Chapter 18: New magic, new troubles
Harry watched his friend fly out over the horizon. He couldn't shake the feeling that this would go downhill. From the sounds of things, Equestria hadn't faced a threat like Tirek since Discord. The latter required the Elements of Harmony, but those were in the Tree of Harmony so they were as good as dead weight. And Twilight, as a princess, would be front and center for whatever came next. Harry hoped against hope Twilight would be safe if things went south.
"I guess we'll have to shelve solving this mystery until she gets back," Rarity said.
"Right when we were getting to the good part, too," Pinkie Pie exclaimed with faux frustration. She bucked the chest as hard as she could. "Do we have to wait?"
"Some surprises are best waited for," Rarity answered.
"Doesn't mean I have to like it," Pinkie Pie pouted.
Harry shook his head. These girls made their friendships into something extraordinary, didn't they? "I'm heading back to Ponyville. I have a few things to check, and I'll bet Twilgiht's visit will be an all-day thing."
"Yeah, no point sticking around here," Rainbow Dash said. "Welp, see ya later!" Rainbow flew out of the cave like the Wonderbolts were waiting for her, vanishing before anypony could blink.
"In the meantime, we should keep an eye out for trouble. Tirek could be anywhere," Applejack said.
The seven walked out of the cave, filled with intrigue and anxiousness.
A fact known to few was that Harry didn't rise with the sun for nearly eleven years. Back when he lived in a cupboard Harry used to be woken by his aunt or uncle expressly to make breakfast. Considering he wasn't "allowed" out without either of those two, Harry used to do nothing but wait. But never had Harry awoken before the sun rose. So of course Harry was very confused when he woke up to the moon still high in the sky. Harry checked his clock (not the one from Discord) to see it should be mid-day in an hour or so.
Harry walked over to Spike and poked the little dragon until he awoke. He waited for the little dragon to rub the sleep out of his eyes before speaking.
"Spike, does Celestia ever forget to raise the sun?" Harry asked.
"Not usually," Spike yawned. "Why are you asking, and why are the lights out?"
"Because the sun isn't up and it should be noon in, like, two hours," Harry pressed.
"Maybe Celestia is sleeping in for once," Spike groaned groggily.
"For once? Spike, there's a magic-stealing centaur out there! And who uses their magic to raise the sun?"
Realization dawned on the little dragon's face. He was getting what Harry meant. Why would Celestia miss the sunrise? The last times it had been like this were with Discord, Plunder seeds, and Nightmare Moon. Celestia was also with the other three princesses, the most magical beings on the planet. If Tirek was there, they basically hoof-delivered him a buffet!
Harry's train of thought was interrupted as the door to the library was thrown open. Twilight walked in, trying to look as stealthy as possible. She stood tall as soon as she noticed Harry and Spike were awake.
"Oh, hi you two," Twilight said with a smile.
"Don't 'oh, hi' me, why is the sun not up!?" Harry said.
"The sun's not up?" Twilight inquired. She jumped, as though startled. Lightning danced on her horn. "The sun's not up!"
"Yes, we just said that," Spike said.
"Did something happen to Celestia?" Harry asked.
"Nope! Everything's fine!" Twilight responded, far quicker and louder than necessary. "I'm sure the sun will be raised soon. Why don't you two go get ready for the day, I've got to, uh, do something," Twilight stammered as she vanished up to her bedroom.
Harry turned to face Spike. "That was weird, even for her."
"I'm sure she's just tired, long night and whatnot," Spike looked outside. "Hey, Twilight was right, the sun is up!"
Harry looked outside to see sunlight streaming in through the windows. Odd. Something strange is going on here. Harry looked back for Twilight; she was walking to the front door, muttering to herself about magic. She grasped the door handle in her magic when her horn started to let off a blinding amount of light. The glow increased as Twilight's magic built up more and more.
"Hit the deck!" Spike shouted.
Harry raised a shield as the front door was blasted into charred splinters. Twilight looked downright appalled. Harry was equally surprised; he'd never seen Twilight lose control of her magic like this.
"I have to gain better control. I sure can't practice here," Twilight muttered as she walked away.
Harry and Spike shared a concerned glance as they chased after her.
"Uh, Twilight, where are we going?" Spike asks.
Twilight glanced around nervously. "Oh, uh, hi, Spike, Harry. Uh, gotta go... somewhere... else."
