A Star Among Wizards

Twilight paced impatiently in front of the newly reactivated Mirror Portal. A good friend of hers was due to arrive any moment, but every second that passed seemed to take an eternity.

A sudden flash of light snapped Twilight's attention to the portal just in time to see an amber unicorn get launched out of it like a cannonball. Fortunately, Twilight managed to catch the flying pony with her magic just before she crashed into a bookcase.

"Hey, Sunset!" Twilight said brightly as she set the unicorn back on her hooves.

"Hi, Twilight! Thanks for the catch," Sunset replied, checking to make sure her saddlebags were okay. "So, about this other world…"

Twilight nodded, eager to get right to business. "I assume you're aware of the artefact Starswirl the Bearded retrieved from the Breezies known as the Silver Door?"

"I thought it was less of an artefact and more of a weird tree-stump, but yeah, I've heard of it," Sunset replied. She raised an eyebrow curiously. "Wait, you mean you figured out how it works?"

"Actually, one of the local fillies did." Twilight opened her mouth to tell her what had happened during the tour, but was interrupted as the door to the library was slammed open.

"I'm here!" Starlight cried as she barged into the library.

Twilight smiled at her former student, though that smile slipped slightly as Trixie trotted through the door a second later. "Starlight! I wasn't expecting you to come over that quickly. And with… a friend..."

"Are you kidding?" Starlight asked incredulously. "A chance to visit a brand new human world? There's no way I'd miss this!"

"Right, right." Twilight glanced at Trixie. "And, er…"

Starlight couldn't quite meet her eyes. "I may have promised Trixie that I would take her through the mirror portal at some point." The slow arching of her former mentor's eyebrow compelled her to add, "I know I should probably have spoken to you about it first, but she'll be on her absolute best behaviour, right Trixie?"

"When is Trixie not on her best behaviour?" The flat looks the other three gave her prompted Trixie to sigh and hold up a hoof. "Fine. I promise I'll be on my absolute best behaviour."

Twilight frowned at her for a moment longer, but finally relented with a sigh. "I suppose it can't hurt too much. What about the school?"

"I've already got it covered," Starlight told her. "I make sure to keep a shortlist of support teachers on standby in case of situations like this."

"As expected of my former pupil," Twilight said proudly. "Alright, here's what we've learned about the Silver Door."

The others listened intently as Twilight explained everything that had happened since the tour started. When she got to the part about the woman pulling out a wand and casting a spell, Starlight looked over at Sunset questioningly. "Hang on, I thought that humans don't have magic of their own?.

"Not in the world I know," Sunset replied, "but if this is a whole other human world, then I guess anything is possible."

Twilight nodded. "Exactly, which is why I'm asking the two of you, er, three of you, if you're willing to go to this new world and learn what you can about it."

"We'll do it!" Starlight practically yelled. Blushing slightly, she cleared her throat and smiled self-consciously. "Er, I mean, of course I'll help."

"Why aren't you coming too?" Sunset asked.

Twilight sighed sadly. "I wish I could, but I need to speak to Starswirl when he gets here. Not to mention I can't just leave Spike to handle the Exhibition and any correspondence from Canterlot on his own. I'd ask the others for help but they're already busy."

The others shared an awkward glance, then Starlight stepped forward and placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Don't worry, Twi, we've got this."

"One quick question," Trixie put in, "is this a formal diplomatic thingy or… what?"

"Don't be ridiculous. If this was a real diplomatic mission she'd send Rarity and Fluttershy or Pinkie. All three of whom are busy at the moment…" Starlight's grin faltered as she realised what she was saying. "Uh… Twilight? Is this an official diplomatic mission?"

Twilight hummed and tapped her chin with a hoof thoughtfully, much to the concern of the others, but she soon shook her head. "Not really. You're just going to meet one person in a woodland and have a chat about magic and interdimensional portals. If her world does wish to start official diplomatic relations, then I'll be more than happy to arrange a more formal meeting."

