Dragon Alley (no longer open)

Quote :

Dear Student,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please see the enclosed list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1st. We await your owl by no later than July 31st.


Yours sincerely,

Professor Cadenza

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HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon scale or similar)
4. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)
by Scarlet Hawkwing

A History of Magic
by Thousand Pages

Magical Theory
by Quantum Spark

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration
by Matter Molder

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi
by Sporadic Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions
by Foul Fumes

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
by Skink the Slender

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection
by Cynder the Dark

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales
1 messenger bird of flight
Students may also bring, if they desire, an extra pet, no bigger than a medium-sized dog; related: no dogs, or anything else that will romp or disrupt other students.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS
ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK

---

It was a sunny day. Few fluffy clouds in the brilliantly blue sky, and some pegasi moving them occasionally to give shade to areas that were starting to get a bit too warm. Beneath the sky, in Dragon Alley, was a light hustle and bustle of ponies and not-ponies. Most of them were with younger ones, and those groups of 2-12 were in a noticeably greater hustle to get to the shops they needed to before the day ended, or supplies ran out. They were preparing their children for their first, or another, year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
--
In the northeastern end of Dragon Alley, the busy crowd of civilians stumbled over each other and themselves, trying to part neatly to make way for three figures: a very tall, very white pony with wings, horn, sun cutie mark and semi-tangible mane and tail, striding gracefully through the street; a much smaller orange filly with a wavy mane of gold and red, almost galloping to keep up with the alicorn; and a slightly taller, much paler filly with a brown, blue-streaked mane tied back in a ponytail, actually galloping in small bursts and walking normally when she had caught up. Celestia seemed to be keeping a closer eye on the paler filly.

"Alright you two," Celestia said, being sure to make her voice heard to them over the many "Your Highness"s and "Pardon me, Princess"s and similar statements. "I think we should start with getting you some robes. I've heard of a good place to get very nice ones."

"Why do we need to get robes?" the orange filly, Sunset Shimmer, asked. "We never wear clothes, and the robes definitely aren't decorative."

"Because it's the school's requirement." Celestia answered simply, and from her tone it was apparent they'd gone over this multiple times before. "And Sunset, I'll tell you honestly... I don't get it, either."

Sunset didn't seem amused. The paler pony, Fine Fantasy, did though; she chuckled. Sunset rolled her eyes at her, but she didn't notice.

"Now, come on. If we finish school shopping soon enough, we can get some ice cream." Celestia offered.

-
Fantasy gasped. Sunset huffed, at her. She hadn't liked that pony since they'd met. Almost every time she saw her, she was stumbling over her hooves, looking at everything with the blankest expression Sunset had ever seen on a pony, and it was like she didn't understand basic language, verbal or not. And half the time she interacted with either her or Princess Celestia, she shrunk down and spoke so softly it was almost impossible to understand her, like she was afraid she'd be hit; it kinda made Sunset wanna hit her. Kinda.

She also got way too excited over the smallest things. Like ice cream. Or basic magic. Or, for a while, everypony she saw. Like she'd never seen a pony before. In fact, Sunset was starting to suspect she was a sympathy case: Celestia looking after her because she'd rescued her from an abusive family, or something. But that didn't make sense; a lot of foals were in bad situations. Why didn't Celestia look after them as well? That was another thing Sunset didn't like about Fantasy: she made her suspicious. Suspicious that Celestia was hiding something from her.

On the whole, there were a lot of reasons Sunset didn't like this pony. But she didn't bother herself with it too much, because that pony didn't bother her too much. She spent most of her time in a guest room in the castle, or in the royal library, studying Equestrian history, magic... anything about Equestria she could learn, really.

Was she from another country? That would explain a few of the weird things, but not all of them.
-

Soon enough, they'd reached the shop Celestia was looking for: Madam Moorella's Robe Shop. Celestia gently pushed the door open, setting off a gentle tinkling of a bell, and ushered Sunset and Fantasy in. She then ducked in herself, having to back up and angle her head down so her horn didn't scrap at the doorway. When she lifted her head, she saw that, as usual, Sunset had rushed in and was well ready for measurements, and apparently impatient that the owner of the shop hadn't noticed her presence yet. Celestia chuckled to herself. Impatient, the filly was, but she would grow out of it in time.

Fantasy, as usual, was sight-seeing. Or just letting her eyes wander while her brain was in another place entirely. Her expression never really gave away much. Much like Celestia's own, though she'd had to work at it.

"Fantasy, why don't you sit at the bench over there?" Celestia said, indicating with her hoof the red cushioned bench up against the right wall. Fantasy's head snapped left and right, having been ahead of Celestia and therefore not seeing where she'd pointed, and speedwalked over to the benches. She climbed up on them then tried to sit with her forelegs in between her hind ones. Then, apparently finding that uncomfortable, changed positions to a more... exposing one, apparently common where she was from, where her forelegs were at her sides and she sat on her rump in a way that crushed her tail underneath it and left her little hind legs dangling. She didn't find that very comfortable either, and Celestia wasn't sure what creature would; one without a tail, apparently. Fantasy tried lying down, all of her legs beneath her. She didn't like that, either. After that, she fumbled around a bit before deciding she'd rather stand near the bench.

