She had reviewed the Book Manifestation Spell’s structure twice with Harry when Spike suddenly belched out a flame. They were all surprised to see not only a scroll, but a book, land in front of him. “Look, Twilight,” Spike said excitedly, “Princess Celestia has already answered!” He ran over to the two of them with both items.
۸- ̰ -۸
Dear Twilight, Our Faithful Student,
We are pleased to hear that you have located the portal to Harry Potter’s home world, Earth, and verified that it is stable and two-way. Your announcement has stirred up quite a bit of interest in the Magical and Social Research communities! We doubt any of them will sleep tonight. Or tomorrow night. Or the night after that . . . .
Since Harry Potter’s arrival last year We have been studying and debating the proper course of actions to take in the event of the portal’s eventual discovery. The book and magazine you provided today will be a big help to our researchers, in that regard.
A battalion of Royal Engineers and a company of Royal Guards will arrive in Ponyville tomorrow to establish a fortified perimeter around the portal to protect it from the denizens of the Everfree Forest. They will begin building a permanent port-of-entry for travel to and from this new world. They will also be building similar structures, on a smaller scale, in Harry Potter’s world, at the appropriate time.
Four Guard squads have been dispatched to the portal tree to relieve the Guards posted there and to set up a proper rotation. They should arrive within the hour.
We had not intended to reveal Ourselves this quickly, if ever, to the inhabitants of this new world until after trained scouts had studied it and rendered their opinions. Unfortunately, the letter delivered by owl to Harry Potter — which must be answered in a timely fashion — has forced Our Hooves in this matter.
We would not presume to prevent Harry Potter from getting the education he needs from his people. On the other hoof, neither would We presume to force Harry Potter to return there against his will. Please relay to Harry Potter how important We feel continuing his education in his home world will be, both to him, personally, as a growing colt, and to Equestria as a whole, in learning about the magic in his world.
Should Harry Potter decide to pursue his education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, We wish to assure him that any and all expenses he might incur will be fully covered by Us.
Harry Potter has Our full support, both emotionally and physically, no matter which course he decides to take.
We understand that Harry Potter has expressed reservations about attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry by himself and has said that he will only attend if his filly friends are allowed to attend as well. We well understand his reasoning, and, again, support him fully. If any of the fillies wish to attend with him, and the Headmistress at the School allows it, then We will provide them with the same support we do Harry Potter. His and their attendance at this school will help establish Equestria’s presence in this new world, and he and they, and the fillies’ families, will have Our gratitude for assisting us in this endeavour.
Should Harry Potter decide to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with his filly friends, We wish you and your friends to accompany them to ensure their well-being and safety while they are acquiring their school supplies and taking their first steps into this new world (Naturally, you and your friends will be compensated for the time spent away from your and their professions here in Equestria).
If, at any time, you feel the situation is too dangerous for the colt and fillies, or they feel threatened for any reason, you have full authority to cancel the arrangements with Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and return them and yourselves to Equestria, posthaste.
We have appointed Our nephew, Prince Blueblood, as Our Ambassador to this new world. Render what aid you can to establish a proper Embassy in this new world, secondary to assisting Harry Potter and his filly friends until he is situated at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, of course.
Once they have arrived at the school and arrangements made for their housing, you may return to your normal duties here in Equestria, at your leisure. A pony at the embassy will be appointed permanent liaison to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry while Harry Potter and the fillies are in attendance, and arrangements will be made for regular communications between them and their families.
In this endeavour you have Our full confidence and We grant you the authority to act in Our Names without reservation. Your Word is Our Law.
The book accompanying this letter is a proposed outline for establishing peaceful relations with Earth, as well as possible responses should peaceful relations not be possible.
Perhaps Harry Potter will have some ideas on how to take those first steps?
We look forward to your letters telling Us of your adventures and friendships in this new world.
Princess Celestia,
Princess Luna.
۸- ̰ -۸
Harry stared at Twilight as she stared at the book. He could almost see her eyes glazing over at the prospects of what the book entailed. Spike sighed, anticipating a sleepless night.
Twilight shook her head and looked around the library, thinking. “Spike? Would you go tell Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Pinkie Pie that I would like them to meet me here with the other mares for breakfast tomorrow so we can plan? Harry, would you relay the same message to Holiday, Lofts, and Scootaloo? I’ll do the same for Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Fluttershy. Tell them this is at the Princesses’ request.” After they nodded their understanding, she teleported away, probably to Fluttershy’s first.
Seconds later, Harry was knocking on the door where Scootaloo lived. Harry could hear a loud voice inside. Lofty opened the door, and the voice became clearer. It was Holiday giving Scootaloo a right proper scolding.
“Harry Potter,” said Lofty, “What brings you here?” The scolding in the background cut off and hoof-steps headed their way.
He scuffed his hoof on the porch, feeling guilty for getting Scootaloo in trouble. He looked up the Scootaloo’s aunt. “Twilight Sparkle would like you, Holiday, and Scootaloo to come over tomorrow for breakfast. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have a project they want you to help her with. It has to do with the portal and Scootaloo going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the world on the other side with me.”
Scootaloo had him in a tight hug, “You want me to go with you to learn magic!?”
