//------------------------------//
// 01 Meeting Serenity 
// Story: My Little Exalt 
// by Lithl 
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My Little Exalt
MEETING SERENITY

by:    Lithl

special thanks:
Rhanite
Saekwaka


In the waning light of the early evening, Pinkie Pie gave a sigh of relief as the last of the ponies made their way out of the Noss Fens. It had been a close thing, getting everypony out before nightfall. Pinkie was not ready to explain shadowlands to a group of ponies (especially the foals!) barely used to the concept of death, much less the world of ghosts and other undead horrors – these were things for playful Nightmare Night costumes, not a reality to be trapped in until the sun rose in the morning.

While Pinkie's stresses had been eliminated, however, Twilight's had only increased.

"Has anypony seen Spike?" Twilight wound her way through the crowd of ponies on the edge of the swamp. With nothing but the clothes on their backs (the few that were wearing any clothes) when they were transported the Noss Fens, and nothing edible during their trek out, everypony was hungry and tired; some had gone without any food for an entire day. The majority of the foals along with the elderly had finally given in to exhaustion, and a handful had been carried the last few miles of the journey. The ponies still able to keep their eyes open were giving thanks to Celestia, and trying to gorge themselves on the fertile grasses.

Twilight was far too agitated to either fall asleep or to give in to hunger. "Pinkie! I haven't seen Spike all day! I thought maybe he was lost among the crowd, and you were really insistent about getting out of the swamp earlier, so I didn't press the issue at the time, but now I'm really worried!"

The truth was that Pinkie hadn't seen Spike either. He had been in Ponyville, and everypony in Ponyville at the time of the explosion had been brought to the Noss Fens. So he must be in the area somewhere. Even though he was a baby dragon, he was still very smart. When everypony you know starts marching in one direction, you don't stick around and you don't ask why or where everypony's going. You stick with the herd!

Still, her friend's stress was getting to her, and Pinkie's smile began to falter. "I'm sorry, Twilight, I haven't seen him either," she replied, ears beginning to droop. Her eyes began to turn down to her hooves, following the path her ears were taking, and then suddenly froze in place. Almost as if she had seen something below perception, her eyes flicked back-and-forth, reading words that weren't there.

"Don't worry, Twilight! Spike will show up soon! I'm positive!" Pinkie's eyes grew wide and her grin grew wider as she leaned in towards the bookish unicorn. "I guess that means you're negative!" At that, Pinkie gave her friend a soft head-butt along the cheek. "Get it? 'Cause you just attracted me to you!" The pink party pony trotted off with a peal of giggles, and Twilight couldn't help but smile a bit at the terrible, terrible pun. It didn't find Spike or relieve her of her concerns, but just knowing that Pinkie was herself despite her baffling knowledge of this strange place was a small comfort.

Twilight turned to continue her search, when a screaming dragon materialized mid-sentence, "...IIIIGHT!" She winced, instinctively folding her ears back against her head in an attempt to reduce the volume of Spike's cry. "TWILIGHT! SAY SOMETHING! ANYPONY, CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" When her eyes opened she could see the little dragon inches away from her muzzle, coughing and out of breath.

Spike wasn't ready to stop, not until he finally got through to one of the ponies that seemed to treat him as though he weren't even there. Thunderlane had nearly stepped on him earlier on the hill! Not even a 'sorry, kid' for it! After catching his breath, Spike began to puff up in preperation for another shout in the hopes that this time, somepony would listen. Before he could open his mouth, he had all the air knocked out of him as he was tackled to the ground by his mentor.

"Oh, Spike, I was so worried," she sniffed, happy tears beginning to stain Spike's scales. After a short moment of bliss from being reunited with her number-one assistant, she froze. Without getting up, or moving from the crushing hug she'd subjected him to, Twilight asked, "Spike... what happened to all of your baby fat?"

Twilight finally let Spike off the ground, and sat back on her haunches. To her surprise, Spike levitated off the ground without the assistance of wings or any unicorn's magical aura. His posture in the air did a good job of showing off his now nearly serpentine body. It didn't seem that his mass had changed much; he'd just been... reshaped, from the short and pudgy baby dragon she knew, to a miniature version of a Canternese dragon.

