24: Enrollment

CANTERLOT, FOURTH EQUESTRIA

"Luna," Celestia asked her sister, "your powers of darkness are still very effective, aren't they?"

Luna nodded. "Dost thou have a favor to ask that only the dark and not the light can accomplish?"

"Indeed," Celestia answered. "Even while controlling both day and night, I never could take darkness under my wing the way you can. While I can Apparate, I can't Apparate at the speed of darkness. I was wondering if you still could."

"It was a difficult skill to master, even for myself," Luna admitted. "Yet I think it is in me to attempt a journey, provided it is to a world to which I have previously been. Where did thou hast in mind?"

"Fourth Earth," Celestia said. "I have a feeling that my little ponies are going to turn up there shortly, and they'll need a few things that I can't send to them through the fire. Including some very specific things from Ponyville."

"It shall be done," Luna promised. "As soon as you name your request."

"Thank you, Luna. I hate having to ask you to do things like this for me…"

"It is not a trouble to me, dear sister. This is a feat that only I can manage, and I understand that. I shall return in time to set the nightfall in motion. And to speak of nightfall…"

"What is it?" Celestia asked Luna, who had just raised a brow in suspicion.

"You seem fatigued," Luna observed. "As though thou had not slept through the night."

"I suppose there's no hiding it from you," Celestia sighed. "I still feel guilty about the way I sent them off like that."

"Are they not doing superbly so far?"

"Yes…but you know as well as I do, Luna, that I didn't tell them the whole story. You know what I never mentioned. About when we wielded the Elements. About what's going to happen to them. Especially to Twilight."

"Sister," Luna pointed out, "hadst thou said such things at the time, they would not have believed it. They barely believed that there were any worlds beyond this or that they would face half of what they hast faced."

"And yet I still hide it from them, though they know of the greater cosmos. And what's worse, Luna…I wanted to have a bond with trust with them. I wanted to be their friend. They have kept nothing from me…and I'm keeping secrets about them that affect their entire lives."

"Thou art still their friend," Luna reassured her sister. "Should thou decidest to tell them now, they still may not believe. 'Twould come as a great shock and seem a falsehood! If nopony else, Twilight Sparkle will understand thy reasons for having done what thou hast done. I dost not blame thee. Thou should not either."

"But—"

"Ah, dear sister! No interruptions! They will learn when the time has come, and they shan't blame you. Should they…then I will have words with them. And thou shall never lose my trust."

"After our history, Luna…that means a lot."

"Dear sister, when I returned to the royal palace, I discovered my fillyhood bedroom preserved in the exact condition in which I had left it. Thou saidst that thou kept it that way meaningfully, believing I would return. Thy actions towardst my identity of Nightmare Moon were necessary. Thy love never faltered. I shan't stop believing in thee. Now, art thou satisfied enough that thou mayst tell me my mission with Fourth Earth?"

Celestia nodded. "Now, Luna…you know that the time they will arrive will be different from when we were there. Salazar, Helga, Godric, and Rowena will have long passed. They may arrive in the age of Albus, Minerva, or even Armando."

"Those are the names I should seek?" Luna asked.

"Seek the headmaster," Celestia replied. "No matter what…the headmaster can be trusted."

---

THE SPACE BETWEEN

Twilight stood in the control room, watching the map. She cross-referenced it with the Guide and gave a great groan.

"What's up?" Rainbow Dash asked, walking into the room.

"I'm beginning to get really annoyed with whoever wrote this Guide," Twilight grumbled. "We're approaching a new territory called 'Fourth Earth,' and I'm trying to read up on it. But this is what I get." She cleared her throat before reciting from the book. "The primary feature of Fourth Earth is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, former sanctuary and bastion of knowledge for multiple worlds. However, as of their year of 1955, they cut off contact with all other worlds and declared that the subject of their history was taboo. So taboo, in fact, that if you want to know about Hogwarts, you should ask the Hogwarts staff themselves. They probably won't tell you anyway." Twilight ceased her quotation. "WHAT IS THAT EVEN SUPPOSED TO MEAN? HOW IS THAT SUPPOSED TO HELP?"

Rainbow Dash snickered. "Somepony has a warped sense of humor. Hey, I'll just be glad if Fourth Earth isn't another place where I have to wear a stupid frilly skirt." She put her hands in the pockets of her rainbow pants, which she'd changed back into after leaving Corona.

The map showed the Starlight approaching Fourth Earth ever more closely. The icon representing the ship edged forward one pixel, into the aura of Fourth Earth, and what happened next, Twilight couldn't have anticipated at all.

Her body, as well as Rainbow Dash's, crumpled to the floor. All throughout the other ship, their comrades experienced the same feeling. Fluttershy felt her shape changing, as it had when she'd gone from pony to human. Pinkie Pie was struck with disorientation. Rarity screamed in horror. Applejack gripped the side of her bed, trying to keep her balance.

Then it was over. Rainbow Dash got up to see her rainbow pants torn and lying on the floor. "Hey!" she cried. "What gives?" Then she looked down. "TWILIGHT! We're back to ourselves!" Rainbow Dash was so excited by looking down and seeing the familiar sight of four blue hooves planted on the ground that she threw her hands into the air. Her…hands. She brought those human hands in front of her face, staring at them perplexedly. "What…what the HAY?"

From across the ship, Rainbow Dash and Twilight heard a piercing scream: Rarity very clearly shrieked, "I'M A SIX-LEGGED MONSTER!"

