Guilt of a Phantom

by Powerdrainer

Moving Forwards

Edited by Halusm, and Clawder.

Moving Forwards

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

Earlier on the day

Rolling Stone ran as fast as he could back to the guest house where he and his team had several ghost hunting devices stored, including weapons.

It was his hope that, if possible, he would be able to stall, or hopefully even stop the ghost after him. But as the situation had demonstrated, the latter was extremely unlikely.

Already proven to be near immune to physical attacks, and merely falling apart, the skeletal ghost also seemed to have at least a partial hold over his mind to create this illusion he knew he was in.

Of course he had considered the very real possibility that any weapon he might find to be completely useless, but if the choice was to play docile or fight back, he would fight; fight and hold this ghost back long enough for his team to finish the job.

A ghost who, quite suddenly, appeared before him.

"Please stop thi-" was all he heard before hard earned reflexes kicked in and he jumped off to the side, rolled over the ground, then in a single fluid motion jumped back to his hooves and ran past the entity, not giving it another second to play its mind games.

His legs pounded on the ground with enough force one might mistake it for a stampede, his eyes locked on his objective; the guest house on the far side of the road. Though as fast as he willed his legs to go, he became aware of a disturbing detail the longer he ran.

The building didn't get closer.

"I'm terribly sorry for this," he heard the ghost say, and he glanced back at the entity, seeing it slowly approach him; its bone white, slightly curved horn glowing a pale white.

A glow which, he now realized, also surrounded him.

Slowly his uselessly kicking legs came to a stop as he became aware of his predicament, hanging suspended maybe an inch above the ground.

He'd never escaped at all.

This thing was just playing with him.

"I'm terribly sorry about all this," the ghost said as it stepped into view, and Rolling Stone gritted his teeth as he glared at the spectral monstrosity. "But I really need to talk with you, and time is not a luxury either of us have."

Rolling Stone bit his tongue, not allowing the thing any satisfaction in his capture.

"There are still many ponies who I must assist to cross over, and you need to return to your body before you are separated from it for too long," the red dots glowing in the thing's sockets faded away for a moment as it blinked, slowly shaking his head. "That would certainly cause a lot of problems should this be allowed to happen. It is still far too soon for you."

Rolling Stone suppressed a grunt as he fought against his bindings.

The ghost looked at him, then the guest house he was trying to reach.

"Your team isn't there any more," he said. "They were discharged and ordered to return to Canterlot, leaving the investigation to Maudileena Daisy Pie. The weapons you brought are taken, too. Not that they would have done anything for you. They only work on ghosts. Besides, separated from your body as you are, you wouldn't have been able to interact with them anyhow."

Rolling Stone glared at the ghost when, in the distance behind it, he saw movement.

Eyes widening in shock, he saw both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, joined by a pair of guards, move through town.

"GUARDS!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. "PROTECT THE PRINCESSES!"

The ghost looked back at the four ponies as they moved towards the home of Lyra and Bon Bon, and the spectral monster slowly shook his head.

"They can't hear you," he informed the struggling pony.

"Just another part of this illusion," Rolling Stone growled before he could stop himself; his mouth forcefully snapping shut the moment he realized what he had done.

"Illusion?" The skeletal entity mirrored. "Is that what you believe this is?" It blinked, looking back at Rolling Stone. "Well, you are in a dire mental state to begin with; surviving such an ordeal, some confusion is understandable," it said, nodding its head in understanding.

"My apologies, I should have known. Allow me to try this again," -it cleared a non-existent throat- "as I said before, I am the Pale Pony, the Grimm Galloper, Early Retirement, and a few other of such names, but you may call me Mort," the reintroduced Mort dipped his head slightly. "And you are not trapped in an illusion, as you believe yourself to be. Quite the opposite, really. I can assure you that everything you see and hear is as real as it can get. Though… with some differences than what you are used to."

Rolling Stone glared at Mort, but remained quiet as it spoke.

"Right now you are having a near death experience. It is why you are able to see and hear me. It is also why I am able to interact with you like this. Though normally the rules do forbid me from doing such, sometimes an exception is made," Mort explained.

Rapid pounding reverberated through the ground, shaking some loose pebbles with increasing force, as Applejack ran towards them; heading towards Sweet Apple Acres to escort her sister to school and, unbeknownst to the mare, running through Rolling Stone as he was held suspended in her path.

"Events have been set in motion. Events that have been planned and carried out for longer than you can even begin to imagine. And you, Rolling Stone, have been a part of this as well. Now it is time for you to learn a truth that will put your loyalty to the test."

Mort hung his head, sighing sadly.

"And for what it is worth. I'm sorry."

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

Some hours had passed since the princesses left the library, and Twilight, Danny and Spike were getting ready to head into town. Or, more specifically, Danny and Spike were sitting on the couch waiting on and watching Twilight as she slowly paced in a circle while triple checking her shopping list.

"Is this normal?" Danny asked Spike. "We're only going to buy a new bed, and some ice cream after. Why the list?"

