Harry Potter and the Prancing of Ponies

by The Guy Who Writes

Rehabilitation, Part 10.1: Relapse

Against the backdrop of void and stars, the burst of bright white light was almost blinding, as it had been not long ago in the Killing Curse experiment. This time, however, it was unexpected and unwelcome.

"Sister?" asked the pony-shaped form in Celestia's voice. "Is everything alright?"

That is when Riddle learned that Patronus charms are capable of reaching the Astral Plane, even when cast from beyond it.

"I'm alright, Tia," said Luna to the Patronus, which left to deliver the message.

"I presume you did not host Night Court last night?" Riddle asked.

"Among other things that might cause her to worry," Luna confirmed. "Do you mind if we take a break? I'd like to reassure her in pony."

"I mind that we've been interrupted," he said honestly. "But I wouldn't mind a pause for food. I believe we've covered the most important information."

When they got to breakfast, Luna alleviated her sister's worries with little difficulty, saying that an involuntary and intense instance of dream-keeping occupied her throughout the night.

"May I ask whose?" asked Celestia.

"I'm afraid not," said Luna, not so much as glancing at Riddle.

Celestia accepted this with a nod. The Princess of the Sun then proceeded to ask her sister for council on a developing situation to the north…

"The Crystal Empire?" Riddle echoed Celestia, his silverware floating down to rest on his plate. "The kingdom that disappeared?" he probed. "Ruled by King Sombra? That Crystal Empire?"

"Yes," confirmed Celestia. "That Crystal Empire." She hadn't been speaking to him, just to Luna, and as soon as she answered his question, she went back to pretending like he didn't exist. "I have already sent Captain Armor and Princess Cadence to govern the city, and I am thinking of sending Twilight and the Elements as well, just in case Sombra returned with the empire. But… I would like your input, sister. I am worried it might be too dangerous. Sombra is not like Chrysalis, or Discord, or even Nightmare Moon. He is a tyrant of old, and he would not hesitate to kill her…"

Luna gave a brief, almost imperceptible glance at Riddle. In the course of Celestia's explanation, she had grown visibly nervous. Riddle knew what she was nervous about, and he also knew she could not speak her worries, so he wondered what she would say.

"Has there been any sign of his return?" she asked.

"None yet," said Celestia.

Riddle asked the next question. "Have you sent some of the reserves to accompany the Guard Captain? National defense is their purpose."

"Yes," said Celestia. "But only the reserves who are also Guards. If Sombra launches an attack, they should be able to mount a defense until the Elements arrive." She went back to ignoring him again. "I am just afraid that Twilight… isn't quite ready for Sombra. I am… I do not want her to…" Celestia trailed off, being unusually inarticulate.

"Nor do I," said Riddle honestly.

Celestia turned to stare at him, nearly shocked.

Of all the ponies in Equestria, Twilight Sparkle was the second most tolerable after Princess Luna. Not to mention she might prove potentially useful as a magical researcher once she has developed enough caution.

"If you are worried about her safety, I could accompany her," he offered.

There was a stretch of silence at the table.

"A tempting offer," observed Celestia. "So tempting that I question why you are making it. Generosity is not in your nature."

"Her safety is a genuine motive of mine," he reiterated. "I was being honest. I do not wish to see her killed. Nor do I wish to see Sombra rise to power in Equestria."

Celestia looked to her sister.

"He is telling the truth," said Luna. "Though he is hiding something, as always." Something which her Vow prevented her from even hinting at.

Celestia stared at him for a long moment. "And I presume you will not be made to reveal that hidden motive?"

"You presume correctly."

Celestia gave a world weary sigh. "I am only allowing you to get away with that because of your track record. Still, there shall be rules. If you do go, you must honestly swear that you shall do nothing more than protect Twilight from the immediate threat of Sombra. You will do so only if she seems unable to handle him on her own. You must swear that you will not attempt to influence the mission in any way other than that. You will not interact with any magical artifacts you find in the empire. You will not speak with the Elements of Harmony. You will not so much as be seen, by them or by the crystal citizens. If you do not promise to abide by those terms, I will not approve your departure."

"An easy enough promise to make and to keep," said Riddle. "You have my oath. I will only interfere if Sombra seems to be winning, or is about to win. I shall not be seen or heard by anypony. I will only interact with magical devices I bring with me, and I will allow you to browse my full arsenal if you wish. I am curious about the 'crystal heart', but I shall swear to steer clear if you fear my influence. Agreed?"

Celestia pushed and prodded his oath, asking clarifying questions, but found nothing wrong with his offer. Before she agreed, she asked one final question.

"What do you think, Luna?"

