40 — The Naked Truth
Castor wasn’t sure which surprised them more, that Lady Dash had apparently walked into a tree and disappeared, that she had been completely nude and didn’t seem to care, or the wonderfully intricate and colourful wings-tattoo she had on her back.
Colonel Thiessen was frowning, thinking. “Can one of us go through? Take a quick look on the other side?” He clearly wanted to eliminate the possibility that it was all some sort of stage-magician’s trick.
Princess Sparkle looked uncertain. “I’m not sure that is wise,” she said slowly. “We’ve only had two people go through the portal, so far. One, Mr. Yueshi, went through without any changes whatsoever. The other was changed to a pony, which he found to be a very traumatic experience.
“He’s fine, though,” she added quickly when she realized what that sounded like. “It was just such a surprise, and he didn’t know how to walk without falling down all the time.” She thought a moment longer, then said, “Would it be alright if Mr. Yueshi took a couple of your cameras through and took pictures for you?” she said, hopefully.
Mr. Carroll stepped forward. “I would be willing to take the risk. I went through military training when I was younger. If it is unpleasant, I’m sure I can handle it. And if it isn’t, well, no harm done, right?”
Castor was impressed that the man’s voice was steady. Stepping onto a different world was . . . daunting.
She pressed her lips together tightly, thinking. She sighed and shook her head.
“Mr. Yueshi?” she called out.
“Yes, Your Highness?” He stepped into the hallway.
She closed her eyes in exasperation, then glared at him. “Would you please accompany Mr. Carroll? Perhaps take along a camera to get some pictures for them?”
“I would be delighted, Your Highness.”
She huffed in annoyance at his continued use of her title as he went over to Mr. Tenniel and they had a quick discussion over which cameras he would take.
While they were busy, Princess Sparkle called out again, “Emerald Arrow? Would you have somepony pop through the portal to warn everypony that Mr. Yueshi and another human are coming through, and that the new human might transform?”
The Princess looked at the humans. “We’re keeping a close watch on the portal and I wouldn’t want any of you to get hurt because somepony was startled.”
One of the men from the tent’s front-room hurried in. As he reached the Princess, she grabbed his arm and whispered something to him. He quickly walked down the hall and through the tree.
“We’re ready, Your Highness.” He had the video camera, running, in his hand, with a new tape in place in case the portal ruined the camera, and a 35mm camera, also with a new roll of film.
“Right,” she said a bit sharply. “Make sure you read the sign on the tree.”
He nodded and tilted his head at Mr. Carroll. They started walking towards the tree.
“Just relax,” Yueshi said to the M.I. agent. “It’s perfectly safe. Pretend you’re stepping through a curtain. As Her Highness said, read the sign. I’ll go first.” He disappeared through the portal without pausing.
The agent hesitated, then squared his shoulders and disappeared as he stepped forward.
۸- ̰ -۸
It had been at least ten minutes since the two had disappeared through the portal, and they were starting to get worried. Even the Princess seemed a bit concerned at the long delay.
“If something had gone wrong, they would have been back almost immediately,” she had reassured them after the first three minutes. “They’re probably just taking a good look around and taking pictures for you.”
But, now, she turned to her friends outside the hall. “Rarity?” she said, not quite concealing the worry in her voice, “Do you think you could check on things?”
“Certainly, Twi,” the addressed woman said.
Castor heard the door flap on the left side rustle as she went into the changing room. However, before she could come out in the hall, their tardy humans came stumbling back through the portal. Or, rather, Mr. Carroll stumbled back through. Lady Dash was right behind him, his clothes held in her arms. She was laughing hysterically. Mr. Yueshi followed her, shaking his head. Finally, lastly, the other guard came through carrying his clothes. He ducked into the men’s changing room.
Mr. Carroll held to the railing with a solid grip as he stared at them. “I flew,” he said breathlessly. “I became a pony and flew!”
“You shoulda seen him,” crowed Lady Dash. “He crashed every time he got more’n head height off the ground! The littlest foal could fly rings around him.” She returned to laughing, tears coming from her eyes.
Mr. Carroll just stared at them, “I was a pony, and I flew!” He said, incredulously.
Mr. Yueshi, on the other hand, was just shaking his head sadly. He walked over and handed the cameras to Mr. Tenniel. “I shot the entire roll in this camera,” he held out the 35mm. “And kept the video camera running the entire time,” he said dryly. “Hopefully, the portal didn’t ruin the recording or film.”
He looked over at Lady Twilight. “Some people get all the luck,” he said, clearly wishing he could have transformed, as well.
She nodded. “So, Colonel Jayson Thiessen, will that be enough?”
