Chapter 6: Meet the New Neighbors

[ Earth, Mar 20, 2080, 2:00 AM EST ]

          It had been two nights since President Aguillar had been visited by the astral vision of Celestia. She hadn't told anyone else in this time, she didn’t wish to set off any alarm bells that the stress of trying to hold the nation together was getting to her in any way shape or form. It would have been easier for her to rationalize the vision from two nights ago as some kind of nightmare brought on by too much stress, but her intuition told her the message given to her was real and had to be treated with all seriousness.

So she did, spending the intervening forty-eight hours considering her response should that 'ghost' visit her again. She was now sound asleep, with her husband also sound asleep by her side. As she slept, a faint multi-colored ball appeared in her bedroom; the 'ghost' from 2 nights ago had indeed decided it was time for an answer to her request.

-----  -----

          President Aguillar found herself in a seemingly mundane dreamscape: a simple room with a clock, a table, and two chairs. Aguillar sat in her chair, and the vision of that white-robed and aurora haired figure appeared before her; it was obvious it was time to talk turkey.

Said figure now came into more focus; it would have been difficult to conduct negotiations with something you couldn’t not perceive clearly. Celestia's astral projection now taking a more defined form: a dark-skinned female, modeling herself after those native to the Indian sub-continent. Her hair was of solid colors, similar to her mane, although they still appeared to shift from strand to strand where those colors met. She wore a white business suit with metallic gold trim; over her left-breast pocket a replica of her cutie mark, a stylized Sun. However, what was most striking to Aguillar was the fact figure before her seemed youthful on the surface, yet incredibly long-lived; as if she had lived for centuries, maybe even millennia, without visibly aging at all.

The figure then asked, "I would hope that this is a better form to gauge than a blurry ghost, no?"

Aguillar was still taken aback by the seeming contradiction in her youthful 'physical' body but aged expression and demeanor. "Yes, it is much easier to negotiate with something I can see clearly. Also, it would also be easier to negotiate with someone I had the name of as well."

Celestia knew Aguillar was very much worthy of being a leader, but also knew she couldn't exactly give her name before her formal appearance. So she took a few seconds to devise an alias. "For the purposes of this discussion, I will assume the name Celes Apollonius, I trust that is satisfactory?"

Aguillar could tell by her tenor and some non-physical cues that what she was dealing with was not only simply abnormal, but was clearly powerful on top of that. She could not figure why she had this feeling though, but nevertheless  continued with the dialog; now taking care to show neither fear in the face of this unknown entity, or potentially draw it's ire. "Yes... Celes it is then. Anyway, I can only guess that you have returned before me for the answer to the proposal you gave me?"

Celes was steadily being impressed by Aguillar's forthrightness, deciding there was really no need to beat around the bush with her. "Yes, that is indeed the purpose for this visit. So, Madame President Melinda Aguillar Of the United States of America, what is your response to my proposal?"

Melinda sat there for a few seconds in deep thought; contemplating the national and global ramifications of her coming answer. She could tell subconsciously what she was dealing with was far beyond what anyone else had any experience with, and figured that all contact with this figure and anyone she might bring along needed to be in formal, theoretically controllable settings.

Melina looked Celestia straight in the eye, she had to project as much certainty and strength as one could when confronting an entirely unknown entity. “Celes Apollonius. I have deliberated over the last 48 hours, give or take, on the proposition you have given me, and I have now come to a decision. I have decided to accept your proposal for a formal gathering in the Rose Garden at the time indicated. Given that, I have a request of you. I ask that you please contact this list of world leaders and business owners, in order to make arranging this event easier for myself.”

Suddenly a list materialized in her hand; Melinda was subconsciously affecting the dreamscape Celestia had created for the two of them.

She has an extremely strong will in order to alter a dreamscape without conscious effort... Celestia thought to herself.

Celes read over the list, "Alright, let me verify the list of contacts for this gathering. You would like for me to formally request the presence of the leaders of... Canada, the European Union, Chinese Federation, Japan, Korea, Russia, Arabia, New Persia, Australia, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, and Brazil. Alongside that, you wish for me to contact these businesses in order to arrange for the reception. Is this correct, Madame President?"

