Chapter 1: Prologue

Chapter 1: Prologue

Plasmius let out a snarl of rage as he landed on the floor of his library, transforming back into Vlad Masters. His fists curled in anger as he began to pace back and forth across the study.

How dare that child defy me?He thought to himself as he continued to muse.

The man's latest plan to get through to the boy hadn't ended quite how he had expected. Once again, the boy had managed to foil his plan and make a fool of the elder halfa once again. As Vlad paced, it was getting harder and harder to suppress his anger and coherently understand why he was going through all the trouble just to gain a son.

If he really wanted Daniel under his control, he would need to treat his case just like he would a business deal. He never made deals unless his opponent respected him or was at least being overshadowed into respecting him.

That'swhat he was missing! Respect. If he wanted Daniel to obey him, then he would need him to respect him. He would need to have the power to crush the boy with a squeeze of his fists, if merely as a precaution if the child disobeyed him. And the fastest way Vlad got respect was through fear. He needed Daniel to fear him.

The man glanced down at the jelly staining his suit that had transferred over from his ghost suit, the aftermath of Daniel's latest mockery. Of course, it was an unpleasant surprise when the boy's two irksome friends joined him in throwing the jelly-filled balloons.Fear me, huh? Well that's obviously not the case right now.He growled to himself.

If he wanted to produce fear from the boy, he needed to show him that he had the strength to crush him whenever he felt like it.

He needed power.

As he continued to rant in his mind, he continued to replay the fight, wondering where he went wrong. As he did, his mind continued to drift over the series of taunts the boy had strung while they had fought, and they made him angrier and angrier.

Too bad about your suit, Plasmius. Hey, why not just let your cat lick it clean?!

He let out a shout of rage as his hand it up with ectoplasm and he fired a large blast at the wall. There was a loud bang as the wall exploded, books flying everywhere as the wood splintered and began to rain from the sky.

He sighed in content, finally feeling a sense of relief from his stress when he turned his head and noticed one of the books lying on the ground.

It was an old brown book with gold etched into the sides, a golden unicorn with blue eyes on the cover. Slowly bending down, he picked p the book and ran his hand over the cover. Flipping the old pages, he opened the book to reveal colorful pictures of equines.

HE had read this book millions of times, learning of all the other ancient relics ad powerful creatures that resided there.

He narrowed his eyes and let out a sigh.If only this world truly existed. Merely one of these powerful relics would give me enough power to become unstoppable.He thought to himself as he stood back up and raised his arm, ready to place the book back on the shelf, only to freeze as a single thought shot through his brain.

What if it does exist?

He furrowed his brow in thought.Twenty years ago, that blubbering idiot, Jack, proved that ghosts could exist when that damn machine created me. And later, he proved the Ghost Zone existed, something that many would assume to be a mere hoax.

It was all proven correct. So who's to assume this world doesn't exist as well.His grin grew wide as he walked over to his fireplace and shifted the position of the bust of his head. A loud creaking filled the air as the entire fireplace began to move backwards.

Descending down the secret flight of stairs that appeared behind the fireplace, the man's thoughts continued to swirl as he entered his lab.

There are millions of portals opening and closing in the Ghost Zone every minute, not all of them leading to our particular time period. So who's to say one can't open that doesn't even belong to our world?

Stepping into the lab, he paused and raised a hand to his chin.Although finding one particular portal in a sea of them might prove to take a little longer than expected.He murmured to himself. Suddenly, his eyes widened as he perked up.

"Unless I had a map."

His face grew a malicious grin as he stared out into the swirling green portal that sat across the room.

As Vlad neared the frozen land, he activated his invisibility, cautiously remembering his last experience with the place.

He shuddered.So many birds.

Shaking off the feeling, he continued on slowly as he dove down into the ice tunnels below.

Despite his invisibility, the man would find that he would periodically be forced to stop and fly into the ground whenever a patrol of guards would pass by, knowing with their heightened senses, they might discover his presence in their land.

Finally, having enough when he flew into the ground for the tenth time in the last five minutes, Plasmius decided to travel the rest of the way underneath the ice. After a while, he popped his head out from the ice and scanned the area. Seeing that the main cave was a few paces away, he flew up from the ground, retaining his invisibility, and flew into the building.

Flying through the icy caves, he took note of the different scrolls and paintings that lines the frosty structure. After successfully choking down the bile that came at seeing the cave paintings of Daniel and his praised deeds, he found himself in a large cavern filled with different maps and artifacts scattered about.

Despite all the old and mysterious artifacts that floated around, his eyes instantly traveled to the glowing chest that sat in the very center of the room. He grinned and flew closer, hands hovering over the case before quickly pulling back as he took notice of the glowing purple aura around surrounding it.

He narrowed his eyes before lighting his hands up with energy, slamming them down on the case.

The room exploded in light as Vlad fought against the magical hold of the chest. Finally, with the combination of his ecto-beams and his enhanced strength, he was able to force the chest open, revealing the hidden treasure inside.

He cackled as he reached in and pulled out the large, rolled up scroll. Letting the chest close once more, Vlad unfurled the map and let his eyes wander over it. "Finally." He breathed out, so engrossed in the scroll's beauty that he failed to notice the newcomer in the room until it spoke up.

"Plasmius."It said with a low growl.

Whipping around, Vlad came face to face with a large yeti, one arm made entirely out of ice. Frostbite snarled in rage as his eyes met Plasmius'."I thought I proved my point the last time you trespassed in our land." He snarled out as he raised his arms and slammed them down where the man had been moments ago.

Vlad skidded across the ice and fired a bright pink beam at the giant. Frostbite raised his ice-encrusted arm and blocked the shot, the beam ricocheting around the room before dissolving in the frosty air.

I wouldn't worry too much, Frostbite. I won't be staying for long." Plasmius smirked as he clenched his glowing hands and slammed them down into the ice. The cracks lit up with a bright pink light before exploding underneath Frostbit's feet, sending him stumbling backwards.

Flying into the air, Vlad fired another shot at the ghost, hitting him in the chest as he crashed into the back wall. Letting a large smirk fall onto his face, Plasmius fired one more shot at the ice above the monster's head, watching with a chuckle as a large mound of ice and snow buried the ghost underneath.

"Enjoy your freedom while you can, Frostbite. Because the next time you see me, I will be your king!" He shouted with a cackle as he sped down the hallway.

In the cavern, a large rumbling filled the air before the pile of ice and snow exploded with a loud roar. Frostbite let out a loud huff as he stared down the hallway where his thief had disappeared. He snarled in anger before raising his head. "GUARDS!"

Vlad snarled in anger as more and more yetis snarled and threw blasts at him as he flew past. Suddenly, a large paw wrapped around his ankle and dragged him down, slamming him into the ground.

He let out a growl as he placed a hand to his head and glared at the other yetis as they all began to surround him, eyes glowing a bright blue. Before they could shoot at him and encase him in an icy tomb once again, he whipped the man open. "Get me out of here." He snarled to it.

Before anyone could move, a large flash of light filled the air as Vlad was dragged out of the icy land. Colors began to blur together as the wind whipped around him. The map stopped suddenly, making the man's stomach jerk violently. He narrowed his eyes and glanced around at his surroundings, not exactly sure where in the Ghost Zone he was, but at the moment he didn't really care.

Unfurling the map once more, the man glanced over it with a hungry eye. Leaning closer, a smile grew on his face. "Take me to Equestria." He whispered to it. On the map, he could see a white dot outlining a long and winding path that led to a small portal on the edge of the Zone.

In a flash of light, Vlad was gone

Vlad groaned as he cracked open his eyes.

The first thing he noticed was how stained the sky seemed to be. It was cloudy and murky, a deep shade of orange stretching across the horizon, and from what Vlad could tell, small black dots were scattered around it.

Farther in the distance, Vlad could make out what appeared to be a castle-like structure made entirely out of stone. Yet the land around the intricate architecture was barren and dead, devoid of any life whatsoever.

He shook his head and told himself to focus. As he tried to get to his feet, he flopped back down and noticed he couldn't feel his legs anymore, or his arms for that matter. He knew they were still there but they felt . . . different. As if they weren't even his.

Glancing down, the man's eyes widened as he realized he had no feet to speak of. Instead he had what appeared to be hard, round hooves. He narrowed his eye and shakily stood up, scanning his surroundings once more. A little ways off, a little divot in the land had created a small pool.

Warily hobbling towards it, he stared down into the reflection.

What the hell is this?

Instead of his usual ghostly form, he was what he could only assume to be a pony of some sort. He had a light turquoise coat that matched his usual ghostly skin tone, and black hair that pointed upwards along with a matching black tail.

Around his neck was his usual white cape lines with a red inside. The article of clothing draped over the rest of his body. Kicking it to the side, he noticed that there were strange limbs tucked close to his sides. Unfurling them, he realized they were large wings that faded from turquoise to red at the tips.

Staring back at the puddle, he also noticed he had a long horn that curled inwards slightly as well as his usual glowing red eyes.

Yet the thing that confused him the most was that there appeared to be an image imprinted onto his rear.Why the heck do I have a tattoo?He asked himself. Upon further inspection, he noticed the mark was a swirling pink flame that seemed to resemble his ecto-blast.

He let out a long and tired sigh.Great. Now I have to get used to moving around in this thing. He growled to himself, though he knew it wouldn't be as much trouble as he made it out to be. If he could master something as unpredictable as his ghost powers, mastering this new body would take a couple hours at the most.

Unfortunately, as his luck would have it, he didn't have a couple hours. A strange buzzing sound began to fill his ears, instantly making him cautious. Raising his head, he realized those black dots from before were now moving towards him.

Great. Locals.

Making his way to his fee-hooves, Vlad watched as the creatures landed, revealing that they were black, insect-like creatures with holes drilled into their hooves and empty blue orbs that replaced normal eyes.

"Freeze, intruder!" The head creature hissed angrily. Vlad watched with a bored look as the others began to surround him, threateningly moving closer and closer.

"Well I guess it could be worse." Vlad mused. "I could look like you lot." He chuckled as he raised his hoof and tried to summon an ecto-blast, only to furrow his brow in confusion when nothing happened.

The changelings shared a confused look before shrugging their shoulders, writing the stallion off as crazy before lunging. Vlad growled angrily as he ducked underneath one's grasp. Luckily, he didn't have to rely solely on his powers to defend himself. twenty years of nonstop training was good forsomethings.

Whipping around, he used his back hooves to kick a group of the creatures back. As he fought and became angrier and angrier, he noticed his horn beginning to glow a bright pink.

Glancing up at the new addition, he grinned maliciously at the changelings as realization sank in. Lowering his head, he watched as a large pink blast shot from the horn and hit the ground in front of one particular group sending them flying backwards. Glancing down at his sides, Vlad unfurled his wings and shrugged. "Might as well break them in." He chuckled as he leapt into the air and began to flap.

Thankfully, after learning how to fly without wings, flying with them was a breeze. He swooped down from the sky, horn glowing brightly as he fired another shot, the blast ripping through the ground at the group's feet, knocking them backwards.

Stretching his wings wide, he noticed the tips beginning to glow the same shade as his ecto-blasts. Whipping them down hard, he laughed as two shockwaves shot out and hit the horde head on, driving them back.

Landing back on the ground, he watched as two more changelings tried to at least land a simple blow as they lunged forward. He smirked and turned intangible, grinning as he watched their faces morph into ones of confusion before he bucked them into the air, blasting them back down into the ground.

Vlad finally let a tired yawn slip from his mouth s he glanced around the area. The group of changelings was now scattered all around, twitching and moaning in agony on the ground. He chuckled and shined his new hooves on the front of his chest.

"WHO DARES TRESPASS IN MY KINGDOM?!"

He cast a bored look to the sky as the booming voice continued to echo out, rolling out of the way as a bright green blast hit the spot he had been moments ago. Glancing up, he watched as a large female version of the other creatures landed on the ground on front of him.

Her coat was black and her mane was a sickly greenish-blue color. A series of holes could be seen in her hooves and her mane. On her back, a large pair of insect-like wings could be seen as well as a long twisted horn o her forehead.

She narrowed her glowing green eyes at the newcomer. "Who are you?" She growled out, her horn glowing in caution.

"Plasmius. Vlad Plasmius. Pleased to make your acquaintance." He said in a sly voice, extending a hoof towards the mare.

She stared at it in disgust before turning back to the stallion. Before she could retort anything, she noticed his large wings and still smoking horn. She furrowed her brows and took a reflexive step backwards.

Vlad took notice of this and grinned, eyeing the crown atop the mare's head. "Hmm . . . If I may ask, your Majesty." He started. "Why reside in this terrible place? Doesn't seem like the best place to care for subjects." He said in the same tone he used whenever condoning business with naive clients.

The mare narrowed her eyes and lowered her gaze. "It's called banishment, you imbecile." She snapped.

Vlad took no offense to the name and tilted his head. "So you have enemies here?"

"I'm a queen. Of course I have enemies."

Vlad walked forward and placed a wing on her shoulder. "Well then, do I have a proposition for you." He said, already scheming up a way to use the creatures to his advantage. "And I don't believe I ever caught your name."

The mare hesitated for a moment before warily responding.

"Queen Chrysalis."

Chapter 2: Missions from Time

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Chapter 2: Missions From Time

"Don't count me out just yet, Ghost Child! I'll be BACCCKKKKK!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Danny muttered, screwing the cap back onto the Fenton Thermos as Technus's last words continued to echo through the streets. "And in the meantime, I'll need to find someone else to scream out their long-winded plans to the heavens."

"Don't worry, the Box Ghost should be along sometime to do that." Sam chuckled as the ghost teen landed on the ground next to her.

"Great. So I have that to look forward to." The boy muttered, Tucker folding his arms across his chest. "Great, yeah. Ghost caught. Disaster averted. Can we get out of here now? I'm hungry!" He cried pitifully, leaning on Danny's shoulder.

"Tuck, I'm pretty surehungryis your default factory setting." He smirked, earning a punch in the arm while Sam laughed off to the side.

"Dear god, a factory of Tuckers. Somebody needs to burn that place down." She chuckled, Tucker whining off to the side as his two friends laughed.

"Alright, I'm about this close to eating one of you guys!" He growled out.

"Okay, okay, we're going." Sam muttered as Tucker began to drag her down the street. "You coming, Danny?" She called.

The halfa shook his head. "Nah, I got to get ol' Techno Freak back into the Ghost Zone." He sighed, throwing his friends one last goodbye before flying into the air.

The moon shone brightly, illuminating the streets and buildings as he passed. Not a cloud hung in the sky tonight, perfect for flying. Closing his eyes, Danny let the wind wrap around him as he flew through the air. Small strands of white hair licked his forehead as they brushed his skin, almost as if they were mimicking his own flight patterns.

The teen let out a small sigh of content as he watched the stars peek out through the inky black sky, pale in comparison to the moon which stained the sky a silvery-white. Glancing back down at the street, he noticed one of the nearby apartment windows spilling yellow light into the street.

In the window, a little girl no older than seven stared out at the night sky, large brown eyes meeting toxic green. She let out a giggle as she waved, Danny giving a small chuckle before waving back.

Suddenly, the window curtains parted further to reveal a woman grab the girl's arm and drag her away from the window. Sticking her head out, the woman quickly took notice of Danny. The teen gave a small wave, to which the woman curled her lip in disgust and forcefully slammed the window shut, the curtains falling back into place as the warm yellow light instantly died.

The teen couldn't suppress his sigh as he continued on his way, flying much slower than before. It had been around a year since Danny Phantom had first appeared in Amity and there was still a good number of people who thought of him as nothing more than putrid ectoplasmic filth, his parents included.

He tried not to think much of it, in fact, he tried to think of the exact opposite. Of all the people who actuallydidlike him. Who appreciated everything he did for them. But still . . . it wouldn't hurt for people to give him a chance.

He never mentioned it, not even to Sam, Tucker or Jazz, but whenever his parents would point a gun at him or scream they were going to rip him apart "molecule by molecule", it made him wonder. Would they ever really accept him?

He knew his parents would never say those things if they new who it really was . . . . or at least, that's what he tried to convince himself. But the truth of the matter was that he wasn't entirely sure anymore. Over the course of the past few months, their obsession over Phantom had turned into what could only be called rage.

They hated his guts and wanted nothing more than to see him on a dissection table. And of course he knew just how much his parents loved him, but still . . . was their love for Fenton enough to cancel out their hatred for Phantom?

Every time the thought came to mind, he instantly pushed it back down again, determined to keep those kind of thoughts away, but every once in awhile they would resurface. Granted it was usually after his father pointed a gun at him, or his mother called him a monster, but they would bubble up, and stay up.

What if they ever found out? What would they say? Would they even say anything, or would they simply speak with their guns?

The teen let out a small huff of annoyance. He hadn't even seen his parents for around a week. They currently had a new ghost invention they simplyhadto finish, which meant they barely ever left the lab. In fact, the last time he had seen his father was last night when he snuck upstairs for a fudge refill.

Danny let out another sigh and ran a hand through his hair. He just had to hope the time never came where he actuallydidhave to reveal his secret. He knew for a fact that the people who hated Phantom would only grow to hate him more, considering he had been lying for over a year. And he had no clue what the people who actuallydidliked him would say, considering most of them hated Fenton.

The teen let out a snort of anger.God, half the town hates Phantom while the other half hates Fenton. Gotta love it.He muttered to himself.

Of course, he would never tell any of this to Sam or Tucker, or God forbid,Jazz. There was no point. They could never understand what it was like. Having such a crushing secret on your shoulders at all times, never able to confess for fear of . . . well of everything. Who knows what he could lose if he ever told anybody?

So he kept quiet. He smiled and played along, and he was getting pretty good at it, considering even Jazz wasn't able to pick up on his thoughts. Yet even though he never voiced them, those thoughts were still there. Festering in the back of his mind, stirring, waiting.

Combing through his thoughts, the teen never realized when he neared his house until a bright blue blast shot towards him. He yelped and dove underneath it right before it could hit his chest.

Blinking out of his stupor, he whipped around to the source of the blast and let out a sigh. "Of course." He growled out, slamming his palm into his face.

"Found you, Whelp! No escaping this time!This timeyour peltwillbe mine and I will finally b-"

Skulker's rant was cut off as a bright green blast slammed into the concrete below his feet, sending him flying backwards.

Danny rolled his eyes as he dove down. "Am I like, theonlyinteresting thing in your life or something, cause you seriously need to get a hobby!" He shouted, rearing back a fist before slamming it into Skulker's chest, the ghost flying backwards.

Before he could fly after him, Danny was stopped by the Thermos rattling in his hand. He let out a sigh and clipped it to his waist. "Shut up, Technus. I have to go deal with Buffalo Bill over there." He muttered before shooting over.

Flying through the air, he gasped as a large barrage of missiles shot up, diving straight for him. Narrowing his eyes, the teen dove towards the ground, pulling up right before hitting the ground, three of the missiles exploding on impact.

Twisting around onto his back, Danny fired two blasts from his hands, destroying another two more missiles. Unfortunately, the sixth missile reared its head as it shot through the smoke and slammed into Danny's chest, sending the teen crashing to the ground.

Clenching his fists, the teen watched Skulker soar back into the air, blue blasts raining down from his cannons. Lifting his arms over his head, a liquid green shield seeped out from his palms, encasing him in a glowing green shield, the blasts absorbing into the dome.

Dropping down, Skulker rammed his fist into the shield, the dome shattering at the strength behind the blow. Feet skidding across the asphalt at the attack, Danny raised his head and gasped as Skulker's hand shot out, wrapping around his neck.

He grunted and struggled against the ghost's grip before glaring down at him. "What's the matter with you, child? You're lacking in your witty banter." The ghost sniped.

"Not in the mood."

"Pity. Nevertheless, I plan on savoring this hunt before your friend, Plasmius ruins everything." He snarled.

"He's not my friend." Danny growled before his face scrunched up in confusion. "Wait? Ruin every-what are you talking about?"

Skulker rolled his eyes. "Of course you don't know. You don't know anything."

"Hey!"

"That nut-job, Plasmius, stole the Infi-Map and ran off to who-knows-where. He could throw the entire Ghost Zone out of whack!" He let out a huff of annoyance when Danny threw him another look of confusion.

"Look, there's a reason the Infi-Map is guarded by Frostbite and the Far-Frozen. It's so the map doesn't fall into the hands of a psycho. And now it's fallen into the hands of one of the biggest psychos in the Zone!" He growled.

"That means trouble for both our worlds." He stated before a glowing green blade appeared from his arm, quickly leaning the side into Danny's neck. "So I might as well enjoy this." He grinned.

Danny narrowed his eyes and reared his leg back, kicking Skulker in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards.

"Look, I don't really understand what's going on, but-" He fired a large blue blast at the ghost, encasing him in a block of ice. "-I don't need you breathing down my back as I try and figure this out." He murmured before turning away.

The Infi-Map? I thought that moron learned his lesson the last time he tried to steal it.He mused to himself.What is that fruitloop planning?

Before he could dwell on it anymore, a loud cracking filled the air. Whipping around, Danny let out a groan of frustration as the ice around Skulker shattered into a million pieces and clattered to the floor, revealing the furious ghost inside.

Danny narrowed his eyes and shifted into a defensive stance once more, Skulker slowly stalking towards him.

"Enough of this."

Both ghosts quickly turned their gazes to the sky as they watched the newcomer land on the ground between the two. He had pale blue skin which was mostly covered by a long flowing purple cape. His eyes were a deep shade of red and one had a long scar passing through it.

"Clockwork?" Danny asked in surprise, not knowing the ghost to venture far from his castle unless the situation called for it, and a fight with Skulker didn't really read as world news.

Speaking of Skulker, the ghost was practically quaking in his ecto-suit as he gazed back at the Master of Time, holding his hands up in defense. "Hey, now. I don't want any trouble." He said nervously.

"Then leave." Clockwork growled out, leaving no room for argument. At said words, Skulker turned tail and zoomed out of the area faster than Danny actually thought physically possible.

Turning back towards the boy, Clockwork answered the question he knew to come. "Do not fear, you would have won that fight anyway. I merely sped up the process." He said in his usual monotone voice as he stared down at the boy, who's mouth was still open, having just been about to voice said question.

He blinked for a moment before folding his arms across his chest. "You know, you could at least let me ask the question before you answer it." He mumbled.

Clockwork merely rolled his eyes before pressing a button on his staff. In a flash of light, the two ghosts were instantly transported up to Danny's bedroom. The teen glanced around at his new surroundings before letting out a sigh as he transformed back into Fenton. "You couldn't just do this from the beginning?"

Danny turned towards his hip and noticed the Fenton Thermos and its captive were nowhere to be seen. "Do not fear. " Clockwork interjected. "I've already disposed of Technus. He's back in the Ghost Zone."

Danny let out a small chuckle. "Thanks. You wouldn't mind keeping him in there, would ya'?" He sighed, taking a seat on his bed.

The ghost ignored him in favor of leaning closer. "The Infi-Map was stolen."

Danny nodded. "Yeah, Skulker mentioned something about that. What's Plasmius planning anyway? I'm sure you already know."

"Nothing good." Clockwork stated gravely as he raised his hand and waved it at the empty air, a large swirling green portal appearing. "Nothing good at all." He said, disappearing into the portal.

Danny stared at the portal awkwardly before scrunching up his face. "Uhh . . . . . . . . . . . was I meant to hear the rest of that story?" He asked, walking closer.

Shrugging his shoulders, knowing full well his guardian would never put him in danger, he hopped through the portal, landing on the hard floor of Clockwork's domain.

"It appears Plasmius has been doing some reading on a certain world."

Whipping his head around, he jumped as Clockwork appeared behind him. He groaned and placed a hand to his frantically beating heart. "You know, a bell would do wonders for you." He grumbled, watching as Clockwork transformed into a small child as he floated over to one of the swirling mirrors. "A world with an insurmountable supply of magic and power." He explained.

"Magic? Are we talking Disney or Harry Potter?"

Clockwork let out an irritable sigh but continued nonetheless. "Plasmius stole the Infi-Map and traveled to this world. There, he plans on using his powers to take over the land. And I believe he has already made a powerful ally. One that could mean the downfall of the world and its inhabitants."

Danny's eyes widened in shock before he groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Alright, Vlad. You've done some crazy shit in your lifetime, but I think this takes the crazy cake."

Clockwork chose not to respond as he morphed back into his original form and flew across the room, grabbing a small piece of paper before rolling it up into a scroll. "The inhabitants of this world already have a strong defense system, but one can only do so much against a foreign enemy with strange new weapons." He explained.

"They will not be able to defend themselves against Vlad and his power.Thatalong with the fact that he will undoubtedly enlist the help of other enemies from that world and this one, he will be unstoppable." He stated.

"And if he gains even a fraction of the power that new world holds, not evenyouwill be able to stop him from conquering this world as well." He finished with a grave look.

Danny's eyes widened as he placed a hand to his head and wrapped the other around his stomach. And to think this day started out so good . . .

He let out a groan and quickly sat down on one of the frozen clock cogs that lay dormant on the ground. He shook his head as a question popped into his head. "Wait, what do you expect me to do about it?" He asked.

"Unless the inhabitants of this world are warned about Vlad and his impending power, their world will fall. And in turn, yours will as well." He stated as he continued to mill around the room, picking up different supplies as he did.

Danny stared down at his hands as he began to process everything the ghost was saying before whipping his head up. "Hold on! So . . . . you wantme, a fifteen-year-old kid, to travel to a different world . . . by myself . . . . and convince them all that a crazed halfghosthalf human hybrid has traveled there to conquer them, and then use whatever power he collects to take over my world as well?" He stated slowly, staring at the ghost as if he were joking.

When Clockwork's face remained stoic as ever, the teen scoffed and threw his hands into the air. "Fine! Why not?! In fact, let's throw in the fact that I was electrocuted by an invention my ghost hunting parents made that gave me ghost powers, which allow me to fly around my town every day and save it from a bunch of ghosts bent on world domination while still trying to survive my sophomore year of high school!"

"Are you kidding?! They'll send me to the loony bin, or whatever the equivalent of that is in their world." He muttered before blinking in realization. "Hang on, didn't they used to execute crazy people back in the day? Do people still do that?! Oh, GOD! THEY'RE GONNA' KILL ME!"

Clockwork rolled his eyes. "Daniel, calm down. Your main priority is making sure Vlad does not succeed in his plans." He explained before flying closer.

"But in this world, you will have to make a choice. You will have to decide whether to enlist the help of the other inhabitants of this world, or to face Plasmius alone. Know that whatever you choose will have rippling consequences in the future of both that world and yours, so choose wisely." He explained.

Danny scrunched his face in confusion. "Can I even trust the people in that world? I mean, what are they going to do when they discover I'm part ghost?" He asked.

Clockwork blinked slowly as he transformed into an old man. "I'm afraid I cannot answer that, Daniel. You must decide what to do on your own." He stated, Danny turning his head away with a sigh as he closed his eyes.

"I understand . . . . but . . . . what about my friends? And my parents?! Granted it'd probably take them a couple days to figure out I was missing if not for Jazz, but they'll all totally freak when they realize-"

Clockwork nodded. "Do not worry about your parents, I will deal with that problem. As for your friends, I will contact your sister, who will, in turn, pass the message to Sam and Tucker." He explained.

Danny lowered his gaze and placed his hands into his pockets. "I. . .I don't know if I can do this, Clockwork." He confessed. "Keeping a town safe is one thing, but an entire world? I . . . I-I . . ." He started, only to trail off. "Besides, I already have to deal with one world that doesn't trust me. I'd rather not increase that number by hopping around dimensions." He murmured, dark black hair falling into his face.

He blinked open his eyes when he felt a hand gently rest on his shoulder. "Daniel, I know this seems overwhelming. But trust me when I say you are capable of defeating him.Iknow how strong you are,youknow how strong you are, andVladknows how strong you are." He stated.

"That is why he fled to that world. Because without the power he can gain there, he knows in time, you will overcome him." He explained.

"Well, yeah but-"

Clockwork placed a hand underneath the boy's chin and lifted his head to stare him in the eye. "You can do this."

Danny hesitated before he gave a small smile and nodded in understanding.

Moving back over to the far end of the room, Clockwork picked up the supplies he had been gathering before and promptly disappeared. Danny furrowed his brow and twisted his head around as he tried to locate the man.

He jumped out of his seat when the ghost reappeared behind him, holding a familiar purple backpack.

"Seriously! Some string and a bell would make a nice necklace for you! You should really look into it and . . . . is that my backpack?"

"Well, it's not like you use it for textbooks."

" . . . . . touche."

Clockwork let a small smirk fall on his face as he passed the bag to the boy. "Don't open the bag until after you've arrived in Equestria." He explained, watching as Danny gave a small chuckle. "I'm guessing that's the name of the world I'm about to invade?"

Clockwork nodded his head before waving his hand at one of the mirrors. The shimmering surface was replaced with a swirling white light.

Danny lowered his gaze for a moment before twisting around and wrapping his arms around Clockwork's waist. The ghost blinked for a moment before returning the hug, promptly guiding the boy over to the portal.

Danny closed his eyes and took a deep breath before leaping into the swirling white light.

Sunlight streamed in through the trees above, shining brightly into Danny's eyes. He let out a groan and shifted slightly, his muscles tense and heavy. He quickly blinked the confusion out of his eyes as he remembered what he had been assigned with.

Shaking his head, he groaned as he rubbed the fogginess away from his eyes with the back of his hoof and-wait! Hoof?!

He glanced down and saw that instead of a hand, he had a dark black hoof. He gasped and jolted upright, only to fall back down to the side as he tried and failed to stand up. Quickly trying to calm his beating heart, he whipped his head around to gaze at his surroundings.

He appeared to be in the middle of a forest. Sunlight shone in through the thick leaves of the trees, illuminating the grass where he sat in a golden-green light. Large clumps of dark green bushes lines with black thorns could be seen as well as several different vines that sprouted up from the ground and curled over at the tips, and a little ways off, Danny could make out what appeared to be a small pond.

Shakily raising himself up, he was about to walk over when he noticed he had gained an additional two limbs.

He scrunched up his face in confusion. "Walking on all fours? What am I? A cow?" He asked himself as he took a tentative step forward, then another, and another. After realizing that it was similar to the motion of crawling, Danny slowly made his way over to the pond.

Staring down at the reflection, Danny gasped at what he saw.

He was what he could only assume to be a small horse. He had black hooves that faded into a pure white coat, except for the tips of his ears, which were as black as his mane and tail. Both colors drastically contrasted with the icy blue of his eyes. But what caught his attention was that on his rear, there was a tattoo of a white shooting star in the middle of a black patch one could assume signified the night sky.

He blinked in shock at his appearance before remembering the backpack Clockwork had given him.

Removing it from his back, he opened it to reveal a rolled up map, a brown sack that jingled when touched, a roll of gauze and a small note. Picking up the note, Danny saw that it was from Clockwork.

Daniel,

As you've probably noticed, you are no longer human. You are, in fact, a pony. A colt to be exact.

Equestria is a mythical world of ponies, dragons, and monsters. Upon entering the world, your body morphed to match the other inhabitants. Do not fear, once you leave, your body will revert back to its original form.

The map you have with you is a map of Equestria. Locate where you are and travel to the closest village. There, you can begin to gather information about the world and try to discover where Vlad might have ended up.

You also have a small brown bag filled with gold coins and gems. Those gold coins are called bits, the currency of Equestria. Make sure to stay sheltered and fed. You will need to keep up your strength to complete your assignment.

Remember, you will have to decide whether to share your secret or not, and be cautious. For while there are some in this world who will accept you, I cannot speak for the rest.

Be smart and do what you do best, Daniel.

-Clockwork

Danny sighed as he folded up the note and placed it back in the bag. He lifted his gaze up to the sky, staring up at the pale blue sky behind the thick canopy leaves. "How am I gonna do this?" He mumbled to himself.

Quickly snapping back into focus, he reached into his bag and pulled out the map Clockwork had left him.

Unfurling it, his eyes widened at how large Equestria was. He let out a groan and shut his eyes. "This is going to be like finding a fruitloop in aboxof FRUITLOOPS!" He shouted to nobody in particular.

Turning back to the map, he tried to locate where he currently was. Due to the dark ambiance of the forest, he could only infer he was in theEverfree Forest.

The closest village seemed to be a place called Ponyville. He snickered at the name. "Seriously?"

Glancing down at the rest of the map, he began to smirk and chuckle until they became full-blown laughs as he stared at the names of the places includingManehatten, Fillydelphia and Las Pegasus.

Wiping away the tears, he took a deep breath and placed the map back into the bag before hoisting it over his shoulder. According to the map, Ponyville was on the outskirts of the forest. Taking a deep breath, Danny pushed through the bushes and began his trek.

After a few moments of stumbling, slipping and a good amount of cursing, he finally began to get the hang of walking on all fours.

Around half an hour passed before Danny noticed the sun setting at a much quicker pace than back home.Freaky world. He grumbled to himself as he continued walking. As he did, he began to notice that the birds had stopped singing and the occasional squirrels that crossed his path were no longer there.

Strange. He thought to himself as he continued walking. He tensed when the snap of a twig filled the air before he shook his head.Calm down, Fenton. You're starting to get just as paranoid as your dad. He muttered angrily before continuing.

Suddenly a loud growling made him freeze once more and flatten his ears as he whipped around.

After finding nothing, he let out a small nervous chuckle. "Maybe threatening growls mean something entirely different in this world, like'how ya' doing? We'renotgoing to rip your face off.'" He murmured to himself, silently praying his thoughts were correct.

But Danny's prayers were not ones to usually be answered as the growling filled the air again. Whipping around, Danny caught sight of a pair of glowing green eyes. Make that two - NO . . .three - NO. . . FIVE pairs of glowing green eyes.

He gulped as large creatures began to slowly stalk out of the shadows. Their bodies were made entirely out of wood and resembled the physique of wolves.

As the five creatures stalked closer and closer, Danny could feel his core get colder and colder. Narrowing his eyes, he growled at the wolves before reaching down into his core. "Let's see how this goes." Danny muttered.

"GOING GHOST!"

A bright white ring burst out from his waist, splitting apart as they traveled up and down his body, changing him into a completely different pony.

His white coat was replaced with a pitch black one and his dark hooves were swapped for white ones. His icy blue eyes became a fiery green and his black mane and tail melted into a pearly white one. On his sides, large black wings sprouted from his back, the inner feathers a bright white, and a black horn appeared on his head, contrasting the white sea of hair it resided in.

Even the mark on his flank changed from a shooting star to his DP symbol inside a green flame that resembled his ectoblast.

The wolves seemed confused for a moment before snarling at him once more.

Danny glanced down at his new wings before letting out a frustrated groan. "You're kidding me, right?!" He shouted in exasperation, only to yelp as he ducked under the outstretched claws of a wolf.

"Guess you're not."

As another wolf charged, Danny stepped to the side, kicking out with his back legs, hitting the wolf in the head, sending it stumbling backward. Running past the other two wolves, the colt glared up at his horn. "So you're just not going to do anything, is that right?!" He shouted, gasping as he slid to a stop right in front of the last wolf.

The creature snarled before rearing back its claw, swiping it across Danny's cheek. He hissed and stumbled backward before diving underneath the wolf's paws as he lunged. Twisting around onto his back, Danny kicked up with his hind legs, sending the wolf flying into the air.

He let out a small breath of relief, only to leap out of the way as another wolf charged for him. Before the creature could respond, Danny leaped onto the back of the wolf. It snarled and barked in anger as Danny slammed his front hooves down on the creature's head, feeling wood and twigs snap and shatter underneath his hooves as he leaped onto the next approaching wolf.

Before he could do the same, the wolf lowered its head and threw Danny into the air.

He let out a shout and unfurled his wings, trying his hardest to stay in the air as he flapped. To his surprise, he saw that he was maintaining a steady beat with his wings. He let a loose smile appear on his face. "Well, that'soneappendage down."He said, glaring up at his horn.

Swooping back down, Danny curled his wings and rammed his head into the chest of one of the nearby wolves. The two began to roll around on the grass as they both fought for control. Danny let out a shout of pain as he felt claws slash across his shoulder, ripping at flesh and muscle.

Pushing the creature away, Danny slid back against the grass, but the wolf wasn't letting gothateasily. It leaped on top of the colt, pinning him down to the ground as he dug its claws into his chest and bared its splintered teeth, drool dripping onto the grass.

Danny grunted in pain as he tried to push the wolf off, only to gasp and shut his eyes as he watched it lung forward.

Suddenly, the sound of a large blast and a whimpering yelp filled his ears. He opened his eyes and watched the wolf stumble backward, half of its face having been blown off.

