Anacostia, Maryland

The gun rested on the floor of the truck. It happened to be right in front of Twilight’s nose as she lay hidden. Daniels had set it there as they began driving.

“Are you expecting trouble?” she asked.

“Not really. It’s just a bad part of town.”

“What’s wrong with it?

Daniels didn’t know if they had drugs and prostitution in Equestria. He said, “Illegal substances and services. Violence. Crime.”

“Why do people do that?”

He shrugged. “My job is dealing with bad people. I’ve never figured out why they do what they do.”

“Maybe once we get to the White House and talk with the President, we can start working on that.”

“I have to admit, the idea of world peace does sound attractive, although I have my doubts that it will ever happen.”

“That’s a rather pessimistic way of looking at things.”

“I’ve done things and seen things that you can’t imagine. I think I’m entitled to my opinion.”

Twilight studied the handgun in front of her, noticing the “Rampant Colt” logo. “Why don’t you give up your weapons and convince everyone to be nice?”

“I would give up my weapons, but only if I could get the enemy to agree to give up his. That’s not very likely to happen. Your world developed a little differently than ours, though. Maybe with some input from you, we can begin to change. I doubt that we can ever be totally peaceful, but there could definitely be improvements made.”

It might be a long slow process to get the humans to disarm and live in harmony, but Twilight vowed to do what she could. For her, weapons were not the answer.

Crane Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center

Half the parts had come in. Dr. Oswald hurriedly went back to work on the doorway. It would still be a while before he got everything, but it was a start.

He thought about the doorway and its implications. It was going to open up new sectors of everything, vacations, international trade, politics. With a careful eye, a man could make quite a bit of money.

The prospect didn’t bother him too much ethically. After all, he had been the lead engineer of the doorway. He knew some people who would be interested.

A sailor walked in. Since the entire base was now aware of the doorway, security at Building D6 had dropped to nil.

“Doctor? The President is just about to make a nationwide address. Maybe it’s about the ponies.”

Oswald nodded, and followed the man out. Convincing the people at Crane had been surprisingly easy. He’d shown them a copy of a picture that a memeber of his team had taken of Princess Celestia talking with the President. They’d also taped a short interview with Twilight Sparkle. When a security man reviewing perimeter video cameras had happened upon the four newly arrived ponies sneaking out, that had sealed the deal.

A building nearby was used for paperwork related to surface warfare or something. Oswald had never been interested in weapons. He went inside with the sailor and joined a group sitting around a TV. The news anchor was talking, speculating what the unscheduled address could possibly be about. A clock ticked down the time until the President would go on.

The White House – Arrival Area

Daniels had hidden the gun again when they’d approached the center of downtown Washington. He carefully maneuvered the truck up to a gate that lead into the White House compound.

A Secret Service guard asked him what he thought he was doing.

“I really need to speak to someone above your pay grade.” Daniels did his best not to sound haughty about it, but that was the way the agent took it.

“Get out of the truck.”

Daniels slowly put both hands out the window and used the outside latch to open the door. He didn’t want to do anything to make the guard nervous.

“ID.”

Daniels carefully reached for his wallet and pulled out his military identification. The agent took it and gave it a brief glance.

“What’s in the back?” He indicated the bed of the truck.

“Ponies.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Please, just call your boss.”

The man gave him an even more suspicious look than before. “Turn around.”

Daniels did. He wasn’t expecting to get slammed against the truck and frisked. The agent found his gun.

The man kicked him in the back of the legs and pulled the gun away. Daniels went down, and let it happen. Struggling would only make the situation worse. The agent kneeled on top of him and slapped a set of handcuffs on.

On the bright side, Daniels thought as his face was ground into the concrete, at least someone more senior would get called now.

The White House – Briefing Room

There was a low murmur in the crowd as the President appeared. Most of the guests were journalists who were regulars at press conferences, and had seen the man up close before.

The President stepped to the podium and stood for a moment, letting the camera operators calibrate their equipment. There was a screen beside him, and a test pattern was displayed briefly to test the projector. Everything was ready.

A young female aide walked quickly over to the podium and spoke in the President’s ear. His face showed surprise. The woman gestured the speech notes lying on the podium and said something. The President waved her off.

In the crowd, Mittal watched with interest. Something had clearly happened. He was startled by a tap on the shoulder. It was a Secret Service agent.

“Admiral, sorry to bother you. Do you know a Lieutenant Daniels?”

“Yes, I do.”

“I need you to come with me, sir.”

Mittal got up. He regretted that he wouldn’t be able to hear the address. The agent led him to a different part of the White House where he had never been. It wasn’t open to the public, or anyone else for that matter.

