12 - Building Bridges
Chapter Twelve
Building Bridges
In the days after First Contact, Sunset resumed her work with the magical computer circuit as Hermione delved further into computer programming. Their pet project was taking up much of their free time that wasn’t already devoted to something else, despite some poking and prodding from their friends and parents.
Granted, some of the work involved stretches of time where she just kept an eye on her circuit, and, having taken up Celestia’s suggestion, she had plenty to read.
To say that they had turned things upside down was a bit of an understatement.
The Daily Prophet was the primary source of news for most Wizards, with the Quibbler being among the other, smaller papers or magazines all of which focused on the news that was dominating Wizarding Britain. The Prophet’s first edition after that day was probably one of the longest.
FIRST CONTACT! VISITORS FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION MAKE OFFICIAL APPEARANCE AT MINISTRY!
There was still a fair bit of incredulousness among many wizards and witches, it seemed, with many wondering if they were being played for suckers or if the Ministry was trying to make some big prank. A few wondered if the Quibbler had somehow taken over the Daily Prophet.
Hermione had found the most amusing take in the early days though to come from a journalist named Rita Skeeter, who pointed out the irony that it was the Wizarding world to make contact and prove that aliens did in fact exist, rather than the Muggles.
Only two days afterwards, Sunset had learned from Luna that her father was getting swamped with new subscriptions and letters wanting to know even more about Equestria and especially the Princess. It seemed that, as it became clear it wasn’t a prank and that the Quibbler had been the first to cover it, that it couldn’t be as much of a crazy rag as many had seen it to be.
Later editions were filled to the brim with interviews of those who had been involved in preparing for the big moment, as well as entire pages of opinion pieces both from journalists at the Prophet and from those regular readers were sending in.
Sunset had found a fair bit of amusement reading some of the ones in the following days that were matching a trend she’d sometimes seen in the muggle and Equestrian papers- readers responding to the opinions of fellow readers. Said amusement had been tempered a few times though by some of the less … pleasant ones the Prophet had chosen to print.
Speaking of which, Celestia had been sending her some of the papers circulating in Equestria as word spread there as well. Most of the responses across the realm were of curiosity and excitement at the prospects of what this new world offered. Only a rather cynical paper from Cloudsdale seemed to suggest that this could be the beginning of dark times for ponykind.
One side effect of all this, though, that Sunset could have done without were the letters from various journalists, who now wanted to interview Hogwarts’ first Interdimensional student. She consoled herself that so far, no one had tried to arrange a marriage for her. She was fairly sure, at this point, that Dumbledore had been joking.
Soon however, the day arrived that forced Sunset to divert her attention from one project to another. Specifically, one she had been looking forward to resuming.
She had received a response from Crabbe. It was time for her to pay a visit to the three Slytherin students and see if she could expand the work she’d started with Crabbe to the other two.
Draco Malfoy would have never admitted it, but he was a bit nervous. This dinner between his family and those of his two, well, after what he’d learned on the Hogwarts Express home, he would hesitantly call them friends, had been planned for weeks.
Political first contact with a nation of magic users from a different world had been … disruptive, but ultimately hadn’t changed the timetable. The plans to meet with the Gryffindor who had been secretly training Crabbe for the better part of a year, much to his surprise, were a relatively recent addition, but once his parents and the adult guests retired, it really was the perfect opportunity to talk with all three of them at once.
Learning that that same Gryffindor had been from a different dimension had come as a shock. That the eagle she’d been carrying around for the last year was actually a phoenix, really hadn’t surprised him much more after that.
He’d been caught completely off guard, he was pained to admit, by the creeping changes to Crabbe’s behavior over the past year. He hadn’t done anything rash, but, simply sprinkled into normal conversation, he’d said small things here and there, sowing the seeds of doubt in him and Goyle for most of the year. He hadn’t thought the boy capable of such subtlety. It truly proved that he was suited to be a Slytherin.
It also left him wondering about Sunset Shimmer herself. After all, it had been her who had set the changes in Crabbe in motion. He’d need to keep his eye on her regardless of if this training that she wished to share with them paid off.
There was another matter. The training. After learning his secret, Goyle had challenged Crabbe to a sparring match in their dorm. Physical contact only, no magic. The result had been ... impressive.
