Chapter 24: News Networking and Neighing
The dying rays of the sun cast long shadows on the few ponies left in town hall. The business day had ended long ago. Mayor Mare herself had scarcely put the key in her office door when she sprang back to avoid the fireball that accompanied the crack of displaced air.
As she peeled herself out of the plaster on the freshly-repaired wall, the fireball resolved itself into a familiar firebird. Once her hooves were solidly on the floor, she scolded the bird. "Philomena! You should be ashamed of yourself! You know better than to go around scaring old gray mares!" She groaned as she mentally tallied the cost of redoing that repair yet again.
Philomena trilled at her lightly in response. She did not chuckle; Mayor Mare was adamant that phoenixes could not chuckle. It didn't matter what it looked like. It did not matter what it sounded like. Mayor Mare would swear on her honor that Philomena did not chuckle.
“What brings you here so late?” the mayor asked, dusting off a fetlock with one hoof.
Philomena held out a claw and offered the mayor a scroll.
“So,” the mayor said, accepting the scroll, “they still have you pulling mail duty?”
Philomena trilled happily.
“Let’s see what you brought me.” The mayor took the scroll in her mouth and placed it on a nearby table. Taking an end of the ribbon in her teeth, she opened the scroll and then began perusing the first few lines. “The Crusaders want to update their herd agreement?”
As she continued reading, she stepped back. Her eyeballs nearly pushed off her glasses, and her lower jaw made a plucky attempt to meet with the ground even though the mayor was standing.
Alone in the stark room, Rarity fidgeted in her chair, like a school filly about to be scolded by her teacher. She daintily kept her hands in her lap as she looked over the back of the empty chair on the opposite side of the table. The doorknob had not moved one iota since she started keeping watch. Her fury had waned and reduced itself to a low simmer. Maybe she had gone too far. Attacking a high government official inside a government building couldn’t possibly endear her to the locals. Now she sat, waiting to face the music.
Then again, maybe she hadn’t gone far enough. After all, she had missed her opportunity to separate the old stallion from his two best friends. Now, the old stallion would doubtlessly turn tail and run at the sight of her. That was a true pity because now he would never understand just how livid she was at him.
The door to the room opened and a lone human stallion entered. “Mrs. Belle?” he said, running his hand through his red mane and stopping just inside the chamber. “May I please come in?”
Continuing to be impressed by the politeness of her captors, Rarity nodded her head to indicate the empty chair on the opposite side of the lone table. “By all means.” She said apprehensively, “After all, I am your detainee.”
“You misunderstand,” the stallion said, taking the proffered seat. “I am not an auror, nor am I here in my capacity as head of department. My name is Arthur Weasley; Sweetie Belle has appointed me as her proxy. Since I accepted, that makes our families allies.”
“Allies you say?” Rarity gave a weak smile. “That is refreshing to hear. Although, I do wish we could have met under better circumstances.”
“Yes,” Arthur said nodding, “this situation does present a sticky wicket. You see, my family has been a staunch supporter of Dumbledore and his policies. Your actions today are at odds with what we would normally condone.”
“I see,” Rarity said, some of the friendliness going out of her voice. “You wish to defend Dumbledore’s actions?”
“No,” he said placing his hands on the table and folding them, “I don’t know what actions I’d be defending. On top of that, Minerva stormed in here looking for Dumbledore soon after your altercation.” Arthur paused to select his next words. “Even though she has always supported Dumbledore in the past, she seemed bent on doing something similar to what you had already accomplished.” He paused again then added, “I thought it best that I gave a full disclosure of my position before you found out another way. I don’t want you thinking I was deliberately misleading you.”
“Thank you,” Rarity said as warmth returned to her words. “Your sincerity is appreciated.”
“I don’t want to make you angry,” Arthur admitted.
Rarity gave a reassuring smile to show that she was harmless.
“Madam Bones has gone on record to state that you had ample reason to challenge Dumbledore to a duel.” Arthur proceeded, “Furthermore, she insists that you would not know the legitimate process to accomplish this.” Arthur looked her directly in the eyes. “If you had not ambushed Dumbledore in his office and had instead called for a formal duel, the aurors would not have interfered.”
“Honestly?” Rarity perked up at the news. “Isn’t that a bit . . . uncouth?”
“Perhaps,” Arthur agreed. “Dueling is highly discouraged, but it remains a legal option.”
“May I ask what happens now?”
“Now I give you this,” Arthur said, removing Rarity’s wand from his coat pocket and rolling it across the desk to her. “Then, as an ally, I politely ask you to leave British soil and not return anytime soon.”
“So, I’m being banished?”
“Not so much banished,” Arthur shook his head, “as being encouraged not to put in an appearance for a couple months. Maybe as much as a year.”
“That seems rather merciful.” Rarity was flabbergasted at the turn of events. “I was sure I’d be in more trouble.”
“Dumbledore attempted to use his position to meddle in private family affairs, even after you formally approached our government, asking for the sanctity of family matters to be observed.” Arthur informed her, “Your mistake was ambushing him without filing a blood feud first. As it is, the Ministry is hoping you don’t file a complaint with the ICW; they are even more unbending with family sanctity than we are.”
“I see,” Rarity said. “They want to sweep this under the rug, so to speak.”
“Basically,” Arthur confessed, “yes.”
Rarity gave a winning smile. "Thank you for your advice, and your candor, Mr. Weasley. I must warn you, however, I am a guardian, and I take that responsibility seriously.
Applejack stuck her head in the farmhouse and called out, “Granny! Ah’m ‘fraid Ah’m not going to be a’ staying for dinner. Something's come up an' ah need to get mah flank back over ta Twilight’s.”
