Now that the link between the human world and pony world is constantly open through Twilight's magic, students (whether by accident or on purpose) will wander to the other side.
If you had access to a portal to a universe filled with ponies, would you go? Rarity wants to sneak across; Drama Letter accidentally fell in. And while Rainbow Dash is fascinated by her wings, Flash Sentry wants his clothes back! And of course, if pony Lyra is apparently fascinated by humans, wouldn't human Lyra be fascinated by mythological ponies?
Rarity stretched her arms and yawned as she walked out of the front doors of Canterlot High. She was the last student out for the day, having stayed behind to fix some makeup in the bathroom (and forgetting how time flies when you're reapplying mascara).
"What a day!" She exclaimed lazily, stopping to observe the autumn sun, already beginning its descent across the horizon. "All those tests- and, of course, Rainbow Dash's antics in Physical Education." Her mood darkened slightly as she recalled the soccer disaster.
"I'm sure my hair will never be perfect again," Rarity muttered as she shifted her backpack onto her right shoulder. She resumed her steady pace.
As Rarity passed the marble statue in front of Canterlot High, she paused once more.
"I don't suppose it's still open is it?" She asked herself curiously. The details of the ordeal escaped her. Had Twilight closed it, or did the portal to an alternate dimension remain open?
"I suppose it couldn't hurt to check," Rarity told herself, approaching the base of the statue. Tentatively, she reached our with her left hand. To her surprise, Rarity's fingers slipped through!
"I guess it is open, then!" Rarity exclaimed, wiggling her fingers. Although the image in the mirror was a white hoof, she could still feel her fingers. Rarity slipped off her backpack and laid it on the ground beside the portal.
"This whole thing has got me curious," Rarity said, withdrawing her hand. "I wonder if it would be alright for me to- no, no, no!" Rarity shook her head, as if to shrug off her idea. "A lady does not just wander through a portal on whim!
"But then again," she reasoned with herself, "I look awfully adorable with those pony ears and ponytail! Just imagine what I'd look like as a pony! Like a little marshmallow!
"No, Rarity," she argued. "Ponies are filthy creatures! They don't even wear clothes!
"Do you just assume Twilight walks around in the nude?" Rarity scolded herself. "Besides, I would be a pony. I would be covered in fur! And Twilight seems perfectly fine. As does Sunset Shimmer, and they are both from their pony world!"
Rarity froze as a grey-skinned boy walked by, his light blue dog in front of him. As boy and his dog walked past, they gave Rarity a questioning glance. Rarity blushed, and waved. He shrugged, and continued walking, beginning to whistle.
Rarity, still red, turned back to the portal.
"Stop stalling!" She snapped. "Just go! One! Two! Three!" Before Rarity could think twice, she jumped into the portal.
"Baaaaaaaaaad ideeeeeeeeeeeeeea!" Rarity screeched as she spiraled through neon lights, which was apparently what lay between dimensions. Rarity briefly wondered if she was being torn apart, but decided not to dwell on that perspective. She felt like her body was pulled in every direction. In what Rarity assumed was her forehead, a headache began to form. Rarity shut her eyes and prayed it would be over soon.
After half a minute, Rarity became aware the spinning and the headache had stopped. She peeked an eye open. She was lying on a cold, blue surface.
"An I there?" Rarity groaned, struggling to sit up. As she did, she became aware that she had no feeling in her fingers.
Oh no, Rarity thought. She slowly lowered her gaze. On the ground in front of her were two pearly white hooves, which exactly matched her skin tone back at home.
"I'm a pony!" Rarity cried, scrambling up. She whipped her head around, searching for a reflection she could look at. Fortunately, the entire room she was in seemed to be made of crystal.
Rarity peered at her reflection in an amber-colored crystal wall. She was a pony now; no doubt about that! Rarity's purple hair curled off her head into a wave on the left side of her head. But right in front of that was a white horn! Rarity gasped in delight.
"Nopony told me I was a unicorn!" She gushed, taking a wobbly step forward. Rarity hadn't expected it to be easy to walk on for hooves, but it wasn't as hard as she had anticipated. It reminded Rarity of the time she had needed crutches when she was eight. She just needed to find a rhythm.
Rarity turned around to admire the rest of herself.
"What's this?" She exclaimed, gaze on her back. Three blue gems adorned her butt- almost identical to the ones on her skirt back at home.
"No, it's not a 'butt', Rarity," she reminded herself. "The proper term is- what? Flank? Yes, flank. That sounds about right!" Rarity admired her diamond flank for another minute before turning to the rest of the room.
"It looks like a castle of some sorts," she marveled, walking up to a bookshelf in the corner of the room. "Probably Twilight's, hmm?" Rarity cocked her head and stared at the spine of one of the books. Legends of Equestria: Your Guide to All Mythical Beasts and Legends.
"Not interesting." Rarity shrugged. She turned her attention to the matters.
"Twilight!" She called, walking up to a staircase on the other side of the room. "Twilight, dear, are you here?"
"Rarity?" It wasn't Twilight's voice that answered her. It was a familiar upbeat, perky tone that was used by Pinkie Pie.
"What are you doing up there, silly f- Hold on a minute!" A pink pony with a curly fuchsia mane stopped at the base of the stairs, eye wide in shock. Rarity lifted a hoof up in a feeble attempt to wave.
"Um, Hi?"
"You're not pony Rarity!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, hopping up the stairs. "Let me guess- you came through the portal, right?"
"How did you-" Rarity began in shock, but Pinkie waved a hoof.
"So easy! I'm house-sitting for Twilight today. Nopony's supposed to be here but me! And I know there's a portal to Canterlot High up here!" Pinkie giggled. "Wait, what am I doing? This is your first time being a pony!"
Rarity could barely believe her eyes when confetti, balloons, and cake appeared around her almost instantaneously.
"Happy Coming-to-Equestria Day!" Pinkie cheered, placing a party hat on Rarity's head.
"Pinkie, dear!" Rarity giggled. "It's so exciting, but I won't be staying long. So, while I'm here, why don't you tell me about yourself?"
"Okay!" Pinkie Pie bounced around Rarity.
"But have some cake first!" She added. Pinkie gave Rarity a slice of cake before launching into a story.
"I live in Ponyville with my five best friends which are Pony-You, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash! Oh, and Spike too! I'm an apprentice baker and I love to throw parties and also go on adventures! Like one time I cloned myself!" Pinkie beamed. Rarity beamed right back. She took a bite of her strawberry cake. Since Rarity had no knowledge of magic usage, she just scooped some up in her hoof and licked it up.
"That is so similar to my Pinkie!" Rarity responded cheerfully. "She planned the entire school dance! But I bet Twilight already told you that, didn't she?" Rarity winked.
"Actually, no." Pinkie frowned. "She hasn't told us much about our counterparts. And that reminds me-" Pinkie scrunched up her pony nose in concentration.
"Oh no!" Pinkie suddenly bounced straight up in the air, startling Rarity.
"What is it, dear?" Rarity asked, concerned.
"Twilight told me that if I was to meet anypony across the mirror, I was to send her back right away!" Pinkie's blue eyes grew round as she leaned into Rarity's face.
"Oh dear. Well, Pinkie Pie, it has been fun to meet you, but if those are Twilight's rules, I wish to comply," Rarity responded, disappointed. Pinkie frowned.
"Wait! Hold on, I'll be right back!" She rushed downstairs, leaving Rarity alone. She was back in a moment, a book in her hooves.
"What's this?" Rarity asked, twisting her neck to read the title. "'Popular Foal's Tales'?"
"Yup!" Pinkie exclaimed, pushing it into Rarity's hooves. "So you can remember this world, in case Twilight's silly rules don't let you visit again!
"And one more thing! Show the Pinkie Pie in your universe the last page, please!"
"I will," Rarity promised her.
"I'M BACK, PINKIE!" Twilight's voice rang out from downstairs. Panic flashed across Pinkie's face. She grabbed Rarity in a giant hug.
"Bye, friend!" She whispered. "No go, before she finds you!" Pinkie released Rarity, who stumbled back to the mirror.
"PINKIE?" Twilight called again.
"COMING!" Pinkie responded. Turning around, she winked at Rarity before returning downstairs. Rarity smiled, clutched her book, and faced the portal. Rarity shut her eyes and jumped.
When she opened her eyes, Rarity was lying on the sidewalk in front of Canterlot High.
"Well, wasn't that the adventure?" She murmured, flexing her fingers. "Still it's good to be back to myself!" Rarity traced a finger on the book's cover.
"I'm reading this as soon as I get home," she promised herself, standing up. She grabbed her backpack and began to walk to her car.
"Pinkie, where are you goin'?" Applejack asked as Pinkie got up to leave the table. The six friends were sitting a table in Sugarcube Corner, idly drinking milkshakes.
"I just got an appointment to take care of!" Pinkie replied, grinning mischievously. "Expect me back in, say two hours."
"You have a two hour appointment?" Sunset Shimmer asked in disbelief.
"Yup!" Pinkie replied cheerfully before bounding out the door. Pinkie broke into a jog as she made a beeline to the school. It had been two days since Rarity had passed her the secret message from Pony-Pinkie. Pinkie still giggled when she thought about what she was going to do.
"Pinkie, dear, a friend of mine... uh, well, she asked me to show you the last past of this book," Rarity had told her, holding the book out in front of her. Pinkie had immediately recognized the message in the page.
"Dear Pinkie Pie, It's me, Pinkie! I'm from the pony world!" Pinkie recited as she jogged. "Rarity visited me, kinda by accident, but anyways, if you want to see me two days from now at 5:00 that would be great! We could do so much fun stuff together! Love, Pinkie Pie!!" Pinkie grinned and did a double flip.
"Watch it," grumbled an elderly woman she nearly hit.
"Oh my goodness!" Pinkie gasped, stopping in her tracks. "I'm so sorry, Ma'am!"
"It's fine." The old woman waved a hand and gave Pinkie a smile. "Just continue doing whatever it is you young people do."
"Alright!" Pinkie waved as she continued running towards the school.
"Hey, kid, care to watch where you're going?" grumbled a young woman in a khaki vest when Pinkie zoomed past her.
"Sorry!" Pinkie called, halting and turning around. The girl blew bubblegum.
"Just get the heck out of here. Go do whatever it is you're gonna do."
"Thanks!" Pinkie answered. "It's gonna be super fun!" She zipped away.
When she reached the school, Pinkie stopped running.
"Better make this memorable!" She winked. Pinkie crouched in front of the portal. After taking a deep breath, Pinkie dove straight in.
"Weeeeee!" She squealed as she spiraled through the portal. It tickled! Pinkie had seen the flashing lights once before, when she had poked her head inside the portal, but they didn't faze her now.
When Pinkie emerged, she tumbled out in a somersault and landed expertly on the floor, despite being in an entirely new body.
"Ta da!" She exclaimed proudly. The sound of clapping reached her ears.
"You made it!" Pony Pinkie exclaimed excitedly.
"Of course I did!" Pinkie answered, standing up, not disoriented in the slightest. "I wouldn't miss this for the most delicious donut ever!"
"Funny you should mention donuts!" Pony Pinkie grinned. "I set up a little kitchen out in the woods, so Nopony will know you're here!"
"We can bake donuts?" Pinkie asked, getting up into Pony Pinkie's face.
"We can bake donuts!" Pony Pinkie confirmed, squishing her nose against her counterpart's. The duo suddenly dissolved into giggles and hugged each other.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Pinkie asked when they finished their hug. "Let's get baking!"
"Of course!" Pony Pinkie agreed. "Follow me!" Pony Pinkie led Pinkie down the stairs, out to the castle, and into the woods behind.
"This is White Tail Woods," Pony Pinkie exclaimed as they walked.
"So pretty!" Pinkie exclaimed. "It reminds me of Applejack's farm."
"But without the apples!" The two said in unison.
"Now, Pinkie, here's my little table I set up!" Pony Pinkie spread her arms wide to reveal a little pink baking table, complete with baking tools and a basket of ingredients.
"Great idea, Pinkie!" Pinkie replied enthusiastically. "Can we cook our donuts over a fire?"
"That's an even better idea, Pinkie!" Pony Pinkie clapped her hooves together excitedly. "Let's get to it!"
For the next hour, the two Pinkies chatted away like they had been friends their entire lives and were not possibly endangered the space-time continuum by spending time together. They told tales of the past, marveled at the activities of the present, and wove endless possibilities for the future.
"I bet these will taste delicious!" Pinkie exclaimed as she pulled her batch of donuts off the fire and gave them a good blow. The steam formed a balloon in the air before dissolving.
"I bet you're right!" Pony Pinkie answered, holding up a donut. It was perfectly round and golden, just the way a donut should be." Let me just sample one-"
"No way!" Pinkie giggled. "You're cheating!"
"I guess I am!" Pony Pinkie admittedly sheepishly. She rolled the donut over her forelegs before popping it back onto the pan.
"Hold on! What time is it?" Pinkie asked, suddenly remembering what she had told her friends.
"It's 6:78," Pony Pinkie responded, checking a watch that had appeared on her wrist. "Did you promise your friends you'd be back by 7?"
"How'd you guess?" Pinkie asked in mock surprise. The two of them giggled together.
"But seriously," Pinkie added, "I need to get going."
"I understand," Pony Pinkie responded. "Don't forget to take your donuts!" She dumped half of them in a brown paper bag and handed it to Pinkie.
"Like I would ever forget the donuts!" Pinkie rolled her eyes, as if to say, 'I would never dream of it!'
"Okay, let's head back now!" Pony Pinkie decided. "I'll clean this up later."
"I'd hate to leave you with a mess," Pinkie said, doubtful.
"Oh, it's no trouble!" Pony Pinkie waved a hoof to shrug it off. "I do it all the time. Now, let's hurry!" The two mares skipped back to the castle. Fortunately, Twilight was still out.
"Let's make this a secret spy mission!" Pony Pinkie whispered. She and Pinkie snickered. Hoofbumping, they slipped under the chairs. Pinkie and Pony Pinkie crawled across the floor like stealthy ninjas.
"Wouldn't it be cool if we had nunchucks?" Pinkie asked.
"Nunchucks?" Pony Pinkie asked. "We don't have those here."
"I'll have to send you some for Christmas," Pinkie suggested as they climbed the stairs.
"That would be great." When the reached the portal, the Pinkies turned and directly faced each other.
"I'll see you seen, Pinkie," Pinkie told Pony Pinkie.
"Me too, Pinkie," Pony Pinkie replied. The two hugged.
"I gotta go now!" With one last wave, Pinkie jumped back through the portal.
When Pinkie emerged, she was perfectly balanced. Her regular clothes were back on, and the bag of donuts was in her hands.
"That was too fun!" She exclaimed. "Now, to get back to my friends!" Whistling, Pinkie broke into a jog back to Sugarcube Corner.
"For the last time, Lyra," Bon Bon said with a roll of her aquamarine eyes, "Magical ponies are not real!" Lyra, who was sitting across from her at lunch, folded her arms.
"Then, Bonnie, how do you explain the Battle of the Bands? The giant horse in the sky? The transformation of those girls? Unicorns and Pegasi and stuff are real!"
"Simple stage effects," Bon Bon responded simply, glancing up from her novel. "Nothing real about it."
"You're too practical, Bon Bon!" Lyra argued, fiddling with the lyre charm on her neck. "Just wait. I'm gonna ask that Sunset Shimmer if the mirror thing is real!" When Bon Bon didn't respond, Lyra grabbed the book out of her hands.
"Hey!" Bon Bon grabbed at it.
"It's lunchtime, Bonnie. Put the book down," Lyra told her before handing it back. Bon Bon hugged it, then placed it on the table beside her chicken soup.
"What, so I can listen to you chatter on and on about your magical ponies?" Bon Bon teased. Lyra stood up indignantly.
"I'm going to prove you wrong on this one. Just you wait!" Lyra grabbed her chocolate milk and walked off.
"Lyra," Bon Bon called after her.
"I'm going to get my evidence!" Lyra shouted back.
"But where to start?" Lyra asked, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. Her gaze settled onto Sunset Shimmer. The girl was from the pony world, same as Twilight Sparkle.
"I can ask her!" Lyra exclaimed in delight. She followed Sunset to the main foyer.
"Sunset Shimmer!" Lyra called out to her just as Sunset disappeared out the front doors. Lyra, careful not to spill her drink, ran across the room and pushed the door open. Several students milled about, but Sunset had somehow disappeared. Frowning, Lyra walked outside further.
"Sunset?" She asked, walking around. "Sunset, where are- youch!" Lyra cried out as she tripped over a rock. As she fell, her chocolate milk flew from her hand.
Dang it! Lyra cursed as the cup headed straight for the statue in front of her. Lyra got ready to cringe when the liquid was spilled. But to her surprise, the cup slipped straight through the statue! Lyra's mouth dropped open.
"That's- how- what was that?" She stammered in disbelief. The gears in her mind started to turn. How else would that Twilight Sparkle get to the school so quickly?
"Either I'm going crazy, or that statue is a portal!" Lyra stood up and pointed at it. Several athletes looked over at her. Lyra ignored them.
"I'm going to a pony world!" She breathed excitedly. She marched straight up and dipped her fingers into the portal. It rippled like a pond. Lyra giggled.
"Here I go!" She muttered excitedly. Without a moment's hesitation, Lyra marched straight in.
It was like walking off a canyon edge. There was suddenly no solid beneath Lyra's feet. She was spiraling through a black hole, except it was more like a color hole. Blues, pinks, yellows, greens, and purples flew past Lyra's eyes.
"Thiiiiiiiis iiiiiiiiiiiis amaaaaaaaaaaaziiiing!" Lyra screamed excitedly, ignoring the headache forming in her forehead.
Eventually, Lyra could see the end of the portal. She was flung out of the portal at an amazing speed. And yet, Lyra landed perfectly upright, as if she had been walking the entire town.
Lyra looked straight down. A pair of mint hooves greeted her. She began to hyperventilate.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, Oh my gosh- I was right!" Lyra squealed. "I'm a pony!" Her grin stretched from one end of her face to the other.
"YES!" Lyra pumped her hands- hooves -in the air, and she promptly fell back down.
"Wowzers!" Lyra reached up with her hoof and brushed a lock of hair out of her face. "I so will shove this in Bon Bon's face when I get back!" Lyra stumbled to her new hooves and looked around the room.
"Who knows? That might be for days!" She added. "I mean, this is Pony World!" Lyra raised her left hoof and put it back out. Soon she was walking towards the staircase at the end of the room.
"What's down here?" She wondered aloud, grabbing onto the crystal railing to keep from falling. As she walked down the steps, Lyra noticed her reflection on the side of the wall.
"A horn!" She cried incredulously. Lyra reached up and touched it. A spark coursed through her, like she had been shocked by friction. Lyra giggled.
"So what spells can I use?" Lyra finished descending the stairs before continuing, "Vaporization? Teleporting?" A book on a nearby table caught her eye.
"What about that thing where you move objects with your mind?" She suggested to herself. "I bet I could do that!
"If I only knew how." Lyra stared at the book. Nothing happened. She narrowed her eyes and focused on one tiny speck of the book. Still, nothing happened.
Come to me, book. Bow to my will, Lyra thought, increasing her concentration. Somehow, she managed to lift the book up! Lyra squealed in delight. It dropped on the table.
"Nooooo!" Lyra screeched in defeat. Sure, she was being overdramatic; she was a pony now, she couldn't help it!
Lyra gave up on her efforts to raise the book. Instead, she decided to explore the house a little bit. It was made of crystal, duh. There were pictures of 6 friends everywhere; they reminded Lyra of the Rainbooms at Canterlot High. She couldn't find a kitchen, though. The place was pretty bare.
"I'd better explore elsewhere!" Lyra decided. She walked out of the crystal place and into the bright sunlight.
"Oh my goodness, a village!" Lyra exclaimed, spotting several wooden cottages in the distance. In her haste, Lyra tripped over herself several times, but she didn't mind. She was a pony, after all!
Before long, Lyra came across a tan colored pony with a blue and pink mane. Lyra inhaled. The very familiar pony was watering some flowers at the end of the path.
"Lyra!" She scolded. "You're supposed to be back at home!"
Same voice! Lyra thought. She decided to have some fun with Bon Bon.
"I'm not your Lyra, actually."
"What do you mean, Lyra? You're the only Lyra in Equestria!"
"Yeah, see, here's the thing- I'm not actually from this Equestria place, as you call it." A grin split Lyra's face. Bon Bon was just getting annoyed now.
"What, so you're from another planet?" She asked sarcastically
"Nope! I'm a human that turned into a pony!"
Bon Bon sighed. "Now I know you're lying. Lyra, there are no such things as humans."
"Now you're just insulting me!" Lyra stuck her lip out in a pouty face. "And yourself, too. Where I come from, there's a human Bon Bon! Just ask Twilight Sparkle, if you don't believe me!"
"I will not!" Bon Bon responded crossly. "She'll think you're crazy! She'll think I'm crazy!
"Lyra Heartstrings," she continued seriously, "just go on home!"
Bon Bon doesn't want me here? Lyra thought, rather annoyed. Fine, I'll leave!
"You're no fun!" Lyra argued. "I'll go. But I'm not coming back for a while. I don't want to come back if you're here!"
"For Celestia's sake, Lyra," Bon Bon answered with a groan. But Lyra ignored her. She walked right back up and into the crystal castle.
"I'll come back later," Lyra muttered. "When she's gone. For goodness sake, why am I friends with that girl in the first place?" Lyra climbed the staircase to the portal. She looked around.
"Bye until next time!" She waved to the room before jumping through the portal again.
When Lyra re-emerged, there was no one outside.
"Shoot, I must have missed a couple minutes of class!" Lyra exclaimed, dusting off her pink shirt. She ran through the doors and down to her locker.
"I'm a unicorn!" Lyra told Amethyst Star, who was also at her locker for some reason. Amethyst smiled wildly and scooted away from her.
"How nice," she murmured.
"I wish I could be a pony longer," Lyra murmured as she grabbed her books. "Oh well. I'll return soon enough!" Lyra slammed her locker shut and headed off to class.
"So, dudes, I was just minding my own business, struggling to do my homework, and Rose Heart comes up and she's like 'Wanna help me with my homework?' and I wanted to slap her," Flash explained to his bandmates as they walked through the halls of Canterlot High. "I mean, I know she didn't know I was struggling with it."
"But it's the way she said it?" Brawly Beats guessed.
"Yeah." Flash nodded in confirmation. "I couldn't help it."
"Rose Heart makes everyone hate her," Ringo added, placing a hand on Flash's shoulder.
"Nah," Flash disagreed, playfully flicking Ringo's hand off. "I wouldn't say that. Cloudy Kicks likes her."
"Cloudy's a cute girl, and she's really nice, but she likes everyone," Brawly argued. "She doesn't count." The guys reached the door, and Brawly opened it for them.
"You know what I just realized?" Brawly continued as the door swung shut behind them. "We're gossiping like a bunch of girls."
"Don't even say that, Brawly!" Ringo adjusted his sunglasses. "Flash Drive is the manliest band at CHS." Flash gripped the strap of his guitar case.
"You're acting like girls are bad," he pointed out. Ringo elbowed him.
"We never said that. And besides, you're just smitten with that Twilight Sparkle from the pony world!"
"She's a pretty pony with magical powers!" Brawly said in a high-pitched tone. In his normal voice, added, "Her dog is weird. He spoke to me!" Flash's cheeks burned red with embarrassment.
"Don't insult Twilight or Sp-" As he was speaking, Flash had turned around to face them. Big mistake. His snaeaker slipped. Flash fell backwards. His guitar case escaped from his hands. The last thing he saw was Brawly and Ringo catching it. Flash was then engulfed in a swirl of colors.
"Heeeeeeeeeeeeelp!" He yelled, hoping his bamdmates would hear him.
Maybe this is what being in a coma feels like, Flash thought as he screamed, after all, I DoD hit my head pretty badly on the statue. At least, I think I did. Flash felt the forces of gravity twist him and turn him every which way. His back pained him, and the only thing he could see was colors- colors everywhere! Flash closed his eyes and just hoped he was safe.
At some point, Flash realized the spinning and gravity and stuff had stopped. He still remained perfectly still, unsure of what to do. After what seemed like forever, Flash peeked an eye open.
Twilight? He thought, because the crystal around Flash reminded him of the lavender girl. Flash lifted his head. The whole room was made of crystal. That was when Flash looked at himself. His cheeks turned crimson with embarrassment. He was a pony- but he wasn't just a pony, he was naked (at least from Flash's perspective, he was)!
"Dang it, I need clothes!" Flash groaned, twisting his neck to get a better look at himself. There was a pair or orange wings on his back, and he had a navy blue tail, but other than that, Flash had nothing on.
"What if Twilight finds me like this?" Flash panicked, hastily standing up. "Or the guys come through the portal? Oh man, they'll never let me live it down!"
Flash looked at his reflection in a mirror. His lack of clothes made him feel really uncomfortable. The only thing that caught his eye was the mark on his butt. It was a shield with a lightning bolt over it, which reminded Flash of the logo on his currently absent shirt.
"I've got a butt mark," Flash deadpanned. "I better get going, then." Suddenly, an even worse thought struck him.
"What if, when I return, my clothes don't return?" He thought out loud. The mere thought cause a blush to form on his pony face. Flash accidentally backed into a wall. He turned around and gazed at his naked reflection.
"That's it, I'm going to find clothes!" Flash unfurled his wings; it was quite easy, like he was unclasping his fists.
"Would it be safer to walk or fly?" Flash mused, looking from his hooves to wings indecisively.
"Yeah, nobody will see me if I walk," Flash decided. He took a step forward. No easy task. He found it hard to find balance, and fell back onto his butt tattoo.
"It must be the wings," Flash murmured, rubbing his head. "They're keeping me off balance." He stood up and tried again, this time with his wings pressed tight against his back. It was easier, but Flash still fell down.
"I'm never going to get this!" He groaned. Flash looked to the stairs across the room. He suddenly remembered pillow surfing as a kid. He would put a pillow on the stairs and slide down on it. Flash smiled as he recalled the memory.
"Hey! Maybe I can slid across the floor," Flash suggested to himself. It would be mildly humiliating, but nobody was around to see him, was there?
Flash plopped down in the floor and used his front hooves to propel himself across the shiny floor. When he slid down the stiars, Flash giggled like a young boy. Man, he was so glad Brawly and Ringo weren't here to see this!
After a quart of an hour, however, Flash's ideas began to wear thin, almost literally. He was beginning to get sore on his behind, and Flash did not want to scoot around like a foal outside. So he was forced to pick himself up.
"Come on Flash!" he grunted, pulling one hoof in front of the other. "You just need a leaf! A leaf to cover your parts!" He was out the door now. The area around him was a deciduous forest, and it seemed to continue for miles in all directions Flash could see.
But Flash wasn't interested in the scenery; all he carried about was the vegetation that would serve as his clothes. Somewhere around halfway to the nearest tree, Flash figured out how to walk with balance. He continued over to the tree, now much more confident.
"That one looks pretty big." He observed a bright green leaf near the bottom of the tree. Flash stretched out his neck and grabbed the leaf with his teeth. Triumphantly, he returned to the ground.
"Yes!" He exclaimed happily.
That was when he heard it.
Flash looked towards the dusty road and saw many, many girl ponies walking towards the castle. The combined sound of their hoofsteps created a low rumbling.
"They'll see me!" Flash squeaked. Clutching his leaf, Flash trampled up and back into the castle. He scrambled up the stairs and back to the portal.
"I can't say I'll miss this place," Flash said softly before jumping through the portal. This time, he shut his eyes for the entire ride.
When the spinning stopped, Flash opened his eyes. He was surrounded by Brawly and Ringo.
"Dude, are you alright?" Brawly asked, offering him a hand.
"Why did you tie a leaf around your waist?" Ringo asked, stifling a laugh. Quick as a flash, Flash grabbed Ringo by his shirt and pulled him in close.
"You do not know what I had to go through back there," Flash told him, eyes wide. "So don't ask." Ringo and Brawly nodded in unison. Flash relaxed and let Ringo go.
"Let's go," he said, picking up his guitar case. Brawly and Ringo exchanged confused glances, but followed him anyway.
Rainbow Dash screamed in the Canterlot High bleachers, squeezing her own soccer ball between her palms. The coach on the field was now yelling.
“Lame,” Rainbow muttered as the other team scored. "I mean, yeah, I was so much better than them when I was their age, but who cares?" Rainbow dropped the ball and began bouncing it on her knee.
The phone in her pocket suddenly vibrated. Rainbow bounced the ball one last time, and it neatly landed in her hands. Rainbow took her phone out.
"Hey Applejack. Sup?” Holding the phone up to her ear, Rainbow spoke up. "Helloo!?"
"Hey Rainbow! Jus' checkin' to see what you're doing!"
"I'm just watching some little kids play soccer!" Rainbow answered casually. "But I think they'll finish up soon."
“So you're free!" Applejack released her breath. "So, um, maybe later ya wanna stop by the farm? Ah could use some help with the harvest 'n such! Fluttershy'll come too!"
"Harvesting apples?" Rainbow repeated in uninterested disbelief. "You want me to do that?” Rainbow winced at her own words, imagining Applejack's feelings hurt. “Um. I mean, sure! I'd love to come!"
"That'd be great!" Applejack responded cheerfully. If she had noticed Rainbow's slip, she didn't mention it. "See ya later!"
"Bye!" Rainbow ended the call.
"Might as well leave now," she decided. Hopping down the rows of bleachers, Rainbow Dash waved to the members of the team as she left the field. Rainbow expertly dribbled her soccer ball as she headed to the front of the school, were she had laid her scooter.
"Oh yeah!" Rainbow landed an extra hard kick on the ball. It sailed upward, then came whizzing down. Rainbow watched in amazement as her ball bounced at just the right angle- right into the statue!
"That's a feat of awesomeness!" Rainbow pumped her first up in the air and ran to the statue. She was aware of the portal there, just as the rest of her friends were aware.
"Actually, I've been looking for an excuse to get in there." Rainbow Dash rubbed her hands in anticipation. "And this looks like the perfect one!