He returned her nod, staring at the M.I. agent who was slowly getting himself back under control and realizing he wasn’t wearing any clothes.
Lady Dash, still giggling, shoved the man’s clothes into his arms and said, “Hey, Twi, are we done here? I need to go kick some clouds or Ponyville is going to have some nasty weather tonight.”
“Oh, sure, Dash. See you later.”
The nude woman turned and took a short running leap through the portal.
For Royalty and nobles, these young . . . ponies? . . . were more than a little rough around the edges. The only one that came close to the image of a noble was Prince Blood. Was it the difference between those born into nobility and those who were not? Or was this just something natural for them? The difference between males and females?
The humans followed the Equestrians as they headed back to the house. When they reached the vehicles, the Colonel stopped and said, “I will make sure that your request for an embassy is taken to the highest authorities possible, as quickly as possible. In the meantime, if there is anything I can do to assist you, please contact me.” He held out his business card to the Princess.
“Thank you for your assistance,” she said. “If you have any questions, please give me a call. I believe Detective Inspector Searle has our number here.” She gave Castor a quick smile.
He nodded. “Yes, I remember it.”
The Princess, followed by the rest of her entourage, went inside the house. Miss Arrow stopped on the front porch and watched them.
“All right, gentlemen. I think we should head to Thames House to debrief and inform your superiors of what we’ve discovered. Sergeant Searle, you’ll come with us. Just leave your keys on the driver’s side floor and someone will return it to Guildford for you.
“And let’s see that video from the other side before we go anywhere.”
To say the video was astonishing was an understatement. To see the M.I. agent floundering around in his suddenly wrongly proportioned clothes was both amusing and scary. To see him flap his wings once he was out of the clothes and actually lift off the ground was amazing. Watching Lady Dash flying circles around him while coaxing him to fly was . . . simply indescribable. There could be no doubt that the portal was real, that there really was another world on the other side of that tree.
They had really, truly, been contacted by an alien race from another planet. The implications were as terrifying as they were amazing. Man was not alone in the universe. That would rock every religion on Earth. That they were miniature talking ponies merely added to the surreal atmosphere of the situation.
Mankind was not unique.
The park-like atmosphere around the tree, with its spiralling deck, and the massive stone walls a short distance away were puzzling. It all looked as if it had been there for years, yet the Princess had told Castor that they had only known the portal’s location for a month.
After the tape finished, Mr. Carroll took the wheel and started them back to London. Castor spent most of the drive recounting what he had learned from talking with the Princess. They were not pleased to hear the Equestrians had already taken over six thousand books on culture, science, technology, and history through the portal. Mr. Dodgson, the Security Service agent — M.I.5 — was already making plans to visit the Little Whinging bookstore to see exactly how much human knowledge had been plundered. And where they might expect the Equestrians to have difficulties understanding. And what they knew that the government wished they did not.
“Well, Sergeant Searle,” Colonel Thiessen said, “at the moment, you have the most information on these Equestrians, based on what you’ve said. And this Princess Sparkle seems to like you.”
Castor looked at the Colonel in growing horror.
The Colonel sighed. “I may not be in the chain of command anymore, but it looks like you’re going to be reactivated until this is sorted,” he said sympathetically.
Oh Bloody Hell! Castor had just known he was going to get the short end of the stick! His wife would not be amused that he was once more in the Sport and Social.
۸-ꞈ-۸
Staff Sergeant Castor Searle — at least they had had the decency to increase his rank when they reactivated him — sat at the board-room table and tried not to fidget. Under normal circumstances that wouldn’t be a problem. In the Special Air Service one quickly developed nerves of steel.
However, it was the brass in the room that made him nervous. Not a harrowing mission deep in enemy territory after a ludicrously dangerous High Altitude Low Opening parachute jump. It was the final Chinese Curse of Life — “May people in high places recognize you.” You couldn’t get much higher than the Prime Minister. Well, at least things couldn’t get any worse.
He was at the far end of the table. Beside him, to his left, sat Colonel Jayson Thiessen, Retired — retired for the moment, at least. Heading up the table was the head of the Sport and Special, Director Special Forces Brigadier Jeremy Phipps. Then came Head of Army, Field Marshal Sir John Lyon Chapple; M.I.5 agent, Lewis Carroll; and Director General of M.I.5, Sir Patrick Jeremy Walker. Last, and closest to the empty chair at the end of the table, was the Home Secretary, The Rt. Hon. Kenneth Wilfred Baker, Baron Baker of Dorking — whose Brylcreem slathered hair really did shine in the room’s light, reinforcing the slug-like image chosen for him by that satirical program, Spitting Image.
