Guilt of a Phantom

by Powerdrainer

Regroup. And Secrets Revealed

Twilight's friends gave several oohs and aahs as she stepped on board the train, a blush staining her cheeks, although she wasn't really sure why.

Rainbow Dash seemed to want to make some comment, probably to tease Twilight into a full blown blush, but Rarity shushed her down. Instead, the purple mare and her friends opted to take a seat; the train rocking into motion.

For the first couple of minutes nothing was said, much to Twilight's appreciation. She used the few precious moments of silence to go over what had just happened, why she had just hugged Danny, and her friends' reactions. But the thing that lingered in the forefront of her mind the most, and which continued to keep a faint blush on her cheeks, was the memory of Danny's warmth.

Of course her somewhat dreamy expression, alongside the blush -no matter how well hidden under her purple fur- did not go unnoticed by those around her; all save for a certain dragon who seemed more interested in the white mare he was sitting next to, fidgeting on his seat.

Eventually the silence was broken by Applejack, who wanted to know more about what they were heading into. Twilight, happy to have an excuse to steer her friends' curiosity away from herself, was quick to answer. Unfortunately, everything she knew she had already told her friends, and the conversation quickly came back to a certain human; a mischievous glint in Rarity's eyes as she noticed the look on Twilight's face.

"So, Twilight," Rarity began. "What was that just now, with you and Danny? I thought you said there wasn't anything between you two."

"There isn't!" Twilight quickly objected, and Rarity cocked a single eyebrow, a faint smile gracing her lips.

"Really? That hug didn't seem to be just between 'friends'. Especially considering how Danny reacted."

"Yeah, you totally took him by surprise!" Rainbow Dash piped up, grinning at her friend's flushed reaction.

"I think it's nice for them," Fluttershy said, before shrinking down a bit as Twilight looked at her. "Oh, I mean, if you were together, that is..."

"Nice!?" Pinkie Pie proclaimed. "It would be super awesomeriffic." She punctuated her proclamation by throwing a bunch of confetti in the air.

Chuckling, Applejack pulled the energetic pony down from the seat she was standing on; biped style. "Simmer down, pardner. Save some of that energy fer when we get ta tha Empire."

"Aaaaw," Pinkie Pie pouted, the cluster of balloons -which somehow appeared out of nowhere, and were tied to her tail- deflated simultaneously in a single, loud, squeaky farting sound.

Ignoring their pink friend's antics, the group's focus returned once more to Twilight.

"But Ah gotta admit Ah'm curious as well, Twilight," Applejack said. "If you an' Danny ain't together 'together', then what was that hug all about? Ah mean, sure, we've shared a group hug, and whatnot. But that was clearly somethin' else. The fella sure as hay weren't expecting it."

"I, ehh..." Twilight stuttered, unable to come up with a good explanation for something she didn't fully understand herself. Rainbow Dash, however, saw Twilight's hesitation to answer as something else.

"Ooh... Twilight and Danny, sitting in a tree~" she began to sing, joined by Pinkie Pie. "K I S S—"

"WE'RE NOT TOGETHER!" Twilight yelled. "Besides, why would I be sitting in a tree? It's highly illogical. Sure, it would make sense for Danny, since his species originates from apes, but-"

"You really know how to make everything boring, Egghead," Rainbow Dash said flatly, earning herself a flat look from Twilight. "Besides. You live in a tree."

"Rainbow Dash, dear. Just leave Twilight alone. She'll figure this out on her own in time," Rarity chimed in, defusing the situation.

"Yeah, probably by the time she sprouts wings," Rainbow Dash muttered sarcastically.

"Now you're just being ridiculous," Rarity said flatly, rolling her eyes.

"Whatever."

"Girls, let's jus' keep this friendly, now shall we?" Applejack spoke up, receiving several murmurs of approval. "Good. Now, let's jus' forget 'bout Danny fer a while, an' j—" a sudden and loud ruckus from the adjacent car cut her off, followed by what seemed to be somepony talking. "... Hey, did any a' y'all hear that?"

"Hard not to," Rainbow Dash replied, already leaping for the door.

"Oh, I hope it isn't anything scary," Fluttershy said meekly, pressing herself tightly into her seat while her mane shifted to cover her face.

"Ah'm sure it's nothin', sugarcube," Applejack reassured her. "Probably jus' those suitcases Rarity brought fallin' over."

"My suitcases!? MY CLOTHES!?" Rarity practically screeched, running for the door, shoving anypony in her path to the side. "Move, I need to make sure nothing got damaged."

Opening the door and hurrying inside, Rarity and her friends saw the source of the disturbance lying before them. True to Applejack's words, the many suitcases Rarity had brought along had indeed fallen over. Yet the cause for this was something she couldn't have guessed. For lying in the midst of it all, looking quite sheepish, was the very human they had just agreed to forget for the foreseeable future.

"Ehh... Hey," Danny said weakly, waving a hat-covered hand. "Fancy seeing you here."

The mares and dragon could only watch in silence, unable to come up with a response as they saw Danny with them.

A snowstorm howled over the frozen landscape, the white flakes colliding with the glowing dome of magic covering the lone city. A cloud of darkness spread overhead as Sombra waited for a chance to strike. He knew the shield would not give, as he had tried to break through by force, and failed. But he also knew those interlopers would call for reinforcements, which left them vulnerable. Any who would attempt to reach his Empire would have to cross the border under his control, which is where he would strike.

He himself was trapped outside, the shield blocking his every way. But, as the crystals inside the dome showed, his powers were not. He would get inside, using any of those mortal fools who dared to set hoof on his land; infecting them with the darkness of his crystals, spreading it inside the shield, tearing it down from within.

Yes, the ponies would do all the hard work for him. All he had to do was wait.

"Danny, what are you doing here?" Twilight asked.

"Eehh... Would you believe that I took the wrong train?" He asked sheepishly, the hat falling off of his hand.

Twilight gave him a flat look, a single eyebrow raised. "No, I would not. Seeing that I told you which train to take in the first place."

"Eh, right," he mumbled, scratching his head. "Right."

"Maybe he didn't want to say goodbye without a kiss?" Rainbow Dash joked, grinning deviously, as Danny and Twilight's faces turned a dark shade of crimson.

""What!"" They both shouted, looking at each other, then at Rainbow Dash. ""No!""

Rainbow Dash burst out laughing at the sight of their flustered faces, wiping away a tear from the corner of her eye. 

Rolling her eyes, Rarity flicked Rainbow Dash's nose with her magic, causing her to scrunch up her muzzle.

"Hey, what gives!?"

"That was both highly inappropriate, and unnecessary," Rarity commented, then turned to Danny. "Just ignore her, dear. But please, do tell. Why are you here? You know we can't turn around. And it might be dangerous where we're going."

"Yeah... about that," Danny muttered, slowly picking himself up, holding on to an overhead luggage rack, looking at Twilight. "Didn't you say that this empire vanished for over a thousand years, and that this sombrero guy was responsible for its disappearance?"

"It's Sombra, and yes," Twilight corrected him, though confirming the situation. "Why?"

"I'm not sure yet," Danny muttered. "At least, not entirely," his eyes narrowed slightly as he thought back to those events many years ago, and his subsequent fight with Pariah Dark. "It just sounds familiar."

"O-kay?" Twilight replied questioningly, sharing a confused glance with her friends.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Rainbow Dash said. "You mean that you snuck on board this train to go to this Crystal Empire, just because something Twilight said sounded familiar?"

"Uhh..." Danny uttered, shrugging. "Yeah, I guess."

Rainbow Dash looked at him with disbelief on her face. "Does anypony else have a problem with that? It's just so irresponsible," she said, and her friends all gave her a flat look. "What!?"

Rolling her eyes, Rarity sighed. "Rainbow, please. If there is anypony irresponsible, it is you."

"What!? I'm totally responsible. Heck, responsible is my middle name," she stated, hoof pressed against her chest as she hovered biped style in the air.

"I thought your middle name was danger?" Spike piped up, scratching his head.

"It is. Rainbow Responsible Danger Dash... Wait, that doesn't sound right."

"Ya think?" Applejack replied, rolling her eyes. "Still, Miss Responsible Danger Dash raises a good point."

"Agreed," Twilight said, nodding. "Danny, what you did was extremely foolish."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Danny muttered under his breath. "I suppose so," he continued out loud. "Eehh... Guess I'm in for the ride, though. You did say we couldn't turn around," he aimed at Rarity.

"I.. Uhh... Yes, I did say that," Rarity stuttered, taken aback. "Uhh... Girls, what should we do with him?"

"Ehm... Maybe we can ask the conductor to take Danny back when we arrive at the Empire...?" Fluttershy suggested, giving a small smile as her head poked out from underneath her mane. "I, ehh. Maybe I could stay with him, too. To make sure he gets home safely?"

"Fluttershy, you know we need your help with this. Besides, the train can't just leave like that," Twilight replied, looking away in uncertainty. "I probably shouldn't say this, but the train is also our way out should something go wrong. In the worst case scenario, we have to evacuate as many ponies as we can from the Empire, and load them on the train-"

"With just two cars?" Danny cut in, confused.

Twilight blinked dumbly, taking a moment to look at the car they came from, and the one they were now standing in, the math not adding up.

"Uuhh..."

"That seems like a rather large oversight," Danny said, a hint of irritation in his voice. "How are you supposed to evacuate anyone if there is no place for them... You sure that is what this train is for?"

"Princess Celestia told me herself," Twilight replied, a bit frantic.

"Okay..." Danny said loudly, a hand held up. "Let me get this straight. There's this Sombrero guy, who basically abducted an entire Empire. He and this Empire came back after more than a thousand years, and then the Princesses send you, six mares and a baby dragon, to help protect the city without any solid intel to guide you. Plus, this supposed 'last resort' plan is completely flawed and doomed to fail should it be necessary," he looked down at Twilight, who stared up at him with confliction evident in her eyes. "Does anyone else see a problem with this?"

"Eehh... Maybe it ain't that bad?" Applejack suggested weakly. "Ah mean, we've faced worse problems. Tha Princesses probably think we're not gonna get into any large problems?"

A loud slap sounded through the car as Danny facepalmed, a red mark glowing on his face, making a good attempt at the current record held by Dani. "Seriously," he groaned. "It's like I'm dealing with the Guys in White again."

"Who?" Pinkie Pie asked, jumping up and down. "Are they some of your friends?!"

"Hardly," Danny muttered, answering without thought. "They're just a bunch of government idiots who bumble around, thinking they know everything, while only making any problem worse."

"Whoa, wait!?" Rainbow Dash spoke up, her face almost pressed against Danny's. "You've worked with your government?" her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Are you a spy?"

"Wh- What?" Danny almost shouted. "No! Why would you think that?"

"Hey, you're the one saying you've worked for the government, not me," Rainbow Dash replied, poking Danny in the chest, before a purple aura wrapped around her tail and pulled her away.

"He never said any such thing," Twilight said, irritated as she pulled Rainbow Dash away; not liking her accusing Danny, or poking him like that. "Right, Danny?"

"Ehh, right. I can honestly say I am not a spy," he said after a moment of confusion. 'If we're talking about ghosts, though...'

"See," Twilight shot back at the prismatic pegasus, who had crossed her front legs in annoyance at still being trapped in Twilight's magic.

"Sheesh, Twi. Seriously. If you don't like me talking to your coltfriend like that, you can just say so."

"He is not my coltfriend!" She shouted.

"Okay, okay. Sheesh, don't burn your mane over me," Rainbow Dash said, frowning.

Nodding, with a frown of her own, Twilight released her hold over her winged friend, turning to Danny. "Sorry about that, she can get like that sometimes."

"You don't say," Danny replied flatly.

"ANYHOW!" Applejack's loud voice filled the car, "Let's not forget what we're tryin' ta do here."

"Right, right," Twilight commented, taking a deep breath, bringing her hoof to her chest, before breathing out and extending her leg outwards. "I kinda let myself go there."

"Oh, don't worry too much about it, dear. We all need to let off some steam from time to time," Rarity said, and a shrill steam whistle filled the air. "... Erm, my point exactly."

For a moment nothing was said. Then, as if a bubble burst, everyone burst out in laughter, the tension vanishing into thin air.

"Alright, you're right," Twilight said, chuckling. "Danny can come with us. I'm sure Cadance and Shining wouldn't mind if he stays close by. They reported that they have control over the city, so Dan-, we should be safe inside," she explained, her slip up not going unnoticed, and Danny looked at her with a quizzical eyebrow raised.

"Okay," he gave a single nod in agreement, "that'll work."

'I'll just go along for now. When I'm alone, I can... go ghost and investigate this Empire. Don't like the idea of turning, though," he thought to himself, feeling himself grow warm when he saw Twilight smile at him. And, for reasons he couldn't quite explain, he felt a smile growing on his face outside of his control. 'It'll be worth it.'

A rough grunt echoed through the devastated room, and Valerie pushed herself upright, head spinning.

"Where am I?" she groaned, her voice warped as she was still wearing her helmet.

Looking around, her surroundings slowly began to make sense to her. And by the time she fully realized where she was, her eyes were wide open.

"What!? How did I get here?" She asked out loud, removing her helmet to see if the visor was malfunctioning. "This is... This is my home." She slowly moved around, reaching for a blaster on reflex. "What happened?" She wondered, her focus turning to the large hole in the wall, and the city outside; noticing the rapidly fading light as night approached.

Taking a running start, she jumped out of the hole and activated her board. "Tucker, you better be able to give me some answers, 'cause I'm freaking the hell out here."

Over at the Fenton Corporation, people were hard at work getting the full reports about what had happened in order. Many technicians were checking, double checking, and even triple checking all the hardwired systems to make sure the 'accidental' activation wasn't caused by a short circuit, or some other hardware malfunction. While others were busy scanning the system for any virus, glitch, or foul play. So far, nothing was found, save for the decoy errors Tucker had placed at random spots in the system. Which, when put together, would give the idea that what had happened was the result of several code errors conflicting with one another. Something that should be easily fixed, and cover up any involvement from Tucker. 

