• Published 8th Dec 2020
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If Wishes Were Ponies, Book II - tkepner



Harry Potter and the CMC are ready for their second year at Hogwarts. Tom Riddle is not pleased.

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Royal Visits, Part One – Side-story

If Wishes Were Ponies . . . Book II

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It was the Royal Visit to top all royal visits. Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, and Defender of the Faith, was going to be meeting with the co-rulers of not just another nation, but the co-rulers of a nation on another planet! The Equestrian Princesses Celestia and Luna were going to come to Earth to meet with the Queen.

To say that the newspapers and video journalists were excited was a huge understatement. It almost . . . almost . . . overshadowed England’s first planned manned-mission to the Moon!

Watching the Buran, Britain’s own space plane, race down the runway for its first orbital flight had galvanized national pride in a way nothing had done since the Blitz. Yes, the Buran was Russian-made, but it was now fully and completely Britain’s!

Britain’s own scientists and technicians had been all over the shuttle, and improved it beyond its builder’s wildest dreams — no giant booster was now necessary, it could fly like a true plane! The yanks were practically drooling at the prospect, and their efforts to be included in the project were getting downright ludicrous.

They had already caught one selenographer trying to sneak aboard the space plane with the absolutely ridiculous idea of being a stowaway. He had a trunk-sized rucksack filled with concentrated-food, and a home-built spacesuit with a CO2 scrubber/rebreather! How he expected to remain undetected mystified everyone.

The announcement that the rulers of the U.K.’s newest ally were coming for a personal visit had driven that fervour to a higher pitch. The Equestrians had freely shared their medical knowledge to provide a cure for cancer, as well as the ability to regrow lost limbs. It was their technology, freely shared, that had thrust the U.K. to the forefront of the space-race, and made possible automotive and industrial air-scrubbers so efficient that the common man already could see the difference in air-quality!

The automotive and lorry manufacturers Morgan, Caterham, and McLaren, were rumoured about to release new models that incorporated several of those technologies. Automotive journalists who had seen advance models were agog over what they had seen — roomier interiors, greater mileage, better safety features. They even had witnessed one of the new models in a crash test at 100kph, with no damage to the test dummy — and only minor damage to the vehicle! *

Then there were the motorhome and semi-trailer manufactures. Devon Conversions, Auto-Sleepers, Bilbo, Swift Group, Awaydays, Lawrence David, among others, were all introducing models that incorporated some aspect of the Undetectable Expansion charm. Different models included different sizes – the government was limiting the sizes of expansion available to keep other governments and citizens from panicking at the actual potential of the charm. Everyone thought it had a maximum limit of triple the original size. Careful design of the runes, with a lot of red-herrings, made it nearly impossible for someone to decipher exactly what the limit was. Hiding part of the runes as the actual vehicle logo made it impossible to simply duplicate the vehicle. Sure, Ford could copy the McLaren version. But then trying to sell a vehicle as a Ford when it proudly proclaimed on the hood and bonnet that it was a McLaren was a simple no-go. Not to mention the various international trademark agreements that would violate.

Even the tip trucks had gotten involved with Hestair.

Naturally, they all had the same safety features as the passenger vehicles.

The rest of the world was stunned.

Of course, the Queen would invite the Princesses!

Second Lieutenant Castor James Searle swore he was going to be bald by his next birthday. Castor had been the very first government officer that the Equestrians had met last year. Just a year ago, he had been a Detective Inspector in the Surrey Constabulary — a relatively sedate occupation, although with an exorbitant amount of paperwork, in his opinion. Prior to that position, he had been a Sergeant in the Special Air Service, the S.A.S., the Sport and Social, as the members called it, before he retired for the much more mundane Constabulary.

Immediately realizing he was way over his paygrade, he had bucked his discovery up to one of his former commanders in the military. He had, ultimately, had bucked it up to the Prime Minister. Which was how he had been reactivated as an officer in Military Intelligence — what an oxymoron that was! — Department Five, and then assigned as Concierge to the Equestrians.

And Concierge he was. Half his time was spent arranging visits to museums and theatres for the various scientists, and Twilight — a member of the Royal family who, apparently, had been put in charge of the First Contact. Not to mention he had to get the teams of both pony and British scientists, technicians, and experts introduced and working together.

He even had a staff, now. One of whom was on-site at the Equestrian Embassy to answer the simpler questions, and direct inquiries, leaving only the more difficult ones for him to field or arrange.

And now the Queen had invited the two co-rulers to visit.

Princesses Celestia and Luna.

As if dealing with the Equestrians, for him, wasn’t already like herding cats. He had no doubts that before it got much further along, not only would it be Celestia and Luna, but Twilight and the others in the Mane Six would want to be involved, too. Twilight would probably insist that Harry and his friends be dragged along, too.