"I wonder if I'll have those epic wings on me like I did during the Battle of the Bands," Rainbow continued, whipping out her phone. "That would be so cool, I could fly high in the sky!" Rainbow opened up the camera app and put her left arm through the portal. She snapped a picture of it and grinned at the resulting image.
"Nobody's gonna call me a liar with this picture!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Now, enough talk. Let's get this on!" Rainbow Dash sprinted on through the portal.
It was like riding the Tilt-A-Whirl at the Spring Carnival. Rainbow felt nauseous as she spiraled through an endless multitude of colors.
"Geeeeeeeeet murderers ouuuuut ooooooooof heeeeeeeeere!" Rainbow screamed. She wanted to put her hands up to amplify the message, but they seemed glued to her sides. Rainbow had no choice but to continue helplessly on her path through dimensions.
When Rainbow finally passed into the next world, she flew straight out and into a wall.
"Oh!" she cried. Rainbow hung there, upside down, for a moment, until she fell flat on her face.
"This world isn't too kind to me, is it?" Rainbow asked, rubbing her head.
"Wait- I have hooves!" Rainbow exclaimed, noticing with what she was rubbing her head. Rainbow had felt the sensation before- she knew that there was a pair of sky blue, feathery wings on her back.
"Oh yeah!" Rainbow exclaimed. "This is so cool!" From previous experience, Rainbow knew exactly what to do. She flapped her wings, and she slowly rose into the air after a few beats.
"Look who's the best athlete ever!" Rainbow crowed, flying around the room. "This girl- er, this pony!" Noticing the stairs, Rainbow flew straight down them, skimming the steps as she flew. Totally oblivious to her surroundings, the new Pegasus was in her element. She soared out of whatever building she was in and up into the clear blue skies.
"I can see the entire world!" Rainbow exclaimed. She could see everything for miles. The building she had been in looked like a crystal castle. A little town was nestled between miles of trees. In the distance, Rainbow could see the ridges of hills and steep mountains.
"This is the best day of my life!" Rainbow's voice rose to a squeak by the last word. Never before had she enjoyed such an experience!
"Rainbow!" Rainbow's wings stopped flapping for a split second. Someone was calling her name!
"Uh, yeah?" She asked feebly, looking around for the source. A wisteria-colored Pegasus flew up to join her.
"Rainbow Dash, we've been looking all over for you!" She exclaimed. "Raindrops lost the weather schedule. What are we due for right now?"
"Um, clear skies?" Rainbow guessed. "And, uh-"
"Yes?" The mare asked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.
"Tell Raindrops to be more careful," Rainbow finished. Internally, she kicked herself. You can do so much better, Rainbow!
"Actually, wait!" Rainbow straightened up as best she could. "It's not entirely clear skies. Near the west, put some cirrus clouds. You know? Make it look pretty for sunset!" The mare nodded.
"That's a good idea, Rainbow," she answered." Rainbow nodded proudly.
"It comes naturally, uh, Rainbow," she took a stab at naming with the mark on the pony's flank, a rainbow with three stripes. The pony rolled her eyes.
"I told you, it's Rainbowshine, not Rainbow on its own," Rainbowshine answered. "I'll send your reply back to the weather team. Thanks, Rainbow!" Rainbow crossed her forarms in satisfaction.
"All in a day's work!" She answered as Rainbowshine flew away.
"Now, let's see how fast I can fly!" Rainbow exclaimed, grinning like she was plotting to steal a body. Aiming for a specific spot on the ground, Rainbow began to flap her wings faster. Wind rushed in her ears as she dive-bombed the spot! Her mane rushed back. Rainbow had never felt more exhilarated. Even soccer didn't compare!
She was going so fast, Rainbow barely noticed the ground rushing to meet her. Right before she hit the ground, though, she pulled up.
"That was a close one!" Rainbow exclaimed, landing on the grass nearby. She watched as a bunny darted across the clearing. A sudden yawn caught Rainbow off guard.
"Who knew dive-bombing in an alternate universe was so exhausting!" She joked. "I guess I'd better get back to my world- however amazing this one is!" Rainbow began to flap her wings again, and she was mere inches above the ground on her track back to that crystal place.
By the time she reached the front doors, Rainbow had had enough flying. She dragged her hooves as she walked up the stairs to the portal. Out of the corner of her eye, Rainbow noticed her soccer ball sitting at the bottom of the stairs.
"Gotta get this!" She yawned. Tucking it under her wing, Rainbow returned to the room where the portal to her world was.
"Just one more thing," Rainbow decided. She gently plucked a feather from her wing. On the crystal wall, she etched the message, "Rainbow Dash was here!".
"There," she murmured. "Perfect." Rainbow's eyelids drooled as she entered the portal.
On the other side, Rainbow lay on the sidewalk, half asleep. She was wearing her regular clothes again, and her soccer ball was at her side.
"Let me just... oh, come on!" Rainbow Dash angrily pushed buttons on her phone. "That stupid picture didn't save!" Rainbow closed her eyes and heaved a tired sigh.
"Apple Bloom, are you sure about this?" Sweetie Belle asked nervously. She, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom were standing on the top of the school, all three decked out in parachute gear. "It doesn't seem very safe."
"Or legal," Scootaloo added. Although the daredevil of the friends, this clearly didn't sit right with her. "What will our sisters say?"
"We'll be fine, girls," Apple Bloom responded, adjusting the strap on her green helmet. "I checked the rule book, and there's nothin' in there about parachutin'!
"Probably because Principal Celestia assumes we're all in our sane minds," Sweetie Belle muttered, but Apple Bloom paid no attention.
"Who says our sisters needa know?" She added slyly. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle rolled their eyes.
"Let's just get this over with, if we're not going to talk you out of this," Scootaloo added, stepping up to the edge of the school building. "Who's first?"
"Let's all go together," Sweetie Belle suggested. "That way, if we all die, we die together!"
"You're bein' surprisingly dark," Apple Bloom stepped up beside Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. "We'll be fine, I promise. An' an Apple's promise is somethin' you never break until the end of time!" Sweetie Belle couldn't help laughing at Apple Bloom's comparison.
"Okay, on the count of three," Scootaloo said, linking hands with her BFFs. "O-"
"Three!" Apple Bloom jumped without warning, dragging the other three down with her.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Sweetie Belle screamed, terrified.
"Aaaaaaaaaaah!" Apple Bloom cried in exhilaration.
"Aaaaaaaah!" Scootaloo yelled in anger, staring daggers at Apple Bloom.
"Release your parachute or something'!" Apple Bloom yelled to them. The girls grappled for the zippers to their parachutes. Sweetie Belle grabbed hold and tugged. A green canvas opened up behind her. A magenta one opened behind Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom's parachute was the same gold as her eyes.
"We are never doing this again!" Sweetie Belle screamed as they floated to the ground. "You almost killed us back there, AB!"
"Jeez, I'm really sorry, Sweetie Belle," Apple Bloom responded in a tone that was either really sincere or really sarcastic. Sweetie Belle couldn't tell.
The drifted downwards for about half a minute. Sweetie Belle was glad when her boots touched concrete again. She landed neatly in front of the CHS statue. Her parachute fell behind her, nearly tipping Sweetie Belle off balance. Scootaloo landed on Sweetie Belle's left, and Apple Bloom landed on her right.
"These are heavy," Sweetie Belle groaned. As she tried to unhook the parachute, she stumbled forward. She was backed against the statue now.
"Let me just rest for a second." Sweetie Belle leaned back- and found herself falling.
"Sweetie Belle-" Scootaloo lunged forward and grabbed her arm, but she was strong enough. Sweetie Belle pulled them both into the swirling lights.
"Guys!" At the last second, Apple Bloom grabbed Scootaloo's ankle.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Their combined screams rang in Sweetie Belle's ears like a school belL that wouldn't stop ringing.
"We're gonna die!" Sweetie Belle yelled. Suddenly the lights were gone. Sweetie Belle could only see orange-brown hair.
"What happened?" She asked. Sweetie Belle raised her head. What she saw caused her to gasp. She was lying next to a small yellow pony with a red mane and pink bow, as well as an orange pony with small wings and a short fuchsia mane.
"S-scootaloo, A-apple Bloom!" Sweetie Belle stammered in disbelief. "You're- ponies!" Scootaloo raised her head as well.
"No kidding!" She exclaimed, examining herself and Sweetie Belle. "I've got wings! And Sweetie- you have a horn! You're a unicorn!"
"Really?" Sweetie Belle asked excitedly. She went cross eyed trying to get a good look at her horn. "Cool!"
"I'm just a regular pony," Apple Bloom noted, "but I don't really mind. So, where are we?"
"I don't know!" Sweetie Belle admitted. For the first time, she looked around at her surroundings.
"Maybe we're in a crystal cave!" Scootaloo suggested, standing up on her short, round pony legs.
"It looks more like a diamond palace!" Sweetie Belle answered, she and Apple Bloom standing up as well.
"So we're in a crystal place," Apple Bloom restated. "What do we do now?" They all knew the answer at once.
"Explore!" The trio cried in unison.
"Look at all these books!" Scootaloo marveled. "I bet there's tons more than what Miss Cheerilee has!"
"I agree with you on that one," Apple Bloom agreed, stumbling over to the shelves. "Anybody else finidin' it hard to walk on these legs?"
"Not me!" Sweetie Belle responded cheerfully. "Don't worry, Apple Bloom, you'll get the hang of it!"
"Thanks!" Apple Bloom was cheered by the encouragement. "Hey Scoots, why dontcha take a book and we go downstairs to see what else we could find?"
"Sounds good to me!" Scootaloo agreed. She selected a random book and pulled it out.
"What's it called?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Secrets of The Ouija Board," Scootaloo responded, looking up at her friends.
"My parents rented a movie about a ouija board once," Sweetie Belle remembered. "Even Rarity wasn't allowed to watch it, and she was 15 at the time." She and Scootaloo stared at each other for a long moment.
"Uh, guys?" Apple Bloom waved a hoof between them.
"Knowledge," Scootaloo whispered breathlessly.
"Let's jus' get downstairs," Apple Bloom reminded them. In the time Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had been observing the book, she had mastered the art of horse walking. Apple Bloom led them down to the main level.
"Is there a kitchen?" Scootaloo asked. "I'd like a snack while I read."
"There's probably one around here," Sweetie Belle answered. "Let's look."
"I'll go down this hall, and you go down that one, Sweetie," Apple Bloom directed. "Scootaloo can sit her and start reading."
"Awesome!" Scootaloo plopped down and opened to the first page. Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle walked down the right hallway, searching for the kitchen.
"It's pretty dark in here," she commented, peeking through a doorway that led to an empty room. "I hope the kitchen has some lighting."
On the other side of the house, Apple Bloom had better luck on her search. She had found the kitchen.
"Great!" Apple Bloom exclaimed triumphantly. "Not bad for someone who ain't even a real pony. Now, what do we got in here?" Apple Bloom, with moderate difficulty, opened the refrigerator.
The only thing in it was some spoiled milk.
"Is this place deserted?" Apple Bloom wondered. The theory would make sense. The only thing in the kitchen, besides the fridge, was a lone, crystal chair.
At the same time, Scootaloo, a fast reader, was immersed in her book.
"This is terrifying!" She squeaked, eyes glued to the page. "It's so scary I can't put it down." As she approached the climax of the horror story, she heard unfamiliar voices.
"Well, I'm off, Spike," a feminine voice said cheerfully. Scootaloo froze.
"Just be merciful to your victims, won't you, Twilight?" A young male voice, Spike, responded. Scootaloo's eye twitched.
Victims? She thought nervously. The girl laughed again.
"Oh don't be silly! I have to be very thorough in my work."
She's a murderer! Scootaloo realized. Just like in my book! In a panic, Scootaloo did the only sensible thing terrified ponies do.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" She screamed. Scootaloo ran up the stairs in fright. Her scream reached the ears of Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom as well.
"Uh oh," Sweetie Belle murmured nervously. Her ears flattened against her head. Suddenly, the shadows looked like monsters! She was trapped in a hallway full of evil ghosts!
"Save meeeeeeee!" She screamed. Sweetie Belle ran for the foyer.
A few moments earlier, Apple Bloom had been in the same position. Frightened by Scootaloo's scream, she backed up. The chair toppled over. Apple Bloom shrieked in terror, running out of the room as fast as her little legs could carry her.
She and Sweetie Belle met up at the bottom of the stairs, both panting.
"Up here!" Scootaloo yelled. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle climbed the stairs hastily.
"We're all gonna die!" Sweetie Belle yelled, adrenaline coursing through her.
"I can't run anymore in this body!" Apple Bloom added, nearly collapsing. "We'll never make it!"
"Not if I can help it!" Scootaloo shouted determinedly. She grabbed the hooves or Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. They miraculously managed to get to the portal fairly quickly.
"Jump!" Scootaloo screamed loudly. The three friends threw themselves into the portal, still terrified of what was on the other side.
In a minute, they were back at Canterlot High.
"Ugh," Apple Bloom groaned, sitting up and rubbing her calves. "I think I tore a ligament or somethin'."
"You know what, girls?" Scootaloo asked, sitting up as well. "I don't think we were in any real danger." The three of them stared at each other.
"Let's never tell anyone any of this," Sweetie Belle suggested.
"Good idea," Apple Bloom and Scootaloo agreed together.
"I am a crust botch of nature," Drama Letter stated, holding her head in her hands and staring at the plastic skull in front of her. "I have no inspiration."
"Don't say that," her friend Sophisticata responded as she arranged papers on her clipboard. "Everyone has writer's block sometimes."
"Yeah, and we don't mind when you get a play in!" Golden Hazel added cheerfully. "Well, it would be helpful to get it in soon, but hey, we're not gonna judge you!" She curled a lock of orange hair around her finger.
The three Drama girls were sitting in the hallway, like they always did when they were about to embark on a play of some sort. Drama Letter was scriptwriter, Golden Hazel was the main actress, and Sophisticata was everything else.
Drama Letter sighed. She picked up her skull and rubbed it against her face.
"How can I act as an inspiration to thee, or anyone else, if I myself can't think of something inspired?" Drama Letter was referring to her special talent, inspiring the best in others. Sophisticata put a green hand on Drama Letter's shoulder.
"You know what I think? I think you're reading to much into this. Why don't you go outside? The fresh air might clear your head," Sophisticata suggested. Drama Letter shook her head.
"My place is with you all, trying to think, not outside observing the beautiful day, however beautiful it may be. 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?' I say, 'Shall I compare this autumn day to a summer's day?'" Golden Hazel giggled.
"You're messing with my mind with your quotes and stuff!" she noted. Sophisticata rolled her eyes, though she was smiling.
"I think you need to get some fresh air, Drama Letter," she said. "Maybe you'll find your inspiration outside."
"Perhaps," Drama Letter agreed, the value in her suggestion revealing itself to her. "I shall be back in a moment."
"Take all the time you need," Sophisticata told her as Drama Letter stood up.
"But not too long!" Golden Hazel added, making a duck face for reasons unknown to Drama Letter. "Then you'd be skipping class, and that would be naughty naughty!" Drama Letter laughed as Golden Hazel wagged a finger at her.
"I will return in a short amount of time," Drama Letter promised. "I shall see you!" She left them and walked down the hallway towards the main foyer.
When Drama Letter opened the door, she was greeted by emptiness. Nobody was hanging in the front of the school at the time. Drama Letter walked out to the statue. She had always had a soft spot for it; Drama Letter loved the sculpture of the pony.
"Maybe I should write a story focusing on equines?" She wondered as she sat down. Drama Letter slowly lowered her back to sit against the base of the statue.
"Wait, what?!" Drama Letter's words of shock came too late as she toppled into the statue behind her.
"Aaaah!" She cried as she spiraled through spinning colors. In truth, Drama Letter wasn't too frightened. Sure, her body felt as if it was turning into spaghetti, and she couldn't move a muscle, but Drama Letter had a queer feeling she would make it out alright.
This will lead to inspiration, I hope! She thought excitedly. Meanwhile, her body was being stretched out of proportion, but Drama Letter didn't really notice. Her consciousness was inside her head.
A play about interdemiensional travel! Maybe a rendition of the Battle of the Bands, as interpreted by an artist! Drama Letter was so wrapped up in her thoughts she didn't even notice when she emerged on the other side of the portal.
"Oh!" She exclaimed when she finally noticed her crystallized surroundings. "I seem to have arrived at a different dimension of some sort!" Drama Letter tried to stand up on her legs. It didn't take long for her to look down and learn something new about her body.
"I'm a pony!" She exclaimed in shock, staring at her pink hooves. "How did that happen?" Drama Letter completed dropped her usual gate at this new experience. Drama Letter looked around for a mirror or something of the sort where she could fully look at her new form.
"I assume now this alternate universe explains the anthropological transformations that took place during the Fall Formal and Battle of the Bands," Drama Letter murmured. "A connection with this world!" She turned to face the portal. It was a mirror, hooked up to all sorts of fancy wiring and circuts.
"This is perfect!" Drama Letter exclaimed, waving a hoof in the air excitedly. "I shall learn a small amount of knowledge on this world, then I shall return to use my artistic license and create a play catering to my every whim!" She grinned.
"I must read!" Drama Letter, after a few tries, managed to walk over to a nearby bookshelf without falling down on the floor. She selected one book titled, "The Incomplete Equestrian History Book."
"A perfect book for myself to study," Drama Letter murmured, carefully flipping to the first page.
"' In this incomplete volume of Equestria's extensive history,'" Drama Letter read, "'we shall begin with the reign of the two sisters, Celestia and Luna...'"
Drama Letter didn't mean to sit in there for hours. Honestly, she didn't. She had know wanted to read for a few minutes.
The history of this place- fascinating! Drama Letter thought as she turned page 379. She glanced out the window to refresh her eyes.
The sun was setting.
Drama Letter's dark pink eyes grew wide in horror.
"I have overstayed my visit!" She gasped. " Fair Golden Hazel, Fair Sophisticata, and my fair teachers and family- I must have frightened them with my sudden disappearance!" Drama Letter gently picked up the book (with her teeth) and slid it back onto the shelf were she had found it.
"I do hope they shall forgive my transgression!" Drama Letter exclaimed anxiously. Right before she passed through the portal again, a smile formed on her face.
"Of course they shall. I have many new play ideas now! This place has been inspiring!" Drama Letter finished speaking, then jumped into the portal.
When she emerged back at Canterlot High, Drama Letter was sitting in the light of dusk.
Oh, great. Drama Letter's gaze landed on Sophisticata, Golden Hazel, and Nolan North, who were talking to Principal Celestia and a police officer.
"Um," she muttered, approaching them cautiously. Golden Hazel was the first to see her. She wasn't happy.
"Drama Letter!" She yelled, angrily stomping over. "You scared us half to death! What the heck is wrong with you?"
"Drama Letter!" Sophisticata ran over, Principal Celestia, Nolan, and the Cop not farm behind. She threw her arms around Drama Letter in a worried hug.
"Oh, we were so worried!" Sophisticata exclaimed, pulling back from the hug. "What were you thinking? What happened?"
"I am truly sorry," Drama Letter apologized, aware of the Cop and Principal Celestia listening in as well. "I went outside to clear my mind, when I accidentally fell into a hole." Everyone stared at her.
"It was an accident," Drama Letter added. "Please forgive me."
"Your parents are on their way, Miss Letter," Principal Celestia told her, stepping forward. "We shall clear this up with them." The four kids nodded. Drama Letter didn't mind. As soon as she could, she wanted to share her new play ideas!
Amethyst Star stooped down and adjusted her purple sandals.
"Hurry up, Amethyst!" Twinkleshine stamped her foot impatiently. "You know how fun this dance is!"
"I also know it's important your footwear is tied so you don't trip and sprain your ankle," Amethyst replied with a smile. Twinkleshine pretended to look annoyed, but failed.
"Seriously, we should hurry up. We're only a few houses away!" Twinkleshine pointed to a house up ahead. It belonged to Rising Star, a DJ from another high school across town. Even though Amethyst was a CHS student, Rising Star had invited her, as well as some other students from CHS.
"Okay, let's run!" Amethyst suggested playfully.
"Sounds good to me!" Twinkleshine agreed. They both began to run to the party. Twinkleshine took the lead, but Amethyst was only a few steps behind her.
"It looks amazing!" Twinkleshine exclaimed when they arrived at Rising Star's house. Although the main party was inside, lots of guests were outside, laughing and talking. Two boys passed a football to each other. Girls were climbing a tree in the yard.
"I can't believe Rising put this all together," Amethyst marveled as they walked inside.
"I can," Twinkleshine answered, pushing past the crowds and leading Amethyst to the refreshment table. "When you've known him for second grade, you know how epic his parties can be.
"Here." She tossed Amethyst a can of Coca Cola. "I'm off the find some friends. The dance floor is that way-" she pointed to a room "-if you're interested," she finished. Twinkleshine disappeared into the crowd. Amethyst took a sip of her drink.
"I did come here to dance!" She told herself. Setting down the can, Amethyst squeezed through the crowds to the dance floor, where Rising Star was being his own DJ. Remixes of popular tunes blared out of the speakers. The multicolored lights overhead reminded Amethyst of the Fall Formal.
"Hey Amy!" A guy from her school, Thunderbass, yelled over the music. "Nice to see you here!" Amethyst grinned.
"Thanks!" She yelled. Rising Star turned the music down as he spoke into a microphone. Amethyst turned to watch him.
"Thanks for coming, all!" He exclaimed. "You know I love having these parties!" Amethyst cheered with the crowd.
"This next song," he continued, punching a button or something on his turntables, "is one of my own! I hope you enjoy dancing to it!" Rising Star turned up the volume again.
Amethyst loved to dance, but she was a little shy. At first, she only tapped her feet to the rythm. As the song progressed, however, she got into it. Amethyst was dancing with her heart and soul. Boy, did she love it!
For the next couple hours, Amethyst danced to song after song. However, she couldn't keep it up forever.
I'll just take a little dance break, Amethyst thought. She left the room, grabbed her Coco Cola, and headed out into the cool night air.
"Hey, Cloud Kicker!" She exclaimed, noticing that older girl. They had been best friends in middle school. Cloud Kicker looked away from the girls she had been talking with. When she saw Amethyst, she smiled.
"Well, if it isn't my old buddy, Amethyst!" She exclaimed, holding up her hand for a high five. Amethyst obliged.
"This party beats all," Amethyst commented.
"It sure does," Cloud Kicker agreed. A green girl behind her coughed purposefully.
"Oh, yeah. Hold on, Merry May," Cloud Kicker answered. To Amethyst, she said, "Listen, we'll be able to talk later. I'm in the middle of a very important discussion with my friends. Once I'm done, we can talk to our hearts' content!"
"I understand," Amethyst replied honestly. "I'll see you then!"
"Yeah," Cloud Kicker agreed before turning back of her friends. "Now, about the legalization..."
Amethyst drifted over to the tree some girls had been hanging on earlier. She stared up at the glittering stars as she sipped her soda. Suddenly, something rustled above her. Amethyst looked up into the leaves of the tree.
"Oh!" She exclaimed as a blue jay flew out of it. "I didn't know blue lived around here." It there was one thing Amethyst enjoyed besides dancing, it was animals.
She watched, fascinated, as the blue jay circled around her, then flew across the street.
I feel like it's calling me, Amethyst thought. She placed her can of Coca Cola on the ground before she crossed the street, following the blue jay.
Amethyst hadn't noticed it before, but now she did. Rising Star's house was directly across from Canterlot High. Following the blue jay across the street, she was now on school grounds.
Amethyst hurried after the mysterious bird as it flew gracefully through the night air.
"Wait for me!" She called to it. The blue jay seemed to hear her, and it stopped flying to land on the horse statue in front of the school. Amethyst caught up easily.
"What do you want to tell me, little birwooooah!" Amethyst suddenly stumbled, tripping over her sandals. She was thrust forward. The grey marble statue rushed to meet her. The last thing Amethyst heard before tumbling in was the blue jay's twitter.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaah!" She cried in alarm. Her arms felt like they were welded to her sides. Amethyst spun in circles like a shark preparing to devour its prey. Or a toilet bowl, but Amethyst didn't want to think about that.
Amethyst suddenly became aware of a splitting headache forming just behind her forehead.
"Ugh," she groaned, forgetting everything in the moment except for the headache. Amethyst's vision blurred...
...then it suddenly cleared as she tumbled out of the void she had been in. As she spiraled out, Amethyst saw she was in a crystal room with a bookshelf in a corner. That was before she flew straight into the wall.
"Ow," Amethyst muttered. "I'm definitely not at Rising Star's party anymore. Or CHS, for that matter." Amethyst stared at her reflection in the crystal wall.
"Am I a... pony?" She asked in stunned disbelief. There was a horn on top of her head. She was a unicorn! Amethyst's eyes grew wide.
"That's why my head hurt through the portal!" She realized. "Oh, I have to try to lift something!" Amethyst gazed around the room. The only thing that was really liftable was a book.
"Well, you start small, right?" She murmured. Amethyst stared at a book on the lowest shelf. She gazed at it intently.
Um, levicorpus? Amethyst Star thought, completely ripping off Harry Trotter. Mobiliarbus? Wingardium leviousa?
"Jeez, Amethyst," she murmured. "That's all fantasy. This is fiction. Now, what would make a book move? Maybe if I just..." Amethyst stared at the book in full concentration, only thinking about it being levitated up and over to her. Amethyst felt a sudden magic surround her horn. The book was lifted off the shelf!
Although she wanted to dance in joyful celebration, Amethyst kept still, afraid she would brake the spell. Her book floated over to her. Amethyst finally released her mental hold, and it dropped to the floor in front of her.
"Yes!" She exclaimed picking up the book excitedly. "Now, what's this thing called?
"'Magic for Advanced Users?!'" Amethyst read in disbelief, the irony hitting her like a wave at the beach. Amethyst tossed the book aside.
"What else should I do here?" Amethyst murmured. Suddenly, an idea occurred to her. "That Twilight Sparkle- she danced like a pony at the Fall Formal!" A grin formed on Amethyst's face. "I can totally do pony moves!" Amethyst cycled through her mental database of songs.
"Oh! Shake Your Tail!" She decided. "Perfect!" Amethyst imagined that Rising Star was playing the song right then. She closed her eyes and tapped her back hooves to the opening rhythm. When she got to the bridge, Amethyst started branching out. She began to sway with the beat (which was inside her head and not weird at all) and moving her hooves.
"Shake your tail 'cause we're here to have a party tonight!" Amethyst sang softly, literally shaking her tail! Halfway through her mini dance party, Amethyst realized she was being totally weird and abruptly stopped dancing.
"I should probably get back," she reasoned. A conspiratorial grin appeared on her face. "But before I go..." Amethyst walked over to a wall and licked it.
"Just had to see if it was rock candy!" She exclaimed lightly before walking back into the portal.
Back on the other side, Amethyst discovered she had skinned her leg.
"Aw man," she groaned, grabbing the portal for support. The blue jay, who had apparently been there the entire time, tweeted. Amethyst grinned at it.
"Thanks for showing me that. Although I was being creepy- wait, you weren't there. I don't have to tell you anything!" The blue jay flapped its wings.
"Alright, alright! Let's get back to the party!" Amethyst agreed. Limping slightly, she and her blue jay friend walked back across the street.
"Hey Amethyst!" Cloud Kicker waved at her. "Over here!"
"Let's keep this one to ourselves," Amethyst told the blue jay.
"Coming!" She called to Cloud Kicker, then ran to join her friend.
And then Charming Heart turned to stare at her, and he saw how beautiful she looked in the setting sun.
"Why don't you stay for the night?" He suggested kindly, knowing she has nowhere else to go. Bon Bon devoured the words of her romance novel hungrily.
"Bon Bon?"
Bon Bon paid no attention to Lyra's pestering.
Midnight, though she wanted to very much, was inclined to decline; she had never been so far from home.
"Bon Bon!"
Bon Bon ignored Lyra.
"You'll be right back home in the morning," Charming Heart promised, holding his hand out. Midnight blushed.
"Bon Bon!"
"What is it, Lyra?" Bon Bon finally put down her book and looked up in annoyance. "I am trying to finish Night on The Beach!"
"Yeah yeah, I know," Lyra responded, leaning in close, a big smile on her face. "I just thought you'd like to go outside and read!"
"I'm fine right here, Lyra," Bon Bon answered, indicating the desk she was sitting at. "At least I was, until you interrupted me."
"I'm sorry about that," Lyra apologized, not sounding sorry at all. "But it's so nice out, I thought you'd want to go outside and read your book!"
"I understand that," Bon Bon answered. "But I do not. So go away and let me read!" As she buried her nose into her book again, Bon Bon failed to see the look of mischief that had formed on Lyra's face.
"Catch me if you can!" In a moment, Lyra had snatched the book away from Bon Bon's hands, and she was tauntingly waving it above Bon Bon's head.
"Hey! Give that back!" Bon Bon cried indignantly.
"Never!" Lyra cackled and sprinted out of the room. Bon Bon groaned as she got up and ran after Lyra. Lyra was already halfway down the hall when Bon Bon slid out of the room.
"Catch me if you can!" Lyra taunted again, pointing to the book in her hand. Bon Bon gritted her teeth. Lyra could be so annoying sometimes! She ran down the hall after her best friends. Lyra grinned and continued running.
She's headed outside, Bon Bon realized as she rounded the corner. Bon Bon increased her speed, running across the floor with long strides. When Lyra glanced behind her, surprise flashed across her face. Evidently, she had not expected Bon Bon to catch up that quickly. Bon Bon couldn't help smirking at her friend.
The front door of the school was still approaching rapidly, though.
"Ha ha!" Lyra cried, putting on an extra burst of speed and rushing through the door, nearly knocking over a passing student in the process.
"Sorry!" Lyra called over her shoulder. Bon Bon recognized her as Sweet Leaf from her days as an Eco-Kid.
"Sorry!" Bon Bon said to Sweet Leaf as she rushed past.
"Have a nice chase, guys!" Sweet Leaf called to them, not fazed by the pair at all.
Lyra slowed her pace when she neared the horse statue. Bon Bon was surprised and yet unsurprised when Lyra plopped down right in front of the statue and looked straight at Bon Bon, a triumphant look on her face.
"Sit down, Bonnie," Lyra invited her. "Right in front of this po-pedestal."
