After taking several staircases down, Stoneface stopped in front of a door and knocked on it. He opened the door, walked in, and dropped the bag of gemstones on the desk inside. He exited the room and walked off. The Equestrians exchanged puzzled glances, then Twilight walked into the office, followed by the rest.
The Goblin at the desk was wearing a suit and eyeglasses that had extra lenses suspended above them. He said not a word as he poured the stones out onto his desk. He flipped one of the lenses down over one eye and started dividing the gems into two groups.
As they entered, they noticed two fierce-looking, armoured Goblins standing on either side of the door inside the office. While polished to a gleam, the armour had clearly seen use. Both held spears and were wearing swords and large knives. They would have fit right in with the Royal Guard.
Fluttershy let out a frightened “Eep,” and wedged herself between Applejack and Rarity. Pinkie Pie began to shake and stage whispered, “It’s a doozy!” Twilight and Applejack began looking around carefully. The fillies huddled a bit closer together.
The Goblin closely studied the seven gems he had separated from the rest. Finally, he looked up. “Gringotts offers you ten for these seven and ten for the rest.”
“Is that all?” Sweetie Belle said, the other girls echoed her disappointment.
“Maybe one of the regular banks will give us more?” suggested Scootaloo, remembering what the solicitor had said about the other gems, as they looked at each other.
“You misunderstand,” the Goblin said, “That is ten for each of these seven, and ten for the rest.”
Applejack frowned at the Goblin.
The girls looked at each other; that sounded much better — eighty galleons for the four of them to share wasn’t bad at all. They were about to accept when Applejack interrupted.
“Yeh aren’t being honest with us,” Applejack stated flatly.
“Applejack?” Twilight said uncertainly.
Pinkie giggled and pulled out a bag of popcorn and started munching. “And here it comes,” she murmured.
“Ah kin feel it, he ain’t being honest ner fair with us. Them stones are worth far more then what he’s offering. And his original offer was for twenty fer ’em all, not ten each fer the big ones.”
The Goblin stared at her. “Are you calling me a liar?” he said standing up behind his desk.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Ah kin feel it, yer not telling us the truth. Them stones are worth far more’n yer offerin’.”
The Goblin yanked his knife from his belt and leapt onto his desk, yelling “I shall kill you for that insult!” He clearly hoped he could intimidate these witches and make an even bigger profit — the young were new witches and their relatives were magicless wastes of space.
Applejack took a step forward and hunched down, dropping her purse.
“Applejack!” Twilight yelled.
The Goblin grinned viciously at the apparent success of his tactic, the female bowing to his superiority. He jumped off his desk at Applejack. “Cower, you useless muggle!” the Goblin roared.
This was not the first time the mares had been attacked without provocation, and they reacted instantly.
Twilight spun to face the guard closest to her. She crouched slightly as her purse hovered at her side.
His spear fell to the floor as the Goblin pulled his sword with one hand and a knife with the other. They were too close for a spear to be anything but a hindrance.
Rarity, also crouched and faced the other guard, who had mirrored his partner.
A soft glow suffused a spot just above the foreheads of the two mares, one violet and the other blue.
Neither of the guards noticed. They were expecting to see wands, or perhaps knives. They were dismissive of the unarmed defenceless females.
Fluttershy dove for the three girls. She wrapped them in her arms as she carried them to the floor and against the front of the Goblin’s desk.
Applejack dropped her hands to the rock floor.
The Goblin landed in front of her.
She spun around.
He laughed at the female huddled with her back to him.
Applejack threw her weight forward onto her arms.
The Goblin held his knife to slash at the foolish female.
She pulled her knees up to her stomach.
He stepped forward.
She launched her feet backwards in a classic buck. It landed solidly on the Goblins chest, shattering his ribs with a loud crack and launching him over his desk and into the wall behind it.
There was sickening crunch as he hit the wall. He slid to the floor, unconscious, leaving a thin bloody trail on the wall.
The two guards stood, unmoving. The unarmed muggle had easily defeated Master Facet when he should just as easily have defeated her. None of the other females had moved to act aggressively, with the pink-haired one still eating that strange food from her bag. Killing defenceless, females brought no honour. It was better to wait for a superior.
Outside the room they could hear a loud gong reverberating through the building.
Applejack regained her feet and purse, and slowly walked around the desk to look at the Goblin. Gagging slightly, she said, “Twilight? Ah think this here goblin needs a healin’ spell or two. He’s looking mighty poor.”
Twilight looked over at Pinkie Pie, “Pinkie? Do you think you could keep an eye on this guard for me?”
“Okie dokie lokie!” she said, skipping over to stand in front of the guard. She opened one eye until it comically took up most of her face while narrowing the other down to a pin-prick. She stared at the startled Goblin intently. “Want a muffin?” she said, holding one out to him. The bag of popcorn was not in sight. The Goblin eyed the muffin as if he thought it might explode on him.
A wise Goblin, Twilight thought as she joined Applejack.
