Guilt of a Phantom

by Powerdrainer

A fresh Start

Edits done by Halusm.

A fresh start

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

The first warm rays of the sun's light rose up past the horizon, lifting the blanket of night to reveal the promise of an exciting, new day.

Danny, rolling over with a faint groan, gradually woke up to the sound of cheerful bird song once again. He didn't know why, but the nightmares had left him alone for two full nights now and a sleepy smile graced his lips.

Rolling over to his side, he took a moment to enjoy the warmth of his bed, now able to fully stretch out.

Several minutes ticked by while he remained like this, until he remembered he needed to go get moving. He was expected back at the cafe, to show what he was capable off during his trial run.

Groaning as he sat up right, he stretched out before rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, readying himself for the day ahead.

A quick shower was next, and a fresh pair of clothes to make himself presentable. The shortage of clothing also reminded itself to him, adding another item to his ‘to do’ list. And finally, he grabbed a quick bite to eat, before he stepped out into the crisp morning air; taking a deep breath, then released it with a content sigh.

He calmly walked to the cafe, enjoying the early rays of sunlight, a bright smile on his face. A smile that seemed to be stuck with him ever since he had gotten to this place. It was almost like there was something to this town, as if it didn't allow anyone to remain sad for long.

Feeling confident in being able to impress Quick Grill and get himself the job, he continued his walk into town. He did have some experience with taking orders and such thanks to his previous job back home… No, back on Earth.

This was his home now. He might just still be settling in, but he could feel it in his gut. The friendly locals, his house, the possibility of a job and, most importantly of all, he was feeling happy. Albeit a little bit. There was still that shadow, that dark spot which tainted his soul. But even then, this was home. It had already done more for him than his previous establishment, and he hoped it would continue to do so.

But for now, he would focus on getting himself this job.

"Ha. This should be a walk in the park. What could possibly go wrong?" He said, cheerfully.

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

'I just don't know what went wrong,' Danny cried in thought when the figurative walk in the park turned out to be not as sunny as he first envisioned. In fact, it almost seemed as if Vortex, the ghost who once controlled all of Earth's weather, followed him every step and threw a tornado, or two at him every now, and then.

Things started out well enough. Danny showed up bright and early, just as he was told to do. He helped the few others who were there to prepare for opening hour; putting out the tables and such. Then things got a little bit more... awkward. All personnel wore a simple, yet professional looking uniform and he was expected to do the same to show he worked there to the customers.

While not finding any objections to this, there was one glaring issue which made it impossible for him to do so. Not counting the fact he wasn't given a set of his own, of course.

Although, normally, this wouldn't be an issue. There were several spare outfits available, all neatly stored in a small storage compartment back in the café's back room. The thing was, they were all designed to be worn by a pony, not a human. So, much to Danny's growing embarrassment, the only thing he could use to show he was 'on the job', was a bright pink apron which he wrapped around his waist; his face putting in a good effort to compliment the apron's color by turning a healthy shade of red.

Obviously, this didn't really help his self esteem; only made worse by the chuckles from his co-workers and customers throughout the day. He did, however, got a compliment from a purple lizard walking by; who also said something along the lines: "I don't know why, but I get the same reactions when I wear mine."

Hadn't Danny been so confounded by the fact a lizard spoke to him, he might have commented to that. Sure, talking, magical ponies were weird, but lizards… he didn't know what to make of that.

Still, as weird as all of this was, he couldn't spare the time to stop and think. After all, there were customers to serve. And, boy, did they know how to order you around.

He was lucky that one of his co-workers, an unicorn mare called Ruby, was there to help him around. But the job was more stressful than he originally anticipated.

Back on Earth, at the fast-food crap shack he worked, he only took the orders and handed the customers their food over the counter. Here, he needed to run around without actually running; take orders and deliver the food without dropping it. And with his previous life of being cooped up in a small, crap apartment, his physique was somewhat… lacking.

He'd been at it for two hours now, and pesky remarks about his 'uniform' aside, he was busted. Where Ruby was as energetic as ever, he had trouble keeping his composure. And now, he almost dropped the plates of food he carried, only barely able to catch himself.

'Drat, I need to find a way to get through the day and to get the job. I guess this is what Quick Grill meant when he said I didn't have much muscle. Okay, Danny. Think! How can you get through the day without wearing yourself out and get the job if possible? If only these plates weren't so heavy... Wait!'

Trying to get a grip on the situation, a thought came to him. It could work. But as simple as it would be, he was more than reluctant to actually try it. After all, his powers had caused him nothing but trouble; the mess he got himself into back at the scanner room being a perfect, recent example. But perhaps, maybe now his powers could be used for something useful; something good. He could extend his ability to levitate to the items he carried, much in the same way he did with Sam and Tucker back in the day, making things a whole lot easier for himself. Still, he would have to be careful not to over do it. He wanted to reduce the weight, not make things fly out of his hands. That would be difficult to explain.

So, closing his eyes for a moment in concentration, he reached out to the denied, dormant powers he held within.

It did take him a moment, longer than he remembered, as he hadn't actively used his powers for years now, and it took him a few seconds to get a feel for it again. But, much like riding a bike, these things were difficult to forget. And so, within a few slow seconds, he noticed the gradual reduction of the plates' weight; becoming lighter and lighter, until he could barely feel anything at all; leaving only enough weight to keep the plates on his hands.

Unable to keep the satisfied smirk off his face, he quickly carried on; now easily keeping up with Ruby and the others without wearing himself out as much.

His 'new found energy' didn't go unnoticed either, as Quick Grill kept a close look on the tall human. And though he wasn't impressed with Danny at first, he had to admit the kid had potential. He certainly found himself a motivator, it seemed. Going from barely able to keep up, to practically flying through the place, taking and delivering orders from the customers.

If he was able to keep this up, he would be a valuable asset. He needed somepony that could keep up with the crowd and, until now, only Ruby seemed to be able to get her flank moving.

'Hmmm, keep it up kid and I might just hire you,' Quick Grill thought as he took a new order from Ruby, quickly setting to work and make true to his name.

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

Several hours later.

Finally, the day was over, and Danny was exhausted. All the not running around, and the continuing use of his powers drained him more than he thought it would.

He really was out of it, but he couldn't be happier with himself. Not only was he able to get through the day without any more major incidents, he was also able to impress Quick Grill by keeping up with Ruby. He didn't say it out loud, but Danny could see.

At least, he thought he saw something. It might just as well have been his tired mind playing tricks on him.

Regardless, he had given it his all and he hoped it would pay off, in more ways than just the tips he received. Still, a quick few bits. He wasn't complaining.

"Nice work there, Danny." Ruby complimented as she approached him. Her deep red coat, and fiery red mane and tail a clear indication from where she got her name. "For a moment I thought you wouldn't be able to get through the day, but you really picked up the pace later on. What's your secret?" She asked with a kind smile.

"Secret? What secret.. I don't have a secret, hehehe." Danny replied nervously, shifting around as he did so.

"Whoa, calm down there. I was just asking." Ruby said, a bit weirded out by this sudden behavior.

"Sorry, I'm just tired and I tend to react a bit weird when I'm like that. It's been a long day for me. I haven't moved around like this for… what seems like forever and I'm beat." Danny said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, I guess that you need some more practice then," Quick Grill grunted as he approached Danny.

"What? How do you mean?" Danny asked, daring to be hopeful..

"You said you were out of it, so get back into it. Here," Quick Grill said as he tossed Danny a package. "It's one of the spare outfits. There is a clothing shop down the block. Have it altered for you. Starting tomorrow, you're on the clock. You better keep up with the rest like you did today. No slacking, now that I give you this chance. Do not make me regret this, okay!"

"Yes, Sir. And I won't... Make you regret this, that is. Thank you," Danny said happily as he accepted the package. Ruby, standing next to Quick Grill, smiled broadly, while Quick Grill showed a more modest smile himself. "I will get this altered as quickly as I can," Danny promised, slightly bobbing the package up and down.

"You better, that apron looks ridiculous," Quick Grill smirked, the humor evident in his voice, and Ruby struggled to keep a straight face as she was reminded about Danny's bright pink ensemble.

"Urgh, I know," Danny groaned with a displeased frown and Ruby completely lost it, bursting out in laughter. Quick Grill, at the very least, sparing what little dignity Danny had left, managed to keep a straight face, but only barely. "And thank you for the support," Danny droned with mock hurt, grinning himself, too. "Well, I better get going then, if I want to get this thing altered."

"Sounds like a plan, kid. I'll see you tomorrow," Quick Grill nodded.

"Until tomorrow, then," Danny said with a quick wave; moving towards the clothings shop he noticed the day before.

Quick Grill, waiting for a moment until Danny turned around the corner, surprised Ruby when he suddenly spoke up. "Hmm, the kid got potential, but there's something that's bothering me."

"Oh, what?" Ruby asked.

"I can't quite place it, but there is something. You saw it too. At first he struggled to keep up, only for him to pick up the pace in a way like I've never seen before," he said as he stared at nothing in particular, deep in thought.

"And that's a bad thing?" Ruby asked, curious.

"No, of course not. But it's strange," he replied with a shake of his head.

"Ha, he might be a bit strange. But who isn't?" she asked humorously.

"True," he nodded his agreement, the both of them looking at Pinkie Pie as she bounced by. "You've got a point there."

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

After a short walk, Danny stood before the clothing store, looking at it with raised eyebrows. He didn't pay much attention to it yesterday, but now he was wondering how he didn't notice this earlier.

"Is that a carousel?" he wondered out loud, scratching the back of his head.

Shrugging, he approached the building and opened the door, ringing a small bell which was placed just above the door; its chime making it known that a customer had entered.

"Coming~" A sing song voice rang out from above. And, true to the word, mere moments later a white unicorn mare, with stylized purple mane and tail, gracefully walked down the stairs.

"Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic, unique and magnifique. How may I help you?" She greeted as she approached Danny.

"Good day miss, eh, Rarity was it?" Danny asked. He remembered her from the party, but was unable to remember all the names. Mainly because he was blown away from Pinkie Pie's random behavior and didn't have a chance to properly learn everyone's names.

"Why yes, that's me," Rarity confirmed with a small nod.

"Well, I'm glad I got that right," he said with a look of real accomplishment. "I was wondering if you were able to adjust this outfit for me? It is for my new job, but it is made for a pony, so it won't fit me."

"Ah yes, I can see how that would be a problem," Rarity said, taking hold over the package with her magic, then levitated it over to her; quickly unwrapping the clothes and giving them a quick, but critical inspection. "Oh dear," she murmured as she took a good look at the pieces of fabric held aloft in her magical aura. "I'm not sure I can work with… this. It's just so… so bland."

The clothing was nothing more than a white top half of a tuxedo, if that was how you would even call it, with a red bow-tie attached to it, and all made specifically to be worn by a pony.

"Bland? How so?" Danny asked.

"Why, it just is. Trust me on this, dear. I know what I am talking about. It would be better to just remake the entire thing from scratch. Maybe add a few jewels in the bow-tie," Rarity suggested, quickly pulling out several rolls of fabric, then began to try out several different color combinations.

"Ehh, Rarity. I don't think that's necessary. In fact, the suit isn't even mine. My new boss gave it to me, specifically to have it altered so it would fit me, nothing more," he said as Rarity brought over several gemstones to match with the fabrics she had chosen. "Also, I don't think I can afford something as expensive as jewels," he added, dumbfounded, unable to believe the size of some of those rocks, nor that she would put them on something as ordinary as clothing.

"Expensive? How do you mean? I've collected these gems out in the fields myself."

"Wait, what? These things just lie there?"

"Oh, but of course not. I do need to look for them, but I have this spell that helps me with that. Just a flash of the horn and they show up just like that. I only need to get them out of the ground. Which is where my Spikey Wikey comes in. Oh he is such a gentledrake," she swooned just a bit, while Danny could only stare at her in utter disbelief; unable to comprehend that these large jewels were considered mundane, or that you could just dig them up like that.

"It is going to take a while before I get used to this place," he muttered holding his hand against his head.

"What was that, dear?" Rarity asked.

"Just that it won't be necessary for you to make me a new suit. Altering the one I have here is more than enough."

"Are you sure? With the design I have come up with you will stand out over anypony else."

"Yeah, like I'm not already," he deadpanned as he looked down at Rarity.

Rarity giggled a bit as she realized the already noticeable size difference. "Yes, you do stand out quite a bit on your own," she agreed, then sighed out. "But I do need to apologize. You see, I've never had the chance to work with a human before. Your body shape is so different from us ponies and you wear clothes all the time. Having you here was a chance I couldn't pass up, so I might have been a bit pushy with making you a new ensemble," she looked away, embarrassed.

"Well, I do need some new clothing myself. I'm running out of clothes and I didn't have many to begin with. So you could work on that, if you want?"

"Do I!? I've been waiting for a chance like this for quite some time now," Rarity said, practically glowing as she quickly pulled out a measuring tape to take Danny's sizes. "Oh, it will be gorgeous, just you wait." Already losing herself in the creative processes of initial design, Rarity, unbeknownst, also pulled out numerous gemstones which she automatically started to sort on size and color.

"Eh, Rarity. If it isn't too much trouble, could you just keep it simple. Something like what I am wearing now, maybe some different colors. And, please. No gemstones." he said, eying the rocks floating around him.

The measuring tape and gems stopped midair, slightly bobbing on the spot. "What? Are you sure?" she asked, slightly disappointed.

"Quite. No offense to you, but I don't really want to stand out more than I already do. Just nice and simple, nothing more."

"But you could be the talk of the day."

'That's what I'm trying to avoid,' he thought, but kept himself from actually saying it. "Rarity. I'm sure that everyone is already talking about the only human living in town. No need to add to it. Besides, less is more, right?" He said, trying to convince her.

"Very well then," she replied with some disappointment, but her cheerful demeanor came back in an instant. "Still, to be able to work with such an unique body shape. It will be quite a nice change of pace."

"Grea- Whoa! What are you doing!?" Danny shouted as his clothes were being pulled off by Rarity's magic.

Rarity, taken aback by the raised voice, stopped what she was doing, looking at him with confusion. "Why, I'm taking your clothes off so I can take some measurements." She said as if it was the most normal thing there is.

"Look. I don't know how it goes for you ponies, but just pulling someone's clothes off back where I come from is quite offensive. In fact, I'm sure there is a law against it." he half shouted, angry that she just did what she did, quickly snatching his pants out of the magical glow as he glared at her. His anger quickly mellowed, though, as he saw the shock and surprise in the mare's eyes, and he soon realized she simply didn't know.

"Oh my, I'm terribly sorry. I didn't know," she stammered in embarrassment, her cheeks a bright red when the realization of what she did came to her. She just assumed they shared the same customs. But he was from a whole different world, so of course there would be differences.

Danny, still standing in nothing more than his boxers, holding his pants in his right hand, quickly pulled the rest of his clothes, as well as some of his dignity out of Rarity's magical grasp. He was still mad on the unicorn. After all, how could he not be?

"Okay, I get you didn't know about my customs. But you should ask before doing something like that." Taking another deep breath to calm himself, he suddenly became aware that he was standing in front of a woman, or mare, in nothing more than his underwear. This sudden spike of embarrassment washed away any residual anger he felt, while his cheeks started to become a noticeable shade of red.

Sighing out, he figured he might as well see this through to the end. "But seeing I'm already undressed, you might as well take those measurements and get it over with," he told her, then thought to include one fine, but important detail. "But these stay on," he pointed firmly at his boxers.

"So, so you aren't mad?" Rarity asked uncertain.

"I am, but you didn't know. So, it would be unfair of me to hold this against you. Just don't let it happen again, okay?" He said with forced calm.

"I won't. And thank you, for still letting me do this." Rarity said, genuinely happy she hadn't scared off her first human customer. "Now, just hold still. This will only take a moment."

Not having much of a choice there, Danny just stood there, letting it all happen, grumbling to himself over what had just happened.

True to her word, it only took her a moment to take his sizes, but it still felt far too long for him. Even though it was a nice day, he was getting rather chilly without his clothes on. So, when Rarity said she was finished, he hurried to get dressed, making haste to put this embarrassing moment behind him as fast as he could.

"There, that should be all," Rarity said as Danny finished putting his clothes back on. "And I did get a decent look at the clothes you were wearing," she said, a hint of embarrassment in her voice. "So it won't be a problem for me to make some clothes that will suit you."

"Wonderful," Danny droned. He did try to sound cheerful, but the whole situation made it an impossible task, and he sounded more sarcastic than pleased. "In that case, I would like to order about six different sets of clothes. Nothing flashy, just simple, like what I'm wearing now."

"Why, of course. We already agreed on that." Rarity said in her usual upper-class tone, no longer embarrassed.

"When can I come pick them up?"

"I'll start working on them right away. Your attire for your work shall only take a moment, it will be finished tomorrow. As for the rest of your order. It will take some time to get used to your unique body shape, but I don't expect this to take too long. Two days, I'd say," Rarity beamed with excitement, clearly looking towards this new project of hers.

Danny, face still somewhat red, wanted to get away from this place as fast as he could, But before he could leave, there was one last thing he needed to know. "And how much is this going to cost?"

"Cost!? Oh, no no no no. I can't possibly charge you for this. It is your first order here and with my improper conduct earlier... No, consider them a gift from me." Rarity objected, making it known she wouldn't take no for an answer.

Danny was taken aback by this. He'd expected many things concerning the price, but for her to give away the clothes she hadn't even made yet for free… no, he didn't expect that, and his surprise showed.

"Wow. Thank you, but I could-..." he tried to argue, but Rarity interrupted him before he could do so.

"Oh, no no no. I won't have any of that. They're a gift and I won't have it any other way."

"Wow, that's quite generous of you," Danny said, amazed. His surprise clearly noticeable in his voice.

"Why, of course. It is my element, after all," Rarity agreed, bruising a hoof through her mane. Though, this statement did confuse Danny and he wanted to ask her what she meant, but she had other plans.

"Now, if that is all I must go back to my work. I still have lots to do and with your order added, I've got my work cut out for me. Your attire will be done first thing tomorrow, as promised. You can pick it up then," and despite her cheerful demeanor, Danny could hear the slight, work related stress in her voice. Not wanting to intrude on her time more than was necessary, he thanked Rarity for her help and left to spend the rest of his afternoon to tackle some of the small chores he still needed to do back home. After all, if he did have such an abundance of free time, he might as well use it usefully.

He came to an abrupt stop when that thought crossed his mind, "Since when did I think ahead?" He asked himself with noticeable surprise.

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

Celestia sat on her throne, waiting for the technical overseer of the tear facility and the information of the almost successful breach of security. Of course she had diligently read each and every eye witness report, and was shocked by the disturbing nature of this incident. But the written word can only say so much, and she knew she needed more information; more detail. The kind of detail mere reports couldn't simply provide. It was because of this, she requested the recordings of the video surveillance to be brought to her immediately.

Of course, despite the few years her world had connected with the humans', and the subsequent exchange of knowledge, Celestia still ran into quite a few difficulties when dealing with human technology, So, somepony with the expertise to use one of those 'laptops', as they were called, was also requested to help her with this; the technical overseer of the tear facility herself.

Celestia didn't like it that she wasn't able to properly learn how to use these devices. But, as the leader of a country, spare time was a luxury at best. Still, with the time she had she was able to learn the basics, which would do fine any other time. But not now. She needed to know what had happened now, and not after who knows how much time would pass if she were to try this herself; fumbling around in an attempt to figure out which button did what.

Celestia sighed out in part frustration, part admiration. How these humans were able to create such forms of technology without the aid of magic, she didn't know. But she admired them for it. However, this stark contrast between their technologies also showed how dependent they, her ponies as well as herself, were on magic. And, in a way, it even slowed them down in the development department.

