//------------------------------// // Chapter 14: School of the Wizards Part 2 // Story: Fallout: Equestria – The Hogwarts Chronicles // by Fanficwriter1994 //------------------------------// ~~~~~~~~~~~O~~~~~~~~~~~ 1st Person POV – Rose Evans ~~~~~~~~~~~O~~~~~~~~~~~ I smiled as I talked to Rainy and Ginny throughout the feast, we were just finishing up desert (ice cream is the food of the fucking gods) when the food vanished, so it was time for the start-of-year announcements and getting to our dorms. “Attention please everyone, I know you must all be quite tired right now and that you probably want to go to bed but there are some announcements I still need to make.” Announced Professor Dumbledore, standing up from her place at the Head Table. There was nothing to see yet from her pregnancy, or at least not with the particular bardings she wore. “First, I am happy to announce that the second floor corridor on the left side wing of the castle, is no longer off-limits, even to those who do not wish a most painful death.” That got a lot of laughter out of us seniors because, yeah, Fluffy wasn’t there anymore, he was prancing around the Forbidden Forest and terrorizing it’s critters last I had heard. “Secondly, I want to remind our returning students and inform our new students, that even if you’re packing a small army’s worth of weaponry, the Forbidden Forest on the school premises is off limits. Breaking this rule without good reason means at best a week of detention with Professor Snape, at worst it means expulsion. How severe this is will be determined by your loadout on entering and how much of a nuisance you made yourself to our neighbors the Centaurs.” That was a lot more explicit than last year, though admittedly almost everyone here was now packing heat. Particularly unicorns and Pegasi. “Thirdly on this painfully long diatribe, I must inform you that all students of first year and all members of a Quidditch team or who desire to do try-outs for their team, must attend flying lessons due to the change in how brooms must be ridden in these new forms.” Explained Dumbledore and excited murmurs raised among the students, I did notice Malfoy shooting me a challenging grin which was… kind of weird to be honest, but then sh- I mean, he was very much of the opinion he was the master of Quidditch and broom riding at the school. “To add onto this, all Pegasi students of the first year, and those who haven’t bothered trying it, are required to attend flying classes in relation to their wings. For those not in the know, Pegasi are ponies with wings but no horns. If you have a horn but no wings you’re a Unicorn. If you have neither a horn nor wings, you’re an Earth Pony, and if we have overlooked someone turning into a pony with wings and a horn, please inform us so we can add another Alicorn to our count.” Chuckles come up as everyone heard these words, it did sound a bit ridiculous. “Next, regarding excursions beyond the boundaries of the Hogwarts shield. First years must be accompanied by at least two senior students for each first year and second years must do the same at a 1:1 basis unless they own a suit of Power Armor and have undergone some combat training. To reitterate, beyond our shield, is a Post-Magical Nuclear Wasteland, we do not call it that for no reason. When not within the shield, do not remove your bardings, they include protective wards including a minor shield protecting you from weapons but most importantly, a ward that holds off magical radiation.” Explained the professor and whispers were heard from the firstyears as they heard this. “Next, tomorrow classes will be suspended, and that is so that the students who have been out in the Wasteland can give the new students some first-hand lessons of their own, for the sake of brevity and variety. More over, it is meant to ensure that all students get some more acquainted with their new forms. Adding onto this, we have been provided by Ditzy Doo of the Absolutelutely Everything delivery service, with copies of her “Wasteland Survival Guide”, with 100 copies waiting for your perusal within each of the house common rooms. Feel free to peruse them and ask your classmates native to this world too. Miss Silver Bell in particular can certainly tell her fellow Hufflepuffs a lot, being that she is miss Ditzy Doo’s adopted daughter.” Explained the professor further and I smiled, I had met the filly a few times when her mom, the pre-war Pegasus Ghoul Ditzy Doo, had come for trading. “Having said that, please be mindful of how you speak to miss Ditzy Doo, as while she suffers from Ghoulification, a Necromantic process that turns it’s victims into semi-undead known as Ghouls, she is fully sapient and non-hostile. However, she is also mute as regretfully, her tongue had been cut out a few decades ago.” Added the professor and inquisitive glances were shot at us, naturally that made some uneasy, the thought of undead and all that. “Last on our list of