Chapter 16: Troublesome Reading
Rarity's house was dark the next morning, but flashes of light shone from the inside like lightning. Harry, hidden by his cloak, was starting to regret waiting.
Spike knocked on the door. "Rarity?"
No response was given but for the flashes of light to increase in frequency and intensity. The door rumbled like thunder, then burst open with a tidal wave of clothing. Harry managed to dodge the onslaught in time, but Spike was less fortunate. Rarity emerged a second later, but she didn't look like herself. There was a haughty look to her. Perhaps it was the unkemptness of her normally pristine mane or the tired bags under her eyes. Neither feature was one Rarity would dare be seen with. Harry thought that could just be how Rarity was in private.
"Spike, I'm so glad you're here!" Rarity declared.
Rarity levitated Spike into her house, and Harry placed himself by a window. Harry opened the window to take a look incognito. The inside was worse than he thought, covered with stacks upon stacks of fashion.
"Whoa! Are... you okay?" Spike asked, looking about the room.
"Oh, I've never been better!" Rarity declared giddily. She held the book proudly in the air. "This book you've given me is amazing! Why, I- I- I- I've been up all night just creating and creating and creating and creating! I've completed my fall line for the next fifteen seasons!" Rarity gushed. From Harry's vantage point at the window, Spike was wowed. "But then I started thinking, 'why stop there'? Oh, Spike, I've always thought this town of ours could use a few beautifying upgrades, and with this book, I can make that happen with such ease! You will support me in this endeavor by letting me keep the book just a little longer?"
Harry, Owlowiscious, and Hedwig watched from outside with growing concern. She doesn't appear malicious, maybe the book doesn't make her evil or possess her? Her fashion obsession is just more... pronounced. Maybe that's it? Still, best to find a way to get it from her. But how? Even while invisible, I'm not undetectable. Who knows what she can do? I'll have to wait for her to drop her guard or get her to give it voluntarily.
Harry conjured a piece of paper and quill. He might need some help on this.
Dear Twilight.
I have a problem. Spike and I found a book that might be cursed and gave it to Rarity. We're trying to get it, but things are getting out of hoof. Some help in finding her would be appreciated.
Harry rolled up the paper and offered it to Hedwig, requesting she "Get this to Twilight, fast." The snowy owl grabbed the paper and took off toward the library. A few seconds later, Rarity and Spike exited the shop. Rarity must've cleaned up and combed her hair because she looked normal when she opened the door. Harry trailed behind them and tugged Spike backward.
"Hey, Spike," whispered Harry. The little dragon looked around for the source of Harry's voice. "We need to grab the book. If I can't get it, I'll trail behind and you grab the book. She's had it too long."
"But what's the problem with her using it?" Spike replied. "She's just making some small changes."
Harry stomped his hoof. "Her house is flooded with clothes, that's not small. I allowed you to give it to her for one thing, and I should've corrected my mistake from the start. We're taking it before she does something somepony didn't ask for or doesn't like."
"Who doesn't like Rarity's fashion?" Spike asked.
Harry stopped in his tracks. He grabbed Spike and turned him to face Harry. "That's not the point!" Harry said fircely. "We're lucky Rarity's fashion obsession holds her back from knowing how powerful this book is! We don't know its limits, or hers. It was a mistake to hand it over. We have to undo it before things go south. Understand!?" Harry demanded.
Spike nodded numbly. "Alright, I guess." He turned around to speak. "Rarity—"
Only to find the fashionista had vanished.
"Come on, we got to find her," Harry said. "I alerted Twilight, so we have some help. Let's find her before this gets worse."
The duo raced through Ponyville, trying their best to find the crazed unicorn. All that remained was a trail of extravagant damages. The first place they checked was the markets, as it was one of Rarity's favorite places in town, aside from the spa (that place was untouched). The first oddity in the market was Applejack's cart, or rather the golden, jewel-encrusted cart that stood in its place. The two looked for further changes nearby.
"What in the—?!" Rainbow Dash shouted from above. Harry and Spike looked up to Rainbow Dash in a dress, of all things. Harry had never known her to wear dresses, ever. "Get... it... off... me!" The pegasus tumbled in the air before crashing onto somepony's house. She looked down from her vantage point at Spike and Harry. "Morning, Harry! I don't suppose this is your work?"
Harry shook his head. "We're looking for Rarity, have you seen her?"