Twilight. Well, he wasn’t sure that she was A.D.D., but sometimes she sure acted like it.

Plus, while the Queen’s staff, and both MI5 and MI6, were well versed in the intricacies of dealing with an Official State Visit, the problems introduced by the Equestrians very alienness was the issue. The arrival ceremony usually took place on the Horse Guards Parade.

Yeah, they really didn’t want the Equestrians being treated to a parade of horses being ridden by the Queens Guard. They would have to use Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle — but those were more restrictive sites in terms of viewers. And he knew this would have maximum attendance. Perhaps they could use two of the five regiments of foot guards: Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards, Scots Guards, Irish Guards, and the Welsh Guards?

If everything was on foot, maybe they could use a portion of each of the regiments, otherwise the Equestrians might question why the others were left out. Considering their EUP Guards, that might be a better option.

Then there was the food. How would the Princesses appear? As ponies? Or human? Or would they do both at different times? The Royal cooks were sure to lose their minds when they saw some of the Equestrian menus — hay-fries and hay burgers?

Vegetarian would have to be the watchword.

He’d heard the ponies had tried tofu, only to have their predator Griffins declare it a chemical weapon — it gave them extreme intestinal gas problems. Which they had discovered when it had cleared out the Canterlot Palace banquet hall at the one event they had tried serving it to the meat-eaters.

Although, the ponies didn’t mind fish being served . . ..

He would have to consult with Princess Twilight.

Castor was a bundle of nerves. The big-wigs on the Equestrian side were enough of a headache, all three princesses, plus Prince Blueblood. He had met the sister Princesses in Equestria more than once, primarily at the Grand Galloping Gala, and other such events. The Ambassador and Twilight he had met far more frequently.

No, it was the litany of English nobility that had him ready to melt into a puddle of anxiety.

A special open-air pavilion had been set up in front of the Equestrian Embassy for the first meeting of the monarchs. It was surrounded on three sides by the press corps — there was very nearly at least one reporter and cameraman from every country in the world — with bleachers for selected guests to watch this first, historic meeting.

Castor was waiting patiently — and nervously — outside the Portal Dome that kept the Portal, and a small area around it, isolated. With him were several of the Embassy staff, eager to meet their Princesses.

His first impression at seeing the Princesses exit the Portal, escorted by Blueblood and the local Equestrian Guards, was that they were much bigger than he had ever thought. The surreptitious pictures taken by MI5 last year had made Luna look a bit smaller than she really was, having only other humanized ponies present in the photo.

While Twilight was slightly taller than an average person, Princess Luna was at least two and a half metres tall! The third Princess was at least another metre!

Fortunately, M.I.5 had made the rather prudent decision to customize the interior of the Land Rover they would be using, and erred on the side of deliberately over-estimating the possible sizes of their visitors. The inside of that particular vehicle provided enough room for a thirty people, with a ceiling that was four metres high.

“Your Majesties,” he said bowing deeply to the Equestrians as they left the Portal Dome and turned their attention to him. “Everything is set according to the schedule we sent you. The Queen and her entourage are waiting in a pavilion in front of the Embassy. After introductions, we’ll take a Land Rover to Trafalgar Square, where we will transfer to carriages and take The Mall to Buckingham Palace. The Mall will provide the populace to see you and the Queen.”

All four nodded, and followed him as he headed into the back doors of the Embassy.

The introductions were the worst. He had spent an entire day practicing until the words began to sound much less than a stilted speech and more natural. That still didn’t prevent him from sweating and being nervous.

He could see the shock in the Queen’s eyes, and everyone else’s, at the two physically imposing princesses as they exited the Embassy proper. There was a collective gasp from the press people privileged to attend. Then there was an almost physical wave of clicks as the camera operators went into full picture-taking mode.

They had seen Twilight, or pictures of her, as she had travelled around England with her people, but that the other two Princesses were so tall and heavily muscled was a surprise. They looked more like fantasy Amazons than just . . . people. The tremendous sword slung across Luna’s back did nothing to dispel that image. Neither did the gold bracers, greaves, and chest-plate she wore over her black shift — all of which were heavily decorated with Moon phases, complex designs, and gems that appeared as stars. The shift was heavily decorated in gold thread in similar patterns.

Celestia was not nearly as warrior-like, wearing a similar shift, but in white, with designs that reflected her relationship with the sun.

Celestia and Twilight wore crowns of gold, while Luna’s was black.

They walked to the waiting entourage.

The noise of the crowd was still loud.