Across from the Home Secretary was the Foreign Secretary, The Rt. Hon. Douglas Hurd. To his left were the Director General of M.I.6, Sir Colin Hugh Verel McColl, and M.I.6 agents Charles Dodgson and John Tenniel.
The two Secretaries were frowning as they, once more, went through the stack of photographs taken by Tenniel and the hardcopy reports from the debriefing that had taken the rest of Saturday. The Head of Army had his own, much smaller stack of photos, at which he was scowling heavily. He was clearly unhappy that the high-altitude photos taken of Little Whinging, with special attention to the area beside the playpark, showed almost nothing of interest. As Castor had suspected, the ponies’ camouflage was excellent. There was nothing to indicate the presence of either the tent or the walkway. They had even, somehow, managed to seamlessly blend the thermal signatures of everything to match the surrounding forest. Neither ultra-violet nor infra-red had discovered anything unusual. Not even the bodies of the guards they knew were positioned around the area were showing up.
Whatever the ponies were using, he knew the Army scientists would be salivating to get their hands on it.
The door to the room suddenly flew open and the Prime Minister, John Major, walked in.
They all stood.
“All right,” he said, clearly irritated, “What’s the emergency that required getting me out of bed at two in the morning?” He glanced at the thick folder placed on the table as he sat in the chair at the head of the table. There was a television and video tape recorder on a nearby stand, positioned for his easy viewing.
“Prime Minister,” said the Home Secretary without preamble, “Aliens have contacted us and requested permission to establish an Embassy in the town of Little Whinging, Surrey.”
Major stared at him, one eyebrow slowly rising. “Aliens,” he said flatly, staring at Baron Baker. “Aliens . . . as in little green men from Mars with flying saucers?” he said incredulously. “Are you having me on!?” He was on the verge of becoming very angry.
Baker met his gaze unflinchingly. “Some are green, without a doubt. But not little men. And not from Mars. No flying saucers. But, definitely, beyond the shadow of a doubt, not from this planet, nor any other in our solar system.” He nodded at the folder on the table. “They showed our agents, Dodgson, Tenniel, and Carroll, a portal, a gateway, if you choose, to their world.” He indicated the three. “Mr. Carroll actually went through it and their solicitor took the pictures you see of the other side. They claim they discovered the portal by accident.”
Major sighed heavily and looked at the folder on the table. Slowly he reached over and opened it.
The top photo, a magnificent colour A4, was of Princess Twilight Sparkle, Colonel Thiessen, Sergeant Searle, and agents Carroll and Dodgson. The Princess was standing proudly with her head up high, a solemn expression, and wings spread wide in front of the humans. Hovering behind and slightly above them was Rainbow Dash with what Castor called a shit-eating grin on her face. That the Princess’ head was barely waist-high merely added to the surrealism of the image.
“Oh, come on,” the Prime Minister said, rolling his eyes. “Purple and blue flying horses? Are you all daft? This looks like something my daughter Elizabeth would come up with.”
“We have video, as well, Prime Minister, shot by agent Tenniel.”
Major started flicking through the remaining photos. Seeing the before and after photos of the ponies as humans brought another exclamation. “Really?”
He spent some time studying the photos from the other side of the portal, lingering on the ones showing flying ponies and unicorns in the background. And the armour they wore.
Then they started the recorded tape.
After one last look through it, he slammed the folder shut and stared at each of them around the table. He looked up at the ceiling for a moment.
“How f*cked are we?”
The Home Secretary nodded. “Not bad, at all, actually.” He glanced at the two agents and ex-S.A.S. soldiers. He began ticking things off on his fingers. “The bad news is that they’ve been here for three weeks, since July 25th. They’ve hired an intelligent, competent solicitor. They’ve purchased over six thousand books — they converted substantial amounts of gold and gems for pounds through local dealers and Barclays Bank, handled by the solicitor. With a few exceptions, they’ve purchased all the properties within half-a-kilometre around the portal in Little Whinging, again handled by their solicitor. The portal is completely within their control. And, as the photos showed, they can pass as humans whenever they want. Except for their outrageous hair colour.” He sighed. “Which any semi-competent hairdresser could fix. And, finally, we cannot detect their portal or any of the . . . ponies . . . that we know are guarding it with any of our surveillance tools.”
He paused and looked around the room.
