//------------------------------// // 48. The Doctor Is In... Unfortunately. // Story: Hero Souls: Awakening // by SvenFoxx //------------------------------// Twilight groaned as she stirred awake, and decided based on her aching head that today could go to the birds. She grumbled to herself and rolled over. That was when someone threw open the curtains of her room and let in the unholy abomination that was sunlight, a beam of which went straight for her eyes. She yelped and tried to twist away, only to get tangled up in her blankets and take a tumble to the floor next to her bed. She heard a snort. “Wow, she certainly isn’t a morning person, is she?” Twilight’s eyes snapped open. She did not recognize that voice. Sitting up quickly, she turned and found Princesses Celestia and Luna standing in her room, with what could only be a human standing between them. A familiar looking human. Wait… “It was you!” she exclaimed, pointing at the human. “You showed me how to escape the Dream Realm!” Luna glanced at the human. “I was wondering about that actually. What brought you to the Dream Realms specifically?” The human shrugged. “I arrived in your room just in time to hear the explanation Celestia gave to that group of people. I decided to help out.” “And her status has nothing to do with it?” “I didn’t actually know it was her until we got here,” he pointed out. Luna scoffed. “I’m well aware you can sense them. How could you have not known?” “The Dream Realm messes with my magical senses, as you well know.” “Who are you?” Twilight asked, deciding to intervene before the argument turn violent. The man stepped forward with a grin. “Harry Potter. Also known as the Aspect of Magic, Aspect of Death, and Champion of both Love and Time.” Twilight’s eyes widened. “Wait, Luna mentioned you to me once. She said something about… Avatar’s?” Harry nodded. “What do you know about the Aspects?” “Luna said that there are four, and that they play a pivotal role in the maintenance of Existence, which is basically everything that was, is, and will be. She also said that despite there being four Aspects, you embody two of them.” Harry sighed. “Yeah. Still not entirely happy about that. At least when I was only Death I had equals. Now that I’m also Magic the other Aspects flat out bow to my whims.” “Lord Death has never been comfortable with the fact that he is effectively the greatest authority in Existence,” Luna explained. “But getting back on track, the Aspects have what are known as Avatars, beings who do the work of the Aspects to help them in their duty. I, for example, am an Avatar of Death. I have a fraction of Lord Death’s authority over souls, and am also the only Avatar of Death within our universe. This makes me the… well, I suppose District Manager of the souls of our universe, where Lord Death would be the CEO.” Twilight nodded. “I remember you saying that,” she said. “But… why is he here?” she asked, with a small amount of trepidation. “You know what a Phoenix is?” Harry asked. Twilight nodded. “Yes. A magical creature of fire and purity. While they lack the ability to communicate in the same way as us, they are still just as intelligent as us, if not more so. Princess Celestia has a Phoenix that…” she cringed. “Well, I made the mistake of assuming Philomena was her pet. I spent the next two weeks getting burned and slapped by wings for that. I’m well aware that they are friends and that Philomena is an advisor for the Princess now.” Harry snorted. “To be fair,  being a pet is a role lots of Phoenix’s take, usually to people, or ponies, who impress them. They become something akin to advisors.” He motioned to Celestia. “Celestia here impressed a still young Philomena with her drive to turn Equestria into a country of friendship and love. She’s been with the Princess since, giving advice where needed.” “So Phoenix’s are tied to why you’re here?” Twilight asked. “Is Philomena okay?” Harry smiled and nodded. “Philomena’s fine. I’m actually here at the request of the Phoenix Council, or more specifically one of their members. Fawkes, Philomena’s father, asked me to come here because I’m apparently needed for something here. And after seeing you, I would have to agree.” “Me?” Twilight asked. “You,” Harry agreed. “I have the power to see souls, and the moment I saw yours I knew I had to step in. It’s unstable.” Twilight blinked. Then it clicked. “Wait, is that because I’m a Hero Soul?” Harry also blinked. “Hero Soul?” he asked, turning to Celestia and Luna. Luna nodded. “Throughout the history of Equestria, the souls of great heroes from all kinds of worlds have been reincarnated here with their memories and powers intact, usually to help fight some kind of calamity. Twilight and two of her friends are the most recent, and apparently there is a reality ending threat they are meant to fight.” She glanced at Harry. “I had assumed you played a part in the creation of such a system,” she explained. Harry frowned. “No. If there’s one thing I don’t do it’s unnecessarily rip souls from the Afterlife and force them to fight. That reeks of classic Necromancy, and I’ve had to put down too many Blights to accept it.” He peered at Twilight closer, and Twilight