announcements, and trust me this is quite a long list already, we have some changes in staff. For starters, Rubeus Hagrid, our Keeper of Grounds and Keys, has retired due to her transformation into a Alicorn Filly, joining her fellow Alicorn fillies in the second year as a Hufflepuff. The same goes for Argus Filch, our now former Castle Caretaker. Please remember that they have adopted the names Ruby Hagrid and Argent Ambition respectively.” Explained Dumbledore and both of the two waved, though Hagrid was comically hard to see among the Hufflepuff students. “Next, professor Kettleburn of our class on Care for Magical Creatures has also decided to retire before he becomes part of the food chain. He is succeeded by Miss Fluttershy, formerly of the Ministry of Peace of old Equestria.” Announced then Professor Dumbledore and I blinked in surprise as the Pegasus mare stood up, bowing with a shy expression. Well, that was a surprise. “Next, seeing as our transposition into this world involved among others the death of Professor Quirrel, we naturally have a successor, as many may have heard, that successor is professor Gilderoy Lockhart for Defense Against the Dark Arts.” Went on the headmaster and I cringed at the cheers and swooning from our female population, though thankfully most every filly of first year status or even some second years, were looking uncomfortable with that one too. “However!” Declared Dumbledore and waited for everyone to quiet down. “We have further additions to our staff to announce.” She continued and everyone’s eyes were glued to her. “As of this year, every Thursday will be dedicated to new classes critical for anyone who wishes to explore the Wasteland, and we have new professors for that. First, Scribes Hailing, Stomping Hooves and Rising Sun of the Applejack’s Rangers will supervise Wasteland combat classes as well as weapon and armor maintenance lessons in a rotation.” Stated the professor and murmurs of interest went through the crowd. “Secondly, Free Life of the Minutemares has agreed to head Survival lessons and lead school excursions.” Explained the professor and… we all stared at the lack of a certain Minutemare. “Sadly, due to her duties as a Minutemare, miss Free Life cannot join us at this feast for the moment, so in cases where she is called away for her duties, Professor Hailing has agreed to stand in for her in these lessons.” Explained Professor Dumbledore and murmurs echoed around, I was quite happy for Hailing, she was a junior Scribe when I first met her but now she was getting the opportunity to be a teacher in a position that could positively affect the Wasteland. “As a last note, before we all head to bed, if anyone has any questions regarding the Applejack’s Rangers or the Minutemares, don’t hesitate to ask their respective representatives or Miss Rose Evans and Draco Malfoy respectively, as they are both working with these organizations. Now, how about heading to bed?” I blinked, I hadn’t expected to be called out as a Rangers contact, but I was also surprised to hear that Draco of all people was with the Minutemares. Even so, the Prefects began to herd the First Years (pun intended) along while all of us who weren’t first years or Prefects, headed up in our own ways. Fliers gotta fly, some galloped and others did a rather interesting form of parkour to through the school’s corridors. If nothing else, this would be an interesting year. ~~~~~~~~~~~O~~~~~~~~~~~ Arriving at the common room as the first was a nice touch for Rainy and myself. Being Alicorns with ease of flying, unlike with Hermione who had still not figured out how to fly, gave us an advantage. I did notice some stacks of Wasteland Survival Guides on the table and also on some other places, which was nice and would mean the new students could read them. These little books were plenty helpful in my opinion. “So Rose, wanna bet what will happen this year?” Asked Rainy, yawning as she settled down on one of the chairs here. They had long been adjusted to be comfortable for both ponies and humanoform ponies so they were nice to sit on. “Really now? Why should anything happen this year?” I asked, laying down on the sofa and taking out my preening set, my feathers got a bit out of whack at the table from shuffling around students. “Come on, last year we had a Troll, a dragon, the whole Forbidden Forest debacle and finally the quest for the Philosopher’s Stone which culminated in us teleporting to another world and turning into girl-ponies with wings and a horn. And that’s without mentioning the 200 years old popsicles under the hill and the war above the clouds we got into.” Stated Rainy and… “Alright you got a point. Five Galleons it involves Voldemort and the Chamber of Secrets. And ten on him being the guy who opened that place 50 years ago to frame Ruby.” I finally relented to her and Rainy stuck her tongue out at that. “Come on, now you’re seriously pulling every option? And besides, why Voldemort? Didn’t he