Danny blinked in shock before turning up towards his still smoking horn. "Thanks." He breathed out as he twisted around and got back to his hooves.

As he stood, he winced and let out a small hiss of pain, watching as blood trickled down his shoulder and stained the grass underneath his hooves. He growled in annoyance as he turned back to face the wolves. They snarled and leaped forward.

Danny narrowed his eyes and slid underneath their paws, flying back into the air. Twisting around, he lit up his horn and fired a bright green blast at the ground underneath a pair of wolves, blowing them backward. As they hit the ground, they exploded into nothing but leaves and sticks.

But the small victory meant little, considering three more wolves jumped up to take their place.

Diving back down, Danny fired his horn, hitting one of the creatures in the chest. He whipped around to face the other two, only to feel claws slash down on his nose, yelping as the blood sprayed into the air.

He grunted in pain as the two wolves leaped onto him, claws slashing at his wings and teeth clamping down on his hoof and neck. But before the wolf could make the killing bite, Danny felt his wings begin to glow.

Spreading them wide, he saw the wolves get blown backward as his wings let out a large wave of green light.

Shaking the haziness out of the corners of his eyes, Danny groaned and shakily rose to his hooves. Realizing he wouldn't be able to win this fight with the amount of control he had over his new body, Danny ducked under another attack and began to run.

He grit his teeth as he placed pressure on his injured hoof but continued to run, the biting wind whipping around him as it pushed white locks of hair into his eyes.

He could feel his body shaking with exhaustion as he ran, but continued on, the sound of harsh barking and snarling driving him forward. The warm feeling of blood trickling down his chest could be felt through the harsh slices of wind as they blew past, but he quickly shook the thoughts out of his mind. He shut his eyes tightly as his lungs began to ache and his heart beat so loudly he was sure it would burst.

The sound of blood pumping in his ears was almost loud enough to drown out the sound of the raging ravine. Luckily, he opened his eyes just in time to stop himself from falling into the frothing waters.

Danny stared down into the water in despair, hearing the barking get louder and louder. Glancing to his sides, he noticed that one of his wings was still bleeding, the blood dripping off of his white feathers, staining them red as the liquid dripped onto the grass and slid into the white river waters.

He let out a shout of pain as he tried to flap the wing. Turning his head, he saw the wolves quickly getting closer and closer.

Taking a deep breath, Danny dove into the water, hearing the snap of teeth right by his ear before everything was consumed in roaring sound.

The cold water knocked the breath out of him as he made impact. He tried to regain focus and find the surface, but everything was swirling, including himself. The roaring of the river met his ears, making him question what was up and what was down.

As the water carried him farther and farther, he could feel the debris and stones flying through the water. With how fast the river was moving, he only had moments to avoid debris as it shot towards him.

His chest began to ache for air as he continued to try and fight the current. His wings curled in tightly against his sides as he aimlessly flailed in the water, desperate to make contact withsomething.

Finally, his head broke the surface. He took in large gulps of air as he tried to stay above the water. But once again, he was dragged back down. As he sank back down, he caught a stream of water in his mouth before it shot down into his lungs.

His body convulsed as he fought to remain calm. As he tried to find the surface once again, he felt a powerful blow to the side of his head as he hit one of the large boulders that lay submerged in the water.

Black and red dots dotted his vision as he fought to stay conscious.

After a few more panicked seconds of desperate flailing, his hoof latched onto something firm. Pulling himself forward, his head broke the surface with a splash as he desperately clung to the edge of the riverbank.

Pulling himself up, he tried taking a few steps away from the river. Instantly, as his foot connected with the grass, his legs buckled underneath him and he collapsed onto his side, violently hacking up mouthfuls of water.

Resting his head back down on the grass, he fought to drive back the black fogginess that swarmed the edges of his vision, but he realized it was another losing battle.

He vaguely felt bright warm rings wrap around him before his head lolled to the side and his world faded to black.

Vlad sat in silence as he began to process everything Chrysalis had just told of her defeat and banishment. "Hmmm . . . . it seems these ponies have been a bit of a nuisance for you and your kind." Vlad stated, the queen snorting in anger.

"Abitdoesn't even begin to describe it."

Vlad stood up and walked over. "Then perhaps I can help you. You see, in my world, I too have been bugged by a boy of great annoyance." He explained. "That is one of the reasons I have come to this world. If I can gain enough power to conquer this land, then I can crush the boy into submission and rule my own world as well."

Chrysalis narrowed his eyes at the stallion's proclamations, yet stayed silent as he continued. "But if taking over has proven a problem to you, then I might also find a challenge in it." He realized.

After a moment of thought, his face suddenly contorted as he began to grin.

"So . . . . perhaps if we work together, we can conquer Equestria and rule together." He explained.

Chrysalis scoffed and began to laugh. "You?! What could you possibly bring to the table that could help me?" She asked.

Vlad grinned. "How about the fact I took out a horde of your subjects without so much as breaking a sweat." He said, Chrysalis giving him a warning growl at the comment. "Alright, well what if I told you I have access to the Ghost Zone." He said.

Chrysalis's eyes widened slightly before her turning back into a scowl. "Please, the Ghost Zone is nothing more than a myth."

"That is what I believed about this place," Vlad said with a smirk. "yet here we are."

Chrysalis furrowed her brow in thought as Vlad continued to circle around her. "The way I think about it, with your army and knowledge of this world, along with my power and the ghosts of the Zone, this world can easily fall into out hooves." He explained.

Chrysalis narrowed her eyes as she stared down at the table. "I still don't trust you." She growled out.

Vlad rolled his eyes. "You don't have to trust me. Just fight with me. Together, we will be unstoppable."

Chrysalis rose up from the table and stared hard at the stallion. "And how do I know you won't betray me when you get what you want?" She growled out, stalking forward.

"Oh, please. I may be concerned with power, but that doesn't mean I don't retain a brain. While I'm conquering my world, I'll need somepony strong to watch over Equestria with an iron grip and not let it slip from our grasp, and who better than a Queen?" He stated, Chrysalis's eyes distant in thought.

She was pulled from her thoughts as Vlad extended out a hoof. "So . . . . partners?"

Chrysalis hesitated for a moment before a smile spread across her face and she roughly shook the outstretched hoof.

"In crime."

Chapter 3: The Colt

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Chapter 3: The Colt

His muscles screamed out in protest as Danny slowly tried to move. Everything hurt, even his eyes - though waking up to the sun shining in your face can't be good for your retinas.

Reluctantly willing his eyes to stay open, Danny immediately noticed the difference in the sky. Before, when he had last seen it, the sky had been mixed with deep shades of golden-orange and pink as the sun sank. Now, the sky was bright blue as usual, the sun hanging right overhead.

His eyes widened in realization. "I was out for an entire day?!" He shouted in shock, wincing as it made another twinge of pain shoot through his head. He groaned and rubbed his temples gently with his hooves, the migraine slowly fading to a dull thumping in the back of his head.

Slowly turning his head to glance down at himself, he noticed the scratches and bite marks had slowly begun to heal on their own, but were still noticeable, especially the bites on his foreleg and the slashes on his cheek and nose.

Danny grumbled in annoyance before standing up slowly, wincing as he stretched out his body. He slowly and tentatively tested out his other limbs, scanning over himself for any twinges of pain.

Deciding it best not to stir up any questions as to why he was so banged up, Danny reached into his backpack and pulled out the roll of gauze Clockwork had left for him.

After another long string of curses, he finally began to get the hook of maneuvering the roll with his hooves. It took him a while, but he finally managed to do a decent job in wrapping his leg. Deeming the patch-job effective enough, he cut off a small section of the gauze and placed it on his cheek.

Wiping the blood off the cut on his nose, the colt begrudgingly realized it would probably scar before placing the roll back into his bag.

Glancing over himself one last time, the colt decided it would be best to get moving to the nearby village.

Glancing around at his surroundings, Danny saw that the forest ended farther down the path. He smiled in content at his first bit of luck as he began to make his way to the forest's edge, thankful he didn't encounter any other animals.

Raising his hoof to block out the light that shone down from the sun, he saw that farther down the road was the small village. Taking a minute to stretch, Danny began his descent into the village.

But before he entered the town, he froze for a split second and took a reflexive step backwards as a bolt of fear made his legs buckle up.

He quickly realized it was the same bolt that shot through him whenever his parents got too close to his secret; the same feeling that appeared when he wondered how his parents would respond if they ever found out; the same fear that appeared whenever he thought of his town turning away from him all over again.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't have another town look at him the same way his parents did, the same way that little girl's mother did, the same way half the people in his town did. He couldn't have them look at him like he was nothing more than garbage.

In that split second, he made his choice. He would keep his powers a secret.

No matter what.

Shaking away the feeling, he began to walk closer to town, slowly trotting over a small stone bridge. In the center of the village, he could see what could only be assumed as a Town Hall. Stepping off the bridge, he quickly scanned over his surroundings.

Mostly all the buildings seemed to be white with yellow straw roofs.Geez how the heck do those things handle rain?He wondered to himself as he continued to walk.

Along the road, Danny saw what appeared to be a market of some sort, selling different fruits and vegetables. Other than a few strange buildings he passed, the village itself didn't seem all that strange. In fact, the most confusing thing was the town inhabitants.

They were so . . . . . .colorful.

The ponies around him each had different images on their flanks, varying from books to stars to afrikkin'fish!What the heck are these things anyway?Danny asked himself, still confused by his own mark.

As he passed what he could only assume to be a restaurant, he heard his stomach rumble.

He groaned, but decided it best not to take the chance of anybody finding out he didn't belong by going into a restaurant. He could barely handle walking around a village nonchalantly, let alone go into a restaurant and trying to figure out how to eat when all he had were hooves.

God, it'd be like a deer learning how to walk . . . . on ice . . . . blind. He realized with a sigh.

But before he could argue with himself anymore, he was bowled over by a pink blur. Sand and dirt flew into the air as the two tumbled on the ground before coming to a stop.

He let out a small gasp of pain as landed awkwardly on his injured hoof, but quickly bit the inside of his cheek as he lifted his head and came face to face with a bright pink pony with a bushy pink mane and blue eyes.

She began brushing herself off with her tail, throwing an apologetic look his way. "Sorry about that-" She started, only to freeze when she took a good look at him.

Danny felt his throat close and his stomach flip, wondering what had given away the fact that he didn't belong here when the pony suddenly begin to run around him in a circle, all the while screaming, "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!"

He gasped and fell backward as the pony got into his face once more. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! I've never seen you here before which must mean your new, cause I know everypony! And I mean everypony!" She let out a squeal and stepped closer. "Ooo! Does that make me your first new friend here?!" She asked, a large grin splitting her face.

Danny could only blink in shock with wide eyes, at a loss for words at the pony's energy.

Suddenly, the mare turned her head away from him. "GIRLS!" She shouted before turning back to him, beginning to bounce up and down in excitement.

The colt turned his head to glance at the other ponies on the street but was surprised when most of them didn't even turn in their direction.Huh, guess this is a normal thing for them . . . . and her." He thought to himself, turning back to the mare as she continued to bounce in excitement.

Before he could plot how to slip away from the mare undetected, two more ponies galloped over.

"There ya' are, Pinkie Pie. What's with all your fussin'?" Asked one of the new ponies. She was orange with a yellow mane, white freckles dotting her cheeks. She had vibrant green eyes and a cowboy hat on her head as well as three apples on her flank.

The other pony was yellow with turquoise eyes and a light pink mane as well as a matching pair of yellow wings. On her flank, there were three butterflies.

And the pony in front of him, supposedly named Pinkie Pie, had three balloons on her flank.

Appropriate.Danny muttered to himself.

"Applejack, Fluttershy, LOOK! I made a new friend!" She exclaimed in glee as she pushed the colt closer to the girls. Danny groaned inwardly as he stared back at the three ponies.

The orange pony, which Danny inferred was Applejack, held out a hoof to him. "Hi there, little feller. I'm Applejack. What's your name?" She asked.

Pinkie scratched her name at the question. "Yeah, whatisyour name?"

Danny tried to process her question, but at the moment, his brain was too preoccupied with wrapping itself around the notion that there were three colorful ponies making civil conversation with him. And he was pretty sure the"Fluttershy"one was a pegasus. Then again, Phantom was a pegasus as well . . . or was he a unicorn? The whole thing still confused him. He was just grateful Sam had made him read that book on mythological creatures.

Applejack and Fluttershy shared an awkward look as the colt continued to stare at them, seemingly lost in thought.

"Umm. . . . are you alright?" Fluttershy asked softly as she stepped closer. Her eyes widened as she noticed the wrap around his leg and the long scratch that stretched from underneath one eye to underneath the other, going right over the bridge of his nose.

Danny took notice of this and quickly backed up, finally shaking himself from his thoughts.

"Sorry. I'm Danny." He said softly.

Applejack smiled. "Nice to meet you, Danny." She said as she patted the colt on the shoulder, also taking notice of a long scar that ran from the tip of his shoulder and disappeared underneath his stomach.

She lifted her gaze to stare at Fluttershy, who only shrugged her shoulders in confusion. Pinkie Pie, of course, seemed oblivious to all of it as she bounced closer. "So are you new in town, Danny?"

The teen hesitated before nodding his head.

Pinkie Pie let out a squeal as she rushed forward. "That means you need a party! AWelcome to Ponyvilleparty! Ooo! Haven't had one of those in a while! I'll go get started right away!" She shouted with a smile.

"NO!"

All three mares reeled back at the force behind the word, wondering if it came from the same quiet colt when he blushed slightly and cleared his throat. "What I mean is . . . no thanks. I'm not really into parties." He explained, dreading what would happen if he were the center of attention at a large public gathering while he could barely pick things up!

Pinkie stopped bouncing and gasped in shock, placing a hoof to her chest. "Y-you . . . don't like pa-parties?" She whimpered, lower lip quivering slightly.

Danny winced as he noticed the mare's expression and tone of voice and instantly backtracked. "Well, I'm sure your party would be awesome, probably the best I've ever gotten . . . but I'm not the biggest party . . . .pony." He finished, the word rolling off his tongue in a strange way.

Applejack furrowed her brow. Most colts his age would love the idea of a welcome party thrown just for them. Tilting her head, she tried to determine just how old the colt really was.

It wasn't easy to tell from his appearance, considering how skinny and lanky the colt was, but Applejack could only infer he was around fourteen, maybe fifteen.He's definitely older than Applebloom.The mare realized as she noticed the colt wasalmostas tall as the three mares around him, merely a hoof or two shorter.

So . . . where did you get those scars?She asked herself.

Nevertheless, Danny's on-the-spot answer seemed to please Pinkie as she began to bounce once more. "Okie dokie lokie!" She said happily.

Before Danny could make up a valid excuse for why he needed to leave, his stomach let out another growl. He winced and slowly glanced up, silently praying the three mares hadn't heard. But of course . . . they had.

Fluttershy lowered her head sympathetically. "You're hungry?" She asked, all three mares oblivious to the internal war bubbling inside Danny's mind.

Don't nod. Don't nod. Don't nod.

Danny hesitated before giving a small, almost nonexistent nod.

. . . . . frikkin idiot.

Pinkie's face hardened. "Well, that won't do! I won't let any new friend of mine go hungry!" She exclaimed.

New friend? Seriously, we just met!

"Especially since we're already meeting the others at the Hay Burger." Applejack added with a smile.

Oh great. There's more of them.

"Do you think your parents would say its okay?" Fluttershy inquired.

My parents . . . .?

They watched as Danny visibly flinched, almost as if Fluttershy's words had physically punched him in the gut. "Umm . . . I'm sure they wouldn't mind." He muttered.Oh course they won't mind. They barely even know where I am half the time.

Pinkie Pie bounced up again "Great! Then you can join us!"

Crap.

Danny's eyes widened as he let out a small chuckle and took a step backward. "Oh! That's super nice to offer, but I-I should probably . . . umm . . . probably go and check on . . . well, I should-" He stuttered nervously as he tried to think of a valid excuse before letting out an irritable sigh. "Oh forget it. Lead the way." He sighed, casting Pinkie a weak smile.

Though it was obviously strained, Pinkie took it, nevertheless as she latched onto the teen's hoof and bolted down the street, a distant scream of a terrified colt the only clue which direction they had gone.

The pegasus and earth pony quickly shared a knowing look.

"That was weird, right?" Fluttershy asked.

Applejack nodded and rubbed her chin with her hoof. "It sure was. Come on, we'll have to talk to Twilight about it."

"Ugg. . . where are those girls?" Rarity asked, checking her watch once more. She didn't want to spend a single moment more than she had to in the grimy restaurant if one could even call it that.

Rainbow Dash let out a sigh and sank lower into her chair as her ears flattened slightly. "Well this might come as a shock, but my answer still remains the same as it was five minutes ago: I. Don't. Know." She grumbled.

Twilight shook her head at the two but turned her head away in thought, nonetheless.They are a bit late. Wonder what's keeping them.

"Alright, well I may not know where they are, but wherever it is, it better be close, cause I'm starving!" Dash grumbled. She let out a tired sigh and began to bang her head repeatedly on the table as her stomach gave another growl.

Twilight rolled her eyes, a small smile spreading across her face. Suddenly, the sound of a jingling bell filled her ears. Turning her head, she watched as the golden bell atop the door continued to jingle as Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy made their way over.

"There they are." She said with a sigh of relief.

The three mares raised their heads and waved as their friends approached, but when they parted, the figure hidden behind them was revealed, all eyes focusing on him.

It was an older colt with a white coat and black hooves that matched his black hair. His eyes were a startling blue and his cutie mark was a white shooting star in a night sky.

"Uhh . . . who's this?" Rainbow Dash asked, pointing to the little earth pony.

Pinkie bounced over, beaming. "This is Danny. He's new in Ponyville." She explained.

The colt, apparently named Danny waved at them with a smile.

"Danny, this is Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Twilight Sparkle." Fluttershy said quietly, pointing out each pony as she said their name.

Twilight smiled and held out her hoof. "Nice to meet you, Danny." She said.

As soon as the colt touched her hoof, she felt a strong surge of energy shoot through her foreleg. But it wasn't the usual feeling of magic she would feel whenever coming in contact with a powerful magic wielder like Celestia or Luna. This wasdifferent.

A sense of foreboding washed over her and an icy feeling crawled up her spine and wrapped itself around her throat, clawing at her heart, making her entire body tense up.

Across her eyes, inky black dots flashed before her. Staring down at the colt clutching her hoof, she gasped as he was replaced with the blurry image of a black creature surrounded by a white aura.

But what really stood out were the fiery green eyes. They were the kind of eyes that made any being who glanced at them stop and stare into their shining depths. As she stared at the creature, the icy claw returned as it squeezed around her, making her breath come out in sharp gasps.

Just as quickly as the feeling had wrapped around her, it was gone; though it was probably just because Danny decided to yank his hoof out of her grasp, quickly realizing the mare had sensed something she shouldn't have.

The other girls seemed to realize this as well as Twilight blinked away the last bits of the vision.

"Umm . . . Twilight, dearie? Are you alright?" Rarity asked.

The mare swallowed as she took in a shuddering breath and tried to moisten her now dry mouth. "Umm . . ." She started, noticing the slight quiver that was now in her voice.

"Can I talk to you girls outside for a second?" She asked, not waiting for an answer as she quickly made her way outside, taking a deep breath as she refreshed herself in the light and life in the air, which quickly chased out the last traces of her vision.

The girls glanced at each other in confusion for a moment before making their way outside as well. Applejack gave Danny a small smile. "We'll be right back." She said before walking outside as well.

"What's with you Twilight? You look like you just saw a ghost." Rainbow Dash joked.

Twilight lowered her gaze. "Or felt one."

Another look of bewilderment was shared by the girls as they turned back to the alicorn. Twilight shook her head and began to explain. "When I touched that colt, I got a really strong jolt of . . . . something. It felt like magic but . . .notat the same time. It was colder and darker."

Fluttershy eyes scrunched in worry. "But how is that even possible? He isn't even a unicorn. He's notsupposedto have magic." She asked.

Twilight shook her head once more. "I don't know how itispossible."

Dash let out a small chuckle. "Alright, Twi. Maybe you've just been working too hard these past few days an-"

"Ididn'timagine it." She stated forcefully, turning a hard gaze towards Dash. "It was too . . . real. I sawsomething. Something dark."

Applejack stepped forward. "What did you see?"

Twilight furrowed her brow and turned her gaze to the ground. "It was the colt . . . butnot.He was all black and was glowing white. But the strangest thing was that his eyes were green. And I meangreen."

Fluttershy cocked her head. "But he seems like a normal colt." She said, pausing when she remembered their strange meeting. "For the most part."

Twilight lifted her head back up. "How did your meeting happen? Did you notice anything weird about him?" She asked.

Pinkie stepped closer. "I accidentally bumped into him on the street. I noticed I had never seen him around before which meant he was new so I called Applejack and Fluttershy over."

The latter nodded her head. "But when I got closer, I noticed that he had a bunch of scratches and scars running under his coat. Almost as if he had been in a fight recently." She stated quietly.

Now that she thought about it, Twilight did recall the colt's foreleg had been wrapped in gauze and his cheek had been bandaged as well.

Applejack raised her head. "And when we first met, he didn't even say anything. He just kept staring at us and our cutie marks." She explained. "Like it was overwhelming to him and he was trying to drink it all in."

Twilight rubbed her chin with her hoof as she took in everything they were saying.

The mare finally raised her head. "Well I don't know what's going on with this colt, but whatever it is, it's definitely not normal. We should probably keep an eye on him." She turned back to the three who had first met him. "Did he mention anything about where he was staying?"

They all shook their head.

"Really, nothing? An address? Guardians? Parents?"

Pinkie perked as she remembered something. "Nope, nothing like that. But he did start to act weird when we mentioned his parents.

"Weird how?" The alicorn asked.

"He flinched like he had just been hit or something." Fluttershy explained.

The others, apart from Applejack and Fluttershy, perked up at that. "His parents?" Rarity asked.

Applejack nodded. "Yep, and not only that but he also seemed really reluctant to join us. It was like he was trying to come up with a bunch of excuses but settled for it anyways."

Twilight hummed in thought.

"So . . . does that mean his parents are . . . ." Rainbow Dash trailed off.

"Or he's a runaway." Rarity added.

Fluttershy gasped and placed her hooves to her mouth. "Does that mean he's all alone?" She cried out in shock.

"Well we did find him alone, so that's probably the case." Applejack stated.

The five mares turned back to Twilight. "So . . . what do we do, Twi?" Rainbow Dash asked.

The mare rubbed her chin before lifting her head. "I know one thing for certain. That vision meant something. Whether it's bad or good, I definitely want to keep tabs on this colt at all times, make sure he doesn't do anything we'll regret." She explained.

After a moment, the others nodded in agreement.

"But right now, I think we should at least give him something to eat before he starves." She explained as the group slowly began to file back into the building.

Danny watched as the mares filed out of the restaurant, the door swinging closed behind them. He sighed and banged his head against the table. "Damn it, damn it, damn it." He muttered to himself, the words muffled against the wood.

When he had touched that mare's hoof, he instantly knew something wasn't right. He felt frozen, like she was staring right at his core.Perfect, just perfect.He grumbled to himself.Hopefully something like that doesn't happen again.

Despite the strange greeting, Danny was actually glad the girls had taken their leave. That would at least give him a little time to come up with answers to any questions they might ask him. He could only pray they wouldn't want to know too much.

He sighed and began to go over everything he had learned so far.Alright, so this world is inhabited b talking magical ponies and using the suffix "pony" seems to be the norm.He sighed.

He then furrowed his brow as he thought back to the events yesterday.Okay, so when I'm Fenton, I'm just a normal white pony; nothingtooodd.But when I transform, I gain wings and a horn. Strange.

Danny perked slightly as he remembered something about the pony he had just met.Hang on, doesn't that Twilight have wings and a horn too? Maybe its normal here.He told himself, hoping to stay optimistic, but that didn't last long.Oh, who am I kidding It's probably the strangest thing in this world!

He bit his lip as he imagined what would happen if any . . .ponyfound out about his secret.If this place is anything like Earth, which for the most part it is, then they'll go berserk if I show them the truth.

He growled softly as he thought of home.Knowing my luck, this place will be exactly like Amity, ungrateful and distrusting; ungrateful for everything they have and who helps them keep it!

As his mind wandered back to Amity, it also drifted back the people, the hunters, . . . . his parents. He scoffed angrily and rested his chin on the table as he flattened his ears.Those two are always telling Jazz and I never to judge a person by its cover; to always give people the benefit of the doubt. But I guess that courtesy doesn't carry over to ghosts.

I can't even count all the times I've saved them and they still call me a monster?!He sighed.Maybe some time away from them . . . away from Amity will do me a little good.He lowered his gaze.But is there really anywhere I can go where I'mnota freak?

He was thrown from his thoughts as a pony walked by, Danny staring intently at the stallion's glowing horn as he levitated a tray of food. The teen groaned and slammed his head back down on the table in frustration. "Of all the places you could have picked, why did you have to pick this one, Plasmius?" He growled.

Who's Plasmius?"

Danny gasped and whipped his head up as the girls entered. Twilight was looking at him curiously, waiting for him to answer his question. "Oh, he's just somebo-ponyI know." He said, quickly catching his mistake. Twilight nodded and took her seat, the others doing the same.

"So, Danny. Where are you from?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Danny smirked inwardly, thankful he had glanced back at the map once more to find a place he could say he was from. "I'm from a small village just a little ways past Canterlot." He explained.

"Then whatcha' doing in little ol' Ponyville?" Applejack asked.

Danny tensed slightly, which the girls noticed before he responded. "I guess I just need a bit of a change of scenery." He explained.

"Well, what about your parents, darling? Are they around?" Rarity asked. The girls around the table waited for his answer tensely.

The teen shrugged his shoulders and narrowed his eyes slightly. "I guess they're a part of the change I needed." He mumbled.

The six mares passed questioning glances to each other before Twilight spoke up. "You ran away?" She asked, watching as Danny shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

"I guess you could put it like that." He said.

Applejack raised her head. "Take it from me, sugarcube. You should probably go back home. I'm sure they miss you." She said, remembering her own experiences with runaways.

The girls were surprised to hear Danny scoff and fold his arms across his chest. "Yeah, okay." He said sarcastically.

"Youdon'tthink they miss you?" Fluttershy asked.

Danny shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sure they'd miss me if they even knew I was gone. But they're so oblivious to everything, they wouldn't even know if a meteor landed in the kitchen . . . well, at least mydadwouldn't." He chuckled.

To be honest, he was sure his parents would be frantic to find him, if not for Clockwork . . . or their stupid experiments. Though his mother was one for smothering, so who knows what she would do if not for the Master of Time's interference.

"Besides, I don't really want to be around them right now." He muttered.

Don't get him wrong, he loved his parents more than anything. But it was a bit relieving to not glance over his shoulder every second, watching for an ecto-gun being pointed in his direction, or a new invention they justhadto test out, or the questions on why their gadgets always locked onto him.

Fluttershy tilted her head. "Maybe if we came with you, it would be easi-"

"No!" Danny shouted, glaring heatedly at the mares, who still didn't seem to get it. "I'm not going back there and you can't make me." He growled out. He didn't mean to be so harsh, but it was true. He couldn't have these ponies sending him anywhere. It would only make his mission that much harder.

"Hey! If we sa-" Rainbow Dash started, only for Twilight to place a hoof on her shoulder, quickly calming her down. "But why do you not want to go back?" The mare asked.

Shit.

"I . . . I-I . . ."

I what? Have to complete my mission from the Master of Time?

Have to track down a psycho fruitloop?

Have to defend this world that I know nothing about?

"I just needed to get out of there and see what life is like outside of that stupid village."

Okay . . . not a total lie. I could use some time away from Amity.

"Please." He whispered, turning his gaze back towards Twilight. "Please don't send me back."

Twilight stared at the colt in front of her. She'd met him - what - five minutes ago? She knew what the right thing to do was. Send the colt back to his parents. It wasn't safe to be all by himself in a town he knew nothing about.

Yet . . . there was something there. Something in his eyes that made her choke on the words before they could come out of her mouth. He seemed desperate. Not the kind of desperation that came with the threat of being sent home. Desperation that showed torment and struggle, an unseen burden he was carrying.

This kid was scared of something. And whatever that something was, sending him home probably wouldn't help.

She glanced down at the scratches and scars that could be seen underneath his fur; the wrap around his foreleg; the patch on his cheek.What have you been through?She asked herself, silently wishing for an answer she knew she wouldn't receive.

Twilight narrowed her eyes in realization.

She needed to know more about this kid. Find out what he was really doing in Ponyville. What secrets he was holding. What that vision meant. And she knew for a fact she wouldn't get those answers by sending him home to who-knows-where.

Twilight stayed silent for a moment longer before rising from her seat, quickly walking over to him. Danny flattened his ears slightly, wondering if he had done something wrong.

But shock and relief flooded through him when he felt a hoof rest on his shoulder. Glancing up, he saw Twilight give him a small smile. "Alright. If it means so much to you . . . we won't send you back. But I really think you should consider going home yourself." She said, watching the teen turn away slightly.

"WHAT?!"

Both ponies jumped and turned back to the others, whose jaws were agape in shock.

Pulling her away from the table, the girls all huddled around her.

"Twilight, what are you thinking?!" Dash whispered furiously.

"We can't just let him run away from his home. We'll be harboring a missing pony!" Rarity exclaimed frantically.

Applejack stepped forward. "Twilight . . . do you know what you're doing." She asked.

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Yes, Applejack. I do. When you ran away from the Apple Farm, if you had been forced to return, would you have been happy? She asked.

Applejack opened her mouth to retort back, only to have no words come out.

"Exactly, you would have been upset and miserable in your own home and would probably have ended up running awayagain. But when you found out for yourself that you belonged there, you were happy to return." She explained.

"If we force Danny to return home, he'll just be miserable and end up running away again, maybe to ponies that can't help him. But we can. He'll eventually figure out that the village is where he really belongs."

She turned her head slightly to gaze back at Danny, who was watching a pair of unicorns eat with curious eyes, seemingly fascinated by the way they levitated their food. Twilight narrowed her eyes and turned back to the others. "Besides, if he stays here, I can keep an eye on him and make sure he isn't dangerous or anything." She explained.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Oh, that's smart. Don't know whether this guy is safe or not? Well, let's just invite him to the home where I sleep and see how this pans out. Are you kidding? How do we know for sure he's not dangerous or something You said it yourself, Twi. That vision was cold and dark."

Twilight narrowed her eyes in thought before raising her head once more. "You girls are just going to have to trust me. I know what I'm doing."

The girls stayed silent, casting each other glances before begrudgingly agreeing to it. "Alright, alright. But if something goes wrong, I totally get to say'I told you so'." Dash muttered.

Fluttershy gave a small smile. "I'm sure it will be alright. He seems like a nice little colt."

Pinkie Pie bounced over, placing her front hooves on Fluttershy's back, the pegasus yelping in surprise. "That means we get to hang out with our new friend even more." She said with a large smile, the others dropping their frowns at their friend's giddiness.

Returning to their table, they smiled at Danny, causing the colt to relax and smile back.

After finishing up their meal, the group of ponies were standing outside the restaurant, soaking up the last of the sun's rays before Celestia lowered the sun.

Danny yawned sleepily before turning to the girls. "Thanks for the meal, but I should probably get going." He said, beginning to walk down the street before the girls ran over and stopped him.

"Where are you going?" Fluttershy asked worriedly.

"Yeah, sugarcube. It's not like you really have anyplace to sleep tonight." She said, watching as the information finally seemed to sink in with the colt. But his reaction wasn't what any of them were expecting.

Danny merely shrugged his shoulders and turned away. "Ehh. . . I'll figure something out. Trees are pretty comfortable." He chuckled as he continued to walk, only to feel something pull at his tail and drag him backwards, lifting him up into the air. He blinked in shock as he hung upside down, staring at six angry ponies.

"I don't think so, young colt." Twilight said, dropping him back down onto the ground.

He quickly twisted around and sat on the ground, shaking the dirt out of his hair as he stared at the girls, confusion evident on his face.

"You honestly think we'd let you sleep alone in a tree?" Rainbow Dash asked, raising an eyebrow.

Danny shrugged. "Trees are nice."

Twilight smiled. "Well I'm glad you think that because that's exactly where we're going." She said with a knowing smile as she began to lead the colt deeper into town, the others following behind.

After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at a large crystal structure that towered high above the other buildings and seemed to resemble an oak tree. Danny's eyes widened as he stared at it. "You actually live in that?" He asked.

A mixture of deep purples and blues could be seen as the crystals shone brightly, soaking up the last rays of sunlight from the air. Higher up, golden balconies stick out from the rest of the tree, giving off a great view of the rest of the town.

"Do you ever get any crystal squirrel infestations?"

The girls giggled and led him inside. Once inside, Danny saw that the castle extended into a second level as well with different hallways that led to tons of rooms. "Cool" He breathed, eyes wandering around the large room.

Suddenly, thepitter-patterof soft footsteps made his ears perk as he turned his head. A small purple creature with green scales and emerald eyes descended the stairs towards them, pausing when he noticed Danny.

Said pony gawked at the creature, leaping to his feet as he took a step behind Twilight. "Is that a dragon?!" He asked, never letting his eyes off the reptile, remembering all his other experiences with the scaly creatures.

Twilight smiled and walked over towards it. "Yep. This is my number one assistant, Spike." She said.

Spike stared at the colt before turning back to Twilight. "Who's the kid?" He asked, watching as Danny continued to stare at him intensely.

"Spike, this is Danny. He's going to be staying with us for a while." She explained.

"I am?"

"He is?"

Both dragon and colt asked incredulously. Twilight smiled and walked over to Danny. "Of course. And, even better, you'll still technically be sleeping in a tree." She chuckled with a wink.

Instead of the ecstatic face they all expected, Danny's was morphed into one of confusion and . . . nervousness?

"Listen . . ." He started, backing up slightly, only to jump as he ran into Applejack. "I . . I really appreciate everything you girls are doing . . . but I-I . . I don't know if this is the best idea." He confessed.

"But why, darling?" Rarity inquired.

Danny winced slightly and lowered his gaze. "Umm . . . well, some of the ponies back home have a . . . aproblemwith me. There's just something about me they don't like. And . . . and I don't want to make you guys angry cause you've been so nice and . . " He began to stutter nervously.

"I think . .. ma-maybe it'd be best if I . . . if I just go ahead and move o-" He started, only for Twilight to place a hoof to his mouth.

"Listen, Danny. I don't know about those other ponies, but like it or not, you're our friend now. And we're not going to let any friend of ours sleep somewhere dangerous." She stated firmly, the others nodding in agreement.

"Please, Danny. The mare said softly, wrapping a wing around him. "Just stay. I'm sure everything's going to be alright."

The teen scrunched his face in thought. He knew he couldn't stay long in the town. He still had to focus on his mission . . . . .butfinding a place to sleep was pretty important . . . .

He let out a soft snort. "Fine, but if I seeonecrystal squirrel, I'm out of here." He chuckled.

The girls laughed as the huddled closer, embracing the colt in a large group hug. Danny's eyes widened at the action, gasping for air as he tried to squirm free. "Don't fight it, this happens a lot with us." Twilight laughed as the girls squeezed tighter.

"Well in that case, I'm leaping out the window and hightailing it out of here!"

The sound of laughter continued to echo off the castle walls and into the darkening night sky.

"Here are some extra blankets in case you get cold."Twilight said as she levitated the quilts towards him. Danny quickly realized he would have to get used to that, but pushed the thought aside as he thanked the mare, watching as she and Spike walked out the door.

"Remember, I'm in the room right next door in case you need anything." She called, Danny nodding in understanding as she left.

The other girls had left a few hours ago, leaving to head to their respective homes, Twilight, Spike, and Danny the only ones left in the castle. Twilight had quickly realized the colt would need a room for himself if he was going to stay for a while. So she quickly found a guest room and fixed it up for the young colt.

Danny watched the mare disappear from the doorway before turning back to the bed. He yawned and quickly scrambled up into the large bed. He hadn't realized how tired he really was until his eyes came to rest on the soft pillow at the head of the bed.

Resting his head on the cushiony surface, he let out a small sigh and shut his eyes, a small smile slipping onto his face.First day in a new world and I've already gotten a good meal, a roof over my head, and six new friends. Not a bad day, Fenton. Not a bad day.

Quickly after, his soft snores could be heard.

As Twilight walked down the hall, she rolled her eyes as Spike continued to glance up at her. "Go ahead, Spike." She said, knowing he had a couple things to say about the new arrangements.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Twilight? I mean, you barely know anything about this colt." He said, a skeptical look in his eyes as they continued to walk.