"You're floating." Twilight's blitheringly obvious statement nearly prompted a strong enough facehoof to give her a concussion. "I mean... what happened to you, Spike?"

As the other Ponyville citizens began to drift to sleep in the meadow bordering the marsh, too tired to even consider erecting shelter from the elements, much less prepare a camp for the evening, Spike launched into his story.

"I was getting ready for bed, like you told me to. I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth when suddenly, the entire room filled up with this crazy light and a really loud noise! The next time I opened my eyes, I was in some kind of tunnel, and I looked like this.

"I tried calling for you, Twilight, really. I remember you said if I ever got lost, I should find some place open and wait for somepony I knew to find me. So, I started walking around, trying to find someplace open like you said, and then I heard voices! I was gonna hide, but then I realized it was you and Pinkie, so I started shouting to get your attention, but you both acted like you didn't even notice me.

"I followed you guys outside but nopony would pay any attention to me, no matter what I did. Thunderlane nearly stepped on me, and he wouldn't apologize. It was like he didn't even know I was there.

"When everypony started leaving, I figured I could hop on your back for a ride... at least for a little while. But then I didn't land on your back, I fell through. Just before I hit the ground again, I started hovering – like this!

"On the way, I tested out what I could do. I'm no Rainbow Dash, but however I'm doing this, it's pretty easy. Like, I just think about how I want to fly, and I do it! Well, mostly, anyway. I get something close to what I think of. No sonic rainbooms – I tried. Still, nopony even looked at me the whole time.

"When we stopped, I came back here to you to try and get your attention again. I've been shouting in your face for almost half an hour, heh. I was just so frustrated. All I wanted was to be seen again. And then, uh... you tackled me." Spike's narration was accompanied by gesticulation to try and express the severity of the emotions he'd felt. From fear to worry to relief to confusion to boredom, elation, and joy, his past day had been an emotional ride the likes of which neither Ponyville's wall-eyed mailmare nor Equestria's self-proclaimed fastest flier could hope to duplicate in the air.

His exhaustion obvious in his face, Twilight pulled him in close with a gentle embrace much different from their tearful reunion. "Have you at least eaten anything?"

Spike's eye ridges shot up to the top of his head and he went rigid with shock. He'd never imagined in his wildest dreams that he would ever say the following words: "Actually, I'm not hungry. I wasn't even tired at all... until... just now..." His eyes drooped, as he drifted off to sleep.

With her concern for her ward eased, Twilight finally felt the pangs of hunger attack her midsection. A light grazing quieted her needs, and she curled around the purple and green creature at her hooves. Though he may have changed form, Spike was still Spike, and his love for sleep certainly hadn't changed. Twilight looked up to the stars and the faintly-visible rising new moon. The constellations were all unfamiliar. The midsummer night air was warm, feeling almost like a blanket engulfing Twilight's entire body. Wherever they were... the ponies... weren't home... but that was... a... problem... for... tomorrow.

One by one and two by two, the ponies of Ponyville succumbed to sleep. Celestia's dawn would bring them a brighter tomorrow, surely, they would soon return to their home.

Only one pony remained awake. Perhaps she was on watch for predators of the night, some ancient instinct telling her the herd needed to be protected. Or perhaps she knew something about this place the others did not. Or perhaps she was still riding the high of comatose-inducing levels of sugary sweets she ingested on a daily basis.

This close to a shadowland, Pinkie Pie couldn't afford to sleep.


In the morning, everypony seemed to understand there wouldn't be any pancakes and coffee for breakfast. With nothing but the clothes (or lack thereof) on their backs, grazing would have to be the standby until everypony got home or some form of civilization was found. And although nopony said it, not even Mayor Mare, everypony was looking to the Bearers for guidance in this alien land.

Twilight was more than willing to take the lead, conferring with her friends after her walking breakfast.

"So, girls, let's sum up what we know, and what we need."

"Well, Ah reckon we're gonna need water pretty soon, or these ponies are gonna die o' thirst 'fore we can get back home."

"This place has robbed me of my awesomeness!" With a glare from her friends, Rainbow amended, "uh, I mean... the pegasi can't fly, but we can glide. And the unicorns can barely do any magic."

