I awoke the early the next morning to a growling stomach. I picked myself out of my bed, moved over to my storage chest, and stretched my back like a cat.
For whatever reason, I felt great. Better than great, I felt amazing. The vast majority of the subtle aches and pains were simply gone from my muscles and joints. My thoughts were even clearer and more focused than usual. In fact the only notable negative sensation I was feeling was a strong desire to get some food, owing to the fact that I missed dinner the previous night.
I feel amazing! I don’t think I’ve felt this good since-
A sharp pain shot through my head, killing that thought process. I held a hoof to my temple and massaged it.
Whatever, it’s not important. I think I’ll go and see if Twilight wants to grab some breakfast.
I levitated my saddlebag onto my back, dropped a small pouch of bits into it, and left my room with a bounce in my step. I walked a few doors down the hall until I stopped in front of the door marked with Twilight’s nameplate. I knocked softly on the door, and as I did it swung open on silent hinges.
I stuck my head around the door and whispered, “Twilight, you awake?”
Twilight’s room was fairly similar to mine, a bed, desk, and a storage chest. The only noticeable differences were the tons of stacked books lining the walls of the room. The center had been kept clean so as to allow free passage. Twilight herself was curled up on her bed, her head propped up by whatever book she was reading last night.
It was so adorable that I didn’t dare wake her. I left her alone and made my way to the mess hall, only slightly disappointed by the lack of company. That problem was sorted out relatively quickly though.
On the walk to the mess hall, I heard a series of hoof steps from behind me rushing up to meet me. The steps were off slightly, there was one metallic clank for every three normal hoof step.
Silent Night ran up to me and slowed to walking along side me. “Hey Dresden, whatcha up to?”
I smiled at him, “Just about to grab some breakfast, wanna join me?”
“Sure man, but let’s hit up a local diner I know. Besides I distinctly remember owing you some hay,” he chuckled.
I cocked an eyebrow at him, “You’re oddly casual for a soldier.”
“Why do you think I was on patrol duty before I met you?”
I laughed a bit at that. “That’s okay. I prefer a more casual environment. Make me work with too many by the book stiffs and I start getting itchy.”
“I think there’s a cream for that.”
I scowled at him, but couldn’t quite hide my smile. “Oh would you shut it.”
From there we pivoted away from the mess hall and I followed Silent towards whatever breakfast joint he had in mind. He led me through the castle, out of the main gates, and into Canterlot proper. Throughout the trip he was completely silent, at least while we were in the castle anyway.
Once we cleared the castle gates, Silent gave me a sidelong calculating look. “So Dresden, you okay?”
“Yeah, why do you ask?” I asked back.
That earned a confused look from him. “Really? Did you already forget about the guy you roughed up yesterday?”
In truth, I had. The events of the previous night had become foggy in my mind. But now that he’d mentioned it, I remembered what I had done.
I hung my head slightly, “Oh, right. Is he okay?”
Silent nodded, “Yeah he’s fine, he’s resting up at his place. Truth be told, he needed a good beating. You wouldn’t believe the ego on that guy, he’s a real jerk most of the time. But… if you don’t mind my prying, what did he say that set you off?”
“He… he said…” My voice trailed off as I tried to remember.
What did he say? He said something against an old friend. Yes… yes that’s right.
I tried to remember exactly why I had attacked the soldier, but just couldn’t seem to get the details to clear. My head began hurting again, the more I tried to focus on the memory, the sharper and more intense the pain in my head got.
“He didn’t realize what he said, it was just in passing, but he insulted an old flame of mine. Her name was… Susan.” I grimaced at the effort to remember her name.
Silent rubbed a hoof under his chin, “Susan huh? Kind of an odd name, but then so is Dresden. I won’t pry any further. I know how touchy such things can be.” He smiled as we continued walking. “I remember an old marefriend of mine, she was the sweetest thing. But I had to break it off when I went into the military.” He winced, “Boy let me tell you, earth ponies can really kick. I probably still got the bruises from our breakup under my fur.” He trotted ahead with renewed vigor. “Anyway come on, the restaurant is just up here.”
I hesitated for a moment, distracted by his words.
I’ve never thought about it before, but Harry Dresden really is an odd name for a unicorn.
“Hey Silent,” I muttered under my breath as we walked through the front door of Silent’s restaurant of choice.
“Yeah Dresden?” he replied.
I looked around the building to confirm my suspicions before I spoke again. “This is a bar. Why are we at a bar at eight in the morning?”
Silent just grinned and made his way over to a nearby booth. “Because this bar has the best hay fries I’ve ever had, and I owe you hay right?”
I rolled my eyes in annoyance and took my seat in the booth opposite him. In short order our order was placed and we each got a large plate of hay fries brought to our table. As soon as the hay was brought to us and the pegasus waiter trotted off, I bent my head down and began eating my meal.
“Uh Dresden, what are you doing?” Silent asked, looking over at me from across the table.
I paused and frowned at him, my muzzle still buried in my hay. I straightened my neck back and finished my mouthful of hay before I spoke. “What’s up?”
“Why aren’t you using magic?” Silent asked. “I thought you unicorns always ate by levitating your food.”
“I… I guess we do.” I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. “I think I’m still waking up.”
Silent frowned at me and started eating his own breakfast.
I had used magic before to eat of course, but I had only done so in private, such as Twilight’s library or my room in the castle. Out in public I was hesitant to casually perform magic. It almost felt like a practiced impulse to shy away from prying eyes and keep my magic away from the common public.
But that doesn’t make sense. Everypony knows that unicorns can use magic. What’s going on with me today?
I shook my head again and went back to eating my meal. This time however, I levitated the hay to my mouth to eat. To my slight surprise, nopony seemed to notice or even care about this fact. I wasn’t sure why but the simple act of using magic in a casual environment, and with no social backlash, was extremely satisfying.
Silent, true to his namesake, seemed reluctant to start up a conversation, despite the fact that I could practically see the wheels turning in his head. So I decided to be the one to get things going.
