Cinematic Adventures: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

by extremeenigma02

Rating: teen
Tags: Main 6, Young Six, Thriller, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Spike, Science Fiction, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Adventure, Harry Potter, Sunset Shimmer, Violence, Crossover
Length: 128052

The Mane Six and Spike, along with the Young Six and the CMC, return for the second year at Hogwarts. Along with the Golden Trio, they must locate the mysterious Chamber of Secrets that contains a great threat to the entire Wizarding World.

The Mane Six and Spike, along with the Young Six and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for a second year of schooling. They will reunite once more with Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger for an epic and mysterious quest as the students of Hogwarts are being petrified. Many believe the answer to this mystery lies within a long dormant chamber hidden beneath Hogwarts known as the Chamber of Secrets.

Along the way, they shall reunite with many old faces, encounter many dangerous obstacles, and uncover many shocking secrets from both the Wizarding World and Equestria.

Published 2023-11-25 12:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2024-12-12 22:48:03 UTC

A New Year Begins

The lovely, cheerful twittering of birds echoed across the clear blue skies. Celestia’s sun was at its brightest as it shined upon the town of Ponyville. Joy was plastered upon the face of Princess Twilight Sparkle herself, as she strolled down the street with her loyal assistant always at her side, Spike. The two were hard at work planning for one of the biggest events Ponyville would ever see:

Spike and Gabby’s wedding.

To think only one month prior when they had returned from their adventure into the Ice Age. That was the day Spike proposed to his girlfriend right in front of every pony and everyone. Much work still had to be done in preparation for the biggest day still to come. It was for those reasons why the pair were walking through town, trying earnestly to decide how everything should be set.

“I’m thinking we set rows of chairs over there,” Twilight pointed toward town square. “We’ll have Big Mac construct a magnificent arbor for the two of you to stand under. I’m also thinking of hanging some flowers around town. Speaking of which, what kind of flowers does Gabby like?”

“She really likes daffodils,” Spike replied, mid-walk.

“Then we’ll be sure to get dozens for the big day,” Twilight smiled.

Spike looked toward his older sister figure, noting the tears in her eyes that she was proceeding to wipe away.

“Twi, are you crying?” Spike asked.

“Sorry,” Twilight apologized, drying her eyes. “I just can’t believe you’re getting married. It seems only yesterday when you hatched from that egg for my entrance exam, just to apply for Princess Celestia’s school.”

Hearing the mention, Spike smiled as he knelt down and embraced her in a warm hug.

“Thanks Twilight,” Spike spoke sincerely.

Soon as the pair pulled away, a sudden thought crossed Spike’s mind. The like of which that sent his smile into a frown.

“Spike, what’s wrong?” Twilight asked curiously.

“Nothing really,” Spike sighed. “It’s just… there’s a part of me that wishes to know who my real parents were. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for your love and how your family took me in and loving me like your own. It’s just I wish I could at least know them, maybe ask them to come to my wedding.”

Twilight’s face saddened greatly for her faithful assistant. The princess always knew he’d been wondering about his past for his whole life. In the days since Spike’s hatching, all the professors informed Twilight and her parents that they had no clear idea where the egg came from. They could only assume the egg itself was abandoned. There was that one time they met a dragon, Sludge by name, claiming to be Spike’s father. Only it was an excuse for free labor out of him, and to this day Twilight hated that dragon for hurting her dearest friend and brother.

As Spike looked out toward the horizon, he felt a comforting hoof upon his shoulder. He turned over and found himself gazing into the eyes of his princess companion.

“I know you do, Spike,” Twilight spoke sweetly. “I wish I could give you more. There is still one thing I do know. If your parents were here right now, they’d be very proud of the dragon you’ve become.”

Another smile coursed its way across Spike’s face, as he wrapped his arms around Twilight Sparkle for another hug. They hugged for what felt like several moments when Spike felt a sudden tapping on his shoulder. The dragon turned around to come face-to-beak with his fiancée.

“Sorry, hope I’m not interrupting the tender moment,” Gabby apologized sheepishly.

“Not at all, Gabby,” Twilight assured her.

“How’s it going with the wedding dress?” Spike asked Gabby.

“Rarity and I have been working all morning, going from one design to the next,” Gabby responded. “We’ve been sorting through fabrics, taking measurements, and so much more. But now I think we’ve finally got a good idea of what I’ll be wearing.”

“That’s fantastic,” Spike smiled. “I only wish we didn’t have to wait so long just to get married.”

“I know honey,” Gabby giggled, hovering to kiss his cheek.

“Is there any way I can get a ‘little’ hint as to what you’re wearing?” Spike smirked.

“Afraid not, darling.”

Spike and Twilight looked behind Gabby, catching Rarity approaching behind the young griffin. She wore her little orange glasses and used her magic to hold a pair of scissors, fabric sheets, pin cushions, and other assortments of designing tools.

“Mustn’t spoil anything before the big day,” Rarity told Spike. “It’s best to be surprised.”

It wasn’t long until the remainder of the Mane Six approached the rest of the group. For as it turned out, they too had been at Rarity’s shop alongside Gabby, trying dresses of their own. After all, what are bridesmares without dresses?

“You know what I’m not surprised about?” Rainbow asked. “The fact I still don’t like wearing dresses. Now I’m cool with being a bridesmare, but dresses make me feel like I’m wrapped in shrink wrap.”

“Well ah fer one love when ya wear a dress sugarcube,” Applejack smiled at her marefriend. “It hugs ya in all the right places.”

“Back at ya, farm girl,” Rainbow smirked.

The remaining girls merely rolled their eyes listening to their friends’ talk.

“Oh, I’m ever so happy for the two of you,” Fluttershy said happily toward Gabby and Spike. “I knew since the day you two met you’d be perfect for each other.”

“Abso-positively!” Pinkie exclaimed gleefully. “This is going to be the bestest, most spectacular wedding ever! There’ll be cake, and streamers, and cake, and flowers, and balloons, and cake! Did I already say cake? Well, the more cake the merrier!”

Seeing the energetic pink party pony going loco over the wedding, every pony else couldn’t help but laugh. After all, Pinkie Pie was absolutely right this time. True, the wedding was still in the planning stage as of now. Yet they couldn’t help but agree that this would be the most amazing wedding to date.

“Well, I for one—” Twilight Sparkle began.

Suddenly, Twilight’s sentence was abruptly cut off by a swirling orange portal unveiled alongside the group. The winds picked up all around them as the group shielded their eyes from the strong current. The moment it finally passed was when they were finally able to uncover their eyes. When they did, their eyes widened with surprise and huge smiles spread across their faces. For standing before them, dressed in her Master Jedi robes, was their oldest friend… Sunset Shimmer.

“Guess who’s back!” Sunset spoke casually.

“SUNSET!!!”

They all raced toward Sunset Shimmer, engulfing her in the biggest group hug they’ve ever had.

“It’s good to see you again, Sunset!” Twilight said happily. “It’s been forever since we’ve seen you.”

“Good to see you guys too,” Sunset replied, gasping for breath. “Now if I could only breathe, that would be perfect.”

Everyone quickly pulled back, allowing Sunset to take a few deep breaths to get some air back in her system.

“How have you been, darling?” Rarity asked.

“Not bad, I suppose,” Sunset replied, getting her breath back. “So much has changed since you guys left. I’m a Master Jedi now and I’ve been training a whole bunch of younglings to become the next generation of Jedi. Including Leia and Hans’ kid, Ben.”

“They’re married?” Rainbow asked in surprise.

“They sure are,” Sunset nodded.

“And… you’re training their son?” Pinkie Pie added. “That’ll affect the timeline of events for future movie installments… not that it wouldn’t be a bad thing or nothing.”

“What?” Sunset asked confused.

“Never mind!” Pinkie responded quickly.

Before another word can be said, Twilight Sparkle quickly came forward and again enveloped Sunset with a massive hug, which the Jedi happily returned.

“It’s so good to see you again, Sunset Shimmer,” Twilight spoke happily.

“Couldn’t agree more, Twi,” Sunset chuckled.

When the two pulled away, Sunset walked over toward Spike and Gabby.

“And congratulations to you two on your engagement,” Sunset smiled. “When I got the letter Spike sent me, I nearly leapt from my chair with joy. After everything that’s happened thus far, you guys deserve some happiness.”

“We’re really glad to have you join us, Sunset,” Spike replied gratefully.

“Applejack!”

“Rarity!”

“Rainbow Dash!”

Their attention was soon drawn to three new voices yelling toward them. The entire group turned just as Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo galloped their way toward them. From what they could tell, the three fillies were clutching three letters in their teeth. When they got close enough, the CMC skid to a stop and looked toward the group happily.

“Whoa now, what’s got y’all three so excited?” Applejack asked curiously.

“We were just playin’ in our treehouse when three owls flew through the window and dropped these,” Apple Bloom explained through her teeth.

“We thought the owls were confused and dropped them there by mistake,” Sweetie Belle added. “That is until we noticed our names on them.”

“Acceptance letters to Hogwarts!” Scootaloo squealed.

“WHAT?!” Everyone exclaimed in shock.

“Lemme see those,” Twilight gestured.

The princess used her magic to grab the three letters, levitating them before her eyes which quickly scanned over them. Sure enough, they were three identical acceptance letters to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry signed by Minerva McGonagall herself.

“Wow, they really are!” Twilight gasped with shock. “Seems the new school year is beginning at Hogwarts soon and apparently the Ministry of Magic wants to bring in a few new students from Equestria!”

“This is amazing!” Sweetie Belle cheered excitedly. “I’ve been wanting to go to Hogwarts since your guys’ last adventure there. And now we finally get the chance!”

“No kidding!” Scootaloo said. “Spell casting, potion brewing, maybe I can finally learn to fly!”

To which Rainbow Dash chuckled as she used her wing to draw Scootaloo closer to her.

“Good for you, squirt,” Rainbow Dash complimented. “Just think, soon enough you’ll be flying side by side with me.”

“It’s all I’ve ever wanted,” Scootaloo smiled widely.

*BELCH!!!*

A large belch suddenly erupted out of Spike, as he released a green flame and a rolled-up piece of parchment fell out. All eyes turned toward the dragon as he unfurled the paper.

“What is it, Spike?” Twilight asked.

“Princess Celestia wants us at Canterlot right away,” Spike replied. “She’s apparently called the Student Six there already and—”

Before Spike could proceed, a sudden blinding flash of light engulfed the Mane Six, along with Spike, the CMC, and Sunset Shimmer. When it faded, they all vanished from sight. This left Gabby standing in the heart of Ponyville, all by herself.

“Ooooh… kay…” Gabby spoke awkwardly. “Guess I’ll gather everyone to Discord’s theatre.”

<>

In the blink of an eye, the group were transported right into Canterlot Castle, specifically the throne room. The moment the blinding flash cleared was when every pony shook their heads to rid themselves of the dizziness before looking around. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both sat on their thrones and the Student Six were all assembled as well.

“… And getting here was easy,” Spike concluded, with a shrug.

“Headmare Twilight!” The Student Six yelled simultaneously.

The students raced toward their professors and Spike, drawing everyone in a group hug.

“It’s good to see you all again,” Twilight said. “I trust you’ve been working hard since we’ve last seen you?”

“Of course!” Ocellus nodded smiling.

“I can’t believe we’re going back to Hogwarts again!” Silverstream screeched excitedly. “I’ve been waiting so long and now the time’s finally here! I can’t wait to see Harry, Ron, and Hermoine again!”

“Whoa, whoa, easy there Sil,” Gallus said to his girlfriend. “Last thing we need is you passing out from over-exertion before we even make it there.”

“I know, you’re right,” Silverstream nodded, taking deep breaths. “I just can’t help it. It feels like forever since we’ve been there.”

“Yona looking forward to new school year,” Yona nodded. “Yona been practicing magic thanks to wand holder Hagrid gave me and Sandbar end of last year.”

“It’s much more effective than trying to hold our wands with our teeth,” Sandbar agreed.

“I’m really looking forward to Quiddith again,” Smolder cracked her knuckles. “This year, the Gryffindor team will crush any competition stacked against us!”

Hearing all the talk of another year at Hogwarts made Celestia and Luna chuckle as they extended their wings and flew down beside the group.

“We’re both glad to see you’re all excited for the new school year,” Celestia smiled sweetly.

“Indeed!” Luna nodded. “I remember back when I was a young filly and every time the new year came about, I’d bounce off the wall with excitement.”

Celestia turned toward the Cutie Mark Crusaders with a smile.

“I hear you three will be starting Hogwarts this year.”

“Sure are,” Apple Bloom nodded excitedly. “Been lookin’ forward to it fer quite some time now.”

“We hope the three of you will enjoy it,” Luna added. “You only have ‘one’ first year at Hogwarts so tis best to enjoy it for all its worth.”

Celestia soon turned her attention toward her former apprentice Sunset Shimmer. The biggest smile could be seen upon the princess’s face.

“Sunset, it’s good to see you again my student,” Celestia declared, pulling her student into a hug.

“’Former’ student, you mean,” Sunset chuckled, hugging Celestia back. “After all, I am a Jedi master now.”

“Indeed, you are,” Celestia nodded, pulling back. “And you’ve done such wonderful things in that time. I couldn’t be prouder of you.”

“I did have a pretty amazing teacher after all,” Sunset smiled, till she frowned. “I still feel pretty crumby for throwing your teachings away for so long.”

“Sunset, you must stop being so hard on yourself,” Celestia responded, with a comforting hoof along Sunset’s shoulder. “All of that happened so long ago and you’ve done far more than enough to redeem yourself.”

Hearing her mentor’s comforting words brought a small smile to Sunset’s face.

“Thank you,” Sunset said.

Celestia gave another warm smile before rejoining her sister once more and addressed her attention toward the group.

“I’ve spoken with Professor Dumbledore about the new school term set to begin within a week,” Celestia told them. “We’ve arranged for everyone’s luggage to be transported to Hogwarts to avoid any unnecessary hassle. We’ll send you all to Surry, England so you may join young Harry Potter once more.”

Together, Celestia and Luna lit their horns with their magic and sent a few magical blasts toward a nearby wall. Within seconds, the crystal portal opened before them. The princesses soon turned back toward the group with smiles upon their faces.

“We hope you all have another wonderful year,” Luna declared.

The group turned amongst each other and were just about to make their way through the portal. Before they could take a step, Sunset Shimmer placed a hand upon Twilight’s shoulder.

“Hold up!” Sunset said urgently. “If you’re going through, I’m coming with you.”

“Are you sure, Sunset?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah! I’ve been wanting to come back to share another adventure with my friends for the longest time,” Sunset replied, smiling. “You’re not going anywhere without me.”

To which Twilight smiled in return as she placed her hoof along her friend’s hand. Once again, the two girls turned towards the portal and walked straight ahead along with the rest of the group through the portal. Soon as they stepped through, the portal closed behind them as they headed off for another year at Hogwarts.

The moment the portal closed, Celestia and Luna looked around the throne room to ensure they were entirely alone. Seeing no pony or creature in sight, they released a sigh of relief.

“Okay, you can come out now!” Celestia called out.

From behind the sun and moon thrones, Quill Cast and Curtain Call emerged from hiding. The two stallions proceeded down the steps to approach the two monarchs.

“You don’t suppose they knew we were here?” Quill asked anxiously.

“I assure you they didn’t,” Celestia responded. “Though I do hate keeping this a secret from all of them. If we were able to tell them the truth, we’d accomplish far much more together.”

“Sorry princess, but you know we can’t tell them,” Curtain responded, adjusting his specs. “They have their roles to play; we have ours.”

“All this secrecy is quite overwhelming,” Luna said nervously.

“Not as overwhelming as what’s to come,” Quill retorted. “I trust Doctor Strange has kept in touch with you both?”

“Indeed,” Celestia nodded. “We’ve spoken with Albus recently. He’s informed me that he had two of your allies working along with him for months trying to find what you’re looking for.”

“I certainly hope so,” Curtain said hopefully. “Sooner we find it, the better.”

“And what of… her?” Luna asked quizzically.

“No leads on her yet,” Quill responded disappointedly. “There’s been no sign of her since she gave us Spike’s egg, insisting we bring him here to ensure his safety. I hated that she had to give him up in order to protect him, but I suppose it’s what any mother would do. No worries though, we’ll find her… we have to.”

That being said, Quill reached into his saddlebags and pulled out a strange looking device, a gift of sorts from Doctor Strange himself. The device resembled a glowing baton with two demon heads at either end. A device simply known as… the Wand of Watoomb.

Holding the wand in his hoof, Quill closed his eyes and concentrated with a circular wave. Soon the wand opened a swirling orange portal and the two stallions proceeded to walk toward it. Just before they entered, they took one last look toward the princesses.

“Don’t worry you two,” Quill assured them. “All shall soon be revealed in due course.”

Soon the two emerged through the portal and as it sealed behind them, their adventure toward the unknown was just beginning…

Old Friends & Escape Plans

Author's Note

As always a big thanks to Drama for his amazing editing skills. Also thanks to Cortez Dude for some of his quotes.

Old Friends & Escape Plans

The swirling orange portal opened from deep within the Scottish countryside. Emerging from the other side were two figures: Quill Cast and Curtain Call. As the portal slowly sealed behind them, both pairs of eyes looked out toward the landscape before them. The two stood upon a cliff at the edge of a row of trees which overlooked the beauty of the Scottish Highlands. However, their eyes were not upon the gorgeous landscape around them but rather toward the giant Hogwarts castle itself. An impressive display of architecture laying across the Black Lake, which sat just below the cliffside they currently stood upon. It had been years since the two companions gazed upon the ancient castle, yet that magical feeling of simply staring at it still lingered.

“Would you look at that?!” Quill spoke in amazement.

“Still as amazing as the first time walking through those doors,” Curtain nodded.

“If this visit wasn’t of dire importance, we’d actually enjoy a nice walk down memory lane,” Quill voiced disappointment.

“Sadly, we have no such luxury,” Curtain nodded, equally disappointed. “The fate of the Multiverse lies in our hooves as it does for the Mane Six and Spike.”

Quill gazed toward the ground, and his eyes turned wide. It was then he noticed something he hadn’t realized the moment they walked through the portal.

“Curtain… you may want to have a look.”

Raising a curious eyebrow towards his friend’s statement, Curtain Call gazed toward his feet. The moment he did, his eyes grew to the size of saucers. The two friends soon realized they no longer had the minuscule four-legged bodies of their equine counterparts. Quill now resembled a tall, good-looking Caucasian man with blonde hair that had been swept to the side. A man sporting dark grey jeans and a dark-green buttoned-up shirt.

Meanwhile, Curtain Call took on the appearance of a rather handsome Korean man with slicked-back, black hair. He wore a simple white T-shirt with a checkered flannel vest over it along with blue jeans.

To say both men were surprised by their new appearances was certainly an understatement. Reaching into a pocket within his flannel vest, Curtain Call found a pair of glasses which he placed over his face to see he wasn’t hallucinating.

“Sweet Celestia!” Quill exclaimed in shock. “What happened to us?!”

“I don’t know!” Curtain replied, studying himself. “Seems when we went through the portal, somehow it altered our appearance. Didn’t the Doctor tell you how to work the wand?”

“Of course!”

“And you made sure to pay attention to every detail?”

To which Quill’s eyes shifted back-and-forth, a million miles an hour.

“… Mostly?”

Curtain Call rolled his eyes, pinching the bridge of his new nose with his fingers over his friend’s incompetence.

“Mostly… ‘mostly’ he says…” Curtain muttered in frustration. “That’s just great… really great…”

“C’mon man, let’s consider this a happy accident!” Quill voiced optimism. “I mean look at us! We’re… hot!”

To which Curtain merely shook his head, while gazing at his new appearance.

“At least we have our hands and fingers again,” Curtain sighed. “It’s been a pain trying to pick things up with hooves.”

“No kidding,” Quill nodded. “How do those ponies even do it? At least the Pegasi have their wings, which I guess sort of act like hands sometimes. The Unicorns have it easier using their magic to lift stuff. But Earth ponies… I don’t think even Hasbro knows, they just worked with it.”

Before the conversation could dive deeper, rustling from the trees behind them stirred both men to quickly turn and assume a defensive position. Though they had no weapons, they were both versatile in martial arts so at least they could defend themselves should the need arise. Suddenly, from within the trees, two other figures slowly emerged.

One was a tall, muscular man with tribal tattoos running down his entire right arm. His long dark hair was tied in a manbun, and he wore dark cargo pants, complete with a dark hooded vest.

The other was a young girl who appeared to be eighteen years old. Her long blonde hair went down past her shoulders, adorned with pretty flowers. She wore a simple light-blue dress covered with leather armor and wore a leather belt around her waist which carried a dagger and an assortment of potions. Around her neck was a silver necklace with one gleaming emerald right in the center.

Upon seeing the two new figures, Quill Cast and Curtain Call immediately calmed themselves as smiles replaced the determined expressions upon their faces.

“Mirai! Draxus!” They both called simultaneously.

The two men started toward the two individuals, when suddenly, as quick as a flash, the big, tattooed warrior quickly drew forth two large, curved knives and held them toward Quill and Curtain’s throats. Both men froze in place, their hands up defensively and their eyes widened.

“Whoa! Whoa!” Curtain Call gasped. “Calm down, man! We’re not your enemy!”

The young girl, Mirai, stepped alongside the large warrior with a calm, yet determined face.

“Who are you?!” Mirai demanded, slowly.

“Come on, Mirai!” Quill reasoned. “You know us!”

“I would recall seeing your faces,” Miria replied skeptically. “Now… unless you wish for my friend to cut both of you down like parchment paper, answer… my question.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Curtain muttered. “Okay! Okay! Lower the weapons… and we’ll remind you who we are. I don’t get how you don’t recognize our voices, but…”

One of the man’s knives pushed slightly deeper along Curtain’s neck, and the latter instantly clasped shut. The young girl’s eyes narrowed toward the pair, trying to sense any deceit. One turn toward Draxus, and a single nod was all it took for the large warrior to lower his knives. As the big man placed the knives back in his belt, Quill and Curtain released huge sighs of relief before regaining their composure.

“I know you don’t recognize us right now, but we’re part of the same Legion,” Quill explained. “You may recall a while back when us two, along with our trainer Doctor Strange, crossed the multiple worlds within the multiverse. We were tasked to bring together a team of great warriors, kings and queens, and other important figures to fulfill one purpose. To maintain the balance of the multiverse and prevent it from falling into unending darkness.”

“We called ourselves the ‘Legion of Light’,” Curtain added. “Inspired by Michael the Archangel, who cast the Devil from Heaven. As a sign of our allegiance, we each wear the same pendants.”

Simultaneously, Quill Cast and Curtain Call reached into their shirts and pulled out the very pendants they wore. Mirai and Draxus glanced toward the medallions before reaching in and brought out their very own. They too were solid gold medallions with Michael’s sigil engraved upon them.

Both sets of individuals studied the matching medallions they wore before facing each other’s eyes. For Mirai and Draxus, there seemed to be a moment of realization hinted within their eyes.

“It is you guys!” Mirai confirmed, amazed.

Not even giving Quill or Curtain a chance to respond, the teenager quickly ran forth and threw her arms around the gentlemen. In turn, the pair wrapped their arms around her, embracing their old ally.

“It’s good to see you both again,” Mirai spoke happily. “I haven’t seen you two since Tamriel.”

“Definitely quite the time,” Curtain nodded. “Dodging soldiers, spiders, dragons… good times.”

The two men turned their attention toward the large warrior, who merely gave a nod of his head in acknowledgement.

“Drax still isn’t talking, huh?” Quill asked.

“Not since his queen was captured and hidden away,” Mirai shook her head. “He blames himself for what happened. He’s sworn to remain silent till he finds her and destroys those responsible for her imprisonment.”

Just as quickly, Mirai changed the topic to a matter that’s been on her mind for the longest time.

“Speaking of dragons, what of the dragon egg you were given to protect?” Mirai asked curiously. “We’ve went to great lengths to ensure ‘her’ child would be protected. Were you able to get it somewhere safe?”

“Sure did,” Quill nodded. “Matter of fact, he’s grown into quite the young dragon. He’s getting married sometime soon.”

Mirai raised a curious eyebrow, cocking her head to the side in confusion.

“Yes, it’s a lot to take in,” Curtain added. “We promise we’ll explain everything once we get acquainted.”

“You’re in luck,” Mirai smiled. “Dumbledore sent us to meet with you upon your arrival. We didn’t expect to find you in your current forms, but nonetheless, we must be on our way to Hogwarts immediately.”

“Lead the way, dragon heart,” Quill replied.

The young teenager and her warrior bodyguard took the lead, as the two men followed them away from the cliff. Though they still had ways to go, this marked the beginning of their trek toward the very place they needed to go: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

<>

Meanwhile, back in Surry, things weren’t going well for Harry Potter and his Equestrian companions. Following the events from the night before, with Dobby ruining the dinner between the Dursleys and the Masons, a letter was delivered to the Dursleys informing them Harry was not permitted to use magic outside of Hogwarts. Such newfound information was enough to assure the Dursleys they could now do whatever form of punishment they wished and young Harry could do nothing about it.

All of which brings them to the following day…

Petunia and Dudley stood outside their home, watching Vernon standing upon a ladder. He proceeded to fit the iron bars to the outside of Harry’s window. To ensure some extra measures, he drilled a metal flap to the base of the bedroom door then fit a fat, grey lock upon the door itself. Though he was soaking up sweat by the time the bars were in place, he cast a nasty grin toward Harry and the Equestrians, who stood in that small room watching him tighten the bars.

“You’re never going back to that school,” He snarled. “You’re never going to see those freaky friends of yours again. NEVER!”

Unable to take anymore guff off of Vernon, Rainbow quickly flew forward and slammed her hooves against the window. The startled Vernon nearly fell from the ladder, but soon managed to climb his way back down grumbling to himself.

“Keep talking, fatso!” Rainbow growled. “Mark my words we’re getting out of this and when I do…”

A sudden tug upon her tail stopped the tomboyish Pegasus, who turned toward her marefriend, who pulled her back with Rainbow’s tail between her teeth.

“Calm down huh,” Applejack told her. “Ah know yer riled up, but this ain’t the way tah handle our problem.”

“What are ya talkin’ bout, sis?” Apple Bloom spoke up. “Look at us! We’re locked up like… animals!”

“I say we let Rainbow Dash kick that guy till all his fat has permanent indents!” Scootaloo glared.

“Yeah, what she said!” Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement.

“I agree with the small fries,” Smolder spoke up.

“Yona Too!” Yona added.

Suddenly, Spike released a large belch and a large green flame exploded from his mouth. Everyone in the small room, including Harry, ducked for cover so as not to get burned by the green flame. The moment it dissipated, a small, rolled-up scroll emerged and landed before Twilight Sparkle herself. Everyone slowly stood up, gazing toward the scroll in confusion as Twilight grabbed it with her magic.

“Who could that possibly be from?” Rarity asked curiously.

“Maybe Princess Celestia has news for us,” Fluttershy voiced her opinion.

“Or maybe… it’s an invite to a huge party!” Pinkie guessed excitedly.

All eyes turned toward the pinky party pony, everyone looking at her with huge ‘seriously?’ expressions.

“What?” Pinkie asked. “Can’t a girl be optimistic in these difficult times?”

Rolling their eyes, the group turned back toward Twilight as she unfolded the scroll and read the contents aloud.

“Dear Twilight,” Twilight began. “I know that your current predicament with the Dursleys is complicated, but rest assured that things are under control. Just play along for now and have them believe you’re helplessly trapped. Help is currently on the way for you all; they should arrive later this evening. Keep your chin up, Sparky. Yours truly, Storm Shield.”

The moment she finished reading, Twilight’s face had turned bright red over the nickname Storm Shield addressed her by. It didn’t exactly help that she read it out loud for everyone else in the room. Speaking of which, all of her friends looked at her with mischievous smirks.

“The prince calls you ‘Sparky’ now, does he?” Rainbow Dash chuckled.

“If only they knew…” Sunset murmured under her breath.

<>

Later that evening, while Harry was sound asleep in bed, the remainder of the Equestrians stared gloomily out the window. According to Storm Shield, help was supposed to be arriving soon but thus far they could see not a sign or hint of salvation. They were starting to believe that maybe it was a cruel trick to get their hopes up. The metal flap rattles stirred them back to reality, all eyes turned as Dudley’s pudgy hand slid some bowls of tinned soup onto the floor. He grinned cruelly through the opening.

“I know what day it is,” Dudley teased.

“Well done, Dudley,” Smolder congratulated, sarcastically. “Finally learned the days of the week.”

“Ooh! Ooh! I know what day it is!” Pinkie Pie chirped up. “It’s your tail-a-versary right?”

“… Cute… really cute,” Dudley frowned, before straightening his face. “Today’s Harry’s birthday… and nobody cares!”

Ocellus slowly approached the door, looked up toward the opening, and then in a flash she transformed herself into a bear and roared straight into Dudley’s face. The boy screamed and snapped the flap shut, as the group could hear the sound of pounding feet running away. A sigh caused the group to turn, half expecting Harry to wake up. But somehow, the boy was still asleep as he readjusted himself in his bed. Ocellus quickly reverted back to her Changeling form acknowledging the shock of her friends.

“Wow Ocellus… never knew you had it in you,” Sandbar replied sheepishly.

“A girl can only take so much in these dire conditions,” Ocellus sighed.

“Remind me never to make her mad,” Gallus whispered to Silverstream.

The group proceeded to take the soup, along with some bits of stale bread, as Fluttershy proceeded to pass the measly servings to her friends. Taking what little bread was left, Fluttershy crossed toward Hedwig.

“No good turning your beak up,” Fluttershy spoke regretfully. “It’s all we’ve got.”

Fluttershy proceeded to feed a piece of bread to Hedwig, while everyone else were merely picking their food and playing around with it like cafeteria servings. It was especially difficult for Rarity, who took one scoop and stared as the soup plopped back into the bowl.

“It’s cold! And it’s not even Vichyssoise!” Rarity grumbled.

“Let’s just be glad there’re no bones in it,” Twilight Sparkle sighed, stirring the soup.

All of a sudden, their ears perked up over what sounded like a car engine outside. This stirred Harry awake as the boy put on his glasses, emerged from bed, and approached the window while the others followed. All eyes gazed out the window and they spotted a strange object moving across the sky. At a glance, the objected appeared to be a shooting star, before turning into two beams of light.

Before their very eyes, an old, turquoise-colored Ford Anglia was flying in the air toward Harry’s bedroom window. Floating in mid-air, the car turned right as Harry, Hedwig, and the group silently watched. In the Ford Anglia, Ron leaned out the back window. His brother Fred sat in the driver’s seat, while Fred’s twin George sat in the passenger side.

“Hiya, Harry!” Ron greeted. “Hiya, guys!”

“Ron?” Harry spoke in surprise. “Fred? George? What’re you doing here?”

“Rescuing you, of course,” Ron replied, matter-of-factly. “Now, come on. Get your trunk!”

“So, you guys are the help sent for us?” Gallus asked. “How exactly are we supposed to fit in that tiny car?”

“Don’t worry Gallus,” Fred smirked. “We didn’t come alone.”

Suddenly, a loud horn honking drew everyone’s attention toward the sky. All eyes observed a large, flying stretch-limo hovering alongside the house.

“What the hay?” Sandbar said in shock.

The tinted front window rolled down revealing nothing other than Discord sitting behind the wheel wearing a limo driver’s uniform.

“Someone call for Discord’s limo service?” Discord grinned toothily.

“Discord!” Fluttershy exclaimed excitedly.

“Discord?!” The Mane Six spoke in unison.

“Discord…” Sunset Shimmer sighed.

“Whoa, hold up!” Rainbow spoke up. “Why would Storm Shield send you of all creatures?”

“Obviously, ol’ Stormy values my services above all creature else,” Discord replied. “Only appropriate seeing as I’ve been sitting on the sidelines of these adventures for way too long. Finally, it’s high time I get my moment!”

“This will have to do!” Twilight Sparkle declared. “Let’s get out of here!”

Eventually, having gotten dressed, Harry proceeded to stuff the rest of his clothes and spellbooks into his trunk. The trunk closed and snapped shut all by itself. Harry and Spike proceeded to drag the trunk to the windowsill, while the rest watched Ron tie a fierce knot along the bars of Harry’s window.

“You’d better stand back,” Ron advised.

Harry and the others proceeded to step back as Ron turned toward the twin in the driver’s seat.

“Let’s go!”

Fred stepped one foot on the accelerator, sending the Ford Anglia higher into the air. The rope snapped tight, and *CRUNCH* the bars were torn from the window. Bricks and bars rained down onto the lawn below, leaving a mangled mess in the yard.

“I sure hope the Dursleys are heavy sleepers,” Silverstream spoke hopefully.

<>

Unfortunately, the loud *SMASH* was more than enough to wake Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, the latter stirring with a gasp.

“Now, what the hell’s he doing?” Vernon grumbled.

<>

The trunk of the car opened as Harry and Spike pushed his trunk, along with any other suitcases, inside. It was then they heard an unmistakable shout.

“POTTER!!!” Vernon shouted.

“Time to go!” Spike declared.

“Dad, what’s going on?” Dudley called out.

But while everyone in Harry’s room was trying to escape, Petunia hugged her son closely while Vernon proceeded to unlock all the locks upon the door to the bedroom.

“Move every pony!” Applejack called out. “GO! GO! GO!”

The Mane Six, along with Spike, the Young Six, and the CMC entered Discord’s limo with ease, which helped given the interior proved much larger than the exterior. But as the group got inside one-by-one, they could sense that Vernon was close to unlocking all the locks on the door. Harry had just pushed the trunk over the sill into the Anglia’s book, then scrambled through the window himself, when… SQUAWK!

“Hedwig!” Harry called out.

Harry clambered back, grabbing Hedwig’s cage, and swung it onto the ledge.

“Come on! Come on, Harry!” The Weasleys called out. “Hurry up!”

“Quickly Harry!” Sunset ushered. “I can hear your uncle unlocking the final lock now!”

Sure enough, the final lock clicked and Harry turned around as the bedroom door crashed open with his uncle, aunt, and cousin staring in horror as the boy made to escape.

“PETUNIA! HE’S GETTING AWAY!” Uncle Vernon shouted.

“JUMP HARRY!!!” Silverstream shouted.

“Get him, Dad!!!” Dudley cried out.

As Harry leapt for the windowsill, Uncle Vernon charged forward and snatched his ankle. Harry tumbled into the darkness, one hand gripping Hedwig’s cage, the other reaching out and… catching Ron’s at the last possible second.

“I’ve got you, Harry!!!” Ron shouted.

“Hold on, sugarcube!” Applejack called out.

Uncle Vernon clutched both hands along Harry’s ankle, pulling harder. Ron braced himself, pulling back. All the while, Harry hung stretched out high over the lawn, directly above the mangled steel bars.

“Don’t let go Potter!” Gallus shouted.

“COME HERE!!!” Vernon snarled.

“Let him go!” Smolder called out.

“HE’S NOT YOUR PRISONER YOU BIG, FAT JERK!!!” Rainbow growled.

“We haven’t even been to Azkaban yet!” Pinkie Pie pointed out.

“NOT NOW PINKIE!!!” Everyone cried out, exasperated.

Pinkie sheepishly grinned, as she slowly slunk back to her seat. Meanwhile, the tug-of-war between the Weasleys and the Dursleys for Harry continued.

“Just let Harry go, Vernon!” Twilight Sparkle cried out. “You don’t even want him!”

“Oh no, pony!” Vernon snarled. “That boy and that bloody pigeon aren’t going anywhere! Not even with your freaky abnormal friends!!!”

Rainbow’s ears twitched hearing the word ‘freak’, remembering how Vernon and Petunia treated the pony and her friends when they revealed themselves at the Hut-on-the-Rock. This was ultimately the last straw for Rainbow Dash, who by now grew extremely infuriated and agitated over that choice of word.

“THAT’S IT!!!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “I SWORE I’D DECK THAT STUPID UGLY FACE FOR CALLING US FREAKS, NOW YOU’RE GETTING IT!”

Rainbow Dash angrily wrapped Vernon’s neck in a chokehold, as she proceeded to punch him in the face. When that wasn’t enough, she quickly bit Vernon’s arm. The British muggle screamed in pain as he shoved the Tomboyish Pegasus off while keeping his other hand grasped upon his nephew’s ankle. It was clear that there was no way he’d let his nephew go no matter what.

Soon enough, Harry’s hands were beginning to slip from Ron’s fingers. Seeing her master slipping away, Hedwig pecked feverishly at the lock leaving Ron in a state of panic. Suddenly, Hedwig started to peck harder and… the cage opened. The owl swooped into the sky, wheeled back, and hammered her beak into Uncle Vernon’s hand. He roared, stumbling back… as Ron and George pulled Harry into the air.

“DRIVE!” The brothers shouted. “FRED, DRIVE!”

“RIGHT!” Fred called out.

One last gigantic tug from the Weasleys, and Harry was free from his cruel uncle’s grasp. As he fell from the window, with Petunia and Dudley screaming in horror, Harry closed the door of the car as the Anglia sailed into the stars like a rocket as Discord followed behind in his flying limo. Now free from the Dursleys, some of the students looked back as Aunt Petunia and Dudley looked down toward Vernon stuck in the bush, as Smolder blew a raspberry toward them.

“DAD!!!” Dudley cried out.

“Vernon, are you alright?!” Petunia shouted.

Finally, Vernon managed to get out of the bush and looked toward the night sky with a defeated look. The Flying Ford Anglia and Discord’s limo proceeded to disappear into the horizon, leaving nothing but a speck of light behind Surry. Fluttershy looked out as Hedwig raced up, soaring just beyond the car window, chirping victoriously.

“Good girl, Hedwig!” Fluttershy smiled with gratitude. “Good girl!”

"Eh, I was just making it easy for her," Rainbow shrugged, leaning beside Applejack.

“By the way, Harry…” Ron turned to Harry.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!” Everyone declared.

“Next stop! Ottery St. Catchpole!” Discord announced through a transmitter.

Harry smiled over the birthday greeting, as the friends laughed their cares away with the cars flying toward their destination. It would be there, at this Ottery St. Catchpole, where they would run into the next stop on their journey towards Hogwarts… The Burrow…

Knockturn & Diagon Alley

Author's Note

As always, Drama is the best editor and friend in the world for all his hard work on the chapter.

Also thanks to CortezDude, ponydog127, and Phantom Dragon for their wonderful quotes in this chapter.

Also Whisper Dream is not an OC of mine, she belongs to ponydog127

Knockturn & Diagon Alley

A golden hue blanketed the green pastures of the English countryside. As the sun rose high over the air of a bright sun-filled morning, the only sounds were the rumbling two vehicles, the flying Ford Anglia and Discord’s magic flying limo. Together they soared high above the air over Devon, London, too far for mortal eyes to see. The two vehicles, along with the occupants within, soared all through the night after having broken Harry and the Equestrians away from the clutches of the Dursleys hours prior. The Equestrian group sat in Discord’s limo, peeking out the windows to catch a glimpse of the lovely English landscape they flew over.

“Yee doggies, this here landscape’s mighty pretty,” Apple Bloom commented, smiling. “Reminds me of Sweet Apple Acres.”

“Without the endless rows of apple trees as far as the eye can see,” Scootaloo added.

“I agree with the squirts over there,” Gallus nodded. “This beats Griffonstone by a landslide.”

“It’s the kind of place I’d love to live in one day,” Silverstream spoke dreamily.

Silverstream leaned closely toward her boyfriend, resting her head upon the crook of his neck. Gallus smiled as he placed a talon around his girlfriend, as they continued looking out the window.

“Maybe one day, Sil,” Gallus chuckled.

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie sat near the front of the limo playing with the window controls connected to Discord’s driver’s seat. She continuously pushed the button, making the window go up and down much to her amusement.

“He-he-heh! Up and down!” Pinkie giggled. “Up and down, up… and down.”

In the driver’s seat, an annoyed expression hung upon Discord’s face as he piloted the car. He had to listen to Pinkie toying with the window for over an hour and it really started to get on his nerves. Finally having enough, Discord turned his head around like an owl and sent a heated glare toward the pink party pony.

“What?” Pinkie Pie shrugged.

“Pinkie, how many times have I asked you to stop playing with the window?!” Discord asked, annoyed.

“Hmm… let me think…” Pinkie replied.

The party pony reached into her mane and pulled out a calculator, pen, and a pad as she began punching numbers and writing equations.

“Let’s see… eighteen multiplied by four, carry the nine, divided by three to the square root of…”

“Ugh! Why do I bother asking?” Discord facepalmed.

His annoyance, however, was quickly diminished when a certain yellow Pegasus with the brightest pink mane scooted across the seat toward him. His expression shifted to joy as the pony positioned herself near the window and faced him with the most soothing smile.

“It was really sweet of you to help us out of that situation, Discord,” Fluttershy spoke sweetly.

A blush formed along the Lord of Chaos’ face, which was so red that it proved difficult to hide.

“Uh, well… I… just did what any good friend would do,” He stuttered nervously.

To which Fluttershy giggled cutely.

“Whatever the case, thank you Discord.”

She soon leaned in and planted a sweet kiss on his cheek. The draconequus froze in place as his eyes bugged out. After a moment, the eyes quickly shattered like glass and hearts flew from the empty sockets, as a huge dopey smile appeared along his face.

“You’re welcome, Fluttershy!” Discord sighed happily.

“Yo Discord!”

A loud voice snapped Discord from his goofy state, as he turned toward the rainbow-maned Pegasus addressing him.

“Where exactly are we heading anyway?” She asked. “We’ve been flying all night and I’m tired of sitting in this limo for so long.”

“Don’t get that pastel tail in a twist, Dashie,” Discord retorted. “As a matter of fact, we’re just arriving at our location.”

The moment Discord spoke, the remainder of the group quickly made their way toward the windows to peek out toward the landscape. Sure enough, as both the limo and the Ford Anglia began its descent through a pink sky, a haphazard mess of a house, built around a towering central chimney, appeared below. This large bungalow looked as thought it had once been a large stone pigpen, with extra rooms added here and there until it was several stories high and so crooked it looked as though it were held together by magic (Which, Harry reminded himself, it probably was). Four or five chimneys were perched on top of the red roof. By the road, a lopsided sign stuck in the ground near the entrance read: ‘The Burrow’. Around the front door lay a jumble of rubber boots and a very rusty cauldron.

*FLUMPH*

The Ford Anglia touched down in a whirling cone of dust, scattering a group of fat brown chickens around the yard, and fishtailed to a halt. As the limo came close to the ground, with a quick snap of his fingers, Discord’s appearance shifted into a flight attendant’s uniform as he held a microphone with one claw.

“Thank you for choosing Discord’s flying limo service for all your travel needs,” He announced femininely. “Don’t stand until the car has come to a complete stop.”

Eventually, both vehicles touched down as the limo stopped alongside the burrow. Discord quickly transported himself outside the vehicle and opened the back door beckoning everyone to emerge in single file.

“Thank you, goodbye now,” He waved. “Goodbye, goodbye, thank you, goodbye!”

Once everyone, including the Weasleys and Harry, spilled quickly from the cars, they all stared in amazement upon the large house as Ron smiled proudly.

“Welcome to the Burrow, everyone!” Ron announced.

“This is your house?” Spike asked, in awe.

“Yep! Been in our family since the 70s or something,” George replied. “We come and go as we please… or at least till we grow old and move out. Helps we’re near off the grid, far from any muggles for miles.”

“Now hurry! Let’s nip inside before Mum wakes up!” Fred whispered urgently.

“Well, I suppose we mustn’t… wait…” Rarity realized. “What did he say?”

But the Weasley boys already took the lead, sneaking everyone inside, while gently closing the door.

“Do you think it’d be all right if we had some of this?” Ron asked, sneaking a roll.

“Yeah, Mum would never know,” George half-smiled.

Harry and the Equestrians’ eyes gazed over all the magical objects surrounding them, breathing in the atmosphere. A clock displayed various chores for each family member present. A pair of needles were knitting a sweater by themselves. A stack of playing cards shuffled themselves, proving a cooling breeze for Ron’s aging rat, Scabbers.

“Now why didn’t Harry just get sent here?” Smolder asked.

“It’s not much,” Ron shrugged, averting his eyes self-consciously. “But it’s home.”

“I think it’s… brilliant!” Harry marveled.

“It’s more than ‘brilliant’,” Rainbow smirked. “It’s…”

“Awesome?” Sunset Shimmer finished slyly.

“Hey, that’s my line!”

Ron looked up, seeing the mesmerized expression on everyone’s face, and slowly… he grinned.

“WHERE… HAVE… YOU… BEEN?!”

The group nearly jumped out of their skin and the Equestrians turned toward the source of the shout. Mrs. Weasley stood in the doorway, furious beyond words. While the boys hid the breakfast rolls behind their backs, Mrs. Weasley smiled sweetly toward Harry and the Equestrians.

“Harry! Twilight! How wonderful to see you, dears,” Mrs. Weasley greeted, before facing her sons. “Beds empty! No note! Car gone! You could’ve died! You could’ve been seen!

“Of course, I don’t blame you, dears,” Mrs. Weasley assured the guests.

“No need to blame the boys, Mrs. Weasley.”

All eyes turned toward a new voice as none other than Storm Shield himself strolled casually from the kitchen. The Prince of Peace, with an apron around the middle and covered in flour, still held a sense of benevolence as Twilight’s face flushed.

“S-S-S-Storm?!” Twilight babbled in confusion. “How long have you been here?”

“Two days,” Storm shrugged casually. “Been helping the missus preparing a nice big breakfast.”

Speaking of whom, Storm Shield turned his attention to the woman in question.

“In truth Mrs. Weasley, there’s no need to blame the boys or even Discord,” Storm continued.

“I can do without the audio commentary your highness!” Discord called out.

Storm acknowledged the face of the draconequus leaning his face upon the window, before turning back toward Mrs. Weasley.

“Anyways… I personally asked them to travel to Surry to spring Harry and the others out of trouble,” Storm insisted. “Good thing I did too.”

“It’s true,” Ron nodded in agreement. “They were starving him, Mum! There were bars on his window!”

“You best hope I don’t put bars on your window, Ronald Weasley!” Mrs. Weasley warned, before softening instantly. “Care for a spot of tea, dears?”

“Why tea sounds absolutely smashing!” Rarity smiled. “I admire that generosity.”

“Well, come along then. Let’s get you lot tucked in.”

“Mummy! Have you seen my jumper—”

All of a sudden, a small, red-headed girl raced down the stairs. The moment she saw the guests, specifically Harry, she froze and stared wide-eyed.

“Yes dear,” Mrs. Weasley answered. “It was on the cat.”

“Hello!” Harry greeted.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Twilight nodded. “I’m Twilight Sparkle; what’s your name?”

The girl squealed and dashed up the stairs, to which Ron frowned with annoyance.

“W-What did I do?” Harry asked concerned.

“Ginny,” Ron shook his head. “Been talking about you all summer. Dead annoying, really.”

“Aw, looks like someone’s got a crush on you Harry,” Sweetie Belle smiled.

“The poor girl’s shy,” Fluttershy observed.

“Reminds you of something, Twilight?” Sunset teased her friend.

“I reckon if she had a bit for every time that she greeted a shy friend who barely answers a greetin, she’d be gettin’ three bits,” Applejack replied. “Which ain’t a lot, but you’d be surprised…”

“Hardy-har…” Twilight chuckled sarcastically.

“Morning, Weasleys!” A new voice called.

“Dad’s home!” George announced.

The front door opened, and Arthur Weasley entered. He was a tall man with red hair, his robes appearing dusty, and travel worn.

“Morning, Dad!” The Weasley boys greeted.

“Morning, Arthur!” Mrs. Weasley greeted sweetly.

“What a night!” Mr. Weasley groaned. “Nine raids! Nine!”

“Raids?” Harry asked Ron.

“Dad works at the Ministry of Magic,” Ron explained. “In the Misue of Muggle Artifacts Office.”

“The Misuse of Muggle Artifacts…?” Ocellus questioned.

“That’s when wizards bewitch something to drive muggles mad,” Storm Shield explained. “Like this one time, one of my old mates shrunk his muggle dad’s door key because he wouldn’t let him attend a party with friends… that kind of thing.”

“Dad loves Muggles,” Ron emphasized. “Thinks they’re fascinating.”

“Sort of like Sunburst’s fascination with Equestrian antiquities,” Pinkie Pie piped in. “Wasn’t a fun trip for our old buddy, Starlight.”

Mr. Weasley proceeded to hang up his cloak and turned.

“Well now, ah…” Mr. Weasley glanced at their guests. “And who are you?”

“Oh, sorry sir,” Harry apologized. “I’m Harry, sir, Harry Potter.”

“Good Lord, are you really?” Mr. Weasley spoke surprised. “Wait now, don’t tell me. That means you lot must be…”

“Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship,” Twilight greeted Mr. Weasley. “And these are all of my friends.”

“We’re pleased to meet you officially Mr. Weasley sir,” Sandbar spoke up.

“The Twilight Sparkle? Leader of the Equestrian Heroes?” Mr. Weasley gasped. “Mr. Shield and Ron’s told us all about you, and Mr. Potter of course. When did they get here?”

“Only this morning, Mr. Weasley,” Storm shrugged.

“Your sons flew that enchanted car of yours to Surrey and back last night,” Mrs. Weasley added darkly.

“Yona no think it fair to blame it all on boys,” Yona spoke up.

“Oh no, please,” Discord entered casually. “Blame it on the boys; no need to take all the credit. Ooh! Rolls!”

Discord was about to reach in and grab a roll, until Mrs. Weasley slapped his paw. The draconequus frowned as he massaged his paw, while Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo giggled at his expense.

“Did you really?!” Mr. Weasley gasped, fascinated. “How’d it go?!”

“Arthur!” Mrs. Weasley groaned.

Mr. Weasley caught Mrs. Weasley’s eye, and the Hippogriff paused instantly. The Weasley boys, along with Harry, tried and failed to hide their laughter. The only one who wasn’t even laughing was Molly, who was quiet the whole time.

“I… I mean… that was very wrong, boys,” Mr. Weasley spoke. “Very wrong of you.”

“Ooh… that’s a bummer for you!” Smolder teased Gallus.

“Why are you pointing at me?” Gallus frowned, annoyed.

“So, Harry,” Mr. Weasley continued. “You must know all about Muggles. Tell me, what exactly is the function of a rubber duck?”

“Oh, umm…” Harry pondered.

“They do make bath time lots of fun,” Pinkie interrupted. “There’s a whole song dedicated to it.”

“Now ‘parking meters’ on the other hoof…” Sunset Shimmer began.

But just as Sunset was about to share her piece, a screeching in the distance drew their attention to the window.

“Well, that’ll be Errol with the post,” Mrs. Weasley confirmed.

It was then they noticed an owl, Errol by name, soaring right toward the kitchen window. But to Harry and Fluttershy’s horror, the owl doesn’t pull up. It just flies… SMACK!... into the glass.

“Oh my!” Fluttershy gasped. “Is he okay?!”

“Never mind Errol dear, happens all the time,” Mrs. Weasley confirmed. “Oh, fetch it will you Percy, please?”

“Ooh! Didn’t see him there,” Spike replied.

Percy got up and approached the window muttering ‘Errol’ as he rose up.

“But seriously… is Errol okay?” Spike asked.

“He’s always doing that,” Ron assured.

Percy took the unconscious Errol and absently laid him on a draining board. He took the letters clutched in the owl’s claws and examined them.

“Oh look, it’s our Hogwarts letters!” Percy confirmed. “And they’ve sent us Harry’s, as well as to a group called… the Student Six.”

“That’ll be us,” Silverstream replied, taking the letters. “Wait… how did they know to come here?”

“Dumbledore must know you’re here,” Mr. Weasley confirmed. “Doesn’t miss a trick, that man.”

“Oh, hey girls, these must be for you,” Ocellus passed the CMC their letters.

“Let’s see what we got,” Scootaloo examined the letter, her eyes widening. “Ooh… boy!”

“This lot won’t come cheap, mum,” Fred confirmed to Mrs. Weasley. “The spell books alone are very expensive.”

“I’d blame inflation,” Gallus remarked.

“We’ll manage,” Mrs. Weasley assured. “Right then. There’s only one place to get all of this…”

“Diagon Alley!” The Mane Six declared.

“You girls are definitely in for a treat,” Rarity assured the CMC.

<>

Later, everyone and every pony gathered before a large fireplace in the house. From there, Mrs. Weasley proceeded to pick up a pot off the mantel.

“You first, Harry dear,” Mrs. Weasley gestured.

Mrs. Weasley offered Harry the flowerpot. At the bottom is a layer of very soft dust, much to Harry’s confusion.

“But Harry’s never traveled by Floo powder before, Mum,” Ron pointed out.

“Floo Powder?” Harry questioned.

“We ain’t gettin’ sick from this, right?” Applejack asked, concerned.

“Not to worry,” Percy assured. “It’s the fastest means of getting to Diagon Alley.”

“Compared to… a simple teleportation spell Headmare Twilight can do?” Smolder remarked.

“It’s not really as simple as it sounds,” Twilight warned.

“Percy. Would you mind going first?” Mrs. Weasley asked. “Just so Harry and the others see how it’s done?”

“Certainly mother,” Percy nodded. “Don’t worry, it’s simple enough.”

Percy takes a pinch from the pot, and calmly walks straight into the fireplace, assuming the position.

“Diagon Alley!” Percy announced.

Within seconds, Percy pitched it into the fireplace and bright green flames roared high over him. Just like that, Percy vanished before their very eyes.

“Oh… my…” Fluttershy gasped nervously.

“You see? It’s quite easy, dears,” Mrs. Weasley assured.

“Great…” Gallus nodded slowly. “So… who’s going next?”

“Ah, what the heck?” Smolder stepped forward. “One of us has got to have some guts.”

“You better go along with her, Ron,” Mrs. Weasley advised Ron.

“Right mum.

“Yes. In you go. That’s it.”

Smolder and Ron assumed the position in the fireplace, as Ron proceeded to take a pinch of Floo Powder.

“Catch you on the flip side,” Smolder pointed to the group.

“Diagon Alley!” Ron announced.

Much like his brother, Ron threw down the Floo Powder and both he, along with the orange dragon, disappeared in a burst of green flames.

“Don’t be afraid, Harry,” Mrs. Weasley gestured into the fireplace. “Come on. Come on. In you go.”

“We’ll go with Harry if it’ll make him feel better,” Apple Bloom volunteered.

“We?” Sweetie Belle raised a brow.

“Now hold on there,” Applejack objected. “I don’t think you oughtta…”

“Ah, give your sister some space,” Rainbow Dash nudged Applejack. “They’ll never learn if they don’t give it a try.”

“But hun…”

“No… your friend has a point,” Storm Shield agreed. “There might come a time when something prevents unicorn and alicorn magic from being in use. If we must consider floo powder as an alternative, the girls can learn something. I promise they’ll be okay.”

“… Well, all right,” Applejack shrugged. “But I don’t have tah like it.”

The Cutie Mark Crusaders, albeit reluctantly on Sweetie Belle’s part, followed Harry Potter as Mrs. Weasley led them into the fireplace.

“That’s it… mind your head… that’s right…” Mrs. Weasley muttered. “Now, take your Floo powder.”

Tentatively, Harry reached into the pot and grabbed a handful.

“That’s it, very good,” Mrs. Weasley nodded. “Now, remember to speak very, very clearly, dear!”

“And mind you get out at the right grate!” Discord suggested.

“Why? What happens if they—” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“Diagonally…” Harry and Sweetie Belle spoke.

“WAIT!!!” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo shouted.

But it was too late! The moment Harry dropped the powder into the fireplace and the green flames erupted, they disappeared before they could move.

“SWEETIE BELLE!!!” Rarity shouted.

“LITTLE BUDDY!!!” Rainbow Dash reached out.

“What did he say, dear?” Mrs. Weasley asked her husband.

“Diagonally…” Mr. Weasley spoke.

“I thought he did.”

Fuming, Applejack slowly turned toward Storm Shield. The prince sheepishly chuckled and slowly turned toward the kitchen.

“Don’t…” Twilight Sparkle spoke.

“I jus’ wanna talk to him…” Applejack muttered, approaching Storm.

“Applejack, wait!” Fluttershy followed.

“I jus’ wana talk to him! I JUS’ WANNA TALK TO HIM!”

“Now come on, let’s not be so hasty!” Pinkie Pie called out. “So, they said the wrong word! Maybe they’ll just get transported back!”

<>

Unfortunately, Pinkie Pie couldn’t be all the more wrong. The sound was deafening as Harry and the Cutie Mark Crusaders hurtled forward through a burst of smoke and dust. They all spilled out of the fireplace, squinting against the sting of whirling soot and the mad, flicking lights of passing fireplaces. Harry Potter fell face forward onto a stone heart, as the CMC picked themselves up and discovered they were in a shop of sorts.

“A-A-ACHOO!” Scootaloo sneezed, facing Harry. “Are you okay, Harry?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Harry replied.

The girls proceeded to help their friend, the boy covered in dirt and very dizzy. Looking around, Sweetie Belle found his glasses and lifted them with her magic.

“Oh no! Your glasses…” Sweetie Belle winced, spotting a crack in the lens. “I think they’ve been scratched a bit.”

“I’m afraid they’re the least of our problems now,” Harry replied, looking around. “Ron? Smolder? Anyone here?”

“Hello?” Apple Bloom asked.

As the Earth mare looked around, she yelped with fright when she walked toward a row of skulls on display.

“EW! What is this place?”

“I don’t know,” Harry replied. “I don’t think we’re in Diagon Alley. I’m afraid I’ve… botched the Floo Powder…”

“No, it’s my fault,” Sweetie Belle shook her head. “I may have stuttered the word and… HEY! Maybe there’s Floo Powder around here; we can use it to really get to Diagon Alley.”

“That’s a good idea, Sweetie Belle,” Harry replied, facing the fireplace. “Except… there is no Floo Powder here…”

Disheartened, but undeterred, the Crusaders looked up with determination.

“Well, until our friends find us, we should take a look around,” Scootaloo suggested. “If we can find out where we are, maybe we’re not too far from Diagon Alley.”

“Maybe we can find our school supplies here,” Apple Bloom said hopefully.

Harry nodded as he and the Crusaders proceeded to take a look around what appeared to be a wizard’s shop, but decidedly creepy. Unfortunately, nothing they found seemed likely to be on any Hogwart’s school list. There were glass cases containing shriveled heads, and skulls with rotting skin. Evil-looking masks seemed to stare down from the walls, along with an assortment of human bones upon the counter, and rusty, spiked instruments hanging from the ceiling. Worse still, the dark, narrow street Harry and the girls could see through the dusty window was definitely not Diagon Alley.

Harry proceeded to walk toward a glass case, containing what appeared to be pygmy skulls, all piled together. He gave a few taps, but the skulls didn’t so much as react. Meanwhile, Apple Bloom backed away from what assumedly was the exit when a withered hand resting on a cushion caught her eye.

“EW!” Apple Bloom stuck out her tongue, before reading the tag. “The Hand of Glory. Interesting… ah wonder what it does…”

Nearby, Sweetie Belle studied an opal necklace gleaming from inside a glass case. Transfixed by it, Sweetie Belle studied the inscription below the case.

“’Caution: Do not touch’,” Sweetie Belle read. “’Cursed—Has Claimed the Lives of Nineteen Muggle Owners to Date’… yeah, girls I don’t think we should—”

But Apple Bloom, driven by curiosity, placed her hoof along the hand, gently stroking its rotten fingers upon inspection. Without warning, the hand suddenly came to life, grabbing Apple Bloom’s hoof tightly, holding her in place. The filly pulled with all her might, but it felt as though her hoof was caught in a bear trap.

“AAAAH!!!” Apple Bloom screamed, trying to pry the hand off. “GUYS!!! HELP!!!”

“Apple Bloom!!!” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo yelled.

“Hang on!” Harry called out.

The two girls and Harry quickly ran over, struggling to pry the hand off their friend. At that exact moment, Harry turned his head toward the window to see the last person he’d ever wanted to meet when lost: Draco Malfoy. With an increasing reason to pry the hand off, Harry mustered all his strength until he finally loosened the hand’s grip along Apple Bloom’s hoof.

“Wut in tarnation!” Apple Bloom exclaimed.

“No time!” Harry said urgently. “We have to hide now!”

Turning toward what appeared to be a large black cabinet, which resembled more like a coffin, Harry quickly ducked into it while the Crusaders quickly dove under a nearby shrouded table just as the door opened with the sound of a ringing bell. From their hiding places, Harry and the Cutie Mark Crusaders witnessed the figure coming through the front doors and looking around. Dread filled the eyes of the girls once they saw the figure in full.

Draco Malfoy, the blonde-haired pest who gave Harry, Ron, Hermoine, and even the Young Six trouble last year. The very sight filled the three girls with dread.

Draco reached forward to touch a weird statue, when an older blonde-haired man stepped inside with Draco and swatted his hand away with a snake-headed walking stick. The Cutie Mark Crusaders shuddered over the way man gave a look toward the boy.

“Don’t touch anything, Draco,” The man warned.

“… Yes, Father,” Draco answered, slightly ashamed.

The Crusaders and Harry’s eyes grew wide… this man was Draco’s father?! Speaking from Harry’s experience, Draco’s dad seemed worse than Draco… by a LONG shot. The man, known far and wide as Lucious Malfoy, looked around the shop when he realized someone else was missing.

“WHISPER DREAM!!!” He yelled.

The mere volume of the shout was enough to make the entire shop rumble. As Harry and the crusaders braced themselves amidst the shaking, someone else entered the shop… and that someone was…

“Is that… a pony?” Apple Bloom whispered.

Indeed, it was a pony, but a few years younger than the Crusaders themselves. She had a pastel pink body with grayish pink hooves with a bat wing styled membrane. She also had the sweetest cobalt blue eyes with slits, along her flank was a cutie mark resembling a shooting star. Around her neck, she wore a blue-and-white collar with a gold tassel… something similar to something Sweetie Belle saw Coco Pommel wear.

However, a pony being there wasn’t what threw Harry and the Crusaders off. It was a matter of how ‘scared’ this pony looked. Silently, they watched as Whisper Dream stood beside Lucious, her ears pinned before speaking in a quiet, yet barely audible voice.

“Y-Yes, Master Lucius?”

“I’ve told you to stay where I can see you, you ungrateful brat!” Lucius snapped.

“I’m sorry master,” The pony whimpered. “I-I-I was only just—”

“And another thing…” Lucius interrupted, regaining his composure. “You are to stay quiet while I conduct my business here.”

“O-O-Of course, sir,” Whisper nodded obediently.

Lucius glared at the pony before moving away, taking the lead as Whisper quietly trudged behind. From the smallest corner of Harry’s hiding place, the boy couldn’t help but sympathize with the poor filly. He too knew how it felt to be horribly mistreated by one’s own family. However, given his circumstance, he couldn’t comfort her… at least not yet.

“I don’t know who that pony is, but we should definitely tell Twilight about this,” Scootaloo whispered. “Especially about… him.”

“So… that’s Malfoy’s father,” Sweetie Belle whispered back. “But what are they doing here?”

“And why would they come here?” Apple Bloom wondered. “This don’t look like a place to buy school supplies…”

Just then, a stooped man emerged from the back room. The man, most likely the shopkeeper, made his presence known at the cashier desk. In the cabinet, Harry watched silently, unaware that the walls around him were… slowly closing in.

“Mr. Malfoy! What a pleasure to see you again,” The man greeted. “And young Master Malfoy, too. Delighted. I must show you, if I may, just in today and very reasonably priced—”

“I’m not buying today, Mr. Borgin,” Lucius Malfoy interrupted. “But selling.”

“Selling?”

“Draco.”

In response to his father’s command, Draco put the box on the desk.

“You have heard, of course, that the Ministry of Magic is conducting more raids on private houses,” Mr. Malfoy confirmed. “There are even rumors of a new Muggle Protection Act…”

“Pure wizard blood is counting for less everywhere, I’m afraid,” Borgin replied.

“Not with me,” Draco’s father spoke venomously.

Opening the box, Lucius revealed its contents to Borgin.

“Anyway, I have a few… ah… items from home that might prove, uh… embarrassing if the Ministry were to call. Certain poisons and the like…”

“Hmm… yes,” Mr. Borgin observed. “I see…”

From under the silhouetted table, the Cutie Mark Crusaders tried to have a good look at all the items in the box that the Malfoys wished to sell to the shopkeeper.

“See anything?” Scootaloo asked.

“Nothing,” Sweetie Belle replied. “It’s too hard to see from down here…”

In the meantime, Borgin sorted through all the items the Malfoys had brought to sell him, when he happened upon one such item of interest. Harry couldn’t tell what it was from the coffin, but judging by the look on Borgin’s face, he seemed keen on buying it.

“Look at that!” Borgin gasped breathlessly, wide-eyed.

“That… particular item is not for sale,” Malfoy spoke, stopping Borgin.

“… I understand,” Borgin replied. “It has unique qualities. One wouldn’t want to see it fall into the wrong hands.”

Once he determined the items, of which he was willing to buy, Borgin reached to the side to take out a box of money to pay what he perceived to be a reasonable price to the Malfoys. However, Lucius decided otherwise as he reached into the box and took a large amount of gold Galleons.

“You can keep the box,” Draco’s father said.

Borgin simply sneered in response but was not one to argue.

Inside the cabinet, Harry realized the walls were closing in. His eyes shifted upward, as he saw that the ceiling was dropping. Outside, Draco happened to face the coffin where Harry was hiding. Just as he leaned close to investigate, Whisper Dream drifted toward the Hand of Glory. Curious, she reached out… and the hand grabbed her. Whisper Dream shrieked, but managed to slip free, taking deep breaths. Draco turned toward Whisper Dream, but rather than approaching her instead he eyed the hand with malicious glee.

“Father, can I have this?” Draco asked.

“Ah, the Hand of Glory,” Borgin smirked. “Insert a candle and it gives light only to the holder. Best friend of thieves and plunderers. Your son has fine taste, sir.”

“Hopefully my son will amount to more than a thief, Mr. Borgin,” Lucius replied. “Though if his marks don’t pick up—”

“It’s not my fault the teachers have favorites!” Draco argued. “That Hermione Granger—”

“I would have thought you’d be ashamed that a girl of no wizarding family beat you in every exam—”

“What if he asked her… to be his tutor?” Whisper Dream spoke.

The Malfoys’s eyes turned toward the timid pony. To suggest that Malfoy senior was displeased to hear her speak up was an understatement.

“WHAT did I say?” Draco’s father asked.

The man slammed his walking stick on the coffin’s door. Inside, Harry’s knees are practically up under his chin. When the Malfoy’s back was turned, Borgin sneakily swiped one gold Galleon away from Draco’s father and pocketed for himself.

“Stay quiet while you conduct your business,” Whisper Dream muttered.

“Exactly.”

“Sorry master.”

Pulling his cane away from the coffin, a stern expression still written on his face, Draco’s father beckoned for his son and the pony to follow. Borgin checked off one last time, then returned the parchment to Lucius. Satisfied, Malfoy nodded.

“Very good,” Lucius nodded. “I’ll expect you at the manor tomorrow. Come, you two. We’re going.”

Together, taking the money, the two Malfoys and the pony took their leave as Borgin looked on.

“It’s a pleasure to do business with you, Mr. Malfoy,” Borgin bowed his head repeatedly. “Always a pleasure.”

Taking the box, Borgin slunk into the back part of the shop, disappearing into the shadows while the Malfoys left the shop. Once certain that the coast was clear, the Crushing Cabinet’s doors flew open, and Harry leapt free. Inside, the walls, floor, and ceiling snapped shut. The Crusaders crawled from under their hiding place.

“Thank Celestia, it was getting cramped down there,” Scootaloo groaned.

“C’mon, let’s follow them,” Harry told the girls. “Maybe they’ll lead us to Diagon Alley.”

Both Harry and the Crusaders were just about to leave the shop, when they were suddenly ambushed by Borgin, who unexpectedly appeared from their right.

“Looking for something?” He asked suspiciously.

“N-N-No we…!” Harry stammered frightfully. “We were just in the wrong place.”

“Sorry for causing any trouble,” Sweetie Belle panicked. “We’re just leaving.”

Though suspicious, blinking curiously at the kids, he released them.

“Thank you!” The frightened friends said.

The man watched as they raced out of the door and resumed his business in the shop.

<>

Once outside, Harry fit his broken glasses to his face, while the Cutie Mark Crusaders followed behind. Apple Bloom eyed a street sign which read “KNOCKTURN ALLEY”.

“We’re definitely not in Diagon Alley,” Apple Bloom confirmed.

“Gee… what gave it away?” Scootaloo replied sarcastically.

As they strolled down the alley, they noticed that all the vendors clearly catered to the Dark Arts. There were shrunken heads in one row, with poisonous candles along the other. One window was even teeming with spiders. They looked around nervously at this dark, dreary place. All of a sudden, a creepy witch leapt upon them.

“Not lost are you, my dears?” The Aged Witch asked.

The kids wheeled, looking into the mossy teeth of a decrepit witch. She held a tray of human fingernails, much to the horror of the ponies.

“I’m fine, thank you,” Harry said, backing away. “We’re just—”

Several equally creepy people proceeded to surround the kids.

“Come with us,” The witch beckoned. “We’ll help you find your way back.”

“No, please!” Sweetie Belle begged.

“WE NEED AN ADULT!!!” Scootaloo called out.

“I am one!” The witch sneered.

“Harry?”

The crowd parted, revealing the hulking figure of a familiar friend of Harry’s… Hagrid.

“Hagrid!” Harry sighed with relief.

“Boy, are we glad you showed up mister!” Apple Bloom sighed.

“What d’yer think yer doin’ down ‘ere?” Hagrid questioned.

Hagrid knocked the tray from the cursing Witch’s hands, then seized Harry by the scruff of the neck and steered him away as the girls followed behind him.

“Yeah, you’re lucky he showed up!” Scootaloo spoke cockily. “Or else I’d have given the ole Rainbow Special! HA!”

Scootaloo proceeded to wave her hooves before the creepy group with a snort and nod of her head before quickly following the others. As Scootaloo caught up, Hagrid swatted Harry’s sooty clothes.

“Yer a mess!” Hagrid observed. “Skulkin’ ‘round Knockturn Alley? Dodgy place, kids. Don’t want no one ter see yeh down there. People’ll be thinkin’ yer up ter no good.”

“I was lost, I—” Harry explained, then realized. “Hang on, what were you doing down there?”

“Me? Oh, I was, um, I was looking for a Flesh-Eating Slug Repellent,” Hagrid answered. “They’re ruining all the school cabbages.”

“Well, whatever the case, we’re just glad to see a familiar face,” Sweetie Belle sighed.

“Harry!”

Harry and the Cutie Mark Crusaders looked up, spotting Hermione Grander standing at the top of Gringotts’ white steps. She raced down to meet them.

“Hello, Hagrid,” Hermione greeted. “Oh, it’s wonderful to see you again.”

“Well, it’s great to see you too,” Harry smiled.

Hermione stopped then, cocked her head curiously at Harry.

“What did you do to your glasses?” Hermione smirked, raising her wand. “Oculus Reparo.”

Instantly, Harry’s glasses are mended.

“I definitely need to remember that one,” Harry chuckled.

“Say, I remember the three of you,” Hermione acknowledged the CMC. “You came to visit during Christmas last year.”

“It’s good to see you again too, Hermione,” Apple Bloom shook Hermione’s hand. “Actually, we’re starting our first year at Hogwarts this year.”

“We kind of got mixed up in the wrong place,” Sweetie Belle chuckled nervously.

“You’ll be all right now then, kids?” Hagrid asked.

“No problem, Hagrid,” Scootaloo nodded. “And thanks again for the aid big guy.”

“Right, I’ll leave you to it,” Hagrid departed.

“Okay, bye!” Hermione waved.

“Bye Hagrid!” The CMC called out.

“Come on, everyone’s been so worried!” Hermoine said, leading the group away.

<>

Hermione proceeded to lead them to Gringotts, where Hermione’s rather nervous-looking Muggle parents stood with the Weasleys and the Equestrians.

“So, you’re dentists!” Mr. Weasley asked. “Fascinating! I understand other Muggles quite fear you. Why is that?”

“There they are!” Twilight Sparkle pointed.

Soon as the CMC saw their sisters, for Scootaloo being sisterly-like for Dash, the trio raced toward them, and the older ponies hugged them with great relief.

“You ain’t wanderin’ off like that again, ya hear me?” Applejack spoke rapidly.

“I’m sorry A.J.,” Apple Bloom drooped her head.

“Ah, c’mere…” Applejack hugged tightly. “Jus’ glad yer safe.”

“It’s going to be all right, Sweetie…” Rarity hugged her sister.

“I’m fine, Rarity! Really!” Sweetie insisted. “Just misquoted that’s all.”

“An understatement of the century… but we’re all together now!”

“So, how’d it go down there?” Rainbow Dash asked Scootaloo. “Any broken bones? Anyone lose a tooth?”

“Nah, it was nothing!” Scootaloo replied. “Those bums wouldn’t dare get close to me!”

“Hmm… reckless yet brave… now that’s cool!”

“Oh, kids. Thank goodness,” Mrs. Weasley sighed, dusting Harry off. “We’d hoped you only gone one grate too far!”

“You’re lucky Storm Shield and I were able to track you girls down,” Twilight Sparkle confirmed. “From now on, I hope you girls truly understand the emphasis on following directions.”

“Sorry Twilight,” Sweetie Belle apologized. “It won’t happen again.”

“Come on then, no harm no foul,” Storm replied calmly. “We must be off to Flourish and Blotts. Lots to buy…”

“Isn’t it thrilling girls?” Hermione asked the CMC. “Gilderoy Lockhart’s going to be there! We can actually meet him! I mean, he’s written almost the whole booklist!”

As Mrs. Weasley and Hermoine dashed off, Harry and the CMC frowned.

“Uh Applejack… who’s Lockhart?” Apple Bloom asked Applejack.

“Beats me, sugar cube,” Applejack answered honestly. “But I reckon we’re about to find out.”

“So… we’re just going to ignore the part about Hermione’s parents… being here…” Spike pointed out, giving up. “Okay then…”

<>

“Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Gilderoy Lockhart!” A man announced.

Gilderoy Lockhart… a handsome, golden-haired wizard with stunning pearl-white teeth. He smiles toward his public, winking at the flash of cameras. But of course, this was just the image of Lockhart in a moving photograph propped along the window. A placard declares: ‘HERE TODAY! SIGNING COPIES OF HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY, MAGICAL ME… GILDEROY LOCKHART!’

Harry and the Equestrians thread their way through a chattering throng of middle-aged ladies, all craning their necks for a view of the real Lockhart. Stepping into view was the flamboyantly dressed Gilderoy Lockhart himself, taking a seat to sign books at the rear of the shop. At the sight of him, Mrs. Weasley pats her hair.

“Oh, there he is!” Mrs. Weasley sighed.

“That… is Gilderoy Lockhart?” Rainbow Dash chuckled. “What’s so great about him?”

“Mum fancies him,” Ron answered.

For this, Mrs. Weasley gave Ron a playful jab in the shoulder. A short man with a camera bumped past.

“Out of the way! Make way there, please!” The short man called out. “Let me be, madam, thank you. Excuse me, little girl, this is for The Daily Prophet!”

Instantly, Lockhart looked up and flashed a smile, when…

“It can’t be… Harry Potter?” Lockhart gasped. “And thePrincess Twilight Sparkle!”

“What does that make us? Chopped liver?” Gallus questioned.

The crowd whispered excitedly as the photographer dove forward, seizing Harry and Twilight Sparkle, pushing them up the front.

“Nice big smile, you two,” Lockhart spoke under his breath. “Together, you and I rate the front page.”

Twilight Sparkle gave a nervous smile, but Harry didn’t at all. Still, the photograph snapped the picture anyway.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” Lockhart announced loudly. “What an extraordinary moment this is! When young Harry and the Princess of Equestria, Twilight Sparkle, stepped into Flourish and Blotts this morning to purchase my autobiography, ‘Magical Me’…”

Hermoine and the majority of the crowd excitedly applauded, yet Ron just looked bewildered. Unbeknownst to everyone, Draco watched from above sneering at the display before him while Whisper Dawn stood close behind.

“Well, I do love a good book as much as any pony,” Twilight chuckled anxiously. “But actually, we were just—”

“Which, incidentally…” Lockhart continued, ignoring the princess. “… is currently celebrating its twenty-seventh week atop The Daily Prophet’s Bestseller List – they had no idea that they would, in fact, be leaving with my entire collected works! Free of charge!”

“I insist we… did you say… free collection of works?” Twilight’s eyes widened.

As the crowd clapped, Lockhart caught the eye of a flunky and, before they knew it, a towering stack of books were shoved into Harry’s arms. Luckily Twilight used her magic to catch her own stack, hovering them in mid-air.

“Thank you,” Harry mumbled quietly, mortified.

“Heh-heh… can’t say no to free books, right?” Twilight chuckled nervously.

Slipping free, Harry and Twilight Sparkle drifted back into the crowd, red with embarrassment.

“Harry, now you give me those, and I’ll get them signed,” Mrs. Weasley took the books. “All of you wait outside. That’s it, Ron.”

“Just can’t say no when it comes to books, right headmare Twilight?” Smolder smirked; arms folded. “You’d accept them from strangers now?”

“Now Smolder, I perfectly intend on buying my own books,” Twilight replied, placing the books down. “But… doesn’t mean a little extra research wouldn’t hurt.”

“And I was given a hard time during Christmas shopping at Whoville?” Rarity pouted.

As Harry Potter and friends made their way out of the bookstore, a certain unfriendly blast from the past made his presence felt before the heroes.

“Bet you loved that, didn’t you, Potter?” Draco scowled from the stairs. “Famous Harry Potter. Can’t even go into a bookshop without making the front page.”

“Well, if it isn’t ‘Dragon Mouthful’,” Gallus squawked. “You haven’t changed a bit.”

“I see Potter is still friends with a bloody chicken,” Draco shot back. “No… make that two of them.”

“Call my friends chicken again, and I’ll roast you as far back as the Ming Dynasty!” Smolder threatened.

“Yeah… what she said!” Sandbar nodded in agreement.

“Just ‘try’… maybe you’ll fetch a hefty price,” Draco threatened. “I hear dragon scales are on the market these days.”

“Leave them alone!” Ginny Weasley bravely confronted Malfoy.

“Oh look, Potter!” Draco snarked. “You’ve got yourself a girlfriend!”

At that moment, a large silver ornament, shaped like a snake’s head, came down upon Draco’s shoulder. The ornament belonged to the walking stick of an elder man, the very same man Harry and the Cutie Mark Crusaders had seen at Borgin and Burke’s—Draco’s father.

“Now, now, Draco, play nicely.”

The man urged his son away, before turning to Harry and friends. The man extended his hand out for Harry, who shook cautiously as the man introduced himself.

“Mr. Potter… Lucius Malfoy, we meet at last. Forgive me…”

Lucius Malfoy leaned forward to gently play his fingers over the fringe of Harry’s scallop, revealing Harry’s lightning bolt scar. At his touch, Harry withdrew, ever so slightly.

“… your scar is legend. As, of course, is the wizard who gave it to you.”

“That wizard was a murderer!” Ocellus spoke up. “He killed Harry’s parents.”

“Yes, a pity about your parents,” Lucius addressed Potter. “Curious that you yourself should escape with a mere flesh wound. Curious, too, that your friends spoke of him in the past. Surely, you don’t think He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is gone forever.”

“His name is Voldemort,” Harry said poisonously.

Those within earshot gasped as Harry uttered the word, even Lucius himself was taken aback.

“You must be very brave, Mr. Potter, to dare speak his name,” Lucius presumed. “Or very foolish.”

“Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself,” Hermoine stated matter-of-factly.

Lucius Malfoy’s eyes slid, finding Hermoine staring defiantly.

“You must be… Miss Granger,” Lucius analyzed. “Yes, Draco’s told me all about you… and your parents. Muggles, aren’t you?”

Mr. and Mrs. Granger nodded nervously. Lucius Malfoy could barely disguise his distaste for them. Sensing trouble, Sunset Shimmer hurried over.

“Is there a problem with that, Mr. Malfoy?” Sunset Shimmer asked defensively.

Lucius turned to look at Sunset, squinting his eyes for a closer look. The expression on his face indicated as though he had seen a familiar face.

“Problem?” Lucius asked rhetorically. “Not at all. You’ve seen one muggle; you’ve seen them all. But you… you look very familiar.”

Sunset herself felt tense as Lucius eyed her up and down, as though he could see through her clothes… or trying to look inside her mind or soul.

He was definitely doing the X-Ray thing…

DUDE! There are ‘children’ reading this!

“Lightsaber? Tattered clothes… the garbs of a Jedi…” Lucius analyzed. “And yet… you have a rather… magical air of your presence. Equestrian… yet… you are human. Red-yellow hair like fire… moderate cyan eyes… there is no mistake. You are Sunset Shimmer, Equestria and the Wizarding World’s most wanted criminal.”

“Pardoned criminal, Mr. Lucius Malfoy!” Twilight Sparkle spoke in Sunset’s defense. “Whatever crime she’s done in the past is over now! Sunset Shimmer is my friend; as Princess of Friendship, I’m willing to give her another chance.”

“Is that so?” Lucius raised a brow. “We’ll see about that, princess…”

Lucius turned toward the remainder of the heroes present.

“Let’s see. Pastel colored ponies – unicorns, Pegasi, Earth ponies – and with Princess Twilight… you’re the Equestrian Heroes, the Elements of Harmony…

“And you… must be Twilight’s stooges,” He eyed the dragon. “Spike the Dragon… my how you’ve grown.”

As if it wasn’t uncomfortable enough, Lucius eyed students standing behind Harry.

“A griffon, a hippogriff, a yak, a changeling, a dragon, and a pony… you must be Mr. Potter’s Equestrian friends.”

“I don’t like this guy,” Sandbar whispered to Gallus. “He reads minds!”

Finally, he turned toward Ron, along with his brothers and sister.

“Let me see, red hair, vacant expressions…” Lucius reached in, taking a book from Ginny’s cauldron. “… tatty, secondhand book, you must be the Weasleys.”

At that very moment, Arthur Weasley walked over toward the front of the store.

“Children! It’s mad in here,” Arthur Weasley exclaimed. “Let’s go outside.”

“Well, well, well – Arthur Weasley,” Lucius greeted.

“Lucius,” Arthur returned the greeting, stiffly.

“Busy time at the Ministry, Arthur, all those extra raids,” Lucius taunted. “I do hope they’re paying you overtime, but judging by the state of this…”

Malfoy held Ginny’s book for emphasis: A very old, battered copy of ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration’.

“… Obviously not. Dear me. What’s the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don’t even pay you well for it.”

“Disgrace?!” Applejack barked, with Rarity and Rainbow holding her back.

“We have a very different idea about what disgraces the name of wizard, Lucius,” Arthur replied.

“Clearly,” Lucius glanced at the Grangers. “The company you keep, Weasley. And I thought your family could sink no lower. I’ll see you at work.”

Lucius Malfoy tossed Ginny’s battered textbook back into her cauldron.

“Here, girl. Take your book. It’s the best your father can give you.”

Lucius then turned toward Princess Twilight and curtly bowed his head to her and her friends.

“Good day to you, Princess of Friendship. And to you… Seraphina.”

Sunset Shimmer gasped in shock at Lucius mentioning her Sith name. It was one thing for him to identify her as a past criminal. But to be mentioned by her ‘Sith’ name… how could he possibly have known about that?

“I’ll see you at school,” Draco spoke to Harry’s group.

“WHISPER BREEZE!!” Lucius then yelled loudly.

The small pony from earlier before slowly came up beside Mr. Malloy with the same frightened demeanor she’d had at Borgin and Burkes

“H-Here, M-Master Lu-Lucius.” She stuttered.

Lucius then proceeded to give her a rather hard swat on the flank with the blunt end of his walking stick.

“Ow!!” Whisper Dream cried out in pain.

“We're leaving!” Lucius snarled at her. “And make sure you carry my son’s supplies with care or you will be whipped severely! Understood?”

“Y-Yes, Master” Whisper croaked in fear.

“Good.” Lucius growled.

He kicks her flank in which she whimpers and proceeds to carry the school supplies they bought and walk out of the store. Harry, the Equestrians, the Weasleys,& Hermione all watched them leave the store and they all glared at both father and son on their mistreatment on the poor pony.

“Why that no good, long-haired jerk!” Rainbow snarled angrily. “I oughta deck him in the face just like I did to that pathetic Muggle excuse of an uncle to Harry!

“I just can't withstand the abuse of that poor filly by those ruffians.” Rarity said appalled. “Why do they treat her so anyway?”

“We were actually wanting to talk to you all about that.” Sweetie Belle informed them. “When we landed in Knockturn Alley, we saw Malloy and his dad come into the store we hid in. She was there too and the way Mr. Malfoy treated her was just awful.”

“And I thought the Dursleys' treatment on Harry was worse” Gallus commented.

“I'm not gonna argue on that, Gally” Silverstream agreed.

As they continued to watch Draco and Whisper Dream follow his father out of the shop, Twilight Sparkle approached Sunset Shimmer and put a soothing hand upon her shoulder.

“Just ignore him, Sunset,” Twilight advised. “No Malfoy’s worth listening to.”

“Yeah, those girls are rotten to the core!” Pinkie Pie nodded. “… Not the song, just the whole family… being bad… really bad… they don’t know nothing about our bestest buddy!”

As much as Sunset Shimmer wanted to feel pleased for her friends standing up for her, a troublesome thought refused to leave her mind. All she could think about was how Lucius, a man she didn’t even know had known so much about her history. Had her actions really been known that far and wide? How much did her story actually reach up to? The uncertainty of the matter made her feel more uncomfortable.

“Don’t they…?” Sunset asked herself.

Back to Hogwarts

Author's Note

Big thanks as always to my best friend Dramamaster for his editing skills on this story. Now I’m off to Florida for my vacation and to marry my lovely Atalanta.

Back to Hogwarts

September 1st of 1992, this date meant only one thing…

A brand new school year for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has officially begun. At King’s Cross Station, the flying Ford Anglia invisibly made to land. Amid a neat line of cars, the Anglia sat at a decidedly odd angle, as if its driver were not the most skilled motorist. But soon the Weasleys, along with Harry Potter and the Equestrians, quickly pushed large trolleys to have their bags placed. They made a mad dash for the barrier, and by the time they reached Platforms 9 & 10, they knew they were entering rush hour to board the train before its departure for Hogwarts. They were just passing the large clock when Mr. Weasley noticed the time.

“10:58!” Arthur called out. “Come on!”

“Oh dear!” Mrs. Weasley gasped worriedly. “The train’ll be leaving any moment! All together now!”

Hurryingly, they race for Platforms Nine and Ten.

“Fred, George, Percy, you first!” Arthur instructed.

Quicky, the three brothers stride briskly toward the stone barrier of which divided the platforms – and simply disappeared.

“Go on, Ginny,” Mrs. Weasley beckoned. “You know what to do.”

Ginny, looking a bit nervous, rushed toward the barrier, closed her eyes, and sled her way into the other side.

“After you, Dear,” Arthur gestured to his wife.

Together, the two Weasleys materialized by Ginny’s side, the little girl gazing toward the Hogwarts Express.

“Come, Ginny,” Mrs. Weasley led her daughter. “We’ll get you a seat. Hurry!”

Meanwhile, back at King’s Cross, the other Equestrians were preparing to venture into the barrier for another school year.

“I call dibs on the window seat!” Smolder called out.

“Not before I get there first!” Sandbar smirked.

“Yona says, ‘Bring it on’!” Yona hopped excitedly.

“Come on, partners,” Applejack beckoned calmly. “No time for dillydallying.”

“Mustn’t be late for school,” Rarity added.

“Especially your first day, Crusaders,” Rainbow Dash smirked.

“We’re going to Hogwarts!” The Crusaders cheered in unison. “We’re going to Hogwarts!”

Within a matter of seconds, the Mane Six, including Spike and the Student Six raced through the platform and vanished completely through the wall. Only Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, Sunset Shimmer, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were left behind. Ron glanced anxiously at the clock.

“We better hurry,” Ron suggested.

“Let’s go!” Harry declared.

