Ginny Weasley didn’t even consider whether she was dreaming or not. It didn’t matter that she couldn’t remember how she’d gotten from her bed to the kitchen, despite her normally elephantine memory, since she was used to being surrounded by boys that weren’t interested in anything she had to say.
There were a few different things she could’ve ended up doing, in that environment. The one she had been tempted to do had been to become a recluse, isolate herself from her own family, and just… live.
Then, there was the one she had chosen.
She’d instead become an outspoken, determined little girl. If her brothers didn’t want to move for her, she would make them move for her.
She would make them wish they hadn’t shunned her.
So, she finally looked down at what she was trying to talk to them about, genuinely curious what it was. For some strange reason, she couldn’t remember what it was.
… Why in the world did she have a bra at the dinner table? She didn’t even wear bras yet- it’d be another couple years at least before she’d have any reason to, by her best guess!
She had to concede, though, it was no wonder her brothers didn’t want to talk to her about the bra. She wondered whose it was- it looked too big for her mother.
Very suddenly, she was running- fleeing, really- through… blackness? It was… No, this had to be the Void. She could see herself.
She was still holding that bra.
But when she looked behind her, she didn’t see anything for her to flee from. She paused briefly- then shrugged, decided it must be some sort of dream or vision, dropped the bra, and ran, letting her hair and robes billow in the wind. She could run much faster here than she ever could at home.
Her run got cut short, though. She very suddenly found herself sitting in the corner of a large, crystal room, crying into her knees. She stopped immediately, and looked up. She could see, even though she could tell there was no light.
She rose to her feet, looking around the room. The windows were sealed closed by walls of crystal. The doors looked like they’d been welded shut.
“Lumos,” she muttered, imitating her mother whenever she walked into a dark room, and giggled softly to herself.
At that very moment, something stirred on the bed. She looked.
It was…
It was pink. It looked something like the drawing she’d done almost six years ago- when she was four- of a ‘horsey’, except that it had wings and a unicorn horn.
Oh, and something had bored a hole right through the middle of its body, in its chest and out right below the tail… which also had that hole in it, interestingly enough. The hole through its body was caked with dried blood.
“Uh, hello,” she muttered.
It stepped off the bed, and looked up at her. She was just a little bit taller than it was. “Hello,” it greeted in turn- no, she greeted in turn. The mare’s voice was warm and caring, not unlike her mother’s. “So, um… What’s wrong?”
She blinked. “Uh, what? What happened to you?”
She looked down at herself. “I… I was too slow on the uptake, and died, I guess. Now, if I understand it correctly, I’m being given one last chance to pass my power on to someone who can use it.”
“Is there any way to save you?” Ginny asked. “To… um…”
She shook her head. “I’m already a goner, I’m afraid. My… Would you like my power?”
“Sure,” she answered promptly. “I’ll carry it on for you. Continue your legacy.” She took a deep breath. “Protect your power.”
She smiled. “Alright. I’m going to need you to bend down.”
“Uh, okay,” she answered, and kneeled where she stood.
The mare smiled again. “And just so you know, it’s good to hear that my power- the power of love- will be in good hands.” As soon as she finished speaking, before Ginny had any opportunity to answer, she touched the tip of her horn to Ginny’s forehead.
Very suddenly, she was in the Void again, facing…
It was Ariel. The imaginary friend she’d come up with some years before, who was always there to cheer her up whenever she was feeling down.
And she could finally, truly, interact with her.
She fairly jumped on her, grasping her into a hug and ignoring the startled gasp. “Ariel!”
The moment was over far too fast. She hardly had time to start squeezing when she was back in the room with the mare.
The mare, that was disintegrating into pink mist in front of her. “Use it well,” she said, before seeming to blow away on a nonexistent breeze and disappearing into thin air.
“I will,” she answered.
“So, uh,” Ariel began, next to her, looking around the room.
She jumped, looking at her, then smiled. “Hi Ariel.” She stepped forward to hug her.
Ariel smiled, and rose her arms to accept the hug, and hug her back.
Then they touched. It was only the barest of touches.
And Ginny woke up suddenly, sitting straight up in bed, breathing heavily.
Then, she heard a small gasp of surprise, and a following thump as someone hit the floor next to her bed.
She looked over the edge.
It was Ariel.
She smiled, and held out her hand. “How’d you get out of my head?”
Ariel took her hand, and climbed up onto the edge of the bed. “Good question.” She paused. “... Actually, about that. I… I don’t seem to be able to remember anything from before I fell off your bed. Yet, I know exactly how to get to the kitchen.”
“... Interesting,” Ginny muttered, then smiled widely. “But you’re here now, so no matter.” She held her arms out.
Ariel smiled, and leaned in to hug her. “It’s good to be here with you too, sis.”
