Whether Castor had been dragooned, shanghaied, or ordered, he wasn’t sure. Maybe it was all three. Everyone from his superiors to the ponies, it seemed, assumed he was going to go along.
Apparently, the consensus was that as their first contact, he should accompany the Equestrians in the event something happened or was said that needed explaining. Not that he thought there would be such problems. The Royals had studied closely the records of several State Visits that the Yanks had supplied.
He had been expecting them to take a plane across the Atlantic for the State Visit to the United States, at the invitation of President George Bush. Instead, here they were, in the back courtyard to the Equestrian Embassy in Little Whinging, Surrey.
As ponies.
Maybe, because out of the six of them he was the only one with saddlebags, they wanted to use him as a pack-mule?
While he and his family were pegasi in Equestria, they didn’t have the magic to transform on this side of the Portal. Princess Celestia had used her magic to give him the little boost he needed to make the change. It was an odd perspective to see how much taller everything now appeared.
Why she wanted him as a Pegasus, he didn’t know. He would find out soon enough, he was sure.
Waiting with him were Princesses Celestia and Luna, and Prince Blueblood, the same as the State Visit to the U.K. this summer. What was different, however, was this time they did not include Princess Twilight.
Replacing her presence were the two other royals he met them in Equestria at the ball.
The first had a pink coat, and yellow, rose, and violet mane and tail. Unlike Princess Twilight, her mane and tail appeared to occasionally shift and move around in an unfelt breeze — but nothing like the non-stop, gently-flowing, movements of the other two alicorns. Her cutie mark was a crystal heart.
It was her Royal Majesty, Mi Amore Cadenza, Princess of Love, Mistress of Heavenly Affection, Earthly Passion, and Icon of Eros, Guardian of the Crystal Heart, Niece of the Heavens, Liberator and Co-ruler of the Crystal Empire.*
Accompanying her was her unicorn husband, His Royal Highness Prince Shining Armor, Liberator and Co-ruler of the Crystal Empire. The Prince had a light grey coat with a mane and tail that were a combination light, moderate, and dark blues. His cutie mark was dark-blue shield with a six-pointed pink star in the centre of it, and three pale blue stars above.
He was also Twilight’s brother! What a coincidence. And, from what he could tell, it really was a coincidence.
Castor was more than a little worried about what was happening — or, rather, not happening. The U.S. Ambassador had provided them with a detailed itinerary which required their plane to land at the Andrews Air Force Base in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
In about fifteen minutes.
Instead, the three Princesses were carefully studying a video camera feed from United States of the reception committee waiting for them on the runway. He knew Prince Blueblood had informed the U.S. Ambassador that they would be arriving via their own transport, but he hadn’t said exactly what that transport was.
Princess Celestia nodded firmly. “It will be no trouble at all,” she said quietly. “Shiny? Bluey? Ready?”
Prince Armor rolled his eyes. “Yes, Tia,” he said as he nodded slightly. Blueblood just boredly nodded.
A light-gold aura lit up her horn and the same surrounded the Prince and Blueblood, slowly becoming brighter until the pegasus had to look away. When he looked back, both had wings, just like he did!
Shining Armor and Blueblood gave their new wings a couple of stretches and flaps. “Excellent,” Shining Armour said in a satisfied tone. “As natural as walking.” He grinned at his aunts. Blueblood just nodded, again.
Castor was still blinking away the dots. No one had seen that magic before. How long would the wings last? Could they give wings to humans?
He shook his head. He needed to stay on topic. How were they supposed to get to the airbase in the next ten minutes?
“Time to go,” Celestia said, spreading her wings and lifting up into the air.
Moments later, they were hundreds of yards in the sky. Celestia and Luna were in the lead. They slowed their ascent and coasted a moment. “Lulu, Cady, Bluey, follow my lead. I’ll take Castor and Shiny.”
Castor wasn’t sure what she meant, but he found out an instant later as Little Whinging, and England, disappeared from below him. There was the faint sound of bells. Then he realized he was staring down at the runway that only moments before had been thousands of kilometres away and on a telly screen.
After the initial shock, it took only a few moments to pick out where they needed to go. Two barricades were erected on one of the airport’s taxiways, with a small crowd behind each. He could see the obvious press contingents, the seated band, and audience. The soldiers in two lines between them were a dead giveaway that that was where they were expected.
After their visit to England, Castor knew that this visit was being broadcast, live, to the world. The U.S. wanted to milk this for all it was worth, and had been hyping it for the last month. Unfortunately for President Bush, the bad economy at home overrode any accomplishments from outside the States, which meant he had lost the election just two weeks ago. It had been close, but he had lost. However, he would be going out with a historic first that guaranteed him prominence in the history books. He would be welcoming the first ever interplanetary visitors to the United States.
It took a few minutes, and them losing most of their altitude coasting in loose circles, before anyone on the ground noticed the six flying ponies over their heads. Without the drone of propellor or jet engines to smoother the sounds, the collective gasp that erupted from the ground was clearly audible. There were more than a few screams from little kids of, “Mommy! Look! Flying horses!”
Castor had to grin at the expressions of shock and surprise he was seeing — it really was amazing how good his eyesight was. He could see them all so clearly when he was at least a football-field away.
He had read that a raptor could pick out a mouse in a field of grass that was at least a football field’s distance away, but to experience something similar, though not as distant, was another thing entirely. No wonder his marksmanship lately was 40/40.
