//------------------------------// // Parties, Princesses and Plots // Story: Aliens in Equestria, Part II // by knightcommander //------------------------------// CHAPTER TWO: PARTIES, PRINCESSES AND PLOTS Travel Journal, Equestria, October 27, 2009 We arrived planetside around 2:30 in the afternoon after a three day warp flight from Earth. I'm surprised that it took us such a little while to make it here, with the distance between our two planets, but it matters little at this point. What really surprises is how little difference there is between Earth and here. Heck, even some of the food is the same. While we were being taken on a tour of the town we'll be staying in, I saw vendors selling carrots, sweet corn and even strawberries, and one of my "tour guides" lives on an honest-to-goodness apple orchard. Be'nar calls it "Kushar's Theory of Parallel Planetary Developement". I guess it's not a theory anymore. I'm very surprised, and pleased, with the warm reception that we have received so far. Not only from our "tour guides", three very adorable little ones, but also from the adults we have met thus far. It's apparent that our arrival has been anxiously awaited. The unicorn Twilight Sparkle, in particular, was quite anxious to talk about everything she had learned from studying our history and culture. That'll have to wait until we get settled in, though. The pink one, appropriately enough named Pinkie Pie, is throwing us a huge party to celebrate our coming. I feel like a celebrity already. I'm really looking forward to spending the year here. It's an opportunity of a lifetime. So much has happened for humanity over the last few years. First the Altarians pay us a visit in 2003, now we have the opportunity to visit someone else. I won't be wasting it, that's for sure. Finishing off the entry with a flourishing script, Justin put the small black leather journal away in his sweater pocket as the three fillies led them to the inn where they would be staying at. In all appearances it resembled one of the cozy looking country inns that dotted the countryside back home. The building bore the resemblance to a log cabin, prompting Justin to remark that the pony equivalent of Abraham Lincoln must have been born there. The fillies were confused, but giggled, figuring it was a joke and not wanting their guests to feel awkward. Upon entering, a kindly looking elderly unicorn stallion offered to take their jackets for them and show them up to their rooms, which they gratefully accepted. The Crusaders followed them up. Justin was pleased to see that his bags had already arrived in the room, and he wasted no time in thanking the innkeeper for his hospitality before unpacking his belongings and placing them in the room's drawers. The room itself was very comfortable looking. The beds were queen-sized and done up with pleasant floral pattern down comforters and down pillows, the headboards and bedposts made of stained oak. On each oak nightstand was a classic oil lamp lit up, bathing the room with a peaceful light. There was even a TV in the room, currently turned off, which caused Justin to hope that they got cable. On one side of the room stood a wardrobe mirror framed with an elegant brass frame formed in a vine pattern and even inlaid with pearl. "Must be the best suites." Justin remarked to himself as he finished unpacking. To his pleasant surprise, the Crusaders helped him put away his clothes. "Aww, thanks girls." He said. The Crusaders beamed at his praise. *** "This is Sugarcube Corner?" Justin asked. They had met their friends in front of the bakery when it came time for the party. The call wasn't hard to miss, as it involved a certain pink pony stopping by their hotel room dressed in a fancy suit and singing another one of her trademark jingles. How she figured out where they were staying he didn't even bother to try and guess. "This is it." Twilight replied. Laramie giggled. "Fitting design." She said. "Perhaps if this was Candy Land." Be'nar quipped. "Candy Land?" The Crusaders asked, their eyes brightening up. "That's actually a board game," Justin said, "and a kiddy one at that. I use to play it when I was about six." "Oh, so Pinkie would like it?" Scootaloo quipped. The other Crusaders snickered while Twilight rolled her eyes. She knocked on the door. "We're here!" She called out. No answer. "Be careful, I think Pinkie has a surprise planned for you." She said. They simply nodded and readied themselves for whatever awaited them on the other side of the door. To their surprise, the entire bakery was dark. Justin and Be'nar began to whistle the Twilight Zone theme song as Twilight led them inside. The dead quiet on the inside of the bakery unnerved Laramie a bit, but she shoved that aside and went in with the others. "Hello, we're here," Twilight called. "I've brought our guests!" Almost at once the lights flipped on and a cacaphony of party horns and champagne poppers sounded. The aliens practically jumped out of their skin and fur, respectively. "Surprise!" A huge crowd of ponies appeared from hiding places across the main floor of the bakery. Justin was floored, literally. "Ow!" He hissed as his backside made contact with the floor. His vision was immediately filled with pink. "Surprise!" Pinkie Pie cheered. "Welcome to Ponyville!" She blew a party horn that somehow also managed to shoot confetti all over him. "Are you surprised, are you, huh huh huh?" She chirped. Justin chuckled. "Very," He said. "I'm also a bit deaf in my right ear." He joked. Pinkie, ever the oblivious pony, just laughed. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle ran up to their sisters and gave them a huge hug, babbling on about how cool their guests were. The humans found themselves blushing at the attention. Scootaloo, for her part, began to scan the crowd that soon gathered around the guests of honor. "Looking for someone, sport?" Applejack asked her. She nodded, but before she could open her mouth to answer she was suddenly scooped up by a speeding cyan blur that caught poor Be'nar by surprise when it nearly clipped the end of his nose. He reeled back in surprise as the figure came to a stop in the air. Scootaloo was now being held in midair in the grasp of a cyan pegasus with brilliant magenta eyes, who proceeded to give her a noogie. Scootaloo laughed and flailed as the pony grinned down at her. Her cutie mark, the first thing the guests noticed, was a tri-colored lightning bolt bursting from a cloud. But the pegasus' most striking feature was her mane; in a crazy display of super-powered equestrian genetics, her mane bore all seven colors of the spectrum. "That mare is wearing a wig," Justin quipped. "It's ridiculous." "That's no wig," Twilight said. "She's a 100% natural rainbow-head." She laughed at her own joke, but stopped when she noticed that no one seemed to think it was funny. "Anyway, this is..." She began before being cut off by Be'nar. "Don't tell me, Roy G. Biv." Pinkie and Applejack were sent into giggle fits. The cyan mare apparently didn't notice as she landed in front of Justin, Scootaloo now perched on her back. He didn't need to be introduced to know who this one was. "No, I bet this is the famous Rainbow Dash." Rainbow puffed her chest out at this. "The one and