The partition-wall gate was another checkpoint. There wouldn’t be any additional ‘dashing through the portal’ trips as Sweetie Belle had done back in September.
The walk to Sweet Apple Acres would have been boring if not for all the catching up the sisters had to do. It had been a rather quiet Autumn in Equestria, for the Mane Six. The final checkpoint was, again, boring. But, for Harry, it was nice to see the ponies were taking things so seriously. He knew how one simple mistake could turn into a catastrophe. He only had to think of his Cutie Mark Crusades to know that.
Rainbow and Scootaloo took off immediately. “Your Aunts can hardly wait to see you! Come on Scoots! I think your parents might be there, too,” they heard Dash say just as the two disappeared into the dark.
Which drew their immediate attention to the bright moon overhead, and the fantastic spread of stars that had been hidden by the bright lights around the portal buildings. The visitors’ jaws dropped as it was driven home that they were well and truly on a different world. They came to a complete stop and just stared at the night sky.
Both the full moon and constellations were unlike those that they saw on the other side of the portal.
Although it was a full moon — it was hard to tell if it was two days past as was the moon back home — the size and features they saw on it were completely different. And while they were used to the Milky Way stretching overhead, here different nebulae clearly dominated the sky. The Milky Way was not in evidence.
As they stared, they saw several meteors streak across the sky. Then came a stunning meteor shower that made them wonder if any stars would be left in the sky. It culminated in four bolides that streaked overhead and exploded spectacularly. And then the smaller pieces exploded. And then exploded again. The booms took almost a full minute to arrive.
Twilight chuckled and shook her head, still looking up. “Luna has certainly planned a beautiful welcome home,” she said, “hasn’t she?”
As the meteor-streaks faded out they again saw the stars in the sky. Outlined across one side of the sky were a series of easily discernible constellations that could only be all four of the CMC, with appropriate coloured nebulae behind them.
Quietly, almost too quietly to be heard, Percy asked, “Princess Luna did all that?”
Harry could hear Myrtle and the twins gulp beside them.
“Uh huh!” said Sweetie Belle, “Ever since she returned she’s given us a different sky every night.” They could hear the awe and joy in her voice as she added, “But she’s never put me and the other Crusaders up there!”
Harry surreptitiously rubbed his eyes. He wasn’t crying, there was a bit of dirt there.
Twilight laughed lightly, as did Rarity and Applejack.
The twins were exchanging looks and Harry heard George whisper to Fred, “And they said Discord is even more powerful than that!”
The short trip to the Apple’s farmhouse was just that. Myrtle and the Weasleys spent a good portion of it tripping over every pebble and leaf of grass on the way. Except for Ginny, who kept flying into trees. They were too busy staring at the sky and spotting constellations. And contemplating the power needed to rearrange it every night.
“The only constant,” Twilight explained as she pointed out different features in the sky, “is the Sailor’s Ship that marks the North Pole. See the sailing ship there with a circle of six stars in it? The star in the middle is the North Star, Faust.” She sighed softly. “That’s so the ships at sea will never get lost.”
۸-_-۸
Granny’s first words when they arrived at the farm house were, “Land sakes, Ah kin see yer ribs! Y’all look like ya haven’t eaten in days. Come on in here and eat!” she promptly ordered them.
The new arrivals were stunned at Big Mac’s size, he made them all look small — just as Hagrid did. And how thin they looked, too. All of them were barely bigger than Harry, even tall Percy. Yes, they were used to their pony appearances at Hogwarts, but they thought that was normal. They hadn’t seen enough of the Canterlot group at Hogwarts to draw any conclusions, but now they could! Even Granny looked bigger than they were.
And the spread on the table rivalled that of The Burrow when their Mom was on a cooking tear or the house-elves at Hogwarts had a special feast.
Except it was all vegetarian. Not a bit of beef, fat, or gravy on the table.
Instead it was piled high with cakes, pies, tarts, and every food they could think of that had apple in its name. Big Mac and Applejack eagerly attacked the spread.
“Jest use your hooves to pick things up,” Applejack said, demonstrating.
Big Mac nodded encouragingly.
They were wide-eyed at seeing the big pony picking things up with a finesse that they had a hard time believing. Hesitant, at first, then with enthusiasm, the newcomers dug into the spread. Mistakes were ignored.
The others quietly laughed or chuckled at their expressions.
It was a well-fed group that headed on into Ponyville later. Applejack and Apple Bloom stayed at home, of course, and Sweetie Belle and Rarity dropped out at the Carousel Boutique. The Weasleys and Myrtle were astonished at the gorgeous crystal castle that was Twilight’s and Harry’s home.
