A Star Among Wizards

Sunset watched as Rhiannon hurried away in response to what sounded curiously like someone knocking on a door. "Why do I get the feeling this is about to get a lot bigger than we expected?" She asked warily.

"I guess we'll find out soon enough," Starlight said as she folded her arms. "Who do you think this Dumbledore person is?"

"Hopefully no-one too important. I only came here to make friends and learn a little about a new world, not establish diplomatic relations," Sunset replied.

"Is there really a difference?" Starlight asked.

Sunset nodded. "One's more official, and has a lot more riding on it."

Trixie waved a hand dismissively. "Oh please, we'll be fine as long as we don't accidentally start a war or something."

Sunset gave her a flat glare, but held her tongue as Rhiannon reappeared with two men in tow. The first was a portly man wearing a pinstriped suit and a lime green bowler hat. The second was a tall, thin, elderly man with long silver hair and an equally long silver beard, wearing long robes, a long purple cloak, and a set of half-moon glasses. Both of them stared in surprise at the girls.

"Merlin's beard! What happened here? Has someone been messing around with Transfiguration?" The man in the bowler hat exclaimed loudly.

Rhiannon winced and shook her head. "Er, no. Minister, Professor, these are Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer, and Trixie Lulamoon. Uh, girls, these are the Minister for Magic and Professor Dumbledore." She gestured to each person as she introduced them.

"Uh, hi," Sunset said awkwardly, giving them a small wave.

The Minister looked utterly perplexed, but Dumbledore just nodded, his expression shining with curiosity. "Good morning," he said cheerfully. "Am I to assume that these young ladies are the reason you didn't want to speak in the corridor, Miss Gwynedd?"

"Yes, Professor," Rhiannon replied. "They came through the Gate-Tree of Annwn."

Dumbledore's eyes widened, intense curiosity practically radiating from him, but the Minister gave Rhiannon a blank look as he asked flatly, "They what?"

Sunset and Starlight glanced at each other, each hoping the other would speak up first. Seeing this, Trixie huffed and threw an arm out towards the tree. "The tree has a magic portal in it that connects to another portal in our world. We went into our portal, and now we're here."

"Trixie!" Starlight hissed.

"A simple and succinct explanation," Dumbledore said brightly. "As far as I am aware, however, the Gate-Tree of Annwn has been inert for centuries. If you don't mind me asking, how did you open the portal?"

"It was actually an accident. The portal on our side opens through an old tree stump that used to sit in a Breezy village. They called it the Silver Door," Sunset explained. "Princess Twilight was showing a family around her castle, and when their daughter heard what the stump was called she tried knocking on it. That was what opened the portal."

Dumbledore let out an amused chuckle. "How deceptively simple. I don't believe anyone has ever actually tried knocking on the Gate-Tree, have they, Miss Gwynedd?"

Rhiannon shook her head, but the Minister chose that moment to interject, "Hold on a moment, Annwn? You're not seriously suggesting that these girls are that hidden race of fairies mentioned in the old legends about Merlin?! They're a myth!"

"Actually, it seems that what we know as faeries are called Breezies in their world," Rhiannon told him.

"The Breezies gave the Silver Door to Equestria over a thousand years ago," Sunset put in.

"Equestria?" Dumbledore gave her a piercing look over the top of his glasses.

Sunset nodded. "That's where we're from. It's another world, one without any native humans."

The Minister scoffed. "Preposterous! I'm sure this is a very well thought out prank, Miss Gwynedd, and I can applaud your efforts given how boring it must get in this section of the Department of Mysteries, but in future kindly avoid wasting my time, and that of Professor Dumbledore, won't you?"

"It's not a prank, I swear," Sunset insisted, but the Minister just shook his head.

"You know, we could prove that we're telling the truth pretty easily," Starlight said. "Let's just open the portal back up and show him."

Dumbledore looked at the tree eagerly. *A marvelous idea. Shall we go, Minister?"

"You can't tell me you actually believe any of this, Dumbledore?" The Minister asked incredulously.

"I don't see why not," Dumbledore replied with a smile. "In any case, if this truly is a prank, I'd hate to waste all the effort and preparation that must have gone into it."

The Minister sighed and shook his head. "This is ridiculous." Sighing again, he gestured half-heartedly to the Gate-Tree. "Very well, let's see this farce through to the end."

Sunset rolled her eyes and slipped her bag off her shoulder. "Alright, I'll warn Princess Twilight that we're coming."

"Why not make it a surprise?" Starlight asked with an evil grin. "It'll make it more fun that way."

Caught between the eager smiles of Starlight and Trixie, Sunset sighed and picked her bag back up. Personally, she was just glad of the opportunity to hand over the job of dealing with a head of state to another head of state. "Fine. Just remember this is your idea."

"Will do!" Turning on her heel, Starlight strode up to the Gate-Tree and knocked three times on its trunk. The ring of mushrooms flashed, and the portal glowed as it opened up again. "Okay, I'm really glad that worked," Starlight said happily. "We haven't actually opened the portal from this side before." She glanced back at the others and smiled. "See you on the other side!"