"Define normal," Spike said, flipping a page of the comic he was reading. "Compared to others?" He paused a moment, considering the other ponies he knew, "it's questionable. For Twilight? Yes it is."

"... I see."

Spike glanced over the comic at Danny. "To quote a certain unicorn: All the ponies in this town are crazy."

"Yes… I noticed."

"And all done!" Twilight exclaimed excitedly, placing a third checkmark on the list.

"You sure?" Danny asked sarcastically. "I mean, there are no less than two things we need to do?"

Twilight, completely missing the sarcasm, gave her two item list a pensive look.

"I'm quite sure. Having only two things to do does make it easier to plan out, but even then you can't overstate the importance of a well planned out checklist. It's why I triple checked everything, see," she levitated the list over to Danny, who, after a few seconds of mental facepalming, grabbed the offered item.

"First item: Leave the library and go to the market. Once there, head over to Bed 'n Scrolls to buy a new bed. See attached details for accurate dimensions," he paused for a second, resisting the urge to shake his head.

"Second item: Once the first item has been completed, buy icecream for Spike, Danny and myself."

Next, a list of the required sizes followed, which Danny skipped as it was the only thing on the list that actually made sense.

Below that, however, an additional note was written.

"In case of an unexpected ghost attack…" He fell silent, lowering the list and looking at Twilight.

"Like I said, you can't overstate the importance of a well thought out checklist."

"Okay… And I can't argue with the part about Discord, either," he muttered, glancing back down at the notes. "But what is this about keeping an eye out for a changeling invasion while you are distracted while buying a bed?"

"You can't be too sure!" Twilight emphasized by stomping a hoof.

Danny lowered the list to his lap, giving Twilight a deadpan look.

"There is such a thing as being too paranoid. You know that, right?"

"Well, to be fair," Spike said, still reading his comic. "There was the invasion a little while ago over at Canterlot. Not because of a bed, but still… It can happen."

Danny turned his level gaze to the small dragon next to him.

"Not helping."

"Eh," Spike shrugged, finishing his comic and putting it down on the sofa's armrest. "As far as lists go, this one is rather tame… or at least, one of the shortest she has ever done. So there is that."

"I'll take your word for it," Danny shook his head. "Either way, none of this even matters if the stores won't open to begin with. After all, the town did go through quite a scare the other day."

"True," Twilight agreed. "And considering how everypony used to react each time Zecora-" she faltered for a bit, grimacing while looking down, "-when Zecora came to town, it may take some work to convince everypony things are safe again."

"Hard to convince others if you don't believe it yourself," Danny argued, holding up Twilight's checklist.

"I know," Twilight sighed. "But what else can we do? Give in to our fear, and let the ghosts win? Or pretend that things are not as bad as they are, and continue our lives as best as possible?"

Unable to argue the point, Danny instead got off the couch and moved to the nearest window; looking outside, frowning.

"Sometimes," he eventually said, "all we can do is pretend everything is okay," he looked at the list he still held. "No matter how obvious the lie."

Shaking his head, he turned back around, a thin smile showing.

"Let's go shopping."

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

"And how recent is this record?"

Tucker looked up from the scrolls laid out on the table, and at the elderly mare opposite of him.

"Quite recent," the unicorn answered with a posh accent, cold blue eyes looking through spectacles resting on her muzzle.

The mare, an expert on the magical field, as he had learned through Technal's hasty introductions, had spent the last hour explaining everything she could, with as many small words as she could stand, while Tucker tried to make sense of it all.

Technal, a little more knowledgeable about this subject, standing beside Tucker, studying the same material, looked up as well.

Now with their attention on her, the mare, Correct Measurement, took a second to straighten the jacket she wore, and made sure her mane, tied into a tight bun, was still in proper form and none of her silvery gray hair out of place.

"Okay," Tucker looked at another scroll. "And this one is from half a century ago. Correct?"

"Correct."

Putting the two side by side, numerous differences were obvious, though small enough not to really bother with it other than as a technicality. Until now.

"Are there also records from forty, thirty, twenty and ten years ago?" he asked, looking back up. "That would help in determining the pattern of these fluctuations."

"Yes, of course," she levitated away some of the scrolls not used, and replaced them with others she pulled from her saddlebags.

Putting them side by side in chronological order, a subtle shift could be seen in the data presented.

"As you can see, the magical field is mostly uniform, with only minute changes over an extended period of time."

"Yes," Tucker hummed. "But as I was told, there are areas where this is not the case. Are there any records of those places?"

"There are," Correct Measurement said, then hesitated. "But only a few, and all are quite dated. There never has been any need, besides the academic, for such measurements. The general hostility of these areas also mean such undertakings are quite risky, and rarely worthwhile."

"Understandable, but I do need to see these records."

"Of course," she nodded, and pulled an aged scroll out of her saddlebags. "A word of caution. This is one of only a few of such scrolls. Please be very careful with it."

