Saturday brought a new set of problems for the professors.
They had only thought Harry and his herd-mates were a handful, last year.
After hearing all about Princess Twilight’s, and the other Bearers of the Elements’ adventures in Ponyville for the previous three years, all Equestrians were well-warned of the Everfree forest. They knew that any pony adventuring inside might never make it back outside again. Even the Equestrian Royal Guard only ventured inside in multiple teams at a time. The massive wall built around the portal to this world proved how dangerous it could be.
But the Forbidden forest beside Hogwarts just didn’t have the same sort of cachet as the Everfree. It didn’t look dangerous. It didn’t feel dangerous. It didn’t smell dangerous — no scents of death, decay, and rot. Nothing. Just a forest. It appeared quite innocuous, actually. Almost like a park, really. It just needed a bit more care from a few earth ponies and it would be just fine and dandy.
The young ponies, Harry knew, hadn’t yet learned that just because something seems safe doesn’t mean it is safe. Especially those who had never seen the parasprites, or heard of them, to learn that lesson.
Plus, all the Equestrians in Hogwarts were familiar with the stories of Harry’s herd’s adventures in the Forbidden Forest. Or, to be more precise, their lack of adventures! Except for one or two vague incidents, there was almost nothing mentioned.
Princess Twilight had cleared out the really dangerous creatures, already, hadn’t she, then?
This contrasted well with the horror stories about the scrapes the Cutie Mark Crusaders had gotten into in the Everfree. Stories of tangles with timberwolves, poison joke, swarms of bees that invaded Ponyville, and the like, quickly were approaching the status of legends. Especially when the new students discovered the “published” Harry Potter books that were available from a certain Hogwarts student. Being signed by Harry Potter and his herd-mates “proved” they were true. The books had been quickly snatched up and offered as confirmation that the Forbidden Forest wasn’t all that bad.
Harry knew one enterprising Slytherin pony, Silver Spoon, had sent a query letter to an Equestrian publisher with her copy of the book. She said she was the agent for the Hogwarts student who had originally put the book together. She promised the publisher a second book if he liked the first.
She planned to tell the compiler-student of her status as his agent, and the book’s acceptance, as soon as the Equestrian publisher sent her the contract. She didn’t think the wizard would mind. After all, the advance, alone, would make him rich by witchery standards.
She thought he was a little rough around the edges, but those could be gentled with the right approach, and a firm hoof. After all, he wasn’t even out of school and had secured a steady income worthy of an adult. Not that he realized it, yet. Just like a stallion, to miss the implications and advantages of what he had done.
While it had been a shock to see and hear Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon among the enrolees, Harry hadn’t really been that surprised. They had been at the top of their classes in Ponyville. He could see Filthy Rich carefully explaining all the advantages the family would get from learning this new magic — if only to get a better grasp on what his non-pony business partners were capable of doing.
A great deal of the two fillies’ “superior” attitude over the “blank-flanks” had been drained away at hearing, and seeing, what they had learned and accomplished in the previous year. Her father had impressed upon her that despite those blank flanks, the two non-unicorn fillies had managed to learn MAGIC. And their unicorn friend already could teleport, something Tiara’s mother couldn’t do! Not to mention that the three had the ears of the Royal sisters!
The two earth ponies were still stuck-up, though, and fit in perfectly with the snotty attitudes of the rest of the Slytherins.
Naturally, where Diamond Tiara went, Silver Spoon was quick to follow.
It was obvious that while the attending ponies at Hogwarts had been a random drawing from a pool of a thousand volunteers, some selections had not been as random as others.
Harry could only shake his head. That poor Ravenclaw didn’t have a chance.
So, many of the new students, who were the most curious and bravest colts and fillies in Equestria — they had volunteered to come to Hogwarts, after all — took the forest as a challenge. With the pegasi as overhead scouts, teams of ponies headed into the forest in search of unicorns — and adventure. Most were intercepted by Hagrid, professors, or prefects before they had ventured too far across the lawn, several did not even make it out of the castle when they prematurely announced their destination.
Previous failures to reach the forest, however, did not deter repeat attempts.
Hagrid had only thought he spent most of his time keeping the Weasley twins out of the forest. The Equestrians pushed that to the limit!
The acromantulas fled a little deeper into the forest. They were beginning to develop a phobia about the colourful, innocuous-appearing little ponies.
It was a weird concept to realize that some spiders would have a pathological fear of ponies as some people had a pathological fear of spiders.
Several Centaur scouts found themselves under intense scrutiny from ponies perched on branches or hiding under bushes. Ponies that were easy to spot, given their outrageous coat and mane colours that could be spotted a hundred yards away. However, all of those ponies laboured under the mistaken impression that they were well-hidden. That the ponies were barely bigger than Centaur new-born foals just made the situation that much more surreal to the bigger creatures.
