95 — The Joke's on You
Princesses Celestia and Luna took a moment to glance across the room, lingering a bit on the stunned expressions of a few minor nobles. The unknown blank-flank now out-ranked them. The major nobles maintained their carefully blank expressions. The political landscape was changing, and they were clearly calculating how that might affect them.
In concert, the two Princesses stepped from their thrones. The Major Domo stepped forward also, and presented a black box to the two regal rulers. They took it in both their magics, and gracefully descended the throne platform to stand before Castor. The box opened, revealing a velvet-lined interior with a medallion on a ribbon necklace.
The medallion floated up and towards his head.
“We expect this will put a bee in the nobles’ bonnets,” Princess Luna whispered in his ear as she leaned forward and draped the ribbon around his neck. She brushed her cheek against his.
Princess Celestia did so at the same time, trapping his head between them. She whispered, “And an itch between their shoulders.” She snickered.
He barely managed to keep a straight face. And his feet. Hooves. He could feel his face heating up as he blushed at their proximity.
They both stepped back simultaneously.
“We expect,” Princess Luna said to the room at large, “That your services will continue to bring our two worlds closer together in Harmony.”
“If you need anything to assist you in your endeavours,” said Princess Celestia, “Feel free to call upon us.”
“Turn around and face the room,” whispered Luna.
He did so, keeping his mind on his hooves and not on what this Knighthood might mean. He held his head of high and looked across the room of ponies. The commoners in the balcony and on the floor were both excited and gobsmacked. They had never thought that they might see both Princesses in court at the same time. They certainly had never even dreamed they would be present for somepony to be elevated by the Princesses! They would have quite a story to tell when they got home, regardless of how any of the individual petitions might turn out.
The minor nobles were equally surprised, but not nearly as happy.
The major nobles were all blank-faced or smiling politely. It was impossible to tell what they were thinking.
“We are happy and pleased to present to Equestria Honorary Knight of the Realm Castor James Searle. Look upon him and endeavour to emulate his accomplishments in support of our Rule and Equestria.”
There was a moment’s pause, then the commoners began to bow. Immediately afterwards, they stamped their hooves excitedly. A few major nobles began to stamp their hooves, slowly at first. Soon the entire room was giving Castor the pony equivalent of applause in a thundering that shook the windows.
Under the cover of that noise, Celestia said. “We will have dinner with you tonight, after your tour.” She cut her eyes to a guardspony.
That pony and another from the opposite side of the throne stepped up beside the Searle family. As the applause began to subside, they escorted them to Prince Blueblood’s seating area. The prince indicated that they should sit in the front row beside him. The guards returned to their posts.
“We will wait here for a few minutes. When the first commoner speaks, we will make our way outside so you may get your tour,” he said in a quiet voice.
The next three scheduled speakers were nobles. The first asked for forgiveness for a late tax payment, blaming ill-health, and asking that the penalties be waived. Studying the pony, Castor could well believe he had been in bad health lately.
The second wanted the Princesses to bend the laws regarding home expansion in Canterlot so he could build a pool. Princess Luna advised him to approach the “Runes Department” at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns and request their assistance. “You should be able to add a pool to your property without requiring any exceptions to the laws,” she said. Then she looked over to the nobles section and added, “Anyone needing to expand their business or domicile in Canterlot is encouraged to approach the school and request assistance. Businesses will get preference, and a fee for services will be charged.”
The third asked the Princesses for matching funds on a new hospital in a remote town. The princesses asked that the plans and specifications, as well as bona fides, be left with the Miss Inkwell. They would get back to the petitioner with their decision in the next few days.
Then a commoner was called. He was petitioning the Princesses for permission to jump the queue for a floo installation at his farm so he could more easily transport his crops to Manehattan. He was currently scheduled for mid-fall. He wanted the installation to be just before his first crop matured in mid-summer.
While he was speaking, Prince Blueblood indicated they should leave. When they reached the door, Castor looked back in time to see Princess Luna disappear from her throne. Princess Celestia was instructing Miss Inkwell to have someone check the Floo queue. They were to accommodate the petitioner, as long as it didn’t disadvantage any of his competitors or delay another’s access to market.