"We simply need to get some shelter. Sleeping outside last night has simply ruined my mane!"

"Well, um... Pinkie says there's... 'p-people' to the west. Maybe they could help us?"

"And, of course, we need to find a way back to Equestria. Pinkie, do you have anything to add?" Five pairs of eyes turned to the pink mare, who'd apparently been distracted by a grasshopper nearby.

"Huh? Oh yeah! D'you girls think it's hot out?"

The rest of the Bearers let out an exasperated sigh. Pinkie had seemed so knowledgeable and helpful yesterday, even if they couldn't explain where she'd gotten her knowledge. Now, it seemed Pinkie was back to being regular old Pinkie. (If 'being Pinkie' could possibly be called regular.)

"I just wish I had something to write with and write on. I guess I'll just have to keep my checklists in my head for now. Sorry to put you out of work, Spike!" Twilight gave herself a little chuckle, and then stopped. Where was Spike? She'd been with him when she went to sleep... "Spike! Where are you? SPIIIKE!!"

After a minute or two of shouting as the six mares searched around for Spike ("I swear he was lying right here last night!"), Spike showed up exactly where Twilight had last seen him, almost appearing out of thin air. In fact, she was certain several of her friends had looked there; she had stomped through that very spot herself during their brief search.

"Aw, geez, what do you want? It's sooo early!" Spike yawned, and lay his head on his front claws to try and go back to sleep.

"Spike, you disappeared again! What happened?!"

"Ooh, he's good!" Pinkie Pie cooed, hovering uncomfortably close to Twilight as she tried to inspect the sleepy dragon. "I'm not even that good at hide-and-seek! And hide-and-seek is one of my favorite games!"

Twilight tried to ignore Pinkie, and prodded Spike awake. She was annoyed at him for being lazy, yet she was worried that he might disappear at any moment. "Wake up, Spike, we have to keep everyone moving. And why did you disappear on us?!"

With a groan, Spike lifted himself into the air, eliciting an impressed gasp from Rarity and a jealous grumble from Rainbow. He didn't reply to the question until he was satisfied that he'd rubbed all the sleep out of his eyes. "I dunno, Twilight. I went to sleep, and when I woke up, you were shouting. I was a little annoyed at being woken up so early, so I... I think I focused on being seen, and then I complained about how early it was."

Rarity stepped up, eyeing Spike and taking in his new form for the first time. "Perhaps, my dear, his new form came with certain abilities in addition to his unconventional mode of flight, and might I say absolutely gorgeous body." Everypony held her breath to see Spike's reaction to the fawning praise given to him by his crush. They were not disappointed by his midair swoon, and had to stifle giggles lest they bring down Rarity's wrath for teasing her 'Spikey-wikey'. "Based on the story he told you, he was able to pass through you when nopony could see him. Perhaps his new body's natural state is immaterial, like a ghost! When he went to sleep and relaxed enough, he became immaterial again. And when he expressed desire to be seen, he returned to a material state."

Silence roared through the group, staring at Rarity as if she had grown a second head. "What?"

"Rarity, you sound like an egghead."

"What inspired such a hypothesis?"

A small flush of color rose to her cheeks as she tried to hide back the embarrassment in her reply, "ah, you see... it was the premise of a novel I've been reading recently. The stallion was a ghost, but he could become solid, so he... would walk through the walls of the mare's room to see her... and..." Now a full crimson, the fashionista could not finish her explanation.

But that didn't stop Spike from panicking: "I'm a ghost?! Are you saying I died in that explosion?!"

Spike was cut off with a purple hoof filling his mouth. "There are no such things as ghosts. I don't know how many times I have to tell you, Spike, all those Nightmare Night monsters are completely fictional."

"Well, um... Nightmare Moon was real enough..." Twilight had no response to Fluttershy's argument, and she opted to change the subject, and turn the conversation back towards guiding all of Ponyville through an alien world.

"Spike, could you fly up and see if there might be a source of water nearby?" Twilight tried to ignore the look of anguish that flashed over Rainbow Dash's face, but it was gone quickly enough. Losing her flight had been a big blow to Rainbow's self-image, and now the previously flightless Spike was the only one who could serve as an aerial lookout.

