//------------------------------//
// Unexpected Discoveries 
// Story: Guilt of a Phantom 
// by Powerdrainer 
//------------------------------//


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

And special thanks to AnonymousMaterials. The reason for which I will specify in the author's note below to avoid spoilers.



Unexpected Discoveries.



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




My precious student, Twilight. 

I write you to bring to your attention a matter of great importance you need to be aware of, as I no longer feel like I can keep you in the dark on these matters. I must ask you to stop reading this aloud, and to keep the contents of this letter to yourself.

For some time now, my sister has been detecting a severe disturbance coming from Danny Manson, the human living in Ponyville. It only happens at night when he sleeps, and it has shown to be increasing in both strength and severity. And, despite numerous attempts, Princess Luna has been unable to stop this disturbance, nor has she been able to dive into Danny's dreams. 

Two nights ago, however, something changed, for the worse. I will not go into details but we, my sister and I, fear that a ghost has managed to penetrate our defenses, and is now actively haunting Danny. How this could have happened, we do not know. There was, however, an attempted ghost breach at the tear facility involving Danny the day he came to our world, which also inflicted massive damage to the scanning room found there. It is believed the ghost was stopped before anything worse could happen, and we managed to keep the population in general from finding out, in order to avoid any panic and chaos.

However, given the common factor between the incident at the tear facility, and the disturbance found by my sister, we fear the ghost in question was not stopped, and found a way out of the compound and into our world. I don't need to explain to you what this means. 

I also know that by this point you will most likely be having a panic attack. So please, calm down. Take a deep breath, and continue with this letter. 

We do not think Danny is actively aware of what is happening, but we cannot know for certain. There is a team of investigators, the Ghost-keteers, currently seeking out any sign of spectral creatures in the Ponyville area. They are aware of the probability that the spectral activity is centered around Danny, and they will need to investigate around his home for any signs. But, remembering something my sister and I noticed the first time we met him, I believe it would be for the best if he isn't aware of this happening. 

I understand you have had some interaction with him before, and I hope the two of you will have a blooming friendship. And, if I may be so bold, I would appreciate it if you invited him with you on your next visit to Canterlot. It would be a good thing for him to put some distance between himself and this supposed ghost, and it would be a wonderful opportunity to get to know him a bit better. I, for one, would very much like the chance to meet him personally again, and hopefully get to know him a bit better as well. 

I understand this is asking a lot of you, and I will understand if you decline. I cannot in good conscience force you to do something you do not want to do. But, if you should happen to feel like this is a perfect way to get to know him a bit better, you are more than welcome to bring him along. I most certainly look forward to your next visit.

And, to end this letter on a lighter note, your mother said hello.

Your mentor and friend, Celestia.



After reading the letter once more, Celestia sent it on its way to Ponyville, most likely waking up Spike, as it was still early in the morning and most ponies were still asleep. But she couldn't keep her student in the dark any longer. At least, no more so than was absolutely necessary. What happened to Luna, though, was not something she needed to know, and the contents of the letter were serious enough as they were. She knew she had to let Twilight know about this. She had tasked her with keeping an eye on Danny, and possibly staying within close proximity of him. She just hoped this wouldn't push her away from him. It was one of the reasons she suggested she should take him with her on their coming visit. If the pain she and Luna saw in his eyes the day they met was any indication, then the last thing he needed was to be shunned by those around him.  

Should he come along, it would also serve as a window of opportunity, giving her team the chance to investigate his home without Danny being there. Of course they would still need to investigate Danny himself as well, but there would still be several days for this, as Twilight's visit wasn't due for another three days. But, if Twilight chose to invite him, and if Danny accepted, then this coming Sunday she would have a chance to, hopefully, get to know Danny a bit better.

Looking out the window of her personal chamber, Celestia saw the moon beginning its descent. At least Luna was still able to perform her duty, even though she was still shaken from her experience, and hadn't attempted to reach out to Danny in any way.

Sighing, Celestia stood up, preparing to bring forth a new day.


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


Clockwork was observing the flow of time, and the events happening during these times in one of the many viewing portals, his cane at the ready should he need to intervene in a certain event. 

Sam, hovering several meters behind him, had been watching him for a long time. She had been arguing with herself over whether or not to confront Clockwork about allowing her some more details on things to come. He was, as usual, more than a little reluctant, and he would more often than not give her a vague, evasive explanation. She could understand it, to a certain extent. But to be left completely in the dark was something she didn't particularly like, even though she liked the dark.

When he told her about his plan to trick Nightmare Moon into the idea of manipulating Danny so he would train his powers, and inadvertently also train her, she was more than a little miffed. Still, she managed to shake it off, knowing it was all for the greater good. But now, after having witnessed what happened to that young pony, and hearing him say there would be another pony Halfa in the coming future, she needed answers, right now.

Giving a determined nod, she cleared her throat, drawing Clockwork's attention.

"Clockwork, I need to ask something."

"The answer will be no. I will not tell you anything about the coming future," he replied as he gave Sam a glance over his shoulder.

"I'm not asking you to tell me everything, just something, anything. You can't expect me to just stay in the dark like this and be happy with it. Besides, I think I have earned the right to know at least some of the things that are happening, or going to happen. I am just as much a part of this as you are, even if I’m not the one holding that cane," she shot back, arms crossed defiantly.

Letting loose a heavy sigh, Clockwork turned to face Sam, turning into his childlike form.  

"I find myself... agreeing with you, to some extent. Yes you are a part of this, more than you realize. Of course I can not let you know about your own future, but I suppose I can reveal one thing to you. Just one. Ask me about anything, and, if possible, I will allow you a glimpse of the coming future," he answered, surprising Sam that he would give in so easily.

"Just one, huh? Okay, there is something that has been bugging me ever since I heard you say it," Sam began, and Clockwork raised a single, puzzled eyebrow, surprised to hear he might have slipped something without him realizing. 

"You said there would be a second pony halfa. Who?"

Silence. 

"Ego ōdī qui damnātus liber," he muttered angrily to himself.

"What?"

Breathing in deeply, Clockwork released the tension and addressed Sam. 

"Don't mind that, it would just seem that that book caught me more off guard than I thought. Still, I can answer this much," he told Sam, and changed the view in the viewing portal.

A face emerged in the swirling vortex, the face of a pony that had, and still was interacting with Danny during his time in Ponyville. A pony she also knew would be important to Danny in future events. Clockwork had shared that much with her some time ago, but not this.

"Her!?" Sam almost shouted in disbelief, "But that doesn't make any sense. Wouldn't any other pony be a better choice? Luna maybe?  She certainly has shown some traits that appear ghostlike."

"Indeed, it doesn't make sense. But since when have our afterlives ever made sense?"

Silence. 

"True," Sam relented as she looked at the smiling face of the pony in the viewing portal.

"And why not Luna, you say. Well, she would, if we could choose at all, make a fine choice indeed. And that is exactly the problem." Clockwork continued.

"Huh?"

Clockwork floated towards the viewing portal, waving his cane in front of it, changing the view again. 

"They believe their world to be completely untouched by the dead. Oh, how wrong they are. Sam, tell me. How did life start? Where did it all originate from?"

"Ehh… I think I missed that class, due to me dying before I finished school."

"I'm not surprised that you don't know. Few do. Surprisingly though, Danny does, to some extent," he answered, and the image of Danny lying on top of a small hill alongside Twilight came into view, both of them stargazing. 

"He told her about the stars, teaching her something she didn't know. But, he barely told her anything, and there is still a lot left to be learned." The view changed again, showing both princess Celestia and Luna. "They know more than they tell their subjects, letting them find it out for themselves. It is a decision I respect, and not one I find often among those so young."

"From what I understand, they are hardly young," Sam interrupted, and Clockwork showed her a faint grin.

"To me they are. But, to go back to my original question. Where does life come from? Where does it originate from?"

"You mentioned stargazing. Does it have something to do with the stars?"

"Exactly. You see, life doesn't come from life, it comes from death."

"Okay, you lost me there."

"Come with me," he said, and stepped through the viewing portal after changing the time and place.

Stepping through, Sam found herself in an inky void, without anything or anyone in it. 

"What is this place?" she asked, looking around in confusion.

"Life and death," came the cryptic reply.

An explosion larger than anything Sam had ever seen happened before her, but no sound could be heard. The light, however, was blinding to the point even a blind man would have to shield his eyes. 

Using his cane, Clockwork accelerated time forwards.

"Look," he instructed, and Sam carefully uncovered her eyes to see what he wanted her to see.

Large clouds of dust clumped together, spinning around their centers, which started to glow and expand. Time sped up, moving as if it was fast forwarded. Which, seeing who she was with, proved to be just that. The clouds, first nothing more than amorphous masses, slowly became massive stars, many times larger than the Earth's sun. Then, mere moments after she saw them form, they blew up, spreading dust all around the empty void she now recognized as space. 

"What is the meaning of this?" She asked, confused, not understanding any of this.

"Look," came the only answer.

Time flew by, and the dust spread by the exploding suns started to accumulate and clump together, restarting the process. But something was different, as, after the sun formed, a layer of dust remained, spinning around the sun in a disk. Speeding forwards even further, she saw the formation of planets, moons and asteroids. She saw the formation of the solar system. She saw the formation of the Earth, and all the life that came to be there up to this point in her afterlife.  

"W... What?..."

"The start of a life comes out of the death of another. Everything came out of nothing, starting a process that has been going on for a very, very long time. Suns form, they burn, and they die. And in their death, new life is formed. All worlds, even Equestria, are made this way. All life is linked to death, as their origin comes from death, if you look back far enough. And therein lies the problem."

"Problem? What problem?" Sam asked confused, struggling to keep up.

"With Luna not being the one chosen to become a Halfa."

"Huh?"

"She and her sister are linked to the moon, stars, sun and their world. They can bring forth day and night, and control how the stars show in the night's sky by controlling the light they emit."

"So?"

"Everything comes from death, and they are linked to it, more than any other on their world, with only a few exceptions, not counting Danny and this filly. They are of both life and death, which explains their long lifespan. But, they are not ghosts, not even half a ghost like Danny. However they do show signs, if you know what to look for," he explained, and Sam's eyes slowly widened as she began to assemble the pieces.

"For starters, their manes and tails. They move in an unfelt breeze, not unlike how the hair of some ghosts seem to behave. Remember how your old acquaintance Ember's hair looked when she was at full power? Or Danny's evil future self? Others you have seen? Or what about Luna's mane and tail showing all the stars in them. Doesn't that sound a lot like Nocturne, who showed the stars in the darkness of his body? Or the fact that the both of them also share the same dream diving ability. Or her ability to turn into an intangible mist of sorts, drifting away on the breeze. Luna is more connected than her sister, this much is true, but they both show signs of the connection between life and death. Yet they don't even know this. They live their lives believing the realm of the dead doesn't reach them, yet it is all around them. It is connected with them, and, ironically, they even have interacted with it. A guardian of the deceased has interacted with them long ago, but he does not count himself as a ghost, which is understandable, considering his origins. And, as such, they do not believe him to be one because of it. Which reminds me. I need to have a little talk with him later. But let's return to the matter at hand," Clockwork explained, looking at all the life on the young Earth passing by.

"So, why would it not be possible for Luna to be a ghost?" He asked Sam, repeating her question. "She already holds a spark of our energy, as does her sister. Should she be turned into a halfa, the energy she gained would interact with the energy she already has. They would cancel each other out, destroying her powers completely, and most likely herself as well. She could never be turned into a halfa, because a ghost can not possess a ghost, nor can they possess one who already has a spark of our powers. And that is what a Halfa is, in essence. A possessive force in the body of a mortal," he explained, and brought the both of them down to the fully developed Earth during the early twenty first century. Moving through the walls of a familiar building, the two found themselves in the basement of Danny's parents’ home. 

"See," he said as they saw Danny accidentally fly through the Fenton Ghost Catcher, separating his human self from his ghost form.

"... But… What about Nightmare Moon? She possessed Luna."

"Yes she did, but not in the way you think it to be. Luna was possessed by this corruption, which took the name Nightmare Moon after it took shape in this new form. However, the corruption didn't give her any new powers. It was merely a wandering force, looking to infect any who would accept it. This force didn't even originate from their world, but another not many know about. It was from a world untainted by either magic or technology, and where wolves were the dominant species that this corruptive force came from. Something that formed out of the hate and anger of a being similar to Luna in the task he was given. He was, eventually, able to fight off the corruption, but at the cost of his own life. After this, the corruption moved from domain to domain, using the doors found in the ghost zone to move around as it searched for another to infect." He paused for a brief moment, grimacing ever so slightly. 

