• Published 25th Mar 2014
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Silver Spirit, Ghost of Equestria. - Powerdrainer



In their quest to earn their Cutie Marks, and maybe find an answer for the strange events that have occurred, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo soon learn they've taken on more than they can handle. Question is, can they keep this a secret?

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Spirit Trouble. Part 1

I want to thank Vates Despero for proofreading and editing this chapter.

Spirit Trouble

Part 1.

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

It hung in the darkness, suspended in the glow of its own power. The green aura surrounding the black book illuminating the many books found around it, while it lay open at the centerfold, words appearing as if they were written by an invisible pen. Words that were written before, but with a meaning behind them that was missed by those who read it. A meaning that would slowly reveal itself to them. To her.

There are many different forms of spectral beings. Ghosts, specters, spirits and shades to name a few. Each one of them is unique, and yet they are the same. Their power comes from the same source, but changes to match the form they choose after their deaths.

Whatever the deceased will become, or call themselves, is determined by the choices they've made while alive, as well as the choice they will make in Purgatory. But sometimes, in rare events, life and death mix, creating something truly unique. A Halfa. Over the millennia there have been only three beings that could be called as such. One chose the path of evil, another the path of the hero. And one who wandered, who was born in the darkness but found her way into the light.

But the hero was lost to guilt and sorrow, and evil is moving ever closer to him. The wanderer, still looking for him, will have the help of others, but it might not be enough.

Destiny is a curious thing, and it is not always what you thought it would be. Three has become four, but it may not remain like that.

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle. Your journey has only just begun.

You looked for meaning in your lives, but it is in death that your path shall reveal itself. Sweetie Belle, in time you will know what you are meant to do. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, you will be by her side when that time comes. How things will play out, however, depends on how you deal with this now.

Sweetie Belle, either you embrace the gift given to you, and learn to use it. Or you run away from it. But destiny will follow you everywhere, and the outcome will depend on your choice.

The pages bristled as the words vanished, and for a moment the book just hung suspended in the air, nothing happening, until a few final words were written on the empty pages.

Choice….

A choice is about to be made… Now, I wonder. How will you deal with the consequences, Silver Spirit?

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

It was late at night, or early in the morning, depending on how you looked at it, and Sweetie Belle dragged herself back to her bedroom. She, along with the rest of her friends, and basically everypony in town for that matter, had just attended a birthday party for Danny, the town's very own human.

Now though, she was partied out. And she, along with her older sister, Rarity, had just returned home; both of them heading to their rooms without much conversation.

Sweetie Belle felt as if her hooves each weighed a ton as she dragged herself upstairs, looking forward to her warm, comfortable, soft bed. Sighing tiredly as she came to a stop in front of her bedroom door, she lifted a hoof with tremendous effort, and opened the obstruction, hearing her sister close her own door behind her at the same time.

She trudged inside, sluggishly looking around as she fumbled to find the light switch. With a 'click', the light turned on, and she instinctively flinched and closed her eyes in response. Shaking her head, and cracking open her eyes, she looked longingly at her bed. However, what she saw instead made her eyes shoot open, her weariness banished in an instant.

Her room, maybe a bit messy before, was now a disaster zone. And she was fairly sure she wasn't the cause of it… this time.

"What… What happened here?" she wondered out loud, only to be silenced by the sound of her sister's shrill voice.

"Sweetie Belle, go to bed and be quiet!"

Sweetie Belle looked in the direction of Rarity's bedroom, quietly muttering under her breath as she closed her door, before turning her attention back to disaster that she used to know as her bedroom.

'What happened here? she thought, repeating herself.

She slowly moved around her room, taking in all the carnage. Books, toys, school work, what few clothes she owned, and everything else that was hers lay scattered around the floor, with drawers pulled out of their respective places, and a few things were even broken or crushed.

'What happened here?' she wondered again, 'Was… was it those ghost hunters?' a shudder moving down her spine.

Gulping, she rushed to the windows, closing the curtains with a quick pull with her mouth. Looking around nervously, she practically flew to her bed from where she stood, trying to bury herself under her blanket to hide herself. However, she tripped over her own legs, and dragged the constricting cover down to the ground with her as she instinctively grabbed onto it. She poked her head up with an annoyed frown, looking back at her hind legs, giving them a kick to free herself, when she spotted something. She froze where she lay, as she stared at the object lying under her bed. It was something that wasn't hers. Something that shouldn't be there. Something she recognized. Something she knew who it belonged to.

"Diamond Tiara," Sweetie Belle growled, eyes glowing a toxic green.

"SWEETIE BELLE. GO TO BED!"

"Oh, right. Sorry, sis."

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

Metallic legs tapped against the wall, as the spy drone climbed the vertical structure. Its camera eyes adjusting to the darkness, and it observed its surroundings through the green filter that was called night vision. It, along with its fellow drones, were sent out into the ponies' world to search for any and all spectral energy. Their master hoping that they would find the one that had long held his interest. But they found many signatures, and they split up to pursue these many leads. Some flew north, and all contact with them had been lost. While some remained back in the city this unit first deployed from. And others, like it, flew towards a small village found in the valley close to the city on the mountain.

And even then, they split up into
even smaller groups. Some followed the alluring call of the energy signature coming from a lone house at the edge of town, while others ventured into a dark, dense forest. Others moved towards a collection of trees, planted in neat rows, all of them bearing fruit.

But this unit, however, followed yet another energy signature. A signature that was familiar, yet strange all the same. A signature that could only belong to one type of being, but which was wild and unstable. An unknown. An unknown that led him towards the sleeping filly.

The tapping on the wall ceased as the drone came to a stop. Its camera eyes focused on the sleeping form of the white unicorn with a curly, two tone mane. Its camera's focusing as its sensors picked up on the all too familiar, energy of the dead.

Silence fell as it watched her. Observed her. Studied her.

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

The sun was beginning to shine its warming light down on Ponyville, and the birds began to sing their pleasant songs, filling the crisp clean air, giving the promise of a wonderful, productive day.

Unless, of course, you just happened to be a certain spirit, curled up under a warm blanket, hidden in the darkness provided by the obscuring curtains in front of the windows.

Sweetie Belle groaned as she slowly looked up, her pillow balanced on her head, and her mane sticking out every which way. Smacking her lips a few times, she looked around, unable to see anything.

Now, normally one would turn on the light to see, and get blinded as a result since they are not yet used to the blinding power contained within those flimsy balls of glass. Sweetie Belle, however, she… Well, she did the same. Or she would have, if she hadn't gotten her legs tangled up in her sheets, causing her to drop down to the floor.

She grumbled under her breath, and her eyes glowed green in frustration, when she made a shocking discovery. Suddenly, as if by magic, she was able to see as though her room was brightly lit, albeit with the colors more faded, dull even. She looked around with an expression of surprise plastered across her face, the fact that she could see in the dark with her spirit powers having gone unnoticed by her before, but now she couldn't ignore it.

"Well, that's going to be useful," she groaned, pulling herself back up while looking around her trashed room, the memories of last night returning to her, and she frowned at the silver tiara placed on her desk.

"Hmmm," she hummed as she shook herself free from the constricting hold her blanket had over her, and she slowly paced around her room, taking in the damage, knowing that she would have to clean it up.

Grumbling, she returned her attention to the tiara, and a grin began to form on her muzzle.

It fell not long after, as she realized she still had to clean her room, and that she better get started.

From what she could tell, Rarity was still asleep. Why she had woken up as early as she did, she didn't know, but she took the chance it presented to her to mend the damage so obviously caused by Diamond Tiara, before she herself got in trouble for it with Rarity.

She sighed as she set to work, tip hoofing to remain as quiet as she could, while planning ahead on how she was going to get back at the school's bully.

'Obviously, my powers are going to be a part of it. But I need to get better control over them,' she mused, a green glint drawing her attention, seeing the light coming from her eyes reflecting off the jewels set in the tiara.

'Well, Crusaders. It looks like we're gonna go spirit training again.'

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

The day was starting for the four ghost hunting ponies out in Whitetail Woods, and they were already up and about to continue their work. Or, lack there of, as none of them had found anything noteworthy after Vigilant Shield's find. And with the possibility of their equipment not working properly, much to Vigilant Shield's chagrin, they were back at square one. Not that they were that far along to begin with, but it was a downer all the same. Therefore, motivation was hard to find.

Their investigation in the forest had borne some fruit, though, as they did find some transient hits here and there. But, after investigating those leads, they had to conclude that they were dead ends, no pun intended. So, unable to find anything conclusive, and with Vigilant Shield developing an almost unhealthy obsession in her attempts to relocate the spectral signature she first discovered, they had to agree, though Vigilant Shield did so only begrudgingly, that whatever it was she picked up on was long gone.

Charming Prism did relayed his team's finding to Rolling Stone, and vice versa. Sifting through the possible leads, and discussing new courses of action, they were given a new assignment.

After comparing their notes and findings, it became apparent that Rolling Stone's team was finding more and more possible leads, whereas Charming's team was not. And, through discussions and level headed thinking, their most logical conclusion was that the possible ghost Vigilant detected had just ventured out in the woods, before being scared off by her. And, taking into account the strange readings found in Ponyville, and the lack of any further findings in the woods, they concluded that the spectral entity they were looking for was most likely hiding in or near the village.

It was a long shot, but it was the best they had, for now. Rolling Stone and his team were planning on making a sweep of Danny Manson's house, as he was scheduled to be in Canterlot for the day, giving them ample opportunity to finally make a detailed scan of the human's immediate surroundings.

Of course, this also left Charming Prism's team with little to do, as their chosen location proved to be a cold spot, with little to no activity at all. Which resulted in another problem. Obviously, they first planned to join their fellow hunters in Ponyville. But, a group of that size would draw unwanted attention, and not only of the undead kind. Then there was the problem of scaring away the possible threat, sending it to some other village or city.

So, after having discussed this with Rolling Stone, it was decided that, in the interest of not scaring off any ghosts which might result in the haunting of some innocent soul, they were to return to Canterlot, and help out with the experts coming in from the Fenton Corporation.

Therefore, they got up bright and early, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and began to tear down their camp, putting their equipment back in whatever pack they came in. Which proved to be a more difficult task than initially thought, as their things didn't seem to fit inside the bags the same way as they came out. But finally, they were done and set to move to the train station, along with the cover story of a camping trip, should anypony ask.

Still, they couldn't help but feel that they had wasted their time, and the mood was a bit tense. Vigilant Shield, still sure about her find, but without any way to prove it as a result of this unusual interference, grumbled to herself. She knew she could clean up the signal with some more precise calibration, which she tried... a lot. But with no success, much to her chagrin. Especially when she was told Blue Ice was making good progress with her own set of scanners.

But she, along with the three other ponies in this team did as they were told to do, and she just hoped Blue Ice, second after her when it came to scanner expertise, wouldn't mess up. Still, she did get her bits, as part of the bet. So she had that going for her, which was nice.

Charming Prism, their assigned leader, looked around the broken down camp, making sure nothing was forgotten, as he stowed away the last of his equipment.

"Okay everypony" he called out when he saw that all of them were done. "Time to make one last sweep of the area. Make sure we haven't forgotten anything. Nothing too fancy, since if anything big was missing we'd know. Just make sure that this little 'camping trip' actually looks like one, and nothing remains that shouldn't remain."

"Yeah, yeah. We know the drill," Flash Lightning replied, and he set to work, followed a moment later by Vigilant Shield and Midnight Blossom.

Rolling his eyes over Flash Lightning's answer, Charming Prism joined them. And together they made sure nothing that could reveal that they were there for ghost hunting remained.

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

The day had well and truly started, and Sweetie Belle was finally finished with the reconstruction of her room, after a certain pink earth pony filly had decided that she was gonna wreck it.

Sighing tiredly, she looked around her cleaned room, feeling proud and satisfied with the result, when her sister called to her from the floor below, informing her that breakfast was ready.

Heeding the call, Sweetie Bellr opened the door, and moved down to the kitchen, partially lost in thought.

'Right, Rarity,' she mused as she saw her sister sitting at the dinner table, 'I'm pretty sure I'm still grounded, despite last night's party,' she pondered as she jumped up on one of the stools, and Rarity placed a plate with a sandwich in front of her, as well as a glass of orange juice. 'I doubt I can just walk out through the front door like that right now… Oh, wait. Invisibility, duhu,' she mentally face hooved, while taking a bite out of her sandwich, 'Still, I'm sure she would notice. Unless, of course, she's busy with her work...' Sweetie Belle's eyes lit up when a plan formed in her mind.

