A Star Among Wizards

Rhiannon looked around in awe as she followed the others. They were in some kind of building that appeared to be constructed entirely from blue and purple crystal. Pillars lined the walls; some made of intricately shaped gemstones, others from uncut crystal. She had never seen anything like it.

Long hallways twisted and turned, with dozens of doors on either side leading to who-knows what. It reminded Rhiannon of the Department of Mysteries, though it was nowhere near as dark and cramped, and the illumination came from glowing gems set in the ceiling instead of torches in iron brackets.

Twilight paused in front of a huge set of double doors. "This is the throne room." Her horn ignited and a purple aura gently opened the doors, the hinges barely making a sound as the doors slowly swung open. Rhiannon gasped at the incredible sight before her.

A large hall waited on the other side of the doors. Watching eyes were immediately drawn upwards to a grand gem-studded chandelier that appeared to be made from the roots of a mighty oak tree. Beneath the chandelier sat a large round table surrounded by six ornate thrones, with a smaller throne to the right of one of them. Each throne had a symbol engraved into the backrest, while throne and table alike were carved from the same bright crystal.

"Please, take a seat wherever you'd like," Twilight said, hopping up on the one with the miniature throne next to it. The engraving on the throne matched the symbol on her flanks perfectly. "Starlight, could you bring us an extra chair, and send a message to Spike, please?"

"Way ahead of you." Starlight's horn glowed, and a squashy armchair appeared next to Twilight's throne with a loud pop, which Starlight helped herself to. A second later a quill and sheet of parchment appeared next to her, both encased in a faint green aura. The quill scribbled something down on the parchment, disappeared with another pop, then the parchment rolled itself up and turned into a wisp of golden most, which floated swiftly out of the door.

Rhiannon looked around to see Dumbledore hopping up on a throne decorated with a cloud and a rainbow-coloured lightning bolt, while Fudge chose one decorated with three diamonds. Realizing that she was the only visitor still standing around like an idiot, Rhiannon jumped up on a throne engraved with three apples.

Twilight waited for Sunset and Trixie to take the remaining thrones before taking a deep breath and looking around at her guests. "That's better." Twilight smiled awkwardly. "I'm sorry about the, er, disorganised nature of our welcome."

"Not at all," Dumbledore said with a wave of his hoof. "You've done well to be so accommodating on such short notice." He pressed his forehooves together on the table, as if attempting to steeple his fingers. "So, if I may, where exactly are we?"

Rhiannon perked up at the question, noticing Fudge straightening up as well. Seeing that she had everyone's attention, Twilight ignited her horn and shot a thin purple beam at the table, which instantly shone with a bright light. The light quickly coalesced, shifting and warping until it settled into the shape of a huge three-dimensional map. With another flash of her horn she summoned another quill and sheet of parchment.

"This is the land of Equestria," Twilight began, the quill scribbling away as she spoke. She pointed to a huge, crystalline, tree-like castle near a small settlement. "Right now, we're here, in the Castle of Friendship."

"That sounds like an auspicious place to have our initial meeting," Dumbledore said cheerfully.

Twilight chuckled. "I sure hope so."

"Remarkable," Fudge said quietly, eyeing the map with interest. "And you are the leader of Equestria, correct?"

"That's right, though that's actually a recent development," Twilight admitted shyly. "The previous rulers only stepped down a few months ago. Before that, this castle was actually my home."

Fudge raised an eyebrow and glanced sidelong at her. "So this, er, Castle of Friendship is not the seat of authority in Equestria?"

Twilight shook her head and pointed to a magnificent marble city built on and around a mountain. "That would be Canterlot, here. The Silver Door is usually kept there, we only brought it here as part of an exhibition about the achievements and discoveries of one of Equestria's most accomplished wizards."

"Ah, a tradition our cultures share." Fudge smiled, and for a moment Rhiannon thought he was getting into his stride, until he said, "I assume all of the residents of Equestria are in such strange horse-like forms as this?"

Dumbledore winced slightly, and the host unicorns all frowned at the Minister's bluntness, but, thankfully, Twilight didn't seem too offended. "We call ourselves ponies, and yes, most of the residents of Equestria are either unicorns, pegasi, or earth ponies, plus a very small number of alicorns, like me," She flared her wings and gestured to her horn for emphasis. "Though we also have sizable populations of donkeys, mules, and thestrals."

"Thestrals?" Fudge looked around worriedly, as if expecting one to pop out of the walls, and even Dumbledore raised a curious eyebrow.

