//------------------------------// // Chapter 29 // Story: Tales of a Wizard: Flesh Masks // by Applechip //------------------------------// Scars can tell you a lot about person, or pony. Almost every scar comes with some personal story of adventure, whether it be mundane or grandiose. The nature of a scar can give you a hint of how terrible or costly that adventure was, and of how deeply it impacted the scar bearer. Of course, not all scars are purely physical, and even those that are, aren’t necessarily just damaged flesh. Or at least that was my thinking as a sharp pain coursed through several new nerve endings I had acquired. “Hell’s bells, Rainbow. Would you please stop messing with them!?” I shouted and craned my head around to peer over my back as I calmly trotted my way down one of Canterlot’s many hallways. Rainbow Dash, ever the active and curious creature that she was, casually hovered in the air directly to my left. While her wings beat a steady rhythm through the air, disrupting and displacing my grey hide as the wind shifted, the hooves of her forelegs reached out and quested over one my feathery new appendages. Her hooves gripped at the grey feathered wing that had suddenly, and painfully, erupted from my side less than half an hour before. She manually extended the large wing out to its full length beside me; the one wing stretching to around two thirds the length of my body and bobbed slightly with each step I made. Her hardened hooves poked and prodded the sensitive feathers as she studied the wing. One particular jab lifted a primary feather up and out of alignment with the others. The resulting flood of sharp pain from the hypersensitive nerves caused my wing to automatically tense and jerk away from the cyan pegasus. You could actually hear the dull thump as the wing reflexively folded and pressed itself as hard as it could against my side. Rainbow Dash offered me an apologetic smile and landed on the ground to trot next to me. “Sorry about that, but I need to make sure you’re flight ready if you’re going to be flying around with us anytime soon,” she said with an over exaggerated gesture behind her at the small entourage accompanying us down the hallway. Following closely behind us were the rest my relatively small group of friends. Pinkie, Applejack, Michael, Rarity, and Fluttershy all trotted along with us, each of their respective eyes undercut with heavy sleep deprived bags. Only Pinkie and Rainbow Dash seemed to be moving with any amount of pep in their step. Immediately to my right, Twilight Sparkle kept pace with me, limping slightly every time she put pressure on her left foreleg. To compensate for this, she leaned heavily against my right side for support, sandwiching my new right wing between us. Her eyes, much like those of her friends, drooped from exhaustion and her head hung a little lower than usual as we walked. More than once I caught her eyeing the appendage she was leaning against with great interest; though whether she was intrigued by the magical workings involved in creating it, or if she simply saw it as her personal mobile feathery pillow, I wasn’t sure. Directly in front of my friends and me, both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna lead the way through the castle corridors. Both of the princesses were still completely lacking any of their usual finery and a decent amount of their energy. Celestia held her head high and strode with the royal air she usually did, even if the occasional ragged patch of fur undercut the illusion a bit. Luna, on the other hoof, abandoned the illusion of royalty entirely. Luna slumped through the hallway, constantly tripping every few steps and just barely keeping pace with her sister. It was quite clear that the previous night’s turmoil and the energy spent rescuing Twilight were finally catching up with the Lunar Princess. Aside from all the ponies that I personally knew and somehow managed to befriend, we were practically surrounded by Canterlot Royal guards. Almost two dozen guards containing an even blend of Earth Ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasi, covered us from all possible angles. Several heavily armed and armored ponies moved swiftly in front of the Princesses while several more lagged behind us in the wide hallway. Above us, the ones Rainbow was gesturing at, were the crossbow armed pegasi of the guards. Every single one of the armored ponies cast their respective eyes around everything that could possibly be surveyed. After only just getting their leader back relatively unharmed, I assumed it would be quite a while before they allowed her to move about unprotected. Upon closer inspection of our rather large guard escort, I noticed something a little odd; the division of power among the guards were way off. Those leading the way, and closest to the princesses, were garbed in the standard royal armor emblazoned with either a bright sun or a blue moon, identifying them as Celestia and Luna’s personal guard. The rest of them, those flagging behind us and every single one of the pegasi fluttering near the stone ceiling above us, were members of my unit. Each of them bore armor, lightweight or otherwise, that was decorated with a silver pentacle on their chest plates or fabric. Every now and then I caught one of these members of my vampire hunters casting a glance back over me before returning to scanning for threats, as though reassuring themselves that I was still there. “And I don’t know if you know anything about flying after that fancy magic of yours, but these feathers are a complete mess,” Rainbow snapped, shattering me out of my reverie. “The primaries are at all the wrong angles and the down is all matted!” she finished with a short jab my left wing, eliciting a stab of pain from the hypersensitive nerves and a reflexive yelp from me. “Rainbow, seriously stop. Those things aren’t just constructs anymore,” I groaned as my left wing fidgeted about and automatically resettled itself at my side. In the back of my mind I noted that the unwanted stimuli caused the downy feathers along the bone structure to puff up in exactly the same manner a pigeon might puff out its chest to ward off rivals. “I don’t know if this is how all pegasi are supposed to feel, but these things feel like they’re being bucked at the slightest touch.” “You might’ve been able to figure that out when he started screaming back in his room, Rainbow,” Applejack piped in through a small yawn. “I was having such a nice dream too. I was back on my farm rocking in my chair and sipping some of my favorite cider.” “You try having two whole limbs spring out of your back in the span of a few minutes! It’s not exactly the easiest thing to just take in stride,” I snapped at the orange farm mare. I was a bit ruder than I should’ve been, true, but I was sore. I get grumpy when I’m sore. “Okay fine, I know it hurt at the time, but they look perfectly fine now; in desperate need of preening, but healthy.” Rainbow gave me a gentle nudge just under my left wing. “Come on Harry, give ‘em a flap.” “Ms. Dash, please,” Celestia chimed in, turning her head slightly as we trotted. “It’s a whole new piece of anatomy for Mr. Dresden. His brain must reconfigure itself to work the new muscles and filter out the meaningless data from his new nerves.” She craned her head back around to her front. “It will likely be quite some time before he’s capable of any kind of flight.” To my right Twilight let out a wide yawn before leaning a little harder into my right. “Excuse me Princess, but how would you know about that? I thought Princess Luna created the original transformation spell.” “I did,” Luna answered groggily, her head swept to the side so she could peer at us with one heavy lidded eye. Right beside her, her sister sported a massive grin across her muzzle. “I did originally make the transformation spell that has since been taught to only the most powerful spell weavers; but I needed a test subject. My sister wound up taking on several different forms before I perfected the spell.” Luna’s eye temporarily regained focus and narrowed at the rainbow-maned pegasus. “And why are you of all ponies trying to goad him on. I spent the last of my energy mending your considerable wounds, and even then I couldn’t repair everything. It’s only by my sister’s insistence that you’re even with us now.” Fluttershy, now devoid of her field medic supplies and overcoat, galloped up to Rainbow’s left and cast a scrutinizing eye over her friend. “Just say the word, Princess. I’d be more than happy to take her back to her room and get her the proper treatment she needs.” Both of Rainbow’s wings twitched agitatedly and almost unconsciously settled back over her barrel to try and cover as much of herself as she could. The majority of her body, which her wings could not even hope to conceal, was covered in an extensive network of dark lines. Undoubtedly the result of Luna’s rapid healing magic, the multitude of claw marks that had reduced Rainbow to a study of equine musculature had all been sealed together. Where each cut had been healed, was a slightly darker line of cyan fur where the flesh had been imperfectly repaired. Only Rainbow’s face and muzzle seemed to escape the effects of the vampires’ claws. Though compared to the mess of red stained bandages she was before, it was a welcome change.  “That won’t be necessary, Fluttershy,” Celestia responded with a small shake of her head. “It’s important that you all are here for this debriefing. Though I would be remiss if Ms. Dash decided to overtax herself on my word.” Rainbow heaved a short sigh and shook her head in defeat. “Alright, alright, I’ll behave.” Celestia offered the pegasus a small smile before following her guards around a sharp corner. “Ah, you will not need to exert yourself much longer, Ms. Dash. We are here.” My friends and I all followed Celestia around the corner and soon found ourselves face to face a very familiar set of large wooden double doors. Before I could place where exactly I remembered these doors from, Celestia’s and Luna’s personal guards stepped forward to push open the doors and hold them for us. Beyond the open doors lay the royal dining hall we had met a couple times before. The long central table stretched for most of the length of the room, and were surrounded with what appeared to be large cushions as opposed to their usual stools. The moment the double doors opened, the royal guards not holding the doors and the armed pegasi above us wordlessly dove through the opened passage. In short order, several of the guards took up positions around the table while the pegasi disappeared above the doorframe. Shortly after the pegasi vanished, a gruff ‘clear’ called out from somewhere in the room beyond. Celestia and Luna paid them little mind and simply strolled, or staggered in Luna’s case, into the dining room and towards the table. The rest of us hesitated for a few moments, casting our eyes around the ornate dining hall and the guards snapping to attention around the long table, before following the Princesses inside. “Ma’am,” Michael spoke up from somewhere behind me. I jumped a little and pulled a double take to try and pinpoint the large pony that had blended so well within the pentacle emblazoned guards. “Are you sure this is the best place for a debriefing? Shouldn’t the heads of your army be kept informed?” Celestia paused just as she reached the table and craned her head around back to us. “And so they will be, Mr. Carpenter.” The Solar Princess shifted her balance slightly and swept a foreleg across the decorated guards surrounding the table. “These soldiers are not merely guards, they are the commanding officers of the majority of our forces. After we are done here, they have orders to spread the tactical information of what we discuss down through the command tree.” Celestia set her hoof back on the ground and turned towards the nearest cushion. “That and I feel that we could all use a bit of a more casual environment, and some brunch.” “Brunch?! Make way!” a familiarly shrill voice cried out from right behind me. Before I could turn to try and ask the pony to stop making my ears bleed, Rainbow and I were quite rudely shoved aside as Rarity rushed ahead of us to join the princesses. Twilight bounced off of my side and steadied herself again a few feet away, her left foreleg folded against her barrel. “Well, somepony is eager for some semblance of normalcy,” she said with a small chuckle. “Normalcy is overrated,” Pinkie chirped as she bounced along after Rarity, taking advantage of the hole she had made between me and Rainbow. I quickly righted myself and followed the mares through the large double doors, while trying unsuccessfully to stifle a combination of a chuckle and yawn. I paused for a moment as Twilight limped her way to once again rest herself against my right wing as we walked. The remainder of my friends followed closely behind us into the grand dining hall, and towards the long table at the center. One by one, each of my friends and the princesses found their ways to the pouf of their choice and plopped themselves down on top of it. Princess Luna half sat half collapsed into her usual place at the end of the table nearest the double doors. Celestia, perhaps trying to reinforce the informality of the debrief, or perhaps just wanting to look after her sister, forwent her seat on the opposite side of the table and just plopped down on the corner spot next to Luna. Fluttershy tentatively found her seat directly next to Celestia, and was swiftly followed by Michael, AJ, and Rarity who took their respective places on the next poufs down the table. Twilight and I made our way over to the unoccupied side of the table, supporting each other the whole way. We paused at the first available pouf, just to Luna’s left and directly opposite of Celestia, and I carefully set Twilight down on her chosen seat. She muttered a soft “thank you” as she sat, my right wing automatically extending out against her to keep her balanced. As soon as she was stable on her pouf, I plopped myself down on the seat next to her. Both of my new wings flapped out slightly and shifted the air around me to balance myself as I went to sit down, and then tucked themselves back against my sides. Behind me, Rainbow and Pinkie passed by me and took their seats to my left. It was only after I sat down at the table, that I bothered to look at what was on it. Numerous trays of almost every food a pony could want spread across the table in front of us. Large plates of steamed carrots, diced apples, lightly roasted hay, various baked goods, and multiple pitchers of what smelled like punch greeted my senses. Almost immediately at noticing this wonder, my stomach reared its metaphorical head and bellowed its demand that I seize and consume as much of that food as physically possible. I unconsciously began shifting restlessly around in my seat and stared unblinkingly at the food like I was a dog at the dinner table, all the while my stomach growled loud enough to be clearly heard by everypony at the table, and possibly the rest of the castle. Celestia cocked an eyebrow at me and smiled slightly before she swept a foreleg across the table in front of her. “Please, everypony, eat your fill. I know that you all must be terribly hungry.” “You don’t have to tell me twice!” Rainbow cried out in joy beside me, and reached her hoof out for the nearest plate of roasted hay. Before her blue foreleg could grab hold of the plate however, it became seized in a red aura and zipped across the table. The plate of hay, along with at least four other trays wreathed in red energy, flew across the ornate wood and skidded to a halt in front of me. What happened next, was what I could only describe as base feral instinct taking over. The roaring dragon in my belly overrode my central nervous system and pulled on my strings to force me to dive my open maw forward. My head dipped forward and practically buried itself inside the small pile of hay, rapidly munching and swallowing as it went. My forelegs reached forward and blindly grabbed at the food adorning the four other plates. Once seized, my forelegs scooped the food from them to the swiftly shrinking pile on the plate directly in front of me. My ravenous hunger even seized control over my wings and extended them out onto the table around me, creating a feathery barrier around me and the food the dragon in my belly had claimed. For several more minutes than I’d care to say, the feral beast had its way. With each seasoned apple, steamed carrot, and frosted cupcake that found its way into my gullet, the monster’s temper lessened. Eventually the rampaging dragon inside me became docile as it got its claws in its new hoard, and began converting it into precious energy. Freshly freed from whatever temporary insanity that had claimed me, I blinked open my eyes and very slowly lifted my view up from the table, dreading what I was about to find. The immediate image to greet me, was the mess I had made. Five large trays, all emptied of any and all food littered the table around my head. Beyond them were the barricade of feathers my wings had become, the feathers only slightly disturbed by the occasional piece of random straw. Dreading what I was about to see, I very slowly flexed the new muscles controlling my wings, and lifted them from the table back to fold against my sides. Slack jaws and wide open eyes stared at me from every possible angle. Almost every single one of my friends sat on their respective poufs, with completely untouched plates laying forgotten in front of them. Rarity in particular stared at me at with a mortified expression upon her face, as though she couldn’t quite believe what she just saw. Trying to escape Rarity’s gaze, I cast my eyes up above me and found that even the pegasi guards, now perched on the rafters far above us, paused in their restless surveying to give me perplexed glances. The only ponies not stunned into complete silence, or in Rarity’s case shooting me a death glare, were the Princesses and Pinkie. Celestia sat across the table and offered a calm knowing smile. Pinkie, of course, stayed true to her usual personality and had acquired her own small horde of baked goods; apparently interpreting my actions as some kind eating contest challenge. Luna, bless her heart, simply stared down at her empty plate, her eyes blinking slightly out of sync with one another. I’m not sure if she was even aware anything had happened at all. “Mr. Dresden!” Rarity practically screamed, violently breaking the uncomfortable silence that had befallen the table. “You are dining in the Royal Dining Hall, with both princesses at the table! Even if this is supposed to be an informal meeting, some decorum is expected!” she said with a straight face as Pinkie literally buried her head in a cake only feet away. “Also, while I may not understand how, you now bear the horn and wings of Equestrian royalty. Most ponies would expect you to act accordingly.” “Oh calm down, Rarity,” Applejack said with a slight chuckle. “He’s just got a bit of an appetite. You should see Big Mac after a long day of apple bucking.” Michael let out a short barking laugh before reaching for the nearest tray of sliced apples. “Ms. Rarity, I’m afraid it will take a bit more than a pair of wings to make Harry willingly bow to the will of nobility.” To my right, Twilight leaned closer to me and placed a purple hoof on my side, drawing my attention back over her. While Rarity was more concerned about how I should have looked, Twilight looked at me with deep concern in her large eyes. “Harry, are you sure you’re okay?” Her eyes flicked from my face down to the wing under her hoof and back again. I could clearly see something clunk into place behind her eyes as her expression turned quizzical. “How much energy do you think those spirits drained from you?” “Very good, Twilight.” Celestia spoke up from across the table, cutting short the gentle