//------------------------------//
// 1: Of Pancakes and Mirrors 
// Story: Protecting Our Dreams: RWBY & MLP: FiM 
// by Blader-San 
//------------------------------//

Princess Twilight Sparkle looked over at the mysterious hexagon box that now rested in Golden Oaks Library in Ponyville. So far, the six locks requiring what she guessed were six keys had baffled her. There had been no mention of this object in any historical record, nor any indication of what might be inside. 

That's why on this particular morning, she and other former Elements of Harmony were inspecting the mysterious box and yet another artifact that would hopefully give them some answers:

The Mirror from the Crystal Empire. 

Celestia had sent the Mirror to Twilight to hopefully aide her protege in her search for what lied inside the box.

As Twilight inspected the Mirror to see if they were no cracks, damages, or missing pieces, on the opposite side of the portal, Ruby Rose did the same, carefully examining the intricate full size mirror she had gotten from Dust Till Dawn. Apparently, it had been a thank you gift from the shopkeeper, despite Ruby's adamant protests. 

Weiss glared sharply at Ruby, opened her mouth to let loose a full fledged lecture, and then promptly shut it, deciding against the action. 
"I'm not even going to ask why you got such a large mirror when you don't even use a compact mirror in the first place." Weiss sighed, starting to pace the floor, then stopped again to rub her temples. Her mind was tethering her frustration with excuses that Ruby had simply been gullible and received yet another extravagant gift. They were working...for now.
"Remind me again what exactly the shopkeeper's excuse was...to give you, I mean, all of us, this?" She inquired, looking at the mirror, then at Ruby.

Ruby thoughtfully tapped her index fingers together. "Well...the shopkeeper said it was supposed to be able to make a person's inner desire come true. All I see is a reflection....and something else." Ruby added, shaking her head clear her focus.

Blake's eyes glanced up from the novel she was reading, looking at Ruby. "And just what is this something else, Ruby?" Blake questioned, feeling that Ruby was hiding something. 

Ruby shuffled her feet, nervous. "I thought I saw...a pony." Ruby mumbled. 

Weiss raised an eyebrow, unflinching as she tried to process what her teammate and friend had said. "You saw a what?" 
Ruby blushed with a little embarrassment. "I said...I thought I saw a pony....and maybe a dragon?" She sheepishly admitted.

Weiss' once frustrated expression dropped to a blank emotionless stare. "A pony. You are telling us you saw a pony. If you did see a pony, then why isn't it in the mirror now?" She demanded, dragging a unwilling and slightly nervous Ruby over to the floor to ceiling mirror. 

Weiss and Ruby stared deeply into the mirror. Nothing happened. No pony appeared, no menacing dragon or Grimm behind or in front of them. However, the second Weiss turned to look away, Ruby spotted the familiar look of that lavender pony with a horn and wings she had seen earlier when she and Yang had brought the mirror into the room. 

Quickly grabbing Weiss' hand, Ruby yanked Weiss back towards the mirror, focusing her attention on the creature she had seen. 

Weiss gasped. Staring right back at her...

...was a white unicorn with the most prestigious and well-kept purple mane she had ever seen. 

"Ruby, tell me you're also seeing a pony, so I'm sure I'm not insane." Weiss asked, not looking away from the mirror, her gaze captivated by the sight in front of her. 

Blake noticed her friends transfixed gaze at the object, and safely guessing it wasn't obsession over vain looks(though Weiss' extremely through hair-brushing was a little much, according to Blake's personal preference) decided to get Yang, who had earlier in the day said she had arrangements with Nora and Pyrrha. 

"For everything that I know about Yang and seen so far, I'd bet five Lien she's sparring with them."  Blake grinned inwardly as she thought of Yang caught in a match between Nora and Pyrrha. 

To Blake's surprise and a mild dose of confusion, Yang triumphantly kicked open the door, Pyrrha and Nora entering behind her, carrying various shopping, retail, and in Nora's case, home appliance bags, all nearly filled to bursting.

Blake felt herself grin a little. "I see you went shopping." She commented, impressed by the amount of bags the girls were carried. "I believe that's about...350 Lien a person. Definite Yang-sized shopping raid. Spree is far too tame a word." Blake thought to herself.

