything that will get you in trouble. Especially after what you three did last night. Understood?" "Yes Miss Twilight," Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle said with a nod and innocent smile, a trio of halos hanging above their heads; a perfect image of innocence, and a major warning sign that they were up to no good. Which would probably mean trouble for the neighborhood. Twilight, however, failed to pick up on this little warning sign, and she allowed the three fillies into her abode. Happy that, even if their reasons were a bit unclear, she was able to bestow some of the knowledge found in her library to these three. Still, she wasn't entirely oblivious as to what these three youngsters were capable of, and she was quick to ensure that they, as well as the town and everypony in it, would remain safe. For this time at least. "Okay you three. Everything you want to know about manticores can be found in these books," she chirped happily as she levitated several books over to the the fillies. "Now, as you can see clearly here. A manticore is a large, predatory animal that has sharp teeth, claws, and a poisonous scorpion's tail," Twilight began, switching to lecture mode as she prepared to give these fillies the full knowledge she had. Scootaloo's ears twitched in annoyance, and their smiles grew a bit more forced as they settled in for one very long, and probably boring, lecture. <<>><<>><<>> Frantic knocking sounded on the door, and Twilight hurried to see who it was that was trying to bring down her door for the second time this day, which was quite a relief for the three fillies, who had been subjected to one of Twilight's long and boring lectures for almost an hour now. Their ears twitched, however, as they heard the all too familiar voice of Rainbow Dash, Ponyville's very own captain of the weather team, future Wonderbolt, the Element of Loyalty and, of course, the most awesomest pony in all of Equestria, if Scootaloo was anypony to say so; which she was. They agreed on that during the last Rainbow Dash fan club meeting. "Twilight, you have to come, now!" Rainbow Dash all but shouted. Confusion, excitement and even a bit of anger were all mixed in her voice. "There is something wrong with the lake! Somepony has been messing with the weather schedule, and everything is frozen! You have to come!" "What- What do you mean?" Twilight asked, not understanding the rambling of her friend. "No time to explain. Just come." And with that, Rainbow Dash grabbed hold of Twilight and flew towards the lake, leaving the Crusaders alone in the library, and the three fillies shot each other a knowing look with devious smiles found on their faces. Kicking and flailing legs were all Twilight saw as she screamed in protest at her friend. But Rainbow Dash wasn't listening, and she sped towards the nearby lake she had planned to relax at with Pinkie Pie. "Rainbow Dash, I want to kn-... Oh," Twilight yelled, before seeing the frozen lake glistening in the light of the sun, and her voice died in her throat. "What happened here?" She asked after Rainbow Dash had put her down on the ground. "That's what I am trying to find out myself. Somepony has messed with the weather schedule, obviously, and I want to know whose flank I need to kick from here to Canterlot. "WHEEEE!" Pinkie Pie's shout of glee interrupted the two of them, and they saw the aforementioned mare skate over the frozen lake, seemingly not caring about the fact that this was a huge breach in weather control. "PINKIE! What are you doing?" Twilight yelled, watching the pink mare do a pirouette before speeding towards her and Rainbow Dash. Suddenly braking, Pinkie Pie kicked up a small avalanche of shaved ice, covering both mares under a layer of white. "Ohh, Twilight. You're a snowpony," Pinkie Pie said happily. "Pinkie, what gives. What are you doing?" Rainbow Dash asked, shaking the cold stuff off of her. "Why, I'm having fun. Fun! Fun! Fun!" "Did somepony say fun?" Another Pinkie Pie asked, and she jumped on the ice as well. Twilight and Rainbow Dash stood with their mouths wide open, unable to fathom what was happening. "FUN! Where?!" Yet another Pinkie Pie asked as she, and several other Pinkie Pies jumped out of the bushes, shouting: "fun, fun, fun," over and over again while sliding, skating, and doing other things on the ice; one of which included freezing their tongues to the cold surface. "WHAT IS GOING ON!?" Twilight shouted in panic, and she and Rainbow Dash backed away from the crazy herd of pink.  "FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN!" was the only reply they got from the hyperactive mass of Pinkies, who seemed to have lost interest in the ice, and were bouncing towards Ponyville. Twilight and Rainbow quickly ran away from the craziness that was called Pinkie Pie, times a dozen.  "What is going on!