"And this is where Luna came in. Luna's jealousy towards her sister was the beacon the corruption was drawn to. Her envy was the leverage this entity used to turn her. It possessed her, corrupted her thinking to the point she was merely a puppet to it, before changing her using her very own powers. But if she were to become a Halfa, even more power needs to be added, which would only result in her losing all the power she has, as any newly gained ghost energy would react violently with the spark she already has. This will without a doubt kill her, causing a shift in power as she would leave a vacuum her sister would have to fill once more. Should that happen, Celestia would not be able to react in time when Vlad makes his move. Not that there is much she could do, though." Clockwork said with a sigh, watching the sun rise over the Earth before bringing him and Sam back to the time hall. 

"No, it cannot be Luna, nor will it ever be Luna that will become the fifth Halfa," he continued as if nothing happened, changing the image in the viewing portal back to the pony fate had chosen for this burden. "That Destiny will be hers. As well as this Sweetie Belle, thanks to the Necronomicon," he finished with a bitter tone, still not pleased with what that book had done. 

"But she… How… How will this happen?"

"That would be your third question. I already answered two, even though I said I would only answer one."

"Wait, what? What was my second question?"

"You asked if any other pony wouldn't be a better choice. Perhaps Luna. I answered that one as well, I will not answer another. I have already said much more than I should have, but I trust you not to misuse what I shared with you. Besides, I think you have a lot to think about with what you have just learned. Maybe that would be the best thing for you to do, instead of trying to figure out the next thing before you understand what it is you just learned."

"I… But…" Sam sighed. "I guess you're right. But I won't leave it with this," Sam said, trying to sound annoyed, but only managed a dumbfounded tone as she slowly flew away to her personal chamber, leaving Clockwork alone once more.

"I know," he said quietly, staring into the swirling vortex.


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


Glowing green eyes looked down on them, staring at the two creatures before her. One, a pony who she knew all too well. The other, the human whose mind she had infected. Both of them sat before her, slumped down on Danny’s couch, asleep, Twilight's head resting on Danny's shoulder while his head lay backwards on the couch's backrest. There were many pieces of paper lying around them, littering the floor. Several quills and empty ink bottles could also be found, used up and discarded during Danny’s lessons with Twilight.

Hatred; it was all she could feel towards these two creatures before her. She should have dealt with them sooner. She would have dealt with them sooner, if it wasn't for that blasted Shadow. Even now she was only able to observe, floating before the two within Danny’s hijacked shadow. 

Green eyes looked down on them with burning hatred. She was nothing more than a passenger in that moronic human’s thick skull, while it should be her in control of it all. She looked at Twilight again, and another flash of boiling rage filled her, making her form ripple in response. This pony was already a nuisance just as she was, but being stuck within Danny's mind she was also forced to sit through her pointless attempt to teach this ape about Her queendom. 

It were mostly pointless things like: And because of that, it was agreed that one standard bit is worth four of your dollars. Or: "And as the three pony tribes made peace with one another, the first Hearth’s Warming Eve was formed," and more trivial things that meant nothing to her. She knew most of all of this; some things she even lived through herself. And the entire time she was stuck in Danny’s mind, she had the overwhelming urge to simply choke the life out of her, but Shadow wouldn't allow her. 

Two minds, one body. That was the situation she was in. He held back whenever she was docile and played nice, but he would lash out at her the moment she tried anything, physically at least. It would seem her mental manipulation was something he hadn't picked up on, which did prove useful to her. But still, she was a puppet, almost literally. She could control this shade because she was allowed to do so, but she was not in control. No, after the events in her mental construct, and the blast from the Elements, she had been weakened to such an extent that Shadow could hold her down when he needed to. This was proven to her after she lashed out at Luna, trying to draw her into the depths with her after she reached out to Danny, but Shadow forced her out of Danny's mind, and scared her off as well. But he, too, was weakened by the wave of energy, as it interacted with the energy that linked the two of them. Still, he emerged relatively unharmed compared to her, and he used this advantage to keep her in check. 

And, to make matters worse... She was still forced to do Danny's bidding, should he call upon his shadow. 

Looking down to one of the shadowy appendages, a hand turned into a claw and she wished she could just lash out and end it all right here and now. 

A feeling as if she was kicked in the gut overwhelmed her, and the green glow of her eyes was forced away by Shadow’s orange glow. The claw turned back into the hand it was supposed to be, and, after taking a thoughtful look at his master and Twilight lying asleep on the couch after a long night of learning, Shadow fell flat on the floor, becoming just a normal seeming shadow lost in the darkness of the early morning.

She would try again, he knew. And he would be there to hold her back. She was his mistake, and he would make sure it wouldn't get any worse. 

He just wished he was able to become whole again. To strip away the corruption, and reclaim the powers she came from. But that was not within his ability, and he wasn't sure if it would ever be possible.


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


The light of the rising sun peeked through the library's bedroom window, shining directly into the face of the young dragon lying asleep on the, too large for him, bed. 

After Twilight didn't come home last night, he claimed the bed for himself, as he was more than used to her all nighters, and he just figured she was staying the night with one of her friends, or got caught up with something over at Danny's. Even with her improvement with her social skills in the years she had been living here, Twilight could still be a bit dense with her social interactions. Simple things, like letting him know she would be out for the night. Though, maybe the way she had left after their little argument had something to do with it. 

Groaning in annoyance, Spike rolled over to keep the light out of his eyes. However, sleep was not a luxury permitted to him as he felt the all too familiar pressure coming from his gut telling him a message was incoming. Jolting upright, he let out a massive belch, a letter materializing in his green flames. 

Muttering to himself as he picked up the letter, he cursed his bad luck. Even now, when he had the entire library to himself, and no older sister telling him when to wake up, he was still brought out of a wonderful slumber thanks to the princess. Blowing smoke from his nostrils in irritation, Spike looked at the letter, seeing it marked as urgent. But, annoyed as he was over his sleep being cut short, he placed the letter on the nightstand, fell backwards on the bed, and resumed his dream filled with gems and a white unicorn with a curly purple mane.

The letter could wait. This was WAY more important.


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


Slowly, Twilight was waking, and she shifted a bit to find a more comfortable position. She didn't know why, as her mind, still very much asleep, had a hard time solving the problem that was slowly making itself known to her. She was dimly aware that, in fact, she was not lying down. There was also the strange sensation coming from her pillow. It wasn't soft and fluffy, but hard, almost bony and with little give. Oh, and it was also moving.

Yes, something was not as it should be, but what? 

Groggily cracking open a single eye, the mystery only grew as she was unable to identify the room she was in. It was vaguely familiar, but it wasn't her bedroom. 

Her pillow moved again, and, opening her other eye, she looked at the source of the disturbance.

Silence. 

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she thought: "Okay, Twilight. You're just dreaming. There is no way that I am… Yeah, just a dream," she tried to convince herself. "Now, I'm going to count to three, and when I open my eyes I will be back in my bed. One. Two. Three."

Opening her eyes again, she could still see Danny sitting next to her, head lying backwards, fast asleep.

Silence. 

"GHAAAAA!"

Yelling at the top of her lungs, she jumped away from Danny and fell onto the floor. Danny, forcibly woken by her yelling, also shouted out in fright as he didn't know what was going on. Blinking rapidly as he scanned the room, he saw a pair of purple legs sticking up from in front of the couch. Leaning forward, he saw Twilight lying in a heap before him. Both of them looked at each other; Danny in confusion, and Twilight with a heated blush on her muzzle. 

"Twilight?" Danny said, confused, before the events of the previous night came back to him.

"Danny," she muttered, embarrassed. 

"Don't tell me. We fell asleep on the couch after your lessons went on for hours and hours?"

Only nodding in response, Twilight looked away from him.

"And you yelled out like that because you were caught by surprise by seeing me when you woke up?"

Another nod was her reply.

"Huh. Well, that's new," Danny muttered to himself as he let himself fall back against the backrest. 

"I'm so sorry," Twilight finally spoke up. "I shouldn't have let that happen. I should have gone away in time. I... I..." she went on, starting to ramble, but Danny cut her off by raising a hand.

"It's alright, I guess," he said while suppressing a yawn. "You didn't mean for it to happen, and were only surprised to find yourself here. Just as I was surprised to find a girl as cute as you here as well..." Danny said, before slamming his mouth shut, his eyes going wide over what he had just said. 

"You think I'm cute?" Twilight asked, embarrassed, her face a glowing red.

"I just said that out loud, didn't I?" He asked with an equally red face. "I didn't mean it like that—"

"So you don't think I'm cute?" Twilight asked, sounding hurt.

"No. Yes... No, I mean… I'm only making this worse, aren't I? Look, what I meant was that I was not expecting you to be here, just that."

Taking a deep breath, Twilight composed herself. Still the blush remained on her face, and she glanced away from Danny, the strange sensation she had been feeling for the last couple of days coming back to her.

"But you think I'm cute?"

"Ehh, kinda. I guess..." Danny replied unsure, not really sure what he thought on the matter. Why had he even said she was cute to begin with? It was not like him to say such a thing, but there was something about her that he couldn't explain. He would have to look into this, and hopefully avoid another embarrassment like that in the future.

"Maybe I should go home?" Twilight said quietly, poking a hoof against the floor as she avoided Danny's gaze as much as possible, her face still a deep shade of red.

"Ehh, yeah, sure," Danny said awkwardly as he stood up, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked away from Twilight. "Here, I'll let you out," he said quickly, immediately moving to the door and opening it for her. 

"Uhh, it was nice of you to be here, and I'll see you next time?" Danny began hesitantly, not sure what he should say or do.

"Thanks," came the hasty response, and Twilight hurried out of the door, almost tripping over her own legs several times in her haste. "I'll see you next time," she quickly added before running off, leaving behind a flustered and confused human, all the while hoping nopony would see her leave his house this early in the morning, and with such a red face.

Watching her as she quickly ran to her own home, Danny scratched the top of his head before closing the door.

'Why did I call her cute?' he wondered, not sure why he said that.


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


Nightmare Moon wasn't happy; far from it. To call her Miss sunshine would be a blatant lie, and not just because of her obvious association with the night. Still, she couldn't help but grin evilly as she saw the beginnings of her latest attempt to break Danny. She knew like no other how to damage and destroy any individual, and she had used this knowledge many times in the past before the confrontation between Celestia and her banishment to the moon. 

First, there was the simple physical damage she could inflict to one's body. It was the easiest as it only involved the breaking of bones and the bleeding of the flesh. It was also something that only worked on the weaker willed, and something she was unable to do thanks to Shadow.

Second, there was the breaking of one’s mind, and her first attempt to gain what she wanted. It was, however, thwarted by Shadow, Danny, those wretched mares, and this Sam. It was her best chance, and it would have worked if it wasn't for those meddling kids, but now she was forced to try something else. 

Which would be the third thing. To break one’s heart. However, it would be impossible to break his heart if there was no one it belonged to. Which is where Twilight would come in. She was the pony she hated the most of those six, and she proved to be exactly the one she needed for her plan, seeing the way she acted around him, which was actually her doing as well. She knew her plan was destined to fail the closer Danny got to collect the Elements, and she set in motion another plan which, if successful, and she knew it was, would mean Twilight would begin to feel a strange connection towards Danny. It were lies whispered in her ears when her mind was connected to Danny's. And now, seeing the way she acted around him, Nightmare Moon knew the seed had taken root in Twilight’s mind, and it would grow, provided Danny responded to the subconscious calling.

Which he would, as she, Nightmare Moon, would nudge Danny in such a way that the two would grow closer, and, in time, something more would form. It was why he called her cute, as she placed the thought in his mind. Still, she would have to be careful. She could nudge him in the right direction, but if she pushed him too far, making him do things that he wouldn't do on his own, then he might either break from the strain on his mind as he rebelled against her influence, or Shadow would figure out something was wrong. 

But she knew how to bend one's mind in such a way that he or she would do as she wished. She had a great deal of practice with Luna, and her original host. She knew how to manipulate those thoughts and feelings that were already there, turning them into something else, something more... useful. But she could never go against the being he truly was. Not until she was sure she could take over completely, and consume him just like she had done with those before him. But she knew how to play this game, and how to make Danny give in to his heart’s desire to be loved again. The feeling was already there. The need was already there. All she needed to do was aim it towards that purple mare, and his own desires for companionship would do the rest. But she would have to give him a nudge here and there, making sure he would do as she wanted. 

It would be perfect. He would 'find' someone else to love, opening himself up completely again since the last time he allowed anyone to come that close to him. And, as a result, he would become weak, easy to predict, and so much easier to manipulate into giving her his powers. 

Of course there was also the fact she would be able to get some measure of revenge on Twilight. She would 'find' someone to spend her time with, and to share her joys and sorrows. And, when the opportune moment presented itself, she would take it all away. She would expose Danny, breaking his heart as Twilight would reject him. And hers would break as she came to believe he only used her for his own twisted pleasure. It was perfect, not so much in the way of speeding up her attempt to gain his powers, but it would prove to be a wonderful entertainment to see them hold on to fake hope and love, only to tear it away from them, crushing their hearts. 

Yes. Perfect.