She looked at the slumped Goblin and winced. She started by casting a healing spell on the Goblin’s head. He would have a severe headache when he woke up, if not a mild concussion.
“These Goblins aren’t as tough as Ah expected. That shouldn’t have done more’n dazed him a bit,” Applejack said, shaking her head.
The guards glanced up at her declaration.
“Heck, even Apple Bloom would have shrugged that off.”
The listening guards stiffened slightly on hearing this.
The little girl peeking around the edge of the desk at the fallen Goblin, nodded her head.
The door to the office flew open and half-a-dozen guards flooded into the room. Seeing that there was no fighting, they moved to perimeter of the room, awaiting further instructions and leaving the females unmolested.
“Oooh!” cried Pinkie, “More Goblins to the party! Is Jareth coming, too?” She darted around, moving across the room to random Goblins. In short order each of the Goblin guards had his sword in one hand and a muffin in the other. None of them were exactly sure how their knives ended up back in their sheaths at their belts.
Moments later, another Goblin came in. This one was obviously a superior and was dressed in a suit. The muffins were quickly hidden behind backs. “Who dares draw a wand in Gringotts!” he yelled, angrily. “Who dares attack a Goblin!”
“You’re not Jareth,” Pinkie said, disappointed.
No one said anything for a moment, but the Goblin immediately noticed the two females behind his employee’s desk. “What are you doing!” he roared, stalking around the desk.
Twilight looked up from where she leaned over the wounded Goblin, “Saving his life,” she said drily.
The goblin stared at her a moment. He saw the soft violet glow in the hair above her forehead with its matching counterpart surrounding the bleeding Goblin on the floor. He turned and pointed at the door guard that had faced off against Twilight, “Report!”
Before the guard had finished speaking, the suited Goblin was inspecting the gems on the desk. They ranged in size from a small tooth to seven that were twice the size of his thumb.
Applejack kept an eye on the Goblin-in-charge while Twilight finished casting her spells on the injured Goblin. Finally, Twilight stood. “That’s all I can do. He’ll live, but he needs to see a professional healer.”
The Goblin turned to her. “Use of a wand inside Gringotts without permission is punishable by death.”
Applejack laughed. “Good thing she don’t have a wand then, ain’t it?”
The Goblin faced Applejack. “You used magic against a Goblin in Gringotts.”
She laughed again. “Eynope. Ah bucked him for attacking me.”
“And I suppose you don’t have a wand either,” he said, scowling.
“Eynope.”
“Impossible.” He pointed at the blood smeared on the wall. “No simple kick could do that.”
She raised an eyebrow, “Are you calling your own guard a liar?”
The guards in the room all stiffened.
The Goblin scowled harder. “He was watching his opponent, not you.”
“So, yer calling me a liar?” She stood straight, her muscles tensing. She was scowling, now.
He studied her stance and demeanour carefully. She wasn’t an ordinary muggle female. Her stance was that of a warrior blooded in combat. She wasn’t bluffing. “Prove you can kick that hard.”
“Right,” she said. She looked around the room, then at the desk. “If’n Ah kick this desk into the wall, would that do?”
He looked at the desk, then at the muggle female in front of him. The desk was solid oak and easily out-weighed the fragile human at least twice, if not three, times. She would have a tough time even moving the desk. He smiled toothily. “Yes.”
Fluttershy shuddered at the display of sharp predator teeth.
Applejack smiled back at him, “Ah’m not responsible for the damage done to the desk or wall.”
He nodded, saying, “Yes.” The only damage would be to her feet. He picked up the bag from the desk and scooped the gems into it. He didn’t want any of them to be jostled and land on the floor for him to have to pick up. Because, of course, anything that falls off a desk immediately rolls underneath the desk. And requires getting down on hands and knees and crawling partway under the desk to retrieve it. Not very dignified, and it wasted time.
Applejack walked to the side of the desk. Pinkie was again eating popcorn out of a large bowl cradled in her arm and had managed to get one of the guards to sample a handful. He seemed to like it, as he was grabbing a second handful. Fluttershy and the girls moved over beside Rarity.
Applejack looked at the desk, took a couple of steps back, and crouched down. She looked over at the Goblin in the suit, nodded once, and then spun to put her back to the desk. She put her hands on the rock floor, leaned forward onto her arms, and then launched herself into a full buck, landing her feet on the edge of the desktop — hitting the side would have merely caved it in.
The desk took off like a shot and slammed into the wall with a loud WHAM! Cracks spider-webbed out from the impact on the wall. The desktop itself broke into four pieces on the grain of the wood and separated from the now warped and broken desk.
The earth-pony in human form stood up, dusting her hands off. “Believe meh now?”
The Goblin stared at the destroyed desk and severely damaged wall. He had felt magic surge into the room, but he couldn’t sense how it had been used. And without a wand or casting a spell, it was nothing that defied any treaty or law of the Goblin Nation. Sourly, he nodded.
He turned to Twilight, “Gringotts offers you twenty for each of the seven gems Master Facet singled out and ten for the remainder.”