Twilight barely had time to show them to their bedrooms before they were fast asleep.
Harry knew they wouldn’t have to struggle to get Myrtle to stay here over the summer hols.
The next morning Spike treated everyone to a breakfast of pancakes. The twins were vastly amused by the sight of a dragon wearing a frilly apron and serving them. The rest were just slack-jawed at the thought that a fierce dragon was happily fixing them breakfast. They spent most of the morning exploring the bright and cheerful castle. Harry spent it with Twilight and Spike. The fillies were noticeable by their absence. It sort of made Harry nervous. What were they getting into? Or planning that would get them another grounding at home?
And, he discovered, Myrtle had a camera. Apparently, one of her Ravenclaw friends had loaned her his. He had insisted she take a few pictures, to commemorate the start of her new life. And, not incidentally, perhaps capture a few candid pictures of what life was really like in Ponyville — There were still quite a few people who thought the foreigners were exaggerating.
On their way to Pinkie’s Welcome-to-Equestria party later that afternoon, Myrtle was quite busy taking pictures of the unusual buildings that dotted Ponyville. The pony idea of building styles left them breathless. The styles were definitely not anything the wizards and witches had seen at home.
The party itself was a surprise. They had expected something simple, a few friends of the Equestrians. The reality was stunning.
The party took up the area in front of Ponyville town hall. And it definitively showed them the difference between people and ponies — they were welcomed with open forelegs and generous smiles. And tables groaned under the weight of all the snacks and food.
The Weasleys couldn’t imagine the wizards and witches throwing a party of such magnitude for six strangers simply visiting Hogsmeade!
At first, they thought Pinkie was pranking them when she insisted on playing what they considered children’s party games. But they quickly discovered that she was serious. And no pony said the games were silly or beneath their station — they just enjoyed them. Although the twins did keep trying to pin the tail on their older brother.
The fillies and Ginny pulled Harry out to the dance floor, which he found oddly fun. And, for some reason he couldn’t figure out, Myrtle always grinned at him and laughed when he happened to see her.
Myrtle and the others were very amazed at the competition between the mares for any particular stallion’s attention. And that several mares danced with a stallion at one time.
Although, watching the stallions and mares dance was unlike anything they had ever seen at home. They had expected the ponies to dance on all fours, and many did. What they hadn’t expected were the ponies to dance on their back hooves, as if they were bipedal! And do so quite well.
Myrtle spent most of her time beside the treats table, not trusting her legs to keep her from tripping and face-planting over every pebble. That was on all-fours. She shuddered to imagine, she told Harry, how often she would fall if she tried balancing on two! He tried to convince her it wasn’t as difficult as she thought, without success.
But she wasn’t alone at the table by any stretch of imagination. There was a constant crowd around her asking about the world on the other side of the portal.
Scootaloo, Ginny, Apple Bloom, Ron, and Percy quickly became centre stars. The ponies watched in awe at them using their wands to do magic just like a unicorn did. While the discoveries from the portal were getting a lot of press, to actually see unicorn-like magic being cast by earth ponies and pegasi was captivating. Then seeing the more complex spells the visitors knew, that most unicorns didn’t, was positively revolutionary.
And the twins discovered kindred souls in Rainbow and Pinkie as a prank war launched into full swing. Dash and Pinkie found that the twins could give as well as they got, even if their magic was a bit unsteady. Which included tricking the two ponies into sampling their short-term candies. All four were delighted at the results.
The rest of the party goers were just glad that the pranksters were focused on each other instead of them.
When there weren’t any adults close enough to get her in trouble, Diamond Tiara had to put in her two-bits and called the newcomers “blank-flanks.” Her friend, Silver Spoon seemed a bit more cautious and hid partially behind Diamond.
“Is that supposed to be an insult?” Fred said, staring at the filly with furrowed brows.
“Yes, my brother, she seems to think that not having a butt-tattoo matters,” George replied.
They both craned their necks to look at hers. Seeing where they were looking, she turned sideways to proudly show off her cutie mark. Silver Spoon hesitantly copied her.
“Imagine that,” George said.
“Where we come from,” Fred said, “showing someone your butt in public . . .”
“. . . is considered an insult in and of itself.”
The two ponies looked horrified.