"Princess Celestia, where is she?" Sunset asked loudly, her tone bordering on a whine. Celestia snapped out of her thoughts, and realized she'd been staring at Fantasy trying and failing to sit.

Celestia walked over to stand next to Sunset, and replied, "I don't know. Perhaps she's in the bathroom?"

"Ugh." Sunset slouched. "How long can a pony take in the bathroom?"

Fantasy had finally sat down. On the hardwood floor. She was giving a robe a blank, utterly unresponsive stare; she was off in her own little world again. Celestia wondered just how often a pony could get lost in her own mind.

---

(Okay, to clarify some things: just because I made this long-ass post does not mean anyone needs to make an equally-long post. Also, one post per GM post. Also, you can play as most any race. Unicorns use their horns for magic, pegasi their wings or hooves, and earth ponies their hooves; thestrals are the same as pegasi here. Griffons... claws, I guess. Same for dragons. Zebras, hooves as well.)

Another figure wandered into the robe shop by herself. A young looking filly with a bright blue mane and a dull light green coat. On her sides and obscuring her cutie mark were 2 pairs of large saddle bags already loaded up with books, without a doubt more than what was on the required list. The filly's own wide, curious, and unique looking eyes gazed about in wide curiosity. There was the normal black iris, then that was surrounded by at first purple and then a thin outline of yellow before getting to the white of her eyes. The orbs fell upon various figures in the shop, lingering longer on Celestia than the others since Celestia was a rather unique being compared to all the others she'd seen.

But before the staring could become even more awkward and blatant, some words echoed about in her mind. Try not to stare at anypony, most don't like it much, came the familiar words and with their advice, she tore her gaze away and back to the clothing she'd be needing to purchase. There wasn't exactly a whole lot of variety though in the selection according to the list she'd read before and seeing that another pony was already waiting for service, the filly simply continued to wander about to another section where the hats were. Curiously, she began trying on hats, going through 5 of them before finding one that actually fit. Then she started to turn and walk back to the robes section of the store while just leaving the tried hats on the floor.

A tan pegasus stallion with a captain's hat on walked through Dragon Alley whistling. A few locks of an orange mane hung out from under the hat and on his flank were a map and compass. Sprawled out on his back was a tan pegasus colt. His short rust colored mane hung a little bit over his eyes as he watched everyone walk by them. On his flank were two gear connected. "Dad? Why do we have t' go out an' buy clothes? Could we have just stayed on yer airship?" The colt grumbled to his dad as they headed towards the robe store.

"Because the school says so. Now stop grumbling about leaving the ship, Dark Wing. You really need to learn to make other friends. Maybe this school is really the best idea for you. Lets you make some friends at least." The stallion said shrugging a little. Then he grinned to himself as he took off his hat and put it on his son. "Here's a deal you can't resist son. You go to this Hogwarts school and learn a thing or two and make some friends and I'll let you be captain of my ship when you're old enough, kay?" The stallion tilted his head tot he side.

The colt beamed at the stallion. "Ya got yerself a deal, dad!" The colt jump off the stallion's back and ran inside the robe store, wearing his dad's hat. "Come on dad! The sooner we finish the better!" The stallion just chuckled at his son's antics and followed after him with a smile. He quickly went inside after his son.

The colt skidded to a stop as he looked up at the tall alicorn inside the store. He blinked then looked at the filly that seemed rather impatient about something. His gaze then went over to the filly sitting in front of a robe staring at it and then over to a mare who was trying on hats. He looked behind him at his dad as he walked inside. The stallion paused for a moment to look at Celestia before looking down at his son and nudging him over to a few of the benches. The colt grumbled as he jumped up onto the benches and sat down next to his dad.

The colt's eyes continued to wander around the store, eyeing some of the robes. Hey then looked back at the unicorn that was just sitting on the floor...staring at one of the robes. He raised an eyebrow at her for a moment before looking up at his dad who seemed to be staring at Celestia. He shrugged and hopped off the bench, walking towards the filly staring at the robe. He stopped beside the filly, staring at her with a tilt of his head. He looked up at the robe she was staring at and tilted his head to the side. What was so interesting about a robe?

He shook his head, making his dad's hat move around a bit on his small head as he turned back to the filly next to him. Maybe he should try to talk to her? He looked back at his dad for a moment before sighing. He put on a small smile and looking back to the unicorn. "Howdy there." He said to her, wondering if his hi would even register to the unicorn considering she seemed lost in her own world.