Twilight just looked at him, then said, “Don’t talk to me, those gems belong to the fillies.” She pointed at the three girls.
The Goblin looked surprised and turned to the girls.
Sweetie Belle looked back at him, took a shaky breath, and said, “Make it thirty for those seven, thirty for the remainder, and it’s a deal.”
The Goblin sneered, “Do you think me a fool? I haven’t examined them properly, they could be flawed. Twenty-five for the seven and Twenty-five for the remainder.”
“Your Master Gemmologist looked at them quite closely and was quite pleased. Do you not trust one of your own that has the experience of a Master? Twenty-seven for the seven and the same for the remainder.”
They settled on twenty-seven for each of the seven gems and twenty for the remainder after she finally threatened to take the gems to a muggle jeweller. Just from what their solicitor had told them, they should be able to get that much from a normal jeweller.
As she half-whispered to the others before finally agreeing, “Hey, that’s over fifty-two and a quarter each, not bad for an afternoon’s work!”
She saw the smile the Goblin had as he dropped the bag of gems in his pocket. She should have started at forty instead of thirty, she realized! But then again, she knew banks had to turn a profit. And haggling was haggling. Both parties had to feel they got a bad deal or a good deal. And she was happy with what they had made.
“Okay,” she said, “Can we get four bags with the galleons evenly divided in them?”
The Goblin turned back to Sweetie Belle. He actually looked surprised. “You want to take the galleons with you?”
“Sure, why not?”
“That’s a lot of galleons.”
She shrugged, not seeing the problem.
He blinked a few times, seeing that she was serious.
“It would be better to put them into a vault and use wallets to remove the galleons when you need them.”
Sweetie Belle frowned, but then Apple Bloom said in a low voice, “That’s a lot of gold coins, Sweetie.”
Startled, Sweetie looked back at Apple Bloom. “An entire bag of bits is heavy!” Apple Bloom explained. She knew, from all the times she had helped out at her sister’s stand in Ponyville’s Marketplace that a lot of bits weighed a lot!
Sweetie Belle turned back to the Goblin. “Alright. Setup one vault and give us four wallets made of akro . . . aacrom . . . .” She stopped and looked over at her sister.
“Acromantula silk,” Rarity provided.
“That,” Sweetie Belle said, nodding.
The Goblin nodded, He pulled an unbroken inkwell and paper from the desk, and started writing things down. After a moment he dropped the finished message into a drawer in the desk he had to force open. Apparently, even though it was wrecked, the spells on the desk still worked.
“One vault?” whispered Scootaloo.
“Yep, it’ll be cheaper, I think, and if we need more money we can always go dig up some more gems next week,” Sweetie whispered back.
“How’ll we know we’re running out of galleons in the vault?” Apple Bloom innocently asked the Goblin. He turned from the desk and stared at her.
“You are now the tenth largest depositor in Gringotts with two hundred nine thousand galleons. I can’t imagine what you would buy that would come close to depleting your vault. However, should your balance fall below one hundred galleons the inside of the wallet will turn green. At fifty galleons it will turn orange. At ten galleons it will turn black. At zero it won’t open.”
All the mares and fillies, except Twilight, stared at the Goblin with their jaws dropped. If they had been in Equestria, their jaws would have been on the ground.
Twilight stared at everyone’s reactions. The values mentioned seemed high to her, but then again she never had to deal with money. Anything she wanted she just told the merchant to bill to the palace, as Princess Celestia had told her to do. She had a bowl in her room that magically refilled when she took out bits for incidental spending — like at Sugar Cube Corner, or the Secondhoof Bookstore when she was looking for rare books she didn’t already have, or for Harry to get a treat, for example. She shrugged. Money wasn’t that important, anyway. Books, on the other hand . . . .
“Two hundred and nine thousand?” squeaked Scootaloo.
“When he said twenty-seven, he meant twenty-seven thousand, not just twenty-seven galleons,” half whispered Sweetie Belle, stunned at the discovery.
The Goblin heard her and stared back, clearly aghast as he realized that the young witch had haggled like a pro and hadn’t even known the value of what she was selling. He closed his eyes, then shot them open. Sweetie Belle wondered what he was thinking.
The Goblin stared at them a moment longer, then took out the bag and removed the very large bevelled purple stone. He held it up between his thumb and pointer finger and cleared his throat. “If you find any more of these gems, Gringotts would be most interested in acquiring them. The larger, the better. They are called painite.”
“Why would we do that?” Apple Bloom said. “We have plenty of bits . . . galleons in the vault, we really don’t need any more.”
The Goblin frowned, then said, “If you were to bring us more, we would forgive certain fees in addition to paying you top galleon for the gems. We would even . . . open up certain ventures for your investment.”
Rarity walked over and took a closer look at the gem he was holding up. “Oh, yes,” she said brightly, “The Royal Guards at home enchant these gems to make their armour more effective. They prefer the smaller ones, though, they are easier to inset into the armour and easier to charge for the average uni . . . uh, wizard. The magic to charge them is proportional to their volume, you know.” She looked at it pensively. “I usually ignore them when I find them as my customers don’t like the way those gems interfere with their spell-casting if there are any sewn into their clothes.”