“The good news is, the portal appears to only allow one person at a time through it, so no serious invasion force is possible. Their apparent military capability is still bows and arrows — they claim they’ve been at peace for a thousand years. They want to establish friendly relations. They have on deposit at the Barclays Bank a little over one million pounds in gold ingots and another twelve million in gems. That is after their expenditures for the properties, which total around five million pounds according to the conveyance deed reports on file. However, Inland Revenue reports that over eight million pounds actually changed hands.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “They used very clever, and legal, manoeuvring to avoid inflating the property values while still paying above market prices for the properties to induce the homeowners to sell quickly. They scrupulously followed reporting laws and rules. A clever solicitor, indeed.” He paused a second.
“They claim their medicine is far in advance of ours and that they have cures for cancer and can regrow lost limbs — solutions they are willing to share. They similarly claim to have complete weather control. And, we know the general area of the portal to within about a meter.
“And they want to establish an embassy so that we can begin to exchange technology and trade.”
John Major stared at the Home Secretary. “Bows and arrows, regrow lost limbs, and complete control of the weather?” He looked down at the file. “I think I would give up nuclear weapons for those last two items.”
“Of course, Prime Minister, we can’t prove any of those claims, this is all what they have told us. All we can say for sure is that the ponies Agent Carroll saw when he went through the portal were all carrying either spears or crossbows. For all we know, it could be rubbish.”
Major nodded. “On the other hand,” he said. “They could have stayed hidden for who knows how long before someone noticed.” He looked up. “And you say they came to us?”
“Yes, Prime Minister. Apparently, a bobby in Little Whining noticed something off about the sudden increase in vacancies in the neighbourhood and brought it to Detective Inspector Searle.” He indicated Castor. “On Friday afternoon, D.I. Searle dropped by the Wisteria Estate for a look. He noticed one house still seemed to be occupied. He went up and introduced himself, and explained that the police would be regularly patrolling to limit vandalism.
“D.I. Searle returned to the estate later that day and took a drive through. The person he had met that afternoon flagged him down and suggested he come back for tea on Saturday, at ten, to meet someone important.
“He contacted Colonel Thiessen, retired, that night. They initially thought they were dealing with a rogue iron-curtain big-wig fleeing the situation over there and asking for asylum, or some such nonsense.
“When he met the aliens yesterday at ten, they all looked like normal people except for the outrageous hair colours. The purple one in the first photo was introduced as Princess Twilight Sparkle, and then they introduced a Prince Blue Blood, who later claimed to be their Royally appointed Ambassador to England. They explained that their solicitor had already tried to contact the Foreign Office about presenting ambassadorial papers and been rebuffed. They were mulling over whether or not to just appear in front of Buckingham Palace as ponies and ask to speak to the Queen.”
They all shuddered. The media would have gone ballistic! Castor could just see the headlines: Aliens Arrive! Or, Take Me To Your Leader! Or possibly even, PLUSHIE PONIES INVADE!” With the appropriate pictures.
The Foreign Secretary, Hurd, interrupted. “I think we can all see just how much of a circus that would have turned into.”
“However,” Baker continued, “Thank God, Detective Inspector Searle’s appearance at their door suggested a possible alternative, hence the invitation.
“With the ponies ‘unveiling’ themselves and asking D.I. Searle for help, he called the Colonel, who contacted some of his associates still in the government. He brought these two agents, Lewis Carroll and Charles Dodgson,” he pointed them out, “and an agency photographer, John Tenniel to the meeting. They took pictures and saw the evidence themselves. Including taking a look at another world. And that gets us to now.”
Major sat and thought for a moment. He shuffled through the photos one more time.
“What are our options?” He looked at the Home Secretary.
Baker waggled his head side-to-side. “Well, they own the property around the portal through a completely legal company, Royal Equestrian Properties, Limited, set up by their solicitor. So, any actions we might take to negate that would receive stiff resistance in Parliament, especially regarding a group not on any terrorist list, regardless of where they came from. The same goes for simply seizing the land as a matter of National Security.
“We could do it. And make either one stick. I doubt they’d be able to stop us, but I’m not sure that alienating these . . . ,” he paused and sighed, “aliens would be a wise move. Especially when we can’t show any reason why we should be so hostile. And the Opposition in Parliament would have a field day with our ‘unprovoked belligerence towards a potentially very powerful ally.’
“And it would really throw a spanner in the works if we did seize the portal area on the grounds they didn’t come straight to us when they first got here, and then their solicitor was able to show that they had tried to tell us and nobody believed them.” He shook his head. “I don’t see how we could come out of this without looking like flipping idiots if we do anything that might remotely be considered as hostile by the public.”
“And let’s not forget that the other nations in the world might take exception to us seizing the portal for ourselves,” put in the Foreign Secretary dryly. “It might be better to leave it in the hands of these . . . Equestrians? . . . .” He looked at the M.I.6 agent to his left for confirmation, and received a nod in return. “And if people found out that we had chased away aliens who had a cure for cancer and could regrow lost limbs? For no reason except a vague cry of ‘National Security,’ because they scare us? All of us would be sacked in a week.” He paused. “We’d be lucky if they didn’t borrow guillotines from the French.”