Spike began floating into the sky, legs hanging limp behind him as his body undulated through the air. His muscle memory really did seem to be like that of a snake; even in midair, he was unconsciously trying to slither.

With only a little altitude, he could see for miles. It was, in fact, a little disorienting to be able to see this far, almost as if the land had been a bowl, which was then flattened out while Spike could still see the entire interior. To the west, he could see rolling meadows shining in the summer sun, broken up by small trees here and there. Sweeping his vision southward, he passed by two separate forests, which were no larger than Whitetail Wood back home. He focused on this until his view rested on the rising dense foliage due south, extending to the east and north, then finally surrounding on three sides the swamp they'd stepped out of the previous evening. The huge forest extended far beyond what he could see, though the trees grew noticeably taller further west. It wasn't homogenous, either: to the south, the trees were rougher, almost scrub-like; to the deep west, the forest consisted of giants like redwoods (and trees taller than the redwoods!), and the forest graduated to evergreens in the north.

In the open fields, Spike could make out animals, despite the distance. They were too far away to identify any individual species, but there was obviously an entire ecosystem from edible plants to rodents and grazers to predators. There were creatures shuffling through the grass, climbing or resting in the small trees that dotted the landscape, and birds flitting through the air. Satisfied, Spike began his descent to give his report on the surrounding area.

Twilight was a bit disheartened by the news. "No sign of civilization anywhere?" There was none visible as far as he could see. "Let's head toward the nearest of those two smaller forests. There's bound to be a source of water there to support all the trees."

Pinkie stepped in again, the serious face she'd shown the previous day returned. "No, it's too far. Spike has underestimated how far away he'd been able to see up there. The wood to the southwest is over a hundred miles away, and the other is nearly two hundred miles away. We'll never make it to either of them before dehydration sets in."

Reactions among the ponies were mixed. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash both stared at Spike in awe (their reasons for the awe may have been different, but awe it was). Applejack glared at Pinkie, unable to believe such an empty, uninhabited and uncultivated area of land could be so large. Twilight was lost in thought; whether she heard the declaration of the immense distance, nopony could've been able to tell. Rarity, to her credit, did not faint at the prospect of 'roughing it'.

Twilight stroked her chin, "well, if making for the forest is out of the question, I say we stick with our original plan and head west. Spike said there were smaller trees dotting the landscape that direction, so there must be a stream or creek or something somewhere giving them water. Plus, all those animals he saw will need water eventually. Hopefully, it'll be enough for everypony to share.

With no further objections from Pinkie, the Bearers led the townsponies further into the heart of Creation.


Fluttershy's extensive experience with animals came extremely handy that afternoon. She'd found a trail created by some unknown grazing animal – the kind of trail that its creator took to drink. Within minutes, the ponies in the front of the herd stumbled into a small stream that they'd been unable to see until they were right on top of it. The shape the water cut into the earth and the grasses surrounding it formed a kind of natural optical illusion disguising its presence. Even the bed of the stream conspired to keep it hidden, the water running smoothly over without making a sound. If it weren't for the small willow tree growing by the bank, it was unlikely any ground-dwelling creature could've found it. Even a flier would probably have some trouble.

As the thirsty ponies rushed to the bank to drink their fill, Twilight approached the animal loving pony with a hint of unease. "Fluttershy, Spike said he saw creatures all over this place. We followed an animal's tracks to get to this stream. Why haven't we seen any of the actual creatures?"

Always eager to talk about animals, Fluttershy didn't try to hide from the question. Instead, she launched into a lecture that could almost put Twilight's standard to shame. As it turned out, Fluttershy had seen evidence of many animals in their passing. All of them had made themselves scarce in the wake of the trampling hooves of an entire town of ponies. The prey among them were frightened by the noise, or by unfamiliar faces, and fled or hid. The predators were either too small to take down a pony – and also fled or hid – or they couldn't risk attacking such a large group, and followed the fleeing prey for an easier meal.

In the stream, many ponies were getting silt in their mouth, mixed into the water by hasty ponies further upstream. That didn't stop them from drinking their fill, the first source of water they'd had in almost two days. With the banks full of drinking ponies, some spread further up or downstream to find a spot, while others were patient enough to wait for their friends and family to get their fill before taking a turn.