“All righty,” Granny Smith replied from the kitchen, “you git along and take care of business then. Thar will be leftovers in the icebox when you amble back.”
“Thank you kindly,” Applejack said.
“’Fore you go: Big Mac has a new owl, one y'all will be seeing hanging about.” Granny warned, “The owl seems a right friendly sort, but the bag he wears is a mite grabby.”
“Ah’ll keep that in mind.” Applejack shuddered. “Ah’ve already been vomited up by one piece o’ luggage today.”
“’Fore this afternoon, Ah’d have been inclined to ask you to explain that thar statement.”
The Gryffindor herd was having a nice, lazy supper when the owls came, delivering a special evening edition of the "Daily Prophet". After receiving his, Percy took one look at the headline and said, “Sweetie!”
Sweetie Belle dropped the turkey leg she had been gnawing on and said, “Yeah, yeah. I know. Just pass it down please. I really need to get my own subscription.”
Harry silently put down his pumpkin juice, and Hermione scampered behind Sweetie to read over her shoulder. “Black Freed from Azkaban and Belles Do the Impossible,” she read aloud for everyone to hear and shot Sweetie a questioning look.
“No,” Sweetie said, “I didn’t free anyone from an Azkaban. I don’t even know what an Azkaban is.”
“It’s the wizard prison,” Percy said, coming to stand next to Hermione. “Black was the man who betrayed Harry’s parents to You-Know-Who.”
“What?” Harry gave Percy his full and undivided attention.
“Didn’t you know?” Percy asked. “He was the Dark Lord’s second in command. He told the Dark Lord where to find your parents. Then, if that weren't enough, he was in the process of hunting down another of his childhood friends when the aurors finally caught up with him -- unfortunately, not before he murdered a street full of muggles. I can’t think of any good reason that the Ministry would free him; he must have escaped, and that’s very bad news.”
“Hurry up and read the story!” Harry said with a hint of anger coloring his voice.
Hermione complied and started reading, “'Editor's Note: Today we discovered that our fundamental truths are wrong. The shocks have been both numerous and overwhelming. In the end, we could not decide on a single lead story. Instead, we shall start with a brief summary of all the news in our lead story, with references to the story in depth for each item. In brief, Sirius Black had been released on his own recognizance due to the Ministry's violation of its own laws' . . ." Hermione looked up and turned to Percy. "It looks like he didn't escape after all."
“This is horrid news.” Percy rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Maybe Harry can use that old rite to claim retribution and get him thrown back into Azkaban.”
“That might be worth looking into,” Parvati agreed. “We should see about getting a lawyer for Harry.”
“Is there any more about him?” Harry asked, gritting his teeth and fighting back tears.
‘Just a sec,” Hermione said flipping through pages. “Here we go. New Wizengamot member Alice Rutter proclaims Black's innocence, proves Ministry has violated his rights for a decade. Yadda yadda, yadda yadda . . . Black's lawyer says Black is obsessed with ensuring Harry Potter's welfare? He accuses Peter Pettigrew of the betrayal of Harry's parents. Wait a minute! A 100,000 galleon reward for the capture and conviction of Peter Pettigrew for aiding and abetting the murders of James and Lily Potter?!"
“That doesn’t sound like a follower of You-Know-Who,” Lavender said. “And I thought Peter was dead.”
“A hundred thousand galleons!” Ron gasped. “You’d be set for life with that, you would.”
“I don’t care about the money!” Harry all but shouted, “Someone has to be lying! I just want to know who killed my parents!”
Scootaloo came over and wrapped her arms around Harry in a heartfelt hug. “We’ll help you find justice, no matter what,” she whispered.
“The Gryffindor herd stands with you,” Neville vowed, and his statement met a round of agreement from the rest of the first-years.
“Just to be certain,” Dean spoke up, “do any of the other stories have anything to do with Harry’s parents?”
Hermione quickly skimmed the editor's note. “No, it’s just about our resurrection attempts.” Then, her voice took on an appalled tone. “And someone named Rarity Belle beat our headmaster to a pulp in an illegal duel and duffed up six aurors when they tried to break it up.”
Walking into the Ministry's atrium, Arthur Weasley saw the two women he wanted to talk to standing next the center statue, conversing with each other.
“She was more than willing to do as we asked," Arthur said as he walked up to Amelia Bones and Judge Brown. “She seems remorseful that she’s caused us difficulties.”
“That’s good to hear.” Amelia said, “We’ve avoided some very serious complications that we cannot afford right now.”
“It’s also good to hear that she’s sorry for attacking Dumbledore,” Judge Brown said. “Not having to worry about her finishing what she started is a relief.”
“Oh no,” Arthur said with a shake of his head. “She apologized for causing a scene and taking down the aurors. I’m pretty sure she wants another go at Dumbledore.”
“Tell me again how Mr. Discord is the one we have to worry about," Amelia said to Judge Brown.
A flash of light heralded the newest additions to the occupants of the library.
A pink blur screamed. “Rarity!”
“Oooooof!” Wham! Thump! Thump! Thump!
The bits of purple and white peeking out from under the blanket of pink spoke in a strained voice. “Pinkie, darling, I am glad to see you as well . . . could you, please, get off me now?”
“Discord, welcome back.” Fluttershy bashfully walked up to her friend. “Thank you for helping Rarity. I hope things didn’t get too hectic. Did Rarity manage to civilly chastise the stallion she was mad at?"
Rainbow Dash looked down at the draconequus rolling on the floor laughing. “Yeah,” she said, deadpan, “that’s not a good sign.”
“Time to fly! Time to fly!”
"Scoots,” Lavender snapped, “Change it up a bit.”
"Time to fly! Kiss the sky! Thread the needle through the eye!"