He shrugged and hugged her back, “Well, yeah, you didn’t think I would leave you, AB, and Sweetie behind, did you? You all have magic of a sort. I’m going to put in my letter that if you all can’t go then I won’t, either. I’d rather be here with you than there without.” She squeezed him even harder.
Her aunts were exchanging looks behind Scootaloo and Harry could see them mouthing “Princesses?” to each other with incredulous expressions. He smirked. Yeah, like they would ever say no to a request from Princess Celestia. And while Twilight was a princess, she didn’t yet have the impact and seriousness that a thousand plus year old ruler did.
Reluctantly, Scootaloo let him go. He noticed her eyes seemed a bit moist, but thought it probably was from the scolding she was getting when he arrived. “Well, anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow.” He waved goodbye, and then turned and headed back to the library. He really needed to learn that Book Manifestation spell.
He scrunched up his face. Books. School books. He had saddlebags, but most kids didn’t use rucksacks at school in Little Whinging. The Dursleys had never allowed him one — and Dudley had made sure his castoffs were too torn and damaged for Harry to use.
He didn’t know if the students at Hogwarts carried rucksacks. And carrying books was always difficult — well, only because Dudley kept knocking them away from Harry every chance he could get. If only he could carry his books and school supplies without needing to carry them! Unless he could carry them in his magic . . . his magic was good enough to carry the books, but he wasn’t sure about adding the paper and pens and gloves and the other things mentioned in the letter.
He spent the rest of the evening trying to study the Book Manifestation spell while Twilight repeatedly interrupted him to ask his opinion about the Princesses’ plans for contacting Earth authorities. After his first answer, “Find a really good solicitor,” the rest became, “I don’t know” and “Ask the solicitor.” It did sound like the Princesses had been quite thorough in their plans, with contingences on top of contingencies.
The most optimistic plan had the British Government treating them as honoured guests and setting up exchanges of scientists and magicians to explore each other’s world and societies, and seeking common grounds for trade and the exchange of knowledge. The next most likely was open hostility by the British military and viewing the Equestrians as an invading force intent on conquering them. The worst assumed a world-wide war erupting as the various countries of the world fought Britain and strove to seize the portal. In the last case, assuming that there was no hope of peaceful relations, the Princesses planned to seal the portal from both ends. And there were another dozen variations on each of those outcomes.
There was even a plan to attempt to send the portal into the sun if the portals couldn’t be closed and the humans refused to take no for an answer. Nothing says “we don’t want to deal with your crap” better than moving the portal exit from a somewhat peaceful forest to the twenty-million-degree heart of a star.
The truly worrying thing was the address on Harry’s letter. Did the Earth people now know about Equestria? Plus, the letter gave no indication on where the school was or how to get to it. They would have to ask for that information, which meant another letter would be sent to them, or perhaps a person would actually visit. If they could provide a location, a home, as it were, on the other side, maybe they could keep the secret of Equestria’s portal safe for a little longer?
When Harry and Spike went up to bed, Twilight was still studying the book and making her own branching checklist on what to do and when — it was already taking up the entire kitchen table after only a few minutes. Harry thought it would probably be the size of Ponyville when she finished — and folded into a single book that only showed the relevant branch at any one time.
Harry did manage to get the Book Manifestation spell to work. It only lasted a few seconds, unfortunately. But he was in the book. And once he was in it and started looking around before he was ejected from it, he quickly realized that he did understand the spell better! It was as if the author herself was talking to him, showing him things about the spell that mere words couldn’t convey. The next time would be much easier.
۸-_-۸
The next morning everyone gathered in the castle’s dining room. The fillies, after scarfing down their breakfast, stood beside Harry. They looked very happy at the prospect of going with him and openly exploring this new-to-them world. And the opportunity to do so without getting into trouble at home made it just so much sweeter.
Princess Twilight was wearing her crown to impress upon everyone the importance of the issue. With numerous interruptions by Spike and Applejack to keep her on track, Twilight brought the other mares up to speed on the current situation.
“So,” Applejack said, “The Princesses want us to go to this, Earth, Harry’s old home, and make sure he and the fillies are safely enrolled in this Hogwarts magic school?”
Twilight nodded, “And help Prince Blueblood set up an embassy.”
“And they really think Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is important enough that Harry and the fillies should go there?” asked Rarity, with a worried glance at her sister.
Twilight nodded, again, “Well, if not for the letter to Harry, even if we had found the portal we wouldn’t have suspected that there were ponies there who could do magic. The only way we have to learn about that magic is for Harry to go to the school.” She glanced at Harry. “And he won’t go without his friends,” she said, looking at him with a soft smile.
The fillies leaned a little harder against Harry.
“Hey,” said Rainbow Dash, dismissively, “I don’t see the problem. It’s a school! It can’t be all that dangerous. They’ll be just as safe there as if they were going to the Ponyville Schoolhouse. Safer, even, because they won’t be anywhere near the Everfree Forest!”
“Not to mention any of the crazy things that have happened in Ponyville the last two years,” mumbled Rarity.
“Or their Cutie Mark Crusades,” finished Applejack.