“Right behind ya partner,” Apple Bloom spoke determinedly.

With a nod, Harry Potter took the lead running full speed to the wall with Ron, Sunset, and the Crusaders in tow, practically leaning onto his trolley. But then… something weird happened. The minute they raced towards the wall, all of a sudden – CRASH! – they hit the barrier and bounced back into each other. As if for some strange reason, the gateway to Platform 9 ¾ was sealed by some magical force. Soon bodies were flying over trolleys, crashing hard upon the ground along with a mix of Hedwig’s hooting alerting the surrounding passengers, including the station guard.

Fortunately, whilst the guard eyed the boys suspiciously, the magic spell concealing the Jedi and three fillies kept them out of sight from the surrounding muggles. The guard, meanwhile, confronted the two boys for all the ruckus they caused.

“Oh! What in blazes d’you two think you’re doing?” The guard questioned.

“Sorry, um… lost control of the trolley,” Harry answered.

“And what about those two other trolleys?” The guard pointed out.

“Um… they’re extra stuff we need for…” Ron stammered nervously. “Uh… a trip to… SCOTLAND!”

The guard merely shook his head before he turned and walked away with a huff. Standing beside the boys, out of sight from the busy muggles, Sunset Shimmer and the Crusaders sighed with great relief.

“Nice save, Ron,” Sunset complimented.

“No kidding,” Scootaloo agreed. “Our goose was almost cooked!”

“You’re welcome,” Ron sighed.

“Guys, why can’t we get through?” Harry questioned.

“I dunno,” Ron answered, feeling the barrier. “The gateway’s sealed itself for some reason.”

As Ron pressed his ear to the barrier, while the Crusaders and Sunset tapped a few times with their hooves and hand – DING! – chimed the clock to which caught their attention. All eyes turned toward the station clock, which now read 11 o’clock.

“The train leaves at exactly eleven o’clock,” Harry informed panickily. “We’ve missed it!”

“Well that’s just great!” Sweetie Belle complained. “First time going to Hogwarts and already things are going wrong. If we’re late, no doubt the Professors will scold us!”

“Worse yet… our sisters,” Apple Bloom replied.

“That’s the last thing I want to hear right now,” Scootaloo cringed.

“Guys,” Ron thought suddenly. “If we can’t get through, maybe Mum and Dad and the others can’t get back.”

“What are we supposed to do now?” Sunset asked.

Harry puzzled and puzzled, trying to formulate some formulate a plan of sorts.

“Maybe we should go wait by the car,” Harry suggested.

To which Ron addressed his friend with a quizzical glance.

“The car!?” Ron questioned.

“Harry, you’re a genius!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed excitedly. “We can use the car to fly to Hogwarts!”

“Well then, let’s go!” Scootaloo cheered. “We’ve got a train to catch and fast!”

“Whoa, hold on now guys!” Sunset spoke uncertainly. “That might not be the best—”

But Sunset Shimmer didn’t have time to finish. The Crusaders and the two boys were pushing their trolleys madly before them. By the time Sunset Shimmer caught up, pushing her own supplies along the way, she found the group had made a dash for the car, loading all of their belongings into the Ford Anglia’s boot.

“This is mad!” Harry argued. “We can’t drive to Hogwarts!”

“Who says we’re driving?” Ron replied.

“You don’t mean—” Apple Bloom guessed.

“Ron, no!” Sunset Shimmer objected. “Twilight Sparkle and the others will be furious if they catch you doing this!”

“Look, who knows when the others will get back?” Ron explained. “And we’ve got to get to school, haven’t we? And even underage wizards are allowed to use magic if it’s an absolute emergency. Least that’s what Fred and George always say…”

“Coming from those two… I don’t know,” Sweetie Belle second-guessed.

“We can’t be late on our first day of school, Sunset!” Scootaloo whined. “Come on, I really want to make a great impression on Rainbow Dash. Please…”

Soon the three Crusaders were giving Sunset Shimmer the puppy-dog stare, while the boys looked on with concern. A heavy sigh escaped Sunset Shimmer’s lips, but she knew when she’d been beaten.

“Something tells me we’re going to regret this,” Sunset Shimmer shook her head. “Then again, beats any trouble I’ve had in Canterlot High… Fire away!”

With that settled, with all of their stuff jammed in the car and the trolleys returned to the rack, the four Hogwart students and Jedi were all gathered in the car. With no Muggle in the vicinity, Ron tapped his wand along the dash of the car and the Anglia burbled to life.

“Ron, are you sure you know how to fly this?” Scootaloo asked.

“Yeah, Ron,” Sunset agreed. “You’re twelve years old and you’re flying your Dad’s car. Are you qualified for this?

“No problem,” Ron replied.

Ron shifted the gear and with a great jolt, the car lifted off the ground.

Indeed, the car proceeded to take flight toward the location of the Hogwarts Express. But little did our intrepid adventurers realize that there was still someone determined to stop them. And that someone was willing to do whatever it took to prevent Harry and his friends from returning to Hogwarts. Even if it mean putting some innocent students in jeopardy just to bail them out.

“There we go!” Ron sighed. “See. Now, I reckon all we have to do is find the Hogwarts Express and follow it. Simple.”

Harry nodded, although he wasn’t entirely convinced.

“Ron, if we survive this and somehow you get a driver’s license…” Apple Bloom began. “I’m taking a Taxi or the Bus.”

As Harry peered out the window, down below he spotted two pedestrians staring in disbelief.

“Ron, look out!” Sweetie Belle squealed.

“We’re gonna crash!” Scootaloo screamed.

Luckily, Ron managed to swerve just before the car headed for the large clock tower. But it wasn’t the obstacles in the car’s path that Harry was concerned with. Here they were, a group of students and the closest to a chaperone in Sunset Shimmer, exposed to the Muggle World with a Magical Flying Car in full view. No doubt this will greatly stir a commotion amongst the Muggles in an instant, if not already.

“Ron, I should tell you,” Harry spoke up. “Most Muggles aren’t accustomed to seeing a Flying Car.”

“Harry’s Right, Ron,” Apple Bloom agreed. “We’re exposed here.”

“Uh, right!” Ron nodded.

Ron proceeded to press a tiny silver button along the dashboard and in a matter of seconds… they disappeared. Down below, the baffled pedestrians blinked wondering precisely just what they saw. But at the very least the Ford Anglia could safely vanish through the sky, out of view from wandering Muggle Eyes.

Speaking of views, the invisible car sailed through the closes, passing through the stunning green landscape of Scotland’s fields. But after flying for such a lengthy period, the Ford Anglia’s engine puttered softly and – POP! – the car suddenly reappeared. Harry, Sunset, and the Crusaders gazed down towards the hills in view while Ron jabbed the silver button… but to no avail.

“What happened?” Sunset questioned.

“Oh no!” Ron gasped. “The Invisibility Booster must be faulty!”

“This is bad!” Sweetie Belle grimaced. “What do we do now?!”

“Well, come on then, let’s go lower,” Harry advised. “We need to find the train.”

“Okay!” Ron concurred.

Ron shifted the car to fourth gear lowering the car along the ridge of a cliff.

“Any sign of the train?” Apple Bloom called out.

“There! Up ahead!” Harry pointed. “Look…”

Along a steep bridge, a single line of train tracks came into view.

“Brilliant, Harry!” Sunset congratulated. “Ron, take her down!”

Ron shifted, gliding the car down, until the Ford Anglia was only a few feet above the tracks. The boys and girls peered ahead, looking for the train. But the tracks seemed empty and not an inch of the train was in sight… or so they thought.

“Now all we need to do is catch up with the train,” Harry declared.

“It must be around here someplace,” Sweetie Belle looked around.

“It can’t be far behind,” Ron assured.

Just then, the group heard the unmistakable whistle of the Hogwarts Express through the Ford Anglia’s rear window. The group perked up, beaming at the thought of finally catching up with the train, which they intend to follow to Hogwarts to the castle grounds and be just in time for the sorting ceremony… and an incredible feast.

“Do you hear that?” Harry asked.

“We must be getting close,” Ron said hopefully.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Sunset pondered quizzically.

“What do ya mean Sunset?” Apple Bloom asked.

“If we were getting closer to the train, shouldn’t we have seen it by now?” Sunset replied. “Or at least spot the smoke coming from the spout?”

“You know, she makes a good point,” Sweetie Belle agreed. “You’d think we’d see some sign of the train by now.”

“Agreed!” Scootaloo nodded. “It doesn’t even sound like it’s coming from in front of us. It sounds more… like…”

Everyone and every pony froze, their eyes widened with horror upon realizing what Scootaloo nearly said.

“Hold on!” Harry realized.

Then, at precisely the same moment, Ron looked at Harry, the Crusaders looked at each other in horror as they registered the direction of the sound. They glance at each other, turn as one, and their eyes widened at the horrifying sight: The Hogwarts Express was growing huge in the rear window, coming at them fast. The group wasn’t following the train; the train was following them.

“AAAAHHHHH!!!” The group screamed.

As the train speeded towards them, Ron spun the wheel, put his foot to the gas and – at the last possible second – whipped the Ford Anglia out of the train’s path uncontrollably to the left. The car waffled, toppled upside down briefly, before tilting onto its side. Ron tried to regain control, as the car was jetting under the bridge and the girls were screaming with fright before appearing along the train’s right side. Harry slid down across his seat, into the door, and… out.

“HARRY!!!” Everyone screamed.

Harry Potter had accidentally opened the left door of the car and now found himself dangling upside-down dangerously from the open door, watching the Hogwarts Express zip past and, in one window, glimpsed Smolder and Ocellus, the latter’s mouth opened in astonishment. Harry tried to hold onto the car door, but his grip was nearly slipping as Ron flew the car away from the train. The three Hogwart students knew they had to act now or risk their friend falling to his death.

“Hold on!” Ron called out.

Not that Harry had any other plans in mind. The boy could only look on in horror at the ground below him, all while the train continued toward its destination. Ron eventually stretched his hand out.

“Take my hand!”

Harry gripped Ron’s hand, eyeing the train steaming far below. He knew that if he let go now, it would be quite a drop to the surface below. Unfortunately, Harry’s fingers began to lose their grip.

“Hold on!” Ron called out.

“I’m trying!” Harry answered back. “Your hand’s all sweaty!”

“Keep the car flying, Ron!” Sunset instructed. “The girls and I got this!”

“Hold tight, Harry!” Sweetie Belle called out. “We’ll save you!”

Sunset Shimmer reached out her hand and quickly grabbed hold of Harry, just as Apple Bloom bit her teeth along the back of Sunset’s robes, with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo pulling her tail. Straining with all their might, they yanked Harry back inside, leveling off the car. Harry quickly shut the door and buckled his safety belt as the girls fell heavily back in their seats. When all was said and done, at least they could catch their breath after such a harrowing experience.

“I think we found the train,” Harry sighed.

“Yeah!” Ron nodded.

“No offense Ron, but a little advice if you will,” Sunset Shimmer spoke sternly. “Lock the doors before you drive!”

“Sorry Sunset,” Ron apologized. “Forgot to do that.”

Ron proceeded to lock the car doors, as the Ford Anglia flew past the train…

<>

… And Hogwarts Castle came into view. Inside the Ford Anglia, the group was in great relief to see a familiar sight.

“Welcome home, Harry!” Ron declared.

“Now this is how you make an entrance at school!” Scootaloo smirked.

“You know… I actually won’t argue with that one,” Sunset replied.

Harry and the girls were all smiles at the very sight of the school. Just then… the Ford Anglia groaned.

“Uh… Ron, just outta interest,” Apple Bloom spoke nervously. “Have you ever landed a car before?”

“Well… no,” Ron admitted. “But, until a few hours ago, I’d never taken off in one either.”

“… Oh no,” Sweetie Belle cringed.

With that, the car lurched, the nose dropped, and soon the car was pitching through the night. As Ron raked the gears, they hurtled madly toward the castle wall. But it seemed as though the car had a mind of its own, flying uncontrollably even at the risk of getting its passengers killed.

“Up! UP!” Harry shouted.

“Ron, pull up!” Sunset insisted.

“IT’S NOT WORKING!” Ron stepped on the pedals, to no avail.

“WHAT?!” The Crusaders shouted, shocked.

Harry grabbed hold of Ron’s hand along the stick, shifting desperately as the girls screamed in terror. The Ford Anglia lurched up, barely clearing the castle wall. The boys exchanged a look of relief, when… the car groaned again, lurching… downward. Soon the four students were closing in toward a tree unlike anything they’d seen before. Down below, the giant Whomping Willow tree loomed, and they were about to crash into it!

“Up, Ron! Mind the tree!” Harry shouted.

Ron shifted the gear, but nothing happened. Harry reached over and, together, the boys spun the wheel. But it was useless. The car was heading straight for the tree.

“WE’RE GONNA CRASH!!!” Sweetie Belle screamed.

Desperately, Ron whipped out his wand and whacked the dashboard.

“STOP! STOP! STOP!” Ron shouted.

But after whacking the wheel three times, the wand snapped in two as the broken end dangled before his eyes. The group screamed in horror and – CRUNCH! – car meets tree. It crashed through its branches, falling until the car came to a stop before several branches. Harry blinked, while the girls hung dreamily, the car itself balanced along the highest limb. Ron broke the silence as he gazed at his now broken wand.

“My wand! Look at my wand!” Ron whined.

“Be thankful it’s not your neck,” Harry replied.

THWUNMP! Something heavy struck along the door, sending a shudder through the car.

“Guys, what’s happening?!” Scootaloo looked around.

“I don’t know,” Harry shook his head.

“THE TREE!!!” Apple Bloom screamed.

A growl emerged from nowhere and then, as they slowly looked up in disbelief, one of the tree’s largest branches pulled back, curled into itself, and lashed forward like a massive fist. THWUMP!

“AAAAAAHHHH!!!” The group screamed.

The Ford Anglia tilted crazily, sliding backwards and free-falling through the air and… landed on a lower grid of branches.

“What kind of tree is this?!” Sweetie Belle shrieked.

Before anyone could respond, the tree began to pummel the car from all sides, tossing its passengers about like popcorn. Windows shattered; heavy dents appeared along the roof above their heads. Then the car fell again, slamming heavily to the ground. Instantly, the tree’s lower branches shot through the front and rear windscreens and, gaining purchase, began to shake the car back and forth.

“LOOK OUT!” Sunset Shimmer screamed.

The tree pitched the car into the air. And as the Ford Anglia slammed down again, bobbing on its squealing shocks, the engine burbled back to life. Harry looked up, peering through the shattered windscreen. The willow’s branches, as one, reared back, ready for one last punishing blow.

“Come on! Go fast!” Harry cried out.

“Punch it, Ron!” Scootaloo screamed.

“Hurry! Reverse! Reverse!” Sweetie Belle urged.

Ron shifted the car into first gear, and it shot backward. The willow pummeled the tread-marked ground the group just vacated. Safely clear, the doors fly open, the seats tip sideways, and the group are ejected. As they hit the ground, their trunks fly from the boot, Hedwig’s and Scabbers’ cages rockets out the back window, and the boys manage to catch them in mid-air. Sunset Shimmer spotted Ray’s tank flying in mid-air and managed to catch it before it hit the ground.

“Scabbers, you’re okay,” Ron sighed with relief.

All of a sudden, its taillights blazing angrily, the battered car seals the doors and speeds off.

“The car!” Sunset Shimmer shouted.

“Catch it!” Sweetie Belle pointed.

Driving all by itself, the car sailed forth as the group tried to catch it but to no avail. Driving far from the castle, it fishtailed into the Dark Forest… and beyond that, who knows?

“Dad’s going to kill me,” Ron groaned.

“Ya think?” Apple Bloom replied.

Suddenly, they hear a tremendous groan and turn back. The Whomping Willow assumed its natural form, waiting for its next victim. But there was no time for pondering the tree. They needed to get inside the castle in hopes of attending the sorting ceremony in time. But compared to the events occurring today, our heroes were in for some further trouble just ahead. Unbeknownst to the group, their little episode made today’s headlines in the local newspaper, the Evening Prophet, and one particular professor, who hated the group, watched from the shadows waiting for their arrival.

At some point, the group had split up with the boys going one way to drop their luggage and the girls heading in another direction. The CMC hadn’t gotten very far when a groan caught the girls’ attention. The crusaders gathered around Sunset, concerned upon noticing her rubbing her head.

“Are you okay, Sunset?” Apple Bloom asked. “Your head looks swollen!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” Sunset reassured. “I’ve had worst… can’t say crashing into a Whomping Willow has been a pleasant experience.”

“I doubt any of us want a ride like that again…” Scootaloo frowned.

“All I wanted was one ride on the Hogwarts Express!” Sweetie Belle pouted. “But then that stupid wall locked us out! How’d that happen?”

“We’ll figure that out later,” Sunset replied, clutching Ray’s tank. “Let’s just find Twilight and your sisters. No doubt they’re in the Great Hall by now.”

“What about Harry and Ron?” Apple Bloom asked.

“We’ll meet up with them later. We have to get you girls sorted while there’s still time. Come on, the Great Hall should be this way.”

Sunset Shimmer and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were soon exploring the castle halls. Until at last, they came upon some stained glass and peeked inside.

“Check it out girls!” Apple Bloom pointed out. “That must be the Sorting Ceremony. That’s when the Sorting Hat decides which houses to send the new students, right?”

“You’re a very smart filly, Apple Bloom,” Sunset Shimmer complimented. “Every new student goes through that… well except me, Wallflower, and Juniper. We were handpicked by Discord…”

“Look! Ginny’s next!” Apple Bloom spotted.

“I wonder what house she’s in?” Sweetie Belle wondered.

“I hope we get sorted in the same house as hers,” Scootaloo added. “Hey! We should be there right now! C’mon! Let’s get sorted!”

The girls were just about to turn and leave with Sunset Shimmer to the Great Hall, just then Sweetie Belle stopped.

“Hold on!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. “There’s an empty seat at the staff table… where’s Professor Snape?”

“Judge Turpin’s grumpy wizard cousin or whatever?” Scootaloo asked. “What about him?”

“He’s gone!” Sweetie Belle answered. “I don’t see him anywhere.”

“Maybe he’s sick?” Apple Bloom guessed.

“Or maybe… he got fired!” Scootaloo smiled. “Y’know, I never liked that guy. Never very nice, good riddance for that Potion Master.”

“Now Scootaloo, I’m not a fan of him either,” Sunset shook her head. “But I happen to know Potions wasn’t the class he ever wanted to teach. He’s always been more interested in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Maybe he quit after failing to get the position.”

“Or perhaps he’s been waiting to hear how you four are late…”

Startled, Sunset Shimmer and the Crusaders turned to the source of a familiar voice. Standing before them, like a bat out of hell, was the Potions Master and Head of Slytherin himself, Professor Snape.

“P-P-Professor Snape!” Scootaloo stammered. “We were just talking about you! All good things, all good things…”

Slytherin’s professor turned his head toward Sunset, who shivered at the piercing gaze of his cold eyes.

“Sunset Shimmer,” Snape said slowly. “Not exactly how Princess Twilight Sparkle described you. If this is your attempt at a first impression, I’m very disappointed.

“Sir, if you let me explain—” Sunset began.

“Save it,” Professor Snape scowled. “First, we need to find Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley.”

<>

Speaking of whom, Harry and Ron, filthy and bruised, just arrived at the main entrance to set their luggage down amongst a mountain of student trunks and caged pets already brought up from the train.

“See you, Hedwig!” Harry told his owl.

The boys literally had to drag themselves up the steps after tonight’s activities. To say they were confused by the day’s turn of events was a gross understatement.

“So, a house elf shows up in my bedroom, we can’t get through the barrier to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, we almost get killed by a tree…” Harry listed. “Clearly someone doesn’t want me here this year.”

“Well, take a good look, lads…”

The boys stopped and stood face-to-face with the grim caretaker, Argus Filch, standing atop the landing and his cat, Mrs. Norris, twitching her tail at his feet. The man glared at them with a malicious smile.

“This night well be the last you spend in this castle,” Filch gloated wickedly. “Oh dear, we are in trouble.”

Harry and Ron both glanced nervously at each other, knowing what this meant.

<>

The Evening Prophet and with it its headline: FLYING FORD ANGLIA MYSTIFIES MUGGLES. Below the fold was a photo showing Harry, Twilight, and Lockhart at Flourish and Blotts. Professor Snape stood at his desk, newspaper in hand, as Harry and Ron stared with dread. But the boys were not alone in that office. Sunset Shimmer and the Cutie Mark Crusaders also stood in wait, while Filch lurked in the doorway, eying them with pleasure.

“You were seen! By no less than seven muggles!” Snape furiously hurled the paper, glaring. “Do you have any idea how serious this is? You have risked the exposure of our world. Not to mention the damage you inflicted on a Whomping Willow that has been on these grounds for hundreds of years.”

“Honestly, Professor Snape, I think it did more damage to us,” Ron spoke in their defense.

“Silence!” Professor Snape barked angrily. “I assure you, were you in Slytherin and your fated rested with me, all of you would be on the train home tonight! As it is—”

“They are not!”

Harry and friends, including Filsh and Snape, turned. Albus Dumbledore himself stood in the doorway. Alongside him is a distinctly annoyed Professor McGonagall, along with Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and even the Mane Six.

“Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall…” Harry greeted.

“Twilight!” Sunset and the Crusaders called.

“Girls! What happened?” Twilight asked. “Our students told us you were seen flying the Weasley’s car outside the train.”

“Headmaster, Princess Twilight,” Professor Snape pointed. “These five have flouted the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry. All of which have been observed by this delinquent of a Jedi! As such…”

“I’m well aware of our bylaws, Severus, having written more than a few myself,” Professor Dumbledore replied. “However, as Head of Gryffindor House, it is for Professor McGonagall to determine the appropriate action. As it is for Princess Twilight to decide the fate of Sunset Shimmer, our representative of the Jedi Order I’ve been told about.”

“We’ll go and get our stuff,” Ron rose gloomily.

“What are you talking about, Mr. Weasley?” Professor McGonagall asked.

“Well, you’re going to expel us, aren’t you?” Ron asked.

“Please don’t expel us!” Apple Bloom pleaded. “We only just started our First Year! We haven’t even been sorted yet!”

“You’re not really going to expel us, are you Professor?” Sweetie Belle asked timidly.

Gryffindor’s Head Professor eyed the boys and their new filly friends before she determined the most appropriate response.

“Not today, Miss Sweetie Belle,” Professor McGonagall replied.

The answer brought much relief not just for Harry and Ron, but the Crusaders as well.

“Oh! Thanks Faust!” Apple Bloom sighed.

“For a second there, I thought you were gonna—” Scootaloo added.

“But… I must impress upon all of you the seriousness of what you have done,” Professor McGonagall spoke sternly. “I will be sending owls to your families tonight. And you will each get a detention.”

All smiles dropped as the Crusaders whimpered, casting their eyes down in shame.

“And we’re still in trouble,” Scootaloo sighed.

“Ain’t like the first time it’s happened to us,” Sweetie Belle shook her head.

“Least we ain’t gettin’ kicked out of another school… again,” Apple Bloom pouted.

“As for you Miss Shimmer,” McGonagall addressed Sunset sternly. “I would expect you to set a better example for my students from now on.”

Sunset Shimmer cringed with embarrassment for having made such a bad first impression toward the Head of Gryffindor. She turned toward Twilight, hoping for her to speak in her defense. But the alicorn princess turned away, also rather embarrassed. As for Harry and Ron, one gaze toward the pure venomous stare from Professor Snape… and that’s all they needed.

“Splendid,” Dumbledore spoke up. “And now, I suggest we return to the fest. There’s a delicious-looking custard tart I want to sample. And we must hurry if we’re to have our three newest students sorted before the night is up.”

Dumbledore and McGonagall departed from the office, along with the majority of the Mane Six and Snape following behind. The disapproving facial expression was plainly obvious to spot on the Head of Slytherin. Rising, Harry Potter, along with Ron and the Crusaders were passing Filch. Just then, Scootaloo noticed an envelope on the floor. Picking it up, she read the back: “KWIKSPELL. A CORRESPONDENCE COURSE IN BEGINNER’S MAGIC.” And it happened to be addressed to “MR. ARGUS FILCH”.

“Uh, Mr. Filch, you dropped this,” Scootaloo informed the man.

Filch turned, eyed the envelope with embarrassment, then snatched it from Scootlaoo’s hoof and stuffed it into his pocket. While Harry and friends passed on, Sunset and Twilight were the last to follow.

“Tell me what happened, Sunset,” Twilight asked her friend, concerned.

“Where do I start?” Sunset replied.

<>

Eventually, the group followed Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall all the way to the Grand Staircase. They made their way up the ever-changing stairs, eventually arriving at the two large doors which led to the Great Hall. Professor Dumbledore then turned back towards McGonagall.

“Professor McGonagall if you wouldn’t mind waiting a mere moment while the Equestrian Professors and I take our places at the teacher’s table,” He informed the elder witch. “Also Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Ms. Shimmer need take their places at Gryffindor table.”

“Of course, Professor Dumbledore,” She nodded, before addressing the group. “Ladies, Spike, please follow Professor Dumbledore.”

“Sure thing, professor,” Spike nodded.

“What about us?” Apple Bloom spoke up.

“Why can’t we go in?” Scootaloo pointed out.

“Worry not, young ones,” Dumbledore assured. “Once we’re all in place, Professor McGonagall shall escort you three inside and we’ll have you sorted shortly. Speaking of which, I believe it is time we begin.”

Soon, Professor Dumbledoor opened one of the doors every so slightly so he could make his way into the hall. The CMC could hear the sounds of other students conversing within and just the very idea they would soon be walking in there before them all to be sorted honestly made them nervous.

“Oh boy, this is actually happening,” Sweetie Belle said nervously. “To tell you the truth, I’m scared.”

“There’s no need to be nervous, Sweetie Belle,” Rarity assured her sister. “We will be right in there waiting for you. Just be calm and be yourself.”

“Same goes for you, squirt,” Rainbow wrapped a wing around Scootaloo. “Just remember, no matter what house you’re sorted into, you’re Scootaloo. That’s never gonna change.”

“Thanks Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo smiled, nuzzling her idol’s side.

“Ah just hope we don’t get sorted into Slytherin,” Apple Bloom spoke up. “Ah fer one ain’t wantin’ tah spend a year with Malfoy.”

“Don’t you worry none, sugarcube,” Applejack assured her. “Knowin’ you and yer friends, ya won’t be sorted anywhere near Slytherin. Even if there’s a small chance ya are, ah know y’all are tough enough to make it through anything.”

Apple Bloom smiled and gave her sister a nod of affirmation.

“Well girls, we should probably get in there so this can start,” Fluttershy informed the Crusaders. “Good luck girls.”

“Thanks Fluttershy,” All three said in unison.

“I know you’ll do great things this year,” Twilight encouraged.

“Who knows how much fun is in store for us this year?!” Pinkie said excitedly.

The Mane Six and Spike gave the girls one last wave before following Professor Dumbledore into the Great Hall. This left Harry, Ron, and Sunset standing with the girls.

“I suppose we best get in there as well before all the food is gone,” Ron spoke up.

“Great pep talk Ron,” Sunset said sarcastically, eyes rolling.

“I was getting to it,” Ron replied, facing the girls. “Here’s hoping you get into Gryffindor.”

“Here’s hoping,” Apple Bloom nodded. “Though ah wouldn’t mind if we were sorted into Hufflepuff.”

“Or Ravenclaw,” Sweetie Belle added. “I mean we’re all pretty smart.”

“As long as it’s not Slytherin, I’m good with whatever,” Scootaloo said.

“No matter what happens, we’re still your friends,” Harry smiled. “Good luck.”

“Best of luck to you girls,” Sunset nodded.

The three eventually entered the Great Hall and made their way toward the Gryffindor Table taking their seats beside the Student Six and Hermoine.

“Where in Merlin’s name have you been?” Hermoine asked, as they sat down.

“When you guys didn’t board the train, we got worried,” Silverstream added.

“It’s kind of a long story,” Ron chuckled.

Before they could proceed, the Great Hall’s doors opened, and all eyes turned as Professor McGonagall led the Cutie Mark Crusaders through the hall. The Student Six gave them assuring smiles as they passed by, which the young fillies happily returned. As they followed McGonagall down the end of the hall, Sweetie Belle looked over toward the Slytherin table noticing Malfoy and his goons staring daggers at them. However, that wasn’t what upset her most. It was that small glimpse of the Whisper Dream bat pony from before. She sat on the floor behind Malfoy, all scared and sad, feeling as though she didn’t belong… even amongst the other students.

“Poor girl,” Sweetie Belle frowned.

Eventually, McGonagall and the three filles made their way to the very front of the Great Hall where the Sorting Hat sat upon its stool. Standing before the remainder of Hogwarts’ student body, McGonagall gave her class a few taps to get their attention.

“Your attention please!” She announced. “Before we continue with the feast, we have three students yet to be sorted this evening. But before we commence, Professor Dumbledore and the princesses of Equestria have a quick announcement to make.”

The elder witch stood to the side as Dumbledore stood from his chair. As he began his speech, Princess Celestia and Luna made their way to his side.

“As Hogwarts and Equestria come together through this shared bond, we have experienced a great many changes since the past year,” Dumbledore began. “The arrival of our newest students and ambassadors from Equestria have made quite an impression upon what Hogwarts stood for and by being here proved to be a great help in our need. Now I wish to continue this newfound tradition with a few new changes.

“Firstly, I understand there are those among you who haven’t known of Equestria and the livelihood of its inhabitants, both ponies and creatures alike. In a sense, they shared similar magic to our own yet live their lives differently. It is a land of great heroes and villains, stories that have stood the test of time through generation upon generation and thousands of years since. In speaking of a thousand years, since Professor Binns will not be joining us this year, I can think of no experienced pony to service as History of Magic Professor… than Celestia’s own son, Prince Storm Shield.”

Applause erupts in the halls along with murmurs of awe and surprise as Storm Shield himself climbs the stand. He gives a hug toward his mother Celestia and his aunt Luna before he makes his way toward Dumbledore, shaking his hand as they share a silent thanks. The applause continues as Storm Shield makes for the head of the stand, holding his hoof up in the air with a smile on his face.

“Thank you… thank you…” Storm thanked, as the crowd died down. “Thank you to all of Hogwarts for this tremendous opportunity. As some of you may or may not have known, I had spent a thousand years trapped within the mystical Philosopher’s Stone… or the Sorcerer’s Stone, whichever you prefer. Since my reawakening, I’ve seen so much change both in Equestria and Hogwarts alike. The biggest I’ve seen to date is herds of all shapes and sizes joining together just as Celestia dreamed of and seeing how strong our magic has grown.

“As your newly assigned professor, I carry with me a great deal of stories surrounding this magic which to this day still remains a mystery as it continues to evolve over the years. But I recognize that it is such a huge topic that even a Prince such as myself can’t teach it alone. Which is why, after much deliberation, I’ve recommended a pony who harbors a great love for learning with a lifetime of knowledge she’s studied. A pony who some say would make a great professor; a pony who I think will benefit for this year’s assembly of promising wizards and witches…”

All heads leaned with anticipation, eyes widening as they anxiously waited for the news. Amongst the Mane Six, the girls and Spike started getting some ideas and turned towards Twilight Sparkle. The alicorn’s cheeks began to blush slightly, and her wings briefly fluttered. And the prince himself was just about to declare the name before the entire school…

“Moon Dancer…” Storm Shield announced. “Would you please join us?”

Just then, a female unicorn pony appeared before the group and in a way almost resembled Twilight Sparkle. Only she had a light yellowing gray coat, a majority of it covered by a neatly ironed Hogwarts uniform, a red mane and tail with purple highlights, purple eyes covered by a pair of glasses with its center heavily bandaged, and a cutie mark with a crescent moon and three stars. The audience was stunned at first… but then erupted in applause to welcome the second professor, as she shyly stood up front as she shook hands with the Prince of Peace himself. Twilight Sparkle, though slightly disappointed, still clapped knowing that the Prince would be working with a very good friend of hers.

Once the announcements were made, Dumbledore took his place while Storm Shield and Moon Dancer joined the Mane Six and Spike.

“Thank you, Storm Shield, you and Moon Dancer will be right at home in our school,” Dumbledore replied, clearing his throat. “Now then, after the events of the sorting ceremony last year, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and I have reached a decision which henceforth will move forward. Starting this year, any group of students who share a bond as close as blood may select one student to sort them all to the same house.”

This additional announcement caused murmur amongst the students over this new revelation. New teachers, ponies nonetheless, and now suddenly a group’s housing can be determined by one student. There was just so much to take in.

“After seeing the bond six of our students last year shared between one another, it only seemed fitting the same applies for any students from here on out,” Celestia added.

“This new rule not only applies to Equestria students alone,” Luna continued. “Any students, Equestrian or human, have full rights to this new ruling as all the others.”

“Thank you,” Professor Dumbledore concluded.

The rest of the Great Hall gave a small round of applause as their headmaster and the princesses once more took their seats. McGonagall then grabbed the sorting hat, turning her attention to the three fillies.

“Now I must ask you three which of you will be the one to be sorted?”

The girls looked amongst each other, silently discussing who would be best suited for such a high honor. Both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked toward Apple Bloom, their smiles saying enough. To which Apple Bloom nodded in understanding.

“Ah suppose that’ll be me, Professor,” Apple Bloom spoke up.

“Then please step forth, Ms. Bloom,” McGonagall gestured.

The rest in attendance in the Great Hall, especially the Mane and the Student Six, watched with anticipation. Apple Bloom slowly made her way up and hopped onto the stool. McGonagall lowered the Sorting Hat onto the little filly’s head, and it sprang to life.

“Ah, another Equestrian student I see,” The hat spoke. “More seem to come by the year. You come here with preferences and preconceptions—certain expectations.”

Apple Bloom looked out amongst her fellow crusaders; all the other students looked toward her as she considered the hat’s words. Indeed, she and her friends did come with such expectations for their first year at Hogwarts.

“Ah’m really lookin’ forward to mah first year here at Hogwarts,” Apple Bloom spoke happily. “Ah can’t wait tah explore the castle grounds and meet all mah professors.”

“Indeed…” The hat nodded. “Much can be gleamed from having an adventurous spirit. Just remember, you have much to learn along the way. But first, we must decide where to put you.”

“Wherever ah end up Mr. Sorting Hat, ah’m just glad ah’ll be with mah friends,” Apple Bloom responded.

“I see,” The hat contemplated. “Your dedication to your friends seems to be your most outstanding quality. In fact, I believe it is what delayed your arrival this evening. You share a bond with them as though bound by blood. Not to mention you do not give up easily. You are undaunted by challenges that lie ahead. These traits show you are best suited in… HUFFLEPUFF!”

The entire room erupted into cheers and applause, especially from the Mane Six, Spike, Sunset Shimmer, Storm Shield, Moon Dancer, and the Student Six. After McGonagall took the hat off her head, Apple Bloom excitedly jumped off the stool and raced to embrace her two best friends in a massive group hug. They made their way over to a section of the Hufflepuff table where they could sit close to their friends in Gryffindor house.

“Now then, let the feast proceed,” McGonagall announced.

Everyone returned to their meals as the Crusaders looked toward the teachers’ table. They saw Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash looking toward them with pride as the same as their friends. They turned toward Student Six, all smiling and waving, and Smolder even gave a claw up. While this year had started off with a rocky start, perhaps there was still a chance this year would turn out alright.

<>

Following the conclusion of the feast, all the students piled out of the Great Hall as they followed their prefects toward their common rooms. The Cutie Mark Crusaders walked alongside the Student Six who gave them so many congratulations on being sorted into Hufflepuff.

“That was awesome guys!” Sandbar said excitedly.

“Though I must ask, why were you guys not on the train?” Silverstream asked curiously. “When you guys didn’t come through the platform, we were worried. Headmare Twilight and the professors almost didn’t board the train because they were determined to wait for you. And how do you explain why Smolder and Ocellus saw you guys in the Weasley’s flying car?”

“Yeah… sorry about that,” Sweetie Belle apologized. “We ran into some trouble with the wall.”

“More like running smack dab into the wall!” Scootaloo shook her head.

“How’d that happen?” Yona asked. “We run through wall no problem. How ponies have trouble?”

“Can’t really explain it, Yona,” Apple Bloom shrugged. “When we couldn’t get through, we flew in the car and crashed into some weird angry tree that tried tah flatten us. I dunno if I’ll ever be buckin’ trees the same after today.”

“Sounds like you squirts had quite the journey,” Smolder smirked.

“I’m just thankful you’re alright,” Ocellus voiced relief.

In that moment, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack approached the Crusaders and enveloped each of them with huge hugs.

“I’m so proud of all three of you,” Rarity spoke teary-eyed. “Seeing you sorted in your house; it made me so emotional. You’re all growing up so fast.”

“No kidding!” Rainbow chuckled. “Never been prouder of you.”

“Ah second that!” Applejack agreed. “Ah’m just thankful y’all got here in one piece. When ya didn’t come through, we tried tah get back but for some reason we couldn’t.”

“It was quite perplexing,” Rarity nodded in agreement. “Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall are trying to figure out exactly what happened to the barrier as we speak. But the important matter is that you’re all here, safe, sound, and official students.”

“As am I.”

Hearing the new voice caused the ponies to turn to their side as a short, plump witch approached. She wore gardener style robes and a hat, which they noticed as she walked by. This was Professor Sprout, the Herbology Professor, and head of Hufflepuff House.”

“Pleased to meet the three of you,” She greeted warmly. “I am Professor Sprout, head of your house. Professor Dumbledore asked if I might personally escort you to the common room.”

“That’s very kind of your Professor Sprout,” Rarity thanked her. “Mind if myself, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash accompany you?”

“We’d sure love tah show our sisters where they’ll be stayin’,” Applejack added.

“Of course not, dears,” Professor Sprout smiled.

“Sweet!” Rainbow smirked, facing the Student Six. “You dudes follow Percy back to the common room and get a good sleep tonight. You start the day with Herbology tomorrow.”

“No problem, Professor Dash,” Gallus nodded.

“Goodnight girls,” Silverstream waved. “Hope you enjoy your first night at Hogwarts.”

The Student Six followed the rest of Gryffindor house through the Grand Staircase while Professor Sprout led the Crusaders and their sisters down a big winding staircase to the lower corridors. After taking a few twists and turns, they eventually arrived at the end of the passage with a few casks stacked upon one another with three larger wine casks to the left.

“Ah here we are, the entrance to Hufflepuff common room,” Professor Sprout announced.

“This is the entrance?” Sweetie Belle asked quizzically.

“Indeed!” Professor Sprout nodded. “I shall explain what to do but you must remember this combination exactly. One small mistake could result in you being doused with vinegar.”

“Ew!” Scootaloo cringed.

“Yes, most unpleasant,” Sprout nodded. “Now then, you must tap the barrel. Two from the bottom, middle of the second row, in the rhythm of Hel-ga Huff-le-puff.”

“Some passcode,” Rainbow said impressed.

The three Crusaders looked amongst each other.

“Who’s gonna give it a shot?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I’ll give it a go,” Scootaloo replied.

Scootaloo stepped forward and looked at the barrel that would gain them entry to their common room. She tapped the panel in the order as instructed, causing the last giant cask to fold open and reveal the entrance to the common room itself.

“Excellent work, dears!” Sprout congratulated them. “Now, I think you should all head inside and get some sleep. You have a big first day ahead of you tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Professor Sprout,” All three spoke simultaneously.

The head of Hufflepuff nodded before walking off down the corridor. Soon the Crusaders and their sisters were left standing at the entrance.

“Well, guess this is it,” Applejack said teary-eyed. “Yer all grown up now and startin’ yer learnin’ at Hogwarts.”

Apple Bloom smiled and hugged her sister tightly which Applejack reciprocated. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo did the same with Rarity and Rainbow Dash.

“We’ll be right back here bright and early to lead you to your first lessons,” Rarity told them. “Don’t want you getting lost on your first day.”

“And make sure you all get some sleep,” Rainbow advised, then face Scootaloo. “That means you too, squirt.”

For the last time that night, the three older mares gave their sisters a warm hug.

“Good night you three,” Rarity told them.

“Good night,” The crusaders said together.

Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash soon walked off down the hall and eventually out of sight. The Crusaders faced the entrance to the common room and slowly made their way inside. When they got in, they all gasped with wide eyes at the sight before them. The Hufflepuff common room resembled a very cozy burrow with an assortment of plants everywhere. It looked so warm and inviting for the three fillies.

“Wow, this place looks amazin’!” Apple Bloom smiled. “Reminds me of our tree house.”

“You can say that again,” Sweetie Belle nodded.

“Reminds me of our tree house.”

“Girls, I think we’re going to fit in just fine,” Scootaloo spoke up.

<>

Elsewhere in the castle, Twilight Sparkle and Storm Shield found themselves walking through the corridors of the fourth floor for the History of Magic classroom. The earlier announcement of Storm Shield taking Professor Binns’ spot from here on out was definitely a surprise for everyone and every pony, especially Twilight Sparkle. Ultimately, she was happy Storm had been granted the position. Yet she still wasn’t certain of Moon Dancer being assigned as his assistant professor. True, Twilight and Moon Dancer rekindled their friendship long ago and have since been on good terms, but Twilight would be lying if she wasn’t the least bit jealous. She’d talk with Moon Dancer, but she left for her own room and wouldn’t be available till the start of classes tomorrow, so Storm decided to make his way to his room near the classroom.

“Pretty exciting that you’ll be teaching at Hogwarts now,” Twilight spoke up. “How’d that come about anyway?”

“Mom and Auntie Luna thought it be a good idea since I’ve lived through a good deal of history in both Equestria and other worlds,” Storm responded. “They talked to Albus about me taking over the position since Binns is retiring, and he thought it was a great idea.”

“I still find it odd Professor Binns is retiring,” Twilight said curiously. “How exactly is a ghost supposed to enjoy retirement?”

“He’ll probably visit his old haunts,” Storm replied.

Hearing the joke made Twilight giggle a bit, but she quickly turned away to hide the blush on her face. It was then Storm turned toward her.

“Gotta say Sparky, when I saw your reaction to my announcement earlier, you weren’t thrilled with Moon Dancer being the assistant professor,” Storm observed.

“What?! NOOO… it’s cool,” Twilight smiled nervously. “It’s great she’s getting the chance to teach. I actually wish she’d been given an opportunity to teach a class of her own considering how she spends her days studying. I always thought maybe Astronomy, all the way up on the tippy top tower of the school… far away from this floor.”

This caused Storm Shield to grin mischievously at her.

“Why Twilight Sparkle, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were jealous.”

“What?! No—totally not jealous!” She chuckled nervously. “Definitely no jealousy here. Oh hey, I see your room down there. Here we are!”

Twilight quickly increased her trotting speed to get ahead of Storm so he wouldn’t see her blush intensify to the point her face now resembled a tomato. Storm merely chuckled as he trotted forward to catch up with her. There was no fooling this prince, he knows a jealous pony when he spots one… especially the super-jealous type. But eventually, the two stopped outside Storm’s room and they both looked at each other with a smile.

“Thanks for accompanying me to my room, Ms. Sparkle,” Storm thanked her.

“No problem,” Twilight responded. “I should probably head back to the Gryffindor common room. Pretty big day ahead of us tomorrow.”

“That we do,” Storm nodded. “Hope you have a great night’s sleep, Sparky. And… you may want to work a little harder on controlling that blush of yours.”

Twilight’s eyes widened to the size of saucers, and she quickly turned away again.

“Oh um—yeah that—I wasn’t—I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She quickly lit her horn with her magic and zapped herself to the Gryffindor common room before she embarrassed herself further tonight. Storm chuckled at her cute quirkiness before turning the door handle to his room and stepped inside. Once inside his room, he looked around to make sure not a soul was in sight before shutting the door and eyeing the empty room.

“Alright, coast is clear!” Storm announced. “You can come out now.”

Upon making things official, Quill Cast, along with Curtain Call, Mirai, and Draxus emerged from hiding.

“You’re sure no one else knows we’re here?” Quill asked Storm.

“No one besides me, my mom, my aunt, and Dumbledore,” Storm assured. “But who’s counting?”

“Good, because we have our roles to play and they have theirs,” Curtain informed. “Long as we keep them on the path they’re meant to head down and we manage our business, the Multiverse stays in balance.”

“We still have members of the Legion out there we need to find,” Mirai reminded them. “Didn’t you say a few more will be arriving before too long?”

“Hopefully they’ll be here soon,” Quill nodded. “No idea when exactly, but we can always count on them.”

“In the meantime, we should get some sleep,” Storm suggested. “Won’t do us good to save the universe if we’re tired.”

“Good point,” Curtain nodded. “Besides, if I don’t get my eight hours, I’ll be cranky all day.”

“… He’s not exaggerating.”

Storm made his way toward his bed, getting himself situated for a good night’s rest. The other individuals made themselves as comfortable as possible on the floor.

“Thanks again for letting us room with you Storm,” Quill expressed his thanks. “At least only temporarily.”

“Well, there was no way I’m letting my friends sleep out in the cold,” Storm replied. “Mi casa su casa as the old saying goes.”

“Hey Mirai, remember that jam you wrote back in Skyrim?” Curtain asked the young girl.

“How can I not?” Mirai nodded.

“How’s about setting the atmosphere for old time’s sake?”

Mirai released a giggle before sitting up and reaching into her things. Soon, she pulled out a lute and began to strum a pleasant little tune that she eventually began to sing:

First Day and the Howler

The next morning, following last night’s incident with the Whomping Willow, all the students and staff awoke for the start of the new school year. By the time Harry Potter and friends parted ways with their fellow Gryffindors, the CMC made way to attend their first lesson of their first year while the Assistant Professors departed for their own lessons. As dawn shined upon Hogwarts Castle, the Whomping Willow sulked in the courtyard, with slings strung about its injured branches. Over the castle walls lay the exterior of Greenhouse Three, where the students hurried inside for the beginning of class.

This was the class where the CMC would tackle their first Herbology assignment, a class taught by Professor Pomona Sprout. All the second year students consisted of a mix of Gryffindors and Slytherins also in attendance. The Gold Trio, including the Young Six, made their way inside waiting for both their Professor and assistant professor to arrive. Along the way, they decided to chat about their friends to pass the time. But of course, the biggest subject was recent events that had apparently spread across the school.

“Detention. On the first day?” Neville began.

“That must be some kind of record,” Seamus joked.

“We’re just lucky that’s all we got,” Sweetie Belle sighed.

“You’d think these guys would mind their own business,” Scootaloo pouted.

“Settle down, girls,” Apple Bloom advised. “Let’s just try to get through today.”

Suddenly, in the nick of time, Professor Sprout, a squat little witch, arrived to set the new school year off at a bright, fresh start. But she was not alone, as the assistant professor this class revealed herself… Apple Bloom’s own sister herself, Applejack.

“Morning everyone!” Sprout called out, tapping the pots with her wand. “Good morning, everyone!”

“Good morning, Professor Sprout!” The students greeted in unison.

“Morning’, y’all!” Applejack greeted.

“Morning, Professor Applejack!”

“Welcome to Greenhouse Three, Second Years,” Professor Sprout began. “Now gather round, everyone.”

The witch proceeded to beckon the students around a gathering of pots.

“Today, we’re going to re-pot Mandrakes. Now, who here can tell us the properties of the Mandrake root?”

“Yes, Hermoine Granger?” Applejack acknowledged.

“Mandrake, or Mandragora, is used to return those who have been transfigured or petrified to their original state,” Hermoine explained. “It’s also quite dangerous. The Mandrake’s cry is fatal to anyone who hears it.”

“Excellent!” Sprout nodded. “Ten points to Gryffindor.”

All the Gryffindors smiled for Hermoine, the girl giving them a stellar start. Meanwhile, all the Slytherins eyed them with envy.

“Now, as our Mandrakes are only seedlings, their cries won’t kill you yet,” Sprout explained. “However, they will knock you out for several hours—”

“Hold on, Professor Sprout,” Applejack interrupted, catching Ocellus. “Yes, Ocellus. Do you have a question?”

“How dangerous is a young Mandrake’s cry?” Ocellus asked nervously.

“Excellent question!” Applejack smiled with approval. “Like what Hermoine said, their cries won’t kill you… yet. Which is why we’ve given each of you a pair of earmuffs for auditory protection. And now, we’re about to find out just how loud is a young Mandrake’s cry. I think it’s time, Partner.

“I agree, Applejack,” Sprout nodded. “Students, could you all please put them on right away? Quickly. Flaps tight and watch us closely.”

While everyone gets their earmuffs on, Scootaloo turns to the side and her snickering causes her friends to look where she’s pointing. Frowning, Ron had gotten a bright pink fluffy pair. The girls couldn’t help but deem it funny, if only to take their minds off their upcoming detention. Seeing the class ready, Professor Sprout and Applejack led the class further down the garden area.

“All eyes and ears here, every pony and everyone,” Applejack beckoned. “No talking. Professor Sprout?”

Nodding in confirmation, the two processors proceed to grab two Mandrakes while the stout witch continues the lecture.

“You grasp your Mandrake firmly,” Sprout instructed. “You pull it sharply out of the pot—”

The professors proceed to grasp one of the tufty plants before them… and pull. Gasps erupt as eyes get a glimpse of the mandrakes. Instead of roots, they were small, muddy, and extremely ugly babies popping out of the Earth, leaves growing right out of their heads and their cries giving off an ear piercing pitch. Some of the students tried to cover their ears, while most were cringing over the noise but thankfully their professors knew what they were doing.

Eventually, Sprout and Applejack proceed to place both Mandrakes into their own separate pots.

“And now you dunk it down in the other pot and pour a little sprinkling of soil to keep them warm!” Sprout practically shouted.

The professors plunge the bawling creatures deep into the pots and proceed to sprinkle some soil along the little beasts. All of a sudden, Nevill and Sandbar’s eyes roll back, and they instantly faint in shock. As the professors remove their earmuffs, everyone, save Neville and Sandbar, follow suit. The professors sigh unamused seeing the boys stretched along the ground.

“Hm… looks as though Mr. Longbottom and Sandbar’s been neglecting their earmuffs,” Sprout observed.

While the Slytherins smirked, shaking their heads in amusement, Seamus leaned over to study the unconscious fellows.

“No, ma’ams,” Seamus corrected. “They just fainted.”

“Very well,” Sprout nodded understandingly. “We’ll just leave them there then.”

Seamus looks toward the professors then back toward the boys with disbelief as their mentors proceeded to continue their lecture on the proper method of Mandrake planting.

“Right, on we go,” Applejack continued. “Four to a tray, plenty of pots to go round. Remember: Grasp your Mandrake and pull it up.”

One by one, every student (Minus Neville and Sandbar) pulled their Mandrakes out of the pot. The entire student body cringed in disgust or in pain over the noise these young Mandrakes were making. Draco decided to play with one of the Mandrakes by tickling the creature, even attempting to put his finger into its mouth. The action caused the Mandrake to bite his finger while Draco pulled it out and immediately placed the plant back in the pot.

Gallus laughed at Draco’s misfortune, as the boy quickly removed Gallus’ earmuff with one hand and grabbed the Mandrake with another, holding it so close to the griffin’s ear making the young one cringe in pain over the screeching ringing through his eardrum.

“Ooh… a funny man, huh?” Gallus nodded.

Gallus proceeded to grab his own Mandrake and leaned him toward Draco’s nose, and the creature clenched his teeth along the bridge. Draco screamed in agony as his goons, Crabbe and Goyle, tried to pry the beast off of their leader. These shenanigans caused a few of Gallus’s friends to laugh in amusement, even a particular pony in the corner couldn’t help but giggle slightly at the scene.

Eventually, the bell rang loudly, signally the end of the lesson. Soon everyone scurried out of the room, as quickly as possible, all heading towards the Great Hall. Of course, just when they think the day has reached its end, what they didn’t know is that this day has only just begun.

<>

Deep within the lower dungeon of Hogwarts, barely illuminated by the fire in the fireplace, the Potion Master Severus Snape was sitting in his office reading the Daily Prophet. Just then, a knocking upon his door interrupted his reading and yet he didn’t even bother to look up.

“Show yourself, Discord,” The head of Slytherin ordered.

In a flash of light, the master of chaos, found of his theater in Equestria, and self-proclaimed Hufflepuff professor appeared before the unamused potions master.

“Is that anyway to welcome a guest?” Discord huffed. “I should be docking points from you, Mr. Snake-in-the-grass. No, no… that’s too polite… Mr. Stick in the mud! Oh yeah, that’s a good one!”

“What do you want, Discord?” Snape grumbled.

“Well, for starters, you might want to hire someone to clean this place up,” Discord observed. “Honestly, the vibes here are… depressing. I’m put-off by this gloomy goth phase you’ve got going on.”

Snape, on the other hand, remained stone-faced despite the kooky draconequss’s antics.

“Fine. Have it your way, stone-face,” Discord mocked. “Luckily for you, being the suave, talented, and marvelous Hufflepuff Professor I am, I’m offering to do you a favor. Free of charge.”

“A favor?” Snape raised an eyebrow.

“Of course!”

In a flash, Discord snapped his fingers and a table with a pot and teacups appeared between the Snape and Discord.

“I suppose you know by now, the alliance of Equestria and the Wizarding World has just been renewed,” Discord explained. “There’s even this new alliance forged between the Jedi from some galaxy far, far away via Grand Master Storm Shield. In other words, we’ll be expecting a growing number of new students visiting our school… which you’re fully aware of, no doubt?”

“And your point is?” Snape asked.

“More students mean a demand for more teachers. You need an assistant, Mr. Snape.”

“… Out of the question,” Snape waved his wand making the tea set vanish. “I’m perfectly capable of performing my job as professor; I require no assistance from you.”

“Uh… perhaps you misunderstood,” Discord dusted himself. “I’m not asking to be your assistant nor am I asking you to get one. You are getting an assistant, whether you want one or not.”

Professor Snape glared at Discord, but somehow there was no room for argument with this mischievous creature.

“Seeing as how you refuse to take no for an answer, I’ll consider it to amuse you,” Snape spoke. “But you should know I have standards to meet. If this… assistant you recommend does not meet them, I will have them let go without hesitation.”

“Excellent!” Discord smiled. “You won’t be disappointed!”

With a snap of his finger, the fireplace suddenly lit up in a blazing green inferno. Instantaneously, a pony appeared covered in soot. Discord walked over to pick up said pony and dusted off all the soot until the pony itself was fully revealed.

A unicorn, white with a pastel mane color of purple, pink, and blue. Her mane and tail were curly, her eyes a lovely shade of blue. Her cutie mark was that of a pink bubbling potion in a beaker.

“This little darling is Potion Nova!” Discord introduced the unicorn. “A graduate of Princess Celestia’s School of Gifted Unicorns, long before Twilight even lost her first tooth. A potion master since the age of five with a bonafide degree to show for it!”

“Hi! I’m Potion Nova!” The unicorn smiled, shaking Snape’s hand. “Sweet Celestia, it’s nice to meet a new face!”

Professor Snape remained stone-faced, turning his eyes toward Discord, who merely beckoned him to interview the unicorn.

“Miss Potion Nova?” Snape began. “What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?”

“That’s an easy one!” Potion Nova smiled. “You get the Draught of Living Death! Which is a powerful…”

“Where would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?” Snape continued.

“From the stomach of a goat!” Potion Nova answered. “And if I’m not mistaken, the stone itself is an antidote for most poisons?”

“Yes…” Snape raised an eyebrow, then continued. “What are the ingredients of a Polyjuice potion?”

“Let’s see…” Potion Nova began. “Lacewing flies, stewed for exactly 21 days, powdered bicorn horns, shredded boomslang skins, knotgrass, fluxweek picked at a full moon, and leeches… Oh! You need a hair from someone you want to impersonate.”

“Impressive…” Snape admitted slightly. “You know your potions, Mrs. Nova. But do you know how to use them? How many drops of Veritaserum is required for the drinker to spill out their darkest secrets?”

“Three!” Potion Nova answered proudly.

“Well, I see you two have formed a bond,” Discord chortled, preparing to leave. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d best be off to prepare for my class. Discord out!”

With a snap of his fingers, Discord vanished in a flash of light leaving Snape to further test Potion Nova’s extensive knowledge… mostly to see if he could get the pony to make ‘one’ mistake.

<>

Meanwhile, the Great Hall is alive with activity as lunch hour has commenced. Percy entered in the company of a Miss Penelope Clearwater, just as Nearly Headless Nick glided by.

“There’s Nearly Headless Nick!” Penelope pointed.

“Hello, Sir Nicholas,” Percy greeted.

“Hello, Percy,” Nick tipped his ‘head’. “Miss Clearwater.”

At the Gryffindor table, Hermoine has her nose buried in Gilderoy Lockhart’s Travels with Trolls. Ron tried running gobs of Spellotape over his broken wand to stick the pieces back together. The poor boy shook his head grimly, seeing the wand looked as though it had seen better days.

“Say it, I’m doomed,” Ron frowned.

“You’re doomed,” Harry told Ron sympathetically.

Sitting across the boys, one individual was having it worse with her head lying in a bowl of salad. Poor Sunset Shimmer had been wallowing in her sorrow for what felt like hours. Her pet gecko, Ray, nuzzles his head against her cheek trying to cheer his owner up. Harry, Ron, the Student Six, and especially the Cutie Mark Crusaders looked at the Jedi Sorceress with worry.

“How long has she been like that?” Gallus asked the crusaders.

“All morning,” Apple Bloom answered.

Sandbar blew a whistle, surprised over the revelation. Nevertheless, the Earth pony approached the solemn Jedi master.

“Hey… Sunset?” Sandbar reached out. “How are you feeling?”

“Uhhhhhh…” Sunset groaned in response.

“… Good talk,” Sandbar concluded.

“What’s going on here?”

Just then, Twilight Sparkle, along with the Mane Six and Spike, came over to check up on Sunset Shimmer.

“Poor Sunset’s still a little bummed…” Apple Bloom explained. “About you know what.”

Twilight and her friends exchanged looks, realizing the severity of the situation. Together, they approach Sunset Shimmer, with Twilight sitting by Sunset’s side.

“Sunset, are you okay?” Twilight asked.

Finally, Sunset Shimmer picked her head out of the salad as bits of lettuce still hung in her hair.

“Yes… I’m fine,” Sunset answered glumly. “Just… meditating.”

“You were?” Twilight nodded.

“In a bowl of salad?” Fluttershy pointed out innocently.

“It’s my stress salad, Fluttershy,” Sunset answered.

“Is this about what happened with the car and the whomping willow?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“No… I’ve ascended beyond nerves,” Sunset replied. “I’m just contemplating my untimely doom, all because I embarrassed Grandmaster Storm Shield, and Ben, even Sabine in front of the entire wizarding world! Back in Canterlot High, I was the top of my art class and a pretty good gamer. In those days, I almost thought I could be a game designer, creating artwork for games. Now I sit here knowing no one will ever let me live down the biggest mistakes of my life.

“Trying to murder Twilight Sparkle… TWICE, my past crimes as a Sith Lord, and on TOP OF ALL THAT… in cahoots with stealing a car, exposing the wizarding world to muggles, crashing into a Whomping Willow, and endangering five kids under my watch! HAVE I LEFT ANYTHING OUT?!”

“Uh…” Spike raised a claw.

“Please, don’t answer that Spike…”

“Okay.”

With a heavy sigh, Sunset Shimmer slammed her head back into her bowl of salad to wallow in her sorrows.

“Wow… that’s a lot when you say it all at once,” Pinkie Pie commented.

“She’s definitely got issues,” Rainbow Dash added.

“Girls, please!” Twilight begged, placing a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “Look Sunset, if you’re really having a problem, I think we can…”

“Hiya Harry!”

Without warning, a flash of light nearly blinded Harry Potter and caught everyone’s attention. As Harry blinked his eyes, he found that the light and the excited voice came from a camera belonging to the hands of a rather small boy, a first year Gryffindor student excited to meet Harry Potter. This was…

“I’m Colin Creevey!” The boy introduced himself. “I’m in Gryffindor too!”

“Hello, Colin,” Harry greeted. “Nice to meet—”

“Say, do you think your friends here could take a photo of me and you, standing together?” Colin asked. “Y’know? To prove I met you? It’s for my dad. He’s a milkman, y’know, a Muggle, like all of our family’s been until me. No one knew all the odd stuff I could do was magic till we got my letter from Hogwarts. Everyone just thought I was mental.”

Harry merely glanced at Ron and Gallus; the former looked positively homicidal.

“Imagine that…” Ron commented.

“You’re not alone, kid,” Gallus commented. “It’s been a lot for us to take in as well—”

“Post is here!” Dean Thomas announced.

Mercifully, owls proceeded to stream into the Hall. One after another, the birds swoop gracefully down, clutching letters from home. Just then, an owl screech drew their attention.

“Ron, isn’t that your owl?” Smolder pointed out.

Everyone looked up to see Errol flying into the Great Hall… and plopped beak-first into a bowl of chips, right in front of Ron. The crash was so tremendous Sunset Shimmer bolted from her stupor, with Ray clinging onto her cheek. All the way from their tables, all the Slytherins, minus one Wallflower, laughed.

“Bloody bird’s a menace,” Ron groaned.

Ron reached over and took a damp red envelope from Errol, who immediately took off and flew away. The moment Ron eyed the envelope, he knew exactly what it was.

“Oh, no!” Ron moaned.

“What is it, Ron?” Sweetie Belle asked curiously.

“Heads up, everyone!” Seamus exclaimed. “Weasley’s got himself a Howler.”

Once more, the Slytherins burst out laughing over Ron’s misfortune.

“I don’t get it,” Apple Bloom scratched her head. “What’s a Howler?”

“Go on, Ron,” Neville beckoned. “I ignored one from my Gran once… and it was horrible.”

The Student Six gently patted Ron on the back, showing their support. The boy’s face was pale, and his hands were shaking. With the envelope in hand, he slowly opened it, and…

“RONALD WEASLEY!!!”

Mrs. Weasley’s voice thundered and shrieked, sending plates and spoons rattling. Everyone and every pony eyed the Howler widely, as Sunset Shimmer held onto Ray protectively between the cusp of her hands. Like a mother protecting her child from images not meant for innocent eyes, Sunset took the full blunt and watched as the envelope rearranged itself into a floating mouth.

“HOW DARE YOU STEAL THAT CARE!” It howled on Weasley’s behalf. “I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSETED! YOUR FATHER’S NOW FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK AND IT’S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT! IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE, WE’LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT HOME!”

Scared out of his wits, all Ron could do was nod his head gingerly, while the Howler turned toward Ginny… but with a smile.

“Oh, and Ginny dear,” The howler spoke softly. “Congratulations on making Gryffindor. Your father and I are so proud!”

Ginny, sitting a bit apart from the others, looked up shyly, then returned to the small black book she was scribbling in. The CMC couldn’t help but notice that the girl appeared as though she’d rather crawl in someplace and die from the embarrassment of being praised. Meanwhile, Ron watched as the Howler turned its attention to him, stuck its tongue at him, and ripped itself to pieces before enduring the howls of laughter from the other house tables. Colin Creevy snapped a few photos, while the CMC remained wide-eyed.

“That’s ‘kind of’ a letter I would expect to get from Rarity for causing mischief,” Sweetie Belle spoke meekly.

“Least they didn’t mention our involvement with the car,” Apple Bloom told Sunset meekly.

“Great… I feel so much better…” Sunset spoke sarcastically.

“Look at it this way guys,” Scootaloo replied optimistically. “How much worse can things get?”

“I wouldn’t have said that…” Pinkie answered, singsong.

Pesky Pixies & Vomit Slugs

Author's Note

Big thanks to Drama for his proofreading and editing skills. Also thanks to Phantom Dragon and ponydog127 and CortezDude for their quotes.

Pesky Pixies & Vomit Slugs

Later, following the embarrassing debacle with the Howler, the students roamed the corridors of Hogwarts. Either they were on their way to their classes or simply making their way from a class. While the Student Six made their way towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, the Cutie Mark Crusaders currently found themselves sitting in History of Magic class. However, with Storm Shield and Moondancer as professors for this class, it has since been renamed ‘History of Magic: Wizarding and Equestrian’. The three little fillies all sat alongside one another at a long table as they listened to Storm and Moondancer’s lecture yet could hardly contain their excitement.

“This is so exciting!” Sweetie Belle squealed quietly. “Our first actual class at Hogwarts!”

“Ah know right?” Apple Bloom nodded. “Ah’ve been waitin’ fer this since getting our letters.”

“I just wish we had a chance to actually use these.” Sweetie Belle replied as she held up her wand.

Back after the girls had that tough landing in Knockturn Alley and eventually met up with others in Diagon Alley, the three fillies had finally gotten their wands. Apple Bloom’s wand was of course made of apple wood, was nine and a half inches long, and had a phoenix feather core.

Sweetie Belle’s wand was an English oak wand, ten and three quarter inches with a unicorn hair core.

Scootaloo’s wand is a holly wood wand, ten inches with a dragon heartstring wand.

“Don’t worry, Sweetie Belle.” Apple Bloom assured her friend. “Ah know we’ll get our chance tah use ‘em soon enough. Fer now, ah’m just so excited tah be here.”

“And what luck! Our first class is Storm Shield’s!” Scootaloo added. “No offense, but I’m glad they replaced Binns. From what Rainbow Dash told me, that old ghost could put coffee to sleep from boredom—”

“Excuse me!”

The sudden interruption caused the three ponies to immediately snap their heads forward. Standing in front of them was the assistant professor, Moondancer. Her glasses lowered down as she gave them a disapproving look.

“Can you girls please be more attentive in our class?” She scolded.

“Sorry, Professor Moondancer,” The crusaders spoke in unison.

“Let’s keep our eyes up front if you please,” Moondancer replied calmly.

The three fillies nodded their heads in understanding as Moondancer made her way back to the front. Amidst all of that, Storm continued the lesson.

“Now then, who can tell me the year that former Minister of Magic, Eldritch Diggory, and Starswirl the Bearded first established the Auror Recruitment Program?” Storm asked the class.

A few students in the class raised their hands; two of whom are Sweetie Belle and Ginny Weasley, the latter sitting next to the Crusaders.

“Yes, Ms. Weasley?” Storm acknowledged her.

“Minister Diggory and Starswirl the Bearded founded the program in the year 1773,” Ginny answered. “They’d continue to do so for the next fourteen years.”

“Correct, Ms. Weasley!” Storm nodded with a smile. “I must say, for a first year, you seem to have fairly decent knowledge of the Equestrian and Wizarding Alliance.”

“Agreed!” Moondancer spoke up. “It seems Ms. Weasley has been studying quite well. I believe that’s worthy of ten points to Gryffindor.”

Ginny merely lowered her head toward the table, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone staring at her. From her side, the CMC smiled with congratulatory glances.

“Nice work, Ginny!” Apple Bloom congratulated.

“Yeah, no way I would have known that!” Scootaloo added.

Ginny merely gave a quick nod of acknowledgment before bringing her gaze back to the table. Out of the corner of her eye, Sweetie Belle could almost see what appeared to be a black book Ginny was writing in.

“What you got there, Ginny?” She asked curiously.

Hearing the young filly, Ginny quickly snatched the book and placed it in her robes.

“Nothing,” Ginny replied quickly. “It’s nothing.”

The three fillies eyed one another, all thinking the young Wesley’s sudden reply felt… odd.

“No worries, Gin,” Scootaloo piped in. “If it’s your business, we won’t ask again.”

“Thank you,” Ginny replied softly.

The group turned their attention back to Storm, who used his magic to write on the blackboard.

“Back in 1707, the Ministry of Magic was formed to succeed the Wizards Council after Ulick Gamp and Gutsy the Great came together and decided…”

All of a sudden, an assortment of books and other supplies flew off the shelves and began pelting Storm Shield and Moondancer. A majority of the first year students, minus both Ginny and the CMC, started laughing as they watched their teachers get pelted by school property. Curious, the Cutie Mark Crusaders turned around and to their shock, and dismay, they found the culprits: Discord and Peeves hurling books toward the professors, while chuckling maniacally.

“KEEP PRESSING THE ATTACK, PEEVES!” Discord roared, waving a quill like riding crop. “We’ll have him this time!”

“PEEVES!!!” Moondancer screeched, clutching a book with a bent spine. “These books are extremely valuable!”

“DISCORD!” Scootaloo shouted. “What are you doing now?!”

“Oh, nothing out of the ordinary,” Discord replied casually. “I merely persuaded Peeves to crash this ‘charming’ seminar; thought you kids could use a distraction—WHOA!!!”

Discord practically stretched his limbs from the waist to avoid a beam from Storm Shield’s horn, the Prince was justifiably cross.

“We’ll have you this time, you troublemakers!” Storm Shield warned. “We’ll have you!”

As Moondancer tried to pick up all the books, stressfully muttering to herself, Peeves suddenly popped up in front of the pony with a bowl of peanuts.

“Nibbles?” Peeves asked sweetly.

Moondancer looked down and took a brief sniff, only to cringe back with disgust.

“There’s mold all over them!” Moondancer cringed. “Why are you disrupting our class?”

“Heard you talking about poor Myrtle,” Peeves replied, his eyes dancing. “Rude you was about poor Myrtle.”

“Myrtle?” Sweetie Belle’s brows rose.

“I said nothing of the sort!” Moondancer argued. “I don’t even know any—”

“OY! MYRTLE!” Peeves bellowed deeply. “Mooney pony’s just talking about you!”

Crying out in anguish and frustration, Moondancer pursued Peeves and followed the ghost directly out of the classroom. The kids watched when Moondancer suddenly ran by, now Peeves floating after her, pelting her with the moldy peanuts.

“SPOTTY! SPOTTY!” Peeves yelled.

Meanwhile, Storm Shield had to flip the desk over to act as a shield of sorts while dodging the wave of books from Discord’s path. Storm leaned down to eye the students who were erupting in chaos and, in the midst of it all, three ponies and one Weasley sitting there staring awkwardly.

“Sorry class, looks like we’re booked for today—OW!”

A hard cover book hit Storm Shield square in the face, as Discord hovered over him and shook his head.

“I make the bad puns in this story, princey!” Discord scolded. “No points for you!”

<>

In the meantime, the Student Six were all seated close by one another in Defense Against the Dark Arts Class. Harry, Ron, and Hermione weren’t that far from them either as they waited for their Professor to arrive. All the students were in their seats, eyeing all the decorations with portraits of its owner. Hermoine and the girls hung on his every word, while Harry, Ron, and a few of the male Student Six eyed the large covered cage rattling mysteriously on his desk. So you can imagine their surprise when they saw Sunset Shimmer making her way into the classroom to stand before them all.

“Good afternoon class, I am Professor Sunset Shimmer.” She announced to the class.

“Sunset?” Gallus said quizzically. “You’re the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?”

“Not exactly.” Sunset shook her head. “However, much like my friends, I’ve been given the opportunity to be an assistant professor.”

“So then who is the new professor?” Smolder asked.

This caused Sunset to roll her eyes in annoyance, as if she dreaded the answer to that question.

“Oh you’ll see.” She replied non-chalantly.

No sooner did she say that did the door to DADA office open and none other than Gilderoy Lockhart stepped out. He paced before his class attending the Defense Against the Dark Arts period.

“Let me introduce you to your new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher,” Lockhart began, with a smile. “Me. Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League and five-time winner… of Witch Weekly’s Most Charming Smile Award.”

One smile toward the class, and the females of the Student Six sighed heavenly while the guys just rolled their eyes.

“But I don’t talk about that,” Lockhart continued. “I didn’t get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!”

Lockhart laughed at his own joke, waiting for additional laughter. But no one else laughed. The girls in the class seemed starstruck, while the boys seemed confused. Though a few students smiled weakly, it was plain to see they hadn’t the faintest notion to what he was talking about.

“I see you’ve all bought a complete set of my books,” Gilderoy smiled. “Well done. Now, I thought we’d start today with… a little quiz. Sunset my dear, if you would please pass them out.”

“WHAT?! A QUIZ?!” Silverstream burst into panic. “NOOO!!! I didn’t know we had a quiz today; I didn’t even study for it!”

“It’s nothing to worry about, Silver…” Sunset sighed despondently. “It’s just Gilderoy’s way of checking whether you’ve read his books or not.”

“… And that makes us feel better, how?” Gallus asked.

“Honestly, the books are more about him than anything you’d want to learn,” Sunset frowned, passing the quiz to the students.

“Tell that to Hermoine,” Smolder remarked.

She pointed toward their fellow Gryffindor, who smiled excitedly as she took a sheet from Gilderoy.

“Thank you!” Hermoine smiled.

As Lockhart and Sunset circulated the papers, Harry and Ron examined all the questions on the sheet. The boys were completely baffled about all the questions being asked.

“Look at all these questions,” Ron whispered harshly. “They’re all about him!”

“’What is Gildeory Lockhart’s favorite color?’” Harry read.

“’What is Gilderoy Lockhart’s greatest achievement to date?’” Ron followed.

“’When is Gilderoy Lockhart’s birthday and what would be his ideal gift be?’” Gallus read. “Who writes this stuff?”

“’Who is the most beloved reformed villain of all?’” A random student read. “’Discord or Sunset Shimmer?’”

“What?” Sunset looked up.

“IT’S ME!!!” Discord cheered, appearing in a flash of light. “100 points to me!”

“Discord?! GET-AH!!”

A hand clinching her nose stopped Sunset mid-sentence. All at once, Peeves was before her, stretching Sunset’s nose across the classroom.

“Got your conk~!” Peeves sang.

Eventually, the ghost let go, snapping Sunset’s nose back to her face.

“OW!” Sunset winced. “Discord! PEEVES!!!”

But before Sunset could ignite her lightsaber, Discord and Peeves had already vanished. With a huff, straightening herself out with a deep breath, Sunset Shimmer returned to the front of the room right beside a bewildered Gilderoy.

“Proceed…” Sunset sighed.

“Right… you have thirty minutes,” Gilderoy announced. “Start… now!”

All quills began to dart across the pages, until…

<>

Lockhart started rifling through all the completed exams. By the time he was finished, the man was less than impressed.

“Tut, tut,” Gilderoy shook his head. “Hardly any of you remembered my favorite color is lilac.”

“Gee, I wonder why,” Sunset rolled her eyes, sharing her displeasure with her ‘fellow’ Gryffindors.

“BUT… Miss Hermoine Granger knew that my secret ambition was to rid the world of evil,” Gilderoy smiled proudly to the young lady. “And market my own range of hair care potions. Good girl.”

Gilderoy winked toward the girl, who beamed with delight. But then, Lockhart’s expression suddenly darkened.

“Now… be warned!” Gilderoy began. “It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizardkind! You may find yourself facing your own worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here…”

“Famous last words…” Sandbar whispered to Gallus.

With a showman’s flair, Lockhart turned slowly to the cage.

“I must ask you not to scream. It might provoke them.”

While a pale Neville drew back, Harry, Ron, and the Student Six chaps leaned forward. Lockhart permitted the tension to build, then he whipped off the cover. Inside the cage are several electric blue creatures. Eight inches tall, with pointed faces and wings, rattling the bars and pulling bizarre faces at the students.

“Cornish pixies?” Seamus remarked.

“Freshly caught Cornish pixies,” Lockhart corrected.

Unable to contain herself, Smolder snorted with laughter.

“You expect us to be scared by little pixies?” Smolder laughed uncontrollably. “I mean come on! Were the breezies unavailable? Ha-ha-ha!”

“Laugh if you will, Miss Smolder,” Lockhart replied. “But pixies can be devilishly tricky little blighters. Let’s see what you make of them now!”

Lockhart flung open the cage and instantly, the pixies rocketed about, spraying the students with ink bottles, breaking beakers, and shredding books. Two of them seized Neville by the ears, lifting him into the air, and began to circle the ceiling. Disaster ran wild like fire with a majority of the students leaving the classrooms. The pixies zipped all over the place, spreading mischief and mayhem in every direction. While the Student Six struggled against the little monsters, Sunset Shimmer was having the most difficult time pacifying them.

“Shoo! Shoo!” Sunset exclaimed. “Go on! Shoo! Get outta here!”

“Come on now, round them up, round them up,” Lockhart called out. “They’re only pixies.”

“Professor Lockhart!” Sunset called out. “How did you get these pixies to begin with?”

“Read my books,” Lockhart replied in panic.

“There’s no time for that! Just show us how you did it!”

“Uh… of course! A live demonstration,” Lockhart declared, drawing his wand. “Peskipiski Pesternomi!”

However, nothing happened. The spell had absolutely no effect. A particularly obnoxious pixie made a face, seized Lockhart’s wand, and tossed it out the window. Soon it flew up and destroyed the chains holding the model of a dragon’s skeleton in place. The model fell from the ceiling and smashed upon the floor. Sunset Shimmer turned toward the professor in disbelief.

“What was that spell again?” Sunset asked. “Because I don’t think it works…”

“Of course it works!” Gilderoy exclaimed. “I’m just… out of practice.”

“What do you mean you’re out of practice?! You said these pixies were freshly caught!”

“They were! They are! What I mean is…”

But rather than sticking around to help, Lockhart frantically bolted toward his office.

“Where are you going?” Sunset asked.

“I just… need time to… find some equipment,” Lockhart said. “I’ll ask you to nip the rest of them back in their cage…”

“The rest of them!” Sunset frowned. “I have to do everything myself, don’t I?”

Sunset reached toward her lightsaber, intending to use the wand she concealed inside. It was then a certain Slytherin decided to stir some trouble.

“She’s got a lightsaber!” Malfoy pointed accusingly. “She’s going to kill us!”

“What? No! No!” Sunset shook, reassuring the frightened students. “I’m just getting my wand. See?

To prove it, Sunset summoned her wand and held it out hoping to perform a snippet of good.

“STUPEFY!”

Sunset fired her wand to stun a Cornish Pixie, but the little blight dodged, and the bolt accidentally shot Goyle knocking him flat on his bum.

“She’s trying to kill us!” Crabbe screamed. “Run for your lives!”

“My father will hear about this!” Malfoy threatened the Jedi.

“Sorry…” Sunset winced.

All around her, the students were in such distress, and it was plain to see that she had made another bad impression. Not to mention, Lucius Malfoy’s boy had just gained another reason to have her fired. Nevertheless, Sunset and the Student Six fired their stun spells toward the pixies. Unfortunately, they were moving too far.

“There’s too many of them!” Ocellus grunted.

“What do we do now?” Ron asked, as a pixie gnawed his ear.

Finally having enough, Hermoine whipped out her wand and raised it to the ceiling.

“IMMOBULUS!”

Within seconds, all the pixies were frozen in midair. Suddenly, Neville screamed as he fell with a *PLOP* onto Lockhart’s desk, shaken but unhurt. The Student Six raced toward Neville to check on him.

“You okay, buddy?” Sandbar asked.

“Why is it always me?” Neville groaned.

“Neville seem fine to me,” Yona confirmed, noticing everyone’s stare. “What?”

<>

Crossing a corridor along the seventh floor, fresh from their encounter with the pixies, Hermoine, Ron, Harry, and the Student Six marched about. To say they were in bad shape was speaking politely. Their hair was askew, and their robes were shredded.

“Can you believe that guy?” Sandbar groaned.

“I’m sure Professor Lockhart just wanted to give us some hands-on experience,” Silverstream spoke optimistically.

“Silver, I love you, but it’s clear he didn’t have a clue what he was doing,” Gallus argued.

“Rubbish,” Hermoine argued. “Read his books. You’ll see all the amazing things he’s done.”

“He says he’s done,” Ocellus reminded. “I’m not suggesting maybe he’s not a good guy, but then why didn’t he take control of the pixies he claimed to have caught himself? Something is off about this man.”

But before anyone else could utter another word, the group looked up as the Cutie Mark Crusaders marched ahead. Judging by the disheveled nature of their appearance, they were no better off than their friends.

“Rough day?” Smolder asked.

“Don’t ask,” Apple Bloom muttered, as they walked past.

<>

The following period, the Gryffindor Quidditch team – Harry, Smolder, Fred, George, Alicia Spinnet, Katie Bell, and Angelina Johnson – trailed Oliver Wood through the courtyard, toward the distant Quidditch pitch. Sunset Shimmer accompanied the team, catching the eyes of the students before they knelt down to resume their studies. Word was definitely traveling fast about Sunset, but not under the best of circumstances.

“I spent the summer devising a whole new Quidditch program,” Oliver Wood explained. “We’re going to train earlier, harder, and longer!”

“And as Assistant Professor of the Defense Against the Dark Arts, it’s my job to assure nobody’s brooms get jinxed…” Sunset Shimmer stated. “We don’t want a repeat of last year, right Harry?”

“I appreciate it, Professor,” Harry expressed his gratitude.

Smolder squinted ahead, and her expression immediately became a scowl.

“Uh oh… trouble,” Smolder frowned.

“What the…?” Oliver scowled, outraged. “I don’t believe it!”

Crossing the courtyard from the other side are seven boys in green robes, also carrying broomsticks. At the lead is Marcus Flint, the trollish Slytherin Captain. Ron, sitting at a table with Hermoine, looked up as Gryffindor stood face-to-face with their most hated opponents.

“Where do you think you’re going, Flint?” Oliver asked.

“Quidditch practice,” Marcus answered bluntly.

“Clear out, Flint!” Smolder demanded. “Wood booked the pitch for Gryffindor today.”

“Easy, Scales,” Flint smirked. “I’ve got a note.”

Marcus held out a rolled up scroll, which Wood took and opened it to read. The student six were also in the courtyard at the same time when they noticed Ron and Hermoine getting up. They could already tell something bad was going down.

“What’s going on, Ron?” Ocellus asked the Weasley boy.

“Trouble,” Ron confirmed.

As the kids approached the teams, Oliver had just read the full contents of the scroll. It read:

“’I, Professor Severus Snape, do hereby give the Slytherin team permission to practice today, owing to the need to train their new Seeker.’”

“You’ve got a new Seeker?” Sunset asked. “Who?”

Answering the question, Marcus stepped aside, to reveal none other than the pasty-faced boy himself… Draco Malfoy. He stepped forward to the front of the Slytherins, staring toward Gryffindor’s with a smug grin. Following closely behind, like a dog on a leash, was Whisper Dawn. The pony looked embarrassed over the situation she was in.

“Draco…” Smolder snarled.

“Malfoy…?” Harry muttered.

“That’s right,” Malfoy answered. “And that’s not all that’s new this year…”

Harry, Sunset Shimmer, their friends, and the remaining Gryffindor Quiddith Team examined the broomsticks Draco and the remaining Slytherins held out as one. All eyes stared with shock.

“Those are Nimbus 2001s!” Ron exclaimed. “How did you get those?”

“T-They’re a generous gift from Draco’s father, Master Lucius…” Whisper admitted softly.

“Did I tell you to speak?!” Draco asked venomously.

“… No…”

“Then don’t!”

The way Malfoy snapped at her, as if about to strike the mare, made her flinch as she edged backward. While the other Slytherins snickered, Draco turned smugly towards Ron.

“You see Weasley, unlike some, my father can afford to buy the best.”

“That’s pretty big talk… mouthful,” Gallus remarked.

It was then Marcus Flint finally acknowledged the remaining Student Six.

“Come to admire our new gifts, freaks?”

“This coming from Captain Buckteeth and his traveling circus?” Gallus scoffed, making Flint scowl.

“How’s about putting your daddy’s money where your mouth is?” Silverstream challenged.

“You want to say that again?” Malfoy threatened. “I’m sure my father would love to hear it.”

“Hey, hey! Easy!” Sunset cut in between. “Save the trash talking for Quidditch! We’re all here to practice; we can share the field and be civilized.”

“Big talk for a washed-up Sith,” Draco sneered.

“Mind your manners, kid!” Sunset warned. “I’m still an adult here!”

“Whatever, Seraphina. Least I’ll be the one beating Potter when I catch the Snitch.”

Sunset Shimmer grit her teeth, her fists clenched while trying to resist the urge to pummel the little brat in front of everyone. But she knew the boy was testing her patience. No doubt some ploy to grant his father the right to have her fired from Hogwarts… if not arrested, whichever came first.

“At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buytheir way in,” Hermione spoke up. “They got in on pure talent.”

“Yeah!” The Student Six agreed.

“Exactly!” Sunset smiled proudly. “10 points for standing up for your friends.”

Draco glared at Hermione in annoyance, as he took several steps but stopped just at an arm’s length before her.

“No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood!” Draco spat.

Whisper was first to release a startled gasp, her eyes growing wide, and everyone else reacted as though Malfoy uttered something horrific – everyone save Harry, who looked puzzled. Instantly, Fred and George flew for the throat, but Oliver Wood held them back. As for Whisper, she’d heard the word before and couldn’t believe even Draco would say such a thing. Of course, she always knew he was cold-hearted, but never imagined it be that bad.

“Oh no, you didn’t!” Silverstream squawked in outrage.

“That was uncalled for, Malfoy!” Sunset exclaimed. “Apologize to Hermoine now!”

“Why should I?” Draco stubbornly asked.

“What you said to Hermoine was uncivilized! Apologize to her now!”

“Never!” Draco huffed. “What would a Sith like you know about being civil? Father told me better than to listen to a barbarian like you.”

“Blonde boy not man enough without papa!” Yona spat.

“You’ll pay for that one, Malfoy!” Ron warned, whipping out his wand. “Eat slugs!”

Ron pointed his cracked wand at Malfoy, attempting to fire a spell. *PFFT* A bolt of green light scissored out the wrong end, hitting Ron himself in the stomach. As he dropped onto the grass, Harry and friends immediately rushed to his side. Meanwhile, the Slytherins laughed at Ron’s expense.

“You okay, Ron?” Hermione asked. “Say something!”

Ron opened his mouth… and belched. Hermione drew back, and watched a trio of slugs dribble out of his mouth. The Slytherins crow with laughter at this revolting display. Angrily, Ron rose, only to belch again.

“Ugh!” Smolder cringed, disgusted.

“YUCK!” The Gryffindors groaned.

“Nasty!” Sandbar stuck out his tongue.

At that moment, Gryffindor first-year, Colin Creevey, raced up with his camera.

“Wow! Can you hold him still, Harry?!” Colin asked excitedly.

“Get out of the way, Colin!” Harry replied, helping Ron up. “Professor, can you make it stop?”

“Let’s see,” Sunset examined, dodging a slug. “Okay, this is really gross. I’ve studied counters for jinxes, hexes, and curses but nothing on slugs…”

“Let’s take him to Hagrid,” Ocellus suggested. “He’ll know what to do.”

“Right!” Sunset nodded, facing the teams. “Proceed with what you’ve planned for today! I’m taking Ron and friends to see Hagrid. But no foul play… I mean it, Slytherin!”

As Sunset took her leave with Harry and friends, Smolder stood her ground as she addressed the chuckling Flint and Malfoy.

“What do you want now, freak?” Flint asked mockingly.

Smolder, however, simply blew a whistle with her two fingers. Answering the call, an even bigger dragon swopped from the sky and landed in the courtyard. The beast released a bloodcurdling roar that scared the Slytherins out of their uniforms and sent them running.

“Good girl, Norberta,” Smolder scratched her adopted daughter.

As they turned to leave, a set of eyes stared at the display from the safety of the courtyard corner. Whisper Dawn, having seen the Slytherins get their comeuppance, giggled to herself quietly before she slipped away unnoticed.

<>

Later, at Hagrid’s hut, Hagrid rummaged about, looking for something to aid Ron, as his friends looked on beside him.

“Got jus’ the thing,” Hagrid muttered. “Set ‘im down on that chair o’er there. This calls for a specialist’s equipment.”

As Ron sat down, Hagrid pitched a bucket between his knees. Harry, Hermoine, and the Equestrians glanced up questioningly.

“Nothing to do but wait till it stops, I’m afraid,” Hagrid shrugged. “Better out than in.”

“That’s what Shrek always says!” Silverstream chirped.

“Who?”

“He’s an ogre!” Silverstream explained. “A bit grumpy, but a friendly ogre.”

“I see,” Hagrid nodded in acknowledgment. “Who was Ron tryin’ ter curse, anyway?”

“Malfoy,” Harry answered. “He called Professor Sunset and Hermione, well, I don’t know exactly what it means…”

Harry’s words faltered seeing the state of the two hurt girls. It’s not as though he couldn’t say the words, he was just unsure if saying it aloud would only add to the pain. Hermione looked down at the floor before Sunset beckoned her to look up.

