The Phantom Pegasus

Danny took a breath. He didn't know what was more awkward- this revelation for his parents or telling all the parents that their children had become ponies. He was leaning towards the latter. Fighting back his twisting and turning gut, his rapidly beating heart, and his blood that seemed ice cold, he tried to smile and horribly failed at it. "Mom...Dad..." Sweat dripped down his face. He put his wings back against his body.

"Danny-boy...are you alright?" Jack asked, seeing fear written all over his son. Danny nodded.

"Oh- of course. Just...I may be able to help you guys save Jazz, but I would have to tell you this first..." The boy gulped. Maddie and Jack gasped.

"Danny, if it can help Jazz, tell us. We can see you're nervous, but just know: no matter what, we are your parents, and we love you." Maddie said. What Fluttershy had said momentarily flashed in Danny's head. He nodded.

"Alright. Well...I'll start with the beginning. The Fenton Portal- you remember how it didn't work at first?"

Both parents shared a look. How would that help Jazz? Danny continued.

"And...well, I was sad that you both were sad...I had never seen you both so down. So, um...I took the jumpsuit that Dad had made for me and took off the chest sticker. I decided to try to go into the portal and see if I could fix it. Um, I did kind of...but it backfired...literally. On me." He chuckled awkwardly. Maddie and Jack widened their eyes in horror.

"Oh my gosh, Danny! You were electrocuted by the portal? Why didn't you tell us?" Maddie asked.

"And are you alright?" Jack inquired, looking at his son carefully, observing for any sort of oddity. Danny sighed.

"I'll get to that in a minute. And Dad, I'm fine. But, um, it didn't come without side effects. Very...unusual side effects. Like, side effects that neither of you would even dream of."

No words for a few seconds. "...And what would...would that be?" Jack asked. Danny took another deep breath. This was it.

"Well...how's ghost powers for unusual?" he asked, raising a hoof up and willing it to glow green. Maddie and Jack dropped their jaws and their eyes were as wide as dinner plates. Danny continued on. "Moreover, half ghost. That is why all your inventions target me. That is why I am always nervous about your new inventions. As well as the reason why I've been running off from time to time to do something out of the blue."

Not a single word came from his parents. He looked away. "...And I was expecting that. Ugh...sometimes I don't know whether these powers are a gift or a curse. Maybe both."

Still neither adult said anything. Danny didn't want to meet their eyes. "This isn't an unusual reaction," Danny reminded himself. "You'd be freaked out, too, if you found out something you made turned your kid into a half ghost."

But then arose another painful point to the boy...this was only the first baby step in telling them. The second was going full out and telling them that their son was Danny Phantom. And he had to do both in one day. One very uncomfortable day. He let the glow over his hoof go out and was mulling over how to go about it for he didn't know how long until a hoof was placed on Danny's shoulder. Looking up, he saw that his dad was smiling a tiny smile, but nonetheless a smile, at his son. "Danny...why is this something to hide from us? Why didn't you tell us before?" Jack asked, looking very mixed in emotion. Danny shrugged.

"Well...you guys are both ghost hunters. I'm a half ghost. Little bit of an awkward spot, right?" he pointed out. Maddie came up. Her and her son's eyes met for a second, then she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Oh, Danny! You really thought that we'd hunt our own son? Of course not. Not ever. Oh, honey...we're disappointed you didn't tell us earlier- especially about something as big as...this, but better now than never. We'll have to deal with that later. You said you could help Ja-"

"Mom...I'm afraid that's not all of it. No, there's one other...big...thing that came along with it." Danny stuttered. Both parents blinked. What could be more shocking than what they just learned and were barely beginning to grasp at all?

"Well, then, shoot." Jack said. "We can't possibly be more shocked in a single day, plus you're not getting off with telling us a half truth if there's more."

A half truth. "So...so ironic..." Danny thought to himself. He nodded. "Alright. But here's the deal. You guys won't accuse me. Just let me explain." he said. His parents quickly agreed to it, and he himself was barely realizing the enormity of what he was telling his parents. "Alright. Well, the thing about being half ghost is...we have two forms. One human, one ghost. As such, I can transform into ghost form freely. So, I gave myself a secret identity so I could hunt ghosts. See how that could make it easier? The only sad part is...well...when you're accused of something you didn't do- like kidnapping a mayor who is, in truth, being overshadowed by a ghost who hates you, and another time where you're mind controlled or something for a criminal to steal- when you have trouble telling your own parents the whole secret because they think the ghost is evil, too. But...I'm not evil..."