At that declaration the three fillies tried to look as innocent as possible to their respective relatives while those relatives were giving the stink-eye to the fillies! Spike, even though he wasn’t in their line-of-sight, still took a step to the side behind Twilight to partially hide from the irritated relatives. Unlike the Cutie Mark Crusaders, his sense of self-preservation was working just fine!
“And,” Twilight added soothingly, “If it’s anything like Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, the students are always under close supervision at all times with classes of only a dozen or so at a time and plenty of one-on-one sessions with trained experts. And if there are dangerous activities planned, I’m sure they have extra staff on hoof to protect the students and take special safety precautions.
“And it’s the opportunity of a lifetime! Just think of what they’ll learn about these humans and how to interact with other species.” She sighed and stared off into the distance with a wistful expression, her hooves twitched with the desire to stand and start trotting excitedly. “The World Almanac Harry showed me says the British Library had over ten million books five years ago. It would take one-hundred and fourteen years, one month, twenty-six days, and sixteen hours to read every book if I read ten books an hour!” Her gaze drifted down to look at the others, “and they’re adding tens of thousands more books every year!” She sighed deeply as she again stared blankly at a wall. Harry was certain she was about to start drooling.
It was clear to all that Twilight would have swapped places with Harry in an instant, if she thought she could get away with it.
Applejack and Rarity exchanged worried looks. Dragging Twilight from the Royal Library was hard enough when they visited Canterlot. If they were foolish enough to let her walk into this British Library, they might never get her back to Equestria!
“Twilight!” Spike said sharply.
She startled, then blushed. “Right.” The purple alicorn looked at Rarity, Scootaloo’s aunts, and Applejack. “So, if the school agrees, will you let the fillies go with Harry as Princess Celestia has requested?”
If there ever was a cue for the diabetes-inducing Cuteness of Doom look that the fillies had perfected, Harry thought that was it. The three fillies turned to their respective elders with their moist, wide-eyed faces, trembling lower lips, hopefully canted ears, with one hoof ever-so-slightly-lifted as if about to reach out, begging. Even that cold-hearted monster King Sombra would have caved to their cuteness.
Not that it was really needed, Harry thought, Princess Celestia asking them to do something was a guaranteed yes answer, no matter how much the mares might be reluctant to say so.
First to fall was Rarity, who huffed and sighed, looked over to Twilight, and reluctantly nodded. Then Scootaloo’s aunts gave in, with Lofty nudging Holiday and both giving a nod to Twilight. Applejack held out the longest, but seeing that the others had capitulated, she knew she couldn’t hold her sister back. She sighed, “Okay, Twilight. If the school lets the fillies in then I won’t stand in the way.”
The three fillies abandoned their posts and charged their relatives, giving them fierce hugs and declaring, “Thank you, thank you, you won’t regret it, I promise!” all while hoof-pumping their fore-legs behind their relatives’ backs.
After putting her sister down, Rarity, said, “What next, Twilight?”
Twilight whipped her checklist out of her saddlebags — not that she needed to see it, she had, after all, memorized it as she wrote it — and said, “Let’s see . . . that’s done, that’s done, that’s done . . . ,” She checked off over two dozen items. “Okay, now we need to check-in with the Guard at the portal. They should have the gold and gems we’ll need to exchange for bits on the other side, pounds, they call them.
“The overall plan is to find a lawyer, uh, a solicitor Harry says, who can then help us exchange our gold and gems. With her help we need to buy up as much property around the portal on their side as possible. That will also give us housing and a buffer zone.
“Because we want to keep this as quiet as possible until we are officially established as an embassy and can announce ourselves to the world, we’ll use one of the homes we purchase as our official residence and not mention that we are from another dimension. We’ll pretend we are from somewhere else in their world and only recently moved to Little Whinging — although we’ll have to tell the solicitor the truth. We’ll probably have to bring her through the portal to convince her we’re not crazy.
“Once we have a house, Harry and the fillies will move in and we’ll send the owl with Harry’s answer. While we wait for a reply, Harry can show us what he knows about his world and we can assist Prince Blueblood in establishing an official embassy.
“Any questions?”
“Where is this school?” asked Holiday.
“That’s one of the questions we’ll have to ask in the letter Harry sends, as well as where do we purchase the items mentioned in their letter, how we get to the school, and where we need to live for them to easily go to and from the school.”
“Sounds good,” declared Rainbow Dash, “Let’s get going!” she darted out the balcony window in a rainbow-coloured blur. A moment later, she coasted back in. “Uh, where’re we going first?”
The walk to the Guard Post was uneventful. Twilight told Holiday and Lofty, “If you want, you can visit Earth later, after we’ve secured a hoof-hold. Today, we’ll just be popping in and out as the guards secure the area around the portal. And practice walking in our new forms. Nothing very exciting.”
Scootaloo’s two aunts appeared grateful for a chance to beg off going with them. They were not explorers, after all. And with the guards and the Mane Six along, their charge, Scootaloo, would be quite safe. They separated from the group as they reached the edge of Ponyville. “We’ll see you tonight, right, Scootaloo?” Scootaloo nodded to her aunts and gave them a brief wave.
The plan was that they were exploring only during the days until they had a house on the other side. Then they would move there for a short while before returning after getting their school supplies. Assuming the school agreed to the fillies attending, that is.
