//------------------------------// // 5. A Whole New World // Story: Sweetie Belle - Hogwarts Exchange Student // by Georg //------------------------------// Sweetie Belle - Hogwarts Exchange Student A Whole New World The view from the Crystal Empire castle balcony exceeded anything Theodore Nott had ever dreamed of. The whole city below was crystal, shaped as if some insane gemcutter had decided to explore the possible combinations of facets and reflection on gemstones the size of houses. Large houses, and buildings that could not in any fashion contain living creatures, because the ponies inside would have spent their entire days marveling at their surroundings instead of doing trivial things like eating and breathing. There were not enough colors in the rainbow to describe the way light bounced around, fracturing and recombining in such frantic exuberance as to make Theodore reflexively draw his wand out and conjure a set of thick sunglasses in self-defense. And yet… Down in that beautiful city and the expanses of green that surrounded it was something… wrong, a fluid darkness that flickered near the corner of the eye and went away when looked directly at. The longer he stood and watched, the more pronounced the darkness became. It lurked in the shadows of the houses and the lines of sparkling trees outside of the city, all the way to the featureless snowpack far, far in the distance where the weather seemed to abruptly turn from the warm sunshine of his observation spot to a blowing snow of eye-straining whiteness. And far worse, the unseen presence felt as if it were looking back, much like a vicious guard dragon who had been alerted to a threat but was unable to discern enough details to bite it. “Is something wrong, Mister Nott?” Celestia’s gentle touch on his shoulder shook Theodore out of his growing nervousness, and let him slide his wand back into the sleeve holster where it belonged until he understood just what, or who, was lurking out there in the innocent city. “No, Professor… That is Princess Celestia. I think I need to visit my rooms now. When will you be introducing me to the teacher you mentioned?” That perfect equine face graced the world with a smile, but Theodore could see the strain lines tracing underneath the furry coat no matter how hard she was trying to hide it. “He should be waiting in your chambers. I thought the two of you could get acquainted while you unpack. Dinner this evening will be a social event with my niece, Princess Cadence, and her family. They rule here, while my home and the vast majority of ponies are more to the south. Perhaps, if you get a moment away from your work, you can come visit Canterlot. Princess Twilight Sparkle will be delighted to see you, although she may talk your ears off about magic.” “That’s three princesses you’ve mentioned so far,” said Theodore while following along at Celestia’s side. “Are they all like…” He gestured at her wings, causing Celestia to give a short, musical laugh. “Oh, I forgot. Yes, there are five alicorn princesses in Equestria. The Princess of Love, Cadence, rules over the Crystal Empire, while her daughter, Princess Flurry Heart is quite young and getting into everything around here. Then there is Princess Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student and the current ruling princess, who lives in Canterlot with her friends. That is her special talent, of course, as the Princess of Friendship. Then there is myself, of course, and my sister Princess Luna, the Princess of the Night. The two of us ruled over all of Equestria before our retirement. It can lead to confusion at times, because Equestria is much larger than the Crystal Empire, and yet we all carry the title of Princess.” “Ah, I see.” Although they were still strolling peacefully along the castle corridors, Theodore was reluctant to remove his sunglasses. The colorful outdoors had been blinding while the interior walls were simply glittering with color, not nearly as hard on the eyes but still brighter than he was used to seeing. “Didn’t your co-regency have issues with leadership? What if your sister decided to do something and you decided on a different course of action?” “Ah…” Celestia’s steady gait faltered for a fraction of a step, one of her ears flicked backward, and her nostrils flared slightly, things that Hagrid had mentioned about equines under stress. “There you have placed your finger squarely upon a problem which vexed us since the creation of Equestria. In fact, it was the basis of a rather uncomfortable conflict in our recent history, which I planned on telling you about later, but since you brought it up, I suppose now is as good a time as any.” Celestia cleared her throat while walking, and lapsed into a lecturing tone of voice. “When we first established Equestria in the form it is in now, I raised the sun to bring on