• Published 9th Apr 2023
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Equestrian Vacation - Dragonboy111



Harry tries to have a nice vacation in Equestria with his penpal, Twilight, but things don't go to plan, causing the adventure of a lifetime.

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Chapter 25: There And Home Again

"Sister, must you do this?" Luna pleaded.

Celestia paid her sister's remarks no mind as she packed her bags with items for her journey. After Discord's revelation, Celestia canceled all meetings with Canterlot's aristocracy for the following week. On the first day, Celestia began compiling centuries of Equestrian history, legal rights, and politics. When that was done, she wrote a letter to Harry, informing him of her plans: she wanted to meet these ponies herself before summoning them. The next five days were dedicated to preparing Discord's island gift and making it habitable in the coming weeks. Infrastructure needed to be built in advance to ensure everything would be comfortable for the newcomers. Once the Summer Sun Celebration was over, Celestia planned to oversee that project personally for a while.

Celestia placed documents, treaties, and notes on foreign diplomacy in her bags as a precaution. Her armor and weapons, which she had not used in hundreds of years, would not be necessary. Her trip to Harry's universe would hopefully remain discrete enough to not warrant them.

"Yes, Luna, this journey is completely necessary," Celestia insisted.

"The Princess summit, tis but a few weeks away. Surely you can wait to share this issue with Princess Mi Amore Cadenza?" Luna countered.

Celestia sighed. Her sister was concerned, true, but she was also scared. A trip like this was bound to concern her sister. It would be the first time since Luna's return that she would be solely responsible for Equestria's day, even for a short while. "Cadance will agree with my decision, and I know you do as well. I understand how you feel, sister, but this is something I must do now. We do not yet understand the extent of the time dilation between our realms. But I promise, I will return in time to set the sun," Celestia reassured her little sister.

The two shared a tender goodbye hug, the kind they hadn't shared in over a thousand years. It was almost enough to make Celestia postpone her trip. She had missed one thousand years they could have been together. Celestia didn't want to leave her sister, but she knew Luna would understand.

"Before the Sun must be set?" Luna asked.

"I promise," Celestia answered.

The two stepped away from each other. Celestia levitated a scroll off the table and handed it to her sister. A list of duties, should her sister forget. Yes, Luna was an alicorn Princess, but Celestia was her older sister, she had the right to worry. With everything arranged for, Celestia started the spell to send her to Harry's universe. The last thing Celestia saw was her sister waving goodbye.


Celestia opened her eyes. She was lying on her back, facing up. The sky hung above her, clouds flying by under their own power. And there was the Sun. It was in the sky, moving little by little. It was so small nopony would notice it normally, but Celestia could feel it.

"Princess Celestia!" Harry called. His face appeared at the edge of her vision. Or, at least she assumed that was his face. Nopony in Equestria had seen a human before except her student, Twilight. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm alright," she said.

Celestia lifted her right arm and stared in confusion at her limb. It looked like a centaur's arm, which made sense considering their apparent similarities to a human's upper body. The arm was white with the slightest pink undertone. There was a golden bracelet on each arm, along with sleeves that went about halfway up her forearms. Celestia placed her hoof- hand- against the ground and pushed herself up a little. She looked down at the rest of her human body.

A pure white dress wrapped around her body. Her cutie mark was emblazoned on the sides and the edges of the dress had golden details. Golden shoes covered her hooves- feet. There was a weight on her head and chest, presumably her crown and necklace. A single lock of hair fell over her eyes; it was the same as her alicorn mane.

"Celestia, can you stand?" Harry asked.

"I may need some help with that. Can you lend me a hoof?" Celestia replied

"Hand, the term is lend a hand," Harry corrected. He held out his hand, which Celestia grabbed. She mimicked how his fingers wrapped around hers and pulled herself up. She was substantially taller than Harry.

"Thank you," she said. Celestia inspected the ground, looking for her bag. Seeing it, she called it to her with magic. "Now, I assume you have read my plan in its entirety?"

Harry nodded. "It's not the first time I've busted someone out. I broke the paddock, every pegasus is already in the forest," he said.

"I'm sorry I had you do that," Celestia said to the boy.