The former simple guard post was a beehive of activity. A mass of earth ponies and unicorns were working at improving the trail separating Sweet Apple Acres from the Everfree, turning it into a real paved road such as one would find in Canterlot. Another group on the other side of the post was establishing a runway for the pegasi-drawn chariots bringing building materials and more workers that were still landing wherever they could find room. Two other groups were on opposite sides of Harry’s trail into the Everfree, removing the trees to make an opening at least two hundred celestials wide in its place. A steady stream of ponies were going into the forest while an equally steady stream brought out downed trees and other debris.
Meanwhile dozens of armoured pegasi were flying overhead and armoured unicorns and earth ponies were patrolling the perimeter of the forest.
Even Twilight seemed taken aback at the scale of the activity.
As they approached, a Guard supervising one of the road crews noticed them and came over immediately. “Good morning, Princess Twilight Sparkle, I am Major Smoky,” she said. She eyed the colt, fillies, and mares. “We’ve been expecting you. Right this way, please.”
She turned and led them over to the Guard Post and then inside. “Lieutenant Colonel Shining Charge, Ma’am! Princess Twilight Sparkle and her companions are here.”
A large table dominated the main room. The pegasus Guard standing behind table looked up from the papers piled on it and nodded. “Dismissed,” she said, returning the other’s salute before turning her attention to Twilight. “Have you read the alien contact protocols book, your Highness?” she asked.
“Yes, last night,” Twilight said, “I’ve prepared a checklist . . . ,” which she then spent the next fifteen minutes explaining to the poor Lieutenant Colonel.
“Excellent,” said the Royal Guard, narrowly getting a word in edgewise as the alicorn stopped to take a breath. “We haven’t breeched the portal yet. Word that you’ve already explored a bit yesterday has the scouts waiting for your feedback before proceeding. How serious an issue is it for shoes?”
Startled at the change of subject, Twilight said, “Very serious. Even though we only went a few hundred paces in the forest there, the skin on the back side of our pastern and cannon bones was very scratched up and sore by the time we returned.”
Harry spoke up. “Shoes are a requirement. While not having shoes isn’t a safety issue once you leave the forest, not wearing shoes will get your scouts immediately noticed. There are even some businesses where they will be refused entry if they aren’t wearing shoes.” The Lieutenant Colonel looked at Harry a moment, then nodded.
She looked up at Twilight. “We’ll need you to conduct our scouts across so they can take measurements to make these shoes. We’ve had seamstresses working overnight making clothes using that magazine you provided as a guide.”
Harry wasn’t used to adults actually listening to him, especially an adult he did not know. On the other hand, the ponies were different from people. He decided to try again, “Um, that might actually be a problem.”
The Lieutenant Colonel looked at Harry, “Why?”
“Well,” Harry said hesitantly, “That magazine is a fancy fashion magazine and most of the clothes in it are things regular people wouldn’t wear, only rich people.” He had seen his aunt spend hours wishing she could purchase this or that in it, but they didn’t have the pounds to spare to do it. He paused a second, trying to think of how to put it — the ponies didn’t normally wear clothes. “It’s like, can you imagine taking Canterlot nobles in full Grand Galloping Gala dress and dropping them into a small town and telling them to blend in? How fast would the locals notice them?”
The Lieutenant Colonel leaned back and sat down. “Hmm. Yes, I see your point.” She turned to a Guard pony standing by the door. “Get the scouts here, and the clothes they have for the other side.” She turned back to Harry. “I’ll need you to take a look and tell me how much we have to redo.” He looked up at Twilight. “We’ll only get one chance to do this right. I don’t want to ruin it on something as simple as the wrong tie!”
Harry tuned out the discussion that followed as Twilight informed the Lieutenant Colonel of how she thought the operation should be conducted once they reached the other side. He had heard all this the night before. Instead, he walked to the table and propped himself up against it so he could see if there was anything interesting. Covering most of the table was a map. From the markings, even though they were upside down, he could tell that it was a map of the area around here. As he studied the map the fillies joined him on either side.
He was stunned at the plans. They planned to enclose the portal and the path to it in a huge wall! Inside that wall, the portal and tree were in the middle of a large space with a small drop-off around it masking several small enclosures connected by tunnels. After a moment of staring, he realized that the dotted lines leading from those enclosures to the portal were labelled “fields of fire.” They were planning for the possibility that an attacking force might come through the portal and had prepared a military response for it! Harry wasn’t too sure how effective that would be in the face of Earth’s modern firearms.
On the larger external wall were walkways and fortified towers to keep the Everfree forest denizens at bay. Harry noted they were designed as attack platforms towards the portal, as well, although that aspect was carefully hidden behind walls marked facades.
Partway down the path, and separating the portal from the path to the former Guard Post, was a thick wall dozens of celestials thick. It had a gate at each end of the path through it. Lining both sides of the wall and the gap in-between were offensive military platforms. If someone came through the portal, and somehow subdued the military out there, they would still have to go through the one gate and fight off the new Guards behind their fortified emplacements while trying to make it through the second gate. And the same would be true if someone on this side tried to force their way to the portal.
Any offensive force that tried to attack through the portal would take heavy losses, even with modern equipment, Harry realized. And that wasn’t even taking into account how effective magic was on this side.
