Epilogue: Harry Gets No Perfect Ending
Two days later, I met with Celestia at Burger King. Most of the injuries I’d picked up from the Siren fight had been appropriately tended to, which was a definite plus. Thankfully, Aria had been one of the least troublesome prisoners I’ve ever had to deal with. It seemed like all the fight had gone out of her after she lost her Siren gem.
“So...” I shot a look the prisoner’s way. “What happens with her?”
Celestia shot an evaluating look at the ex-Siren. “Well, Tartarus might be overkill at this point. I think a long period of community service and reeducation might be enough. Closely supervised, of course.” The princess reached over and gently squeezed Aria’s shoulder. “I know you’re very upset about losing your power, but think of this as an opportunity to start over with your life. I think if you really try, you’ll be much happier now.”
“Happy?” Aria answered flatly. “How am I supposed to be happy? I just lost everything! My life is ruined because of you!”
Celestia sighed and shook her head. “I think that if you open your heart to the magic of friendship, you’ll find that there is so much more to experience. You would never have found true happiness by forcing others to bend to your will.”
“Yeah, until I die,” Aria growled sullenly. “You know, since I’m mortal now.”
Celestia sighed and shook her head. “Aria, plenty of ponies live very rich, fulfilling lives even though they’re limited to a mortal life.”
“That’s rich, coming from somepony who’s lived thousands of years,” Aria grumbled. “If you think mortality’s so great, why don’t you give it a shot?”
Celestia sighed, then turned back to me. “It ... might be a bit difficult to reform her. Still, we will do our best.”
“Good luck with that.” To my surprise, I meant it. I couldn’t blame Aria for being a bit bitter, but after my work with Sunset I guess I was a little more open to the idea that you could win people over from the Dark Side.
However, the supreme ruler of Equestria didn’t seem terribly happy when I told her that Aria was the only Siren I’d be giving her, at least if I was judging by the faint frown creasing her lips. “While I’m very grateful for your help, Mister Dresden, might I ask what happened to Adagio and Sonata?”
“I’ve got Adagio locked up elsewhere.” I answered simply. “Don’t worry, it’s very secure. A lot more secure than your prisons, judging by the fact that ancient evils seem to escape from the moon, Tartarus, and wherever else you have them sealed away on an annual basis.” I smiled to let her know I wasn’t trying to be an asshole about this. “I don’t see much gain in just shifting her from one prison to another, and to be honest it’s probably going to be a lot easier to hold her if she’s not in the same place as her buddies.”
“And Sonata?”
I sighed and chowed down on my burger to buy a little time before I answered. “That one’s a bit more complicated. I left her with a friend who’s a White Court Vampire for safekeeping while I dealt with the other two Sirens, and...” I groaned, then got the bad news over with as quickly as possible. “She came to the attention of the big boss of the Whites.”
In hindsight, I should’ve thought of the possibility that Lara would decide to pay her brother a visit. I already knew she’d taken an interest in Equestria, and she was probably smart enough to put two and two together and realize that if I was kidnapping a musician with a name that practically screamed Equestrian, that might be related. From what Thomas had told me, she’d dropped by his apartment with a couple of her sisters, smiled politely, and walked out the door with my Siren.
I was a bit annoyed with my brother for losing her, even though I knew there wasn’t much he really could’ve done to stop it. When Lara decides she wants something, she generally finds a way to get it. It’s one of the perks that comes with being the power-behind-the-throne of the White Court Vampires.
Celestia frowned. “So one of the Sirens is in the hands of the vampires? That sounds like a serious problem.”
“It’s a long way from ideal,” I agreed, sipping my coke. “But I don’t think there’s too much we can do about it, at least in the short term. I mean, we could try appealing to have her returned under the Accords, but the Whites know how to play the political game. Odds are they’d bog the whole thing down in procedure and legal disputes for years. And trying to take her back by force would start a war and ruin the whole frienemy thing I’ve got going on with them right now.”
“I see.” Celestia tapped her chin thoughtfully, then daintily ate a french fry. “Do you think she’ll be dangerous there?”
I thought it over for a moment, then shrugged. “Not compared to how she was with Adagio. The White Court likes to keep things happy and stable, and Lara might be a monster, but she’s also a big believer in pragmatic cooperation with the good guys. The Whites are emotional predators too, so she’ll fit in.”
Celestia frowned, still not entirely satisfied. “What if she teaches these vampires about how Siren and Equestrian magic works?”