“Go ahead, Hermione,” Sunset encouraged.

Clearly seeing that Sunset prioritized her conflict before her own, Hermione got up with her arms folded as she walked away from her friends.

“He called me a Mudblood,” Hermione answered quietly.

“He didn’!” Hagrid exclaimed, shocked.

“It’s true,” Sunset nodded.

“He said it loud and clear,” Gallus spoke, offended.

“Yona want to smash Mouthful for such talk!” Yona added. “Teacher Sunset tried to get boy to apologize, but he didn’t! He call Sunset a Sith!”

“What’s a Sith?” Harry asked. “And what’s a Mudblood?”

Hermione spun around and glanced at him, seeing the boy so confused. Then she turned away, obviously pained by this.

“It means ‘dirty blood’,” Hermione explained. “Mudblood’s a really foul name for someone who was Muggle-born. Someone with non-magic parents. Someone… like me. It’s not a term one usually hears in civilized conversation.”

“Yeh see, the thing is, Harry,” Hagrid lectured. “There are some wizards – like Malfoy’s family – who think they’re better than everyone else ‘cause they’re what people call ‘pureblood’.”

“That’s horrible!” Harry gasped.

“It’s disgusting!” Ron belched forth a slug.

“And… what about you professor?” Harry asked Sunset. “Why does Malfoy call you a Sith?”

“Because… I was one…” Sunset Shimmer frowned sadly. “Long-story short, a Sith is the exact opposite of a Jedi… like Storm Shield. A Sith is… in a way… like Voldemort.”

“What?” Harry gasped. “But… how? Why?”

Sunset Shimmer fell silent and turned to the side. It was plain to see she’s clearly uncomfortable discussing her past… especially this one.

“We shouldn’t pry too much from her, Harry,” Sandbar advised. “Least not right now.”

“I’m just glad dad wasn’t there to see me… like that…” Sunset sighed.

“Be that as it may,” Hagrid began. “It’s codswallop ter boot. Dirty blood… Sith… there’s ‘ardly a wizard today that’s not half-blood or less. If we ‘and’t married Muggles we’d hav’ died out long ago. Besides, they haven’t invented a spell our Hermione can’t do…”

Hagrid took Hermione’s shoulder, his comforting words worked its magic as a small smile spread across her face.

“Come here…”

Hagrid held a gentle hand out, beckoning for her to talk to him, gently stroking her hand in comfort.

“Don’ you think on it, Hermione,” Hagrid encouraged Hermione and Sunset. “Don’ you think on it fer a minute.”

Despite the tears in her eyes, Hermione smiled as she and Sunset nodded over the gentle giant’s words.

“Hey Hagrid!”

The doors suddenly swung open as a family siren stepped inside, carrying a basket in her hand.

“I brought you lunch!” She chirped.

“Thank ya, Sonata!” Hagrid smiled.

“Sonata?!” Sunset and the Student Six exclaimed, surprised.

“Hiya guys!” Sonata waved. “Didn’t expect to see you here. Mr. Hagrid, warn me next time! I would’ve made more tacos if I knew we’d be having guests over!”

“They’re just ‘ere because of an emergency,” Hagrid replied gently. “One of their friend’s are a bit under the weather, see.”

Ron puked up another slug, which made Sonata cringe in disgust.

“I see what you mean,” Sonata gulped.

“Hold on!” Harry spoke up. “Guys, do you know this girl?”

“You can say that…” Gallus replied.

“Hi, Sonata!” Silverstream happily greeted. “What are ya doing here? I thought you were working at Twilight’s castle as head chef!”

“I am… I mean, I was,” Sonata replied. “But when the new year at Hogwarts started, I thought I could help out at the school. Soon as Twilight put in a good word for me with Professor Dumbledore, he put me straight to work with Hagrid!”

“Sonata’s been a big help tendin’ the grounds,” Hagrid smiled. “Talented wee lass, she is. A seriously misunderstood creature, for a young siren her age. Truth is: She’s got the optimism and a beauty to match.”

“Aw, shucks!” Sonata blushed.

“A siren?” Harry asked.

“Yeah, seriously misunderstood creatures,” Gallus began in sarcasm. “Until you meet her sisters.”

“More like disowned sisters,” Sandbar reminded.

“What happened?” Harry asked.

“We’ll tell you later,” Silverstream assured.

It was then that Sunset Shimmer herself made herself known to the siren, and former Inquisitor – the Fifth Sister.

“I’ll be darn,” Sunset spoke up. “Sonata Dusk.”

“Oh! Hi Sunset!” Sonata greeted awkwardly. “F-F-Fancy seeing you here.”

“Yeah… long time no see, ahem…”

“U-U-Uh… listen. I’ve been wanting to say how sorry I was for the way my sis… my disowned sisters and I treated you when we worked f-for the Empire. Truth is… I didn’t really like it. I didn’t want to do… those horrible things we did to you. But I… couldn’t say anything or else they’d get upset. But I was… wrong… and a fool. You have every right to… have your revenge on me.”

Sans the Student Six and Hagrid, Harry, Ron, and Hermione faced Sonata with piqued interest. What could someone like Sonata have done to someone like Sunset Shimmer? All eyes turned to the girl in question, waiting to hear her response.

Sunset Shimmer merely looked at the reformed siren silently for a moment. She took her apology with deep consideration, and yet the Jedi Sorceress found it hard to believe that one of her former enemies would stand before her. An enemy who played a part in both her kidnap and torture for years. But nevertheless, she witnessed her sisters abandoning Sonata, in Arkham Asylum, through Discord’s Theater in the Galaxy.

“I’m done with revenge, Sonata,” Sunset shook her head, smiling. “I forgive you. And… to be fair, I know what it’s like to be a fool from… personal experience.”

Sonata smiled with relief, having finally gotten the guilt off her conscience.

“Well then… who else is hungry?” Sonata smiled, presenting the food. “I’ve brought tacos and bread and apples and some treats straight from Hogsmeade! Even Fang’s favorite doggy treats!”

“Ah, thank ya, Sonata!” Hagrid smiled, offering a jelly slug. “Jelly slug anyone?

To which Ron immediately puked another slug and shook his head.

“Pass…” Ron groaned.

The Writing on the Wall

A warm, yellowish-orange glow blanketed the plains of the Scottish Highlands as the sun began to set over the horizon. As the sun descended behind the hills alongside Hogwarts, the gigantic castle cast an enormous shadow upon the mountains. This would mark the end of the first day of the new terms for Hogwarts in general. The entire student body, along with their professors, filed into the Great Hall for another magnificent feast. Unbeknownst to them, however, a sinister plot was being formed beneath their feet.

Deep below the school, in a giant chamber within the tunnels, the Dark Order gathered at the base of a large stone statue depicting Salazar Slytherin. The Dark One and the Mysterious Benefactor gazed upon the giant stone head, evil intent stirring upon their minds.

“At last…” The Dark One declared eerily. “After so many years of waiting, the time has finally come!”

“I’ve waited for this day for nearly a thousand years,” The Benefactor replied. “Too long the Wizarding World and Equestria have been a festering pool of decadence. Soon, we’ll finally rid not only this world, but all worlds of the filth and scum of existence.”

Behind the two evil figures, the remainder of the Order shared skeptical gazes staring at one another in the eye.

“Then why have you two waited this long for it to happen?” Adagio questioned. “No offense, but we’ve spent the entire time getting our butts kicked by those miserable ponies. If this secret weapon of yours is so great, why not release it ages ago?”

“The time wasn’t right to set it loose upon the worlds,” The Benefactor replied simply.

“Then you certainly took your sweet time,” Aria snarked.

“Your delays have allowed those so-called ‘heroes’ to grow stronger, haltering our plans at every turn,” Zoe added.

“SILENCE!!!” The Benefactor replied.

The three sirens merely scoffed, rolling their eyes over the sharp reply. Beside them, Darth Andromedis and Demetria hovered their lightsabers in their force grips never turning their gaze away from the two dark figures.

“Need I remind you I now control the Eternal Throne and the thousands of ancient alien war ships at my command?” Andromedis reminded them. “You need simply give the order and I can arrange for the Eternal Fleet to crush this Equestria along with any worlds you wish into a pile of slag.”

“I don’t think that’s the best course of action, Master,” Demetria responded. “As easy as it be to wipe these cretins off the face of the galaxy, I prefer they suffer first. Especially that traitorous wretch, Sunset Shimmer…”

A hand upon her shoulder and Demetrias’ connection with the force ceased, and her lightsaber dropped from her hand. She turned with a heated glare towards Joseph Seed, who’s merely been smiling at her.

“Worry not, child,” He spoke calmly. “I’ve heard the word of God, and I assure you he has blessed us on our holy mission to purge those sinners from all worlds. However, as Rome was not built within a day, this mission could take years to achieve. Patience is key.”

“I do not WISH to be patient!” Demetria snapped. “I want to watch the light leave Sunset Shimmer’s eyes when I drive my lightsaber through her chest!”

It was then Cozy Glimmer and Tirek walked alongside them.

“You and me both sister!” Cozy Glow chuckled.

The sound of scrapping metal drew all eyes toward the side, spotting Sweeney Todd sharpening his razors with Chrysalis by his side.

“Soon they will all die,” Sweeney said grimly. “Their blood will flow like a raging river.”

“Indeed, my sweet,” Chrysalis smirked wickedly.

“Regardless of what we think of these plans, you’ve forgotten one thing,” Regina spoke up. “This game has been rigged since the beginning. The story always pans out the same; the heroes win, the villains always lose.”

“Don’t be cynical, Regina,” Cora told her daughter. “For once, we finally have the power within our reach. So long as things continue to go the way they are, the story will be rewritten.”

“I for one am prepared to start playing a completely different game,” Cersei smirked. “One where you either win… or die.”

A sudden loud metallic ‘CLANG’ upon the chamber’s stone floor made everyone silent. All eyes turned toward the Dark One, the Staff of Hermes in their grip. It emitted a powerful glow upon its hilt banging the ground, gaining the full attention of their Order.

“Enough of this foolish rabble,” They spoke. “The time has finally come.”

The figure cloaked in black slowly approached the large statue, slowly reaching out to place a gloved hand upon the cold stone. Suddenly, the eyes of their mask glowed a bright green and the status shook. The mouth of the statue slowly began to lower, opening before them. From deep within, a very low hiss could be heard as two giant glowing yellow eyes appeared from within the darkness.

<>

Hours later…

It was late evening in Lockhart’s office, its walls lined with framed photographs of… Gilderoy Lockhart. Harry Potter, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and Lockhart himself were working by candlelight at an ornate desk. Bleary-eyed, Harry and the ponies were addressing envelopes, while a cheery Lockhart placed his signature on the stack of glossy photos bearing his image.

“Harry, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie,” Lockhart chuckled. “Can you possibly imagine a better way to serve detention than by helping me answer my fan mail?”

“Honestly…?” Apple Bloom forced a smile.

“Not really,” Harry answered.

“No,” Sweetie Belle shook her head.

“I can name two or three things I’d rather do in detention,” Scootaloo replied, reading a letter. “’Send me pictures of your…’”

“FEET!” Lockhart finished, grabbing the letter. “It’s another one of those requests, heh-heh… I’ll go over this one later… much later.”

Scootaloo looked on incredulously as Lockhart quickly opened a drawer and violently shoved the letter inside before slamming the door shut.

“The things you do for your fans, right professor?” Sweetie Belle implied.

“Fame is a fickle friend, little pony,” Lockhart replied. “Celebrity is as celebrity does. Remember that.”

Harry and the girls nodded, glancing gloomily at the towering stack of envelopes that remained. Dipping his quill, he began to write, when suddenly… a chilly voice villed the room.

“Come… come to me…”

“What?” Harry asked aloud.

“Sorry?” Sweetie Belle glanced up.

“I was saying, six solid months at the top of the bestseller list!” Lockhart replied. “Broke all records!”

“No… not you,” Harry corrected. “That… voice.”

“Voice?”

“That… voice. Didn’t you hear it?”

“What are you talking about, Harry?” Lockhart asked. “I think we’re getting a bit… uh, drowsy. And great Scott – and no wonder – look at the time! We’ve been here nearly four hours!”

“FOUR HOURS!!!” The girls screamed.

“Dinner will nearly be done!” Scootaloo realized.

“If we don’t hurry, they’ll eat all the pudding!” Apple Bloom added.

“Well, can’t let that happen, can we?” Lockhart chuckled. “You kids run along and have your fun. Spooky how the time flies when one’s having fun!”

“Spooky…” Harry glanced up.

It was clear the boy was still thinking about the creepy voice that supposedly only he can hear. The girls eyed their friend worriedly but followed him just the same.

<>

Moments later…

Soon as they concluded answering Lockhart’s fan mail, Harry and the Cutie Mark Crusaders left the room. By luck they happened to find Sunset Shimmer waiting for them outside. The Jedi Sorceress was playing with her gecko friend, Ray, when she saw the four students. She picked herself up as Ray perched himself upon her shoulder.

“Ready to go back to Gryffindor Tower?” Sunset asked.

“I’m just glad to be out of there,” Scootaloo sighed. “That guy’s mountain of fan mail is the size of his ego!”

“It could’ve been worse, Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom replied. “We could’ve been sent to the Dark Forest for detention…”

“Don’t jinx it,” Sweetie Belle cautioned.

“What’s done is done,” Harry sighed. “Anyway, I’m hungry. We were just going to head for the Great Hall to get a snack.”

“Then I better go with you,” Sunset replied. “I can use some eats myself. What do you say girls?”

The CMC nodded in agreement, as they all turned to head for the Great Hall. On the way, Sunset Shimmer turned back toward the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. A few brooding thoughts were clearly in her mind.

“Who died and made that guy Professor?” Sunset asked herself. “I should be teaching that class, I mean… I’ve dealt with the Dark Side before. I know how to fight against it… a little.”

The group passed quickly through the lengthening shadows of the empty corridor, when the ponies suddenly bumped into Harry, who stood entirely still.

“Hey Harry, what’s the hold up?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Shh!” Harry shushed. “There it is again!”

“… There is what again?” Sunset asked.

“Blood… I smell blood…”

Sunset Shimmer stopped cold with a gasp, looking around the hall for the source of the voice.

“Who said that?” Sunset asked.

“You heard it too?” Harry asked the Jedi Sorceress.

“Uh huh…” Sunset nodded.

“What is it?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Let me rip you… let me kill you…”

Both Harry and Sunset stepped toward the wall, playing their fingers along the stone wall. Then they began walking, slowly at first, then more quickly, as if following something and determined to keep track of it. They moved faster and faster, rounding the corner with the Cutie Mark Crusaders following behind. The more they followed, the louder it sounded, meaning they were getting closer.

“Kill… kill… KILL!”

“Harry!”

Sunset!”

Both Sunset Shimmer and Harry Potter stopped in their tracks, when they looked up, seeing Hermoine and Ron standing before them, accompanied by the Student Six, Spike, and the Mane Six.

“Whoa there, Sugar cubes!” Applejack exclaimed. “Y’all looked like ya’ve seen a ghost!”

“Technically, ghosts are normal here at Hogwarts,” Gallus commented.

“Did you hear it?” Harry asked.

“Hear what?” Ron asked, confused yet concerned.

There was… a voice,” Sunset Shimmer answered.

“Voice? What voice?” Twilight asked.

“I heard it first in Lockhart’s office,” Harry explained, eyes darting around.

“But then we heard it in the hall, just—”

Sunset Shimmer stopped mid-sentence, when she and Harry heard the voice talking again. But this time, it was farther away than before.

“Kill… Time to kill…”

As they stiffened, the group studied their friends curiously.

“It’s moving!” Harry exclaimed. “I think it’s going to… kill.”

Harry ran through his friends and the Assistant professors, the majority exchanging a glance.

“Kill?” Ron asked.

“Harry, wait!” Hermoine called out. “Not so fast!”

As the Equestrians and the others gave chase, Harry and Sunset dashed madly, taking the steps three at a time along the marble staircase. They made the landing, rushing through the archway, and sled to a stop, listening: Nothing. Slowly, they peered down. Water oozed over the stone floor of the second floor corridor, surrounding their shoes. Their own reflection appeared and, behind it, undulating like a dream… words. Their friends soon arrived, huffing up a storm just to breathe.

“Where’d all this water come from?” Spike asked.

“Wouldn’t surprise me if it’s one of Discord and Peeves’ pranks,” Gallus commented. “Knowing those jokers, I bet they’re in cahoots with Fred and George for something big and funny.”

“Guys… how do you explain… that?” Ocellus pointed.

Everyone’s attention shifted toward the window: Near the topmost pane, spiders scuttled up a silvery thread, fighting to get through a crack in the glass.

“Dude, that’s creepy!” Sandbar cringed.

“Strange…” Harry spoke up. “I’ve never seen spiders act like that.”

“Neither have we,” Twilight added.

“They look scared,” Fluttershy frowned, concerned.

“Yeah, look at that…” Smolder examined, facing Ron. “Ron…? What’s up?”

“I… don’t… like… spiders,” Ron grimaced, backing away.

“Yona not like spiders either,” Yona agreed.

Everyone turned towards the floor and were startled by what they saw.

“What’s that?” Ron asked.

All eyes gazed toward the puddle of water, where they could see what appeared to be bloody writing. Shimmering on the wall were foreboding words written in blood which hermoine read:

“The Chamber of Secrets has been opened,” Hermoine began. “Enemies of the Heir… beware.”

“It’s written in blood!” Rarity said squeamishly.

“Ew…” Ocellus and Apple Boom remarked.

“What’s that?” Rainbow Dash pointed to her left. “Hanging underneath?”

“Oh no…” Harry muttered in horror. “That’s Filch’s cat. Mrs. Norris…”

The cat hung stiffly by her tail from a torch bracket, eyes open and blank. But that wasn’t the only thing they saw. Twilight Sparkle gasped violently, clasping her hooves upon her mouth at the additional sight. Beneath the cat was Storm Shield lying on his side, his head appeared to have been looking down and his mouth hung open.

“STORM!” Twilight Sparkle cried out, racing toward his side. “Storm… what happened? Storm, talk to me!”

“What in tarnation’s goin’ on here?” Applejack asked.

All of a sudden, the stairwell was alive with voices and, seconds later, dozens of students stream forth, chattering… when they stopped, seeing the wall and the group standing before it. A thudding silence fell upon all the students from different houses, Percy Weasley keeping a group of Gryffindors back. All eyes gazed at the bloody writing, Mrs. Norris, and Storm Shield. Amidst the horrified group, Madame Pomfrey expressed horror and shock. Colin got his camera ready, but Percy stopped him.

Amidst the Slytherins, Draco Malfoy pushed forward, eyed the wall, and grinned nastily. Whisper too wiggled through the crowd of students, joining Draco at the front. She gasped at the sight of Mrs. Norris just hanging there.

“Enemies of the heir, beware!” Draco read.

“Is… is she…?” Whisper asked timidly.

“We’re not exactly sure,” Ocellus shook her head. “We just… found her like that.”

“And whatever happened to Mrs. Norris got to Storm Shield too!” Smolder pointed out.

“But… that message on the wall,” Whisper pointed with one hoof. “Enemies of the Heir, beware? What does that mean?”

“It means the Mudbloods are next,” Draco interrupted, glaring at Hermoine then Whisper. “And unless you want the same, you stay quiet!”

“What’s going on here?” Filch called out, pushing through. “Go on now! Make way…”

The supposed Caretaker stopped dead in his track, glaring towards Harry and Sunset Shimmer.

“Potter… Shimmer… what are you…?”

Filch looked up and was horrified upon seeing what had become of his previous cat.

“Mrs. Norris?” The squib spoke heartbroken.

And then, his expression turned to anger as he shifted his gaze towards Harry and Sunset.

“You! You murdered my cat!”

“No… no!” Harry shook his head, in denial.

“We didn’t do any of this!” Sunset added. “We were just—”

But Filch was having none of it, as Twilight ceased her sobbing to look toward her friends while Draco and his cronies grinned with amusement. The caretaker cracked a sinister smile, trembling with murderous intent as he reached for Sunset and Harry.

“I’ll kill you!” Filch screamed. “I’LL KILL YOU!”

NO!” The Equestrians shouted, taking the defensive stance.

“Argus!”

Filch immediately released Harry and Sunset as the students stepped aside. Professor Dumbledore marched forward, along with Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, McGonagall, Snape, and Potion Nova amongst a phalanx of teachers, Lockhart included. A few teachers saw the wall, their faces darkened.

“What is going on here?” Celestia demanded.

“Argus, I…”

Dumbledore’s words faltered when he too saw the writings on the wall. The expression on his face gave away the fact that something horrid had just occurred.

“Everyone will proceed to their dormitories immediately!” Princess Luna announced.

Everyone and every pony made to leave, when Professor Dumbledore stopped the heroes.

“Everyone except… you three… and Princess Twilight’s companions.”

As the corridor emptied, the heroes complied and stayed in place. Dumbledore stepped to the wall and, with extreme gentleness, removed Mrs. Norris. In the meantime, Princess Luna ordered her Nightmare Knights to assemble the other students to their respective houses.

“Stygian, you go with the Ravenclaws,” Princess Luna instructed. “Tempest, the Slytherin. Capper, the Hufflepuffs. Trixie, the Gryffindors.”

“Ravenclaws, follow me!” Stygian instructed.

As the students were escorted to their houses, Lockhart walked over to inspect Mrs. Norris and Storm Shield. The latter was held gently under the wings of his mother, Princess Celestia, who stared tearfully as her sister stroked one wing across her back for comfort.

“Storm… my poor darling!” Celestia whimpered. “What did this to you?”

“It was definitely a curse that killed them,” Lockhart confirmed. “Probably the Transmogrifian Torture. Encountered it myself once, in Ouagadougou. The full story’s in my autobiography…”

“They’re not dead, Argus,” Dumbledore explained to Filch. “They’ve been Petrified.”

“Ah! Thought so,” Lockhart recovered, boasting. “So unlucky I wasn’t there. I know the very counter-curse that could’ve spared them…”

“Yeah… sure you would…” Sunset expressed skepticism.

“But how they’ve been petrified… I cannot say,” Dumbledore continued.

“Ask them!” Filch accused Sunset and Harry. “It’s them that’s done it. You saw what they wrote on the wall! Besides, they knows I’m – I’m a Squib.”

“It’s not true, sir!” Harry argued. “I swear!”

“You can’t just accuse us randomly!” Sunset explained defensively. “Besides, none of us ever touched Mrs. Norris! Or Storm Shield!”

“We don’t even know what a Squib is!”

“Rubbish!” Filch scoffed. “He saw my Kwikspell letter!”

“Princess Celestia, I swear!” Sunset faced Celestia. “I wouldn’t… at least… not anymore. You believe me, right?”

“Of course I believe you,” Celestia nodded solemnly.

“If I might, Headmaster…”

Everyone turned as Professor Snape and Potion Nova separated from the shadows.

“Perhaps Potter, Miss ‘Sparky’ Shimmer, and their friends were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time…” Snape spoke up.

“Professor Snape vouching for us?” Gallus blinked. “How often has that ever happened?”

“However…” Snape began.

“Ah… there it is,” Smolder rolled her eyes.

“The circumstances are suspicious,” Professor Snape continued. “I, for one, don’t recall seeing Potter, or his new first year friends, at dinner.”

“And isn’t it a coincidence Sunset Shimmer was absent when Storm Shield got petrified?” Potion Nova added.

“I’m afraid that’s my doing, Severus and Potion Nova,” Lockhart spoke up. “You see, Harry and the… Crusaders were helping me answer my fan mail…”

As Snape’s lip curled in disgust, Hermoine leapt in.

“That’s why we went looking for him, Professor,” Hermoine spoke up, on her friends’ behalf.

“Uh, yeah! Right!” Applejack played along. “I was just on my way to pick up Apple Bloom.”

“As I with Sweetie Belle,” Rarity added.

“Me and Scoots,” Rainbow Dash joined in.

“Yeah, yeah! We found them with Sunset Shimmer!” Pinkie Pie jumped in. “That was when they said… when they said…”

In a rare instance, Pinkie’s words faltered, to which she turned to the remainder of the group for answers.

“Yes, Ms. Pie?” Snape pressed on.

“When they said… what?” Potion Nova raised her eyebrow.

“When I said I wasn’t hungry,” Harry answered. “We were heading back to the Common Room and… found Mrs. Norris and Professor Storm Shield.”

Everyone and every pony nodded in agreement. Professor Snape, however, remained suspicious. He eyed Harry coldly, knowing he was lying. Harry turned away… and found Dumbledore studying him as well.

“Innocent until proven guilty, Severus,” Dumbledore added.

“He’s got you there, boss,” Potion Nova told Snape.

“My cat has been Petrified!” Argus Filch trembled. “I want to see some punishment!”

“With all due consideration, Mr. Filch,” Princess Celestia spoke up. “I’m just as upset as you are. My son has been petrified, along with your cat. But there’s no reason to accuse anyone without evidence. Especially concerning a group clearly at the wrong place at the wrong time. I would appreciate if you refrained from accusing Sunset Shimmer who has my full confidence.”

“Princess Celestia…” Sunset whispered, in silent admiration.

“We will be able to cure them, Argus,” Dumbledore added. “As I understand it, Madam Sprout has a very healthy growth of Mandrakes. When they have matured, a potion will be made which will revive Mrs. Norris and Professor Storm Shield.”

“Yeah, for sure!” Potion Nova smiled. “We’ll have a Mandrake potion ready to revive these two before you can say Friendship is Magic! Right boss?”

Professor Snape faced his assistant with the same stoic expression, the same he gave to just about everyone.

“Your optimism is commendable,” Snape told his assistant. “But you lack the realism of the situation. Mandrakes require several months to reach full maturity. They are currently seedlings meaning their potency for such an antidote would be… inefficient.”

“And in the meantime,” Dumbledore began. “I strongly recommend caution… to all.”

<>

A bit later, the Cutie Mark Crusaders along with Harry, Ron, and Hermoine walked down the corridor toward the Grand Staircase, conversing as the numerous staircases changed positions.

“So… wut was all that talk about Filch being a Squib?” Apple Bloom asked curiously.

“A Squib’s someone who’s born into a wizarding family but hasn’t got any powers of their own,” Ron explained. “It’s why Filch is trying to learn magic from a Kwikspell course.”

“No wonder why he hates us so much,” Scootaloo realized. “The years of seeing us performing magic yet having none of his own would make any pony bitter.”

“I’d hate to imagine any pony who’d share a hatred for magic,” Sweetie Belle whimpered. “Least, none we already know.”

Hermoine, who’s only been half-listening – as if trying to unravel something in her mind – finally spoke up.

“Harry…” Hermoine began. “This voice. You said you heard it first in Lockhart’s office?”

“Yes,” Harry nodded.

“And did he hear it?”

“He said he didn’t.”

“Maybe he was lying,” Scootaloo replied.

“Did you or your friends hear the voice?” Hermoine questioned.

“Well… uh, no… but this Lockhart guy…”

“I hardly think someone with Gilderoy Lockhart’s credentials would lie to one of his students, Scootaloo,” Hermoine assured. “Besides, if you recall, we didn’t hear anything either.”

“But Professor Shimmer heard it too!” Harry argued. “Not in Lockhart’s office, but on our way out. You do believe me, don’t you?”

“’Course we do,” Hermoine assured. “It’s just… it’s a bit strange, isn’t it?”

“Strange?”

“You hear this voice, a voice only you can hear, and then… Mrs. Norris and Professor Shield turn up Petrified. It’s just… strange.”

“I can’t explain it – it was… scary,” Harry frowned. “D’you think I should’ve told them, Dumbledore and the others, I mean?”

“Are you mad?!” Ron exclaimed.

“No, Harry,” Hermoine disagreed. “Even in the wizarding world, hearing voices isn’t a good sign.”

As Hermoine turned and walked away, a man’s face in a portrait turned to them.

“She’s right, you know,” The painting replied.

The other kids glanced at each other, then eventually walked along determined to get back to their dorms before they ran into any further trouble.

<>

The following morning, Professor McGonagall stood before her class. Resting on the desk in front of each student was a different animal.

“Could I have your attention, please?” McGonagall called out. “Right. Now, today, we will be transforming animals into water goblets. Like so.”

She tapped the bird in front of her, three times, with the tip of her wand and said ‘Vera Verto’. A stream of magic emitted from her wand, transfiguring the bird into a beautiful crystal water goblet. All the other students expressed amazement, while Draco shrugged.

“Now it’s your turn,” McGonagall declared. “Who would like to go first… Mr. Weasley?”

Ron nodded and cleared his throat. Silently, he tapped his wand towards Scabbers three times.

“Vera Verto!” Ron spoke.

His wand caused Scabbers to transform into a furry goblet with his tail moving around while squeaking. Harry and the other students grinned, barely containing themselves from laughing.

“You must replace that wand, Mr. Weasley,” McGongall picked up the Scabbers-goblet.

Ron nodded sheepishly, eying his broken wand he tried so hard to mend. McGonagall saw Hermoine’s raised hand, yet her animal remained untouched.

“Yes, Miss Granger?” McGonagall acknowledged.

“Professor, I was wondering if you could tell us about the Chamber of Secrets?” Hermoine requested.

Draco gave Hermoine a surprised look and, after a second or two, Whisper found the courage to voice her peace.

“Actually… I’ve only heard the name of this chamber,” Whisper spoke up. “But… I never knew exactly what it was. Maybe… it might be better to know about it in case something were to… you know?”

Whisper felt Draco’s eyes on her, but the little pony didn’t care. A hush fell over the entirety of the class.

“My subject is Transfiguration, Miss Granger and Miss Dream,” McGonagall reminded.

“Yes, Professor,” Hermoine complied. “But Miss Whisper is right. There seems to be very little written about the Chamber of Secrets. For those of us with a personal interest in the subject, that is… disturbing.”

Malfoy regarded Hermoine with chilly amusement. McGonagall considered the girls’ question for a long moment, eyeing the rest of the kids who began sharing interest as well. Finally, she nodded with relent.

“Very well,” McGonagall sighed. “Well, you all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago by the combined unison of the three tribes of Equestria and the four greatest witches and wizards of the age: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. Now three of the founders co-existed quite harmoniously with our Equestrian allies. One did not.”

“Three guesses who?” Ron glanced at his friends.

“I could tell you in one,” Gallus whispered back.

“Salazar Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts,” Professor McGonagall continued. “He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. In other words, purebloods. He also believed that rather than align with the Equestrians, they should instead be enslaved to serve wizard-kind.”

Hermoine and Draco spared each other a cold glance before Professor McGonagall proceeded.

“Unable to sway the others, he decided to leave the school. Now, according to legend, Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in this castle, known as the Chamber of Secrets. Well, shortly before departing, he sealed it until that time when his own true heir returned to the school. The heir alone would be able to open the Chamber of Secrets and unleash the horror within, and by doing so, purge the school of all those who, in Slytherin’s view, were unworthy to study magic.”

“So… basically all Muggle-borns,” Ocellus implied.

“Yes,” The professor addressed the changeling. “Well, naturally the school has been searched many times for such a chamber. It has never been found.”

“Professor McGonagall?” Whisper slowly raised her hoof.

“… one word more, you brat, and Father will have your hide!” Draco tugged her leash fiercely.

Whisper gulped nervously, but saw the Professor turn around to face her. There was no going back now regardless of what consequences lay in store for her.

“Um… I merely meant to ask… what exactly does the legend tell us about what lies within the Chamber?”

“Well, the Chamber is said to be home to something which the heir of Slytherin alone can control,” McGonagall explained. “It is said to be home… to a monster.”

“What kind of monster?” Sandbar asked.

“Alas… no one knows,” McGonagall shook her head. “… now, back to our lesson.”

Hermoine could feel a sense of dread at those words; a horrified Ron shifted around to face Draco, who sat calmly with a smug grin to himself. The Student Six eyed the boy suspiciously, perhaps suspecting he knew something he wasn’t letting on.

<>

Later that day, Harry, Hermoine, Ron, and the Student Six thread their way through the teeming corridor. Up ahead, Malfoy walked along with his two friends, Crabbe and Goyle.

“D’you think it’s true?” Ron asked. “D’you think there really is a Chamber of Secrets?”

“Yes. Couldn’t you tell?” Hermoine questioned. “McGonagall’s worried. All the teachers are.”

“Tell me about it,” Smolder replied. “Princess Celestia and Head Mare Twilight hasn’t left Storm’s side after that incident the other night. They look as though they haven’t slept in weeks.”

“But if there really is a Chamber of Secrets, and it’s really been opened, that means…” Harry implied.

“The Heir of Slytherin has returned to Hogwarts,” Hermoine confirmed. “The question is, who is it?”

“Let’s think…” Ron mocked puzzlement. “Who do we know thinks Muggle-borns are scum?”

“If you’re talking about Malfoy –” Hermoine eyed the Slytherin.

“You heard what he said,” Sandbar reminded. “’You’ll be next, Mudbloods’!”

“Plus, that boy literally screams ‘bad guy’!” Silverstream emphasized.

“I heard him,” Hermoine responded. “But Malfoy? The Heir of Slytherin?”

“Well, maybe Ron’s right, Hermoine,” Harry spoke up. “I mean, look at his family. The whole lot of them have been in Slytherin for centuries.”

“That little filly Whisper Dream would know if he’s the Heir,” Gallus theorized. “But so long as he’s got that pony on a leash, as messed up as that sounds, she won’t be able to tell us anything. Who’d be willing to talk to us?”

“Crabbe and Goyle?” Yona guessed.

“Yeah… Crabbe and Goyle must know,” Ron agreed. “Maybe we could trick them into telling…”

“No. Even they aren’t that thick,” Hermoine disagreed. “But there might be another way. Mind you, it would be difficult. Not to mention we’d be breaking about fifty school rules. And it would be dangerous, verydangerous.”

<>

Late at night, the students gathered in a dark nook within the library. They huddled round a book entitled “Moste Potente Potions’. The spotted pages are littered with disturbing illustrations.

“Here it is,” Hermoine presented, reading the passage. “’The Polyjuice Potion. Properly brewed, the Polyjuice Potion allows the drinker to transformer himself temporarily into the physical form of another…’”

“You mean, if Harry and I drink some of this stuff and we turn into Crabbe and Goyle?” Ron emphasized.

“Yes,” Hermoine nodded.

“And since he trusts those two, Malfoy will have to tell the guys anything!” Silverstream grinned.

“Exactly,” Hermoine smiled slightly. “But it’s tricky. I’ve never seen a more complicated potion. Lacewing flies, leeches, fluxweed. And, of course, we’ll need a bit of whoever we want to change into too.”

“Hang on now,” Ron realized. “I’m drinking nothing with Crabbe’s toenails in it.”

“Ooh… that’s a bummer for you buddy!” Gallus grinned mischievously.

“How long will it take to make?” Harry asked.

“A month,” Hermoine answered reluctantly.

“A month?! But if Malfoy is the heir of Slytherin… he could attack half the Muggle-borns in the school by then. Maybe even any of the Equestrians.”

“You didn’t have to tell me that,” Ocellus shuddered.

“I know, but it’s the only plan we’ve got,” Hermoine replied.

“In the meantime, we need to keep our eyes peeled and it would be best to stay in groups,” Smolder replied. “As long as that monster is on the loose, none of us will be safe. It could go after any of us.”

“… Why can’t we ever just have a normal adventure?” Silverstream pouted.

The Rogue Bludger

Author's Note

Two things before we begin.

1: I’M BAAAAAAAAAAAACK

2: Thank you to everyone who’s quoted made it into this chapter.

The Rogue Bludger

A few days had passed yet Hogwarts was still reeling over the writing upon their walls. Not to mention the horror of discovering the petrified Mrs. Norris and Storm Shield. With the knowledge of the Chamber of Secrets being opened, many students and the various faculty were on edge. Never before had anything like this ever happened at Hogwarts in the last thousand years; and yet, McGonagall’s lesson rang true to the ears of those willing to listen.

At this very moment, Twilight Sparkle sat on a chair in the hospital wring alongside the petrified Storm Shield laying in bed. She stared toward the petrified Prince of Peace with tears streaming down her face like waterfalls. To this day, she still couldn’t believe such an incident could ever befall upon one of her closest friends… especially the Princess’s son.

“Storm… I’m so sorry,” Twilight wept. “This shouldn’t have happened to you.”

“Twilight.”

The lavender alicorn gasped and stood straight up, reeling about toward the source of the voice. And ever so suddenly, her eyes were locked with the magenta gaze of Princess Celestia herself.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight gasped, straightening out. “I’m so sorry about all this. If I had known, I would have never…”

But Princess Celestia merely raised her hoof, and her former pupil went silent. Celestia slowly approached her son’s bedside, leaned her head down, and planted a kiss upon his petrified forehead. Eventually, she turned her attention toward her most faithful student.

“Twilight, you have no reason to apologize,” Celestia assured. “There was no way you could possibly know something like this would happen.”

“But I should’ve done more to ensure his safety,” Twilight replied, dejected. “Not only his, but the safety of every pony! It’s my responsibility to ensure their safety on these missions… and I feel like a failure.”

Celestia extended one of her great wings, gently placing it around Twilight’s shoulders.

“Not even a princess can ensure nothing will go wrong,” Celestia informed her. “No matter how hard you try, bad things are bound to happen. You can’t place all the blame on yourself.”

Twilight Sparkle gazed toward her teacher with a halfhearted smile. Though she was still confused over what she learned recently, specifically what happened between Celestia and Chrysalis so very long ago, she was willing to put that all aside. All that mattered was basking in the familiar comfort her teacher provided and was still willing to do.

“Celestia, what if he…?”

Celestia quickly placed her hoof along her pupil’s lips before she finished.

“I won’t hear such talk, Twilight,” Celestia scolded mildly. “Albus assured that Storm Shield will be just fine. Professor Sprout is already at work on the Mandrake Draught, and soon we will have him back in no time.”

Though still incredibly worried for her friend, Twilight took comfort in knowing Celestia’s words rang true. As they spoke, many people were at work crafting the very potion that should revive both Storm and Mrs. Norris. Provided, of course, that nothing else went wrong.

“I really hope so,” Twilight sighed, gazing at Storm.

Celestia observed the manner of how Twilight was looking at Storm Shield. The princess couldn’t help but smile to herself. For that gaze was the exact manner of how she used to look at Cosmic Galaxy many moons ago; she knew exactly what it meant. Her most prized student cared so deeply for her son, it was plain to see it was more than just mere friendship. Deciding not to question the manner, however, Celestia instead chose to change the subject.

“I think we should be attending the Quidditch pitch,” Celestia suggested. “It’s Gryffindors’ first game of the season and you wouldn’t want to miss that. Don’t worry, Storm will still be here when the game is over.”

Twilight giggled slightly before facing her teacher with a smile.

“You’re right,” Twilight nodded.

“Follow me my student,” Celestia spoke warmly.

Celestia proceeded to lead Twilight Sparkle out of the hospital and through Hogwarts’ corridors. As they passed a nearby corridor, Celestia gave a quick glance and a nod, a series of silent signals Twilight hadn’t noticed. On cue, four figures snuck around the corner right as the two princesses left the area. This figures consisted of Quill Cast, Curtain Call, Mirai, and Draxus, all entering quickly into the hospital wing and gathered around Storm’s beside.

“Got what we need?” Curtain asked Quill.

“Don’t I always?” Quill remarked.

Quill Cast reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial of potion.

“We only have enough of this for one dose,” Quill informed. “We need to make this count.”

Quill quickly placed the vial over Storm’s lips, allowing the potion to slide down the stallion’s throat. When the whole potion had been consumed, he backed away while the group stared with anticipation. A few moments later, Storm’s eyes slowly fluttered, and his limbs started to twitch one by one. The prince then violently sat up with a heavy gasp, struggling to catch his breath as he confusedly looked around his surroundings.

“… Where am I?” Storm asked. “What happened?”

“Relax sire, you’re in the hospital wing,” Quill replied calmly. “You’ve just been petrified by Slytherin’s monster, along with Mr. Filch’s cat.”

“Can you remember what happened?” Curtain questioned.

“The other day… Discord was stirring chaos during our History of Magic class,” Storm explained, massaging his head. “Moondancer wasn’t happy with having to pick up all the books after our ‘skirmish’, so I told her I’d find Mr. Filch to help us clean. Then I heard voices coming from the halls and so I went to investigate. That’s when I noticed some water all over the floor and…”

A gasp escaped Storm’s lips as he quickly snapped his head toward his allies.

“No… it can’t be…” Storm shook his head.

“Yes… I’m afraid it’s true,” Curtain confirmed. “The Chamber of Secrets has been opened again; we have to accelerate our timetable quickly. If we don’t find what we’re looking for, it could very well mean the end of all Muggleborns.”

“And the end of all mankind,” Mirai added.

Storm quickly swung his legs off the bed, landing upon the cold floor. But the stallion started to lose his balance and leaned along the bed for support. He slowly stepped forward, steadying himself as his legs hadn’t fully recovered from their petrified state. It felt as though his limbs were numb, compressed in their previous position for too long. Fortunately, Draxus came to the prince’s aid and steadied his movements.

“Thanks Drax,” Storm thanked the large man.

To which the prince was only met with a grunt from the seemingly savage person.

“What are we waiting for?” Storm asked. “We must work fast!”

As Storm marched, Quill quickly held out one arm to stop him.

“Forgetting something?” He asked, gesturing to Storm’s empty bed. “No one can know you’re up and walking about. If they do, our cover’s blown.”

Storm realized that his friend was right, and he knew just what to do. Igniting his horn, he conjured his magic to create an exact replica of himself in his petrified state upon the bed. A slightly duplicate trick he’d learn from Discord of all creatures, one of the only ‘useful’ spells he ever learned from the draconequus.

“That should last until our task is complete,” Storm voiced determination. “Come on, let’s go!”

In seconds, Storm cast an invisibility spell on himself to conceal his identity at least till they were in the clear. Soon the five members of the Legion of Light quickly departed to begin their work. They could only hope with this growing problem they’d be able to succeed in time.

<>

Cheers and applause echoed over the air surrounding the Quidditch pitch, as all of Hogwarts gathered just to watch the first game of the season. Once again, it was Slytherin against Gryffindor, a rematch of sorts from the previous year. The members of Gryffindor are currently assembled in their team tent, working out a strategy for the upcoming game. Smolder sat alongside Harry as their team captain, Oliver Wood, proceeded to go over the plan.

“Before we make for the entrance of the stadium, I must inform all of you,” Oliver told his team. “After what happened to me last year, I’ve decided that in the event it happens again someone will be the temporary captain.”

“Temporary captain?” Fred and George asked simultaneously.

“What for?” Angelina asked curiously.

“Should I end up out of the game, someone will need to take command to ensure we can still win,” Oliver explained. “And I know just the one to do this.”

His attention soon turned toward the sole dragon player on the team. Confused, Smolder slowly turned around but saw no one sitting behind her. She turned back toward Wood, whose gaze was purposely toward her.

“Me?” Smolder pointed to herself.

“That’s right Smolder,” Woo confirmed. “I want you to be captain.”

To say Smolder was beyond shocked by this announcement would have been an understatement, her eyes grew wider as though she were still processing this announcement.

“W-What?!” Smolder stammered in shock. “N-No, no, no, no! I can’t be captain! Why even me? Couldn’t you pick someone more experienced?”

“I had been watching your training last year, and you took my advice to use your skill against our rivals,” Wood explained to her. “You hold a key advantage as a very special chaser. I knew you’d be perfect to be our temporary captain should anything happen to me.”

The remainder of the team eyed Smolder, as the dragon girl tried to avert her gaze from all of them.

“Wood has a point, Smolder,” Angelina agreed. “When you surged your broom last year, it was nothing I’ve ever seen before.”

“You’d be the perfect temporary captain,” Katie agreed.

“It’s only necessary if Woods gets taken out,” Harry assured his friend. “You’d be great, Smolder.”

Smolder turned her gaze back to her teammates before sighing with a roll of her eyes.

“Alright, I’ll do it,” She relented.

“That’s the spirit!” Wood cheered confidently. “Now let’s win this game!”

“YEAH!!” The team cheered in unison.

With that settled, the Gryffindor team grabbed their brooms and departed from the tent. They made their way toward the stadium, not only ready to fight… but to win.

<>

Soon, the Quidditch match had just reached the halfway mark. Needless to say, Gryffindor was not doing well against Slytherin. Though they tried their best, Slytherin seemed to be more on top of their game to start the season. The fact they all now had Nimbus 20001 brooms didn’t help the fact either. The crowd roared watching Slytherin’s Chasers, bent low over their new brooms, jetting past the overmatched Gryffindors. Slythern was in the lead with eighty points, while Gryffindor only had thirty. Watching from the stands, Sunset Shimmer, Hagrid, Ron, and Hermoine, along with the remainder of Gryffindor, looked worried as they stared across the stadium, seeing Slytherin students holding up a sign that said MALFOY in big letters.

“Gallopin’ Gorgons!” Hagrid remarked. “Slytherin’s flyin’ like they got dragon fire in their brooms…”

“They’ll do anything just to prove their better than Gryffindor,” Sunset observed.

“I hope that Malfoy gets hit in the head with a Bludger…” Ron muttered, eyeing the signs.

“You and me both,” Gallus smirked with agreement.

Gallus looked toward the field, spotting Silverstream leading the Gryffindor cheerleading team which included Yona and Ocellus that was formed just last year (by Phantom Dragon in the commentary). He smiled with that lovey-dovey expression, eyeing his girlfriend’s cheer.

“Rick ‘em, rack ‘em, rock ‘em, rake! Stick the quaffle to the snake!” The cheerleaders cheered.

“Seriously, why does that chant sound familiar?” Silverstream muttered to herself.

Nonetheless, Silverstream just shrugged to herself and continued cheering with the remainder of her team. Back in the stands Sandbar eyed the game intently as he watched Smolder and Harry play.

“How do you think it’s going?” Sandbar asked Ron nervously.

“Not looking good for them at the moment,” Ron answered matter-of-factly.

Sure enough, the Slytherins zoomed around at high speed, dominating their opponents with their superior brooms. And in just a matter of seconds, they scored yet another goal.

“Another goal for Slytherin!” Lee announced, updating the scoreboard. “They lead Gryffindor ninety to thirty!”

The Slytherin players cheered, flying around the stadium in a victory formation just to rub it in their opponents’ faces. Ron fumed at the sight, looking as though he took their dominance personally. Taking Hagrid’s giant binoculars, he trained them on the faculty box – where Lucious Malfoy sat alongside Professor Snape.

In the meantime, Harry circled high above the pitch, searching for the Golden Snitch. Suddenly, Malfoy streaked by overhead.

“All right there, Scarhead?” Draco mocked.

Harry turned, eyeing Malfoy malevolently. Flying near him, Smolder turned and her eyes went wide when a bludger began to streak toward his head.

“HARRY WATCH OUT!” Smolder shouted.

Harry wheeled and, at the last possible moment, slipped the whistling bludger. CRACK! Before the bludger aimed for Smolder, George swooped down and batted it away. Harry and Smolder turned, watching it soar away as Oliver Wood came into view.

“Watch yourself, Harry!” Oliver shouted.

Just then, Smolder and Harry’s eyes blinked with surprise. The bludger suddenly turned and streaked right back at him, toward Wood.

“Wood, look out!” Harry shouted.

The bludger struck Oliver’s broom as it took off after Harry, sending him jetting around the stadium. Smolder looked down and saw Oliver slowly descending toward the ground, unable to stay in midair. Smolder turned toward Harry and wanted to stop that bludger, but she also knew that without someone to guard the hoops, Gryffindor was vulnerable to potential scores. It was then Smolder knew what she had to do, as she faced several Gryffindor players nearby.

“You two! Increase the defenses!” Smolder ordered. “And you! Try to help Harry as best as you can! I’ll guard the hoops!”

The players nearby nodded and assumed their positions on the field, as Smolder took Oliver’s position and guarded the hoops. She turned toward Harry, nervous as she watched the bludger soar after Harry, and all the while wondering what was going on.

“Blimey, Harry’s got ‘imself a Rogue Bludger!” Hagrid shouted from the stands.

“Rogue Bludger?” Yona asked, confused.

“He’s right!” Sunset confirmed. “Someone has tampered with the bludger!”

Sur enough, Harry executed a series of zigs, zags, loops and rolls, trying to shake the Bludger, but the Bludger proved relentless.

“I’ll stop it!” Ron declared.

Ron instinctively drew his wand, pointing it toward Harry and the Bludger, when… Hermione’s and Gallus’s hand/talon interceded. They glanced knowingly at Ron’s fractured wand.

“You’re joking, right?” Gallus asked.

“Even with a proper wand, it’s too risky,” Hermione added. “You could hit Harry.”

As Harry frantically dipped and dove, Malfoy cruised by.

“Training for the ballet, Potter?” Draco called out.

Harry glanced at Malfoy’s sneering face. Suddenly, buzzing inches above Malfoy’s left ear was… the Golden Snitch. It flew literally next to Draco, but he didn’t notice. After ducking the Bludger coming at him again, Harry charged forward. Malfoy gulped, swung clear, and watched Harry rocket past. It was then Malfoy realized what was happening.

As Harry chased the plummeting Snitch, Malfoy followed in hot pursuit. Draco shoved Harry aside and pulled ahead of him. The snitch lead the two seekers downward, the pair trailing the hissing snitch deep into the trench circling the pitch.

“You’ll never catch me, Potter!” Draco mocked.

Shoulder to shoulder, they raced madly, driving and dodging the wooden support beams that crisscrossed their path. Directly behind them, the Bludger followed, shattering the beams as it dogged Harry. Up ahead, Colin Creevey snapped a photograph of Harry and Draco as they flew over him. He turned back and gasped as the Bludger was heading for him. But this hadn’t gone unnoticed.

“GET OUT OF THE WAY, KID!!!”

Shouting desperately, Smolder snatched Colin away just before the Bludger hit the boy. The boy gasped for breath, as he found himself in the arms of the determined ‘temporary captain’, who flapped her wings high over the air overlooking the game. The way she hovered over the air, her silhouette glowing with the sun behind her, it was though Smolder looked like an angel. The dragon herself looked down toward Colin with an annoyed expression.

“You have pretty eyes,” Colin spoke softly.

“Yeah, yeah, back to the stands for you kiddo!” Smolder rolled her eyes.

Smolder carried Colin back to the stands, and once the boy was safe, Smolder saw the tensions rising in the trench. Unable to see her friend in any danger, she knew she had to do something. Quickly flying down into the trenches, she soared behind the rogue bludger.

“So… you want to play ‘foul’ huh hardball?” Smolder called out. “Time to introduce you to my favorite game… FIRE BALL!!!”

With one shout, Smolder blasted a ball of flames against the bludger which sent it bouncing uncontrollably off the walls. Harry briefly turned behind him, and the dragon gave her friend a thumbs up. Suddenly, Malfoy kicked Harry, forcing him to the edge of the trench. Harry brushed the wall, battling for control. Malfoy turned, snickering, then looked back… and found himself heading smack into a wooden beam. Panicked, he tried to pull… but it was too late!

Broom met beam, and Malfoy spiraled out of the trench, losing control and – THWUMP! – the boy fell flat on his back in the middle of the pitch. Much of the crowd was alarmed, but Lucius just seemed coldly disappointed by his son’s performance. Needless to say, as Harry and Smolder flew by, the latter merely shook her head.

“Serves you right,” Smolder declared.

Smolder and Harry flew side by side, the ladder closing on the Snitch, fingertips only inches from catching it… when… everything happened so fast. The Rogue Bludger not only smashed into Harry’s arm, but just as Smolder saw it the bludger struck the dragon along the shoulder and sent her hurdling toward the pitch. Harry cried out, clutching his right arm to his chest, but still he steadied himself. With one brilliant, acrobatic maneuver, Harry snatched the snitch out of the air with his good hand. Unable to control his broom with his shattered arm, he hit the pitch with a sickening thud and coincidentally landed beside a groaning Smolder.

“Friends in trouble!!!” Yona called out.

“Let’s go!” Hermoine called out.

Ron, Hermoine, Hagrid, and the Young Six proceeded to leave the stands to reunite with their friend. Wincing, Harry rolled onto his shoulders. As he laid upon the mound, he held the snitch in his good hand and smiled weakly.

“Harry Potter has caught the snitch!” Lee Jordan announced. “Gryffindor wins!”

“HARRY, LOOK OUT!!!” Smolder and Sunset shouted.

Squinting up, a black dot – growing rapidly larger – plummeted from the sky, directly towards him. It’s… the rogue Bludger. The celebration cut short, Harry and Smolder spun away, grimacing in agony, as the bludger struck the ground like a sledgehammer, violently tattooing the pitch again and again, only inches from the pair.

“Harry!” Twilight exclaimed.

The princess rushed to the field to save the boy. Sunset Shimmer was just out at the field when she saw that the bludger was now turning toward her equine friend.

“TWILIGHT!!!” Sunset screamed.

The fiery haired girl jumped in between the alicorn princess and the bludger, taking the shot to the chest and she could hear her ribs crack. Time seemed to slow down as a gasp of air escaped Sunset’s lungs, as Twilight looked on with horror.

“SUNSET!!!” Twilight screamed, horrified.

Quickly, Hermione strode forth, aiming her wand at the Bludger.

“Finite Incantatem!” Hermione shouted.

The Bludger hung briefly in the air, slowly its spinning ceased, and it dropped heavily to the pitch igniting to smithereens. Once safe, Harry exhaled with relief, only to recall the searing pain in his arm. Everyone crowded around their injured friends, concerned faces swimming above them.

“Smolder!” Ocellus exclaimed, aiding her friend. “Are you alright?”

“I’m okay,” Smolder groaned. “But Gryffindor’s going to need a new temporary captain; I’m really grounded for a while…”

“Sunset…” Twilight leaned toward her friend. “Are you crazy?”

“I’ve done crazier things… heh-heh… Ow!” Sunset groaned, clutching her chest. “Shouldn’t laugh… how’s Harry?”

Twilight gently picked Sunset up, slinging her arm around her neck, and they walked over toward Harry. His friends, including Hagrid and Sonata were inspecting Harry’s injuries.

“Harry, are you okay?” Hermione asked concerned.

“No,” Harry winced. “I think… my arm’s broken.”

All of a sudden, one particular face pushed through the crowd.

“Not to worry, Harry,” Gilderoy Lockhart proclaimed. “I’ll fix that arm of your straight away.”

“I was afraid of that…” Spike muttered.

“No… no…” Harry shook his head. “Not you.”

“I can help, sir,” Sunset offered.

But the poor girl didn’t get very far when she collapsed upon the ground, or at least would hadn’t Twilight caught her in time.

“Sunset, no…” Twilight shook her head. “You’re hurt…”

“I appreciate your assistance, Miss Sunset,” Lockhart replied, pulling back Harry’s sleeve. “But I assure you, this won’t hurt a bit…”

“Are you sure?” Sonata asked.

The Siren exchanged a worried glance alongside Ron and Hermione, as all eyes looked toward Hagrid. The groundskeeper gave a reassuring look as Lockhart pulled out his wand and twirled it toward Harry’s arm.

“Brackium Emendo!”

Harry braced himself as Lockhart’s wand emitted a blue light, which then receded… but nothing seemed to happen. Blinking his eyes, Harry looked up toward the faces – which included all his Equestrian friends – looking horror-stricken. And for good reason, for as Lockhart dropped his wand and lifted Harry’s arm, it was now limp and slushy much to everyone’s and every pony’s disgust.

“Gross!” Gallus exclaimed in disgust.

Sandbar shielded Yona’s eyes as his face turned… greener. Upon seeing Harry’s arm, Sunset immediately fainted out of Twilight’s grip and collapsed on the ground. It was then ‘Professor’ Discord appeared, shaking his head while clicking his tongue.

“Get up you pansy!” Discord barked at the unconscious Jedi.

Sonata tried to keep her mouth closed, but ultimately lost all the tacos she just had for lunch. All the while, Lockhart appeared rather sheepish.

“What the hay is that?!” Rainbow Dash pointed out.

Trying to save face, Lockhart moved Harry’s limp right hand back, which disgusted everyone further.

“Ah. Yes. Well, that can sometimes happen,” Lockhart stammered. “But uh… the point is… you can no longer feel any pain. And, very clearly, the bones are no longer broken.”

“Brok’n?!” Hagrid exclaimed in outrage. “He doesn’t ‘ave any bones at all!”

“Much more flexible though,” Lockhart said, as Harry’s right hand fell back.

From the sides, Whisper Dream watched as several people surrounded Harry along the Quidditch pitch. She too was worried over the injuries Harry sustained thanks to that rogue Bludger. However… there seemed to be some students who noticed her hesitancy and her leaving the pitch. The CMCs, the first to gallop after her, stood in her path and she stopped with a gasp.

“I-I didn’t do anything!” Whisper whimpered frantically. “I swear I don’t know anything!”

“Calm down a second there,” Apple Bloom reassured. “We know you ain’t done nothing.”

Whisper tried to move away, only for the Young Six to approach from behind leaving her cornered with nowhere to run… much less fly.

“I shouldn’t be talking to you,” Whisper said desperately. “If I’m seen with you, Master Draco will be furious!”

“Yona and friends want to help Whisper,” Yona told her gently.

“The way Bad Mouth and Bad Mouth senior treat you… that’s wrong,” Smolder nearly sneered. “Besides, we want nothing from you.”

“Isn’t that what school’s all about?” Ocellus asked in agreement. “Making friends?”

“… Not to me,” Whisper shook her head. “It’s just another place for me to survive.”

“Well… maybe we can help,” Sweetie Belle offered. “Tell us how you ended up with the Malfoys, and we can convince Twilight to get you away from them.”

Whisper Dream quickly turned away, trying and failing to hide the terror as plain as the muzzle on her face.

“I… can’t talk about that” She whimpered terrified.

“Why not?” Apple Bloom asked concerned. “Y’all wanna get away from them good fer nothin’ Malfoys, ya gotta let us in on it!”

“They’re the worst human beings on this planet,” Gallus stated boldly. “And you know they are! I know you do, kid.”

“They’re… not all bad!” Whisper answered hesitantly. “Master Lucius and Master Draco are awful, yes. But Lady Narcissa… she’s very kind to me.”

“Narcissa?” Scootaloo raised an eyebrow.

“Name doesn’t ring a bell,” Sandbar shook his head.

“Master Draco’s mother,” Whisper explained. “Lady Narcissa doesn’t speak to me often, unless to give an order. But she’s far kinder than Masters Lucius and Draco put together. She treats me better and, though she’s never said it, deep down she cares about me.”

“A Malfoy who isn’t terrible?” Sweetie Belle asked herself, almost surprised. “That’s a shocker.”

“Still, if ya don’t like being pushed around by Malfoy and his pa, ya gotta stand up fer yerself,” Apple Bloom advised Whisper.

“Otherwise, they’re just going to push you around forever like the bullies they are,” Silverstream added. “Believe me, I know what it’s like to live under the shadow of a terrifying figure. Our family couldn’t leave the sea because of a terrible king running rampant. But you’ll never know what you are capable of if you don’t ‘try’ to fight back.”

“It doesn’t have to be physical,” Ocellus suggested. “But sooner or later, you have to speak up.”

But she only lowered her head further, her body slightly shaky.

“I just… can’t…” She nearly sobbed. “I’m sorry…”

The Crusaders gathered around Whisper Dream, placing their hooves collectively around her. It was as though they were putting a barrier around her, as the pony was clearly having a panic attack. For the Young Six, this was a difficult scenario to watch.

“Don’t y’all worry none, Whisper,” Apple Bloom voiced determination. “We’re gonna teach ya how tah stand up fer yerself!”

“No pony deserves all the grief those Malfoys give you,” Scootaloo agreed.

“And we’re never leaving your side for a moment,” Sweetie Belle declared. “We promise.”

Though she was still very hesitant, terrified of the idea, Whisper Dream slowly looked up showing a tiny smile spreading along her face. For the first time in her life, she actually felt something other than fear and trepidation. For once in her life, she felt safe in the comforting arms of what true love and care represent. And maybe, just maybe, perhaps things were going to change for the better.

<>

Later that day, in the hospital wing, a dazed Malfoy slumped out in a hospital bed, moaning in bed. The only guests were Crabbe, Goyle, and one of his teammates who sat at the bedside next to him. Ron, standing by Harry’s bed along with Hermione, grinned at the sight. And then, all eyes watched as Madame Pomfrey poured a steaming beakerful of liquid from a bottle of skele-gro into a glass. A group of Gryffindors, including teammates and the Equestrians, stood nearby.

“Oh, Mr. Malfoy!” Pomfrey rolled her eyes. “Stop making a fuss; you can go.”

She quickly moved towards Harry’s bed, brushing past the concerned group.

“Out of my way, out of my way!” Pomfrey ordered, frustrated. “He should have been brought straight to me! I can mend bones in a heartbeat – but growing them back…”

“You will be able to, won’t you?” Hermione asked hopefully.

“Oh, I’ll be able to, certainly, but it’ll be painful. You’re in for a rough night, Potter. Regrowing bones is a nasty business.”

Harry took the steaming cup and drank it. Disgusted by the taste of it, Harry spat it out and winced.

“Well, what did you expect – pumpkin juice?” Pomfrey shook her head, putting the glass on the table.

“I think I’d prefer that over what… that is supposed to do,” Smolder groaned, massaging her shoulder.

FLASH! Harry and Smolder blinked the moment they saw Colin Creevey standing there.

“That was brilliant today, Harry! Brilliant!” Collin grinned, before facing Smolder. “And you Miss Smolder… you saved my life! I’ll never forget it!”

“Yeah, I’m a real hero…” Smolder chuckled. “Just gimme a purple heart and we’ll call it even.”

“Out! All of you!” Pomfrey ordered. “This boy’s got thirty-three bones to regrow!”

The majority of Gryffindor were ushered out to give Harry some space, and just as soon as Smolder’s friends made sure she was okay. The two Gryffindors found themselves in bed beside Sunset Shimmer, who was taped heavily around the chest.

“I’m starting to suspect Gilderoy’s not as good as his books claimed…” Sunset muttered.

“Not going to argue on that one,” Smolder agreed.

“Easy for you to say,” Harry grumbled. “You’re not the one who lost every bone in his arm, Professor Sunset…”

“Hey, I’ve been hurt… worse,” Sunset frowned. “Let’s leave it at that.

The Jedi Sorceress, the Gryffindor Seeker, and the temporary captain stayed in bed for almost an hour now. The sun had just set across the sky, which meant night was looming over. After a period of awkward silence, Sunset Shimmer broke the ice.

“How many bludgers did your dad get hit by when he was your age?” Sunset spoke.

“I… don’t know,” Harry shrugged. “I’ve never asked.”

“I’m sure he’s never been hurt this bad,” Smolder grimaced.

“Well, everybody’s been hit by a Bludger now and then…” Sunset recalled, remembering last year’s game. “Remember when Oliver Woods took one hit to the face. Ouch! Bet that smarts.”

“Hmmm…” Smolder nodded in agreement. “Hey… at least Harry caught the Snitch!”

“And with just one arm,” Sunset lightened the mood. “Second time in a row you beat Slytherin, Harry. That’s got to be something to be proud of.”

“Doesn’t feel like it,” Harry muttered.

“Still… if your dad was here, he’d be proud of you!”

Harry smiled at Sunset’s praise, which dwindled into a sad frown just thinking of his father.

“Did… you know my father?” Harry asked.

“… Not personally,” Sunset shook her head. “But from what I’ve heard, he sounds like a great man! Like you are!”

“No… I don’t think I am,” Harry shook his head. “I was only a baby when he and my mother died… because of Voldemort…”

“I’m really sorry about that, Harry,” Smolder butted in. “We all are.”

“He’s the reason they’re dead,” Harry continued. “And why I ended up with the Dursleys… and why I’ll never know what having a mother and father’s love really feels… he ruined me.”

Sunset and Smolder eyed Harry with sympathy, the former appeared as though she were about to cry over the poor boy’s grievances. To the entire Wizarding World and beyond, he seemed to be a celebrity with the famous ‘The Boy Who Lived’ title. But at the core, he was just a lost boy, alone and in need of the guidance of loving parents. In some way, when Sunset looked at him, it was as though she saw herself.

“Fathers are kind,” Sunset Shimmer began. “Fathers protect you; fathers raise you. That’s what a real father is supposed to do. I should know because… my dad was always that way with me.”

Harry and Smolder turned toward Sunset, as she continued her story.

“Most ponies value Celestia and Luna as their heroes, even Starswirl and his closest allies, but my dad was the only one for me,” Sunset smiled nostalgically. “He was a very powerful unicorn wizard. Not at Starswirl’s level but he was one of Princess Celestia’s trusted councilors. He was kind, caring, and encouraging. While my brother, Sunburst, would stick to books and spend most of his time with Starlight Glimmer, my dad and I would go out into the fields together to work up some of his amazing spells in the works. It was such an empowering feeling to know he trusted me enough to let me work alongside him. And in return… I trusted him… to always be there for me.”

“He sounds amazing,” Harry replied. “But… what happened?”

“… He died…” Sunset spoke solemnly, looking down. “On an ambassador trip…”

“Sunset…” Smolder reached out.

“NO!” Sunset snapped, quickly calming herself. “Please… don’t do that… I don’t want to talk about it anymore…”

Sunset Shimmer turned her gaze away from the kids, and that was the last she spoke of her father that night. Despite the manner of how Sunset lashed out, Harry and Smolder couldn’t help but feel bad for their professor. Even with her tempers, she always seemed rather cool that nothing could ever truly hurt her. But she was hurt, in more ways than she was letting on… but for the time being, it was best that they respected her privacy. She just needed… time…

<>

Later that evening, Harry was sleeping in his bed… or at least trying to. The young man began to fidget in the dark, half-asleep, then… his eyelids flutter slowly open as he heard a voice calling to him…

“Harry…” A female voice spoke. “Harry…?”

Awake, Harry picked himself up and put on his glasses. Before his very eyes, the Young Six, including a bandaged Smolder, stood before him.

“Hey guys…” Harry smiled.

“Just came to check in on you,” Gallus informed.

“Harry feeling better?” Yona asked.

“Been better…” Harry shrugged.

“Well, you’re still talking,” Sandbar pointed out. “That’s good to hear.”

“Yeah… but I have to take that Skele-Gro again in the next few hours. But, urgh… what a horrible taste.”

“Reminds me of the medicines I had to take,” Smolder shuddered.

“Me too!” Silverstream nodded in agreement. “But hey, I’m sure Harry’s bones will grow back in a few days.”

Just then, Harry heard another voice… a foreboding one. It caused him to look around, from the shadows that clung to the ceiling… to the latticework of moonlight burning softly along the walls around him. Everywhere he looked, he heard the voice repeating the same word…

“Kill… kill…”

“Do you guys hear something?” Harry asked, looking around.

To suggest that the Young Six were confused was an understatement.

“Hear what?” Yona asked.

“I don’t hear anything,” Ocellus shook her head.

“Me neither,” Sandbar added.

“Time to kill…”

Harry wasn’t sure why, but he could sense something… a strange presence so mysterious… yet so familiar all the same…

“I really am hearing something,” Harry insisted.

“Harry, what’s gotten into you?” Smolder asked.

The group looked up toward the ceiling, trying to see if they could hear the chilling, monstrous sounds that Harry could hear. All the while… Harry felt five bandaged fingers starting to sponge his brow…

“Come on, Harry,” Gallus insisted. “There’s nothing up there but a ceiling…”

Just then, as they simultaneously lowered their heads… Dobby, sitting on the edge of the bed, smiled at Harry.

“Hello,” The house elf greeted.

“AAH!!!” The Young Six shrieked.

“YOU….” Smolder pointed, then grimaced. “Ow…”

“Dobby?” Harry spoke, somewhat surprised.

“What are you doing here?” Sandbar asked.

“Harry Potter came back to school, Dobby warned him,” Dobby rambled. “Harry Potter should have listened to Dobby. Harry Potter should have gone back home when he missed the train.”

“How did you know Harry would miss the train?” Silverstream asked, confused. “Are you sure you’re not psychic?”

“Wait a minute… you don’t suppose…” Ocellus assumed.

It didn’t take long for all eyes to turn toward Dobby with sudden realization.

“It was you!” Harry pushed Dobby away. “You stopped the barrier from letting Ron, the Crusaders and me through!”

“Indeed yes, sir,” Dobby admitted timidly. “Dobby hid and watched for Harry Potter and sealed the gateway.”

“So… Dobby was the one who blocked the barrier all along?” Gallus realized, stunned.

“Yona didn’t see that coming,” Yona gaped.

“You nearly got Ron, the Crusaders, and me expelled!” Harry confronted Dobby angrily.

“That’s right!” Smolder joined in. “Why would you do that? Did Harry do something wrong?”

“Oh no, no, no, no!” Dobby shook his head. “Harry Potter has done nothing wrong, madam.”

“Then why are you trying to make me expelled?” Harry asked.

“At least you would be away from here,” Dobby explained, approaching Harry. “Harry Potter must go home! Dobby thought his Bludger would be enough to make Harry Potter see…”

“Your Bludger?” Harry’s anger rose. “You made that Bludger chase after me?”

“Your Bludger that put me in the hospital, just when I was named captain?!” Smolder fumed.

“Dobby feels most aggrieved,” Dobby waggled his fingers. “Dobby had to iron his hands…”

The Young Six were stunned that all this time the stalker that had been following them was Dobby. Not only did he block the barrier while they were on their way to the Hogwarts Express, but it was him who made the Bludger chase after Harry during the Quidditch match with Slytherin.

“I can’t believe Dobby has been stalking us!” Sandbar spoke.

“But why would he try to scare us away?” Ocellus asked.

“There has to be some explanation,” Silverstream implied optimistically.

“All I know is that house elf is getting on my last nerve,” Smolder groaned angrily.

“You better clear off before my bones come back, Dobby, or I might strangle you!” Harry warned Dobby.

“Dobby is used to death threats, sir,” Dobby smiled weakly, hopping off the bed. “Dobby gets them five times a day at home.”

Harry got out of bed and approached Dobby, who backed away until something blocked his way. He turned around toward and gasped. For standing over him was Professor Sunset Shimmer, her hands on her hips, and had heard nearly everything.

“You’re one to blame for everything,” Sunset pointed out.

“Oh…” Dobby cringed frightened.

“Let me tell you a few things we’ve been through,” Smolder explained. “First Harry’s uncle put bars around his window back home preventing him, Twilight and the rest of us from going to Hogwarts. Then you magically blocked the barrier and those of us who couldn’t get through had to use Ron’s father’s car just to even get here, but our professors were so mad those kids got detention! And thirdly, you forced a Bludger onto Harry.. and Sunset… and me… and for what?!”

“P-P-Please, madam,” Dobby begged frightened. “Dobby was doing this for Harry Potter’s own good!”

“Maybe you should’ve thought before you acted you little--!” Smolder growled, enraged.

Before Smolder could get her claws on the house elf, the remainder of the Young Six pulled her away.

“Hey! Lemme at ‘em! Lemme at ‘em! LEMME AT ‘EM!” Smolder snapped.

“Easy Smolder, he gets the idea,” Gallus pulled Smolder way.

“I’m not finished with him!” Smolder struggled.

“Calm down, Smolder!” Ocellus insisted.

“Deep breaths…” Yona instructed.

Harry and Sunset Shimmer watched as the Young Six tried to calm Smolder down, then they addressed Dobby.

“I don’t suppose you could tell me why you’re trying to kill me?” Harry interrogated.

“Not kill you, sir, never kill you!” Dobby insisted, backing away. “Dobby remembers how it was before Harry Potter triumphed over ‘He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named’. We house elves were treated like vermin, sir. Of course, Dobby is still treated like vermin…”

The house elf sobbed uncontrollably as Harry and the others looked on, then honked his nose on the filthy pillowcase he wore.

“What a wimp!” Gallus shook his head.

“Why do you even wear that thing, Dobby?” Sunset asked patiently. “You couldn’t afford a uniform?”

“This, madam?” Dobby pointed out. “’Tis a mark of the house elf’s enslavement. Dobby can only be freed if his master presents him with clothes. The family is careful not to pass Dobby so much as a sock, sir, for then he would be free to leave their house forever.”

“… I don’t know why but that actually makes sense,” Sunset spoke slowly.

Dobby’s ears quivered, detecting… footsteps. A banging sound coming from outside, his eyes glanced toward the infirmary door. The Young Six, Sunset, and Harry heard the banging as well, glancing toward the door.

“Someone’s coming!” Silverstream whispered.

“Oh…” Dobby whimpered.

The house elf leapt onto the bed and beckoned Harry closer.

“Listen… listen…” Dobby whispered. “Terrible things are about to happen at Hogwarts! Go home, Harry Potter. Go home.”

To which the Young Six immediately came to Harry’s defense.

“Harry not going anywhere!” Yona declared.

“He’s staying no matter what happens,” Gallus argued.

“And don’t even think you can stop Harry again,” Smolder warned.

“Or make him go home,” Silverstream added.

“You’ve caused enough trouble for one day, Dobby,” Sandbar spoke bluntly. “Just leave us alone!”

“But it’s not trouble, sir,” Dobby insisted. “Harry Potter must not stay here now that history is to repeat itself!”

“Repeat itself?” Harry repeated, surprised. “You mean, this has happened before?”

Dobby gasped, covering his mouth with his hands, but the truth spilled out.

“I shouldn’t have said that!” Dobby grabbed the Skele-Gro bottle, and beat himself with it. “Bad Dobby!”

“Dobby… stop that right now!” Sunset ordered.

She grabbed the bottle from Dobby, set it aside, and held him aloft by the pillowcase.

“You know something, Dobby,” Sunset interrogated. “You said this happened before… who’s doing it now?”

“Dobby cannot say, madam,” Dobby insisted. “Dobby only wants Harry Potter to be safe.”

“No, Dobby!” Harry shook his head. “Tell me! Who is it?”

CRACK! Just as a door opened in the background, drawing the Young Six’s attention, Dobby snapped his fingers and vanished into thin air.

“He’s gone again,” Ocellus sighed.

“Safe, huh?” Gallus groaned.

“I’ve had enough of house elves for one day,” Smolder crossed her arms, going back to bed.

Just then, Harry and Sunset turned toward the doorway spotting shadows flickering beyond the curtain encircling Harry’s bed. Sunset turned back toward the remaining Six.

“You kids better hide!” Sunset warned. “Now! Hurry!”

“You heard what the professor said!” Silverstream faced the others. “Quick!”

While Smolder just got back into bed, the others tried to find a place to hide while Harry and Sunset slumped down in their own beds. They faced the opposite direction of whomever was coming, so they didn’t appear to be awake. Curious, Sunset peered through a slit in her curtains and that’s when she saw them.

Professor Dumbledore at the lead, and following him were Professor McGonagall, Madame Pomfrey, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadance. Together they walked into the hospital wing. Two medics, ponies in tartan robes, appeared to be carrying a small statue toward the nearby bed.

“Put him here,” Pomfrey instructed worriedly.

Smolder peered slightly and her eyes went wide with shock. As it turns out, it was not a statue lying there… but one of the students. This particular student carried in was none other than Colin Creevey himself. Much like Storm Shield and Mrs. Norris, he apparently had been petrified, his camera still clutched to his eye. Princess Celestia used her magic to carefully lift Colin onto the bed.

“What’s happened?” Pomfrey asked.

“There’s been another attack,” Dumbledore replied.

“Two attacks within only a few days,” Celestia said worriedly. “This has to be a bad omen.”

“We agree wholeheartedly, sister,” Luna nodded. “Never in the history of Hogwarts have we had something such as this happen… and in such short time.”

“I think… you know that I think he’s been petrified, Madame Pomfrey,” McGonagall told the nurse witch. “Perhaps he managed to get a picture of his attacker…”

“If he did, we have a clear look at who’s behind all this,” Cadence spoke up. “We can stop them before they strike again.”

Dumbledore carefully took Colin’s camera from his hands, showing a somewhat frightened look on his face. Dumbledore opened the film compartment, and it discharged a burst of smoke, a jet of stream hissing forth. The staff were in shock by such a calamity.

“It’s as if the camera itself has been petrified,” Celestia gasped in shock.

“What does this mean, Albus?” McGonagall asked fearfully.

“It means… our students are in great danger, Minerva,” Dumbledore replied seriously. “Mr. Creevey was fortunate. If not for this… he would surely be dead.”

“What should we tell the staff?” Cadence asked worriedly.

“Tell them the truth,” Dumble instructed. “Tell them Hogwarts is no longer safe. Tell them it’s as we feared. The Chamber of Secrets is indeed open again.”

Harry Potter, Sunset Shimmer, and Smolder were in shock upon hearing the most dreadful news. None more so than the Young Six in hiding, every figure trying so hard not to make a sound. Ocellus slowly looked toward Smolder, and to her surprise, the dragon appeared to be fighting to suppress herself… trying to stop a tear from falling down her eye. Just hours ago, she had been approached by this kid who’d been nothing but thankful to her even when he put himself in danger. And in an instant, for whatever reason he was out in the middle of the night, he had been petrified while she was lying in bed with her other injured friends. All of which begs another set of questions…

What must they do? And how do they stop it?

Dueling Club

Author's Note

Thanks to Phantom Dragon for most of this chapter since it’s mostly made of his quotes as well as Rezurrection Time and Postwarmonkey50.

Dueling Club

The girls bathroom of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy… a most gloomy place for our assortment of heroes. With cracked mirrors, chipped sinks, and guttering candles, it appeared to be in more terrible shape than the Halloween night when a troll was let loose in the school. Yet this was where Harry, Ron, the Student Six, and the CMC huddled together, over a small, bubbling cauldron, as Hermione added some strange ingredients. One would think that the students had the whole place to themselves, under the noses of the professors currently undergoing their own concerns over the previous course of events…

At least, that would be the case, had Professor Sunset Shimmer weren’t part of this gathering alongside Princess Twilight Sparkle and the remainder of the Mane Six. When they heard word over what happened with Colin Creevey and the discussion shared amongst Dumbledore and the princesses over the Chamber of Secrets, they knew something was going on. The very topic in general still swam over their heads as they tried to process this new input.

“Again?” Hermione questioned. “You mean, the Chamber of Secrets has been opened before?”

“From the sound of it, yeah,” Sandbar confirmed.

“And the teachers were really worried,” Ocellus voiced concern.

“That would make sense,” Rarity nodded understandingly. “We’ve never seen them this spooked before.”

“They’re always watching over their shoulders,” Sweetie Belle added. “Constantly checking on every student before and after classes.”

“But why hasn’t any pony found it?” Twilight questioned.

“Because it’s… a secret?” Rainbow Dash presumed sarcastically.

WHACK! A swipe from Applejack’s tail left a huge red mark along Rainbow’s flank, and the Pegasus reared in pain before glaring at her mare friend, while massaging a very tender wound.

“Don’t you sass there, Rainbow,” Applejack scolded.

“I think I know what Twilight meant,” Sunset Shimmer theorized. “If the Chamber of Secrets was a big deal back then, why hasn’t any pony or anyone made a mission to find it? If something horrible is still down there, who’s to say that the Benefactor and his group won’t go down there if that’s what they’re looking for?”

“The Benefactor could be a her,” Pinkie Pie corrected. “We don’t know it’s a man.”

“From what Celestia and Dumbledore informed me,” Twilight Sparkle answered. “When Salazar Slytherin made the chamber, he built it to ensure no one would ever find it. It must be someplace no one would ever think to look.”

“But wouldn’t they have archives on something like that?” Smolder pointed out.

“Yona no think they do,” Yona shook her head. “If chamber open back then, teachers try to cover up incident.”

“Yona’s right!” Silverstream gasped in realization. “If every student’s parents found out about it, they’d stop sending theirs and future students here. Hogwarts would end up becoming an abandoned castle like the Castle of the Two Sisters!”

“Of course! Don’t you see?” Ron butted in. “Lucius Malfoy must’ve opened it when he was at school here, and now he’s told Draco how to do it.”

“It does sound scary,” Fluttershy whimpered.

“Hmm… ah’m not sure about that,” Apple Bloom pondered. “Somethin’s really off.”

“What do you mean?” Scootaloo raised an eyebrow.

“Ah’m not sure, but somethin’ tells me the chamber must’ve been opened… long before Lucious was born. Ah could be wrong, ah don’t know…”

“Besides, Draco’s too much of a wimp,” Sunset Shimmer added. “He couldn’t even man up when I demanded his apology after what he said to Hermione, or when he only pulled a muscle after that fall at the Quidditch game.”

“Now that you mention that…” Gallus thought. “Lucius seems more like that one guy who lets other people do his dirty work instead of animals.”

“Maybe,” Hermione replied. “But we’ll have to wait for the Polyjuice Potion to know for sure.”

“I could still help,” Twilight offered. “I know transfiguration spells.”

“You know why we can’t, Twilight,” Sunset reminded.

“Yeah, ever since the Legion of Doom and the Benefactor broke into the school with that Quirrel guy, tons of magical wards were in place,” Pinkie Pie rambled. “Anyone finds out outside magic is in use, they’ll get suspicious.”

Twilight groaned with a hoof against her face, just realizing she had forgotten that one key detail. But of course, leave it to Pinkie Pie to bring up past events with that insane memory of hers.

“Enlighten me,” Ron spoke nervously. “Why are we brewing this potion in broad daylight, in the middle of the girls’ lavatory? Don’t you think we’ll get caught?”

“Relax Ron,” Rainbow Dash brushed off. “There’s like ‘ten’ different bathrooms in this castle on a bajillion floors! Or did you forget about that one the when the Troll came along?”

WHACK! Again, Applejack gave a swift smack to the rear like a whip against a bull’s hide.

“Will you stop doing that?!” Rainbow Dash frowned, in annoyance.

“Sorry Rainbow,” Applejack replied. “But as yer special some pony, it’s mah job to make sure y’all don’t do nothing reckless.”

“You’re one to talk…” Rainbow muttered.

“Professor Rainbow’s remarks aside, she has a point,” Hermione spoke up. “No one ever comes in here.”

“From the sound of it, not in many years,” Twilight observed.

“Why?” Ron asked curiously.

“Moaning Myrtle,” Hermione answered.

“Who?” Ron & Gallus asked simultaneously.

Out of nowhere, a ghost in the form of a girl floated out of nowhere. Those among the group who saw her coming were shocked beyond words.

“Who the heck is she?” Gallus asked.

Suddenly, there was a loud, piercing screech as the ghost of a young girl raced out of the wall. Soon, the griffin and Ron were face-to-face with the ghost itself and to suggest they were startled was an understatement.

“I’m Moaning Myrtle!!” Myrtle declared, floating over everyone. “I wouldn’t expect you to know me. Who would ever talk about fat, ugly, miserable, moping, moaning Myrtle?”

Myrtle sobbed loudly, crying and wailing whilst flying into the air. Till eventually, the ghost dove headfirst into one of the toilets.

“Uh… wow,” Gallus uttered, stunned.

“She’s a little sensitive,” Hermione pointed out.

“The poor dear,” Rarity shook her head.

“A bit too sensitive if you ask me,” Scootaloo muttered.

“You mean how you three were when you desperately wanted your Cutie Marks?” Spike reminded.

“Don’t remind us,” The CMC sighed simultaneously.

<>

It was later in the day and many students were gathered together in the Great Hall where they took note of a noticeboard, which said: DUELING CLUB! First Meeting Tonight. A golden stage has been erected in the middle of the hall. Gilderoy Lockhart strutted atop it. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and a good number of other students stood by to watch.

“Gather round!” Lockhart called out. “Gather round!”

All at once, the students gathered around that very stage. The showboating wizard proceeded to strut his way across the stage like a snooty fashion supermodel strutting across the catwalks of Manehatten.

“Can everybody see me? Can you all hear me?” Lockhart asked.

“Some of us are half-eagles!” Gallus called out. “We can see you a mile away!”

“Excellent!” Lockhart smiled in response. “In light of the dark events of recent weeks, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little Dueling Club, to train you all up in case you ever need to defend yourselves as I myself have done on countless occasions.”

“You’re not the only one, Professor Lockhart,” Sunset Shimmer spoke up, approaching the stage. “I happened to have had experience facing rogue Equestrian magic from another world, in another time.”

“Was that before or AFTER you fell to the Dark Side, Seraphina?” A Slytherin called out.

“How about when you crashed Potter and Wesley in the Whomping Willow?” Another followed. “Was a tree too much for you, Jedi?”

“More like a housefly!” A Slytherin joked. “She couldn’t even protect that other Jedi who got himself petrified!”

Soon the Slytherins exploded in laughter, a majority pointing fingers toward an irked Sunset Shimmer. She could feel the urge to force-choke every one of these students for rubbing salt upon an old wound.

“You little…” Sunset gritted her teeth.

“BE STILL!!!”

The laughter was brought to an abrupt silence within seconds. Suddenly, appearing onto the stage, amidst the flash of lightning and rumble of thunder, Princess Luna herself stood in position. The lunar princess gazed down upon Slytherin house with a fierce stare, the like of which would make even the fiercest demons quiver with fear.

“That is ENOUGH, Slytherins!” Princess Luna hollered with her Royal Canterlot voice. “There shall NOT be disrespectful TALK to one of our ASSISTANT PROFESSORS! TO ANY JEDI! AND CREATUERS ALIKE! Whilst my sister and I cannot overlook Sunset Shimmer’s past crimes, I speak on her behalf that she has been pardoned, in light of her recent heroism, at great personal risk. She’s no more than a Sith than I was as Nightmare Moon. If any of you wish to challenge us otherwise, come onto this stage and SAY SOMETHING RIGHT NOW!!!”

Just like that, none of the Slytherins dared to comply. They back down, keeping their mouths shut for fear of angering the Night Princess further. The princess herself nodded with silent approval, as she turned toward Sunset Shimmer, who bowed respectively toward the dark alicorn.

“Thank you, Princess Luna!” Sunset Shimmer thanked.

“Think nothing of it,” Princess Luna replied. “But next time, I might not be here to help you…”

“Ah, Princess Luna!” Gilderoy exclaimed, overcoming his shock. “To what do I owe for such a grand visit from your greatness today?”

“As you know, my nephew, Jedi Grandmaster Storm Shield, is currently bedridden along with Mrs. Norris and Colin Creevey in the Hospital Wing,” Princess Luna explained. “Therefore, I have taken the liberty of substituting in his absence, for I shall assist Sunset Shimmer in today’s demonstration of what our students expect to learn from your Dueling Club.”

The students and teachers present were all in shock. The surprise of hearing such a revelation sent them exchanging gossip that expanded all across the hall.

“No way!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “Princess Luna going head-to-head with Sunset Shimmer?”

“Will Sunset be… okay?” Hermione asked with great concern.

“Don’t worry,” Spike shrugged. “Princess Luna’s our friend and Sunset’s too. She’ll go easy on her… I think.”

“Sparky’s going to die…” Peeves smiled.

“Oh hoo-hoo-hoo!” Discord chuckled. “I’m going to need more popcorn!”

All eyes watched as Princess Luna and Sunset Shimmer engaged in a staring contest, eyeing one another with strict examination.

“So… Princess Luna?” Sunset began. “First off, Anakin sends his regards… all good things. And second, no hard feelings. Right?”

“… Don’t hold back,” Princess Luna grinned. “Impress me.”

Soon, both Sunset Shimmer and Princess Luna marched several paces away from each other. Their heads never turned away from one another, their eyes remained locked as if bound by a magnetic force. At the ready, Gilderoy held his wand out and prepared to count.

“One… two… THREE!”

At three, Sunset Shimmer ignited her doubled-bladed lightsaber and performed an astonishing flutter kick, flipping herself in the air before she swung her lightsaber toward Princess Luna. The princess merely moved her head back toward the side, ducked down, and dodged the blades with no need for either her magic or her wings. All the while, the princess looked calm… and rather bored. At one point, Princess Luna merely threw a hoof out and struck Sunset upon the chest, sending the Jedi back at a great distance.

Sunset screamed as she hurtled head-over-heels in the air until she made toward the stage. Fortunately, Sunset caught herself and landed on one hand to set herself back in place.

“I said impress me,” Princess Luna challenged.

Feeling rather annoyed, Sunset Shimmer split her lightsaber into two separate blades. She spun them in circles, putting her skills to display. Then she pointed one of them toward the princess.

“Everte Statum!” Sunset Shimmer shouted.