"Of course."

Using her magic, Correct Measurement cleared the table, then unfurled the scroll on the cleared area.

Both Tucker and Technal's eyebrows rose up as they saw the data presented.

"That… It can barely even be considered the same thing compared with the other scrolls I've seen. Where does this come from?" said Tucker.

"This particular set of measurements come from the far north," was the answer. "An area once known as the Crystal Empire."

"Hold on," Tucker held up his hand. "There is an empire there? But you said such areas are dangerous… No, wait. Past tense…" he stood in silent confusion for a moment.

"Ah, yes. I see you don't know about this. Understandable," Correct Measurement adjusted her spectacles. "You are correct, of course. However, circumstances surrounding this particular area have changed… drastically."

"How so?"

"The area in question was once home of the Crystal Empire. A thriving city priding itself on, as the name implies, its crystals. Though through means unknown to me, the city disappeared a millennium ago. The only reason I even know of this is because of its significance to this particular scroll."

"It disappeared?!" Tucker said, shocked, remembering Amity Park once suffering a similar fate at the hands of Pariah Dark.

"That is what I was told, at the least. More importantly, because of this mysterious disappearance, the normally uniform magical field found there changed drastically, as you can see right there."

"So this disappearance of this empire caused such a drastic change?" Tucker said, scanning the scroll, eyes slowly widening as familiarity struck. 'A city with crystals. Like Wulf said. It can't be, can it?'

"Also, word of this has only just begun to spread, so forgive me if any details are lacking. But if word is to be believed, the Crystal Empire has mysteriously returned. True or not, I do not know. But if this is indeed the case, this will most certainly affect the magical field in the area to a most significant degree."

"It returned?" Tucker sought confirmation. 'And Wulf said some place with mind controlling crystals vanished from the Ghost Zone. It can't be a coincidence.'

"That is what I heard," said Correct Measurement.

As much as Tucker wanted to delve deeper into this, he knew he couldn't. Not yet, and instead he forced himself to continue with the task at hand.

"As intriguing as this sounds, it helps little with the current problem," he said. "More importantly, are there any other records of such areas? The more data, the better. I need to get a good understanding of the differences between the normal background field and these… Anomalies."

"There are, though I did not take these with me for the same reason I asked you to be careful with the one provided to you right now."

"It is important I get to see these other records. How soon would it be possible for me to get them?"

"Normally, between ten to twelve months after submitting a written request. But considering the emergency summoning by both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, for reasons above my paygrade, considerably less than that."

"That doesn't really answer my question."

"I'll try to retrieve the requested records before the end of the day."

"I can work with that," Tucker nodded. "Thank you."

"Would that be all?"

"For now, yes," Tucker looked back down at the scroll. "This already gives me plenty to work with. How about you, Technal? You've been rather quiet during all of this."

"There is very little for me to add," she answered. "Most of this is in a field beyond me, so as far as this goes we know just about the same."

"Even then, your knowledge of magic is still greater than mine," Tucker told her. "So any insights you have that you think may be useful?"

Technal looked back at the scroll, frowning slightly as she studied the data.

"It's obviously different compared to the uniform field, but the age of this record also means it can't be accurate compared to how things are now. While useful in establishing a rough baseline, we need more recent data in order to eliminate as much interference as possible."

"That would be rather difficult," Correct Measurement told her. "As I said, the natural hostility of these places make this a difficult but, far more likely, lethal undertaking as it would take several mages working together to measure and interpret the magical field. Which may take anywhere between two to five hours, depending on how detailed the scan needs to be. They would need to be protected during all this time."

"It would take a group of mages several hours," Technal said, looking up at Tucker. "But only minutes for you."

"I beg your pardon," Correct Measurement said, shocked. "It is to my understanding humans do not possess magic of any kind. How would mister Foley be able to perform such a feat?"

"Quite simple, actually," Tucker smirked as he understood what Technal was implying. "I may not be a mage, but I don't need to be. After all-" he looked at his laptop and, connected to it, the device that allows him to scan the magical field, "-I'm a techno wizard."

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

"There is a surprising amount of ponies out here," Danny observed as he and Twilight headed into town, while Spike rode on Twilight's back.

"Yes," Twilight noted with some disapproval. "And considering where they all are, I do wonder if they have nothing better to do?"

"How do you mean?"

"It's where Lyra lives," Spike informed him.

Danny was silent for a bit, looking back at the multicolored group who, he now realized, were all animatedly discussing something while either glancing, or outright staring at a nearby house.

"The rumor mill is in full swing I see," he remarked dryly.

"Yes," Twilight agreed. "... Let's just go around them. This is not something we want to get caught up in."

"Already am," Danny snorted.

"Any more than some of us already are," Twilight quickly corrected. "Though it is safe to say the stores will be open, too. Seeing how many ponies are out today."

"Oh, Danny!" A familiar voice called out, and a fiery red mare pulled free from the mass and moved closer to the trio.