Princess Celestia frowned delicately as she looked at the hundreds of photographers and videographers that formed a horseshoe cordon around the open pavilion. She smiled slightly at seeing the four Embassy unicorns at the posts holding the canvas up, watching the crowd intently and ignoring her presence completely.

“Well,” she said, just barely loud enough to be heard over their audience, “This is slightly annoying.” She stood still for a moment and the sound gradually subsided to a mere whisper.

The Queen didn’t react, but several members of her staff stared around in surprise.

“There, now,” Celestia said happily, “That’s better. Now we can hear ourselves think.” She looked at the Queen. “They can still hear us quite clearly, so do be careful of what you say.”

Castor nervously cleared his throat. “Your Majesty,” he said, addressing the Queen. “I am pleased to present,” he swept his arm towards the Princess in white, “Her Eternal Majesty, Princess Celestia, Mistress of the Invincible and Unconquered Sun, Bringer of the Day, Destroyer of Monsters, Bane of Evil, Guiding Hoof of the Realm, Monarch of Unicorns, Councillor of Earth Ponies, Commander of the Pegasi, Matriarch of the Night Ponies, and Co-ruler of Equestria and All Their Other Realms and Territories.”

The Queen murmured a quiet, “Welcome to the United Kingdom.”

To which the Princess nodded her head gracefully.

Continuing, Castor turned to the Princess in black. “I am also pleased to present Her Eternal Majesty, Princess Luna, Mistress of the Stars and Moon, Bringer of the Night, Guardian of Dreams and Destroyer of Nightmares, Bane of Evil, Defender and Grand General of the Realm, Matriarch of the Night Ponies, Monarch of Unicorns, Councillor of Earth Ponies, Commander of the Pegasi, and Co-ruler of Equestria and all Their Other Realms and Territories.”

There was another brief exchange of pleasantries.

“It is my pleasure to present,” he said, switching his attention to the Princess in purple, “Her Royal Highness, Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, Mistress of Magic, Bearer of the Element of Magic, Saviour of Equestria, Liberator of the Crystal Empire, Biggest Egghead Ever.”

Twilight rolled her eyes and made a face. The other two princesses just smiled at her. “I hate that title,” she murmured. “I can’t believe you did that,” she said glaring at her mentor.

Ignoring the byplay, Castor turned to the lone male. “And finally, may I present Prince Blueblood Platinum, Duke of Paradise Valley, Ambassador to the United Kingdom.”

“Princesses, Prince,” he turned to the Queen, “I present to you Elizabeth the Second,” and recited the rest of her title. He then introduced the rest of entourage starting with her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. Then came Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall, and his wife Princess Diana, Princess of Wales. Her other three children Princes Edward, Earl of Wessex, Andrew, Duke of York, and Princess Anne, Princess Royal.

Princesses Celestia and Luna made the appropriate responses in greeting each individual as they were introduced.

There, it was done. He had managed to make it through without once bolloxing it up. He stepped back and tried to become invisible.

“Welcome to our world,” the Queen warmly said. “We had never suspected that a portal to your world existed in our Realm.” She glanced around. “In fact, Our advisors had never even suggested such portals could exist.”

Princess Celestia smiled down at her. “While We have known of portals for millennia, the realms to which they led were almost invariably violently hostile. Had We known We would get such a warm and welcoming reception in one, We might have pursued the subject a bit more diligently.” She glanced around at the entourage. “The truth is, We recently discovered this portal completely by accident — a most fortuitous accident, if We may say so.”

She gave a sidelong glance at her sister.

“Yes,” agreed Luna. “Having another species to share Our discoveries with is a welcome change from Our world. Most of Our neighbours in Equus used to view Us solely as a food source.” She gave them a smug smile. “They learned the error of their ways thousands of years ago. Despite that, we cannot freely share what we know with them.”

“Discovering this portal was a delight,” Celestia said. “You have a rich culture — we are especially taken with your Shakespeare.” She gave Luna another sidelong glance. “Our Sister prefers Monty Python and Benny Hill.”

“We were greatly saddened to hear of his demise earlier this year,” Luna said sorrowfully.

“Our Faithful Student, Twilight, on the other hoof, prefers Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, and P.D. James.”

Princess Twilight was blushing.

“This, of course, is part and parcel with your inquisitive natures. You have delved into areas of science that we never dreamed of considering — such as your aeroplanes, television, radio . . . or even your internal combustion engines.”

The Queen nodded and smiled. “And you have delved into areas we never considered,” she said. “As your cures for cancer, and other diseases, have shown. For someone to regrow a lost limb was a hopeless dream to our researchers — but you have made it a reality.

“Plus, there are dozens of other innovations you have shown us that will inspire new discoveries leading to new fields of research. Our recent mission to our moon is one such innovation.”