Yang collapsed beside her, sprawling out on the bed with several bags. "You could say that." Yang added, laughing. "I never knew you were such a shopaholic, Pyrrha."

Pyrrha modestly chuckled as she sat on the bed opposite from Blake and Yang. "My mother did teach me how to find a good deal. I suppose it does come in handy." She blushed, but never losing the edge and elegance of her charm.

Yang smiled, as Nora flopped down beside Pyrrha."Nora...I guess I should've expected you would go nuts over the pancake griddle." 

Nora lovingly hugged the box containing the pancake griddle. "Now I can get Ren to make me all the pancakes I want..." She said dreamily, sighing contently upon the thought of a small mountain's worth of pancakes, all carefully hand crafted by Ren. 

Yang curiously looked at Ruby and Weiss, who had been staring into the mirror ever since she had entered the room. She walked over to Ruby, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Ruby...are you alright?" Yang hesitantly asked, unsure as to why Ruby was deeply looking into the mirror she had helped her sister put in their room earlier.

Both Weiss and Ruby jumped as Yang came up behind them. 

"Ruby! Is that a…” Weiss asked Ruby, her gaze still upon the mirror. 

"It is! It's another one!" Ruby, exclaimed, grabbing Weiss’ arm.

Yang was now confused. She moved past Weiss to see what the duo were talking about. 
To her surprise, she found herself looking right back at a blue pegasus with the brightest rainbow colored hair she had ever set eyes on upon. 
"Tell me I just saw that, right?" Yang spoke, her jaw slightly slack from disbelief.

On the other side of the mirror, Rarity glowered back at Rainbow Dash, her mane falling over her shoulder. "See there darling, it looks as if there are residents...wherever those beings come from."

Twilight Sparkle frowned as she put a hoof to her temple. "That's strange...last time the mirror went to a version of our world, but with the human versions of ourselves instead of ponies. Unless these people are like us in some way, this doesn't add up..."

Rainbow Dash shrugged, hovering off the ground. "Maybe the mirror is hooked up to a different portal this time?"
She earned grimacing remarks from every pony in the room, save Pinkie Pie,who was happily waving at the mirror. "Just suggesting." Rainbow said, sheepishly smiling to avoid any further mishaps.

Pinkie continued to wave. "Ooh! Another possible version of me! Yippee!" She cheerfully inquired. 

And to her delight, the orange haired girl in the mirror waved back. She then promptly left, only to return with a sign that read:
DO YOU LIKE PANCAKES?
NORA, AKA THE PERSON HOLDING THIS.

Pinkie rushed off to grab a sign, her compatriots oblivious to her actions.

"Ruby, what you're seeing can't be possible. Pegasi are a myth. Ones with horns aren't even mentioned in traditional folklore." Pyrrha objected, attempting to provide reason back in Team RWBY's room. 

Nora giggled as she read Pinkie's sign.
OF COURSE! ESPECIALLY WITH HOT BUTTER AND SYRUP! 
PINKIE PIE, AKA THE PONY HOLDING THIS.

Weiss glared at Nora, who been in a constant giggle fit for the past few moments. Normally, it was appreciated, but under the conditions that the supernatural might be involved, Weiss felt that everyone had to be serious.

In Ponyville, Rarity glared at Pinkie Pie, who was laughing so hard she had rolled onto her back. 
"Is there something you find funny?" Both the fashionista and the heiress asked their chortling companion.

Pinkie calmed down, wiping her brow. "Not a probelmo at all!" She exclaimed. "But I do think we'll have company any minute now!" 

Nora giggled. "Guys, there's a super-cute pony in the mirror! And it likes pancakes too! We're already good friends and everything! Well...mirror friends who exchange visual messages, but you get the point."

Weiss felt her jaw drop. "You just said what?"

Nora slowly took a breathe to restate what she had previously said in a hurried rush. "I said, I saw a pony that could write! It was really cute, too! Oh, and likes pancakes!"

Blake looked at Nora sharply, her bow twitching. "Nora, that's impossible." 

Pyrrha crossed her arms. "Maybe not here....but what about...through the mirror?" She suggested. 

Ruby perked up. "Through the mirror? How would we go through the mirror in the first place?" She asked.

Weiss grimaced. "And how exactly do you suppose we get there, wherever there is?"

Yang grinned. "I'm up for a adventure to wherever this is." 

