Chapter 22: Meeting A Unicorn
Twilight Sparkle, as a student of Princess Celestia, was always welcome in Canterlot. This was especially true when the news she had was very important, too important to be sent by mail.
Twilight trotted through the castle corridors, hoping to find Celestia at the tallest tower, the place where she rose the sun every day. If she was late, the princess might get caught up in a bunch of official business. And as she rushed through the halls, it wasn't Celestia but another alicorn Twilight literally ran into. She bounced back, then looked up at the pony she had run into.
"Princess Luna?" Twilight said, surprised.
The princess of the Night looked down with equal surprise.
"Hello, Twilight. You surprised me, were you not just returned to Ponyville? I thought you would have liked to see your friends, you do dream of them," The princess noted.
"I just got back from Ponyville, I need to show the princess something important before she gets busy with her duties," Twilight explained.
"I understand. My dear sister does get burdened with her work," Luna said, nodding. "Might I inquire what it is you may ask of my sister?"
"It's about my friend, Harry. He's been blitzing me with letters all day, and he just sent me another one, there's something important I need to ask Celestia," Twilight said, holding up Harry's latest letter.
"Your otherworldly friend? Well, I suppose this might be important. Come, I just handed the day shift off to 'Tia, we may yet find her in the tower." Luna turned about, gesturing for Twilight to follow her.
"Thank you, your highness," Twilight said.
"Think nothing of it. You cleansed me of the darkness that separated me from my sister, one small favor is nothing," the princess replied. "'Tia did tell me a little of this boy. I heard he has unusual dreams."
"Visions, but only recently. He says he dreams as a unicorn, and his last vision was as an alicorn."
"An alicorn? Unusual, but not unheard of. My sister and I still dream of a time before we were princesses, and I have met many fillies who have dreamed as other creatures. But these dreams are sometimes markers of things we cannot see with our eyes alone. As Princess of the Night, things that do not meet the eyes are of interest to me," Luna explained as they walked up a set of stairs.
"Celestia told you about the visions? What do you think Harry's dream meant? His last dream was as an alicorn."
"Content of the dream aside, Harry's form might be an indicator of his image of self, what he thinks others see in him. Some fillies who grew up in terrible storms dream of being pegasi who could fight the storm. Some who revere magic might dream of being unicorns. And some who respect nature dream of being earth ponies.
"If Harry believes others expect him to live up to a grand destiny, perhaps he dreams of the form that could fulfill that destiny. If deep in his heart he believed being an alicorn can help, then his unwaking mind tried to craft a solution. That is the true nature of dreams: doing what we cannot while awake. Of course, if these are true visions and not dreams, their meanings might be different. I would much like to see them for myself. Dreams and visions are such a rare thing, even for ones such as my sister and I."
"You have an interest in visions?" Twilight asked, a little surprised.
"Of course. After all, it was one such vision that lead to my freedom, and I watch over the dreams of Equestria. But such a discussion can wait, we are here." Luna stopped at the door that led to the tower. "I wish you luck. Now, I must get some sleep, it was a long night." Luna walked away, her sleep deprivation becoming more apparent.
Twilight nudged open the door and saw Celestia still on the balcony, horn aglow as the Sun slowly rose.
"Um, princess?" Twilight said meekly.
Celestia turned away from her work, a little surprised.
"Twilight? I thought you were back with your friends in Ponyville," the princess noted.
"I was," Twilight affirmed. "But something I think you'd like to see was sent by Harry."
"Harry Potter? He has been mailing you nonstop since your return," Celestia remarked.
"I did leave suddenly. Guess he's trying to cope. He was really happy when I was in his world."
"So I've heard. But I doubt you came this way to tell me Harry was lonely. If I may guess, did he have another vision?" Celestia asked.
Twilight shook her head.
"No, actually, it's about the relationship between our two worlds," the young unicorn said. She pulled out Harry's most recent letter.
"Dear Twilight
Something incredible happened to me earlier today. It could change how we view the similarities and differences between Equestria and Earth. It started completely by accident this morning, but I want to share what happened while it's fresh in my mind.
It started when I went to my Care of Magical Creatures class...
Aside from the incident at Charms and Harry's conversation with Dumbledore, the first few days back at school were mostly uneventful until the Care of Magical Creatures class came around on Monday.
An old witch by the name of Grubbly-Plank had taken over that day for Hagrid, whom she said was "indisposed" for the day. She was strict and curt. After her brief introduction, she led the class around the paddock, towards the Forbidden Forest, and past the shivering Beauxbaton pegasi. It was here Harry's day went past ordinary.
"It's too cold out," said one pegasus. Harry did a double take as he heard them.
"I miss the paddock back home. Less drafty," said another.
Harry couldn't believe his ears. Sure, the ponies back in Equestria could talk, but they spoke in the same language as Harry. Well, unless there was some translation as a byproduct of the transport between worlds. Maybe it was because a part of Harry's brain had spent time as a unicorn? Probably another question for Twilight, or maybe McGonagall considering the latter was an animagus. They knew more about magic and the mind. Harry decided to ponder on it later.