"Don't do that again, Lyra," Bon Bon responded, snatching the book out of Lyra's hand and sitting down. "While I'm here, I might as well read my story."
"Yup," Lyra responded causally. As Bon Bon began to read again, Lyra placed a hand on Bon Bon's shoulder.
"Lyra, please don't-" Bon Bon began to reproach her, but Lyra suddenly shoved her into the statue!
"What the- Lyra! Heeeeeeeelp!" Bon Bon, instead of cracking her skull against the marble, was falling through the statue!
"See ya on the other side!" Lyra yelled at her. Bon Bon spiraled away. She wasn't sure what was happening. Colors blurred around her. Bon Bon could barely move. And in spite of her impending doom, Bon Bon only felt annoyance.
"Lyraaaaa!" She screamed in rage as she swirled.
Suddenly, Bon Bon was thrown up against a wall- and apparently, she was on the other side of the portal now. Bon Bon shut her eyes.
"Ugh," she groaned. Bon Bon wanted to lie there forever. She didn't have the strength to move. A soft whooshing sound caught her interest, but she still kept her eyes closed.
"Wow, Bonnie," Lyra remarked. "You really need to work on your landing."
"W-what did you do that for?" Bon Bon croaked. Lyra giggled.
"Because you didn't believe me! I told you they were real, Bon Bon! Although you're just a regular pony. No wings or horn. Ha ha on you for not believing!"
"Lyra, what are you babbling about?" Bon Bon snapped. She blinked her eyes open.
If Bon Bon hadn't been lying on the floor at that very moment, she would have fainted. Lyra was standing in front of her. But it wasn't Lyra, it couldn't be Lyra- because Lyra wasn't a mint green unicorn.
"Wait, what?" Bon Bon asked weakly. "Ponies?"
"Uh huh!" Lyra nodded excitedly. "See, look at yourself! The walls have your reflection! Check it out!" Bon Bon cautiously rolled over, unsure if she should be worried. A pair of blue eyes stared back at her from a tan face- a pony face. Bon Bob's gaze traveled down to her hands- which were not hands anymore, they were hooves.
Bon Bon screamed.
"LYRA, I AM A PONY!" She shrieked, staring at the crystal mirror in horror.
"Okay, since you can't see me from that angle, first, I cringed at your scream. And then, I rolled my eyes. Now, I'm like, 'Serves you right, not believing me all these years!'"
"Lyra, can we just go back now?" Bon Bon pleaded, rolling over to face her friend. "I'm really sorry I didn't believe you. I'm your best friend; I should've. But I don't want to be a pony so can we please go back to Canterlot High? Please?" Lyra tapped a hoof to her chin in mock thought.
"You know, we can go back," she agreed, and, after a pause, added, "after you go down the stairs and back without any support!" Bon Bob's eyes grew wide.
"No!" She exclaimed. "Please, Lyra. Help me up!" Lyra narrowed her eyes and smirked. She offered Bon Bon a hoof. Bon Bon grabbed onto it and pulled herself up. Lyra gestured to the staircase on the other side of the room.
"Fine," Bon Bon grumbled. Her legs wobbled as she took a step forward.
"I'm not sure if I can do this!" She whimpered.
"Sure you can!" Lyra encouraged her. Bon Bon smiled. She took several more quick steps. This time, she didn't wobble as much.
"I think I'm doing it!" Bon Bon noticed. Step by step, Bon Bon slowly managed to get to the bottom of the stairs. Lyra beamed at her.
"You did so well, Bonnie, I'll give you a break!"
"Yes!" Bon Bon cheered.
"I'm going to try to use my magic to lift your up inside!" Lyra announced.
"Is that dangerous?" Bon Bon asked.
"Heck if I know!" Lyra shrugged and concentrated on Bon Bon. Bon Bon felt increasingly uncomfortable as she was surrounded by a golden glow.
"Hey, that tickles!" She protested.
"Sorry!" Lyra apologized. She let go of her magical grip on Bon Bon.
"I think I'll just walk. You're terrible at magic," Bon Bon pointed out. Lyra rubbed her leg in embarrassment.
"Hey! Is someone there?" Bon Bon and Lyra froze as they heard a voice. A very familiar voice.
"Lyra?" Pony Bon Bon's voice drifted closer. "What are you doing here? I'm supposed to be the only one touring the castle!"
"Go through the portal!" Lyra hissed at Bon Bon. They both turned to face the portal.
When Pony Bon Bon reached the top of the stairs, she saw light green tail and a pink and blue curly tail disappear through a mirror. Pony Bon Bon blinked.
"I will never go outside again," Bon Bon whispered when they emerged back at Canterlot High.
"I kinda thought it was fun," Lyra told her, smiling. Bon Bon frowned at her.
"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!
"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.
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Pinkie Pie?" Fluttershy asked as Pinkie Pie and Rarity dragged her to school on Sunday morning.
"Of course it is!" Pinkie giggled. "You love animals! Of course you'd love being turned into a pony!"
"Yes, but being a pony is much different than riding a pony," Fluttershy whispered.
"Oh, please does this, Fluttershy!" Rarity pleaded. "You'll be the most understanding out of Rainbow, Applejack, and Sunset! Besides, this is a once-in-a-life-time opportunity! Don't you want to take it?"
"Not really," Fluttershy responded quietly.
"We'll be right behind you the entire time!" Pinkie Pie assured her. "Pinkie Promise!"
"Oh, alright." Fluttershy was comforted by the usage of a Pinkie Promise, the sacred oath that no one ever broke.
"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye" Pinkie Pie recited.
"You probably will fly!" She added. "I bet you're a Pegasus in the pony world!"
"Yes, there's no doubt about it, you always get those adorable wings!" Rarity put in. "Watch your step, girls!" They halted for a moment until several cars zoomed by, then the three girls quickly crossed the street.
"I trust you guys know what you're doing," Fluttershy told them as they walked. "I would hate to upset Twilight. Or Sunset, or anybody else."
"We won't," Pinkie promised again, for what seemed like the millionth time. "Look, here's the portal now!" It was an obvious observation, but nobody called Pinkie Pie out on it. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy stood right in front of it. Fluttershy had been by the statue many times; it felt strange that now she was coming not to hang out to it, but to travel through it.
"How about you go first, Rarity?" Fluttershy suggested timidly.
"Fluttershy, just go!" Rarity gently grabbed Fluttershy's shoulders and steered her to the portal. Fluttershy stuck her pointer finger out. It went right in through the portal, making ripples like in a kitten's milk dish.
"Eep!" She exclaimed, pulling it back as of she had been burned.
"Ichangedmymindaboutthisdon'tmakemego!" Fluttershy begged her friends, zipping behind Rarity and staring anxiously at the portal. Pinkie Pie and Rarity exchanged glances.
"This is an opportunity, Fluttershy," Rarity began.
"I know, Rarity, I know! And I wanna take it, really! But I can't, because I'm too scared!" Fluttershy sunk to the ground and curled up into a ball.
"Aw, now you're making me sad!" Pinkie Pie said softly, blowing her nose into a tissue she had. Fluttershy kept her eyes shut tight, concentrating on the darkness around her.
"We'll regret this," Rarity murmured.
"What?" Fluttershy popped her head up too late. Pinkie Pie and Rarity had grabbed either side of her.
"Help meeeeeeee!" She shrieked as her "friends" threw her into the portal.
"Aaaaaaaaaaah!" Fluttershy screamed in terror, louder than she ever had before. She was rushing down a tunnel of light, and there was no gravity she could feel. Fluttershy felt herself being stretched in all different directions, as her body transformed. At least, Fluttershy assumed it was transforming. She hoped it was transforming.
After a half minute, Fluttershy was spit out the other end of the portal. She slid across the floor and bumped up against the wall, like a klutzy fawn failing to ice skate.
In another second, Pinkie Pie tumbled out and did the splits.
"Ta da!" She exclaimed cheerfully as Rarity flew out of the portal behind her.
"I do wish it was a little more comfortable," Rarity remarked. Fluttershy watched her stand up and touch a hoof to her purple mane.
"Now, Fluttershy, I am truly sorry about taking you here against your will," Rarity told her with sincerity, walking over. "But I know you wanted to go, like you said, but you couldn't make yourself go. Naturally, I had to take matters into my own hands-"
"Hooves!" Pinkie Pie interrupted excitedly.
"Right, hooves," Rarity corrected herself. "Darling, have you looked at yourself yet? You're so adorable!"
"R-really?" Fluttershy asked in surprise. She raised herself into a sitting position to look over herself. Her pink hair fell slightly over her left eye just as it did when she has been human. The rest of her mane fell over her opposite shoulder. Fluttershy couldn't help smiling at her pony self.
"Oh, oh! Look at your wings!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, prodding a hoof at the wings hidden from Fluttershy's view. Fluttershy unwittingly extended the wings; they were feathered and the same buttery-yellow as the rest of Fluttershy.
"I forgive you, Rarity," Fluttershy said, staring at herself in the crystal reflection. "I could never stay mad at you when I get to see myself like this!"
"I know; It's magnificent!" Rarity responded. "Do you need help standing up, Fluttershy?"
"Let me try it on my own, first, if you don't mind," Fluttershy politely declined. She pushed up off the floor, her wings still extended.
"Woah!" Fluttershy exclaimed, staggering forward. Immediately, her friends lunged to catch her, but Fluttershy managed to stay upright.
"Are you alright?" Rarity asked. Fluttershy nodded.
"It's these wings. I'm not used to the extra weight on my back. Well, I had them at the Battle of the Bands, but I'm always on my legs," Fluttershy added.
"Even if it's hard now, you'll get used to it reaaaaaaaally quickly!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Maybe you'll even fly!"
"Oh, I wouldn't want to risk it," Fluttershy responded timidly, meanwhile trying to walking without losing balance. "What if I fell?"
"Now, dear, we're not going to make you fly," Rarity reminded her. "What are we doing now?"
"Do you wanna go outside, Fluttershy?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"That sounds nice," Fluttershy agreed. "Let's go!" Fluttershy had quickly grasped balance as a Pegasus, and she walked down the crystal stairs with ease.
"Now, we'll have to be careful of Twilight," Rarity commented as they walked. "We're not supposed to be here."
"Here we are!" Pinkie Pie announced when they reached the front door. With Fluttershy in the lead, the trio walked outside.
"This scenery is amazing!" Fluttershy noted in awe. Her gaze flew from tree to tree, observing each detail on every one.
"Rarity! Pinkie! A bird's nest!" Fluttershy spotted a collection of twigs and bark in the branches on an oak tree and immediately trotted over. Three yellow chicks' heads popped up over the side.
"Cheep! Cheep! Cheep!" The little babies twittered and peeped. Fluttershy sighed contentedly.
"Don't worry, little chicks. Mommy will be home soon," she told them. Realizing what she had done, Fluttershy's hoof flew to her mouth.
"Girls! Did you see that?" She asked excitedly.
"What was it, darling?" Rarity asked, while Pinkie gasped in delight.
"I sea that! You can talk with animals, Fluttershy!" She cheered.
"I know!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "Oh, I am never leaving!" Rarity and Pinkie Pie exchanged a glance. That didn't sound good.
Several hours later...
"Don't make me goooo!" Fluttershy begged, grabbing at various things, anything to keep Pinkie and Rarity from dragging her back through the portal.
"I'm at home here!" Fluttershy wailed.
"Careful!" Pinkie commented as Rarity reached the final flight of stairs. Fluttershy spread her wings and flapped desperately, trying to escape the clutches of her friends.
"Fluttershy, you simply do not belong here," Rarity explained, empathetic. "There is another Fluttershy here who does her job as well as, perhaps even better than, you."
"Why?" Fluttershy cried, actual tears misting in her large teal eyes. "The animals understand me!"
"I know, dear," Rarity responded, doing her best to console the sorrowful Pegasus. "Back home we can go to the spa! Does that sound alright?"
Before Fluttershy could answer, Pinkie shouted, "Portal time!" She jumped through, bringing Rarity and Fluttershy with her.
The three girls landed in a heap on the other side.
"That was enjoyable!" Pinkie exclaimed. Fluttershy and Rarity sat up next to her.
Violet Blurr stood outside Canterlot High, snapping selfie after selfie on a chilly December day. Pixel Pizzazz, one of her best friends, stood beside her.
"Give it a rest, Violet," Pix told her, wrapping her striped scarf tighter around her neck. "You must've taken, like, 300 selfies in the past two minutes. Besides, we're gonna be late for Photo Finish's party if you don't hurry up."
"I can't help it!" Violet shot Pix a pouty look. "I need to get the perfect shot!" Violet hunched over her phone and began to sort through the multitude of photos that she had taken. She glanced up at Pix as she went, hoping that Pix would leave.
Pix wasn't that easy to get rid of. Violet should have known that.
"You just wanna get out of going to the party, don't you?" Pix accused her.
"What?" Violet exclaimed, nearly dropping her phone when Pix figured out. "No way!" She tried to look innocent, but Pix wasn't going to have the charade.
"Why not?" She asked. "It'll be fun!" Violet sighed and lowered her arm.
"I just haven't been in the party mood lately," she explained. "We haven't done any new photo shoots, and I'm just bored."
"Hey, no sweat," Pix reassured her. "If you don't want to come, Photo Finish will understand. Probably. Maybe not." Violet tried not to smile as Pix blatantly reduced the positivity of her answer.
"So she'll probably just be mad at you when you don't show up," Pix finished. "But hey, whatever! I'll take her wrath for my best friend!" She gently elbowed Violet.
"Hey, watch it!" Violet protested, grasping on to her phone. She had been known to drop it on occasion, and although it hadn't broken yet, Violet tried to keep it safely in her hands.
"So are you gonna leave now?" Pix asked as she stuffed her hands into her coat pockets.
"I think I'll stay here for a while and delete all my unnecessary selfies," Violet answered, hoisting herself up onto the school's statue.
"Suit yourself, Vi," Pix responded. "Well, I'm off! See ya later!"
"Bye!" Violet waved as Pix took off for her car. Then she turned her attention back to her selfies.
I really shouldn't have done this, Violet thought as she shifted through the photos. From her critical artist's eye, none of them were very good. Violet's fingers worked in a pattern, hitting the same buttons each time to delete picture after picture.
Eventually, Violet came to a picture that didn't look like it had been taken by a sloppy novice. On a stroke of luck, the light of the setting sun hit Violet's face and hair at just the right angle.
This is gorgeous! Violet thought in delight. She broke her pattern to send the picture to Pix. Her fingers hesitated, debating on whether or not to send it to Photo Finish.
Better not, Violet decided before she jumped off the statue. She might get really critical since I didn't bother showing up to the party.
Violet stared at the photo for a moment longer before she made the decision to head home. Violet reached to return her phone to her pocket at the same time she began to walk. Violet's boot suddenly stuck on a loose pavement stone.
"No!" She cried as her phone flew out of her hand. Violet almost lunged for her phone before she realized that if she did, she'd painfully crash into the statue. She could only watch helplessly as her phone spiraled forward-
-and passed through the marble statue. Violet's mouth dropped open.
"What just happened?" She asked, approaching the statue cautiously. Violet reach out her left hand to touch the base. To her surprise, her fingers passed right through, like she was dipping them into a pool. Violet gasped.
"The Dazzlings!" She remembered. "They were from an alternate universe, right?"
Violet hesitated. Entering the problem was the only way she could retrieve her phone, that was obvious. But if that world was what spawned manipulative girls like the Dazzlings, who knew what else lay beyond?
Go now, Violet. It's not like you have a choice, she thought to herself. Violet took a deep breath and stared straight forward. She took a step forward, and then, Violet jumped.
"Wooooooo hooooooooo!" She yelled as she twisted through a vortex of swirling colors. Violet had a little-known passion for roller coasters, and this experience definitely reminded her of coasting down the ride. Gravity seemed to be working against Violet. Her body felt like silly putty!
Soon, Violet saw an end to the colors. She was thrust forward into the exit. Violet tumbled up against something cold and blue.
"Crystal!" Violet gasped, regaining her sense almost instantaneously. "Real crystal!" Her eyes flew around the room she was inside. She could hardly believe that solid crystal made up the walls of the whole thing.
Violet looked down and found herself staring at a pair of blue hooves. Long, wavy, and gradient pink hair fell next to the set. Violet's eyes widened.
I'm a pony! She thought in wonder. I've been turned into a pony!
"This is so amazing!" Violet exclaimed aloud. Her gaze landed on her phone, which lay directly in front of a horseshoe-shaped mirror, obviously her way back home. Violet placed one hoof on the phone and slid it over to herself.
I so need to take a picture of this moment! She decided, swiping at the screen to get up the camera app. That was a task that proved no easy feat.
"Argh!" Violet tossed her hair in frustration. "Curse this lack of fingers!" Violet pressed the screen again, but nothing changed. Violet sighed.
Think, Violet. How else would ponies swipe a screen? She thought. After several seconds, an answer came to her.
Smiling sheepishly, Violet brought her muzzle close to the screen. She swiped across the screen with her nose. To Violet's surprise and delight, her technique worked! Violet's phone opened up the camera app!
"Yes!" Violet cheered, clapping her front hooves together. "Now to get that picture!" Violet pulled her phone closer. She carefully eased it into the grasp of her hooves.
How should I do this? She wondered. Violet nosed the screen again. The viewpoint flipped over, so that the preview on the screen was of the portal, not Violet.
It's worth a shot, Violet thought. She smiled broadly for the camera. As she did so, Violet also moved her hoof around the screen in search of the picture button.
Violet pulled her phone back. It was hard to tell if she had taken any photos.
That'll wait for the human world, where I have fingers, Violet thought. With the phone in one hand, Violet rose to all four hooves. New to this gait, Violet stumbled a little in the first, and only, three steps.
"It was nice to see you, Crystal Pony Place," Violet told the room, turning to look at it one more time. "Bye!" Violet turned around and jumped through the portal.
After the rollercoaster between dimensions, Violet checked her phone. Two pictures of a smiling blue pony with a rose wreath decorating her hair appeared.
"Yes!" Violet exclaimed in triumph. "Now to send these to Pix!" In a few simple taps, the pictures were on their way to Pix. The response was almost instantaneous.
When Scott Green was talking on the phone, nobody interrupted him, except for his crush, Aqua Blossom. But as she was sick that day, it was impossible for any of Scott's friends to pry him off that phone.
"Yes, I am aware there was a confusion with the designs," Scott said to his older sister, Sweet Green. "You just need to explain that the original designs belong to Rarity, and that Miss Suri must be accused of plagiarism!"
"I don't want to offend anyone!" Sweet protested from the other end of the phone. "Besides, how are you so sure that Rarity was the victim?"
"From the evidence you've laid out for me, Big Sis," Scott responded marter-of-factly. "Not to mention the fact that Rarity goes to my school and I have never seen her cheat."
"Thanks for the input, Scott," Sweet answered with a sigh. "You know, it's days like these I wish you were helping out with Fashion Week instead of me."
"You're doing fine, Sweet," Scott assured her. He snuck a glance at the clock in the back of the cafeteria. It was almost time for lunch to end.
"I have to go now," Scott told her.
"Alright, I need to go, too. Bye, Scott!" Sweet hung up.
Scott smiled as he set his phone down on the table. Blueberry Cake, Norman, and Sunflower Seed were staring at him.
"What?" Scott asked as he scooped up some sky-blue jello.
"You have some social issues if you have to help your older sister run Fashion Week during lunch," Sunflower deadpanned, examining her nails to indicate a passive attitude to the idea.
"Scott, can you please just talk to us during lunch?" Blueberry asked.
"Yeah, man. Come talk to us." Norman landed a light hit to Scott's upper arm.
"But Sweet's counting on my help!" Scott protested, scooping jello into his mouth between each word. Blueberry and Norman exchanged glances. They seemed to be having a silent discussion with their eyes.
"I hate it when they do that," Sunflower muttered with a toss of her wavy golden hair.
"Hey, Scott, we don't think it's our place to tell you how to spend your lunch," Norman finally said, clearly speaking on behalf on both Blueberry and himself.
"Well, I do," Sunflower snapped, standing up. "I don't know why I hang around with someone who's talking with his older sister half the time. It's a little annoying, don't you think?" Quick as a flash, Sunflower grabbed Scott's phone off the table.
"Hey!" Scott exclaimed, standing up. "Gimme that!"
"Give him back his phone, Sunflower," Blueberry added, crossing her arms. Sunflower smirked.
"No way. Scott'll have to get in from me," she taunted.
"Bully!" Blueberry responded indignantly. Scott grabbed for his phone. Sunflower held it out of his reach.
"Like I said, you'll have to get it from me," she teased. Sunflower was suddenly out the cafeteria door.
"Come back!" Scott shouted, taking off after her. When he threw the doors open, Sunflower was disappearing out of the front doors. Scott scurried after her, desperate to have his phone back. He grabbed the brim of his hat so it wouldn't fly off.
"Come back!" He yelled again, even though Sunflower was beyond the doors. When he reached the front doors, Scott threw them open.
"Sunflower!" He cried, stopping in his tracks. Sunflower stood beside the CHS Wondercolt statue. Scott's phone dangled from her right hand, directly in front of the statue's base.
"Let's test your loyalty to this thing, shall we?" Sunflower asked.
"Don't break it! Please!" Scott looked stricken at the thought. Sunflower rolled her eyes.
"Oh please. My sister Babs is friends with a girl named Sweetie Belle, who's Rarity's sister... Anyway, Babe told me a rumor that this statue is a portal." Sunflower's hand swung back and forth, as if getting ready to throw something.
"I think it's true."
"No!" Scott cried, running forward to prevent the inevitable. A smirk on her face, Sunflower casually tossed his phone through the portal. It slid through easily, just as if she had dropped it into a pool.
"Sweet needs me!" Scott exclaimed. His shock was suddenly replaced with fury. Sweet depended on him, and Sunflower had just thrown out his access to his sister! Scott grabbed Sunflower by the shirt.
"Where's my phone?" He growled.
"Woah, easy on the shirt!" Sunflower pulled away and dusted her black-and-red striped shirt off. "I told you, I threw it through the portal. You can just hop over and retrieve it. If you dare," she added menacingly. Scott rolled his eyes.
"Of course I'll go." Scott straight into the base of the statue, without a hesitation. He needed his phone back. He would get it back.
"Come back safely!" Scott could just barely hear Sunflower's parting words before all outside noises disappeared.
Scott's insides were being torn up. Although he didn't feel nauseous, it wasn't pleasant swirling through a sea of colors.
"Heeeeeeeeeeeey!" Scott cried through the colors. He doubted anyone could hear him, but when you were traveling through dimensions, your natural instinct was to make noise, right?
Scott spiraled through the other end of the portal, landing on a smooth surface.
"Wha-what just happened?" Scott groaned, unsure if he had dreamed the unpleasant experience. Scott's gaze was on a pair of legs the same pale aqua as his- except, they weren't human legs. They looked like pony legs.
"Wait, what?" Scott exclaimed in shock. He tried to wiggle one of his legs. The pony legs wiggled back.
Scott's mouth dropped open.
"That ain't normal, bro," he said, remembering Norman's catchphrase from Freshman year. "Why am I a pony?" Something jogged in his memory. The Dazzlings, and the Rainbooms as well, had those pony ears and tails at the Battle of the Bands. Scott had passed it off as a stage effect...
"That stuff is real!" Scott gasped in realization. "This is where they got those powers from!" Scott sat up as best he could on hooves. As he did, he felt something like extra limbs on his back. When Scott extended the limbs, he felt a feathery texture brush against his hair.
"Check it out, I'm a Pegasus!" Scott realized, twisting around to get a look at his wings. "Too cool!" Scott suddenly remembered his phone. He found it on the smooth, translucent floor, next to a large purple mirror.
"Gotcha!" He exclaimed, walking over to it. His mission was complete; Scott could return and chew out Sunflower now. And yet...
"One test flight," he decided, stretching his wings to their full extent. Since Scott had never possessed wings before, he wasn't totally sure what to do.
"I guess I just... flap?" Scott murmured to himself. He began to move his wings up and down- slowly, at first, but when Scott got used to the action he flapped faster. He couldn't believe his eyes when the motion lifted him off the ground! Scott tucked his hooves in so they weren't dangling in front of him. Soon, he was several feet off the ground!
"Yeah! I'm flying!" Scott cried. "Woo hoo!"
Unfortunately, Scoot had no clue how to go forward or backwards, so he hovered in the air for a minute until Scott decided that it was time to return to CHS. Scott slowly stopped flapping, which brought him back down.
"This was pretty cool!" Scott decided, scooping up his phone. "Can't wait to tell Sunflower, however mean she is!" Scott walked the few steps up to the portal and jumped through.
"Oh jeez. You're actually alive." Scott opened one eye to see Sunflower standing over him, hands on her hips.
"Yeah, I got my phone-" Scott waved the phone at her "-and I was turned into a Pegasus so I got to fly for a moment!" Sunflower rolled her eyes.
"You're crazy, Scottie," she told him before swaggering off. Scott watched her go.
A low growl formed in Gilda's throat as she drove her convertible down the city streets. Her hand tightened on the steering wheel.
Rainbow Dash had ditched her. Her best friend since Cloudsdale Junior High, one of the most loyal kids Gilda knew, and when the two had agreed to meet at the mall on Saturday, Rainbow Dash had never shown up.
Gilda had no idea what was going on with Rainbow Dash. The two had been spending less and less time together, Rainbow always off with friends at her school, Canterlot High. And that was why Gilda was cutting class on a Wednesday morning. If Rainbow wouldn't meet with her on the weekends, Gilda would meet with Rainbow during the week.
Seeing the school a few hundred feet ahead of her, Gilda pulled over her convertible. She parked it under an oak tree with leaves turning from green to all shades of orange. Gilda stepped out of the car, stretching like she usually did. Sitting in one spot was one thing Gilda didn't like to do.
As Gilda began walking towards the school, she was aware of her brown army boots loudly clomping down the sidewalk. They matched her aviator jacket and tan cargo pants. One other thing Gilda didn't like to admit was how awesome she felt in her outfit. Gilda felt like she could command armies with her outfit.
"Now to find what that ditcher is up to," Gilda muttered as she pulled out her phone. She punched in Rainbow Dash's phone number and waited for her "friend" to pick up. Fortunately, the wait wasn't long.
"Gilda?" Rainbow asked. "Why are you calling? Normal people just text."
"You know I prefer to do stuff head-on," Gilda responded, staring up at CHS. "Hey, can you come outside for a moment?"
"Wait, are you outside my school? Your skipping class?" Gilda found it hard to believe that the shocked voice on the other end of the phone belonged to hardcore Rainbow Dash.
"Yeah, so what, Dash? It's all good. Just come on out." Without waiting for a reply, Gilda hung up. She took out a pack of bubblegum. Tossing it into her mouth, Gilda began to work her jaws to mash it up.
A minute later, Rainbow Dash came jogging out of the school. From the expression on her face, Gilda knew she wasn't very happy.
"What are you doing here?" Rainbow asked angrily. "Come on, Gilda, I thought you were better than this!"
"And I thought you were cooler than to leave your friend and never show up at the mall," Gilda responded, chewing on her gum. "I had loads of fun pranks planned!" Rainbow opened her mouth to respond, then apparently rethought her answer. She shut her mouth.
"No offense, Gilda," Rainbow finally said, "but I have other friends now. And... I kinda think you've been going the wrong way with you pranks."
"Wrong way?" Gilda snapped, angry and insulted at the same time. "My pranks are harmless!"
"Yeah, like blaming shoplifting on another customer." Rainbow folded her arms, clearly unimpressed by the memory of the last time they had hung out together. "Hey, Gilda, no hard feelings, but I don't think we should hang out until your pranks are more..." Rainbow struggled to find a word.
"Uncool? Boring? Lame?" Gilda suggested coolly. Inside, however, she didn't feel nearly as cool. Gilda was smoldering from her friend's burn!
Or ex-friend, Gilda thought as Rainbow retorted, "No! I was going to say controlled."
"Yeah, well whatever, Rainbow Dash!" Gilda shoved her hands into her pockets. "If you're going to be like this, I don't wanna be your friend anymore."
"Wait!" Just as Gilda began to pass the statue outside of the school, Rainbow put a hand out to stop her.
"What is it?" Gilda asked, her voice void of enthusiasm.
"This." Rainbow grabbed Gilda's shoulders and shoved her against the statue.
"Hey!" Gilda cried as she braced for pain. Surprisingly, Gilda felt none. All she felt was a falling sensation. Rainbow Dash disappeared from view.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaah!" Gilda screamed.
Rainbow Dash watched Gilda fall through the portal.
"If anyone can teach Gilda the magic of friendship in a limited time, it's Twilight," she stated confidently. "When Gilda comes back, she'll be a new girl!"
Gilda sat up immediately, as soon as she felt solid ground beneath her.
"What the heck is wrong with Rainbow?" She asked herself furiously. "Sends me to- wait, where am I?" Gilda stared down at herself.
She definitely wasn't a human anymore.
"What am I?" Gilda cried, taking in the lion's paws that replaced her feet, the eagle's talons that took the place of hands, and a long, golden, furry tail that was sticking out from beneath Gilda.
A piece of information floated to Gilda's mind.
"A griffon is a mythological creature," Gilda remembered, "with parts from a lion and eagle." Gilda, who had been lying on her back until that point, rolled over. Now she could feel a pair of feathery wings on her back. Slowly, Gilda tried to unfurl them.
"Woah!" Gilda cried. She had not been expecting the wingspan of her brown wings to be ten feet long.
"I wonder if these babies can fly," Gilda wondered aloud. Smirking, she flapped. Fortunately for Gilda, the wings could function.
"Oh yeah!" Gilda hooted in delight, flying circles around the room. "This is the best!"
I wonder if Rainbow Dash could fly, Gilda thought as she brushed back the feathers on her head. Wrong thing to think about. The thought of her dis-loyal friend was enough to halt Gilda's circles.
"Maybe I can't bring my griffon powers back to CHS," Gilda thought aloud, rubbing her chin thoughtfully, "but I can find the Rainbow in this world and make her pay for ditching me." A cruel smirk appeared on Gilda's beak.
Gilda folded her wings against her side and walked down the stairs of the crystal place. It wasn't hard for her to adjust to the change. Gilda didn't stop to think about why it was so easy.