“Ah hope Madam Hooch doesn’t mind that we’re bringing ‘borrowed’ brooms instead of using the schools'.” Apple Bloom watched Scootaloo bounce around the herd, gleefully waving her own broom as they walked down the halls.
“See the box? Mind the walls! Stay inside or take the fall.”
“Do you think she’ll mind the rest of us tagging along?” Harry asked, hefting one of the twins' brooms. “We did get flying time second period after all.”
“Point to point, wing to wing, roll like clockwork with a spring.”
“I can’t believe Hermione decided to go to the library instead,” Dean said.
“See the rain cloud way up high? Squeeze until you make it cry.”
“I can’t believe the Weasley brothers had eight Nimbus 2000’s just waiting around in their trunks,” Parvati said. “That’s almost enough for each of us to ride one.”
“Find a thunderhead and churn. Unleash the lightning; feel the burn.”
“We can take turns,” Sweetie said her hands empty as she had handed Seamus her own broom. “Later, we can owl order more brooms, and all of us will have one next time.”
“Higher in the sky you sail. Drop the hammer; hit the nail.”
“I don’t think the Weasley’s have that much room left in their trunks,” Harry noted.
“Climb up high until you stop. Mind your tail when you drop.”
“So, we’ll get them new trunks first.” Apple Bloom shrugged dismissively.
“Around and 'round and 'round you whirl. Make a tube and shoot the curl.”
“The fact that you say that so casually is slightly troubling,” Parvati said. “I think you might be missing a true appreciation for the value of a galleon.”
“Loop and loop and loop and tuck. Show the cloverleaf for luck. Spin like a maple seed on down. Float like a thistle seed to ground." Scootloo kept bouncing.
“That’s better.” Neville smiled gratefully as her chant ended.
“Hold that thought,” Twilight said. heading for the front door. “Just let me see who it is. I don’t want to miss any of this story.”
“Take your time,” Rarity said smiling at a protective and blushing Spike; he had been lavishing her with attention ever since she got back. “We’ve just gotten Pinkie calmed down enough to listen. A few more minutes to compose ourselves would not go unappreciated.”
“But,” Pinkie protested, “I was so worried about you!”
“Oh! Princess Celestia! Princess Luna!” Twilight said, surprised at whom she found on the other side of her door. “I wasn’t expecting you. Won’t you come in?”
“Hello Twilight, my faithful student.” The distinct, motherly voice of Celestia wafted into the main room as the mare herself soon followed. “I was hoping to find Discord here. I would like him to take us to have a few words with somepony.”
“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy said. “You just missed him. He said something about needing to have a conversation with a new friend.”
“Discord is continuing to make new friends?” Celestia said with a knowing smile on her face. “That is most pleasing news.”
“He was also singing some weird song about playing a silver ball,” Applejack noted, “an’ a deaf dumb blind kid. Maybe that thar 'Tommy' is the new friend he was talking about.”
“You can never tell with him,” Celestia said, “but his efforts to make friends on his own is a step in the right direction.”
“Princess Celestia?”
“Yes Pinkie?” Celestia answered patiently.
“Why are you and Princess Luna wearing full barding and your greatswords?”
“I see you’re all ready to go,” Madam Hooch said as she entered the courtyard full of students, “and you brought your own brooms?”
“We borrowed them from the Weasley brothers,” Sweetie offered helpfully as she selected one of the school brooms for her ride, while Magah once again began cropping up grass.
Madam Hooch openly laughed at the student, “Girl! Don’t think you lot are the first to use that particular loophole. No upper-year is going to let a bunch of first years borrow a Nimbus, let alone eight, without something happening in the background.”
“You’re not angry?” Parvati asked also selecting a school broom.
“As long as you keep passing grades, I’ll not raise a fuss,” the flying instructor said. “If I hear tell of just one of you slacking, I’ll confiscate the lot of them, no matter who says they own them.”
As one, the group turned to look at Ron, who gulped audibly.
“Consider it an incentive, boy,” Madam Hooch said, noting the looks.
Ron quickly nodded his acceptance.
“And you, girl,” Madam Hooch focused her attention on Apple Bloom, “a school broom might be a good idea for you; that one you are holding is more of a handful than you’re ready for.”
“Me an’ this broom have an understanding,” Apple Bloom said with a small shake of her head.
“Oh?” Madam Hooch asked.
“Yeah; it don’t buck me an’ I don’t turn it into kindling.”
Madam Hooch chuckled and said, “We’ll see. Okay now, all of you mount your brooms like I showed you earlier.”
“Waaahoooo!” There was a distinct red shift as the voice faded into the background.
“That wasn’t permission to lift off!” Madam Hooch shouted at the receding black and purple blur.
“Save your breath,” Ginny advised. “Once she’s in the air, she’s in a world of her own.”
“How long has she been flying like that?” Madam Hooch watched as Scootaloo began her aerial ballet.
“What day is it?” Sweetie asked.
“Tuesday,” Madam Hooch said.
“Then it’s been a week.” Ron shrugged. “She’s a natural.”
“I hope you’re not expecting us to do that,” Lavender said in awe.
“No, no.” Madam Hooch shook her head. “She’s already pulled three impossible moves -- literally impossible. What she’s doing is beyond me. What she’s doing is beyond professional quidditch level. What she's doing is beyond any witch or wizard, ever.”
“I can just sit and watch her for hours,” Ron admitted.
The class's eyes followed Scootaloo’s antics as she continued to waltz across the sky.
“Yeah,” Dean agreed, “you could sell tickets for this.”
After watching for a couple minutes more, Madam Hooch said, “Okay, the rest of you, mount your brooms; let’s give this another try.”
