School of Wizardry and Ponies

by Ranoa- Walker of Worlds

Pieces in Place

-Department of Magic temporary headquarters, Canterlot-

"Local firefighters are still working hard to extinguish a gas station fire that started late last night. The cause, firefighters say, is possibly arson as the night shift manager has not been found. Security cameras from the bank across the street show Sombra leaving the station, turning around and watching it blow up. Police are asking anyone with information on the whereabouts of Mr. Sombra to please call their hotline on display down below. Mr. Sombra is the former…"

Agent Hankinson was not happy. Not happy at all. She had been gone with Professor Smith for one day and she comes back to find out that something big had happened in her absences. She was a great agent; Secretary of Magic had given her special recognition for busting a ring of dark wizards who were trying to channel the magic of a Native American burial site and lay a curse on the entire region. There were many expectations heaped on her and she excelled past them. It was in part why she was put as the lead agent in this investigation.

This situation however was going to drive her crazy. She and Professor Smith had got back late the night before. She had expected agent Parker to handle anything while she was gone; but lo and behold when she got back last night he was floundering through protocols trying to locate this apparently new dark magic user. Hankinson had to fight off travel fatigue to take command and set things right. She would have to file a report on Parker's level of inability when put under pressure; but at the same time it was her call to put Parker at the head in her absence and that would reflect on her.

Her musing was cut short when the personnel door slammed open, making a loud crash across the warehouse. In staggered a very haggard looking Colton Smith, rubbing his eyes and stretching.

"Glad to see someone had a bad night besides me." Hankinson said to the academic.

"Up most of the night… looking over Grandfather's notes." Professor Smith said around a yawn.

"There's coffee and Pepper-up potion available." She offered the teacher. She could be rough with her subordinates but she had to somewhat gentle with the consultants, they were still part of the civilian sector.

"No… no… I crash hard when I drink those. Nearly caused me to miss an exam during Grad school."

The bleary eyed professor crossed to the area where the statue photos were still laid out.

"Were the notes useful?" The agent asked hoping for good news.

"It's given me a place to start. It will still take a while to nail down a translation but now we have something to work with."

Professor Smith turned his attention to the television where the story of the gas station fire was still being covered.

"I see you managed to scrub the footage finally." It would not have been good for the general public to see how the station was blown up by someone with magic.

"Yes. Sent everyone off to get some rest. I don't know why Parker choked on this one." Hankinson said shaking her head.

"I saw many of my peers back at the university who were brilliant at what they did. They could theorize and explore the realms of thought with the blink of an eye. When it came down to experimenting however they were inept."

"If this attempt at sympathy is supposed to help then it's not…"

The agent cut what she was saying when she saw a little notice flag at her computer station, indicating she had received email. The senior agent dropped the conversation and took full interest in the email. A few days back she requested a background check on a few of the names that were registered in the student body of Canterlot High. Only now was she getting anything back.

She scanned the email's contents and narrowed her eyes at what she found. She was then in high gear, scrolling through tabs on her computer and bringing up documents and some video footage. Finally, she found what she was looking for.

"Professor, if you have a head ache I suggest you clear out. It will be getting very noisy in here." She declared to Colton. She then dialed a number on her phone and started barking orders into it,

"Parker! Yes, yes, I know you are sorry and you will be even more sorry later but will you shut up and listen!? I need every available agent at HQ now! We have people to find and question. Now get in gear and get going! I need everyone here in five minutes." The agent then went to collect her discarded wand holster, fire arm, and jacket, leaving the professor alone with the security footage up on the big screen.

Curious at what had the lead agent so riled up, Colton walked over to the screen and saw the outside of a café. Leaving the establishment, about an hour ago according to the time stamp on the footage, was a lone girl in a leather jacket. Even though the image was not quite clear, it was good enough to make out the face.

"So, just what are you hiding miss Shimmer?"

-Sugar Cube Corner-

Now, Pinkie throws a lot of parties. The Cakes, the owners of the sweet shop Sugar Cube Corner, and by chance her employers, allowed her to throw her parties there as they tended to draw in more business. The caveat was that she and whoever else were in charge of the event needed to set up and take down decorations. So, Pinkie had enlisted the help of her friends. Minus Twilight who couldn't get to the bus on time but promised she would be there for the party. The resident Equestrian was trying to get a stubborn splotch of sugar that had an iron grip on the counter with a scratchy pad.

Sunset Shimmer was nervous. Not nervous in how the party would go, any gathering that had the Pinkie touch turned into an enjoyable event. It was who the party was for that had Sunset worried. Harry Potter was still an unknown factor and that unfortunately made him a risk. The other girls who had one on one time with him found it hard not to see his better qualities.