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she flew up, pulling Twilight with her. "I don't know," Twilight answered, held up in Rainbow Dash’s hooves, dangling above the crazy herd of Pinkies. "But I think I know where to look for answers. Dash, to the library. I have some studying to do. <<>><<>><<>> Danny was busy with his shift at the cafe, going around the tables to deliver his latest order. It was nothing more than a tall glass of water, but he took as much care in delivering it like he would with any other order. Setting the glass in front of the beige earth pony mare he had met the first day he walked into Ponyville, he got a friendly smile from Bon Bon, who had come by to see if Lyra wasn't being too much trouble to him. But something strange was going on, and they, as well as everypony else sitting on the terrace, noticed. A faint rumbling could be heard in the distance, and Danny and Bon Bon saw the water in the glass ripple before it bounced off of the table, shattering on the ground and spilling its contents. "What the?" Danny said as he looked up and into the distance. "What is that?" Bon Bon asked as everyone there saw a massive dust cloud rising in the air, and a wave of pink in front of it. "FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN!" The eyes of everyone, pony, human and otherwise, grew wide when they saw the bouncing wave of Pinkie Pies move into town, trampling everything underneath their hooves. Mothers pulled their foals indoors and slammed the windows shut. The ponies behind the market stalls fled with as much of their wares as they could carry before the unstoppable force named Pinkie Pie descended onto their stalls, toppling them over and downright destroying them.  Ponies fled in fear, not knowing what to do. And Danny found himself standing on an empty terrace, only joined by Ruby and Quick Grill. None of them knew what to do, and they stood there with their mouths ajar. Danny, however, couldn't help a stray thought from entering his mind as he saw the mass of Pinkies. "What the… It took months before I managed to do that, and even then I wasn't any good at it." For reasons unknown, he felt a stab of anger towards the mare that, somehow, managed to duplicate herself. He didn't know it, but it was Nightmare Moon that used this moment to plant a thought in his mind. A thought, no, a need, to teach himself how to do this. To best the mare in her attempt, and to master his duplication ability himself. A flash of green showed in his eyes, but no one saw it, as they were too busy staring at the impossible sight happening before them. <<>><<>><<>> Danny was running through town, trying to avoid any of the crazy pink ponies that tried to jump in front of him. It had taken some time for him, but after standing like a statue back at the cafe, just looking at the madness happening before him, something stirred inside of him. He knew he couldn't just stand there and do nothing. No, the part of him that made him choose to become a hero all those years back made him act now as well. He would do what he could to help the ponies, of course, without giving himself away. But years of wasting away, plus not being able to use his powers, made this an impossible task for him. And he was mostly a playing ball for the many Pinkies that bounced him around in between them.  Finally being able to break free from the madness, he noticed three fillies running away from the chaos surrounding everyone. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. The last of which seemed to have trouble keeping up with the rest of her friends, and he saw her trip over her own legs.  What he didn't see, however, thanks to one of the many Pinkies spinning him around until he couldn't see straight, was the bolt of toxic green energy shooting from Sweetie Belle's horn as she hit the ground, nor did he notice the puff of cold air escaping from his mouth as he was too nauseous from the spinning. And all he could do was just sit there, waiting for himself to calm down and try again. It took a moment, but he managed to stand back up and not feel like he would fall over or throw up his lunch. Looking around, he saw the fillies were gone. And, to his surprise, there was a Pinkie lying unconscious on the ground. Seeing a break in the mass of pink, Danny wasted no time and ran as fast as he could, heading towards the one place that seemed the best bet for now, even though he didn't quite know why he was going there. Still, it didn't stop him from his goal, and after some more difficult pink obstacles, and some acrobatic stunts he didn't even know he could pull off, he managed to reach the town's library, home of Twilight Sparkle. Slamming into the door and forcing it open, he barged in, closing the door immediately behind himself and pressing his back against the woodwork. "Danny?" Twilight said as she looked up from the book she had levitating in front of her. "What are you doing here?" "Don't know. I just thought this was the best place to be right now," he answered, out of breath. "Do you know what’s going on?" "Actually, I do. Thanks to this book here Spike has found," she answered, and levitated the book over to Danny. "See? The legend of the mirror pool." Danny read the pages splayed open to him, not understanding anything about it. "Didn't Pinkie say something about this this morning?" He asked instead, shooting the mare a questioning glance.  "Yes, she did. That's how I managed to figure out what to look for. We're lucky we found it as fast as we did, because I have only been back for a few minutes myself. Rainbow Dash dropped me off here, then went someplace else to help," she answered, and she brought the book back to herself. "Also, did you by any chance see the Crusaders? They were supposed to be here," she asked Danny, worry evident in her voice. "Yeah, I did. I saw them run away not too long ago. They seemed fine, albeit a bit scared.” Twilight sighed in relief over that and quickly turned to her book. "It seems there is an easy spell to fix all of this, but… Oh no!"  "Oh no, what? Oh no never means anything good," Danny said in slight panic. "I- I need to get my friends, now. I need their help with this," Twilight said hastily and rushed to the door, forcing Danny out of the way with her magic. "WAIT!" He called out, stopping her in her tracks. "Let me help." Twilight pondered over this for several seconds. The rational portion of her mind told her that that was a bad idea, and that Danny might get hurt. But something else, deep down in the back of her mind, told her that he was tougher than he looked, and that he really could help them. Looking at Danny, and looking him in the eyes, Twilight could feel something else as well, but didn't know what it was. All she knew right now was that she should trust him, and let him help them. "Alright, but try to keep up," she said, before forcefully opening the door and running out. "Yay, more running," Danny muttered bitterly, but didn't waste any time following behind the purple mare. <<>><<>><<>> After having gathered all her friends near town hall, Twilight addressed her friends about the current situation. She also told them that Danny was going to help them, and none of them seemed to have any objections against it.  "So, there you have it. I'll be able to use a spell to send all of these Pinkies back into the mirror pool, but if we don't find a way to find the real Pinkie, I might send her back by mistake." "That might be a problem," Applejack said, scratching her head. "So, how are we going to find the real Pinkie?" "I don't know," Twilight answered with slight panic, not wanting to send her friend into a magical pool. "Look, maybe we can worry about that later," Danny spoke up. "Wouldn't it be more useful if we got all of those Pinkies contained and in one place? That way we'll be able to at least control the situation a bit better." This earned him some murmurs of approval, and a faint smile from Twilight. "Danny's right. Okay girls, let's round up those Pinkies. Then we'll figure out how to find the real one," Twilight instructed. A chorus of okays was the collective response, and everyone moved away, sticking in groups of two. Rainbow Dash went with Applejack, Rarity with Fluttershy, and Danny with Twilight, who was also carrying Spike on her back. "So, how exactly are we going to do this?" Danny asked as he and Twilight moved to a small group of Pinkies "Don't you have an idea?" Twilight asked back. "Not really. I didn't think this far ahead." "Well, that figures," Spike muttered. "Well, do you have any ideas then?" Danny asked, sounding a bit offended.  "Why don't we just ask which Pinkie is the real Pinkie?" He replied simply. "Yeah, like that’s going to work," Danny groaned with a roll of his eyes. "They all look and sound the same. Asking them won’t do anything." "Well, how do you know?" Spike shot back. "Guys, calm down. This isn’t helping," Twilight said sternly. "Besides, Danny's right. There's no way to differentiate one Pinkie from the other." "And I say we could just try," Spike said bitterly, crossing his arms over his chest. Then his expression softened as he saw one Pinkie sitting at a nearby table, looking very unhappy. "Maybe that one is the real Pinkie?" he said as he pointed at her. "Please. The real Pinkie Pie never sat that long in one place in her whole life," Twilight replied, not believing for a second that the sad looking pony was the cheerful friend she was looking for. "I'm gonna go ask," Spike said stubbornly and jumped of Twilight's back. "Of course she's going to say she's the real Pinkie Pie, th-" Twilight half shouted at him before Danny interrupted her. "Just let him go. It never hurts to ask," he told her as he watched Spike move away. "So, let me guess. You are the real Pinkie Pie?" Spike asked the pink mare who was staring gloomily at the chaos unfolding around her. "Heck if I know. It could be any one of us if you ask me," she answered, and Spike shot a questioning look at Twilight, who only shrugged in response. "And if I said I am the real Pinkie, you wouldn't believe me anyway, so just leave me alone. I've got some important poking in the ground