Back To Basics
Sunset’s jerked her head up from her pillow mid-snore, as the sunlight spilled in through the room. <<Wuh? Turnips,>> she said in Equestrian, before realizing where she was and what she was.
She stumbled out of bed, with Hermione being the only other one up yet, all the other girls were still sleeping or groaning in protest at the early hour.
Sunset knew however, that morning came whether she wished it or not. She knew that because she had asked the actual mover of the sun several times to make it come up later, but to no avail. If anything she suspected that Celestia raised it sooner every time she asked.
“You’re going to get sores, sleeping in your clothes like that,” Hermione pointed out, as Sunset stumbled across the room.
She aimed one eye, shortly followed by the other, to see that Hermione seemed to be wearing some sort of special sleeping getup.
“... ‘Mmma ge’ one a’ that,” Sunset mumbled, stumbling out of the door, registering that Hermione asked what she said but forgetting the answering part.
Sunset found herself waking up more and more as she walked down the corridors to the great hall for breakfast, yawning and stretching on the way.
She sat down with a thump next to Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, and reached for some cereals. “Morning.”
“Morning,” they both said in response, before going back to whatever they had been talking about.
Apparently, Harry had a lot of questions about magic, which Ron answered as best as he could, which was kind of lackluster. Sunset didn’t blame him. He wasn’t educated yet, after all.
“Did you see him? The boy with black hair?” some girl asked as some people walked past.
Harry himself just stared down on his plate, taking a deep breath.
“Hey,” Sunset said to him, and held out her hand to him and Ron in greeting. “Sunset Shimmer.”
“Harry Potter.”
“Ron Weasley.”
“I saw you a few days ago in The Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley,” Sunset noted to Harry. “You were with the groundskeeper, Rubeus Hagrid.”
Harry stared at her for a moment, before he recognised her. “And I saw you in Flourish and Blotts. You know Hagrid then?”
“Not as such, I’ve only met him shortly. So you’ve defeated some really powerful wizards then?”
Harry scoffed, but in a nervous way. “That’s what everyone says. I don’t remember. And it was just one.”
Sunset didn’t know if she was relieved or disappointed. “Oh. Well, if you figure out how you did it, please don’t try it on me.”
“I uh… I don’t think defeating powerful wizards is something any of us can do just yet,” Harry nervously offered.
“Speak for yourself. Oh well, hopefully they’ll teach us how to do it properly around here.”
“I wish I had her confidence,” Ron muttered to Harry, as Sunset emptied a pot of coffee, and set to reading her transfiguration book.
When classes rolled around, it was time for Transfiguration. Sunset’s view on McGonagall hadn’t changed, she was strict and punitive for no apparent reason, meaning it was because she enjoyed it.
All Sunset needed was to keep her head down and focus on learning, and finally she was supposed to learn wanded magic. From a teacher that is, she had already practiced some on her own.
It was to her disappointment that their first task was to transform a matchstick into a needle.
McGonagall doled out a pack of matches for each student, who set to waving their wands at it and speaking magic words.
Sunset looked around, to see that everyone was busy with their own stuff, and, just to experiment, she poked at it with her index finger, the nail of which was glowing teal.
It immediately changed shape, which no one had managed yet with their wands. Only Hermione’s were slowly changing with each more concentrated and deliberate casting.
Sunset picked up her wand. If she wanted to not draw attention to herself, she would do the motion, and speak the words.
She had to stop when she got halfway through the motion though, as she felt the magic course through her, but it wasn’t quite how she was used to it.
It took a few attempts of slower and slower casting, but Sunset felt she started to understand enough to form a preliminary hypothesis.
Wand magic didn’t use her magic, it used magic around her, plucked it from around her and gave her limited control over it through the spell.
If that was the case, wand magic could be interesting indeed. It would have severe limitations, such as needing highly specialized formulas for even minor magic spells, as well as all the variations, but it seemed to Sunset that it would function as a very efficient equalizer, enabling those with little magic, or much magic but little control over it, to use cast powerful and sophisticated spells, at the expense of difficulty to learn.
It was a preliminary hypothesis, but, intrigued, Sunset silently cast the complete version of the spell, the mechanics of which she has been studying all this time, on a matchstick, turning it into a needle.
McGonagall hovered between the students, observing and measuring with a strictly neutral face. When she reached Sunset’s place, Sunset quickly shoved the two needles under her box of matches to hide it, and pretended to struggle with no results on her next one.
McGonagall wasn't to be fooled though. She slid the box to the side, and saw the needles underneath. Sunset looked up at her with an innocent face and shrugged.
“... Five points for Gryffindor,” she said, to Sunset’s desperate negatory waving and hissing.
Some of the students looked at her, confused, but didn’t seem to have heard McGonagall’s doling out of points.
Except for Neville, who looked at her in amazement.
“How did you do that?” he asked in a quiet voice.
Sunset groaned internally. Oh well, at least Neville was already aware that she could cast spells silently.
“Ehm…magic?”
Neville started paying close attention to Sunset, to try and notice her secret. It proved a bit of a problem for Sunset, who tried wandering the castle, getting a feel for activity and hiding places as she looked for good teleportation-spots.
And at lunch came one of the great challenges for Sunset. This time, she was sitting in the great hall, when students from all years started pouring into the great hall at irregular intervals, and Sunset saw what so many of the girls were wearing.
Leggings, and thigh high socks, everywhere.
She stared down at her warm porridge, wishing it was ice cold.
Charms were similarly tricky to Transfiguration. Sunset made the mistake of thinking about the levitation charm they were learning while her wand was lying next to her on the table, sending a whole sack of feathers that Flitwick had brought into the air as she cussed under her breath.
None of the other students could figure out what happened, but Flitwick glanced at Sunset with amused suspicion.
Luckily, Defence Against the Dark Arts was, as of yet, strictly theoretical, although it also meant it was utterly boring, just like Magical History, and neither raw magical power, nor skill at spell-slinging, helped when it came to Herbology.
Then came Potions.
Sunset had been annoyed at Professor Quirrell, the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, for being a poor teacher, wasting her time. That paled in comparison to Snape, the Potions teacher, who was outright hostile to Sunset’s academic pursuits, as well as anyone else’s.
At first, Sunset had been glad that Harry Potter was so famous and drawing the teachers’ attention, but she made an exception for Snape, who raised her hackles so much she had bring up her potions books and focus on reading it to keep herself from walking up to Snape and flatten his nose across his face.
Which she strongly suspected she’d be able to. Sunset had noticed that her general pony magic, as distinct from her unicorn magic specifically, was something she had kept as a human. She hadn’t managed to get a precise comparison yet, but it was clear that other humans would not have been able to pick up two other humans at the same time and swing them by their legs and throw them across the great hall, and that they would likely not be able to shrug off the experience very easily.
Regardless, Snape did let up on his oh so drawn out mockery of Harry and they could get to working on some potions, finally.
Sunset had been looking forward to this, as potion making wasn’t something she had studied very closely at Canterlot, but Snape made it very hard to concentrate. She figured she’d have to practice on her own in her spare time.
“Shimmer!” Snape barked. “You will pay attention to me when I speak!”
Sunset stopped focusing on her potion- something Snape had been very adamant about how you shouldn’t do, especially since she had been the odd one out and wasn’t paired up with anyone- to compliment Draco Malfoy’s slug in front of the entire class.
Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, Sunset’s potion survived the lapse of focus. She would have liked a reason for Snape to criticize her for something he had ordered her to. That would be an interesting letter to send to the school board.
Neville and Seamus weren’t so lucky though. Their cauldron melted, and sent a corrosive liquid all over the floor, burning people’s shoes.