"Hey Ruby," Danny greeted his colleague. "You're here too, I see," he gave an upwards nod at the large group, most of which were now also taking notice of him.

"Hard not to," she admitted with a guilty smile. "I guess Lyra got found out by the princesses, huh?"

"That's one way of saying it."

"Wait, you knew Lyra was stalking Danny?" asked Twilight.

"With how often she showed herself at the cafe, you would have to be blind not to notice. But for the princesses to get involved… I had no idea it was this bad."

"You don't know the half of it," Danny shook his head. "Don't ask," he preempted her question. "No need to add fuel to the fire."

"Wha-" Ruby began, fell silent, looked back at the group now watching them, then turned back to Danny. "That would probably be the smart thing, yes."

"Don't you ponies have more important things to do?" Twilight asked them, her disapproval clearly noticeable.

Some subdued murmuring, shuffling hooves and broken eye contact was the reply as some, but not all ponies broke away from the group and left.

Twilight then set her sights on Ruby, who looked away uncomfortably.

Closing her eyes, Twilight slowly shook her head while sighing away this particular headache.

"So, what have you been up to lately?" Danny asked, mostly as an excuse to get past the awkward silence.

"Enjoying the unexpected free time we have after the Crusaders'… antics the other day."

"Right," Danny groaned, rubbing his neck as he thought back. "That happened. Hard to believe that was only yesterday."

"A lot has certainly happened, with that ghost scare and all."

"You don't know the half of it," said Spike.

"What do you mean?"

"You don't want to know," Spike, Twilight and Danny said simultaneously.

"O-kay," Ruby hesitated a bit, then shook her head. "Anyhow, what are you three up to today?"

"Twilight's getting a new bed after her old bed got, well, not destroyed, but it can't be used anymore after what happened," Spike said casually before anyone else had a chance to answer. Then he noticed the looks the other gave him.

"Spike!" Twilight said, a bit louder than she intended, drawing more attention to them.

"What?"

"That's… You don't say it like that!"

"He's not wrong, though," Danny added, shrugging.

"I know," Twilight leered at him, "but it could be worded better." Turning to Ruby, she explained. "There has been a magical mishap, nothing more."

"A mishap? Danny was cuffed to your bed, and even Princess Celestia couldn't get him off because of that magic," Spike said, oblivious to his rather poor choice of words.

Silence reigned supreme as Twilight and Danny both sputtered for words; Twilight's face turning a deep red, while Danny was stuck in indecisiveness whether he should just turn invisible on the spot, or give in to uncontrollable laughter.

He knew their reaction now would only increase the misunderstanding, especially with the still sizable group of ponies watching and listening, but he couldn't trust himself to speak right now with how much his sides were shaking.

"Is there something wrong?" Spike asked.

"I… I think I should go and do… something. Yes, something," Ruby excused herself, quickly leaving the embarrassed pair and one dragon behind.

Starting with a chuckle, Danny lost the battle to contain his laughter, which lasted for several minutes before he managed to regain his composure.

"Oh hell," he chuckled, wiping away a few tears. "By the end of the day everyone will know Celestia failed to 'get me off'."

What little composure he managed to regain shattered, and laughed for a good three minutes more. All the while, Twilight stood with her hoof firmly pressed against a beet red face.

Spike, however, was completely lost in confusion.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"One day you'll know, Spike," Twilight groaned from behind her hoof. "One day. When you're older."

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

An hour had passed since school had begun, and only now, despite Cheerilee's best efforts, the foals began slowing down enough for her to get more than two words in before another wild, shouted argument broke loose.

Breathing a mental sigh of relief, Cheerilee pounded a hoof on the floor to call for attention.

It still took almost ten minutes before she got it.

"Okay, everypony. I understand that what has happened is scary, and that you, obviously, have a lot of thoughts and opinions on the matter, but this has gone on for far too long."

She slowly scanned the room, watching the foals and seeing the questions; the need for understanding in their eyes. Something to alleviate the fear, and to stomp down the growing paranoia the over-exaggerated fantasies of the last hour had induced.

"Now, instead of shouting one wild idea after the next at each other, why don't we instead work out what really happened so we can put some of your fears to rest."

Several hooves shot up, and after a moment of silent consideration she turned to Pipsqueak.

"Yes, Pipsqueak?"

"Did the ghost really gobble up a pony?"

Giving the best reassuring smile she could fake, Cheerilee shook her head. "No it didn't," she answered. 'I hope it didn't.' She added in thought.

"No, nopony has been gobbled up by this supposed ghost. What you all need to know is that Bulk Biceps was the only one who claimed to have seen a ghost," her eyes briefly flicked to Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle; the latter arching an eyebrow as she could easily tell the lies that were being told.

More hooves shot up, and more questions were asked, then answered with half truths until most of the foals had their worries put to rest. At which point, Cheerilee called for a recess to allow the foals to unwind outside, and give herself a much needed break.

She so detested the lies she told, putting up a fake smile all the while, but she knew things would be much worse if she showed her own fear and worries.