I stared at her incredulously for several seconds, then chuckled and shook my head. “You’ve never actually met Sonata Dusk, have you? Trust me, she wasn’t the brains behind Adagio’s operation. She barely even knows how her own magic works—I think we don’t need to worry about teaching anyone else how to use it. All things considered, it could be a lot worse. I’m a lot more worried about some rumors I’ve heard that she’s trying to get in touch with your version of changelings.”
The ruler of Equestria stiffened at that, a faint frown creasing her lips. “Yes, Chrysalis has caused quite enough trouble already. After what happened with Discord and the Denarians, the last thing we need is another alliance between villains from Earth and Equestria. I will make every effort to keep Chrysalis and her brood from crossing over.”
“And I’ll keep a close watch on Lara’s whamps.” Since the princess looked rather baffled, I quickly explained, “You know, white vampires. Whampires. Whamps for short. Well, shorter. Anyway, all we can really do is keep a close eye on them, and try to keep Chrysalis locked down and Lara from getting any more Equestrian resources. At least she’s not likely to go all world conquest crazy. She likes to play the long game.”
The princess poked at the slice of cheap fast food cake she’d ordered. “I suppose so. I don’t like it, but if our only option for taking Sonata back is to start a war with the White Court ... well, I think I can learn to live with it. Perhaps a change of scenery will be good for Sonata. I always felt that she was far less malicious than Adagio and Aria.”
“Yeah,” I wolfed down the rest of my burger. “Lara’s no friendly neighborhood vampire, but she knows the world runs a lot smoother when everyone plays by the rules and nobody does anything needlessly stupid or evil. Plus, she got Sonata to call off the manhunt on me.” I didn’t know how she’d gotten Sonata to play ball, but apparently the Siren had trotted into Chicago PD’s headquarters and spun a whole story about how it was just a big misunderstanding. I probably owed Lara one for that ... which was almost certain why she arranged it. Only the Fae love collecting favors more than White Court Vamps.
Aria, who’d remained silent for a while, finally added in her two bits. “So Sonata gets to keep her power, her freedom, and her immortality? She really is the worst.”
Celestia turned on her charge, a pleasant smile firmly in place. “If you behave well, I might be able to arrange for you visit her at some point. Or vice-versa.”
Aria was quiet for a long time, then reluctantly grumbled. “Well, someone has to keep an eye on that airhead. She’d probably forget her own name without me around.”
Maybe she wanted her back in the hopes that Sonata could fix her gem, or was even thinking about snatching Sonata’s. Or maybe she just missed her. I was on the fence about it, but given the small smile on Celestia's face, I knew which option she was hoping for. It was a long shot by my reckoning, but then again, I'm not a thousand-year-old magical princess.
And hey, maybe Celestia was right. Friendship is magic, after all.
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Wonderful ending! Another sequel story please!
Well, that was a bit sudden. Dresden is just about the only kind of crossover I like (or can stand at all, rather) so I was really hoping this one would last a little longer than that.
A+, excellent job! /claps
Reminds me of A-ban-domed
Yaay, Hatrry ends up with only one hot chick trying to bend him to her wiles instead two or even more.
Good thing to. At this rate, if Sonata had stayed round, Harry could end up with local Twilight trying to Science Magic past the Outer Gates by accident or all sorts of things.
I really hope Adagio is being kept in a liquid crystal, those things are far harder to break than normal crystals, cos you first have to pump energy into them to cause them to effectively freeze, and then you can aim to shatter them, but with teh correct layout, well, things get messy.
I wonder if she would like to play with that dark god that Demonreach is said to be holding?
Wonderful ending for the story.
Curious. Usually Sonata is the Siren who gets the ticket to Redemptionville. Maybe this is an oportunity to expand Aria beyond "generic moody bitch ".
Anyway, Nata co-working with Thomas? that would be hillarious!
Considering Demonreach ' s releasing policy, I don't see Daggi getting her parole before, you know, the Sun going Nova. I guess we have seen the last of her....probably.
Hmm...leaves a few things in the air, what with Sonata sticking around with the White Court and Aria's reformation program under Celestia, but hopefully things will work out best for them. After all, Saturday cartoon villains may be a bit two dimensional, but that also means it leaves a lot of room for growth once a positive dose of reality is added to the mix.
Thanks for writing this! I hope to see some more of Dresden horsing around soon.
6226264 6225770
Yeah, might not be a bad idea to change that to a more generic "Someone who can patch me up."
A great story. You capture the feel of the Dresden books so well. I am little sad to see it end already, but otherwise its fantastic.