Luna straightened at the mention of the moon. “Yes,” she said, nodding. “I thank you for your generous gift of material from your Moon. It is both different and yet similar to Our own. I look forward to seeing it tonight.”

The Queen blinked, surprised. “You do not have to wait to ‘see’ it, Princess Luna,” she said, nodding her head to one side. “It has already risen.”

“Forsooth?” One second there was a tall woman standing there, then abruptly there was a dark-blue horned and winged horse in her place. Almost immediately, with a single flap of her wings, she was outside the pavilion and hovering as she stared at the whisp of a moon not far from the sun. “Sister! Come look! The sun and the moon do share the sky without conflict!” she called excitedly.

Twilight was shaking her head wryly. “I told her that!”

Celestia gave Twilight a warm look. “Yes, you did, but Luna suspected that there was more — tenseness? — involved than you could detect.”

She turned and called out sternly “Luna!”

“But, Tia . . . ,” she glanced back under the pavilion and sighed. She looked back up and shook her head. “You poor thing,” she murmured. She turned back to the pavilion and flew to her sister’s side, landing lightly.

In her normal form, her eyes were about neck-level with the Queen. She shook her shoulders. “Yes,” she said quietly, “This is much more comfortable.” She smirked at the Queen. “For both of us, We would guess. Yes?”

The Queen’s lips quirked slightly, as if she were holding back her own smile, but she did give a slight nod as she examined the alicorn. Her arm and leg bracers and greaves had changed to become metallic shoes that covered the hooves and fronts of the pastern bones. Her chest armour had become an armoured peytral. All were as intricately decorated as before, with the quarter moon as a theme.

Celestia nodded. “Yes, now that the formal formalities have been observed, perhaps it would be better.” She transformed to her alicorn form. She was only a fingers-width taller than the Queen. If she relaxed her neck a tiny bit, they could see eye-to-eye.

Considering how much taller everyone else was to the Queen — she was the shortest person there — it was probably refreshing to not always be looking up to see someone’s expression.

After a few minutes posing for the photographers, the Queen, her entourage, and the Princesses climbed into the Queen’s specially modified Land Rover and left for the official ride down The Mall to Buckingham Palace.

The interior of the Land Rover had been heavily modified. It now resembled a room in the Palace — albeit rectangular instead of square — with more than adequate seating for the entire group to comfortably speak to each other.

Castor had warned the staff that the Princesses might return to their native form, and suitable pillows had been swapped for their seats before they had boarded the vehicle. The Queen looked at the three Princesses after they were all seated. Luna had elected to sit by a window and was even now looking raptly up at the sun and moon overhead.

“According to what I have been told,” the Queen said after taking a sip of her tea, “You will be staying here for three days.” She raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

Celestia nodded amiably. “Yes, Luna and I are quite looking forward to the vacation. It is our first in millennia.”

There was a stunned silence. The books they had secured had indicated that Celestia had been in charge for centuries, but they had not been sure if that was true. It had been possible that it was a series of ponies named Celestia — much like the Dalai Lama in Tibet, where the death of the current monk started a search for his “reincarnated” soul, who then ruled as the continuation of the Dalai Lama.

Elizabeth carefully placed her cup on the small table at her elbow. “Are you immortal?” There was a very slight tremor to her voice.

Celestia shook her head. “No one is immortal, we are just extremely difficult to kill.” She glanced out the window. “I draw my strength form the sun. Luna draws hers from the moons and planets. I imagine that I will . . . pass on . . . when my sun dies. Luna will do the same when her moons and planets are no longer able to generate their magic.”

She turned back to them and smiled warmly. “I had never contemplated just how long that might be until We acquired some of your textbooks. From your books on Astronomy, that will probably not be for many . . . billions . . . of years.” She looked out the window again with a strangely blank expression. She abruptly shook her head. “Unless, of course, magic has another . . . ending . . . in mind for Us.”

There was a profound silence for several minutes.

Elizabeth took another sip of tea and set her cup back down. She sighed, then looked Celestia in the eyes. “You are responsible for the raising and lowering of your sun and moon?” She looked at them questioningly.

Celestia gave her a sweet smile. “Yes. I raise and lower the sun whilst my sister does the same for the moon.”

“Then . . . if I may ask . . . how will that be managed in your absence? Or were you planning on returning to Equestria every evening and morning?”

Twilight gave her mentor a questioning look. She clearly had not been advised, either.

Celestia smiled, more to herself than anyone else. Luna proved she had been listening by giving a short snort of amusement. “As I said, this is Our first vacation in millennia. So, that chore is being handled by somepony who is well suited to the task. It will be good practice for her.”