Rainbow Dash huffed before jumping to ground level. She pulled at the dress, muttering "Of course it was her." Rainbow Dash fought to get the dress off but to no success. Somehow, it got her even more ensnared by the fabric. "Little help here?" Harry cast an engorgement charm on the dress, allowing Rainbow the wiggle-room to escape before he reversed his spell.
"Did you see where she went?" he asked.
Rainbow Dash kicked the dress away in disgust. "No. Do you need me to find her?"
Harry rubbed his forehead, trying to ease what might turn into a headache. "Alright, I can work with this. Rarity's gone fashion-crazy, so we'll search accordingly. Rainbow, head toward Sweet Apple Acres, look for Rarity or anything... weird. Spike, we'll split the town. Go where you'd think she'd go. If we can't find her, meet up near the Gazebo. That work?"
"On it!"
"Yep!"
Harry watched Spike and Rainbow Dash take off in different directions. "Why does everything weird happen to me?"
Harry galloped across Ponyville, looking for any sign of Rarity. Unfortunately, all he could find were the after-effects. He spotted Apple Bloom and Applejack, both suffering from Rarity's "vision." The poor filly had a bejeweled bow weighing her down, and Applejack's cart was still solid gold. All around, excessive jewelry, fancy clothes, exotic colors, and extensive refurbishings, all reeked of Rarity's fashion taken to an unnatural extreme. If Harry didn't know better, he'd suspect the book allowed her to teleport freely. Harry returned toward the town center, hoping the others had better luck than him.
And from the looks of things, Spike had found Rarity. The dragon was covered head-to-toe in gemstones. Spike couldn't even move his arms, much less walk, so he was stuck on his back. Harry set Spike back on his feet.
"Spike! Did you find Rarity?"
"More like she found me," Spike said. "Gave me this thing. It'd make a better snack than outfit."
"Then you didn't get the book, did you?" Harry asked. Spike shook his head. "Spike! Rarity is completely out of control!"
Spike waddled backward and shook his head. "I tried! But I just can't tell her—"
"There you two are!" Spike and Harry turned to meet a very upset Twilight. "What's this about a cursed book!? And why did you give it to Rarity!?"
"Spike thought it was a good idea, and it didn't seem harmful until now," Harry admitted. "It allowed her to redesign her puppet theater in time for the festival yesterday."
Twilight's features morphed into a light scowl. "Give me one reason it didn't seem harmful."
"How about three?" Harry replied instantly. "One: Celestia had a thousand years to remove it from the castle. Two: the first thing Rarity did with it was make her couch fancier, that's normal transfiguration by human standards; I've turned birds into goblets! And three: you all got trapped in a cursed comic book and laughed it off. I didn't think it was harmful until today. Besides, Rarity hasn't caused physical harm yet, nothing that can't be undone."
"Undoing that you will be a part of," Twilight commanded.
Harry sagged a little. He deserved that. "I know, I know, I'll help, but we need to find Rarity."
"Great, now—"
Mayor Mare ran around the corner and, spotting Twilight, shouted "Princess Twilight! The gazebo has been turned into solid crystal, and two ponies are now trapped inside its walls!"
Twilight looked at Harry and Spike. "Find her and get that book before Luna and Cadance get here to clean up!" The alicorn spread her wings and launched toward the now-crystalized Gazebo. Harry watched her fly off to undo more of the mess. Disappointment hurt.
Harry sighed. "Spike, as I was saying, I'm not a relationship guru like Twilight; maintaining two friendships on Earth was hard enough. But sometimes what's best for those friendships are things we don't like. If you want to help Rarity, you need to put your claw down and help me take the book." Harry used his magic to doff Spike's gemstone outfit. A weight unrelated to the gems lifted from Spike's shoulders.
"You're right, Harry. I guess I can forget Rarity thinking of me as her most supportive friend... or as a friend at all..."
"Don't be like that. I can't believe I'm suggesting we steal from the Element of Generosity, but it won't ruin what's between you," Harry reassured Spike. He looked around for Rarity, only to find nothing but the aftermath of her "creative genius". Harry pointed to the center of town. "Besides, we'll have to find her first."
Spike shook his head. "But—" Spike's face lit up. "The spellbook! If we can get it away from her, I bet she won't be able to use its magic anymore!"
Harry shook his head. "You forgot one thing. The book says 'Only when true words are spoken will you finally be set free.' If it's literal, then one of us should seperate her from the book, and the other talk her down. I'll get the book."
"Why do I have the hard part?"
"Because," Harry straightened to look down at the dragon, "I'm invisible, and you're the one who couldn't put his claw down the first time. We're doing this my way. Now, let's find where Rarity went."
"I can't see!" a stallion yelled.