“So Silent, you have your first lessons today right?” I asked.
It took him a full second or so to register that I had spoken. “Uh, what? Oh yeah, I go to Michael’s training group after this, then I’ll be in your class this afternoon.”
Oh that’s right, I have a job don’t I.
I nodded my head in the affirmative, trying not to show that I’d completely forgotten about the class later in the day. “Yeah, teaching a bunch of blockheads where to stick the business end of a spear into a vampire. I can’t wait.”
Silent snickered a little. “You already have a pretty good idea of our soldiers then. Before all this vampire business we only recruited the willing into our armies, and it takes a certain kind of thick headedness to seek out a military carrier in peace time.”
“I suppose some things never change, no matter where you go,” I commented.
“Where are you from anyway?” Silent cocked his head in thought, “From what I’ve heard, you can throw around a good bit of fire. I can’t imagine there are too many places besides Canterlot where you could learn battle magic like that.”
I considered his question, and almost immediately my head began to ache again. Vague half formed images of a large bustling city popped into my mind, but quickly dissipated before I could focus on them.
“I can’t think if the name… It’s a big city, but I can’t remember much more.” I rubbed my temples, trying to get the aching to subside.
Silent looked genuinely worried, “Think you hit your head in Manehattan? Maybe you should have that new nurse, Fluttershy take a look at you. I hear she’s pretty good.”
“NO!” I snapped reflexively. The left side of my face throbbed with a dull phantom pain at the memory of Fluttershy’s quick stitching. “I’m fine, honest. I just need a bit of time to myself.”
Silent got up from his seat, having just finished his breakfast. “Well, wish granted. I’ve got to get back to the castle if I’m going to make it to Michael’s class. I’ll see you this afternoon then.”
Without a further word, Silent left the restaurant and hurried of towards the castle. The clanking of his artificial leg could be heard for several seconds after he left. I sat back in my seat and polished off the rest of my hay as I considered what to do with my free time until my afternoon class.
I suppose I could wander around the city for a bit. I still need to familiarize myself with the layout, and maybe I’ll find something interesting in a shop.
I got up to leave, but before I could take more than a step or two there was a loud cough from behind me. I turned and saw our waiter pointing her wing at our table. I focused on what she was pointing out and noticed that it was the check for our meal.
I sighed and muttered to myself, “Silent you crafty bastard.”
I levitated a few bits onto the table and departed, intent on seeing what Canterlot during the daytime had to offer.
“How much is this hat?” I asked while straightening a Stetson similar to Applejack’s on my head.
The cashier of the Sharp Dresser clothing store responded in an extremely posh and condescending tone of voice, “That would be ten bits sir. But if you are attending any Canterlot events, might I suggest something a bit more… fashionable.”
“You can stop talking with your nose in the air is what you can do,” I said without turning around. I could practically hear the shocked look on his face, it made me smile. “I’m not looking for fashion as much as function.”
The chime above the door rang as another pony entered the shop.
“My my my, quite the impressive collection you have here,” said an equally posh feminine voice that I recognized. “Do you have any… Mr. Dresden, is that you dear?”
I turned and saw Rarity trotting over to meet me.
“Hey Rarity, what brings my illusionist all the way down here? I thought you’d have lessons with Luna.” I asked.
Rarity walked next to me and glanced distastefully at the hat on my head. “I was, but a matter came up that Princess Luna had to address immediately.” Without asking permission from me or the storeowner, Rarity levitated the Stetson of my head and began placing other random hats in its place. “If you’re looking for a nice hat Dresden, you should’ve just said so. Maybe this... no it clashes with your coat.”
I shook my head clear of Rarity’s latest selection and backed a step away. “I don’t want to look nice. I want to add something to wear with my overcoat. I figure some kind of head protection is better than none.” I looked over the selection of hats one more time. “But I don’t see anything here that gives much coverage. Maybe I’ll just add a hood to the overcoat.” I levitated a small roll of thick linen and examined it.
Rarity pouted and placed the hats she’d taken back in their respective places. “Very well, but I wish you’d at least let me stylize your overcoat a bit. Just because you’re only going to wear it in combat doesn’t mean you can’t look good while doing so.”
I tossed some bits on the front counter as I paid for my materials. The shopkeeper was decidedly avoiding looking at me and stuck his nose even further in the air. “I don’t doubt that you could make me stand out, but in the middle of a fight standing out is the last thing I want to do. Besides with the protective enchantments I put on that coat, I doubt your needles could puncture it.”
Rarity frowned at the idea of a piece of clothing she couldn’t modify. The door chimed again as I took advantage of her momentary silence and escaped into the streets. My respite was short lived as Rarity followed me out of the door and followed me down one of Canterlot’s busier streets.
The street in question was clearly meant as the main street for any and all businesses. The street itself was wide enough to allow several large mobile stalls and carriages to come and go as they pleased, and was paved with cobblestone to make the pulling of carts that much easier. The street was bustling as ponies of all shapes, sizes, and colors went about their days and made their purchases. Even the shops were nearly as colorful as their clientele. Almost every shop entrance performed shameless self-promotion as they decorated almost every square inch of their establishment with various posters and banners meant to draw in the passing customers. Several stores went the extra step and had ponies in front of their shop loudly pronouncing the savings to be had there.
I hesitated slightly as we neared the crowd of bustling ponies, and suddenly wished very much that I had my overcoat. I don’t really like thick crowds, it’s too easy to find a dagger slide between your ribs and have the perpetrator disappear into the confusion. It may be paranoia, but just because a street seems normal doesn’t mean that there’s not a team of ninja assassins intent on turning me into a corpse.
I hugged the outer edge of the larger groups of ponies and kept my shield charm primed to be ready to go at a moment’s notice.
“Uh Dresden, what is that on your horn and why is it glowing?”Rarity asked from behind me as we moved past the largest of the groups.
A quick glance upward showed that the simple ruby encrusted silver band around the base of my horn was glowing with a dull red light.