The Centaurs had briefly met the ponies from the Royal Guards last term — all well-equipped and ready for combat. However, these tiny versions left them scratching their heads in confusion. The Centaurs quickly learned that the moment the ponies realized they had been seen, they took off running — or flying! — with phenomenal haste. It was astonishing just how fast the little ponies could move those hooves — and Centaurs were part-horse, so they shouldn’t have been able to be surprised! As a result, the Centaurs never did find out why they were under such intense scrutiny by who they eventually realized were new Hogwarts students.
Hagrid and the other professors trying to corral the tiny ponies sort of gave the game away.
One half-blood student watched from the castle ramparts that Saturday, with a bag of popcorn supplied by the house-elves. At dinner, he regaled his listeners with what he called a live-action game of whack-a-mole — figuratively speaking — as the professors, prefects, and Hagrid tried to round up the groups of curious ponies to the lawns. All it needed, he said, was sped-up action and Benny Hill music in the background. The pure-bloods were puzzled, but the muggle-born and in-the-know half-bloods were laughing so hard they almost fell off their benches.
Harry figured Discord was, too.
For the first time in Hogwarts history, according to Hermione, almost half of the entire First Year class received detentions — it was no surprise that they were all ponies.
For the same offense.
Multiple times.
And none of them regretted it.
They only regretted being caught.
Several regarded it as excellent training for the EUP. They intended to keep trying until their stealth methods succeeded.
This was not the behaviour the Professors had been expecting from the Equestrians. Earth horses and ponies, although curious, were a good deal more skittish — the slightest unexpected movement would send them running. That was why horses had to wear blinders when not in a barn or pastures, and riders had to keep a close watch on their mounts. To ride postilion on the Royal Carriages was not a ceremonial position of no consequence.
Keeping Harry and his three girlfriends in line last year hadn’t been anywhere near as difficult as this.
Equestrian ponies . . . were unexpectedly different.
^-~-^
The rules posted beside the Gryffindor portal door had been amended with some additions that Saturday evening. Not exactly a surprise to Harry, all things considered. However, they weren’t all the amendments he had expected: *
5)
d)
i) the Grand Stairwell area is considered part of the stairs, and, as such, Pegasi are not allowed to free-fly in that space — in any direction.
12)
d) Showing off your cutie mark as an animagus is allowed. As a human, disrobing or lifting your robes in public to show off your “cutie mark” is not.
e) Neither is doing so in private with a member of the opposite sex.
He only wondered why it had taken them so long to notice that the fillies were not shy about showing off their cutie marks to anyone who asked . . . and to many who hadn’t asked.
He was soo glad there were rules, and laws, on this side of the portal regarding nudity. The mares couldn’t tease the stallions, as they sometimes did in Equestria, by revealing, accidentally of course, what their clothes normally hid.
He wondered how the adults had missed the ponies nearly stripping witches and wizards when they heard they didn’t have cutie marks at all! It would only be a matter of time before a rule “f” and “g” appeared:
f) Forcibly disrobing an individual to see if they really don’t have a cutie mark is forbidden.
g) So is doing the same if they do have a cutie mark.
He was relieved to see, however, that Rule Six no longer referred to Hermione directly by name. Did the other Houses have similar problems with over-indulging that activity? Considering their reputation, he rather thought the Ravenclaws might be so inclined. Especially for rules a) and b) — no overstaying personal books from home and no Book-walking after lights-out. He wondered if he should suggest a few more additions to the rules, or wait until their need became obvious.
For example, what if they borrowed somepony else’s book? Or had started the bookwalking before lights-out? And only five points for each infraction? * The ponies he had met from Celestia’s School in Canterlot would certainly consider that a fair trade — they’d easily make up the lost points in class the next day!
It might be better to just wait, he decided. That way he wouldn’t make anyponies think he was spoiling their fun.
Besides, if he provided a bit of chaos, maybe Discord would be less inclined to meddle with him or his herd-mates.
^-~-^
Harry and the herd walked into the Great Hall for an early dinner Sunday and stopped a few paces inside. Five Equestrian unicorns were sitting or standing at various places, staring at the ceiling with expressions of concentration or anticipation, their horns aglow. The few other students that had already arrived were all gawking, astonished at what they were watching. Naturally, he looked up, too.
It took a moment for him to realize what he was seeing.
The enchantment on the ceiling, and the trusses, made it difficult, at first. He could see parts of heads and arms against the projected sky, as well as a few whole students. Over a dozen students were walking on or floating beside the beams.
His muttered, “What the bloody hell!?” got a response from a nearby Equestrian.
“It’s Rule 5, don’cha know? Pegasi aren’t allowed to fly in the Great Hall,” he said dryly. “Plus, some of us unicorns wanted a closer look. So, we’re taking turns.”
