//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: The Boy Who... Saved? // Story: Equestrian Vacation // by Dragonboy111 //------------------------------// Harry tumbled through the air, spinning out of control. He stared wide-eyed at the approaching cobblestone courtyard. Harry desperately tried to recall a spell to save him from the situation. What was it, apprehend moment? Arrest movement? Come on Harry, slowing charm! he berated himself. Wait, that's it! "Arresto moment—!" A blue aura surrounded Harry before he could finish his spell, slowing his descent to a crawl. A moment later, two pairs of hooves grabbed Harry under his forelegs. "Whoa there, dude," said a voice just over Harry's left shoulder. "We gotcha." Harry looked back to see Copper Wings and a charcoal pegasus holding him aloft. "I swear, there's more of these incidents every day," the second pegasus said to Copper Wings. "These ponies don't have a grip on their magic. It's been weeks and we still have active patrols for magic surges. Most foals on the mainland have better control than some of the adults." "First off, I'm not a foal, I'm fifteen!" Harry protested loudly. "Secondly, I can control my magic, thanks. I just lost the spell. And third, I live in Ponyville!" "Sure you do," the second guard said, unconvinced. "He's right, Headwind," Copper Wings said. "Celestia asked for him by name, apparently." "He's the visitor that's gotten everypony in a buzz?" the second guard, Headwind, said. "Don't ask why, I don't know," Harry said. "...Can you put me on the ground now?" The guards swooped down to drop Harry off at the far end of the courtyard. Copper Wings and Headwind touched down a moment later. Harry looked around, seeing multiple ponies that had to have been from Earth. They looked slightly different from the ponies in Ponyville, while dissimilar to their former appearances. Their new body proportions matched the Equestrians'. The unicorns had shinier manes and the pegasus had paler colors than their Equestrian counterparts. The thestrals, however, looked far healthier than Harry had ever seen them on Earth. Harry could spot a few hippogriffs, sporting manes with their feathered heads. And, to Harry's surprise, there was a distribution of ponies with and without cutie marks. "Princess Luna would've had my wings if you hurt yourself," Copper Wings said after a moment. "On that we agree," said the familiar voice of Princess Luna. All three of them jumped in surprise. After a quick turn, Harry found himself face-to-face with a smirking Princess of the Night. "Princess Luna!" Copper Wings and Headwind bowed low for the princess. "We're sorry—" Luna held up a hoof, silencing them. "All is forgiven. You may return to your duties. I will escort Harry from here." "Right away, your madjesty!" The two saluted before shooting off into the air. Luna sighed as they flew away. "All this time, and some of the guard still fears us— me," Luna whispered. "I'm sure they'll come around," Harry responded. "They saved me from getting flattened." "I know," Luna admitted. "I was going to carry you down if they didn't. Still, the fear in their eyes was real." Harry realized that the brief blue aura was Luna's. "Can you blame them?" Harry asked. "You're a living legend to them. You and your sister are." "And what am I to you?" Luna asked. Harry didn't have to think long for a response. "Everything Twilight said you were: Celestia's long-lost sister who wants to connect with her people, even if she's a few hundred years behind. You help ponies in their dreams. You like Hallow— I mean Nightmare Night festivities. And you helped me with my problems, even though I'm not from Equestria." "So you're not scared of me?" "I never was." Luna's mouth turned upward. "How rare, to meet somepony who wasn't scared at our first meeting," Luna remarked. "I will endeavor that these ponies see me as benevolently as you do, Harry Potter." "Just Harry, Your Highness." "Well then, 'Just Harry'," Luna said teasingly, "we should greet my sister. We all have waited long enough." Princess Luna walked away, motioning Harry to follow. "We weren't sure when was the best time to extend our invitation. The tasks posed have been... difficult." Harry looked across the courtyard, seeing a building getting its roof finished by construction workers. A little farther away, a small group of thestrals, pegasi, griffons, and hippogriffs were learning how to fly. Harry cringed when they bumped into each other and low-hanging clouds. A little past that were unicorns