suddenly felt as if she was utterly bare to him. It was slightly unnerving. “The souls of Clark Kent and Twilight Sparkle are blended on such a level that it could only have been a primary God that did this, maybe a Titan level God.” He leaned back and sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his hand. “Unfortunately, the blending itself is too thorough to separate the souls without consequences.” A knocking was heard at the door. “Enter,” Celestia called. A Royal Guard entered, paused at the sight of Harry, visibly rallied himself, and continued to Celestia. He whispered something in her ear before saluting and leaving. Celestia stood. “I apologize, I am needed elsewhere,” she said, leaving the room. Luna frowned in thought, having a feeling she knew what the issue was. “Will this kill me?” Twilight asked, slightly afraid. Finding out a procedure she thought was safe was actually not approved by the ultimate authority on souls kinda freaked her out, understandably. Harry peered at her again, considering. Tentatively, he answered. “On its own…… no.” “But…?” Twilight asking. She could hear it in his voice. Harry frowned. “A big enough shock to your soul could, theoretically, completely destabilize you. Your mixed souls would break down into the material souls are made from, scatter across the universe to one day be reformed into a new soul, and the body left behind could become nothing more than a monster with no morals or ethics.” Twilight was pale at hearing that. “Is… is there anything you can do?” she nearly begged. Harry was silent for a time, then sighed. “There is, but it’s not something I do lightly. In fact, I’ve only ever done it once, and seen it done two other times.” Luna frowned, wondering what could make ever Harry hesitate. Obviously it involved Twilight’s soul, but what escaped her. “I can complete the blending.” Twilight blinked. “Er… well, how would that affect me?” she asked. Harry shrugged. “Normally, soul blending is only done to souls of the same people, if displaced by time and worlds. Compatibility is pretty much perfect, so there’s never an issue, but the souls of Twilight Sparkle and Clark Kent are not entirely compatible. Long time exposure to each other has innoculated them to each other to a certain degree, but I honestly have no idea if it’s enough.” Harry leaned towards Twilight again, giving her an intense look. “On that note, I won’t force this on you. You are in no immediate danger to yourself or others, so I don’t feel I should step in like that. Sleep on the offer.” “What will the result be? If it succeeds, I mean,” Twilight asked after a moment. Harry scratched his chin in thought. “Well, with the usual blending the only real difference is that the souls become one. It doesn’t increase power, or grants insight into things either of you didn’t already know. It just takes two and turns it into one on a thorough level.” He looked at Twilight again. “You, however… Well, I can make some educated guesses, but that’s it. The risk your soul destabilizing will pretty much vanish, and you may find it easier to retain information as well as recall memories of both souls. Hell, you may even find using your Kryptonian abilities easier.” Something occurred to Twilight and she frowned. “Wait… how do you know who my Hero Soul is?” She glanced at Luna in suspicion. She did not expect the normally unflappable Alicorn of the night to snort before collapsing into a fit laughter and giggles. Even Harry was smirking. He leaned back with that smirk still in place. “That’s actually a funny story. My brother took one look at you, turned green, and left this world with as much haste as he could. Considering he’s the Norse God of Thunder… He made quite a spectacle of himself.” Twilight frowned harder. “How does that relate…? Wait, you have a brother? Wait! You’re brother is Thor?!” Twilight made rapid-fire statements as she made the connections. Luna only laughed harder. Harry, noticing how this was making Twilight uncomfortable, waved a hand. The last Twilight saw of the Alicorn was the startled yelp Luna gave as magic twisted the space around her. Then she vanished in a flash of light. After a moment, she reappeared, soaking wet and looking quite miserable. Luna looked furious. “What was that for?!” she demanded. “You’re making Twilight uncomfortable,” Harry said seriously. “Either pack it in or take it outside. She just had a traumatic night.” Luna glanced at Twilight, and felt unease at Twilight’s slightly frazzled appearance. Luna sighed, using her magic to pull the water from her body. “My apologies, Twilight Sparkle. It’s just that…” She snorted here, unable to contain a brief burst of amusement. “...just that Clark Kent did not comport himself quite as well as I had hoped an apprentice of my master would have. It was… what’s the word in this confounded modern language?” she frowned, before her eyes lit up. “Ah! It was hilarious!” “Oh,” Twilight mumbled. Harry grinned at the Alicorn and held up three fingers behind his back, where only she could see them. He counted down with them. Once the last digit folded, Twilight's eyes widened almost comically. “Wait WHAT?! WHO?!” Luna once again fell to hysterics.