'Sometimes it pays to be a techno wizard,' Tucker though, smirking.

"Ouch!" Jazz cried out, shaking Tucker out of his thoughts.

"Sorry," he said, giving an awkward smile to the red haired woman whose hand he was currently freeing from the self hardening foam Valerie had placed around it. "This stuff isn't all that easy to remove without some movement."

"I know, I know. Just, be careful," Jazz muttered, wincing every now and then.

"M- Maybe I can help?" Soarin offered, hesitation clear in his voice as he was still coming to terms with everything revealed to him. "I have some first aid training."

"Maybe once I get this stuff off of her wrist," Tucker suggested. "No offense, but your hooves aren't really the best tools for this job," Jazz winced again. "Nor are my hands, it would seem," he added in mutter, before giving a shout of triumph when he finally managed to pry off the foam, only to flinch when he saw the severe discoloration of the broken wrist.

"Well, there's your problem," he said with a shiver. "What do you make of it?" He asked Soarin.

Stepping closer to get a better view, Soarin carefully took Jazz's hand in his hooves, carefully observing the limb from various angles. "Definitely broken, no doubt about it. Severe swelling, although the fracture doesn't seem to extend beyond the original injury. But there seems to be some deformity, most likely due to the method used to secure the injury..." Sighing, he looked up at Jazz. "This goes beyond my basic training. I mean, I can secure it using a splint, but it would pretty much just be the same thing as that foam stuff your friend just removed. Nothing that will fix this, though. You need to see a doctor, and quick."

"Yeah, somehow that doesn't surprise me," Tucker remarked, leaning back in a chair. "So, what story are we going to tell them this time?"

"What do you mean?" Soarin asked, confused. "She was hurt by one of those ghosts."

"But there weren't any ghosts here," Tucker pointed out. "So where did this ghost come from? Obviously, Jazz couldn't have gone into the 'ghosts' world' because that would just be insane! Not to mention absolutely impossible, and ridiculous. A psychiatrist going into the Ghost Zone to save her pony boyfriend. A woman with 'absolutely no experience' with ghost hunting whatsoever, save for the few bits she might have picked up from her parents. Parents who are completely unaware of the fact it's even possible to pass through the portal and enter the Ghost Zone, and who are considered to be some of the best ghost hunters around," Tucker finished with a sigh, shaking his head.

"He's right," Jazz spoke up, looking at Soarin. "There aren't many who know what we know; do what we do. My parents are no exception. What we do must remain a secret, for the safety of us all."

"What!? Are you crazy?!" Soarin said with a raised voice. "You're joking, right? There is no way something like this should be kept a secret. The things you know, what you did. This must be told to everyone! We can actually fight those ghosts where they live."

"That is precisely what we are trying to avoid!" Jazz countered in alarm. "Among other things."

"Wha?"

Sighing, Jazz leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes for a moment. "Soarin, remember when I said there were more of us, who you might meet sooner or later?" she asked, and Soarin nodded weakly. "Some of those others are ghosts."

"WHAT!?"

"Calm down, will ya?!" Tucker said. "There's no need to yell."

"But you just said you're working together with ghosts!" He shouted, unable to believe what he was just told. "How can you do such a thing?!"

"Soarin," Jazz said calmly, "please, listen. We'll try to explain."

"Explain!? Explain!? How would you even begin to explain something like this? You, above all other humans, should know what those ghosts are capable of; what they did!" Soarin all but shouted.

"Soarin, ple—" Jazz tried to calm him down once more.

"Or did you forget about the ghost who killed that innocent girl? This Danny Phant—"

"ENOUGH!" Tucker yelled, leaping up from his chair, kicking it away.

"Tucker, he doesn't know," Jazz stated calmly. "Please, let me handle this."

"Fine!" Tucker growled, turning away and moving to his computer, reaching out to one of his desk's drawers.

"Soarin," Jazz said, bringing the stallion's attention back to her. "Do you trust me?"

"I... uhh.. I.. wha?"

"Do you trust me?" She repeated. "I know that a lot has happened today, and that you have a lot of questions; many of which are about me, no doubt. I may have kept a part of my life hidden from you, but you should know that I have never lied to you. So, please. I'm asking you to trust me, just as I trust you."

"I... I," he closed his eyes, sighing deeply as he forced himself to calm down. "I trust you." Looking up at Jazz, he saw her giving him a sad smile.

"Thank you." Releasing a sigh of her own, she carefully placed her broken wrist on her lap. "Yes, we're working together with ghosts. And, no, not all ghosts are evil. It's just that those who do not wish to harm us tend to keep to themselves, living out of sight, leaving us to ourselves. As for those with us... this will be difficult to explain."

She looked up at Tucker, who was leaning against his desk; arms crossed, a scowl on his face, and a set of pictures held in his hand. Catching the unspoken question, he huffed as he walked towards them, shooting a glare at the pony who insulted his childhood friend, handing over the images to Jazz. "You're sure about this?" He asked, still holding on to the images.

"Yes, I am," she replied. "Thanks." Accepting the pictures with her good hand, she turned back to her coltfriend. "Okay, Soarin. I need you to listen carefully, and promise not to freak out."

Hesitantly, he nodded, and Jazz continued. "First off, this." She started, showing Soarin an image of three teenagers, taken years ago.

"Do you know who they are?"

"Uh... This is Tucker, right?" Soarin asked, pointing at the teenager wearing a red beret.

"Yes," Jazz nodded. "Do you know who the others are?"

"Yes! He's your younger brother, Danny," Soarin replied, pointing at Danny while looking up at Jazz. "You've told me about him; how he ran away years ago after a good friend of his died."

"I did," she sighed, "but I might not have been completely forthcoming with the truth." She then tapped a finger on the girl in the photo. "And her? Any idea who she is?" 

"Eehh... She looks familiar, somehow. But..."

"This is Samantha Manson," Jazz answered, and Soarin fell silent, eyes widening. "My brother ran away after she died."

"What!?" Soarin gasped, staring at the young girl in the photo.

"There's more," Jazz continued, moving to the next image.

"What about this?"

"Wait... isn't that the portal we came through?"

"The mark one," Jazz nodded, choosing the next image, looking at it for a moment. "My parents built it in the basement of our home. My brother, Tucker, and Sam were there when they were working on it; had access to it without my parents' supervision." She then turned over the image.

"Which allowed my brother to do something very stupid."

"Wait, what am I looking at here?" Soarin asked, and Jazz looked up at Tucker.

"He went into the ghost portal, thinking it didn't work. Unfortunately, it did, and it activated while Danny was inside," Tucker picked up, still frowning at Soarin.

"What!?" Soarin cried, shocked. "And he didn't get hurt?"

"Oh, he did," Tucker muttered, "and more." Jazz then showed the final photo, and Soarin's already wide eyes widened even further; his mouth ajar, but no sound escaping him.

His eye started to twitch mere moments later.

"Vladdie!" Jack called out to his friend with a large smile plastered on his face. "Glad to see you're alright."

"Ah, yes. No worries," Vlad said with fake sincerity. "This whole ordeal ended without many injuries, thankfully."

"Still, we have no idea why the security system malfunctioned, or why it targeted you as a ghost," Maddie replied, keeping an eye on her tablet as she scanned all the reports coming in.

"Oh, don't worry too much about it. I'm sure the reason behind this shall be found in due time," Vlad told her, smiling dreamily at her. 'I'll make sure of it.'

"Right," Maddie said with a nervous chuckle, stepping back from him. "Still, I'm sure Tucker will be able to shed some light on this."

"Ah, yes. Tucker," Vlad muttered, an edge to his voice. "Say, on a completely unrelated note, how far along are you on your new Ecto-Skeleton?"

"It's still under construction" Maddie replied, looking up from her tablet. "Why?"

"No reason," Vlad said innocently. "Just curious."

"NO!" someone shouted, followed a moment later by the sound of a sliding door slamming open; a freaked out blue pony flying out, "NO! NO! NO!"

"Soarin, stop!" Jazz shouted after him, running out of the same room.

"He's freaking out," Tucker called out, following behind Jazz.

"Jazz!? Tucker!?" Maddie said loudly. "What's happening. Where did that pony come from?"

"Mom?! Dad?!" Jazz said, surprised.

"Vlad," Tucker said, eyes narrowing slightly; an action mirrored by Vlad.

"Yes, do tell. What is happening, and who was that pony?" Vlad spoke, repeating what Maddie had said.

"Eeh... That-was-one-of-my-patients," Jazz answered in a rush. "I-brought-him-here, you-know, to-confront-his-fears, or-something. It-kinda-backfired-and-I-really-should-be-going!" She blurted out, pointing after Soarin with her injured hand, flinching from a spike of pain.

"JASMINE!" Maddie cried out. "What on Earth happened to your hand?!"

"Eehh..."

"She hurt it during the chaos when the alarm went off," Tucker answered hastily, and Jazz gave a silent thanks for his quick thinking.

"Look, mom. I really need to go an—"

"You're not going anywhere with that hand, missy." Maddie said sternly, frowning.

"But-"

"Don't worry, Jazz. I'll go after him," Tucker shouted towards her as he ran through the long hallway, promptly pursuing the panicking pony.

"Be careful," she shouted back. "He's most likely going through a relapse of his PTSD after what happened."

"Gotcha!" Tucker replied as he rounded a corner, disappearing from sight.

"Oooh... I should be the one there," Jazz said breathily.

"Tucker will take care of that!" Maddie told her daughter. "You are going to the infirmary right this instant," and she put action to her word by dragging Jazz along by her uninjured arm.

"But mom..."

"No buts, missy," Maddie replied in a stern tone. "Doctor, now!"

"Hey, did you see a freaked out blue pegasus pony?!" Tucker asked, shouting at one of his colleagues as he ran through corridor after corridor, unable to catch sight of his target.

"Yeah, actually," came the reply, and Tucker came to a screeching stop.

"You did? Where'd he go?!" Tucker asked urgently. And, in answer, his colleague turned his head to the clearly forced open window.

"Oh, son of a-" Tucker swore as he resumed his chase, running towards the building's exit, all the while knowing he wouldn't be able to catch up with Soarin now.

'Damnit, if he starts talking, we're all screwed.'

"No, no, no, no, no," Soarin repeated over and over again. "It can't be! It isn't possible," he darted through the air erratically. "Jazz, this ghost world... her brother. This is all a bad dream, right?" he laughed nervously, unable to fly in a straight line, eye twitching, unseeing of just what he was flying towards.

'Of course... just a bad dream,' he thought, laughing nervously. 'It just isn't possible for her brother to be Danny... Phantom...' his eye gave another twitch, and he made a sharp turn, "Fenton... Phantom..." he murmured, narrowly avoiding a chimney. And his new flight path sent him on a direct crash course with...

"Look out!" Came the warped voice he recognized as Specter's, and he snapped back to his senses just long enough to be fully aware of his body colliding with the armored woman's. Both of them lost their breath explosively, dropping to the ground in a wild tumble of interlocked limbs.

"Wha? Damn it, let go!" Specter shouted as she pulled to free herself, holding onto her board with one hand to slow their fall; but the thrashing stallion, noticeably distressed, only made things worse, and the two of them crash landed on the roof of one of the many factories found in the industrial district.

"What the hell is your problem!?" Valerie yelled, pulling off her helmet to glare daggers at the stallion, who slowly pushed himself up; eyes shifting around. "First I save your sorry ass, only for you to fly into me like that, and-" She suddenly stopped, realizing something. "Hold on, why aren't you with Jazz?"

Soarin didn't answer. Here before him stood one of the others involved with this nightmare his day had become, and he scrambled to pull himself off of the roof; wings flapping as he tried to make another erratic, and sloppy, escape.

"Oh no you don't!" Valerie growled, "You're not going anywhere without giving me some answers," and she quickly worked the pony against the ground; struggling to keep him down, but managing thanks to years of intensive ghost hunting and sheer stubbornness.

Still, Soarin didn't give up, and using the strength of his own training, he pushed himself off of the roof; Valerie on his back, arms wrapped around his neck.

'Oh, so it's gonna be like that, huh?' Valerie sneered. 'Well, two can play that game.' Climbing on his back, and swinging her legs around him for grip, she reached for one of her hand blasters; using the butt of the weapon to deliver a solid blow to the back of Soarin's head.

His eyes rolled up, and a low groan escaped his mouth as the two of them dropped down to the ground for the second time that night.

"Damn, damn, damn," Tucker half shouted, running through the streets by the intermittent illumination of the streetlights, desperately searching for the freaked flier. "Where did that guy go? The tear isn't open at the moment, so he couldn't have gone back to his world," he muttered to himself, a small hint of relief over that particular bit of luck. "But that wouldn't stop him from leaving the city... Damnit!"

People around looked at him as he vocalized his frustration; some of them scowling.

"Alright," he began as he slowed down, taking a moment to look around. "If I were a pegasus, going through ghost induced PTSD, and having been told what he has been told, where the heck would I go?"

He stood there for several moments, forcing his brain to come up with an answer, only to end up with a headache.

"Damnit. Come on, Tucker. Think like a pony."

"I don't think you have enough hair for that... or legs," came the sudden, warped reply, and Tucker turned to see Specter hovering a couple of meters above him; a slumped form hanging over her back.

"Va-," he sputtered, only to be silenced by her holding up a hand.

"Not here, too many witnesses. Meet me at our usual place," she quickly told him; flying off before anyone took full notice of her, or the short talk she had had with Tucker. They still needed to maintain their cover, after all.

"What just happened?" Tucker asked, but no answer was forthcoming. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he began his sprint to the 'usual place' Valerie had mentioned. Mainly, his house.

'How did she even get back here?' He wondered, hoping to get some answers from the ghost hunter.

"Mom, I'm telling you. I'm fine," Jazz complained, yet Maddie wouldn't have any of it, and she firmly placed herself between her daughter and the door; keeping her within the room as the facility's medical staff were working on Jazz's wrist. An x-ray hanging on a light wall clearly showed the fracture, and only strengthened Maddie's resolve to keep her daughter inside, while also trying to figure something else out. A mother's intuition is a powerful thing, and right now it was telling her that there was something more going on between this pony and her daughter, other than just a doctor-patient relationship. Just exactly what, was still something she needed to deduce.