A young dark grey filly yawned tiredly and grumbled, pushing her long, vibrantly neon green mane back, grumbling again as she adjusted her light grey saddlebags, the ball of neon green fire adorning her flanks being revealed for a moment, before she looked around at the stores all around, looking annoyed, her vibrant, intensely bright green eyes filled with boredom. "Why do I gotta go get my stuff. My big brother could have helped..." She mumbled to herself, before seeing the robe store and entering it, glancing around and blinking rapidly at the sight of a certain Alicorn. The filly scooted off to the side and slipped by the other kids in the store, ignoring them as she found the hats there, and saw a few on the floor.

'Hmm...Only need one hat, right?' She thought to herself, picking up the ones on the floor and putting them back where they belonged in an OCD way before she found one to fit herself and left it on her head, grinning as she trotted over to the robes, humming to herself. She had just flipped from annoyed to happy in seconds, but now she was wandering around, looking at robes for a little bit, before plopping down in the middle of the store and pulling out the list of things she needed to get. "Three robes...Err...wonder what my size is..." She mumbled, folding the list up and stowing it back in her bag with a small frown, getting up and looking around again, seeming a bit lost as to what to do.

There was a slight commotion outside the robes shop. On the opposite side of the street they could see a brown stallion in a dark blue hat and cloak arguing with a store owner while a filly thestral hide behind him; to the side of both there was an older thestral looking highly annoyed at the shopkeeper, her amber eyes narrowed even more than was normal for their species.

"Look just forget it, we'll take our business elsewhere." The stallion snapped at the shopkeeper, turning on his heels and pulling the little filly with him. "Come on Purse, we'll get your robes first then we'll find somewhere proper to have lunch." He assured her as they walked into the cloaks shop, the older thestral with a short purple mane holding the door open for them to go inside.

The three of them immediately noticed Princess Celestia once they entered. The stallion and the younger thestral didn't seem to have much reaction except for the stallion tipping his hat to her while the older thestral immediately fell into a bow with her muzzle towards the floor in the kind of bow one would expect from the royal guard or personal servants.


The little filly waved to Dark Wing and Fine Fantasy with a friendly, toothy smile that showed off her little fangs. Her mane was tied into a loose braid which it looked like she had done herself, as it was very loose and almost certainly would need to be touched up before the day was over, probably even before dinner time if she kept bouncing in place like she seemed to do everytime she moved even slightly.

"Purse, behave." To everyone else she wasn't doing anything but looking around but evidently her.... brother, carer? He was too young to be her father at any rate but evidently he'd seen something she was doing that the rest didn't notice.

Purse pouted but stopped looking around at everything, her odd colored eyes instead landing on Sunset.

Behind them the older thestral had gotten up and scowled at the other two for not bowing to the princess like they were supposed to but she cleared her throat and composed herself for now.

"So is this where the line starts?" She asked Dark Wing's father. "We all need new robes and Purse needs to get her uniforms." She explained calmly, gesturing to the little pink and white filly who had climbed onto her brother's hat.

On approach to the robes shop where the rest of the students, parents, relations, and various other ponies, a lone green-coated filly with a white mane emerged from a recess in the wall of shops that lined Dragon Alley. Her lips compressed ever so slightly and she reaches up a hoof to a bizarre contraption placed over her eyes, a single ordinary glasses lens on the right and a trio of what appear to be tiny telescopes mounted in front of the left, and pushes it above her eyes to rest just below her horn. While her hoof is there, she sweeps a bit of her mane aside, drawing attention to the fact that it has been deftly styled into no less than twelve small braids. She squints a pair of startlingly emerald-green eyes at the gathering ahead of her and plants her hooves determinedly. "Challenge accepted!" she declares in a grandiose tone, badly sabotaged by a somewhat piping and youthful voice, heavily touched with a Trottingham accent, that makes her sound much younger than she looks. "And so it begins."

There's an audible sigh from behind her and another filly steps out of the same recess where the pair of them had apparently ducked in to get out of the hustle and bustle. This filly is a zebra, with the classic stripe pattern in her coat albeit much finer stripes than are normal for a zebra, and oddly angled such that upon first glance, one would get the impression that she's larger than she actually is. Her mane is white like the other filly's but she wears it long and swept back behind her ears. Other than the pattern of her stripes, however, the most distinct thing about her is that some of the stripes are a vivid scarlet and light streaks of the same color are visible in her mane. "Are you done?" she asks in a voice of a deeper timbre, touched lightly with the exotic accent zebras are known for.

The first filly taps her chin thoughtfully. "Do you think it need a cape?"

The zebra sighs and reaches up a hoof so she can rest her face in it. "Day, you don't need a dramatic entrance."

"Everyone needs a dramatic entrance!" 'Day' declares. "We should work on yours, by the way. I'm thinking something with an artificial wind blowing your mane and an expression of despondent determination, gazing out at a vast landscape of..."

The zebra places her hoof over Day's mouth. "No."

Day steps back away from the silencing hoof. "Aww, c'mon Zen! It'll be awesome."

"No."

"But..."

"No."

Day sighs dramatically. "Genius is never appreciated in its own time."

