//------------------------------// // 10. Sweet Leaf // Story: X Steps Through The Portal // by Tennis Match Fan //------------------------------// "Wouldn't it be so fun to travel to a new dimension?" Sweet Leaf asked her friend Paisley excitedly. "It wouldn't really matter where I go, but the thrill of a new experience would be awesome!" Paisley, who sat next to Sweet Leaf that lunch period, just smiled and nodded. She wasn't one for talking. Sweet Leaf, however, was very talkative. She'd talk about almost any subject, and today, the subject of choice was alternate universes. It had been less than a month since the Battle of the Bands, and practically everyone in the school knew that the Rainbooms' main singer, Twilight Sparkle, had come across worlds to participate. "So, do you think I should ask the Rainbooms for more information?" Sweet Leaf asked before munching on a carrot stick. She adjusted her hat before continuing, "Or do you think they'll turn me down?" Paisley took a bit of her veggie burger and smiled encouragingly at Sweet Leaf. "You know what, Paisley? I will go talk to them!" Sweet Leaf declared. "I so hope they can give me information! "You don't mind if I go now, do you?" She added. Paisley shook her head. Her amber eyes urged Sweet Leaf forward. "Alright, I'm going now!" Sweet Leaf exclaimed, giggling slightly. This was all a bit crazy! Sweet Leaf stood up and approached the Rainbooms. "Hi!" She exclaimed cheerfully when she arrived at their table. The six girls stopped chatting to stare at the newcomer. "Hi!" Sunset Shimmer exclaimed after a moment. "What's your name?" Sweet Leaf tried not to wince. Sunset's tone of voice sounded like she was a little child Sunset was meeting for the first time! "Your name's Sweet Leaf, right?" Fluttershy piped up. "You're an Eco-kid." "That's right!" Sweet Leaf responded, a little too loudly for Fluttershy. The shy girl sunk into her seat. "Sorry," Sweet Leaf apologized. The Fashionista, Rarity, waved her hand to dismiss it. "No problems, dear," she answered. "So, what can we do for you?" Rainbow Dash, the athlete, asked confidently. "Well, I was wondering if I could travel through the portal to an alternate dimension!" Sweet Leaf blurted out in a rush. "Is that alright?" The six girls all exchanged shocked glances; however, Sweet Leaf couldn't help noticing Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie didn't look as shocked as the other three. "Sweet Leaf, I'm sorry, but only users of Equestrian magic can pass through the portal," Sunset told her. "The Elements of Harmony!" Applejack added. "The Elements of Friendship!" "That's us!" Rainbow Dash confirmed, puffing out her chest proudly. That remark stung Sweet Leaf. She hated when people judged her like thar. Applejack and Rainbow Dash should have chosen their words more carefully. "Are you saying I don't have friends?" Sweet Leaf asked, crossing her arms in annoyance. Applejack, Sunset, Rainbow, and the rest of the group looked surprised at her reply. "We never said that!" Sunset assured her. Sweet Leaf rolled her eyes. "Look, just because I'm not in your immediate circle of friends doesn't mean I don't have my own friends. Now, if you'll just point me in the direction of the portal, I'll be on my way." Sweet Leaf tapped her foot, waiting for an answer. Sunset Shimmer opened her mouth to speak, but Pinkie Pie cut her off. "It's definitely not the statue just outside CHS!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. She looked straight at Sweet Leaf and winked. "Pinkie!" Her friends hissed, glaring at her. Pinkie grinned, not looking sorry at all. "Thanks a bunch, Pinkie," Sweet Leaf said, adding a sarcastic tone to her voice to convince the rest she knew nothing. "I'll just be going now." "Bye!" Pinkie called to her as Sweet Leaf briskly walked off. "Follow me on MyStable!" "Maybe I will," Sweet Leaf told herself as she walked away. Once she was 100% sure the Rainbooms couldn't see her, Sweet Leaf did a little happy dance. "OMG! I'm going through a portal to an alternate dimension!" She fangirled. Sweet Leaf halted her brisk walk and started running. "No running in the hallways," grumbled a passing teacher. "Sorry!" Sweet Leaf exclaimed, but she slowed her pace only slightly. She was almost outside, anyway. Sweet Leaf pushed open the transparent glass doors to walk outside. Sweet Leaf let the cool November winds blow against