only." She said. She gestured at Scootaloo. "And this is my number one, biggest fan and the most awesome filly in Equestria, Scootaloo." Scootaloo beamed at this praise from her idol. "Yes, we uh, bumped into each other... literally." He said. Rainbow snickered. Twilight took care of introducing them to Rainbow, who high-fived all of them. Pinkie Pie gave a squee. "Alright, now that you have lots and lots of friends, it's time to parrrtayyy!" She said, taking position at a nearby sound system and turning on the music. The humans looked at their alien friends. "Say Benny, whaddya say we show these guys how us otherworlders get down?" He suggested. Be'nar grinned. "Loth tok'ar." He said, with a fist bump. *** The party proved to be a blast for everyone involved. Justin would never have guessed that ponies would make such great dancers, as him getting caught in no less than six conga line dances showed him. Laramie had a blast teaching the CMCs how to do the Party Rock Anthem shuffle dance. Scootaloo proved a surprisingly quick learner, quickly adapting the dance to four hooves and prompting Rainbow to speculate that dancing might be her special talent. Scootaloo scoffed, saying that she was no "tutu-wearing goofball". Pinkie had provided an excellent spread containing now only the typical fare she served at her parties, but also some things that their human guests would enjoy. In addition to cupcakes, cookies, punch and candy of all kinds, there was chips and dip of all kinds, chicken wings, pizza, burgers and hot dogs, and even pulled pork barbecue that Pinkie said was done in every style she had read about from Twilight's studies. All of it was homemade and very delicious, as Justin was pleased to find when he sampled some. "Whoa!" He said after taking a bite from something Pinkie called "Super Special Spicy Hot Wings". "What did you put in these things, ghost chilies?" Pinkie giggled. "Nope! Just my special secret hot sauce!" She chirped. "You like it?" Justin got himself a glass of milk, conveniently from the jug located next to the cookie platters, and guzzled it down to sooth the burn. "Yeah, they're great," He said. "Make sure you've got plenty of milk though." He said. "Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie said, taking off to the kitchen, presumably to get more milk jugs. Justin was about to go over and join Laramie when he felt something tug on his hand. It turned out to be a mint green unicorn with bright yellow eyes and a two-toned green mane and tail that matched her coat perfectly, a mare judging by her look. He took note of her cutie mark; a golden lyre. "Hello." He said. She looked back at him with huge grin and a shimmer in her eyes. A soft squee was heard from her. "Hi!" She squeaked. "Oh my gosh you're really a human! Twilight told me all about you guys! You have no idea how awesome it is to finally meet you!" She started dancing on her tippy hooves like a teenage girl who had just met Justin Bieber and Robert Pattinson at the same time. Justin laughed sheepishly at the excited mare in front of him. Laramie, who had by now exhausted herself teaching the fillies how to do the electric slide, came over with cups of punch for both of them. She was surprised to see the spazzing unicorn. "Who is this?" She asked with a giggle. Justin shrugged. "I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess her name is 'Spazzy Happy-Pants'." He suggested. Lyra just continued to giggle and bounce up and down so much that a few ponies began to joke that she must be Pinkie's long-lost sibling. The unicorn began bouncing around them, remarking about how cool they looked and bombarding them with questions; where were they from, what was their home like, could they teach her how to stand upright like they could... the poor humans just didn't know what to do with the excited mare. Fortunately they were rescued from this predicament by the timely intervention of another pony. "Lyra!" A cream-colored earth pony with a tone-toned pink and blue mane and tail, sharply called out to the happy unicorn. Lyra stopped in midair and fell down on her rump, looking over in the other pony's direction. "Uh, hi Bon Bon?" She said sheepishly, trying to put on her best "I wasn't doing anything" face. Bon Bon wasn't buying it, however. "Do you think you could possibly give these poor people some time to breathe before you start acting like a crazed fangirl?" She scolded. Lyra frowned, and Justin swore she started to get a little teary-eyed. "I'm so sorry, she's been like this ever since Twilight loaned her the books on humans that the Altarians gave us." Laramie smiled warmly at Lyra. "Hey, it's perfectly alright," Laramie said. "Say, Justin, Twilight said she wanted to talk to you, and you should meet her 'coltfriend' as she called him. He's a riot, he is. I'll take care of this one." Justin nodded and went off in search of the purple unicorn while Laramie busied herself with Lyra and Bon Bon. The party lasted long into the evening, courtesy of Pinkie's insistence on making the human's welcome to Equestria as joyous as possible. The four of them were introduced to many ponies from across town, including Twilight's love Caramel and Fluttershy's husband Hailstorm Tempest. Their story in particular warmed all of their hearts and provided a point of conversation for them and the Kanobes -- who regaled them with the story of how they had met, fell in love and later were reunited. All in all, an evening that the four of them would be carrying for a long time to come. *** Celestia's sun rose and cast its light over the land, warming the planet and signaling the start of a new day. Despite the crisp, cool air, many were already out and about getting their businesses ready or going to work. At the town inn, Justin awoke as the light of then crept through the window and alerted him that it was time to awaken from a peaceful night's sleep. His vision was blurry and his head was cloudy with sleep. His muscles were stiff and screamed in protest when he dragged himself out of bed. A pleasant smell, which turned out to be a plate of freshly baked muffins left there apparently by the owner, helped to distract from some of that discomfort. He rubbed his eyes to clear the blurriness so he could see the clock next to his bed; eight o' clock on the button, just as Twilight said it would be. Celestia was never late. His mind wandered to just who this princess of theirs was and what she was like. Despite his American nationality, Justin was a longtime student of Earth's past and had a great love of the Middle Ages that gave him a deep respect for the royal houses of his homeworld. It proved to be a point of connection between him and Twilight as they both had a shared interest in history. But what kind of monarch was Celestia? He knew that she was a pegacorn and had ruled the country for nearly two thousand years and had the power to raise the sun. Beyond that, absolutely nothing, and for some reason it had never occurred to him to ask Twilight. He would have to rectify that this morning, after morning prayers that was. Throwing on a gray Boston Red Sox t-shirt, he took out a green book with five colored ribbons sprouting from between its pages. Gold text on the spine read The Liturgy of the Hours, Volume