Sunset simply lifted her feet and continued working.
Snape redirected the blame onto Harry though, which was both unbelievable and expected at the same time, and Sunset hadn’t even been in the same room as Snape for an hour.
She could have said loudly that it was not only poor behavior from a teacher, or any professional, or any adult really, but that this was grounds for an evaluation by an education inspector… but she didn’t.
<<Lay low. Don’t draw any attention to yourself,>> she mumbled.
In the end, Sunset’s potion was adequate. Not quite as good as Hermione’s, but close enough. At least to herself, she ignored Snape and didn’t register what he said about it.
Sunset planned on going up to the owlery and send a request to Madam Malkins, asking for a catalogue to order some sleepwear through, but put that off for later and went back to the Gryffindor dormitories, climbing the stairs, and collapsing on the bed.
All the other girls were out at the moment, so Sunset was left alone with her thoughts.
The verdict was in: McGonagall was competent and knowledgeable, while Flitwick and Pomona Sprout were kind, helpful, and knowledgeable. Quirrell was a useless lump, Binns was a waste of time, and Snape was a… Sunset didn’t even know the words.
It was so much better In Canterlot. At least it used to be, before Cadence came along and demanded all of Celestia’s attention.
Celestia knew everything, and she was kind, and funny, and helpful, and encouraging, and on some evenings, she and Sunset would curl up under a blanket in front of the fireplace with a big chocolate cake and… and…
The tears were flowing freely down Sunset’s face.
What was she doing here? Why did she ever leave? Her tower, her library, the beautiful sights of Canterlot spread out before her, and the castle gardens, and the kitchen, and the royal guards who spoiled her and…
… She had been happy before she saw that mirror, but what she saw in there could not be unseen.
Would she leave all over again if she was back in Canterlot?
Yes. The call of ascension was not something Sunset could ignore. She wouldn’t be herself if she did.
But she still missed Canterlot.
She rose up and walked over to a window, looked down at the edge of the forest, and saw that no one else was within sight.
With a small flash, she teleported down behind a tree, and stepped out to walk along the edge of the forest, lost in somber thoughts.
“Shimmer?” a gruff voice said.
Sunset turned and saw the giant shape of the groundskeeper, holding a giant axe, and realized she had wandered all the way to his house. “Oh. Hello, Mister Hagrid.”
“Somethin’ the matter?” he asked, with a worried look on his face, and Sunset realized he could probably tell she had been crying. “Homesick?”
In a sense, that was exactly it. An eleven year old child, or older child for that matter would say no and mean yes, not wanting to appear weak or immature. Sunset found that she didn’t care, and sighed. “Yes.”
“Well, need some firewood, and then I’ll put the kettle on. Yer classmate, Harry, is comin’ over fer some tea. Perhaps you’d like some too?”
Their presences would pale to Celestia’s but…
Sunset growled at herself, and sighed, before looking up at Hagrid.
“... Sure. Thank you, Mister Hagrid.”
“Oh, just Hagrid will do. Now just gimme a minute, I’ll be done right quick,” he said, and lifted up an entire trunk and placed on a wide stump.
He didn’t get the chance to use it though, as Sunset stepped up and gently pulled the axe away from him, and he stepped back with an amused expression, and then further back when Sunset started swinging.
<<Stupid, stupid, STUPID!>> she roared at herself, as she hacked the trunk into smaller and smaller pieces. <<Why- did- you- leave, you- dumb- goat!?>>
After the trunk was in pieces slightly too small for proper firewood, Sunset stopped, and stood there, panting, until she felt a giant hand on her shoulder.
“All better?”
She nodded, and took a few calming breaths.
“Got quite an arm on ye there,” Hagrid said, looking at the destruction around him, and bending down to pick up the pieces.
“Well… yeah. Whatever,” Sunset said, then shrugged, and helped him collect the firewood before he invited her into his house.
Hagrid’s house was more like a giant hut, with one big room in it, drying meat hanging from the ceiling, big and sturdy furniture, and a boarhound who obviously thought Sunset’s face was delicious.
“No, Fang!” Hagrid said, as he tossed some of the firewood Sunset had just chopped onto the embers in the fireplace and then hung the kettle over it. “You tell me if he’s botherin’ ya, ye hear?”
“It’s okay,” Sunset said, and pulled Fang up onto the couch and held him. She’d magic the slobber away later.
“So what’s botherin’ ya?” Hagrid asked.
Sunset sat in silence for a moment, with Fang becoming a little uneasy at being held like he was, which was all part of Sunset’s nefarious scheme of revenge.
“... I don’t know,” Sunset said, staring into the fire.
“Well somethin’s botherin’ ya.”
“I guess.”
“Don’t ‘ave t’ tell me, but it don’t do no good just dwellin’ on it.”
“Mmm.”
“Also, Fang’s gettin’ a little worried there.”
“Mmm. He shouldn’t have licked my face then,” Sunset said, making Hagrid chuckle.
There was a knock on the door, making Fang break free as new targets became available. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.
They settled down and talked about their first week there, and the rest of the staff.
Apparently no one there liked Mrs Norris, the cat of Filch the caretaker, who had indeed stalked Sunset as she walked around and looked for good teleportation spots, out of sight of the paintings and hopefully the ghosts too, since the native kind of teleportation didn’t work in Hogwarts.
Filch had indeed thrown Sunset some pretty suspicious glares when Sunset had shaken Mrs Norris by teleporting a few floors away.
Hagrid didn’t act convinced that Snape hated Harry though, but Sunset strongly suspected that it was because while he was fine with agreeing that Filch was just a pain in the flank, extending that to a teacher was a little too inappropriate.
Sunset knew that sitting here greatly increased the risks of developing… camaraderie, even friendship, but… she supposed it had to happen eventually. At least this way she was ready for it.
“Hey, sorry for ignoring Snape when he harasses you,” Sunset said to Harry, on their way back up to the castle.
“Don’t worry about it, no one else is doing anything. No one can do anything.”
<<... If you only knew,>> Sunset muttered to herself.
—
Sunset had already decided that Quidditch was not for her long before she even got to Hogwarts.
If she wasn't any good at it, it would be a waste of time pursuing it. If she was good at it, it could draw attention to her, and in either case it would be a distraction.
Still, flying broomsticks was on the curriculum, she might as well learn that.
In the morning, the usual swarm of owls came down to land on the breakfast table, which Sunset questioned the cleanliness of, but most of them were well-mannered.
She paid her owl the postage for getting a catalogue sent to her, and Neville got a glass sphere with a white smoke in it from Augusta.
“It’s a remembrall!” he said, and explained that the smoke in it turned red when you’ve forgotten something, which it did halfway through the explanation.
Sunset rolled her eyes. Not at Neville, but at the concept. Everything in this world had to be magical, even things that were more easily solved by a notebook and a pencil.
“How pedantic is that thing?” she asked. “Does it stay red until further notice? Like, if you forget something unimportant that you never take care of, does it turn useless?”
That was when Draco Malfoy walked by and snatched it up, looking really pleased with himself.
Ron and Harry jumped up, and Sunset was almost disappointed that McGonagall was there immediately to prevent anything from happening, because Sunset suspected that since they didn’t know any real magic yet, it might mostly look like a pair of sea lions puffing their chests out and blaring at each other.
In the afternoon, Sunset stood with the rest of Gryffindor’s and Slytherin’s first-years stood outside the castle, with brooms neatly laid out on the ground for all of them.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Madam Hooch, who looked like an old gryphon, said. “Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, Hurry up.”