the day, and my sister raised the moon—” “Wait a minute,” said Theodore despite himself. “Raised the sun, and the moon?” “Yes, of course.” Celestia regarded him with a slight tilt to her head. “Princess Twilight has the task now. I and my sister held the responsibility for centuries, and before our time, it was the task of the unicorns, and before them, the Stone of Sun and Moon held by the Breezies. I would imagine there was some method before then, but that was several thousand years before our arrival, and historical records that age are few and unreliable. Since I was responsible for raising the sun and bringing on the day, I ruled Equestria during that time, and at night when my sister raised the moon, she took over the responsibility, including that of monitoring the Dream Realms, which I have to admit I’m not very good at.” With a little shake of her horn that made Celestia’s flowing mane ripple, she continued, “In any event, my sister became angered that our little ponies did not appreciate her beautiful night as much as my day. That anger became a weakness that permitted her corruption into a being known as Nightmare Moon.” “And… you fought?” prompted Theodore after a period of silent walking through the cool crystal corridors. “We fought,” admitted Celestia reluctantly. “It was a bitter confrontation, which I lost. In order to preserve the lives of my precious ponies, I was forced to banish my sister to the moon for a thousand years. When she returned, I could not bear to fight her again, but my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, managed to purge the darkness from Nightmare Moon and return my dear sister. You see, Mister Nott, the darkness in this world is a treacherous thing, which even I can be deceived by, and once it claims a vulnerable being, it can require great sacrifice to expunge it.” Theodore nodded while he walked, thinking of the piles of rubble littering Hogwarts and the lives that had been snuffed out during the final battle. The defenders had all fought with a degree of ferocity that boggled the mind, unwilling to yield one inch to the forces of Voldemort, while his own side had been divided in loyalty, and thus far weaker than numbers alone might have suggested. Even the Malfoy family had abandoned the field before the final confrontation, taking with them their only son, while far too many of the forces remaining had been only looking out for their own interests instead of being united in purpose. The followers of Harry Potter had been willing to sacrifice their own lives in defense of an idea, while Voldemort had only been willing to sacrifice his followers. Then again, somewhere deep in his own heart, Theodore knew that his own professed loyalty and support had been far more hollow than he admitted, leaving him wonder just how being really committed to a noble cause would feel. “Our world has suffered from its own darkness, Princess Celestia. Are you sure that my assistance will help your world?” Theodore Nott had never been a hugger. The closest experience to the warm embrace of a loved one he had was from his father who had always been a cold, bitter creature except on rare occasions where he patted him on the head. The warm nuzzle from Princess Celestia on one cheek set him back a step, despite the pleasant smell of her breath like sweetened tea and the soft, prickly sensation of her nose. “I know,” she whispered into his ear. “I have faith in you, Theodore. You will do great things here, and the safety of my little ponies could not be in more secure hands.” In his confusion, Theodore found himself scratching behind Celestia’s ears, which was not all that bad. - - Ω - - It turned out that Miss Selkirk’s boarding house was only empty while the boarders were at work. Once the seven-armed clock on the wall swung six of the hands to ‘Quitting Time’ on its wooden face, the large fireplace on the wall of the dining room flared into life, and six humans stepped out in rapid succession. The clothes they were wearing maintained the same mish-mash of dark fashion as the rest of the humans Sweetie had seen so far, only more conservative in their color selection and formal appearance. Both of the male humans wore bow ties and all of the women had long skirts, but their ages varied far across the spectrum, with the youngest human seeming to be barely old enough to be out on his own and the eldest woman a ball of wrinkles and missing teeth who could have easily been compared to Granny Smith, the eldest of the Apple clan back home in Equestria. As one, they all came to a halt and stared at Sweetie Belle before the young man stepped forward with wide eyes and an extended hand to shake. “Merlin’s beard,” he breathed. “The Minister said you were a striking young witch. I’m Percival Weasely,” he added with a touch of one long-fingered hand to his chest. “You must