assurances that were forming in my throat. “You always were such a quick study.” The alabaster alicorn cast her eyes around the table towards Rarity, whose indignation towards me vanished on the spot. “Please forgive Mr. Dresden. Transformation can be extremely taxing on a pony’s body, especially when performed in rapid succession like he was subject to last night and this morning.” Celestia’s head turned upward and her eyes slid out of focus as she delved into her massive ocean of memories. “I remember shortly after Luna finally perfected her transformation spell, and changed me back from the gryphon form she’d been practicing, I wound up diving head first into the castle’s pantry.” A round of raucous laughter burst from the ponies around the table. Pinkie in particular fell back into her pouf and giggled like a mad mare. Even Rarity sported a small good natured smile, somewhat offset by the occasional disdainful glance at my straw and crumb laden wings. Soon enough though, the moment passed and everypony began either filling their plates or eating their well-deserved fill; all except one overly concerned purple unicorn and the mentally unstable wizard she’d chosen to tie herself to. “Twilight, I swear I’m fine,” I consoled the mare giving me a continual worried look. “The spirits’ residual energy has dissipated, I’m no longer screaming, and best of all,” I leaned back a bit and rested a foreleg on my moderately firm belly, “I am now very full of comfort food.” “And you’re gonna need it, big guy,” Rainbow cried to my left, drawing my attention back around the table. “As soon as your brain sorts out how to use those new wings of yours, I’m going to put you through so many of those same flight drills I went through. I’m going to-hrrmmph!” Rainbow’s overzealous exclamation was abruptly cut short as she slapped a hoof against my back, and almost immediately got smacked in the face by my left wing. Rainbow jerked away from me, spitting grey down and flailing her forelegs to force my wing to fold back against my side. Before long she regained her posture and shot me a look of mild irritation, undercut somewhat by a small smile. “We’re going to have to work on those reflexes,” she said with a quirked eyebrow. I let out a small rolling chuckle and flashed Rainbow a wide grin. “How about we put a pin in that.” “What?” Twilight asked, pausing in her motion of reaching for an apple. “I know you can’t fly yet, but you really should take some proper lessons when you can.” “And his royal highness is not gonna find a better flight teacher than me,” Rainbow added as she puffed out her chest. “First, not royalty,” I replied with a not-so-subtle roll of my eyes. “Second, and more importantly, I don’t cherish the idea of having to split my attention between my wings and my magic while a hundred feet from the ground; even if I am technically built for it now.” “You didn’t seem to have an issue with that yesterday!” Pinkie cried out, only just then managing to eat her way out of her own personal cake. “I wasn’t exactly the one piloting at the time, Pinkie,” I responded to the excitable mare. “Before I would ever willingly fly unassisted, I would need a team of ponies walking around beneath me with a massive cushion. Because, knowing my luck, my wings would lock up as soon as I got up high enough to fall to my death.” Twilight sputtered to my right as she tried to swallow a daffodil sandwich and chuckle at the same. “It’s nice to see that you have such a high opinion of your abilities,” she said as soon as she finished dislodging the mess of bread and flowers from her throat. “Hey, my paranoia is well earned through several documented near death experiences.” I nudged her flank with a hoof, “I daresay you’ve probably earned some excess paranoia of your own.” “Actually, I wanted to talk a little about that, please,” whispered a quiet, albeit firm voice from directly across the table from me. Fluttershy looked up from her barely touched plate of mixed vegetables to peer around the table with wide eyes. “I-I am happy that we can all still laugh and talk, but the Red King is gone now.” The yellow pegasus turned her hopeful eyes to the white alicorn beside her. “Are we done yet? Can we go home?” A pregnant pause filled the room as Celestia, who up till this point had been observing our interactions with a contented smile, carefully considered the worried mare next to her. After an uncomfortable span of time, Celestia heaved a short sigh and pushed her half-finished pastry away from her. “Yes, and no,” she finally answered to the table at large, and the guard captains beyond. “In the name of this debrief, I have both good news, and bad.” “Could we start with the good first then?” Rarity spoke up. “I still have a headache from recent events and could use some good news before it gets any worse.” Celestia nodded her head and offered us all a weary smile. “Well, as I’m sure you all are already aware, the immediate Red Court threat has been eliminated.” Celestia raised a foreleg and waved her hoof in my direction. “Thanks to the effort of Mr. Dresden, the Red King is no more, and the entire Red Court command structure died with him.” “But not all of ‘em died,” Applejack interjected. “After the Red King went down the rest of the vampires turned tail and ran.” “Correct,” Celestia responded with a short nod. “As we speak, the remainder of Canterlot’s forces are combing the forests around the Red Court’s stronghold for any remnants of the vampires.” Celestia placed her hoof on a piece of parchment that rested next to her plate. “I’ve already received preliminary reports of several small pockets of fleeing vampires being discovered, tracked, and destroyed. That being said though, these creatures are capable of almost vanishing if given a moment’s notice. I fear that the Red Court will forever have a presence in Equestria, even if it’s a diminished presence.” “But that’s not that bad,” Rainbow chimed in, pushing away her own freshly emptied plate. While adjusting herself slightly in her pouf, Rainbow reached out a foreleg to point at Celestia, “You said it yourself, the vampires are broken. We have ponies that have been trained specifically to detect, seek out, and combat them.” Michael raised a hoof to rub under his chin. “Not only that, but the Red King was the only one that could even begin to teach the newly infected how to contain their new predatory instincts.” “Don’t forget that a full third of the Equestrian population can sense the stink of Red Court magic and go running for the nearest guard,” I added onto Michael’s train of logic. “All of which effectively means that the Red Court’s ability to infiltrate most any populated area is pretty much nonexistent now; at least for the next decade or so anyway.” Across the table Celestia nodded her head in agreement, “My thoughts exactly, but the Red Court’s persisting presence in Equestria was not what I was referring to when I said I had bad news.” Celestia’s hoof moved over the paper she was looking at, revealing another beneath it. “Unfortunately, I believe that the recent Red Court threat is only the beginning of a long line of troubles for Equestria.” “Ominous,” Pinkie chirped, drawing more than a few irritated glances. Celestia paused only for a moment to quirk an eyebrow at the pink mare’s antics. “The Red Court caught Equestria completely off guard and managed to become a massive power within our borders, if only temporarily. That power has not gone unnoticed.” One of the papers by her hooves became wreathed in her golden aura and floated in the air before her. “Over the last week and a half, several of our neighboring griffon clans have been sending scouting teams well into our territory.” That paper quickly got replaced with another. “Less than a week ago, the changeling hives became much more active and have sent drones out much further than usual.” “Oh, damn,” I groaned out loud and tossed my head back. “We created a power vacuum.” “A what?” rang from several different feminine throats at once. I let my head to flop down against my chest and met the gaze of the perplexed mares around me. “By allowing the Red Court to grow powerful enough to pose a serious threat, Equestria appears weak to the powers at large.” “Now that the Red Court has been rendered fangless,” Michael added, drawing several of the eyes from me to him, “any significant party looking for more influence will eagerly leap to fill the position of power the Red King left behind. It’s a common tactic used among rival wolf packs, rising warlords, and overly ambitious countries.” “Even so,” Celestia said aloud, seeking to regain the lost focus we had taken. “under normal circumstances, this too would not be that much of an issue. Equestria has maintained its territory for over a millennia. Our soldiers and diplomats are well trained on how to deal with local threats and political powers. If given enough time, we could easily reinforce our borders through a show of strength or brokered deals.” At her words, several of the guard captains around the table shifted slightly and chuckled under their breath. The soldiers’ self-congratulatory laughter fell into the category of background noise as I focused all of my attention on two specific words Celestia said. “Normal circumstances?” I asked while staring intently at brilliantly white alicorn. “What do you mean by that?” Celestia actually paused a brief moment, leaving us all in an uncomfortable silence. I could almost see past the carefully measured mask she wore and see the gears whirring in her head as she carefully picked her words. “The working separating Equestria from the rest of the Nevernever is gone,” she finally stated, as though that would instantly make the precise situation known to all. “Very soon, the majority of Equestria’s military forces will be divided between maintaining our political borders, and our territory within the Nevernever.” “That Veil thing you told us about?” Fluttershy whispered, leaning forward a little in her