"You're a comic book nerd, cousin." Zen informs her. "That's, like, the opposite of a genius."

Day snorts and gives her a glare. "They're graphic novels."


"They're picture books for teenage fillies, Verde." Prior to her speaking, that there was a white-maned peridot-coated mare standing behind Verde and Zen wouldn't have been apparent. Passers-by and ponies looking towards the pair from a distance might have had the vague impression that there was someone standing behind them, but that someone never quite resolved itself into the shape of an adult mare until she spoke. Nor, for that matter, would it have been noticeable that the green mare was flanked by two others, one scarlet-coated and black-maned visibly taller with the solid frame of hard lean muscle that spoke of an ardent athlete, and a visibly smaller one with a long white mane and silvery coat that positively radiates pure nice.

The green mare steps closer and peers down at Verde through a pair of gold-rimmed small-lens spectacles before leaning down to give her a very maternal kiss on the top of the head. "Which would bother me more if you neglected more practical knowledge."

"Engineering is magic," Verde says cheerfully.

"Preparation is magic," her mother corrects her primly. "And speaking of such, we need to get you and Astraylzenika properly outfitted for your upcoming semesters at this private academy you've been invited to attend."

Astraylzenika cringes a little at the use of her full name. "P... please Aunt Viridian... Astra," she says in a more subdued voice than she'd used with her cousin earlier. "Please use 'Astra' in public."

"You have a proud, unique, and lovely name," Viridian says in the same prim tone. "Wear it with honor."

At this, the red mare lightly hits Viridian in the side. "If the kid wants to be Astra, she can be Astra," she says, her voice even more vividly Trottingham than Verde's. "I think the final call on what my kid calls herself is sorta mine, sis."

Viridian gives her an annoyed look before sighing and nodding. "I suppose if anyone has the right to gainsay the non-use of a proper name, it would be the one who gave it."

"Yeah, keep it in mind. And stop babbling on like an academic with a stick up her plot." The red mare hits her again. "It's pretentious. Be cool, big sis."

"Cool." Viridian manages to pack more contempt and disgust into the word than one would think possible before rolling her eyes. "OK, fine. Your kid, Scarlet, your rules."

"Buck yeah." Scarlet grins widely and steps over to stand beside Astra. "But your aunt's on to something, Astra. The entire shy thing and being afraid of your name sorta swings around a big ol' neon sign for bullies that says 'hey, check me out, I'm easy prey'." She looks over at Verde and her grin diminishes into an eerily exact replica of her sister's pinched expression. "I don't want to hear about broken faces or broken bones or anything else that comes out of your cousin stepping in to teach the bullies a lesson. You're a teenager; that's your job now."

"At least she cared," Astra says bitterly. "Glad to have someone around who does."

"Why do you think she's going?" Scarlet resumes grinning. "I'll kick her little plot if she gets kicked out for handing out beat-downs in her cousin's name but everypony needs somepony in their corner."

"I'm right here, yanno," Verde points out.

"Which is why I'm talking to her but really at you." Scarlet grins more toothily. "Your mum isn't the only one who can drive you nuts with it."

"Speaking of driving nuts, how was your coffee this morning Aunt Scarlet?" Verde asks innocently.

Scarlet laughs as the five of them start down the street towards the robe shop. "The salt in the sugar was a classic one, and you get points for using it. But using just enough solvent to blend the viscosity of the glue into the creamer was pranking gold. Nice job running the scoreboard, kid."

"It helps to have a genius mom." Verde winks before turning her attention back to the path ahead.

"...a genius mom?" Scarlet eyes Viridian who looks far too innocent to be actually innocent. "Viridian Rain, you are pure evil."

"Big sister's perogative, Scarlet." Viridian informs her with bright smile.

Aerv Xereth casually walked through the street, carrying a bag of gems for tiny snacks while occasionally looking at the bookstores. He only wore his casual attire, it being goggles and a long green scarf. He mainly observed everyone in the crowded street, especially fillies. "My, many new students this year... Many more than last year, I'd believe." he said to himself as he continued walking, occasionally grabbing a gem from the bag and eating it.

He then notices Celestia in the crowded clothes shop and for a moment gets frozen. "Okay, calm yourself..." he said to himself as he continued observing the group inside the shop. If Celestia were to look at him, he'd immediately bow. He continued looking through the glass of the clothes shop, eventually forgetting where he was going in the first place.

Celestia waved to Tea Leaf and Purse, and nodded to Razor. Her attention was back on Sunset, and Fantasy, even though at this point she didn't need much watching at all.

Fantasy heard Dark Wing's words, but figured he must've been talking to somepony else, and continued on in her head.

"I heard a bell tinkling!~" a honey-like voice called somewhere from behind a large cluster of full robes racks. There was a sound of a door hitting metal, and an "Oh!". Then there were many more clanks and cree-ee-ee-ee's as the racks were pushed aside to reveal a large white-and-brown cow, with a short, curly black mane tied back into a bushy ponytail. As she saw all the ponies crowded into her shop, she went from beaming to surprised, startled almost.

