This story is a sequel to Tales of a Wizard: Flesh Masks
These are the events immediately following the conclusion of Flesh Masks. The Equestrian world continues on its evolution, as do the powers within the Nevernever and beyond. Old enemies rise to defend their home, new allies are made, and new heights are reached by our heroes.
This is a collection of short stories meant to update the world of Flesh Masks with the more recent events in My Little Pony, and their first steps into the Nevernever, before the proper sequel to Flesh Masks. I may add more scenes as they appear in my head, but the current list of expected events are:
The aftermath of Discord's redemption
Equestria's first formal meeting with the White Council
Twilight's ascension
You need to have read Tales of a Wizard: Flesh Masks to have an understaning of what's going on
Pre-read and edited by NaughtSought. (Thanks a ton, friend)
Of course Harry would grin at the possibility of abusing Discord abilities for
his personal amusementthe greater good.Wow, I though you weren't planning to make a sequel, you left your previouse story open, I wonder how much time will take this one to be finnished, doesn't matter though, I'm following :)
5713824 Of course. Lots and lots of things could be done for the greater good. No, in fact, should be done. Imperatively.
I'm glad to see the sequel of is story. Hope to see more of this soon.
5713957 5713829 I'm glad to supply it, I've been separated from FIMFiction for a bit too long. The particular form of insanity that I call my imagination, has not been happy with me lately.
Woot! Happy to see your writing again I'll be watching for updates, & Thanks for Writing!
*cue maniacal laughter*
I enjoy how, despite the realistic wariness Harry has for Discord, they were able to find some common ground that actually makes sense. I think that as long as Discord focuses his energy in a way that appeals to Harry's inner troll, they'll get along juuuuust fine.
Harry being allowed to plot with Discord over how to screw with evil forces and troll them with CHAOS....Dis gonna be gewd.
5714392 Thanks for reading!
[edit: In the mini-summary (the one you see in the sidebar menus), you refer to Equestria with "her", when I'd expect to see "its". Is this an intentional choice?]
In-chapter nitpick:
kept the rouse going
ruse]
In-chapter nitpick:
ruse
P.S. Is there a way to view the sidebar summary other than just hopping around to other pages waiting for it to show up?
5719976 Yeah, it was just a short personification of Equestria as a feminine entity. I kind of liked how it sounded in my head. Though now that I look back at it, it does sound a little off in the short description...
5720030 There's certainly precedent for many countries doing it that way. I might not even have mentioned it, but at first I thought the "her" applied to Harry for some reason, which would definitely have been wrong
5720103 Huh, female pony Dresden...
NOPE, imagination stop that right now!
Oh I wish that guard hadn't spoken up and indntified Harry, it would have been so much fun to see how long he could keep the trick up. I do think Discord and Harry can have a merry time plotting ways to make the Red Court suffer. And I hope Harry goes back to Chicago at least once so Murphy can burst out laughing at his new look. I do have to wonder how the Elements of Harmony would affect Thomas, if they could get rid of his demon and let him live with Justine in peace I can totally see him signing up to be a pony. Oh, and how would they effect the Nickleheads???? Will the events of Changes happen with Alicorn Harry????
Good to see a bridge between Flesh Masks and the sequel. I wonder if thoughts of Harry were one of the reasons that Twilight was able to overcome her brainwashing. As far as pranks go, I wouldn't mind Morgan getting some just desserts for all the crap he put Harry through, that zealot has it coming! Can't wait for more!
Typos/Suggestions:
squishy mas - squishy mass
before whipping - before wiping
the rouse - the ruse
Keep up the great work!
Gott! Seems I missed a lot of things in this chapter; got to up my game.
5720121 I'll take over where yours stops! The question would be if it was a purely physical change or psychological as well. You see, if- *shot*
I am incredibly happy to find this sequel / bridge story to Flesh Masks. The original was a delightful read that a did a splendid job of capturing the overall mood and storytelling style of Dresden, not to mention his personality itself, and has left me with a distinct craving for moar. And now it looks like that craving will have a chance to be sated - yay!
And this setup already gives us a lot of stuff to look towards - political shenanigans as Equestria steps in to the wider world? The arrogant White Council getting a potential knot in their tail, courtesy of Discord? Harry and Discord messing (in the messy sort of way) with the Red Court? Hell yeah.