Fear and worries she knew were more than justified after both Applejack, Rarity and Bellflower gave her a rather heavily abridged explanation about last night's events.

More than once did she glance at the three fillies, and each time she found herself both surprised and confused by their… lack of response to the topic of heated discussion. Much time to dwell on this she didn't have, as the rest of the foals demanded as much, if not more attention, where she had to steer things in such a way where things could be kept under reasonable control.

Now though, with the classroom empty save herself, she had a few minutes to properly process the situation before following the rambunctious foals outside and watching over them.

Much to her relief, the last couple of hours seemed to have put the childrens' worry to rest, and they were back to their normal routine; playing tag, using the swings, going down the slide, or, in Button Mash's case, sitting in the shade of the playground's tree, playing on his JoyBoy and completely lost in the fantasy world of his video game.

However, not all the foals seemed to have returned to their normal patterns, and after a moment of searching, she was surprised, and even a bit shocked to see Silver Spoon cautiously approach Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.

Of course this was not out of the ordinary per se. She was more than aware of Silver Spoon's tendency to pick on the three fillies. However, when this happened she was always joined by Diamond Tiara. And seeing her now, unsure, hesitant and alone put her worries on edge.

Quickly scanning the playground, it took her a moment to find Diamond Tiara, who was partially hidden behind the tree Button Mash was leaning against; the flashing lights and electronic beeps and bops coming from the JoyBoy completely absorbing the young colt to a point he didn't even notice.

This was most certainly a good thing, Cheerilee decided, as she saw the look of poorly concealed disgust and anger the filly bore. And shockingly, some of it seemed aimed at Silver Spoon, her best, and only friend.

Something had happened. That much was obvious. But something told her the recent ghost scare had very little to do with this strange, and worrying turn of events and she knew she had to intervene before things would develop into something much worse.

Taking a deep breath, Cheerilee moved towards Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon while keeping a close eye on Diamond Tiara.

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

A few minutes earlier

"What is the purpose of this… recess?"

Devora looked around in curious confusion, asking the question after she, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had separated from the rest of the class. Not out of sight of anypony, but far enough away for them to talk without anypony hearing.

"Ta play," Apple Bloom answered.

"To escape those boring lessons for a little while," Scootaloo supplied.

"What lessons?" Devora turned to Scootaloo. "That shouting match all of them had just now?"

"That's not really tha best example," Apple Bloom awkwardly rubbed her neck. "Normally Miss Cheerilee teaches us about all kinds of things, like math," -Scootaloo shuddered- "or history."

"It's mind numbingly boring," Scootaloo groaned. "Recess is the only fun we get here."

"And what would I do normally during this time?"

"Mostly, Sweetie Belle an' us would come up with plans for our Cutie Mark crusades. But we play some tag or hoofball as well," Apple Bloom informed her.

"Wait, back up," Devora gave them a weird look. "Cutie Mark Crusades?"

"Oh yeah, we're tha Cutie Mark Crusaders," Apple Bloom said excitedly.

"We crusade to find out what our special talent is and earn our Cutie Marks," Scootaloo added with the same vigor as her friend.

"... Eh?"

"You know, Cutie Marks. Tha image we get on our flanks when we discover our special talent," Apple Bloom clarified.

"I know what a Cutie Mark is," Devora said flatly. "It's the crusading thing that-" she stopped mid-sentence, ears at attention. "Somepony is approaching," she told them, then turned around to see a gray earth pony hesitantly moving towards them.

"Silver Spoon?" said Apple Bloom, surprised.

"I, ehh… I… " Silver Spoon began awkwardly, rubbing the back of a foreleg while looking at the Crusaders' their hooves.

"What do you want?" Scootaloo asked aggressively.

Taking a deep breath trying, but failing to calm down, Silver Spoon discovered just how difficult it was to say what she knew needed to be said. So forcing herself to continue before she lost all her nerve, she looked up at the Crusaders.

"I… I am sorry. For, you know, everything Diamond and I did to you. I- I," another deep breath. "That's not the pony I want to be anymore."

Both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were taken aback, while Devora gave Silver Spoon a quizzical look.

"What?" Scootaloo said, suspicion heavy in her voice. "You honestly expect us to believe that?"

"She isn't lying," Devora said, studying Silver Spoon.

"Is this because of what happened tha other day?" Asked Apple Bloom.

"I’m… not sure. Maybe?"

"Wait, what happened?" Scootaloo turned to her friend.

"She caught Sweetie Belle, Erlea and Ah in tha clubhouse, talking 'bout… thaings ta help them with… that."

Scootaloo was confused for only a moment, then understood what her friend was saying.

"Wait… why were you even there?" She turned back to Silver Spoon, even more suspicious.