"Rainbow Dash?" She called out. "Hello?"
"Is that-" Gilda's response came when a lavender unicorn peeked into the room. Her purple eyes widened.
"Gilda!" She gasped. The shock on her face, however, quickly dissolved into distaste.
"I'm sorry, but you aren't welcome here," Purple told her crossly. "Please leave."
"No way!" Gilda snorted. "I'm just looking for Rainbow Dash. Do you know her?"
"Know her? Know her? Rainbow's my best friend!" Purple exclaimed, clearly annoyed. "And she certainly does not want to see you." Gilda walked up to Purple. She wasn't intimidated by the pony's pushy attitude.
"Rainbow Dash is a jerk," she stated. "Now, where is she?"
"You're crazy!" Purple replied, backing up a few paces as if Gilda had threatened to eat her. "Rainbow isn't a jerk! She's one of the most loyal friends I have!" Gilda found the irony hilarious.
"So ironic!" She laughed out loud. Now Purple looked really nervous.
"What are you babbling about?" She asked. Gilda ruffled Purple's indigo mane.
"You know?" She asked. "You made me realize I shouldn't be wasting my time on Rainbow Dash. I have Giselle and Gertrude for company! We can do even better pranks on our own! Thanks, Purple!"
"It's Twilight," Purple muttered. "Please leave."
"Sure thing." Gilda spread her wings and flew back upstairs.
"Wait, what?" Twilight shouted. "Where are you going?" Gilda paid no attention to the question.
"I totally can't wait to tell my real friends I became a griffon!" Gilda laughed before she stepped back through the portal.
When Gilda emerged, Rainbow was waiting for her with an expectant look on her face.
Saturday's morning sun beat down on the boy's dark poncho and matching cowboy hat. His pet rubber chicken sat in a basket on the front of his bike. Any other boy would be ashamed-
I can narrate my own story, thank you very much.
Don't make me do this. Ahem. The mysterious boy-
Let me narrate!
Are you certified?
Totally!
Fine. You can narrate.
Yipee! I mean-
Ahem. I grasped the handles of his bike as I rode down the street.
"This will be so exciting, Boneless!" I exclaimed cheerfully, pulling down my dark hat as I talk to my best friend Boneless.
"I know!" Boneless agreed, just as excited as I was.
Boneless didn't talk.
I felt annoyance that the narrator had interrupted me.
"Boneless is very much alive," I protested.
I never said he wasn't, but those are the rules of narration only stuff you observe-
"Right, I think I found my loophole!" I interrupted the ex-narrator. "Now please leave, I have a story to tell."
... Fine, I'll go.
Ahem.
I know! Boneless agreed inside my head. I make you total sane, don't I?
"Saner than the most insane sane!" I agreed, high fiving his little rubber flipper. "With a slice of cheese on top!" You see, I had gotten my familiar Cheese Sense that morning. My Cheese Sense is a physical reaction based off intuition of events yet to come.
I don't think that's how you should explain it. It has to be subtle, blend into the lines.
"I thought you said you would leave!" I interrupted aloud.
Right. I'm really going now.
I sighed.
"It's just you and me, Boneless," I told him fondly. "Chasing intuition."
You should write a book called "Chasing Intuition", Boneless suggested.
"Terrific idea!" I responded as I turned my bike down another street.
Do you think we're almost there, Cheese?
"Any moment now. I can feel my Cheese Sense getting stronger!" I told him confidently. I was totally hyped for whatever was to come. This certain Cheese Sense sensation was a rumbling in my tummy like I had way too much grilled cheese with way to much butter, but this sensation was different because it didn't come with nausea. Currently, my Cheese Sense had been getting more and more intense with each yard I pedaled.
Suddenly, it stopped.
"Woah!" I cried, screeching my bike to a halt.
Where are we? Boneless wondered. I looked up at the building I had stopped in front of.
"It seems to be some sort of school," I observed, noticing the giant sign that said, "Welcome to Canterlot High School."
"Maybe this place needs a party," I suggested to Boneless. I left my bike lying on the grass as I jogged towards the High School. I don't go to high school. I actually finished college just last year. It seems far-fetched, I know. But when you have a mother like my mother...
Ahem. I was jogging to the school, Boneless beside me, when a pink girl popped up out of nowhere.
"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!" She exclaimed cheerfully, performing a cartwheel.
"Hiya!" I responded without missing a beat. "I'm Cheese Sandwich!" I blew into a kazoo I had taken from my pocket.
"So, what are you doing here?" Pinkie Pie asked, grabbing my hand and spinning me around.
"I'm following my Cheese Sense!" I told her as we spun. "It's a physical reaction-"
"-based off intuition of events yet to come!" Pinkie Pie finished. "I know, I have a Pinkie Sense too!"
"How awesome!" I answered immediately. "So as I was saying, I'm following it. I'm sensing adventure!" Pinkie Pie gasped.
"I totally know what your adventure is!" She exclaimed. "Follow me!" Pinkie Pie jumped onto a large statue that was about two feet away from us.
"What's a big statue got to do with adventure?" I asked, slightly confused. Pinkie giggled. A snort escaped her mouth.
"You step through it, silly!" She explained.
"Sounds good!" I grinned at her. I would have referred a little bit more detail, but I trusted this girl enough. I could already sense a kindred party spirit in her.
"Bye, Pinkie Pie!" I told her, waving as I approached the portal.
"Bye, Cheese Sandwich!" Pinkie Pie sing-songed, waving. I grabbed Boneless, and together the two of us stepped through the portal.
It felt like Cheese used some bad language you would not expect move along.
Cheese Sandwich! I did not expect you of all people to use such language!
I grinned sheepishly, now out of the portal.
"Sorry. That was the only way I could describe it."
By using bathroom talk.
"Please stop interrupting," I told the ex-narrator, bluntly reminding her she was an ex-narrator, and this was my story now.
Ahem. Cheese Sandwich definitely wasn't at high school anymore. He was in some sort of glass or crystalline room. A purple mirror stood behind Boneless and me.
But what really shocked me was myself. I stared into the glass and observed my reflection. I still had my brown curly hair, as well as my black poncho and hat. But the body...
"I'm a pony, Boneless!" I shouted gleefully. "I'm in a pony's paradise!"
Totally awesome! Boneless responded inside my head. What are you going to do first in your new form?
"Hmm..." I tapped my chin with my hoof thoughtfully. "I know! I'll decorate this place!"
Sounds like a plan! Boneless agreed. I have the streamers!
"Goody!" I rubbed my new hooves together in anticipation. "Let's get to work!"
I worked over the next few seconds hanging up streamers and balloons and party games and all that good good stuff.
"There!" I proclaimed when I was finished two moments later. "What do you think, Boneless?" My rubber chicken observed the decorations.
Whoever's house this is will be in for an awesome surprise party! Boneless clucked.
"I know, buddy!" I high-hoofed him. "Do you think we should stay?"
Nah, you should go talk to Pinkie Pie, Boneless suggested. After all, you did sense a kindred spirit in her!
"You have the best ideas, Boneless!" I told him. "Let's go!" We left the party to rejoin Pinkie Pie in the human world.
The portal was very... unusual.
When I got out, Pinkie Pie was still there.
"Hey! You wanna talk about parties?" She asked.
Sounds awesome!" I grinned. A sick Twilight Sparkle exited her bedroom dressed in a fluffy bathrobe. She sniffled as she surveyed her crystal castle.
"Wha?" She murmured, looking at the balloons strewn about. "I'm gonna go back to bed." Twilight shut the door.
Octavia Melody was not very happy on this cold December morning. Of all the days, she forgot to bring her cello today.
"Ugh, where is Vinyl?" Octavia asked herself, checking the watch on her hand. Octavia had been waiting for her DJ friend for several minutes, but Vinyl was nowhere in sight. To make matters worse, Octavia had forgotten not only her cello but also he phone. Octavia wasn't a phone addict like some of her friends, but a lack of one made it awfully hard to contact a friend in a pinch.
"Hey, Octavia!" A friend of hers, Cherry Crash, greeted her as she walked inside. "Waiting for Vinyl?" Octavia sighed.
"That girl never goes anywhere on time!" She huffed. Cherry Crash laughed.
"She'll turn up," she assured Octavia. Octavia crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.
"I doubt it."
After Cherry Crash went inside, Octavia was left alone under the cold, grey sky. Octavia felt that everything was grey that morning: the statue, the sky, and herself, of course.
Octavia fiddled with the bow on her neck. She paced in a circle. She listed all the woodwind instruments by size. After another minute had passed, Octavia decided to sit down.
She walked over to the portal and slid down, criss-cross-applesauce.
"This thing is cold," Octavia remarked. "Ah, well. Vinyl will be here soon." I hope. Vinyl had texted her last night, telling Tavi she couldn't enter the school until they both arrived. Octavia found it very silly. She shut her eyes.
"Woah!" Octavia fell backwards. She could no longer feel the cold stone. The grey morning was gone.
"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeelp!" Octavia shouted as she fell down a swirling hole of color. The only color she could see was an obnoxious green that reminded Octavia of avocados, her least favorite food. Avocados reminded her of puke.
Great. Octavia tried to clutch her stomach to block the nausea, but her limbs were super glued to her sides.
"Heeeeeeee- oof!" Octavia's scream was cut off when her ride ended and she was thrown against something hairy.
"What the- Octavia!" The hairy thing moved away. Octavia opened her eyes. She was staring at a lavender unicorn with a straight mane. Its indigo color was broken by two streaks of purple and pink.
"T-twilight Sparkle?" Octavia guessed in disbelief. "Of the Rainbooms?"
"Yes," the pony confirmed. She offered Octavia a hoof. Octavia just stared at it in shock. "Did you just come through the portal? That's supposed to be for me only!"
"What po- I'm a pony!" Octavia shrieked, finally noticing the change in her body structure. "I'm. A. Pony!"
"Um, yes. Here, humans are turned into ponies," Twilight explained. "But that doesn't explain why you're here." Octavia, however, was not paying attention to Twilight.
"I have hooves. Do you know how hard it will be to play cello with these?" Octavia asked in disbelief, gaze turning from one hoof to the other and back again.
"I know somepony who plays with hooves," Twilight answered uncertainly. "But Octavia, please..."
"What is it, Miss Twilight?" Octavia looked to her expectantly, momentarily forgetting her dilemma.
"How did you get here?" Twilight questioned her. Octavia tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"Well, it's not a very complicated story. I forget my cello, which is terrible because I'm supposed to give a performance for the Freshmen later today. Last night, Vinyl Scratch, one of my best friends, texted me and told me not to go into school without her. I'm telling you, that girl's music will make her jump off the deep end!"
"And the portal?" Twilight prompted.
"Of course. So after a few minutes passed," Octavia continued, "I sat down against the statue outside CHS. It was solid at first, but suddenly it gave way. I fell through and landed up in this pony world," Octavia finished.
"It lines up." Twilight nodded. "I closed the portal for a few minutes to run some tests. You must've fallen through when I opened it back up." Octavia nodded. She didn't fully understand the concept, but it was probably best to let. Twilight assume she did.
"Octavia!" Twilight suddenly remembered something. "Has anypony else used this portal?" Octavia thought for a moment. As far as she knew, none of her friends had been through the portal before.
"Um, no," Octavia decided. Twilight let out a sigh of relief which ruffled her bangs.
"That's good! Well, I assume it's time for you to go back. You were waiting for Vinyl Scratch, weren't you?"
"Yes," Octavia agreed. "I am rather anxious to get back.
"But at the same time," she added hesitantly, "I would like to learn a bit about this world."
"I suppose you could learn a bit," Twilight mused. "Alright, Octavia. You haven't moved since you came through! Here, take my hoof." Twilight offered her hoof for a second time. This time, Octavia accepted. She was pulled to her feet- or, rather, her hooves. Octavia twisted around to look at herself.
"Twilight, what is this mark on my, erm, behind?" Octavia indicated the pink treble cliff that adorned her behind. "It looks exactly like the one on my skirt!"
"Oh, yes." Twilight glanced up from a sheet of paper to answer Octavia's question. "That's a cutie mark. It represents a pony's special talent. And the proper term is flank."
"I thought as much, in regards to talent," Octavia responded. "It's similar in our world."
"Oh, yes!" Twilight clapped her hooves excitedly, startling Octavia. "You're from that world. So tell me, how exactly do you earn that mark?" Twilight leaned in closer to Octavia.
"Um, a dream?" Octavia suggested, now feeling slightly uncomfortable. "You know what? I think I hear Vinyl calling my name. It's nice to see you, Twilight. Good bye!"
"Wait!" Twilight cried as Octavia made a run for the portal. "Let me conduct some experiments!" Octavia ignored the scientist and shut her eyes.
Octavia felt a light tapping on her shoulder. She opened an eye to see Vinyl Scratch standing over her. Even more surprising was...
"Vinyl! You got my cello!" Octavia exclaimed in delight, gently taking the case. "Thank you so much! Why'd you have me wait?"
"I knew you'd forget it," Vinyl responded confidently. Octavia rolled her eyes.
"Remind me to stay away from Twilight next time she comes to Canterlot High," Octavia commented as they walked inside.
Lily Valley shifted her backpack as she walked to school one sunny morning. Her best friends, Roseluck and Daisy Wishes, were walking on either side of her.
"I'm just saying, the makeup Rose Heart picks out is worthy of the horrors," Lily explained. "I'm no fashion expert like you, Rose, but Rose Heart was definitely half asleep when she picked out blue eyeliner." Daisy and Rose giggled.
"I have to admit, she did look at little off yesterday," Rose added. "Her clothes were rumpled and I saw some zits on her face!"
"Oh no!" Daisy teased. "She really needs help!"
"It's not like she'd accept the offer, anyway," Lily answered. "I think- Aaaah! The horror! The horror!"
"What is it?" Rose and Daisy asked in unison, stepping closer to see what was wrong.
"It's, it's- that!" Lily threw an accusatory finger at a mud puddle on the sidewalk. "It's just terrible!" Daisy groaned.
"Um, Lily?" Rose asked. "I know you tend to overreact to stuff, but don't you think a mud puddle is a little much?"
"Little much?" Lily grabbed Rose by her pink rose-patterned shirt. "Little much? Roseluck, that puddle could have killed us! Or, even worse, ruined our outfits!"
"Rose, I think we need to get her to a psychiatrist," Daisy whispered.
"Lily, relax," Rose told her as she gently pried Lily's fingers off her shirt. "Everything will be fine."
"Breathe," Daisy added, demonstrating the motion herself. Lily copied the act. She inhaled, held it for two seconds, then let the air out of her lungs.
"Better?" Rose asked.
"Better," Lily answered, smiling.
"So, why don't you continue your story about Rose Heart's makeup?" Daisy asked, stepping onto someone's yard to avoid the puddle.
"Right!" Lily giggled. "So, I think if she picked just the ride shade of turquoise, Rose Heart'd look better..." As the Flower Trio continued their walk to CHS, Lily continued talking about makeup, despite the fact she knew next to nothing about the subject.
Soon, Canterlot High came into view. Lily always wondered why there were three levels to the school. She had only ever been on the first one.
"Well, I think Cloudy Kicks should wear her eyeshadow more often," Rose mentioned. "And she could use some flower perfume, too, after all her soccer. I'm thinking marigolds."
"That's a great idea, Rose!" Lily exclaimed, turning to face her friends. As she did, her foot slipped on the wet pavement.
"Aaah!" She cried, falling backwards.
"Lily!" Daisy lunged for her. She wasn't quick enough. Lily fell...
But she didn't feel anything. Lily only saw a multitude of colors before her friends disappeared from view.
"THE HORROR!" Lily shrieked as she felt her body being pulled in any direction.
Rose and Daisy stared at the spot were Lily had disappeared. She had slipped through the statue like it had been a pool.
"Daisy?" Rose asked, panic edging into her voice. "What do we do now?" Daisy's left eye twitched.
"We panic!" She shouted. "The horror!"
"Lily's gone!" Rose gasped.
Half a world away, Lily Valley rubbed her head.
"W-what just happened?" She asked wearily, expecting no answer and receiving no answer.
"Wait a minute..." Lily's gaze traveled to a round, hairy, pink thing. She tried to move her hand to touch it. The thing moved instead. Lily screamed.
"The horror! The horror!" She shrieked, scrambling around on the ground, trying to get away from the inescapable hoof. "I'm a pooooooony!" Lily stood up as best she could.
"How do I get back?" She muttered. "There must be some way!" Unfortunately, there was nothing useful in the room. Just some bookshelves and a mirror. Lily spotted a staircase on the other side of the room. She stumbled over to it on her ugly hooves.
"Can anybody help me?" Lily called down. There was no response.
"What do I do now?" Lily asked herself. Her new pony ears flattened against her head.
"I can't be stuck as a pony forever!" Lily wailed, running down the stairs as fast as she could. "There has to be someone I can talk to! Someone who can help me!
"Hello?" Lily called again. Still, she received no response. Tears began to well up in her eyes. Maybe she would never get home!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Lily sobbed, plopping down on the glassy steps. "This is horrible!"
"What the heck?" Lily halted her crying to sniffles when a small purple face appeared at the bottom of the stairs. "Aren't you Lily?"
"Y-yeah," Lily responded. "I fell through a portal and now I wanna go home!" Tears starting welling up in her eyes. "Everybody things I overreact but I don't I'm really scared and there's no way back and you have to help me get home to my friends!" Realization dawned on the little figure, which, Lily realized, was a dragon.
"It's alright," he comforted her, walking up the stairs. "It's not the hard to get back where you came from."
"You're just lucky Twilight isn't home," he added, chuckling. "She would freak out!"
"Twilight?" Lily asked, drying her tears. "Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of the Fall Formal?"
"The one and only!" The dragon proclaimed. "And I'm Spike. I was a dog in your world."
"Nice to meet you, Spike," Lily answered, smiling slightly. "Can you help me get home?"
"Sure!" Spike responded. "The portal's just up here!" Lily followed her little guide back up the stairs to the room she had first been in.
"That's the portal!" Spike pointed to the mirror Lily had noticed earlier.
"Wow, really?" Lily asked, sticking a hoof through it. "I thought it would look more... portal-ly. Swirling vortex of doomish?"
"Nope!" Spike laughed. "Well, Lily, just step through and you'll be on your way!"
"Oh, thank you so much, Spike!" Lily exclaimed, throwing her hooves around him. "I can't wait to meet my friends again!"
"Aw, it was no big deal." Spike scratched the back of his head. "By the way, you should try to work on your overreacting."
"I'll try," Lily promised. She turned to face the portal. "Bye, Spike!"
"Bye!" Spike responded just as Lily walked through the portal.
Lily tried not to shriek as she felt her body morph back into human form. She had promised Spike to overreact less, after all. After several seconds, Lily could see the end of the ride.
"Lily!" Daisy and Rose exclaimed when she flew out.
"Are you alright?" Daisy asked, hurrying over to Lily.
"We had no idea what to do!" Rose added, taking Lily's hand. "What happened?" Lily smoothed off her ivory skirt and smiled at her friends.
Thunderbass was usually a cool, calm, and collected dude. But not today. Thunderbass's fingers went to his guitar as he, his band Thunderstruck, and the Strike Hearts sat in the science classroom. Thunderbass was not a fan of suspense.
"Thunderbass, chill bro," his bandmate, Crimson Napalm, told him. "That's a creepy tone."
"It doesn't help with the suspense," Mystery Mint added. She was the lead singer and guitarist of the Strike Hearts, the duo-band Thunderstruck had collaborated with on their newest album, Above there Clouds.
In fact, that album was the reason the two bands were waiting in the science lab. Principal Celestia had agreed to review the songs and play the album that afternoon, if she found the songs appreciate. All the songs were, in Thunderbass's opinion, but with a principal you can never be sure.
"Sorry," Thunderbass apologized, setting his guitar down on a table. "Just nervous."
"For no reason," Cherry Crash, the Strike Hearts' drummer, put in. "You know all our songs are awesome!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Thunderbass responded, adjusting his grey jacket. "I know, I know."
"'Bass, do you need to go outside for a little bit?" Valhallen asked. "That always clears my head."
"Good idea." Thunderbass nodded at Val. "I'll be right back!" Thunderbass dashed out of the room. He ran straight through the main foyer and pushed the doors of CHS open.
"Chill, dude," Thunderbass muttered. "What the heck is wrong with you?" Thunderbass paced around the sidewalk for a few more moments.
"It's just cause your music is gonna be shown to your principals," Thunderbass told himself. "Yeah, that's it. Val was right, fresh air really does help you think!" Thunderbass shoved his hands into his pockets and began to whistle.
Might as well stay out her for another ten minutes, Thunderbass thought as he whistled. Nobody's gonna miss me!
As he whistled and walked, the statue of a marble horse kept catching Thunderbass's eye. He knew Flash Sentry's "girlfriend" came from an alternate dimension. Flash also claimed it was right through the statue's base. Thunderbass believed him, as a good friend would.
Now, he had an opportunity. Thunderbass could probably sneak across the portal and be back in five minutes.
"Becoming a pony would be really fun," he decided, approaching the portal. "If I was a unicorn, I could cast a spell to make my guitar play by itself! If I was a pegasus, I could fly! Who doesn't love flying? And if I became a regular pony... I'd still be a pony, right? Though in truth, I want to be a pegasus the most." Thunderbass put his hand through the portal. It rippled. But instead of his hand, it showed a reflection of a blue hoof the same shade as his skin.
"Too cool," he murmured. "Okay, here I go. One, two, three!" Thunderbass jumped into the portal.
"Wooooooooooooah!" Thunderbass cried. He was surrounded by swirls of color. He spun around and around like he was being flushed by a toilet.
"Coooooooooooooool!" Thunderbass shouted as he felt his body being ripped to pieces. Not literally, but it felt close enough. It didn't hurt that much. The problem was his back. That hurt.
Suddenly, Thunderbass was out of the DBW (Dimension Between Worlds).
"Ouch!" He cried as he jumped against something hard. Thunderbass opened his eyes, which he instinctively closed moments before. Thunderbass was inches away from a translucent crystal wall. He was lying on a translucent crystal floor.
"Check it out!" Thunderbass exclaimed. "I'm a pony in a crystal palace!
"Well," he added, "it's probably not a crystal palace, but who cares? Let's take a look at me!" Thunderbass stared into the crystal. As a pony, he still has his spiky dark blue hair with the lighter streak running through it. His amber eyes were larger, but Thunderbass assumed it was a trait all ponies shared.
"Well, I'm definitely not a unicorn," Thunderbass commented as he straightened up, obviously seeing the lack of horn on his forehead. What he sensed instead was a presence on his back. Thunderbass streaked his neck to see feathery wings attached where his shoulder blades should have been.
"Epic!" He exclaimed, carefully unfolding the new limbs. "I wonder if you can play guitar with these." Thunderbass stared at himself in the mirror-like crystal walls. His wingspan was about twice the width of his body. Thunderbass wasn't entirely sure of the correct labels of ponies' anatomy.
"Heck, I'm surprised I even know what the word anatomy means!" Thunderbass exclaimed, giving his wings a practice flap. "Now, it can't be too hard to learn how to fly, can it?" He flapped his wings again, then again, until they were beating continuously. Thunderbass steadily rose into the air, until he was nearly touching the ceiling.
"Awesome!" He exclaimed, extending his front hooves outward. Thunderbass pushed off the ceiling and was propelled downward. In a matter of seconds, Thunderbass was zipping all around the large room like a ball in one of those classic arcade games his younger sister loved.
"That was fun!" Thunderbass exclaimed when he finally touched down and folded his wings. Just then, another idea popped into his head.
"I wonder where I can find a guitar," he commented. Thunderbass unfurled his new wings again and flapped them at just the right place so he was hovering inches above the floor. He proceeded to fly down the staircase at the other side of the room. It led to another floor of the palace castle house thingy. Thunderbass looked around, then flew down yet another flight of stairs that led to a set of large doors, which happened to be open. Thunderbass flew through them and was greeted by warm air, sunshine, and a large forest.
"This place is pretty cool!" He remarked. Thunderbass stopped flying and stood on the ground, admiring the scenery.
"Thunderbass! Thunderbass, is that you?" Thunderbass was suddenly aware of a figure trotting towards him on a dirt path.
"Uh, yeah?" He responded cautiously. As the figure came into view, Thunderbass could see it was a magenta mare with a reddish-purple mane. She looked a lot like a girl named Berry Punch Thunderbass knew at CHS.
"Thunderbass!" She exclaimed in delight, trotting straight up to him. "I could've sworn you were just at the train station on your way to Canterlot!"
"I was?" Thunderbass asked in surprise. "I mean, I was." Berry Punch eyed him suspiciously.
"So what are you doing here on such a big day?" She asked.
"What big day?" Thunderbass scratched his mane in confusion. Berry Punch rolled her eyes.
"Your new album is releasing today!" She walked him in the head. "Why aren't you in Canterlot with the Strike Hearts and the rest of your band?"
My album! Thunderbass realized. I should be back at CHS soon!
"You know what?" Thunderbass asked. "I think you are drunk." Berry Punch took an actual step back like she had been slapped.
"You know I don't binge on cider like that!" She cried in shock and protest. "Take that back!"
"Yeah, you're drunk," Thunderbass continued. "You're just hallucinating me." Berry narrowed her eyes.
"Would a hallucination tell me it was hallucinating it?" She asked.
"You know what? I have no idea what you just said, and I gotta go, bye!" Before Berry could reply, Thunderbass was flapping his wings as fast as he could and zipping away into the castle where he had come from.
"THUNDERBASS!" Berry screamed after him. Thunderbass didn't wait to listen.
"Canterlot High, here I come!" He cried, diving straight into the portal.
He almost immediately flew out the other side, landing with a 'thud' several feet away from the portal.
"I'm never talking to Berry Punch again," he muttered, rubbing his head. "Cool experience, otherwise." He jumped to his feet and ran up the stairs to the science lab.
"Did I missing anything?" He asked. Mystery, Cherry Crash, Crimson Napalm, and Vallhallen stared at him in surprise.
"You look like you've seen a ghost," Mystery remarked. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Thunderbass replied, sitting down. He almost added, 'I just had a bad encounter with Berry' before he realized that sounded wrong.
Applejack wiped her brow as she ran down the street. Her blonde ponytail flew back in the wind. She had left her hat at home, like she did whenever she went out for a jog. The last thing Applejack needed was a missing hat.
"I bet Rainbow'd be in for a run for her money if I ever decided to race her!" Applejack exclaimed as she ran. It was a Saturday morning, and not many people were out walking. The farm girl had the sidewalk all to herself!
Applejack's daily running when straight downtown and past Canterlot High. Applejack could see the school looming in the distance. For some reason, thoughts about the portal to Twilight Sparkle's world Equestria flew into Applejack's mind faster than an angry rattlesnake. She rolled her eyes.
"Come on, Applejack! You ain't supposed to go in there!" She folded her arms and closed her eyes defiantly, which made for a very interesting sight considering she was still running. "Even though it would jus' take a moment to see myself as a pony..." Applejack opened her eyes again.
"No way!" She scolded herself. "Absolutely no way!" By the time Applejack had finished chewing herself out, she was already at the edge of school property. Applejack slowed down her pace and stared at the portal. Disguised as a marble statue of a stallion, Applejack didn't know how it worked exactly. She just knew that it brought her friend from another dimension to Canterlot High. She also knew Twilight had left the portal open after the Battle of the Bands. Her knowledge was limited when in came to alternate worlds full of talking ponies.
Applejack felt herself being drawn to the portal. Literally. Like a fly to a lantern, she couldn't help jogging over to the mysterious statue.
"A little dip inside wouldn't hurt, right?" She asked herself, reaching out to touch the portal.
Suddenly coming to her sense, Applejack slapped herself.
"Shame on you!" She exclaimed, wagging her finger like she was lecturing her little sister. "You're betraying your friends' trust, Applejack! You ain't supposed to go in there!"
The little voice inside Applejack's head asked, "Did Twilight or Sunset ever tell you not to go in there?"
"Well, no," Applejack admitted.
"Then you're not doing anything wrong. I promise. It's just a quick adventure before back to the farm!" The voice assured her. Applejack smiled.
"I guess it does make sense like that. Woah, I didn't think I'd be doing this today!" Applejack stuck a leg through, then her other leg, which obviously came with the rest of her.
"Yeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaw!" Applejack shouted. She felt like she was riding a bronco at the rodeo. Colors of every shade swirls around her as she was twisted and turned. Applejack was exhilarated.
Suddenly, Applejack was thrown out of the portal. The impact didn't hurt too much as Applejack slid across a hard blue surface.
"Woah doggie!" Applejack exclaimed. She could already see her limbs had been replaced with orange hooves. Applejack was spinning around like she was a baby deer on ice. Everything around her was a blur, but Applejack could tell she was coming awfully close to a-
Applejack slammed into a large bookshelf! Several books rained down on her head. More accurately, they hailed on her head.
"Durn books!" Applejack grumbled, reaching up with a front hoof to rub her head. No big bruises, thankfully.
"So, I'm a pony, huh?" Applejack asked herself, cranking her neck to see the rest of herself. Her tail was blonde, like her hair color, and it was in a ponytail as well. Applejack chuckled.
"I never thought I'd see a ponytail on a pony like that," she remarked. A set of three apples also adorned her flanks. The image was nearly identical to the ones on her boots.
"Wow!" Applejack used yet another interjection. "Twilight never told us about these!" It dawned on Applejack that she should probably stand up instead of sitting in a pile of book for ten minutes. Applejack had watched horses at the farm stand up, so she knew what to do. Standing up, Applejack took several wobbly steps forward.
"This is pretty cool!" She remarked, taking a few more steps towards the mirror which was most likely the portal. Applejack stuck a hoof into the mirror. Yup. It was the portal, alright.
Applejack turned to look around the room and gather details. It looked like it was constructed of crystal or some similar material. Beside the mirror/portal and the bookshelf, there was also a window in the wall and a staircase on the other side of the room.
"Going down!" Applejack joked. It was rather easy to master the art of trotting, and Applejack had very little trouble descending the stairs. She misplaced a hoof on the second to last step, though.