The first time she came to meet with these beings from a different world, she had a hard time believing such creatures could even exist. It was unheard of for somepony to be entirely without magic, let alone an entire world. But there they were, without magic, but with technology to compensate for that. Technology that bewildered the solar princess. Yes, they too had some form of technology, but in comparison with what the humans had managed to create, their technology proved to be nothing more than a joke. Primitive even.

This proved for a great confusion when the two worlds first met, when the first tear formed. There was panic in the streets of Trottingham, the city where it all started. The ponies were not used to many 'exciting' things occurring in their lives. And, as a result, the ponies were easily frightened, even scared when something unexplainable happens. And a large tear in the fabric of reality proved to be just such a thing.

The ponies there all fled in panic of this abnormality, but the humans that were on the other side didn't have such problems. They were used to weird, dangerous things happening in their daily lives, as Celestia would later learn. So, as the tear opened, the humans closest to this ripped veil of reality jumped through the moment they found out it was safe to do so. This was discovered by a few 'morons', as they were called, who acted well before thinking through any potential consequences of their actions. After that, a large flood of humans poured into the streets of Trottingham. Using devices they took out of their pockets to take pictures and video's. Celestia later learned that these devices were multi-functional communication devices, or phones, which they used to send images and videos all around the world in a blink of an eye.

Of course the tear closed shortly after the humans came through, stranding them there. And, of course, they panicked. The ponies there, already scared of the strange beings appearing from a hole in the air, became even more frightened when the humans started to shout and push, trying to get back to their own world, but unable to do so.

The royal guard was sent there to stop this presumed invasion, only making the situation worse as the humans thought they were attacked. They, of course, didn't have anything on them to defend themselves with. But the guards, on edge and with no exact idea what kind of situation they've gotten themselves into, acted on their basic training, and the confusion upon seeing the strange glowing objects in the humans' stubby claw, falsely believing them to be weapons of some kind, and acted accordingly to subdue the threat.

It was a mess, you couldn't call it anything else. There were fights between the humans and the guards. The humans were only trying to defend themselves, and the guards were trying to stop an invasion that didn't happen. In the end, the guards were able to subdue the 'threat', but only because they had weapons like spears and swords, and, of course, magic. The humans only had their hands to fight with, so they took whatever they could find to defend themselves. Causing quite a bit of damage as they tore apart several stands and other objects to make crude weapons to fight with.

The guards, at first, thought that these weird beings weren't much of a threat. They beat them easily enough. But, when the tear opened again the following day, they were in for a big shock. Heavily armored humans with strange devices on them and large, heavy, and menacing looking vehicles were waiting on the other side. All of them came through without hesitation, their intent to rescue the humans that came through the previous day clearly noticeable.

This time the guards didn't stand a chance. It only took a short hour before the last of the guards were captured and interrogated. It was here that Celestia came forth, trying to stop the hostility and negotiate the release of her ponies in exchange for their own kind, as long as they wouldn't invade their world.

The shock on Celestia's face was palpable when she learned the invading force was nothing more than a small group of civilians, coming through to find out what this weird phenomenon was. They immediately ordered the release of their captives and apologized to the commanding officer of the human army, who, in turn, ordered the release of the ponies they had incarcerated.

After this troubled start, a strong alliance was formed. This became even more important when more tears started to open, and, in doing so, bring a new problem to their world. Ghosts.

She had heard of them from the world leaders she met shortly after diplomatic relations began to form, but thought of it as some sort of superstition, or some kind of cultural reference. This changed, however, when the first reports of translucent, intangible creatures scaring the villages came in. This only happened where there was a tear present and it didn't take long before they learned that these ghosts the humans were talking about were very much real.

This, and the continuing flow of ponies and humans going through the tears without supervision, caused both worlds to create the tear facilities. Structures where a select group of individuals would oversee the passing of everyone going back and forth between worlds. Combined with the latest ghost repelling technology, they proved most effective in stopping the uncontrolled flow of ponies, humans and ghosts.

And this brought Celestia back to the problem at hoof. It should be impossible for a ghost to pass through security on Earth, and yet one managed to do so, only to be detected in the scanner room here.

Celestia sighted out in relief. What could have happened if this unholy abomination managed to get through, to get out in the public? Their magic proved effective against them, but it would still be a large problem if it did. Because, if one can get through, so can more.

Celestia's train of thought was interrupted when the throne room's large double doors opened, revealing a young unicorn mare, who she recognized as Technal.

Technal often gave her some tips on how to use the humans' devices from time to time. And one of those, a laptop, floated along Technal's side, held aloft in her magical grasp as she approached the solar diarch.

"Your highness," Technal bowed before Celestia.

"Rise, my little pony. You are here with the video surveillance I requested?" Celestia asked, smiling calmly despite the storm of thought she just had.

Technal shifted around uncomfortable, not looking up at the princess. "Yes and no," she answered hesitantly.

"How do you mean?" Celestia asked, puzzled.

"What I mean is, I brought the recording of the time the ghost revealed itself, but it appears there has been some kind of… malfunction." She stopped for a moment to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat. "The ghost caused quite some damage to the systems there and it seems that the surveillance systems were also damaged in the process. Resulting in a total loss of the recordings at the time of the attack."

"What? How do you mean?" Celestia asked, shocked to the point some of it managed to enter her voice.

"What I mean is... well, see for yourself princess." And with that, she levitated the laptop before Celestia and played the video.

The recording shown seemed normal at first; ponies and humans stepping through the tear. Then they were led to the scanner, but after they entered the room the screen jumped to static.

"What? What is this? What happened?" Celestia asked, confused.

"It remains like this for quite some time," Technal told her. "The recording starts again about two hours from this point. Those present during the attack have been questioned and released during the time the system was down. We have no records of them, or the ghost during this time. I'm sorry, princess," Technal said in a small voice.

"It's alright, dear." Celestia said, but her voice told the mare that it was anything but. "Please send word to Fenton industries. Let them know about this ghost incursion and if they could send one of their scientist over to evaluate our systems. We can't take any chances with this."

"Yes, your majesty. In fact, we have already sent a report to them with the request for a full system inspection," Technal replied readily. Celestia, who, despite the situation, was pleasantly surprised with this wonderful foresight.

"Very well. Let me know about anything new that might be found about this incident, but keep it quiet for as long as you can. We don't want to start a panic. The ponies are still on edge after the last ghost incursion in Baltimare five and a half years ago."

Technal quickly assured the princess that she would keep this as quiet as she could, after which she was dismissed and Celestia watched her leave the room, and the doors close behind her.

"Ghosts," she sighed out. 'I knew it was only a matter of time before they'd come back to bother me. I just hoped it would have been later, not now.' Celestia thought as she looked out of one of the stained windows in the throne room, finding no answers in the colored light as it shone through the images displaying the heroic feats of her student and her friends.

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

"Tucker!" Jack Fenton called out with his characteristic exuberance.

"Yes, mister F. What is it?" Tucker asked his boss/friend.

Even though he was now working for both Jack and his wife, the two men also had forged a solid friendship over the years. It was one of the reasons he, Tucker, was able to land such a good job at such a young age.

Tucker Foley, lead developer of every Fenton ghost catching, or hunting equipment made during the last five years. Well, co-opted lead developer to be precise. Maddie Fenton was still the brains behind it all, though Tucker did help a great deal with the designs, fill in the blanks and his expertise with computers also helped a great deal.

Under his scrutiny, each and every form of software; whether newly written code, or an update for existing programs, all were made to his own set level of perfection. Anything less wouldn't do. Of course, he would also 'infect' his programs with a line of code which was specifically designed to search for Danny, while also keeping his signature hidden to those using the devices.

Of course Jack and Maddie didn't know about this. They were devastated when their son ran away. And, even though Tucker did his best to find Danny, he couldn't tell them about this. First off, he didn't want to give them false hope. But second and much more importantly. He couldn't tell them about this, because it would mean revealing Danny's true identity as the ghost they've been actively hunting for the last six years. They were already broken over the loss of their son, revealing the truth to them about Danny would crush them.

"Tucker, my boy. We've just received a message from a tear facility in the pony world. Apparently they had some ghost doing quite a bit of damage to their systems, and they asked for an expert to examine, and, if possible, repair some of the damage. Now, normally I would go, seeing as I, Jack Fenton, would be a perfect candidate for the job. But Maddie needs my help in the lab. We're trying to rebuild the Fenton Ecto-skeleton. The last one was stolen by that Phantom menace all those years back," Jack grumbled bitterly.

"So I thought it would be perfect for you to go. You might even learn something new," Jack continued, his voice exuberant once more.

Tucker had to suppress an eye roll from what his friend was saying. He could learn something from this? Come on! He almost ran the show here, if it wasn't for Maddie. Jack was a good guy, but not particularly bright. Some might even say dense. That said, Tucker really wanted to go there. It's why he uploaded a memory erasing virus in the systems the second after the tear reopened. It would destroy any evidence leading to Danny, except for eyewitness reports. It would also serve for a reason that they would need an expert opinion on the matter, and request for someone to be sent over.

Tucker had hoped that they would come to him. And, if not, he would find a reason himself to go. It would give him the opportunity to investigate the scene. Trying to find out if it really was Danny, or not. He really was bummed out that he was unable to download the video footage remotely, but the tears interrupted the signal. Only small bursts of data, like his virus, could pass through without a problem. Now, with a reason to go, he could access the systems on site. And, with a special program only he had, he could reconstruct the video recordings on his personal computer, making it possible for him to see if it really was his childhood friend, or a false alarm from a malfunctioning device.

"Yes, that sounds like a great idea, Jack. I'll go right away."

"Hey, why don't you take this trainee of yours with you. It would be very educational for both of you," Jack said with a suggestive undertone, waggling his eyebrows.

Tucker groaned as he face palmed. And, although decent, it paled in comparison with the one made by Carl at the tear facility. ''Jack, please. There is nothing going on between the two of us. Will you just stop it!? Besides, she is on a special assignment for me. She won't be back for some time."

"Sure, that's what you youngsters all say. Ha, I still remember the day I gave Danny that ring.. for.. Sam......" Jack fell silent, accidentally reminding himself of his son and Sam, a pained look crossing his face.

Tucker was familiar with this. Every now and then, a random conversation would cause Jack, or Maddie to bring up something about Danny. And, by doing so, bring back some painful memories.

"You know, I could take Jazz with me. She might learn something from this, too." Tucker suggested, trying to get Jack's mind out of the memory he was reliving.

"Yes.. Yes,that sounds good. You do that. I'll be down in the lab," Jack said somberly, not really hearing what Tucker said, too lost in thought.

Tucker watched as Jack walked away, sighing loudly after the door closed automatically. 'I'm sorry I can't tell you the truth, but it is for the best. At least until we can find the proof that shows Danny didn't do the crimes he is accused of.' He thought. Sighing out again, he picked up his phone and called Jazz. Informing her about what he had found, and if she could come with him to confirm his findings.

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

Danny looked around, slowly taking in the effort of his work back home, proud with what he had managed to accomplish in the last few hours.

After dropping off his uniform for Rarity to adjust, he went on his way to clean up his house. And after an undetermined amount of time with no one living here, there was quite a lot of cleaning to be done. Not to mention the last few pieces of confetti and other party products he still found lying scattered around in one corner, or the other.

Pinkie's 'Welcome to Ponyville' party sure was a blast, but it left one heck of a mess.

Still, all in all, it had been a productive day and Danny sighed out contently over a job well done.

The dust that had gathered during the time that the house was empty was gone. The pieces of furniture that he had acquired were put in a more proper place, and the undergrowth in the garden was removed.

There was still a lot of work left, though.

The walls could use a new layer of paint, and the garden was still worse for wear, though, with less undergrowth. This and some other chores, he still needed to do. But, for now, he took satisfaction in what he had accomplished so far. And after all that time and effort put in cleaning his place up, and the darkening of the sky, he decided to call it a day.

Stepping back inside, he headed for the kitchen; washing his hands to clean off the dirt and grime. A rumble from his stomach telling him the next thing he should do was get something to eat. Though, as he did, he couldn't help but notice his diet had become much more vegetarian than he liked.

Sure these ponies sold various kinds of fruits and vegetables. Also hay, but obviously he couldn't eat that. A nice piece of meat, however, was difficult to find around here.

It made sense, though. They, the ponies, were herbivores, so it wouldn't make much sense for a butcher of any kind to be around here. He still cringed a bit as he thought back at all the weird looks he got when he asked where he could buy meat, not to mention the awkwardness of having to explain each and every time he wasn't some blood lusting creature who would eat the foals at night. He quickly went home after that, forgetting any of that had ever happened… with little success.

Still, he needed some meat. First off, he would need it to stay healthy. He knew this thanks to Tucker, and his obsession with meat. And second, even more important than the first. He just liked it, a lot. The only question now was, where could he find some? He could try hunting in the forest nearby, but that didn't sit well with him. He did hear about a pony living at the edge of the forest. An animal caretaker, or something like that. If he, or she took care of the animals there, he, or she might also have some meat to feed to the carnivorous creatures. If so, maybe he could buy some for himself. But for now, he would have to do with the vegetables and fruits he had.

'Oh well, at least it's healthy.' Danny thought, biting down into an apple.

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

Celestia and Luna were in Celestia's private chamber, with Luna staring out of the window towards Ponyville.

It had only been a short while since she had raised the moon, and knew it was only a matter of time before the disturbance would show up again. Although, she hoped it wouldn't.

"Sister, have you acquired the information that we seek?" Luna asked her older sibling.

"Yes and no, I'm afraid." Celestia responded.

Luna looked away from the window, giving her sister a quizzical look; not understanding. "Pray tell, how do you mean?"

Celestia sighed out as she looked away from Luna, moving to stand besides her, seeing her own reflection in the window before she refocused on the night outside. "I mean that I have gathered and read the eyewitness reports, and what I've learned from them truly disturbs me greatly. However, hysteria is also a factor we need to take into account and the reports can, and, most likely, have been influenced by it. There were several contradictions I've come across, but the majority is the same. However, when I requested the video surveillance to be brought to me, I was told about a new problem," Celestia revealed to her sister, and the both alicorns looked out over Ponyville.

"A new problem? What is it?" Luna asked in puzzlement.

"It seems that the ghost that came through did quite some damage to the systems there. And, in doing so, destroyed all recordings of the incident and interrogation of those present," Celestia explained.

"WHAT!?" Luna shouted. Not in the royal Canterlot voice, but close to it.

"Indeed. But even with the recording gone, I've learned some interesting facts of what had happened. It seems that this ghost managed to possess a shadow of a human coming through. This is troubling, as we have not heard of them being able to do this before. Also, a request has been sent to Fenton corporation to send an expert to assess the damage, and repair the more critical systems. As well to look over any evidence that remains. Maybe they can find something we can't. But this doesn't answer who it is that is causing these disturbances you sense. Therefore, I've sent a letter to my student to ask her if she had seen anything out of the ordinary in Ponyville as of late. Mere moments ago, shortly before you arrived here, I received a reply from her. I can say that I was expecting many things, but this, I did not." Celestia told Luna and she levitated the mentioned letter over to her sister who, with a flash of her own magic, took the scroll.

Dear Princess Celestia.

Regarding your request if I've seen anything or anypony out of the ordinary, or new around town.

Although I've not been able to find anypony new, or out of place around here, there is a human here that had recently registered for citizenship and now owns a small house at the edge of town. I don't know if this is what you were referring to, but it is the only thing that I could find that matched the search criteria that you have given me. I hope this is what you wanted to know. If not, please let me know and I will look around again.

Your faithful student.

Twilight Sparkle.

Luna reread the letter several times, having some difficulties believing what Twilight's letter told her.

"A human!? There is a human living in Ponyville?" she said in shocked surprise.

"It would seem so. I had trouble believing it myself, too, but it is true. Twilight wouldn't lie to me. Also, as I recall, there was a request for a citizenship approval several months ago. I was surprised by this, as we do not get many of those. There are merely a few dozen humans living in Equestria and only to help us learn about their technology. Because of this, I thought it was another scholar of sorts, coming here to teach our subjects about their technology. But it seems now that this isn't the case. There has not been a single case of a human living here not related to educational purposes, so it seems that we have gained our first real human citizen. And he lives in ponyville. And he arrived there around the same time you began to sense these disturbances," Celestia told her sister, building up to the realization she had.

"Sister, you don't think that.... that this human is responsible for the nightmare I've sensed?" Luan asked, shocked, staring even more intently at the distant village.

"It would make sense. The timing fits, and we both know that our ponies rarely suffer from a real terror of the mind. Especially not for multiple nights, as you have told me. No, it would make sense that this human is the one who we seek." Celestia said, putting emphasis on the word real, as to indicate an actual nightmare and not merely a bad dream.

"But even if this is true, what could have caused this being such trauma that he, or she is plagued by it every night?" Luna asked.

"I do not know," Celestia shook her head as she looked at the distant village. "But I intend to find out. I've ordered a chariot to bring us to Ponyville, tomorrow. I'm sorry about this, but I need you to be there as well. Your ability to sense his mental state will be invaluable," Celestia said to Luna, the latter not happy about it because it would mean that she had to stay awake during the day, making it harder for her to work efficiently during the night.

"Very well, we shall be ready for our departure come morning," Luna affirmed, not looking forward to the difficulties she had to deal with tomorrow night, but she knew her sister was right. "Now rest, dear sister, while I watch over the night."

Celestia gave Luna a hug and went to her bedchamber. "Watch out over this human, Luna," Celestia said as she closed the doors adjacent to her private room.

Luna gave her a curt nod, then teleported to her own chamber, to watch out over the dreams of her ponies. Especially paying attention to Ponyville, waiting for the human there to sleep. Waiting for the chance to ease his mind once more.

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

The following day.

Danny's day had started like the others, ever since he had come here a few days ago.

He woke up to the sound of birds, showered, got dressed and ate something. Then, after stepping out into the crisp morning air, inhaling deeply with a serene smile, he headed for town; stopping by Rarity to retrieve his work clothes, who had done an amazing job refitting it. And even now, she wouldn't accept any money for the work she had done.

He still had trouble wrapping his mind around this, especially considering the amazing job she'd done. The clothing, before mismatched for his frame, now fitted almost like a second skin and he barely noticed he wore it at all… if it wasn't for the bow-tie. He really didn't like that thing, but he could ignore it without too much trouble.

After arriving at the café, ready to start his newly earned occupation in full, he received several positive reactions from Quick Grill, and Ruby upon seeing him.

Quick to set to work, and with use of his power to levitate, his day went by amazingly fast. Even more so, now that he had eliminated the problem he had before with keeping up, and making sloppy mistakes as a result. Because of this, he had the time to not only take the customers' orders, but actually get to know them as well.

These ponies sure were chatty, and most of them gave him some kind words as he served them. And which soon proved to be a recurring theme, most of the ponies he served left a nice tip for him too.

Quick Grill was also impressed. Danny was going around the place like a pro. And, although he did show some fatigue at the end of the shift, he certainly did a good job. Not that he would ever say such a thing out loud. He would always push the kid a bit more every day, trying to see just how much he could get out of him.

Danny couldn't be more pleased with himself either. Sure, he was tired and his powers put a drain on his strength. But he finally felt like he was doing something worthwhile with his life.

Before, he would just waste away. Either in his dump of a home, or in that horrible fast-food place. Now, he actually did something he felt good about, even if it was just serving food.

The kind words of the customers as he brought their food also helped lift his spirit, giving him that extra spurt of energy to keep going. Knowing that he was also using his powers to help, instead of damage anything around him, made him feel all the more pleased about himself and it showed. For the duration of the day he walked around with a beaming smile, and the ponies all smiled in return.

Yes, for the first time in a very long time, he was actually happy.

He finally did something he felt good about, something he tried to do back on Earth. Help others, even if it was as a waiter.