IV. Opening it to a place marked with a green ribbon, he was about to begin the first part of his morning prayers when a sudden crash made him jump and drop the book. "What in the world was that?" He exclaimed. Grunting a bit at the intrusion, he wandered over to the door to see who was slamming around at this time of the morning. His expression softened when he saw that it was a gray-furred pegasus mare with a straw yellow mane and a cutie mark of bubbles. He had no idea what that could mean. The mare shook her head vigorously as if to clear it. The source of the noise was now explained as her slamming into the door of his room. They had now been there for three days, which was apparently long enough for the mail service to start delivering to them, mostly coupons for local stores and assorted junk mail. This was the first he had seen of this pony, though. "Are you alright, miss?" He asked, offering his hand to help her up. She opened her eyes to reveal something unusual; her eyes were crossed in a familiar "derp face" pattern that he had seen in countless Internet memes. He had to suppress a giggle at how silly it looked out of respect. The mare smiled and wrapped her hoof around his hand, allowing him to help her up. "Oh, I'm fine," She said, her voice light and almost child-like despite her being an adult mare. "I crash into things all the time." Turning to the green saddlebags she carried, she somehow managed to open it with her wingtips and extracted a stack of envelopes. "I brought you a letter!" She chirped. Justin felt his smile fade. The last thing he wanted to deal with was more junk mail, but he took it anyway. He was pleasantly surprised to see not a junk letter or advertisement, but a scroll held shut by a red ribbon and a gold seal marked by a large "C". It gave it a sense of importance, as though the pony who sent it was of high status. He broke the seal and threw on a pair of reading glasses. The letter was written in black ink in a fancy calligraphic script. Dear Mr. Thompson, Let me begin by saying that it is a great pleasure to welcome you and all your compatriots to my world. All of Equestria and beyond is very excited to be able to learn from your species, and we hope that you are excited as well. I'm sure by now you have met my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. No one is more excited by your coming than her. Learning was always one of her strongest points and something she has always taken great pride in. She reminds me of myself in my younger years in that regard. She took the time to write me about meeting and talking with you, and having read her letter I'm more than anxious to meet you myself. For that reason, I would like to extend a personal invitation to you and your friends to visit Canterlot for a luncheon with myself and the Element bearers tomorrow afternoon. I have many things that I would like to discuss with you. Can you RSVP as soon as possible? With Warmest Greetings, Celestia Solaris, High Princess of All Equestria, Queen of Everfree, Duchess of Canterlot, Sovereign of the Sun "Well, I must be pretty popular around these parts, if I'm getting invites from royalty," He said to himself, then turned to the mare. "Thank you Miss... uh, what's your name?" He asked. "Oh, I'm sorry! I totally forgot to introduce myself," She exclaimed. "My name's Ditzy Doo, but you can call me Derpy. Everyone else does." He wasn't sure if he should find it fitting because of her eyes, or be mad at an apparent degrading nickname. He decided that since he didn't know any better, he should give them the benefit of the doubt and assume it was a friendly one. Ditzy Doo sniffed the air, homing in on the scent of the muffins. "Why do I smell muffins? Were you baking in here?" She asked. He laughed. "No, the owner must have left them for me," He said. "Would you like one? I'm not going to eat them all." Ditzy's eyes lit up at this. She emitted a soft squee. "Really?" She squeaked. Justin snickered as he watched Ditzy begin to flutter her wings and dance on her top hooves. "Here," He said, taking one. "It's the biggest one." Ditzy squealed. "Blueberry! My favorite!" She took a great big bite. "Mmmmmm! Thank you so much mister!" Justin got a surprise when she wrapped him in a squeeze hug and then hopped out of the room giggling while balancing her muffin on her nose. He shook his head and laughed. "Out of all the ponies I've met so far, I think she's the best," He said, chuckling before turning back to his prayerbook. "Now, where was I? Oh yeah, that's right." He picked up the book and reset the ribbons before starting over again, taking his time so as to relax himself as he recited. *** "So, you got one, too?" Be'nar asked, taking a bite of the breakfast burrito he had ordered. The four of them had met at the local diner for coffee and a chat to discuss the latest developments. Like Justin, Laramie, Be'nar and his family had likewise received invitations. Needless to say, it was as much a surprise for them as it was for him. "Yep," Justin answered. "An invitation to meet the Princess herself. I wasn't aware that I was a celebrity." Laramie giggled. "Twilight sure thinks so." Selii replied, shifting herself so that she could cradle Curzon for his feeding. Soft coos told them the little boy was heartily enjoying his breakfast. A few ponies stopped to gander at the adorable baby, thoroughly distracted from whatever their business was at the time. "I'm curious though," Laramie interjected, savoring the pancake she had just taken a bite of. "Why would she want to meet with only us? Surely there's people here who are more important." She took another bite, smiling as the taste of cinnamon filled her mouth. "Mmm, tasty." "Apparently, Twilight's endorsement is all we need." Be'nar said, likewise savoring his own breakfast, homemade fruit crepes. "And I don't plan on disappointing her," Justin said, his voice carrying and air of determination. "God help me make a good impression, though." He looked off in the distance, toward the cliff on which perched the magnificent upper city of Canterlot. "God help me indeed. *** Normally a flying carriage ride, the primary mode of transportation for high class ponies around the kingdom, from Ponyville to Canterlot took less than two hours, especially at the high altitudes pegasi normally flew at. But when you're passengers are humans and Altarians who cannot possibly survive at such high altitudes, you have to select an alternative form of transportation that suits them better. Enter the Friendship Express, one of numerous railroads around the country that provided passenger service around the country. All of the visitors were forced to try and surpress a giggle at the look of the thing; it looked like something that one would find in a play set made for little girls to carry their favorite princess dolls on a whirlwind tour of candyland, or whatever imaginary realm they conjured up during playtime. A pink, frilly heart decorated steam locomotive, looking like it rolled out of a cartoon western, pulled cars that looked they were ripped from a Saturday morning cartoon show that were produced for the very young, or at least young girls. Despite the appearances, the train was loaded, as Justin and his friends discovered, with