"Oh…!" Twilight stood, looking at her new shape. Even without the ability to see her face, she knew that her head was still human, and she retained everything of her human form from that point down to the waist. Just below her navel, that body joined to the shoulders of her pony-body, her four hooves planted firmly on the ground. Her skirt was bunched up at the place where the two halves joined. She looked over to Rainbow Dash to confirm what she was seeing, also noting that Rainbow Dash's wings had moved from her human shoulder blades to her pony back and that her Cutie Mark had disappeared from her forearm to return to her flank. "We're Kentaurides!"

"What?" Rainbow Dash asked, confused.

"Female centaurs," Twilight clarified.

"You're going to have to start speaking a language I actually understand," Rainbow Dash sighed.

"Excuse me," Applejack said, marching into the control room, "but what in tarnation did we just turn into? Twilight, I figure you of all ponies knows what's goin' on."

"I do," Twilight replied. "We're Kentaurides, which are female centaurs. A centaur is a mythical creature that's half human and half equine. It's best described as 'human from the waist up and equine from the waist down,' but that's not really accurate, because they have the waist and forelegs of an equine animal like a pony."

"Just when I get used to walkin' on two legs and usin' two to do other stuff," Applejack moaned, "now you're tellin' me I gotta get used to havin' six?"

"Technically, four legs and two arms…"

"Why did this happen?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Well, I have a bit of a theory," Twilight explained. "So you know we changed from ponies to humans because our world has an aura that makes everypony look like, well, ponies, and the last worlds we visited had auras that made everypony look human. With me so far? Well, I haven't been able to dig up much on Fourth Earth, thanks to the writer of the guide being sarcastic, but it looks like there are several sentient humanoid species there. And I bet centaurs are one. We're still too far away from the Fourth Equestrian aura to be our true forms, but this is a world that will let us get a little closer to our true forms. Make sense?"

"No," Rainbow Dash admitted.

"I think I get it," Applejack reiterated. "On Equestria, ponies rule, so we're ponies. In Corona, humans rule, so we're humans. On wherever this is, some people kinda look like ponies, and we really are ponies, so we kinda look like ponies."

"We should probably go find the others and tell them it's okay," Twilight suggested. "I bet Fluttershy isn't taking it well, and I KNOW Rarity isn't taking it well."

"Betcha Pinkie Pie's taking it like it's another reason to party," Rainbow Dash said with a smile.

As the three left the control room, they were intercepted by Pinkie. "LOOK, LOOK!" she cried. "HANDS AND HOOVES AT THE SAME TIME! I CAN DANCE TWICE AS MUCH AS BEFORE AND STILL HAVE MY HANDS FREE TO HOLD STUFF LIKE TUBAS!" Pinkie then gasped dramatically before announcing, "I BET I CAN PLAY TWENTY INSTRUMENTS AT THE SAME TIME NOW!"

---

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY, FOURTH EARTH

A mist rolled in over the waters; the ship drifted out. Rainbow Dash walked up onto the deck to drop anchor. She glanced around to see her surroundings. The mist cleared away, revealing the ship to be confined in a crystal blue lake that sparkled beneath a summer sun. To one side of the lake was a thick forest of trees of all kinds. To the other side, a wide lawn of green grass and a structure that made Rainbow Dash's jaw drop. The castle made Rapunzel's home in Corona look absolutely pathetic. It sprawled out over several wings, sprouting towers like flowers in a garden. It was constructed of gray stone, which also gleamed in the sunlight. Its expanse made it appear as though it could probably have contained a very small town.

Rainbow Dash went back belowdecks. "You're not gonna believe what we're parked next to!" she cried.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?" Twilight guessed. She stood with the others, everypony having been adjusted to the Kentauride transition.

"Well, that's probably what it is," Rainbow Dash answered, "but did you actually know what it LOOKED like?"

"No…" Twilight admitted.

"Okay, so you know Canterlot Castle, Jasmine's palace, and Rapunzel's castle?"

"All lovely buildings," Rarity commented.

"They look like garbage next to this one," Rainbow Dash finished.

"Impossible!" Rarity gasped.

"Well, you'll get a chance to see for yourself," Rainbow Dash told her. "I mean, you have to go out on your stealth fashion mission and all."

Rarity was already dressed for such a mission. "It was hard work to convert this suit to fit a Kentauride body," she admitted—the fabric covered not only her human torso, but her pony half—"but I made it work. As usual. Though depending, I'll probably only have to make blouses for us this time around."

"Can we all just agree that whatever I wear, we don't call it a 'blouse'?" Rainbow Dash asked. "It just doesn't sound cool!"

"Whatever you wish," Rarity promised. "Now, I have to see this castle for myself! I'll be back with the report."

She trotted upstairs and onto the deck. The sight of the castle did, admittedly, blow her away. Intrigued, she quietly made her way down the gangplank and began creeping around the lawn, hiding in a shrub at first.

Looking out, she saw two beings standing on the lake shore, looking out at the Starlight. It must have attracted attention, seeing as it had sailed right into the middle of an enclosed lake. Both beings were female, Rarity ascertained. The one farthest from her was a human, clothed in robes of emerald green and a pointed witch's hat set atop pinned-up silver hair; a glimmer of light on her face betrayed golden spectacles. The other was a Kentauride, though she was taller than Rarity, owing to her longer legs. Suddenly, Rarity realized she'd seen the lower body of this Kentauride before: the midnight-blue coat, the wings, the crescent-moon Cutie Mark… Her human half was clothed in a loose, flowing blue top that bared both shoulders, perfectly complementing the flowing, night-colored hair that was as lustrous as stars.