Outside those gates, but still between the walls keeping the forest at bay, were several buildings: two military barracks, a “processing” building, an administration building, two apartment buildings, a hotel, and an exercise field. All the buildings were connected underground, so if one building started to fall into enemy hands, the occupants could be evacuated to another. He noted that there were at least two tunnels that led into the forest outside the walls as last-ditch, heavily-fortified escape routes.
It was a massive operation, and even with the numbers of workers they had seen so far it would take weeks of hard work to complete.
۸-_-۸
pfft won't they be surprised when they find out Harry is actually incredibly rich.
Makes me wander what Dumbledore's reaction is going to be when he finds out Harry has been living in anther world for close to a year and will not come unless he brings his friends... or what Hagrid is going to look like when he goes to get Harry in Equestria.
Wow! They are putting in a lot of work. I have to say that you, as an author, have put a lot more thought into this than a lot of writers do. I especially like "Find a solicitor".
9006783
If he's in character I imagine he'll be quite helpful especially when it comes to getting around the laws that state non humans aren't allowed to use wands.
Course the question is whether or not the ponies will piss off the ministry by discussing magic with muggles first.
9006806
If the ponies talk to Muggles first before they can make contact with any witches and wizards then they can only blame themselves for not moving sooner as the ponies come from a different world and don't know the Wizarding Worlds laws. Not even Harry knows about those laws at this point and thus neither he nor the ponies can be held accountable on what happens.
I'll see your thermal! nuclear device and raise you a global one way ticket to the sun. Yeah, humans don't want to get into an arms race here.
9006812
True and in that scenario I imagine Dumbledore would come to their defense. I'm just saying the Ministry won't know they come from another world and will probably react the same way they would whenever something like that happens.
Congrats on making featured.
I wonder at what point the obliviators will get involved. If they take the non magical solicitor through the portal, it might not track him as the secret of magic is revealed.
Oh Rainbow, if you only knew...
And dear god, the human world, magical and mundane, is about to get hit by a ton of bricks in the form of brightly colored ponies.
Also... I hope Blueblood is competent in this series. But he is going to have a FIELD DAY dealing with the politicians of Earth and the Magical governments.
Magical Earth is about to change completely... all for Harry Potter! AGAIN! YES!
I cannot wait for a Bobby sees the Guardsponies start setting up a perimeter in the park. Goes to investigate. Demands they cease their activities. And everything that happens because of it. This is going to spiral out of control very fast unless the Wizarding community gets their butt in gear REALLY FAST!
I hope they have someone good make first contact. I really do.
9006783
For some odd reason, I'm imagining Hagrid as an Ursa Minor... a very small one....
9006889
Hmmm... either that or a dragon or Minotaur... or just a big pony, bigger then Trouble Shoes even.
This can go two ways, extremely horrible if Blueblood acts the same as he did during the gala, or extremely well if Blueblood doesn't normally act that way.
9006783
My guess on hagrid is Kirin Half Dragon half Pony. Why? cause of 1 his love for dragons and 2 I don't know of any other creature that has a natural resistance to magic in Equestria... Seeing as he is half giant he is resistant.
Spotted a mistake.
I am quite curious as to how long it's going to take the ponies to actually find the wizarding society. They owl probably isn't still hanging around, they haven't sent a reply, and I believe the letters are automated so Dumbledore has no idea what's happening.
9006909
From what we have seen of Celestia so far in this story she's far too competent to appoint an idiot to an important duty like opening relations with another world. Blueblood's basic personality may or may not be what was seen at the Gala, but he wouldn't be in charge of this matter if Celestia thought he wasn't able to be both professional in conduct and extremely capable of acting in a diplomatic role.
9006773
To be fair, so will Harry.
9006821
To be fair, the sun is also a thermo-nuclear device...
9006909
Hopefully like he was depicted in the IDW comics when he was Ambassador to the Yaks. Yes, he still has an ego the size of Celestia’s cake inflated flanks, but he was able to do his job well. If anyone other than Pinkie can put up with the Yaks, Wizards and Muggles should be easy.
9006829
Thanks! I was hoping to make it some day. I'm floored it made it so quick! Here's hoping I can do it again.
9006967
Honestly I don't believe the letter sending process is all that automated, after all wizards from wizard families get the letter by owl, non wizard families unaware of magic get the letter hand delivered by someone to explain everything and non wizard families aware of magic (such as the Dursleys) receive the letter through normal post. Plus the letters are hand written.
The fact that it arrived in Equestria, with a proper address, by Owl means one of 2 things. Either someone at Hogwarts does know where he was in which case Dumbledore would probably know at this point or this is just an error on the authors part and we should probably just ignore it.
9006953
How weird... in my Word file it is correct, yet when I look in the online FiMfiction editor there is't a space between the two. Everything else copied over correctly.
Thanks for pointing it out, though. It's fixed now.
9006901
Since Hagrid is a hybrid between a human and Giantess, I imagine he'll be a hybrid between one of the largest creatures there and a pony. The real question is: What would Remus Lupin, a werewolf, become in Equestria?
9006909
my headcannon is that he acted that way, because Rarity was basically behaving like the standard golddigger and he is used to that and didn't bother even entertain her fantasies.