"Jasmine," she started, arms crossed. "Why are you trying so hard to leave while you have a broken wrist? Surely Tucker is more than capable of finding and calming this pony down?"

"Soarin," Jazz muttered in reply.

"What?"

"His name is Soarin," Jazz looked her mother in the eyes as she repeated herself, before looking away, fidgeting on the spot, much to Maddie's interest.

"Soarin, huh?' Maddie said, a single eyebrow raised. "I think I've heard of him. Isn't he some athlete, or something?"

"Actually, he's part of a specialized military group, similar to the Blue Angels."

"Oh."

"He and his team put on frequent stunt shows, while also functioning as a rapid response force during uncommon crisis situations where the customary guards are insufficient."

"Really?"

"Yes," Jazz nodded, then flinched as the facility's assistant doctor was working on her wrist. Something she didn't even notice until the sudden stab of pain. Again, something which intrigued Maddie. The subject of this pony was something which her daughter took to heart.

"Which is how I know him. You remember the ghost invasion that happened in one of their cities, almost six years ago now?" Maddie nodded in response, a slight widening of her eyes noticeable, while the assistant doctor working on her wrist gave an unexpected pull when the subject of the Baltimare Incident was brought up.

"I swear, if you do that again, I will punch you," Jazz grunted through gritted teeth.

"Sorry, miss. I'm new. The one usually running the clinic called in sick," the nervous young man answered; carefully continuing his work, not wanting to mess up as his patient happened to be the bosses' daughter. One of which was standing just a few steps away from him.

"So, Soarin was sent to this city during the ghost invasion, which brought him to you?" Maddie surmised, earning a nod from her daughter. "But this was, as you said, almost six years ago. Why is he still with you? Not that you are a bad psychiatrist, but I'm sure that there are several capable pony psychiatrists on his world who can help him after all this time. Jack and I certainly trained several ponies, teaching them everything we know."

'Which will probably do more harm than good,' Jazz thought. "I'm sure of it," she said with a fake smile. "It's just, well... the whole bond of trust we've built over time," a distinct undertone of nervousness, and something else noticeable in her voice which Maddie picked up on, as well as the assistant doctor, who gave a slight twitch as a result, making Jazz flinch. The next moment a loud slap sounded through the room, and the doctor had a clearly noticeable, almost glowing red, hand mark on his face.

"Jazz! That was uncalled for!" Maddie scolded her daughter, taking a moment to make sure her employee was okay.

"What, I warned him," Jazz said defensively, and Maddie had enough of it.

"Could you give my daughter and I a couple of minutes?" She asked with a insincerely sweet voice, and he nodded quickly while scampering out of the room.

With a 'click' the door closed, and Maddie turned to look at her daughter; hands placed on her hips, frowning. "Jasmine Fenton! Your behavior has been absolutely unacceptable. Not to mention, nothing like you," she said with an only slightly raised voice, though still managing to dominate the room with it, making Jazz feel like she was six again, and caught red handed with her hand in the Fenton Cookie Jar... Which contained her father's private stash of sugary goodness.

"I want to know, right now, what is causing this behavior? And don't try lying to me, I always know when you do. It has something to do with this pony, this Soarin. He's more than just a patient, am I right?!"

"Ehh..." Jazz uttered dumbly, unable to come up with a reply; nor was she able to look her mother in the eyes.

"Well?" Maddie demanded.

Fidgeting on the spot, biting her lower lip, and looking towards the wall to her left, Jazz wished she could just turn invisible like her brother or Dani; to be able to be anywhere other than here. And, despite her being well into her twenties, she still felt herself shrink down underneath her mother's stern gaze.

"... He might be my..." Jazz mumbled quietly, looking away.

"What was that?" Maddie demanded sternly.

"... He might be my, eh... you know..." Jazz mumbled slightly louder.

"Jasmine!" Maddie warned.

Swallowing the thick lump down her dry throat, Jazz knew she could no longer avoid this confrontation. She just wished it could have been done with a bit more planning, and much, much later. Maybe ten years from now?

Sighing, she resigned herself to the fate before her. "He's my... my..." but her voice died in her throat.

"Oh, for goodness sake, Jazz. If you're in a relationship with a pony, just say so," Maddie breathed out, rolling her eyes while shaking her head. Jazz just stood there with a look of utter bewilderment on her face, staring at her mother as if she had grown a second head.

"You know!?" 

"I do now," Maddie said, a faint smirk noticeable.

"... Did, did you just use one of my own tricks against me?" Jazz asked, dumbfounded.

"One of your tricks? Sweetheart, I invented them," Maddie replied, grinning. Then she turned serious again. "But I don't like the fact you've kept something like this from us."

"I thought that..."

"That your father and I wouldn't approve?" Maddie finished disapprovingly. "Dear, honestly. What kind of parents do you think we are? Who you date is your business," she said, smiling, before a scowl replaced it. "Except ghosts!"

The memory of a certain motorcycle riding 'bad boy' resurfaced, and Jazz quickly looked away. "Yeah, that would be bad... I think."

"Indeed," Maddie agreed. "Besides, ignoring the obviousness of ghosts being absolutely no good. I definitely don't want a ghost in the family," she said with disgust, and Jazz mentally flinched after she'd said that.

'If only you knew.'

"Anyhow," Maddie continued. "When are you going to introduce us to Soarin? I'm sure your father would love to meet him."

A new memory came back to Jazz, something her father had said back when he was reminiscing about his youth. 'I was born many years ago in a log cabin in the woods. I don't exactly remember where, but I do know I wanted a pony. Never got a pony. As a matter of fact, we had to eat horse meat during the war. I had a problem with that.'

"Yeaaahhh..." Jazz replied, not knowing how to respond to that. "That might be a bit difficult at the moment. You know, with him flying off and all."

"Oh, I'm sure Tucker has caught up with him by now," Maddie reassured. And, on cue, Jazz's phone began to ring.

Looking at the caller ID, she saw it was Tucker, and she gave her mother a confused look. Maddie, in turn, gave her eldest child a knowing wink. "Mother's intuition," and allowed her daughter to take the call.

"Tucker?" Jazz asked as she answered the phone. "What is it? Did you find Soarin?"

A moment passed as Tucker replied, and a surprised and worried frown grew on her face. "What do you mean, Val—. Yeah, I know, bu—. So, he is safe? 'Ish'? What do you mean by tha—. Oh dear. You sure? Not really... Yes, I see. Alright, I'll meet you there," and she ended the call, looking back at her mother, a worried frown on her face.

"Not all good news, I take it?"

"Not really," Jazz muttered, looking at her reflection in the phone's screen, before standing up and heading for the door. "I need to go to him, now!"

Maddie, however, had different plans. "I don't think so!" 

She quickly placed herself back between Jazz and the door. "You still have a broken wrist," she said, nodding to the x-ray, "and aren't going anywhere until it's taken care of."

"But mom!"

"No buts, young lady. I'm still your mother. And until I tell you otherwise, you're grounded and are not to leave this room. Now," she stated, opening the door and spotting the assistant doctor standing a few meters away. "You, take care of my daughter."

"Great," Jazz muttered as the doctor walked back inside, "more hurting my wrist."

"You just need to relax, sweetheart," Maddie said, grinning. "After all, the more you struggle, the more it hurts," the humorous remark and suggestive undertone giving Jazz and the doctor pause, looking at each other awkwardly, while also sputtering in embarrassment.

"MOM!" Jazz shouted, face burning a bright red.

"Oh, don't pretend to be so innocent. I know who you're dating," and with that, Maddie stepped out of the room, closed the door, and left the two alone, looking at each other uncomfortably as they could hear her laughter through the door.

"Oh, this is bad!" Tucker fretted, running a hand through his hair as he stared at the slumped form of Soarin, a noticeable lump on his head.

"Hey, he made me do it," Valerie replied defensively as she stood next to a window, peering outside through the blinds. "You sure you weren't followed?"

"Val, give me some credit here," Tucker groaned, still worried about what happened between Soarin and Valerie. "I think that if anyone knows how to avoid Vlad's spy drones it’d be me." He turned to look at her, a nervous frown showing. "You know she's not going to be happy about this, right?!"

"Meh," Valerie shrugged. "I'll live."

"And what about him?" Tucker continued. "After the mess he's gone through, and considering what Jazz and I just told him, things were already bad enough. But now. Now you knocked him out cold. Who knows how this will affect him."

"Well, it was either this or letting him fly through the city all crazy," Valerie commented matter of factly, stepping away from the window. "Seriously, though. After everything we've gone through to save his sorry ass, you managed not only to freak him out to the point where he flies off on you, but have him go crazy in the process as well. Makes me wonder, who was more of a danger to the guy? The ghosts, or you."

"You know the answer to that just as well as I do," Tucker replied seriously, frowning.

Valerie sighed, "Yeah, yeah. I know. But seriously, I stay back to fight off Skulker so Jazz and her pony boy can escape, only for you guys to make a mess of things on your side. It kinda makes my sacrifice feel like a waste of time."

"Yeah... Sorry about that," Tucker said, scratching the back of his head. "Also, how did you manage to get back? Did you find a natural portal?"

Valerie fell silent for a moment, looking down at the ground, in thought. "Actually, I was hoping you could tell me. I have no idea how I got back. Last thing I remember, I was still fighting Skulker. I had the drop on him, about to finish him off, only to..."

"Only to, what?" Tucker asked.

"Nothing... It's all dark. There is this vague part where I think I heard several voices talking, but I'm not sure. Next thing I know, I'm waking up in my apartment, confused as hell."

"That... doesn't make any sense."

"You're telling me?" Valerie replied, frustrated. "Seriously, though. What happened?"

"... I have no idea," Tucker muttered, deep in thought. "But I'm starting to think there is more to all of this than even we know."

"You know," Valerie spoke up after a moment of tense silence. "I have this horrible feeling you're right," her hand tightened around one of her blasters, "and I don't like it."

"Let's just wait for Jazz to get here, then we'll try to figure this out."

"And what about him?" Valerie asked, giving a single nod towards Soarin.

"Hopefully, Jazz will be able to talk some sense into him."

"And then?"

"Then, if we're lucky, he may be able to help us."

"You really think he can be of help?"

"Thinking, no," Tucker replied, looking down at the unconscious form. "But I am hoping."

"Huh," Valerie huffed. "Seems like that's about the only thing we can do anymore."

"Yeah..." Tucker said, finding no reason to object.

It had taken longer to properly secure her wrist than Jazz would have liked, and even more so to convince her mother to let her go. But, finally, she was allowed to leave. Something which irritated her; the fact she had to wait for her mother to allow her to go. She was twenty four already, darnit. And still her mother managed to make her feel like she was only six; although the topics of their discussions had changed from what they were back when she was actually six.

Now though, she was hurrying to Tucker's place; making sure to use one of his devices to disrupt any of Vlad's drones which might be nearby. Not that this would help to keep the location of his house a secret. Vlad was still the mayor of this city, which also meant he had access to the blueprints of every building in Amity Park; as well as the records of who lived where. It was a source of power which they would like to see disappear. But they knew this was not as easy as thwarting Vlad in the company's systems.

Still, with all the protective systems installed in Tucker's house, as well as Jazz's, they were relatively confident they wouldn't be spied on. Although, since Valerie had similar protections in her house, and in light of what had happened there not too long ago, this feeling of security had proven to be rather misplaced. That's why Tucker had spent every free moment he had not working in keeping the city safe, keeping Vlad out of his systems, locating Danny, certain activities with Dani, and a few other things to keep their secret group running smoothly, on working on improving his devices to keep Vlad well away from their homes. The update to Dani's deflector being the basis of the new and improved software for his devices.

But, despite all of this, Jazz couldn't help but feel nervous. Just this morning she saw the one she loved being abducted by Skulker, in broad daylight. And, although it wasn't Vlad personally, she couldn't shake the feeling that he was involved with this, somehow.

'Let's just worry about that later,' she mentally told herself. 'First we need to take care of Soarin.'

Ringing the doorbell to Tucker's apartment, she went through any possible scenario she could come up with. From flat out rejection of everything he'd been told, to something more...severe. His PTSD would certainly be an important factor in all of this. Not to mention what had happened to him and his team back in Baltimare. 'There are a lot of unknowns,' Jazz thought as Tucker let her in, following behind as he led her to the secured living room, and finally spotting Soarin slumped down on the couch, a large lump on his head. 'But I wasn't expecting this!'

"Valerie. Tucker," Jazz said slowly, a cold edge to her voice. "What happened to Soarin?"

"I knocked him out," came Valerie's cool reply, and Jazz turned to look at her, fire burning in her eyes.

"You. Did. What!?"

"I knocked him out," Valerie repeated, shrugging. "Had to, the guy was completely wild."

Narrowing her eyes, Jazz shot her most venomous glare at Valerie. Valerie, though, didn't seem all that impressed, and simply leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "Jazz, really? The whole death glare isn't your thing. Look, if it makes you feel better, I'm sorry for clubbing your pony friend on the head."

Exhaling loudly, Jazz forced herself to calm down; still glaring daggers at the ghost hunter. "We'll talk about this later," she stated, then turned to the stallion on the couch. "How long has he been out?"

"A couple hours," Valerie answered vaguely.

"Anything else I should know about?" Jazz asked, sitting down next to Soarin. "Like, how you got back from the Ghost Zone."

"Honestly, I've got no clue," Valerie said, clearly confused about this as well. "All I know is that, one minute I'm fighting Skulker, and the next I'm waking up back home."

"What, that's it?" Jazz asked, expecting more.

Nodding, Valerie sighed. "Pretty much. I have no idea who, or what might have brought me home, but I reckon I owe them a thank you."

Jazz looked over at Tucker, who seem to catch on to the glint in her eyes.

"You don't think... " He suggested.

"Wulf?" Jazz finished, wondering.

"Who now?" Valerie asked, pushing herself away from the wall; her interest piqued.