"LUNA?" Rarity cried, rushing out of hiding to approach the princess.

Luna turned and beamed at Rarity. "RARITY!" she cried, slipping back to the Royal Canterlot Voice in her excitement.

"What are you doing here?" Rarity asked. "And who, may I ask, is your friend?"

"I," the woman in green replied, "am Headmistress Minerva McGonagall. Princess Luna informed me of your arrival. We've been expecting you."

"Thou must tellest thy friends to leave the ship and speak with us immediately," Luna commanded.

"Does Headmistress McGonagall…" Rarity began.

"I know everything," McGonagall replied. "Insofar as that your true forms are quite different, that you hail from a completely different world, and that you have already been on many adventures. And it is exactly that about which I wish to speak."

"It is strange, returning to Hogwarts after all this time," Luna admitted. "Celestia and I didst first see it when it was first founded. Yet let us waste no more time! Rarity, summon thy friends!"

"But…what will we wear?" Rarity asked. "We can't simply walk off the ship without knowing how to dress!"

"Anything will be sufficient," Luna told her.

"Right," Rarity said. "Give us a few minutes, and we'll all be right here as soon as possible."

---

The six Kentaurides stepped down off the gangplank, each wearing a different pattern of tee. Twilight's shirt was a lovely deep violet patterned with constellations, Rainbow Dash's was gold with a rainbow encircling the midsection, Pinkie Pie's was bright pink with multicolored pastel flecks that resembled confetti, Applejack's was red with a green apple insignia, Fluttershy's was soft green with a pink floral pattern, and the shirt Rarity had made for herself was black satin edged with lace.

"I am pleased to meet you all," McGonagall said. "I am Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"And we are pleased to meet you," Rarity replied. "My name is Rarity."

And one by one, as usual, the others introduced themselves.

"So…you expected us to show up?" Twilight interrupted after introductions. "What's going on?"

"You shall all need to follow me," McGonagall said. "We can discuss things further in my office."

"There are surprises waiting for you there!" Luna emphasized. She and McGonagall turned to walk across the lawn toward the castle; the six shrugged and followed.

The entryway to the castle was a pair of gargantuan wooden doors, upon which McGonagall knocked thrice. The doors swung open to reveal a spacious atrium; a stained glass window filtered in colored light, and four hourglasses, each taller than Luna, stood at the room's front. Each hourglass, instead of containing sand, held gemstones of a different color: red, green, blue, and yellow.

From here, McGonagall and Luna, obviously knowing where they were going, led the six up several flights of stairs and down many twisting hallways until even Twilight lost her sense of direction. They stopped before a stone gargoyle, standing stoically in the hallway.

"Dumbledore," McGonagall told the gargoyle, and it shifted to life momentarily to hop aside and reveal an arched doorway.

"Is it alive?" Twilight asked, thinking of Angela on Avalon.

"No," McGonagall admitted. "Merely enchanted."

Beyond the door was a spiral staircase that moved upwards of its own accord, like an escalator. Pinkie Pie immediately jumped on it, crying, "WHEEEEEE!" The others followed slightly more gracefully. At the top of the stairs was another door; McGonagall opened it to lead her seven companions into the office at the stairway's culmination.

Six animals roamed the spacious room, which was studded with portraits. The portraits were another matter entirely, as the people in them were all seemingly alive, moving about and whispering to each other across frames. However, the attention of the six was caught by the animals, whom they immediately recognized.

"OWLOWISCIOUS!" Twilight cried, rushing toward her pet owl, who sat upon a perch that conspicuously appeared as though it was meant for a bird to sit upon it, though no other bird was visible in the office. Owlowiscious replied with a "Hoo" and winged to perch on Twilight's shoulder, recognizing his master despite her shift in form.

"Angel?" Fluttershy reached down to pick up a grumpy-looking white rabbit, whose look of derision she would know anywhere.

"Hey, it's Tank!" Rainbow Dash knelt on the floor to playfully tap on the shell of the good-natured tortoise.

Applejack whistled, and Winona the brown-and-white farm dog rushed to her side, panting happily.

"Oh, Opalescence!" Rarity attempted to hug her disgruntled white cat, who responded by trying to claw her way out of Rarity's embrace. "Mama's missed you so much!"

"GUMMY!" Pinkie Pie held her toothless miniature alligator aloft. "How did you get here, you silly goose?"

"I hast brought thy familiars here!" Luna explained.

"Familiars?" Twilight asked.

"Let us not get ahead of ourselves," McGonagall told Luna. "We do not even know if they will accept the proposition." She moved to the great wooden desk, sitting at it. "What do you know of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?"

"It's a school for witches and wizards to learn magic," Twilight replied knowledgeably. "It's supposed to be one of the safest places in the multiverse. Some of the greatest witches and wizards of all time have come from it, including Merlineans and Morganians."

"HUH?" her five friends chorused in unison.

"Followers of Merlin and Morgana le Fay," Twilight clarified. "Anyway, the school used to be open to everyone in the multiverse, but some time ago, Fourth Earth closed itself off entirely for some reason. And that's all I know."