"Sweet Apple Acres!" Applejack stumbled down to the bottom step. "Careful there, Applejack!" She grinned and looked around. It was just more and more crystal. Crystal furniture, crystal walls, and the occasional window.
"Applejack!" A light blue Pegasus with a rainbow-streaked mane flew up to her from one of the corridors. Applicant's mouth dropped open.
"Rainbow Dash?" She gaped. The pony Rainbow Dash smirked and rolled her eyes.
"Don't act so surprised to see me, Farm Pony. We're both supposed to be house sitting! You took a really quick bathroom break, you know that?"
"Uh, right." Applejack searched her brain for something to say. "Why does Twilight need us to house sit again?"
"Jeez, Applejack!" Rainbow Dash folded her arms. "You sound like exposition from a terrible Daring Do book, which is thankfully nonexistent. Twilight's been feeling paranoid recently, so she wants at least one pony to-"
"Hey, that's great and all," Applejack interrupted quickly, "but I need to go 'take a dump' again, as you put it." Applejack raced back up the stairs as fast as she could and plunged into the portal. She wasn't interested in meeting the pony version of herself. That would be freaky.
"Hey, Rainbow! I'm back!"
"Holy horseapples!" Rainbow Dash cried as Applejack appeared just behind her. "How did you get there so fast?"
Once she was back on the other side of the portal, Applejack dialed Rainbow's number.
"Hello?" Rainbow asked when she picked up.
"Rainbow!" Applejack exclaimed. "Guess what! I just went into the portal and met the pony version of you, just like Twilight mentioned to us!" She heard Rainbow giggle on the other end.
"Finally!" Rainbow cried. "We thought you'd never come over!"
"Trixie is absolutely devastated they canceled her show!" Trixie complained one afternoon. She was sitting with her cronies Fuchsia Blush and Lavender Lace, who were busy brushing make-up all over Trixie's blue face.
"Fuchsia! Go get Trixie some peanut butter crackers!" Trixie ordered.
"Right away!" Fuchsia answered, eager to help her leader. She got up and dashed inside Canterlot High to buy a pack of the peanut butter crackers Trixie loved so much.
"Trixie, are you sure you aren't still mad about losing the Battle of the Bands since Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna were under a spell?" Lavender Lace asked as she pinned a purple hairpin shaped like a crescent moon in Trixie's hair.
"Of course!" Trixie exclaimed, throwing her hands up in annoyance. The move unfocused Lavender, and she dropped her barrettes.
"It's only been two months!" Trixie continued, folding her arms. "Trrrrrrixie needs at least five more decades to get over that travesty!" Her young assistant smiled,aware of Trixie's drama queen stunts, and began brushing a lock of hair. At that moment, Fuchsia ran out.
"Here are you peanut butter crackers, oh Great and Powerful Trixie!" She announced, holding out the glorious package for her superior. Trixie beamed.
"Trixie thanks you, Fushia Blush." Fuchsia beamed at the praise as Trixie open the package and tossed a cracker into her mouth. Trixie closed her violet eyes to munch on her treat. Suddenly, they popped open. A moment later Trixie spit out the cracker all across the sidewalk. Lavender and Fuchsia cringed.
"That cracker was rotten!" Trixie cried, standing up and brushing her skirt off. "It was an insult to Trixie's tastebuds!"
"I'm so sorry, Trixie!" Fuchsia cried. "I didn't know. I couldn't tell!" Trixie forced herself to smile at her fearful assistant.
"All is forgiven, Fuschia Blush," she responded, tossing the remaining crackers into the bushes. "Now, Trixie would appreciate it if you brought her magician's outfit to Trixie from her locker."
"Right away, Trixie!" Lavender and Fuchsia replied in unison. The two girls ran back inside to get the requested outfit. Tribe's eyes followed them until they were out of view.
"Those two are annoying to Trixie!" Trixie complained, closing her eyes as she began her rant. "Of course, Trixie is flattered to have such dedicated followers. Trixie deserves such! But the way they cower before- woah!" Trixie's foot slipped and she tumbled forward. Her eyes snapped open as she almost collided with the statue outside CHS.
"Heeeeelp!" Trixie cried as the grey marble disappeared and Trixie zoomed through swirls of color.
Fuschia held Trixie's cap and hat in her hands, while Lavender carried her blue dress. When they arrived outside, nobody was there.
"Where'd Trixie go?" Fuchsia asked.
"Trixie is not feeling well," Trixie groaned when the lights subsided. A headache just behind her forehead was quickly fading, but Trixie felt... off.
Blinking her eyes open, Trixie found she was staring up at a mass of bluish crystal of some sort.
"Where is the Great and Powerful Trixie?" Trixie asked. She tried to grab something to pull herself up. Except she couldn't move her fingers.
Trixie brought her hand up to her face. Her pupils dilated in shock. Her hand had been replaced by a hoof!
"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!" Trixie shrieked, scrambling to get away from the hoof. A failed attempt, since it was attached to her.
"Trixie is not enjoying this!" She exclaimed, looking around for an escape. Instead, her gaze caught on a reflection.
"Trixie is a pony?" Trixie was now more curious than freaked out. She drew closer to the crystal walls. Trixie was colored the same way as she was back at her regular world. She had a blue coat and a light blue mane with white streaks. Trixie's mouth dropped open.
"Trixie has a horn!" She cried. The exclamation was true; in front of Trixie's mane was a blue horn that was several inches long.
"Trixie has a horn," she repeated, a smile growing on her face.
Before Trixie could do anything else, she heard a sound like hooves coming towards her.
"Halt!" Trixie cried, turning around to face whatever pony would appear before her. To Trixie's surprise, it was Trixie! A blue unicorn identical to Trixie stopped at the top of the stairs. She snorted through her nostrils.
"Very funny, Twilight Sparkle," she remarked. "Trixie came to give a demonstration of her magic skills, not be insulted!"
"I am not Twilight Sparkle!" Trixie shouted. "That pony girl defeated us in the Battle of the Bands, it's not fair!" Realization dawned on Trixie's face.
"Trixie!" She cried. "You're me! I am Trixie from another universe where Twilight Sparkle came to a few weeks ago!" The same expression cross the other Trixie's face.
"Of course! I have heard of portals to other worlds!" Pony Trixie answered. "Welcome to Equestria, from the Great and Apologetic Trixie!" She lit her horn and small fireworks lit up around her. Trixie wrinkled her nose.
"'The Great and Apologetic Trixie' is not such as good name as ' The Great and Powerful Trixie," she commented. Pony Trixie rolled her eyes as she trotted over.
"Trixie has learned the error of her boastful ways," Pony Trixie explained. Trixie giggled.
"Trixie is aware of what caused this hallucination! It was obviously the rotten peanut butter cracker Trixie ingested before this venture!" She proclaimed. "Only a figment of Trixie's imagination could create a pony named Trixie who called herself apologetic!" Pony Trixie narrowed her eyes.
"Is Trixie suggesting that Trixie isn't real?" She snapped.
"That is exactly what Trixie implies!" Trixie responded with a smug smirk on her pony face. Pony Trixie lowered her head as if she were getting ready to charge.
"Trixie is even more real than Trixie!" She answered through gritted teeth. "And Trixie shall prove it to Trixie!" Trixie backed up, proactive in case Pony Trixie decided to charge. However, instead of charging, Pony Trixie reared up and kicked her front hooves.
"Watch in awe!" She proclaimed, "as the Great and Apologetic Trixie provides a short demonstration of talent to her doppelganger!" Smirking, Trixie pulled a hat out of nowhere. Using her magic, she pulled out several adorable jackalopes. They wriggle their little noses before scampering around Trixie. Trixie, however, was not amused.
"Try and do more," she commented with a yawn. Pony Trixie licked her lips.
"Trust Trixie, she's just getting started," she promised. Igniting her horn again, the jackalopes suddenly grew in size until they were almost twice as tall as Trixie!
"Impressive!" Trixie admitted. Pony Trixie didn't respond. She cast another spell on the jackalopes. Even though it was nowhere near Christmas, their horns were decorated with candy canes and Christmas ornaments. Wreaths of holly and tinsel appeared around their necks. Trixie put her hooves together to clap.
"Awesome show!" She exclaimed. Pony Trixie bowed.
"Trixie thanks you," she answered in a rather humble tone. "Now, as Trixie mentioned, she is hear to show Twilight Sparkle her new routine! She shall be here any moment." As Pony Trixie spoke, an idea formed in Trixie's mind.
"Trixie? Trixie has an idea. What if we..."
Fuchsia looked at lavender and shrugged.
"Let's just leave," Lavender suggested. "Wherever Trixie went, she's not coming back for a while.
"Alright," Fuchsia agreed. "Wanna stop for ice cream?"
"Sounds good to me," Lavender agreed.
"The Grrreeat and Apologetic Trrrrrixie will now perform a duplication spell!" Pony Trixie proclaimed to Twilight Sparkle and Spike. Trixie tried not to giggle as she hid in the next corridor.
"This I have got to see," she heard Twilight Sparkle say. Pony Trixie ignited her horn. Poof! She had conjured a smokescreen; that was Trixie's cue. She rushed into the room while the fog was still thick.
When the dark fog cleared, Twilight Sparkle's mouth dropped open. Trixie and Pony Trixie stood side by side, staring straight at the lavender mare.
"Hello, Twilight Sparkle!" Pony Trixie leaned in.
"Hello, Twilight Sparkle!" Trixie echoed, leaning in as well. Her voice carried more of a smirk in it. Twilight looked from Pony Trixie to Trixie and back again.
"Are you impressed with Trixie's trick, Twilight?" Pony Trixie asked, tilting her head to appear innocent.
"This is some trick," Twilight responded. "No way are there two Trixies!"
"Twilight thought wrong," Trixie told her, tapping Twilight on the head. Turning to Pony Trixie, Trixie added, "Trixie wishes for you to send her home now!"
"As you wish!" Pony Trixie agreed, igniting her horn again. Trixie galloped out of the room and back to the portal as the smokescreen took effect. She jumped straight through the portal.
When Trixie emerged, she was alone.
"Fuchsia?"
...
"Lavender?"
...
Trixie fell flat on her back. "Peanut butter crackers."
As usual, Vinyl Scratch was groovin' it. She walked down the halls of Canterlot High one day just before lunch. With her headphones on, Vinyl felt invincible.
She pushed open the doors of the cafeteria and marched in. She waved to her friend Octavia, who sat near the wall. They would sit together once Vinyl got her lunch.
Headphones still on, Vinyl marched up to the lunchlady, Mrs. Smith, who happened to be Applejack's grandmother. Mrs. Smith ladled soup into a styrofoam bowl for Vinyl.
"Thanks!" Vinyl told her, moving down the line to grab a bottle of water. Techno music still blasted into her eardrums. She scooted past students to the table where Octavia sat.
"Hello, Vinyl." Octavia said something that Vinyl couldn't hear or lip read. She switched the music off and slung her headphones onto her shoulders.
"I'm sorry, what was that, 'Tavi?" She asked. Octavia rolled her eyes, well aware why Vinyl hadn't heard her the first time.
"I said, 'Hello, Vinyl,'" she repeated. Vinyl grinned and waved a fork in the air.
"Hello to you too! So, are you digging this soup or what?"
"It's rather enjoyable," Octavia agreed, taking a polite sip. Vinyl rolled her eyes from behind her glasses.
"Octavia, you don't sip soup. That's just uncool!" Octavia rolled her eyes yet again, however, she wore a small, amused smile.
"So what is cool, Vinyl?" She responded.
"Ma-usic!" Vinyl proclaimed loudly. She patted her headphones affectionately. "I just love this stuff!"
"Mmhmm," Octavia answered. "So instead of sipping soup, I should listen to techno music and therefore starve myself."
"What? No! I didn't say that!" Vinyl protested. Octavia smugly leaned back.
"But that's what you implied."
"Jeez, Tavi, sometimes I feel like you're my mother!" Vinyl joked.
"I choose to take that as a compliment," Octavia responded. She took a sip of her water.
"So, Octavia, you never did tell me about your adventure through the mirror," Vinyl ventured after she had slurped down her soup. Octavia dropped her spoon. Her mouth formed a tiny o of surprise.
"How did you know?" She asked. "I mean, you were out there and such, but I never told anyone where I went..." Vinyl smirked.
"Let's just say I had a hunch," she replied. Octavia tilted her head.
"Alright," she agreed after a moment. "I fell through, was turned into a pony, nearly experimented on by Twilight Sparkle, and then I jumped back through because that girl was crazy." Octavia twirled her finger around her head, an unsophisticated move Vinyl had never seen Octavia use before.
"Sounds cool. So 'Tavi, I as thinking I'd like to pay a little visit!" Vinyl grinned. Octavia's face went into her hand.
"Go if you must, Vinyl. I won't try to stop you."
"Really?" That surprised Vinyl.
"Yes." Octavia's mouth curled into a smile. "I'm sure it'll be enjoyable for you."
"Aw, thanks Tavi!" Vinyl's hands flew around her BFFs neck in seconds. Octavia's cheeks turned red.
"Suffocating!" She gasped. Vinyl realized what she was doing and released Octavia.
"Sorry," she apologized. "Forgot you're a sensitive person. Well, I'm off!" Vinyl picked up her glorious artifact gifted to her by the gods and slapped them on her ears. The bass dropped just as Vinyl stood up. She waved to Octavia and bolted off down the hall.
Pushing the door open, Vinyl was greeted by a blast of frigid air. She didn't pay attention to the temperature; the cold didn't really bother her anyway. She marched, right in time to the rhythm, up to the portal. Without missing a beat, Vinyl stuck her hand out.
She grinned in delight when her fingers went straight through, creating a ripple effect on the marble column. Without hesitation, Vinyl jumped straight in.
"Siiiiick!" She yelled, hands instinctively reaching for her headphones. Vinyl grabbed them just as the force from spinning pinned her legs to her sides. Colors swirled into her vision through rose colored lenses.
"Woooah!" Vinyl cried as she was flung about through space and time. Suddenly, the forces stopped and Vinyl hit the floor.
"Woah," she said again, recovering almost instantly. Her vision was, thankfully, still tinted red, and although the sound had been toned down, the beat of music still drummed in her ears. Vinyl immediately looked at herself. She was a pony.
"I can't say I'm surprised!" She laughed, kicking a white hoof in the air to test reflexes. "I mean, duh, Octavia already told me!" Vinyl used a hoof to push her glasses onto her forehead. They bumped into something hard that definitely wasn't her blue streaked hair.
"I'm a unicorn!" Vinyl realized, tilting her vision as far as it could go. Unfortunately, she couldn't see her horn, but what else could that hard thing be?
"Whoa," Vinyl said yet again. She carefully removed her headphones and placed them next to the mirror. The music went away, and Vinyl's brain could focus on other senses besides hearing. The room Vinyl was in was made of some translucent stuff that reminded Vinyl of rock candy. Vinyl turned to see a large bookcase towering over her.
"Now there's something scary!" Vinyl stuck her tongue out like she was ridding her mouth of a bad taste. Unless it was song lyrics, she wasn't into reading.
"Whoops!" Vinyl realized she had been sitting down for the past several minutes. "Better put these kickers to good use, huh?" She raised her hind legs and stood up. Taking a step forward, Vinyl wasn't phased by this new gate.
"So, what to do first?" Vinyl mused. Inside this room, there wasn't much. Just that icky bookcase and a flight of stairs leading down. And a window, but who cared about a window?
"I guess there's only one thing to do!" Vinyl decided. She walked up to the top of the stairs.
Then she walked down.
It was too bad she had left her headphones up there for safe keeping. Vinyl knew the best song ever that would play in sync to her hooves touching each step. When her hooves touched down on the next floor, Vinyl looked around.
"So, what epic things can I do here?" Her smile widened into a rather sinister grin as ideas flooded her mind.
A short while later
"Mmph! Mmmmph!" An ivory unicorn with a shaggy blue mane struggled against her rope bonds. Vinyl shrugged.
"Look, it's not you, it's me. Which means it's you also. Don't worry, you'll be fine. Can't have you running around during my assault, can I?" Vinyl patted a hoof on her double's head before wheeling out a large dark rectangle.
"Citizens of Ponyville!" She shouted. Ponies of all color stopped to look at Vinyl, standing in the middle of the quaint village.
"What's up, Vinyl?" questioned a tan pegasus with a mop of orange hair (which made him resemble her friend Valhallen at CHS).
"This place about to blow!" Vinyl shrieked, hitting a red button on the machine. It unfolded to its full glory. The bass canon. Vinyl almost drooled, it was so awesome. She suddenly shook her head.
"Welp, gotta bolt! Been fun, ain't it?" She zoomed off, not wanting to be around when-
"Shut up!" Chrysalis growled. Her best friend, Fluffle Puff, sat next to her. Fluffle Puff was a mass of pink, obsessed with fluff, and annoying as- well, as Fluffle Puff. Fluffle Puff also talked in raspberries.
"Flllllbt." Fluffle Puff slid a paper across the desk to Chrysalis. She watched as Chrysalis read her message:
I LuVE yOU CHYSSSY .
Chrysalis looked at her.
"Fllllllllbt." Fluffle Puff nibbled another piece of paper.
"Stop," Chrysalis told her sharply. Fluffle Puffs's nibbling halted, and she looked up expectantly. Chrysalis sighed.
"That's the 18th one in the past hour. Go have an adventure, Fluffle Puff."
"Fllllbt."
Chrysalis rolled her eyes as she responded, "I'll tell the teacher you're sick."
"Flllllbt."
"I really get sick of that sometimes," Chrysalis grumbled. "Come back in two hours, okay?"
"Flbt." Fluffle Puff stood up and walked out of the classroom. She walked through the hallways and out the door. Nobody noticed her. She walked straight up to the statue outside. Then she walked into it.
"Fffffffffffllllllllllllllllbbbtt!" Fluffle Puff cried as she fell. It was like she was being mixed in a cotton candy machine.
When Fluffle Puff went out the other side, she was a mass of fluffly fur.
"Fllbt!" She exclaimed in delight. Fluffle Puff suddenly realized she wasn't alone. She started at at pink fluffy pony that looked exactly like her.
"Fllllllbt."
"Flllllbt."
Fluffle Puff and the pony version of Fluffle Puff nuzzled. They were like one big ball of fluff!
The two fluffy ponies sat there next to each other for two hours, until Fluffle Puff needed to get home to Chrysalis.
"Fllllllbt," Fluffle Puff protested.
"Flllbt," Fluffle Puff answered sadly. She stepped across the portal again. Fluffle Puff was back to her human state. It wasn't as fun as being a mass of fur.
"Uh, Aria? I'm going out for a bike ride?" Sonata Dusk called. Even through it was a statement, the ditzy way she said it made it feel like a question. Aria Blaze, who sat on the couch watching Hoofflix, nodded. Her eyes didn't leave the TV screen.
"It's all good, Sonata," Aria responded. She tossed a pretzel into her mouth. Sonata grinned as she walked out the front door of their house. The little house she, Adagio, and Aria shared had a basketball hoop on the side of it. Beneath the hoop was Sonata's treasured bicycle. Sonata strapped her pink and blue helmet on (moderately hard considering her ponytail) before gripping the handlebars and wheeling out the bike to the front yard.
In the front yard, Adagio Dazzle happened to be gardening, which she had taken up after the Battle of the Bands.
"Going for a bike ride?" She asked, sweeping back a lock of golden hair.
"Yeah!" Sonata agreed, waving. "I'll be back in twenty-four minutes!" Adagio rolled her eyes and patted soil down.
"You know you don't have to give me the exact time," she commented.
"You've told me that!" Sonata responded cheerfully. She swung her left leg over the bike and plopped down onto the seat. Sonata started peddling down the driveway.
"Bye!" Sonata called. Adagio waved as she rode down the sidewalk. Sonata beamed. However, as soon as she turned the corner, her smile morphed into a sinister grin.
"Adagio would, like, kill me if she knew I know what I know," Sonata exclaimed. The ominous moment was shattered by the next words that flew out of her mouth: "Wait, I know what? Or does Adagio know? How do I know what I know?" Sonata had herself muddled. She shrugged it off before she increased her cycling speed.
Sonata didn't even bother checking the street before crossing. Nobody drove around here. Not on a Saturday, anyway.
"Wheeeeee!" Sonata squealed in childish delight as the wind rushed through her long ponytail and whipped her bangs back. In a moment, she had crossed the street and was pedaling straight down a path that led to a marble statue outside of Canterlot High School. But it wasn't a statue to Sonata- it was a portal.
Sonata stopped pedaling as the bike increased speed-
Note: The stunt Sonata is attempting is probably impossible unless you are the waifu siren of a thousand bronies. Do not attempt at home.
"Whoopee!" Sonata was an incredible gymnast, for reasons unknown, and her flexible abilities allowed her to swing up onto the seat of the bike and dive off a moving bike straight at the portal.
If it had been a normal statue, Sonata's head would've cracked open and she would die. Obviously, it was a portal, so Sonata just flew straight through.
"Realziiiiiiiiiies!" Sonata cried as she flew through a familiar experience: her body morphing and transforming as she traveled through dimensions at a bazillion miles an hour.
Sonata landed a perfect back flip when the portal spit her out into the pony world. Sonata, who's eyes had been closed, peeked out of one magenta eye. Her gaze traveled downwards.
"Hooves!" Sonata gasped, nearly crying in joy. "I'm a pony again!" She wrapped her hooves tightly around herself, as if Sonata was embracing a long-lost friend.
"Oh my goodness!" Sonata exclaimed. "What do I do now? I mean, there's no way I'm gonna tell Adagio or Aria, they'd just exploit it without seeing the sheer joy of being a pony!" Sonata tapped her new hooves on her chin thoughtfully. It was easier to think as a pony. Her mind felt clearer.
"How about I go exploring?" Sonata suggested to herself. "After all, I have no idea where I am!" And Sonata trotted off. Being inside a castle held no interest to her. What really mattered was-
"OUTSIDE!" Sonata cried as she took in the lush scenery. Birds flew through the air. Oak trees blew in the wind, and a dirt path in front of Sonata led to a quaint town in the distance.
"Yeah, well, uh, so, that looks like Ponyville," Sonata stated after trying out a dozen interjections. She had never been to Ponyville before, having only read about it in textbooks.
"New place!" Sonata clapped her hooves in delight. She never would have admitted it to Aria or Adagio, but Sonata didn't mind coming to new places. Sure, it had taken a few years to accept the human world, but all in all it hadn't been so bad. And neither would Ponyville, for the two minutes she would be there.
With an excited giggle, Sonata took off trotting. There was nopony walking, so she was all alone.
"I wonder what the ponies here look like," Sonata wondered as she traveled. "Would they, like, all be pegasi? What if it's entire army of alicorns?" A look of terror crossed Sonata's face.
"What if they all recognize me?" She questioned, trotting faster. "What if they blast me to pieces and I did here and Adagio and Aria have no idea what happened to me?" In the next second, the terror was washed away.
"Meh," Sonata shrugged, resuming her normal pace. "If I do, Adagio and Aria won't miss me."
In almost no time at all, Sonata had soon arrived in Ponyville. Ponies trotted about, chatting amiably amongst themselves. In particular, however, was a group of five mares sitting around a table. Though Sonata couldn't place them, they looked eerily familiar.
"Hi!" She exclaimed, trotting up. "How are you?" All five turned to look at her. A pink earth pony with a poofy fuchsia mane gasped.
"Ohmigosh, Dusky Sonnet!" She yelled, appearing at Sonata's side almost instantly.
"My name's Son-" The mare stuck a hoof in Sonata's mouth as she began to correct her.
"If you don't want to die, pretend your name is Dusky Sonnet," she hissed before resuming in a cheerful tone, "Have you guys met Dusky? She's a friend of mine from a really far away place!"
"Hello, dear!" a white unicorn with a mane of violet ringlets was the first to speak up. "My name is Rarity!"
Rarity?" The name sounded familiar to Sonata.
"Howdy, pardner! Call me Applejack!" added an orange earth pony with striking green eyes. Her blonde hair was gathered in a ponytail, and a light brown hat sat atop her head. Sonata's eyes widened in realization.
"You guys are the-"
"Rainbow Dash is the name!" cut in a light blue pegasus with a distinct rainbow mane. "Winning is the game!"
"Rainbow." Applejack rolled her eyes.
"I'm Fluttershy," admitted the final mare in a soft voice. She was a butter yellow pegasus with large turquoise eyes half-hidden beneath a mane of pink.
"And of course, you know me!" The pink mare added, grinning widely at Sonata.
"Yeah, Pinkie Pie," Sonata replied, placing way too much emphasis on Pinkie Pie's name. "How could I forget you?"
"You couldn't ever forget me!" Pinkie squealed. She turned to the rest of her friends.
"I have to talk with Dusky for a teensy weensy little bit!" She told them. "I hope you guys don't mind!" The four shook their heads, murmering various versions of the word "no": "Not at all!", "Be my guest!", "Shucks, who am I to keep you from your friends?"
"Yay!" Pinkie bounced away, Sonata beside her.
Once they were a safe distance away, Sonata began, "You're a Rainboom! In the other world, I mean! Why did you call me Dusky?"
"Becausssssse," Pinkie answered, giving Sonata a quick hug. "We know all about Twilight's adventures in the other world. Everypony's my friend, but it's going to take them a liiiiiitle longer to forgive you for hurting them, even if you didn't hurt them, you hurt them. On the other side of the portal." Pinkie raised a hoof and pointed in the direct Sonata had arrived from.
"Besides," Pinkie continued, "if Twilight knew you came through, she might close the portal so nopony else could! And we can't let that happen, can we?" She winked.
"No way!" Sonata agreed. "With this portal, Equestria's gonna feel like a little vacation!"
"Yay!" Pinkie clapped her hooves excitedly. "So, are you gonna tell the other Dazzlings?"
"Well, I'm not sure," Sonata admitted, rubbing a hoof self consciously. "I'm afraid-"
"Hey, it's alright!" Pinkie stuffed a hoof in Sonata's mouth to keep her from talking. "If you don't want to, that's fine." She smiled at Sonata for a moment, then-
"Twilight's coming!" Pinkie cried. "We were waiting for her and now she's here! Run, Sonata!" Pinkie gave her a little shove.
"Bye, Dusky Sonnet!" Pinkie called, waving before bouncing back to the rest of the friends.
Sonata galloped as fast as her pony hooves could carry her. She had to get back to the human world before Twilight did, or she'd never get back!
"Hooray!" Sonata cheered when she reached the base of the castle. Since Sonata was an IGFUR (Incredible Gymnast for Unknown Reasons), she had barely broken a sweat after her run.
Sonata trotted up two flights of stairs to arrive at the mirror.
"Hooray!" She cheered again. Turning around, Sonata cast one last glance around the room. "See ya later, Equestria!" She jumped straight through.
...
"Noooooo!" Sonata wailed on the other side. Her bike lay next to the portal, bent out of shape from when she had ditched it during her IGFUR stunt. "MY BIIIIIIKE!"
Rose Heart peered into the art classroom one Thursday afternoon. She was watching a fellow fashionista work, a pale green girl with long indigo hair and yellow sunglasses she always wore on her head.
Tell me your secrets, Blueberry Cake, Rose Heart thought to herself. Of course she wasn't jealous of Blueberry Cake. She was the top designer, and when Rose Heart turned her designs in to for the fashion contest in a week she'd finally catch her break.
Everyone will respect me, Rose Heart thought. Rose Heart: Youngest Designer in the Fashion World! Yeah, catchy title.
Focus! She reminded herself, turning herself back to Blueberry. In order to win, one needed to know her enemy. Or in this case, know her enemy's dresses.
Rose Heart stiffened against the wall as Blueberry straightened up. She carefully slid quietly into the next corridor. And not a moment too soon; a second later, Blueberry emerged. She was on her way to go to the bathroom or get a drink of water or call Norman or whatever she needed to do.
Rose Heart smirked and slipped into the room. Finally, a clearer view of Blueberry's craftsmanship! Blueberry had three dresses laid out. One was a light brown. The lower half was speckled with cream colored flecks, but the top was patterned with raspberries. It looked just like a-
"Raspberry torte!" Rose Heart recognized the dish. "These dresses are inspired by foods!" She grabbed the raspberry dress and clutched it to her chest. It wouldn't hurt to take the dress home, analyze it, and make a replica even better than the first since Rose Heart had designed it, right?
Rose Heart ran out of the classroom- and straight into Blueberry Cake.
"Rose Heart!" Blueberry gasped. "What are you doing with my dresses?" It took Rose Heart a moment to register her shock.
"Out for my way!" She grumbled, shoving Blueberry out of the way and bolting for the door.
"Stop! Thief!" Blueberry cried. Various students heard her cry and poked their heads out of various classrooms to see what the commotion was about.
"She's got my dresses!" Blueberry yelled. When Rose Heart stole a quick glance over her shoulder, she was shocked to see six or seven girls chasing after her.
"What the heck?" She gritted her teeth and ran harder and faster. These kids were not going to sabotage her chances to become the youngest professional fashionista ever! Rose Heart threw open the doors of the school and slammed then shut behind her, running full speed as the doors were thrown open by the students chasing her.
"Try and catch me!" She yelled, looking back as she ran. Surprisingly, they all stopped running.
"What the-" Rose Heart turned around and found herself inches from the marble statue. Then she was in it the marble. Then-
"Help meeeeee!" She shrieked, colors swirling all around her. Purple, pink, green, yellow- she was in a vortex of some sort.
"Get mee out of heeeeere Rose Heart screamed as her body was bent out of proportion. "AAAAAAAH!"
Suddenly the swirling stopped and Rose Heart was thrust against something hard and cold.
"Ooof!" She groaned, opening her eyes. She was in some sort of crystal place. And if she had ran through the mirror... Rose Heart shut her eyes.
Please don't let me be a pony, please don't let me be a pony, she prayed. Finally, Rose Heart knew she had no choice. She opened one eye. She was a naked pony, hooves and all. Rose Heart's eyes widened.
"I have got to get this on!" She cried, scrambling to pull the dress over her head. No easy feet, considering she had no fingers. Something sharp poked into her hoof.
"Ouch!" She yelped. "I suppose I'm a unicorn, then?" Rose Heart glared at her forehead as she wiggled into the dress. Luckily, it had morphed as well and fit nicely on her pony body.