He could easily see Goyle profiting from the same training. But unless she had some other tricks up her sleeve, the only thing he could see himself gaining from this was figuring out just how she’d gotten Crabbe to actually use his brain.
Well, that wasn’t entirely true. The training itself would supposedly help improve his magic, at least from what Crabbe had told the two of them. Something about being physically fit allowing the magic to flow better. He would have to see that to believe it. After all, if there was such a simple way to improve one’s magical strength, more wizards and witches would do it, right?
“So you’re sure she can just come here?” he asked Crabbe as they sat down in their room on one of the upper floors of his family’s expansive manor.
“Don’t worry about that. I just told her to wait for my signal.” Crabbe pulled out a piece of paper, the same he apparently used to communicate with Sunset Shimmer, and his wand. He tapped the latter against the former and its tip glowed a soft yellow. In turn, four complicated magic circles in the corners of the paper lit up, flashed for a second and faded again.
“There. She’s coming.” With a smile, Crabbe took a step back and sat down in one of the chairs at the edge of the room.
Draco was about to ask him what he was on about when the air where he’d just stood warped and a familiar girl appeared out of nowhere. She gave Crabbe a smile and turned to the others. “Hello. So you’ve decided to give my training a try?”
Draco watched her carefully. With her clothes she could have passed for a muggle without issue, he suspected, though he didn’t actually know enough about how muggles dressed to be sure. She still wore the same bag she had been at Hogwarts, but now matched with a black leather jacket of all things and a short dress beneath, matching the summer temperatures. He was surprised she hadn’t brought her phoenix along. Though Malfoy Manor was warded against them, perhaps she’d known or at least suspected.
When he managed to focus back on what she’d said, Goyle had already nodded, so he gave a tentative nod as well. She smiled at that, and said “Now, first, if at any point you decide you're done with these training sessions, just tell me and we’ll stop. As long as we are doing them, do your best to follow what I or in some cases Vincent say. He’s been doing this with me for a while and can help you two catch up.”
“And don’t worry about getting it perfect the first time.” Crabbe said, smiling a bit as he stood up and stretched. “You’ll make some mistakes, it comes with the territory. I know I did. If you do, just take a deep breath and try again.”
“Alright, hold up just a second.” She got up and looked around the room. “I take it your parents are in the house as well?” When she received a round of nods, she gave them a sly smile. “And I take it you don’t want them to know we’re doing this?” Another round of nods. “Alright then, hold on a moment. She drew her wand and waved it around the room for a few seconds. “There, that should last for a few hours. What we’re doing here might get a bit noisy and we wouldn’t want them to hear. Now for a bit of space…” Without even moving her wand, she lit its tip and several pieces of furniture were surrounded by a teal glow and floated aside.
“There we go. Vincent, can you help Gregory? I’ll help Draco.”
“Sure thing, Sunset.”
And so they got to training. Sunset, as she quickly insisted they call her, wasn’t a terrible teacher, he had to admit. She was always pleasant, but still quick to point out any mistakes they made. And they made plenty. At several points she complained under her breath about wizarding children ‘not even knowing basic physics’ but quickly explained concepts like leverage and momentum. It wasn’t difficult, really, just not something he’d thought about as useful before. Or at all, for that matter.
But still, he couldn’t deny that the training was exhausting. He was certainly the most exhausted out of all of them by the time they finished, but Goyle wasn’t doing much better. Crabbe was hardly sweating at all and if Sunset had been sweating, he couldn’t tell. Though perhaps she had also been using the charms she quickly used to clean the three boys of sweat and bring them and the room back in order. It was hard to tell, really.
When they’d all sat down again and she had floated the furniture back to where it belonged, she gave him and Goyle a piece of paper each. “These,” she explained, “are linked into our messaging system. That way you’ll be able to talk to each other without having to wait for owls and to me without your parents getting suspicious. If there’s another time we can meet up like this, let me know. Otherwise, we can continue this back at Hogwarts.”
With a wave of her wand, she canceled the charms she’d placed across the room and only now did he notice all the noise from the rest of the house they’d held away, mostly their parents talking elsewhere in the manor. Apparently their discussion had become a bit heated at some point.