"That is correct," McGonagall confirmed. "To confirm, this school was founded in our year 990 by two powerful witches and two equally powerful wizards: Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, Godric Gryffindor, and Salazar Slytherin. Among those who first visited the school and knew the four founders personally were Princess Luna and her sister, Celestia."

"Really?" Rainbow Dash asked. "You and Celestia were here when this place was built?"

"And the adventures we hadst with the founders four!" Luna laughed. "All very dear friends. Although I am informed that after Celestia and I departed from this world to visit others, Salazar defected."

"Salazar believed that only pure-blood wizards and witches should be allowed into the school," McGonagall informed Luna. "Because of this, there was a schism between him and the others."

"He never was the most open-minded," Luna sighed. "But 'tis a pity. Despite his flaws, I found him quite a charming friend."

"The four founders affect the way our school is set up today," McGonagall went on. "We have divided the student body into four houses, each named for a founder and based on his or her values. This will be important for you to know, should you accept the offer that Luna and I have been discussing."

"And what offer is that?" Applejack inquired.

"I know you are the Elements of Harmony—" McGonagall tried to begin, but this set all the portraits into a tizzy, and each yelled something different:

"Impossible!"

"They don't exist!"

"Fairy tales!"

"Lies and slander!"

"OH, WILL YOU LOT BELT UP!" cried one portrait in particular, a bearded man. "Am I the only one who recognizes them?"

"Phineas?" McGonagall addressed the portrait that had spoken. "You know these young women?"

"Course I do," Phineas replied. "They were here when James Potter and his lot were in school. I saw Rainbow Dash end up here with James enough."

"But I've never been here," Rainbow Dash protested. "There's no way…"

"But there is," Twilight realized. "The Starlight can travel through time. We must have been here before!"

"I had thought you seemed familiar," McGonagall admitted. "I assume you stayed out of my sight in order to attempt to prevent a temporal paradox."

"That sounds like something I'd do," Twilight admitted. She turned back to her friends: "Just so we're all clear, when we show up here in the past, let's try and stay out of McGonagall's sight so we don't cause a paradox, okay?"

"In any case," McGonagall went on, "a few things have come to my attention. One is that, as Luna has revealed to me, you have been feeling as though your magical capabilities are insufficient for your current quest."

"We have," Twilight admitted. Then it sank in. "Wait a minute. This place TEACHES magic. Are you saying…"

"Let me finish," McGonagall said sternly, looking at Twilight over the top of her spectacles; Twilight swallowed her sentence. "The other is that our resident seer, Sybil Trelawney, former Divination professor, has approached me with a rather disturbing prophecy. She has said that ancient evils will return to this world and bring with them discord, and…well? Did I say something wrong?"

The six had shivered at the mention of the word "discord," still not knowing if it was merely happenstance or an allusion to their old enemy. "It's just that those words, I mean those particular words, are a little scary," Fluttershy explained. "What happens next?"

"Six chosen ones were supposed to appear here," McGonagall finished, "and I cannot help but note that you number six. I have yet to confirm with the Ministry of Magic—"

"THERE'S A MINISTRY OF MAGIC?" Twilight squealed, grinning madly, but McGonagall stared her down over the top of her glasses again to shut her up.

"—as I was saying, I have yet to confirm with the Ministry whether or not there are additional prophecies regarding you or the Elements of Harmony, and given the state of things, it will take some doing to get them to admit it if there are. The event that caused us to close our borders was incredibly cataclysmic, and the Ministry has been reticent to deal with anything that they believe may be more powerful or destructive than what we just managed to defeat last year."

"But what was that?" Applejack asked. "If ya don't mind me askin'."

"A wizard named Lord Voldemort," McGonagall explained. "I would not, were I you, refer to him by name among the general public. There is a certain taboo upon it that I do not care to entertain myself. As my predecessor in the Headmaster's position used to say, fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself. Lord Voldemort terrorized the wizarding world, killing hundreds out of prejudice and out of fear of death. This past year, he was finally slain in battle by our resident hero, Harry Potter. Trust me, the more time you spend in this world, the more you will get to know that name.

"Now, to get to the point: it seems that you are destined to be here, and we can offer you the skills you need. Luna and I have discussed at length what to do, and we have come up with a proposition. It is most unorthodox, as you are all far past the age at which we usually admit students, but Luna has assured me that you are all trustworthy and that you would benefit from regular coursework in magic."

"Not to forget that Pinkie Pie possesses the mentality of an eleven-year-old human!" Luna added carelessly.

Pinkie just nodded and laughed, not offended at all.

"More like a five-year-old human," Rainbow Dash whispered to Applejack.

"More like FOUR!" Pinkie giggled, and Rainbow Dash flinched, unaware that Pinkie had heard her.

"It is under these circumstances that I would like to offer the six of you regular studentship at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," McGonagall said. "You would enter with the first years and attend classes with them. Mind you, we also have not had centaurs as students at all in my memory, since relations between humans and the centaurs of the Forbidden Forest are rocky at best. However, if the students have issues with that, you may refer them to me. You would live here for each school year and be sorted into the according House. You would be skilled in all areas of magic. And, because our school has implemented a longtime policy of allowing one pet per student, you would be able to live with the animal companions Luna has brought you."

"The duration is seven years," Luna said, "but because of the abilities of the Starlight, it would not be seven true years to thee. If thou wished, thou couldst, after the end of thy first year, return to Corona the day after thou leftst it. Thou may spendst the summers away, for as long as thou liked, and return in time for the next school year. Thy tuition would be completely covered by Celestia and myself."