Grubbly-Plank led the class past the horses, where Harry could see another equine tethered next to the forbidden forest.
A unicorn. Whiter than the snow with gold hooves and a majestic horn atop its head. It was a far cry from the Equestrian unicorns and looked more like Celestia without wings. This was only the second time he'd seen a unicorn from Earth. That brought back some memories.
The first year had been rough for Harry, seeing a unicorn dead. For crying out loud, his best friend was one. It was after those events that he saw the thestrals pulling the "horseless" carriages, though everyone believed otherwise. Something pulled at his heart seeing one tied up.
"Oh, it's so beautiful!" whispered Lavender Brown. "How did she get it? They're supposed to be really hard to catch!"
Harry noticed the unicorn was pawing the ground nervously with its golden hooves and throwing back its horned head. The body language was telling a story to Harry.
"It's not beautiful, it's scared, that's what," Harry said as he approached the unicorn, only for Grubbly-Plank to catch him hard in the chest with an arm.
"Boys, keep back!" she said.
Harry scowled to himself. Who was she, keeping a unicorn tied up like that? He felt indignation bubbling forth at the unicorn's treatment. Harry crossly but stealthily reached for his wand. He focused on an open spot next to the unicorn in his mind, visualizing the location.
"They like the women's touch, unicorns. Girls to the—" Grubbly-Plank stopped when Harry teleported in a flash of green magic, appearing next to the unicorn. "Potter!"
Harry pocketed his wand and approached the unicorn, keeping his hands visible but lowered at all times, just like how Fluttershy told him to address a scared animal. The unicorn was understandably surprised.
"Back off!" came a woman's voice. Apparently, she was a mare. "First you tie me to this pole, now your foals are space-shifting!" Her voice was layered in anger. Harry stopped moving.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. You looked lonely," Harry said in a soft voice. The unicorn flicked her mane in irritation.
"And worst of all, they treat you like some dumb animal! Arrogant humans!"
"You're not a dumb animal. I should know better," Harry said. The mare stopped moving, looking at Harry in shock.
"Did you just understand me?" she asked. She lowered her head to match his eye level. Her anger turned to curiosity. Harry's lips turned upwards just a little.
"Potter, get back here!" Grubbly-Plank yelled as she slowly marched toward them. Harry ignored her.
"Sorry about her, she's a replacement for Hagrid. And, for the record, I can understand you," Harry said. "Believe it or not, you're not the first unicorn I've had the pleasure of meeting."
"Potter, get back with the rest of the boys!" said Grubbly-Plank, who was only a foot or two away. "Unicorns prefer—" Grubbly-Plank was cut off from her scolding when the unicorn rose to her back legs briefly before coming down between her and Harry.
"Back off!" the mare said, sounding cross. She sounded protective, like how Twilight sounded with Spike or Applejack with her sister. Harry felt a wave of confidence wash over him.
"She prefers people who don't tie her to a pole." Harry turned his back on the professor, attention directed at the unicorn. Harry pointed to the ropes tethering her. "Would you like those removed, or at least loosened?" he asked politely.
"Yes, please. It's humiliating." She stood still waiting for Harry to approach her, but the boy stayed rooted to the ground.
Instead, Harry raised a hand and concentrated on the standard unicorn telekinesis spell.
If one could see magic, one would notice his eyes and the rope were briefly surrounded by the same green aura. The knots untied themselves under the influence of his magic. Harry took the rolled-up rope in hand and dropped it next to the tree.
"No stick-magic?" she asked.
"Didn't need it. It's unicorn magic," Harry replied simply. Seeing Grubbly-Plank's stunned expression, he moved closer to the mare.
"We don't cast spells, little colt." Her words were like those given to a foal.
"Equestrian ones do," he countered. The unicorn gave him a strange look.
"Equestria? That's an old mare's tale," she said. Harry was genuinely surprised unicorns knew about Equestria.
"Potter, get back from the unicorn," Grubbly-Plank whisper-shouted.
"She's not dangerous, professor," Harry insisted. Harry held a hand up to the unicorn's mane, silently asking if he could stroke her hair. A polite flick of her neck was enough for him to move his hand down her mane. Grubbly-Plank grumbled, then faced the class.
"Alright, class. Normally, they prefer the women's touch, so girls up front and approach it slowly." She left the two to slowly guide the class's girls towards the unicorn.
A thought came to Harry. Grubbly-Plank said it, and Harry didn't know what to call her besides what she was.
"You know, I never asked what to call you. Do you have a name I can use?" The unicorn paused for a moment.
"You may call me Moonpool," she said in a melodic voice.
"I'm Harry Potter," he said when the class arrived.
"All right girls, and Harry, what do you know about unicorns?" the teacher asked. The girls whispered amongst themselves for a moment.
"The horn and hair of a unicorn are used in potions and wands respectively, but never the blood," Hermione said.
