"Urgh... my head..." FlameStar groaned. "Where... where am i..? I feel terrible..." After a few minutes of lying on the ground, FlameStar finally came to. "Wait... seriously though. WHERE AM I?" FlameStar sat down and pondered. As he looked around, he was in the bushes. Nothing looked familiar to him and THAT is saying something. FlameStar has traveled all over Equestria and Beyond, and the fact that he noticed a place that isn't familiar to him just made him more anxious. After some time thinking, he put if off when he remembered something, or in this case someone more important: Alura. She was remotely FlameStar's only hope at stopping Prince Noir. "That little prick stole the Castle of Friendship and dropped it in Canterlot." FlameStar grumbled. "Oooo.... when I find that prick, things won't be sunshine and rainbows..." FlameStar spied an huge building nearby, and a horse statue to boot. "If that building doesn't scream 'Equestria,' I don't know what does." With that, FlameStar ran out of the bushes and into the street. He thought someone in there could help him get to Canterlot and hopefully a way to stop Prince Noir. 2 creatures that walked on 2 legs just stared at FlameStar running on all fours when a fiery haired girl stopped him.
"Who are you?" She asked. FlameStar looked up.
"I'm FlameStar." He answered. "Why is everypony walking on 2 legs?"
"Its how everyone walks here." She answered. She then extended a hand to FlameStar. "C'mon. I'll teach you how." FlameStar blushed slightly then took the girl's hand and he stood up. It felt very weird to FlameStar and it was hard to keep his balance.
"Ack! Are you sure this is how ponies walk here?" FlameStar asked. "This is very odd..." it was quite the struggle just to stay up.
"Don't worry. I've got you. Come this way." FlameStar nervously tried to walk on 2 legs. He was wobbly at first but then he got used to it. Eventually he was able to walk all on his own. "There you go!" The girl cheered.
"Wow... never did this before in my travels." FlameStar said.
"So... you're from Equestria." The girl said.
"How'd you know?"
"I'm from Equestria too. I walked the same way you did when I arrived here. My name's Sunset Shimmer."
"Nice to meet you, Sunset. I'm FlameStar."
"What brings you here?" Sunset asked. FlameStar pondered a bit more, then his memory caught up with him.
"I remember now! I went up to Prince Noir... then he grabbed me and flung me away and then everything went black. Next thing I knew I woke up in those bushes over there." FlameStar looked at the statue next to him.
"Sounds like you're not supposed to be here." Sunset remarked. "That statue is your way back to Equestria. Just walk up to the wall." FlameStar walked up to it and as he tried to walk into the wall, it didn't work. FlameStar gave Sunset Shimmer a very disapproving look.
"Is this some kinda joke, Shimmer?" FlameStar asked annoyed.
"No, I'm serious! I swear!" Sunset said. She then felt around and realized FlameStar was right. "No... where's the portal..?!" She panicked. "WHERE'S THE PORTAL?!" Sunset started to hyperventilate. "Ok stay calm... I'll ask Twilight for help!"
"Princess Twilight?" FlameStar asked. "She went missing when the Castle of Friendship was sieged by Prince Noir... all that I saw was her crown... *gasp!*" FlameStar remembered a critical detail. "Sunset wait! I know how to help. I have a friend around here who knows about this. Her name is Alura." Sunset jumped.
"Alura?! I know that person." Sunset answered. "She went into the school. Maybe you can find her. I'll see if I can figure this out." With that, FlameStar ran into the school but before he opened the doors, he could see himself in the glass and what he saw shocked him throughly.
"What... am...I?" FlameStar stuttered. He then felt his forehead and noticed his horn is gone! "My horn! Without my horn, I can't use the magic from my cutie mark!" FlameStar exclaimed. "Do I even have a cutie mark?!" FlameStar ran into the school and it was all quiet. No one was around. He then saw 2 doors with the same symbol. "Looks like the bathroom. But which one do I use...? The blue one or the pink one..?" FlameStar pondered for a while when a boy walked out the bathroom. "There's my answer." FlameStar walked in and he wanted to know if he had a cutie mark. Making sure no one was around, he pulled down his pants slightly to try and look at his "flank" and as he predicted, he didn't have a cutie mark which confirmed the creatures he met aren't Ponies in anyway shape or form. "That's. Just. Great. No cutie mark plus no horn means no fire." FlameStar groaned. "Although these clothes look nice..." FlameStar gave an experimental tug on his clothes and he felt content with what he had. He was so caught up, he nearly forgot about Alura. "Crap! I need to find Alura!" FlameStar sprinted out and looked around for Alura. He then spied a girl talking to who looked like Fluttershy. She wore a sunlight yellow hoodie with a dandelion dress. She also had a yellow hat and very light pink hair.
"Oh my. You like nature too?" Fluttershy asked.
"Of course! I love all types of life." FlameStar walked up to the two girls.
"Hello there." FlameStar greeted. Fluttershy just ducked away. "Oh not again." FlameStar sighed, mildly annoyed.
"FlameStar! I'm glad I found you!" The girl said,
"Is that you Alura?"
"Of course. I followed you here to make sure you're safe." Alura said.
"You shouldn't have come here. There's no way out of this place." FlameStar said.
"You're kidding!" Alura cried.
"I'm serious." FlameStar said. "There is one girl I ran into who might be able to help us get back to Equestria." Later, FlameStar and Alura went back to the statue where Sunset found an answer to get to Equestria.
"Ok FlameStar. I have a way to get you back home." Sunset pulled out what looked like an Amulet. "This is the Magic Amulet that I used to take down a mighty foe. I'm not sure what magic will be needed but use this to take a bit of the magic."
FlameStar's pupils sparked a small flare when he had an Idea. "The Magic of Friendship!" FlameStar exclaimed. "We need the magic from the bearers of The Elements of Harmony!"
"It sounds cheesy when you put it that way but what have we got to lose?" Alura said.
"How does the Magic work in this world?" FlameStar asked.
"When magic is used, we 'pony up" and get ears, tails and wings." Sunset explained. "It happens when we play music but the magic you probably need is when we're showing the truest sides of ourselves.
"Thus the Elements..." FlameStar said. He then spied a barn not to far from the school. "I think I should start with Honest Applejack."
"Once you got all the magic, we can figure out how to put it Into the portal." Sunset remarked.
"Right!" With that, FlameStar and Alura began their long journey together through the strange world to collect the magic from the Elements and get to Equestria to stop Prince Noir...