with my hoof to do," Pinkie Pie said, and walked away sulking. "Oh, Spike. How are we going to do this? I can't risk sending the real Pinkie into the pond," Twilight asked with a sad tone, the depressive talk of this Pinkie having gotten to her. "Ehh… Am I the only one to notice this?" Danny asked, confused as he scratched his head. "Noticed what?" Twilight asked, and she, Spike, and even Pinkie stopped in place. "Of all the Pinkies going around, she's the only one not jumping around in some hyperactive sugar rush, or something. In fact, she seems like the only one even thinking about anything else other than just fun." "Did somepony say fun?" Multiple Pinkies asked, causing an eerie echo as they surrounded Danny, Twilight and Spike. "Oh crud," Danny said with a flat tone as the bouncing wall of pink had them sealed in.  "FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN!" the group of Pinkies shouted, and they closed in on the three trapped beings in the center. "ENOUGH!" Twilight yelled, and her horn lit up as she levitated all the Pinkies in the air, including the sad one, mixing them together. "Now, what was it that you tried to say?" she asked Danny as if nothing had happened. "Well,” he began quietly as he looked up, seeing all the Pinkies floating around in a purple aura. "I thought that the real Pinkie would feel bad about what had happened, seeing that all the others are somewhat… simple. But now I can't tell that one apart from all the others." Twilight blinked dumbly at this. "Why did I not think about that?" And she looked up at the group of floating Pinkies. "Is any of you sad about what is going on?" she asked the group. "I am!" "No, I am!" "No, I am!" "No, I am!" "Well damn, there goes that idea," Danny muttered. "So what do we do now?" Spike asked. "I have no idea," Twilight said, sounding somewhat desperate. One of the Pinkies’ eyes suddenly widened as an idea came to her. "Wait, wait. What if you gave them a test? Pick something really hard for a Pinkie to do, something not fun at all. Any Pinkie that can't do it goes back into the pond. But, whichever one of us wants to stay the most, that must be the real Pinkie." Twilight gave the idea a moment's thought, then looked at Danny. "You know, that's not such a bad idea. But what test should we give them?" "I don't know," Danny said with a shrug. "You know her better than I do. But, might I suggest we first gather them all up, then we deal with that problem?" "Right, you’re right," Twilight said, and she began walking back to town hall with the floating group of Pinkies following her. Danny followed her back, only to be stopped by someone shouting his name. "Danny! DANNY!" Ruby called out to him, and he stopped to turn to her. "Yeah? What is it, Ruby?"  "I have been looking everywhere for you," she said, slightly out of breath. "You can't just run off like that. We still need you back at the cafe. And Grill is not happy that you did. You better haul your flank back there, and hope he is in a forgiving mood."  "Oh crap," Danny said and facepalmed. "I got carried away with all of this. Twilight, you can deal with this, right?" He asked, and Twilight nodded in answer. "Good, I gotta run." And with that, he and Ruby ran back to the cafe; Danny hoping he didn't mess up too bad. "Well, there goes that guy," Spike said in annoyance. "Spike, don't say that. He had a good reason to do so." "Yeah yeah, let's just go. We'll figure a way out to deal with all of this. We don't need his help. "SPIKE! He was the only one to notice the fact that the real Pinkie would be sad about all of this. Give him some credit." "Fine, fine," he said. "But I still don't like it that he thought I was a lizard. "So that's what this is about." Twilight sighed and shook her head. "Let's just drop off these Pinkies, then go back to the library and try to find something that would be a good test to find the real Pinkie. And, while we're at it, find out if the Crusaders have done any damage while they were alone in the library." "You think they did something?" Spike asked, no longer sounding annoyed. "Don't they always?" Silence.  "You've got a point there." <<>><<>><<>> Danny came to a screeching stop in front of the cafe, seeing Quick Grill working with a broom to clean up the mess of food that littered the ground, among other things. The second he saw Danny, though, he spat out the tool, glaring daggers at the human. "You better have a good explanation why you ran away like that, boy!" He said angrily. "Sorry Gri… Sir. I was trying to help around town." "You do that in your own time! If you hadn't run off and stayed to help us here, things might not have been in such a Celestia damned state!" He yelled at Danny, and Ruby flinched as Quick Grill used Celestia's name like that. Swallowing the lump formed in his throat, Danny looked down at the angry pony, somehow feeling smaller than him.  "I... I'm sorry," he said weakly. "Damn right you're sorry! So get your flank moving and clean this place up. NOW!"  