I returned my gaze to try and keep an eye on every little detail that I could in the surrounding environment as I continued window shopping. “It’s my shield charm,” I stated in a flat tone. “You never know when you might need a nice hardy shield.”
“But we’re in the middle of Canterlot,” Rarity insisted. “Surely you don’t expect to be attacked here?”
“I don’t know what to expect, so I want to be prepared at any given moment.” I eyed a passing couple that moved a little closer than I was comfortable with.
Rarity gave me a sidelong glance, “That’s paranoia Harry.”
“Maybe, but I’m still alive and kicking.”
Rarity rolled her eyes at me, “By that logic you should also arrest random ponies on suspicion of treason. You really need to relax from time to… Oh would you look at this!” Rarity broke off from her brief rant to run up to a nearby shop.
Rarity pressed her nose to the display window of the shop and practically began drooling as she stared at the newest token of her affection. As I got closer I saw that she was fawning over what looked like a set of crystalline knives.
There were about ten small knives in total and they sat in a small display case, arranged just perfectly to allow a nearby candle’s flame to dance on the reflective surfaces. A note card under the display case read:
Diamond Throwing Knives
Crafted from the finest diamonds from the Crystal Mountains, these will be the center of every conversation while they are on display in your common room.
Inquire inside for price
By the time I had finished reading Rarity had already pushed past me and made her way inside the store. I followed after her, hoping to find anything of interest while Rarity negotiated with the shopkeeper.
As I stepped through the door way and got a good look at the shop as a whole, I noticed that it wasn’t so much a fine jewelry store as it was a thrift shop. The walls were lined with a random assortment of trinkets that ponies had pawned for a quick bit. I began perusing the shelves to see what I could find. Behind me Rarity was already in a heated discussion with the elderly earth pony shopkeeper.
“One hundred and thirty bits is simply outlandish Sir!” Rarity shouted, a slight hint of a higher class tone creeping into her voice.
“They’re knives made of diamond madam, do you really expect them to be cheap?” the shopkeeper countered.
I tried to ignore them, I honestly did, but I could help but be entertained by the negotiating. Maybe I could pick something up myself. My methods of negotiations usually involve less words and much more fire, so I could probably use a lesson or two on the subject.
“I know that’s been sitting there for a long while, there’s an inch thick layer of dust around it. So you obviously haven’t been having any luck selling it on your own, and with that price I’m not surprised.” Rarity stuck her nose in the air, and turned to leave.
For a brief moment I thought that she was genuinely leaving the store, but I noticed that she slowed as she neared the door and took as much time as she could in her exit. I looked back at the shopkeeper and saw his eyes darting around in his head and his teeth beginning to grind together as he fought an internal war with himself.
At the last second before Rarity would’ve stepped out of the door, he broke. “Alright, alright fine! You win. Let’s say a hundred bits for the set.”
Rarity frowned and cocked an eyebrow over her shoulder at the man.
He gnashed his teeth even more. “Okay fine, ninety bits. But that’s as low as I’m willing to go.”
Rarity flashed teeth that were just as white as her coat and pulled out a large jingling purse from her ornate navy blue saddlebag. Rarity began counting out bits from her purse and laying them on the front counter, creating a growing pile of gold as she continued counting. How this mare got to be the Element of Generosity was beyond me.
I don’t think I’ll ever understand women, I thought to myself.
It was somewhere around the seventy bit mark that she evidently ran out of money. Knowing what was about to happen, I tried to slink my way out of the shop but was cut off by the white unicorn. Without having to say a single word, she simply looked at me with the saddest puppy dog face I’ve ever seen. Her ears drooped down, she pouted out her lower lip, and her pupils grew to a size I thought was only possible with a potent hallucinogenic.
Against the power of such cuteness, there can be no victory.
“Okay, okay fine. I’ll cover the rest. Just please, stop looking at me like that,” I cried while trying and failing to look away.
“Thank you Harry,” Rarity said in a high pitched squeal and immediately moved to inspect her newest possessions.
I shuffled over and began counting out the remainder of Rarity’s debt onto the counter, plus a small tip for the resulting grief of our visit.
“Thank you sir,” the shopkeeper said as he accepted my money. He shot a glance at Rarity, who was now admiring the knives by levitating them in the sunlight. “I thank Celestia that most of my customers don’t have her silver tongue.”
“Don’t let her hear you say that. She might start getting ideas on how to turn herself into a massive piece of jewelry.” I chuckled at the mental image of a Rarity made of liquid silver.
I glanced over at Rarity after I had finished counting out the remaining bits, and if I operated using Pinkie’s bizarre logic my jaw would’ve hit my hoof. Rarity had taken out all ten of the knives and had begun whirling them in a tornado of flashing diamond. As the light from the window hit the tornado it reflected off of the knives and shone around the room in multiple colors, creating an effect similar to a disco ball.
To a less wicked mind, this would’ve just been an eye catching scene of multicolored beauty. To my mind, this was a fine example of the potential such tools had. I began to get ideas that the emotionally jaded would call a bit harsh, and anypony else would call downright disturbing.
I turned to face the shopkeeper, “Hey how sturdy are those knives?”
He paused to consider his answer. “Well they were originally made for display purposes, or at least that’s what I’d use them for, but they are solid diamond, one of the hardest materials known to ponies. I believe they are also imbued with magic to lessen diamonds brittle nature. If you really wanted to use them, they’d probably be able to stand up to a great deal of stress.”
I nodded my head and made a mental note for a possible new set of equipment for Rarity. “Good, at least we’ve done something productive so far.”
Across the room, Rarity set the knives back into their display case and waited patiently for me at the door.
I turned towards the exit and waved a hoof at the shopkeeper, “Thanks for the help, I’ll see you later.” As I moved to leave, a display card on a nearby shelf caught my eye and I paused to get a better look at it. The card read:
Smarty Pants Doll
Quill and notebook not included.
Eight bits.