just about every luxury they could think of. The cars were spacious and though seemingly designed primarily for ponies, were quite comfortable. Laramie especially appreciated the down quilts and soft mattresses that had been supplied in their staterooms. For the young gentleman there was a fully stocked bar car, complete with every kind of drink they could possibly want. The scent of food could be sensed wafting from the dining car, and some of the rooms had even been recently equipped with small televisions and radios for the entertainment of passengers. "Amtrak, eat your heats out." Justin remarked as he settled into his fully equipped cabin. The train was already on the way to Canterlot, the capital, and it was nearly suppertime, as Rarity did not fail to inform him. Hoping the train would have something that would appeal to humans as well as ponies, he threw on a collared shirt and a pair of khaki pants for the occasion and slipped out the door. "Ready love?" Laramie asked, slipping her arm under his and resting her head on his shoulders. He leaned down and gave her an eskimo kiss. "Yes, ma'am. Lead the way." He replied with a romantic look in his eyes. She pecked him on the cheek and walked with her boyfriend down the train toward the dining car at the front, near the engine. Ponies going about their business gave sweet looks at the couple, a few mouthing about how "adorable" they looked. Laramie blushed at the compliments, and both were quite surprised that they were still receiving such a positive reception. Being guests definitely had it's perks, they both thought. "Ah, wonderful! You're here," Twilight said as they entered the spacious dining car. She was seated beside her friends at a table that appeared to have been set up especially for them, as indicated by the special menus that had been created to cater to human and Altarian tastes. "We saved you seats." She said, gesturing to them where to sit down "Gosh, they didn't have to go this far," Laramie remarked, scooching in to let Justin sit on the outside. "We're quite content eating anything that you eat." She glanced at the menu. "Oh my, there's a lot of fish on this one." "Fish is easier to get." Applejack explained. Justin nodded. Raising livestock for meat was something that the ponies didn't practice, unless they were trading them with their neighbors, the griffons. Fish, on the other hand, could be caught right out of any lake, river or even the ocean, and many ponies did fish for sport or leisure. "I have to say, though, we're really surprised that everyone seems so happy to have us." He said, opening the menu. The Chliean sea bass looks good, he thought. "Didn't you guys react the same way when the Altarians showed up?" Rainbow Dash asked, her expression and tone expression confusion. Justin shook his head. "Well, we didn't go crazy, but more than a few people were nervous," He explained. "Our popular culture tended to view alien contact through two lenses; one, I call the 'Star Trek' lens, where the aliens came in peace and everything went smoothly. The other I call the 'War of the Worlds' lens, where they didn't come in peace and actually tried to conquer the planet. You can probably guess where I'm going with that." He smiled nervously. "I take it 'alien invasion' was the more common theme?" Twilight said, recalling some of the works she had read on human popular culture and film. At Justin's nod, she continued. "I take it when people got the inkling there were aliens in their midst, they feared an invasion." "You could say that again," Justin said, rubbing his forehead as he remembered some of the silly things that his fellow humans assumed when the Altarians were discovered trying to communicate with Earth following the test of the warp ship Alcubierre. "Conspiracy theory blogs exploded, people starting fleeing into the countryside to escape, and even a prominent astronomer came on TV and basically told everyone to make their peace with the Almighty that very day, because we were all going to be dead the next day when the lasers started bombarding us." He sighed. "My species embarrasses me sometimes." "Whoa, that sounds intense." Rainbow Dash gaped. Fluttershy meeped. "It must have been scary seeing all that," She remarked. "I mean, all those scared people, wondering what was going to happen..." Her face bore an expression betraying a combination of sympathy and fear, the same fear that she imagined the poor people of Earth at that time must have been drowning in. She started to shiver, causing Rarity to pat her on the back to help calm her down, which she quietly thanked her for. "It certainly was," Laramie replied, putting the drink menu down. "I live in a large city in North Carolina, Charlotte. There were a lot of people who were fleeing their homes. I remember seeing people in my neighborhood literally throwing things out of windows into the back of their pickups, or boarding up their windows. There was even a huge riot in another part of town and the police had to be called out in force to stop it," She shuddered. "I can't even bear to think about it now." "But everything's all hunky dory, now," Applejack chimed in. "How did you all figure it out without going crazy?" "A few intrepid teenagers with technological skills and some guile managed to build an ad-hoc communication program that somehow managed to translate their signals and talk to them via radio." Justin remarked, with a grin that everyone in the room immediately recognized. "It was you!" Twilight remarked. "But how?" "It's a long story, but to try and make it short, I got curious," He explained. "I noticed, amidst all the confusion, that SETI... that's 'Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence' kept picking up signals from orbit that could only have been coming from the Altarian ship, spoiler alert." He joked, eliciting a giggle from his audience. "They ended up getting something in the neighborhood of a thousand transmissions in a day. The rational side of my brain told me that there was no way they would be trying to contact us repeatedly if they were hostile, so I gathered up a few friends and... you can probably guess the rest." He finished. "That sounds like an incredible story." Twilight remarked. "I'll have to go back and study the news reports I've gathered." "Just don't read the New York Times, you'll have to wade through a lot of crap to get the good parts, and I mean a lot." Justin said. A porter came by and took their meal and drink orders. "So, how did you and Benny meet?" Rainbow asked, fiddling with her silverware, to Rarity's consternation. Justin grinned at her having picked up on the nickname he had given his friend. "That one would probably take us until we reached the city," Be'nar said. "But I'm told I have a knack for telling stories, so I'll fill you in." And tell stories he did, from meeting his friend to tales from his homeworld, he regaled the ponies, who hung upon every word he said. Twilight smiled as she listened. It was still so amazing to her, even though she knew for a while that they were not alone, it didn't cease to surprise her how much she was learning, and probably had yet to learn. "You know, someone has to write a book about this someday." She said to herself. *** The first thing that