A spell ignited toward Princess Luna, who flapped a wing open to repel the spell toward a wall.

“Hmm, somehow you’ve found a way to merge a wand with lightsaber technology,” Princess Luna raised a brow. “You need to do more than that…”

All at once, Sunset Shimmer charged toward Princess Luna, slashing her blades furiously toward the princess. But no matter how hard she swung, the princess blocked and evaded every parry, a neutral expression still planted on her face.

“I’m a Jedi Master… and I’m hardly putting a dent in Princess Luna?!” Sunset Shimmer thought to herself. “No wonder Anakin spoke highly of her. Still… I can’t let her beat me! Not in front of these students! What will they think of me?!”

Finally, deciding enough was enough, Princess Luna swept the stage with her legs sending Sunset falling on her back and she dropped her lightsabers on impact. Before Sunset could recover, Princess Luna placed a single hoof on Sunset’s chest.

“… Temper, temper, Sunset Shimmer,” Luna shook her head, before addressing the students. “And remember: Never lose your temper. If you fight with anger, it burns your mind and soon the body will follow. Every being, be it pony, wizard, witch, or even Jedi, must never let anger cloud their judgment. If you don’t learn to let it go, anger retains a firm hold on you, and you lose sight of everything in front of you… and all around.”

The students and staff present exchanged murmur and praise toward Princess Luna’s demonstration. Sunset Shimmer, thought pouting over her humiliation, gratefully accepted a hoof from Princess Luna, who graciously helped her up.

“I almost had you that time,” Sunset Shimmer remarked.

“I hold the record of kicking Ani’s butt a thousand times in Jedi school,” Princess Luna grinned mischievously, walking off the stage.

“Ha! I’d have loved to see that,” Sunset grumbled.

Sunset Shimmer hadn’t gone far however when she saw Fred and George Weasley collecting money from their fellow students. Amongst them, Gallus handed bits toward the twins.

“You bet against me?!” Sunset gasped.

“He did!” George Weasley pointed at Gallus.

“WHA—” Gallus huffed with shock. “Snitches…”

Twilight walked over to give her bits to Gallus, when she turned toward Sunset Shimmer.

“If it’s any consolation, Sunset,” Twilight consulted. “I betted on you…”

But Sunset Shimmer wouldn’t hear another word about it. The Jedi was already off the stage in a huff, as Twilight Sparkle looked on with deep regret.

“An excellent performance from two of our Equestrian friends!” Gilderoy applauded. “Of course that’s nothing compared to the many adventures I’ve had to embark on my quest to fight against evil – for full details, see my published works.”

Gilderoy hurled off the cape he wore and tossed it toward the crowd, where a swarm of fangirls caught it and were fighting over it like excitable cats. A boy next to Harry Potter and company, a Hufflepuff, turned toward him.

“That Lockhart’s something, isn’t he? Awfully brave chap,” The boy spoke, before offering his hand. “Justin Finch-Fletchley. Hufflepuff.”

“Oh, nice to meet you!” Harry smiled, shaking hands with the boy. “I’m—”

“I know who you are!” Justin interrupted, grinning agreeably. “We all do! Even us Muggle-borns.”

“What a coincidence!” Silverstream smiled. “We happen to have a Muffle-Born for a friend too! Hey Hermione! Come over!”

But at that moment, Lockhart called out to the students, drawing everyone’s attention toward him again. In that moment, the menacing Potions Master, Professor Snape, joined Lockhart.

“Let me introduce my assistant Professor Snape,” Gilderoy introduced. “He has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration. Now I don’t want any of you youngsters to worry. You’ll still have your Potions Master when I’m through with him, never fear!”

“What’s the fun in that?” Ron remarked.

“Oh, this ought to be good,” Smolder grinned, crossing her arms.

“Never thought I’d say this, but…” Gallus muttered. “… Go get him, Lockhart.”

All eyes watched as Lockhart and Snape faced each other, held their wands toward their faces, swung them to the side, and bowed their heads to each other in the following order. They turn, the two men walking ten paces away from each other, and then… they spin… wands poised like swords, two men assuming fighting stances.

“As you can see,” Lockhart explained. “We are holding our wands in the accepted combative position. On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course.”

“I wouldn’t bet on that,” Harry muttered, eyeing Snape.

“One-two-three –” Lockhart counted, beginning the duel.

“Expelliarmus!” Snape shouted.

A dazzling flash of scarlet light burst forth and blasted Lockhart off his feet and into the wall behind. The man struggled to get back on his feet, while everyone looked on, unsure of what they witnessed.

“Over already?” Discord asked.

“Yona not impressed,” Yona frowned.

“Do you think he’s all right?”

“Who cares?” Ron and Gallus smiled.

“Uh, Mr. Lockhart?” Fluttershy asked, checking the professor. “Are you alright? That was a nasty hit!”

“Indeed!” Rarity exclaimed, aiding the man. “Surely, you’d know Professor Snape would fire a spell that powerful. Why didn’t you do anything to prevent it?”

Ha-ha…” Lockhart chortled half-heartedly. “Simple… it was merely a demonstration.”

This made the Equestrian Heroes, including several students, rather skeptical over the answer.

“… A demonstration?” The Equestrian heroes asked.

“Well, there you have it,” Lockhart continued, standing unsteadily. “That was a Disarming Charm. As you see, I’ve lost my wand.”

Hermione Granger picked up Lockhart’s wand and returned it to him without haste.

“Ah, thank you, Miss Granger,” Lockhart sighed. “Yes, an excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don’t mind my saying so, it was very obvious what you were about to do. If I had wanted to stop you, it would have been only too easy…”

“Too easy?” The Student Six and Harry asked each other.

“Perhaps it would be prudent to first teach the students to block unfriendly spells, Professor,” Snape suggested.

“An excellent suggestion, Professor Snape,” Lockhart continued. “Let’s have a volunteer pair. Potter, Weasley, how about you?”

“Weasley’s wand causes devastation with the simplest spells,” Snape pointed out. “We’ll be sending Potter to the hospital wing in a matchbox.”

To which Ron appeared rather embarrassed, unable to ignore the fact the professor was making him look stupid… again.

“Might I suggest someone from my own house,” Snape continued. “Malfoy, perhaps.”

Snape gestured for Draco to climb onto the stage. Malfoy and Harry eyed each other malevolently as they took their places onstage.

“Good luck, Potter,” Lockhart said.

“Thank you, sir,” Harry replied.

Grudgingly, they faced each other.

“Wands at the ready!” Lockhart commanded.

Harry and Draco raised their wands.

“Scared, Potter?” Draco smirked.

“You wish,” Harry retorted.

The boys turned, walked ten paces, and then whirled; their wands poised toward each other.

“When I count to three, cast your charms to disarm your opponent – only to disarm,” Lockhart emphasized. “We don’t want any accidents here. One, two –”

“Everte Statum!” Draco shouted.

Malfoy fired early, knocking Harry off his feet with a blast of white light. Ron and Hermione looked alarmed, while Crabbe just laughed. Harry jumped up, pointing his wand toward Malfoy.

“Rictusempra!”

A jet of silver light struck Malfoy dead in the stomach, and he flung backward, landing at Snape’s feet. Several students laughed as Drcao looked up toward Snape. The professor pulled Draco to his feet, the boy wheezing for air as Snape pushed him forward.

“I said disarm only!” Lockhart shouted, as Draco raised his wand.

“Serpensortia!”

To Harry’s horror, the tip of Malfoy’s wand exploded, and a long black snake slithered forth along the playing field. As Harry lowered his wand, Snape smiled with amusement.

“Don’t move, Potter,” Snape replied. “I’ll get rid of it for you.”

“Allow me, Professor Snape!” Lockhart offered, stopping Snape in his tracks. “Alarte ascendare!”

Lockhart flicked his wand. Bang! The snake flew into the air and then fell back down. Hissing in rage, the snake slithered straight towards the students… specifically toward Justin Finch-Fletchley. As the students screamed, Harry – oddly calm – approached the snake. It rose, its fans exposed, poised to strike Justin.

“Sya – hassa – she,” Harry commanded. (‘Leave them alone…’)

The snake looked into Harry’s eyes, then turned toward Justin with a hiss.

“Sya – hasi – heth,” Harry commanded. “Sya – hasi – heth…”

Snape watched suspiciously as the snake turned toward Harry again. Harry wasn’t sure what made him do it; he wasn’t even aware of deciding to do it. All he knew was that his legs carried him forward as though he was on casters. That he was trying to coarse the snake into leaving with some strange choice of words.

“STOP!!!” Sunset Shimmer shounted.

She pointed toward the snake and miraculously, inexplicably even… the snake hovered a moment more, then – miraculously – slumped to the floor, docile as a thick, black garden hose, its eyes now on Harry and Sunset respectively. The Mane Six also stepped in as Fluttershy leaned toward the creature.

“Calm down now… there’s no need to be afraid…” Fluttershy cooed. “I know it’s scary being taken away… but we’re all here to help you… no need to hurt anybody…”

To the Equestrians watching in assemblance, they were calming the snake down. But, as Twilight looked up for a brief moment, expecting relieved faces… her expression chaned when people were showing the precise opposite… one of shock, surprise, and… fear?! Before she could ask, Snape approached and waved his wand.

“Vipera Evenesca!”

The spell connected as the snake reacted and vanished. Fluttershy gasped as she looked up.

“I-I wasn’t do-h-huh?” Fluttershy muttered.

It was at this moment that the group FINALLY noted the terrified expressions of the students surrounding them. Harry blinked, as if coming out of a trance, grinning curiously toward Justin, and offered his hand to the Hufflepuff.

“WHAT ARE YOU ALL PLAYING AT?!” Justin shouted.

Terrified, Justin backed away. Harry was confused, not expecting him to be angry… scared even. But as he looked around, Harry’s eyes acknowledged the faces around him. Malfoy looked shock. Seamus and Neville’s eyes glittered with fear. Ginny made a bolt out of the room. Snape merely waved his wand, and the snake vanished in a puff of black smoke, then regarded Harry with a look both shrewd and calculating. Before Harry could say anything, Justin dashed for the doors.

“Justin, wait!” Sunset shouted.

But the boy had already left the room, and unfortunately this wasn’t the last of it.

“Is this one of your Sith mind tricks?” A Ravenclaw shouted angrily. “And Professor Fluttershy… you should be ASHAMED OF YOURSELF!”

“I-I-I don’t understand…” Fluttershy spoke, terrified. “What did I—”

Confusion and tension grew as voices started to murmur. It was at this moment Harry noticed that Ron and Hermione motioned for him and the others to follow. Harry turned as he whispered to Sunset, who grew increasingly uncomfortable with all the looks. Not just toward her, but all her friends… even the kids. They quickly followed Ron and Hermione out the door as the people around them backed away from both sides, as though afraid they’d catch something.

“What the heck’s going on?” Rainbow Dash asked in confusion. “Why is everybody looking at us like we caught a disease?”

“Ah don’t know, Rainbow,” Applejack shook her head. “But ah have a weird feeling it’s not good…”

“Ah don’t get it,” Apple Bloom said. “All Harry, Sunset and Fluttershy did was spoke to a snake.”

But nobody else said anything. The Equestrians quickly followed Harry, Ron, and Hermione all the way into the empty Gryffindor common room. Harry glanced up, spying Ginny Weasley staring down at him from the top of the stairs. As their eyes met, she turned for the girls dormitory before the other girls could call out.

“Harry… Sunset… Fluttershy… you’re parselmouths!” Ron said fearfully. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“We’re… what?!” Sunset blinked.

“Parsel—what now?” Rarity asked, still confused.

“Your friends can talk to snakes!” Hermione explained.

“That?” Fluttershy blinked. “That’s not weird. I speak to animals all the time!”

“It’s true!” Twilight nodded. “Fluttershy has a gift for talking to ‘all’ animals, including snakes. It’s not THAT weird…”

“This is the first I’m hearing of it…” Sunset said.

“As for Harry… well, it’s only the second time he’s ever done it,” Smolder said.

“It’s true,” Harry nodded. “I mean, I already know I can speak to snakes… I accidentally set a python on my cousin Dudley at the zoo once…”

Ron and Hermione looked alarm upon hearing all this, as if they suddenly didn’t know their friends anymore.

“Friends were there too!” Yona said.

“We all witnessed it…” Spike explained. “And it’s not like Harry didn’t mean to…”

“I wasn’t quite there for that part…” Sunset pointed out.”

“Both Harry and Fluttershy spoke to the snake that day,” Twilight explained. “That’s how we learned Harry was a wizard… sort of.”

“It was telling us that it was missing its family in Burma…” Fluttershy added.

“A snake told you it was missing its family… in Burma?!” Ron repeated finatly.

“So?” Fluttershy asked.

“What’s the big deal?” Harry argued. “I bet loads of people here can do it.”

“No, they can’t!” Hermione said. “It’s not a very common gift, Harry… this is bad.”

“What’s so bad about it?” Sunset frowned. “Seriously, what’s wrong with everyone in this school?!”

“Professor Sunset is right,” Harry agreed frustrated. “If I hadn’t told that snake not to attack Justin –”

“Oh, that’s what you said to it?” Ron asked in surprise.

“What are you talking about?!” Fluttershy narrowed her eyes.

“You were all there!” Sunset frowned. “You heard me tell that snake to stop! You heard Fluttershy calming the snake down!”

“We heard all three of you speaking Parseltongue,” Ron explained. “Snake language!”

“Snake… language?” Twilight asked, her eyes widening. “Wait… when we came to Harry’s world the first time… before we all set out to explore… I cast a spell around all of us so if we ever met people who spoke a different language, one we didn’t understand… it would automatically translate for us! The spell must have translated what Harry said to us, because… wait… what did you two hear when Harry, Sunset and Fluttershy spoke?”

“Like… a creepy, hissing sound…” Ron shuddered. “Like it was made of nightmares…”

Harry, Sunset, and Fluttershy stood there, stunned with a chilly silence as Twilight started putting the pieces together.

“That explains it,” Twilight confirmed. “If I didn’t cast that spell, we would have heard that hissing from Harry earlier…”

“Without that language barrier,” Applejack realized. “They coula been tellin’ that snake anythin’…”

“No wonder Justin panicked,” Sandbar voiced concern. “He must have thought Harry, Professor Fluttershy and Professor Sunset were egging the snake on!”

Sunset just stood there; her mouth dropped with awe.

“I was… speaking another language?” Sunset asked. “But—I didn’t realize—”

“How is it possible?” Fluttershy asked, shocked. “My gift for talking to animals has always been a good thing! I never knew it was perceived as something… bad?”

“How can we speak a language without knowing we can?” Harry asked, equally shocked.

“Can somebody please explain to me what’s wrong with stopping a huge snake from biting off a child’s head?!” Sunset frowned. “Why does it even matter how we even did it?! Why can’t any pony just be happy we saved his life?!”

“Everyone, listen to me!” Hermione whispered harshly. “I don’t know what any of you said. But however you said it… it was… creepy.”

As Gryffindors streamed into the room, their eyes warily stared toward Harry and the girls. Even Seamus, Neville, and Dean Thomas, the closest friends amongst Gryffindor, walked by without uttering a single word.

“Listen, there’s a reason the symbol of Slytherin house is a serpent,” Hermione explained quietly. “Salazar Slytherin was a Parselmouth. He could talk to snakes too.”

“What?” Spike whispered, shock.

“And being a Parselmouth is also seen as dark magic…” Ron explained.

Everyone’s mouths fell open with shock. Sunset’s eyes went wide with horror, while Harry appeared nervous.

“Dark… magic?” Sunset asked slowly.

“Exactly!” Ron nodded. “And now, the whole school’s going to think Harry’s his great-great-great grandson or something.”

“But I’m not!” Harry complained. “I… can’t be.”

“He lived a thousand years ago,” Hermione said sadly. “For all we know… you could be.”

As if that wasn’t painful enough, her eyes turned toward Sunset and Fluttershy with regret.

“Maybe… you two should try to avoid talking to snakes… just for a while.”

“If it’s for the best…” Fluttershy winced, looking down.

But for Sunset Shimmer, however, it was a very different story.

“So what? Just because I spoke to ‘one’ snake, I’m going back to the Dark Side?” Sunset asked, increasingly anxious. “That’s what you think is going to happen to me, is it?”

“Professor…” Hermione reached out.

“NO!!!” Sunset Shimmer snapped. “I am not going through this again! I am not Darth Seraphina… I’m never going back to that awful place…”

She turned her back away from a remorseful Hermione, hiding the tear threatening to emerge from her eye.

“All that hard work I put in… and it’s never going to be enough!” Sunset muttered.

Everyone was silent after that, every person and every pony trying to process this new information. Twilight Sparkle was the most silent, letting this information stew in her brain. She couldn’t quite explain it, but somehow, she just knew things were about to get worse before it got better. She didn’t know how, but it was a gut feeling… the worst was still to come.

<>

Later that afternoon, a heavy snow began to fall. Alone, Harry sat atop one of the towering hills facing Hogwarts. Eventually his gaze turned toward the sky, the sun about to set and so much stewing in his mind. A sigh escaped his lips as he looked down sadly… before a familiar hoot drew his attention. He looked over to his faithful pet, Hedwig, the owl having flown over to sit beside him. She could sense something was wrong with her master, her eyes alone expressed her feelings. With a small smile, Harry pat the owl’s head to assure he was… mostly okay. With so much going on, he felt as though he felt nothing to get over his waking sadness.

“Who am I, Hedwig?” Harry whispered softly. “What am I?”

“Harry?”

Harry jumped as he turned to see an approaching Twilight, alongside Fluttershy and Sunset. The purple furred alicorn gave a small sigh of relief.

“So, this is where you’ve been?” Twilight confirmed. “Gallus said you went out, but we couldn’t find you…”

“I’m sorry,” Harry apologized sadly. “I’ll be in soon. I just… needed to be with my thoughts right now…”

Sunset and Fluttershy both realized what Harry was thinking about. The girls looked toward Twilight, who also seemed to recognize the line of thinking as Sunset sat down.

“Do you… want to talk about it?” Sunset offered. “After all, me and Fluttershy are pretty much in the same boat here…”

Harry looked at the pair in confusion, before realizing what his fellow professor was referring to.

“It’s about what happened back at the Dueling Club…” Harry sighed deeply. “And… the whole… Parseltongue situation…”

“I don’t blame you,” Sunset groaned, holding her head. “I’ve been thinking about it too. It’s like things just keep getting complicated… I thought it would be as simple as that, getting rid of all my dark thoughts… but now learning you have a dark ability… it just bites you where it hurts, you know?!”

“Same goes for me…” Fluttershy sighed sadly, sitting down. “For the longest time, I thought my ability to speak to animals was a good thing… but the fact one language involving snakes is forbidden and seen as evil… does that make me evil?”

“Of course you’re not, Fluttershy,” Twilight shook her head. “If you were, we’d know about it… besides, you’d never have the heart to commit such atrocities. Not ever.”

“Well… at least you still have faith in me…” Fluttershy sighed with relief.

“I’m sure people will get to you, Fluttershy,” Sunset assured. “But… with the way things are going for me… I mean with all of my past brought up like this… NOW the fact I speak some crazy snake language?

“I thought I was FINISHED with all this dark side stuff! All of it! But… the fact people know I was a Sith, the fact Draco and his group accused me of hitting one of them on purpose even if it was a straight accident… and the whole Parselmouth ordeal… it keeps reminding me of everything I went through back in the Galaxy and… and…”

Sunset bit her lip, as she began to feel the anxiety increasing by ten folds.

“I am THIS close to a panic attack right now!” Sunset clutched her chest, breathing heavily.

“Sunset, deep breath!” Twilight instructed.

It took a few calming, deep breaths before the orange haired girl got it together. It was at that moment Harry Potter stepped up.

“I may not know much about your situation, Sunset,” Harry admitted. “But… I think I have it worse than yours… I mean, could I really be a descendant of Salazar Slytherin? I don’t know anything about my father’s family after all. Even the Dursleys forbade talk about my wizarding relatives.”

“That’s just the Dursleys’ opinion, Harry,” Twilight sighed. “You can’t let what anyone says overwhelm you. We know you’re not evil; you just have to believe in that yourself.”

“You know, I tried to see if I could say something in Parseltongue… in private,” Harry clarified. “For some reason, I couldn’t even form the words…”

“Same for me too,” Sunset nodded in confirmation. “I thought I could try something simple like, ‘Hello!’ or ‘How do you do?’ in Parseltongue… privately, of course… but they all came out in English. It’s like I’m saying the ‘actual words’, but for whatever reason the Parseltongue part wasn’t working.”

“That’s because you have to ‘look’ at a snake in order to speak it,” Fluttershy explained. “I’m very well an expert when it comes to animals. The way you ‘look’ at an animal lets them know you’re not just ‘talking’ to them, but you are ‘listening’.”

Sunset, Twilight and Harry took a pause to look at Fluttershy, pondering her words as they flowed through their ears as smoothly as butter.

“I guess that makes sense…” Sunset nodded, sighing. “Still… everything’s been going all wrong since I got here. I’m a Jedi, and I shouldn’t be thinking about my Sith past. I wouldn’t have died or visited the Jedi Counsel or even came back to life if I were still evil…”

“Not only that, but I’m also a Gryffindor!” Harry exclaimed. “The Sorting Hat wouldn’t have put me in Gryffindor if I had Slytherin blood…”

“I don’t know about that, Harry,” Twilight pondered. “Didn’t you say at one point how the Sorting Hat wanted to put you in Slytherin?”

But the moment she noticed Harry winced and the manner of how he turned his head, a yelp escaped her lips as she realized her mistake.

“I didn’t mean it that way!” Twilight shook her head. “Look, all three of you obviously got into some controversy. But we’re forgetting one thing: Justin Finch-Fletchley, whom I admit don’t know very well, is just as much a victim in all of this…”

Fluttershy looked towards Sunset and Harry, then towards Twilight Sparkle.

“So, what you’re saying is, if we just explain to Justin that we were only just calling the snake off, and not egging it on—”

“—which ANY IDIOT SHOULD HAVE REALIZED!!!” Sunset screamed in anger, punching the ground.

Sunset Shimmer breathed heavily as her eyes darted towards her two Equestrian friends, and by some extent Harry Potter. The three were slightly taken aback by Sunset’s anger, intimidated to say the least. Realizing what she did, Sunset quickly composed herself, brushed off her hand, and straightened her hair while clearing her throat.

“Please continue,” Sunset gestured to Fluttershy.

“Thank you,” Fluttershy nodded, then continued. “—and try to smooth things out, maybe it’ll be one step closer to clearing all this misunderstanding.”

“You know Professor Fluttershy… you’re right,” Harry smiled. “We just got to make things right with Justin.”

“Yeah… once we talk to Justin and calmly explain what really happened…” Twilight explained. “Maybe he can tell the others it was all a misunderstanding, and the whole ‘Dark Side’/’Heir of Slytherin’ thing will be swept under the rug.

“Thanks, Twilight,” Sunset grinned at Twilight. “I think we all needed this…”

“Yes, thank you, Professor…” Harry thanked Twilight, before facing the sun. “Maybe we should do it tomorrow. It’s already past curfew…”

“Then it’s all settled,” Twilight declared to her friends. “We’ll talk to Justin tomorrow. I understand there’s a Herbology session that day, and that may be the best time.”

It seemed Twilight, Sunset, Fluttershy, and Harry had a plan set for the next day. Soon, all three made their way back to the castle where they hoped everything will be settled… unfortunately for them, tomorrow’s Herbology class was about to be cancelled. Because as it just so happened, a terrible blizzard was in development that very night and plans were about to change…

<>

By the next morning, class was indeed cancelled much to the chagrin of Harry Potter and his equestrian friends. Professor Sprout, and a certain assistant of hers, were more focused on fitting socks and scarves on the Mandrakes, a tricky operation that they entrusted to nobody but themselves. After all, it was important for these Mandrakes to grow quickly if they hoped to revive those petrified by forces beyond all of their control.

With Herbology class cancelled, it pretty much turned into a free period for the students. Most of them were gathered in the study hall, trying to catch up on some schoolwork. Fluttershy, however, disappeared a while ago saying she’d try to locate Justin when she noticed he wasn’t with the other Hufflepuffs for breakfast. But the fact of the matter is: That was hours ago, and not even Fluttershy came back. This left all the other students sitting down as Sunset Shimmer passed by to check on everyone… especially Harry.

Amidst the typical trio in their studies, Harry was burdened by dark thoughts and he sighed as he looked toward Sunset. She didn’t speak to him at that moment, but merely shrugged. It was then a groan caught their attention and they addressed Gallus amongst the Student Six.

“Come on, you two!” Gallus huffed impatiently. “Just get up and ask about Justin. Even the Crusaders are with the other Hufflepuffs; maybe they know something…”

“He’s right, Harry,” Sunset nodded. “We can’t sit around and wait for Justin to come to us. We’ll just have to find him ourselves, hopefully…”

Sunset paused and looked toward the students staring at her, all of them quickly turning away. But she knew what was up without having to ask.

“Maybe we better do it soon…” Sunset continued anxiously. “I hate having to turn my head when people are pretending that I’m not even here… and afraid of us…”

The students didn’t even have to show it, but the body language definitely suggested that some were regretting what they did… but were still too afraid to admit it. That being said, Sunset Shimmer and Harry turned towards Ron and Hermione. Ron smiled at Harry, then seconds later, Hermione did the same – something forced about it all. Harry looked around, noting all the suspicious looks the students gave him, before turning back toward their work. Even Madam Pince met his gaze all the way from her desk. Harry and Sunset then turned over to Ginny Weasley, tired and pale, who quickly looked away from them and scribbled furiously in her small black book.

Unable to bear it, Harry gathered his books and stood up from his table with a sigh.

“We should go, Professor Sunset,” Harry said, facing his friends. “I’ll see you guys back in the common room.”

Ron and Hermione nodded as Harry gestured to Sunset, who acknowledged in return. They started their walk towards the classroom exit, noting the glances from the students meeting their gaze. However, as Harry was about to take a left, Sunset pulled him back and leaned forward towards the classroom.

“Professor, what are—” Harry began.

But Sunset hushed him swiftly, pointing towards a group of students talking to one another. From inside the room, the voices of a group of Hufflepuffs could be heard. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo sat not too far from them and the trio were engaged with this particular conversation between two students, Ernie and Hannah by name.

“So, anyway,” Ernie began. “I told Justin to hide up in our dormitory. I mean to say, if Potter’s marked him down as his next victim, it’s best he keep a low profile for a while.”

“But why would he want to attack Justin?” Hannah asked.

“Yeah, Harry didn’t even know him til this year,” Apple Bloom pointed out.

“Justin let it slip to Potter that he was Muggle-born,” Ernie reminded.

“And that matters to us because…?” Scootaloo inquired.

“You seriously believe Potter’s the Heir of Slytherin?” Sweetie Belle questioned. “And you’re still convinced that Sunset Shimmer and Darth Seraphina are the same pony… person?”

“Harry Potter is a Parselmouth!” Ernie insisted. “Everyone knows that’s the mark of a dark wizard. And you girls admitted that Sunset Shimmer was a Sith.”

“Fine, maybe we let it slip about mistakes Sunset isn’t proud of,” Scootaloo admitted. “But what about Fluttershy? You’re lucky you even have a professor as nice as Fluttershy, and you treat her badly just for talking to a snake!”

“Have you ever heard of a decent one who could talk to snakes?” Hannah asked. “They called Slytherin himself ‘Serpent-tongue’.”

“Remember what was written on the wall,” Ernie whispered darkly. “’Enemies of the Heir Beware’. Potter had some sort of run-in with Filch. Next thing we know, Filch’s cat’s attacked. That first-year Creevey’s been annoying Potter, then Creevey’s attacked.”

“So that’s it then!” Apple Bloom confirmed. “You do believe Harry is evil!”

“He always seems so nice, though,” Hannah admitted. “And, after all, he is the one who made You Know Who disappear.”

“That’s probably why You Know Who wanted to kill him in the first place,” Ernie declared. “Didn’t want another Dark Lord competing with him.”

Sunset Shimmer felt as though her heart could break hearing such talk. She turned her gaze toward Harry, and it was plain to see he doesn’t need to hear anymore. They slipped quietly away so they could attend to their own affairs. But had they stayed a little longer, they would’ve heard the very next thing spoken by a certain trio of close friends.

“You two are the most unbelievable students I’ve ever been with,” Scootaloo confronted the Hufflepuffs. “And we had to deal with Snips & Snails!”

“We get yer just scared of what’s goin’ on,” Apple Bloom spoke gently. “But talkin’ so lowly about Harry, and our friends, is a new low… even for students like you!”

“But we’re only stating the facts of the case,” Hannah insisted.

“You’re stating opinions!” Sweetie Belle argued. “You only think Harry committed those acts, but none of you were there when it happened. You only judge Sunset Shimmer for everything she did in the past, but you refuse to recognize what she’s tried to do today! She sacrificed herself to save Twilight Sparkle multiple times!”

“And Fluttershy’s the nicest pony you’d ever meet in your life!” Scootaloo added. “And all you’re doing is treating her like garbage!”

“So, that’s it then!” Ernie huffed. “You trust your friends more than your own house!”

“That’s not what we’re saying!” Sweetie Belle insisted.

“You know what! Say what you want!” Scootaloo challenged. “Maybe we do ‘trust’ our friends because we actually ‘know’ them, we spent ‘time’ with them! If trusting them makes us terrible to you, then maybe that doesn’t make us friends at all!”

“Miss Scootaloo!” Pince called out.

Groaning with frustration, Scootaloo merely stepped away from the desk and stormed off in a huff as her two friends looked on with concern.

“Scootaloo, Ernie didn’t mean it…” Hannah pleaded.

“We’ll talk to her…” Sweetie Belle assured.

“Come on!” Apple Bloom gestured.

The two ponies too left the desk, following Scootaloo out of the study hall. Hannah looked on worriedly, wondering if perhaps she was a bit harsh. But as she looked at Ernie, the lad stubbornly looked down at his books and wanting nothing more to discuss. Tensions were at an all time high even amongst the Hufflepuff house, everyone else can see how rattled everyone has been. Suffice to say, it was during these desperate hours that things were only getting worse…

The Phoenixes

Author's Note

As always, big thanks to Drama and all the people who made quotes

The Phoenixes

Through the dimly lit corridors of Hogwarts castle, the members of the Legion of Light snuck their way toward the dungeons. Quill Cast and Curtain Call took the lead, whilst Storm Shield, Mirai, and Draxus followed closely behind. Considering the mission they currently undertook meant great secrecy, they tried keeping as low a profile as possible.

“What exactly is it my mother wants you to find?” Storm asked his two friends.

To which Quill Cast revealed a very old journal from his satchel and displayed it toward the others.

“Everything we need to know is in here,” Quill responded. “It’s your mother’s journal from her time as a Hogwarts student.”

“And what is it that Celestia is looking for?” Mirai asked.

“In her journal she described how she and a few fellow students, one Sebastian Sallow by name, discovered a long-lost scriptorium hidden within Hogwarts,” Quill explained.

“The scriptorium was said to belong to Salazar Slytherin,” Curtain added. “I’m willing to bet anything there’s something in there that can give us information not only on the Chamber of Secrets, but the Dark One themselves.”

“My mother never mentioned anything like this to me before,” Storm said quizzically.

“I’m sure she had her reasons, Storm,” Quill replied.

The sound of footsteps echoing along the corridors suddenly drew their attention. The entire group quickly ducked behind a nearby corner as the steps grew closer. Peeking from their hiding spot, Quill and Curtain spotted none other than Spike, Twilight’s number one assistant, strolling the corridor casually. He whistled while examining a list on a clipboard as he climbed a nearby staircase, unaware of a set of eyes watching the dragon traversing toward the Grand Staircase. As the two men eyed the dragon, neither of them could keep the surprise and sentimentality exposed on their faces.

“Wow, that’s Spike!” Quill remarked, with surprise. “He’s certainly grown.”

“No kidding,” Curtain nodded. “Seems like only yesterday when his mother gave us his egg for protection… I still remember it like it was yesterday…”

<>

(Unknown Location… Years ago…)

The leaves crunched below their feet in the dark as five cloaked figures raced through a heavily wooded forest. Not far behind, growling, hissing, and the sight of blood-red eyes followed them. A giant cloud of black smoke billowed through the forest, as though it were essentially pursuing them. Lightning blazed and thunder boomed through the cloud of smoke. The figures raced as fast as they could through the forest until they were far enough away for a momentary pause. Four of them hurled the hoods of their cloaks back revealing Quill Cast, Curtain Call, Mirai, and Draxus. The fifth one remained hooded, carrying a small purple dragon egg with green spots.

“They’re still coming!” Quill Cast said urgently. “We must keep moving!”

“There’s no point!” Curtain Call groaned. “We can’t shake them!”

“He’s right, we can’t,” Mirai agreed. “It’s the Darkness of Hell itself; we can’t outrun it!”

The one cloaked figure slowly turned, spotting the oncoming darkness and the demons waiting within. The woman, as one could only tell by the slender shape beneath the cloak, looked down toward the dragon egg in her hands. A tear fell down her face and a breath emerged through the dark opening, as she handed the egg to Quill.

“Take my son and go,” She instructed.

“But what about you?” Quill asked uncertainly.

“I’ll lead them away and buy you time to escape.”

“No way!” Curtain shook his head. “We never leave a member behind!”

“But you must!” The woman urged. “Please take my son somewhere safe. I beg of you!”

Quill Cast and Curtain Call looked amongst each other, then toward their other allies before Quill took the egg with a nod.

“We’ll come back for you,” Quill assured. “We promise.”

The cloaked woman merely threw her arms around him and the other members. Within seconds, she raced off into the woods as Quill Cast waved his hand and a magical portal swirled open. Soon he, along with Curtain, Mirai, and Draxus entered the portal before it sealed behind them, leaving the fate of their friend… unknown…

<>

The memory of the day they left their friend behind, just for escape to be possible, was still extremely fresh in the minds of Quill Cast and Curtain Call. To this day, they still felt guilty about having to leave her though they both agreed it had to be done. They promised her with assurance that her son would be safe. Now after all this time, seeing how far Spike has come now, they knew their job was done.

“Still hard to believe how long ago that was,” Quill sighed.

“He’s grown now,” Curtain nodded. “Though I hate that he had to grow up without her. She’d have been proud.”

“If we succeed, we can get back to her and the darkness will end,” Quill assured. “Right now, we must find the scriptorium.”

The five legion members trekked their way through the winding, twisting halls of the dungeons. Eventually, they came upon a blocked passage surrounded by five ancient braziers. Quill studied Celestia’s journal to determine how to proceed.

“According to Celestia’s journal,” Quill explained. “All five braziers must be lit all at once to find the passage to the scriptorium.”

“Then we each take a brazier and light them at the same time,” Storm Shield concluded.

All five members approached their own brazier and lit them simultaneously. Soon as all five were lit, one of the walls slowly moved toward the side, revealing an open archway leading toward a twisting staircase. Together they ascended the archways and looked toward the darkness.

“Alright, let’s do this!” Curtain said confidently.

One by one, each member made their way into the darkness… and they vanished just as quickly.

<>

Moments later, deep within a corridor at night, Sunset Shimmer and Harry Potter walked together in near complete silence. Sunset looked down toward Harry, who had muttering ever since they overheard the Hufflepuffs talking about them behind their back… mostly about him. Sunset was just as upset as Harry because there were people still talking smack about her, but for now her attention was solely on the boy’s well-being.

They were so caught up in their own drama they hadn’t realized they stormed straight into Hagrid, Sonata Dusk… and surprisingly Fluttershy. There they stood, covered in snow, a dead rooster dangling in the big man’s hand.

“All righ’, you two?” Hagrid asked.

“Hagrid, Sonata… Fluttershy?” Harry gasped.

“Fluttershy, what are you doing here?” Sunset asked quizzically. “We thought you were looking for Justin.”

“I was,” Fluttershy admitted. “But then Sonata told me there was an accident on the grounds and she urgently needed to come.”

“What kind of accident?” Harry asked.

“This,” Hagid held up the rooster. “Second one killed this term. Reckon it’s either foxes or a Blood-Suckin’ Bugbear.”

“Or… what if it turns out it was me and I didn’t realize it?” Sonata whimpered nervously.

“… Sonata, we have no evidence to suggest what ate those poor animals,” Fluttershy assured. “We just know… it’s not you.”

“Oh good! I nearly scared myself!”

“Anyways, we are approaching Dumbledore for permission to place a charm around the hen coop,” Fluttershy explained. “I can’t bear for this school to lose more of their furry friends.”

“You always cared for animals Fluttershy,” Sunset smiled sadly. “I just wish everyone would actually appreciate what a great gift you have.”

“I know it’s been tough, but I’m sure we can manage,” Fluttershy assured. “Sunset, are you all right? Is something bothering you…”

“Professor Sunset!!!”

A trio of cries interrupted Fluttershy as all eyes turned toward the Cutie Mark Crusaders who quickly raced after Sunset and Harry. But they were not alone, for the Student Six themselves followed the crusaders.

“Girls?” Harry spoke surprised.

“What are you kids doing here?” Sunset asked.

“We had a bit of a fight…” Sweetie Belle admitted.

“With a bunch of jerks!” Scootaloo huffed.

“An’ we didn’t know where ya went,” Apple Bloom added. “Then we ran into Gallus’s friends—”

“And we told them we saw you two walking the corridors, not in a creepy kind of way,” Ocellus assured nervously.

“And we gathered everyone else up to come look for you,” Silverstream concluded.

“Well kids, I’m flattered that you were worried for us,” Sunset nodded. “But we better get going. Sorry Fluttershy, but I should make sure the kids go back to their studies.”

“That’s all right Sunset,” Fluttershy nodded. “Perhaps it is best you stay together. With all the scary stuff going on, it be wise not to go anywhere alone.”

“See? Fluttershy gets that!” Sandbar pointed out.

“See you Hagrid,” Harry waved. “Professors…”

Harry, Sunset, and the kids soon made their way down the corridor as Hagrid and his two helpers waved off.

“Hmm… Professor Sonata Dusk,” Sonata wondered. “Has a nice ring to it!”

“Ya wouldn’t actually eat roosters wud ya?” Hagrid asked Sonata.

“I only chewed in self-defense,” Sonata pointed out. “But I never swallowed.”

“That’s… I actually don’t know how to feel about that,” Fluttershy sighed.

<>

Eventually, Harry entered another corridor, slowly and with caution. Accompanying the boy was Sunset Shimmer, the Crusaders, and the Student Six.

“So… you overhead our conversation at study hall?” Scootaloo asked Sunset.

“Can’t hide anything from you girls,” Sunset remarked, half-jokingly. “And I thought Canterlot High was rough after the reputation I left there.”

“I still can’t believe that those kids would even say all of that,” Smolder groaned in frustration. “Aren’t Hufflepuffs all about patience, loyalty and fair play?”

“Everyone’s just scared about this Chamber of Secret ordeal,” Sandbar explained. “It doesn’t entirely justify the hostility, but it’s not like this isn’t the first time we’ve been through this.”

“You’d think they’d be an uproar if it involved some chamber-pot of secrets,” Gallus replied.

“Let’s not let what any kids say get to us now,” Sunset suggested. “Harry and I have a plan. If we can get to Justin and talk to him, maybe we can…”

“Blood… I want… blood…”

Once again, Harry and Sunset stood frozen within their tracks. The mysterious voice echoed in their heads, deeply… and sinisterly.

“Don’t tell me…” Gallus guessed. “Disembodied voice?”

“Eeyup…” Sunset gulped.

Just to prove they weren’t going crazy, or trying not to, Sunset and Harry pressed their ears against the wall to listen.

“They all… must… die…”

The Crusaders and the Students nervously followed Harry and Sunset, as the voice only grew louder and louder for the pair.

“Kill… kill… KILL… KILLL… Time to kill…”

The wizard and Jedi followed the voice until it seemingly appeared to move on from hearing range. They looked around but realized they had completely lost track of the voice.

“There it goes again,” Sunset sighed.

“Where?” Smolder asked.

“I think… it went this way!” Harry pointed.

The boy quickly took the lead, guiding the group down a hallway. Up ahead, in the light of a flickering torch, some dark lied before them. A windowpane rattled in the wind and the nearby torch… went out. All of a sudden, they stumbled upon a wet trail of water along the floor.

“Wet floor again…” Yona noted.

“Yeah, just like the night we found Mrs. Norris and Storm petrified…” Sunset confirmed.

“Now I’m convinced this isn’t Discord and Peeves,” Gallus stated.

“What makes you say that?” Smolder asked the griffon.

“That!” Gallus answered.

With one talon, the griffon pointed toward a most disturbing sight. Harry and the others stepped closer, only to find… an inert Nearly Headless Nick floating, looking more lifeless than usual (Even for a ghost). His head hung off the side, barely hanging by the skin of his neck, and its body teeming with black smoke like he was on fire somehow.

“I may not like Discord or Peeves,” Sunset muttered. “But even they wouldn’t pull a stunt like this…”

“Yo Nick?!” Sandback called out to the ghost. “Are you okay buddy? Hello? Can you hear us?”

Smolder flew up toward the ghost and snapped her fingers three times. But any effort to generate a response from the ghost… well, no such luck.

“It’s like he’s completely zoned out,” Smolder shook her head.

“So’s he…” Ocellus spoke up.

Everyone’s attention turned toward the floor, toward the body of a Hufflepuff… Justin-Finch Fletchley. The boy was lying rigid on the flood, a look of shock on his frozen face, and his hands frozen in place. Everyone gathered around the petrified student for a closer examination.

“Oh no…” Apple Bloom moaned. “Not him too!”

“Yeah, not… that guy…” Gallus uttered uncertainly. “Seriously, I didn’t even know this kid when we first got here.”

“Great… another student to add to my list…” Sunset shook her head.

“Nobody panic!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “We just need to hide the body… somewhere… and—”

“Why, it’s potty wee Potter and company!”

Cackling caught the group’s attention as Peeves bounced past Harry Potter, knocking the boy’s glasses askew.

“Peeves!” Apple Bloom gasped.

“Oh, not this guy again…” Smolder groaned.

“What’s Potter up to?” Peeves asked quickly. “Why’s Potter lurking—”

Peeves suddenly stopped, halfway through a mid-air somersault. Upside-down, he spotted Justin and Nearly Headless Nick. He flipped the right way up and started to fill his lungs.

“No…” Gallus warned, shaking his head.

“Peeves, please…” Sweetie begged.

“ATTACK! ATTACK!” Peeves screamed. “ANOTHER ATTACK! NO MORTAL OR GHOST IS SAFE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! ATTAAAACK!”

“Ah-ha! Caught in the act!”

Another voice spoke up, startling the group of friends into looking behind them. It was none other than the school’s grumpy caretaker, Filch… with a substitute cat.

“Argus!” Sunset attempted reasoning. “I know this looks bad, but—”

“I’ll have you both out this time, Potter and Shimmer!” Argus threatened sadistically. “Mark my words…”

The man turned to leaves while Peeves wailed loudly behind, ignoring the pleas of Harry and friends.

“NO! Mr. Filch! Peeves!” Harry called out. “You don’t understand…”

“That guy’s as cranky as Cranky Doodle Donkey!” Gallus frowned. “Now he’s just as stubborn!”

“The guy lost his pet cat,” Sweetie Belle replied. “What do you expect?”

“Guys…?” Sandbar whispered. “Not to sound the alarm, Yona. But… spiders…”

“Spiders?!” Yona shrieked, jumping onto Sandbar’s back. “Where?!”

“There!” Sandbar pointed to the floor.

Sure enough, Harry and friends kneeled and were treated to a very peculiar sight. Only now did they notice a trail of spiders scuttling away from Justin’s body and out the loose windowpane.

“This is getting very suspicious,” Sunset muttered. “Mysterious voice… wet trail… petrified victims… and spiders… but why?”

“Yona think spiders did it!” Yona whimpered. “Spiders are the culprit! They did it!”

“I don’t know…” Sunset shook her head. “I’m not an entomologist, but these spiders don’t look like the kind that would bite, let alone… petrify you. Then again, I wouldn’t exactly know all the Fantastic Beasts in the Wizarding World. Definitely Fluttershy’s department.”

“We’ve got to get back to Fluttershy!” Scootaloo suggested. “She needs to know!”

“If we ever get the chance to,” Gallus sighed.

It wasn’t long until Filch and Peeves returned with a horrified Professor McGonagall and Twilight Sparkle.

“What happened here?” Twilight asked the group. “Sunset?”

“Twilight, we just found them like this,” Sunset replied. “I swear I’m telling the truth!”

“Professor, I swear I didn’t—” Harry pleaded.

“This is out of my hands, Potter,” Professor McGonagall replied solemnly. “Mr. Filch, will you take care of this, please?”

As McGonagall lead Harry and the others away, Sunset looked back. For a brief moment, Twilight and Sunset’s eyes met but it pained Sunset to see that she had no logical response for all of this. As for Filch, he merely stared at Justin and Nick as Peeves turned toward the group.

“Oh potter, you rotter, oh what have you done?” Peeves questioned. “You’re killing off students, you think it’s good fun… that’s not funny… that’s not…”

<>

After a period of time, McGonagall marched Harry and the group toward a rather ugly stone gargoyle.

“Sherbet lemon,” McGonagall uttered.

Soon, the gargoyle sprung to life, its wings opening.

“Professor Dumbledore will be waiting for you,” McGonagall informed the group.

“Yes, professor,” The CMC spoke in unison.

McGonagall ushered Harry and his friends inside. As it turned out, it was an elevator of sorts. As the gargoyle’s wings closed, Harry and the group could feel it rise toward an upper floor. After a lengthy climb, Harry and the others stepped out of the Gargoyle’s embrace and entered a large, circular room.

“Professor Dumbledore?” Harry called out.

As they entered the room, they saw not a trace of Dumbledore. Around them, strange silver instruments whirred quietly. On a nearby shelf, the sorting hat sat. The group cast wary eyes toward the past headmasters snoozing in the portraits around them. In the last portrait, the Headmaster Professor Dippet is awake, reading a book.

“Amazing!” Sunset gasped, studying the portraits. “A whole collection of headmasters all in one place.”

“And collections of the Wizarding World’s histories, no doubt,” Silverstream marveled.

“Where’s Professor Dumbledore?” Sandbar asked.

“I dunno,” Apple Bloom shrugged, calling out. “Professor? Hello?”

As the group called out for Dumbledore, Harry approached the Sorting Hat, glancing around, then placed it atop his head.

“Bee in your bonnet, Potter?” The Sorting Hat asked.

“Well, you see, I was wondering…” Harry stammered.

“If I put you in the right house?” The hat replied. “Yes… you were particularly difficult to place. But I stand by what I said last year… you would have done well in Slytherin.”

Hearing enough, Harry stripped the hat off and tossed it back onto the shelf.

“You’re wrong!” Harry replied quietly.

The hat stiffened up, giving the impression it raised an eyebrow. Then it sat motionless… silent.

“Slytherin or not,” Apple Bloom approached Harry. “We’ll always be your friends, Harry!”

“Friends to the end,” Smolder placed her claws on Harry’s shoulder.

“Always!” The CMC and Students said in unison.

The students looked over toward Sunset, expecting her to join them. But instead, the Jedi Sorceress had her attention elsewhere.

“Professor?” Harry asked the Jedi. “What are you…?”

All of a sudden, a gagging sound sent Harry and the students wheeling toward Sunset’s gaze. Three large birds came into view, all three of them bearing the resemblance of half-plucked turkeys and the eldest, decrepit bird sat on a golden perch. Their eyes were dull, their feathers falling out. Two of them did the gagging, while a particular one was worked up like a fat lady in a soap opera with the coughing and gasping… or was it preparing for an opera?

Sunset simply rolled her eyes, shaking her head in amusement over the one phoenix. Meanwhile, Harry and his classmates marveled at the birds. Suddenly, without warning, all three birds wobbled as they began to glow with a radiant light then… burst into flames. Before Harry and the others could find a glass of water, all that remained of the three great birds… were piles of ash.

“Oh my Faust, oh my Faust, OH MY FAUST!!!” Sandbar hyperventilated.

“Sandbar! Must! Get1 Hold! Of! Sandbar!” Yona slapped the Earth pony repeatedly. “And not use Lauren Faust’s name in vain!”

“Nobody panic!” Smolder exclaimed. “Uh… we’ll hide the bodies… say my brother sneezed on them! No, no, wait… that won’t work! Uh… we’ll, uh—”

“Guys, guys!” Sunset chuckled. “There’s no reason to panic.”

“Harry?”

“Sunset?”

“Kids?”

The heroes looked up to see Professor Dumbledore, Princesses Celestia & Luna, and Spike standing atop a flight of stairs, looking down toward a group of horror-stricken students.

“Professor!” Harry exclaimed.

“Spike!” The CMC called out.

“Your majesties!” The Equestrians greeted in unison.

“Is everyone alright?” Celestia asked calmly.

“Uh… we were…” Sandbar stammered. “I mean… that is… the birds… were…”

“Hit…” Gallus added.

“By a…” Smolder followed.

“SPACESHIP!” Yona added randomly.

Princess Luna merely looked at the students with one raised eyebrow. Sweetie Belle, especially stared incredulously.

“Hit by a spaceship?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Yona panicked!” Yona replied. “What should Yona say? Whomping Willow?”

“Kids…” Sunset addressed the students. “Just tell them what happened.”

As Dumbledore walked down the stairs with the Princesses and Spike in tow, Harry was the first to start. He was already pointing a finger toward the pile of ash.

“Professor, your birds…” Harry began reluctantly. “We couldn’t do anything… they just caught fire!”

“About time too,” Dumbledore acknowledged. “They’ve been looking dreadful for days. Pity you had to see them on ‘Burning’ Day. Fawkes’ really handsome most of the time.”

“I wouldn’t exactly say dreadful,” Luna rolled her eyes. “Philomena, as usual, had to make a big drama out of it.”

“Philomena’s just having fun,” Celestia giggled. “She’s only a thousand years old once.”

“Phew! Just a thousand years?” Spike whistled. “Well, this has been Peewee’s first time. I better tell him he’ll be doing it a thousand more times.”

Harry and his classmates all shared a confused expression, unable to process how their teachers could be so calm.

“Did you miss the part where we said, your birds burstinto flame?” Gallus asked incredulously.

“We heard you,” Spike replied. “You just didn’t know that our birds are phoenixes.”

“Phoenixes?” Harry asked.

“Yes, Phoenixes, just like Fawkes and his friends are,” Dumbledore lectured. “Phoenixes burst into flames when it is time for them to die and are reborn from the ashes.”

“For real?” Scootaloo asked.

“Oh yeah,” Sunset winked. “Now watch this.”

The friends gathered around the floor, watching the ash swirl. They look on until one head poked out, followed by another, and another. Soon three chicks poked their wrinkled heads, blinking through the dust. Spike gently picked up Peewee and playfully stroked his head.

“Aw!” The girls cooed at the sight.

“Fascinating creatures, phoenixes,” Dumbledore marveled. “They can carry immensely heavy loads, their tears have healing powers, and they make highly faithful pets.”

“I’ll say,” Spike smiled. “Hey Peewee! So… how was your Burning Day? Pretty intense huh?”

Spike turned toward Harry, Sunset and the Students and displayed Peewee before the astounded group… mostly Harry and the Students.

“You guys want to say hi to Peewee?” Spike offered.

Collectively saying ‘yes’ in unison, Harry and the others gathered around Peewee to share their greetings to the young phoenix.

“Hey there little guy!” Sunset cooed. “I’m Sunset Shimmer! Nice to meet you!”

“I’m Scootaloo!” The Pegasus greeted.

“I’m Sweetie Belle!” Sweetie greeted. “And this is our friend, Apple Bloom!”

“Howdy!” Apple Bloom greeted.

“Yo! Name’s Smolder,” Smolder greeted, before introducing her friends. “And these are my friends: Gallus, Silverstream, Yona, Sandbar, and Ocellus.”

All of the students exchanged greetings as they got better acquainted with the phoenixes. They were so preoccupied with the birds when the door opened up, Hagrid – still clutching the dead rooster – frantically burst through the door with Sonata and Fluttershy not far behind.

“Professor Dumbledore, sir!” Hagrid shouted, racing up the stairs. “Wait! Listen! Professor Dumbledore, sire, it wasn’t Harry or any of his friends!”

“Hagrid –” Dumbledore raised a hand.

“We wer talking ‘ter ‘im jus’ before that kid was found,” Hagrid continued ranting. “It can’t’ve bin ‘im!”

“Hagrid –”

“I’d swear ter it in front o’ the Ministry o’ Magic –” Hagrid swore.

“IT WAS ME!!! It’s me you want!” Sonata shouted, throwing herself at Celestia & Luna. “I’m the real culprit! I’m the reason Sunset Shimmer was a Sith! I’m willing to accept whatever punishment you have if you just spare Sunset Shimmer! PLEASE don’t throw her in jail… or banish her to the moon! IT WAS ME; BELIEVE ME!!!”

“HAGRID!” Dumbledore shouted.

“BE STILL!!!!” Princess Luna shouted in her Royal Canterlot voice.

Scared out of their wits by Princess Luna, everyone present looked in silence until Dumbledore broke it.

“I do not think that Harry or his friends have attacked anyone,” Dumbledore assured, gently.

“And aside from some… creative tagging around the school, here and there,” Celestia spoke mischiefly towards Sunset. “I too am confident Sunset is innocent… along with her friend, Flanksy.”

“Tagging?” Harry asked.

“Flanksy?” Sandbar snorted.

While Sandbar and his friends chuckled, Sunset’s whole face turned a bright shade of pink over the reminder of part of her past.

“And furthermore,” Princess Luna began. “Aside from arriving to Hogwarts in a grand entrance, or so, we have no reason to believe that any of the Crusaders nor Twilight’s students were ever accomplices in any sort of conspiracy…”

“Oh,” Hagrid finally replied, embarrassed yet relieved. “We’ll just wait outside, then.”

With that settled, Hagrid was on his way out. Only Sonata and Fluttershy stayed behind with the heroes.

“Thank goodness,” Fluttershy sighed, approaching her friends. “Is everyone alright?”

“Apart from the thought of getting expelled or something!” Gallus sighed. “I’m fine with just a heart attack.”

“Thank our lucky stars,” Sunset sighed. “You two really came for us!”

“Duh!” Sonata nodded solemnly. “When we heard what happened with the Justin kid, we ran into Twilight Sparkle on the way. She told us what happened, next thing we know Hagrid quickly dashed us here to save you!”

“Twilight…” Sunset muttered. “Did she… say anything else?”

“Just to convince Dumbledore you’re innocent, that’s all!” Sonata smiled cheerfully.

“… She couldn’t even bother to come here herself?” Sunset muttered to herself.

“What was that, professor?” Sandbar asked.

“Nothing!” Sunset replied frantically.

Getting back on topic, Harry turned hopefully toward Dumbledore and the sisters.

“You don’t think it was us?” Harry asked with renewed hope.

“Of course not,” Princess Celestia replied.

“We do not think it was you Harry, or your friends,” Luna added, facing Sunset. “Especially you, Miss Shimmer.”

Sunset bowed respectfully to Luna, who returned the bow.

“But I must ask you,” Dumbledore began solemnly toward Harry. “Is there anything you’d like to tell me? Anything at all?”

Harry was about to speak, but found his voice was missing. He turned towards Sunset, then Fluttershy, and the entirety of the group in the room. After a moment’s thought, Harry eventually shook his head.

“No, professors,” Harry replied. “Nothing.”

“Nothing?” Spike replied, raising an eyebrow.

Both Princess Luna and Dumbledore looked at Harry and his friends, as though they were studying them like specimens. But after a while, Dumbledore decided to let it slide.

“Very well then,” Dumbledore acknowledged. “Off you go.”

Upon being dismissed, Harry andhis friends followed Fluttershy and Sonata on the way out to meet with Hagrid. Sunset was the last to leave the room. But it was then she heard Princess Luna’s voice echoing in her head.

“Don’t make it personal…”

Sunset stopped in her tracks turning around to see Princess Luna watching her from a distance. Sunset couldn’t deny that she was visibly startled. But ultimately she brushed it off and followed her students out, while looking weary over what Luna meant.

“… Princess Celestia,” Spike spoke up. “Princess Luna, Professor Dumbledore… I know you. You know something, don’t you?”

“Only the sense of a dark presence,” Princess Luna said solemnly. “It’s regaining its strength, even as we speak.”

“Something else concerns me,” Dumbledore admitted. “But it should remain unspoken, for the time being… until then, let us get back to your ailments, young Spike.”

“My… ailments?” Spike asked.

“You’ve been keeping this secret for far too long,” Celestia agreed, as they examined Spike’s face. “It’s time we look at what Malakai Black had done to you…”

Spike knew there was no fooling the princesses, especially not Dumbledore. Reluctantly, Spike wiped off his makeup with his tail, revealing a face covered in dark markings spread all over his face like tree roots.

“How bad is it?” Spike moaned.

“Most dreadful,” Dumbledore shook his head. “I haven’t seen anything this bad since Grindlewald…”

“Couldn’t you just give me one of your phoenix’s tears and just make it go away? Spike asked anxiously.

“Alas… there are some things even Phoenix tears can’t heal…” Dumbledore shook his head.

“So… I’m doomed? I can’t be cured?! I’ll be stuck like this forever?!?!”

“Spike… we never said there was no cure,” Luna replied. “Still… this requires an expert’s opinion.”

“Who could possibly have any expertise on this?” Spike asked.

Dumbledore, Celestia, and Luna looked amongst each other with curious faces. But feeling that the time was just right, they all turned back toward Spike.

“Your mother,” Celestia concluded.

“… What?” Spike asked slowly

Polyjuice Potion

Cold and dark, two words which best describe the old ruins of these very corridors. The likes of which the Legion of Light currently found themselves traveling down. However, none showcased an inkling of fear as they traversed the cobweb-filled corridor which they hoped would lead to Salazar Slytherin’s hidden scriptorium. Within this hidden study, our five warriors hoped to find information that would aid in their combat against the darkness.

Currently, Quill Cast led the way, his Holly wand in hand. The glowing light of the wand illuminated the dark passage ahead.

“This place is the incarnation of creepy,” Quill commented.

“No kidding!” Curtain Call nodded. “Next time you find valuable knowledge for us, can it be in Hawaii or someplace nice?”

“Grow up boys!” Mirai rolled her eyes. “I’m only seventeen and you two don’t see me complaining.”

“To be fair Mirai, you literally have dragon blood coursing through your veins,” Storm Shield pointed out. “Sure you’re not a real dragon, but bravery and determination are etched in your very being.”

Though not saying a word, Draxus only released an agitated groan from the back-and-forth banter between his comrades.

“Hold up!”

Quill stopped right in his tracks, causing the others to halt behind him. All eyes looked toward a giant dark iron door looming before them. The depictions on the door resembled faces twisted in agony. Needless to say, it was an eerie sight. A pile of bones lay just before the door, alongside wording carved into the corridor floor. Quill knelt alongside the bones, studying the word for a few seconds when a sigh escaped his lips.

“What is it?” Curtain Call asked.

“The Cruciatus Curse,” Quill responded solemnly. “I know what we have to do to proceed into the scriptorium.”

It took a moment for it to sink in for everyone else, their expressions dropping.

“One of us must cast it toward the other,” Storm realized.

“Salazar Slytherin wanted to ensure that only those willing to deal with maximum pain and suffering would enter his scriptorium,” Quill confirmed.

“He really was a pure-blooded crazy maniac,” Curtain said in disgust.

“That just leaves us with a quandary,” Quill said, facing the others. “Who will cast the curse and who to cast it on?”

All eyes looked amongst each other, everyone contemplating the question. In order to proceed into the scriptorium, one must be willing to deliver torture upon another. The very thought was enough to make them sick to their stomachs. However, knowing there wasn’t much choice, a reluctant Storm Shield stepped forth.

“Cast it on me,” Storm demanded.

“Are you sure about this?” Quill asked Storm. “This curse will cause you great pain and agony.”

“I’ve faced worse in my past adventures,” Storm voiced determination. “I can handle it. Let’s just get this over with so we can get in and find what we’re looking for.”

Curtain Call and Quill Cast faced each other, acknowledging the concern in their eyes before slowly nodding. Quill positioned his wand at the ready, as Storm stood waiting.

“Crucio!”

Red sparks flew from Quill’s wand, striking Storm in the gut. The prince suddenly cried out in agony, falling onto the floor corridor. It felt as though a million knives tore at his innards. As the curse took hold of him, more sparks flew from him and struck the iron door. The sparks proceeded to melt the door, revealing a hidden archway into the scriptorium. The Legion quickly raced over to Storm’s aid.

“You okay, Storm?!” Curtain asked concerned.

“Ugh… the worst pain I’ve ever experienced!” Storm groaned in pain. “I’ll be alright… it’s starting to pass.”

“I’m sorry, man,” Quill apologized. “It was the only way.”

“Don’t worry,” Storm assured Quill. “Let’s just get what we need.”

Draxus used his strength to lift Storm onto his shoulders, carrying him as they entered the scriptorium. Needless to say, the room itself was as dark and sinister as the very man who built it. Bookcases with ancient books lined the walls, a curving double staircase led to a higher balcony, and a large stone bust of Salazar Slytherin hung upon the wall.

“This place… feels so… evil,” Mirai said nervously.

“Because it is,” Quill replied. “Let’s climb the stairs and check out what we can.”

The Legion climbed the curved staircase and entered the higher study. Immediately, they found Salazar’s desk which seemed lined with old documents. Quill picked up one, examining what appeared to be a journal entry.

I fear we shall never come to an accord. I cannot persuade even one of them to listen to reason. I had dared hope that Godric’s thoughts were aligned with my own; that he understood why the caliber of students needed to be exceptional. But he has fallen prey to the ridiculous notion that Muggle-borns are somehow as capable as pure-bloods. He was furious when I expressed my displeasure at his thoughts on the matter – thoughts he had not yet put voice to.
I tire of the discord and can no longer bear witness to the corridors full of inept children masquerading as witches and wizards.
It is with heavy heart that I now know I must go from here.
I shall place the creature into a deep sleep in its chamber until it can be awakened by one who shares my views: a descendant willing to reverse the damage that the others have so carelessly wrought; one who shall rid the school of those unworthy of Hogwarts that would serve only to stain my legacy.

“Salazar Slytherin… what an evil man,” Quill voiced disgust.

“Guys, I’ve found something!” Curtain shouted urgently.

The group quickly gathered around Curtain Call, a piece of paper in his hands.

“What is it?” Storm asked curiously.

“It’s about Spike’s mother,” Curtain responded, showing the paper. “It says when Slytherin’s forces captured her, she was locked within the Chamber of Secrets itself to keep her hidden away. But according to this document, it would be until such time when Salazar’s heir would release her and use her powers to bring forth a creature of great power to purge the world of the non-magical.”

“So she’s been held captive inside the actual chamber all this time?” Quill asked. “Does it say anything about how we can get her back?”

“There is… but it’s not easy,” Curtain replied. “The only way to release her… is to kill the creature.”

<>

Christmas Day came quickly for Hogwarts. The students drifted into the snow with their trunks, all heading home for the holidays. Several of whom crossed the frozen lake by sleighs, pulled by the most majestic white horses ever seen. As Harry, Ron, Hermione, Sunset Shimmer, the CMC and the Student Six soon appeared, Ernie and a few others cast wary glances. Sunset Shimmer merely looked ahead, keeping a stone face the whole time clearly attempting to pay them no mind.

“Hey, look everyone!” Fred called out. “Make way for the Heir of Slytherin!”

“Be careful, seriously evil wizard coming through!” George teased.

The only one amongst the group grinning with amusement was Ron, the lad seemed to pay no mind of his brothers’ teasing. Then he saw Harry Potter – anything but. The boy stewed over the way the boys spoke about him. Needless to say, the other Equestrians weren’t taking too kindly over it.

“How can you let your brothers talk to Harry like that?!” Smolder confronted Ron.

“Oh, c’mon, Smolder,” Ron replied. “Fred and George are just having a laugh.”

“They’re the only ones,” Harry muttered.

“Okay, so half the school thinks you’re nipping off to the Chamber of Secrets every night,” Ron admitted. “Who cares?”

“Because that’s supposed to make us feel so much better,” Gallus remarked sarcastically.

“Maybe they’re right,” Harry sighed, heading back inside.

“Harry!” Hermione called out, reproachfully.

“Oh, come on Harry!” Silverstream called out. “You’re not really going to let a bunch of gossip and rumor get the best of you, are you?”

While the group still followed Harry, the boy stopped and turned to face them. Immediately they came to a halt.

“Look, I didn’t know I could speak Parseltongue!” Harry voiced frustration. “What else don’t I know about myself? Maybe you can do something… even something horrible… and not know you did it.”

“You don’t believe that, Harry, I know you don’t,” Hermione assured. “And if it makes you feel better, I just heard Malfoy’s staying over for holiday, too.”

“Holiday with Malfoy?” Sandbar replied. “Not a holiday story anyone would want to read.”

“Why would that make anyone feel better?” Ron asked incredulously.

“Because in a few days, the Polyjuice Potion will be ready,” Hermione reminded. “In a few days… we may truly know who the Heir of Slytherin is.”

“That’s right!” Sunset realized. “In all this insanity I nearly forgot about that. All right, I’ll gather Twilight and the others, and we’ll all meet later tonight to discuss final preparations. You kids try to keep a low profile until then.”

“Gee, keeping low against a whole house who thinks we work for the heir,” Scootaloo remarked. “No problem…”

<>

Later that evening, those who stayed behind joined together for the Christmas Feast in the Great Hall. The Hall itself glimmered grandly as snowflakes tumbled from the ceiling. Harry and Ron sat with the Equestrian students and Hermione. Before long, Sunset Shimmer arrived with the Mane Six and Spike.

“Everything set, Hermione?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“Yes Professor,” Hermione confirmed. “We just need a bit of who the boys are changing into.”

“Crabbe and Goyle,” Harry confirmed.

“We’ll also need to make sure the real Crabbe and Goyle can’t burst in on us while we’re interrogating Malfoy,” Sunset emphasized.

“How?” Ron asked.

Hermione held up a pair of small cakes.

“I’ve got it all worked out,” Hermione assured. “I’ve filled these with a simple Sleeping Draught, simple but powerful.”

Ron and the students glanced at Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who presently were eating everything in front of them.

“Knowin’ how greedy Crabbe and Goyle are, I reckon they won’t leave the Feast till every last drop of trifle are gone,” Applejack observed.

“Now, once they’re asleep, hide them in a broom cupboard and pull out a few of their hairs,” Hermione instructed.

“And whose hair are you ripping out?” Ron asked.

“I’ve already got mine,” Hermione displayed a small vial. “Millicent Bulstrode, she’s in Slytherin. I got this off her robes.”

“I was able to procure some hair from another student within Slytherin,” Sunset added, showing her own vial. “Had a little help from some friends on the inside, the only ones who don’t believe in my dark past.”

“All right then…” Hermione rose up. “I’m going to check on the Polyjuice Potion.”

Before leaving, Hermione pointed toward the cakes in front of her.

“Remember. Just make sure Crabbe and Goyle find these.”

As Hermione made her exit, Ron looked toward Harry and the others.

“Have you ever heard of a plan where so many things could go wrong?” Ron asked worriedly.

“Only every time we go on an adventure,” Pinkie Pie shrugged. “But who’s counting?”

<>

Later, deep within the entrance hall, Harry and Ron, lurking behind a suit of armor, prepared to set their plan into motion. The Equestrians stood close by, watching as Ron cleared his throat and prepared his wand.

“Ron, maybe I should do it,” Harry suggested.

“Yeah… right…” Ron answered sadly, acknowledging his broken wand.

“Ron get next time,” Yona patted Ron’s back.

“Wingardium Leviosa!” Harry spoke.

Within seconds, the two small cakes floated up into the air. All eyes watched as Crabbe and Goyle exited the Great Hall, their arms full of similar cakes. Goyle spied the cakes instantly and grabbed them, though reluctantly surrendering one to Crabbe. In unison, they stuff the cakes into their mouths… and they pause. For a brief moment, they look toward each other… and keel flat onto their backs.

“How thick could you get?” Ron remarked.

“C’mon, let’s get ‘em!” Harry ushered.

Harry and Ron dashed out, with the students in tow, dragging Crabbe and Goyle across the floor and into a cupboard.

<>

Moments later, the remainder of the Equestrians stood waiting in the girls’ bathroom. Hermione and Sunset Shimmer, wearing Slytherin robes, hovered over a smoking cauldron. Harry, Ron, and the Equestrian students soon entered.

“Well, did you get it?” Hermione asked.

Harry and Ron held up their hands, each holding a tuft of hair. Sunset pointed to a pair of Slytherin robes.

“What are those?” Ron asked.

“Slytherin robes,” Sunset rolled her eyes. “Had to sneak them from the laundry; it was my night.”

Harry and Ron nod, as they glanced at the cauldron. The potion itself resembled a thick, dark, bubbling mud. They eyed the goopy potion with disgust. Hermione proceeded to pour the potion into four goblets, one for herself, Harry, Ron, and Sunset Shimmer to drink.

“Are we going to drink that?” Harry asked uncomfortably.

“I’m sure we’ve done everything right,” Sunset assured uncertainly. “It looks just as the book said it should.”

“Once we’ve drunk it, we’ll have exactly one hour before we change back into ourselves,” Hermione explained further.

Spike approached the cauldron and took a curious sniff of it.

“Phew!” Spike groaned. “Smells like Green Emeralds!”

“The book didn’t exactly say it would taste like pumpkin juice,” Hermione replied. “Besides, you’re just lucky you don’t have to drink it.”

“For once, this is one trip I’m glad I’m missing out of.”

Smolder too walked over to sniff the potion.

“Blech!” Smolder stuck her tongue out. “Thanks for doing the potion brewing, Hermione…”

“Smells like dead skunk basted in expired milk,” Gallus added.

“There’s just one more idea I have,” Hermione pointed out.

“What you got?” Yona asked.

“I figured it might be a good idea if at least one of you went along with Harry and Ron,” Hermione explained to the Student Six.

The six young Equestrians widened their eyes as they looked amongst each other.

“Whoa, hold up!” Sandbar spoke up. “You want one of us to sneak into the Slytherin Common Room? Who’d be crazy enough to do that?!”

“I was hoping… Ocellus could do it,” Hermione responded.

“Me?!” Ocellus squeaked in fear.

“As a changeling, you have the ability to transform without the need for Polyjuice Potion,” Hermione pointed out. “It seems only right you go with Harry and Ron.

“But… who could I possibly be?” Ocellus asked nervously.

“Don’t worry, I’ve already thought of that,” Hermione replied. “You’ll take the form of Pansy Parkinson. Draco trusts Pansy as much as he trusts Crabbe and Goyle.”

“I… I don’t know if I can do this,” Ocellus replied unsurely.

“It won’t be as difficult as you think,” Hermione assured her. “Just go along with the boys and listen to what Draco has to say. As far as getting Draco to trust you, all you have to do is act like you’re madly in love with him.”

“… I was afraid of that.”

Once the four goblets were filled, Hermione passed three of them to Harry, Ron, and Sunset to drink, before holding her own. By now, Harry and Ron have changed into the Slytherin robes.

“Now what?” Ron asked.

“Now we add the hairs,” Hermione instructed.

While Hermione put Millicent Bulstrode’s hair into her own cup, Harry and Ron grimaced as they placed their hair samples into their own. The potion turned into shades of yellow, brown, and khaki.

“Ugh!” Ron groaned. “Essence of Crabbe…”

“Just… pretend it’s cotton candy…” Sunset Shimmer repeated to herself. “Pretend it’s cotton candy. Pretend it’s cotton candy…”

“I love Beezlebub!” Pinkie Pie squeaked, nearly startling Sunset. “She knows how to throw some wild parties! That says a lot coming from me!”

“… What are you talking about?” Sunset asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Cheers,” Hermione called, beckoning the four to click their cups together.

“Bottoms up!” Sunset cringed.

Together, they drank the potion from their cups. Judging by the expressions on their faces, however, it didn’t taste any better than it smelled. Around the four, their friends voiced their concerns.

“Y’all feelin’ okay?” Applejack asked.

“Think I’m gonna be sick!” Ron exclaimed.

Ron dropped his cup and made a beeline for the bathroom stall. Harry looked sick and stepped toward a cracked mirror. Hermione paused, seemingly worried. She could sense something was wrong. She looked toward her arm, patches of fur began to spread across her wrist and arm.

“Me too!” Hermione quickly followed.

Terrified, she ran into a stall as Sunset Shimmer hunched over, struggling to keep herself from losing her lunch.

“URP!” Sunset Shimmer belched. “That’s the worst cotton candy I’ve ever eaten!”

Sunset too made a beeline for a bathroom stall, with Twilight following to check on her. Harry himself was succumbing to the terrible taste of the potion. His friends crowded around him as he keeled over against the sink.

“Harry?” Apple Bloom asked. “Are ya okay?”

“I told you the Boomslang Skin in Snape’s private storage was expired!” Sweetie Belle told Scootaloo.

“How can it be expired?” Scootaloo questioned.

“Let’s not accuse any pony!” Applejack butted in.

“Oh dear goodness!” Fluttershy exclaimed.

All eyes looked back toward Harry, as he looked himself over. He watched the skin on his face starting to bubble, almost as though he was being liquified, contorting heavily. Everyone stood back, watching as Harry’s whole features turned thick until he resembled Goyle and even his iconic scar completely vanished. Inside one of the stalls, Ron bent over the toilet, watching his reflection morph into Crabbe. Once the transformation reached its end, everyone and every pony were aghast.

“It worked!” Apple Bloom exclaimed, facing Applejack. “So! How many points do I get for brewing a complicated potion?”

“I dunno,” Applejack replied. “Considering we’re breakin’ a lot of rules… and breakin’ into another common room… I don’t think this is something tah get points from…”

“But it worked!” Goyle/Harry exclaimed, touching his face.

The transformed Gryffindor stood up from the sink, turning around as Ron emerged from his stall. Only now, he was a dead ringer for Crabbe.

“Harry?” Ron gasped.

“Ron?” Harry replied, as they looked themselves over.

“Bloody hell!” Crabbe/Ron commented.

“We still sound like ourselves,” Harry noted. “You need to sound more like Crabbe.”

“Uh… Bloody hell,” Ron adjusted his voice.

“Lower…”

“Bloody hell,” Ron deepened his voice.

“Less intelligent.”

“Bloody hell!” Ron dumbed it down.

“Excellent!”

“So… it changes looks, but not voices?” Gallus raised an eyebrow. “Sure, that makes sense.”

“Sunset?” Twilight knocked on the stall door. “Are you okay now?”

“Yeah… just fine, Twilight,” The Jedi Sorceress answered.

Sunset Shimmer emerged from the bathroom stall, only to meet the cringing looks of everyone present. The only exception being Fluttershy, who looked as though she’d been lovestruck.

“What?” Sunset asked. “What is it?”

“Aw! So cute!” Fluttershy squeaked.

“N-Nothing…” Twilight stammered. “D-Don’t look in the mirror!”

“Why?” Sunset asked.

The Jedi Sorceress turned toward a nearby mirror, only to see a fox staring back at her.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!” Sunset Shimmer screamed at the top of her lungs.

“I told you not to look in the mirror!” Twilight protested.

“What have you done to me?!” Sunset moaned. “I look like I just came from a furry convention!”

“No need to get your tail in a knot,” Gallus rolled his eyes. “This stuff only lasts about an hour, and you’ll look like yourself again…”

"And you make a lovely fox!" Fluttershy squeaked, as she galloped over to pet her ears.

“How am I supposed to get into Slytherin looking like a fox?” Sunset scowled.

“…Just tell ‘em that a student hexed you!” Smolder suggested. “C’mon, at this school, magic’s the answer to everything.”

"And risk getting my face blown off at an attempt of a counter-curse?" Sunset shook her head. "No way. I think I'll pass..."

"But we need you Sunset," Apple Bloom added. "All you had to do was grab Malfoy by the hand, look into his memory, and then poof! Tell us whether or not he's the Heir of Slytherin!"

"DANG IT!" Scootaloo smacked her hoof against her forehead. "Why didn't we think of that, instead of wasting a whole month for this potion?"

"Well, it's too late for that now," Rainbow sighed.

"What's done is done," Harry brought up. "Anyway, we need to carry on with our plan and find out if Malfoy is the Heir of Slytherin."

“Sorry guys,” Sunset sighed. “Guess you’ll have to go on without me.”

The rest of the present heroes were about to put their plan into action, when Ron noticed someone was missing.

“Hey… Where’s Hermione?” Ron asked.

"I – I don’t think I’m going,” Hermione called out from inside her bathroom stall. "You'll have to go on without me!"

"Hermione?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Are you okay?" Goyle/Harry asked.

"Just go! You're wasting time!" Hermione replied.

Sunset Fox turned to the others, beckoning them to go on.

"You guys go ahead," Sunset beckoned. " I'll stay here with Hermione."

"Correction," Twilight spoke up, on behalf herself and the Mane Six, plus Spike. "We will stay with you and Hermione."

"We are?" Rainbow asked.

"YAY!" Fluttershy clapped her hooves excitedly, before she composed herself, "I mean...Of course we are. Why?"

"If Hermione is sick, then as Assistant Professors, we should at least be present to look after her," Twilight explained. "Besides, a large number of Slytherin Students out and about during nighttime would attract too much unwanted attention. And the last thing we want is Professor Snape to get suspicious of us..."

" I guess we're on our own on this one then?" Harry spoke on behalf of Ron and Ocellus

"I reckon so," Applejack nodded solemnly. "Just be careful."

With that, Ocellus cast her spell to transform herself into the spitting image of Pansy Parkinson.

"C'mon!" Goyle/Harry lead the way.

Once the Mane Six, Spike, and Sunset were left to themselves, with Hermione in the stall, Fluttershy was the first to break the silence.

"You know, Sunset?" Fluttershy began. "I like you better as a fox."

"Oh shut up..." Sunset Fox scowled in annoyance.

The poor girl sighed knowing she would have to spend an entire hour putting up with Fluttershy doting over her.

<>

And so, after leaving Hermione and the Assistant Professors behind in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, Harry Potter and his friends, in Slytherin disguises, were rushing through the school halls, searching for the Slytherin Common Room.

“Don’t swing your arms like that,” Ron instructed Harry. “Crabbe holds them sort of stiff.”

Annoyed, Harry goes a bit more ‘Neanderthal’.

“Yeah, that’s better,” Ron approved.

"I think the Slytherin common room's this way," Harry-Goyle pointed to the left.

"Okay," Ron-Crabbe replied as he and his friends followed.

“Let’s just get this over with quickly.” Ocellus-Pansy added.

They moved quickly, when suddenly…

“Excuse me!”

A familiar voice and footsteps drew their attention. Everyone stopped in their tracks and turned around. Seconds later, Percy appeared at the end of the corridor.

"What are you doing down here?" Ron asked.

Percy squinted, confused by Ron’s voice, eyeing the boy with skepticism. Harry elbowed Ron, who cleared his throat and spoke in a lower voice.

“What are you doing here?”

"I happen to be a school prefect," Percy proclaimed proudly. "You, on the other hand, have no business wandering the corridors at this time of night. It’s not safe these days.”

Harry, Ron, and Ocellus nod, afraid to speak. Percy squinted again.

“What are your names again?" Percy asked.

"Uh, I'm..." Harry faltered on his words, when a familiar voice spoke up.

"Crabbe, Goyle, where have you two been?”

Everyone turned their attention to see Draco Malfoy entering the corridors and was walking towards them, acting all high and mighty as usual, carrying an article of the Daily Prophet.

"Pigging out in the Great Hall all this time?" Draco asked, before he stopped in front of Harry/Goyle with a rather confused expression, "Why are you wearing glasses?"

Harry quickly took his glasses off, stammering as he came up with the excuse.

"Oh, um... I was...reading."

"Reading?" Draco asked, to which Harry/Goyle nodded. "I didn't know you could read."

With an impressed look on his face, Draco turned and took notice of the Ocellus in her Pansy Parkinson form and gave a smirk in her direction.

“There you are, Pansy.” Malfoy smirked at her. “I was wondering where you’d run off to.”

Knowing that she had to play her part in all of this, Ocellus swallowed her fear and nervousness and did her best to act flirty towards Malfoy.

“I’m terribly sorry to worry you, Draco.” Ocellus-Pansy said in a flirty way. “I’d heard that Millicent had wandered off to the Great Hall with Crabbe and Goyle but when I got there, I only found these two fools. So I knew I had to bring them back.”

Malfoy appeared to nod in understanding, while having a suspicious look on his face, before he turned towards Percy with a look of disdain.

"And what are you doing down here, Weasley?"

"Mind your attitude, Malfoy," Percy responded through gritted teeth. “You want to show a little more respect to a school Prefect!”

“Come on,” Draco instructed. “Weasley thinks he’s going to catch Slytherin’s heir single-handed.”

Percy merely steamed at the remark. After the tense moment, Draco sneered and led the three ‘Slytherins’ back to their common room.

After the tense moments between the two, Draco leads Harry and friends away. From a corner, the remainder of the Student Six and the CMC watched from a corner.

“The rat has taken the bait,” Smolder confirmed.

“And now… we wait,” Scootaloo declared.

<>

Upon arriving in the Slytherin common room, Draco lounges on a sofa. He turned to look and sees that both Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy were still standing.

"Well, sit down," Draco beckoned.

To which, Harry and Ron both nodded and sat on the couch across from Malfoy. Ocellus was about to sit down when Malfoy grabbed her hand.

“Why sit all the way over there, Pansy?” Draco asked coyly. “Sit here with me.”

Ocellus turned her attention to Harry and Ron and showcased her disgust and fear at the idea. They just shot her assuring and pleading looks that wouldn’t draw Malfoy’s attention and she reluctantly sat down next to Malloy, who placed his arm around her.

“My father’s just sent me this, listen to this!” Draco read the front page. “’Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, was today fined fifty Galleons for bewitching a Muggle car. “Weasley has brought the Ministry into disrepute,” said Lucius Malfoy, a governor of Hogwarts. “He is clearly unfit to draw up our laws and his ridiculous Muggle Protection Act should be scrapped immediately.”’

Grinning, Malfoy glanced over the paper at Harry, Ron, and Ocellus.

"Er...Fifty Galleons?” Ocellus asked. “Yikes! That's like a fortune, huh?"

"Fortune...hardly," Draco looked up from the newspaper with a mocking smile, "Funny, don't you think?"

"...Er, yeah...funny," Harry-Goyle reluctantly agreed.

“Arthur Weasley loves Muggles so much he should snap his wand in half and join them,” Draco scoffed. "You'd never know the Weasleys were purebloods, the way they behave. They're an embarrassment to the Wizarding World, all of them!"

Crabbe/Ron clearly didn't like the sound of that, as he clenched a fist and growled angrily, ready to punch Draco in the face for that remark. Harry elbowed Ron, but this didn't go unnoticed.

"What's wrong with you, Crabbe?" Draco asked.

Goyle/Harry had to nudge his friend to calm down before he completely blows their cover.

"Stomachache," Ron excused lowly.

“Well, go to the hospital wing and give all those Mudbloods a kick in the arse for me!” Draco chuckled. "And we have those three Hufflepuff first years and that bimbo calling herself a Jedi to thank for it. Goes to show those little ponies and their friends are more trouble than they're worth to the Wizarding World. Father's right you know. It was a mistake to form any sort of alliance with them.

“And some Jedi Grandmaster of theirs he turned out to be. He's the son of Princess Celestia, he was only here for a couple of days, and then what? He got petrified! Ha!"

Harry, Ron, and Ocellus all scowled, clenching their fists, wanting so badly to punch Malfoy for insulting Sunset Shimmer, Princess Celestia's son, and themselves. But they knew that if they were to react badly on the spot, it would scuttle the whole mission. So they struggled to keep their ire in.

"You know, I'm surprised The Daily Prophet hasn't done a report on all these attacks yet," Draco continued. "I suppose Dumbledore and those two alicorns are trying to hush it all up. And who can blame them? If words got out that there have been attacks at the school, and that Princess Celestia was the first victim, it would make them look bad. Father always said that they're the worst thing that ever happened to this place."

"You're wrong!" Goyle-Harry shouted angrily, startling everyone around him.

Taken aback, as if he was being challenged, Draco stood up on his feet.

"What? Did you say that I was wrong?” He questioned Goyle-Harry. “You think there's somewhere here who's worse than Dumbledore? Well? Do you?"

Goyle-Harry struggles to think of an answer that wouldn't jeopardize the whole mission, until one answer comes to mind.

"Harry Potter?"

"Oh! Yeah!" Ocellus nodded in agreement, with Crabbe/Ron joining in. "Yeah! Of course! Harry Potter! He's worse than Dumbledore. Don't you agree?"

Everyone else joined in agreement, hoping that Draco would buy it, which thankfully, he did.

"Good one, Goyle!" Draco agreed, spitting in disgust. "You're absolutely right! Saint Potter. He’s another one with no proper wizard feeling, or he wouldn’t go around with that Mudblood Granger. And people actually think he's the Heir of Slytherin."

Harry, Ron and Ocellus exchanged glances, wondering what Draco could mean. Harry leaned closer to Malfoy.

"But then you must have some idea who's behind it all?" Goyle/Harry spoke up.

"You know I don't, Goyle," Malfoy frowned, as he got up and walked over to a table. "I told you yesterday. How many times do I have to tell you?"

The boy picks up a Christmas present, gives it a shake a few times.

"Is this yours?" Draco asked.

In response, Goyle/Harry shakes his head and Draco stuffs the box into his robes, before he continues.

"But my father did say this: It's been fifty years since the Chamber was opened. He wouldn't tell me whoopened it, only that they were expelled. The last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened, a Mudblood died. so it's only a matter of time before one of them is killed this time. As for me... I hope it's Granger."

This was the last straw for Crabbe/Ron, who quickly rose to his feet, intending on slugging Draco. But Harry and Ocellus quickly restrained him.

"What's the matter with you?" Draco asked, taken aback by his friends' odd behavior. "You're acting very... odd."

"It's his... stomach ache," Goyle/Harry excused, before he turned to Ron!Crabbe. "Calm down."

Draco Malfoy then got out the Christmas Present and started to unwrap it. Seeing his attention was no longer on them, the heroes in disguises then turned to each other and started to gossip amongst themselves. It was at that moment that both Ocellus and Ron both had shocked looks on their faces as they saw something very familiar forming on Harry’s face.

"What?" Harry asked, noticing the weird looks everyone were giving him.

"Scar!" Ron pointed at Harry's forehead.

Sure enough, Harry’s thunderbolt scar began to surface beneath the skin of Goyle’s thick forehead. But that wasn’t the only thing happening.

"Hair," Harry pointed to Ron's hair.

Indeed, Crabbe’s hair was… beginning to turn red again. Realizing that their time was up, Harry and their friends immediately turned and fled the Slytherin Common Room.

"Hey, where are you going?" Draco called out to the group, watching them disappear out of sight.

"Uh, Crabbe's stomachache is getting worse," Ocellus quickly excused. "So... we really need to see a doctor! Thank you so much for telling us, Draco! Good night!"

With that, Ocellus turned and followed her friends out of the Slytherin Common Room.

At the same time, as the trio raced toward the stairs, the broom closet burst open and a woozy Crabbe and Goyle staggered out. Just as they were heading back to the Slytherin Common room, they happened to run into a trio of strange Slytherin students. However, there were two specific Slytherins who stood out.
One of them has Goyle's face, but Harry's hair, while the other has Crabbe's face, but with red hair. Before either Crabbe or Goyle could respond, the imposters in Slytherin robes turned and leave.

"What just happened?" Goyle asked Crabbe.

<>

Harry, Ron and Ocellus sprinted toward the desecrated wall, their bodies metamorphosing, until finally… the boys are fully themselves again. With the coast clear, Ocellus reverted back to her changeling form breathing a sigh of relief.

"Hello there," Gallus greeted.

Ocellus’s friends soon emerged from the corner, as the trio took a moment to catch their breath. After a brief while, they continued their way toward the girls bathroom.

"That was close," Ron gasped.

"Too close!" Sandbar added. "A few seconds more and Professor Snape would probably give us detentions until we're in our 90s!"

"At least you guys are back to normal," Sunset frowned, as they entered. "Look at me! I'm still a fox! What's going on?!"