Now what do I do? Rose Heart wondered. Go back and face an angry mob? Or start a new life as a fashion designer in this world?Rose Heart rubbed her chin thoughtfully. I suppose Twilight Sparkle could put in a good word for me.
But first, she added silently, I need to learn how to walk in this pony body. Rose Heart raised a hoof to the wall a and took several steps. After a couple tries, she managed to stumble over to a staircase in the corner of the room.
"Alright, now to find someone that can help me."
*~*
Rose Heart wasn't exactly sure how she did it, but she managed to drag herself to a quaint town hall an hour later.
"This place is so old fashioned," Rose Heart muttered as she passed by several houses. "Why, I-"
"Nice outfit!" somebody called to her. Rose Heart turned to see a tan pegasus stallion with a reddish mane waving at her. As he walked over, Rose Heart felt something was familiar about him.
"Do you know my marefriend Blueberry Cake?" He asked. Rose Heart straightened up. Normal Norman! "That seems like a dress she might design," he continued.
"Uh, no!" Rose Heart exclaimed hastily. "I'm perfectly fine, so bye!" She turned her back on the pony version of Norman and began to walk away, when Norman added, "Rose Heart?" Thinking quickly, Rose Heart tried not to freeze up. That would be a dead giveaway he had guessed her identity. Instead, Rose Heart causally turned back around,
"You know my cousin?" She asked casually. "I'm Rosey Hearts."
"Really?" Norman asked, surprise evident on his face. "You two look almost identical! Hairstyle and everything! Even your voices are similar!" Right. She would have do something about her voice, wouldn't she?
"Do you know Cloudy Kicks and Cloudkicker?" She asked pointedly. Norman nodded.
"I see your point," he admitted sheepishly. "I"ll see you around, Rosey Hearts."
"Bye!" Rose Heart waved as he flapped his wings and flew away, a sickly sweet smile on his face. Once he was out of sight, however, she dropped the act.
"I'll probably have to take out this ponytail," she muttered, "to make myself more distinguishable."
I could use my magic, was her first thought, followed by, You don't know how to use magic.
I'll find someone, she decided. Spotting a mint green unicorn standing by a carrot stall, Rose Heart called out to her.
"Excuse me! Can I talk to you?" Rose Heart cantered over to the mare. She grinned widely.
"Sure! I'm Lyra, what can I do for you?" She asked. Rose Heart groaned internally. This was Lyra Heartstrings, another student from CHS.
"I was wondering if you could-" Rose Heart hesitated. For the first time, she was unsure about her plan. Was a teenage unicorn supposed to know magic? Would Lyra question her?
"Yes?" Lyra prompted.
"If you could teach me how to do a basic movement spell," Rose Heart finished. "I need to get this scrunchie out, and I haven' used my magic in a while, so I'd rather learn than get somepony else to take it out for me." Lyra smiled.
"So, why haven't you used magic in a while?" She asked.
"Uhh..." Think, Rose Heart, think!
"Let's just say where I've been, there's no need for magic." Lyra shrugged.
"I can accept that," she answered. "Sp, here's what you do-" Lyra went on to explain how unicorn magic filtered through the horn and yada yada yada. Rose Heart stopped listening after a while, although surprised Lyra knew so much about this stuff. The Lyra back in her own world was pretty laid back. Then again, the Lyra in her own world had been obsessed with mythical beings to an extent.
I wonder if this Lyra has heard of humans, Rose Heart thought as Lyra finished her speech.
"Did you get all that?' Lyra asked.
"Uh, sure," Rose Heart lied. Taking a wild guess, she asked, "So I just tell myself to perform a telekinesis spell, and it will happen?"
"More or less," Lyra answered, watching her expectantly. Rose Heart nodded.
Please telekeniseses, or however it's called, the scrunchie off my hair, she thought, keeping her gaze on her horn. To Rose Heart's amazement and delight, her horn lit up in a reddish glow, same color as her eyes. She could feel the scrunchie being pulled into a magical aura. Like she had an extra hand- or, hoof- Rose Heart pulled the scrunchie out of her mane, which fell down limply. She brought it back around so she could look at in triumph.
"Uh, thanks," she told Lyra.
"Anytime!" Lyra answered amiably. She waved to Rose Heart as she trotted off down the road. Rose Heart waved back. As soon as turned around, however, she was met by another pony. This one, a light pink earth pony, had magenta eyes and striped green hair. She looked like a watermelon, and she bore a striking resemblance to a girl at school, Drama Letter.
"I have heard how thou has been stealing from Fair Blueberry Cake," she said. Rose Heart tried not to face palm. This pony was obviously Drama Letter; they both spoke in the same broken archaic style.
"Listen, I didn't steal anything," Rose Heart assured. "I borrowed this dress from a... a friend back home. Nothing to do with your Blueberry Cake." This wasn't a lie, except for Blueberry Cake being a friend. Drama Letter still eyed her suspiciously.
"If thou has nothing to fear, thou must come with me," she told Rose Heart. For a moment, Rose Heart wondered if she should try to run back to school. But that would make her look a coward, right?
"Alright," she agreed.
*~* 10 days later *~*
"Thank you all," Rose Heart told the six mares standing in front of her. "If it weren't for you, I would still be a friendless jerk."
"It was no trouble at all, Rosey," Starlight told her, smiling.
"So, what are you gonna do now?" Tennis Match asked.
"I know exactly what I'm gonna do," Rose Heart told them. "I'd love to stay, but I need to leave to seek my fortune in the fashion industry." This earned her a hug from Blueberry, to which Rose Heart hugged back.
"Remember,"Mystery Mint added, "you can visit us anytime!"
"I'll take you up on that offer," Rose Heart promised. "Good bye, you guys."
"Bye!" Blueberry Cake, Starlight, Cherry Crash, Drama Letter, Mystery, and Tennis Match waved as Rose Heart walked off in the direction of the train station.
10 days earlier
Rose Heart stood before a mirror in Twilight Sparkle's castle. She took a deep breath and stepped into it.
When she got up, she was in a place she had never see before. It looked like... a high school.
"Oh dear," Apple Brown Betty, or Crumble, as her shortened nickname was, sighed. "I don't have enough!" She stood in the checkout isle at Fresh Produce, several apple-related items on the counter in front of her. The cashier, with a name tag that read Roma, sighed as well. Her sigh, however, was one of frustration.
"Miss, if you can't buy anything, I need to ask you to please step out of line and return these items to their proper shelves," she said. "Other customers are waiting." Crumble glanced behind her at the line behind her.
"But I do have enough money!" she assured Roma. "For some of these apples, anyway. "How does ten dollars work?" Roma rolled her eyes, but she swiped the food for a price scan.
"Ten dollars can get you these canned peaches, vanilla extract, this bag of golden delicious apples, and two red delicious apples, nothing more," Roma responded, annoyance clear on her face. Crumble sighed.
"Are ya sure I can't get them cinnamon rolls?" She asked, pointing to the item in question. Roma nodded.
"No cinnamon rolls, miss."
"Okay." Crumble pulled a ten dollar bill out of her purse. Roma snatched it and placed it into the cash register. As Roma got her receipt and change, Crumble's eyes traveled around the room.
"Miss, your change is 3 cents." Roma's sharp voice drew Crumble back to the shopping.
"Thanks," Crumble replied, smiling sheepishly as Roma dropped the pennies and receipt in her hand.
"And Miss," Roma added as Crumble took her bag, "I suggest you go to math class more often."
"Oh, it ain't math," Crumble assured her. "I just don't do money very well." Roma sighed again and turned her back to Crumble.
"Next!" She called to the next customer. Crumble kept her smile on as she left the store.
"Roma seemed annoyed today," she remarked as she walked down the sidewalk to her cousin's farm. "She seemed annoyed yesterday, too."
Crumble was on her way to Sweet Apple Acres to drop off ingredients for apple pastries. Between schoolwork and managing the farm, she knew Applejack and Big Mac and Apple Bloom didn't go shopping for ingredients very often. And Granny Smith slept all day, at least, that was what Crumble assumed. She didn't come around the farm very often.
Crumble pulled out her phone to call Applejack.
"Hi, Apple Brown Betty!" Applejack exclaimed when she picked up.
"You don't have to call me that," Crumble told her. "Anyways, I just bought some groceries for you! I figured you'd need them since you're at school all day and you never go shopping and Granny Smith sleeps all day." Applejack was silent for a moment.
"Who told you that?" She asked after seconds ticked by.
"Wasn't it obvious?" Crumble responded with a smile. "Hey, I just want to help!" Applejack's sigh was evident over the phone.
"I'll come pick you up," Applejack told her. "Are you still near Fresh Produce?"
"Yeah, but I can walk, AJ. Honestly."
"I'll pick you up anyways." Applejack hung up and sighed.
"That gal does realize we grow most of our produce on the farm, right?" She asked herself as she went outside to start the car. "We should probably invited extended family over more often."
In a few minutes, Applejack arrived.
"Hi, AJ!" Crumble exclaimed, climbing into the passenger's seat. "So nice to see you!"
"It's great to see you too," Applejack answered, leaning over for a quick hug. "We'll get back to the farm and you an help Granny with bakin' an' stuff." She pushed the pedal and began to drive.
"Granny doesn't sleep all day, ya know," Applejack commented after a moment.
"Really?" Crumble was surprised. "I mean, she was always asleep after finishin' all them quilts at family reunions. Always hadda wake her up for the pictures!"
"Maybe you and your siblings could come out an' visit on Sunday," Applejack suggested. "We got nothin' better to do!"
"That sounds real fun!" Crumble exclaimed. "We could play games and- stop the car!" She yelled suddenly. Applejack slammed her foot on the breaks.
"What? What is it?" she asked frantically.
"We're at Canterlot High!" Crumble exclaimed staring out the window at the school. "Didn't that girl Twilight Sparkle come from another dimension?"
"Uh, listen, cuz', we should be getting on home," Applejack said, nervousness tinting her tone.
"Are ya sure there's no portal?" Crumble persisted.
"Uh, I dunno?" Applejack was sweating now. Crumble narrowed her eyes.
"I'm gonna get out and look around," she answered, opening up the door. "Pick me up in half an hour." Applejack frowned.
"Apple Brown Betty, you get back here!" She snapped. Even though Crumble was older than her, it felt like she was scolding a child.
"No way!" Crumble waved. "Where's the portal?"
"Please get back here," Applejack begged from the car. "I wasn't supposed ta go in the first place, and you don't even know Twilight. Get away from the statue now."
"Statue?" Crumble questioned. "You mean that statue?" She gestured to the marble stallion that stood a good several yards away from her. Applejack smacked her forehead.
"Just come back, Crumble!" She called. "You honestly make me feel like I'm talking to a three year old, sometimes." Crumble frowned.
"Listen, Applejack, I know I'm no good with money an' such, and maybe sometimes I might act a little youn' an' ditzy, but you don't have to go saying I'm a little child like that!" She answered. "So is the portal in the statue?" Applejack bit her lip.
"Uh, yeah," she said. "I'm sorry, Crumble. Anyway, only those that got the magic of friendship can go across-"
"See ya, little cousin!" Crumble waved as she jumped into the portal.
Crumble whirled around like extra cookie batter running down the drain. Colors swirled all around her.
"Whoopeeeeee!" She cried, not frightened in the slightest. Sure, her hands were pinned to her side and she could barely move, but what was the worst that could happen?
"Aaaah!" She yelled as the colors ended and she fell onto the floor. Crumble opened her eyes.
"Wooooah," she gasped, taking in the large bookshelves on the other side of the beautiful crystal room, as well as the mirror behind her that she had probably come from.
"I'm a pony!" she exclaimed, immediately noticing her new form. She had the same light brown coat, and when she looked in the mirror her poofy green hair and bright green eyes were still a part of her. Crumble twisted her neck to see her back half.
"And wouldya look at that!" she added. "There's an apple brown betty on my flank!" It was the same icon she had on her shirt everyday- what a coincidence!
"And of course, now I have to explore this world for a little bit!" Crumble decided. She pulled herself up and looked around.
"Now, how hard can it be ta walk like a horse?" She asked herself. Sticking close to the wall for support, she put one hoof in front of the other until soon Crumble was at the top of the stairs.
"Weeeee!" Crumble slid down the stairs like it was a ski slope. She landed at the bottom with a thump.
"Excuse me?" Crumble looked up when she heard a voice. She was staring at a purple pony with a straight indigo mane.
"Howdy!" Crumble exclaimed. "I'm Apple Brown Betty, but you can call me Crumble!"
"Nice to meet you, Crumble!" the pony replied. "I'm sure you're looking for Applejack, right?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Crumble agreed. The purple mare nodded.
"Wait right here, I'll get her for you." As soon as she turned around, Crumble grinned. She ran back up the stairs.
"I wish I could see her face when I disappeared!" She giggled. When the sound of hoofsteps reached her ears, Crumble jumped into the portal.
"I told her to wait right here," Twilight assured Applejack. "But she's gone."
"Twilight, I don't wanna say yer crazy-" Applejack put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder "-but yer crazy."
"What did ya do?" Applejack asked when Crumble climbed back into the car. Crumble shrugged.
"I looked around. Nice place, ponies have." Applejack rolled her eyes.
"You should read these Power Pony comics, Sweetie Belle!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, waving a comic book in the air. "I almost feel like they're real..."
Halfway across the globe, in a city named Maretropolis, the heroines of the Power Ponies comics lived nonfiction lives, fighting crime with the help of awesome super pony powers!
"Fili-Second!" cried a teenage girl as pony ears appeared in a mass of orange hair. This orange hair nearly doubled until it was a ponytail. She beamed as pony power flowed through her.
"Are you ready to get your butt kicked?" She taunted her nemesis, a villain named Stickywicket.
"Ha! Just try!" sneered the opposing girl. She giggled before she popped a stick of gum in her mouth and began to chew. Fili-Second grinned and began to run circles around Stickywicket. This was her superpower: speed! Usually, her mind boggling pace was enough to disorient baddies, but Stickywicket seemed resistant to her attack method.
Suddenly, Fili-Second's boot caught in something sticky. She was thrust forward, then pulled backwards by some inertia gravity force she should've learned about in science.
"Hey!" she protested, looking down for the source. Her left boot was stuck in a large wad of pink gum.
"Gotcha!" Stickywicket winked, walking over. "Ready for some more fun?"
"Let me out of this!" Fili-Second protested. Stickywicket tapped her lavender chin, pretending to think.
"How about no?" She suggested, orange eyes glinting mischievously. Fili-Second struggled to get her boot out of the gum as Stickywicket stepped back and blew another bubble. This one, blue, was large enough to envelop Fili-Second whole.
"Help!" Fili-Second's boot became unstuck as she fell to her knees in the gum bubble. "Help!" She pounded on the bubble as it began to lift off the ground. Her teammates paid no attention, too busy fighting their own foils.
"Radiance! Mistress Marvelous!" She cried. Her bubble was now several meters off the ground. Stickywicket, holding the bottom of her own personal bubble as if was a bubble, rose up to her level.
"They're too busy," she said, smiling victoriously. "Now, what to do with you?" Fili-Second glared at her.
"Let me go! Besides me needing to defeat you Radiance will throw a fit if I come home with my hair wrapped in bubble gum!"
"Who says you'll be coming home?" Stickywicket taunted. She snapped her fingers. "I know just the place. To the Mane-iac's old hairspray factory we go!" As they rose over Maretroplis, Stickywicket guiding them both, Fili-Second seriously resented how little attention was paid to the skies. Zapp would have to fix that once she got out of her sticky situation.
"So, what's at the Mane-iac's place?" Fili-Second asked after she couldn't bear the silence anymore. Stickywicket turned to face her, a devious smile on her face.
"Only a portal that'll take you to an alternate dimension," she answered. Fili-Second's mouth dropped open.
"What?" She cried. "You can't do that!"
"Oh, I can, and I will," Stickywicket replied, casually examining her nails. "And don't say 'The Power Ponies will find me!' The battle they're currently fighting won't be over for several more minutes, and whether or not they win, you'll be in another universe, and they'll have no idea where you are." Before Fili-Second could reply, her nemesis added, "Here we are now! Please keep all hands, feet, abnormal ears, and tails inside the bubble as i pop it and we descend. Thank you!"
"What?" Fili-Second screamed. She looked down. The bottom of her bubble evaporated! She began to fall straight down-
Until something caught her. Her fall became gentle. Fili-Second looked up. Her bubble hadn't completely disappeared; it was more of a parachute now.
"Hey." Fili-Second shot a dirty glare at Stickywicket. The villain shrugged.
"What can I say? I love a good prank!" She snicked as they both descended into the warehouse, which had a hole in the roof. Fili-Second recognized it as Zapp's doing from a couple years back.
"I present to you: a portal!" Stickywicket somehow morphed the bubble so Fili-Second was trapped inside again.
"So this is how it feels to be triumphant," she mused as she rolled the bubble up to a glass mirror tucked in the back corner of the warehouse.
"Don't be so presumptuous," Fili-Second retorted, although she couldn't help watch, interested, as Stickywicket dipped her hand through the glass. The mirror's surface rippled like a pool of water.
"Well, bye bye, Fili-Second." Stickywicket leaned in and popped the bubble. Fili-Second stumbled forward, but before she could regain her balance, Stickywicket pushed her into the mirror.
"Bye!" Stickywicket called as Fili-Second fell.
"Noooo!" Fili-Second screamed as she fell. Colors filled up her vision, blocking out Stickywicket and the world she knew. Her pony ears and tail faded away; that was all Fili-Second could comprehend.
"Heeeelp meeee!" She screamed as she flew through dimensions.
Suddenly, Fili-Second's vision cleared of color. She stared up at a cloudy gray sky, completely different from the one she had left behind.
Fili-Second blinked. Even though they had disappeared as soon as she had fallen through, she still felt the presence of equine ears on her head. She lifted her head to see skyscrapers surrounding her. In fact, the layout remind her of Maretropolis.
"Is it..." Fili-Second's words trailed off as she noticed the rest of her body. Gone was her regular outfit. Fili-Second stared at the hooves in front of her.
Fili-Second was a pony. A full pony.
"Oh. My. Gosh," she gasped. "This. Is-" She paused, pulling herself to her hooved.
"AWESOME!" Fili-Second cheered, fireworks exploding in her brain.
"I'm a pony!" She gushed, turning around in circles.
"Of course," she added after a moment, "I have to get back to my friends soon. But I'm a pony!" She looked at herself again. She wore a full body suit, white with purple arrows like her Power Pony suit back home. As Fili-Second looked up, only one tuft of orange her poked out from under the suit.
"I bet I still have my super speed!" She exclaimed, her gaze turning to a tall building on her right. Fili-Second smiled.
"I've always wanted to run up a wall!" She exclaimed, crouching down on her new hooves. "And if I fall, some pegasus will catch me!" Without wasting another moment, Fili-Second took off. She still retained her super speed, hooray! As wind stung her cheeks as she rushed forward, Fili-Second realized she wasn't going as fast as usual.
I'm not used to hooves! She realized, but that wouldn't stop her. In mere seconds, Fili-Second was running up the side of the building.
"Yes!" She cheered, looking down at the ground below.
Big mistake.
In doing so, Fili-Second slowed her pace yet again. Gravity took hold. Fili-Second fell backwards!
"Help!" She screamed as she plummeted to the ground. "HEEEEEEEREEELP!" The asphalt street came rushing at her. Fili-Second shut her eyes-
And was thrust sideways by a new force. Fili-Second opened her eyes to see herself in the grasp of a pegasus. Her light blue coat and spiky ;avender hair reminded Fili-Second of Zapp. Wait a minute...
"What were you doing up there, Fili?" Zapp scolded as she dropped Fili-Second on the ground. "That was dangerous! If I hadn't saved you-" FIli-Second cut her off with a high-pitched giggle.
"Oh my goodness, I'm finally talking to Zapp!" She squealed. Zapp looked at her like she had grown two heads.
"You're not Fili-Second?" She questioned. Fili-Second shook her head, continuing the annoying giggle.
"Uh, Funny Umbrella, Power Ponies fan, stalker extraordinaire!" She exclaimed, leaning in. Zapp looked around, hoping for a way out.
"Funny Umbrella?" She asked. Fili-Second nodded vigorously.
"It's not my real name, of course. I just use it as my superhero alias, like you Power Ponies do." Fili-Second winked, and decided to have a little fun with Zapp.
"By the way, I totally love the dolphin nightlight you keep in your room. Why do you keep it a secret from the public?" Zapps mouth dropped open.
"First of all, I'm ashamed to admit I'm a little scared of the dark," she answered, toying with her lightning bolt pendant like she always did when nervous. "And second, I could report you to the police for that!"
"Oh, but you wouldn't," Fili-Second answered, trying to conceal her merriment. "We both know you hate going to other authorities 'cause it would make the Power Ponies look weak. And besides, you told your pet turtle you want to show mercy on citizens like me. Your beat downs only go to villains like Meteoryte and the Mane-iac. You want to get rid of your stereotype no-mercy persona, which to the trained eye you never have been, and prove to the world you've always been compassionate towards the weak-"
"Enough!" Zapp interrupted, her cheeks glowing magenta in embarrassment. "I'd gladly like to be a no-mercy hero if it will keep away stalkers like you!" Fili-Second giggled.
"Oh, Zapp. You don't have the courage or the will!" She replied. "Don't worry about it, we love you just the way you are."
"Now think fast!" FIli-Second zipped away as fast as she could towards the portal.
"COME BACK!" Zapp yelled, but FIli-Second just smiled as she raced into the mirror.
Stickywicket was wrong. It's easy to get back! Fili-Second thought as she hurtle through the portal practically at light speed.
She was wrong.
Fili-Second was thrust out of the portal.
"I'm back!" She announced, opening her eyes. Her excitement drained away. Almost half the villain community was standing before her, expressions ranging from eager to triumphant to satisfaction. Worse yet, Fili-Second was wearing her cheerlfeading uniform. Her ear and tail where gone.
Fili-Secon swallowed nervously as she looked at Stickywicket, who lead the group.
"I heard the pony world is nice this time of year."
"Hey, good job at today's game," Soarin told his teammate Misty Fly, giving her a friendly pat on the back.
"I did my best," Misty Fly replied, folding her arms as the Wondercolts soccer team walked off the field. "Too bad we didn't win."
"Nah, who cares about winning?" Soarin asked. "You did your best!" Misty arched an eyebrow.
"Does Spitfire know you feel that way?" She asked teasingly. Soarin looked at his cleats.
"Okay, I lied. I do care about winning. But it's also important to do our best, right?" He held his hand up for a fist bump. Misty Fly returned the gesture with fist bump and a smile.
"See ya around, Soarin," she told him as they turned to walk in separate directions.
"Bye, Misty!" Soarin called, waving as she left.
Soarin continued walking back to the main entrance of Canterlot High School. After games, he usually hung out there with his other close friends, Spitfire and Fleetfoot. Sure enough, Fleetfoot and Spitfire were already sitting on the marble statue that was iconic to the school.
"Whatup, Soarin?" Fleetfoot asked lazily. "Wasn't today a stupid game?"
"Well, uh, I didn't particularly dislike it, except when we lost," Soarin answered.
"Ha." Spitfire rolled her eyes. "Today was terrible." She took a sip from a can of lemonade she apparently had with her. "If Blaze hadn't accidentally passed it to Cherry Spices, the score would've turned out totally different. Here." She tossed Soarin a can of orange soda.
"Thanks, Spitfire," Soarin replied, prying the lid open. The fizzy drink into his mouth felt bubbly and made his tongue tickle.
"Don't mention it." Spitfire took another sip from her own can.
"Do you wanna talk about something else besides the game?" Soarin suggested. "It might help you guys cool down."
"See, that's why there are people like you, Soarin," Fleetfoot commented. "You guys always know what to do in times of crisis."
"Let's talk about those seven girls," Spitfire suggested. "You know, the ones that get those weird pony ears and tails at every major school event?"
"Rainbow Dash is one of those girls," Soarin reminded her. Spitfire rolled her eyes.
"The rainbow-haired girl that's tried and failed every year to get on the Wonderbolts' College Soccer team?" She questioned. "Oh yeah. She's too full of herself." Spitfire closed her eyes as she began a mini-rant.
"She's good, I'll give her that, but sometime she acts as if she's team captain." As Spitfire continued talking, Soarin leaned back against the statue. Nothing supported his weight, and he fell backwards!
"HELP!" Soarin cried as Canterlot High disappeared from around him.
Spitfire opened one eyes. Fleetfoot was whipping her head around in bewilderment.
"Uh, where's Soarin?" Spitfire asked. "I just heard a scream and now I don't see him."
"I don't, either," Fleetfoot agreed, a trace of worry in her voice. "Do you think he just up and ditched us?"
Soarin stared up at the light blue walls, made of some sort of crystal material. After a dizzying trip through a swirling inter-dimension of colors, he was now in a room by himself.
"Where I am I?" he wondered, looking around. Well, the crystal room part was obvious. "Why am I not at Canterlot High anymore?" He tried to stand up- but he didn't have feet anymore.
"What the heck?" he shouted, falling back on his side. Instead of seeing his hands before him, Soarin was met by a pair of off-white hooves. Soarin's eyes widened as he suddenly noticed an extra weight on his back.
Soarin rolled over and stared at himself in the crystal wall. Why hadn't he noticed his reflection before?
"I'm a pegasus!" Soarin gasped, noticing the pair of wings on his back. "What the heck?!"
Trying to unfurl his wings was a weird experience. Soarin wasn't exactly sure how to move his new limbs.
"Would they be like another set of arms?" He wondered, twisting his neck to look at the wings. Deciding yes, Soarin pretended he was stretching his arms out after a nap. To his delight, the technique worked! His wings spread open in feathery splendor.
"This is sweet!" Soarin exclaimed happily, giving them a little test flap. "I wonder how easy it would be to fly?" After a minute of irrational flying thoughts flying around his brain, he shook his head, trying to clear his mind and set himself against the idea. "Nah, I can't stay here forever. It would take too long to train myself for a skill I'd never use again." Soarin frowned in an adorable pout and looked back at his wings again.
"They still look pretty epic," he admitted to himself. "Rainbow Dash got wings, didn't she? We're both pegasususes- how do you say the plural of pegasus?" As Soarin pondered the question, he unconsciously began to flap his wings.
"I think it might be pegasi," he decided a minute later. "That sounds about- Sweet mother of apple pies!" he yelled. "How did I get up here?" Soarin was now perched on the ledge of a windowsill, a good seven feet off the ground. He gulped as her turned to look down. On one side was the room he had arrived in. A seven feet jump paled in comparison to the twenty-something foot drop to hard dirt on the other side of the window. Soarin's green eyes widened. His vision spun.
"I think..." he whispered weakly, "I think I might be afraid of heights." As Soarin confirmed his fear, the ground seemed even farther away. Soarin swallowed nervously.
"Uh, don't think about that. The room. Get in the room before you slip and fall to your ironic doom," he muttered, his gaze sliding to the conforting room on his left. Soarin closed his eyes. Seven feet wasn't a lot. Not compared to 25 feet, that was.
"I don't want to die!" Soarin shouted, jumping inside.
He landed on the crystal floor. Thankfully, he hadn't been hurt by the impact.
"Good," Soarin said, breathing in relief. "Now I'm gonna get out of here and never mention this to anyone." Soarin walked up to the mirror and stepped through, taking him back to Canterlot High.
"-and then I said that if they were gonna kiss, he didn't have to make out with her in front of me!" Fleetfoot wailed. Soarin watched her sob into Spitfire's arm. "How could he be so insensitive?"
"Who are we talking about, again?" Soarin asked curiously. Spitfire and Fleetfoot looked up.
"Hey, you didn't ditch us," Spitfire commented. "Where did you go?"
"Uh... the bathroom?" Soarin answered. Spitfire looked at him with a Really? expression on her face.
"Because of you being gone, Fleetfoot has been crying to me about her boyfriends for the past two minutes," Spitfire deadpanned.
Pinkie Pie paced around her room one night, anxious to start with her amazing plan. Gummy lay on her bed, watching her as he usually did. Pinkie leaned in closer to her pet and cocked her head. Gummy blinked.
"You're right, Gummy," she commented. "I really wish I could just go now!" She grabbed her clock and leaned in so close her blue eyes nearly touched the face of the clock. 11:47.
"Rats," she sighed, tossing the clock behind her. It landed neatly on her nightstand, a trick Pinkie had perfected when she was seven. Gummy blinked again.
"Do you think I should go now?" she asked him again. "I mean, yeah, I'm not allowed to cross until midnight, but who knows? It might take thirteen minutes to get there!" Pinkie tried to talk quietly. The twins were asleep down the hall, after all.
"Wait a minute, isn't thirteen an unlucky number?" she asked. The question was either directed at herself or Gummy. Gummy blinked twice, resolving the issue.
"Agreed!" Pinkie proclaimed. "I must wait until 11:48!" She beamed, happy to have an opportunity to once more meet her counterpart in the next universe. But Other Pinkie had told her to come at exactly midnight, and that's just what she intended to do.
"Hey, Gummy. Toss me the clock!" Pinkie commanded. Gummy blinked as she stretched out and grabbed the clock. Starring at it once more, she watched as the hands ticked around.
11:48.
"Well, I'd better be going now!" Pinkie exclaimed, dropping the clock on the floor. It bounced right back to her nightstand. "I'd hate to keep Other Me waiting!" She giggled, which accidentally caused her to snort like a pig.
"See ya later, alligator!" Pinkie winked to Gummy as she left her room.
Pinkie tiptoed past Pumpkin and Pound's room, where they slept soundly. She descended the stairs and silently left the house.
The full moon shown overhead as Pinkie hurried through town.
I don't recall every staying up 'till midnight unless it was a party, Pinkie thought as she went along. I don't recall the last time I thought to myself either. Usually I'm talking out loud. But now, I have to be silent. Right, narrator?
... Pinkie, don't talk to me. You're better than Cheese Sandwhich.
Oh, right! Wait, did he go through the portal too? I didn't know that, Pinkie couldn't help conversing in her thoughts with the narrator as she approached her destination.
Shoot. Uh, never mind. Don't talk to me.