Harry and Spike looked to see entire sections of Ponyville's streets had been turned to solid gold. The two looked at each other knowingly.
"Rarity?"
"Rarity."
They followed the path of chaotic renovations to the edge of Ponyville, to the top of a hill where all of Rarity's changes were visible. It looked horrible from this view if Harry was being honest.
Harry looked at Spike. "Remember, disctract her, then give it to me so I can hide it away in the Everfree." Harry pulled up the hood of his cloak, vanishing from sight.
Spike walked up to Rarity, reaching for the Book of Inspiration. However, Rarity noticed his proximity and turned on him with a mean snarl.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
Spike stammered. "Uh, me? I was just, uh... basking in your creative radiance."
That seemed to snap Rarity back to "normal", at least for now. "Oh, Spike, you do say the nicest things."
"Thanks."
Rarity turned to look over the rest of Ponyville. "Now, where was I? Oh yes! Gold-plated rooftops for everypony!"
Harry pulled his hood back and looked at Hedwig and Owlowiscious. He pointed at Rarity aggressively and winked before pulling his hood back up. The two owls rushed down at Rarity, and she ducked down and waved a hoof to try and keep them away. While she was distracted, Spike crept up next to the crazed mare, quickly swiped the magic book, and passed it to Harry. Harry grabbed the book and hid it under his cloak.
Goal accomplished, Harry made a mad dash to the Everfree Forest. Hopefully, Spike could talk Rarity down now that the book was gone and Spike was willing to tell the truth. Of course, that was assuming Spike followed through on his promise. In any case, Harry had to hide this thing where no pony else would ever find it again.
Harry knocked on Zecora's front door. He hadn't been here before, but Apple Bloom was kind enough to tell him the path. Zecora opened the door and was shocked to see Harry's floating head; he hadn't fully removed the Cloak.
The Zebra took a step back in surprise. "What bizarre trickery do this be? That a floating head appears to me?"
Harry glanced about nervously. "Hey, Zecora." Harry offered his hoof, removing it from the invisibility. "I'm Harry, we haven't been properly introduced yet. I was with Twilight when the Everfree drove you out."
Zecora nodded. "Ah, yes, I remember you now. But why are you here, and why now?"
"Can I come inside?" Harry asked nervously.
Zecora nodded and held the door open for Harry to trot inside. "It's lucky I made tea, freshly brewed. Have a drink, we can talk whilst you brood."
Harry thanked her and walked inside. Once he was passed the threshold Harry threw off his cloak and stuffed it in his bag. He took a moment to absorb himself in the strange, exotic decorations in Zecora's home. Strange potions, masks, and trinkets decorated the room. Twilight had mentioned that Zecora didn't come from Equestria, but a faraway land. The place gave off a wild, yet magical vibe, but that just could've been the Everfree playing trick on his mind. Harry shook those thoughts off, pulled out the book, and placed it on Zecora's table. He sat down while Zecroa poured two cups of tea.
After Harry took a sip of the (very good) tea, he started to explain. "Spike found this book in the Everfree Forest. It turns thoughts into reality. Rarity used it and got obsessed with its magic. She's turned half of Ponyville to gold and crystal already. Spike and I separated her from the book. I was wondering if you could help me hide it with the Alicorn Amulet?" He saw Zecora looking at the book warily. "I know this thing is dangerous, I want to keep it away from prying eyes," Harry said, straight to the point.
Zecora was silent for a moment, sipping her tea. "I agree, you are making a grave request. Such magic should be hidden, I can attest. Follow."
Zecora stood up and walked out of her house, Harry following close behind. Zecora walked for a few minutes until her home was barely visible through the trees. Spotting a rocky outcroping, Zecora gave it a strong kick, moving the rock. The zebra swished her tail to dust off the ground, revealing the dirt covered a wooden plank. Harry wouldn't have noticed it if Zecora hadn't shown it. Zecora pried a section of wood from the ground, revealing a shallow cavity. Inside was a small chest, presumably holding the Alicorn Amulet. This must have been Zecora's hiding spot.
"In here, we will conceal the cursed tome. But promise to never let this be known."
Harry nodded, promising to never show where this was to another soul. He then lowered the book into the hiding spot. He and Zecora then closed the lid and covered it back up. When their task was completed, she invited Harry to retell the entire tale of how Rarity got the book over a cup of herbal tea. Harry stayed until the tea ran out, and he had to excuse himself.
"Thanks, Zecora. I wish we could talk more, but I probably need to head back to help with the damages," Harry apologized.