get blasted away or something?” Asked Rainy and I smiled crookedly at her. “Same was said last year.” I responded and Rainy stopped at that, then groaned. “Why are you groaning? I’m right.” I teased her, giggling at her scowl. “Yeah yeah, laugh it up. But how about we don’t jinx it quite that much?” Asked Rainy, shaking her head as other students began to filter in after us, finally. “Alright, though we did get through some seriously messed up stuff already.” I noted, smirking a bit. It was true after all, both of us had seen combat above the clouds, fought Raiders and small herds of feral Ghouls, the works. I wasn’t looking forward to sleeping without the presence of Lyra and Bon-Bon, my chances of nightmares would increase but at least I could hope that Princess Luna would be there to help. “Ah, miss Evans?” I blinked and looked over, seeing a Muggle-born boy of the unicorn variety. He had a muggle camera on him. “Rose is fine, how can I help you?” I asked, it felt weird to be the senior student now but if I could help another student? Then it was fine with me. “I wanted to ask if I could take a picture, ah, I’m Collin Crevey by the way.” He stated and I admit, he was sounding rather nervous. Though given what I knew of the stories circulating… “Sure, at least you asked unlike some people.” I stated, standing up and Collin smiled brightly. Kind of adorable how he did that. About 20 seconds later I had 4 photographs he made. Two of myself, two of me with Rainy and Hermione. He kept one of each while we got the other two and he was quite excited to get them magiced up to be moving. “So, anyone want to ask questions?” I asked, seeing as all the first years were there and watching us as I waited for a response from them. “Yes! I have one!” Exclaimed a girl, who was a Half-Blood from the looks of it since she stood on two legs. “Erm, is it true you wrangled a dragon?” I blinked, that wasn’t the question I had anticipated. At all, ever. “Wait, what gives you that idea? I’ve met a dragon, from Equestria but those are fully sapient, so why would I be wrestling one? I mean, I’m so small, I’d probably have trouble with a baby dragon.” I asked, cocking my head to the side. Seriously, what was up with that? “But I read a book that said you wrangled a Norwegian Ridgeback Dragon when you were nine years old!” Exclaimed the girl, way too enthusiastic for my tastes if I was being honest. “Are we talking a baby dragon?” I asked, this scene was so beyond bizarre. “No, a fully grown one! It’s in Harry Potter and the Cauldron of Secrets!” Exclaimed the girl, taking out a book which had the most bizarre cover art of a black haired boy with a gaping lightningbolt-like scar. Like, looking like a burn mark instead of the cut I had. “Sorry to say this, but I didn’t even know that there were books about me, and fantasy books at that.” I stated, which garnered me some shocked gasps from those around us. “First of all, I was raised in Little Surrey, by Muggles. And not nice ones. I’m not being biased or anything against Muggles but… well if you ever run into Vernon Dursley, don’t mention you’re a witch. He and his wife, my maternal aunt Petunia, are Megiphobic. Like, Burn the Witch levels.” I stated wincing at the memory of those three. “B- but the book series tells about all kinds of adventures you had! Like breaking into Gringotts to find the Excalibur! Or participating in a tournament of mages where they summon the spirits of mighty warriors of the past like Cuchulainn and Heracles!” Argued the girl and brought out even more books. This was getting absurd, like, really absurd. “Who come up with that kind of stuff? No, I didn’t do any of these things, I didn’t learn about magic until, literally, on the second of midnight onto my eleventh birthday, while my relatives were fleeing from the Hogwarts fleet of Letter Dive Bombers known as owls, a literal half-giant broke down the door to the cottage they had fled to in order to deliver my mail.” I stated, shaking my head. “Then why did you let them write this? And why did Professor Lockhart write in his Autobiography you were his protegee?” Asked the same girl and… “Wait, he did what now?” I asked, shaking my head, then something else occurred to me. “And what makes you think I gave anyone permission to make those books? I’m 12 years old, I can’t legally sign contracts and I didn’t know about the magical world until last year.” I responded, shaking my head at the kinds of nonsense people made up over my name. “Bu- but you defeated You-Know-Who!” Exclaimed the first year, getting pretty upset about this all. Was she really such a fan of that series? “No, something my mom did caused his spell to rebound or something I was a defenseless toddler and if he had a gun on him I wouldn’t be here. The closest thing to defeating him I’ve come was last year when I got into a fisticuffs with our previous DADA teacher, who was possessed by him, and smashed the Philosopher’s Stone to pieces on his head