Chapter Nine
Last Minute Preparations
Struggling with the guilt of the events she had caused earlier in the day, Sunset leaned back against headboard of the bed closest to the corner and sighed heavily. She knew it was silly to care so much over what happened in the wand shop, as she never technically knew about any of the wizarding world's laws, and no one had expected her to know any magic already. There was just something about the face Dumbledore had made that had unsettled her. It was hard to place what was bothering her. Perhaps she was just used to him as an unwavering pillar of strength, it was just uncomfortable seeing him when he wasn't. It was actually very similar to her opinions of Celestia. Her head hung glumly as she found herself returning to her mentor. It was only-
"Are-"
Sunset jumped at the sudden noise beside her, slamming her head violently into the headboard behind her. A moment of shock entering her before pain began to bleed through it. She held her head protectively breathing out in pain, "Tch! Haaaaa..." she moaned, rocking back and forth, dealing with the impact caused by her startlement. The sudden noise had brought the attention of each of the girls, minus Rarity, to her. Rarity had disappeared into her bag when they had reached their hotel room, saying she had a busy night ahead of her.
"I... I'm so sorry," Fluttershy gasped in shock, "I didn't mean to startle you..."
Damn you Fluttershy, how can you be so quiet? Taking a minute to breathe deeply in and out, Sunset finally reached a point where the pain was bearable enough to let go of her head. "I know Fluttershy... It's not your fault," she comforted the distraught girl, who seemed very shaken by the situation, "I was lost in thought and let my guard down. So what did you want?"
"Oh..." Fluttershy paused, looking embarrassed, "I, um... I actually came over here to see if you were okay..."
Sunset and Rainbow burst into hysterical laughter as she finished explaining herself, appreciating the irony in the gesture. Applejack appeared amused, but refrained from an outburst for Fluttershy's sake, who had withdrawn into her hair by now. Sunset rubbed the tears from her eyes as her laughter began to die down. A moment passed in silence before she started to get a bad feeling. Wait... where is-
"HI SUNSET!" Pinkie shrieked from behind Sunset.
"Whaa!" Sunset squawked, flinging herself off the bed away from Pinkie and right into Fluttershy. The sudden weight of Sunset sent the two toppling to the ground, with Sunset sprawled over the top of the pink haired girl. She pushed herself up slowly, having received entirely too much physical abuse in such a short amount of time, before registering she was still laying atop someone. Sunset stared down at Fluttershy about a foot from her face. She froze uncertainly, noticing Fluttershy's face flush a deep shade of red, causing a level of horror to enter her. Crap! I made her mad! She jumped up from the ground carefully, trying not to make the situation any worse than she had made it. It had been years since she had first met Fluttershy, and not once had she seen her angry before. "I'm so sorry!" Sunset sputtered, thrusting her hand out, offering Fluttershy assistance.
Fluttershy merely stared at her hand as if petrified. Her mouth worked as she appeared to be forming words that never ended up escaping her lips. Unsettled by the awkwardness of the lack of response, Sunset withdrew her hand and took a few steps back to give Fluttershy some space. "Sorry..." Sunset said again deflatedly. It had only been a few days since she had been trying to reform herself, she wasn't very surprised that any of them would have any leftover resentment to her. Especially Fluttershy. She had done terrible things to each one of them, but Fluttershy was the only one who wouldn't fight back and took whatever abuse was directed at her in silence. The ease of it had ended with her going much too far at times. Recalling those memories brought an unbearable wave of disgust for herself. I really am the worst...
Fluttershy stood up slowly, her mood seeming to fall along with Sunset's. "It's okay..." she said sadly, seeming unsure what else to say. She made her way over to her cart silently took her pet rabbit, Angel, from his cage, cuddling with him on the far bed. Rainbow went and sat next to Fluttershy, and the two whispered back and forth with each other for a moment.
"Uhhh..." Applejack began awkwardly to fill the silence, "Did anybody get anythin' interestin', when they were out shoppin'?"
"I pretty much just bought the necessities," Sunset replied dully, still a little down from what had just happened, "I honestly don't have anything I'm interested in."