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


Tucker stood half awake in his living room doorway. A cup of steaming coffee in his hand, the other scratching his head as he raised a single quizzical eyebrow. It was still early in the morning, and his mind was slow to start up, but even then, he was quite sure that what he saw was real. It didn't mean he understood what he saw.

In the center of the living room stood Dani, in her ghost form. The furniture was all placed against the walls, leaving a large open area, while she was doing... something. It was mostly her staring angrily at her shadow, and muttering several harsh words while she was straining herself trying to achieve whatever it was she was trying to do.

"Come… on. Do... some... thing," Dani said, her voice strained, her effort sending sparks shooting from her hands. 

"GHAAA!" She yelled in defeat, stomping a foot on the floor. "Why won't you move?!"

"Ehhh… Dani, what are you doing?" Tucker asked, making himself known to her.

"Trying to get this stupid shadow to move, like we saw Danny do with his on that video," she answered irritatedly, never looking at Tucker as she was too busy glaring at her shadow. "I've been trying for days now, and still nothing happens. How did Danny do it?" She asked with a sigh as she dropped to the floor, sitting there with crossed legs.

"I should have the same powers as him, shouldn't I? I mean, I am him, in a way. I have all of the standard powers, as well as the ice stuff and that wail thingy. But this I can't do. Shouldn't I be able to do this as well? Or, maybe I am just a defective clone?" She said somberly, her hair hanging before her eyes as she poked a finger at the ground. 

"Dani, don't say that," Tucker told her as he sat down next to her. "You are not defective, or anything else but a wonderful woman and great friend," he continued as he placed an arm around her.

"Just a friend?" She asked with a faint grin, leaning into his side.

"Well, maybe a bit more than that. But you get the point," Tucker said with a chuckle. "Besides, we don't know what happened to Danny during all those years. It might very well be that this whole thing with his shadow is not one of his powers."

"Then what do you think it is?" Dani asked, grabbing Tucker's cup of coffee and taking a sip. 

"I have no idea. We'll ask him when we find him."

"I'd like that," Dani said with a happy sigh. "So, when am I going to pony land?"

"I haven't heard yet, though I'm expecting an answer to that question later today."

"Good. I'm itching to get going. I really want to find Danny, instead of wandering around, trying to find any bit of info about what Vlad is up to. Speaking of which... What is he up to?"

"I'm not sure. It has been unusually quiet around him. More than normal. Your little stunt might have something to do with it, though." 

"Heh, one can hope. Still, there is something that has been bothering me."

"What?"

"How did we never pick up on Danny with the name he used? We know now that he was using Sam's last name as his own, but shouldn't we have found out about this much sooner? After all, how many Danny Mansons are there?"

"More than you think, actually," Tucker replied somberly. "I actually thought about this myself some years back. But when I did a search on both Danny's name and Sam's, I came up with thousands of hits in this country alone," he told her, but then his demeanor turned angry. 

"But, after what we know now I tried to refine the search a couple of days ago. You know, backtracking where he's been and such. What I found, however, was something else entirely."

"What was it?" Dani asked, looking at him with slight concern.

"Vlad. He placed a bug in our system. It filtered out anything that might be related to Danny, sending it to him, while we would never know about it. Guess which name triggered this bug when the list of people going through the tear was uploaded in the system?"

Dani's eyes widened in shock, and the cup of coffee she was holding bubbled as the dark brew started to boil from the energy she was pouring into it. 

"You mean… He knows?"

"He knows. I disabled the bug, but didn't remove it. Hopefully he will not notice that it is inert, or he will know we know. But it does mean we need to get you going to Equestria as fast as we can. You will need to keep up your appearance as my assistant overseeing the shipment of the equipment they've ordered, but you also need to keep an eye out for any of his spy drones. We both know he will have sent some over there."

"Vlad..." Dani muttered angrily, as the cup shattered from the force placed on it. No coffee fell on the floor, though. All of it was already vaporized.

Breathing deeply several times to calm down, Dani managed to keep herself from doing anything else more extreme. 

"I take it I won't be able to just fly off the first chance I get to go look for Danny?" she asked after a moment.

"I'm afraid so. Not if you want to keep your cover intact, at least for some time. But we'll worry about that later. For now, let's just focus on getting you there."

"Right," Dani muttered as she stood back up, turning back into her human self dressed in only the loose fitting top part of one of Tucker's pajamas.

Turning to look at Tucker, who was still sitting down, she smirked as she saw his eyes linger on her.

"See anything you like?"

"Uhuh," came the single minded, dumb reply as he gave a weak nod, and Dani's grin widened just a little bit as she walked away, putting a bit of extra sway in her steps. 

"Coming?"

Tucker scrambled to get on his feet, tripping several times as he did so, but never losing sight of the woman with a devious, seductive smile. 


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


Valerie groaned as she pushed herself out of the guest bed Jazz had offered her after explaining her situation to her some time ago. It wasn't the most comfortable of beds, but it was better than what she currently had. Which was nothing. With her home destroyed, and no possible way to return there without alerting Vlad, she was forced to bunk with Jazz, when she was not out hunting for either Vlad or Phantom... or any other ghost for that matter. 

At least it was a good thing the explosion that destroyed her home, courtesy of Vlad, was covered up with a BS story about a gas explosion. It did draw away some of the attention from what was really going on, although there were still several eyewitnesses who claimed they'd seen a large group of ghosts which all looked the same, and the ghost hunter Specter. But their claims were mostly ignored thanks to the overwhelming 'evidence' that proved it was, in fact, a gas explosion.  

But right now, sitting up in her bed, her hair a mess, Valerie groaned like a zombie as the harsh light of the sun shone in her eyes.

"Ugh, it is way too early for this crap," she muttered as she looked at the small clock hanging on the wall, seeing it was just past two in the afternoon. "Urgh. Maybe I was out for too long last night," she added as she dragged a hand down her face. 

Blinking groggily several times to clear her vision a bit better, she swung her legs to the side of the bed and stepped out, swaying a bit on the spot before she composed herself and moved to get a shower. And, sniffing herself, she knew she needed it. Last night's hunt was long and hard, and she was a bit sore from the length of it despite her experience dealing with such intensive sessions. 

Stepping into the shower, and finding a temperature she was comfortable with, she let out a pleased sigh as she could feel the sweat and grime wash off of her. And, one story down, she could hear the front door slam shut, informing her that Jazz had most likely come home from wherever it was she had gone.

Which would be grocery shopping, as Jazz found her fridge getting empty a lot faster than what she was used to. Putting the newly purchased items in their places, and closing the now full fridge behind her, Jazz sat down on the couch and watched the news on the television while waiting for Valerie to come down.


****
 

"... Still no answer has been found for the gas explosion several days ago, and the authorities are still investigating on site. We go now to Trisha Takanawa for more about this.

"Thank you, Tom. As you can see behind me, the building is still sealed off, and inaccessible to any of the residents. This has been a source of outrage for those that have been forced to leave their homes while waiting for any news when, or if, they can return to their abodes. Investigations, however, are still ongoing, as there has been no answer for the sudden explosion. Eyewitnesses, who were hiding during the event, claim to have seen ghosts during the explosion, but no evidence to support this could be found. There were also reports that the renegade ghost hunter Specter was at the scene during the explosion, but this couldn't be proven either. As of now, the authorities are still in the dark as to what exactly happened here on the night of the explosion. But what we do know is that the owner of the apartment, Miss Valerie Gray, has not been seen or heard from since then."

"Vlad Masters, mayor of Amity Park, has offered a reward of five thousand dollars to anyone who can tell the authorities what happened to this young woman, or where she is. Though, unfortunately, none of the tips given proved to be useful. Furth—"


****
 

Jazz turned off the TV, having heard enough. 

"So, I still have to remain hidden, huh?" Valerie said, standing behind Jazz while using a towel to dry the last of the moisture out of her hair.

"GHAAA! VALERIE!" Jazz shouted, before dropping to a lower tone of voice so her neighbors wouldn't hear her. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"I didn't sneak up on you at all," she answered coolly. "You were just too preoccupied with that idiot box to notice me."

"Well, still. You should have said something," Jazz countered, not wanting to relent. 

"I just did," Valerie said as she hung the towel over her shoulder, giving Jazz a smirk.

"I... You... Humph," Jazz stuttered, before sitting back down in a heap, arms crossed in irritation.

"Heh, too easy." Valerie chuckled. "So, any news?"

"Actually, yes," Jazz replied, and she dropped her arms. "The Equestrian government has ordered a large supply of anti ghost tech, which they want to use to construct some device of sorts. I'm not sure about the details, far too technical for me, but Tucker explained the gist of it. It would seem that they are planning to build a holding cell of sorts. Like our own ghost catching equipment, but without the ghosts turning into an energy which can be stored in a small containment unit. Instead, it is designed to keep them imprisoned while keeping the ability to interrogate them. Or, to be more precise. It would seem like it is a more advanced version of what Vlad used when he captured Dani."

"WHAT!?" Valerie shouted in outrage as she was reminded of the day she was almost responsible for Dani's death. "Why would they do such a thing?"

"A ghost almost broke through, and they want to take precautions before it happens again."

Silence. 

"Damn it. It can't be a coincidence," Valerie muttered, an angry look on her face.

"What can’t?"

Valerie sighed, "Look, last night some of our old friends found a way into the city, but I didn't detect any of those natural ghost portals. What I did find, however, was each of them carrying one of those devices that I saw the Box Ghost with when he was messing with the shield. I think they found a way to break through. And if they can do it here..."

"They can do it there as well," Jazz finished with a horrified gasp. "Oh, this is bad. Really bad."

"You don't have to tell me. I managed to scare them off, but it was almost too easy, like they didn't even try to stop me. I think this was only a test to them; an attempt leading up to something much bigger." Valerie huffed as her hands balled into fists.

"You don't think that—"

"I'm... not sure," Valerie answered coldly.

"I’ll have to inform Tucker about this. He’s sending Dani over there, but if what you say is true..."

"He’s doing what?!" 

"He is sending Dani over there, under the cover of being his assistant to oversee the shipment of all the equipment they've ordered. He also said it would be a good way to keep her as far away from Vlad as possible," Jazz answered, a worried look on her face.

"I guess that makes sense," Valerie admitted. "But how is he going to get her past the scanners?"

"Heh... eeh... He uploaded some program or something in the system that will make it ignore her energy signature," Jazz answered, twisting the truth a bit. It was true Tucker uploaded a program into the system the last time he was there, but it was for the system to ignore Danny. Still, Dani was his clone, so her energy signature would be the same.

"Huh. I've got to give the guy some credit. He does know what he is doing," Valerie said with an appreciative nod.

"Hah, I guess that's true. But what do you want, he is only looking out for his girlfriend," Jazz replied with a smirk, seeing the look of realization on Valerie's face.

"Come again?"

"You heard me. They didn't say anything, but it was as clear as the sun in the sky. Reading body language is a speciality of mine, remember?"

"Hah. Well it's about time. Those two couldn't have been more obvious than Danny and Sam back in the day." Valerie laughed, only for her face to fall as she saw the hurt look on Jazz's face.

"Yeah, I guess so," Jazz said softly as she looked down.

"Oh, sorry man. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories and such," Valerie apologized immediately, knowing that her brother was a bit of a sore spot for her.

"It's alright. You meant well, and I guess you're right," Jazz answered with a sad smile. "Those two did act a bit like Danny and Sam, with them dancing around each other like that. Plus, we might have a lead on where Danny is, but it is something that needs to be looked into a bit more."

"Wait, what?! You found him?" Valerie almost shouted.

"No, but Tucker might have picked up on his trail. But that's all, for now hopefully."

Placing her hands on both of Jazz's shoulders, she looked the woman in the eyes. 

"We're going to find him, don't you worry. Him, and that Phantom menace. And when we do, we will fix all of this. What that Phantom did to him, to all of us… we will set things right, and Danny Phantom will pay the price for his crimes."

Closing her eyes while sighing, Jazz stood up and took a step away from Valerie while turning her back to her.

"Somehow I don’t think it will be that easy."

"But it is, just you wait. One day, we will find your brother and that Phantom menace, and we will make everything right. It is only a matter of time."

"I really hope so," Jazz responded with a sigh.

"I know so. Now, let's get something to eat. I'm starving," Valerie said as she walked out of the room and into the kitchen, opening the fridge to find anything that she was interested in.

"Some secrets are not yet meant to be found out," Jazz said softly, shaking her head while wiping away a tear. "But I do hope she's right, little brother. I hope we will find you soon, and that everything will be made right. It's the least you deserve."


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


Twilight closed the door behind her with a slam, panting loudly after having run all the way back home, an ever present blush coloring her cheeks. 

He'd called her cute. Danny called her cute, and she wasn't sure how she should respond to that. Neither did Danny, if his less than smooth response after the fact was any indication. But still, he called her cute. A goofy smile found its way onto her face as she walked away from the door and up the stairs to her bedroom, finding a sleeping dragon on her bed, wrapped tightly in her blanket. 

