//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Farewell, Equestria // Story: Equestrian Education // by Dragonboy111 //------------------------------// A peaceful day in the magical land of Equestria was nothing special. The weather was scheduled to be light clouds, sunshine, a cool breeze, and a chance of rainbows if the weather team felt like it. Celestia's sun shone brightly, perfectly timed to the seasonal calendar. And few places exemplified it better than the town of Ponyville. Despite the former library being turned to cinder a week prior, the whole town looked peaceful Ponies went about their daily hustle and bustle, sharing goods or gossip merrily. The most unusual part of the town was the giant crystal tree castle that sprouted out of the ground not a week before. Six ponies and one dragon wandered the new castle's halls. One of them was Harry Potter, an unusual unicorn, if only for his lack of a cutie mark. He had pale fur with a black mane and tail that had a matching turquoise stripe. His eyes mixed both emerald to turquoise. And right now, he sat in one of the castle's eight thrones, reviewing a pile of charred items before him. During her battle with Tirek, Twilight's library was incinerated. Thankfully, the owls escaped unharmed. Unfortunately, this destroyed nearly all of Harry and Twilight's personal items. Harry's school supplies were burnt to a crisp; the family album he'd been given was reduced to a few unburnt pages, the most important contained a picture of Harry and his parents. Thankfully, most of his letters to and from Twilight survived. Of course, that was only the second worst thing that happened. Harry looked at the broken wand before him. Holly and phoenix feather, made by one of the best wandmakers on Earth, and Tirek snapped it in two. Twilight, for all her gifts, didn't know the first thing about wizard wands. Breaking it further was unacceptable. "Surely someone back on Earth can fix it?" she had said. For some reason, the words weighed heavy on Harry. Harry snapped out of his trance when Twilight asked, "You okay over there?" Harry shook his head. "Yeah, just zoned out." Harry returned his focus to the paper in front of him, and the clock. Harry had been so close to finishing Discord's puzzle clock before Tirek's attack, which set Harry's progress back. Just one or two more dates, and he could figure out the current date on Earth. If what Discord implied was right, no more than a few months could've passed, but it still made Harry nervous. Harry looked at his notes and the clock again. So my last day on Earth was the end of July. The clock stops at random points. The only correct times are when the hands freeze at two-thirty every two days, except for the third occurrence, at which point stops at noon on the third day. The backward hands measure days. If I assume when the clock freezes incorrectly the time is set to Earth then the date is... Oh... "I... I think I need to visit Celestia," Harry said. "Hey, Spike?" The little dragon looked up from his comic book. "Yeah?" "Can you send Celestia a letter for me, or is that an improper use of resources? I need some advice, and she's the only pony who can really help." "Sure, I can send her one right now." Spike pulled a quill and parchment from somewhere behind his mini-throne and looked at Harry expectantly. Harry instead took the quill and wrote the message himself then gave it back to Spike. "Sorry, this one's kind of private," Harry said apologetically. Spike shrugged, not really bothered by it. He sent the letter off and the two waited for a response. Harry wasn't expecting one soon, Celestia had an entire country to run— Spike belched out a rolled-up paper. The young dragon opened the letter. "She says you can visit, today!" Spike said. "I think you might be able to catch the train if you leave now." "Really?" Harry said, surprised. He wasn't expecting to get a reply so soon, much less one that said they could visit today. How does she have time for this, a school, and a country? "I, uh, guess I'll get going then." Twilight looked up from one of her books. "Oh, you going somewhere?" "I need to visit Celestia. I'll be back as soon as I can." Harry summoned his bag, stuffed his notes and clock in, and exited the throne room. He had a train to catch. Harry opened the castle door and almost bumped into a pony standing there. The earth pony stallion wore a blue uniform and hauled a wagon stacked tall with books. A mailpony, likely from Canterlot. The mailpony startled briefly before saying, "I have a delivery from Princess Celestia for Princess Twilight, is she here?" "Yes, just go down the main hall into the throne room, can't miss it," Harry replied. He moved around the mailpony and continued his rush to the station. Of course, the first of Twilight's mail is a stack of books. Because if there's one thing she needs more of, it's books. A few hours later, Harry walked into Canterlot Castle at the end of her day court hours, about an hour before Luna officially took over. The throne room was empty, sans the guards on the threshold and Celestia herself. The princess smiled from her throne as Harry approached. "Harry, glad to see you've