P for Pony :1

"Danny flew away with Sam in his arms. He didn't care now if anyone saw them; because now, his secret was revealed."

Danny opened his eyes. He had never had a dream so vivid and realistic. It almost felt like a vision. It made him rethink the portal to the 'ghost zone' his parents had finished yesterday. After this dream, he was seriously considering giving it a closer look, even though he didn't want to get involved with his parents 'spooky' stuff. Danny decided to consult his friends. But first, he needed to check something.

'Dad?' Danny asked at breakfast, 'did you just so happened to have a friend in college named Vlad who got badly injured in a portal-accident?'

His father replied, stunned: 'Yes, but how do you know about Vladdy?'

Danny cheered inside, and answered: 'Uhm…  I… saw him in an old photo album. Could you tell me some more about him? He sounds interesting.'

'Hmmm, I didn't know we had pictures of Vlad. But I'll be glad to tell you about him! Vlad is an honourable man. He is never late, and……' As his father continued to get lost in his past, Danny sneaked out and went to school. He now only had to convince his friends.

'So… What are you gonna do exactly?' Tucker asked suspicious, as all three teens stood in front of the portal.

'Simple. I'm going to turn on the portal,' Danny answered.

'But how are you going to do that?' Sam asked. 'I mean, your parents couldn't and they built this thing.'

'Trust me, I know what to do,' Danny said. 'Could you hand me that Hazmat-suit?' He pointed at a white suit with black boots and gloves.

'Sure,' Sam said as she picked it up, 'but I don't think you should do this. It could be dangerous!'

'Sam, think of the things that could be behind this portal,' Danny said, and smiled at the irony. Now he was the exited one.

As Danny had put on the suit, he pulled out a 'DP' logo he had made.

'What's that?' Tucker asked.

'Oh, it's nothing. Just a replacement for my dad's face,' Danny explained when he stuck the logo on his chest, where his father's face had been. 'Wish me luck!' he said as he stood at the edge of the portal.

'Good luck,' Sam said cynical. 'You'll need it.'

With a good mood, Danny stepped inside. Immediately a cold shiver run op his spine. He walked further to the on-off switch. As he did, he could feel his hairs rising. It didn't seem such a good idea to him anymore. The switch was further away than he had thought, and this far into the tunnel it was pretty dark.

Hesitating, he stood in front of the red and green buttons. 'What are you waiting for!' Sam yelled to him.

'I'm not so sure if I should do this!' he yelled back.

'Come on, are you a chicken?' Tucker flapped his arms as if they were wings. 'Tock, tock tock tock, tock tock tock-'

'I'm not a chicken!' Danny yelled. 'But I'm not so sure I want to be a ghost either' he added to himself.

But then he remembered something. If he didn't do this, Vlad could eventually destroy the earth! Danny gathered all his courage and punched the green button with his fist.



For a moment, Danny didn't know where he was. Then he remembered. The button, a flash of light. Then the feeling of all his cells being fried one by one. Danny looked around, confused.

He seemed to be lying in a forest. He raised an eyebrow. 'Shouldn't I be in the lab?' He tried to get up on his legs, but he was dizzy and fell over.

He looked at his hands. He screamed in shock. His hands had no fingers! Danny brought one up to his face. 'No,' he said to himself, 'I do have fingers, I can feel them. But it seems like they somehow… melted… together?'

Then, he remembered his biology class. 'Like hooves!' Danny said, happy that his fingers weren't cut off. But he now was even more afraid. Why the hell did he have hooves?!

He turned his head and looked at the rest of his body. For the second time that day, a scream echoed through the woods.

Danny had come to one conclusion: He had either gone completely nuts, or he had changed into a weird winged horse-like-creature. Either way, he couldn't go back through the portal and face his friends. He did the only thing he could think of. He fell back into a tree and started wishing that he was a human again.

Back at the other side of the portal, Sam and Tucker were staring dumbfounded at the sudden explosion of light. 'Well look at that. Danny actually fixed the portal,' Tucker managed to say.

Sam turned her head to face Tucker. 'Yeah, but where is he?'



After approximately seven seconds, Danny felt warmth spreading over his body. He opened his eyes in surprise, just in time to see a white line passing by. He looked at the rest of his body. It was completely human.

'Woohoo!' he yelled. He covered his mouth with his hand, as the sound faded away. 'I really got to stop doing that,' he said to himself.

'Stop doing what?' a female voice behind him asked. Danny quickly turned around. There, in front of the portal, stood Sam and Tucker.

'And, Danny,' Tucker asked, 'did you get those 'awesome ghost powers'?'

'Well, no...,' Danny replied.

'Then what did happen?' 'Uh… nothing?' 'You're-' 'Ahem, guys?' Sam interrupted. 'Maybe you should start paying attention to THAT?'

They turned in the direction Sam was looking. Beneath the shadows of the trees, a strange creature was watching them. He looked like a lion with a scorpion's tail and batwings. He had been taking a nap when three loud yells had waked him up. He had found the source and was now deciding whether they were foes or friends.

'WHAT is THAT?' Tucker yelled.

'That,' Sam answered, 'is a manticore.'

'Maybe it's a good idea to go back now?' Danny suggested.

'No, it could follow us to our dimension,' Sam replied.

The manticore was done deciding: they were foes. He charged forward. Before any of the teens could move, the manticore had grasped Tucker. He roared in Tucker's face.

'Tucker!' Sam and Danny screamed.

'Why did you pick me?!' Tucker yelled at the manticore. 'You're supposed to pick Sam, she's the girl!' In meantime he was struggling to get free. But since the manticore hadn't left his arms free, it was pointless.

The lion-headed beast had had enough. The wriggling boy in his claw was very annoying, so it was better to eat him now. He opened his mouth, but just as he was going to bite, a blue beam of light struck him in his throat.

'Chew on that, beast!' Danny yelled. Sam, Tucker and the manticore all looked at him in surprise. In his despair, Danny had instinctively changed to his pony form. Without really knowing what was happening, his forehead had been starting to feel tingly. When the energy was released, he saw a faint blue glow, but he couldn't see the source.

Happy with his unexpected victory, Danny smiled. The manticore didn't. He was probably unable to swallow something for the next 4 hours. He dropped Tucker and prepared for the chase for Danny.

Danny's smile soon faded as he saw the manticore coming his way. 'Y-you want another one?' he stuttered. Desperate, he concentrated on the tingly feeling in his forehead. He opened his eyes again and smiled. The manticore was lying on his back with a smoking spot of fur on his stomach. He got back on his paws, turned around and ran away. That last shot had really hurt him.

Sam and Tucker (who had no injuries) both looked questioning at Danny. He sighed and said: 'Okay, maybe something did happen.