Harry sighed. Right. There’s no way the pegasi wouldn’t fly up to the ceiling and look around. And the unicorns would want a much closer look at the interplay between the spells on the ceiling and those on the support beams below them. Using a spell, instead of flying, satisfied their curiosity and didn’t break the rules. No professor had ever forbidden the use of levitation spells to move the platters of food on the tables.
“Wingardium leviosa?” said Hermione with a slight lilt to her voice.
The student chuckled. “Of course. It’s really quite useful for this.”
“Bloody hell!” said a seventh year, and a few moments later, after a rapid consultation with a friend, he was levitated up to join the curious Equestrians.
In short order there were almost as many students at ceiling height — including Hermione — as there were students on the floor.
Harry panicked, at first, as Ginny levitated Hermione higher. Fortunately, she was wearing a frilly set of pink panties. Plus, he was very relieved to note, that once the witches went over a certain height the contrast between the bright sky that was the enchanted ceiling, and the shaded inside of their robes, took care of that problem.
Above that height, it was impossible to tell that Rule 12b had not yet been adopted by all the Equestrians. Or that many of the pure- and half-bloods thought 12b only applied to ponies.
Some of the Equestrian mares seemed to realize this and were taking advantage of it by pretend-sitting as they were levitated by a friend. Usually over a group of boys.
Many of the wizards, and some of the witches, especially the younger ones, were receiving an anatomy lesson on the opposite sex that they hadn’t anticipated. There were a lot of red faces. Several witches were punching boyfriends in the arms and ordering them not to look up. Some witches didn’t seem to mind at all — but they seemed focused on certain wizards overhead, though.
It was quite entertaining watching their expressions as students came into the Hall and noticed what was going on. Apparently, not many had ever thought to use that firstie spell as a method of exploration! Harry almost fell over laughing when Hagrid walked in and promptly tripped over his own feet, startled. The other professors were almost as entertaining when they noticed the crowd overhead.
The Headmaster had to tap on his goblet, and “suggest” that everyone return to their tables for the meal, to restore order.
Harry wondered if any of the Professors had been close enough to the students to note the violations of Rule 12b.
After dinner, the pegasi began exploring the upper reaches of each corridor, with the help of earth ponies, unicorns, and other students. They took turns if they found anything interesting. Apparently, there were “hidden” sculptures all over the place. They were mostly snakes, but there were also faeries, mermaids, centaurs, goblins, and dozens of other carvings of magical creatures tucked out of direct sight. There were many others that were only recognizable if you looked straight at them, or from above.
Almost the entire first-year class learned the levitation spell, and became quite proficient in it, weeks before it would be introduced in Charms class. They all earned a point for initiative in early learning.
There were even a few alcoves higher up that no one had ever noticed. The Prefects took notice of the new locations and included them in their routine checks of broom-closets during the day.
It seemed that since the introduction of the Hogwarts Map in the Headmaster’s Office last year, nightly escapades were a thing of the past. The students were typically intercepted by a Prefect long before they were even close to their broom-closet of choice. Salacious behaviour was limited to normal school hours and the evenings — not that that stopped it. Or even slowed it down by much.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
And hormonal teenagers have a remarkable will for such mischief.
Naturally, this exploration of the castle would take longer than a single evening’s work. It wasn’t unusual, months later, to see a student levitating another student up at the ceiling of a classroom or corridor.
The many detentions the ponies earned from their forays into the Forbidden forest were spent learning how to write with fingers, at first. That cut into their explorations, some, but not that much as far as the Equestrians were concerned. Those were universally in the evening when it was too dark to explore outside. The detentions were certainly not enough to deter them.
The castle had not been as thoroughly explored since it had been built. One wag even claimed to have found a “Kilroy was here” message! It had been chalked on a stone brick in an almost impossible-to-reach place that he had been sure no one had ever been to since the castle was built.
Some of the more daring, or desperate, witches used it as a way to flirt by asking a wizard they were interested in, or their own boyfriend, to help them “take a closer look” at a carving near the ceiling.
The professors had another new headache.
^-~-^
Ambassador Prince Blueblood stared at his visitor a bit quizzically. The Director-General, seated across from him, was a tall neatly dressed man. He had black hair, receding, and a moustache that was a mix of black and grey. He had brown eyes, and his skin was what the English called tanned, but wasn’t.
They were in Blueblood’s office in the Equestrian Embassy, which was in Little Whinging. Blueblood was in his pony form, seated behind his desk in a comfortable chair that held him at eye-height to his seated visitors.
“My secretary told me that you represent the United Nations Universal Postal Union, is that correct, Mr. Adwaldo Cardoso Botto de Barros?”
“Most assuredly, Mr. Ambassador,” the man said with a slight accent to his words. It sounded similar to French, but not as different as Spanish.
Blueblood shook his head wryly. “I must say,” he paused and chuckled. “We have read a bit about the U.N.’s mission, but we appear to have made a minor error in deciding to ignore it.”**
His secretary walked in pushing a tea cart.