The alicorn braced her hooves, raised her wings, and shot up with a thunderous crack! of air as she launched herself. A sparkly purple trail followed her as she vanished into the sky. Harry skidded to a stop in shock. Twilight was never that fast. He'd practiced the wings spell with Twilight and flown with her and Rainbow Dash enough to know Twilight couldn't fly that fast. He watched as Twilight careened across the skies above Ponyville, vaguely heading towards the Everfree Forest. Shouting at Spike to get on, Harry grabbed the dragon and placed him on his back, galloping after Twilight as fast as possible. Along the way, he galloped past the others, who were also chasing after the wayward princess. Eventually, Twilight crashed into the ground with far more force than necessary, leaving a crater as she skidded to a stop. She was miraculously unharmed and still standing when all was said and done. Harry and the rest crowded around their friend as she shook off her hooves.
Fluttershy was the first to speak. "Oh, my goodness, are you all right?"
"Jumping junebugs, Twilight! When did you learn to fly that fast?" Applejack asked.
Twilight smiled sheepishly. She briefly convulsed like she had been hit with the worst static shock imaginable. "I must have caught a particularly strong breeze..." Twilight vanished in a flash of magic, teleporting behind Rarity. "...or something."
"Must have been 'or something', because there wasn't any breeze up there," Rainbow Dash said skeptically. Harry had to agree, Twilight's newfound speed didn't make sense. Even if her talent with magic extended to her wings, she was magnitudes faster than last week.
"I don't know what happened, but I don't really have time to figure it out right now," Twilight said. Her horn sparked with rogue magic again.
"Another visit to the Castle of the Two Sisters, I presume? We'd be more than happy to accompany you!" Rarity said with a smile.
"Not today!" Twilight responded. Her horn sparked once again. "Tirek may still be a threat. I need you all to stay here and encourage everypony to remain inside." Twilight braced against the ground to fly, but then looked at her wings awkwardly before continuing on hoof.
Harry looked at Twilight's retreating form. Nothing was adding up to Harry, and it scared him. Twilight was hiding something. She rarely hid anything from her friends. Twilight was showing strange magical surges, something a unicorn her age should have outgrown by now. She was also flying so fast she was leaving a color trail in her wake, something only seen in the fastest pegasi. Additionally, she was stronger than normal, having left a crater on take-off and landing in a second crater. The sun only rose when she realized it should've been done hours ago. And all of these new developments happened after a visit with the other princesses. This was beyond strange.
"Is anypony else seeing the red flags?" Harry asked as soon as Twilight was out of earshot. He pointed to Twilight, who had just entered the Everfree Forest. "Twilght's hiding something from us."
"I agree, but what can we do about it? If Twilight's dealing with something, she might need to do it alone," Applejack said. She turned away from the forest, facing the town. "In the meantime, we need to keep everypony indoors and hidden."
"Yes, Twilight is right, Tirek is still out there," Rarity said.
"That being said, I don't like leaving Twilight alone while a threat is still out and about," Rainbow Dash argued.
Harry pondered a bit. Twilight being alone was a terrible decision. She was clearly in the wrong mind state to deal with anything.
"Then I'll follow her and ask one more time what's bothering her. If she really doesn't want to talk, I'll come back," Harry decided.
He cast a quick summoning spell for his Invisibility Cloak, wand, and amulet; he had never removed his bracelet. He wasn't going to leave these things out of his sight if he could help it, not with someone as dangerous as Tirek around. Mind made up, Harry turned and galloped to catch up to Twilight. He treaded through the forest toward the castle, hoping to find Twilight along the way. All he had to do was follow the sounds of volatile explosions and other magic.
Eventually, Harry did find her, spotting her standing in a clearing about halfway between Ponyville and the castle. She looked... Harry couldn't place his hoof on it, somewhere between stressed and anxious. Harry slowed his approach when he heard her muttering to herself about "control" and "alicorn magic". Magic was sparking from her horn at random and various rocks and branches were flying about aimlessly. Harry knew she should've had better control with levitation.
"Twilight?" Harry whispered by accident.
Twilight startled, jumping away from the voice. The rocks and twigs nearby dropped to the ground. When she realized just who had spoken her name and snuck up on her, she turned her head away in embarrassment. She hadn't realized Harry had followed her. Wait, why is he following me? I said she wanted to be alone.
"Oh, hey. What are you doing here?" she asked. Her horn sputtered again and Twilight uncontrollably teleported to the other side of the clearing.