She wolfed down her sandwich like a starved pony, and downed her drink with large, audible gulps, much to the apparent horror of her older sister.

Swallowing the last of her food, Sweetie Belle burped loudly, making Rarity shudder, before scolding her.

"Sweetie Belle. That is no way for a lady to behave."

"Huh. Guess I'm not a lady, then," she said, pretending to be deep in thought as she rubbed her chin.

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course you are."

"I am? Why?"

"Why, because I know you are," Rarity said with a proud voice, brushing her luxuriously curled mane out of her eyes, "I've certainly tried my hardest to see to it."

Sweetie Belle thought about that for a moment, "So, because you say so," and Rarity's expression fell flat.

"That's not what I said at a—" she tried to counter, but Sweetie Belle had other thoughts.

"So, I'm a lady because you say so," Sweetie Belle said slowly, looking at the crumbs on her plate, "But what if I don't want to be a lady?"

"What do you mean, dear? Of course you want to be."

"... Shouldn't it be my choice what I want to be?" she asked, looking up at Rarity, who found herself without a reply, "What if I want to be a farmer working in the mud, like Apple Bloom? Or be a stunt pony, like Scootaloo wants to be. Or, or…" she trailed off, remembering something a book told her.

'Either you embrace the gift given to you, learn to use it. Or you run away from it. But destiny will follow you everywhere, and the outcome will all depend on your choice.'

"... Or whatever I chose to be?" she concluded, looking up to meet her sister's wide, open eyes.

"Or something like that," Sweetie Belle said after a moment of silence, blinking a few times, "Oh well, thanks for breakfast, Rarity," she concluded as she jumped off of her stool, leaving the kitchen.

"... Sweetie…" Rarity said, surprised and shocked over her younger sister's sudden insightfulness, hearing the clopping of her hooves as she walked back up the stairs.

'Well, that was something. Where did that come from?' Sweetie Belle wondered as she set hoof on the second floor, looking at Rarity's atelier, 'I'll figure that out later… maybe. Right now, let's see what I can do to keep her busy.

Slowly and quietly she moved to the closed door, making sure she wouldn't give away she was going to her sister's atelier.

Carefully she opened the door, slipped inside, and closed the door until just a crack remained. Looking around, she saw many of her sister's new creations proudly displayed on the ponequins. Large, bold, and flashy creations that somehow managed to remain elegant, with as many colors as the rainbow, brought to life in a way only Rarity could, greeted her.

Light sparkled off of the many jewels sewn into the designs, reflecting in her own eyes as she looked at the wonders of fabric with amazement.

Yes, they were a sight to behold, but they weren't what she was looking for. As beautiful as they might be, they were now distracting her from her goal. A creation of her sister's that was anything but those dresses. Instead of the bright reds or blues, or any of the other colors that caught her attention, she was looking for something a bit more… dreary.

There, she saw the neatly folded bundle of black and white lying on a shelf, placed out of her reach. 'Or so Rarity thinks,' Sweetie Belle thought as she hovered up in the air, moving towards the shelf and grabbing the clothes. She then flew towards the empty table where she first saw this suit two days ago, splaying them out before her as she lowered herself to the ground.

Humming to herself, she studied the black and white suit, 'How did Rarity even come up with this? It looks so much like his ghost suit… if he really is Danny Phantom, that is.' she took a better look at the suit, the black shirt and pants, as well as the white belt and boots. 'But how do I keep her busy for the day, while I go to my friends?' she looked around the room as she thought, trying to find something that could help, 'She said she didn't know what to do with it. Maybe I can help her with that?' a smile grew on her face at the thought, and she moved to the storage closet in the back of the room.

Looking through the various things kept there, from rolls of fabric, to scissors, thread and needles, dyes, and even a box of chocolates Rarity believed her younger sister didn't know about, Sweetie Belle found what she was looking for.

Humming a happy tune, she reached out for a small bottle of white dye with her mouth, before she thought better of it.

Looking at the bottle with a determined gaze, nodding her head, she firmly planted her hooves on the floor, eyes narrowing in concentration.

A faint, light green aura flickered around the tip of her horn as she bared her teeth, focusing her magic on the small bottle. A slight growl escaped her as she jerked her head back and forth in an attempt to pull the bottle with her, but to no avail.

Grinding her hooves into the carpet, her eyes narrowed even further, and teeth grinded together as she forced out as much of her magic as she could. Her eyes glowed green in intense focus. Her horn sparked and pulsed. The faint magical aura suddenly bursting with energy as it encompassed her entire horn, and the bottle began to shake and rattle, followed moments later by the other bottles of dye.

Sweetie Belle's eyes shot open as she lost control of her magic, flinching from a sudden stabbing sensation in her brain, noticing something was very, very wrong.

The bottles shook and rattled as if they were possessed, moving around on the shelves, growing louder and more violently with each passing second.

"Sweetie Belle, what is going on?" Rarity called up, and Sweetie Belle heard her hoofsteps on the stairs.

Sweetie Belle listened in horror, 'Oh no no no. What is happening?' and she instinctively turned invisible in panic.

Nothing could be seen where she first was. She had vanished into thin air. Nothing of her remained in sight. Nothing, except a glowing green horn, pulsing with a mixed glow of light and dark green. A glow that continued to intensify and grow, and the bottles, jumping on their spot, were no longer able to withstand the force exerted on them, and they exploded in a burst of green, and the various colors they contained.

Sweetie Belle, looking on in horror, felt the dyes splatter all over her, showing her invisible form with various colorful splotches.

Falling to her rump, her power died down, and she faded back into view, right as the door opened, and Rarity stepped in. Who shrieked a split second later as she saw the damage.

"Sweetie Belle. What happened!?" Rarity said, horrified.

"It's not what it looks like," Sweetie Belle replied, holding up her red and blue hoof in a defensive manner, "Ehh… There's a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this?"

"For all of this…" Rarity said in disbelief, looking at her dresses, now with a mismatched color scheme. "... This," and the floor, now painful to look at. "... This," and the ceiling and walls, one wall with a distinct unicorn silhouette splattered across it. "... This," and the table, with Danny's gift lying on top of it, "... This disaster," she finally finished, staring down at her younger sister angrily.

Looking at her sister, Sweetie Bellr shrunk down into herself, "Eh hehehe… Or maybe not."

"Sweetie Belle," Rarity said, slowly, forcing herself to remain calm, "Go to your room. Now!"

Looking at her sister with large, apologetic eyes, her gaze slowly moved throughout the room, seeing the mess she'd made.

It was everywhere she looked, including her own fur. Slowly her gaze shifted back to Rarity, who was almost fuming, despite her best efforts to keep her composure.

"I'm sor—"

Rarity cut her off when she finally snapped, "SWEETIE BELLE. GO TO YOUR ROOM. NOW!" and Sweetie Belle scampered away, leaving behind a multicolored blur with her outline.

Rarity looked around with anger, disappointment, and tears brimming in her eyes, hearing the door of Sweetie Belle's room slam shut. Everywhere she looked, her hard work, ruined. The dresses she had worked so hard on, putting her heart and soul in each and everyone of them. She would have to redo them all. Not to mention the mess Sweetie Belle had made of the room itself, or the tracks she left as she hurried away. Red, blue and green hoof marks showed the path of her retreat, all the way to her room.

Huffing in irritation, Rarity then turned to the supply closet, taking in the damage. Obviously, the dyes were gone. And, taken with them, were all the spare rolls of fabric, no longer a single color. Closing her eyes to spare herself from the rest of the massacre, she turned away, taking in the room once more.

Her heart stopped when she saw what was lying on the table, only for it to start pumping twice as fast to make up for the lost time.

Slowly she moved to the table, denying what she was seeing, but unable to avert her gaze.

Silence fell, and she stood frozen on the spot as she saw the black and white suit she'd made for Danny. Still unfinished, now completely ruined.

Her horn sparked to life, and she levitated the suit in front of her as if Danny was wearing it, showing her all the dimensions, and the mess Sweetie Belle had made.

Fortunately, it would seem the worst of the mess managed to avoid her gift, but a large white splotch had stained the chest area, permanently ruining it…

'Although...' she mused, rotating the suit in various angles, eyes widening a bit, 'Could it be? Is that what was missing?'

She rushed to her drawing board, suit in tow, and brushed aside the designs for the dresses she knew she had to remake, but not paying them any attention right now.

Using her magic, she pulled a single sheet of paper from her desk's drawer, placing it on the board, flattening it.

Studying the design, and shifting her gaze to the splotch now on display on the chest area, she grabbed a pencil, and began to work. Minutes passed by as she went through idea after idea, none of them measuring up to her standards, and all of them rejected.

Letting out a huff in frustration, she took a step back and looked around the room once again.

'Well, it would seem I have my work cut out for me, she thought as she looked at the mess, the colors smeared around already starting to dry, and a sigh escaped her lips, 'Better not put this off any longer,' and she walked out of the room, placing the suit on the table, and returning several minutes later with a bucket filled with water and soap, a brush, while wearing a hazmat suit, glaring at the mess through the protective helmet.

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

A few moments earlier

Sweetie Belle scampered to her room, slamming the door shut behind her the moment she was inside, leaving many colorful spots and smears in her wake.

Sitting down with a saddened sigh, she looked at one of her legs, finding it dyed in a dark shade of blue.

"Well, that could have gone better," she muttered as she set her hoof down, "What happened? My magic isn't strong enough to do that," she continued as she stood up, moving to the desk in her room, "Was it my spirit power? The elder said my magic and ectoplasm were interfering with one another."

Grabbing her hoof held mirror from the desk, she looked at her own reflection, blinking dumbly as she saw herself, "Great, just great," and then the mirror phased through her hoof, falling on the floor, but not shattering, fortunately.

However, the mirror wasn't the only thing to phase through her, as she noticed the dyes staining her fur also fell to the ground.

"What the hay?!" she proclaimed as she jumped away from the sudden mess on the floor, "Did…" she gasped, "did that stuff just drop off of me, like going through me?" she wasn't sure, and she stood there, staring at the splotch of dye for several minutes, trying to wrap her head around what had just happened, both in Rarity's atelier, and just now. But the sound of her sister walking out of her work chamber brought her attention back to the here and now.

'Right, focus,' she reminded herself, and turned towards her window, 'I meant to keep Rarity busy, and I guess I succeeded. So, let's get out of here.' She opened the window with a push of her hoof, looking down at the street below, watching the ponies of Ponyville move about. It was still early, but not so much now that they were all sleeping on their day off.

"Well, there sure are a lot of ponies already up and about," she observed as she looked around, "Better not get seen, then," and she dropped down, out of sight.

Quickly grabbing the tiara from her desk, she turned invisible, and flew out of the window, sparing a moment to glance through the window of the atelier, seeing her sister busy cleaning up the mess she'd made, while in full protective gear. A pang of regret hitting her.

'Sorry, sis,' she mentally said, as she flew away towards Scootaloo's home.

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

Diamond Tiara was not happy, far from it. 'All I wanted to do was find some dirt to hold against that stupid Blank Flank, and break some of her things when I did so. But, thanks to that crazy pony, I was unable to complete my noble mission. Even worse. Now I also lost my tiara, and I know it has to be in that loser's room. THAT will not do,' she thought as she paced around her room, stomping her hooves, 'To know that my tiara is lying in that room, the room of a loser Blank Flank is truly disgusting.' she shuddered in disgust, 'The wondrous greatness of my tiara tainted by the ick from the filly that soiled that room.'

'I will need to get it back, of course. But how?' she wondered, looking outside through her window, 'Everypony is already awake right now, so there is no way I can just go back to the boutique and retrieve my tiara.' she knew she would be seen, and she would have to explain why she was there. That was something she wanted to avoid. Not just because she didn't want to answer anything that could turn negative for her, but she didn't want to be seen in a place where she lived.

'The only reason I would ever go to that place at all, would be to get a new dress.' she thought as she looked at the Carousel Boutique in the distance. But, not interested in interacting with Rarity either, and not wanting to run the risk of running into Sweetie Belle, she knew she couldn't go there. So, as this problem presented itself to her, she now faced yet another. Mainly, the lack of a tiara resting on her head. That would be difficult to explain as well. Especially if that Blank Flank had found her tiara, and would use it against her in some dumb way only a loser like her, or her friends, could come up with.

'That is, if she found it. Knowing her, she probably didn't even notice the mess in her room. That dumb pony.' Tiara chuckled over that, before sighing in annoyance, 'But I will need to find a way to get my tiara back, one way, or another. Maybe Silver Spoon can help?' she mused, and a devious grin began to form on her muzzle.

