Moon Rising

The next month passed quickly within Ponyville, Harry taking up Lordship over the Everfree Forest being one of the few major things to happen, the only other major thing to happen really was a team of engineers showing up at the edge of the town and started to cut a new road leading from Ponyville to and in to the Everfree Forest.

A few of the pony's in town took notice of a number of simple round stones being barred within the new road as it was built, everyone in town being told that these stones had runes of a new branch of magic being learned carved on them. The rune putting up a magical barrier that would stop the wildlife that was within the forest from coming onto the road and attacking any travellers, similar stones that would only stop the larger predators as they did need some of the lesser beasts to have free access to the town at night as they helped the farms and such that surrounded Ponyville with the growth of crops. The stones having been put up along the edge of the town facing the forest on the Mayors request.

On the morning of fine summer day found Harry walking down the main street of Ponyville a happy little spring in his step after he had gotten a note from Luna about the pair getting together for a dinner data in the next few nights as the pair hadn't been able to see each other the last week or so thanks to some problems within Canterlot.

His train of thought was cut off however when Spike came rushing past a roll of parchment in hand, as he rushed past Harry turning his head enough to follow the little purple dragon a slight tilting of the head to one side as if to try and work out what the big rush was that made the little dragon nearly knock him on his flank, shacking his head after the dragon left his line of sight Harry turned and started back on the road to his shop and to write a letter to Luna to let her know that the portal was nearly ready. In-fact if his calculations were right the portal would be ready within a months time, or the physical part of it would be it would still need energy to open all the way but with both Luna and Celestia helping that wouldn't take long

Arriving at his shop Harry paused at the sight of Derpy looking over her mail bag ever now and then tilting her head to one side or the other trying to get her head at the right angle to account for her lazy eyes, Harry giving a small smile to the gray Pegasus before his horn gave off a brief glow of purplish energy that quickly vanished as Derpy's eyes seemed to straiten a little to face more forward then to the sides like they had been before.

“Oh thanks Harry your old spell wore off a few days ago and I hadn't gotten around to seeing you to get it recast, so I'm glad I court you this morning.” Derpy says in her cheerful tone dropping what little mail Harry had into his offered hoof watching with her normal smile as his magic took a hold of the letters and started to look over the mail.

“Perfectly okay Derpy.” Harry says with a friendly smile having always liked the slightly accented prone Pegasus and had spent a few days just seating back talking with her about her problems, “If you can make the time later on today you should stop by and see me as I might have something that should help you with your eyes so that you don't have to track me down ever few days to get that charm re done.”

Derpy just smiled and nodded before flying off for her next drop off some how crashing into a sign hanging over the neighbouring store making Harry wince in sympathy for the mare but otherwise didn't comment or move to help her as she kept on flying shouting out an apology to the store own who had pocked their head out to see what had crashed into their sign.

Opening up his own store and throwing his mail into two piles mostly request orders for enchantments or a few inquires about the notes he had left in the royal library on the magic of his home world Harry making a note to himself to answer those as soon as possible while also replying to those who had asked for some enchantments and let them know that he wasn't able to fill that request for one reason or another luckily only a few of the letters fell into that category.

He did make a note to get a pair of glasses made by the local doctor and sent over to him a.s.a.p as he did want to keep his promise to Derpy and give her a way to see better without him having to redo his charm ever couple of days and putting the enchantments on a pair of glasses would be the best way in his option.

Any further thoughts were brought to a stop when Twilight and her friends came walking down the street out front of his store all of them talking about what they were going to need to pack for a trip to the Canterlot and the wedding they had been asked to help with.

'Now why are they planing on a trip to a wedding as I don't recall anyone they know marrying or planning on marrying that would request all six of them the last time I was in Canterlot.' Harry thought to himself only to have a small purple scaled clawed hand wave under his chin a letter with Luna's royal seal pressed into the wax-seal.

“Sorry I nearly run you down earlier Harry but I got so focused on getting the wedding invitation and help requests to Twilight and the others that I forgot to give you this letter from Princess Luna that was included with the others.” Spike says with his normal cheerful tone as Harry took the letter from his hand and opened it with a nod to Spike to let him know that he didn't mind the delay in the letter being delivered and that he hadn't been hurt by the near miss not to long ago.

“You better get going and help the others pack, let them know that if they need anything to stop by and I'll help however I can.” Harry says turning away from Spike once the little dragon gave a nod and wave rushing off to help Twilight pack.

