Sunset inspected the portal. Everything seemed to be working properly. She turned to her family. “Okay, I'll jump through first. That way, I can catch you just in case the portal decides to spit us out the other end.”
Wallflower leaned close to her children. “Now, watch how Mommy Sunny does it. You want to make sure you land on all fours once you're through.”
The children watched intently as their mother bent slightly forward and stepped into the rippling stone.
Wallflower waited a minute before instructing her older children through. Finally, with just her and Honey, she stepped through the portal.
Wallflower closed her eyes. The swirling tunnel of rainbow colors had always made her stomach sick. She stopped when two arms latched onto her. Opening her eyes, she found Sunset standing next to her, a proud look on her face as she watched their foals get acclimated to their new bodies.
Even opened and folded his wings, trying to flex his new muscles. He did few test flaps before putting them away. “Well, okay,” he smiled, “this is kinda cool.” Next, he gave walking a try. Seemed simple enough: step with one hoof, then follow with three more.
He gave himself a few practice strides up and down the room, eventually, going from a walk to a canter. “Okay,” he said confidently, “I can do this!” That was soon shattered when his sister whizzed over him with a resounding “Whee!”
Even dove to the floor to avoid being hit. “Not cool!”
“Mom!” Rose beamed, trotting up to Sunset, “I'm a unicorn! Just like you!
“Will you teach me magic?”
“I can show you some” Sunset smiled, “But, most of it you can very easily figure out on your own.”
Rose neighed with delight, only to quickly cover her mouth in shock.
“What was that?” Even teased.
Their mothers fought down a chuckle of their own.
“Slight, uh, side effect of being ponies” Sunset explained, “You tend to make horse noises. It's okay, though, everyone here makes them.”
“...and I can't wait to make you whinny” Wallflower whispered into her wife's ear.
“What am I, Mommy?” Honey asked. He walked around in circles, trying to see his tiny body.
“Seems you're an earth pony, Hon” Wallflower reached out a hoof to stop the tyke before he got dizzy, “Same as me.”
“This is so awesome!” Stardust cried out. She hovered in the air above her family. “You all look really tiny!” she giggled.
“Alright, Stardust” Sunset grabbed the filly in her magic, “That's enough of that.”
The little pegasus groaned as she was grounded.
“Oh! You've arrived. Hope the portal wasn't too rough of a trip.”
Even felt his wings perform an involuntary motion.
“No such thing as smooth with this crowd” Wallflower gestured to the young. “How've things been going, Flare?”
The newcomer chuckled as she shut down the portal. “Oh, about as normal as things go here. With the summit, things have gotten crazier. That's why Mom can't be here. She and Dad are off helping Princess Twilight.
“Anyway, if you're all good, I'll walk you out.”
She led the family through the crystal castle. She turned to the young ones. “I hope you guys enjoy your fist trip to Equestria.”
“This place rocks!” Stardust cried. She fluttered past the group, doing barrel rolls as she swerved round the corner.
Even was a bit more cool about it. “Yeah, it's been okay so far.”
“Pony ride!” Honey happily jumped up and down. “Come on! Giddy-up!”
“Easy!” the older brother snarled. It was one thing as his ride; another as his trampoline.
Rose strolled up next to Flare. “You know a lot about magic, right?”
“Yeah...? Kinda how I got my cutie mark.”
Rose glanced Flare's rear. She saw a whole bunch of small stars expanding out from a central point. Her mother had explained them to her and her siblings. How they were a special thing for ponies. She had seen both her mothers' cutie marks when they arrived. She also noticed that she and her siblings were “blank flanks”.
“Do you suppose, when we get back, you could show me some stuff?” she asked.
Flare flipped her bangs aside. “I'd be happy to give you some pointers. But, remember that magic is second nature us unicorns.”
“So Mommy says...” Rose looked back to see her parents gently nuzzling each other.
---
They walked behind their small herd; Wallflower's body pressed into Sunset's. “Just look at out little ones” she whispered.
“I know” Sunset smiled.
“Excited?”
“A little. Happy to be back?”
"A bit. So many memories." Wallflower gave a slight chuckle. “I remember how during our picnics, you would always talk about us, one day, nestled under a shade tree, looking on while our foals tumbled in the grass.”
“That was, if we raised them in Equestria.”
“I know it didn't turn out that way.” She pressed in deeper. “But, every decision we made was for their best interests.”
“Sometimes, I wonder: What about our best interests? Have we done so much for them, that we have forgotten about ourselves?”
Wallflower gently nuzzled her wife. “That's sorta why we're here, isn't it?”
As the castle doors opened, they got their first glimpses of the pony world.
Wallflower gawked in amazement. Ponyville was no longer the little, quaint town she and Sunset used to steal away to when tired of the city life, and, later, called home. It had grown quite a bit. She estimated it was nearly the size of the city she just came from.
Sunset felt the same. “You weren't kidding when you said they were making developments."
“Yeah,” Flare sighed, sadly, “it's almost doubled in size now.”
“Ponies!” Honey cried, jumping up and down, adding to his brother's torment.
“Yes, Honey” Wallflower picked up the tiny colt, sitting him on her back. “Ponies everywhere.”
Flare levitated a package to Sunset. “Here's what you asked for. The tickets are waiting for you at the station.”
Sunset made a quick inspection of the contents before putting it into her saddlebag. “Thanks, Flare. If we don't see you on our way back, good luck on your exams.”
“Thanks!” the younger unicorn smiled.
---
Once settled on the train, Sunset laid out a map of Equestria for everyone to see. She laid a hoof on Ponyville. “We're here now.” Tracing the rail line, she came to a large city. “And here's where we're going.”
Stardust tried to read the label. “Canterlot?”
“It's the capital” Rose said.
Sunset nodded. “And where I grew up. From there, we're going to Neighagra Falls, then on to the Crystal Empire. After that, it's the over to the coast with Manehattan, and, finally, back to Ponyville.”
Even glanced at the map. “What's this Las Pegasus? Kinda sounds like a fun place.” He was confused by his mothers' chuckles.
“You guys are a little too young to go there."