Things devolved from there and the two fillies found themselves burping red and gold bubbles whenever they tried to say something for the rest of the afternoon. As well as having a slight gas problem — coloured bright-purple so no one could miss it. And became colts, to their intense disgust, after eating a couple candies that just happened to appear on the treat table just as they were looking for a bite to eat.
And Ponyville’s residents now knew to be wary when the twins were in sight.
۸-_-۸
Elly was surprised at how long it took the train to arrive in London, compared to her floo-travel to Hogsmeade earlier in the year. Which further pounded home the fact that floo-travel would revolutionize Equestria — and make former ling tactics impossible to execute safely. And the train itself put the trains in Equestria to shame in terms of both speed and size. Although why they used a train instead of the floo left her puzzled. Watching the country-side go by was educational as she began to understand just how many humans there were in the world.
Putting those thoughts aside, she was very pleased at what she found when the train arrived in London. Just as she had hoped, Mr. and Mrs. Abbott had missed their daughter and their reunion was very emotional. While it wasn’t as much as she would get from ponies in a similar situation, it was by no means a piddling amount. So she was more than happy to stand beside them as they hugged and kissed each other.
They were, naturally, cautious at meeting her, much more so than ponies. But she was beginning to understand from her time at Hogwarts that wizards and witches were not inherently as emotional. And it wasn’t because wizardkind matured so much later than lings, or even ponies. It was just the way they were.
Still, the Abbotts welcomed her into their home. Unpacking was quick, just a few clothes, then they had their dinner. Hannah told her parents she was starved and could eat a horse! Elly had stared, wide-eyed, at her ‘friend’ for several moments before she had realized it had been an exaggeration.
Sitting at the dinner table, she practiced the table manners she had learned from the books in the library. And basked in the warm glow that surrounded her as the parents appreciated the return of their daughter. And their daughter loved being with her parents once more.
Elly wasn’t hungry in the slightest, the scene at the station had taken care of her needs for meal. So, the extra love was frugally stored away for future needs. If this continued throughout the holiday, she would actually have extra when they returned to the school, maybe enough to off-load into a jar. She hoped it would be.
She just listened as the family caught up on their news. And, after four months’ absence, the love flowed freely between them. And she took what she needed without anyone being the wiser. After dinner, they adjourned to the sitting-room for another hour or so.
Unlike the Common Rooms at Hogwarts, here she had a reason for sitting near her sources of love — she was a guest and it would be rude to chase her away. That she chose to always sit close to them was not remarked upon. They probably assumed it had something to do with her ‘tragic’ background. Not that they could understand the true depth of her losses.
When it came to the subject of her relatives, she tried to downplay it as much as possible. She wanted her backstory to be as simple as she could keep it. The fewer details she gave out, the fewer chances of someone tripping her up in the future. Or discovering that it was made up entirely. Considering it was “just so tragic,” according to the students at Hogwarts, it wasn’t that hard to convince the Abbotts not to touch the subject.
There wasn’t a curfew, like at school, of course, but the others all claimed to be really tired. As a result, they retired to their rooms for the night. That she had her own room was a bit of surprise. She had expected to share with Hannah.
She put up a silencing spell as soon as she could. Then she off-loaded her reserves into a storage jar and put it in her trunk. It was nowhere near full, but she wanted to be ready for tomorrow. And then she took down the spell. No need to make the others suspicious at what she was doing.
Breakfast was quick the next morning, as Hannah wanted to buy presents for her friends. She could have owl-ordered them at Hogwarts, but then she would have had to bring them home. It was much easier to simply wait until she arrived home. And, although she didn’t say so, it gave Elly an opportunity to also purchase presents while consulting with Hannah on what would be appropriate for young English witches and wizards.
As a result, she spent most of the day in Diagon Alley with Hannah. The witch was more than happy to help her select appropriate presents for their friends at school. Which were mostly gifts of chocolate and small trinkets Hannah told her the others might like.
Then they dropped by the Owl Mail building and sent off the presents that they didn’t intend to deliver in person Christmas Day.
There wasn’t much love in the Alley that day, despite the crowds. However, Elly managed to breakeven for the day by bedtime.
All-in-all, the hols, as the wizards and witches referred to them, were shaping up to be quite enjoyable for her.
۸-_-۸
The wizards and witches were in one of the castle’s many “social” rooms that evening. They had all agreed to skip dinner. The party had left them all stuffed like Christmas gooses and they could barely move. Flying was a challenge, as Ginny and Scootaloo had discovered. Even Ron couldn’t force himself to eat more. And the twins teased everyone about the foods they had eaten.