The Goblin wearing the suit kept his expression somewhat under control, but he still looked startled. Clearly, he realized that none of the mares in the room were simple muggles, or even average witches. The other Goblins looked shocked at such casual use of an extremely rare gem. And what that mention meant for the actual rarity of the item.
The Goblin nodded politely, then said, “Those two,” he pointed at the two guards who had originally been in the office, “will conduct you to the lobby. Your wallets should be ready by the time you get there. If you desire to sell Gringotts any more gems, ask for Knifethrower. I will deal fairly with you.”
Applejack gave him a hard look, then slowly nodded.
He opened a drawer and removed a key and knife. He handed both to Apple Bloom as the closest filly. While she was busy, the Goblin pulled out another paper wrote on it and dropped it in the outbound slot.
After the fillies all bled over the key to their vault and gave their names, Knifethrower declared their business concluded.
It was a quiet group that exited the office. The fillies were mulling over their new-found wealth and the mares were wondering why the fillies’ gems rated such special treatment. The gems Twilight had given their teller in the lobby had been so casually handled by comparison.
۸- ̬ -۸
“There they are,” Dash exclaimed pointing. Harry had to admit he relaxed a bit at seeing his friends and the adults coming out of a door at the back of the bank. The two guards escorting them were a surprise. Pinkie munching on popcorn and sharing it with one of the guards was a bit unexpected, but, hey, Pinkie. After her performance at The Leaky Cauldron he should be relieved she wasn’t leading a parade!
Before they were halfway to the rest of the group, several Goblins came hurrying out of another door at the back of the bank. Two of them were carrying wallets, one had a staff almost as tall as he was, with a large lens at his eyelevel, and the last simply followed the others.
The Goblins with the wallets caught up to the group at the front doors to the bank. One Goblin walked up to Twilight and silently held out a wallet. “Thank you,” she said taking it.
The other Goblin walked up to the three fillies, bowed, and held out four wallets. “Oh,” said Sweetie Belle, “These are so soft!” as she took one, followed quickly by the other two. “Oh, you’re right,” said Apple Bloom. “Here,” said Scootaloo, handing one to Harry. “We opened a vault with our gems. We don’t have to worry about bits while we’re here,” she said with a smirk, “the Goblins gave us two hundred and nine thousand galleons for them.” The eyes of the remaining adults, and Hermione, went wide as their jaws dropped open.
Scootaloo snickered, “And they wanted to know if we could get more!”
Surprised at the amount, Harry still rolled his eyes at her comment. “How many buckets of gems should we give them?” he asked sarcastically.
She laughed. “I think they’d fall over in a faint like Fluttershy if we brought in a bucket!” She got a mischievous look in her eyes, “Still, that would be funny, wouldn’t it?”
Harry grinned back at her.
The two Goblins standing beside them exchanged glances.
The other two Goblins had stopped some distance away and the one with the staff gasped loudly as he looked through the lens atop it. Harry looked over at him as the Goblin had his companion look through it as well. He, too, gasped.
The Goblin in front of Twilight said, “To seal the wallet to yourself,” he glanced at the other mares, “and anyone else you wish to grant access to it, put a drop of blood inside. Then only you or any others who are sealed to the wallet may remove funds.”
The other Goblin was giving the same instructions to the fillies. He held out his hand with a small silver knife on it. Sighing, the three fillies each took the knife and blooded their wallets before handing the knife to Harry, who followed their example. He had bled often enough at the hands of Dudley that sticking himself with a knife was nothing.
The Grangers watched avidly.
When Harry looked over again to the other two Goblins, they were already walking away to the back of the bank, whispering to each other. The Goblin not carrying the staff was waving his arms around wildly. Harry saw that Professor McGonagall, frowning in concentration, was also watching those two Goblins.
Seeing that their duties were completed, the two Goblins in front of them gave short bows to Twilight and the fillies, then left. Harry noticed that Professor McGonagall seemed surprised at the Goblins’ actions.
Twilight dropped her wallet into her purse, after baptising it with her and her friends’ blood.
۸- ̬ -۸
Oh yah AJ kicking some tail. Too bad they didn't get the stare. Hymn …. now that I think about it I hope they run into some vampires and they try to make fluttershy their queen. I think the secrets out with the goblins … hahaha.
Well it shows that earth ponies have something of worth competing with unicorn magic with their magically enhanced strength, affinity with the earth and intuitive understanding of what craft they decide to specialize. It is interesting that the CMC could create a whole industry surrounding Jews that with just start out with them scowling around for them. Still it is a great way to to cut out the muggle currency as the middle man for exchange rates.
I am a little worried of having so many major characters in the main cast to be in a same place can makes it a little confusing and derivative, So far you didn't had any problems with that and I hope it won't be in the future.