Above the card was a small raggedy doll. It was vaguely pony shaped and had clearly been repaired, probably several times. The base weave was thick grey wool giving the illusion of it having a grey coat, and thick stringy clumps of black wool served as the doll’s mane and tail. The eyes were simple buttons that had been sown on. It also sported a small set of blue shorts with white polka dots dotted around it. Several portions of the doll had been patched with cloth and thread that was close to the color of the base material, but not quite the same. This gave it the slight feel of a doll that had been created from the remains of other dolls inexpertly thrown together.
Twilight mentioned she used to have one of these, but lost it somehow. I tried to think back to what she told me about how she lost it, but the finer details escaped me. She’d probably like a new one. I cast the battered doll another look, ‘New’ being a relative term.
I looked back at the shopkeeper and levitated a few more bits in the air, “Hey, I’ll take this doll too.”
He accepted the bits. “Sure thing. Getting it for your daughter?”
I shook my head and set the doll into my saddlebag. “Nah, just getting it for a friend.”
With that, Rarity and I departed the thrift shop and back into the busy streets of Canterlot. Almost immediately my feeling of trepidation returned and I found myself instinctively gathering power into my shield charm again.
“What was that about?” Rarity asked.
I cocked an eyebrow at her, “What was what about?”
She motioned toward my saddlebag, “The doll, what’s with the doll?”
I shrugged, “Twilight told me she used to have one of these things, but lost it. So I'm getting her another one.”
“Why,” she pressed on.
“I don’t know, make her happy I guess,” I said dismissively. “Do I really need a reason?”
Rarity hesitated for a moment before responding. “If you’re interested, Twilight told me that she was going to have lunch with her parents today. You might see if you can join them.” She craned her neck as she looked at a clock on the side of a nearby building. “They should be at Donut Joe’s in about an hour.”
I thought about the idea with some hesitation. I didn’t really want to interrupt what I’m sure would be valuable parent bonding time. But at the same time a small force in the back of my mind jumped at the idea and urged me towards it.
“Yeah, that sounds nice. I might just do that,” I thought out loud.
Rarity nodded her head in response, “Well you have fun, I’ve got to get going. Princess Luna said that she’d be done with her business reasonably soon, so I should be getting back to the castle.”
The mention of Luna snapped me out of the pleasant imaginary meal I was lost in and reminded me about Rarity’s recent purchase.
I extended a hoof to stop her before she could leave. “Hey wait, take those knives with you. Ask Luna if she can show you how to use them in a fight.”
Rarity looked shocked and a little insulted at the idea of using gems as a weapon. “Now why would I do something like that? These are supposed to be put on display, not used in combat.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” I countered. “They’re small, durable, and razor sharp knives that are lightweight enough for you to whip around easily. It would be worth looking into at least.”
Rarity frowned and looked back at her saddlebag while before she responded. “I suppose I could mention it to her. But I still don’t like the idea of using something as spectacular as these gems in combat.”
“Weren’t you just offering to stylize my overcoat a little while ago?” I pointed out.
“Well yes but… but that’s not…” She let out a defeated sigh. “You just can’t let others live in their own little worlds can you?”
I felt a wide grin stretch across my face, “It’s just so much fun sometimes. It’s even sweeter if the victim actually deserves it.”
Rarity turned and began trotting off towards the castle. “Just don’t make me regret telling you about Twilight’s lunch plans,” she called over her shoulder.
I scoffed in the general direction Rarity left in and trotted off to continue my mapping of Canterlot. “Now where would she get an idea like that?”
I ran down one of Canterlot’s only vaguely familiar side streets, my head pivoted as I tried to make sense of where I was. “Where in the hay is Donut Joe’s?” I galloped past a familiar fruit stall boasting half off on strawberries. “Wait, didn’t I pass that like three times now?” I stopped in the middle of the street and sighed heavily, “I’m just going round in circles now. I’m never going to make it to lunch with Twilight.”
“Harry?” called a familiar voice to my right.
I turned and noticed a certain purple unicorn standing directly under several flashing neon arrows pointing at a massive neon sign reading: “Donut Joe’s”.
Huh.
Twilight tilted her head at me quizzically, “Harry what are you doing down here?” A look of horror appeared on her face, “Were we supposed to have a lesson right now? Oh I knew I should’ve asked before I made plans with Mom and Dad.”
Before she could run off and cancel on her parents, I waved a hoof dismissively. “No Twilight, I heard from Rarity that you’d be having lunch with your folks, so I just wanted to see if I could join you.”
Her face brightened immediately, “Of course you can join us. I’m sure they’d love the chance to get to know you better.”
Twilight turned and I followed her through the large double doors of the donut shop. As soon as we stepped inside a pair of unicorns I recognized as Twilight’s parents waved us over. We made our way over and Twilight and I sat together in the booth opposite from her parents.
“Hello, Mr. Dresden is it?” Mr. Sparkle asked.
“That’s my name. I hope you don’t mind me crashing this lunch.” I looked between Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle.
“Not at all dear,” Mrs. Sparkle assured. “We always want to know more about Twilight’s friends, and we didn’t get much of a chance to talk last time.”
Twilight shifted uncomfortably in her seat next to me, “Mom, please don’t pressure him too much.”
“How has Twilight been doing,” Mr. Sparkle asked. He was looking intently at me and being careful to keep his tone level. “Twilight hasn’t told us anything about what you’ve all done so far. Has she been in any danger?”
I just got here and I’m already on thin ice. Why is my life never easy?
“Twilight, in danger? I doubt it, your daughter and her friends are extremely capable at looking out for each other,” I told Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle. At these words they looked at Twilight with a certain amount of pride in their eyes. “Why she’s even saved my sorry hide once already,” I added.
Twilight sat up straighter, puffed out her chest, and adopted a rather smug look. “You only get one, Harry. If you let a vampire get that close again, I’m just going to watch.” She couldn’t hold back her grin any longer and we both began laughing at my expense.