"If they narrator says so," Pinkie murmured with a shrug of her shoulders.
Eight minutes had passed when PInkie reached her destination. She was especially careful and quiet now that she was here. Twilight wasn't a very sound sleeper.
The pink pony stood in front of the mirror she had seen but never entered. A wide grin spread across Pinkie's face.
"I have a feeling it's 11:56," she murmured, admiring the pure surface of the mirror reflecting moonlight across her face. "I'm not going to mention how for the narrator's sake." Pinkie Pie stared at the window as she waited for midnight to come around. She nommed on her tail. She speed-read My Little Dashie (which Other Pinkie Pie had notified her about) and ate a banana.
When three minutes and 59 seconds had passed, Pinkie narrowed her eyes and grinned. In the next second, she ran straight into the portal
"Wheeeeeeee!" she giggled, flying through the colors. Her tummy tickled as she stretched and twisted through the inter-dimension.
"Are you sure you don't want me to describe my experience, narrator?" She asked as she swirled around and around. "I know you think it's boring describing the same thing over and over."
Pinkie continued to swirl around and around until she could see the other side of the portal.
"Fine, don't answer meeeee!" Pinkie's pout was cut off as she landed on the other side, standing on both two legs perfectly. Standing across from her was a pale pink girl with fuchsia hair. She wore a white, blue, and purple shirt. A lavender bow wrapped around her waist, just above a pink skirt with three balloons on the side.
"Pinkie!" Other Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
"I missed you, Pinkie!" Pinkie returned, leaning in to hug her counterpart. "And it's super exciting to be in your world! It's like rainbows and cupcakes and balloons but doubled!"
"Totally splendidlyrific!" Other Pinkie Pie cheered, breaking apart the hug. "Sooooo, what clothes do you have?"
"Oh! I totally didn't notice!" Pinkie replied, looking down at herself. She wore a pale yellow t-shirt striped with shades of orange and pink.
"Doesn't this just look like a sunset?" Pinkie gushed.
"I know!" Other Pinkie Pie agreed. "Your skirt, too!" Pinkie's skirt had three layers. The top was orange, the middle layer was pink, and the final layer was a darker pink. Her boots were an identical light orange with three balloons on the heel.
"The universe picks out the best outfits!" Pinkie declared happily. "So, what are we doing in this world?"
"We're going to spend the rest of the night running around like we're in a music video!" Other Pinkie replied with a thumbs up. "Tik Tok or Last Friday Night?"
"It's not Friday, it's Tuesday!" Pinkie pointed out, doing a backflip.
"Good point!" Other Pinkie agreed. "Tik Tok it is!" Pinkie clapped her hands in excitement.
"This is gonna be so fun!"
"Come on!" Other Pinkie grabbed her hand. "We have soooo much to do before the night is out!"
The two Pinkies sprinted over to Sugarcube Corner. Getting in was easy; Other Pinkie had a key. They ran over to the whipped cream machine and dumped it all into their mouths. Each Pinkie giggled, wearing identical whipped cream mustaches, cheeks puffed out from eating so much of the amazing substance. They left some whipped cream Other Pinkie had brought with her to restock.
"It's funner when you get it out of a machine," she explained to Pinkie.
The next few minutes were spent blowing up tons of balloons with helium. They giggled as orbs of blue, purple, pink, and orange were blown up and released into the sky. The best part was the neon that stood out against the dark of night.
As Pinkie and Other Pinkie watched their beautiful creations float up into the sky, they high fived.
Next, Other Pinkie grabbed a scooter and the two sped down to Rainbow Dash's house. They snickered as they opened her window and climbed inside her room. Rainbow was out like a light, snoring away under a blanket that looked so soft and plush Pinkie was sure it made of clouds like the ones Dashie napped on in Equestria.
That fact taken care of, it was fun doodling Pinkie and her pony twin were here! on Dash's forehead. Other Pinkie drew a pig nose underneath Dash's actual nose. Insert cupcakes here was scribbled on Rainbow Dash's chin, arrows pointed to her mouth.
Pinkie bit back a laugh as she withdrew the marker. Rainbow had slept soundly through their entire assault!
After they had jumped out the window, it was back on the scooter to Canterlot High. Other Pinkie got them inside through the window, again, and Pinkie was in for a tour of the school.
"And here's the band room, where we Rainbooms practice!" Other Pinkie told her.
"Sweets and sugar!" Pinkie exclaimed, peeking inside. "I just had the best idea ever!"
"Oh! Oh! Tell me!" Other Pinkie waved her hand around as if she was a school child waiting to be called on.
"We should start a pony band back in Equestria!" Pinkie exclaimed, pointing inside. "And I could secretly videotape us and send you the video!"
"And I could do the same here!" Other Pinkie added. The duo high fives once more.
"This is the start of an awesome friendship!" Pinkie decided, hugging her counterpart.
"I'm friends with myself!" Other Pinkie added. "Let's find a set of journals like the ones Twilight and Sunset have-"
"-and be inter-dimensional pen pals!" The two cried in unison. They high fives again and danced around in the middle of the school hallway.
"Do you wanna go to Berry Punch's dance party?" Other Pinkie asked. "She stays up all night doing them."
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?"
"I mean, please, Silver Spoon. How could she wear that jewel disaster out in public?" Diamond Tiara asked in disbelief, scrolling through the pictures on her phone. Silver Spoon, her best friend, peered over her shoulder, sharing in the joy of calling out others' fashion disasters.
"I can't believe she'd wear that out in public," Silver Spoon echoed.
"And this one," Diamond Tiara continued with a flick of her wrist. "Ohmigosh, who does Babs Seed think she is?" Diamond Tiara cringed just looking at a photo of Babs playing on some lame-o kid playground, her outfit made of a jean skirt and a hoodie.
"Very fashionable, if you had worn them," Silver Spoon added. Diamond snickered.
"Spot on, Silver Spoon," she remarked, brushing back a lock of her wavy lavender hair. "But I'd never dress up in a jean skirt and hoodie like those apple farmers do." She shook her head in pity. "The fabulousness of that outfit is lost forever!" Silver Spoon chuckled along with Diamond Tiara.
"So," Diamond began as she tucked her phone away, "are you going to that party at Cocoa's tomorrow night?" Silver Spoon bit her lip. Diamond Tiara's cousin Cocoa Peach was even richer then Silver Spoon or Diamond Tiara's father. That wasn't the problem. The problem was her super-strict parents who didn't approve of loud noisy parties.
"I don't know if my parents will let me," she admitted.
"Oh please, Silver, if they won't let you, you'll just have to sneak out, won't you now?" Diamond suggested as they walked down the halls. Silver Spoon adjusted her glasses.
"You know I want to, right, Diamond?" she asked. "But I just can't risk it. My parents are on my case about my grades."
"Hmmph. Whatever." Diamond Tiara folded her arms and walked faster.
"Wait, Diamond!" Silver Spoon hurried to catch up. "Do you, uh, wanna do a dare?" Diamond turned around, one eyebrow raised.
"What does a dare have to do with going to a party?" she asked.
"I dare you to do something," Silver explained, "and then if you do it, I'll try to sneak out to go to Cocoa's party."
"Ha, you're going to pick something impossible, like 'befriend Apple Bloom,' so you for sure won't get in trouble," Diamond accused, pointed a finger at her friend. Silver shook her head.
"I swear I won't Diamond. Honest." She put her hands up like she was being searched by a police man. Diamond folded her arms and smirked.
"So, what's your challenge?" Diamond asked.
"Uh, I think you should-" Silver Spoon racked her brain for something to challenge Diamond Tiara. Her mind wandered back to the Battle of the Bands.
"Oh! I got it!" She snapped her fingers. "Go through the portal to the pony world Twilight Sparkle is from!"
"Sure, that's eas- wait, wait, what?" Diamond's blue eyes popped open in surprise.
"You head me," Silver Spoon responded. "Does that sound reasonable? It's not that hard."
"We don't even know if the Cutie Mark Lame-saders were telling the truth!" Diamond Tiara snapped. Lame-saders was a bad pun, but Silver Spoon kept her opinion on the matter quiet.
"I don't think they would've lied to us. We had them freakin' pinned against the wall try to get them to spill their secret," Silver Spoon reasoned. "And besides, even if they were lying, I'd just come up with some other dare."
"Or you could actually come to the party," Diamond Tiara muttered.
"But this is more fun," Silver Spoon protested. "Come on, you don't have anything to lose, right?"
"Of course not," Diamond answered snootily. "I accept your little wager, Silver Spoon." Her smile stretched across her face like the Cheshire cat's. "What are we waiting for?"
"Nothing!" Silver Spoon supplied. Diamond nodded, obviously satisfied with her answer. When she turned and marched down the hall, Silver Spoon was quick to follow.
A few minutes later, the two Freshman girls stood before the marble statue in front of the school.
"This is what they said was the portal," Diamond pointed out.
"Hello? If those dweebs can do it, so can I." She dipped two fingers into the portal. Silver Spoon's eyes widened as they slipped right through, and the smooth surface rippled. A pink hoof the same tone as Diamond's skin was on the other side of the reflection.
"Freaky," Diamond muttered. She turned to Silver Spoon. "I'll be back in a few minutes, and then we'll talk about getting you to that party." Silver Spoon smiled.
"Okay, sure," she answered. Diamond Tiara sucked in a deep breath. In the next seconds, she walked right through the marble statue.
*~*
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaack!" Diamond Tiara cried, spinning around in circles. Colors swirled all around her. That wasn't a good thing; Diamond had always had a fear of swings sets.
"Oh no-" If her arms weren't pressed to her sides, she would've pressed them against her mouth.
Don't throw up! Don't throw up, she pleaded with herself. She squeezed her blue eyes shut and hoped-
"OW!" she screeched as she was thrown against something cool and hard. Diamond opened her eyes and found herself staring at an identical pair. Identical, except for the fact that they were tinted clearish blueish. And they were on a pony's muzzle.
"Am I- am I there already?" she queried as she realized she was staring at a reflective surface. Diamond craned her neck to see that she wore no outfit- gross.
"I am so glad Snips and Snails aren't here to see me right now," she muttered. Instead of her designer, one-of-a-kind outfit, her head was attached to a tiny pony body.
"No wings, huh?" she muttered, noticing the lack of feathery appendages Scootaloo had described. "Whatever. Being a pegasus wasn't very appealing, anyways. I bet I'm a unicorn!" She beamed as she turned to face her reflection. That beam quickly changed to a shocked expression with pupils the size of pinpricks. There was no horn on her head.
"What the heck?" she screeched. "I'm a stupid regular pony? Seriously? I am so much better than this! At least if I'm stupid and normal, than those dweebs Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle shouldn't have been a pegasus or unicorn or dumb stuff!"
"What is going on up here?" Diamond Tiara froze when she heard a very familiar and very angry voice approaching.
What do I do? she thought wildly, looking around. As hoofsteps approached, Diamond dove behind the mirror.
"Who's there?" Twilight Sparkle demanded. Diamond was as still as a rock. What could she do?
I guess I could go back to Canterlot High without seeing the rest of this world, she thought. But where's the fun in that?
"Hello?" Twilight asked again. Diamond could tell she was coming closer. I guess I don't have a choice. Diamond got ready to jump through the portal-
"AHA!" Twilight's face appeared out of nowhere.
"AAAAH!" Diamond screamed, jumping through the portal.
"Come back here!" Twilight shouted at her, jumping in as well. "VANDAL!"'
As soon as Diamond was on the other side of the portal, fully human again, she clutched Silver Spoon's arm.
"What is it?" Silver Spoon asked, seeing that something was clearly wrong.
Sour Sweet narrowed her gaze. She pulled back her bow. Concentrating on the target before her, she released. Her blue arrow flew through the air. In one swift moment, it punctured the center of the target. Sour grinned.
"Another totally awesome archery practice," she remarked. "These new targets are totally sweet!" Canterlot High had only recently gotten an archery set, much better than the ones at Crystal Prep. For that reason, Sour Sweet had transferred schools. She had been coming every day ever since.
"Hey, Sour Sweet!" called one of her friends, Lemon Zest. Sour Sweet waved in return.
"Hey, Lemon!" she answered as Lemon Zest jogged over.
"Are you just finishing up?" Lemon Zest queried, running a hand through her yellow hair. Sour Sweet nodded.
"Yeah." Lemon Zest followed her when she went to retrieve her arrows.
"So, are you going to Sugarcube Corner tonight?" Lemon Zest asked. "Pinkie Pie's handing out free cupcakes!" Sour Sweet bent over to pick up an arrow in the grass.
"Sounds fun!" she replied. "I'll try to make it!"
"It's in, like, an hour," Lemon Zest informed her. "Are you really gonna come?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Sour Sweet countered with a smile. With Lemon Zest's constant bombardment of questions, Sour Sweet sometimes felt like Lemon was a little kid following her around!
"You're usually too busy with sports," Lemon Zest pointed out. "Which is awesome, but ya gotta go to parties sometime!" She elbowed Sour Sweet playfully. Sour Sweet laughed.
"Alright, alright! I said I'd come, didn't I?"
"That you did!" Lemon Zest agreed. "See ya then!" She jogged off. "I have homework to do!"
"Bye!" Sour waved as Lemon Zest left.
That girl can never stop asking questions, can she? she mused to herself.
In a few minutes, Sour Sweet's arrows were tucked into her quiver, which hung at her side as she walked back to the front of Canterlot High.
"Aack!" She yelped as one sneaker caught on a loose paving stone. Sour Sweet pitched forward. Luckily, she caught herself on the palms of her hands. Sour Sweet breathed a sigh of relief as she stood back up and dusted her hands off.
"They really need to fix the floor, er, road, eh, whatever," she remarked, tucking a loose strand of bubblegum hair behind her ear. "Some klutz could trip.
"Luckily," she continued confidently, "I am not that klutz!"
"But I am! Watch out!"
"What the-" Sour spun around to see Pinkie Pie decked out in roller blading equipment- and the party girl was headed straight for her!
"Sorry!" Pinkie apologized as she rammed into Sour Sweet. Sour Sweet stumbled backwards.
"Hey!" she yelled, grabbing her side. "What- aah!" She felt her back press up against the CHS statue. And then Pinkie was replaced with a swirl of colors.
"Sorry!" Pinkie exclaimed, waving at the portal, despite Sour Sweet being already gone. "It's just my job!" She grabbed a notebook and began to scrawl in it.
"'Dear me, I sent a girl named Sour Sweet your way. Please take care of her and give her a good home. And a cardboard box!' Smiley face." Pinkie beamed as she shut the journal.
Sour Sweet felt like she was going to throw up her lunch taco.
"That was some ride," she groaned, staring up. What else was she supposed to do until the nausea passed?
"HELLLLLLLLLO STRANGER!"
"What?" Sour Sweet groaned, not bothering to look around. "Who's there?" A lock of fuchsia hair appeared in her line of sight, followed quickly by a bubblegum pink face and sky blue eyes.
"Hi!" the pony exclaimed. "You must be Sour Sweet! Pinkie Pie told me you'd be coming!"
"Yeah, Pinkie Pie," Sour Sweet agreed lamely. "Wait... you look like Pinkie Pie!"
"That's because I am Pinkie Pie!" the mare confirmed. Sour Sweet shut her eyes as she processed the information.
"So... you told yourself I'd be coming?"
"Nope!" Pinkie Pie responded cheerfully, as if that had solved the problem.
"But, you just said your name is Pinkie Pie."
"Multiverse! Hello?" Pinkie Pie waved a hoof in front of Sour Sweet's face. "Where do you think you are? Kansas? Oz?" Pinkie Pie sniggered. "Nope! You're in an entire new universe!" Sour Sweet blinked again as she waited for the information to sink in.
"Sweet mother of Artemis!" she yelled suddenly, sitting straight upright.
"Woah, woah, woah, it's okay!" Pinkie consoled her, which didn't really work with her upbeat tone. 'It'll only be for a little while! Hey, look! You've got wings!"
"W-wings?" Sour Sweet stuck a hoof behind her back, looking for the wings. One hoof brushed a soft, pillow-like object.
"That tickles," Sour Sweet commented.
"No way! Did you know it's physically impossible to tickle yourself?" Pinkie protested. "WAIT! What if you tickled yourself from another universe? Idea!" PInkie scribbled something into a notebook.
This is going to be a long afternoon, Sour Sweet groaned inwardly.
"Look, Pinkie, can I please go home? There's a big party tonight, you understand that, right?" she asked. Pinkie nodded vigorously.
"I understand. I super duper understand! And that's why-" she pulled Sour Sweet to her hooves. "-I'm gonna help you get ready!"
"Oh no," Sour Sweet groaned as Pinkie Pie dragged her away.
"This is my friend Twilight's home!" Pinkie told her enthusiastically as she ran.
"Uh uh uh uh uh uh uh," went Sour Sweet as her head bounced against each stair.
"We're gonna do your hair and all sorts of good stuff!" Pinkie Pie continued as they ran through the front doors.
"Put me down, please!" Sour Sweet moaned. "My hair already looks fine!"
"Not after this ride!" Pinkie Pie finally dropped Sour Sweet under an oak tree.
"What did you do to my hair?" Sour Sweet's question came out as a whisper. She prodded at the fresh mess.
"I ruined it so we can start over!" Pinkie cheered, pulling a brush out of her own pink mane.
"Brush, brush, brush, brushbrushbrushbrush," Pinkie hummed as she brushed.
What. The heck, Sour Sweet thought sourly.
"Pinkie, can you please let me go?" she asked sweetly.
"Crown of- oomph!" Sour Sweet was cut off as Pinkie shoved a makeshift crown onto her head.
"Uh, thanks, Pinkie," Sour Sweet told her. "I, uh, need to get out of this freakish universe and back to my own."
"Good thing I typed up a book so you can read all about Equestria when you return to your own world in two seconds!" Pinkie plopped a notebook into Sour Sweet's hooves.
"'The Fool's Guide to Equestria,'" Sour Sweet read aloud. On the back, Pinkie had scrawled, For those friends in alternate dimensions.
"Wow, thanks, Pinkie!" Sour Sweet exclaimed. Then she blinked. "Wait, did you just say I'm going back in two seconds?"
"Well, duh! I don't want you to miss your party, do I?"
"I told him that no, I don't own any alcohol, stop asking, it's a rumor!" Berry Punch ranted to Golden Harvest. "But did he listen? No! He ran straight into my house to start looking!"
"What the heck is wrong with Goldengrape?" Golden Harvest frowned as they walked. "How long has he known you?"
"Three minutes," Berry grumbled, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "I go to pick up Piña Colada, he decides he's found himself a girlfriend, invites himself home, and the next thing I know my dad's yelling at him to get out and my mom's yelling at me for bringing a random boy home."
"That's harsh, girl," Golden Harvest set down her crate of Healthy Carrot Fizz and tucked an orange curl behind her ear. "I hope Piña Colada gave him the what-for!"
"If she punched him, it would be all over MyStable," Berry pointed out. "Anyways, where do we bring these?" She wiggled her fingers, which were grasping onto a similar crate of Healthy Carrot Fizz.
"To the gym, where else?"
"Maybe the cafeteria?" Berry suggested. "I can't wait to see this contest! For, uh, taste, or something!"
"Especially since my carrots are going to win!" Golden Harvest bragged. "Applejack doesn't stand a chance!"
"Cherry Crash?"
"She just grabbed some soda that said 'cherry' on it. I saw her at the store." Golden Harvest rolled her eyes. "I wish people would take this fruit contest more seriously!"
"Are Carrots fruits, Carrot Top?" Berry Punch queried as they walked into the gymnasium.
"You know what I mean, Berry. I just remembered, why aren't you entering?"
"Oh, you know," Berry responded casually as she placed her crate next to Applejack's fizzy apple cider. "With my reputation, everybody would assume my stuff was alcoholic."
"I think you should go see Sunset Shimmer about the reputation thing. She's gotten over her reputation!" Golden Harvest pointed out. Berry smirked and rolled her eyes.
"Sweet Leaf has a similar problem. She told me Sunset gave her zero advice on how to shake a bad reputation."
"Who woulda thought." Golden Harvest shook her head. "Ah, well. I'm gonna call Merry May, is that alright? She told me she had something to talk to me about."
"Go right ahead!" Berry encouraged her. "I'll wait for you outside."
"Thanks!" Golden Harvest flashed her a smile, her green phone already in her hands.
"No problemo," Berry winked before leaving her friend to the call. She swagged outside and headed straight for the marble statue that greeted the students of CHS every morning.
Ding!
"Who's textin' now?" Berry wondered, pulling out her green-and-purple-swirled phone. She swiped a finger across the screen to see the latest news.
"'Walk into the statue portal.'" Berry read Pinkie Pie's text aloud. Afterward, she scratched her head in confusion. "Statue portal? Wait, like the stallion statue?" Berry stared up at the marble stallion she had just been admiring. The pony's rearing pose now looked weird; spooky, like it had been cast in a shadowy light. Berry shivered.
"Where the heck did that imagery come from?" she asked her, reaching a hand out to the surface of the portal. In contrast to the hard stone she expected to feel, Berry instead found her hand slipping right through the surface! Berry's eyes widened. She quickly retracted her hand.
"Ick!" she commented, shaking her hand in case germs from another dimension came for her. "What was that about?"
Ding!
"'It's a portal to the universe Twilight Sparkle hails from,'" Berry read. "Sheesh, really? I had to skip the Fall Formal and the Battle of the Bands because they unfortunately coincided with Pina Colada's birthday and Ruby's first birthday. You expect me to be excited about some girl I've heard about but never met?" To anyone else, Berry might've looked like she was ranting to herself. But Berry was asking legit questions to the explainable law of physics they called Pinkie Pie.
Ding!
"'It'll be super fun, please go, you know you want to.'" Berry rolled her eyes. "Alright, Pinkie! I give up! I'll go through!" Berry stared at the statue a moment longer before she ran straight in.
"Berry? Sorry I took so long-" Golden Harvest stopped talking when she realized no one was around to listen. "Berry?"
Berry Punch hated her reputation as an alcoholic. If she wanted to obliterate that reputation, she probably should have stopped partying all night long ago. Once, she had partied all night, with shots and everything, and Berry had gotten a hangover the next day.
Berry was thinking about hangovers because it felt like she was having one at that moment. A background of neon pinks, purples. greens, blues, and oranges swirled around her, or rather, Berry swirled through the colors.
"Aaaaaaaah!" she cried as her body was stretched this way and that. "What's hapeniiiing!?"
Suddenly the swirling stopped. The colors disappeared. Inertia at work, Berry was sent flying.
"Woah!" Thankfully, she was able to catch herself before she rammed into a wall of crystal clear blue.
"That was close!" Berry gasped, looking around. She was shaky from the adrenaline rushing through her veins. She seemed to be in a crystal place of some sort.
"Did I just get transported to Crystal Park High?" she wondered, noting the architecture resembled the new school up North. Berry quickly dismissed the thought. "No, Pinkie said this is where Twilight Sparkle came from. The universe Twilight Sparkle came from." At that moment, Berry's gaze wandered downward. Two plum-colored hooves greeted her.
"What the-" Berry began to back up from the strange sight. To her surprise and horror, the hooves moved in time with her legs- or how she wanted her legs to move.
"I don't have legs anymore!" Berry gasped in horror. "I'm a pony!"
"Hi Berry!" Pinkie Pie walked into the room at that moment. Berry gaped at her.
"Pinkie Pie! You're walking?" I've never her seen her walk. It's always the bouncing and skipping and running.
"I figured the situation called for me to walk calmly in like it was no big deal and make you freak out even more." Pinkie's giggles dissolved into snorts.
"Well it worked! Kinda!" Berry ran over to Pinkie. "I'm not even wearing clothes!"
"No pony regularly wears clothes in Ponyville!" Pinkie explained cheerfully. "That reminds me! Wanna go to Ponyville? I have a surprise for you!"
"Um, is it another portal?" Berry asked. Now that the initial shock of being a pony had basically worn off, a trip across pony land sounded nice.
"Pinkie Promise it isn't a portal!" Pinkie Pie made an X over her heart, mimicked flying motions, and stuck her hoof over her eye. "Sound good?"
"Sounds good!" Berry confirmed, beaming. "Take me to pony land!"
"Ponyville," Pinkie corrected good naturally. She grabbed Berry by the hoof. "Come on, let's go!"
"Wooooah!" Berry cried gleefully as she was towed away by Pinkie Pie faster than the speed of light. Not literally, though that would've been cool.
"So, I heard from my double's friend Applejack, who is the double of my friend Applejack, that the doubles on the other side of the mirror are having a Fruits and Veggies Drink Contest like the one the pony doubles are having her, so double the fun!" Pinkie exclaimed as she ran down a dirt road.
"Can you clarify that?" Berry shouted in response. "One, the wind's in my ears so I can't hear you very well, and two, I have no idea what you just said."
"Sorry!" Pinkie apologized, slowing the pace so that Berry could hear. "You're having a Fruits and Veggies Drink Contest, right?"
"Yeah!" Berry confirmed, slightly preoccupied with the scenery around her. "What about it?"
"I'm gonna give you some surprise ingredients!" Pinkie exclaimed. "From your own garden!"
"That's good- wait, what?" Berry stared at the back of Pinkie's head in surprise and confusion.
"Yeah! I know the pony version of you so I'm just gonna borrow some grapes and strawberries, like what's on your cutie mark!"
"Cutie mark?" Berry queried.
"The mark on your flank!" Pinkie clarified. "See, look!" Berry looked and indeed, purple grapes and a red strawberry adorned her flanks, just like the symbol on her shirt.
"That's cool!" she exclaimed. "That reminds me, I won a vineyard once. In a contest. I never got it though."
"Yeah! I don't know what happened!" she replied. "The judges never got around to giving me the land."
"Oh, that's funny and sad," Pinkie responded making a sharp turn. "I hope you aren't too upset about that!"
"It was a couple years ago. I'm good now," Berry responded.
"Aaaaaand here we are!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, suddenly halting.
"Woah!" Berry murmured, looking over the expanse of land Pinkie had brought her to. Rows of bushes lined a hill or two. The orchard wasn't as big as Applejack's, but the sight was still beautiful to Berry.
"Oh, and don't worry about your reputation," Pinkie added, already plucking some berries off the nearest bush. "It will go away! And if it doesn't, you've always got friends like Carrot Golden Top Harvest, Sweet Leaf, and me!"
"That's good advice, Pinkie!" Berry admitted, sitting down next to the native pony. "Thanks. I'll try to take that to heart."
"Nooooo problemo!" Pinkie responded cheerfully.
In half an hour, Berry and Pinkie had picked a respectable amount of berries. The cargo was then packed into some saddlebags Pinkie had conveniently stashed in her hair.
"Do you think I'll ever be able to come again, Pinkie?" Berry asked her as they walked back to the castle.
"I dunno!" Pinkie rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "I'll have to ask myself about that."
"Be sure to!" Berry replied as they ascended the steps to the portal. "One more thing: Where's Twilight Sparkle? I've never met her."
"Oh, she can't know about this!" Pinkie told her with wide eyes. "She'd shut down the portal!"
"I won't tell," Berry promised, leaning in for a hug. Pinkie embraced her warmly.
"See ya around, Berry!" she exclaimed as Berry tossed her saddlebags through the portal.
"Ooof!"
"Uh, Carrot? Are you alright?" Berry knelt over her fallen friend.
"I just got assaulted by a bag of berries," Golden Harvest responded. "Where were you?"
Ahem! I said I could narrate my own story, did I not?
I do have to give an introduction, you know, Keaton.
Actually, I’m going to have to hijack this one, Crazy Tennis Girl. You yourself admitted you don’t really like Cheese, so you’re probably going to mess him up.
W-what? Sure, I hate him irrationally, but I can still write him! Just look at my portrayal of Raph-
Sorry, got to take this. Bye-bye!
Keaton-Furman-Prower, you get back here! *is pushed away by Keaton* NUUUUUU-
Let’s go, Cheese!
Sounds cheesy! But can you stop listening to that? It’s not appropriate music for this chapter.
Wha- but it’s Awesome Mix Vol. 1! This is the music Star-Lord danced to his whole life!
You have my voice actor on that phone, don’t you?
Oh. Uh, sure, let’s have some Mandatory Fun.
That’s better! now let’s go!
Cheese approached the statue as Boneless hung onto him. He looked at it with an inquisitive stare as he recalled what he had done the first time. He wondered what would happen if he stepped into it a second time.
“Cheesy!” a familiar voice called out.
“Pinkie!” Cheese said in reply. “What are you doing here?”
“I have a special appointment on the other side today!” explained Pinkie. “And you have one, too!”
Cheese raised an eyebrow in response.
“Me? But how? I don’t remember signing up for anything!”
“It must have been her intuition of events yet to come,” said Boneless. “Or Pinkie Sense, as the case may be.”
“That is indeed the case,” said a new, unknown voice. “Madame Pinkie is quite skilled at organizing more than just parties. She has also devised an ingenious scheme for you to have a jolly good time with your trans-dimensional brother!”
“Who’s that?” asked Cheese.
“Oh, it’s Gummy,” Pinkie answered as she held up a fish bowl with a tiny toothless alligator swimming within. “He’s my party confidant!”
“Awesomesauce! He’s just like Boneless!”
“Yeah! Now can we go through the portal? Time is candy!”
Cheese smiled and nodded, and so he bounced through the portal. He held onto Boneless as they were flushed together down the toilet of wormhole-y-ness.
I'm still not sure why his language was so colorful. Good job.
Thank you, Crazy Tennis Girl. Moving along!
Cheese landed hoof-first on the crystal floor. He inhaled deeply, allowing the smell of adventure to permeate his sinuses.
It was at this point that he noticed a particular character staring right at him.
“Hello! Who are you?”
Cheese gasped. At first, he had thought he was looking into a mirror, but he now realized he was staring at a pony who was identical to him in every way.
“You… you look just like me!” said Cheese.
“No, you look just like me!” said Other Cheese. “Are you the Other-Cheese Pinkie told me about?”
Cheese gasped at Other Cheese’s comment.
“Yeah! You are my mirror-universe twin brother!” he declared happily.
Before either of them could speak again, Pinkie bounced out of the portal.