Moving to take a seat by the cold fireplace Harry calmly opened the letter from Luna giving a nod as a wedding invitation fell out being caught by his magic before it could hit the ground the letter stating that Luna wanted Harry to provide extra security for the wedding as a number of threats had been made ageist Equestria and more to the point Cantrelot itself from an unknown party.

'I guess I better brush up on some wards to lay around the city to help in protecting it... might even see if Luna is welling to make me a member of the guard or give me some sort of title other then noble of the Night-court so that I can help in defences of the city should anything happen and not get attacked by other guards or arrested for helping.' Harry thought to himself before turning to head into his back room to get ready himself making a note to sort out Derpy's glasses before he headed to the train the next morning.

The rest of the day passed without any troubles for Harry Rarity showing up long enough to get some of his more exotic material to help her in making the wedding gown for Cadance, Harry being more then happy to give her what she needed before going back to carving runes into the gold frames of the glasses he had rushed over for Derpy.

Derpy did show up later that day to pick up her new glasses thanking Harry with one of her crushing hugs before going off to see what her few real friends thought of the new eye-ware her eyes for once looking like just about any other pony’s eyes striate and not wondering, Harry watching the gray and blond Pegasus walk away with a smile as he turned back to work on a few ward stones that he would set up once he got to Canterlot.

Harry know that Derpy was fine with how her eyes were but he had seen the hurt look in her eyes from time to time when some other pony would point out her problem and pick on her, he had even stood up for her once or twice from the shadows when it got to bad and that was why he had been doing the spell for her to show the other pony's that she was as normal as they were and that it wasn't her fault that she had been born with lazy eyes. The fact that after the first time he had cast the spell and Derpy had been able to really look at her daughter without having to angle her head at some weird angle first had been all the payment he had needed but he had accepted the title of honorary Uncle for little Dinky Doo as repayment for helping Derpy out.

“Do I use the identifying ward to show illusions and other shape-charging abilities or should the simple anti- Port-key apparating and shielding wards be enough?” Harry found himself muttering a little after sun down the fact that Luna hadn't shown up not long after moonrise showed that something major was still happening back in Canterlot sense they had last meet up and she was still unable to get away as a result of this. He was really starting to miss her joining him for there normal dinner and talk.

“Why not have them on standby or something like that so that if they are needed you can just activate them?” Twilight's voice sounded from the doorway her eyes briefly looking over the room before resting on Harry and the number of marble stone sheets resting on his main counter and along the wall behind him with a wide range of runes carved into all of them.

“Because I would have have them set to active while I was charging and building them up to cover the whole city and as such that would mean more magical energy I would need to filter through the stones... although I could get Luna to help me with this as it would be good practices for her.” Harry comment back bringing one hoof up to tap his chin in thought on having Luna help with the wards.

“I would be welling to help in that regards then Harry but that isn't why I came here as I find myself in need of a trunk that can hold a lot of books as I can't take everything I want to take with me as well as my own research material.”

“There's a couple like you asked for in the back room help yourself to any of the trunks that have been painted blue, the red ones well bit if you try to approach them or open them, the purple ones well teleport themselves to the other side of the room if you approach them, just to give you a far warning.” Harry says with his friendly smile turning back to look over the marble slabs he was carving runes into.

Twilight could only nod at his words before walking into the store room he had pointed out, her eyes quickly adapting to the darkened room and spotting the blue trunks he had said was safe her eyes however going to the single yellow shaded wood trunk that was seating between a red and purple trunk and seemed to look the lest dangerous as the red one clearly had teeth and fangs along the led rim while the purple one had a strange purplish glow about it.

“Ah Harry what does this yellow trunk do?” Twilight called over her flank walking carefully around the room to the three blue ones off to one side.

“YELLOW! I haven't made any yellow ones!” was the returned shout as Harry came trotting into the room his eyes locking onto the unknown yellow trunk looking at the two on either side before looking at the middle one again, “Great you lot are breeding aren't yours! I wont have that sort of thing happening here! Reds to the right purples to the left now!” He finished shouting the two named colours either shuffling along the floor in the red cases to the named wall while the purple all vanished and the reappeared at there wall leaving the single yellow one along in the middle of the room.

“How do objects breed?” Twilight asks softly using her magic to float one of the blue trunks over towards the doorway moving to stand at Harry's side as he slowly started to walk towards the trunk his horn glowing with its normal purplish glow while he slowly started to circle it.