Sunset was skeptical. She was all about flying, she had sworn to herself that she would fly, but not like this.
“Stick out your right hand over your brom, and say, ‘UP!’”
“UP!”
Harry’s shot right up into his hand, but few others managed it. Ron and Malfoy were slightly behind, while Sunset’s waited for a moment before it reluctantly floated into her hand.
When everyone had their brooms in hand, and Madam Hooch had instructed on how to hold it, and corrected Malfoy, she told everyone to kick off, fly a few feet and then come back down again.
Sunset wondered how much magical control and power had to do with it, because Neville clearly wasn’t in control of his broom.
Before anyone else had kicked off, he started floating up into the air, swaying back and forth, higher and higher.
“Come back, boy!” Madam Hooch shouted, sternly.
Very reluctantly, Sunset prepared herself to cushion his fall magically, but she didn’t get the chance to. As predicted, Neville slid off, and fell towards the ground.
The thing was that between Neville and the ground stood Sunset.
<<Oh, manure.>>
She held out her arms to try and catch him, but was off by just a few inches, and ended up with him right on top of her, his wrist striking her head and producing a worrying ‘crack’, and hammering them both to the ground.
“Come on, move over. That’s it,” Sunset heard Madam Hooch said, as a pained-sounding Neville was pulled off from, and she sat up, and looked over to Neville with a worried face.
She didn’t get much of a chance though, as Madam Hooch grabbed her by her cheeks to hold her still as she looked into her eyes.
“How are you feeling?” she asked, urgently.
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” she assured her. “I think Neville is worse off.”
Madam Hooch took another moment to make sure Sunset didn’t suddenly have a seizure, or something, then turned her attention to Neville.
“Broken wrist. Come on, boy, it’s all right, up you get. You too, Miss Shimmer.”
“I’m fine, really.”
“It doesn’t matter, you’re going to the hospital wing. As for the rest of you, leave those brooms where they are or you’ll be out of Hogwarts before you can say ‘Quidditch’. Come on, dear.”
Sunset didn’t really care for the idea of broomstick flying anyway, so it was all the same for her.
“Sorry, Neville,” she said, a little weakly, but he just whimpered in response.
When they got to the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey marched out of her office.
“What seems to be the problem?” she asked loudly as she approached.
“Mister Longbottom fell off his broom and landed on Miss Shimmer here,” Madam Hooch said, and gently led Neville over to a cot that Madam Pomfrey indicated.
“Lie down here, good lad. Miss Shimmer, how do you feel?”
“Fine, really,” Sunset said.
“Well, sit down anyway. How far up was he when he fell?”
“Twenty feet,” Madam Hooch said.
“I see.” Madam Pomfrey pulled out her wand and aimed it at Neville’s arm. After a few seconds, he stopped crying, looking at his wrist in astonishment, and flexing the fingers, before Madam Pomfrey stopped him.
“Now you just lie down there and rest, you hear? And don’t exert yourself while I’ll check on Miss Shimmer.”
She walked up to Sunset and aimed her wand at her eyes, shining a bright light at her.
“I didn’t tell you to stay out of trouble when you left last time, Miss Shimmer, but I feel it was strongly implied.”
“It couldn’t be helped.”
“I’m sure. Well, either you’re lucky, or you’re made of pretty sturdy stuff. Still, I’d like you to stay here for a few hours.” Pomfrey turned to Madam Hooch. “Thank you, Rolanda. I’ll take it from here.”
Madam Hooch nodded, and briskly walked out.
A further quick inspection of them both, and Pomfrey was satisfied they wouldn’t spontaneously pass away on the spot.
“Wish I had a book so I could study a little. I don’t suppose you could lend me one of your medical books?” Sunset asked Pomfrey.
“No, and there will be no wand waving in the hospital wing,” she said, sternly. “Now rest.”
“Oh well,” Sunset said, as Pomfrey walked back into her office.
“... Hey, sorry for landing on your head.”
“Eh, don’t worry about it. Sorry for putting the strongest part of my skeleton against your wrist.”
“Uhm… that’s okay.
“Wait… you’ve never been to the hospital wing before,” Neville eventually pointed out, but Sunset just had to smile apologetically at him, before settling in with her hands behind her neck to wait.
—
It wasn’t until the sun was starting to set that Madam Pomfrey let them go, saying they’d have time to get back to their common room in time for curfew.
That didn’t matter, because the fat lady had quit early that day it seemed.
“Great,” Sunset muttered at the painting of an empty sitting room.
“What do we do now?” Neville asked, scared, looking around in the darkness, as the sun had set during their trek from the hospital wing.
“I’dunno,” Sunset said, shrugging. “Break in? Climb a window? Ask a teacher?”
“We can’t break in! And we can’t be seen by a teacher, we’re out past curfew! We’ll be expelled!”
“If they want to punish us for their own faulty arrangement, I want them to find us,” Sunset said, who had been spoiling for a fight, even a verbal one, since Snape first opened his mouth.
“Hmm. Alright, I’m going up to the owlery, and send one of the owls over to someone in there to get them to open up for us.”
Neville’s eyes lit up. “That's a great idea!”
“Alright, you stay here, and then let me in when I come back.”
Neville’s smile melted away.
“Don’t leave me here!”
“Then come with me.”
“B… but what if… Professor Snape…”
Sunset looked around, and shrugged in frustration. Even in the dark of night, this place wasn’t the least bit scary. Even the undead weren’t dangerous around here.
But Neville’s scared face, and more tellingly, his scared scent, softened Sunset.
“... Alright, fine,” she said, and sat down, leaning against the wall. “We’ll wait here. Who knows, maybe we’re not the only Gryffindor rule breakers tonight?”
A grateful Neville sat down next to Sunset, giving off a nervous scent.
“... Show me your wand form,” Sunset said.
“W- what?”
“Your wand, take it out and show me a spell. Show me lumos.”
“B- but I don’t know that one.”
“This is what we call practice, Neville. Now go on.”
Neville pulled out his wand, a bit reluctantly, and held it out in front of him.
“It’s a lighting spell, Neville. Come on, ‘lumos’.”
“Lumos.”
Nothing happened.
“Go on, again, and focus.”
“Lumos.”
Nothing.
“Are you sure it’s the right one?”
Sunset pulled out her own wand, and said, “lumos,” lighting up the entire hallway as though with an arena light.
“Wow,” Neville said, before Sunset dismissed it with the opposite, ‘nox’.
“How do you and Hermione know so much magic?”
“I can only speak for myself, but I’ve practiced, and I’m guessing she has too.”
“How much?” Neville asked, almost despairingly.
This wasn’t going where Sunset wanted it to. “As much as I can, but don’t worry about that. Go on, again, ‘lumos’.”
“Lumos.”
Still nothing.
Neville let his wand hand fall to his side. “It’s no use. I’ll never be as good as you with magic.”
“Who cares?” Sunset said, making Neville look up at her, confused.
“Look, nevermind what I’m doing, focus on what you’re doing. Do it again.”
Neville tried again, but with no result.
“Good,” Sunset said.
Neville glanced at her, confused. “What do you mean, ‘good’? Nothing happened.”
“You practiced. That’s good.”
Neville sighed, and put his wand away. “It doesn’t feel good.”
“It will when you get results,” Sunset assured him.
“But it takes forever,” Neville complained.
“Well, what else are you going to do for seven years?” Sunset said. “Besides, you have more than seven years. People don’t stop practising when they leave school.”
Neville gave a non-commital grunt. “But you’re much more talented than I am.”
Sunset sighed. <<Probably…>> “Maybe at some things, but you’re the best at herbology.”