Sunset chuckled lightly. “Oh dear, I guess I can see our little first contact being a bit disruptive. Let’s hope they calm down soon.” He could only agree, shouting around like that was unbecoming of a Slytherin. Why his father had lost control like that, he wasn’t sure, but he didn’t like it. “Oh well,” Sunset continued with a smile. “Probably time I got going. I’m still expecting a guest later tonight. I’ll be in touch.”
With that, she snapped her fingers, the air around her warped again and she was gone.
He wasn’t sure what to think of her, but he was sure that he’d have no trouble sleeping tonight. He was exhausted.
When Sunset returned home that night, Philomena hadn’t returned yet. She had been helping Princess Celestia for the last few days. A quick check on their shared bond was enough for her to know that she wouldn’t be much longer.
Sunset decided to look over her circuits as she waited. There wasn’t much to do there, but she checked them over anyway. Perhaps she should try seeing if she could miniaturize them more?
A wave of flame heralded Philomena’s return. Sunset turned around with a smile.
“Hey there Lyra. How’re you doing?”
The question wasn’t really necessary. She could tell just how excited Lyra was to be staying with them. They had decided that would be the easiest way to ensure her Hogwarts letter could actually reach her. Owl mail didn’t go across dimensions, after all.
“Oh this is so exciting! So this is how humans without magic live?”
“Well sort of,” Hermione chimed in. “Mom and Dad have had magic for a few months now. A few things have changed around here. But most things are still as they were.”
“Oh, and the majority of humans don’t know magic exists,” Sunset pointed out. “So unless you’re somewhere with none of them around, don’t use it, okay?”
Lyra nodded happily. “Sure. No problem.”
Sunset had to suppress a groan when she saw the excitement on Lyra’s face if anything only grow. Getting her to sleep would be a trial.
It had been trying getting Lyra to actually sleep that first day. And the second day. And pretty much every other day that first week. But by the time the week was over, Lyra had somewhat adapted to the human world. They had gotten her a full wardrobe, so she could have something more to wear than the clothes she got from traveling between worlds, as well as a few more basic necessities. Sunset had also enchanted another bag for her.
Then, one morning, there was a clicking on one of the windows. Sunset watched with a smile as Emma opened it with a swing of her wand and let the owl in. It immediately turned to Hermione, Lyra and her, and stretched out a leg with three letters.
Knowing what would be expected, they had already had Lyra’s answer prepared, stating that she would be attending, which she was now tying to the leg of the owl with a bit of magic. Lyra still had trouble using magic without her horn, but basic telekinesis was well within her ability.
When the owl fluttered off, satisfied, the three of them opened their letters. After skimming over the letter itself, Sunset looked over the materials list and giggled.
“Well, looks like Professor Dumbledore found a Defense teacher after all.”
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Please tell me it wont be THAT idiot *facepalm*
Please let it be Chou Densetsu Ba-kon
I can’t wait to see Sunset’s reaction to Lockhart (five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award)
9940204
I suspect it is going to be something along the lines of "Burn the fake with fire!"
Most excellent.
9940199
I know this was not what you referenced, but I couldn't but imagine Magah and her fascination with Bacon
9940314
I can confirm that Magah is in fact not the new defense teacher...
I wonder if Hogewarts was getting slightly annoyed at having to wait so long for Lyra to calm down before she was capable of being accepted in?
9940368
What exactly do you mean?
9940379
Hogwarts the building sends out the letters? Just thinking Lyra being so exiting over humans would be too disruptive immediately, so it waited for her to calm down first?
9940395
Nah, it just sent out her letter along with everyone else's.
nice work
Nice work. You keep me interrested., but I have a serious question on mind.
Do you actually plan to ship Sunset with one of the Slytherins, I think this could be verry funny.
9940581
For the moment, I don't plan to ship Sunset with anyone. That being said, I don't generally plan to ship, it just tends to happen when the opportunity arises.
Assuming it is Lockheart, I give it less then a week for Sunset to reveal him as a fake.
9940597
That'll depend on how much he does to catch her interest. We shall see ...