Now, with the shift over and the place closed, Danny helped Quick Grill, and Ruby to clean up.

"You've done a great job today, Danny." Ruby complimented as she cleaned one of the tables.

"Thanks. I certainly enjoyed it. Though, I am more than a little tired right now," Danny replied, yawning, as he swept around with a broom.

"I'm not surprised about that. It took me awhile to get used to it myself," Ruby chuckled in understanding. "The first couple of days it felt like my hooves were going to fall off, but you'll get used to it in time."

"I sure hope so, I'm beat," he replied with a tired smile.

"Yes, you did a decent job. But don't think that, just because you managed to get through your first full day on the job, things will get easier for you. No, you might get used to it, but I want you to give it a hundred and twenty percent every day," Quick Grill cut in.

"Heh, don't worry, Sir. I'll do my very best, just need to get a feel for it. I'll get there in time, but I won't disappoint you," Danny answered as he swept up the trash he had collected, depositing it in a mostly full trash bag Quick Grill had just replaced.

"Make sure you do," Quick Grill stated, keeping a stoic expression, but smiling inwardly. "Well, that's it for today. You're free to go. I'll see you two tomorrow," and with that, Hel closed the café and went his separate way.

"Is he always so grumpy?" Danny asked Ruby when Quick Grill was out of hearing distance.

"Ah, don't let his tough act fool you. He is a real softie on the inside, but he likes to intimidate any new workers. He'll warm up eventually," Ruby answered. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going home. I've got some things to do. Good day, Danny. See you tomorrow," she waved a hoof at Danny, walking on three legs as she did so.

"Good day, see you tomorrow." Danny replied, waving back.

With most of the day spent working, Danny decided to go home himself. Taking a more scenic route to enjoy the splendor of the village.

Some time had passed when he arrived back at his humble abode, yet the sight that awaited him stopped him in in tracks. And it was with quite the surprise when he saw a grand chariot, with intricate decoration, standing in front of his home. And, even more confusing to him, there was also a small contingent of guards; and a small gathering of ponies surrounding them and his home.

Danny, feeling a rapidly growing sense of dread, began to panic.

'Oh no. Did they found out about me? I thought I got through the scanner without a problem… Well, sort of. Oh damn, they've seen me. I can't walk away now, it'll seem suspicious. Okay, act normal, don't panic and maybe we can get out of this too. Oh I hope I don't have to use my ghost powers now. No way I will be able to explain that.' Danny's mind was a storm, thoughts swirling around with hurricane like speed, as he went through every possibility he could come up with as to why the guards were here, and if he had been found out.

"You. Are you the human living here!?" A pegasus guard shouted as he spotted Danny.

"Eh, yeah. I mean, maybe.... Who's asking?" Danny asked nervously, his eyes darting around, looking for a quick exit.

"Calm down. There is no need to panic," a gentle voice said, making him feel at ease as he noticed a large, white unicorn step out of the chariot, followed shortly thereafter by a slightly smaller, dark blue unicorn.

"Please, do forgive our guard. He's new," big white said, giving the guard a stern look, and the pony shrunk down into his armor.

"Ehh. Your guard?" Danny said, confused, then noticed the crowns they were wearing. As well as the rest of the regalia, and their wings.

'Oh crap. Not unicorns. Aren't these the princesses?' he thought. He had heard of them, but never actually seen them.

"Do not be alarmed, human. We are here merely to make your acquaintance," slightly smaller blue said.

"Meet... me? Why? I am no one interesting," Danny said, afraid about where this was going.

"Oh, but I beg to differ," big white countered with a gentle smile. "But we'll get to this in a moment. First off. Welcome to Equestria. We are its rulers. I am Princess Celestia, co-ruler of this land, and riser of the sun," Celestia introduced herself with a curt bow.

"And I am Princess Luna. Guardian of the night, riser of the moon, and Co-ruler with my sister." Luna said, introducing herself after her sister, "Tis a pleasure." She added with a curt nod.

"Eh.. Danny, Danny Manson," Danny responded, his mind still on the fritz as he had trouble comprehending the current situation.

"Manson?" Celestia said, slightly shocked. "You mean, from the Manson family?" She and Luna shared a quick glance, an entire conversation happening in that split second their eyes connected.

'Huh? Aw, crap. Not this again,' Danny thought. "Oh, no no no. Definitely not. No I am not related to them in any way," he quickly countered, not liking the look he got from the guards.

"Well, that's a relief," Celestia said, while Luna eyed Danny suspiciously, but was able to hide it well. Only Celestia noticed the gleam in her sister's eyes.

"Eh, may I invite you inside, perhaps? It'll be better than just standing outside, I guess. Although, I'm still cleaning the place," Danny offered, mentally slapping himself for it. 'You idiot, inviting them in with you. You might as well tell them who you really are. Crap, they might as well already know, and are just playing dumb. Just waiting for me to make a mistake... Shit, I just did.' He thought the moment he made the suggestion.

"That won't be a problem," Celestia said, and Danny stepped around the princesses, opening the door for them; all the while silently berating himself for making this situation potentially much more dangerous for himself.

'Luckily the door is large enough, or this would be rather awkward.' he thought as he let them in, only allowing this notion to hold him for a second, or two. Though, had he been calmer of mind, he might have found it just a bit strange that the house he'd acquired only a few days prior seemed to be designed with a human height difference in account. After all, he did stand rather tall back in the Café, not to mention Sugar Cube Corner; needing to bend his head so he wouldn't hit himself against the door's frame.

"Please wait here, we'll be back shortly," Celestia instructed the guards before entering. The guards responded with a collective: "Yes Princess," and a salute, then returned to their positions.

As they stepped inside, Danny closed the door, which almost seemed to happen in slow-motion and the slight creak of the door only added to the dread he felt as the door closed with a click.

'Okay, whatever you do, DO NOT PANIC! Just keep calm and answer whatever questions they might have without revealing yourself,' Danny mentally shouted at himself. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he faced the two princesses standing in his living room.

"Eh, I'd offer you a seat," Danny said as he indicated the sofa. "But I don't really think that will work." He finished awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Do not worry about it, we won't be here for long," Celestia reassured the flustered human as she, and Luna sat down on the floor, calming Danny down a bit.

"You won't? Eh, okay.... Can I get you something to drink?" Danny asked them, still fazed, but trying to be a good host.

"I'm fine, but thank you," Celestia replied with a kind smile.

"Just some water for me, if that's alright?" Luna told him, receiving a small nod from Danny before he stepped into the kitchen, returning moments later, glass of water in hand.

There was some surprise, and a startled gasp on his part, when Luna used her magic to levitate the glass out of his hand, taking a small sip, then held it aloft beside her.

"Apologies. T'was not my intent to scare you," Luna apologised.

Danny, looking at the midnight blue glow around the glass, and the same shade of blue pony whose horn was alight, had to wait a few seconds for his mind to reboot. When it did, though, he asked the question which was bothering him most of all.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you here?" He asked, getting straight to the point.

"First, we came here to welcome you. As it turns out, you are the first real human citizen we have. We do have a few scholars living in our lands, but, before your arrival, there hasn't been a human residing here not related to educational purposes. This was a bit of a surprise to us, so we felt it necessary to personally meet you. There is, however, also the matter of what happened at the tear facility in Canterlot," Celestia answered, and Danny gulped.

"We've heard a ghost managed to come through, by means of possessing a shadow of a human. And, although, this ghost destroyed all recordings of the event, eyewitness reports have given us quite some information. We know it was your shadow that was possessed by this ghost, and we were worried that you, or somepony else was, or is still, hurt from this incident," Celestia explained calmly, but making no mystery about just how serious this was to her.

Danny, upon her words, looked nervously at his shadow. Both princesses noticed this, but decided not to act upon it, for now.

"Y-yeah. My shadow was possessed, as you say," Danny stammered nervously, carefully choosing his words. "It gave us quite the scare, but I wasn't hurt. Physically, at least. From what I've heard, any other there didn't get hurt either. I guess we just got lucky."

"Lucky!?" Luna spoke up. "Your shadow was taken over by a foul beast, you and any present were most likely in mortal danger, and serious damage was done to the facility. And you call it lucky?" Luna said, shocked, not understanding how this human was able to be so nonchalant about it.

Danny flinched, hoping he didn't screw up. "Eh, yeah. Although the guards there also did a fine job in taking care of this ghost," he added, hoping that it would be more believable.

"That may be so, but how can you be so unfazed by it all?" Luna asked with slightly narrowed eyes.

"Let's just say, I am used to this whole ghost business," Danny said somberly, looking at the ground. Luna and Celestia gave each other a quick glance upon Danny's words.

"How do you mean?" Celestia asked.

"Mis... Princess, I would rather not talk about it. I came here to get away from it all, not to be reminded of it," he said with pain in his voice. The princesses, taken aback from the hurt tone, decided not to push the matter for now, but they would keep a close eye on Danny.

"Very well. I apologize if we came on rather strong, but we needed to be sure that you were alright." Celestia said, and he finally looked back up at the two princesses after she said so.

"Don't worry, I am." Danny said with a small smile.

"Very well then. I hope you will enjoy your stay here," Celestia replied in kind. she and Luna standing back up.

"Wait, you're leaving already?" Danny asked, surprised they were to leave so soon already. Not that he was complaining, but he believed to be in a lot of trouble, nor had he expected a meet and greet with the princesses.

"Yes, we are. Although it is a pleasure meeting you, we do have a busy schedule, and we can't stay here for much longer," Celestia responded, smiling kindly.

"Yes, t'was interesting meeting you, Danny. Perhaps we will do so again?" Said Luna, looking curiously at Danny.

Danny, feeling like he had just dodged a bullet, responded in kind. "Yes, it was interesting to meet you. It certainly was a surprise," he said honestly. Any nervousness he felt was gone now that he realized they weren't onto him. "And who knows, we just might meet again," he answered to Luna's remark.

Luna gave Danny a curt nod and she, and Celestia walked to the door; opening it with a flick of Celestia's horn and stepping outside.

The crowd of ponies, their attention solely focused on the alicorns as they stepped out, all waited with barely contained eagerness to find out what their beloved princesses were doing here, and how the human was involved. Some of them even began shouting their questions, asking them what the human had done, or why they were here.

Celestia quickly addressed those present, giving them the answer they wanted before any of this would spiral out of control.

"Do not worry, my little ponies. The human has done nothing that you need to worry about. We merely came here to welcome him to our fair lands. Now, please, return to your daily activities," she said in a calm, collected manner that you could only get from centuries of leadership. Luna, however, remained surprisingly quiet during all of this, deep in thought.

As the group of ponies dispersed, Celestia turned her attention back to Danny once more. "We apologize for the intrusion, but we had to clarify a few things. Do know that we have no ill intent, as long as you keep to the rules and don't hurt any of my ponies. That said, I've heard that you have already found a job in town and are trying hard to make the most of things. As long as you live your life in peace with the rest of my beloved ponies, you are free to do as you wish," Celestia told him in a firm, but gentle tone and Danny nodded instinctively, understanding perfectly what she meant. Still, an involuntary shiver managed to forced its way down his spine and he felt the need to reassure her.

"Don't worry, princess. The last thing I want to do is hurt someo-.. eh, somepony."

Celestia, obviously pleased with what he said, gave him a smile and a nod, then stepped back into her chariot. Luna looked Danny over once more, before following after her sister. A guard closed the door and the pegasus guards hooked themselves up to the cart, pulling it forward as they flew away.

"Well, that was interesting," Danny muttered to no one in particular, watching the chariot fly over town, before it descended a short while later.

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

A short while prior.

As Celestia and Luna were seated in their chariot, Celestia awaited with no small hint of trepidation to hear what Luna had learned through her ability to 'see' one's mind.

Luna, using the opportunity presented when Danny offered them a drink, and with the use of her magic hidden by levitating the offered glass of water, should have ample of opportunity to gleam into Danny's mind without notice.

She wouldn't fully enter his mind, though, Such invasion of privacy wouldn't be done, unless there was absolutely no other choice. But, at the very least, she would be able to get some semblance of an idea of what could be troubling Danny. A task now much easier through their close proximity, instead of the distance which separated them at first.

Luna, however, didn't say a thing. Nor did she respond in any way to her sister, until Celestia nudged her in the side.

"Luna, what is it? You're unusually quiet. What did you learn?" Celestia asked, worry noticeable.

"That's the thing, sister. I didn't learn anything. I was unable to see anything," Luna said with frustration, confused.

"What? But how?" Celestia voiced her surprise.

"I do not know. Nothing like this has ever happened before. No living mind has ever been able to keep me out, but it is like there is something with this human that doesn't allow me to gain entry to his mind. At least, not without forcing my way in," Luna told her older sister as she looked out of the window, watching Danny's house. "It's unsettling."

Celestia, thinking about what her sister had just revealed, quickly ordered the pegasi pulling the chariot to head for Ponyville's library.

"Sister, what are you doing?" Luna asked, confused.

"We won't be able to constantly keep an eye out on him, but I know somepony who can," Celestia answered as the library came closer into view. "It's obvious he is hiding something, but what? He hasn't done anything that could warrant an arrest, which would give us a reason for more thorough interrogation. And he seems to be living in peace here, even working with our ponies, so it is safe to assume he has no ill intent. But something is kept from us," Celestia explained.

"Yes.... that much is obvious. These 'dreams', not to mention the fact that I can't look into his mind. There is something about this human that's different from the others," Luna agreed as she looked at her sister. "So, Twilight?" She questioned.

"Yes. She will be able to keep an eye on him and, maybe, learn a bit more about Danny." She nodded and the chariot stopped in front of the large tree that housed the library.

"You're sure that's a good idea?" Luna asked, "What if he turned out to be dangerous!?"

"That seems unlikely. But even if he is, Twilight will be able to take care of herself. Her friends will be there to help as well. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?" Celestia reassured her younger sibling, then stepped out of the chariot and approached the library.

"True," Luna murmured, still worrying about what the human was hiding as Celestia knocked on the door of the tree house.

A few moments passed before the door opened, revealing Twilight who looked first surprised, then shocked at who she opened the door for.

"Princess Celestia!?" She said loudly, seeing her teacher standing before her. "And Princess Luna!?" She realized as the midnight blue alicorn stepped out of the chariot.

"Twilight, it's wonderful to see you again. May we come in?" Celestia asked her pupil.

"But of course, please," Twilight answered without hesitation, quickly stepping out of the way, allowing the princesses entry.

"Twilight, Tis a pleasure seeing you again," Luna greeted happily as she entered the building.

"It's wonderful to see you too, Princess Luna," the purple mare responded in kind. "But what brings you here?" She asked both alicorns.

"What, aren't we allowed to visit our friend from time to time?" Celestia said playfully.

"Well, yes, of course. But you always let me know in advance when you do. I didn't have time to prepare for a visit," Twilight said, already beginning to panic, while using her magic to quickly hide the large pile of books lying around the library.

Celestia couldn't suppress a chuckle over her student's expected behavior.

"Don't worry, my faithful student. We're not here for a prolonged stay. We're merely here asking for your help." Hearing this, Twilight's frantic attempt to make the library more presentable stopped instantly and she turned to the princess, eyes set, and full of determination.

"Help? With what? What happened? Does it require the rest of the Elements? I could send Spike to get them here right now," she asked, quickly devolving in rambling one potential threat which would require the use of the Elements of Harmony, to the next, until Celestia raised her hoof, prompting Twilight to a stop.

"There is no need for that, Twilight. The Elements are not required for this assignment," Celestia calmed her down.

"Then what do you need my help with?" Twilight asked her teacher in confusion.

"The human, Danny as he is called. It's about him," Luna answered for her sister.

"Danny, what about him?" Twilight asked, clearly confused, unable to understand what he could have to do with what the princesses needed her to do.

"So you have already met him yourself!?" Luna half asked, half stated.

"Well, yes. Pinkie Pie threw him a large 'Welcome to Ponyville' party. You know how it goes," Twilight answered.

"Ah, yes. I do recall certain events she had her hoof in," Luna remarked.

"But getting back on topic," Celestia cut in. "Have you noticed anything strange about him? Anything at all?"

"No, not really. I mean, there is his name, Manson, but he said he isn't related to them in any way."

"Yes, we were told the same," Celestia confirmed.

"Other than that, there isn't much I can tell you about him. I've only met him for a short while during his party, but haven't talked to him much since. I did hear he found himself a job at the local café, but that's about it. Sorry," Twilight quickly apologized, realizing she wasn't able to answer the Princesses.

"No need to apologize, Twilight," Princess Luna reassured her. "In fact, this is where we need your help. There is something odd about this human, something we can't place. We would like it if you were to keep a close eye on him and report anything unusual to us."

"Unusual?" Twilight asked.

"Anything that doesn't seem right. We do not know what it might be ourselves, but there is a great disturbance surrounding him."

"Disturbance? How do you mean?"

"I can't tell, Twilight. Just keep an eye on him," Luna told her.

"Yes princess," Twilight said strongly. "Do my friends need to help with this too?"

"Yes, they may. But keep to yourself why. Just ask them if they noticed anything weird going on with, or around him, nothing more. It might well be we are wrong about all of this, and we don't want everypony treat him with suspicion," Celestia told her.

"Yes, Princess. You can count on me," Twilight told her mentor. "I will monitor everything,*" she added almost manically.

"That might be a bit too much," Celestia said with a chuckle over her student's behavior, knowing full well that she would make true to her words.

"Oh, right." Twilight said, smiling sheepishly while Celestia and Luna shared a laugh.

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

Tucker and Jazz were waiting inside the tear facility from which they would gain entry into Equestria. More specifically, Canterlot, where they were expected.

At the time being, the tear was closed, but it was due to reopen anytime now. And as they waited, the two silently discussed the various matters concerning both the potential breach and, hopefully, Danny.

Of course they didn't mention Danny, or anything that could hint towards him. Vlad would undoubtedly find out. And so, It had taken them a full day to plan ahead, after Tucker had called Jazz and asked if she could join him. Not to mention the time it took them to actually get there.

Now though, they were stuck on their side of the tear, waiting for the unnatural passage to open, and Tucker, tapping his foot in impatience, groaned out in irritation.

"Oh, come on. Do we really have to wait much longer?" He complained.

"Just relax, Tucker. It'll open soon, just you wait," Jazz tried to calm him down.

"You said that three times already, when is it going to happen?" Tucker said with bored irritation. "I mean, come on. We planned this for an entire day. We made sure the time we arrived would be in sync with rip time, and now this stupid thing isn't working as it should."

"Oh, come now. You know just as well as I do that these tears don't always open on time. They're too unpredictable for that. They may open at the same time every day for a full week, only to open and close randomly for a month."

"Yeah, but sti-...." Tucker was interrupted by a loud sound and flashes of light as the tear opened, revealing the path to Canterlot. "Finally!" Tucker shouted over the noise.

"Okay. Mister Foley, Miss Fenton. If you would please follow me, they're waiting for you," one of the employees said. The two of them gave him a quick nod and followed him through the rip in reality. Both setting foot in the magical realm for the first time.

"Huh. I thought it would give some kind of feel when I went through, not nothing at all?" Tucker said as he looked back at the shimmering hole in reality.

"Hah, first timers always do. Now, come on, this way please," the unnamed employee instructed.

"Right," Tucker and Jazz both nodded.

They were led to the main terminal, where all the computers responsible for controlling the vast amount of ghost detecting machinery, as well as any other equipment connected to the system, were located. There they were greeted by an unicorn mare waiting for them.

"Welcome, I assume you are the experts we requested?" The grayish mare with electric blue mane and tail said.

"Yes, that's us. I'm Tucker Foley," Tucker affirmed with a nod.

"And I'm Jazz Fenton," Jazz said with a wave of her hand.