“What is that? You talk in another language sometimes.”
Sunset shrugged. “Sorry, that’s enough about me for now. I’m gonna get some shuteye.”
“... Alright.”
Neville sat there in the darkness for a moment, before glancing sideways at Sunset.
To his amazement, she had already fallen asleep, resting her forehead on her knees.
—
Sunset woke up to an argument in the night, and nudged Neville awake.
Ron, Harry, and Hermione, all dressed in pyjamas and dressing gowns, were standing in the dark, and having a hissed argument about something.
“Wha- what’s going...ooo- on?” Sunset asked, yawning, and stood up.
“Wha- what are you two doing here?” Hermione asked. “Weren’t you in the hospital wing?”
“Oh yeah, how are you?” Harry asked.
“Fine. Madam Pomfrey fixed up my arm right away,” Neville said.
“And you?” Hermione asked Sunset, who just shrugged.
“I didn’t need to be there, I was just dragged there, and then the fat lady was gone by the time we got back here.”
“Well she’s still missing,” Hermione said, staring angrily at the painting.
“Alright, look, we’ve got somewhere we need to be. We’ll see you later,” Harry said.
“Don’t leave us!” Neville said, and turned to Sunset. “Sunset! Don’t let them go!”
“Well, alright,” she said, and started following them, with Neville nervously following behind. She most of all wanted to go to bed but with the choice between uncomfortable and bored, and uncomfortable and seeing what the hay these clowns were up to, she’d pick the latter.
“If any of you get us caught, I’ll never rest until I’ve learnt that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about and used it on you.”
Harry cut Hermione off from her instructions on how to use that, and gestured for them to follow.
By now, the moon had come out, and was casting interesting shadows through the high windows onto the suits of armor and paintings with sleeping painting-people in them.
Harry and Ron were at the front, and Neville and Hermione were in the middle, all hunched over as they silently crept along, with Sunset bringing up the rear, strolling along normally. She wasn’t very worried, as she couldn’t hear or smell anything other than her classmates ahead of her.
They went up a staircase to the third floor, and snuck into the trophy room, which Sunset knew as a poor teleportation spot.
“What are you even doing?” she asked Ron, who hushed angrily at her.
“We’re going to fight Draco Malfoy,” he whispered. “He’s challenged Harry to a duel.”
“The weird rich kid in Slytherin? What for?” Sunset said, humoring him by whispering too.
“Because he’s a git!”
“So why here, and in the middle of the night? Why not just blast him out on the grounds if he’s up for it?”
“I can’t believe it!” Hermione angrily hissed. “Is everyone in our entire house set on breaking the rules, or is it just our year?”
“He’s the one who picked the time and place,” Harry protested.
“That’s not an excuse!”
“Just so you know, there’s a smelly old man out in the corridor,” Sunset noted, nodding at the door on the far side of the room.
They all looked at Sunset as if she had declared the sun to be purple, before they heard a voice. It was Mister Filch and Mrs Norris.
“Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner.”
Their eyes shot up, and Harry waved at them to get out of there. They all crept as quickly as possible out the nearest exit, into a corridor with suits of armor lining the halls.
“This way,” Harry mouthed, and they crept along the corridor.
Neville couldn’t take the pressure though. He yelped in terror at the sound of Filch coming nearer, and broke into a run, which lasted about one second before he slammed into Ron, sending them both flying into a suit of armor.
Sunset had to squint as the deafening sound of a collapsing set of armor echoed through the whole castle, and possibly to the nearby village.
“Run!” Harry yelled, and Sunset had to grab Neville and Ron by their collars and drag them until they got their bearings enough to run on their own.
As they ripped through a tapestry, Sunset had to admit that this was rather fun, and with very little risk. If push came to shove, she could just vanish on the spot to just about anywhere else in the castle, most appropriately the Gryffindor common room, and go straight to bed.
Of course, she might feel bad about leaving her classmates there, so the question became whether she should bring them along or not.
After running through enough corridors and hidden passages, they found themselves outside the charms corridor.
“I think we’ve lost him,” Harry gasped, leaning against a wall at a T-intersection.
“I… told… you,” Hermione gasped, clutching her side and wheezing. “Malfoy tricked you, you realize that, don’t you? He was never going to meet you. Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off.”
“We’ve got to get back to Gryffindor Tower, quickly as possible,” Ron said.
“If Malfoy told Filch who was going to be in the trophy room, Filch knows we’re going to Gryffindor Tower and he'll be waiting for us somewhere, so slowly and carefully might be better than as quickly as possible,” Sunset noted.
“Alright, fine, good plan,” Ron admitted. “Let’s go.”
They were just about to, when a nearby door handle rattled, and Peeved started floating through the door.
Sunset grabbed the others, and threw herself down the intersection, out of view of Peeves, making them yelp in alarm.
“Oh? Who’s the-ere?” Peeves sing-songed.
“Go,” she whispered at them, and lifted them up again, running down the hallway.
“Students out of bed? Naughty naughty…” they heard Peeves continue behind them as they raced around another corner.
“This way!” Harry hissed, and they raced down the corridors in an attempt to lose Peeves.
Suddenly, they came to a halt in front of a pair of glowing eyes at another T-intersection. Mrs. Norris was looking straight at them, before turning around and running to the right.
“She’s gonna get Filch,” Neville groaned.
“Back! Back!” Harry hissed.
“No,” Sunset said, a delighted look on her face from the excitement. “He’s not here yet. Let her run away, and we’ll go to the left.”
“How do you know he’s not here?” Ron demanded.
“Because his smell is always at least two hallways ahead of him? Seriously, can’t you tell?”
“No? I mean, I know he smells bad, but…”
“Whatever, let’s go.”
They darted down the opposite way that Mrs. Norris had gone, before coming to a halt, Harry and Ron letting out the same expletive as they saw Peeves in the distance, and threw themselves down a side passage, Ron’s robe catching on a gauntlet of a suit of armor, and pulled at it as he ran.
The suit momentarily lost the grip of his halberd, and loudly clinked the suit next to it with it, making the second armor turn his helmet to the first one with a metallic groan, looking affronted.
“Oooooh!” they heard Peeves say, delighted, down the corridor, and they ran to the end of the passage, into a locked door, smelling of wet dog.
Ron’s face was an illustration of despair. “This is it! We’re done for! This is the end.”
“Oh, move over,” Hermione grunted in frustration, grabbed Harry’s wand, and whispered, “Alohomora!”
It was just in time, as they piled through the door as it opened and shut it.
“Just stay quiet,” whispered Harry, as they pressed their ears towards the door and concentrated.
“Oh where are you, little students?” They heard Peeves call mockingly out in the corridor. “You, did you see any ickie students here?”
They heard more groans of suits of armor either nodding, or shaking their heads.
“Well, where?”
More metallic sounds, before Peeves grunted in frustration, presumably at some very unhelpful instructions.
“Fine! I’ll remember this!” he shouted, floating away.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione let out a collective sigh of relief.
“I think we’ll be okay. Get off, Neville! What!?”
Neville pointed at something behind them, and Sunset realized that they were in the third floor corridor, and why it smelled of wet canine.
And inside that corridor was a giant, three-headed, gargantuan dog, all the heads of which were sniffing and looking at them.
<<Cerberus?>> Sunset asked, astonished.
This wasn’t good, although it didn’t change her plans much. They would flee on foot, or Sunset would grab them and teleport out of there, dealing with the fallout of that at another time, because Cerberus was not to be meddled with.
Sunset would probably be able to take on the guardian of Tartarus if fully prepared and there wasn’t a risk of collateral damage, but it would have been a proper battle, which she didn’t feel like at the moment.