“We could object on the grounds that the section containing the portal is farmland in Green Space,” continued Baker, “but that would merely preclude the building of any sort of enclosure around the portal. They would still legally own the land. And forcing that issue would leave the portal where anyone could easily access it.
“Unless we put a military cordon around it, which people would see as us seizing the portal.”
He looked at the Prime Minister. “I think we have to grant them their embassy on that land, and allow them to enclose it in a wall of some kind, at least, just to prevent . . . mischief on the part of some of our citizens.”
“And let us not forget,” said Hurd, “that this sets a precedent on future alien contacts, and how people will expect us to react.” He looked around the table. “Now that we know such things are possible, our scientists are going to go full-bore into making a portal. And if we do, and we go to another world, and they immediately attack us? How hypocritical would it be of us to then complain about it when we did the exact same thing! Not to mention that if we demand full access to the Equestrian portal, then any world we access with a portal of our own will make similar demands of us. And again, how can we refuse, when we did the same bloody thing?”
There was a moment of silence, then Field Marshal Sir John Chapple spoke up. “There’s something else to consider in this. They look like cute, adorable plush toys that would make any little girl squeal with joy. However, it has been my experience that the most brightly coloured animals in the jungle are frequently the most lethal — either venomous, toxic, or just plain deadly. They are herbivories, they are prey animals, they even admit that they are not predators. And that they understand the distinction suggests there are predators in their world. Yet, here they are in neon-bright colours you should be able to see from orbit.
“If their world is anything like ours — and the park in those pictures wouldn’t be out of place in London, which suggest that it is — such brightly-coloured prey should have been wiped out in favour of their dull-coated brethren that blend in with the terrain. That they are, instead, the largest and most powerful country on their world, and none challenge them? Well, that worries me. What do they have, that we know nothing about, that lets them thrive in this manner?
“And we only have their word that they found this portal by accident. Now that they know it exists and where it goes, who is to say that they can’t create a second one somewhere else? If we were in their position and someone seized the other end of our portal, wouldn’t we just set about making another, and make arrangements with someone else more hospitable? And tell the first portal’s owners to go piss up a rope — and then close it?” He shook his head.
Hesitantly, Castor cleared his throat. “Actually,” he said, “This is their third portal. This one, Princess Sparkle said, was found by accident — they don’t know how or when it was created. However they have another that was purposely made about a thousand years ago by someone named Starswirl the Bearded, but it opens for use only once every thirty months, and then only for three days. They don’t use it because there’s a time differential between the worlds. Time in this other world runs slower. That is, for every four years that pass in the pony world, one passes in this other world. Which makes it difficult to use the portal in any practical manner.”
“Starswirl made a second portal which led to a second world. The Princess told me that the ponies had such a bad experience there that it put them off on the portals for almost a thousand years. The ponies literally put them in a dungeon room and locked them away! The discovery of this third portal, found entirely by accident, had them decide to try once more.”
They stared at him incredulously. The information was, no doubt, somewhere in the debriefing papers, but it hadn’t been highlighted as anything of particular importance.
“So, they can make additional portals, should they so desire,” The Field Marshal continued. He looked up at the Prime Minister. “We should give them their embassy and ensure that none of our enemies, or friends, ever manage to convince them to move it. Or for them to open a second Embassy anywhere else. At the same time, we should do everything we can to ensure they don’t take us by surprise. Offer them all the assistance they want just so we can keep a close eye on them.”
There was silence as they considered his points.
The Director General of M.I. 5 said, “And discreetly move military units into position around Little Whinging — in case things go pear-shaped — as well as beefing up police units in Surrey so we’re prepared when the newspapers find out and people start swarming around the area. Blackbushe Airport is less than ten kilometres away, we could put an air unit there without trouble, response time would be about five minutes. There are a few other nearby former RAF bases in civie hands that we could shoe-horn a unit or two into, as well.
“And we’ll start vetting the local’s about a Top Secret facility being built in Little Whinging. Maybe encourage them to look the other way if they notice anything a bit cock-eyed. Or, better yet, give us a ring and make sure we know what’s what. We might see about acquiring a bit of land in the area, ourselves, as well.”
The Director General of M.I. 6 added, “I’ll warn our agents in the field and in the Embassies to be on the watch for any mentions of ‘aliens’ being in England from their contacts. And to deflect any inquiries on the matter. Perhaps play up that the conservatives are worried about immigrants. That sort of thing.”
