//------------------------------//
// Crusading, Part 1 
// Story: I'm in Equestria, But... 
// by niightear 
//------------------------------//

My eyes open to Pinkie Pie’s room. Should I be happy or not that this isn’t a dream? I can’t understand anypony except Pinkie Pie, but I’m in Equestria so...
Pinkie Pie hops over, carrying some chocolate pancakes. “Here you go!”
After I eat the pancakes she says, “I know you can only understand me but maybe the Crusaders can help you! I’ve already told my friends you can’t understand them so hopefully they’ve told their sisters!”

I nod as she says, “They’ll be here in an hour or two! I’ll tour you around Ponyville while we wait!!”
The two of us exit, as we go to Twilight’s castle.
“Twilight! Ocean Wings wants a tour of Ponyville!” Pinkie Pie exclaims, knocking on the door.
Twilight answers the door and... cue horse noises.
“She can’t understand you, remember Twi?” Pinkie says.

Twilight nods, as she ushers us in. She shows us the books, but I have no idea what they’re called.
She writes something down on a piece of paper. Can you read Equestrian Ocean?
“Kind of...” I say. “But it’s mostly just since it somewhat looks like the language we speak where I’m from.”

So she teaches me how to read. It’s hard since I can’t understand her, but oh well. Pinkie Pie translates some of it for me.
I only now realize that... I have no idea why Pinkie can understand me. Probably cause of her fourth wall breaking ability.
We exit the castle as Twilight bellows horse noises. Probably saying goodbye but oh well.

“Let’s see...” a watch magically appears on Pinkie’s hoof. “It’s 9:00 and there’s about 30 minutes until the CMC will be at Sugarcube Corner! I can probably get some paper so you can communicate.”
“Will I just have to carry a piece of paper and a pen with me wherever I go?” I ask. She shrugs.
“I mean saddlebags are pretty cheap - only about ten bits.” she says, skipping to Sugarcube Corner.
“How much is one bit?” I ask.
“Equivalent to... uh... one... er... dollah?” she pronounces it wrong.
“Dollar.” I emphasize as we enter Sugarcube Corner. We enter her room, as she goes down the slide to her party cave, and I follow down, sliding down bum first.

“Let’s see!” she says, skipping over to the drawers. She grabs a notebook, writing on it in black sharpie “OCEAN WING’S TRANSLATION JOURNAL”. I mean I think that’s what she wrote but I can’t one hundred percent tell. It looks like that. “Here you go! And-” she grabs a pen... from her mane, “here!”

She somehow slide up the slide, as I just confusingly look up. 
“Uh... Pinkie!” I call up.


Pinkie gets me up the slide as we hear a knock on the front door. Pinkie Pie bounces over, as I realize that I haven’t seen Mr. or Mrs. Cake the whole time. “Pinkie, where are Mr. and Mrs. Cake?”
“They’re on a trip to Canterlot. They’re showing their desserts off to the princesses!” she exclaims, as she opens the door. “CMC, meet Ocean Wings! Ocean Wings, meet the CMCs!”

Cue, all simultaneously, Madeline Peters, Claire Corlett and Michelle Creber horse noises. 
“One sec.” I say, before running upstairs and grabbing my translation notebook. “Write what you’re saying in here please.”
This is awkward. Sweetie Belle hovers the pen, writing in messy hornwriting, Hi Ocean Wings! So... what do you like doing?
Apple Bloom rolls her eyes, as horse noises happen. I blink as she facehoofs before writing in almost illegible... er... mouthwriting? Hoofwriting? I’ll lead ya to the clubhouse! C’mon!
We exit the town, heading down a path as the normal oak and birch trees slowly transition into apple trees.

Climbing up the stairs to the clubhouse, Sweetie Belle hovers a clipboard and my translation notebook writing in the notebook, What do you like to do Ocean?
“Uh...” I think for a second. “Well I like drawing and writing. But what I’m good at is definitely writing. And somewhat drawing.”
The Crusaders talk among themselves for a bit, before Sweetie Belle writes somethings on the clipboard. She hovers it down onto the pedestal thingie that Apple Bloom stands behind sometimes, before writing in the notebook, Well let’s try some things! You wait here while we get Crusading materials!

The Crusaders exit as I just sit. I can’t even do anything - there’s no board games or anything. Then I realize that there’s a stepladder leading up to a small attic. What’s in there?
I climb up them as I find boxes. I look in them to find pictures and photo albums in general. I take one out, seeing pictures of various crusades and ponies they’ve helped. Bulk Biceps, Tender Taps, Bluenote, Gabby, Zipporwhill, Diamond Tiara, Terramar...

Horse noises. I put the album back in the box and go back down the stepladder.
Let’s start! Sweetie Belle writes in my translation notebook.