In Crystal City, a certain pink pony had just passed out and was lying on the floor beside her breakfast table. Maids were rushing around in a panic while her husband hurried to her side and called for a doctor.

Her Royal Highness, Mi Amore Cadenza, Princess of Love, Mistress of Heavenly Affection, Earthly Passion, and Icon of Eros, Guardian of the Crystal Heart, Niece of the Heavens, Liberator and Ruler of the Crystal Empire (aka Princess Cadence, as she preferred) had just received what she thought of as dreadful and horrific news.

The Princess had been calm and happy to see Philomena the Phoenix when she first flamed into their breakfast-room. While her aunts, the Royal Sisters, frequently sent her messages, most came by regular postmare. The official, waxed-stamp on the missive was a bit unusual, but nothing to be concerned about, it just meant this wasn’t a simple note gleefully recounting Celestia’s latest prank on Luna, or vice versa.

She had opened it and began reading. She had paled, her pink fur turning almost white, a faint feeling of horror wafted through the room.

Her husband, Prince Shining Armor, on the other side of their breakfast table, had quizzically stared at her uncharacteristic reaction. “Is something wrong?” he had asked worriedly.

She had looked up at him when she had reached the end of the letter. Her eyes wide in terror and shock, she had started hyperventilating.

“Tia and Lulu want me,” she had said as she stared at Shining in rising panic, “to raise and lower the sun and moon while they visit the Queen of England on the other side of the portal for the next few days!” By the time she had reached the final words she was shrieking, and the pupils of her eyes were mere pinpricks. “Starting tonight!”

Her eyes had rolled up, and down she went.

Hence, the alicorn currently passed out on the floor, and the panic that was rather quickly enveloping the Crystal Empire.

What could be so terrible as to cause their Empress to collapse when meeting King Sombra hadn’t done that?

Somewhere outside of both realities, Discord had fallen out of his armchair, spilling popcorn everywhere as he guffawed in delight.

“Trollestia strikes again!” he finally gasped, before descending into another bout of laughter.

Twilight frowned a moment, then gasped and protested, “You didn’t!?” She stared at her mentor.

Celestia raised an eyebrow in return as she sipped her tea.

Twilight put both hooves over her face.

Luna sighed, and looked over from her window seat. “Princess Cadence has observed Our Sister doing those chores several hundred times. She is more than capable of doing it herself.” She stared at Twilight. “As can you,” she added mildly. “You simply lack practice. The first few times are hardest, until you earn their trust.”

The humans in the room looked at Twilight with a new respect. They had read that there were four Princesses, with the absent Princess being the ruler of the Crystal Empire.

The history of Equestria read like a fantasy story with magic and outrageous villains. At first, they had believed them to be exaggerations, but the more reports that poured in from their people on the other side of the portal, the more likely those stories became.

“What do you mean, earn their trust?” the Queen asked.

Celestia turned her attention back to the Queen, her smirk turning into smile. “Our sun is not simply a ball of gas and nor our moon a collection of rock, as your books tell us you regard your sun and moon. They . . . react . . . to our presence. They . . .,” she frowned. “They welcome our touch.”

The royals exchanged wondering looks.

“Your moon . . . there is something there, but We can’t reach it yet,” Luna said, musing, as she stared out the window. “Perhaps, when sunset arrives, We shall find out more.”

The rest of the short trip to the Square was quiet as they drank their tea and contemplated the concept that stars and moons might be, in some way, alive. Which meant planets were, too. Was the idea of Mother Gaia not the fanciful lark many supposed, but based in a reality none had ever understood?

Once they arrived at Trafalgar Square, the Queen and the Princesses transferred to an official State Carriage — a 1902 Ascot Landau carriage with fold-down top. The plan was for them to be escorted by the Household Cavalry, with street liners coming from the Foot Guards. Union Flags and the flags of Equestria were draped on both sides of the road.

Castor had never thought the Royals would be interested in seeing the Queen’s Mounted Household Cavalry. He hoped it wouldn’t turn into a . . . problem.

The rest would motor on to the Palace.

Naturally, the sisters stalled that plan. Celestia and Luna made straight for the six grey-white horses hitched to the open-air carriage — the weather was cooperating, for once. The horses were well-trained, and only shuffled awkwardly in their harness as the two smaller horses with points on their heads and wings flew over to them. Twilight followed more slowly on foot, staring with wide eyes at the three postilions seated on the left-side horses — the coach had no driver.