Zecora nodded. "I understand what concerns you have for your home, my friend. It appears Ponyville always has damage to ammend."
Harry waved goodbye, put his cloak back on, and galloped back home. Hopefully, this is one of the many dark secrets of Equestria that would remain buried. That book is something awful. I don't think it's something I'd ever use, even against Voldemort.
When Harry returned to Ponyville, he was surprised to see not one, not two, but three alicorns undoing the effects of Rarity's crazed spellcasting. Princess Cadance, Princess Luna, and Princess Twilight were removing every trace of dark magic, with understandable difficulty. Harry trotted to Twilight, who was undoing more of the golden roads.
"How's it going?" Harry asked.
Twilight was startled, but her exhaustion showed through a slow reaction time. "Oh! Harry! Yeah, I'm good."
"You don't look it," Harry noted. "Maybe leave the hard parts to Cadance and Luna? You're still getting used to being an alicorn."
"I don't know—"
"Princess Luna!" Harry shouted up to the princess, who was repairing the gazebo top-to-bottom. The Princess of the Moon looked down from above. "How're the repairs going?" Luna lowered herself to the ground. She too looked a little winded. Not as bad as Twilight, but still.
"Harry," Luna greeted. "Repairs are going well. I heard you were removing the source from Princess Twilight's assistant. Is that taken care of?"
"The book is hidden in the Everfree," Harry answered. "If you don't mind, I think Twilight's exhausted."
Luna looked at Twilight, who tried to look like her usual self.
"I think Princess Cadance and I can take it from here," said Princess Luna. "The young princess deserves some rest." Twilight met Harry's eyes. There was gratitude in her look, enhanced by her sagging posture. "However," Luna fixed her gaze on Harry, "I believe you are yet to provide recompense for your mistake."
Harry shrunk a little under her gaze. "I didn't mean for things to go wrong," Harry protested.
Luna held up a hoof. "I understand, and I know you didn't intend this. You did prevent this from getting worse. So your punishment shall be simple: you will help reverse the dark magic. As I've heard, your magical lessons have been lacking in practical defense against dark magic. Twilight can take her rest, you will finish her job, there's not much left."
"I understand, princess."
"Don't look so down," Luna said. "This is far from the worst Ponyville's had. I seem to recall an incident from a 'want it, need it' spell a while back."
Twilight chuckled nervously next to Harry. "An incident we probably don't have time to explain, right?" Twilight's voice was strained like she wanted to avoid this at all costs.
Luna smirked. "So young Harry doesn't know this tale? Well then, he must know if he is to learn. I believe we will have plenty of time to talk about it." Luna moved between Harry and Twilight, nudging Harry toward the Gazebo and away from Twilight. Twilight simply sulked next to a tree. Luna turned her eyes back to Harry. "Now, alicorn magic is more adaptable than unicorn magic, so this may be difficult." Luna's horn shone brightly as the Gazebo reverted to its non-crystal state. Harry didn't have the slightest idea where to start with that. "But, I think I have a great motivator. For every item we revert, I'll tell you more about Twilight's magical mishap. Do we have a deal, Harry?"
Despite the looming challenge, Harry smirked. The challenge wasn't fun, but the reward was promising. "Deal."
Luna lifted her hoof triumphantly. "Huzzah! We will much enjoy the friendly gossip!" Luna summoned another jewel-encrusted item. "Now, onto the magic. First, you must identify the item's true form, what it was before the change. Follow my lead—"
It felt like an eternity later, but Harry, Twilight, Luna, and Cadance reverted every last change Rarity made. That included the solid gold streets and gemstone trees. It was by far the most exhausting magical task Harry had undertaken. On the plus side, Luna shared the gossip Celestia told her about some of Twilight's... less-than-proud adventures. Bewitching the whole town by accident? Only Twilight could have done something so brilliant yet absurd. By the time everything was repaired, Harry's horn was sore (he didn't even know that could happen) and his mind was full. All four of them went back home right after.
"Ugh, my everything aches," Harry moaned.
"Mine too," Twilight agreed. "I haven't done anything like that in a long time."
"Come on, we don't want to get sick, again," said Harry. "Maybe I can make us some tea. I think we have some herbal tea leftover from when I had Tatzlwurm fever."
"I wonder how Spike's doing," muttered Twilight. "Why didn't he tell us? And why didn't you?"
"He insisted Rarity was okay," Harry replied truthfully. "He didn't want to hurt her feelings, it's only natural. But he did help get the book back from Rarity. As I said, it seemed tame at first. I thought it was a transfiguration book, I didn't notice the personality shift until later. I've spent all day correcting that. And you keep telling me there's nothing to be scared of there."