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Idoknow that this colt needs somepony to help him right now, and I wasn't about to let him do it himself, and neither were the girls. So I suggest giving him a chance, Spike. He really is a good kid." She said with a smile.

Spike shrugged his shoulders. "If you say so." He sighed as they arrived in their room. Spike wasted no time jumping into his bed, where he curled up and quickly fell asleep. Twilight cast the dragon a small glance before letting out a small sigh.

He really is a good kid . . . right?She asked herself. She hadn't received any information that would point otherwise, other than the vision she had seen, and even with it, she was unsure. It was just a vision, and a strange one at that. Perhaps it meant nothing.

She still had her suspicions, and she wasn't going to drop her defenses around the young colt just yet, but she also couldn't ignore the fact that the kid needed her help. Promising herself she would talk more about it to her friends, the mare let out a tired yawn as she climbed into her bed and curled herself up around her covers.

As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was instantly asleep.

. . . . .

Though she wasn't one to dream much, Twilight still knew the feeling of being in one. She blinked and glanced around at her surroundings, trying to make out any distinguishing features that could give her a clue of where she was.

Suddenly, a bright green glow caught her attention. Turning towards it, she squinted and shielded her eyes with her hoof as the light caught in her eyes.

Blinking to adjust to the harsh lights, she narrowed her eyes and tried to make out what that figure in the center of the light was. It appeared to be a thin colt, just a little smaller than her and her friends. She let out a startled gasp as the figure opened its eyes.

She found she couldn't look away from their toxic green depths as they stared back at her. As the colt continued to approach, she gasped as he unfurled the hidden wings at his side. Stepping closer and closer, she saw that the fogginess around the figure continued to lessen and lessen until she could make out much more of him.

He had stark white hair that matched the bottom halves of his legs. He also had a long black horn protruding from his forehead. Green eyes continued to stare at her intently. But after a while, Twilight realized the shining orbs held no malice or hatred. Merely curiosity.

"Umm . .." She stuttered. "H-hello?"

The strange alicorn said nothing, merely tilted its head at her, eyes shimmering in the darkness. Twilight blinked and glanced sideways awkwardly as the figure continued to do nothing except stare.

Suddenly, another light could be seen in the distance, only it was blue instead of green. Squinting her eyes once more, Twilight noticed that Danny was at the center of this light. He had a small smile on his face as he waved at Twilight, the pony waving back slowly.

The colt suddenly stopped and approached the alicorn colt, who tore his gaze away from Twilight and locked it on Danny. Suddenly, the white colt lifted his hoof into the air, the black colt doing the same as their hooves touched.

Suddenly, the glowing lights around the two began to dim and Twilight watched in confusion as the aura around Danny began to seep a bright green and the aura around the mysterious colt began to seep blue as the two shut their eyes.

She watched, her mouth agape as their eyes shot open, the colors reversed. Danny's now an electric green while the other's were ice blue. The mare gasped before everything turned white.

. . . .

Twilight let out a strangled cry as she bolted off of her pillow and gazed around her room. She could feel sweat trickling down her forehead as her chest heaved up and down, her heart still beating wildly.

She sighed and placed a hoof to her head, wiping away the beads of sweat from her skin as she turned her head to gaze at her door, thinking of the strange colt who was sleeping in the room next door.

"Oh, Celestia . . . this is going to be interesting."

"I don't see what scouting those putrid girls will do." Chrysalis growled as he turned to Vlad.

The pair were currently walking through the Hatchling Caves, Vlad having wanted to gain better bearings of where he actually was. The stallion merely chuckled at her words. "You said it yourself. These girls are one of the main obstacles in conquering Equestria, correct? Well then it pays to see what they're doing and if there's any useful information they can show us." He explained

The entire castle was dark and decrepit, the only light coming from the holes in the roof or the green glow that was emitted from the eggs and pods scattered throughout.

The stalagmites and other rocks that jutted out from the floor and walls resembled the other Changelings, riddled with different holes and indents. Glowing green and blue moss grew along the sides of the walls, illuminating the dark hallways and black surfaces.

As they walked, Vlad noticed the other Changelings, some crawling the walls, quickly flying by, or merely resting with each other. None of them seemed to be well fed or comfortable. They all seemed to be in some sort of pain, yet it seemed to be a pain they were used to dealing with and/or ignoring.

The stallion narrowed his eyes at the sight before turning to face forward once more, Chrysalis leading him back into her throne room, which is where they had been concocting most of their plans.

The mare walked over to the side of the room, where the walls opened up like windows, giving a view of the land for miles. Peering out, Vlad could make out where the land changed from barren and dead to full of life . . . well,livelier.

Chrysalis's ears suddenly perked when she heard the sound of an approaching Changeling patrol. Walking over to the door, she opened it and allowed the patrol to enter.

"Report." She demanded.

The head changeling quickly bowed before raising his head. "There was not much information we could collect, my Queen." He stated. At the words, Chrysalis glanced back at Vlad with a victorious smirk.

"But-" The changeling continued, drawing the attention of both ponies. "Theydidmeet a strange black and white colt."

Vlad narrowed his eyes at the words, stalking closer to the changeling. "What color were his eyes?" He asked. One of the changelings at the back of the group raised his head. "They were blue. Like a startling icy blue." He clarified.

Vlad let out a low growl. "And the mark on his flank . . . what was it?"

Chrysalis watched as Vlad continued to get angrier and angrier, oblivious to the reason why.

"It was a shooting star in a night sky."

Vlad's eyes began to glow red, remembering Daniel's fascination for space. "Well, it seems this has just gotten more complicated." He growled out.

Chrysalis raised a brow and shooed the patrol out of the room.

"Do you remember that nuisance I discussed earlier." Vlad asked, Chrysalis nodding. "Well, it seems he has found another way to irk me by following me here." He snarled out, beginning to pace back and forth on the hard stone underneath his hooves.

Chrysalis narrowed her eyes. "If he is as strong as you say he is, then how do you propose we get past this?" She asked.

Vlad continued to pace around the room, mind spinning as he tried to figure out how to at least keep Daniel off of his trail for a little while; something to distract him, when he quickly remembered something the changeling had said. "So . . . . Daniel has become friends with the local ponies. And not just any ponies, but the six mares we need out of our way." He grinned evilly.

"I do believe we can use this to our advantage."

He glanced down to his side, underneath his cape where he had stored the Infi-Map. "I'll just need some ghostly assistance. Once those girls see what you really are, Daniel, You'll be begging me to destroy you!" He shouted, cackling loudly as his plan began to unfurl.

Chapter 4: Phantom and Friends Part I

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Chapter 4: Phantom and Friends Part l

The only thing he could hear apart from the blood pounding in his ears was the sound of his own harsh, ragged breathing. He knew he was moving by the way the buildings flew past him, but he couldn't feel his legs as they pounded against the rocky asphalt.

His pants were ripped and torn, his normally white shirt stained red. His pale skin was smudged black in some areas, and his ebony hair clung to the sweat shining on his forehead.

Around him, the buildings of Amity Park were old and decrepit. Pieces of shattered glass littered the streets and crumbling piles of bricks and stones paved the sidewalks. Fires burned around him, flames shooting through broken apartment windows, car roofs or simply burned black marks into the crumbling road.

His lungs ached as he sucked in another gulp of air before stealing a glance behind him. He narrowed his eyes in confusion when he saw nobody behind him. Slowing slightly, he scanned farther down the street and saw that it was empty as well.

His legs came to a stop, hoping to catch his breath for the first time in forever as he turned back around. A strangled gasp tore its way out of Danny's mouth.

The bright green blast slammed into his chest, searing his skin as his body went flying backwards. His head slammed into the brick wall before he slid down, slumping against the floor.

Blearily opening his eyes, he felt his heart seize up as a large blaster was aimed at his face once more. Staring past the gun's barrel, his eyes met those of his parents. Desperation met emptiness and hatred as they stared back at him.

He whimpered and clutched at his hair as he tucked his knees to his chest and curled his head away. "Mom . . . . dad . . . please stop." He whispered.

The shine of the nearby fires cast their reflections on the glass surface of their goggles as they stared down at the boy, faces empty and devoid of any and all emotion.

Suddenly, two hands reached out between them and clamped down on their shoulders. The palms lit up in a bright pink light before the forms of his parents shot up in flames before disappearing.

Raising his head, Danny's eyes widened as Vlad narrowed his eyes and grinned, slamming the tip of his boot into the teen's chest, sending him straight through the wall. He tumbled along the ground before slamming into the side of a car.

He groaned and raised his head slightly, only for a foot to slam into his cheek, sending his head snapping to the other side as his back landed hard on the ground, glass and stone pressing up into his back.

"I warned you, didn't I?" Vlad growled with a smirk as he pressed his foot onto Danny's chest, keeping him in place. "I warned you what would happen if you stood against me."

CRACK!

Danny whimpered as he felt the snapping of bones underneath Vlad's boot, empty blue eyes staring up at the sky. "You're pathetic. You can't stop me here, and you can't stop me in Equestria." He grinned. "You're doomed to fail, Daniel. So why don't I put you out of your misery?"

A black gloved hand reached down and clamped down around the teen's neck, hoisting him up into the air.

Danny gasped as he was slammed into one of the nearby walls, his windpipe slowly crushed underneath the man's grip. Through the growing black haze, Danny watched as Plasmius raised his glowing pink hand, the heat coming off of the ecto-blast making Danny wince and turn away as best he could.

He shut his eyes as Vlad thrust it forward.

Danny head shot off the pillow, the room spinning for a moment before he felt himself slipping off the covers. His yelp of surprise was followed by a load crash and a soft groan of pain.

For a moment, he wondered if it had all been nothing more than a bad dream, at least until he glanced down and saw that it was hishoovesthat had gotten tangled in the covers.Okay . . . . not all a dream. He muttered to himself.

Before he could get to his hooves, he heard the sound of footsteps outside the room and a knock on the door. He craned his head to see Twilight appear in the doorway as it creaked open, a look of concern mingled with confusion on her face. "You okay" She asked, helping untangle him from the sheet.

"Yeah, I'm fine." The colt started, letting a small chuckle slip from his mouth. "Back home, I have a habit of being the clumsiest pony around." He explained, congratulating himself on the inside for remembering to usepony.

Twilight smiled. "I think we're all 'the clumsiest pony around' at one point or another." She said with a smile. "Come on, breakfast is ready." She said as she led the colt out the door.

As they walked down the hallway, Danny couldn't help but stare up at the high ceilings and arching windows that shimmered as the morning light seeped through them.

The mare led him to a large room, a table sitting in the middle with different chairs set up around it.

Danny smiled when he saw Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Spike seated around the table. They each had stacks of pancakes placed around them, Danny noticing there were two empty seats, plates in front of them as well.

Walking over with Twilight, the two quickly took their seats, the others greeting him with a smile.

As they continued to eat, Danny found himself staring at the stack of food in front of him. At the moment, he was still trying to process how the large mound of food toppled on his plate could be for merely one pony.

After a moment, he noticed the chatter around the table had stopped. Lifting his gaze, he noticed everyone had stopped and were now staring at him.

Rainbow Dash swallowed the last bite of food in her mouth and threw him a look of confusion. "Uhh . . . are you okay?"

Danny turned to her and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, it's just . . . I've never seen so much food for just one pony." He said with a smile.

"Doesn't your mother make breakfast for you?" Rarity asked.

Danny shrugged. "Meh, whenever she has time to, the waffles usually end up forming their own battalion while the fried eggs plan an air strike."

He was met with seven pairs of confused faces, which made him chuckle nervously and rub the back of his neck. "That's . . . just how bad it is." He said quickly, a loud "ohh"echoing off the walls.

The teen let out a sigh of relief before tuning back in to the girls, who were in the middle of a particularly interesting story about a chaos-wielding maniac they apparently defeated. Safe to say, there came a time in the story where he was completely and utterly baffled.

"After Discord turned us into the opposite of our true selves, we split paths and vowed never to speak to each other again." Twilight explained.

Danny swallowed a mouthful of pancake before letting out a chuckle. "I'm guessing that didn't last very long?"

Rainbow Dash smirked and shined her hoof against her chest. "Well, duh! Nopony can get the best of us, especially when you havemeon your team." She boasted. The multiple looks she received made her clear her throat and flatten her ears slightly. "Alright, alright, it helps when you have a unicorn with a pretty good memory spell."

The girls giggled while Danny rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, once Twilight freed us from Discord's spell we were able to use the Elements of Harmony and turn him back to stone." Rarity said with a smile, only to leap back out of her chair as Pinkie Pie popped out from underneath the table. "Which was really too bad because he would have made a great party planner!"

Fluttershy smiled. "Well, that was way back when. Now he's really turned himself around."

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Yeah, now instead of tormenting all of Equestria, he only tormentsuson special occasions."

Danny chuckled before blinking in thought. "Hey, just whatarethe Elements of Harmony?"

Twilight instantly popped up from her seat, a big grin on her face. "Ooo! Ooo! I got this!" She beamed, the others rolling their eyes as small smiles spread onto their faces. The purple mare cleared her throat and straightened herself in a manner that strangely reminded Danny of whenever Jazz would get ready to lecture him.

"The Elements of Harmony are ancient relics that correspond to six key factors of harmony and balance. Each relic corresponds with a certain aspect of friendship and can only be wielded by a true follower of said aspect." She explained. "For example, Applejack is the Element of Honesty, Fluttershy is the Element of Kindness, Pinkie Pie is the Element of Laughter, Rarity is Generosity, Rainbow Dash is Loyalty, and mine is Magic."

"Together, we create a bond of magic more powerful than any other magic known to ponydom. We've used the elements to stop more than one particularly bad pony." She finished.

Danny paused at that and furrowed his brow.

Clockwork sent me here to save this world from Plasmius because he said they couldn't defend themselves. But if these six girls have saved Equestria countless times already, then why would this be any different? . . . Why would they need me?

He shook himself from his thoughts and quickly focused back into the conversation.

Applejack placed a hoof to her chin in thought. "You know, I still get a little uneasy sometimes being without the Elements."

Twilight nodded. "I know what you mean. Sometimes I wonder if we made the right choice. But I know we're strong enough to handle anything that's thrown our way, elements or no."

"Yeah . . . but I still can't believe we had to give them up like that. I was finally starting to get used to them." Rainbow Dash sighed.

The teen perked at this. It appeared they weren't connected to their elements anymore.Maybe that's why Clockwork sent me. They don't have the power to defeat major enemies anymore.He scrunched his face in thought.These girls seem to know a lot more about this world than I do. IF they can help with my assignment then . . . then maybe I s-should . . .

"You okay there, Sugarcube?"

Danny lifted his head as Applejack's voice dragged him from his thoughts. "You kind of zoned out there a bit." She said with a smile.

The boy gave a smile of his own. "Sorry, I tend to get lost in thought sometimes." He explained.

Pinkie Pie nodded. "Yep! Twilight does that all the time!"

"I do not!"

A chorus of disagreements rang out, causing the alicorn to pout in her seat. Danny snickered behind his hoof at the scene before a stray thought popped into his mind once more. "Hey, I got a question. How come you live in this huge castle, Twilight? I mean, it seems like something a princess would live in." He chuckled, pausing when he noticed the six ponies and dragon staring at him in shock.

He flattened his ears slightly, sensing he screwed something up. "What?"

"Ummmm . . . . Twilightisan princess." Fluttershy said, confused as to how the colt couldn't already know this.

Danny nearly choked on a bite of his pancake. "You're a princess?" He shouted in shock.

The ponies glanced at each other in confusion. "Dude, where have you been?" Spike asked, earning a whack in the back of the head from Twilight. "Hey!" HE shouted indignantly, rubbing his now sore scales.

Danny rubbed his foreleg nervously. "I a-actually don't, umm . . . . ." He started, wracking his brain for an excuse as to why he didn't know what was obviously a trivial thing. "My. . . . my parents aren't really the best when it comes to teaching about new things." He finally choked out. "They're usually too wrapped up with their work anyways." He muttered.

Once again . . . . not atotallie.

Twilight narrowed her eyes in thought. Perhaps this was the opportunity they needed to figure out just who this kid was. She smiled and turned towards the other girls, who each nodded in agreement. "Well then . . . maybe we can help with that." She said, prompting Danny to look up in confusion.

He gave a small scoff as he rolled his eyes. "What? You gonna take me on a tour of the town or something, show me what makes you allsospecial?"

"In hindsight, I probably should have seen this coming."

Applejack glanced down at the mumbling colt as the two walked happily down the dirt trail. . . . well, Applejack walked happily. Danny went more along the lines of'being dragged against his will while still trying to show appreciation, which ends up looking more like despair.'

"Oh stop your bellyachin'. Sweet Apple Acres is one of the jewels of Ponyville. We're one of the best farms in all of Equestria. I'm sure you'll love it." The farm horse said cheerily as they continued down the trail.

"Yeah, MENIAL LABOR, WHOO!" Danny cheered sarcastically, Applejack nudging him with her back hoof as she rolled her eyes.

Danny let out a small sigh and lowered his head back down to gaze at the rocks and ant holes as they slid past his hooves, making sure to hide his look of worry from the mare next to him. The girls had all agreed to take time to hang out with the small colt, teaching him about their hobbies and lives.

To any outside eye, it would seem like a simple nice gesture. But Danny knew better. He could tell from the second they met that the girls felt uneasy around him, especially Twilight. They were probably just doing it to keep an eye on him.

Why am I wasting my time with these people - ponies! GAH! As soon as I get the chance, I am so out of here! I need to be out there looking for Plasmius, not dressing up for tea parties and sharing cakes or whatever they do in Rainbow Sunshine Land of Smiles and Sprinkles!He muttered to himself angrily.

Just focus, Fenton. Focus on your mission. You'll be out of this sooner or later.

"Soo . . ." Applejack started, her voice seeming to hold a certain sense of unease. "What did you say the name of that village of yer's was again?" She asked, turning to glance at the colt.

"Amity. Amity Park."

"Uh-huh. And uh . . .any specific reasons you decided to leave?" She asked, biting the inside of her cheek as she finished. Danny narrowed his eyes as he watched her shift her eyes towards the ground.

Alright, she's obviously not the best liar.He thought to himself before remembering Twilight's words on the Elements of Happiness or whatever crap it was.Honesty element, huh? Man, that's gotta be rough.

Nevertheless, he let out a small sigh as he opened his mouth. "Nope." He said curtly, popping the'p'. "Just wanted a change of pace." He stated.

Great, if they're all gonna try and play twenty questions with me, then I'm in for a great frikkin day! I swear, the faster I'm out of here, the better.He narrowed his eyes slightly. Then again, you did want information. Maybe now's the time to get it.

"So . . . seen anything weird around here lately? Maybe any new ponies around town?"

"Only new feller' we've seen in a while is you, Danny" Applejack said before turning towards him. "Why?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Just wondering." He murmured.

The mare cast him a strange look as her mind began to relay what Twilight had spoken to them about once they had finished their breakfast.

Danny walked through the door, a small stack of plates balanced precariously atop his head as he helped the small dragon beside him clear the table. Twilight craned her head and made sure the door swung closed once more before turning back to her friends.

"Are we really sure it's a good idea to be alone with the kid right now?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Fluttershy tilted her head back over towards the door. "Oh come now, Rainbow. He hasn't given any reason to distrust him, so why should we?" She explained to the others, who couldn't help but slightly agree on the matter. What right did they have to judge the teen?

Twilight furrowed her brow. "No, I know. But still . . ." She trailed off slightly before continuing. "I just can't shake that vision I got. I know for a fact it meant something, not to mention I had a dream about it last night." She stated, the others widening their eyes in shock at the news.

"Another one? What did you see?" Applejack asked.

Twilight gave a small shudder, something that didn't go unnoticed by the girls. "I . . I can't really say, but it was definitely freakier than the vision. And IknowDanny is involved somehow. Whether it's good or bad still hasn't presented itself."

"Well, what are we supposed to do, then?" Rarity asked. "If those visions were as horrid as you say, we might need to take necessary precautions. But what if we're wrong? What if we're wrongfully judging a perfectly innocent child?"

Pinkie Pie nodded her head. "Yeah, we didn't see what you did, Twilight. But to us, Danny seems pretty fun!" She said with a smile.

"Yeah, but we've been wrong about ponies before!" Rainbow Dash argued. "I mean, I thought Gilda was cool until she suddenly turned on me. And that girl I met at the Wonderbolt Academy seemed fine until she showed who she really was. And I'm sure none of you have forgotten our little encounter with a certain Starlight Glimmer!"

Everypony visibly tensed at the mention of the mare. It had been a few weeks since they had saved the small village and lost Starlight, but the wounds still held fresh. And what Rainbow Dash said was true: they had been fooled before.

"So . . . what do we do, Twi?" Applejack asked, the others turning towards the princess.

Twilight's face scrunched in thought as she stared down at the floor. Apart from the visions she had seen, the colt seemed to be a normal teen. He was snarky and tense, but was genuinely a good kid-at least from what she had seen. The last thing she wanted to do was make a snap judgement on an innocent kid who hadn't done anything to her. She had already learned not to judge a book by its cover the hard way and she didn't intend on doing it again.

Still . . . she couldn't ignore those visions. They were so . . . dark. So cold. So menacing. And she just knew it had something to do with that colt. And whether she wanted to or not, she instantly focused those dark, cold, menacing feelings and projected them onto the colt himself. She couldn't help but be wary.

Whether those visions were a message or a warning was still unclear, but Twilight knew she couldn't just stand by and do nothing, especially with a possible threat on the rise. If it turned out the colt was dangerous and somepony got hurt because she chose to sit around and do nothing . . . . she wouldn't be able to live with herself.

She sighed and turned towards the others. "Go ahead and spend time with him. Try and get on his good side, see what you can dig up on his past. Maybe if we can figure out more about him we can start to put this puzzle together." She explained. "But make sure to stay on your guard. The last thing we need is to be blindsided." She said firmly before feeling a small twinge of guilt at her coldness. "But . . try to be nice. He's still a kid, after all. And he hasn't done anything."

'Yet.'She murmured to herself.

The others glanced at each other for a moment before nodding their heads in agreement. Twilight glanced at Applejack and then tilted her head towards the kitchen door. The workhorse blinked for a moment before nodding in understanding. After taking a moment to contemplate where she would take the teen, she took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen.

"Hey Danny, ever been to a farm before?"

Applejack cast the teen another sidelong glance before turning to focus on the dirt road ahead of her.This is gonna be a long day . . . .

Oblivious to the inner turmoil within the mare next to him, Danny continued to drag his hooves along the dirt path, fully intent on keeping thislittlevisit quick. Hopefully I find something on Plasmius soon. Then I can get out of here.

"Here we are!" Applejack said with a smile, startling the teen out of his thoughts as the pair climbed over the small cresting hill. Over the peak, a large red farmhouse stood off to the side, a sea of rolling green leaves dotted with red could be seen around it. Danny's eyes widened at the sight.

Then again . . . . can't hurt to scope out the area.

The mare led Danny down the path slowly, the colt drinking in the sight of the land. Dude, this the cleanest farm I've ever seen." He breathed out as he tried to find the goat crap and other animal feces that would litter a normal farm.

"Try telling that to Rarity."

"What was that?"

"Nothin'! L-Let's get you inside!"

Danny blinked in mild surprise as Applejack quickly led him into one of the side barns that seemed to have been converted into a house. "Wow, so you actually live here?" The colt asked, turning towards the mare, who nodded proudly.

"All my life."

Danny chuckled and shook his head. "I could never do that. All the bugs, the smells, the crazy neighbors, the scary stories about past farmers who went crazy and chopped up their families for the hogs, and that one scarecrow in the field that everyone swears isn't staring at you but youtotallyknow it is!"

Applejack blinked for a moment before slowly turning towards the teen. "What kind of freakshow farms have you been around?!"

The teen let out a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of his hoof. "Guess I just read too many stories." He chuckled before a serious face washed over him and he frantically whipped around. "But you don't have a scarecrow, do you?"

The mare chuckled before guiding him into the house.

Entering what could only be assumed to be a living room, Danny gazed around at his surroundings. The room was small, but broke off into different sections and doorframes. The bottom half of the walls were lined with wood panelings that revealed their age based on the faded streaks and scratch marks. To the side stood a long couch beside a small table, different picture frames stacked upon it.

Danny glanced around for a moment longer before turning back to Applejack. "So, is it just you here?"

The mare raised her hoof in a'one-minute' gesture before taking a deep breath.

"COMPANY!"

The feeling of ringing ears was one Danny was not a stranger to, though he couldn't really say he enjoyed it, nonetheless. Still, he found it slightly impressive such a small mare could bellow so loudly it literally made his head hurt.

Not more than a few moments later, the sound of soft hoofsteps could be heard above them. Danny raised his head as he watched a shape appear at the top of the stairs. It was a small cream-yellow filly with bright red hair and a large pink bow tied around her head.

"Ya' know, an intercom system would do wonders for-" The filly started as she lifted her head, fully expecting to see Twilight, Rainbow Dash, or one of her sister's other friends. She was not, however, expecting to see a face she wasn't familiar with.

It was a tall colt, around the same size as Snails from school. He had a pure white coat except for his hooves and ears, which faded to be as black as his hair, making his startling blue eyes stand out even more. On his flank, a white shooting star in a dark night sky could be seen.

"Umm . . . hi?" The filly said, confusion evident in her voice.

"Applebloom, this is Danny. He's staying with Twilight while he's in town." Applejack explained, the filly nodding in understanding as she moved closer to the colt, holding out her hoof in greeting.

Danny stared down at her as he shook her outstretched hoof. "So you're Applejack's sister?" He asked, taking slight notice in the fact that her flank was bare.

Okay . . . Strange World Thing #52: Not everypony in this world has these tattoo things. So what's the deal with these things anyway? It better be gone when I get back home or my mom's gonna kill me.He muttered to himself.

Applebloom nodded proudly and swung her head to the side as she noticed two more ponies enter the room. One was a large red stallion with messy orange hair, and the other was a small older mare with a green coat and white hair. Both instantly took notice of the colt in the room.

"Well, who's this young'un?" The green mare asked as she walked over.

Applejack gently pushed Danny forward. "Granny Smith, Big Mac, this is Danny. He's new in town." She explained.

"Applejack Granny Smith? Big Mac?" He echoed. "Why the heck are you all named after ap-never mind. Apple farm. Apple Family." He muttered, turning back towards the others, who were giving him strange looks. "Just ignore me." He waved them off. "I'm a moron on special occasions."

Applebloom giggled at that as Granny Smith narrowed her eyes, staring at him up and down before rubbing his head, black hair fluffing up underneath her hoof. "A bit scrawny, but nothing a little Apple Family cooking can't fix." She said with a smile.

"Yep." Big Mac said with a smile of his own.

"A little what now?" Danny asked, turning up to Applejack, who was giving him a sly look. He gulped and turned back towards the others, who all mirrored the same face.

"Okay . . . . just gonnavery calmlytry and. . .jump out the window!" He shouted as he whipped around, only for four pairs of hooves to wrap around him and drag him into the kitchen.

Danny groaned as he flopped down on the grass, stomach sloshing as the desire to hurl mounted ever higher. "Alright . . . if that was your go at attempted murder, then props for creativity." He moaned as he tried not to think about the amount of food he had been forced to digest.

Applejack laughed as she patted the colt on the head, knowing she had to get back to work.

The colt scrunched up his nose in annoyance. "Oh, you think that's funny? Well, two can play at that game!" He shouted out as the mare began to place baskets around the bottoms of the trees, rolling her eyes at his shouts.

"Oh really?" She called.

"Yep! You know what's worse than farming?"

A scoff floated into the air. "What's that?"

"Farm puns!"

The mare froze and whipped back around, eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't. . . "

A sly grin spread onto Danny's face. "Wouldn't I?" He asked before rising to his feet. "Why did the scarecrow win the Nobel Prize?!" He shouted, not bothering to wait for an answer."Because he was outstanding in his field!"

"Don't you dare!"

"What day to potatoes hate the most?"

"Fry-day!"

"Stop it!"

"What farm animal keeps the best time?!"

"A watch dog!"

"Ugg!"

"What is a scarecrow's favorite fruit?!"

"STRAW-BERRIES!"

"You're going the right way for a smack upside the head!"

"What kind of pig knows karate?!"

"PORK CHOPS!"

"That's not even clever!"

"WHO TELLS CHICKEN JOKES?!"

"COMEDIHENS!"

"Alright! Alright! I give! I give! You win!" The mare screamed, hooves to her ears as she crouched down onto the grass, eyes squeezed tightly as she prayed for either the jokes to end or for her head to explode.

Danny chuckled and walked over, a smug smile on his face. "Never mess with me, Applejack. I am the Pun Master and Iwillmake you suffer." He said menacingly as the mare rose up to her hooves once more.

"Yeah, yeah, alright. Now I really gotta get to work." She muttered, moving back over to the trees as Danny took a seat on the grass once more, watching with curiosity as the mare turned away from the tree and lifted her back hooves. Slamming her back legs into the tree's trunk, a large pulse shot up the structure before apples began to rain from the leaves.

She smiled in content before turning towards the next tree, but not before she caught sight of Danny's confused face.

"What? Never seen a pony buck apples before?" She joked, only to pause as she noticed the slight blush that faded onto the colt's white cheeks as he raised his shoulders slightly and turned away.

"Oh . . .well . . . come over here. I'll show ya'."

Danny blinked for a moment before complying, walking over to the next tree that Applejack had lined up. "Well, we could always climb up and pick the apples one by one, but that would take most of the day for only a couple trees." She explained. "So we decided to buck them."

She lifted her back hooves and slammed them into the tree's trunk, the apples falling down into the baskets below once more. "That way, we get all the apples down at once." She explained.

Danny nodded in understanding before turning to glance at all the trees that still needed to be bucked. "How come you're doing it all by yourself?"

The mare shrugged. "The others all have different chores today so it's just me right now." She explained, moving over to the next tree. As she readied to buck the trunk, she glanced down and blinked in surprise at the colt that was now right at her side.

"Want some help?"

The mare stared at him for a moment longer before chuckling. "Sure, if ya' want to." She said, opening her mouth to instruct him to move some of the baskets away from the bucked trees, only to pause as he instead moved over to one of the un-bucked trees.

She couldn't help the smile that spread onto her face. As much as she loved farming, she knew it wasn't everyone's cup of oats, especially the colt who had made it apparently clear farming wasn't his lifestyle. Yet here he was, a colt she had met only a day ago, offering to help with some hard duties.

A chuckle made its way out of her throat as she watched the colt position himself against the tree. Though she made it look easy, apple bucking was not an easy task for a pony to do, let alone a child.

With this in mind, she never expected for the apples to rain as the colt bucked his back legs against the tree, the wood splintering slightly underneath the hooves. Her mouth dropped at the sight of the apples dropping as the unphased colt moved onto the next tree. The first time she had bucked a tree, her legs had been so sore she had barely been able to walk back to the house, let alone continue bucking. Yet, Danny barely seemed to be phased by the endeavor as he bucked another tree.

Applejack's mouth slowly closed back up as her smile returned.

Well he's not exactly normal . . . . but can't say he's not a sweet kid.She thought to herself.

"Hey, Applejack!" Danny called, catching the attention of the mare once more.

"Yeah!"

"What kind of things do farmers talk about when they're milking cows?"

" . . . . Well, I've never thought about it but I guess ya' can talk about anything ya' want-"

"UDDER NONSENSE!"

"DANG IT, DANNY!"

The lighttinklingsound of the bell overhead floated into Danny's ears as the pair walked through the door. The cylindrical room was large with different pedestals placed around. Atop each one, a different outfit was displayed on a pony-shaped mannequin.

Of course . . .The teen muttered to himself as Applejack led him into the boutique.

Farther into the workshop, the two noticed Rarity working along the back wall, face scrunched in concentration as she finished sewing together two pieces of silk. Blinking in satisfaction, she turned around with a smile as she noticed the two newcomers.

"Oh, Applejack, Danny. So wonderful to see you two." The mare said with a smile as she walked over. "Danny, why don't you head on into the next room. I'll be there in a moment." Rarity said, motioning towards the door on the back wall. The teen glanced at the two mares, quickly realizing they wanted a moment alone.

Probably to talk about me.He silently mused, slightly annoyed. Nevertheless, he moved towards the door as instructed and left the two mares in piece.

As soon as the last trace of a black tail disappeared, Rarity turned back to face Applejack. "So, how was it?" She asked, ready for whatever the mare's answer could be. Applejack merely shrugged her shoulders. "Like how you'd expect. He was a little hesitant about the wholefarmidea-"

"Who isn't?" Rarity muttered, blinking back into reality as Applejack threw her a glare, to which she responded with an apologetic smile.

"-anyways . . . after he got used to it all, he was fine with it all. He even offered to help me with some of my chores." She explained, Rarity tilting her head in slight confusion. Evenshewas reluctant to work on her friend's farm, let alone a colt they had met a day ago. "Well . . . . alright. If you say it's fine."

Applejack nodded. "He is." She smiled, turning back towards the door, only to freeze. "Oh and I should warn you, he can get a little . . .pun crazyat times, so watch out for that. It's a killer." She smirked. Rarity smiled, closing the door behind the mare as she walked out.

Rarity glanced back at the open doorway in which the teen had disappeared before taking a deep breath. Upon first meeting, the colt had seemed a little odd, what with the way he fidgeted and tensed, not to mention the bandages and whatnot. And Twilight's vision certainly did not help matters. But . . . there was something about the teen that made her hold her judgment. Something that made her remind herself that he was still just a kid.

But that didn't mean she was going to drop her guard. She was generous, not stupid.

Walking into the next room, she found Danny over by the shelf of fabrics, staring in boredom at the different colors. The mare frowned slightly as she began to think through her plan with the boy once more. She had originally been going to show him around the boutique and explain her usual routine for creating new clothes and attires.

Yet . . . thinking back on it, maybe bringing the teen to a place where sewing kits and dresses were the norm wasn't really the best idea, which the teen quickly made obvious.

"So . . . let me just try and walk through your thought process here." The teen started as he turned towards the mare. "Fifteen-year-old kid . . ." He raised one hoof. "Dress boutique . . . ." He held up the other hoof. " . . . . . Well I've never seen a more perfect pair in all my life." He smirked.

Rarity couldn't help the smile that grew upon her face as she rolled her eyes. "Oh come now. It's not as bad as you make it out to be. And itdefinitelycan't be any worse than being stuck on a farm."

Danny shrugged. "That's true. At least here, I won't start off white and then become orange after 45 minutes." He muttered, shaking his back hoof lazily, watching a small cloud of dust float from his hoof to the floor. Rarity shuddered in disgust at the thought of so much dirt before moving over to her sewing station, Danny slowly trailing behind her.

"So. . . you like the town tailor, or something?"

Rarity scrunched up her face at that. "Well, I would hardly call it that. I mean, yes, Idofix up holes and tears sometimes, but that's not all. I'm responsible for creating and designing new pieces of trend-setting clothes for ponies to where. And not just here, I also have boutiques in Manehatten and Canterlot that I have to deal with and design for. It's actually a very demanding process, especially when you have to create more than twenty sets of each piece of clothing I make for high demand."

Danny couldn't help the look of surprise that fell onto his face. "Seriously? God, that sounds awful." He confessed.

Rarity let out a laugh. "Oh, maybe for you. But It's what I live for!" She exclaimed happily.

The teen stared at her for a moment before a small smile fell onto his face. Rarity caught the look and gave a small smile of her own. She suddenly glanced to the side and frowned as she noticed the pile of clothes to her right. "Hmph . . . I should have had those new pieces folded by now, I've just been caught up in this little project." She sighed, glancing down at the long strip of blue fabric that was still pressed against the bottom of her sewing machine.

Danny glanced over at the clothes before shrugging his shoulders. "You want some help?"

Rarity blinked for a moment before turning her head towards the teen. "Umm . . . of- of course. I would greatly appreciate it." She finally uttered out, watching as Danny moved over to the pile of clothes. Strange. She wouldn't have pegged the teen for someone willing to involve himself in something he had already made clear he wasn't interested in. Perhaps she could ask Applejack on it later.

Nevertheless, she turned back to the long stretch of fabric pinned by her sewing point and turned on the machine once more, diving back into her work. As her hooves flowed along the fabric, smoothing out any wrinkles as it inched itself through the machine, she couldn't help but steal glanced towards Danny.

Instead of the bored, regretful look she would expect on a fifteen-year-old boy trapped in a dress boutique, he looked dutiful, as if he was really striving to do a good job. And judging from the tight corners and smooth fabric on the clothes he folded, it was working.

Rarity gave a small smile as she turned off the sewing machine and began to inspect the blue fabric closely. "You know, you're pretty good at that."