arrived on time," Celestia said. "I was afraid you might miss me before I set the sun." "Glad I could be here," Harry replied with a small bow. "Now, you wanted to talk about going home, yes?" Celestia asked, holding up Harry's letter. "Yeah, home," Harry muttered. "I figured out Discord's clock. I'm not the best at math, but I've counted how long I've got until Hogwarts starts again. Two weeks," Harry said. The words still didn't feel real on his tongue. Two weeks. "I have two weeks to decide if I want to return to Hogwarts. I assumed I would, one day. But... now part of me is afraid that I'll never come back." At first, Equestria had been a home away from home for Harry. But ever since Twilight's coronation, all thoughts of Earth were put on hold. Despite the instability and chaos, adventures in Equestria were... fun. Hogwarts was a nice place, but next to Equestria, it didn't feel like it used to. At Hogwarts, he was less of a freak than at the Dursleys, but in Equestria, Harry felt like he had a future. Everything was so confusing now. He had so many friends here. How could he give that up? Celestia must've noticed Harry's indecisive expression. "I understand the difficulties of being pulled between two worlds. Long ago, I too walked into other worlds with my mentor, Star Swirl the Bearded." Celestia's comment caught Harry off guard. Celestia previously seemed to understand the concept of other worlds, but to have walked them with Star Swirl? That was practically ancient history! Celestia walked up to Harry with a sad smile. Her posture, though regal as ever, radiated an aura of tiredness. "I haven't told anypony this in centuries. Star Swirl used to be fascinated with other worlds. When I visited one of these worlds, I met and befriended a stallion there. We grew closer as time passed; he was... special. I told myself not to get attached, as the distance could only bring pain; it proved true. I never got to say goodbye. When Twilight first brought you here, I put my worries aside when I saw how happy you two made each other. But fate has other plans for us. You are reaching a point of no return. If you stay too long, you will not be able to continue your studies at Hogwarts." "Earth has a lot of bad memories and a few good ones. If I don't want to stay, I'd still want to say goodbye to what few friends I have there," Harry said. "That is to be expected. Saying goodbye is a difficult process." "The more I think about it, Equestria feels like my home. I'm not even sure why I want to go to Hogwarts anymore. It used to be a way to be myself, away from my 'family'. But I can be myself even in Equestria without the 'Boy Who Lived' stuff. The only thing left there are my friends." Harry sighed, realizing his dilemma. "That being said, I feel responsible for my old world." "Perhaps there is something you should know about your old world," Celestia said. Harry tilted his head in confusion. "Huh?" "The day I brought you here, I visited Dumbledore," said Celestia."I might have frightened the old man; he reminds me of Star Swirl in a few ways. In any case, Dumbledore told me something about your world, Harry, something he kept hidden. He wished for you to never know, but I will not withhold the information if you ask. You have a right to decide if you wish to hear it." Celestia lifted her head and magically closed the doors to the throne room. "There is a prophecy." "There's a prophecy, about me?" Harry asked, dumbfounded. "Two, actually," Celestia answered. "I want to give you to option to hear them. A warning, however. Prophecies are not to be taken lightly, but never to have absolute faith in. I will tell you only if you wish to know." Harry stopped moving, going deep into thought. If there was a prophecy about Voldemort, it likely involved Harry. It could say anything, from how Voldemort could win to how he could lose. That knowledge could prove a powerful tool against Voldemort if used correctly. And, yet, Harry was reminded (as weird as it sounded) of the Darin Do novels Rainbow Dash owned. Villains tried their hardest to avoid the prophecy or destiny, only to meet it on the way there. And those weren't mere stories, Daring Do was a real pony. What if Harry didn't like the prophecy? He would spend the rest of his days trying to avoid it. What if he sealed his fate? On the other hoof, merely knowing the prophecy could change its outcomes. And that was to say nothing of if Harry's newfound Equestrian magic changed things. Equestria might have busted the prophecy completely. Harry paused as he made his decision. "There's nothing specific in it? Names or dates?" he asked. "None." "Then I don't want to know," Harry decided. Celestia smiled like she knew he would say that. "May I ask why?" "It doesn't matter whether the prophecy is true or not," Harry said. "I can't unhear it. It's better to leave my free will unbothered. My actions will be my own." "A wise choice," Celestia said. "But, knowing of the prophecy, will you return to your home world?" "I think so..." Harry said slowly. "When I left, Voldemort was without a body. I guess I have to know what's happened. I could start packing my bags tomorrow," Harry said, feeling a