The wizards and witches were quietly discussing the day’s events. Watching the sun drop and the moon rise so quickly reinforced just how powerful the two sisters were. The twins knew exactly how much power they used when lifting things with their horns or wands — and their limit was well below a ton.
Equestrian society, too, was quite different from what they had expected. Myrtle had quickly discovered that the outrageous flirting she had displayed in Hogwarts was considered pretty average by the mares in Ponyville. In fact, she had found herself being the one to blush during most of the party. As had all the older wizards. If she wanted to compete in this world she was going to have to step up her game!
That had been the next biggest shock after finding out the truth about “Atlantis,” as the twins insisted everyone call the place. They even corrected the others, interrupting conversations to do so.
Everyone here was very open about what they wanted, and when they wanted it. Percy had been propositioned at least two dozen times. He had been more than a little disturbed that a number of them had indicated that it was a “group” he would be joining for the evening. Ron had been too oblivious to notice the innuendo. And Harry had been more than happy to have the fillies and Ginny as a protective shield. Which they had been more than happy to provide.
It seemed that being gone for five months had increased interest in him. Plus, several older fillies considered him to be “exotic” now, and his British accent to be “dreamy.” He could only shake his head and wonder just what those fillies were thinking. Why would they be interested in him?
The twins had had mares of their own to fend off. They had thought it was just several mares trying to prank them. Until the fillies had straightened them out. That had left them wide-eyed in shock. And a bit shy. Which had, unexpectedly, increased interest in them.
In the room that evening, Harry had reaffirmed the fillies’ claims. And left all the wizards completely silent for several minutes. Ron was disgusted — girls were just boys in dresses as far as he was concerned, if they liked Quidditch. Otherwise, they were just plain icky. Ginny gave Harry a smirk that sent chills down his spine. And a funny feeling afterwards, that made him wonder why that had happened and why did the fillies seem to echo it?
“Harry,” Twilight said, poking her head into the room. She seemed a bit nervous as she rubbed one fore-leg against the other. “Could I speak to you in private a moment?”
Harry followed her down the corridor to another room. It was packed with books, and even had free-standing bookcases. Several comfortable reading areas were set up, allowing privacy when you wanted, but plenty of extra room in each if you were with others or working together.
To his surprise, Spike was waiting for them.
Twilight led him over to the dragon and gestured he should sit.
Then she paced in front of him for a moment, before sitting down as well.
“Harry,” she said. She smiled nervously and ruffled her wings. “You’ve lived with me and Spike for well over a year now.”
Spike nodded enthusiastically. He also smiled. He seemed to be a bit nervous, too.
“You’ve changed a lot since you arrived. You were a small, hurt, suspicious, little colt, and you were afraid of what was happening around you back then. You trusted no pony and met everything with doubt and wariness. You expected the worst at all times.” She took a breath and studied the floor before looking back up at him. “I’ve watched you grow up since then. You’ve become a wonderful young stallion. You’re smart, strong, and fast. You fiercely defend your friends and are not afraid to protect them from dangers. You’ve had secrets — which I don’t like — but I understand why you kept them. You’ve stood by your friends through thick and thin. You’re willing to take their punishments, or at least deflect some of the blame. Even when you shouldn’t.” She frowned, but the perked up.
“You’ve made me very proud to know you. And proud to help you become that young stallion.”
Spike tried to be supportive, but his occasional eye-rolls at what Twilight said made Harry want to laugh. But he was too embarrassed to do more than blush and look at the floor.
“Tomorrow is Hearth’s Warming Day. A time for family and friends to rejoice. But especially family. I’ve discussed this with the Princesses, and with our solicitor on the other side of the portal, and they’ve all encouraged me to go ahead.”
She cleared her throat. “The wizard solicitor I’ve talked with has said that while there would be repercussions, it’s nothing serious and wouldn’t affect either your parents’ properties or magic. Politically, it might cause some difficulties, but nothing that would really create a problem for us.”
Harry stared at her, brow furrowed. What was she going on about?
She sighed and looked at Spike. “I’m making a hash of it aren’t I?”
Spike nodded. “Just go ahead,” he said. “Dragging it out won’t make it any easier.”
She stood straight and looked at Harry, smiling timidly. “Harry, I consider you to be family. Part of my family.”
Harry grinned at that, happy that someone, at least, felt that way. His eyes began to water.
“And I hope you consider me,” she glanced at Spike, who was grinning madly, “us, well, we’re your family.” She paused and looked at Harry worriedly. “You do like us as family, right?” She rubbed her forelegs together nervously.