levitating small children's blocks with trouble. "Difficult?" Harry implored. "They have to relearn how to use their magic, I'm sure you can attest to the difficulty of such a task. Only a small fraction of your life has relied upon magic. They must relearn a lifetime of instinct, even the foals." Harry noticed Luna looked tired. In hindsight, being Princess of the Night had to be awful for midday events. "That is to say nothing of their minds. The transition was... jarring... for some. I have no shortage of nightmares to soothe and night terrors to quell." "Is there anything I can do?" Harry spoke before he realized what he said. Luna smirked down at him. One of her dark blue wings patted Harry on his back reassuringly. "Thanks for your concern, Harry. Unfortunately, there's little you can do. Precious few can touch the astral plane, and fewer still can traverse dreamscapes, much less manipulate them. Your dreams have been clear since you returned to Ponyville. For now, that is enough." "You watch out for my nightmares?" Harry asked. "You don't need to worry about me," Harry insisted. "And yet I do," Luna said softly. She stopped in front of the town hall. "We are expected inside." Luna guided Harry to follow him into the largest building, a town hall, or something similar. Inside was a circular room with an ornate door in the back, flanked by two guards. The two guards pushed open the doors for Harry and Luna to enter. Harry stepped through the threshold, and the door slammed shut behind him. Harry looked about the room. It was a grand hall, obviously made to hold many ponies. The hall also had a long table, at which several different species were seated, at least one for each species that came from Earth. Celestia sat at the head of the table on an elaborate throne, with Luna joining her side moments later. The elder sister smiled as she eyed the younger stallion. "Harry, welcome. I'm sorry about my abrupt summons, but these are time-sensitive matters," Princess Celestia said apologetically. "I think I understand, Your Highnesses," Harry responded. "Sort of." "Everybody, I formally introduce to you, Harry Potter," Princess Luna announced. Murmurs rose between the assembled species as they whispered to each other. Some just stared at Harry with looks he couldn't quite understand. Harry felt scrutinized by the attention, unsure of what was happening. Eventually, the hippogriff awkwardly coughed and removed himself from his seat. The hippogriff was silver-grey, speckled with black specks. His mane was short but well-groomed, grey with black at the tips, his tail was similarly styled. Harry felt a weird sense of déjà vu. The hippogriff stood taller than Harry, staring down with his golden orbs. Harry stepped back a bit. Why is he staring at me like that? Is he waiting for something? An idea came to Harry, pulled from his third year. The unicorn took a slow bow to the hippogriff. The hippogriff watched passively, smirked, and then returned the gesture. The smile widened as the hippogriff spoke, "You remember your greetings, Harry Potter." Harry instantly recognized the hippogriff. "Buckbeak!?" Buckbeak smirked. "Hello, Harry. I never thanked you for saving my life, now I owe you twice over." Buckbeak bowed deeply one more time. "Come, the others desire to meet their savior." Buckbeak returned to his seat and gestured to the empty one next to him. Harry followed with a little more pep in his trot. He couldn't believe it! Buckbeak was here! Harry knew the hippogriff must have been here, the others were, but he hadn't expected to meet him on equal footing— hoofing?— before now. Harry looked around the table, trying to see if the others were familiar. "Fillies and gentlecolts," Celestia grabbed everybody's attention. "Harry Potter, the stallion responsible for your return," she introduced him formally. The unicorn mare spoke up. "You know, when you said you transformed into a unicorn, I wasn't entirely convinced. I mean no offense, of course." Something about the unicorn mare conveyed familiarity. Moonpool, perhaps? But it was hard to tell, her mane was done in an elaborate braid of silvery hair and had an undertone of blue not found on Earth. "None taken," Harry responded. "It's Moonpool, right?" Moonpool nodded. "Great to see you again." "It's an honor to meet you," the griffon said. "I'm Gaius, the representative of the griffons." "Representative?" Harry queried. "Harry's arrival was rather impromptu," Luna spoke, as though that explained anything. "We haven't informed him of the