little lost. "I can figure out where to go from there." "You have my blessing to go if ever you are ready," Celestia responded. "However, you sound uncertain of your decision," Celestia noted. "Perhaps you would like a second opinion? Luna's night court hours are frequently open." "I... I think a second opinion would be appreciated," Harry said. "Not like packing will take long, anyways. Just a cloak, a key, an amulet, a busted wand, maybe my broom, and whatever I can pull together." Harry chuckled mirthlessly. "Guess I could go to Gringotts first. But I'd like to talk with Luna." The princess nodded. She removed herself from her throne, told Harry to wait, and left the throne room. Harry waited a few minutes before the afternoon sunlight faded quickly. Celestia and Lune must be swapping posts, Harry thought. Now that I think about it, Luna's duties are at night, but most treaties and events are during the day. How does she manage a sleep schedule? Silver beams of moonlight trickled in, giving the room an ethereal glow. The throne looked completely different in the dim light. Harry glanced back at the throne room doors, waiting for Luna's arrival. Harry yawned, increasingly aware of the late hour. Harry stood upright, but let his eyelids drift close. He'd hear if Luna walked in, and there was no way he'd fall asleep standing up. Harry awoke to somepony nudging him. "Harry Potter, thou should be more cognizant of sleeping whilst standing upright, least of all in our presence." Harry jolted awake. Princess Luna stood above him with a teasing smirk plastered on her face. Luna held a hoof in front of Harry's face before he could talk. "There is no need for an explanation, young Harry," she said gently. Luna's smirk broke when she giggled lightly. "Though I was surprised to find a stallion standing asleep in my throne room, I'm not offended. It was certainly one of many firsts. Truth be told, I was rather worried. Have thou not been sleeping well?" "I thought you were looking over my dreams," Harry replied. "Not as of late," Luna said, looking embarrassed. "Though you suffered worse than many at Tirek's hands, there are many who responded worse." Luna shook her head slowly before rubbing her temple. "And to think, I solved the last night terror on the Island of the Returned." "I'm sorry to hear that," Harry said. "And you're right, I haven't been sleeping well. I feel like I could've done more to help against Tirek. That day keeps coming back in my dreams. I keep seeing things that didn't happen. Sometimes I win, others I don't. The worst ones are where—" Harry shuddered and cleared those thoughts. He didn't want to remember those. The nightmares of Tirek were bad, but they were just dreams, nothing more. Dreams shouldn't hurt. "Dreams can be very painful, I assure you," Luna said. "I will see if I can help yours later." Harry cringed, realizing he said that aloud. "Sorry," he apologized. Harry focused on what he wanted to talk about here. He summoned his notes about how much time was left and laid them before Luna. "I wanted to talk about this. With Discord's clock, I've learned I have less than two weeks to decide if I should return to my world. I've asked Celestia for her advice, but I want yours too." Luna picked up Harry's papers and read them over before setting them back in his bag. "I am touched that you feel the need for my advice, even though you already have my sister's." Luna placed a hoof on Harry's shoulder and beamed down at him. "But I think we both know that this is a question only you can answer. "You're looking to wiser people for answers you don't have, as I once did with my sister. But at the end of the day, this is a decision only Harry Potter can make, not Luna or Celestia. Know that, whatever you decide, you will have our support." Harry said nothing, shuffling his hooves in the pale light. Luna was right, of course. This was ultimately his choice, he couldn't let anypony else make it for him. Harry didn't have to go back, but he felt he needed to. As much as he loved his new home, Earth would require at least a goodbye. His education at Hogwarts couldn't arm him to fight Voldemort, especially with the inconsistent staffing. But maybe he could do some there, or make sure everything was in good hands. "Then I've decided," Harry said. "I'll go back to Earth." Luna nodded at him, and the edges of her mouth turned upwards. "If that is you decision, then perhaps you should wake up and tell your friends tomorrow." Harry froze. "Wake up?" he echoed. "You mean I'm asleep? Since when?" Harry looked at his sides and again was shocked to see he had wings. He only had wings in his dreams! How did I not see those before!? Luna chuckled again, probably at the look on his face. She lifted her horn, and the throne room quickly dissolved into the dark starry night sky of Luna's dreamscape. The throne room had just been a figment of Harry's imagination, a very vivid one at that. Luna tapped the "floor", causing the stars to ripple outward. "Since you fell asleep in the throne room. I thought it best if you rested and we converse in your dreams. You are, as you said, struggling with sleep." Luna looked into the distance of