trans_9 | A Housewarming Party for a Castle

Celestia's new home was a grand residence indeed: the citadel of Camelot, a place which featured heavily in the myths and legends of Earth. Not that Celestia was familiar with these myths, of course.

Guests were free to wonder around the castle at will, but Celestia had decided that today, the courtyard would be a lovely place for everypony to get together. There were a few tables set up, with the treats Hoshi and Applejack had so generously made, and Rarity's beautiful decorations. And later, Celestia planned to invite her guests to ride on the Ferris wheel that happened to be located just outside the castle.

The crewmembers had suffered a great loss recently, but she hoped that this would bring them some small amount of joy, and the comfort of friendship in this time.

[[ooc: Sorry this is a day late guys, uni ended up being much more hectic yesterday than I expected. Anyways, I've put up a subthread for Celestia greeting visitors and rides on the London Eye. Those that ICly helped out this party can also set up sub-threads for the food tables/games/whatever as well, if you guys want to. (Edit: The sub-thread for Hoshi & Applejack's nibbles is up here!)

But other than that, feel free to start your own threads and tag each other. People can also wonder around and explore the castle - it's the BBC Merlin version of Camelot, but only the citadel itself (as opposed to the whole city).]]

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Rhiow chose to arrive at the party in her customary way - that was, she appeared out of thin air with a bang about the equivalent of a popgun going off. She stood and shook herself, looking around the party with a curious air. It wasn't like a gathering she'd ever been to, but then, the People were too lazy to consider putting this much effort into a get-together.

The stone den was impressive, though. Not as refined as the lines of Grand Central, but the castle had history that Rhiow could smell in its stones. "Dai stiho, and well met on errantry," Rhiow said to the princess. "I don't think we've managed to meet yet. I'm Rhiow, one of the ship's counselors."

Celestia's own prize pupil, Twilight Sparkle, was known to teleport - and indeed, Celestia was capable of teleporting herself, although she usually chose not to - so Rhiow's manner of arrival was nothing particularly out of the ordinary for her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Counselor Rhiow," Celestia said cheerfully, inclining her head to the small cat. (A talking cat was unheard of in Equestria, Celestia took it in stride. After all, if there were worlds where ponies could not speak, why should there not be ones where cats could?) "I am Princess Celestia - welcome to my home."

"It's a good sort of den if you like that kind of thing," Rhiow said - probably not the most excited response Celestia had about the castle, but cats just didn't do the building thing. She could appreciate the architecture and the effort it probably took to make it, but the concept just baffled her.

"I understand you're relatively new to the crew, so I thought I would come by and answer any questions you might have. I know it's disorienting at first, and it seems like you've had a more disorienting time than most, getting grabbed by GLaDOS a couple times in a row."

Celestia laughed, not at all offended. "Just between you and me, I wouldn't have minded something a little more modest," she whispered, almost conspiratorially. "But I am the Princess of Equestria, and my subjects would be upset if I lived somewhere that they felt was inappropriate for my station."

"Thank you, you are most kind," she said, appreciating the gesture. "Thankfully the crew have been most helpful in answering my questions. But perhaps you could tell me of recent events? I'm afraid my knowledge of the battle is somewhat inadequate."

"Certainly," Rhiow said. She looked around for a moment, and then leapt lightly onto a windowsill where she would be more of a talking height with the Princess. It was undignified to have a conversation while you were craning your head back.

"We received a call from the GIA, indicating that their fleet was in battle above the planet of Lirath. They were badly outnumbered and trying to evacuate refugees from the planet at the same time they held off the Ohm forces. As the closest ship to the fleet, we were called in to help. Stacy ferried the refugees to the evacuation point while our fleet and ground forces were deployed as backup for the GIA."

"I don't believe I have heard of the GIA," Celestia said, after listening carefully. "Can you tell me more about them? And the refugees - I do hope that they were saved?"

"They're a kind of multiversal military task force, from what I understand," Rhiow said. "They've been fighting the Ohm for years with several species, including the Daligig."

It was gratifying that Celestia was so concerned for the refugees. "The people all made it to their temporary shelters safely. I think we managed to impress on the locals that it was only temporary and there was no need for alarm... unfortunately we had to move on before they were permanently placed."

"I see - and they are our allies?" she asked, her expression thoughtful. Equestria's military had been minimal, with many soldiers serving as royal guards. But there had been times when necessity had called for a larger military force.

"I'm glad to hear that they are all safe," she said. "Were they able to return to their home?"

Just like all the other crewmembers, Celestia had lost her own world - and she knew personally now how painful that could be. She would not wish that on any creature.

"Allies? Yes, I suppose - technically we are only in control of the ship at their behest. They also have a tendency to order us into military action." Rhiow flipped her tail. She had mixed feelings about the GIA. On the one hand, they did not seem to hold any malice toward them. On the other hand, they weren't exactly proactive about giving them information.

Rhiow's ears laid out to the side at Celestia's second question. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "The Ohm have already targeted that planet once. Granted, we did shred their ears to pieces, but who knows if they'll be back. I'd feel better if the refugees were relocated entirely. Still, it's not up to us. The GIA is handling the refugees from here."

"Military action? But we are a ship of refugees. Surely they cannot expect all of us to be able to fight as soldiers," Celestia said, troubled. She would do everything she could to restore Equestria, of course, but she also had to protect her subjects in the here and now. And none of them were soldiers, or warriors.

"I see," she said, considering. "Are we able to communicate with the GIA? I'm sure they would not object to us asking if the refugees were relocated safely."

A Housewarming Party for a Castle

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So late omg sorry ;_;

It's fine! (especially since I'm pretty late myself XD)