Blueblood hid his amusement at watching the human’s reaction to the unicorn serving them. Although the man was an accomplished bureaucrat, who undoubtedly worked with hundreds of others from a myriad of cultures, his eyes widened dramatically at seeing her lift and pour the teapot with her magic. Then adding the sugar and milk the same way, and passing the finished cups and saucers to their tables before leaving. She smoothly closed the door behind her without having to turn and touch the door handle. Even the ones who had heard of the ponies’ “telekinesis” were left astounded at actually seeing it in action.
Seeing a pony do this, an animal he had heard all his life was unintelligent, made it all the more surreal.
“We have heard from many sources,” Blueblood continued, “that its primary mandates are to maintain international peace and security, protection of human rights, the delivery of humanitarian aid, promotion of sustainable development, and upholding international law. None of those have any bearing on Equestrians, especially as we are not humans, nor are we part of your world.”
He took a sip of his cup.
“For us to attempt to join would require re-writing its charter, and reworking most of its functions to include non-humans. A vast majority of the countries in it would refuse that, I’m sure.” He sighed. “In fact, I believe only the United Kingdom would vote in favour of such an action.”
He shook his head wryly. “We hadn’t realized that one of the U.N.’s functions might include assisting in maintaining a world-wide postal system.” He deliberately let himself look impressed. He was, actually. Getting almost two hundred nations to agree to anything was an incredible accomplishment. Even dedicated enemies, here in Earth, worked together in the UPU.
The man smiled. “I can understand your confusion. Many others are likewise unsure of just what the United Nations does in the world besides security and the World Health Organization.” He leaned forward slightly. “Full membership in the United Nations would probably not be of interest to you. As you mentioned, many of the main functions of the Assembly are not relevant to you.”
Blueblood nodded.
“However, you might want to petition them to allow you to have observers at the UN General Assembly, just to keep abreast of the current political climate across the world. Also, the United Nations does have countries who are not members of the U.N. but are members of specialized agencies of the United Nations. For example, there’s my organization, Universal Postal Union; then the World Intellectual Property Organization, which deals with issues of copyrights and patents; and finally, the Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which sees to helping keep the peace by spreading word of new discoveries and ideas.” He smiled and sat a bit straighter.
“Your country has certainly attracted the e-es-see-oh’s interest. I’m surprised they have not yet contacted you themselves.”
Blueblood smiled back. “One of their representatives did, but we were still setting up our Embassy, and referred him to the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, we have since found, it would be in our best interest to limit our interactions with other countries. Some of our abilities,” he lifted his tea cup with his magic and took a sip before he continued, “would have some of your member nations declaring a Holy War on us. Being the descendants of a predator species, it would not be unexpected for them to feel they must do something about it.”
He paused a moment. “As you know, some countries are already claiming we are demons. It would not take much for them to jump to that final conclusion, and take attempt to correct the situation.”
The Director-General sighed and leaned back.
“But we are not greatly concerned about such things,” the ambassador continued, “they cannot hurt us.” He stared levelly at the man. “At present, there is only this one access point between our worlds, so they cannot approach us without confronting the United Kingdom, first.”
He took a sip of his tea. “We would, of course, work closely with the United Kingdom to repulse such a threat.” He sighed. “If they were to try, and the British don’t object too strenuously, one of the Princesses would take care of it.”
“One of your rulers would fix the problem?” Mr. Barros said, amazed. He leaned back. “And not your army?”
“Princess Celestia can call on the sun,” Blueblood said quietly. “The best way to ensure someone leaves you alone is to glass their country.” He took another sip. “Once you have done that, your other enemies leave you alone. The Dragonlands and Griffonstone learned that lesson after seeing what Princess Celestia did a thousand years ago to the country that we now call the San Palomino Desert. The ancient books say it was a quite lovely — forests, lakes, and plains. Now, it’s much like your Sahara, without any oases, though.”
He glanced out the window. As bluffs go, this was pretty simple. The books that might record such an event were even now being written. Books that might contradict his claim were being sequestered in a vault under the Palace. Only the dragons and griffons could explain the truth. And they weren’t likely to be interested in contradicting whatever the Royal Sisters claimed was history.
“And here, the Princess would not have to worry about accidentally killing one of her ponies.” He looked back at the man whose complexion was now nearly white. It was odd, but he guessed not unexpected, that a human with darker skin would evidence a shocked reaction much clearer than the English.
That American President had had the right of it . . . “Speak softly, but carry a big stick.” And his Aunt Tia wielding the might of the Sun was a very, very big stick. Best get the word out now, before anyone inadvertently called his bluff.
Tia wouldn’t really roast a country. She had merely melted an uninhabited mountain range, turning it into a desert. But totally destroying a country was an action a predator would resort to doing — there were many stories in the Earth’s histories of peoples being wiped out, and the victors salting the ground so no crops would grow for centuries.