That and I doubt Celestia, nor Luna, would give power to a pony that behaved like a such a prick 100 % of the time.
9007029
I share the same headcannon. I love stories that paint Blueblood in a good light and I'm hoping that this story will do the same.
Though I must admit, it's always funny watching Celestia or someone else slap Blueblood in the face for being stupid in the stories that paint him in a bad light.
9007024
Timber Wolf/pony with a full moon
Wait. If a celestial is about 6', then that wall is at least seventy-two to one-hundred-forty-four feet thick! They'd be better off to punch through the outside wall into the Everfree!
Having re-read the descriptions, I can say that this meets the definition of a castle. Twelve-hundred feet wide, surrounding walls, all enclosing "two military barracks, a “processing” building, an administration building, two apartment buildings, a hotel, and an exercise field". I'm guessing from context that the exterior walls are at least two stories tall, if not three. This is Everfree Castle.
9006977
Just one that's thousands of times bigger than the entire planet!
I did the numbers (gods was it hard to find the info). but a portal inside the star would see a pressure of about 150 atmospheres at a temperature of about 15 million kelvin. What does this mean? The pressure of the sun would shot a stream of plasma the size of the portal at a speed of about 15-20 kilometers per second. The pressure wave created as the highly compressed plasma exploded to 150 times its previous volume would cause all organic creatures to explode from the dramatic pressure change as it passes over them for several kilometers (no vacuum behind it to slow it down). Of course, the million degree heat wave behind the atmosphere's pressure wave would vaporize everything. After several kilometers the heat would drop to a mere few thousand degrees. The winds created as the plasma expands would be supersonic and flatten everything in their way for hundreds of kilometers. London would be in pretty sad shape.
And that's if the portal shut off after one second!
9006999
Getting featured drew in at least one new reader.
9007068
Is this meant to be a bluff? because I can't imagine the ponies ever doing something that would wipe out millions of lives in an instant.
9007084
Naw. Just that nopony really has bothered to do the math. I'm sure Celestia would be aghast at the thought of wiping out an entire planet. She'd probably place it somewhere in the atmosphere of the sun where the pressure was equal to or slightly below Earth normal in Little Whinging. Anyone going through would still get instantly fried, just that there wouldn't be a constant flow of air one way or the other. Earth would get the point when they shoved a tungsten-steel rod through the portal and pulled back a stub.
9007068
In the words of xkcd, they would stop being biology and start being physics. It wouldn't be limited to London, either:
Well it's clear that the Sisters are taking this completely seriously, and with a downright scary level of competence. Sure modern firearms would probably tear right through Equestrian armor (that is assuming said armor isn't magically strengthened, otherwise all bets are off) but given the firepower a single unicorn can lay down, the fact that pegasi are able to attack from unusual angles/being able to direct freaking LIGHTNING at targets and earth ponies can potentially be strong enough to drag entire BUILDINGS, any attacking force through that portal that isn't just an explosive tossed through is going to face fifty different shades of 'Get Fucked' before even seeing the forest.
All that being said the part that makes it absolutely terrifying is this.
Twilight Sparkle has just been given full carte blanche to deal with any potential issues dealing with Earth, mundane or magical, however she sees fit. Authority given to her by the magical equivalent of a PAIR OF GODDESSES. There is no doubt that a human wizard, especially one on par with Dumbledore or Tom Riddle, is a force unto themselves. But said force is trivial in comparison. And this isn't simply based on the fact that the Diarchy can LITERALLY move the proverbial heavens with their power, but the fact that the two of them have VASTLY more experience than all of Magical Britain, if not the entire Wizarding World, COMBINED. Nicholas Flamel, only known creator of the Elixir of Life, is the oldest wizard in the known canon at 665 years old by the start of Harry's first year at Hogwarts. Celestia's SOLO rule of Equestria alone is A THOUSAND YEARS. That makes Celestia by herself older than any wizard/witch ever known, nearly TEN TIMES Dumbledore's age at the time of his death. And that's only counting the length of her solo rule, not factoring the unknown amount of time PRIOR to the NMM event. Now add in Luna herself and you have a pair of beings that are on par with the likes of legends such as Merlin himself.
And these two just gave Twilight CARTE BLANCHE AUTHORITY. One word from Twilight and not simply Magical Britain, but THE EARTH AS A WHOLE would face a force that, for all its lack of technological prowess, is more terrifying and potentially destructive than anything outside of WMDs. Consider that one of the solutions for the portal is to MOVE IT INTO THE SUN. Assume for a moment that would NOT destroy the Earth by virtue of the portal not being active, the fact that such is an actual option is a level of power utterly unheard of by Muggle or Wizard. Whether or not the ponies can actually succeed, the fact that they have the ability to consider it a possibility is STAGGERING.
Personally I think Earth in general and Magical Britain in particular had best be grateful that ponies are mostly peaceful. Given human history, and they KNOW how bloody it is thanks to Harry and the almanac he brought. If ponies weren't so peace loving they'd either judge that humans need to be subjected for the safety of Equestria/exterminated as a threat to every other form of sentient life. Let us hope that nothing monumentally stupid changes Twilight's outlook. Because while I do NOT think it would be a simple curbstomp should Equestria try to conquer/destroy Earth, I DO feel that they COULD pull it off. And that's WITHOUT reverse engineering any human technology.
