Chapter 5, Part 1: Prelude to a Trip Out Into the New World

March 4, 1946

Royal Castle, Canterlot, Equestria

It had been a full two months since meeting of the Pony World and the Human World. During the time since then, Canterlot had been busy receiving the ambassadors of foreign countries from around the human world. Several times a day, Celestia would greet and accept the foreign representatives, agreeing to hear a brief history from each of the diplomats of their home land. Despite her best efforts to process the information being provided to her, she found herself still in the dark about much of this world’s history and the international situation around the world.

Seeking to find out more about the human world, she established a program to send out representatives all our corners of the world, with two ponies going to each country to study for a month their history, culture, and politics. She had spent the entirety of the month of February vetting her choices in order to ensure that they were the best and the brightest of Equestrian society, with seasoned diplomats, captains of commerce, and even members of the Wonderbolts reserve squad getting selected to travel this new world.

Several of her selections had refused to go upon hearing that in this world ponies and horses are used as beasts of burdens by the human race. This came despite reassurances from governments the world over that the ambassadors wouldn’t be hurt. In the end Celestia had scrambled to fill all of these “diplomatic exploratory missions” by the beginning of March, when they were due to be sent out.

The news of enslaved ponies the world over, prompted an anti-human backlash across Equestria, with Lyra Heartstrings, the leader of the Ponies Interested in Human Culture Organization (PIHCO) getting nearly lynched on one occasion by an irate mob on charges of being a “race traitor.” Celestia had justified her engagement with the human world on the basis that such a policy was necessary for peaceful co-existence between ponykind and humankind. Additionally, Celestia claimed that positive relations would be key to the liberation of ponies who were in bondage, going so far as to promise to the establishment of a “Pony Liberation Fund” whereby Equestria would buy the freedom of ponies around the world.

As March began, the very first ships carrying Equestrian diplomats began to set sail to all the countries of the human world. All except for three countries that is. Celestia had special plans for whom was to go to them.