His aunts would just withdraw the ponies from common sight and set up a hidden portal, if they still wanted to keep in contact. Otherwise, they’d simply cut off all contact. What they had acquired so far would revolutionize Equestria and all of Equus, for many, many decades.
“The e-es-see-oh would not interest us, at this juncture,” he said, changing the topic as if the preceding was simply not important enough to discuss further. “The United Kingdom has been very forthright in the exchange of ideas. As a courtesy, we have been scrupulously following their laws regarding patents and copyright.”
He smiled. “However, it would probably be a good idea for us to investigate how your Universal Postal Union and World Intellectual Property Organizations operate. If the restrictions aren’t too onerous, I’m sure the Princesses would be delighted to adjust our laws to be more in agreement with yours. It would certainly facilitate the exchange of ideas.” He nodded his head to one side. “Having a mail system that allowed regular and steady communication between worlds would be more efficient, too.”
He smirked. “Although, assuming that the United Kingdom is using the standards suggested by your Intellectual Properties Organization, you might want to change that ‘life of the creator’ section to something more definite. Many of our citizens are over a hundred years old, and Princesses Celestia and Luna are both well over a thousand years.” He frowned slightly. “It might be two thousand.” He sighed sadly. “The God of Chaos destroyed so many records when he temporarily wrested control of Equestria away from the Princesses.” He looked down for a moment before looking back up. He smiled broadly. “In any case, some of the things the British and Equestrian scientists are working on could make the average citizen’s life reach two or three hundred years.”
Barros blinked a few times, no doubt mulling over what he had just heard. They both sipped at their teas.
After a suitable time, Blueblood said, “So, how should we go about setting this up? Can we do this here, in England, or would it be in New York?”
The Director-General took a quick breath to change the direction of his thoughts, no doubt.
“Well, our headquarters is in Bern, Switzerland. If you could just drop me a note of when you expect your postal team to arrive, and how many there are, and I’ll have a car waiting for them at the airport. I’ll arrange the hotel for them. Then we can discuss how we want to go about reaching an accord.”
He bent to the side and retrieved his briefcase. “I was hoping you might be interested,” he said, opening it. He pulled out several thick binders. “These are the standards currently in use, as well explanations on how to submit new entries that might be unique to your needs. Once your team has had a chance to examine them, we can discuss how and when to petition the General Assembly for your admission to the UPU. There are explanations for that in one of these binders.”
The meeting went on for a while before ending on the positive note that Equestria was very interested in joining.
Blueblood was interested to see if their “worldwide” system, which was about a thousand times bigger than Equestria’s system, would show them ways to approach the problem that Equestria had missed.
With luck, they could get the other nations on Equus to create an Equus Universal Postal Union.
^-_-^
10646262
Exactly. The ones to spill the cokes are all the old foggies (except for them it's most likely a wine). Such an incident actually happened at my Uni back in the early seventies. They had just installed a multi-million dollar computer and were having a celebratory, invitation only, party for all the donors. One of the twits spilled his wine into a control unit and wiped out a million dollar set of for the tape drives.
10646442
Unlike movies, problems and solutions don't show up and get solved in thirty minutes. They take days and days of discussions. Not all of which take place immediately one after the other.
10646361
First, in canon, the note does not say a time, it merely says that the Slytherins have permission to use the field. Somehow, I don't think the Slytherins intend to use the field ALL DAY. They are merely showing up to annoy the Gryffindors. Harry is acting like a diplomat, seeking a compromise. Now, if the Slytherins refuse to switch later in the day, he would go to Madam Hooch or Professor McGonagall. In the meantime, he's perfectly willing to leave the field for food!
In real life I've seen many situations where such a compromise on the use of a ball field was worked out by children without involving adults.
I take it then the same principles against joining the United Nations would also apply to the Commonwealth of Nations.
A nice if a bit small chapter.although it's kinda disappointing Hogwartz has that "no opposite-sex sex relationships" rule, I doubt it is followed much or can even be enforced. Not with ponies on the loose who are much nore open about it compared to humans and who haven't had archaic ethics regarding that stuff for a long time.
Now, will an epidemic of pregnancies happen once ponies grow up a bit and start having fun in Hogwartz? Somebody should tell them humans can get pregnant at pretty much any time. Otherwise there will suddenly be a lot of multicolor-haired magical little kids running around even before Harry turns 17.
Hmm, Equestria just admitted that they have the capability to wipe any nation off the face of the Earth, and the willingness to do so, even if they were bluffing with that last part. That could have serious consequences.
10647747
Yes. Who will be stupid enough to test them enough to see if it is a bluff?
Continuing that theme, what will other nations think when they realize that the ponies can open a portal in their capital, or anywhere else, and push a good, old-fashioned nuke through it? Don't even need special magical abilities or super high-tech unknown equipment to glass a nation!