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

Scootaloo kicked and turned in her bed, trying desperately to return to the sweet embrace of sleep, and the awesome dream she was having about flying alongside Rainbow Dash. But she was rudely awoken when, all of a sudden, Sweetie Belle appeared out of nowhere, and blasted her out of the air.

Now though, as she was trying to return to that dream, sans Sweetie Belle, she was kept awake by a consistent, annoying tapping against her window. And, with a final groan of defeat, she rolled out of her bed and dragged herself over to the window to see who or what was making all that noise.

Pulling open the curtains, and being blinded by the sun's light as a result, she opened her window, and looked outside, seeing nopony there. Growling in irritation, she closed the window with a dark, sleepy look on her face- "Hi, Scootaloo," -when Sweetie Belle's voice suddenly came out of nowhere, making her yelp and jump in the air in fright, seeing her curtains rustle when an invisible body moved past them.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you," Sweetie Belle said apologetically as she faded back into view, giving her friend a sheepish smile.

"Sweetie Belle, what are you doing here?" Scootaloo begun, when her tone dropped to a whisper, "Aren't you worried about those ghost hunters staying here?"

"Not really," Sweetie Belle answered, "I just saw them out in town when I flew over here, so no worries there."

"Okay. So what brings you here?" Scootaloo asked, yawning.

"This," she replied, and she showed her friend the tiara she'd found.

"Wait, is that…"

"I think so," Sweetie Belle confirmed the unfinished question, "I found it in my room, which was completely trashed."

"What!? You don't think that—"

"I do," Sweetie Belle said dead serious, cutting her friend off once more. "And I want to get back at her. But, I need to get a better grip on my powers," and she flinched a bit as she remembered what had happened with the dyes.

"Okay," Scootaloo replied, excitedly. No longer feeling sleepy. "What're we going to do?"

"Get Apple Bloom and we'll figure something out from there."

"So, we're not going to Wind Chill?" Scootaloo asked as she scratched her head, ruffling her mane into an even bigger mess than it already was.

"I'm not sure he would agree to it. Remember what he told you about getting even with Diamond Tiara?"

Scootaloo's eyes lit up as she recalled just that, "Oh, right. So, just wing it?" and she flapped a single wing in emphasis.

Nodding her head, Sweetie Belle held out a hoof to Scootaloo, "Pretty much, yes. Now, grab on, and I'll fly us out of here."

Looking at the hoof offered to her, Scootaloo bit her lower lip as she felt yet another pang of jealousy. But she fought it down, and she grabbed hold of her friend's extended limb. And the moment she did, she saw herself, along with Sweetie Belle, turn invisible, before she suddenly felt the strange sensation of lifting off of the ground without using her wings.

"This is so weird!" Scootaloo said, and Sweetie Belle giggled in agreement, before the two of them flew out of the open window, the curtains moving as they flew past.

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

Apple Bloom was pacing through her room, biting her lower lip as she was lost in thought.

Discovering just what Wind Chill had done to the barn her father had built weighed down on her more than she'd like to admit.

'But why?' she thought as she stopped on the spot. 'Why do I even care? It's not like I knew them, at all… kinda.'

Sighing, she looked longingly out of her bedroom window, unable to go outside. She was still grounded, as were her friends, she knew. And although her brother and sister were lenient about last night's festivities, she was still stuck in her room as part of her punishment.

Sighing, she walked to her window for the umpteenth time that morning, having been up and ready since the crack of dawn, and staring absentmindedly out over the many rows of apple trees. It was a wondrous sight for her, something that would never get old. The lush green leaves, and the ripe red and green apples. The sweet aroma coming off of them, filling the air all around. The strong trees themselves, standing tall and proud. The glowing green eyes staring at her from the other side of the glass….

'Wait! What!?'

With a yelp, Apple Bloom fell backwards, forelegs flailing in the air as she landed on her rump with a THUD. "What tha hay!" she exclaimed, staring at the glowing green orbs, seeing the amusement in them, while she heard two sets of laughter.

"Sweetie Belle?" she said, unsure, seeing the eyes nod, "Oh, ha ha. Very funny," she said, grumbling, getting back on her hooves and opening the window.

"Well, sorry. But we couldn't let such an opportunity go to waste," came the disembodied voice of Sweetie Belle.

"We?" Apple Bloom asked, and Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo faded back into view, "Ah, right."

Scootaloo dropped down to the floor, doing her best to contain her laughter as she faced her earth pony friend, "Pfhhh. You should've seen the look on your face," and she proceeded to imitate said look, much to the amusement of Sweetie Belle, and the annoyance of Apple Bloom.

Apple Bloom, ignoring the faces Scootaloo made, turned to Sweetie Belle instead, "Right. So, what brings you two here?"

"This," Sweetie said, showing her the tiara she was holding, "I found this in my room last night, which was completely trashed."

"Is that…"

"Yes, yes it is," Scootaloo answered, an aggressive tone in her voice, "And now we're going to help Sweetie Belle get back at Diamond Tiara."

"And how're we gonna do that?" Apple Bloom asked, and Scootaloo started to reply, only to fall silent as she didn't have an answer.

"I don't know," Sweetie Belle answered for her, shrugging, "But it might be better to figure out how my powers work, before we try anything. Considering the thing that happened this morning."

"Wait, what happened?" Apple Bloom asked, her and Scootaloo's ears perking up in curiosity.

"I… I'm not sure. I tried to use my magic, to lift up a small bottle of my sister's dyes, when something strange happened," Sweetie Belle answered, finally dropping down on the ground herself.

"Strange, how?" Apple Bloom queried.

"Strange, as in a sudden burst of, I think both magic and ectoplasm, which blew everything up…"

Silence.

"... Really?" Scootaloo asked, sounding amazed.

"Really," Sweetie Belle confirmed, nodding her head, "The elder did say my magic was interfering with my ectoplasm, so, I don't know, maybe it works both ways and that was my ectoplasm interfering with my magic, or something?"

"Maybe Wind Chill knows," Apple Bloom offered.

"Maybe," Sweetie Belle replied.

"Well, come on then," Apple Bloom started enthusiastically, "let's get going," and she headed for the open window, before noticing her friends didn't follow.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked, seeing Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo share an uneasy glance.

"Well, you see," Sweetie Belle started, "The thing is... We kinda wanted to get back at Diamond Tiara, but… remember what Wind Chill said to Scootaloo about that?" she asked, and Apple Bloom nodded in confirmation, "Well, I kinda want to avoid that right now, so let's just do this on our own, for now. Okay?"

"Uh… okay?" Apple Bloom replied, shrugging, "So, where do we start?" she asked, receiving a shrug in response.

"We're just going to wing it," Scootaloo answered, flapping a single wing

Apple Bloom stood silent for a moment as she processed that, "... Meh, that'll work, Ah guess," before shrugging and going along with the plan.

"Great," Sweetie Belle proclaimed happily, "So, ready to go?" she asked, receiving two confirming nods from her friends, "Kay, here we go," and she floated up, grabbed her friends by a foreleg, turned invisible, and flew out through the window; hearing the bell of the town's clock ring, signaling it was nine o'clock.

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

"Diamond, how wonderful to see you again," Tarnished Silver said as Diamond Tiara was let in the house by the maid, noticing something off with the filly.

"Good day, mister Silver," Diamond Tiara said with an honest smile reserved only for those ponies she'd deemed worthy, "Can I see Silver Spoon?"

"Of course, dear. Of course. She'll be glad to see her friend again. And, if you don't mind me asking. What happened to your tiara? You did seem overly fond of it."

Diamond Tiara's face tensed for a moment, the corners of her mouth dipping just a bit, before she replaced it with a fake smile, "Oh, it is getting cleaned right now. It was supposed to be done by now but, well, you know. Good help is hard to find."

"Indeed it is," Tarnished Silver agreed with a nod.

"But I don't want to take up any more of your time. So I'll go see Silver Spoon now, okay?"

"Of course, go right ahead. She's in her room, resting. She still has a bad headache, but I'm sure seeing her friend will make her feel much better."

"Oh, I'm sure it will," Diamond Tiara replied, turning away so he couldn't see her face, a shadow falling over her eyes, "I'm sure it will."

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

"So, you're up for some revenge on those losers?"

"Does Celestia raise the sun?"

"Excellent," Diamond Tiara proclaimed, rubbing her hooves together.

Silver Spoon, despite what her father had just said, was doing anything but resting. She, after having laid in bed for a couple of days now, was feeling almost as good as new, save for a dull, irritating ache still going through her head every now and then. Otherwise, she was fully up and about. Ready to get back at those who were responsible for her 'accident'. So, after Diamond Tiara had explained her plan to her, she was more than ready to get even.

"Good. Now, here's what we're going to do."

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

Sweetie Belle, after having placed Diamond Tiara's tiara inside their clubhouse, paced around the tree, murmuring to herself, while her friends were busy gathering various objects from their questionable collection of crusading supplies. Now though, they had other plans for them.

Sweetie Belle's explanation of what had happened earlier that morning had inspired Scootaloo, (no surprise there), to set up a shooting gallery for her to try and recreate whatever it was she'd done in the boutique.

Sighing, Sweetie Belle looked at the small set-up her friends had made, not sure if she should be happy with it.

'Okay, I know they are trying to help, and such. But whatever it was that happened, it did kind of hurt. I'm not sure I want to retry that.' But she didn't say that out loud, and Scootaloo zipped up and down the ramp, placing everything she could find, and which they didn't need anymore, in a row on the ground. The ground which was still damaged and torn up from the fight Wind Chill had with the beku terwelu.

Looking around to assess the damage done around here, in such a short time as well, Sweetie Belle began to second guess the plan to retry her accident around here.

'Surely the trees are blackened enough? And aren't there enough craters in the ground?' she wondered, but she knew that any objection wouldn't be heard, and that the sooner she tried this, the sooner it would be over. Besides, it was mostly her idea to continue her spirit training, without any help from Wind Chill or Frostbite. 'But I do wonder who is in charge of this?' she pondered, seeing her friends running up and down the ramp. Scootaloo with a rather large grin.

A feeling of nervousness settled down in her gut as she looked at the row of various items no longer of any use to them. Like the hoof held mirror, which she accidentally broke a few days ago, standing upright, with the handle stuck in the ground. Or a couple of flower pots, a torn parachute, that one ring to rule them all, a broken bow with a single arrow, a straight jacket, which taught them the hard way that they were no escape artists, and resulted in a very, very awkward meeting with their sisters. And several other items they had no use for, save target practice, as it would turn out.

"Okay, that's it," Scootaloo called out as she placed a kegelcizer among the row of other objects, "Let's see what you can do," and she quickly retreated to a safe distance, behind Sweetie Belle, standing next to Apple Bloom.

"Ya sure this is a good idea?" Apple Bloom asked worriedly, as she looked around the damaged area.

"Sure," Scootaloo answered confidently, "What's the worst that can happen?"

"... Ah'm not even going ta respond ta that," Apple Bloom said, shaking her head a bit.

"Uhh… You just did," Scootaloo told her.

"You know what Ah mean," Apple Bloom replied, rolling her eyes, "Anyhow. Ya ready, Sweetie Belle?"

Looking at the various items placed in front of her, Sweetie Belle nodded weakly, "I guess," and she began to struggle to light up her horn with her magic, managing to produce a faint, light green glow at the tip of her horn.

Her hooves dug into the upturned soil, bracing herself as she lowered her stance, forcing herself to give as much as she could, and a few stray sparks shot from her horn.

Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself even further, trying to get some result, and her eyes began to glow a faint green.

"Come on, Sweetie Bell. You can do it!" Apple Bloom cheered her on, while Scootaloo gave a few encouraging shouts of excitement as she saw her friend's horn suddenly become enveloped by a mixture of light and dark green light.

Sweetie Belle, however, didn't hear them. Eyes glowing green, showing no pupil, and a stab of pain going through her brain, she found herself losing control once more, and a massive burst of energy shot from her horn, hitting the various objects, and destroying several of them, while she herself was flung backwards from the force, crashing into her friends, horn smoking and sparking with both shades of energy.

"Ooww," Apple Bloom groaned, "What happened?" she asked as she pushed herself back up, seeing Scootaloo do the same.

"I don't know?" Scootaloo replied, "Ask Sweetie Belle," and the two of them turned to their spirit friend, only to see her still lying on the ground, holding her head in her hooves and moaning in pain, while her hind legs had turned into an intangible tail, twitching in response to the stabs that shot through her brain.