Melinda sighed a sigh of relief, apparently whatever cosmic entity she was dealing with was quite benevolent, or at least empathetic to her concerns and wishes. "Yes, that is the long and short of it, I hope this is an amicable setup."

Celes stood up from the table, a smile on her face, "Yes, I do believe this is most amicable. Alright then, I do believe we have come to terms, Madame President. I look forward to seeing you in 5 days time. I believe that would make the exact date and time, by your standards, March 25th at Noon."

Hrm, I could have sworn that first letter said 4 days time, counting the 2 days already passed... Aguillar thought to herself

I am giving you an extra full day roughly, consider this a bonus given how you have conducted yourself before me. Celes telepathically messaged Pres. Aguillar, a smirk on her face as she disappeared and dispelled the dreamscape.

President Aguillar woke up immediately afterwards, with yet another scroll in her lap. This time the paper almost black as pitch, reading: "We do appreciate the answer you have given Our sister, We firmly believe we both shall get along with you swimmingly. -- Princess Luna of Equestria"

What in the world have I just gotten all of us into... Melinda thought to herself. She could not figure what was going happen in five day's time, but felt something had to be said lest that 'Celestia' person appear out of nowhere and do whatever she wanted.

          That night, several world leaders, all the Cabinet secretaries, and a few caterers and decorators were visited by the Aurora-Haired Apparition, informing them they were to be expected at or to prepare for a state function at the White House Rose Garden in roughly 5 days time. All being left scrolls detailing time, date, and occasion in their native language.

          Meanwhile, a young blonde woman, tall and fairly well toned from lots of exercise was aroused from her slumber in a Bostonian apartment complex. A recently-sent unread message was making her computer beep incessantly, goading her into walking over half-asleep to read it.

To: RedGrave / From: GoldStriker

 How is my little Russian hottie doin'?! Anyway just wanted to check in on ya because I couldn't talk in the last few days. Man that Aurora or whatever they want to call it now has the whole Armed Forces up in, well, arms. So I really can't get a lot of time to talk to ya. Anyway gotta keep it short, dunno when they are gonna scramble me for another patrol.

"Heh, that is what I get for a long-distance relationship with someone in the service. Then again, I wonder what they'd say about an inter-department relationship?" Natasha said to herself, looking at a gold-plated bird's wing pendant she got a present the last Valentine's Day, now slowly drifting back off to sleep as the air purifiers droned on.

==================================

[ Equestria, Mar 25, ???, 10:30 AM CntTime ]

          Spike fretted about in his suit, about two bad jokes away from being a total nervous wreck. Twilight wasn't faring any better herself, her mind was racing with all kinds of questions. Such as how her body was going to react to the trip? Would the pollution mess up her coat and mane? What if everyone there was going to completely lose their minds and mob them? Maybe everyone would laugh at them for being some kind of joke and try and ignore them? A million questions were roiling through her head, and the lack of clear answers was driving her up a wall.

Celestia, on the other hand, looked like the very picture of royal calm and political hardass-ness. She knew she had to be calm, stern, but not aggressive going forward. Herself and Luna reasoned a sizable chunk of humanity would see what she and Luna were planning as nothing less than an invasion and attempt at physical assimilation of their entire species.

Twilight was pacing back and forth, all the questions and the lack of answers clearly starting to show their effects to everyone present. She looked over at Rainbow Dash while trying her best to remain some semblance of collected. "Alright, alright, okay, how much time do we have left before departure for Earth?"

"T-Minus 1 hour and 30 minutes, Cap'n", Rainbow Dash said while she saluted Twilight half jokingly. She was desperate to bring some levity to the situation, knowing how rattled Twilight got when faced with unknown or unpredictable situations.

It wasn't helping Twilight however, the nervous ticks becoming more and more glaring to everyone present. "Okay, yeah 90 minutes, yeah ok good, just 90 minutes, 90 minutes until me, my assistant, and one of my princesses cross into a strange new world and meet strange new people with their strange customs and OH MY CELESTIA I AM FREAKING OUT!" She was shuddering and her mane was visibly disheveled, a reflection of her fraying mental state.

