Equestria's Phantom

by RayRox360

Chapter 6: The YTRAP

Chapter 6: The Ytrap

Twilight took another wonderful bite of herCrunchy Oaty O'scereal, one of her favorite things to eat in the morning, despite its juvenile qualities. Whatever! She was a princess, she could eat whatever she wanted! Levitating her spoon back down into the milky sea of floating oats, she turned back to the book that was currently laying flat next to her bowl.

Next to her, Spike sat in his impromptu high chair made out of a small stack of books as he continued to flip through one of his new comics. His eyes stayed glued to the pages as he reached out with his free hand and began to glide it over the table in search of his spoon. Clutching it in his claw, he attempted to scoop up some cereal, only to miss the bowl completely and shove the empty spoon into his mouth.

His face scrunched in confusion as he finally tore his eyes away from the comic and took the spoon out of his mouth, inspecting it carefully in bewilderment as he wondered why his cereal was now tasteless.

Twilight huffed quietly in amusement before turning back down to her book.

Suddenly, a loud yelp sounded from upstairs, followed by a string of loud thumps and bumps as the shouts of pain quickly got louder and louder. Spike and Twilight merely glanced at each other with furrowed expressions.

"SON OF A BITCH!" A stray voice sounded from down the hall as the thumps and bumps finally drew to a halt with one finalTHUD.

Twilight puffed and glanced back down at her book. "Language!" She called, not bothering to lift her head as Danny shambled in, now rubbing his sore head as he wondered if being able to taste the color purple was a bad sign or not. "Sorry, next time I fall down the stairs, I'll try and watch my mouth as my ribs crack." He muttered before taking a seat at the table.

"That's all I'm looking for." Twilight smirked with a roll of her eyes as she flipped to a new page in her book, only to peek back up at the boy.

Danny scoffed and grabbed one of the muffins sitting in the center of the table. He absentmindedly began to nibble on one of the blueberries as he turned and glanced out one of the side windows. The large white clouds that were lazily streaming past painfully reminded him of his bed as the urge to crawl back into it increased, only to drop as he realized he'd have to face those evil stairs again.

Ehh . . . it's not worth another crack in my spine.He muttered to himself as he turned away from the large pane of glass, only to cock his head in confusion as he noticed Twilight was no longer reading her book. Instead, the mare was staring at the table below, seemingly lost in thought.

He glanced over at Spike, only to sigh as he watched the dragon's spoon slip down and disappear into milky cereal oblivion as he quickly became engrossed in whatever new comic he was obsessed over. Rolling his eyes, he turned back to Twilight and waved his hoof in the air, only to receive no reaction. "Umm . . . hello? Earth to Twilight." He called, a little louder.

"Great, did Spike finally have enough of you and lace poison in your cereal or something." The teen mumbled, which finally seemed to catch the attention of the mare . . . . and the dragon as well.

"I didwhatnow?"

Yet the alicorn merely rolled her eyes. "Please, poison is such an ineffective way to get rid of somepony. It's so unreliable." She scoffed with a wave of her hoof. "For one, you don't know how it'll respond with a pony's unique immune system; and second, how would Spike even be sure I'd eat cereal today?"

"Uhh . . . I didn't poison it."

The mare pointed towards the dragon. "There, ya' see? Whenever Spikedoestry and kill me, I'm sure he'll find amuchsmarter way to do it." Twilight responded with a confident smirk.

"I'm not gonna-! Uggg, whatever." The baby dragon grumbled as he grumpily picked up his comic again and began to read once more.

Twilight and Danny shared a look before winking at each other, large grins quickly hidden underneath their hooves. After regaining their composure, the colt glanced back up at her. "So why're you all spacey? You didn't fall asleep in the library again, did you?" He asked, remembering last week when the mare had barely been able to form comprehensive sentences.

Twilight huffed and rolled her eyes, folding her hooves over her chest. "No, Ididn't!" She puffed indignantly before clearing her throat once more. "I was just . . . . thinking about something." She finally explained.

"Okayyy . . . . thinking 'bout what?"

She hummed in thought for a moment before lifting her gaze. "Can you do me a favor?" She finally asked.

"No, no way, Twi! Spike'll have to kill me before I have aBooksorcationwith you!"

"IWHAT NOW?!"

Danny rolled his eyes at the dragon's question. "WellTwilightcan't kill me. She's a princess. She has a reputation to maintain."

"Why doesanyponyhave to kill someone?!" Spike exclaimed, waving his arms in the air dramatically.