Danny gave a small smirk of his own as he continued to carefully fold and stack up the clothes next to him. "Yep, it's a hidden talent of mine. My parents are so proud. The colleges are justlining up." He grinned.

Rarity felt a small hint of surprise bloom in her as she felt a giggle leave her lips at the teen's wittiness.

"Besides, I've gotten a lot of practice in this department. I usually help my sister with the laundry anyways."

That peeked interest as Rarity lifted her head.

"So you have a sister?"

Danny nodded. "Yep, two years older, two times smarter, two times as annoying."

Rarity felt a smile form on her face, which dimmed slightly as she remembered what Twilight's instructions had been.

"So . . . tell me a bit about your family."

Danny felt his movements slow slightly at the question, a growing silence beginning to fill the air as he felt the smirk on his face instantly fall.Right, of course. How could I forget what this really is?He thought to himself. Just poke and prod at the new kid for answers. Then again, he couldn't feel too bad about it, considering their suspicions were correct. After all, he couldn't exactly call himselfnormal. Still . . .

That didn't give them a right to judge him. At least . . . . notyet.

Rarity bit the inside of her cheek and glanced nervously at her surroundings, aware of the awkward silence that was continuously growing around the pair.Perhaps this wasn't the best idea. . . She mused to herself. Suddenly, she watched Danny continue to fold the clothes, not bothering to raise his head or look away from his work as he finally answered.

"There's not much to tell. I live with my mom, dad and sister. No pets, cranky neighbors, average life."

Once again, not atotallie. Then again, that neighbor bit was true. But who wouldn't get a little peeved when your neighbors are constantly blowing things up in their basement and blocking all the sun from your yard with an Ops Center you're absolutely sure isn't up to Building Code.

"Any friends?" Rarity asked, realizing the teen was beginning to get a little annoyed, if only by the slight strain in his voice. Still, she couldn't ignore her instructions.

"Two."

"That's all?" She asked, watching as Danny's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Don't really need any more." He almost growled.

"Alright then . . . well how about your parents? What do they d-"

"What does this even matter to you anyway?! I'm here! They're not! Can we just drop it?!" He shouted angrily, turning a glare towards Rarity. The mare blinked in shock as she reeled back slightly at the teen's sudden outburst.

Danny took a deep breath and placed a hoof to his head, brushing the black bangs out of his face. "Sorry . . . guess I'm just a little more stressed than I thought. I-I didn't mean to . . um-"

"It's alright." Rarity soothed. "I probably shouldn't have brought it up anyways." She realized, turning back down towards the piece of cloth at her hooves. Danny let out a small sigh before dropping the matter and turning back towards the smaller pile of clothes in front of him.

Actually, the outburst had surprised the teen slightly as well. Though he knew their questionswerebeginning to get on his bad side, he hadn't expected to get so angry at the mention of his parents. His mind drifted back to the dream he had suffered through last night. It was a dream he had been having often lately.

He tried not to think too much of it, listing it off as sleep deprivation and empty fears, but lately he couldn't help but wonder if there was more to it than he thought. Maybe he was more afraid than he thought. Maybe he was more afraid of hisparentsthan he thought. But he simplify shook away the thought, as he now did often. It was stupid to be afraid. It's not like they would actually hurt him . . . . .right?

He didn't have time to answer his question when the back door suddenly swung open and three new figures rushed into the room. One he instantly recognized as Applebloom, but the other two were mysteries to him. One was an orange filly with dark purple hair and lighter matching eyes. The other was white with pink and purple swirled hair, reminding him of Rarity.

"Hey, Rarity." Applebloom called, a small smile appearing on her face as she took notice of the colt standing across the room beside the white mare. Motioning for the two other fillies to follow, she walked over. "Hey girls, this is Danny, the colt I was telling ya'll about." She explained. "He's staying with Twilight at the castle."

"Wow, really?" The orange filly asked. "How come?"

Danny gave a shrug of the shoulders. "Probably cause she's real suspicious of me, so she sent her friends to babysit to make sure I don't do anything like step on a crack or litter or whatever." He muttered, Rarity visibly wincing off to the side.

The fillies shared confused glances with each other before Danny shook his head. "Sorry, not important. So who are you guys anyway?"

That seemed to be enough to snap Applebloom back into reality as she motioned over to her friends. "Oh, well this is Sweetie Belle and this is Scootaloo." She said, pointing to each respective filly as their name was called. Sweetie Belle nodded. "Yep, we actually came to borrow some materials for the clubhouse." She explained, running over to the fabric shelf, levitating a few swabs of clothing, yarn and needles into the air.

"Thanks sis!" She called as she raced out of the rooms with her friends before the mare could even blink, let alone stop her. Rarity huffed and began to mutter underneath her breath as she turned back towards the cloth underneath her hooves. Danny chuckled at the scene before turning back to the clothes in front of him.

Suddenly, a loud squeal of delight ran out into the air, making Danny jump in surprise. Raising his head, he watched Rarity stare at the finished blue cloth with a large smile before raising her head to stare at Danny. The teen gulped at the look on her face before feeling his body begin to tingle, a light blue hue wrapping around him before tugging him forward.

His hooves scraped along the floor before he came to a stop right in front of the mare, the magic around him dissipating, leaving his body shivering slightly. Before he could voice his displeasure at being yanked around like a ragdoll, he felt something be draped around his neck and shoulders.

Glancing down, he realized the blue cloth the mare had been working on had turned out to be a light blue scarf that matched the color of his bright blue eyes. "Ooo! You look absolutely adorable!" Rarity squealed out, pressing her hooves against her cheeks. Danny couldn't help the smile that spread onto his face as he watched the mare's face light up.

"Rarity, this looks great!" He said happily, the mare beaming next to him. "Well it's not everyday I get to work with a color pallet as unique as yours." She explained, straightening out the scarf on his shoulders.

"And it works even better now that the pegasi are finally beginning to bring in those colder wind fronts. we'll have snow sooner than you think" She said with a smile. Danny smirked at that. "Well that's good cause I just so happen to have left my winter clothes back home, and something tells me it might be a little difficult getting them back." He chuckled, considering nopony else knew the extent of his statement.

Suddenly, Rarity's face lit up at the teen's words. "Really? You have no winter attire?" She asked with a knowing smirk. Danny felt his ears flatten as he began to slowly scoot backwards. "Well that's not entirely...I mean I'm sure I can...heh...wanna heresome...puns?"

"I will hear none of it! Come!" She screamed, levitating the wide-eyed teen into the air, trailing behind her. "There's so much to do!"

"Ugg...me and my big mouth."

Danny felt the shiver run up his spine, roughly shaking his head as he tried to blink the last hour out of his mind.Ugg . . so many sewing needles. He shuddered. Still, the light autumn breeze that was currently sweeping through the air helped to calm him down. Even though the boutique hadn't been the mostwonderfulexperience, he couldn't say he didn't have fun.

All in all, he actually enjoyed hanging out with Rarity, Applejack as well. Minus the intrusive questions, the mares were nice, and they were genuinely interested in him. He couldn't say it didn't feel good to have people enjoy your company. Back home, it was normally just him, Tucker and Sam, Jazz tagging along occasionally.

He narrowed his eyes and shook the thoughts out of his head.Focus, Fenton. He muttered to himself.You have a job to do. This is nothing more than a distraction. A distraction which is definitely not worth your time. He reminded himself, thinking back to the questions the girls couldn't help but ask.

"What are they trying to figure out, anyways?" He asked himself.Why were they so suspicious?He thought back to their first meeting. Nothing had really stood out as noteworthy, other than the strange interaction with Twilight at the beginning and-

His thoughts slowly wound to a stop as he remembered their first meeting.

Was that it? Was that why they were all acting so weird? Why they wanted him out of the room whenever they would have their"secret" meetingsthat weren't very secret? Why they were asking all those question?

What had Twilight seen?

He didn't have anymore time to ponder said question before the large building he was heading towards loomed in front of him. The sight made him to a double take before letting out a large sigh. "This place just keeps getting weirder and weirder..." He grumbled.

In front of him stood a large house-like building that seemed to be made entirely out of sweets. The roof was a dark brown mocha color with white frosting trim. the cream-colored walls stretched up into a second story with a bubbly pink roof that resembled a certain party-pony's mane.

"Fine, but if I see a witch baking in the oven, I'msooutof here." Danny muttered to himself before pushing the front door open and stepping inside. Instantly, an overwhelming wave of flour, sugar and frosting hit his nose he was certain he got at least two cavities by just walking in.

Wiping away the tears from his watering eyes, the teen glanced around the room and realized it was a store with a display window and counter. Yet the space behind said counter was empty. "Hello?" He called out, gazing around the store in search of the pink pony, yet saw no sign of her.

"Hmm. . . ." He murmured to himself before noticing the door behind the counter. Taking one last glance around the room, he hesitantly walked over and pushed the door open.

"INCOMING!"

Danny let out a yelp as a large sticky glob slammed into his face, knocking him backwards onto the floor. A groan floated up into the air as the teen lay motionless on the cold tile floor. Blinking open his eyes, he felt something heavy and sticky clinging to his face, dripping down onto his shoulders before finally drooping towards the floor.

Smacking his lips as he tried to decipher the taste of the strange substance that had landed on his face, some partially dropping into his mouth, he could barely suppress the urge to sigh as he realized it was cake batter. Wiping off some batter from his cheek, he popped the small collected glob into his mouth before rising to his hooves.

"Sorry about that!" Pinkie Pie shouted as she continued to violently mix whatever was in the bowl on the counter.

But Danny failed to hear her as he finally got a good look at the room around him. Along the walls were high counters filled to the brim with different bowls and mixers, all containing different colored substances, some oozing down onto the floor. In the center of the room stood a large island covered with large bowls and small tools, including measuring cups, whisks and various glasses.

But to tell the truth, it was hard to tell what anything was in the room considering almost everything wascoveredin cake batter.

Danny couldn't help the snicker that fell out of his mouth as he gazed around the room before wiping off the rest of the batter from his face, flicking it down to the already dirty floor. "What the heck are you doing, Pinkie?" He laughed out.

"Baking cupcakes!" She happily cheered.

Danny's eyes widened as he gazed around at the messy room once more, unconvinced the entire mess was from baking one batch of cupcakes alone. "All of this is from a single batch of cupcakes?!" He asked incredulously.

Yet Pinkie merely shook her head with a roll of her eyes, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Of course not, silly! I've also made some cakes, pies, muffins, danishes, cinnamon rolls,churros, bear claws, cannolis, croissants, cream puffs and eclairs!" She said with a large grin, before adding offhandedly, "Cupcakes were just next on the list. And today we're trying out a special batch of Cheesy Peanut Butter Cinnamon Surprise!"

Danny quickly did a double take as he blinked away his shock. "Oh boy, who in their right mind could resist that?" He muttered sarcastically. Yet that'muttered sarcastically'part flew right over the party pony's head as eh leaned closer. "I KNOW RIGHT?!"

He watched with a smile on his face as the oblivious mare continued to mix whatever was in the bowl. Hey, as long as the food wasn't growling at him, it was good enough in his book-and still better than his mom's.

Suddenly, Pinkie's head shot up once more as a brilliant idea popped into her mind. "Hey! Wanna help?" She asked. Danny scrunched his face before turning back to her. "Oh . . . I don't know. I'm not much of a baker. Besides, I wouldn't want to ruin thatdeliciousrecipe you're workin' on over there." He added with a smirk.

Pinkie Pie-once again, none the wiser-merely shook him off. "Oh don't worry. We're not selling this batch. We're handing them out as free samples. That way everyone can enjoy them!" She added with a large grin, never noticing Danny's less-than-thrilled face at the news.Great, now instead of paying for their diarrhea, they can get it for free.

Nevertheless, the teen quickly moved over next to Pinkie Pie, handing her the next ingredient from the open book in front of her on how to make Cheesy Peanut Butter Cinnamon Cupcakes. How the recipe even existed was still a mystery to the teen but when you're in a world of talking rainbow ponies, you learn to roll with things.

Danny couldn't help but smile as he began to work with the pink pony, who was currently humming a small tune as she added in a couple spoons of cinnamon to the bowl. She was just so . . . .happy.Danny couldn't quite understand it. Then again, maybe it was just this world, which seemed to literally be the cure for depression.

Yet the teen knew there had to be more to this world than what could be seen on the surface, if only by the way the girls were acting so weird around him. Obviously they had been in similar situations before and made thewrongdecision, so he couldn'treallyblame them.

Still, he wished he could at least show them he wasn't any threat to them. He wished he could explain why he was really here. He wished he could confess tosomeone. Yet that pang of fear that shot through his heart resurfaced as he thought about confessing, making his throat close and his mouth snap shut.

He couldn't. He couldn't confirm those suspicions. He couldn't turn this place into another Amity.

"You okay over there?"

Danny jumped as he was violently pulled from his thoughts, whipping around to face Pinkie. "You've been awful quiet, which is kind of strange considering I'malwaystalking! I mean, what's better than sharing all of you thoughts and ideas to the ponies you are closest to. I mean isn't that a true measure of-" She rambled, only for Danny to place a hoof to her mouth, realizing it could go on forever.

"Uhh . . . . listen-" He started, mind wrapping around the confusing thought he had conjured up moments ago. "Aren't you gonna ask me any questions?" He finally choked out, flattening his ears slightly as he waited for her answer.

Pinkie's eyes widened as she threw his hoof away from her mouth. "Oh, sorry! I completely forgot!" She exclaimed, Danny letting out a small sigh.

"So . . . what's your favorite food?"

The teen placed a hoof against his cheek as he opened his mouth to retort an answer, only to clamp it shut in confusion as the words rang in his ears. "I- . . .what?" He muttered, turning back towards the mare.

"What's your favorite food?"

Danny blinked in shock for a moment before turning around towards the mare once more. "I-wait, wait, wait! A-aren't you gonna ask . . . ask any questions about . . . about my life? You know . . . for information on me? Like . . . like your friends did?" He finally uttered out, confused as to why the mare wasn't trying to peer into his life like the others.

Pinkie Pie shrugged her shoulders. "Nope. Not really."

The teen shook his head in disbelief at the mare's care-free attitude. "Why?"He asked incredulously.

Pinkie smiled at him. "Cause we're friends." She said without hesitation. "And I trust you." With that, she went right back to mixing whatever was in her bowl, leaving a dumbfounded colt staring wide-eyed at her. For some reason, her words just wouldn't click in his mind correctly.

He realized the other mare already considered him a friend, at least, that's what they said last night, but . . . . but something about it just wouldn't click in the teen's mind. Especially considering they were still trying to figure him out. Still trying to decipher whether he was a threat or not.

Whatever that Twilight girl had seen in her vision, it was obviously not showing him in the best light, if it even showed him at all. Still, it was obvious she still didn't trust him completely, despite what she said. Which was probably why she asked her friends to hang out with him today. though of course, it could be because theywantedto hang out with him, at least, that's what he hoped was really the case.

Yet something in the back of his mind told him that wasn't really the case. Something told him they weren't just doing this cause they wanted to. They were suspicious. They were suspicious ofhim.

The thought made a sigh build up in his chest, reminding him of home and the feelings that would always surface there.Maybe this really is another waste of time. Maybe i should just get out of here now. I mean, it's obvious they don't really care about me. Idiot, of course they don't. You're just some random kid they met yesterday, who, for all they know, is planning something dangerous. Or at least, enjoys giving ponies terrifying visions!

The thoughts in his head made sense. They madetotalsense. Yet . . . . yet there was something about Pinkie's words, Rarity's offers, Applejack's smiles. Something about them made him falter in his thoughts of ditching them, of wondering whether the girls were fake. No, no you couldn't fake what he saw. Those were real. Her smiles, her offers, her words. They were real, which meant the girls were too.

Finally, the teen grew a small smile as he turned back towards Pinkie. "Spaghetti. I'm pretty into spaghetti." He confessed, Pinkie throwing a smile of her own at him.

Suddenly, the sound of a chiming bell filled their ears as well as the sound of a closing door. Pinkie Pie poked her head through the door and noticed Fluttershy standing by the counter, a small white bunny poking out of her mane. The mare waved at her friend before motioning for her to join them in the kitchen.

Fluttershy followed her through the door and gasped at the sight of the kitchen, which now had dough, flour water and broken eggs splattered all around. "Whoa! Did a food hurricane blow through here?" She asked.

Danny shrugged his shoulders. "Just baking some cupcakes." He glanced around at the room. "Besides, I think this would probably classify as a food tornado anyways." He chuckled, Pinkie Pie bouncing over. "Yep, Danny's helping me bake some new Cheesy Peanut Butter Cinnamon Surprise."

Either Fluttershy had lots of practice in hiding her gag reflex from her pink friend, or she was insane and had a really strong stomach because she gave a smile and said, "Sounds wonderful, Pinkie. You'll have to let me try some when they're ready."

"Okay, but I suggest making sure yourwillis up to date." Danny muttered to her under his breath.

Fluttershy bopped the teen lightly on the head with her wing as she laughed softly, Danny grinning next to her. Suddenly, he noticed her mane twitching slightly. "Uhh . . ." He moaned, pointing up at the mare's hair, wondering if she knew about the-white bunny that popped out of her hair.

She seemed to notice his confusion and smiled up at the creature on her head. "Oh Danny, I almost forgot. This is my pet bunny, Angel. Angel this is Danny, the friend we met yesterday." She explained to the rabbit as it hopped onto the counter next to him.

The creature's face scrunched as it stared at the teen, and if Danny didn't know any better, he would say the bunny was . . . .annoyed?He shrugged and scratched the bunny under the chin, watching as he instantly dropped the look and began to beat his foot repeatedly on the counter before leaping up onto Danny's head, pushing his black hair down into his eyes.

Fluttershy felt a giggle leave her lips as she watched the encounter. "I think he likes you."

Danny grunted as the bunny burrowed further into his hair before turning a pleading look towards the mare. "Okay . . . how do you get this thing off of you?" He asked. Fluttershy smiled before giving the bunny a small call. Angel glanced up before reluctantly returning to the mare's side.

Instantly afterwards, a small ding sounded, followed by a loud shriek of delight, Pinkie Pie zooming back into the room, a small trail of smoke following at her hooves.

"THE CUPCAKES ARE DONE!"

Another plume of smoke rose into the air as the mare zipped back into the kitchen. Danny glanced over at Fluttershy, who gave a small shake of her head. "You get used to it." She explained, Danny nodding in understanding.

Suddenly, a final plume of smoke rose into the air as the mare sprinted back into the room, holding three newly frosted orange cupcakes. "Here, here, here! I want you guys to try it first!" She exclaimed happily, pushing the pastries into her friend's hooves.

Fluttershy and Danny each passed each other terrified glances, unaware they would have toeatthe cupcakes, with the mare in front of them, nonetheless.

Crap.

"Go on!I want to see your reactions!" Pinkie chirped happily.

The two ponies let out deep sighs before reaching to their sides, pulling large trash cans next to them in preparation as they each took deep breaths and but down on the cupcakes.

"B-BLLAAARRRGGGGHHHHH"

" . . . . . "

"So . . . what do you think?"

Chapter 5: Phantom and Friends Part ll

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Chapter 5: Phantom and Friends Part ll

Over the years, Danny had grown accustom to stealing glances at the sky in search of enemies. It had saved him from many painful sneak attacks on multiple occasions. And while checking the skies for a certain "friend" was . . . . different, Danny was still uncertain whether it was a good different or a bad different.

Sure, if Rainbow Dash was going toactuallytry to get to know him forhim,and not by what Twilight told her, then sure, things were going to be okay. Yet somehow, Danny figured this would not be the case. No, most likely, the mare would be just as suspicious as the other girls, if not even more so.

Danny let out a sigh as he continued to walk through the grass, the short green blades licking up against his hooves as he slowly trudged up the small hill where he wassupposedto meet up with Rainbow Dash. Keyword:supposed.Still, he was almost glad the mare hadn't shown up yet. It gave him time to ponder everything he had gathered in the past few days, along with what his next move might be.

"Alright, let's start from the beginning." The teen muttered to himself, thankful nopony was around so he could finally have a chance to talk . . . . tohimself. "Equestria: world of magic and the occasional monster; inhabited by magical ponies who can fly and . . .magicat things . . . yeah." He murmured, unsure and uncaring of the proper terminology. "Safe to say this world's already seen a couple dangerous things in its past."

He slowly began to pace back and forth as he finally made it to the top of the small hill. "Okay, doubt Plasmius is around here somewhere or he would have already made himself known as the superior creature . . . .self-centered prick." He grumbled.Wonder if he's having as much trouble as I am . . . .Danny thought to himself, the notion that the man was having just as many problems as him making him feel slightly better.

Another sigh built up in his chest as he thought of his true mission. "Alright, not getting anything done in this town." He realized. "Maybe I should just find the nearest train station and figure it out from there." He wondered aloud. Yet that strange twinge in the back of his mind flared up once more at the thought. After a moment, he was finally able to decipher just what that strange twinge was.

Doubt.

Leaving the town wasn't going to get him anywhere. Not when he had no clue where to go, or where to look. After all, he might just put more distance between Plasmius and himself, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. No, as much as he might come to regret it later, staying in Ponyville was his best option right now.

Yet underneath that layer of doubt, Danny could feel something else. Something settling into the pit of his stomach. Something that made him ache all over as his chest seized up. "No." HE muttered to himself. "No way!" He growled out as he began to realize just what that feeling really was. "There's no way . . .!"

He narrowed his eyes angrily as he glared down at the ground. Those girls meant nothing to him. Nothing! They were merely a distraction - - a distraction to his real goal. Sure they were nice and all, but he couldn't be wasting his time with them. Besides, they didn't even like him. They were finally beginning to make that clear. Yet . . . .

Yet, was that the truth . . . . . . . or just something Danny told himself was true to make it easier?

He had the right to say theyweren'this friends. After all, they continued to wrap him up in a game of lies and suspicions all because of a vision that wasn't even true . . . at least, he didn'tthinkit was true. But . . . . maybe they weren't wrong. What if that vision . . . . . what if it revealed something about him? Something he had promised himself he would never share in this new world?

He shuddered at the thought of that possibility being true. Yet, if it was . . . then he couldn't truly be mad at them, could he? Danny lowered his gaze and sat down on the grass, staring down at his hooves. "They're scared." He finally realized. "Scared of . . . . .of me."

He shut his eyes and felt his ears droop slightly as the feeling bubbling inside his chest finally came to the surface. There was another reason he didn't want to leave Ponyville. He didn't want to leave his friends. He almost chuckled at the word.Friends?He could count the number ofrealfriends he had ever made onone hand,and still have three fingers to spare. Safe to say, the concept of friends was alittlenew to him.

Yet, when he thought back to Applejack's family force-feeding him delicious treats they had made just for him, Rarity slaving away at creating an entire new wardrobe, just so he wouldn't be cold, Pinkie Pie taking time to help him learn how to bake, Fluttershy introducing him to her pet - - and helping hold his hair back as he threw up into the trashcan, he couldn't help but smile. They had done it all forhim.Thathadto meansomething!

. . . .right?

Sure they were cautious of him now, but that didn't mean he couldn't convince them otherwise, right? He glanced off in thought. Maybe if he could convince Twilight that they could trust him, the others would as well. After all, they listened to her about the suspicion thing, why not this?

Yet as he thought over what he could say to the mare, he couldn't help but feel a small twinge of resentment built up in his chest. Why should he have to proveanythingto them? He hadn't even done anything! Taking a deep breath, Danny stared back up at the empty blue sky.Maybe Twilight will be different. Maybe she won't try the whole interrogation thing.He thought to himself, hoping it would turn out true.

He let out a tired groan as he flopped down onto the grass, silently cursing his existence as to why it had to behimdealing with all this crap. "Plasmius, I swear, as soon as I find you, I'm going to kick your butt all the way back to Amity Park!" He snarled to the empty air. Unfortunately for him, the air didn't stay empty for too long afterwards.

He gasped and stumbled backwards as he suddenly found himself face to face with a steaming Rainbow Dash, the mare glaring down at him angrily. "And justwhois this Plasmius?" She asked, flapping closer, causing Danny to unconsciously take a step backwards. "Uhhh . . ."

"And why exactlyareyou in Ponyville? And I don't want to here it's cause you 'need a change in scenery' or whatever!" She demanded, watching as Danny's face morphed from one of confusion and shock into one of anger and frustration. "Well tough, that's exactly what you're gonna get." He growled out, all his bubbling frustrations threatening to steam over. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the frothing mess back down into the pit of his stomach.

"I'm on to you, kid." Rainbow Dash said, eyes narrowing as she began to stalk closer. "You're not all that you're letting on, I can tell. And I'm not about to be fooled by another 'friend'of mine." She growled out angrily at the colt. "Now I got a couple questions andyoubetter answer them."

Danny merely looked back at her, a set frown on his face as his eyes glared back. "Fine, whatever." He muttered.

Rainbow Dash nodded in acceptance and stepped closer to the teen. "Alright, what's the name of that village of yours?"

"Amity Park." He growled out. "You already know that!"

"I know. I just wanted to make sure you stayed consistent in your answers." The mare huffed out as she folded her hooves across her chest. Danny merely rolled his eyes and glared down at the ground, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from shouting at the mare.She's just scared. She's just scared.He repeated the mantra over again in his head as he held himself down.

"Where do you go to school?"

"Casper High."

"How many friends do you have?"

"Two: Sam Manson and Tucker Foley."

"Just two?"

Danny gave a shrug of his shoulders. "Not much to choose from at school. Most of the other kids are either busy with band practice, glaring at me distastefully as they flip their hair, playing nerd poker in the cafeteria, or beating me up after school after they've yelled in my face." He growled out. "Congrats, you've succeeded in making me feel more at home by filling in that last category." He mumbled, before a small chuckle escaped his lips. "Although the similarities in your names is pretty coincidental, it actually works."

But Rainbow Dash wasn't really listening anymore. As soon as the teen's words had hit her ears, she had instantly clammed up.Beating him up?She said quietly to herself. "Y-you're bullied at school back home?" She finally uttered out.

Danny shrugged his shoulders. "Ehh, they're either shoving me into the lockers, pushing me against the lockers, hanging me from the lockers, and every once in a while they'll dunk me in the trash can, just to mix things up a bit." He explained nonchalantly.

Dash shook her head slightly and blinked in shock before Danny continued. "Of course, I'm kind of Dash's favorite. Though it's probably because I'm the only person who's weaker and/or averagely smaller than him that doesn't run away at the first sight of him." He snorted. Only Rainbow Dash didn't share in his merriment.

"Why don't you run away too? I mean, I know it's not ideal, but at least you wouldn't get beat up all the time."

Danny gave another shrug of his shoulders. "Well if I run away, that only means he'll just go after someone else probably even smaller than me. So as long as he's toughening his knuckles on my face, nobody else is in his path." He explained with a casual tilt of the head.

Rainbow Dash stared at the teen for a moment before turning away, staring hard at the blowing grass around her hooves. She remembered her own experiences of being bullied. Those colts at flight camp had harassed her day after wretched day. Shouted at her, threw things at her, called her names. In fact, though she would never openly admit it, they were the main reason she had left.

She couldn't take it anymore.

Though, she assumed she owed them something. After all, if it hadn't been for their constant berating, she never would have pushed herself day after day, striving to get better, to show them up. To prove that they had been wrong about her. They made her who she was now. And sad to sad, Rainbow Dash was partly ashamed of who she was at the moment.

She stole another glance at Danny, who was staring lazily at the grass as well, rubbing his foreleg absentmindedly. She couldn't help but release a pent-up sigh from her chest. Even though those bullies only made her stronger, she would be lying if she didn't say they had made lifeveryhard for her. And she could only assume Danny was going through the same thing.

She had to admit, when Twilight had explained her visions and had instructed to keep an eye on the teen, Rainbow Dash had been skeptical. She knew what it felt like to be betrayed by someone you assumed was your friend.

It totallysucked.

And it was a feeling she never wanted to feel again. Maybe that was why she was giving the teen such a hard time. Maybe if she never made those deep connections to begin with, then it wouldn't hurt as bad when they betrayed her. Yet, staring down at the small colt, hearing how he sacrificed himself every day just to protect ponies he didn't even know, and who would probably give him up to the bully in a heartbeat . . . . well, someone who was willing to do that couldn't beall bad.

Danny stole a glance up considering nopony had spoken for at least five minutes and found himself scrunching his nose in confusion. Rainbow Dash was staring hard at the ground, seemingly lost in thought. Yet her body language said otherwise. Her shoulders were tense and her posture was rigid. Whatever she was thinking about, it wasn't anything particularly enticing.

Suddenly, the mare stared back up at him, startling him out of his thoughts. "Danny . . .I'm sorry." She finally spoke, making the teen blink in shock at her words. Her tone of voice had drastically changed from a few minutes ago. Instead of sharp and clipped, it was low and melodic. It wassincere.

Before he could respond, the mare continued. "I'm sorry they bully you. I'm sure you don't deserve it. And . . . . andI'msorry for being a bully as well. It's just. . . ." She trailed off slightly before continuing. "It's just I've been tricked by ponies I've considered my friends and- - "

"And let me guess . . . it left a bitter taste in your mouth." Danny finished for her.

The mare shrugged her shoulders before turning back to him with a serious look on her face. "And I've been bullied before, too. I know itsucks!" SHe groaned out. "But itdoesget better. And if those two friends of yours are the real deal, then I'm sure they make it a little easier."

Danny smiled as he gave a nod of his head. "Yeah, those two are the greatest." He said with a small wistful smile before shaking himself out of it. He smirked and waved his hoof around dismissively. "Besides, it's not like I don't punch right back. One time, I stuffed his locker full of pink and purple stuffed bear plushies." He chuckled.

Rainbow Dash chuckled at that. "Well . . . that doesn't soundtoobad . . ."

"Heownedthem."

"Ohhh . . . ."

The pair began to laugh as they both placed hooves to their mouths to stop their giggles. Rainbow Dash cleared her throat before turning a mischievous smirk towards the teen. "Well I showed my bullies up by performing a seemingly impossible stunt at a competition while simultaneously saving Rarity's life." She stated nonchalantly, standing up as she turned the other direction, preparing to leave before a voice called her back.

"Uh, hello? Don't just grab my attention and then walk away, excuse me?!"

The mare smirked.Works every time. "Alright, alright. But sit down. This story's gonna take a while." She instructed as she sat back down on the grass, Danny smirking beside her as he sat down as well.

Danny shrugged his shoulders. "Alright, it's not like I'm going anyw-wait!" He shouted, mockingly glancing down at the nonexistent watch on his hoof. "Aww, sorry. I'm late for hanging out with myothergroup of all-female friends who are keeping me hostage in their town." He shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry." He chuckled, Dash punching him in the shoulder with a large smile on her face.

"Shut up, you dork and listen up. Alright, it all started at the Young Fliers Competition . . . ."

Twilight paced back and forth in front of her friends - - well, her friendsminusRainbow Dash - - hence thepacing. The others glanced at each other in slight worry, though they were pretty much used to their friend's occasional meltdowns. After a small game of rock, rock and bigger rock (what? They all have hooves!), Applejack was chosen to say something (choosing smaller rock isn't the best strategical move)

The chosen mare let out a small sigh before turning towards Twilight, who was oblivious to the others as she became lost in her thoughts. "Uhh . . . Twi?" Applejack called, raising a hoof in front of the mare's face.

Twilight blinked in shock before letting out a small sigh. "I'm sure Rainbow Dash will be here soon." The workhorse assured with a small smile. The friendly gesture sadly did not have its intended effect. If anything, it seemed to set the mare off even more.

Twilight let out a chuckle. "Of course Rainbow Dash will be here soon. Why wouldn't she be here soon? So you think there's a reason as to why she wouldn't be here? Of course you don't. You're the one who assured me." She rambled, her pacing quickly picking up speed. "Okay, so I mean, maybe sending my friends off by themselves with a stranger who may or may not be dangerous may have not been one of my most well-thought-out plans, but still . . . that doesn't mean anything happened." She stuttered out, her words beginning to jumble together slightly. "Right? I'm right, right? Of course I'm right. Why wouldn't I be right? I'm right. Yes, yes I'm right . . . .Why aren't you agreeing?!"

"Dear Celestia, you've awoken the Beast." Rarity muttered, glaring back at Applejack, who raised her hooves in surrender.

"Maybe something happened. Maybe she was kidnapped, or drugged, or sold off to an unknown underground fighting ring! Oh Celestia! They're going to name her The Rain-blow!" She shouted, pulling tightly at her hair.

"An underground figh-WHAT?"Applejack asked, exasperation evident in her voice. "How would Danny even know about an underground fighting ring?!"

"THAT'S JUST IT!" Twilight screeched. "WE DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HIM!"

"I wouldn't sayanything."

The girls turned towards the door as Rainbow Dash strolled in, only to be tackled to the floor by Twilight. "Quick! Where did he inject you?! Where's your tattoo with your fight number?!" She asked, lifting the mare's foreleg as she checked for any unknown marks.

Rainbow Dash twisted her head around to stare at the other girls, who either shrugged their shoulders, shook their heads or twirled their hoof next to their head in the'I'm crazy' fashion. Safe to say, that was enough for Dash to "Ohhh . . ."in understanding.

Helping her friend to her hooves, Twilight stepped back and turned to address everyone in the castle library. "Okay, Dash you were last with him. Any idea when he'll get here?" She asked.

Rainbow Dash shrugged her shoulders. "Probably not for a while. We met up a little ways past town so it'll take a little while for him to get here." She explained, Twilight nodding her head in satisfaction. "Alright, that gives us some time, but not a lot. So let's get down to business." She said, her voice quickly taking on what Pinkie Pie called her"Princess Pitch."

"So, let's talk about Danny."

Dash let out a sigh. "Well, sorry to say Twilight - - actually, no I'm not- -Danny's AWESOME!" She exclaimed, quickly catching the alicorn off guard.

"Wait, what? Really?"

She glanced at the others, who were each nodding their heads in agreement.

"Yes, I d have to say that even though he can be a bit snarky at times, Danny really is a wonderful little colt." Rarity exclaimed. "I was a bit behind on folding and storing some new wardrobes and Danny offered to do them without hesitation." She explained. "I mean, even Sweetie Belle gets bored of helping me from time to time."

Pinkie Pie smiled and hopped closer. "Yep, and he's a pretty good baker! He helped me with my Cheesy Peanut Butter Cinnamon Surprise cupcakes!" She shouted happily, unbeknownst to the way Fluttershy's face became slightly greener than usual.

"Was that as bad as it sounds?" Rarity whispered to the pegasus.

"I'm pretty sure I blacked out for a couple minutes."

"Ohh . . ."

Applejack nodded. "Yeah, he helped me with some chores too. And I have to say, that colt is one mighty strong little feller'!" Applejack exclaimed. "I watched him buck a couple trees and he was able to knock down every apple perfectlyevery...single...time!" She stated. "It was pretty incredible."

Twilight hummed in thought before pulling out a pad and quill from who knows where and began to jot down what everyone was saying.

Yet Applejack's last comment made Rainbow Dash furrow her brow in confusion. "Wait. He's strong?" She asked. "Because when I talked to him, he confessed that he's bullied at school, like all the time!" She shouted, the others deflating slightly in sympathy. Though it'd only been a few hours, they'd grown quite fond of the young colt, at least enough to know he didn't deserve to be bullied. "But he said that bully picks on anyone smaller and weaker than himself. So . . . if he's strong, then why doesn't he stick up for himself?" She asked.

The others grew silent at that, unsure as to why anypony wouldwillinglyallow themselves to be bullied, especially if they could do something to stop it. Still, Twilight continued to listen to the others talk, quickly jotting down whatever she thought would be useful. Yet as she continued to mill through what everyone was saying, she felt a large bubble of confusion begin to blow up in her chest.

I don't understand. According to the girls, Danny's nothing more than an average kid - - scratch that - - an averageteenwith average levels of sarcasm and above average strength. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he's just a normal kid with a couple problems back home and a school with intolerable bullies who decided to run away to get away from his problems and see what the rest of the world is like outside a townofworries.

But Idoknow better.

I know he's not just some average kid. That vision is enough to prove that. No normal pony has enough raw magical energy available that they're able to produce Vision Fields.She told herself. While the other girls had been preoccupying Danny, the mare had been conducting a little research of her own.

After combing through a healthy mound of books, she had finally found out just what had happened to her. Apparently she experienced a Vision Field: a strange magical anomaly that occurs when one powerful magic wielder comes into contact with raw untamed dark magic found only in select creatures - - most of which having been extinct for centuries. The rare process can include moments of blackouts, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, and the most common: visions. Said visions usually include the creature and can extract thoughts and/or feelings and project them in front of the victim's eyes.