be Sweetie Belle.” Sweetie tried to duplicate the handshake that was expected, but was still getting accustomed to fingers. They were complicated! “Pleased to meet you,” she responded while looking him over, from the top of his dusky reddish mane to the long topcoat he wore, all the way down to a set of far too small looking black shoes. Miss Selkirk had said shoes were made of actual cow’s skin, although cows here were supposedly as dumb as fence posts and could not talk. She reluctantly looked back up and at the other faces gathered around. “And all of you too,” she added. “Miss Selkirk said you work at the Ministry of Magic.” “All except for Dunham there,” said the eldest witch with a nudge to the plain wizard at her side. Even in Equestria, he would be counted as ordinary, with no unusual features that a passing glance might linger on. “He doesn’t admit to working anywhere, but we share the expense of the Floo powder, and don’t ask.” The elderly witch hunched over to look straight into Sweetie Belle’s eyes, with her own blue eyes opening up even larger while she stared. “My word. Such a striking shade of green. One would almost think the rumor scurrying about the Ministry about you being a unicorn is true.” Sweetie nodded, and the humans all took various breaths of surprise, except for Dunham, who did not react at all. “No, don’t change to show us,” said a middle-aged witch with a tiny bald spot she was trying to keep what was left of her hair combed over, although the rest of her was abundantly generous, including a hefty mauve vest straining to hold back a pair of oversized udders. “Timious, she’d be under your Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, correct?” “I don’t think so,” said a slender witch with her black hair drawn up into such a severe bun it looked like a small second skull lumped at the back of her head and pulled the skin around her face backward. The stark style did not so much hide what wrinkles she had, but rather made them look like a faint spiderweb had been scattered along her cheeks. “She’s a human, as determined by the Wizengamot, so if indeed she can turn into a unicorn no don’t do it please—” The witch took a quick breath. “Galloway, your department handles the registration of Animagi, correct?” “She’s not a proper animagus as the term has been defined into law,” said a prim, shorter witch. “The skill of Transformation takes a proper witch or wizard years of study to master before they can craft the Animagus Potion. She would more properly be under Timious’ department, as a magical creature who can take human form, such as a sprite or a pixie.” “Sprites and pixies are fae creatures,” countered the slender witch. She made a quick gesture with her wand and seemingly created a small lump of glittering metal, which she held out for Sweetie Belle to pick up. “As you can see, the subject… I mean Miss Belle is not reacting to iron at all, nor silver,” she added with the conjuration of another metallic lump for Sweetie Belle to hold. “Nor gold, or even platinum. She is most certainly not from the Fae realm.” “Hm…” The short witch regarded Sweetie Belle from nearly her own altitude, and through a thick pair of glasses, which she touched and adjusted while peering intently. “It certainly seems to be a Transformation, although without seeing her shift forms, I cannot make an appropriate judgement.” “And as an underaged witch who is not a registered Animagus, she cannot change forms without triggering a notification and alarm from your department,” said the slender witch. “Which is a bugger, because now I want to see it. I’ve never known a unicorn who can shift into human form before.” “Now, wait a minute,” said Percival, lifting up his hands and setting himself in front of his peers. “I don’t recall any registration forms being in the incoming queue,” mused Galloway from around the obstacle. “And I have a key to the office.” “Since she’s a transfer student, it should only take a temporary permit,” said the middle-aged witch, looking around Percival’s other side. “Far less paperwork, and you’ve got the witnesses here to sign.” After that, things happened far faster than Sweetie Belle could comprehend. Something called ‘Floo’ powder was expended at a rapid rate with wizards and witches zipping in and out of the big fireplace and pieces of paper being stuffed in front of her to write her name at the bottom in loopy human script. At the end of all the activity, she was given a single sheet of paper called a ‘Provisional License for Animagus Transformation - Other - Unicorn’ which was supposed to cost over fifty galleons, but Galloway accepted one of the smaller rubies that she had in her saddlebag instead, and promised to bring back her change the next day. “So…” prompted Galloway before slowing to a halt. Timious picked up the conversation thread, giving Sweetie a