"I'm checking on my friend," Harry replied. He walked across the clearing to stand in front of Twilight. "You've been acting all weird today. Twilight, is something going on?" Harry pressed her for an answer. "You know you can tell me anything."
Twilight ducked her head to avoid Harry's eyes. He was right. Celestia, Luna, and Cadance had transferred their magic to her as a failsafe against Tirek. Celestia had insisted Twilight tell none of her friends about the new magic overflowing within her. She had a responsibility to keep her word to the princesses. But Twilight wasn't sure if she could lie to Harry to his face. She had enough conflict in herself, not telling Harry about Celestia's vision.
Harry moved so they were practically shoulder-to-shoulder.
"Twilight, I care about you, and you know that. I'm asking because I'm concerned, as are our friends. I need to know if you're okay. You're brilliant with magic, but I've never seen you struggle to control it like this before. What's going on?"
Twilight sighed in defeat. Why was she keeping this secret anyway? She could trust Harry. After all, if she couldn't trust him, then who? Twilight sat on the ground, Harry mimicking her. Her horn send another shock down her body, a little less painfully this time. She had to start getting this under control.
"Alright, I guess you deserve the truth," Twilight finally spoke. "When I went to Canterlot, all of the princesses were there. Celestia thinks Discord's betrayed us. She also told me Tirek's growing strong enough to take flight from pegasus and the strength of earth ponies. Princess Celestia thinks he will go after their alicorn magic next. He'd be unstoppable if that happened. So, as a last resort, they got rid of their magic."
Harry's jaw dropped. "Got rid of their magic? But if their magic is gone, why do you still have..." Harry trailed off mid-sentence, coming to terms with the truth. "Wait, you don't mean—"
"Alicorn magic can't disappear, but it can be moved. To keep Tirek's hands away from their magic, Celestia, Luna, and Cadance poured their magic into somepony else: me. They all believe I can control it. Celestia didn't want me to tell any pony else."
Harry looked at Twilight in shock.
Twilght's shoulders sagged as she said, "I know what you're probably going to say—"
It was Twilight's turn to be surprised when Harry spoke. "That's incredibly brave," Harry said. Harry wrapped a foreleg around Twilight, pulling her into a gentle embrace. Twilight subconsciously sunk into Harry's shoulder. "Taking on all that magic, it's quite the responsibility. It can't be easy, holding the power of four alicorns, but Celestia couldn't have chosen a better princess than you."
Twilight turned away to hide the creeping blush on her face. "You're just saying that."
"And I've always believed every word, every time. If anypony can control this magic, it's you. You're born for these things!" Harry exclaimed, smiling.
Twilight's face went crimson at the compliment.
"Thanks. I needed to hear that."
A full-body shudder rippled from the tip of her horn to the end of her tail, quite different from her magical surges. A similar reaction overtook Harry. His bracelet glowed turquoise and a misty wisp of magic stretched out to Twilight. The tendril wrapped around her hoof, shifting from turquoise to raspberry-magenta as it encircled her limb. The tendril snapped in two, leaving the coil on Twilight. The mist congealed and condensed into another bracelet, though different from Harry's. Rather than a single solid band, this one was more like a homemade friendship bracelet. A large charm with both ends tied on made up the "face" of the bracelet. The charm was an oblong shape, with Twilght's cutie mark displayed on the face.
Shocked, Twilight and Harry looked at the new bracelet, then at each other, and then at Harry's bracelet. The single turquoise star was now joined by a raspberry-magenta six-pointed star, like Twilght's cutie mark. Harry held his bracelet toward Twilight's, and Twilight could swear the two shimmered in response.
"I didn't know it could do that," was all Twilight could say. Questions buzzed about her head. Why did the bracelet do that? Does it have something to do with my key? If so, why give Harry one? Can it do this more than once?
"Let me guess, this isn't normal?" Harry asked rhetorically. "Do you think this has something to do with Tirek?" he asked.
Twilight inspected her bracelet. Like Harry's, it felt magical, but not in an active way. It had magic, and that was it; no spells or effects.
"I can't sense anything."
"Can we afford to ignore this?" Harry asked, lifting his bracelet. "You got four alicorns worth of magic in you."
"I hope so. I can barely handle this much magic." A bracelet connected to the Tree of Harmony was hers, and she hadn't mastered her magic yet!
"Do you want me to go back to Ponyville," Harry stood up, "so you can practice? Maybe these bracelets can wait."