"Never mind that," Ocellus replied to the Jedi-turned-fox. "We need to talk to Hermione!"

“Did ya find anythin’ about the Chamber of Secrets?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I sure hope so.”

"Hermione, come out," Harry said to the bathroom stall. "We've got loads to tell you."

"Go away!" Hermione shouted.

At this point, everyone present knew that something was definitely wrong with their muggle-born friend. Harry and Ron, on the other hand, exchanged puzzled glances.

"Hermione?" Applejack asked. "What's the matter? Are ya okay?"

At that moment, Moaning Myrtle flew in, with Discord and Peeves.

"Oh, wait 'til you see," She grinned impishly. "It's awful!"

"Naughty, naughty, Hermione Grange-y," Peeves wagged his fingers. "Bad thing she did. Made an oopsey!"

"You could say she's in a... hairy situation," Discord joked, as he and his two ghost cohorts stood behind the group.

Moaning Myrtle giggled as Harry put his glasses on.

"Hermione, are you okay?" He asked, while slowly sliding open the door to Hermione's stall.

"Do you remember me telling you that the Polyjuice Potion was only for human transformations?" Hermione asked, with her back turned. "It was cat's hair I plucked off Millicent Bulstrode's robes."

Soon, the truth was made clear when Hermione turned around, revealing her transfigured face of a cat...cat-woman. Or is it, woman-cat? Werecat? In any case, even in shadow, all eyes could see it: Hermione’s face was covered in fur, her eyes yellow, and pointed ears poked through her hair.

"Look at my face," Hermione meowed.

"Look at your tail," Ron exclaimed, while Discord, Peeves, and Moaning Myrtle were all laughing their heads off.

"It's the classic dynamic duo!" Discord announced, pointing at Sunset Shimmer and then Hermione. "The Fox and the Cat and I'm Pinocchio! But there are no strings on me~ HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!"

"...I'm glad you're having fun at our expense," Sunset frowned at Discord and the ghosts. "But how does that explain us not turning back?"

Gallus soon took out the textbook, to read the recipe for the Polyjuice Potion, reading the fine print.

"There was a warning here," Gallus read. "Do not attempt animal transformation. Otherwise, the potion will take a long time to wear off. Seek medical attention immediately..."

"Oh. Now you tell us," Sunset frowned.

"Don't worry you two," Rainbow Dash snickered. "We'll get you both back to Madame Pomfrey and... hopefully she'll turn you back to normal."

"Did I mention that I prefer Sunset to stay a fox a little longer?" Fluttershy asked.

"I wholeheartedly agree," Discord smiled, appearing at Fluttershy's side. "You two look adorable together! Also, if you don't mind my saying, Emma Watson. But you make an even lovelier cat than the 2019 uncanny valley..."

"HMPH!" Sunset and Hermione huffed at the draconequus's statement.

The Very Secret Diary

Two weeks passed since the Polyjuice scenario, and our heroes have spent a majority of that time checking on two specific friends at the hospital wing. Following their Equestrian friends, while staggering under the weight of the library books in their arms, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley made their way to Hermione’s bed which was covered in… books.

“Oh, good!” Hermione smiled with satisfaction. “Put those anywhere.”

The boys look but unfortunately find no ‘anywhere’ to place the books. They face each other for a few seconds and they just… drop them with a heavy ‘SPLAT!’. Twilight Sparkle couldn’t help but cringe.

“Gently boys… gently…” Twilight Sparkle sighed, composing herself. “Anyways, Madam Pince asked us to relay a message to you, Hermione.

“She’d appreciate it if you’d leave a few books for the rest of the school.”

“I’ve got to keep up, haven’t I?” Hermione asked innocently.

“I respect your commitment to your studies with light reading, Hermione,” Twilight voiced understanding. “But do understand that there are ‘other’ students who want to excel as much as you do. Everyone, and every pony, deserves a fair chance.”

“Heh… light reading she says,” Smolder chuckled.

Just then, Hermione’s tail twitched into view. This hadn’t gone unnoticed.

“Is that thing ever going away?” Ron joked.

“Any day now, according to Madam Pomfrey,” Hermione rolled her eyes. “I’m just thankful I’ve stopped coughing up fur balls.”

“We all are, believe me,” Silverstream assured.

“What about the Chamber of Secrets?” Hermione asked. “Any new leads?”

“Unfortunately, nothing,” Ocellus shook her head.

“And has it gotten any better, Harry?” Hermione asked Potter. “I mean… is anyone speaking to you?”

“Neville asked to borrow a tubeworm in Potions yesterday,” Harry explained. “I suppose that’s something.”

“It’s better than the silent treatment from every pony else,” Fluttershy replied. “I offer the students any questions during my classes… barely anyone answers. It’s too quiet even for me.”

By this point, Ron takes a get-well card from under Hermione’s pillow.

“’To Miss Granger’,” Ron read. “’Wishing you a speedy recovery, from your concerned teacher Gilderoy Lockhart’.

“You sleep with this under your pillow?” Gallus remarked.

“Of course not,” Hermione remarked. “I don’t know how that got there. Now go! I still have six hundred pages to read in Transformation Through the Ages.”

“We understand,” Sweetie Belle replied. “We’ll check on you later.”

Understanding Hermione’s needs, the group depart from the Hospital Wing. By the time they left, dinnertime had passed, and the sun was waning into evening with moments. As the group mounted the stairs, Sunset Shimmer emerged to join them without their knowledge. Fortunately, Sunset had recovered much faster than Hermione, but the transformation still took time to fade. Accompanying Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy, the students mount the grand staircase and into a hallway.

“I know Hermione’s mental, but can you believe she falls for that smarmy nonsense of Lockhart’s?” Ron asked incredulously.

“Well, there comes a point where you sacrifice common sense for intelligence,” Sandbar shrugged.

“It does remind me of the time Twilight panicked to send Princess Celestia a friendship problem letter by the end of the day,” Fluttershy lightly giggled.

“Do I have to be reminded?” Twilight frowned.

“Oh yeah, I remember that!” Scootaloo chuckled.

“And there was that time she tried to scientifically figure out Pinkie’s Pinkie Sense…” The yellow Pegasus continued.

“Seriously?”

“And that one time Twilight drove herself mad with a visit from her future self—”

“How’d you know about that?!” Twilight called out.

“Spike has been swapping stories with us girls,” Fluttershy admitted. “He happened to bring up that one, and Pinkie backed that up.”

The others exchanged laughs over the princess’s expense, to which Twilight’s frown deepened to the point it nearly sagged her entire face. It was around that time Whisper Dream happened to come across the very same stairwell. She couldn’t be more relieved to see Hogwarts again after the holidays. Suffice to say, spending Christmas with the Malfoys was anything but pleasant. Working in the bitter cold for hours, with little to no breaks, as cruel as that was… she’d grown used to it by now.

Today, Whisper Dream was just excited to see her friends before Draco dragged her away… again. But for a brief moment, none of that matter upon seeing the group down the hallway.

“CMCs! Guys!” Whisper gasped with delight. “I’m so happy to see you!”

“Hi Whisper!” Sweetie Belle smiled. “You seem in better spirits today. How was everything at Malfoy Manor?”

“… About the same, but… I got through it,” Whisper spoke cautiously. “Master Draco is bringing his luggage back to Slytherin tower; I wanted to come check on you. Did you figure out who opened the Chamber of Secrets yet?”

“One thing for sure… it’s not Malfoy Jr.,” Scootaloo frowned. “What a waste of time…”

“Not entirely, Scootaloo,” Ocellus chirped. “From what Draco told us, his father mentioned that the Chamber of Secrets was opened fifty years ago.”

“Based on what Ocellus told us, the last time that happened… a muggle-born died,” Sandbar added, cringing squeamishly.

“And that’s just about it,” Ron Weasley added. “Nothing else. Not even his dad told him who opened it.”

“Either Lucious doesn’t know who opened it,” Sandbar theorized. “Or he does know, but he won’t talk. Not even to his own son. Either way, we still don’t know who the Heir of Slytherin is…”

“… And the teachers won’t leave sensitive information like that in the library,” Whisper pondered. “Except for the restricted section, but it’s called that for a reason.”

“We’re aware of that,” Smolder replied. “Last time we went there, we barely avoided getting caught. That was stressful.”

“Man, if Hermione wasn’t coughing up furballs,” Gallus groaned. “She’d give us an idea for our next move. Now we’re back to square one again.”

“Hermione coughing up furballs?” Whisper blinked in confusion. “W-What exactly did I miss while I was gone?”

The Student Six, along with the CMCs, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley couldn’t help but snicker.

“Let’s just say… there wuz a mix up,” Apple Bloom giggled.

“Instead of turning into Slytherin students,” Smolder began, holding back a laugh. “Hermione is… or was… she turned into a cat girl! Professor Sunset Shimmer, she… what did she call herself?”

“A furry?” Harry Potter guessed.

“I heard that…”

It was about that time the students turned around and finally acknowledged a certain Equestria Girl-turned-anthropomorphic fox.

“Don’t… say… a word,” Sunset spoke slowly. “My ears are still ringing from Professor McGonagall chewing me out…”

“I-I think you look cool, Miss Sunset,” Whisper smiled. “Foxes are one of my favorite animals.”

“Thanks, Whisper,” Sunset smiled lightly. “At least it’s better than being laughed at.”

“If it’s any consolation… I don’t think Harry is the Heir, and I definitely don’t think you’re a Sith Miss Sunset,” Whisper assured, her ears pinned slightly. “The evidence doesn’t exactly look the best in the world, but… I know good people and ponies when I see them. That’s why… I want to help, despite what Master Draco says.”

“Are you sure, Whisper?” Scootaloo asked. “There’s no going back when you agree to this.”

“I’ve never been sure of anything in my life,” Whisper nodded sincerely. “I’ve been pushed around too long, and it’s time I finally fight for what’s right… for me. So… what happens next?”

“I don’t know,” Sunset sighed. “With Malfoy checked off, we’ll just have to look around for more clues.”

“Speaking of which, is it just me or is it getting… wet around here?” Smolder asked.

It was then every pony paused and looked down, realizing they were standing in puddles of water.

“What’s that?!” Ron asked.

He and the gang climbed up the stairs into a hallway and realized where the water was coming from. A great flood of water streamed from the girls’ bathroom. From within, they could hear a familiar moaning. Though while everyone else treaded through the water, the winged companions were smart enough to take to the air… even Fluttershy.

“Yuck!” The gang exclaimed in disgust.

“Looks like Myrtle’s flooded the bathroom,” Harry deduced.

“Someone better call a plumber,” Sunset noted.

“Gross!” Gallus and Smolder declared, hovering in mid-air. “Jinx! Double jinx!”

I hope she’s okay…” Whisper voiced concern. “I ran into her a few times and she’s actually really nice.”

“Come on,” Twilight ushered the group. “Let’s see why she’s upset.”

The others nodded their heads and set off down the hall. As Harry splashed off toward the bathroom, Ron stepped lightly and the disgust on his face was as plain as the nose upon his face. As they entered the bathroom, huge, wracking moans echoed off the dreary tile. All the taps were running, streaming like tiny waterfalls. Every rotund sink in the middle were turned on, spilling over their bowls.

I thought I heard the sound of running water,” Sandbar remarked.

The floating ones slowly lowered themselves, hiding their embarrassment. Twilight used her magic to turn off the taps; in doing so, she made an audible noise more coherent. On the window overlooking the stalls at the back was Moaning Myrtle herself, sobbing. As they stepped toward the last cubicle, Myrtle spun accusingly and noticed the gathered group.

“Come to throw something else at me?” she demanded.

Suffice to say, the question left the group confused.

“No…?” Smolder said.

“Myrtle, you don’t have to worry,” Ocellus said with a smile. “We just want to help.”

“Could you tell us what happened?” Whisper asked.

“Why would we throw something at you?” Harry asked.

“Don’t ask me,” the ghost replied. “Here I am, minding my own business, and someone thinks it’s funny to throw a book at me…”

“That’s just mean,” Fluttershy said, “Bullying you still after… y-you know.”

“Hey, wait a minute!” Smolder spoke up. “It can’t hurt if someone throws something at you.”

Most of the group members shook their heads, not liking where Smolder was going.

“Yona think that not good idea—” Yona began.

“Yeah, I mean, it’d just go right through you, wouldn’t it?” Ron added.

At that, Myrtle swooped down right in front of the pair, startling everyone present.

“OH SURE!! Let’s all throw books at Myrtle, because she can't feel it! Ten points if you can get it through her stomach!” She punched her ghost arm through Smolder’s stomach. “Fifty points if it goes through her head!”

The ghost finished off with the same arm but through Ron’s head.

“Okay, okay, we’re sorry!” Smolder yelped, jumping on top of Ocellus. “Just please don’t do that again!”

“Please get off me,” the changeling groaned

“Guys, guys, calm down!” Twilight said.

“I’m sorry someone thought to bully you, Myrtle,” Fluttershy approached cautiously. “I promise we are not here to do that.”

“Myrtle… I know how you feel,” Whisper joined in. “And I’m sorry that happened to you. But… do you think we could see the book that hit you? Maybe we could figure out who it belonged to, so it never happens again.”

“Myrtle, who threw it at you anyway?” Harry asked.

“I don’t know,” Myrtle answered, calming down. “I didn’t see them. I was just sitting in the U-bend, thinking about death and it fell through the top of my head.”

She pointed to the stall in question. Harry was the nearest to it. On the wet tiled floor was an old black book. He picked it up and analyzed it. It appeared familiar to him. On the bottom of the cover was a name etched in what looked like golden letters.

“It’s just an old book,” Ocellus noted.

“Strange item to leave in bathroom,” Yona added.

“I’ve seen weirder,” Sunset said.

"Hey Whisper," Sweetie Belle ask the bat pony. "Seen anything like this before?"

“Uh-uh,” Whisper shook her head.

" Let's look for someone who might know," Scootaloo suggested. "Maybe Moondancer can help!"

"Good idea!" Apple Bloom agreed.

As the friends were about to turn and leave, Gallus smirked and looked toward Sandbar.

“Hey, fifty points if you get it through her nose,” Gallus whispered.

“I HEARD THAT!!!” Myrtle screamed.

Everyone scrambled to escape the bathroom. Fluttershy sighed, face-hoofing.

“I’m sorry about them, Myrtle. It’s really hard sometimes. Take care!”

Without another word, she rushed to catch up with the others. Silverstream was admonishing her boyfriend, smacking him upside the head with her talon.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. I thought it was funny!”

“Evidently, it wasn’t,” she replied.

<>

Moments later, Harry examined the book as he and his friends marched. By now, the remainder of Twilight’s friends arrived upon hearing the news.

“It’s still strange to find that of all things in a bathroom,” Twilight said.

“This is a diary, and it’s old…” Harry examined, mid-walk.

“It’s a diary, it’s old…and was most recently in a toilet, Harry,” Ron deadpanned.

"That's disgusting..." Scootaloo stuck her tongue out.

“Would not make sense to throw in garbage?” Yona asked.

“Or set it on fire?” Smolder added.

“Obviously, someone wanted to get rid of this if they thought to throw it in the toilet,” Ocellus pointed out.

Harry shrugged. He then decided to open it, when Ron vehemently stopped him.

“Are you mad? That could be cursed. Dad once told me about a book the Ministry confiscated that burned the eyes out of anyone who tried to read it.”

“Sounds like someone had a grudge against books,” Gallus remarked. “Maybe it was that Mike Teavee kid.”

“Ron’s right, Harry,” Twilight spoke worriedly. “Like Ocellus said, someone wanted to get rid of this thing. Who knows what spells it might have on it?”

"So what should we do?" Scootaloo asked.

"Studying books is Moondancer’s specialty," Spike suggested. "If what Scootaloo suggests is true, this is what she's hired for, besides teaching history."

"Y'know, come to think of it," Pinkie Pie began. "We haven't seen much of Moondancer lately since the 7th chapter or so. Either she's been absent for a reason, or the author is very bad at remembering the secondary characters."

Scootaloo simply waves her hoof in circles, making the coo-coo gesture, advising Whisper not to question Pinkie's...logic.

“I’ll take my chances…” Harry spoke undeterred.

With a smirk, Harry slowly opened the book, and suddenly started screaming like a banshee.

“AHH!! MY EYES!! MY EYES!!”

Everyone screamed in response, and Sunset violently swatted the thing out of his hands. Unbeknownst to them, images flashed within her mind as she stumbled back. Places of old and yet familiar. Amongst them all was a man in robes, holding a wand towards her general direction. Something about the man’s face unnerved her; it was a force of dark magic that chilled her to her very soul

She was pulled back to reality as quickly as she left it. Nobody had noticed her spell, as they were all focused on Harry, who stopped altogether and began chuckling. Ron, frozen in terror, stared at Harry in bewilderment.

“Bloody hell, Harry!” Ron heaved. “That wasn’t funny!”

“Not cool, Harry!” Silverstream gasped, flustered.

“Uncool to max!” Yona added.

“My life flashed before my eyes,” Ocellus muttered. “It was very boring.”

As Harry reached down to pick it up, he noticed Ginny standing at the end of the corridor. The girl, who had seen and heard everything, looked from the diary to Harry – utter terror on her face -- then turned and dashed off.

“Ginny! I was only joking—”

But it was too late; she was long gone.

“I’ll go check on her!” Fluttershy said.

And just like that, she ran ahead and disappeared as fast as Ginny did. Harry cursed himself and turned to Ron.

“Brilliant. Even your sister thinks I’m the monster now.”

“Who doesn’t at this point?” Smolder remarked. “That was a good one, by the way. Ya got me good, dude.”

Ron frowned suddenly when he noticed something, and he ran a finger over the letters on the cover. On the first page on the diary, embossed letters spelled out a single name…

“Tom Marvolo Riddle?” Ron read. “Hang on, I know that name…”

Ron took a pause to think, then it came to him.

“Of course! The night I had detention… My job was to polish the silver in the trophy room. I remember because I kept burping slugs all over Tom Riddle’s trophy. I must have wiped slime off his name for an hour.”

“Wow! He was a Hogwarts alumni and a winner?” Silverstream perked up.

“This place has trophies?” Smolder slobbered.

“Stay in the light, Smolder,” Ocellus said. “We’ve seen the trophies.”

After the new info on the diary’s name, who would not be intrigued about the artifact in his hand? Harry then opened the cover… fanned the pages… only to find every single page to be completely blank. Not just waterlogged; there was simply not a single essence of any writings to be found within.

“That’s odd. He never wrote in it.”

Harry turned it over. On the back read: WAXFLATTER’S BOOKSELLERS. 422 VAUXHALL ROAD. No doubt it was the address of the store it was purchased from.

“Who would have a diary and never write in it?” Sandbar asked aloud.

“Maybe whoever threw this away killed this Tom Riddle beforehand,” Gallus joked.

Unfortunately, the griffon’s humor only ushered in yet more glares from everyone, and especially from Silverstream. The embarrassed griffon shrank.

“Shutting up now.”

“Maybe Hermione might have insight?” Yona suggested.

“About an old blank book?” Smolder replied. “As far as I can tell, there’s nothing noteworthy about it.”

“No there isn’t! Absolutely not!” Sunset shrieked. “I saw something! Something when I touched it.”

Everyone stood back in surprise.

“What did you see Sunset?” Twilight calmly replied.

“I… I don’t know. It looked like Hogwarts but… different. Older, maybe. And there was… there was someone. I don’t know who it was but he…he looked and felt…wrong. Twisted and crooked and... evil. That’s the best that I can describe him. There’s someone… someone that appeared from that book, and he is evil!”

“Now we definitely see Moondancer,” Yona nodded.

<>

Later that night, the group sat with Moondancer in the moonlit classroom. The unicorn studied the diary curiously.

“Tom Marvolo Riddle…” Moondancer pondered. “And Ron said he won an award fifty years ago?”

“What was that trophy for again?” Sandbar asked curiously.

“Special services to the school or something –” Ron recalled.

“Fifty years ago?” Moondancer emphasized. “You’re sure?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Don't you remember what Malfoy told us?” Ocellus reminded Ron. “The last time the Chamber was opened was –”

“Fifty years ago!” Harry realized. “That means –”

“Tom Riddle was here, at Hogwarts, when that happened!” Ocellus explained. “What if he wrote about what he saw? It's possible he knew where the Chamber was, how to open it, even what sort of creature lives in it. If so, whoever's behind these attacks wouldn't want this diary lying around, would they?”

“It's a brilliant theory, Ocellus,” Harry agreed. “But there's just one flaw.”

“There's nothing written in this diary,” Moondancer pointed out.

Moondancer flipped through the pages, demonstrating that they're all blank.

“It might be invisible ink,” Silverstream thought, pulling out her wand. “Aparecium!”

She tapped the diary three times, but nothing happened. Silverstream kept tapping on the book multiple times over, and would've kept going had Gallus not stopped her. For all their efforts, all the pages remained blank. Frowning, Moondancer passed the book back to Harry.

"Sorry I couldn't be much help to you guys," Moondancer sighed. "And after what happened to Storm Shield, I feel more helpless than ever."

“What’re we supposed tah do now?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I don’t know, Apple Bloom,” Moondancer shook her head. “But I think you should be careful with this. Something tells me Ron might be right. Whatever that book is, I have a feeling it could be dangerous.”

“You don’t think I’m dangerous, do you, Miss Moondancer?” Harry asked concerned. “I mean, you’re not scared… of me?”

“I’m scared, Harry. But not of you.”

<>

Nighttime came ever since Harry found the mysterious diary in the abandoned Girls’ bathroom. The boy had been occupied with looking at it ever since he and friends went back to the Gryffindor Common Room. By now, his fellow Gryffindors Seamus, Neville, Ron and Dean were asleep, but Harry spent the night flipping through the blank pages of the diary.

By now, most of the Equestrians had grown tired and Twilight Sparkle decided it was best to approach Harry, the boy sitting at his desk. But unlike the Assistant Professors, all tired and sleepy, the nine Equestrian students were still wide away. They too were occupied with curiosity over the diary, so Harry wasn’t entirely alone.

“Harry, I know that you found the diary but look at it,” Twilight sighed. “There’s nothing special about it; maybe someone just dropped it, I don’t know. Even Moondancer was stumped when we showed the book to her.”

“Come on, sugarcube,” Applejack yawned. “Y’all can just forget that darn diary and focus on important things… like sleep. You need your rest.”

“I’m not tired yet,” Harry said.

“No offense Harry, but it’s already past ten,” Spike pointed out. “You got school tomorrow.”

“Come on, we’re not tired yet!” Apple Bloom argued. “Can we at least stay a bit longer? Please?”

The equestrian students begged their assistant professors with the biggest puppy dog eyes they could muster. The Mane Six faced each other; for the longest time, it looked as though they’d say ‘no’. But after pondering, a collective sigh escaped their lips and apparently, they seemed to be caving to their demands.

“Okay, you can stay and keep Harry company,” Fluttershy nodded. “But… we don’t want you making noise while the others are sleeping. Is that clear?”

“Thanks, Flut—I mean Professor Fluttershy,” Apple Bloom corrected herself. “We swear upon Celestia’s good word we will not make a ton of noise.”

“That goes for all of you,” Pinkie faced the group. “Not one single… noisy… sound. You must Pinkie Promise not to stay up after eleven. Understood?

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” The kids spoke in unison.

“Good,” Sunset Shimmer nodded. “We expect all of you in bed by then.”

“Yes, Professor Sunset!”

“Glad that’s settled,” Rainbow Dash nodded. “Now if you excuse me, gonna go catch me some zee’s.”

“I could agree more, darling,” Rarity sighed. “Us girls need our beauty sleep.”

The Assistant Professors left for the girls’ dormitories, while Spike made his way to the Boys’ stretching his arms back. The Young Six and the CMC eyed Harry, who flipped through the pages of the mysterious diary. All he could find was the same name of the owner, written on the back cover with gold and bold letters.

“Tom Marvolo Riddle…” Harry read.

“Who is he?” Apple Bloom. “Or even… who was he?”

“No clue, Bloom,” Smolder shook her head.

Harry pondered over what to do until he began to set the diary aside. Then he noticed a bottle of ink sitting on the desk and an idea flickered. Taking his quill, Harry dipped it, and hesitated. As he did, a drop of ink hung, suspended like a tear, then… dropped.

The ink blazed briefly, then… vanished… as if it were sucked into the page. Not a single mark or smudge remained in the diary itself. The Equestrian Students were shocked over what they saw.

“Yona knows eyes not fooling,” Yona broke the silence. “But did Yona see ink disappear?”

“Yeah, we saw it with on very own eyes,” Sandbar nodded.

“Quick H.P., write something!” Smolder ushered.

Harry’s reaction, the same as his Equestrian Friends, tried to find the blot but couldn’t. He determined to ask this mysterious Tom Riddle if he knew something about the Chamber of Secrets. Excitedly, without thinking, Harry dipped his quill again, and this time, he flipped on another page and wrote:

My name is Harry Potter.

The words blaze and vanished just as quickly. Slowly, oozing out of the page, a response emerged…

Hello, Harry Potter. My name is Tom Riddle.

“Whoa…” Gallus gasped. “That’s freaky.”

“Okay, we’re communicating,” Silverstream nodded slowly. “Now what?”

Harry’s mind was already racing. Determined for answers, he muttered the next words he wrote…

“’Do… you… know… anything… about… the… Chamber… of Secrets?”

The ink disappeared again, and in its place came the answer:

Yes.

“Guys,” Sweetie Belle whispered excitedly. “We might be close on answering this puzzle.”

“Let’s not get carried away, Sweetie Belle,” Ocellus advised. “We must proceed with patience.”

“’Can… you… tell… me?’” Harry wrote.

The ink vanished, and the group saw an answer… with disappointment.

No.

Harry frowned, sighing with disappointment over the diary’s answer. Silverstream, on the other hand.

“Seriously?! No?!” Silverstream raged. “Are you kidding me! We were this close –”

“Wait!” Gallus interrupted, pointing. “Take a look!”

“What is it?” Scootaloo asked.

And then… slowly… new words oozed along the surface of the page.

But I can show you… let me take you all back fifty years ago…

Though confused, wondering how a diary could take them back, Harry and the Equestrian students waited with intrigue. Then, suddenly… something shocking happened. The diary pages started to flutter wildly, vigorously all by themselves until it stopped on another blank page. All eyes saw a date appear on the right corner of the diary, which read ‘June the 13th’. On the page, a tiny square shimmered… like a window.

Confused at first, Harry lifted the diary in front of his face for a closer look. Then it happened, the very center of the diary’s page started to glow. Soon they were pitched forward, spilling through the widening window, into a whirl of color and shadow, and every student was sucked inside the diary.

<>

The students tumbled onto their feet into a torch-lit corridor. Everything seemed de-saturated, save for Harry and his friends, the group retaining the true, rich colors of the presents. They glanced about, disoriented, wondering was going on and why they were sent here… to a Hogwarts fifty years before their time.

“W-Where are we?” Apple Bloom wondered.

“Is this… H-Hogwarts?” Smolder gasped.

“I guess so,” Harry answered uncertainly. “Come on.”

Deciding to follow Harry, the group walked forward until they spied a boy, at the age of sixteen, at the end of the corridor and peering around a corner. A flurry of shadows danced along the wall beyond the boy, revealing the presence of others, unseen, in the adjoining room. The group advanced, low voices emanating from the shadows. They approached the boy, hoping to ask him a question straight away.

“Excuse me,” Harry spoke to the boy. “Could you tell us where we are? Hello…?”

But the boy doesn’t respond, so Harry tried again.

“Are you Tom Riddle?” Harry asked again. “Hello? Can you hear us?”

“Maybe he’s deaf,” Smolder remarked.

“No…” Ocellus realized. “We’re in a flashback; this is before our existence.”

“Wait!” Apple Bloom looked up. “Look!”

All heads turned toward where Tom was looking, eyes staked to the activity in the adjoining room… which the group saw was now in the Entrance Hall. A group of elder witches and wizards – Hogwarts Professors – talked amongst themselves, then… abruptly went silent. They made way for a pair of young wizards, bearing a stretcher. Upon it was the body of a witch, a girl found dead.

Overlooking the activity was Albus Dumbledore, Celestia, and an unfamiliar unicorn. One with a white coat, brown mane, and a tail tied into a bon wearing a red ascot, square glasses, and a cutie mark of a pen and ink bottle And the pony’s name… Raven Inkwell. They looked at the body somberly, as the wizards carried the dead body past the unseen students. The Equestrian students’ faces went pale seeing the dead girl’s arm limply hanging on the stretcher. Just then, an all-too-familiar voice called out to Tom.

“Riddle! Come!”

The boy wheeled… and looked right through Harry and his friends. The group too turned, and they saw Dumbledore… fifty years younger. And by his side, Princess Celestia herself.

“Professor Dumbledore,” Tom Riddle spoke. “Princess Celestia.”

“Dumbledore? Celestia?” Harry repeated.

“No way!” Sandbar’s eyes widened. “That’s Celestia and Dumbledore?”

“Yona knows it’s them,” Yona nodded.

“It’s not wise to be wandering around this late hour, Tom,” Celestia spoke firmly.

“Yes, Professor and Princess,” Tom nodded. “I suppose I – I just had to see for myself, if…”

Riddle glanced toward the young wizards, watching them carry the stretcher out of the Hall and into the night.

“… the rumors were true,” Tom concluded.

“I’m afraid they are, Tom,” Albus confirmed. “They are true.”

“About the school as well?” Tom Riddle asked. “I don’t have a home to go to. They wouldn’t really close Hogwarts, would they, Professor? Princess?”

“We understand, Tom,” Celestia sighed. “But I’m afraid Headmaster Dippet may have no choice.”

“Sir? Your Majesty? If it all stopped. If the person responsible was caught…”

“Is there something you wish to tell us, Tom?” Albus asked.

“No, sir,” Tom answered, after a long beat. “Nothing.”

Celestia and Dumbledore examined Riddle, studying the boy for a moment.

“Very well then,” Celestia shrugged off. “Hurry along.”

“Goodnight, sir,” Tom Riddle bid farewell. “Goodnight, your majesty.”

“Goodnight, Tom,” Celestia bowed, facing Raven. “Come, Raven.”

“Yes, your majesty,” Raven Inkwell bowed in respect.

Celestia and Raven walked away, while Albus looked at Tom with curiosity. But ultimately Dumbledore decided to head towards his office, striding directly past Harry and his friends. They still couldn’t believe the old wizard didn’t see them. When Dumbledore was gone, Riddle moved quickly toward the dungeon steps. As Harry and the students followed, Harry faced the kids.

“Guys, can I ask you all a question?” Harry asked curiously.

“What is it?” Ocellus asked back.

“Who was that Unicorn next to Princess Celestia?”

“If I recall one of our field trips to Canterlot, Headmare Twilight’s birthplace, that was Princess Celestia’s personal secretary, Raven Inkwell,” Ocellus explained. “I heard that when the princesses stepped down as rulers of Equestria, handing their duties over to Headmare Twilight, Raven will become her personal secretary till she can no longer continue. Eventually she’ll retire, which means Headmare Twilight will have to find a new personal secretary to assist with her royal duties.”

Harry nodded on, as they followed Tom’s steps along the many twists and turns of Hogwarts. Until finally, they came to a stop as what they saw next would prove shocking for the entire group. Up ahead, a splinter of light leaked through a door. Riddle put his eye to the crack, and inside someone was talking.

“C’mon, Aragog. Gotta get yeh outta here… c’mon now… in the box… it’s gonna be alright.”

Tom drew his wand out of his pocket as he pushed the door clear. Harry and friends saw a second, smaller room. As he entered the room, Tom turned his back to see if no one was watching, then he entered the room. Crouched by a box was a huge boy… a young Hagrid. A strange clicking stemmed from the boy, as Hagrid tried to comfort the figure inside.

“Evening, Hagrid,” Tom confronted the half giant.

Hagrid slammed the door shut, not knowing Harry and the Equestrians were inside. Tom’s wand was pointing directly at Hagrid, in case he’d make any moves.

“I’m going to have to turn you in, Hagrid,” Tom stated bluntly. “I don’t think you meant it, to kill anyone –”

“No, yeh can’t!” Young Hagrid argued. “Yeh don’ understand!”

“Hagrid… the dead girl’s parents will be here tomorrow,” Tom warned. “The least Hogwarts can do is make sure the thing that killed their daughter is slaughtered.”

“It wasn’ him!” Hagrid spoke defensively. “Aragog never’d kill no one! Never!”

“Monsters don’t make good pets, Hagrid. Now… stand aside…”

“No!”

“Stand aside, Hagrid…”

“Nooooo!”

Undeterred, Riddle pointed his wand at the chest.

“Cistem Asperio!”

The group watched in shock as Riddle blasted the closed door off its hinges, extinguishing the torches within. A gasp escaped Harry and his friends’ lips when a low-slung creature with a tangle of black legs, a gleam of many eyes and a pair of razor-sharp pincers scuttled out of the shadows. Riddle pointed his wand at it, fired another spell at the beast…

“Arania Exumai!”

The spell was cast, but the boy missed the shot.

“Aragog, Aragog!” Hagrid called out.

But Tom Riddle pointed his wand menacingly toward Hagrid, preventing the half giant from taking a step further.

“I can’t let you go,” Tom informed Hagrid. “They’ll have your wand for this Hagrid; you’ll be expelled.”

Hagrid hung his head in shame as Harry and the Equestrian Students tried to reach out for him. But suddenly, a strong force pushed them back as they looked toward their half giant friend, threatened by Tom who kept his wand toward him and held him back. They tried to call out to them, but to no avail… for the past was sending them away.

“Hagrid!” They called out in unison.

As the door closed in front of them, they called to him again.

“HAGRID!”

A blinding light engulfed the group; soon enough, the closed diary glowed again as the pages flipped vigorously…

<>

Once more, Harry was pushed back into his chair while the Young Six and the CMC tumbled to the floor. The entire room was spinning off its axis, spinning, the group returning back to a world of color and shadow as the students laid flat on their backs upon the floor of the Gryffindor Common Room. Eventually the ceiling slowly stopped spinning as they eyed the diary with shock and awe. For before their own very eyes, they were witnesses of a Hogwarts flashback, possibly leading to clues about the Chamber of Secrets and the creature terrorizing the school… or so they thought.

“Whoa!” Harry gasped.

“We’ve got a whole load to tell the Assistant Professors, as well as Hermione and Ron,” Smolder declared.

“Oh, shoot guys!” Silverstream pointed at the clock. “It’s half after ten; we should’ve been in bed by now.”

“Well, that settles it,” Gallus yawned. “Good night, everybody.”

“Goodnight,” Sweetie Belle answered.

“I’m beat…” Scootaloo yawned. “’Night.”

Soon, they all went to their separate dorm rooms for a long night’s rest. One thing was certain, the group had a strong lead over who opened the Chamber of Secrets. Soon as they woke up the next morning, they intended to share their friends their findings from that very night. But little did they know, the one most responsible for opening the Chamber of Secrets was not who they believed. For certain, they did encounter a certain owner of the diary and come next morning a chain of events would be unearthed. The like of which will lead them through a sea of problems still to come, and ultimately… the identity of Hogwarts’ true culprit…

<>

As the sun rose high over the castle, students were hurrying to their classes. Amongst the activity, Harry, Ron, Hermione and the Equestrian students walked together across the grounds with the Assistant Professors beside them. By now, Hermione and Sunset’s conditions had vanished and were back to normal. But now a new problem has emerged.

“It was Hagrid,” Harry explained. “Hagrid opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago.”

“And you know this from reading a blank diary?” Rainbow Dash asked skeptically.

“That’s just it, we weren’t even reading it,” Sandbar reiterated. “It talked to us… through words it wrote itself… right before it pulled us into its pages. Next thing we know, we found ourselves reliving the past from fifty years ago!”

“… Uh huh,” Rainbow Dash nodded skeptically. “I believe you, sonny…”

Rainbow Dash quickly turned to Applejack.

“I believe he’s got a few screws loose…” Rainbow Dash whispered to her marefriend.

“I don’t think Sandbar is crazy!” Sunset butted in. “If these kids know what they saw, as odd as all this sounds, it must mean something. It’s no coincidence if Harry and I both saw something.”

“Right,” Harry vouched for the Jedi Sorceress.

“It can’t be Hagrid,” Hermione replied. “It just can’t be.”

“We don’t even know this Tom Riddle,” Ron added. “He sounds like a dirty, rotten snitch to me.”

“The monster killed someone, Ron,” Harry argued. “What would any of us have done?”

“… I don’t think Hagrid ever meant to kill anyone,” Sunset spoke up. “He’s always had a fascination for these things. Three-headed dogs, dragons, hippogriffs… and now add a giant spider on the list. Still, this is Hagrid we’re talking about. Maybe he just… lost control of it.”

“How can we be so sure it was Hagrid, Sunset?” Twilight asked. “For all we know, it could be another manipulated memory made to make it look as if he was the culprit.”

“I’m not suggesting it was Hagrid,” Sunset replied. “But he was harboring a giant spider as a pet. It got loose, and a student got killed. That’s got to be the monster from the Chamber of Secrets…”

“There must be a logical explanation,” Twilight continued. “For now, we shouldn’t make any rash decisions until we have more evidence.”

“Uh, I hate to break it to ya Twi,” Rainbow spoke up. “You’re talking to the girl who spent four years hunting us down, mostly to kill you, over an edited video.”

“I learned my lesson!” Sunset barked at Rainbow Dash. “Quit bringing it up!”

“I’m just saying!” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “We can’t make the same mistake again!”

“You know what? Maybe I wouldn’t be MAKING that mistake to begin with if YOU MADE THE EFFORT TO SAVE ME!!!”

“Made… an effort?!” Twilight exclaimed, flabbergasted. “I tried to find you, Sunset! How was I to know where to even look? How could I have known you were tortured? Your boyfriend gave us that holographic video, where you told us not to worry! You said you were going to find… us!”

“I know what I said!” Sunset frowned. “But then what did you say? That I didn’t need to be saved? Did you ever think about how bad that would sound taken out of context? And it took you HOW LONG to realize I was in DEEP TROUBLE?! Where were you those last four years?”

“Helping Luke and the Resistance!” Twilight explained. “The Death Star would’ve killed him and everyone else if we hadn’t stopped it first! What was I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know… SPLIT UP?!” Sunset replied. “Half the team helps Luke, the other actually mounting a rescue?! If you had thought of that, it would have saved us trouble! This is just like WrestleMania when you decided to abandon Spike to Malakai Black!”

“Please leave me out of this one…” Spike begged.

“Fluttershy was in trouble!” Twilight argued. “She was kidnapped; she needed all of us to save her! I wanted to save Spike, but—”

“You didn’t even step in the ring to save him!” Sunset barked angrily. “Your coltfriend, Grandmaster Storm Shield, saved him! Urgh! I swear even as the Princess of Friendship, you’re a terrible friend! I spent four years as a prisoner on the dark side. FOUR YEARS! I had no one but four Force Ghosts of the Ancient Masters to regain control of myself and I still have nightmares! I didn’t need you then, I don’t need you now!”

The rest of the Mane Six, the Students and Gryffindors included, stared in shock.

“Sunset…” Twilight gasped tearfully.

“… Uh, can we get back to the Hagrid topic?” Ron asked. “Like what are we supposed to do now?”

“Look… Hagrid’s our friend,” Hermione began. “Why don’t we just go ask him about it?”

“That’ll be a cheerful visit,” Ron rolled his eyes skeptically. “’Hullo, Hagrid. Tell us, have you been setting anything mad and hairy loose in the castle lately’?”

“Mad an’ hairy? Wouldn’ be talkin’ ‘bou me, now would yeh?”

Hagrid’s booming voice sent the group wheeling, spotting the half giant grinning at them. They instantly looked guilty.

“No!” They answered in unison.

Hagrid looked at them curiously. Harry nodded to the strange canister in his hand.

“What’s that you’ve got, Hagrid?”

“Flesh-Eatin’ Slug Repellent,” Hagrid explained. “Fer the Mandrakes, yeh know. Accordin’ ter Professor Sprout, they still got a bit o’ growin’ up ter do, but once their acne clears up, we’ll be able to chop ‘em up, stew ‘em, an’ get those people in the hospital un-Petrified. ‘Till then, you best watch yerselves, all righ’?”

All heads nod, watching Hagrid lope away. Just then, Neville came running up. He looked pale with fright.

“Harry! Professor Twilight!” Neville gasped.

“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t know who it did, but… you’d better come.”

<>

The Gryffindor Tower Dormitory, Harry’s living space… a disaster. Trunk riffled, drawers flung open, bedclothes strewn on the floor. To say the group was shocked was an understatement.

“It’s like a hurricane swept through here,” Smolder observed.

“Wut in tarnation’s goin’ on?” Applejack questioned.

“It had to be a Gryffindor,” Hermione observed. “Nobody else knows our password.”

“Unless…” Ocellus pondered. “It wasn’t a student…”

“Well, whoever it was, they were looking for something,” Ron replied.

“And they found it…” Harry confirmed. “Tom Riddle’s diary is gone.”

“Oh no!” Silverstream gasped.

“Oh no!” Gallus groaned.

“Oh no!” Sandbar added.

“Oh--!” Ocellus began.

“YEAH!!!”

From out of nowhere, Bulk Biceps jumped through the wall. All eyes stared blankly at the muscular pony, who blinked awkwardly and slowly stepped back through the massive hole he left behind.

<>

Later that day, students were streaming into the Quidditch Stadium. Harry, dressed in his Quidditch robes, dashed down the marble staircase with Ron, Hermione, and the students. Down below, the Mane Six, including Spike and Sunset, stood waiting for them. But after the argument from earlier, the atmosphere between the group was awkward. Sunset turned for a moment and briefly caught Ginny.

“Hey, Ginny!” Sunset greeted. “Going to the match?”

Ginny looked up, startled, then shook her head and made her exit. By the time Ron came down, he shook his head as he watched his sister leave.

“I tell you; she gets weirder and weirder by the day…” Ron replied.

‘Kill this time… Let me rip… Tear…’

Harry froze. Ron, Hermione, and the students stopped and turned toward him. Rainbow Dash instantly knew the face…

“No… don’t tell me…” Rainbow moaned.

Harry turned, as if following the sound, absently touching his fingers to the wall as he glanced around. Hermione studied him with great interest – studying his fingers – then, abruptly, Harry turned and shook his head. Whatever Harry felt, it was gone now. Hermione looked up, eyes vaguely upon Harry, but her mind miles away.

“Harry… guys… I think I’ve just understood something!” Hermione realized.

“What do you understand?” Ocellus asked.

“I can’t tell you just yet,” Hermione answered. “I’ve got to go to the library for some research!”

“Want us to go with you?” Silverstream asked.

“Actually… I’d like Princess Twilight to come with me,” Hermione pointed. “If that’s okay.”

“Of course, Hermione!” Twilight replied. “I think some heavy reading is exactly what I need right now.”

“We’ll tag along,” Rainbow Dash offered. “We could all use a breath of fresh air.”

With that, the Mane Six and Spike followed Hermione to the library leaving Sunset along with the other students. She looked on in puzzlement until they were gone.

“The library…” Sunset replied. “That’s Hermione. When in doubt, go to the library.”

But when the fiery Jedi turned toward the kids, she was met with some disappointed glares… mainly from the Student Six.

“What?” Sunset shrugged.

“Don’t think we forgot what happened,” Gallus frowned. “You’ve got a lot of nerve talking to Princess Twilight like that. She’s done nothing but look out for you, to make up for her mistakes, and this is how you repay her?!”

“Do you have any idea of the trouble she went through for you?” Sandbar added. “Or even the bigger trouble you put her in because of one edited video?”

“We get what happened to you was cruel and unfair!” Smolder added. “We saw everything in Discord’s Theater. But don’t think Princess Twilight ever gave up on you; she was worried to death! We all were!”

“I even assembled a cheer squad just for you!” Silverstream added. “I mean I didn’t know if you’d hear it or if you’d come to your senses… but it wasn’t without trying!”

“Every pony tried to rescue you!” Ocellus pointed out. “Even Discord… and he hates you with a passion! Don’t think we haven’t been paying attention to his antics.”

“You want to talk about no effort?” Gallus challenged. “Start with us! Ask Princess Luna, who risked getting captured just to save your sorry butt?”

“Everyone tried to save Sunset!” Yona concluded. “But Sunset not thankful for effort!”

No reply emerged from Sunset’s lips. The words from these students left her stunned in a deathly silence. It was as though she was processing everything laid onto her.

“Uh… guys?” Harry spoke up. “Quidditch?”

<>

Meanwhile, in the Hogwarts Library, Hermione and the Assistant Professors sat together along a table. Among them was a humongous stack of books, a collection they studied in hopes of uncovering anything they could about the mysterious monster lurking in the elusive Chamber of Secrets. They needed to know what was causing the attacks within Hogwarts, the method to defeat it, and how to end this threat for good. Frustration only added to the stress the group carried, knowing all they found was useless information. Time was running out, there was only so much to do, and they were on the verge of giving up.

“Ugh!” Rainbow groaned exasperated. “We’ve been studying for hours and have nothing!”

“Tell me about it, darling,” Rarity sighed. “And we’ve already read the entire stack!”

“We can’t just give up!” Spike spoke up. “All of Hogwarts is at stake with all these recent attacks.”

“AAAAAAHHHHH… It’s hopeless!” Pinkie popped out of nowhere. “Stormy’s going to be petrified… FOREVER!!!”

“SHHHHHH!!!” Pince hissed.

“Pinkie darling, not so loud!” Rarity scolded quietly. “We’re in a library!”

“Sorry…” Pinkie smiled awkwardly.

“Maybe we should take a break,” Fluttershy suggested. “It’s been three and a half hours now. We should be at the Quidditch field for the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor game.”

“Shoot! I forgot about that!” Rainbow realized. “We gotta go—”

“I found it!” Hermione called out.

“Found wut, Hermione?” Applejack asked.

All eyes looked toward the page Hermione pointed to. When they studied the page, all expressions turned pale.

“It can’t be…” Applejack shook her head.

“It is…” Hermione whispered silently, tearing the page.

“Are you sure, Hermione?” Fluttershy asked nervously. “You’re breaking a rule in the library.”

“I know, Professor Fluttershy. But we need this information, right Professor Twilight?”

“She’s right,” Twilight confirmed. “We must tell the others at once!”

Without another word, as soon as Hermione got hold of the page, she proceeded to write down the identity of the Chamber of Secrets’ mysterious monster and how it attacked without being caught. In her hands now laid the answers Harry and friends needed. But as they prepared to leave the library, it was then… disaster struck.

Percy’s girlfriend, Penelope, took out her mirror when the monster’s eyes appeared. But there were no screams, just the sound of the floor disturbed by a cluttering. This activity caught the eye of Pince instantly and she stormed toward the Headmaster’s office to report the attack. What news she’d deliver was going to be shocking for the others once word of the latest victims of the petrification attack…

<>

While Hermione went to Hogwart's library with the Mane Six for studying, Harry and Smolder marched with their team toward the Quidditch tower. Cheers of the crowd were heard as they prepared for their face-off against Hufflepuff. Oliver Wood led his team to their pitch tent, to hype them up for the upcoming game.

"All right, listen up now," Oliver Wood explained. "We play our game, Hufflepuff doesn't stand a chance. We're stronger, quicker, and smarter."

"And not to mention, they're dead terrified that Harry'll petrify them if they fly anywhere near him," George spoke up.

"Will you cut that out?" Smolder huffed to the Weasley prankster.

Just as the Gryffindor team was on their way out, when Professor McGonagall approached them.

"Professor McGonagall," Oliver greeted.

"This match has been cancelled," The Head of Gryffindor announced.

"What?!" Smolder exclaimed. "Are you kidding me?!"

"I wish I could say she was," Sunset Shimmer sighed, as she and her fellow Gryffindor cheerleaders approached.

"But she wasn't," Ocellus frowned.

"And I combed my hair to look good for Gallus too!" Silverstream huffed, throwing down her pom-poms.

"Cancelled!” Wood bellyached. “They can't cancel Quidditch –”

"Silence, Wood!" Professor McGonagall said sternly. "You and your teammates will go to Gryffindor Tower, now."

As the Gryffindor Quidditch Team left, dejected that their game was stopped, the professor turned to look solemnly at Harry and Smolder.

"Potter, Ms. Smolder," Professor McGonagall began. "The rest of you and I will find Mr. Weasley. There's something that all of you have to see."

<>

Before long, McGonagall was leading Harry, Ron, Sunset, and the Student Six into the Hospital Wing, where they found the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Spike, and Sonata Dusk waiting for them. Among them, Fluttershy stood with dry eyes as though she had been crying. When she turned to the approaching kids, she sighed heavily and approached…

“Oh, kids!!!” Fluttershy wrapped her wings around them.

“Wut’s happened, Professor McGonagall?” Apple Bloom asked worriedly. “Where’s Applejack?”

“And Rarity?” Sweetie asked frightened.

“Rainbow’s okay, right?” Scootaloo spoke anxiously. “Somepony tell me she’s okay!”

"I warn you, this could be a wee bit of a shock," Professor McGonagall cautioned.

McGonagall opened the door slowly. Harry and their friends stopped abruptly, when they saw what Professor McGonagall meant. Laying in the hospital beds, with horrified expressions frozen on their faces were Hermione Granger, Princess Twilight, and the remainder of the Mane Six. Leaving Fluttershy, by some miracle, the only survivor of the attack.

"Hermione..." Ron exclaimed in horror.

"Oh no..." Sunset gasped, as if she was about to cry. "Twilight...no..."

"Applejack!" Apple Bloom sobbed into her sister's chest.

"Rarity!" Sweetie Belle cried.

"RAINBOW DASH!!!" Scootaloo wailed, hugging her petrified sister-figure.

Sunset looked over and saw a certain Slytherin girl, crying, while clutching the frozen hands of her Ravenclaw friend. Sunset struggled to swallow a lump in her throat, before she turned to Sonata, who looked at her sadly.

"They were in the library," Sonata croaked. "...I was in the kitchen, with Spike, making tacos. We were on our way back to bring them lunch...when we found them like this."

“We were so lucky to find Fluttershy,” Spike added. “Somehow in all the chaos, we found her hiding under one of the desks. The beast must’ve just missed her.”

“It was horrible…” Fluttershy whimpered. “So… so horrible…”

"They were found along with this," Professor McGonagall added, holding a mirror up to Sunset Shimmer. "Does it mean anything to you?"

Sunset Shimmer took the small circular mirror, examining it closely. But she merely shook her head, as she hadn’t the foggiest clue.

"No…" Sunset answered silently.

Sunset Shimmer turned and looked to see Harry gently stroking Hermione's stiff hand. Clinched tight in her stiff knuckles, barely visible, a piece of paper. But instead, Sunset looked to see the Student Six sharing their grievances with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, over what had become of their beloved sisters and professors. But her heart went out to Twilight Sparkle the most. It pained Sunset Shimmer to see Twilight so vulnerable and so helpless at the same time. And the last time she spoke with Twilight Sparkle… they argued.

Sunset had never felt so scared in her entire life. Even more than she ever felt, even when she was a prisoner of the evil Galactic Empire. How she counted on Twilight to rescue her. To always be there to provide the answers to all her problems. But now, once again, Sunset Shimmer was at a loss. For, in another cruel twisted way, Twilight has left her to figure the problems out on her own.

And worse still, Sunset Shimmer never got the chance to even apologize to her for their recent argument. Sunset Shimmer dipped her head down in shame. She looked to the right and saw Spike, huddling up in a corner, with his knees to his chin, his tail wrapped around him, crying. No doubt, he was just as hurt as everyone is. And why wouldn't he? Like Sunset, he's just as close to Twilight. But closer…

The princess was his whole world; his home, his family, his sister, his mother, his life, everything! And now that Twilight's gone, a piece of him was gone with her.

Sunset walked over to the sad dragon, dipping her head.

"I'm sorry," Sunset apologized.

But Spike said nothing. He just stood up, placed a gentle claw on Sunset's shoulder, before he walked over to Twilight's petrified form, giving her one last stroke.

“Sonata, can you look after them?” Sunset asked Sonata.

"Of course," Sonata complied.

<>

Later, the Gryffinodrs were all gathered in their common room, when Professor McGonagall and Professor Fluttershy entered.

"Could I have your attention, please?" The Gryffindors all looked to their professor. "Because of recent events, these new rules will be put into effect immediately."

Professor McGonagall then reads off a piece of parchment to the somber Gryffindors:

"All students will return to their house common rooms by six o'clock every evening. All students will be escorted to each lesson by a teacher. No exceptions."

With that, Professor McGonagall sets the parchment aside, before Fluttershy also added this one keen detail.

"I should tell you this,” Fluttershy began, clearing her throat. “Unless the culprit behind these attacks is caught, it is likely the school will be closed… forever…"

Fluttershy burst into tears again and flew away as McGonagall turned to follow the Pegasus. The news left every student exchanging their concerns with each other. It was then Neville suddenly spoke up.

“Haven’t any of the teachers noticed that the Slytherins are all safe?” Neville asked. “Isn’t it obvious all this stuff’s coming from Slytherin? The Heir of Slytherin, the monster of Slytherin – why don’t they just chuck all the Slytherins out?”

“They can’t close Hogwarts,” Seamus argued. “Where would we all go?”

“I don’t care what anyone says,” Dean Thomas declared. “As long as Dumbledore’s here, Hogwarts will be here.”

Amidst all the chaos, Harry leaned in toward his remaining friends.

"We've got to talk to Hagrid, you guys," Harry explained. "I can't believe it's him, but if he did set the monster loose last time – even by accident – he’ll know how to get inside the Chamber of Secrets, and that's a start."

"I still say it's a bad idea," Apple Bloom frowned. "I like Hagrid. He's too friendly to be the Heir of Slytherin..."

"I'm starting to doubt it as well," Sunset Shimmer added. "I should know better than to trust my eyes. Obviously, Hagrid is innocent in all this and... I should've listened to Twilight! I'm so stupid! And because of me... she's in trouble! And it's all my fault!"

"Hey, what's done is done," Gallus consoled the Jedi Sorceress. "Beating yourself up isn't going to get us anywhere. But we should at least talk to Hagrid..."

"But you heard McGonagall," Ron spoke up. "We're not allowed to leave the Tower except for class."

"I think it's time to get my dad's old cloak out again," Harry suggested.

“Well…” Sandbar shrugged. “Here we go again.”

Aragog

Author's Note

So far, this is the longest chapter to any story we’ve created so far. I’d like to thank Drama as always for editing and everyone who put forth quotes that made it into this story.

Aragog

Darkness fell over the skies surrounding Hogwarts, the light of the moon began to shine upon the castle and its grounds. High up the tower dormitory of Gryffindor House, a drawer opens, and a hand reaches in taking the invisibility cloak. Ron, Harry, and the Equestrian Gryffindors carefully snuck their way through the dorm. Around them, their fellow classmates slept undisturbed. Harry soon pitched the cloak over himself, Ron, and the Student Six… and then they were gone.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders, along with Spike, waited by the entrance hall, keeping a close eye out so as not to get caught by a prefect or member of the staff. They hear the sound of running footsteps and turn just as their friends reveal themselves beneath the cloak. Their friends swept them inside, and together they marched their way into the night, sneaking by an unaware Snape and his assistant Potion Nova. Potion suddenly stopped as she felt a chill and turned behind her, but her eyes saw an empty hall. Shrugging it off, she proceeds to march hastily behind Snape’s tracks.

<>

That night as the rest of Hogwarts slept, Sunset Shimmer tossed and turned in her own bed yet found her rest disturbed by painful images. The discovery of Twilight’s petrified body sent sharp, painful stabs through her heart as she can feel the grievances rush through her brain like a tidal wave. Groaning in her sleep, she can hear the echoes of the past pounding against her. A series of scolds, growls, sobbing, and even the cackle of her darkest past.

‘You should’ve done more to help!’

‘How ungrateful can you be?!’

‘We risked our necks searching the galaxy for you… how did you thank us?! You tried to kill Twilight!’

‘Teacher no care for students!’

‘Don’t bother helping us! Why can’t you just leave us to solve our own problems? You’re good at that…’

‘This is just as you wanted, Seraphina…’

‘Monsters don’t make good pets, Hagrid!’

Sunset awoke with a start, panting heavily and sweating a storm. As she looks around, it turns out she is not in her own bed… but rather she has been resting in the hospital wing where she can look over her petrified friends. She still refuses to believe in it, even after the discovery concerning all her friends… except Fluttershy and Spike.

As she lifts herself off the bed, standing before Twilight Sparkle, the reality of her nightmare is true… her friends are petrified and somehow, she feels it’s all her fault. Even though she knows they are alive, whether they can feel her presence or not, to Sunset they look dead. All of which only intensifies her horror, leaving her unable to fight back her tears…

“Twilight… I’m sorry… it’s all my fault…” Sunset sobbed. “I’d give anything to have you back! I need you… I can’t do this by myself. I need help…”

All at once, a thought came to Sunset Shimmer from the very day that started this. Dawning upon her since the students first shared the news concerning the chamber.

“Hagrid… Sonata…” Sunset Shimmer whispered.

Only then does Sunset Shimmer realize what she needs to do. As if guided by an act of fate, she quickly storms her way out of the hospital wing to get to the figures she hopes can help her. And perhaps, prove once and for all whether Hagrid is truly innocent… or if perhaps the students truly were on to something.

<>

Meanwhile, along the grounds just outside Hogwarts, a small hut rests upon the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Its owner was none other than Rubeus Hagrid himself. The big, burly, bearded man sits inside the hut with his faithful boarhound, Fang, enjoying a pot of tea.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Suddenly, the massive pounding against his front door made Hagrid put down his teacup and retrieve his massive crossbow. Slowly he made his way toward the door and kicked it open, ready to fire. So imagine his surprise to find the five members of the Legion of Light standing before him. Quill Cast and Curtain Call, the moment they saw the crossbow aimed at them, held their hooves in the air in defense.

“Whoa, hold up Hagrid!” Quill shouted urgently. “It’s only us!”

“Blimey!” Hagrid exclaimed in relief. “Sorry about tha’ fellas. Didn’t realize yer would be stoppin’ in.”

“Dumbledore didn’t tell you?” Curtain asked curiously.

“He told me what yer were lookin’ fer,” Hagrid explained. “He didn’t tell me yer would be comin’ by tonight.”

Hagrid looks past the two leading members of the Legion and his eyes widened upon seeing Storm Shield completely unpetrified.

“Storm Shield?!” He gasped, amazed. “Aye thought yer were petrified.”

“I was,” Storm replied. “Until these guys managed to wake me.”

“Do the others know?” Hagrid asked.

“They don’t,” Storm shook his head. “And we can’t risk their safety by having them know I’m alright. This allows us to finish our task without complications.”

“Anyways Hagrid, we mostly came tonight to discuss an urgent matter,” Mirai butted in. “We’ve managed to find Slytherin’s scriptorium and a means to finally bring Spike’s mother back.”

The news caught Hagrid off guard, his eyes widening greatly.

“Yer did?” He asked bewildered. “Aye thought she was gone fer good.”

“Apparently not,” Quill replied. “She was merely captured and sealed within the Chamber itself. The only way to free her is by slaying the creature.”

A sigh escapes Hagrid, and the half giant appears to respond over such astonishing news. Suddenly, an eerie sight comes in view and his eyes narrow toward the forest.

“What is that?” Hagrid pointed.

The Legion turned their heads to where he was pointing, noting three figures draped in dark cloaks standing in the dark of the trees. One of them carries an hourglass, its sand raining down. An eerie chant echoes across the field.

‘Fall and pray, fall and pray…’

As suddenly as they appear, the trio fades deep within the forest. Quill and Curtain turn toward Mirai and Draxus, who nod in unison and the leaders face Hagrid.

“Sorry to leave you Hagrid,” Curtain informed. “But it appears we have urgent business in the forest.”

Before Hagrid could respond, the Legion members quickly raced into the darkness of the Forbidden Forest and then they were gone. Just as Hagrid closes the door, a set of hands stops the door from fully closing. To Hagrid’s surprise, Sunset Shimmer appears before the half giant, panting heavily.

“Sunset!” Hagrid greeted. “How are ya?

“Sunset?!”

Stepping behind the half giant, holding a fruit cake of sorts, Sonata Dusk is stunned to see Sunset Shimmer appear after overhearing the giant’s talk with the Legion. The Dazzling herself is a mess, her apron covered with bits of cake batter.

“Hey… Sunset!” Sonata greeted casually. “What’re you doing here?”

“What’s the matter?” Hagrid asked. “Ya look troubled.”

“Ha-Hagrid… I…” Sunset muttered. “I feel I may have made a mistake… can I talk to you guys?”

“Of course, come in!” Hagrid invited Sunset, picking up a kettle of tea. “Care for a spot? Should help clear yer mind.”

“Thank you…”

Sunset sighed heavily as she took a seat, while Hagrid poured her a dainty serving of tea. Sunset takes the cup and proceeds to take slow sips.

“Now what seems to be the trouble?” Hagrid questioned.

“I… I…” Sunset began, inhaling deeply. “I’ve been trying to help Harry find clues about the Chamber of Secrets, to find it and hopefully stop whatever monster’s been crawling out to end the madness. The students claimed to find an important clue connecting all of this, and naturally I tried to be supportive. But then Twilight and I got in an argument, and next thing I know… she and the others were petrified… including Hermione!”

“Oh dear!” Hagrid exclaimed.

“Oh yeah, I was there when it happened,” Sonata nodded in confirmation. “I mean I wasn’t there during the attack; I mean the aftermath… you know?”

“It’s all my fault it happened!” Sunset moaned. “I’m supposed to prevent all of this; I trained these scenarios. But every time something goes wrong, I’m either too late or unable to stop it! I couldn’t keep Lockhart’s pixies under control, I couldn’t save Harry from a Rogue Bludger, and on top of all that, I couldn’t even prevent the ponies I’m close to from being petrified… under my watch!

“I’m a failure! There, I said it! It is my responsibility as the Assistant Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, and I can’t even do that right…”

“Now Sunset, don’t blame yourself,” Hagrid coaxed the crestfallen Jedi. “All will be forgiven in time…”

“I just don’t know that anymore, Hagrid,” Sunset Shimmer sobbed. “Ever since that horrible time in the Galaxy… I just haven’t been myself lately. Even after I was rescued from the Dark Side, it’s like pieces of myself were scattered and I’m retracing my steps trying to put myself together. And Twilight… she’s done nothing but help, and I threw it back in her face. I really am such an ungrateful pony…”

“It’s not your fault, Sunset,” Sonata frowned sadly. “And it’s not Twilight’s fault either. If anyone’s to blame, it’s me! I’m the one who kidnapped you, along with my former sisters. And while they abused you, I just stood on the sideline as it happened… like I always do.”

“You girls have nothin’ to blame yerself fer,” Hagrid consoled the girls. “From what I’ve learned, all the blame in the world will never find the answers we seek. Just misdirection and misunderstanding… believe me, I know.”

Hagrid takes a pause for a dainty sip of tea before continuing his lecture.

“Try to be less hard on yer friends, Sunset,” Hagrid advised. “Friends make mistakes; that’s normal for every wizard and creature. Nobody’s perfect; perfection is impossible. The best we can do is learn from our mistakes and move forward. And from what I hear, Princess Twilight done her hardest save yer, hadn’t she?”

To which Sunset nods her head slowly, her eyes barely looking at the half giant.

“Maybe she was too late,” Hagrid admitted. “But never hold that against her. She done the best she could; all of yer friends had. But that don’t mean she never cared…”

“You’re right…” Sunset agreed sadly. “I thought being a Jedi meant showing everyone I’m different from the mare I was before. And yet… all I’ve been doing is making one mistake after another. Maybe I’m not cut out to be a Jedi; I should have just gone home…”

“… Is that yer talk, Sunset?” Hagrid asked. “Or a Jedi?”

But before Sunset can address the question, there’s another knock at the door. The disturbance startled the giant man and his guests.

“Who’s there?” Hagrid demanded.

As the two girls step back, Hagrid cautiously puts the lid on his teapot and holds his crossbow at the ready. He approaches the front door and kicks it open.

“Hello? Hello?”

Then appearing out of thin air is Harry Potter and his friends, dropping the cloak. Hagrid lowers the crossbow, relieved to see its only his friends. Fang thumps his tail at the sight of the newly arrived guests.

“What’s that for?” Harry points to the crossbow.

“Nothin’, nothin’,” Hagrid muttered hesitantly. “I’ve been expectin’… doesn’t matter. Sit down… I just made tea…”

As Hagrid invites Harry and friends inside, Sonata Dusk and Sunset Shimmer look on with surprise.

“Where do these guys keep coming from?” Sonata asked, facing Sunset. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d bring more guests over?! I’d have baked more cookies along with the fruit cake!”

“They weren’t with me,” Sunset replied.

“EE-NOPE!” Spike and the Students agreed with disdain.

“Wait a minute!” Sandbar realized. “How the hay did you even get here before us, Sunset?”

… Yeah, how did Sunset even get to Hagrid’s first?

Well you got me… (Reading Cortez’s notes) By all accounts, none of the material makes sense.

Never mind, never mind… let’s move on…

The remaining heroes walk in and gather around the table, barely addressing Sunset Shimmer as she can feel the awkwardness in the air. As Hagrid pours the tea for everyone, Harry can see that the half giant seems to be on edge. Nervously taking the kettle, spilling the tea… something was clearly off.

“Are you okay, Hagrid?” Harry asked concerned.

“I’m fine,” The giant replied, putting the kettle down. “I’m all right.”

“Did you hear about Hermione?”

“And our sisters?” Apple Bloom added.

“Oh, yea,” Hagrid sighed. “I heard, all righ’.”

His eyes look toward Sunset Shimmer and Spike, the latter the only one sitting next to the fiery maned pony. Despite the tension in between, the giant can understand the pain they’ve been feeling. What with everything happening at the school, they hardly have any reason to feel happy.

“I’m especially sorry for what happened with… Princess Twilight,” Hagrid informed Spike.

But the dragon didn’t reply. He merely dipped his head, as if praying for the well-being of his friends in hopes it will help them get well.

“We’re sorry if we came at a bad time, Mr. Hagrid,” Ocellus began. “We… just wanted to pay you a visit.”

“Look… we have to ask you something,” Harry voiced his concern. “Do you know who’s opened the Chamber of Secrets?”

Hagrid took a slice of fruit cake from Sonata… and stopped. It appears he wants to answer, the concern on his face is as clear as day. A look that a man gives when they are caught in the act of committing a crime. Sunset and the others watch as Hagrid takes a deep breath, before preparing to explain himself to his most trusted allies.

“What you have to understand about that is…” Hagrid began.

Suddenly… there is a loud knock. The fruitcake and plate in Hagrid’s hand smashed to the floor. Harry and friends turn towards the door as Fang barks.

“Quick! Under the cloak!” Hagrid quickly whispered. “Don’t say a word, be quiet all of you. You too, Sonata!”

Panicked, Harry and friends quickly race to the corner just as Ron hurls the Invisibility Cloak over them, hiding them all. Several members found themselves squeezed from both sides, trying to get comfortable.

“A little tight… don’t you think?” Apple Bloom grunted.

“Sorry!” Scootaloo apologized.

“Ow! Someone stepped on my foot!” Sunset groaned.

“Sorry, that was me!” Sonata apologized.

“Quiet!” Harry hushed harshly.

Sweating up a storm, Hagrid grabs his crossbow, pointing it at the door.

“C-Come in,” Hagrid called out.

The door opens and a grim Dumbledore enters. Accompanying the old wizard were Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and a portly man in a pin-stripe suit and a bowler.

“Oh, Professor Dumbledore, sir,” Hagrid greeted.

“Good evening, Hagrid,” Dumbledore greeted. “I wonder, could we…?”

“Of course,” Hagrid replied. “Come in, come in.”

The heroes struggle to keep quiet, trying to stay hidden under the Invisibility Cloak. Their eyes peer for a close look at what is happening within the hut.

“Princess Celestia and Luna?” Sunset whispered. “What are they doing here?”

“What’s Dumbledore doing here?” Harry asked.

“And who’s that guy?” Gallus pointed out.

“That’s Dad’s boss!” Ron whispered. “Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic.”

“For realsies?!” Sonata exclaimed quietly. “What’s a Minister of Magic? Is it a Priest?”

“From what I heard, the Minister of Magic is like the big boss of the Wizarding World in Great Britain,” Sandbar explained. “Sort of like what the princesses are.”

“This visit must be serious if he’s here,” Smolder commented.

“Bad business, Hagrid,” Fudge frowned solemnly. “Very bad business. Had to come. Four attacks, three on Muggle-borns, not to mention the Equestrian Heroes including the Jedi’s Grandmaster. Things’ve gone far enough. Ministry’s got to act.”

A worried look spread across Hagrid’s face, knowing where this was going. Sonata, especially, looked concerned for her dear friend. The giant turned to Dumbledore, pleading for help.

“But I never…” Hagrid stammered. “You know I never, Professor Dumbledore, sir…”

“I want it understood, Cornelius, that Hagrid has my full confidence,” Dumbledore spoke defensively.

“That goes double… triple from us!” Princess Luna added.

“I’m very much upset over what’s happened to my son and my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle,” Princess Celestia spoke sternly. “But I won’t have another innocent life destroyed because of this. I’m confident that Hagrid is innocent…”

“Look, Albus, Hagrid’s record’s against him,” Fudge shook his head. “I’ve got to take him.”

“Take me? Where? Not Azkaban Prison!” Hagrid protested.

“For a short stretch only,” Fudge replied. “Not a punishment, Hagrid. More of a precaution. If someone else is caught, you’ll be released with a full apology.”

Albus Dumbledore and the two alicorn siblings faced Hagrid, expressing their sorrow for their inability to save him.

“What’s Azkaban?” Sandbar whispered to Ron.

“It’s a prison on an island, in the North Sea, and it’s guarded by dementors,” Ron explained quietly. “It’s a prison for the most dangerous criminals in the Wizarding World. Anyone who goes there almost never comes out.”

“Hagrid is being arrested?!” Sonata exclaimed.

“SHHHHH!!!” The others shushed Sonata harshly.

Just then, there is a sharp rap upon the door. As Dumbledore opens it, Harry and friends nearly slump. It is Lucius Malfoy, strolling into the room and dragging Whisper Dream by a leash. The poor bat pony appears scared, as though trying to figure out what’s going on.

“Already here, Fudge?” Lucius smirked. “Good, good…”

Fang merely growls at the man’s entry; Hagrid shares his contempt.

“What’re you doin’ here?!” Hagrid barked. “Get outta my house!”

“My dear man, please believe me, I have no pleasure at all in being inside your…”

Lucius turns to the spot where Harry, Ron, and his others are hiding under the invisibility cloak. Whether he can feel their presence or not remains undetermined at this time.

“Do you call this a house?” Lucious continued.

The heroes sigh quietly with relief, as Lucius turns his attention toward Professor Dumbledore and the alicorn princesses.

“I simply called at the school and was told the Headmaster was here, with the Supreme Rulers of Equestria.”

The invisible heroes exchange looks over what business Lucius wants with Dumbledore and the princesses.

“And what exactly did you want with us, Lucius?” Dumbledore asked.

“Dreadful thing, Dumbledore, but the other governors feel it’s time for the three of you to step aside,” Lucius answered.

“Say what?!” Spike whispered.

Sunset and Sweetie Belle quickly slapped their hooves over Spike’s lips before he could say more. Everyone present, including Hagrid, looked with wide eyes.

“I beg your pardon?” Princess Luna asked sternly.

“This is an Order of Suspension,” Lucius presented a parchment. “You’ll find all twelve signatures on it.”

“What’s the meaning of this?” Princess Luna demanded. “What reason do you have to make such demands? Explain yourself!”

“I’m afraid we feel you’ve rather lost your touch,” Lucius answered stoically, facing Princess Celestia. “And in light of Celestia’s past… effrontery with Queen Chrysalis, we’ve all agreed you can no longer be trusted in the care of our students nor trust your misplaced faith in… Sunset Shimmer.

“Perhaps she’s taken after you more than you realize. Such a pity… everyone held you in such high regards. But now we have reason to believe that you could be involved as much as anyone… especially that criminal.”

Princess Celestia remains stoic in the face of Lucius Malfoy’s statement. But it is very clear, from the look in her eyes, she is as hurt as anyone. Especially knowing her part in the downfall of Fire Fall and Chrysalis’ descent into madness, regardless of whether she were the cause of it or not. All the while, Sunset Shimmer stood hurt by Lucius’s choice of words. But also, she is rather curious over how Lucius could possibly know about Celestia’s past and hers specifically.

Meanwhile, Dumbledore eyes the roll of parchment, opening it, and reading the fine print. True to Lucius’s words, all twelve signatures are written along the document. The wording is legitimately clear. Under orders, Princess Celestia and Dumbledore are to be removed from Hogwarts, effective immediately… or else.

“What with all of these attacks,” Lucius continued, walking around. “There’ll be no Muggle-borns left at Hogwarts. And we all know what an awful loss that would be to the school, and to the alliance amongst Wizards, Equestrians and Jedi.”

Malfoy proceeds to take the official roll and hand it off to Fudge.

“Now, see here, Lucius,” Fudge spoke up. “Dumbledore, Luna, and Celestia suspended. No, no… last thing we want right now… if they cannot stop these attacks… I mean to say, who can?”

“That remains to be seen,” Lucius replied. “But as all twelve governors have voted –”

“You can’t take Professor Dumbledore away!” Whisper objected with alarm. “The Muggle-borns wouldn’t stand a chance without him! And with the princesses gone, you’d be putting every pony in danger, master!”

Lucius glares toward Whisper, attempting to silence her without words. That is until Hagrid spoke up.

“I agree,” Hagrid frowned. “An’ how many did yeh have ter threaten before they agreed!”

“I would advise you not to shout at the Azkaban guards like that,” Lucius warned.

“Yeh can’t take Dumbledore and the princesses!” Hagrid continued. “Take them away an’ the Muggle-brons won’ stand a chance! There’ll be killin’s next!”

“You think so?” Lucius raised an eyebrow.

“We know so, master!” Whisper screeched. “My friends go to this school! Some of them are Muggle-born, and I’m proud they are!”

“… You dare to befriend those—” Lucius whispered with rage.

Sunset Shimmer was just about to reach for her lightsaber, threatening to blow the heroes’ cover. Then suddenly…

“Calm yourself, everyone!” Dumble spoke up, steely-eyed. “If the governors desire our removal, Lucius, we shall of course step aside.”

“What?!” Princess Luna exclaimed, facing Celestia. “We can’t go through with this, Tia! I won’t go! What of the ponies… the students—”

“I’m afraid there’s no way around this, Luna,” Princess Celestia sighed. “While I cannot deny it, I honestly meant no ill-will towards Chrysalis. I’ve agreed to pay whatever compensation to make amends… I suppose that starts now…”

Princess Celestia and Dumbledore walk up to Lucius, with Luna following behind.

“However…” Dumbledore continued. “You will find that we will only truly have left this school when none here are loyal to us. You will also find that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who… ask for it.”

Dumbledore’s eyes drift – unmistakably – to Harry Potter and his friends. Underneath their cloak, the heroes are taken aback, feeling Dumbledore’s gaze penetrating them.

“And furthermore,” Princess Celestia began. “While Sunset Shimmer’s crimes cannot be overlooked, I know her past is not today. She has made the effort to put it behind her, to move forward and become a better pony… and a better person tomorrow. When push comes to shove, I trust her to make the right choice.”:

Saying all of this, Princess Celestia also glanced in the same direction as Dumbledore beside her. However, it is obvious she is looking directly at Sunset Shimmer, her eyes pierced by the gaze of her former teacher. Lucius turns to see what Dumbledore and Celestia are looking at, seeing nothing at all.

“Admirable sentiments,” Lucius replied. “We shall all miss your highly individual way of running things, Albus, and only hope your successor will manage to prevent any more, um, killin’s. Shall we?”

Lucius walks toward the door while Dumbledore and Celestia give the heroes one final significant look before leaving the hut.

“Fudge… Princess Luna,” Lucius beckoned.

Luna follows after her sister and Dumbledore, before she stops to address Malfoy.

“I’ll go wherever my sister goes,” Luna stated. “But I entrust Hogwarts’ security under the protection of my Nightmare Knights in my absence.”

“You actually trust those bumblers you call Knights?” Lucius raised his brows.

“Yes.”

It is clearly the only answer Luna will give in defiance. But just as Lucius aims to follow Dumbledore out the door, he stops suddenly to face Celestia and Luna.

“There is one more thing, Princess Celestia,” Lucius realized. “It pains me to say this… but your former student, Seraphina… is under arrest.”

“What?!” Sunset Shimmer gasped beneath the cloak.

“WHAT?!” Celestia exclaimed. “What do you mean ‘under arrest’? For what?”

“For plenty of reasons,” Lucius replied. “Attempted coup d’tat against you, misuse of a spell, attempted murder of Princess Twilight Sparkle… twice, outright betrayal against Equestria… and not to mention her… recent flight of fancy, risking the exposure of our world to the muggles!”

“Those crimes were cleared!” Princess Celestia argued. “I’ve pardoned all of them!”

“Pardoned by you,” Lucius wagged his fingers. “But not by us in the Wizarding World. You see, we’ve never had full confidence in your reasoning to give Seraphina the benefit of the doubt. Permitting a criminal, especially your former student, into a school of underaged wizards and wizards is rather questionable, if not a foolish gambit.

“Now we have all the proof we need. Princess Twilight, alongside your son, have been petrified in the very school with Seraphina. Hardly a coincidence.”

“Hold on!” Princess Luna argued. “We don’t know if it was Sunset behind these attacks! You can’t blindly assign blame!”

“I can’t?” Lucius revealed a lightsaber. “How do you explain this?”

Sunset Shimmer gasps with shock seeing her old Sith lightsaber in Lucius’ hand. Luna eyes Lucius skeptically, while Celestia is in great shock.

“Where did you get that?!” Celestia gasped.

“It was found on the school grounds,” Lucius explained. “We’ve found her fingerprints all over it, along with traces of her aura. Goes to show how deep trusting a Sith can get you. Seraphina clearly had her chance to behave, but the rules are black and white. She is due to be put away in Azkaban for a very long time.

“We have even taken the necessary means to ensure there are no other worlds she can escape to. If she attempts to leave the school grounds, a whole squadron of our best Aurors will come to collect her wherever she goes. I would advise that she be placed in custody by morning.”

There is nothing but silence between everyone in the room. Every pony and person were struggling to process this form of establishment. First Hagrid being taken to a maximum prison for a crime he didn’t commit; Dumbledore and the Princesses removed and suspended from Hogwarts; and now Sunset Shimmer branded a criminal and under immediate arrest. How else could this get any worse?

“Now then, I bid you all a good night,” Lucius concluded.

Malfoy strides to the door and beckons Dumbledore, and the princesses out. In all this chaos, Sunset Shimmer is practically hyperventilating under the cloak. She couldn’t believe it herself. Her friends bedridden, and Sunset is being blamed for it. And if what Lucius says is true, the entire Wizarding World has her trapped with no escape. Not to the Galaxy, not to Equestria. No matter where she goes, she is public enemy number one.

In her mind, Sunset is beating her fist against a wall. The Jedi had to be restrained by Sonata to prevent her panicking from giving them away. After Lucius leaves, along with Dumbledore and the princesses behind him, Cornelius Fudge and Hagrid are the last ones left in the cabin. Fudge, fiddling with his bowler, waits for Hagrid. Instead, Hagrid stands his ground.

“Come, Hagrid,” Cornelius Fudge beckoned. “Well?”

Hagrid takes a deep breath, one look around the cabin, and chooses his words ‘very’ carefully…

“If anyone wanted ter find out some stuff, all they’d have ter do is follow the spiders,” Hagrid stated. “That’d lead ‘em right! Tha’s all I’m sayin’.”

With that, Hagrid reluctantly follows Cornelius Fudge out of his house, before he stops for one last word of advice:

“Oh, and I’ll need Sonata to feed Fang while I’m away.”

Fudge stares at Hagrid in amazement, before he acknowledges Fang, who growls miserably at the minister.

“Good boy,” Fudge addressed the dog.

The Minister of Magic proceeds to follow Hagrid out. As the door slams shut, Fang starts to howl, scratching at the closed door. Harry and friends emerge from the cloak, spilling across the floor and gasping for air.

“That was intense!” Scootaloo gasped. “My heart was about to burst from my chest!”

“More than I can say for her,” Smolder addressed Sunset.

Sunset drew her lightsaber from her hilt, igniting its blade to open a portal to determine if she can pass into Ponyville. Unfortunately, upon stepping through the portal, Sunset is engulfed by a green aura returning her to the exact same spot in the hut.

“NO!” She screamed.

Desperate, Sunset opens a set of other portals. One for the Galaxy, and the other to Discord’s Theater. But each time, she is met with the same problem. No matter how hard she tries to pass through, time seems to reset around her, returning to the same spot over and over. Lucius Malfoy was right: She cannot escape; she is trapped. Once again, Sunset has been framed for a crime she didn’t commit… just the same as Hagrid. She had never felt so alone in all her life, now that Twilight isn’t around to save her.

“No! No! NOOOO!!!” Sunset screamed, pounding her fist on the ground.

“Pull yourself together, Sunset!” Spike shouted at the Jedi. “I know you’re upset, but we have bigger problems now!”

“Bigger than mine?” Sunset asked.

“Don’t you see, Sunset? Hagrid’s right! Hogwarts needs us more than ever!”

“With Dumbledore and the princesses gone, there’ll be an attack a day!” Ron added.

“Does this mean… the alliance between the Wizarding World and Equestria is… called off again?” Sweetie Belle asked nervously.

“I don’t know,” Spike replied worriedly. “But we must make things right and fast. It’s what Twilight Sparkle would want; now what do we do?”

“Look…” Harry pointed.

Everyone’s attention suddenly turns to the windowsill, where a trail of spiders escapes through a crack in the glass.

“Spiders again?” Yona cringed.

“C’mon,” Harry gestured, taking Hagrid’s lantern. “C’mon Fang.”

Silverstream turns to Sonata, beckoning the siren to follow along. Harry leads his friends, Fang included, out the door. The young wizard proceeds to illuminate the trail of spiders outside. They run from the window to the ground, to the dark trees in the near distance. As Harry moves to follow, Ron hesitates.

“What are you doing?” Ron croaked.

“You heard Hagrid,” Harry replied. “Follow the spiders.”

“They’re heading into the Dark Forest!” Ron protested.

“Yona no like spiders!” Yona whimpered.

“I thought you got over that fear ages ago!” Smolder assumed.

“Yona still scared!”

“It’s okay, Yona,” Sandbar reassured. “We’ll get through this together.”

“Alright,” Gallus began. “If it pleases the court, those in favor of following the spiders, raise your hands… or hooves… or whichever.”

The entire group present raise their hands and hooves, outnumbering Yona and Ron.

“There you go folks!” Scootaloo stated. “The motion is passed!”

“C’mon, Ron!” Sandbar urged the frightened boy. “We’re here for answers; this could be the clue Hagrid wants us to follow.”

“I did promise Hagrid I’d take Fang out for his walk anyway,” Sonata added.

Soon the group followed the spiders, with Yona and Ron the last to follow.

“Why spiders?” Yona asked.

“Why couldn’t it be ‘Follow the butterflies’?” Ron joined.

As Sunset moves onward, she stops and turns back with concern. She sees that Spike has turned his back toward Hogwarts, and she didn’t need to look into his mind to feel his concern. She slowly approached Spike as he released a sigh.

“Hang in there, Twilight,” Spike broke the silence. “We’ll be back…”

“It’s going to be alright, Spike,” Sunset reassured. “We’ll make this right again… I promise.”

Spike turned his head toward her gaze and silently nodded his head. He took Sunset’s hand, and together they followed their fellow students into the forest.

<>

Shortly after departing from Hagrid’s cabin, the heroes found themselves deep in the Dark forest as they followed the spiders. For Harry, along with Ron, Fang, the Student Six, and by extension Sunset Shimmer and Sonata Dusk, it is déjà vu all over again. For the CMC and Spike, however, they never felt more terror as this is the first time entering this forest. It is a mysterious place, if not more frightening than the Everfree Forest. The mist rolled across the forest floor, the ambient sounds of animal cries and howls echo all around.

“This is even worse than that time we served detention,” Ocellus whimpered.

“It’s scarier than the Everfree Forest,” Apple Bloom whimpered.

“Yona really not like spiders…” Yona cringed in disgust.

“Harry, I don’t like this,” Ron spoke frightenedly. “I don’t like this at all.”

“Shush!” Harry shushed.

“Why would Hagrid want us to follow the spiders all the way out here?” Scootaloo asked Gallus.

“I don’t know,” Gallus answered. “But we’ll never know if we keep asking questions. Let’s just keep going…”

Not far behind, Spike and Sunset Shimmer followed closely to ensure the safety of their students, and their friends’ sisters.

“I wonder if this is how Twilight felt when she and her friends went into the Everfree Forest the first time,” Spike wondered.

“You mean when they were looking for the Elements of Harmony?” Sunset asked. “You mean… you didn’t play a role in Nightmare Moon’s defeat? I’ve always assumed you were there; Twilight always said she couldn’t defeat Nightmare Moon without her friends.

“Yeah, she wasn’t very specific,” Spike sighed. “She just said her ‘friends’ in general, but… sometimes that doesn’t include… me. In my defense, I was passed out at the time.”

“Really?” Sunset asked in surprise. “But… you and Twilight are like bread and butter. You’ve been by her side she you hatched; you’re her best friend.”

“Yeah well, sometimes we do our separate things. I actually have other friends I hang out with sometimes. Whenever Twilight and the girls leave town, I’m free to have some ‘Guy Time’ with Big Mac and Discord.”

“Discord?” Sunset asked skeptically. “Big Mac I can understand, but you actually hang with that crazy Draconequus?”

“Believe it or not, Discord is a cool guy once you get to know him,” Spike rolled his eyes. “When he’s not being a total bonehead… or a loose cannon… or setting villains free.”

“And Sonata?” Sunset asked. “You were making ‘tacos’ with Sunset at the time of… well, you know?”

“Oh yeah, she’s pretty cool too!” Spike smiled. “She makes some mean tacos too! Hard to believe she used to be one of the Dazzlings.”

“Yeah… I saw what happened in Gotham,” Sunset frowned. “Poor girl. And I thought I got mixed up with the wrong crowd.”

As they followed the students through the Dark Forest, Spike looked at all the trees around him.

“You know… this is the first time I’ve set foot in this place,” Spike commented. “I was still a fledgling back then, so I stayed behind at Hogwarts while everyone was serving detention. Now without Twilight… I feel… scared.”

“I feel the same way too,” Sunset agreed. “Like being a prisoner of the Empire all over again. I’ve never felt more lost until you don’t know where you friends are. You feel backed up in a corner, forced to make tough decisions on your own. Even if they cost you everything…”

“At least you have the chance to move on,” Spike added. “That’s what they’d probably want you to do…”

Sunset looked toward the teenage dragon, who turned back toward the Jedi Sorceress and the way they held hands. It was hard to believe this was the same girl who tried to kill his sister… twice. But looking into her eyes, Spike can clearly see she’s not the same girl. In fact, he sees himself in her reflection… and Twilight Sparkle in Sunset’s place.

“It’s only been an hour or so, and I know they’re still back in the castle,” Spike rambled. “But I already miss Pinkie Pie. She always knows how to make the darkest moments seem… less bleak.”

“That’s Pinkie for ya,” Sunset agreed.

“She always wants to see everyone smile,” Spike recollected somberly. “It always fills her heart with sunshine all the while.”

“And when she sees her friends are happy, she’s happy…” Sunset sighed.

Both Spike and Sunset turned toward each other, sharing the same determination to see through the end of this adventure. For better or worse, for friends and family, these friends had ‘one’ opportunity to open up and truly get to know each other better.

“What was Twilight like to you?” Sunset asked. “Before meeting me?”

“Well… there was that one time she used a ‘Want-It, Need-It’ spell to make a friendship problem,” Spike laughed.

“Whoa, wait a minute!” Sunset chortled. “She made a problem herself?”

“Yeah! Everyone in Ponyville were fighting each other for Mr. Smarty Pants,” Spike chuckled. “I haven’t seen that much chaos since Discord broke loose…”

“What happened?”