The Queen and her entourage were all surprised to see that the three princesses were blushing as they inspected the three men. No, it wasn’t the men that had attracted their attention, but their saddles, oddly enough. Twilight had turned an interesting shade of magenta. Luna peppered the horses with questions, “What’s your rank? How long have you had this job?” and, with a sidelong glance back at the saddles, “Is that comfortable?” to the postilion’s confusion. Celestia, meanwhile, had noticed the ranked Horse Guard before and after the coach.

“Oh, my,” she murmured. “So that really is what they’re for,” she said, studying the saddles of the first rank.

Twilight, looking over at the other ranks, gasped and her blush deepened. “Celestia,” she said, scandalized, “Are those ponies wearing socks in public!?”

Celestia quickly redirected her gaze, then frowned. She quickly trotted over and leaned closer to one black horse who had white colouring on her rear-legs that extended to the bottom of her knees. She straightened.

“No,” she said loudly, smirking, “Those are actually the colour of their coat at that spot.” She gave a sly glance to the embarrassed purple pony, and headed back to the carriage. “Imagine that, Twilight. What would ponies say if they thought you always wore socks in public?” She paused a second. “With a saddle.”

For a moment, Castor thought Twilight turned red all the way to the tip of her tail.

Once more, Discord fell out of his armchair, guffawing in delight.

Shortly, though, the Queen and the three Princesses were seated in the coach, and the procession started off at a slow walk.

Twilight slowly returned to her normal purple coat, though still tinged with a hint of red. She steadfastly refused to look at the horses in front and behind them, instead focusing on the huge crowd that stood lining the road to Buckingham Palace.

The Princesses sat much higher on their seats than did the Queen, which gave the packed throng a clear view of them. The sisters sat in the front, facing backwards, while the Queen and Twilight sat in the back.

Castor and the others headed for the Palace via a different route.

He knew that the Princesses had seen the many books about horses, but the reason for their reactions must be the difference between reading about something that seemed fantastic, and seeing it in real life, up close.

Castor and the rest of the Queen’s entourage knew the moment when the Royal carriage arrived. The booming sounds of the forty-one-gun salute from the cannons in Green Park, with the simultaneous sixty-two-gun salute from the cannons in the Tower of London and City of London, welcomed the Princesses.

In a break with tradition, the Guard of Honour for the event did comprise of senior members of all five House Guard regiments. It was all a great deal of pomp and circumstance as the Queen and her guests stood on the steps of the forecourt of Buckingham Palace. To the watching public’s surprise, as the Equestrian National Anthem was played, the three Princesses stood upright on their hind legs, with their wings spread wide. Twilight was in front of and centred between the other two. The storm of cameras clicking at the impressive sight was not unexpected. They returned to the ground, momentarily, as the band prepared for the next anthem.

As God Save the Queen started, they again stood upright and spread their wings. This time, though, in a move that surprised even the Queen, Celestia and Luna shifted to stand behind the Queen and her husband. Twilight moved down the steps to form a triangle around England’s Royal couple without blocking them.

It made for a striking picture that graced the front page of almost every newspaper in the world. The other governments, and most people, took it as a very public statement of solidarity and friendship between the nations. No one would be surprised when a mutual-aid treaty was announced the next day.

At the end of the anthem, the three Princesses returned to their positions to the Queen’s right. The commander of the Guard of Honour formation mounted the steps and said, “Your Majesties, the guard of honour, provided by the Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards, Scots Guards, Irish Guards, and the Welsh Guards, is formed up, and ready for inspection.”

They weren’t the full regiments, of course, only a row of the most senior soldiers from each unit.

While the three Princesses walked in front of the Guards, the selected band played a slow march. Celestia stopped in the middle of the first row to ask one guard to present his weapon for her inspection. When he held it out, she took it in her magic. She popped out the magazine, checked the firing chamber, and took a look down the barrel. She removed and inspected the bayonet, before sliding everything back together in one move and handing the rifle back to the Guard. She thanked the Guard, and commended him on his crisp movements and perfect rifle, then they continued down the line. Luna did the same in the second and fourth rows. Twilight did it in the third row, and a long-distance mike picked up her murmur to the Guard, “Are you as nervous about this as I am?”

Celestia picked someone from the fifth row to conclude the inspection.

In a dramatic departure from tradition, behind the foot-troops were five rows of Mounted Horse Guards.

Celestia and Luna took great delight in inspecting the tack the horses were equipped with, and requested several Guards to demonstrate proper dismount and mounting techniques. Many of television watchers across the world marvelled at how the purple pony could change the colour of her coat to magenta, and if it meant anything.

Discord was pounding the floor with one hand while laughing so hard he was crying. Oh, the stories he planned to tell Fluttershy!