"Wow." Moorella said bluntly, looking at everypony one at a time. "I didn't think I'd get so much business in a single burst. Ponies usually come and go in a stea- ahem, anyway." She giggled. "Sorry, rambling a bit. Who's- oh, no no no, little filly!" She rushed over to the grey filly with the checklist, wearing a black hat. "That was a pre-made order! The pony's name is sewed on the inside." She took the hat off the filly's head and put it back with the rest of the hats. "Who else has taken a hat or robe?" she called. "I will make you one. The hats and robes on the racks are pre-ordered and already have another pony's name on them!"

"What?" Sunset yelped. "How long is it going to take to make the robes?!"

"Oh, not long at all, little filly. Don't worry your pretty little head." Moorella moved her hoof to pat Sunset's head, but Sunset lurched back, crinkling her muzzle and narrowing her eyes at her, apparently feeling patronized. Moorella moved her hoof back, looking to the side awkwardly. "I just need to make some measurements and I'll have those robes ready for you in ten minutes, tops!

"The rest of you will need to form a neat line! Or neat enough that robe racks aren't bumped every time somepony moves."

Moorella went back through the mess of robe racks and disappeared behind a door again, and a second later came back with a measuring tape and a clipboard. She moved back to Sunset, where she began to measure her height, width, etc., every other second pausing to write some numbers on a clipboard with her mouth. After a minute, she turned to go back to her work room before Celestia cleared her throat.

Moorella turned around, and promptly dropped everything. The Princess. How in Tartarus had she not seen the princess?! Moorella immediately dropped into a deep bow, her nose touching the floor.

"Princess Celestia of Equestria, please forgive me for not noticing-"

"It's fine." Celestia said, cutting her off. "I'm simply here to get robes for Sunset Shimmer and Fine Fantasy, the filly near the bench over there. You nearly missed her."

"Oh! So sorry, Princess! I didn't realize-"

"It's fine." Celestia said again, her voice as serene and infinitely patient as ever.

Moorella moved over to Fantasy, who promptly snapped out of her imagination and looked up at her. "Hi, Fantasy. Ready for your measurements?"

Fantasy stood up.

"I'll take that as a yes." Moorella said. "If you could move away from the benches."

Fantasy took a few steps from the benches.

"Um, no, darling. I meant, rather, closer to Sunset Shimmer over there." Moorella pointed to the addressed pony.

Fantasy looked at Sunset, who looked back at her slightly apprehensively. Apparently Fantasy didn't pick up on that, because she remained unphased as she casually trotted over next to her.

Moorella took her measurements, Fantasy watching her work with the measuring tape and, apparently fascinated with the process, write with her mouth. Then Moorella went back into her work room.

Fantasy hadn't heard how long they'd have to wait for the robes, so she continued listening to what she remembered of the soundtrack from her favorite movies.

Dark let out a little sigh as he wasn't noticed. "This is why ah like stayin' on the ship." He muttered to himself as he turned and walked back towards his dad. As he walked to him, three ponies walked into the shop, two thestrals and one earth pony. He looked at the filly thestral waving to him and smiled. He waved back then noticed something interesting. He walked over to her. "Howdy err...Ah couldn't help but notice that ya have two eyes colors. Why's that?" He tilted his head to the side in curiosity.

Dark's dad blinked then shook his head as he realized he had been staring at Celestia for a long while. He really hoped she hadn't as he turned towards the thestral that was addressing him. "Hmm? Line starts...? Oh uh right. Yeah yeah. This is where it starts." He said, running his face with a hoof. He looked behind her at the filly that was in the hat and gave a little chuckle. "Quite understandable miss." He looked to the side a little bit and saw Dark trying to talk to the filly and smiled a little.

The filly blinked as the hat was pulled off her head, nodding as the cow explained. "Oh, sorry. Didn't notice that." She grinned lightly, and trotted off to the side slowly, humming as she watched Moorella go about measuring...Fine Fantasy, was her name? She hadn't paid attention well, so she just hummed and went for the closest bench, plopping down and waiting patiently while she dug through her bag slowly, checking it's contents slowly and boredly, before noticing something. "Dangit, another hole in the pockets." She grumbled, staring at the ripped pocket within the bag. Gonna need Ignite to fix it...again..." She mumbled to herself, before closing her bag and looking around again, her humming resuming.

Two unicorns entered in through the door, having come from a broom shop a ways away. There was a larger stallion, he wore a blue silk overcoat, his coat of fur was dark grey, offset by his sapphire blue mane that sparkled like a Crystal pony's, while the rest of him was normal. Next to him was a...filly? A colt? It looked like both, and the larger stallion saw his child as a colt. The colt's coat was bright white, untarnished by dirt, standing out against his silver silk overcoat. What really stood out though, was the absolutely massive hat the the colt wore. It was a pointed hat, as required by the list, but the brim was huge. 