Jazz and Tucker gave each other a doubtful look, not sure if the revelation of yet another secret would be a good idea.

"It's... complicated," Jazz began.

"Like, really complicated," Tucker added.

Not buying it, Valerie stood her ground, hands planted on her hips, glaring at the duo who seemed to shrink down under her gaze.

"First off. Jazz, this is how you glare. Second. If you want me to remain a part of this team, then you better start telling me everything. I don't want to find out about secrets like Danny being the Phantom years after. Either you tell me what you know, now... Or I walk!"

Jazz and Tucker shared the same worried, concerned look. Neither of them knowing how to best reveal the sensitive information they had been keeping from Valerie.

"Can this day get any worse?" Jazz sighed, and a weak groan came from Soarin as he came to.

"You had to ask," Tucker sighed, dragging a hand over his face.

A large figure moved in a blur through the green expanse of the Ghost Zone, jumping from landmass to landmass. The skill of flight was among his abilities, but unused as it was not the way of his kind.

A tense look of worry was clearly visible on his face. The reason behind this? The sudden, and quite unexpected, change within the Dark Zone. A shady part of the Ghost Zone not many would venture to, save for the most ruthless of ghosts... and the occasional idiot trying to increase his infamy.

Why that box weirdo would do such a thing, he would probably never know, nor was it important to him. What was, was the sudden disappearance of the ancient city of crystal, along with the shadow which ruled over it.

The land itself was of no interest to him. Many chunks of the confusingly fertile ground floated around. One piece vanishing was usually of no concern to him. Nor would this time have been any different, if it wasn't for the unique crystals found growing on it. 

It was a well known fact to any ghost who dared venture close to this land that these crystals were more than mere shining rocks. Each and every single one of them, whether a full rock or a mere shard, had the power to influence minds. And now the entire land, along with the one controlling these crystals, was gone... and that was cause for concern.

"Kio povus esti kaŭzinta ĉi, kaj kial? Per la Tri, devus iu akiri eĉ unu el la menso kontrolo ŝtonoj, la rezultoj povus esti katastrofaj."

"What could have caused this, and why? By the Three, should anyone acquire even one of the mind control stones, the results could be catastrophic."

His claws tightened as he leaped to yet another chunk of land; small plants growing from between the cracks of dried dirt, indicating there was still life within the soil.

"Ĉi tiu estas la loko," he grunted, looking down at his claws.

"This is the place."

He knew what to do; had done it many times before. His gift was one of the rarest among his kind, and one which was looked down upon. They didn't believe in using death's gifts. Instead, they would 'live', fight, and hunt using nothing but the strength of their backs, the sharpness of their claws, and the lethality of their fangs. It was how their ancestors did it. It was how the Ancient Three did it. And it was how they would do it.

Of course, he had strayed away from these convictions many times now; being forced to use these abilities by some he now considered his enemy, and sometimes finding himself with no real choice but to use them. This would be one such occasion, and he unsheathed his claws, preparing to tear the wall between the Ghost Zone and Earth a new one.

However, before he could act the haunted screams of lost souls suddenly assaulted his ears, and he saw many of the green wisps gathering in a single location; swirling around each other in an ever growing mass, while their soulless eyes stared at him. 

Faster and faster the dance of faded death went; their screams becoming louder and more haunting. The air around them seemed to shimmer, flex, and ripple as they tore a hole in the walls of reality separating the Ghost Zone from the mortal realm.

Seeing the path opened before him, the tall being resumed his course; thanking the Ancient Three as he leapt through the hole in the air, dropping down on the lush green grass of Earth.

Looking around and taking in the surroundings, he tried to get a sense of where it was the portal had brought him. The fact that it could have led anywhere, even into space, was a risk he was willing to take to get his message to his bond brother's pack. 

Sniffing the air to find a trail he could follow, he soon picked up on a scent he knew could only come from one of the humans' cities.

Dropping down on all fours, he ran as fast as he could to the source of the smell; a mixture of pollution and various other compounds he wasn't interested in identifying. It did not take him long to reach the city his sense of smell had led him to, which by now was all but impossible to miss. The vibrant glow of the ghost shield illuminating the night's sky, its light pollution masking the stars.

"Nun por la malfacila parto," he muttered, carefully approaching the shield, but remaining far enough away to avoid detection.

"Now for the difficult part."

Begrudgingly, he looked at his latest adversary. A foe he had faced several times before. An enemy he couldn't figure out, no matter how many times he tried, and no matter how many times others helped him. No, this enemy was truly something he didn't understand. A foe small enough to fit in his paw, but a mighty challenge for him all the same.

A cellphone.

"Kiel la afero funkcios?" He muttered as he stared at the dimmed screen, scratching the glass with his sharp claw.

"How does this thing work?"

Eventually, he managed to turn the device on. And, thanks to his bond brother's bond brother, this infuriating device had just a single option to choose from. A single icon, which would allow him to call his brother's pack brother without any difficulties. Or, at least, that was the theory. Practice, however, had proven to be anything but. And this time would be no different.

Using the tip of a single claw, he pressed on the icon, seeing several strange images play across the screen, while a curious noise was produced. He knew from the few previous attempts that this was a good thing. Although he wasn't quite sure how to continue, so he tried pressing on various other parts of the screen, somehow managing to come up with a whole new screen, showing the numbers one through nine, and a couple of symbols that he didn't know the meaning of.

Intrigued, he began pressing them all.

"Okay!" Valerie said loudly, hand held up. "Let me get this straight, 'cause I'm having difficulties believing what you're telling me." Lowering her hand, she then proceeded to point an accusing finger at both Jazz and Tucker. "So, not only did you hide that Danny Fenton is in fact Danny Phantom. But you two are actively working together with several other ghosts as well!?"

"Well, working together might be a bit of an exaggeration," Tucker replied meekly.

"Explain!" Valerie commanded, arms crossed, scowling at the duo.

"Okay..." Tucker sighed, glancing towards the nearest exit. "The first thing that you should know is that we don't work with all that many ghosts. In fact, there is only one, not counting Dani," he began, before hesitating, earning an annoyed grunt from Valerie.

"One?"

"Yes," Tucker confirmed with a nod. "He's called Wulf... Remember the incident where Danny supposedly abducted the mayor?" He asked, and Valerie nodded, grimacing. "That would be where we met. You see, the mayor was possessed by the Warden from the Ghost Zone's prison, while several of the guys from school were possessed by his ghost guards. They took over the town to capture Danny."

"Why? What did he do?" Valerie asked.

"He broke out of prison," Tucker replied flatly. "They have some weird rules going on there which landed him in jail."

"Anyhow," Jazz picked up. "Wulf was a prisoner, too. And he was used, given the promise of freedom, should he help capture Danny."

"The thing is, Danny freed Wulf instead. And ever since, he's been our friend," Tucker continued. "Nowadays, Wulf scouts the Ghost Zone, and informs us about any and all developments which could be important."

"So, we've got an inside guy?" Valerie asked in her professional, ghost hunter persona.

"You're... taking this rather well," Jazz commented, worried.

"Jazz..." Valerie said, "in my line of work, sudden shocks are expected," and Jazz gave a sigh of relief. "But! I am more than a little pissed off-" Jazz sucked in a quick breath through her teeth "-and I don't want to find out any more surprises like this in the future."

"Neither do I!" Came Soarin's quiet voice, struggling to come to terms with everything.

"I guess we need to tell you about Cujo as well then," Jazz replied meekly, and Tucker reacted with fright; shaking his head while waving his hands in front of him.

"Tucker!" Valerie practically growled.

"... Ehhehehe..." He laughed nervously, rubbing his hands together. "Eh... Remember when there was that little incident at your father's job... Something involving a certain ghost and his dog?" Valerie's eyes widened, her hands balling into fists and teeth grinding together.

"Yeah," she stated angrily. "What of it?"

"Well, you see," Tucker began meekly. "That was Danny, alongside the ghost of one of the lab's former guard dogs. A, ehh... puppy, who was looking for his toy... and destroying the place in the process." Valerie's eyes narrowed into slits, and Tucker nervously pulled his collar with a finger to release some of the building heat. "And, well... that dog is the Cujo Jazz mentioned. He more or less bonded with Danny, and may or may not be around looking for him."

Grabbing one of her blasters, Valerie stepped closer to Tucker, threateningly. "And exactly when did you plan to tell me about this?!"

"... Eep."

"Tucker!" Valerie shouted, when all of a sudden, a telephone went off. Tucker glanced down at his pocket, unsure whether he should answer it or not; knowing full well who this ringtone belonged to.

Catching the worried glint in his eyes, Valerie grabbed the phone out of his pocket and answered it.

"Yes, who is it?!" She demanded, only to look at the phone in confusion as all she heard was the beeping of pushed buttons, "What the?"

"Is he doing the thing again?" Jazz asked, unsure.

"He's doing the thing again," Tucker replied, not daring to look away from the angry woman still standing before him.

"What!? What thing are you talking about?" Valerie asked, confused.

"And who is doing the thing?" Soarin asked, curious and confused; nothing made any sense anymore.

Their answer came from the phone itself, as even more beeping was audible, followed moments later by an automated voice saying: "This is not a valid choice."

"Well!?" Valerie demanded.

Sighing, Tucker and Jazz gave each other a confirming nod. "Okay, that would be Wulf. He... doesn't fully understand our technology. As for the thing... It's just him pressing every button he can find. I did alter the phone's software to keep him from doing that, but somehow he keeps managing to do it anyway."

"So, this idiot is this Wulf, huh?!" Valerie muttered, interested, and she answered the phone.

He heard voices, coming from within the device. That was good, right? 

"Hey, you!" Came an angry voice, and he gave a low growl in response. "You're the ghost these guys have been working with?!"

"Kiu diras tion? Kiel oni parolas tra la brilanta rektangulo?" Wulf growled.

"Who is saying this? How do you speak through the glowing rectangle?"

"What tha?! What kind of gibberish is this?"

"Stultaĵoj?"

"Gibberish?"

"It's Esperanto," said his bond brother's brother, sounding further away somehow.

"What?"

"He doesn't speak English."

"Then how do you even talk to this ghost!?"

"Give me the phone, and I'll show you.

"Humph... Fine."

Wulf looked at the glowing rectangle in confusion, not understanding what strange things were happening within the device held in his paw.

"Wulf, ĉi estas Tucker." Tucker began, and Wulf gave a happy growl in reply. "Bedaŭras pri tio. Aĵoj estas iom ... svingita nun."

"Wulf, this is Tucker. Sorry about that. Things are a little... hectic right now."

"Wait! You speak the same gibberish this ghost does?" The unknown voice said, and Wulf felt the hairs on his back stand on end.

"It's Esperanto. And, yes. I do. Now, if you would be quiet for a moment, I can ask what's going on," Tucker replied with an edge to his voice. "Wulf, kial vi vokis? Kio okazas?"

"Wulf, why did you call? What's happening?"

"Ĉu vi alright, frato? Kiu estas tiu hundino Mi aŭdas?" Wulf asked, worried.

"Are you alright, brother? Who is that bitch I hear?"

"Ne, Mi estas bone. Nur neatendita evoluo, neniu ĉagrenoj," Tucker replied.

No, I'm good. Just an unexpected development, no worries."

"What did he say!?" The unknown voice demanded.

"He just wanted to know if I was alright. I guess he doesn't like your tone of voice very much... Oh, and he called you a bitch."

"HE SAID WHAT!"

"Actually, that would be the technical term for female among his kind... Eh, we did mention he was a wolf, right?" His brother's sister said, and Wulf's tail gave a quick wag.

"Wait, what!?" a new voice piped up, sounding even further away than the others. "A wolf?!"

"Alright, that does it! Where is this wolf guy," the sound of a weapon being cocked came through the glowing device, and Wulf gave a threatening growl.

"No, Valerie. You're not going to shoot him," Tucker sighed out, tiredly. "And yes, Soarin. A wolf. Now, be quiet will ya? Alright. Bedaŭras pri tio. Jazz kaj Mi estas batitaj en iom de salato nun," Tucker apologized. "Do, kio okazis, kio okazas?"

"Sorry about that. Jazz and I are stuck in a bit of a mess right now. So, what happened, what's going on?"

"Frato, Mi havas tumulti novaĵo. Mi bezonas paroli kun vi, persone. Nun!"

Brother, I have troubling news. I need to talk to you, in person. Now!

"What! Now?!" Tucker said loudly.

"What is it? What did he say?" Jazz asked.

"He said he has worrying news, and that he needs to speak to me, in person, now."

"Hah, sounds good to me!" The bitch he now knew as Valerie said with a dark voice, "I feel like meeting this mutt; seeing what we're really dealing with."

"Mi ne ŝatas ĉi hundino," Wulf growled.

"I don't like this bitch."

"Yeaahhh...Ŝi ne estas ĉiu malbona. Ŝi apenaŭ havas ion kontraŭ fantomoj," Tucker replied with a knowing tone.

"She's not all bad. She just has a thing against ghosts."

"... Nun mi vere ne ŝatas ŝin," Wulf deadpanned.

"Now I really don't like her."

"... Right now, I'm with ya," Tucker said, sighing. "Kie vi estas nun? Ni venos al vi... Ni ĉiuj, mi timas."

"Where are you now? We'll come to you... All of us, I'm afraid."

"Ĉiuj el vi?" Wulf asked, surprised, and Tucker fell silent for a moment.

"All of you?"

"Yeah... It would seem so," he answered. "So, where are you?"

Looking around, Wulf tried to get an idea of where exactly he was.

"Uhh... Ekster la urbo?" Wulf answered vaguely.

"Uhh... Outside the city?"

"Outside the city... Yeah, that narrows it down," Tucker muttered. "Konsentite, ĝuste resti kie vi estas. Ni trovos vin."

"Okay, just stay where you are. We'll find you."

"Kiom?"

"How?"

"Just leave that to me... See you soon," Tucker said before the sound of someone yelling, and objects falling over suddenly cut Tucker off. "... Eventually," Tucker finished, tiredly, with a sigh.