"What? Seriously? Nothing?" Pinkie asked in confusion, before smiling coyly. "Not even... Rarity?"
"What?" Sunset sputtered, her face burning in embarrassment. Where the heck did this come from? She shot a nasty glare at Pinkie, causing her to wither back slightly. After dealing with the troublemaker she returned her attention back to the others. Fluttershy seemed to have stopped whispering with Rainbow, instead seemingly paying attention to the conversation now, watching Sunset out of the corner of her eye. She unsuccessfully tried to hide her interest, pretending to be absorbed with Angel. She seemed tense for a reason Sunset couldn't really explain. "I like her the same way I like all of you. She just has a very comforting presence..." Sunset trailed off, unsure of what else she could say.
"Uh-huh..." Rainbow joined in, unconvinced, before walking over to her cart. "Right... So you bought nothing interesting," she changed the subject, pulling a broom from her suitcase, "Unlike me!" She showed the group her purchase proudly.
"You bought a broom?" Sunset asked in confusion.
"You, uh... plannin' on cleanin' or somethin'?" Applejack asked, equally unsure how to take the object in question. Rainbow seemed irritated and taken aback by their reactions, while Pinkie was rolling around on the nearest bed giggling in amusement.
"What? No!" Rainbow denied adamantly, "It's for flying!" Now that it had been pointed out, it did seem a little ornate for a common broom. The bristles coming to a clean and smooth point, with bright golden letters artistically splaying across the head of the broom: Nimbus 2000.
Sunset still seemed a little shocked by the revelation, "How come we were never told about this?"
"Well, technically first years aren't allowed brooms," Pinkie answered the question drawing a scandalized response from Rainbow.
"Pinkie!"
"What?"
"Ya broke the rules already?" Applejack responded in horror, "It's not even been a single day yet!"
"Professor McGonagall let you buy that?" Sunset asked skeptically.
"Well... not exactly," Rainbow responded uncomfortably, "I kinda, sorta... maaaybe... had Pinkie Pie distract her while I went and bought it."
Applejack sighed in annoyance, "Well I ain't defending you if yer caught..."
"Awesome! Thanks Applejack!" Rainbow responded quickly, putting her broom back into her pack.
A sudden knock at the door interrupted the group. "That must be the pizza," Sunset commented, standing and walking over to answer the door. Sure enough, the lady at the door was holding four pizza boxes stacked atop one another. The exchange took only a few moments, before Sunset brought the stack over to the kitchen and lay them out across the counter, propping each box open to showcase the contents: Vegetarian, Cheese, Pepperoni, Supreme. Applejack made her way over to Rarity's bag, opened it, and called out inside.
"Rares! Pizza's here!"
A moment passed by before Rarity called back, "That's okay, darling, I'm not hungry. You all go ahead and eat without me."
Applejack just stood there at the bag, trying to process what she had just heard, before giving up, closing the bag, and joining the others in the kitchen. Each of them seemed to gravitate toward different pizzas: Applejack grabbing from the meat pizza, Rainbow from the pepperoni, Pinkie from the cheese, leaving Fluttershy and Sunset who took from the vegetarian. The latter of which shared a small smile at their choice in food. Sunset was relieved that Fluttershy had calmed down enough to be on pleasant terms with her again. She would try her best to make everything she had ever done up to her, no matter how long it took her. The group spent the time joking and conversing, as they each ate their fill, before making their way over to the lounge, each taking a moment to stop by their carts to take their animals out, and give them some love.
Applejack's dog, Winona, wagged its tail excitedly, but was too well trained to go wild, instead sitting at Applejack's feet waiting for a command, which she happily gave him. Rainbow for some reason had a pet tortoise, which she named Tank. Pinkie though, had the most bizarre pet of the group, sporting a toothless alligator, which she had unsurprisingly named Gummy. Fluttershy brought her rabbit, Angel, over to the lounge, leaving just Sunset without a pet. Seeing the group enjoy their pets made Sunset feel a little lonely and envious of their interactions, but she had always rationalized that she would be better off without the extra responsibility, as it would cut down on the amount of time she could spend on more useful activities.