Danny didn't need to be told again, and he shot into motion. Grabbing the broom Quick Grill had thrown on the ground, he quickly continued where his boss had stopped. Soon to be joined by Ruby, while Quick Grill muttered angrily to himself as he walked inside, deciding to fix things up there. A tense silence settled down over the two working individuals, and Danny focused on his work as if his life depended on it. "Just be glad you got off with only this," Ruby said after a moment, making Danny jump a bit as he was not expecting anyone to talk to him. "Why did you run off like that anyhow?" "I just tried to help," Danny answered quietly, hoping Quick Grill wouldn't hear him. "But what could you possibly do? No offense, but you don't have any magic, or anything else that could have helped with this." "I… mayb….." Danny stammered, unable to counter her statement. "It's just who I am," he finally said, and Ruby could only look at him with admiration. <<>><<>><<>> Some time had passed, and Danny had calmed down a bit. Working a bit calmer, but never slowing down, he and Ruby slowly cleaned up the mess created in the chaos named Pinkie Pie. He was also sour over the fact that his home was damaged by all of this. He knew this, as he had seen some broken windows in the distance, and he grumbled under his breath. At least his house was near the edge of town, and was spared from the worst of it. But even then, he still had a lot of cleaning to do, both here, and there. Setting tables back upright that were turned over, Ruby shot him a glance, knowing how he felt. Her home was also hit, and she knew the both of them had to continue cleaning up when they got home. Looking over to Quick Grill, she could see him working diligently back in the cafe, cleaning the things in there. Sighing out, she wished for any kind of distraction, just to have something to take their minds of all of this for a moment. "HEY DANNY!" Apple Bloom shouted, and she and Scootaloo ran over to him.  Ruby gulped as she saw her wish granted, hoping it wouldn't make things worse. Those fillies had a bad habit of making an even bigger mess of things than Pinkie Pie had done. "Yeah, what's up?" Danny replied as he placed his hands on top the broom, resting his head on top of them.  "Do you... Ah mean... We were wonderin' what happened here. Why were there so many Pinkie Pies everywhere?" Apple Bloom asked, giving him an innocent smile which seemed just a bit forced. Arching his eyebrow at the almost too big to be sincere smile, Danny stood straight and shrugged. "Beats me. I heard something about some pool mirror or something, I'm not really sure. You'd have to ask Twilight about that. She and her friends are in town hall right now trying to figure out what to do with all those Pinkies Sharing an uneasy glance between each other, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom rubbed their heads awkwardly as they looked down at Danny's feet. "So, Twilight huh?" Scootaloo asked lamely. "Is there anypony else who might know something?" Apple Bloom asked, looking up at Danny expectantly. Danny shrugged. "Maybe your sister, or her friends? They might know what was going on. Other than that, I have no idea." Apple Bloom's and Scootaloo's ears folded flat on their heads over Danny's answer, making him arch an eyebrow. "Okay Danny. Thanks Danny," Apple Bloom said, sounding just a bit forced, and she and Scootaloo hurried to get away.   "Those two are up to something," Ruby said as she looked at the two fillies run away.  "Yeah, I figured as much," Danny replied. "I wonder wha-" "HEY! You two! Stop lollygagging and get back to work!" Quick Grill shouted as he stuck his head out of one of the broken windows, glaring at the two of them. Danny and Ruby quickly went back to work, forgetting about those two fillies for the time being. <<>><<>><<>> "Come on!" Technal said impatiently. "Open up already!"  Standing in the tear room, waiting for the tear to open, Technal was fidgeting on the spot. The tear was late again, and she was really starting to get impatient. She wanted to go to the other side and get on her way to Fenton Corporation to discuss and order all the parts needed for her design, as well as see them about lending a team of professionals to help.  But right now, all she could do was wait. "Why do these things never work when you need them to?" She said irritably to herself, getting no reply. Then, finally, the tear opened. Waiting just a moment longer for the hole in reality to fully open, she practically leaped through the moment she got the green light.  However, what no one on either side of the shimmering hole noticed, were the tiny mechanical insects crossing over into Equestria, their cameras for eyes recording everything and sending the data back in a short compressed burst whenever the tear opened. And the person receiving these bursts of data was eagerly waiting for anything useful as his mechanical spies flew through the compound and out into the world of Equestria. <<>><<>><<>> It had taken many hours, but finally Danny was done. Not only that, but he also heard from Twilight, who stopped by to give him the good news, that they had managed to find the real Pinkie Pie and send the rest back into the mirror pool. However, he had a hard time believing they did so by making them watch paint dry. Although, according to Twilight, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo barging in also helped a bit.  