"Yes you are 'freaking out' and We would appreciate it if you got a hold of yourself,”  Luna said with almost eerie calm as she conjured up a bucket of water to dump on Twilight, trying to snap her out of her hopefully brief flight into madness. It worked for the most part, Twilight now regaining some calmness as she shook most of the water out of her coat, and asked for some towels to get the rest out. Pinkie Pie keeled over laughing at the whole spectacle.

"Thank you for the impromptu bath Luna, and Pinkie - I'd appreciate it if you stopped laughing.", Twilight said dryly, using the towel to get the last of the water out of her coat. "Ugh, I'm gonna have to get some perfume now, I'm pretty sure I don't want my first impression to a species I've never met to involve me smelling like wet fur."

Rarity, sensing the opportunity, grabbed her suitcase. "Oh my let's see Twilight, how about a nice lavender, or a maybe spring rain, oh I like this one, Sapphire Shores endorsed it so it HAS to be just divine..."

"Uhh, the lavender please. I'm pretty sure that world has lavender and I don't want go seeming more alien than we already will.", Twilight requested. Rarity was bit miffed that miss Plain Jane was living up to her reputation.

"Anyway, Celestia, have you confirmed that the world leaders that your liaison requested to be there will actually show up?", Luna asked of her sister.

"Yes I have. Not surprisingly, the President had an easier time convincing those world leaders to show up to possibly mug for the camera with the first contact with a non-human sapient species, than she could getting any kind of political reform passed through her legislature." Celestia answered, preparing herself for the incoming interminable questioning and photograph sessions.

Hrm, I wonder if could have been a model if I wasn't born into demigod status... she thought to herself, wondering if her royal regalia would be too ostentatious.

Applejack was also mildly amused at Twilight's antics, but she was more concerned with what the exact nature of the upcoming meeting on Earth. "Okay so how exactly is this thing supposed to go with y'all over there; I mean, here of course you’re pretty much the end all be all of our government"

"This is merely to be a prelude to something greater, if the background plans myself and Luna have devised come to fruition. Essentially, we will formally announce our presence, and meet briefly with the leaders of the larger nations of Earth. Barring some unforeseen circumstances, the plan is for myself to give a short speech, field questions and take photographs, and then we will leave and come back here." Celestia answered, still formulating the exact words and tone to take with the Terran press.

"Doesn't sound like much of a party, but hey there are always other days, right?", Pinkie managed to get out, finally quelling her laughing fit.

"Well it's not supposed to be Pinkie-dear, it's going to be a very formal function with many dignitaries. Protocol is of the utmost importance...", Rarity began as she went on a long spiel regarding the various protocols of Earth formal gatherings.

Fluttershy, wondering out loud, then asked "If it’s called the Rose Garden, will there be actual roses? I mean the plants in the wild look so sickly and weak."

Celestia answered this as well, "The capital of the nation we will be visiting is under one of their many protective Domes, so yes; there will be live roses. Although it appears, especially if Luna's modeling is accurate, that protection the well-to-do on their side has built up cannot keep out the ills of the Earth for much longer."

          Another half hour passed, and Rainbow Dash was becoming incredibly bored with all the proceedings and unceasing preparation. So she trotted off to the far side of the room to find a comfortable spot to sit, and manifested her Element of Loyalty. She then began to glow in the same bright, electric red of her Element, however what exactly she was using the element to accomplish was something that struck both herself and the rest of the Bearers as odd when she first stumbled on to the trick. When the New Light Bridge was forged, the combining of Celestia and Luna’s Magic along with the Magic of the Elements of Harmony had begun to alter the nature of the Elements of Harmony. This bleeding of magic now allowed the six Bearers of Harmony to perform a minor version of information diving, as the Royal Sisters called it, by themselves.

          Rainbow Dash was utterly shocked by the sheer volume of information that existed, likening it to being thrown into an ocean while just wearing a life jacket. After awhile though, with the help of Twilight, she learned how to filter the information. From that point on, while she was alone, she spend her time watching classic action movies and reading various adventure fiction. She was impressed by the collective works of humanity, and the pride they put into promoting loyalty and camaraderie, even if their leaders seemingly forgot these lessons. Even in the current day, the humans that were left out of the major production loops still created amateur works steeped in the traditions of their predecessors; a fact that probably impressed her more, all things considered.