The group continued to play with their animals to pass away the time, Applejack taking some time to take Winona outside to let her relieve herself, before they each decided to put their pets back in their kennels. It was mutually decided as a good time to retire for the night, as they each decided the sleeping arrangements. Pinkie seemed disappointed that she was given a bed all to herself, on the grounds that she cuddled whoever she ended up sharing a bed with. She had fought the accusation, but eventually admitted that it was true. It didn't take entirely too long before it was decided on Rainbow and Fluttershy taking one of the beds, while Sunset and Applejack could sleep on the other.
Sunset stared at the ceiling dully, counting the seconds that passed by with the sounds of the clock in the room. The sound aggravated her to no end. Each tick making her anger rise further, making it impossible to sleep. Not to mention Rainbow snored like a thunderstorm was gracing the room with its presence. Eventually she climbed out of bed, trying her best to not wake Applejack with her movement, before making her way over to Rarity's bag, and climbing inside. Taking a moment to close the entrance behind her, she made her way down the stairwell into the grand room. Rarity had her back to her, across the room, completely absorbed in the fabric laid out before her. Sunset heard a gentle mewling, drawing her attention to Rarity's cat who sat perched on a ledge to her right, staring at her glumly. The thing was eighty percent hair, and twenty percent attitude. It was by far the ugliest cat Sunset had ever seen.
She dismissed the poor critter from her mind before making her way over to Rarity, "Hey Rarity."
Rarity jumped in shock before turning to regard Sunset, "Sunset, darling! I never heard you come in. I really ought to install some kind of chime at the entrance... Is that even possible?..." She wondered for a moment before focusing on Sunset again, "What's the matter?"
"I just can't sleep, between the day tomorrow and Rainbow's obnoxious snoring." Sunset flopped back on the couch nearest to Rarity. "I was wondering maybe if you could use some help."
"Oh." Rarity seemed a little shocked, "I wouldn't know entirely what you could do to help me, really." She mulled over the thought for a moment before changing the subject, "I've already finished one of them." She got up and put on the finished robe hanging from the clothing rack beside her, "How does it look?" Sunset stared at her in surprise. She had no idea how she had done it, but she had made a robe not particularly feel like a robe, but it still seemed a robe? She shook her head in wonder. It just barely fit the category of a "plain black work robe", but it fit her very well, hugging her in areas that made the entire piece seem much more flattering, yet still maintaining the basics that made the robe what it was. Not knowing too much about fashion, being from another world less concerned with clothing, she could only really tell that it looked great.
"It looks amazing..." she breathed out in wonder, "How did you do that?"
Rarity chuckled in amusement, "Perhaps you would like me to help you make your robes a little more flattering? There are simple adjustments I can make to help it fit your figure."
"Only if you can somehow make my jacket an acceptable replacement for a robe," Sunset said sadly. She loved her leather jacket for as long as she had it. It was a shame she would have to start wearing those robes instead.
Rarity thought for a moment, considering some possibilities before finally conceding, "I can't think of a way to really make that work. Luckily you'll still be able to wear your jacket after classes are over and during the weekends."
"Yeah..." Sunset said sadly, before standing up and turning back to the stairwell, "Well I guess I'll try to get some sleep again, good luck!"
"Good night, darling." Rarity smiled at her warmly before turning back to her work station.
Yep, a younger-fied main five plus Sunset. Now if only the enchantment was too powerful and they ended up as Chibis instead...
*Squee* Lil' Sunset! Yay! And I hope we have a good explanation on how the pendant's magic work in the next chapter. Or at least in a future chapter.
I approve the use of cute little Sunset Shimmer! ^_^d
This is amazing!
I absolutely cannot wait for more!
Here's hoping it will be around the same length as the entire series of HP!
U know...kinda wonder how life woulda been for sunset if she had come out of the mirror portal...at Hogwarts rather than canterlot?specifically a VERY FREAKING SIMILAR MIRROR...the mirror of erised. Am I the only one thinking this sounds like the mirror celestial showed her?!