"Sweetie Belle!" they both shouted, and hurried to help their friend upright.

However, when Apple Bloom reached out for her friend, she found herself grasping through her. A problem that Scootaloo didn't seem to have.

Looking at her hoof in disbelief, then at Scootaloo, Apple Bloom looked at both her friends in confusion, and concern for Sweetie Belle. Yet, one thing did stick out to her, something that didn't make any sense, "What tha… How're you able ta touch her?" she asked, trying to grab hold of her struggling friend once more, and getting the same result as her hoof passed cleanly through her, "Seriously, how are ya touching her!?" she asked, shocked and confused, looking at her orange friend with wide eyes.

"How should I know? And shouldn't we worry about Sweetie Belle right now?" Scootaloo replied, holding her downed friend in her legs.

Apple Bloom nodded, a guilty look on her face, "Right, but what should we do?" she asked, "Ah mean, Ah can't touch her," she stated, and reached out a hoof to prove this point, only to be met with resistance, "Or maybe Ah can?... What's going on?"

"No idea," came the pained response from Sweetie Belle, "But I am not doing that again," and she, slowly, pushed herself back upright, hind legs turning back to normal, and she stood unsteadily on her legs as she carefully rubbed her horn, a lone spark of light green energy shooting from it.

"Sweetie Belle!" came the relieved shout from her friends, causing her to flinch from the sudden assault on her ears, "Are ya alright?" Apple Bloom asked.

Carefully prodding her horn, while still standing on three slightly shaking legs, "I- I guess," she carefully nodded her head, setting her hoof down on the ground, "But I think I have done enough training for today..." Another spark shot from her horn, dark green this time, and her right hind hoof faded through the ground, "or the entire week," she added, pulling her hoof back up, looking at it doubtfully.

"Ya sure yer alright?" Apple Bloom asked, not really convinced her friend was a hundred percent after what had happened, "Ya did get blasted pretty bad jus' now."

"I guess," Sweetie Belle replied, trying to sound confident but feeling herself shaking from the inside, painful stabs still going through her brain. "More or less."

"Meh, good enough for me," Scootaloo quipped, "So, what should we do now?"

Apple Bloom, still looking at her unicorn friend with concern, came up with the answer, "Well, we still need ta figure out what those ponies staying at yer place are up ta, and get some of their ghost thingies away from 'em."

"Oh yeah," Scootaloo said in realization, "I kinda forgot about that."

"So, back to town then?" Sweetie Belle queried, rubbing a hoof over her left eye.

"Unless you want to continue with this?" Scootaloo replied, waving a hoof over the area, and the still smoldering remains of the objects Sweetie Belle had hit. Seeing that, unsurprisingly, that weird ring was still intact.

"NO!" Sweetie Belle practically shouted, before continuing in a normal tone of voice, hoof still held over her eye, "No, I do not. Let's just go back to town and see what those ponies are up to."

"Okay," Apple Bloom replied, shrugging, and she and Scootaloo started to walk away. Sweetie Belle, however, rubbed her eye one more time, trying to get rid of an annoying itch, before dropping her hoof and following her friends. None of them noticed her left eye was glowing a toxic green, whereas her right eye was not.

And, something else they didn't notice was the ring, still lying on the ground, when an eagle swooped in, grabbed the golden object with a strange script on its side in his beak, and flew off to Mount Hodor, never to be seen again.

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

"So, where are we going?" Silver Spoon asked as she followed Diamond Tiara out of Ponyville, and towards Sweet Apple Acres.

"To those stupid Blank Flanks' dumb treehouse. I followed them some time ago," Diamond Tiara said, before adding in a murmur that Silver Spoon didn't hear, "I think."

"But how will that help us get back your tiara? Or get back at those idiots?"

"Because we need to keep them busy, so we can get my tiara back without any of those losers accidentally walking in on us. Besides, they think they can get away with opposing us, and hurting you. So maybe it is time to remind them who's really in charge," Diamond Tiara said coldly, an evil grin on her muzzle, "So, we're going to tear down that pile of firewood. And while they are busy sifting through what remains, we'll go and get my tiara back. That will show them who they're dealing with."

"Yeah," Silver Spoon agreed, anger burning in her eyes, "We'll teach them not to mess with us."

"That's the spirit," Diamond Tiara agreed, when her ears perked up as she heard multiple hoofsteps on the path ahead. And, not wanting to be seen by anypony so they could deny ever being near the orchard should anypony ask, they quickly jumped in a nearby bush to hide. Much to their mutual annoyance, as their perfectly combed and styled manes and tails got disheveled and all tangled up.

'Oh well,' Diamond Tiara thought, 'We all need to make sacrifices. We, our manes,' and she watched the three fillies who had invoked her wrath walk by. And they, their stupid tree house.'

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

Together they walked back to Ponyville, Apple Bloom in the back, Scootaloo in front. And Sweetie Belle, with her eyes normal as far as anypony could tell, walked in the middle. A suggestion of Apple Bloom, so she could keep an eye on her friend.

After all, after what had just happened, things might just get worse. It was something they all knew well, as, in their quest to earn their Cutie Marks, they had experienced such things over and over again. Though nothing that involved ghosts, or spirits, until recently.

Sweetie Belle, as well, was unsure about what happened, and what it would mean for her in the future. Her powers, until today, never caused her any pain. At least not directly. Sure, she may have landed, or, well, crashed in her attempts to master her flying ability. But that was pain coming from the unfortunate close encounter with good old terra firma. Now though… Her powers may turn out to be more trouble than she first believed them to be. And, speaking of spirit trouble. She still felt an irritating stab in her brain every now and then.

Still, she ignored it as she looked into the distance at the town they were slowly walking to. Huffing a bit, she came to a stop, looking around to see if anypony else was there, other than her friends. But her sudden stop took Apple Bloom by surprise who bumped into her rear, but, fortunately, not toppled them over.

"Hey, what gives?" Apple Bloom called out, taking a step away from her friend, while Scootaloo turned to see what was happening.

"Is everything alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, everything is fine," Sweetie Belle replied, ignoring another stab going through her brain, "I just thought… Maybe I could fly us back to town. You know, since it's much faster, and we could spot those ponies from the air.

"Ya sure?" Apple Bloom asked, while Scootaloo responded with an eager, "Okay."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Sweetie Belle responded, nodding at her earth pony friend, "I think I got the flying thing figured out. After all, I did show up at your place with Scootaloo with me."

"Okay… If yer sure," Apple Bloom replied hesitantly, and Sweetie Belle levitated up as she held out her front hooves for them to hold on to. Scootaloo, eager to experience the thrill of flight again, grabbed hold of one of the offered hooves as if her life depended on it. Apple Bloom, a bit more hesitant, reached out for the other.

With a flash of green in her eyes, Sweetie Belle flew up with her friends, while also turning invisible. Then, turning towards the town, she began her flight.

All seemed well, for maybe a quarter of a second, when yet another stab shot through Sweetie Belle's brain, and the three of them suddenly found themselves veering off course, fading back into view, and heading straight towards a small group of tall pine trees.

Pine trees covered with tree sap.

Lots and lots of tree sap.

"Uh, Sweetie Belle!" Apple Bloom called out fearful, "Mind headin' some other way?"

"I… I can't control it!" Sweetie Belle shouted, terrified.

"Move left! Move left!" Scootaloo shouted, while three sets of eyes grew wide in horror as the trees came closer and closer still. Then, with a loud thud, the three of them found themselves in a real sticky situation.

There they hung, covered in tree sap, attached to the tree that produced it. Apple Bloom, with her mane sticking to her face, hung upside down at the end of a branch with her hind legs, while her right foreleg was firmly stuck to her side. Her left leg, fortunately, was still free, and hung uselessly down, while a large glob of the sticky substance slowly seeped down the limb, collecting at the tip of her hoof in a sticky ball, before falling down.

Scootaloo was stuck to the trunk of the tree with her legs splayed wide as if she was hugging it, completely covered by the sticky substance, immobilizing her while she looked around with her right, and only unstuck, eye. Her tail, whipped up in the crash, was now tangled and glued to her mane, which itself was clinging to one side of her face. And all she could do was watch Sweetie Belle, seeing her head stuck in a hole in the tree.

Said filly's front legs pushed against the trunk to free herself, while her hind legs kicked feebly in the air, searching for leverage. And all the while, more and more tree sap slowly seeped over her, trapping her in her precarious position.

"Scootaloo, can ya move?" Apple Bloom asked, her only free leg useless as it would immediately stick to anything it touched.

"No, you?" came the muffled response, as Scootaloo couldn't fully open her mouth with it firmly pressed against the tree's trunk.

"No," Apple Bloom replied, then turned to her other friend, "Sweetie Belle?"

"Mmmpff, mphf mmff."

"I think that means no," Scootaloo muttered, before staring up in horror as she noticed a large glob of the sticky substance moving for her face.

"Great," Apple Bloom said, her tone of voice making it clear that it was anything but, "So, now what?"

Her answer came in the form of a flash of green light, as Sweetie Belle blasted herself free by channeling her ectoplasm through her horn. A small explosion, along with the distinct smell of burnt wood and splinters assaulted both her and Scootaloo, neither of whom were in any position to dodge the charred projectiles.

"Well, that worked," Sweetie Belle said, tilting her head to the side, and knocking splinters and dust out of her ear, all of which promptly stuck to her lower body, which was coated with tree sap. Then, looking down at her trapped and sticky friends, she lowered herself in reach of Apple Bloom, "Hold on, you guys. I'll get you out of there."

"Pfurry!" came Scootaloo's muffled cry, half her face and mouth now covered by tree sap.

Nodding her head, Sweetie Belle assessed the situation. Apple Bloom seemed to be in the least difficult situation. Upside down, and covered by sap, yes. But otherwise fine. Scootaloo, however, needed immediate help as the sap was slowly covering her face and nose. So, wasting no time, Sweetie Belle rushed to the imperiled pegasus, grabbing her by the sides, and flying backwards, pulling with all her might to free her friend.

A wet schliking sound came from the thoroughly coated filly as she was pulled away, mid section first, with her legs and head still sticking to the tree. Large, thick strands of the sap stretched between her and the tree. Then, with another pull, her head and legs pulled free, and the two of them were launched away a bit from the sudden force.

"You okay?" Sweetie Belle asked her friend, who now hung underneath her, held in her hooves, and firmly attached to said hooves thanks to the tree sap gluing them together.

"Yeah… Kinda… Not really," Scootaloo replied, spitting several times to clear her mouth, "Let's just get Apple Bloom."

"Kay," Sweetie Belle replied as she flew over to the stuck earth pony. "Just hang in there."

"Like Ah've got a choice," Apple Bloom deadpanned.

"Right, sorry," Sweetie Belle said, smiling awkwardly as she got in position, "Scootaloo, grab ahold of Apple Bloom. I'll pull her free."

"You've got it," Scootaloo responded, and grabbed Apple Bloom's only free hoof. "Now, pull!"

Sweetie Belle flew back slow and steady, slowly applying force so she wouldn't accidentally pull herself free from Scootaloo and drop both of them. But the more she tried, the more it became clear that freeing Apple Bloom would not be as easy as it was with Scootaloo.

The more force she applied, the more the branch she was stuck to began to bend, moving with her.

"Pull harder!" Apple Bloom shouted, "Harder!"

"You heard what she said," Scootaloo called out, "Harder!" and Sweetie Belle did just that.

She applied more and more force, pulling her friends, as well as the branch with her. But something had to give, and it wasn't the tree branch.

Finally at its limit, it didn't budge any more, while tension kept building.

Sweetie Belle, straining herself with all she had, felt her strength waver, and knew they were doomed a split second before everything went terribly wrong.

With a mighty whiplash, the branch flung them away with enough force to break the hold the tree sap had over Apple Bloom.

All three of them were flung towards Ponyville, screaming as they went, drawing unwanted attention as they tumbled through the air.

Sweetie Belle, acting in pure reflex, turned invisible. And, because she was still stuck to Scootaloo, who herself was still stuck to Apple Bloom, they, too, faded from view with her.

Invisible, they soared, heading straight for the cafe where they celebrated Danny's birthday the night before.

Seeing this, Sweetie Belle acted immediately, not feeling any desire to smash against the wall.

Eyes glowing, she tried to fly up and over the building. But another sudden stabbing pain shooting through her mind broke her concentration, and they flew straight and true at the wall, only to phase cleanly through it. But, once inside, they turned solid again, and they bounced off of everything found inside. The tables, chairs, walls, floor, bar, glass cabinet, and everything else that had the misfortune to be in their ballistic path, leaving behind a trail of destruction and tree sap.