A small giggle escaped her lips at the sight, and she knew she should be mad at Spike for sleeping in like this, but she just couldn't find it in her at this point, still feeling far too giddy over what Danny had said to her. But why did she feel like this? She barely knew him, and yet there was something that seemed to draw her to him. 

They were small but strange things. The giddy sensation and the blush coloring her face after he called her cute. Or the strange feeling she got every time she was near him. Or how she felt back at the cafe, when Danny allowed them to take a seat before the place opened. Or the fact he didn't hesitate to run alone into the Everfree Forest to help find the Crusaders, and how that made him look to her. 

There was something about him, something she didn't understand. It almost felt like she knew something more, right in the back of her mind. Something she felt like she'd forgotten, but what? Whatever it was, she just felt a strange, but comforting sensation close to him. A feeling that told her she knew him better than most others, as if he had shared an impossible secret with her. Something that made her feel connected to him in a way she'd never experienced before. But why did she feel like this? It didn't make any sense. 

Sighing, Twilight shook her head, tossing around her unkempt mane and clearing her thoughts just enough to spot the scroll lying on her bedside stand. Her interest piqued, she levitated the scroll to her, seeing it marked urgent, and muttered an annoyed remark at Spike as it shattered her good mood. An important letter from the Princess had arrived, and he had just put it aside to go back to sleep. She would have to have a word with him later, but first she would have to read the letter. 

Breaking the seal with a flick of her magic, Twilight scanned the contents of the scroll. Her hind legs gave out as she started to hyperventilate, only to read the part telling her to take a deep breath and calm down, which she promptly did, and again, and a third time for good measure. And maybe a fourth just to be safe. 

Having calmed down just a bit, she continued with the letter, and a small smile found its way on her muzzle, while her eyes hardened in determination. If what Celestia was saying was true, then Danny needed to get out of town so the ghost could be dealt with. And if she could do so by bringing him along on her next trip to Canterlot, well, she would just have to do so. And it did not have anything to do with her actually wanting to take him along with her. Nope, not at all. 

Well, maybe just a little bit. Just a little.

Groaning a bit, Spike rolled over and slowly sat up. Rubbing his eyes to clear them from the sleep, he saw Twilight sitting next to the bed, the letter he received earlier today levitating next to her. 

"Oh, hey Twilight," he said sleepily. "When did you come home?"

"Just now," she answered as she shot a glare at her baby brother. "And why didn't you bring me this letter the moment you received it?"

"I didn't know where you were," he answered simply while shrugging. "So, where were you?"

"I was at Danny's," she replied.

"What, the entire night?" Spike asked in confusion, and the blush that had vanished from Twilight's face as she read the letter returned in full force.

"Ehh, yes I was," she answered as she looked away from Spike. "He said he didn't know anything about our world, so I stayed to teach him the basics," she quickly added.

"Wait, you stayed over to teach him?" Spike asked for confirmation, and Twilight gave a single nod. "Huh, poor guy." 

"And what does that mean?" Twilight asked, sounding irritated.

"Nothing, nothing," Spike said hastily in defense. "It's just... He doesn't seem at all like the learning type."

"Oh, he doesn't? Well, I will have you know that he knows a lot more than you think," Twilight huffed, defending Danny.

"Didn't you just say he didn't know much?"

"Yes... no... I mean, it's different. He knows things I don't know about the stars, and he—" Twilight suddenly cut herself off as her eyes widened in realization.

"What, what is it Twilight?" Spike asked in worry.

"GHAA! How could I have forgotten?! One of the reasons I went over to his house was to ask him about that, and I forgot!"

"Wait, is that it? Why are you so upset over that? Just go see him again some time, and ask him about it then," Spike said with a roll of his eyes, knowing where this might lead if he didn't defuse the situation.

"Right, right. I can do that," Twilight said, her mane more frazzled than it was a moment ago. "Thanks, Spike."

"You're welcome. So, what's the letter about?"

"The letter?" Twilight asked, before she remembered the letter still hovering next to her, and Princess Celestia's order to keep the contents of the letter to herself, "Oh, nothing too urgent. Princess Celestia just wanted to make sure I would still be able to visit her this coming sunday."

"Wait, that's it?"

"Yes, why?"

"Well, it was marked urgent. I thought some kind of disaster was going on, or something."

"You thought a disaster was going on?" Twilight said as she rolled up the scroll with more force than she intended to use, glaring at the young dragon. "And, instead of finding me to give me the scroll, you went back to sleep! You are in so much trouble mister!" 

And, slowly backing away from the now furious mare, Spike gulped loudly, seeing smoke starting to rise from Twilight's mane.


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


Danny was walking down the streets of Ponyville, holding the freshly baked goods carefully in his hands, looking out for anything or anyone that might spell disaster for his lunch. He was on his break again, and he was using the little bit of free time to relax a bit, eat, and wonder why he called Twilight cute.

True, she was a nice pers… pony, and she seemed to care enough about him to spend the entire afternoon and night teaching him about the world he now lived in. Of course he didn't exactly have a stellar track record when it came to him doing anything related to learning. And it wasn't much of a surprise to him that he found himself waking up on the couch. He'd fallen asleep sometime during the sudden lesson, and most of what Twilight tried to teach him was little more than a blur. Still, this wasn't the thing that kept him busy. 

He did wonder how it happened that, apparently, Twilight ended up asleep next to him. Did she just fall asleep as the night went on, or was there something else at work here? And, again, why did he call her cute?

The more he thought about it, and her, the more he felt like there was something about her that he was missing, despite it being right in front of him. Taking a bite of his strawberry cupcake, Danny let out a sigh, not sure what he should make of all of this. 

But his musings were cut short when, without any warning, a puff of cold air escaped his mouth, taking some of the chewed cupcake along with it.

"What the?" Danny muttered in shock. "It can't be, not here."

Frantically looking around to find anything out of the ordinary, Danny hoped his powers were just acting up. There was no way a ghost could be here. Well, except for him of course.

His cupcake fell out of his hand, however, when he spotted a semi-transparent cloaked pony moving down the street, seemingly invisible to all the other ponies walking around. 

Danny didn't know what was going on, or why he was seeing something no one else did, but he knew his eyes were not betraying him. Looking around again to see if anyone else saw what he saw, Danny decided to follow this strange being, seeing it move towards the small hospital found in town. 

Diving behind a nearby tree, Danny watched as the figure moved towards the front door, but never opened it. Instead, to little surprise, the entity used intangibility to pass through the solid object without pause. 

Knowing what he saw, but not wanting to believe it, Danny did the only thing he could think of. He followed the pony. Turning invisible before stepping away from the tree, he levitated up so he wouldn't leave any footprints in the dirt path as he 'wouldn't be there' to make them, and flew towards the door the pony went through.

Turning intangible himself, he moved through the woodwork, finding himself in the main lobby with a white pony sitting behind the counter, her pink mane tied up in a bun and a nurse cap placed on her head. Looking around, he saw the cloaked figure move down the hall to his right, and he followed after him or her. 

The figure seemed to move with a purpose, and Danny held back just to see what would happen. But after he followed the figure through one of the doors leading to one of the patients' room, Danny felt sick to his stomach, and knew he shouldn't be here.

Lying in the bed was an old pony, a stallion who seemed weak to the point of collapse. Several machines stood next to him, monitoring his breathing and heart rate. And, as Danny could see on the beeping device, his assumption that the pony was dying was spot on. 

Around the bed sat several ponies of various ages. Several adults, who held each other for comfort, most of them mares, while five fillies and a single colt were holding on to their mothers as the pony's heart rate slowly dropped on the monitor. 

And, standing behind the group of ponies, was the cloaked figure. And Danny was finally able to get a better look at this pony.

It certainly looked like a normal pony at first glance. It was shaped like one, at least, with a black cloak that seemed to pour over its frame instead of just hanging. Its horn, which was jutting out from the top of the hood, was long, curved, and looking quite sharp. It was not like any horn Danny had ever seen on any of the unicorns in town. And, after doing some difficult maneuvering, he was able to see under the apparition’s hood. He wished he didn't. 

The burning red eyes were the first thing he saw. Points of light came from the empty sockets of the skull Danny was staring at, and he had to stifle a scream lest he give himself away. 

Flying back through the door, Danny placed his back against it, breathing rapidly to the point of hyperventilation. It was a ghost, he was certain of that. Unless there were ponies around that didn't have any skin, flesh or blood covering their faces. Taking several more deep breaths, Danny calmed down a bit. Not sure what he should do next, he just went with the first thing that came to him. Mainly, sticking his head through the door to see if the pony-skeleton thing was still there. It was, and now with a scythe flying next to it, and Danny realized the stallion lying in the bed was almost dead, if the heart monitor was any indication. He watched when, at the exact moment the beeping stopped and was replaced by a flat, continuous tone, the scythe descended on the pony, slashing clean through him, but not leaving any marks. 

Danny witnessed a burst of light coming from the body, and the ponies surrounding the stallion burst out crying. Yet it didn't seem like they noticed the flash of light he saw.

"So, how are you holding up?" Danny heard the specter speak, but didn't know who he was talking to as he seemed to talk to empty air. But he was able to tell the pony was male, if his voice was anything to go by.

"Yes, they're sad now. But they will move on, never forgetting you, though." Again with this thing talking to the air. What is going on?

"I'm not really sure how that works myself. It isn't an exact science," he said with a shrug, revealing the bony complexion through his cloak. "But talking to them might help you, even if they won't be able to hear you."

Who, or what was this guy talking to? Danny wasn't sure what was going on, but it had ghost written all over it, with a capital G. However, looking at the small group of ponies, he noticed that, somehow, their grief had quieted down a bit. Not much, but still enough to be noticeable. 

Danny, out of respect for the deceased pony, quickly moved back into the hallway, not wanting to intrude any more than he had already done. Still, he did want to know what was going on, so he waited outside of the room, invisible and intangible, hoping the figure would show up sooner rather than later. Which he did, after only a couple of minutes. 

Moving cleanly through the door, the cloaked pony stepped out into the hallway, looking around a bit until his eyes locked on Danny, and he froze on the spot.

Long tense seconds passed, and Danny started to feel nervous. There was no way he was able to see him, right?

"Human," the pony spoke, and this time Danny froze up.

"Y- You can see me?" Danny asked startled.

"And you can see me?" the pony said with an equal measure of surprise.

"You shouldn't be able to see me!" they both said at the same time. "I'm invisible!" They shared a blank look between each other.

"What is going on? What are you?" Danny asked before the pony could interrupt him.

Several more long seconds passed as the two looked at one another. Only when a light blue pony with a mess of a mane was pushed by in a wheelchair, barking like a dog, did the two break out of their stupor.

"I can't say. It's against the rules. You shouldn't even be able to see me."

"Yet I am, so spill it. Who are you? What did you just do to that pony?" Danny asked, and the pony pushing the wheelchair looked back, confused as he didn't see anypony, despite hearing somepony speak.

"Maybe this isn't the best place to do this," the cloaked pony said, and with a flap of his bony wings he flew away, passing through the wall at the far end of the hallway and moving outside.

Following him, Danny flew beside him, not giving up that easily. 

"So, who are you?"

"I could ask you the same thing," the pony replied. "You are no normal human, that's more than obvious."

"Fair enough," Danny replied. "I answer your question if you answer mine. But not here, too much attention. My house is just a short flight from here, just follow me."

The pony looked skittish, eyes darting from left to right as if he was looking at something Danny couldn't see.

"I really shouldn't. I'm not allowed to interact with the living," he said quickly, drifting away from Danny.

"Why not?" Danny asked, confused. "Didn't you just do that?"

"That's different. Look, I can't tell you, it's against her rules."

"Whose rules?" Danny asked, getting increasingly more confused and frustrated.

"Thanasia," he answered without thinking. "... F-forget I just s-said that. I’m not allowed to talk about her either," he stuttered quickly, and dropped to the ground before running away as fast as he could. 

Not liking this, Danny followed behind him, easily catching up to him as he remained flying. 

"Look, all I want is to talk, and I’m not leaving until you do!" Danny shouted at him, making several ponies look up as they heard him, but were unable to see him. 

Steering towards Whitetail Woods, the pony tried to shake Danny off, but was unable to do so. 

"Please, just leave me alone. I am not allowed to talk to you, or any other mortal!" he shouted back as he passed the treeline, and Danny followed him in there as well.

"And I want answers. Who are you? What are you? What did you do to that pony? And how did you even get to this world? Ghosts shouldn't be able to do so."

"Ghosts? I'm not a ghost," he called back, sounding confused but not slowing down.

"Argh! This isn't going anywhere," Danny thought, and he sent a mental command to Shadow.

Detaching himself from Danny, Shadow shot forward, moving fast and unseen. He slid underneath the retreating form of the cloaked pony and took hold of his legs, making him trip.