Given the level of intelligence seen in Twilight, and while she IS among those 1% in terms of intellect there are other ponies who we've seen are also in the same category, (Sunset, Starlight, Sunburst, Moondancer, ect) it IS reasonable to assume that ponies could manage reverse engineering human tech. Couple that with their mastery of various forms of magic and you have a species that could not simply just catch up to humanity, but potentially skyrocket right past given enough time.
9007068
Um, question. How would the immense gravity effect the calculations? Would it be greater than the pressurized plasma and pull stuff in? A sun isn't a black hole, but it's gravity is nothing to laugh at.
Furthermore, how would it effect time? We do know time is effected by gravity wells. A portal linked to the center of a star has got to play some kind of havoc on that level.
9007120
Actually, gravity is a nonissue. Gravity at the surface is the conglomerate of all the mass below your observation point. As you move closer to the center of the object (sun, planet, moon, etc.) there is less and less mass below you, hence the effects you feel from gravity decrease. At the exact center of any object you have equal amounts of mass on all sides and none below you, hence, you would actually feel as if you were floating in space.
The action of the plasma through the portal is solely due to the tremendous pressure it is under from all the mass above it pressing down.
As for time dilation, that only comes into effect when the gravity is extremely high. The Sun's surface gravity isn't that high by comparison to Earth, only about 274 m/s² instead of 9.87 m/s² (~27 times that of Earth). On earth the difference is measured in nanoseconds. The sun would be more, but still invisible on a humans scale. The levels needed for measurable time dilation would be in the millions of gravities.
9007116
You are really overthinking this, for one thing the Royal Sisters aren't god's just long lived (and only Celestia is over a thousand years old due to Luna's banishment), that said it's pretty much at the discretion of the author and I'm not sure if Celestia and Luna are meant to be all powerful gods in this story. If we go by the show Starswirl is meant to be the most skilled pony at magic (having taught Celestia and Luna before disappearing as well as pioneering most modern magic) and since Dumbledore is basically a Starswirl equivalent he would have an edge in a magic duel though I doubt it would ever get to that point. Basically moving the sun and moon is not a testament of their magical might but that's just my opinion.
Second of all ponies are peaceful and naive so I doubt they would pose that much of a threat to humanity (magical or otherwise) but again it depends on the author and I'm not sure what direction he is going in.
I got a chuckle over the ponies using dominantly female general designations for the humans they plan to interact with. My favorite was when the letter suggested they get in contact with the "Headmistress" of Hogwarts. It makes sense, since their culture is largely matriarchal, but it will still be interesting when they learn that modern human culture is much more mixed, but still retains vestigial remnants of our more patriarchal past.
9007008
You forget Dicta-Quills... Or the fact that they still use quills period. Major publications such as The Daily Prophet and Quibbler may use enchanted Gutenberg-type Printing Presses, but the magic running the Hogwarts letters is most likely much, Much older, from a time when quill and ink-well was your only option if you didn't want to use a charcoal stick, and I think we've already established how averse to change Wizards and Witches are once they find something that merely "works".
Also, do you honestly think anyone even halfway in their right mind (let alone Hagrid, who was in charge of making sure Harry got his letter) would spend the time to write out Harry's exact address, down to the room he's sleeping in, by hand, for the literally thousands of letters sent to Harry in the week leading up to his Birthday? Much easier to devise some automated spell-process to do all that work for you, or better yet, have one already established, that also happens to be linked to whatever country-spanning detection ward they use to find everyone with enough magical potential to be deemed "teachable", so they don't have to go out and hunt them all down the hard way.
9007116
Don't forget that any attacking force would have to adjust to their new forms after crossing the portal, while the Equestrians will be fighting on their home turf.
To the rest of what you say... While I happen to objectively agree, what you describe as a "Worst Case Scenario" short of ejecting the portal to the Sun is far, Far too close to a TCB scenario and let's please, Please not go there...?
As for your closing remark about Equestria potentially skyrocketing past Humanity technologically (not accounting that they'd probably be more interested in sharing their advancements once peaceful relations are established in the name of friendship); There's a reason I absolutely Love the idea of Magi-Tech so freaking much over the classic Magic Vs. Technology argument... After all, Wizards Are Magic Scientists, and when they broaden their studies beyond simple spellcraft, don't have sticks up their aes about tradition and are willing to collaborate with experts on other fields of scientific pursuit, there is literally no limit to what they can achieve.
9007184
I admit there might be some automation but keep in mind Harry was a special case. He was supposed to be in hiding and only a few people were meant to know his location including Dumbledore and McGonagall both of which had taken personal interest in Harry. I find it really hard to believe that one of them wouldn't have personally handled Harry's letter which would explain why the address was so specific.
Edit:
Actually that was most likely because his letter was written and signed by Minerva McGonagall Deputy Headmistress .
9007165
Wouldn't the fact that you'd be dealing with a plane (exit
of portal/wormhole) negate the gravitational pull of the mass behind it, thus bringing gravity back into play. Admittedly at a fraction of the celestial body's normal exertion.