After opening a heavy soundproof door, Mittal was brought into what appeared to be a command center. There were Daniels and seven ponies.

“You found them.”

Daniels shrugged, absently rubbing a sore spot on his wrist from the cuffs. “Some of them, anyway. The rest found me. It was lucky that Ralph was on duty, or I might be on my way to federal prison right now.” He indicated a Secret Service agent that Mittal remembered from the President’s visit to Crane.

The man spoke. “The President has been informed of the situation. I’m sure he’ll modify his speech accordingly.”

Mittal nodded and turned to the ponies. “How did the rest of you get to Earth? For that matter, how did you get here?”

“Princess Luna was aghast at the possibility that the doorway might be closed for good,” said a unicorn. Mittal recalled her name was Rarity. “She gathered the royal magic scholars and cast a spell to send us here and bring Princess Celestia, Twilight, and Pinkie back.”

“Only we didn’t expect ‘em to be on th' other side of the country,” said Applejack. “Dr. Oswald told us where to look.”

“When we got here, I flew over the area to have a look,” said Rainbow Dash. I saw a lot of signs that said ‘Washington’ so I figured this must be the place. While I was flying, there were some stupid airplanes chasing me and I almost crashed.”

Mittal was surprised she wasn’t almost shot. The Air Force took security over Washington seriously.

“We were really very lucky,” said Fluttershy quietly. “I don’t know how we managed to get here so quickly.”

“All that matters is that we’re together again,” said Twilight. She paused for a moment. “Wait, if Princess Celestia is here, then who is handling the sun in Equestria?”

There was an uncomfortable silence.

“I’m sure Luna was able to,” said Celestia. “It’s not that difficult once you know how.”

The ponies began to talk among themselves, trading information and trying to find out what had happened in the past few days. Mittal left them. There was somewhere he needed to be.

Crane Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center

The picture on the TV switched to the President at last. The excitement in the room built. The President was smiling and appeared to be in a good mood.

“My fellow Americans, I come before you tonight with information that will change the world. I’m afraid that I don’t really know how to break this news. Nothing like it has ever happened before, so I’ll be frank. We recently managed to make a connection to a different dimension.” He paused to let that sink in. There was a collective gasp from the journalists present. Some of them looked wildly at the camera to confirm that it was indeed recording.

“There are many intelligent species in this other world. The first we encountered call themselves ponies.” He gestured, and the projection screen lit up with an image. Watching the TV at Crane, Oswald recognized it as the same picture of the Princess and the President that he’d passed around.

“As you can see, they bear some similarity to ponies on Earth. What you see in this picture is a meeting between myself and Princess Celestia, the leader of Equestria, the pony nation. She couldn’t make it here tonight, but I expect that the media will get to meet her soon.”

The President looked around. “Ladies and gentlemen, the ponies are not hostile, and in fact are interested in making friends with the United States. This is an incredibly unique event, and we are about to begin a new chapter in history. More details about the other dimension will be released soon. I thank you for your attention tonight.” The camera cut off. The news anchor reappeared on the TV, looking shocked. He shuffled his notes a little and tried to come up with something to say about the address. He only succeeded in looking even more stunned by the news.

Oswald felt emotion like none he had never experienced before. He was more well-informed about the situation than nearly any other person, yet he was at least as excited as anyone he could see in the room. Somehow, having the President say it made it seem more real. He remembered the plans he’d been making. The dollars were about to start rolling in.

The White House

Another Secret Service man guided Mittal past the briefing room, which had become a madhouse after the President’s announcement. They ended up in a small conference room. The attitude seemed remarkably informal.

“Admiral, have a seat.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“That was a great job you did in finding those missing ponies.”

“Someone else handled the legwork.”

The President shrugged. “So introduce him to me sometime.”

“Mr. President, if you don’t mind me asking, what happens next?”

“The UN and NATO are going to be unhappy that we held out on them. I’m sending you to talk them down.”

A political representative was a big career move. It beat running secret projects. “Yes, Mr. President. I’ll do my best.”

"You'll be leaving soon. I've already made arrangements."

"Yes Mr. President. Thank you."

The White House – Second Floor

The unexpected arrival of the extra ponies required improvisation, but the White House staff managed. Princess Celestia was given the use of the Queens’ Bedroom, so named for the royalty that had stayed there in the past. She found the pale pink walls and canopied bed to be to her liking. A very large rug covered most of the floor, with glossy wood around the edges.

The rest of the ponies were put up in the larger Lincoln Bedroom, which had been decorated in its own style. The carpet was an interesting pattern of blues, greys and oranges, which set off the white trim and pale yellow walls. The bed was enormous in every dimension and the frame was made of carved dark wood.