Twilight could only infer she suffered from a Vision Field. Yet she still wondered how it could be possible.For a Vision Field to happen, I'd have to come into contact with a creature of Dark Magic, and alotof it. But . . . then how could I experience one of Danny? It . . . it just doesn't make any sense.

Even though the details were still unclear to her, Twilight knew it was smart to be cautious of the teen. Dark Magic had been outlawed from Equestria centuries ago, if only for its corruptible qualities. In other words, it was dangerous, the creatures that could wield it even more so. So, if Danny was suspected of being a wielder, it was enough to put the mare on edge.

Dark Magic is supposed to make ponies hostile, violent, dangerous, deadly. Yet . . . . Danny's the exact opposite of this. At least, that's what they've all been saying.Twilight let out a sigh and sat down, eyes focused on the cold crystal floor beneath her hooves.Guess I'll just have to see it for myself.

"Umm . . .Hello? Twilight?"

Everyone instantly perked as Danny's voice filtered in through the cracked library door. Twilight was instantly on her hooves, whipping her head around towards her friends. "You need to get out of here, now!" She whispered harshly. "Quick! Into the kitchen! Go, go, go, go, go!" She urged, levitating them all off the floor before "gently" throwing them into the kitchen.

"Aarrgghhhh . . . ."

"You're fine!" She half-whispered, half-yelled.

Before she could say anything else, the library doors were hesitantly pushed open, Danny's face peeking through. "Come on in, Danny." Twilight called, motioning him over. As the colt trotted over, Twilight's head whipped around frantically before her eyes landed on a large brown book up on the shelf.

Quickly floating it down, she flipped to a random page and turned back to Danny with a large grin. "Just catching up on some...reading . . . hehe . . ." She chuckled before her eyes actually glanced over the words, realizing it was the book that first mentioned the Elements of Harmony. "Sure . . . why not?' She murmured to herself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing?!" She exclaimed with a bigger than needed smile, gazing nervously at the teen as she chuckled once more.

Danny glanced sideways before turning back to Twilight. "Uhh . . . you seem a little nervous. Is everything alright?" He asked, gazing up at the mare in concern.

Twilight was about to give another louder-than-needed answer followed by an awkward laugh, but the words stuck in her throat as her ears picked up on the sincerity in the teen's voice.He's . . . he's actually concerned.She realized. After a moment, Twilight gave a genuine smile as she gazed down at the colt. "Yeah, yeah, I'm okay." She said before turning back down to the book. "Hey . . . ." She started, remembering something the colt had said earlier in the day.

"You said you don't know much about Equestria outside of your village, right?" She asked, Danny giving a small nod of his head.

Twilight smiled and pushed the book closer. "Well then prepare to learn, kid. I just so happen to be a pretty good teacher when I need to be, and it seems I'm lacking a few students." She said with a knowing smirk. Danny couldn't help the snort building up at the mare's cheesy grin. "Why don't you just teach your friends a couple things?"

Twilight shrugged and waved her hoof dismissively. "Ahh, they're not the best students. Last time I tried to teach them about stars and astrological events they tied me up and locked me in the pantry. Apparently I was becoming 'unbearably annoying'" She quoted with her hooves, rolling her eyes. "Still don't knowwhatthey were talking about." She muttered.

Suddenly, a stray can of beans flew out from the kitchen and slammed into Twilight's head, the mare letting out a shocked yell before flopping onto the ground. Danny gave her a quizzical look before turning the gaze towards the kitchen. "What the heck was that?!"

Twilight threw him a small nervous smile. "Oh, my kitchen cabinets are a bit wonky. Sometimes they just . . . spew random cans out." She explained before turning a dangerous glare in the kitchen' s direction. "I'll have tofixthat later." She said menacingly only to yelp and duck underneath a second can that shot out of the kitchen.

Danny had to stifle his laughs behind his hoof before clearing his throat. "Well, I happen to love space, so you're open to teach me whatever you want on it. Although I do have to warn you, I might end up teaching you on the subject." He smirked, Twilight growing a smile of her own.

"Oh, really?" She challenged, a large smirk taking over her usual smile, Danny turning a smug look her way as well.

"Try me."

Twilight quickly stood to her hooves, Danny quickly doing the same as the pair stood off against each other. Though Twilightdidhave to suppress a sigh as a stray tumbleweed blew across their path, Danny staring at it with a look of bewilderment that only came from a newbie to their friendship circle. "What in the . . ." He murmured

Oh, Pinkie . . .Twilight internally sighed.Where the heck did she even get that?!

Nevertheless, the mare turned back to Danny with narrowed eyes before releasing the first shot.

"Did you know that on Venus, a day is longer than a year here?"

"Pshh . . . . of course." Danny scoffed before countering with his own attack.

"Did you know neutron stars can spin at a rate of 600 rotations per second?"

"Duh!" Twilight remarked with a roll of her eyes. "Did you know that if a star passes too close to a black hole, it can be torn apart."

"Please! Did you know Venus is the only planet to spin backwards."

"Come on, babies could figure that out!" Twilight quipped. "Did you know that there are more volcanoes- -"

"- - on Venus than on any other planet!"They both shouted simultaneously, each staring the other down before they both began to crack up for a moment, they both regained control of their breathing as they wiped the tears from their eyes. "Well, it seems I've been matched." Twilight smirked. "Geez, if you know that manyrandomfacts about space, then your grades must be off the charts."

Danny rolled his eyes. "If by off the chart, you mean so low they don't even fit on the chart, then you're right." He muttered, Twilight cocking her head in surprise. "Really?" She asked, confused as to how the teen could retain so much knowledge about astronomy, but not much else.

Danny seemed to sense this and gave a shrug of his shoulders. "Hey, when they start incorporating random astronomy questions to the Calculus curriculum, then I'll crush it, but until then a C-average is my best bet." He explained.

Twilight furrowed her brow in thought for a moment, quickly trying to decipher whether her next thought might have any consequences, but finally decided to take a chance. "Well . . . if you ever need any help with anything, you can always ask me. I'm notjustgood at astronomy." She quipped with a small smirk.

Danny blinked in surprise before lifting his head. "Really? You'd do that?" He asked hopefully, watching as the mare nodded her head once more. "Yep, in fact, I'm sure I have some math textbooks in here somewhere, and probably some science as well." She said absentmindedly, gazing around the library as she tried to locate said books.

Danny couldn't help the snort that filtered out of his mouth. "Causewho doesn'tjust keep random math textbooks in their house years after they've completed school?"

"I know, right?!"

The teen chuckled as the mare continued to search for the books before turning back to the open brown book she had set up for him already. Normally, he wouldn't be one for reading, but . . . . this one had pictures. And a lot of them.

Good enough for me.The teen thought to himself as he began to flip through the pages.

Twilight stole another glance behind her at the teen currently sitting on the floor, flipping through the book. She bit her bottom lip in thought as she quickly reconsidered what she was about to do. But her hesitation was quickly wiped out as a pair of liquid green eyes flew into her mind, a shiver running up her spine at the memory.

Taking a deep breath, the mare walked back over to the teen.

"You know,since we're on the topic of your home, you ever notice anything strange going on over there?"

It was hard to miss the way Danny's muscles instantly tensed up as he froze. Strands of black hair fell into his face, hiding his eyes in shadow as he sat in silence. For a moment, Twilight thought he wouldn't respond, but jolted back at the coldness and sharpness in his voice when he did.

"No. Nothing." He muttered darkly.

Twilight bit the inside of her cheek before reluctantly continuing. "Really, cause some strange things happen in Ponyville sometimes. You sure nothing weird ever happens?"

"Yes."

The mare felt her body start to go stiff as well as the palpable tension in the room grew to uncomfortable levels. She knew her questions were beginning to make the teen uncomfortable and annoyed, but shehadto know. She justhad to!

"Really? Nothing dark or dangerous? . . . . Nothing involvingspiritsof any ki- -"

"- -Why are you asking me this?!" Danny growled out, his hoof beginning to scrape against the floor angrily. "What does it matter to you?" He muttered darkly, turning an angered glare towards the mare. Nevertheless, it wasn't enough to deter the mare from her mission.

"No reason. I was simply curious as to - -"

"Oh, and I'm supposed to believe your friends were'just curious' when they asked questions that were almost identical to yours?!" He shouted, quickly rising to her hooves. At this, Twilight rose to hers as well and backed away slightly, holding her hooves up in surrender. "Look Danny, I was simply tryin- -" She began, only to be cut off once more.

"Trying to what?! See if I'm dangerous? If-if I'm here to stir up trouble or something?!" He snarled at her. "What do you expect to hear, Twilight? That I come from a long line of bank robbers and Ponyville justhappensto be the next stop on my list? Th...that I'm a dragon in disguise and just decided 'Hmm . . . that's a nice village. I think I'll destroy it now?!'"He shouted angrily, all the frustration and tension he had been pushing down before suddenly boiling over.Why couldn't they just trust him. Why couldn'tANYONEJUST TRUST HIM?!

Twilight felt her eyes narrow as the teen's words began to annoy her. It's notherfault he gave her a Vision Field. What was she supposed to think?!

"Hey, I'm just trying to look out for my friends and keep my town safe." She countered angrily.

"FROM WHAT?!Danny screeched furiously, surprised by the fact his eyes hadn't already shifted to green. "I haven't done anything to you! Oranyonefor that matter!" He shouted. "Actually . . . Ihavedone something. I've helped your friends!" He snarled. "I helped Applejack with her chores, I-I helped Rarity when she was behind on her work, I helped Pinkie Pie bake those God-awful cupcakes, which I'm pretty sure were the worst things that have ever touched my tongue, and I once had a hot dog that bit me back!" He exclaimed in exasperation.

Twilight couldn't help but be surprised by the teen's sudden outburst of rage. From what she had seen, the boy was usually laid back and nice, yet here he was, screaming his lungs out at her.Anyone who can shift so suddenly definitely has something to hide and . . . .She trailed off from her thoughts and couldn't help but berate herself.Maybe there's something wrong with me. She muttered to herself. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she had secretly been hoping Danny would turn out to be what they suspected he was: dangerous. Not because she didn't like him, but because it would just make things so much easier. It would explain so much more. But . . . . she had no idea how to deal with a teenager who was . . . . well, exactly that: a teenager.

Danny let out a sigh and ran a hoof through his hair. "Look, Twilight. I don't know what you want me to say, I . . . I don't even know what Icansay- -" He trailed off and stared down at the ground in thought. Silence filled the room as neither ponies uttered a word, too lost in thought so mutter anything.

Is this what it's like everywhere?Danny asked himself. It was hard not to make the connections between Ponyville and Amity, at least the connection between both inhabitants.Trust. That's what it all comes down to. The teen muttered to himself.Some people back home would rather die than trust me, and apparently this place isn't much different.He growled internally.I've done nothing but help, both here AND in Amity, and yet that still isn't enough!

Twilight was the first to snap out of her thoughts, glancing over at Danny in concern considering the child still had yet to say anything else. "Umm . . . Danny?" She called hesitantly, reaching a hoof out to lightly graze his shoulder.

The small tap made the teen jerk backwards before turning a glare towards the mare. "I should have known." He growled out. "I should have known this place wouldn't be any different." He muttered. Twilight gazed at the teen in confusion before he continued. "You know, I thought the sprinkles and rainbows and smiles in this darn worl- - town would mean it would becompletelydifferent than home. That the ponies here would actually give me a chance. . . . ." he trailed off slightly before continuing. "Serves me right." He sighed.

Twilight lowered her gaze shamefully before lifting her head, extending her hoof out, only for Danny to glare back at her. "If you guys can't even bother to trust me enough to give me the benefit of the doubt, then I see no reason to stay here any longer." He muttered before lowering his head, black strands falling into his eyes once more.

"You know what the worst part of this is?"

Twilight stared at the colt, not bothering to actually answer him. He lifted his head and turned a sorrowful gaze at the mare. "I actually liked your friends." He confessed. "I liked working with Applejack, helping out Rarity, baking with Pinkie, learning about animals with Fluttershy, swapping stories with Rainbow Dash . . . . and I even liked talking to you the most." He sighed, the confession catching Twilight off guard as she blinked in shock.

She watched the colt's ears flatten slightly as his expression shifted from sadness into one of exhaustion and defeat. "Whatever. Guess I'll get out of your hair. Thanks for the hospitality and suspicion. I'll try and remember this the next time I'm dumb enough to try and make friends with anyone else here." He sighed as he rose to his hooves and began to move towards the door.

Suddenly, he felt his body quickly become enveloped in a bright pink light as he was lifted off his hooves and dragged back over to Twilight. A small'oof'escaped his lips as he was promptly dropped back onto the floor by the mare's hooves. He cast a weak glare at the mare, but she quickly ignored it in favor of staring desperately at the colt. "Wait! Pl-please don't leave!" She shouted.

Danny slowly sat up and began to dust himself off as the mare continued. "Listen . . . .I'm sorry." Twilight sighed, the teen freezing as he glanced up at her, the sincerity in her voice even more present than when Rainbow Dash had apologized. "I . . . I've been a total jerk." She confessed.

"Look, I only did all those things because . . . because I-I . . . .I was scared."She finally uttered out. "When we first met, I saw a strange vision and . . . well to tell the truth, it totally freaked me out. So. . . . I-I wanted to make sure . . . . make sure that- -"

"- - That I checked out." Danny concluded in a soft voice.

Twilight gave a small nod. "I know it was stupid, but .. . . but we've been tricked by ponies we thought were our friends and it led down some dangerous paths. I . . . I just couldn't let it happen to my friends again. So . . . so I made them keep an eye on you, try and figure out whatever they could, see if you were actually a threat." She explained.

At Danny's crestfallen look, the mare quickly continued. "But the exact opposite was true!" She exclaimed, the teen raising a brow in confusion. "Before we met up, my friends and I got together to discuss . . . well, you. And everything they told me discreditedeverythingi'd first thought. You weren't dangerous, you were kind, you were caring, honest, and you were willing to help all of them with little regard for your own. . . .safety."She added, shuddering at the stories she had heard about Pinkie's cupcakes.

Danny gave a small chuckle before lifting his head, finding Twilight's hoof now on his shoulder. "Danny, I'm so sorry. And I don't know if this'll make you feel better, but my friends like you . . . . and, I do too." She finally said with a smile, Danny giving one of his own.

"I promise all the secrets, lies and suspicion is done. As long as you're here, we'll treat you like we do any friend, cause that's what you are now. You're our friend." She said, wrapping a wing around the teen, who whipped around to gaze at her. "Really? W-we're . . .friends?"

Twilight smiled warmly at him. "You bet. So please . . . . please stay." She urged gently, the teen glancing down at the floor for a moment of silence. Twilight bit her lip as she waited for his answer, hoping her words had been enough to convince the teen. Finally, Danny gazed up at her with a large smile. "You worry too much, you know that?" He smirked.

Twilight let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding before scruffing up the teen's hair. "Yeah, I get that a lot." She chuckled as Danny tried to push her away and free his head from her hold, a large smile plastered onto his face.

"Oh, by the way, you can tell your friends to come out now." The teen said with a wave of his hoof. Twilight's smile disappeared as a look of confusion appeared. "Wait, you knew they were here the whole time?" She asked as the kitchen door opened and five ponies plus one dragon shambled out, each with looks of embarrassment on their faces.

Danny rolled his eyes as Twilight's question. "Please, I'm fifteen, I'm not stupid." He scoffed, the others glancing at each other for a moment before bursting out into laughter, Twilight lifting Danny off the ground with her magic once more before placing him on her back. "I was right you know."

"Thisreally isgoing to be interesting."

Spike felt his eyes droop slightly as his feet stumbled across the cold crystal floor. A yawn escaped his mouth as he ambled down the hallway, his parched throat and slightly rumbling stomach the only incentive for leaving the comfort of his nice, warm bed.

Even though his eyes were adjusted for seeing in the dark, the baby dragon still found it hard considering the dark crystal walls blended together when there was no light of day to shine against the smooth reflective surfaces. Still, after a moment of blind stumbling, his hand gripped the handle that led down the long winding staircase.

He let out a small sigh of relief and slowly began to amble down the stairs. Though, after a few seconds, he could hear what sounded like a second pair of hoofsteps. He paused and strained his ears. Yes, they were hoofsteps. They were coming from the steps a little ways below him. Yet he merely shrugged it off, after all, Twilight was usually up and pacing at this point for some reason or another.

Yet another sound quickly filtered into his ears. It was the sound of small wings flapping nearby, along with a soft, low-pitched 'hoot.'Once again, Spike shrugged it off. It wasn't unusual for Owlowiscious to be flying around the castle at night. Neither he nor Twilight really minded, as long as he left them alone.

You only need to be awoken in the middle of the night by a bird with large piercing yellow eyes staring you in the faceonce. Spike shuddered at the memory and continued to walk. Yet it wasn't long before anotherhootfilled the air, one much louder than the last. At this, a loud yelp of shock sounded from where the hoofsteps had been.

What the . . ?Spike wondered, never noticing his feet's precarious position until his front leg slipped out from under him and he toppled forward with a shout of shock. As he tumbled down the stairs, he felt his body slam into someone else. The two rolled down the rest of the way before landinghardon the floor. Well . . . . the ponyunderneathSpike landed hard.

The dragon shook his head as he tried to clear the stars that were currently dancing before his eyes. After a moment, the dragon blinked back into reality and finally realized he was currentlyonsomepony. Quickly scurrying off, he realized Danny was not sprawled on the floor, eyes rolling around his head dizzyingly.

"Oh, geez! I'm so sorry!" Spike exclaimed, quickly helping the teen to his hooves, Danny letting out a groan as he placed a hoof to his throbbing head before giving it a good shake. "No, no, it's fine." He reassured.

"Really?" Spike asked worriedly, especially considering Danny wasn't even looking at him, instead he was looking at the small potted plant next to the baby dragon. Alright, so maybe not soooo fine? Yet Danny still gave a shake of his head and a dismissive wave of his hoof. "Naw, who wouldn't tackle someone off the stairs?" He groaned slightly, rapidly blinking his eyes to try and clear the ringing out of his ears.

Spike couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Well actually, you kind of scared me a bit." He confessed. "I mean, why'd you yelp?"

Danny finally cleared the ringing sound out of his head enough to turn back towards Spike. "Well I was walking down the stairs and thishuge . . . . . bat - -?"

"Owl."

"- - owlattacked me!" He finished.

Spike furrowed his brow in confusion before a loudhootfilled his ears once more. Whipping around, he noticed Owlowiscious flying overhead. The bird seemed angry about something. And Spike was quickly able to decipher what as the bird swung down, Danny having to duck to avoid getting a bird to the face.

"Whoa!" The teen screamed before leaping behind Spike, whose hands were quickly waving up at the bird. "Owlowiscious, stop! It's okay! This is Danny. He's staying with us for a while!" He explained before glancing back down to the teen who was currently peeking out from behind him.Should have seen this coming. The dragon realized.Owlowiscious wasn't here yesterday when Danny first got here. Of course he would attack a random stranger he saw on the stairs.

Nevertheless, the owl quickly calmed down as it flew down and landed on the window next to the stairs. Danny finally stepped out from behind the baby dragon before throwing the bird a small glance. "Yep, thanks for trying to kill me." He muttered, before glancing down to where Spike had once been, only finding the spot empty.

He glanced around before noticing the dragon walking in the direction of the kitchen. He bit his lower lip in a moment of thought before deciding against his thoughts and quickly followed the dragon into the kitchen. Danny felt a small smile form on his face as he watched Spike pull a stepping stool out from one of the cabinets and place it against the counter, quickly hopping up as he poured himself a glass of milk and set up a plate of cookies.

The dragon took a sip from the glass before glancing up, finally taking notice of the young colt staring at him from across the counter. He swallowed the mouthful of milk before turning back to Danny. "Umm . . ." He murmured, glancing sideways awkwardly. "Can I help you with something?"

Danny's eyes widened slightly and his cheeks turned a light shade of pink as he realized what he had been doing and quickly turned away. "No, it's nothing. Just, uhh . . . . what are you doing up?" He asked.

Spike gave him a weird look before glancing down at the milk and cookies in front of him. "Oh, just paying some bills." He smirked with a roll of his eyes. The color on Danny's cheeks turned even darker as he began to rub the back of his neck. "Umm . . . right." He chuckled.

Spike snorted before turning back to him. "How 'bout you?" He asked.

Danny quickly lifted his head back up before lifting his hoof, quickly rubbing his foreleg nervously. "Me? Oh, I . . . . well I was just . . . " He let out a small sigh. "I couldn't sleep." He finally settled on.

Spike took a bite out of one of the cookies and let out a small chuckle. "What? Have a nightmare or something?" He joked, only to stop chewing as he watched Danny flatten his ears slightly and turn away, lowering his gaze down to the floor.

"Ohh . . ."

Danny let out a small sigh and kept his gaze locked onto the floor.He wished it had just been "or something"as the little dragon suggested, but it was, once again, the same nightmare as always. Only this time, Twilight and the others had been included as well.And I thought those stupid dreams couldn't get any worse.The teen muttered to himself. Anyway, once the nightmare had pierced its way into his mind, the teen knew he wasn't getting back to sleep anytime soon.

Spike slowly swallowed the mouthful of Triple Chocolate Chip Nut-Cluster Cookies he had baked a few days ago and lowered his gaze as well.Geez, where's Twilight when you need her? I don't know anything about comforting ponies! Let alone kids! No, scratch that, TEENAGERS!Yet the dragon's thoughts silenced as he noticed the teen across from him. His eyes were shifting back and forth slightly in worry as he ran his hoof up and down his foreleg nervously.

The baby dragon sighed.Well, I don't need to be an expert to tell how much nightmares can suck, especially when you don't have anyone to talk to afterwards.He realized. He'd had plenty of nightmares in the past, and Twilight had been with him through all of them. But . . . . but Danny didn't have anyone. He was alone here, especially considering he wasn't comfortable enough to talk about it to Twilight.Well . . . . nopony wants to be alone after that.The dragon decided.

"Well . . . do you want some company?" Spike finally asked, Danny quickly lifting his head up at the question. After taking a moment to process what the dragon had said, Danny gave a small shake of his head. "You don't have to do that, Spike." He said quietly, only for the reptile to shrug his shoulders.

"Ehh, it usually takes me a while to get back to sleep anyway." He said casually, leading Danny out of the kitchen and over to a separate room past the library, which Twilight used as a study most of the time. All Spike knew was that the couch inside was the most comfortable and the view from the window was spectacular.

Walking in, the dragon hopped onto the couch before patting the empty seat next to him, motioning Danny over. The teen hesitated for a moment before walking over, slowly climbing up onto the cushions before resting his head on the back of the couch, staring lazily out at the window behind them.

Outside, the moon hung in the dark black sky, illuminating the nearby clouds in a silvery glow. The street below was silent and empty, save for the occasional squirrel or rabbit that would scamper out in search of food. Small wooden signs swayed gently with the breeze, stray fall leaves danced and twirled about in the air.

Yet the calming sights outside did nothing to ease the churning in Danny's stomach. It'd been a while since the dreams had affected him this bad. He's woken up in a cold sweat, almost certain his scream had awoken someone, thoroughly shocked when he discovered it hadn't. Then again, a second longer trapped in that nightmare, and he was sure the produced scream would have been enough to get all of Ponyville banging on the castle door as they attempted to catch the murderer that was surely killing someone.

His pillows and blankets had been soaking wet, drenched in sweat, his hair plastered to his face. As he glanced around, he noticed the room was aglow in a strange bright green light. After a moment, he finally realized the light was coming from his shininggreen eyes!The sight had thoroughly freaked him out. His eyes had never glowed with so much intensity before. It was . . . .scary.

Danny sighed and ran a hoof through his hair, the stray strands quickly falling back down into his face. He shut his eyes and turned away from the window, lying down on the couch as he curled his tail around himself comfortingly. Spike blew up his cheeks in thought before turning towards the teen. "Uhh . . . do you want to . . . . talk about it, or something?" HE asked awkwardly, unsure of how to proceed with comforting someone.

Danny tensed his shoulders before giving Spike a strange look. "I'd rather not." He murmured, Spike nodding in acceptance, slightly relieved he wouldn't have to traumatize the teen whiletrying- - key word:trying - -to give advice.

The two remained in awkward silence for a moment before Danny softly cleared his throat. "So . . . . how long have you known Twilight?" He asked, a small twinge of nervousness bubbling in his stomach.

Spike must have sensed the kid's unease cause he chuckled and grew a small smile, placing a claw on the colt's shoulder. "Don't worry, kid. She likes you. The others do, too." He explained. "You're fine." He said, watching as Danny gave a small smile in response. After a moment to ponder the teen's question, Spike grew a wider smile.

"Actually, I've known Twilight all my life. Literally." He chuckled, continuing quickly when he received a look of confusion. "Well, Twilight was given this egg at an entrance exam for some hoity-toity magic school thingamajig. Anyway, her task was to hatch the egg." He explained.

"And I'm assuming you were the prize inside?" Danny smirked.

Spike chuckled. "You bet. And I've basically been stuck with her ever since." He confessed. "After that, she kind of just filled in the slot of paranoid big sister." He explained. Danny nodded in understanding after a moment of thought. As another bout of silence filled the room, a small curious question filtered into the dragon's mind.

"You got any siblings?"

As Danny turned a questioning glance his way, the dragon quickly backtracked. "Not snooping! Simply curious." He quickly said, holding his claws up in surrender. After a moment, Danny deemed he was telling the truth. "Actually, I have an older sister, too. Her name's Jazz. She's an neurotic annoying know-it-all who sticks her nose into things that don't concern her . . . . .soooshe's pretty great." Danny confessed with a small smile.

Spike snorted. "Sounds just like Twilight." He quipped, Danny letting out a laugh of his own. After a moment, Spike watched the teen glance down at his hooves, seemingly becoming lost in thought as a small sense of sadness could be detected in his face.

"Do you miss her?"

The teen glanced back up in slight surprise at the question. After a moment, the teen let out a long sigh and grew a weary smile. "Yeah. Yeah, I do." He finally said softly. "You know, her and my friends, Sam and Tucker are basically the only things that miss home . . . " He blinked in thought for a moment. "You know . . . apart my parents." He finally added.

The small pause was enough to warrant confusion in the small dragon as he cocked his head. He bit the inside of his cheek as he thought over the question mingling in his head, unsure as to how the young colt would reallytakethe inquiry. "Do you . . . .notmiss your parents?" He finally asked, against his better judgement. Yet, instead of getting mad, which Spike had expected, Danny merely flattened his ears slightly and rested his chin on his hooves.

"Probably not as much as I should." He finally whispered.

As Spike tried to decipher what the teen could really mean, Danny lifted his head up. "Don't get me wrong, I absolutelylovemy parents. I couldn't wish for anyone different. It's just . . . ." He trailed off slightly before continuing. "They just . . . .don't understand.And when I think about it . . . . my friends don't really, either." HE confessed.

"Sure, they know more than my parents do, but . . . . I don't know, I guess they just can't really understand the things I go through cause they've never been put into the same situations I have. I mean, they try to help me as best they can, and I really appreciate it. They make my life a lot easier, it's just . . ."

"- - they'll neverreallybe able to understand."

Danny blinked in slightly shock, seeing as it wasn't him that uttered those words. He turned back towards Spike, who was now glancing down at his claws. The dragon glanced back up with a small smile. "I guess I know what you're talking about."

"What do you mean?"

The dragon chuckled. "You have seen the circles I run in right?" He asked, Danny letting out a small'oh' in realization. Spike simply nodded. "Yep, not many dragons can say they spend most of their time with ponies." He snorted before giving a light shrug of his shoulders. "I can't really complain. They're the best family I could ask for. But . . . sometimes I wish they could see how hard it is for me to fit in. How left out I feel sometimes. I just wish they could- -"

"- - understand." Both boys said simultaneously, before glancing over at each other. Small smiles grew on their faces at that.

"Guess we have a lot more in common than we first thought." Danny smiled, Spike doing the same as the two were slowly dropped into another bout of silence, only this time, no awkwardness twinged between the two of them. Instead, it was a calming quietness that seemed to match perfectly with the setting outside as silvery trails of light shone in from the window.

Spike let out a yawn as he rested his back against the soft plush pillows of the couch, the action causing Danny to repeat an equally tired yawn. "You know what's great about you staying here?" Spike asked quietly, feeling his eyelids begin to grow heavy.

Danny rested his head on his hooves as he closed his eyes. "Hmm?"

Spike let out a content sigh and folded his arms underneath his head. "Now I have someone else who can babysit Twilight while I take my naps."

A soft snort drifted out from the room before it fell silent.

Twilight yawned and rubbed the last traces of sleepiness out of her eyes as she continued to walk down the halls, a small mug of coffee hovering next to her as she did. The mare knocked on the door in front of her before stepping back. After a few more moments, the silence that greeted her was enough for curiosity and concern to outweigh privacy as she pushed the door open.

Her frown only deepened when she saw that the room was empty.

Just like Spike's.She thought silently to herself. After a closer look into the room, she saw that the bed sheets were ruffled and wrinkled, meaning the bed had been in use at one point in the night.Spike's was like that, too.She realized before closing the door to the empty room.

"Where the heck are those two?"

She let out a sigh and turned around, ready to make her way back over to the kitchen before heading into her library. She had quickly realized something was off when she noticed the castle didn't smell of coffee and cinnamon, sugar, honey, or whatever else Spike would tinker around with during breakfast.

At first, she had merely assumed the little dragon had slept in. Though it was rare, she knew it still happened sometimes. Yet after finding his room empty, her confusion had only increased. And adding in the fact Danny seemed to be missing too was more than enough to warrant concern.

As she continued to walk down the hallway towards the library, she casually passed the half-open door to her study. Her hoof froze mid-stride as her brain caught up to what her eyes had just seen. Slowly backtracking, she glanced back into the room, wondering if her eyes had played a trick on her or something. But at second glance, she quickly realized it was no trick.

Lying on the couch, Danny and Spike were both fast asleep. The young colt was on his stomach, his hooves tucked up close to his chest as his head was currently burrowed in one of the pillows. Next to him, Spike was tucked up alongside the boy's side, his short black tail curled around the sleeping reptile.

Twilight blinked in shock at the scene in front of her for a moment before a small smile spread onto her face.Told ya' you just needed to give him a chance. She thought to herself as she turned and quickly trotted out of the room, vaguely wondering where she last left her camera.

Chapter 6: The YTRAP

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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*

*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!?

Chapter 7: War and Prank

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Chapter 7: War and Prank

PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE'S CASTLE

September 5

09:34

"Let's seee. . . . . what time's Fluttershy supposed to -AHHHHH!"

Spike blinked in shock at the fact he was now hanging from the ceiling by a thin net. He narrowed his eyes before lifting his head. "DANNYYY!"

Not even a few moments later, a second net shot up towards the ceiling, only a thin white colt was the victim this time. Though, his face wasn't nearly as flustered as the dragon's. "You rang?" The boy said with a large smirk.

"What the heck am I doing up here?!"

"Hey, what you do in your personal time isyourbusiness." Danny said, holding his hooves up.

"Danny..."

The teen snorted. "Alright, alright. I was actually waiting for Twilight." He confessed with a shrug of his shoulder. Spike sighed and raised a claw to his face, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You'restillgoing on with this Prank Battle thing?" He grumbled.

"I'd say it's more of awarnow."

Spike's deadpanned look was enough for Danny to fold his hooves across his chest, which was a difficult thing to do when you're entangled in a net suspended many feet in the air. "Hey! This issooonot my fault, alright.Rainbow Dashwas the one who decided it would be a good idea to hijack my bed in the middle of the night and push it out onto the pond . . . withmestill on it!"

The dragon couldn't help but chuckle at the memory of it, and a thoroughly ticked off, dripping colt.

"Hey, it wasn't funny then. Still isn't funny now."

"Sorry." Spike apologized, only to fold his own arms. "So what? You just decided to drag everypony else into this mess?" He questioned.

Danny narrowed his eyes and pointed a hoof at the dragon through the net. "Hey, if I'm tail-spinning down towards the Land of Craziness, then everyone else is gonna crash and burn with me." He said with a serious expression, which was marred from the fact his net was now rotating slowly in the air, ending up with the teen facing away from the dragon at times as he spun.

Spike rolled his eyes. "Such inspirational words. Ponies should really start to quote you." He muttered sarcastically.

Danny folded his hooves. "I know you're being sarcastic, but I'm gonna take it as a compliment anyways." He smirked.

The dragon sighed at the teen's antics. "Whatever, I'm just glad I'm not gonna be here to endure your idiocy." He said with a small look of relief.

"Oh, right. You're heading to Canterlot this weekend." He said, the dragon nodding in assurance. "Yep, and actually, Fluttershy's coming with me. Apparently, there's this new exhibit over by the Canterlot Gardens she's been waiting to see, so I might as well spare her from your treachery." He muttered.

"Whatever."

"I mean it, Danny." Spike said, pointing an accusing finger at the teen across from him. "This house better be spotless when I get back." He scolded, only to receive a cocked brow in response.

"Alright, it better be decent."

". . . . ."

"Okay, it b-better be in one piece."

". . . . ."

"Alright, fine! Just make sure the castle is still standing when I get back!"

Danny merely shrugged his shoulders. "Can't make any promises." He confessed before glancing up at the top of the ceiling, where the ends of the net met together in a tight pinch on the crystal surface. "Alright, now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to plotting how Dash and I are gonna get the other girls in on this as well." He said with a smirk as he reached a tiny hoof through the net and attempted to reach the top of the net.

Spike moaned and dropped his head into his hands. "Oh, don't drag them down to your level." He pleaded.

Danny smirked. "And what level is that? The Level of Greatness? Maybe Awesomeness?"

Spike scoffed and crossed his arms. "Nah, I'd say it's more in the zone between Insane and Child-like Annoyance." He muttered, only for Danny to give him a cheeky smile. "Aww . . . you know you love me."

"That's debatable."

"Whatever, I have someplotting to do!" He announced over dramatically before reaching up and pulling a small string at the top of the net, the entire thing falling limp around him as he nimbly landed on the floor and ran out of the hall.

"Whoa, wait DANNY!" Spike shouted after him, wondering how on Earth the teen managed to do that. The dragon let out a sigh and wrapped his tail around himself as he brought his knees up to his chest.

"Great . . ." He muttered, noticing how his net was also beginning to spin slightly.

ENEMY BASE: SWEET APPLE ACRES

September 6

07:23

Applejack was not happy. No that was a bit of an understatement.

Applejack wasfuckingPISSED.

Though that was to be expected when you wake up to find your entire room has been covered in what she could only assume was gift wrap, even her bed! How whoever did this managed to wrap a bed she had been sleeping in without waking her was beyond her. She just wanted to make them pay for making her room look like something out of a holiday card.

Though as she stepped out of the green and red-papered room, she quickly realized her bedroom wasn't the only victim. Nope, it looked like herentirehouse had been wrapped in the shiny wrapping paper, quite expertly to be honest. The floors, the walls, the tables, chairs, picture frames, even thefrikkin ceilingwas hidden away underneath the decorative paper.

"Alright, whoever decided our house shouldn't be opened until Hearts Warming better start runnin'!" She snarled, angrily stomping down the stairs. Applebloom and Granny Smith both were waiting for her at the foot of the stairs.

"What inTARNATIONis goin' on around here?!" Granny Smith shouted, turning a hard stare towards her oldest granddaughter.

Applejack shook her head angrily. "I have no idea." She growled out. "I woke up to find everything dark, only to realize someone hadgift wrapped me to the frikkin bed!"She retorted.

Applebloom walked into the corner, staring at the wrapped couch and walls. "I'd be angry if I wasn't so impressed." She breathed out.

The mare tipped back her hat before walking over to the wall. "Fine, I'm plenty angry for the both of us." She growled, reaching out to the wall as she violently ripped a large piece of paper away from the wall . . . . only to find another layer of the same paper underneath . . . . and another.

"Ugg!" The mare snarled, whipping back around towards the others. "DO you know howlongit's gonna take to clean all this up. And that's not even includingwho-knowshow many layers there are underneath this." She muttered.

"Uhh . . . AJ?"

All three ponies turned to glance over at the stable door (both the bottom and the top were wrapped as well), Big Mac's head sticking out the open top door.

"What is it, Big Mac?" The asked.

"Something else outside?" Applebloom guessed.

"Yep."

The Apple Family quickly rushed out of the barn, slight relief flooding through their system when they noticed the grass wasn't covered as well. Though that relief was quickly yanked out of them as they lifted their heads.