9940600
This IS Lockheart though. He wouldn't be able to stand a girl NOT being interested in him. The moment Sunset shows a lack of interest is the moment Lockheart world probably do something stupid to try and get her attention. Especially since she's a part of the first contact.
9940614
I suppose so ... Oh goodness, I'm going to have fun having him interact with Luna ... I wonder how that happened in canon...?
To bad Luna wasn't a character in the books at that point ... serious missed opportunity.
9940617
Could always find a way to add her. Could just have her randomly show up from time to time ala Pinkie Pie and scare Lockheart.
Eeyyyup!
Hmm, interesting. Those three could become both better persons and Slytherins? Now that's what I call proper character development.
9940314
Magah provided the proper way to address anything Ba-kon related stuff
9940324
I never said she was...
On that note...
OF COURSE IT HAD TO BE THE FAKEST OF FAKE WIZARDOS!
I really wanted the Chou Densetsu Ba-kon to teach 'em wizards how CelesAI does defense against the Dork Arts
9937704
Well, for a start, why not have more Equestrians end up attending Hogwarts? And a possible answer is that bringing Lyra or another character in gives a chance to provide a new perspective, perhaps in more ways than one.
9939881
to be fair, right now the idea is Spike is still a small baby baby dragon. There's only so much you can do with that when Twilight isn't the central character,
9941233
Careful there. One thing you need to keepin mind with that is that Sirius is talking about wizarding history. For the longest time that was mostly wizards vs. the magical creature of the day. (And mind you, Sirius would probably only know about the goblin revolts because that's all Bins ever teaches.)
Oh boy, here comes Lockhart, I think.
9941974
I mean, yeah, but I was thinking of reasons that wouldn't make someone tired of Lyra being in everything human-related mad. I personally don't mind Lyra as long as the character isn't being uncharacteristically obnoxious, but since a lot of bad stories overuse the fandom reference, a lot of people are "done" with it.
So I was addressing why somepony would even be added in the first place, and then why that pony was a relative nobody in terms of raw power. In those terms, Lyra is a convenient choice due to a relative proximity to Canterlot in the beginning of the show (implying she went to school for magic), and she is still relatively familiar to fans. And we haven't observed her doing any tremendous feats of magic, either.
Oh, no!
We getting Lockharted, aren't we?
9945535
of course but i'm looking forward to how sunset will tear down Lockheart's ego piece by agonizing piece.
How does Harry get his letter then?
9975440
Lyra is a first-year, so the spells address her letter automatically. Higher years have their letters addressed and sent manually, so Dumbledore sent his letter through Fawkes.
Is it sad that I really want Lockhart dead. Not because of what he did in the books, he got his just desserts for that, but for what he did in a dream I had several years ago?
10008379
It's basic fearie lore.
It would be funny to sunset come across the earth version in Lupin's third year DADA class and have a total freak out about the differances between the eart and equestrian versions
10008524
It would be rather funny, but I don't see that as being in Sunset's established personality here. She's been on Earth long enough, and seen enough differences between the worlds to maybe be a little disturbed, but she'd likely expect some differences to exist. Now Garnet herself maybe freaking out a little would be more likely, being as it might be seen as slander against her species, depending on how much Garnet perceives of what goes on around Sunset.
10016679
To be honest, I'm not sure how Garnet would react to something like that ... she's never met another one of her species ...
10017826
That's true, and opens up a couple options regarding her possible reaction. Given the intelligence boost from Sunset, there's the potential there for such an event (which doesn't striclty need to happen, we're all just tossing things around here) to either upset her that people misunderstand her species so badly, depending on how strongly her instincts that guided her tell her she's acting correctly, or to throw her into some kind of existential crisis wondering if that's what she's going to end up like. Of course, she could also just dismss it as having nothing to do with her, and thus is irrelevant.
10017976
I would probably say the third option is the most likely ... that being said, I've already established that she isn't transformed from switching dimensions ... which quite heavily implies that she doesn't have a local equivalent, so the question is kinda moot anyway ...
10018081
True, hehe. Was an interesting thought excercise though.
interesting chapters can't wait to see how the two dimension get along and how celestia and whoever else is going to effect the story
10028274
just hope, this is not what is to crush the story ..