---

"You should not go," said the Alicorn of Night as soon as the doors to her room closed and locked them into privacy.

"I thought you might say that," said Riddle. "But we are not having this conversation here."

He appeared in his Astral Plane, knowing Princess Luna would follow. As soon as she did, he continued speaking. He skipped past his pointless annoyance at her for switching her position. Her Vow had forced her to speak and act as if she was completely ignorant of the secrets he's told her, and so she seemed to be in favour of his proposal at breakfast. Now that she was trying to stop him…

"If I don't go," he said, "Miss Sparkle, her friends, and the entire Crystal Empire could be at risk. If Sombra is back, Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor might not be capable of defending against him. Then again, if I go along, they should not be in much danger. If Sombra is still a danger to them despite my presence, then you will have far bigger problems on your hooves than my emotional state."

"But you might not be needed!" Luna countered. "Even if Sombra is back. And if you go you will be tempted! You cannot handle temptation yet! Do you honestly believe that you can?"

"…"

"The best way to avoid relapse is to avoid putting yourself in tempting situations," said Luna. "When a pony is trying to lose weight, and they are constantly tempted to snack in their house, the correct tactic is to avoid purchasing the snacks in the first place."

"With Sombra being the 'snack' in this analogy."

"With his death being the snack," said Luna. "I… if you come back, and I ask if you have killed him to make a Horcrux, and you say yes… I…"

Like Celestia earlier, Luna was usually more articulate than this.

"And if I don't go, and Miss Sparkle comes back in a body bag?" he asked.

She flinched. "I know! I know that is the worst case! But…"

"But she is mortal and I am not?" he finished for her.

His employer didn't say anything in reply.

"And that is not the worst case," he pointed out. "The worst case is everypony comes back in body bags, including the crystal citizens. Or they stay there in chains."

There was another long silence.

"If you go," Luna said at last, "can you promise you will not make another Horcrux? Can you promise to capture Sombra alive, if at all possible?"

"No," he replied. "I cannot. I can only promise to keep the consequences in mind. If I do it, I would lose my position and your company, correct?"

"Yes," Luna said in a quiet voice.

"Then that's all there is to it."

"Then… then at least speak your intentions. Please. Do you intend to go and make another Horcrux? Is that the reason you suggested going in the first place?"

"I won't deny that it was among my considerations," he replied, remembering Mr. Potter's phrasing. "Whether it's the primary reason… I'm honestly not sure. A year ago, it would have been the only reason. Now, Ms. Sparkle's safety is a genuine concern of mine. I believe true congratulations are in order. You have made much progress."

"That is not enough!" Luna objected. "You are still… you will still…"

"I might," he acknowledged. "But I likely won't. There are many conditions that have to be met before I do it, and I am mostly helpless to influence those conditions. He must be an immediate threat, he must be malicious, and killing him must directly result in even more lives being saved. Even if all three of those are satisfied, the opportunity to intervene under Celestia's further conditions might simply not arise. Especially if Harmony's influence is at play."

"And if you do get the opportunity?" she practically begged.

"Hm… it would complicate things, since it is no longer a straightforward answer for me. Let's hope that I don't get the chance."

---

And indeed, he almost didn't. Twilight's life was in no real danger at any time during the crisis. Sombra's traps inside his own castle were magical and mental, not physical, perhaps because he did not wish to maim himself if he set them off by accident. And Sombra's attacks against the city were repelled until the critical moment, at which point the 'Crystal Heart' did the rest. Or so it seemed at first glance.

As with the Nightmare Moon incident, a small trail of shadow fled from the location of Sombra's defeat. Without looking closely, it seemed like just another dark cloud being driven away by the beams of light.

Like last time, Riddle followed the formless figure to its destination. He watched it materialize into the shape of a pony. He beheld a furious, depowered Sombra. The pony stood on a mountain overlooking the Crystal Empire from a great distance. Riddle floated in the air behind him, waiting for an opportunity that no longer seemed like it might come.

Riddle was put on high alert the moment the furious emotions left Sombra, replaced by a grim resolve and a glowing horn. Dark intentions were clear on his face and in his heart. "Fine," said the Dark Lord. "If I can't have my crystal slaves-"

"Stupefy."

The bolt collided with Sombra's body from almost point-blank, and the creature collapsed to the ground.

There was no sense letting him finish the sentence. Proclamations like 'If I can't have it, no one can' are often followed by massive explosions. If Sombra can set off the explosion – or whatever it is if not an explosion – from this distance, he can likely cast it from anywhere. Meaning that, like Chrysalis, simple imprisonment would not suffice to end the threat of Sombra.

Riddle contemplated the scenario for a moment.

