Tennis Match shifted her blue backpack on her right shoulder as she walked through the halls of Canterlot High School. She gripped her favorite tennis racket in her hand.
"Hi, Tennis Match!" Aqua Blossom waved as she passed.
"Hey!" Tennis Match responded with a wave of her own. "Ready for the weekend?"
"Who isn't?" Aqua Blossom answered.
"I'm not," grumbled Care Root, a nearby techie. "I haven't finished my science report yet."
"Aw, lighten up, Carey!" Tennis Match told him, putting an arm around him in what was an attempt of a comforting gesture. "You have all weekend!" She moved her remaining hand in the air like people did when they were imagining headlines.
"Ah huh." Care Root apparently couldn't care less and shrugged her off. Tennis Match continued walking down the hall.
"I can't wait for that tennis game on later!" she commented as turned down the next hallway and the main foyer came into view.
"What tennis game?" Her friend Sweet Leaf came up to join her. Tennis Match's hand flew up to her mouth in a mock gasp.
"You mean you don't watch tennis? What is wrong with you?" she cried. Sweet Leaf grinned and rolled her eyes.
"Sorry, you know I don't obsess over sports the way you do. So, who's competing?" Sweet Leaf questioned. Tennis Match flipped her racket in the air.
When it landed in her hand, she responded with a smirk, "Nobody special, just Ace, the fourth best tennis play ever, versus Felix, some newbie I could totally crush if I was older and allowed to travel the world and win stuff."
"That sounds like a totally cool game!" Sweet Leaf exclaimed as she adjusted her hat. "Have fun watching it!"
"Thanks, Sweet Leaf!" Tennis Match replied as she pushed open the transparent doors of Canterlot High. "Have fun with your gardening... and stuff."
"Thanks, Tennis Match!" Sweet Leaf waved as she diverged from their path and ran to catch up with some other friends.
Tennis Match smiled as she reached for her backpack. Her hand closed around a fuzzy, round object.
"Hello, Speedy," she said, bringing her favorite neon green tennis ball up. "Ready to play?" Speedy, as Heath Burns had named her tennis ball when they had been twelve.
Tennis Match tossed Speedy up in the air. With a solid thwack, it was tossed up into the air again by the racket almost as soon as it fell.
"Yeah!" Tennis Match grinned as she continued her little game. Several students lingered for several moments, watching, but it was almost the weekend, so it was never for long. Besides, Tennis Match's natural talent for tennis was nothing new.
"Hi ya!" Tennis Match swung extra hard as Speedy came down again. Her racket missed, and a nearby freshman giggled at her mistake. Tennis Match swung around to glare at the little Fashionista.
"Don't laugh at me!" she yelled at Diamond Tiara. Diamond made a pfft sound and walked away. Tennis Match watched her leave, still annoyed. Suddenly, she realized-
"Speedy!" Tennis Match cried, turning back around. Speedy was still bouncing away. Tennis Match ran after it.
"Watch out! Runaway tennis ball!" She yelled her favorite phrase, even if it wasn't serious. Several students ducked out of the way as Tennis Match chased after her ball.
She almost had it when Speedy bounced right into the marble statue. Tennis Match blinked.
"Woah!" She didn't hesitate to jump in, eager to retrieve her tennis ball. Tennis Match was immediately engulfed in a swirl of colors.
"Yeeeeeeeeeah!" she cheered as her arms were pinned to her sides.
A half a minute of seizure-inducing colors later, Tennis Match flew out of the other side.
"Aah!" She nearly crashed into a smooth crystal surface. Luckily, she was fast enough to regain her balance. Tennis Match's nose was only inches away from the wall.
"Wow, that was close," she remarked. "I almost crashed into a wall! That would leave a mark, wouldn't it?" She casually looked around the room- to the left, right, up, and down. Tennis Match's light turquoise eyes widened in shock. She was staring at a pair of light yellow hooves- a light yellow that matched her skin tone at home.
"Check me out!" she exclaimed, raising one of those hooves. "I'm- I'm a pony!" Tennis Match beamed as she tried out her hooves. They seemed to be functional. Tennis Match took the time to look at the reflection of herself on the wall. A usual tuft of turquoise hair fell in her face, partially covering one eye.
"Sweet!" Tennis Match mused, turning around. She twisted around to look at the rest of herself.
"There's a tennis ball on my butt!" she marveled, giving her short tail a little shake. "That's not a pony's butt, though, is it? What's this part called- a flank? Yeah, that's it!" Tennis Match was satisfied with her answer. "There's a tennis ball on my flank!" A constant grin on her face, Tennis Match attempted to kick with her back hooves. She was able to complete that task, so now it was time to find Speedy!