Harry fumbled at the doorknob, and pulled them all backward, falling out into the corridor, and Harry quickly stood up and slammed the door shut, before the rest stumbled to their feet, and raced down the corridor.
“What was that!?” Ron said loudly, before Harry and Hermione shushed him up.
“And we still need to get back,” Hermione said, her heart beating loudly.
Sunset looked around, and through a window, on the other side of the courtyard, she saw an orange light making its way down another corridor. Filch, with a lantern.
“There.” She pointed at the light. “If we hurry, we can beat him to the stairs to the entrance hall, and get to Gryffindor tower before he notices anything.”
Even the still stunned-looking Neville nodded, and they set off at top speed across the castle.
“Where on earth have you all been?” the Fat Lady asked, as they reached the end of the corridor on the seventh floor.
“Never mind that! Pig snout, pig snout!” Harry panted, and the portrait swung forward.
They stumbled into the common room, panting and wheezing. Even Sunset was a little out of breath.
“What do they think they’re doing, keeping a thing like that locked up on a school?” Ron finally said, outraged. “If any dog needs exercise, that one does.”
Hermione glared at him. “You don’t use your eyes, any of you, do you?” she said. “Didn’t you see what it was standing on?”
“The floor?” was Harry’s suggestions. “I wasn’t looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads.”
“No, not the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It’s obviously guarding something.”
Sunset was impressed. She hadn’t been thinking of looking at the floor either.
“I hope you’re pleased with yourselves. We could have been killed, or worse, expelled. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going off to bed.”
“No we don’t mind,” Ron muttered after her. “You’d think we dragged her along, wouldn’t you?”
“Well, that was fun,” Sunset said, and yawned. “But I think I’m going to turn in for the night too.”
“Yeah, g’night,” Harry said, as Sunset climbed the stairs to the girls’ dormitories.
“Honestly, those two,” Hermione whispered, as Sunset entered the dorms. “It’s like they don’t even realize they were almost caught.”
“Not your problem though, right?” Sunset noted.
“But imagine how many points we’d lose if Filch found us!”
“What? Points? Oh right, those. Whatever, who cares?”
“I care!” Hermione said, indignantly. “Everyone cares!”
“Really? Huh. Goodnight.”
“... Goodnight.”
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Urban legend, just practice some basic hygiene and don't sleep in for like 15 hours. You'll be fine.
She's punitive because it's really easy to scrag something, or someone up permanently with misapplied transfiguration. If you're learning something dangerous/complicated/delicate, learn to do it properly from the very beginning.
You do realize this is a class intended for ten-year-olds? For comparison, foals who may not yet even have a mark?
the difference between rote and intuitive magic right here.
You know I've seen Quirrelmort teach a competent class, he stressed situational awareness, combat pragmatism, and mobility.
Now he's wondering what she's a crossbreed of.
Ah, such a magical midnight adventure. You'd think there'd be some sort of stated recourse in the event that you get locked out of your dorm.
Another dose of good Sunset fanfic straight into my veins. Yeah im loving this story. Really happy you kept Sunset out of the Harry vs Draco broom scene. I love that the approach right now to me at least is that she's there when the events happen but hasn't randomly, or just yet become the crux around which all events will transpire.
In smaller words I love it and I want more. But don't push yourself ill love these updates whenever they come.
Also just wondering will there be romance?
I think I prefer your writing style over Rowlings tbh.
She was never the best writer anyway.
Aw, Sunset has soft spot on Neville
looks like a nice sibling relationship 
10552474
All true, but this is from Sunset's kinda dismissive point of view.
And you would think so about being locked out of your dorm, yeah. I guess it's supposed to be an older style of school, where there were less regulations to keep teachers from harassing students.
10552477
Thank you
This is what I have written for now. I have some good ideas for later in the semester, but I think I need to come up with some filler content
As for romance... not sure. I can imagine a lot of people being interested in her. I hope I made it clear, without dwelling on it too much, that she looks really, really cute, and will grow absolutely beautiful (I mean, of course, she's Sunset Shimmer) but I'm not sure if she'd be interested in anyone
10552491
There is some merit to her writing. Her prose can be pretty evocative, and especially in book three she does an excellent job at setting up important details that are easy to remember when they become relevant without making them seem important, and the books are easy to consume even though they're pretty long.
That's still nice to hear though
10552500
Yeah, she does have a sweet side underneath it all
10552501
True, but I still find her pretty lacklustre. Even ignoring the flat-out mistakes, series continuity errors, world building which is hit and miss (at BEST), and nonsensical plots in the books.
10552474
That quirrelmort might be from Methods of Rationality? There are plenty of others.
I like how this bit of worldbuilding explains how HP wizards can sling spells all day long. They can still exhaust themselves mentally, as with any task requiring intense focus, but they never actually run out of power. Unicorns, however, do seem to run out of power when they perform too much magic.
Fang would soon learn to fear the red-haired cuddler.
You've hinted that she still retains some or all of her mass as a pony, even in her human form. She might not be the most graceful thing in the skies. Of course, anything trying to stop her once she's built up some momentum...
Sunset's continued insouciance to the usual student concerns continues to crack me up.
If Sunset has concerns about how poorly the school is run, she's in for a surprise when she learns how the magical world operates in general. The Ministry of Magic is hopelessly corrupt, barbaric, inefficient, and malign; I would imagine Celestia runs a somewhat tighter ship back in Equestria.
My only concern with the story at this point is how Equestrians are shown to be so much better than humans - even wearing a human form, Sunset is stronger, more resistant to damage, and possess greater magical and physical senses - it all seems a bit much.
10552501
Yeah I get you. She isn't even hugely invested in making friends right now. Also I completely forgot that they are all what, 12. Speaking only for myself that wasn't on my mind at that age.
She said 2 years until the portal opens up. I'm sure you haven't looked that far ahead, but will she be here for the full 7 years?
10552513
Accidental Animagus if memory serves, Hermione knew basic taekwondo from a self-defense course and he was thrilled.
10552510
The worldbuilding is... yeah that's a pretty good way of putting it, hit and miss. Some good parts, some less so. I don't wanna say too much, it makes me seem a little daring. I've heard people complain about the time turners, but I don't think those are that bad, since it would be so easy to handwave some limitations with them to make them seem impractical or dangerous for the user if used in wizarding wars. Avada Kedavra though? Boring. It might have been better if it was stated that very few people could use it, like not even most of the Hogwarts faculty, and only like two or three death eaters. Or maybe it shouldn't have been a thing at all, and just have it explained that some default magic missile attack is so powerful when used by Voldemort and Dumbledore that they'll kill whoever it hit by is, with Harry as the only exception.
10552514
Yeah, Equestrian unicorns use their own energy when casting spells in this canon, although, of course, Sunset's reserves of magic are absolutely vast. And yes, Sunset is notably heavier than you'd think from looking at her, to hint how sturdy and strong she is.
As for Sunset and ponies in general being OP, well, I'll admit that they kinda are. It's part of my goal with the story of creating a power fantasy and keep it interesting for more than a few minutes
There have been several HP crossovers on this site where the ponies of Equestria are ridiculously overpowered compared to witches and wizards on Earth, and I think one of the reasons it's so common is that many feel a sort of vicarious indignation at how magical people are portrayed to think of muggles, where even non-death eaters are mostly ignorant and rudely dismissive of them. I think that makes it satisfying to see them get some come-uppance by the Equestrian, who are often shown to absolutely run in circles around them magically, socially, financially, and numerically, all without even trying.