Selii noticed after she woke up from the previous night's sleep was the gleaming coming through the window that couldn't have been from the sun. Rubbing her still tired eyes and trying to shake the sudden pain from the light, she held her hand over her brow as she squinted out the cabin window toward the mountain in the distance to see that the gleam indeed wasn't coming from the sun; it was coming from the gold that covered the domes on top of the spires of a gleaming alabaster city that could only be the fabled Canterlot they had heard so much about. The sight of the great city put a look of complete awe on her face. She felt her heart begin to soar gazing on it. It was no wonder so many spoke with such reverence toward the city; it seemed almost to be a temple, one dedicated to the ingenious spirit of the ponies that had build it so many centuries ago. The feeling left her as soon as she heard a conductor announce that they were approaching the Canterlot train station. It would soon be time to disembark. Tearing her gaze away from the sight of the city, she gently shook her sleeping husband, who stuttered at the sudden interruption of his slumber. "Huhwhu? What's this all about?" He asked, rubbing his eyes. "Oh, morning love." She rolled her eyes at him. "We're almost there," She said. "We'd better wake the babies up and get them breakfast." Be'nar yawned widely, causing her to wince a bit at his rather noxious morning breath. "And no offense, but your breath smells like pad'ruk. He snickered, having gotten used to others complaining about his morning breath, something that had plagued him for years. "Sorry, love. I'll be sure to swallow a few mint leaves for good measure after I've taken care of my teeth. I don't want to cause my children any brain damage from exposure to harmful gas." Selii giggled at this one. Be'nar popped his back before getting up to check on his babies, who were still sleeping soundly. He gently rubbed their heads to awaken them. Yawning, they began to coo and babble as their father's visage came into view. He smiled as Shastin began to reach to be picked up. Obliging her, he tickled her gently, causing the little baby girl to giggle up a storm. "Are you hungry?" She cooed loudly. "Right then, let's go see mommy." When the others finally woke up, the train had already arrived at the station. A few uniformed railroad police patrolled the station as passengers milled about waiting for trains or loved ones and friends who would be arriving. Deciding to eat breakfast when they had gotten off the train, the group disembarked and waited for their luggage while Twilight filled them in with some stories of her fillyhood while growing up with her parents in the famed upper city. "You seriously turned your brother orange?" Justin asked, cackling at Twilight's tale of a botched spell when she was still learning magic. Twilight giggled. "Yep, but you should hear what I did to my mom's drapes the next day." She snickered at the thought of gaudy tie-dye pattern she somehow managed to conjure up. Just as she was about to launch into the story, however, the sound of somepony calling her snapped her out of storytelling mode. She whirled around to see an amber-coated Royal Guard, wearing the characteristic golden armor of the Day Regiment, throwing her a salute. She smiled at him in recognition. "Flash!" She trotted over and embraced him like an old friend. "Good to see you again." "Likewise, Your Grace." He said. Twilight blushed a bit at the formal introduction, always the humble pony. "Oh stop it, you know I'm not one for titles." Flash laughed. "Oh, introductions, of course. These are my new friends, Justin, Laramie, Be'nar and Selii. They're staying in Ponyville with us for the whole year." She added a "squee" at the end, her excitement bursting through despite her tone. "You know the rest of them already." "Only from your brother." He said. He shook "hands" with each of them. "Princess Celestia has asked me to escort you to the palace. If you'll follow me please." He said, gesturing for them to follow to a waiting carriage that would take them through the upper city. "Limousine service? We really are VIPs aren't we?" Be'nar quipped. "It's not a proper limousine without cold champagne and nubile young starlets," Justin joked. "What do you think, ladies, could you play the role of the starlets while I scrounge up the bubbly?" He smiled at them six mares with a cheeky grin. Pinkie and Rainbow laughed, while the others, Selii and Laramie included, simply rolled their eyes. Flash snickered. "This is going to be interesting." He though. *** "Of all the things the Princess has me doing, this has to be the absolute lowest." The grey unicorn stallion, his black mane slicked back and his piercing orange eyes locked on the ground as he paced back and forth, grunting in frustration. "Why did she have to select me to take charge of a bunch of stinking aliens? And not even high ranking ones at that." He spat and hissed as he waited for his charges to arrive. Lord Vizier was tired; his duties as Princess Celestia's Chief of Staff had consumed most of his energy, what with keeping the staff running a tight ship while the Princess met with multiple dignitaries from both Altair and Earth, and a few from their own world for good measure. It was enough to drive most insane, but he had somehow managed to keep a cool head despite the seemingly endless tasks that the Princess had set before him. Now she expected him to babysit not only her student and her five friends, but yet more aliens. If he hadn't wanted to run to the nearest bar and down the entire contents of both the liquor bottles and the beer kegs before, he definitely wanted to now! The sound of marching hooves alerted him to the sound of the approaching guard before he saw him round the corner and throw a salute, his characteristic green helmet crest revealing him to be a member of Third Battalion of the Day Regiment. Vizier glared at him. He couldn't stand the Guard. To him, they always had this haughty air of superiority, especially when compared to the other branches of the military, whom he equally detested. He huffed as the guard lowered his salute and stood at attention. "Yes, Sergeant?" The irritation was plain in his voice. "Lord Vizier, sir, the Princess' guests have arrived." The guard quickly stated. Finally! The sooner I can get them in, the sooner I can get rid of them. He thought. "Yes, please send them in immediately." He said. The guard saluted before opening the door to reveal the six mares and four alien beings, plus two infants that he guessed were the children of the two fox-like aliens. He sighed at the look of them. None of the males carried themselves with any ounce of dignity or poise that he expected from someone coming to visit the Princess; they chatted and joked with the six element bearers like they were on a school field trip. It made him sick to his stomach to watch. He felt his lips curl into a sneer at the sight of the uncouth barbarians. But what made him sicker was the fact that the element bearers seemed to not only be accepting of such behavior, but actively encouraged it by joking back! Disgusting! And the fact that Twilight Sparkle was from Canterlot, was of noble birth and the