After that, they spent the next four hours getting a guided tour of the palace, which was truly huge, both in proportions and physical size. They even took a look at the dungeons, which were very clean and well-tended, Castor was happy to see. You could learn a lot about a country by observing how they treated the ones they considered criminals. That the dungeons were completely empty was another good indication.
During the tour, Castor noticed that a number of the guards were carrying repeating crossbows as well as spears. He hadn’t seen the repeating crossbows at the portal, just guards with normal crossbows and spears. Were they new?
The two guards wearing harnesses holding modified British machine-guns stood out when he saw them. His wife and daughter were too busy admiring the palace and its furnishings to notice the guards’ equipment. That one pegasus with another such harness was shadowing them near the ceiling at a large distance left him conflicted. On the one hand, it was nice to see the ponies were taking such a pro-active stance and adopting modern arms so quickly. On the other, he worried that they considered him and his family to be dangerous enough to require such a guard. Or that they thought their guests would need such protection in the palace itself.
Maybe they were just trying to get the guards used to wearing the harnesses?
The tour helped them improve their balance — Castor only face-planted once, and that was on an especially slick piece of flooring. Thalia almost face-planted but instead took off and hovered unsteadily before settling back down. That earned her a “Well done!” from the Lieutenant. His wife had managed to stay on her hooves.
They returned to their suite, where they again were fussed over by maids. This time they were dunked in the miniature pools and then carefully dried and groomed.
If this was how rich ponies lived, he had to admit to himself, he wouldn’t mind being a pony!
Blueblood once again escorted them as they went to the arranged dinner.
It was in a different part of the castle. Castor saw, as they entered past the rifle-equipped guards, that this was a private dining-room with a table that seated exactly the number of ponies in the room.
Princess Celestia was saying, “Did you see the look on Lord Brilliant Silver’s face when we announced the Knighthood? I thought he was going to faint! He has been angling for one of those for years.” She laughed delicately.
Princess Luna said, “As if the three Orders of Equestria he has received aren’t good enough!” She saw the Searles enter. “. . . Ah! Good! We just sat down. Please be seated.”
The Castors were more than a little terrified of making a mistake and embarrassing themselves or the princesses. Their nervousness was clearly apparent to the far older mares.
“Oh, just relax! This is an informal dinner,” Princess Luna said dismissively. Then she leaned forward and took a messy bite of the salad in front of her. She completely ignored her silverware or magic. Instead she used her wingtips when she wanted to lift something.
Celestia rolled her eyes and sipped from the cup floating by her head.
The waiters quickly brought their meals to the table. The quantity they served to each princess was easily more than all three of the visitors and Blueblood.
“I think you’ll enjoy the burgers. They taste nearly exactly like your hamburgers,” Princess Luna said. “And the fries are made from sweet potatoes, not hay.”
“The Griffons were pleasantly surprised when we served your fish and chips with tartar sauce when their envoy arrived last month,” Celestia put in. “Your world’s culinary explorations are a delight to behold. The variations are truly amazing. The Indian recipes are spreading through the country like wildfire! And sushi!” She closed her eyes a moment, then sighed contentedly. “The chefs give me a different dinner almost every day.”
Luna smiled at her sister, the turned to the transformed humans. “The chefs are experimenting with tofu and soy beans, too. With the right flavourings, the cookbooks we bought suggest it can be substituted for meat. Which would make it much easier to feed our carnivore friends when they visit.”
“And cheaper,” added Celestia after swallowing.
Luna nodded in agreement.
There was silence for a few minutes as they ate a quite good meal. And the burgers were delicious.
As the table was cleared, Princess Celestia said, “It’s time to put the sun down and raise the moon. Would you like to watch?”
The three exchanged glances and then readily agreed.
The two princesses stood and walked outside to the balcony that was beside the room as the Searles followed. Blueblood came last.
The balcony, and windows to the dining room faced south. Celestia went to the end where the sun was hovering above the horizon while her sister went to the other. “Come to this side first,” Celestia said. She turned back to face the sun.
The air around them seemed to tickle them, then became an overpowering flood of tingling. They watched, astounded, as the sun suddenly started moving quickly and rapidly disappeared below the horizon.