The viewers watching on the telly and listening over the radio were probably stunned at the sight of six winged ponies landing at an American airbase. Whatever they had been expecting, this was not it.
The reception committee had lost their practiced composure as everyone pointed and stared. Jaws were dropping and the attending journalists were losing the plot.
Celestia and Luna were in the lead. To Celestia’s left were Blueblood and Castor. To Luna’s right were Cadance and Shining Armor. Castor found himself chuckling out loud at the dumbfounded looks headed their way.
He was positive that Celestia and Luna were using their magic on a very small scale to make sure they were in this specific formation, and not drifting too close or apart from each other. He certainly wasn’t trying to control his flight any more than to keep gliding.
He was sure the officials had been warned about Princes’ and Princesses’ pony forms, with accompanying pictures — all of which were normal colours for horses and ponies on Earth. Well, except for their manes and tails which could be explained by hair dyes. However, Cadance’s clearly bright-pink coat was a colour not seen in nature on Earth, which had undoubtedly raised eyebrows. Was it real? Or an affection?
He knew his own appearance matching Shining Armour except for the lack of a horn, would be oh, so, confusing to the analysts. Was he related? But how could he be, when he was a verified human born in Britain?
When they came around on their final lap, the band leader realized that the winged horses were the intended guests. He immediately had the U.S. Air Force Band begin playing “Arrival Fanfare Number One.”
One person, at least, had woken up and realized what the next step had to be. He had jumped into action as they were gliding on their final approach to the reception group and had unrolled the red carpet.
They lightly touched down at the foot of the red carpet.
As they had been told, military personnel, twenty-one total, formed two lines flanking either side of the red carpet. They were from the Third United States Infantry Regiment, the U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard, the U.S. Coast Guard Ceremonial Honour Guard, and the U.S. Air Force Honour Guard.
At the end of the red carpet closest to them, a welcoming committee stood. Two officers from the Andrews Air Base Colour Guard held short poles with the flags of the United States and Equestria. A small welcoming committee waited for them at the foot of the carpet. The Chief of Protocol, John Giffen Weinman, a tall, thin man with receding grey hair, the commanding general of Andrews Air Force Base, General Ronald W. Yates, a fit man with greying black hair, and three other ranking officers smiled as they approached. After they landed, three wide-eyed American schoolgirls stepped forward and presented a bouquet of flowers to each alicorn, murmuring “Your Majesty.”
Every dream the three girls had ever had about horses had just come true.
The Princesses graciously lifted the flowers in their magical auras, golden, deep blue, and light blue. They all replied with a warm, “Thank you.” They studied the bouquets for a moment, then Celestia selected a red rose from her bouquet, and delicately munched on it. “Oh, Lulu,” she said turning her head. “You must try one of these, they are a simply delightful snack.” A red rose left Luna’s bouquet and hovered in front of her sister.
Castor was trying mightily to keep a straight face.
Based on his horrified expression, which quickly turned bland, clearly the Protocol Officer hadn’t realized just how herbivores might react to a traditional flower bouquet. Not as a nice gesture, but the offer of exquisite snacks! He was probably having heart palpations at the questions he realized he should have asked when the Equestrians announced they were coming for a State Visit. He should have realized the playbook would be thrown out as soon as he saw that the Equestrians were definitely non-human! That they had flown to the base — without a plane — should hammer that point into even the densest aide!
Why had he expected them to appear as people?
No wonder the radar operators hadn’t said anything about an approaching aircraft.
He was probably in a panic over just how those flowers would taste to a pony.
As unobtrusively as possible, he signalled desperately to one of his aides. Castor clenched his teeth as he tried not to laugh at the thought that that poor panicking sod was going to dash to the limousine and ensure that any snacks inside were palatable to herbivores. Hopefully, there none of the pork-rinds that the President favoured on-board.
He imagined that the other Protocol Officers in the government were in the process of frantically calling their aides, and reviewing everything planned for the Royals’ visit.
Celestia offered her bouquet to Castor. Castor found the carnation to be rather nice. Cadance took a yellow gardenia from hers, while her husband decided to sample of the Lilies of the Inca. Luna offered Blueblood a choice from her bouquet.
Children in the audience were jumping up and down enthusiastically, squealing happily. Their families, primarily from the air base, had to physically restrain some the more exuberant children from dashing under the ropes and accosting the ponies on the red carpet.
Celestia, Luna, and Cadance leaning back slightly and then waving their front hooves, obviously to the children, didn’t help the parents. Although their children were ecstatic at being noticed.
Castor had to wonder how those watching on the telly were reacting to all this. The commentators were probably having a field day, he was sure.
Recovering, Weinman managed the rest of the ceremony with aplomb. The national anthems of Equestria and then the United States were played as they walked to their waiting car. The flowers, alas, did not make it to the end carpet, not even the stems.
John, the Protocol Officer was probably praying he hadn’t just poisoned the visiting Royals, or any in their party.
Celestia and Luna took their time, studying the men and women to either side. The Sun alicorn stopped at one point and asked to see a sailor’s rifle. Not to be outdone, Luna asked the same of an infantry woman. They both hefted the rifles in their magic and examined the bolt-actions as if they were on an official inspection.