Princess' personal protégée made him even sicker. What he would give for the opportunity to just hurl them out the front door, or better yet, into prison for their disgusting insolence! He shook his head as they approached. No time for that now. The Princess had entrusted him to show them around the palace before their meeting, and he intended to fulfill his duty. He did his best to smile as they approached him, still chatting like idiots. He cleared his throat to get their attention. "Greetings, and welcome to the Royal Palace of Canterlot," He said in the stiff, practiced polite tones that characterized the upper class. "My name is Lord Vizier, and I will be your escort around the palace. Her Majesty has asked you that I give you a brief tour before your meeting with her. If you will follow me please." Well, that covers that, at least. He said to himself. Justin smiled and gave a brief bow. "Thank you, Sir. Lead the way." Vizier was surprised that he had somehow managed to show some manners. Perhaps there was hope for at least some of them. He turned and beckoned them to follow him. Justin, Be'nar and Twilight hung back, looking at Vizier with hardened eyes. "I don't know what it is, but there's something about that stallion that I don't like." Twilight said. Justin nodded. "You're not the only one. The guy is giving off real arsehole vibes." "Between the three of us, I say we avoid the holiday rush and start hating him now." Be'nar said. The others just nodded as they took off to catch up with the others. *** "The room you see before you know is the main entrance hall to the palace." Vizier explained. He had led them into a massive hall, surrounded on all sides by beautiful stained glass windows, marble columns inlaid with gold and jewels running the length of the room. Laramie's eyes were widened at the sight. Stained glass was something she loved, and to see such windows before her, like the windows of a great cathedral on Earth, filled her with awe. "Excuse me, but what do these windows represent?" She asked. "These ones in particular show scenes from the history of our fair country," Vizier replied, pointing out a few of them. "It begins here with the founding of the Equestrian Commonwealth by Princess Platinum, Commander Hurricane and Chancellor Puddinghead." The window showed three ponies; a unicorn mare wearing royal regalia, an armored pegasus stallion carrying a spear in one hoof, and an Earth Pony stallion wearing a garish outfit with a goblet in one hoof. "I like that guy already." Justin remarked. Laramie giggled. "Yes, the Chancellor did love his wine." Vizier replied, rolling his eyes slightly at the rather crude joke. He next pointed out a rather grim looking stained glass window. The top portion portrayed a terrible battle, with the ponies being forced into retreat by an army of pony-sized dragons led by a demonic looking unicorn stallion. The bottom portion portrayed a burning Equestrian flag carried by a bizarre looking creature, which Vizier identified as Discord, a being of pure chaos. Ponies in various stages of suffering and misery surrounded him. Laramie and Selii shuddered. "What happened here?" Selii asked, a slight mist appearing in her violet eyes. Selii hated suffering, and even images of past suffering filled her with grief. "The first scene is the Battle of Foaltava, also known as the Disaster at Foaltava, where an army led by King Sombra, the evil looking unicorn you see in the picture, defeated an army of the Commonwealth led by Chancellor Puddinghead thanks to Discord's help. In an exchange for helping him take over Equestria, he gave Sombra the ancient throne of the Crystal Empire. The scene you see below is the result of that unholy partnership. Discord ruled our land in a constant state of chaos and suffering for over thirty years and decimated any attempt to take it back thanks to his powers of chaos. Thirty years of nonstop chaos and destruction. And to make it worse, he put a curse on the land that made everyone immortal. He wanted us to suffer for eternity." "Sounds like hell." Justin remarked. "Scratch that, that IS hell." Be'nar nodded. "I certainly must have felt like it to them." He said, looking at the image of the suffering ponies. Vizier nodded and then pointed out another stained glass window. "But then we fast forward thirty years in history and we come here." The window showed three scenes; two pegacorn ponies being crowned, the same two leading armies into battle, and finally holding a flag, together, before a cheering crowd of ponies. "You'll see here Princess Celestia and her sister, Princess Luna, being crowned as Queens of Everfree and Princesses of All Equestria, defeating Discord in battle, and finally proclaiming the new nation of Equestria. We've been free ever since." He said. Justin noticed something in his tone when he said "free"; it wasn't anything really about the tone other than it seemed empty, like it was devoid of any affection or emotion. He shook his head. It was probably just him. "Moving on, I'll show you the meeting chamber of Their Majesties' Privy Council." He said, not bothering to point out any of the other stained glass windows. Laramie, although curious as to the others, was beaming. "Y'all liked that, eh?" Applejack asked. She nodded. "Oooh, do you have pretty glass back home?" Pinkie asked. "Yes, we do." Laramie said. She explained how stained glass was popular among humans as art, especially with churches and other religious buildings. The other ponies were intrigued, but Vizier couldn't care less. He just led them along to the next chamber. "I can't wait until this is over." He muttered. *** "The room you see here is the old throne room." He said, pointing to a simpler room made of carved marble, bearing the symbols of both Princesses and capped off by two carved marble thrones etched in gold. It was hard to believe they were over a thousand years old. Both looked as though they had just been carved and polished that very day. Each throne was set with a jewel; a massive golden topaz representing the sun on one, and a bright white pearl representing the moon on the other. A window just above the thrones allowed the sun to bath the thrones in light, causing a dazzle to erupt from the gems and the gold etching and giving the thrones a glow that almost seemed to brim with an ancient, mystical energy. Both Justin and Be'nar were history buffs, the type who saw going to a museum as a more exciting weekend activity than visiting a dance club or bar. To see such a piece of history before them, such an ancient symbol of royal power and authority, in such pristine condition filled them with a sense of awe. The only time Justin himself had felt a greater sense of awe was when beheld a holy relic back home. He reached out to touch one of the thrones, but before he could Vizier's voice rang out. "I wouldn't do that, sir," Justin whipped around to face him. "Both thrones carried an enchantment that prevented anyone besides the royal sisters from sitting in them or touching them. I don't know if it's still active, but it's better to be safe than sorry. The enchantment isn't fatal, but I heard it would give you a rather nasty shock, and I'm sure that no one of you would like to spend your time among us in the hospital." "Oh