A sunset that should have taken an hour to complete was over in seconds.
Celestia turned her head and smirked at them. “Now to Luna,” she said, turning and leading the way to her sister.
The sky above was a wonder of stars and nebulae. Directly above was a sequence of stars in the general outline of the British Isles. Behind each of the major islands was a green nebula, with a giant blue one behind them all.
Luna watched them approach, then turned to watch the other horizon, visible as a dark shadow against the starry sky. Again they felt a powerful tingle roll across their bodies. The moon suddenly rose into the sky, climbing at least a hands-length.
As soon as the moon stopped its motion, a thunder of hoof stomping could be heard below the balcony. The two sisters carefully herded the three visitors between them and stood against the railing in the middle of the balcony. Blueblood was on the opposite side of Celestia. Below them, they saw, was a wide plaza, filled with hundreds, or thousands, of ponies. All of them were stamping their hooves in applause.
Castor knew no one would miss the significance of him, the newly Knighted stranger, being seen between the kingdom’s two rulers on the balcony during the change from day to night.
They stood there, looking down at the crowd and up at the sky. Altogether, it made a rather important statement on how the princesses viewed the United Kingdom. A message he was sure the princesses wanted him to convey to his superiors.
“We used to divide the day and night equally,” Celestia said. “But after reading of your yearly weather patterns and how they affect the various plants, animals, and people, we’ve decided that might be nice to emulate.”
“So, during this winter,” Luna said, “we’ve slowly made the day shorter and the night longer.”
“And we’ll do the reverse come summer, to keep everything in Harmony.” Princess Celestia smiled at her sister. “The earlier sunsets at this time of the year give ponies the opportunity to appreciate all the hard work Luna puts into her night skies.”
The applause continued even after the six of them returned to the dining room to see a wonderful spread of desserts.
“There will be a ball tomorrow evening in your honour,” Princess Celestia said. “In the morning, Blueblood will tell you about your rights and obligations as a Knight. In the afternoon will be a formal clothes fitting.”
She looked at Castor, smiling. “We know your laws prohibit gifts over a certain value, hence We cannot award you any lands. The stipend I mentioned, while traditional, is also well above that amount. However, We believe that if you use the money for charity in the kingdom, you can escape any criticisms or the appearance of accepting a bribe. Or you could use the monies to purchase books and other items for your scientists to examine. I don’t think anyone would mind that use.”
Luna snorted. “And that way Tia gets to put more money back into the economy! I’m sure she already has a list of books your people might like to see.”
Celestia just smiled at her sister. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re implying.”
Castor breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t want to be caught between the corruption laws of home and a powerful set of rulers here.
She snickered at his visible relief. “Your suite here at the palace will not be a problem, as it is a perk for your title. You are not being singled out for special favours.”
After the dessert and some more small talk about how he had met his wife, Celestia said, “We will have an official meeting later in the week.”
Princess Luna said, “I do not know if you know this, but I am the Princess of Dreams. I would like your permission to contact you tonight, just to see what human dreams are like. The ones I’ve seen so far are . . . rather unusual for ponies.”
۸-~-۸
Harry still wasn’t sure how the fillies had managed to convince their parents, and Twilight, to let the group make this trip. It was in the Everfree Forest, after all. Even if they did have a four-pony guard with them.
It was not long after breakfast when they set out, with an admonishment to return by three. There was a Ball they had been invited to that evening, after all. As they were leaving the palace, an owl flew in.
The two guards in front leading the group were a pegasus and a unicorn, the two behind were an earth pony and a unicorn. Interestingly, the two non-unicorns were wearing a new saddle and harness that seemed to be carrying rifles, going by the long tubes that poked out on both sides. There was a flexible metal tube strapped to the necks and heads that ran up to beside their mouths.
Soon, Harry was studying the foreboding forest around them, searching carefully with all his senses. It wasn’t as close and dark as it was in the summer. Most of the leaves were gone and the branches bare on the bushes. And that made it easier for him to spot predators. And predators to spot him.