Twilight sighed as the two decided to ignore the dragon's shouts. "That's not what I was going to ask you, moron." She muttered. "I was just wondering if you could head over to SugarCube Corner and pick something up for me." She explained before sitting back in her seat once more. "Just tell Mrs. Cake I sent you."

Danny cocked his head. "And you can't do thiswhy?"He asked. It didn't matter what the mare said. He'd go anyways, but that didn't mean he'd pass up an opportunity to mess with her.

"Because I'm the mare that's been nice enough to let you stay in her castle for the past two weeks and I said so."

The teen rolled his eyes as he hopped off of his chair. "Fine. But you can't use that excuse for the rest of the week." He grumbled.

"Deal."

---

Danny glanced up at the sky overhead as he walked down the street. The sky was a pale shade of blue, the clouds mingling together to form a white hazy layer overtop. As he walked, he'd throw an occasional "hi"or a wave of his hoof to the ponies that greeted him.

Most of the ponies of Ponyville now knew him by name, though it wasn't very surprising considering Pinkie had literally dragged him to the top of Twilight's castle and announced his arrival to a very confused population of Ponyville during his first week. Course, they weren't as confused as many would expect.

ItwasPinkie Pie after all.

It didn't take long for the teen to reach SugarCube Corner, but as he entered, he was mainly surprised and mildly confused as to why the main party pony herself wasn't tending to the front counter. Danny merely shrugged it off, assuming the mare was back in the kitchen creating more stomach-pumping concoctions.

He shuddered as the hauntings of the mare's latest failed recipe floated back into his mind.

He shook away the thoughts as Mrs. Cake walked through the kitchen doors, a warm smile adorning her face as usual.

"Hey, Mrs. C!" The teen greeted as he trotted over.

"Hello, dearie. What can I do for ya' today?" The mare greeted cheerfully, which seemed to be her standard setting.

The boy shrugged his shoulders. "Honestly, I have no clue. I'm just Princess Poindexter's delivery boy." He said with a roll of his eyes.

Mrs. Cake let out a small chuckle at the teen's on-the-spot nickname before nodding her head. "Yes, I do remember her asking for something special . . . Give me a moment." She said before walking into the backroom, returning with a large pink box. Placing it on his back - - a skill he'd finally mastered by Day 8 - - Danny turned back towards the door.

"Thanks, Mrs. C!"

"No problem, dearie! Come back anytime!"

With that, Danny stepped back outside into the brisk autumn air once more. Starting back down the path, the teen couldn't suppress the yawn that quickly built up in his chest. He sighed and gently shook his head, silently debating whether he should take a nap and suffer Twilight's lectures on interrupting sleep patterns or just wait it out till nightfall.

But before he could continue with his thoughts, he was quickly blindsided and surrounded. Instincts quickly kicked in as he tensed his muscles, only to relax and smile widely as he realized who it was.

"Hey, Danny!" Pinkie Pie chirped as she trotted alongside him, with the occasional bounce.

"Where ya' headed off to?" Applejack asked.

The teen shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Back to the castle. Book Bug needed me to pick something up." He explained.

Applejack furrowed her brow for a moment before shaking her head. "Your nicknames keep getting weirder and weirder, kid." She chuckled, only for Danny to shrug his shoulders. "Well you psychos keep giving me plenty of material, Old McApple." He quipped with a devious smirk.

The work horse rolled her eyes, only to give a slight nod of her head as Pinkie Pie made a motion with her hoof. Instantly, the pink mare was in the teen's face, making him freeze in his tracks. "HEY! How 'bout I go ahead and take this back for ya'?" She asked, motioning to the box on his back.

Danny glanced back at the package before giving a slight shrug. "It's alright. You don't have t-"

"Sure. It'll free you up to come with me and watch the Apple Selling Stand with me. You've never seen me work there before."

The teen hesitated for a moment before giving a small nod of the head. "Sure, why not?" He said, passing the box over to Pinkie Pie, who instantly vanished from sight, leaving only aPinkie-Pie-shaped cloud in her wake. Danny blinked in surprise for a moment before sighing. "I'mmoresurprised with the fact that shecontinuesto surprise me." He muttered.

Applejack shrugged. "Yeah, you never really get used to it." She murmured before turning back to the teen. "Come on, I'll show you where the stand is. It'll be fun.

---

"Applejack . . . . . .who hurt you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Well obviously something mind-numbing and soul-crushing must have happened to you . . . .FOR YOU TO THINK THIS IS FUN!"