island's state of affairs. He is, after all, a human child." She directed her next words at Harry. "Those seated here are representatives chosen by their species. We thought it improper to summon you before the entire delegation of representatives so soon." "Well, what changed?" Harry asked. "Envoys from the griffon and hippogriff kingdoms will be arriving in a week's time to evaluate the island's condition," Celestia revealed. "We wanted to introduce you before they arrived, which was sooner than hoped." "But why? I'm not anything special," Harry said. "We don't see it like that," the thestral representative said. "It might not seem important, but you started something that means everything to us." "I suppose that's right," Harry admitted. "Worry not, we are all learning," Buckbeak said. "But do not underestimate the respect you have here. I was elected representative because of our adventure two years ago." "Oh," Harry said, a little disbelieving. Now he was famous in two worlds. Great. Now I'm the Boy Who Saved... or something. "You mean a lot to them, Harry," Luna said. "But we must get back on topic," Celestia said. Nods and murmurs of agreement were passed around the table. "You are here for two reasons. First, to greet those who live here, many wish to see their savior. Second, my sister and I want you to reassure them that this is real. Some believe this whole island to be an illusion, it's too different from Earth for them. They need to feel welcome here." "You want me to talk to them?" Harry asked. "If you don't want this, we can arrange for your return to Ponyville," Luna replied. "I know you don't crave attention, Harry. Yet, despite our efforts, your name has spread like a wildfire amongst the inhabitants. This choice remains entirely up to you." Up to me? Harry thought. He contemplated for a moment. The task didn't sound too hard. It couldn't be that different from his first trip to Diagon Alley. These ponies were, understandably, still confused. Harry could attest to the strangeness of visiting another world. A sensation amplified by being summoned abruptly, without warning. After these thoughts had passed, Harry made up his mind. "I'll do it, Your Highness," Harry said. He didn't think that sounded too hard. "I can do that. Just smile and wave, maybe a few hoofshakes, right?" Harry looked up the table at the princesses, who nodded in agreement at his words. The representatives looked excited now. The pegasus representative breathed a sigh of relief. "Wonderfull! I'm certain the others will be thrilled to meet you." "Speaking of others, there is a crowd gathering outside," Moonpool said. Her horn glowed silver, and sparkling lights covered her eyes. Divination or scrying magic was Harry's guess. "News of your arrival has spread fast. They are very eager. You must've made quite an entrance." "Can I not be famous for ten minutes?" Harry whispered under his breath. Celestia smiled knowingly. "Then it is time Harry got to see the fruits of his goodwill." Celestia rose from her seat, everybody else following her example. She and Luna flanked the boy as he walked forward, keeping him at the front of the group. The doors outside were thrust open, revealing a crowd of ponies, griffons, and hippogriffs. Noticing the princesses, the crowd hushed and backed away from the building in awe and surprise. Many turned their eyes on Harry, and whispers of "Is that him?" and "Do you think?" passed from creature to creature. Harry stepped forward, but found his tongue unable to form words, leaving him gaping at the crowd. Harry couldn't do a thing. Before Harry could manage a word, two small fillies barged through the crowd, bumping into him. All three staggered and the crowd went silent. "Harry!" The two fillies screeched. "Aurora? Chime?" Harry sputtered, recognizing the fillies' voices. "How did you—?" "We knew," Aurora says. "We recognized you, you have the same hair, the scar, we just knew." "Well, the hair's a little different, good different," Chime said. "But we knew." "Plus, you're carrying Twilight's bag," Aurora added. Harry looked at the bag he was carrying, realizing he had accidentally grabbed the one with Twilight's cutie mark. He shook his head at the mistake. "Well, you got me there." Aurora and Chime turned around excitedly. "Hey everypony! This is our friend, Harry!" Almost instantly, the crowd pressed in. Hooves and talons were practically shoved in Harry's face to shake. It reminded him of his first trip to the Leaky Cauldron. Dozens of hoofshakes and excited