"I'm Technal, pleasure to meet you," Technal greeted with a thin smile. A smile which soon fell as she continued. "If you would be so kind as to follow me. Not many are allowed in here and you need somepony with you who has the clearance," she explained, leading them through a secure door, while the person who led them through the tear went back to his own facility.

"I understand, you don't want any unwanted guests going around in a place like this," said Tucker as he eyed the many terminals standing around him. "You've got quite the setup around here."

"Why yes, yes we do. This is the main capital, after all. And after the incident in Baltimare, we didn't want to take any chances. So we didn't spare any expenses to keep unwanted ghosts out. And that is why you are here. Not only did a ghost manage to get through, but it did quite some damage to the systems, as well as the scanner room," she said with pride, which quickly turned bitter at the mentioning of the ghost. Jazz and Tucker glanced uneasily at one another.

"Aha, here we are," Technal said as she approached a large, heavily secured door which blocked entry to the room holding the main computer.

Using an identity card, she opened the doors and let the two humans in. "Please help yourself, the main computer is right there, as you can see. Also, although I would like to stay, my attention is required elsewhere. So I have to lock the door behind you. There is an intercom system built into the wall there. If at any time you need to get out, just give us a call," the mare told them as she pointed at the device installed into the wall.

"Very well, thank you. We'll take it from here," Jazz said as Tucker connected his laptop to the system and started his scan.

"No problem. Just let us know if you find anything."

"Don't worry, we will," Jazz assured Technal, who gave her a friendly nod and left, closing the doors behind them.

"Okay, she's gone. Found anything yet?" Jazz asked impatiently.

"I only just started the retrieval process, give it a minute. Shees," Tucker commented.

"Right, sorry. I just want to know if it is really him. It has been so long already." Jazz said sadly, looking at the screen of Tucker's laptop.

"I know, I miss him too. But this is not going any faster by rushing me. So, please, be patient," Tucker commented.

"Oh, now I am the one that has to be patient. Weren't you complaining about the wait earlier on?" Jazz teased, making Tucker roll his eyes.

"That was different," he stated.

"Oh, how so?" Jazz asked him with fake curiosity.

"Because, there we had to wait for some hole in the air to appear. Here, we need to wait for the system to recompile and reconstruct the video my virus has destroyed. There is a difference," Tucker said as he looked at the slowly progressing progress bar on his screen.

Allowing him this, Jazz instead chose to focus on the more important details of their true reason being here. "So, if it's him. How do you think he managed to get through without being shot down? And, what's with this ghost that destroyed the scanner? You don't think that was Danny, do you?" Jazz asked, trying to kill the time.

"I do not know, but I hope we will get some answers soon," Tucker replied as the progress bar indicated eight percent complete. "But there is more going on than just this."

"Oh, how so?" Jazz asked, now being sincere.

"Vlad," was Tucker's one word reply.

Jazz head snapped to Tucker in full attention. "What, what has he done now?"

"I do not know," he sighed out. "Not yet. But that might change soon. We both know what he has done in the last six years. He extended his time as a mayor of the city by using his ghost powers to manipulate the election. He came with all kinds of false proof of Danny being a criminal, and he used his vast, stolen wealth to create a private fund for Fenton corporation, just to get a seat on the board. We both know he is up to something, but what, I cannot say. Not until she comes back from the assignment I send her on," Tucker told Jazz.

"Wait, she? As in-.."

"Yes, her. Her abilities make this so much easier for her than anyone else. And, with the modified Specter Deflector I gave her, she will be completely undetectable from his drones. It has kept her hidden from Vlad for all this time now, so I know it works."

"You're trying pretty hard to keep her safe, aren't you!" Jazz said with a suggestive tone. "Anything you're not telling?"

Tucker gave a long groan in answer. "Not you too. Okay, listen up. We are not a couple!"

"Suuuurre, just like Danny and Sam, right?" Jazz teased.

"No, we really aren't. Not only would it be weird, considering her... Well you know. But she is also only seventeen," Tucker argued, trying to convince Jazz. But deep down, he was also trying to convince himself.

"She won't be in a few short weeks," Jazz said slyly. "And as for it being weird. Since when have our lives been anything but?"

Tucker blinked dumbly at that. "True. The second part, I mean. I'm not going to respond to the first," he said as he looked at his screen once more. "Thirty two percent," he added.

Jazz gave Tucker a knowing look, seeing through the wall of denial he had built around himself. Something she had learned from all the interaction between Danny and Sam. "You know I wouldn't judge you if you were to get together, right?"

"I am not hearing you, nope nothing at all," Tucker said childishly, focusing a bit too hard on his laptop, making Jazz smirk.

"Riiiigghht. Well, if you ever want to talk about this, you can always come to me." Tucker groaned as she said so; not pushing him further, but Jazz wouldn't deny the feeling of victory. His body language told her everything she needed to know.

"Well, if you are so interested in my love life, how about yours? Got anyone you have your eye on?" Tucker asked her with fake innocence, already knowing the answer.

"What, no, no I don't, hehehhe." Jazz said, suddenly very nervous.

"Riigghht, just like Danny and Sam, huh." Tucker said with an evil grin, he got to her now.

"NO, there really isn't anyone. Why would you even think that?" Jazz asked, slightly frazzled.

"Maybe of all the extra visits you receive from him, or the blush on your face when he leaves. Hehe, there might not be someone, but there definitely is somepony," Jazz stood with her mouth agape and a heavy blush on her face.

"Y..yo.. You know?" She asked in slight panic.

"I do now," he said with a victorious grin and Jazz's face became even redder as she realized what he had just done. "Hah, don't worry. I won't say a thing, if you don't either," Tucker told her. Jazz just nodded dumbly. "But, don't worry. I won't judge you. It may be weird, but since when have our lives been anything but weird," Tucker continued, using Jazz's words back at her.

"But, I'm curious though. How did you two get together?"

"You know I can't talk about that. Confidentiality and such," Jazz replied, evading the question.

"Oh, I know all about that, Miss Fenton, psychiatrist. You know, it wasn't much of a surprise when you became a psychiatrist. You were always helping Danny and others with their problems, it fits you. And I understand the whole doctor, patient confidentiality. But that only counts with patients, and I doubt he is still a patient. So, come on, doc. Spill it," Tucker told her, grinning all the while.

Jazz face was beet red by the time Tucker finished. He was right though, in a way. She couldn't tell anything personal, of course. But he wasn't a patient anymore, not really.

"Promise not to tell anyone!?" Jazz leered at him.

"Yeah, sure. I promise." Tucker replied.

"Okay," she started with a sigh. "You remember that large ghost incident over five years ago?" she asked.

"Yeah, I remember. Hard not to, considering…" Tucker muttered grimly.

"Yeah," Jazz murmured sadly. Shaking her head, she continued. "Well, you know how it went. A new tear opened near a city under massive ghost attack. And with no one to stop them, they managed to get through without challenge; flooding the city on the other side. It was… chaos," Jazz sighed out.

"Yes, I know that much," Tucker told her.

"Yes, I know, but bear with me for a moment. So, yes, the city was under attack by a large ghost invasion.... You've heard of all the casualties?" Jazz stopped to ask Tucker.

"Yes, yes I did," he responded in a somber, tense tone.

"Well, he was in the thick of it; really messed him up, poor guy. He was there to help defend the city, but they all lacked experience. They did what they could, but without experience, or any weapons to deal with spectral entities... Well, it was a mess. And even with their magic, things just..." Jazz didn't say anything after that, Tucker knew all too well what occurred.

"And, of course, with the time between openings of the tears, reinforcement of our own took a long time to arrive. The ghosts had basically free reign until our forces arrived. The city literally turned into a ghost town. And after the city was retaken, and the ghosts captured, there were a lot of victims that needed counseling. But they didn't have much knowledge on how to handle this kind of trauma, so they were sent to us, and he to me. I can't tell you what we talked about, but after a while we just found each other. It became less and less about what happened during that time, and more about us with each session," Jazz admitted with a heavy blush.

"Huh, I wouldn't have thought that behind you. Going from the one helping him, to the one being helped" Tucker said with a sly grin.

Jazz's face almost glowed red over the insinuating remark. "Wha-.. why yo-... No, we never... Why would you even think that?" She all but shouted.

"Well, every now and then, I see you when he leaves. And you seem to be a bit weak in the knees every time," Tucker answered with played innocence.

"What? How do you mean? What has that to do with it?" Jazz asked, confused.

"Well, he is hung like a horse, right?" Tucker grinned devilishly and Jazz's face, already a shining beacon, almost burst out in fire from the heat that radiated off it. She tried her hardest to respond to this, she really did. But before she could even utter a single word, the laptop beeped, indicating its job was complete. Both their heads snapped to the screen as the video started playing.

"Okay, here we go," Tucker said as he and Jazz stood side by side; Jazz giving him a large shove as a means of revenge for his remark, and he snickered in response before they looked at the recording.

It was normal stuff at first. The tear opened, and ponies and humans stepped through. But when the last human appeared on screen, a shock went through the both of them.

There, walking through the hole in reality, was Danny. He was older, but clearly recognizable.

"Little brother." Jazz whispered, her hand held before her mouth.

"Danny," Tucker said, their eyes glued to the screen, desperate to find out what happened next.

They watched as a mare approached the group, saying something to them. Then they were led into the scanner room, and the system activated. A green laser grid came from the wall and ceiling, going over all those present, until it reached Danny.

They watched as the grid turned red and shrunk down until it only covered Danny.

They couldn't believe what happened next.

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

Skulker flew through the Ghost Zone, returned from the mortal world only moments ago through one of those natural portals, carrying various pieces of technology with him.

He wasn't unused to being the one to collect and deliver certain 'prizes', he had done similar things for Vlad in the past. This time, however, it was for a more personal use. He, Ember and Spectra were going back and forth between the mortal world and the Zone, collecting various forms of anti ghost tech for Technus. Technus would then use these devices in an attempt to make a suppression device that would target the unique energy of these ponies, instead of them ghosts. He was also trying to find a way to get through the shields and such, without being detected, or forced out of some pawn's body.

Of course, this also meant that Technus had a certain amount of control over them, and he was keen to use this. On more than one occasion he would just order them around, much to their displeasure, to find a certain device that he really needed.

Skulker grunted in annoyance. "Just bear with it, it'll be all worth it. Once we get through, I will hunt like I have never hunted before. Oh, I can't wait to test out my new weapons. Hehehe, oh I'm going to enjoy this."

Nearing Technus' workplace, Skulker went intangible and phased through the wall.

"Technus!" He shouted. "I've got this thing you've been nagging about."

"Excellent. Put it over there, on the pile." Technus instructed, not even bothering to look up and pointed at a large heap of anti ghost tech laying there.

"What, put it in this pile of half broken junk? I just went through a small army to get this thing. And, although it gave me a chance to test out my improved armor, it wasn't something I enjoyed much." Skulker half shouted, half growled.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Although I appreciate the effort, I found out I already had some of those negative ecto-batteries lying around," Technus said with a nonchalant wave of a hand, smirking all the while.

Skulker's left eye started to twitch over the stunt Technus had just pulled. "You, what!?" he roared. "You mean to tell me that I went through this mess and got my armor dented for nothing?"

"Well, when you put it that way... Yes, yes you did," Technus said with fake innocence, pretending to think it over.

Skulker, already at the end of his nerves over the menial labor he'd had to go through just to collect this useless junk, decided that enough was enough. Deploying the full arsenal he'd carried, hidden away in his armor, his already impressive stature became twice as large as rocket launchers, ecto-nets, standard ecto-blasters, knives and more deployed from just about every part of his metallic body.

Technus, with his higher than average IQ came to the unsettling realization that he may have pushed the lethal hunter just a tinsy bit too far, and he gulped as Skulker's shadow fell over him.

"Now you listen, and listen well." Skulker growled darkly, lethay. "I don't care what it is you do to get these devices of yours working, but don't think I will be playing your servant for any longer. If you need something from me, you will ask me nicely. And maybe, maybe I'm willing to do it. But if you send me out on a wild goose chase again, I will personally send you to Purgatory. Do you understand?" Technus nodded weakly.

"Good. Now, you will focus on getting us to this other world, and you will do it quickly. And don't make me do anything that you will regret!" Skulker barked.

Technus nodded again and Skulker, seemingly pleased with the submission, deactivated his weapons; storing them away within his exoskeleton.

"Glad we could come to an understanding. Now get back to work!" He roared, and Technus flinched as he quickly continued with his technological puzzle.

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

"Did he just...?" Jazz asked, unable to finish her question, dumbfounded by what she just saw.

"Uhuh," Tucker replied, unable to give much more of an answer.

"His shadow...?" Jazz tried again, but was still unable to finish.

"Uhuh."

"I.. But.. What? I didn't know he could do that," Jazz finally managed to voice her thoughts, shocked.

"Neither did I," Tucker said, having found his voice again.

"And why did the scanner see him, but the handheld devices did not?" Jazz asked.

"B-because, I implemented a specially designed piece of software that would make the portable scanners ignore Danny. I was, however, unable to implement this program into the larger scanning units. Let's fix that right now," Tucker explained, a slight stammer in his voice as he was still trying to figure out what he just saw.

Working on his laptop, he entered the security systems and uploaded the same protocols he programmed into the handheld units. With this, the scanner would ignore Danny the next time he would enter the room, if he would ever do so again.

"Now what?" Jazz asked.

"Now we go into the scanner and see if we can find anything important. I doubt it, though, but we can't be certain," Tucker responded.

"Right, of course," Jazz murmured as Tucker stepped towards the intercom, and requested they would be led out of the room. "And what do we tell them when they ask if we found anything?"

"Don't worry about that. I've done a full scan of the system here and back on Earth. I will be able to come up with some story, no problem at all," Tucker reassured confidently, waiting to be led out the room.

A few minutes later, Technal arrived to key open the door. "Did you find anything?" She asked them.

"Maybe," Tucker responded, unsure. "I have looked over the entire system, both here and on Earth. It seems that the unique form of possession this ghost has performed is key as to how it got past the shield. A shadow is nothing more than an absence of light. And the shield technology partially depends on light. Because of this, it was able to simply slip through by forming a blind spot in the wavelength of the shield matrix. This is something we have not seen before, and we will take adequate steps to prevent this from happening in the future," Tucker explained, and Technal and Jazz looked at him, dumbfounded. And Jazz had to admit to herself, she was impressed.

"Wow. Well I guess that explains that. And what about the scanner?" Technal asked.

"I was just about to ask you about that. We would like to see it for ourselves, if it is possible?" Tucker replied readily, already planning the next step to take.

"Right, of course. Please follow me," Technal said. Still going over the information Tucker had just given her, failing to notice the hushed conversation between Tucker and Jazz.

"Wow, I'm impressed. When did you come up with that?" Jazz asked in a whisper.

"Almost immediately after I saw the video. It is the only thing I could come up with that makes sense." Tucker whispered back.

"Wait, this actually makes sense to you?" Jazz responded in disbelief.

"Well, yeah. Doesn't it to you?" He asked, but Jazz just shook her head slightly at this. Even after all those years, she was unable to fully grasp what exactly was going on in his mind.

"No, no it doesn't," she replied.

"Huh. Now that doesn't make any sense to me." Tucker said, genuinely confused. Jazz just left it at that, it wasn't worth the headache.

"Right, here we are. The scanner." Technal said, snapping the two back to the here and now as they arrived at the destroyed room.

Tucker let out a low, drawn out whistle. Impressed with the carnage, even though he had to help repair it.

"This place is a mess," he remarked, looking around. Large gashes were made in the walls and ceiling. Electrical wires hung limply from the gaps, an occasional electrical spark shooting from them. The lights didn't work; instead, they had placed emergency lighting in the room so they could see. Debris, mostly chunks from the walls and ceiling, and the occasional electrical component littered the floor, making the chaos complete.

"Indeed. This place took quite a beating," Jazz agreed after seeing the damage herself.

"Yes, this is the result of the ghost that came through," Technal said, bitterly. "Just this one single ghost did this. I am just glad we were able to destroy it before it could get out."

"You do kno-..." Jazz began, but was quickly silenced by Tucker; shaking his head almost imperceptibly, telling her to shut up.

Getting the message not to tell Technal that ghosts, or shadows, couldn't be destroyed the way they saw in the video. Obviously, Technal didn't know they had a full recording of the event, and it would be most suspicious if they knew how the ghost was destroyed. Also, if she knew a shade couldn't be harmed in such a way, it would most likely result in a large-scale ghost hunt, most likely endangering Danny.

"Huh, what was that?" Technal asked Jazz.

"Just wanted to ask if you knew just how lucky you were? With how you were able to stop the ghost like you did. It could have been rather problematic if it got out," Jazz said after a short moment to think.

"Yes... Lucky," Technal sighed out. "I'm sorry, but this whole event has taken quite a lot out of me. I have been working almost non stop trying to get this place back working again. We got the main system operational again, but we left the room like it was. This way you could perform your own investigation, maybe find something we missed. But I urge you to work as fast as you can, we really want to repair the place," she said with a noticeable hint of urgency, looking around the room with a tired expression, before turning back to Jazz and Tucker.

"We understand, miss. Don't worry. We will work as quickly as we can. Now, let's see if we can find anything," Tucker said as he entered the battlefield of the scanner room, motioning Jazz to follow.

Together, they used several scanning devices off Tucker's own design to look for any clues that may have been left behind.

They knew Danny was here, but they didn't know how he did what he did, and where he went after all of it. And they didn't have an excuse to go into Equestria to look for him. So, for now, this would have to do to get at least some answers.

More would come soon enough.

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

Vlad Masters' mansion.

For most it was a place where the mayor of Amity park lives. A place where their strong leader, chosen by a landslide every election, would work hard to further prosper the city, as well as devise ingenious ways to stop the ghost threat. But very few knew the truth.

Only a very select group knew about the hidden laboratory underneath his mansion, or the ghost portal he keeps there. Or even the fact that Vlad Masters is, in fact, also a ghost named Vlad Plasmius.

Most would live their lives thinking that their mayor would keep them safe and watch over them, their best interest at heart. His elite group of ghost hunters, the Masters Blasters, certainly helped to uphold this illusion. But only a few knew that he was actually planning to take over the world, and rule it with an iron fist. Using his ghost powers to stop any and all that would get in his way while doing so.

Because of this, the few that knew his secret would do everything in their power to stop him. Or, at least slow him down. They would gather information, devise ways to best use it against him, and stop his plans before they could take shape.

They were a secret resistance that no one knew they needed. A resistance that no one knew even existed. Even Vlad didn't know… at least, not the full extent of it. But he had his suspicions.

For six long years they held Vlad back as he attempted plan after plan to cause harm and destruction. A task which normally fell to Danny Phantom, mortal enemy of Vlad Plasmius. But ever since he disappeared, they had taken over.

They would always be there to find out what new scheme Vlad was up to, and he was always up to something. But lately, it has been rather quiet around him. Suspiciously so.

Sure, he made his public appearances, but that was just for show. A smoke screen to blind the blinded. It wouldn't work for them, though. They knew, and they would fight. But the fact that Vlad hadn't done much to speak of, the last several months, was cause for concern. Which was exactly why she was here now.

It was a great risk to infiltrate his house like this, but she didn't have much choice right now. If they wanted to know what was going on, they needed to go to the source.

Tucker would be pissed when he found out, but what was he going to do about it? It is not like he could just walk in here undetected. No, that was something unique to her.

She hated Vlad with a fiery passion. Yes, he created her, but he didn't care for her. He called her his daughter, but never treated her as such. He always made her do his dirty work, even made her fight her brother, or cousin, as they call each other. It made things a bit less awkward.

No, she didn't like Vlad. And the fact that she was doing everything she could to thwart him was something she took great pleasure from. That said, it was still stupid to enter his mansion. She knew that the Specter Deflector Tucker gave her would shield her from any of Vlad's drones and other devices made to find ghosts. But in here, it might not work.