“You seem to have had a very busy day,” Princess Celestia said looking at Rarity, “first your new trunk, then a foray into the heart of an alien government.”
“Truly a notable occasion,” Luna added. “In one afternoon, thou hast managed to assault one of their head officials -- spectacularly, in the center of their very seat of power. Then, thou didst in due course lay waste to several of their peace keepers.”
“Then,” Princess Celestia continued, “instead of punishment, you received a polite request to leave their country and to not come back until you could behave properly.”
“A request motivated by their desire not to incite an international incident,” Luna noted.
“I must say,” Celestia stated, “I find that we are greatly disappointed.”
“Indeed!” Luna agreed. “Did thou not think we would wish to accompany thou? Now, we need wait for the scoundrel to mend before we may have a significant conversation.”
“Yes,” Celestia said, “it would appear that we got all dressed up for nothing.”
Professor McGonagall was waiting for the first-years when they reentered the castle. “I do hope you behaved for Madam Hooch,” she said passing a stern gaze over the collection of students, “I hear your earlier attempts left much room for improvement.”
The children nodded their heads and Ginny said, “Apple Bloom managed to stay upright the entire time.”
“Ah’m getting better,” Apple Bloom agreed. “It jus’ took some practice.”
“Very good.” Professor McGonagall allowed a thin smile to pass her lips. “Now, if you all would follow me, you have garnered the attention of the Ministry and they have sent some representatives to ask you some questions and, maybe, witness a demonstration.”
“A demonstration?” Harry asked, shrinking behind Magah.
“Yes,” Professor McGonagall said, “Miss Granger is already with them and has gathered the needed materials. They would request that you repeat your performance with Miss Warren. I assume you will be needing your phoenix, but I don’t see her.”
“I had her deliver a quick message to Rarity,” Sweetie said. “I almost forgot about it, but she should be back soon.”
“Well,” Rainbow Dash said as Princess Celestia nuzzled her pet in greeting, “what does it say?”
“Let’s see,” Rarity said unfurling the scroll. “'Dear Rarity, You are having way too much fun with that trunk.'”
“Y’all need to work with her on her definition of fun,” Applejack insisted.
“I’m glad the twins showed up to take the brooms,” Seamus said as they entered an unused classroom to find Hermione and three others waiting. “Saves us from lugging them around.”
“I think they wanted to grill us over our flying lessons,” Sweetie said noticing that Hermione was accompanied by two wizards and a witch.
“Children,” Professor McGonagall said, ushering the rest of the students and unicorn into the room then closing the door behind herself, “this is Mr. Croaker. He has some questions for you.”
One of the wizards stepped forward and said, “I am so glad to see you all tonight. You’ve performed a remarkable feat of magic that has the potential of helping many individuals. We’d like to record the details for the betterment of all of wizarding kind.”
Parvati shuffled her feet, “Shouldn’t we wait for Philomena to get back first? She danced around the ritual circle the first two times; it may be important.”
“That’s not really part of the instructions,” Hermione objected as she gave the chalked circle in the middle of the room one more inspection.
“She’s a phoenix,” Parvati said.
“It really wasn’t dancing,” Dean noted, “It was more like hopping and bobbing her head.”
“She’s a phoenix.” Parvati repeated.
“How important could it possibly be?” Ron asked.
“Hello!” Parvati said. “Phoenix acting oddly right before bringing the dead back to life?! I hope I’m not the only one here that thinks that it might be important.”
“You're right,” Hermione conceded. “We should wait for Philomena.”
“Try to do everything exactly how you did it before,” Mr. Croaker encouraged as he studied the setup Hermione had arranged. “With rituals, little details matter.”
“Don’t forget the doll,” Dean said nodding.
“What?” Scootaloo asked. "We didn’t have a doll last time."
“Never mind.” Dean shook his head.
Magah stood next to a wall, watching the proceedings and nervously tapping her forehooves as she drank in all the details.
“Any idea how long until your phoenix returns?” the unnamed witch asked taking notes as she watched.
There was a flash of flames and the bird in question appeared.
“Em-peek-able timing.” Scootaloo grinned widely.
“Impeccable.” Sweetie Belle and Hermione automatically corrected.
“That’s what she said,” chimed Harry, Neville, Dean, Lavender and Ginny before Scootaloo opened her mouth.
Philomena took one look at the circle on the floor, trilled and landed next to it. She then proceeded to hop around it, bobbing her head the entire time.
“See?” Parvati pointed, “Tell me that’s not important.”
“Needing a phoenix does significantly limit the availability of this ritual,” Mr. Croaker said frowning and the witch taking notes scribbled on her scroll furiously.
“Where’s the victim?” Dean asked, looking around for a ghost.
“I am right here,” a woman said, floating through the back wall of the classroom. “I was just waiting my summons.”
“Thank you for participating, Helena.” Professor McGonagall inclined her head at the ghost.
“This is too great of an opportunity to pass up.” The ghost smiled in return. “It is worth the risk.”
Suddenly, Magah whinnied loudly, staring at the newly appeared ghost. After screaming, the unicorn rushed over to the closed door and turned. The door was thoroughly bucked, twice. It flew off its hinges. The equine then escaped through the opening.
“My unicorn isn’t that great,” Seamus said, “but that was obviously ‘Ah hell no!’”
“Language, Mr. Finnigan,” Professor McGonagall admonished.
“Sorry,” Seamus said.
Magah trotted back into the room, grabbed Sweetie Belle by the collar of her robe and exited once again, dragging the girl with her.
“Hey!” Sweetie yelled as she was forced to exit.
“Um,” Neville said, “I didn’t see that coming.”
Magah trotted back into the room, grabbed Hermione by her robe’s collar then left the room once more.