faces. A few ambitious foals asked for his autograph (rather strange in hindsight, when did they learn to write?) and Harry was too stunned to refuse. The next few hours or so were filled up with each of the island's representatives officially introducing Harry to each of their represented species, an affair which was always met with cheers or applause. Almost every thestral just kept repeating how glad they were to be seen normally. The unicorns jabbered on about how great magic was. Pegasi, Hippogriffs, and Griffons said over and over again how surprised they were by their magical flight. Harry could only smile and wave, trying to comprehend that he was an even bigger celebrity on this island than in wizarding Britain. Harry tried to keep a pleasant smile up but stopped when a young mare swooned midair in response. She was alright, but that kept Harry from feeling comfortable smiling at any more mares his age for the rest of the day. Eventually, Celestia decided Harry had endured enough of this unique torture and brought him inside for a nice cup of tea on the balcony. A very nice cup of tea. She talked about her infrastructure plans for the island, and how she hoped to start a school here to get the adults jobs and the children schooling. Harry admittedly didn't pay close attention and kept looking out over the island. His eyes were repetitively grabbed by the ponies below, going about their new lives. "I can tell I don't have your full attention," Celestia said abruptly. "Sorry—" "Don't apologize. I'm a teacher and former sole monarch, I should've kept your attention better." Celestia looked over the island with Harry. Below the balcony, Harry's eyes caught on a couple of foals playing a simplified game of buckball. A little beyond them were some mares, probably their mothers, conversing under the shade of a tree. It looked very... provincial, simple, unburdened, like the daily comings and goings in Ponyville. Once Harry looked a bit farther, he could see the boat of workers leaving the island for the day. He had seen them throughout the day. Some treated it as any other job, but others were very kind to the island's inhabitants. When Celestia's teapot was empty, she decided one last piece of misery would fall upon Harry. "I saw that mare faint earlier. I'd consider that an accomplishment." Celestia smirked with a teasing gleam in her eyes. "Famous and handsome, you're going to make a lot of mares jealous one day. Just don't tell Twilight about that, she might get jealous." Harry dropped his head on the table. "This is my life now..." A bright red embarrassed flush covered his cheeks. Celestia chuckled humorously. "You should've seen Luna some thirty-odd years into our rule. I believe you'll get used to it by the third time. In any case, I think you ought to head home before I set the sun." She picked up their tea cups and floated them down the halls. Harry looked at the sun, which Celestia had started its descent to the horizon. "Yes, Your Highness," Harry said, before stifling a yawn. "If fate were different, you would've made a fine student at my school," Celestia said, "maybe even one of my personal stuents." A kind, motherly smile graced her features. "Just know one thing: we're proud of what you did." Harry felt the exhaustion ease from his bones as his spirit lifted. Proud. He liked that word, he liked it a lot. "Thank you," Harry said as he left the building. Harry trudged through the door to Twilight's library. The two residents were surprised when Harry walked through the room, heading straight for bed. "Harry!" Twilight said in surprise. "You were going to be gone all day, and didn't tell me!?" "I told Spike and left a note. Besides, Solar Flare said it was too important to wait," Harry replied tiredly. "Celestia wanted me to meet the ponies from Earth. I got to see Moonpool, her friends, Aurora and Chime, and I also got to see Buckbeak again." Twilight's mood flipped at the explanation. "Really? How was it? Are they doing better now?" "Loads better. And I got to experience my first swarn of 'fanmares'," Harry said as he flopped down on his bed. It felt so much more comfortable than normal, sleep was already creeping up on him. "Wait, fanmares?!" Twilight exclaimed in surprise. She trotted up to Harry, who was already half-asleep. She held a hoof up to shake him but decided against it. Instead, she pulled the comforter over Harry's shoulders. "We can talk tomorrow about it, if you want." "Thanks, princess" Harry murmured before drifting away to a peaceful slumber.