//------------------------------// // Chapter 15: Conversations With Yourself // Story: The Alicorn Of Death // by WhalenJP //------------------------------// Chapter 15: Conversations With Yourself… Harry Potter, the seventeen year old, stared at all of them with jaded emerald eyes, eyes that Celestia and the others were familiar with, not like the doe shaped innocence that was Harry Potter, the eleven year old. He stared at his older self with awe and slight fear of the power that surrounded him, making him hide slightly behind Nightmare Moon’s armor covered leg, causing her to look down at him with surprise in her eyes. It was silent, the house creaked a little bit, but the only sound that disturbed the silence was everypony’s breathing… Harry, Older Harry, smiled at them, “ Well, glad to say that I found you.” He said as he casually walked into the house, shutting it behind him. Celestia watched as Older Harry spotted Little Harry, and tilted his head with a smile, that familiar smile that made the room bright up like her did. “ Now, I think it’s safe to say we need to talk.” Older Harry said, walking past them all, except to give Nightmare and Teddy a hug, causing the Night Queen to blush and Teddy to grin respectively. The group silently followed him into the living room where they all arrived in, and sat down in the squashy armchair. Little Harry panicked at this, “ Don’t! That’s Uncle Vernon’s chair! If he catches you sitting in it, he’ll kill me!” He blurted out, before realising he said this in front of strangers. The Alicorns, Changeling Queens and Teddy looked at both Harry’s in realised horror. The Cupboard was obvious that Harry didn’t have a good home life, but to the extent of simply sitting down in a chair, and fearing that you’ll get beaten for that? Chrysalis felt sick at the fear irradiating from Little Harry, Celestia and Daybreaker felt their Solar Magic swell within them in rage, Nightmare and Luna felt horrified, and Teddy was shocked to his core that his Godfather was an abused child. The air in the room was thick with tension, and it was quiet for a few moments as everypony got their wits together, albeit slowly… Older Harry smirked, before rubbing his butt against the seat cushion, crossing his legs and arms as he looked around in an obvious way to spot Vernon Dursley. After a few seconds, he smugly smiled and held out both arms to his sides, saying the universal gesture, ‘ You Were Saying?’ Little Harry kept frantically looking around the living room, which made Older Harry sigh in slight irritation. Good God, was I THAT frightful when I was this young? He thought before taking out the Elder Wand and waved it. Little Harry suddenly felt relaxed and calm, before taking a seat at the ugly looking flower patched couch. Eyebrow raised, Celestia looked as Older Harry rubbed the bridge of his nose in slight irritation at something. Then she gracefully sat down on the same couch, next to Little Harry, who had a small blush on his cheeks, and not because of the heat either. Snickering at this, Luna took Harry’s other side, and scooted a little closer to Harry, making his face look like a ripe tomato… Older Harry watched himself with amusement, chuckling lightly at the scene before him. Nightmare Moon sat down in a similar chair across from Older Harry, hands on her lap in a dignified pose with a faux haughty expression on her face. Both Harry’s snorted, which made the noble mask crack, and then the three began chuckling/giggling. Chrysalis was about to sit down on the carpet with Teddy and Amethyst, but Older Harry, who stopped chuckling for a few moments, held up a hand to stop them, “ Allow Me.” He said, before waving the Elder Wand. A black velvet couch big enough for 3 appeared out of thin air; replacing the uglier one in its place... Which made the group, including Little Harry, to gape at it for a few seconds, which caused Older Harry to smirk in satisfaction at his work. After a few seconds, Celestia shook her head to snap out of her daze and turned her attention to Older Harry. “ How did you find us? Also, who are you?” She said, suspicion in her tone suggests that this was an interrogation. Older Harry raised an eyebrow before leaning back in the recliner, his feet resting as he answered, “ To be honest… I am him.” He pointed to Little Harry, who blinked at the finger in his direction. “ Yet at the same time, I am Harry that is in the present.” The Older Harry tapped a finger to