Finally the trio came to a stop by slamming into the ceiling, hanging limply in thick strands of the sticky stuff. Except for Scootaloo, who had managed to end up hanging from a ceiling fan, slowly circling around without control.

"Sweetie Belle," Apple Bloom said weakly.

"Yeah," came the equally weak reply.

"Let's not do that again."

"Yeah," Scootaloo murmured in agreement, starting to get a bit dizzy.

They hung there, limply, for a little while longer. When, with the sound of a lock being unlocked, the cafe's front door opened. And, standing in the open portal, was the slack-jawed owner, Quick Grill.

"Ehh… Hi," Sweetie Belle said awkwardly, giving the stallion a sheepish smile as he stood frozen on the spot.

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

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were still sitting in the bush, unmoving, their mouths open wide, their jaws having fallen through the ground itself from the mere shock of what they had just witnessed.

Minutes passed by, with the only sound coming from the wind, and the tumbleweed that bounced by their hiding spot. But eventually, Silver Spoon managed to pick up her jaw, and she slowly turned to Diamond Tiara.

In a small voice she said: "Maybe I should go back to bed, after all. Because I think I am seeing things."

"Uh-huh," came the dumb response from Diamond Tiara, who was having a hard time processing what she had just seen.

"I mean, there is no way that… that… that that loser did that, right? There is no way!"

"Uh-huh."

Silence

"... What the hay is going on?" Silver Spoon eventually said, looking towards the village the crusaders had shot off to, "How did she—" she began, stuttering, when Diamond Tiara cut her off, having finally found her voice.

"I… I don't know. They- She's a loser Blank Flank who can't do anything… She can't do anything." she said in a low voice, more to herself, unable to believe what she saw Sweetie Belle do, "She.. We.. they…" she mumbled, her mind short circuiting again.

"Should… Should we follow them?" Silver Spoon proposed, receiving a weak nod from her friend. And together they stumbled out of their hiding place, desperately wanting to make sense of things as they made their way back to town, not speaking another word.

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

A few moment earlier

Quick Grill hummed to himself as he walked to his fine establishment, ready to start the day and provide food for the masses.

Of course, today being a Sunday, he would open up later than during the rest of the week. This was to give his hard working employees who worked the weekend shift some extra time to drag themselves out of bed.

He would have liked it if he could take some time off every now and then, but it was hard to find somepony who could prepare the many dishes on the menu as well as he did, and who he trusted enough to be in charge of the eatery he worked so hard to build.

So, unlike his employees, he couldn't afford the luxury to just stay in bed and doze off for hours on end. Although, there were those days where he wished he could. And today would prove to be just such a day.

It started with with a familiar, and quite terrifying scream. Easily recognizable as being from three particular fillies. And widely known to be a signal of one disaster, or another. He, like many other ponies, heard the loud, fearful scream coming from overhead, which was odd, but not impossible, knowing those three. What was strange, however, was that nopony was able to find them, despite the loud and clear cry for help.

The second sign he got that trouble was lurking just around the corner, or behind the door of his cafe in this case, was the sudden and loud crashing noises coming from within.

He visibly flinched each time he heard glass breaking, or wood snapping. Or when the loud thumps came from the walls, and the distinct sound of tables falling over. And let's not forget the cacophony when, by his educated guess, the glass cabinet fell over.

He rushed over to his prized cafe, fearing the worst. But as he came to a screeching stop in front of the door, he found himself unable to bring himself to actually open the door. For a moment he stood there, hoof reaching out for the door knob, his leg trembling in fright for what he might find.

Muffled voices came from inside, and they finally snapped him out of his stupor.

Grabbing the key hanging around his neck, he unlocked the door, and swung it open. He immediately wished he hadn't

Everywhere he looked he saw destruction. Tables and stools lay scattered across the floor, up turned and even broken in some cases. The glass cabinet in the back, in which he kept all the drinking glasses, had tipped over, shattering everything inside, and spilling the broken contents out on the floor like a glimmering pool of crystalline blood. Looking further, he noticed a suspicious trail of some sticky goop staining the walls, floor, ceiling and, and, Sweet Celestia! Even his grill!

"Ehh… Hi."

A guilty voice drew his attention, and slowly, reluctant to look at those he knew were responsible, he turned his head to the source of the voice.

Seeing the terror of Ponyville hanging from the ceiling, and in one case the ceiling fan, lazily circling around, all he could do was stare, mouth hanging open, unable to move.

Ruby joined the scene a moment later.

No sound came from her either.

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

Ruby rushed through town, heading for Danny's.

She knew he was going to Canterlot today with Twilight Sparkle, which she had picked up on during the party. And, knowing this, she took no pleasure in what she had to do now.

After arriving at the cafe, intending on working half a shift as she was covering for one of her colleagues and friend, she could only stare in shock at the carnage brought down on the place.

How those three had managed, she just couldn't figure out, nor did she want to know. The less she knew, the better. But, still, Danny would have to be informed about what had happened, even though she didn't even know herself what had occurred.

'I'm sorry, Danny. But I'm about to ruin your day,' she thought, also hoping he hadn't already left. But, as it would seem, she was in luck and found her biped coworker. Except the situation he found himself in left her speechless for a second time that day, in very short succession.

Danny Manson, held upside down within the magical grasp of Twilight Sparkle, looking around in annoyance with his arms crossed.

"Danny?" she said, confused, as she came to a stop, looking at the upside down floating human.

"Hey, Ruby. How's it hanging?" he joked, and Twilight cut her magic, rolling her eyes.

Landing on his face, Danny let out a groan as he pulled himself up, glaring for a moment at the coy looking purple pony, before turning to his colleague.

"Are you alright?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. I've been hit worse," he told her, "So, what brings you here? If my groggy memory serves me well, and I'm not sure it does, then shouldn't you have half a shift back at the cafe today?" he asked, and Ruby let out an annoyed sigh.

"Yes, unfortunately," she groaned.

"Is something wrong?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, unfortunately," Ruby groaned again, "And Danny needs to come with me," she told the both of them, before adding a quick, "Sorry," to Danny.

"What, why?" Danny asked, and Ruby noticed Twilight's eye starting to twitch.

"Just… Just come with me. You'll see," Ruby sighed out, hoof pressed against her face.

"Ehh, can it wait? You know I have the day off today, and I did have plans," he told her, giving a nod to Twilight standing by his side.

"I doubt it will take all that long, but you really should come," Ruby told him again, urgently.

"Ehh, I guess?" he muttered, and turned to Twilight.

"Just go," the aforementioned mare said, with a strained tone, "The train will not arrive for another ten minutes and thirty-five seconds, so there is still a little bit of time. I will go ahead and buy you a ticket, while you do… whatever. Okay?"

'Wait. She actually knows when… No, just leave it. You have enough to worry about right now,' Ruby thought, sighing quietly.

"Okay!" Danny replied gratefully, "Thanks, Twilight. You're the best," and he hurried away with Ruby, heading towards the cafe. Leaving behind Twilight, with a forced smile and twitching eye.

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

"Okay, what's the trouble?" Danny's voice resonated through the door, making the fillies' ears perk up in response.

"Just… Just see for yourself," they heard Quick Grill mutter, sharing an uneasy look with one another.

"Sweetie Belle, maybe we should go now," Apple Bloom said nervously, struggling a bit within her sticky bonds.

"I- I can't get out of this stuff," Sweetie Belle replied, also struggling to escape the sap's diabolical clutches. But they stopped moving as they heard the distinct sound of footsteps coming to a stop in front of the door. Except for Scootaloo, who was still slowly circling around on the ceiling fan.

The door slowly opened with a drawn-out creak, revealing the tall form of Danny Manson, who looked inside with wide, surprised eyes, frozen on the spot.

"Hi, Danny" Sweetie Belle said sheepishly, giving a small wave with her right front leg, which was the least constricted.

Danny, unable to comprehend what he was seeing, could only blink dumbly at the sight.

Slowly backing away, he turned around, and looked down at Ruby who stood a few steps away from him.

"... I see," he muttered dumbly.

"I know," she nodded, sighing, "We all know."

"So… now what?" he asked after a short pause, scratching the back of his head.

"I'll tell you 'what'," Quick Grill muttered darkly, "You get those, those… demons down from there, while I go and find their families; let them deal with them," and he stomped away, glaring daggers at the ground, while muttering to himself.

"Well, okay, I guess," Danny muttered, looking at the distant clock tower for the time.

"Why don't you get started with them," Ruby told him, nodding her head at the building, indicating the fillies still hanging from the ceiling, "And I'll coordinate them on the cleanup," she told him, now giving a single nod to the few part time workers standing near them.

Sighing, Danny shrugged his shoulders, giving a faint nod in acknowledgement, and stepped back inside.

"Well, better get this over with," he muttered irritably, seeing the fillies giving him a guilty and ashamed look, as he stepped towards the closest of the three.

"Alright, Scootaloo. Let's get you down from there," he said, grabbing one of the many strands of, whatever it was, intending to break her free from it. However, as he took hold of the dark amber string, he found his hand stuck tight to the stuff.

"What the?! What is this stuff?"

"Tree sap," Scootaloo answered, annoyed, "Lots and lots of tree sap."

Grunting, before sighing again, Danny looked around to see if anyone was watching him, including Scootaloo and her two friends.

Noticing he was within Apple Bloom's field of view, he turned to put his back to her, keeping his hands out of sight.

'Okay, let's get this over with,' he thought, and turned his hand intangible, freeing himself from the sticky hold the tree sap had over him.

A sudden flash of golden light took him by surprise, and he turned around to see Sweetie Belle look in surprise at her horn.

"What was that?" he asked, and she looked at Danny.

"Ehh, I don't know?" she answered, and Danny gave her an intense stare, "Ehh… Maybe it was the sun reflecting off of something," she said, glancing away at the various shards of glass, some of them reflecting the light of the sun shining through the windows.

"Hmm, alright," Danny muttered, turning back to Scootaloo, making sure none could see what he was about to do.

Placing a hand on Scootaloo's back, he pushed down to give the impression that he was applying force to break her free, while, instead, he used his other hand to make the strands of tree sap intangible, taking care to make sure he only turned those intangible.

One by one, he 'broke' the strands that trapped Scootaloo, freeing her.

"Go stand in that corner, and be quiet," he said, probably sounding a bit more angry than he intended, as moved to Apple Bloom. He turned to look at a nearby window, however, when he heard a noise. But seeing nothing, he shrugged and turned his attention back to the task at hand.

Scootaloo, giving a faint nod, scurried away, and Danny focused his attention on the yellow filly, repeating the same process with her as he did with Scootaloo, keeping a close eye on anyone that might see him, or what he was doing. Still, even if no one saw exactly what he did, it did drew some attention. Mainly, from Scootaloo, who knew all too well just how sticky that tree sap could be.

"Hey. How did you get rid of that stuff so easily?" she asked, noticing the surprising lack of sap stuck in both her and Apple Bloom's fur.

"I have my ways," Danny answered vaguely, and motioned for Apple Bloom to join her friend while he focused on the remaining filly hanging from the ceiling, "And now to deal with you," he muttered, when a loud scream came from outside, at the back of the cafe. "What the… What is going on out there?" he asked.

"Hold on, I'll look," one of the part time ponies said from outside.

"What the hell is going on around here today?" he muttered to himself as he placed his hand on the young unicorn filly's back, and he felt her tensing up. As, unbeknownst to him, Sweetie Belle suffered through another stab through her brain.

Not knowing any of this, Danny continued with his efforts to free the filly, removing the strands of sap while pushing her down. And, as the last of the strands 'broke', Sweetie Belle dropped to the ground, one of her hooves phasing through the floor, causing her to trip and get a close up look of the woodwork. And, much to the surprise of Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, a puff of cold air escaped Danny's mouth.

Danny stared at the small cloud of cold air with large, shocked eyes. Shooting a worried glance at the two remaining fillies, worried they might have seen something, he saw they were looking outside, watching the ponies working there.

Quietly sighing, glad they hadn't seen anything, and not sure what or who could have set off his ghost sense, nor wanting to find out, he focused his attention on Sweetie Belle, who was picking herself up.

"Are you alright?" he asked, kneeling down to help her up.

"Yeah, sure," she answered, shaking her head and glancing at her friends.

"Good. Now, you three stay here," he told them as he stepped back outside, Seeing Ruby assigning some of the part-time workers to the various clean up tasks, "Hey, Ruby!" he called out to her, "I got those three down, and they're waiting inside."