modest smile and adding, “She’s just curious what you look like as a unicorn, dearie. As I suppose we all are. If it’s not too much trouble, that is.” The slender witch sat down on one of the dining room chairs, and gathered her fellow Ministry employees around in a semicircle while Sweetie Belle fidgeted on the wooden parquet floor. “Well… I suppose. Since I have the license.” She began to peel out of the loose clothing, only to have the two men wince and turn away, and one of the older witches gasp. “Oh, no, dearie,” said Timious as she helped pull Sweetie’s black dress back down. “You’ll give poor Dunham a heart attack. A proper young witch stays dressed at all times, even in her bedchambers. I know you may not understand this, since you are used to frolicing through the forest without clothes, but—” “I have an entire closet of pony clothes I didn’t bring with me. My sister designs all kinds of dresses for ponies in some of the largest fashion centers in Equestria, and she uses me as a model sometimes,” insisted Sweetie Belle. “They all have big poofy hats and sparkly shoes, a refined amount of lace for older ponies, and proper embellishments for younger ponies. Rarity’s famous, and even made dresses for Princess Twilight Sparkle’s coronation.” “Oh,” said Timious with her mouth hanging slightly open. “Princess?” The shortest witch tutted quietly and stepped forward to place one hand on Sweetie Belle’s shoulders. “Just pay Timious no mind. She’s not comfortable without a rucksack and pith helmet, out in the wilds of Romania. Since you’re so used to clothes, and the Wizengamot said your Transformation seemed to be instinctual, this should be easy for you. Just concentrate on your natural… Your other form, and sort of slip sideways into it. Here, follow me.” Galloway closed her eyes, bit on her bottom lip, and shrank just the same as Professor McGonagall, only instead of turning into a cat, she turned into a darkish grey-brown creature covered in short spines. “A hedgehog!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle, bending down and giving the former witch a cautious petting. Fluttershy had taught her a lot about animal care, with the exception of the cockatrices out in the Everfree Forest, which were still off-limits. Unfortunately, her experiences had not led to a cutie mark in animal care, but as disappointing as it was at the time, she was much happier with the mark she received with her friends. “Can all of you turn into animals?” she asked, giving the hedgehog a scratch under her chin. - - Ω - - The castle in the Crystal Empire was larger than Theodore Nott expected, with no moving staircases, talking portraits, or drifting ghosts like he had become accustomed to in Hogwarts. Just miles and miles of crystal corridors with crystal wall-decorations and crystal planters holding what for all intents and purposes were crystal plants. Oh, and crystal ponies wandering past, who all looked at Nott with a startled expression, glanced at Celestia by his side, and continued walking with false nonchalance as if they saw a young human in a black suit every day of the week. He suspected it was a combination of both the accomodation spell and a psychological trick of Celestia’s to get the castle residents used to the odd human by simply walking and chatting with him as if everything were perfectly normal. After a few moments thought, it paralleled quite nicely with Dumbledore introducing the students from the other wizarding schools for the TriWizard Tournament while all of the Hogwarts students were gathered together and distracted by the upcoming event. In both cases, it was forethought to prevent any unnecessary panic. I wonder how well Celestia plays wizard’s chess? It took little time to get settled into his new room, even though it felt as if he were in a building constructed for goblins due to the low doorframes and oddly proportioned furniture. Once all the alchemical experiments in his trunks were set up on tables so they could whistle, chirp, or bubble as the case may be, and with the unexpected assistance of Celestia, Theodore was feeling a little more at home. Actually and oddly, he was feeling more at Hogwarts, because House Nott had never been a comfortable place for him, at best. While Celestia left to find out what had delayed Theodore’s new teacher, he took the time to inventory his existing potions and unpack his books onto the provided shelves. Despite what little he had been told so far about his project, he had a fair guess as to what spells would be useful and what potions to start brewing. Thankfully, the Undetectable Extension charm on his largest iron-bound chest held a staggering array of herbs and spell components, yet another thing that he owed the deceased Professor Snape. Theodore had just gotten a selection of potion ingredients lined up for weighing when he heard