Literally every single tree has been wrapped in the decorative paper from the trunk all the way up to the tree, including the apples, which were each wrapped individually.

"Wow. Just . . . .wow." Applebloom breathed out, staring out at the acres of wrapping.

Applejack's mouth continued to hang open as she slowly walked over to the nearest tree, having noticed something attached to the base of the trunk. Taped to the colorful paper was a small white sticky-note, a white cloud with a rainbow-colored lightning bolt crudely scribbled onto it.

The mare shut her eyes and took in a deep breath before slowly (and harshly) releasing it through her nose.

Without another word, she turned on her hoof and began to walk in the opposite direction, towards the main road that led into town.

"Where're ya' going, Sis?" Applebloom asked.

Applejack didn't even bother to turn her head as she replied. "I got a pegasus to string up! NEUTRALITY IS DEAD! THIS MEANS WAR!" She shouted, quickly realizing she had lost her internal battle of staying out of Dash and Danny's ridiculous prank war. She could only hope Pinkie Pie would stay strong.

ENEMY BASE: SUGAR CUBE CORNER

September 6

14:02

Danny poked his head through the front entrance of the store, quickly locating Pinkie Pie behind the counter.

"Hey, Pinkie! Wanna join our prank war?!"

"SURE!"

PRINCESS TWILIGHT'S CASTLE

September 6

15: 08

"Twilight?" Rarity called as she continued to walk down the halls towards the dining room. The mare kept a watchful eye around her, grimly aware of the ongoing prank war that had consumed most of her friends.

Well not her. She would never stoop to engaging in something so . . . . immature and childish.

And though she would have rather stayed home and rode out the war safe in her own house, she couldn't just ignore her friends, especially the ones who weren't even involved in the war. So when Applejack had come over to her house and said that Twilight wished to talk to her about something, she of course had her doubts, but reluctantly agreed to come.

So here she was, currently wondering where the mare could be.

Entering the dining room, her smile instantly vanished as she realized the princess was nowhere to be seen. She felt a small frown grow on her face but choked down her doubts. After all, Twilight wasn't one for such juvenile games.

Walking over to the dining table, she decided it best to just wait for her friend to arrive. Pulling her chair back, she quickly stepped on and took a seat . . . right as a bucket of syrup fell from the ceiling and onto her head.

She yelped in shock, the bucket falling to the floor, but not before spilling its contents all over its victim.

Rarity blinked in shock, which quickly melted away into anger. "How dar-"

She never got to finish her sentence as a large mound of feathers fell down from the ceiling as well and coated the syrup-covered mare in another layer of humiliation.

She quickly rose to her hooves, her face visibly furious. "Are you kid-"

Once again, she was cut off as another bucket fell from the ceiling, though this time, the rope attached to the bottom stopped it from falling to the floor. It did not, however . . . stop the glitter.

Rarity stood in silence, quivering in rage before a small note gently floated down from the ceiling. She took in a deep breath before releasing it through her nose before grabbing the note with her magic. On the paper, she recognized Rainbow Dash, Danny, and Applejack's cutie marks scribbled onto the note.

""I'LL DESTROY THEM!"

PRINCESS TWILIGHT'S CASTLE

September 6

16:32

Twilight rubbed her temples as she tried to relieve herself of the growing headache. She was currently locked in the upstairs bathroom, one of her favorite books the only thing keeping her"sane".Downstairs, shouts, crashes and bangs could be heard often. It hadn't taken long for Danny, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Applejack to move their little World War into the castle, despite her protests.

Now she was forced to lock herself away before they could find her and drag her down into the pits of no shame or mercy. No, sherefusedto be a part of their ridiculous little game. Though she couldn't say Danny hadn't been sparing no expense to entice her to join.

She let out an annoyed sigh as she reluctantly recalled said enticements.

. . . . .

Twilight hummed softly, eyes shut as she walked down the hall and into her open bedroom. Next to her head floated a small book she had been aiming to read for quite some time. Eyes still shut in content, the mare walked into her room, expertly dodging all the furniture as she walked over to where sheknewher bed was and dropped her book on the nightstand.

Or at least where the nightstandshouldbe.

After hearing the book drop to the floor, the mare opened her eyes in surprise. There wasdefinitelysupposed to be a table there! Her newly opened eyes widened in shock as she realized her room was now empty. Her bed, dresser, table . . . . all gone.

She whipped her head back and forth for a moment before falling still in thought. A thoroughly confused look still adorned her face as she slowly backed out of the room and closed the waiting for a second, she opened the door again, half expecting for her furniture to be right where it should be.

It was not.

She walked back into the room and sat down, racking her mind as to where everything might be. As she tilted her head up slightly in thought, she gasped and leapt to her feet, craning her neck upwards.

All her furniture was glued to the ceiling, directly above where it normally was placed on the floor. Everything seemed to be firmly attached to the shining crystal surface, for none of it showed signs of falling back down to the ground, not even the sheets on her bed, which she sincerely hoped weren't glued to the piece of furniture itself.

They were.

She merely continued to stare at the scene above her head for a moment before she firmly clamped her mouth shut and stewed silently before forcing her jaw open again just so she could scream-

"DAANNNNYYYYYYY!"

. . . . .

Twilight flattened her ears slightly and hunched her back. It had takenmany . . . . MANYhours to finally pry her furniture off of the ceiling (and rip her sheets off the bed) and get everything back to its original positions.

Yet even despite the courageous attempt, she still had not given in.

Though that didn't mean Danny stopped there.

. . . . .

Royal Summits were never the most interesting things to begin with, let alone when the topic of the Treasury and Local Monetary Issues were the central issue for the day. So safe to say . . . Twilight was tired.

Slowly trudging up the stairs, the mare continued to focus on the task of placing one hoof in front of the other as she climbed up what felt like King Sombra's Staircase of Hellish Proportions. Nevertheless, the princess finally reached the top step and continued onward, stumbling down the hallway like a mindless zombie - NO! Like atruepolitician.

Shuffling down the hallway, she vaguely noticed the light underneath Danny's door was absent tonight, which was weird, considering he usually stayed up longer than she did. Though her mind was in too much of a fog to really think to deep into it.

Finally, she reached her room. Her GLORIOUS ROOM!

Reaching for the doorknob with a large relieved smile on her face, she turned the knob and pulled the door open . . . . .

A scream of terror escaped her before she became buried underneath the large wave of multicolored jelly beans that gushed out of the room's open door. The wave of candy rushed out and even began to fill the hallway around her room.

After a moment, a small mound could be seen moving underneath the pile before a head popped out of the jelly beans, thoroughly shocked. She blinked at the river of candy around her for a moment, wondering if maybe she was more exhausted than she previously thought, only to freeze as a lone door farther down the hallway creaked open.

Danny poked his tiny head out of the opening and gave the mare a knowing smile. "Twilight . . ." He said in a scolding tone. "You know you shouldn't eat all those sweets before bed. Tsk, tsk, tsk . . ." He clicked his tongue disapprovingly.

Reaching out, he picked up a handful of jelly beans. "Well, you know what they say. The more colorful your diet is, the healthier you'll be." He stated, popping the beans into his mouth. "Nailed it." He smirked before walking back into his room.

. . . . .

A shiver ran through Twilight's spine. She had been avoiding her room as much as possible after that. You can only be buried underneath a mound of hard candy so many times before getting a little paranoid. On the bright side, they had plenty of leftovers for a while there.

Still . . . . it still hadn't been enough to break her.

So Danny decided to step it up a bit.

. . . . .

Twilight strapped her saddle bag to her back before walking towards the front door.

"DANNY! I'LL BE BACK SOON! I'M HEADING OUT TO MARKET!"

"KAY!"

She nodded her response before turning back towards the door, pushing it open as she glanced up towards the sky. The sun shone brightly in the clear blue sky, not a cloud in sight. She took in a deep breath and gave a small smile of content before taking a step forward.

"AHHHH!"

After a second of free-falling, she belly-flopped into a strange liquid . . . . and it wasn't water. After a moment, her head resurfaced with a loud gasp for breath. Whipping her head around, Twilight found herself inside a large hole about the size of her room. She was also currently swimming in what she could only pray was molasses.

"What the - - HOW DID YOU EVEN DO THIS!" She screamed, noticing other ponies from the street were not running over, staring at the strange hole in confusion, only to gasp as they realized somepony was actuallyINthe hole.

Glancing down at her sides, Twilight tried to unfurl her wings, but found it much more difficult to push through the goopy substance than she first thought. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she lifted her head back up to the sky (and to freedom) and grit her teeth as Danny's face appeared in the crowd.

"Hey, Twi!" He called, cheekily waving a hoof down at her.

"Danny, I swear when I get back up there . . . ." She threatened.

The teen, however, seemed less than phased. "It really is agreatday for a swim, huh Twi?" He smirked .

"Yeah, great day for a swim. How bout' you come down here, I'll show you a swim." The mare muttered.

"What was that? Sorry, I couldn't hear you, Maybe it was the molasses in my ears . . . . ohwait. . . ."

"I hate you so much right now, Danny!"

. . . . .

And that is what led twilight to simply locking herself in the bathroom, at least until this stupid prank war was over. She REFUSED to become a part of it. REFUSED!

Though the mare knew she couldn't stay locked in the small room for much longer . . . . actually fornolonger. She had finished her book.

With a small sigh, the mare slowly and hesitantly pushed the shower curtain back and stepped out of the tub. Walking over to the door, she slowly pushed it open slightly. Peeking her head through the crack, she noticed the hallway was empty, though loud crashes and bangs could be heard from downstairs.

Which just happened to be where the library was. Great.

Letting out a sigh, the mare pushed through the door and walked over to the stairs. As quietly as possible, she slowly began to step down them, careful to make as little noise as she could. Thankfully, the warzone seemed to be centered around the living room, so the foyer was empty.

Resisting the urge to look up and survey the damage, she briskly walked over to the library door and pushed it open.

Her eyes widened and a gasp floated out of her mouth.

"SON OF A -"

Everything in the library was encased in jello.

Not even kidding.

While a few books managed to survive, most of them were now the new surprise center of large green blobs of lime jello.

But it wasn't just the books.

The tables were encased in super-sized blobs, the ladders were stacked sideways on top of each other and were surrounded by the giggly substance, and there was even some jello splattered against the walls and the ceiling.

Twilight blinked at the scene in front of her for a moment before spinning on her hoof and marching out into the living room, making everypony freeze.

"ALRIGHT! I GIVE UP! YOU WIN! . . . . . Now someone hand me a paintball gun."

PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE'S CASTLE

September 8

08:15

Spike watched Fluttershy hop out of the cab they took from the train station to the castle before turning back towards the door.

"TWILIGHT, DANNY, I'M H-"

The words froze in his mouth as the door swung open and he got a good look into the castle.

Bits and pieces of crystal littered the floor, having broken off from various places in the castle. The walls were spray-painted all sorts of colors, ranging from streaks of blue to splatters of green. What he could only assume was jello clung to the ceiling and parts of the floor. Chips, pie and soda were strewn all over the place, mostly the floor. The windows were either broken or covered in cream. A variety of different animals scurried along the floor before disappearing back into the fray, and there was a goat currently eating the couch in the living room.

But none of that compared to the girls inside.

Pinkie Pie had pie, chips, cookies, streamers, confetti, and even bits of wood stuck in her hair, which was currently twice its average size. She had peanut butter smeared up one of her legs and the other was smeared with jelly. There were two pieces of bread glued to her back and a streak of paint going diagonally across her face, a piece of paper with Applejack's cutie mark stapled to the bottom tip.

Rarity's hair was all over the place, mostly considering someone had cut off a large chunk and scattered it across the floor. Lipstick had been smeared all over her face and spray paint dripped from her multi-colored tail. Rainbow Dash's cutie mark had been scribbled onto her chest in crayon and the honey, feathers and glitter from before still covered her from head to hoof.

Applejack's hat had been cut, stripped, and burned, yet was still barely clinging to her head. She was soaking wet, considering Danny would repeatedly dunk her with ice water whenever he got the chance. Her hair was nothing more than a massive knot and many apples had been glued to her pelt all over, from her legs to her stomach. She also had Rarity's cutie mark shaved into her coat.

Rainbow Dash had avoided most of the humiliating pranks, but ended up with the more violent ones. She had a sprained wing, a black eye, a missing tooth, and a crooked ear. Pinkie Pie's cutie mark was spray painted to her chest and there had also been a large amount of hair dye dumped onto her head of varying colors, which had quickly turned her colorful mane into a gross dark brown color . . . . which was still dripping all over the place.

Twilight's hair had been tied up into a bow above her head and an ice cream cone had been glued overtop her horn. Her wings had been hogtied behind her back and her tail was frizzed and smoking, small crackles of electricity sparking from it at times. Her right hoof was encased in jello, her left was smeared with molasses and her back two legs were sealed inside large blocks of ice, which meant she merely slipped and slid across the floor. Danny's cutie mark was also carved into the ice.

Danny had a pie tin on top of his head, the contents dripping down onto his hair and down the sides of his face. He was drenched in honey, different papers attached to his sticky body. His white coat looked even whiter considering he was also covered in flour, which could be seen in the white hoofprints left all over the place. He also had a cactus stub stuck to the back of his tail, most of the spines already stuck in his coat. On his forehead, Twilight's cutie mark had been scribbled.

Spike watched with wide eyes as the girls continued to run around the castle like crazy, screaming and shouting at each other, unaware of the little dragon's presence. Loud bangs and crashes could be heard from all over and the little dragon could barely believe it when a loudwhoopingreached his ears.

Raising his head, Spike could resist face-palming at the scene.

Danny swung by on the chandelier, war-cry ringing out, paintball gun in hoof and decked out in padding as he swung through the air, shooting the gun repeatedly, blobs of paint flying everywhere. Rainbow Dash yelped as she was nailed in the back of the head and sent sprawling on the ground. Another whoop from Danny before he disappeared once more into the fray.

Spike shook his head and let out a sigh, slamming his hand to his face once more before dragging it down. "Nope." He muttered, quickly turning on his heel. "FLUTTERSHY! GET BACK IN THE CAB!" He shouted before slamming the door shut, leaving the group to kill each other off.

Chapter 8: Puddles

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Chapter 9: Puddles

"How theheckcan he sleep through this?!"

Twilight let out a sigh of exasperation and shook her head slowly. "Honestly, if the castle were falling apart and the demons of Tartarus were crawling through the floors and windows, Spike would probably just mumble something about it being anungodly hourand howhe can never get a moments peace in this housebefore rolling over and falling right back asleep."

Danny let out a snort, only to wince as another harsh crack of lightning sounded from outside, the room quickly illuminating in blinding white light before falling dim once more.

The teen glanced out the window before turning back towards the mare sitting next to him. "Sorry Spike, I ain't fighting no demons for you." He muttered, Twilight letting out a chuckle of her own. "Nice to know we can count on you." She sniped, Danny flashing her a toothy grin in response.

The pair was currently sitting on the couch in the study, watching the large black drops of rain splatter against the window panes and the harsh winds whip trees back and forth, teasing their destruction with creaking branches and flying leaves.

"So what's with the weather, Twi? The pegasi having a temper tantrum or something?" He asked, turning back towards the mare.

Twilight rolled her eyes (an action she had grown quite accustomed to whenever Danny was in the room). "Despite the brilliant logic behind that assumption, I'm going to have to say no." She said before clearing her throat.

Danny felt his eyes widen.Oh no. That's her 'Pre-lecturing voice clear!'

"Around this time of year, the edge between Autumn and Winter, the pegasi arrange a larger than usual storm to shake down those last stubborn leaves from the trees and clear them away from the area. That way, it's easier to get everything ready for the transition between seasons." She explained, before a small frown grew onto her face. "Don't they do this in your village?"

Shit.

"Uh . . well my village isn't the biggest, and the town next to us is alotlarger. So whenever they start their season transitions, it affects our village as well." He explained, Twilight gauging his response for a moment before nodding her head. "Oh, alright."

Whoa, that is the fastest I haveeverthought!

The mare turned her head to stare out the window once more, only for another long sigh to trail out of her mouth as she felt something batting her tail back and forth. Turning around, she glanced down and noticed Danny was now lying on the floor, his hooves up in the air as he swatted Twilight's tail back and forth.

"What the heck are you doing?"

"Baking a cake."

"You're . . . I-I don't . . .what?!"

The teen glanced up at her and cocked his head. "What? Don't believe me?"

The mare stared at him with an incredulous look before shaking her head and turning back to the window. Safe to say, the kid was bored.

Which was a dangerous thing.

The last time Danny had been bored, she found him in the kitchen making a fort out of the plates. Begrudgingly, the mare had to confess she ended up joining him inside, but that was beyond the point.

Bored Danny was a dangerous Danny.

Although, she had to admit, she was getting bored as well. The storm had been raging on for a couple hours and still showed no signs of letting up. She sighed and rested her head on her hooves. "What? Got nothing to do for once?" Danny called up at her.

She lifted her head and glared at him. "Well Iwouldbe reading right about now butsomehowmy booksmysteriouslygot covered in jello!" She growled, Danny cracking a sideways grin at her mumbles.

"So how 'bout you? What do you suggest we do, then?" She muttered.

Danny scrunched his nose for a moment of silence before a small grin formed on his face.

"Are yousurethis is safe?!"

"NOT EVEN A LITTLE BIT!"

Another crack of lightning split the sky as Twilight watched the teen leap into another puddle, the water exploding around him before falling back down to the ground once more. Danny had been busying himself with leaping from one puddle to the next for at least ten to fifteen minutes, completely ignoring the princess's wishes for him to get back inside.

"Aren't you a little old to be jumping in puddles?" She called from the castle doorway.

"Aren't you a little young to be scolding me for doing it instead of trying it yourself?!"

Twilight said nothing as she watched the teen dive into another puddle. This time, mud and grime splattering onto the sides of his face. Though it did little to damper the large grin splitting his face. The mare let out a sigh as she leaned up against the doorframe, turning her gaze to one of the large puddles near the door.

Her ear twitched slightly as she tentatively reached a hoof out towards the puddle, the drops of rain sliding down her fur.

Years ago, when she was still a filly, she wouldn't have hesitated to jump into the large puddle. Whenever it would rain in Canterlot, her and Shining Armor would hold contests to see who could create the biggest splash. He'd always win considering their noticeable size difference, but it never really mattered to her considering how much fun it was.

But now?

She glanced behind her at the castle foyer before turning her head to look back at Danny, who was currently chasing what looked to be a frog . . . . or a very, very ugly cat. She couldn't help the smile that formed as she watched him slip on another patch of mud and land face-first into the sticky substance.

Lifting his mud-covered-face, the teen shook his head, the dirt splaying everywhere as he turned to look back up at Twilight, a large grin still evident on his face. "Would you hurry it up already?!" He shouted, only to jump as another bolt of lightning streaked across the sky. "I'd like for you to enjoy thisbeforeI'm turned to a crisp." He called, keeping his eyes trailed on the sky as he did so.

He gasped and fell backwards as a large splash of water slammed into his face. Pushing the wet strands of hair out of his eyes, he laughed as Twilight's hooves slipped out from underneath her and she landed sideways into another patch of mud.

"This issooounsafe." She chuckled, her wet mane now clinging to her forehead.

Danny merely shrugged his shoulders. "Ehh . . I'd rather be out in the open than in something shaped like a tree during afrikkinlightning storm." He shouted, flailing his hooves in the air for effect, which really only ended up with him eating mud once more.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "It's not even a real tree!"

"It's close enough!" Danny shouted, slamming his front hooves down into another puddle, sending a wave of water towards Twilight, slapping the mare in the face.

She gasped and turned towards the teen, who had quickly hopped away, short black tail twirling in the air mischievously. She grinned wickedly as her horn lit up and a bright pink blast shot out from it, slamming into one of the larger pools of water.

Danny let out a small yelp of shock as a literal wave of water slammed into him, knocking him off his hooves.

Twilight laughed as the teen quickly rose back up to his hooves and charged the mare. She raised her haunches before quickly sidestepping the teen, causing him to slide farther down the street.

Slipping and sliding against the slick grass, he righted himself and turned back around, quickly giving chase to the mare as the two continued to rage war in the pouring rain.

Chapter 9: Nightmare Night Fright

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Chapter 10: Nightmare Night Fright

"Tw-Twilight . . . what are you . . .what?!"

The teen could barely form a sentence as the mare walked down the stairs, into view. She was wearing a tattered brown coat with an old rope keeping it secured around her shoulders. On the sides, two pockets could be seen, holding a red quill and a few scrolls.

She glanced at the teen, mildly confused. "You don't know what this is for?" She asked.

"TheHobo Convention?"

She slammed her hoof into her face and let out a loud sigh. "No, little moron. This is my costume for Nightmare Night. I'm Clover the Clever."

Danny let out a loud groan and pulled at the bags underneath his eyes, not even caring enough to ask her who the hell Clover the Clueless was. "Ugg, don't tell me this isanotherstupid event. What's with this town? That's like the third event in a month!" He complained, pouting on the floor like a toddler. "What even is thisNightfright-whatever thing?"

Twilight furrowed her brow. "You seriouslydon'tknow what Nightmare Night is?"

"Yeah, cause this is the face of someonein the know."

She rolled her eyes and walked over. "Nightmare Night is an annual holiday right before the transition into winter where ponies dress in costumes and get candy to appease the dark spirit of Nightmare Moon." She explained, Danny quickly perking as he heard her explanation.

"Oh, so it's like Halloween?"

"What'sHallo-ween?"

Oh, it's just this holiday we celebrate back home where we dress up in costumes to hide from the demons, monsters and spirits that roam the earth attempting to consume our souls while we give food offerings to appease the evil creatures . . . . kids love it."

Twilight blinked at him for a moment before slowly clearing her throat. "Alright . . . . well I guess this iskind oflike that." She said offhandedly before turning back to the teen. "I still don't know how you haven't heard of it. Ponies around town have been setting up for tonight for a week now."

"Twilight. I'm a fourteen-year-old teenageboy.We're not the most observant bunch."

" . . . touche."

"So what do you plan on doing tonight?" The teen asked, following Twilight into the kitchen. "Anything exciting? Ooo! You gonna egg someone's house?" He asked, reaching into the large bowl of candy on the counter before pulling out a large mound of sweets.

Twilight scrunched her nose and glanced up in thought. "Hmm . . . something like that."

"Twilight, why does everything you force me to do make me want to drown myself in a pool of pudding?!"

"Thank you!"The group of fillies called as Twilight finished placing the candies into their bags. The mare turned her head towards the teen sitting next to her, giving him a weird look of her own. "You havesucha way with words." She muttered.

The pair was currently sitting in two side-by-side chairs next to the front door in the castle foyer. For the past hour, they had merely been passing out candy to children. The ordeal seemed enjoyable to Twilight, though her companion had other ways of describing it, including but not limited to: trauma enduing andI'd-rather-eat-my own-eyes-with-a-spoon'boring.

The mare merely rolled her eyes. "Alright, well most of the children in Ponyville look forward to coming to the castle the most, so someone has to be here to give them candy." She muttered, watching as Danny continued to flop around on the floor like a dying fish.

Suddenly, he stopped as his head perked up off the floor. "Alright then." He called, turning a devious smirk towards the mare. "But how's 'bout we make this more interesting." He asked, rising up to his hooves.

A sudden knock on the door made Twilight perk up. "And how do you plan on doing that?" She asked as she grabbed the bowl of candy, only for Danny to take it from her. "Just watch." He smirked, the mare staring at him quizzically as he opened the door.

"Nightmare Night!
What a Fright!
Give Us Something Sweet To Bite~!"

Danny glanced down at the group of kids staring eagerly up at him before reaching into the bowl of candy, grabbing a handful. Twilight gasped, her eyes widening as instead of placing it in their bags, the teen raised his hoof and hurled the candy over the kids heads, the sweets landing on the grass a little ways away.

"CRAWL FOR IT!"

Instantly, the kids shot off the porch, diving into the pile of candy. Dirt and dust began to billow out into the air as the group fought tooth and hoof for whatever pieces they could touch. Danny smirked as he leaned up against the doorframe, Twilight slowly walking over next to him, both simply staring in silence at the display.

"Wow. Just . . . wow." Twilight breathed as she watched the sweet children turn into terrifying gremlins. Something in the back of her mind told her to scold the teen next to her, saying it wasn't right to make children hunt like dogs for candy, but she had to admit, thiswasa lot more interesting than her usual method.

"What else ya' got?"

"Hehe . . . . watch and learn."

*KNOCK* *KNOCK*

"Nightmare Night!
What a Fright!
Give Us Something Sweet To Bite~!"

Danny smiled down at the pair of kids smiling up at him, bags tightly clutched in their hooves. "Hey, kids. Bet you want some candy, huh?"

"YEAAHHH!"

"Well here ya' go. Some for each of you . . . ." He said, dropping a few pieces of candy into each of their bags. " . . . and here's the bill." He handed them both two small slips of paper.

"Abill?"

"Yeah. What? You think candy comes cheap?"

*KNOCK* *KNOCK*

"Nightmare Night!
What a Fright!
Give Us Something Sweet To Bite~!"

The trio of fillies blinked in surprise as they watched Danny open the castle door, dressed in a waiter's outfit, complete with a cloth over his lifted hoof, slicked back hair and a curly fake mustache.

"Good evening, ladies." He said in a posh voice before handing the girls three restaurant menus, each holding a long list of different candies.

"Umm . . . "

"Would anyone care to take a look at the wine list?"

*KNOCK* *KNOCK*

"Nightmare Night!
What a Fright!
Give Us Something Sweet To Bite~!"

The group blinked in shock as the door quickly swung open and Danny marched outside. He was dressed in a camouflage suit and had war-paint smeared on his face. "What is this?!" He shouted at the group. "Why are you slimy, slack-jawed, twinkle-toed, idiots standin' outside my door?!" He snarled.

One filly glanced behind her at her friends before liftingher hoof. "Uhh . . ?"

"TEN HUT!"

Instantly, the group formed a line and froze in place. Why they did was beyond even them.

Danny glared down at the kids as he began to march back and forth in front of them. "Now, before any of you little urchins go off to war, you gotta be ready. Now, give me ten push-ups!"

"Exsuce me, what are you talking about?"

"Make it twenty push-ups!"

"Umm . . . why do we-"

"PUSH-UPS!"

"The kids around town keep saying weird things are going on around Princess Twilight's Castle."

"Really? I wouldn't take the princess as one to really pull anything, even on Nightmare Night."

"Ehh, maybe they're just pulling our legs."

"Probably. One of the girls even said they gotbilled."

"What?"

"I know, but let's just che-"

SPLAT!

"Ahh! What was that?!"

"I don't k-"

SPLAT! SMASH!

The two ponies gasped as a large chunk of slimy orange goop splattered onto their faces. Blinking in shock, they lifted their heads towards the castle.

On the grass outside the front door, a large wooden catapult had been set up, large orange pumpkins sitting on the base.

"PULL!"

Twilight sighed and yanked on the lever, the large structure swinging the fruit up into the air, where it smashed onto the ground in front of the couple. Danny clicked his tongue before turning back to Twilight. "A little more to the left!" He called.

"AHHH!" The couple screamed before turning tail and fleeing back down the road.

"This is such a bad idea, Danny!"

"Quit whining and find me another target!"

*KNOCK* *KNOCK*

"Nightmare Night!
What a Fright!
Give Us Something Sweet To - - Ohh!"

The two colts paused as the door opened and Twilight and Danny stepped out.

The mare was dressed as an indian, a long red feather pinned in her newly braided hair, paint smeared on her face and a long robe tied around her while Danny was dressed as a pilgrim, including a large black hat with a white sash and buckle around it.

In Twilight's hooves, she carried a basket filled with fruits and leaves.

The pair stared down at the colts in confusion before Danny reached behind him, pulling out a calendar as he began to flip through the pages.

The large group of ponies warily began to approach the castle. Word around town had it that the castle inhabitants were going bonkers. Well, they were going to see for themselves!

No way Princess Twilight was doing anything weird.

Well . . . . first time for anything.

In front of the castle door, there was a large golden throne, lines with red velvet pillows. On top of the throne sat a large orange pumpkin, a crown placed atop the giant fruit. On either sides of the throne stood Twilight and Danny.

The princess wore knight's armor, the window on her helmet open so that the crowd could see her face. Danny was dressed as a jester, complete with a fools hat, the bells jingling whenever he moved his head.

"Umm . . . what are-" One mare asked, only for Danny to bonk her on the head with his golden staff.

"OW!"

"Silence, peasant! All will bow before the Pumpkin King! Then we shall discuss the matters of candy!"

"What?! We aren't bowin' to no-"

"KNEEL BEFORE THE PUMPKIN KING!"

"Okay! Okay!"

Ponies passing on the street could only watch with open mouths as a large group of ponies suddenly began to bow to what looked like . . . . apumpkinsitting on a throne wearing a golden crown?

Alright . . . .

"Twilight! Danny?"

The five mares glanced at each other as Applejack knocked on the door once more, only to receive no answer once again. "Umm . . . we heard there was quite a commotion goin' on over here last night. Are ya'll okay?" She asked through the door.

She turned back to the others, who each shrugged their shoulders.

Turning back to the door, Applejack gently pushed it open, the group slowly walking in.

"Whoa!"

"Holy chaulpa!"

"Sweet Celestia!"

The castle was a mess. Different costumes lay strewn about, bowls were overturned, props of every kind were scattered and candy wrappers were everywhere.

In the center of the room, Twilight was lying on the floor, cuddling what looked to be a pumpkin wearing a crown as she snored while Danny was curled up in what appeared to be a giant catapult. Each had bars of candy hanging out of their mouths.

The girls stared at the scene in front of them with open mouths before Rainbow Dash cleared her throat. "Well . . . . this is . . .new."She breathed out, unsure of what else to say.

Rarity shook her head. "How many times has this castle needed to be cleaned in the last two months?"

"Twel- -ehh . . . thirteen times."

"Better make it fourteen."

Chapter 10: Rook

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Chapter 11: Rook

Danny watched with narrowed eyes as Spike continued to sweep in the kitchen, oblivious to the teen currently boring holes into the back of his head with his stare. "Alright, reptile." He growled to himself. "How will I traumatize you today?"

A loud sigh floated into the air behind the teen. "Why?" Was all the tired voice said.

Danny whipped his head around to glare at Twilight as the mare continued to strategize her next move in her chess game consisting of only one player: herself. "How can younotknow what he did? It's horrible! It's appalling! It's downright EVIL!"

The mare sighed and raised her head up from her game, making a'go on'motion with her hoof.

"He ate my cookie."

"Are you serious?!"

"Yes! That little son of a bitch ate myfrikkincookie!"

"Language!"

"I don't care!"

Twilight let out an exasperated groan before turning back to her game. "So, what? Now you're plotting on how to make Spike feel the same amount of pain he caused you?" She asked sarcastically, slamming her hoof into her face as the teen quickly responded with a yes.

She shook her head slowly. "You are one strange kid, Rook." She called.

Danny glanced at her in confusion. "Rook?" He asked.

Twilight chuckled and pulled herself away from her game once more. "Yep." She called, before turning down to the chessboard, levitating a small piece off the board.

"If we tried to think of this like a game of Chess, you'd probably be a Rook." She continued after receiving a long look of confusion. "You see, the rook's one of the more powerful pieces on the board, especially when it comes to delivering checkmate. They're a more strategic piece. Always thinking of the endgame." She said with a knowing smirk, setting the piece back down on the board.

Danny shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever you say, Twi. As long as the rook gets to dish out some sweet revenge." He said with a grin.

Twilight rolled her eyes and walked over. "You finally figure out what you're gonna do?"

"Yep! Andyou'regonna help me."

"Do I have a choice?"

"Nope!"

"Great."

"Can you try not making a mess with this next spell?" Spike called to the mare down below as he continued to reshelf a large stack of books from atop one of the library ladders.

Down below, Twilight and Danny were reading a spell book, the mare eager to try out a new spell, hopefully one that did not result in a mess Spike would have to clean up later. Though he tried to ignore the giggling pair and merely focus on his chores so he could finish up early.

That new comic book wasn't going to read itself.

"Alright, I think I've got it down."He heard Twilight say from below.

"Hey, why is that the expression? Why not: I got this up? Actually, why choose a direction anyways?"Spike rolled his eyes at the teen's comment. Though he begrudgingly had to admit the teen had a point, which was usually the case for his stupid questions.

"Admit it, Twi. It doesn't make sense."

"Nothing you say makes sense."Twilight muttered. "Now be quiet. I have to concentrate."

Spike glanced down at the pair, watching as the glowing pink light from below began to grow before turning back to his work.

Suddenly, a large blast of white light filled the room, making the dragon stumble atop the ladder. Dropping the books, he instead chose to wrap his claws around the ladder and cling on for dear life.

After the ladder finally decided to stop swaying, the dragon turned his head to glare at the pair, only to scrunch his face in confusion when he noticed the light from below hadn't dimmed yet, hiding the two from view.

"Uhh. . . guys?" He called, quickly sliding down the ladder and jogging over. The sight made him gasp and stumble backwards.

Twilight and Danny were nowhere to be seen, but the same couldn't be said for theirplushies.

Literally.

On the floor, there were two plushies, one purple with dark blue hair and shiny purple button eyes, the other white with black hair and blue button eyes. All in all, they looked exactly like Twilight and Danny, you know. . . . . inplushieform.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" Spike mumbled as he ran over, reaching his claws over, only to retract them hesitantly. "Umm . . . Twilight? Danny?" He called out softly.

Danny plushie stared up at him with its soulless button eyes while Twilight plushie merely flopped over.

"Aw geez! Oh goodness!" Spike rambled as he gingerly picked up the two plushies in his arms. "What kind of spell was that?!" He shouted, only to realize the spell book was gone as well.

"Well great. Ahh . . . I hope this spell is temporary. Who would I even call for this?!" He shouted to nopony in particular.

He glanced down at the two plushies with a worried frown. "Umm . .. what do plushies even eat? Cotton balls?" He mumbled to himself before walking out of the hallway, plushies in tow. "Don't worry. I'll take care of you guys till this thing wears off. I'll go talk to the girls, see if they can do anything and . . . ."

His voice trailed off as he walked farther and farther away from the library.

Suddenly, another bright blast of white light exploded from the center of the room, Twilight and Danny popping into existence. Both immediately flopped to the floor, gasping for breath as they clutched their stomachs.

"Oh man! That was hilarious!" Danny choked out, rolling around on the floor.

Twilight wiped a tear from her eye. "It'll be even better when we watch Spike wander around Ponyville all day talking to two plushies." She giggled, Danny letting out a snort of his own. "Ponies are gonna think he's crazier than a drunk rabbit."

Twilight let out a chuckle before she grew quiet, a stray thought coming to her.

"Hey Danny. Where'd you get those plushies from anyways?"

" . . . . "

"Danny?"

" . . . I don't think you want me to answer that."

Chapter 11: Terrors

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Chapter 12: Terrors

Despite what many ponies would believe, it was relatively easy living with a baby dragon, especially one that didn't really care for the taste of pony. And even though Twilight had never met any other dragons relatively close to Spike's age, she could still tell he was special either way.

Yet, of course, there were the unavoidable events that could only arise from someone as young as a child, even adragon.These would include early bedtimes, childish hobbies (there wasn't a single comic book in Ponyville Spike didn't own), and of course . . . .nightmares.

Over the years from when she first met Spike, Twilight had experienced more than one restless night. Now, nightmares were a common thing among anyone, but she knew they could always affect children worse than others, even if that child happened to be great at cooking, cleaning and sorting library books.

So, as the years passed, with every terrified shriek that woke her in the night, maternal instincts would kick in and she would quickly be up on her hooves, ready with comforting words and long hugs.

Now,Dannywas a different case altogether.

While Spike was always open to share whatever he was feeling, whether that was just talking about his day at the dinner table, or confessing what his dream was about, Danny . . . Danny never sharedanything.

Oh sure, he would talk . . . . .a lot,but he would never share any concerns with Twilight, at least nothing major. No matter how much she would poke and prod at him, he would merely wave her off with a snarky comment and change the subject.

This, of course, made the mare wonder. Why wouldn't he share anything with her? Was he embarrassed? Did he not think it was worth it? Did he not trust her?

That last thought would always make the mare's heart clench slightly. Even though she had only known the teen for a short while, it was obvious they had bonded. Him, the girls, even Spike. They had all bonded. So . . . . why couldn't he trust her?

But Twilight would quickly brush those thoughts away, mentally telling herself that Danny was just a private kid, and that he liked to keep some things to himself. After all, it was pretty obvious Danny wasn't like many other kids. Whenever she would wonder about it, she could never identify justwhatit was that made him so different. He just . . . was.