The path to Zecora’s tree was well-known to them. Zecora always claimed it was safe to use because she had spread herbs and other things that dissuaded monsters from staying close to it. However, that did not mean monsters were never near it.
He was last in the group, as usual, keeping a watch out for anything that might try to sneak up on them from behind. And to keep an eye on the human-turned-pony visitors. They had been told the forest was dangerous, but there was a difference between knowing something and experiencing it first-hoof.
And he could help catch anypony if they slipped on the snow-covered path. Not that there was a lot of snow; the trees, even without leaves, did provide some protection.
While Ginny, Myrtle, and Percy were behaving, the twins kept getting distracted by the things at the side of the path.
It was when they got to the edge of the open snow-field with occasional blue flowers poking up that the twins encountered the first real hazard. While the rest had listened to the fillies’ injunctions to stay on the path, the twins just had to take a closer look at the brilliant blue flowers. Which meant they went into the field and started to sniff the flowers and pick them.
“Fred, George, NO!” yelled Harry. “Everyone else, stay back!”
“That’s Poison Joke,” added Sweetie Belle.
Scootaloo and Apple Bloom restrained the other Weasleys as the everypony stepped carefully away from the field. The guards kept a watch on forest around them. Nopony wanted a predator to sneak up on them while they were distracted.
Both Weasleys stopped with one hoof in the air at the word “poison” and stared at her.
“It’s a contact poison,” she further explained.
“It’s not really harmful,” said Harry.
“Just really, really annoying,” said one of the guards, glancing over his shoulder at them.
“Zecora has a cure,” said Apple Bloom. “Mah sister got pranked by it once.”
They looked down at the flowers, then back at her. They had forgotten that they weren’t wearing shoes or trousers. Or gloves. Then their ears pricked up, “Prank?” said Fred.
Harry could only sigh and wave them to come back.
Fortunately, the guards’ and the fillies’ warnings and explanations about just what those beautiful blue flowers were kept anyone else from adventuring into the field.
The two ponies now had a manic-grin in place. They began scooping up the flowers they could see with their magic; leaves, petals, stalks, and roots. They began dumping them into their saddlebags. A flower that played jokes? What could possibly go wrong with that?
Soon, all the visible flowers were gone and the others finally coaxed the twins back onto the path. Giving the twins a wide berth, they once again started for Zecora’s tree. Apple Bloom spent most of the journey explaining what had happened to the Element Bearers when they had tangled with the plant. The visitors were all amused at her descriptions of Hairity, Flutterguy, Rainbow Crash, Apple Teeny, and Spitty Pie. They were especially taken with the description of Twilight as Limp Horn, giggling wildly at the image that name inspired. That her magic was blocked wasn’t nearly as funny, though.
“What’s that smell?” Myrtle asked, glancing around curiously.
“Yeah,” said Ginny flying up a bit higher with Scootaloo, frowning. The tree branches prevented them from getting any real height.
“That means we’re close to her tree,” said Apple Bloom excitedly. She rushed up close behind the two guards in the lead.
Harry and the two fillies just shook their heads and sniffed the air. The other’s exchanged puzzled looks.
Soon enough the massive tree stood before them. It was easily the size of a house, because, after all, it was one. Harry sighed again. Every time he saw her tree, he missed the Library tree.
Now that he saw it after going to Hogwarts, he could see that it was somewhat similar to the Potions Room. Only, instead of there being shelves, the potion bottles were strung from its many branches. Some were open and some were not. The open ones provided a bit of a scent to the air that was sometimes sweet, sometimes sharp, and sometimes a blend. The scents no doubt helped keep the more dangerous animals away from her haven.
Or maybe the enormous and strange masks at various places around the tree were magical and did that job.
The guards spread out and quickly checked the clearing for any dangers, then one went to the door and knocked. The Weasleys were looking around in amazement. They had never seen anyone ever make a home out of a tree.
They could see somepony peek at them through one of the windows on either side of the door. A moment later the Zebracan opened the door. “Oh, my, such a crowd on the road, what brings you all to my abode,” she said. She looked at them curiously.
The humans took in the strange new pony. As well as being a zebra, she wore gold rings on her left forehoof and around her neck. She had large earrings, and unlike all the other ponies they had met, her mane was formed into a Mohawk style.