Blake resisted the intoxicated urge to roll her eyes. She instead chose to respond with, "Would you like me to grab your fedora?" She sarcastically added.  

Nora finally spoke up. "We just jump through! No offense, but it is kind of a no brainer. I mean, what else do you do with a mystical semi-solid magic mirror?" Nora paused to think of answers to her own question. Her face lit up the moment she had a idea."Two words: TIME TRAVEL." She uttered, earning groans from each of the girls. 

Blake felt her ears twitch underneath her bow. "Did you say semi-solid?" Blake questioned, drawing closer to Nora, examining the mirror's surface as she did. "Because if the mirror is semi-solid, somebody would have noticed something by now." She mused aloud.

Blake turned around to find Nora slowly backing up to the other corner of the room, crouching down like a sprinter. The mischievous and determined look in her eyes had already spoken for what she was going to do. 

Charging forward in a blaze of lightning, Nora giggled as she suddenly yelled, "FOR THE PANCAKES!" aloud, suddenly disappearing into the mirror, the reflective surface shimmering and warping behind her. 

Weiss cringed as Yang laughed, drawing a pair of sunglasses out of her vest pocket. "Well, this looks like a rescue mission. Off to the land of ponies and rainbows we go!" Yang shouted, hurling herself into the mirror. 

Blake sighed and took a quick breath before running a short distance to jump into the mirror, hot on Yang's heels.

Weiss rubbed her temples. "Alright Weiss, you can do this. You're...You're just throwing yourself into a mirror. No big deal, no pain...just...an unexpected reality behind it with completely different physical laws. And ponies. No problem, right?" Weiss ran forward into the mirror, expecting no resistance.

Ruby had decided three point two seconds prior to Weiss' moving forward to also run at the mirror. The duo collided, both of them slipping into the large mirror. 

Pyrrha softly chuckled. "I guess that means I have to go keep an eye on Nora. Sounds...enjoyable." She mused, lightly running before jumping right into the mirror. 

As soon as Pyrrha vanished behind the mirror, the surface smoothed over with a thin shine, becoming solid. 

Without any warning, a bright white mare with sleek orange hair, catapulted out of the mirror, screeching to halt as she struggled to find balance with the floor. Shaking her head vigorously, she twirled around, examining her short spiked tail and her clothes. She gasped aloud, twirling again. “This….is so amazingly spectacularly wonderful!” She said aloud, bouncing on the floor in excitement. 
Twilight cautiously approached the newly arrived mare, who was still bouncing up and down in giddy glee. “Hi there. My name is Twilight Sparkle-”

“Princess Twilight Sparkle, my dear.” Rarity interjected. 

Twilight sighed, taking a momentary breath. “So, what is your name?”

To some of Twilight’s embarrassment, the mare before her swept into low bow, keeping her head down to avoid eye contact. “Your majesty….” The mare said, before Twilight pulled her back onto her hooves. 
The mare smiled happily at Twilight, bobbing her head from side to side as she happily hummed a tune. Her eyes bolted open as she realized she had not repeated the gesture Twilight offered. She quickly rushed over by Twilight’s side leaning in very close to exclaim,

“My name is Nora Valkyrie! Proud member of Team JNPR, student at Beacon Academy, citizen of Vale and I suppose Remnant as well, I was human but now I'm pony and it's awesome, oh! and I fight Grimm, but they're monsters that go RAWR and CACKEE with no souls….and...” Nora paused, tapping a hoof on head, trying to remember what she was going to say next. “Oh! I also love pancakes. Especially the fluffy ones, drizzled with syrup, and fresh, hot, butter…” Nora licked her lips at the thought of Ren’s homemade pancakes, made fresh from scratch…

Pinkie’s eyes lit up at the device strapped to Nora’s back. The large grey object looked like a portable party cannon, but Pinkie wasn’t completely one-hundred percent sure, so she just had to check. 

Nora turned around to face her, gasping loudly when she saw Pinkie’s cheerful gaze.  “PINKIE!” She yelled, capturing the pink baker in a fierce hug. Pinkie hugged back, waiting for Nora to release her. 