come on now, you know that those enchantments were removed." A female voice said behind them. They turned to see a periwinkle colored mare wearing what appeared to be business attire trotting over. Finally, someone to hopefully relieve of this damned burden, Vizier thought. He flashed his best winning smile. "Good afternoon, Miss Courier," He said to her. "What brings you here? "The Princess asked me to escort our guests to the throne room," She replied, gesturing toward them. "I trust that won't be a problem?" He shook his head, barely concealing his eagerness to be rid of them. The others took notice of this. "I don't like the way he's acting." Laramie whispered to Justin, pointing at Vizier. He nodded. "I know, he seems like he's happy to be relieved. Rude much?" He asked rhetorically. She nodded, though something else was lingering that she couldn't quite put her finger on. By now Vizier, who had been conversing with Courier, turned to face them again. "I must depart now. Courier here will be your host for the remainder of this visit. Please, enjoy your stay with us and we thank you for coming." He managed his best polite tone as he gave a flourishing boy before leaving the old throne room. The others sized Courier up. Her jade eyes were bright and cheerful, and her smile was genuine, with no evidence of being forced like Vizier's was. It was a relief to know that she at least seemed to be genuinely happy to guide them. "If you'll follow me, we'll..." She was stopped by the sight of Be'nar sitting in the sun throne, grinning like an idiot and scanning them like he was sitting for an audience. Courier couldn't suppress a giggle at the sight of him, even though she should probably have been telling him to get off. Even the other ponies were snickering at his antics. "I feel the power!" He said, grinning even more stupidly while delivering a fist bump. "Be'nar, I must challenge your claim to the throne," Justin said with a smirk. "You're lack of intelligence and severe drinking habit make you unfit to be the ruler of this fair land." Be'nar gave him a look of mock outrage. "Insolence! Off with his head!" All present were sent into stitches, especially Pinkie, who was rolling on the floor giggling up a typhoon. Courier somehow managed to pull out of the giggle fit and compose herself. "As I was saying, if you'll follow me, the Princess is ready to see you now." The four aliens froze at hearing that. So the time had finally come, and it was time to meet what Twilight and others had told them was the most powerful figure on the entire planet. Despite they're earlier excitement, the knowledge of what they were about to walk into started to weigh on their nerves. Even Justin, normally stoic in such situations, was started to feel a slight case of the shakes. He felt a hoof touch his side. "Are you OK?" Rarity, who had been standing next to him and Laramie, asked. "Nerves." He replied. "I can't blame you darling, but you'll be fine, you all will." She smiled at them. "Princess Celestia is really as wonderful as we make her out to be." "Biggest heart in Equestria... well, if ya'll don't count Fluttershy's." Applejack, who had been listening in, added. Fluttershy blushed at the compliment, still often flustered at receiving so much praise. "Trust us, you don't have to worry about making a good impression. You already have." Twilight said, smiling measuredly. The fact that their newfound friends had such confidence in them helped to ease most of the tension that had been building up in them. "Alright, let's do this." Justin said, gesturing for Courier to lead the way. *** Even though they had known that he would be meeting a powerful monarch, it was still quite a shock when they first laid eyes on the first of two High Princesses of All Equestria. For starters, she was freakin' huge! Most ponies were slightly shorter than most humans, coming up to just about chest level. Princess Celestia? She towered over them. The two humans had never been very good at estimates, but they both guessed she had to be at least seven feet tall from the top of her head to the bottom of her hoof. Second, her mane. By now, they had grown used to Rainbow Dash's technicolor look, so the fact that Celestia had a pastel rainbow color scheme didn't surprise them. What did surprise them was the fact that it appeared to be waving in a breeze in spite of the fact that they were indoors and there wasn't a single open window anywhere in the opulent throne room. The same was true for her tail, which was currently curled around her front. Third, the instant they walked into the room, they felt the hairs on the backs of their neck stand up. What surprised them was that none of them felt anything like fear. It was as though there was an electricity in the room, a charge that they could feel tingling through their bodies. The tingling was combined with a warmth that penetrated, it seemed, to their very souls. It was a strange sensation, unlike anything they had every experienced before. It was an overwhelming sense of great power being radiated by the grand looking pony that sat before them. Courier was the first to speak, gracefully bowing before her sovereign. "Your Majesty, may I present to you Messrs. Justin Thompson of Earth and Be'nar Kanobe of Altair." She beckoned them to come forward. Unsure what to do, having never met a monarch before, both of them did what they thought was the right thing to do. Justin went first with a flourished bow that was complete with a hand over his heart. He heard Dash snickering behind him. He must have looked ridiculous, but he didn't mind. When in Rome and all that. "Your Majesty, is is an honor that you have invited us here." He said, trying to sound as formal as he could. I must sound even worse than I look. He thought. However he sounded, it didn't seem to faze the Princess one bit, who to his surprise returned the bow. "The honor is mine," She replied regally. "Twilight told me all about how excited she was to meet you, and I just had to meet you." "Likewise, Your Majesty. If you don't mind me asking, aren't there two of you? I've been told you have a sister." Celestia nodded. "It is true. I apologize, but my sister is currently away on a diplomatic function and will be able to be present with us today. However, I am told she will be attending the annual Nightmare Night festival in Ponyville." She replied. "We look forward to it," Justin replied politely. "May I introduce my girlfriend, Laramie Winters and my friend Be'nar Kanobe, his wife Selii Tu'val-Kanobe and their children." He beckoned them to come forward and meet the princess. Laramie gingerly extended a hand, which the princess shook. 