the light scuffle of hoofsteps by the door. From what limited experience Theodore had with the pony races, it was hard to get an estimate of the pale blueish-green unicorn’s age, but his guess was that the sparkling crystal pony was only a little older than himself, but with many more strenuous miles under his hooves. There was a look of misery about his sapphire blue eyes that showed he too had seen death, at a far more extreme level than Theodore, and that physical battle also showed in little white patches on his coat like flecks of snow and a few discoloured patches on his horn, as if it had chipped and regrown. “Excuse me, sir. Are you Mister Nott?” There was nothing battered or worn about the unicorn’s voice, though. He had a strong tenor with such pure pitch that Professor Flitwick would have hustled him into the choir immediately regardless of his lack of fingers. “Yes, I’m Nott,” admitted Theodore, although he kept the fingers of his right hand near his left sleeve just in case he needed to use his wand. “Are you my new instructor?” “No, sir.” The miserable unicorn fidgeted in place, but his eyes never left the human, much as if he expected Theodore to sprout fangs and attack him at any moment. Since his uninvited guest did not want to talk, Theodore went back to measuring potion ingredients and setting up several of the smaller cauldrons for later, if needed. It took most of an hour, but all the time while Theodore worked, the unicorn remained exactly where he was, just looking much like a silent pale-green snowdrift in the doorway with alert eyes that followed his every move. Theodore was no real fan of small talk, but he was used to others at least trying to wheedle out information about him and his family, and since his job over the next few months would be dependent on information… “You already know my name is Theodore Nott. What’s yours?” asked Theodore, turning abruptly from adjusting one of the silver cauldrons over an unlit burner. “Um…” The unicorn was set off-balance, as Theodore had hoped. “I’m working on turning over a new leaf, so I haven't picked one yet. There are some ponies in the Crystal Empire who might…” He slowed to a stop and bit his bottom lip, obviously unwilling to continue. Taking a guess at just why the unicorn was outside his open door instead of anywhere else in the world, Theodore asked, “I take it you’re here to work with my instructor on eliminating any of King Sombra’s leftover Dark Magic too?” “Yes.” The word was very quiet, nearly inaudible. A compassionate person would take pity on the obviously frightened but still quite adorable creature. A Slytherin, however, was trained to exploit such weaknesses to discover information they may not be able to find any other way. Theodore forced himself to relax enough to get out a few empty vials, putting on an air of impassivity as if facing the magic of King Sombra was simply another minor inconvenience in his life, instead of being just about as frightened on the inside as the unicorn was on the outside. Keeping his voice dry and level, he arranged his pewter measuring spoons while asking his next deliberate question, keeping an eye on the mirror in his collection just in case. “If all you’re just going to do is stand there like a lump, what can you tell me about this Crystal Empire?” “I’m not sure how much help I’d be,” admitted the unicorn after a habitual glance over his shoulder that Theodore was starting to recognize. “I suppose I can try.” “I just need some of the basics. Start at the beginning,” prompted Theodore after a period of relative silence. “What was it like before King Sombra?” “Peaceful.” The unicorn nodded, and quite obviously relaxed ever so slightly at the memory. “Ours was a beautiful kingdom, filled with joy and laughter. I… can’t remember much of it since I was very young, but nothing could block my memory of getting my cutie mark in climbing.” The unicorn turned slightly and showed his rump, which had a plain vertical line on it. This ‘cutie mark’ concept seemed odd and worthy of future inquiry, but for now, Theodore nodded encouragement at his information source, who seemed to gain confidence by the sound of his own melodic voice. “Then Sombra arrived.” Any sense of relaxation in the unicorn vanished, and a low shiver began traveling up and down his pale blue coat in slow ripples. “We had no idea what was in store for us. We didn’t even notice the changes in the empire as he slipped into power. Such small things, an official notice here, a pony vanishing there. We pretended nothing was wrong, nothing could be wrong, made excuses, hid away from reality until one night there was a terrible storm…” The unicorn sucked in a breath, obviously fighting against long-suppressed instinct which wanted to clamp his jaws shut. With a convulsive heave, he blurted out, “Until Sombra killed our