She really didn't want to be distrustful of the kid, but the readings from Twilight's magic detector were hard to ignore. Magic in this world was still an unknown. True the trip to Camp Everfree had given them new powers and a certain degree of control, but they still didn't know where their magic crystals came from.

"Uh, Sunset? Yah alright?" Applejack's voice broke in. Sunset realized she had had gotten lost in her own thoughts and counter she had been scrubbing was on the verge of losing its finish.

"Oh, uh, sorry. I just have things on my mind."

"Those thoughts wouldn't happen to be 'bout our mysterious young friend would they?"

"I can't help it Applejack. Strange things started the moment we met him. Well, stranger than what we are used to."

"I agree," Rainbow Dash commented from up on a ladder, "Strange magic readings, government agents, the journal not working, Twilight's collapse, gas station fires; this whole thing just doesn't seem right."

"It could be Harry's arrival is just a coincidence with what's been going on." Fluttershy offered as she joined in the conversation.

"Sorry Fluttershy, but it is just too coincidental." Sunset countered.

"Well what can you do?" Pinkie Pie said as she appeared out of nowhere, "It's not like you can touch him and read his mind right?"

Everyone paused what they were doing and looked at Pinkie for a few seconds before looking at a thinking Sunset. Taking action Rarity shook her head,

"Oh no darling you are not going to gaze into that poor boy's mind." She declared.

"But Rarity, if Harry doesn't want to talk about it then it's our only option." Sunset responded with a hint of desperation.

"Now hold on everybody!" Applejack interjected, "We've made mistakes before and Ah'm not fixin' to make another one by invading Harry's private life. After the party tonight let's sit down and actually ask him if…"

Applejack was cut off by the main door bursting open. A very winded Twilight Sparkle and Spike stood there trying to catch their breath,

"Twilight! We didn't think you would be coming until later." Sunset said, just a little more than worried about her friend's current state.

"Ran… caught the… bus at… another stop…" Spike said before he comically slumped to the floor.

"I… found something you all need to see." Twilight said setting her backpack on a nearby table.

The girls gathered around and watched her set up her laptop. The screen that booted up was a video with the caption, "I don't remember filming this." The first sound to come from the video was the noise of hundreds of people and the clattering of trains.

"Here we are day three of our tour de Britain and we are on our way to catch a train out of London and head, where was it again?" The sound of an American tourist came over the din of the station.

"We're heading north Devon." The sound of a nearby woman said as they walked along the platform, "Remember we are starting in Scotland and working our way down to Dover."

"Right. See that is why I married you, for your wonderful brain."

"I thought you married me for my good looks and charming personality." The woman flirted back.

"Well there's that too."

Just then the camera caught sight of something, a long parade of red heads in worn out, out of date clothing walking down the platform,

"What do you make of that honey?" The man asked. Out of curiosity kept the camera focused on this group. The man swore when members of the group started disappearing into the barrier between platforms Nine and Ten. The couple watched in fascination as one by one members of the family disappeared into the barrier until a black haired boy came into view. Twilight paused the video and let the girls take in who it was that had just walked on camera. The messy black hair and circular glasses were not hard to miss, not to mention the owl in a cage was easily identified by Fluttershy as being Harry's. Resuming the video, the friends watched Harry disappear into the barrier after talking to the woman leading the pack of gingers.

As the video ended the group stood in silence. Thoughts ran through all their minds. The silence was broken when Sunset asked,

"Twilight, where did you find this?"

"On a conspiracy site based out of Britain. People have been posting strange events and things for the past several years."

"Why would you even be lookin' at sites like that Sugar cube?" Applejack asked.

"Spike gave me the idea that maybe Earth had magic before Sunset Shimmer brought it over. After all we have our own myths about supernatural events. So I started looking for evidence of human based magic and found that Europe has a long history of mass memory loss, disappearing buildings, even things like flying cars and motorcycles. All of this might be magic users trying to cover their tracks."

"So Harry might… no, is connected to whatever is going on?" Sunset asked.

"Hold on a minute." Rainbow Dash interrupted, "If Harry was a wizard wouldn't he tell us? Wouldn't Principal Celestia?"

"Rainbow, he just met us." Sunset let out with exasperation at the lack of thought her friend was giving the topic, "If human magic users have been trying to stay hidden for who knows how long I don't think that Harry would just walk up to us and say, 'Hey I just met you and by the way I'm a wizard.'"

"Maybe it's against some kind of international law to tell people about magic; and if you do you get in really, really deep trouble then they wipe the memories of those you told." Pinkie suggested with her usual big smile.

"Um… Maybe he would open up about his secret if we told him ours." Fluttershy suggested.