The discussions continued until well past dawn.
۸- ̰ -۸
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What would be hilarious is if all the muggleborn in Hogwarts has heard of this, but all wizards have no knowledge of it.
References aplenty with those names, I see. This one in particular got a laugh out of me for the meta context.
Very interesting. I remain curious to see how this goes ... especially when the Wizarding world finds out. It seems almost a foregone conclusion that some of them will advocate for shutting this whole thing down as quickly as possible, given how phobic they are.
Waiting for the Magical community to get wind of this... The PM would have direct contact with the Minister of Magic and know about Magic... The implications are so vast!
Ah Equestria really does sound three parts terrifying to two parts scam to an outside viewer doesn't it?
Now I wonder when the minister of magic is going to be alerted. He might not know he has aliens enrolled in one of their schools, but Equestria having magic is bound to up in the negotiations...
Other questions: is Mr. Carroll a squib?
You'll Never take our guillotines ! They're ours, sacreubleu !
Lovely, as always.
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Butting in really quick with a side-note: There's disagreement based on translation of "cold iron." Cold iron may have just meant "cold iron" but it could have also been a reference to a specific type of iron: magnetized. "Cold iron" could hold a magnetic charge, warm iron could not, and cold iron was found near lightning strikes (which would magnetize iron).
There's dispute over whether or not this was meant by "cold iron" in classic fae myths, but it makes a lot more sense than just "iron," one of the most common metals around.
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If I remember right the prime minister is informed of the ministry of magic. I think it was the fourth book The Goblet of Fire when the minister of magic informed the Prime Minister about the Triwizard tournament
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Yeah. The Prime Minister was aware, however at the same time it was very clearly a one-sided scenario. They had no way to contact the Ministry of Magic, and it was basically a case of "Here child, this is what we're doing, like it or not, and you don't have any say in the matter" that was a token gesture at best. Though at least they did assign the guy a guard when Moldy-Voldy started up again.
Still, that imbalance of power is about to get a shake-up, I expect.
"You know, you don't have to call me 'Your Highness', right?"
"Yes, Your Highness. I know."
Well, things are sure starting to take form. Wait a second... Is that magical portrait that works for the Minister of Magic within earshot?
Hm, now that the Prime Minister knows it wouldn't make sense for Dumbledore to not find out. It is stated in the books that the highest levels of government know about the Wizarding world.
A minute at 10km is too short for any response other than a jet on standby with pilot in, to take off under afterburner and drop a large bomb. May even need the plane already started.
More fascinating developments!
Minor nit: PMs surname was Major.
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In the books all that's ever said is that the Prime Minister knows about magic and that the Minister for Magic does contact him whenever something happens that affects both worlds such as Sirius' escape from prison and Voldemort's return.
The Prime Mister does have a portrait in his office that allows him to communicate with the Minister but it's unclear if the Prime Minister can actually initiate contact or not. It's also not stated that anyone other than the Prime Minister is made aware of the wizarding world.
It is incredible how refreshing it feels to read a story with first contact elements without humans being either unreasonable bigoted assholes or ass kissing spineless idiots. You have written a group of people in power that despite the far too common public perception, are actually reasonable and somewhat competent. A rare achievement to say the least and one that has earned my respect.
And somehow, all this talk, make me imagine a confidential document with everything about Equestria inside... A little like in the video Link
Ignore the song, we can replace the images with ponies and the house image with the portal one and somehow it could be like the story.
Well we found a Squid in this chapter.
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When he finds out that they can use magic, tell the Ministry about it. That's a wonderful idea.
I just have to point out a few things that always seem to be missed by fanfiction writers or forgotten.
Equestrian technology has many parallels to the modern world. Equestria has wireless radios, video games, rollercoasters, electricity and many other parallels.
Yes human technology is without a doubt more advanced, but Equestria is within the ballpark that they could take a car apart and reverse engineer it. As of the washouts episode, even rockets. I mean rockets that could easily be scaled for spaceflight or for jet engines.
Just putting out that while human tech is more advanced and available Equestrians are not that far off.
I had a couple thoughts:
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Squib.
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Oh we had long debates on technology in Equestria thanks to this story.
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It’s not clear if he a Squib or has the recessive genetics (but isn’t active at all) where the solicitor doesn’t.
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On standby (engine off, but everything preset), a standard Huey attack copter can get off the ground and moving at 60 kph in 60 seconds, so yeah, a minute is a bit of an exaggeration. More typically, it would 60-90 seconds to get in the air, and about three minutes flight time at cruising speed (150kph, typical). If the bird was not prepared, ~5 minutes to prep for take-off. Still, much, much faster than the 20-30 minutes trucks with troops would take from the same distance.