“I don't mean breed as in babies but breed as in the two magic’s or in this case may be countless others within this room somehow mixed or blinded and slowly started to create this Trunk here which means I am dealing with a totally unknown in what it can do … which shouldn't be possible thanks to the wards I have over this building which is suppose to bleed off the excess energy and even destroy items that are for lacking of a better work leaking magical energies.” Twilight started to have trouble following Harry’s words as he started to descend into a totally technical-babble on how his wards worked on bleeding off the pules of energy that many of his items put out when in large enough quantity which his store room and the small cottage that had been build in the clearing of the portal.

After a few moments of listening to him explain how the new trunk came into being Twilight asks softly moving to stand in the doorway now, “So what abilities does this trunk have Harry?”

“Well I can safely say that it has the standard expansion charms on the inside as well as multi compartments but it also seems to have something extra that I just can't seem to place.” Harry comments softly slowly circling the trunk for a few moments only to jump backwards when of all things little feet and legs appeared on the button of the yellow trunk the whole thing walking to follow him around as he kept on circling trying to get the trunk to stop.

“Ah that is defiant... why is it following you around and are those human shaped hooves?” Twilight asks giving a small laugh when Harry tried to teleport to the far side of the room only to have the trunk follow him with a single mindedness which meant it went right through a rack of cloaks that had been between it and Harry, both of their eyes going wide a little when one cloak that had fallen on the led was suddenly thrown into the air when the led opened and then sucked said cloak into itself the led slamming shut a moment after the cloak vanished from sight.

“They are called feet Twilight my dear and no it isn't suppose to follow me around at all.” Harry states slowly walking towards the door leading to his store front flicking one wing at Twilight to signal her to head through the door herself.

The pair had just gotten through the door and closed it after seeing the trunk follow them all the way to the door frame only to stop and seat it self back down the little feet pulling back into it underside, Harry watched the trunk until the door clicked shut were he realised what had happened as he turned his head sharply and started pacing back and fourth muttering about how it was just his luck to make a trunk that he had only read about once from a book on his Earth.

“What do you mean its just you luck Harry? Is there something special about this book your talking about or is it something else your complaining about?” Twilight asks quickly moving to the store entrances moving the trunk she had come for over with her, the move being made because she wanted to get out of his way before he mowed her down with his pacing.

“Back on my world a author by the name of Terry Pratchett writes a series of books called the Discworld, I'll spare you the details and even buy you a few copies once I get back to my world, but anyway one of the things in his books is a trunk with legs like that, it well follow its owner anywhere even into Deaths Realm, its call Luggage... and its just my luck to create something like that just because a ward isn't working the way it is meant to or something of that nature.” Harry states stopping in front of the storeroom door one hoof lashing out and slamming into the door when it rattled from the Luggage trying to force its way through the oak door after having lost sight of what it considered its master now.

“Stop trying to break out of there I’ll sort out what to do with you later.” He shouted at the door which gave one more shack from being hit before the sounds of hundreds of little feet came a moment later.

Twilight’s face seemed to light up a little at the thought of getting so many new books only to give a small laugh when Harry cursed again and kicked the door again when the trunk or Luggage tried to ram its away out of the storeroom workshop. “I'll leave you to it then Harry and see you first thing tomorrow at the train station.”

She didn't stay around to hear Harry's reply but she did pause at the sound of wood breaking and Harry's cries for the trunk or Luggage as he called it to stop and not to eat his floor stoke shacking her head and forcing herself not to turn around she quickly left the store making a mental note to not ask Harry if he had a good night or not in the morning when they meet up for the train ride to Canterlot.

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The next morning a good few hours after sunrise and everyone had eaten found Twilight leading her friends towards the train station all of them talking about what they had planed for the up coming wedding, Twilight's primary comments being that she was going to spend the first half of the meeting with her brother shouting at him about seeing someone behind her back without telling her before the wedding invitation.

The group fell silent however when they got to the train station in time to see Harry walk onto the platform a yellow trunk following along behind on on hundreds of little feet, coming to stop at the edge of the platform Harry tapped one of his back hooves once which caused the trunk to stop dead and then seat itself down just behind the black Alicorn.

“Good morning ladies, I trust you have everything needed for this wedding?” Harry asks without looking at the group his eyes seeming to be looking down the track that would lead the train to Canterlot the slight pinkish glow that could only just be seen far off in the direction of the city only adding to his worry on what could be happening within the city going by Luna's letter.

“We should do as most of the items we need would be within the city so that shouldn't be a problem,” Twilight says her friends all giving a nod of agreement or in Pinkie Pie's case jump up and down shouting that she had everything she would need for the Wedding party.