He fell forwards, but his momentum caused his legs to detach from the rest of his body, leaving Shadow with four bony legs in his grasp while the pony tumbled forwards, sans his legs.

Danny, seeing this, could only stare in utter disbelief. What kind of a ghost was this? It did remind him a bit of the failed clone of himself, wearing a bedsheet over himself to keep his skeletal form hidden. But what this pony was, he had no idea. Still, with him down like this he might finally get some answers. But the rustling of nearby bushes drew his attention, and he knew he couldn't stay here. So, giving another command to Shadow, he and his dark companion flew away, Shadow carrying the skeletal pony with him inside his dark form.

The pony, however, didn't struggle in any way as he was captured in Danny's shade. Looking at the darkness surrounding him, and sensing out to this creature as well, there were four things coming to his mind.

First. How did a human possess a shade? A shade similar to himself.

Second. How did this human do what he did?

Third. Thanasia was going to kill him, should that be possible.

Fourth. Was that Luna he was sensing in the energy from this shade… NO!… It can't be, can it?

"Oh Mort, what have you gotten yourself into?" he thought as he was carried away.


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


"Sir!" a unicorn mare called out as she returned to the campsite, giving a crisp salute. "Vigilant Shield reporting back in."

"At ease. Tell me, what did you find?" The unicorn placed in charge of the group asked. 

Relaxing her stance just a bit, she retrieved her scanner from the saddlebag she was carrying.

"Sir. I've investigated the contact we've picked up, but noone could be found on the scene. However, I did detect high levels of spectral energy, consistent with the energy levels we've worked with back at the Fenton Corporation. Although there were some fluctuations I wasn't able to compensate for, the energy levels show there was a ghost nearby, possibly two, but I can't say for certain. Nor was I able to determine the direction any of the possible spectral entities went, due to the fluctuations I mentioned earlier. It was almost as if the entity detected was there one moment, and gone the next."

"Hmm, I see. But you're certain it was a ghost the scanner picked up?"

"There is no doubt in my mind about it. Sir, we have a breach!"

"ALRIGHT!" He bellowed, making himself heard by the rest of the group. "You heard the lady. There's a ghost around here, and it's our job to stop it."

"Sir, yes Sir!" Came the collective response.

"Flash, Lightning!" He called out to the pegasus in the group, and a dark blue mare with a yellow and orange mane stepped forward. "I need you to carry a message to the group back in town. Tell them what we've found and that they should keep their eyes peeled."

"Sir," she replied with a salute, before flying off.

"It's a shame we don't have a wireless connection out here," Charming Prism, the unicorn stallion in charge muttered. "Okay! The rest of you need to suit up. We've got a hotspot to investigate."

"Sir, yes Sir!" All the ponies under his command shouted as they burst out in a flurry of motion, grabbing their gear to fulfill their task.


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


It took some doing, and taking several detours to keep out of sight, but eventually Danny was able to get Shadow, who was still holding the strange pony within him, safely in his house and out of sight. True, he could turn invisible, but Shadow couldn't do this with a passenger on board, so they were forced to do this the hard way.  

Locking the door and pulling down the blinds, Danny plunged his home into complete darkness, and the only thing that showed in the dimly lit room were the glowing green eyes from him and Shadow.

"Okay, release him," Danny ordered Shadow, and the dark form obeyed. However, Danny didn't notice the twitch shown in its facial features, an indication of Nightmare Moon's struggle to keep up appearances.

Fading away from sight, Shadow returned to Danny, leaving the pony to fall to the ground with an oomph.

"Okay, let's talk," Danny said while crossing his arms, a defiant look showing in his glowing eyes, telling the pony he wasn't going to back down. It also told him something else.

"You… You're a halfa, aren't you? You're Danny Phantom," he said, sounding somewhere between amazed and saddened.

"Th- That's not who I am anymore," Danny said somberly as he looked away, his arms falling to his sides. 

"But then… You are the one who… No, I can't say."

"Okay, enough of that!" Danny snapped, his momentary weakness gone. "You seem to know who I am, so you better tell me who you are."

"I- I can't. The rules don't allow me to interact with any mortals," he said, and Danny was about to object to it when he started speaking again. "However, you're only half mortal, aren't you?"

"Ehh… I guess," Danny answered in confusion.

"So technically it won't be breaking the rules; only bending them," he continued, his eyes darting around to make sure there was no one watching.

"Look, can we just cut to the chase and tell me who you are?" Danny asked him, beginning to sound irritated as he looked down at the cloak covered skeleton. 

"Ooh, I'm going to regret this. I'm sure of it," he muttered to himself before looking up and meeting Danny's gaze.

"Well?"

"Okay, okay," he said with a sigh. "I'm the pale pony. The Grim Galloper. The reaper of souls... I'm... Mort," Mort said, and his eyes shifted around, hoping that Thanasia wouldn't be there to hear him.

Time ticked by, and Danny could only stare at the figure with a look of disbelief. 

"So… You're the Grim Reaper?" 

"No, Eddie works back on your world. I'm Mort."

"Eddie?"

"That's what he calls himself."

Several more moments ticked by, and the only thing snapping Danny out of it this time was the bell ringing over at the town's clock tower, telling him his break was over.

"Oh crap, I'm going to be late," Danny said, looking at the door, and back at Mort.

"So, maybe I should go and not hold you up any longer?" Mort said, unsure. Stuck between his own desire to get away, and finding out what was going on with the Halfa. Or, mainly, his shade.

"Oh no, you're not going anywhere," Danny said while pointing a finger at him, and he transformed into his ghost half with a flash of light.

"Amazing," Mort said, awed.

"Oh, I hope this works," Danny muttered, and he concentrated as hard as he could as pale white glow surrounded his body. 

Like a cell dividing, his body split in two, and, with a popping sound, another him stood in the room, the both of them looking at each other with a victorious smile.

"Alright!" They both said loudly, and the duplicate turned back into his human form.

"Okay, you go back to work, and I will deal with bony over here," Danny said to Danny, and Danny nodded to Danny as he walked away, unlocking the door and stepping out, leaving Danny alone with Mort, while Danny went back to work.

Danny locked the door after Danny, making sure no one could surprise him while he was going to have a talk with Mort.

"I've heard about you, but to actually see it happening... wow," Mort said with enthusiasm, until he saw the glare Danny was sending him. 

"Glad you liked the show. Now I want some answers. You said you were the Grim Reaper, or Galloper, or whatever. You're the one that collects the souls of the dead?"

"More or less," Mort answered hesitantly. "I separate the soul from the body when they die, and help them cross over, but nothing more. Really." 

"Okay. Let's say I believe you, but I'm not saying I do. Tell me how a ghost like you managed to get to this world," Danny said with his hands on his hips.

"I'm not a ghost! And as to how I got here, that's easy. I've always been here. Or, since Thanasia created me. I'm one of her shades. One of many." 

"Wait, there are more of you, here, on this world?"

"Yes. There is one shade for each species. I am the shade for the ponies. There is one for the dragons, buffalos, zebras, flies, rabbits and everyone else. The same things holds true for your world," Mort answered, sounding a bit more at ease, but his eyes still darted around every once in a while.

"What? Then why did I never see any of them?"

"I dunno," Mort said with a shrug. "You're not supposed to see me either. My best guess is that your shade allows you to see me. Which does make me wonder. Where did you get your shade? It didn't feel natural, out of place."

Relaxing his stance for the first time since he came to his home, Danny looked down at Mort, sensing no hostility from him whatsoever.

"You're one of those good ghosts, aren't you?"

"Like I said. I'm not a ghost. I'm a shade."

"There's a difference?"

"Of course there is," Mort said with a roll of his glowing red light orbs for eyes. "Just like a bear and a wolf aren't the same. Even though they are both mammals, they are still different creatures."

"I guess that makes sense," Danny muttered.

"So, how did you get your shade?" Mort asked again, sounding a bit bolder now that Danny had calmed down.

"That's a long story. But to keep it short and simple, I possessed a ghost that had a shade of his own, and the power transferred to me."

"You, what?! Don't you know how dangerous that is?" Mort nearly shouted.

"I found out real soon after I did that, so, yeah," Danny answered sarcastically. 

"Oh, sorry," Mort replied meekly as he flinched back.

"But going back to you. What were you doing to that pony in the hospital? Did you ehh... reap his soul?"

"To be blunt about it, yes."

"Then why didn't I see him? Or why didn't anyone see you?" 

"No pony can see me, unless I reveal myself to them. I think it is your shade that allows you to see me," Mort said again, giving a suspicious glare at the darkness closest to Danny, his sight allowing him to see things no other could. But Danny didn't see it, as Mort didn't have any way to show his emotions on his face. "Although I am not sure how that is possible. I'm invisible to all, even ghosts. Only souls that haven't made their choice in Purgatory can see me, as they are still stuck in between existences, and I am there to lead them on their way. Which is also why you can't see the souls of the deceased. They exist in another layer of reality, out of the visible spectrum of any other creatures, living or dead."

"I... I never knew that," Danny said somewhat amazed.

"I'm not surprised. You never died," Mort answered simply, and Danny held up a single finger as if he wanted to counter him, but was unable to come up with any kind of retort, so he just stood there, unmoving.

"But I do have a question myself. Why does your shade contain energy from Luna?" Mort asked, looking at Danny with a questioning gaze. But Danny didn't answer, nor did he move. He just stood still, finger still raised.

"Ehh, hello?" Mort said unsurely as he waved a bony hoof before Danny's eyes, but didn't even get a blink in response.

"What is going on?" Mort wondered out loud as he stepped closer to Danny, poking him in the side, but still receiving no reply.

"Hello, Mort." 

Mort turned around with lightning speed, the glowing red light in his empty eye sockets widening as he saw the ghost hovering before him.

"Clockwork?" He asked, unsure.

"Yes. It's been a long time, old friend," Clockwork said with a small smile, his body shifting through the ages. 

"About twenty four thousand years or so," Mort confirmed with a small nod. "What... What are you doing here? Did you freeze Danny in time?" he asked, not understanding why the master of time and space would be here.

"I did. And I did so to stop you from revealing a secret that is not yet meant to be revealed," Clockwork answered.

"What... You mean Danny's shade containing Luna's energy?"

"Indeed. Mort, Danny is far more important than you realize, and I have been working hard to make sure his future plays out in everyone's favor."

"What! But we are not allowed to meddle in the lives of the mortals! It is against the rules," Mort exclaimed in shock.

"Who said I was breaking the rules? I am merely bending them from time to time. Besides, the energy you sensed is not from Luna, but from Nightmare Moon. The corruption found a new host, and my apprentice and I have been working hard to make sure Danny doesn't succumb to this darkness."

Mort's eyes widen further as Clockwork revealed this to him, and he looked at Danny, who stood frozen on the spot, unaware of anything going on before him. 

"Fenrir," Mort said in a whisper, finally recognizing the energy for what it truly was.

"But... What will happen to him? Will he be consumed just like Luna, or Fenrir before her?"

"No, that future has already been averted. But a change will happen, at the cost of one’s existence. Danny, however, will be spared from the corruption consuming him, this time."

"This time?" Mort repeated, looking at Clockwork in puzzlement.

"Corruption seems to have a way of following him through the years, and this is not the first time darkness has entered his mind. This time, however, he will be spared from the worst of it. I've made sure of that."

"I... I see," Mort said, unsure, looking back at Danny. "So he doesn't know."

"He knows not."

"Knows he not?" Mort asked, seeking confirmation.

"Of this, he has no knowing," Clockwork confirmed.

"Know he does not?" Mort queried once more.

"He does, indeed, lack this knowing," Clockworks stated firmly.

"And you want to keep it that way," Mort stated, as he knew it was not a question.

"For now. The truth will be revealed to him in time, but it won't be now. Besides, you have already told him more than enough, and it is time for you to leave this place. There are still more souls waiting for you to guide them, and they can't wait forever."

"I know that, but he wouldn't let me go," Mort said while pointing at Danny.

"Yes. He can be quite stubborn when he wants to be. A trait that is both a strength and a weakness. But that is not for us to worry about. Mort, you need to cut your time with Danny short, and get out of here before he discovers more than he should. He won't just give up like that, as we both know. And, should he discover the existence of the corruption within him, then everything will fall apart. He. Must. Not. Know! Not yet."

"I understand," Mort replied with a nod.

"You do?" Clockwork asked with a grin.

"Not really, but I know you well enough to know that asking anything else will get me nowhere," Mort answered sheepishly, giving a small chuckle.

"Yes, you do know me better than most," Clockwork agreed with him. "But I need to leave now, and so should you. Danny already knows more than enough, and you cannot add to it any more. When I leave, time will resume as normal again, and you will need to find a way to leave without having Danny following you. He needs to stay here, or his future will be altered. The pieces are moving into place, and he has to be there for things to play out as they should. The fate of many depends on it," Clockwork spoke before lifting his cane and the hands of a clock formed behind him.

"I understand," Mort replied with a confirming nod.