Seeing puffed up types getting pied in the face can be pretty good comedy after all.
So yeah, Sunset is very much "better" than witches and wizards, which is what I'm gonna try and make entertaining.
10552520
11 years old, though I'm keeping Sunset's actual age unspecified. Is she 11 too, or 13? or 19? Do ponies mature at the same rate as humans?
As for if she's there for the full seven years, I figure she's at least there for four year, but maybe all seven, yes. The wizarding war in later books was interesting in concept, but could do with some some touching up if you ask me, so I might have the war still happen, but "improved" according to my sensibilities.
Who do you think she could be paired with, if any?
10552526
Oh, I thought you meant in the book. I was confused, because I couldn't remember him teaching anything useful in it. I haven't read a lot of HP fanfiction, but the only time I remember him being competent is in Harry Potter and the Natural 20
Yes, new chapter, have consumed.
10552557
Hope you liked it
10552559
I did! Really enjoyed seeing Sunset's responses in these situations, her attitude has a certain charm to it.
You could do a romance? Make it with Hagrid. They are both not humans, very strong, and have good relationships with Harry.
Really, give Hagrid a chance for true love. Thanks for a chapter.
10552577
He's also like 50 years older than her
What about Hagrid and Madam Maxine? I don't remember if that's brought up in the final book, but I'd imagine it worked out
10552550
Oh god thats a loaded question. As you said Sunset kind of has her pick of the lot, so really its up to her. I honestly think anyone once its written well I'd be happy with anyone or no-one.
Its all lies I'm a romance crack ship addict. I need trashy and clichéd fanfiction romance to function as a human.
10552607
Right now I'm just imagining late teenage Sunset Shimmer in a beautiful evening dress, slumped over the battlements of Hogwarts with an absolute "kill me" expression, as Cormac McLaggen boasts about quidditch behind her, completely oblivious to how she's feeling
Also, I looked up how Cormac looks in the movies. I've only seen the first and second movies so I didn't know how the movie version looked, but I seem to recall him being described as obese in the books
I like this, this is good stuff. It shows you've given alot of thought on how different these things are going to be between Wizarding and Equestrian magic. The idea of Equestrian magic coming from one's own available pool of mana does seem to be a common thing, both in these stories and in others, but I like it when a different form of magic is given a chance to show its contrast to Equestrian magic when it is presented in such a manner.
I also like how, once again, Sunset has made a mistake and failed to hide her abilities. I'm starting to think its going to become quite clear that while Sunset is clever, she is not as clever as she thinks she is.
Which also means openings and opportunities for mess ups to create new challenges or problems
Speak of the devil
This part, and the one before it, are absolutely magnificent. You can really pick up the emotions she's feeling and dealing with.
If I have but a single complaint, its that it feels a bit rushed for Sunset to be feeling this now. At least this intensely. However, I do think that perhaps the fact she is now in a body younger than she once was might be playing a role in this.
Clever. Quite clever. Good way to pull Sunset away from Harry's chance to shine.
Though, admittedly, I would have liked to see Sunset wipe the floor with Draco xD In all honestly he does kind of need to be brought down to earth.
That's actually disappointing. Sunset could assist in the medical wing.
*Cackles*
Just so you know, you've got the characters spot on! This is absolutely wonderful.
Sunset is going to wind up *very* unpopular if she vents that mindset elsewhere
I actually wonder if she'll end up asking why they have the point system at some point.
Anyways, I actually think you handled this quite fine. I admit that I had some trouble parsing the passage of time, but that's honestly something I always had issues with when it came to the Harry Potter books. Which honestly means you pulled it off flawlessly, because I quickly gave up trying to figure out when things were taking place and just sat back and enjoyed the ride. It also actually kind of made it seem like the chapter was longer than it was, making it feel closer in length to that of the previous chapter.
I really love how your handling the interactions between Neville and Sunset. She's being gruff at the moment, but I think I see the beginnings of a friendship forming there. I actually wonder though if no one else passed by and noticed them sitting there outside the painting and the lack of the Fat lady. Though, I'm also surprised they don't have a system for nearby folks in paintings to come over and open the door if needed.
There is something here I now want to ask your opinion on, something I realized while working on my own HPxMLP story.
While I presume some such things are taught via homeschool before going to Hogwarts, there is nothing suggesting that Hogwarts handles more mundane topics like math and english/grammar. Topics which of course, even Wizards need a further education in beyond what is basically 5th-6th grade stuff in these areas, if only up to say something like freshman or sophmore level. Such would be important for handling the more writing based homework, and also things like potions, not to mention it'll be useful for when they're preparing to figure out their work for the future.
Have you had this thought pop into your mind any, and if so, had any thoughts for dealing with it?
10552620
On the talk of quidditch I'd pay good money to see Wood's face if she tells him she doesn't give a toss about it. Also I've no idea what Cormac looks like but if he's a prep school kid look its even better. Completely oblivious look like.
10552501
Be interesting, have her develop feelings for several people (male and female) then have it be that things like herds/polyamory/polygamy (but in a more matriarchial fashion) are common in Equestria and Sunset having to figure out how to tell those she's interested about such xD
10552514
It really is a very nice detail that helps differentiate things between the two casting ways. Sunset learning how to do both also gives her advantages. I do wonder what the magical pools are of some of the other students though and how that'd affect their magic.
Its also possible that most humans don't actually *have* deep magical pools, and that such is one reason why at least Western Wizards make use of wands, because not using them is more exhausting.
I tend to blame magic actually for alot of this. Its not that they are actually stronger and more resistant, its that their innate magic enhances their strength and resilience. Especially for Earth Ponies. My hazard would be that without their general innate magic, most would be on par for an average human to an extent.
10552520
That will be where things get interesting. While its open, does she go back through to visit home? Does she bring anyone along? If she does, does she briefly get sidetracked/stuck there and have to figure out a way to open the mirror?
10552514
Well that's basically what all governments are like the ministry isn't anything special in that regard.
Snape really is kind of a shit teacher, isn't he?
10552633
Or even Ron and Harry's face. Although I guess the effect might be cushioned for them after they make friends with Hermione
10552622
10552635
Thank you
And yeah, it seems like it's only a matter of time before Sunset slips up, or is pressed into a corner where she has to do something every witch and wizard knows is impossible.
Thank you
It's a setup for more powerful scenes later on though
Sunset will not be very good with broomstick flying though. And she doesn't have anything really against Draco, at least not yet. She's missed most of the times he's been a prick, and when she hasn't, she's just thought he's weird. Gonna have some more interaction between those two later.
Glad to hear it, but I can't take credit for that part, it's in the book. I just reworded it
Yyyyes, I can understand that. I reread the first book and had trouble with that as well, take away the quidditch elements and the first semester is actually really short. They introduce the faculty, barely in some cases, the midnight chase through the castle is short, and the troll event isn't much longer, and then it's Christmas holidays. I'm gonna see if I can fill it out a little more without using up all the ideas for downtime activities for later years.
I didn't plan on Sunset and Neville interacting so much, but I guess it kinda just happened. She can't be too close of a friend with Harry and friends yet or she kinda have to come with them and face Quirrell, and, well, as said before, she's too powerful, she'd take care of everything before the story begins. And that kinda only leaves Neville, Lavender Brown, and Parvati Patil to interact with, the later two of which I'd like to give some more thought before I figure out what kind of relation she could have with them. She could have a more adversarial role with them, like Hermione has.
Edit: or perhaps not adversarial, but not very close.
I imagine that they're home-schooled when it comes to that, at least writing, and perhaps there are books available that teaches reading and writing, but magical ones with a voice that helps them memorise all the letters and what they sound like, and teaches them spelling, telling them when they get it wrong or right.