Prince Armour looked as if he also wanted to take a look at the rifles, too. Cadance just rolled her eyes. Castor imagined she was thinking something along the lines of ‘colts and their toys.’
The limousine waiting for them wasn’t typical. Not having the expansion technology, and having seen that the Princesses were big, in both their forms, the government had either acquired or created a stretch-van and heavily modified it to look like simply a larger version of a stretch-limo.
Eventually, and to the Protocol Officer’s great relief, Castor didn’t doubt, they reached the vehicle. The poor man would probably have a breakdown once they were out of sight.
Once the six of them were comfortably seated, they left for the President’s Guest House.
Blair House, their destination, was a 119-room home across the street from the White House. The Blair House staff had been extensively briefed on the Royals, and that they could appear as either ponies or people. Castor planned to slip a word in the ear of one of the cooks that Celestia absolutely adored cakes — of all kinds. If they wanted to get in her good books, all they needed to do was make sure that there always several on hand, and to serve at least one with every meal. And that chocolate was not a problem.
While they were there, as a sign of respect, lamp posts on Pennsylvania Avenue were outfitted with Equestria’s, the United States’, and the District of Columbia’s flags. The Equestrian flag also would fly in front of Blair House and the East Executive Avenue entrance to the Eisenhower Executive Building.
The six would have the rest of the evening to settle in.
It would be quite interesting to see how the evening news portrayed their arrival. It would be the first time the Royals, except Blueblood, had seen television in use. It would give them an unparalleled look at how the “idiot box” could be used to shape opinion.
Seeing as how they were five hours ahead of the current time zone, while it was not much past lunch-time for those on this side of the Atlantic, for them, they had already had their dinner.
Tomorrow would be the official arrival ceremony at the White House, and the State dinner that afternoon.
Castor was a bit anxious that representatives MACUSA might show up. On the other hand, the separation between the magicals and the non-magicals was extremely strict over here. They had only allowed magicals to marry non-magicals starting in the sixties! The magical government might not even know the Equestrians were visiting!
After all, the only magic had been their teleportation, and a few minor others. From what he had been told, the ponies’ teleportation didn’t set off the detectors as normal wizard apparating did. So, the alicorns and unicorns hadn’t done anything that would bring in obliviators. As long as the magicals kept their noses out of things, at this point, the Statute of Secrecy was perfectly safe.
Castor idly wondered how Twilight was doing.
♚
Spike sighed as he walked to Twilight’s room. He had already searched the Map Room, the Throne Room, and the kitchen. The sun was getting awfully close to the horizon and there hadn’t been any signs of Twilight since their early dinner when the Royals had left.
First, he checked under the bed. Nope.
Then he checked the closets. Nope and nope.
He sighed again. As he reached the door, he had a sudden inspiration. He turned, rushed into the bathroom, and yanked open the door to the shower stall. Disappointingly, that, too, was empty of any signs of his purple mum.
He once more headed for the door, stopping at the threshold to think.
He slapped his head with his paw. Of course. He should have checked there first.
He jogged into the massive library and looked around.
The book shelves were completely empty.
A massive book-fort, with a dry moat, on the other hoof, had been built in the centre of the room. The furniture not being used inside the fort had been haphazardly moved to the edges of the room.
He walked over to the fort’s entrance, currently blocked by the massive World Maps book, Third Edition, with New and More Accurate Maps of Places Ponies Have Never Been Before!TM, With Additional Annotations and Commentary by Princess Twilight and the Mane FiveTM.
“Twilight!” he yelled — merely talking would never make it through the book-thick walls or the equally thick book-drawbridge. “It’s almost time for sunset!”
He jumped to the side as the massive Maps book, crashed down, revealing a distraught and panicked purple alicorn.
“No! It can’t be, not yet! I’m not ready!” she shouted.
“Twi,” he said soothingly, “Of course you can. You practiced with Tia and Lulu last night and this morning. They both said you did fine.”
“But they were there, then. They won’t be, now! What if I make a mistake!” She shrank back. “Oh, I could accidentally melt Griffonstone! What if I goof and raise the moon instead of setting the sun? Or the sun gets mad at me and refuses to set? I’ll roast the world! They’ll call me Daybreaker Twilight! Celestia and Luna will never forgive me! Everyone will hate me! They’ll throw me into the dungeons, forever!”
She was backing further and further into her fort, shrinking down slightly with each sentence, her mane looking wilder and wilder while her pupils shrank to mere pinpricks.
Spike sighed again and followed her into the fort. This was going to take a bit of time. The book-drawbridge slammed shut behind him.
“Twi,” he tried again, speaking as soothingly as possible, “Nothing of the sort will happen.” He grabbed her by the hoof. “It’ll be just like you practiced. Trust me!”
Her disbelieving look told him it wasn’t going to be as easy as he had hoped.
Sunset that day was about an hour later than normal, and not nearly as smooth as when Celestia did it, ponies and creatures everywhere noticed. One moment it was there, the next, not. Then it was back, but lower. Then it was gone again. As they were blinking their eyes in the response to the transition from light to dark to light to dark, the Moon popped up like a scalded rabbit. Then it ducked back down with only a tiny bit over the horizon, as if it were cautiously checking its surroundings.
It shot up halfway to overhead. Then reversed direction in a series of jerks that left it at its normal moonrise position, just above the horizon, but a bit further north than normal — by half the normal distance. It stopped, but had an odd pinkish glow, almost as if it were blushing. Or Luna was. It slowly slid sideways until it was at its regular position. It turned a bit pinker.