Ending the call, Tucker closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose while exhaling loudly. Looking up towards the mess his living room had become in ten seconds flat, he felt the sudden urge to just go to bed, and begin an early hibernation.

"Soarin, please. This might be a good thing!" Jazz pleaded, trying to get through to the stallion who had clambered up on a display case, and knocking several things over. "If you come with us, meet Wulf, you'll see there are good ghosts as well."

"ARE YOU CRAZY!?" Soarin shouted. "IT'S. A. WOLF!"

"Soarin, I understand how you must feel right now. Believe me, I've gone through some bad things myself. But running away from these things isn't going to solve anything. Please. Come with us. You don't even have to get close to him, if you don't want to. But if you just see him, see that he isn't like the ghosts who did all those horrible things in Baltimare, you'll understand."

"A WOLF!?"

"Look, can we just get this over with and get going?!" Valerie snarled, annoyed.

"No, you just wait," Jazz shot back. "This is more important."

"No, it isn't," Valerie countered, crossing her arms.

"Yes, it i—"

"STOP IT!" Tucker shouted. "THE BOTH OF YOU! You're not starting this, here, now!" He huffed out explosively. "Yes," he stated as he turned to Soarin. "Wulf is a wolf. The name does kinda give it away," he said with a large dose of sarcasm. "Yes," he turned to Valerie, "we are working with ghosts. Deal with it!" Then he turned to Jazz. "And you. Seriously, get your boyfriend, or whatever you call it, under control. Sheesh," he dragged a hand down his face. "We've all had a long, tiresome day. We're all irritated. And I'm pretty sure there are plenty of other things we would all rather be doing right now, but we can't. So, can we please try not to kill each other. Us becoming ghosts is not going to solve this mess."

As he vented, the others seemed to deflate. Valerie holstered the blaster she was holding, while Jazz dropped her hands to her side, and Soarin slowly dropped down, ears folded flat on his head.

"... I guess you have a point," Jazz said after a moment, clearly embarrassed.

"Well, I'm still pissed off over the fact you have been working with ghosts behind my back," Valerie snarled, frowning.

"I understand. And we're sorry," Tucker admitted. "We believed it to be the right thing to do, considering your history with ghosts."

"... Makes sense," Valerie huffed. "Never do it again, ever! I mean it."

Nodding, Jazz looked down at Soarin with a sigh. "And I'm sorry for pushing you like this. All of this, this whole mess. It was all forced on you while you were not prepared for it. And here I am, trying to make it worse." Jazz looked away guiltily. "If you don't want to go meet Wulf, then I won't try and force you."

"I... I... " Soarin's gaze dropped to the floor, a strained sigh escaping him. "... I trust you..." He said with a small voice, and Jazz felt an equally small smile graced her lips. Dropping to a knee, she gave the blue stallion a tight hug, moving a hand through his mane.

"... I must be crazy," Soaring muttered after a moment, before sighing. "But if you say this ghost can be trusted, then I'll..." He didn't finish, but Jazz tightened her hug all the same, knowing what he was trying to say.

Valerie gave an annoyed huff before slamming a fist into her hand. "Count me in. If there are ghosts on our side, I sure as hell want to size them up myself."

"Please, no more fighting!" Tucker groaned. "Haven't we had enough of that today?"

"Says the one who stayed behind in his office," Jazz half joked, earning a snort from Valerie.

"She's got a point there," Valerie concurred. "Sure, our lover pony hasn't done much either, but at least he had a good reason."

"Are you two really turning against me right now?" Tucker said in disbelief, seeing two matching grins aimed towards him. "Seriously...? How do you women manage to go from yelling at each other to being best friends in the blink of an eye?"

"Mares," Soarin answered in a tone understood by all males, human and pony alike; his mane frazzled from the stress of his day, front hooves held apart from each other as he said it.

"Truer words have never been spoken," Tucker said wisely, nodding. While Jazz and Valerie rolled their eyes, shaking their heads.

"Men," they said simultaneously, none of them, male or woman, able to understand the thought processes of the opposite sex.

The sounds of powertools filled a clean, well lit, cutting-edge workshop. The source, Jack and Maddie; putting in overtime to catch up with their schedule after the false alarm disrupted everything.

Hammering a particularly stubborn part into place, Jack stepped back, using his arm to wipe the sweat from his brow; a satisfied smile on his face as he observed his work.

Maddie, too, he noticed, was smiling. Although she had been doing that ever since she joined him in their shared workplace, yet the reason for this remained a mystery to him. His curiosity piqued, he circled around the Ecto-Skeleton, approaching his wife from behind and grabbing her up in a bear hug.

"Maddie," he said, smiling, as his wife shrieked in surprise, before a humorous chuckle escaped her.

"Jack, what are you doing?" She laughed. "We still have a lot of work left to do."

"Oh, I know," he replied. "But can a man not hug his wife every now and then?"

Chuckling, and patting the arm holding her, Maddie pulled herself free. "And yet you're not asking for a cookie or anything."

"Well... I might have been trying to diet," Jack lied, badly.

"You, on a diet. Goodness, miracles do happen," Maddie said, playing along; her hand placed on her chest as she sucked in a breath of air. "I guess I should start packing the fridge with all kinds of vegetables now."

A look of horror grew on Jack's face. "Please don't," he said hastily.

"Don't worry, dear. Your ham is safe, " Maddie chuckled, winking. "But tell me what's on your mind."

"Well..." Jack started, scratching his head, "you seem overly happy ever since you came back from taking Jazz to the infirmary, which struck me as odd. Did something happen?"

"Oh, maybe," Maddie replied, teasingly.

"Maybe?" Jack repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh-huh," Maddie hummed, nodding.

"Anything I need to know?"

"Probably," Maddie answered, grinning.

"And you're not telling me, because..."

"Because it's so much fun letting you guess," Maddie said, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "But I'm sure you'll find out soon enough."

"Find what out?" He asked, still trying his luck.

"Ah ah aah,"—Maddie waved a single finger—"my lips are sealed."

"They don't seem like it," Jack quipped.

"Well, let's fix that, shall we," Maddie said as she pulled her husband in for a kiss. The hammer Jack was holding clattered to the ground, forgotten, along with the need to figure out what his wife was hiding.

Four figures were crammed together in a far too small car; Tucker driving, Valerie riding shotgun, with Jazz and Soarin in the back seat. The lights of the car slicing through the darkness of the back streets as they made their way to a lone checkpoint at the edge of the city. A hurdle they were forced to take, as there was no other means of leaving the city, save for the occasional ghost portal opening here and there.

The mood inside the vehicle was tense, the issue of Tucker and Jazz working together with ghosts still something that rubbed both Soarin and Valerie the wrong way. The latter continuously flexing her hand as it hovered above her blaster.

"So, seeing we have some time to kill before we get to your friend. Anything else you chose to hide from me?" Valerie asked, staring intently at Tucker, who held the steering wheel tightly in nervous response.

"Maybe it would be better if we start from the beginning," Jazz offered.

Giving a single nod, Valerie signaled Jazz to continue.

"Alright... You know what happened after Sam died. Danny ran away, and in doing so he left a large hole in the defense against the ghosts," Jazz began, looking at Valerie. "I know you noticed the sudden increase in ghost activity after Danny ran away."

"I might have. What of it?"

Sighing, Jazz shook her head sadly. "With my brother gone, and only you to really fight off the ghosts, Tucker and I knew something had to be done. Sure, the government also played its part. Spending money en masse to put up a defense we all know is ineffective due to the natural portals."

"Wait, what?!" Soarin shouted, shocked and confused.

"Of course, he doesn't know," Tucker groaned.

"Long story short," Valerie spoke up, "portals pop up out of nowhere, and ghosts come through. Might be anywhere, really."

"Right," Jazz agreed. "So we knew something had to be done. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, neither Tucker, nor I were the best choice when it came to ghost hunting."

"Which is where I come in, I assume," Valerie said.

"Eventually, yes. But not immediately," Jazz continued. "First off, you should know that, thanks to Danny, Tucker, and Sam, we have many contacts in the Ghost Zone."

"Had, is more like it," Tucker grunted angrily.

"Care to elaborate?" Valerie asked.

"Vlad," Tucker huffed. "It's always Vlad."

"Yes..." Jazz muttered.

"Before everything went to hell," Tucker began, "Danny, Sam, and I went into the Zone on a regular basis. You know, releasing the ghosts we'd captured. Exploring the Ghost Zone. Or just some random, unimportant nonsense. Afterwards, though... First, with both Danny and Sam gone, and me being the wreck I was back then, combined with everything that happened first with this city and then with every other, our access to the ghost portal became severely limited."

Tucker was silent for a moment, a deep frown on his face, staring intently at his reflection in the windshield. "Then Vlad got himself a place on the board, giving him control over the portal. Phu... Not that it wasn't already impossible to get access to it without anyone noticing. Sure, setting off an alarm and deactivating the cameras is easy. But if that happened five times a week, people would start to ask questions."

"Makes sense," Valerie muttered.

"Worst of all, we no longer have access to the portal, but Vlad does." Tucker's hands tightened, and he took a sharp corner. "He has his own portal, did you know that? Hidden beneath his mansion."

"SAY WHAT!?" Valerie shouted, eyes wide.

"Yeah, he stole the designs."

"That isn't the only thing he took from us," Jazz muttered, glaring at her feet with an angry scowl. "We used to have a lot of contacts, as I said. But with our access limited, and Vlad able to thwart us from within the Zone, we've lost contact with most. Some, like Wulf, manage to come to us, as they are able to open a portal themselves. But this also makes us dependent on them for anything related to, and in, the Ghost Zone. And as such, a lot has gone by us without noticing..."

"... Until after it happened," Tucker finished, eyes darting towards Soarin in the back seat.

"Such as?" Valerie queried, catching on to their tone of voice.

"... You remember the invasion that took place almost six years ago, in that small town some distance from here?" Jazz asked, warily.

"Yeah... I think I do," Valerie replied, thinking. "What of i—" She fell silent, eyes darting towards Soarin. "That was the invasion that moved to Baltimare."

"Wait, WHAT!?"

Placing her hand on his withers, Jazz sighed again. "Unfortunately, it was known in advance this invasion would happen, but Wulf was unable to reach us in time."

"Our worst failure," Tucker said in a saddened voice.

"Which only grew worse when that new tear formed, and the ghosts were given free access to Equestria," Jazz murmured, turning to the stallion to her side. "Soarin, I am truly sorry."

Soarin could only answer with silence, his eyes unfocused.

"... We tried to pick up the pieces after that," Tucker picked back up after a moment, "but found ourselves severely overwhelmed. We knew we needed help, which is where you came in. But even then, things did not go to plan... as much as you can call this half assed operation planned. We're practically blind. Only able to respond to things after they've happened. And with little to no access to the Ghost Zone, who knows what kind of trouble is brewing, or what we missed?"

"Of course, with your help," Jazz continued, looking at Valerie, "the ghosts are holding back a bit. If only from this city. But with just the four of us, you, Tucker, Dani, and me, things are not looking good. It makes me wonder how Danny ever did it."

"Luck," Tucker replied, "and the ability to fight the ghosts with their own tricks. But even then, it was with the help of other ghosts. If it wasn't for Frostbite, Danny would never have gained control over his ice powers. If it wasn't for Pandora, the Box Ghost wouldn't have been stopped when he opened Pandora's Box. If it wasn't for Clockwork..." He didn't finish, and fell silent; eyes glued on the road.

"Then, what?" Valerie asked.

"You don't want to know," both Tucker and Jazz replied.

"Alright, then who are these ghosts? More friends you have been keeping hidden?"

"Not really, " Tucker sighed. "Yet, at the same time, yes. Frostbite would be a frost giant. He and his kin live in the Far Frozen. A part of the Ghost Zone covered with ice. Pandora would be the one mentioned in ancient Greek mythology; the one who supposedly released all evil on the world by opening a box, or something. And Clockwork... He's the master of time."

"You said, what!?"

"He controls time, safeguards it. Likes to be all vague when he explains something, taking enjoyment out of seeing others trying to figure something out to which he already knows the answer. Something like that."

"Wait!" Soarin suddenly spoke up. "Controls time?" 

"Yeah...?" Tucker replied, confused.

"Then... if he's your friend, why doesn't he fix everything?" Soarin asked, a frantic, and even a bit angry edge to his voice.

"He... doesn't really work that way," Tucker commented.

"And why not!?" Soarin demanded, voice rising. "If he can control time, then why not undo all those horrible things. All those... those..."

"I can't answer for him," Tucker replied. "He's more of a neutral party, in all honesty. Likes to stay on the sidelines, and only does something if some point in time is out of balance." Tucker looked at the pony through the rear view mirror. "Sorry, but it would seem the things that have happened were not disturbing the timeline."

"... Stop this carriage!" Soarin demanded.

"Soarin?" Jazz said, worried.

"I said, stop this carriage! Now!"

Stopping the car on the side of the road, Soarin didn't waste any time knocking open the door and leaping out. 

"Soarin, wait!" Jazz called in alarm, hurrying out of the car herself. "Where are you going?"

"Away. I've heard enough." He spread his wings, leaping up.

"Soarin, please!" Jazz called after him. "Don't do this. I understand you're angry after what happened. And hearing all of this isn't helping either. But I'm asking you to stay, Please!?"

"How can I even trust you?" Soarin answered with a flat voice. "I don't even know you." Jazz dropped to her knees as Soarin flew away, tears streaming down her face.

"... Wow, harsh," Tucker breathed out, staring at Soarin's receding form, before his attention shifted to the woman on the ground. "Jazz, are you alright?"

".. I- I'm... fine," Jazz hiccuped, slowly standing back up, hair hanging before her eyes.

"You don't look like you're fine," Valerie replied in a surprisingly soft voice.

"... You two go ahead, meet with Wulf. I..." she muttered, slowly walking away. "I need some time to think."

Several long minutes ticked by, Tucker and Valerie watching the troubled woman as she walked to nowhere; neither of them saying anything as they reentered the car, driving off.

"Shouldn't we go after her?" Valerie asked, concerned.