"Good. Oh, and Mort," Clockwork said as the hands turned around, opening a portal back to the time hall. "There will be a time you will have to bend the rules a bit as well," he added, and vanished through the portal he created, leaving Mort and Danny alone once more, the latter starting to move again.

"You've got a point there," Danny said in response to Mort's comment, mere moments ago for him, but several minutes ago for Mort. Which caught him unaware, as he had forgotten what it was they talked about before Clockwork had shown up like that.

"I do?... Ehh, right. I do," he stuttered, and Danny looked at him with a cocked eyebrow.

"Is everything alright?" Danny asked.

"Ehh, yes, yes. Everything is alright. Well, not for her, but I'm fine. Yes, just fine," Mort stumbled over his words as he tried to come up with any excuse to get out of there as fast as possible. And, using his own special ability that connected him with the life of this world, he found an elderly mare on her deathbed on the other side of Equestria. 

"What are you rambling about?" 

"You know how I am the Grim Galloper, the reaper of souls?"

"Yeah, you just said that."

"Well, there is somepony else dying, and I really need to get there, or her soul will be stuck in a dying body."

Silence. 

"Well, that can't be good," Danny muttered as he scratched his head. 

"No, it isn't. So I really should go now. So, ehh... Bye!"

"Wait, what!?" Danny called out after him, but Mort sped away and through the closed door, leaving Danny alone in his home with more questions than answers.

"Does this mean there are more ghosts around here!?" He called out in a futile attempt, but never received a reply.

"What is it with this guy? Danny thought as he turned back into his human self, not sure what to make from all of this. However, there was one thing that confused him more than anything right now. Something he really didn't know how to react to.

"The Grim Reaper is real, and calls himself Eddie? What's up with that?"
  

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


Mort. She remembered him. The entity Luna and Celestia met when they were mere fillies. A construct of darkness, formed to guide the souls of the dead to the afterlife. She knew him, as she had all of Luna's memories, but she didn't know he belonged to the realm of the ghosts. 

How did she not see this before? She was a shade now herself. She should have seen. She should have known the implications this had. If Mort belonged to the realm of the ghosts the human world interacts with, then shouldn't there be ghosts on this world as well? And, if so, where were they? It was a question Nightmare Moon needed answered, and she knew where she could look for some of the answers she needed. Twilight's library. The fact that Danny would have to interact with the mare again was only an added bonus, as she could accomplish two goals in one go. Find, hopefully, some of the answers, and continue her plan to bring these mismatched beings together. 

Yes, it couldn't have been planned better. But she would have to wait, unfortunately. The ape's duplicate was still out there, and she couldn't run the risk of having any of those lesser creatures see him in two places at once. Because if they did, it would destroy any chance she had to bring her plans to completion. 

Fortunately, she was well practiced in the art of patience. She had been stuck on the moon for over a thousand years, plus all those centuries wandering around after her first host had died. Yes, she could wait. She just hoped it would be worth it.


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


"They're sure about this?" Rolling Stone asked Flash Lightning in the privacy of their rented room in the guesthouse. 

"Positive, Sir. Vigilant Shield was the one who detected and tracked the energy signature. She's positive about her findings, and we both know she's the best with those tracking devices," Flash Lightning answered.

"Indeed she is," Rolling Stone muttered as he mulled that little fact over. "Okay, return to your post and keep a lookout for any other signs of spectral activity. We will do the same here. If there's a ghost out there in the woods, there sure as Tartarus is one here in town. But until we have a confirmed sighting, we can't sound the alarm. We need to make sure it is what we think it is, and not some equipment malfunctioning."

"Sir, yes Sir," Flash Lightning replied with a salute and left the room, leaving Rolling Stone and the unicorn mare Blue Ice, their lead expert on spectral ice formation, behind.

"Hmmm," Rolling Stone hummed after the door had closed behind Flash Lightning. "Ice, you're done calibrating those scanners we have, right? If what they picked up on is genuine, then we need to be able to pick something up as well." 

"Yes Sir, I've just finished this pair," the ice blue mare answered, levitating one of the scanners to him. "They should be good to go now that I've rechecked them after last night's supposed false positive. But let me know if anything is wrong, seeing as the other group seemed to have fluctuations with their scans as well."

"Very well," Rolling Stone said with an appreciative nod and turned on the device, seeing the built in screen light up as it began to scan for ghosts.

"Good, looks like we’re up for business," he said, putting the scanner away in his saddlebag. "I'm going to make sure things are up to speed with the rest of our group here, and see if Sound Wave is done with the Ghost Gabber."

"Very well, Sir. You'll know where to find me when you need me," Blue Ice replied, not looking up from her work in calibrating yet another scanner, only for the device to spark and sputter, causing her to curse loudly as she dropped the device in fright. 

Rolling Stone, chuckling slightly under his breath, left the mare to her work and went to the next room to see if everything was progressing 'smoothly' there as well.


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


"Tucker, we need to talk," Jazz said as she entered his office, putting him on edge as she spoke the four words that could make any man tremble with fear. No woman would say that without something bad being behind it.

"Should I be worried?" He asked in reflex, looking up from his work.

"No, not really," Jazz answered hesitantly as she closed the door behind her, sealing the room and activating the barrier that made the room soundproof.

"Then what is it?" Tucker asked with heightened interest as he took notice of Jazz turning on the sound barrier.

"Valerie. She's getting restless from sitting still all day, and taking more and more risks when she's out hunting during the night. I keep telling her that she should just stay put, but you know how she is."

"That I do," Tucker answered with a nod.

"But that's not the reason I'm here, though. What I am here for is something Valerie said to me, about some ghosts having possibly breached the shield last night during her hunt. She claimed that Skulker, Ember, Technus and Spectra were inside the city, each of them having one of those devices in their possession that she claimed to have seen during the attempt from the Box Ghost. If it is true, they might have found a way to penetrate our defenses.

"That… You’re sure about this?" 

"Valerie seems to be, yes."

"This is troubling. But even if it’s true, there’s not much I can do without knowing what it is they’re using."

"Yeah, well, seeing how it is almost impossible for the ghosts to get a foothold in the cities anymore, Valerie thinks, and I have to agree with her reasoning, that they might try to enter Equestria with them."

Tucker's eyes widened at that. "I see. I will look into this. Can't make any promises, though."

"Good. There is also something else. I mentioned that we picked up on Danny's trail, and Valerie reacted with mixed results. Mostly because she also brought up Danny's other side, and how we would find Danny Phantom and make him 'pay for his crimes'," Jazz said with a sigh.

"That… would be a problem," Tucker replied as he leaned back in his chair.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Jazz said, chuckling humorlessly. "She likes Danny, but she hates Danny as well. She just doesn't know they're one and the same."

"So, you want to tell her?"

"I think it is for the best, yes."

"You do know that revealing the whole truth to her does bring its own risks with it?"

"Not like she's unable to deal with that."

"True, but still. Telling her that the boy she used to date is also the ghost she used to hunt will be a shock for sure."

"I know. But she's been with us for years now. She has proven to be trustworthy, and a good friend as well. Tucker, she has the right to know, and we should have told her this years ago."

"I know," Tucker said in agreement. "But the longer we waited with it, the more difficult it became. How are we supposed to tell her that we knew Danny is Danny Phantom, and that we have known the whole time?"

"By just telling the truth. She's a part of our team, and she deserves to know the truth. All of it!"

Tucker sighed. "Agreed. But we will need Dani there as well. She is the one capable of convincing Valerie that what we're going to tell her is the truth. It won't be easy, though. Vlad is everywhere, and if we aren't careful, he could get the both of them in one go."

"I know, I know. It's probably a miracle that he hasn't found out Valerie is staying at my place, seeing how many times she leaves for a late night hunt. Probably has something to do with that drone jammer you made for her."

"Let's just hope it is like that, and not that Vlad is playing dumb just so he can strike us later when we don't suspect it," Tucker said as he tapped his fingers together, studying the screen of his computer intently. "It will probably be wisest to have Valerie come to my place, using her own ways. She won't be able to come with you, and alone she will move faster and more stealthily."

"Yeah… I believe so as well," Jazz muttered under her breath. "But let's change the topic for a moment. Did you hear from Equestria about when Dani could go over there?"

"Actually, I did. Moments before you came in, in fact. The pass for Dani is ready, as well as the passes for some of the crew that will bring the equipment to the other side. They won't stay for an extended time, however, but that's where Dani comes in.  She, as my 'trainee', will oversee everything, and stay over there to make sure everything goes according to plan. She, and those that will help ship everything over to their world, will leave this coming Sunday. All expenses are taken care of, and she will be staying at a hotel in the city of Canterlot. She won't be able to go looking for Danny, though. Not at first. She will need to make some appearances there first, so the people... ehh, ponies, will know she is actually there. But, after that is done, she will be able to go ghost and look for Danny under the cover of her invisibility," Tucker answered.

"Good, good. I just hope Danny doesn't find out, should Dani find him. Or even worse, I hope he doesn't see Dani by chance," Jazz replied, a pensive look on her face.

"What, why?" Tucker said in disbelief. "Don't you want to find him, or what?"

"I do. But I fear he might run away again if he discovers we are catching up with him. He did run away for a reason, and he might not want to be reunited with us. You might want to tell Dani to look for Danny, but to stay out of sight and out of ghost sense range. We need to know where he is so we can make a calculated move and not scare him away. It took us years to find him this time, and we only found him because of the scanner. I don't think he will make that mistake again, and if he vanishes this time..."

"It might be for good," Tucker finished, a thoughtful look showing on his face. "I didn't think of that. I will tell Dani tonight when I get home."

"Thanks. And, speaking of Dani, what's she been up to these last several days?" Jazz asked, as a smirk started to form.

"Making things hard for me," Tucker answered bluntly, and Jazz stared at him with wide eyes, not expecting such an answer. "She keeps trying to make her shadow do what Danny's did, and it leaves quite a mess more than often than not."

"Oh, you meant like that," she muttered softly, and now it was Tucker's turn to smirk a bit.

"Why, what did you think?" He asked with fake innocence.

"I… ehh. You… I mean…No, wait… ehh… Never mind," Jazz replied, stumbling over her words, her face turning a similar shade of red as her hair.

"Thought so," Tucker said with a grin, knowing full well what Jazz meant when she asked him how things were with Dani.

"I'm going now," Jazz proclaimed awkwardly as she stood up and moved to the door, not making eye contact with Tucker.

"You do that. And tell Valerie I said hi."

"Yeah, sure. Got it," Jazz replied hastily before slamming the door closed behind her, leaving a laughing Tucker alone in the room. But his laughter soon died down as he turned to look at his computer screen. Moving the mouse, the screen flashed back on, showing him the progress bar slowly reaching completion. Pulling open the drawer next to the computer, he looked down at the damaged and burned hard drive of his old laptop. The laptop he had with him during the… incident.

It had taken years to retrieve his old laptop, after it was confiscated by the authorities. And when he did finally get it back, he found it was in even worse shape than he had feared. It took even longer to develop both the tech and the software needed to retrieve the information stored on the near destroyed storage unit. But now, now he was getting close to finding a piece of the puzzle that would show Danny wasn't the only ghost present during Sam's demise. 

Looking back up at his screen, he could see the image of a head forming pixel by pixel, and he recoiled in reflex as he stared at the one face he could never forget. A face without eyes, nose, or other facial features, except a very large mouth filled with razor sharp teeth.

"Found you, you bastard," Tucker muttered darkly as the data was slowly recovered bit by bit.


<<>><<>><<>
 

She moved around like a shadow in the dark. Which wasn't so difficult for her, as she was a shadow, moving around in the dark. Spectra was in her full shade form, moving about in the darkened building, courtesy of Technus who had disabled almost all the electronics of this compound that wasn't as heavily shielded by anti ghost tech. Mainly, though, the lighting. It was still a difficult task, for sure, as even the protection of this circuit was troublesome to him. But, after being shocked more than once by the more serious tech, he was able to hold out, for now. It would seem the government didn't take their lighting all that serious compared to the other circuits running through this building. A foolish mistake for sure.

Still, it was a high tech underground facility used to store the more advanced tech used to fight and repel ghosts. Of course they could have gone in together with force, but this required a more subtle approach, and they needed to remain unseen. Which is why Skulker and Ember were making a scene above ground, so they would be seen. They were drawing the majority of the guard forces away, while she would move through the dark hallways unseen, with only the few stragglers running through the compound for her to worry about. 

She was the only one that could move around like this because, even with most of the systems down, their invisibility would still trigger the alarm system, which was on a secondary system, which Technus hadn't been able to hack yet. But she, however, could blend in with the dark. Moving around unseen, undetectable. Which was exactly why she was down here, sneaking through the top secret government building Area 53 ⅞. They needed to get several of those Specter Deflectors, and this was the only place they knew of that had them. Unless you counted the Fenton Factory, which was not a place they wanted to be found at, for obvious reasons.
    