And I have to admit, this time trying to redeem Discord makes more sense than in the story - because of all the crap Equestria will be exposing itself to, having the spirit of Chaos playing for the home team would be an incredible boon and give them one hell of a unique advantage. One they will likely sorely need as they recover from the mess they went through and take their steps in a world beyond their borders.
All in all, this should be all kinds of good. Also looking towards Twilight's eventual ascension and what that entails, and some further exploration of her and Harry's relationship - the romance between the two was very well done in the first story, and I'm all sorts of giddy about watching their relationship advance.
All in all - you have my interest and attention and I'm eagerly looking towards more.
Considering Discord is a spirit of chaos, I would expect him to be familiar with the Nevernever.
*snickers like a young schoolgirl*
The chapter was awesome. I liked the interaction between Harry and Ebenezar.
Ha! The Merlin might be able to hold off a Mystfiend with ease, but not even his wards can hold off the workings of Luna!
(And now I'm wondering if Sombra had gotten his hooves on some mordite... Thanks for that brain... it's exactly what I needed...)
Actually... would Harry be immune to the bloodline curse? And would that in turn cut it off before it could hit his grandfather?
5803036
Wow, Sombra and Mordite, that's something I never considered before. And now I'm glad again that he's dealt with.
Hilarious chapter, I can't wait to see what Ebenezar looks like as a pony. Harry better go to Chicago soon so Murphy, Thomas, and the rest can get their laughs in.
And my big question: HAVE THE EVENTS OF CHANGES BEEN SET IN MOTION????? Will we get to see Alicorn Harry lead an assault on the Red Court to rescue Maggie????
5803036 I now have a new nightmare...
Ahh, politics and posturing - this should be fun. I'm very much looking towards the discussions between Celestia/Luna and Mccoy, and the fact that it is Mccoy, as opposed to any other Senior Council member, means the talks might even prove to be fruitful. And not having a bone to pick with Harry is also a bonus, because that's one less way for the negotiations to fail badly and quickly.
The fact that Luna's transformation field overpowered even Merlin's provided protection is also a good thing overall, probably - while that's bound to bruise the Council's pride, at least it immediately establishes the Equestrians as something that can't necessarily be trifled with and ignored. They probably half expected to waltz in, establish some form of superiority during the talks and have things go their way.
With things not being that simple (nor the princesses as easily dismissed), it's probably better in the long run - if that partnership is going to work, they will actually have to meet each other halfway, not the Council expecting to waltz in and dictate policy for them all (like Duncan tried establishing what magic is and isn't allowed on Equestrian soil).
Looking towards the next chapter ... and more teasing that Mccoy is bound to heap on Dresden on account of his relationship with Twilight.
I'm surprised no one is questioning the amount of time between chapters (in story-wise) who's to say well even see half of these things?
Of course, we all really want to see them and applechip wouldn't let us down now would he?
What happened to Mouse, Molly and Mister? With her only under the Doom of Damocles due to Harry's protection I'd expect there to be trouble now with his ability to give it coming into question. And while Mister would probably have to stay with Murphy, Mouse was implied to be a Foo Dog, not just descended from one, a couple of times and if a Celestial guardian spirit (described as such in Blood Rights) capable of making genuine threats to Leanansidhe can't be there, how magical do you need to be?
Please for the love of all that is holy, please write some more chapters.
This story has too much of a good premise to die.
6314851 I'm still going, I've just dropped off the face of the Earth for a kind of sudden, and long overdue, summer vacation/family trip that's wrapping up. I've been keeping a little busy with a commission someone asked for, but other than that my use of FiMFiction lately has been restricted to trying not to get car sick while reading. Rest assured, I am still bringing Tales of a Wizard up to date with at least the season three end.
If you guys can think of something else I need to do to update the Tales of a Wizard world with MLP, please let me know. I only want to go so far as the season 3 ending or soon after, so no Tirek. At the moment I'm considering this a soft-completed story unless I get an idea I need to put in before the next actual story.
Got to say, given how Harry was scared for Twilight's disappearance and his trauma about gaining the wings, I thought he was going to yell or bonk Celestia for nearly giving him a heart attack or put Twilight through a possible painful transformation. Still, it's nice to see this story again after so long.