8099481 Some poor Hufflepuff finds the mirror, wishing he had a girlfriend, and BAM! Sunset Shimmer slams into him. She can never get it through his head that she's not his girlfriend...
8099323
I know someone who might like that.
8099363
When it comes, I hope it will be satisfactory.
8099415
8099456
I'm super happy you like it. I hope future chapters will retain your interest.
8099481
Oh my. I like that twist! The mirrors are remarkably similar indeed. My twist that drew the two universes together wouldn't be possible had I done that though. So I'll have to leave that one to the creative ability of another writer.
8099563
Bahahaha!
That sounds amazing! Someone needs to write a short story about that.
Um, shouldn't they have gotten those pedants... before wandering around Diagon Alley conspicuously buying first year supplies? Not to mention buying robes that are fitted to their late teens bodies? We know it is not a shrinking spell because the body's proportions change as we grow which is why you can tell the difference between a child and a midget. We know it is not an illusion because it changed Sunset's height perspective and Pinkie is physically interacting with a smaller Sunset. And those are the only two explanations that would allow the clothes to be changed as well. An age spell either wouldn't affect the clothes or would de-age them into the base materials.
8099688 I am sure it will be!
Now, more little Sunset, please?
8099709
Hahahaha! Woops!
8099749
Oh, shoot. It was only a matter of time before something like this came up. I'm not entirely sure how to go about fixing this either. Thanks for the input. I'll see what I can do.
8099692
you deserve it, you don't know how many times iv'e read an Equestria Girls fic and thought "WHERE THE FRACK IS THE MILITARY?" you addressed that, thank you
8099749
8099792
Actually, these pendants use Equestrian magic, honestly it has less rules that the magic from Harry Potter's world; and as far as we know they don't need to do only one thing, They could have two spells, one to change their age, and one to shrink their clothes, so that they don't have two buy (make, in the case of Rarity) two sets; in that case it would be better if their clothes fit their real age. I do believe it is not that important that the adults know they are actually teenagers, and shouldn't be that big secret, it's just for them to fit in, without being bullied.
About how no one ever comments on teenage girls buying first year supplies... I've got nothing. But, it's not like they are going to question Dumblegore. Maybe a word from Ollivader about how is rare for him to see late bloomers? Since he is the one who has more dialogue, that could help. I don't believe it's impossible for some wizard kids to get magic late, like late puberty or something.
I suggest you don't change that much of the Diagon Alley scene, it is too good. You have more control than you think. It is MAGIC, you ain't have to explain sh**!
8099792 Ok, I thought about it, took a shower to ruminate on said thoughts... and I only see two ways.
[fancyformatting][morefancyformatting][ivyletters]Either:[/ivyletters][/morefancyformatting][/fancyformatting]
Delete the whole pendant scene from this chapter and add it to the end of the scene where they are introduced to McGonagall and Arthur. Then Dumbledore will see the clothes issue and can simply shrink their current outfits before they split up. Put an Author's Note at the beginning of the next chapter explaining what happened —to people who have already read this chapter and won't see this conversation— and paste a copy of the added scene there so folks won't have to go back.
Once that is done all that will be left is to skim through the Diagon Alley chapters and add a few humorous complaints/observations about the weirdness/inconvenience of being so small/young again. Bing bang boom, there is no longer any problem to fix and the rest of the story goes ahead smoothly as planned.
[fancyformatting][morefancyformatting][ivyletters]Or:[/ivyletters][/morefancyformatting][/fancyformatting]
Blame Bumbledore. It wasn't your goof, Dumbledore just screwed the pooch again and made those mistakes. Add a funny line about Sunset's pants falling down somewhere in here;
Then have Fluttershy mention how the oversized clothes add to her "cuteness". Modifications done. Next chapter have a scene where Rarity is worn out and complaining about having to stay up all night refitting all their clothes and not being able to finish more than one of her own new outfits, then the clothes issue is solved. One of the benefits of have a seamstress/designer in your cast.
Being witnessed in Diagon Alley... is unfixable. Once they are seen, especially in the company of someone so important, there is no putting that genie back in the bottle. The best you can do is have one of them acknowledge that it is probably going to come back to bite them in the ass and try to fit that in somewhere down the line without derailing you plot. Luckily Cynical!Sunset and Genre-Savvy!Pinkie are both perfect for that.