his chin in thought before continuing, “Think of it like time travel, but more mental and metaphysical at the same time. There are no paradoxes here and whatever happened when I accepted your proposal, Celestia, showed you my memories of my past, my most CRUCIAL memories of when I was in danger.” Celestia stayed silent, trying to think about what she and Daybreaker saw in the Chamber Of Secrets. Luna piped in, snuggling Little Harry tighter against her side, which caused him to shift uncomfortably at the closeness of the Alicorn. “ Maybe tis the magic of Harmony judging you on how your worth to be an Alicorn?” After a few seconds of everyone staring at her, she continued with a smile, “ It is possible that thou would do fantastic deeds before you arrived here in our world that made Harmony herself show us of your achievements.” Nightmare looked thoughtful for a second before speaking, “ Like the Hundred floating creatures above the lake at your school while defending Discord from dying.” She said, grabbing Older and Little Harry’s attention. “ And don’t forget the fact that killing a thousand year old Basilisk with only a sword and sheer luck is a great achievement.” Daybreaker said, making Older and Little Harry’s attention turn to her, which made her uncomfortable for some reason. “ Hello… I’m Daybreaker, Celestia’s Dark Side.” She introduced with a fangfilled smile while holding out her hand for a shake. Older Harry didn’t seem fazed at all when she did so, Little Harry flinched though, which made Daybreaker stop grinning and smile normally with a pang in her heart at the fear of the eleven year old child Celestia thought about so often. Older Harry held out his hand as well and shook Daybreaker’s hand normally, not with a petrifying slowness or the speedy quick with the stench of fear, it was normal. Daybreaker blinked before gazing down at Older Harry since she preferred to stand instead of sitting down. She whispered, slight awe filling her voice, “ How are you not afraid of me, Mr. Potter?” She asked. Older Harry’s emerald eyes dimmed a little bit, which made Chrysalis, Teddy, and Celestia wince at the Thousand Yard Stare of War. After a few seconds, Older Harry’s eyes glowed slightly again, which made Teddy sigh in quiet relief. “ I got a question.” Everyone and Everypony’s attention turned to Chrysalis, who froze slightly at the attention on her for a second before relaxing. “ Who was that pale man you were fighting with? The one with red eyes and no snout?” She asked, almost regretting that question a second later. Older Harry stiffened before his hands clenched into fists, his eyes closed tight and the nearby chinaware vibrated off the coffee table and break into thousands of pieces. After taking a couple of breaths to steady his magic, he opened his eyes once again. “ His name… is Voldemort…” He answered, before launching into a small explanation on who Voldemort was before becoming the most Feared Dark Lord in history. After the small history lesson was over, Older Harry felt tired, as if Tom Riddle was sucking on his magic and life again like the unintended Horcrux from the night when his parents died. “Anyways, that’s not what we’re here for.” He got up from the chair and stood in front of the group like a teacher in a classroom full of students. Celestia and Luna’s eyes widened slightly at the slight similarity of Harry and Starswirl the Bearded, right down to the at ease stance he seemed to take… “ We are here to make a choice… Whether or not I am worthy of becoming a being of great power and responsibility.” He looked at everypony in the eyes, a calmness and determination shining that made Nightmare shiver with excitement. “ To be perfectly honest… I don’t think I want that power. But since Harmony and Faust herself have done this anyway, I think I don’t have a choice in the matter.” He said, rolling his eyes at the spirit of Fate laughing at him again. Little Harry grimaced, saying, “ Why not? It’s your freewill!” He crossed his arms, glaring at his older self. Older Harry smiled and kneeled down in front of his younger self. Even though he’s a figment inside my own head, he does know me pretty well. Harry thought to himself as he replied with a gentle warm tone. “ Because, life just wants to throw a curveball at you with or without your consent to make things happen.” He looked at Celestia, Luna, Nightmare, Chrysalis, Teddy, and Amethyst, who looked back at him with varying degrees of