She felt guilty, asking him to jailbreak the pegasi, but it was the right thing to do. Harry merely shrugged his shoulders, seemingly unbothered about the rules he had broken on Celestia's behalf. He did what was right without hesitation. It was no wonder he and Twilight were such great friends. Harry guided Celestia into a nearby forest. She was amazed by the stillness in the air. The forest was untamed, like the Everfree, but it wasn't chaotic or wild.

"Harry, before we find these ponies, there's something you should know. Discord has offered to help us. However, in order to do so, he said that you would owe him." Celestia confessed.

"Me?" Harry started. "But why? I'm not anything special."

"I don't know, but those were his conditions."

"I suppose it can't be that bad. He's reformed, sort of," Harry grumbled. "The rest should be up ahead."

"Then I'd best get changed for my introduction," Celestia said cryptically.

She raised a hand and felt her magic come to life. Her whole body shifted as she cast her spell. Within moments Celestia was back to her original alicorn body. She still stood taller than Harry, who jumped back in surprise.

"You can transform?" he asked, incredulous.

"It is a simple spell. I thought an alicorn would be more appropriate than a human. Come along."

The two walked until they entered a large clearing. In it were over a dozen equines. Unicorns, thestrals, pegasus, and a few hippogriffs.

Celestia stopped. These were the ponies of this world? They looked so different! They were almost as tall as her, but they had not the regality often associated with ponies their size. Their appearances were almost identical. No cutie marks were on any of them, all "blank flanks". Their eyes and faces looked less expressive than most ponies, similar to some of the ancient statues in her old castle. Worst of all was the thestrals, they looked dead on their hooves!

"Princess Celestia, meet the descendants of Equestrians in the Forbidden Forest," Harry introduced them.

Celestia stepped forward, maintaining her calm face. One of the unicorn stallions stepped forth from the group behind him. He was a head shorter than her and his eyes gleamed with wonder. They stopped just short of each other.

"Are you real?" the stallion asked.

That startled Celestia said little. His voice, it didn't sound normal.

"Yes, I am real," she said softly. She looked up at the rest. "I am Princess Celestia of Equestria," she announced.

The stallion backed away. The equines whispered to each other. Some were in great awe, others curious, and a few fearful. Two golden foals suddenly separated from the group, trotting up to Celestia. The Princess smiled down at the two little ones. The two fillies were star-struck like students in her school when they first met her.

"Woah," said the first.

"You're so pretty!" exclaimed the second.

Celestia giggled. Children were so simple at times, it was endearing.

"Are you really a Princess?" the first filly asked.

"Aurora! Of course, she's a Princess, remember what Twilight said? She has wings and a horn! That makes her an alicorn, therefore she's a Princess," the second filly corrected her friend.

Celestia couldn't help but chuckle. She knelt to match their eye level. "You are correct. I am an alicorn and a Princess of Equestria."

"What's that funny mark on you?" Aurora asked. Her friend was quick to shush her. "Chime!"

"This in my cutie mark." Celestia turned to show off her wings and mark.

"Cutie mark?" Chime asked. "What's a cutie mark?"

"A cutie mark is a mark of your destiny. When you find that one thing that makes you special, it appears right there." Celestia touched her hoof to Chime. A slight glow was left behind on the young foal, which faded soon after.

"Cool...!" Aurora whispered.

"Aurora! Chime!" A mare walked up to Celestia and the fillies. "Aurora, your mother is looking for you! You two should know better than to bother the alicorn," she scolded them.

"Yes, mother," Chime said.

The three left to join the others, and Celestia smiled. A unicorn mare and stallion walked forward. They bowed their heads as they approached the princess.

"Your highness," the stallion said.

"I'm Lybra," the mare introduced herself.

"I'm Caelum," the stallion said.

"I confess, I didn't believe Dusk when she said that Equestria was real and that a princess would be coming to see us," Lybra spoke.

"My only regret is that I didn't learn you were here sooner," Celestia looked at the crowd once more. "Unicorns, pegasi, thestrals, and hippogriffs are here, yet no griffons or centaurs," she remarked.

Caelum's head drooped slightly. "There are no griffons in these woods, not anymore. And the centaurs have rejected your offer; they believe themselves unworthy of your pressence. They feel they have abandoned us to this fate."