Although it became painfully obvious to her that he wasn't as different as one could hope when she would be awoken by screams in the middle of the night, ones that obviously didn't belong to her scaly friend.

Now, Danny had had nightmares before, and most of them never produced a sound from him. He would merely jolt awake in a cold sweat, panting heavily. Quickly deducing he would not fall back asleep anytime soon, he would merely walk to the kitchen and grab a snack.

Then there were the times hedidscream. It had only happened once or twice, but each time, Twilight would race to his room. Andeverytime, the teen would always assure her he was fine, even if it was clear he was not.

In fact, the only reason she knew about his silent nightmares were because he would usually run into Spike on his way to the kitchen, the little dragon occasionally waking to grab a midnight snack. And even then, it wasn't every night.

Who knew? Danny could have nightmares every night and nopony would know a thing! Just the thought of it infuriated Twilight, the strong feelings surprising her sometimes. In the back of her mind, she knew what those feelings meant, but she would always chalk it up to being a good friend and nothing more.

Yet whatever nightmare Danny would have, there was always one thing in common. He wouldnevertalk about them. Ever. Whenever Twilight would question him about them, he would instantly tense up before cracking a joke, quickly changing the subject. Frustration would be an understatement to describe Twilight's predicament, but what could she do?

How could she help somepony who didn't want help? What could she do when every time she tried to get through to him, he would instantly create a barrier of smiles and jokes to keep everyone in the dark.

But what if the barrier doesn't come up? What if, one night, he would be so rattled that his mind would not allow the barrier to come up at all? Twilight sadly got the answer to her question one night. She was instantly awakened when a loud scream pierced through the quiet night air.

Danny's eyes had shot open, but the images of his dream would not go away. They continued to flash before him, shocked gasps and choked breaths would escape his mouth in irregular patterns as he tried to figure out where he was, but nothing seemed to be working. He couldn't think. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe.

Tumbling off the bed, he landed painfully on the cold castle floor, the flashing images before his eyes refusing to fade away. Crawling underneath the bed, Danny had curled around himself, wrapping his tail around his shivering body. The world around him continued to spin as everything began to flash black with traces of blues, reds and greens.

It felt almost as if he were underwater. Everything was muted and blurry and cold.

Freezing.

That was how Twilight found him. Curled up underneath his bed, staring ahead blankly, tears streaming down from his faded empty eyes. "Danny?" She had called, a small twinge of fear shooting through her when the teen's ears didn't even twitch. It was as if he couldn't see or hear her at all.

Using her magic to gently pull him out from underneath the bed, she had wrapped her hooves around him, nearly recoiling from how shockingly cold he was, almost as if his fur was pure ice. Nevertheless, she had tucked his head underneath her chin and gently rocked back and forth, praying the teen would wake up from whatever nightmare he was obviously still having.

It had taken at least an hour to finally pull Danny out of the trance he had been trapped in, blue eyes finally blinking back into their original state.

"T-Twilight?" He had called softly, barely even a whisper. Barely even a word. Barely even a sound.

"I'm here, Roo." She replied gently, running a hoof through his hair. "I'm here."

Then he was crying. Without another word, he had merely buried himself into her chest and sobbed, his entire body shivering from fear and exhaustion. Twilight said nothing else, knowing there was nothing shecouldsay. But what made her feel worse wasn't the fact that it had taken an hour to free Danny of his mental prison, or the fact that the usually happy, bubbly teen was now sobbing into her chest.

No, it was the fact Danny wouldn't say a word on this the next morning. As usual, he would ignore it and crack a smile. And Twilight would have to live with the fact that the young colt was suffering inches away from her and she couldn't do a damn thing about it!

Still, she knew it wouldn't be able to last forever. Those were the thoughts going through her head as the colt fell asleep in her hooves, cheeks still glistening. Sooner or later, she would get him to open up. As she placed the sleeping colt onto her back, those thoughts continued to give her hope all the way back to her room, where she climbed back into bed, placing the unconscious teen next to her as she floated the sheets over his sleeping form.

Shewouldget him to trust her.

"I promise, Danny."

And that was a promise she planned on keeping.

Chapter 12: Borderline

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Hey, just a heads up! This chapter takes place around two weeks after the last one!

Chapter 13: Borderline

"Interesting." Twilight muttered, her and Spike sharing an exasperated look before turning back to Danny, who was currently out cold in his seat. In front of him, a bowl of cereal lay untouched, the flakes inside quickly turning into mush.

"I don't know why this even surprises us anymore." Spike mumbled as he hopped off his chair and grabbed his and Twilight's empty plates, which once held a high stack of pancakes, silently walking into the kitchen to get started on the dishes.

Twilight watched the little dragon leave before turning back to Danny, whose snoring form slowly began to tilt forward. Suddenly, his head dropped down and slashed into the bowl of cereal, milk splattering onto the table. Surprisingly (though not really), the teen didn't stir. Instead, a small stream of bubbles could be seen in the white liquid.

"Ahh . . . death by cereal. What a way to go." The mare muttered to herself, a small grin appearing on her face as the teen suddenly lurched awake, coughing and hacking in surprise as to why there was now milk in his nose.

"Wow, you lasted a whole thirty seconds this time." Twilight said with a roll of her eyes. "I think that's your best time yet."

Danny said nothing as he slowly blinked back into reality before grabbing a few napkins off the table, wiping the milk away from his face. "Well, nothing like a nice bowl of milk and diabetes to wake you up in the morning." The teen said with a grin of his own.

His mirth was not shared by his companion, who merely gave him a small look of concern. "I'm going to guess you didn't sleep too well last night." She said softly.

Danny's smile faltered at her words, instantly realizing what she was referring to. "Twi, I know what you're thinking, but I'm okay. I just didn't go to bed as early as I should have, that's all." He said reassuringly, the mare giving a small hesitant nod after a moment's thought.

Well, not a total lie.

The truth was, Dannyhadn'thad a nightmare last night, partly because he'd only been able to get two, maybe three hours of sleep at the most. And while Twilight could only assume it was his nightmares to blame for his fatigue, that was only a small part of it.

In truth, Danny was never evennearthe castle during most nights.

Ever since the teen had arrived in Ponyville, he had made it his routine to wait till everyone was asleep before transforming into Phantom, scouting over the town and the ones nearby. In the beginning, he would never go too far, just a town here, a city there.

Then, after a month of nothing, the teen knew he had to expand his search.

From then on, Danny would sneak out as soon as possible and travel as far as he could, sometimes even going as far out to places like Las Pegasus, Fillydelphia and even Manehattan. Often, whenever he did travel to the farther cities, he would barely get back to the castle before dawn.

Yet all of his searches yielded the same result.

Nothing.

Nada. No evil castles, no booms of thunder or cracks of lightning above a dark and menacing cave, not even an evil villain cackle in the distance. In fact, if he didn't know any better, Danny would assume Vlad wasn't eveninEquestria.

Though, of course, the teen knew better than to go and doubt Clockwork.

Still, the teen couldn't help but worry. He'd been in Equestria for around two months, and he still hadn't been able to dig upanyleads as to where Plasmius might be hiding. After the first month passed, Danny quickly began to wonder what would happen back home if he didn't return before summer ended, but then he remembered Clockwork was the Master of Time and had promised he would take care of any problems back home.

He'd just have to trust the ghost.

In fact, Clockworkdidhave everything under control. All it took was a wave of his staff followed by a stern scolding from the Observants to fix the problem. Before sending Danny to Equestria, both it and Earth traveled through time equally. A day in Equestria equaled a day on Earth. But knowing that could soon lead to problems, Clockwork created a temporary solution.

Unbeknownst to Danny, his time problems were completely handled. With some of Clockwork's meddling, a day in Equestria was now only around six to seven hours on Earth, a week was now roughly equivalent to two days, and a month was around ten days.

Still, there were times Danny considered leaving Ponyville. After all, it meant not having to worry about making it back to the castle in time before anyone woke up. It'd mean exploring new areas he had yet to discover. But every time the thought appeared in his mind, he'd instantly shoot it back out.

He knew what the right choice was, but he just couldn't bring himself to leave. He couldn't leave his friends, Spike, Twilight. They'd given him so much; a town, a home, friendship. They'd greeted him with open arms, even when he'd denied them.

He . . . . he just couldn't leave them.

So, if that meant flying a little faster to get home on time, then so be it. If that meant losing a few more hours of sleep, then so be it. And if that meant being stuck in Equestria for a little while longer, thenso be it.

They hadn't abandoned him, so how could he abandon them?

Still, the teen worried sometimes. After all, it'd only be a matter of time before hedidfind something that would lead to Plasmius. What would he do then? Obviously, Plasmius would either send some goons after him (if he even had any in this world), or come after him himself.

What if he came to Ponyville? What would happen to the girls? Would he try to use them against him? Would they find out about his secret?

Those thoughts would always make Danny tense up. What if the girls found out about his secret?

He could only hope they'd accept him, as he hoped his parents would. But just like with his parents, Danny had his doubts. Oh sure, Equestria wasn'texactlylike Amity, but . . . but he couldn't help but think back to when he'd first met Twilight and the girls.

The mare explained to him that she'd seen a vision of him - no - a vision ofPhantom, and it had been enough for her to distrust Danny. That obviously meant the vision had scared her, meantPhantomhad scared her. So what would she say if she found out the creature from her vision was not only real, but that he and Danny were one in the same? That he'd been lying to her the entire time.

And, just like when Danny would have these thoughts about his parents, the teen couldn't help the fear that crept into his heart.

Danny couldn't deny the fact that he cared about his friends. Which meant it'd only be harder if they didn't accept him. It'd crush not only them, but him as well. And it was those thoughts that stopped the teen from ever telling them about his powers. Just like back home, that fear was enough to freeze his mouth shut.

And that's how it'd stay.

Though the teen had to admit patrolling in Equestria was aloteasier than patrolling back home. Of course, the lack of ghostly enemies seeking revenge might have had something to do with it. Then, there were the days hedidn'tpatrol.

Boy, were those nights fun.

Danny had been having nightmares from ever since he had received his powers, and they had ranged all across the spectrum. At first, he would dream about his ghost half overtaking his human half, becoming full ghost, disappearing from existence, things like that. But as time wore on and he stopped fearing the powers inside of him, his fear extended outwards towards the world around him. And most recently, they had been centering on a certain pink-eyed man.

Back home, sure the nightmares had been bad, but the most they would ever do was jolt him awake. Here in Equestria, it was like his nightmares were cranked up to maximum. Maybe it was the magic in the air, maybe it was the mingling of his ghost core with the elements around him, or maybe it was the fact that they combined his worst fears of abandonment and betrayal from those closest to him, but whatever it was, it set his heart racing.

He cursed the fact that they made him scream aloud, barely able to keep it together when he was jolted awake, the ordeal becoming even harder with the fact that Twilight would burst into the room not even ten seconds later.

Still, Danny couldn't help the small twinge in his heart at the fact Twilight seemed so concerned for him. Then again, maybe it was a figment of his imagination, but the teen couldn't help but wonder if the mare reallydidcare for him.

Yep, even through all the problems swimming through his mind at times, Twilight and the girls could always bring him back down to Earth, usually with a cake waiting (oh, Pinkie).

"Hey, space cadet!"

Danny blinked back into reality as Twilight placed her hoof back down. "You okay, Rookie? You spaced out for a good few minutes there. I was seriously considering drawing on your face." She said with a roll of her eyes, hopping off the dining room chair.

Danny snorted and hopped off as well. "Oh, Twi. I'dloveto see you try. Plus, it'd give me an excuse." He finished with a wicked smile, Twilight's smirk instantly being replaced with wide eyes that slowly narrowed into thin slits and a small pout. "Hmph . . ." She huffed before walking into the library, Danny giving a snicker before following.

"Come on, you little moron. We're meeting the girls at the market today." She explained, watching the boy hop onto the couch and roll over onto his back, black hair for once not in his face, even if he did look ridiculous. "Why's that, Chief?" He asked.

Twilight cocked a brow at her new nickname before shrugging it off, merely assuming it was her new name for the day, which Danny justlovedto come up with. She gave a shrug of her shoulders at the question. "I don't know. Although, I do recall Pinkie saying something about some new recipes she wanted us to try out."

That instantly got Danny's attention.

"Tasting dummies, huh?" He asked with narrowed eyes, deliberating the proposal for a moment. " . . . . Alright, fine. Butyou'reeating whatever we get first. I amnotgetting my stomach pumped again!"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Oh, quit your bellyaching."

"EXACTLY!"

The mare let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't know why I take you anywhere . . ." She mumbled under her breath, turning back towards the dining room to tell Spike they were leaving when suddenly a loudBOOMsounded from inside, the entire castle rumbling from the force.

Twilight and Danny stumbled to the floor at the violent shaking, sharing shocked looks when it finally stopped.

"What the heck was that?!" Spike screamed, running into the room.

Twilight looked back towards the door. "I don't know." She confessed before glancing back at Danny. "Come on." She called before rushing out to the foyer, the boys right on her tail. Yanking open the door, she quickly noticed a thick black plume of smoke was rising from the center of town. "This way!" She called, running down the stairs, waiting at the bottom for Danny to catch up, Spike hopping onto her back.

Galloping to the marketplace, the three quickly noticed a large group of ponies gathered around what appeared to be a wooden market stand, or whatusedto be a market stand. Now it was nothing but splintered wood engulfed in roaring flames.

"What the heck did th-" Twilight started, only to stop as a loud laugh filled the air, harsh words echoing out around the clearing. "Where are you, Whelp?! I know you're here!"

Danny's pupils shrunk down to small black pinpricks as his ears flattened down against his head. "No . . " He barely even whispered, his ears instantly picking up on the recognizable tone of voice.

The ponies around the marketplace gasped as a creature they'd never seen before descended from the skies and hovered above them. His body was made completely out of metal and his hair consisted of green flames. He had toxic eyes of the same color and a wicked row of sharp, jagged teeth. Strapped across his chest were strange metal contraptions that were unfamiliar to everyone in the crowds, save for one little colt in the back.

"Twilight! Danny!"

The two ponies turned their heads and watched as Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie ran over, Fluttershy and Rarity quickly coming up behind them. "What the heck is that thing?" Dash whispered, watching as the creature continued to swoop through the air, piercing green eyes scanning the crowds for his prey.

"Do you think it came from the Everfree Forest?" Rarity asked.

"I don't think so. I've never seen a creature made entirely out of metal before." Twilight whispered back.

"Come out, you little rat!" The creature snarled before raising his arm, a bright blue blast firing out of one of the metal contraptions. The blast hit another nearby stand, which quickly exploded upon impact, fiery pieces of wood showering down around the now screaming crowds. Danny felt his heart hammering in his chest as he watched Skulker continue to zoom through the air.How?He asked himself.How is he here? I-It's not p-possible.

Suddenly, bright green eyes locked onto deep blue as the two saw each other. Skulker grinned as he narrowed his eyes. "There you are, Whelp." He snarled. The girls didn't even have time to blink as Skulker smashed into the ground, the force of the blow throwing them backwards.

"Girls!" Danny yelled, only to gasp as Skulker wrapped thick, cold, metallic fingers around his next, flying back up into the air.

He grunted and kicked out with his hind legs, only to hit empty air, Skulker giving a vicious laugh at the futile attempt. "What are you doing here, Skulker?" Danny growled, barely able to cough out the words at the amount of pressure the ghost was applying to his neck.

The ghost grinned at him, eyes narrowed in contempt. "I'd think it was obvious. Plasmius sent me." He barked, watching as Danny's eyes widened. "He wanted me to capture you and bring you back in one piece." He explained, his fingers beginning to press down harder into Danny's fur.

"But he didn't say which piece."

Twilight groaned and pushed herself up off the ground, vaguely aware of the other girls and Spike doing the same. Raising a hoof to her head, she could feel a small bump forming alongside her ear. Suddenly, her eyes darted up, quickly remembering a certain blue-eyed teen.

"Where's Danny?" She yelled at the others, who whipped around, quickly scanning the crowds for his shockingly white coat. Applejack lifted her head and flattened her ears at the sight. "THERE!" She shouted, trying to be heard over the panicked shouts of the galloping ponies around her, each looking for sanctuary inside of their homes.

Twilight followed where Applejack was pointing and gasped at the sight. The strange creature was back in the air, only this time, Danny was in his grasp. He had his hand clamped around the teen's throat while the boy struggled to pry the metal fingers off of him and suck in as many burst of air as he could, which was obviously becoming a losing battle as his motions began to slow.

"DANNY!" Twilight screamed in fear before her eyes instantly filled with rage. Unfurling her wings, she shot into the air and fired a huge pink blast at the creature, who roared out in shock as he flew backwards, Danny flying out of his grasp.

Twilight quickly dove down and caught the teen before he could hit the ground, the others quickly running over as the pair landed. Twilight placed a soothing hoof on the teen's back as he continued to cough and hack as he tried to suck in as much air as possible.

"Heh, surprising. The Whelp's managed to scrounge up a couple of little friends." The girls gasped as Skulker returned, glaring down at them with an amused smirk on his face. "No matter, I could always use some new wall art." He said with a wicked grin.

The girls each shared similar looks of disgust. "Uhh, eww . . ."

"There, you see! I told you it's gross!" Danny shouted up at the ghost, ignoring the strange looks his friends were currently giving him.

Twilight extended her wing out, pushing Danny behind her with it. "Danny, stay back. You too, Spike." She whispered, the girls quickly moving around to stand in front of them. "But I-" Danny started, only to be cut off as Skulker dove down.

The girls instantly scattered, Danny and Spike leaping backwards before the ghost could flatten them. His bright green eyes rose up and instantly fell on the pair, his grin sliding wider. Before he could take another step forward, another bright pink blast flew into the air, slamming into Skulker's side.

The hunter let out a roar of rage as he was sent skidding across the dirt path, eyes locking onto the six ponies before him, rage evident in his fiery gaze. "Boys, run!" Twilight shouted, barely dodging the blue blast that shot towards her.

"But-" Danny started, only to be cut off as Spike wrapped his claw around the teen's shoulder. "Come on!" The dragon shouted, sprinting down the street, Danny quickly following, eyes quickly narrowing before melting into a toxic green.

Spike panted as he stopped, placing his hand on one of the nearby building walls as he tried to catch his breath. "I . . . t-think we're s..safe here." The dragon panted, glancing over his shoulder for the teen, only to do a double take when he realized the teen wasn't even behind him anymore.

"Uhh . . Danny?"

Skulker let out a furious roar as another pink blast slammed into his chest, sending him flying through the air. Quickly righting himself, the ghost raised his arm, another set of blasters popping up. Twilight gasped and quickly dove for the ground as a frenzy of blue blasts whizzed through the air towards her.

Quickly pulling up at the last second, she let out a sigh of relief as the blasts slammed harmlessly into the ground, only to grunt in pain as a large metal arm slammed into her chest, sending her plummeting to the ground.

Before the hunter could dive down and finish off his prey, he was yanked to the side by a long thick lasso that was now wrapped around his leg. Staring down below him, he watched as Applejack, Pinkie Pie , Fluttershy and Rarity each pulled hard on the rope. Skulker scoffed and rolled his eyes, only to let out a shout of shock as he felt something ram into his shoulder, sending him crashing to the ground.

Whipping his head up, he watched Rainbow Dash hover above him, face contorted into a look of determination. "Hey, Rust Bucket! How 'bout you high-tail it out of here before you get your flank kicked?!" She shouted at him, only to yelp and quickly duck to the side as another blast fired from the hunter's arm.

"Fine, looks like we have to do this the hard way!" She yelled, diving down, only to watch Skulker smirk and wrap his fingers around the rope tied around his ankle. Swinging his arm forward, he whipped the rope through the air, the three mares in tow as they went sailing through the air, smacking Rainbow Dash down along the way.

"This is too easy." He murmured to himself with a smirk, only to let out a growl of annoyance as another bright pink blast slammed into the ground next to his feet. Whipping his head to the side, he leapt backwards as another barrage of blasts rained down upon him, Twilight's horn sparkling brightly as she continued to fire.

He narrowed his eyes and raised his arm again, only this time, instead of a blast firing, a large glowing blue net shot forward, entangling around the airborne mare. Twilight let out a yelp of shock as she quickly fell to the ground, suppressing her screams as the net began to burn into her fur.

Rarity and Fluttershy quickly galloped over, trying to pry the net off without burning themselves or Twilight any further. Skulker watched with a gin as he raised he readied his guns once more, only to gasp as a boom sound from down below, the force making him stagger backwards asconfetti?rained down around them. Turning to the side, he noticed Pinkie Pie was glaring at him, a large blue cannon now in her hooves. '

What the hell?He muttered to himself, only to quickly snap back into focus as Rainbow Dash slammed into him once more. "Ugg! Enough of this!" He snarled in rage as he latched onto the mare's wing and hurled her to the ground. She slammed into the others, sending them all to the ground.

Loud groans floated up into the air as the mares tried to blink away the stars from their eyes. Skulker landed a few feet away from them, glaring at them heatedly. "I've had just about enough of your nonsense." He growled. "I don't know why prey protests so. All I want is your pelt." He said with a sigh.

The girls glanced at each other before turning back to the hunter. "Umm . . . see, that's not usually the kind of thing ponies are willing to give up." Twilight called.

Skulker's face grew thoughtful for a moment before he shrugged his shoulders. "Oh well. Consider it a compliment." He grinned, raising his gun once more, the barrel quickly lighting up in a bright blue light as the whine of the charge filled the air. The girls gasped and shut their eyes, tucking their heads as they waited for the searing heat.

Suddenly, a loud shout of pain filled the air, followed by a large crash. Opening their eyes, the girls noticed three things. One: the liquid green dome around them that slowly began to melt back down into the ground, Two: Skulker was now lying on top of a crushed wooden stand, the wood quickly catching aflame, and Three: The new figure floating above their heads.

They blinked in shock at the scene before them before lifting their gazes to the newcomer. Twilight's eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat, which quickly squeezed shut.

Hovering above them was a colt, probably only around fourteen to fifteen years old. He had stark white hair and a midnight black coat which faded into sleek white hooves that matched the tips of his ears and the inside feathers of his wings. Protruding from the sea of messy white hair shone a dark black horn, which was aglow in green light. On his flank was a mark of a P inside of a D, which seemed to be ablaze in a green light.

But what really stood out were his eyes.

They were a toxic green.

"Hey, Skulker! Looking for me?!" Phantom shouted down to the ghost, who was rubbing his head from the last blast. The teen stole a concerned glance behind him at the girls, painfully aware of the fact they were all staring at him in shock and slight fear, especially Twilight.

The hunter whipped his head up towards the voice, a grin spreading onto his face as he realized who it was. "Finally. I was beginning to wonder if you'd have the guts to show up at all. It'll give me great pleasure toripthem out of you!" He snarled, flying forward.

Phantom narrowed his eyes and flipped onto his back, kicking up with his back legs as Skulker hovered over him, sending the ghost flying up into the air. "Ugg! There you go again with those mental images. I'm gonna have nightmares!" He shouted up at the ghost before flapping his wings, propelling himself upwards.

Skulker snarled and raised his arm, firing a stream of energy at the boy, who quickly twisted around it. Narrowing his eyes, Phantom lit his horn up with energy and began to fire his own blasts of bright green ecto-energy. Skulker snarled as one blast hit him in the shoulder. Before he could recover, Phantom shot forward and slammed his hooves down on the ghost, sending him crashing down to the ground.

Flying down, the teen landed beside the newly formed crater in the ground, narrowing his eyes as he tried to see through the smoke billowing out around him.

Suddenly, a large hand shot out of the smoke, wrapping around his neck as it slammed him into the ground. Phantom gasped and raised his hooves, quickly trying to pry the hands off as Skulker leaned over him, eyes full of malice. Eyes shimmering brightly, Phantom quickly turned intangible and phased through the ground.

Skulker gave a roar of frustration as he scanned the ground for the teen to reappear, only to gasp as Phantom shot out of the ground, slamming his hoof into the hunter's chin, sending him flying backwards. "So tell me, Tin Man. How come you aren't a pony like me?" Danny asked as Skulker flew back into the air.

The ghost gave a roll of his eyes. "Imbecile. My body is artificial. No matter where I go, it's not going to change forms like your organic body." He growled out, firing a small blast from his shoulder. Phantom phased through it without even moving from his spot. Suddenly, as Skulker's words sank in, his eyes grew wider. "Hold on! Does that mean your natural tiny green gremlin body . . . . is now atiny green gremlin pony?"

"Oh my god! That's priceless!" Phantom laughed, clutching his stomach as Skulker's eyes blazed green. "Shut up you pathetic little WHELP!" He snarled, the slots in his shoulders opening to reveal a large handful of rockets. "Crap . . ." Phantom muttered as he quickly whipped around, flapping his wings hard as he tried to out-fly the missiles that were currently hot on his tail, literally.

"While this form may not be what I quite imagined, I'll still enjoy having your head at the foot of my bed!"

"Again with the mental images! Would you knock that crap off already?!"

Phantom narrowed his eyes in determination as he continued to zoom through the air, the missiles relentless in their chase for their prey. Flying over to one of the nearby buildings, Phantom zoomed up at the last moment, one of the missiles connecting with the wall, exploding on impact, destroying a good section of the building. Phantom winced at the destruction, but pressed on nonetheless.

Four more, come on, Danny!

The teen flew higher into the air before quickly taking a sharp U-turn. Eyes locking onto Skulker, the teen felt a smirk form on his face as he flew down, prepared to give the hunter a taste of his own medicine. Phantom quickly flew past the hunter, causing the ghost to gasp and put up a shield of his own to block one of the missiles that strayed from its path and shot towards him instead. "Watch it!' He snarled, clenching his fists as he heard Phantom give a laugh.

Flying back up into the air, Phantom quickly leveled out his flying before whipping around onto his back, firing a green blast of his own at the lead missile, the projectile exploding on contact. Phantom grinned before flipping back to normal, diving back for the ground.

Eyeing the ground as he continued to get closer and closer, Phantom could feel the heat of the missiles behind him as he turned intangible, phasing through the ground. The missile connected with the ground, exploding into the Earth, creating a large crater of dirt and rocks.

Flying back out of the ground, Phantom hovered in the air, scanning the skies for Skulker once more. Suddenly, his ears perked in thought.Wait, weren't there five mis-He didn't have time to finish his thought as something slammed into his side, exploding in fire and metal as it sent him shooting backwards, where he slammed painfully into one of the building walls, a sickening crack filling the air.

He groaned and slid down to the floor. His ears rang loudly, the world around him sounding far-off and distant. He winced as he tensed his muscles. Glancing down, he noticed bits and pieces of shrapnel were embedded into his fur. Quickly turning intangible, he watched the metal clink to the floor, but the damage was done.

Blood dripped onto the floor, red quickly mingling into his black coat, seeping into his white hair as he felt the crimson liquid slowly drip down the side of his face. Shaking his head back into reality, the ringing began to die down as Skulker came back into view . . . unfortunately much faster than Phantom would have liked.

The ghost rammed his shoulder into Danny's chest, sending him skidding across the ground. Quickly righting himself, Phantom flew back into the air, ignoring the sharp stabs of pain, and fired a barrage of green blasts at the ghost. Skulker flew up into the air, nimbly dodging the attacks as he zoomed closer, ramming his fist into Danny's chin, the teen reeling backwards.

"You've gotten sloppy, child. Apparently you've been slacking off with your training." Skulker teased as he fired another round of blasts at the teen.

Phantom turned intangible before glaring back up at the ghost. "Yeah, cause the new body and appendages don't haveanythingto do with it!" He shouted, eyes melting into a pale blue as he fired a laser of ice at the ghost's chest, encasing him in a thick layer of ice.

The teen took the time to take a small breather. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, Skulker was right. Fighting in his new body wasmuchharder than Danny had first suspected.God, if I can barely fight Skulker, how on Earth am I gonna beat Plasmius?He wondered fearfully.

Thankfully, he had no time to dwell as Skulker broke free of his prison, the ice shattering into a million pieces. Taking another small breath, Danny flew back into the air, Skulker quickly giving chase.

. . . . . .

From the ground, the girls had been quick to take cover behind one of the remaining market stands, watching the fight over their heads commence with wide eyes and parted mouths. "Uhh . . ." Was all anypony had been able to mutter, all at a loss for words.

Finally, Rainbow Dash cleared her throat before giving her third attempt. "Umm . . . anypony else seriously confused?" She whispered, receiving five nods of agreement.

Applejack continued to stare at the mysterious colt fighting the strange creature before tuning back to Twilight. "Isn't that the creature you saw in your visions?" She asked.

Twilight remained frozen, eyes locked onto the teen fighting a few paces away. All she could focus on were his piercing green eyes. They seemed to cut through her, stabbing through her heart, gripping at her soul. The icy chill she'd experienced from before slowly began to crawl up her spine as she watched the creatures battling each other.

"Twilight?"

She was instantly snapped from her thoughts as Applejack tapped her shoulder. After taking a moment to recall her friend's question, she gave a small nod of her head. "Yep. That's him." She said softly.

"But . . . but how is that possible?" Rarity asked.

Twilight turned her gaze back to the battle before her, eyes locking onto the toxic green pools once more. "I don't know."

. . . . . .

Twisting around in the air, Phantom fired another stream of blasts from his horn.

Skulker dodged most of them, except for a small stray blast which connected with his shoulder, throwing him off balance. That was all the distraction Phantom needed as he flared his wings out, the tips quickly shimmering a bright green. Narrowing his eyes, he let out a loud grunt as he flapped his wings down hard, the energy shooting out, slamming into Skulker's chest, sending him to the ground once more.

Before he could even fly back down, Danny felt something loop around his hoof. Glancing down, he noticed there was a glowing green whip tied around his hoof. Skulker narrowed his eyes and dragged the rope down, Phantom yelping as he was dragged down as well.

Swinging the rope over his head, Skulker swung it towards a few nearby buildings, Phantom slamming painfully into them as he was swung through the air like a ragdoll. Eyes shimmering brightly, Phantom focused his ecto-energy at the rope, the whip disintegrating around his hoof.

Glaring down at the hunter, the teen dove towards him. Skulker tensed as he watched the colt dive straight towards him, only to blink in confusion as the boy phased right through his chest. Suddenly, he let out a roar of rage as he felt a large blast slam into his back, sending him stumbling forward.

Phantom growled and flew forward once more, only to gasp as Skulker latched onto his front hoof before he could even blink. The hunter snarled at him before hurling him over his shoulder, the teen barreling through the wall of another building. Before he could regain himself, Skulker raised his arm and fired at the roof of the building, the entire structure collapsing in a matter of seconds.

Silence rang out over the area as everypony held their breaths, wondering if the small alicorn would reappear as they watched the fight from inside homes and closed shop windows.

Suddenly, the large mound of rubble began to rumble before a large green blast shot out and into the sky. Skulker narrowed his eyes as he watched Phantom dig himself out of the pile of rocks. The teen gasped in pain as he tried putting pressure on his left hoof. Glancing down, he realized the white hoof was now stained red, the skin tearing where the large piece of metal had stabbed through, lightly grazing the bone as he tried to move.

Nevertheless, Phantom grit his teeth before pushing himself out of the pile, gingerly testing his wings before flying into the air. Skulker narrowed his eyes before lunging once more. Phantom tensed his muscles before leaping forward as well, bucking out with his back hooves, connecting with the ghost's chest, sending him stumbling backwards.

Flying up, he fired a large green blast, which connected with the disoriented ghost's shoulder. Satisfaction rang out through the teen as he realized that last blast had torn away at some of the ghost's circuits and wiring, the metal shining an orange tint as the shining surface became super-heated. Skulker took notice of this as well, though satisfied was not the word one would use to describe his reaction.

He surged forward once more, but Danny-a new determination setting in his core-was ready.

Ducking underneath the ghost's blow, he slid underneath the hunter's legs and flew back up into the air, ramming his hooves down on the ghost's jetpack, circuits and sparks shooting up into the air as the metal bent and snapped. Skulker let out a roar of rage as he quickly shook the teen off, eyes narrowing into tiny green slits.

The ghost screamed in fury as he shot forward faster than Phantom expected. Ramming into the teen, the two ghosts began to wrestle on the ground, each fighting for dominance as they continued to exchange blows and blasts. Whenever one would land a blow on the other, the other sent one right back. A hoof to the face, a fist to the stomach. A buck to the chest, a slash to the cheek.

Suddenly, Skulker's hand shot out, clamping down around the piece of metal still embedded in the teen's hoof, which-in the heat of battle-he'd forgotten to remove. Ramming it deeper into the colt's flesh, Phantom screamed as he felt his bone snap, sharp corners of metal ripping at the skin, blood rushing down his hoof at an even faster rate as the piece was yanked out. Nevertheless, he didn't give up the fight as they continued to exchange blows.

Suddenly, Skulker raised his arm, which quickly morphed into another gun. Phantom ducked underneath one blast, which connected with the dirt next to his head. Grabbing Skulker's arm, the two began to fight against the gun, neither refusing to let go. As Skulker continued to fire randomly, hoping to land a blow, Phantom continued to kick out with his back hooves, continuously throwing the ghost off balance.

Suddenly, Skulker's arm shot out, the barrel lighting blue once more as another random blast shot out, only this time, it wasn't as random. Phantom let out a shout of pain as the blast slammed into the side of his head at point-blank range, sending him flying backwards, tumbling along the ground before falling still into a motionless heap.

Skulker blinked in mild shock before shakily rising to his feet, groaning at the effort. His circuits were all but fried, the wires snapped and tangled together. Most of the weapons in his arsenal had been damaged or dented, and his suit was burned and scratched in more than one place. But Phantom didn't fair much better.

The teen let out a soft groan as he tried to rise to his hooves only to fall back to the ground more than once. His body was littered with slashes and bruises, most hidden underneath his black coat. Though it was hard to hide the blood on his white hooves, especially his front left leg, which was more red than white. Though, it was only slightly worse than his head. His stark white hair was dripping crimson drops as blood continued to pour down the side of his face, staining the ground below.

Finally, after a moment, the teen was able to rise to his hooves and meet Skulker's gaze. The two stared at each other for a moment before the hunter took a step forward. He leapt back at the large green blast that exploded in front of him before lifting his head once more. Danny glared at him, eyes burning their fiery green color as his horn sparked. He panted with exhaustion, but he continued to flare his horn nonetheless.

"Get out of here, Skulker." the teen snarled, impressed with the fact he was able to keep his voice from shaking.

Skulker hesitated for a moment, realizing it wouldn't be wise to continue the battle any further considering the amount of damage his armor had sustained, yet none pleased with the option to simply leave his prey. After a moment's thought, the ghost decided on the former, a small smirk falling onto his face. He wasn't about to leave without inflicting somementalscars as well as physical. "Very well, Child. I'll leave you be for now." He said as he turned away, only to tilt his head back. "But Plasmius won't."

And with that, the ghost turned intangible and flew into the ground, disappearing from sight.

Phantom stared at the spot where Skulker had disappeared, his last words ringing in his ears, leaving an unpleasant feeling in the pit of his stomach. Nevertheless, the battle was over and that was enough for him to let out a small sigh of relief, wishing for nothing but to collapse onto the ground and sleep. But he quickly became aware of the ponies that were staring at him, more specifically, the six mares that were emerging from the wooden market stand.

The colt let out a small groan. He could barely even remember where he was, let alone explain anything to the girls. Still, he weakly flew up into the air until he was hovering above them. Blinking the black dots out of his eyes, he focused all his energy on keeping his voice level and clear.

"Umm . . . hi." He called softly, watching his friends stare up at him, giving no signs of responding. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Hey, l-listen. If anymore . . . creatures c-c-come around here like that o-one, just avoid it ok-kay." He said, straining to keep from slurring his words anymore than he already was. "You won't b-be able to beat them."

Instantly, Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes, a frown forming on her face. "Hold up! You saying we aren't strong enough to handle ourselves?!" She challenged angrily, quick to hide all signs of her past fear in anger.

Phantom sighed in annoyance. Hesodid not have the strength for this. He could barely handle Rainbow Dash when he was atfullstrength. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying." He growled irritably, before taking a calming breath, the pounding in his skull not helping his situation in the slightest. "Look, it's not that you a-aren't strong enough, it's j-just that you don't know how to fight th-ose creatures, alright. They're t-too dangerous."

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to retort something, only for Phantom to cut her off. "Oh, would you just keep quiet and listen to me, please?!" He growled out, wondering if his skull was beginning to splinter into a million pieces, cause that's what it sure felt like. "There's already enough variety among the g-ghosts. I don't need to add talking horses t-to the list, alright?" He sighed.