"I-" Silver Spoon struggled, the loyalty to her friend going against her new found morality. Taking a deep breath, "Diamond and I were spying on you three in the hope of finding something to use against you. To… to put you back in place after… I don't even know anymore, really. But… but," a deep sigh. "It just didn't sit right with me. And in a way I suppose we found exactly what we were looking for," she snorted. "Diamond didn't react so well to seeing two of you two," she aimed at Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. "And I'm sure she's seeing changelings everywhere now; probably thinks I'm one, too."

"The pink one, huh? That would explain why she's been spying on us from behind that tree," Devora pointed out casually, then noticed Silver Spoon staring at her. "What?"

"Pink one?"

'Oh, chitin rust,' Devora cursed in thought as she realized her mistake.

She quickly, nervously glanced back at Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, the latter quickly pushing in between the two while giving Silver Spoon the stink eye.

"Yes, pink one," she shot at her. "Why would we bother using your names when you two always call us Blank Flanks?"

For a moment Silver Spoon looked like she wanted to argue back. Then she looked at Sweetie Belle, and whatever rebuttal she had was lost as she hung her head, nodding weakly.

"I guess that's fair," she said, subdued, looking away.

"So ya haven't told anypony? Not even Diamond Tiara?" Apple Bloom asked, carefully putting herself between Devora and Silver Spoon.

"I said I wouldn't," Silver Spoon replied with a thin smile.

"I don't buy it," Scootaloo leered at her. "What're you playing at?"

"I would very much like to know as well," Cheerilee said as she approached. "You aren't picking on the others, are you, Silver Spoon?"

Startled, Silver Spoon turned around to see her teacher approach from behind.

"Miss Cheerilee," she half squeaked. "I, eh… No, I'm not. We were just talking."

"Is that so?" Cheerilee said, turning to the Crusaders and noticing both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom putting themselves between Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon. "Is this true?" She asked the fillies.

"Ah guess," Apple Bloom answered. "Ah mean, she hasn't said anythaing mean ta us. Tha opposite actually. She came here ta apologize."

All activity of the playground came to an abrupt halt, the foals frozen mid-motion in their activities as they all stared at Silver Spoon with wide eyes and open mouths.

"... How did they even hear that?" Asked Devora as she looked in disbelief at the ponies; eyes lingering on the pair seated on the swings, somehow frozen at the apex of their arch as gravity willingly ignored them just to add to the impossibility of the situation.

"She, what?" Cheerilee asked, dumbfounded.

"I- I," Silver Spoon stammered. Already quite nervous to start with, now with all attention on her, she felt herself close up completely. But as she contemplated turning tail and running, a small voice fought to make itself heard through the maelstrom of chaotic thoughts and latched onto the memories of shame, regret and a desire to do better. To be better.

Pushing past the chaos and wrestling the dominant voice of the bully she had been for so long into momentary submission, a strange but welcome calm settled down over Silver Spoon's mind and all thoughts of fleeing evaporated as she now recognized the opportunity that had been given to her.

"I'm apologizing to them," she said, head held high and only a slight waiver in her voice. "For, well, a lot of things."

Cherilee was stunned. So were all but a few foals; the exception being Button Mash, still happily playing on his JoyBoy, and Diamond Tiara. The latter obviously seething with disgust and anger, but unnoticed by all.

"That is rather… unexpected," Cheerilee said after several long seconds.

"Suspicious, more like it," Scootaloo replied, still leering at Silver Spoon.

"Silver Spoon," Cheerilee quickly interjected before things could turn sour, "what caused this sudden change of heart?"

Silver Spoon looked at the Crusaders, then at her teacher, frowning as she thought. "I don't really know," she answered. "It- I guess I just didn't like the pony I was anymore."

"Well, I still don't trust it," Scootaloo shot back at her.

"That's fair," Silver Spoon admitted, much to Scootaloo's surprise. "I doubt I would either after everything, so I understand."

"But you- eh, wha?" Scootaloo found herself at a loss for words.

Silver Spoon looked at the Crusaders, eyes lingering on Sweetie Belle for a split second longer, then she looked away.

"I've said what I needed to say. So, ehh… bye," and she quickly rushed away under the watchful eyes of almost everypony--

"Yay, next level!" Button Mash exclaimed excitedly.

--Then, not sure what to do or where to go, she quietly sat down in the shade of the school, looking off in the distance. Feeling, for the first time since earning her Cutie Mark, a true sense of pride and accomplishment.

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

Danny, invisible to all, hovered above the mass of ponies preparing to open up their shops; watching his other self walk with Twilight and Spike, a hand placed over his face while he mentally groaned.

"Oh hell," he muttered quietly to himself. "By the end of the day everyone will know Celestia failed to 'get me off'."

While able to see the humor in it when it happened, now that things had a chance to settle down, and some quiet contemplation about what had happened, he knew this, one way, or the other, would come back to bite him.

Shaking his head, he looked back at the library, frowning.

"Guess I'll deal with it when it happens," he muttered, moving towards Twilight's home. "For now, let's find some answers."