"It couldn't 've gotten too far, could it?" she asked herself, gaze landing on a flight of stairs on the other side of the room that lead downward. "Never mind."
Tennis Match ran across the room to get down the stairs. Stumbled was probably the correct word. She wasn't used to the hooves.
"Woah!" Tennis Match suddenly fell backwards. The next moment she was sliding down the stairs.
"Cloudy is so gonna freak when I tell her about this!" Tennis Match exclaimed, jumping up as soon as the ride had ended. "I'm a pony, in a crystal house, in an alternate dimension!" She looked around. There were several ways to go. Left, right, or right down the main hall that led outside?
"I bet Speedy rolled out of here!" Tennis Match trotted to the top of the stairs. A cool breeze blew in her face. She blinked in surprise.
"Random breeze, what the heck?" Tennis Match put one hoof in front of the other as she walked down the stairs. It wasn't as hard as she had anticipated.
When she was at last on solid dirt instead of crystal stairs, Tennis Match once more looked around. This time, she wan't alone.
"Hey you!" she yelled to a pink pegasus pony. The pony looked up in surprised. Her baby blue curls bounced as she stared at Tennis Match.
"Hey, have you seen a tennis ball come rolling by?" Tennis Match asked, walking over.
"Oh, you mean this one?" she asked, withdrawing a tennis ball. Speedy!
"Yes!" Tennis Match responded. "It's mine. Can I have it back?"
"'May I have it back?'" the pony corrected with a smile. Tennis Match rolled her eyes and held out her left hoof.
"Yeah. May I have it back?" No sooner had she begun to speak than the pegasus had already placed the ball in Tennis Match's hoof.
"Thanks!" Tennis Match answered, looking gratefully at the pony. "I'm gonna get going now. See ya!" She turned around to leave.
"Wait!" the pony flew around and landed in Tennis Match's path.
"Uh, excuse me? You're blocking my path," Tennis Match deadpanned, craning her neck past the pony and looking at the crystal tower.
"You wouldn't happen to be named Tennis Match, would you?" she asked. "You look a lot like her!"
"Um, what's it to you?" Tennis Match replied. Is this pony a stalker or something? The mare sighed, an excited look in her brilliant eyes.
"I'm only the biggest Tennis Match Fan there ever was!" she exclaimed. "I'm not a sportsy pony, but I can definitely appreciate the time and effort she puts in!"
"I have a fanbase here?" Tennis Match muttered under her breath. She looked back at Hope.
"Yeah, that's me!" she replied with a cheesy grin. "I didn't tell you earlier, in case you're wondering, 'cause a popular pony like me probably has more than a couple stalkers!" The pony's wings unfurled and she did a little happy dance in the air.
"Tennis Match!" she exclaimed happily. "It's so awesome to meet you! I'm Hope, by the way. I've seen you around Ponyville and you're so awesome!"
"I get that a lot," Tennis Match admitted, enjoying the attention. "There are a lot of good tennis players out there, but I'm one of the best. If not the best," she added, winking. Hope nodded vigorously.
"Oh, I know! I can't believe we've finally met formally!" she exclaimed. "So, what are you doing at Twilight's home? I was just out for a low fly. This thing planted itself in the middle of my route when it first appeared!"
"Oh, really?" Tennis Match asked, wondering how she could steer the conversation back to herself. "Well, it just so happens that I know Twilight."
"That's cool. Are you two close friends? I know she always had those five mares around her. I kinda know Fluttershy, and I remember Rainbow Dash from Cloudsdale," Hope explained.
"Hey, I remember Fluttershy!" Tennis Match exclaimed, remembering the shy girl at CHS. "I was dancing with her and Mystery Mint at the Fall Formal!"
"Fall Formal?" Hope asked, curiosity sparked. "Never heard of it."
"Yeah, well, it's not exactly an event from around here," Tennis Match answered cautiously. It wasn't a straight-up lie. But how the heck would this pony react knowing she came from another universe?
"That's really cool," Hope answered, grinning infectiously. "I hope I'll see you around! You're going now, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I am," Tennis Match admitted, glancing down at Speedy. "See you around, too." She grinned as she walked back inside the castle. Turning around one last time, she watched Hope flap her wings and wave. Tennis Match waved back, then she walked back upstairs. Time to return ot Canterlot High.
"I just had the best idea yet!" Tennis Match exclaimed right before she walked through the portal. "I should find the human version of Hope and start my own fanclub!" She threw Speedy through the portal.
"Ow!" Fuchsia Blush yelled as something hit her in the back of the head. "Who threw that?"