6226635
One last thing : You apparently decided to keep Discord's "reformation " and his betrayal with Tirek.
While the ponies may be big in the whole forgiveness thing, I'm surprised Celestia would ever consider taking any chances with the draconequus, after everything he pulled in the prequel: like mindraping Tia into a tyrant ,Twilight 's beating, or the confession about Nightmare Moon
Huh. It seems I have forgotten to give this magnificent story a thumbs up. This has been immediately amended.
Well, that was a fun little thing.
Although, the question of what happened between Sunset and Aria still needs to be answered. I mean, the bad guy was facedown in the mud, and Demonreach knows how badly injured. On top of which, Sunset obviously didn’t fall for her mind whammy, so she fake fell under the control of a bad guy she had dead to rights, only to sucker punch her later on because…
Let’s be honest, you just wanted to work that line in. Which was a nice little thing, but the way you did it was jus so forced.
If Harry had been in trouble and on the losing side of things, which his stupid chivalry could have easily gotten him into combined with something like a ruptured tympanic membrane in the ears to really fuck up his ability to fight back, I could understand Sunset playing possum.
But the way it happened was just a black mark on an otherwise good story.
Although, I was kind of hoping the ending would go more like this...
Perfect ending? No, but it is a pretty happy ending as Harry's endings go.
6227606
The fact that he murdered a bunch of people kinda seems like it also ought to matter, since actually harming anyone was pretty much expressly the one thing Discord never did, which I'd say is why he even got the whole second chance deal anyway.
That ending is a perfect example of a yes-but-no-and situation. Very well done sir.
Well, I'm very glad I finally finished this. Another most enjoyable adventure. Gripping fight scene, good resolution, hints of a possible sequel, especially since Sonata can potentially try for a jailbreak.
Yeah, pretty much what I expect from your crossovers. And I wasn't at all disappointed. Great work. Thank you for it.
I really need to start reading the Dresden Files...
Now when's the next installment of the series gonna drop?
6248534 ... you read this, and the prequels, but never the actual WORK ITSELF?! Seriously, spoilers. THINK OF THE SPOILERS!!!!
6295279
Yeah, there's a reason I warn that I'm spoiling the heck out of the first thirteen books of The Dresden Files in the summary for My Little Denarians.
6295361 yep.
6295279
I knew what I was getting myself into.
6296349 yes but, why? Why would you do this to yourself?!
shame, I was hoping sonata would join Dresden's party.
Freedom? I don't think so.
6306722 true, but in actual power and willingness to use it and kill? Harry's got her beat. Hell, he wouldn't even get in trouble with the Council, cause Sunset's not human!
6475297
Is it silly and petty? Hell yes.
Harry Dresden can be a very silly and petty guy, sometimes. Especially when, as noted, he's being a smartass.
For the record, I'm fine with calling winged unicorns alicorns, especially since the usage is canon now.
6477345
Now that you mention it, that probably could've worked. I guess Harry didn't think of it.
6500627 I don't believe there was a name for them because the aren't in the myths(are they?). But I do concur that "pegacorn" just doesn't sound... right. We can work on it.
Well, this was a fairly enjoyable story, if perhaps a bit long. I'd say my biggest issue with it as it stands is it feels incomplete. Sonata's fate feels very much up in the air, and while there's a little more conclusion with Adagio, it still felt incomplete to just have her get imprisoned; at least have a scene of Harry talking to her after the fact.
Actually, speaking of which, that part did bother me a little. Now, Harry's rejection of what he saw as a fake surrender made sense and was very in character, but it felt far more fitting for him to simply crush the gem and render her powerless than simply imprison her.
Now, perhaps these things are meant to be more wrapped up in another story (maybe one based on Friendship Games?), and if a story does that I'll retract those criticisms, but until then it all feels unresolved.
Also, while your writing from Harry's POV is generally commendable, I felt the whole "Saturday Morning Cartoon villain" joke got overused quickly. Still, despite these issues, this was a fun story.
Can I make the assumption that everyone reading this is also a fan of Psycicscubadiver's work as well?
Interestingly enough, it was the MLP/Dresden crossovers on this site that got me into the Dresden books.
Hope to see an addition to this universe someday!
Man, I loved these stories. Hope that you write more Dresden stuff someday.
8256742
Lol and for me, it was the Dresden/MLP crossovers that introduced me to the pony side of things. It was My Little Denarians actually, so I've got a real soft spot for that fic.
This was amazing! So perfectly Dresden.