"Sounds good to me!" Sunset looked around at Starlight and Trixie. "Okay, should we get going?"

Rhiannon paced nervously back and forth in front of the Gate-Tree. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, no matter how much she struggled to try and calm herself down. Over half an hour had passed since the Princess and the two girls had left and there had been no sign of them returning since.

At the moment, Rhiannon was desperately clinging to the hope that the Princess would actually send someone along soon, and hadn't just been lying to head her off. She was so lost in her worry that she didn't even notice the glow coming from the mushrooms once again, not until the Gate-Tree started humming.

Rhiannon paused in her tracks and whipped around just in time to see the portal in the tree opening up. Excitement welled up within her as a young woman shot out of the portal. She stumbled slightly as she arrived, but managed to stay on her feet.

This girl had amber skin and two-tone red and yellow hair, and was wearing a purple skirt, an off-the-shoulder orange top with a stylised sun emblazoned on it, a leather waistcoat with a spiked collar over the top and matching leather boots. She had a simple tote bag slung over one shoulder.

"Hey, you must be... Rhiannon, was it?" The girl asked as she stepped away from the tree. "My name's Sunset Shimmer. Princess Twilight sent me."

Rhiannon opened her mouth to reply but was cut off as another person suddenly shot out of the portal and fell sprawling on her face. This new girl had pale purple skin with two-tone purple and aquamarine hair, and was wearing jeans, a green t-shirt with a black waistcoat and a purple beanie. The girl tried to push herself up onto her hands and knees, but before she could rise a third person rocketed out of the portal and landed on top of her, flattening her and prompting Sunset to slap a hand to her forehead.

The third arrival had pale blue skin and white hair with stripes that matched her skin, and was wearing a vivid blue cloak and witch's hat both decorated with bright stars, worn over a simple blue skirt and white top.

"Er, one second." Sunset stepped over to help the two girls disentangle themselves. She helped the girl with the beanie to her feet first, quietly checking if she was alright. "Okay, this is Starlight Glimmer."

"Hey, er, hi," Starlight said with an awkward smile.

"And this-" Sunset's introduction was cut off as the third girl, after inspecting her hands and body, let out a shrill, piercing scream. Sunset quickly crouched next to her and clamped a hand over her mouth. "It's okay, Trixie. We told you that this would happen, remember?"

The girl took a few moments to get her breathing under control before nodding. Sunset sighed, removed her hand, and carefully helped Trixie to her feet. She seemed almost surprised for a moment when Trixie stood easily, but her expression quickly smoothed over and she turned back to Rhiannon. "As I was saying, this is Trixie Lulamoon."

"Rhiannon ferch Gwynedd," Rhiannon replied automatically. "It's a pleasure to meet you all." She shifted uncomfortably, unsure of what to do. "Um, can I get you a drink or something?"

"Uh, we're fine, thanks." Sunset rubbed her neck awkwardly. "Look, I… don't really know how this kind of thing usually goes, so…"

Rhiannon let out a huge sigh of relief. "Oh, thank Merlin, me neither."

Starlight snorted. "Yeah, we're all doing a great job as ambassadors," she shot sarcastically.

"I, uh, I'm not actually an ambassador," Rhiannon said quietly.

"Don't worry, we're aren't either," Starlight told her. "In fact I think the only reason Twilight sent us along is because we're the only other ponies who know how to walk like humans." She glanced sidelong at Trixie. "Though I don't get how you are managing this so easily."

Trixie let out an indignant huff. "The Great and Powerful Trixie strikes dramatic poses like this all the time as part of her amazing shows!" She glanced shiftily from side to side and deflated slightly as she added, "I, uh, just don't know how to actually walk like this. Mind giving me a helping hoof?"

"Hoof?" Rhiannon watched them carefully. All of this talk of walking like humans and hooves was throwing her off. "Are… are you not faeries?"

"Faeries?" Sunset raised a curious eyebrow. "What are faeries?"