10647795
But the thing is, they've just marked themselves as a massive threat in the eyes of nations like the United States or Russia. Some might think they're too dangerous to let stay on Earth, and they must be stopped, by any means necessary. Celestia just invited a thousand assassination attempts.
I think that the teachers are about to learn that the Crusaders where actual very well behaved. Harry by playing it safe and the fillies liking him allowed him to head off any problems.
Blueblood can be so cold, and i love it he is in the right place to keep every human in line.
10647802
I think it will go either of two ways: Earth nations keep in line and don't try anything stupid or they do try something stupid thinking they won't get caught, but they will end up getting caught, and then there would be a huge, huge problem.
Honestly, I'd wish to see how Equestria would deal with more authoritarian countries that oppress their citizens on the regular basis and have a history of killing people they didn't like. Potentially, Equestria could either set off World War 3 or bring world peace and prosperity.
A small reminded for everyone - around half of the world lives in poverty. That's a huge issue I wish to see addressed.
And other countries might regard them as divine messengers, the Unicorn's anyway, the Krilin have not yet shown up. That could be just as problematic in a different way.
I hope that other portals begin to appear in other countries of equus, it would be interesting to see the changeling, dragons or hippogriff make contact with the magical world and with the other countries of the earth
10647795
You also have Luna who could easily grab an asteroid and drop it on a target. Depending on size it could be city wide or planetary wide event.
10647801
The worst threat is from people who think they are too clever by half. How many secret squirrels are going to get what they think is a brilliant idea and run a false flag operation to make the Equestrian's think that Country X made a serious effort to assassinate Twilight or Blueblood.
Heh. I suddenly pictured Luna devouring Nor fiction at a tremendous rate. Including the international spy novels.
The Temptation to play Double knot spy might be too much for her to resist.
I say Luna because she's the one with the most potential to give the real intelligence services migraines.
Platters of food ON the tables.
Missing a period after “sight.”
Universally
10647801
Don’t need a nuke. A single Equus Dragon has scales that resistance lava, teeth that can crush Diamonds and claws that can dig gems up in seconds. Not to mention the fire breath. Dragon Lord Torch is a living Godzilla that can fly! Oh and Spike could use his tail like a Jack hammer.
But the most dangerous thing in my mind is Zorcora if she wanted to she could make a smoke bomb from Poison Joke. That’s chaos even Discord might avoid.
10647936
Hmm have it been established if Luna can Dream walk humans?
Come to think about it could Snape resist her peeking into his head? That be interesting to see.
Being
10647957
Yes. She asked Castor for permission to visit him while he was sleeping. She also said she'd honor a promise not to do so if the human's authorities objected, but Castor advised his bosses against it because there are things that go bump in the dream scape, and she might be their only protection from them.
Actually, on that note there really might be dream predators in the earth universe. The wizards likely don't really care if they prey on muggles, and they have their own lines of defense. Luna might bag and tag a few to teach them there is a new sheriff in town.
Ever seen how Susan Sto Helit handled a boggyman in Hogfather? Hogfather is a must see Christmas mini-series by the way.
10647964
10647940
Thanks for the corrections
10647942
Yeah, but the humans don't know about those. Nukes they do. And that's what their militaries would think of first.
10647802
True, but how would you keep away a species that can open a portal anywhere in your world, at their pleasure?
10647975
Okay I got to check that out!
Now the princesses reform Yugoslavia and save million of lives
Aw, old cover was better imo...
10647988
I think Celestia is smart enough to know that she can't just have her ponies show up and fix things for countries. That's what the US has tried to do for sixty years and it hasn't worked out all that well.
She can, with Britain, show what is possible and Britain can decline to work with countries who are not civilized. Not interfere with them, just not do business with them. After all they don't have to kowtow to despots in order to gain resources. Those despots need their good will far more than the other way around. Especially if that life Extension thing becomes a thing.
10647669
I think having previously been colonized by Britain is a prerequisite to joining the Commonwealth.
Ah, ponies. Such conscientious rule followers.
I imagine the Hermione is of two minds about this. One the one hand, I'm sure that she agrees with the sentiment. On the other hand, she never got points for early learning.
10647992
Good point, Britian's access to a literally magical supply of resources finally gives them the economic leg up on countries like China they've desperately needed. I wonder if they'll keep Hong Kong in this timeline?
One thing I really love about your fics is that you've put so much effort into the little side details and their consequences, especially with the paintings, and the flaws mentioned in the spells. You've made one of the better fics on the site imo simply because of the sheer thought and planning put into this. If you ever move on from fanfiction to write published fiction books, would you be willing to mention it somewhere so I can buy a copy? (Proximity Zero doesn't count as fiction, though I'll likely buy it anyway in the coming months)
10647997
Not really.