Celestia even flew up and briefly stood on one of the saddles. Her comment that, “We have never before mounted such a large stallion,” left Twilight bug-eyed, and her sister’s coat, dark though it was, still managed to briefly exhibit a slight reddish tinge.

The overheard comment also left a lot of people wondering whether or not they should be scandalized.

It was quite some time before Twilight’s coat returned to it’s normal purple shade.

Following the formal events of their arrival, the Princesses had an informal luncheon with the Queen. Then it was on to view the Queen’s Royal Collection of artefacts, and the tradition of exchanging gifts with the Royals.

“When Equestria was first established, there were those who felt we shouldn’t be there, or that Our ponies were a tasty dinner.” Celestia said.

“It took several decades, and many lives, before Our enemies learned the folly of challenging Us, and left Us in peace. Some still test Us to this day,” Luna concluded.

Twilight opened one of her saddlebags and removed a sword that was longer than she was. It had a polished shine, with a plain hilt, but had clearly seen use. On closer examination, the hilt looked to have teeth marks in the wooden hilt.

Celestia took it from her and presented it, hilt first, to the Queen of the United Kingdom. “Your Majesty, We used many swords in the defence of Equestria against Our enemies a thousand years ago. This sword is one of three that have survived. It has rested in a Canterlot vault since those days, a symbol of Freedom for ponies.” She paused. “Should the United Kingdom ever need the aid of Equestria, in any capacity, take this sword in your hand and call for Us. We will come.”

Elizabeth gently reached out to take it. The moment she touched it the entire sword glowed brightly.

“A promise has been made, a promise will be kept,” Luna and Twilight said as the sword’s glow slowly faded.

After a moment’s silence, the Queen said, “We shall endeavour to be worthy of such a promise, and We will stand by you as you stand by Us.”

That evening was reserved for a State Dinner. Around one hundred and fifty guests were invited to the white-tie event at the ballroom in Buckingham Palace for the banquet. Besides the Equestrian, the guests included members of the extended Royal Family, British politicians, and notable figures from both countries — mostly British.

After the dessert was served, the new defence arrangement between the two nations was announced, and the sword exhibited.

The next day they toured the stables for the House Guard, the Royal Mews. The Queen allowed that with the new “Special Technology” that the Equestrians had made available to them, the stalls for the horses would be greatly enlarged. Currently, they were barely big enough for a horse to turn around or lie down.

Then it was on to meetings to discuss how the two countries could further their ties and cooperation. They were in the 1844 Room, a room usually reserved for meeting foreign dignitaries.

Luna started with, “Thank you for your kind gift of soil from your moon. It’s a quiet little thing, but happy that you’ve chosen to come visit, brief though that was. Are you intending to return?”

The Queen blinked in surprise, before saying, “It was Our pleasure to gift you. It seemed only proper, given your position in Equestria. As for a return?” She smiled, “I am reliably informed that several trips are already under consideration.”

The topics wandered for quite a while, until Celestia said, “I have been told that the air-scrubbers you have installed on your power production plants have been producing blocks of solid carbon as a by-product.” She paused to take a sip of her tea. “If you haven’t a use, yet, for those, We would be interested in purchasing or trading for them.”

At the Queen’s polite look, Celestia explained.

“You see, Equestria hasn’t any large power plants such as you have here, we instead have used hydro-electric dams to supply our needs. So far, they are well-suited for Our needs.

“Pure carbon, as a result, is of limited availability.”

Queen Elizabeth nodded her understanding. “Might I ask why you want these blocks?”

Celestia returned her smile. “Dragon snacks.” **

Prince Phillip looked very surprised. “Dragon snacks?” he said, wonderingly.

“In Equestria, dragons eat gems. They have distinctive tastes, I’ve been told by Our dragon friend, Spike. Rubies tend to be spicy, for example.”

“And plain carbon?” asked Elizabeth.

“Is rather pedestrian. However, it’s not so much the carbon we desire, as that We can easily apply a bit of heat and pressure to make diamonds of the blocks.”

Both Royals looked surprised. “The entire block? At once?” said Phillip.

Celestia nodded. “Although Spike is most interested in experimenting with adding various other elements into the carbon structure to see what tastes he can derive.”

Twilight snorted. “He just wants a reason to stuff himself on diamonds as the taste-tester.”

The other two Princesses laughed.

“There is that,” Celestia said agreeably.

“We see nothing wrong with such an export,” the Queen said. “Our understanding is that the operators of the facilities regard the carbon as a simple waste material. What sort of volume did you have in mind?”

Celestia rolled her shoulders in a shrug. “At first? Only a few tonnes. After that? Probably all of it.”