"If you do not wish to entertain our offer," McGonagall concluded, "the decision is entirely your own."

The six exchanged glances. They all knew that they were thinking roughly the same thing.

"Of course we want to," Twilight began.

"But, um," Fluttershy said softly, "only two of us are actually witches."

"FALSEHOOD!" Luna cried, her yell nearly blowing out everyone else's eardrums. "Er, I mean…that is not entirely true. Though only Twilight Sparkle and Rarity were born with magical powers, thou art the Elements of Harmony. This entails that each of thee has an innate sense of magic. It may be small, and thou mayst not be able to complete all spells, but each of thee shouldst have at least some control over magic. To what degree will be different for each of thee."

"Well, we did okay with Galifem arrows," Applejack remembered, "and those are kinda magic."

"If I may speak for us all," Rarity said, "we accept the proposition. And we are very grateful to you for offering it!"

"When can we start?" Twilight asked, her eyes wide and shining at the prospect.

"The official Sorting Ceremony is in a week," McGonagall answered. "We will arrange for you to stay in London until then so you may complete your school shopping. Mind you, this world is divided between the magical and nonmagical communities in ways you may not be familiar with. Muggles—that is to say, the nonmagical—are easily frightened by the concept of magic, and trying to integrate our communities completely is, at this point, impossible. It will take many more years before our societies are able to peacefully coexist. Until then, the magical world is concealed from Muggles, and I expect all of you to be mindful of that in London, which is largely a Muggle city."

"But how are we supposed to keep it a secret if we're Kentaurides?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Don't worry," Twilight reassured her. "I've been working on my glamour spells. I think I can conjure something that will let everypony in London think we look like humans."

"And you needn't worry about keeping up such disguises in Diagon Alley," McGonagall said. "That is, of course, where you shall purchase all the necessary schoolbooks and supplies." She took from the desk six rolls of parchment. "These lists specify what you will need for your first year of curriculum."

"Thou art about to ask how thou wilt pay for such things," Luna said. "And I hast the answer." She took from one of her shirt pockets a bulging sack of money. "This is a gift from Celestia and myself to thee! It should be enough to cover thy myriad expenses."

"Thank you so much!" Fluttershy gushed. "I don't know how we could have done it without—"

"I am not finished," Luna said. She took out a second sack of money and placed it on the desk beside the first. "HUZZAH! The bits have been doubled!"

"But how?" Twilight asked.

"These are profits from the clothing that Rarity has been designing and sending back to Ponyville!" Luna announced. "Sweetie Belle is quite an accomplished salespony and bookkeeper! And, might I add, thy 'Seven Deserts' line is becoming popular in Canterlot."

Rarity blushed. "Why, I can hardly believe it!"

"Take the bits to Gringotts bank in Diagon Alley," McGonagall said. "Even if the goblins claim that they do not remember how to convert interdimensional currency…rest assured, they still have that knowledge."

Twilight was already reading over her booklist. "Magical Drafts and Potions? Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them! This is WONDERFUL!"

"If I send you to the Leaky Cauldron with directions about what to do and where to go," McGonagall said, "I trust you can find your way with little supervision?"

"You can count on us!" Twilight said with a nod.

"I am glad thou hast accepted the offer!" Luna said joyously. "Thou shouldst find the answers thou needest!"

"Thank you so much for letting us," Twilight said.

"It is no trouble," McGonagall said. "I suppose it is appropriate for me to say at this time…welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

---

THE RIDDLE HOUSE, FOURTH EARTH

Discord reclined on the master bed, stretching out his full draconequus body. He leafed through the final pages of a thick book bound in a peach-colored dust jacket. "All was well," he read out loud; those were the final words in the book. He slammed it shut. "All was WELL? Gag! That's not how you end a story! Hmm…what can we do to make it a little more interesting?"

He rolled over. He was completely alone; he always had enjoyed speaking to himself. "It's too quiet," he resolved. "That's what it is. It's no fun if the heroes all get to live and the villains have to die. Where's the conflict? Where's the action? Where's the drama? What this story needs is a little more spice!"

He produced a small, dark stone and rolled it around in his palm. "And this is exactly how I plan to give it that," he continued. "The Resurrection Stone…oh, but unfortunately, it's only meant to bring back shades of the dead, not the actual flesh and blood people!" He chuckled, grinning. "Well, it's a good thing I can warp the rules, then, isn't it?"

He turned the stone over in his birdlike claw. A bright light filled the room, and suddenly, it was filled with people. Witches, wizards…and all completely alive. At the forefront of them was a pale man with a very singular face. His eyes were bright red, his head was devoid of any hair, and his nose was completely smoothed over, the nostrils set right into the skin. This made him resemble a snake—and in fact, a snake was curling up at his feet to hammer home the resemblance.

"What…magic…is this?" the man breathed, looking at what had once been his own bed, now occupied by the strangest dragonlike creature he'd ever seen.

"Why, Lord Voldemort!" Discord leapt from the bed and stood, spreading his arms. "Welcome back to the world of the living!"

"This cannot be," Voldemort breathed. "There is no such magic—"

"Well, there was this old thing," Discord said, holding out the stone. "Which, I might add, someone CARELESSLY left lying around the Forbidden Forest."

"It could never truly bring the dead back to life," Voldemort pointed out.