Twilight’s parents were less than pleased with this however. With the knowledge that their daughter had been in a life or death situation, they clearly began forging plans to get her to safety. Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle gave each other a significant look before either of them spoke.
“Mr. Dresden, I’m sure that you are an excellent commander and that you are doing everything you can to protect our daughter, but we just don’t feel comfortable having Twilight in active duty,” Mr. Sparkle directed at me.
“We will be taking Twilight out of your unit and send her back to her library in Ponyville,” Mrs. Sparkle added. “She will be nice and safe there.”
I understood their desire to protect Twilight, and if I was in their position, I would probably do the exact same thing. But Twilight was a central part of my team and the idea of seeing her leave stung deeper than I thought it would’ve. I opened my mouth to object, but was cut off by the mare next to me.
“Mom, Dad, I’m sorry but that’s not your decision to make,” Twilight scolded her parents. She did this so reflexively and calmly that I guessed they had been arguing about Twilight’s position for a while now.
“The hay it’s not young lady,” Mrs. Sparkle shot back. “You are our daughter and we just want what’s best for you.”
Twilight locked eyes with her mother. “I am not a little filly anymore Mom, I am a grown mare and I will make my own decisions.” Twilight shifted her gaze to look at me, “And I choose to help Harry protect Equestria.”
That little voice in the back of my head began doing back flips and I had to fight to keep my tail from twitching again.
“But Twilight, that’s what the Equestrian army is for,” Mr. Sparkle offered.
I finally saw an opportunity to cut in. “The Equestrian army isn’t fully aware of what it’s facing. Your daughter is helping me to change that, she is helping me to save lives.”
“Besides, I was ordered to serve under Harry by Princess Celestia herself,” Twilight added. “Do you really think she’d put me there if she thought I couldn’t handle it?”
Mr. Sparkle looked extremely uneasy, shifted a little, and put a hoof around his wife to draw her in closer. “Well, no but I… No of course you’re capable sweetie-“
“We just worry about you is all,” Mrs. Sparkle finished for her husband.
Twilight smiled, touched by her parents’ care for her. “Please don’t worry, so long as I’m with my friends I’m safe.”
Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle hugged each other tighter and a single tear rolled down Mrs. Sparkle’s cheek. I looked over at Twilight and saw that she desperately wanted to comfort her parents, but was unwilling to surrender her position so she remained as resolute as ever. After a brief moment Twilight’s parents separated from each other.
Mr. Sparkle beamed at his daughter, “We never could stop you when you set your mind to something. You can stay with your friends, but we want regular meetings honey.”
Twilight smiled brightly, “Of course Dad, I can always find time for you two.”
Mrs. Sparkle wiped a foreleg over her eyes, clearing them of any residual dampness. “Well what are we waiting for? Let’s gets some lunch.”
From there the meal became a much lighter hearted affair. We sat and laughed at each other’s jokes and stories. Twilight and I described the lessons I was giving Twilight and how quickly she was becoming a true battle hardened wizard.
“So you’re throwing around fire and lightning now?” Mr. Sparkle said with an astonished look on his face. He turned to look at his wife and chuckled. “Never thought I’d see the day, both of our children are powerful soldiers.”
Mrs. Sparkle smiled at her husband, “Celestia help us if we miss a birthday.”
Twilight tilted her head at her parents, “Where is Shining anyway?”
“Celestia sent Shining and Cadence to supervise the settlement of a new city. They won’t be back for quite some time,” Mr. Sparkle answered.
Twilight looked relieved at this news. “Good, it’s nice to know that Shiny’s okay.”
“Speaking of family,” I cut in,”I assume you two have some nice and embarrassing stories of Twilight as a filly?” I asked Twilight’s parents. A devilish grin spread across my face, “I could always use a little ammunition to keep her in line.”
If looks could kill, then Celestia would be down one unicorn commander.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle began laughing together. “Oh goodness yes, we’ve got a few,” Mrs. Sparkle chuckled and looked at her husband. “What was that book fort thing she did?”
By this point Twilight tore her murderous gaze from me and gasped at her parents. “No please don’t…”
“Oh shush Twilight, it’s all in good fun.” Mrs. Sparkle began smiling as she ran through the pleasant memories.
I flashed my teeth at Twilight as well, “Yeah Twilight, you wouldn’t want to keep your parents from fond reminiscing would you?”
Twilight just groaned in defeat and buried her face in her forelegs.
The rest of our lunch became a simple matter of storytelling. Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle began regaling us with numerous stories of Twilight’s misadventures as a filly. The vast majority of the stories were failed or otherwise solo magical experiments Twilight did when she became increasingly obsessed with her magic while growing up.
The book fort story Mrs. Sparkle mentioned was particularly entertaining. In one of the strange random magical surges unicorn foals get, Twilight had created a full sized book fort in the middle of her parents’ living room, complete with functioning book-powered artillery. When either of her parents or her older brother entered the room, the cannons reacted automatically and began firing copious amounts of paper at the intruder. They only managed to placate her by levitating a filled cookie jar over to her fort as a peace offering. As soon the jar was within jumping distance, filly Twilight launched herself at it and did her very best to fit her head inside of the jar, eating cookies as she went. After she went into a cookie induced coma the book fort simply collapsed, having being cut off from the source of magic holding it together. This resulted in the filly Twilight falling fast asleep on top of a pile of books with her head still stuck inside of the cookie jar.
We all laughed and enjoyed each other’s company. Even Twilight forgot her embarrassment and began to add to her parents’ stories by offering small corrections or even asking about specific stories of herself or her brother. It was the most peaceful and loving environment I could easily remember being a part of.
I didn’t want it to end. For a brief moment, I was happy. I was surrounded by ponies that were smiling and laughing with each other. I was surrounded by ponies that not only accepted me into their group, but were happy to see me and actively wanted me there. I was truly happy.
For some reason it felt like such an alien sensation, like it was an emotion I hadn’t experienced in an extremely long time. I tried to think back to when I last felt truly accepted, but my mind fogged when I tried to conjure any specific memories.