“I sent a letter to Princess Celestia, explaining what happened, and she showed up to undo the spell lecturing Twilight and the girls about friendship reports for the future.”

“Wow…” Sunset shook her head. “All that trouble for fear of tardiness?”

“That’s Twilight,” Spike shrugged. “She may be smart, but she always overthinks the smallest thing. She’ll break into a full-blown panic attack if left unchecked… which is why I’m there for her to keep her… anchored.”

“Twilight’s lucky to have you for an assistant,” Sunset smiled. “Maybe if I had someone like you, I wouldn’t have…”

“It should’ve been me,” Spike sighed, looking toward the floor. “I should be the one petrified in the Hospital Wing… not her.”

“Spike, don’t beat yourself up like that!” Sunset Shimmer comforted the dragon.

“I’m supposed to be her Number One Assistant!” Spike frowned. “What kind of assistant lets their friend get petrified at the worst time?”

“You didn’t know,” Sunset continued. “Neither of us. But beating ourselves up won’t help. Dumbledore’s been forced to step down, including Celestia and Luna, Hagrid’s been taken to Azkaban, and as long as the Heir of Slytherin is still on the loose more Muggle-Borns and our friends are in trouble.

“I’m still here because I know Twilight needs me,” Sunset continued firmly. “Not that I have any other choice, I can’t go anywhere anyway. But regardless, she needs us… and you too. Twilight and her friends can only be back to normal if we work together.”

“That’s right, we’re all in this together!”

Sunset turned as Apple Bloom approached the pair, along with the entirety of the group.

“Hermione’s our friend,” Harry spoke up. “She’s in trouble, so we are doing this to save her.”

“But do we have to follow the spiders?” Ron whimpered.

“EEYUP!” The heroes answered in unison.

“Unfortunately…” Yona sighed.

And so the heroes continued their trek, Ron reluctantly dragging behind. The CMCs turned toward Sunset Shimmer who, despite the motivational speech to Spike, still showed gloom and despondence. Apple Bloom approached her, holding Sunset’s other hand.

“If it’s any consolation,” Apple Bloom began. “We forgive you.”

“Thanks…” Sunset solemnly nodded her head.

“The truth is none of us are perfect,” Sweetie Belle added. “We’ve made mistakes too. Like one time, we made a Love Poison to get Big Mac to fall in love with our teacher, Miss Cheerilee.”

“You did what?” Sunset asked.

“That’s nothing!” Scootaloo spoke up. “Remember that time we rigged a parade float to self-destruct, as payback against Babs Seed for bullying us? We were in so much trouble after that…”

“It could’ve been avoided if we spoke to Applejack like I suggested!” Sweetie Belle brought up.

“Oh yeah?” Scootaloo challenged. “What about those times we tried enrolling ourselves into Twilight’s School of Friendship? We came up with so many crazy plans to get in. Disguises…”

“Shirking chores,” Apple Bloom added.

“And the pestering,” Sweetie Belle brought up. “I got stuck with the name ‘Repeatity Belle’ for weeks for saying ‘please’ too much.”

“On top of that, we staged a fight in front of Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie to convince them to get us enrolled,” Apple Bloom brought up.

“Wow!” Sunset Shimmer exclaimed. “You girls are masterminds for trouble… even bigger than your counterparts back in the other world…”

“It’s what we’re good at,” Scootaloo chuckled. “Getting into trouble…”

“It’s part of the job description as Cutie Mark Crusaders,” Apple Bloom shrugged.

Sunset Shimmer laughed wholeheartedly over this revelation. To her, this moment brings relief for her guilty consciousness, knowing she isn’t the only one getting in trouble for any petty or simple reasons. She can feel a kinship with the Crusaders, despite having a bad history with their human counterparts notorious for the worst Christmas in history…

But that’s a story for another time… and this chapter’s long enough already…

“So, what else did you do as a bad girl?” Smolder asked Sunset. “Besides falling to the Dark Side over a stupid video and turning yourself into a Demon Sorceress…”

“Well… there was one time I broke into the Restricted Section of the Canterlot Library to study dark magic,” Sunset admitted.

“Bloody hell!” Ron exclaimed.

“Including the one about a mirror that takes you to an alternate world?” Harry asked.

“Yeah…” Sunset cringed. “Looking back, I really don’t feel good about it… but maybe it happened for a reason. Like its fate I’d be in that alternate world, to be a prisoner to the Empire, becoming a Sith, found by Twilight, then becoming a Jedi and… stuff…”

“I call it the choices you make,” Spike replied, crossing his arms.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I’m a dragon, right? But Twilight hatched me. She and every pony took me in and raised me as one of their own. Maybe it was fate I’d live like a pony, even though I’m a dragon.”

“What are you getting at?” Sunset asked.

“I still had a choice,” Spike continued. “I had every chance to leave every pony behind, take my place in the Dragon Lands, and maybe find out more of where I came from. Every chance to know who my real parents were, or why I was left alone. Or why I have these dreams of talking to someone.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Because I made a choice! I’ll never know my real parents, but I know Twilight. She’s been part of my family since I was born, and that’s good enough for me. The point is: I’ll always choose her over anything or anyone… life is defined by our choices, not fate.”

“Spike’s right,” Apple Bloom nodded. “Just like we’re following these spiders because we chose to do as Hagrid told us to…”

“Hold on!” Harry called out.

Everyone stopped as Fang suddenly crashed through some low-slung branches and sharp brambles. Ron gingerly picked his way behind Harry, then jumps as Fang howls. More branches snap following by rumbling sounds, and then… silence. The group turned toward Harry, who appeared to spy on something.

“What is it, Harry?” Sunset asked.

“There’s something moving there…” Harry answered quietly. “Something big.”

Just then a blaze of light splintered the trees, blinding the group momentarily. The group starts to flee… when Ron stops.

“Harry… guys!” Ron called out. “It’s our car!”

“The car?!” The CMC exclaimed in unison.

Sure enough, all scratched and mud-smeared, with bits of earth and grass sprouting from its headlamps and hubcaps – the Ford Anglia stood. Only it appeared to look half-animal by this point. Ron and the others circled the car, eyeing with wonder.

“I don’t believe it,” Scootaloo gasped. “It’s been here all this time!”

“Looks like the forest turned it wild over time,” Sunset observed.

“Well, least we have a landmark if we get lost,” Apple Bloom replied.

Harry nodded his head, then glanced back up the slope.

“C’mon, we don’t want to lose the trail,” Harry gestured.

<>

“Hello…” A feeble voice called out. “Sunset! Kids! Any pony?”

Far behind the group, wandering aimlessly in the woods, Fluttershy shuddered in fear of the entire forest surrounding her. Although she still wasn’t quite herself after the attack, Fluttershy went to check on the students to ensure their safety. She looked in Gryffindor house, but Sunset and the Students weren’t there. Then she checked Hufflepuff, but the CMC weren’t there either. Then she spied on some activity at Hagrid’s cottage, then spying figured vanishing off into the woods. And now here she was, wandering the grounds hoping to get them back before they stir any more trouble.

“Sunset! Kids! We’re not supposed to be out here!” Fluttershy called out. “Please answer so we can go home!”

Suddenly, a huge wave of smoke and mist began to blanket her side of the forest. Snapping of twigs caused Fluttershy to tuck her head behind her mane, suddenly finding herself frozen in place. Shivering, her eyes looked around the forest which seemed to transform somehow.

“W-What’s happening?” Fluttershy squeaked in fear.

Next thing she knew, the entire area began to grow dark, and fireflies suddenly popped out from nowhere. Fluttershy spins about, trembling in fear before her eyes freeze over the sole lantern glowing amidst the smoke. Fluttershy stares at the lantern, frozen with terror. However, what came next proved utterly more terrifying.

A sole figure rose from the smoke and mist, crawling in a rather creepy way toward the frightened Pegasus. Tears spilled down Fluttershy’s face as the figure crawled closer. From what the Pegasus could tell, it resembled a woman, dressed in a dirty-tattered white dress. Her dark hair fell over her ghastly, ghostly-distorted face.

The ghostly woman slowly stands up before Fluttershy, while the frightened Pegasus trembles in fright. The woman slowly holds out something towards Fluttershy, who notices that it appears to be a sheet of parchment. The woman drops the parchment on the ground and slowly walks toward the lantern. Fluttershy looks at the parchment and notices only two words written on it:

Find Me

Fluttershy looks back toward the woman, who quickly blows out the lantern and disappeared into the smoke and mist. When it clears, Fluttershy nearly trembles, sobbing to herself when she gasps. Another sound catches her attention, and she can feel a shadow hovering over her. Slowly, she turns over her shoulder silently begging for nothing dangerous. But when she gets a full look, her face turns wide, and she screams…

“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!”

<>

Harry, Ron, and the others were about to enter a hollow ribboned with shadow. The enormous trees towered over them, strewn with strands of white webbing. They stopped when they heard the high shrill of someone screaming, turning their heads trying to uncover the source. But it’s so dark where they were, they couldn’t see anything.

“This place gets creepier and creepier…” Sonata noted.

“Do we really have to go in there?” Gallus frowned, feeling claustrophobic.

“Can we go back now?” Ron asked.

“Come on,” Harry gestured.

Harry continues to lead the way, deep into the tunnel. Ron steps over a strand, kicking it off queasily. The whole tunnel is crawling with swarms of spiders along the floors, the walls, and even the ceiling. Peering ahead, at the far end of the hollow, they saw the spiders stream toward a dark opening.

“Yona not like spiders,” Yona cringed.

Unbeknownst to the yak, an even bigger spider dropped from the ceiling and perched itself onto her head. Sandbar is the first to take notice.

“Yona…” He began.

“Yes?” Yona asked, slowly turning around.

She notices Sandbar moving slowly towards her, one hoof extended out cautiously.

“What Sandbar doing?”

“Just… hold… still…” Sandbar whispered cautiously.

“Why—”

As if answering her own question, the big spider looks down toward Yona. It’s big eyes stare straight into hers, making its presence known before the hyperventilating yak.

“BIG SPIDER!!!”

The Yak screamed, jumping up and down, completely losing her mind. Yona even uprooted a whole tree, swinging and smacking her face into it. But try as she might to shake the spider off, she accidentally charges straight toward her own friends who desperately leaps out of the way.

“Yona! No!” The group calls out. “Yona! Calm down! Yona! Stop! STOP! STOP!”

As the group work to calm Yona down, Sunset peers into the forest to ensure nothing else is about. Suddenly, an eerier sound pierces her ears.

“Sunset…”

Sunset Shimmer quickly turns to where the voice came from. For some strange reason, it sounded as though it was Twilight Sparkle calling her. Suddenly, more voices of those closest to her called out…

“Sunset…”

“Sunset…”

“Where are you…”

“Help us…”

Hearing the voices, all at once Sunset Shimmer felt as though she’s in a trance. The voices drew her toward them, the pony felt powerless to do anything about it. Slowly she makes her way toward the voices, leaving the kids and Sonata behind. Sonata herself was the only figure who turned back, noticing Sunset walking off.

“Sunset?” Sonata spoke.

<>

In another part of the forest, Sunset Shimmer continue to follow the voices deep in the dark. All of a sudden, they stopped. It was then Sunset finally regained control of her senses, waking up from her trance and finding herself in an unfamiliar part of the woods.

“What… where am I?” Sunset asked, confused. “Harry! Ron! Sonata! Kids! Anyone!”

Suddenly, a new sound drew Sunset’s attention. Only this is a more terrifying sound, a series of vicious growls. Drawn to the growling, Sunset turns and spies a whole bunch of terrifying creatures surrounding her. But not just any creatures, these… were Wendigos.

But a majority of these Wendigos paled in comparison to its alpha. One with the face of either a deer or a ram, whichever Sunset deems most terrifying.

“Oh no…” Sunset moaned, recognizing the beast. “Not you again…”

The Wendigo released a spine-chilling howl, with several howls answering back. Before Sunset had time to act, several black flames erupted into the air. Soon millions of red eyes reveal themselves, as shadowy beasts emerge from the fires of hell. Shadow beasts assuming the shape of wolves, panthers, snakes, bears, eagles, an assortment of animals beyond imagination.

And to complete the line up is the ghost of a beastly bear. A bear revered from the realm of WrestleMania. A vicious predator, only this time… the real deal.

Oh, and if that’s not enough, the ghost of a familiar saber-toothed together emerged.

Sunset looks on, her eyes growing wide, shocked by the dark beasts surrounding her. They seem to close in on her, stalking toward her slowly. Quickly, she unsheathes her lightsaber, ignites the blade, and aims to defend herself. But before they could reach her, however, a horse whinny and clopping of hooves against the ground sends the beasts slithering back almost in reverence. Sunset turns toward where their attention was diverted, noticing a figure riding upon a white horse. A figure which returned from its grave to enact vengeance not only on the Equestrians, but ALL of mankind…

The Soul Chase demon…

The demon slowly slipped off the white horse and grabbed the giant scythe he carried upon his back. He grinned wickedly as he slowly approached Sunset Shimmer, who clutched her lightsaber tightly.

“Who are you?” She asked defensively.

But the Soul Chaser could smell fear within Sunset, which merely made him chuckle sinisterly.

“Your little friends know better than any,” He replied lowly. “They laid me in a grave as my final resting place, filing with the earth’s rotting soil. They tried to destroy me, wishing I’d go away. But what’s this? What have they really done?”

Between the Soul Chaser’s speech, the monsters surrounding them slowly drifted further in.

“The simple minds of mortals sent me back to my place of origin,” The Soul Chaser continued. “They think they could destroy me, but I grew more powerful. Now I have risen from my grave and will slay the ones I once saved.

“I am the reaper of men, chaser of souls, the weaver of nightmares, the heart of darkness, and now and ever will be… the purity of evil!”

“… Is that all?” Sunset Shimmer asked defiantly.

“… Hear me, little pony!” The demon warned. “The hell that threatened you as a child is no longer an option but reality. Living, breathing, and you stand in the middle of it. Tonight, Hell has relocated… to Earth!”

The Soul Chaser released a sinister laugh, taking a step back with his scythe aimed toward Sunset. A silent signal that sends the monsters toward her. But before they could pounce on her, a ball of fire hurtled through the air and exploded upon a nearby tree. All eyes turned and spotted the Legion of Light racing toward them with weapons drawn. The Legion leapt between Sunset and the monsters, the former greatly confused.

“We won’t let you touch her!” Quill yelled.

“Not on our watch!” Curtain added.

“Who are you guys?” Sunset asked confused.

“Don’t worry about that now,” Quill replied quickly. “Now we fight!”

The monsters leapt toward the group, and everyone sprang into action. Draxus brandished his two curved knives and slashed away the numerous beasts in his path. Mirai threw several fireballs amidst the other spells. Curtain and Quill shot spells after spells through the wands they carried. Sunset also slashed and hacked her way against everything in her path with her lightsaber, occasionally she hurled force lightning as a long-range attack to the beasts in the distance. Along the way, her eyes widened in shock when she saw Storm Shield blasting any and everything in sight through the magic from his horn.

“Storm Shield?!” Sunset gasped. “I thought—"

“You need to run Sunset!” Storm yelled.

“I can hold my own just fine!” Sunset replied. “But you—”

“The kids need you more than we do; go now!”

Sunset held the urge to question everything, including how Storm knows about the students when supposedly he’s been petrified. But Quill Cast quickly shoved something into her hands which resembled a small device with a single button.

“Take this and we’ll be in touch!” Quill yelled. “Push that when you’re back in Equestria with the kids, safe and sound! We’ll explain later! Now go!”

Without argument, Sunset quickly ran through the forest to reunite with the students and Sonata. All while her supposed new ‘allies’ were left to deal with the monsters. Nothing that the legion couldn’t handle, more than willing to keep fighting. Even despite the fact the monsters’ numbers kept growing, and more powerful by the mile.

“It’s no use!” Mirai yelled. “There’s too many; we need reinforcements!”

“Don’t worry about it!” Quill yelled. “Help’s on the way!”

“When the hell are they getting here?!” Curtain yelled.

Just then, rumbling could be felt. Faint at first but growing louder every second. The monsters and the legion stopped, staring into the distance. Quill and Curtain both smiled, knowing what was coming.

“3… 2… 1…” Quill counted down.

In a split second, a bright light engulfed the area as a black 1967 Chevrolet Impala soared through the air landing upon a large gathering of monsters. Upon impact, the two doors burst open, and two men stepped out wielding pistols. Two men who knew more about hunting the paranormal and monsters of large variety, more than the others. And their names…

Sam and Dean Winchester…

“Too late for the party?” Dean asked sarcastically.

“Less talk, more shooting!” Curtain yelled.

No need for convincing, Sam and Dean fired at every monster that thought to take them on. Quill and Curtain eyed each other, knowing this fight could use some extra juice.

“Ready?” Quill asked his friend.

“Always…” Curtain cracked his knuckles.

Under the light of the full moon, the two reached deep within themselves and channeled their inner power to unleash an unspeakable power. Quill Cast grew exponentially taller, and muscles expanded over his body. His features became more canine, with huge amounts of fur sprouting over his body.

“Just to clear the air beasts…” Quill spoke deeply. “I don’t need the moon to transform; it just makes me stronger…”

And by the time the transformation was complete, he stood before the beasts in the form of a huge, lumbering, snarling werewolf…

As for Curtain Call, he too grew to incredible heights. His muscles grew larger, any ounce of fat upon his body immediately shrunk. Dark wings sprouted through his back, his ears larger and pointed. His canine teeth grew sharper, and soon he took the form… of a monstrous vampire.

The newly formed monsters soon shredded any monster in their path, some of the beasts actually began to run away. The Winchesters, Mirai, Draxus, and Storm kept fighting the rest with their own weapons. Between the fighting, the Soul Chaser stood watch eyeing the battle before him. It didn’t take long to notice his monstrous army slowly decimated.

“ENOUGH!!!”

With a bang of the scythe’s hilt against the ground, the remaining beasts scurried away deep into the forest. As they fled into the night, the Soul Chaser gazed upon the members of the Legion below him.

“This is not over!” The Soul Chaser warned furiously. “Hell is coming!”

One blast of fire and the Soul Chaser disappeared with the rest of his monsters in the darkness. The Legion of Light sheathed their weapons while recovering from the fight. Quill and Curtain slowly changed from their monstrous forms to their regular selves. Once completely back to normal, the group looked amongst each other.

“So… now what?” Sam Winchester asked.

<>

Sometime earlier, Harry, Ron, and the remainder of the Equestrians approached the opening, a clicking sound emanated from within, echoing in the branches of the tall trees. The echoes grew louder and louder the closer they approached.

“Who is it?” A loud voice boomed.

Ron faltered, glancing about nervously. The poor boy looked as though he were about to have a panic attack. As something crept along the cracking branches, Sonata found herself shaking in her boots. Course the Siren wasn’t entirely defenseless, as she held her lightsaber from her days in the galaxy.

“I don’t have a good feeling about this –” Sonata whimpered.

“Don’t panic,” Harry whispered to everyone.

“Hagrid? Is that you?”

As Harry stepped into the mouth of the cavern, with the others following behind, the air suddenly cracked with movement. Amidst the snapping twigs, a huge shadow emerges. It burst from the webs and logs, pulling itself from the shadow and into the moonlight. It slowly engulfs the group, who peer up and see…

An ancient spider (Aragog), approximately the size of a small elephant and standing fifteen feet in length. As it emerged from its den, the group backed away slowly. Its blind eyes catch the light, and it stopped as though… listening. If Ron hadn’t already looked to faint on the spot, he was certainly as pale as a sheet.

“G-G-G-Giant spider!” Yona screamed.

“Easy does it, Yona,” Sandbar shushed.

“You do not come from the forest,” The spider spoke. “Your hearts beat like… men.”

“Yes, we’re friends of Hagrid’s,” Harry breathed deeply.

“For realsies!” Sonata added.

“And you… you’re… Aragog, aren’t you?” Harry gasped.

Hearing this, Aragog’s head turned slightly.

“Yes…” The spider confirmed. “Hagrid has never sent humans, nor creatures, into our hollow before…”

“He’s in trouble,” Harry explained. “Up at school, there’ve been attacks. They think it’s Hagrid. They think he’s opened the Chamber of Secrets. Like before.”

“And… he told us to come meet you,” Apple Bloom added.

“He did?” Sonata asked.

“Why else would we ‘follow the spiders’?” Smolder asked rhetorically.

As the group spoke, Ron’s eyes dart warily about, then… a pair of long legs – spider’s legs – curl slowly around the trunk of the tree to his left. Terrified, Ron nudges Harry, but Harry ignores him.

“That’s a lie!” Aragog bellowed. “Hagrid never opened the Chamber of Secrets!”

“See?!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed triumphantly. “I knew it!”

“But if Hagrid never… that means… you’re not the monster?” Harry asked.

“No. The monster was born in the castle. I came to Hagrid from a distant land, in the pocket of a traveler.”

Ron turns, spotting two crawling silhouettes an inch forward. They are just waiting, watching the weary travelers.

“Harry…” Ron tugged Harry’s arm.

“Shh!” Harry shushed Ron, then faced Aragog. “But if you’re not the monster, what did kill that girl fifty years ago?”

“We do not speak of it!” Aragog replied. “It is an ancient creature we spiders fear above all others.”

“There’s a scarier monster even spiders fear to speak of?” Gallus wondered.

“Well, there are bigger and worse things than spiders,” Ocellus stated matter-of-factly.

“There’s always a bigger fish,” Silverstream added.

“But have you seen it?” Harry asked.

A scrabbling sound echoes above Ron. He glances up as a spider crouches on a branch above.

“I never saw any part of the castle but the box in which Hagrid kept me,” Aragog replied. “The girl was discovered in a bathroom. When I was accused, Hagrid brought me here.”

“I know I’d do the same for Norberta if someone framed her,” Smolder said.

The scrabbling continues making Ron look up. Spiders, amidst the high and low branches, drop downward like paratroopers. Ron tugs Harry’s arm.

“Harry…” Ron whimpered.

“What?!” Harry asked, annoyed.

Ron points, and Harry finally turns… pale. All eyes look upward, and once seeing what Ron’s telling them, the fear they shared was the same. Numerous spiders descending from numerous web-covered branches, high above the heroes. The team sound themselves surrounded by swarms of spiders staring hungrily at them.

“Well things just got a little crowded,” Apple Bloom whimpered.

“Everyone! GET BACK!”

Sunset Shimmer suddenly appeared, waving away her ignited lightsaber and sending a few spiders scattering about. She held her guard over the stunned heroes.

“Sunset, where’ve you been?!” Sonata asked.

“Long story!” Sunset replied.

As the remaining spiders hovered over, Harry turned slowly back toward Aragog.

“Well… thank you,” Harry bowed politely. “We’ll just go…”

“Go?”

“Yeah! Been nice knowing ya,” Gallus said frantically. “But… it’s past our curfew, we have to be going now.”

Unfortunately, it is clear the giant spider has other plans in mind as swarms of smaller and larger spiders emerged around him.

“I think not,” Aragog spoke. “My sons and daughters do not harm Hagrid, on my command. But I cannot deny them fresh meat when it wanders so willingly into our midst.”

“Wait… now WE’RE THE MAIN COURSE?!?!” Sonata exclaimed.

“You can’t do this to us!” Ocellus exclaimed in shock. “We have to save our friends! We must save Hagrid!”

But the poor changeling’s words fell on deaf ears…

“Goodbye, friends of Hagrid.”

Aragog turns, then disappears into the shadows of his cavernous home.

“Can we panic now?” Ron asked.

“Yeah! Time to panic!” Gallus answered.

Just then, a giant spider jumped down and advanced upon our frightened heroes.

“SAVE ME, SANDBAR!!!” Yona screamed.

CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! Harry and Ron spin about. A gang of five-foot spiders bar the path ahead. They begin to move forward, as the remaining spiders close in from everywhere. Desperately, Harry swings the lantern in his hand. The spiders falter, then creep forward again as the arc of the light chases itself away. The lantern spins round and round… till the lantern goes out. Harry pitches it aside. As one, he and Ron draw their wands, with Fang barking.

Sunset Shimmer slashes her lightsaber, hacking one of the giant tarantulas.

“STAY BACK!” Sunset Shimmer shouted. “BACK! Stupefy!”

With one spell fired from her lightsaber, which contained her wand, it stunned one of the spiders. Then Sunset fired with some force lightning from her free hand. Still the spiders kept charging. Sunset Shimmer and Sonata both held their ground, back-to-back as they slashed their lightsabers against the onslaught of charging spiders.

Spike and Smolder quickly shot fire from their lungs, repelling as many spiders as possible. Temporarily they generated a wall of fire for some added protection. But these spiders had no plans to stop. Their numbers sent everyone back into each other. The growing swarm seemed overpowering, even with all the lightsabers, spells, and lightning bolts combined.

“There’s too many!” Sunset frowned.

“Any ideas?” Sandbar asked.

“Know any spells?” Ron asked.

“One,” Harry answered somberly. “But it’s not powerful enough for all of them!”

“Where’s Hermione when you need her?” Ron asked tearfully.

Friends soon came together, hugging each other and preparing for the worst. Several of whom sobbed hysterically.

“Nice knowing you guys!” Apple Bloom cried.

“Sunset, if this is the end, I want you to know one thing,” Spike began. “You were never a bad friend.”

“Thanks buddy,” Sunset Shimmer replied. “For what it’s worth, you’re a one in a million friend!”

“For realsies!” Sonata sobbed hysterically. “I haven’t known a true family until I met you guys!”

It seemed that our heroes were done for. Fang whimpers as the spiders draw closer, clicking feverishly. Suddenly, as the spiders lunged for the kill, a long, loud horn bleat interrupted the horror. Seconds later, a blaze of light ignites the hollow and the Ford Anglia thunders over the rim and down the slope, knocking spiders out of its path. As it screeches to a halt, the doors fling open.

Not only that, but a familiar limousine appeared as well. Poking their heads from the window of the limo are none other than Discord, Whisper Dream… and a very confused Fluttershy.

“Somebody call a cab?” Discord asked, with a cockney accent.

“Discord?!” Sunset and Sonata gasped.

“Whisper!” The CMC cheered.

“Professor Fluttershy?” Silverstream called out. “How’d you find us?”

“It’s a long… long story,” Fluttershy whimpered. “Now come on, let’s go!”

“You heard her, get going!” Sunset called out. “Sonata, take the CMC with the boys. I’ll take the others in the limo!”

“Okie-dokie, no problem!” Sonata saluted.

Sonata Dusk, along with the CMC, Harry, Ron, and Fang, leapt inside the Ford Anglia. The Student Six, along with Sunset Shimmer and Spike, dove head-over-heels into the limo. Ron shifted frantically when a spider appeared at Harry’s open window.

“THE WINDOWS!” Sunset shouted. “ROLL UP THE WINDOWS!”

“I CAN’T! IT’S STUCK!” Ron struggled.

Just then, a hairy leg reaches through Ron’s window. Instantly, Ron hits the gas, hurling the car into reverse. As the limo follows the car, the spiders scatter about (Save for the two clinging to the side windows tightly). As one car zooms backward out the hollow and the other speeding ahead, Harry rolls his window tight, snapping off his spider’s legs.

“For once Discord, we’re so glad to see you!” Silverstream thanked.

“I’d never let anything hurt you crazy kids!” Discord smirked. “… And bacon-head.”

Sunset Shimmer merely glared, but otherwise just shrugged as she looked out her window. Next thing they knew, both vehicles jetted out of the hollow and landed with a thud. When it seems the cost was clear, Sandbar lowered his window.

“Are you guys, okay?!” Sandbar called out to the Ford Anglia.

“Glad to be out of there,” Ron replied.

Suddenly, as Harry turned, a spider broke through the window and grabbed Ron’s neck trying to eat him. Inside, the CMC screamed and squirmed back into Sonata who tried to protect them.

“ROOOONNNNN!!!” The friends shouted to the screaming boy.

Ron fought the giant spider with all his might, as the beast tried to pull Ron from the car. Sunset leaned out of the limo’s window and immediately whipped out her lightsaber-wand, aiming toward the spider. Harry whipped out his own wand, pointing at the spider from his passenger seat. Together, the two spellcasters worked their magic in unison.

“Arania Exumai!” They shouted.

Uttering the spell, a blinding flash of white light from the two wands blasted toward the spider and into the distant shadows. Sunset ignited her lightsaber and hurled it like a boomerang, hacking the spider in half for good measure, and the lightsaber flew back to her hand.

“Thanks for that!” Ron sighed, breathing heavily.

“Don’t mention it,” Harry replied.

“Glad that’s over,” Sunset sighed.

“Uh… guys!” Spike pointed feverishly. “Look!”

They all hear it… a distant clicking. As the cars flew over a ridge, they could just see them. A sea of spiders heading straight for them like a herd of raging wildebeest. Realization hit them when they realized the nightmare was far from over.

“Sweet Celestia!” Ocellus whimpered. “There’s thousands of them!”

Discord turned to his left and his eyes widened greatly at the sight of something far more terrifying.

“They’re not the only ones to worry about,” Discord moaned.

Facing the side, the friends watched in horror when the wendigos started joining the spiders.

“What’re those things?!” Fluttershy whimpered.

“Predators!” Discord answered. “That’s what they are!”

“But… are they… ghosts?!” Whisper Dream guessed.

“Never mind that!” Sunset shouted. “Discord, get us out of here now!”

“Step on the gas, Ronny boy!” Sonata cried out.

Ron slammed his foot to the floor, spinning the wheel and sent the car sliding away. Discord punched his limousine with a boxing glove, sending the limo into high gear and they raced out of the forest with spiders and wendigos stampeding after. The cars slalom through the forest, skimming past trees with the beasts coming closer.

“C’mon!” Harry shouted. “Move faster!”

“What’s the plan now chief?!” Spike asked Sunset.

“We get out of here!” Sunset shouted. “Discord, drive faster!”

“Best idea Jedi said all day!” Yona exclaimed.

“Well, at least coming to the forest was worth it,” Spike reminded. “We’ve learned a few things.”

“Like what?” Smolder asked skeptically. “That there are giant spiders that can eat a grown person?”

“And yaks?” Gallus asked, earning him a shot to the ribs.

“No! That Hagrid was innocent!” Spike brought up. “And the monster from the Chamber of Secrets… is not a spider!”

“It means Twilight was right!” Fluttershy realized. “Wasn’t she Sunset Shimmer?”

All eyes, especially those on the back of Discord’s head, look toward Sunset Shimmer who flushed with embarrassment.

“For the record,” Sunset clarified. “I only agreed with what the students saw first!”

“But there was more to the story than what we saw!” Sandbar shouted. “We realize that now! Haven’t you?”

“Should we be talking about this in the middle of a chase?!” Sunset argued.

“One more smart mouth oughtta you missy, and that’s fifty points from Gryffindor!” Discord warned.

“Discord…” Fluttershy scolded.

“Okay fine!” Sunset finally relented. “Twilight was right; I was wrong. And when this is over, I’ll apologize to Twilight and admit that I’m an idiot because you were right about me Discord! You’re always right about me!”

“Well, I’m flattered but—” Discord started.

“I’m the biggest idiot in the Galaxy! THE MULTIVERSE!” Sunset admitted. “Are you happy now, Discord?! Is that what you want!”

“Hey, this is not how it works!” Discord argued. “I’m the one who insults you, and you’re supposed to be mad at me! Now, I don’t want to say I told you so, but—”

Suddenly, a wolf leapt through the window and nearly sank it’s teeth into Discord’s neck. The draconequus struggled as he turned the wheel violently, sending the limo turning side to side and the passengers screamed.

“Get out!” Sunset shouted,

She slammed one foot against the phantom wolf, sending it hurling and whimpering into the darkness. Discord took hold of his nose and breathed in, quickly filling out the holes. One look toward a smirking Sunset and a sigh escaped his lips.

“Fine… we’re even!” Discord pouted.

“Guys, I can see the exit!” Ocellus called out.

Sure enough, the gang peered ahead toward an area riddled with fallen trees. There lies an opening, their one narrow escape route.

“That way! It’s the only way out!” Harry shouted.

“Hurry guys!” Sweetie Belle cried out. “They’re catching up!”

Ron jammed the accelerator… just as a giant tarantula dropped in front of the escape route. Our heroes appeared to be as good as dead.

“Can you get us in the air?” Harry asked.

“Flying gear’s jammed!” Ron jostled the gear stick.

“Come on Ron, pull!” Scootaloo shouted.

“I’m trying!”

The spiders and wendigos behind were getting closer. The tarantula waits just up ahead. Harry claps his hand over Ron’s on the gear shift, pushing. The tarantula’s pincers open, ready to kill, when… a tiny Discord appears beside their gear shift and hip bumps the shift. The Anglia’s wheels lift and the car flies over, the limp sprouting wings and helicopter blades following behind. The furious beasts watch from the ground below, as the cars barely avoid the rearing tarantula and sail over the trees.

<>

Finally, after a brief flight, both cars land safely outside of Hagrid’s hut. Once on the ground, Fang bolts free and reenters Hagrid’s house. Harry, Ron, and the equestrians burst from their separate cars wearily. They watch as the Ford Anglia turns and rumbles back into the forest.

“Carry onward wayward soul…” Discord salutes, then breaks face. “Well, that’s my evening shenanigans. See you at class!”

And one snap of the fingers, Discord immediately vanishes from sight, along with the limo. Thus leaving the Equestrians stunned by tonight’s evening.

“I’ll never understand that Draconequus,” Sunset Shimmer sighed.

“True…” Fluttershy nodded. “But if he hadn’t have found me earlier, and brought Whisper along beforehand, we wouldn’t have been able to save you!”

“One moment I’m carried around like a scolded dog, and next thing I know… I was in a limo,” Whisper stammered.

“’Follow the spiders’! Follow the spiders’!” Ron rambled furiously. “If he ever gets out of Azkaban, I’ll kill Hagrid.”

“If we don’t clear Hagrid’s name, Azkaban will kill him!” Sunset Shimmer sighed.

“And if we don’t restore the princesses reputation, Twilight Sparkle will be furious!” Spike added. “As if she hasn’t had enough after what happened to Storm Shield.”

“Yeah… about that…”

“What was even the point of sending us in there?” Ron argued. “What have we found out?”

“We know one thing,” Harry answered. “Hagrid never opened the Chamber of Secrets; he was innocent.”

“Hagrid no open Chamber,” Yona pondered. “So, who did?”

Into the Chamber

A faint orange-yellow glow began to blanket the Scottish Highlands as the sun rose above the mountains. The light of the sun covered the entire landscape, including Hogwarts castle and the Black Lake. Through the halls of the gigantic magical school, the Legion of Light traversed through the twisting, winding corridors of the castle. With the hour still early, no students walked the halls which helped the Legion remain inconspicuous. Needless to say, after one night in the Forbidden Forest against an army of monsters and evening the odds with the Winchester brothers, the group were more than ready for the end of this mission.

“It’s really good seeing you guys again,” Quill Cast told Sam and Dean.

“No kidding!” Curtain Call nodded. “I don’t think we’ve seen you guys since the shapeshifter job in Michigan.”

“I remember that one,” Dean recalled. “As I recall, Sammy almost banged one of them.”

“That was you, Dean!” Sam eye rolled.

“Oh yeah…” Dean chuckled.

“Come on guys, we’ve got a child present!” Quill groaned.

“I’m seventeen!” Mirai replied.

“Still a child!”

“You know what I never understood?” Storm asked. “How is it that you guys are friends again? Isn’t it their job to hunt down monsters?”

“The trick is that we’re not entirely ‘monsters’,” Curtain replied. “We merely harness their powers thanks to these katanas.”

Quill and Curtain reached behind their backs, drawing out their katanas at full display. The one Curtain held was darkened steel imbued with dark red and orange hues.

Quill’s katana was made of a much lighter, almost white silver that perfectly matched the tang.

“My blade’s imbued with the power of the vampire,” Curtain explained. “It can absorb the life essence of anyone I cut down with it and the best part… the blade can ignite in a blaze!”

“Mine was forged under a full moon,” Quill added. “It can allow me to transform into a werewolf at any time… even in daylight. A common misconception is that werewolves only change during a full moon, but actually the moon just gives them extra energy.”

“As for those two, we met them years ago during our battles with the Leviathans,” Sam added. “We’ve worked together ever since.”

“And thankfully those two can pitch in for their own burgers!” Dean chuckled.

The sound of footsteps made everyone turn their attention down the hall. The group quickly ducked behind a nearby counter, hoping to avoid being seen. Peeking around the corner, Quill and Curtain noticed Sunset Shimmer walking down the hallway. After having saved her life from the Soul Chaser and his monsters, they told her to run back to her friends with the promise they’d be in touch. So, imagine their surprise when she suddenly appeared to them just now.

“It’s Sunset,” Quill assured everyone.

“What should we do?” Curtain asked his partner. “We told her we’d be in touch, but Celestia and Strange specifically said to keep our mission as separate from the ponies as possible.”

“We’ve already revealed ourselves to her, it’s a little late for that,” Quill replied. “You know as well as I that she holds a vital key to our mission. We need her.”

The two looked at each other for a moment or two before nodding in unison and making their way out from behind the corner. The remainder of the Legion followed behind as they made to follow the pony-turned-human.

Note to self… Sunset Shimmer is ‘human’, any reasons for her being a pony in some scenes must be justified.

… Now can we move on?

Yes.

“Sunset!”

Sunset Shimmer stopped in her tracks and quickly turned to the source calling out to her. Her eyes widened when she noticed the mysterious strangers who saved her in the Forbidden Forest the night before.

“You!” She spoke, confused. “Look, it’s already been a long, stressful night! I really don’t know how much more I can take.”

“We understand,” Quill told her. “That’s why we want to explain so you have a better understanding of what’s going on. If you’ll let us, that is.”

Sunset looked back and forth between each member of the Legion. Eventually, her eyes landed suddenly upon… Storm Shield!

“Storm!” She exclaimed in shock. “I thought that was you! You… you were petrified!”

“Yes, I was,” Storm replied. “Thankfully, these guys showed up no long after and woke me up.”

“Then why didn’t you come to us and let us know?” Sunset asked, confused and angry. “Do you know how devastated Twilight was?”

“I can only imagine,” Storm replied somberly. “I wanted to talk to all of you, to assure you all I was alright. But I needed to keep my involvement in complete secrecy. It was the only way to ensure your safety.”

Sunset gripped the bridge of her nose, breathing in and out the air of frustration.

“This is just too much for me…” Sunset groaned, stressed out.

“Look Sunset, give us the chance and we’ll explain everything,” Curtain assured her.

Sunset gazed back toward the Legion members, examining each of them as closely as possible. Undoubtedly, she tried to determine just how trustworthy these members were. Taking a deep breath, she released an audible sigh.

“Start talking,” She relented.

“First off, my name is Quill Cast,” Quill introduced himself. “And these are my friends: Curtain Call, Mirai, Draxus, and the Winchester brothers, Sam and Dean. And of course you already know Storm Shield.”

“And who are you guys exactly?” Sunset questioned.

“We represent an ancient order known as the Legion of Light,” Curtain responded. “Our order was first established by Merlin himself after he founded his own. While the Order of Merlin focused on bridging the gaps between Wizards and Muggles, he sought to create a secret order dedicated to combating darkness across all worlds.”

“… Meaning?” Sunset asked, still confused.

“Surely you’re familiar with the legend of King Arthur?” Quill asked. “Especially the part where he pulled Excalibur from the stone?”

“Sort of?” Sunset merely nodded.

“One thing left out from the legend was Excalibur had actually been forged from the melted remnants of the Holy Grail,” Quill continued. “Saint Michael forged Excalibur as his primary weapon to cast Lucifer out of Heaven. Once he sent the devil to Hell, he placed the sword in the stone until a time came for a true warrior of light to pull it out to aid in their fight for good.”

“I’m not really big on all that religious stuff myself,” Curtain Call admitted. “I just personally think it’s a pretty wicked sword.”

“And… you’re saying the warrior of light… was King Arthur?” Sunset asked.

“Indeed…” Curtain nodded.

“But that still doesn’t explain what you’re doing here.”

“After Merlin founded the Legion, he passed down the order’s leadership to one deemed the ‘Sorcerer Supreme’,” Quill added. “That is our current master… Doctor Stephen Strange. He believes this Dark Order you’re fighting against has unknowingly unleashed the powers of Hell onto Earth. That drew the Soul Chaser and these monsters here.”

“To put it simply… war is coming,” Curtain surmised.

This was far too much for Sunset Shimmer to process at once. She thought her only issue was this Heir of Slytherin, but now there’s a holy war in the works.

“So… why come to me?” She asked.

“Believe it or not, you hold a key piece of the puzzle needed to prevent this war from occurring,” Quill answered. “We can’t really explain more at this time because we have a mission to finish. However, once this is over, all will be known.”

“So what happens in the meantime?” Sunset asked.

“For now, go about your business with your students and the others,” Curtain instructed. “Once all is said and done, we’ll find you again.”

Quill turned his attention from Sunset to Storm Shield.

“Actually, why don’t you go with her?” Quill informed Storm.

“What?!” Storm exclaimed in surprise. “I don’t understand. You told me my mother wanted me to aid with your mission. Why the sudden change?”

“Because the best way to help us is to help the others locate the Chamber of Secrets,” Quill responded.

“And how do I justify how I suddenly wasn’t even petrified?” Storm asked. “There’s ponies and creatures who are going to have questions, they’re going to demand investigations!”

Curtain merely reached into his pocket and handed a vial to Storm.

“This is what remains of the draught used to wake you,” He explained. “Unfortunately, it’s not enough to wake any of the others. However, it’s enough to convince the others that it woke you. Now go… both of you.”

Storm grabbed the vial from Curtain before the Legion members quickly departed down the corridor… and out of sight. This left Storm and Sunset looking at each other in confusion.

“So… that just happened,” Sunset said confused.

“Yeah… I’m not even going to try to understand this,” Storm declared.

<>

A while later, Sunset and Storm quickly made their way to the hospital wing just before anyone else arrived. Storm quickly used his magic to dispel his magical double from the bed, quickly taking his spot before holding the vial to Sunset.

“You know what to do right?” Storm asked her.

“I think so,” Sunset replied, taking the vial. “The kids should be here soon to visit Hermione and the others. We tell them Madam Pomfrey brought a small bottle of Mandrake Draught as a test. It woke you, but it’s not enough for the others… yet.”

“Let’s do this,” Storm said determined.

As Storm assumed his petrified state, Sunset Shimmer turned just as Harry Potter and Ron Weasley arrived. Harry took the dried flowers from the vase next to Hermione’s bed, replacing them with fresh new white flowers. He sat on the bed, with Ron standing on the other side. Not too far away were Spike, the Student Six, the CMC, Sonata Dusk crowding around the petrified Mane Six’s bed. Sunset Shimmer casually joined the group just as Madam Pomfrey barred the doors, frowning toward the group.

“There’s no point in talking to a petrified person,” Madam Pomfrey informed. “They won’t hear a word you’re saying.”

To which the statement made Ron shift uncomfortably.

“We know that Madam Pomfrey,” Ron answered. “It’s just… well… you see… we thought… maybe… we could…”

“What Ron means is… we want to be with them for a bit,” Sunset Shimmer answered. “They’re our friends, and… even if they don’t hear us… not even Twilight… it shouldn’t hurt to be there for them, can it?”

To which the group actually nodded in agreement with Sunset Shimmer. A glint of sympathy flickered in Pomfrey’s eyes.

“Very well then. But be quick about it.”

As Pomfrey departed, the boys stepped to her bed. Absently, Sonata Dusk picked up the circular mirror laying on the nightstand and all the while eying Lockhart’s Get Well card.

“You don’t think Lockhart could be the heir of Slytherin, do you?” Sonata asked innocently.

To which the way the group eyed Sonata Dusk confirmed it.

“Never mind… forget I said it.”

Turning back toward Hermione, Harry studied the expression on her face.

“Wish you were here, Hermione,” Harry sighed, facing Princess Twilight. “We need you… and Professor Twilight. Now more than ever.”

But the only response everyone got was deathly silence.

Sunset Shimmer couldn’t help but cringe, shutting her eyes tightly. The guilt of her attempted last conversation with Twilight still hung heavily on her mind. She’d never be able to live with herself if that was truly the last encounter they shared. But how can she? Nothing had gone right since Sunset’s arrival.

“We have to find that Chamber of Secrets!” Scootaloo declared. “We stop the Heir of Slytherin and their pet monster then we can save our friends!”

“How do we do that?” Sweetie Belle asked. “We don’t even know where to look or what the monster looks like. Aragog was clearly no help, and when we asked Fluttershy… she was so upset she could barely talk.”

“Whatever this monster is, even Aragog’s scared of it…” Apple Bloom stated.

“Nothing scarier than spiders!” Yona chattered her teeth.

“Can’t argue on that…” Ron commented.

“Are you sure you’re over those fears?” Sandbar asked concerned.

“YAKS RELAPSE TOO, OKAY?!” Yona freaked out.

“Okay, okay… it’s all right,” Sandbar replied patiently. “These things happen…”

“Well, we can definitely rule out giant spiders!” Scootaloo stated. “But what’s scarier than a giant spider?”

“More giant spiders?” Ron guessed.

“Ron…” Harry shook his head.

“A… big ugly bat?” Sweetie Belle suggested.

“The Storm King!” Silverstream added.

“A rock?” Smolder guessed.

“Uncle Flako?” Sonata spoke randomly. “Always gave me the creeps…”

Amidst all the guessing, Spike turned and noticed Sunset Shimmer sitting by the window as dismal as ever. Taking a deep breath, Spike sat beside the Jedi Sorceress.

“So… any ideas?” Spike asked, striking up a conversation.

“What ideas?” Sunset asked. “Every time I think up a plan, it just backfires…”

“… You’re saying you’re giving up?”

Sunset merely closed her eyes and nodded sadly, as tears started raining down her face.

“What more can I do, Spike?” Sunset sobbed. “Since coming back from the Galaxy, I just make everything worse. I couldn’t save the children from crashing into the Whomping Willow; I embarrassed Storm Shield in front of Dumbledore and the entire Wizarding World; and on top of everything, almost all of our friends are bedridden from petrification. Hagrid’s imprisoned for a crime he didn’t do, and… and…”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself, Sunset,” Spike consoled. “None of that was your fault. We know you never meant any of it…”

“… Doesn’t change the fact that… the last time Twilight spoke to me… she tried to say something important, but I threw it in her face!”

Sunset Shimmer slumped against the wall, resigning herself to her fate.

“The aurors will be here soon. Might as well let them take me away to Azkaban.”

“You can’t give up, Sunset!” Spike argued. “You’re not a criminal! You didn’t do any of this; we need you!”

“You… need me?” Sunset cried. “After all the ‘Cinematic Adventures’ you had without me? I’ve watched you guys, thanks to Discord. You’ve been doing just fine… who am I to get in the way?”

The remainder of her friends gathered around Sunset as the heartbroken Jedi vented out her frustrations.

“I stayed back in the Galaxy to become a Jedi Master, to help and save innocent lives. But instead… I’m a failure.”

“You’re not a failure,” Spike objected.

“I am! Ask Demetria next time you see her. She looked up to me… and I failed her. And Ben… he deserves a different master. I don’t want him to turn out like his grandfather, or me, because I don’t have what it takes anymore…”

Sunset Shimmer took out her lightsaber, and merely dropped it on the floor.

“At first… I thought staying behind in the Galaxy meant I can grow and be better…” Sunset continued. “But now I realize… maybe Malfoy was right. I’m too much of a coward to come home and face the consequences of my crimes. Instead I run away from my problems as always… well, that’s going to change once I’m away in Azkaban. Least I can keep Hagrid company… and apologize for even ‘thinking’ he could hurt anyone.”

Sunset slumped again, till Sonata walked over and wrapped her arms around Sunset in a tender hug.

“Sonata?”

“If you’re going to jail…then take me with you,” The reformed siren said.

“What?”

“I’m not the smartest of the sirens, but I’d never abandon friends. I was part of the worst moments of your life, and I’m forever guilty about it. We could’ve been friends from the start, but I wasn’t. I was too busy trying to please my sisters than actually ‘caring’ for others… like you…”

“Not like I had friends in the Empire to begin with…” Sunset frowned.

“Not true! You have Galen Marek and… me.”

“You?”

“Where else did Galen get those medical treatments to heal you from all the tortures? He certainly didn't just walk into an apothecary or anything. I've been wanting to be friends with you for so long, but...my sisters...

“Look, I failed being your friend back when, but not again,” Sonata explained further. “Twilight’s my friend now, I’m you friend. And as your friend, I’m here to help whether you want me or not!”

“Sonata’s right,” Spike added. “We’re all hurting from this. Whatever happens, we must stick together. We’re the only hope for Twilight and everyone else right now…

“Everybody makes mistakes; you should never feel alone about that. As Twilight’s trusted assistant, neither you nor Sonata are going to jail…”

Sunset Shimmer found herself conflicted with emotions. Part of her was scared for her friends, with strong desires to protect them at all costs. Even if it meant abandoning them. However, part of her didn’t want to do that again… stuck in this world or not. The last thing she wanted now was to manage things alone.

“I just… don’t want to lose my family,” Sunset said quickly. “Not like how I lost my dad…”

But Sunset Shimmer didn’t have long to think of it. It was then she heard singing and looked down to see Sweetie Belle approach her as she began to sing.

Sunset Shimmer smiled slightly. Even without Twilight or the Rainbooms, she still had friends to count on. She looked on, catching sight of a Slytherin girl she knew very well. Sunset approached her, reached out her hand – not to look inside her memory – and silently offered the girl to join the dance. And together, Sunset Shimmer and the lone Slytherin danced during the following verse:

Sonata smiled fondly, remembering when Jim Gordon rescued her from Arkham Asylum. She refuses to dishonor his confidence in her.

Sunset Shimmer smiled tearfully, before she raced toward her new friends – the CMCs, the Student Six, and Harry Potter – and wrapped them all in a hug.

Sunset Shimmer broke away from the group hug, before approaching a nearby glass tank containing her precious pet gecko, Ray. She reached in to pet Ray with a loving smile. Though it broke her heart, knowing her fall to the Dark Side made her forget her ‘ray of sunshine’, he just eyed her with silent forgiveness. She held the gecko to her face, snuggling her cheek against his head. She never wanted this moment to end…

After the song, Sunset gently set Ray down, before she turned to Sonata.

"Thank you, Sonata," Sunset smiled. "I really needed that."

"Well, Pinkie Pie would do the same, I'm sure…" Sonata shrugged.

A smile upon her face, not looking where she placed her hand, Sunset Shimmer set one upon Hermione’s frozen hand. Just then, in the light of the late afternoon sunlight, Sunset Shimmer’s geode triggered, and her hand briefly cast a jagged flame across Hermione’s hand. Harry watched the light dance over Sunset’s fingers… all while the girl was able to quickly glimpse into Hermione’s memories. Returning to reality, a gasp of realization escaped.

“What’s the matter, Sunset?” Spike asked, catching the Jedi.

“Quick!” Sunset ushered Harry. “Check her hand! The other one!”

Harry took a closer look at Hermione’s clenched fist. It was then he saw the paper clutched there.

“What’s that?” Ron asked.

“… Everyone,” Harry began, catching his breath. “This is why Hermione was in the library when she was attacked! Come on!”

The group aimed to race out of the hospital wing to investigate a vital clue to this mystery… when Sunset Shimmer skid to a halt.

“Wait!” Sunset Shimmer realized. “I almost forgot!”

Confused, the group turned back as Sunset Shimmer dug her fingers around one of the pockets of her vest. Before their eyes, Sunset revealed the vial containing the ‘mandrake draught’.

“I managed to get this from Madam Pomfrey,” Sunset Shimmer explained. “This can help remove the petrification from our friends… but it’s just enough for ‘one’.”

“Well go on, there’s more than enough to bring Hermione back,” Ron insisted.

“Or Twilight!” Sweetie Belle suggested. “We need her just as much for this mission!”

“All great ideas I promise you,” Sunset assured. “But I have a better idea…”

Sunset Shimmer slowly turned her head, and the others simultaneously followed her gaze. It wasn’t long until they acknowledged that Sunset Shimmer’s attention was on one specific pony… Storm Shield.

“Are you sure?” Gallus asked, uncertainly.

“Trust me… I’m sure I’m right about this one,” Sunset promised.

With little to no argument, the group silently permits Sunset to move forward with her plan. Carefully, she slips the ‘contents’ of the vial down Storm Shield’s open mouth and they wait anxiously for any results. But within a matter of seconds, Storm Shield starts to twitch and turn as his muscles start to spasm as ‘side effects’ from the drink. Then he quickly lurched forward with a heavy gasp, though unknowingly to the group he was merely catching his breath from holding onto it so long. His head slowly turned toward the stunned group; their eyes widened with surprise.

“Hiya kids…” Storm wheezed.

Overcome by emotions, the equestrian kids raced toward Storm Shield hugging the Prince of Peace as Harry and Ron looked on. Storm merely chuckled as he embraced their comfort, acknowledging the relief amidst their tear-stricken faces. He then turned toward Sunset Shimmer and casually embraced her while the kids gave the pony and human some space. Storm leaned toward her left ear, and whispered very quietly…

“For the record, you can never embarrass me…”

And Sunset Shimmer had no witty remarks or comeback from that statement, knowing full well Storm was awake long enough to hear it all. She was merely relieved that for once amidst all this chaos, she finally did something good for her friends.

<>

By the hour of dusk, Harry, Ron, and the Equestrians ducked into an alcove. Once they were in the clear, Harry Potter took out the crinkled paper, which was torn from a library book. The remainder of the group gathered around as Harry began to read its contents aloud, yet quietly:

"’Of the many fearsome beasts that roam our land, none is more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size, and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it.’"

"Spiders flee before it?" Yona exclaimed. "Like Aragog and spiders?"

"Yona! You're a genius!" Sandbar exclaimed.

"I am?" Yona blushed. "I mean... of course! Yona is genius!"

"That definitely would explain all the spider activities we've been seeing lately," Scootaloo added.

"But then... that would mean..." Sunset gasped as she and the group shared an epiphany.

"This is it! The monster in the Chamber of Secrets is a Basilisk!" Harry Potter exclaimed. "That's why I can hear it speak. It's a snake!"

“And that must’ve been the very monster Fluttershy saw when her friends were attacked,” Smolder realized.

"For realsies?!" Sonata asked.

"But if it kills by looking people in the eye, why is it no one's dead?" Ron asked.

Harry frowned, contemplating the facts surrounding the beast. Along with his friends, they tried to think of some rash reasoning to the question at hand. Then he caught their reflection along the opposite window.

"Because no one did look it in the eye," He hypothesized. "Not directly, at least…"

Harry started walking off, with the group following as he went over how each of the recent victims were petrified.

"Colin saw it through his camera. Justin... Justin must've seen the Basilisk through Nearly Headless Nick. Nick got the full blast of it, but he's a ghost. He couldn't die again. And Hermione, Princess Twilight, and the others... had the mirror! I bet you anything they were using it to look around corners in case it came along."

"Well, it did little good for them," Gallus grumbled. "Not like it saved them. They still got petrified anyway..."

"Look on the bright side, Gallus," Silverstream consoled. "At least they're not dead."

"Not yet anyway," Sonta frowned. "If we don't hurry soon, the Dark Order will definitely come back to try and finish the job! And I don't think the guards can keep up..."

Getting back on topic, Apple Bloom and Ron Weasley both brought up two more victims who have yet to fit the puzzle.

"What about Storm Shield?" Apple Bloom asked.

"And Mrs. Norris?" Ron asked. "I'm pretty sure they didn't have a camera or a mirror, Harry."

"Not to mention a ghost to look through," Apple Bloom added.

Harry pondered for a moment, figuring out how both Storm Shield and Mrs. Norris could've been petrified. It was then Storm Shield decided to step up.

"It was the water..." Storm recalled. "There was water on the floor the night Mrs. Norris and I were petrified."

"They only saw the Basilisk's reflection in the water," Harry and Sunset said together.

“Exactly!” Storm nodded quickly.

The group all nodded their heads in agreement, and sharing the same relief of solving a large fragment of the mystery.

"And now that I think about it..." Sunset scratched her chin. "Remember when we ran into Hagrid, just before we found Justin? One of his roosters was killed! All of his roosters have been killed! And why? Because the Heir of Slytherin knew that the Basilisk wouldn't go anywhere near roosters!"

The group then gathered at a nearby torch for Harry to better read the page.

"Spiders flee before it! It all fits!" Harry exclaimed.

"But how's the Basilisk been getting around?" Ron asked. "A dirty great snake, someone would've seen it…"

Sunset Shimmer took another look at the page, before she pointed to a single written word on the bottom.

"Looks like our friends answered that, too!" Sunset pointed to the word: "Pipes."

"Pipes?" Ron exclaimed. "It's using the plumbing!"

"For realsies?!" Sonata exclaimed in surprise, with her face flustering in embarrassment. "But I've been showering! It's...not a peeping Tom, is it? I... don’t like it if someone was watching me when I shower."

"Uh, I... wouldn’t worry about that, Sonata," Sunset pinched her temples. "I'm sure this thing's not too keen on spying anyone showering..."

"Oh, what a relief!" Sonata sighed.

"Hey, can we focus on the issue right now?" Smolder asked. "Like... how do we find this thing? All we know is that it comes from the Chamber of Secrets. So where do we find that?"

"And when we do find it, how do we stop it?" Apple Bloom asked. "How do we fight something we can't even look at?"

"... Maybe we don't have to fight it at all?" Silverstream figured. "I mean... when you think about it, a basilisk is like... a cockatrice? Right? My friend, Edith, is a cockatrice and she's pretty friendly when you get to know her!"

"I don't think it's that simple, Silverstream," Storm shook his head. "We're talking about a giant snake that has a stare that's even more dangerous than a cockatrice, or even Fluttershy's eyes."

"Not to mention that it was trained by Salazar Slytherin to be a killing machine," Gallus added.

"We'll figure it out later," Scootaloo spoke up. "Right now, we need to know where it is. Do we have any clues on where the Chamber of Secret is?"

The group all had a moment of silence, until Harry brought up a rather important clue.

"Remember what Aragog said about that girl fifty years ago? She died in a bathroom. What if she never left?"

"You mean a ghost?" Sweetie Belle asked.

At which point, everyone gasped in realization of where Harry was getting.

"Moaning Myrtle!" Everyone said at once, with Harry nodding.

"We have to get to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom! Quickly!" Sunset exclaimed.

The group were about to head for the bathroom, when Professor McGonagall's voice suddenly boomed around the hallways, magically magnified.

"All students are to return to their house dormitories at once. All teachers to the second floor corridor immediately."

Harry Potter and the remaining friends all looked at each other, wondering what was going on now. They all headed off to the second floor corridor to investigate, while avoiding being seen by the professors.

Upon arriving at the designated corridor, Harry and friends hid behind a wall, out of sight of Professor McGonagall, who stood before the desecrated wall, surrounded by the rest of the staff. The group crept up the stairwell, silently watching the professor directing her colleagues’ attentions to the new message on the wall.

“As you can see, the Heir of Slytherin has left another message,” The frightened Head of Gryffindor said worryingly. “Our worst fear has been realized! A student has been taken by the monster, into the Chamber itself.”

Professor McGonagall turned to look at the other staff members present, noting the reactions of every single face present.

“I’m afraid we shall have to send the students home. I'm afraid… this is the end of Hogwarts.”

The rest of the Hogwarts staff all exchanged worried looks with one another. Even the stoic Professor Snape has a gleam of worry in his eyes, which he and Potion Nova both shared.

From their hiding spot, Harry and his friends all looked sadly towards Professor McGonagall, seeing how worked up and sad she is at the possibility of Hogwarts’ upcoming shutdown. Sunset Shimmer felt the worst of them all, feeling responsible for all the trouble that the school has had to endure, up to this moment.

Just then, who should walk onto the scene, wearing a big smile, like nothing has happened, was none other than Gilderoy Lockhart.

“So sorry… Dozed off,” Gilderoy chuckled. “What have I missed?”

“What’s he smiling about?” Scootaloo whispered.

“Himself, probably,” Sweetie Belle frowned. “Can’t he learn to read the room?”

“Shhhh,” Sunset shushed to the girls.

“Just the man,” Snape spoke nonchalantly. “A girl has been snatched by the monster, Lockhart. Your moment has come at last.”

In the blink of an eye, Lockhart’s smile disappeared, and he stuttered on his words…

“My... moment?”

“Weren't you saying just last night you've known all along where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is?” Snape inquired.

“Whoa, for real—OOF!”

Sonata was quickly silenced by Harry and Ron putting their hands over her mouth, before she inadvertently gave them away.

“Shhhhh!” Both boys shushed.

“Hey, Professor Sunset?” Sandbar asked. “Is it true? Does he actually know where the Chamber was the whole time?”

“I don’t know,” Sunset whispered in response. “Besides, if he knew all along, why didn’t he tell me?”

“You mean you didn’t even bother using that Geode mind trick of yours to look into his head or something?” Smolder asked.

“…Why didn’t I think of that?” Sunset facepalmed herself.

Back in the conversation, Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape seemed to share an agreement while a nervous Lockhart stood eerily still.

“D-Did I? I don’t recall…” Lockhart stammered.

“That's settles it,” Professor McGonagall nodded, but with a hint of sarcasm in her tone. “We'll leave it to you to deal with the monster, Gilderoy. Your skills, after all, are legend.”

“Uh…” Lockhart stammered, looking as if he was sweating a storm. “But uh…my former assistant, Sunset…What about her? The… The Aurors are here, and… I had given them my word that I would assist them in her apprehension the moment I find her!”

“Yes, but the school is protected by a magical barrier and surrounded by heavily trained Aurors,” Snape reminded. “Meaning she can’t get off the school grounds. Furthermore, to doubly insure she wouldn’t attempt to escape to another world, from within the school’s halls, we had already deployed our most… difficult of spells insuring that she remains trapped. She can’t get far. She will be found.”

“In the meantime, you should be more concerned about rescuing the girl and destroying the monster,” McGonagall added.

Lockhart looked between the two professors, before he had a look that seemed to be resigning himself in defeat.

“V-very well,” Lockhart replied. “I'll just be in my office, getting, uh... getting ready.”

With that, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor turned and walked away, leaving the other staff members to resume their conversation.

“The rest of us should go and inform the students what has happened,” McGonagall advised.

“Who is it that the monster's taken, Minerva?” Madame Pomfrey asked worryingly.

Professor McGonagall turned to look at the school nurse, with a worried look, until she finally answered dreadfully.

“Ginny Weasley.”

From their hiding spot, Ron’s knees gave way. As Harry caught him, their friends were horrified to learn that Ron’s sister was taken by the monster. The Student Six could feel the horror in Ron’s voice. By the time the teachers departed, the remaining heroes looked toward the new bloody message, which read:

"Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever".

Ron, who had read the message aloud, was beyond devastated and horrified at his sister’s abduction.

“Ginny...” He said worryingly. “She knew something… she’d found out something about the Chamber of Secrets. That’s why she was taken. I mean, she was – is – a pure-blood. There can’t be any other reason!”

“We’ll get her back, Ron!” Sunset promised the boy, with her voice breaking up as well. “We have to!”

“We will!” Apple Bloom joined in. “And we must!”

“We may be Hufflepuffs,” Sweetie Belle added. “But Ginny is still our friend! And friends don’t quit on friends!”

“No Faust forsaken way!” Scootaloo added. “C’mon, let’s get to Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom while we still can!”

“But first thing’s first,” Sunset turned in Lockhart’s direction. “I think we should have a talk with Gilderoy…”

Sunset Shimmer quickly took the lead as the heroes made their approach to the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. On the way, they happened to run into Princess Luna’s Nightmare Knights, who were on guard duty.

“AH-HA!” Trixie shouted. “Darth Seraphina! Pray for mercy, because you have been arrested and apprehended by the Great and Powerful TRIXIE!”

“Trixie, we don’t have time for this,” Sunset sighed. “We need to— “

“Nuh-uh!” Trixie interrupted.

The magician threw a smoke bomb at Sunset, before it cleared up to reveal Trixie had bound her hoof to Sunset’s hands.

“You have the right to remain silent! Anything you say or do will and can be used against you in a state of Wizarding Martial Laws and the Equestrian High Council! And don’t count on Phoenix Wrong to save you. Even he’s not dumbed enough to defend a Sith traitor!”

“Trixie…” Sunset rolled her eyes in annoyance.

“You’ve got it all wrong Trixie!” Storm Shield stepped up, in Sunset’s defense.

“S-S-Storm!” Trixie gasped, in shock. “But-but-but-but…”

“Hold on, Trixie,” Stygian advised. “Let’s hear what Sunset and Storm have to say first.”

“Okay… for the records,” Trixie complied, releasing Sunset from her handkerchief bind.

“Go ahead,” Stygian beckoned.

“First off, yes it’s all true,” Storm began. “I have been unpetrified… and I truly can confirm that Sunset Shimmer is not the woman or pony this school or any creature thinks she is.”

“I know this looks bad,” Sunset explained to the former Pony of Shadows. “And yes, Ginny’s abduction is definitely not helping my case. Which is why I must go down to the Chamber of Secrets to clear my name!”

“And why we’re going to meet Gilderoy,” Harry added.

“But didn’t your head professor, Minerva, gave you strict instructions that all students must return to their dormitories immediately?” Capper asked. “If we let you guys run loose at this hour, it’ll look bad for us.”

“You seriously want to talk about how bad it looks for you lot, when you should be thinking more about me?” Ron frowned. “My sister’s been taken by a villain’s pet monster! And the only one who evens knows where the Chamber is some loudmouth, blowhard, who doesn’t even know his A’s to his B’s!”

“What Ron mean is, we’re running out of time!” Apple Bloom exclaimed. “Ginny’s been kidnapped! We must find and rescue her before it’s too late! But we can’t do it without Lockhart! You guys have got to let us through and help us!”

The Nightmare Knights all exchanged looks, pondering whether what was right or wrong in this case. Thankfully for our heroes… it didn’t take long for a decision to be made.

<>

Soon Harry, Ron, Spike, Sunset Shimmer, the CMCs, the Student Six, and Sonata Dusk ran into the Defense against the Dark Arts room.

"Are you sure that he'll help us?!" Ocellus asked.

"It's not like we have any other choice, Ocellus!" Smolder replied.

"Lockhart may be a brainless git," Harry Potter shouted as he leads the remaining heroes. "But he's going to try and get into the chamber!"

"That's right," Sunset added. "At least we can tell him what we know!"

"If he's willing to listen!" Smolder replied.

"That guy's ego is as big as the school's library!" Gallus commented.

"Or the library back at Canterlot City!" Storm added. "Mom and I spent many trips there once upon a time!"

"For realsies?" Sonata asked.

“Guys, d’you think there’s any chance at all she’s not, you know…” Ron surmised.

The group knew what Ron was referring to. The Prince of Peace glanced over, studying Ron’s tortured eyes.

“I promise you, Ron,” Storm assured. “We will find her; Ginny is going to be fine.”

Ron nodded, smiling shakily, and turned away. As he did, Sunset caught Storm’s face changing, sensing trouble. If even the prince didn’t believe entirely what he said… who knew what ill fate awaited the little girl?

Soon enough, everyone barged into Lockhart's office.

"Professor!" Harry shouted. "We have some information for you!"

"Something that could help us in the chamber," Sandbar added.

Suddenly, the group stopped in their tracks. Lockhart’s office was stripped to the shelves. Two large trunks stood open. In the middle of the calamity, Lockhart… was packing his luggage and belongings?!

"Wait... what are you doing?!" Sunset asked.

Pretty soon, everyone got suspicious of what he was doing.

"Are you going somewhere?" Harry asked.

"Well, uh, yes," Lockhart stammered. "Urgent Call. Unavoidable. Gotta go!!"

"I'm no Applejack," Sonata scowled. "And I may not be the brightest of sirens. But I know a lie when I hear one. And that's definitely a lie..."

"Teacher not helping?!" Yona exclaimed in outrage.

"You're running away?!" Sunset Shimmer gasped.

"What about my sister?!" Ron added.

"And everyone else that the Basilisk might kill?!" Spike joined.

"Not to mention our friends and fellow students who have been petrified by that thing!" Apple Bloom added.

"If that thing gets lose, it'll kill everyone and every creature in its path!!" Ocellus continued.

"And the Dark Order will come back for another attempt on our friends' lives while they're bedridden!" Scootaloo added.

"Well... as to that, most unfortunate," Lockhart continued as he tried to get his stuff together. "No one regrets more than I!"

"Really?" Silverstream huffed. "Cause from the looks of it, you don't care one bit!!"

"You're the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher!" Ron added in outrage. "You can't go now!"

"Yeah! And no offense to you Sunset Shimmer," Sweetie Belle assured Sunset, before she turned to Lockhart. "But we need a lot more help if we're dealing with a Basilisk!"

"And as Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, it's your responsibility to help those in need!" Apple Bloom added.

"They're right," Sunset continued. "If you leave, you leave innocents to die, and it will be on your head!"

"And I doubt the ministry of Magic won't take kindly to a wizard who abandons his post!" Spike added.

"Even Dragons don't take kindly to cowards!" Smolder crossed her arms.

"Same with Yaks!" Yona stomped her hoof.

"And with Griffons and Hippogriffs!" Gallus scowled, with Silverstream nodding agreement.

"Well I must say," Lockhart continued, while stuffing a wig inside a handbag. "When I took the job, there was nothing in the job description about–"

"Excuse me, not in the job description?!" Silverstream exclaimed outraged.

"It's part of the contract when you become a wizard!" Ocellus added.

"And when you apply for jobs like this, you idiot!" Sandbar continued. "Even half my class knows better than that!!"

Lockhart then tried to leave, but Harry and friends continued to bar him.

"You're running away?!" Harry Potter continued. "After everything you did in your books?!"

"Your accomplishments, your adventures?!" Storm added.

"And you're going to run away just because of some snake?!" Gallus added.

"A snake that can kill you just be looking at you," Sonata brought up.

"Not helping, Sonata," Sunset shook her head.

"Sorry."

"The point is, you're a hero in your books!" Ocellus continued.

"Books can be misleading!" Lockhart replied.

"You wrote them!" Harry brought up.

"And the writing's all proof of it!" Sunset Shimmer added.

"My dear folks, do you ever use your common sense?!” Lockhart snapped in frustration. “My books wouldn't have sold half as well if people didn't think I've done all those things! No one wants to read about some ugly old Armenian warlock, even if he did save a village from werewolves. He’d look dreadful on the front cover. No dress sense at all…"

Everyone gasped at that and realized something.

"If you..." Yona began. "Lockhart!!!"

"You're a fraud!" Harry shouted. "You've just been taking credit for what other wizards have done!"

"That is a complete scandal!!" Sweetie Belle screamed.

"It all makes sense now!" Sunset Shimmer waggled her finger. "Half the spells you cast always backfired because you stole them, and you didn't know how to cast them!"

"Not to mention the story of you 'deliberately' taking a hit from Professor Snape's Expelliarmus spell," Scootaloo added. "It never made much sense, if you claimed you knew how to block it to begin with..."

"For realsies?" Sonata asked.

"It all happened in the Dueling Club," Silverstream explained to Sonata. "You had to be there to see it."

“Ladies, gentlemen…” Lockhart argued defensively. “There was work involved. I had to track these people down and ask them exactly how they managed to do what they did. No, it’s not all book signings and publicity photos,” Lockhart insisted. “You want fame, you have to be prepared for a long, hard slog.”

“Is there anything you can do?” Ron asked.

"Yes, now that you've mentioned it. I am rather gifted with memory charms," Lockhart admitted. "Otherwise, you see, all those wizards would've gone blabbing, and I wouldn't have sold another book."

"As in, you've erased their minds?!" The changeling gasped.

"Right you are my dear," Lockhart confirmed.

"Oy, it's deja vu all over again," Sunset Shimmer pinched her temples.

"Deja what?" Sonata asked.

"I'll tell you later..."

"So let me get this straight," Sandbar began. "You've been plagiarizing the works of every wizard and witch's accomplishments, just to sell a few lousy books?! And then you steal their memories so they wouldn't even remember their own accomplishments and expose you as the fraud you truly are?!"

"That is correct," Lockhart confessed. "And the same goes for that Daring Do Pegasus when I swiped her artifacts for my own profits, before I turned her over to that Cora Mills character from the Dark Order… oops.

The remaining heroes all gasped in horror at the revelation. But none were more outraged than the Equestrian Heroes, especially Scootaloo.

"You… did… WHAT?!" Scootaloo screamed. "Oh, wait till Rainbow Dash hears about this!"

"On the contrary, my dear," Lockhart said smugly. "She won't know a thing, because you won't remember to tell her this."

Lockhart turned his back, walking over to his suitcase, where his wand was resting. Ron nodded as everyone agreed with the silent gesture.

"In fact uh. I'm afraid...I'm gonna have to do the same to all of you, lest you do the same…"

Lockhart pulled his wand out to cast his memory charm. However, just as he turned around, he was shocked to see that everyone had their wands out, with Sunset Shimmer and Sonata igniting their lightsabers, drawn toward him angrily.

"Don't even think about it," Harry threatened.

"When this is over, you're going to tell everyone what you know about Daring Do and the Dark Order..." Sunset Shimmer scowled.

Harry motioned Lockhart to drop his wand, which he did reluctantly. However, the Cutie Mark Crusaders walked up to him. They were really angry.

"What are you..."

*WA-DUMP!!*

Everyone winced and widened their eyes in shock as Apple Bloom bucked her hooves against Lockhart’s groin. As he clutched himself over the pain, Sweetie Belle swung her hooves so hard they blasted him backwards, toppling into one of the open trunks.

"That's for making us autograph and organize your photos you faker!" Sweetie Belle scowled.

*BAM*

Lockhart clutched his nose after Scootaloo punched him.

"And THAT'S for Daring Do!" Scootaloo huffed.

"Speaking of which…" Apple Bloom concluded.

The mare turned to wave her wand to pull out all of Lockhart's photos, before casting a spell.

"INCENDIO!"

Within a split second, all of the pictures were burnt up and the pieces fell to ashes. The Crusaders all sighed in relief.

"That feels good," Apple Bloom sighed.

It was then that she and her friends noticed the shocked expression on the others’ faces.

"Too much?" Scootaloo asked.

"Uh, no. We're okay with that," Sonata smiled.

"I would've done that actually," Sunset Shimmer spoke up. "But... I award 100 points to each of you."

Sunset looked to the side to see Lockhart trying to crawl away to escape.

"Hey! Where are you going? Carpe Retractum!"

A retractable cord of light was fired from one of Sunset Shimmer's lightsabers, the one containing her wand, ensnaring Lockhart, by the leg, and pulling him back towards them.

"You're coming with us!" Sunset snarled.

Lockhart nodded in fearful compliance having nowhere else to go. By then, the doors opened up as Stygian stepped in.

"We're ready to follow you into the Chamber..." Stygian stopped, upon noticing the group, with Lockhart tied up. "What's going on?"

“Let’s just say those Dueling Lessons came in handy after all,” Harry replied.

<>

In the girls bathroom, late in the night, Lockhart walked ahead of Harry, Ron, and the Equestrians. Their wands, lightsabers in the case of Sunset and Sonata, were pointed toward him in case he tried to escape. Moaning Myrtle floated above the cistern, crying as usual, when she suddenly heard their entry.

"Oh? Who's there?"

She turned, seeing Harry and friends, with the Nightmare Knights following.

"Oh, hello, Harry," She smiled warmly at him, before asking, "What do you want?"

"To ask you how you died," Harry replied.

"Sorry if it's a touchy subject to ask," Sunset Shimmer added. "But it's important that we know how."

"Oh..." Moaning Myrtle complied, flattered. "It was dreadful. It happened right here in this very cubicle. I'd hidden because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. I was crying, and then... I heard somebody come in."

"Who was it, Myrtle?" Harry asked.

"I don't know," Myrtle choked on her words. "I was distraught! But they said something funny, a kind of made-up language, and I realized it was a boy speaking, so I unlocked the door to tell him to go away, and... I died."

"You just... died?" Silverstream asked.

"For realsies?" Sonata joined, as she and Silverstream exchanged looks.

"No fight? No struggles Not even a glance to see who the perpetrator was?" Tempest ranted, before receiving weird looks. "Too detailed?"

“You just died?” Smolder repeated.

"Just like that?" Harry continued. "How?"

"No idea. I just remember seeing a pair of great big yellow eyes, over there, by that sink…"

Moaning Myrtle pointed toward the bank of sinks, before she flew away.

The boys hurried over, while the remainder guarded Lockhart. They examined the pipes below, the tile above. Harry reached up to the circular stone above the sinks, then moved his hand downward to the sink in front of him. He turned the tap, but n o water came out. And then… something else caught his eye. Looking more closely at the tap, he spotted it: Etched on one of the copper taps was a tiny snake. The symbol of Salazar Slytherin.

"This is it," Harry exclaimed. "This is it, everyone. I think this is the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets."

"For realsies?" Sonata asked. "But how do we open it?"

"Stand back!" Trixie boasted. "Let the Great and Powerful Trixie work her magic."

Trixie stood in front of the sink, before she held her hooves out.

"OPEN SESAME!"

But nothing happened.

"Huh, that usually works..." Trixie muttered.

"Stand back, Lulamoon," Tempest Shadow scowled.

Tempest wound up one of her hooves, going in for a punch, and hurled it forward.

*CRACK*

"... OOW!!" Tempest shook her sore hoof, waving it from the recoiled damage.

"Stand back everyone!" Sunset Shimmer called out.

The Jedi ignited both of her lightsabers up, before she slashed them across the sink, only to be stunned to see that there was hardly a dent, or a scorch mark.

"Not a scratch!"

"Hold on, I have theory," Stygian spoke up. "If this was designed by Salazar Slytherin to only be accessible by his heir, a Parslemouth, like him, then maybe it can only be opened by Parseltongue."

"Worth a shot," Apple Bloom shrugged.

Everyone turned to Harry, beckoning him to speak Parseltongue.

"Say something," Ron beckoned, while still keeping his wand close to Lockhart's throat. "Harry, say something in Parseltongue."

Harry thought for a few moments, standing in silence, until he finally spoke the Parsletongue command for "Open" which sounds like, "Hesha- Hassah."

With that, the circular stone above the sinks rises, then all the sinks begin to move outwards. Everyone backed away slowly as the sinks moved, while the sink with the snake carved on its tap descends into the floor, where a grating slides over it. Lockhart steps towards the opening that the sinks concealed and looks down into a very wide black hole.

Reaching into her pockets, Sunset Shimmer flipped a coin, which fell down the hole, disappearing out of sight, until a faint clink was heard.

"Are we seriously going down there?" Scootaloo asked.

"We have to," Apple Bloom replied. "Ginny's down there, and we need tah save her!"

"And stop that Basilisk," Sweetie Belle reminded.

"Excellent, Harry. Ah, good work," Lockhart complimented. "Well, then, I'll just be, uh... there's no need for me to stay."

The cowardly wizard tries to make a run for it, but Harry and friends all grabbed ahold of him.

"Oh, yes there is!" Harry grunted.

He and his friends mustered up all their strength to push Lockhart backwards toward the passage before drawing their weapons.

"You first."

"Now, everyone, what good will it do?" Lockhart asked.

“A bloody lot of good if it’s a two-hundred-foot drop into jagged rocks,” Sunset answered bluntly.

"Better you than us," Ron barked, with Harry nodding in agreement.

"Um, but... obviously, yes…" Lockhart stammered.

Lockhart nervously turned around and gripped the sinks as he looked down into the passage before glancing over his shoulder at the heroes again.

"Sure you don't want to test it first?"

Rolling their eyes in annoyance, Sunset Shimmer and Sonata both waved their hands, using the Force to push Lockhart, sending him into the passage. The man screamed as he disappears into the darkness. After about a second later, a crash was heard.

"Is he dead?" Trixie asked.

"It's really quite filthy down here," Lockhart's voice echoed.

"Not... yet…" Capper answered.

"I would've liked him dead," Tempest rolled her eyes.

"We still need him alive, so he can tell Rainbow Dash and the others what happened to Daring Do," Scootaloo frowned.

"We'll worry about that later, Scootaloo," Storm comforted the Pegasus. "But first, we need to rescue Ginny!"

"Then let's go already," Tempest began.

Just as she was about to jump, Spike stopped her.

"No!" Spike stopped the unicorn veteran. "We'll go down into the Chamber of Secrets. The rest of you need to go and send an owl to Princess Luna and report to her what we've found!"

"What?!" Stygain exclaimed. "But... you can't possibly... you need us!"

"We still do," Sunset nodded. "But I think Twilight and the others need you guys more than ever right now. You go and get Fluttershy, tell her to meet you guys at the wing. If we’re not back… well, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“Trust me, if Auntie Luna was still here, she'd say the same thing," Storm reminded.

The Nightmare Knights all exchanged looks, knowing that Sunset Shimmer had a point. While she and her group ventured off into the Chamber of Secrets to rescue Ginny, and find a way to destroy the Basilisk, someone needed to protect Twilight and the others, in the Hospital Wing.

"...Well, it seems that they do," Tempest sighed, recalling Twilight’s favor. "Well, what are you waiting for? Get a move on! We'll defend Twilight and the others with our lives!"

"All right," Harry turned to Ron. "Let's go."

But just before the heroes could jump, Moaning Myrtle spoke up.

"Oh Harry? If you die down there, you're welcome to share my toilet."

Everyone looked rather unnerved at the ghost girl's flirtatious approach.

"There's a girl who needs to get out more," Trixie whispered to the Slytherin girl present.

"Uh... thanks, Myrtle," Harry smiles awkwardly at her.

The boy then turned to the opening, and jumped into it, with Ron following.

"C'mon girls!" Apple Bloom turned to her fellow Crusaders. "Let's do this!"

"FOR EQUESTRIA!" The Crusaders shouted as they jumped down the opening together.

"YAKS JUMP!" Yona jumped.

"Geronimo!" Sandbar jumped.

"Look out below!" Smolder followed.

"BANZAI!" Gallus and Silverstream shouted together.

"Wait for me!" Ocellus jumped.

"Last one in's buying me a TACO!" Sonata Dusk jumped.

And the last ones to follow are Storm Shield, Spike and Sunset Shimmer, who exchanged glances and nodded.

"Let's do this!" Spike said.

“For Twilight!” Storm agreed.

"May the Force be with her," Sunset added. "May the Force be with us all."

"Friendship is MAGIC!" The trio shouted as they slid down the chute.

The heroes were all screaming as they slid wickedly fast down a slide.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!" They screamed.

"IT'S LIKE BEING IN A REALLY LONG SLIIIIDDEEEE!!!" Ocellus screamed.

"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!" Sonata cheered happily, before her eyes widened to see they were coming towards several openings up ahead. "WHOOOOOOOAAAAAA!!!!"

Soon, the heroes were all split up into random tunnels, going off in separate directions, messing them up. It was a hair-raising vertical plummet, every now and then they each took glimpses of one another, smaller pipes branching off in all directions, twisting and turning until the pipe leveled off, and finally they dumped onto the damp floor of a stone tunnel. A small pit, filled with animal bones. It was most likely the Basilisk's feeding area.

There, Lockhart stared miserably at the muck dripping from his robes, all while brushing the dirt off when the heroes arrived. They immediately got to their feet and pointed their weapons at him.

"Ew!" Sweetie Belle cringed in disgust, looking at all the bones they were stepping on.

"Gross!" Apple Bloom exclaimed.

"I know a basilisk's got to eat, but... ugh!" Scootaloo frowned.

With Lockhart on guard, Harry took a torch from the wall and poised his wand.

“Lumos!”

The torch bloomed with a bright orange flame.

"Now, remember," Harry instructed. "Any sign of movement, close your eyes straight away."

Harry led the way down the tunnel CRUNCH! They looked down: A rat’s skull. All around them, the ground was littered with tiny skeletons. They turned into one passageway after another, Harry beckoning the group to follow.

“This way.”

Ron squinted and saw something huge and curved lying ahead. When his spoke, his voice was hollow with dread.

“What's this?” Ron asked, pointing at the shed skin.

“It’s reptilian,” Sunset examined, crouching down.

“It looks like a... snake,” Lockhart gulped nervously.

“Maybe it’s asleep?” Ocellus guessed.

Ron drew his wand as they approached, squinting. Harry shined his light, revealing… a gigantic coil of empty skin.

“It's a snakeskin,” Harry confirmed.

“Bloody hell. Whatever shed this must be sixty feet long,” Ron estimated. “Or more.”

“For realsies!” Sonata exclaimed. “It must have a healthy diet to live this long!”

At that moment, there was a thud on the floor, to which the heroes turned their attention to see Lockhart had fainted, most likely from fear.

“Heart of a lion, this one,” Ron said in sarcasm, pointing at Lockhart.

Ron knelt by him, when suddenly… without warning, Lockhart’s eyes opened and, quick as a fox… he snatched Ron’s wand and scrambled to his feet.

“STOP!” Sunset shouted.

Sunset sprung toward Lockhart, igniting her lightsaber alongside Sonata. But Lockhart was already on his feet, putting some distance between him and the surrounding heroes. He breathed heavily with a wicked smile on his face and pointing the wand at Harry and friends. Storm’s weapon was also out, but he tried a less violent approach.

“You don’t have to do this, Lockhart…” Storm advised calmly. “We can talk this out…”

“Too late! The adventure ends here, my friends,” Lockhart smiled wickedly. “But don't fret. The world will know our story. How I was too late to save the girl.”

Lockhart pointed his wand towards Ron, threateningly.

“How you two tragically lost your minds at the sight of her mangled body.”

Lockhart grins even more evilly as he pointed at Sunset Shimmer.

“And…how I caught Darth Seraphina in the act of murdering Jedi Grandmaster Storm Shield, his students, with the aid of Sonata Dusk. And how she had slain Princess Twilight’s per dragon, Spike, for a new leather jacket. I’ll even being a limited edition in this snake skin.”

“No!” Sunset gasped in horror. “You wouldn’t!”

“Oh yes!” Lockhart chuckled. “That’s what I’ll tell the Aurors. And in your despair, you will be taken to Azkaban, sentenced to a fate worse than death! The Dementor’s Kiss!”

“You horrible monster!” Smolder exclaimed angrily. “You are a thieving scoundrel!”

“And you…my dear, Sonata,” Lockhart addressed her. “You’ll be a brand new siren. Your sisters will welcome you back, a clean slate, once I’m done with you. And the Dark One will reward me.”

“You’ll never get away with this, Lockhart!” Scootaloo frowned.

“I’ve been getting away with it my whole life, my dear,” Lockhart grinned. “As for Daring Do… she’s dead.

“Dead?!”

“In a way. The Daring Do you know has lost her memories, her identity, and her sense of purpose. For all I know, she could be a prisoner of the Dark Order, or she’s lost, somewhere, in the Multiverse. I can’t imagine what an amnesiac like her would be worth to you.

“And you’re telling us this now because…why?” Smolder frowned.

“Oh, I just thought it’d be sporting of me to confess one of my deepest darkest secrets, before I wipe your memories.”

Lockhart pointed the wand towards Harry Potter.

“So… You first, Mr. Potter. Say farewell, to your memories.”

Everyone nearly wanted to panic. However, Gallus realized something when he looked at the wand Lockhart was holding. It was Ron’s wand. Gallus remembered what happened whenever Ron cast the spells. He suddenly smirked and crossed his arms. He hovered in front of Harry and blocked Lockhart.

“Go ahead… Fire away,” Gallus smirked. “I triple dog dare you.”

Everyone was shocked by what he was doing:

“Gallus!!” Smolder exclaimed. “Are you crazy!!”

Gallus looked at his friends and winked, which confused the whole group.

“No, let him cast it,” Gallus continued. “He thinks he's such a big brave wizard, and yet what have we've seen the whole time? He's nothing but a coward, hiding behind that phony smile. He can point a wand all he wants, and yet he'd still wet his pants at the first sight of a troll.”

Lockhart's eye began to twitch from the anger, whilst everyone was worried.

“And you know what?” Gallus continued. “I don't know what's sad. The fact that you think holding a wand makes you look like a tough guy. Or the fact that you, a human who could steal all the spells in the world, and still finds a way to screw things up.

“So come on, Locky,” Gallus continued to egg on the wizard. “Give it everything you got.”