She was invisible to surpass the cameras, and went intangible to go through walls, and avoid laser grids. But she couldn't shake the feeling that she would stumble into trouble. Or trouble would stumble into her. Whichever came first.

"Don't fail me now," she whispered as she patted the deflector Tucker gave her.

It wasn't particularly fashionable, and certainly geeky, but she liked it all the same. Just because he gave it to her. And the thought it was to protect her only served to make her appreciate it more; make her appreciate him more.

She didn't say it out loud, and would deny it if someone would ever suggest it, but she started to like him more than just a friend. If only he felt the same. But she knew that it would be too weird for him. Being a clone of his best friend and all.

Sure, she was her own person, did things her way. But there would always be a large portion of her 'cousin' in her. Both the human part, as well as the ghost half.

She hated that.

Yes, Danny couldn't do anything about it, he didn't even know about her until she showed up one day, coming with the story she was his cousin from far away.

But still, to be a clone. A copy, and a flawed one. It was a stain on her soul, and the reason why she worked hard to become her own person, to make her own personality. And it was the reason why she liked messing with Vlad so much.

Dani sighed out, not liking this particular thought. It would always make her a bit depressed. No matter how much she would try to run away from this, it would always follow her. It would always be there, a part of her.

'Come on, girl. Get it out of your head. This kind of thinking isn't helping. Just focus on the job at hand, and we can leave this damned place,' she thought, shaking her head. Her long, white ponytail swishing from left to right.

She chose to let it grow out a couple of years back, and now it reached to her midsection. She liked it like that.

The years have been kind to her, too. Going from an eleven-year old, to a seventeen-year young woman. With curves in all the right places. And the exercise she got from all the ghost hunting and, messing with Vlad, gave her an athletic build. She certainly got a lot of looks from the guys, and even some women, if they thought she wasn't looking.

'Even Tucker,' she thought with a grin.

Her grin soon left her as she looked around the dreary place.

Sure, Vlad improved on his security, but it was still the same creepy place he took her all those years back to melt her down.

Dani shuddered at that thought, wishing she could leave already. But she knew that she had a job to do. She couldn't leave until she had something, anything that might tell them what Vlad was up to. So, taking a deep breath to calm herself, she continued through the maze of hallways Vlad had constructed, going all the way to the laboratory where he kept his secrets hidden.

"Oh, come on. How big is this place?" she asked to no one as she flew through another door, entering yet another chamber, but not the place she was looking for. "I'm sure it wasn't this big last time!"

After going from place to place for several more minutes, avoiding many security devices, she finally found what she was looking for. The lab.... with Vlad in it.

'Crap!' She thought, and turned invisible after spotting her 'father'. She hoped the deflector she got from Tucker would hold out and stayed as far away from Vlad as she could, not wanting to set off his ghost sense from getting too close, if she hadn't already.

'Okay, let's see what you're planning, you creep.' she thought as she peeked around the wall she was standing behind, spying on Vlad as he stood in front of a large screen showing various video fragments. All playing at different speeds. All about Danny.

"Scan it again, now with the new scanning software I installed," she heard him say.

"Affirmative, sweetheart," an artificial voice said as a hologram of Maddie showed up.

'What the... So Tucker and Jazz weren't lying when they said he had.... that,' Dani thought as she looked at the translucent figure in utter disbelief.

"Scan complete, no anomalies detected. No positive result as to why subject Danny was able to accumulate such power," the hologram stated.

"Blast!" Vlad shouted as he slammed his fists on the console. "How did he do it? What is his secret? I must know! Such power should be mine. It will be mine, if only I was able to find out how! Gha... With Danny missing, I won't be able to capture and test him. The only other option I have would be his cousin, but she is nowhere to be found either," Vlad seethed.

'What? Why is he looking for Danny, or me? What is it about this power he is talking about? What is going on?' Dani though as she realized she just stumbled onto something massive, but didn't understand what. It's a good thing that she also carried a small recording device. It would capture everything she saw and heard. Maybe Tucker would be able to figure it out.

"Hrmph. Scan again for Dani, try to find her. She might hold the key to this all," he ordered holo Maddie.

'What? Oh no no no no no, please don't find me. Please, you geeky belt, don't fail me now!' Dani thought in panic as she backed away, trying to gain as much distance between her and Vlad.

"Yes, dear. Scanning.... Error. Anomaly detected. Please wait.... Unknown energy deflector detected... Adjusting... Alert, subject Dani located. Target is located behind that wall," Holo Maddie exclaimed, pointing towards where Dani was hiding.

"What!?" Vlad shouted.

"Oh crap," Dani said, slapping her mouth shut a mere moment later as turned around to run away. But Vald appeared out of nowhere and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her up, zapping her with his powers as he did so.

"So, the long lost daughter has returned. What, you got homesick?" He mocked as he looked her over. Dani was gasping for air as he held her up, smoke rising from her body.

"Ooh, just look at you. Daddy's little girl, all grown up. And completely stable too. Oh, this is just wonderful. Just the one I need, in perfect shape, not falling apart, delivering herself right to me," he grinned, his voice full of evil intent.

"Let... Gha... Let go... of... me," Dani gasped.

"Oh, I am afraid I can't do that. You might just run away again, and I wouldn't want to lose my precious daughter again."

"I... I'm... warning... you. Let. Me. Go?" She stated with as much force her oxygen deprived lungs would allow.

"Ooooh, I'm so afraid. You really have me cornered here. There is no way I have the upper hand in this," Vlad mocked as he lifted her higher into the air.

"La... Last.. chance bu... buddy," she said, trying to take as much a deep breath as she could.

"Okay. I will let you go. Right when I strap you down on the examination table," Vlad said evilly, grinning at Dani's futile attempts to break free.

"Fine," Dani gasped, seeing no other way out. She only had half her lungs full of air, but it would have to do.

It was something she had inherited from Danny. Something that would free her, and give Vlad the kick against his ass he deserved. It would also tire her out like hell, but there wasn't much else to do. His blast just now had temporarily disrupted her powers, and she only had enough strength left for one shot. Better make it a big one.

So, with all her might, she screamed out as loud as she could, creating shockwaves and shaking the mansion above as she let out her ghostly wail.

Blasting away at Vlad, he was unable to hold on to Dani, the brute force of the concussive wail too much for him.

With a scream of his own, he was flung away. Clasping his hands over his ears as he slammed into the far wall, held in place by the pressure of Dani's voice, unable to move.

Dani, already drained by the disruptive blast from Vlad, transformed back to her human self when she ran out of energy; gasping for air as she rubbed her sore throat, she ran away the moment she could.

Vlad, dropping to the floor the moment the unrelenting assault to all his senses stopped, lay unmoving. Something, Dani knew, wouldn't last long. He would get back up and she didn't want to be anywhere near him when he did. She was glad, though, she herself was able to stay conscious.

It must have been because she didn't use her wail at full power, she reasoned.

Still, this attack took a lot out of her, seriously weakening her as a result. But now wasn't the time to think about that. Instead, she ran as fast as her sore body would allow; desperately trying to get out of this hell hole as fast as she could.

Through sheer willpower, she forced out last amount of her strength, transforming back to her ghost form with a weak flash of white. Struggling to hold onto her transformation, she wasted no time flying through the walls and ceiling, getting as much distance between herself and this place of nightmares. She didn't know if the deflector would still hide her, so she couldn't take any chances with this either. There was only one place she could go to right now. She just hoped she could make it.

'Valerie,' she thought. 'Please be there.'

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

Valerie Gray, a seemingly average person.

At first look, she seemed to be a polite woman who helped the local community whenever she could. Someone who worked hard to earn money in order to support her father, who hadn't been able to fully recover from the ghost dog incident all those years back.

She appeared to be a normal, nice person, but looks can be deceiving.

People thought her short, military hairstyle was a bit odd, but she would just say she liked it like that. She also had a fair bit of muscle. Nothing you would notice from a distance, but up close you were clearly able to see she worked out.

To most, she was a hard working woman who liked her hair short and worked out when she could. But, to a select few, it was a completely different story.

Some knew her as Valerie Grey, former rich kid who lost the wealthy lifestyle she was born in as a direct result of the same ghost dog incident which cost her father his job.

Some knew her as the young woman who worked two jobs just to make ends meet.

And some knew her as a hardcore ghost hunter; a side of her she kept hidden even to her father. A double life which consumed every bit of free time she had, fueled by a burning hatred towards ghosts, and a need for revenge.

A double life made possible only, unbeknownst to her at the time, by Vlad Masters and his anonymous donations of ghost hunting gear.

Of course, she was manipulated by Vlad. Especially after she learned he was the one who gave her the gear she needed to fight ghosts. Her former life, filled with wealth and riches, was also a shallow one. Unable to see beyond personal gain, Vlad easily manipulated her to do his bidding; making her believe in every word he said, poisoning her mind, turning her into one of his most versatile pawns.

Using the gear Vlad provided, she hunted Danny Phantom with a fiery passion. Not just to get even with the ghost, as she blamed him for her misfortune, but also taking a great deal of enjoyment out of it. However, this changed to some extend after she met a very strange girl; an impossible girl: Dani Phantom. Half ghost, half human. Part of both worlds, and hunted by both as well.

The first time she met Dani, she thought she was just a scared girl down on her luck; much in the same way she was. But when Dani was forced to reveal her other side to save Valerie's life, she quickly changed her opinion about her. Thinking nothing more about her than just another ghost hell-bent on terrorizing the town. The lies Vlad told her about Dani didn't help either.

After Dani revealed she was the cousin of Danny Phantom, Valerie played nice, just so she could catch both her and the ghost that ruined her life.

She caught Danny and delivered Dani to Vlad, thinking she had done a good job, but never knowing the full extent of what she had just done. No, it wasn't until Danny Phantom got through to her that she knew something wasn't right. Although, she wouldn't hear anything about Vlad Masters being evil.

In an ironic turn of events, Valerie had to team up with Danny to save Dani. And, through a series of events, they were able to save Dani. Both from the evil ghost, Vlad Plasmius, and from dissolving into a puddle of green glowing goop.

It wasn't until after she let the two ghosts go in a rare show of kindness that she learned the full extent of Vlad's manipulation, and how she was played by him the entire time.

Now, after she had sworn revenge on him for his lies, she focused her aim squarely on the deceitful half ghost.

Fortunately for her, Vlad didn't know that she knew about his alter ego, and he would continue to rely on her service. This would give Valerie the chance to get close to him, and take him out. But disaster struck before she had a chance to do anything.

Samantha Manson died. And after learning the full story of what happened, and who was involved, she knew, beating herself up for it, that she shouldn't have let Danny Phantom fly off the way she did. And although she knew through hard earned experience not to trust anything Vlad said, her biased opinion about Danny Phantom made it difficult to ignore some of the 'evidence' Vlad presented to prove the Phantom's guilt. This, and the public outrage of the community, and later, the world, made her hunt down Danny Phantom with unchecked tenacity.

She never found him, though. No one did. Danny Phantom, the terror of Amity Park, had vanished.

Several months after the Phantom's disappearance, things became even worse.

She knew Danny Fenton had a crush on Sam, but they also had a relationship, short as it might have been. In fact, the only reason she broke off their relation, was because of her ghost hunting career. And now, thanks to Danny Phantom, the one she liked, no, loved, had run away.

Danny's disappearance strangely corresponded with a strange increase in ghost attacks. And now, she was one of the last few standing strong against the increasing flood of spectral activity. She, and the Masters Blasters, of course. Though the Blasters did get in the way more often than not.

Now, with the blasters at Vlad's beck and call, Vlad had no more need for her, and she lost her chance of getting close and strike him down.

She also realized he was most likely manipulating the young teens, much in the same way he had done to her. But she was unable to step in without Vlad knowing, so she did the only thing she could do.

She went rogue.

Now a lone wolf, she went from sighting to sighting, hunting down the ghosts. And, if possible, beat the Blasters to it. They may be on the same side, but they still worked for Vlad. And they found ways to thwart her in more ways than she liked.

This went on for a couple of rough years, and in that time a lot of things changed.

The Blasters grew out into something resembling a superhero team, but charging money for their services. The Fentons got a contract with the government, seeing how they had some of the most experience with ghosts, much to the Guys in White's displeasure. And, of course, Vlad. He set up a private fund for the Fenton corporation. And, in exchange, he gained a place on the board. And with it, full access to any new device and information gained.

Vlad also had a hand in the creation of the C.D.S., or City Defense System.

It was nothing more than a large ghost shield covering the city, but it proved to be most effective at keeping ghosts out.

Soon, other cities followed suit, giving Fenton co. one of the largest orders in recorded history. As a result, the Fentons and in extent, Vlad became very rich. Or richer, in Vlad's case.

Vlad, of course, used the money for his own scheme. Jack and Maddie, however, used their money for a more noble cause: the search for their son. But they never found him. It was almost like Danny Fenton had just turned invisible.

One other thing that changed came shortly after Vlad bought his way into the board of Fenton Co., and started to manipulate things there.

Shortly after the public announcement of Vlad's involvement with the company, an old acquaintance approached her; Dani Phantom.

Through Dani, she came in contact with Tucker Foley and Jazz Fenton; who, much to her surprise, especially considering their daytime jobs, revealed to her they were also hunting ghosts.

Her surprise didn't end there, as they also revealed to know about Dani's dual nature. Though they were more than a little vague about Danny.

She stopped paying attention to that particular notion, when they came with an offer she couldn't refuse. Work with them, gain the latest ghost hunting gear, off the record of course, and protect the city. Both from the ghosts, and Vlad, who they also knew about.

This was a no-brainer for her. Not only could she get back in the game, but thwart the Blasters and Vlad at the same time. She needed a secret identity, of course. If Vlad were to find out about her, a lot of lives could be at risk. So, from that day forth, she was Valerie Gray; average, everyday, hard working citizen of Amity Park. And she was Specter, ghost hunting, ectoplasmic butt kicking, roundhouse delivering and full-time terror of any ghost in her way.

The gear she got from Tucker and Jazz made her completely unrecognizable. Full body armor, with the latest anti ghost tech. A voice manipulator to mask her true identity and, of course, a new hoverboard. It was faster, stronger, and much more agile than her previous board, and something she enjoyed in a twisted way. But not nearly as much as the armor itself.

Full black, with a dark red, almost glowing, honeycomb grid pattern just beneath the black layer. A dark, toxic green visor, similar in color of the ectoplasmic discharges of a ghost, covered her face. Filled with the latest ghost tracking engineering, it projected and highlighted everything on her heads up display, or HUD.

The only thing she needed to do in return was hunt ghosts, catch and deliver them to either Tucker, Jazz, or Dani so they could be released back in the Ghost Zone. Report anything concerning Vlad, and keep an eye out on Dani. She may have ghost powers, but she was also only thirteen years old at the time.

Now, over six years had passed since Sam had died, and Valerie had seen it all. From ghosts tearing down the city, to huge green shields covering the place full-time.

Ghosts were still able to get in somehow, but she learned soon after about the naturally existing ghost portals. That was something she didn't like.

Then there were these ponies. At first, they were unaware of the threat of the ghosts. But after a new tear formed, and a massive force of ghosts traversed through it, allowing for the invasion of one of their cities, that soon changed.

Now she would see ponies visit Fenton Co. regularly. Learning how to defend themselves, and others against ghosts, and how to use the Fenton's devices. It made them a force to be reckoned with.

After all this, she was used to many things; nothing could get the drop on her, no one could surprise her. So she was more than shocked when she returned home after an intensive hunt, opening her front door, only to see Dani stand on the other side.

Dani, in her ghost form, looked worse for wear as she collapsed to the ground and turned back to her human self in a flash.

Valerie, acting on perfectly honed reflexes, quickly caught the collapsing woman before she hit the ground and moved her to the couch.

Putting Dani down, she quickly made her way over to the windows, closing the blinders. She then activated the small anti ghost shield Tucker had installed in her apartment and switched on the signal jammers, making the place as quiet as the night for any outside listeners.

A soft groan brought her back to Dani, who was regaining consciousness.

Dani, slowly bringing her hand to her head, groaning out again as a stab of pain went through her brain. She then dragged the same hand down towards her throat, gently rubbing it as she began to speak with a slight hoarse voice.

"Hi, Valerie... You've got some water by any chance?" Dani croaked, wincing as she talked, her throat hurting a lot more than she realized.

"Dani! What happened to you?" Valerie asked urgently, approaching the young woman, giving her a quick once over to make sure if she didn't have any injuries.

"Water... please?" Dani said with effort.

Valerie nodded and went to her kitchen, pouring Dani a glass of water, and grabbing a painkiller to go with it too.

"Here," Valerie said as she gave the glass and pill to Dani, who gladly accepted the offered items.

Quickly downing the pill, washing it away with several large gulps of cooling water, Dani leaned back, waiting for the painkillers to kick in.

"Thanks," Dani croaked with a bit more ease, the water's cooling effect helping a bit.

"Now, what happened?" Valerie asked again.

"Vlad," was the simple response. Simple, but with a whole world of meaning behind it.

The moment the name left Dani's mouth, Valerie's demeanor changed. Going from a worried friend, to a cold, calculative ghost hunter called Specter.

"What did he do?" She demanded to know with venom in her voice. Yet the edges were cracked with worry. No matter what, she would always put Dani's safety first. It was because of her she almost died by the hands of Vlad and she swore to keep her safe ever since they started to work together. And now it seemed she failed.

Dani let out a tired sigh before answering. "You've heard about the mission I was on, the one Tucker gave me?" Dani asked her friend, seeing her nod. "Well... I was unable to find anything useful, and with not having heard anything of Vlad in months... I might have done something stupid."

"What did you do?" Valerie asked, worried, not liking where this was going.

"...... I went to his mansion."

"What? Speak up."

"I went to his mansion." Dani shouted, wincing as her throat reminded her that talking was difficult enough on a normal volume right now.

"You did what!? Valerie shouted, unable to believe what she was just told. "Tell me you're joking, kid. Tell me you didn't do that!?" She almost begged, not wanting to believe that Dani did what she said. But the downcast look she got in return was all the answer she needed.

"You did!?" Valerie said, defeated. Dani nodded her head in answer. "Please tell me he didn't follow you?"

"I don't know?" Dani said with a low voice.

"How do you mean, you don't know?"

"Because...." She fell silent for a moment, then sighed out. "He got me, disrupted my powers for a moment, and wanted to experiment on me," she revealed with hesitation, and Valerie's eyes went wide as her hands balled into fists, shaking slightly. "I was able to free myself, though. knocked him out for a moment," Dani grinned slightly. "But..."

"But what?"

"...... But the deflector Tucker gave me didn't work there, too close to the source, or something? His computer system was able to detect the electronic cloak and adjust itself to it," Dani admitted.

"What! So you mean he is able to detect you now? Wherever you are?" Valerie asked, panicked, shocked.

"Maybe?" Dani said, downcast.

"Damn it kid. What were you thinking? You know you can't go against him alone. You can beat him up, yes. But he will eventually use it against you. He will manipulate things in such a way that you will be the one that gets the final blow. Believe me, I know."

"I know all that! But I had to do something. He is up to something, and now I know for sure," Dani said with resolve in her voice.

"What do you mean?" Valerie asked the same question for the umpteenth time, sounding like a broken record.

"Before he found me, I was able to spy in on him, seeing what he was working on. He has some kind of weird interest in my cousin, Danny. And me, seeing how we are 'related' to each other. He was playing all kinds of old video records of Danny as he was scanning them, or something. He said something about a weird power Danny had, I don't know what he means with that though. He also thinks I have this power, too. But I would know if I did, right?... Argh, this is all so messed up. He got to me before I could learn anything more, and now he might even be able to find me anywhere, too," Dani said, breaking down and starting to panic, not wanting to run away from Vlad again, like she was forced to do when she was just a kid.