princess and declared himself king. Then it was too late to fight. It was too late for anything. Everything became… a little fuzzy from there on.” The unicorn wrenched his eyes away from Theodore and took several steps to one side so he could gaze out the broad window and into the crystal city spread out below, and the vast fields of green and white that extended beyond. Part of Theodore wanted to see what the unicorn could see in his mind’s eye, while most of him simply was grateful he could not. The unicorn’s words were terrifying enough. “King Sombra used memory spells, mind control magic, and illusions to hide his actions from the outside world of Equestria. He took over the entire kingdom and built it into something mighty and terrible, an empire of fear and uncertainty. You could not trust your neighbor, your family, or even yourself at times. Speak the wrong words or even look at something wrong and one of Sombra’s helmeted thugs would drag you away.” The unicorn sucked in a rapid breath and continued at a faster pace. “We would not blame Sombra, we could not. We lied to ourselves and said the helmets were to blame. Once one of those helmets went on a pony, they never would be the same again. Green magic glowed from their eyes, seeking out anypony who would oppose their master. They took mothers from nursing foals, elderly ponies from their families, even children. Any who fought them would be captured as well, forced into a helmet if they passed some unknown test, or into the mines for the ones who failed, down below ground for years at a time. Mostly, we never heard from them again. Mostly. Sometimes, he would release what scraps remained back into the city. They never talked. They just obeyed whatever they were told by anypony. They were living examples of what would happen to us if we even thought about disobeying his orders. Then, it got worse. The dark fog began to grow, lurking in the shadows of the city. Even the barrier that protected us wavered, and the cold, bitter wind seeped in. Things in the darkness howled and gibbered, while even Sombra’s helmeted slaves were dragged away and vanished into the night. Some of us fled for the mines. Even the damp cold and the absolute darkness of the depths were better than what roamed the streets at night. Whole families huddled together and waited for the end while Sombra proceeded with his unspeakable experiments as if nothing were wrong.” The unicorn heaved a deep, shuddering breath with his jaw set and his eyes focused on the world outside, as if he was determined to finish his story while he was still able. “Then, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna arrived. They had finally seen through his illusions, and demanded that he set us free. There was a great battle, and rather than lose, Sombra dragged the entire empire with all the ponies into shadow with his final spell.” By this point, the unicorn’s ears were lying flat against his skull and his tail was tucked almost all the way under his belly, while his voice had gotten softer and softer with every word. Theodore had moved up closer so he could hear the story better, and without thinking about it, placed one hand on the terrified pony’s cold shoulders. The furry skin beneath his fingers jumped at the unexpected touch, then settled down until it was only trembling slightly, making Theodore try to remember any time in his life where his touch on another creature had this kind of calming effect. He patted gently, trying to remember Hagrid’s lessons on unicorns other than ‘The horn ain’t just there for looks, so be careful when they be looking at you all cross like that.’ Thankfully, this unicorn had a much blunter horn than the unicorns in the Dark Forest at Hogwarts, less of a timid demeanor, and just the hint of steel in his voice as he continued his story. “Nopony remembers what that time was like, if we lived through all of it in a thousand years of shadow and can’t remember, or if it all passed in the blink of an eye. There’s nothing left in the world the same, other than Celestia and Luna. I think we would have been better off if all of our memories had been lost, and we had been reborn as foals. But no,” he added with a bitter snap to his words. “The only thing that remained the same was him.” The unicorn pawed at the cool crystal floor and snorted, looking away from his reflections in the shimmering glass and closing his eyes. “I didn’t care. I ran. When whatever it was freed us from the shadows, I fled like a coward, went south and did not stop running until I reached the sea. Later, I heard that he was destroyed, that the Crystal Princess had returned, and that the Empire was reborn as a place of love. At first, I thought it was all lies. Another one of his many tricks or some new illusion maybe. There had been so many, all the more terrible than the rest. Then I