Lockhart growled angrily, as he complied…

“You first. And then Potter.”

Everyone closed their eyes, whilst Gallus kept his smirk with his arms crossed.

“Obliviate!!”

Ron’s wand exploded like a small bomb, blasting Lockhart off his feet and spitting great jets of green fire into the rock above. The man crashed against the wall and collapsed just as quickly.

“Uh…what just happened?” Spike asked.

Silverstream turned to Gallus and frantically shook him by the shoulders.

“Quick! What’s your name?” Silverstream asked.

“Gallus?” Gallus answered.

“What’s my name?”

“Silverstream.”

“And what’s my most embarrassing secret that I never told anyone, except you?”

“Uh…you never told me any secret,” Gallus replied.

“YAY! You remember!” Silverstream hugged Gallus tightly, threatening to crush his bones.

“But…how?” Sonata asked.

Suddenly, there was a rumble, and the group looked up to see the entire room caving in.

“LOOK OUT!” Sunset shouted.

She grabbed the Crusaders, jumping to the other side, and protecting the fillies from the rubbles. Sunset, Spike, Storm, Sonata, the CMC and the Student Six were trapped on one side with Harry, while Ron and Lockhart were on the other.

“Well… that could have gone better,” Storm muttered.

“Harry!!” Ron called out. “Harry!!”

Harry climbed to the top of the rubble, peeking through the gap at the top.

“Ron!!” Harry shouted. “Ron are you okay?!”

“I'm fine!!” Ron replied. “This git’s not, though.”

“What happened to Lockhart?” Scootaloo called out.

“He got blasted by my wand!” Ron answered.

Just then, Lockhart sat up, dazed and light-headed. Ron turned to him and went defensive, ready for a fight.

“Hello,” Lochart greeted in a chipper tone. “Who are you?”

Everyone present were a little confused by this...

“Um... Ron Weasely?” Ron answered.

“Really? And uh...Who am I?”

Everyone was shocked by this.

“Lockhart's memory charm backfired!!” He exclaimed to Harry. “He hasn't gotten a clue who he is!!”

“Heh… I knew that would work,” Gallus boasted.

Everyone staring at him in shock.

“Wait, what?” They shouted.

“For realsies?” Sonata asked.

“Wait, Gallus knew?!” Yona asked. “How?”

“Well, yeah, because he had Ron's wand,” Gallus answered.

“Yeah, so?” Sandbar asked.

“Ron broke his wand, right?” Gallus grinned. “But he tried to fix it with duct tape. But every time he cast spells, it backfired on him, which resulted in him belching slugs, and he couldn't cast a spell to turn an animal into a goblet. All because of the tape, which also has a part plastic surface.”

“Wait... so you're saying...?” Smolder exclaimed.

It didn’t take long for Smolder and her friends to realize where Gallus was getting at.

“Duh, plastic's impervious to magic,” Gallus stated. “Why else did you think the spells backfired when both Ron and Lockhart casted them?”

Within a split second, it dawned to not just the Young Six, Spike, the CMCs, Sonata, and Sunset, but to Harry and Ron as well, leaving them surprised, with Ron the most surprised of all.

“Well bloody hell, that explains a lot!” Ron smiling at Gallus.

“You sly griffon!” Sunset smiled. “That’s definitely worth 50 points or more, for paying attention and being resourceful.”

“Oh yeah?” Sonata scoffed. “I say 60!”

“You know what?” Smolder grinned. “Now I'm really glad you didn't trade your wand…yet.”

“Uh, girls?” Gallus spoke up. “Can we please focus on the current situation?”

“It's an odd sort of place this is, isn't it?” Lockhart said as he tosses the rock in his hand then glances at Ron. “Do you live here?

Ron took the rock from Lockhart, “No.”

“Really?”

Before he had time to ask another question, Ron smacked Lockhart on the back of the head with the rock, knocking him out cold.

“Oof!” Sunset winced. “I’ll bet that’s smart.”

“Eeyup!” Harry and the others agreed.

Ron looked up towards Harry and the others through the opening.

“What do we do now?” Ron asked.

“You wait here, we’ll go on,” Harry called out. “We’ll find Ginny… and if we’re not back in an hour…”

“Harry… we’ve already established that,” Sunset reassured.

“I’ll try and shift some of this rock,” Ron called out. “So, you can get back through. And guys…”

“We know Ron… you’ve done us good,” Storm assured. “See you in a bit.”

With that, Harry resumed his lead as he and his group continued through the rescue. On the way, the group continued to congratulate Gallus.

“Nice move there, Gallus!” Sandbar smiled.

“For realsies!” Sonata smiled. “You totally tricked that fraud!”

“He definitely had that coming,” Silverstream playfully nudged Sonata’s shoulder.

“Still, the nerve of that guy!” Smolder scowled. “Stealing our memories was bad enough. But then he threatened to frame Sunset, murder Storm Shield, and making her take blame for it!”

“And get her arrested to Azkaban to get the Dementor’s Kiss?” Sweetie Belle added. “Ew!”

“Still…what’s a Dementor anyway?” Apple Bloom asked. “What’s so bad about its kiss?”

“I prefer you kids never have to find out…” Storm warned. “It’s not a pretty picture…”

Just then, Scootaloo let out a sad sigh, which the others took notice.

“What’s wrong, Scootaloo?” Harry asked.

“I… I can’t help but think…about Daring Do,” Scootaloo sighed. “She and Rainbow Dash are really close. And… imagine how heartbroken Rainbow will be when she learns what Lockhart did. What the Dark Order have done to her…and all the evidence we could get from Lockhart… gone. With all his memories.

“Don’t be so sure, Scootaloo!” Sunset smiled reassuringly. “I knew Lockhart would try something like this, so I had this ready for him.”

Sunset said, holding up a holographic device that replayed Lockhart’s confession.

“’How you two tragically lost your minds at the sight of her mangled body.…And the Dark One will reward me...’” Lockhart’s recording said. “’The Daring Do you know has lost her memories, her identity, and her sense of purpose. For all I know, she could be a prisoner of the Dark Order, or she’s lost, somewhere, in the Multiverse. I can’t imagine what an amnesiac like her would do. Say goodbye, to your memories.’”

Sunset then turned the device off and tucked it safely away in her jacket.

“Looks like it’s his words against him,” Sunset smirked.

“You see, Sunset…” Storm smiled proudly. “You didlearn something from the Galaxy.”

“That’s great, Sunset!” Scootaloo cheered. “Now he’s really going to get it.”

“Way to go, Sunset!” Sonata smiled, patting Sunset on the shoulder.

“I don’t care what Discord says,” Silverstream chirped. “You’re A-Okay!”

“And you’re definitely not stupid,” Harry Potter added.

“Thanks guy,” Sunset smiled sadly.

Storm could see she was still thinking sadly of Twilight and the fight(s) they had. To which Storm Shield laid a gentle hoof on Sunset’s shoulder.

“You’ll have your chance to talk to Twilight when this is over,” Storm Shield assured. “I will see to it personally that you’ll have your chance. You deserve this.”

Sunset Shimmer nodded her head slowly, as she wiped the single tear off her cheek.

“‘May the Force be with us all,’” Sunset Shimmer murmured.

Dobby’s Reward & A Fairytale Wedding

Author's Note

Be sure to give credit to cheerful09 for her amazing wedding dress design for Gabby as well as Drama for his editing and my amazing crew of commentators.

Dobby’s Reward & A Fairytale Wedding

For a moment, all was silent amongst the collective group consisting of Harry Potter, Ron and Ginny Weasley, Gilderoy Lockhart, Sunset Shimmer, Sonata Dusk, Storm Shield, Spike, Fluttershy, the CMC, and the Young Six. There they stood by the doorway of Dumbledore’s office, covered in muck, slime, and (in Harry and Sunset’s case) blood. Suddenly, there was a scream.

"GINNY!"

It was Mrs. Weasley, who sat crying in front of the fire. She leapt to her feet, following closely by Mr. Weasley, both hurling themselves toward their daughter. Everyone else, however, looked past them.

Professor Dumbledore stood by the mantlepiece, beaming with pride. Beside him was Princess Luna, who seemed proud, and Princess Celestia, who contrarywise seemed dumbfounded just to see Storm Shield standing tall, all fine and well. Amongst the trio was Professor McGonagall, who took great, steady gasps while clutching her chest in shock. Fawkes, Philomena and Peewee flew past the group as they landed upon the respective shoulders of Dumbledore and the Princesses.

All of a sudden, Mrs. Weasley gave a huge embrace toward Harry, Ron, and Sunset while she gave tears of joy.

“You saved her!” Mrs. Weasley cried, tears streaming down. “How did you do it?!”

“I think we’d all like to know,” Professor McGonagall spoke weakly

“Along with the fact my son stands before me when the Mandrakes are still an HOUR away from being ready,” Celestia noted. “… When he should be PETRIFIED… AND IN BED!”

One short glare from his mother and all Storm Shield could do was chuckle nervously initially.

“Sorry mom, I didn’t mean to worry you…” Storm Shield smiled shyly. “But I was with… some friends… some you may ‘know’.”

“Hmm… we’ll discuss that later,” Celestia concluded.

Sunset and Harry approached, with the latter laying down the Sorting Hat and sword respectively. Sunset, meanwhile, pulled out and laid before what remained of Riddle’s charred diary.

“I think it’s best we start from the beginning,” Sunset proposed.

<>

In nearly a quarter of an hour, Harry and Sunset had explained everything. They had spoken in rapt silence, with their friends popping in on occasion. They had covered everything from the mysterious voice, Hermione and Twilight’s realization surrounding a basilisk in the pipes, following the spiders into the forest, Aragog’s reveal of the last known victim fifty years ago, confirming it was indeed Moaning Myrtle, and on top of all that, the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets… in the girls’ bathroom. After all that time, the pair were lucky to have a moment to breathe.

“Very well…” Professor McGonagall prompted. “So you found where the entrance was—breaking a hundred school rules along the way, I might add—and three teachers ‘encouraging’ said behavior—”

To which Fluttershy and Spike chuckled nervously in response.

“But how did you all get out of there alive?” Professor McGonagall asked.

Harry and Sunset, the voices hoarse by this point, explained the timely arrival of the Phoenix trio, of the Sorting Hat granting them the Sword, to when the Young Six explained getting the Elements of Harmony to work… upon Sunset’s new element activating. But by then… they faltered. The Cutie Mark Crusaders and Young Six were speechless as well, all eyes looking toward Sunset and Harry. Thus far they had avoided any mention of Riddle’s diary nor Ginny’s involvement in all of this.

Speaking of whom, they turned back toward Ginny herself. The poor girl cried along her mother’s shoulders, all while the matriarch comforted her daughter… the scene along made Sonata sigh sadly. Worriedly, they realized that any mention of Ginny could risk having her expelled. And after what happened with the diary, seeing it no longer works… how were they to prove her innocence?

But then they turned back toward Dumbledore, who merely offered a small smile towards Harry and Sunset. The princesses gave a small nod, allowing the headmaster to proceed.

“What interests me most—” Dumbledore spoke gently. “—is how Lord Voldemort managed to enchant Ginny.”

“Yes, how did he do it?” Celestia nodded in agreement. “My sources tell me he’s hiding in the forests of Albania.”

Harry and Sunset were initially relieved the three would give them out. Mrs. Weasley stopped crying as she looked up, her face giving off the impression she is just as stunned.

“W-What’s that? You-Know-Who? Enchant Ginny? But she hasn’t—she isn’t… has she?”

“It was the diary,” Harry answered, pointing toward it. “Riddle wrote in it when he was sixteen.”

Celestia picked up the diary with her magic, examining it as she looked at it.

“Interesting… very interesting…”

“Indeed…” Luna agreed. “Ingenious, simply… ingenious.”

“Ahh… brilliant,” Dumbledore spoke softly. “So, this is how he did it. Very few people know that Lord Voldemort was once called Tom Riddle.”

“Indeed. My sister, Albus and I taught him fifty years ago,” Celestia explained. “Tom Riddle was probably the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen. He disappeared after leaving the school; after he left, we’d occasionally hear stories of his activities and his travels far and wide…”

“Dark rumors,” Luna explained. “That he became SO infused with the Dark Arts and became associated with the worst kind of wizards… even changing his appearances through the Dark Arts to the point he became… barely recognizable. But after a while, even the rumors stopped.

“Then when he finally resurfaced as Lord Voldemort, most people had completely forgotten the clever Head Boy he’d once been. But then, nobody ever connected Lord Voldemort with that boy…”

“But what does our Ginny have to do with him?” Mrs. Weasley asked.

“His d-diary…” Ginny sobbed. “I’ve been writing in it, and he’s been writing back all year—"

“Ginny!” Arthur Weasley gasped, flabbergasted. “Haven’t I taught you anything? What have I always told you? Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its’ brain? Why didn’t you show the diary to me, or your mother? A suspicious object like that is clearly full of Dark Magic!”

“I-I didn’t know whose diary it was, I swear!” Ginny sobbed. “I found it inside my cauldron, the day we all went to Diagon Alley. I-I just thought someone left it in there and forgot about it—but I understand if… given all the trouble I’ve caused… if you! —”

“I think Miss Weasley should go to the hospital wing straight away,” Princess Celestia suggested. “It’s clear she went through a terrible ordeal…”

“Don’t worry, Ginny…” Princess Luna assured with a small smile. “You will not be punished.”

“That’s right,” Dumbledore nodded, opening the door. Older, wiser wizards than you have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort, Miss Weasley. I think you’ve endured quite enough.

“I would suggest a bit of bed rest, however. And perhaps a large mug of hot chocolate. I always find that cheers me up.”

“You see, Ginny?” Sonata patted the young girl’s head. “There’s been no harm done.”

“That’s right, you all had a long night…” Princess Celestia agreed, facing McGonagall. “Minera, will you show Arthur and Molly up to the hospital wing?”

“Certainly, Celestia,” Professor McGonagall nodded.

As McGonagall exits with the Weasleys, Princess Celestia turned toward Fluttershy and Ron.

“Madame Pomfrey should still be up and she’s just giving the Mandrake juice…” Celestia added. “Our petrified victims will be up and about any moment now—”

“Twilight and my friends!” Fluttershy smiled. “They’re okay!”

“Hermione’s okay, too!” Ron smiled brightly.

“Although, there’s one thing I’m curious about…” Luna paused, raising an eyebrow. “One of us has been keeping quiet on his part of the adventure. Why so modest, Gilderoy?”

Sunset Shimmer and Harry Potter leapt in response, having completely forgotten about Lockhart. They turned, their eyes spying on Lockhart standing in the corner of the room, still wearing his vague smile. The moment Luna addressed him, Lockhart looked over his shoulder to address the mare speaking to him.

“Princess Luna—” Apple Bloom began. “There was an accident in the Chamber of Secrets. Professor Lockhart—”

“Am I a professor?” Lockhart asked, mildly surprised. “Goodness! I expect I was hopeless, was I?”

“You have NO idea,” Gallus answered deadpan.

“He tried to do a Memory Charm… on us, may I add…” Silverstream explained. “And the wand backfired.”

Professor Dumbledore and the princesses took a momentary pause, before breaking out in a chuckle.

“Looks like somebody’s been hoisted by their ownpetard,” Celestia giggled.

“I knew he was always suspicious,” Luna smirked. “But looks as though karma finally caught up to him.”

"Dear me, impaled by your own sword, Gilderoy?" Dumbledore shook his head.

"Sword?" Lockhart asked dimly. "Haven't got a sword. That boy has, though. He'll lend you one. Or maybe she'll give you one of her glowing swords."

"Lightsaber," Sunset rolled her eyes.

"Celestia, we shall need an escort to carry Professor Lockhart to the hospital wing as well,” Dumbledore said. “And we’ll give an announcement for a celebratory feast. I do suggest princesses that we continue our discussion… in my office.”

"Of course,” Celestia nodded.

One quick gesture and a pair of Royal Guards approached Lockhart, took him by each arm, and carried him out to the hospital wing.

"All right... follow us... all of you," Celestia instructed. “And Harry, bring the sword and hat. Sunset, keep hold of the diary. We have much to discuss… and Storm Shield?”

Storm Shield looked up with a nervous smile.

“You still owe me an explanation…” Celestia frowned. “But we’ll save that for when we get to Dumbledore’s office…”

Everyone looked worried as they followed the princess and Dumbledore down the hall, as Sonata followed the group from behind. Upon arriving at the office, Dumbledore was already waiting for them, with Fawkes sitting on his perch, and the two princesses at his side.

“You all realize, of course, that in the last few hours, you have broken perhaps a dozen school rules?” Dumbledore asked sternly.

“Yes, sir,” Harry and Ron agreed, shamefully.

“And that there is sufficient evidence to have you all expelled?” Dumbledore continued, facing Sunset Shimmer. “As there is for your arrest, Miss Shimmer?”

Sunset Shimmer simply shut her eyes, cringing her face. There she stood, bracing herself for what’s to come from the great wizard.

“I’ve heard a great deal about you, Sunset Shimmer,” Dumbledore began. “You were once a prized pupil of Princess Celestia, until you dabbled in the Dark Arts, ran away from home, attempted a coup d’tat, went on records to attempt murder of Princess Twilight… twice! Revoking your allegiance to Equestria! Betraying your friends for your service in the Galactic Empire! Risking the exposure of the Wizarding World! Endangering the lives of children!”

“Go easy on her, please, sir?” Spike pleaded. “She did help us rescue Ginny.”

“She’s realized her mistakes,” Harry added. “She’s been very helpful.”

“More than Lockhart ever was,” Ron snarked.

“And for the record,” Sonata spoke up. “The Galactic Empire was my fault as well. For realsies, I’m as much to blame than Sunset.”

“Thanks for trying to help… but I can’t keep running from my mistakes…” Sunset frowned sadly, bowing her head. “Whatever you decide Headmaster, I humbly accept your decision.”

Dumbledore turned to Celestia and Luna, then Storm Shield, before he turned to Sunset and friends. The younger heroes cringed, bracing themselves for Dumbledore’s final decision.

“Therefore, it seems only fitting…” Dumbledore declared, eyes twinkling. “That you all receive Special Awards for Services to the School. And – let me see – yes, I think two hundred points apiece, which, I believe, should be more than enough to secure Gryffindor or perhaps Hufflepuff the House Cup.”

Upon hearing they were being awarded, rather than arrested, Harry and friends looked at each other with smiles before turning back toward Dumbledore.

“For realsies?!” Sonata asked with sparkling eyes.

Dumbledore, Celestia, and Luna nodded in confirmation with smiles. Erupting in cheers, Sonata threw her arms around Sunset for a big hug, much to the latter’s discomfort.

“YAHOO!!! We’re not being arrested!” Sonata cheered.

“Ow! Easy Sonata…” Sunset groaned. “I only got one good arm left…”

“Oops! Sorry.”

“Thank you, sir!” Ron grinned gratefully.

Dumbledore smiled at the young heroes, before he stood up while handing some papers to Ron and Sonata.

“Now, Mr. Weasley, if you and Miss Sonata would, have an owl deliver these release papers to Azkaban,” Dumbledore suggested. “I believe we... we need our gamekeeper back.”

“For sure!” Sonata smiled, happy and excited to see her boss Hagrid again.

Ron took the envelope and departed while the Siren followed behind.

“Mind if we tag along?” Apple Bloom asked. “We all want to be there to welcome Hagrid back too!”

With one gesture from Dumbledore himself, the CMC were granted permission to follow their friends out of the office.

This left Harry, along with the Student Six, Sunset Shimmer, and Spike to continue their discussion with Dumbledore, the princesses, and Storm Shield.

“First, Harry…” Dumbledore began. “I want to thank you and your friends here. You must’ve shown me real loyalty down in the Chamber. Nothing but that could’ve called Fawkes, Philomena, and Peewee to you.”

“I’ll say!” Spike smiled, patting Peewee’s stomach. “Nice of you to come through for me, buddy!”

“I honestly don’t deserve such praise,” Sunset spoke modestly, petting Philomena. “But… I’m grateful to you for believing in me.”

“You sell yourself very short, Sunset…” Luna said bluntly. “Just live in the moment…”

“Well… I…”

“Secondly, I sense you’re troubled by something, both of you,” Dumbledore continued, concerned. “Am I right?”

There was no sense in fooling Dumbledore at this point. Harry stepped forward, the first to speak up.

“It’s just, you see, sir,” Harry began. “I couldn’t help noticing certain things. Certain similarities. Between Tom Riddle and me.”

“You can speak Parseltongue, Harry, because Lord Voldemort can speak Parseltongue,” Dumbledore replied. “Unless I’m much mistaken, he transferred some of his own powers to you the night he gave you that scar.”

“Voldemort put a bit of himself in me?” Harry asked amazed.

“Not intentionally, but… yes,” Dumbledore replied.

“It would appear that way,” Luna expressed her opinion.

“So, the sorting Hat was right,” Harry frowned sadly. “I should be a Slytherin.”

“Don’t say that, Harry!” Gallus shook his head.

“Harry is great Gryffindor!” Yona exclaimed. “Better than Slytherin!”

“Gryffindor has never had a better student than you,” Sunset placed her hand on Harry’s shoulder.

“Gryffindor has never had a better student than you,” Sunset puts a hand on Harry’s shoulder.

“It’s true, Harry,” Dumbledore replied. “You do possess many of the qualities Voldemort himself prizes: Resourcefulness, determination, and if I may so, a certain disregard for the rules. Yet why then did the Sorting Hat placed you in Gryffindor?”

“Only because I asked it to,” Harry answered.

“Exactly, Harry, exactly,” Dumbledore smiled. “Which makes you very different from Voldemort. It is not our abilities that show what we truly are, Harry. It’s our choices, and if you want proof why you belong in Gryffindor, Harry, then I suggest you look more closely at this.”

Dumbledore picked up the bloodstained sword off his desk and handed it out for Harry to examine.

“Be careful,” Dumbledore cautioned.

With great care, the book took the sword by the blade with his left hand, and its hilt with his right. Harry examined the blade until he spied an engraved name glimmering above the ruby-encrusted hilt.

“’Godric Gryffindor’” Harry read.

“Whoa!” Smolder exclaimed, as the others crowded around. “As in the big man himself?”

“Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled that out of the hat,” Dumbledore nodded knowingly.

“You guys hear that?” Gallus smiled. “We’re all true Gryffindors!”

“Even Jedi Sorceress Sunset Shimmer true Gryffindor!” Yona exclaimed.

Sunset simply blushed, rubbing one arm sheepishly. A gentle touch along the shoulder had her turn towards Celestia and Luna. Celestia herself held the Sword of Harmony a.k.a. Excalibur.

“Storm Shield told us you were instrumental in the creation of this in the Chamber,” Celestia smiled.

“I know what this means to you, Sunset,” Luna whispered quietly. “Your father would’ve been very proud.

Sunset looked up at both sisters before she bowed her head, hiding a tear falling from her eyes. Then it was time for the group to ask a serious question that had been plaguing their minds since a crucial discovery from the previous night.

“Now there’s something else very important we need to discuss,” Sandbar said seriously, looking at Princess Luna. “Specifically with you, Princess Luna.”

“With me?” Luna asked confused. “Whatever do you mean, young Sandbar?”

“The Mysterious Benefactor finally revealed themselves to us last night,” Sandbar explained. “So you can imagine our surprise when we saw that it was none other than Nightmare Moon.”

At the mention of the revealed name of the Benefactor, both Celestia and Luna widened their eyes in surprise.

“What did you say?” Celestia asked in shock.

“We wouldn’t have believed it if we hadn’t seen it ourselves, your highnesses,” Gallus spoke up. “But it’s true. Nightmare Moon is up and walking with a form of her own.”

“What we want to know is how that’s even possible,” Silverstream added. “I mean from what we were told is that Professor Twilight and the others used the Elements of Harmony to defeat Nightmare Moon and turn her back into Princess Luna.”

Celestia and Luna both turned to look at each other before their shocked expressions became somber and they turned back to the group before them.

“What you have heard is true,” Luna explained. “However, I’m afraid there is more to the story than what you were originally told…”

<>

(Flashback)
(Sometime after the events of S1 Ep1 of FIM)

High within the towers of Canterlot Castle, Princesses Celestia and Luna stood on a balcony overlooking the land of Equestria. It had only been a few short days since Luna’s return from the moon and their meeting with Dumbledore and McGonagall when they first met a baby boy named Harry Potter. The alliance between the Wizarding World and Equestria had once again been re-established and now it was only a matter of time. It would take some time before Twilight Sparkle and the new Elements of Harmony would complete all of their adventures in Equestria and the final battle would begin. At the moment, however, there was something else entirely on the minds of the two pony princesses.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Luna?” Celestia asked her sister worriedly.

“Yes Tia, of course I am.” Luna nodded.

“You don’t even truly know what this potion could do,” Celestia warned.

“I don’t care.” Luna replied determinedly. “I will never again allow the darkness that Tom Riddle manipulated me into letting it turn me into Nightmare Moon again. If that means splitting myself from that darkness, then that is what I will do.”

“But Luna, Nightmare Moon is physically a part of you,” Celestia spoke uncertainly. “What if by separating you from it, it kills you?”

Luna merely looked up at her older sister with a sad smile on her face.

“Then that is the chance we will simply have to take,” She replied.

Celestia merely shook her head as tears began to well up in her eyes.

“I just got you back, Luna,” She wept. “I don’t want to risk losing you again.”

“Do you trust me, Celestia?” Luna asked.

“You know I do.”

“Then trust me when I say that this will work.”

Celestia took a deep breath and let out a sigh before reluctantly nodding her head slowly.

“Do what you must do,” She agreed.

Luna nodded in understanding before lighting her horn in her magical aura and procuring a vial of a light red potion. Bringing it to her lips, Luna quickly drank the contents of the vial, cringing at the awful taste of it. The two royal alicorn stood waiting for a few moments as nothing seemed to happen for a while. All of a sudden, Luna hunched over and cried out as a sudden sensation within her felt as though her innards were being ripped apart.

“LUNA!!!” Celestia screamed.

She quickly raced to her sister’s side to try to help her when suddenly, a dark hoof thrust its way through Luna’s chest. Both alicorns looked on in horror as one soon followed and before too long, the entire top half of Nightmare Moon had split itself from Luna. After a few more moments, Nightmare Moon ripped herself entirely from Luna and turned to face her better half.

“Look at what you’ve become!” She said in disgust.

Nightmare Moon ignited her own horn and made ready to attack, but Celestia relied on her quick thinking to cast a spell of her own to freeze Nightmare Moon in place.

“Do it now, Luna!” Celestia said urgently, “Destroy her!”

Luna regained her composure and stared right into the dark soulless eyes of Nightmare Moon. Nightmare Moon merely let out a wicked chuckle as she stared down Luna.

“Destroy me?” Nightmare Moon said mockingly. “You don’t have what it takes.”

Luna kept looking at Nightmare Moon as her darker side continued to taunt her and she took a few cautious steps forward.

“You’re weak!” Nightmare Moon snarled. “No matter what you do, you can’t destroy our darkness. Deep down inside, you know the truth. You need me.”

Luna shut her eyes tightly as she let the words of her worse half sink in. For so long, she felt exactly as Nightmare Moon had described. She had always felt so weak and unimportant compared to her older sister which caused her to turn to the darkness and create Nightmare Moon.

Suddenly, a newfound determination seeped into Luna’s heart as she snapped her eyes open.

“No, I don’t!” She growled.

She then lit her horn and cast a powerful blast of light magic that struck Nightmare Moon dead on. The Mare in the Moon screamed in agony as she was literally turned to dust from the impact of the light over her darkness before turning into ash and blowing off into the distance.

<>

“When it was all said and done, we had assumed that Nightmare Moon had been destroyed entirely,” Luna finished. “All had been quiet for the last nine years.”

“However, it seems that she never truly was destroyed,” Celestia added. “Instead, she must have been bidding her time, waiting for the opportunity to strike back.”

“Well, it looks like she’s not only found that time but an army as well,” Gallus spoke up.

“It seems that way, young Gallus,” Celestia nodded. “However, Nightmare Moon has made a grave error in revealing herself.”

“What would that be?” Ocellus asked.

“All of the mystery she had generated as the Benefactor is now gone,” Luna replied. “Now that’s she’s revealed herself, we know who our enemy is and how to combat them.”

“What about the Dark One?” Sandbar asked. “We still know nothing about that one.”

“There is still much mystery about that creature,” Celestia replied. “However, we now have one piece of the puzzle revealed and that should help us form a proper plan.”

At the same time, suddenly, someone had entered through the door, with the others watching. It was then Lucius Malfoy appeared and a face they never thought they would expect.

"Dobby!" Harry gasped in surprise.

The others were just as surprised. But indeed, it was Dobby… dragged by the ear by his very cruel master. And approaching beside him, Whisper Dream, who still looked sad and uncomfortable as ever.

"So, this is your master?” Harry realized. “The family you serve are the Malfoys!"

“Yes…” Whisper Dream confirmed. “Like me.”

Dobby whimpered, nodding with chagrin, as Lucius looked at the pair sternly.

"I will deal with you two later," said Lucius harshly.

The latter moved with Dobby and Whisper following afterwards as he looked around, with Lucius pushing Harry out of the way.

"Out of the way, you lot!" Lucius ordered, before turning to the others. "So, it's true, you have returned."

"Yes. When the Governors learned that Arthur Weasley's daughter had been taken into the chamber, they saw fit to summon me back," Dumbledore smiled wryly.

"And when they heard of the Dark Order's involvement," Princess Celestia added. "They allowed us to send our forces here to help secure the Castle and to ensure that the students remained safe."

Lucius then noticed Sunset standing with the group.

"And why is Seraphina not arrested?" Lucius sneered.

"Her name is Sunset Shimmer," Princess Luna corrected sternly. "And she is not a Sith anymore, nor behind the attacks."

"We have presented the evidence to the Ministry, those who are levelheaded, mind you." Princess Celestia confirmed. "And showed that Sunset Shimmer was nowhere near where the attacks had occurred as she has many alibis. And though the Lightsaber was present, it's crystal was not. And though it had fingerprints, it was not hers, considering she wore gloves during her dark days, and that she buried it in the Galaxy Realm after she was rescued."

"And how could you possibly know any of that?" Lucius asked.

Celestia and Luna took a peek from one of the rooms, which revealed to be Quill Cast and Curtain Call, both of them winking and smiling at them before disappearing.

"Let's just say," Princess Luna smirked. "You are not the only one with friends in high places."

"And as such, the Ministry wishes to apologize to Sunset, as well as reward her, by giving her a full pardon and diplomatic immunity," Princess Celestia declared.

"You cannot be serious!!" Lucious objected incredulously.

"Oh, but she is," Dumbledore assured. "In fact, considering that the Dark Order have set their sights on our world, and enemies from the Galaxy and Equestria are involved, they wish to establish diplomacy for both sides, as well as more to come, should the threats arise."

"This is ridiculous!" Lucius muttered.

"Curiously, Lucius," Dumbledore continued, with a suspicious gaze. "Several of them seemed under the impression that you would curse their families if they didn’t agree to suspend myself, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna in the first place."

"As well as you bribing a handful of Aurors to hunt down Sunset so that she would be removed from Hogwarts," Princess Celestia spoke sternly.

"And bribing some of the key members of the Ministry to turn a blind eye when the dangers arise," Princess Luna added.

"How dare you!" Lucius argued, insulted.

"I beg your pardon?" Dumbledore raised an eye.

"From the beginning, my sole concern has always been and always will be, the welfare of this school," Lucius assured before leering at Harry and the others. "And of course, it's students."

"You mean everyone, or just the pureblooded wizards?" Smolder asked rhetorically.

"If I remember correctly, you didn't like the idea of muggles being in Hogwarts or mingling with Wizard-kind," Ocellus recalled.

"Or that Equestrians should be slaves to serve Wizard-kind instead of being friends with them," Silverstream added.

"Quiet you..." Lucius muttered.

"I'm afraid they have a point, Lucius," Dumbledore concurred.

"Everyone knows you have no love for Muggle-born and half-blooded magic users, and only saw us as slave labor despite us being a civilization," Princess Luna explained. "And because of your poor conduct, the Ministry doesn't want to make Hogwarts look bad, considering it's the only school that's under their control in their region and it would reflect poorly on other wizardly governments and schools all over the world, and would ignite a war between our kingdoms, something we try to avoid."

Princess Celestia stepped forward and looked Lucius in the eye.

"And I will tell you what I told my Chancellor years ago," Princess Celestia spoke sternly. "Magic and friendship doesn't belong to just one race, it belongs to everyone. And our foundations were built on such matters, and we cannot simply maintain it, by ignoring what it stands for. And seeing that you did just that, the Ministry saw fit to sack you from your job position, and will be replaced by one, who actually will be putting students first."

Lucius, shocked to hear the news, aimed to retort. But he stopped when Celestia leaned forward, and their faces were merely inches apart.

“And If you ever attempt to hurt both of my students, who happen to be like daughters to me,” Celestia warned. “You will see just how destructive an Alicorn can be first hoof."

"Like you were with Chrysalis when you fought her during your niece's wedding?" Lucius retorted.

Celestia said not a word, only snorted in the man’s face before moving back to Dumbledore’s side.

“I assume the culprits have been identified?” Lucius asked Dumbledore.

"Oh yes," Dumbledore nodded. "Many of them, in fact."

"The Dark Order opened the chamber first and awoken the beast underground, from what our investigators told us," Princess Celestia informed. "But another was also involved."

"And... who is it?" Lucius asked.

The headmaster and Princesses looked at Harry and the others, with the latter looking back at them. Together, the Headmaster and Princesses looking back at Lucius.

"Voldemort." The three replied.

From where she stood, Sunset could see Lucius appeared nervous. He seemed to be hiding something, the question though… What was it?

"Only this time," Dumbledore added. "He chose to act through somebody else. By means of… this."

Dumbledore presented Lucius with the destroyed remains of Tom Riddle’s diary.

"The very same diary that we locked up in our most secured vaults in Equestria, where no creature could find it," Princess Luna explained. "But when we saw it, we rushed over and found out that it had been under attack by a dark entity."

"And somehow it ended up in the unfortunate hands of a student," Princess Celestia added. "By someone, who might have slipped it among their belongings."

Lucius was greatly nervous as he saw the book, the very book he had slipped in, had been destroyed.

"I see," Lucius nodded slowly.

Dobby then secretly gained Harry and the others' attention, pointing at the one responsible for slipping the diary into Ginny's hands, which they caught on and were surprised, but chose to stay quiet.

"Fortunately," Dumbledore continued "Our young mister Potter, miss Shimmer and the rest of our Equestrian exchange students discovered it."

"And because of our students' bravery, they were able to help them put a stop to it," Princess Luna added.

"And because of the fact that both Potter and Sunset were able to destroy the Basilisk, the Ministry didn't want any punishment as the media is now on their side,” Princess Celestia clarified. “And if anyone would attempt to ruin them, they would lose all dignity and credibility."

"And one should hope," Dumbledore spoke chillingly. "That no more of Lord Voldemort's old school-things should find their way into innocent hands."

"And with the Ministry's blessings, we were able to cast spells all over the Castle, to ensure that if they do, the items will be immediately destroyed," Princess Celestia stated.

The more the princesses and Dumbledore spoke, the more it appeared that Lucius was losing his composure at risk of giving himself away.

“Indeed,” Dumbledore nodded. “And the consequences for the one responsible would be... severe."

Lucius Malfoy stared icily at Dumbledore, then turned away fearing he was about to lose it.

“Well… let us hope that Mr. Potter, the Mane 6, Sunset Shimmer, and their students, will always be here, to save the day."

They looked back at Lucius sternly.

"Don't worry, we will be," Harry assured.

"As will anyone else who has the courage to stand up to evil," Sunset Shimmer declared.

“Come, Dobby,” Lucius ordered. “We’re leaving.”

As Dobby and Whisper scuttled toward the door, Lucius Malfoy kicked Dobby through it and swatted Whisper with his cane before exiting himself. Harry and his friends stared at the empty doorway as Dobby’s painful squeals echoed from the corridor. The remainder of the Equestrians watched the sight with pity, realizing there was more to the house elf than they realized. Potter turned toward Dumbledore, placing the sword back on the desk.

“Sir? I wonder if I could have that,” Harry indicated the diary.

Dumbledore looked up, following Harry’s gaze to the diary…

<>

Moments later, as the elevator opened, Harry and the group dashed out and eventually caught up with Lucius.

“Mr. Malfoy!” Harry called out. “We have something of yours.”

The group came up running, the boy thrusting the diary into Malfoy’s hand.

“Mine?” Lucius questioned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Actually, I think you do, sir,” Sandbar spoke up. “We know you slipped it into Ginny Weasley’s cauldron that day in Diagon Alley.”

“You do… do you?”

Malfoy merely shoved the diary into Dobby’s face, then leaned closely toward the group.

“Why don’t you… prove it!” Lucius whispered, grinning nastily.

Harry and the group said nothing as Lucius turned away. As Dobby looked sadly back, clutching the diary in his hand, Sunset Shimmer leaned toward the house elf and mouthed the words…

“Open it.”

Dobby opened Riddle’s diary curiously, and inside he found… a sock. The sight made him gasp.

“Dobby, come!” Lucius called out. “Dobby!”

“Master has given Dobby a sock,” Dobby spoke in wonderment.

“What?” Lucius stopped, turning around. “I didn’t give you a –”

But there was no mistake. In Dobby’s grasp, the diary opened, there was that sock as plain as day.

“Master has presented Dobby with clothes,” Dobby declared. “Dobby is… free!”

Lucius wheeled, seeing Harry stand with one leg crossed: His right ankle bare. Sunset and the students smirked toward the enraged Malfoy, the former with her arms folded.

“It’s over Lucius… you’ve lost,” Sunset declared.

Instantly, Malfoy charged forth.

“You’ve lost me my servant!” Lucius yelled angrily.

Lucius pulled his wand out from his walking stick and walked threateningly toward Harry. The boy and his friends braced themselves, the Equestrians standing in Harry’s defense. But then, to their surprise, Dobby stepped before them.

“You shall not harm Harry Potter!” Dobby declared, holding his hand out.

“Dobby, what’re you doing?!” Ocellus called out.

“Avada—”

But before Lucius can complete the spell… BANG! Dobby hit Lucius with a spell and flung the Malfoy backward, sending him flying across the hallway. He landed in a crumpled heap, as Dobby folded his arms and glared angrily at Lucius. Rising, Lucius Malfoy glared at Harry and the students.

“Mark my words, Harry Potter…” Lucius spart. “You’ll meet the same sticky end as your parents one of these days. They were meddlesome fools too.”

He turned toward Whisper, who still quivered with fear.

“Come Whisper… least I have you,” Lucius turned to leave.

“Actually… you don’t.”

Lucius and whisper turned upon the timely arrival of the Assistant Professors, with Spike and the CMC walking beside them. Sunset Shimmer’s face beamed at the sight of her awakened friends.

“Professors!” You’re all okay!” Whisper exclaimed.

The mare rushed to meet with the formerly petrified assistant professors.

“I was so worried! I-I mean… um…”

“Don’t worry now, sugar cube,” Applejack spoke comfortingly. “This man’s not givin’ ya any trouble.”

“Or he’ll have to deal with us!” Rainbow Dash punched her hoof into the other.

“Not like that, Rainbow,” Twilight rolled her eyes, facing Harry and the kids. “Harry, take Dobby. We wish to have a word with Mr. Malfoy… alone.”

“Yes, Professor Twilight,” Harry nodded.

Potter, along with the remainder of the kids, took Dobby to the other side of the hall. Twilight approached Lucius with two scrolls in hand.

“Mr. Malfoy, these are two very important documents not only signed by me, the princesses and Dumbledore, but by EVERY member of the cabinet.”

Lucius skimmed over the documents for a few moments, his eyes going wide and his face going pale.

“From this moment onward, there is an EXTREME restraining order on you and your son to not be anywhere within 10 feet of Whisper Dream,” Rarity said with a serious frown.

“And the other one,” Spike crossed his arms. “This is an order demanding that Whisper be removed from your household immediately.”

“Wha… but how… how did you get these signed?!” Lucius spat.

“Simple-- we told them the truth, along with magical memory evidence,” Scootaloo smirked. “They were quite surprised to hear you had been torturing this poor young bat pony after everything she had been through.”

“I’ve lost one servant today… I won’t lose another!!” Lucius screeched. “Whisper, we are leaving!”

“No!”

Every pony grew stunned at the little bat pony’s sudden act of defiance. Her eyes were narrowed, her wings were spread… and she actually seemed confident.

“What… did you just say…?” Lucius got in her face.

“I said no,” Whisper said, taking a bold step forward. “You’ve kept me as your servant for long enough, Lucius. I’m staying here… with ponies who actually care about me.”

“Mr. Malfoy…”

Everyone glanced just as Celestia and Luna approached, the former showing a very stern face.

“I suggest you leave,” Celestia warned. “Before we have to take more… drastic measures.”

Seeing that he was clearly outnumbered, and his servants against him, Lucius Malfoy turned and stormed off.

“Harry Potter freed Dobby!” Dobby smiled at Potter. “How can Dobby ever repay him?”

“Just promise me something,” Harry requested.

“Anything, sir.”

“Never try to save my life again.”

Dobby gazed up at Harry with an admiring smile and – CRACK! – the house elf vanished just like that. Sunset Shimmer sighed with satisfaction, knowing two lives were saved at this very hour. And yet, as her eyes briefly darted back toward Twilight and friends, her satisfaction dropped. For she knew, at some point, she needed to talk to them.

<>

By the very next day, fear and suspicion had completely vanished. The house tables are abuzz with excitement and anticipation… all except the Slytherins, who do not share the general feeling. Seated at the tables are the formerly petrified, revived students. Justin Finch-Fletchley joins his fellow Hufflepuffs. Colin Creevey snaps photos of the proceedings.

At the rear of the hall, standing near the entrance, Filch is reunited with Mrs. Norris. He pet his cat happily, in his own way, especially now that he got her back. At the same time, Sir Nicholas flew around, greeting everyone around them.

“Welcome back, Sir Nicholas,” A student said.

“Thank you,” Sir Nicholas smiled.

“Good evening, Sir Nicholas,” The second student greeted.

“Good evening,” Sir Nicholas tipped his head, floating towards the door.

"Good to see you, Sir Nicholas," The third student called out.

"Thank you!"

As Sir Nicholas greeted the next group of students with a casual ‘Hello’, who should appear from the entrance but none other than… Hermione Granger, Storm Shield, and the Mane Six respectively.

“Hermione! Storm Shield! Princess Twilight and friends!” Sir Nicholas greeted. “Welcome back!!”

“Thanks, Sir Nicholas,” Hermione smiled.

“It’s good to be back,” Twilight sighed, relieved.

They searched the room for their friends but didn’t have far to look until they saw the others sitting at the middle table of the dining hall. Neville turned his gaze toward the entrance and were surprised to see who arrived.

“Guys!!” Neville shouted, gaining their attention. “It’s Hermione, Twilight, and the others!”

Harry and his friends turned toward the door, happy to see them, but none more so than the girls and Storm Shield. Sunset Shimmer, on the other hand, was quite nervous. No longer containing their excitement, Hermione and the others ran forward whilst the CMC and Young Six stood up with Harry and Ron. Hermione was the first to embrace Harry, whilst the CMC hugged their sisters and the Young Six embracing the other half of the mane six and Storm Shield. Spike, the most excited to see Twilight, held her the tightest.

Hermione turned to embrace Ron. They pause, an awkward moment between them and… instead of a hug, they shake hands.

“Wel… welcome back, Hermione,” Ron stammered.

“It’s good to be back,” Hermione smiled, facing Harry. “Congratulations, I can’t believe you solved it.”

“Well, we had loads of help from you and our friends,” Harry replied, the others nodding in agreement. “We couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Thanks.”

"We're so proud of you, Sugarcube," Applejack smiled.

"Heck yeah!!" Rainbow Dash agreed. "Fighting the Dark Order with your wits, you girls were awesome!!"

"Nothing we couldn’t handle!" Scootaloo boasted, which the Young Six rolled their eyes.

"Rarity, after we get back," Sweetie Belle said to her sister. "If you’re not too busy, maybe...can we go to the Spa after this?"

Rarity gasped, for those were the words she never heard nor imagined Sweetie Belle would ever say. The request alone made Rarity feel overwhelmed with emotions.

“You… me… a spa day?” Rarity slowly smiled. “Oh, Sweetie! Of course we can!”

As Rarity twirled her sister around and around with a tight hug, Twilight Sparkle turned toward her number one assistant.

"Good job filling in for me on my absence, Spike," Twilight smiled proudly.

"Well… I had a little help,” Spike admitted. “But always my pleasure.”

Sunset couldn't take it anymore, as she needed to get things off her chest.

"T-Twilight?" Sunset spoke nervously. “C-Can we talk?”

Twilight turned toward Sunset, who can see the extreme guilt and regret along her face. Not wanting to make a scene, she gestured to follow her, which she did. Seeing that they didn't want any drama, the rest of the Mane 6 and Storm Shield followed. However, being curious themselves, the Young Six, Spike, the CMC, Harry, Ron and Hermoine followed suit. They peeked outside just as Sunset, the Mane 6, and Storm Shield were close to the stairs.

Sunset stood there and at first, she didn't know what to say. Though some like Rainbow was skeptical, Fluttershy was the first to open up.

"Sunset?" asked Fluttershy, "Are you...?"

"I'm sorry."

Sunset turned around as a tear or two fell down, which surprised the Mane 6 and Storm. The others at the door just as concerned.

"I was wrong, okay, I was wrong..." Sunset began, her voice breaking. "I'm sorry for what I said, I didn't mean to take my anger out on you. I should've trusted you more but instead I wasn’t seeing the bigger picture. The truth is: I really do need you. You girls were the only ones besides my friends at Canterlot High, the only ones who were good to me and defended me when nobody else did. You were always looking out for me, and I took everything for granted. I just wanted to be someone or some pony you could be proud of, worthy to stand by you."

Sunset stood on her knees and kept her face lowered, which concerned the Mane 6 and Storm now.

"But all I ever did was lose myself to my emotions and hurt those I care about," Sunset continued. "Instead of facing my problems or even coming home, I ended up staying behind by running away from it. I'm sorry I let you down and failed as a friend. Friendship didn't fail me... I failed friendship."

Twilight suddenly gasped in silence, a hoof against her chest, as she remembered those words long ago.

‘Friendship didn't fail me. I failed friendship…’

“Twilight Sparkle, can you ever forgive me?” Sunset pleaded.

No words were spoken between the silence. Slowly, Twilight Sparkle walked toward Sunset Shimmer and in place of words, she gently wrapped a wing around her in a hug. Sunset Shimmer was stunned, seeing the remorse on her friend’s face.

“I’m sorry too, Sunset Shimmer,” Twilight spoke softly.

“… Why?” Sunset asked. “I thought you’d be furious.”

“I was disappointed by your words,” Twilight admitted. “But I also recognized the truth. I’m sorry we couldn’t save you in time. If we had acted sooner, known where you were, or even if the Dazzlings were involved, things could’ve ended differently.”

“How did you…?” Sunset asked, shocked.

“Celestia and Sonata explained everything during our recovery,” Twilight answered. “I’m just sorry we never saw the signs.”

“But you couldn’t have… I felt so helpless…”

“I know how you feel,” Twilight interrupted. “Remember the last time we spoke of the Storm King? Well… I wasn’t fully honest about it.”

Breaking off the hug, Twilight sat herself next to Sunset, keeping her eyes toward the ground.

“When the Storm King invaded,” Twilight began. “He turned Princess Celestia, Luna, and even Cadence to stone with magic I’ve never seen before. I mean he technically wasn’t there at the time… but that’s not the point. I never wanted to leave them, but I knew we needed help. During our travels, we faced a few mishaps and… I nearly lost trust in my friends. And that wasn’t the first time, since I didn’t trust them to explain how the Princesses bestowed their magic onto me when Tirek invaded.

“We arrived at Mt. Eris to ask Queen Nova for help, but it was due to Tempest Shadow she didn’t trust ponies,” Twilight continued. “I asked Pinkie to convince her that ponies are worth saving; instead, I abused their trust as a distraction… to steal their pearl that nearly started a way between our kingdoms. And it took me ‘so long’ to regain their trust after that.”

Slightly surprised, if not shocked, Sunset Shimmer found it hard to believe what she heard. Even the CMC, along with the Young Six (Minus Silverstream and Spike), and their faithful Gryffindor friends were shocked to hear of this. Storm Shield leaned in during the conversation, with intrigue and surprise.

“Bloody hell, did she really?” Ron whispered in shock.

“It’s true,” Spike nodded. “I was there.”

“My aunt Queen Nova and cousin Skystar told me that story,” Silverstream backed up Spike.

“After we got kicked out, Pinkie caught on to my plan,” Twilight proceeded. “I argued over how we weren’t in Equestria, that what we did wasn’t enough. I ended up shooting them down, believing they had no good ideas and pushed away a group just trying to help. Even after stating I was the last princess, I was the ‘only’ princess not to trust her friends… and when Pinkie called me out on that, I yelled at her face and thought I’d be better off without friends.

“Because of that, by the time I realized how wrong I was, I was captured and taken back to Canterlot. Pinkie was right; I’m a Princess. And princesses are supposed to be disciplined, have restraint, and trust in their subjects and the diplomacy. But I stabbed them in the back, abused their trust, lied and tricked a foreign dignitary, and even stole treasure just because I wasn’t patient enough to see the bigger picture…”

Twilight Sparkled lifted her head, and Sunset was surprised to see tears stream down their eyes.

“I never felt so alone and helpless,” Twilight sighed. “Princess Celestia always said we had all the magic we needed, but I was too stressed into pleasing and helping every pony. All of my problems could’ve been avoided if I was a better listener, but instead I…

“Let them down,” Twilight and Sunset answered in unison.

To which the pair couldn’t help but smile, whilst looking one another in the eye. But the smile faded off Sunset’s face in a hurry, and she turned away.

“I’m so sorry Twilight,” Sunset apologized. “I should’ve told you how I felt or been more open, instead I kept quiet about my problems.”

Applejack walked over and placed a single hoof upon Sunset’s shoulder.

“It’s alright sugar cube,” Applejack said. “Ah know what it feels like to not bein’ open and the trouble askin’ for help. But ah realized it’s not fair doin’ everything on mah own either.”

“Yup!” Pinkie bounced next to Sunset. “We tend to get over our heads, but that’s why we have friends. So we can continue these amazingest adventures or else a one-pony party would be meaningless… even boring.”

“Life can be harsh at times, but that’s why we need friends to anchor us whenever we have problems,” Fluttershy added. “No matter how cruel it gets, all we need is a little kindness.”

“The important thing is you’ve learned your lesson, and we forgive you,” Rarity assured.

But not all was entirely finished. Minus Sunset, the ponies gave a certain rainbow-maned pony a look, one toward the pony who started what happened months ago. At first, Rainbow Dash wasn’t getting why her friends were looking at her. Until one whack to the rump startled her, as she turned to Applejack, her eyes making it clear that she’s responsible. A groan escaped her lips, but she knew she couldn’t pretend not to know.

“The truth is… I’m the pony who should apologize,” Rainbow Dash admitted. “I wasn’t trying to start any fights, but I do have a habit of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time and I don’t know why. Still, it was uncool of me… I’m embarrassed, and I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Sunset assured. “We’ve both said things we don’t really mean. Are we cool now?”

“Yeah…” Rainbow smiled, hoof-bumping Sunset’s fist. “We’re cool.”

The Mane Six gave Sunset a hug, which she gladly returned. Harry Potter, along with Ron, Hermione, and the remainder of their Equestrian friends were pleased to see a group of friends sorting out their issues.

“The important thing is you’ve learned a valuable lesson, Sunset Shimmer,” Storm Shield spoke. “Every creature lets their emotions get the best of them, even when they don’t mean to do it. You may be a Jedi, Sunset Shimmer, but that doesn’t mean you stop learning. There are many secrets yet to be discovered, each of them connected as we grow, adapt, evolve, and teach. One day, you’ll accomplish more than you can imagine. From what I’ve seen, you are worthy to be a Guardian of Harmony.”

"Thank you, Master Shield," Sunset bowed.

“Just Storm Shield is fine, thank you,” Storm Shield reassured. “Titles sometimes make my skin crawl.”

They couldn't help but laugh at that, showing even Jedi have a sense of humor now and again.

"We better get inside," Twilight suggested. "Don’t want to be late for the ceremony."

As everyone went back inside, Sunset stopped when her eyes spotted something. The Force Ghosts of Jedi’s past stood before her from Master Yoda, Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Windu, Satele, and even Anakin Skywalker. All silently smiling with approval, showing she did well in her endeavors. But she smiled brightly over the sight of a single pony amongst them, none other… than her father. The sight shocked her more than any pony can imagine.

“Well done, my little phoenix,” Her father said. “I’m so proud of you.”

And as quickly as they appeared, the ghosts vanished out of sight. And for the first time, it felt good for Sunset to allow a few tears to be shed. It had been so long since she’d been called by her nickname. She walked to rejoin the rest of the group, taking her seat just as McGonagall tapped her goblet and Dumbledore stood up.

“Before we begin our feast, let’s give a round of applause to Professor Sprout and Madame Pomfrey, whose Mandrake Juice has been successfully administered to all those who had been petrified.”

Applause rang out for the Head of Hufflepuff House, the loudest of course being from the aforementioned House itself. Malfoy and his cronies, of course, were the only ones not participating in the applause. He just glared at the Headmaster, then at the Equestrians, and finally at Whisper Dream, who was so wrapped up in the enthusiasm that she forgot to even glance in his direction. Malfoy continued to sneer, undaunted.

“WHOO!!! GO PROFESSOR SPROUT!!!” Apple Bloom cheered.

“Also, in the wake of recent events,” The Headmaster continued. “As a school treat, all exams have been canceled.”

That brought out the loudest cheer yet, this time from all houses. Gallus and Smolder even cried tears of joy, while sighs of relief echoed the cheering. Some of the professors were perturbed, but not by too much; most were indifferent. Of course, Hermione and Twilight were the most upset by the eleventh hour arrangement.

“Oh, no!” the Gryffindor student moaned.

“And I prepared those papers in advance!” The princess wailed, thumping her head against the table. “A whole year’s worth of work for nothing!”

“There, there, Twilight,” Spike comforted his sister. “There’s always next year!”

At that moment, at the rear of the hall, the Great Hall doors banged open. The entire crowd went silent, as who else should enter, returning from a brief stint in Azkaban prison, but Rubeus Hagrid. Gasps rang from the Equestrians at their respective tables, while the half-giant himself looked rather embarrassed… if not nervous of all the eyes upon him.

“Sorry I’m late. The owl deliverin’ my release papers got all lost 'n confused. Some ruddy bird named Errol.”

Ron’s face turned bright pink as he looked at Dumbledore, who simply kept his bright smile. Celestia giggled into her hoof, which Luna frowned at. Everyone else who knew Errol’s owner laughed at the Weasley’s expense. Sonata jumped to her feet, and with Sunset keeping her steady, hobbled over to Hagrid on her crutches and into a hug, not bothering to hold back her tears.

“HAGRID, YOU’RE ALIVE!!!”

“Ah, it’ll take more than a few ruddy prison guards to break my spirits!” Hagrid chuckled.

“I NEVER BELIEVED IT WAS YOU FOR A SECOND!!!”

“Hagrid, I just wanted to say…” Sunset sighed sadly. “I’m sorry for being so quick to accuse you.”

“Technically, it was our fault to begin with,” Sandbar spoke up. “My friends and I owe you a really big apology.”

“Ah, all water under the bridge now,” Hagrid waved off, smiling. “I’m just glad to be back home…and to have me old job back.”

The Headmasters and Princesses all smiled. The half-giant then let Sonata go from her hug, and stood back with a contemplative look, fumbling his hands.

“Speakin’a which…well, sittin’ in prison, no matter how long, makes one think. So, I… I did some thinking, and… well, I realized that bein’ the Keeper of Keys and Games at Hogwarts is maybe a job too big fer one person tah handle.”

Sonata’s eyes went wide at the ensuing suggestion. Sunset’s smile grew wider.

“So, I thought about it and… I wanted tah ask ya, Sonata: would ya like tah be my assistant?”

“Y-y-y-you mean…?” The Siren’s eyes welled up.

“I’d have tah expand my cottage ta fit another room in it fer ya, but I can go ahead an’ build a separate cottage if that suits ya better—”

“YES!!! YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES!!!”

Even holding crutches to support her, Sonata could not help but bounce in place. Then she went quiet and embarrassingly turned to Twilight, her voice going quiet.

“I-I mean, if…i-if y-you don’t mind that is, do you Princess Twilight?”

“I don’t mind at all, Sonata,” Twilight chuckled good-naturedly. “You can make your own decisions about your life now.”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot I could do that!”

Sonata paused for a moment to contemplate, then shrieked in delight once more, jumping into Hagrid’s big arms.

“I’LL TAKE IT!!!”

“An’ if ye want, I’m sure I can find ya somethin’ ta do in the Hogwarts kitchens,” Hagrid smiled, almost crying.

“YES!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! BEST… LIFE… EVER!!! I CAN BE HAPPY!!!”

The Equestrians laughed and applauded. The half-giant then turned to Harry and the others, struggling to keep his composure.

“I jus’ want to say… that if it wasn’t fer you, Harry… you an’ Ron…and Hermione, Sunset, Sonata, and the rest ‘o yer Equestrian pals…Well, I jus’ want to say… Thanks.”

“No problem, dude,” Gallus replied.

“I owe you, Hagrid,” Smolder smiled. “If it wasn’t for you, I’d never have met the best thing that could ever have happened to me.”

Norberta nuzzled her little mother, nearly crying herself.

“HAGRID RULES!!!” Scootaloo cried.

Harry stood up in front of his friend. The very first person, barring the Equestrians, who introduced him to the Wizarding World more than a year ago. A larger than life man, with a heart made of gold that was much bigger than all the grounds of Hogwarts itself. Nothing that Harry could have said justified the enormity of the thanks Hagrid deserved from him.

“There’s no Hogwarts without you, Hagrid.”

He then joined Sonata in hugging Hagrid, as did Sunset, and soon enough, most of the Equestrians bear-hugged the half-giant who did not bother to hide his tears anymore. Against the silent ambience in the Great Hall, Dumbledore stood on his feet and began applauding. McGonagall then joined in, as did Celestia and Luna. Then Harry and the others stood back and applauded. At last, the entire hall stood up and erupted in cheers and applause; even most of the Slytherins joined as well.

Trixie and Starlight in the back unfurled a banner that said: “WE LOVE YOU, HAGRID!!!”

Pinkie handed out party streamers and wooden ratchet noise makers, which Whisper Dream gladly took. Like before, she paid no attention at all to Malfoy, who of course did not join in the applause and had to forcibly drag Crabbe back from joining in. Goyle made no such attempt.

Capper and Seamus even whistled. Twilight even released a magic spell of rainbow sparkles against the backdrop of the outside weather displayed in the Great Hall. Soon, almost every student gathered around Hagrid. Even Colin snapped plenty of pictures and nobody batted an eye.

The groundskeeper could barely hold it together anymore. Even through his tears, he smiled as big as his stature, and held Sonata up in one arm, who screamed and cheered the loudest among all of them.

Well into that evening, all of Hogwarts was alight with cheers and applause to one of its most unsung members, one who held the spirit of the castle all together. One who, despite his scrupulous past, held his head high and kept pride and joy within the grounds itself, and remained a friend to the animals, even those who many others considered monsters. One who had whisked away a young and lonely Harry Potter to a wondrous world of magic, where he found friends, and a new family, a new home.

Nothing more could be said to encapsulate the complete emotional resonance of what Rubeus Hagrid meant for young Harry.

<>

A few days later, after the school term had officially ended and the Equestrian heroes had all returned to Equestria, Twilight and Spike were in the grand foyer of the Castle of Friendship talking to Spikes mother, Daenerys Targaryen. While Daenerys had been given the opportunity to take on a pony form of her own, the Mother of Dragons instead chose to keep her human appearance.

“I just wish to thank you once again, Twilight Sparkle for all of these years of looking after my son,” Daenerys smiled at the alicorn princess.

“I’m just so glad that Spike finally has his mother back,” Twilight smiled back. “You have no idea how badly Spike has been wanting to find his parents. Then of course there was that whole Sludge incident.”

“Sludge incident?” Daenerys asked confused.

“It’s a long story….” Spike replied, shaking his head.

All of a sudden, a knock at the front door caught everyone’s attention and Twilight quickly made her way to open the door. When she did, she was surprised to see Sunset Shimmer standing there in with a whole bunch of boxes in her arms. She walked inside and proceeded to set the boxes down much to the princess’s confusion.

"Sunset?!" Twilight exclaimed. "What's going on? What's all this stuff?"

"Well, I've been thinking, Twilight," Sunset began as she gently set Ray's tank down on a desk. "After some talk with Master Luke, Storm Shield, and... well, a certain brony who's been looking out for me... I've decided to move in with you. If... that's alright..."

Twilight Sparkle looked at Sunset with stunned silence, before she turned to look at Starlight, then looked back at Sunset with the widest grin she could muster.

"YES, YES, YES, YES, YEEEEEESSSSSSS!!!!" Twilight exclaimed, as she wrapped her hooves around Sunset Shimmer and pulled her in for a tight bear hug.

"Easy there, Twilight!" Sunset coughed. "I'm still recovering from the Basilisk's bite..."

"Oh! Sorry," Twilight sheepishly apologized.

"But... what changed your mind?" Starlight Glimmer asked. "Any reason for deciding to move in?"

" I figured since Spike's now marrying Gabby, and they're off deciding their new life together, somebody's got to keep Twilight company," Sunset smiled. "Besides... Dr. Phantom-Dragon offered me a job as Head of Security at Discord's Theater."

"I'm not a doctor!" Phantom-Dragon poked his head through a doorway, before he disappeared.

"And also... for dad," Sunset smiled. "I won't dishonor his memories again. It's time I finally stopped running from my problems and faced them head on. And live up to his legacy... just like Harry Potter."

"Well, no matter what happens, Sunset," Twilight smiled, wrapping a wing around Sunset's hand. "Just know that you'll always have us beside you!"

Sunset smiled as she tenderly embraced Twilight's feathers.

"Thanks Twilight."

“Now with that’s settled, there’s only one last thing to do.” Spike said happily.

<>

The bells of Equestria’s town hall and the Castle of Friendship rang loudly as everyone gathered in the middle of town for the wedding of Spike and Gabby. The entire town square had been set up so elaborately for perhaps the most amazing wedding they had ever seen. An entire array of attendants all sat in attendance and the Mane Sox all stood at the altar as brides mares. Spike stood all dressed up in a nice looking tuxedo as he waited for his blushing bride to come down that aisle and Princess Cadence stood at the podium to perform the ceremony. Finally, everyone stood up and turned to face the aisle as Gabby began to make her way down the aisle dressed in a lovely wedding dress.

(Courtesy of cheerful09)

By the time Gabby had stepped in place, to join Spike at the altar, the proceedings went accordingly. Both dragon and griffin said their vows, as all eyes watched the beautiful scene before them. Few amongst the crowd didn’t bother to fight the tears streaming from their eyes. They knew this union between these two was a most anticipated event, and now that it was finally happening, all was worth the wait.

“As Princess of Love, and by the power vested in me,” Princess Cadence declared. “I pronounce, Spike Sparkle and Gabriella Griffon, husband and wife!"

With that, Spike and Gabby pulled each other close, kissing each other full on the beak and lips, as the crowd all cheered happily for them.

"Way to go, Spike!" Phantom-Dragon applauded, with his wife, Rain Shine bowing her head happily, and their daughter, River Song jumping up and down happily.

"WAHOO!!!" Button Mash jumped.

"I've never been so happy!" Pinkie Pie cried tearfully.

Sunset Shimmer was happily applauding, when she turned to see Galen Marek crying.

"Galen?" Sunset grinned. "Are you crying?"

"What? No!" Galen wiped the tears away from his eyes. "I wasn't... Something... was in my eye."

"Wow!" Sonata giggled. "Big bad Starkiller... crying? At a wedding? I never knew you were such a softy."

Later that night, Spike and Gabby were having their first dance together as a married couple. But what's even magical is the fact that they're literally dancing together in the air, courtesy of their wings. It was a breathtaking sight to behold, a pair of friends now sharing a life together. Such a momentous occasion between the two, neither wanted this moment to end. Their friends, watching the dance before them, silently agreed that this was beautiful.

"I didn't teach him how to dance like that," Twilight stated, before she turned to Rainbow Dash. "Did you?"

"I thought you did," Rainbow replied.

"What does it matter anyway?" Rarity sobbed, both sadly and happily. "All that matters is that Spikey-Wikey is happy. And that's good enough."

"Indeed he has," Daenerys Targaryen smiled, before she turned to Rarity. "Also, Spikey-Wikey? You do remember that you're married, don’t you, Miss Rarity?"

"Oh, pish-posh, and tut-tut," Rarity huffed. "I may be married to Erik, and I'm happy about it. But... my dear Spike will always have a special place in my heart... even though he's in better care with Gabby..."

Soon, the dance takes another turn for the upbeat wedding festivity, when Twilight took the mic and starts to sing a familiar song, with the Rainbooms providing musical back up.

Twilight Sparkle: (Singing)
Love is in bloom
A beautiful bride, a handsome groom
Two hearts becoming one
A bond that cannot be undone because

Love is in bloom
A beautiful bride, a handsome groom
I said love is in bloom
You're starting a life and making room
For us

During the song, Spike and Gabby continued to dance in the air, with everyone else dancing with them, together with their respective loved ones. Even the bronies and pegasisters all danced with their loved ones, be it background characters, secondary characters, someone from their world, or alternate versions of their favorite characters.

Phantom-Dragon was shapeshifting between his human and pony form as he dances with his wife, Rain Shine. In another part of the wedding, Postwar was dancing with human!Sunset Shimmer, twirling her into a dip, and they shared a passionate kiss. Princess Luna was also sharing a dance with General Supernova, who finds himself struggling to keep up with the Princess of the Night.

"May I take the next verse, Twilight?" Sunset politely asked.

"Be my guest!" Twilight smiled.

"Got room for one more?" Sonata asked.

"Sure!" Sunset smiled.

Sunset Shimmer and Sonata Dusk: (Singing)
Your special day
We celebrate now, the pony way
Your friends are all right here
Won't let these moments disappear because

Love is in bloom
A beautiful bride, a handsome groom
I said love is in bloom
You're starting a life and making room
For us

After the dance festivity was done, it was time for Spike and Gabby to begin their honeymoon.

"Present… ARMS!" The Crystal Guards announced, holding up their hooves in salute.

With that, the newly wedded dragon and griffon all ran down a carpet, towards a portal, ready to begin their honeymoon, and Gabby threw her bouquet in the air.

"MINE!" Shouted all the lovesick, craving bachelorettes.

Everyone watched as the bouquet flies across the air, until it lands in the arms of...

“Applejack!” Rarity said amazed. “You caught the bouquet.”

“That means that you’re the next one down the aisle!” Pinkie said excitedly.

Applejack just looked down at the wedding bouquet that landed in her hooves with wide eyes and a blush on her face before turning to look at Rainbow Dash who smiled at her.

“Oh yeah that reminds me AJ, there is something I wanted to ask you…” Rainbow smiled.

Applejacks blush grew larger and her eyes wider as she knew exactly what her mare friend was going to say.

“Oh boy,” She said nervously.

While all that was going on, off to the sidelines, Daenerys slowly made her way over to the corner of a townhouse where Quill Cast and Curtain Call were waiting. Finally seeing her old colleagues again after so long, she gave them both a big hug.

“It’s good to see you again, Dany!” Quill smiled at her.

“I honestly thought we’d never see you again,” Curtain added.

“Well, it turns out you were both right about those six ponies,” Daenerys replied. “They truly are the ones meant to combat the darkness threatening all worlds. They’ve stopped the forces of Slytherin twice already and freed me from my imprisonment.”

“Yes, but they’ve still got a long way to go,” Quill said.

“And now we’ve got our own problems to deal with,” Curtain nodded. “The Soul Chaser is still out there somewhere. If he indeed plans to resurrect Lucifer himself, then what they face will be nothing in comparison to what’s coming.”

“Then it’s clear what we need to do,” Quill said determined. “We need to find God.”

“How exactly are we supposed to do that?” Curtain asked his friend.

“We can worry about that tomorrow,” Quill said, eyeing the wedding. “For now, let them have this night. Matter of fact, how about a nice gift from us to them?”

Quill then turned to break the forth wall and spoke directly to the readers of this story.

“Ladies and gentlemen… our special guest of this tale… Mr. Shane Filan.”

Just then, a pony version of Irish singer, Shane Filan walked out onto the stage to sing a wonderful first song for Spike and Gabby to dance to.

Spike and Gabby held each other close as they danced to their first official song as husband and wife. Everyone watched as an aura of happiness blanketed each and every one of them for the end of another successful adventure and the beginning of a new life together for Spike and Gabby. But as they say in every story, as one story comes to an end, where one story is just the beginning… the adventure for Twilight Sparkle and friends… was far from over…

But for now…

The End

Dobby the House Elf

Author's Note

First and foremost, let me just say that I’m really happy to be back doing what I love. And thank you to all of you for being patient with me.

Secondly, thanks again to Drama for helping edit this chapter and helping me get through my hard times.

Also thanks to CortezDude for his quotes.

Dobby the House Elf

Cold was the air as it billowed through the dark, damp cave system deep underground. The only sounds were the occasional dripping of water from the stalagmites hung around the cave. Suddenly, the wind picked up as a portal from Equestria opened. Stepping through the portal and into the cave were the Dark Order. led by the Dark One and the Mysterious Benefactor, the group consisted of the Legion of Doom, the Dazzlings, King Sombra, Darth Andromedis, and Demittria. The evil syndicate stepped into the dark cave passages as the Equestrian portal closed behind them. Looking about through the caves, a majority of the Order merely grimaced over their new surroundings.

“Isn’t this just grand?” Chrysalis voiced disgust. “We go from a cave to a village, then a castle, and now… back in a cave.”

“You’re a Changeling!” Cozy Glow pointed out. “You literally spent your entire life in a huge beehive and you’re complaining about caves?”

“Watch yourself you little cretin!” Chrysalis hissed back. “At least my hive provided comfort for myself and my changelings. What’s your excuse?!”

“For the love of me, will you two shut up?!” Tirek said agitated. “Hearing you screech is worse than listening to those ponies!”

“I agree with the centaur,” Sombra spoke up. “If I knew I must listen to you talk, I’d rather be stuck in my corporeal state where it’s quiet.”

“Stick it up your chitin, lobster boy!” Adagio snipped at Sombra. “Consider yourself lucky you’re even here in the first place. After all the trouble to get you a body, you basically disappeared on all of us. I forgot you were even part of this whole thing.”

“How dare you speak to me that way you tone deaf fish?!” Sombra growled. “I’ve been scouring Equestria for magical artifacts the Dark One personally requested. It’s obvious I’m a more valuable asset than you are.”

“More like making excuses for no one including you in anything!” Aria retorted.

“You’ve been around longer than I have, and they had me doing far more than you’ve ever done in a thousand years!” Zoe chuckled.

“Why you insolent little—”

CLANG!!!

The sudden banging from something loud and metallic against the hard stone floor ceased the inevitable scuffle between the Dazzlings and Sombra. They turned collectively toward the Dark One, who slammed the bottom of the Staff of Hermes upon the cavern ground. The staff itself glowed with the mystical golden light of ‘Those Who Came Before’ and the entire Order felt its power resonating from the mysterious device. They found themselves wondering just how the Dark One managed to get their hands on such a powerful artifact… a story for another time.

But for now, the Dark Oen merely stood with their usual frozen demeanor behind that dark mask while the Benefactor stepped forth to serve as their mouthpiece.

“ENOUGH!” The Benefactor yelled loudly. “Your petty squabbling is going nowhere. If we are to stand with even a slim chance at achieving our end goal, this disdain for one another must cease. Once we’ve achieved what is needed, we could care less if you killed one another. For now, never forget that the Dark One and I keep you alive when ‘we’ decide.”

The Benefactor slowly turned their heard toward Sombra.

“Were you able to secure what we sent you to find?” They asked.

To which Sombra merely waved his giant claw and a small ball of red light appeared, which floated toward the Benefactor. When the ball dissipated, the only thing remained in mid-air was… a small black book?

“This wasn’t easy to procure,” Sombra informed them. “Celestia and Luna kept this hidden under lock and key buried within the vaults below Equestria, under constant supervision by a garrison of guards. Destroying them was easy; getting into the vault required time.”

The Benefactor grasped the book with their magic. Seeing this within their hold formed a wicked smile upon their face, showcasing fangs.

“Excellent,” They spoke venomously.

“Hold up!” Cozy Glow piped in. “You’re saying Sombra’s spent months breaking into some secret vault and that’s all there is to show for it? A stupid book?”

Rather than taking offense over the filly’s choice of words, the Benefactor merely turned to her with that same wicked grin.

“Trust me child, this is no ordinary book,” The Benefactor replied. “It’s a weapon. Powerful enough to resurrect the most powerful dark wizard this world has ever known. When he rises again, so too will our days of glorious victory.”

“One book can do all of that?” Adagio asked skeptically.

“Not just the book.”

The Benefactor turned heel as they, along with the Dark One, strolled through the caves with the remainder of the Order following behind. After a period of walking, they stumbled upon the most peculiar sight: A large circular iron vault door adorned with snakes.

Everyone gazed upon the giant door with fascination, especially the Benefactor. It had been a thousand years since anyone laid eyes upon this ancient place, and what lies within. The Dark One took a few steps forward, standing right in front of the door before bringing a gloved hand up to touch the cold iron. The figure began to whisper a strange language of sort.

“Hesssssh ha sssssssaaaah”

All of a sudden, another iron snake slithered out of nowhere and circled the door. In doing so, all the other snakes receded into the door as the iron vault unlocked. Stepping back in front of the group, the Dark One watched as the giant door slowly swung open. Once fully opened, all eyes looked inside, and they noticed a giant long chamber with large stone snakeheads lining the sides. At the end was a giant stone statue of the head of Salazar Slytherin.

The Dark One stared through the eyes of their mask at the sight of the chamber within. A sickening smirk spread from their face beneath the mask.

“Soon… you will be unleashed.”

<>

A beautiful orange red glow blanketed the suburban domain of Surry, England as the sun began to set over the horizon. A sudden gentle wind picked up in the front yard of Number 4 Privet Drive as the portal from Equestria opened up, allowing the Mane and Student Six, including the CMC and Sunset Shimmer, to step through. As the portal sealed behind them, the group’s eyes explored the very familiar row house most of them had been to on their last journey. Quite frankly, they weren’t happy to see this part of the world… again.

“I can’t stand this place,” Rainbow Dash sneered. “Don’t get me wrong, I love Harry, but his relatives are stuck-up jerks.”

“No need to tell us twice, darling,” Rarity agreed. “I for one don’t even know how such a sweet boy like Harry still remains with such horrid people.”

“Horrible as they may be, they’re the only family he has,” Twilight replied sorrowfully.

Of course, a majority of the group merely scoffed at the statement.

“Some family,” Smolder rolled her eyes.

“After what we done saw from the theatre, we know these varmints ain’t no true family tah Harry,” Apple Bloom objected.

“I live with my two aunts while mom and dad are away and they’re way better than these people,” Scootaloo nodded.

“Was adoption out of the question?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Rather than answering Sweetie Belle’s question, Twilight Sparkle’s eyes turned toward the second floor window. The alicorn princess could see young Harry Potter himself, sitting at a desk in his room. It appeared that he was flipping through the very photo album Hagrid gave to him at the end of the previous school year.

“I suppose we should go up and say hi,” Twilight suggested with a smile.

Nodding in agreement, the Equestrians gathered around Twilight Sparkle. Making sure not a moving car was in sight nor any wandering eyes from the neighbors, Twilight Sparkle took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Channeling her magic all around the group, concentrating on the location where Harry Potter was, the group could feel her magic aura wrap around them. This went on for a few seconds until… POOF! They vanished.

<>

In the meantime, Mr. Harry Potter sat quietly by the second floor window of his aunt and uncle’s house looking through the album. It was a change of pace from having spent his childhood in the downstairs closet, cramped, confined, and covered in dust whenever his cousin or someone else climbed up or down. At that moment the boy was lost in his thoughts reminiscing about his time at Hogwarts and other heartfelt memories of his youth.

All of a sudden, his train of thought was interrupted by a bright purple flash and the thumping of several feet. He quickly turned his gaze from the window and what he saw made his eyes brighten. There in the center of his new bedroom were none other than some familiar faces: The Equestrian Heroes themselves, among them his young friends that made up the Student Six.

“Hiya Harry!!!” Silverstream waved excitedly.

“Hello Harry!” Twilight Sparkle greeted gently.

“Guys!” Harry gasped with a smile.

The collective group of friends gathered together for a warm embrace, for a moment not even minding if they were drawing any attention from downstairs. Even the CMC and Sunset Shimmer, not as familiar with Harry, joined in the hug as they basked in this tender reunion. After a few seconds, they finally separated so Harry can have a moment to see his friends as though they were truly real, and this was no mere dream.

“I can’t believe you’re all here after all this time,” Harry Potter spoke. “What’re you all doing here?”

“Pardon us for the sudden arrival,” Applejack apologized. “We reckoned we’d come and visit ya before the school year starts.”

“And some of our friends were utterly delighted to meet you,” Rarity added.

“That’s correct,” Twilight Sparkle nodded, approaching Harry. “Those three girls over there are Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. Together they are known as the ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders’, but that’s a long story.”

“Mighty fine tah meet ya, Harry!” Apple Bloom shook Harry’s hand excitedly. “Ah saw yer adventures at the theater back home and Ah’ve been beggin’ mah sister tah introduce me to ya.”

“It’s true!” Applejack nodded.

“I’m pleased to meet you too!” Harry nodded politely, facing Sweetie Belle. “And you must be…”

“Sweetie Belle, Rarity’s sister,” Sweetie Belle confirmed.

“Oh yes. I can see the resemblance. And… Scootaloo… you are…?”

“Oh, I don’t have a sister,” Scootaloo shook her head. “But I look up to Rainbow Dash and we hang out often.”

“And she’s an awesome little buddy,” Rainbow Dash complimented. “I just know you guys are going to get along.”

“And before I forget, Harry this is Sunset Shimmer,” Twilight introduced Harry. “She’s one of my former students from out of Equestria, even though she ‘lived’ in Equestria previously. She’ll be joining us to attend Hogwarts this year.”

“It’s good to meet you Harry,” Sunset shook Harry’s hands.

“Me too… although…” Harry paused, peering closer. “Do I know you from somewhere? I feel like I’ve seen you before.”

“Uh… you must be mistaking me for some pony else.”

“Nice pad you got here,” Spike remarked, looking around. “Seems your aunt and uncle finally decided to give you a real bedroom for once. That’s a nice change.”

“Not the only thing that’s changed,” Harry Potter spoke up, measuring Spike. “You’ve grown much taller since I last saw you.”

“I’ve had a bit of a growth spurt these past few months.”

“We did try to keep you informed with all the letters we’ve written, with Professor Twilight’s permission of course,” Ocellus acknowledged. “Did you ever receive them?”

“Now that you mentioned it… no, I never got any letters,” Harry shook his head.

“Huh… weird,” Smolder scratched her head. “Guess the Hogwarts delivery service must be really slow.”

“No… that doesn’t sound right,” Spike spoke confused. “I’ve puffed every letter we’ve made for Harry, and he should’ve gotten them. Though I was wondering why we never got any responses all that time.”

“Well… I’m sure you’ve kept in touch with the rest of your friends,” Sandbar implied.

“Actually… no, I haven’t heard from Ron or Hermoine either.”

“Seriously?” Gallus raised his brow. “A whole year apart from your friends, and they haven’t tried to write a letter to you? Not even a phone call?”

“Yona don’t think Harry has phone,” Yona spoke up.

“I’m sure they must have had their reasons,” Sunset Shimmer assured. “Ponies or in this case people tend to get busy on other things during a whole year.”

“Or forgetful… I have been away for so long,” Harry sighed, eyeing the book. “I’ve been away for so long. I’m worried they’ve forgotten all about me.”

The group turned toward Harry as his focus returned to the book. Aside from the photo of Harry with his parents, back when he was a baby, the boy turned the page toward another picture. Like the last one, the moving photo displayed an image of himself, along with Ron and Hermione, back when they were first starting school together. But they weren’t the only ones, as the Student Six was gathered amongst the trio in their Gryffindor outfits. Seeing this image made the group’s faces smile with warmth.

“That was quite a school year Harry,” Sandbar sighed. “One minute we’re all learning how to use magic, next thing we know we foiled a whole conspiracy involving a magic stone.”

“I don’t really think your friends mean to forget about you, just as we wouldn’t,” Silverstream added. “Maybe they just ‘forgot’ to remember you. But true friends are those who always keep you in their hearts.”

“Maybe you’re right…” Harry nodded. “I guess I just thought…”

Just then, their attention on the photo album was interrupted suddenly by loud screeching. They turned their heads toward the white owl, Hedwig, pecking against the lock in her cage. It was only then they finally acknowledged the poor owl and were shocked to see her trapped in a cage.

“Oh Hedwig!” Pinkie Pie smiled, gazing toward the cage. “I’m so sorry, we didn’t mean to ignore you. You must be anxious to see us.”

“I can’t let you out Hedwig,” Harry told Hedwig. “I’m not allowed to use magic outside of school.”

“Not allowed to let Hedwig out!” Fluttershy gasped, sighing sympathetically. “Aw, poor dear. No owl should spend an entire life in a cage.”

“Yeah, she should be stretching her wings and flying,” Rainbow Dash agreed. “Whose idea is this?”

“Uncle Vernon locked her in that cage at the beginning of summer vacation,” Harry informed Rainbow Dash. “He never lets her out.”

“That’s horrible!” Silverstream added. “I couldn’t imagine being locked up for that long.”

“How does letting out an owl even count as using magic?” Pinkie Pie wondered. “I mean I do remember they are in charge of handling the mail within Hogwarts. But would it really spoil some pony’s party if she got some fresh air?”

“I wish I could use magic to let her out,” Harry replied. “Unfortunately, you all know students under the age of seventeen aren’t allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts.”

“No need to remind me, I’ve read the entire Hogwarts handbook,” Twilight Sparkle replied.

“Twice… but thrice for good measure,” Spike corrected.

“And besides, if Uncle Vernon—” Harry began.

“HAR-RY POT-TER!!!”

At the sound of the name, along with the terrible uncle’s yelling toward the stairs, every pony cringed in disgust while Hedwig squawked again… louder.

“Now you’ve done it,” Harry sighed, looking at Hedwig.

Harry quickly shut the album and proceeded to make his way out the door of his room. This left the rest of the group in the room with the caged owl.

“Sure… great idea,” Rainbow Dash spoke. “We’ll hide up here, while you go downstairs!”

“He’s already left hon,” Applejack stated the obvious.

“Well, ‘students’ may not be allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts,” Rarity smirked. “But nothing was ever said about ‘us’.”

“Rarity, I really don’t think we should…” Twilight began to object.

“Ah, let’s give the owl some air, Twi,” Sunset interrupted. “A few minutes out of solitary confinement won’t hurt.”

“I like her style,” Gallus smirked.

Satisfied, the marshmallow colored unicorn lit her horn with her light blue magical aura and encased the lock of the cage with the very same magic. With one quick ‘click’, the lock fell from the cage and the little door swung open. This permitted the little owl to leave her cage and stretch her wings. She flapped her wings and flew over to land upon Fluttershy’s back.

“Now isn’t that better, Hedwig?” Fluttershy smiled, stroking the little owl’s feathers.

“That was a really nice thing to do, Professor Rarity,” Sandbar smiled at the unicorn.

“I couldn’t very well let the poor dear suffer in that cage any longer,” Rarity replied.

“Speaking of poor dears, what’ll we do about Harry?” Ocellus asked nervously.

“I suppose we should check on Harry before he really ends up suffering,” Gallus suggested, heading toward the door.

“Now hold up a moment,” Rainbow Dash flew in front of Gallus. “I can’t believe you kids would actually sneak out of hiding to spy on our friends…”

Gallus and the remainder of the kids slumped as though they were about to be lectured, until…

“… Without us!” Rainbow smirked.

To which every pony else nodded in agreement, even a rather reluctant Twilight Sparkle. They soon proceeded to leave Harry’s room and sneak as quietly as they could downstairs so as not to alert anyone of their presence.

<>

Soon, all eyes peeked toward the living space and the nearby kitchen. Harry had just entered as he saw his Aunt Petunia busily making dessert. From what they could tell, she was putting the finishing touches to a pudding of whipped cream and sugared violets. By the way she was preparing the dish, it was though she were preparing for a dinner for some special guests. Petunia, in her Salmon Colored Cocktail, saw the boy and decided to call out to her husband at once.

“He’s in there, Vernon!” Petunia called out.

Harry made his way into the living room where Uncle Vernon was wearing a dinner suit with a bowtie. He was struggling with putting on a similar bow tie upon his son, Dudley, who wore a dinner suit as well. All the while, the pair glowered towards Harry the moment he entered.

“I’m warning you,” Uncle Vernon threatened. “If you can’t control that bloody bird, it’ll have to go!”

“She’s bored,” Harry argued. “If I could just let her out for an hour or two—”

“And have you sending secret messages to your freaky little friends?” Vernon scoffed. “No, sir.”

“But I haven’t gotten any messages. From any of my friends. Not one… all summer.”

Hearing the tone of Potter’s voice, the hidden group of friends couldn’t help but sympathize for the boy. It seemed as though this mystery was more serious than they imagined. Vernon, however, paid little attention. He had finally pieced the bowtie on Dudley’s suit, patting his son’s shoulders with approval.

“Who’d want to be friends with you?” Dudley mocked, rudely bumping Harry’s shoulder.

“Who’d want to be friends with you, fatty?!” Scootaloo whispered, hiding. “Wait, I remember now… no one wants to be your friend!”

“You said it squirt,” Rainbow whispered, as the pair hoof bumped.

“I should think you’d be more grateful,” Vernon told Harry. “We raise you since you were a baby, give you good off our table, even let you have Dudley’s second bedroom… purely out of the goodness of our hearts.”

To which Sunset gagged at Vernon’s words.

“Kindness of your hearts my foot,” She scoffed.

“I thought he got the second bedroom because mum was afraid he’d turn us into dung beetles if you put him back in the cupboard under the stairs,” Dudley spoke up.

“Well ain’t that one no good blatant lie ya’ll just made up,” Applejack glared.

“Not buying it, buddy,” Silverstream nodded.

“Pathetic!” Sweetie Belle commented.

“What she said!” Apple Bloom concurred.

Aunt Petunia merely stopped cold, exchanging a dark look toward Uncle Vernon. But then she saw Dudley extending a finger for the cherry on the pudding which she stopped with a slap on the wrist.

“Not yet, popkin,” Aunt Petunia spoke gently. “That’s for when the Masons arrive.”

“Which should be any moment,” Uncle Vernon remembered.

It was then Vernon beckoned his wife and son to come forward to rehearse the plan on how they would act during this dinner meeting with the Masons.

“Now, let’s run through our schedule one more time,” Vernon offered. “Petunia, when the Masons get here, you will be—”

“In the lounge, waiting to welcome them graciously to our home,” Petunia smiled.

“Oh please…” Spike rolled his eyes, annoyed.

“Good,” Vernon nodded. “And Dudley?”

“I’ll be waiting to open the door,” Dudley answered.

“Excellent.”

Then all three Dursleys scornfully eyed Harry Potter, who stood silently during that time.

“And you?” Vernon asked, suspicious.

“I’ll be in my bedroom,” Harry answered casually. “Making no noise and pretending I don’t exist.”

“That hit way too close to home,” Gallus sighed.

“Too right you will,” Vernon replied to Harry. “With any luck, this could well be the day I make the biggest deal of my career… and you will not mess it up!”

Suddenly, the doorbell rang signaling the Masons’ arrival. Instantly, Uncle Vernon shoved Harry out of the kitchen and into the hallway.

“Upstairs! Hurry!” Vernon ordered.