seat. “But couldn’t you or Luna just close it and- Oh dear.” Fluttershy’s stopped mid-sentence to look down to the end of the table closest to the door. I followed her gaze I quickly understood why. Princess Luna, who I honestly forgot even existed after I started eating, sat unmoving on her pouf. Her plate had remained completely untouched below her hanging head. Her night sky mane hung low over her head, thoroughly obscuring her face. Through that mane, we could clearly hear the dull rhythmic breathing of soft snoring. “It would appear that my sister has expended a bit more energy than she let on,” Celestia said with a small smile as she inspected her sibling. “Just allow her to sleep, she will be fine.” One of the many armored ponies around the table stepped forward and began to move toward the slumbering princess, only to be stopped by a wave of Celestia’s hoof. “I wouldn’t recommend trying to move her. She tends to thrash if physically woken up.” The guard captain gave Luna a sideways look and returned to his position in the circle around us, perhaps a step or two further back than before. Fluttershy also gave Luna an uncertain glance, the medic wheels spinning behind her eyes. Eventually she seemed to agree with Celestia and simply let sleeping ponies lie. “Well, o-okay then,” the timid pegasus began. “Couldn’t you, or Luna when she wakes up, just hide Equestria again? I mean Luna made the original spell right?” “I’m afraid we can’t,” Celestia said with a slight shake of her head. “The Red King’s spell holding shut the Veil, wasn’t just built on top of Luna’s protective barrier, it wormed its way throughout all of Luna’s workings. For all intents and purposes, the Red King’s magic converted Luna’s concealing spell into his own working.” A small icicle pierced its way into my heart as I took in that information and processed its implications. “So when the Red King’s barrier died with him,” I muttered under my breath, my voice trailed off as I got nearer to the answer I didn’t want to reach. “So did Luna’s spell hiding Equestria from the rest of the Nevernever, yes,” Celestia spoke loud enough for everyone at the table to hear. For several moments, silence permeated the room as everypony just absorbed and processed that information and the implications it brought. All around me I saw several sets of eyes dart around inside their respective heads. The icicle in my own heart melted and began pouring cold into my veins as I reached my own conclusion of the consequences of my actions. “Well that’s a good thing then,” Twilight spoke up beside me, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had befallen the room. She turned her attention to Princess Celestia and bowed her head slightly, “Forgive me Princess, but I disagree heavily with your decision to simply isolate Equestria from the rest of reality. I understand that there are bad things out there, but Harry and Michael are living proof that there is good beyond the Veil as well. We shouldn’t simply cut ourselves off from all of that.” I carefully extended out my right wing and draped it around Twilight’s back, abruptly cutting her off. “Yes and no, Twilight. It’s not really that simple.” The purple unicorn cast a very perplexed look over at me, breaking her gaze with the Princesses. “What do you mean?!” she cried out in an accusatory tone. “When the Princesses first told us about the isolation they imposed so long ago, we both argued against what they had done.” I slowly nodded my head and smiled sheepishly so as to try and placate the suddenly energetic and combative unicorn. “I know, and I agree with you completely, isolating Equestria was a mistake.” I paused for a brief moment to shoot a pointed look over at Celestia, who merely cocked her eyebrow at my less than respectful attitude. “But completely losing that protection so suddenly could prove to be even more disastrous,” I said as I shifted my gaze back over to Twilight. “Disastrous?” Rarity squeaked from across the table, “How?” I straightened myself up on my pouf and retracted my wing back from Twilight. “In pretty much the same way your introduction to the Red Court was a disaster. There are literally countless different types of creatures beyond the Veil, and very few of them mean you well. If you thought that the small contingent of vampires that originally came here lead to an upheaval, there are a couple different flavors of vampires in my world that are just as capable of untold destruction.” “Ideally,” Michael interjected, cutting short my tirade on the depressing nature of our state of affairs, “if you were to choose to take down the barrier, you would break it down slowly over several steps. That would allow you to explore and gather as much information as possible before making your presence known.” Michael thumped his hoof down on the table. “As it stands, Equestria has a lot to learn about the many moving powers of the Nevernever, and very little time to do it in.” “Couldn’t you just rebuild the barrier?” Fluttershy asked, pivoting her head around to look at Celestia. The solar princess paused for a moment before shaking her head again. “That wouldn’t be possible, at least not anytime soon. It took Luna a couple hundred years to cover her magic over all of Equestria’s counterpart beyond the Veil.” “What about you and Harry?” Fluttershy almost shouted, panic starting to find its grip on the shy pegasus. “You can teach us about the Nevernever like you did with the vampires.” I shook my head solemnly, “No. I know more than the average wizard about the various nasties that at large, but I am far from an expert. You’d need access to an extremely detailed library, or some other source of information.” Across the table, Celestia nodded fervently and refocused her attention on me specifically. “My thoughts exactly. If Equestria is to have a fighting chance in the coming months, we must seek out help from an organization already established within the Nevernever. An organization that shares a mutual enemy in the Red Court.” I almost immediately saw where exactly she was going with her logic train, and shot her a skeptical look. “The White Council? You want to reach out to the White Council?” “Hmm, there’s a thought,” Rainbow said, rubbing her chin with a hoof. “From what you’ve told us about those guys, they’ve been dealing with this sort of stuff for a good while right?” “Wait a second, aren’t those the ponies that tried to have you killed once or twice, Harry?” Applejack asked while raising a skeptical eyebrow at me. I grinned sheepishly and rubbed a foreleg through the wiry mane running down the back of my neck. “Yeah, my relationship with the White Council has had its off days, but-“ “But we may not have another choice, right?” Twilight answered for me. “Harry, how many organizations in your world or in the Nevernever share a dislike for the Red Court?” “Plenty!” I barked out immediately, poorly stifling a sudden fit of laughter. “The Red Court has made very few friends in their time on my world, but they usually wind up killing most any group that openly acts against them. You aren’t going to find too many willing to accept an alliance with a self-proclaimed enemy of the Red Court.” I smirked a little and chuckled under my breath. “As much as I hate to say it, the White Council has the information you need, and is much too stubborn to kowtow to the Red Court when they eventually learn about what happened here.” Celestia loudly cleared throat, breaking my train of thought and drawing all eyes back to her. “Mr. Dresden, our own needs aside, do you believe the White Council would willingly align itself with Equestria? We are, after all, a new and potentially dangerous party popping up literally out of nowhere.” At her words a wide grin split my muzzle, showing my pearly whites for all to see. “Equestria is a land much more saturated with ambient magic than my world, a full third of its population practices casual magic, and it has already proven itself against the White Council’s main enemy.” I paused for a brief moment to let my meaning sink in, and to give me an opportunity to let out a small chuckle. “I can virtually guarantee that, once they learn all of the details, the White Council will be tripping over themselves to sign a treaty with you.” “But what would they expect from us?” Twilight interjected. “We can’t expect to get information on the Nevernever for nothing. What exactly do you think we’d need to give the White Council?” “Just off the top of my head, information.” I turned my head to smile down at the lavender unicorn at my side. “Your Elements of Harmony alone repaired the mind of a millennia old warlock,” I gestured a hoof at the still slumbering Luna. “If the White Council could replicate that effect, you could help to create a White Council that no longer immediately resorts to execution when confronted with a warlock.” My hoof fell back to my side scrunched up my face as a sudden thought entered my head. “That is assuming they don’t try to turn it into some kind of weapon first anyway.” Across the table, Michael let out a low chuckle and shook his head. “Always such the skeptic, Dresden. I’ve met with a few of your Senior Council before, and I believe they will treat Equestria with respect.” Michael’s attention shifted over to Celestia and gave her his usual calming smile. “In more practical terms, I can see the White Council requesting your assistance during some of their operations. Since the White Council and the Red Court went to war, the White Council has begun using the Nevernever to mobilize more easily and as a method of retreat.” Michael’s face very briefly scrunched up in deep contemplation as he looked at the solar princess. “Ma’am, do you think your sister could rework her transformation spell to transform a pony into something not from Equestria?” “Not immediately,” Celestia answered with a quick shake of her head, “Luna had to become intimately familiar with the biology of each of Equestria’s denizens in order to create a