~***~
The first way takes the most work now, but leaves all the threads wrapped up and done with no impact to plot. The second way has minimal work now but leaves lots of particularly large loose threads and could easily derail your plot later. Personally I would support the first one as the best, objectively speaking.
#OverthinkingThings #MakingUpFormatTags #DoCustomTagsWork? #ApparentlyNot #NotKnowingHowHashtagsWork
8099954
Thanks for your kind words, I'm happy I have your faith to take my story however I like and have the creative leeway to hide my mistakes. This is my first ever story I have written, and it may have been a bit ambitious of me to start with a long epic, but I think I might go with one of the options that doesn't involve "Deus Ex Machina".
8099955
Thank you for your ideas, it's really helpful to see both of those. The first idea probably seems the best, but derails a few scenes I somewhat enjoyed, I'd have to do a lot of re-writing for it, which would push off my next chapter a few days probably. It seems like the best option, I would think. I don't believe it's unheard of for a first year student to be as old as they are however, it's just extremely uncommon. If I'm committed to using these amulets however, I think it best to re-write some of my previous chapters?
The alternative is that I have a funny and cute little scene, torment poor Rarity even more, and keep in mind that the shopkeepers had a few older looking first years. A part of me would think that they would care less about that, than being in Dumbledore's company in the first place. As for random passerby who had seen them, they wouldn't necessarily know they were first years at a glance, and would probably remember mostly Dumbledore about the situation. Meaning the bookstore owner and the wand shop are likely the only two shops who were aware of them being first year students at all, I think. Ollivander would be far to professional to care about more than outfitting them for a wand, leaving the chatty bookstore owner as the biggest drawback.
The pendants are only designed to help them lose five years via an aging spell. Which isn't that much time really, but they are of the years with the most physical growth. Technically they could implement two spells, similar in a way to how Starlight Glimmer mixes her spells. It would be at least somewhat believable with limitations, but would only save Rarity some sleep.
Just my thoughts on it, I'll probably think more on it overnight before I decide what to do.
8100722
Ah, see I didn't realize you were relying on the unlikely chance that there were no Hogwarts' students in one of the only magical markets in Briton that day.(Wry sarcasm) After all, the only thing that moves faster than the speed of light is gossip... the more important the subject the faster the spread.(Factual statement) Your comment about putting in seven hours of research into something as minor as technical specifications of wands left me with the impression that you were the type to cross all your 't's and dot all your 'i's, to strive to be the best you could be.(Sincere compliment/flattery)
I fail to see how.(Statement of fact) Relocating the pendant scene from a suite lobby in Briton to another lobby in America and changing Dumbledore's written explanation into Dumbledore's spoken explanation would derail neither scene. Nor would Dumbledore remarking on the clothing issue and flicking his wand to shrink them interfere with Fluttershy's glomping a mini Sunset in oversized clothes.(Reasoning behind aforementioned failure)
Not really... you wouldn't have to mess with anything after that, you would just have some untapped potential for humor. This chapter and chapter 3 are the only ones that would need it. Chapters 4-8 could be left completely unchanged.(Simple statement of fact)
But whatever, I don't really care anymore.(Statement of fact) Twilight_Crow's appearance to actively encourage ambitious and promising authors to stop caring and just half-ass shit with a "YOLO! Magic, I ain't gotta 'splain SHIT! TROLOLOLOLOLO!" attitude has completely drained what little give-a-damn I had left in the tank.(Disappointed and apathetic explanation of previous statement)
It's true, you have a keyboard and a net connection.(Fact, proven by existence of this conversation) You can do anything you want... including have a sudden epic three way battle between Voldemort, Donald Trump, and Vilgax that levels Hogwarts and leaves the entire student body dead. You can ignore any and all elements of storytelling, grammar, spelling, or sentence structure.(Disapproving and unenthused acknowledgement of reality) After reading 20k words of your writing it isn't what I'd expect from you,(Sincere compliment/flattery) but he is right in that nothing is stopping you from doing it.(Begrudging admittance)
But what do I know? I'm just some nobody online, just some random bibliophile schmuck on the intertubes(Wry sarcasm and self deprecation)... one with half a bottle of tequila to help him forget that he is part of a rapidly dying breed, and lassie, she's a-callin' me.(Sincere depression, and not Clinical this time... whoo hoo)
Clarifications in bright red, because I'm most certainly not a writer and apparently they are needed.