because I couldn’t fight back otherwise.” I stated and murmurs were heard around us, apparently this girl wasn’t the only one who had read these books. She sounded more obsessed with books than Hermione! “Listen, if you want to know what I actually did do involving magic, I can tell you. It probably would work as a object lesson anyway.” I stated, which made them look at me in interest. “Well, for starters, on Halloween of last year, Professor Quirrel let an adolescent Mountain Troll into the school. He cornered my friend Hermione in a bathroom with Rainy and myself, still human back then, rushing in to safe her.” I explained seeing widening eyes around us. “Take it from someone who was there, don’t stick your wand up a troll’s nose, wait for your buddy to pick up the thing’s club with magic and drop it on his head. Magic itself doesn’t work on them you see?” I stated and giggles answered me, the tension going away. “Next, if you ever encounter a Three-Headed dog, remember the legend of Heracles and his 12th labor: Play music, it’s gonna fall asleep instantly.” That got even more giggles, the image was funny yes. “And if you have to keep a Philosopher’s Stone in the school, don’t hide it behind obstacles that a group of mildly intelligent first-year students can get through. Trust me, Devil’s Snare isn’t that dangerous, nor are flying keys, a life-sized Wizards Chess Board or a potion/poison/tea riddle, no matter how smart you think you are with it.” Giggles continued at those declarations. “What about the Wasteland? Or those Applejack’s Rangers?” Asked Colin, bouncing up and done in excitement to hear about that. “Well, the Wasteland is about what you expect from nuclear war. Everything is irradiated, ponies barely cling to life in some places and there are people who go mad, we call those Raiders. Mind you, there are some really messed up things, like Ghouls out there.” I added and saw confusion on the faces of the human first-year students. “To explain, Ghouls are any form of life which has been exposed to heavy radiation and mutated by it. They have no life signs at all, meaning they appear to be undead and they also look the part. However, there are two types of Ghouls: Normal Ghouls who are just normal people like you and me, just looking messed up, and then there are Feral Ghouls, ghouls whose minds have eroded, making them act like stereotypical zombies. You can tell them apart since normal Ghouls will still act normally while Ferals will be charging you as soon as they see you. Though if they can see is another question. As you may remember Ditzy Doo is a Ghoul Pony of the Pegasus variety and is one of the most popular Ghouls in the wasteland, being the proprietor of a reliable trading company and the author of one of the best books around, the Wasteland Survival Guide.” I explained and floated up one of the copies. “Wait, what’s so special about that book?” Asked another girl in Ginny’s class, good question admittedly, though she was a Pureblood so… yeah. “Simply put? Ditzy Doo is a well over 200 years old Ghoul Pony. She has experienced the Wasteland since day one. And this book? It and it’s later editions contain her accumulated knowledge and wisdom. This Pegasus mare put together the most comprehensive survival guide you can ask for as a newbie here.” I explained, I had been reading these books for a while now, they were great for teaching survival tips. “But why would we need to learn that? It’s not like we’ll be in danger or something once we have learned magic here, not to mention what is the worst we could encounter?” Asked the same girl and I frowned, now she was being a bit of an asshole, and quite prejudiced. Well, I was supposed to introduce them to the reality of the Wasteland, and nobody else had stayed around so… Using my Pip-Buck’s inventory management function, I brought out the heaviest weapon I had. The .50 caliber Minigun only didn’t hit the floor because of my telekinesis, but it was bigger than me, and that was intimidating. “This, is a Bronco 4000 TS8 Rotary Gun, the most common form of what is more properly known as a Minigun. It fires, while the trigger is pulled, up to 200 rounds of .50 caliber bullets per second. These are the same type of bullets used in Anti-Machine rifles, meant to punch through heavy armor and destroy anything on the inside. Short of a Balefire Egg Launcher, or a undetonated Megaspell exploding in your general area, THIS is the worst you can encounter. And those Bardings you all wear? They won’t do anything to stop this thing from tearing you all to pieces.” I stated before putting it away and standing on my hind hooves, to make myself bigger you know? “But if you want the absolute worst you can encounter, take your pick between Hellhounds who can tear through Power Armor and dig so fast it’s a viable combat strategy while being smart enough as well as strong enough to carry these guns. Or Feral Ghouls who are literal zombies who want to tear you limb