He wasn't sure how that worked, but he didn’t really care at this point. He was beat, and all he wanted to do was go to bed. Unfortunately for him, there was still the mess back home to deal with.  Groaning, he stepped inside of his home and closed the door behind him. It was already getting dark, and he muttered under his breath as he saw the glass lying on the ground from the broken windows. But at least it would seem that that was all there was to clean up.  With a sigh, he sweeped up the shattered glass and dumped it in the trash. He would deal with that some other time, but for now, it would do. Still, there was the fact that his windows were without anything to stop the cold night air from coming in, and he really wasn't planning on doing any difficult repairs right now. Fortunately, he didn't needed to, for now. Standing behind the glassless window, Danny looked outside, making sure no one was around to see what he was about to do. Satisfied when he didn't see anyone, he held up his hands before the window, and an ice blue glow surrounded his hands.  Ice formed in a thick sheet inside the window's frame, covering it up with a crystal clear layer. Repeating this process with the other broken windows, Danny managed to repair the damage in no time at all. "There, that will do for now," he said before yawning loudly. It had been a very long day, and he was more than a bit tired. Not hungry, or bothering with a shower, he dragged himself to his bed. Just wanting to fall down and let sleep come to him, he managed to remember he needed his clothes for work tomorrow. Turning intangible, he let his clothes fall off of him, and fall into a heap on the floor as Danny let himself fall forwards, landing unceremoniously on his bed. Sleep came to him immediately. And, as Danny succumbed to the embrace of sleep, he did not notice the flash of toxic green over at Sweet Apple Acres, coming from somewhere deep within the orchard. <<>><<>><<>> Luna and Celestia stood together on Luna's balcony, watching the last rays of the sun vanish over the horizon. Luna, using her magic, raised the moon, letting its light shine down on the world.  For a moment, neither one of them said anything. They just stood there, taking in the sight of their land going to sleep.  Sighing, Luna turned her gaze to Ponyville, and the human who was causing so much trouble. "It's time," she said, and both their horns lit up. Luna closed her eyes as she reached out with her magic.  Celestia joined her sister’s magic with her own, letting Luna guide her as she sought out the disturbance, and placed a barrier around it.  Many minutes passed, yet Celestia could feel no drain on her magic. Looking at her sister, she could see a troubled frown on her face. "Luna, what's wrong?" "It's not there," Luna answered, confused. "What isn't?" "The disturbance. It's not there." "Maybe Danny hasn't gone to bed yet?" Celestia offered. "No, I can sense him. He's asleep, yet the disturbance is gone. I do not understand this," Luna said as she opened her eyes. "It was there every night, growing worse and worse, and now it's just gone. Something like that does not just vanish. It just doesn't." Celestia looked out at Ponyville as well, a worried look on her face. "Did it move to somepony else, like a virus of some kind?" "I don't th… No, I'm not sensing it anywhere." "And Danny? Maybe you can finally connect with him, find out what is happening inside his mind?" Luna thought about this for a moment before closing her eyes and reaching out to him. Her magic touched his mind, grabbing hold of it as she moved inside of his unconscious thoughts. Darkness wrapped around her, and she tried to pull away in fear. Celestia saw her sister's frightened expression and her attempt to pull free, and she tried to use her magic to help her. But it failed, and Luna was brought deeper and deeper into an inky void, before being forcefully rejected from Danny's mind. The backlash of magic coursing back into her blasted Luna away, and she slammed into the wall next to the door, slumping down in a heap. "LUNA!" Celestia shouted, and rushed to her sister. "Luna, talk to me! Are you alright?" She asked frantically as she used her magic to see if her sister was alright. With a shout, Luna came to, looking around in fright for something. "Luna, what happened? What did you see?" Celestia asked worriedly. Luna turned to look at her sister, her eyes wide in fear.  "Those eyes," she said in a frightened whisper as she grasped Celestia around the neck, looking into her eyes. "Those horrible, orange, glowing eyes."