Bouncing when Nora let go, Pinkie hurriedly asked, “Hey, is that a party cannon on your back? Huh Huh Huh Huh Is it?” Pinkie jumped up and down, Nora doing the same 

Nora continued to grin, halting her bouncing. “Well...I guess you could say Magnhild is a party cannon….if you consider a grenade launcher and war hammer weapon platform a ‘party cannon’.” Nora explained, crossing her forehooves. 
She chuckled when she saw the rather surprised, and in Fluttershy’s case, agape and shocked, looks of the rest of the company present.

Fluttershy promptly shivered. "That sounds...dangerous."

"I'm going to guess you don't have those around here, do you? Well, no matter! Magnhild here wouldn't harm a fly." Nora reassured Twilight and her friends, making sure Magnhild was properly secured on her back. 

Pinkie sat on her haunches, taking in the information. “Hmm….I guess you could say that it is a party cannon in a way…”

Twilight’s ears suddenly perked up,the sounds of whooping and yelling slowly growing louder as a golden pegasus wearing sunglasses, dressed in more of the similar strange clothes like Nora wore with long bright yellow hair shot out of the mirror like a rocket, turning hard to avoid the bookshelves, spinning in the air as she twisted and dived, barreling straight through Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy without a thought before she looked over her shoulder, seeing the other ponies inside the room. Flaring her wings as high as she could, the pegasus flapped as hard as the could to slow down, unable to avoid the wall as she roughly collided against the oak surface. 

Rainbow stifled a chuckle. “And I thought I was the one always crashing into walls, but apparently there’s somepony better than me. That’s...surprising.” Rainbow said aloud, helping pull the pegasus away from the wall. “Ya got a name, Captain Klutz?” Rainbow joked, grinning. 

The tan pegasus shook her long yellow mane, laughing as she removed the sunglasses off muzzle folding them up to store in her a pocket on her vest. 

In a microsecond Rainbow Dash could hear the cocking of a hammer,and as she blinked the wall next to her shook as the air filled with an unusual smell and gunpowder. Cautiously opening her eyes, she looked at the wall, where what looked to be a five foot wide circular scorch mark, the edges piercing out in every direction, tainting the light tanned wood pitch black. 

The pegasus blew smoke away from the barrel of a gauntlet. She shrugged, before offering a hoof to Rainbow Dash. “Sorry about that. I don’t take quite well to being called klutz. Name’s Yang. Yours?”

Rainbow slowly shook Yang’s hoof, nervous about trusting a pegasus that would put holes in ponies that would joke about her. “Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in Equestria. Where’d you learn you fly like that? I’ve only seen pros having timing like that.” Rainbow asked, landing next to Yang. 

Yang smiled, her hair shaking as her head bobbed a little. “I guess flying just comes naturally. In honesty, though, I drive a motorcycle back home. I guess the saying “flying is like riding a bike” is true.” Yang chuckled, folding her outstretched wings close to her body. 

Twilight examined Yang in curiosity. "So....I guess you're with Nora?"

Yang laughed. "Yeah. You seen her? Orange hair, giant hammer, likes pancakes, talks a lot-"

"YANG!!!" Nora yelled, catching Yang in a mighty breath defying hug. "Now I know Ruby feels. Maybe I'll go a little easier on her from her on out."Yang mentally reminded herself.

"Y-Yes Nora?" Yang barely managed to get out, thanks to Nora's super squeezy hug that was apparently over 6000 pounds of force.

"What’s a motorcycle? We don’t have those in Equestria.” Rainbow Dash added, resuming her hovering. 

"They're like a bike, but motorized. Humans enjoy riding them, or using them for showing off tricks." Twilight commented, earning a agreeing nod from Yang. 

Without nearly any sound, another pegasus pony appeared from the mirror, her black hooves silently padding the wooden as she came to a graceful stop. Her golden eyes scanned the group, before finding Yang. With a few stealthy bounds, she wrapped a hoof around the scruff of Yang's neck, forcibly pulling her away from Rainbow who had struck up a conversation with Yang about flying, stallions, and people who were just plain jerks sometimes. 

Yang stopped mid-conversation to realize that Blake had suddenly pulled her away from Rainbow and that she was now headed towards the mirror and thusly, back home. “Blake….we just got here. Shouldn’t we...explore a little? Get to see the sights? Come on Blake, lighten up a little….please?

"Yang, we found Nora. We're leaving." Blake flatly said, ignoring Yang's rather childish protesting.