8100882
Okay, I just wanted to point out that I really appreciate your opinions, but maybe could you consider dialing back the harsh sarcasm and keep it a little friendlier, please? I don't see any constructive reason to be hostile to strangers online.
so the pendants enchant the girls to look younger, 11 or 12 year olds... allowing them to attend hogwarts as first years?
i'm still waiting for the higher up wizards to realize there is a fully magically trained unicorn attending hogwarts as a first year... screw harry potter, she is a unicorn... UNICORN... sure she is in human form, but the wand acts as her horn... hell, sunset was an apprentice to a metaphoric god, she should be a fracking teacher, not a student!
but i still like where this is going.
8101021
That's the gist of the pendants.
As for the rest. Soon!
8099691 new idea...what if Dumbledore fell through after speaking with Harry about the mirror? Oh...and the palace guards arrested him for trespassing while he was confused and wandering around. This causes him to miss returning that night,and as a result he now is stranded for at least 30 moons in equestria.....oh,and why does everyone keep calling him starswirl the bearded? (Hahahaha! See what I did?)
Here's one more idea actually, When sunset shimmer went through the mirror,Vice principal Luna decided to lean against the statue that same night.As a result Luna arrives in equestria right as Celestia is in the mirror room mourning the runaway of her student(seconds beforehand).
So um...Celestia has Luna back...and in a few years...Will have Luna back....can equestria handle a 1000 year Luna AND a modern day Luna?
Parallel:Principal Celestia leans on the statue falling through and Celestia meets Celestia...how will equestria deal with 2 Celestia?How will Luna deal with seeing double?Or twilight? Trollestia abounds in this one. Meanwhile back at canterlot high,with her sisters disappearance,Luna is now the new Principal,Sunsets plans got derailed swiftly ,and her additude adjusted early. Now living with Luna as her guardian.
My brain was just really active suddenly.heheh
8101246
These ideas are so fun!
It would be a lot of fun to write about. I especially like your Luna one. That mix up would be a very strange, but very intriguing story. I think it has a lot of potential.
The Dumbledore one would be super fun too, but I definitely have my hands full with Harry Potter already.
Have you considered taking up writing for fun? You have some fun ideas.
8101271 monkeys and typewriters.I can only come up with good ideas when sleep deprived at around 3am...and unfortunately when I try writing a lot at that point...Peter Griffin could write better than me.
I'm just good at spewing out ideas.
8101304
Aww, I'm sure you're not so bad.
I have the same opinion about my own writing, I'm still riding an emotional high on how well received my story is. I started this just for fun for myself, I never expected anyone to like it. It's a little nerve inducing honestly, I don't feel like I'm worth reading. I'm just trying to have fun. Maybe if you went into it with a similar mindset, you'd have fun, and find it's not as bad as you think.
But I can understand it's not for everyone, and I totally respect your decision.
8100722 That sounds about right. All I meant to say was that, when you are working with a fantastical work, you can let your imagination run wild. Magic is fun that way , and you may find a solution better that anyone's advice.
Of course I never meant you should stop using grammar and basic storytelling. I don't know where that came from.
8101403
While I agree mostly with what you say. I'm finding that even something as crazy as magic has rules that one must follow.
Harry Potter has a wealth of resources that help explain magic, how it works, how it's classified, and what it can do. Even magic in Equestria follows some fundamental rules that can limit it's uses. As evident with Starlight Glimmer in the newest season. Particularly in reference to not being able to make an object "disappear", so it would be a teleport spell. I'd like to try to stick with the rules as much as possible. When it comes down to it, thanks. I write this story to have fun, which I hope the people who read it can share in as well. Luckily I was able to edit the story with some minimal effort, and I can get back to writing the next chapter soon.