Phasing in through the wall, he quietly observed the rows of neatly organized books. Slowly drifting through the room, he passed the glass case in which the now incomplete Elements were kept. Turning around, he spotted Owlicious sleeping on his perch.

Satisfied no-one seemed to be there, he then turned to the basement door; phasing through the wood as he flew down.

"Alright," he said, "Sweetie Belle said she and her friends were trying to summon a ghost here using the Necronomicon, yet no trace of it remains. So what am I looking for, exactly?"

Humming, he hovered over to a large apparatus near one of the walls. Obviously it was something Twilight used for one thing, or the other; the metal helmet connected to the machine via several wires providing a small hint to its purpose. But more than that, as he looked around at all the other equipment, vials, liquids, parchment and other tools he couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity.

"All this place needs is a ghost portal and I'd be back home again," he remarked, shaking his head.

Slowly he moved through the room, carefully studying anything that seemed worthwhile, yet to no surprise finding nothing that could provide any clue or answer.

Unsatisfied with the lack of anything that may help him figure this out, he turned back to the large machine.

"Well, at least I confirmed Twilight's a mad scientist as well. Mom and dad would love her."

Sighing, he returned back to the library and stopped before the glass case containing the Elements.

"Not sure how this fits in with any of this, though," he muttered. "If at all. Still, wouldn't surprise me if Discord taking the Element of Magic has a bigger meaning behind it. Everything else so far has," an exasperated sigh escaped him. "And instead of answers we only find more questions."

Shaking his head, he left the library, unaware of Owlicious watching him. And observing him with green glowing eyes, Necronomicon; the entity disguised as a book returning to Twilight's nightstand after he left.

"Who," Owlicious hooted softly, eyes narrowing at Necronomicon.

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

Discord stood besides his kitchen table. The one legged piece of furniture bouncing on the spot without rest while he grimaced.

Poking at the shattered pieces of gold with a talon, Discord studied the destroyed Reality Gauntlet with equal measures of curiosity and dread.

Laying next to the shattered remains, was the Element of Magic, ignored by Discord.

Neither the shards nor the Element moved an inch despite the rhythmic movement, save for the pieces Discord moved deliberately.

Picking up a single piece of gold, Discord slowly rotated it as he studied it from all angles. Some of which exceeded the boundaries of three dimensional space.

"It just isn't possible," he said more to confirm his own denial, dropping the fragment and picking up another. "No-one, either dead or alive, has ever been able… But he is bot-" the fragment clattered to the table as Discord dropped it in shock.

"Life and death, together as one!"

Discord jumped up, mismatched eyes widening.

"Who are you, Daniel? What are you?"

Pondering this question, he began pacing around the table, then scratched his chin while grabbing a bouquet of flowers, then proceeded in flowering his waters out in the garden.

Easing back up on the flowing bouquet before the waters would end up flooded with vegetation, Discord stared off in the distance as an idea came to mind.

"You know, that may just be normal enough to work."

Tossing the bouquet over his shoulder and into the void his home floated in, he headed back inside, firmly planted himself on a sofa, grabbed a remote and activated his window.

"And now in local news," Discord said, sitting behind a desk, wearing a neat suit and wide brimmed glasses. "Progress in changelink rescue efforts are moving forwards at a steady pace, with no new deaths in the last twenty hours."

"Meh," Discord uttered, bored, changing the window.

"Are you tired of the same boring look everyday?!" The disembodied voice of Discord exclaimed loudly while another Discord, standing before a mirror, garden rake in hand while looking disappointed at his powdered wig hairdo, nodded in response to the question.

"Then I have the product for-

Discord changed the window, groaning.

"And on the left field we see Discord number twelve, playing the one dimensional tesseract over to Discord number cheesecake, while Discord number F tries to bloc- Hold on! Is that who I think- I don't believe it. Ladies and gentlemen, I see it, you all see it, but I can't believe it. Coming up from the hexagonal side is Eris number Iota, riding a purple headed, one eyed snake. This is amazing. This is unprecedented. And shame on any who thinks this is a euphemism"

"Meh," Discord changed the window again.

"Oh, strawberry chocolate. Delicious."

Discord leaned forwards, grinning.

"Oh, Sunbutt's private cakeroom! I love that show. The way she lets herself go. Record that," he pressed the corresponding button, then changed windows again right as Celestia scarfed down a two layer cake without shame or care.

Two Discords, both wearing pressed suits, stood behind a lecturn; a microphone before both as they spoke in turn.

"If elected, I promise a drastic reduction in normality, and an increase in recreational chaos."

An unseen audience cheered.

"Don't be fooled," the other said after things had calmed down, slicing his claw through the air.

"Chaos is only chaos because of normality. If we reduce this, chaos itself will be lessened as well. If elected, I promi-"

"Ugh, politics," Discord rolled his eyes, changing windows once again.

The after credits of some show scrolled sideways, then the channel's announcer spoke up.

"Alright boys, girls and adults who watch these shows as well. That concludes the season's finale of My Little Horsey. Up next, every single episode of Danny Phantom."