Harry proceeded to make his way up the stairs as the Equestrians quickly ducked back before the Dursleys saw them. From below, they could hear Vernon greeting who they assumed to be the Masons.

“Mr. and Mrs. Mason!” Vernon called out. “Do come in!”

It was then Harry ran into the group waiting for him at the top of the stairs.

“Well, your family is certainly charming as always,” Rarity replied, sarcastically.

“Who’re the Masons?” Fluttershy asked curiously.

“Mr. Mason is my uncle’s boss, Fluttershy,” Harry explained. “He’s come to visit the house with his wife.”

“And they done force you to hide in bed upstairs because…?” Apple Bloom wondered.

“Apparently, my uncle’s never told them I’ve been living with them for years and wish to keep it that way.”

“Of all the darn cheap ways to save a bit…” Applejack shook her head.

“Let’s not let them sour our visit now,” Twilight advised. “We’ll just hang out upstairs, while they entertain these Mason folk.”

“But Twilight… they got pudding!” Pinkie Pie pouted.

“Maybe some other time Pinkie,” Sunset patted her back. “Besides, we got more important matters to figure out before we get to Hogwarts.”

“… Cake?”

To which Sunset didn’t bother to answer, but merely looked toward Pinkie Pie with a patient shake of the head. Soon the Equestrian Heroes, along with Harry, climbed the rest of the way upstairs toward the small bedroom. Nearing the door, the group heard Vernon chatting away with his clients with such a phony joyful voice to which Rainbow mocked his jabber. Her friends chuckled silently over it as Harry opened the door. Just as they made their way inside, however, he and his friends were shocked to see someone already inside.

This creature was by no means a human, but rather a small, male impish creature with bat-like ears and bulging green eyes standing at a height of only three feet and six inches.

Or at least, he would be standing if not for the manner of jumping on Harry’s bed like a trampoline. The minute he saw Harry and the Equestrians, he stopped and decided to politely greet his guests staring at him in shock.

“Harry Potter! Such an honor it is,” Dobby bowed respectively. “And Princess Twilight Sparkle! An honor to meet you and your friends.”

“… Hi…” Princess Twilight Sparkle spoke awkwardly.

While the rest of the group stared in shock, Harry closed the door to prevent someone looking in. So many questions entered the boy’s head, but for now he only needed the answer for one.

“Who are you?” Harry asked.

“What the heck are you?” Rainbow added.

“Dobby, everyone,” The creature introduced himself. “Dobby the House Elf.”

“You’re an elf? Wow, this wasn’t what I was expecting…” Pinkie studied the creature. “I thought you’d be the kind who either bake cookies or make toys for children. Or maybe you cobble shoes—”

Pinkie Pie never got to finish as Twilight Sparkle summoned a speech bubble to cover Pinkie’s head, the Earth pony obliviously chatting away while no sound emerged.

“Not to be rude or anything, but this isn’t a great time for me to have a house-elf in my bedroom,” Harry explained.

“Oh, yes, sir, Dobby understands,” Dobby nodded. “It’s just that, Dobby has come to tell you… it is difficult, everyone… Dobby wonders where to begin.”

“Why don’t you sit down and tell us?” Spike suggested.

“S-s-sit down?” Dobby stammered.

All of a sudden, Dobby burst into tears… very loudtears. Harry and the others panicked as they attempted to calm the little stranger down.

“Shhh! I’m sorry, he didn’t mean to offend you or anything—” Harry assured.

“What did I even say that was offensive?” Spike raised his arms.

“Offend Dobby!” Dobby gasped, lowering his voice. “Dobby has heard of your greatness, sir, as well as you Equestrians. But never has he been asked to sit down by a wizard, nor an Equestrian, like an equal…”

“You can’t have met many decent wizards then,” Harry assumed.

“Nor any Equestrians too?” Apple Bloom inquired.

“Like us, Mr. Dobby?” Ocellus asked curiously.

“No… I haven’t…” Dobby answered, his voice lowering. “That was an awful thing to say.”

Dobby shook his head, then without warning, he leapt off the bed and started to bang his head furiously upon the dresser.

“Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby! Bad!”

“Stop! Dobby! Dobby, please!” Harry begged silently.

“Dobs! Stop! His uncle will kill him!” Smolder hissed.

<>

Back downstairs, Vernon poured some champagne into the glasses of his guests, Mr., and Mrs. Mason. As Dobby’s head was banging from above, Vernon, along with Petunia and Dudley, looked toward all the sounds against the ceiling. Seeing the Masons were confused over all the noise, Vernon knew he needed to say something convincing to address the noise happening upstairs.

“Oh, don’t mind that,” Vernon chuckled nervously. “It’s just the… cat.”

“Cat? What cat?” Dudley asked, confused.

“Our cat, tiger.”

The Masons eyed Vernon with raised eyebrows, but decided to shrug it off as their client breathed a sigh of relief.

<>

Back upstairs, Dobby continued to self-punish himself via banging his head against the dresser. Harry and the Equestrians tried desperately to get him to stop, all while eyeing the door in case Vernon tries to come upstairs to lash out at them for all the noise.

“Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!” Dobby bereted himself.

“Stop! Stop, Dobby! Please be quiet!” Harry begged silently.

“Bad Dobby!

Finally, Dobby stopped banging himself against the drawer. He stood wobbly on his thinly legs, his eyes spinning dizzily. The group proceeded to regard him with a mixture of concern… and wariness.

“Are you… all right?” Harry asked concerned.

“What did you do all that for, darling?” Rarity questioned.

“Come on, Dobby,” Scootaloo insisted. “Tell us why you did that.”

“Dobby had to punish himself, ma’ams,” Dobby explained. “Dobby almost spoke ill of his family, everyone.”

“Yer… family?” Applejack asked, suspicious. “What in Celestia’s name are ya talkin’ about, Dobby?”

“The wizard family Dobby serves, ma’am. Dobby is bound to serve one family forever. If they ever knew Dobby was here… Ooh!”

Dobby shuddered in fear, then looked up while whispering urgently.

“But Dobby had to come. Dobby has to protect Harry Potter. Dobby must tell Harry Potter, along with Twilight Sparkle and company. To warn them.”

The house-elf beckoned them to come closer, and all heads leaned forward so he could whisper to them.

“Harry Potter must not go back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year!”

“WHAT?!” The Equestrians quietly gasped, with shock.

“But why isn’t Harry allowed to go back this year?!” Silverstream asked. “What did he even do?”

“It’s not what Mr. Potter has done,” Dobby explained. “There is a plot.”

“A plot? But to what, Dobby?” Gallus asked. “Who is this plot even for?”

“A plot to make most ‘terrible’ things happen!” Dobby looked around nervously. “If Harry Potter goes back to school he will be in great danger.”

“What terrible things?” Harry asked. “Who’s plotting them?”

“He… can’t… say!” Dobby gasped, talking through his teeth.

Dobby started making a funny choking-and-gagging noise, with an expression so painful to watch the Equestrians cringed. It was though the house-elf was arguing with himself while trying to remain calm at the same time.

“Okay! I understand,” Harry assured. “You can’t say—”

But it was too late. Dobby leapt onto the desk and grabbed Harry’s bedside lamp. He proceeded to beat himself about the head and yelped loudly.

“Dobby? Dobby, put the lamp down!” Harry demanded quietly.

<>

Back downstairs, Uncle Vernon was in the midst of telling a joke regarding some golfers.

“So, when they arrived at the ninth hole…” Vernon began.

But Vernon didn’t get a chance to finish, as Dobby’s yelping interrupted him, and he looked upstairs again. His face turned into a seething yet quiet rage of fury knowing his ‘nephew’ was causing noise.

“Sounds as if that ‘cat’ of yours has dragged something in with it, Dursley,” Mr. Mason replied dryly.

“Not to worry,” Uncle Vernon assured nervously. “Dudley must’ve left the telly running again. I’ll sort it out.”

“… Did I?” Dudley wondered, cluelessly.

<>

Back again in Harry’s bedroom, a struggle took place as Harry tried to wrestle the lamp away from Dobby. The Equestrians were eyeing the scene nervously when they heard footsteps coming towards the door.

“Stop! Stop!” Harry demanded silently. “Give me the lamp!”

“Yona can hear Harry’s uncle coming!” Yona gasped.

“Great… we’re so busted,” Sandbar sighed.

“Dobby, stop!” Harry demanded.

Vernon’s footsteps thundered on the landing. Quickly, Harry grabbed Dobby by the pillowcase and carried him toward the wardrobe.

“Let me go!” Dobby hissed.

“Get in there and keep quiet!” Harry instructed, pitching him into the wardrobe.

Harry quickly threw Dobby into his closet and shut the door. Quick as a whip, Twilight used her magic to turn her and the other Equestrians invisible… just as the door flung open and Vernon burst into the room.

“What the devil are you doing up here?!” Vernon demanded.

“I was just—” Harry began nervously.

“You’ve just ruined the punchline of my Japanese golfer joke!”

“Sorry…”

All the while, the wardrobe door kept threatening to open as Harry struggled to keep it closed. All the while Vernon kept scolding his nephew with great fury, lifting a finger at the boy.

“One more sound and you’ll wish you’d never been born, boy! And fix that door!”

“Yes sir,” Harry nodded, closing the door.

Vernon grumbled as he stomped flat-footed from the room and slammed the door. Once they could determine that Vernon was returning to his guests, Harry opened the closet door to release Dobby. Twilight and her friends also quickly reappeared after hearing everything.

“Some pony should really teach that old fat man some manners,” Rainbow spoke through gritted teeth. “If it were up to me, I’d hit him so hard his fat will be rolling for years.”

“Thank you so much for putting that image in my head,” Rarity voiced disgust.

“See why I’ve got to go back?” Harry told Dobby. “I don’t belong here; I belong in your world—at Hogwarts. It’s the only place I’ve got… friends.”

“Friends who don’t even write to Harry Potter?” Dobby inquired.

“Well, I expect they’ve been—”

“Wait a minute!” Sweetie Belle interrupted. “I smell something fishy here, Dobby.”

“How do you know my friends haven’t been writing me?” Harry asked, curious.

“Tell the truth, Dobby,” Applejack warned. “I know yer hidin’ somethin’.”

Dobby, eyes widened with guilt, proceeded to reach through his pillowcase to reveal… a stack of letters.

“Harry Potter mustn’t be angry at Dobby—” Dobby spoke feebly. “Dobby hoped if Harry Potter thought his friends had forgotten him… Harry Potter might not want to go back to school, sir…”

“Wait… those are OUR letters, guys!” Silverstream pointed out. “LOOK! I even put the stickers on my envelop so Harry would know it was from me!”

“Gee… we’d never would’ve figured that out,” Smolder replied sarcastically.

“It was YOU… you were tampering with our mail!” Spike pointed accusingly. “That’s a violation of our friends’ privacy!”

“A federal offense we might add!” Twilight added. “Lemme guess… you read all the letters too?”

“Oh no, Princess Twilight, Dobby would never,” Dobby shook his head. “Please understand. Dobby was desperate; Dobby did it for Harry!”

“Give me those… NOW!” Harry spoke impatiently.

Dobby frowned sadly, then…

“NO!”

Dobby dashed for the door in a panic.

“GET ‘IM!” Apple Bloom called out.

With the letters back in his clothes, Dobby opened the door of Harry’s bedroom and raced downstairs. Harry and the Equestrians flew desperately after the house-elf, who bounced like a ping-pong ball down the stairs and into the kitchen. As the group raced in, trying not to make much noise, they stopped at the stairs and found Dobby on the counter.

The house-elf soon spotted Petunia’s pudding, which she made for the Masons. The Dursleys, on the other hand, were too distracted with entertaining the guests. All at once, Dobby thought of an awful idea which caused Harry and his friends to widen with shock and realized they needed to coax him back straight away.

“Dobby, get back here!” Harry demanded quietly.

With a shake of his head and a snap of his finger, somehow Dobby was able to lift Petunia’s pudding magically into the air. Harry’s eyes widened with horror, but not as gravely as Pinkie’s.

“No… no… not the pudding!” Pinkie cringed, clutching her heart.

“Dobby… please… no…” Harry begged desperately.

“Don’t do this, Dobby!” Spike waved his arms.

“Don’t do this him, Dobby!” Ocellus pleaded. “We beg of you; there must be another way!”

“Harry Potter must say he’s not going back to school,” Dobby silently demanded.

“I can’t,” Harry shook his head. “Hogwarts is my home.”

“You do this, I’ll make you regret it!” Rainbow threatened, waving her hoof.

“Dobby must do it, ma’am,” Dobby spoke tragically. “For Harry Potter’s own good.”

Dobby snapped his fingers again, only this time Petunia’s pudding started to float across the living room. The group gasped silently, realizing disaster will soon spill… literally. Harry pushed Dobby aside and made his way toward his aunt’s pudding with slim hope of saving it before the inevitable disaster. Rainbow and Spike silently raced forward to help their friend. Fortunately, the magic bubble surrounding the Equestrians prevented the Dursleys, specifically the Masons, from seeing them.

The two magical beings, and their human companion, slowly made their way toward the living room while Vernon was chatting up a storm with his guests.

“… It was this deep and one plumber said, ‘Look at all that water’,” Vernon told his story. “And the second plumber said, ‘Yes, and that’s just the top of it’…”

Petunia released a false laugh and was about to ask the Masons a question. Suddenly, she noticed her pudding floating toward them, and hastily she tried to keep her guests distracted.

“Mr. Mason… Vernon tells me that you’re a wonderful golfer!” Petunia smiled anxiously.

“I play… occasionally,” Mr. Mason answered bluntly.

Petunia’s eyes remained locked upon the pudding floating in the air. But worse still, her nephew was trying to catch it. She knew she had to keep her guests distracted.

“Mrs. Mason… where did you get your beautiful suits?” Petunia asked.

“Oh! All of my suits are tailor made,” Mrs. Mason replied.

It was then Vernon noticed the pudding floating, and especially Harry trying to catch it.

“U-Um… Dudley?” Vernon fumbled his words. “Is there… um… something you want to say?”

Dudley looked around and noticed the flying pudding. But that wasn’t all he saw. Seeing as these Equestrians were about to meddle, Dobby made another snap at his fingers and the bubble vanished making Rainbow Dash and Spike appear alongside Harry. All of the other Equestrians, especially those aiding Harry, were unaware that their cover was blown.

“Flying pony?” Dudley spoke.

“Pony? What pony?” Vernon turned, his eyes widening.

By the time Twilight Sparkle had realized what had happened, that their cover was exposed again…

“Oh no…” Twilight gasped.

SNAP! Another snap of Dobby’s hands and the pudding plummeted… straight onto the Masons messily. They stood blinking, both covered head to foot with whipped cream and sugared violets. This left Vernon profusely apologizing by concocting a lie surrounding Harry’s ‘condition’.

“I’m so sorry!” Vernon apologized. “It’s our nephew. Very disturbed. Meeting strangers upsets him, so we keep him upstairs…”

Harry, Rainbow Dash, & Spike turned toward Dobby with anger shaking their heads at him.

“You’re toast…” Rainbow mouthed a warning.

Dobby snapped his fingers and vanished without a trace. Meanwhile, unaware of the Equestrians, the Masons stormed out of the house with Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia racing after them.

“We have ice cream…!” Petunia insisted.

But it was too late. As soon as the Masons got into their car, they drove off hastily off the driveway and down the street. It was then a shrieking sound split the sky. An owl swooped down, dropping a letter at Uncle Vernon’s feet. He picked up the letter and opened it. As he read the contents, a mad gleam danced in Uncle Vernon’s eye. He turned and raced back inside the house, with Aunt Petunia following closely.

Inside the house, while Dudley was staring agape toward the Equestrians, Uncle Vernon raced back into the living room. For a moment he stared daggers toward the Equestrians, who stood awkwardly inside the man’s house. Not another peep was heard for what felt like an eternity.

“Mr. Vernon sir…” Twilight Sparkle spoke, breaking the silence. “We can explain—”

“Read it!” Uncle Vernon extended the letter. “Go on… read it!”

Nervously, Harry Potter cautiously took the letter from Vernon’s hand and proceeded to read the letter as the Equestrians looked on.

“’Dear Mr. Potter,’” Harry read. “’We have received intelligence that a Hover Charm was used at your place of residence at twelve minutes past seven this evening. As you know, underage wizards…’”

“’… are not permitted to perform spells outside school’!” Vernon finished, snatching the letter. “You didn’t tell us you weren’t allowed to use magic at home. Slipped your mind, didn’t it?”

Vernon quickly turned his gaze toward the Equestrians.

“And you… you knew about this all along, did you?” Vernon chuckled. “You come into my home uninvited, no doubt with some magic someone failed to look into. Next thing I know, you concoct one of your cheap parlor tricks to make a fool out of me in front of my clients… to embarrass me?!”

“Funny story about that,” Pinkie Pie spoke up. “Well, maybe not ‘ha-ha’ funny, but you see what actually happened was…”

“I’VE got news for you!” Vernon interrupted. “I’m locking you up! ALL of you! And if you try to magic yourself out, oh believe me I know you will, they’ll expel you! And the rest of you! YOU’LL BE FIRED! Now get upstairs!”

Vernon proceeded to drag Harry forcibly up the stairs, while the remainder of the Equestrians were forced to follow. Soon they were all thrust together into the small bedroom, to be locked away in retaliation for the failed dinner deal. He may have lost some clients tonight, but for right now he had the upper hand. And the worst part for the Equestrians, as they huddled together with Harry Potter, while they watched as the door was slammed against them, they were all comprehending what had occurred…

“How could we let this happen?!” Smolder grumbled. “We had the numbers; we don’t have to take the word of that bully! Why if I had my way—”

“No girls… I’m afraid this Mr. Vernon is right,” Sunset sighed. “We perform magic in any way… this will surely get to Hogwarts and we’re all in trouble, not just Harry.”

“Suddenly I’m worried if they send that letter about me letting Hedwig out for a second…” Rarity spoke worriedly.

“And all because that jerk of a house-elf got us all in trouble!” Rainbow clapped her hooves together. “What’s his beef with us anyway?”

“I have a bigger question,” Sandbar spoke up. “What did he mean about Harry being in danger if he went back to school, Headmare Twilight?”

“Who knows, Sandbar?” Twilight sighed, looking out the window. “Who knows?”

The Heir of Slytherin

Despite the numbers of the remaining heroes dwindling drastically, the group of friends pressed forward. The students took one glance toward the snakeskin within a foot’s difference and moved on despite the obvious danger. They stepped carefully through the shadows until they reached a towering stone wall, at its center was a circular door with seven snake-shaped locks.

At the lead, Harry Potter stepped toward the door, hissing the Parseltongue command:

“Hesha-Hassah!” (Open)

The serpents start to part, the eighth slithering out from the door’s mechanical hinge and along the door’s edge. The other seven snakes retract one-by-one. And as the snakes slithered back into the hinge, the giant wall slid open. Harry removed his wand and entered, while the friends looked on with concern.

“I’ll never get used to Parseltongue after all this,” Scootaloo commented.

Nevertheless, the heroes cautiously stepped forward following Harry’s every step. Once every member made their way through the door, the heroes came across a ladder just as the end of the doorway.

“Careful everyone,” Sunset cautioned. “Watch your footing.”

To which this was no problem for those who could merely float down the floor. As for the others, they carefully placed their hooves, or feet, along each step of that ladder. Luckily, Sunset Shimmer, Spike, and Sonata Dust kept their eyes out to ensure everyone climbed down safely.

Soon, all eyes turned toward a vast chamber that stretched ahead. A dimly lit dungeon, with rows of stone serpents along the path and snakeheads decked the walls. The serpents nestled along pools of black water. Ahead is an enormous statue, of an old man who slightly resembled a monkey: Salazar Slytherin.

“The Chamber of Secrets!” Storm Shield exclaimed.

“It’s definitely a Chamber,” Smolder replied.

“It’s got Salazar Slytherin written all over it,” Spike added. “All of these snakes are a dead giveaway.”

“Don’t forget the Basilisk lives here!” Sweetie Belle spoke up. “We’re on its territory now; it could be anywhere! Stay alert!”

“Easier said than done,” Scootaloo whimpered. “That thing got our sisters! The Elements of Harmony! What can we do?”

“We’ll think of somethin’,” Apple Bloom replied. “We got Spike, Storm Shield, Sunset Shimmer… and Sonata! We’ll be okay, right?”

“I’m sensing so much dark essence in this place,” Sunset Shimmer cringed. “Reminds me of the Sith Lord’s tomb I was taken to.”

“If it’s any consolation, that place gave me the creeps too,” Sonata frowned sympathetically. “Not as much as this place, but still…”

In the meantime, Harry stared ahead, and his eyes widened with horror. Several feet in front of the statue, the unconscious body of a little girl lay motionless at the end of the chamber. There was no measure of doubt that it was Ron’s little sister… Ginny Weasley.

“Ginny!” Harry exclaimed, taking off in a mad sprint.

“Harry! Slow down!” Storm Shield called out.

As Harry dashed and took her into his arms, dropping his wand beside him, Ginny’s head lolled to one side. The group gasped in shock as they saw cheeks white as marble. A pale hand clutched Tom Riddle’s diary to her chest. Those that carried torches dropped them along the floor, racing toward Ginny, placing their wands on the floor and knelt beside the girl in Harry’s arms.

“Ginny! No, Ginny!” Harry desperately pleaded. “Please don’t be dead. Ginny! Wake up! Wake up! Please wake up!”

Sunset Shimmer knelt down along Ginny’s side. She gently placed her hand along the young girl’s forehead, checking for a reading on her psyche.

“How is she, Sunset?” Spike asked concerned.

Sunset looked up with a sad expression, shaking her head slowly.

“I can’t get in touch with her mentality,” Sunset shook her head. “I can’t wake her!”

“Let me help!” Sonata urged, beckoning everyone to stand back. “I know what I need to do; I will give her… the kiss of life!”

But just as Sonata was about to perform the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation…

“She won’t wake.”

All eyes spun and looked in shock as a man approached from nearby. He seemed strangely blurred around the edges, as though they were looking at him through a misty window.

“Who are you?” Sonata asked. “Where’d you come from?”

“… I know you!” Sunset gasped. “We know you!”

“Tom? Tom Riddle?” Harry asked, facing Ginny. “What d’you mean, she won’t wake? She’s not…?”

“She’s still alive,” Riddle confirmed. “But only just.”

Harry looked at Riddle, measuring the man up and down. He was uncertain just what exactly he or even his friends were even looking at.

“Are you a ghost?” Harry asked.

“A memory,” Riddle answered. “Preserved in a diary for fifty years.”

“For realsies?” Sonata asked. “You don’t look like you’ve aged a day…”

“That’s the whole point of being a memory,” Gallus explained to Sonata. “We’re just seeing a guy still in his early adulthood, from fifty years ago.”

“Ooh…” Sonata nodded. “Which means what again?”

“Never mind!” Smolder interrupted. “We must save Ginny! Sunset, how is she?”

Sunset Shimmer looked toward the diary in Ginny’s hand, then placed her own hand along Ginny’s arm.

“She’s cold as ice,” Sunset replied worriedly. “Ginny, sweetie, please don’t be dead! Wake up!”

While the others weren’t looking, Riddle bent down and picked up Harry’s wand from where he left it.

“You’ve got to help us, Tom,” Harry pleaded. “There’s a basilisk—”

“It won’t come until it’s called,” Riddle replied.

“What makes you…” Apple Bloom spoke, then paused. “Tom? What are yah doin’ with Harry’s wand?”

The others looked up, seeing Riddle twirling the wand in his fingers.

“Give me my wand, Tom,” Harry demanded.

“You won’t be needing it,” Riddle assured.

The flabbergasted heroes were left uncertain of where this conversation was going.

“What are you talking about?” Storm questioned.

“Listen, we’ve got to go!” Harry insisted. “We’ve got to save her!”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Harry,” Riddle shook his head. “You see, as poor Ginny grows weaker… I grow stronger.”

“For realsies?” Sonata asked, before doing a doubletake. “Whoa, wait a minute! What did you say?”

“Maybe my head’s still ringing, but…” Gallus dug his ears. “Did I hear you say… Ginny is growing weak, while you’re growing stronger?”

“You heard me correct, griffon,” Riddle smirked.

“But she’s dying!” Harry insisted.

“Yes, I’m afraid so,” Riddle nodded. “But then, she’s been in so much pain, poor Ginny.”

“What are you talking about?” Ocellus asked concerned.

“Don’t you realize it now?” Riddle inquired. “She’s been writing to me for months, telling me all her pitiful worries and woes. Ginny poured her soul out to me. I grew stronger on a diet of her deepest fears, her darkest secrets. I grew powerful enough to start feeding Ginny a few secrets, to start pouring a bit of my soul back into her…”

Riddle, growing less vaporous by the second, grinned at the stunned group cruely.

“Yes, it was Ginny Weasley who opened the Chamber of Secrets.”

Unsure of the man’s words, Sunset took the direct approach and placed a hand on Ginny’s head. As she peered into her memories, she watched Ginny open the sinks in Moaning Myrtel’s bathroom for the first time. All the while, she could hear the denial in Harry’s voice.

“No… she couldn’t – she wouldn’t.”

“It was Ginny who set the Basilisk on the Mudbloods, the Jedi Grandmaster, the Equestrian Heroes, and the Squib’s cat,” Riddle continued. “Ginny who wrote threatening messages on the walls.”

While studying her memories, Sunset Shimmer watched as Ginny used her blood-covered fingers to write along the wall… the blood of Hagrid’s roosters.

“But… Why?...” Harry asked.

“Because I told her to,” Riddle answered. “You’ll find that I can be very persuasive. Not that she knew what she was doing. She was, shall we say, in a kind of trance. Still, the power of the diary began to scare her, and she tried to dispose of it in the girls’ bathroom.”

Still in her trance, Sunset watched Ginny racing into a bathroom stall and throwing the diary into the toilet. With that, Sunset came to the end of her trance and returned to the present.

“But then, who should find it… but you?” Riddle questioned. “The very person I was most anxious to meet.”

“And why did you want to meet me?” Harry asked angrily.

“Ginny told me all about you, and your friends,” Tom continued. “I knew I had to talk to you, meet you if I could. So, I decided to show both you, your students, and to some extent Sunset Shimmer, my capture of that brainless oaf, Hagrid, to gain your trust.”

“Hagrid’s our friend!” Harry barked defensively. “And you framed him, didn’t you?”

“How could you do that?” Sunset Shimmer frowned. “Darth Sidious would stoop that low, but you? You were his buddy, his best friend. Why would you do that?”

“It’s the oldest trick in the book,” Riddle merely smirked. “But you would know all about that… wouldn’t you, Seraphina?”

“What?!” Sunset gasped in outrage. “How could you—”

“It was my word against Hagrid’s,” Riddle continued. “Only Dumbledore seemed to think Hagrid was innocent.”

“I’ll bet Dumbledore saw right through you,” Harry grinned confidently.

“He certainly kept an annoyingly close watch on me after that,” Tom frowned, walking around Harry. “I knew it wouldn’t be safe to open the Chamber again while I was still at school. So I decided to leave behind a diary, preserving my sixteen-year-old self in its pages, so that one day… I would be able to lead another to finish Salazar Slytherin’s noble work.”

“And this is your idea of noble?!” Spike scoffed. “Attacking muggle-borns? Our friends? Our family? Endangering innocent lives? How can you call that noble?!”

“… You call them innocent lives, I call them minor inconveniences,” Tom huffed. “Nevertheless, my work is nearly complete.”

“Well, you haven’t finished it this time,” Harry argued. “In a few hours, the Mandrake Draught will be ready and everyone who was petrified will be all right again.”

“Yeah!” Scootaloo said confidently. “And… not to jinx it or anything, but… LOSER!!!”

“Haven’t I told you?” Riddle smiled maliciously. “Killing Mudbloods doesn’t matter to me anymore. For many months now, my new target has been… all of you… but mostly you… Harry Potter.”

Harry and friends eyed the twisted memory with surprise, all the while Tom continued his rant.

“Imagine my disappointment when I learned Ginny had stolen the diary back from you.”

“Ginny stole the diary from my room?” Harry questioned.

“But she’s our friend!” Silverstream insisted. “Why would she do that?”

“She was afraid,” Riddle answered. “Afraid you’d learn how to work the diary. Afraid I’d tell you just who it was that had been strangling all those roosters.”

Horrified, the group glanced at Ginny and then back to Riddle. As the girl grew paler, Tom grew more solid.

“Come now, students,” Riddle continued. “Don’t look so disappointed. Had Ginny succeeded in destroying the diary, she would have destroyed me. And we couldn’t be having this little talk. And I have so many questions for you.”

“Like what?” Spike asked.

“Well, how is it that a baby with no extraordinary magical talent managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did he escape with nothing but a scar, while Lord Voldemort’s powers were destroyed?”

“Why do you care how I escaped?” Harry asked.

“Yeah! Big V was years after your time!” Smolder added.

Tom Riddle simply smirked evilly at the heroes’ unknown naivety.

“Voldemort, or Big V as you prefer, is… my past, present, and future.”

Riddle pulled Harry’s wand from his pocket and began to trace it through the air, writing three words: “TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE.” Then, with a wave, he re-arranged them: “I AM LORD VOLDEMORT.”

“WHAT?!” Spike exclaimed.

The revelation left Harry and the remaining heroes in total shock.

“You?” Harry realized. “You’re the heir of Slytherin?”

“You’re… Voldemort?” Sandbar asked. “As a teenager?”

“Yona mind blown!” Yona exclaimed.

“If this is what you used to look like, the years won’t be kind to you,” Gallus insulted.

“SILENCE, GRIFFON!” Tom Riddle barked.

“For the record, I’d rather work for pretty boy than grandpa Palpatine,” Sonata whispered to Sunset.

“Same!” Sunset whispered back.

“Surely you didn’t think I would keep my filthy Muggle father’s name?” Tom scowled in disgust. “No, I fashioned myself a new name, a name I knew wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak, when I became the greatest sorcerer in the world!”

“As if!” Apple Bloom spat defensively.

“Albus Dumbledore is the greatest sorcerer in the world!” Harry declared confidently.

“Dumbledore, and those pathetic alicorn princesses, have been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me!” Riddle argued.

“That’s not true!” Sandbar argued. “That’s impossible!”

“They’ll never be gone!” Harry stood his ground. “Not as long as those who remain are loyal to them!”

“That’s double for us!” Apple Bloom frowned as she and the Crusaders stood by Harry’s side.

“Got room for more?” Gallus asked, as he and his friends joined.

“I may be a dragon,” Spike joined in. “But Princess Celestia and Princess Luna will always be my leaders, and my friends!”

“Mine too!” Sonata Dusk called out. “If not for them, I’d have rotted away in Arkham Asylum… which I’m not!”

Tom Riddle watched as Sunset Shimmer herself joined the group.

“You?” Riddle scoffed. “Don’t be Ridiculous. How can you, Seraphina, be loyal to Princess Celestia? All those times, you’ve plotted against her. The crimes you’ve committed, even attempting to murder Princess Twilight Sparkle… twice. And you still have the gall to declare allegiance to your former mentor?”

“You think you know who I am?” Sunset glared at Tom Riddle. “You don’t think I’ve ever regretted those past misdeeds for a long time? That there’s no reason to try and clean up my mess? To become a better person? You’re wrong about me, Tom! The past doesn’t define who we are! It’s about growing up to become who we are today… and tomorrow! That’s the difference between you and me; you never understood that!

“Just because your ancestor hates Muggle-Borns, you think you can grow to be like him? I admit what I’ve done was criminal! I won’t argue against being locked away for it! But I’m not because Princess Celestia and Twilight always believed in me! By Faust, I’ll never betray that trust ever again!”

Just when the moment between heroes and villains couldn’t grow more tense, evil laughter echoed around the chamber. The heroes looked around as suddenly the entirety of the Dark Order emerged from the shadows.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Smolder shook her head.

“Big talk, Seraphina!” Adagio applauded mockingly. “Too bad Princess Twilight’s not here to back you up this time!”

“Not even Princess Celestia or Luna can save you!” Tirek laughed.

“You’re all alone,” King Sombra added. “Always have been… without your precious Elements of Harmony, you are nothing!”

“You’re no Princess of Friendship,” Aria taunted. “You’re not an Element of Harmony… not even Jedi Grandmaster. Just a washed-up former Sith, a sorry excuse of a siren, three kids, an overgrown lizard, six misfits… and a boy.”

“The Boy Who Lived!” Sandbar pointed out.

“And I care because?” Aria rolled her eyes.

“You still miss the point,” Zoe pointed out. “You never had hope to survive!”

“May God have mercy on your souls,” Joseph Seed praised.

“We should get this done now!” Sweeney Todd sharpened his razors impatiently.

“Not yet,” Chrysalis coaxed her barber boyfriend. “There are fates worse than death!”

“Surrender fools!” Darth Andromedas demanded. “You are surrounded.”

“NEVER!” Yona stomped her hooves. “YAKS NEVER SURRENDER!”

“You have no choice, Bantha!” Demetria scowled.

“Call my girlfriend a bantha again, and I’ll twist you into a Twi’lek pretzel!” Sandbar threatened.

“We will never surrender to you!” Scootaloo barked.

“Give us liberty or give us death!” Sonata crossed her arms.

“… Can we not vote on death?” Spike asked.

It was during this moment that both the Benefactor and the Dark One emerged from the remainder of the Dark Order. The Dark One still clutched the powerful staff of Hermes in their gloved hand while the Benefactor smirked wickedly under their hood.

“Poor insolent fools,” The Benefactor commented. “You resist as always, and it still doesn’t matter. Words mortals often hurl into the darkness. Once they were mine, they are always lies.”

As the group stared down toward the one responsible for this union of villainy, one question nestled along their minds. The likes of which had been plaguing them since the very beginning.

“Who are you?” Sunset asked.

From under their hood, the Benefactor gave another evil grin.

“Still haven’t figured it out yet?” They asked. “Goes to show how simple-minded you mortals are.”

With their magic, the Benefactor swiftly removed their cloak off of their form. After all this time, they stood in full display toward all eyes for the very first time. The heroes stared wide-eyed, mouths agape over the very sight greeting them.

“That’s… impossible!” Sunset gasped in surprise.

“No way!” The CMC exclaimed in unison.

“There’s no possible way!” Storm said in disbelief.

An evil laugh escaped as the Benefactor was no longer a mystery to anyone or any pony. A familiar foe from Equestrian history, one that nearly plunged the entire world in eternal night. A face every pony hoped was gone forever…

Nightmare Moon…

“Nightmare Moon?!” Spike exclaimed, surprised. “How’s that possible? Twilight and the girls defeated you years ago and you turned back into Princess Luna! How could you possibly have a form of your own?”

“Mortals often beg for answers they cannot comprehend,” Nightmare Moon said mockingly. “If you truly wish for answers, you’d best ask Celestia and my former other half… if you survive, that is.”

Sunset ignited her lightsaber, splitting it into two blades.

“Incendio!” Sunset shouted.

With the saber containing her wand, Sunset conjured a wall of flame to save off the villains.

“You shall not pass!” Sunset Shimmer declared.

“… Why do you fight your destiny?” Tom Riddle asked. “Have you failed to comprehend that you’ve already lost? Your friends are gone; you have no hope of defeating us. You… are outnumbered.”

“You’re wrong!” Apple Bloom shouted. “Our friends are still with us, in our hearts and in spirit.”

“And we still have each other!” Scootaloo added.

“And as long as we stick together—” Sweetie Belle continued.

“We will never give up!” Sonata added.

Suddenly, a musical sound… eerie and unearthly… echoed deep within the chamber. All eyes turned down the corridor to see three small, swift shadows ribboning over the rock. Flying from above are Fawkes, Philomena, and Peewee, the Phoenixes. The birds swoop into the chamber, with Fawkes clutching a ragged bundle in their golden talons.

“Fawkes?” Harry gasped.

“Philomena?!” Sunset exclaimed, recognizing Celestia’s pet bird.

“Peewee?!” Spike exclaimed, recognizing his own phoenix.

The three birds flapped their wings and flew toward the group. Fawkes dropped the ragged bundle into Harry’s hands, while Philomena and Peewee dropped a huge box for Sunset Shimmer and Spike to catch. Everyone watched the three birds as they flew over and around, then back down the corridor. Harry unrolled the object, which turned out to be the Sorting Hat, while the others opened the chest revealing… the Elements of Harmony.

“The Elements of Harmony?” The remaining Equestrians exclaimed in confusion.

“What good will they do?” Spike asked. “They don’t work for us! Trust me, I’ve tried one on before… it didn’t even respond…”

“And the last time I wore Twilight’s crown, it turned me into a Demon Sorceress!” Sunset cringed. “I’m not risking that again…”

“This is what Dumbledore and his bimbo alicorn princesses sends their great defenders!” Riddle giggled. “Three songbirds, an old hat, and useless accessories!”

“Celestia always overestimated those ridiculous gems,” Nightmare Moon commented. “She may have used them to best me before, but only those truly worthy to wield them may use their power. You have no chance.”

“Even after that ‘arousing’ hero speech,” Adagio sneered.

“Sucks to be you, huh Sonata?” Aria chuckled. “See what happens when you try playing nice?”

“I have no regrets!” Sonata declared, frowning.

In the meantime, Tom Riddle turned toward the statue of Salazar Slytherin and extended his left hand.

“Shearhas—Samnathas—Sélithaeine,” Riddle hissed in Parseltongue. (Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts four)

The heroes looked up with dread, while the Dark Order gazed with excitement. It was as though they booked the first seats for the main event still to come.

“Harry…” Scootaloo began nervously. “W-What did he say?”

“You’re as good as dead, little pony!” Aria chuckled evilly.

“Golly! The Basilisk is hungry,” Cozy Glow grinned. “The poor thing is starving!”

Suddenly, the stone face of Salazar Slytherin’s mouth opened. There was a rumbling sound, followed by the sound of slithering. While this happened, Tom Riddle turned around and declared to the heroes aloud:

“Let’s match the powers of Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, against the famous Harry Potter, and his ragtag band of misfits, shall we?”

“Yes,” Malakai Black grinned sinisterly. “We’re going to enjoy this.”

Harry Potter and friends turned toward the statue again, their arms over their eyes to cover half their view. Through the fully open mouth, the heroes barely got a glimpse of scales, the tip of its nose, gleaming in the dim lighting of the moon. The Basilisk, a giant serpent, spilled out, uncoiling heavily along the floor. Harry and the group turned toward the wall, less they risked looking it in the eyes. They could see the serpent’s shadow along the wall.

“What’s the plan?” Scootaloo asked, avoiding the beast’s gaze.

“Plan?” Apple Bloom asked. “Oh yeah! Here’s the plan! We… RUUUUUUUUUNNNN!!!”

Apple Bloom was the first to take off running, with Harry and the others following in hot pursuit.

“DON’T WAIT FOR US, APPLE BLOOM!!!” Spike screamed.

“Ha!” Aria laughed. “Look at them run like cowards!”

“This will be most enjoyable,” Sombra grinned.

Riddle turned to the serpent and spoke in Parseltongue.

“Sethae—He—This!” (Kill him!)

The hissing serpent shot forward while the heroes kept running.

“Parseltongue won’t save you now, Potter!” Riddle warned. “The Basilisk only obeys me!”

“Don’t look into its eyes!” Harry called out.

“Keep going, all of you!” Sunset urged them onward. “Don’t stop! Don’t turn around!”

Suddenly, Sunset Shimmer screeched to a halt, without turning to look at the monstrous serpent. Upon hearing their friend’s footstep squeaking, Spike and the others knew what Sunset was doing.

“Sunset?! What are you doing?!” Spike called out.

“I’ll hold it off!” Sunset answered, donning visors with a shield cover. “Somehow…”

Sunset Shimmer held her ignited lightsabers to the side, relying on her instinct in the gorce to guide her movement. She felt for the Basilisk’s presence, anticipating its next attack. Her ears perked up in alarm to hear the giant snake’s breathing and hissing, hearing the friction of its massive body crawling across the floor. She could sense the snake rearing its head back, ready to bite upon her.

At the last possible second, Sunset quickly stepped aside, feeling the rush of air brush past her hair. The Snake lunged forward for a bite; thankfully, Sunset dodged the attack. Using the momentum, Sunset Shimmer slashed her lightsabers in a tornado spin, hitting them across the snake’s coil.

Except, unexpectedly, for some strange reason, her lightsabers merely bounced off what must’ve been a very thick wall.

“You’re a fool to believe your fancy lightsabers and force tricks can harm the Basilisk,” Tom Riddle gloated.

“How?!” Sunset Shimmer asked.

“The Basilisk is a magical creature!” Tom Riddle boasted. “Weapons from the Muggle World, even your Galaxy’s, are useless against it! There are no known spells that can harm it, its scales are too great. Even if one of your lightsabers is infused with a wand, you can cast hundreds of spells, and it will never be enough to kill it.”

“… Now he tells me,” Sunset Shimmer moaned.

Just then, she could hear the Basilisk make another lunge toward her and Sunset dodged to the left, only to trip and crash over its massive coil.

“AAAH!!!” Sunset Shimmer screamed.

She fell along the floor, her protective visors falling off.

“Uh oh…”

The Basilisk reared its head up for another lunge at the Jedi Sorceress, who rolled to the side to avoid the bite. But without her visors, Sunset dared not look at the serpent. She tried to race along the stone path, but the giant serpent proved too fast. Sunset tripped and fell, as the Basilisk rose over her. With no choice, she huddled herself up in a ball, her hands over her head, and prepared for the worst.

“Well… at least I bought some time for Harry and the others to escape,” Sunset thought to herself.

"SUNSET!!!"

But it turned out that the heroes hadn’t even gone very far. They called for their friend, watching helplessly as she was about to be eaten by the snake. Fortunately for them, the snake’s attention was on their friend.

“FINISH HER!!!” Adagio shouted.

Fortunately, just as the serpent was about to strike, the familiar screeches of birds were heard. Everyone, including the startled Basilisk, all turned their heads to look up as Fawkes, Philomena, and Peewee returned and soared toward the giant serpent. The phoenixes circled its blunt head, confusing it. The snake snapped furiously, when… they dropped like knives, driving their talons deep into the serpent’s glittering eyes.

As our heroes watched the angry play of shadows on the wall, the Basilisk roared and hissed in pain as the birds pecked and clawed its face. The snake thrashed its head, struggling to get the birds off but to no avail.

“Guys! What’s happening?!” Sunset called out, her hands over her eyes. “What’s going on?

“Uh, in a nutshell: Three little birds attacking the basilisk!” Sonata Dusk answered.

“What?”

“Our phoenix friends just saved you!” Spike shouted. “And I think they’re blinding it!”

“What?!”

Sunset Shimmer looked up; sure enough, she was astonished as the birds winged away, their talons dripping with blood. The Basilisk’s eyes are now a blind, bloody mess.

“NO!” Tom Riddle shouted in frustration.

“Aw man!” Cozy Glow pouted. “No fair!”

“All that trouble getting them here and three annoying birds blind it?!” Aria Blaza scowled.

But nevertheless, Tom Riddle regained his composure despite his scowl.

“Fools! Your birds may have blinded the Basilisk. But it can still hear you!”

“For real—MMPH!”

Sonata’s mouth was clamped shut by Spike and Harry, who quickly shushed her before she unintentionally gave them away.

The other friends hushed each other silently, before they turned and beckoned Sunset to regroup with them. The beast shook its head, wildly and blindly, from the agonizing pain of its damaged eyes.

“C’mon Sunset…” Spike whispered, holding his claw out. “Almost there…”

Just as Sunset was within reach, however, she stepped on something slimy, which creaked with a splattering sound. Everyone gasped in alarm, while the Basilisk ceased its thrashing, blindly glaring at the heroes.

“Uh oh…” Sunset whimpered.

The basilisk lunged forward, snapping its jaws at Sunset, who Spike and Sonata pulled away at the last second. Gallus and Silverstream flew toward the giant snake and screeched loudly into its ears.

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”

The loud shriek raddled its eardrums, disorienting the basilisk for the time being.

“That was way too close!” Sunset hyperventilated. “That thing may not have a killer stare, but it’s still got a nasty bite!”

“Tell me about it!” Sonata frowned in worry.

“But thanks to Peewee and his friends, its aim is off!” Spike noted.

Apple Bloom scratched her chin, before clapping her hooves together.

“Let’s use that against it!” Apple Bloom exclaimed, running from her hiding spot.

“Apple Bloom!” Sunset reached out. “Get back here!”

The basilisk slowly regained its hearing, when Apple Bloom fired a harmless red spark from her wand, drawing its attention.

“Hey big and ugly!” Apple Bloom called out to the snake. “Over here! Come and get me!”

Apple Bloom watched as the snake reared its head back, anticipating its lunge. She quickly dove aside, as the basilisk brushed past her tail, and smashed its head into one of the statues.

“Ooh! That smarts!” Silverstream winced.

“But she’s got a good idea!” Harry exclaimed. “Everyone! Follow her lead!”

Harry and friends proceeded to surround the Basilisk. The boy who lived picked up a rock and hurled it at the Basilisk’s head, and the beast turned toward him.

“I’m over here!” Harry called.

Just as the Basilisk lunged toward him, Sunset and Sonata waved their hands, using the Force to push off its aim and send it crashing into a wall.

“Yoo-hoo!!!” Silverstream called. “Over here!”

The Basilisk made another lunge, this time toward Silverstream, who jumped aside and dodged the attack. The Basilisk ended up biting itself, causing it to scream in pain.

“That… smarts!” Spike winced.

“NAH-NAH, NAH NAH-NAH!” Scootaloo sang. “You missed us, you missed us! Now you’ve got to kiss us!”

Meanwhile, Tom Riddle snarled in frustration over such a preposterous display. The heroes were making a mockery of him and his ancestor, playing ‘Ring Around the Rosey’ with his precious basilisk.

“Don’t just stand there!” Tom Riddle screamed to his cohorts. “STOP THEM!!!”

“When you want something done right,” Regina began. “Do it yourself.”

The rest of the Dark Order sprang into action to deal with the remaining Equestrian Heroes. While Harry Potter was left to contend with the basilisk, the following villains faced their respective rivals.

King Sombra and the House of Black charged toward Spike.

Darth Andromedis and Demetria drew their lightsabers against Sunset Shimmer, who held her ground.

The Dazzlings and Zoe hovered over Sonata.

Cozy Glow, Tirek, and Chrysalis attacked the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Sonata Dusk, in particular, knew she had issues to resolve against her ex-sisters as she assumed a battle stance and released a sonic scream that sent her sisters and Zoe back.

“What do you even think you’re doing, Sonata?!” Adagio barked in outrage.

“What I should’ve done ages ago!” Sonata spat. “1,000 years of doing your bidding; 1,000 years of TAKING YOUR INSULTS! 1,000 YEARS OF—OOMF!!!”

Sonata’s mouth was shut forcefully, courtesy of Aria Blaze’s Force Choke against her.

“Blah, blah, BLAH!” Aria Blaze muttered. “We’ve had to put up with 1,000 years of your nonstop whining!”

Adagio soon stepped up, igniting her lightsaber.

“Time for you to rest… in pieces!”

“Expelliarmus!!!”

Before Adagio could swing her lightsaber, it was knocked right out of her hands. Adagio and Aria quickly turned their attention away from Sonata, seeing it was Silverstream who cast the charm.

“Nobody hurts my new B.S.B.F.F.!” Silverstream scowled.

“Huh?” The Dazzlings tilt their heads.

“Big Sister Best Friend… FOREVER!!!” Sonata screamed.

She blasted both of her sisters off her, before racing toward Silverstream and exchanged a high-five.

“Thanks sis!”

“Right back at ya!” Silverstream smiled. “LOOK OUT!!!”

Sonata and Silverstream spun each other around and kicked some Death Eaters soaring their way. Just then, Silverstream gasped as Adagio got up, readying for another attack.

“Time to clip your wings!” Adagio snarled threatening.

“Calvorio!” Sonata impulsively shouted.

Sonata fired a flash of purple light, a spell that struck Adagio with a devastating impact. Once the light died down, everyone in the Chamber of Secrets ceased their fighting. They gazed upon Adagio… noticing something iconic of hers was missing.

“What is it?” Adagio asked.

“Uh… nothing?” Aria answered, struggling not to laugh.

“What’s so funny?!” Adagio demanded.

“You… may not want to look in a mirror,” Smolder snickered.

“What do you—”

Adagio looked toward her reflection in the water. Though the Chamber of Secrets was dark and murky, the limited light was enough for Adagio to quite clearly see…

“MY HAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIRRRRRR!!!!”

Adagio screamed in horror as she waved her hands over her head, realizing her hair was completely gone. Before long, the Chamber of Secrets rang with laughter, echoing all around the humiliated siren.

“That’s a good look for ya, Adagio!” Sonata laughed herself to tears.

“Good one, Sonata!” Gallus laughed, high-fiving Sonata.

However, the laughter immediately died down when Adagio screamed with righteous fury. She unleashed the Dark Side of the Force, firing a storm of force lightning from her hands. The entire Chamber of Secrets shook, bits of the ceiling falling from her wrath.

“GIVE… ME… BACK… MY… HAIR!!!” Adagio demanded demonically.

“Totally worth it!” Sonata giggled.

Meanwhile, Sweeney Todd, Joseph Seed, and Regina assumed the offense against the remaining Student Six. Sweeney Todd swiped his razor blades toward Sandbar, who ducked and dodged the man’s deadly arm. And when he couldn’t move in time, he blocked with his hooves and maintained a solid defense. Joseph Seed and Regina’s attack was entirely toward Ocellus and Smolder, who dodged a wave of bullets from Seed’s AR-C assault rifle and black magic off Regina’s hands. But they were so preoccupied that they failed to notice Yona, who struck the pair with a headbutt, and the pair flew back as though they were hit by a truck.

As Harry fled, the serpent thundered after, striking blindly as its whipping tail shattered another Slytherin statue. Harry dodged and ducked, then, seeing the snake about to strike again… leapt clear, stumbling toward a side tunnel. Harry raced headlong into the shadows, then looked back, seeing the snake eclipsed the light at the far end of the tunnel and slither quickly inside.

Thinking fast, Harry ducked into an alcove, put his hand over his mouth and waited, desperate to remain still and silent. The snake slid heavily by, then… slowed… and turned back. The snake’s head weaved inside, only inches from Harry’s face. Harry trembled as the snake’s head cocked to the side, then… finally… withdrew.

Harry dashed back into the main chamber, while most of the group were busy keeping the Dark Order at bay. He raced toward Ginny, who looked frighteningly pale, much to the boy’s horror. Riddle grinned cruelly, the Heir of Slytherin growing more solid by the minute

“Yes, Potter,” Riddle smirked. “The process is nearly complete. In a few minutes, Ginny Weasley will be dead. And I will cease to be a memory. Lord Voldemort will return… very much alive.”

“Ginny,” Harry pleaded to the unconscious girl.

Then suddenly… the Basilisk shot out from the water, hissing directly in front of the boy. All heads turned in the same direction as the beast loomed over Harry Potter.

“Aw great!” Scootaloo moaned. “That thing’s back…”

“And madder than ever!” Apple Bloom added.

Things looked bleak for their heroes at this point. In the midst of all the calamity, as Harry dodged the snake’s attacks, Storm Shield was hurled directly toward a wall as Nightmare Moon hovered toward the Prince of Peace and landed inches from the fallen stallion.

“Do you truly believe you can defeat me, young prince?” Nightmare Moon scoffed. “I am the same age as your mother! I was created by the very darkness from your aunt’s heart! I spent moons observing your tactics, analyzing your fighting styles! You never had a chance!”

Storm Shield lay bleeding, his legs wobbled as he struggled to get back up. He tried to use his lightsaber pike to hoist himself up, but Nightmare Moon cast it aside and stomped her hoof upon it crushing the weapon to pieces.

“Face it… nothing you do surprises me anymore!” Nightmare Moon grinned maliciously.

Without giving Storm Shield room to breathe, Nightmare Moon blasted him in the face sending him flying toward the snake statue and breaking his wings. The prince groaned in pain, falling to the floor, and coughing blood. He looked up and spied on the chest the phoenixes delivered to him and his friends. Storm Shield struggled to crawl toward the chest, which Nightmare Moon casually kicked away.

“Don’t bother… the Elements of Harmony are useless, now with Princess Twilight and her meddling friends bedridden,” Nightmare Moon chortled. “Even you have no power to wield them… Little Prince. And now, I believe this is the part where you… rest… in… peace!”

Nightmare Moon conjured up a dagger, with a killer’s intent gleaming in her eyes. The nightmarish figure was eagerly ready to plunge the blade straight into Storm Shield’s heart. All of a sudden, a burst of green flame shot from the left and startled Nightmare Moon as she clutched her face. Spike and the remainder of the heroes regrouped with the prince.

“You okay, Storm?” Spike asked, aiding the prince.

“Yeah… thanks,” Storm Shield coughed. “But… I’m afraid… we’re losing…”

“Afraid so…” Spike sighed. “I can handle Malakai Black just fine. But we’re still outnumbered.”

“We need a miracle!” Sonata added.

Just then, something caught the corner of Sweetie Belle’s eyes.

“Guys! Look!” Sweetie pointed.

Everyone turned toward a shimmer of magical sparkle glowing from the Sorting Hat. Something glittered within: A ruby handle.

“What is that?” Gallus asked.

Sunset Shimmer squinted her eyes, which widened in astonishment.

“Can it be?!” Sunset gasped, before facing Harry. “HARRY! Get it!”

Harry ran over to the Sorting Hat to pull out the object, revealing itself to be a beautiful sword. The sword was made of pure silver, its hilt set with egg-sized rubies. Harry held up the sword at the ready, preparing himself for a fight with the basilisk like St. George against the dragon.

“Okay Harry!” Gallus cheered. “Let him HAVE IT!”

“Uh… does he know how to use a sword?” Ocellus asked.

The remaining heroes exchanged uncertain looks, before seeing that Harry was having second thoughts. As the boy backed away in fright, holding the sword in front of him, Storm Shield realized they needed to act fast. It was then he turned back toward the chest containing the elements and a single thought raced in his mind.

“… The Elements of Harmony,” Storm Shield pointed to the chest. “We can use them to help Harry…”

“How?” Spike asked. “They’ve never worked for us before.”

“They only work for Twilight and the others,” Sunset added. “They’re not even here!”

“Philomena and her friends wouldn’t give them to us without reason,” Storm voiced confidence. “I have a plan, but I need you guys to work with me. Each of you must take one of the elements…”

Storm Shield held the Element of Loyalty and faced the Student Six and Spike.

“Spike! Students!” Storm Shield began. “You represent loyalty! You’re all different, but you’ve never let that divide you from each other or Equestria!”

Spike and the Students took the Element of Loyalty, clutching it in their claws and hooves respectively.

“Sonata! You’re cheerful, chirpy, and outgoing even for a siren,” Storm Shield passed the Element of Laughter to Sonata. “You’re all about spreading cheers and smiles with your songs!”

Sonata held the Element of Laughter in her hands, nodding to Storm Shield.

“Cutie Mark Crusaders, you always saw the good in others and helped them show their inner beauty,” Storm Shield bestowed the Elements of Honesty, Kindness, and Generosity to each crusader.

Finally, Storm Shield himself put on the Element of Magic… but nothing happened. He then turned toward Sunset Shimmer.

“Sunset… you—”

“No! I won’t wear that crown again…” Sunset shook her head. “I can’t! I don’t deserve it!”

“Sunset…” Storm Shield implored.

“At least you’ll be at your strongest,” Darth Andromedis goaded. “Give into the magic! Embrace the Dark Side once more!”

“DO IT, MASTER!” Demetria begged mockingly. “IT’S THE ONLY WAY!”

“No… I…”

“Sunset!” Spike called out. “It’s okay. We believe in you, just as Twilight believed in you!”

“You’ve got this!” Silverstream joined.

“Trust yourself…” Storm Shield advised.

But still… Sunset Shimmer wasn’t entirely sure of herself. Who was she to put on the crown knowing it would risk turning her into the demon sorceress again? Did she alone truly have the power to control herself to save her friends? Still, there was no time for second thoughts. Sunset proceeded to take the crown, breath deeply, and slammed the crown atop her head completing the magical set.

Suddenly, the Elements of Harmony started to glow, beckoning Sunset and friends to look down and around. The villains stepped back, confused by this recent development.

“What is this magic?!” Nightmare Moon began.

As they can feel the magic coursing through them, the group can feel their confidence and resolve renewed. The heroes held their ground over their villainous foes, their expressions stating they will never give up in the face of adversity. Not when there were friends and family watching them, hoping for them to succeed. As the Elements of Harmony glowed the magic jewels lifted themselves off the jewelry and floated over the heroes. A disturbance that distracted even the blind basilisk, who felt a disturbance resonating off its hide.

Suddenly, Sunset Shimmer, who had been expecting the worst, opened her eyes as she found herself aglow. Before long, the mare floated in the air with her new friends. All of them hovering over the head of Salazar Slytherin, where Sunset Shimmer linked her hands and hooves with Spike’s, Sonata’s, the Student Six, and the CMC. Sunset Shimmer couldn’t help but shed a tear and smile warmly at her friends who returned the smile, reassuring the Guardian of Empathy that they were in this together, no matter what happened.

Soon, the friends looked down as the light poured from their respective elements, working their magic in a brilliant light show. The light poured onto a bruised, battered Storm Shield. Its magic rejuvenated him, and every bruise and scar seemed to magically patch themselves up… but not all. Storm Shield’s destroyed lightsaber floated up, landing in the young prince’s hooves. From the shattered remains of his pike, a light took shape.

Finally, just as the lights start to dim, everyone in the Chamber of Secrets looked in awe as a beautiful sword, embedded with harmony jewels on its golden hilt, was held in Storm Shield’s hooves.

“DOES EVERY BUCKING PONY IN THIS CHAMBER GET A SWORD?!?!” Cozy Glow freaked out.

Without haste, Storm Shield raced toward the basilisk in a mad rush of courage. He slid just as the basilisk aimed to snatch the pony with its jaws, but crashed its head against the floor. He then turned toward Harry, who glanced around in the brief moment he was trapped.

“Get to higher ground, Harry!” Storm Shield called out. “Up the statue!”

Harry nodded, following Storm Shield’s advice. Together, they leapt upward, scaling the statue of Salazar Slytherin. The serpent struck madly, but the two boys pressed on, climbing boldly until they reached the statue’s ‘hair’ and stood at the basilisk’s height. The blind snake hissed its forked tongue, tasting the air before it located the pair. Harry flailed the sword with one arm, while Storm wheeled with his own sword in hoof, and together they fended off the slashing serpent while preventing themselves from falling off the statue.

Unfortunately, Harry’s sword flailing only grazed the snake’s snout while Storm could barely reach the tip of his sword against the beast’s scales. In retaliation, the basilisk reared its head back preparing for a lunge.

“LOOK OUT!!!” The heroes shouted.

Harry quickly moved to the right, while Storm rocketed himself into the air. The giant snake missed its target by an inch, shattering its nose against Salazar Slytherin’s monument.

“That was close!” Apple Bloom exclaimed.

“Too close for comfort!” Scootaloo muttered.

Everyone watched as the basilisk chased after Harry, with the latter struggling to climb to higher ground despite the occasional assist from Storm Shield, who slashed the monster’s side with his sword.

“We must help them!” Ocellus exclaimed.

“How?” Sweetie Belle asked. “We don’t know any spells to hurt a basilisk.”

“And it’s too dangerous to fight head-on!” Apple Bloom added.

Scootaloo tapped a hoof on her chin before recalling something very important.

“I hope this works,” Scootaloo grimaced.

“Any ideas, Scootaloo?” Sunset asked.

“Yeah… and I hope I don’t regret this!”

Scootaloo raced from her hiding spot, placed her hooves over her mouth, and released a loud:

“CAWK-CA-DOODLE-DOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

All eyes turned as the basilisk was briefly stunned by the Pegasus’s imitation of a rooster. The basilisk vigorously shook its head, thrashing to the side, as though it were in a great pain.

“WHAT IS SHE DOING?!” Tirek shouted.

“Scootaloo, you genius!” Sunset Shimmer smiled.

“Years of playing a lost pony has finally paid off!” Scootaloo smiled proudly.

“STOP HER!!!” Nightmare Moon shouted.

An army of Death Eaters raced to silence the little Pegasus, but were cast aside by bolts of magic courtesy of the Student Six’s magical wands.

“Everyone!” Gallus called out. “Give out your best rooster calls!”

Gallus, along with the remaining heroes put their best imitations of roosters, chickens, anything to distract the basilisk. Ocellus even turned herself into an actual rooster to sell her crowing in this ear-numbing harmony. The basilisk flailed its head vigorously, banging itself against the statue as Harry held his ground. The beast was clearly hurt by the sound of roosters echoing around the Chamber of Secrets.

“SILENCE!!” Tom Riddle demanded angrily. “STOP THEM YOU FOOLS!!!”

The Dark Order raced out trying to stop the heroes, who held a strong defense against even the strongest of members. Meanwhile, Storm Shield landed beside Harry at the top of the statue head and they held their blades firmly. Their footsteps were caught by the basilisk, its headache cleared up.

“LOOK OUT!” Gallus called out.

“Confundo!” Sunset Shimmer shouted.

She cast a spell to confuse the Basilisk, again throwing off its aim. The basilisk rammed its snout into Salazar Slytherin’s bust, breaking off chunks from the sculpture. Harry nearly slipped when he lost his footing; thankfully, Storm Shield grabbed Harry’s hand to pull him up. Now too tired to flee, Harry and Storm simply waited until the last possible moment.

While the Basilisk was stunned, Sunset Shimmer leapt at a tremendous height till she was perched along the same spot as the boys. Once again, Sunset Shimmer ignited her lightsabers while Harry and Storm held their swords at the ready.

“It’s over serpent!” Sunset Shimmer spoke defiantly. “We have the high ground!”

Realizing where its prey are, the Basilisk hovered its head toward where the three stood.

“You go left, and you go right!” Sunset instructed the boys.

They nodded in unison, as Harry slashed his sword toward the Basilisk’s right and Storm attacked its left. Both swords grazed harmlessly off the snake’s skulls, leaving Sunset to try a different approach.

“Get down!” Sunset shouted.

The boys nodded in compliance as Sunset telekinetically broke off several chunks from the chamber’s cavern walls and hurled the stones toward the Basilisk. For a moment, the beast was stunned by flying rocks pelting it from both sides.

“It’s working!” Sweetie Belle cheered.

Just then, Tom Riddle spoke to the monster in Parseltongue, just as a large rock flew towards the snake. The beast caught the rock with its mouth, crushing it to pebbles in one bite. The blind snake took time to laugh at Sunset’s attempt at assault.

“So much for that…” Sunset winced.

The basilisk resumed its attack on the two ponies and the boy, hissing and snapping its jaws at them. Harry swung his sword wildly at the snake’s right, while Sunset slashed her lightsabers along its left. At one point, the snake bashed its skull and knocked the pair down, causing them to drop their weapons. Sunset’s lightsabers fell over Salazar’s nose, disappearing into the murky water below. Harry’s sword slid off the scalp, about to join Sunset’s lightsabers.

“THE SWORD!!!” Spike shouted.

Harry and Sunset quickly scurried into action to retrieve Harry’s sword. Unfortunately, the scratching of the sword off the stony surface alerted the Basilisk to their location. This time, its aim was true as it lunged for Sunset and Harry. In that exact moment, they caught the sword by its handle.

Marshalling every ounce of strength left, Harry and Sunset drove the sword upward, deep into the roof of the serpent’s mouth. In a mad rush of courage, Storm Shield pitched himself onto the serpent, climbed up its back with sword raised, and pierced the blade as hard as he could through the snake’s head. The basilisk hissed in pain, thrashing madly as it drove a fang into Harry’s and Sunset’s arms. The pair clutched their arms in agony, stumbled back and fell to the floor, into the arms of Sonata Dusk and Silverstream who stopped their fall. Storm Shield leapt away as the serpent thrashed with an ear splitting scream of agony, as warm blood drenched the chamber. Sunset and Harry winced painfully as they looked toward a long, poisonous fang sunk deeply between their elbows and wrists.

In the meantime, the Basilisk flailed around in agony until its massive weight brought it crashing down to the floor, where it twitched until… it went still.

“Alright, Harry!” The Student Six and CMC cheered.

“YAY, SUNSET!” Sonata cheered.

“Way to go, Sunset!” Spike cheered.

“I knew you could do it!” Storm nodded with approval.

Meanwhile, the Dark Order were outraged by this loss, in more ways than one.

“NOOOOOO!!!” Adagio Dazzle screamed furiously. “ALL THIS TROUBLE?! AND MY HAIR IS GONE FOR NOTHING?!!!”

The siren threw her lightsaber to the floor and jumped around, stomping her feet like a child throwing a fit.

“Kiss it goodbye, Adagio,” Sonata laughed. “‘Cause you ain’t never seeing it again!”

“AAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!” Adagio screamed aloud, clutching her chest as though suffering a heart attack.

However, the celebration for the heroes and the villains’ misery was too soon.

“Uh, guys?” Ocellus pointed to Sunset and Harry’s blank expressions. “Something’s wrong with them…”

As the great Basilisk lay dead, Harry and Sunset stepped away from the dying husk, only to slump forward to the ground, each with that sharp fang implanted through their skin.

“Sunset!” Sonata lunged forward, only to be held back by Aria’s death grip.

“Shut it!”

The remainder of the students were quickly captured by the now-recovered Dark Order, watching in horror as Harry peered down toward the fang pierced in his arm, blood soaking into his robe. As he yanked the fang free, with Sunset following suit, Riddle stepped forward almost fully whole. His eyes shined at the sight of his enemies’ wounds.

“Remarkable, isn't it?” Riddle taunted. “How quickly the venom of the Basilisk penetrates the body? If you have any final words, Potter, Shimmer, you'd best speak them now. I'd guess you both have little more than a minute to live.”

“Revenge is a dish best served cold, isn’t it?” Adagio smirked.

Harry blinked heavily, watching the skin of his forearm turn a troubling gray. Even Sunset Shimmer started losing color, as she struggled to even gasp for breath.

“So ends the famous Harry Potter and the Hand of the Emperor. On their knees in the Chamber of Secrets. Defeated by the Dark Lord they so unwisely challenged. You’ll be with your Mudblood mother soon, Harry…”

“Don’t you dare call her that!” Scootaloo snapped. “Sunset is a hero!”

“Golly, how can you call a cold-blooded killer a hero?” Cozy taunted.

“Tough talk from a sociopath!” Gallus sneered.

The villains held them down while they watched Harry and Sunset slowly die in front of them. In a few short moments, they would be dead, and their friends would slowly follow them. Harry reached over to Ginny’s cold body; the girl was nearly white like a small ghost. The only evidence of life was the trembling of a single finger. Harry studied the finger and what laid beneath it: Tom Riddle’s diary, the one that started all of this.

“Funny, isn't it?” Riddle continued. “The damage a silly little book can do? Especially in the hands of a silly little girl. I suppose it goes to show just how idiotic and vulnerable friendship really is.”

The villains all laughed at this. Sunset remained undeterred by this, instead staring at the spirit dead cold in the eyes.

“That’s the thing, Riddle,” she groaned weakly. “Vulnerability is a countenance; it keeps you humble and drives you to become the best you can be.”

As Harry reached Ginny, he placed his hand on hers, then… slipped the diary free.

“What are you doing?” Riddle asked, confused.

Harry opened the diary to a set of blank pages. The boy wizard looked toward Sunset straight in the eyes.

“Do it, Harry!” Sunset declared.

Steely nodding, Harry held the basilisk fang aloft. All of a sudden, Riddle’s face creased with fear.

“No… Stop!”

Tom Riddle lunged forward, but it was too late. Harry quickly rose his hand high… and plunged the fang into the pages of the book. Instantly, black ink spurt from the pages like blood from a stab wound.

“NO!!!!!”

Riddle shrieked, writhing in pain. The form of Riddle suddenly stopped in his tracks, a large hole of light bursting from his stomach as though he had been shot. His body began to wither instantly, growing blurry once more. The light filled the entire chamber, cascading over the entire Order, who were all afraid of what was happening. Riddle screamed in agony, lunging for Harry who stabbed the other page. Ink once again bled from its contents as more glowing holes appeared all over Riddle from his legs and to his arms, and even his face.

Then, like magic, something happened to the other villains in the Chamber. Gallus, held by Tirek, suddenly felt his grip turn slack. The giant centaur looked as if his own body was shrinking. Sonata noticed the same with the Sirens as Adagio stumbled, clutching her throat.

“What’s… happening?” She cried. “I feel so… weak!”

It was then that all hell broke loose. Gallus kicked himself free of Tirek, knocking the centaur toward the ground. The griffon dove for the Seeds who held his girlfriend, while Seed’s men fired aimlessly amidst the confusion, their weapons spectacularly malfunctioning. Joseph dove out of the way, the guns instead firing upon Regina and Cersei’s knights. The Lannister Queen pulled Venrys in front of her like a shield, the onslaught of bullets pierced the man’s body.

Using this distraction, Spike hauled himself from Sombra, launching the shadow king towards the firing squad. In the chaos, Sombra’s form crushed the men, while he barely had the strength to stand again. The dragon leapt forward, pulling the shadow king’s giant arm with great ferocity. Smolder likewise went nuts over the villains, smashing through their ranks with scolding fire to reach Ocellus, who sent a volley of spells against the Dazzlings.

Sonata used this time to break free, locking Aria in a headlock from behind and threw her against Adagio. Finally, she used Zoe like a bowling ball, throwing her petite frame as though she were no more than a pile of sticks. All three sirens were down for the count, groaning in pain.

Yona took the opportunity to charge forth, smashing into Chrysalis, wounding her severely and prying Sandbar and Scootaloo free. The earth-pony butted his head against Sweeney, knocking his prized razors from his grip. Scootaloo surged ahead, smashing into a dazed Regina, freeing the magical grip on Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Once that was over, the yak charged behind the confused backs of the Siths, leaving them dazed, surprised, and powerless to fight back.

“My lord!” Tirek cried. “Can’t you do something?!”

Neither of the Order answered the cries for help from their defeated members. The fact was none of them showed any remorse whatsoever.

It was in this moment Harry closed the cover of the Diary, and with one final ounce of strength in his dying body, he plunged the fang into the cover as it bled out the last of its contents. As the ink ran off Harry’s fingers to the floor, Riddle’s form could do nothing at this point. Slowly but surely, his body was engulfed by bright white light like burning cinder against paper till there was nothing more to burn, and the spiritual component exploding in blinding light, leaving nothing behind but a tattered Diary bled dry of everything.

And just like that, all was silent for a moment or two.

“Is… everyone okay?” Sunset dared speak.

Amidst a few collective groans, a voice spoke in response.

“Sort of,” Smolder offered. “We’re not dead, and it looks like they ran away again. Just saw them flee into their portals.”

“Talk about convenient timing,” Sonata replied.

“Is everyone here?” Sunset called out.

“We’re good,” Gallus and Silverstream answered.

“Yona and Sandbar alive,” Yona added.

“Here!” The CMC spoke.

“Yes?” Ocellus merely offered.

“Never better,” Storm Shield sighed.

“All good here,” Spike added. “Boy, what a whirlwind!”

“A little bruised but I’ll live—”

Sonata Dusk paused… and gasped, as she stagged toward Sunset with a limp in her leg.

“Sunset! Y-You’re—”

“I know,” The Jedi coughed, removing the fang. “What about Ginny?”

As Harry and Sunset sunk back… a faint moan was heard. Ginny stirred as the Gryffindor in question gasped for life, color blooming in her cheeks. It was as though she had woken up from drowning. The CMC rushed forward to aid the girl.

“Ginny!” Apple Bloom smiled. “Thank Celestia you’re alright!”

“We were worried about you!” Sweetie Belle added.

“Oh, girls!” Ginny broke down, sobbing. “I’m so sorry! It was the Diary in my cauldron! It—”

“It’s alright,” Scootaloo soothed. “We destroyed the diary and the ghost possessing it. You don’t need to worry about it ever again.”

“But what about the Monster?”

“Harry, Storm, and Sunset battled and eventually killed the beast! It was awesome!”

“H-Harry?”

She turned around and saw the boy in question, disheveled and bleeding all over the floor. She also saw Sunset in a similar position.

“Harry, it was me!” Ginny confessed. “But I swear, I didn’t mean to… Riddle made me. He wrote to me… took me over… I didn’t even know whose diary it was. I found it inside my cauldron. The day we all went to Diagon Alley and… Harry… Sunset… you’re hurt…”

“Tis but a scratch,” Sunset painfully coughed, covering her injury. “Just a flesh wound.”

“Why’d you have to make that of all references?” Sonata laughed and cried all at once.

But to everyone else, it was plainly obvious that two of their friends were growing weaker by the second. Even Storm Shield showed great concern.

“Don’t worry,” Harry spoke up. “Ginny, you need to get yourself out… follow the chamber… you’ll find Ron…”

“W-What about you guys?” Ocellus asked.

“Basilisk poison works fast. We don’t have much longer.”

“But you can’t die!” Sweetie cried.

“What can we do? I-I want to do something!” Spike cried, slumping to his knees. “I just…”

It was during this moment there was a beautiful sound of music. Down from the sky came a rush of wings as the three phoenixes circled down over our heroes. Fawkes flew down toward Harry, while Philomena landed gracefully before Sunset.

“You were brilliant, Fawkes,” Harry said weakly. “I just… wasn’t quick enough.”

“I’m sorry for everything,” Sunset sighed. “Please… give Celestia my love.”

Then Harry blinked and looked down. The phoenixes gave small little grunts, but nothing more. As they lowered their heads over the open wounds, thick pearly tears tricked down their faces over the wounds. Each drop emitted a wisp of steam as though the wounds were sizzling pans. The others stared in amazement as little by little the open wounds… began to heal themselves.

“Of course!” Harry beamed, lifting his arm. “It’s as Dumbledore said. Phoenix tears have heavily powers.”

“It’s like it was never there to begin with,” Sunset smiled, rolling her arm around. “The poison’s gone from my bloodstream… just like that.”

“That’s great—AH!”

Sonata cried for joy then painfully stumbled, reminded of the pain in her leg.

“Whoa, hold still,” Sunset leaned over. “Come on, lean your weight on me.”

The Siren slung her arm over the Jedi’s shoulder, leaning over to adjust the weight for her gimp leg.

“Thanks,” Harry thanked the graceful bird.

Sunset turned toward Celestia’s favorite bird, who perched herself on the shoulders between herself and Sonata. The wonderful bird looked more adorable sitting down.

“Thank you too, Philomena,” Sunset smiled.

The bird gave a pleasant song, and then to the surprise of the girls, nuzzled her soft feathered head against their faces. A feeling out of nowhere but welcomed just the same.

“She likes you!” Silverstream beamed cutely.

“Adorable!” Spike smiled.

Then Philomena sang a beautiful song, soft and peaceful with light dancing sounds and light tones yet wonderful melancholic at the same time. It touched the hearts of everyone that heard it, none more than the two girls she planted herself between. To them, it was a song of love of all things that lived, of joy and happiness that always permeates despite all that’s happened.

“That… was so beautiful,” Sonata cried. “I’m crying right now!”

“It’s okay to cry, I am too,” Sunset added.

“Have you ever heard such sweet melody from a phoenix before?” Sandbar asked dreamily.

“I’m jealous I missed out,” Gallus choked, sniffling.

“I wish I could sing like a phoenix,” Sweetie sighed.

Poor Ginny, having been through way too much turmoil in such a short span of months (Having just returned from being comatose), could barely comprehend everything that’s happened. Harry could see the concern and made a move to comfort her.

“It’s all right, Ginny,” Harry assured. “It’s over. It’s just a memory…”

“I know, but…” Ginny wondered grimly. “What if… what if…?”

“You can’t stop thinking about it?” Sunset guessed.

“What if you can’t stop thinking about it?” Sunset offered.

Ginny meekly nodded, and the Jedi just smiled.

“I know how you feel,” Sunset explained. “I’ve been through it many times over. You can’t change the past, but you can’t stop remembering it either. And… that’s not a bad thing. I realize having terrible memories is just as important as the good ones, that way it strengthens you to become a better you.”

“Yeah,” Sonata nodded. “Like rising from the ashes… kind of like a phoenix! Uh… no offense.”

Philomena simply nipped at the Siren’s ear, causing her to happily giggle.

“Aww!” The CMCs sighed in unison.

“Hooray! Friends all happy and not dead!” Yona smiled. “Yona thinks we should leave Chamber and return to professors.”

“Good idea!” Scootaloo agreed. “The sooner we leave this place the better.”

“Hopefully we’ll never have to return to this slimy pit of despair again,” Sweetie gagged.

“Ah’m with ya on that,” Apple Bloom agreed.

Just as the group got out to make their way out of the Chamber of Secrets, the whole chamber started to shake. Many of them struggled to remain on their feet as the entire place shook greatly.

“W-W-What’s h-h-happening?” Gallus asked mid-shake.

“The whole place is caving in!” Storm yelled in alarm. “We need to leave now!’

The entire group got together and tried to run, which proved difficult due to the injuries some sustained. The bust of Salazar Slytherin cracked and crumbled, falling apart at the very seams. As the giant statue fell to the ground, it stirred up much dust that blew out around everyone. All eyes were quickly covered as the friends shielded one another. When all was clear, and everyone dropped their arms from their eyes, they stared in awe as a ball of blinding white light slowly emerged from the ruins of the Slytherin statue. It stopped before them and slowly dimmed until all the light was completely gone. In its place now stood a human woman with pale white skin, violet eyes, long platinum hair running down her back in a series of curls and braids and wore a blue dress that looked ancient in style.

“Didn’t see that coming,” Sunset spoke in shock.

“Who are you?” Sandbar asked curiously.

From behind the group, Storm Shield walked out and stared wide-eyed at the woman in question. When she turned her head and her eyes landed on the alicorn stallion, her eyes widened as well.

“Storm Shield?” She gasped.

“Daenerys?” Storm replied in shock.

Storm walked toward the pale woman, who got down on one knee. The two stared at each other for the longest time before huge smiles spread across their faces. They quickly threw their arms around each other in a hug. Everyone else watched in confusion at the display taking place before them.

“What’s going on here?” Spike asked. “Who is she?”

Hearing the young dragon talking to him, Storm quickly pulled back from Daenerys and looked at him.

“Spike, would you mind coming here?” He beckoned.

Spike just eyed him curiously for a moment, then back at the others who just shrugged in response. Nonetheless, Spike slowly walked to stand beside Storm Shield and the mystery woman. Daenerys looked at the young dragon, her eyes widened greatly, and her mouth hung open. Slowly, she stood back to her feet and eyed the dragon who perhaps stood a good few inches over her height. Tears streamed from her violet eyes before spilling down freely as she slowly wrapped her arms around the young dragon.

“Storm, why is she hugging me?” Spike asked confused. “What’s going on?”

“Spike, this is Daenerys Targaryen,” Storm smiled at him. “She’s… your mother.”

Everyone gasped in shock, but perhaps none more so than Spike as he looked down at the human woman hugging him tightly.

“That’s… not possible,” Spike stammered confused. “I’m a dragon and she’s human. How am I her son? Am I… not really a dragon?”

Daenerys pulled away from Spike, yet her hands remained on his shoulders as he looked into his eyes.

“Allow me to explain,” Daenerys spoke softly.

<>

(Unknown Location, Years Ago)

Daenerys Targaryen, last remaining member of the House Targaryen from the long line of ancient Westerosi kings and blood of the dragon, walked swiftly yet smoothly through the campsite that she shared with her fellow members of the Legion of Light. In her hands, she delicately held a small purple egg with spots of green all over it as she walked up to the large fire. Her fellow members including Quill Cast, Curtain Call, Storm Shield, Mirai, Draxus, and the Winchester’s all sat around the fireplace waiting for her to arrive.

“Did you find what you were looking for, Daenerys?” Quill asked her.

“I have,” She nodded as she presented the egg.

“What is your plan here?” Curtain added.

“As you all know, I have been carrying this egg with me since I rescued it from those bandits we ran into months ago,” She explained. “I couldn’t very well let them take the dragon.”

“Yeah, I remember that day.” Dean nodded. “The bastards somehow managed to kill the high dragon that laid it. Still don’t know how the hell they did it.”

“Does it really matter, Dean?” Sam asked his brother. “What are you looking to do, Dany?”

“There is a ritual I learned in my travels across worlds,” Daenerys explained. “It is a blood ritual that can be cast upon the egg using my own blood. When it is absorbed into the shell, my blood will mix with the dragons. When the dragon is born, it will see me as its mother.”

The group looked amongst each other for a few moments before looking back at the young woman.

“Do you think that can really work?” Quill asked.

“I mean I know you’re the ‘Mother of Dragons’ and all, but I figured that was just a nickname.”

Draxus stood up from his seated position and walked next to the young dragon queen’s side. He then spoke out in a low gravelly voice that seemed highly accented.

“I stand by my queens’ side.” He spoke determinedly. “I am her most loyal Dothraki general, I follow her to the grave.”

Daenerys smiled at her most loyal general before looking back at the group.

“I know this can work.” She told them. “Please, after losing my son all those years ago and my dragons as well, I need this.”

The rest of the group looked amongst each other as they contemplated the ritual that Daenerys asked them to help her perform. After a while, they all looked back at her and stood on their feet.

“What do you need us to do?” Storm asked.

<>

“So, we performed the ritual and melded your own blood with Daenerys’.” Storm explained. “Then not too long after that, the forces of Salazar Slytherin began to hunt us. Dany gave us Spike’s egg to keep him safe while she led them away. So, you are indeed her son in all but appearance.”

Spike looked down at Daenerys as she looked up at him. Though he very much wanted to deny it, he couldn’t help but feel a strong familial blood connection with this woman. It was as if his very being knew that it was true. Tears slowly came to his eyes as he smiled at her.

“Mom…” He smiled.

Daenerys smiled as well as more tears came to her eyes. She threw her arms around him again. This time, Spike put his arms around his mother and hugged her tightly.

“I thought I would never see you again!” Daenerys said happily.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long!” Spike replied, just as happy.

The CMCs helped Ginny up while Sunset helped Sonata along with her limp. Yona and Sandbar followed behind, with Gallus and Silversteam bringing up the rear, nuzzling each other with comfort. Spike wiped his brow, cringing at the bleeding cut along his arm as he kept pace with Sunset.

Ocellus noticed that Smolder had remained behind, staring down at the fresh corpses of the knights.

“Smolder? What’s the matter?”

“I just…I don’t know,” the dragoness shrugged. “I guess I have a grim curiosity to see what’s under these helmets, you know?”
“Um… I-I don’t really know.”

“Yeah, I suppose. Well, here goes to hopefully not grave-robbing.”

She reached down and picked up the helmet of the nearest knight. Underneath was a shockingly young man with dirty blonde hair and a small goatee. He looked like he might have used to be a punk rockstar. Even though the strikingly handsome young face was jarring to see, it wasn’t the thing that shocked them the most.

“Ocellus,” Smolder began. “Is it just me or does this guy…look exactly like Raven and Apple White and the others? Please tell me it’s just me.”

The changeling looked like she was trying to hold back throwing up.

“N-n-no… it’s not just you. I-I s-see it too.”

“I was afraid of that,” The dragon fearfully nodded. “This is…we must tell the professors this.”

“Yes. W-we must.”

“Okay. Let’s just…get out of here and…hopefully never come back. I’d rather not spend another minute in a place full of corpses, no matter how decomposed they look.”

“Th-that wasn’t funny, Smolder.”

“Sorry.”

A moment that should have felt like a great victory now suddenly felt like a grim anchor that held them down to the pits of sorrow. It just went to show the depths of what evils these villains were capable of, shamefully and without remorse.

As the group followed Fawkes, Philomena and Peewee out of the door, they heard the stone doors leading to the chamber closing behind them with a soft hiss. As they kept going forward, they heard the sounds of rock sifting. Sunset’s eyes lit up as Ron and Fluttershy’s faces appeared.

“Fluttershy! Ron!” Sunset called out. “Ginny’s okay!”

"Yeah, we got her!" Harry called out as everybody ran forward.

Everyone heard Fluttershy and Ron giving a small, strangled cheer, and they turned to the next bend to see Fluttershy and Ron's eager faces, with a good sizable gap both of them managed to make in the rock fall.

"Ginny!" Ron smiled as he embraced his sister. "You're all right!"

"Oh, it's so good to- to-" Fluttershy started to say before noticing some... strange new additions.

"Uhhh... Philomena? Peewee? Where did you two come from? And who's the other one?"

As Ron led Ginny over to the gap and got her to crawl through, Fawkes, Philomena and Peewee flew in right behind her.

"That would be Dumbledore's phoenix." Storm Shield said as he approached Fluttershy.

“Storm Shield!” Fluttershy shook her head in shock. “You're unpetrified? B-but- how? I didn't see you come down here?"

"Truth be told, I've actually been sort of... unpetrified for months,” Storm chuckled nervously. “I had to do a little investigation of my own, so... sorry about that. Can you not tell Twilight about this?"

Fluttershy stammered a bit as Storm Shield crawled through the gap, with Sonata and the Young Six following right after. It was then Fluttershy noticed they were holding familiar looking items as they were crawling through.

"Wait a minute, are THOSE the Elements of Harmony? Where did they come from? And-"

Fluttershy then noted the crown on Sunset's head.

"Why are you wearing Twilight's Element of Harmony?"

"How come you've got a sword?" Ron asked in bafflement as he and Fluttershy noted the sword.

"We'll explain everything when we get out of here." Sunset said as she crawled through, with the CMCs following shortly.

"But-"

"Later!" Spike said as he looked around. "Where's Lockhart?"

"He's the first one that went through. We told him to sit quietly until everyone is on the other side." Fluttershy explained.

Granted, Fluttershy was still a little confused, but decided instead to comply to Sunset and Spike's wishes.

"Yeah, I specifically told them, wait until me and my little yellow friend got through last," Ron said.

"All right, then. Shall we?" Harry nodded as he crawled through, followed shortly by Spike, then Ron and Fluttershy afterwards.

"Hello there!" Lockhart said as he waved to the others happily, as Storm Shield looked confused.
"Wow, another one of you talking ponies! You look funny!"

"What's wrong with him?" Fluttershy asked in confusion.

"Long story short, Lockhart tried a memory charm on us and... it backfired. Now he doesn't remember who he is, where he is or who we are," Ron sighed.

Harry paused as he walked up and looked up at the long, dark pipe.

"Uh, do you guys have any idea HOW we're going to get back up?" Harry asked the others.

"Well, most of us have wings, BUT-" Spike groaned. "No offense, but I think some of you guys might be too heavy for us to carry..."

"No, we get it." Silverstream sighed.

"Great, we're pretty much trapped down here..." Gallus groaned.

“I’m going to be expelled; I just know it!” Ginny moaned.

“Remind you of anyone?” Ron asked Harry.

"I suppose I can try to call-" Sunset started, before noting Fawkes, Philomena and Peewee fluttering around. "Huh?"

The three birds nodded towards them as they looked up.

“What’s with the birds?” Ron asked.

"Sunset, I-I think they want you to grab hold." Fluttershy pointed out.

"But you're all much too heavy for a bird to pull up the-" Ron started.

"Fawkes, Philomena and Peewee are no ordinary birds." Harry smirked.

Sunset paused as they looked at the birds, before giving a smile and nodded.

"All right then, for those who can fly, go ahead up. As for the rest of us, we've got to get a hold of each other. Ginny, you grab Ron's hand. Professor Lockhart-"

"She means you." said Fluttershy, sharply to Lockhart.

"-you hold Ginny's other hand. Harry grab hold of Ron's hand and grab Fawkes. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, you three and I are going to go with Philomena. Sonata, Yona, Sandbar, can you grab onto Peewee?"

"Got it, Sunset." Sonata said.

Harry tucked the sword and Sorting Hat in his belt. The others complied as Fluttershy, Spike, Ocellus, Silverstream, Gallus, Smolder and Storm Shield started to fly on ahead. As soon as the remaining others grabbed on to Harry, Sunset and Sonata respectively.

And then, like curious, gliding shadow ripples across the cavernous walls, the phoenixes soared as the group were lifted up in the air out of the darkness, friends linked hand in hand as they flew them home.

"Amazing! Amazing!” Lockhart shouted. “This is just like magic!"