“I don’t think she likes this ritual,” Harry observed.
Magah trotted back into the room and left again.
“Hey! That thar bow is connected to mah mane!”
“That looked painful,” Parvati observed.
Magah trotted back in and out again.
“Ow! Ow!” Ginny complained, “I’m coming. I’m coming. Don’t pull.”
“Yup,” Parvati said, heading for the door on her own, “we have an established pattern.”
Magah trotted back in and grabbed Neville.
The rest of the children followed her out, not wanting to be dragged.
The remaining wizard who had yet to say anything opened his mouth and said, “Never in my life have I ever thought I’d say this, but it looks like the resurrection is called on account of unicorn.”
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I wonder if they meet a squib or half-breeds like the centaur or half-giant? or the sadder and deadlier thing like a certain werewolf?
You haven't seen the Sonic Rainboom yet, Madam.
Inspired idea cropped up. If Rainbow Dash came to Hogwarts and was introduced to a broom...
If Madam Hooch was not there to see it, she would not have believed it. When she heard that Scoot's magical guardian, a big sister with a keen interest in sports, was coming to visit she expected a right proper quidditch match to crop up. Or at least a race even. What she and the entirety of Hogwarts; attention got instead was an aerial ballet.
There was some unspoken story to this performance that called out to the depths of her heart. If it were not for the rain, she would have claimed there was rain on her face. And then Hagrid had to almost ruin the moment.
"How ye think that Miss Flutters is getting the animals to be making the music?"
You know I was hoping there would be some kind of consequence for Rarity's actions, maybe Dumbledore actually explaining himself. Hopefully this is the end of the Dumbledore bashing as it's just getting dumb now. Maybe some people find it funny but if you read the books or at least watched the movies then you know there is a very good reason for his actions.
Hell even in this story its made clear that the government is corrupt and agents of Voldemort are all over the place who would jump at a chance to kill Harry, so clearly Dumbledore was doing the best he could in a bad situation.
What? Did she see a mouse?
8431804
I suspect it won't be long before we see a Sonic Rainbroom.
8431809
Okay, it's become common enough that I think I'm going to have to briefly talk about Dumbledore bashing. It's a subject I can rant about, so I'll do my best to keep it short.
Dumbledore, in the original work, is less a character and more of a plot device. A plot device that has more and more excuses made for it, as the story progresses. When his actions and choices are dissected, a lot of people feel that he is either really, really, really incompetent or evil. Many a Harry Potter fanfictions have tried to rationalize and justify his behavior. In an earlier comment Dicefire5 had mentioned that there is much Dumbledore bashing in the Fandom, this is because the more competent you treat Dumbledore the darker he becomes.
There are, of course, exceptions. One of the most notable being "Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality".
Regardless of how dark you make him, for many parents, what Dumbledore put Harry through is unequivocally unacceptable for any reason.
8431957
Sure but I don't think it's handle well here. You make it seem like Dumbledore is awful for not giving Harry a perfect life from the beginning while also showing off how impossible it would have been given how corrupt the wizarding world is and how many people who wouldn't mind seeing harry dead after what happened to Voldemort.
Dumbledore isn't all powerful he was just trying to stop a bad situation from getting worse, maybe he could have done better but as the audience we have the unfair advantage of seeing the whole picture we can see everything that is happening and can easily think of better ways to handle things. This is basically what Discord seems to be doing, he can see the entire script and when you know how everything is gonna play out it's easy to come to the conclusion that Dumbledore is terrible but when you remember that no one could have known what these actions would bring it becomes far more understandable.
8431974
Can't we all just enjoy the fact that the introduction of ponies into the Wizarding World has turned the entire system completely upside-down, backwards, and inside-out in the most hilarious way possible? Because I'm pretty sure that is the intention of this story, not to try to be more realistic with Dumbledore's questionable choices.
8431982
Look I like the story a lot, I find it to be a lot of fun but It's hard to ignore character bashing when it's given so much attention. I believe there is a good way to handle such an idea but that didn't happen here. I only bring it up because I find it to be the one black mark on an otherwise fantastic story.
8431974
You're rationalizing for him.
The correct answer for finding out from the squib you placed to watch over the situation, that your charge may be receiving less than stellar treatment is not:
"Well, I need to keep him there regardless, because there are people trying to hurt him and it would be too much trouble to make him disappear into another untraceable identity."
At the very least the correct response is:
"Hello, Mr. Dursley, let me introduce you to your new neighbor Gudo. Since I am forced to have Harry stay with you both for his protection as well as yours, he is here to insure certain thresholds are met. Shall we see how many fingers and toes it takes before you learn that your previous attitude is unacceptable?"
8431994
I'm not trying to justify his actions just saying it's easy to make better decisions when you have all the information. Sure Dumbledore is deserving of some criticism but it can be done while also being fair to the character.
8432003
Justify and rationalize are two different things.
But this is why I haven't touched the whole Dumbledore bashing thing before. Rowling's made him to be a likable if fallible character. There are many who take his actions and lack of actions in a very different way.
For myself, I have a very low tolerance for anyone who would knowing allow a child to come to harm, either through action or inaction. My Dumbledore bashing has been mild, barely touching on what the fandom has dug up. In truth, I am trying to keep his reasoning on the lighter side of grey.
The only reason I brought it up, is that there are some who didn't seem to grasp how others might not like this 'beloved' character.
8432015
Okay that all makes sense but then you twisted things to make it appear that Dumbledore doesn't actually care for Harry when in the original story he literally dies for him.
I don't mind criticising the character I just wish it didn't come across as unfair.
I second the idea of Rainbow Dash coming to Hogwarts and flying on brooms with Scootaloo. After all, how long have they waited to do that together?