He had wondered if the Mirror would present him with the opportunity to fulfill his old wish. Assuming it is directly influencing the world, does this mean the Mirror tacitly approves of murder?

With the phoenix screaming at him once more, he became human. But he did not immediately set to work like last time. Without the phoenix, he was free to think without compulsion.

Does he want to make his third and final allotted Horcrux?

Yes, he certainly wants to.

Does it outweigh the costs?

…

…

…

His mind is not offering an immediate answer, which he took as 'maybe' it outweighs the costs.

So should he do it?

More mental silence.

He frowned in frustration and tried to think more clearly, asking himself more pointed question with less ambiguous answers.

…

After fifteen minutes of thinking himself in circles, he looked at the still-breathing body of a malicious and immediate menace to innocent sapient beings.

Deciding that he no longer cared, he surrendered himself to his own impulses, whatever they might be. If his subconscious couldn't make up its mind, he would let his subconscious be in charge until it did.

Almost immediately, as if on autopilot, his wand began making the traceries of anti-light in the air around the artifact he intended to make into his final Horcrux. It was not long before the preliminary stages of the ritual were complete.

He now wore a grim smile, like Sombra had worn just minutes ago.

Luna had been right. He can't handle temptation. And she was right about something else.

Is he still willing to engage in murder if he has a good reason? It seems that he is.

He's also willing to lose her council.

So be it. He shall have to find his happiness elsewhere.

With a mental nod to the consequences and a mental farewell to Luna, he looked at Sombra's sleeping form and face. His mind idly informed him that the deposed king is currently at peace, even as he leveled his wand on the defenseless Dark Lord and said:

"Avada Kedavra."

Comments

[keybounce]

minor typo:

With the phoenix screaming Riddle him once more,

probably "inside him" or "inside Riddle".

So ... Tom could not do it, or rather, could not *not* do it.

Horcrux number three, and ... what happens next?

This is like resurrection week.
Oddly, Dexter's Lab just updated, and it also resulted in the main character no longer having a place/location/tie, and now going off into the unknown. Except that that story is now effectively on season break/hiatus, and this story is still going.

[The Guy Who Writes]

11410779
Fixed, before I saw the comment even. I do one last pass for typos after hitting the 'upload' button. Don't always catch them in time, or at all, but I did get that one.

I noticed just a few hours ago that the Dexter's Lab story uploaded, but I haven't gotten around to reading the latest release. Truth be told, that fic had some influence on this one; mostly on my original conception of Celestia's personality. But it's probably a faux pas for me to discuss other fics in this comments section, so I'll leave it at that.

[Bahamuttone]

In the large descritpion:

When the Mirror traps someone inside itself and outside of Time, that person and their consequences can no longer effect the world.

affect

[Booster Spice]

If sombra can time displace the Crystal empire in the first place, theres a range of options available including the instantaneous stop, where one of the reasons backwards time travel usually fails, is the object in the current time, tries to occupy the same space an instant in its past in order to continue further, but that causes Paulis exclusion to change the non space occupying mass, into space occupting energy?

For a Brief period of Time?

[The Guy Who Writes]

11410871
Thanks. Fixed.

[harts fire]

yep this is just a bit of a relapse.

awesome chapter.

[Fireeaters]

Damnit

[Pinker than black]

Very glad to see this fic updating. I come to check it every other day and I was starting to worry. Not trying to rush you or anything, I am just happy to get more.

Thanks!

[Damsel Of Distress]

I will just note here my prediction, obviously marked as spoiler. Btw, that's my first post here, and I am because of this fic~

Avada won't work, Riddle is unable to cast the second level of this spell already
Second spoiler:
For the same reason it didn't work chapters ago, when... when you know what.

But please don't peek!

[The Guy Who Writes]

11413167
I won't spoil anything, but I'll use spoiler brackets anyway. Addressing the two points in order,
1. You may or may not have arrived at the right conclusion...
2. For the wrong reason.
Good thinking either way.
I'll mention that in terms of immediate temporal continuity, he cast level 2 of AK a few days prior to this scene. Luna asked him to do a test fire in the Astral Plane at the end of the previous rehab chapter. It was a brief snippet of narration, and I'm not accusing you of missing it, in fact you probably didn't, but it's been a while since the last upload, and I'm mentioning it more for anyone reading this exchange. I'll also mention the next rehab chapter will be 4 chapters from now if things go as planned, so there's time to stew on it.

And thank you for your first post. I'm honored.

[Poparakelis]

Nooooo

[Black--Soul]

Damn it... Tirek was my hope to become his last!
Guess Tirek gets to survive thanks to their agreement.