"Calm down, Dani!" Valerie said, placing her hands on Dani's shoulders. "We'll figure this out. We go to Tucker as soon as he gets back."

"Wait, he is gone?" Dani asked in confusion. Tucker wouldn't go away unless it was very important.

"Yeah, he and Jazz. Apparently a ghost managed to get through to that pony world, and they went there to investigate. Not sure how Jazz fits into all of this, but that is not for us to worry about. Right now, we need to keep you safe. If Vlad is interested in you, he will come for you. And if what you said is true, and he can locate you now, then this place is your best bet until we can go to Tucker."

"Wait! How do you mean a ghost got through? I thought that was all but impossible."

"Beats me?" Valerie said with a shrug. "But I wouldn't worry about that. We have our own problems right now. And we better be prepared for when they come knocking on the door."

"And what about Danny? Vlad is after him, too!" Dani said, not satisfied with the answer she got, but she would worry about it later. Right now, she and her cousin were in danger.

"Look kid, I care about you, and I will do whatever it is to keep you safe. But Danny Phantom is none of my concern. He is a murderer. I know not to believe the 'evidence' of Vlad, but other, separate groups, at least found some proof that he was there when Sam was killed. I know you won't think bad of your family, but face the fact kid. He murdered her," Valerie said as she looked in Dani's angry, teary eyes.

"No! I know he didn't do it. You may not like him, but even you know he wouldn't ever do such a thing!" Dani shouted, the pain in her throat all but forgotten, in part due to the painkiller.

"I used to think Vlad was a good guy, to. And look how that turned out. I won't argue with you about this, you need to find it out on your own in time. Right now, we have bigger fish to fry. If Vlad can find you now, then the only thing keeping you hidden are the jammers installed in my house. My bed is down the hall, on your right. Get some sleep. I will keep an eye out for this ecto creep, no offense. Tomorrow, when Tucker and Jazz come back, we will go to them, and tell them what you just told me. Maybe Tucker can readjust the deflector you've got from him, hiding you again from Vlad. But for now, we need to keep our eyes open. Or I have to, you need to get some sleep and regain your strength."

"Fine," Dani relented with defiance in her voice, slumping down and crossing her arms over her chest; glaring angrily at the floor, but keeping quiet, for now. She needed Valerie's help, and not to get into a fight with her.

'Since when did I think ahead about things?' Dani thought to herself.

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

It had taken Vlad some time to gather his senses and get back up. Dani was long gone, of course. But he might be able to track her down, now that Maddie had adjusted the system to her cloak.

Standing back up, dusting himself off as he did so, he calmly flew to the computer which held the program of his holographic Maddie.

"Maddie," Vlad called out, but received no reply.

"Maddie!" he called out, more forcefully. Still, no reply came.

Taking a moment to actually look at the system, instead of just shouting, he quickly learned the reason why Maddie wasn't responding.

Dani's attack had done more than just knock him down. The shockwave of her attack also managed to damage the machinery here, even though she didn't aim at it. The screens were cracked, and sparks shot out of them. Smoke rose up from the computers, and emergency lights flashed red.

"Why that wretched little... GHWAA!" Vlad yelled in anger, firing a dark red beam of ectoplasm at the wall Dani hid behind not too long ago; destroying the wall with his attack.

"You got lucky this time, brat. Next time you won't get away. When the systems are restored, I will find you again. And this time you won't be able to hide from me," he growled in a tone so dark and evil, if anyone were there to hear it, they would have fled in outright terror.

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

Tucker and Jazz, unable to discover anything new during their investigation of the scanner room, and without any official reason to stay any longer, were on their way back home; first traversing back through the tear as soon as it reopened.

They would come back, of course. With them having found their first real lead of Danny's whereabouts, there wasn't a choice not to. But before any new course of action could be planned, they needed to sort out the facts of what they had discovered so far.

They couldn't just go look for Danny, though. Not without asking for any more detailed information about him, which would raise quite a bit of suspicion.

Sure, they could have asked all kinds of questions concerning the 'affected individual', as long as their questions pertained to the matter of the ghost attack. Asking them where Danny went next, or if they knew where he lived wasn't. So, as far as this trail was concerned, they had run into a wall. Now they just needed to find a way around it.

Still, by closing the gap between Danny and themselves, their determination to find their lost friend, and brother had become stronger than ever before.

They knew Danny was alive and well, they saw so themselves. And they knew it was only a matter of time before they would find Danny for real. And with the update Tucker applied to the scanner, Danny would be ignored by the system, while it would alert them about his presence at the same time. So, for now, that would have to do.

Besides, it was a big world out there, he could have gone anywhere. The only way to find him quickly, if they couldn't discover his current whereabouts through the system, was if they could go from one place to the next in quick succession. And going around with the Specter Speeder would draw attention, a lot of it.

So the only other option they had would be Dani. If she were to go through using, say, a tourist's pass, she could just vanish and move around without delay.

But she has to be careful. If she were to be spotted, she would be in a lot of trouble.

But figuring out the full details of how to get Dani over to Equestria had to wait until they returned and they wouldn't land until several more hours.

"So, what do you think Danny is doing over there?" Jazz asked Tucker, who stared absent-mindedly out of the window.

"I don't know. What do you think? You're the expert on human behavior anyhow. What's your opinion?" Tucker replied, not knowing what to make of it all.

Jazz let out a sigh at that. "It's difficult, but I have some idea," she told Tucker, who was paying his full attention to her. "It's obvious he is in pain, with Sam's death and all. It's why he ran away, as we read in the letters he left for us. I think he is unable to get away from all of it. I think he was unable to find his place here and, therefore, went to the only other place that might have some chance for him to find peace. But I can't be sure about this. I'm only working with knowledge from six years ago, and the recording that we saw earlier," she explained.

"Yeah. It's obvious that something has happened to him, though. That shadow thing he pulled off over there, I don't think he could do that when we were still together. And the look in his eyes. Even on the video, it was clear as day," Tucker added his bit to the conversation.

"Indeed," Jazz agreed staring out of the window herself.

Tucker sighed out before he spoke again. "Anyhow, let's first get back home and regroup, see what we all learned. Maybe Dani knows something new about Vlad. And I'm sure she would love to hear what we learned about Danny. As little as it is."

"Yes. I just hope she didn't do anything rash while we were gone. You know how she can be," Jazz voiced her concern.

"Yes I do. She's just like Danny from time to time. How couldn't she be," Tucker said with a thin smile. This didn't go unnoticed by Jazz, but she remained quiet. "For now, let's just get some rest. We have a lot of work waiting for us back home."

"That most certainly is true," Jazz agreed, just a bit too eager for Tucker's taste.

"You really like that paperwork, don't ya?"

"But of course. Organization is the key to an effective work style," Jazz responded with pride.

"Uhu," Tucker responded, unimpressed and Jazz rolled her eyes in response.

"Oh, you know damn well what I am talking about. You keep all those files of yours neatly organized, too," Jazz replied readily.

"Well, yes. But it is all on my computer, not actual paper. That stuff gets everywhere. Why won't you allow me to set up a nice system for you to work with?" Tucker offered for the umptyenth time.

"No! I like my paper, and you won't touch it." Jazz countered sternly, making it clear this was not up for debate.

"Fine, fine," Tucker quickly dismissed this with a wave of the hand. "Woman." he quietly added with an eye-roll.

"What?" Jazz shot back, having heard his whisper.

"Nothing."

"That's what I thought," she said with a smirk.

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

Hours later. Tucker's office.

"You WHAT!?" Tucker shouted in disbelief.

He and Jazz had only just returned, and mere moments later Dani and Valerie showed up, clearly distressed; telling them what had happened during the time they were gone and, obviously, they weren't happy.

"I went to Vlad's mansion to spy on him there," Dani repeated, shrinking a bit under the stares she got from Jazz and Tucker. Especially Tucker.

"And he found you!?" Tucker said fearfully, knowing full well what he was capable of.

Dani just nodded, not looking up to meet his gaze. "He also had his systems adjust to the cloaking signal of the deflector you gave me." she said in a small voice.

"Oh, this is bad. This is really, really bad," Tucker fretted, hands in hair while pacing around.

"What were you thinking, Dani? Why would you do something like that?" Jazz asked the distressed girl standing in front of her.

"We haven't heard from Vlad in months now, and we needed to know if he was up to something," Dani explained.

"Of course he is up to something. He's always up to something!" Tucker snapped, and Dani shrunk down even further as she looked down at her feet once more.

"Hey, go easy on the kid," Valerie said as she stepped in between the two. "Yeah, okay. She made a mistake, but she did learn something worthwhile, isn't that right?" She said, looking at Dani over her shoulder.

"Eh, yeah. Yes, I did!" Dani responded with new found strength, remembering what she had learned.

"Well, what is it?" Jazz asked.

"I'm not completely sure. Vlad discovered me before he could explain the full extent of whatever it was he was doing. The guy sure likes to talk to himself. But what I did pick up was somewhat... troubling," Dani began, and Jazz, and Tucker cocked their eyebrows. "He has a rather unusual interest in Danny and, therefore, also in me. Seeing how we are 'related'. He thinks Danny has some kind of hidden power, or something. He was scanning all kinds of recordings of my cousin while he was in combat. He is up to something, and it involves Danny, and me."

"How do you mean? What kind of power is he talking about?" Jazz asked, before she turned to Tucker, only to stop asking him what he thought as she saw the look on his face.

"Tucker?" Dani asked as she, too, noticed the look he had.

Valerie, now too, looked at him, clearly seeing the pain and fear in his eyes. Something she had seen so many times before during her ghost hunts.

"Do you know what kind of power Vlad was talking about?" He asked in a strained voice.

"No, why?" Dani responded, not knowing what to make of Tucker's shift in behavior.

"Tucker, what is it?" Jazz asked.

Tucker almost appeared in a trance of sorts, as he walked to a chair and sat down heavily.

"Tucker?" Valerie said, now also concerned with his behavior.

"I... I never...." he let out a heavy sigh. "I never told anyone about this, because I didn't know if it was real, or if my mind was playing tricks on me. But..." he began, but stopped suddenly as he thought back to that event more than six years ago.

"But what? What didn't you tell us? Tucker!" Jazz said, almost hysterical, grabbing him by the shoulders.

Tucker looked up and stared Jazz in the eyes, and Jazz flinched back just a bit upon seeing the pain in his.

"I was there, remember. I saw Sam die, and I saw what happened next. But I couldn't believe what happened, it was all so surreal. Like a nightmare. It was a nightmare. After Sam died, something happened to Danny Phantom. I don't know what, but it was unlike anything I have ever seen before. A power unlike anything I have ever seen before," he revealed.

"How do you mean? What kind of power do you mean?" Valerie asked with ice in her voice.

"I... I don't know, but it was powerful, very powerful. I think. I don't know what is real, and what is fake. A lot of my memories of that time are somewhat hazy, but the crater they found us in was very much real, so... I just don't know," he sighed out as he shifted his gaze to Valerie.

"You mean that the crater you and Danny Fenton were found in, was made by the Phantom menace?" Valerie asked, receiving an angry glare from Jazz and Dani, but she was too focused on Tucker to notice.

"It's possible," Tucker said.

"That no good, ectoplasmic, undead, bastard!" Valerie shouted with barely suppressed rage.

"Hey, don't talk like that about him." Dani snapped, not standing by when her family was insulted like that.

Valerie was already mid-sentence to retort, but Jazz stepped in between the two, arms outstretched to either side to keep them apart.

"Okay, that's enough. We have enough problems to deal with right now, without the two of you fighting each other. Right now we need to focus on keeping Dani hidden from Vlad. If she is needed in whatever it is he is planning, we can't let him get to her. OKAY!?"

"Fine," Valerie and Dani answered simultaneously, bitter, turning their backs to each other.

"Okay, good. Now, Tucker," Jazz continued as she turned to the techno geek in the room. "Is it possible to adjust the deflector of Dani in such a way to hide her again from Vlad?"

"Eh, yes. Yes it might be possible," he stumbled over his reply, blinking stupidly as he snapped out his memory. "But it will take some time. Right now, the only thing keeping her hidden are the systems installed in this room. And the only other places that have them are Valerie's home, your place, and my own. Unfortunately Dani isn't really one for the whole home thing, so she doesn't really have a place of her own," he told them.

"Pfhh, homes are overrated. I have been living on the streets for years now, and look how well I'm doing. Besides, I can always crash at any one of your places if I have to," Dani said with a wave of her hand, and the other three looked at her in a mixture of sadness, and anger, not understanding why she preferred to live like that.

"Really, kid. You've got to have a place of your own. No one should live on the streets. I know," Valerie told her, remembering that she and her father almost ended there themselves.

"Nah. It's much easier this way. Now I have no place that Vlad can track down. Besides, I like the freedom," Dani countered.

"Regardless, we need to keep her hidden from Vlad. And our homes are the only viable option right now. However, she can't go to Valerie's. If Vlad has been able to track her, then he would most likely go there. Now, Valerie is more than capable of dealing with him. But it would still put Dani at risk, so that isn't an option. So that leaves Jazz and me," Tucker explained, then sighed out and Valerie looked down in anger as she, too, realized that Vlad might very well come to pay her a visit in the near future.

"Eh, sorry to say it, Tucker. But I won't be able to be much help here either," Jazz told him. "You know, the whole convention thing I have to go to. I don't want to leave Dani alone. She might be able to defend herself, but against Vlad. No, she does need someone to keep an eye on her."

"Hey, I am more than capable to take care of myself!" Dani half shouted her annoyance.

"We know that. But even so, you need someone that can help you get away if Vlad does manage to get to you. He is still much stronger than you, regardless of how much stronger you have gotten over the years," Jazz told her in a calming manner.

"Hmph, fine." Dani relented as she crossed her arms over her chest, glaring defiantly at the three other persons in the room.

"So, that only leaves me," Tucker concluded as his eyes flashed to Dani and back. Dani herself had a thin smile on her face as well at the realization that she was going to bunk with Tucker.

"It looks like it," Jazz said logically, but a slight amount of playfulness was hidden in it. She noticed the quick flash of the eyes from Tucker. And Dani's stance had also changed slightly. "Don't worry, it'll probably be fun."

"Yeah, fun," Tucker muttered as he and Dani looked at each other, then looked away, embarrassed.

Jazz and Valerie shared a knowing look, and a slight smirk.

"Fine, I guess she can stay with me. But only for as long as it takes me to readjust the deflector," Tucker said in an attempt to sound sincere, but not fooling the two smirking women standing on the side.

"Yeah, you do that. And while you're at it, don't play around too much." Valerie said in a tone that made Dani and Tucker blush with such intensity, Jazz and Valerie could almost feel the heat where they were standing.

"We are not a couple!" Both Tucker and Dani shouted.

"Never said you were," Valerie said with a smirk, almost losing it as she noticed the flustered look on both their faces. Jazz, too, had a difficult time to keep her composure.

"Right, whatever. Anyhow, thank you for bringing Dani to us, we'll take it from here, you can go now," Tucker stammered, flustered, his head a dark red.

"Ohmm, so you want me and Jazz to leave, huh? Leaving you alone in a room where no one can hear you," Valerie said playfully, and Dani and Tucker facepalmed, hard. But even their combined effort was not enough to surpass the one made by Carl at the tear facility.

"No, just you. Jazz and I have some personal business to sort out with Dani," Tucker said in a half groan, not looking up.

"Oh my," Valerie gasped in fake shock. "You mean the three of you... Wow, how adventurous." Now Jazz, too, had a red face.

"What!?" Jazz said flustered. "No, definitely not."

"Hmm, denying a bit too hard there," Valerie said with a suggestive eyebrow waggle, before bursting out in laughter. "Hahahahaha. Oh wow, you should have seen the looks on your faces. Priceless. Ha, well, you kids have fun doing whatever." And with that, she left the room. Leaving three red faced individuals standing there, not knowing what to do, or say next.

"Okaaay?" Jazz said after what seemed like hours. "That was... Interesting."

"That isn't the word I would choose," Tucker said.

"Me neither," Dani added.

Silence.

"So, what now?" Dani asked.

"Right. Now we need to talk to you about Danny," Tucker said as he retrieved his laptop from his bag. His embarrassment all but gone as he thought about the contents of the video he was about to show her.

"What? What about him? Did you find him?" Dani asked hopefully, almost floating where she stood.

"Yes and no," Jazz answered. "We picked up on his trail, but we don't yet know where he is, exactly.

"What do you mean?" Dani asked.

"See for yourself. Just know that it is somewhat shocking," Tucker said dead serious, powering on the laptop and turning it to Dani; playing the video.

Her eyes widened in shock at what she saw.

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

A few days had passed since the princesses had paid Danny a visit and, although some ponies there seemed to treat Danny with some suspicion, wondering why both the princesses came to him, that soon stopped after not too long.

Now he was making the most of his new life. Working hard, and secretly using his powers to make the job easier. And, of course, working on his house, when he had the time after work. Or he just talked with the locals, something he never did back on Earth.

Slowly, Danny was adjusting to the calm, but sometimes hectic village life.

He soon learned of a rather hyperactive group of fillies that, despite their size, were able to create quite a bit of damage during their quest to find their QT mark, or something like that. He would have to look into that sometime, but not today.

His regular customer at the café also helped to bring some chaos to his life.

That mint green unicorn showed up almost immediately after she learned he was working there, asking him all kinds of questions whenever he came to take, or bring her order. It provided him with quite a few awkward situations; both for him, and the customers sitting nearby. Especially when she asked him if she could lick his hands.**

Now though, with a day off, he was able to get some important affairs in order. Mainly, meat. After having gone all vegetarian for the last several days, he had to be honest. He grew tired of the only veggie meals each and every day. Therefore, with a determined strut, he made his way over to the edge of the Everfree Forest, as he learned from the locals was the name, to find this pony he was told took care of the animals there.

But unbeknownst to him, a purple unicorn was following suit; wearing a pith helmet, hiding in the bushes, and observing him with her binoculars.

Twilight had been observing her subject, Dannycus Humanicus, to see if anything strange was going with, or around him. Well, stranger, seeing the rather unusual conversations between him and Lyra. Although Lyra did the most of the talking, but still.

So there she was, following him around town, completely undetected.

Nopony was able to spot the masterly hidden mare as she was going from hiding spot to hiding spot, in plain sight, always following her unsuspecting target. She snuck to another bush when Dannycus Humanicus continued on his path away from her, moving towards the edge of the forest.

His path indicated he was going to Fluttershy. Curious.

She lifted her binoculars up, and took another good look at her subject. "Hmm, still nothing strange to see," she pondered, lowering the binoculars; mirrored by the pink mare seated next to her, covered in a black spy suit, and night vision goggles wrapped around her head. A serious look on her face.

"Indeed, I can't see anything strange either," she said all serious.

"WHAA!" Twilight yelled as she dropped the binoculars to the ground. "Pinkie, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm being sneaky just like you. But don't tell Twilight, I don't think she wants others to know that she is sneaking around." Pinkie said in a lowered voice, eyes shifting around as if she was looking for something, or somepony.

"Pinkie, I am sitting right here," Twilight said flatly, annoyed.

"Oh yeah! Hi Twilight, what're you doing?" Pinkie chirped happily.

Twilight, feeling the familiar sensation of logic breaking insanity known as Pinkieus Pieicus, suppressed the urge to scold Pinkie for how loud she was. She might as well have scared of her target. But a quick look later revealed Dannycus Humanicus hadn't heard them, and he continued onto his path without deviation.

Taking a deep breath, lifting a hoof to her chest, she exhaled slowly, extending her leg out in front of her. A breathing exercise her sister-in-law, Cadance had taught her to help her calm down.

"Pinkie. What I am doing is very important. I need to observe the Dannycus Humanicus," Twilight told the pink mare heatedly.