"Well, TECHNICALLY it isn't supposed to," Discord said. "And TECHNICALLY glasses are supposed to fill from the bottom up, and TECHNICALLY you can't get into the room in the Canterlot castle where the Elements of Harmony pendants are kept unless you're Princess Celestia, and TECHNICALLY the Coronan aura should have shifted me into human form without me having to do it myself, but I don't have to play by the rules, now, do I?"

A frizzy-haired woman pointed at Discord somewhat accusingly. "He's an Old One, he is!" she cried. "One of the old gods of disorder!"

"Precisely, Ms. Lestrange!" Discord laughed.

"And how do you know all of us?" Voldemort asked.

Discord pointed to the bed, where he'd left his tome. "I read the book. Don't ask. Now, let's get down to business. I brought you here because I'm playing the most important game I've ever played, and this playing field was absolutely boring. Too much good and too little bad. Too much organization and too little disorder. You and your Death Eaters are the biggest monkey wrench I can throw into the works here."

"So you are claiming we are your pawns."

"I'm not claiming it. I'm stating it. Really, is that too much for any of you to grasp? You're almost as bad as Maleficent. In any case, you might be interested to know that some old enemies of yours have turned back up."

"I expected Harry Potter to live a long life," Voldemort replied. "Long enough that no matter what year it is, he will still be around to face me."

"It's actually the summer after he killed you. I'm aware that bringing you back THIS soon is REALLY cheating, but this world was headed on a fast track to 'All was well,' and I couldn't have that happen, you see? But I'm actually talking about an older enemy. From another world. Don't you remember?"

After a pause, Voldemort said, "The Elements of Harmony…"

"Exactly. But under new names and faces. They're right here on this very planet. I figure you might want to go after them and see what happens. I'm sure the clash will be absolutely riveting to watch! Oh, and if you are still interested in Potter, I'm sure you can go after him too. Now, do you want the ground rules?"

"You speak of rules after you have broken them," Voldemort pointed out.

"I'm talking about rules I set," Discord clarified. "It's more of a roll call, really. In this room, you have a standard set of Death Eaters. You, Alecto and Amycus Carrow, Antonin Dolohov, Alfred AND Alistair Avery, Bartemius Crouch Jr. complete with soul, Bellatrix Lestrange, Vincent Crabbe Sr. and Jr., Evan Rosier, Gideon Gibbon, Gregory Goyle Sr., Fenrir Greyback, Igor Karkaroff for a second bite at the apple, Cassius Jugson, Edmond Lestrange, Stephen Mulciber Sr. and Jr., Matthew Nott Sr., Peter Pettigrew, Rodolphus Lestrange, Jonathan Rosier, Christopher Scabior, Andronicus Selwyn, Thorfinn Rowle, Terry Travers, Walden Macnair, Reynaldo Wilkes, and Nikolas Yaxley. No Rookwood; he's in jail. No Malfoys and no Snape; you didn't want them back anyway. No Burke; I'm saving that one for something special elsewhere. No Gorgon and no Horvath; I tried, but neither of them are actually dead, which should make you happy. And no Russo; let's have the past be the past, shall we?" He grinned when he saw Voldemort's face at the mention of that last name. The real reason he'd kept back Russo was simply to make Voldemort that angry. It was, to him, frankly hilarious. "To replace them all, I gave you one more. Ladies and gentlemen, I present!"

He gestured toward the back corner, where a slight, pale man was sitting on the floor, hugging his knees, obviously not wanting to be there.

"Quirinus…Quirrell," Voldemort observed.

"Why," Quirrell croaked. "Why again…"

"You balk," Voldemort observed. "When it was you who sought me out in the first place."

"I didn't know the consequences," Quirrell squeaked. "I didn't realize…the pain…"

Discord laughed raucously. "This really IS fun! Now, one more thing. As you can see, the snake Nagini is alive and well, but she's a regular snake. Not a Horcrux. In fact…you have NO Horcruxes! Your soul is fully repaired! Now, what you want to do about that is up to you. I know what I'd do if I were you, but I want to see what you decide. Now that you know the ground rules, Lord Voldemort, what do you think?"

Voldemort wasn't sure what to make of the Old One's goofy grin. He'd heard tell of the Old Ones, but he had never expected…this. Still, he had only one answer: "I must thank you. This truly is…a gift."

"And what are you going to do now that you're back?"

"Finish what I began."

"Excellent." Discord's smile was now a knowing smirk. "Now, if you'll excuse me…I have front row seats to what's sure to be the best show Fourth Earth has had since your defeat." He snapped his fingers, and then he, the Resurrection Stone, and the book were gone.

"What the bloody hell was that all about?" Bartemius "Barty" Crouch Jr. groaned.

"An old magic," Voldemort said softly. "One that transcends all limitations. He has given us quite the opportunity. We are in a perfect position to finish all we had begun. To exact our revenges. To finish our quests. To re-establish ourselves on this world…and on others as well."

"And what're you going to do?" Bellatrix asked.

"Rebuild my immortality," Voldemort said without even pausing to think. "Find six new Horcruxes."

"But we've already been dead," Scabior pointed out.

"That we have," Voldemort replied. Images flashed through his mind. The deep green glow of the river Styx. The clack of the judges' gavel; the bite of the Devourer. The screams of Tartarus, echoing against black stone walls. "And having been dead…it is not something I wish to again experience."

"What is our plan?" Vincent Crabbe Sr. inquired. "Beyond simply making Horcruxes."