9007184
1) Sorry, I know know the term. What is a TCB scenario?
2)
Which is why the ponies would shoot past humans in technological development. Which, granted, was probably your point.
There's another benefit that ponies, as a whole, have over humans. Ponies are unified. Humanity is not. Could Britain keep from their own population the militarization of a small town in England? In the Harry Potter universe, possibly. But such a major event wouldn't take much in the way of a leak, and then Britain is fighting on two fronts.
9007194
Which would place Dumbledore firmly in the abuse-facilitator position by his clearly ignoring the fact that the very first address is "The Cupboard under the Stairs." Seeing that as an address should have set off all kinds of warning flags -- unless he didn't care how the boy was treated. And I can't see Professor McGonagall letting such an address pass her by without doing anything.
Because it didn't, I assume the letter writing is completely automated. And while they might have a "book of potential Hogwarts students" they all know already that he is listed in it, and hence, never looked any farther.
9007194
I might be able to accept that if it weren't for Harry's last Canon letter:
That's the letter that was handed to him personally by Hagird, who had no means of knowing where Harry was sleeping before entering the hut, and who isn't nearly subtle enough to pull a slight-of-hand to readdress it on the sly before handing it to Harry. If the letter was addressed by an actual person monitoring Harry's sleeping arrangements then why not just deliver the letter then and there instead of wasting a week sending increasingly large waves of letters (most likely a failsafe to make sure students get their letters even if they are destroyed like Harry's were) before sending Hagrid to make sure Harry got his letter no matter what?
Since the portal only opens for people who want to go through, I would expect dropping one end in the sun wouldn't do anything - it's not like the sun wants to go to Little Whinging. The result would just be as noted, anything going through doesn't come back out, and pushing anything halfway through and pulling back you get a stub.
9007203
Not really. I'm acting on the assumption you have to pass physically through the portal. As evidence, Twilight could not simply look through the mirror and see the Equestrian Girls' world. She had to physically pass through it to experience anything on the other side. And vice-versa.
Hence, light, gravity, magnetic fields, etc., would all stop at the surface of the portal.
9007219
I think you misunderstand how bad the cupboard was. It was his room, sure it was small but it was still big enough for Harry, a bed and Vernon. The fact that they knew where he was staying is all the more reason to take a personal interest in making sure he got out of that home.
They were always aware of the abuse but they put up with it because the alternative was leaving him vulnerable to a bunch of evil wizards that actually did want to kill him while the Dursley's were only mean to him. At least in the books, when you crank up the abuse like you did here it makes zero sense.
9007184
I agree on UNICORNS being Magic Scientists. We've seen both Sunburst AND Twilight treat magic like science. HP Wizards/Witches however... aren't. Where Twilight/Sunburst/ect would approach technology with both respect and excitement, the Wizarding World treats muggle science as a curiosity at best, with the general outlook being completely dismissive of it.
9007183
While I agree on the Starswirl=Dumbledore bit, you're forgetting two things. Firstly Starswirl taught the Sisters magic AGES AGO. They have had all the time since to improve. The idea that in the centuries since at the very least Celestia hasn't become skilled enough to rival, if not surpass, Starswirl is laughable. Second while Luna's age MIGHT be lower than Celestia's due to banishment, BOTH of them are likely centuries old AT MINIMUM. The time between Discord's defeat was long enough that the Spirit of Chaos was UNKNOWN to anyone but the Sisters themselves. Twilight, one of the most studious ponies in the show, had no idea who Discord was. And this is despite the fact that Discord's statue prison was famous enough to be part of a TOUR FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Same with Sombra. EVEN WITH that knowledge being DELIBERATELY suppressed the time from the Fall of Discord/Sombra must have happened so far back in history that at most only MYTHS remained of them outside of the Sister's living memory. And it's REALLY hard to deliberately suppressed history.This leads to the implication that the Sisters must have reigned for CENTURIES even after Sombra's fall yet before the NMM incident.
As for the peacefulness/naivety of ponies, this is generally true. Which is probably why they're not simply going "FUCK THIS SHIT!" and closing the portal even after learning how horrifically violent humans are. And yet despite those traits look at the thoroughness of their plans in regards to the portal. That defensive setup is nearly on par with modern military tactics. They have plans in place to close the portal if needed, and a back up plan if that doesn't work that involves something that is functionally impossible for either muggle science or wizarding magic to rival (move the portal into the sun). The potential of ponies is not something that can be easily dismissed.
9007228
There's no explanation for how crazy the letter delivery gets or the crazy accurate address as that is not the norm (I've looked), the best guess I've found is that Dumbledore was messing with the Dursley's.
9007218
T(he) C(onversion) B(ureau)
And again, I assert that Ponies would most likely want to share their magi-technological and scientific advancement with Humanity once Good Will relations are established, especially if it's in the name of Friendship, so it would technically be Humans and Ponies advancing Together, rather than just the Ponies advancing Past.
You'd be surprised what governments are capable of, and any hypothetical confrontation between humans and Ponies would most likely be spun in the Humans favor through fake-news media if/when it did leak... But again, TCB: Let's Please not go there...
9007239
Yeah but you are making alot of assumptions that the show does not support. So for the most part I'm leaving it to the author's discretion.