her dreamscape, which started to shift with the images of other ponies, other places, and other dreams. "Your body is resting beside my throne as we speak. I'll have you moved to a guest room and let you rest. You can head back to Ponyville tomorrow. Is that agreeable?" Harry yawned. He didn't think he could yawn in a dream. Maybe he was tried? "I think that'll be nice," Harry said. "Then enjoy a dreamless sleep," Luna said as the dreamscape faded away into a comforting darkness. Harry woke up the next morning on a plush bed in Canterlot Castle. Well, "morning" was a loose word for eleven o'clock. He got a chance to say a brief goodbye to Princess Luna before taking the train back to Ponyville. The town was the same as always, so nothing abnormal happened in his absence. Harry entered Twilight's castle and found Twilight in the main hall. She was writing in a large book with a familiar sun-shaped mark. "Hey, Twilight," greeted Harry. "Are you writing a new journal?" Twilight greeted him back and held the book out, showing off the cover. Harry now recognized the mark as Sunset Shimmer's cutie mark. The book vibrated once, and then new words were written on the page. Harry's eyebrows furrowed. He didn't have a good track record with magical books, especially not ones that could write themselves. "I know what you're thinking, and no, it's not evil," said Twilight. "It's one of Sunset's journals. This one is connected to the one she has in the mirror world. That mailpony you sent in had the book with him. Sunset was trying to reach out for us." "Let me guess, something went wrong?" said Harry with a rhetorical undertone. "Apparently, the mirror world was used to contain some old evils by Star Swirl," said Twilight. "Sunset found them, and I had to go fix it while you were in Canterlot. I can tell you the whole story if you want." Harry nodded and asked for her to continue. Twilight spent the next half-hour talking about her adventure in the mirror world. Sunset was doing much better now, having made a complete turnabout against her former ways. Twilight's human friends (Harry still hadn't gotten over the fact that they were identical to Twilight's equestrian friends) had befriended Sunset. Some creatures called sirens were stirring up trouble in the mirror world, causing anger in people who listened to their songs. Twilight and Spike went over to help fix the problem. In a bizarre twist of fate, Twilight was unable to make a magic spell to counter the sirens' songs. She eventually came to the realization the sirens were feeding off their conflict and Equestrian magic. Twilight then said that Sunset was able to help provide the extra magic needed to defeat the sirens. Harry was rather surprised, not expecting a pseudo-seventh Element to appear, much less in Sunset of all people. Harry couldn't help but look at the throne the castle had "gifted" him. Maybe he wasn't much of an outlier after all? "I just got back before you arrived," Twilight placed her book down, "but I know you would've wanted to go." "Probably best you went alone," Harry muttered. "I probably wouldn't have done much, seeing as I can't do magic." "I'm sure you would've found a way, you always do," Twilight replied. She read Sunset's message and scribbled down a reply before closing the book. "So, how'd your meeting with Celestia go?" Harry explained the situation in detail. He had less than two weeks before school started, and he hadn't decided if he wanted to continue his wizarding education. "So we have less than two weeks?" reiterated Twilight. "We?" asked Harry. "Of course. You don't think I'm letting you go alone? I might be too educated for Hogwarts, but until you decide what you want to do I'm not letting you out of my sight," Twilight said. "But you're the Princesses of Friendship; you can't abandon your duties," Harry protested. Twilight couldn't just drop everything for him! "I know, but this is important, too. Besides, Equestria handled itself for thousands of years without me, a few days won't matter. Discord said that time is experienced faster in whatever universe you're in. If you decide to go to school, I'll head home," Twilight said. She pulled out her traveling bags. "Now, do you need anything?" Harry patted the bags he was already carrying. "I can pack almost everything for the trip today. If I return to Hogwarts, I'll have to visit Diagon Alley again. Sorry, I know you hate it," Harry said. He could clearly remember Twilight's reaction to seeing the dragon-hide gloves. She'd nearly heaved her stomach out. If she heard about the sale of unicorn horns she'd probably faint. "Are we going to bring Spike with us?" "I don't think we should. Diagon Alley might be too much." Twilight shuddered. "Yeah, no arguments there," Harry murmured. He couldn't imagine the fear of seeing your own species' skin used for gloves. Spike was best kept away from all that. "Celestia can send us whenever we're ready." A metaphorical lightbulb lit up above Twilight's head. "Why don't we use my portal?" "I'm sorry, your what?" Harry asked. Since when did Twilight have a portal? "Did I not mention that?" Twilight told Harry to follow her. She led Harry through her castle