Mozambique is a member, it gained it independence from Portugal, and is the first member to have no former colonial or constitutional links with the United Kingdom.
Same with Rwanda, with was under Belgian control.
Granted they joined in 1995 and 2009 respectively, but it shows the Commonwealth is open to those outside the former British Empire.
here's an interesting version of "yakety sax":
10648016
I did not know that! In that case, I agree that they should join; after all, they already have a close and cordial relationship with the UK.
10647976
By eradicating the threat before they can react. At least that's what some generals will think they can do. People, when really scared, can be not entirely logical. Some might consider going so far as to nuke Britain and the world gates, rather than let these demon horses live.
Saber rattling to “glass” an offending country is not a particularly new threat for a human to hear. Threats such as that is old hat for North Korea, for instance. But for an alien nation to threaten it could very easily destabilize the relative peace of the world. The fact that they have wondrous cures for cancer and regrowing lost limbs would pale before such a terrifying threat. This goes beyond speaking softly while carrying a big stick.
Do you actually think there is no risk of nuclear powers deciding that wiping out the Equestrian’s host nation with a massive preemptive strike to preserve all humanity exists, if they believe it could destroy the portal? The UK could quite easily be seen as betraying our planet to ally with the Equestrians after such a threat. Blueblood’s bluff here is utterly insane and borderline retarded, to be frank. Unless Shining Armor’s shield or the like can bounce nukes, which I doubt at this point.
10648032
And censoring your history to make you seem more war like, when you really aren't, is just stupid.
I wonder what would happen if Celestia was nuked. The sun is a flaming ball of constant nuclear fusion right? It powers Celestia, right? Wouldn't a nuclear explosion just be like a mini sun? It could just likely super charge Celestia to terrifying power levels as kill her.
10648038
Whether or not she’s immune to such an attack isn’t even the point. Everything else around her is at risk of being vaporized in such an event. That she could live and take retribution doesn’t mean much when the crater formerly known as England is filling up with sea water and radioactive fallout.
10648032
You'd be right if he'd got up on a podium in front of the press and said this. But he said it to a bureaucrat, in a private meeting. The important thing is that he has deniability, and the guy he was talking to knows it. The threat will get out there, but not to the degree that anyone who has the ability to do so will take unilateral action.
You noticed he threw in that remark about tripling human life expectancy. And the cancer machine and the limb regeneration adds credence to his claim. The people who make the decisions at that high a level are not going to be eager to throw a chance at that away over a little bombastic boasting.
10648043
Yep. And if the portal doesn't instantly close, then it could potentially fill the surrounding area on the other side, Ponyville, with nuclear fallout. The retribution for destroying or attempting to destroy Equestria's allies, their rulers, the Element Bearers, and an Equestrian village with much sentimental value to the Element bearers would invite terrible retribution, especially if it only turns Celestia into an angry goddess of nuclear flame.
I wonder if she could just absorb a nuclear reaction with no damage to her surroundings? Nothing is impossible with vaguely defined magic, after all.
10648025
Ehh, the whole reason mutually assured destruction is a thing is because everyone knows pushing the button first still means you're going to end up dead yourself. Sure, they could try to kill Celestia, and in this hypothetical situation Luna could then throw the moon at them. Assuming they manage to actually kill Celestia in the first place, of course.
Rewriting their history is dumb though. Lies like that always come out in the end, and they just make you look less reliable in the long run.
10648051
His deniability is suspect at best, given that he intends this bureaucrat to the UN to pass along this not so subtle threat of annihilation to his superiors. And the fact that they can promise and seemingly deliver on their miracle cures would not lessen that threat. They would emphasize their ability to follow through on it. I’m getting conquering alien overlord vibes from Blueblood, and I know he doesn’t intend to conquer anybody by having a reader’s perspective.
But the ICBM flinging countries of earth don’t have that. What they do have is an arrogant alien casually offering the destruction of countries who fall out of line, and a shit ton of ICBMs. Blueblood needs to be recalled for his incompetence back to Equestria. His behavior in the last fic was entertaining in how he handled Equestrian affairs. Now he’s appears to be someone who is so convinced of his people’s might and superiority that he’s suggesting to someone else that his super powered aunty will kill them and everyone else in a countrywide radius if they are determined to be hostile.
so silver spoon is going to jail, that's pretty much a given here.
to be frank the legal grounds for Dumbledore getting away with publishing the books in Britain is already iffy as hell and a competent lawyer could probably have the books stopped entirely and Dumbledore paying damages for there existence.
in equestria? the mere fact silver spoon is sending these too a publisher without express permission of harry or his mother is actually breaking several laws immediately. harry excepted them in Britain but probably doesn't want them in equestria.
well I agreed with Professor McGonagall rules here, to be frank some of the ones she's been posting are borderline prejudice, at some point the equestrian teachers got to call her out on it somewhere. I mean at this degree by the end of year equestrians won't be able to do anything equestrian by years end. i mean the no flying in the great hall rule is a good example, it's more there because the professor could make it and serves no actually purpose aside from being a restriction, someone's got to reel her in somewhat and it's clear her natural superior is becoming less and less competent by the day.