Pinkie smiled as Mr. and Mrs. Cake ushered their twins away from the stream, and stepped up to take a drink herself. She bent down, and hesitated. Before her eyes, familiar symbols began to form on the surface of the water in black ink, floating in the water but ignoring the current. Nopony else could have recognized the symbols for what they were, even if the symbols had been visible to them. The strokes in the water appeared in sequence, as though being written by an invisible quill.



Keep ponies there. Carnival in three days. Carnival entrance near you. Entrance little trouble for you and dragon. Recommend find way to get others inside.


Pinkie read over the message, then read it again. She fought with all of her willpower to avoid one of her signature "potential party" gasps, and looked away from the water to clear the message. She was going to the Carnival of Meeting! That was even better than the Grand Galloping Gala, and unlike the Gala it wouldn't be stuffed full of snobby royalty. They probably wouldn't have sarsaparilla or "Pin the Tail on the Pony", but there would be plenty of other stuff.

Pinkie gulped up enough water to sate her thirst, and galloped off to find Twilight and her other friends.

"Twilight! We have to make camp here for the night. And tomorrow night. We gotta stay right here!" Twilight, taken aback by the sudden outburst from Pinkie, lifted a foreleg and shifted her weight to her back legs, an instinctual response to surprise, readying her body for flight. She raised an eyebrow and was about to question why they had to make camp for two days when all previous data had indicated that continuing westward was the best course of action, when the pink pony continued, "if we stay here for two nights, then we won't have to wander the countryside for weeks! There's this thing... I'm not sure if I'm allowed to tell you about it yet. But it's gonna happen the day after tomorrow, and close to here. Well, sort of. It's gonna be really far away, but the entrance will be close. And it's probably the best thing EVER!"

Twilight was about to say 'no', but it seemed Pinkie was prepared for that, and turned on the most adorable puppy-dog eyes anypony had ever seen. Twilight didn't manage to look away in time, and she was trapped. With a sigh, she said, "Fine. Let's get everypony together and start trying to make a camp."

As the day drew to a close, the ponies began to settle down in their makeshift camp. It had been difficult at first; ponies traveled in groups of five to gather supplies at Fluttershy's recommendation, in hopes that the larger predators wouldn't try to attack a group, and the earth ponies had been confounded by the difficulty they were having weaving grass into tarps. It seemed much of their inherent magic was lost to them just like the pegasi and the unicorns. With all of the ponies working together in harmony, though, they managed to construct grass-tarps, gaps sealed with mud from the stream and dried in the sun, and propped on sticks to form a loose collection of tents for temporary housing. The situation was far from ideal, but it would be sufficient for two nights, at least. And everypony had something they could put in their belly (even if it was just grazing), and plenty of water to drink.

In the late afternoon, as it was obvious the new arrivals were not going to leave the stream, some of the animals in the area gave in to curiosity and came for a closer look at the strange creatures. Most of the curious were simple vermin leaving their hiding places when nothing came knocking. Squirrels, field mice, grass snakes, possum, and more all returned to the bustle of small life in the wild. Most of the ponies ignored the resurgence of the local fauna, used to similar sights back home. Fluttershy, of course, took great interest in the animals.

"Hello, little friend," she smiled to a badger drinking from the stream. Even if she was in a new world, she could still make friends with and take care of all the little creatures she came across. Communicating with animals was her special talent, after all! Unfortunately, the badger spooked at the sound of her voice and ran off, far faster than she could have chased it. She tried to call out, ask him to wait, to tell him that everything was ok... but the words died in her throat as she came to a realization: what if special talents were linked to the magic of Equestria just like Pegasus wings and unicorn horns? Fluttershy wouldn't be able to work with woodland creatures, and Pinkie Pie's parties would flop, and... and...

The tears began to flow, and Fluttershy let her worries and fears pour out of her. More than anything, she was homesick, and she barely noticed as her closest friends began to silently show up around her. First Applejack gave her a shoulder to cry on, and then Rarity leaned on her other side creating an oddly comforting pressure as Fluttershy was sandwiched between the cowpony and the seamstress. Pinkie Pie nuzzled her cheek, simultaneously lifting spirits with the touch and wiping her cheeks dry, while Twilight tried to rub her back, murmuring something about 'letting it all out'. Rainbow Dash stood to the side awkwardly for a moment, uncertain what to do in a situation like this, but wanting to help her oldest friend. Rarity caught her eye, and mouthed a command to Rainbow: hug her.