Harry couldn’t say anything, his throat was clogged for some reason. He nodded energetically. He blinked his eyes, trying to clear his slightly blurry sight.
Spike sighed heavily. “Twi, we don’t want this to take all night!” He turned to face Harry and stared at him intently. “What she’s trying to say . . . ,”
“Spike!” Twilight said, alarmed, stepping back and spreading her wings.
“She wants to adopt you.”
Harry stared at the little dragon, turning the words over in his mind as he tilted his head.
Adopt. You.
That meant . . . .
No, he must have misheard it. He tiled his head the other direction and frowned.
Spike sighed again. “Officially, really, adopt you,” he emphasized.
“If you don’t mind,” Twilight anxiously blurted out, folding her wings and stepping closer. “You’d be Harry Sparkle-Potter, so I’m not replacing your parents. I would never want to do that.”
He stared at the two. Not that he could see them anymore except as blurs. Twilight wants to adopt me, he thought. She wants me in her family. With Spike. Spike will be my brother. She'll be my mom. She wants me in her family.
He felt himself swaying for a moment.
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Twilight said hurriedly at his blank expression. “It’s just a possib . . . urk!”
She couldn’t say anything else as Harry wrapped himself around her neck and cried, shouting, “YESYESYES!”
۸-_-۸
Harry hadn’t known such joy in all his life. Someone wanted him. Someone actually wanted him!
He’d been told all his life that he was a waste of space. That nobody loved him. Or even liked him. He didn’t deserve friends. He didn’t deserve toys. He didn’t deserve presents. He didn’t deserve life. He should have died years ago, with his parents.
He deserved to sit in a small and dark cupboard with only spiders for company.
But Princess Twilight, Twilight, wanted him! In her family! She’d be his mom! He’d be her son! They — Twilight, Spike, and him — would be a family!
Once Twilight managed to pry him off her neck he bounced around her in sheer joy. Pinkie Pie would have been hard-pressed to match his enthusiasm. He was so happy, he felt as if he would burst.
He had seen Harmony Songs in action in Ponyville, and even once in Canterlot. He had even sung in the background of several as the chorus. He had never thought he would start one. Words surged through him, music swelled out of nowhere, and he began to sing.
She wants me to be her son . . . .
It was only when the final cords of the chorus faded into silence that he saw the Weasleys and Myrtle staring around in shock. Everyone was in the entrance hall to the castle. The door guards turned and returned to their posts outside with a happy spring in their steps, and the maids returned to their duties just as pleased.
The wizards and witches were reacting as he had the first time he had seen a Harmony Song in action. Staring around at everypony and asking themselves, Did that really happen? What had happened?
He grinned at them happily.
“She’s gonna be my family,” he said, and pointed at Twilight standing beside him, blushing. “She’s gonna adopt me! It’ll be official and everything!” He once again attached himself to her neck, hugging for all he was worth. She wrapped her wings forward to hug him back.
The wizards and witches slowly began to grin in response. He could see they were happy for him. Although there were a couple of frowns as they remembered what had been said in the song about his relatives.
“Harry Sparkle?” said George into the silence.
“Sparkle Harry?” said Fred.
“Uh, no,” said Princess Twilight. “In Equestria it’ll be Harry James Sparkle-Potter, in deference to his parents. On the other side of the portal, he’ll be Harry Potter-Sparkle in deference to things regarding magic in the wizarding world.”
He leaned out of his hug for a moment and looked at Twilight. “Harry Sparkle,” he said firmly. “Here, I’m Harry Sparkle.”
She smiled at him as she regarded him fondly. “Officially, it will be Harry James Sparkle-Potter, in honour of your birth parents. How you introduce yourself is another matter.”
“Harry Sparkle,” he repeated firmly, and resumed hugging her. Then stopped and leaned back again to look in her face. “When?” he asked.
“Tomorrow, before the Hearth’s Warming play in front of the Town Hall. Princesses Celestia and Luna will be here tomorrow afternoon and they will sign the papers then.”
Harry nodded — as well as one could nod when their head was firmly pressed against somepony’s neck. He knew, of course, that the Princesses were doing this for Twilight and not him. But he didn’t care. That it was happening at all took him to the peak of happiness.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur for Harry, because he was too happy to pay attention and his eyes kept watering. He wasn’t sure if he imagined it, but he thought there might have been another Harmony Song.
He spent the night with Twilight, refusing to leave his new mother’s side. The others thought it was cute.
۸-_-۸