I still want Celestia and Luna to go to Britain also and either confront Dumbledor or at least establish formal relations with the Wizarding World.
I also think that Helena deserves to be resurrected, regardless of Magha's opinion on the matter.
I am curious to see if Magha would kneel/bow before Celestia and Luna if they choose to make an appearance. THAT would certainly start something in the UK's Wizarding World.
8432133
Magah bowing before the princesses would actually be rather hilarious. Especially if she refuses to stop doing so no matter how many times Celestia might ask her to stop.
8431806
And RD giving the Wizarding world a lesson about flying would be fitting. Though what do you think would happen if Equestria and Wizarding world ever got along well enough (most likely after the Elements of Harmony blast Voldemort publicly and turn him to stone) to have a friendly quidditch match? Wonderbolts making up the Equestrian team? That would leave more than a few Wizards and Witches jaws hanging.
EDIT: Spelling corrections thanks to Ponygood11.
8432025
I resent Dumbledore because he let teachers like Snape who had fun being cruel to students or complete idiots like Lockhart who had no idea what he was doing work at Hogwarts.
And he is ignorant to his students being mistreated the part where Umbridge forces them to write with their own blood was horrifying for me.
Even if he was sometimes nice to Harry the bad things outweight the good parts in my opinion at least.
The wizard community is portrayed really backwards in the books they don't really mix technology and magic like the Equestrians do and they separate themselves from those who don't have magic. Dumbledore is part of this old guard and to change things all of them have to go
8432165
8432133
It's Mag-AH, not Mag-HA.
(Trying to reference Hermione teaching how to properly pronounce Leviosa but probably failing)
8432207
Thanks for the correction.
8431957
Dumbledore seems very much a "can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs" sort of guy that feels compelled to use people as tools or chess pieces in order to save the world.
Do I agree with him? No. Can't even say I really like the guy.
But I do think what he did was rotten/poorly thought out enough without adding on non-canon evils like using compulsion spells to make sure Harry suffered at the Dursleys' hands. (Unless the compulsion stuff and the like are, in fact, canon, in which case go nuts.)
People are perfectly capable of being criminally negligent without being malevolent, and I feel like you're painting Dumbledore as a malevolent figure who goes above and beyond the call of d
ery to make sure that Harry is totally fine with dying because his life sucked that hard.
That is my one gripe about an otherwise wonderful fic, whose updates I happily look forward to.
steps off of soapbox
Speaking of wonderful things, it's good to see Scoots having so much fun in the air. Do you figure she'll have an easier or a harder time riding a broom in pegasus form?
Oh dear. I wonder what will happen once these kids realize what a herd agreement entails. I wonder what Magical Britain's laws are on the subject of group marriages like that...
At least Ginny would still get to marry Harry, after a fashion.
A little sad I missed Sweetie's reaction to hearing her sister beat the tar out of her headmaster and a bunch of wizard cops. I find it perfectly believable, but people often have blind spots with regard to their siblings' capabilities.
Hope you don't feel like I was attacking you. Looking forward to the next update!
8432176
The issue again comes down to assuming Dumbledore is all powerful or infallible, that he could have solved every problem that comes up as easily as Discord. Snape was acting as a double agent so it makes sense that Dumbledore turned a blind eye to his actions though admittedly he was an ass towards Harry for petty reasons. Lockheart lied about his accomplishments and had everyone fooled. With Umbridge you're assuming Dumbledore could have done anything to stop her without making the situation worse.
I really don't want to debate whether or not he is a good character (because frankly I won't win against Harry Potter experts as I was just a casual fan) I was just saying that I hate how unfair this story is about it. You can criticise him without Twisting his character into something unrecognizable.
Not to mention having MLP characters show up and start beating the crap out of him before getting any context for his actions and of course getting away with it because reasons. That was when things started to go too far.
8432214
The story has a comedy tag and I took the Dumbledore parts exactly like that and not too seriously.
And since this was all faciliated by Discord and the story doesn't have a dark atmosphere it doesn't bother me too much.
8432231
I only take it seriously because he was singled out, having his character twisted in order to justify his treatment later on since if he acted in-character Rarity's actions wouldn't come across nearly as justified which the author clearly wanted to avoid. If this happened with any other character it wouldn't be an issue but since it only happens to him it stands out as a serious flaw in an otherwise great story. It won't stop me from enjoying the rest of story but I also won't let it slide just because the story is meant to be a comedy.
8432269
In the original work, the explanation for Dumbledore's actions boil down to "He's the unfathomable old wizard who made a mistake. Carry on there's nothing to see here." As a result, there is going to be an element of 'you made it up.' when any author tries to explain his actions. In this regard, I've been lazy and used a lot of fanon.
Truthfully, I find I am unable to defend the actions of a man who brought an object into a school (full of children) that he knows will attract the attention of an individual willing to kill a one year old. That's it, right there I'm no longer willing to justify his actions from that point onward.
8432321
Whatever as long as it doesn't continue to get major focus in the future it doesn't matter. There is no point in bashing a character you don't like to this extreme unless the goal was to piss people off who won't understand your opinion. Even if it did make sense I'm sure people would prefer you be as faithful to Dumbledore as you are to every other character regardless of your own personal feelings.
If he wasn't acting so out of character I doubt I'd have as much issue with it but again if he wasn't this way it wouldn't make sense to beat the crap out of an old man who was acting in the name of the greater good.
8432357
I think it's important to say that I didn't mean to single you out in this manner. I apologize if you think I've been too harsh. I've seen this particular debate get real vicious, before. Again, it is something I sought to avoid, but the reasons behind my characterization needed to be said.