Thanks -- my notes even say MAJOR, not Majors! Duh.
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And why would the Prime Minister necessarily tell the wizards that aliens from another planet have appeared? That has nothing to do with wizards or magic.
Very good chapter.
It is good that the government in the Muggle UK are willing to work with the Equestrians but at the same time being very cautious about it, in a reasonable way - if one consider how much the Equestrians are an "Outside Context Problem" right now.
And D.I. Searle becomes the contact between the worlds!
I'm surprised that the Equestria Girls World are actually included on this!
And with a good explanation why Equestria didn't try make diplomatic contact with it (Did the "Rainbow Rocks Incident" happen on this timeline? Because if not, it is possible that Twilight used Wizard knowledge to control the opening of the EQ Portal... It would be nice to see Harry meeting a reformed Sunset....)
And finally one of the MI agents became a pony at the other side? If he isn't a Wizard, he could be a Squib or a carrier of the Magic Gene... if the latter, it will be interesting when the Grangers visit Equestria!
Another fine chapter keep up the good work.
I want to add I think you could do this professionally. Or at least self published via Amazon. I know a guy that has a few stories out that way.
After this project is done I want to know how you evolve the story!
So I’m going with the idea that the individual who went through and changed have a magical core, even if it is inaccessible. This leaves me with an odd question. Does the magic originate from the original pony explorers, some having been lost and cross-breeding with humans after using the portal, or does the portal read the core as a being crossing and change them, while those without it doesn’t react to?
9122297
Oh. I'm not saying they would or would even care to. But we do know that the wizards keep watch on the prime minister through the painting. Unless the PM gets this briefing somewhere other than where the wizards have a painting watching them, word will reach the Ministry of Magic at some point, and someone is bound to put two and two together ... in time.
9122297
A good point indeed. As of right now the English government cannot see the clear connection between magic and Equestrians and because they have labeled them Aliens, their abilites fall under strange Alien powers, not magic.
It will be extremely interesting to see the chapter where the Equestrians bring both sides the Magic Ministry and the Government of England and explain to them that they are magical beings and that they've had contact with both sides for quite a while.
9122299
While it is not explicitly said, I think it is implied in this chapter that the EQ world is different from the "Magic" world.
The author is aware of the comics as well, where it is made clear that the princesses know of more than two worlds. Sadly, the knowledge of how to create portals to different worlds was hidden by Starswirl, when Celestia got too attached to the good king Sombra and it was clear that their presence was causing dimensional instability.
Unclear though if the author will address this point made in the comics or not.
9122297
Because first contact with aliens is a big deal that would inevitably affect both worlds. Unless you're suggesting the Prime Minister is a bigger jerk than Fudge.
Every time I read about Lewis Carroll the MI5 agent in this story I can't help but remember that Roald Dahl was in the RAF.
9122295
Squibs have magical ancestors and 'he's' affected with it. Those genes are always active.
9122326
Because, perhaps, the Minister has made it perfectly clear he cares nothing about what the muggles do? (by example, how he acts to tell the Prime Minister that Voldemort is back). Or that Fudge would even listen?
another good chapter
I don't see to much of an issue about the portal. Just throw up a border crossing station. with a officer checking building so the border officers can confiscate fresh fruit. Our guards on side A their guards on side B I believe thats how the US/Mexican border is.
I forgot about the magical painting in the Prime Ministers office. Them being ponies will come out eventually, especially when they go to Hogwarts.
The Monk
9122339
I thought Squibs can also see magical beings like dementors. Not necessarily the case of people like the Grangers who were muggles but Hermione Granger was clearly not.
9122344
Doesn't matter, Fudge may be a jerk but he does have the decency to inform the PM of big events that will inevitably affect muggles. If the PM doesn't make the same effort then he's worse than Fudge.
9122355
Yep Squibs have enough magic to interact with magic but not enough to actually cast spells. Unlike muggles who have no magic at all.
With Hermione's parents, one of them would have the magic gene but since its dormant they are no different from any other muggle.
I kinda should've mentioned this earlier but what about the supply and demand of the gems they're giving to get the money
9122344
Yeah, the wizards are really out of touch with the muggle world. Knowing Fudge, until something solid came along he'd just dismiss it as "Oh, the muggles must have made contact with one of the other muggle nations again, like South America." Wizards are hilariously out-of-touch with the non-wizarding world. To the point of missing development of things like cell phones and computers.
A borderline goddess as a ruler that loves her little ponies very much and literally controls the movement of the sun and (if necessary) the moon.