"Just, please listen to me." He said softly before turning invisible, disappearing from sight.

The girls blinked in shock at the colt's disappearing act, though it was far from the strangest thing they'd seen that day. The soft sound of chattering ponies slowly met their ears as the surrounding building doors and windows opened up, revealing the many confused and nervous faces of the ponies of Ponyville.

One did not have to listen to their conversations long to understand what they were all muttering about, for it was the same topic on everyone's mind: What the HECK just happened?

Applejack broke off from the group to survey one of the nearby buildings, the particular structure one of the unlucky ones who had been caught in the middle of the fray. The whole right wall had been smashed in, the roof caving slightly now that it had no support. The windows were nothing but piles of broken glass and the floor was a sea of cracks and shattered tiles.

"Phew! Whoever they were, they sure did a number on these here buildings." Applejack called, walking back over to the others, each with concerned looks etched onto their faces. "Any idea what those things were, Twi?"

Her question was met with silence.

The girls glanced over at their friend. "Twilight?" Fluttershy called as she noticed the girl was staring at the ground. Staring through the ground.

How could this be happening?How could that . . . thatthingexist. Is shouldn't exist. It couldn't exist. It . . . it was just a figment of her imagination. A conjured up image from her mind. Nothing more than a mirage, a vision, a hallucination. Itwasn'treal.

So then, how come it was?

Twilight felt her heart thumping wildly in her chest, her mind swirling violently as she fought to find an explanation, only none would arise. And the notion frightened her. There wasalwaysan explanation. Always. It was the one thing she could count on. The one thing she could fall back on. Through all the crazy things that happened in her life. Through all the impossible feats that her and her friends proved to be possible. She always kept a level head by thinking through the reasons, the facts. And every time she did, it made those impossible events just a little more possible. Just a little more tolerable.

But this time, there were no facts. There were no reasons. There were no explanations. There was no tolerance.

This can't be real.She continued to replay the phrase over and over in her mind.That colt, that...creature, it shouldn't be real.Through the past few months, ever since she had first experienced the Vision Field, she'd relayed that message over and over in her head. She'd pushed it down, created a barrier between her mind and those . . . those images. If she could block out everything she'd see, everything she'd heard, everything she'd felt, then perhaps she could pretend they'd never happened in the first place. She could pretend she'd never felt what she had at all.

But now, with the reveal of the colt, now her words were unraveling. Her barrier was tearing down.

It all came flooding back.

Everything she'd felt with that Vision came rushing back, instantly overwhelming her to the point where she had to resist the urge to curl up on the ground and scream in. Her heart seized up, her stomach curled around itself, her throat began to tie itself into a knot. She couldn't see. She couldn't breath. She couldn't think. She couldn't do . . .anything.it was as if she was paralyzed by an unknown force, freezing her in space and time.

But in the back of her mind, in the core of her heart, she could feel it. She knew what she was experiencing, and it made her struggle for breath.

Fear.

Such an overwhelming wave of fear continued to wash over her. But the thing that frightened the mare the most was that she had no idea where the fear was coming from. Sure, it had first arisen when she experienced her Vision, but the sight hadn't been exactly frightening, just confusing. Though, to some ponies, the two words could be interchangeable.

But, nevertheless, as those mental barriers broke, she was instantly overtaken by that soul-freezing, mind numbing fear. How could anything overtake one's core so quickly, so suddenly?! It was as if her mind was no longer her own. Instead it was being swallowed up by something else. A fear that wasn't even her own. No, whatever it was, it was coming from something else. It came from her Vision. Her Vision of that colt...

Around her, the mare was so focused on escaping her thoughts that she never even noticed her friends around her. Not even when they began to call her name louder, the panic in their voices quickly rising to a noticeable level. Why wasn't Twilight responding? And why was she shaking...?"

Twilight continued to fight for control over her thoughts as she resisted the urge to drown in the thick black sludge of terror clouding her mind. Little by little, she began to pull herself away from the abyss. She'd read plenty on the subject of Dark Matter, and she'd done quite the number of research papers on how they could affect a normal pony body, but she'd never expected it to be so overwhelming.

But what still continued to elude her was how she'd been infected with the magic in the first place. As the fog slowly began to release her, Twilight tried to recall back to when she'd first experienced her Vision Field, vaguely aware of muted voices filling her ears. Muted shouts...

Reeling her mind back months, she tried to pick her way through her memories, which were still shrouded behind the veil of fog that concealed them. The Vision Field. It was months ago. Back at the Hay Burger. Sunset. Where she'd first met...

"Danny!"

Her friend's reeled backwards, the cloudy look in Twilight's eyes instantly lifting as she shouted out the name, all the sludge shrouding her mind dissolving. The other mares shared shocked looks. They'd been screaming the mare's name for a good solid five minutes, to no avail. No amount of shaking, slapping or screaming had roused the mare from whatever trance she'd been stuck in. Not even Spike-who'd quickly arrived at the scene at hearing the girls shout the mare's name-had been able to wake her. A small crowd had even started to gather as they all wondered what had become of the princess.

But the mare seemed unfazed by it all as she whipped her head around, quickly trying to spot the little white colt through the crowd, ignoring the way her head pounded against her skull, making her stomach churn in protest.

Rising to her hooves, Twilight ran over to the damaged line of buildings, eyes desperately scanning for the colt. She was so focused on her task that when Applejack placed a hoof onto her shoulder, it made her jump violently.

Applejack shot the mare a concerned look. "Maybe you should sit down, Sugar Cube. You're looking a little pale." She confessed, the others giving small nods of agreement. Twilight, however, gave no notion of heeding her friend's words as she backed away, letting the work horse's hoof fall back to the ground. "No. We have to find Danny."

"But I thought he was with Spike." Fluttershy stated, the group turning to look at the baby dragon. Any hope she'd been keeping that the colt was off somewhere hiding deflated as Spike shook his scaly head. "No. I have no idea where he went. We were running, I turn around and he's just gone. Like he disappeared or something."

Twilight turned a desperate look towards her friends. "You see? We have to find him. What if he's hurt?" She begged, eyes filled with almost as much fear as what she'd felt just moments ago. "Please..." She whispered, turning a desperate stare onto her friends.

Applejack stared at her friend, reluctant to let the mare run off once more, especially after whatever episode she'd just had. But, the look in her eye; that dripping desperation that seeped out of every word she uttered...

"Well what're we standin' around for? We got us a colt to find!"

Phantom felt his invisibility flickering with every passing second.Just hold on a little longer...He thought to himself, pushing his powers to the very brink as he tried to find someplace dark and secluded enough to stop and rest. Finally deciding on a nearby alleyway just down the street from Sugar Cube Corner, the colt began to fly over to it.

But immediately, he felt his energy levels drop significantly. Having enough sense to dive closer to the ground as his flight gave out, the impact was far less than what it could have been, but it still wasn't relatively...pleasant.

Crashing to the ground, he let out a yelp as he tumbled across the dirt-covered ground before slamming up against some of the debris that had piled up alongside the damaged house next to him. Coming to a stop, he collapsed onto his stomach, cheek pressing up against the cold ground as the familiar icy rings appeared from his waist, traveling up and down his body until Danny replaced Phantom.

The teen burrowed his head into the crook of his hooves to silence the scream that shot out of his throat before resting his exhausted head back down onto the dirty alley floor. Back home, transforming back into human form was always dangerous, especially when he had sustained injuries as Phantom. Whenever he'd morph back, his human body would instantly be overcome with a wave of indescribable pain as all the injuries accumulated into one bolt of agony.

Though his injuries were not as life-threatening now as they had been as Phantom, they were still bad enough to warrant concern.

The loud pounding in the boy's head made him want to curl up into a corner and pray for death as it cracked and smashed his skull into bits and pieces. That last blast from Skulker had sure done a number on him. Though if there was one positive from the pain in his head was that it was distracting him from the pain in hishoof,an injury he didn't think he had the stomach to look at, let alone think about.

Though, even through all the pain radiating out from his body, it was not enough to distract from Skulker's last words...

"Very well, Child. I'll leave you be for now . . . . But Plasmius won't.

The teen let out an exhausted sigh. "I can't do this anymore." He whispered to himself, the words dripping with sorrow and regret.

He'd wasted enough time here. Scouting wasn't enough anymore. Skulker's appearance had theorized it. His words confirmed it. Plasmius was still here, still plotting, and he'd just made the next move in their battle.I can't believe I let myself get so distracted!The colt screamed at himself, sure he'd say it aloud if he had the strength.

He knew from the start staying in Ponyville was a bad idea. This had only proven him correct. All the time he'd been spending here was just more time hewasn'tout there completing his mission: finding and defeating Plasmius. No, instead, he'd been wasting his time with ponies he wouldn't even remember in a year, if even that. The ponies weren't a part of his mission. They weren't a part of his plan. They weren't a part of his life.

So why had he made them exactly that?

There were plenty of theories the colt could ponder, but the one he knew to be most true was that he didn't want to be stuck in this new world without anything familiar. He didn't want to go months without confiding in someone all his problems and thoughts.

He didn't want to be alone.

The colt let out a tired sigh.I've made a big mess of this.He sighed to himself. If he'd just gone on his way after maybe a few weeks, then none of this would have happened. He wouldn't have placed his friends in danger. He wouldn't be battered and bruised. He wouldn't have this guilt gnawing at his stomach at knowing he'd have to leave his friends. His home...

He shut his eyes tightly and felt his anger spike once more. Thiswasn'this home. It was just a distraction. A distraction that was keeping him from hisactualhome. A distraction that was keeping him from hisactualfamily. A distraction that was keeping him from hisactualfrie-

Instantly, all the anger and resentment the boy had been feeling melted away, leaving only guilt and sorrow. No, that was a lie and he knew it. These girlswerehis friends. And that's what made his next decision all the more heartbreaking.

I have to leave.

The colt knew it was true. The only way he'd be able to keep his friends safe was if he left. The only way he'd be able to help Equestria was if he left. The only way he'd be able to protect his world from Plasmius was if he left. He had to leave. He had to. He had to. He had to.

. . . . .

So why couldn't he?

It wasn't just the pain from his injuries that paralyzed his muscles. Heliterallycouldn't leave. He couldn't even move. But why? Why couldn't he just force himself to get up and start walking? Why couldn't he move on and never look back? Why couldn't he leave?

"DANNY!"

His eyes shot open as the word pierced his ears. Lifting his head up with as much strength as he could, the teen watched Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Spike and Twilight all flood the street, each calling his name up and down the road, eyes scanning for his form. Farther down the road the colt could just make out the shape of other ponies doing the same.

They were looking for him.

Great. That's gonna make this a lot harder.The teen muttered to himself as he began to think of a way to escape without being seen. But after a while, he found he couldn't keep his mind focused. No matter how hard he tried, his eyes kept peeling back over to his friends.

As the others continued to search the block, Danny watched as Twilight moved into the center of the road. Her eyes were wide with panic and her chest heaved up and down, as if she'd been sprinting for the past twenty minutes.

Danny could only take staring at the mare's face for so long before he had to turn away, his throat instantly swelling shut as he fought to keep his breathing steady. Why was he so short of breath all of a sudden? He lowered his head and stared down at his hooves.I can't do it.He repeated once more.I can't stay with them anymore. Not if I want to keep them safe. Not if I want to help them.

Yet even though he knew the words were right in his head, they could not feel more wrong in his heart. Not when he could see just how scared and upset Twilight really was. He knew what would happen if he left. It wouldn't just affect him. It would affect the girls. He would be lying if he said they hadn't become good friends over their time together. They'd formed a friendship. They'd formed a bond.

This only meant that when he left, that bond wouldn't just break. It would shatter. It would shatter just like glass. Only glass didn't just crack here and there, affecting only a few places. No, if hit correctly, the cracks would stretch from each and every corner until it couldn't take anymore. That's what he'd do. Breaking that bond wouldn't just crack him, it would crack all of his friends, creating that possibility of them shattering.

The thought made him want to hurl.

He stared at the ground, his eyes scrunching in hate. But the feeling wasn't driven towards the girls. It was driven towards himself.You're supposed to be the hero, Fenton.He growled to himself.So what kind of hero saves people by hurting them?

The teen could only stare down at his shaking hooves as his mind twisted and tossed back and forth over what he should do, only to lift his head as he caught movement out of the corner of his eye.

Twilight had stopped running and had finally collapsed to the ground, panting as she pushed herself into a sitting position. Even from afar, one could easily tell the mare was shaking, though whether from exhaustion or fear even she didn't know. Her heart pounded against her chest as she watched her friends continue to search. She watched on, taking in a shaky breath before turning her gaze back down to the ground in front of her.

Where could he be? That was all she could think of as she'd searched. He had to be here somewhere. Ponies did not just disappear. And yet, as she had searched, the hope that burned in her very core, the same hope that told her Danny was around somewhere, waiting for her to find him, it slowly began to get dimmer and dimmer.

As more time pressed on with no luck, the mare felt that fire be replaced by something else: dread. There had to be a reason the boy hadn't been found yet. Perhaps he had hidden somewhere they just hadn't looked yet. Maybe he went back to the castle and they just missed him when they'd gone over to check inside. Or maybe. . . .

She pushed the last thought out of her head. She couldn't think that. Danny was out there somewhere. He wasaliveout there somewhere. He was resilient. He was smart. And yet, as the time passes, the mare couldn't ignore that last thought as it grew in possibility. No it couldn't! HE COULDN'T!

The pieces began to come together in her head no matter how much she willed them not to. Throughout that fight, buildings had been demolished left and right. Debris had been flying everywhere and stray blasts of magic flew throughout the sky. What if one beam hit the wall of a building? What if that wall was turned into nothing but large chunks of boulders and burning ash? What if somepony had been standing net to said building when it exploded? What if that pony had been a colt?

"DANNY!"

Twilight's last scream rang out throughout the air as her worst fears finally began to bubble to the surface. She craned her ears as she begged and prayed for a response. When none came, the mare flattened her ears, a look of devastation spreading across her face as tears pricked at the corner of her eyes.

Danny felt his heart crack as he lowered his ears and buried his head in his hooves, tears threatening to slid down his face.I . . . I have to . . . have to-He couldn't finish the thought as he continued to replay the look of sorrow on his friend's face.

Finally, the colt couldn't suppress a sigh as he rested his head on his hooves. "I can't." He finally realized, the notion making his head hurt even more than it had before, his stomach churning uneasily. He couldn't leave them. He couldn't hurt them like that. Not after everything they had done for him, everything they had taught him.

He opened his eyes and stared back at Twilight. The thought of leaving the mare hurt more than all of his injuries combined. He shut his eyes tightly with a newfound determination. He could do this. He could still complete his mission. The first thing he needed was information. Snd perhaps he could use the ghost attacks to his advantage.

No doubt Plasmius wouldn't relent in the attacks. More ghosts would keep coming. This only meant the information was comingtohim instead of him having to search it out. All he would have to do isshakeit out of them. The colt let out a tired groan. It was a stretch, but he could make it work. Hehadto make it work. So eventually, when he finally obtained enough information,thenhe could...

Leave.

He glanced back over at Twilight. "Guess you're stuck with me for a little while longer, Twi." He sighed. Though first thing's first, he had to actuallyget up.Thatwas gonna be a problem. Much time had passed as Danny had thought and all the energy he had been saving in his body had been quick to fizzle out, leaving him with virtually nothing. Still, the teen knew he couldn't justliethere forever.

Taking a deep breath, the colt focused on shifting his hooves. Even with closed eyes, he could tell just how badly his legs were shaking as he slowly began to push himself up. Panting with the movement, the teen continued until he had to stop and lean up against the wall to keep from sliding back down. Just the small action had caused his head to split apart and screech at him in protest, his stomach flipping left and right.

Letting out a groan of pain, Danny squinted his eyes open, bloody black tips of hair drooping down in front of his face. Gritting his teeth to resist screaming, the teen placed one hoof in front of the other, barely able to stop himself from collapsing back down to the ground.

I'm gonna need to practice fighting as a pony if I'm ever gonna hope to defeat Plasmius.The teen thought angrily, finally beginning to realize just how injured he was. And it was all from a simple fight withSkulker. Granted the ghost wasn't an enemy to bat an eye at, he shouldn't have been so beaten and bruised as he was.

Blinking the swarming black dots out of his eyes, the teen continued to slowly move forward, so focused on staying conscious that he never heard Spike shout his name in surprise as the reptile saw the colt out of the corner of his eyes. Rushing over, the baby dragon gasped as he saw the kid's condition. Hearing Danny's pained breaths was enough to snap him back to attention as he reached up and placed his claws on either side of the colt's face, Danny's eyes clearing to focus on the dragon in front of him.

"Spike?"

The dragon stared fearfully at the colt in front of him before calling over his shoulder, "Girls! Girls he's over here!" He screamed, feeling Danny shaking underneath his claws.

"DANNY!" Twilight gasped out, never even feeling her magic swirl around her as she automatically teleported over to him, the girls not too far behind her. Danny blinked open his eyes once more and caught sight of Twilight's fearful gaze. He couldn't help but crack a small smile. "Heh . . . h-hey, Twi..."

Behind the mare, her five friends couldn't suppress their gasps of shock and stares of disbelief as they caught sight of the colt, Twilight faring no better than them. "Oh my gosh, Danny . . . ." The mare breathed.

Danny more or less looked like he had gotten into a fight with a rabid bull . . . in a patch of broken glass . . . while on fire. His hair stuck to the side of his head, dripping wet with blood as it stained down the side of his face. Across his chest and back there were different slash marks, all varying in size and severeness. But none of that compared to his left hoof. Something had obviously pierced through the limb because the fur and skin was ripped to reveal muscle and bone as blood oozed down, pooling on the ground underneath his hoof, staining the dust and dirt black.

Following the gazes of his friends, Danny shifted his head slightly to glance at the wound. Instantly wishing he hadn't, he yanked his eyes up immediately before a weak smile drifted onto his face. "Oh . . . t-that? Pshh . . . it's j-just a scratch . . . n-nn-no big . . . d-deal."

Suddenly, the teen's body began to shake more violently as his legs finally gave out, buckling underneath him as he toppled forward. Twilight gasped and caught the colt before he could hit the ground. He struggled to lift his head, letting out an uneasy chuckle, though it sounded more like a strangled groan of pain.

Twilight's eyes scanned over the colt's injuries, her body seeming to freeze for a moment as her mind whirled once again. Though it was the warm crimson liquid that began to drip onto her hooves that finally broke the alicorn out of her trance. She blinked away her shock and whipped her head around. "We need to get him to the ER." She told her friends, the concern and worry evident in each word she spoke.

But as she felt the colt push away from her, she instantly knew something was wrong. "No w-way, Twilight." Danny croaked out, using what little strength he had to struggle in the mare's hold. "I-I'm no...not going to s-some...hospital."

"What?!" They all screamed out, staring at the colt as if he had just grown ten heads. He flinched at their shout, but stood his ground...well, as best he could considering...

"I'm n-not going"

Twilight shook her head in disbelief. "Danny, youhaveto go to the hospital! I mean, justlookat you!"

The colt shut his eyes and shook his head back and forth. He didn't mean to put Twilight in a difficult position, but hecouldn'tgo to a hospital. Most people would write off said proclamation for a silly phobia of needles, medicine or doctors, and Danny would be lying to say said fears didn't exist in him. After all, it wasn't as if he'd had many pleasant experiences in hospitals, especially considering his fight with Spectra and Bertrand a few months back still lingered in the back of his mind. Though his fear wasn't as pronounced or severe as his Techno Geek friend, it was still there.

But that wasn't why he couldn't let the girls take him.

No, it was for the same reason he tried so hard to keep his parents from finding his injuries. For he knew if they did, they would immediately take him to the doctors. They would then take his temperature, his heart rate and dish out many other tests.

Safe to say, they would find some very...interestingreadings.

A few weeks after obtaining his powers, Danny had been quick to realize just how much the accident had affected his body. Not only had it given him a new ghostly half, it had also affected his human half as well. His average temperature had dropped to 94.6, which was an average temperature . . . . for someone with hypothermia.

Thisalonewould raise many suspicions, not even factoring in the altered and confusing readings that would come from more tests. No. If he allowed the girls to take him to a hospital, he'd be putting his entire secret on the line.

Thatwasn'tan option.

Danny narrowed his eyes and tensed his jaw. "I'm not going." He growled out, his words so full of determination that they didn't even slur or stutter.

Twilight could only blink in shock for a moment before her eyes narrowed as well. "Yes, you are." She voiced, her words tense and firm.

"No, I'mnot."

The girls glanced at each other as the tension between the two ponies quickly filtered into the air. Finally, Applejack stepped forward and placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Don't you have medical supplies in the castle?" She asked.

Twilight turned to look at her. "But he-"

"Why don't we just take him to the castle and treat him here." The mare leaned in closer and whispered into the alicorn's ear, "So you can take him to the doctorlater." She urged, motioning to how the colt could barely even keep his head up anymore, let alone wait for them to finish arguing.

Twilight hesitated for a moment before letting out an exasperated sigh. "Alright, fine. Spike, run ahead and get everything ready. Fluttershy, Rarity, see if you can help him." She instructed, the dragon nodding his head as he began to sprint towards the castle the two girls following behind.

Wrapping her magic around the colt, Twilight gently levitated the teen into the air, resting him onto her back so that his head leaned up against the back of her shoulder. Sadly, Danny still let out a whimper of pain, despite how careful the mare's movements had been.

"Come on." She called to the others as she beckoned them closer. As the girls huddled together, Twilight felt her horn begin to shine brighter as the group was enveloped in magic. Suddenly, with a bright burst of light, the ponies disappeared, shimmering embers floating through the air.

A small ball of white light suddenly appeared in the castle foyer, growing in size until another blast of light enveloped the room, leaving the group in its wake. Twilight winced as she placed a hoof to her head, the large magical outburst doing little to ease her headache.

Nevertheless, the mare quickly rushed into the library, where Spike, Fluttershy and Rarity had already set up everything they needed. A thin blanket had been spread out on the floor, rolls of gauze, scissors, tape and pill bottles covering the table beside them.

Gently lifting Danny off of her back, the mare floated him over to the blanket and set him down as gingerly as she could, mindful of his hoof as she did so. Danny groaned in pain as he tried to curl up on his side, tucking his tail close to his body as he scrunched his eyes in pain, his breaths coming out in short pants.

Twilight's eyes glossed over in sympathy as she reached out and stroked the boy's bloody locks, brushing the hair out of his face. The teen fluttered open his eyes and stared up at the mare, exhaustion evident in his glossy eyes.

"H-he'll be alright, right T-Twilight?" Fluttershy asked softly, watching the rise and fall of the colt's chest worriedly. Rainbow Dash tried to smile, but it ended up looking more like a grimace. "O-of course he'll b-be alright. It's Danny w-we're talking about. This li-little punk's too stubborn n-not to be . . . . right?" She called, everyone turning their gazes to the alicorn currently measuring out the gauze.

Snipping off the proper amount, Twilight didn't even lift her head as she set to work. "I think so. I just need to take care of this quickly before he gets any worse." She said calmly, trying her best to remain cool and collected, despite how hard her heart was pounding or how painfully her head was cracking.

Twilight grabbed one of the small rags Spike had collected and lifted up the bottle of antibiotics. Coating a small portion of the rag in the strong-smelling liquid, she glanced back down at the colt's leg. If she hadn't been in such a rush, the mare would have noticed how the wound was now less severe than when she'd first seen it, the teen's healing abilities finally having kicked in slightly.

"This is probably going to hurt." Twilight said gently before lowering the rag onto the bloody wound. Danny hissed in pain and squeezed his eyes tighter as she ran the rag over the slash, cleaning the blood and grime away from the injury. After deeming the wound clean enough, she moved onto the gauze and began to wrap Danny's hoof. After making sure the wrap was tight and secure enough for her liking,she turned to the girls. "Go on ahead to the throne room. I'll be there in a minute." She said before turning back down to the colt.

The girls glanced at Danny for a moment, hesitant to leave their young friend but eventually complied, filing out of the room. Twilight gave a small glance at the door before drifting her eyes up to her horn. Feeling her magic begin to pool, she lowered her head and rested her horn on the top of Danny's head. She was glad her friends had listened to her instead of insisting they stay, for she knew they probably would not approve of her current actions.

She watched silently as she began to transfer some of her magic to the young colt in front of her. A small smile began to form on her face as she watched the pain in his face lighten slightly as his energy levels were slowly refilled. Finally, as she felt her head spin slightly, Twilight stepped back. The spell was risky, that she knew. After all, one could always exert themselves too much and release more magic than required...or desired. That could then lead totwoinjured ponies instead of just one. But Twilight knew she couldn't let Danny sit and suffer for longer than he already had. He was worth the risk.

Still, one could never be too careful. Turning her head, she floated the bottle of pills over to herself. Removing two, she handed them over to Danny. "Take these." She said, wiping the blood off of his cheek.

Danny glanced at the pills before complying, swallowing them with ease before resting his head back down onto the blanket, staring off into the distance as he let out a small sigh. Brushing the colt's hair out of the way, Twilight placed down the bandages on the side of his head, casting the boy a small glance as she noticed how dull and tired the boy's normally bright blue eyes were. "Are you okay?" She asked softly, brushing the tip of her wing against his cheek.

Danny gave her a small smile. "Yeah, I'm fine." He said with a shrug before adding as an afterthought. "I've been through worse anyways."

The comment made Twilight's face scrunch in confusion, but decided against asking the colt anymore on the subject. If past experiences had taught her anything, it was that Danny wasn't one to share his thoughts. Still, her eyes couldn't help but drift over the colt's injuries, a pang of guilt shooting through her heart. "Danny, how did this happen?" She finally asked, noticing how nopony else seemed to badly injured from the fight.

Danny tensed slightly before giving a small shrug of his shoulders. "I was hiding o-out between these t-two buildings when a stray bl-blast hit the wall. Safe to say, I-I didn't come out u-unscathed." He joked. He hated to lie to the mare, but the truth just wasn't an option for him.

Twilight found no humor in it as she flattened her ears slightly and turned away, an action Danny was painfully aware of. He placed a shaky hoof on the mare's shoulder as he slowly sat up. "Hey, it's no big deal, Twi. I-I'm fine. Really, I a-am." He called with a small smile.

Twilight turned her head to stare at the colt before a smile formed on her face. She wrapped her wing around the colt and brushed a hoof through his hair. "How are you such a magnet for trouble?" She sighed before wrapping her magic around the colt, placing him on her back once more.

Walking out of the library, Twilight was quick to make her way to the throne room, the girls and Spike already seated in their respective seats. Twilight took her place on her throne and placed Danny next to her in the chair, considering it was big enough for the both of them.

"Alright, somepony want to explain what the hay just happened out there?!" Applejack asked with a frown.

Before any of the girls could even open their mouths to voice a theory, Danny raised his good hoof, causing all eyes to turn to him. "Umm...I think I can explain." He said as he silently began to try and figure out just how much information he could share with the girls without exposing himself. After all, they deserved to at least knowsomething. "That big metal thing was Skulker: Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter." He explained, jumping slightly as Twilight's gasp met his ears.

"The Ghost Zone?" She echoed. "B-but that's just a myth?" She exclaimed.

Danny shook his head. "Nope. Afraid it's all too real." He sighed. The others around the table shot them confused glances. "Uh . . . what's the 'Ghost Zone'?"Rainbow Dash asked, the others sharing her look of confusion.

Twilight glanced down at Danny before raising her head. "The Ghost Zone is an alternate dimension where are ghosts are said to reside." She explained. Danny nodded at the mare's explanation as she continued. "I've read plenty of books on it, but I never thought it was real." She said in disbelief.

Danny merely gave a shrug of his shoulders. "Ghosts Exist. Why not a Ghost Zone?"

Rarity furrowed her brow in thought as she finally clicked two and two together. "Ghost Zone's greatest hunter? Wait! That was a ghost? They werebothghosts?" She asked, the others' eyes widening at the realization.

Danny nodded his head. "That's why it was so hard for any of your attacks to land on him. Ghost bodies are much different from physical ones. They're a lot more resilient to mortal attacks, though magicdoeshave a greater effect on them. Though if you really want to hurt them, then you'd need ghost weapons or something of equivalence, as long as it can disrupt the molecular structure of ectoplasm-which is what all ghosts are made of." He explained to them.

Fluttershy placed a hoof to her chin. "But why was he after you, Danny?" She asked, Rainbow Dash tilting her head beside her. "And...and how doyouknow so much about ghosts anyways?" She asked, fighting to keep the suspicious out of her voice, though one could tell it was present nonetheless.

Danny sighed. "Well to answer your first question: Skulker doesn't like me very much." He muttered.

"But why? You're so fun!" Pinkie Pie said, spreading her hooves wide to emphasize her point. Danny merely shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows? That guy's always been a little . . . loopy." He finally settled on. "And as for your question, Dash . . . ." He trailed off slightly, biting the inside of his cheek before continuing. "My home is pretty much infested with ghosts. So ghost attacks have basically become a daily thing." He explained, vaguely aware of the fact his muscles were beginning to get heavier and heavier with each passing moment.

"What?!" Spike shouted, voicing everyone else's thoughts. Twilight stared down at the colt incredulously. "Well if it's that bad, then Princess Celestia should know about it." She exclaimed. "Maybe she can do something abou-"

"No!" Danny shouted suddenly, everyone quickly falling silent at the teen's outburst. He blushed slightly as he felt their eyes on him and rubbed the back of his neck. "No, that's really not necessary. It happens everyday. We're used to it." He said quietly.

The girls glanced at each other for a moment before turning back to Danny. Everything was finally starting to click now from when they'd first met him. The hesitant attitude. The multitude of scars. The reluctance to return home. Applejack raised her hoof. "Are you sure, Sugar Cube? I mean, based on those scars you have, these ghosts aren't the friendliest bunch."

Danny merely shrugged it off. "It's fine, really." He said, a yawn escaping his mouth before he could even process just how tired he was getting. Whatever pills Twilight had given him, they were working, and workingfast.

Twilight hesitated for a moment before nodding her head. "Alright, if you say so. But...I still want to keep an eye out on that. And you'll have to tell me more on that later." She instructed the teen, who gave a small nod. The teen's confession had left the mare floored.Ghosts? Infesting his town?She would be lying if she said the information hadn't left her a little hurt. Sure, she knew he wasn't the mostopenpony, but she would think he trusted her enough to tell him about something like that. Still, she decided to shrug it off and question him about it later. After all, there was an even greater subject on topic. "And what about that other ghost?" She asked.

If Danny wasn't sitting right beside her, Twilight was sure she never would have noticed how he instantly tensed at her words. "That's Phantom." He finally uttered softly. "Nopony really knows much about him." He said, realizing he wouldn't be able to reveal anything on him, considering. The answer obviously wasn't good enough for Rainbow Dash as she folded her hooves. "Well I don't trust him." She growled out.

Rarity merely rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. You're just upset because he made you mad." She scoffed with a wave of her hoof. After all, anyone who injured Dash pride was sure to get on the pegasus's bad side.

Across the table, Applejack shook her head. "Actually, I have to agree with Rainbow Dash. I mean, this guy shows up right after the other ghost does. Doesn't that seem a little weird to ya'll?" She asked. Fluttershy's face scrunched up in confusion. "But hesavedus from the other ghost. Doesn't that make him agoodghost?" She questioned.

Twilight shook her head. "There aren'tthatmany books on the subject, but from what Ihaveread, most ghosts are shifty and distrustful. They'll do whatever they can to complete the task at hand, if they even have one at all. There are even some ghosts who don't even have a right mind. Some are just senseless, mindless monsters. But for those ghosts who are a little more evolved, they're willing to feed, haunt, conquer, you name it." She explained.

Now, she couldn't be sure, but Twilight was almost certain she heard Danny let out an annoyed groan beside her before he buried his head in his hooves. Merely writing it off as the teen's medicine finally kicking in, she took little concern in it. In actuality, Danny was considering leaping through the window if only to ease his suffering.Come on! I knew they'd be a little skeptical, but this is frikkin ridiculous!He muttered to himself as another yawn filtered out of his mouth. He was sure he would have kept pondering the problem if he was able to see straight, or even think straight for that matter as the medicine continued to filter into his system.

As the teen continued to fight sleep, the girls kept discussing the newcomer to their small town. "Well did you see that guy? He had wingsanda horn." Pinkie Pie pointed out.

Twilight nodded, her eyes flickering with questions. "I've read almost every book on the history of Equestria there is, and I'veneverheard of an alicorn colt who died." She stated to the girls., who passed each other strange looks. "Well then, where did he come from?" Rarity asked.

the alicorn shook her head. "I don't know. But judging from that fight, he's powerful.Reallypowerful." She hesitated for a moment in thought before continuing slowly. "And...and if there's even aslimchance he's like all those other ghosts, if there's aslimchance he's actually our enemy, we'll have to be prepared for it." She instructed, the others tilting their heads at her in confusion. She let out a small sigh. "I really hope this ghostisa good ghost, but from what I've read, it doesn't seem likely."

Fluttershy furrowed her brow. "I don't know girls. I don't think we should judge this colt too quickly. After all, he hasn't given us any reason to." She explained. "Maybe he just wants to help."

Rarity lifted a hoof. 'But why would a ghost fight its own kind?" She asked. "I mean, from what Twilight's books said, don't they basically all want the same thing?" She questioned. Pinkie Pie tilted her head. "I don't know. Maybe he's different from the other ghosts." She theorized.

Rainbow Dash narrowed his eyes. "But if we let our guard down again, who knows what could happen?" She growled out.

Twilight let out a sigh. "If we let him get into our heads and hedoesturn out to be like the other ghosts . . . . then he'll easily take us down. And Equestria will be one step closer to devastation." She explained, the girls gasping around the table. It was hard to forget the fight that had just ensued. It was hard to forget just how powerful the little alicorn was.

"Well, as soon as that ghost steps out of line..." Rainbow Dash started.

"We'll be there to stop him." Twilight finished, the girls nodding around the room. "So be on your guard, girls. We need to be ready for anything. She explained. The girls nodded their heads, looks of determination spreading across their faces. No ghost was about to destroytheirtown. Suddenly, Twilight watched as the hard looks melted into large smiles as her friends let out a long "awww..."

She tilted her head in confusion, a look which soon disappeared when she looked down and saw that Danny was now fast asleep, his face buried into one of her wings.

Twilight couldn't help the small smile that slipped onto her face. Quickly realizing the mare would probably want them to get out of her hair, the girls stood from their seats and bid their friend goodbye, finally noticing how late it actually was.

The mare said goodnight to her friends as she watched them all walk out of the room. Letting out a small sigh, Twilight stood up from her seat as well-careful not to disturb the sleeping colt-and levitated him onto her back once more.

Motioning her head towards the door at Spike, the dragon quickly deciphered what the mare wanted and nodded his head, rushing out of the room and up the stairs, towards the young colt's room. Slowly following the young dragon, Twilight stepped out of Throne Room and began to slowly move up the stairs, balancing her wings around the colt to steady him on her back.

Once on the second floor, Twilight began to walk down the hallway towards Danny's room, where Spike had already set up the bed and moved onto his own room, leaving the two ponies alone.

Lifting the teen off of her back, Twilight gently placed Danny down onto the bed, lifting the covers up over him. For a while, Twilight just sat there, on the corner of the bed, brushing the stray strands of hair out of his face. She watched his chest slowly move up and down, the slight flutter of his eyelids as he slept, the small twitches of his tail. As as she watched, she couldn't help the wave of guilt that washed over her as she caught sight of his bandages once more.

I'm supposed to be watching him. I'm supposed to be protecting him. How could I let this happen?She shut her eyes, letting out a tired sigh and wrapped her wing around the sleeping colt, her eyes narrowing in anger. That ghost wasn't going to cause anymore trouble. She wouldn't let him. Not when there were so many ponies he could end up hurting. Not while Danny was here with them in town.

She hadn't told her friends this, but just the fact that Danny had gotten hurt was enough for her to distrust the new ghost. After all, that fight had done alotof damage to the town. How long until somepony else got hurt . . . . or worse.

She looked back down at Danny and placed a gentle hoof on his cheek, a small smile spreading on the colt's face at the touch. "I won't let them hurt you again, Danny."

"I promise."

Equestria's Phantom

by RayRox360

Chapter 1: Prologue

Chapter 2: Missions from Time

Chapter 3: The Colt

Chapter 4: Phantom and Friends Part I

Chapter 5: Phantom and Friends Part ll

Chapter 6: The YTRAP

Chapter 7: War and Prank

Chapter 8: Puddles

Chapter 9: Nightmare Night Fright

Chapter 10: Rook

Chapter 11: Terrors

Chapter 12: Borderline