Taking a left turn, Spectra moved deeper into the compound, following the directions given by Technus, who lit a lamp in the hallway she needed to go for a few sparse seconds.

Following the directions, she found herself before a large blast door, various warning signs showing on the thick metal. She blended in with the darkness near the far wall as she waited for Technus to infiltrate the secondary security system and disengage all the ghost repelling defenses, including the shield that she knew was projected on the other side of the door.  

Several long minutes went by, and she could hear the muted explosions which were most likely the result of Skulker's weapons. But she knew the rhythmic shaking of the ground was Ember's doing, using her guitar to send forth powerful blasts of sound to make the very ground shake in response. 

Dust fell from the ceiling from a particularly violent blast, and a loud 'CLANK' sounded mere moments later. She looked at the door with a grin, seeing it slowly open while the green shimmering field behind it flickered and died. 

"Well, look what we have here," the shrill voice of Technus sounded over the wall mounted speaker near her. "Guns, ammo, and all kinds of gadgets any lady would need to really make a mess of things."

"Flattering, but I do prefer using mind manipulation myself. Making those fools do all the hard work, while I sit back and get a manicure," Spectra commented as she flew to the door, looking inside.

"Yeah, yeah. Just get the things we need, will you," Technus said, annoyed.

"And have a lady do all the heavy lifting? Sigh. I guess I am the only one who can," she said in an overly dramatic fashion. 

"Oh, will you stop fooling around and get moving. I can't hold this system under my control forever. It has more of that anti ghost tech, and it is practically tearing me a new one. So hurry!"

"Hmm, what? Did you say something?" Spectra asked as she was looking at her shadowy hand.

"YES! I said you need to hurry."

"Then why didn't you say so?" Spectra said with fake innocence, grinning wildly as she moved inside of the opened vault. 

Technus, meanwhile, was causing several errors in the system's code as he struggled to keep his rising frustration under control. 

"Well, what have we here?" Spectra whistled as she flew past the racks and racks filled with more anti ghost tech than she had ever seen. "Guns, grenades, thermoses, and so much more. Why, this is enough for a small army. And yet there isn't a single fashionable item down here," she muttered as she looked around, seeing the deflector belts she was looking for several racks away. "I mean, what is a lady supposed to do with this?" She asked out loud as she lifted the deactivated deflector. 

"Steal it so I can reverse engineer it to repel those ponies’ energy, thats what!" Technus said over the speakers found inside the vault, static interference sounding over his voice. "Now, hurry. I won't be able to hold down the system for much longer."

"Very well," Spectra sighed, and she grabbed five of the devices, hopefully enough for Technus to do his thing. "Now let's get out of here." 

"Gladly," Technus replied, and he withdrew from the security system the moment Spectra had left the vault, reactivating the shield while the door closed shut. "It's about time I got started on this thing."

"Hmhmm. And what about those two?" Spectra hummed in agreement, before mentioning Skulker and Ember. 

"Let them have their fun. The longer they're at it, the longer we have to get away from all of this."

"Huh. I have to say, Techy, you actually put some thought into this."

"And what are you saying with that!?" He said angrily, his voice cracking over the speakers.

"Oh, nothing, nothing at all," she responded with a dark smile, flying through the dark hallways with the stolen deflectors. 

"Remember, you need my help if you want to get to that other world," Technus said in a threatening manner.

"And you need mine. So shut up and get me out of here," Spectra bit back.

"..... Fine," came the bitter response, and the speakers gave one last click as Technus closed the channel, leaving Spectra alone in the dark hallways.

"Finally. I thought he'd never shut up."

A spark of electricity shot from an overhead light, hitting her squarely on her posterior, making her yelp out.

"Ohmmm. So he does like to play rough. Interesting, very interesting," she thought as she continued her escape, a wicked grin showing on her shadowy face.


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


Danny stood before the door of the town's library, not sure whether he should knock or just enter. It was a library, so he should be able to just walk in. But it was also Twilight's home, and that meant he couldn't just barge in like he did during the Pinkie tsunami. Deciding that it was better to play it safe, he knocked a few times, waiting for Twilight to open the door. 

The sound of things falling, and the frantic scrambling of hooves on the wooden floor came from behind the door, and Danny was wondering if he came at a bad time. 

A purple aura surrounded the door and it swung open inwards, revealing a messy library, and an equally messy librarian whose mane was sticking out in odd places, giving Twilight a fully disheveled look.

"Danny!" Twilight said loudly in surprise as she saw the tall human standing before her door. "What are you doing here?"

"Ehh... I came here to find a book about… ehh… something…. Is this a bad time?" Danny said, glancing around the messy place with a raised eyebrow.

"No, not at all. Please come in," Twilight said with a somewhat forced smile, the contents of Celestia’s letter still stuck in the forefront of her mind. Which was also the reason for her wild look, and the mess in the library, as she had spent the entire day since she got back home looking through her books to find anything related to ghosts. Which, frustratingly, was nothing.

Danny stepped inside and gave a small yelp of surprise as, suddenly, all the books were covered in the same purple aura that had opened the door. Each and every single book levitated up and flew to a single point in the room, stacking on top of each other and making the room just a bit less cluttered.

Twilight, who was tidying up the place a bit, also used her magic to make herself a bit more presentable. Why she did this, she wasn't sure. She just knew she had to look her best, or as good as was possible given the situation, for Danny.

Her magic aura covered her entire body, and in mere seconds her mane tidied itself up while her whole stance became just a bit more relaxed. Sighing, she cancelled the magic and opened her eyes, looking up to see Danny looking at her in confusion.

"So, what book were you looking for?" Twilight asked quickly, taking the focus off of herself.

'Ehh... What am I looking for, exactly?' Danny thought, and Nightmare Moon stepped in, implanting a few ideas for Danny to pick up on, and receding back into the background of his subconscious.

"Right. Do you have anything about myths and legends? I've heard about something that sounded remarkably similar to something from my world."

"Yes, I do," Twilight said as she pulled the mentioned book from the large pile placed at the other side of the room. "What was it, if I may be so bold?"

Danny shrugged. "Just something about the Grim Reaper, or Galloper as you call it," he answered simply and Twilight almost dropped the book, but caught herself before that happened.

"What! Why would you want to know about that?" She asked with concern. Maybe he knew about the ghost that might be haunting him. And, if so, why the Grim Galloper?

"I dunno. Just curious I guess," Danny answered with a shrug, and he plucked the book out of the purple aura, feeling a strange tingling sensation in his hands as it interacted with the purple field.

"Thanks Twi," he said with a smile, and Twilight felt her face flush while the need to know why he was interested in the Grim Galloper faded to the back of her mind.

'Why am I reacting like this? What is it about him that seems so.. so.. I don’t know? What is it?' Twilight thought as she tried to suppress her blush, a giddy smile showing on her face as she looked away from Danny.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she remembered that she, too, needed to ask Danny about something. About something he told her several nights ago.

"Danny," she began, and Danny looked up from the opened book. "I meant to ask you this before, but after you told me you didn't know anything about this world, I kinda forgot about it."

"Well, what is it?" Danny asked as he closed the book, much to the annoyance of Nightmare Moon.

"During the night we were stargazing, you said that Princess Luna couldn't move the actual stars, and instead was bending the light of the stars. I couldn’t find anything about this in my books, but I know you humans have spent years studying the stars yourselves with your technology. I was wondering if you know anything more? And if you wanted to teach me?" Twilight said with a blush, poking the ground with a hoof as she tried not to make any eye contact with Danny, who was looking at the mare with both confusion, and something else. Something he wasn’t sure what to make of. Nightmare Moon, however, knew exactly what was happening, as she could see Danny's mind react to the opportunity to spend more time with the mare.

"Ehh, sure," Danny answered after a short moment, and Twilight almost jumped up in excitement while clapping her front hooves together.

"Oh wonderful. And, while we're at it, I can also find out how much you remembered from my lesson to you."

"Wait… What?" Danny said, confused, staring at the eager mare.

"Pop quiz," Twilight almost sang happily as she levitated over a stack of papers, quill and ink well.  

"Okay, what do you remember about the economics in relation to the difference between dollars and bits?" She asked with a large smile. Danny, however, was looking at her with both eyebrows raised in confusion and disbelief, not sure how he ended up in this situation. 

Nightmare Moon, however, only felt irritation as she was forced to go through all of this again. And even more if that blasted mare should find out this dumb ape didn’t remember anything from last night’s study session. 

'Urgh. I can’t believe I have to do this,' she thought as she used her magic to place the knowledge of Twilight’s lessons in his mind. Danny might have been able to fall asleep during all of that, but she hadn’t, and she was forced to sit through it all. Now, though, it proved to be somewhat useful. If only it didn’t leave such a foul taste in her mouth.

"Well?" Twilight asked after Danny hadn't said anything for several moments.

"Right," Danny said as he shook his head. "Right. Because of the difference between dollars and bits, and seeing that bits are made from either gold, silver or bronze, it was determined that a bit was more valuable than a dollar. It took some negotiation, but eventually it was determined that one bit was worth four of our dollars," Danny spoke almost on automatic, and Twilight looked up at him with a large, proud smile.

"You remembered," she said happily.

"I remembered?" Danny muttered in surprise. It was then he also realized something.

"Hold on. If a bit is worth four dollars, then shouldn’t any money exchanged be corrected in response to the difference in value?"

"Yes, why?"

Danny just stared forwards, a sly grin slowly creeping on his face as he suddenly realized why he had more money here than back on Earth.

"Oh, nothing. Just some idle thoughts."

"Okay…" Twilight said unsurely, but shook it off. "Pegasus magic, let’s talk about that."

"Sure. A pegasus’ magic is primarily focused in their wings, as it allows them to fly. Without their magic, their wings aren't capable of lifting them as the wingspan isn’t large enough. However, there is also the concentration of magic in their hooves, similar to earth ponies, but with a different function. Where earth ponies use the magic of their hooves to interact with the world underneath them to grow their crops, pegasi use this magic to allow them to interact with the intangibility of clouds, which allows them to walk on them, build structures with them, and manipulate the clouds to control the weather," Danny answered, and another realization came to him.

'Hold on. Interact with the intangibility of clouds… Does that also mean they can interact with the intangibility of ghosts?'

"Perfect!" Twilight cheered as she clapped her hooves together. "Now, what else?" She hummed as she deliberated on the next topic to test Danny on, but Danny held up a hand, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"I think I got this," he said. ' I’m not sure how though,' he thought to himself.

"Oh, okay," Twilight said, sounding a bit dejected as her ears fell flat on her head.

"Maybe I can explain a few things about the stars and such instead?" Danny said in response to her saddened expression, and Twilight’s ears perked back up as an eager glint shone in her eyes.

"Oh yes. I want to know everything," she said, and somehow had managed to move in front of Danny, standing on her hind legs while her front legs rested on his shoulders in the blink of an eye, surprising Danny for the umpteenth time as he recoiled a bit from the sudden intrusion into his personal space.

Twilight, too, recoiled as she realized what she’d done, and in what kind of position she was in.

"Sorry. I don’t know what came over me."

"It’s... ehh... alright, I guess. Maybe we should just start with this lesson?" Danny said, unsure, feeling a bit bewildered over Twilight's eagerness.

Nightmare Moon looked at the mare through Danny's eyes, and she sighed in annoyance. Instead of reading the book, and possibly finding out more about this Mort, he was now wasting his time on teaching Twilight. Oh, how the tables had turned. But she knew she was powerless to alter this decision, as it was a topic Danny was most comfortable with. She had to admit, though, his fascination with the stars was most intriguing, and she was curious to see just how much he knew. But, seeing the eager look on Twilight’s face, and knowing full well who it was this ape was dealing with, she could only think of one thing.

'This is going to take longer than I thought.'


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


Tucker was sitting with Dani in his living room, having just told her about what he and Jazz had talked about earlier in the day. Needless to say, she wasn't happy.

"But why can't I go to Danny if I see him?"

"Because we don't want to scare him away. We both know he knows how to disappear, otherwise we wouldn't have to look for him in the first place. It has been over six years now since he left, and we have only recently managed to pick up on his trail. If he runs again, there is no telling if we’ll be able to find him again," Tucker explained, wrapping his arm around Dani. 

"So even if we manage to track him down, we won’t be able to do anything," Dani said, sighing.

"I’m sorry, but that’s how it has to be for now. When we know where he lives, and are sure we can approach him without him running away again, we can confront him. But we can’t risk losing him again. Not now; not when we are finally getting close to him again."

"Hmmph. It just isn’t fair," Dani said, crossing her arms. "I will hold back, should I find him. But if he sees me, I will go for him," Dani relented with a sigh as her shoulders slumped down a bit.

"Thanks. And I’m sorry for this, but it is for the best," he told her as he pulled her a bit closer.

"So, when is Valerie going to be here?" Dani asked, turning her attention to the other issue at hand.