"One cup of tea and we'll call each other even. Sound fair?"
"Absolutely."
Harry opened the door to the library and entered. The library, thankfully, was untouched by Rarity's rampage. Spike sat with the journal the girls had been keeping, the one with friendship lessons. Harry walked past the dragon and went to the kitchen to start a kettle. He knew there was one here, even if the other two residents had filled the shelf with hot chocolate. He found the one he was looking for, magically heated the water, and put the tea bags in. Harry left the kitchen with two warm cups of tea, not a minute after he entered.
Twilight entered a few moments behind Harry's return from the kitchen, glaring at Spike. Twilight slammed the door behind her.
"Spike. Never, ever, ever, ever take another book out of the library at the castle without asking! Princess Cadance and Princess Luna have much better things to do than help me clean up Ponyville!" The alicorn stormed to her bed and collapsed on the plush covers. She rolled over to glare at the dragon. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to reverse that much dark magic?!"
Harry answered for Spike by saying "Not fun." Harry offered one mug to Twilight. She accepted it with a quick "thanks" and sipped the tea.
"You two don't look so good," Spike said. The two glared at him, but Spike merely shrugged. "What? I'm just being honest! It's what good friends do!" Spike chucked and exited Twilight's room. Harry and Twilight looked at each other once he left.
"Should I tell him he has community service?" Twilight asked.
Harry took a long drink from his tea. "And ruin his day? Tempting." Harry stretched out his muscles. Using magic didn't tax them, but it felt good. "Luna's a tough teacher."
"Maybe a review session would help?" Twilight said, pulling a book from under her bed. A part of Harry's mind questioned how she always had the right book on her, but the rest could not say no.
"Sure," Harry said, rolling his eyes.
Twilight gestured for Harry to sit on the bed and she laid the book between them. Twilght's words came out in a jumble, or maybe that was all Harry could interpret. In either case, both were too tired for learning to have been at the forefront of even Twilight's mind. In less than a minute after starting, Harry and Twilight had droopy eyes, and Harry wasn't sure who fell asleep first, not that he could care, he was asleep.
Spike peeked inside Twilight's room. He was doing some cleaning to make up for his blunder and remembered Harry and Twilight were enjoying some herbal tea. The curtains were still open, so he assumed Twilight hadn't gone to sleep. But instead of two studying unicorns, Spike found two slumbering ponies with a book and two empty mugs between them. Twilight did fall asleep studying, but doing it while teaching? And for both at the same time?
Spike tiptoed to the curtains and drew them shut. He carefully grabbed the mugs and left the room. The last thing he did was quietly shut the door. He'd let them sleep, they'd earned it. Plus, it was perfect teasing material.
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Do what your muse tell you, is better to listen the muse and write while you are inspired
I honestly don't see too much point in an Equestria games chapter. It is a Spike episode so there isn't much for Harry to contribute. After all, I doubt he will have access to magic during the games. Just a few paragraphs at the start should be enough, as I suspect that the season finale will by itself take a good 3 or 4 chapters.
11798414
I think Rendomstranger's idea is the best. You do whatever you want, we will be happy with what you write, but I agree that there might not be much point for Harry to be in the Equestria games.
TwilightxHarry, the Alicorn Couple.
11798444
I would love to see this. They both deserve it.
Besides, with time being wibbly-wobbly between both universes, they would be closer in age soon.
Not to mention, if Harry becomes an alicorn, who would care about age difference in the face of eternity?
Trouble is with The Games, is that not only is it a Lot of tramlined storyline, its also Spikes second time saving evreyone, but it has that horrifically abusive embarrasing part in canon, but at least it should be better than that idiot Hogwarts wizard including himself in the antimagic spell in a different story?
11798535
[Pinkie Pie]: "I KNOW, RIGHT?"
Equestria Games would still be a bit far off at this point since it seemingly didn't occur until after Starlight Glimmer's timey wimey episodes. Rainbow Rocks, however, is very near. Then there is the matter of if you want to get Harry involved in the Anon-a-miss stuff or not or throw that out.
Eepy...
i just figured that when the Book didn't start talking to Harry it didn't ping on his Badness radar...after all if it doesn't seem to have a mind of it's own then i can't be all that bad compared to The Diary. BUT i do feel you missed out on some Hogwarts development where Harry could have sent a letter to Flitwick asking for spells to do mass dispelling and how to detect dark objects...