"What, you got them down already?" she said, surprised, before shaking her head to clear her thoughts, and looking back at Danny, "Okay, well, that makes things a bit easier, I guess. Just need to wait for Grill to come back with those three's families."

"Need any more help in the mean time?" Danny asked.

"That won't be necessary," a gruff voice cut in, and Quick Grill returned to the scene, alone.

"Grill?" Ruby asked, confused, "Didn't you go and get their families?"

Sighing, Quick Grill dragged a hoof over his face, muttering a bit to himself before giving a sideways look at the trio peeking around the corner of the door. "Just… I can't believe I am about to say this but… Just let them go."

"What!?" all present shouted, giving him various strange and confused looks.

"Grill, are you sure?" Ruby asked hesitantly, taking a step towards him.

"As strange as it sounds. Yes. They're lucky, don't know why, but they are," he muttered, before turning to Danny, "Now, you, don't you have a train to catch?"

"Uh, yeah, right. I do," Danny replied, looking at the town's clock to see what time it was.

"Then get going, and don't worry about work tomorrow. It's going to take a while to get this place back in shape," he told him, and Danny hurried away.

"Have fun," Ruby called after him, showing a small smile, which fell a moment later "I know I will," she added sarcastically.

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

Several minutes earlier.

Quick Grill was moving through town, muttering angrily to himself while a dark cloud hung over his head.

Figuratively speaking, of course. It was far too early for Rainbow Dash to be out pranking.

'Of all the things those three have done, this has to be THE worst thing ever!' stopping for a moment, he looked around where he was going, and let loose an angry grunt as he headed for Carousel Boutique. 'Now I'm forced to close the place to clean up their mess.' He harrumphed. 'This has been going on for far too long. No, I'll tell those sisters of theirs exactly what's on my mind about th—'

His train of thought was suddenly interrupted as he felt his mind go blank, a thick fog settling over his conscious mind, and he froze on the spot. Ponies walked past him, paying him no mind as they went on with their day.

However, if Quick Grill hadn't been looking down they might have seen his eyes glowing a bright green. Or, if they listened carefully enough, they could have heard him quietly mumble to himself, before shaking his head, looking around in confusion while blinking dumbly, then turn around and head back to the cafe.

Shaking his head several times on his way back as if to clear his thoughts, a confused frown showed on his face.

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

Several minutes earlier, again.

"Okay, what's the trouble?" Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon heard the human, whose name they hadn't bothered to learn as he was far too unimportant, say as they peeked at the scene unfolding near the town's cafe. Hiding in the shadow of one of the many alleys, quietly watching while trying to figure out what had just happened, both here and with Sweetie Belle's sudden flight.

A gruff voice answered the human's question, coming from a pony neither of them knew, "Just… Just see for yourself," he said, and the human gave him a wary look, before hesitantly moving for the door.

A long, drawn out creak could be heard even from where they were, and, for a split second, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were able to see Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle hanging in thick strands of some kind of amber goop. But this didn't really provide any answers for them. Instead, it only raised more questions.

How did they get in there, while they were shooting away towards town? They didn't see any holes in the windows or walls. Although, on closer inspection, there were several broken windows here and there, but nothing large enough for the ponies to have gone through.

"What the hay is going on?" Silver Spoon asked in a whisper.

"How should I know?" Diamond Tiara shot back, a hint of venom in her voice. She, after having seen what happened with those three losers, and, more specifically, what Sweetie Belle did, was in a state of mental conflict.

Those ponies, all three of them, are useless Blank Flanks. No good for anything, and it showed. Or, better, it didn't show, as they didn't have any Cutie Marks.

So, knowing this, and having long before established her superiority over them, she was shocked beyond words over the fact that Sweetie Belle was able to do what she just did.

How did a loser Blank Flank such as her do that? It had to be magic, of course. But she didn't see her horn glow, nor had she ever seen Sweetie Belle use magic in any form. So how was this loser able to do such a thing? To perform such… such… 'Such amazing magic,' she forced herself to admit, grimacing as she felt like throwing up.

"I can't see anything from here," Silver Spoon muttered, "Let's find a better spot to watch from."

"Fine," Diamond Tiara agreed with a bitter tone, a foul taste in her mouth, "Let's find out what those losers are up to."

Together they moved out of the alley, and hurried to the shadowy side of the cafe.

Looking around to find any place where they could look inside the place, Silver Spoon spotted a window nearby, though too high to see through. However, as luck would have it, sort of, there was a dumpster standing directly under it.

"Hey, over here!" she said as she motioned at the foul object, and Diamond Tiara shot a disgusted look her way.

"No way. There is no way I am touching that filthy thing."

"I'm not happy about it either," Silver Spoon shot back, "but it is the only way for us to see inside," and she jumped on top of the dumpster, standing on her hind legs and resting her front legs on the windowsill, peeking inside.

Muttering several swears under her breath, Diamond Tiara reluctantly joined her friend, making a mental note to take a long, hot shower afterwards to get all the filth out of her coat.

"Now what are they doing?" she sneered as she looked inside, seeing the human freeing Scootaloo from whatever it was they were trapped in.

"Hey, how does he do that?" Silver Spoon asked as they noticed the strands of amber stuff just let go of the orange pegasus without any effort.

Diamond Tiara, about to reply, was cut off when they were surprised by a sudden, and bright golden flash coming from Sweetie Belle's horn.

Taken by surprise, and rearing back in shock, the two stumbled on the spot, before falling over, somehow managing to open the dumpster's lid, and falling into the trash contained inside.

"GHAA!" Diamond Tiara screeched, right when the lid fell back in place, muting her scream.

The two of them, heads poking up from the filth found inside the dumpster, were covered from head to hoof in stuff neither of them wanted to pay close attention to.

A rotten banana peel slid sickly off of Diamond Tiara's head, not able to live up to the charm of her tiara, and she shuddered as she flicked away the sickening trash, making haste to clamber out of the dumpster, with Silver Spoon following close behind.

"GHAAAA!" Diamond Tiara yelled, "I hate those stupid Blank Flanks!"

"Hey. Is anypony in here?" they heard a mare ask, and they noticed a pony's shadow approaching. Not wanting to be found out, they had to hurry to get away. However, as it would happen, there was no quick exit, and the only place they could hide was the very dumpster they had just crawled out of.

"Oh no. No no no no no," Diamond Tiara said aghast, "There is no way I am going back in there."

Silver Spoon looked at her friend, the dumpster, the approaching shadow, and back, "So you want to get caught?" she asked nervously.

"I… No, but I am not going back i—" she was cut off when the mare called out again, and they noticed she was about to turn the corner and spot them, "Buck," Diamond Tiara swore, and, more than reluctant, she climbed back into the filth found in the dumpster, whining as she did so.

Silver Spoon joined her a split second later, and they closed the lid over themselves.

"Hello?" the mare called out as she turned the corner, looking for anypony there, "Is anypony here?"

Silence.

"Huh? Guess not," she said to herself, and returned to the chaos in front.

A moment passed after she walked away, before the lid covering the dumpster was forced open, and two fillies, completely covered in trash, dragged themselves out of it, panting for air and shuddering in disgust.

"I'll get them for this!" Diamond Tiara growled, desperately trying to keep the foul taste of the trash that hung from her lips out of her mouth.

"Huhuhh…" Silver Spoon shuddered, "I need a shower, fast." And Diamond Tiara saw no reason to object. Quickly scraping off whatever filth they could, they made haste to return home and get a shower. Though they did make sure to stay out of sight, so nopony would see them as they were, and ruin their reputation.

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

The undercover quartet were waiting at the train station, looking around to make sure no one, dead or alive, had followed them.

A ticket was put in each of their bags, courtesy of Vigilant Shield, who paid for the tickets with her winnings from the bet with Blue Ice. Something she wasn't all that happy with, as she stood grumbling to herself. However, this stopped as she noticed a pony of interest standing on the platform, knowing all too well who she was.

"I'm telling you," she heard Flash Lightning complain quietly, "I feel like we've done nothing at all."

"I know what you mean," Midnight Blossom agreed, "We went in, did some scans, and now we're already leaving because we didn't find anything." Vigilant Shield grunted.

"Stow it," Charming Prism responded. "Yes, we haven't done much since we came here. And yes, we're going back now. But if that is how it is, then so be it. Just be glad we didn't find anything conclusive, save from some intermittent readings every now and then. No, the guys in town will continue with their search, while we return to Canterlot and help out the rest of the guys there," he told them, when Vigilant Shield called him.

"Hey, Charming, look," she said, motioning towards the purple unicorn standing on the platform some distance away from them, joined shortly thereafter by the human they were originally sent to observe, "Perhaps we can still do something useful after all."

"Good call," he replied, signaling for the rest of the team to stay back while observing the human and pony in turns. And, when the train arrived, they made sure they boarded the same carriage as Twilight and Danny, taking seats several places away from them, but close enough to eavesdrop on their conversation, while Vigilant Shield carefully used her scanner, picking up no reading from Danny at all as the train rocked into motion.

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

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were back at Diamond Tiara's mansion. With her father away for work, and the maid on a break, they had no trouble getting to the shower undetected. And after having washed up, and having used a whole bottle of shampoo each, they had retreated back to Tiara's bedroom, discussing their options and planning a new approach to take down the Crusaders.

However, they had run into a snag. Mainly, this strange magic Sweetie Belle had used.

"Seriously, how did she do that?" Silver Spoon asked, frowning over her glasses, with a fluffy white towel wrapped around her damp mane.

"It has to be magic," Diamond Tiara replied, a pink towel wrapped around her mane as well, "I'm sure of it. It has to be how they managed to get away with hurting you."

"You think?"

"Yes, it has to be," Diamond Tiara sneered as she stood up, starting to pace around her room, "It all makes sense now."

"It does?"

"Yes. Think about it," Diamond Tiara said as she stopped on the spot, "She and her friends must have found a spell or something that allows them to terrorize us, as they know we are better than them, and they are unwilling to accept that. But, seeing that they are such losers, she is unable to control it. Just as you would expect of an useless Blank Flank."

"I suppose."

"Yes. But now we know. And now we can use it against them," Diamond Tiara proclaimed victoriously.

"How?" Silver Spoon asked, and Diamond Tiara found herself freezing up, unable to come up with a reply.

"Oh, horse apples."

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

The crusaders ran through Ponyville, putting as much distance between them and the cafe as possible, unable to believe their luck and not wanting to push it. The three of them hurried inside a distant alley, hiding in the shadows cast by the walls as they looked around the corner, hoping Quick Grill hadn't changed his mind and came back for them.

Fortunately, it would seem their luck was still holding out... Or was it?


"Okay, is it just me, or was that jus' too easy and lucky ta be anything but?" Apple Bloom asked, a pensive look on her face.

"It kinda was, wasn't it?" Sweetie Belle confirmed with a small nod, "Why did Quick Grill suddenly let us go like that? He was rather angry, with good reason. So him just letting us go like that is kinda weird."

"Who cares?" Scootaloo interjected, "He did, and we're free to go. Just be glad nopony saw us- you, when your powers went all weird and stuff."

"Ah guess yer right about that," Apple Bloom agreed, "But still, it's weird."

"So? Everything has been weird ever since Sweetie Belle got zapped by that weird book. It's kinda expected for things to be weird."

Sweetie Belle raised a hoof, mouth opening in reply, but no sound came out as she found herself without a response. Instead, she just stood there, hoof raised and mouth open.

Sagging her stance, hoof dropping down, she settled for a shrug, "She kinda has a point there, doesn't she?"

"Ah guess," Apple Bloom replied, shrugging herself as she looked out of the alley, and towards the distant home of Danny Manson, seeing four ponies slipping inside. Four ponies who, as she had learned the previous night, were the suspected ghost hunters staying in the guest house.

"Hey, you guys seein' that?"

"Seeing what?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Those ghost hunting ponies," Apple Bloom replied.

"Yeah, what about them?" Scootaloo asked, scratching her head as she missed what her earth pony friend had seen.

"They jus' went inside Danny's house."

"Wait, what!?" Scootaloo says, "You're sure?"

"Uhm hmm," Apple Bloom hummed, nodding her head, "Ah jus' saw 'em go in there myself."

"Well, what are we waiting for, then?" Sweetie Belle spoke up, "Let's find out what they're doing, and why they're in Danny's house," and she hurried away, followed closely by her friends.

"Ya think they know about Danny, about him being, ya know?" Apple Bloom said, taking care not to be heard by anypony other than her friends.