Danny's parents were processing his words. Soon enough, both began to pale, realizing what Danny was saying and who he truly was. Danny was only prolonging the inevitable by this point. "...And as such...well...that's why I...kept it a secret so long. For...um...you know what? To heck with this. I'm going ghost!" The pegasus threw himself into the air. Rings formed around him and changed him into a phantom pegasus- green eyes, white hair, DP cutie mark and all. This had taken Danny no longer than a few seconds to change, but to his parents, it seemed to be a dramatic, slow change.

Danny Phantom as a pegasus stood before them. Their son.

The two before him were speechless- that was an understatement. Try as they may whilst their brains struggled to register what just happened and what they learned, they couldn't form any words. Their son was the ghost they hunted the most often, the one they spoke the most poorly of, and the one they distrusted the most. And here he was, disproving all the things they said and all the things they thought they knew about the ghost boy. Everything was changing so fast, so instantly. It seemed like a dream.

Everything was so unreal. And it was reality.

Danny knew that his parents were having trouble absorbing everything. But he cleared his throat and spoke up. "Guys, if we're gonna save Jazz, I want us to act fast. I want you to trust me. I have an idea." he said. There was a moment- another quiet moment- and his parents both slowly nodded. Jack managed to crack a smile again.

"Hey, Maddie...our son is a ghost hunter...it's...it's my dream come true that one of my kids would do it." Jack sniffled. A tear managed to find its way out of his eye. Danny grinned broadly and walked up. He hugged his father, who in turn returned the bear hug. Soon enough, Maddie was in on it as well.

"C'mon. We gotta save Jazz...let's go get everyone else. Danny, we're all ears when everyone's together." Maddie said. Danny changed back. They all left the library and decided to walk to Sugarcube Corner- they had a feeling that everyone was waiting there. And indeed they were. As soon as they reached it, everypony looked up, wondering how it went. Pinkie Pie ran up.

"Hey Danny! How did it go? Did we tell you so?"

"Pinkie, not now. We'll discuss this if they want to when we're not in public earshot." Twilight Sparkle said. They all headed back and once they got back, Pinkie bounced up and down.

"Okay, so how did it go?"

"We told you so, right?" Rainbow Dash asked. Danny was about to answer when his parents did for him.

"It went fine," Maddie said. "We're still shocked, but we need to collect ourselves if we need to act fast. Danny, your suggestion?"

Danny nodded. "Alright, here's the idea. Humans are the ghosts in the Ghost Zone. So...it would be perfect condition for me to run in and be unnoticed and take Jazz ASAP. But there's a problem. If I get caught, I want to be able to disappear back here with the necklace, that would be useful. But in the case of I can't go invisible, the necklace would be obvious. I want Pravus to think- in the rare or uncommon chance that she might catch me that I might not have it. Twilight Sparkle, Celestia, do either of you know any sort of spell that could turn it invisible for the moment? I couldn't do it without making my neck invisible in the process, which would look way too suspicious. Anyhow, I'll grab her and the second I do, I'll come back here. We'll explain everything later. What matters is that she's out of Pravus's hoofs."

"Danny? I'm sorry, but...don't you think she'd have a trap up or something for you?" Tucker asked. Danny shook his head.

"I could use the necklace and come back in any moment of danger." he said. Danny looked to his parents, who looked hesitant about letting their son do such a thing.

"Danny-boy...why can't your mother or I go or something?" Jack asked. Danny frowned.

"I have ghost powers, I am half a ghost." he said. Twilight spoke up.

"Perhaps I might know a spell that could do what Danny asked. Still, isn't this a little too...obvious? C'mon, she really wouldn't just..."

"I'll have the necklace. I can go back when in desperate need." he reminded them. "And does anypony else have a better idea?"

Nopony said anything. "That's what I thought..." Danny paused. "Where's the necklace again?"

"Here it is." Celestia put it around Danny's neck. "I have faith in you, Danny Phantom. Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student, can you do the honors?"

"I'm on it, your majesty." Twilight concentrated and closed her eyes. Her horn glowed. After a second, the magic had the intended effect. The gem had disappeared before everyone's eyes, and Danny could still feel it around his neck. He smiled and went ghost again.

"I think we're ready to roll, guys."