More than a few nobles, who knew Celestia and Luna were visiting elsewhere, made notes to have a talk with the purple Alicorn. As soon as possible.
First, though, they’d have to find her.
She was positive they’d never think to look in her closet.
Spike heard her mumblings under breath — she had parked him on her back in the mad dash to her room. She was calculating if it would be possible to use that obliviate spell she had read about in the Witching book on everypony in Equestria. Maybe she could make them forget her first unsupervised attempt at sun and moon manipulation before Celestia and Luna returned?
♚
The next morning started early, and the Blair House’s staff hit a home run when they served a pound-cake smothered in frosting with Equestria’s Twin Sister’s emblem on top. Breakfast itself was an array of omelettes: apple and sharp cheddar; smoked gouda and asparagus; spicy sun-dried tomato and feta; corn, black-beans, peppers, cheese and tomatoes; mushroom scallion frittata with parmesan; and several others.
Celestia and Luna tried them all. Eating triple what the others consumed.
Celestia still managed to eat the entire cake by herself. That they brought out a second cake for the others showed Castor that the Head Cook had taken his advice to heart.
Today, they went as people instead of ponies in their special van to the White House where they were met by a civilian welcoming committee for the arrival ceremony. Also meeting them, in the background, were a large number of military personnel drawn from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, the U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard, the U.S. Air Force Honour Guard, the U.S. Coast Guard Ceremonial Honour Guard, the White House sentries, Alpha Company of the garrison of Marine Barracks Washington, and selected other personnel.
While they were being welcomed and introduced, the Presidential Salute Battery fired cannon volleys from a firing position in President's Park — the famous twenty-one-gun salute. The band was performing Equestria’s national anthem at the same time.
Just as there had been in England, there was an inspection and review of the troops present. Then it was time for the speeches. The press, after all, had to be given something. The speeches were, thankfully, short.
President Bush started off.
“Your Majesties, Your Excellencies, and our friends here in the White House, on behalf of the American people, it is my great honour to welcome you to the United States.” He stopped and waited for the applause to die down.
“Your Majesties, this historic house has witnessed many historic occasions, but as all of our guests here today I am sure will agree, and as those who are listening on television and radio will understand, no visit to this house has a greater historical significance than your visit today to the White House.
“Never has any president of the United States ever welcomed visitors from another world. A world that is both the same and yet different from our own.”
The applause lasted a bit longer this time.
He continued in that vein for a few minutes, before concluding, “We wish you a good visit here, and we wish you the very best for the many years of leadership which we know you will continue to provide, not only to your nation, not only to your world, but to those who cherish and honour freedom throughout both our worlds.”
Princess Celestia’s speech was a bit shorter, and consisted of saying nothing important while appearing to do so. It was a skill she had developed far back in her career as leader of Equestria. About the only thing she did say was how much she enjoyed being on vacation, meeting new people, and learning things she had never suspected existed!
After the speeches, they moved inside to the Blue Room, called so for its thematic colour. There, the five Equestrians signed the Official White House Guest Book.
Then it was to the Red Room, where the Official Presentation of Gifts was to take place. Equestria’s gift had already been handed to the White House yesterday and was waiting for them on the oak table in the centre of the room, as was the gift from the President to Equestria.
The American gift was astonishingly well-chosen, Castor thought. All the Equestrians were completely taken with the “Cook Book of the Americas” presented to them. Hundreds of recipes that they had never tasted. To individuals who counted centuries, a new recipe was beyond imagining for them. All the cookbooks from England were heavy in meats, unfortunately. A few catered to vegetarian diets, but those were a definite minority.
That must have been a monumental effort to canvass recipes from almost every country in North and South America for ones that would be appropriate. Plus, it was quite clever to include all the Americas and not just restrict themselves to the borders of the United States.
The Equestrian gift was a box about a foot long on each side, thirty-and-a-half centimetres, and four inches, or ten centimetres, deep. Emblazoned in the top were both the Seal of the United States and the Seal of Equestria. Celestia smiled at the President as she opened hinged top, revealing the interior to the Yanks for the first time. The inside of the lid duplicated the outside, but with the words, “A Gift to The United States of America from Equestria, in honour of Eternal Peace Between Our Nations” above them
It would take a moment for anyone to notice that, however. What immediately drew their attention was in the bed of the velvet-lined box. It was a single, eagle-shaped diamond, replicating the Seal of the United States.
In lifting the lid, a soft light suffused the diamond from underneath.
The body was amber, the beak and legs yellow, and the head was white. One foot held a green olive branch with leaves, and the other held three yellow arrows with white heads and fletching. The shield on the bird’s torso had a blue field at the top, and red and white vertical stripes below. The blue field held thirteen white stars.
If you looked very closely, Castor knew, you realized it was made of a single diamond. The colours weren’t painted on, those were the colours of the diamond at those places. At seven kilograms and ten inches, twenty-five centimetres, tall and wide, it was the second largest diamond in the world. Only England’s new Block Diamond was more massive. With its intricate shape and colours, the eagle-diamond was, Castor knew without any doubt, beyond priceless.