Bank job indeed... Applejack taught the Goblins you don't mess with the Apples. (he was lucky it was not Big Mac bucking him) Hmmm, maybe Fluttershy should bring Angel Bunny with her.
9041094
Er, what? I can’t parse that sentence.
9041113
I think he meant Jewels.
9041088
First i love your pic Secound. Flutterbat for vampire queen
9041123
And scrounging instead of scowling... looks like an autocorrect screwup
9041113
Sorry, I mean that CMC can create a whole industry around diamons and jewels where it all starts out digging for them in small cart loads in their spare time in summer. I wonder if the crown will capitalize on that at some point as well?
I wonder if Harry is the same as all other magical humans or if being a unicorn in Equestria for over a year had some side effects on him besides training his magic to operate like unicorn magic (and thus wandlessly). The descriptions, for instance, didn't mention him having a mark of a horn while a human (or a glow emanating from his forehead when he used his magic wandlessly). I'm guessing not, since none of the goblins bowed to him. Just the mares and fillies.
Still, Professor McGonagall is getting some strong hints that all isn't as it appears to be. Being an animagus herself, she before any other professor might come up with the idea they are non-human disguised as humans. Rainbow Dash already is saying, in front of other humans, stuff like "anypony" and the like.
Personally, I'm hoping that after this shopping trip, Hermione is invited to visit Harry's new home, and is taken for a tour of Ponyville. I don't see that as likely to happen though, making me wonder how else the pony-side of them will be revealed. Also, what someone like Mad Eye Moody would see with his eye.
Excellent!
What is it with HP-MLP fics and being super well thought out? Honestly, this is one of the best crossovers I've ever seen in regards to making it much more than just "X and Y meet and do fun stuff". You've made sure that both worlds have their own logic to them and it's a delight to see how they mix and collide. I'm honestly more excited for all the embassy tomfoolery than I am for seeing CMC at Hogwarts.
On another note, I'm now curious if there's a Labyrinth-HP crossover out there somewhere. I'm also curious how many gems Pinkie would need in order to bribe the goblins to perform Magic Dance.
9041154
Well, how could he? Can you see your own forehead? Except for Dumbles (and another who hasn’t appeared yet) it’s all from his POV (or info someone could have told him)
So... did she use her internal energy, or did AJ draw strength from the earth?
Yeah... With that kind of money, even split four ways, Harry could probably hire a good solicitor to buy out his non-liquid assets from under Dumbledore if he decided to try using them as leverage over him if he wanted and sill have a considerable amount left over.
Not saying Dumbledore would do that, but if that were the direction things take the option is now there.
Also, now the Equestrians know their options for dealing with the Goblins a bit better going forward, so that's also a plus.
My only complaint about this chapter is that you seemed to switch between muffins and cupcakes. Other than that, great chapter.
Oh yesss... the magic world has no idea what is about to hit them. An entire country full of more magic then exists in the whole of the world just came to say hello!
9041184
I didn't consider that, mostly because there are paragraphs that appear from others POV, like the good professor at points.
ugh, if AJ is that strong I don't even want to think of how strong Celestia would be. I imagine Toms killing curse might be powerful enough to itch her nose.
9041232
Which, again, could have been told to either Dumbles or Harry. And his wandless magic stuff is catching their attention far more than the possibility that there’s a faint glow on his forehead. Especially when they are outside in the sun.
9040722
I'm not disputing that, we don't know the mechanics of how they know who is to be a student, after all. What I am disputing is Dumbledore's awareness of where Harry was. All of the means he is using that we know of aren't tracking Harry's actual location, indicating that he is putting his faith in Harry remaining at Number Four.
His clear displeasure that Harry wasn't there is more because he is aware that he dropped the ball there and that Harry wasn't taken by force. Meaning that Harry wanted it. He's not going to be happy about that when he realizes it and is going to do one of a few things.
A) He is going to suspect that someone managed to talk Harry into it, suspecting Twilight and her backers.
B) He's going to rightly see it as the Dursleys making Harry see where he ended up as an improvement.
C) Something else.
As for the owl, they are canonically able to find anyone so long as a means exists for them to find them. It takes specific magics to prevent that, such as the Fidelius Charm or wards that specifically block owls from finding you. With the portal, that means exists. I am wondering just how the portal came about, which is why I posited that it was Discord or even the Fae. It could have been some other actor as well, I will admit.
Just hope it wasn't the Fae. Seriously, hope it wasn't them.
9041259
I doubt we're going with Ponies are OP, more like ponies have their own strengths and caught the goblins by surprise. The goblins were only trying to scare them, in a real fight no one is going to let AJ get in position to buck them like that.
9041172
I have two theories so far:
1. Dark magic in that mark were linked to Voldemort (and could be his accidental phylactery/horcrux), but "lost connection" due to him being too long either too far from Earth or in entirely different dimension and now deteriorates. That would be nice... but kinda too good to be true and less interesting for the story.