"Yes, that might be best," Twilight said. In truth she wanted nothing more than for Harry to be here, it made her feel better about controlling her magic. However, Twilight knew Harry would be safer away from her magic.
"Alright, if that's what you need, I'll go back and wait for you," Harry said. "I'll keep an eye out for our friends in the meantime, I promise." He stretched before leaving, flexing the muscles her brother's training was bestowing him. Twilight idly noted he looked healthier than when he first arrived in Equestria. If she could control this magic, she could stop Tirek now, and save everypony from suffering, including him.
Harry trotted out of the forest, feeling better. Twilight had a lot on her shoulders now, that was to say nothing about the bracelets. Harry archived those thoughts for later as he entered Ponyville. Speaking of, the town looked completely deserted, devoid of its charm. Harry glanced down the streets, seeing the other six were gathered up near the town square.
Rainbow Dash spoke first. "So? Did ya find Twilight?"
Harry nodded. "Yes, I found her. She's having trouble controlling her new alicorn magic; she needs time to control it."
"Thank Celestia for small blessings," Rarity sighed.
"How's everything going in town?" Harry asked.
"Calm before the storm. We've warned everypony to stay inside," Applejack said.
"I'm sure Discord will catch Tirek and this will all be over soon," Fluttershy said.
Harry bit his lip and cringed. "Yeah, about that... Celestia thinks Discord's... not helping us," he said, dropping the metaphorical bomb on Fluttershy's world.
"WHAT!?" Everypony screeched.
There was a bright flash of light as Discord teleported right behind Harry.
"Well, it took long enough," Discord said.
"You're back!" Fluttershy shouted as she hugged Discord. "Did you bring the cucumber sandwiches?"
Harry looked at Discord distrustfully. He inspected the draconequus up and down. Nothing was out of the ordinary, as far as the word "ordinary" could apply, but there was an odd golden amulet hanging from a string around Discord's neck. Where did he get that? Harry wondered.
Discord held up a plate of cucumber sandwiches. "I did!" He dropped the plate and his voice lost its cheerful demeanor. "I imagine they'll be your last decent meal for quite some time."
A bright flash blinded the seven, who found themselves trapped in a large metal cage. Harry swiftly donned the Invisibility Cloak while the others shouted their confusion, surprise, and outrage at Discord. Harry made the split-second decision to teleport out of the cage. Apparently, Discord didn't teleport-proof his prison. An arrogant oversight, but expected from someone as powerful as Discord. Harry backed away, noticing a large shadow's approach. A massive red centaur stomped up to Harry's trapped friends, smiling sadistically all the while. Tirek.
"Ta-da!" Discord said proudly.
"You've gathered up all of them?" Tirek demanded.
"And her little dragon, too," Discord said, pointing at Spike. The dragon snapped his teeth at Discord.
Fluttershy sobbed, clinging to Applejack as tears flooded her eyes. "Why are you doing this? I thought we were friends!" she cried.
Discord shrugged. "Oh, we were. But Tirek offered me so much more than just tea parties. Surely you saw this coming."
"I didn't. I really didn't," Fluttershy sobbed into Appleajck harder.
Harry felt a well of anger rise at Discord. Sure, the guy was a jerk and a prankster, but Harry didn't expect this to happen. They had trusted him with Equestria's protections, and he double-crossed them! If it weren't for the fact Harry knew he couldn't hold a candle to Discord, he'd blast him right now! I've got to get Twilight, she's the only one who can help! Harry thought. He turned to sneak to the Everfree, occasionally looking back.
Tirek grabbed the cage and opened his mouth to devour their magic, energy crackling around him ominously.
"Wait, hold on a second!" Discord shouted.
Tirek dropped Harry's friends, scowling. "What is it now!?"
"One of them's missing. There's one less of them than before," Discord said. He counted up to six on his four-fingered claw, which was now seven-fingered. "Where's the boy?"
Harry gritted his teeth in anger. Discord ratted him out! He had to get out of here! Harry galloped away as fast as he could.
"You there, trying to hide from me?" Tirek chuckled.
Harry tried to continue his gallop into the forest but abruptly found himself unable to move. He couldn't budge a muscle! Harry was lifted into the air, his cloak falling off him as he was dragged to face Tirek.
The centaur chuckled. "Trying to escape with invisibility? Nice try, but I've seen a thing or two in my days. I know plenty about using underhanded tactics." Tirek turned to Discord. "You said this pony is one of her friends?