Finally joined in a full group hug, the six Bearers were joined by their bonds of friendship as each relieved the stresses built up within the others. Surely they would find a way home, but for now they could rely on each other for all the support they would need.


On her third day in Creation, Twilight approached Pinkie for answers.

"I looked up at the sky last night, Pinkie." The pink pony blinked back at Twilight, as if waiting for something more substantive. "I tried to find the moon in the sky." She was met with another blank stare. Suppressing a frustrated growl, she finally revealed what was bothering her, "it wasn't there, Pinkie! The moon was gone! The night before last was a new moon, but it's easy to see a new moon if you know what to look for, and it simply wasn't there! The stars were all missing, too, and they were present the night before last as well! What's going on?"

Pinkie's response began with a lighthearted chuckle, "is that all, Twilight? Don't worry, that's normal!" Twilight must have looked extremely taken aback by the claim that it was 'normal' for the moon and stars to be present one night, and gone the next, because Pinkie grinned and launched into the most bizarre explanation of celestial dynamics Twilight had ever heard.

In Creation, the calendar had to be reset ('you mean like Winter Wrap-Up back home?'; 'yup!'). The last five days of the year were a period known as 'Calibration', when all of the celestial bodies were returned to their correct position in the sky for the new year. That meant the stars and moon had to be taken down for a few nights. It was nothing to be worried about.

Cautiously accepting the explanation – after all, Twilight's studies of other universes had revealed that not all of them needed to move the sun and moon by magic, so perhaps this one needed more than just the sun and moon to be moved – Twilight's shrewd mind caught on to a connection Pinkie hadn't expected: "So, does this 'Calibration' have anything to do with why we're staying here tonight?" Hesitantly, Pinkie nodded the affirmative. "Please, Pinkie, tell me what you've got planned. I need to know what we're getting all of our friends and neighbors into!"

Pinkie hemmed and hawed, and finally decided to give her friend the truth (part of it, anyway). "We're going to a party!"

"A party," Twilight deadpanned.

By now, Pinkie had gotten herself worked up over the prospect of attending a fantastic festival, and nodded enthusiastically. "Every year, on the third day of Calibration, there's this great big party held in... well, the place is called 'Yu-Shan', and I'll leave it at that." She scraped a bit at the ground with her forehoof; there was obviously more to tell about 'Yu-Shan' than she was willing to share. "Anyway, they open gateways to the party all over the world, and a lucky few get in without a formal invite. And one of those portals is supposed to open near here!"

The party pony was obviously enthused about attending this world's biggest party of the year. But there was still some nagging doubt in Twilight's mind, and it wasn't just her negative experience with what should have been 'the best night ever!' for her and her friends. "If only a 'lucky few' are allowed in to this party without invitations, then how do you expect to get all of Ponyville inside?"

Pinkie's grin twisted mischievous, verging on sinister, as she confided with the purple unicorn, "oh, I have a plan..."


"Pinkie, are you sure this is gonna work?" Spike was extremely nervous as he floated next to her in the lead of the entire herd towards their mysterious destination. He stared back at the other ponies, with unicorn auras surrounding every horn, hoof, wing, tail, and mane. It was kinda eerie to see the mismatched colors floating around everypony, and the final result made the ponies look like some kind of supernatural beings. "And what about you and me? Why don't we need any unicorns thrumming on us?"

Pinkie seemed confident that her plan would work, and pated the little dragon on the head. "Don't worry, Spike. The guards are pretty smart, but they've never seen unicorn magic, even if it is just thrumming. And they won't bother you, because you're a dragon." She beamed her most reassuring smile at him, to try and lift his spirits. It seemed her strategy worked, as he gave a slightly surprised smile right back. They're going to let me in... just because I'm a dragon?