2. Magic (or fragment of Voldemort's soul) integrates into Harry's magic/soul which could mean him developing that dark side and could explain that odd line. That would also explain Harry's ability to talk with snakes in the original septology However, that is unlikely since that require shield over him to slowly degrade and let it through and I think Twi would notice that, but she came to conclusion that the shield is stable. Unless it's just not strong enough to completely contain that.
9041342
The thing is, and it's possible this story is changing certain details, the scar is just a scar. It was created when baby Harry was hit with the killing curse and has nothing to do with the piece of Voldemort's soul though it does seem that's where the soul chose to rest since the magic residue would have still been fresh at the time.
As for what the soul does, all it did was create a connection between Harry and Voldemort. This connection did not allow one to influence the other but it did allow them to peer into each others minds. It was because of this that Harry could speak parseltongue.
Based on this info, none of this really explains what's going on with Harry but like I said, the author might have changed how things worked especially with the scar fading which, if it followed the books, shouldn't be happening.
so... the goblins know what they are then.
9041316
Aj nearly kills a goblin on accident and comments how her preteen sister could have shrugged off a blow like that easy and you think ponies aren't overpowered here? Im not saying its a bad thing they are but if we scale that up Celestia is most likely a literal goddess in comparison.
9041435
It's more like AJ doesn't know her own strength.
9041435
Harry certainly thinks so; he said as much.
That said, I think they all have their strengths and weaknesses. Ponies are just really durable. (And again I wonder how much translated to Harry being a pony for over a year).
Celestia is probably as strong as the strongest Earth Pony, so it's possible that is equal to Applejack. Twilight and other Unicorn Ponies have been shown to be exceptional in musical strength in a few cases, so I don't think alicorns have above exceptional strength in each area, else we'd see them fly much better than Rainbow Dash.
9041396
I think it's telling that despite gaining that knowledge, they treated the ponies very well.
9041396
Only that they aren’t normal witches or muggles. Most magic users are only taught one form of channeling magic, via wand. it’s clear to the goblins that the Equestrians aren’t the run of the mill witch and wizards they are use to dealing with.
Back to the story:
So it’s clear that Earth Ponies magic comes out as “hitting it really hard”.
We also know that unicorns has all-purpose magic that just flows out of them. I wonder what will happen when everyone get there hands/hooves on a wand.
Now the question is how Pegasi magic will manifest. I’m hoping for mana based wings and weather related powers like Zapp's power set from Power Ponies.
9041183
I've seen a HP fanfic with David Bowie as the Goblin King... wherein it is established that "David Bowie" is a stage named used by the real Goblin King to further his music hobby... and that the actual leader of the Goblin Nation played himself in the muggle film "Labyrinth" as a lark. Harry Potter, Unexpected Animagus, by Dark Wing Duck to be exact.
9041184
Well, someone could have told him? Like McGonagall when he levitated that fizzy drink as an example during her visit to give the CMC their letters? Of course the narrative didn't mention the glow from the Equestrians or the things they levitated in that scene either... you know, since the lack of mention by the narrative isn't proof of something's nonexistence. Otherwise the lack of mention of Mr. Potter's shoes would mean he went to the bank barefoot, and I don't see anyone *cough*Canary*cough* trying to say Harry did something as silly as that.
Factually wrong. We have already had a POV from both McGonagall and the solicitor just on the Earth side. We also had a POV from Celestia early on in Equestria.
That is a completely meaningless argument. Mostly because that technically includes any(and every)thing that is known to anyone... from the consistency Queen Elizabeth's last bowel movement to how to create a Philosopher's Stone. The Queen certainly knows about her own bowels and is more than capable of telling anyone she damn well pleases, just as Nicholas Flamel knows how he created his PS and is physically capable of telling Harry should he so wish.
Well, now I want a MLP / Labyrinth crossover.
This quote alone makes me seriously question letting Twilight anywhere near the group's finances, thankfully Applejack & Rarity are there. Her comment is one of being supremely privileged and, if exposed, makes her very vulnerable to being exploited by book sellers in the HP universe. That said, its actually a good portrayal for one who was raised like Twilight was (basically as a daughter of the current ruler).
9041456
makes me wonder, if the goblins have had interactions with equestrians before, and had a positive experience? i mean, they bowed to twilight, even though she wasn't of particular note like the fillies and their gems. i could be reading too far into it though... i do that a lot xD
The Goblins likely want to know where these gems and the strange witches that brought them come from. I would not be too surprised if the Equestrians are followed.
Oh, and if a goblin does get through the portal, I'm thinking it would turn into a Diamond Dog.
9041435
Ponies are incredibly resilient. I’m pretty sure that dropping a piano and anvil on a wizard would be considered fatal. Twilight just ended up in hospital, not dead. Not to mention the frequent craters left by Dash as she crashes into the ground. So, her remark isn’t as much about how hard she hit him, as to how easy it was to break him.