As for math, wizards might not be very good at that, which might further explain why they're so dismissive of muggles, as so many of muggles' greatest achievements are math-based. Why use math to properly build your house in a way that makes it stable when you can just magic it to not break apart?
I'm open to the idea that she's bi. She might have assumed she's mostly into mares, until she spotted that officer cadet, Shining something, *playful cat sound*. And the best part was that Cadence didn't seem to know of him yet!
But really, I'd have to give it a lot of thought. Most of the Hogwarts characters are taken in the canon, and I'm not sure how much of that I want to upset.
10552661
He really is. We see him compliment Malfoy, but we don't see him teach him, or anyone else, very well. Maybe he does though.
10552550
Ah, serious discussion, time for my serious hat!
cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/692190352009986108/781889344163807252/1rBw-ujMQ_gXq59Z12fnXgdbvkgmyA3u53oL9wuu8P8.png
What we have here is a collision of two different schools of magic. And I'm not just talking about Hogwarts vs. CSGU, I'm talking fundamentals. Sunset is what I call an intuitive innate caster. Her magic is an intrinsic part of her and is quite inseparable, (barring traumatic interventions) and her methods of manipulating that power are very hands on. She can feel the energy, and can largely just shape the magic directly into the effect she wishes to achieve.
In contrast, the wizards practice rote ambient magic. It comes from their surroundings, artifacts, and various magical resources rather than specifically themselves. In addition, they cannot directly perceive magic, and thus rely on tested formulae to achieve reliable and predictable results.
Now, pluses and minuses. Power-wise, ambient usually beats out innate, for the same reason that a windmill would beat a hand crank as an effective power source. Dumbledore could levitate an anvil all day long, and in fact enchant it to do so on its own while he goes off and does something else. Most unicorns couldn't hope to match those sorts of reserves. On the other hand, innate power cannot be lost, stolen, or otherwise easily restrained, whereas a wand very much can. Expelliarmus doesn't mean a blessed thing to Sunset, or any other unicorn.
So far as rote and intuitive go, it's a matter of flexibility and understanding. Rote magic's strength is that effective use does not require understanding, as demonstrated by young children managing levitation charms without even the slightest sense of mana flow or arcane theory. Get the words and the wand movement right and the rest takes care of itself. Of course, if you need to get a lock open but don't know Alohomora, you're just out of luck. Intuitive magic relies on some basic grasp/understanding of magic, having a feel for it. Sunset can perform any number of varied feats by shaping the magic directly, even if she's never done so before. But, intuitive magic rests on the practitioner's beliefs, and is ripe for mental blocks. Rote magic does what it does, intuitive magic does what the caster believes it can do.
So overall, I think Sunset has a clear edge in flexibility, particularly when it comes to improvisation. If she were any other pony there'd be a moderate to severe imbalance in the power she could bring to bear in a given moment, but instead she's got the advantage in immediate power. However she may be tripped up by Equestrian arcane orthodoxy, and may fall somewhat behind a senior wizard's encyclopedic repertoire of specific and complex spell effects.
And as a final sneaky note, silent/wandless casting is essentially a wizard's attempt to reach back to their own form of innate magic glimpsed in childhood accidental magic. But being magic-blind they're not very good at it.
I believe it's mentioned somewhere that prior to Hogwarts children are either homeschooled or attend a muggle school so they would learn all the basics before coming to Hogwarts. Anything more advanced I would imagine is taught in classes where such things would be relevant.
Like most problems wizards handle any complex math with magic because if magic can change a person into a cat I'm sure it can help you figure how to solve for X.
Snape's teaching begins and ends with simply writing the instructions on the board because in his mind if you can't follow a simple set of instructions you aren't worth his time. Although in defence of Snape it's implied his methods are superior to what's taught in the textbook since when Slughorn takes over and uses the textbook the only one who manages to excel in the class is Harry who is using Snape's notes.
I mean he's still a crappy teacher but I imagine it's more of a case of young children having a harder time simply following the instructions than older students would.
Wow! You are pumping out these nice long chapters really fast.
10552811
I actually wrote this a few weeks ago, but I waited until I felt better before publishing it. It was pretty fun writing it though, and not very hard, so I should be able to keep going soon.
10552718
Yeah that's largely how I see it as well. Wizards and Sorcerers in D&D terms. I know wizards have historically been better for munchkins, but I've always thought the concept of sorcerers are cooler.
I'd say that ponies study a mix of both. Most unicorns unlock a good amount of innate magic, usually aimed at the field of their special talent, but the ones who actually study magic can also learn rote and ambient magic as well if they want, although it is much less pressing to advance it, since they have their innate magic, so it's a less developed field in Equestria. To the ponies of Equestria, that's one school of magic, rather than the school of magic. Of course, that also mean that there's a lot less cruft in Equestrian magical development, which is where I imagine that a lot of the dangers of research of Earth magic come from, such as what killed Pandora Lovegood.
Wizards and Witches however, know very little about innate magic, or are perhaps even largely oblivious to it. I imagine only highly educated ones like Dumbledore knows much about it, and even then not nearly as much as the ponies do. The wizarding world have neglected innate magic study in favour of ambient magic study, to the point where most of them don't even realize it's a whole other valid way of doing things. Neville Longbottom's great-uncle accidentally dropped him out a window, and Neville used innate magic to bounce harmlessly, and everyone thought that was a random magical effect, as children sometimes produce. Time for him to learn ambient magic!
This means that in magical competitions, Sunset would have a really big advantage against witches and wizards, as Sunset knows of ambient magical manipulation, and is getting really good at it, while her opponent wouldn't even realize that she can cast spells silently, and doesn't need to use special movements, or even have a wand. Albus Dumbledore might realize though, but if he does he's aware that he's unaware of exactly what Sunset can do.
10552730
I think witches and wizards spend less time solving mathematical problems with magic, and more time simply bypassing them with magic.
One can also argue that that's because his, at that point former, students are left woefully unprepared for N.E.W.T level potions, largely because of his negligence.
That's something that will probably cause some interesting friction between Snape and Sunset, when Snape just draws instructions on the chalk board and tells them to get to work, and Sunset asks, "why are you even here?"
I've asked teachers that in real life and let me tell you, the more valid that question is, the angrier they get
The Wizards of HP come across as “script kiddies.” They use prewritten or invented “magic/computer code” with limited understanding of computer programming language to accomplish things.
Some pony like Twilight Sparkle or Sunset Shimmer are more like engineers that understand down to the machine code to perform feats that script kiddies can’t even imagine let alone do.
In this story it’s like Sunset can see the computer code all over and know what it does directly; whereas the wizards and witches have to see the results of the spell, sunset can see the code being written and analyze what the spell will do before its even completed. (It’s how she knew the ministry of magic was keeping tabs on her.)Meaning she could defend against a spell before it’s cast because she’d know what is was going to do before it was completed.
I am enjoying this story a lot. All my knowledge of Sunset comes from fanfics, but I like how you are treating her and I look forward to the next installment.
10552857
Yeah that's a good likening. Although that has to mean that there are at least some witches and wizards with a deeper understanding, or there were some witches and wizards, since someone must have created the spells to begin with.
I'm glad you're liking it. I'll try and keep production and quality as well balanced as possible
10552844
I'd disagree with that, Harry excels based purely on the written instructions provided by Snape like he had been in the previous years while everyone else follows the instructions from the textbooks and do comparitively worse. Slughorn is certainly a better teacher but since his lessons are based on the textbook he ironically teaches inferior potion-making methods compared to Snape.