While the Yanks stared, dumbfounded at the glittering diamond, Celestia said, “It took myself, Luna, and seven unicorn artisans to fashion this. Afterwards, the artisans had to rest for a day.” She paused, taking in their flabbergasted expressions. “In the bottom of the box is an ‘eternal light’ that will always light the seal when the cover is open.” She smiled. “You need not worry about it burning out. The power-supply will not run out in my lifetime.”
If they jaws could have dropped further, they would have. They had heard she was over a thousand years old, and would not die of old age.
She stepped back and let the officials admire the diamond while she joined her sister and niece in looking through the cookbook. “Look! Look, Sis,” Luna said excitedly, waving the book at her sister as they paged through it. “We have to try this one!” A cry that was repeated often as they flipped through the pages.
The official White House photographer was busy taking pictures.
Castor made sure to inform one of the aides lurking just outside the Red Room that the cookbook would see much use back in Equestria. He warned them to expect requests for sources for some of the ingredients mentioned, by the ton. After all, the Royals had exhausted their own cookbooks of ideas centuries ago. Something new was almost unheard of.
After several posed and candid pictures, it was on to the planned luncheon. That was limited to the Royals, the President, and his wife, however.
Not unexpectedly, to Castor, at least, the sisters took the cookbook with them and continued to share it with Cadance and Shining Armor.
It was interesting to see that someone had planned for the fact that both Celestia and Luna were much taller than the tables and chairs originally had been designed to accommodate. Someone had modified the cushioned chairs so that they were taller, almost bar-stool chairs, with the table likewise elevated. While Celestia and Luna sat down, everyone else shifted back and up to sit, and propped their feet on the footrest-spokes of the chairs.
Castor had a quick sandwich from the kitchens that one of the other aides was able to acquire for him. Despite his position outside the room’s open door with the other aides, he could hear most of their conversation. He decided it must be his pegasus hearing kicking in as he strained to hear what was being said.
It was nothing really secret or surprising, but he wanted to be ready if the Royals had any questions later.
“You underestimate the value of your gift, Barbara,” Celestia said kindly, when Barbara Bush asked why the cookbook was so fascinating. “I long ago tried all the recipes in Our cookbooks. To have something new, that I never tasted before, is a unique experience. I promise that millions of ponies will want to buy copies of this cookbook once it’s translated into pony measurements.
“Our gift to you is unique, and very valuable, We’re sure, but it will not personally touch nearly as many lives as your gift to us will.
“Of the two, I think your gift to Equestria is the better.”
The two Bushes were amazed to hear this, Castor could tell from both their silence and then their subsequent remarks.
“If you don’t mind my asking, Celestia,” Mrs. Bush asked, “I noticed you are quick to discard the normal honorifics of your office. Why?”
She chuckled lightly. There was a bit of dry humour in her answer. “After a thousand years of kowtowing, pomp, and ceremony, you begin to resent the time lost to meaningless actions. They have a certain time and place, such as the ceremonies of Our visit, but for every day? I wish to simplify my life. Eschewing ‘Princess this’ and ‘Princess that’, dropping the bowing and scrapping from friends and associates, saves me much time in my day. It is also much more relaxing. I do not wish to distance myself from my ponies.” There was a short pause.
“Imagine having every meal treated as a State Dinner?” Luna said. “How quick would you be to rebel?”
The Bushes nodded in understanding.
As they were standing to leave, Celestia said, “If you have no objections, George, could we move the Ceremony for the nonaggression treaty to this afternoon? I feel, after these gifts, it would be appropriate for the day, and add a bit of relief to the State Dinner tonight.”
The President quickly responded, “I see no reason why we couldn’t. All the details are settled, it is merely a press conference. I’m sure we could even get the treaty ratified before your visit is over.”
What wasn’t said was that it would require a special session for the 102nd Congress to be called. From things Blueblood had mentioned in passing last month, Castor knew the Yank government would not rest quietly until the treaty was done and delivered. They were more than a little anxious at some of the stories they had heard about Celestia’s and Luna’s abilities.
After the lunch, it was back to Blair House for the Royals and Castor for the few hours until the press conference could be arranged.
It came off smoothly. After the treaty was read out loud, it was quickly signed by all parties, live, on the telly for everyone to see.
- - - - -
The Government of Equestria, of the Planet Equus, and the Government of the United States of America, of the Planet Earth, desirous of strengthening the cause of peace between Equestria and the U.S.A. have reached the following agreement:
ARTICLE I : Both Parties obligate themselves to abstain from any act of violence, any aggressive action, or any attack on each other, either individually or jointly with other powers.
ARTICLE II : Should one of the Parties become the object of belligerent action by a third power, the other Party shall in no manner lend its support to this third power.
ARTICLE III : The Governments of the two Parties shall maintain continual contact with one another for the purpose of consultation in order to exchange information on problems affecting their common interests.
ARTICLE IV : Neither of the two Parties shall participate in any hostile grouping of powers, whatsoever, that is directly or indirectly aimed at the other Party.
ARTICLE V : Should disputes or conflicts arise between the Parties over problems of one kind or another, both parties shall settle these disputes or conflicts exclusively through friendly exchange of opinion or, if necessary, through the establishment of arbitration commissions.
ARTICLE VI : The present treaty will be enforced for a period of ten years, with the provision that it shall automatically be extended for another ten years, if one of the Parties does not denounce it one year prior to the expiration of this period.