The two seemed to be talking back and forth, the colt was heard first. "But father! Why do I have to have a wand? I have a perfectly good horn!"

The father turned towards the colt. "Diamond, using your horn for complex wizardry spells is dangerous. Besides, you already have a strong wand."

Diamond Mind looked back at his father and frowned. "This wand is made of my cousin! I know I need something to remember her by, but have her as something I'm not going to use very often?"

Sapphirus chuckled. "You're going to be using it very often, I don't you accidentally destroying something like last ti-" He hadn't been paying attention, almost running into Princess Celestia, then backing up about five feet, bowing before her, his nose scraping the ground. "Princess Celestia! I'm sorry for almost running into you. Uhm.....surprised to see you here, your highness..." He noted that there was a line, and used a hind leg to nudge Diamond in the right direction.

Diamond shoved his hat down, and took his spot in line behind the other three fillies. He glanced over at Sunset Shimmer from under the wide brim of his hat, recognizing one of Celestia's favorites. The other filly in line was strange. He didn't recognize her at all, and his intuition didn't tell him anything about her. He stopped caring, waiting in line and hoping that nopony spoke to him while he levitated his new wand out of his overcoat and began to look it over, reading the gilded engraving. 'In memory of Quartz Mind'

Wandering cheerfully down the street were a Pegasus couple with their son, a fairly averagely sized colt with a dark blue coat and a short, black and red mane along with deeply curious orange eyes that scanned everywhere as if he had never really seen the outside before. The small colt grinned happily and had a definite bounce to his step, flapping his wings to maintain the hop for longer before flying up and next to his father, who was carrying a pewter cauldron (standard size 2) with his wing. "So where we gonna go next, dad?" "Yeah, where're we gonna go?" The small pegasus said, asking the same question twice but the voices sounding a little different to each other.

The father of the colt chuckled at his son's apparent excitement, whereas the mother looked at him with a stern glare. "Well, son... We should try getting you some of those books next. We don't want last pickings on something as important as that now, do we?"

"But Wild, dear. Please try and control your... other. We don't want the other foals picking on you for it when you get to Hogwarts." The mother chimed in, sounding concerned but also a little strict towards the colt.

"Yes mum." Wild said, almost despondently with his ears drooping a little as he flapped along at the pace his parents were trotting at. However, at the sight of the Princess he quickly landed on his father and lay down, almost as if he were hiding. "Who's that pony?" He asked curiously, feeling nervous at the sight of such a large pony but also having a sense of safety by just looking at her.

His father smiled at the colt's wonderment, and looked ahead at Celestia as she wandered into the robes shop. "That, son, is Princess Celestia. Ruler of Equestria and to top it off, she controls the very Sun in the sky, giving us the daytime." The stallion made sure to include a tone of awe to make Wild's eyes widen in amazement.

"Wow." Wild mumbled, continuing to stare through the window at the large white Princess. At this point he noticed all the other ponies wandering inside and tilted his head curiously, wondering if he would see any of them at Hogwarts. "She's huge!"

While the colt stared idly into the robes shop as they all passed it, his mother looked up the shopping list again, ticking off certain items with a quill and mumbling things like. "We already have one of those", "He can use the family owl for that" and "We'll go there after we buy the books" before putting the quill away into her saddlebag and smiling at Wild as they entered the book store. "Wild, your father and I have discussed this with each other and... if we can get the shopping done with no more of your... voices, your father and I will let you pick out a pet to keep you company at Hogwarts."

This sudden news stopped the small pegasus in his flight, making him land abruptly on the floor and look up at his parents, a large smile appearing on his face. "Really? Wow, thanks mum! I'll try my best." He chirped, standing close to his parents as they walked around the shop, searching for and picking up the books on the list.

"This is a very... odd row," Astra comments as they draw closer to the robe shop. "It seems to be... um... diagonal."

"I hear they were originally considering calling this area 'Diagon Alley'," Verde grins. "Three cheers for word puns."

"That's not a word pun, Day, it's an ongoing crime against the Equish language," Astra informs her grimly.

"Speaking of the Equish language, I think there's enough ponyflesh in that robe shop to start a brothel," Scarlet says as she glances in through one of the front windows. "Including something white with a bright shiny sun on her plot."

Viridian facehoofs. "Scarlet, I swear I'm going to cut you. You couldn't just say that the shop is a little crowded, you have to corrupt the..." She stops and looks down at Verde before sighing. "Well, the youth in the general area whom you have not yet corrupted. Honestly, a brothel? Referring to Princess Celestia, the very Princess of the Sun, by the mark on her hind end?"

"Brothels can be upstanding establishments," the silver unicorn says, speaking for the first time since the quintet appeared in the street. "The trade in erotic imagery and intimacy for bits is an ancient profession and ofttimes a respectable one as well. The earlier our prodigious nieces are 'corrupted' with knowledge of such matters, the better." She beams and giggles. "But I do think the analogy is a bit too much, middle sis."

"Thank..."