Celestia felt her heart drop a little. She never interacted with centaurs much, they stayed clear of Equestria. But they must have felt terrible being the only ones to retain sapience. "If that is their wish; my offer will still stand. The rest of you are free to come back home with me."

"Do- do you mean—"

"Yes." Celestia stood tall, facing the crowd. "It is time your kind were returned to their rightful home, Equestria!" she announced.

The gathered species looked surprised, then excited.

"You- you mean- you mean we get to go to our homeland? After all this time?" Caelum asked.

"Yes, if that is what you desire," Celestia said.

"We have dreamed of returning home for generations." Lybra looked ready to faint.

"Then dream no longer. I will alert the wizard government, as a courtesy, before summoning every one of our long-lost kin to their new home," Celestia said.

"The humans will not listen to you." Caelum warned.

"I do not plan to give them a choice," Celestia responded. Her horn glowed and Celestia reverted to the human form she had arrived in. The unicorns were surprised at her transformation but calmed down when she waved goodbye and repeated her promise to send them home. She and Harry walked through the forest toward the castle. "I need to contact the governing body of the wizards," she said.

"The Ministry? If you want to meet the Minister, I'm sure Dumbledore would help," Harry said.

Celestia nodded reluctantly. See as he was the headmaster, she had trouble respecting him. After all, he was sometimes incapable of keeping students safe. He left a cerberus separated by a door any first-year could unlock and he guarded a limited form of immortality so poorly students bypassed his defenses. He almost got students killed in Harry's second year when he did nothing to stop it. And that was to say nothing of the dementors' attacks on students under his watch the year after.

"I think it would be best if I didn't appear to him as Celestia," Celestia decided.

A transmutation spell came to mind, one she had used whenever she wished to see the state of the nation unobserved by others. She cast the spell and felt herself shrink a few inches, though she was still a head taller than Harry. Her skin tone became a little more like Harry's and her hair turned pink. Her crown turned into a hairpin, her necklace shrunk, and her dress turned into a white-gold robe.

"Will this suffice?" she asked Harry.

"Uh, yes, that should do. But you'll make Fleur jealous. I can teleport us to Dumbledore's office if you want," Harry offered. "I might need some help with this distance, though."

He held his hand out, and Celestia took it. They vanished and reappeared in a room. It was strange. Various magical devices were packed on the many shelves of the room. It was very old and possessed a lot of magic if the moving portraits were anything to go by.

"Headmaster?" Harry asked.

There was a sound of grinding stones from behind them. An old man rushed up a pair of stairs that led to the room. He was old, very old, given his beard and wrinkles. An unusual stick was clutched in his hand. The old man seemed to deflate a little when he saw Harry.

"Ah, Harry. I was wondering who could have entered my office without permission," he said in a slightly humorous tone. "And I see you have a new friend. From Equestria, I presume?" he asked.

"Yes, this is..." Harry trailed off, clearly waiting for Celestia to introduce herself.

"Celeste. Princess Celestia sent me to talk with your Minister of Magic, but I'm afraid I got lost along the way," "Celeste" said.

"Ah, I see. Is this about her wayward student? No trouble, I hope?" Dumbledore asked.

"None at all. I just require to talk to your Minister about a possible point of contention between him and the Princess, nothing major," Celestia explained.

"Is that so? I hope you know the Minister is a very busy man, you may not be able to talk with you today," Dumbledore said. "May I ask what this issue is?"

"It is to remain between myself, the Princess, and the Minister. I'm certain he'll make time," Celestia insisted.

"If you insist. Harry, why don't you let me escort Miss Celeste to the Ministry? The second task is in a few days, some practice might do you some good," Dumbledore said.

"Good luck," Harry said as he followed Dumbledore's instructions.

Once they were alone Dumbledore walked to the fireplace and threw some powder into it. He muttered a few words and the furnace lit up with green flame. Celestia watched in fascination. Was this how wizards moved vast distances? It looked like Spike's fire. Dumbledore gestured for Celestia to follow him as he walked into the flames. They emerged in a massive chamber humans were rushing all around them, dressed in robes and pointed hats.

"Welcome to the British Ministry of Magic, Miss Celeste," Dumbledore said. He walked down a few corridors, clearly with a destination in mind. Celestia followed behind. "Might I ask about that name, Celeste? It sounds close to Celestia, doesn't it?" he asked with a gleam in his eyes.