Rainbow Dash looked up at the rest of the gathered group as she paused her trawling through the networks for new media to watch or read. She didn’t know if she really wanted to say what she was going to say or how they would react, but she felt it needed to be said anyway. "Do you know what impresses me most about the Humans, from the stuff I've read and watched so far? The fact that regardless of how bleak everything seems around them, they still have that, I dunno, 'spark' I guess. I don't wanna see that spark put out."

Luna chuckled to herself as the forthright-ness of the Element of Loyalty. My Little Ponies, if we play our cards right, we will definitely preserve that spiritual 'Spark' that you refer to. Luna was also quite impressed at how fast the Bearers of Harmony were beginning to exploit the evolving nature of the Elements of Harmony, being able to information dive without having to be shown how to do it by herself or Celestia.

          The remaining Bearers of Harmony soon learned the trick that Rainbow Dash stumbled into for themselves, and all of them were simultaneously dismayed and heartened by what they found. They found what they saw while their souls were being projected onto Earth was no lie or ploy by the Royal Sisters to evoke sympathy; but at the same time, Earth was not devoid of soul, at least it was not yet. It was going to be their job to re-ignite the human's flickering inner light; thought, they were still worried that the cost of such repairs may be too high for many of them to pay.

Twilight Sparkle sat to herself for awhile, listening to the other Bearers recount their visions and how what they’ve seen for themselves since that day both confirmed their worst fears of the reality of the situation, yet gave them hope that there was still time start the long work of repair. She slowly regained her nerve again, as she remembered her words one week ago when she saw how the failures of mankind's leadership have brought the entire species to the brink of a slow self-annihilation. It was incumbent upon them to do whatever they could to prevent it, but something gnawed at her. How could they, beings from an entirely different world even begin to convince another sapient species to just drop whatever it was they were doing because it would lead to some unknown but deadly end?

Something else was gnawing at her at the same time. Ever since they forcibly re-forged the connection with the other world, she had begun having visions in her dreams. The visions were similar, in that they all involved the Elements of Harmony, but then she saw four blurry objects as well, similar to her Elements. Then an ancient feminine voice, like a great-grandmother many times removed, would speak to her briefly. Her remarks ended the same way every time, "Will without Power is idle hope. Power without Will is mindless aggression. The two combined, however, shall pave the way to a New Era."

Twilight Sparkle did not speak to anyone else about this though, trying to rationalize these visions by herself. She keeps talking about 'Power'... and the way she talks about it, it's something entirely different than the Elements of Harmony or the Princesses...

She did not have all day to sit and mull thing over though, as Twilight was broken out of her reverie by Princess Celestia. "Spike, Twilight Sparkle, it will soon be time to pay our new neighbors a visit...," she said, indicating the time of their appointment across the New Light Bridge fast approaching. That news began to flare Twilight’s nerves up, all over again.

====================

[Earth, March 25, 2080, 11:30 AM EST]

"Thirty minutes people, we got half-an-hour until who knows what is going to appear right here in the Rose Garden.", an aide shouted as he scrambled around trying to back the crowd of reporters and recorders back.

"Are all the vegan spreads properly separated from the normal meals? They specifically requested no meat and I will not have them picking up the wrong thing and have them thinking ill of us!" shouted one of White House chefs as she and the private caterers were trying to do last minute arrangements to the food to make sure the 'Visitors' couldn't mistake the vegan meals from the 'regular' food.

          President Aguillar, her husband Michael, her son Reginald (or Reggie as he perferred), and her daughter Rosa all stood near the lectern, and adjustable model as requested. They all stood in formal wear, although Rosa, being a little firecracker, clearly chafed at the restraint she had to show. Reggie however couldn't have looked more disinterested. He just wanted to go back to his video games, obviously not caring one whit for these formal get-togethers with other World Leaders. Michael was, to his credit, being the best morale support he could be for his wife; who by all accounts was about to preside over what would be the event that determined the very future of their civilization: first contact with another sapient species.

The weather over Washington D.C. was clear enough to where a only simple color filter was needed for the Environmental Dome. At the very least the aliens or whatever wouldn't see a totally fake sky when they appeared. The plants however, had to be replaced entirely. The soil, even inside the protective dome, was starting to show signs of becoming fallow; the rumors starting to run ripe that the supposed salvation of the social and political elite would soon fall to the ravages of an Earth seemingly out for vengance. In fact, it seemed all the proceedings was humanity, or at least it's elite attempting to provide the best face on a terrible situation.