There was a moment of silent contemplation before Sunset responded,

"Alright, we tell him about the portal. If he's staying here, then he has to know before he freaks out the next time someone wonders across some rouge magic source from Equestria. We'll give him the chance to open up and share but if doesn't I am going to have to use my magic on him."

-Department of Magic temporary headquarters-

True to Hankinson's word the warehouse got very noisy. Field agents were listening to Agent Hankinson give a briefing on the situation.

"A few years ago this girl, Sunset Shimmer, appeared in the records of Canterlot High School. However, that is as far as she exists. I just got word that a girl of similar description, Julia Stevenson, was born in the area but her family moved to Colorado shortly after she was born. As far the Social Services are concerned, Sunset Shimmer does not exist. She has been at the center of most reports of the unidentified magic since it began last year. We need to bring her in for questioning."

Hankinson hit a few keys on her keyboard and brought up a map of an area of the town.

"From what we have been able to gather, Miss Shimmer lives in this area of town. A team will be keeping Miss Shimmer under observation while the rest of us will deploy to find her hideout. Remember, we are to be discrete. Alright, let's move!"

At the command the assembled agents dispersed leaving the techies and Professor Smith who was looking over more of his Grandfather's notes. He sat there reading for a few hours before he let out a sigh. As brilliant a man his Grandfather was, some of what the deceased Smith had written was not making any sense. Letting out a sigh the Theorists stood up and secured the notes on a nearby locker.

"I need a walk. I may be gone for a while." He told the commanding agent left at the base.

This was Colton's method of settling his mind. During his studies at the University he would often go to the surface and walk around the National Mall. The professor turned his attention to the park. His mind still drummed with the theories of his Grandfather and his sleep deprived body drove him to seek out a park bench. Then, without any restraint, the contemplating professor slipped asleep.

-Streets of Canterlot-

Most of the night after seizing control of the body of Sombra the Entity worked on establishing control over the unfortunate victim. By now the actual mind of Sombra had fell silent and the Entity had complete control. He had tracked his target to a store where some celebration was in progress. He was ready to strike when he noticed the potent feel of Equestrian magic inside. Attacking head on by himself would prove detrimental to his plan. So now he was looking for a method to drive out the Reflection.

As night was settling the Entity came across the local library and smirked at what he saw. Standing sentry outside of the library doors were two iron lion statues.

"Perfect,"

Author's Note:

I would like to thank all of you for reading this and keeping with it so far. It is such a pleasure to get feedback from you guys and gals. What makes it even better though is seeing you all talk to each other about what is going on. So until next time. Let me know what you all think.
Ranoa

Comments

[Asheram]

This is going to be a glorious clusterf**k

[EchoWing]

Well this is gonna get very interesting very quickly.

[Fetch]

How doesn't the American Magic Agency know about the portal or the other magic happening around CHS?
Oh, that's right. They are as inept as their British counterparts when it comes to keeping track of things.
Bureaucracy at work.

[soulknight13]

Ahhh here we go i forsee the raise of sombermort , this is going to be bigger than i think and when the girls tell harry the truth about the portal hello pony harry.

[Fictional Fanatic]

7687985 Agreed, my heart is already pounding with excitement and anticipation. I should go to a doctor and take a look at that.

[Werdna213]

7688087 Bureaucracy, working hard to keep things from hardly working.

[Lord Nopony]

Interesting. However, to me it looks like the Humane 6 might be going a little too far in their quest for answers from young Harry. I mean reading his mind IS a total breach of privacy!

And it also seems Sunset is under surveillance as well! Ooh boy. Now what? Update again soon!

[BenRG]

Something tells me that Sombramort is going to cause more than sufficient trouble that Sunset is suddenly going to cease being of any serious concern to the magical authorities.

[khatre]

woman leading the pack of gingers.

This is a beautiful quote. Milo should use this one.

[KittyrinnAiko]

This was Colton's method of settling his mind. During his studies at the University he would often go to the surface and walk around the National Mall. The professor turned his attention to the park. His mind still drummed with the theories of his Grandfather and his sleep deprived body drove him to seek out a park bench. Then, without any restraint, the contemplating professor slipped asleep.

The phrase is "fell asleep" not slipped. XD If you use slipped than it needs to "slipped into" followed by a description of the type of sleap. Such as he slipped off into a light sleep, slipped into a deep sleep, slipped into a restless sleep, slipped into a coma...

[Stellar Light Sparkle]

Just a spelling error, which I find is a very common one:

wonders across some rouge magic source from Equestria

.

'Rouge' is both french for 'Red', and a type of make-up

The word you mean to use is 'rogue', as in 'behaving in ways that are not expected or not normal, often in a way that causes damage', as in the movie title 'Rogue One'.

[Kentavritsa]

9400079
Wait, hasn't this been fixed yet?