The ponies walking through the market stopped to stare at the flustered colt who was currently banging his head against the wooden post of Applejack's Apple Selling Cart. He glanced up at the shocked ponies, only to scowl in response. "I DON'T CARE!" He growled to them before slamming his head down into the wooden shelf . . . . repeatedly.

The mare rolled her eyes. "Oh come on now. It's not that bad." She smiled.

"A.J, you've made me stand here for three hours, and in those three life-sucking hours, four ponies have stopped by andTHREE DIDN'T EVEN BUY ANYTHING!One of them stood here for ten minutes before realizing he didn't even WANT apples!" He screamed.

She shook her head. "You just have to be patient." She said calmly, casually leaning against the wooden pole.

Danny groaned and placed his chin down against the wooden shelf. "Yeah, well whoever said patience is a virtue obviously never had to deal with customer service." He muttered.

"Oh, come on." The mare muttered. "You make it sound horrible. Customer Service isn't that bad." Applejack said with a huff.

Danny rolled his eyes. "Please. Customer Service is basically just doing your best to convince a moron that they're not a moron without calling them a moron." He grumbled, glancing up at the couple that was currently at the stand, who were now giving him strange glances.

"Oh not you. No, you're one of the special ones." He assured them, rolling his eyes at Applejack as the couple smiled and nodded before going back to browsing the food.

The teen sighed before letting out another yawn. "Alright, I've tortured myself enough for one month. I'm gonna head back to the castle." He muttered to the mare, never noticing her look of reluctance as he quickly made his escape before she offered to do anything else "fun" like pulling teeth or getting your flesh ripped off by piranhas.

The teen let out a breath of relief as he began to walk down the path towards the castle once more, only to freeze as a familiar voice rang out into the air.

"DANNY!"

He suppressed a sigh as he turned around. A small smile grew onto his face as Rarity and Rainbow Dash quickly approached. "Hey, guys."

"Girls."

"Whatever. I was just heading back to the castle." The teen said, gesturing behind him, only for Rainbow Dash to fly behind him and push him forward.

"Not anymore you're not! You're coming with us to watch the Running of the Leaves."

Danny's face furrowed in confusion. "The Running of the who-what-now?"

"The Running of the Leaves. It's a Ponyville tradition in which a marathon takes place through the densely packed forests to help get rid of the leaves adorning the trees. It helps make way for winter." Rarity explained.

Danny placed a hoof to his head and brushed the hair out of his face. "Of course, because having average weather patterns is justtoonormal for this world." He muttered.

"What was that?"

"NOTHING!"

---

Danny stared on with a bored expression as he watched the empty road ahead. He was currently lying on his stomach, his hooves the only things keeping his head up as another yawn escaped his mouth.

Around him, the other ponies of town were currently sitting around the finish line of the race, frankly looking quite as bored as him, though he severely doubted it. Apparently, waiting for a marathon to finish wasn't the most exciting thing, at least not until ponies started to get close to finishing.

"So . . . . you basically just wait for a couple hours until the pack finally decides to show up and finish this thing?" He asked, lazily looking up at Rarity and Dash, who also looked quite bored.

Dash rubbed the back of the neck. "Huh, this race was a lot more exciting when you're actually running in it." She murmured, Rarity rolling her eyes at that.

Danny let out an annoyed sigh, slamming his hooves into his face before dragging it down slowly. Finally, as he watched the stallion across from him drop to the grass and fall asleep, he let out a muffled scream into his hooves before quickly getting up, startling the two mares next to him.

"Alright, well this was . . . .an experience, but unfortunately I have to go and leap from the highest cliff in Ponyville and land in the Trench of Soul-Piercing Spikes." He grumbled, turning away from the road, only for the two girls to quickly block his way with nervous grins. "H-hey! Where're ya' headed?"Rainbow Dash asked.

"I'm heading back to the castle." He muttered, turning up to the sky. Raising his hoof to block the sun, he noticed sunset was quickly approaching. "Ehh . . . close enough. I'm gonna go sleep." He sighed blissfully, gently pushing past the mares, who shared concerned glances.

The teen was yanked from his blissful thoughts as he slammed into somepony. Stumbling backwards, he rubbed his head and glanced up, his bright blue eyes meeting Twilight's lavender ones. "Hey, Danny." She said with a smile.

Danny gave a weak smile. "Hey, Twi. I was just heading your way. I'm ready to turn in for the day." He murmured, rubbing his eyes. Honestly, the teen was ready to collapse right there. Sleep had not come easy to him the night before, and he wasn't too eager to put off getting some more rest.

