It was looking like another great day for Princess Twilight Sparkle. She had just witnessed and participated in the greatest Summer Sun Celebration ever, and to thank her for it, Celestia gave her permission to return to Ponyville, and establish herself once more at Golden Oaks Library to study the strange box she had received from the Tree of Harmony. This was also an opportunity for Twilight to spend more time with her friends, whom she missed so much whenever she had royal business to attend in Canterlot. Spike ever at her side, the little dragon had eagerly packed the essentials for the flight back home. She wasn't the best of fliers, but Twilight could easily handle the flight to Ponyville from Canterlot on a calm, warm summer day like this one.
"The others will be so excited!" exclaimed Spike, as he secured the saddlebags onto Twilight.
"I'm sure they will. And I'm going to make sure I get to spend time with everypony. Luna told me I should drop by the gates of Tartarus to see Cerberus and give him a new ball. I'm certain he'd love it!" smiling at the thought of such a big, menacing three-headed dog really being a big, ball-loving softie. "But first things first, let's head out!" she shouted before taking flight.
The flight itself hardly took ten minutes. According to Spike, it was also much more comfortable than their previous hop over to Ponyville. Smiling bitterly, she reminded the dragon of the circumstances of their last flight. At the time they were being attacked by evil plants and even eviller clouds. Laughing nervously, Spike was silent for the rest of the trip.
Landing on the highest balcony of Golden Oaks Library, Twilight's biggest surprise was to find all five of her friends waiting for her in her living room, with huge grins on their faces. Pinkie Pie was the first to react, squealing in such a high volume and pitch that Twilight was surprised the windows hadn't broken. Quickly following the pink pony was the rest of the group, and within seconds the six of them formed a heartwarming group hug.
"It's great to see you girls!" exclaimed Twilight. "But how did you know I was coming?"
"I saw you coming for miles." explained Rainbow Dash, a smug look on her face. "You're so slow, I had the time to swing by everypony's place and get them to come here. Pinkie's party cannon did the rest, and we still had three minutes to spare." The four others nodded in agreement.
"I must say, Twilight, you absolutely must drop by the boutique!" said Rarity. "I have this brand-new silk I want to try out and who else would I design for first that the Princess of Magic herself! Oh those decorum-obsessed high-tops in Canterlot would be all over it in jealousy! Perhaps even Fancy Pants!" she giggled in excitement.
"I'll be there." assured Twilight. "But there are things I need to take care of first. That will give you time to prepare." The white unicorn nodded in agreement and bolted out the front door.
"Hey sugarcube, I know y'all are busy with yer royal stuff and fancy business, but do yeh think y'all could swing by Sweet Apple Acres and help us buck a couple 'o apples? Harvest's gonna start and it's lookin' mighty plenty this year." asked Applejack.
"I was gonna make it my first priority, AJ. Then I was going to visit Fluttershy for tea, and Pinkie to get..." looking around to make sure the purple dragon wasn't there, for he had left after Rarity a few minutes earlier, she whispered, "Spike's ruby birthday cupcake."
"Hey! What about flying lessons?" piped in Rainbow Dash.
"Flying lessons start tomorrow, Dashie. That was the deal. Today I need to relax with the girls, not repeatedly smash my face in the dirt trying to do a barrel roll around a field of storm clouds." reminded Twilight. Dissapointed, the cyan pegasus flew out the window, followed by Fluttershy who gave but one explanation:
"I have to check on the animals, and get the place ready before you come over." and she was gone.
"Well, I'll get the Cakes started on Spike's gemcake, then I gotta foalsit the twins while they gather the gems for it, and bake it, so I best be going!" and the pink blur was out the door, leaving Applejack and Twilight to walk on over to Sweet Apple Acres.
The job would've taken hours, if Twilight hadn't been there to lend a hand with magic. In a measly 30 minutes, Applejack, Applebloom, Big Macintosh, Granny Smith, and Twilight had finished sorting every apple from the orchard, which had been picked all at once thanks to Twilight.
"Thanks, Twi. Y'all have no idea how much we appreciate your help. You head on over to Fluttershy's place. We got the rest covered." said Applejack. "Be sure to drop by again soon!"
"No problem, really AJ." replied Twilight. "I'd better get going." and she took flight, adjusting her trajectory to the yellow pegasus' cottage.
Tea at Fluttershy's was always pleasant. Watching all the cute little animals go about as she spoke about all the latest treatments she had to use to keep the animals happy and healthy. It warmed Twilight's heart to see Fluttershy open up like this whenever they had tea together. She knew Iron Will's training had helped a great deal, even if Fluttershy had plenty of room for improvement. After about an hour of mare-to-mare chattering, Twilight bid the yellow pegasus farewell and flew off to the entrance to the Gates of Tartarus, after stopping by Sugarcube Corner to get the ball Pinkie had promised her. Upon reaching the entrance, her path was instantly obstructed by a pair of guards.