proper transformation spell for each species. One misplaced vein or artery would mean disaster for whoever she’s transforming.” “I thought as much.” Michael’s eyes briefly flicked over to the lunar princess, whose head sunk a few inches closer to the table below her. “In that case, your military can not reinforce the White Council in our world without causing panic among the non-magical population. However, you could easily reinforce the White Council’s fall back routes in the Nevernever, or set up an ambush at commonly used pathways.” Michael leaned a little further back on his pouf until he sat at his full and considerable height. “If you offered it, you could give the White Council much needed support in return for theirs.” “Very well then,” Celestia said in a clear reverberating tone that carried throughout the entire room, “It seems clear to me, that in the interest of Equestria’s continued safety, we will send a contingent of diplomats to make contact with the White Council proper.” She paused for a brief second of contemplation before stating, “However, the Elements of Harmony will remain under privileged access in this castle; accessible only by their bearers or those that I personally grant permission. I would not see them misused by any outside forces.” Heh. Extend an offer of partnership while protecting her most powerful assets against those same partners, I thought to myself with a wide smirk plastered across my muzzle. A thousand years of isolation be damned, she already knows how to play White Council politics. A multitude of whispering voices sounded throughout the room as several of the guards discussed amongst each other what they were just told. The majority of the armored ponies seemed to smile and nod at Celestia’s decision, satisfied by the combination of diplomacy and expansion of Equestria’s influence. There were a few of the captains that appeared uncertain or unsatisfied by the upcoming events, although not one of them seemed to outright disagree with the princess. Every single one of the ponies donned in armor bearing my silver pentacle, was in the former category. I wasn’t sure exactly what the princesses had told these guards and guard captains about what potentially awaited beyond the veil, but they were ready to follow us through it nevertheless. “Mr. Dresden, Mr. Carpenter,” Celestia spoke again in her carrying voice, effectively breaking me out of my reverie and drawing my attention back to the most powerful entity in the room. The princess gave me a warm smile and very briefly flicked her eyes between myself and Michael. “Your work here, offering your assistance when Equestria needed it most, has concluded. On behalf of all the lives you helped to save, I thank you.” “Of course, Ma’am,” Michael responded with a deep bow that almost brought his head to the table. I smiled and gave Celestia a short bow as well. Celestia returned our motion with a bow of her own, before raising and refocusing her attention on Michael. “You, Mr. Carpenter, have made me aware that you are following a power supreme and must leave Equestria to pursue your work.” Michael wordlessly nodded in the affirmative, to which Celestia responded in kind. “In that case, please know that you and yours are welcome to return to Equestria at any time. You need only to ask.” Michael’s smile widened and he almost visibly radiated gratitude. He and Celestia exchanged one last silent bow, before her attention shifted. Celestia’s gaze shifted across the table and refocused onto me. I could see the cogs working in her head as she picked her words carefully. The alicorn’s eyes flicked slightly from me to the unicorn sitting well within my personal space, and a much wider knowing smile spread across her muzzle. “Mr. Dresden,” Celestia began, “I do not know of your plans. If you so wish, you may leave Equestria with Michael and rejoin the White Council. In which case, you have the same standing offer of sanctuary that Michael has.” Celestia’s wings flared out slightly behind her as she resumed the regal sitting position she uses when sitting on her throne. My own wings reflexively twitched and shifted to match hers, despite my not giving them permission to do so, much to Celestia’s amusement. “However, I have an offer you might find to your liking,” she continued. “Once I make contact with your White Council, I am sure that they will try send emissaries, researchers, and explorers to gauge Equestria’s value. I need a pony that knows the White Council, and won’t allow them to bring undue strife into my land. This pony would interact directly with the White Council, manage any personnel they send here, and would create strike teams to go out into the Nevernever. I’d like to offer you that position of Liaison General.” I honestly froze there for a good moment as I tried to process what exactly she had just offered me. I hadn’t really thought too much about my future either. I kind of assumed my trick with the spirits would end the book of Dresden. My promise to Twilight still stood, she wanted me to stay with her, and I wanted to stay with her. In Twilight and in Equestria, I had finally found a family and a place that genuinely accepted me. Though I wouldn’t be able to settle down so easily. There were too many jobs left undone, too many enemies still breathing and looking for me. If I tried to pass into my happily ever after, I would start seeing ghosts everywhere I looked. Celestia’s offer was the best of both worlds. It gave me the company I craved, and the work I was honor bound to complete. If anyone at the White Council had ever offered me such a deal, I would immediately become suspicious and look for the hidden agenda, but because it came from Celestia- “Of course I accept!” I suddenly cried out after several seconds of silence, both my heart and my wings shooting straight up at the same time a massive grin spread over my face. “Somepony has to make sure the White Council doesn’t get their greedy mitts all over this place.” Almost immediately all of my friends at the table, and many of the guard captains around it, cheered and stomped their hooves, creating a thunderous cacophony of noise that echoed throughout the entire room. I was nearly flung from my pouf as a large weight impacted with my ribs. Twilight’s forelegs wrapped tightly around my barrel and her head pressed against my sternum in as strong an embrace as she could manage, presumably ignoring whatever pain her damaged left foreleg gave her. My right wing fell down and draped across her back in a gentle embrace, to which she responded by glancing upward and silently nuzzling her gratitude into my neck. Then, like most of my very rare tender moments, it was cut abruptly short. “Who’s there?!” bellowed a deafening feminine voice from the end of the table to my right. Luna, at least partially woken by the applause I had caused, drunkenly swung her head from left to right, her large eyes sweeping over the multitude of ponies in front of and around her. “W-what are you all… doing in my… Get out of my… my room.” At her last word, Luna’s eyes slid completely out of focus and she abruptly dropped and curled up onto her cushion. For a good few seconds, everypony in the room, including Celestia and her soldiers, just stared dumbfounded at the slumbering alicorn. Twilight was the first to come back to her senses and quickly realized that she was still wrapped around my torso, and in plain view of her friends and mentor. Twilight let out a squeak worthy of Fluttershy and wrestled herself out from under my wing. She plopped herself back down on her pouf just as everypony else was taking their attention off of Luna, and put up an admirable façade. Her act probably would have been a bit more convincing if it weren’t for the fact that her face was beet red. Celestia chuckled and stood up from her seat. Her gaze shifted away from her sister, paused a fraction of a second over Twilight, and finally settled on me. “Well then, without further ado, I hereby place the remainder of the Silver Knights under the direct control of Harry Dresden and the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, permanently” she said loudly enough that she could be heard by all present in the room. “Present members of this group, please report to the outfit already stationed in Ponyville. All other guard captains, spread this news to throughout Canterlot.” The room exploded into action as each and every armored pony bowed deeply, and then bolted from the room. Their thundering hooves echoed down the corridor and could be heard for several seconds after the dozen or so landlocked guardsponies filed through the newly opened. Luna grunted and twisted around on her makeshift bed, irritated by the noise going on around her. After the majority of the unicorns and earth ponies left, the armored pegasi leapt from their perches far above and literally dove for the large double doors. “The Silver Knights?” Rainbow asked as she watched the silver pentacle emblazoned pegasi soaring through the room. “Did you officially give our guys a name, Harry?” “No, they did,” Michael simply stated just as the last of the guards left the room, leaving us completely alone since we first arrived at the castle. “You all really should spend some time with them outside of training. They came to me weeks ago asking for ideas for a formal name, and they eventually came up with the Silver Knights. I believe they sent the official request shortly before Celestia was taken.” “The day before actually,” Celestia softly muttered as she neared her sister. The white alicorn’s horn flashed and a large dark comforter materialized over her sister. With a couple of smaller flashes, the comforter wrapped itself around Luna and tucked the ends underneath her body. “I like it. It feels like an homage to you two. You should be happy that you’ve made such an impact here.” “It probably would have been a much more well-deserved homage if I’d bothered to learn about them rather than just teach them,” I