"Aw c'mon Blake. We just got here! And we haven't even been outside yet, either. Sometimes you are just such a stickler, ya know?" Yang protested, as Blake continued to drag 

"Yes Yang, I know. Have you seen Nora?" Blake answered, still blocking out Yang's pleading to stay just a little longer.

"Hi Blake! Guess what? No? To busy to guess? That's fine! Pinkie took me to where she works! AND GUESS WHAT?!?" Nora yelled, startling Blake as her mane and tail flared straight out just like a cat’s would, her hooves firmly dug into the wooden floor 
Had Blake not been toting Yang, she might of jumped and hung on the ceiling. 

"Yes, Nora?" Blake answered after she had moment to catch her breath and calm her rapid heartbeat. 

"They have the most scrumptious, bestest, delicious, mouthwatering treats you will ever eat. Ever. Forever. As in all of time." Nora replied, her eyes alight with delight and pleasure as she remembered the treats Pinkie had let her taste. 

"How did you-" Blake began to argue, only to be silenced as Nora popped a fresh eclair into her mouth. Between bites of soft tender sweet pastry, rich decadent chocolate, and the most creamy filling Blake had ever tasted, Blake's mind entered the atmosphere known to many as cloud nine. She gave a reassuring “mmm” that almost faintly sounded like purring, forgetting that Yang had previously been in her hooves.

Yang decided now was a better chance than any to get free of Blake’s grasp, spreading her wings to bolt away from the solid black earth pony. She hovered in the air, still not completely comfortable with her newfound appendages and wings. 
As she struck up another conversation with Rainbow Dash, Yang noticed out of the corner of her eye that both Ruby and Weiss tumbled out the mirror.

Ruby Rose laid below Weiss, sporting her usual red cloak, Weiss shaking her head before gazing in disbelief at the room around her. Weiss removed herself from atop Ruby, both of the girls shakily standing on their new appendages. 

Weiss gasped a little as one of the ponies, the one she had seen in the mirror with the well kept mane, prance slowly towards her. She felt herself slowly sit down as the white unicorn sat down next to her. 

“So darling, you most certainly look new. I must say, I haven’t a coiffure like yours in a while. And here I was just wondering if the side-ponytail would come back into fashion.” Rarity chatted, pointing a hoof at the bewildered white unicorn mare with white hair. 
Weiss had trouble opening her mouth. Shock had gripped her tongue, but she fought it off long enough to speak. 

“All of you...talk?” She asked in an exasperated tone, barely able to get out the words.

Rarity lightly laughed to herself a little. “Why, of course we talk, darling. What would make you think otherwise?” 
She was meet with a silenced glare from the white mare, her eyebrows raised in a combination of seriousness and confusion. 

Rarity pursed her lips, before coming across a idea. “I have a thought, dear. Why don’t you and I go to my shop, let you try on some dresses, and talk about things over a pot of tea? It’ll be my treat.”

Weiss felt as if her mind was spinning, try to grab a hold of something that made sense. “Sure…” She slurred, standing to follow 
Rarity out the door.

Twilight trotted over to Rarity with a look of concern. “Rarity, I understand if you want to be generous, but are sure about taking one of these ponies into your shop? They just came from another dimension.”

Rarity smiled back at Twilight. “Twilight, I may not know anything about dimensions or things of that nature, but I do know a good face when I see one. And I trust this mare to be on her best behavior. Isn’t that right?” Rarity asked, looking back at the white mare following behind her.

The white unicorn mare nodded, before brushing a lock of her mane off of her muzzle. “Of course I will be. Weiss Schnee is never uncouth. I unfortunately cannot say the same for Yang or Ruby, my teammates. Yang is the loud blonde, Ruby the younger one with black hair that has red streaks in it. They can be…..” Weiss paused, searching for a proper word to describe Ruby and Yang’s antics. At that exact moment, Yang shot down to Ruby, abruptly landing next to her sister, causing Ruby to bolt up and attach herself to a bookcase. Yang rubbed a hoof behind her head, embarrassed as her wings remained flared outwards.  
Weiss resisted the urge to facepalm, no,facehoof was the proper term now, as she saw the sister’s motions unfold. “Like that.” Weiss pointed with a hoof at Ruby and Yang, as Yang was now trying to pry Ruby from the bookcase with her hooves.