"I'd have gone with a bordello myself," what apparently is the youngest of the three sisters continues. "Calling it a 'whorehouse' has a certain appeal but is highly disrespectful, both to the actual shop and the profession itself."

Verde raises her hoof. "Whorehouse?"

"Vulgarity for a prostitution establishment," she says.

Astra raises her hoof. "Prostitution?"

"The profession of selling sexual intimacy," the silver one supplies with a smile.

"Ah." Both fillies nod, seeming to understand this.

Viridian blinks at the two and then gives her sisters the evil eye. "And how do they understand that?"

"I'm a very prodigious medical student Viri," her youngest sister says cheerfully. "Can you think of anypony who could do a better job at the birds and the bees than somepony who blows her exams out of the water without having to study?"

"Knowledge is power Mum," Verde offers.

"Auntie Silver just empowered us without permission," Astra adds.

Viridian sighs and shakes her head but if one looked closely enough, they could tell she's fighting to maintain the facade of mature disapproval. "Well, then we'd best be sure you're empowered with much more practical, useful, and age-appropriate knowledge," she says. "The robe shop is a bit too crowded at the moment so let's get you your books." She smiles. "And just like I promised, because you both worked hard and kept your grades top-notch, I'll spring for an extra book for each of you."

Both fillies grin and give each other a high hoof before making a beeline for the book shop and start trolling the shelves for their gift before the three sisters have followed them in. In doing so, they quite nearly flatten the three pegasi who are also there in search for books.

"Sorry!" Verde says as she deftly weaves between Wild and his mother.

Astra stops and inclines her head respectfully. "Pardon me madame, sir, young sir. We're just very excited to get our books."

"You're missing out, Zen!" Verde calls from the next row. "They are way cool!"

Astra sighs but gives the three pegasi a smile and another bow of her head as she goes the next row over to join Verde.

Sena had been been looking around curiously at the different ponies and clothing in the shop when Moorella came out and made her proclamations. When the seamstress had turned her attention away from the hats, Sena wandered back over to where she'd retrieved the hat she was currently wearing and put it back on the rack, but only after checking to see if a name was actually there, and to her surprise there was one.

When the others got in line, Sena stood a little off to the side and withdrew a small piece of paper from one of the smaller pouches on her saddlebags. It was an already filled out receipt for the store, and when Moorella would return, Sena would present her with the ticket.

Xereth continued looking at Celestia through the window for a few more moments, realizing how busy she must be. He sighs happily and turns around, looking around the area before walking up to the broom store. He briefly entered it just to check out if there were any new models before walking out.

Xereth quickly glanced at the area again, trying to figure out what else he could check out before getting back to his preparations for another year at Hogwarts. He then noticed a foal who was flying next to his father. Aerv smiles to himself before chuckling at the sight. "A young flier, huh.. he seems like he's preparing for his school year..." he murmured to himself before taking a closer look at the father. He did seem somewhat familiar, but after seeing so many different students, Xereth clearly forgot his name.

He walked up to them slowly with a smile. "I see great potential in this young one!" He comments upon his arrival and chuckles. He then looks back at the couple and slightly bows with his head, hoping they would recognize him.

Moorella came out of her office just short of ten minutes later, carrying on her back two sets of three robes, two hats, and two winter cloaks. She walked up to Princess Celestia, who took the clothes in her magic, neatly folded them, and put them in a bag for later, proper storage.

Moorella then moved on to her next customer. "Who's next?" she called out, while Celestia, Sunset, and Fantasy left the shop.

"Alright, I think next will be the cauldrons shop." Celestia told Sunset and Fantasy, looking at the short list she'd written as she walked, but also very aware of her surroundings. "It'll be a simple in-out trip. Then we can get your books, then whatever else you need from Miscellaneous Magicals. Last stop is the pet shop, Olinda's Owl Emporium."

"What if I don't want another pet?" Sunset asked. Celestia had already given her a phoenix to fulfill the "messenger bird" requirement, and she didn't really want another pet, let alone one that relied on her to care for it.

"Then you don't need to get another pet." Celestia answered. "Fantasy still needs at least a bird, however."

---
Wild's and Viridian's family had gone into the Million Words book shop, and had apparently not read the sign on the desk near the front of the shop reading, "Hogwarts students' necessary books are on-hoof. Please ring the bell at the desk for quick service." To be fair, though, the sign was easy to miss, given its size compared to the rest of the items in the clutter on the desktop.

---
True to Celestia's word, the cauldron shop was an in-out trip. The owner had been very straightforward: greet, cauldrons, farewell (and good day to Your Majesty). Not in a rude way, though.

"Alright, next is Miscellaneous Magicals." Celestia checked the cauldrons shop off the list. "Which is..." Celestia seemed to slouch just the teeniest bit. "on the other side of Dragon Alley.

"How about we go to the Owl Emporium first?" Celestia offered Fantasy and Sunset.

"Sure." Sunset said ambivalently.

"Yay!" Fantasy only made a small jump where she stood, but her smile was wide.