from limb. Then there are Slavers who want to capture you and force you into forced labor for however long they let you live before they get bored. And lastly we have Raiders, who are going to torture, rape and murder you just for the kicks.” I stated and the filly gulped at what I said. “This, isn’t Earth, this is the Wasteland. I have fought and killed to defend others. If you go out there, you will have to do the same or die in a pitch. The world is a cold, cruel and nasty place that will beat you down in a second and keep you there as long as it can.” I looked at each of them, I didn’t want to scare them but it had to be said. “Within the shield of Hogwarts, you’re safe. It’s pretty much impervious to all radiation, any weapon we know and can be closed in seconds to prevent anything from going in or going out where openings are normally kept. However, you remember what professor Dumbledore said, for the sake of preparing you to be able to defend yourself, either here or on Earth, you will go on excursions outside the shield.” I stated and saw them gulping, yeah, they had to know. “I will be blunt, we don’t have the supplies to get you all the best gear, most of the other students who got transported here like us didn’t go out outside as much as myself and my friends, the ones who become Alicorns, did. And even then, the furthest we ever got was to Ponevac, a settlement near the Ministry of Arcane Science hub that serves as the primary headquarters of the local Applejack’s Rangers chapter. The most combat anyone else saw was among the Pegasi of our student body, who took part in a combat operation with the Applejack’s Rangers to open the skies and stop the Enclave. But that was a situation unlike any you find down below, and they have no experience. Hell, I may have the highest body count among us students and I don’t think I have the experience to be supervising anyone.” I stated, closing my eyes and sighing. “But why must we use Muggle weapons? We have magic so why overcomplicate things?” Asked again that same filly as before and I had to wonder if she was really that isolated from the world around her. “Question, what is faster? A bullet, or a Stunner? What can be fired faster? A gun or a curse? The answer in both cases, is the first. To fire a gun you just need to aim, then pull the trigger. At the ranges that wizarding duels take place, that’s one step. I don’t think anyone short of a professor can actually reduce spell casting to the point of not needing to wave the wand and speak, but even they are nowhere near the speed of a gun being fired.” I stated, glaring at her. “I have come to realize that there is a ridiculous narrative being spun in the Wizarding World, that we are superior to Muggles because of magic. However, last time I was in Diagon Alley, I looked up casualty rates during the war against the Death Eaters. You know the result?” I asked, and the girl looked confused about why I brought this up. It would surprise here, I was sure. “A 1:20 ratio between Muggle to Death Eater. Particularly because the majority of attacks against Muggles was against military personnel, who tore apart Death Eater squads like they’re made of paper masche. Those soldiers and even retired veterans, had to be obliviated. There are records of 584 Muggles being obliviated after they successfully repelled Death Eater attacks with their guns.” I explained there was a mass of bumps as the first years took in the information that Death Eaters had basically been torn apart. “Fact of the matter is, that while wands are versatile, guns are machines of war. While Muggle studies will talk about some guns, they are outdated, I checked. They think the musket is the most advanced gun. Believe me, the Minigun I showed you is almost the same as it’s counterpart on Earth. And to add onto this, magic and technology have been blended here.” I stated and lifted my Laser Musket out of my saddlebags. “See this? This is a magical Laser Musket, it uses magical energy to generate a concentrated Photon beam. And as crude as this one looks, Laser Muskets are among the deadliest mid-range energy weapons there are. You know why? Because they can be charged with more energy than any other laser weapon. That crank here literally is used to load in charges of energy. It disintegrates the body into dust.” I stated and gulps were heard before I lifted my foreleg. “And this is an even more impressive piece of Arcano-tech, one which all of you will receive. It is called a Pip-Buck and it comes with various arcane support applications like inventory control, the Eyes-Forward-Sparkle which can identify hostile and benign entities around you, an auto-mapping function, a GPS, and most importantly, Stable-Tec Arcane Targeting Spell, or SATS for short. This last spell automates aiming and firing with accelerated perception. In other words, anyone with a Pip-Buck can shoot faster than the eye can blink.” I stated, looking around the small crowd, I saw