International community is a bit more tactful with other nations religious beliefs Blueblood's crazy conclusions doesn't sound any better than Donald Trump's or Kim John Un's.
10648032
Na You are having to much faith in humanity
We would never join
even against a new treat
If you want to be logical or realistic, no one would nuke them, because they don't know enough about them
Imagine another general slapping the pro nuke one and asking what happens if:
- they have a way to defend against missiles
- The other nations take the opportunity to make preemptive strike against them or other enemy nations
- the alien's have other ways to attack that are less merciful than killing a whole nation in one strike without unnecessary suffering
(Yes that is merciful, look at white phosphorus for reference)
Also I laugh at the idea of superpowers and first rate nations truly caring for the well being of humanity
10648100
Tbh I feel like you’re giving too much credit to humanity in believing that we would need to decide to band together. We made these weapons to kill each other. You don’t think that some of us would turn them against an alien force threatening destruction? Do you you think that we’d stop at a single bomb, if it was somehow found to be ineffective? We’d be in too deep at that point. Time to drop more! Or if reason prevailed for most of the planet, and most countries united to war against whoever was crazy enough to drop a bomb on the UK? We still have a global conflict resulting in tens of thousands of deaths at best, and quite possibly in the millions or more at worst. All because a foreign dignitary from an alien world decided that threatening the planet on which he is currently a guest of with destruction.
So, Blueblood has made a not so subtle threat to the other nations to leave well enough alone... or else. I'm sure that won't go over well. Oh who am I kidding? Of course it will go fine. All the things that would have actually gone wrong by this point have been written out of existence, so why not this too?
Also...
Are you talking about Ireland here? I get that they were all but a theocracy right up until the 1980's, so in 1992, the church still held enormous influence over the people, and the government.
Also also, I still don't think that religious scripts are a reason people would attack the ponies, regardless of what they say. Religion is used by people to justify what they were going to do anyways, so if someone did want to bring ponies to harm, they almost certainly would invoke their religious texts to try to justify it.
I beg you: bring in the mint green human obsessed pony
10648112
i would welcome that if i’m honest
alas i just hate people
but no my friend they would not attack by the same reasons that i said
-not knowing if it would work
-not risking to be the evil one attacking first
-not knowing how strong could be the equestrians
nice work.
10648015
There's Crossing Point as an ebook. ITt's SciFi, though.
10648021
Makes me wish I had talent like that.
10648025
Fortunately, the ones nost likely to react so illogically aren't the ones with nukes. But if they did, then, like I said, the ponies could open a portal in the country's capital and say, "okay, nuke us now!" Or, just shove a nuke through.
10648032
But when they see them opening new portals at whim, then that "nuke 'em" strategy is an obvious non-starter.
10648060
Ever hear of time delays? I'm relatively sure that no nation on earth could fix things if someone shoved a nuke in their lap and said, "Ya got five minutes. Good luck."
10648086
Prior to 1689, when the wizards and witches went into hiding, copyright protection didn't exist. The wizards are famously Victorian in their outlooks, and in Victorian times copyright was very loosely enforced. In 1842, there were no international copyright laws so Americans could read Charles Dickens's works, for example, for free in pirated editions as they were published. While 20th Century Britain might have solid laws, it's quite possible that the Wizzengamot would say, "if it ain't a pure-blood, it's not important." So don't expect the class-culture of the wizards to care that much about such issues.
How about the same reason that restaurants don't let birds fly around -- sanitation. Not that the wizards seem to care about that.
10648112
In retaliation to being attacked by the humans in the first place.
In WWII the US was the only nation with nukes. We could glass any country we wanted, it they offended us. Did the world suddenly gang up against the US and invade? No, they didn't. Because we didn't give them a solid reason to do so. When the USSR got nukes and said, "attack us and we will annihilate you," did the rest of the world immediately attack them? No. Because to do so would have been stupid.
10648093
Ah! You mean like Iran saying that if they had nukes, there would be no Israel Problem in the Middle East? Or, how about the three times Israel has been invaded by her neighbors with the intent to destroy the country?
10648174
Don't forget, part of that calculus is: Are we strong enough to provoke an ENTIRE PLANET? Not a great big country, but an ENTIRE PLANET.
10648323
Considering the owls deliver mail every morning I don't think sanitation of flying creatures is the reason especially as Pegasis are not going to poop in your kippers.
10647795
You underestimate human stupidity and almost 300 years of American superiority complex. I agree that 10648032 's take on things is probably the most realistic. I'd bet on assassination attempts on the alicorns the next time they make a public visit. Attacks on the portal site too.