My eyes drifted over a nearby clock as I was trying to remember. We had been sitting there and talking for well over an hour. I was going to be late for my afternoon class.
I jumped out of my seat and levitated my saddlebag from the floor to its place on my back. Twilight, who was leaning against me for support while she was busy laughing from the latest story, nearly toppled onto the floor as I got up.
“Sorry about that.” I levitated Twilight back onto all four hooves. “I’ve really got to go, I’ve got a class to teach and I still need to drop my stuff off at home.”
“We’ll take care of the check,” Mr. Sparkle said. “You go ahead and get going.”
“Thanks.” I turned and galloped off at full speed towards the castle.
As I galloped through the streets of Canterlot, a distracting thought crept into my head.
Home… my room in the castle barracks?
A phantom image floated to the front of my mind, of small and shabby apartment that seemed vaguely familiar. It was tough to tell because there was little I could use to proportion myself against, but it seemed like most everything there would be too large for me to use.
As suddenly as the image appeared, it vanished from my mind. I paused in my galloping and tried to recall more details about the strange room. Almost immediately a sharp pain stabbed at my head, and made it nearly impossible to gather my thoughts.
I rubbed at my temples to try and ease the pain. “Ugh, I need to ask Fluttershy for some aspirin.”
I set the whole confusing situation aside until after I could finish my class for today and galloped off again for the castle.
The door to my classroom slammed open as I crashed through it and into the large room full of waiting ponies.
“Hey everypony, I know I’m late but thanks for waiting.” I rushed to the podium at the front of the room and set my saddlebags on the ground at my hooves. I removed a quill and some parchment from the bags and placed them on the podium. The fabric and Smarty Pants doll that I’d forgotten to give Twilight were now in the storage chest in my room. “Let’s go ahead and get to it.”
I took a quick look around the classroom to see what I was working with. It looked like I was starting to move away from teaching the military. The majority of the class today was largely the guardsponies of Canterlot with only a few military units scattered throughout the group. In the front row however, was a particular military pegasus with a steam punk foreleg and wing. Silent Night waved his mechanical hoof at me as I noticed him.
I waved back at Silent and began my lesson for the day. I ran through the same general description of the Red Court vampires that I had given to the princesses and my own battalion. As I have been told by Celestia and Luna these classes would become less and less necessary. As more and more ponies learned how to combat the vampires, they could go and teach their own classes thus allowing the knowledge to be spread easier, which would also give me more time to do whatever I pleased.
Maybe I could arrange some more lessons with Twilight.
After about an hour and a half of describing the most vulnerable parts of a vampire’s anatomy, I wrapped up the general description of how best to square off against a vampire. At least from a scholarly standpoint, the guardsponies would still have to meet with Michael for more practical experience.
“Any questions?” I asked the assembled guardsponies.
Silent raised his mechanical hoof in the air. I nodded at him and gestured for him to continue.
“What about the vampires themselves?” Silent asked. “What do you know about why they do what they do?”
I rubbed a hoof under my chin, “Well, they’re predators. They generally prefer to use stealth or deception tactics whenever possible.”
Silent shook his head, “Not what I meant. I’m more curious about their history, like where are they from? I’m pretty sure they’re not from here, so maybe the Badlands to the south?”
“Their… history…” I muttered to myself.
I heard the words and the question made logical sense, but I couldn’t quite answer it. I knew I had the answer in my head, but it just didn’t want to immediately present itself. I began clawing through my memories to try and find the answer for Silent’s question.
I found a short whisper of a memory at a corner of my mind and latched onto it. I saw the inside of a brick walled room and felt a sharp pain on my shoulder as a black clawed hand gripped me. Then a blinding pain that was entirely unrelated with that memory coursed through my head.
The pain destroyed my concentration on that memory causing it to retreat from the forefront of my mind. It was then taken and hidden behind a massive wall in my mind that I wouldn’t have noticed if I wasn’t actively trying to track down my scattered thoughts.
My head, somepony has been in my head!
The wall wasn’t perfect, far from it. Large cracks ran through the entirety of the wall, through which the random memories I had been experiencing all day had been seeping through. I didn’t know how this wall had been set up or who was to blame, but I knew was that a large part of my life was hidden behind it and I was going to tear it down.
A small voice spoke up from behind the wall. Don’t touch it Harry. Destroying the wall will only bring pain.
I didn’t care, nothing gets to just mess with my head. I gathered together my will into a massive battering ram of glowing energy. I oriented it at the crumbling wall and drew it back, right before I threw it at the wall with as much force as I could muster.
There is a very good reason why fighting against mental magic usually results in the victim being driven insane.
As the battering ram slammed against the wall a large network of cracks and splinters weaved throughout the wall. It was still standing, but only barely. At the same time the ram struck home, a white hot dagger sunk to its hilt into my skull.
The pain was nearly indescribable. I fell to my knees and all sensation other than the agony in my head was drowned out for several seconds. I hesitated for several more seconds until I could once again tell up from down.
“Commander!”
“Dresden, are you okay?”
Once some feeling had been restored I blocked out all of my senses so that I may focus on tearing down the remnants of the memory spell on me. I reassembled the battering ram of pure will and reared it back once more.
Harry, no don’t!
I drove down my will and once again hammered it into the spell. The wall shattered into a cloud of glittering dust under the focused mental assault.
At the moment of impact I was faced with two conflicting sensations. The first, a twisting of the agony inducing knife still lodged in my head. The second, a feeling of a rushing tide washing over me as repressed memories returned to me. Flashes of countless memories appeared to me as the wall crumbled, and I remembered who I was.
I was not Harry Dresden, the unicorn commander of vampire hunting ponies and combat trainer of the Elements of Harmony. I was Harry Dresden, wizard and warden of the White Council.
A weight fell on my shoulders as I realized this. It was the weight of far too many bad memories, coupled with the loss of too many people that had depended on me for help. I hadn’t realized how much pain and weight the simple memories carried. At least I didn’t until they had been removed from me for a day. Sometimes ignorance truly is bliss.