I swear, of anypony else asks me to do something I think I'll-

The mare shifted her gaze and bit her lip before placing her hoof on the teen's shoulder. "Well, actually, I was wondering if maybe you could help Fluttershy and I run some errands."

MOTHERFU-

---

Danny collapsed onto his side, the grass brushing up against his coat as he panted heavily. His eyes tiredly trailed up to Twilight, who was sharing a few words with Fluttershy a little ways off.

The last few hours had beenhell.Literal HELL!

Twilight and Fluttershy dragged him around town, back and forth, back and forth, doing the most pointless things, and the most trivial tasks. And no matter how much he begged and pleaded and threatened, they refused to let him go back to the castle.

So here he was, silently hoping for a stray bolt of lightning to hit him, if only for a chance to rest as he watched the two mares continue to share words. After a few more moments, the pegasus waved to the pair before flying off into the air.

The alicorn stared off at where the pegasus had disappeared to for a moment longer before turning back to Danny, who was still trying to fight off sleep, though it was a losing battle. The teen let out a small sigh of content as he closed his eyes and let the dark night sky turn pitch black as his eyes closed.

Unfortunately, the blissful City of Sleep was violently trampled by a merciless Twizilla.

"Come on, Danny. We're only getting started." She said with a smile that was much too annoying for someone who already wanted to strangle her. "There's a 24-hour bookstore on the other side of the town and they're having a midnight sale!" She squealed.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" Danny panted,quicklyrising to his hooves. "I can't do it, Twilight! I can't do it! A-are you trying to kill me? Is that it?" He moaned. "I don't know why my mind seems to be onthatspecific topic of death today, but that's a problem for another time! Whatever you're doing, it's obviously working!" He groaned, his sleep-deprived brain quickly sparking, smoke spewing out of the malfunctioning machinery.

"Oh I know what you're planning." He narrowed his eyes, sleep-deprivation finally doing him in. Now he could finally understand why Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, The Zodiac Killer, and Jack the Ripper were all so insane. NOBODY WOULD LET THEM FUCKING SLEEP!

"You're in CAHOOTS, aren't ya'?!" He ranted, eye twitching slightly as he began to pace back and forth, effectively completing the crazy look. "Yeah, yeah, you got your cheerleading squad to run me around town willy-nilly!" He exclaimed, waving his hooves back and forth.

"So what are you planning, huh? Exhaust me and then practice magic spells on me or something, huh?" He questioned, getting up in the alicorn's face. Twilight was sure she would be slightly nervous if not for the way the teen kept rocking back and forth, his hair was spiking all over the place and how his left ear was currently bent. If anything, it made him look more adorable, so much so that the mare had to puff her cheeks to keep from laughing.

"Is that it, Twi? You plannin' on turning me into a teacup?!" He muttered. "Cause let me tell you somethin'" He grumbled, raising a hoof to point at her . . . . at least, hetriedto point at her, but only ended up pointing to the bush next to her.

She raised her own hoof and gently corrected him, moving it so that it was aiming at her chest.

He glanced down at the appendage in confusion before shaking his head and glaring back up at her. "I AIN'T NO TEACUP!"

Finally, she had enough as the mare let out a loud laugh. Danny stared at her with a confused face (even more than before) as the mare wiped a few tears from her eyes and sucked in another breath. "Oh, Danny . . . I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say you're a bit tired." She chuckled.

The teen continued to give her a weird look before letting out a sigh, body going limp as he rested his head on her chest, the action making Twilight's eyes widen slightly.

"Please, please, please!" He begged softly before raising his head. "Can we go home?"

Twilight stared down at the teen in front of her, eyes widened in shock. Maybe it was the loopy rant of exhaustion, maybe it was the pleading tone of his voice, or maybe it was the fact that Danny had just called the castleHomefor the first time ever, but something about it made Twilight smile warmly and run a hoof through the teen's hair. "Alright. Let's go home." She said softly.

Danny let out a sigh and was surprised he didn't begin to spew tears of joy. Twilight twisted her head, about to take a step forward, only to feel something tug at her tail. Turning back, she watched Danny flip over onto his back like a dog and raise his front hooves into the air. "Carry me?" He asked in the voice of a five-year-old.

The mare rolled her eyes. "Your legs aren't broken. You can walk."

"I really . . . really . . . . can't."