"The, who?" Pinkie asked, cocking her head to the side in confusion.

"The human," Twilight groaned, annoyed. How could she not know who she meant, it was as obvious as the sun in the sky.

"Ooooh. Why?" Pinkie asked with an eager smile.

"The princesses told me to do so. And no, I can't tell you why. It's a secret," Twilight explained as she returned her gaze to Danny. Using her magic to pick up the binoculars that she dropped to the ground.

"A secret! You mean you're on a super duper secret spy mission from the princesses?" Pinkie said, the words almost blurring together.

"Yes, I guess I am," Twilight confirmed, holding the binoculars in her hooves.

"Can I help?" Pinkie asked.

"I guess, but you need to promise not to tell anypony," Twilight said sternly.

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," Pinkie recited the incantation of her unbreakable oath, performing the corresponding motions, sealing the Pinkie Promise.

"Good, now let's see what he is up to," Twilight said, looking through the binoculars again.

"Umhum. Oh, can Lyra help too?" Pinkie asked suddenly.

"Lyra? Why Lyra?" Twilight asked as she continued to stare through the binoculars.

"HIYA," a happy voice chirped, almost next to Twilight's ear, and the purple scholar screamed out as she shot up in the air; flailing her limbs spastically as she lost her balance and fell backwards onto the ground.

Looking up, she saw the grinning face of a certain mint green unicorn.

"Lyra!" Twilight screamed before slamming her mouth shut, scolding herself for being so loud. "What are you doing here?" she said in a half whisper.

"Well, I saw you and Pinkie hiding in this bush here, observing Danny. And I thought I'd come over and say hi. So, how's it going?" She said, smiling broadly, completely missing Twilight's twitching eye.

"Lyra, get in here," Twilight said, grabbing hold on the mint green pony and pulling her into the foliage she, and Pinkie were hiding. "You're going to blow our cover."

"Cover? What cover? What are you doing?" Lyra asked, confused.

"We're on a super duper secret spy mission from the princesses. We must observe the human, and take him out as soon as he has revealed his diabolical plan to take over the world," Pinkie said in a low, but serious tone as she squinted, rubbing her front hooves together in diabolical fashion.

"What? No," Twilight reared back a bit, shaking her head, not believing what she just heard. "Why would you even think that?"

"Well, why else would we be spying on him?" Pinkie asked her friend in honest confusion.

"Look, we just need to observe him and report anything unusual.... Well, more unusual," Twilight added as she looked at the pink mare, who still wore a black clad spy suit.

"Ooh, can I help? Can I?" Lyra asked eagerly. "I have a ton of research on humans, maybe we can help each other out."

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea," Twilight answered, unsure, remembering some of Lyra's more unusual behavior. Then again, she was also here with Pinkie, who was the definition of unusual.

"Oh, come on. Please?" Lyra pleaded.

"Fine, just don't let him see you. Just look, no need to go run ahead and just ask him all sorts of questions," Twilight said with a sigh as she noticed the 'list' Lyra had made sticking out of her saddle bags. "And you can't tell him, or anypony else for that matter, about this."

"Aaw, really?" Lyra said, disappointed.

"Yes, really. Now, be quiet. He's almost out of sight, and we need to keep up," Twilight told them, quickly moving to another bush closer to her target, soon followed by Pinkie and Lyra.

"So, what are we looking for exactly?" Lyra asked.

"Anything unusual" Twilight said again, resisting the mental image of the three of them hiding in a bush. One clad in a spy suite and night vision goggles, the other grinning from ear to ear, and a golden glow around her horn, and notebook. 'Sigh, well, more unusual than this,' she thought.

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

'Man, these ponies are weird,' Danny thought as he saw the cottage mentioned by the villagers. And by the looks of it, it was exactly where he needed to be.

'Why are they trying to sneak up on me? And rather clumsy too. Shouting and yelling. Not really the best way to keep a low profile,' he chuckled quietly to himself. 'Well, they're not Skulker, that's for sure.' Shaking his head, he just ignored the less than stealthy mares as he walked over a small bridge crossing a small river.

It was then a pleasant tune caught his attention, and he noticed a yellow pegasus mare with pink mane and tail feeding the bird, humming a lovely song to herself.

"Hello," Danny called out as he approached the mare.

"EEP!" Was all he got in response as the mare let the bag of food fall to the ground, followed moments later by herself as her wings locked up in fright.

Partially hiding her face behind her mane, she looked at who called out to her, seeing the towering human standing there.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Danny quickly apologized to the mare, who was trying her hardest to hide behind her mane. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Eh, what was that?" Danny asked, unable to hear the soft spoken mare.

"I said, I'm fine."

"Eh..." Unable to make much sense of the quiet mare, Danny rubbed the back of his neck.

Looking around, he noticed the bag of bird food lying on the ground, some of its contents spilled out.

"Oh, let me help with that. It's the least I can do for scaring you," he said, and grabbed the back by the strap the mare had used to hold it; putting it back up right, then using his hands to scoop up what he could of the food that had spilled out.

As he did so, several birds came to him, picking the food out of his hands.

Danny looked at this in surprise. The birds back on Earth wouldn't ever do such a thing, and he laughed a bit as a bird landed on his wrist, picking the food out of his hand.

The mare gasped out. " Oh my, they are never this quick to trust a stranger," she spoke with a quiet, but gentle voice.

Looking behind him, Danny saw the mare slowly approach him; her eyes locked on the birds eating out of his hand, though she glanced at the tall human from time to time in uncertainty.

"So you can talk," Danny spoke up, and the mare released another startled gasp, recoiling from Danny as if she'd only now realized he was actually there, crouched next to her. "Oh, don't worry. I won't hurt you," he reassured with a kind smile, hoping he wouldn't scare the mare again.

The pony peeked out from behind her mane, looking at Danny as he spoke. His voice sounded calm and friendly, and she felt a bit more at ease this close to him because of it.

The bird sitting on Danny's wrist flew over to her, chirping to her as if he was saying that Danny was a friend and could be trusted.

More at ease now, the mare looked at the human crouched before her. Now that he was at eye level, he wasn't as intimidating as he was when he towered over her a moment ago.

"Hi," Danny said as the mare finally made eye contact.

"Hi," she said, barely audible.

"I'm Danny. And who might you be? I think I saw you at the party a few days ago, but I have a bit of trouble remembering all the names," he said, hoping that she wouldn't close up again.

"I.. I'm Flutt- ...Fluttershy. Nice to meet you, Danny," Fluttershy said a bit louder as she noticed the birds still pecking some of the food out of his hand, easing her fears a bit further.

"Nice to meet you, Fluttershy," Danny said. "I take it you are the one taking care of the animals here?" He asked as he looked around the place, seeing various birdhouses, a chicken coop and much more, indicating this was indeed the home of one that takes care of animals.

"Y-Yes," she said with a small nod.

"Great. Do you by any chance also feed any carnivorous animals? You know, meat eaters?" Danny asked carefully, not wanting to scare the mare, again.

"Y-Yes, but why do you ask?"

"Well, I was wondering, if it is possible, if I could buy some meat from you?" Danny asked, hoping he wouldn't creep out the mare with this, for them, macabre request.

"You want to buy meat from me? But why, that is for the animals?" She asked in confusion and fright, slightly raising her voice.

Awkwardly rubbing his neck, Danny tried to find the right words. "Well... you see.. the thing is. Well, I eat meat myself and I couldn't find any for sale in the village. But I heard that you took care of the animals here, so I thought that, maybe, I could buy some from you?" he answered truthfully, unable to find any words to make it sound less threatening to her.

"Y-y-y-you eat meat!?" Fluttershy stuttered, slowly backing away from Danny.

"Don't worry!" he half shouted as he raised his arm, holding his hand out towards the mare in a non threatening fashion, dropping the food he was still holding. "Look, I won't hurt you, or your animals. I am not some bloodthirsty creature. You don't need to be scared of me," he said with a twinge of pain in his voice, the words reminding him of the same thing he thought when the people ran away in fear when they saw him in his ghost form.

Hearing the pleading voice, and the underlying pain, she looked back up to see Danny reaching out to her.

She could see the hurt in his eyes as he sat there, hoping that he hadn't scared her away. Seeing the pain, but more importantly, a good soul in his eyes, Fluttershy relaxed and approached Danny, nuzzling his hand when she was close enough.

"Shhh, it's alright. I won't run away. I'm sorry for being scared of you. It isn't your fault that you eat meat, it's just who you are," Fluttershy said in a calm, friendly voice as she looked up at Danny, smiling. No longer scared of the tall human and even a bit mad with herself for being so unkind to him. So mad even, that she could just kick something.

Which she did.

With all her strength, she kicked a small pebble lying on the ground near her left foreleg and it flew with a majestic arc; landing with the faintest of 'thuds'... less than half an inch away.

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath to calm down, she hoped that Danny wouldn't think badly of her over her large outburst just now.

"I'm sorry about that, and yes, you can get some of the fish I have here. Although, I couldn't ask you for any money. Not after the way I acted," Fluttershy said, looking down a bit, her mane obscuring half her face.

"Oh, no need to worry about that, it happens to the best of us," Danny answered, thinking she referred to her being scared, not the tiny kick to the pebble he barely noticed. "But I have to pay something, right? I couldn't possibly just take it. It wouldn't sit right with me."

Fluttershy's mane now covered her entire face, hiding her behind a curtain of pink. She was supposed to be the Element of Kindness, but her behavior to Danny was anything but kind. She treated him with fear, where he was trying to be kind to her. Even going as far as to clean up the food that she spilled. Food that she spilled, just because he said hello. And now, even after she said that she couldn't ask for any money, he wouldn't take it. He could just take the fish. Instead, he wanted to pay for it. The kindness he had shown her in the short time that he was here amazed the pegasus. He didn't even comment on her wild outburst, just ignoring it and not calling her out on it.

She couldn't ask him for any money, not after all that, but what was she supposed to do? It was obvious that he was determined to pay her, even if she said it wasn't necessary. If only she could be a bit more like her friend, Rarity. She always knew how to solve things like this.

'Oh, Fluttershy. What are you going to do? He's been so nice to you. He even picked up the food you... dropped... Wait,' Fluttershy thought, an idea coming to her.

Peeking out from behind her mane, she looked at the bag of food Danny had put upright. Some birds were still picking the stray seed lying on the ground.

She turned her gaze back to Danny, seeing him still crouched down, waiting for her to reply.

"I can't ask you for any money, because you already cleaned up the food I spilled," she told him as she pointed at the bag. "I will give you some of the fish for free, as a thank you for your help," she added with a smile on her face, proud of herself for the great solution she had come up with.

"Are you sure?" Danny asked, unable to wrap his mind around the idea that these ponies could be so kind. Not too long ago, Rarity gave him a complete set of new clothes for free. And now Fluttershy was doing the same, just because he picked up some spilled bird food.

"Oh yes. I'm very sure. Just wait here, I will get some of the fish for you," she said, turned around and quickly vanished into her cottage.

As Danny stood there, amazed with all the kindness he had received from the ponies in town, as well as some of the weirdest conversations thanks to Lyra, he spotted a small white rabbit sitting next to the bag of food.

The rabbit held a carrot in one of his paws, pointing it threateningly at him, as his other paw made a gesture to his eyes, then Danny, almost as if it was saying: "I'm watching you!" But that was probably his imagination, right? Rabbits weren't capable of doing things like that... Right?

Utterly confused with what he just witnessed, Danny just stood there, waiting for Fluttershy to return.

It only took a small moment before she came back, carrying a small basket on her back which obviously held the fish.

She had a smile on her face as she approached Danny, then picked the basket off her back using her mouth, handing(?) it over to him.

"There you go, I put some of the larger ones in it. I hope you enjoy them," she said happily as Danny accepted the basket and looked inside it, seeing there were several sizable fish in it, more than he thought he deserved.

"Wow. This is more than I expected. Are you sure I don't need to pay at least something?" Danny asked the mare once again.

"Oh no," she said with a determined shake of her head. "They're yours. I mean, if that's okay with you," she stated confidently, then quickly hid behind her mane as her confidence left her, looking away shyly.

Danny noticed that, despite her shy behavior, she was determined to give him the fish without expecting anything in return. And not wanting to insult her, even though he was a bit uneasy with the thought that he would get this for free too, just as his clothes, he accepted the basket and its contents, thanking Fluttershy as he did so.

"Thank you, miss," he said, smiling to her.

"Oh, please. Just call me Fluttershy. All my friends do. I mean, if you want to, that is." Fluttershy said with her usual uncertainty.

"Okay. Thank you, Fluttershy. I will make sure I return the basket as soon as I can," he promised, gesturing at the basket in his hands. "It was nice meeting you," he added with a parting nod, smiling kindly and made ready to leave.

"The pleasure is all mine," she said with a happy smile. "I hope to see you again!" She quietly called out after Danny as he walked back to town, waving at him.

Danny waved back with his free arm, responding in kind at Fluttershy's remark, following the path back to his home.

Then, allowing his mind to wander, thinking about how great his life had become ever since he'd come here, he completely missed the three ponies spying on him from the nearby bushes.

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

"I don't believe it!" Pinkie shouted when Danny was far enough away, absolutely shocked. "Fluttershy is working with him. And just when you think you know your friends," she said disappointedly, looking accusingly at the cottage farther away.

"What are you talking about?" Twilight asked, baffled, not understanding anything the pink mare was saying.

"Why, isn't it obvious? Danny is building a device in secret. One which will allow him to overthrow the princesses, and make him the new ruler of Equestria. And Fluttershy just gave him the final part of his infernal doomsday machine. This means that she is also working as a secret agent," she deduced, then sucked in a large, shocked gasp. "No, a secret double agent, because she's also the Element of Kindness, which would give her the chance to get close to the princesses and allow her to make a move should the human's plan fail," she realized. Then her eyes widened and she sucked in an even deeper breath. "But that would also mean this place is probably a cover to hide their secret base hidden in her basement. GHAA!. You!" She gasped once again, pointing an accusing hoof at the bird which had just landed on the branch before her. "Okay you, mister. Speak up! What are you hiding here? Is it a training facility for spy animals?" She asked forcefully, her gaze shifting to the platypus close to the river, being sure she just saw it wear a hat. "Are you hiding a bomb here? Or, or," she sucked in another large breath and both Twilight, and Lyra looked at her in fear, and concern; both noticing the fact she had yet to breath out. "Are you making a device that replaces the frosting of a cupcake with old mayonnaise? Ooh, that's it, right? Oho, I've got you now. The secret is out. Just confess now, and maybe I will go easy on you," she rattled on and on, making one wild accusation after the other while keeping her hoof pointed at the unfortunate bird who, absolutely terrified, couldn't do anything but keep itself as small as possible, looking at the pink hoof almost pressing into his beak, unsure what to make of the crazed pony's rambling.

Twilight, too, couldn't fathom the absolute craziness of Pinkie Pie. It was almost as if she'd reached a new level of insanity and all she could do was sit there, mouth ajar. And even Lyra, not unfamiliar with Pinkie's burst of 'randomness', looked at the pink mare as if she had grown a second head.

"Pinkie... That's just crazy. I'm sure Fluttershy isn't a spy. Nor is Danny. What are you going to say next? Maybe he is a ghost, too!? No, whatever it was that Fluttershy gave him, I doubt it is for an evil machine," Twilight said, finally able to break out of the logic breaking lock Pinkie had forced onto her mind; trying to bring some logic in the craziness that was transpiring around her.

Lyra, shaking her head to clear her mind of the overload Pinkie had caused, looked towards where Danny had walked off to.

Now able to think clearly again, she thought back at what she had learned about humans during her studies of their species. And, despite her exuberant behavior around Danny, she was actually a rather intelligent mare. Not so much as Twilight, but still above average. And, although it was her talent to play a lyre, something her Cutie Mark showed, she was quite the sucker for anything unique and unknown. Therefore, it wasn't a surprise that, when the humans showed up, Lyra was one of the first to actually study them... intensively. Almost to the point it became an obsession, though Bon Bon often claimed it had already passed the point of it being merely an obsession.

Lyra thought she was just jealous.

Still, to have a real life human living in the village was absolutely exciting for her, and a dream come true; a dream she didn't even knew she had, until it had become a reality. Though, her own enthusiasm did have a tendency to get in the way.

She had questions, lots and lots of questions. And now she had the chance to get some answers. But every time she tried to start a normal conversation with Danny, all she could do was make a fool of herself as, instead of asking one of the many well prepared questions, all neatly written down on her list, she just blurted out whichever crazy thought shot through her mind at that given time.

She still felt incredibly stupid for asking him if she could lick his hands. Why did her brain fail her like that? All she wanted to ask was why humans have five fingers and not six or four. But the second her mind wandered to the topic of hands, something above just shut down.

Now though, with Danny far away, she could think clearly, and she put that brain of hers to good use.

"Maybe it was some of that meat Fluttershy keeps for her animals?" Lyra suggested logically, putting a lot of thought into this.

"Meat!?" Twilight half asked, half yelled. "Why would he get a basket with meat from her?" She asked and even Pinkie stopped her interrogation of the bird, who quickly flew away now the opportunity presented itself.

"Yeah. Why would he come here just to get some meat? That is so icky. Only those animals of Fluttershy here eat that," she said with a shudder, feeling a bit sick at the thought of eating another animal.

"Well, humans eat meat, too. It's part of their diet. They get sick if they don't eat it every now and then. Something with the proteins in it," Lyra explained, tapping her muzzle with her hoof, deep in thought as she tried to get all the details about this subject. Looking at the two mares sitting in front of her, she could see a look of sudden realization on Twilight's face, and a shade of green on pinkie's.

"Of course, that has to be it. I completely forgot about human dietary needs. This all makes sense now," Twilight said, noting everything down on the scroll she had brought with her.

"He... He.. He eats meat?" Pinkie asked, dry heaving. "EEEWW!"

"Yes, yes he does," Lyra said calmly, nodding.

"EEEWWW!!!" Pinkie shouted in disgust, and the numerous birds resting in the nearby trees flew away in shock.

"Pinkie, aren't you exaggerating a bit?" Twilight asked as she rubbed her ear, trying to get the ringing out.

"Exaberating!? Exaberating!? I'm not exaberating. He eats meat, Twilight. Meat!" Pinkie said in alarm, pressing her forehead against Twilight's, her eyes poking out each time the word meat was used. "What if he gets a taste for us ponies? Then what? GHAA. Oh my gosh, we need to warn everypony!" She said, frantically, running over to a hollow tree and grabbing a megaphone out of it. "It's a good thing I keep these stored all over Ponyville in case of a megaphone emergency," she said, then sucked in a deep breath. But before she had the chance to deliver her warning to town, a purple aura wrapped around her muzzle, forcing her mouth shut. Still, the force behind her voice was impossible to be fully contained, and Pinkie's well thought out warning instead became a flailing tongue as it pushed passed tightly sealed lips; accompanied with air escaping as she still tried to talk.

And with the megaphone active, and held close to her mouth, the all too familiar fake fart sounds foals tend to make for fun were amplified and aimed at Ponyville.

Noticeably surprised, the villagers all looked around in confusion. Some of which gave their neighboring pony a shove, fooled by the sounds; though there were numerous foals rolling over the ground in laughter when hearing the brown noise.

Using her magic to turn off the megaphone and putting it down, Twilight looked at Pinkie with annoyance.

'Phwrat?" Pinkie asked, the picture of innocence as she looked at Twilight.

Rolling her eyes, Twilight released her hold over Pinkie's mouth, returning the ability to properly articulate her speech. Something she wasn't sure was such a good idea.

"Pinkie, Danny's not some bloodthirsty beast on a rampage to devour everypony in town. Please, for the love of Celestia, don't do that again. You will turn the whole town against him for no reason at all," Twilight scolded, a hoof pressed against her slightly throbbing head.