          Nearly all of humanity was either directly watching or otherwise keeping close tabs on the proceedings. Andre, Kyoko, Ethan, and Natasha were watching on their various terminals; Ethan paying special attention to see what produced that storybook landscape he saw in person. The four of them decided to watch the stream all together, only having met a few days ago themselves through Andre and Ethan's mutual acquaintance.

Kyoko herself was pretty alert and chipper for someone up very early in the morning, her time. "Hey Kin and Aka, hey there! Glad you can join me and Ao-chan."

"Seems like our Japanese friend is part hummingbird. I don't know how else you can explain that level of energy at that time of night," Natasha remarked, wondering how someone can come up with a nickname so early in a potential friendship.

Ethan was highly amused at the whole thing, especially how Kyoko talked to Andre, as if they were already in a formal relationship. "Oh come on RedGrave, she obviously slept in so she could be up with her Ao-chan, isn't that right BlueDragon?"

"Oh great now you are getting total strangers in on this thing," Andre said with some sense of exasperation.

Ethan took mild offense at referred to as a stranger. "Hey now BlueDragon, at least we know each other from Ring Strikers. I always did enjoy being on your teams."

"Oh yeah that's right, I thought I recognized that moniker of 'GoldStriker'," Andre said; these days it was hard to remember who you were playing with, with there being so many people online.

Natasha was surprised at that games mention. "You still play Ring Strikers Gold? I hadn't seen you on when you told me you were off-duty and I was logged in."

Kyoko was confused as to what it was the other three were talking about; usually not penetrating that far into the English speaking 'Net, even though she could have, being quite fluent. "Ne ne, What's Ring Strikers, I mean I seen some of the ads on the English speaking sites but I never really tried it."

"Oh man I never told you huh. Well the basic premise is...", Andre started to speak before he was interrupted by the Sergeant-At-Arms on the live feed.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States."

Andre hurried to conclude his thoughts, he didn't want to miss anything the President or whoever was supposed to appear would say. "Oops, well I'll tell you after this whole thing goes off.", Andre hurried up to say as they all fell silent to watch the proceedings.

Madame President, myself and my associates are currently in transit to your location. We will remain hidden until you finish your opening remarks; all you need to do is mentally give the signal and we will appear. I do request you not take up too much time however-mostly because my adjutant and student might be reduced to a quivering wreck if we delay any further,  Celestia said telepathically to President Aguillar. Herself, the aforementioned quivering Twilight, and Spike were in a magical bubble floating high above the Domes of Washington D.C., entirely invisible to any detection by mankind's machinery.

I understand, my remarks should only be a couple of minutes. Besides, there always a is a bit of showmanship involved in these things, President Aguillar replied through the link.

Trust me, you don't know the half of it; but you'll find out in a few moments, Celestia remarked to herself, ready to give the humans a show as only a millennia-plus-old magical matriarch could give.

President Aguillar stepped up to the lectern, and began her introductory remarks.

          "Ladies and Gentlemen, Citizens of America and Her Territories, and all other inhabitants of our blue Earth; Mankind has always proceeded in its existence with the idea that it was the only sentient being that existed within a space where we could communicate with it. The Artificial Intelligences we have developed was borne out of this idea that we believed, that if we could consult with an intelligence not our own, we would gain further insight into our true natures. However, this has proven to be less than the full reality of the situation; as our AIs still derive from our own experiences, and therefore still share some of our biases. As such, we still continued to search for some sign that something other than ourselves of equivalent intelligence existed and that we might communicate with it.

"That is, until 8 days ago, when the anomaly now commonly known as the Aurora Barrier appeared off the coast of one of the world's most Historic and populous cities, Los Angeles. This barrier is seemingly impenetrable by our advanced technology, yet to those brave enough to view at it with their own eyes live, it gives us glimpses into a world few could scarcely imagine. It is a world picturesque; all manners of landforms, biomes, and colors appear to those who dare peer through the Aurora. This gave rise question with no definite answer, 'Is this some natural phenomenon or a contrivance of media company with far too much money to burn.' I am here to tell the world, the Aurora Barrier is not produced by anything human."