I wouldn't worry about that comment, it had the feel of a drunken rant to me. They really do have great ideas though, so I appreciate their input.
8102312 Yeah, I know some rules improve the world building; and if you want to have very specific limits for the magic in your story, that is cool. I'm sure that won't stop you from using your imagination and thinking outside the box. Just don't worry, you be you, and have fun.
I absolutely ship Sunset and Rarity
Interesting take on a story idea that I haven't run into quite as of yet. will continue to follow and read on
8105586
Glad to have you here.
8100933
... But the only sarcasm was the first sentence and the last paragraph. It wasn't even harsh sarcasm, it was wry sarcasm. Everything else was exactly what I meant, straight sincere statements of the facts at hand and my view of them. But I will clarify.
But, I wasn't. I have only been anything to you, and at no point have I had or expressed any hostility for you... in fact I took pains to make that clear.
These are the only parts that are about you and not talking about this very specific issue, and they are both very complimentary. The only hostility I have felt or expressed is for Twilight_Crow, who I refuse to interact with for there to even be any 'to'. You are correct about engaging in hostilities with people online. Interacting with someone online with whom you are at complete odds is a waste of time, and I refuse to waste my time thusly.
The fact of the matter was I made an observation about something most readers won't notice. At most it will be a minor blip of Fridge Logic. While I noticed it while reading which would make it a Plot Hole, the fact no one else did proves it Fridge Logic and me a weirdo. I wasn't really expecting any response because it is not that big a deal, the fact that a student never heard about it would be both unbelievable and minor in the grand scheme of things.
When you responded and talked about fixing it I got so excited! at seeing a writer who cared so much that when I read that you weren't sure how to handle it I got really motivated... to help. Half the stories on this site are completely terrible, in large part because the authors don't care and go into the story with the attitude that, "Its magik I donts gotz ta 'splane shitzes!"
That phrase was thought up by die hard fans to humorously defend minor continuity errors in already published and unchangeable works from nit-picky jerks. As a lover of stories seeing it used as a half-assed excuse for people to not even try in the first place is sickening... and the high of your caring only made the emotional drop from Twilight_Crow's heresy that much harder.
8099955
I was wrong about this... I blame Applejack. After further thought there is actually a simple fix I hadn't considered... double down on the lie. Add an illusion to the pedants to cause minor changes to their appearance then say that the teens doing the shopping were their older sisters getting the supplies on their behalf. The clothes shopping can be attributed to them having the same build and having been planning to shrink them all along.
Ollivander? Oh no, the teens had just heard good things about his reputation and took the opportunity to get new wands from him while they were in town. The new students had already gotten their wands from an American wand maker... the American stores are all rubbish you know.
EDIT:
I replied before reading the rest of the comments, including that you have edited it already. Haven't read the edits yet but if you still haven't solved/invalidated the rumors outing them thing I would like to point out that the sibling excuse can still be used later as a reactionary measure... even without the illusion bit. Yeah, it was a really obvious and simple solution I feel quite stupid for not thinking of sooner.
Oooo! Pet scene, nice choice! I was wondering if the conspicuous absent of the other four's canon pets mean you were retconing them... also whether Winona would be staying on the farm as a working dog. Now to read the earlier chapters for changes and possibly comment in those chapters.
8106753
I'm happy to hear you never intended insult. It's hard, if not impossible to portray tone through writing though. I'm sure readers, myself included, just assumed the post carried a snarky superior attitude to it.
You're definitely the kind of reader that I was researching the wands for. One who cares about continuity and correctness. Of course I did it largely for myself as well, but still. I'm happy to have you commenting and giving me suggestions on how I can improve. It's really nice to have. Otherwise, I would have just moved on and continued to write more chapters without looking back.
Heh. She has a Pinkie sense.
8115032
I GET IT!
This is turning into a yuri harem anime.
... not that that's a bad thing.
The story gave me an impression that Dumbledore grabbed the pony versions of Sunset's 'friends' and enrolled them into Hogwarts. Sorry, it's not really clear