ARTICLE VII : The present treaty shall be ratified within the shortest possible time. The ratifications shall be exchanged in Washington, DC, The United States, Earth. The agreement shall enter into force as soon as it is signed.
Done in duplicate, in the Ponyish and English languages.
For the Government of the United States: George Herbert Walker Bush
For the Government of Equestria: Princess Celestia
For the Government of Equestria: Princess Luna
- - - - -
The State Dinner scheduled for that evening would be a bit celebratory for those in the know, Castor knew. Now, if something went wrong or some nutcase took untoward actions, the Equestrians would not automatically think the government of the U.S.A. had anything to with it, even if it were a false flag operation by another power. There would be time for both governments to meet and discuss what had happened before any hostilities took place.
The Equestrians returned to Blair House, again, and waited for the formal dinner. They had already informed the White House staff that they intended to attend as people and not ponies.
The three Alicorns were amazed at the concepts of soap-operas and game shows. The comedy show reruns were also eye-opening. The Three Stooges gained another ardent follower in Luna.
The dinner officially started at seven, so their car arrived at six. Castor was not included for this, fortunately, he thought. It sounded like a thoroughly boring evening. Greeted by the President and his wife, then taken to a reception in the Yellow Room for those who would be seated at the head table. From there they would go via the Grand Staircase in a short transit ceremony with a band playing the Presidential Entrance March. After they arrived in the Blue Room, the other guests would be individually announced by a military social aide, where they would be greeted by the President and the Equestrians before being seated in the State Dining Room, with their pictures being taken.
After everyone had arrived, the Press Corp would be allowed in for more pictures, and a toast would be offered, first by the President, then a reciprocal one by either Celestia or Luna would take place.
The sisters hadn’t yet decided which one would have the honour. Each kept telling the other, “No, you do it.”
After the conclusion of the dessert course, the President of the United States and the Equestrians would lead the guests into the East Room of the White House while the U.S. Air Force Strolling Strings would perform a recessional. The U.S. Marine Corps Chamber Orchestra would then give a thirty-minute performance. Following the performance, they would move to the Entrance Hall for sparkling wine and dancing to music provided by the United States Marine Band’s jazz ensemble.
That last had been a bit of a surprise to the Yanks, but Celestia was interested in seeing formal dancing as it was practiced here.
All-in-all, Castor felt he was well out of it, and planned to spend the evening relaxing and writing the reports he needed to hand in when they returned.
Unfortunately, not five minutes after they left, the House butler came into the sitting room and told him there was a government official at the door who wished to speak with him. Not the Royals, but him.
The man who came in was well-dressed, about thirty with black hair and glasses. “Good evening Mr. Searle. I’m William Trueson. I’m sort of what you would call an assistant to the Foreign Secretary. I was hoping that you might be able to answer a few questions my government has about the Equestrians.” He held up both hands in a placating gesture. “Nothing private or privileged. We’ve seen a few Equestrian books and want to check their veracity — some of the claims they make are frankly fantastical. We’re hoping you can clear up some of our confusion.”
Castor slowly nodded. “I’ll answer what I can.”
They sat across from each other.
“First,” William said, “Princesses Celestia and Luna are the rulers of Equestria, and have been for a . . . thousand years? That’s true and not just a continuation of a traditional name?”
Castor nodded. “Yes. Queen Elizabeth asked them about that during their visit with her a couple of months ago. Princess Celestia said that they aren’t immortal, just very, very hard to kill. It’s apparently in their nature as alicorns. They don’t get sick, nor do they perceptibly age.” He paused. “They do age, however. I have seen old paintings of them and they are definitely more mature looking now than they used to be. Sort of like how a twenty-year-old looks younger than a thirty-year-old, not quite as filled out, a shade shorter, that sort of thing. Not a huge difference, but noticeable.”
The other man nodded in understanding, appearing a bit unsettled. “Next, Princess Cadance. We originally were expecting Princess Twilight. Can you tell us anything about them?”
Castor leaned back and thought carefully. “Both Princesses only recently became alicorns . . . well, recent as opposed to how long the Sisters have been around.” He stopped to think. “Princesses Celestia and Luna are sisters, with Celestia being the elder. When they were born, they were unicorns. They became apprentices to Star Swirl the Bearded, and discovered they had an affinity to the Sun and Moon, respectively. With his guidance, they eventually took control of the Sun and Moon.”
“By control, you mean . . .?”
“Literally. They raise and lower the sun and moon, daily.”
Williams look was incredulous.
“I have seen Princess Celestia make the Sun move in a figure eight in the sky. It’s not simple superstition among the ponies, nor hyperbole due to their positions as rulers. They truly have control of those celestial bodies where they come from.”
It was Williams turn to lean back in his chair. “That defies physics!” he stated flatly. “Never mind that the sun is so much bigger than the Earth, just making the Earth change it’s rotation would most likely be an extinction-level event!”
Castor nodded understandingly, “And yet, it is so.”
Williams huffed and looked out the window to the dark sky outside. “Who is doing that while they are here?”
“Princess Twilight. When they were visiting the Queen, several months ago, it was Princess Cadance. My understanding is that it is a much more difficult job for those two — it leaves them almost too tired to stay awake — than it is for Princess Celestia and Luna, but they can do it.”
“Princess Cadance was a surprise to us, can you tell me anything about the Crystal Empire? There haven’t been many books that mention the Empire, and what they do say is sparse.”