heartwarming smiles. “ We might like or not like the changes that come with those curveballs, but some things will change for the better. If things go from bad to worse, that means Fate just wants someone to be entertained by.” He said this with a mischievous smirk. After contemplating for a few moments, Little Harry nodded his head, smiled and disappeared into a ball of light, which floated for a couple of seconds, before sinking into Harry’s chest, being absorbed back into his soul. Harry took a breath before getting to his feet. Celestia was the first to move, by getting up off the couch and giving the younger immortal a hug that most would be reminded of their own mother’s. “ You’ll never have to fear of change. Nor of being abandoned whenever somepony disagrees with your views. I think it’s the exact thing Equestria needs.” She whispered into his ear. Harry hugged the Alicorn back, a couple of tears going down his cheeks. “ Thank you… Mother.” He whispered back. Just hearing that word made Celestia’s heart melt and she smiled with tears on her cheeks. Harry and Celestia pulled out of the hug, only for Harry to be almost tackled by Nightmare, whose hug felt like it would at least break a few of his ribs, but they didn’t, thankfully. “ I am so sorry, Harry…” She sobbed out, her facade of the cold Night Queen gone in a matter of moments. Harry, although hugging his possibly future girlfriend--MAREfriend, is confused. “ What are you sorry for?” He asked, pulling back from the hug and looking into Nightmare’s turquoise dragon eyes. Nightmare’s breathing was shaky as she continued, her uncontrollable tears coming under control. “ For getting you into a relationship with… with a monster like me.” Her voice cracked at the end, which made Harry’s heart clench. Luna felt her eyes widen, and her heart went out to her counterpart that was like another sister to her… She knew what the fear of rejection was like, to be viewed as a monster in the eyes of those she loved. It makes sense that Nightmare has her issues with such relationships… Harry stared at her for a moment, then narrowed his eyes, his emerald green eyes glowed slightly more as he did so, making them a captivating sight to Nightmare. “ You idiot.” He said, his normally gentle face was stern and determined, which made Nightmare stare at him in shock at the slight frustration in his voice. It made the others reel back a tiny bit as well… Even Teddy, who never heard such an intense tone in his Godfather’s voice before… “ It’s not you who should be sorry.” He pressed his head against hers, Nightmare’s form shrinking down to almost his height, except half a head taller than him, staring into her shiny watery eyes, which stared at him in fear of rejection, afraid that she might lose the only person that came close to understanding her besides Luna. " It’s the people that called you such things that shall be sorry. You are NOT a monster. Nor a freak. You are a beautiful and brilliant mare whose been dealt a bad hand in life, and was misunderstood.” Nightmare’s cheeks began to grow pink at his compliments, despite the drowning emotion of depression overcoming her… His face became gentle once more, a glint of an emotion in his eyes showed itself to her… Self regret… Harry did remember Ginny and Death, like the forgetful git that he was, whose possibly waiting for him back home, and possibly watching him respectively, judging him for not being loyal to them.  Even though Death was a spur of the moment, Harry knew Ginny since he saved her in second year down in the Chamber Of Secrets. Ever since then she was pining over him, but she had gotten better and more affectionate, even ignoring the Boy-Who-Lived moniker that followed him around all of his young life. Then he decided, Screw It. If they watch, they watch. There’s no going back, Death told me so herself before I woke up in this world. He thought to himself as he took a deep breath. But if there ever was a way back, I’d bring Ginny and my friends here, I’m not going back to a world that one day idolizes me, then turn their backs on me the next… He cupped the Alicorn’s cheek, thinking for a moment, before leaning his head in and pressed his lips against hers. Nightmare’s eyes widened before closing shut after a few moments and began leaning back into the kiss, her arms wrapped around his neck, a muffled moan in her throat. There was a bright light that emanated from Harry’s body, blinding everyone in the room...