"I plan to find and attack the Elements of Harmony, as well as Potter and all those who helped him," Voldemort stated. "I also have in mind exactly which object to form into my first Horcrux. But before that, we must prepare. I wish to implement failsafes and to bring into our fold a few of those that were lost. Those…not of this world, who still wished to conquer it. In the meantime, make your own plans, all of you, for this is when we bring them to life."

"One question," Bellatrix asked. "What is this object you've picked out to start with the Horcruxes again?"

"The very object that led to my first downfall," Voldemort replied. "Quirrell should remember it well. It cheated the both of us and favored Potter. For that, I intend to make it my own." He turned to the shivering man in the corner. "Do you have any idea what I'm talking about, Quirrell?"

Slowly, Quirrell raised his gaze to meet Voldemort's. Then he nodded, slowly. His answer was indeed the very object on his master's mind: "The Mirror of Erised."

---

Chapter 24:

· Luna and Celestia are really fun to write together, but at the same time, difficult. And both those facets are for the same reason: Celestia speaks in modern slang while Luna speaks Ye Olde English. I'm sure I didn't get a lot of Luna's grammar right.

· While "Crystal Empire" convinced me that Celestia can control dark magic (and she did have both night and day for 1000 years), she is primarily a unicorn of light, so I thought that Luna should be the one to have mastered Apparition at the Speed of Darkness.

· Yes, Celestia is keeping secrets. At first, I was just going to have one big secret that I'd planned from the beginning, but since then, I ended up making this huge backstory for how the first six Elements of Harmony came into being, and I'm going to retcon it in whether y'all like it or not. So Celestia is also saying nothing about that.

· Till this point, I never accurately portrayed how snarky the Guide can get at times. It was long overdue.

· The Kentauride idea came partly from me and partly from Ophira. I was thinking about what forms the Mane Six would take on various worlds because of the shape-shifting aura thing, and I had it in the works that they would become Kentaurides for a world based on Ancient Greece. Then I remembered that there are centaurs in Harry Potter, too. Ophira advised me to go for it and give them that form. And I like it. This storylet, which to be longer than the last two because I intend to cover a full year at Hogwarts (don't worry, it won't be as long as an actual Rowling book), is also going to contain a few examples of ponification—characters from outside MLPFIM are going to go to Fourth Equestria and become ponies. Which I'm really excited for. Not saying who yet.

· I only refer to Hogwarts by the full title in the first header – I realize that's inconsistent, but I don't think it's necessary to repeat it after that. You all know what Hogwarts is.

· Pinkie saying "I can play twenty instruments at the same time" is a reference to the ep "Magic Duel", where it's revealed that Pinkie as a four-legged pony can play ten instruments at one time. Ponies who haven't met her think it's magic; her friends say, "It's just Pinkie Pie." So giving her two extra limbs probably doubles the instruments.

· This storylet—at least in this time period—is set during the last week of the summer immediately after Harry vanquished Voldemort in Deathly Hallows.

· A bit of a rant: so I used the Potter Wiki a LOT for this, and it said that Hogwarts was canonized to officially have seven stories. Seven. I understand this being the case in the licensed video games, because there's only so much programming space you can have, and they did REALLY well with what they had. And in the movies, I guess we never do see more than seven floors. But when I first read the first book, waaaay back as a wee one, I thought Hogwarts had at least twenty floors and was probably bigger on the inside than it looked from the outside. I thought it had to be the biggest and most impressive castle EVER. I'm hoping that my description kind of put that across. Because I do not intend to stick to only seven stories. I'm intentionally putting the Divination classroom on the ninth or tenth. I'm doing it. Don't try to stop me.

· NOBODY CARES WHAT THE MANE SIX ARE WEARING except me. I love making their clothes. Even just T-shirts.

· I had trouble deciding on a design for McGonagall. I don't remember if the books gave her silver hair or not; I imagined her with black hair before the films came along. I went with silver in the end because black eventually becomes that color anyway. And since I've been watching a ton of Downton Abbey and becoming a Maggie Smith fan…I sort of have to envision her as Maggie Smith.

· So I stole the atrium from the Chamber of Secrets video game. I'm going to be stealing quite a bit of architecture from the games, actually (not all of it, of course, as I intend to keep to the idea that Hogwarts is more than seven stories tall, and I have some of my own flairs to stick on certain areas). Actually, since the game was based on the films, I probably just stole it from the films, but I don't actually remember the atrium being in any of the movies. Which goes to show how long ago I watched them. Oh, and you should know now: I'm going to be patchworking in ideas from the books, movies, games, AND fanworks.

· "Merlineans" and "Morganians": terms stolen from the movie The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

· And we see yet another snapshot from Celestia and Luna's travels in the past: they met the Four Founders.

· Phineas Black is my favorite portrait and I had to at least give him a cameo.

· Yes, I've planned far enough in advance that I know I'm going to have the Mane Six muck with time and visit the Marauders. Eventually. And there are some other time periods in Hogwarts history I'm considering for them, though none involves the Founders.

· McGonagall staring down over her glasses is actually a bit of headcanon I have. I had a middle school teacher who I always thought reminded me of McGonagall, and the way she got everyone to shut up was to stare at them over the top of her glasses. I thought it seemed fitting.

· I hope the plot of making them students isn't too corny. Yes, it will involve a lot of doing the Stations of the Canon (Diagon Alley, the Sorting, Quidditch, etc.). But I think it ended up being fun.