Celestia gave a pleasant but fake smile in return.

"It's not unusual. Many po- people get named after Celestia. She is inarguably the most important figure in our history," Celestia said. It wasn't boastful to tell the truth.

"So I've heard. Although I have yet to hear why."

Celestia let out a forced chuckle. "Oh, the list of reasons is extensive, I wouldn't have time to name all the reasons. Speaking of time, how far are we from the Minister's office, or whatever fulfills a similar purpose?" Celestia asked.

"Here," Dumbledore said, opening a door with the words "Minister of Magic" written above. Celestia entered and stopped in front of an older female. She looked up when Celestia let out a polite cough.

The secretary looked Celestia up and down with a scrutinizing look.

"Do you have business to conduct with the Minister?" she asked.

"The world's unicorn, pegasus, thestral, griffon, and hippogriff population." Celestia answered.

The secretary rolled her eyes. "Great, another bloody conservationist. Look, lady, take it to the Beast Division of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures on level four."

Celestia clenched her fists, her anger almost boiling over. Celestia hadn't felt anger like this in quite some time. How dare they be so heartless to her little ponies! What gave them the right!?

Calm down, Celestia. Put up with her and you can get this over with.

The secretary continued her little rant. "The Minister has more important issues than the breeding status of horses."

And that crosses the line.

"Fine. Have it your way," Celestia said, then teleported into the room behind the next door.

She was surprised, having expected to have to force her way past magical barriers, but there didn't appear to be any against teleportation. The room she appeared in was rather large, its biggest fixture the large desk stacked with papers. A human sat behind it, the top of his balding head was just visible over the parchment he was reading. Celestia walked up and waited for him to notice her. When that didn't happen, she let out a polite fake cough.

"Oh— what?" the man started. He looked up at "Celeste". "Pardon me, I mustn't have heard you come in," he apologized.

"No problem, I didn't exactly announce myself," Celestia replied.

"Yes, I suppose that's true. What did you say your name was?"

"I didn't. I'm Celeste. I came to see you about an urgent matter," she said with a pleasant smile.

"Everyone seems to be these days. Did we have a meeting scheduled?" he asked.

"I'm afraid we didn't, but I was hoping to keep this brief," Celestia said.

The Minister got up from his seat. "Then why did my secretary let you in?! I'm sorry, but I've had a very busy day, so I must insist—"

"Sit down," Celestia commanded. In the blink of an eye, the Minister was back in his seat and the papers on his desk disappeared. Celestia conjured a golden chair to sit in. "I came here as a courtesy, nothing more, nothing less. I am not here to ask for your permission, I do not need it. So I will talk, and you will listen," Celestia commanded. Fudge meekly nodded in response. "Excellent.

"I was sent here on behalf of a foreign government. If you do not know of it, then it is of no consequence. I am here regarding the unicorn, pegasus, thestral, griffon, and hippogriff population. We have heard that the Ministry has registered them as beasts."

"And what of it? They are incapable of sapience," Fudge blustered.

"Silence! We have recently discovered them to be of Equestrian descent, which changes a few important matters."

"Meaning what?" Fudge replied.

"That they are not here by choice. And it is for this reason that we are planning to remove them, permanently," Celestia said.

"Remove them? That is theft, to remove them from every magical citizen who owns a license to handle them. And besides, assuming you go through with this threat, they are responsible for very important resources in magical—"

"They are NOT resources!" Celestia boomed in the royal Canterlot voice. "They are under our protection! We do not care for your claims! By tomorrow there shall be none left in this world! Mark our words, this is the last day any human shall see them ever again!" Celestia's booming voice echoed throughout the room and beyond. As she spoke parts of her transformation unraveled. Her crown appeared on her head and her hair was filled with starlight. White flames formed a circle around Celestia.

The door to the Minister's door burst open and humans stormed through. Each one brandished a stick at her like a weapon. A dozen spells fired from the sticks at Celestia but were nullified against a golden barrier. Celestia made a grand sweeping motion with her hands, and the sticks in the humans' hands turned to ash. Without their weapons, the humans backed away in fear. Several silver hairs drifted down from the sticks' remains. Celestia scowled. Unicorn hairs.