"Everypony knows she'd do anything for him, even if it cost her her magic," Discord said cheekily. "Well, she'd do it for any of them, but the more, the merrier."
Tirek smiled. "I will enjoy ridding her of every last drop of magic she possesses."
Anger engulfed Harry. "Don't touch her!"
A blast of turquoise fire poured over Tirek's face. The flames continued and sputtered out, revealing no damage done. Harry released a second attack, but Tirek devoured the spell. Harry's attacks had done less than nothing to him.
"That tasted different," Tirek said with a prying look. "Your magic isn't like theirs. A rare delicacy."
Tirek opened his mouth, and the turquoise magic swirling around Harry's horn was sucked into Tirek's mouth as red flame. Strength fled Harry's body. He strained to move, but it was futile as his magic disappeared.
Tirek dropped Harry to the ground like a sack of bricks. Harry shivered, vulnerable and weak. Harry could barely move, much less stand, and consciousness started to elude him. A deep feeling of biting cold grew in Harry's chest. The last thing he saw before darkness took him was his friends, huddled in a cage, terrified for their lives.
I'm sorry, I couldn't help you.
The trapped ponies and dragon watched in terror as they watched Tirek devour their friend's magic. They backed away as far as the cage would allow when Tirek approached. Tirek's sadistic smile increased as he opened his maw to suck the magic away from the defenseless creatures. Red wisps of magic came out of them, and the five girls could feel their energy leaving their bodies. Further horror set in when their cutie marks faded away as Tirek took the last of their magic. Tirek chuckled as he grew larger, his hair and horns lengthening. The cuffs on his arms shattered, unable to contain his arms as they bulged from the power coursing within him. Tirek laughed, dropping the caged ponies on the ground, their purpose to him served.
"Crucio!"
Tirek staggered in a brief moment of agony. He twitched on the ground briefly before shaking off whatever affected him. Tirek stood up to cast his eyes on whoever attacked him.
It was Harry. The same unicorn Tirek had drained of magic stood tall, excreting arrogance. But now he was... different. His amulet hung open, allowing a black smog to escape and engulf his horn. His eyes glowed an ominous crimson instead of emerald and turquoise. Twilight's friends shivered. Despite a matching body, this unicorn was nothing like their friend.
"How!? I took all of your magic!" Tirek shouted.
Not-Harry chuckled evilly. His mouth opened, and though the body spoke with Harry's voice, there was an unnatural ice-cold undertone to it.
"You took all of Harry Potter's magic. I am Lord Voldemort, and I bow to no one."
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Why did Harry open the locket this is really bad
11811219
I suppose I should've been more specific. Harry didn't open the locket, and I'll leave it at that.
What a twist! Awesome!
11811219
Tirek sucked ALL Harrys magic away. Including the magic in the amulet protecting him, and the magic keeping Voldemorts Soul contained?
So now the Soul of Voldemort has posession of Harrys body, even more than he did Quirrels?
I was wondering if this would happen if Tirek took Harry's magic. This is one of my favorite twists/tropes in storytelling where stealing or blocking a character's power unleashes an evil or vicious entity/persona.
Tirek's Conondrum:
He can either return the Magic to Harry, thus beating back Voldemort, or face Lord Voldemort with no limits to control.
For all we know, Discord's the one who opened the Locket as a back-up plan against Tirek. Doesn't Harry also owe Discord a Favour Still?
Oh look. A 2nd meal.
The magic of most of equestria vs the magic of a very small soul part.
Wait, what? Was the bracelet a bar thing all along? Or was it something protecting Harry?
Either way, holy crap this is about to get heavy!
So... they're married now?
11811840
The bracelet contained a piece of Voldemort's soul. The bit that had been in Harry's forehead. When Tirek took all of Harry's magic he also took the magic that kept that bit of Voldemort locked up.
I've only one thing left to say...
11812143
I thought it was the locket, that housed the piece? Wasn't the bracelet gifted to Harry by the tree of Harmony? Or am I mixing the two up?
11812159
OK, you're right, My mind switched the two.
Just in the best part, Cliffhanger appears
Exciting match so far, which a dark lo4d who knows a spell to end things or centaur who may consume his magic beforehand. Normally I would go with the centaur due to powers, but Voldy has some dark skills to overcome this. Now question if anyone is going to die? I mean Discord can help prevent things from going far, but unlucky blows you know....
11811304
That makes a lot of sense now. That is understandable. Hope Harry’s friends can save him from the dark lords control before it’s too late for there friend.