All of the ponies required some degree of cleaning to be presentable. Some more than others.

“That terrible dirt!” shrieked Rarity. “I’ll eat bugs before I have to travel that way again!”

“We did what we had t’ do,” said Applejack. “There’s nothin’ wrong with a little dirt as long as it comes off.”

Fortunately for Rarity, the White House staff was able to come up with all the types of cleaning products that she requested, if not the specific brands.

Pinkie found her way to the kitchen and insisted on helping with baking. She’d learned to whistle through the gap in her teeth, and was soon happily composing a little tune while making cupcakes of her own recipe. All the bakers who tried samples were delighted.

Daniels had left shortly after being debriefed by the President himself. It would be a long trip, he said, but at least he’d gotten a worthwhile story to tell. Pinkie made sure that he got some cupcakes to take with him.

After a night of rest, Celestia began working with the TV production staff to calibrate their equipment. They were used to only filming humans, so the lighting would need to be adjusted. Her injury had been treated properly and bandaged in white. With careful rearranging of her mane, the dressing was hidden.

When everything was ready, her speech was taped. It gave the producers a chance to edit, and to film another take if that’s what it took. The tape would be aired that evening.

The United Nations Ambassador stopped by and met with Celestia. The UN facilitated cooperation between member nations, with the overall goal of peace. It was much the same as her world’s United Lands. The UN had more experience, though, and she listened closely to what the man had to say.

All the ponies were invited to dinner that evening with the President’s family. The meal was strictly vegetarian in deference to the guests. The White House chefs were known to be among the best in the world, and made everything taste exceptional. A multitude of flavors were employed, even inventing a couple new ones along the way. Desert was even more extravagant.

“Dang,” the President. “Those are good cupcakes.”

A tall white pony with a horn and wings prepared for her first television appearance. The presidential podium had been repurposed for her use. She spoke slowly and clearly into the microphone.

“Citizens of the United States and people of Earth, I come to you with greetings of peace and hope. I am Princess Celestia, the leader of Equestria. As I’m sure you are aware, I come from a different place than your planet.

“This is all a very big change for me, as much as it is for you. Nothing like this has ever happened before in our universe, and that leaves us a blank slate to start from. We get to set the standard. We get to do what has never been done before.

“With love and tolerance, many things can be accomplished. Your world and mine may have some different problems, but they share a lot of the same ones. Cooperation between nations can go further than ever before to help others realize a better standard of life.

“Kindness, loyalty, honesty, generosity, laughter, and the magic of friendship are all things that are in limited supply. They don’t have to be. We have this blank slate. We can do anything with it. I hope all will choose to make our respective worlds better. I hope my nation, your nation, all nations, will someday live in peace and prosperity.”

The television broadcast switched back to more regular fare. Princess Celestia, the President, and six ponies sat in front of the TV.

“I hope my message was well received,” said Celestia.

“It sounded good to me, Princess!” said Twilight, beaming.

“I thought it was a great speech,” said the President.

“Will a lot of people see this?” asked Celestia.

“There’s a television in most American homes. Around the world, there are many more. Don’t forget that the audio will go out to radios around the world. I would say more than a billion people will hear your voice by tomorrow.”

“Your mass-communication technology is astounding.”

The President nodded. “It’s getting better all the time. In fact, the Vice President has been working on a new network that he invented to connect more people than ever before. He’s calling it the ‘information superhighway’.”

“Not a very catchy name.”

"We're working on it."

Crane Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center

The doorway had been fixed and the ponies were flown to the base. The President was there to personally see them off.

Dr. Oswald seemed to have disappeared, and that worried everyone, but there was not much that could be done. The rest of his team was able to run the doorway without him, so the project went on.

It was surprisingly not a long, tear-jerking goodbye. Since the doorway had been thoroughly overhauled, it seemed to be more reliable. The ponies could visit again anytime they wished through the connection the two worlds shared.

Twilight knew that she would be back. There were a lot of things she was planning to accomplish.

Many miles away, two men sat together, watching a third man struggle against the duct tape that held him in place. They’d met to discuss business. The man on the floor had apparently been unclear on what that meant.

The two talked, disregarding the pleading voice of the third.

“Do you think he’s told us everything?” asked one.

“Does it matter? He had all these detailed blueprints.” The second gestured at a mound of paper. “He even thought we were going to pay him.”

The first shrugged. “Put a bullet in him and let’s go build our own doorway.”

Author note:

Thanks to my prereader Scully.

Hopefully this story set the tone for things to come. I’ve got a whole series of pony-human teamups that I want to write about. See you there.