In response to their incredulous looks, she said, “Most dragons are . . . large. To a fifteen-ton dragon, a hundred-weight of diamonds is the equivalent of a serving of chips for you.” She took another sip of her tea. “Dragons Lair, home of the dragons, could easily consume several tonnes per day.”

“It would also provide Us with a product of interest to the dragons, and induce them into more trade and friendlier relations,” put in Luna.

The Queen shook her head wryly. “Diamonds. As snacks.” She looked over to Celestia. “And it is easy for you . . . your ponies . . . to do?”

The alicorn nodded. “Not difficult at all. A few seconds, at most.” She smiled. “If you could have one of your aides fetch us a sample of coal, I could show you.”

The Queen rang a bell and told the aide who answered what was wanted. The man hurried out.

While they waited, they discussed how the efficiency of the air-scrubbers, and some of the value the power producers had discovered was in the “reclaimed” elements.

Chortling, Prince Phillip suggested, “You might be able to convince the power generating facilities to pay you to take away the carbon blocks!” Then he promised his wife that he would take the project under his “wing” until it was finalized. He promised the Princesses that he would have the first few tonnes collected and delivered with the week.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Spike is going to gain soo much weight before this is over!”

The aide finally returned, but with a shoebox filled with golf-ball-sized coal pieces.

“Excellent!” Celestia said, hefting the mass of raw coal out of the box in a light-gold aura. “Lulu, you handle the excess heat, Twi, you catch the impurities.” She looked at the two royals, and smirked. “We wouldn’t want to make a mess, now would we?” She guided the mass of coal pieces over to a window where the sun was shining in. She carefully stood in the light, with the coal suspended in front of her.

She nodded, first to her sister, then to Twilight.

As they nodded back, a cobalt-blue aura seemed to surround the coal while a pinkish glow seemed to hover below it. The coal clump seemed to be getting smaller and smaller while a tiny rain of particles fell from it. For a brief moment, the clump didn’t change size, then it began to brightly glow. As the glow faded, it left behind a hotly glowing brick that had to be nearly six-inches on a side — half as tall as a sheet of A4.

“There you go,” she said. “We’ll have to let it cool down a bit. Currently the diamond would scorch the table if we set it on it.”

Even from across the room, they could feel the heat radiating from the block.

An aide rushed out of the room.

“I think that is the perfect paperweight for your desk, your majesty!” Celestia suggested. “Or, perhaps, on the mantle?” she looked over to the fireplace.

The two Royals just stared at the impossibility they had just seen.

The three Equestrians returned to their seats and picked up their cups. Celestia kept the block floating halfway to the ceiling, and well away from anything flammable. They sat in silence for several minutes, just watching the block’s glow slowly change.

The aide rushed back into the room and carefully placed a large glass plate with rubber feet down on a side-table, then placed a shiny metal trivet on top of that.

Celestia gave the arrangement a critical look. “Luna, could you cool this down a bit?” A cobalt-blue glow surrounded the diamond for several moments, and they could see the block cooling down as its glow faded from white to yellow to orange. She nodded her thanks to Luna, who cut off her magic. The Princess placed the cube on the metal trivet. “There, that should do nicely,” the white alicorn said. There was a creak! as the trivet heated up under the block. “It’ll take another hour or so before you’ll be able to handle it safely.”

She sighed and returned to the couch and her tea.

“Your note asked if we would like to address your Parliament, and possibly discuss the possible importance of political, economic, and cultural ties between our two countries. Did you have anything particular in mind?”

That evening, when Luna came in from watching the moon set, Celestia gently asked, “Well?”

“ ’Tis as I said before. It’s a timid little thing. It seemed rather startled that I could touch it. Nothing more, however.”

Celestia sighed as Twilight watched interestedly.

“My endeavour was . . . just as disappointing. I can detect something there, but it is disinterested.” She gazed out the window. “If we were here more permanently, I might be tempted to try harder.” She turned back to the room. “But this is not my world, nor that my sun. It would be rude of me to impose. I will leave it alone and not disturb the balance of the system.”

The rest of their stay was rather enjoyable. Both senior Princesses took great joy in seeing a land and culture that was so dramatically different from their own. When the three were not in meetings with the British Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street, there were meetings with the Leader of the Opposition, the leaders of all parties in the House of Commons, and members of the British Cabinet.

They did manage a quick trip to Blackpool, and a look at the piers and Ferris wheel. They also toured the proposed site for their second portal.

Returning to Equestria, for the sisters, was a bit of let-down. As it always is when you return home from a vacation.

Author's Note:

* If the front bumper moves more than two centimetres, runes immediately trigger an impervious spell on the entire car and everything inside it.

** Thanks to Peter for this suggestion.

My Ko-fi account is available if you like this story.

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