'Ta'iga kolas tu, Kelesh'mai Celestia," Selii greeted gracefully, bowing with her hands clasped in front of her. Her babies babbled from their stroller. Selii giggled. "And they said likewise." Celestia took a closer look. "Oh, what darlings," She cooed, gently tickling Shastin with the tip of her hoof. Shastin's heartwarming giggles filled the room. "You have beautiful children, Mr. Kanobe." She said. "Thank you, Your Majesty. We are both honored." He replied. "The honor is mine. New life is the most precious gift in the universe, and it brings me great joy to share in it," She smiled at the babies. "Welcome to my world, little ones. We're so excited to have you." Curzon reached up and touched Celestia's nose. "Awwww!" Was the chorus that echoed through the room. Celestia beamed. This was turning out even better than she thought. After giving the babies one last nuzzle, she turned to her assembled guests. "If you will follow me, the dining room is this way," She beckoned them to follow. "My staff have been researching some human and Altarian culinary traditions. It is my understanding that for some humans, is it proper to eat fish on Fridays, so my chefs have prepared 'Chilean sea bass' for you, and a dish of sel'mat stew and le'sara bread for the Kanobes. I hope that you will find it to you satisfaction." Her voice sounded honestly hopeful. "Well Your Majesty, the 'fish on Friday' custom isn't universally followed anymore, but your desire to cater to our traditions is appreciated," Justin said. "I'm sure that your chefs have done a marvelous job, and my friends here feel likewise." "I'm glad to hear that," Celestia said. "I can see now why my student has spoken so well of you." He blushed slightly as they followed her. Twilight smiled. "So? What do you think?" She asked. "Honestly? Meeting her is making me almost want to become a monarchist." He joked. The ponies chuckled. *** He felt as though he had been traveling for hours, what with the crowds that had suddenly decided to invade Canterlot for the upcoming ceremony to officially welcome the visitors to Equestria the next day, but Lord Vizier eventually reached his destination; a tiny, hole-in-the-wall tavern located in the Lower City. When he entered, most of the patrons, either too engrossed in gambling or too drunk to care about anything going on around them. He liked it that way, though. It meant it was easier to go in unnoticed to carry out his business. Approaching the bar, while dodging a drunken griffon spouting broken gibberish in his native tongue, he gave the bartender a cold, emotionless glance. The poor stallion was clearly intimidated, and Vizier could see a slight shake begin to overtake him. Vizier like it that way too; it made it clear that no questions were to be asked. "Is everything ready?" Vizier asked, giving the bartender his hardest stare. He had better have everything ready, if he know's what's good for him, he thought. "Yes, mi'lord," The barkeep replied, his words coming out in a nervous sputter. "They're waiting for you in the back room. I make sure no one sees anything." Vizier nodded. "Good, see to it." He said in a low voice. The barkeep stepped aside to allow him access to the storeroom. A flick of magic and the door was open. Vizier looked back one last time to see if anyone had seen him. Satisfied that they hadn't, he entered the dank storeroom and closed the door behind him quietly. "It's about time you showed up, Vizzy!" A mare's voice yelled out from somewhere in the back. "We've about gone through all the beer and snacks and we're getting antsy! It's damned hot in here." Vizier trotted past barrels of Equestrian ale to see several ponies seated around a table, on the wall behind which a dark blue flag with a white inverted crescent moon with flared wings crowning it sitting in the middle of the field was hung. The Old Equestrian words "Respublica Luna Nova" were spelled out along the top of the crescent moon. Vizier took his seat next to an elderly looking stallion wearing a blue military uniform, looking like he was about to list to port under the number of medals and badges that he wore, most of which he had made and awarded to himself in his arrogance. Vizier was not fond of this stallion, the self-styled "Marshal" Pike Square of the New Lunar Republic Army, and one of the most wanted men in Equestria. Vizier knew that his organization was responsible for numerous bombings and other terrorist atrocities, but that hadn't stopped him from aligning himself with them. They would be useful, at least, for his plans. "I apologize for my tardiness, but it would seem the arrival of the... visitors has caused the whole kingdom to show up in Canterlot." He looked around the room at the assembled ponies. In addition to "Marshal" Pike Square, there was his "aide to camp" Sabre Rattler, a harsh stallion, slightly younger than Vizier, who Vizier suspected was a ticking time bomb waiting to go off and who bore dark red on his legs that Vizier honestly suspected were permanent blood stains; Square's personal assassin and bodyguard Katar, a black stallion with piercing red eyes well known for his sadism. And finally there was the impetuous young mare Blasting Cap, who's specialty was bomb-making and detonating, a mare who took pride in destroying schools as much as she did Royal Equestrian Army tanks. "I do hope you have news for us?" Pike Square asked. "We are growing weary of waiting." Vizier nodded. "The alien dignitaries will be present at the palace tomorrow afternoon for the ceremony," He explained. "I have arranged for them to be sitting in the perfect place for our plan. I trust that you have accomplished your tasks?" He addressed to the other ponies. "I've already staked out my sniper's nest," Katar replied, sharpening his namesake weapon. "Any survivors won't be alive for very long. It'll be the biggest job we've pulled since the Fillydelphia Barracks attack." "The bombs are in ready, exactly how you ordered them," Blasting Cap followed. "It was tricky getting the enchantments on them, but we managed. When Princess Sunny Arse gets done with her stupid speech, we'll be ready to play a tune in the key of B for Boom, baby." Vizier rolled his eyes at her immaturity. "My men will be in place on the hour. We wil finally overthrow this horrendous diarchy and seize the liberty we have earned through our blood and tears." The "marshal" pompously said. Vizier scowled. "Just you wait." He said under his breath. "Just think, guys," He heard Blasting Cap chime in. "If this goes off right, we'll all be free at least. It'll be totally worth the war to finally have Sunny Arse's head on a pike right next to her traitorous sister's." The others began to cheer and holler, forcing Vizier to cover his ears and silently beg for them to stop acting like petulant children. "Celebrate later." Everyone paused at the icy voice that hissed from the shadows. It sent a cold chill down Vizier's spine to hear such a voice. All the assembled ponies turned to look where the hideous voice had originated from. A bipedal creature, dressed in black with a hooded cowl covering his head, stepped from behind some of the barrels into the light of the meeting place. It was then that his green reptilian skin, piercing yellow reptilian eyes and snake like mouth could be discerned. He clenched a small staff in his gloved hands, like a baton used by military officers, only black and capped with a reptilian skull. He seemed to exude an aura of death itself. He gazed back at them with a look, helped by his viper-like features, that caused all of their hearts to turn cold with fear. The next words came out in a hiss that sent shivers down their spines and turned their blood to ice water. "I would not count your friends out yet," He said. "They are Altarian, and Altarians have a way of showing up when you least expect them.