Gasps immediately escaped from the audience... however, the world leaders knew better, they had all received advanced warning.

She then continued, "So then the question can then immediately be asked: 'How can you prove that the Aurora Barrier was erected by a force not human?'. I could answer that, but I'm afraid that some would still find my words fully unbelievable. Therefore, in order to cast aside all doubt, I humbly request that the Guest of Honor to this event to appear before you."

That's your cue, Celes, Aguillar quickly fired off the psychic message.

Thank you. Now my little Pony and Dragon, I do believe it is time for us to officially open the curtain on this grand production of ours. Celestia replied, as suddenly a bright sphere with an aurora much like her mane appeared above the dome.

Wait what... Pony... Dragon... the hell could that have meant... Aguillar thought to herself to some mild degree of shock.

          Everyone looked around for a few moments, wondering what was supposed to happen. Some expected a spaceship to float down, a few still thought the entire setup was some kind of elaborate hoax. That was, until a glowing sphere that looked similar to the Aurora Barrier at night suddenly appeared about their heads. The entire crowd, nay, the entire world immediately fell silent. If an entire planet could have been stricken dumb, this would have been an example of it. The orb lowered to ground level, and dissipated slowly as it landed.

Three figures were slowly revealed to the rest of the world, as if a curtain was being drawn upward. The first figure that was completely revealed was a small dragon, about 2 feet tall. Quite unassuming in its form: amethyst purple scaly skin, lime green ear ridges with emerald green spinal plates, and large, vivid green eyes. On top of all of this, he wore a black formal suit, although not covering his lower body, trying to do such and leave room for his large, thick alligator like tail would have been far too much trouble. Spike was the very image of a young, precocious child; assuming humanity evolved from Technicolor lizards and not ancient apes. One could have wondered why it was bothering to wear any clothes at all, but anyone that was in any position to ask was too awestruck to formulate words let alone complete thoughts.

The second figure to be revealed was that of a equine, 3 feet tall to the shoulder. She did not perfectly resemble a comparative Earth horse of her size though, appearing more as a cartoonish rendition of one instead. Her legs thicker than a normal horse, face far more rounded, and a mane that seemed more like a human's head of hair, separated by a rounded unicorn's horn. The greatest deviation, much like the dragon, was her coloring: various shades of purple and magenta, and the marking on her flank of an exploding 6-pointed star, the significance of which would not be known to the public for some time. This figure began to get the crowd more talkative, mentioning how she seemed like a living toy.

The final figure to appear in full was similar to the purple equine before, except taller and more slender, closer to the true proportions of a horse, at about a height to where her face was roughly even to an average human male’s. Her body white as the driven snow. Her mane a living gradient of pink, aqua, lavender. Eyes burning with intelligence that an extremely long life affords you, but retaining the  compassion of a mother and matriarch. Everything about her affectation screamed "Leader": the gold ornaments and armor all over her body. The wings and sharp horn, combining the aesthetics of two mythical horses, the Pegasus and the Unicorn. All of her aesthetics screamed that she was a figure to be treated as royalty, if not like a deity taken physical form.

          The three of them stood there, all the still-shot photographers too scared to snap photos for fear of setting them to stampeding; or worse yet, blasting them halfway across the street with some unknown technology or magic. These images being broadcast everywhere brought the normal hustle and bustle of everyday life to a grinding halt. Cars and other personal transport stopped dead where they stood. Trains and Airplanes not already run by AI were put on autopilot while everyone stared at the image on their screen or the image displayed in their mind through the neural implants.

This scene went on for a good 2 or 3 minutes. Everyone was frozen in place staring at the 3 storybook creatures until President Aguillar managed to break loose from her stupor long enough to direct Celestia to the lectern. Celestia then walked toward the lectern, her horn glowing in order to lower it to a position where the cameras could get a good look of her face and neck as she spoke. She was quickly learning the optics of how to present one's self before a camera, putting into practice her previous research. Twilight Sparkle took up position to her right, standing off from the lectern, desperately trying not to have everyone staring at her instead. Spike stood to Celestia's left, wondering if the machines he heard the others talking about could make gemstones for him to eat.