“He’s not moving!”
“Somepony get a stretcher in here! He needs to get to the medical wing now!”
What was most disturbing to me wasn’t the memory repressing spell, or the subsequent pleasure from the false life, but it was the manner in which the spell was constructed. Now that I had my memories returned to me, and the experience attached to those memories, I recognized the patterns of energies that were behind the spell. It was my memory repression spell.
In the war against the Red Court the White Council began teaching counter magic to mental intrusion. In order for me to effectively teach the counter magic, I had to first have an understanding on the offending magic, the spell that had rendered me ignorant for a day was one such spell that I had learned. I recognized the way the energies flowed together, there was no denying it. I had cast the spell on myself, and I had a decent idea as to how.
The last thing I remembered before I was swallowed by the encroaching blackness was that same little voice in the back of my head.
I tried to warn you, nothing but pain will come of this.
My vision cleared as some sense of self returned to me. I stood to my full and considerable height. I looked around to try and gauge where I was, and the only noticeable land mark was a large circle of light on a flat surface. Everything outside of the circle of light was a pitch blackness through which nothing could be seen.
I raised my hand to my face and used my fingers to try and shield my eyes from the source of the light. I froze in the middle of the motion and just stared at myself.
Hands? But how?
I was back in my original human body, right down to the same clothes I had been wearing back in the White Council training camp. Even my left hand was back to its charred and blackened self. The truly bizarre part was that it all seemed alien to me. Even though I was now back in my bipedal body, I found myself instinctively wanting to walk on all four limbs. I even found myself trying to gather my power into the horn that I no longer had.
“Where am I?” I muttered to myself and continued trying to gauge my surroundings.
“Hello Harry, it’s about time that we had a talk,” said a very familiar voice from right behind me.
I spun around towards the voice and saw, myself. My unicorn self was sitting on his haunches about five feet away from me. He was an exact mirror image of my previous self, with one small difference. On my duplicate’s face was what was close to a stylish goatee. That seemed redundant somehow seeing as how his face was already covered in fur, but whatever.
He smiled a wicked smile as pieces began falling into place in my head. “It’s been quite some time since we’ve talked. How long has it been Harry?” His voice dripped with a certain cold detachment that screamed sociopath.
That’s when the final piece fell into place and I figured out what was going on. I was unconscious somewhere, and this was a dream. My doppelganger sitting across from me was quite literally a piece of myself. He was my hindbrain, my subconscious, my instincts, or whatever you want to call it. He was the pieces of my mentality that worried most about the baser instincts of my nature. He was my need to feed, my desire to breed, my hunger for power, but above all else he’s my drive to survive.
The simple fact that I was capable of such a literal introspective conversation spoke volumes about my mental stability. The fact that this wasn’t my first time, or that I wasn’t even all that surprised, said much more.
I pointed an accusing finger at my doppelganger, “You, you’re the one that cast that memory repression spell.”
He shrugged his shoulders and flashed his teeth at me, “Well, technically speaking, you’re the one that did that.” He chuckled a little, “But yes, I will take credit for that.”
I ground my teeth and stomped my foot on the ground, “Would you care to explain why?”
He lifted his hoof to his face and examined it for a second. “I would’ve thought that would be obvious.” He set his hoof back down and looked me intently in the eyes. “You remember Luna’s offer, after this business with the Red Court is done, we can stay in Equestria.”
I sat down and arranged my legs under me. “You can’t be serious,” I scoffed at my copy. “You know full well that I still have work to do back at home.”
He shook his head, “I know that your precious ‘work’ just makes you miserable.”
He gestured his hoof to the blackness at his left. The shadows shifted and resolved into the image of my shabby one bedroom apartment. The image was centered on me as I sat on my couch and nursed some wounds that I’d recently sustained.
My doppelganger looked at me and asked, “What do you see here?”
I ran my fingers through my hair, “Just looks like me after one of my jobs, maybe after one of the warlocks I’ve chased down. I’ve gotten pretty banged up before, so what?”
“Well what I see is a man sitting in his home and licking his wounds, alone.” He put extra emphasis on the last word. “Your stubbornness wouldn’t allow you to see the opportunity right in front of you. Only your obsession with trying to fix what happened to Susan prevented you from moving on.” He thumped his hoof against the ground in front of him, “And when Twilight helped you to get over that little bump in the road, I did what I had too. I had hoped that the spell would’ve lasted longer than it did.”
I leaned forward and slammed my fists against the floor in challenge. “I can’t just leave my life behind me! How did you even pull off that spell anyway?”
Far from being threatened at my reaction, he smiled deeply and even laughed at my act of aggression. “I could do what I did because you wanted me to. The mere fact that we’re even having this conversation means that you want to stay, that you’ve been considering Luna’s offer. Simply put, enough of your mind wanted to move on, which gave me the power to do what I did.”
I leaned forward a little further and pressed my fists even harder into the ground, “I don’t want to stay. I can’t stay! I need to go back when I’m done here!”
My copy actually burst out laughing at me. After a few seconds he calmed down enough to speak. “Have you already forgotten? I am you! You can’t lie to me, Harry.” He pointed a hoof at me, “Besides, your mouth says one thing, but your body is saying something entirely different.”
I looked down at the fists I had pressed into the ground, and realized that they had been replaced with black hooves. I craned my neck back and saw that the rest of my body had changed back to my unicorn form. Not only did I not notice the transition, but this form just felt instinctively right. I swished my tail across the ground as I wondered just how I couldn’t have noticed the transition.
“Our life back in our world has been nothing but pain, misery, and constant strife,” he said without breaking eye contact with me. “There’s rarely been a full year where we haven’t been in mortal peril back there.”
I glared back at him, “That’s only because I refuse to ignore the monsters that would normally prey on me and my friends. I protect those around me.”