Soon, Pinkie and Spike crested a hill and saw their destination below: a free-standing arch made of gold, silver, some kind of prismatic sparkling steel, and five different colors of stone (a fiery red, an inky black, a sky blue, a forest green, and a dusty white). The arch was taller than three ponies standing on each other's backs, and wide enough for three or four ponies to walk abreast, with plenty of wiggle room. The arch led nowhere, but it was obvious this was where Pinkie was leading everypony.

And he drew closer Spike could see that when he peered through one side of the arch, it opened into an expansive hall perhaps three or four times the size of the Books and Branches library; from the opposite side, the arch was completely empty.

Pinkie stalked up to the 'front' side of the arch confidently, and walked in. After a moment's hesitation, Spike followed, and the herd followed closely behind. The first thing he noticed in the hall was the only thing to notice: three golden lion statues positioned like guards, each with a mirror finish and standing nine spans high at the shoulder. Are these the 'guards' Pinkie had talked about? They're only statues! Then one of the statues moved.

It turned towards the pink pony approaching it and bellowed, "Halt. State your business in Yu-Shan this day." The statue's voice boomed like thunder and rang like a bell at the same time.

As her friends drew in closer to listen to the conversation, Pinkie craned her neck up (way up) and looked the lion in the eyes before replying, "I have come for the Carnival of Meeting. On my way, I encountered a young censor," she indicated Spike to her side, "as well as a group of elementals from the Court of Seasons who were finishing their planning for the Carnival," she indicated the herd of ponies behind her, still filing through the archway.

The lion barely glanced at Spike before announcing, "The censor may pass." Not one to take the chance at this magical statue changing its mind, he quickly floated to the relative safety of 'further down the hall'. The other two lions had, by now, taken up more menacing guard positions around the herd, ready to pounce should anything go wrong. The first lion, the one who had done all of the talking thus far, spoke again. "I have never seen elementals such as these. Identify yourself who vouches for their authenticity."

Through it all, the other ponies kept quiet. Pinkie had warned them what might happen if their ruse slipped. Since they were all mortal, they couldn't be punished under the normal laws of Yu-Shan (Twilight had been quick to ask whether that meant Yu-Shan had immortals in it, but Pinkie had refused to answer). However, the guards at the gate still had full authority to fine or imprison them or, should they feel it necessary... devour them. Pinkie's ruse was a dangerous one, but the plan required that Pinkie do all the talking, so Twilight kept her mouth shut even when Spike got through the checkpoint unhindered.

Pinkie had not lost any of her confidence, but now she would be forced to reveal her nature to her friends. She'd never imagined she would ever show this side of herself to anypony; then again, she'd never imagined she would actually be in Creation with anypony either. She closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath. When she opened them again, her blue eyes were sparkling, almost glowing. And on her forehead a symbol had appeared, glowing with a bright blue light. "I am Pinkamena Diane Pie, Chosen of Serenity and servant to Maiden Venus. I am a Joybringer and one of Heaven's Courtesans. On my word and under the light of the Cerulean Lute of Harmony, I vouch for the honor of those who walk with me." Pinkie was keenly aware of the shocked stares the other ponies were giving her, boring through the back of her skull. This was also the most risky part of her plan; while her oath held no magical enforcement (and it wasn't a Pinkie Promise), it was still an oath made in the face of a celestial lion. She had been very careful to word her oath such that it sounded like she was answering the lion's demand, but was still truthful. She hadn't named the ponies as elementals, nor claimed they were members of the Court of Seasons; she had only vouched for the ponies' honor. She hoped the lion wouldn't notice the fact that she'd dodged him.

As soon as Pinkie had closed her mouth, of course, the Lion graciously stepped out of her way, "you may pass, Ms Pie. Yu-Shan welcomes your return." That wasn't the part Pinkie was holding her breath for. It was the pause as the Lion stared at the other ponies and considered her oath. He knew a Chosen of Journeys could not make a mystically binding oath, and carefully considered her words. Eventually, though, he conceded that a Sidereal vouching for the group would be good enough: "The Court members may pass."

Finally letting go of her baited breath, Pinkie led the ponies to the opposite end of the hall and rejoined Spike. At the end, they reached a gateway apparently made of diamond or crystal. The two lions who had not spoken followed the group, and as they approached the gate, they stopped and each barked a command. The gate swung outwards at the sound of the golden lions' voices, and the ponies strode into the city of heaven.