"Yes, we should," Tucker muttered, conflicted.

"Then why aren't we?"

"As much as I hate to say it, this is more important, and Jazz knows it. That's why she told us to go."

"How can y—" Valerie began to protest, but an uncharacteristic glare from Tucker shut her up.

"How can I?!" He snapped bitterly. "I've asked myself that question many times before. Back when Sam had just died, and Danny spent his every waking moment looking for her ghost in the Zone,"—Valerie gasped— "and failing, while I couldn't bring myself to do anything but watch my friend torture himself to the point where he couldn't deal with anything anymore. How can I?! Every fiber of my being wants nothing more than to help my friend. But we both know that Wulf wouldn't have showed up, unless it was very important. Just as it was important prior to the invasion years back. This time, however, we might actually be able to stop something from happening, instead of hearing about it in the news after the fact."

"Tucker... " Valerie muttered, frowning. "I didn't know."

"No, you didn't. And I'm as much to blame for that as Jazz. But don't you dare say I'd abandon my friends! I already lost two, and I'll be damned if I lose another. Now, let's just find Wulf and see what he has for us," and with that said, all conversation died down. The two of them reaching the city's checkpoint a little while later, leaving the city after they and the vehicle had gone through a thorough scan.

'I won't let another friend of mine get hurt. Never again!'

Soarin sat high above on a low hanging cloud which had strayed into the city through the shield, gazing blankly down at the city below. His mind going a million miles an hour, going through everything that he had seen and heard this day. From his abduction by Skulker, to the subsequent rescue by Jazz and Valerie, and everything else thereafter.

He had already struggled with it all from the moment he was freed, and the hidden side of Jazz was revealed. But after hearing what Tucker had said, how this horrible incident years back was all within the plan of some sort of grander scheme... something in him had snapped.

Everything he had gone through. Everything everypony had gone through. There was someone who could have prevented it, could still undo it, yet refused, and they wouldn't even try to change this?!

And, worst of all, he'd known Jazz for years only to find out that the one he thought he loved was someone else entirely. 'How much of our relationship was real? Was it ever real to begin with, or was it something else? Did she get close to me out of guilt, for not being able to stop the invasion before it could even begin?' He released a desolate sigh, head hanging low as he watched the few humans still out on the streets moving beneath him; unaware of him.

"It didn't feel like it was fake," he muttered. "But how can I be sure about this? Any of it?"

He sighed again, and shifted his gaze to some far away street, seeing someone slowly pass through the flickering light of a broken street lamp; the glint of red hair catching his attention.

"Jazz?" He breathed, flapping his wings to push the cloud closer, getting a clearer picture of the woman below. And it was a miserable sight.

Slowly moving forward, dragging her feet. Head held low, her hair hanging before her face like a red curtain. While her uninjured hand held the elbow of her other arm, which hung limply by her side.

Despite the anger he felt, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her, seeing her like this. She truly was hurting, and there was only one reason he could come up with why this was. Yet, he didn't leap into the air with joy at the proof the woman below truly did care for him. She still kept all those secrets. Possessing all this knowledge about ghosts, yet unwilling to share it with others. And why? Because they believed this to be the right thing to do? Because their government was unable to properly deal with this information? Or did it have something to do with this Vlad?

That last option seemed the most bizarre to him. Vlad, a name he had heard many times before during his visits. The mayor of Amity Park. Creator and financial backer of the ghost hunting group, Master's Blasters. Board member of the very company which made anti ghost technology.

Adding it up, it didn't make any sense. As far as Soarin knew, Vlad seemed like someone who wanted to get rid of the ghosts just as much as any others. Maybe more so. Yet, the way Tucker, Jazz, and Valerie talked about him... It was as if they knew something about him he didn't. Which, in light of recent events, was more than likely, and he frowned deeply at the thought. Just how much more were they hiding; was she hiding?

Having had time to think and calm down, he knew there was only one way to find out. So, with a sigh, he stood up, spreading his wings, and prepared to glide down and confront the woman he thought he knew for all those years. Only, just as he was about to leap off the cloud, a blur suddenly shot towards Jazz.

Jazz also noticed, and took a defensive stance as she looked around nervously, trying to find the entity that had approached her.

"Who's there?! Show yourself!" She shouted, eyes shifting from left to right. A menacing laugh answered her.

"Oh, Jasmine. There's no need to be afraid," came a disembodied voice, and Jazz's eyes widened in fear as she turned around, staring into the darkness of an adjacent alley. "Now, why don't you come over here and give good old uncle Vlad a hug?"

"What!?" Soarin breathed out as he saw a pale glowing entity materialize out of nowhere. "Vlad?" 

Vlad reached out to Jazz with blurring speed. Grabbing her around the waist with one arm, while covering her mouth to stifle her screams with his free hand.

"You're coming with me!" Vlad stated, his voice low and menacing. And so, unaware of Soarin's gaze, Vlad flew away with Jazz, leaving the blue stallion standing rooted on the spot, unable to move. Unable to blink.

Yet, his training as a Wonderbolt held firm and one single thought broke through the chaos his mind was going through: 'I need to save her' and he forced himself into motion, chasing after Jazz and her abductor.

The faint sounds of footsteps in the tall grass drew his attention, and Wulf's ear twitched in response. Turning around, his glowing green eyes were the first thing the two humans approaching him saw. His broad form followed directly thereafter, and Valerie tensed up as she grasped for her blaster on reflex; eyes narrowed into a predatory glare. One which was quickly returned by the large wolf.

"Tucker!?" Valerie said, on edge, not trusting the situation one bit.

"Don't hurt him, and he won't hurt you," came Tucker's simple reply as he approached the large wolf.

"Wulf, kion vi tie havas por ni?" Tucker asked.

"Wulf, what have you got for us?"

Wulf didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked at Valerie for a moment longer, sizing her up, before turning to Tucker.

"Mi pensis ke estus pli kun vi?" Wulf replied, not answering Tucker's question.

"I thought there would be more with you?"

"Yeah..." Tucker sighed. "Ni havis iom de situacio nin mem. Zorginda... multa."

"We had a bit of a situation ourselves. Nothing to worry about... much."

"What is going on!? What are you two saying?" Valerie spoke up, unable to make any sense of the weird language Tucker and Wulf spoke.

"He was just wondering where the others are, since I told him there would be more," Tucker answered, and Wulf turned his focus back to Valerie.

"And what are you looking at!?" Valerie snarled, hand moving for her blaster. In return, Wulf growled, and Tucker quickly got between the two.

"No! No fighting, shooting, clawing, or anything else that could be bad for our health!" he stated forcefully, standing between the two with hands raised to the sides.

"... Fine, but I don't like this!" Valerie muttered, backing off. "Just find out what he knows, before I find reasons to put a few holes in him."

"Hundino!" Wulf growled.

"Bitch!"

"You know," Tucker said matter of factly, "you're the second person who's said that today... Anyhow. Kial vi venis ĉi tien? Kio okazis?"

"Why did you come here? What has happened?"

Wulf glared at Valerie for a moment longer, before focusing on what brought him there. Reaching behind his back, and into the small pouch he carried with him, he retrieved a messily wrapped object. A wary look in Wulf's otherwise sharp eyes betrayed how he felt about the contents held in his paw, before he handed the item over to Tucker.

Accepting it without hesitation, Tucker looked at it for a moment, not sure what the significance of this was.

"Wulf, kio estas tio?"

"Wulf, what is this?"

"Sklavigo," Wulf said with an angry growl.

"Enslavement."

"What!?" Tucker cried, and undid the wrapping around the object revealing a jagged, glowing, dark red crystal... energy visibly swirling within. Wulf barked out as he jumped back, shielding his eyes from the rock.

"What's his problem?" Valerie asked, confused. "And what's with this glowing rock? Is that why we came all this way?"

Tucker, however, didn't answer. Instead he stared at the crystal resting in his hand, which shook nervously as he recognized the item, and quickly covered it back up.

"Wulf... is this..."

"Sklavigo!" Wulf repeated angrily.

"Tucker, do you know what this is?" Valerie asked.

"Unfortunately, I do," Tucker admitted, tightening his hold over the crystal. "This... This is the same kind of crystal Freakshow had on his cane. A glowing red gem, with energy swirling inside. A gem that can control the minds of ghosts."

"What!?"

"Wulf, kie vi trovis ĉi!?" Tucker asked urgently.

"Wulf, where did you find this!?"

Wulf balled one of his paws into a fist, fangs bared as he recalled the gem's origins. "Tiu objekto venis de malbenita tero, trovita profunda ene de la Fantoma Zono. Loko nur la kuraĝaj aŭ stultaj kuraĝos paŝado," Wulf explained.

"This object came from a cursed land, found deep within the Ghost Zone. A place only the brave or stupid dare to tread."

"Lando plenigis kun grandaj spajroj de tiu anatemigxu kristalo; tiu estante nur malgranda sliver
en kompare," he continued, and Tucker's eyes widened in shock and horror.

"A land filled with large spires of this accursed crystal; this being only a small sliver in comparison,"

"Atendu! A tutaj lando plenigis kun tiuj aĵojn!?" Tucker asked, worried.

"Hold on! An entire land filled with these things!?"

Wulf nodded, but then delivered the true extent of the trouble that had brought him there.

"Jes, sed tio ne estas la plej malbona de ĝi. Tiu lando, tiel kiel ĉiuj la sklavoj, kristaloj, kaj la unu respondeca kreskanta ilin... malaperis senspure," he told them, with Valerie only able to stare at him in confusion. More so when Tucker seemed to go weak in the legs; eyes wide, as he dropped the covered crystal in shock.

"Yes, but that's not the worst of it. This country, as well as all the slaves, crystals, and the one responsible for growing them... disappeared without a trace."

"Tucker, what is it? What did he say?" Valerie asked, worried.

"This can't be true!?" Tucker said, staring up at Wulf, who gave him a regretful nod to confirm that what he said was, indeed, the truth.

"Tucker?" Valerie demanded.

Swallowing the dry lump down his throat, Tucker carefully picked the crystal back up, staring at the covered item with dread. "He said that there is... was an entire land in the Ghost Zone filled with these crystals. He even mentioned there being someone capable of growing them. Which is worrying on its own, considering the power these damned things have. Should anyone get their hands on them, who knows what they might do. But it would seem that this land, along with the crystals and the one making them, have vanished without a trace."

"Wait! So you mean to tell me that there could be a massive gathering of ghost controlling rocks lying around somewhere?" Valerie asked, a suspicious edge to her voice.

"Possibly, and, no. I know what you're thinking, and no. Just no. We are not going to use these things to enslave ghosts, ever. I know what these things are capable of. Heck, Danny was once under the control of one; Freakshow made him rob a bank along with several other ghosts he controlled." Valerie gasped once more. "We can not use these, nor can we allow anyone else to get their hands on them. Especially Vlad!" Tucker stated. "We need to find out where this land went to, and soon. The more time is wasted, the more risk we have of someone else finding them, and using them to do who knows what."

Wulf barked in agreement, while Valerie seemed conflicted by what Tucker had said. Although it made sense, why should they pass up a chance to turn something like this into a weapon against the ghosts? She didn't have much time to ponder on this as, with a loud scream, Soarin and Jazz plummeted out of the sky near them. Crashing into the ground, they came to a stop in a wild tumble, while beams of ectoplasm rained down around them.

"Jazz?! Soarin!?" Tucker and Valerie called out, the latter armed with both her blasters as she scanned the sky for whatever, or whoever, was shooting at them. "What the hell is going on!?"

Soarin was flying through the night's sky, lost. He had tried to follow the ghost calling himself Vlad but after he turned invisible, he'd lost all sight of him. As one would expect when the one they're chasing turns invisible. Still, he wasn't entirely lost. The conversation in the car was still clear in his mind. And, although he had a hard time believing that the Vlad they were talking about was the ghost he was now trying to find, it wasn't completely impossible either... considering everything he was told today.

So, with this knowledge, he made his way to the mayor's mansion. But even then, as he circled around the building, he had his reservations about all of this.

'This just doesn't make any sense! If he's this ghost, then why doesn't he have any protection against intruders like me?' He thought, before quietly landing on top of the mansion's roof without any trouble. 'Am I really going through with this?' he asked himself upon spotting an open window, when the image of Jazz being taken appeared in his mind, and he flew inside. 'Okay... they said something about a portal underneath the mansion. Guess that would be the best place to start.'

Stealthily moving through the large, well furnished, but hauntingly empty building, Soarin made his way down several flights of stairs, never running into anyone, dead or alive.

'Where is everyone? The lights are on, shouldn't there be someone?' His question went unanswered as he moved from door to door, trying to find a way downstairs yet failing. 'Humph... I knew this couldn't be true! A portal underneath the mansion, yeah right.' He felt a stab of anger for being misled by Jazz like this, to the point that he went trespassing into the home of such an important figure.

'There isn't anything here,' he thought, looking around as he found himself inside a library. 'Nothing at a—' He was suddenly cut off when one of the bookcases slid open with a rumble, and Soarin shot to the ceiling, flattening himself in the hopes he wouldn't be seen. However, a gasp almost escaped him when he saw the very same ghost that abducted Jazz glide out of the secret passage, a scowl on his face.

"Refusing to talk, huh," Vlad muttered angrily to himself. "Oh, I have ways to deal with that. Don't you worry, Jazz." The bookcase slid shut behind him with a soft thud. "But first, I have other business to attend to," he said as with a flash of light, and a glowing black band of energy, he changed back into his mortal form.

Soarin could only watch with horrified fascination as the ghost transformed; almost dropping down in shock. Yet he managed to remain hidden from Vlad, who promptly left the library, muttering to himself all the while.

Waiting several long tense seconds, Soarin finally dropped down without a sound; eyes wide, and breathing loudly despite his efforts to keep it down. 

"Okay, Soarin. Did you just see what you thought you just saw?" He asked himself, before promptly slapping himself across the muzzle. "Okay, so this isn't a nightmare," he muttered with a hint of regret, then turned to look at the bookcase hiding the path down. "Well, I guess I know where to go next." He reared up to rummage through the books, looking for a hidden switch, when he pulled back a book which was attached to a lever, and the bookcase rumbled into motion. A path down revealed itself to him and he swallowed audibly as he took a hesitant step down, soon followed by several more as the bookcase started to close again.