"Don't know," Scootaloo replied, "but we're going to find out."

"Yeah," Sweetie Belle replied, "Cutie Mark Crusaders, spy ponies!"

"Cutie Mark Crusaders, spy ponies!" Apple Bloom and Scootaloo repeated, using their trademark yell, but keeping the volume down so their targets wouldn't hear them.

Rushing to the front of Danny's home, they flattened themselves against the wall. Their ears perked up as they heard the muted voices coming from inside, and they slowly, carefully, poked their heads up, looking inside through the window they were hiding underneath.

"Alright everypony, you know what to do," A dull orange earth pony said in a lowered voice, "Scan everything, but leave no evidence of us being here. If you find anything that is locked, don't force it open. Don't knock anything over. And, for Celestia's sake, don't make any sounds that might give us away!" the pony ordered, and his three cohorts nodded in confirmation.

"Well, that's them alright," Apple Bloom whispered, lowering herself out of sight.

"Yeah. And did you see those thingies in their hooves?" Scootaloo mentioned, dropping down as well.

"Yes, yes I did," Sweetie Belle confirmed, a frown on her face, and her eyes aglow.

"Sir! I'm picking up something." Sweetie Belle heard an unicorn mare with an ice blue coat say, and saw her looking down at a beeping device in her hoof as she slowly turned towards the window where Sweetie Belle and her friends were hiding.

"Uh oh," Sweetie Belle muttered.

"Uh oh?" Apple Bloom repeated, worried. "Please don't say: uh oh."

"Too late for that," Sweetie Belle said in alarm, "HIDE!"

She and her friends raced away from their poorly concealed hiding spot, rounding the corner of Danny's house to find a new place to hide in the backyard. But despite the few plants and flowers in the small garden, there wasn't any place big enough for three fillies to hide.

Looking around in a panic, Sweetie Belle realized that she was running out of options. Either they could run away as fast as they could and hope they could reach some tree or house further away before they came around the corner, or she could hide herself and her friends with her invisibility.

She had to make a choice, she just hoped it would be the right one. "Quick, hold on!" she said, and Scootaloo and Apple Bloom quickly reached out a hoof to grab hold of her.

The moment they made contact, Sweetie Belle faded out of view, turning herself, and her friends invisible. Which proved to be a poor choice, as, immediately, the remaining Ghost-Keteers' scanners lit up, showing a positive hit.

"Outside, now!" the girls heard the orange stallion order, and the four ponies rushed out, scanners in hoof, quickly making their way to the area behind the house, and out of sight of the town.

"Alright, you ghost creep," the steel grey pegasus mare says, "Where are you?" and she, along with the rest of her team, swept the area with their scanners. And, standing as close to an invisible spirit as they were, their scanners had no trouble picking up on Sweetie Belle's unique spectral signature.

All eyes locked on the invisible filly, seeing through her and looking at her at the same time.

"Sir. We got a live one," the ice blue mare said.

"Uh oh," Sweetie Belle said with a low voice, too quiet for the ghost hunters to hear, absolutely terrified.

"Uhh… That's not the only one, Ice," the dark pink unicorn mare said as she looked at her scanner, shaking it a bit as she had trouble believing the reading she was getting, "I'm picking up two more signatures, right on the edge of this thing's reach."

"Wait! What?" Scootaloo quietly said.

"Other signatures?" Apple Bloom muttered, eyes shifting around.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Sweetie Belle said.

"Make sure they're an actual hit, and not a false positive," the earth pony stallion ordered as he looked at the screen of his own scanner with one eye, while keeping the other on the spot where, unbeknownst to him, three fillies huddled together in fear.

Suddenly, without warning, Sweetie Belle's horn flashed with a golden light. And, despite her being invisible, the flash was not.

The four ponies' heads snapped towards the source of the light, seeing nothing, but knowing what they had seen. And, as their training told them, courtesy of Jack Fenton, any kind of spectral discharge was bad, and the source should be put down, permanently.

Of course they had no idea what was really going on, or that they were facing three scared foals, so they moved in aggressively, while the dark pink unicorn mare pulled out a metallic white and green thermos out of her saddle bags.

But as they moved in to deal with the 'threat', they were too focused on the invisible entity they surrounded, and forgot about the two other signals picked up by their scanners. Two signals that were closing in. Two entities who, unlike those four ponies, knew exactly what was going on, and who were involved. So, wasting no time, they surged into motion. Invisible, of course. They still needed to remain hidden, unfortunately.

It was not how they would have wanted it, but he was quite clear about what should be, what could be, and what must never be allowed to pass.

They didn't like it, but he made them understand. And knowing that they must remain hidden, for now, meant that they could only observe, and maybe push and prod a mind or two to help out those three youngsters. But, when they saw what was happening, how the foals were trapped by the ghost hunters, and with Sweetie Belle too frightened to even attempt to fly away with her friends, they knew they couldn't stay on the sidelines, observing.

Splitting up, one of the entities circled around the group of ponies, while the other closed in on the orange earth pony. The same pony he had possessed some time ago to guide the conversation with Scootaloo. Now, though, possession was the last thing on his ghostly mind. Instead, he came up on his side, looking at the invisible foals with a frown, and delivered a firm punch in the earth pony's side.

Rolling Stone, hit without warning, unable to see his attacker, stumbled to the side as he grunted.

The other ponies, hearing him grunt in pain, turned to look at him. "There's more of them! Stay on your guard!" he ordered as he picked himself up, glaring at the empty air next to him. And, in the momentary confusion, the other entity acted. Closing in on the three fillies, she gently placed a hoof on Sweetie Belle's back, making the frightened filly gasp.

"Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom said, worried while Scootaloo squeaked.

"Run!" a warm and caring voice spoke next to Sweetie Belle's ear, and all three fillies gasped. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle in fright. Scootaloo, however, in recognition. Recognition from memories she could barely remember, "Run!" the voice spoke again, and, despite being frightened and not knowing what was going on, Sweetie Belle took the voice's advice, quickly taking a firm hold on her friends and flying away.

"No, wait!" Scootaloo protested, but Sweetie Belle ignored her as she flew away to safety, not looking back or slowing down for anything, leaving Scootaloo to look back uncertainly at the group of four agitated ponies who were looking around in confusion and suspicion.

"Mom?" she said in a whisper to herself, watching the ponies use those scanner things, before making a hasty retreat as they had drawn the attention of a couple of ponies.

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

Rolling Stone, Blue Ice, Sound Wave, and Ornate Charm fled back into the alley they came from, looking back at the home of Danny Manson, a worried frown showing on their faces.

"This is bad," Blue Ice muttered, "Really bad."

"But… But this can't be. Can it?" Sound Wave says, "Three ghosts… How?"

"Ice is right," Rolling Stone muttered darkly, "This is bad. We came here on the suspicion there might be one ghost that managed to slip through our defences. Now though it's obvious those defences have failed. We must inform the princesses, this has become a matter of national security. One ghost slipping through is bad enough. But three… More?" he finished with an ominous tone, the severity of the situation not lost on the others.

"This is going to get a whole lot worse, isn't it?" Ornate Charm asked worriedly.

"Not if we can help it!" Blue Ice stated, "After all, it's our duty, not only as royal guards, but as Ghost-Keteers to keep our fellow ponies safe from those undead creeps."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Rolling Stone nodded, "We were sent here to find out if there was a ghost, or not. Now we know. And it is our task to find them, contain them, learn how they got here and, most importantly, keep everypony safe, including the human."

"Yes, Sir. You can count on us," Ornate Charm replied, while Sound Wave and Blue Ice nodded with determination.

"Good," Rolling Stone said. "Because right now, we're the only ones standing between the safety of our fellow ponies, and these ghosts. They may have gotten the drop on us this time, but it won't happen again. Now we know they are here, so we can prepare. Besides, they already made a crucial mistake."

"Which is?" Ornate Charm asks.

"They didn't take us out when they had the chance. A mistake we will not make with them. Am I right!?"

"Sir, yes, Sir!"

"Humhmm. Damn right I am. Now, let's go ghost hunting."

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

Sweetie Belle flew straight to their clubhouse, lowering her friends and then herself to the floor of the wooden building, all of them nervous and on edge.

Acting on nothing more than reflex, Apple Bloom hurried to close the door, while Sweetie Belle carefully peeked through one of the windows, making sure those ghost hunters hadn't somehow followed them.

Scootaloo, however, sat silently on the floor. Eyes wide, and unaware of her friends' actions.

"Do ya think they followed us?" Apple Bloom asked worriedly, standing on her hind legs as she pressed her back against the door.

"I… I don't think so," Sweetie Belle replied, "Scootaloo?" she asked, but received no answer.

"Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom said, dropping down to all fours and moving to her friend, "Is everything alright?"

"... Voice…" she mumbled, more to herself than in response to her friend.

"What was that?" Apple Bloom asked.

"That voice," Scootaloo repeated, speaking more clearly, but still staring into forever.

"Hey, yeah. What was up with that voice?" Sweetie Belle spoke up, Scootaloo reminding her about that strange fact, "Who was that. And was it a ghost?"

"Ah don't know," Apple Bloom replied, shrugging, "How should Ah know if it was a ghost, or who it was?"

Shrugging in turn, Sweetie Belle said, "I dunno. Just aski—" when Scootaloo interrupted her by saying, "Mom," in a lowered voice.

"Wait? What?" Apple Bloom responded.

"That voice…. It was my mom," Scootaloo said in disbelief, still not looking at her friends, staring unblinkingly at the wall.

"What!?" both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle said, almost shouting, "Ya can't be serious," Apple Bloom says, "Yer parents are d—"

"What!?" Scootaloo shot back, jumping up on all fours, "Dead!? Of course they are. They've been dead for years now. Just like your parents," she said angrily, and Apple Bloom flinched inwards as she looked down, tears brimming around her eyes.

"Hey!" Sweetie Belle spoke up, shooting an angry glare at Scootaloo, who paid her no mind. However, she did suddenly deflate as she sighed out explosively, sitting back down, "But why should that matter? Them being dead, I mean. After all, you're half a spirit," she motioned to Sweetie Belle, "And Danny might be a ghost. Why shouldn't it be possible for my mom and dad to be ghosts, too?"

"But… if it really was her, then why didn't she reveal herself ta us? Ta you?" Apple Bloom asked, wiping her eyes with a leg.

"Ghost hunters," Sweetie Belle muttered, and her friends looked at her.

"Oh, right. That makes sense," Apple Bloom admitted, kicking the floor with a hoof.

"Still, even if it is her, that's not our biggest problem," Sweetie Belle continued, troubled. "Those ponies know something is out there now, not just me, or maybe Danny. But whoever it was that helped us."

"Yeah," Apple Bloom sighed, "That is going ta be a problem."

"Maybe Wind Chill can help?" Scootaloo offered, "And maybe he knows something about my mom?"

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at one another, a silent conversation passing between the two. "Couldn't hurt ta ask," Apple Bloom said.

"Anything is better than going back into town where those guys are," Sweetie Belle agreed.

"Well, let's go then you guys," Scootaloo responded impatiently, suddenly bursting with energy as she sped out of the tree house.

"She really wants to know, doesn't she?" Sweetie Belle said after a moment of silence, looking out of the open door.

"Wouldn't ya?" Apple Bloom replied.

"Wouldn't you?" she returned the question, receiving no reply as the two of them finally followed their friend. And they, in turn, were followed by a small metal insect which paid close attention to Sweetie Belle.

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

Darkness surrounded all, and only a sporadic beam of light managed to penetrate the otherwise perfect blackness of the shadows cast by the trees.

Various sounds echoed past the tree trunks, belonging to the many animals that called this place their home. Animals which one wouldn't want to encounter anywhere outside of the forest. Or in it, for that matter. Yet here they were, fear unknown to these small metallic constructs as they homed in on the spectral signature coming from deep within the woods.







Wings buzzed, their sound lost in the forest's music as the drones closed in on their targets. They didn't know what to expect. Mainly because it wasn't part of their programming to do so. They just obeyed, no questions asked. And obey they did.

As instructed by their orders, they sought out any and all ectoplasmic signatures. And after having detected several all around, they came here, into the dark wood known as the Everfree Forest.

Not that they could care much for its name. Mainly as that, also, wasn't part of their programming. Nor did they have any use for names.

They divided everything into sectors, and searched any likely sector with mechanical precision. And now, zigzagging past trees and bushes, dodging tree branches and avoiding the stray bird here and there, they came upon a small clearing near a short cliff face, a large cave entrance found within the rock.