her light beige face before she turned back to the statue- the portal. "So, I'm assuming I just step through," Sweet Leaf announced. She marched straight up to it until she was less than an inch away from the portal. Sweet Leaf slowly leaned forward. She gasped as the top of her nose went through the portal. "This tickles!" Sweet Leaf remarked. "Okay, on one, two... three!" Sweet Leaf walked straight into the mirror. "Kaleidoscoooope!" Sweet Leaf shouted the first word the came to her mind. Sweet Leaf was falling through a kaleidoscope of color! Green, blue, purple, pink, colors all around her! "Yipeeeeeee!" She yelled, trying to distract herself from the pain in her legs. It felt like she was getting pins and needles. Sweet Leaf hated pins and needles. Sweet Leaf was almost sorry when the journey through the kaleidoscope came to an end. She tumbled onto a hard, cold surface. Sweet Leaf rubbed her head. "At least the pins and needles are go- I'm a pony!" Sweet Leaf exclaimed, noticing the hooves that had replaced her hands. Sweet Leaf stared at the wall. She could see herself clearly in its reflection. She was slightly tinted in the blue crystal, but Sweet Leaf could tell she was still beige. She stared at her large, round, green eyes and her spiky dark green mane. "I'm a pony," Sweet Leaf repeated, getting to her hooves. She turned herself around. "Hey, I can move my tail! Sweet! "Wow," Sweet Leaf continued, noticing a leaf and white spark on her flank. It looked just like the spark on her necklace and the leaf on her shirt as a human. "That is a nice touch!" Sweet Leaf had been horseback riding before, so she knew how horses walked from watching them. Left hind leg, left front leg. Right front leg, right hind leg. It wasn't hard to walk. Sweet Leaf walked right downstairs and through the doors of the place she had been in. "I have got to tell Paisley about this! And Cap, and Green Cycle, and Startlight, and Drama Letter, and Octavia, and Lyra..." Before she knew it, Sweet Leaf was walking through a woods, rattling off the names of her friends. Which ended up being most of the kids in school. "...and Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon!" Sweet Leaf finished. She stopped walking to take in her surroundings. "It was never this clean back at CHS!" Sweet Leaf exclaimed, peering at some flowers. "It would be so nice to live here!" Sweet Leaf straightened back up. "Hey, a town!" Sweet Leaf put a hoof over her brow to see the town more clearly. She didn't stop to wonder how her hooves had bent like that. "Hey... maybe the pony version of me lives there!" Sweet Leaf realized excitedly. "That would be so amazing! I bet we could garden together!" Suddenly, Sweet Leaf realized a horrifying thought. "Dang it, I'm supposed to be in class right now!" She grumbled. Sweet Leaf kicked a rock. It didn't feel good. "Ow!" She exclaimed, recoiling in pain. "I guess that's a sign I have to go back!" Sweet Leaf sighed. "Well, at least I got to see this amazing scenery," she pointed out. "You don't see these trees in the city. And those clouds, those clouds are beautiful!" As Sweet Leaf glanced up at the clouds, a Pegasus pony suddenly flew through the sky. "Wow!" Sweet Leaf exclaimed in awe, watching as the pony grabbed several clouds and herded them to another part of the sky. When Sweet Leaf got back to the crystal place, she took the time to look at the entire thing. "This is a castle," she.realized. "A crystal castle!" Sweet Leaf walked up the stairs and inside. It looked the same as it had before, except... "Hello?" A voice asked. Sweet Leaf stopped walking. "Is anypony there?" The voice asked again. "Lots of my books are getting lost or misplaced. Who's there? Who's doing that?" "Not me!" Sweet Leaf yelled, making a run for the portal. "What?" Sweet Leaf didn't stop to see if the source of the voice had seen her; she ran straight into the portal. "Kaleidoscoooooope!" Sweet Leaf exclaimed as she traveled back. The return trip was shorter. Sweet Leaf arrived in a matter of seconds. "Well, I learned interesting things today!" She remarked. "First, portals look like kaleidoscopes. Second, the marks on our clothing are tattoos on the pony versions of ourselves. And third-" Sweet Leaf took out her phone and opened up the MyStable app. "-always follow Pinkie Pie on MyStable," Sweet Leaf finished, going to Pinkie's profile and hitting the "Follow" button.