9041467
Incorrect. Harry was either with the solicitor or the solicitor told him what had happened (i.e., buying Miss Marple’s house was the story he told them as they went to the portal). And McGonagall’s story was what she told Dumbles. These are all situations like you see in a movie, where instead of the actor spending ten minutes telling the other actor what happened, we see the scene play out from the first actor’s POV. And many novels also follow that system.
Sorry, but you are wrong. The flow of information system explains how the POV character knows what he knows (He knows what he sees and hears, and what other people tell him. That I chose to use a scene from another character’s POV to do that instead of putting up a solid wall of text as Char. B tells Char. A what they did is called drama). And he knows ONLY what another character could REASONABLY be expected to tell him. This is why I introduced Dumbles as a POV character, because there is absolutely no way Harry would even know anything that Dumbles learns. The Headmaster would never tell him. And because this story is NOT Third Person Omniscient, I need those additional characters to allow readers to “see” what is going on when Harry is not present.
9041526
That depends, wizards can easily fix any kind of mundane malady with magic, as long as they didn't die instantly they probably wouldn't wind up in a hospital. Plus if they saw it coming they could easily protect themselves. It's generally only magical maladies that cause wizards to be confined to a hospital bed for an extended period of time. Rainbow wound up in the hospital for several days when she hurt her wing in a crash but wizards probably could have gotten her flying within a day.
Not to mention what happened to Twilight was done in a slap stick manner and not a proper indicator of pony resilience. You could also make the excuse that as a pony her magic protected her in which case wizards would have a similar advantage.
9041316
9041435
No, he is right, Ponies are OP. And you can tell this just bt how strong Goblins are.
Goblins have no projecting magic (Dragon flame breath, Vampires flying, Veela seduction power, basically something obviously magical) That makes them knew of only two creatures covered by the statute of secrecy due to subtle abilities that can't pass for normal. The only other being Trolls.
This alone speaks of Goblin resilience.
IN ADDITION with no magic other then enhanced armor and swords (as Goblins are recorded as the reason WHY its illegal to give non humans wands) they have successfully fought wizards to a standstill 3+ (we don't know how many Goblin Rebellions their were, apart from the fact their were enough they make up as big a part of history as both World Wars do for Muggles) times AND can imprison Dragons.
Seriously think about that for a second. Usimg SWORDS they fought a race with unblockable kill spells to a standstill 3+ times, and thus managed to secure their independence. While the goblins are said to have 'lost' the wealth and power of the goblin banking system basically shows this to be the Wizards seeking to save face.
And this is complete independence mind you. Neither Fudge's Ministry NOR Voldemort messes with how the bank does things.
With very few exceptions, and none bar the Dementors and Wizards having equal intellect, the books show the Goblins as the most powerful race in Harry Potter. To an insane degree.
If Goblins were allowed wands they would be superior to wizards and witches in every conceivable metric according to the implications of the books.
And Applejack almost killed one by accident.
A warrior race that fought wizardkind to a standstill, multiple times, somehow tied against a group of people that have instant death/stunning spells.... that are considered a SAFER WAY TO PROTECT YOU MONEY THEN INSTANT DEATH/STUNNING SPELLS.... that until the philosophers stone had not been robbed in centuries, despites instant death spells AND invisibility....
Lost to a pony kick. Almost died to a WEAK pony kick, one that would have barely hurt Applebloom. The fact the banker literally walked into that move (something well known among martial artists) implies Applejack moved with incredible speed as well as strength,
And a Warrior races trained guards...were afraid...were hesitate to enforce its own laws DESPITE THE FACT that we were told the Ministry both won't and CAN'T enforce its laws over Gringrots.
Either the ponies are OP or the author doesn't realize how stupidly powerful Goblins in Harry Potter are.
Finally edit: Instant kill AND instant healing spells. Despite not being able to heal soldiers on the battlefield instantly like wizards can, they still went toe to toe and fought them to a standstill often enough and long enough to be the most important event in Wizarding history.
9041608
Hopefully the latter cause I didn't know all that stuff about goblins.
Golin lies to ponies
Applejack calls him on it
Goblin physically atracks
Applejack defends herself, (with what she sees as resonable force)
Goblin is shown to be a liar.
Why was the concept of honor not brought up by the goblins? The jewler acted dishonorably on several levels, even if we allow for attacking an unarmed opponent as culturally allowed. I suspect the fallout from this encounter will be more substantial than already shown.
Also, not only are th ponies aware of the different views on the value of these gems, so are the goblins. Supply and demand are going to p,ay havoc here.
9041526
I know you're trying to keep things to just Harry's point of view, but writing from the third person perspective limits the effectiveness of that tactic. Third person is the "invisible observer" the literary fly on the wall, and details that the characters would miss can be clearly available to the reader. However, you are handling the information flow fairly well. I like that we don't know how his time as a unicorn has affected Harry's magic or how he uses it.
Overall, though, I think you have managed it quite well so far and I am looking forward to this story continuing.
9041526
Its worth noting that Wizards are also shown to be more resilient then muggles. A Bludger hitting the ground causes a small crater to form. This is 150 pounds of solid iron moving at high speeds. If it impacted a normal person....they would be in a critical condition if not dead.
