//------------------------------// // The Song Remains The Same (Battle of the Bands I) // Story: The Phantom of Canterlot High // by Lucky Seven //------------------------------// “Give it up, Ember, there’s no escape!” The scene was a familiar one. Danny Phantom and Ember McLain were facing each other, eyes glowing with determination. It had been a fierce battle up to this point, and there were no signs of either one of them letting up. “As if, dipstick! I’m just gettin’ warmed up!” Bolting into the air, Ember changed her guitar to the lightning setting and strummed a few notes, sending a bolt of lightning right at her enemy. With no time to dodge, he simply turned intangible, an act that only fueled the rock diva’s anger further. Leaving his intangible form, Danny crossed his arms and looked his enemy dead in the eyes. He smirked, eliciting a growl from her. “Looks like your newest single was a bust.” “Then I’ll just have to release a killer comeback,” she grinned, shifting her pick between her fingers and flicking the tone knob. Dragging her hand back, she gave the chords one long strum. A bright orange light traveled up the neck of her guitar, peaking into a fireball at the very top. With a tilt of the guitar and a quick power-chord, that fireball was sent towards her foe. Danny’s vision went white, his fight or flight instincts kicking into gear. He shifted left at the last moment, twisting around the inferno as it whizzed by. Behind him, the explosion generated shockwaves that shattered the windows of nearby buildings and nearly knocked him to the ground. Aside from a few singe marks on his outfit, he was alright. Shaken and still trying to regain his balance, but alright. Taking advantage of his confusion, Ember’s guitar screeched as she ran her fingers down the neck, a volley of fireballs launching one after another at her rival. To her dismay, the little punk somehow managed to dodge each and every one of them, though it was becoming apparent that he was growing tired. Finally, one of them hit its mark, grazing his arm and sending him spiralling to the ground below. Danny’s body rebounded off the piping hot asphalt, and he skidded to a halt on the sidewalk. Summoning what little strength he had to lift his upper body, he was quickly met by yet another attack. A scorching heat on his chest marked a direct hit, sending his body tumbling backwards and into a building. This time, getting back up wasn’t really an option as more fireballs slammed into the ground all around him. Cackling, Ember strummed a few more notes which formed a large fireball on the head of her guitar. “Get ready, because you’re about to become part of my hottest track yet!” Danny’s eyes widened. ‘Crap, if that attack hits me, I’ll fade away like a one-hit wonder.’ A boom resounded as Ember finally shot off her monster of an attack. Danny had little time to think as the raging inferno shot towards him like a speeding bullet. He settled on a method of defense that, unfortunately, wasn’t something he’d wanted to resort to. He took a massive breath, his body glowing a faint green. The attack was mere inches away when he let out a bellow. Rings of green light, representative of the supersonic sound he was producing, immediately dissipated the attack before slamming into the source. “N-no, that’s impossible!” Ember cried out, waves of pain crashing over her, causing her to writhe about. This time it was her that was sent tumbling to the ground, unable to move. Her fate was sealed as he unlatched the Fenton Thermos and pointed it at her. “Next time, the critics won’t be the only ones I’ll blow away!” That was the last thing Ember could manage to say before being sucked into the thermos. Danny wiped the sweat off his head, placing the cap back on the thermos. The faint glow around his body faded away, his transformation back into a human complete. ‘It’s weird, Ember seems to get stronger every time I face her,’ Danny thought. It was true, this fight was one of the most difficult for him since becoming half-ghost. He resolved to find out what made the rock star ghost tick another time. For now, he just needed to release her back into the Ghost Zone. It was just a short fly back home, and Danny’s parents were there to greet him when he arrived. “Off fighting ghosts again, son?” “Yeah, dad.” It was still strange to him that his parents, heck, everyone on Earth knew his secret now. It had been almost two months since he had saved the planet from total destruction, but not much had changed since then. Ghosts came through the portal, he kicked their butts right back into it. Truth be told, he was grateful his parents didn’t treat him differently. To them, he was still just their son, not the savior of the world. “One of these days, you should let us study one of the ghosts you capture!” his mom chimed in, and he nodded. “Sure! Just… not this one. She’s a bit of a hot head,” he chuckled. “Anyways, I need to go release her back into the Ghost Zone.” He ran down the stairs leading to the basement. He approached the portal, ready to send her back, but a slight pulse emanating from within distracted him. ‘That’s weird…  I’ve never seen the portal do that.’ The portal pulsed once more, this time much brighter. The glowing began to grow in strength and speed, flares of green energy shooting out and causing the many electronics around to go haywire. Danny recoiled, a flare whipping past and cracking the wall behind him. Danny’s feet dragged forward, his mind struggling to keep up with what was happening. If he didn’t return Ember back to the Ghost Zone, she could break out of the thermos and cause even more trouble than before. But with the portal acting the way it was, was going towards it really the best— The portal shook violently, sparks flying about. He kicked an arm back in an attempt to brace himself as the tremor knocked him from his feet. Unfortunately, another shockwave ripped his arm out from under him, leaving him flat on his back. There was nary a thing he could do but watch as the green glow of the portal dissipated into a little white circle. With a thunderous boom, the circle blew outwards and engulfed him in a blinding light. “Hey, are you uh… okay?” “Wha-huh?” Danny’s eyes shot open, but his brain was lagging behind. A palette of greens filled his vision, smeared across the landscape in a blur. His back ached, grooves being pressed into it by… something. He craned his head up, clarity slowly returning to his eyes. Apparently, he was sprawled out across a bench, with a figure looming over him. “I said, ‘are you okay’?” the silhouette repeated. When he finally took in its appearance, he was flabbergasted, to say the least. It was some sort of blue-skinned girl with… rainbow hair? Off the bench he tumbled in shock, though he was swift to get back on his feet. Practically ripping the thermos from his belt, he pointed it right at her. “S-stay back, I’ll use this!” “Um… like, what’s your problem, man?” “What’s my problem!? Aren’t you a ghost?” If her eyebrow was raised before, now it was simply flying off her head. “A ‘ghost’? What are you, eight?” The ‘ghost’ asked incredulously. “Sixteen…” came his embarrassed reply. He sat back down on the bench dejectedly. “There’s no such thing as ghosts, weirdo. You’re sixteen and your parents still haven’t told you that?” “Heh, right. Of course. Guess I was dreaming or something,” he covered. “So do you mind telling me where on Earth I am?” He latched the thermos back onto his belt. “I can’t tell you where on ‘Earth’ you are, but I can tell you where in Equestria you are, and that’s my spot. The bus is going to be here soon, so scooch over.” “Bus?” He inquired. Then it hit him. ‘Wait, did she say Equestria?’ “Um, duh, for school? Isn’t that why you’re here?” ‘Okay, so I’m in some place called Equestria, and I’m sitting at a school bus stop? Alright, just gotta blend in and see what’s up. I’m clearly not in Amity Park anymore.’ “Yeah, sorry, I’m just pretty tired…” he responded, moving over to give the girl room to sit down. “So what’s your name?” “You can just call me Dash. What about you?” Well, at least she seemed nicer than the Dash he knew back home. “Danny,” he smiled. “Heh, that’s a weird name,” she chuckled. Grinning, he replied, “You’re one to talk, ‘Dash’.” “Hey, they don’t call me Dash for nothin’, I’m the fastest runner in Equestria!” “I dunno, I bet I could beat you in a footrace,” Danny replied, having no clue what he had just done. “What!? That’s it! You, me, race, right now!” Dash shoved herself so close their noses were touching, causing him to put his arms up as a shield. “Um… I was just joking,” he replied, scooching away from her. “Nuh-uh, buster! Nobody jokes about my speed and gets away with it, we’re racing!” “Uh…” Danny tried his best to find an excuse. Thankfully, the squealing of brakes pulled her attention away from him. “Oh look, the bus is here!” Indeed it was, rounding the corner towards their location. Dash looked rather miffed, while Danny was simply relieved. “You got lucky, punk.” The bus screeched to a halt in front of them, and they boarded. Danny made sure to follow behind Dash so that he could at least try and sit next to her. He still had some questions for her, and he was hoping she could answer them. The two arrived at the back of the bus and took a seat next to each other. Much to his dismay, it didn’t take long for Earth to catch up with him. “Hey, look guys, Dash has a new boy toy!” While Danny blushed from embarrassment, Dash simply told off the source of the taunt. “Shut up, Amethyst, he’s not my boyfriend! You’re just jealous that I can actually make friends!” ‘Well, that could have gone worse,’ he mused to himself. “Sorry about Amethyst. She thinks she’s all that because she’s part of the cheer squad,” Dash explained, her eyes nearly rolling right off her head. She raised her voice a bit, looking at the prissy girl in question. “But she’s not, she’s totally lame and stupid!” “No, you!” Amethyst shouted back, giving a loud harumph. A simple “whatever” was Dash’s only response before she began reading what Danny assumed were notes, and they rode out the rest of their trip in silence. When they eventually arrived at school, everyone fought to leave the bus. Once he had escaped its confines, he took a moment to inspect the school. It was decently sized, a bit bigger than Casper High to be sure. ‘So this is where I’ll be spending the next few… huh. How long will it be before I get back home?’ He wondered. It wouldn’t be long until he was found, hopefully, but he knew from experience that it was better to maintain a glass half empty type of mentality. Before he knew it, he had already reached the front doors to the school with Dash right by his side. “So where do I go to sign up for classes?” “Just go to the main office and ask for Vice Principal Luna. She’ll help you out!” she yelled back at him before she ran off to her locker. “Um… okay,” he replied, even though she was out of earshot. Pushing through the front doors, he noticed that aside from the coloration, the inside of this school was pretty similar to that of his own. Thankfully, the front office was directly to his right, adjacent to the school’s entrance. He swung open the big double doors, and walked in. There wasn’t much to the office. A couple seats to his right, and the front desk directly ahead. A few doors to his left led to the school’s staff offices, so he’d likely be headed there next. Walking up to the desk, he gave the woman seated on the other side a smile. In exchange, she gave him a strange look, as if he had something on his face. “New student?” She asked bluntly. “I was told I need to speak to Vice Principal… Luna? I think that’s what Dash said, to schedule my classes?” “I’ll decide when you get to schedule your classes,” she replied curtly. The silence that followed afterwards made Danny uncomfortable, and he inwardly thanked the stars once she continued on. “So you’re transferring from another school, then?” “Yeah, I’m from… out of town,” he settled on that excuse. Her raised eyebrow told Danny that she wasn’t buying it, so he settled on elaborating further. “Out of country, actually.” “Strange. For someone from another country, you certainly aren’t showing any signs of a foreign accent,” she noted. “What country might that be?” “Um…” “And how do you know Miss Dash?” She grilled him further. “I met her at the bus stop,” he answered, this time truthfully. “Look, can I just get my classes scheduled?” Finally, she seemed to relent and pushed a button her phone. “Vice Principal Luna, a student is here to see you.” “Send him in, Miss Harshwinny.” “Alright,” she replied, taking her finger off the phone. “Head into the hall to our left, and take the third door on the right back there,” she pointed. Danny nodded, heading off to his destination and arriving at the noted door. When he opened it, his eyes dropped to the dark blue-skinned woman sitting behind a desk. “Hello, young one! Take a seat…” she paused and tilted her head. “Danny,” he finished with a smile. Hopefully one that she deserved this time around. “Take a seat then, Danny. I’ve never seen you around here before, so I assume you’re here to create a schedule?” Luna guessed, Danny nodding in affirmation. “Alright, well since you’re new here, I’ll start you off with some basic classes. You’ll be taking algebra first period, biology second, literature third, and history for the last period of the day. Does that sound acceptable?” “I guess so,” he shrugged. He found no issue with taking such easy classes, now it was just a matter of hoping he had nice teachers. “Excellent! I’m going to go ahead and print out a schedule for you. If you have any issues finding one of the rooms, simply check the map at the front of the school.” “Thank you, Miss Luna,” he smiled. A few moments later, she returned with his newly printed schedule. Once it had been handed to him, he gave it a good once-over. “Hey, a forty-five minute lunch period? That’s pretty long.” “We believe that one of the keys to developing a young person’s mind is giving that mind time to rest and recharge,” Luna replied chippily. “Well I’ll be sure not to waste that time. Thanks again!” Luna nodded. “You’re very welcome. I hope you enjoy your time at Canterlot High School, Danny.” “I hope so, too,” he smiled back, before hopping out his seat. “Now if you don’t mind, I’m off to my first class.” “Of course. Be sure to come by if you need any help adjusting,” Luna offered. “My office hours are two to five every day after classes are dismissed.” Danny nodded, finally leaving the office. What the rest of the day would hold for him, he had no clue, but one thing was certain. Without any ghosts, this was gonna be a breeze.