Apple Bloom stepped forward. “You know about the world on the other side of the portal, right?”
“Apple Bloom my good friend! A pleasure to start my weekend,” Zecora said happily and nodded. She eyed the rest. “Of a world unknown I have heard, but of the place none have brought me true word.” She opened her door wide, “Don’t stay outside and roam, please come into my home.”
Apple Bloom hopped inside, as the rest slowly followed. The guards remained outside. And everypony stayed a slight distance from the twins — just in case. No pony wanted to risk a dose of Poison Joke.
The inside of the tree was as even more like the dungeon Potions classroom. There were shelves everywhere with bottles and boxes. More masks hung from the walls where there weren’t shelves, and bottles hung from hooks overhead. A bed was in one alcove while an open door led to what appeared to be a bathroom.
In the middle of the room was cauldron on a fire, bubbling merrily.
Once inside they saw that her cutie mark was a grey stylized spiral sun.
Apple Bloom opened her saddlebags and brought out several boxes. Using her wand she unshrank the boxes.
Watching her wand work with wide eyes, Zecora said breathlessly, “You can do magic with a stick? Is this a new trick?”
“No trick,” Apple Bloom said and smiled as the others snickered. “We learned that earth ponies and pegasi can do magic with wands — each wand has a magical core.” She turned her wand around and offered it to Zecora.
The zebra slowly took the wand in her hoof.
“Go on,” said Apple Bloom, “give it a swish.”
Hesitantly, Zecora swung the wand.
There was a pop and the formerly black cauldron turned blue and one of the bottles hanging from the ceiling fell to the floor and bounced several times like a rubber ball. Zecora watched it with wide eyes, then turned back to the filly.
“Yep,” said Apple Bloom happily, “You can use a wand, too! If you ask at the Portal Building, they can get you one.” She couldn’t help but giggle at the amazed expression on the zebra’s face. She took back her wand and turned to the three boxes in the room.
“I thought you might like these. This box,” she tapped the smaller one labelled Flourish and Blotts, “has seventeen potion books. The first nine are from our classes, years one to seven, five are advanced books on potion brewing, and three are just lists of neat potions.” She tapped one of the other two pony-sized boxes and said, “These two are potion ingredients from Slug and Jiggers Apothecary, so you can experiment with the potions.”
She looked down shyly, “You know, to thank you for the potion lessons you gave me and for Hearth’s Warming. And I thought you would like to know what potions are used in the other world.”
The zebra stared at her a moment, then pulled her into a hug. “A present you needn’t give to me, a true friend is all you need to be.”
The Weasleys were stunned at the presents, as was Myrtle. They knew the presents had to be worth more than their fathers’ earned, or had earned, in a year. And here it was just a casual gift. The three Equestrian ponies truly did not understand the fortune they possessed. Or maybe they did . . . .
After a moment, the two separated.
“On another note,” Sweetie Belle said, grimacing. “These two dolts,” she pointed at the twins, “wandered into the Poison Joke patch beside the trail.”
“You need not say more,” Zecora said turning to a shelf that was now purple. She blinked at it, but then removed a small box, “This you need to restore.” She turned and hoofed the box to the white, purple, and pink filly.
Sweetie Belle smirked and glanced at the two miscreants. “Perhaps you should share your bounty to pay for this.” She hefted the box in her magic.
The two exchanged looks, then Fred opened his saddlebags and a mass of blue flowers floated out. “I think this should cover it?”
The zebra walked over and inspected the mass carefully from several angles, then looked at the two stallions. “Harvesting that flower is always a risky endeavour. Taking advantage of folly to profit is clever.”
She walked over to a different shelf, now hot-pink, and took a board in her mouth. She gently raised it under the flowers until they rested on it. Then she carefully placed it on a nearby table. She turned back to them. “Treat it with respect, or your life it will wreck. The petals are the most effective, when a potion is your objective. They are best, when fresh. The winter flowers are a bit weak, but the summer flowers will make you shriek.”
The twins looked at each other, then George walked over and cast a stasis spell on the flowers in his brother’s saddlebags. Then Fred returned the favour.