talked to some of the ponies who had seen the Great and Honorable Spike the Brave and Glorious save an entire crowd of ponies during the Crystal Games. I was so ashamed. A ferocious dragon saving the lives of ponies while I hid in the muddy saltwater swamps, gathering roots and berries.” The unicorn stood there with his eyes closed for a while, shivering under Theodore’s hand. “After that, he returned. Just stepped out of the shadows like he had never left, enslaved the Crystal Princess and her family. I should have felt justified in hiding. Trust led to betrayal, like it always will. Fighting is futile. I wasn’t a hero like Twilight Sparkle. After she defeated Sombra again, I remained in hiding. A coward.” Theodore thought over the unicorn’s confession and homed in on the part that gave him the most concern. “If you’re such a coward, why did you come back here?” After a certain amount of time when all the unicorn did was look at his dark reflection in the floor, he added, “You spoke of experiments. Did you help King Sombra create some of the dark magics I was brought here to destroy?” “I… don’t know. Maybe. I would not put it past me. I have spells in my head, terrible and vicious things that I wish I could forget. At night, I can feel them scratching at the back of my mind, looking for a way out. And the screaming…” The unicorn slumped under Theodore’s hand, much as if a grossly fat human had just climbed onto his back. “Every time I heard about the… problems they were having here, the guilt ate at me from the inside. I had to return or kill myself.” It made sense to Theodore. There were human patients in the incarceration wing of St. Mungo’s who still did not know what crime they had committed, and were probably quite glad to remain ignorant. It made him wonder about his own father and his inevitable passing, but Theodore shook his head and focused on the task at hand. “You came back to help, and that’s the important thing. Although I can’t just call you Hey You.” Theodore mused on his unicorn counterpart, who at least was not trembling under his hand any more. He gave the unicorn a brief pat on the head, then reclaimed his hand before the gesture could be taken as some sort of pony insult. “Since you’ve returned to make things better, how about New Leaf for now? It seems to fit the local names, and whenever you find a better alias, you can switch then.” “That’s…” The unicorn bit his top lip and his ears slowly began to rise from their flattened positions against the sides of his head, making him look marginally happy for a change. “That’s acceptable,” he finally said. “Thank you, Mister Nott.” “Good.” It felt decidedly odd for Theodore to be in the lead, which is why he immediately added, “So if you don’t know where the instructor is—” “Granite Peaks,” said New Leaf. “But he hits if you call him anything but Granite.” “Granite,” finished Theodore a little slower and with a check of his watch, which read three runes until mealtime. “If you know where Granite is, maybe we can pick him up on the way to dinner. Princess Celestia said Princess Cadence will be there, and I’ve never dined with royalty before,” he added a little hesitantly. “Me neither,” admitted Leaf, who flickered a look at Theodore Nott’s face before continuing, “So… If we find him, you think… um…” “That we can hide behind him during dinner?” completed Theodore with the first hint of a smile he had felt in ages. “Yes.” - - Ω - - By the time dinner was about ready to be served in the boarding house, Sweetie Belle was getting the hang of this ‘Transformation’ magic, or at least the spell she used to change into a human and back. After one or two minor incidents that left a few socks missing and a scorched spot on the living room floor that one of the witches buffed out with her wand, she was even managing to take the clothes with her part of the time. The food smelled delicious, and although Sweetie was worried about how to use forks and spoons in human company, she had an idea. Since everypony… that is everybody in the house knew she was an annamanagi… a unicorn who could turn into a person, she could eat dinner in her more familiar form and observe human table manners in the process for later. Why, she didn’t even know if it was proper people procedure to stick your face into a bowl of soup or use a spoon like unicorns did. Before all of the people could be called into the dining room, the fireplace flared again and the slim dark form of Professor McGonagall emerged from the flames at a brisk trot. “There you are, Sweetie,” she snapped, looking very harried like Rarity appeared whenever she was far behind in a dress order. “I’ve managed to collect all the forms to have you declared a…” The elderly witch slowed to a halt and looked at Sweetie Belle, who stood there on all four hooves and looked back. “I see,” said Professor McGonagall