Several creatures moved about the area, sniffing the air, or growling at one another as they went on their way. These creatures, wooden wolves according to the scans, were the source of the ectoplasm detected.

Wings buzzed as they moved in closer. The small group of drones splitting up to scan the wooden constructs from various angles, trying to determine where these creatures and their ectoplasm came from.

But had the drones any proper intelligence, instead of preprogrammed responses, they might not have been blind to the obvious. But as they were, they did not realize that these wolves were more than their simple sensors could detect.

These wolves, having roamed the forest for many millennia, were some of the most skilled hunters one could encounter. And they also knew what belonged, and what didn't.

They swiveled their heads as they picked up on the buzzing of metallic wings, determining the location of whatever it was that produced the sound in mere seconds, lowering themselves in a pouncing stance as they studied the strange apparatus, ready for anything.

Their sudden shift in behavior didn't go unnoticed though, and mere moments later a large, bipedal wooden wolf stepped out of the cave. Sniffing the air, and glaring unblinkingly with his glowing green eyes at one of the drones hanging in the air, picking up a foul, dark scent coming from the metallic insects.

"Mortigu ilin!" he ordered, and the wolves around him surged into motion.
"Kill them!"

Using their powerful hind legs, the timberwolves launched themselves up, and towards the small constructs hovering around them. The drones however, programmed to avoid any detection and conflict, burst into motion as they fled; the wolves hunting them down as they did, easily keeping up with the small metal insects.

The drones split up, trying to increase their chances of successfully delivering the gathered data. However, although the wolves were used to hunting as a pack, they were just as comfortable hunting as lone wolves. Each wolf chose their own prey, not telling, but instinctively knowing who took who, and continued their chase.

One wolf, seeing his chance, jumped up against the side of a tree, before launching himself towards the small machine.

No matter how much it dodged and weaved. No matter how fast it tried to fly away, the little machine still fell prey to the wolf's skill, as it vanished inside the wolf's open jaw. Wherein it recorded the unique experience of being crushed by strong wooden teeth, before shutting down, permanently.

Spitting out the crushed and mangled metal pieces, the wolf growled one last time before returning to the rest of his pack, who had all taken down their own prey. They each gave a low growl to their packmates in confirmation, nothing else needed to be said.

Their Alpha, still standing outside, sniffed the air to make sure no dark stench remained, then gave a nod of approval before heading back inside the cave. But no rest could be found for him, nor his pack, he knew.

'Kio nova mallumo havas trovis lia vojon en niajn arbaro? Unue tiu portalo, tiam tiuj infanoj, nun ĉi. La malnova unu pravas. La likvido havas estintaj perturbitaj. Nun, mi scivolas, kion alian la estonteco havas en vendejo por ni? Ni ĉiuj.'

'What new darkness has found its way into our forest? First that portal, then those children. Now this. The old one is right. The balance has been disturbed. Now I wonder, what else the future has in store for us? All of us.'

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

Wind Chill sat on his bed in the barn, restless. After last night's discovery, he found sleep to be quite elusive. Not that he really needed to sleep as much as a mortal, but within the warmth of this non frozen world his energy was drained faster than he would have liked.

But now, even as his energy was waning, and the soft, cold mattress of his snowy bed called seductively to him, he found it impossible to submit to the gentle embrace of dreamless slumber. The knowledge that the Great One was living in the town near him was just too great for him to just ignore like that. He knew he had to inform Frostbite, but he also knew he couldn't just leave.

He was honor bound to young Apple Bloom, and she could call on him at any time. And as his kind's rule dictated, he needed to be there if she did.

Still, whatever might come to pass in the near future, and when he got the chance to inform Frostbite, as well as all the other frost giants about the Great One, there was one thing he knew for sure.

"We should prepare ourselves. Change is coming," he said sagely as he stood up, moving to the double door to push it ajar and look outside, "Maybe not today, or tomorrow. But someday soon. I can feel it," and the door slammed open, hitting him in the face.

"Oh my gosh!" Sweetie Belle cried out, shocked, as she and her friends looked up at the giant, "I'm so sorry!"

"Ah told ya ya should knock," Apple Bloom scolded her, rolling her eyes.

"Right…," Sweetie Belle muttered to herself, then looked back up at the frost giant, "But are you alright?" she asked.

Groaning and rubbing the lump forming on his head, Wind Chill looked down at the trio, feeling his cold, unbeating heart melt as two pairs of large, remorseful eyes looked up at him. However, he also took notice of the third pair, which looked at him expectantly, and with a hint of sadness behind them.

"Yes, I am fine," he replied, stepping aside, "But please, come in. I have a feeling you wanted something from me, am I right?"

"Yes," Apple Bloom replied with a nod, as she and her friends entered the cold of the barn.

"Several things, actually," Sweetie Belle clarified, glancing at Scootaloo for a moment, which did not go unnoticed by Wind Chill.

"Then, please, tell me. I am here to help, after all," he says as he motioned for them to take a seat on the corner sofa.

Looking at the frosty seating with a wary glance, Apple Bloom quickly answered for herself and her friends, "We'll stand. But thanks."

"Very well," Wind Chill replied as he gently clapped his hands together, "Now, what troubles you three?"

Scootaloo was quick to jump in, opening her mouth to ask the question burning in her mind, but she was beaten to the punch by Sweetie Belle, "You know those ghost hunters we mentioned last time? Well, they kinda found out about me being a spirit."

"WHAT!?" Wind Chill roared, "HOW!?"

"Well, they don't really know it's me. They didn't see me either," she answered, looking down as she rubbed one leg against the other, "But they used a weird scanning thingy to find me."

"By the ancestors. This is bad!" Wind Chill muttered, hand partially covering his mouth.

"They also surrounded us, while Sweetie was keepin' us invisible," Apple Bloom continues, "And one of them grabbed a thermos out of her saddle bags… Not really sure why, though."

"This thermos was most likely a ghost capture and containment unit. A creation of the Great One's parents," Wind Chill replied, deep in thought, "Why a thermos, though, I do not know. But, more importantly... Young spirit, how did you manage to escape? Were you forced to use your powers against them? Do others know as well?"

"Actually… No," Sweetie Belle replied, shooting another glance towards Scootaloo, "That would be another reason that we came here. You see, those ponies said they, uhh, picked up another signal, or something. And another ghost actually came to help us."

"What!" Wind Chill said, almost breathless, a glimmer of hope in his voice, "Was it the Great One? Has he returned after so long?"

"Well, we don't think so, actually," Apple Bloom begun, "We actually think it was-"

"MY MOM!" Scootaloo shouted, no longer having the patience to wait.

"Your… mom?" Wind Chill repeated slowly, not fully understanding, "Why would she…. Oh... I see."

"Yeah…" Scootaloo muttered sadly, looking down, "But I know what I heard!" she continued, head snapping back up, "I know it was my mom who told us to run. I just know it."

"But how could that be?" Apple Bloom asked her orange friend in disbelief, but with a hint of hope mixed in.

"Well, Sweetie Belle is a spirit!" Scootaloo almost shouted accusingly, pointing a hoof at the aforementioned filly. "So why shouldn't my parents be able to be a ghost?!"

"But is it even possible?" Apple Bloom asked, more trying to convince herself.

"It certainly is," Wind Chill spoke up, and all three fillies looked back at him, seeing him deep in thought.

'Change is coming, indeed. If what they claim is true...'

"It would seem there is even more going on than we thought," Wind Chill continued after a moment.

"What do you mean?" Sweetie Belle asked, before rubbing her forehead, feeling another stab going through her mind.

"What do I mean? Several things, actually. But I'm having trouble putting the pieces together. But there is good news as well. Last night, I saw this Danny Manson you told us about. And I am excited, no, delighted to say that he truly is the Great One," he told them, a large smile brightening his features, and shocked gasps came from the fillies.

"Are you sure!? Is it really him?" Sweetie Belle asked, amazed.

"Indeed he is. His face is one I could never forget. But, this also brings us bad news. If those ghost hunters also find out about him, there is no knowing what might happen. Although we can be sure the Great One will disappear again. And now with them knowing about you, even though they haven't seen you, this situation will become increasingly more difficult for him."

Sweetie Belle looked down at the floor after he told them that, knowing that because of her carelessness, Danny might now get into trouble.

"I guess I should have come to you after all, instead of going back into town with my powers all messed up," she muttered sadly, and her friends also looked down in shared guilt as they were partially responsible as well.

"How do you mean?" Wind Chill asked, puzzled, when he picked up on a faint buzzing noise coming from near the wall to his right.

"Well, you see," Sweetie Belle begins, "This morning I was trying to use my ma—" she says, when Wind Chill cuts her off.

"Hold your tongue!" he cried with a thunderous voice, making the fillies flinch in fright, thinking they had done something to set him off. Wind Chill, however, took large steps towards the far wall, having spotted the metallic drone attached to the frozen surface, and grabbed it with lightning fast reflexes.

He felt a tiny pop in his closed hand, telling him that the object was crushed. Opening his hand with a feeling of foreboding, he looked down at the crushed metal and various small wires.

"No!"

"Wind Chill, is everything alright?" Apple Bloom asks, taking a hesitant step towards him.

"No!" he answered, "As it would seem this situation grows more complex by the minute," he told them, lowering himself to show them the contents in his hand.

"What is that?" Scootaloo asked, looking in confusion at the tiny crushed device alongside her friends.

"This, this is an instrument of the Dark One, Vlad Plasmius," he answered, a hint of anger in his voice. "If this is here, then he must have found out about Danny Phantom… We must alert Frostbite immediately," he says, and, with a spark of dark green shooting from her horn, Sweetie Belle found all four of her legs sinking through the floor, "And you need more training as well. The ancestors know you will have need of it."

Wind Chill fell quiet after that, staring out into forever with a dark look on his face, while Scootaloo and Apple Bloom shared a worried look with Sweetie Belle as they pulled her out of the floor.

"Scootaloo," Apple Bloom said with a worried tone, "Ya were right."

"About what?"

Their eyes met, "This has only jus' begun," and they all knew she was right.

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

Your highness.

I send you this report ahead of schedule because my team and I have made a worrying discovery.

Earlier today, around ten sixteen, we picked up a spectral signature near the residence of Danny Manson. And this time it was not a false positive. Furthermore, and even more concerning, is that not only did we confirm this signature, but two more as well.

I fear I must confirm our worst case scenario. There are ghosts in Equestria, and they have already lashed out towards us. Or, me, to be more precise. Fortunately not with any ectoplasmic discharges, but limited physical force. I did not sustain any injuries, nor did my team. However, I do not believe the intent was to hurt us at that time. We were close to capturing the ghost we first detected, when these other entities showed up.

Unfortunately we have no idea what they look like, as they were all invisible to us. But, seeing their reaction, we believe it was only an effort to help one of their own.

Noble in their own way, but we can only fear for what's to come.

We were afraid that one ghost might have breached our defenses, but now we know there are three, and possibly more.

Fortunately, no civilian has found out about what has happened. Although we now know for certain there are spectral entities in and around Ponyville, they do seem to be holding back, almost as if they are waiting for something. Therefore, my team and I will redouble our efforts to find and subdue the threat. But, as it stands now, we do believe it is best to continue to keep our actions on the down low, lest we start a panic.

Furthermore, as you were informed in our last report. The team sent to investigate Whitetail Woods is currently en route back to Canterlot to help with the transport and construction of Miss Technal's project. You might be inclined to send them back in light of recent discoveries. But my team and I believe we will be able to deal with this current situation as it is, and that their expertise could be of more help to the ponies and humans working on the ghost containment system. We all know we're going to need it sooner, rather than later.

Right now though, we have pulled back to reorganize, and prepare for anything these ghosts might hurl at us. But, as I told my team, these ghosts have already made one crucial mistake. Mainly, they didn't take us out when they had the chance. And now we are coming for them.

Should we learn more, we will inform you immediately.

First Lieutenant, Rolling Stone.

Author's Note:

Okay, were back. YAY!

I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, and that the size somewhat makes up for the wait. I do hope the next one will not take as long, especially regarding Guilt of a Phantom, but I'm not making any promises. Although I have been working on the next chapters, I find it difficult to find the motivation to make good progress with my fics. Long hours of work along side other stuff happening in my personal life do contribute to that. Still, I do my best, and see where that will take me.

Now, please tell me about any mistakes you found, or tell me what you liked. All is welcome. Plus, this chapter has pushed this fic past the 100K mark. So I got that going for me, which is nice.

-Powerdrainer