"Okay, no problem," he squeaked. "Just a long, creepy stairway down to some hidden ghost room... No problem at all/" With some reluctance, he made his way down, only to end up in a long system of hallways, each leading Celestia knows where.

Looking around nervously, his eyes scanned the shadows, while his ears swiveled around to make sure no one was sneaking up on him. He cautiously made his way down the longest of the paths he could choose from, hoping it would lead him somewhere. Then he stopped in his tracks as the faint, muffled sounds of someone struggling reached his ears. Ears locked in the direction he heard the sounds, he quietly moved closer; the sound growing stronger and stronger.

Pressing his ear against the door blocking his path, he could hear the distinct sound of a mare, or in this case a woman, struggling. Checking to make sure no one was around, he slowly opened the door, looking through the crack into the room beyond. His breath froze in his throat as he saw a room filled with various kinds of computers and screens, with a surgical table seemingly pulled out of a horror story in the center of the room; Jazz strapped down onto it, a rag in her mouth to stifle her shouting.

"Jazz!" Soarin said in horror, pushing the door wide open and rushing inside while Jazz tried to turn her head enough to look at the stallion rushing to her aid.

Rearing up, Soarin was quick to remove the gag, allowing Jazz to speak.

"Soarin!? What..? How..?"

"Nevermind that," he told her, urgently. "How do I get these things off!?" He asked as he tried to pry open the metal bonds holding Jazz in place.

"Over there!" She answered, looking towards a control panel nearby. "Press the button on the upper left."

"You sure?" Soarin asked as he studied the panel.

"It's the one Vlad used to lock these things."

"Good enough for me," Soarin muttered, and slammed a hoof down on the button. The bonds holding Jazz snapped open in an instant, and she quickly jumped off of the table before they could lock again.

"Thank you!" She nearly shouted as she grabbed Soarin in a hug, kissing him deeply. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Eehh... Don't mention it," he replied with a goofy smile.

"But how did you even find me? Or get into this place, for that matter. There's security all over the place."

"Eeh... I actually saw you get taken by this ghost calling himself Vlad, and tried to follow him. But after he turned invisible, I lost him," he answered, looking down at the ground. "That's when I thought about what you and Tucker said, about Vlad Masters having a portal underneath his mansion, and with nowhere else to look, I just thought that, maybe you were telling the truth... Maybe... I don't know anymore," he said with a sigh, dragging a hoof down his face. "As for getting in, there was no security as far as I could tell. Just flew in through an open window, and just made my way down here without much trouble."

"What!?" Jazz exclaimed, blinking dumbly. "But there are cameras even here!" She pointed out, directing Soarin's gaze towards the multiple devices hanging in every corner.

"Huh, how did I miss that?!"

"And what about Vlad?" Jazz asked urgently.

"Well, I did run into him, but he didn't see me," he told her, taking a moment to think back to what he saw. "But I did see something. I saw him transform, right in front of me, before he walked away. The guy was muttering to himself about having other things to deal with. Not sure what though." The sound of a toilet flushing somewhere above made them look up. "... Well, that answers that..."

"Yes..." Jazz agreed with disgust. "We need to leave, as in right now. If he finds us; finds you, then we're both in real danger." Nodding, Soarin made a one eighty, staring at the open door as the faint sound of approaching footsteps reached them.

"Well, better get on then," he told her.

"What?"

"Get on my back! It's the fastest way for us to get out of here."

Nodding, Jazz mounted the stallion in a way new to her; wrapping both arms around his neck to hold on.

"Hold on!" He said, wings extended, eyes narrowing.

The footfalls became louder and louder, until they came to a sudden stop.

"What in the world!?" Vlad's distinct voice spoke up as he noticed the open door, and the sound of running soon replaced the silence as he closed the distance. 

Appearing within the open portal, looking inside, Vlad's eyes widened at the sight that awaited him. Only to be knocked down by the combined force of a pegasus in full gallop with a woman on his back.

"What the!?" Vlad yelled, glaring with glowing eyes at the fleeing intruder and his prisoner. Raising a glowing hand, he fired several beams of incandescent fury towards the escaping duo, scorching the walls and ceiling, but sadly not the fleeing pony.

Snarling towards the fleeing foes as he stood back up, a band of dark energy appeared around his midsection, transforming him into his ghost half. With fangs bared, he chased after the two, phasing through any impeding walls in an effort to catch up. Yet the pony proved to be faster than he initially thought him to be. Fortunately, there was only one exit. Well, only one exit for anyone who couldn't turn intangible, and he quickly flew up and through the thick concrete separating his evil lair from his mansion, rising out of the floor of the library.

"Don't think you can run from me, damn horse," Vlad spoke through clenched teeth, raising a glowing fist.

The bookcase rumbled into motion, and Vlad didn't waste any time stopping the escape. With a blast of energy from both hands, he destroyed the exit; sending flames, splinters, and burning pieces of books flying in every direction.

Eyes, glowing with fury, pierced through the smoke; dust and debris slowly settling as Vlad surveyed the destruction, sure he had at least slowed them down.

"NOW!" Jazz's voice cut through the smoke, and Vlad's eyes grew wide in shocked surprise as, in a blur, two hooves connected with his face, sending him flying back while Soarin ran as fast as he could with Jazz firmly on his back.

"Why you!" Vlad shouted as he levitated himself back up, firing blast after blast of burning energy after the two, while Soarin ran as fast as he could while retracing his steps back to the window he entered. "Get back here!"

Deciding that that would be a bad idea, Soarin gave a mighty flap of his wings. Shooting forwards, his legs a blur while losing traction on the floor, he flew up over the stairs. Flying in a near vertical line up to the top floor, Jazz holding on for dear life while screaming, Soarin searched for the exit with narrowed eyes.

Finding his target, he spun in mid air to kick open the closed door; blasting it out of its frame, and the imperiled pair shot out of the mansion with blinding speed; followed closely by Vlad, if the glowing beams and orbs of destructive ectoplasm were any indication.

Soarin bobbed and weaved through the air, finally having the 'home field' advantage. Although he was held back severely by Jazz, making it impossible for him to utilize the full extent of his acrobatic abilities for fear of throwing her off. Despite this handicap, he still managed to at least stay ahead of Vlad.

"HOW DO WE GET AWAY FROM THIS GUY!?" Soarin shouted over the howling wind, mane whipping around as he dared to look behind him.

"GO THERE!" Jazz shouted back, applying pressure with her arms to turn Soarin's head towards the general area Tucker and Valerie were supposed to be meeting Wulf. "FLY THROUGH THE SHIELD!"

Giving a growl in response, which was lost in the deafening howl of the wind, Soarin changed his flight path, heading towards the location Jazz pointed out. With his wings a blur of motion, he propelled them forward with speed only possible through years of training. Buildings flashed by in the blink of an eye as they moved, never stopping for a moment, never giving Vlad a chance to close.

Soarin's eyes narrowed while tears formed in the corners, making him wish he had his flight goggles as he tried to clear his vision without throwing them off course. A problem Vlad didn't seem to have, as any wind and air resistance phased effortlessly through him.

Raising his hand, Vlad fired another blast of ectoplasm. This time, aiming at the tall building near them. The bolt of energy hit and blew a hole in the side of the building, forcing Soarin to evade the chunks of stone. People in the street below screamed in fear and horror as they saw both the ghost chase, and the falling debris heading their way. While, in quite the display of adolescent idiocy, the Masters Blasters joined in on the chase. Firing their ship's weapons at the ghost who also happened to be their boss; while also putting Jazz and Soarin in even more danger as their attacks went wild and threatened to hit them just as much as Vlad, or the buildings, or the street below, or the people standing in the street below, or the trees in the nearby park, or that one car which was now ablaze, or that second car...

"ARE THEY TRYING TO HELP US, OR KILL US!?" Soarin shouted in distress, making haste to fly towards the shield where Jazz said to go.

"THEY WORK FOR VLAD!" Jazz shouted back.

"WHAT!?"

"LONG STORY! JUST HURRY AND GET OUT OF HERE!"

That sounded like excellent advice, and Soarin angled down a bit to pick up some more speed; gaining more distance on their pursuers. Thankfully, the Blasters seemed more interested in Vlad, much to Jazz's ironic amusement. Soarin, however, wasn't fully able to grasp the situation, while Vlad was forced to give up his direct pursuit in favor of dealing with the pesky, so-called, ghost hunters. Firing at the assault craft - paid for with his own money which he honestly stole - he managed to damage one of the wings, making the craft list to the side, while those inside screamed while pressing every button wildly. One of those buttons activated the main weapon, the Ecto-Rocket, based on the design used by the Guys In White when they wanted to destroy the Ghost Zone directly, after they bought the original Fenton Works.

With a whirr of machinery in motion, the rocket deployed from the craft's underside; roaring into motion full force before it was even fully deployed, tearing its launcher from its mountings, sending the craft pummeling down as several key components were damaged. The rocket, however, flew straight and true. Flying directly into the wall of a building, detonating, and covering everything with a thick layer of ecto energy sapping goop. Something which didn't affect any mortal, but Vlad was a different story. Several large glops hit him, and his power depleted rapidly. Wasting no time, he quickly made his way onto the roof of the nearest building, transforming back to his human form the moment his feet touched the roof.

Quickly shaking off the mess the hard way, instead of going intangible, Vlad gritted his teeth as he knew he couldn't let those two escape. And, through nothing more than sheer stubbornness, he managed to transform once more, though he could feel that his powers were severely weakened as a result of the Blasters' idiocy. Shaking their stupidity off for now, he continued his pursuit, sending weak volleys of ectoplasm towards the fleeing couple; noticing they themselves were also affected by the blast.

Soarin and Jazz, while unaffected by the sticky mess, had been sent flying by the shockwave, and had hurtled through the air, passed through the shield, and crashed into the ground right in front of Tucker, Valerie, and Wulf. Vlad, acting fast, transformed and passed through the shield unimpeded, and proceeded to pepper the ground around the group with beams of ectoplasm.

"Jazz?! Soarin!?" Tucker and Valerie called out, the latter armed with both her blasters as she scanned the sky for whatever, or whoever, was shooting at them. "What the hell is going on!?"

"NO TIME TO EXPLAIN!" Jazz screamed. "WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE, NOW!"

"WULF!" Tucker barked, and the large wolf nodded, his claws extending. Slicing into what seemed nothing but air, Valerie and Soarin were shocked to see the allied ghost rip a hole in reality, opening a doorway into the green void they had so recently escaped. Vlad, however, only saw his enemy escaping, and he hastily flew down, returning to his ghost form so he wouldn't be recognized by anyone while so close to the ground.

Bolts and beams of glowing energy continued to rain down around the group as Vlad tried to break them up, allowing him to capture them. Not wanting to be taken again, Jazz jumped through the hole without hesitation, followed a moment later by Tucker. Valerie stood defiantly with her weapons raised, torn between which course of action to take. Fight the ghost who once used her as a pawn, not to mention wrecked her apartment, and get some measure of vengeance. Or trust the ghost she didn't even know existed before today, and who 'supposedly' was on her side.

It wasn't really a hard choice for her, and she had already fully prepared herself to face Vlad, when someone else grabbed her attention. Soarin. He was rooted on the spot, going through a conflict of his own, eyes locked on Wulf, whose glowing green eyes sized up the pony, before snarling and growling up at Vlad, who was rapidly growing closer.

Knowing that if she didn't act, all the earlier hard work of saving Soarin's furry ass would have been for naught. So, with a cry of frustration, Valerie grabbed Soarin by his mane and forcefully dragged him along as she threw herself through the hole in the air. Wulf joining them mere moments after.

Closing in on the wavering portal, Vlad knew it would be a close call, and he fired several beams of energy into the green void beyond to scare away anyone who dared to stand in his way. Wulf, however, didn't seem all that impressed by Vlad's diminished powers, and calmly used his claws to grab both sides of the rip and pull it closed, sealing the hole before Vlad could enter, leaving him to crash into the unforgiving ground.

Coughing and grunting, Vlad spit out several large chunks of dirt and grass; screaming his rage to the heavens the moment he could do so.

"BLASTED FOOLS, DON'T THINK YOU WILL GET AWAY WITH THIS!"

He was promptly silenced when Vid, from the Masters Blasters, shot him in the chest with her hand blaster, forcing him to retreat, or suffer the embarrassment of being captured by the very pawns he controlled.

'Oh, I will get you all for this, mark my words!'

Out in the green void, standing on a chunk of land covered with moss, Tucker, Jazz, Valerie, and Wulf looked around to see where they were. Soarin, however, was unable to do so as he had landed on his head after Valerie tossed him clear of the portal, and now all he could see were small orange chickens flying before his eyes.

"Where are we?" Valerie asked, scanning the environment.

"No idea," Tucker breathed. "I've never seen this part of the Ghost Zone. I haven't seen any land in the Zone with much in the way of plant growth... Save for what Danny told me about Skulker's hunting grounds."

"Efektive, ni ne estas tro malproksime de via portalo," Wulf said, sniffing the air as he sought his way.

"Actually, we're not too far from your portal."

"What!?" Tucker said, surprised. "We aren't?" Wulf nodded. "Then what is going on with all this moss stuff? I don't remember that being here last time."

Looking down and scraping some of the growth away with his feet, Wulf tried to come up with an answer, but failed to do so.

"Por tempo nun, mi rimarkis strangan fanfaroni de planto vivo sur tiuj teroj," he told them. "Mi ne scias kiel aŭ kial, nur ke ĝi estas ... Multaj aferoj estas okazante en la Fantoma Zono kiel jxus ... Multaj strangaj aĵoj."

"For a while now, I have noticed a strange flourish of plant life on these lands. I don't know how or why, just that it is... A lot of things are happening in the Ghost Zone as of late... Many strange things."