“And what has that gotten you?” he asked, a sneer appearing on his muzzle. “You fight to protect the innocent and save several lives in the process. Yet you live in a crappy apartment and the vast majority of those that go to you for help think of you as a mad man. If you went around Chicago levitating things or performing casual magic like you did earlier in Canterlot, what do you think would happen?”
“That’s not the-“
“You would’ve been hunted down like one of the monsters you fight,” he cut me off. “Normal humans don’t like magic. They go out of their way to ignore magic. So if you were to show them the truth, they would either complain about the cheesy effects or would start quoting the Bible while sharpening pitchforks.”
He gestured again and the image of my apartment was replaced with the Canterlot streets. The image focused on the same shopping center that I had spent most of the earlier part of my day at.
“You are accepted here, you are even respected here Harry,” my doppelganger pleaded with me. “This is a world governed completely by magic, and you are a wielder of magic. This is the biggest no-brainer in the world.”
I glanced down at my hooves and at my mother’s silver pentacle amulet that still hung around my neck. “I can’t just leave, the White Council still needs-“
“THE WHITE COUNCIL WANTS US DEAD!” he roared. “Or have you forgotten just how many times they tried to have us killed? They’ve tried to trip us up, to manipulate us into breaking one of their precious laws. So that then they’d have the excuse they needed to lop off our head!”
What he said was true. Most of the higher ups on the White Council wanted very much to see me dead. They have backed me into several tight corners in the hopes of tripping me up before. At one point the White Council even tried to offer me up to the Red Court on a silver platter in the hopes of buying peace. To them I was just another warlock, and I would always be a warlock.
I shook my head again, “Not everybody in the White Council is like that. McCoy isn’t like that, he-“
“Lied to us, Harry,” he cut me off again. “McCoy hammered his values and his lessons into us, he taught us to respect mortal life and treasure it above all else. All the while he was the council’s Black Staff, their assassin. He was walking around with written permission to ignore the same values he drilled into you. He’s been lying to you since day one, so why should you give a damn what he thinks?”
I lay down and tried to find a decent legitimate counter argument to his reasoning, but nothing came to mind. How could it, after all I was trying to fight against my own logic.
He didn’t wait for a response. “We have far too many enemies Harry, and nowhere near enough friends back home. If we go back there, sooner or later we will wake up to find a dagger in our chest. The most troubling part is that you don’t know if it’ll be one of your enemies or your allies that delivers the final blow.”
I sat back up and glared back at my doppelganger. “It’s just not right. I can still fight. I can still try to make life better back home.”
He paused for a second and picked his next words carefully. “Why do you do what you do?”
The question caught me off guard. “What?”
“It’s a simple enough question, and it’s a question you’ve been asked a few times. But you’ve yet to give a proper answer.” He stretched in place and settled back down, tucking all four legs underneath him. “Why do you fight? Why must you be everyone’s white knight? What is it that you want out of all the conflict?”
I hesitated for a moment, thinking about my answer. “Sometimes bad things happen to good people. It’s not their fault, so I help them.”
“You’re driven by something as generic as injustice?” He smiled and shook his head. “Nope, try again.”
My head drooped as I tried to ignore the thought that immediately came to mind. I knew damn well why I fought so hard to protect those around me. I wanted what any man wanted out of life, I wanted a peaceful existence. I wanted a small house with a nice lawn. I wanted to be able to not have to worry about vampires hunting me wherever I went. I wanted a wife to share my life with, to share my thoughts and worries with. Maybe even a kid or two to raise and care for.
My doppelganger evidently could read my thoughts. He flashed his teeth at me in a wide grin, “Exactly Harry. You fight because you want to create your own little slice of heaven. You think that by fighting to protect those around you, you are helping to create that peaceful world. You even admitted it to Twilight and her friends. You told them that the life they lead has been your dream for quite some time.”
“But that’s just it, a dream!” I yelled back at him. “Power like mine attracts all kinds of trouble. I can’t create the kind of life I want. It’s just not going to happen.”
He looked at me with sad eyes, “What if you could?” He swept his hoof to his side again. The image of the Canterlot shopping center changed again, this time resolving into the front of Twilight’s library. “Twilight has just as much power as you do, perhaps even a little more, and she lives in relative peace. Why can’t you?”
I froze and considered the possibilities. For the first time since coming to Equestria, I considered what would happen if I didn’t leave.
“The only true hazard here is the Red Court, and that’s still because of our world,” he pressured. “We can find true peace here. We can survive here.” He gestured with his hoof again, and Twilight materialized in front of her house. “We can build a future here, away from the dangers of our past.”
I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to just abandon the White Council, even though they are massive backstabbing hypocrites. But I couldn’t just ignore what he said. The possible happiness he promised was something that I wanted more than I would ever admit. He was right, I didn’t want to leave. But could I live with myself if I simply abandoned my previous life?
“The spell I cast didn’t alter your emotions Harry.” My double shrugged. “Well, maybe it caused a bit of that paranoia you had earlier. But the joy you felt at openly using magic, and being around other ponies that actually cared about you, was entirely your own.”
“What about Michael? I can’t keep him here. He has a family, a wife and kids to get back to,” I argued with myself, trying to create an argument so that the decision didn’t come down to just what I wanted.
“Then let him leave. Finish your business here then let him go home. You don’t have to go with him,” he countered.
I settled back down on the floor and rubbed a hoof on either side of my head. “I… I don’t…”
A loud rumbling shook us as the whole dream world began to shake and splinter.
Extremely faint voices could be heard off in the distance, “Whats wrong with him?”
“I don’t know, he’s completely nonresponsive.”
“Wake up, Harry! Please wake up!”
My double craned his head as he looked around, and then sighed heavily. “Damn it, I guess we’re out of time.” He locked eyes with me and didn’t waver an inch. “You will have to choose Harry, sooner or later, you will have to choose.”
Then the ground under my hooves split open as one of the cracks reached me. I fell into the blackness of my mind. At the bottom of the black pit was a small glimmer of light. After a second I noticed that light was racing up to meet me rather fast.