“Wait, sis?”
“Uh, yeah? We’re twin sisters, aren’t we?”
“... Oh.”
Ron Weasley had to wonder why he was wearing tattered, patched robes, while all his brothers and his sister stood above him, all older than he- even Ginny- and wearing silk robes and jewels. Maybe it was a dream, trying to point out how his older brothers were overshadowing him? But why was Ginny there too? If anything, he was overshadowing her!
Then, he was fleeing through blackness. Fleeing from… now his gilded brothers and sister had clones, torches, and pitchforks, and they were chasing him. He ran, though as he did so, he had to wonder why his dream was cooking up this strange imagery.
Then, he was sitting in the corner of a large, crystal room, with a small, fancy bed set against one side. For some reason, there were tears in his eyes.
There was… a little pink horse-thing. It had wings, a horn, and a hole through its body, going straight up and down through its back. It sat up on the bed, looked at him, then hopped off the bed to trot towards him. Its head looked way huge compared to the rest of its body. “Is something wrong?” it asked. It sounded like a child, perhaps a little younger than Ginny.
“Wrong?” he asked. “My brothers are all better than me. It’s not like I can really do anything to stand out.”
“Wow. Um, I don’t know exactly how right off, but I’m sure my power can help with that somehow. Would you like it?”
“Mmmm, no,” he answered. “I don’t need your power. I’m fine as I am.”
She blinked, and scowled. “Really? Then why are your brothers a problem?”
“I can take care of it myself,” he declared. “I don’t need help!”
She snorted angrily. “Fine, then. Keep your ineptitude.” She turned her back on him, and started to walk away. The wound in her back glowed sharply white- and then Ron sat straight up in his bed, looking around.
Then he stopped, and clenched his hands into fists.
That little horse-thing’s insult had struck home. But, he had gained something from that vision- he was determined to prove it wrong. That he wasn’t inept, that he could one-up his brothers.
He glanced at the clock, and lay back down. It was midnight; he’d have to wait for morning to start.
Draco Malfoy placed his quill in its holder, capped the ink bottle, and blew softly on the page of his diary to help the ink dry. He was up later than he really should be, he was sure of it- but he’d had a really long and eventful day, and had found himself venting his feelings into his diary. He’d filled almost three full pages, and had only just run out of things to say.
He was so tired of having to act all stuck-up all the time!
He reread his diary entry, and nodded. Yes, it said everything he wanted it to. He took a deep breath, closed the book, and glanced up at the clock, just in time for it to strike midnight-
Very suddenly, he wasn’t in his bedroom. He was standing in a room that looked like Lucius’ description of the Wizengamot Chamber. He was in one of the seats around the outside, and there were lots of unfamiliar witches and wizards. Dumbledore was speaking at the head of the room- and from what he gathered of what he was saying, he would have to ‘play noble’ for real.
Then, just as suddenly, he was fleeing through the blackness of the Void. When he glanced behind him, he saw a wolf pack- with the word ‘noble’ written across each and every one of their chests.
He ran, at full speed.
Everything changed again. It was getting confusing- had he fallen asleep? This time, he was sitting in the corner of a large, crystal room, with tears in his eyes- he had apparently been crying because he didn’t want to be forced to be a little nobleman. He stopped immediately- for one, he didn’t cry, and for two, there was no use crying over spilt milk.
“Interesting.”
Draco’s head snapped up, and he looked to see who was speaking.
… It was a strange purple horse-like creature, with wings, magic horn… and a hole right through its head, the size of one of its oversized eyes. It went in one eye and right out the back of its head, diagonally opposite. The creature was feeling out the edges of the hole with one hoof and looking in the mirror.
It suddenly shivered, and looked at him. “... Oh. Hi. Something wrong?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Is something wrong?” he repeated. “What about you?”
She blinked. “Oh, no, I’m already dead.” She blinked, taking a breath. “... Huh. Never thought I’d ever say that.” She looked up. “But I’m being given a last-second chance to pass on my power to someone that can use it. So… what’s wrong?”
“Uh, what?”
She shrugged. “It’s what I’m supposed to ask.”
“... Oh.” He considered what he’d suddenly had the urge to answer her with. “I… I think I’m supposed to answer that I’m forced to be ‘noble’ all the time. Or something.”
“What, you a prince or something?”
He shook his head. “No, but I might as well be.”
“Ahh. Well, this would be where I’m supposed to tell you ‘my power can help with that’ and offer it to you, but honestly? I’m a princess, and I couldn’t protect myself from getting sucked into the government, so I have my doubts on how useful my power would be to correct that. Still, though, the offer is open, if you want it.”
“... Sure,” he muttered. “I’ll take it. But first, what killed you? How will I make sure I won’t be killed in turn?”