commented as I got up from my pouf, stretching out a few of my more tense muscles. “Well, here’s your second chance,” Celestia announced clearly and turned away from her peacefully sleeping sister. The entire room thrummed with Celestia’s energy as her horn lit up like a lantern. All of the swirling mass of warmth and light coalesced into a single vertical white line hovering in the air beside Celestia. Almost immediately after the line appeared, the very environment around us shook as though a massive hammer had struck everything at once, and the line began to widen. I felt it as the laws of reality and nature were ripped apart at the seams, and Celestia tore a hole through the Veil. “What in tarnation!” Applejack shouted and hopped up off of her pouf. Rarity, in direct contrast to Applejack, got up from her seat and approached the rapidly expanding tear in reality, curiosity evident all over her face. “Amazing, this doesn’t feel like any form of magic that I know of. What is this, Princess?” “For us, it’s a shortcut,” the princess stated matter-of-factly. Her head craned itself around so that she was looking over us all, until focusing on one earth pony in particular. “For Mr. Carpenter, it’s his way home.” Twilight hobbled her way from her cushion over to join Rarity beside the large plane of semi-transparent golden energy. “This is the Nevernever? Do we just step through it?” she asked while trying to peer through the tear. “Pretty much,” I answered as I walked up next to her, my wings automatically folding against my side as I moved. “Creating the tear is kind of like cutting into fabric that doesn’t want to be cut into, but once it’s done, it’s a hole like any other. You just need to-“ “First!” shouted an extremely high pitched voice from somewhere behind us. Before I could turn around to see what the commotion was all about, a large pink blur flew directly over our heads, impacted with the plane of golden energy, and went right on through. The plane rippled like water for a few seconds after the pink cannonball hit it, but it quickly settled down back into a fogged golden mirror. “Dang it, Pinkie!” Applejack shouted after the pink blur. “Don’t go without backup!” Without a further word, Applejack chased after Pinkie and bounced through the circular disk, followed closely by an exacerbated looking Rarity. Sensing the excitement leaving the room, Rainbow also leapt up from her seat and sped through the air after her friends with a short cry of, “Wait for me you guys!” I let out a massive sigh and shook my head at my friends’ antics. Twilight took the opportunity to once again limp over to me and lean heavily against my right side. At the odd sensation of my feathers being displaced, my head perked back up and pivoted around to her. Twilight met my gaze, smiled warmly, and began to push forward against my body, silently urging me to move forward with her. I returned her grin, and moved with her through the golden mirror. For a brief second, all of my senses went into static overload as I plunged through that tear in reality, but in the blink of an eye we were through and my hooves were planted on hard earth. The immediate image to greet my eyes after I passed through the metaphorical curtain, were long endless grassland plains going on for as far as my eyes could see. The cloudless skies overhead were a swirling mix of yellow and red, giving the entire place the appearance of being in perpetual sunrise, minus the sun. The plains underneath that orange sky were almost perfectly level, with only the occasional weed marring the short grass. “Pinkie, get down from there! You’re going to hurt yourself!” cried a familiar southern drawl just to the left of my field of vision. My head immediately pivoted to find what Applejack was shouting about, and was presented with the ruins of a massive stone structure. Those of us that had gone through Celestia’s tear in the Veil, stood just outside the crumbling walls of a slightly darker version of Canterlot Castle. The large towers that had once stood tall over everything around them, had long since succumbed to entropy and collapsed to the ground, leaving dark stone bricks strewn everywhere. Apart from the towers though, the rest of the castle still stood, mostly, in one piece. Pinkie was testing the durability of one section of the outer wall by repeatedly bouncing on it. “I’ve almost forgotten about this place,” whispered Celestia, her voice trailing off as though she were reliving old memories. I jumped a little at the unexpected sound of her voice, and craned my head a bit more. Michael, Fluttershy, and Celestia all stood just behind us. The golden portal that they came through shrank to the size of a pinhead, and then winked out of existence, cutting us off from Equestria. “What is this, Princess?” Twilight asked, completely forgetting about her injured foreleg and moved to inspect the nearest piece of darkened stone. “I don’t remember reading about any castle like this in Equestria’s history books, or even old myths.” “It’s my sister’s,” Celestia commented wistfully and took a step closer to the structure. “It was so long ago, I can’t even remember what we named it. This used to be Luna’s counterpart to Canterlot Castle. She ordered its construction so that she could safeguard Equestria from one side of the Veil, while I guarded the other. Although it was abandoned when we hid Equestria from the rest of the Nevernever.” A pained expression fell over Celestia’s face as she delved a little further into her memories. “I remember, after I was forced to banish Luna, I sometimes wondered if robbing her of this sanctum was the first step that led to Nightmare Moon. Ah, but I shouldn’t dwell on ‘what if’s, such distractions will only serve to impede our future. I will of course have this place restored and garrisoned. I’ll bet Luna will love to see that.” Speaking of things getting done and questions that needed answers, around halfway through her monologue every piece of hair on my body stood on end. The nerve endings embedded in my hide went haywire and I was subject an intense tingling sensation surrounding my entire body. Only a few feet away, Michael face twisted in confusion and irritation as he too undoubtedly felt the same thing. Then something finally clicked into place and I remembered what exactly happened the last time Michael and I stepped through the Veil around Equestria. “Princess!” I shouted, panic flooding into my heart. “Luna’s transformation spell!” Celestia and each of the Bearers immediately pivoted around and locked onto either Michael or myself. Celestia’s calming smile reappeared on her muzzle and she took a few steps to position herself directly between us. Her horn lit up again and rays of golden yellow light shot from the tip to briefly shine over mine and Michael’s torso. Almost immediately after the light died away, any and all sensations my body was trying to tell me died away. I experimentally bit my lower lip, and it just felt like I was nibbling on rubber. “Don’t worry, I thought this might happen,” Celestia assured us both in as soothing a motherly voice she could manage. “I’ve just dulled both of your bodies, so you shouldn’t feel a thing. Oh, and you’ll want these.“ Her horn flashed once more and two large white sheets materialized out of the ether. These sheets lazily drifted down through the air to settle over our bodies, completely concealing us from prying eyes. “There we go, the transformation process isn’t too pretty to look at.” “If you knew Luna’s spell was going to wear off once they stepped out of Equestria, then why did you bring Harry! He said he was staying!” Twilight almost shouted, the worry in her voice still evident through the sheet over my twitching ears. “They’re friends, Twilight,” Celestia stated as though that was a coverall answer. “While I don’t believe this is the last time we’ll see Mr. Carpenter, we don’t know the next time we’ll meet again. Harry and Michael should have the opportunity to see each other one last time. Don’t you think?” “Yeah, I suppose so,” I grumbled through the sheet. “Although some warning next time would be appreciated.” Then, for several minutes, Michael and I just lay there under our respective sheets as Luna’s magic left our bodies. I turned my magical senses inward to try and find this working in transition, and actually succeeded, but only barely. Luna’s spellwork was so well done and so subtle that while still, it completely mimicked the natural magical aura my body emits; in motion though, I found the faint traces of Luna’s energy leaving my form. True to her word, Celestia’s spell made it so that I couldn’t feel a single thing happening to my body, but I could hear plenty. It started out as a simple stretching and tearing of muscle, like the sound you get when you bite into chicken leg and tear the meat from the bone. Then it quickly devolved into what was unmistakably shattering bones. The only mental pictures I could come up with to fit with the sounds I was hearing were images of Michael and I being forced through a meat grinder. I am so freaking glad I can’t feel anything, and if the first time was like anything I’m hearing now, I’ll consider being knocked unconscious as a blessing. Soon enough though, the horrible noises ceased, and I could once again hear the various noises of my friends beyond the confines of my sheet. “Hoo boy,” a deep masculine voice I immediately recognized as Michael announced. “That was not pleasant. I think your numbing spell can only block out so much, Ma-am.” Wait, he felt that? “Harry, are you okay?” Twilight asked, taking the corner of my sheet in her telekinetic grip. With a quick flick of her head, Twilight ripped the white cover from over me. Freed from the fabric prison, I glanced around to take in my surroundings again. Apart from Fluttershy, who was busy retching somewhere behind Rainbow, each of the mares looked at me with an expression of supreme confusion. Especially Twilight, who tilted her head almost perpendicular to the ground as she inspected me. Celestia however, looked at me with an expression of abstract horror. “What’s wrong? I don’t feel bad. Does something look wrong with…” My voice trailed off as I raised my primary limbs up to my eyes, and found two ashen grey forelegs with black hooves and fetlocks. I craned my head around to inspect the rest of my body, and found it to be entirely unchanged. I had the same coat, the same wiry mane and tail, even the wings remained folded firmly in place at my sides. “Wait, what’s going on?” Applejack asked while looking me over. “I thought Luna’s magic was supposed to stop working as soon as you left Equestria. Why are you still a pony?” “He shouldn’t be,” Celestia muttered under her breath. Her wide eyes constantly shifted around in her head as she visibly processed what had just happened. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I think he’s never looked better,” Michael chuckled and slapped a large hand on my back, pretty effectively drawing my attention away from the distraught princess staring at me. Michael had apparently managed to escape whatever magical roadblock I hit and had successfully regained his human form, finally giving me a proper body to compare a pony’s size against. He practically towered over me and the Bearers, the top of his head reached to maybe an inch or two over Celestia. I had almost forgotten just how much of an Olympian he was. Michael’s muscles and frame were restored back to a state that would leave any man feeling inadequate. The Olympian comparison was further aided by the fact that he was wearing his conjured sheet around his body like a toga. “Dang man, I actually forgot how much of a giant you are,” I commented and hopped back up to all four of my legs. Michael let out a booming laugh and retracted his hand from my back. “I’d probably have a little less of an impact if you ever did any kind of exercise other than cardio.” Pinkie Pie, ever the mare to jump in on a good time, simply appeared on Michael’s back with her forelegs hooked over his shoulders. “No kidding, Harry. This guy is huuuge! I bet you could stomp all over a whole bunch of baddies!” “He usually does,” I added with a chuckle. My gaze then drifted down over my body as my mind began to reprocess my many questions. “I don’t get it though, from what I’ve been told Luna’s magic is tied to Equestria. I felt it leave me.” “I am so sorry, Harry,” Celestia muttered and took a few steps closer to me, her eyes never once left me even as Michael showed off his alien figure. “I fear Equestria has just stolen something dear from you. Harry, I am so sorry.” Twilight stepped up next to me and very quickly scanned over my body, looking for any obvious harm done. Finding no such harm, she turned her attention back over to her mentor. “Princess, what are you talking about? Apart from the fact that he doesn’t look like a… Oh, what did he call it… A human, that’s it!” Twilight swept a foreleg over at Michael, who was happily using Pinkie as a massive giggling pink scarf, and stated, “Apart from not looking like that, he seems fine.” “He… He’s…” Celestia started and stopped while fidgeting in place, clearly very distressed with the whole situation. Eventually she seemed to calm down and simply stared at me with pleading eyes. “I believe that when you evoked you ritual last night, the corresponding possession and transformations changed you so thoroughly, that it altered the very core of your being to fit their needs. When Luna’s transformative magic left you, you didn’t revert back to your natural state because you’re already in your natural state.” Celestia actually seemed to shrink back away from me at those words. “This form of magic is beyond anything even I am capable of.” “So, this is me?” I asked waving my forelegs around in the air. “Now and forever? I am a pony?” Celestia very slowly nodded her head in the affirmative. “I am so sorry, Harry. I know what you did was for the greater good of us all, but Equestria has robbed you of a piece of your identity. When I offered you your new position, I wanted it to be an actual choice that you could feasibly deny. Now though, you are a victim of circumstance.” I took a full minute or so to absorb this new information and just process it. While doing so, I thought in the back of my mind that most people would probably panic at having a fundamental piece of their identity ripped from them. Most people would probably have some kind of mental breakdown at realizing that they were no longer human. Most people are pansies. “Don’t worry about it,” I stated while inspecting the hoof of my right foreleg, drawing a rather hilarious look of surprise from Celestia. “‘Victim of circumstance’ pretty well describes most of my adult life. Honestly, this really isn’t too far afield from some of the crazier things that’s happened around me.” “You’re really okay with it all?” Twilight asked, quirking an eyebrow at me. “Oh, I think I’ll miss my fingers a good bit,” I said nonchalantly, but then fanned my new grey feathered limbs out behind me, “but these will more than make up for it. As far as some of the other unexpected deals I’ve made go, I can easily live with this.” “Even if you do run into some road bump in this new body, you’re in great hooves,” Michael consoled and once again clapped his large hand against my back. While I was still reeling from the second sledgehammer blow to my spine, Michael opened his mouth to say something else, but was distracted by a subtle glow at the edge of his vision. By Michael’s feet, Amoracchius lay flat on the grass, having fallen out of the harness it was in previously. The blade, much like its owner, had changed its form back into its previous state. It had reverted back to its clean double-edged long sword blade with a cruciform hilt. Apart from its radical change in shape and mass, infuriating as that may be to any physicist, it was also glowing a radiant white. Michael bent down to pick up the blade, dropping Pinkie from his shoulders in the process. Upon touching his hand, Amoracchius blinked a bright white for a few more seconds, and then dimmed down to appear like a standard sword. As soon as the light went out, Michael’s attention was drawn towards the skyline in the distance, past where Celestia’s portal had been previously. “I believe I have my bearing,” Michael stated with a determined smile, as though that had answered all possible questions. He turned around and knelt down to bring himself to eyelevel with me. “We will meet again, Harry, and soon I think. I’ll be sure to spread word to your trusted few back on Earth that you’re alright.” He straightened himself back up and turned his infectious smile to Twilight. “Until next time then, I want you to keep him safe. Lord knows that’s a full time job.” Twilight returned the gentle giant’s smile and gave him a short bow. “Only until he does something really stupid, then I’ll probably need to get the princesses to intervene.” A round of good natured laughter bubbled forth from each of my friends. Michael, as soon as he finished chuckling, gave Twilight a curt little bow, and turned to take his leave. “Wait!” Celestia cried and hurried forth towards Michael. She came to a stop a few feet in front of Michael and ignited her horn, casting a golden aura over everything around her. “I may not be able to restore Mr. Dresden, but I can at least offer you some protection as you leave this place.” Then, with a massive flash of golden light, Celestia took hold of the simple toga around the otherwise naked Michael, and poured her magic into it. The white cloth around Michael writhed, grew, and seemed to harden all at the same time. After thirty short seconds, Celestia’s light dimmed and revealed a now fairly heavily armored Michael. He sported a full body steel hauberk, with several large metal plates spaced around it to provide protection while assuring mobility. Michael took a moment to inspect his new set of armor, and then flashed Celestia a very satisfied smile. “Thank you, Ma-am. This will surely make my walk a good bit safer.” Both Celestia and Michael offered each other one last bow, and then turned away from each other. “So long! We will meet again soon, I promise!” he called back and waved at us as he started to jog away from us. “Bye!” echoed from each of the Bearers with accompanying waving of hooves. For a good while we just watched as my longest running friend disappeared slowly into the distance. I’ll admit, seeing Michael walk away to return at an unknown time, if ever, cut me pretty deep. Although knowing that I had six new friends, all of whom had already proven that they had my back, helped a lot. Celestia let out a loud forced cough, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had fallen over us all. “Come along now, everypony. We have some ground to cover.” I craned my head around and found that Celestia was already good few feet away from the rest of us and was slowly trotting away from the decaying castle directly next to us. Fluttershy and Rainbow both flared out their respective wings and took to the air near Celestia. Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack each turned and galloped after the princess. Twilight took her place at my side again, this time working her way underneath my right wing, and we both set off after the rest, albeit at a little slower pace. “Princess, where are we going?” Fluttershy asked shortly after Twilight and I reached the rest of the group. The yellow pegasus flicked her head around the alien landscape, completely failing to find any kind of recognizable landmark. “I don’t think I’ve seen anything like this place before.” “We’re taking a shortcut I used a long time ago,” Celestia said with a wide smile as we all trotted across the plains. “Before we closed Equestria off from the Nevernever, I walked this path every other week. It went from Canterlot Castle to this lovely little clearing that I went to whenever I was feeling uneasy. That clearing was located in what is now Ponyville.” “Oh, so you have to just open up another one of those portal things and we pop out at home?” Pinkie chirped while she energetically bounced alongside Celestia. The pure white alicorn nodded at the bouncing pink time bomb, “Yes, just so long as I open it in the right spot. It shouldn’t be too much further.” We traveled for a few more minutes in almost complete silence. Aside from Celestia, each of us scanned the creepily flat landscape surrounding us. The entire time we walked, I don’t think I saw a single blade of grass go above my fetlocks. It was as though the entire landscape had just been freshly mowed. In the distance though, we were coming upon what looked like the tree line of a large forest. Even from far away I recognized the trees from my first time going through there. The trees were gargantuan things with their branches all fanned out at the top like umbrellas, kind of hard to mistake at any distance. As we neared the trees, a niggling little fact crept into the back of my mind that highlighted a potential problem in our near future. “Hey, Celestia,” I piped up, limping along with Twilight tucked under my wing. “You said you’re going to be sending an emissary to the White Council right?” Celestia tilted her head around so that her right eye had a good view of me. “That’s correct. Over the last several hundred years Canterlot has made a name for itself in negotiation and striking favorable deals. I will be sending our best team of emissaries to make first contact, with your directions of course.” I bit down on my lip for a second or two as I tried to think up the right words to respond with. “In that case, maybe I should go with them. I mean, they obviously wouldn’t recognize me as I am now, but I could probably persuade a few of Senior Council as to who I am. That would most likely get them to take you more seriously quicker.” As soon as the words left my mouth, Twilight twisted her head around under my wing and gave me a death glare. “Absolutely not! I am not letting those jerks get their hooks back into you.” “I’m apt to agree with Twilight,” Celestia commented just as we broke through the bizarre tree line. “If even half of what you’ve told us about the White Council is true, then there is a very good chance that whoever I send will be detained for a short time. If one of those detained ponies claimed to be a member of their order and held secrets they don’t want out, then they would likely be held indefinitely.” Celestia’s head pivoted back around and began searching through the large trees. “I do not want my only expert on the White Council dodging questions in one of their holding cells. Even if they do release you, they’ll probably insist on pushing another liaison I don’t trust.” I actually paused mid-step as I processed her logic. Not only was it well thought out and protective of the assets most valuable to her and Equestria, but it sounded almost exactly like the kind of thing the White Council would do, at least to a new and rising power. Huh, I wonder if she personally teaches her diplomats. “I will however, be sending the first group of emissaries to Twilight’s library in the next day or so,” Celestia continued and drew nearer to one particularly large tree. “Once there, you can give them whatever directions and information on the White Council you feel they will need.” The princess stopped at the trunk of the massive umbrella tree and shot it a wide grin. “Ah, here we are.” Celestia’s horn surged with more energy and ribbons of golden light materialized from thin air and swam through it to touch on the trunk. Just like in the castle, the fabric of reality and the few laws of physics that the Nevernever has, began to unravel. A golden dot appeared on the side of the tree and rapidly grew into a massive fogged golden mirror. With her Way opened, Celestia stepped away from the portal and surveyed us all under her gaze. “On the other side of this, is the home you have all sacrificed in order to protect Equestria,” she stated and waved a hoof at the golden portal. “Inside Ponyville, you will find the first batch of the Silver Knights that have been placed under your command.” Celestia’s warming gaze traveled over each of my friends until it came to a rest on me. “So long as you act in the interests of Equestria, you will have free rein to do what you feel necessary with these forces and any resources within Ponyville. I would recommend that your first course of action is to begin construction on a headquarters for the Silver Knights. At the moment, they have completely taken over the hotels in Ponyville.” Celestia raised her hoof again to point at each of us in turn. “I will be in contact from time to time, but I want to receive letters from each of you whenever you encounter something. Until then though, each of you should take some well-deserved rest.” “Yes Ma-am!” Applejack said immediately and eagerly leapt through the portal, followed closely by an equally eager Fluttershy and Rarity. Twilight peered quizzically at my teacher from underneath my wing. “Are you not coming Princess? Don’t you need to tell the ponies in town what’s going on or set up design plans for the Silver Knight headquarters?” “No, Twilight,” Celestia said with a short shake of her head. “I have a whole nation on the verge of a massive expansion to direct. Ponyville is yours to lead,” her eyes shifted back over to me, “yours and Mr. Dresden’s. I know you will rule it well.” “Awesome, sounds like we got a promotion,” Rainbow Dash said with a slight nudge at Twilight through my wing, and then flew through the portal as well. “I can’t wait to show you around Ponyville some more, Harry!” Pinkie added and then followed after Rainbow. Twilight and I exchanged a quick look with each other while Celestia continued to silently gesture towards her tear in the Veil. I tensed my right wing a little harder around Twilight, pressing her harder against my side, and then we stepped forward together through the tear. One trip through magical static later, and we popped out right next to a very familiar treehouse. My hooves touched down on the bright green grass just to the side of Twilight’s Library. Twilight’s eyes very briefly lit up in an expression of pure joy at seeing the home I had taken her from for far too long. The sun shone down through the tree leaves above us and offered us an almost blissful picture of peace and tranquility. Standing directly in front of that serene image, was a several squads of heavily armored ponies, each of which was wearing a chest piece emblazoned with a silver pentacle. The Bearers that had already gone through the Veil stood or hovered in front of the large group of soldiers, completely at a loss for words. Beyond the soldiers several of the random citizens of Ponyville left their homes or their work to try and get a look at what was going on. The moment Twilight and I stepped through the portal and came into view of the soldiers, every single one of them snapped to attention. Around four or five dozen ponies stood upright and gave us every bit of focus they could, if I didn’t know better I’d say they were a heavily armed parade. One particularly large earth pony in the front row stepped forward and gave us a salute. “General Dresden, Bearers of the Elements, welcome back to Ponyville,” the soldier stated loud enough to be clearly heard by everypony around him. “The Silver Knights are at your service. Do you have any orders?” Each of the Bearers whispered amongst themselves for several seconds, unsure what they were supposed to do in this situation. One by one, each of them turned their eyes towards me and silently asked for instruction. “Harry?” Twilight asked, still tucked tightly underneath my wing. “What do you want to do?” My brain ran at a mile a minute as I desperately tried to recover from the unexpected address. After a brief moment, my mind kicked itself into gear and pumped out an idea, with more or less my usual amount of flare. “Right now, draw up designs for a local headquarters,” I announced loudly, my voice echoing over each of the soldiers ears. “Tomorrow, we begin working towards securing the safety of not one, but two worlds.” I smirked and shuffled backwards towards Twilight’s Library, dragging its resident along with me under my wing. “Today though, I’m taking a break. My friends and I are going home and unwinding. After talking with a building planner, I suggest you all do the same.” As a whole, the entire company of armored ponies bellowed, “Yes sir!” and began dispersing. I noted that a large percentage of them were moving through the town towards a building I recognized as Ponyville’s town hall, presumably to find a builder to get started on their new home. Shortly after the soldiers made their departure, each of my friends made their goodbyes and ran to their own long neglected homes. Both Rainbow and Applejack mimicked the soldiers’ salutes before streaking off in opposite directions. Rarity and Fluttershy bowed to us and gave whispered promises of support before running off. Pinkie just giggled and zipped off toward her bakery, undoubtedly to bake cakes for all the new ponies she was about to meet. “’Not one, but two worlds’?” Twilight quoted at me with a chuckled under her breath. “Kind of corny don’t you think?” We both spun around and took our first steps towards the library’s front door, directly through the same space that Celestia’s portal had been previously. “I am Captain Corny, little miss. It’s a part of my undefinable charm,” I said with a genuine laugh bubbling in the back of my throat. “Now come on, that foreleg still looks like it hurts.” Twilight let out a cute little chuckle and folded her left foreleg a little tighter to her barrel. “Thanks, Harry. It’s good to be back home.” “You know, I’ve only ever lived in a house before.” A wide smile stretched across my muzzle as we reached the door and I placed a hoof on the handle. “I think it’ll be good to finally have a home.” FIN