some of the native first-years mumbling excitedly at the information they would receive a Pip-Buck of their own. “Now, I think we all can agree that this meeting has gone on long enough, so let’s get to bed everyone, and remember: A gun is your best friend in the Wasteland, never leave without ten of them.” I stated before jumping down, landing on all fours and heading up with Rainy following and the first-years being brought along to their dorm by Hermione. I sincerely hoped we wouldn’t need to be teachers for them more often. ~~~~~~~~~~~O~~~~~~~~~~~ 2nd Person POV – Albus Dumbledore ~~~~~~~~~~~O~~~~~~~~~~~ Albus Dumbledore sighed as she sat down in the conference room, technically it was a larger than usual but not used Class Room but who cares really? With her were Cornelius Fudge, Velvet Remedy and the other representatives of the factions Hogwarts dealt with now. “Albus, I must sincerely object to this new plan of basically training the students into soldiers. What are you thinking?” Asked Cornelius, sounding concerned, at least he hadn’t gone mad with power yet, or let that Under Secretary of his corrupt him too much. “I am sorry Cornelius, but I am trying to prepare them for the future. We have confirmation that the Dark Lord had returned last year, at least partially, as he possessed Professor Quirrel. If he finds another way to return to life, it may very well be vital for these students to be able to defend themselves. And what better way than one that has worked in the past? After all, Muggle with training in firearms were one of the hardest targets for the Death Eaters during the war.” She stated, amusement coloring her voice at the memory of that little tidbit that had likely driven Voldemort up ten different walls. “Nothing against you Albus, but the idea of the Dark Lord returning is quite ridiculous, don’t you think? He is dead, has been so for over a decade now.” Stated Fudge, he clearly didn’t like to be told that another war may be happening within his tenure as minister. “I’m afraid that hope can be dashed.” Stated Hailing, the Scribe and new professor bringing out report sheets. “In the last month there has been a shuffling in leadership among Raider gangs in the Ponston Area. This happened not long after a strong shift in the Radiation Fields near one of the boneyards. Remember, radiation here is magical in nature, Necromantic in fact. Is it so far fetched to think that this may be related? Not to mention the fact that all the ghosts in Hogwarts become living ponies, including that Poltergeist.” Stated Hailing and Fudge cringed at the reminder. “In any case, let us for now act in correspondence to the assumption he may be back or possessing someone.” Stated Dumbledore, sighing as she thought about the idea of Voldemort and what he could do in this world. There was so much that had been destroyed, she didn’t want even more devastation to befall this world. A world her first child would be born into. “How do I know this isn’t an elaborate plot to take over the ministry with a prepared army?” Asked Fudge, and yeah, there went his paranoia. “Cornelius, do I need remind you who had been almost voted into office against his will and rejected it? I don’t want your position, I want to remain the headmaster here and ensure the next generation. Also, it doesn’t speak well of you that you would be afraid of someone just taking over and being accepted.” Stated Dumbledore, smiling mischievously as the minister recoiled at his own blunder there. “Besides, how would I be ruling? I can’t leave this world through the mirror, as I am pregnant.” Stated Dumbledore, her hoof wandering to her belly which still didn’t bear a bulge. “Wait you’re what?” Asked Fudge at this point and Dumbledore blinked, not having expected that response. “Nobody has told you?” She asked and the minister shook his head, his eyes now as wide as saucers. “Well, apparently ponies have heat cycles like horses, and none of us were prepared for the instincts that this cocktail of related hormones would cause. So, several mares, including myself and Minerva, acted appropriate to our physical age, not our actual one, obviously. And we didn’t think about contraceptics.” Stated Dumbledore, sipping her tea as she watched Fudge faint on the spot. “I wonder how he’ll react to learning Filius is the father.” Noted Minerva, a small smirk on her face. “Oh Minerva, I want to have fun with him, not kill him.” Countered Albus with a wink, it felt quite odd to act so much like a school girl but then, she was the right physical age for graduation class. So why not? “Besides, Filius is far better in bed than you may think.” Added Albus, chuckling at the memory. After all, while the spark had been hormonal, she couldn’t deny an attraction, and Filius certainly didn’t mind her own appearance either. She just hoped they wouldn’t make another foal too soon. And no, she wouldn’t mind another pregnancy after this one. At least two years after this one that is.