"Who goes there, and what business brings you to the Gates of Tartarus?" demanded a guard.
"I am Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Magic, and my colleague Princess Luna has told me to check on Cerberus, as well as to bring him a gift."
"Very well, Your Highness. But beware, something agitates Cerberus today. He's been restless for nearly an hour, now." said the other guard, before stepping aside.
*I wonder what would have Cerberus acting like that.* thought Twilight, while bringing out the ball.
A few minutes later, she arrived before the Black Gates, where Cerberus stood, yipping and whining down at something in the upper part of the Pit.
"Oh hey Cerberus! Have you been a good boy?" she asked, in a playful tone, instantly earning the three-headed behemoth's attention. Tossing him the ball, the dog instantly catches it with his middle mouth and begins to chew. Within seconds, the ball was torn to shreds. Cerberus then turned his attention back to the Pit, and resumed his barking.
"What's wrong, boy? Something unusual down there?"
Approaching the ledge, beside Cerberus, she takes a look down, and see what had his attention: two strange, pale figures stood, staring back at them. One figure pointed at her, saying something to the other. Spreading her wings, Twilight hopped from the ledge to get a closer look at the strangers.
*Humans? But how did they get down here?* thought Twilight as she floated down, and landed in front of them. She recognized what they were, after having been one herself for three days in their mysterious world. The humans seemed dumbstruck by her appearance. There was a boy, tall, battered black hair and sea green eyes, and a girl, a little shorter, with long blond hair and stormy gray eyes. The two must've been close, because they were holding hands, and shared many cuts and bruises. The girl's left heel was wrapped in a makeshift splint.
Snapping out of her surprise, Twilight said:
"You two shouldn't be here."
The boy stepped forward, and said:
"We didn't have a choice. It was this world, or death."
"This world is dangerous, and magic does terrible things when balances are broken. With you two in this world, something terrible could happen." explained Twilight.
"We were threatened by monsters." said the girl. "And besides, even if we wanted to turn back, we can't. The mirror portal is sealed from this side." This statement brought a hint of sympathy to Twilight's heart. She knew the feeling of being thrown into an unknown world. She had to bring these two home and help them get to their own world.
"All right then. I'll take you with me. There must be a way back to your world. Allow me to introduce myself: My name is..."
"Twilight Sparkle. You're a pony princess, and an alicorn to boot. You've got huge magic powers that you can use to help protect your homeland of Equestria, along with the other princesses. My name's Percy Jackson, and this is Annabeth Chase. We're demigods, half-mortal children of the Gods of Olympus." interrupted the boy.
Dumbstruck, Twilight's jaw dropped open for a few seconds, and, regaining her composure, she asked Percy:
"How did you know?"
"In my world, Equestria is actually a fictional land from a children's television show. Some friends of mine dared me to watch every episode a few weeks ago. The show depicts various events following you, Twilight, and your journey to learn about the magic of friendship, until recently. You were crowned when you made a final discovery and created new magic. Your most recent adventure brought you to save your hometown, Ponyville, from the nearby forest's overgrowth that threatened to choke out a sacred tree called the Tree of Harmony."
Even more dumbstruck at how accurate this television show was, Twilight didn't know what so say, what to think. Apparently, Annabeth was just as surprised as she was, though a hint of amusement shone in her eyes, too.
"Okay, now you have to come with me. That's a royal order. I want to learn more about you two. So first, let's get out of here." Spreading her wings, and charging her horn, Twilight slowly made her ascent, while magically lifting the demigods as she climbed up to the Gate. After a couple minutes, Twilight set the humans down beyond the gate and collapsed in exhaustion. Multitasking wings and magic was a real energy drain. On the plus side, Cerberus calmed down, and curled up into a massive ball to catch a quick nap. After taking a minute to recover, Twilight bade the demigods to follow her, and just as they stepped out of the cave, something completely unexpected happened: A bright white light enveloped Percy and Annabeth, and a few seconds later, two ponies lay on the ground where they had been. A deep blue pegasus with a black mane and green eyes, and a cutie mark representing a trident sat where Percy had been, and a baby-blue unicorn with blond hair and gray eyes, with a cutie mark representing a triangle where Annabeth was standing.
As the ponies rose, they attempted to stand on their hind legs, only to fall on all fours. The surprised looks on their faces indicated that they had no idea what was going on.
"Percy, Annabeth, look at yourselves." said Twilight.
After a quick self-examination, demigods-turned-ponies sat there, jaws hanging wide open in surprise.