“That good, I have the new ward stones ready to go and well place them once we get to the city until then I say we relax and plan what we are going to do to help out with the wedding.” He says calmly starting towards the train when it pulled up a few moment later the pony's in charge calling out that its next stop would be Canterlot and that everyone getting there in Ponyville should do so now.

The group as one walked on board the train and quickly took up one of the cars with all of there baggage and such, Harry taking a seat across from the girls who took up most of the other seats before him all of them talking and chatting about what they would need to do and know before they could fully plan for the wedding.

The first hour of the train ride to Canterlot passed with the Mare Six and Spike talking and planning whilst Harry spent his time looking over his notes. He was studying mostly a few hoof made books he had been writing on the magic of Earth. Most of the information came from the large knowledge dump from Voldemort’s soul fragment back when he had first been thrown into the Void. But some of the contents was from his own findings on magic whilst he had ‘wandered’ the Void. There had been a lot of time, and little else to do in that place, but learn how to use magic without his wand.

“Harry, I’ve been meaning to ask you something ever since I read your last paper on the magic of your world. I hope you don’t think I’m being rude for asking this, but how in the name of Celestia do you know so much about magic? You have stated in the past that you are only about our ages. I mean, I’m one of the best Unicorns in the land at spell casting and theory, but your knowledge blows me out of the water.” Twilight asked softly, her friends nodding in agreement.

All of them at one point or other, had read at least one of his works and more than a few of his notes, if only to get to know their new friend that little bit better.

Harry looked over the group for a few moments before nodding slightly and putting his book to one side. Calmly folding his front hooves over each other he considered them. “Let me answer that question with a question for you, Twilight. How does one measure and gain skill and knowledge?”

“With time and study of cause but...” Twilight answered only to be cut off when Harry raised a hoof with a smile.

“Correct, Twilight, on both counts. I have had plenty of both, or maybe I have had a little of both... time is hard to track in a place where it has no real meaning.”

“But... How can that happen? I mean, wouldn’t you have been able to keep track of time with the sun and...”

Twilight was cut off, however, when the whole car was plunged into blackness, not even a light spell from her horn was able to dispel it. Her other senses started to be affected, hearing sharpening, it seemed as though the hairs on her body stood on end seeking some sort of reassurance she could identify. The only thing she could recognise was the slightly panicked breaths she assumed came from her friends and a strange blackness shot through with odd flashes. There again and gone, only to return... stars? Perhaps... and a purplish mist that seemed to fill the darkness in eddies and swirls.

“Welcome to what was my reality for who knows how long, my dear fillies. This darkness is everything. What is up, what is down? How long has it been since you have seen the light? One minute? One hour? Is that a breeze, or is it my mind playing a trick on me? Who knows? I sure as heck didn’t.” Harry’s voice seemed to come from all around them.

The six mares and the single dragon could only look about them, seeing no one, but hearing each other, hearing Harry, but seeing only the odd light, the mist and the darkness. Twilight was the first to realise that her hooves were no longer on solid ground and yet there was no real sense of floating.

The two Pegasus’ within the group gasped as they, unknown to each other, instinctively sought to fly, to support their weight; but they were neither falling nor rising. They had no control over flight, what was up, what was down?! Fluttershy’s breathing changed, little gasps giving way to soft whimpers fading to silence a moment, or was it an hour later?

Applejack and Pinkie Pie seemed to be taking the experience a little more calmly than the others, but it took a lot to rattle the two mares. Applejack felt very unbalanced compared to Pinkie Pie, though she was careful to contain her unease. She much preferred to have all four hooves on solid ground, whilst the party pony tended to be on two hooves or less more often than the farm mare. Putting up decorations required some inventive stretching, after all.

Rarity and Spike had initially screamed... softly, of course... in surprise at the abrupt loss of that reassuring solid feeling beneath their hooves. Spike had reached out for the white Unicorn as she had been closest to him when they had been plunged into their darkness. He touched... something... at least he thought he did, but he could not actually ‘feel’ what it might be. The sense of touch was not ‘right’. Rarity. Like Twilight, had sought to use her magic to get herself back to the ground, only to find she had no idea where the ground actually was and all she could do was try to shed a little light into the blackness.