They both bowed, unsteadily, to the zebra. “We thank you for your advice, and the cure.”
“Perhaps you should see about getting a wand,” Fred said.
“You wouldn’t need to learn a lot of spells,” said George.
“The levitation and stasis spells would help you the most.”
“And the cutting and packaging spells.”
“You’d still have to get some by hand, er, hoof.”
“But, overall, it would be much safer and easier for you.”
They exchanged another look.
“You should meet our Potions Professor, he’s a Potions Master.”
“I think you both would enjoy a chat.”
Apple Bloom interrupted, “And if you wanted to visit our school and meet him, I know Princess Twilight would be delighted to help you!”
“You could even get a wand, like we did,” said Scootaloo.
They spent the next hour telling the inquisitive zebra what the school was like and what they had been doing there. She was very interested in the gender-changing candy, and the twins were more than happy to leave a sample with her for experimentation to see if she could duplicate it with Equestrian native plants. They quickly jotted down the list of ingredients. Thanks to Sweetie Belles potion crates, she could find native plants to use as substitutes. It there were any.
With a bit of luck, the twins could establish a partner on this side of the portal to supply the local market. Perhaps, Filthy Rich might be of assistance?
۸-_-۸
Stats
Page generated in 0.032 seconds
Total duration
1,043 users online
1,890,517 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
I pretty sure that princesses were indeed varying length of day and night in canon. While it wasn't ever said explicitly, the pegasus magic is not enough to sustain seasonal temperature change on their own, amount of sun radiation must change two.
Yeah, but we never see that variation, and definitely not by hours in either direction -- or there NEVER would have been a problem for Nightmare Moon to complain about. Remember, the fight was because Luna wanted more time for the moon to be in the sky than the sun.
Well I kinda wanted to see how the twins turned out from the exposure but I get the feeling that they may end up sneaking some home with of course the knowledge of the antidote. I fear how Snape will handle meeting Zecora as I think she would be the better of the two.
Guess Castor was left speechless. What with not having a single line in this chapter.
9445859
Dear author, have you ever considered the possibility, that galleons are forged by goblins' superior smith techniques, that most likely make them impervious to mundane physical damage, which make it impossible to take a probe of such gold, thus it is impossible to freely sell them in muggle world?
The twins with poison joke ..... bloody hell ..... someone could make good money with fullbody protectionsuits and respirator-masks
9445866
This was because she didn't felt appreciation for her duty, thus by primitive logic thought that if night will be enternal (not just longer) ponies won't have other option but to admire her.
P.S. Beside how can we see such variation, when episode can have hours of time skip, most (overwhelming majority) of episodes are set in summer and there is no clocks around most of the time? We have no means to see the variation.
9445871
And I think the first goldsmith to run into that would notify the authorities,
I prefer the simpler arrangement where the goblins use a spell to track their galleons, and when one is melted in a muggle area, they take care of the problem. No special smithing required, but you still have the same crew watching for people gaming the system.
Neat
9445874
But the argument arose because Tia refused to let Luna have more time for her night sky so ponies could appreciate it. Which wouldn’t have been an issue if they had seasonal light variations for four or five hours.
Snape and Zecora? Ohdeboi, we got oil and water over here!
9445882
It will require help from Ministry to perform obliviations and goblins want it the least. Much easier is to make galleon impervious, so no wizard will have initiative to try trade it.
9445889
Luna was being irrational, she believed nopony liked her nights which is why they slept during it she also believed their love of the day was why Celestia was so much more popular. She thought making the nights longer, therefore making days shorter, would change that which it wouldn't because of course ponies prefer to sleep when its dark and get stuff done during the day when it's easier to see.
9445889
There is no single line in show indicating it, entire melt down was over simple fact that ponies slept at night, while doing all chores and having all fun at daylight, essentially ignoring Luna's work.
Nice chapter!
9445901
9445889
What does Princess Luna think about mankind walking on Earth’s Moon?
With Britain having sole access to Equestrian “technology”, will they capitalize on the existence of extraterrestrials to start their own space program? Or would it be better if British continued to work as a part of European Space Agency and its collaboration with NASA?