But as we saw in Harry Potter, its possible to be knocked off your broom and fall multiple stories due to these....and suffer only a broken wrist.
And as my previous comment (9041608) explains, Goblins are several steps above Wizards in both resilience and magical resistance.
9041187
Little bit of column A, little bit of column B I think. From what we know from the Tirek episodes, Pony magic in general is internal, but magic does seem to permeate Equestria as a whole.
9041628
First, they failed to complain, meaning the Goblins could publicly pretend it didn't happen and handle it internally. We won't be hearing from the goblin again.
Second, internal affairs are not aired to the public.
Third, the ponies don't know the place of honour as practiced by the Goblins, which means that they do not know that what happened would be considered "dishonourable."
Fourth,the Mane 6 are used to villainous acts by others, including dragons. diamond dogs, and griffons. They write it off as "typical" non-pony behaviour.
9041618
The thing is its never directly spelt out, and thats what makes it so hard.
We hear about the Goblin Rebellions in ALMOST every book, and we know from Hermione that they are a critical part of your OWLS, showing the large effect they had on Wizarding History.
This is also shown by the fact that Goblins are the only non-human race (excluding maybe the Hags) to have a Chocolate Frog Card, again a sign of their impact on history.
The Goblins also made and enchanted several items in Harry Potter, the most famous of which is the Sword of Gryffindor itself. Another example is a helm that is mentioned by Hagrid that is believed to be completely indestructible. This ability to make magical items is likely part of the reason why they could continually fight against the Wizards.
Likewise in the Deathly Hallows, Ron (who while not perfect, is fairly progressive by Wizard Standards) makes the claim that Goblins don't need Wands because they can already do magic without them. This implies that Goblin wandless magic, even if its just enchantment of crafted items, blacksmithing and curses, is at least BELIEVED to be incredibly strong by Wizarding kind. Close to Equal in fact.
Likewise we know that they have several creatures lurking in Gringrots to protect the Vaults. The Dragon in the Deathly Hallows is the most famous one, but their are almost certainly more. Even if they raised these creatures from Eggs, it means that they are capable of taking on a fully grown Dragon and stealing its Eggs.
Once we add Pottermore stuff it gets real dumb.
A Goblin famously picked up a stolen wand at the start of one of the Goblin wars and turned several mail boxes into wilder beast, and as such we know their magic is good enough to be able to use a wand first time around for complex transfiguration....something it takes Hogwarts students many years to learn.
Another rebellion was organized the imprisonment of a Goblin....and the Wizards got so badly beaten that time two Ministers of Magic in succession had to resign due to failing to defeat the Goblins. For a President or Prime Minster to resign due to war defeats is a rare event, and usually means the nation is on the verge of defeat. For a second one to do so....their is a question of if the Ministry of Magic was a Government in Exile at this point.
Given how fast a wizard can cast spells, the closest real life equivalent is the Zulu's vs the British Empire....except instead of winning only one fight (something they went down in history for as amazing fighters) the Zulu managed to almost throw the English out of South Africa entirely...on at least 3 occasions and THEN proceed to take control of the English Banking sector until they got a monopoly.
9038794
Hey, I'm an American who agrees that the Metric system is better than ours.
But too many Americans aren't taught in it, so even if the school system wanted to switch, they couldn't because of all the complaints it would generate.
Also, it's always exciting to see the goblins get more fleshing out than merely 'bankers that happened to have a rebellion.' They're a big part of the background of the world and story, but are often relegated to just the background. Even if it's just a small bit of extra fluff.
Are all of these chapters pre-written, or are you just that fast and that good?
Pic of cut painite gem
gemsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/June16Painite.jpg
9041759
When I'm inspired, I can do about a chapter a day. Otherwise, it's one or two a week. I have a lead of about ten chapters. Which allows me to go back and add details that I forgot when I first did a chapter. it also allows me to make corrections in later chapters based on criticisms/ideas mentioned currently. For example, some time back someone mentioned a bobby noticing the things happening in the forest beside a the park. That sparked a thought that gave me four upcoming chapters. And then I recently found a possible map for the area containing #4 Privet Drive, which meant I had to go back and retcon about ten chapters changing street names and stuff. All changes of which were before I posted them meeting the solicitor.
9041800
WOW. You are the fastest writer that I’ve ever seen. WOOOOO
9041814
Perhaps, but that chapter a day means eight hours of typing, not a few hours in the evening after work.
But thanks for the compliment. I do appreciate it.
I might not be up to date on duel citizenship or requesting asylum from another country, but couldn’t they use either of those to gain custody of Harry? I mean given the condition they found Harry in no, uncorrupt, justice system would let Albus remain a guardian of Harry.
Even if those wouldn’t work, once the embassy is established in the non-magical world the Equestrians could become his legal guardians through them. After all they are all magicals so Harry’s magical guardianship would transfer to them by default once they become his non-magical guardians.