Maybe you should update it on the Dresden end of things a lot of cool stuff happens later on in the books and I'm sure that his friends would come looking for him at some point especially when things go to Tartarus . I mean with Michael knowing where he is at I'm sure that they could find him and we all know they kind of need him at times. Plus I can think of a certain couple of people and maybe a little girl who would definitely benefit from the peace of Equestria. All in all this is just me spit-balling a few ideas that crossed my mind.
Harry is marrying a princess!!!! I can just see the nobles going into a hissy fit!
6521675 I agree with all of this. Maggie would look adorable as a filly being raised by Harry and Twilight. Plus, with all the trouble Rudolph causes her I can see Karrin coming to Equestria and becoming a member of the Royal Guard and rising through the ranks easily.
6521675 6522254 As far as the Dresden side of things goes, I'm planning on doing most of that in the next real story, which includes Equestria and the White Council meeting outside Equestria's borders. At the moment I'm just trying to get Equestria to the point where it can do that. So unless I plan on breaking Dresden's first person narrative, I'd need to have those characters from Dresden's world come to Equestria. But I do have some interesting ideas in place for those characters, mostly along the lines of old friends taking up a Van Helsing like career in the wake of Dresden's absence.
6522784 So no Alicorns coming to mess up the Red Court's ritual and save Maggie????
6523140 Not in the immediate future, It's been a while but if I remember correctly that particular piece of the Dresden story line didn't happen until a good few years after where I broke off from White Night. Flesh Masks and Passing Connections only span a couple of months. That's also assuming that the story line of Changes happens at all now, the presence of Equestria as a new power might force the Red Court to reevaluate their plans. I had originally intended to write these tales to happen alongside the books, Harry would dip into Equestria during his free time in the grey area that fills the void between novels, but this has become its own thing and now has its own branching story away from the established and future books. I honestly have no idea where this is headed, maybe Discord takes over the Senior Council, maybe Mab causes another blizzard on Hearth's Warming, maybe Dresden dresses up in all black and becomes the hero Chicago deserves.
Yay for updates. Kinda got to wonder how pony-land would take "Mac" McAnally and his brews.
6523828
Here, read this.
6520847 How about that training session with Rainbow the next day? That seems like it should be all kinds of hilarious and you might also be able to work some other character dynamics/development into it like a meeting with the CMC.
Beyond that I am mostly looking forwards to seeing Harry's "triumphant" return to Chicago and the reactions of his friends. Especially Michael's kids wanting to pet the cute things.
6524866
This. It'd be nice to see and, while not entirely necessary, I can't quite see where it'd fit in anywhere else.
On the slightly more necessary note, what, if anything, has happened with Harry's old apartment and the stuff he had there? Especially important, what's happened to/with Mister, Mouse and Bob? I figure either Murphy or Molly would take care of Mouse and Mister, but I don't think either of them knew about Bob at that point.
Really cute chapter.
I do feel it rather odd that Dresden had to be prodded so hard into flying lessons, though, given the frequent running gag that he's one of the few modern wizard with a mix of crazy, stubbornness and power it takes to (badly and slowly) learn flight in The Dresden Files universe.
A species change is quite the difference so its not wrong per-say, but felt odd anyway to me.
I wonder if harry would want to message his daughter Margaret?
Come on, Harry. You really expected another of few words Mac to approve of you serving his brews chilled? Of course, this is Harry was are talking about, he's all about taking the long shots.
6608417 Well, Harry has had bad experiences with true flight spells in the past, as far as I can remember from Bob's remarks. I think the potion that pretty much works out to Featherfall was his best work on that avenue. And he does have something of a history when it comes to putting things aside in favour of other research projects. Or leaving it at the 'just enough for the moment' stage.
I expected him to collect all the feathers and incinerate them before continuing. Dresden isn't the type to leave any sympathetic links lying around where someone could attack him with them.
As a former human, Flight is something he isn't going to be confortable with for a while. On the other hand, Dresden is the type who really would want the ability to "run away really quickly," so he might put effort into learning it.
6608466 You mean the daughter he doesn't know exists? No. No he will not want to send a message to someone he doesn't know exists to send a message to.
6608685 =( I hope he does get to know about that child one day on good term instead of the whole kidnapped life and death.
Loved this chapter!
6608556
Agreed. Even in the peaceful land of Equestria, I think Dresden would maintain at least that much of his
paranoiavigil.So...Is the story over yet? because this doesn't feel like a sequel but more like bonus chapters.
6609595 This is filler between the sequel and the prequel and was stated as such in the description.