"Ah, there we go," Discord said with glee, then settled down with a tub of popcorn.

"Alright Danny, let's see who you really are," he said as an upbeat techno song started playing.

~Young Danny Fenton was just fourteen, when his parents built a very strange machine~

And as he began his binge of Danny's adventures, he failed to notice the glow coming from the Element of Magic.

Out of the shattered remains of the reality gauntlet, four gems lifted up.

A yellow rhombus-shaped topaz, a red square ruby, a blue circular sapphire and, finally, a red triangular ruby.

As one they drifted towards the glowing Element. Then, in a flash of light, the Element and gems vanished without a trace.

Comments

[1eragon33]

The Theme Song so much nostalgia. Enjoy the show Discord. Danny's life is chaos afterall. And ooo I got a horrible feeling about the last bit.

[TheCommunistDog]

Another fantastic chapter

[Time Waster]

"Oh hell," he muttered quietly to himself. "By the end of the day everyone will know Celestia failed to 'get me off'."

And tomorrow you will have tons of mares at your doorstep who want to have a taste of something not even Celestia could conquer. Twlight will be pissed

[Rune-wing]

Ugh I love the story but hate the cliff hangers

[Mrnom]

Hello was wondering if you're close on the next chapter being finished also one of thing's that confuses me is what you mentioned of phantom being idolized by a child clock work... Wouldn't danny be older then his early 20s then or did I forgot a part of the story? and you meant he meet danny in the past when he traveled with the infimap.

If the lack of comments is getting to you it could be the fact Danny phantom and mlp or this site fimfiction.net don't really go to people's heads most of the phandom write dc,marvel and my hero academia crossovers with archive of our own being the most active and better then fan fiction.net. Speaking of archive of our own I think i f you posted all your fics on the other fan fiction sites you might get more readers again if the comments are getting to you

Sorry for the long comment but one last thing your stories are good a lot of the characters you write don't feel oc and the oc you made up I surprisingly don't dislike and the other stories you did well with everything working together...well thats it have a good day.

[Powerdrainer]

11336026
Thanks for the comment.

As it is, I am still working on the new chapter but life has been keeping me busy. Getting covid didn't help either. Right now I'd say the next chapter is about 75% done.

As for your suggestion to publish my work on other sites. I tried publishing this on fanfiction, but that site doesn't allow for the inclusion of pictures, which is something I have used in the earlier chapters, and which I can't just leave out if it without breaking the story. Not to mention how user unfriendly it was. So I abandoned that site quickly.

And let me say it is nice to know there are still people out there who are reading my work and are eagerly awaiting the next addition to the story.

Thanks,

~Powerdrainer

[Popamile]

Funny thing is that I was re-watching some of the old Danny Phantom episodes and realized that the Fright Knights horse he rides in 'Fright Night' is an alicorn.

[Powerdrainer]

11344474
Yes, I know. And there are unicorns sealed away in Pandora's box as well.

[Powerdrainer]

11346607
You still have a long way to go in the story I see so all I will say is this. This is not the first time Danny had his emotions played with. In the show, Technus pushed Danny and Valerie together in order to distract Danny and keep him from interfering in Technus' attempt to gain control over a super computer connecting him to the entire world.

In some ways, I am recycling this idea.

Now, there is still a lot of story left to be told.... If I can get myself to actually finish the next chapter.

Life can be a bitch sometimes.

[Yoshifu101]

11346889
I just finished reading Guilt of a Phantom (and your comment) and all I can say is wow.

Just wow.

I don’t think I have the right words to describe in depth how I’m feeling right now. So I’ll try to simplify. I’m shocked and amazed by what I’ve read here. Everything was connected in such a beautiful way, characters growing and evolving while staying true to their canon personalities, well thought out backgrounds/lore that actually influences current and future events, all while having your own unique spin to it. The level of love and thought you put into your story is beautiful. If I’m being honest this story feels like it belongs to a DND campaign or a beloved multi-novel series instead of being a lowly fanfiction.

I just can’t wrap my head around how I even found this story in the first place. This is a shining gem hidden in a haystack of badly written and unfinished fanfics. The best part is that it looks like you’re still continuing this story (and it’s sister fics) even after 9 years of hardship while writing this story. I feel humbled to even have gotten to experience Danny’s adventure.

It would be wrong of me (criminal even!) to not give you a favorite and follow after reading such a epic tale of ghosts and ponies. Even if you never finish, you should be proud of the feat you accomplished here.

Good luck and may the tides of fate be in your favor of your future endeavors.

[Powerdrainer]

11348584

And I am making decent progress on the next chapters. GoaP and SS are mostly done, but i need to do make a few fixes here and there. And The next chapter of Murgröna's testimony is beginning to take shape. Got the story told in it planned out, and 2k done already. But i need to finish that one before i can publish the others because of the significance of events in this chapter in relation to another.

It isn't strictly nessecary to do this, but I like to keep these things together like that.