“Truthfully, I don’t know much. It was an isolated pony kingdom to the north of Equestria that suffered under the rule of a tyrant, a King Sombra. They had been at war with Equestria without hostilities for a thousand years, but they learned he intended to attack Equestria, again, so they struck first. Princess Cadance is apparently distantly related to the former King and Queen of the Empire from a thousand years ago, and became ruler after they subdued King Sombra. The Empire is still recovering from the trauma imposed by the King. This is more of a vacation for Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armour than anything else.”
William shifted in his chair. “Was King Sombra an alicorn?”
“No,” Castor shook his head. “He used other methods to survive. According to what I’ve read of reports from the Empire, he was quite insane, and his methods were stomach-churning, to say the least. Think Stalin, only more ruthless and less moral. Basically, willing to do anything to get what he wants. And with their telekinetic abilities, that’s quite a bit more than you can possibly imagine.”
“And all four of them are alicorns? Are there any more?”
Castor shook his head. “Alicorns are not born,” he said. “I don’t understand the mechanism, and I’m not sure they do, either. Under special circumstances, different for each, they . . . ascend . . . and become alicorns with immense personal powers and apparent immortality.
“Princess Cadance was a pegasus when she ascended, while the other three were unicorns. Princess Cadance ascended fifteen years ago; Princess Twilight ascended almost two years ago.
“However, and this is important, simply having wings and a horn does not make a pony an Alicorn.”
Williams gave a tight smile. “That was to be my next question.”
Castor nodded. “As you no doubt saw yesterday, both Prince Blueblood and Prince Shining Armour had both. Today, they do not.”
William nodded. “Yes, we were curious about that.”
“The wings were ‘temporarily’ given to them by Princess Celestia using one of her psychic abilities. I truly don’t understand how that works, but apparently it does.
“As another example, yesterday, you saw me as a Pegasus. That was ‘given’ to me by Princess Celestia for that day only. I cannot change to that form, right now, like they can change forms. She, or Luna, has to do something for that to happen.
“So, anyway, you don’t have to worry about there being any ‘hidden’ or ‘secret’ Alicorns. At present, there are only four.” He smiled. “And after that non-aggression treaty, the Princesses will immediately inform you if that situation changes.”
They were both silent for time.
“We have heard,” Trueson started solemnly, “That Princess Celestia could . . . glass . . . any country foolish enough to attack them.”
Castor looked down, then back up, and sighed tiredly. “Imagine being able to call a solar flare to Earth. Three days later, a ball of hot gases, half-a-million degrees hot and several miles in diameter, hits the target country. What would be left?” he shook his head.
William looked positively horrified.
“There’s no finesse in a solar flare. You’re not going to take out a building like a smart-bomb, nor simply destroy a city with a nuke. The damage will be fifty, maybe a hundred miles across.”
Williams looked stunned at the possibility.
Castor leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands. “Look, they simply don’t get how terrifying these abilities appear to us. The ponies and their enemies have had a thousand years to become accustomed to them. They’re like a . . . a porcupine who doesn’t understand his own defence. Smart predators only mess with them once, and then leave them alone; it’s too painful not to. The pony predators learned this lesson long, long ago, and take it for granted. We’re running into them for the first time and its scary.” He leaned back. “Bloody scary!”
He sighed. “On the other hand, like a porcupine, they just want to be left unmolested. You don’t hurt them and they won’t hurt you. They have no interest in either expanding their territory or controlling others. Princess Celestia says she has her hooves full just controlling Equestria, why would she ever want to add to that headache? Plus, consider that they’ve had a thousand years to conquer their entire planet, if they wanted more territory — and they haven’t.”
He smirked. “They are intensely interested in new ideas, however. They are fascinated with your soap operas on the telly. They are absorbing our books, movies, and plays like sponges. Princess Luna loves physical comedy, like Benny Hill or the Three Stooges. If any of them were still alive, they’d probably be considered honorary ponies and Knighted, already.” He added, and chuckled,
“If you want to have Princess Twilight’s eternal friendship, invite her to visit your Library of Congress and give her access to the non-public areas. She’ll disappear inside and you’ll be lucky to drag her out in your lifetime.”
“And Hollywood?” He rolled his eyes. “Suggest that a portal in Hollywood would make it easier to acquire movies and scripts, and Twilight might set one up tomorrow.”
The other man leaned forward. “They can set up a portal that fast? Anywhere?” William was either very excited or very alarmed at the prospect.
Castor shrugged. “Princess Twilight told me that it would take her no more than a few seconds to set one up, anywhere she wanted, now that she’s seen them in operation here. We’re adding a second portal in Blackpool, as I’m sure you know.”
Their conversation went on until shortly before the Dinner was scheduled to end. He did clarify that his colour scheme as a pony matching that of Shining Armour was an accident of fate.
Discord was, after, a force of nature on the other side of the portal.
And he might be on this side, too.
Especially because, unlike Castor or his wife, his daughter could transform into her Pegasus form with only a little concentration.
She couldn’t cast magic, though, and Twilight had confirmed she wouldn’t be receiving a belated invite to Hogwarts. Thalia had been disappointed to hear that last Spring, but he and his wife hadn’t been. They much preferred she stay in their world!