"It's creepy. What if I used your ground up teeth in the river I clean in?" Moonpool said. Harry stroked her mane comfortingly.
"They should at least ask."
"Harry, are you talking to the unicorn?" Lavender Brown asked.
"What of it?" he countered.
"First he's a parselmouth, now he talks to horses. Great," Parvati snapped. Moonpool pawed at the ground irritably.
"You ignore the filly, she's too loud." Harry couldn't resist chuckling.
"Anyways, unicorns are..." Grubbly-Plank continued on with her lecture while Harry continued to talk with Moonpool.
"As I was saying, Equestria is an old mare's tale. We tell it to fillies and colts in the spring."
"Not really, I've been there twice now," Harry whispered. Moonpool huffed.
"Let's assume you're correct, and I assume it exists and assume you've been there. What's it like there? Is it as harmonious as the stories say?" she asked, curiosity seeping out of her voice, overriding any previous skepticism.
"More than you can imagine. There are no people there, first off. Second, the ponies there are really nice as well. I've met unicorns, pegasi, ponies, zebras, and even three alicorns." Moonpool almost jumped in place, startling the students.
"Now I know you jest. Alicorns are more of a myth than Equestria! And yet you say you've met three!"
"Potter, if you continue to disrupt the class, you will be removed!" the teacher scolded. Harry glared but kept silent.
"I don't know whether to believe you or not," Moonpool said in a significantly quieter voice, though it was completely unnecessary. "But I would love to continue this later, maybe introduce you to a few old mares and their fillies," she said.
"Sounds lovely."
"Potter!"
Overall, despite her personality, Grubbly-Plank was a competent teacher, but she lacked Hagrid's enthusiasm. The day's lesson felt like enough to warrant a short letter to Twilight about the unicorn meeting, and that they somehow knew of Equestria. But the rest of the day went on without incident until the three visited Hagrid. They figured out why he had been missing before. His advances on the headmistress of Beauxbatons had gone badly when Hagrid assumed she was part giant. He was sulking in his hut, hence the substitute. For a moment Harry was afraid Rita Skeeter had something to do with it, but it would appear Harry's gift had left her... indisposed. They were about to leave when Harry reminded himself of something.
"Hey Hagrid, how many unicorns live in the forest?" Harry asked. Hagrid looked perplexed.
"Not sure about that one Harry, they keep to themselves, those unicorns. Never seen more than a look or two. Only ones I saw for more than that were, well, you remember the first year," Hagrid said sadly. Harry nodded as the group left Hagrid's hut.
"What was that about?" Ron asked when the door closed. "Since when were you interested in unicorns?"
"Since he learned he could talk to them," Hermione guessed. "I haven't read of a wizard who could do that before."
"Moonpool invited me to meet her later."
"Moonpool? You named her?" asked Ron.
"Of course not. She told me. And we're going to meet her," Harry said with a sense of finality.
"No, we're not," Hermione said crossly. "Harry, it's forbidden. We're not allowed in without special permission or a teacher."
"Stealing is forbidden too, last I checked. Besides, she invited us, I'd think that counts as 'special permission'. She lives there," Harry corrected. "No one attacks a unicorn because of the blood, and they are fast enough to outrun werewolves. We'll be safe." Harry continued to walk towards the forest assuredly.
"You're going to get me expelled," Hermione grumbled as she followed him.
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This is getting interesting. So, will we soon see Celestia and Luna taking a quick visit to Harry's world soon?
A bit of curiosity, should an Earth unicorn end up in Equestria, would they turn human over there or retain their equine form? If they retain, would they turn human if they returned to Earth like some sort of cosmic correction had occurred?
Very good twist! Clearly didn't expected that but it opens so many possibilities. Is Equestria only a mare tale on earth or is there a more distant past connecting the two? Only time (and the author) will tell.
Oh yeah! Alicorn Harry, AND TwiHarmione!
Given so many mage wars and experiments on all sides over the millenia, it shouldnt be suprising there are portals of various sorts all over the place even if they are sparse in time.
Wait, the unicorns are actually sapient and know of Equestria? Whoooo boy, now isn't this a can of worms waiting to be opened. So they are what ... descendants of unicorns that somehow got stranded on Earth from thousands of years ago, when Equestria was in its infancy or so, due to some sort of magical mishap, and now have essentially regressed like some long lost amazonian tribe?
This ... is actually pretty big and is easily grounds for Equestrian intervention. Celestia could easily see it as her duty to rescue a bunch of her little ponies who have been stranded on earth and are now being treated like mere beasts and source of magical ingredients. I can't see how this does not prompt a response/investigation. Things just got political.
11582591 Ahem. Working on that.
11582629
Presenting Prince Harry Potter the Courageous and Brave, the Final Comfort, the last Kindly Guide, the Judge and Anathema to undead, ZombieBane, Duke of the Southern reaches and Griffin friend.
11582596
Obviously it's pulling on the mythology of unicorns pegasi in other horse like creatures in our world here