"You have our decision, it will not be changed!" Celestia decreed. The flames around her swallowed her up, and Celestia vanished from the Minister's office.

Celestia opened her eyes back up. She reverted to an alicorn. She had reappeared in the forest surrounding Hogwarts. The unicorns were still gathered in the clearing. Harry Potter was also there, knelt by the two foals from before.

"Celestia! You're back," Harry exclaimed.

"Princess, Princess! Harry's been showing us cool magic!" Chime shouted.

"Has he now?" Celestia said.

Harry shrugged, a bit shy.

"Just some levitation. Nothing bigger than a rock, I'm still not used to wandless magic," Harry said.

"Nuh-uh! You made me float!" Aurora said.

Harry blushed a little.

"That is impressive progress. Learning can be hard, but unlearning is a difficult process." Celestia said, her principal side eking out. Celestia turned to the rest of the crowd.

"If you are all ready, I can take you all home, to Equestria," Celestia announced.

Everypony practically jumped for joy. Celestia pulled an item out of her bag, a gem Discord left behind with a note explaining it would take the Equestrians back home. She didn't ask where or how he acquired such a powerful artifact but decided to trust his word. She was the one who wanted to redeem Discord anyway. The chaos magic in the gem activated, and tendrils of light branched out and up. Some passed through those nearby like spirits, and thousands more reached up and shot out over the horizon. It continued its light show for a minute more before ringing like a bell. All at once, everypony in front of Celestia vanished. Brief flashes of the affected flashed past her face as the lights retreated back into the gem. The stone clattered to the ground, blackened and cracked.

"That's it? They're all gone?" Harry said.

"Every last one. I'll have a hundred or so new citizens to care for."

"Hundred? I thought there'd be thousands."

"Due to how they were brought here, the first to lose sentience were the farthest splinters from the original ponies. Those ones, those who have lost too much to recover, were 'mixed' with others to repair the damages. Like a faded masterpiece, restored to its original glory."

"That means...?"

"They're all home now," Celestia said, smiling. She knelt to put her at Harry's eye level. "Harry, I want to thank you. If you and Twilight had never met, this would never have come to my attention. You saved them from a terrible fate, you have my gratitude for that. I think you will do great things one day," she said.

"Thanks, I guess," he whispered, a little self-conscious.

"Until we meet again, Harry."

Celestia cast the spell to send herself to Equestria. When the dazzling lights receded she opened her eyes to see she was in the Canterlot Castle. Her sister was sitting at a table, drinking a cup of tea.

"Sister!" Luna cried. The two were enveloped in a warm hug. "I was worried, the sun has but four hours left to set. Was your mission successful?"

Celestia chuckled. Four hours was plenty of time.

"Yes, sister. We now have an island's worth of little ponies waiting to be reconnected with the rest of their kind. Would you like to see?" Celestia asked.

A moment later, Canterlot vanished, replaced by an island. At its center stood a single building, tall and regal. On the edge of the balcony, Celestia and Luna surveyed the scene below. Dozens of unicorns and pegasi appeared randomly on the ground, along with a few thestrals, griffons, and hippogriffs. Unlike their inexpressive Earth counterparts, these creatures had the appearance of true Equestrian beings. Most lacked cutie marks, but they were still Equestrians. They were intelligent creatures who deserved a chance at happiness. However, some differences might set them apart from others. The unicorns' manes, tails, and hooves were very reflective, but nothing out of the ordinary. The griffons' and hippogriffs' colors were dulled greatly, but that was merely cosmetic. The thestrals, also known as bat ponies, looked quite underfed but that could be easily fixed.

Celestia flew off the balcony, the setting Sun contrasting her form. Those below her looked up in awe and surprise and some with wings fluttered in jubilation. Celestia smiled as she looked at them all. They would be happy here, she knew it.

"Welcome, my little ponies, to Equestria!"

Author's Note:

Alright, the finale to my impromptu arc. After this, it's right back to Goblet of Fire. Unfortunately, I'm having surgery, so I may be delayed in the next chapter's release. But enjoy this one, for now.
I was making this up as I went along. The consequences of this action will be mostly in the background, so don't expect too much to happen yet. See you all later even the pain of surgery wears off. For now, please share and review!

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