"Ugg . . . fine." Twilight huffed as she enveloped the teen in her magic and floated him onto her back. Not even two seconds later, his hooves were wrapped around her neck and he wasout.

She merely rolled her eyes and began to walk back towards the castle, a small devious smirk adorning her face at what was soon to come.

---

"Alright, someone's about to die!" Danny snarled to himself as he forcefully kicked off the covers. The room was pitch black excluding the small square of light that dripped into his room as the moon shone through his window.

Danny didn't need light to know there weremanybags under his bloodshot eyes. But that didn't deter him from his mission:Murderwhatever was making thatthumpingnoise.

A long string of curses was the only noise currently filling his ears as Danny stomped out of his room and began to make his way towards the stairs. "Hello?" He called, squinting his eyes as he tried to see into the darkness. "Is anyone there?" He called.

"SURPRRIIISSSSEEEEE!"

"AAHHHH!"

*THUMP*

*THUMP*

*THUMP*

*THUMP*

*THUMP*

*THUMP*

*THUDDD!*

Twilight and the other ponies of Ponyville winced as the teen finally tumbled off the last step with a loud THUD. They all blinked in shock for a moment longer before the alicorn sighed, placing a hoof to her forehead. "I told you we should have waited till he was at thebottomof the stairs." She muttered, turning towards Pinkie, who merely gave another halfheartedtootof her party horn.

Danny blinked the stars out of his eyes and raised his head. The entire castle foyer was decorated from the ceilings - - which had multi-colored streamers and balloons hanging down - - to the floor, which had many tables filled to the brim with cupcakes, chips, soda and other food, including a cake in the same pink box he had fetched earlier that day. And in the center of the room, seemingly everypony of Ponyville stood, each wearing colorful party hats.

The teen stared out for a moment before rubbing his eyes. "Alright, Twilight I think you need to take me to the hospital. I've fallen down the stairs too many times." He moaned as he continued to rub his eyes, hoping the illusion would disappear.

Instead, he got a faceful of Pinkie Pie as the mare bounced forward. "Quit your rubbin', silly! You're not dreaming! This is for you!" She exclaimed, gesturing out at the party, which quickly fell back into swing as the citizens realized the teen wasn't dead from his fall.Thatwould have put a bit of a damper on the party.

Danny furrowed his brow. "But. . . but I thought-"

"I know, I know. You didn't want a party. So that's why thisisn'tone!"

The mare quickly whipped around and pointed to two ponies currently on ladders above the living room archway. Unfurling the banner hanging from the ceiling, the sign flipped down to reveal . . . .

WELCOME TO PONYVILLE YTRAP!

"AWelcome to Ponyville Ytrap?""Danny read in confusion, watching as the other girls walked closer with large smiles on their face. "What the heck's a Ytrap?" He asked.

Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes. "Well you said you didn't want a party . . . . so instead, you get a ytrap!" She exclaimed with a smile.

Danny glanced back up at the sign and craned his head to look at it upside down. "Ohh . . ." He murmured.

YTRAP

PARTY

. . . . . duh

He glanced back up at the sign. "Welcome to Ponyville? Even though I've already been here for two weeks?" He asked with a smirk, turning back to Pinkie.

The mare merely gave him a smug grin and zipped over to the sign, pulling a small rope. On the sign, a small cover fell off the bottom, revealing small black print.

WELCOME TO PONYVILLE YTRAP!

~even though you've already been here for two weeks

The teen raised a brow. "Huh . . ."

"Oh yeah." Pinkie Pie smirked, shining her hoof on her chest.

Twilight walked over and helped the teen to his hooves, strapping a party hat to his head. The teen glanced up at the hat before turning a deadpan look at the group. "Alright, look I really appreciate the party, and thisdoesexplain why you were torturing me all day . . . but any particular reason why you couldn't do this . . . oh I don't know . . . .while the SUN was AWAKE!"He almost shouted.

Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes. "Well, duh! Cause then you wouldn't have been surprised!" She said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world before rushing towards the teen, lifting him up onto her back.

"Now COME ON! LET'S PARTY!"

"Don't you mean 'Let's Ytrap"

". . ."

"LET'S YTRAP!"

. . . . ahh, whatever! Who needs sleep anyways!?

Comments

[jen_lee_hattie]

. . . . ahh, whatever! Who needs sleep anyways!?

Everyone but nights owls are going to be night owls.

[Killjoy1221]

You can't spell ytrap without trap!

[Pr1deM0rn1ngstar]

Good God I cannot believe I didn't realize that until now