"Do you have thestrals in your world?" Sunset asked, noticing their recognition.

Dumbledore nodded. "We do, though I imagine that the thestrals of this realm are slightly different from the ones in ours, much like the unicorns are."

"You have unicorns and humans in your world?" Twilight asked in surprise. "How is that possible?"

"It's probably the same way there are both horses and humans at CHS," Sunset suggested. She glanced at Dumbledore. "I'm guessing that the unicorns and thestrals in your world are pretty much just animals? Sentient, but not sapient?"

"Essentially, yes," Dumbledore replied. "They are certainly intelligent, but not to what we would call a true level of sapience."

"Thestrals in particular are… dangerous," Fudge said with a grimace.

Rhiannon wanted to disagree with that. She had seen a few thestrals over the years and, while certainly creepy, the beasts were no more dangerous than your average puppy, and actually less so than your average horse. Still, she kept her mouth shut for the time being.

"Well, our thestrals aren't any more dangerous than anypony else in Equestria," Twilight assured them. "Princess Luna, one of our former rulers, actually kept several on retainer as members of her personal guard. I folded them into my own when I took over as ruler"

"How fascinating. Do thestrals and donkeys have home countries of their own, or are they a minority community native to Equestria?" Dumbledore asked.

Twilight tapped her chin in thought. "There used to be separate lands for each of us, but where their original homelands used to be is unknown today. I've read that there is a donkey republic somewhere in the world, but if so Equestria hasn't had any real contact with them in a long time. The only countries we have regular contact with are our closest neighbours."

"What about your world?" Starlight cut in. "You said that you were from a land called the United Kingdom?"

"That's right," Fudge replied. "As Minister for Magic, it's my job to preside over the Wizarding population of Britain."

Sunset raised an eyebrow. "Wizarding population?"

Dumbledore coughed delicately. "Our world is separated between those who have magic, and those who don't."

"Really?" Starlight gave him a quizzical look. "Why is that?"

"The two populations have never really gotten along," Fudge replied. "Several hundred years ago, the wizards and witches of the world got together and agreed that our people were better off apart from the muggles, the non-magical people, so we went into hiding, and things have been that way ever since."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, evidently sensing that he was oversimplifying things, or maybe just disagreeing with the idea of segregation, but she let it slide. "So, your country has two separate leaders?"

"Technically it's four countries: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland," Rhiannon put in. "Altogether they make up the United Kingdom."

"The muggles are ruled by a queen and their Houses of Parliament, while the wizarding population is led by the Minister for Magic," Dumbledore explained. He had apparently noticed Twilight's expression as well, as he added, "The nature of our separation means that the muggles are largely unaware of the existence of the magical world, and have been so for many centuries. Some have suggested rejoining muggle society but, at this point, making the world aware of our existence would cause absolute chaos among the muggles. It's too dangerous."

"I understand," Twilight said sombrely, though Rhiannon caught the subtle, shifty looks that Trixie and Starlight shared.

Fudge smiled genially. "Not to worry, Princess. I assure you, by and large, the muggles aren't worth bothering with. Equestria stands to gain far more from associating with the Ministry of Magic."

Rhiannon and Dumbledore both winced as Twilight turned a cold look on the Minister for Magic. "Equestria doesn't choose its friends based purely on what they can do for us."

"No, of course not," Fudge said with an airy wave of a hoof. "We all like to do our part for those less fortunate."

Rhiannon felt herself dying inside, and even Dumbledore looked like he was resisting the urge to slap a hoof to his face with great difficulty. Thankfully, the sticky moment was swiftly disrupted as someone opened the door.

"Hey, guys!" A chipper voice called out. "Sorry I took so long, I had to wash a bunch of dishes first. You really need to do your washing up more often, Starlight."

Rhiannon's mouth dropped open as the new arrival strolled into the room carrying a tray laden with cups and plates full of finger foods. A quick glance showed that Dumbledore was leaning forward and scrutinizing the visitor with incredible intensity, while Fudge looked like he was torn between disbelief and the onset of a cardiac event.

The little visitor was short, barely reaching a pony's shoulder despite waddling around on two legs. It had purple scales, a green frill on his head, leathery wings sprouting from it's back and, just to throw a little extra insanity into the mix, a cute and frilly little apron decorated with hearts.

"Thank you, Spike," Twilight said happily as the visitor placed the tray on the table next to her, flattening the image of a small village before hopping up on the little throne next to Twilight's. Unaware of the effect the new arrival was having on her guests, Twilight turned back to the wizards. "Everyone, this is Spike. My number one assistant."