8432395
It's no problem I would rather you explain such a characterization than just stay quiet especially when it starts to hurt the story. I love this story it's well written and entertaining. I just hate to see the quality get dragged down due to your own personal vendetta against a single character. It hasn't reached that point yet but my hope is that the last chapter was the end of it before it crosses a line.
8432133
I think Magatha's just wanting to avoid another possible... uh... 'needing' of an Obliviation.
8431957
Rereading the first book a couple years ago, I realized that Dumbledor is willing to put the whole world, wizard or otherwise, into danger just to make Harry become a hero. He gave Harry the cloak, pushed him over and over again, move the magic mirror out of the secure value and made sure Harry found it, gave him back the cloak, and pretty much arrange everything to insure that Harry would rush to try and save the day.
If he had done none of that, Dumbledor would have return to find Quirrell trying to get the stone out of the mirror with Valdi on the back of his head. Proving that the danger was real, allowing an organized hunt for the horcruxs and probably ended a few houses. But nope, Harry had to be a hero so it has to be done the hard way.
8431806
I have a feeling that if Hagrid see Fluttershy surrounded with animals, he might have a crush on her (while female prefects look at her human body with envy).
Lavender : She's beautiful... and look at those animals around her. Is she an angel?
Scootaloo : Nah, angel is her pet.
Parvati : You mean she's a goddess?!
8431982
For me, I enjoy this story because it isn't trying to integrate MLP into Harry Potter world (otherwise the dark, cruel threats would still be around the school) but instead trying to integrate Harry Potter into MLP (or the CMCs for that matter) world. This mean the situations must be hilarious, lots of coincidences that led to self-assumption and somehow favor the CMCs in the most absurd way imaginable.
8431804
Hadn't even thought of a Sonic Rainboom! Can't wait for Scootaloo to pull that one off...wonder if it'll happen when she's on the broom or flying under her own power to save someone?...
8431930
Great follow-up pun!
8431806
Love it!
8432176
In all fairness, if all those teachers are that level of incompetent, then so is Dumbledore. And if Dumbledore is that level of incompetent then he would make such decisions.
8432778
That just makes me want to see the Mane Six at Hogwarts even more.
8432395
Loving this chapter--only disappointment is that Celestia and Luna never made Dumbledore's acquaintance.
When that happens, it'll be "fun"...
I would write a comment about this fine story
And how it made light a tale that was chilling and gory
But now I see everyone else did it too
And in far more detail then I could ever do
So I will just say, if you don't mind
That this story is truly one of a kind!
Fallout Equestria was dark and scary
It made me shiver and caused my to be quite wary
Grief is the price we pay is a tragic tale
I feel awful for the characters, letting out wales!
But this story is funny and not that serious
Unlike the books that were quite mysterious!
Thank you author, for letting me laugh
When I should be doing homework on bar graphs!
Thinking over what I said I feel I should clarify, I had no issue with Dumbledore's characterization for the most part. My only real issues were:
1. Having Dumbledore not care about Harry to the point where he is even behind the Dursley's actions. It just seems like an unnecessary change to the character that was only made to justify being exceedingly cruel to him down line which is my biggest worry. He may not be my favourite character but I do like him so if things go too far it will bother me regardless.
2. Rarity beating up Dumbledore. This felt like a huge disservice to her character, I just don't believe she would beat up an old man without talking to him first same with Celestia (Luna is believable). It would have been far more interesting and believable to see her verbally tear him apart instead of jumping straight to violence which was a little jarring given the tone of the rest of the story.
Excellent story, very interesting and enjoyable.
Dang! reached the last chapter already. All I can say is....MOAR PLEASE!
I can't wait to see their reaction when they realise just what they exactly agreed to when they added their names officially to the herd. That's gonna be hilarious. Heck this story in general is hilarious. I wish there were more stories like this. 
8433049
1) The books never take a look from Dumbledore's perspective, but at no time does he do anything showing he cares for Harry as a person. He speaks a good game, but his actions show that Harry's welfare is not a concern. Harry's ability to act the hero is his only interest. Sadly, having Dumbledore not care about Harry is not a change of character, it's an exposition of his actions regarding Harry. Once you get past author bias, you can no longer see him as supporting to Harry the person. I understand you like the character, but this interpretation is by no means OOC.
2) This is a touchy subject. Under normal threat assessments you'd be right. However, when it comes to child abuse, the whole scale become skewed. In fact it becomes almost, but not quite, flipped upside down. Celestia is practically the walking stereotype of someone who will skip all steps and permanently remove the threat, with extreme prejudice. There is nothing that will bring normally passive people to homicidal levels like intentional harming children. With a species evolved from a herd animal, I'd imagine the effects would be multiplied.
Please note, I did not use the word anger, or irate or even enrage. I used the word homicidal. Yes I used the situation as a comedic tool, but there are two elements who would have been down right lethal in Rarity's place. The rage, that these circumstances will ignite, is much too easy to underestimate.
I didn't mean for this to sound preachy or confrontational, but since I did start the whole discussion, I felt your misgivings deserved a reply.
8434474
Okay I can understand that but why make him responsible for the Dursley's actions? Seems weird to change it so that they were only cruel to Harry due to Dumbledore's spell. According to you he's responsible for all of Harry's pain but why give the Dursley's a pass?
Rarity's actions only make sense if the abuse happened in front of her. All she had was second hand info. Not to mention her actions don't match the tone of the rest of the story. Implieing violence and actually going through with it are two different things. I get that you are biased against the guy but don't let it hurt your story.