halls to the third door to the right, her library. The room was full of books, no surprise there. What was surprising was the large mirror in the back of the room. A large apparatus was built behind the device, with several items attached to it. A book with a familiar sun-shaped cutie mark sat atop the machine. "When did you have time to build this?" Harry asked. "Ten minutes after you left. I might've forgotten to mention I built this to travel to Sunset. We can ue it to go to Earth." "Wait wait wait! You mean you built an interdimensional portal in less than an hour?! That's incredible!" Harry exclaimed. "Thanks," Twilight blushed. Harry nudged her shoulder with his own. "You need to fix that blush. Once we get to Earth, it's going to be nonstop compliments with how much cool magic you can do. We have two weeks, so a few days to plan should be all right. I need to say goodbye." Twilight's friends all wanted to say goodbye. Despite Harry's math (double-checked by Twilight) that they would experience time faster on Earth, their friends were still teary-eyed with their goodbyes. Spike, understandably, wanted to come along, but Twilight shut him down quickly. Exactly four days later, all eight of the group assembled in Twilght's castle to wish them well. "Do try to stay safe, won't you? You don't have the Elements this time around," Rarity said as she threw a few items into Twilight's bags. "I still wish we could go along. I don't see why we can't, this isn't Sunset's world," Rainbow Dash said. "We don't know if anything's changed on the other side," Harry said. "If everything's going right, Voldemort hasn't regained his power, body, or followers. The two of us will draw less attention than all eight, just in case." "Don't mean we have to like it," Applejack said. "I know, neither do I," Twilight said. "But this is something the two of us need to do. But, hey, you'll barely notice a thing. We'll be gone for a few days, tops," Twilight said as she slipped on her bags. She looked over to Harry, who had finished packing his saddle bag. Twilight thought the expansion charms she and Harry learned were impressive, though somewhat unstable. But that meant the both of them were packed. "You ready to go, Harry?" "We can go whenever you say," Harry replied. He tapped the mirror's solid surface curiously. "So, how does the portal work? Is there a switch of some sort to flip? How does it find my world?" "Oh, it's pretty simple actually," Twilight said. She pointed a hood at the large blackboard behind her with various magical formulae and proofs. "The portal to Sunset relied on two books linked between our worlds. To find yours, I just used the summoning spell. The apparatus will then reach to the other side and open a stable portal through this mirror. Once we get there, I can reopen the portal whenever I need to. I'll admit, it was harder to finish it without a proper anchor, but by utilizing the law of—" A blue hoof was nearly shoved in Twilight's mouth. "Okay, okay, I'm going to stop ya there, princess, because the only thing I'm hearing is a load of boring," Rainbow Dash said. "Thank you," Twilight heard Harry whisper to the pegasus. Twilight turned on Harry. "What, was I being boring? I just made a portal, and that's boring?!" Twilight scolded her friend. "Not at all! It just kinda, you know..." Harry waved a hoof over his head, trying to send a nonverbal message. Twilight tilted her head in confusion. "It's way above my level of magic." Twilight scoffed. Surely it couldn't be that hard? "Well, you're never too young to learn for the sake of learning. I'll teach you on the way." "Lucky me," Harry quipped. Harry waved goodbye to their friends. "I can't wait to see you all again," he said before facing the mirror. Twilight walked to stand next to Harry. "You ready?" she asked, nudging him gently. Harry took a deep breath. "No. But, we can't always be prepared for what life throws at us." Hedwig and Owlowiscious flew the portal. "Okay, they were ready. Let's do this," Harry said before creeping toward the mirror. Twilight watched as his hoof was gently put in and pulled out, testing the waters as it was. Then, Harry took a deep breath and plunged himself into the mirror, vanishing. Twilight jumped in immediately after. The space between the worlds was again a swirling void of colors, but much nicer on the body as it changed. Twilight felt her human term returning to her. The portal spat out Twilight very gently, allowing her to get on her feet as she landed. She orientated herself and familiarized herself with her surroundings. She was standing in a crooked, dimly lit alleyway. Just past it was a larger pathway, bustling with humans in robes. Harry stood near the end of the alley, with the two owls perched on his shoulders. He looked back at Twilight with a smirk. Owlowiscious jumped to Twilght's shoulder. "Well, we're back to Diagon Alley," she said. "Um, where am I?" a voice asked from behind the two. Harry and Twilight turned around to see who spoke. A girl stood further in the alley, with yellow skin, flaming yellow-and-red hair, and cyan eyes. The three of them shared nervous glances before Harry and Twilight shouted. "Sunset!?"