If Twilight can modify an existing space shuttle, NASA’s website says it takes a bare minimum of 100 days* to prep a shuttle for launch, although the astronauts, technicians, and ground crew may require up to a year of new training if the modified shuttle is too different from what they’re used to.
*New NASA safety guidelines due to the Challenger Disaster in 1986.
Other possibilities:
=Materials based on dragon scales could be used as heat shielding tiles, given how Spike can swim through lava without any harm.
=Knowledge of potion-brewing and alchemy could help them invent better rocket fuel; either more efficient or more cost-effective.
=Enchantments for fireproofing and durability could improve the space shuttle’s thermal protection system for atmospheric reentry.
=The reverse gravity spell Twilight used in “The Crystal Empire- Part 2” could be used to create artificial gravity not dependent on rotation or acceleration. Zero-G causes major heal complications in astronauts, and limits how long humans can stay in space.
=International Portkeys exist as mentioned in “the Goblet of Fire”, so it might be possible to Portkey astronauts to the Moon.
=Newt Scamander carried an entire zoo inside his suitcase in “Fantastic Beasts”, so storage containers with the Undetectable Extension Charm would reduce payload weight and give astronauts more elbowroom inside the space shuttle.
I remember people Querying this so I looked it up. Places like Hampton Court place do have apartments for favoured people. At the time of the suffrage movement there was some 150 lifetime tenants. Although conditions of the apartments was often substandard due to the age of them.
9445847
It is explicitly stated. The very first episode of the series revolves around the "Summer Sun Celebration", which is stated to be the longest day of the year.
9445866
9445889
I suppose "longest" is kind of relative.
9445889
It certainly is a novel twist. Something we take for granted is a revolutionary idea. The reasoning for adopting it is pretty sound too.
I’m interested to see what the other Equeis nations will think of the new practice.
Also is the Equestrian realm a sphere like earth or flat with edges? (Or some other form like for instance a mobis strip)
Beware, pony sisters. If you can't get it right, the imitation will be poor and barely edible. Wars have been started for far less!
Ought to make it easier for weather ponies to do their work, as well, putting more heat into the system in the summer, and less to combat in the winter!
Just waiting for Malfoy to receive a potted flower as a "peace offering" from the twins.
We're all doomed, they have discovered poison joke.
Ok
9445847
Remember all the way back in episode 1s1 the ledgend of night mare moon..."she would return on the longest day on the thousand year" 'longest day' means days do vary, or any day would have done.
9446018
Or it's just a holiday Celestia made up to remember how she banished Luna and she just keeps sun up longer on that day.
9445889
I actually like to see zecora and snape meet and have a chat.....and a possible romance between them given what happened between snape and....lilly I believe ? that poor man needs somepony to get through his stone heart maybe in this story or in a side story now that there is a group....at least I think there is if some one can send me a link to it
9445890 still burns like fire though so it might end up a quite passonate relationship although I don't need to picture snape pounding zecora like a jackhammer
I am sure the Twins are going to be as rich in Equestria as Harry and the CMC as they a rich in the wizard world.
9446024
Keeps it a longer day and avoids the moon with shame.
That... might actually be a bad idea. If trying to actually invoke change is the goal, nature tends to react really wonky if you just rapidly introduce complete changes to otherwise stable cycles.
How ominous.
9446033
That's an interdimensional incident written all over it…
9445996
Good imitation meat could slowly make ponies more tolerant (or at least less squeamish) about carnivores.
Diamond Tiara: "What a delicious hayburger!"
"As in made from cow?"
"I CRAVE MORE FORBIDDEN MEAT! MORE, I SAY!!!"
Cheerilee: "Oops, that's actually a hamburger."
Diamond Tiara:
Cheerilee: "Yes."
Diamond Tiara: (demonic voice)
potions master? i have my doubts snape is even in the same playing field as zecora.
It would be quite amusing to see what the flower has in store for them. And I can imagine the Twin open interdimension joke shop with one of them station on each side of the portal - make them the first interdimensional entrepreneurs.
If I could make a statement here, I would like to advertise a new Harry Potter crossover fanfic by one of my favorite author. Personally, I believe any Potter fans would find it an interesting read.