8434500
Because, the Dursleys getting away with their treatment of Harry is one of the biggest plot holes of the entire series. Yes, child welfare enforcement is dependent on the neighborhood one lives in. With Harry, he would not have been in that household after just one week of Infant school, without some sort of outside force interfering. To think otherwise, would be a grave injustice to the teachers and other public officials. (I once listened to a two hour rant by a British primary teacher as to why Harry's situation could not happen.)
As to Rarity’s reaction. I sincerely hope that you remain ignorant to just how likely her response actually is, second hand knowledge or not. While, your criticism that her actions may not fit the flow of the story may be true, her actions were not unprecedented (aside from her use of magic to accomplish said actions).
8434602
I mean sure it might be a plot hole in that sense but shifting the blame to Dumbledore is still completely unnecessary. Heck it doesn't even fix the plot hole, it just says they only treated him poorly due to a spell not how no one noticed. It would have made more sense to have Dumbledore be responsible for keeping their actions hidden. That fixes the plot hole and keeps the blame on the Dursleys without letting Dumbledore completely off the hook.
AHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhh....
There is nothing quite as enjoyable as discovering a delightfully entertaining story, reading through its backlog, getting to the last chapter... And discovering that, yes, it does update regularly! Yay!
I've enjoyed the hell out of this story. I love the interesting little quirks and foibles you've added to each character as well. Like Sweetie's carnivorous leanings, or the way the CMC 'stack up' when frightened. It's all very well done and entertaining!
Now, to move on to nitpicking some of the details!
(Please take this as constructive criticism, rather than me just being a jerk. I mean, I am a jerk, but that's neither her enor there.)
First off, Discord seems a little too... Involved and pre-planned. Involved in so far as he seems to have taken an inordinate amount of interest in making sure the 'good guys' win in Harry Potter World. And his actions seem rather... less than spontaneous. I mean, sure, he's causing chaos and change, but he's doing it in a very orderly, methodical way. Heck, he has a list of major future threats he's gonna stomp on! A list! For Discord! Has Twilight somehow infected him? But if that were the case, he shouldn't be trying to preemptively stomp villains, but befriend them. That's what was done for him, after all...
Secondly, Sweetie Belle seems to be sorta kinda leaving the other girls behind. She's been recognized as 'bonded' with a Phoenix, though you'd expect Philomena to hang round with all three girls somewhat equally. She's got her own friendly local unicorn following her around. A spot on the Wizegamut. And a marriage contract to Harry Potter. All Scootaloo has gotten is a broom and her wings fixed. And Apple Bloom hasn't gotten much of anything yet! I'm assuming/hoping that the other two members of the CMC will find their own times to shine just as brightly...
And thirdly, events in universe seems to be moving incredibly fast. I mean, the CMC has been there a week.. In hogwarts for three days! They've barely finished going to all their classes for the first time, and they've already made friends for life, toppled the government, resurrected the dead, become a member of the government... well, the list goes on and on. It's damned entertaining... But if it keeps up at this rate, the entire universe will be turned inside out by midterms! Heck, it's going to be two weeks before Scootaloo can turns back into a pegasus and test her new wings... But at current rate, will the wizarding world still exist in two weeks time? It's all been great fun, but you might want to spread the world shattering events out just a tad, lest the entire cast be driven insane.
Fourthly, Celestia and Luna seem a bit... excitable? Overly involved? Entertainingly exaggerated in their responses? I mean, sure, I can see them being pissed about Harry's treatment... But if they respond that strongly to someone they don't know, never met, and whom isn't even one of their subjects... How are they going to respond when they discover that Harry's treatment, while terrible and an outlier for human behavior, is far from unknown and far from the worst treatment children sometimes endure? Are they going to travel to Earth and beat up every abusive family? Or rescue every starving child in Africa? Or maybe they'll just go Supernova in righteous indignation and accidentally blow up Equestria? What I'm trying to say is that giving them a little more personal involvement and attachment with Harry before having them go off the rails like that would be nice. I know it's supposed to be a comedically exaggerated response, but it still seemed a touch excessive to me...
Annndd.. That's more or less all I have to say. The above issues are quite minor compared to how great the rest of the story is. Here's hoping you keep this updating for a long time to come!
So, will there still end up being a troll in the bathroom? Or Fluffy? Probably Fluffy, considering there's no reason to move the stone yet.
8435054
You haven't seen Discord has any kind of list plan before? Do you know he has a hyper-multidimensional travel log? Read HERE.
Though I kinda agree with you that Sweetie gain a bit too much attention than the other CMCs. Then, again, I hope that the author already have events for them to shine later. Maybe Scootaloo will later be scouted by professional Quidditch teams once the news about her talent get out. And I am really looking forward what he has in store for Applebloom. If everything happen at the same time it would be too overwhelm for anyone. (as you already mentioned, this story has almost too much already happened in the first week alone)
When I first came across this, I had reservations.
There were SOOOOO many ways this could be played out badly. There were questions of characterization. There were questions of continuity. There were discrepancies between magic theories.
I am quite happy that my fears were unfounded.
This has been a delight to read so far, and I look forward to its continuation.
Well done. Well done, indeed.
And like that, Apple Bloom has explained the principal of compromising better than Starlight and Thorax (or at least how Twilight thought it would play out).
3 days and about 10 hours reading and i can say this story is just super good.
i am completely impressed with the story line and enjoying how you are redoing the harry plopper world and changing it for the better.
Read through it again.
... I hate to say this, but I think you're letting your bashing take over the story. Most of the story seems to be more focused on upcomance instead dof the CMC misaventures.
My ribs i can't laugh anymore......tank you
You truly crated a great wolrd (a bether one that's it )
welcome to revolution
8433043
You get points for style
The poem rhymes seven times
What a cool comment
8439574 Nah, he's prolly too stringy and gross from all the potions and decay.