"She should be here soon, I believe. Jazz sent me a message through the usual means. She said she’d take a detour to throw off any unwanted followers from Vlad, while Valerie will use stealth as Specter to get here without Vlad noticing. When they’re both here, we will continue as planned."

"Not much of a plan," Dani scoffed. "Hey Valerie, guess what? You know that ghost that you hate and have been hunting since high school, who has also vanished since he'd been blamed for the murder of Sam, is in fact Danny Fenton, the guy you used to date? Yeah, great plan."

"Wait, what!" Valerie shouted, causing Tucker and Dani to whip around to look at the woman standing in the living room doorway.

"Valerie… How long have you been there?" Tucker asked awkwardly as he stood up, looking at the wide eyed woman.

"Long enough to hear you talk about Danny Fenton being the Phantom menace," she said in disbelief, as anger started to enter her voice. "What kind of a friend are you to even suggest such a thing!? There is no way Fenton is the Phantom!" Valerie shouted, giving the two individuals before her an angry glare.

"Valerie, calm down," Tucker said in as calm a voice as he could muster.

"Calm down! CALM DOWN! I came here because Jazz told me there was something important we needed to discuss. Instead, I hear you two saying these lies about your Danny."

"Oh dear, this has gotten out of hand even faster than I thought it would," Jazz cut in as she stepped inside.

"Jazz, you won’t believe what these two were just talking about!" Valerie said, her voice dripping with venom.

"They were talking about my brother being Danny Phantom," Jazz said simply, and Valerie looked at her as if she’d gone mad.

Silence. 

"W... what?"

"It’s true," Dani spoke up. "Jazz’s brother is Danny Phantom. My, ehh, cousin. Danny is a half ghost, just like me."

"You- You’re not kidding, are ya?" Valerie said, looking at Dani, Tucker and then Jazz.

"No, we’re not," Jazz confirmed. "My brother is the Phantom, and he didn’t kill Sam. He is innocent, that we know for certain. Tucker was there, and he knows what he saw, mostly. Now, we will explain everything to you, but please, calm down and just take a seat. I know you have a lot of questions, among other things, but you freaking out is not going to help," Jazz said in a calm, professional manner, calming down the confused woman. 

"I…But… He…. This can’t be real," Valerie muttered, not sure what to make of all of this, while Jazz took some initiative and guided her to the couch and helped her sit down.

"Maybe it will help if we started at the beginning of all of this. Tucker, if you would. You were there when it happened," Jazz instructed him, earning a nod in response as he and Dani sat down themselves. 

"Okay," he sighed. "It all started back when Danny’s parents first built the ghost portal, and Danny went inside of it."


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


"Clockwork," Sam called out as she approached the time ghost.

"Yes?"

"There is something that has been bothering me ever since you told me about how life and death are connected like that. I didn't realize it at first, but ever since then I have been thinking it through, and I came across some things that just don’t make sense."

"Like what?" Clockwork asked as a thin smile formed on his face.

"For one, my healing powers. It doesn’t make any sense for me to have them, seeing how I am dead. But you said that life and death are connected in more ways than the simple understanding most mortals seem to have. So, why do I have the power to heal the living?"

"Why indeed?"

"Then I started to think about it, what you said, and the underlying meaning that is always there when you explain something."

"And?"

"It’s balance, isn’t it. The balance between life and death. I heal things, where others hurt them. Life and death is nothing more than another stage of existence, and the greater scheme of reality doesn’t differentiate between the two. No matter if we’re dead or alive, we are all a part of the greater whole, and we fill the part we need to fill in order to keep the balance. And it happens in more subtle, and not so subtle ways. Like my world being one of the living, yet the dead move around without any hindrance. Life and death exist together. However, Equestria is a world where the ghosts do not show themselves, even though they are a world of the living as well. This did confuse me for a moment, but then I got it. You said the princesses are a connection between the ghosts and the mortals, life and death mixed in one, but not like Danny or Dani. A living being born with a fraction of the powers of the dead. But, what does this mean for the rest of them? All those ponies are also born with the same... eh, magic as their princesses. Shouldn't that mean they have a connection between the living and the dead as well?" She paused for a moment, thinking. 

"Every world has a connection, as everything is connected. But I sense you have already figured out what it is for them, haven’t you?" Said Clockwork. 

"I think I did. Their magic is no magic at all. You said the princesses showed traits the ghosts have as well. Luna’s mane, or her ability to turn into an intangible cloud, and their connection with the stars. But then I started to look at what I knew about the rest of them. Their magic allows them to do all kinds of things we ghosts can do as well. Levitation, flying, their connection with the plants that seems like that of Undergrowth in some cases, and so much more. Their magic isn’t magic; it is the same energy we ghosts have."

A short, proud laugh came from Clockwork as he looked at Sam.

"Congratulation, Sam. You figured it out much sooner than I thought you would. Although there is a small mistake with your reasoning, you are correct. Their world does not deal with the ghosts because there is something else keeping the balance; their magic. It is so effective against us ghosts because it is a similar power, but not the same, as you said. No, their energy is an opposite version of our own. Or, as the humans have called it, Negative Ectoplasm. Although the humans and ponies don’t realize it is the same because the N-Ecto they make is artificial, and the ponies don't recognize the less refined energy as their own. But their energy is a similar, but opposite form of our own," Clockwork explained to Sam, a proud smile showing on his face.

"Their powers come from a similar source to that which we derive ours from, but with a twist. To keep a balance, their powers are also able to counter our own. They can do similar things like what we can do, but not everything we can. Intangibility, for instance, is not within their abilities. But their energy balanced this out in a most surprising way," Clockwork continued, and he used his cane to change the image in the viewing portal.

"Tell me, what do you see?"

"Ehh. I see pegasi walking over clouds," Sam said with a shrug.

"Indeed. And?"

"And that one is flying away?" Sam said, not knowing where Clockwork was going with this.

"No. Sam, what are clouds to us? Can we touch them?"

"No, of course not. We can levitate on our own power to make it look like we walk or lay on them, but we can’t interact with them. They’re basically int… angible…" Sam said as she drifted off, looking at the pegasi again in understanding. "But they can. Their energy allows them to interact with intangible objects… Or ghosts."

"Exactly. Everything is connected. Life, death, ponies, humans, ghosts, everything. We are all part of a greater whole, filling in the places we belong to. And, sometimes, those special individuals are chosen when the need arises. Like Danny was chosen to balance out the evil caused by Vlad."

"Of course," Sam whispered. "It all makes sense now. Even how those ponies work with their special talent. We ghosts work on the same principle. We have the same basic skills, determined by the kind of creature we are. Ghost, spirit or shade. Earth pony, unicorn or pegasus. We all start with the same basic power sets for our respective form, but we have our own unique abilities in response to our specialty. My healing powers, your time manipulation, Ember’s music powers, Skulker’s hunting abilities, Technus’ manipulation of technology. All of them. Ponies, ghosts. We all work on the same basic principle of our powers, giving us the skills needed to fulfill our special talent, even before we know it. They are the balance to us, where we are the balance to them."

Clockwork placed a hand on Sam’s shoulder, looking at her like a proud father would his child.

"Congratulations, Sam. You figured it out, and so soon even. Not many can do what you just did. Some spend eons just to fail, yet you connected the piece in less time than even I thought it would take you. Yes, we are all connected, in ways you have only just begun to understand."

"So... I guess Danny's speciality is his ice power," Sam said with a pleased smile, suddenly being able to see things much clearer now. 

"No, it is not. Danny has a power much greater than that. He has a calling, a destiny placed on him the likes of which I have never seen before. He is destined to do great things, and his special ability will reflect that. But his ice power is not it. It is merely a part of the skills given to him to balance out the equation."

"Then what is his special ability?"

"You already know the answer to that, Sam. All you need to do is remember."


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


"YOU'RE HIS CLONE?!" Valerie shouted in disbelief.

"Sheesh, keep it down will ya," Dani said, annoyed. "And yes, I am."

"This is all crazy. You want me to believe that Fenton became Phantom because he stood inside the ghost portal while it activated. And you," she said as she pointed a finger at Dani, "were made by Vlad in an attempt to get the perfect son. And all the failures were sent after Danny, including you."

"Hey! I’m not a failure," Dani said, offended.

"She doesn’t mean it like that," Jazz said in a calming manner before Valerie started her rant again.

"And you all knew this, and left me in the dark because you didn’t know what I would think, or how I would react to the fact that the guy I used to have a thing with is the ghost I have been actively hunting ever since he ruined my life—"

"By accident," Tucker cut in. "We really didn’t know how to keep that dog under control."

"—only for him to kill Sam and run away because of it," Valerie finished as if Tucker had never cut her off.

"He didn’t kill Sam," Jazz said in a calm manner, acting as the voice of reason in this mess. 

"Right. It was the ghost no one else but Tucker and Danny Phantom saw. The ghost with no face, and two tails instead of one. Likely story."

"I know it is hard to believe, but it is true. We know this is hard on you, but you have to believe us. Yes, Danny is the ghost you’ve been hunting, but he never meant to cause you or your father any problems. Nor did he kill Sam. He would never be able to do such a thing."

"Humph. Then why was there never any evidence of this supposed ghost?" Valerie said defiantly.

"Because all the evidence was either destroyed in the blast, or removed by Vlad," Jazz answered.

"Not all of it," Tucker said with a tight jaw. "Some of it survived," he continued before standing up to retrieve his laptop.

"Tucker?" Jazz said, looking at him with confusion evident on her face.

"It took me years to get it back, and longer still to repair the data. But I did it, partially."

"What are you talking about?" Dani asked.

"I was making a scan of the ghost that killed Sam using my laptop. It was badly damaged in the explosion, but not destroyed. It took me years to track it down and retrieve it. I have spent countless months on making the software to access and retrieve the data stored on the hard drive, and it payed off. Most of it is still being retrieved, but I did manage to get this," he told them as he placed the laptop on the table, showing the image of the ghost he, Danny and Sam faced during that fateful day.

No words were said, save for a single scream that came from Jazz as they all looked at the horrifying image of the ghost without a face, save for a large mouth filled with razor sharp teeth.


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


Danny left the library in a daze, holding the book he came for in his hands. When he first went there, he wasn't expecting to be given a pop quiz like that, nor did he think he would be the one teaching Twilight everything he knew about space. It was strange to say the least, and yet, somehow it also gave him a strange satisfaction. But, what really took him by surprise, was what Twilight did next, just before he left. 

'Did... Did she just ask me out? And did I just say yes?' he thought as he walked back home on autopilot.

Whatever it was that was happening, it was something he really wasn’t expecting. That didn’t mean he didn’t like it; far from it, if the goofy smile on his face was any indication. 

After a little walk while his mind went a million miles an hour, he arrived back home. Opening the door and moving inside, he sat down with the book still in his hands. Yet he didn’t open it, as all he could do was stare forwards at some uninteresting spot on the wall while he went through the time he spent at the library, trying to figure out what had happened.

This, of course, was not what Nightmare Moon wanted. And she used her mental manipulation to shake him out of his stupor and back to focusing on the book.

"Right, better get started with this," Danny said to the empty room as he opened the book to a random page.

"Now, let’s see. Let’s see," he muttered as he flipped through the pages, seeing various things of interest. 

"Ah, here we are. The Grim Galloper," Danny said, and he began to scan the pages. His eager expression, however, quickly fell from the lack of real information. And all there seemed to be was, as the title suggested, myths and maybe a legend or two. 

"Well this is a bust," he announced with a sigh, flipping idly through the pages until his eyes fell on something that piqued his interest, as it did for Nightmare Moon.

"The Crystal Empire?" Danny read the chapter title out loud, scratching his head. "Huh, what’s that about?" He wondered, and began to read.

Nightmare Moon, however, was no longer interested in what the ape was reading, as she knew the place all too well, and the one that took it down with him.

"Sombra," she said, and her eyes were wide with newfound realization. 

"His powers, of course. How could I have been so blind? The shadows, the darkness, even the crystals which allow him to control all those minds. All of it can be traced back to the ghosts," she muttered as she thought back to what she knew from Luna's memories. He had a solid form, like Danny, but he could surround himself with a shade. A shade like she now was. The crystals he used to enslave the entire empire’s population shared a striking resemblance with the mind controlling crystal orb Freakshow had, which she saw in Danny’s memory. Even the disappearance of the entire empire at his hoof was shockingly similar to the event Danny went through when Amity Park was dragged into the Ghost Zone by Pariah Dark. 

All of it brought her to an unexpected conclusion. Sombra, the dark emperor, was a ghost. A ghost that found its way into this world a thousand years ago.

How many more were out there? And how could she use them for her own gain? 

'The crystals. That is the answer. I need to find out more about them, learn their secrets. I need to find a way to the crystal empire. And, if Luna's memory is anything to go by, it should return very soon,' she thought as a new plan started to form in her mind, and an evil smile crept its way across her face.

"You better prepare yourself, ape. We're going ghost hunting really soon!"