Celestia began to speak, maintaining a regal air while making sure not to speak too loudly and allow the mechanical amplifiers and recorders to do their job. "Good Day, Denizens of the Planet Earth. My name is Princess Celestia, Reagent of the Sun, and one of the two rulers of the Land Behind the Aurora Barrier. My visit here is brief, for this is merely an introduction for myself and my kind. Firstly, the Land Behind the Aurora Barrier should be properly referred to as the Realm of Equestria. This realm is populated by beings much like my student and adjutant Twilight Sparkle here..."

Twilight Sparkle shivered as she could feel the cameras all focus on her for a brief moment.

"... and by other creatures sure as her assistant here, Spike, a juvenile dragon..."

Spike blanched at being reminded of his incredibly young age by dragon standards.

"... and many others that, for the sake of brevity, I will discuss at a later date. Our Worlds are currently, in a sense, neighbors now; a link having recently been forged in order to allow us passage in order to interact and study your culture and people. Do not fear, this process will not affect your world physically in terms of the orbit around your Sun or the orbit of the Moon around your planet, for our realm exists in a parallel dimension. At a later date, I will more thoroughly address your people; I look forward to this date, and I believe the news that I will bring will be of great interest to all of your people, regardless of their status or class. Myself and my travelling party shall remain here for a brief period in order to answer some general questions and be entertained as the esteemed guests of this nation's President and her colleagues. Before I conclude my remarks though, I would like to make a request of your media. We would greatly appreciate that you refer to my race as ‘Equestrians’; or 'Ponies', much like existing term used for the smaller versions of Earth’s native equines in English."

Flashbulbs went off in rapid succession, file footage was being archived in every place imaginable. Already the headlines were being written all over the Internet and every newswire service: "They have Arrived. And They Are Ponies?!" Meanwhile, in a certain corner of the internet, four viewers were busy trying to pick all of their jaws up off the floor.

Kyoko was ecstatic after the initial shock, feeling the utmost vindication in her theories behind what was behind the Barrier. "I KNEW IT. I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT!! THEY WERE ALIENS... although I thought they would have looked... well I guess weirder."

Andre was utterly stunned, he could scarcely find the words to say anything. "Ok, everyone else did see that, didn't they, I'm... wow... just... wow."

Natasha was trying to figure out if the world had finally cracked, and would refuse to make any kind of sense whatsoever. "Yes we did just see that, yes they are talking horses or 'Ponies' as they want to be called apparently and yes I am trying to figure out if the World has finally lost all sense and reason."

Ethan was actually somewhat calm and relieved after seeing Celestia. At least something was living behind that Barrier and it wasn't him having gone insane from boredom or being the victim of a cruel practical joke. "I cannot say I'm surprised, A technicolor queen or princess or whatever; ruling over a technicolor populace. A world that seems to be like someone took Earth and threw several cans of paint over it. Suddenly what I saw a week or so ago makes a whole hell of a lot of sense now. That or I've finally cracked from all the boredom of flying around the ocean aimlessly."

Kyoko was utterly enthralled with how adorable the smaller purple pony and dragon looked. "Ohh I think they all look so cute, like if someone made a big plushie of all of them I'd buy like 10 of each, especially that little dragon."

"I must say though, the Princess Celestia, she has an incredible air of regal-ness, llike she had centuries to practice looking like someone who is an unquestionable authority figure," Natasha said, rather quickly coming to accept what she saw was real, figuring that would have been too much effort to fake.

"Man look at the comment feeds, they are just going nuclear." Ethan said, directing their attention to the instant messaging services and comment sources absolutely going ape-shit over what just appeared before them.

Well, to say things won't be the same after would be a gross understatement... Andre thought to himself silently.

The world was abuzz with the First Contact; about how another sentient species had saw fit to stop by Earth and say “Hi”.

Meanwhile, Luna was working in the shadows, as was her preference, on the planning stages of Phase III. She knew that what she was planning on her end would make her and her compatriots great deal of enemies should anything go public before due time. So everything had to be completely secret to everyone except herself, Celestia, the Bearers of Harmony, and the immediate team of scientists working on the coming project. A project that would be headed on the human end by a pair of doctors, one geneticist with a several screws loose, and his partner, a prominent nanotechnician that was to be his moral anchor and, if need be, restraining bolt.