It felt like hours though it was probably only a few minutes before the darkness parted a little, allowing them to see each other. Spike quickly climbed onto Rarity’s back when he realised he did indeed have a claw touching her. Spooked, upset with the utter strangeness of the place, they anxiously checked each other and as one they turned at the sound of hoof-steps. Through the void Harry walked towards them, the mist thinning and parting before him as he approached, his eyes glowing with a white light. No, it was not white, they realised. The light was shot through with flickers of purple and green mixed within those orbs that for once revealed that he, like their Princesses, had a great deal of power at his command. Twilight reflected that even if his power was not quite in the same league as their Princesses, Harry still outclassed any Unicorn within the Kingdom.

“How long do you think you could stay within this place and not lose your mind to madness? How long would it be before, in your insanity, you became sane just because it would be a change from being insane? In that moment, when you become totally sane, you start to learn and relearn everything you thought you knew, until you know it inside and out. Do you even realise at first that you can do magic that is thought to be impossible for your kind to know? Answer me these questions and then and only then will you know how old I am, and how much knowledge I have locked within my mind.”

“It would only be a matter of time before you would go insane within this place... and so much longer before finding sanity. Finding sanity, the knowledge and the skills being relearned... It must have taken so many years. I’m sorry you went through this, Harry, but please... Please could you undo this illusion?” Twilight was well aware that they had all moved close to each other and were huddling in a tight group in an unconscious bid to comfort each other.

Harry tossed his head, walking slowly around the huddled group, pausing when he was side on to Twilight and in front of the group. “Who said this was an illusion? Who said we did, or did not, leave the train Twilight? After all, in time you have been here have you never noticed that my tattoo looks a lot like this place?”

The light brightened sufficiently for the marking on Harry’s flank to be visible and Rarity trembled as the feeling of the floor of the train car firming beneath her hooves. “It... It’s not a part of the night sky as... as we thought... is it?”

The train carriage slowly faded back into sight, surrounding them comfortingly. Harry was still seated, his head bent over his book, causing the mares to look at the image of Harry standing flank on near them before it flickered and vanished. Harry smiled, looking up as the glow faded from his eyes, his smile widening.

“Very good, Rarity. I can control the void, or what passes for control of something that will always be untameable. I can at least open small portals into it, even if only for a few minutes. I can even build and guide things within it, say like a bridge that would link this world with my former home world. Though to build something that would withstand the energies of the void, I would need a lot of energy. A LOT of energy. That is why I need the Princesses help or to slowly build it up over a long period of time.”

The group looked at each other in surprise at what there friend was capable of doing as they couldn't imagine anyone no matter how powerful being able to control if only slightly that space of nothingness.

“Well partner I have to say this much what you went through has only added to my respite for you and your skills.” Applejack says talking forward enough to place a hoof on Harry's shoulder giving a nod before moving back to seat down to one side and think on what she had felt while within the Void.

The others all agreed with Applejack before going about there own thing once again Harry watching them all for a moment before going back to his work thinking on what he would need to do once they got to Canterlot to set up the ward.

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When the train came to a stop a few hours later and just outside of the limits of Canterlot Harry rose up and put his head outside the window, the sight of the pinkish red barrier spell covering the whole city being what greeted him the sight of two day guard standing just within the barrier on either side of the track also standing out as one looked over a list of some kind before giving a nod.

'Some protection when they don't even look on board the train to see if its got everyone who is meant to be on board and that they are who they say they are.... What is the point of having a shield when you don't do anything to stop pony's from getting in without cheeking them first.' Harry thought to himself while moving to the Lugged which had been seating to one side not moving or even trying to each any of the girls own bags thankfully.

“When the train stop girls I'll be going to the city edges and starting to place the ward stones you lot can do as you wish but if you should come across Luna while within the palace please let her know where I am so she doesn't worry about me.” Harry says stepping towards the door off the train feeling the slow application of the brakes starting to take effect.

“We can do that for you partner so don't you worry about Princess Luna finding you in little to no time.” Applejack says with a smile pulling her Stetson hat down on her head a little harder pulling her saddle bags up onto her back and helping the others a few moments later as needed the train coming to a stop just as the last of her friends finished getting there packs together.

“I am both looking forward to and dreading that meeting as we haven't been able to see each other for a few days thanks to what ever is going on here in Canterlot.” Harry says stepping off the train as it came to a complete stop Lugged following along behind him without a problem a few of the Night Guard forming up around him as he started down the train tracks towards the edge of the city not really paying his escort any mind.

The Mare Six looked on for a few moments before starting towards the Palace to start helping out or in Twilight's case meet this bride for her brother that she hadn't even known was seeing someone and that they had reached this point. Oh she was so going to have words with him over that as well as make sure this mare was worthy of her brother.