I doubt Snape would care, he only teaches because Dumbledore makes him as punishment for what he had done in the past.
Frankly, I don't think people give Snape enough credit, yeah he's a crappy teacher but he at least makes certain through his strict methods that students become at least half-way decent by his standards.
10552857
I think it's silly to say that there are no wizards who understand how magic works but most probably don't similar to how not all unicorns actually learn how to do magic beyond simple levitation. Dumbledore and Voldemort are certainly examples of wizards who have a clear understanding of how magic works. Voldemort even crafter various new spells, yeah they were made for horrible purposes but credit where it's due.
Basically Sunset and Twilight are minorities when it came to the representation of a pony's understanding of magic. The majority of ponies are basically the same as the average wizard, honestly, they are probably worse since magic education is mandatory among wizards and optional among ponies.
10552844
omg i would LOVE to see that
10552891
Oh then I think you're also gonna love it if their disagreements come to a head in Dumbledore's office, with some dramatic results
10552876
Yeah but those are instructions for himself, and not for his students.
He really isn't shown be helpful at all, and indeed actively works against people learning anything on several occasions, and I'm not sure Dumbledore is punishing him, since Snape really does want to teach, just not potions.
Just so we're not talking past each other, do you base your interpretation of Snape on the books, or the movies? I've only seen the first two movies, but I understand that he's far less of an asshole in the movies than in the books.
10552935
yes please 
OMG
10552935
After all these years it's probably a bit of both, similar to how MLP fans have a hard time differentiating canon from fanon (I know I've been guilty of thinking Applejack actually has lie-detecting powers).
In this case, I'm basing it off the fact that students pass their OWLs every year so clearly they do learn something from Snape.
It's the same instructions, Snape has too much respect for potion making to intentionally sabotage his students or give them anything less than perfect instructions. His problem is that he puts an unreasonable amount of pressure on his students, Harry especially. He has no interest in coddling his students.
10552979
As someone who bases everything on what's told the books, I'd say that Snape is an actually terrible teacher. Although, granted, he is shown to be a hindrance to Harry's, Ron's, Hermione's, and Neville's academic pursuits, so maybe he's just extra nasty towards Harry and his friends.
We're not told that the instructions from his old potions book are the ones he gave his students. They might have been, but I'd say that'd headcanon, and not confirmed either way. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't.
Edit: at least I don't remember that he gives the students those instructions. Maybe he saves them for students he likes, like Malfoy. But one has to wonder why Harry suddenly got better when reading the instructions from a book rather than a board.
It appears that you have a very solid grasp on the world building for your fic, in other words, a strong foundation you have created. Also I admit I like that the chapters so far were kinda done and posted every few days, week. Helps follow story as last time I’ve read this fic was recent and gives me something to look forward to every week, with how exciting and engaging it is just to see what sunset will get into an do. I’m also glad it seems your enthusiasm for this story is strong and encouraging you to write a lot, as it means again more to read:)
10552989
Why would they be different? Snape's thought process is that if students fail it's because of their own incompetence he's never shown to ever give the wrong instructions nor does anyone screw up because of the instructions, if that were the case Hermione would have regularly gotten poor marks.
In the books, his class is described as Snape writing the instructions on the board and then telling the students to get to work. He then proceeds to monitor them while criticizing even the smallest mistakes only ever letting up when it comes to slytherin, but beyond being less of a jerk he doesn't offer them any more assistance than what he provides everyone else. It's very much a sink or swim approach.
He kind of reminds me of my programming instructor, who would give us notes then have us work on the assignment. Whenever I tried to ask him a question he would always just tell me to look at the notes.
Hahahahahaha sunset experience culture shock. Is funny every time
Ha. Brits using American units. (Should really be meters, no reason why they wouldn’t be using it. Kinda interrupted my immersion into the story. Really not a big deal at all but just a helpful thing to point out)
10553032
Nope its actually canon that the wizards never made the switch to the metric system as they didn't see the point.
10553034
Really? I didnt know that. Where did it say that? I’m not a potter head so I woudnt know lol
10553040
Its on the wiki or pottermore one of the 2. I can't remember off the top of my head why it was Rowling had the wizards use the imperial system.
10553047
Thanks :)
10553011
I feel it's a little daring for me to take too much credit since it's two different franchises I'm basing this on, and I haven't written either of them
Glad you like it though
10553016
Why would they be different? Because he's Snape and Snape doesn't care about his students from what we can tell in the books. In fact, he actively dislikes them. Except the Slytherins.
I can only go from the impression I get from the books, and that impression is that that Snape was not only a neglectful teacher, he was an actively bad teacher.
10552989
I think you nailed Snape frankly, General rule of Thumb Snape is a character who's... messy and a lot of fans tend to not aknowledge that; Saying he's a terrible teacher felt 112% right , Remember the thing Neville is scared of the most while fighting the Bogart?
As for the teaching them his recipies... yeah almost certianly didn't do that; because they have the regular text books and would noticed they were different; Hermoiny basically has all the text books memorised for first year and she would have noticed Snape getting them wrong and would have blurted out something.
Anyway I'm enjoying the story, nice to see a story where Hogwarts or the cast aren't completly overrided and morphed into something else. Also Sunset herself is a joy to read, the funny mix of 'Huh that was neat' and 'I don't care' is very satisfing to follow.
Do have one minor complaint I only really noticed in this chapter: Taking lines straight from the book is great in some cases (The line with harry looking at Fluffys head springs to mind) but when its being quoted directly while other characters are around is really jarring, almost feels like Sunset isn't really there interacting. Granted it wasn't that bad this time but its something to watch out for in future.
10553062
Yes and blending 2 franchises well is very difficult. You have to world build an entire new world that both could plausibly fit, because they are so different. And I love reading about the third world and how the characters interact with the other 2 in believable ways, which is only possible if the third world you created has a good foundation
10553062
Not caring about the students isn't the same thing as not caring about the material. Snape speaks very passionately about potion making so while he doesn't care if his students manage to succeed that does not mean he actively sabotages them beyond being overly critical.
I'm not saying Snape isn't a bad teacher I just disagree with why he is a bad teacher. He definitely teaches the material but he doesn't help students beyond that.
10552881
I’m not saying “none” I’m saying for the vast majority of wizards they’re more like computer operators. They use programs written by someone else to accomplish what they need.
The next level would be the script kiddies that using already known spells combine them in such a way to accomplish what they want.
Of course the spells had to be written by someone ( or a team of someones) for the regular wizards to use, but most aren’t “magic programmers” they are using magic like most regular people use computers and apps. There’s a library of “coded magic” to draw from because you don’t want to reinvent the wheel whenever you need a spell to do something. This would be where the script kiddies would fit.
Most don’t have that level of understanding and they’re hindered by the fact they can’t see it like Sunset can and how magically everything was “dirty” with leftover remnants of spells. What I think Sunset can do is “see the machine code” which is like C instead of something like Python for advanced wizards. But I’m not the author and I’m only getting this by feel by what he’s writing. I could be entirely off base and probably am.
Most unicorns don’t aspire to the levels of Sunset or Twilight, but I’m guessing they might be able to “see” the code and would be at an advantage over regular “everyday “ wizards who can’t if they would attend Hogworts. Only the author knows for sure.
For instance I think Snape has an awesome understanding of Potions, so he can probably invent new and never before tried potions by knowing how things interact…like a chemist. Sunset might be able to actually see or feel if that potion was going to work or that it wouldn’t quite work how Snape thought it would even if by Logic you would think it would. And I’m certain Zecora could.