Castor was very careful not to mention Discord’s name, or hint at his existence. That was a can of worms he most assuredly did not want to open.
The U.S.A. would be trying very hard to prevent anyone from attacking the ponies — with extreme prejudice, if Castor was reading the man correctly.
Castor made sure to inform the Princesses of his conversation when they returned, and promised a written summary for the morning.
♚
Their second day was a leisurely one. Their only appointment was to address Congress. It was a joint meeting of the Senate and the House of Representatives as the parliamentary procedure for initiating a joint session was too complex for the time frame they had had when the State Visit was announced. Being so media driven, the address was scheduled for the evening.
Which meant the princesses spent the afternoon watching soap operas. If you closed your eyes, you couldn’t tell if the speaker had two legs or four. The Blair House staff did their best to answer the questions that were asked.
They were well and truly hooked, Castor could see.
While they all attended the joint meeting, only Princesses Celestia and Luna spoke. Their remarks stressed how happy they were to make a new friend, the United States, and that they looked forward to the two nations working together in the future, and that their interactions would always be peaceful.
After their remarks, the meeting was adjourned. However, the Senators were called to a special session that started less than half-an-hour later. The Non-Aggression Treaty was quickly ratified.
♚
The next morning, there was a river barge cruise that took an hour and a half. The President was most surprised to have the majority of their discussions centred on getting a television network setup in Equestria. Princess Luna basically wanted to buy a production studio and have them teach ponies how to do everything so she could watch soap operas. That the shows would also be broadcast was a minor point.
The Executive Vice President for CBS met them as they docked. The other two networks hadn’t been able to clear their schedules quickly enough. He had a team of people with him, and suggested they take a second cruise while they discussed the mechanics of a television network. Princess Luna was more than happy to comply, resulting in the two Sisters going in separate directions. Cadance and Shining Armor decided another stress-free cruise would fit the bill. They were also interested in hearing what the television executive and his people had to say.
That the other two networks would be unable to contact them while the CBS executive had Luna’s undivided attention was just an accident, Castor was sure. He thought the man was interested in opening a subsidiary in Equestria before he had competition, since it was obvious that they didn’t already have a nationwide telly network.
Castor went with Celestia and Blueblood to see National Gallery of Art.
Luna came prancing in at dinner, humming and singing happily, with Cadance and Shining Armour almost as pleased. She had bought CBS to the tune thirty-two billion dollars, about six hundred and thirty-three tons of gold, she gleefully announced. It wouldn’t be final for a few days, though. It seemed there were laws regarding the purchase and sale of large companies. She didn’t expect it to be any longer than that. The company was, apparently, trailing the other two networks in appeal.
“Lulu!” Celestia said, alarmed. “You aren’t planning on using all the gold in the Royal vaults, are you?”
Luna rolled her eyes and ruffled her wings. “Of course not, Sister. I’ll just use my stash on the Moon! I’ve already delivered ten percent as a down payment.”
“Moon stash?” Celestia queried cautiously.
“Well, I had to do something with my time when I wasn’t sleeping.” She paused. “Actually,” she said thoughtfully, “I think Nightmare planned to throw it at Canterlot if you proved tougher than she expected.”
They stood in silence for a moment.
“How big of a stash, Lulu?” Celestia said, her eyes narrowed.
Luna frowned. “About seven hundred celestials on a side? Maybe a bit more?”
Celestia slowly nodded. “That . . . must have taken a long time to get.”
Luna frowned at her sister. “About a thousand years.” She said testily, and glared at her sister.
Celestia sighed. “I said I was sorry. I didn’t know the Elements of Harmony would send you to the Moon, I only wanted Nightmare gone.”
Castor was still trying to wrap his mind around Luna having a stash of gold that was over a kilometre on a side. ** He knew that was far, far more than the humans had mined, ever.
Luna continued after glaring at her sister a bit longer. “Anyway,” she rolled her eyes. “They promised to have a portable studio for me in a couple of days, with the entire run, so far, of The Young and the Beautiful and the last thirty years of Guiding Light. That should tide me over until we get our own pony-series up and running. He also promised to get me all the movies and shows of the Three Stooges.” She glanced at Castor. “Do you think you could contact whomever has the entire run of Benny Hill? I think it would be wonderful to have them both.”
Castor slowly nodded. The BBC would be happy to hand over everything they had, for a reasonable price. It certainly sounded like Luna could afford it.
“And when they’re done with that,” added Cadance, “Shiny and I intend to hire them to set one up in the Crystal Kingdom!”
Celestia glanced at her. “Why not just have your ponies learn with Luna’s ponies? Then all you would need would be to buy extras of the converted equipment that they made.”
Luna looked over at Shining Armour and Cadance. “We see nothing wrong with that. Do you?”
Cadance shook her head.
“Brilliant!” Luna declared. “Let’s do that!”
Castor’s report that night sent shockwaves through the government, but was nothing compared to the turmoil in the United States three weeks later when news of the finalized deal was officially announced.
After Luna’s announcement, the rest of their “vacation” was sedate by comparison.
It was considered a very successful meeting between the three rulers. Except that the U.S. military was upset that they couldn’t get their mitts on any advanced weaponry. And Celestia was making some noises about buying something called Castle Rock Entertainment.
Apparently, the two sisters had a bit of a rivalry going on.
Castor was just happy to get home without drawing the interest of MACUSA!
♚