Celestia smiled, happy for Fantasy's enthusiasm. "Now, that's only half as far away as Miscellaneous Magicals, so that'll be our last stop before we finally get lunch and ice cream!"

"Yay!" Fantasy repeated, jumping again, her voice bordering on a squeal. Sunset rolled her eyes.

Celestia giggled, and led the way down the street to the shop.

As Moorella came back out and asked for who was next, Sena took a sudden step forward and brandished the filled out receipt for the shop owner. As soon as it was verified, which likely didn't take long at all, Sena would nod and wander over towards the section of finished order, beginning to root through them for the ones that held her name on them. As she inspected garment after garment, Sena would see if there was a form of organization to the arrangement and if one was found, then she'd look to follow it until her own robe and hat were located.

All the while though, her large curious eyes kept taking peeks and glances at the other ponies in the store, but once her articles were located, Sena would collect them and leave without a word. As she wandered outside, Sena withdrew the list from her saddlebags once more and glanced down it to see what still needed to be acquired. She still needed the scales, the telescope and the bird according to what was checked off and what wasn't so with a slight sigh, Sena began wandering about almost aimlessly for any signs of where to locate any of the three objects, and looking incredibly lost while doing so.

Diamond looked up and was about to respond to Moorella, but was interrupted by a strange pony jumping in front of him. "Uh....I was...next..." He shook his head, going back to toying with his wand, sighing. He traced the symbol of his family in the air, leaving a glowing trail as he did.

Sapphirus walked over to Diamond, tipping the colt's hat up. "Diamond, behave around the other ponies. I'll be back, I'm getting that great horned owl you wanted as we passed by the Owl Emporium." He set a small bag of bits next to Diamond. "Remember to pay the fine owner of this establishment for her services."

Diamond sighed. "Yes dad. I will."

Sapphirus smiled. "Good boy." He walked out of the door of the shop, heading down to the Owl Emporium to purchase a great horned owl. He opened the door, walking on in. "Hello?"

Wild Card and his parents simply nodded and watched the other family weave between them to get at the books, before his mother spotted the sign at the front desk mentioning the books for first years. "Oh honey, it says they have quick service for the books Wild needs." She said calmly, before turning around at the voice of a familiar dragon. Wild's father's eyes lit up at the sound and also turned, causing Wild to look around, jump a little and hide behind his dad.

"Professor Xereth. My word, I certainly wasn't expecting to see you here." The slate blue pegasus said cheerfully, bowing his head in return. "Windy Wings, just in case my name got muddled up with the countless others I'm sure you've taught over the years. And don't worry professor, I still remember your flight lessons crystal clear. Hay, I even gave little Wild here some tips and tricks that you taught us when he was just learning to fly."

"And I sure hope you remember me, Professor Xereth. Strawberry Cloud?" The pink pegasus chirped in, bowing her head courteously as well. "And yes, I know what you're thinking, Windy and I got married. The rumours flying around back then were true." She said, giving a small laugh and smiling at the dragon and her husband. "Anyway, I'll go get the books with Wild, and I'll leave you two to have a little bit of a catch up." Strawberry then gave Wild's father a little kiss on the cheek before ushering Wild to the front desk with a wing.

"Mum, you know a dragon?" Wild asked, once again sounding amazed at the slightest notion that his parents knew such a creature.

"Yes, Wild. Professor Xereth was the flight instructor at Hogwarts, and I think he's still teaching. But let's focus a little more on the books, shall we? Only this and a few more things till we go get you that pet and some lunch." Strawberry smiled at her son before ringing the bell at the desk and waiting patiently.

Windy Wings, however, was beaming in delight at Professor Xereth. "If I may say so, Professor. I'm incredibly happy that you see potential in my boy, and I'm sure he won't let you down. Wild Card is difficult to keep on the ground at times." He chuckled. "If I may ask, Professor. What exactly are you doing here in Dragon Alley today?"

Xereth released a chuckle at their reactions. "Ahh, Windy Wings and Strawberry Cloud. I knew you two seemed familiar, but I just couldn't remember the names." he said, inspecting the cheerful pair and their foal with his red eyes. "My, you two look as lovely together as you did so many years ago. It's almost fascinating how fast time flies. And yes, I am in fact still teaching at Hogwarts. Recently came back after taking a few years off. Family and all." he responded and watched Wild's amazement. "So you named him Wild Card, huh? Interesting name, I must say." he said to Windy and smiled. "Now, no need to be so formal, you two. We aren't in Hogwarts anymore, after all. And as for me, I am simply checking what sorts of interesting pupils will I have this year. And I have seen quite a few interesting thus far, including Princess Celestia's own fillies, I believe." he added and chuckled again.

"So... what house do you think young Wild Card will end in? Hufflepuff like yourself, Ravenclaw like Strawberry, or perhaps some other house? Gryffindor, maybe?" he asked Windy with a smile, hoping to not scare Wild too much with his appearance.