Rarity’s mouth formed a small ‘o’ as she understandingly nodded. “I know exactly what you mean, darling. You should Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie on a sugar rush. They’re almost comparable in terms of humor.” 

Twilight frowned at Rarity's remark, but her temper lightened slightly as Rarity winked at her, realizing that the remark wasn’t meant to trash-talk about their friends, but rather to be more friendly with Rarity’s new guest. The pair of white unicorns exited Golden Oaks, with Rarity slowly striking up a conversation with Weiss on her outfit and hair.  

Twilight slowly turned around with her eyes closed, taking a quick breath to adjust to the situation. Upon opening her eyes, she found herself muzzle to muzzle with a solid black pegasus her golden eyes peering into Twilight’s own eyes. Twilight noticed the bow atop the mare’s head twitch before she took a step back, still watching Twilight. 
Twilight felt confused by the mare’s actions. Still, she needed to respond to the mare, it seemed she had come to her to say hello. 

“Hi, I’m Twilight Sparkle. And who are you?” Twilight asked cautiously. 

The mare didn’t flinch. “My name is Blake Belladonna. You seem to be the one in charge of these ponies.”

Twilight shook her head. "No, I'm merely their friend. Friends work with each other, not rule over another."

Blake shifted her bow a little. "Your body language and posture say otherwise."

Twilight smiled inwardly. Blake and her seemed to share a love of logic, something Twilight was glad they had common. “Do you read books, Blake?”

Blake nodded. “I was wondering if you had any books on the history of your world.”

Twilight smiled outwardly. “Why, of course. Are you looking for a simple copy, or a more in depth edition?”

Blake flapped her wings a little, testing them. “The latter, if you have it.”

Twilight reached out with her magic as a purple aura grasped the book she looking for, pulling it from the shelf towards Blake.
Blake felt speechless. First, a mirror that connected to another universe. Second, it was a universe filled with techni-colored ponies. Third, now Twilight Sparkle was levitating a book of history about this world in front of her. “Impressive,” was all she managed.  “Do you always levitate books with Dust?” She asked, still curiously looking at the magical aura that held the book safely off the ground.

Twilight’s face scrunched in confusion. “Dust? No...I use magic. All Unicorns and Alicorns can use magic, actually.” 

Blake grabbed the book from Twilight’s telekinetic grasp with a quick snatch, moving to sit on one of the steps. Twilight followed her, sitting next to her. 

Blake flipped through several pages before coming to an article on about magic and it’s role in Equestrian life. Without looking from the page, she mentioned to Twilight, “You have paper and pen?”

Twilight nodded. “Will paper and quill make a suitable substitution?”

Blake paused, thinking as she turned a page. “Yes. I’ll make a deal. You explain to me how this so called ‘magic’ works, and I’ll explain to you how Dust works, and about our home. You seem to take these types of events in stride, as I’ve noticed. Most people would be freaking out over people from another dimension being inside...a library and home combined?” She trailed off. 

Twilight smiled. “I’ve found living in a library has it’s perks sometimes.”

Meanwhile, Pinkie had taken Nora on and about on a self-declared ‘tour of Ponyville and it’s surrounding fun spots.’, with the pair of earth ponies happily skipping and jumping around the town with little care or concern.  

Yang still tried her best to wedge Ruby from the bookshelf she had grown so attached to, but her younger sister would not budge. She sighed. “Ruby, are you ever going to let go? You’re not even five feet off the ground.” Yang commented. 

Ruby shakily withdrew a hoof from the shelf, but instead found herself tumbling backwards onto her back. “Oww…” She moaned in pain. She closed her eyes, feeling a similar loneliness like she had during her day at Beacon Academy. Without opening her eyes, she uttered, “Yang? Could I have a moment alone? Please?” 

Yang shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. “Whatever you need, sis.” She spread her wings

Ruby sighed, curling in a small ball. She kept her eyes closed, until she felt a pair of eyes settle over her. Ruby slowly opened her silver eyes to find a buttercream pegasus with aquamarine eyes looking back into her own.

“Um...Hi.” The yellow pegasus replied.

Ruby blinked. “Hi yourself.”

The pony shifted her feet unsteadily. “Would...if it’s possible for you….to visit my cottage? I have tea and a lot of animal friends. If you like animals, that is.”