after a short period of solemn observation. All of the people in the house put on identical innocent expressions that reminded Sweetie Belle of the way her fellow pony students would look when their teacher, Miss Cheerilee, caught them doing something they should not have. Even the plain and ordinary looking Dunham seemed cowed by the potential chastisements Professor McGonagall was about to unleash, and Sweetie Belle clattered forward across the floor to get in the way first before she could start. “I’m sorry, Miss… I mean Professor McGonagall,” started Sweetie once she managed to get stopped on the slick wooden floor that left very little traction for hooves. “I didn’t know you were working on the forms too or I would have said something and Miss Galloway got all the approvals and I signed the papers and am I in trouble?” Sweetie finished with an impending sniff, because you could never go wrong with a sniff, and waited patiently on the elderly professor, who seemed to have something in her eye. “Well, it’s…” Professor McGonagall stopped and looked like she was trying to get her teeth around a problem, which Sweetie thought might be a sign her dentures were loose, but did not say anything because it would be impolite. “Good heavens, child!” the professor exclaimed after a few moments. “Change back before you put any more strain on my heart. Those eyes are dangerous!” It took longer for Sweetie Belle to shift back into human form, mostly because McGonagall was watching her intently as if she were going to give her a grade on her transformation. Afterward, it took a few minutes to get stood back up on two feet and her wriggly toes stuffed into shoes. She had not been able to change the human shoes like the rest of her clothes, something that Galloway said would come with practice, so once she had her toes situated, she looked back up at the elderly professor. “Much better, child.” The wand McGonagall was holding loosely gave a short twitch, and the opening at the top of Sweetie’s dress promptly tightened up and tied itself in a large bow, while the rest of the frills and lace straightened up like the dress had just been ironed and starched. “May I see your Animagus permit, please?” Miss Galloway passed over the paper⁽*⁾ with the same trepidation that Scootaloo used when turning in her math homework, and Professor McGonagall looked it over much the same way as her teacher back in Ponyville. While Sweetie Belle considered how certain things were the same no matter how far you traveled from home, Professor McGonagall examined the permit for a time, then folded it back up and handed it back to the bashful Ministry employee. (*) Since Sweetie had been having a few problems with her transformations, Galloway was holding onto the expensive permit so it would not get lost, or catch on fire, or both. “Exceeds expectations,” she said. “There are a few minor anomalies that will need clearing up back in your office, but for now, Hogwarts’ newest exchange student is officially eligible for enrollment. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other things to do this evening.” “No, don’t go!” Sweetie Belle stumbled as she scurried to get in front of the fast-moving witch and nearly took a two-footed tumble. “Can you stay for dinner, please? Since you don’t have to do the paperwork with my permit, you should have some extra time, and whatever they’ve been cooking smells yummy.” When Professor McGonagall hesitated, Sweetie Belle had a burst of inspiration. “And I’ll bet all of the other people boarders would like to sit and talk with you, since you were their teacher at Hogwarts too.” “Indeed, Professor,” said Timious, who seemed to speak for the group, or at least was the only one of them who could work up the nerve. “It’s been far too many years since we’ve had a chance to chat for a while, and Miss Selkirk has prepared a delicious—” The slender witch hesitated with a cautious glance at Sweetie Belle. “Um, dear? Are chickens intelligent where you come from?” “No?” Sweetie thought about the concept of actually eating one of Fluttershy’s pet chickens, and while her stomach gave a little lurch, it also growled, which in Stomach language was an insistence that a chicken was just a very advanced egg, and should be fine for human consumption if prepared correctly. “I’m willing to try it, though,” she put forth cautiously. “After all, as an exchange student, I’m supposed to try all kinds of new things.” She wriggled her fingers. “And I suppose it can’t hurt, if chickens aren’t smart here either.” A vast wave of chicken intelligence denial swept across the dining room as all of the boarders attempted to put in their own opinions that the species of fowl in question had less sense than rocks, and would starve to death if food was not shoved in front of its beak. “Great!” said Sweetie Belle. “Let’s eat!”