Chapter 2

Road Trip!

"The girls will be on their way," Celestia said.

"I really appreciate this Tia. I just… I don't know what to do," Aleena sighed as she held the handset. "The poor girl's been through so much this last year…"

"I can understand that. I've had a couple students who had it rough recently too. One of which recently transferred from Crystal Prep."

"She lost her parents recently in a car accident Tia. She's alone and really doesn't have any friends. And the fact she's from the mainland kinda contributes to her isolation. Having some other students harass her doesn't help either. My kids do what they can to help, but… its almost like Sunset Shimmer just wants to be left alone."

"Sounds a bit like… wait… Sunset Shimmer?!"

"Yea. That's her name. You know her from somewhere?"

"Well… um… its complicated and… already on the way to you..."

"O...k… Tia… nothing's ever easy with you is it?"

"Guess not."

"Anyways... I'll have my kids meet them at the front door to the school."


Something about the fact that the spirit that attacked Sunset called her Gwenevere bothered Father Michael to no end. This wasn't some random incident as it appeared to Principal Aleena. This was a targeted attack somehow.

Starlight Glimmer leaned against the wall, idly sipping on a bottle of Coke she stuck a straw into as she watched her mentor peruse an old Tome.

"There's no way she's a descendant," she finally said. "There's gotta be some mistake here."

"I don't know Starlight," Michael said as he traced a finger over a page of the old book. "However… something about all this… I can't help but be concerned. If the enemy has somehow returned..."

Starlight rolled her eyes and slurped her soda a bit, the act showing her disapproval.

"I don't see any connection here," she said. "There's been no sign for hundreds of years. What makes you think He's back? The fact a spirit went after that mainlander alone?"

Father Michael sighed and turned the page.

"Circumstantial the evidence may be… our order swore to watch over this island and its secrets," he said. "We have to prepare for the worst. If He has returned..."

"The legends say only the descendants of the Knights can vanquish him. We haven't found any of them. The only reason you found me is because I actually live here, and Merlin's staff lit up like a Christmas Tree."

He shook his head as he looked up from the book.

"Starlight Glimmer, a descendant of Merlin you may be… but you cannot face this threat alone if it truly is Him. And you could learn to accept other views as well. You are quite gifted, however… you can also be a bit shortsighted and stubborn. There is a reason for this attack on Sunset Shimmer, and we have to find that reason. Personal views aside..."

Starlight sighed and closed her eyes.

"Doesn't mean I have to like it..." she said before leaving the room. Father Michael sighed and looked down at the page he had been examining. It showed the family tree of none other than Merlin himself. The family tree lead to Starlight Glimmer, however… there was another branch that just cut off as though whoever documented the family had lost track of that end.

"I'm trying Merlin," he said quietly, looking up at the ceiling. "Starlight is just… so difficult. I just wish I knew where this other branch of your tree led..."


Twilight Sparkle looked over her tablet as she took inventory for the trip out to Westside Island. Proton Packs, Traps, PKE Meters, Ecto Goggles extra jumpsuits, extra clothes… Pinkie Pie's Party Cannon?

A recent addition to the Ecto-Van was what Rainbow Dash jokingly called the Porta-Slammer. It was essentially a smaller, portable version of the Ghost Containment Unit in Canterlot High's Bomb Shelter that also doubled as Ghostbusters HQ. Seeing as how they wouldn't be able to empty their traps into the GCU, the Porta-Slammer was gonna get a workout if Ghost activity was high on the island.

Another addition had been made to the Proton Packs themselves. They had all been retrofitted with improved versions of the Dark Matter Generator that Twilight had made during the Nightmare Moon Incident. Not only that, she had managed to create an attachment she called the Composite Particle System. Essentially it was meant for corporeal threats that they could potentially encounter that came from Equestria, such as the carnivorous plants that Twilight had accidentally summoned during the Motocross portion of the Friendship Games as well as the plant walls that they had to contend with at Camp Everfree summoned by a magic crazed Gloriosa Daisy, but could be used against ectoplasmic entities as well. Its primary fire mode was a rapid fire burst of Meson Particles, thus she dubbed this mode the Meson Collider. The secondary Overload Pulse had limited homing capability after an initial strike with the Meson Collider.

Twilight had also improved the Proton Pack's cooling capability, enabling longer use between venting, as well as implementing the same lever action "rifle" bits she had added to Applejack's Proton Pack for easier venting.

"Well… all we need now are some of the prototypes I've made and we should be good to go," Twilight finally said as she pushed her glasses back up her nose.

"Good to hear," Sunset said as she loaded the Proton Packs into the Ecto-Van. "Pinkie's getting the Road Trip music. Applejack wants to make a quick stop at the grocery store to pick up some food before hitting the ferry."

"You sure that's such a good idea with Slimer tagging along?" Rainbow Dash said as she leaned against the Van, hiking a thumb at the resident Spud.

Sunset couldn't help but laugh. While it was true that Slimer was the bane of anything edible, he had calmed down quite a bit on his food binges recently. After a moment, Twilight was struggling with a box before Sunset came over and helped take some of the weight.

"Dang Twilight… what were you working on that's so heavy?" she grunted as the slid the box into the Van. In response, Twilight opened the box and pulled out what looked like… a grenade.