"What? What did he say?" Jazz asked Tucker, also giving voice to Valerie's thoughts. And even Soarin's, who was doing his best to catch up, while trying not to freak out.

"He said that, for reasons unknown to him, plant life has begun to emerge on the land found in the Zone. That, and that a lot of other strange things have happened, or are happening as we speak," Tucker answered, crouching down to grab some of the moss, putting it in his pant's pocket so he could study it later.

"Strange things?" Jazz asked. "Like Soarin's abduction in broad daylight?"

"Don't know," Tucker answered. "But I do find it strange that we have seen a sudden increase in ghost attacks lately, and now all of this... Something is happening, and I don't like it." Wulf gave a growl in agreement.

"And what about how I ended up back home?" Valerie added, then pointed a thumb over her shoulder towards Wulf. " 'Cause, having seen hairy over here deal with technology, I don't think he's the one who dropped me off back home." The questioning look Wulf gave her proved he had indeed no idea what she was talking about.

"Honestly," Tucker sighed, worried, "ever since we picked back up on Danny's trail" - Wulf's ears perked up, while he looked at Tucker with wide eyes - "weird things have been happening."

"You think there's a connection?" Jazz asked, concerned.

"God, I hope not," Tucker groaned. "The last thing I need is to get involved in some grand scheme where each of us plays some unknown part in a larger plan."

"Wait, does that happen a lot?" Soarin asked.

"Clockwork," Tucker sighed, speaking more to himself. "Freakshow... Yeah, there have been a few times where you might say that happened. Seriously, the way things are going, it wouldn't surprise me if some new, unexpected development were to slap me upside the head when I'm not looking."

Murphy smiled down deviously at him, and before Tucker knew what hit him, Skulker drifted over to their location, knocking the techno wizard to the ground.

"I had to open my mouth," Tucker groaned, blowing away some of the loose sand his face was pressed into.

Pushing himself upright, and slowly rubbing his forehead as he sat down, he took a moment to see who, or what had crashed into him. To his surprise, and everyone else's, Skulker slowly drifted around, spinning lazily after hitting Tucker; unconscious.

"HE'S BACK!" Soarin shrieked, diving behind a large rock.

"Oh, relax, will ya!" Valerie rolled her eyes. "He's outnumbered. Besides, it doesn't look like he's going to do all that much right now," she fell silent for a moment as she looked at the hunter ghost, frowning. "Did whatever brought me home also knock him out?"

"No idea," Tucker replied, slowly moving towards Skulker.

"Tucker, what are you doing?" Jazz asked, alarmed, while Valerie aimed her weapons at the metal clad ghost and Wulf unsheathed his claws.

"His armor," Tucker replied, "it's upgraded... mostly," he muttered, noticing his old PDA still connected to the circuitry. Stepping within range of the unconscious ghost, Tucker grabbed hold of him to stop his movement; pulling him down to the ground with a solid thud.

"So, what of it?" Jazz asked, but Valerie stepped closer to the downed ghost, smirking.

"I see what you're getting at. Clever."

"Valerie? Tucker? What are you talking about?" Jazz asked, confused.

Tucker looked over his shoulder, a glint showing in his eyes as he gave Jazz a winning grin. "This is new, unknown tech. Made by ghosts! Most likely using some of the tech they stole from us. Who knows what we can learn from this?" Tucker grinned down at his warped reflection in Skulker's gleaming arm. Lifting it up, and taking a moment to revel in the irony that, despite the advancements made to the armor, Skulker still used his old, outdated PDA. "Hey, Wulf!" Tucker called back. "Mind lending me your claws for a bit?"

The grin on his face was matched by Wulf's, and with a quick slash, Wulf's razor sharp claw descended on Skulker.

"Blast! How did he get in without notice!?" Vlad shouted, an ice pack pressed against his head while he stood before the many security systems down in his secret lair. "Maddie!" He bellowed, and the hologram materialized before him.

"Yes, lambchops? How can I help you?"

"Why didn't you raise the alarm when that damned horse broke into my mansion?"

Holo Maddie was silent for two whole seconds; an eternity for an AI such as her, as she was able to process data at a lightning fast pace. Sifting through the security systems' parameters, she found the answer.

"This horse did not fall under the parameters set by you, sweetheart."

"WHAT!?"

Maddie, raising a hand, activated one of the screens on the wall, showing a recording of Vlad.

"- And set the security to respond to any human, dead or alive, entering my mansion!"

"As you can see, dear. By your own command, the system only responds to humans, alive or dead. Therefore, when this horse entered, it was promptly ignored, as you ordered."

Vlad was silent for several moments, with Maddie smiling sweetly at him. Rage began building within him, and his hands balled into fists, shaking noticeably as energy surrounded them. Then, screaming in anger and frustration, he hurled a beam of energy into the screen, blowing it up.

"MADDIE! Readjust the security for all creatures, human, horse, whales, whatever!" He roared out, sparks of red shooting from his fists.

"Adjustments made!" Maddie proclaimed after a moment.

"Good, n—" Vlad growled through his teeth, when Maddie interrupted him.

"Intruders detected!"

"What, where!?"

"All around the mansion, Vladdy. Scans show... Termites." The cacophony of creaking wood and objects falling over blocked out any other sound, before leaving an eerily silence.

A scream of rage cut through the silence, and the screen on the wall exploded a second time.

With a loud screech cutting through the howling wind, and echoing over the desolate plain of snow and ice, the train came to a slow stop. A stallion was waiting close to the end of the tracks, legs half buried in snow with only a scarf and snow goggles to offer protection as he watched those on board opening the door of their car. It was obvious to him that they were ill prepared for the sudden drop in temperature, and thus were hesitant to step out into the cold; shielding their eyes with a leg or wing while their manes were wiped around in the wind.

There were a few exceptions, though. The first being Rarity, who was wearing a stylish pink scarf. Followed thereafter by Spike, who was wobbling on his two feet as he carried multiple suitcases. Yet all of this was expected... mostly. What wasn't, and took the stallion by surprise, was the appearance of a human behind the group he was expecting.

Shaking this off, for now, he turned his attention to the purple mare who was approaching him with a large smile. Lifting up his goggles, he returned the smile.

"Twily, you made it!"

"Shining Armor," Twilight replied, closing the distance and giving her brother a hug.

Separating himself from his sister's embrace, he turned around as he scanned the area, worried. "We need to get moving. There are things out here we really don't want to run into after dark!"

The mares all looked at each other with concern at his words, with Fluttershy gulping audibly.

"What kind of things?" She asked, voice barely audible over the wind.

"Let's just say, the Empire isn't the only thing that has returned," Shining Armor answered, ominously. "Now, come on. It's not safe here!" he shouted before leading the group of mares, Spike, and Danny towards the only safe place in the frozen wasteland. Scanning their surroundings, while also keeping the tall human in his sight, not knowing why he was here. And, even stranger, why he wasn't reacting to the cold, despite his lack of fur and obviously thin clothes.

Deciding that such worries were of no use at the moment, he pushed them aside while continuing to guide the group. Yet his momentary lapse in attention caused him to miss the shadows gathering above and behind them. Danny however, did not, and with a puff of cold air, masked by the freezing cold which made all their breath come out in frozen wisps, he knew something was seriously wrong.

With a loud screech, the shadow lurched forwards, and everyone turned to see the mass of darkness moving towards them with wide, fearful eyes.

"WE NEED TO GET TO THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE, NOW!" Shining Armor bellowed. Putting action to words he grabbed hold of Spike in his magic, dropping all of Rarity's suitcases, and ran as fast as he could away from the darkness chasing after them.

Danny, however, was hesitating. He knew what this was, what they were dealing with. But he wasn't expecting this. He knew shadow type ghosts, possessed one even. But one of this scale made him pause as he stared up at the billowing mass, noticing large glowing eyes within. Eyes unlike any he had ever seen before with a ghost.

"Danny! RUN!" Twilight screamed after him, giving a yank on his torso with her magic, forcing him into motion.

"We're almost there!" Shining Armor shouted as a glowing dome came into sight, and he came to a screeching stop, before turning around and facing the abomination head on; buying the others some time.

Charging his horn, he fired a beam of magic straight at the area where the shadow's eyes were located. However, instead of dealing any damage, the shadow simply shifted out of the way, and the magic attack missed its mark.

Looking down at the stallion with hatred in his eyes, Sombra descended upon Shining Armor as he charged another attack.

A loud scream cut through the winds, and Danny, halfway between Shining and the shield, came to a stop while the rest of their group passed unimpeded through the shield. Looking back, he saw Shining Armor surrounded by the darkness, his magic no longer working.

Still hesitant about what to do, but also not wanting to stand on the side lines while someone was in danger, a glint of determination ignited in Danny's eyes. Something which had not happened for a long time, and he charged head first into the shadow attacking Shining.

"LET HIM GO!" Danny shouted, firing a bolt of glowing green in the direction of the shadow's eyes.

Taken by surprise, Sombra reared back, releasing his hold over the stallion. Yet his work was already done, and he retreated to a safe distance to observe everything that was about to unfold; keeping a close eye on the strange creature that had attacked him with energy like his own.

"Are you alright?" Danny asked Shining Armor, who was lying on the ground, clutching his horn, eyes closed.

"Ye- Yeah... I think so."

"Good. Now get moving. I don't think this thing will stay away for long!"

Deciding that this was excellent advice, Shining Armor got back on his hooves and ran for the city ahead. "How did you even manage to scare that thing off?" He asked through labored breath.

"... Luck... I guess," Danny lied, looking over his shoulder and seeing Sombra's eyes stare back at him, his own eyes narrowing in return. 'He is planning something. I'm sure of it.'

Running through the shield, Danny and Shining reached safety. Yet not everything went as smoothly as that. Both of them collapsed the moment they were in the clear, and Twilight and her friends rushed to their aid.

"Shining! What happened to your horn!?" Twilight called out in distress, as she looked at the many black crystals growing out of Shining's horn. But whatever he said was lost on Danny, as he lay on the ground, lightning shooting through his body.

"Danny, are you alright!?" Fluttershy asked in alarm, her voice unusually loud as her instincts to help the injured took over. 

Danny didn't answer, however, as his vision darkened rapidly, and unconsciousness claimed him mere seconds later.

Small paws hit the dry soil of the Ghost Zone; a muzzle pressed against the ground as its owner sniffed every last inch. Some curious patches of moss, and even some grass took his interest, and he stopped on multiple occasions to mark his new find. Yet this was not what drove him, and he quickly resumed his search for that which he had lost.

Rock after rock. Land mass after land mass. Nothing went unchecked, and eventually he picked up on something he hadn't smelled before. Something new. Something alive. Something... unknown. Following this trail, he soon found himself standing before an opening; a path dropping down to a frozen landscape he hadn't seen before.

Using his hind leg to scratch behind his ear and shaking his head, ears flopping around, he jumped down. Landing on all fours without injury, he pressed his muzzle against the snow, picking up a much stronger scent. As if whatever had produced this trail had spent a long time just lying there.

Curious, he followed his nose towards the exit of the cave he found himself in. Looking around, his eyes widened. Snow everywhere. Large hills of fresh, powdery snow. His mouth opened, tongue hanging out as he panted in excitement. Taking a running start, he leaped into the nearest hill of powdery goodness. Rolling and kicking in the snow, digging multiple holes, and even leaving several glowing yellow marks before he continued with his search.

For several minutes he just followed the trail, until he came upon a village with massive figures walking around. Diving behind a small snow hill, he observed the creatures while growling lightly.

The wind picked up and blew against him from the side, carrying the scent he was following and drawing his attention to a shimmer in the air some distance away. Choosing to ignore the village, he ran for the intriguing glow, tongue flapping wildly as it lolled out of his mouth.

However, something else grabbed his attention, and he came to a sudden stop as a blue rabbit hopped into his path. Tilting his head to the side in puzzlement, he slowly approached the rabbit, sniffing the air as he did so.

The rabbit, also intrigued, slowly hopped over. Yet its plans were more sinister than just sniffing out this curiosity. Both creatures met, and he used a paw to press against the blue rabbit's fur, sniffing all the while. The rabbit, however, took this chance and grabbed the outstretched limb. A glow surrounded the rabbit, and it quadrupled in size; a bestial roar escaping it as razor sharp teeth gleamed in the pale light.

His eyes widened, before narrowing into an angry glare. His entire body glowed and his size quickly grew to match, and then surpass, the rabbit; who was now holding onto a massive, angry, and seemingly hungry dog who roared back with rancid breath. A look of fear and impending doom appeared on the rabbit's face as it froze in place, its ears dropping down, and several frozen droppings falling behind it.

Releasing its hold, shrinking in size and fleeing for its afterlife, it quickly burrowed down underneath the thick layers of snow, hoping that the massive dog wouldn't follow. However, that wasn't on his mind. The moment the rabbit was gone he shrunk down to his puppy like form and headed for the shimmer in the air.

Once he was close enough, he finally recognized the tear for what it was, and noticed the two giants standing on either side. His nose in the air, he inhaled deeply, picking up on many strange scents. Yet there was something else as well. Something faint. Something out of place. Something he remembered. His tail wagged as he knew what it was, and he didn't waste any more time sitting around. But he couldn't just approach those giants. So he did what dogs do best. Digging. With an enthusiasm only a puppy could show, he dug his way underneath the snow; creating a tunnel all the way to the tear. Sniffing up, and taking notice of the giants above, as well as something else on the other side of the opening, he turned himself invisible, then used his intangibility to jump out of the snow without notice. Looking around for a moment, panting, he saw a large stone room on the other side, with a variety of smells that only made him more excited. Not to mention those wooden wolves sitting on the other side of the hole. Did they dig it?

Jumping through, he quickly ran for the nearest wall and phased through before any of those giants or wolves could take notice of him. But the wolves' sense of smell was just as good as his, and with a growl they jumped into motion, barking to themselves as they tried to figure out what had happened.

But this didn't mean much to him, as he now stood outside in a large sunlit forest. A forest filled with trees. Trees he could sniff at. Trees he could mark.

His tail wagged as he ran over a frozen bridge, and he claimed his first tree.