Damaged's recently launched Harry Potter and the Crystal Empire, which has interesting take on the Crystal Empire arc where Hogwarts seems to replace the Crystal Empire (or been transported to Equestria along side the Empire).
Some of this story's high points are the Chamber's basilisk was turned into pony-like snake (or lamia I'm not sure) and now Harry's eccentric companion and Harry is now a kirin. Another interesting rule is that the more you use your magic the more you would turn into an Equestria's inhabitants - which hinder the rest of the wizards greatly and weaken them against the invading Sombra.
If only Sweetie could have gotten Zecora Snape's old advanced potions book. His notes would have been much more useful than what the standard book would say.
9446086
A gradual shift shouldn't be too bad. After all, Everfree flora and fauna are used to less measured doses of light, precipitation, and so on. I do think it'll end up with some pegasi-adjustments to cloud cover, rainfall and so on. But that's rational.
9446193
Well it depends on how much 'real' you want and how much magic you want to handwave, but gradual should mean decades at the very least, preferably centuries. Nature can be both surprisingly resilient and delicate at the same time, and altering day and night length can have massive impacts on how the various species of plants, animals and insects interact. For example, there's a forest in Canada where just a few degrees of extra warmth in summer allowed a parasitic bug that made its home in trees to explode in population, destroying acre after acre of pinewood.
i am thinking Zecora and snipe would be a vary good thing. Snipe needs somepony to ground him.
3 days and 95 chapters lol. I really am enjoying this a lot!
You know, after reading about Zecora it would be interesting to see how other species of Equus would appear on Earth. I mean, since Zebras are meant to parallel Africa, Zecora would obviously appear as a black woman, much to the surprise of the ponies. Saddle Arabians in turn would probably have Arabic features. Which also raises the question if someone with magic and black skin would appear in Equestria as a zebra? Clearly that has not happened to them yet (most likely due to chance).
9446243
You know I forgot all about skin tones. Did the ponies all come out white? I don't remember. I know some stories like portraying Twilight with darker skin for whatever reason.
Does this foretell a branch of (the not yet existent) Weasley's Wizard Wheezes in Ponyville?
9446026
Here's the link to the group on FiMFiction.
Also, there is some SnapexZecora in Magic School Days, but not all that much since that story bounces around all over the place. Still, it's an interesting idea that I'd like to see more of.
dropbox.com/s/turg433wbkgb40t/Badcrossover.gif?raw=1
And suddenly I am shipping Zecora, who is going to be absolutely gorgeous in her human form... And Snape. Snape deserves some happiness. And Zecora is wild, exotic, and utterly brilliant with alchemy.
9446148
nah. he is a master, just a bad teacher.
9446215
The problem is that the climate in Equestria is ALREADY messed up! I mean, come on, needing to guide birds to warmer climates for winter, and back for summer? Having to wake up the hibernating animals? And the apparent lack of the normal water cycle?
9446287
Right. Buhbye!
Fries made from sweet potatoes with hamburgers are really good indeed!
This is going to jump start a whole bunch of things for their world. YAY ARMS RACES
9445867
It should be recalled, it took what, most of a day before they saw the effects? It's got a delayed reaction.
I still wonder how it'll effect muggles or wizards and witches. It'd be interesting albeit in a bad fashion if it actually had the capacity to really mess with and screw people over (potentially harmfully) on the other side.
9445890
I was wondering when that would be arranged. I'm curious how that will go over here in this story. On the one hand I'd love to see Snape and Zecora getting along. On the other, I don't want to see this take the same route MSD did.
9445905
Correct. It's basically stated in the first episode for Luna's sake.
9446086
Yeah, but this is also a world where Ponies MANAGE nature in ways mankind would DREAM of doing.
9446243
I think it's been mentioned that a few of the Equestrians have appeared with features reminiscent of southern Europeans/folks along the Mediterranean.
At least this chapter didn't feel like it ended suddenly! And I see the seeds for trouble among the nobility. I suspect some nobles might start conspiring to form a group that seeks to draw some government power away from the Princesses, especially as they learn about governments on Earth (I'm not actually sure how this would go admittedly, it could go any number of ways)