The Phantom Pegasus

The smell of apples and tea met Danny's nose as he woke up. When he finally managed to blink his eyes open, he found he was lying on his living room couch. The windows had been covered so no one saw the ponies in the Fenton household. Princess Celestia (who was still wearing the necklace) was chatting with Twilight Sparkle. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Sam were talking amongst themselves, and Rainbow Dash and Tucker were playing some game on his PDA- every so often Rainbow would suggest a move to Tucker, who would stubbornly pause the game and debate with her on the next move. Both were smiling and laughing during it. Applejack and Jazz weren't in sight, so Danny assumed that since the smell of apples and tea had been around when he woke, that they were in the kitchen making something.

His parents were sitting at the foot of his couch, beaming in relief at him. Danny opened his mouth to talk, but realized how raw it was and closed it with a low groan. The sound signaled he had awoken to everypony, grabbing their attention. As everyone approached, he was about to ask about Pravus before spying the thermos on the table. Applejack walked in. "Tea's ready, everypony!...and human. Or half ghost. Speaking of half ghosts, I see Danny's awake!"

Jazz ran in with a cup of tea for her brother. Danny took it, a little surprised, before taking a sip. Instantly, his throat felt better- he pulled back and stared at the tea in awe and curiosity. Then, without realizing it, he ended up drinking half of it in one sitting. He grinned. "This is great! How did it-"

"Zecora gave us some medicine to soothe sore throats before heading back to Ponyville. Applejack mixed in into your tea and it worked like a charm." Jazz said cheerfully. Applejack began to pass out cups of tea to everyone. Pinkie looked up at Applejack.

"Is the pie ready yet?" she asked excitedly. Applejack shook her head.

"No, it'll be a bit longer, Pinkie."

"Aww!"

Tucker looked to the thermos after sipping the fragrant, delicious tea. "We were going to interrogate Pravus, but then we decided to wait until you woke up."

"Right, and before we do that," Rainbow Dash interjected, "I have to ask, is that portal we came through to get to your house the same one you got your powers in?"

Danny nodded. "Yep."

"You told us about how you got into an accident in the portal...but if you don't mind, would you tell us the whole story, please?" Fluttershy asked. "But, um, if you don't want to, that's fine, too..." she quickly muttered. Danny looked at all of the ponies and his parents. They were all staring curiously. Sam, Tucker, and Jazz looked at each other nervously.

Danny put his tea down and took a deep breath. He then began to tell the tale- the whole tale- of the accident. He included how it felt, his shock, and every so often Sam and Tucker would interject their point of view of what was going on when Danny was having the accident. Everyone- even Pinkie Pie- sat in silence and listened closely. At the end, not a sound ruled the house. Twilight finally spoke. "Wow." she murmured. Danny blushed and nodded. Rarity gave him a very sympathetic, tiny smile. Danny's parents could only have inscrutable expressions, and the rest merely had wide eyes.

In attempt to clear the awkward air, Danny picked up the thermos. "Well, let's get on with Pravus...Celestia, can you use your magic in case she tries to escape?"

"Of course."

"Then let's start." He stood up and opened the thermos. Out tumbled a dazed and confused looking unicorn ghost. She blinked multiple times before gasping and backing away from the group.

"What happened?" she asked. Her voice was miles away from before. Unlike the cold, cruel, emotionless voice Pravus had, this new one was full of fear and timidness. "Where am I?"

"Pravus?" Twilight asked. Pravus looked up.

"Don't call me that. 'Tis a cursed name...my name is Strawberry Blossom. You can call me Blossom of Berry for short." she answered promptly. She moaned. "All I remember are bits and pieces and blurs...and...I can't feel my magic. Why can't I feel my magic?"

"Lady Strawberry Blossom, tell us what happened exactly, start to finish." Celestia said calmly. Berry turned her head to Celestia, gasped, and immediately struggled to her hooves to bow.

"Princess Celestia! I am so sorry for all the trouble. I must thank whomever removed the cloud from my mind..."

"That'd be me! Name's Rainbow Dash!" Rainbow said proudly. Berry jumped up and hugged her, much to everypony's surprise. Rainbow Dash stared for a moment before awkwardly patting her back. "H- hey, no prob..." she trailed off. Berry let go of her and turned to the others.

"I faintly remember you, Danny Phantom, and your sister...don't worry, your secret's safe with me." she said before Danny could say anything. "Oh, and what is everypony's names? I feel so rude to not ask..." After a quick introduction, Berry continued. "And may I recall my memories of how I...er, became a...ghost?" she asked painfully at the mention of being a ghost.

"Please do." Celestia answered. Strawberry Blossom began.

"Well, it all started when Prince Blueblood-"

Rarity gagged at the mention of his name. The Fentons, Sam, and Tucker were confused.

"Who?" Jack asked. Rarity scowled.

"A prince who only has one royal thing about him; he's a royal pain!" Rarity huffed. Tucker raised an eyebrow.

"Why, what did he do?"

"Well, I once dreamed of meeting him and falling swiftly in love...but when I actually got the chance to at the Grand Galloping Gala, it turned out he only cared about himself. Eventually he went as far as to use me as a pony cake shield when Applejack brought a cake into the party and it got thrown off the platter and towards us!" she snapped. Sam whistled.

"As I always say, looks are deceiving."

"In this case, tell me about it! Anywho, excuse me for interrupting. Please continue."

"Of course. Anyhow, he entered my strawberry shop and asked for me to deliver a dozen strawberries to him the next day. I said sure, and the next day when I came with his order, my mind went fuzzy...I suppose he used some sort of magic to get me to get the gem without him hurting himself." she finished. Rarity went red with rage.

"I knew it, I knew it! I knew he wasn't just some royal pain! He's worse, much-"

"Rarity, I will have him received for questioning when we get back." Celestia said, much to Rarity's satisfaction. Twilight frowned.

"Mind control is a very advanced magic, but it's even harder to ensure it doesn't go wrong. If he used it correctly, then she and the ghosts would've not been taken out of the spell by being hit."

"Why, do you know how to do it, Twilight?" Maddie asked. Twilight shook her head.

"No. I study magic, but I find mind control to be wrong and cruel- not to mention it's illegal!" she answered. "However, I know enough from reading about magic to know it's a spell that can go wrong very easily."

Strawberry Blossom sighed mournfully. "I...I wish I could go back to normal and back to my shop...I hardly care anymore if I get my magic back, I just want to return to normal..." Tears began to well in her eyes. Danny paused.

"...Wish...that's it!" In a flash, he transformed, grabbed the thermos, and flew towards the entrance of the lab. "I'll be right back, guys!" he said, flying into the lab to the portal before anypony could react.

"What in the world is he doin'?" Applejack asked aloud, baffled.