"Faeries, fey folk, Tylwyth Teg, Sidhe, any of those ringing any bells?" Rhiannon's confusion grew as the girls just shook their heads blankly. "You know, like little people but with wings?"

"Do you mean Breezies?" Starlight asked.

"Maybe we should just introduce ourselves properly, before we get too sidetracked," Sunset suggested. "As I was saying, I'm Sunset Shimmer, this is Starlight Glimmer, and this is Trixie Lulamoon. We're here on behalf of Princess Twilight Sparkle, ruler of Equestria."

Rhiannon gathered her wits and decided to just go with the flow until Wibble got back, preferably with Dumbledore and the Minister for Magic in tow. "My name's Rhiannon ferch Gwynedd, I'm an Unspeakable working here in the Department of Mysteries for the United Kingdom's Ministry of Magic." She gestured vaguely towards the door. "I've, uh, already sent someone to go and fetch the Minister for Magic, er, and maybe Dumbledore as well with any luck. Ah, except you won't know who Dumbledore is, will you?"

Sunset shook her head. "I'm assuming he's an important figure here in this world?"

"You could say that," Rhiannon replied. "Um, so... Equestria? That's where you're from?"

"Yeah. This portal is a link between two worlds, or realities, if you want to get technical," Sunset explained.

"So you're from a completely different plane of existence?" Rhiannon asked.

Sunset nodded. "That's one way of looking at it."

"Oh, wow. Okay, this opens up a fair few questions." Rhiannon briefly pondered what she should ask first. "Is Equestria the name of your world, or...?"

"We refer to it like that sometimes, for convenience, but it's really just one nation out of many," Sunset replied.

Starlight looked around at the trees curiously, raising an eyebrow. "You said this was the Department of Mysteries, right? Do you have an office somewhere where we can sit down, or is it all outside?"

"Outside?" Rhiannon cocked her head to the side, confused, until she realized what the girl was talking about. "Oh, we're not outside! This is actually a room in the sub-levels of the Ministry of Magic, it's just enchanted to look like a woodland grove."

Pulling her wand out, Rhiannon gave it a quick flick and a sparkling green outline of the UK appeared in midair. "This is the United Kingdom, it's the nation we live in. It's made up of four countries: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland." The borders of each country glared as she named them. She flicked her wand again and a bright green dot appeared where London would be. "This is England's capital city, London, and the site of the Ministry of Magic. The Ministry is in charge of the United Kingdom's wizarding population."

The three girls listened with rapt expressions. "And the Department of Mysteries is part of the Ministry?" Sunset asked.

Rhiannon nodded. "That's right. This particular room is called the Annwn Room. It's where I research and study ancient druidic and Celtic magic, particularly rituals related to the Gate-Tree and the Faerie Ring." She shook her head slowly. "I never thought I would actually meet someone through the Tree, though. Is everyone like you through there? With the ears and the bright colours?"

The girls shared a surprised look. Starlight was the one who replied, "Uh, we've all got different colours of fur and hair, or, well, I guess it's skin in the human world, but I don't know what the ears are about?"

"I've been wondering about that, too." Sunset glanced down at her belt buckle: a red stone with a stylised sun on it. The buckle flashed amber, and Sunset's animal ears immediately disappeared. "Huh, I thought so! The portal ponies us up for some reason." She looked around at the other two. "Just pull your magic in, they should go away."

Trixie and Starlight looked at each other, shrugged, then frowned as they focused. A heartbeat later, their ears disappeared in a flash of light. "That was easy," Starlight muttered.

Rhiannon opened her mouth to ask about how magic worked in Equestria, but she was interrupted as someone knocked loudly on the door.

"One second, that should be the Minister and Dumbledore!" Rhiannon turned and hurried back through the trees, grateful for the opportunity to try and gather her thoughts. She paused by the door to straighten her glasses and run a hand through her hair, before calmly opening it. Relief washed through her as her salvation stood on the other side of the door.

"Good morning, Miss Gwynedd. I hear you've had quite an exciting morning," Dumbledore said brightly.