"After the Nightmare Moon Incident and Camp Everfree, I figured we'd need something to help against large groups of Ghosts. The Proton Packs are good, but you can really only go after one at a time, leaving you vulnerable to a counterattack. So… I kinda made these Proton Grenades. Basically it will unleash a burst of Protonic energy that should stun any Ghosts caught in the blast radius. If my calculations are right… the Proton Burst should be strong enough to actually destroy Swarmers so..."

"So we don't have to try and cut them down with a Proton Stream," Rainbow Dash finished. "So… a Flashbang with a kick. And you made a lot of them."

"Well… I also made something else," Twilight said as she dug into the box and pulled out what looked like a Frisbee. "I also experimented with a new variant of our Traps. This thing should be useful for tossing farther out than our standard Box Traps. And not all of the grenades are Proton. Some are actually Slime Grenades filled with positively charged Slime. I haven't been able to work out a Slime culture that replicates fast enough for a Slime Blower attachment for the Proton Packs so…"

Sunset raised a hand to cut off the scientist as she was starting to babble. From experience, she knew Twilight would go on for hours if allowed.

Soon the rest of the team was gathered around the Ecto-Van… with one addition. Spike the Dog walked up next to Twilight and sat down. Although he had missed out on the Nightmare Moon Incident, he was present for Camp Everfree. A loyal companion and good friend of Twilight's, he actually gained the ability to talk after chasing something through a portal a few times during the Friendship Games. Although at times it seemed as though Spike and Slimer viewed each other as rivals and glared at each other every once in a while.

With a group high-five, the Ghostbusters loaded up into the Ecto-Van. Applejack started the engine and shifted the vehicle into gear. A crowd had gathered outside and was cheering for them. Pinkie Pie slipped a CD into the radio, and soon the team was listening to a Road Trip Mix.

"Magic Carpet Ride… nice," Rainbow Dash said with a grin.

As they went down the street, Sunset grabbed Twilight's tablet and started looking up information on Westside Island. It was pretty much a hole in the wall, mostly a small community with a few fishing boats based out of the town of Westside. All in all, it looked like a quiet place. But when you're a Ghostbuster, you understand not to take things at face value. Digging a little deeper, she found a few references to old legends. Sunset made a mental note to call Kylie later to handle some more in depth research.

Passing the tablet back to Twilight, Sunset stretched a bit in her seat and made herself comfortable as the music switched to another song. It wasn't long before she was tapping her foot to the beat, the song oddly fitting for an adventure that would take them outside the city of Canterlot.

"Hey (hey!), where you gonna go?"
We're off to see the world
We don't need to know (oh)
"Hey (hey!), where you gonna go?"
We're off to see the world
We don't need to know

With a smile, Sunset Shimmer rolled down the window and stuck her hand out, feeling the wind blow through her fingers. She had to admit, there were many things she could do as a human that she never could have as a pony back in Equestria. Driving down the road with friends, music blasting, and feeling the wind in your hair was one of them. There were no cars on the other side of the portal. Sure a Pegasus could experience something similar while they fly, minus the music, but not the landlocked Unicorns and Earth Ponies as much. But here in the Human World, humans had advanced farther, especially due to the lack of magic in the world. But there was certainly one thing that always came to mind when she thought of Earth's technology.

Any sufficiently advanced technology can be indistinguishable from magic.

Among the wonders Sunset had learned about were cars, airplanes, television, and laser etched crystals. The vary idea of creating an image within a crystal was completely unknown to Equestria.

Sunset actually had one of those crystals sitting on her desk at her house, with her cutie mark proudly displayed inside. While it didn't have any color, she couldn't help but smile at the sight of it.

Applejack pulled into a local grocery store, and asked for a couple volunteers. Taking the opportunity to relax, Sunset leaned her seat back and put her feet up on the dashboard.


She took a deep breath as she looked at the object in her hand. While it could be seen as a waste, especially with how many boxes she already used up, with luck it would protect her home.

Well… at the very least the inside of her house was going to be a slug free zone.

Sunset Shimmer started pouring a line of salt along the floorboard. In theory, salt was something that could be used as some form of ward against the supernatural. In some instances she read that sea salt was used to help seal artifacts. She was hoping that she could form a barrier to keep ghosts out of her house. After her recent experience, she was willing to try anything.

"I wish you were here mom," she sighed as she continued to pour. "I really could use your help. And I really wish I knew why you told me to come here of all places if anything happened..."

After a few minutes, she completed the salt barrier around the entire inside perimeter of her little house. Moving back into the living room, Sunset put the box of salt down and approached a carrying case sitting innocently on the desk pushed against the wall. It was one of the few things she was able to keep that belonged to her mother. It was an heirloom that had been passed down for generations. Releasing the two locks, Sunset took a deep breath and opened the case.

Inside rested a beautifully crafted bow. What little she knew was that it was from the British Isles originally, belonging to one of her ancestors.

Bringing a hand to the old weapon, Sunset traced her fingers along its surface, feeling the Celtic designs carved into it.

"Níl a fhios agam an bhfuil mé láidir go leor ..." she sighed, switching to her mother's native Irish. She was doubting her strength and was hoping that somehow, her mother's bow could do… well… something.

After a moment she closed the case. She knew the spirits would try again.

She had to find some way to fight back.


Author's note: If the Irish is butchered... blame Google Translate. Its supposed to say something along the lines of "I don't know if I'm strong enough".