Rats I was haflfway through the chapter and need to leave for work. OH well I'll post this now and more later.
It was the final Chinese Curse of Life — “May people in high places recognize you.” You couldn’t get much higher than the Prime Minister. Well, at least things couldn’t get any worse.
For now but soon you'll be maeeting the queen.
9122373
They aren't that out of touch they just generally don't care about what's happening with muggles unless it affects them in some way. It would be impossible for them to be that ignorant when so many wizards are either half-blood or muggle-born. It's not like wizards never interact with muggles that would be impossible.
The Black ancestral home was located in the middle of a muggle neighbourhood for crying out loud and they didn't even like muggles.
9122297 Um... Unicorns and Pegasi?
9122389
The ones in charge, however, are mostly pure-bloods who never interact with muggles in any way, shape, or form.
Crud, look at Mr. Weasley. He was in charge of an office that dealt with muggle artifacts, and yet he often didn't know what some of them did. The wizarding world seemed very subjective when it came to adapting tech. They borrowed cars from time to time, for example, and the bus. but they also let things like basic mathematics become high-level, optional courses for many.
They're not blind, but they'd certainly be taken aback by some things that they've ignored in favor of magic.
9122398
True but muggles are shown to be just as ignorant. Wizards aren't exactly subtle but they manage to keep hidden because muggles tend to be just as ignorant when it comes to magic. Even when a muggle does experience magic they will often come up with any other explanation for it besides magic.
Personally, I hope we get a scene with muggle scientists trying to come up with a rational explanation for pony magic.
9122382
lets not forget that Luna loves Twilight and her friends so Tia would not even have to control the moon Luna would do it if someone hurts her first Friend....oh you landed on your moon thats cute here have a closer look.....Krackabooom. Also Rainbows could just summon a f5 in the middle oh London
9122412
The point I was making was that she's capable of moving both. That said, I'm sure there are lots of astronomers that would love to be able to examine the moon more closely.
The ponies are gonna drag the Magical World kicking and screaming out into the open again. The Statute of Secrecy doesn't apply to aliens.
9122309
I'm going to laugh if this leads to the Ministry trying to convince the Prime Minister that these are just Atlanteans and that they really should let the Ministry of Magic handle this, while the Prime Minister maintains that these are aliens and this is muggle business.
9122326
It's less that and more that the wizards have a pretty big "don't call us, we'll call you" attitude and seem to insist on involving the muggles in their affairs as least as possible, and conversely stay out of muggle affairs as much as they possibly can. Two world wars wasn't enough to get them involved, why would this?
9122392
That would require the Prime Minister to know pegasi and unicorns are actual magical creatures in the wizarding world. But with the wizarding world being so seclusionist, even the Prime Minister doesn't know much about the wizarding world beyond "there are wizards, they have magic, there's a portrait they use to contact us if needed."
9122437
Technically it does. The ponies are magical creatures in the territory of the British wizarding community. If you want to be nitpicky, the Statute does apply to them, since it was never written with aliens in mind.
Ponies are just going to bite their fetlocks at the idea of actually adhering to a community whose Statute they never signed though.
Poor Lin he needs to meet Discord and be turned into a pegasus as a bonus for his hard work.
I can see the foreign service offices getting an overhaul with procedures for first contact with a country that doesn't have pre-existing relations with an earth based country.
Wonder how long it'll take someone to ask the question of whether there have been other pan-dimensional visitors who unlike the Equestrians simply gave up on opening relations, bought a bunch of books/samples and left again.
9122318
Probably the bad experience that put them off portals for a thousand years. Instability may not be an issue here as the world's are more different.
9122299
Hey he got a promotion out of it, he's not being assigned to a far off country to fight a war and there may be a permanent alien liaison job in it for him. Things could be worse.
If my estimates are right the first few specials happen between seasons e.g. in friendship games Twilight refers to a time loop preventing her responding (starlight). So right now as we seem to be in season 5 I'd say Rainbow Rocks has happened and they have the permanent connection but it doesn't eliminate the time differential with more years passing in Equestria than Equestria Girls (poor Sunset will probably never see her parents alive again). In a semi-related note the first special next year seems like it'll involve another portal between the Equestria Girls universe and the pony one with the Equestria Girls (or some of them) finally going to Equestria and becoming ponies.
9122382
The fun thing is she's not even who should worry them as she's nice and will only do something if they threaten her subjects. Discord on the other hand is a much scarier threat especially since he doesn't need the portal to pop through and turn the entire government into non talking cats if they hurt Fluttershy's feelings.
9122355
Sounds right to me they can't cast spells but can see magical things like the veil over the leaky cauldron.