"Are you sure?" Pinkie asked.

"Yes, Pinkie. I'm sure." Twilight responded with a sigh.

"But are you sure, you're sure?" Pinkie asked again.

"Yes! Ahum. Yes, I'm sure," Twilight responded with forced calm.

"Oh oh. But are you sure, that you're sure, about being sure?"

"PINKIE!!!" Twilight and Lyra shouted in unison, and Pinkie quickly stopped her rambling, giving the two an embarrassed smile.

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

Valerie walked down the street towards her house, nervous; feeling as if she was being watched. An unsettling feeling which latched onto her the second Dani showed up on her doorstep. And knowing the one who was most likely going after Dani, that was most likely the case.

She looked over her shoulder again, only to find herself alone amidst the crowd of people. Though, with ghosts, this didn't mean much.

She knew it would happen, that Vlad would make his move. But when? She was on edge. Every sound could be from the enemy, and she responded with finely honed skills every time she heard something suspicious. But on a crowded street, it proved to be nothing each and everytime.

The lack of any activity from Vlad almost forced a false sense of security onto her. The inactivity lulling her into dropping her guard. After all, if something was going to happen, shouldn't it have already? Of course, she knew better, and these kinds of thoughts only served to put her even more on edge. And thus, the cycle continued.

'Maybe he was unable to track her after all?' Valerie thought with uncertainty, not truly believing this. Her gut told her something was going on, and it had never failed her before.

So, with heightened senses to react to anything, or anyone that tried to sneak up on her, she continued on her path.

Despite her assumptions and gut feeling, her walk home was completely uneventful. Still, she wouldn't think of it as a false alarm. Instead, she knew today was just another day in a series that had been going on for the last several days, and most likely would go on until he would finally decide to show his ugly face.

Walking up the few flights of stairs towards her apartment, she opened her front door, stepped inside and put away the few items she had just bought in the nearby store.

Locking the door after, Valerie sighed out as she put the keys into a small bowl she kept close to the front door, finally allowing herself to relax. After all, home is where you can feel safe and secure.

Setting up a movie, she grabbed a quick bite to eat; the musical intro of her choice movie filling the chamber as she closed the fridge's door with a slight kick of her heel.

With plate in hand, she quickly moved for her couch, sitting down with a tired sigh. She'd only gotten a few seconds to herself when, with an almost irritating whine, her watch started to ring an alarm; freezing her mid motions, fork of food held just shy from her slowly closing mouth.

She knew that alarm.

It didn't sound like anything out of the ordinary. It was one of those simple alarms anyone would mistake for just an ordinary set alarm, easily ignored. But to her, it put her hairs on end.

Tucker had specially made this watch for her, incorporating the latest of ghost detection gear within it, allowing it to detect ghosts within a five hundred meter radius around her. And now it was warning her of a spectral entity in close proximity. And it's insistency indicated it must have picked up on one heck of a signature.

Activating the miniature holo display built in the watch, she could see a map of her neighborhood, and several red dots surrounding the building housing her apartment. Yet none of them seemed to move.

"What is going on?" Valerie grunted, grabbing one of her hand held ecto-blasters, pressing herself flat against the wall.

Slowly edging towards the window, she peeked outside, seeing absolutely nothing. Unless this nothing was, in fact, several invisible ghosts. But how did they get inside the city? The shield was still up. And, as far as she knew, there wasn't an active portal either.

"Hello, Valerie," a civilized, yet menacing voice said, coming from behind her.

Valerie turned around in a flash, pointing her blaster to the shadows behind her.

Slowly, a figure started to fade into view. His red eyes, fangs, pale blue skin and cape were all too familiar to her, and she could feel her blood heat up, and her heart rate increase.

"Vlad Plasmius!" She spat with as much venom as she could. And after years of fighting and catching ghosts, it was a lot.

"Now this is a surprise," he said, unfazed. "You know who I am?" He added with hidden surprise. He never had a confrontation with her before in his ghost form, so how did she know about him?

"Yeah, I know all about you Masters," Valerie snapped in a cold, hard tone.

Vlad's eyes widened in clear surprise and shock as she dropped that bombshell, but quickly shrugged it off, giving her a hard stare of his own, reassessing the woman standing in front of him.

"So, you do know about me. How very interesting. It must have been quite the surprise for you when you found out, wasn't it?" Vlad mocked as he slowly circled around her, feet never touching the ground. Valerie followed his every move with her blaster, ready to fire at a moment's notice.

"Oh, don't bother to threaten me with that toy of yours. I am far too powerful to be harmed by that thing," he said nonchalant, cocky even, as he looked unimpressed at Valerie's weapon. "Now, I take it you know why I'm here?" He asked all business like and Valerie's grip on her weapon tightened to the point her knuckles turned white. "Ah, seeing your reaction, I would say you do. Curious. A retired ghost hunter that helps ghosts. Oh my, dear. The irony is strong with you, isn't it. Now, although I would like to stay and chat, I have far more important things to do, so I will make this easy. I know that our mutual friend was here several days ago and I want to know where she went. Tell me now and I will spare you. Refuse and I am afraid I must resort to force instead. Your choice."

Valerie smirked evilly at Vlad. "So, it seems the almighty Vlad is not completely caught up with current affairs. Funny, seeing how you always try to keep an eye on everything and everyone."

Vlad arched an eyebrow, but didn't show any other sign that what she said got to him.

"Look your twiddling fool. Our little friend might have been able to slip underneath my radar, but that won't save her for much longer. I know she is still around here and you know where. Just tell me now, or else," Vlad threatened, showing a small amount of frustration.

Valerie just gave a humorless laugh, her sight locked firmly on Vlad.

"Oh, do tell. What's so funny? I do love a good laugh," Vlad sneered.

"Just that you thought I was talking about Dani. Instead, I was referring to the whole retired ghost hunter thing you just said," Valerie answered, smiling ferally, showing teeth.

"And what do you even mean with that?" Vlad asked, almost sounding as if he cared.

"This. ACTIVATE!" Valerie shouted, engaging the startup sequence of her armor.

Covering her spine was a metallic rig following the contours of her back. Lights flicked on over the length of her vertebrae as her armor started to form around her.

Metal bands sprung around her midsection, and expanded further around her body as thousands of pieces of technology worked together in perfect unison to form the all too familiar armor of Specter.

The whole process looked like that from the movie Metal Sir. You know, the one where the actor Rupert Upping Senior plays the role of Brony Park, who used his vast intelligence to build an armor unlike anything ever seen before. He did this to fight crime after witnessing the murder of his parents in a dark alley when they were bitten by a radioactive spider. A spider specially created by the Credible Bulk, who in reality was Lee Stan, famous writer.

Lee Stan was, however, involved in an accident trying to infuse his latest novel with gamma radiation to increase the impact of the story on the reader. But when he read the book to see if it worked, the story had become so powerful it became alive. But with no proper form to hold itself, the knowledge it had poured into the mind of its creator. Now, whenever his intellect was tested beyond his limits, the Credible Bulk would appear. Crushing his opponents with sheer intellect. But sometimes he had to resort to more 'advanced' forms of its intelligence.

After Bois and Mark, famous journalists from the Nightly Beagle, and parents of Brony Park, found out about his secret alter ego, they planned to make a special report on it in the paper. Lee Stan couldn't allow this, and so he devised a plan to stop them. Creating a genetically engineered spider and infusing it with nuclear radiation, to take out the two reporters. And, in doing so, he would create one of his greatest enemies ever. Metal Sir. The hero of the world. He who personally provided world peace. And he who fights crime, like a sir.

Authors note. Please don't ask me what it was that I just smoked. Frankly, I don't know either.

The armor completed its formation around Valerie, and Vlad looked at his shocked, distorted reflection in the toxic green visor.

"You!" Vlad yelled.

"Me," Specter responded cooly in her warped voice, raising her right arm, deploying the weapon system built into it.

A small, gatling gun-like blaster formed around her wrist, aimed squarely at Vlad's head.

"Oh, butterscotch," Vlad cursed as the weapon fired, blasting him through the wall.

As Vlad soared through the air, accompanied by several pieces of wall, a translucent white aura appeared around him. In a flash, he turned into nothing but a wisp of energy, swirling through the air, rejoining with the original.

"Oh fu-" Valerie half shouted her curse as she saw all the duplicates of Vlad hover in place, several of them firing an ecto-beam at her, cutting her off before she could finish her sentence.

Diving out of the way of the energy attack, she activated her hoverboard, which folded out from her boots in a similar fashion as her armor formed around her.

Now able to fly, she rushed out of the hole in the wall and started to attack Vlad, or Vlads, as was the case.

Specter soared through the sky, blasting away at all the duplicates. She got several hits, and those that were shot down turned back into energy, returning to sender. She used this to find the original, only for more duplicates to get in her way, preventing her from getting too close to the real him. Even allowing them to be shot at and taking the hits she fired their way. After all, Vlad could easily make more of himself. And with each duplicate Specter shot down, two more took his place. Quickly outnumbering the ghost hunter and draining her strength, despite how well she was doing.

"Hahahaha. Do you really think that you stand a chance against me? Even when I'm split up this many times, I'm still capable to hold you down. Now, I wanted to just ask you to tell me what I wanted to know. But seeing how you rejected my generous offer, and spat me in my face, I will just torture the information out of you." All the Vlads said simultaneously, creating an eerie echo as they did.

Now, Specter wasn't one to run away from a fight. And in a different situation, she would have taken her chance. But now she was the only one standing between Vlad and Dani, and she couldn't risk getting captured and forced to tell him where she was. She knew she wouldn't talk easily, but she couldn't take the chance.

So, looking at all the duplicates surrounding her, she did the only thing she could do in this situation she knew would work. She grabbed one of her flash bang ghost shield grenades. It would blind anyone that would see the flash, and the small shield that would accompany the blast would drive away any ghost nearby.

Activating the grenade, and holding it for a few tense seconds before throwing it above her head, it exploded in a bright flash.

Her visor, darkening automatically as it registered the sudden increase of luminosity, protected Specter from going blind. Still, she closed her eyes all the same.

"What is th-WHAAA!!" All the Vlad's yelled out as the flash blinded them, while those within the shields' range were flung away.

In the confusion the grenade had caused, Specter flew away at top speed.

She couldn't return home for a long time to come, Vlad would definitely keep an eye on it now. She needed to hide, but she couldn't just abandon the city either. Not with scum like Vlad on the loose. No, she would have to resort to guerrilla tactics for now. Hit and run. She knew she would still be able to get help from Jazz and Tucker, but she wouldn't risk contacting them for a while. Not until she was sure it was safe enough to do so.

'Okay kids, you're on your own for now. Hopefully he didn't track Dani down to any of you. But if he did, I hope you will be able to get away from him,' Specter thought as the city flashed by underneath her. 'And don't you worry, Vlad. I will get my rematch soon enough.'

*This is one hundred percent NSA approved.
**This is a reference to the bonus chapter "Lust" of the fiction MIA, written by Gravitys Rainboom.

Author's Note:

Ok, and here we have it. The next chapter of Guilt of a Phantom.
I hope you enjoy the chapter, it sure was quite the job for me to write.
As usual, tell me about any mistakes I've made, and what I should do to change them.

Powerdrainer.

Comments

[NightmareKnight]

I go to my favorites looking for something to read and I see this. Then I see the word count...

JESUS CHRIST! This chapter is a beast!

[Luna Lover19]

"What are you going to say next? Maybe he is a ghost too!?"
Ohhh, the irony!
And I love Spike's comment to Danny's apron!

The princesses also seem to find Danny mysterious and interesting. It may not be long until Twilight or the princesses find out his secret! NO SPOILERS!!!!

Keep the chapters coming, Powerdrainer!

[Capt TeK]

"Dannycus Humanicus"?...i think i face-palmed so hard it rivaled Carl's by a milipoint.

[nightmaster0]

I loved Pinkie in this chapter.

So they still haven't told Valerie the truth about Danny.

[secretfan]

Good Lord, what was with that one paragraph!? Soo many counts of superhero references (mostly marvel, with one DC as far as I could tell)! I have to ask: What the f*ing h is wrong with you?! The only person I know that could have come up with something like that is Twinn! That person's story is full of weirdness and partial insanity! Good weirdness, and awesome partial insanity, but weird and insane nonetheless.
Random moustache!

[MoonlightSparklez]

She just assumed that they shared the same costumes,

I'm pretty sure you meant customs

[doctor_n]

Full of confident that Danny would be able to impress Quick Grill, and get himself the job. Danny headed into town

Sudden change to third person.

[doctor_n]

Authors note. Please don't ask me what it was that I just smoked. Frankly, I don't know either.

Use all the comic book references.
P.S. I would have used the paragraph but it was too long.

[Voltrasin]

He was lucky that his co-worker, a unicorn mare called Ruby,

A waitress named Ruby? Is that a Corruption of Champians reference I see?

[Emerald Shield]

Mister Me found that Phineas & Ferb Easter egg!

[Sanguine Moon]

But you admit you were smoking something right?

[AdmiralPopeyesBeard]

Pinkie was about to yell her ''warning'' to the nearby town, when a purple aura wrapped around her mouth, forcing it shut. This caused pinkie's well thought out alert to stop before it left her mouth, resulting in her tongue sticking out as the only sound she was still able to produce were poorly imitated fart sounds. But, with the megaphone still active, and in her hooves, the sounds were amplified, and sent on their way to Ponyville, making the villagers look around in confusion as they heard the sound. One or two ponies gave their neighboring pony a shove, thinking it was them that ''produced'' the sound.

I almost literally fell out of my chair and ROFLed because of that. Thank you, that was just amazing.

Oh, and I'm lovin' this story so far, dude!

[Dark_Night]

Is it bad that i have to zoom in to read most of the fluttershy quotes?

[Old Diggy]

**This is a reference to the bonus chapter ''Lust'' of the fiction MIA, written by Gravitys Rainboom.

If '**This' means Lyra asking to lick his hands, than you're referencing a lot more than just that Fanfic, I've read at least 3-5 Fics where she asks that, none of them being MIA.

[NightSong23]

what will you say next, maby he's a ghost

seriously twlight

[Hallucination]

why is the entire thing italicized after he meets the princesses? That's incredibly disorienting

[Lord_01010000]

Why Lyra? I know you have a thing for hands, but.........

[Ugly-Duckling123]

"Ha. This should be a walk in the park. What could possibly go wrong?" he said, cheerfully.

Fairly Odd Parents

Then again the are from the same people aren't they?

[Oddball 1]

4089814
That must of been some good shit

[SharpNote the FABULOUS]

Authors note. Please don't ask me what it was that I just smoked. Frankly, I don't know either.

Metal Sir

Parody of Iron Man.

Rupert Upping Senior

Parody of Robert Downey Jr.

Brony Park

Parody of Tony Stark. Definitely a pony parody.

He did this to fight crime after witnessing the murder of his parents in a dark alley

Pretty sure that's Batman's motive for crime-fighting crime.

when they were bitten by a radioactive spider.

That's how Spider-Man got his powers.

the Credible Bulk

Parody of the Incredible Hulk.

Lee Stan

Parody of Stan Lee

Trying to infuse his latest novel with gamma radiation to increase the impact of the story on the reader. But, when he read the book to see if it worked,

... Incredible Hulk.

Now, whenever his intellect was tested beyond his limits, the Credible Bulk would appear.

... Although anger vs. knowledge.

nightly beagle

Daily Bugle. Although not capitalized.

The hero of the world

The Avengers- one of which is Iron Man- are often called "Earth's Mightiest Heroes."
This is one big Marvel parody! (Although with a DC reference hidden away.)

[King of Kings]

Except for the bow-tie, he didn't really like it, but he could ignore it.

But...bow-ties are cool!

[Rye Bread]

The whole process looked like that from the movie Metal Sir. You know, the one where the actor Rupert Upping Senior plays the role of Brony Park. Using his vast intelligence to build an armor unlike anything ever seen before. He did this to fight crime after witnessing the murder of his parents in a dark alley when they were bitten by a radioactive spider. A spider specially created by the Credible Bulk, who in reality was Lee Stan, famous writer. Lee Stan was, however, involved in an accident. Trying to infuse his latest novel with gamma radiation to increase the impact of the story on the reader. But, when he read the book to see if it worked, the story had become so powerful it became alive. But with no proper form to hold itself, the knowledge it had poured into the mind of its creator. Now, whenever his intellect was tested beyond his limits, the Credible Bulk would appear. Crushing his opponents with sheer intellect. But sometimes he had to resort to more 'advanced' forms of its intelligence. After Bois and Mark, famous journalist from the nightly beagle and parents of Brony Park, found out about his secret alter ego, they planned to make a special report on it in the paper. Lee Stan couldn't allow this, and so he devised a plan to stop them. Creating a genetically engineered spider, and infusing it with nuclear radiation, to take out the two reporters. And, in doing so, he would create one of his greatest enemy's ever. Metal Sir. The hero of the world. He who personally provided world peace. And he who fights crime, like a sir.

I LOLed so much I scared the dogs. Best. Paragraph. EVER.

[SpyketheRAWRCat]

Gosh diddly dangit, Pinkie

[Zubric]

A bit odd to make a comment about a four-year-old story but the griffins eat meat, so I’m sure rainbow and react to meet either

[zhunter]

"That seems unlikely. But even if he is, Twilight will be able to take care of herself. Her friends will be there to help as well. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?" Celestia reassured her younger sibling, then stepped out of the chariot and approached the library.

celestia you dumb ass

[Acadians6545]

'Crap!' She thought and turned invisible after spotting her 'father'. She hoped the deflector she got from Tucker would hold out and stayed as far away from Vlad as she could, not wanting to set off his ghost sense from getting too close, if she hadn't already.

He doesn't have a ghost sense Danny's ghost sense is a direct result of his ice powers which Vlad doesn't have.

[Acadians6545]

The whole process looked like that from the movie Metal Sir. You know, the one where the actor Rupert Upping Senior plays the role of Brony Park, who used his vast intelligence to build an armor unlike anything ever seen before. He did this to fight crime after witnessing the murder of his parents in a dark alley when they were bitten by a radioactive spider. A spider specially created by the Credible Bulk, who in reality was Lee Stan, famous writer. Lee Stan was, however, involved in an accident. Trying to infuse his latest novel with gamma radiation to increase the impact of the story on the reader. But when he read the book to see if it worked, the story had become so powerful it became alive. But with no proper form to hold itself, the knowledge it had poured into the mind of its creator. Now, whenever his intellect was tested beyond his limits, the Credible Bulk would appear. Crushing his opponents with sheer intellect. But sometimes he had to resort to more 'advanced' forms of its intelligence. After Bois and Mark, famous journalist from the Nightly Beagle, and parents of Brony Park, found out about his secret alter ego, they planned to make a special report on it in the paper. Lee Stan couldn't allow this and so he devised a plan to stop them. Creating a genetically engineered spider and infusing it with nuclear radiation, to take out the two reporters. And, in doing so, he would create one of his greatest enemy's ever. Metal Sir. The hero of the world. He who personally provided world peace. And he who fights crime, like a sir.

Authors note. Please don't ask me what it was that I just smoked. Frankly, I don't know either.

Can I get some man cause I need to be this blasted immediately.

[Powerdrainer]

9560066
Sorry, mate. I'm all out.

*Eyes nervously shifting from left to right as I slowly back away into the shadows*

[Lunae Lumen]

Of course I care for animals that eat meat.
Oh no, you eat meat?!

I won't tell anypony, Pinkie Promise.
Oh hi Lyra let me tell you the thing I just promised not to tell!

[Clopian26]

The whole process looked like that from the movie Metal Sir➡️
I haven’t seen someone this blasted since the movie grandmas boy “Drive monkey Drive!”