Ruby quickly shifted to her feet. “Sure. Can you show me the way. I’m sorry if I didn’t introduce myself, I’m Ruby Rose.” She added, turning to walk with the yellow mare.

“Wow, that’s a really interesting name. I’m Fluttershy, and in case you couldn’t tell, I’m shy. But I’m working on it. “ Fluttershy responded, landing gently beside Ruby to walk outside of Golden Oaks. 

Yang hovered next to Rainbow, watching Ruby leave with Fluttershy. “So, Rainbow...you say you live in home made of clouds? How does it not drift apart? Is it always white?” Yang laughed at her own pun, earning a groan from Rainbow.

“Tell me there aren’t more of those…” Rainbow moaned, disliking Yang’s apparent lack of good humor.

Yang grinned. “Oh, trust me, I have much better punny jokes that I think of.” 

Rainbow smirked with confidence. “Oh really? Well, why you try out a few on the way to my house?” She asked, flying out of the window towards her home in the sky, Yang not far behind. 

The last pony exited the mirror with her head held high, gracefully standing on the floor, with her horn dividing her red mane with gold jewelry into two distinct parts. She shuffled for a bit before pacing over towards Applejack. “Excuse me, ma’am, but where exactly am I? And have you seen any of my compatriots? “

Applejack nodded. “Yep. The blonde left with Rainbow, the white one with Rarity, the other energetic one went with Pinkie, the black one’s with Blake, and Fluttershy left with the silver eyed mare not to long ago. Name’s Applejack, and I reckon you’re with those other mares?”

Pyrrha laughed with a healthy tone. “I suppose you could say so. I’m Pyrrha Nikos. Are you a farmer, by chance?”

Applejack returned the laugh. “Apple farmer, actually. Mind if I show up around the orchard? We just had a new row of trees start to bloom this week. It’s a pretty interesting sight, I’ll tell ya.”

Pyrrha thought about her options for a few moments. “You have a deal. Let’s see these magnificent trees of yours.” 

As the last pair of ponies left Golden Oaks, with Twilight and Blake now both furiously filling sheet after sheet of parchment with notes about the other’s world and how it worked, Queen Chrysalis overlooked Ponyville from a distant bluff. Her last plan to kidnap the Elements of Harmony's younger siblings had backfired, and her horde of Changelings had taken several futile months feeding on various creatures’ love in order to return to full strength.

A single dark gray earth stallion wearing a black top hat trotted up beside her on her left. He pulled a cigar from his white coat the collar turned out to frame against his carefully styled red hair. He tapped his walking cane against the ground twice, before exhaling a puff of blue smoke.

The foul stench of the stallion’s smoking irritated Chrysalis. But she was not here to complain about smoking. She was here for revenge against Twilight Sparkle, newly minted Princess of Equestria. Chrysalis burned with rage at the thought of Twilight being a Alicorn. 

The gray stallion tapped his cane against the ground again. “So,” he said between puffs of his cigar, “this is Ponyville? Rather quaint, I say.” 

A matching gray unicorn strode up on Chrysalis right side, a ornate red dress with gold stitching flowing across her body. Small sparks of orange magic flickered from her horn, her gold eyes looking down at the cheerful town below. “Roman, if I had expected you to learn anything from our Vale operation, it’s that the most cheerful of places are also the most dangerous.”

Roman didn’t say any words in response, only meekly nodding. 

Cinder forcefully stared at Roman. “Go tell Junior to assemble his men. And get the others ready as well. We will strike soon.”
Roman tipped his hat before shuffling away as Cinder sat down gracefully on the grass, looking at town below her. 

“Chrysalis?” Cinder asked.

“Yes?” Chrysalis responded. 

“Do you think the Elements and the heroes from Remnant know we’re arriving? Better yet, what do think the chances of us winning are?” Cinder asked, her eyes peering into Chrysalis’ own.

Chrysalis paused to think. “I don’t think those foolish elements know we’re arriving, so we have the advantage of surprise. As far as winning is concerned, if your strategy works, then I think the fight will be done before the bell is rung.”

Cinder smiled evilly as orange magical fire spiraled around her horn. “Perfect. These foolish foals will never expect us, and never be able to mount a counterattack. And that little red disturbance can finally be taught to keep her nose out of other people’s business."