“Good question,” she answered, turning back to the mirror. “It’s some kind of spell matrix, of that I’m certain- and I’ve already checked, I can’t just peel it apart and un-kill myself. However, I’m also not finding any actual mortal components to the spell, which is interesting.”
He nodded, only half-pretending to understand what she’d said. “Go ahead and analyze it, then. I’ll wait.”
“Got it.” She proceeded to start muttering to herself, staring into the mirror as she did so.
What seemed like forever later, even though Draco never seemed to get tired, she turned back to him. “I… I think I’ve figured it out,” she stated.
Draco looked up at her. “Mm?”
“It’s not a killing spell at all. Well, I suppose it is killing my body, but not my soul. It’s banishing that into another world- your world, specifically.” She took a deep breath. “Had you refused my power within the first two minutes or so, I would’ve survived unscathed, still in Equestria. But we’re long past that.” She shivered. “We’re also long past the point- at two hours in- where you would no longer survive refusing my power either.”
“What-? How long do we have?”
She sighed. “If I don’t give you my power within the next five minutes or so, we’ll both die. In any case, it might be possible to bring me back. And Celestia and Cadence. Chrysalis I’m not so sure about, but possibly.”
He nodded. “Alright. How?”
“First, we’ll have to hope that someone got zapped after I did, and that someone in your world refused their power within two minutes. If not, I’ll be trapped in your soul forever.
“If so, merely touching them- the pony that got zapped, that is- should ignite a magical chain reaction that will reconstitute my body and put me back into it, as if I’d never been hit. I’ll still remember this, but I will be uninjured. The same goes for Celestia and Cadence, actually.”
“How would I reach that pony?”
“You’d have to cross into Equestria. For which purpose I’m going to transfer all of my knowledge to you at the same time as I give you my magic. It might hurt- actually, it probably will, right about forty huertz on the ouchdammitometer, but you should know everything you need to know to be able to reach Equestria. I’ve even managed to get you a tether to follow- though where you come out in Equestria is anypony’s guess, and you’ll still have to figure out how to use the spells in question without a horn.”
“... Forty what on the what?”
“Forty huertz on the ouchdammitometer. Do you not have those…?”
He shook his head slowly. “I don’t think we do.”
“Ahh. Then it’d probably hurt about as much as if you hit your head on the edge of a desk by straightening up quickly while sitting under it- that’s a classic forty-two huertz example.”
“Okay.” He took a deep breath. “I’m ready.”
“Alright.” She stepped up next to her. “Here I come, in three, two, one.” On the unvoiced zero, she touched the tip of her horn to his forehead.
There was a bright flash of light, and a searing pain. She was right, it hurt about as much as hitting his head on a desk would.
And then, the pain was gone, and he was standing in the void. The wolves were gone- and he was facing… himself? He wasn’t aware of any twin brothers, so it had to be an apparition of some kind. Or something nefarious- a boggart? No, it wouldn’t take his form.
“Before you ask,” his clone began, “I’m not real. I’m a magical construct, cooked up from the dregs of your imagination. I… Um, to fully accept Twilight’s power, you’ll need to use it.”
“Use it,” he stated. “And it is…?”
“Magic,” his clone answered. “Simply, magic. Any spell should be enough. Even- Even picking me up, with your mind.”
Thanks to Twilight’s knowledge infusion, Draco instantly understood which runes were in play. He also knew the defensive counterspell Twilight had come up with that, had she used it on herself at any point in her past, would have protected her against that attack in its entirety.
It wasn’t too complex- and, by comparing its rune matrix with that of standard levitation, he was able to guess at how to actually cast the spell. It was one of very, very few he could say that about.
He called it up from memory, concentrated on the matrix. Started… letting it awaken. Letting it activate.
His clone blinked. “Wait, not that- that’s gonna have side effe-!”
With a bright flash of light, his clone- and the Void- was gone. He was in the room with Twilight again.
But Twilight was disintegrating into purple mist, and blowing away on a nonexistent wind. “Use it well,” her voice said.
He nodded. “I will.”
Then he stood up, and turned towards the door. He reached for the handle.
Then he touched it.
He jerked upright, having just started falling towards his diary. He gave himself a little shake. “Wond-! Ooh.” He brought one hand to his mouth. That was not what his voice sounded like.
Then he noticed his hand, and raised it up in front of his face. His skin was a lot smoother than it had been before. There wasn’t even any hair on his arms! It was… soft, and delicate. Yet, when he closed his fist, he could still feel his normal strength- as a matter of fact, it felt like he was stronger than he had been.
“Huh.”
Then he looked down.
Then he reached down.
And looked up. “I now know what the side effects were,” he told the wall.
Finally, she fainted, and collapsed on top of her diary.