· Based on the fact that Fluttershy, AJ, RD, and Pinkie are four of the Elements alone, I think they have slight capacities for magic…but this is actually something I want to go into deeper detail on later. For now, all you need to know is that they don't have full witch capabilities, but they each have a little bit of magic.

· I have no idea if Twilight can do glamours of that level, but I needed a cover story for London.

· By the way, for me, the official theme song of Discord scheming things and bringing back villains and/or chaotic plot devices behind the scenes is a fansong called "Don't Look", created by YT user PiercingSight (a.k.a. DaneGraphics). If you wanted a small bit of leitmotif for him.

· Yes. YES. Discord wants to mess with Fourth Earth because HE READ DEATHLY HALLOWS AND DIDN'T LIKE THE EPILOGUE. HE READ THE BOOK WHILE SITTING ON THE BED OF THE BOOK'S MAIN VILLAIN. HE KNOWS WHERE THE FOURTH WALL IS AND HE DOESN'T CARE. Now, I don't hate the epilogue entirely—I've decided I mostly agree with the ships and the lineage—but the entire concept was really corny and so much Mood Whiplash after the dark plot twists of the war, and I keep getting this feeling Rowling mostly wrote it so people would stop bugging her to make more books. She definitely didn't want Voldemort to ever come back. So guess what Discord and I want to happen?

· Seriously, Harry thought the Resurrection Stone would be lost forever if he chucked it on the ground of the Forbidden Forest. As though no one would ever find it there. As though there wasn't any such thing as Discord.

· In Discord's eps of MLPFIM, he clearly breaks the rules of magic. The Elements pendants are locked away in a room that only Celestia can open, but she finds the space empty, and Discord has managed to transport the Elements miles away. It's never explained how he did that. So can he fix the Resurrection Stone so it actually resurrects rather than just bringing back shades? I think so. Now I know what you're thinking: why didn't he just use the gate to the Netherworld or the Cosmic Reset? Well, the Cosmic Reset would have involved way too much complexity having to be done over again, and I didn't want to deal with it. I'll give the excuse that Discord thinks what happened in the past was already too much fun to muck with. As for the Eye of Gazeem, that's an easy explanation. The Netherworld is a subset of the afterlife that the Death Eaters weren't in.

· So, at first, I hated the film version of Voldemort as shown in Goblet of Fire. I hated the no nose thing. But that version has become so iconic that I had to use it. As for the other Death Eaters…Bellatrix has "frizzy hair". Take this as the film version, the version from A Very Potter Musical, or one of your own creation. Scabior looks exactly like his film counterpart—but I'll explain that more below. Quirrell is thin and wiry because we all pictured him that way, and you know it. Barty Crouch Jr. is David Tennant because DAVID TENNANT. And the rest? Maybe I'll describe them, maybe I won't, but their designs are going to be a lot more fluid.

· Voldy knows about the Elements, and this has to do with the backstory I made for the previous gen of Elements.

· And now, an explanation of the Death Eaters listed. I mostly used the Potter Wiki list of known Death Eaters that were either confirmed or presumed dead. For a lot of them with last names given but no first names, I just pulled first names out of nowhere. I added two from canon: Fenrir Greyback (of course) and Scabior. Admittedly, that last one was purely because of the seventh and eighth films. I'm not even sure if he was originally in Rowling's written work or if he was made for the films. (I need a reread…) But his role in the films was so HUGE, almost as a secondary antagonist, that I had to throw him in. Crouch is back because he's David Tennant. Karkaroff is back and not given the benefit of the doubt because I just thought it would be fun. Same for Pettigrew. Rookwood was very specifically listed as jailed and NOT dead, so he couldn't appear. And I'm actually giving the Malfoys the benefit of the doubt—that's right, I'm doing Draco In Leather Pants on Draco! Because Crabbe Jr. died in the fiend-fyre, though, I figured he could come back with his dad. Goyle Jr…is being raised by his mom. No idea if I want to do anything with him yet.

· For the crossover Death Eaters: the surnames are going to be foreshadowing for now. "Burke" is, of course, based partly on the missing half of Borgin and Burkes, but it's actually something I'll be lending to a crossover character. Gorgon, Horvath, and Russo are all there for you to guess at right now.

· And finally, QUIRRELL. Why did I bring back Quirrell? Because of the parody fanwork "A Very Potter Musical." It gave Quirrell an expanded role and…well…those who have seen it know what it did with Quirrell and Voldemort that I like and want to play with eventually. Those who haven't? I'm not going to spoil the surprise.

· So you'll partly recognize that the Underworld is kinda the one from Disney's Hercules because the Styx is green. However, astute eyes will catch the house of the judges (a Greek mythology original that I don't think I've ever seen touched upon in any pop culture work) as well as the Devourer from Egyptian mythology. I almost don't want to go into too much detail because the Underworld that Voldemort went to was in the 90's of his world, and the Hades we saw in the last chapter, the Disney version, is still in the B.C. era of his, so Voldy actually comes from Hades' future…and I have planned some major changes for the Underworld in that time (though I don't know if I'll ever get there, since this story is friggin' huge).

· And yeah, rebuilding Horcruxes is kind of a stupid plot to re-enact, but again, I think it will be fun, and I wanted something that would pay homage to Harry's first year for the Mane Six's first year, so the Mirror of Erised had to be brought into it. Besides, given Voldy's history with the thing, don't you think he'd WANT to go after it so he wouldn't have to be mocked by its existence?