“Oh, Cheese! I see you’ve met the Other Cheese! We, I mean, this is his home universe, so I guess you’re technically the Other Cheese?”
“No, they’re both just Cheese!” said another voice. The three ponies turned to see a pink earth pony staring at them with a smile on her face.
“Pinkie!” Pinkie yelled as she glomped Other Pinkie. “I got Cheese to come like you told me!”
“That’s awesome!” giggled Other Pinkie. “I knew we had to get those two together, especially after narrator mentioned him!"
Uhh…
“Wait,” said Other Pinkie. “Is that a new narrator?”
Nah, this is just a one-time gig. Unless Crazy Tennis Girl says otherwise, which is doubtful.
“It’s a long story,” explained Cheese.
“Enough chit-chat!” Pinkie declared. “We have a lot of partying to do, and we don’t have all day!”
“Oh-Em-Gee!” yelled Cheese. “I hadn’t realized it! There are two Cheeses, two Pinkies, two Gummys, and two Bonelesseseseseses! Do you realize the party power he hold?!”
“You’re right!” gasped Other Cheese. “If we all work together, we could create the greatest party in all of either of our two universes!”
The four party ponies and their respective party confidants cheered together.
~
The Friendship Castle was packed to bursting with dancing ponies. There were all sorts of lights and sounds all around, and the tables were piled sky-high with cupcakes, ice cream, fruit punch, and every single sweet imaginable, and even more that could not be imagined.
And atop the balcony, Twilight was scowling.
“Pinkie Pie!”
Immediately, Pinkie and Cheese Sandwich appeared in front of her; Pinkie was wearing Cheese’s trademark hat and cloak, while Cheese had Gummy attached to his forehead by the mouth, like some sort of brain-eating alien monster.
“Tally-ho!” said Gummy. “You seem rather displeased, your highness. Does something seem to be inconveniencing you? I can assure you that my fair Pinkie and her good friend can easily resolve any trouble you may be perceiving!”
Unfortunately, Twilight did not understand the language of the party confidants.
“Pinkie! Could you explain why you and Cheese Sandwich are having such a huge and disruptive party in my castle?!”
“Well, duh! Your castle was the only place big enough!” answered Pinkie.
“Also, it made a whole lot of ponies happy!” said Cheese.
Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything, Spike leaped on top of her.
“Come on, Twilight! Boogie out!”
Twilight groaned in frustration as Spike began to dance on top of her.
“Spike, please get off of me so I can get to work getting all these ponies out of-”
“Hey there everypony!”
Twilight turned away from Spike to look down at the front steps of her castle. To her shock, Pinkie and Cheese were sitting at the doorway to her castle.
“Welcome to the Friendship Castle’s first official party!” shouted Pinkie.
“We’re working hard to make this the best party in the history of parties!” yelled Cheese. “So you’d better help us by having as much fun as you possibly can!”
“Everypony! PARTY LIKE CRAZY!!!”
As the ponies below cheered, Twilight’s jaw dropped to the floor.
“Pinkie?! Cheese?! But they were right-”
She turned back towards the spot where Pinkie and Cheese had been standing just a few moments ago. However, they were nowhere to be found.
“I… I… Huh?!”
~
“That was so much fun!”
The party had just finished. Everypony had just home, Spike was asleep, and Twilight was locked in her room trying to explain how Pinkie and Cheese could so easily break the laws of physics, and hopefully prevent the end of all things.
“I have to agree with Cheese,” Other Cheese said. “That was the most incredible party I have ever put together! I don’t think anything will ever be able to top that!”
“Hey, don’t say that,” Other Pinkie said. “The next time we all get together, we can all have an awesome party together!”
“Omigosh yes!” cheered Pinkie. “We’ll make it twenty-percent awesomer!”
“Totally!” said Cheese. “So, what do you say we do this again next week?”
“Same time, same place?” asked Other Cheese.
“You got it!” said Cheese. “Hey! Next time, we should have a taco run!”
“Speaking of tacos,” said Pinkie, “We should ask Sonata to come with us! She’s so much fun!”
“Don’t say Sonata!” Other Pinkie said suddenly. “We have to call her Dusky Sonnet!”
“Who’s Sonata?” asked Other Cheese.
“Oh, she’s a friend,” said Cheese. “She loves tacos, and she’s an IGFUR.”
“Incredible Gymnast for Unknown Reasons?” Other Cheese said in surprise. “Awesome!”
“Yeah!” said Cheese. “But why do we have to call her Dusky Sonnet?”
“Because of reasons!” said Other Pinkie.
The other three stared at her for a moment, before shrugging and looking towards the portal.
“So, I guess this is goodbye?” asked Other Cheese, a hint of sadness in his voice.
“Hey, chin up!” said Cheese. “We’ll see each other again, right?”
“Of course!” said Other Cheese, perking up as he did.
“That’s right!” said Cheese. “We’ll get back together sooner than you can say stinky cheese!”
“Cheese!” yelled Pinkie. “We must go now! Our planet needs us!”
“Oh-Em-Gee! You’re right! I hadn’t thought of all the parties they aren’t having right now!”
Immediately, Pinkie and Cheese lunged into the portal.
“ItwasgreattoseeyouOtherCheese!Seeyoulater!Bye!”
As the two party ponies vanished, Other Cheese felt the sinking feeling come back.
“I miss him already.”
“Relax, Cheesy,” said Other Pinkie. “I’m sure the other narrator will be reasonable enough to allow you to appear again.
Doubtful.
Just wait until Pinkie, Other Pinkie, Cheese Sandwhich, and Other Cheese Sandwich meet up with Bubble Berry, other Bubble Berry, Grilled Cheese, and Other Grilled Cheese. But that's another story...
"C'mon, Big Mac, I've got the best ice cream shop in the whole country!" Sweetcream Scoops begged.
"Nope," Big Mac responded. Sweetcream pursed her lips. She hadn't gotten her reputation as Most Flirtatious Girl in School by standing around and being rejected by the one guy in school that truly deserved her attention. Strong, muscular, and an all around hottie, what was not to like about Big Macintosh?
"You know, I've just come to the sad realization that I have no apple flavored ice cream!" Sweetcream pouted to Big Mac's back. Apple Bloom, the Annoying Younger Sister (AYS), turned around.
"Leave mah brother alone," she told Sweetcream crossly, clutching her backpack tightly. "Sweet Apple Acres ain't gonna suply for yer ice cream parlor." She arched an eyebrow. "If the apple ice cream is what you're after, of course." Sweetcream stopped walking and stiffened. Apple Bloom hadn't just insulted her, had she?
"But just think!" she responded quickly. "It makes so much sense, don't you think? Sweet Apple Acres teaming up with Sweetcream Scoops's Ice Cream Parlor?" Her cat-like grin widened even further as she added, "Don't you think we'd make splendid business partners, Big Mac?"
"Eeynope," Big Mac commented firmly. Sweetcream folded her arms.
"Are you kidding me?"
"Just face it, Sweetcream," the AYS told her smugly. "You're not gonna be part of this family anytime soon."
"Hhmph!" Sweetcream blew several strands of her straight pink and orange mane out of her eyes. One day, Big Macintosh, I will be yours. And your AYS will be cut out of all our family portraits.
For now, she should probably be getting her books together. School had let out a couple minutes ago, and Sweetcream had been too busy with Big Mac to collect her textbooks like the dutiful schoolgirl her mother wanted her to be.
"What do you have for homework, Sweetcream, darling?" Sweetcream asked herself as her locker came into view. She pulled it open and stared at her plaid orange and pink backpack. "Just math? Alright!" She tucked said book into her backpack and slammed the door shut.
"Where you just hitting on Big Mac?" queried a nearby girl with pale green skin. A mass of blue curls in various shades hung down to her waist, and her luminous blue eyes were narrowed in distaste.
"Yeah, what's it to you, Tea Love?" Sweetcream quipped, slamming her locker shut.
"I'll have you know that he is mine!" Tea Love advanced on her. "I have our whole life planned out!"
"No way!" Fleetfoot, a member of the Wonderbolts soccer team, joined in. "Big Mac is mine! Just today he gave me a plushie Pinkie PIe pony!" She held up the item in question. "I dunno where he got it or why he has it, but it's a sure sign that he is hopelessly in love with me!"
By now, several other students had gathered to watch this cat fight, curiously looking on. Some were even joining in!
"I have experience working on a farm!" Golden Harvest protested. "If Big Mac goes out with anyone, it'll be me!"
"I garden!" Sweet Leaf volunteered. "Does that count as farming?"
"No, but i bet Big Mac would appreciate a girl who grows watermelons," Starlight pointed out. "Apples and watermelons are both red!"
"Shut up, jerk!" Sweetcream yelled at her. "Big Mac's mine!"
"Mine!" Fleetfoot growled, a panther ready to pounce.
"MINE!" Tealove shrieked.
"What about me?" Flash Sentry protested. Other boys high fived him. Other girls ignored him.
Suddenly, everyone was in an all-out fight. Books flying everywhere! Boys, confused, simply watching. Torn hair scattering across the floor. Insults tossed back and forth: "He's mine, daughter of a-" "BIG MACINTOSH WOULD NEVER GO OUT WITH A MATERIALISTIC GIRLY GIRL LIKE YOU!" "Shut up, you little idiot!"
While the other girls fought, Sweetcream managed to escape the claws of Fleetfoot with her gorgeous hair intact.
Distracted morons are good and distracted, I've got my books, now to find Big Mac. Sweetcream moved swiftly through the hallways. I just realized how much competition I have! She would have to find her true love sooner than the ungrateful wretches she had left to brawl.
Sweetcream flung her backpack to the side, ridding herself of extra weight.
"I hope I look alright!" She exclaimed anxiously as she ran. Sweetcream patted down her straight hair. "Oh, if that Tea Love mussed my gorgeous hair I swear-"
"Watch it, Sweetcream!" Berry Punch exclaimed, ducking past the fleeing girl.
"Watch yourself, Berry!" Sweetcream exclaimed. "I'm in a crisis!" She stumbled out of the front doors. Very few students were outside. Some freshmen girls, mostly. Not AYS, that's for sure! Definitely not Big Mac.
"No matter. I still have MyStable," Sweetcream murmured. She absent mindedly walked as she pulled out her phone to access the popular app.
Sweetcream wasn't exactly sure what happened next. One moment she was scrolling down her favorites bar, and the next, her phone was gone, her books were knocked from her hands, and she was falling down into a colorful abyss.
"Holyhayhelpme!" Sweetcream shrieked. She flailed her arms violently. Nothing worked. She was stuck falling!
"Thanks for helping me with this plan, Pinkie Pie," Apple Bloom exclaimed, popping out from behind the Canterlot High statue.
"No problemo!" Pinkie chirped, appearing beside the young farmgirl.
"I'm so gonna blame everything on Tea Love from now on!" Sweetcream grumbled, staring at the wall. Immediately, she could tell something was off.
For one, there was a yellow ice cream cone on her head.
Also, she looked like a pony.
Sweetcream was too annoyed to care much about these changes.
"Who the heck tripped me?" she grumbled, getting up. "Like, seriously, I'm finally thinking straight enough to make a good plan, and then somebody drops me into this place."
"Uh, 'scuse me?" Upon hearing somebody speak, Sweetcream looked up. A large red stallion with a familiar orange mane and green eyes was standing there. Sweetcream's nose scrunched, trying to place the face.
"Do I know you?" she asked.
"Nope." As soon as the word came out of his mouth, Sweetcream's blue eyes widened in horror. Big Macintosh is a pony?!
"Do you know where mah sister's friend Twilight Sparkle is?" he continued.
"I'm scarred!" Sweetcream wailed, covering her eyes with her new hooves. "Scarred, I tell you!" She ran shrieking all around the room.
Big Mac just watched.
Somepony probably needs to tell Twilight there's a hysterical mare in an upstairs room, he thought. It ain't gonna be me, though.
"I'll never love again!" Sweetcream wailed dramatically.
"Eeyup." Big Mac walked out of the room.
"Big Mac is secretly a pony!" Sweetcream cried. "I can't go out with a pony! That's Flash Sentry's job!"
"Should we be worried she's not out yet?" Pinkie asked her comrade curiously.
"Nah." Apple Bloom shook her head. "I give her two more hours of screaming, crying, and perfect storms."
"Hey, Blueberry?" Mystery Mint asked after the two girls had shut their lockers. "I'm gonna look for that portal to the pony world. Can you cover for me?"
"Oh, su- wait, what?" Blueberry's backpack nearly slipped out of her grasp. Thankfully, she managed to recover quickly from her double take.
"You're looking for the portal to the pony world?" Blueberry repeated. Mystery smiled.
"The one and only!" she confirmed. Blueberry arched an eyebrow as they walked out of CHS.
"I never would've expected you to be the one wanting to go through," she commented. "I thought Lyra was the one who wanted to meet the friendly equines on the other side. Wait." Blueberry stopped walking to think. "I bet she already has."
"You have any theories about where the portal would be?" Mystery asked her. "I was thinking maybe in a tree or something."
"Maybe the statue?" Blueberry suggested, pointing out the marble statue in front of CHS. Mystery beamed.
"That would make better sense than the bushes!" she answered, quickening her pace to get to the statue.
"Is it the portal?" Blueberry asked when she arrived a couple seconds later. Mystery extended her arm to touch the surface. To both girls' amazement, her hand slipped through!
"It is!" Mystery confirmed in amazement. "It's like your physic, Blueberry!" Blueberry smiled and rolled her eyes.
"I doubt I am. Anyways, you wanted me to cover for you? What does that entail?"
"Just keep teachers away from the portal!" Mystery explained. "Pretend you're a spy or something!" Blueberry nodded and slid her sunglasses down onto her nose.
"Agent Cake is ready for buisness," she said in a fake-serious tone.
"See ya later!" Mystery exclaimed. She waved one last time, then jumped into the portal.
Blueberry stared at the spot where Mystery had just been.
"Hold on, why can't I come too?" she commented.
"Why did I agree to this?" Mystery shrieked as colors enveloped her. Yeah, it was cool, but she was more concerned with potentially dying! Mystery's arms were glued to her sides. She felt claustrophobic and a little nauseous.
"Help meee-" Suddenly Mystery was out of the color vortex and standing on a crystal surface.
"Sheesh!" she gasped out, looking around immediately. "Hello?" Mystery tried to take a step forward. Still disoriented and unused to hooves, she stumbled into the wall.
Jeez, hooves are hard, she thought as she looked down at the new appendages. She was still the same pale blue (Blueberry insisted the correct shade was "cornflower") as she was in her own world. The tips of her magenta streaked hung at the edge of her vision as usual.
I wonder... Mystery looked up. The walls were almost like mirrors, and she could see her full reflection.
"I'm a unicorn!" she gasped in delight. A pale blue horn poked out of her thick mane. "That's so cool! I bet the pony version of me can play the guitar really well!" Mystery added as an afterthought.
Mystery turned around, taking in the rest of her surroundings. There was a bookshelf on one side of the room- probably filled with interesting pony stories- and a mirror several feet away.
I bet that's the portal, Mystery thought. She cautiously stuck a hoof onto the surface. It slipped right through.
"Ow!" Blueberry exclaimed as something poked her in the back. "Wait, is that Mystery's hand?"
I know how to get back, now, Mystery thought. "On to exploring!"
In another moment, Mystery was stumbling over to the staircase on the other side of the room. There wasn't anything to do up here, anyways.
"Hello?" she asked as she walked down the stairs. When nopony responded, Mystery concentrated on not slipping.
Yay! she cheered silently after she successfully planted all four hooves firmly on the next floor. Wonder what's over there? She cocked her head curiously, looking down a hallway on her right. The corridor was made of crystal, like the rest of the place.
Oh, look! Mystery marveled at a crystal vase underneath a window. Flowers of a grey shade sat inside it.
"That's not very colorful," Mystery remarked, gently prodding a flower with a hoof. Suddenly, the grey flowers began to sparkle! Mystery blinked in surprise as one flower turned light blue, another turned magenta, and two more turned cerise.
"These change according to ponies' colors!" Mystery realized. "This is such a cool place!" After lingering with the flowers a moment longer, she continued down the hall.
It's weird I haven't met any ponies yet, she noticed as she took in the details of the corridor. This place is almost like a castle! Who wouldn't live here?
As if on cue, a small purple dragon appeared around the corner. Mystery watched him, fascinated. His back was lined with green scales, and his eyes were a matching emerald green.
"Hey!" The little dragon's sharp voice broke Mystery's spellbound trance.
"Whoops! Sorry for staring," she apologized.
"Well, I don't blame you. I'm the most handsome dragon there is!" the dragon made pumped his arm the way Teddy and Curly Winds did when they showed off their muscles. Mystery giggled.
"I'm Mystery Mint," she introduced herself, walking over. "What's your name?"
"Spike!" the dragon, Spike, answered promptly. "Oh yeah, that reminds me! What are you doing here? Twilight isn't supposed to have any visitors today!"
"You're her dog, aren't you?" Mystery realized.
"No, I'm a dragon-" Spike's eyes widened. "Wait, how do you know about that?" Mystery gulped.
"Well, I'm actually from that world," she explained. "I'm a student at Canterlot High."
"Twilight isn't gonna like that," Spike remarked. "She doesn't want anybody coming through the portal. Beats me why she keeps it open, then." He shrugged.
"Are- are you gonna tell her?" Mystery asked.
"Heck no!" Spike exclaimed. "I wouldn't get any visitors like you!" Mystery giggled.
"Do you get a lot of visitors?"
"You're the first," Spike admitted. "Hey, why don't you come to the kitchen? We can talk there, and I make awesome cakes!"
Blueberry's gonna yell at me when I finally get back, Mystery thought sheepishly as she followed Spike back to the kitchen.
"Lucky you, I just made some cupcakes!" Spike exclaimed. "She's off on errands in town, I thought I'd surprise her when she gets back!"
"But won't she notice if you give me a cupcake?" Mystery queried as they entered the kitchen.
"Nah, don't worry about it!" Spike waved a claw. "She's got plenty! Anyways, pick any!"
"Thanks, Spike!" Mystery exclaimed, looking over the selection. Finally settling on a yellow one with pink and green icing, she realized she couldn't pick it up.
"Uh, Spike?" she asked. "How do I use my horn?" Spike, who had already helped himself to a cupcake, shrugged apologetically.
"Sorry, Mystery. If you notice, I don't have one of the those." Mystery nodded and stared at her cupcake.
I bet I could do it if I tried, she thought, concentrating on the cupcake. Mystery felt a flowing sensation as she wished for the cupcake to get in her magical field.
Unsure how she did it, the cupcake was enveloped in a cerise glow. The confection rose to her mouth, ready to be eaten.
"I got it!" Mystery exclaimed in delight.
"Good job!" Spike clapped. "Now eat and tell me what you think!" Mystery beamed and took a bite.
"Ya!" Mystery replied through a mouthful of cupcake. "Just wadn't 'spectin' banana!"
When the cupcake had been eaten, Mystery wiped some crumbs off her mouth.
"So, what do you do?" Spike asked.
"I'm a guitarist," Mystery replied. "My best friend, Cherry Crash, she and I have a band. We're called the Strike Hearts! I sing and play guitar!"
"Hey, you're like Rainbow Dash!" Spike noted cheerfully. "Before Twilight came to the Battle of the Bands, she was the main singer and guitarist for the Rainbooms!"
"I remember!" Mystery beamed. "So, how about you? What do you do?"
"I'm Twilight's number one assistant!" Spike answered proudly. "I clean, cook, and all sorts of stuff!"
"Thanks. It just comes naturally. Hey, do you know Vinyl Scratch?"
"Vinyl? Yeah," Mystery responded. "She has her headphones on 24/7, so she barely talks!"
"She makes the best music in Ponyville!" Spike exclaimed. "I own her mixtapes, and the covers are autographed!"
"Is Ponyville where you live?"
"Yeah. I guess Canterlot High is in Canterlot?"
"Kinda. It's in the suburbs of Canterlot City," Mystery told Spike, biting into another cupcake. Cupcake.
"Dang it!" Mystery groaned. "Blueberry is probably so steamed right now!"
"Who's Blueberry?" asked Spike, coming around the counter.
"She's a friend at school, and I left her in front of the portal for no good reason except for a half-baked plan to sneak over here!"
"Do you have to go, Mystery?" Spike asked, pretending to be mopey. "This was fun!"
"It was fun!" Mystery agreed. "Next time Twilight has to come save CHS from evil shadow people, stop by the Rockers' table at lunch!" Spike gave her a thumbs up.
"You betcha!" he promised. "Now, go save your friendship!"
"I will!" Mystery struck a heroic pose before galloping back to the portal.
Meanwhile...
"I can't hold them off much longer!" Blueberry shouted to a very beat up Normal Norman. "They're just to strong!"
"Oh no!" Norman cried. He stumbled, and Blueberry caught him.
"Call for backup!" he shouted into a princess walkie talkie.
"Roger that!" Nolan North's voice crackled a response.
"General Blueberry!" Aqua Blossom yelled. "We've run out of pie!"
"Find cake instead!" Blueberry responded. "We must protect the portal at all costs!"
"Die teachers!" Rose Heart shrieked, tossing a cake into Mr. Doodle Donkey's face.
"What the heck?" Mystery asked. She had just arrived in the middle of a Fashionista vs. Teachers war.
"You know what I see when I look up at the sky?" Sassaflash asked her best friend, Sea Swirl, as they sat on the bleachers.
"What?" Sea Swirl answered, looking up.
"Fairies there-" Sassaflash pointed to a group of cirrus clouds. "And cupcakes over there!" She waved her hand at some thick puffy clouds to their right.
"Uh, I don't see fairies, per say..." Sea Swirl trailed off, wrapping her hands tighter around her torso as wind blew in. "Gosh, this track meet is so long!"
"We have to support Dizzy Twister!" Sassaflash countered. "And she doesn't run for another half hour!"
"I don't see why we couldn't have brought along some cheeseburgers while we waited," Sea Swirl grumbled.
"I actually don't know why," Sassaflash admitted. Sea Swirl rolled her eyes.
"Look, there's Caramel." She nudged Sassaflash as one of the track competitors approached the finish line.
"Go, Caramel!" they called, cheering as Caramel crossed the finish line.
"His hair is so cute!" Sassaflash sighed, watching as he high-fived his teammates.
"...I regret pointing him out to you now." Sea Swirl looked around for something to occupy herself.
"Hey, Sea Swirl? Don't you just wish you could fly into the clouds and live there?" Sassaflash stared up with a dreamy expression on her face.
"Actually, it would be funner, I mean, more fun, to be a unicorn," Sea Swirl decided. "No more work! I could use magic for everything!"
"But you'd never be up in the sky." Sassaflash leaned back and closed her eyes, imaging an expanse of white fluff in front of her.
"I shouldn't've worn a crop top," Sea Swirl muttered, hunching down in her seat. "This wind is h-"
"Sassaflash!"
"Aaah!" Sassaflash and Sea Swirl jumped out of their seats when Pinkie Pie popped up between them.
"You scared the c-"
"I've got a deal for you, Sassaflash!" Pinkie Pie interrupted Sea Swirl once more.
"What is it?" Sassaflash queried.
"How would you like to live in the skies for one day as a pegasus?" Pinkie asked excitedly. "I checked with my double in the pony world. You're a pegasus, and this is totally possible!"
"Woah, really?" Sassaflash's carrot orange eyes lit up in excitement.
"Well, not a day, but I've enlisted the help of my good friend Pinkie Pie's counterpart Rainbow Dash to help you!"
"OHMIGOSH!" Sassaflash fangirled in a squeaky voice.
"I'm not following," Sea Swirl remarked. "You're friends with yourself, Pinkie?" Pinkie nodded vigorously, her pink curls bobbing along.
"I'm totally accepting!" Sassaflash told Pinkie. "When do we go?!"
"Just follow me!" In the next moments, Pinkie was skipping away, leaving Sassaflash to scramble after her.
"Hey!" Sea Swirl got up, half attempting to follow. "What about Dizzy?"
"This is way more important!" Sassaflash called as she hopped over a bench. Sea Swirl sat back down, bewildered.
"She's as unpredictable as the wind," she commented. "I swear, the cloud watching has gotten into her head. Now, about that cheeseburger..."
"So I just go through there?" Sassaflash asked, prodding at the portal. Each time, her finger slid straight through.
"Well, hold on a minute." The tip of Pinkie's tongue extended out of her mouth as she scribbled furiously in a book. "You can go through right about... in thirty seconds!"
"Thanks, Pinkie," Sassaflash responded. "This is gonna be awesome!"
"No problemo!" Pinkie chirped, tucking the pen back into her hair. "You can go now!"
Sassaflash nodded and took a breath. Without a second thought, she jumped in.
~
"Pinkie, seriously, who are we waiting for?" A familiar voice was the first thing Sassaflash heard when she was on the other side of the portal.
"I told you, Sassa-Oh my gosh she's here!" Sassaflash opened her eyes just as Pinkie Pie finished talking and bowled into her.
"Pinkie!" Sassaflash gasped.
"Sassaflash?" The pony version of Rainbow Dash scratched her head, confused. "Pinkie only told me I needed to help someone. I never guessed it would be you."
"Sassaflash here has always dreamed of flying with the clouds!" Pinkie chirped, extending a hoof. Sassaflash grabbed hold and pulled herself up.
"I don't get it." Rainbow was clearly confused as a traveler caught in a thick fog. "You've been able to fly your whole life, Sassaflash!"
"This is really cool!" Sassaflash ignored Rainbow's comment and flexed her new wings. "I can't wait to feel the wind through my hair! I mean mane!"
"Wait, are you from the world with hands?" Rainbow realized. Pinkie and Sassaflash nodded.
"Right. Your secret's safe with me, as long as this doesn't become a regular thing."
~One Half-hearted Flying Lesson Later
Rainbow groaned. "Pinkie, why can't you take her up in a balloon? Newbies just can't fly as high as Sassaflash wants to go on their own- unless, of course, they're as awesome as me. But still!"
"Couldn't you just carry me?" Sassaflash asked. Rainbow's lesson in flight had helped somewhat, and she was hovering several inches above the floor currently.
"Yeah, Dashie!" Pinkie added. "Carry her!" Rainbow groaned again and ran a hoof through her mane.
"Do I have to?" she whined.
Time to call in backup, Sassaflash decided. She widened her orange eyes and pursed her lips in a small pout.
"What?" Rainbow's eye twitched as Sassaflash's ear flipped up and down.
"Pwease?" she asked in an adorable squeaky voice. Pinkie joined in, and both ponies dropped to their knees.
"Argh!" Rainbow backed away. "Must resist Diapinkies and Sassabetes!"
"Pwease?" "Pweety pwease?" "Wit spwinkles on top?" Sassaflash and Pinkie only continued to increase their adorable levels.
"Ready?" Rainbow Dash asked, grabbing Sassaflash right under her forehooves.
"Ready!" Sassaflash replied, giving Rainbow Dash a salute. Rainbow pulled Sassaflash up, into the blue into the blue skies.
"Have a nice trip!" Pinkie waved from below. "See ya next fall!"
"Higher! Higher!" Sassaflash chanted.
"I'm flying, I'm flying!" Rainbow Dash protested. As they passed a cloud, Sassaflash took a kick at it.
"Woah!" she exclaimed when the cloud dissolved.
"You're like an overgrown foal!" Rainbow groaned. "I'm never gonna have foals! Anyways, let's just get you to this clo- Would you stop kicking? It doesn't help, at all!" Sassaflash, who had been kicking left and right, stopped and looked sheepishly at Rainbow Dash.
"Sorry, Dash," she apologized. "Why do we need to get to a cloud?"
"So I can stop carrying you and you can stand on it," Rainbow answered. "Almost there!" With one final push, Rainbow flew up to the cloud and dropped Sassaflash onto the fluffy mass.
"Oh my gosh!" Sassaflash gasped, immediately digging her hooves into the cloud. "It's so soft!"
"This is what I work with everyday." Rainbow leisurely fell back into the cloud. "Sometimes I need to fight to stay awake."
"This is so amazing!" Sassaflash sighed, gazing down at the ground. Pinkie was a pink blob in a sea of green grass. The crystal-ly palace place was several yards below them. "Thanks for taking me up here, Rainbow Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-" Sassaflash was suddenly thrust forward into the sky. Rainbow Dash's cackle echoed in her ears
"HELP MEEE!" Sassaflash screamed as she plummeted towards the ground.
"Use your wings!" Rainbow Dash yelled. Sassaflash shut her eyes and-
Suddenly, the falling sensation stopped, and Sassaflash opened her eyes. Her wings were spread wide. She was gliding!
"Go, Sassaflash!" Pinkie cheered. Now that Sassaflash was closer to the ground, Pinkie was no longer a pink blot.
Rainbow swooped down to join her.
"My unusual teaching strategy worked!" she laughed. "Pushing you off the cloud was hilarious!" Sassaflash beamed.
"I didn't get killed, so I'm not mad at you!"
"Good!" Rainbow nodded.
"In fact!" Sassaflash continued, "I've decided to stay here in your pony world!"
Lemon Zest zipped up her pale green hoodie. Her long yellow and teal-streaked hair was tied back in a long braid that reached to her waist. She wore knee length shorts of a turquoise color, as well as striped pink and blue socks.
The only thing left to do was put on her blades.
Lemon Zest tied up her green rollerblades like she did whenever she would go out. All ready. Lemon Zest opened the door and stepped into the cool night air. She breathed in its fresh scent.
I love nighttime, Lemon Zest thought as she skated down the sidewalk. Especially spring nights like these. Spring was Lemon Zest's favorite season. After being cooped up all winter, she could finally go outside and rollerblade!
Rollerblading was Lemon Zest's passion, besides being her gig during the Friendship Games. When she was zooming down the road, Lemon Zest could forget all her troubles. She felt free.
Lemon Zest turned a curve and zipped across the street. Lemon Zest smiled as she thought about how Sugarcoat might've reprimanded her.
"'Lemon, don't rush into crossing the street. It's dangerous!'" She mimicked her friend's concern perfectly. Right now, Lemon Zest wasn't too concerned with the rules.
"What a shame," Lemon Zest murmered as she bladed through a particularly forested neighborhood, "that nobody's out on such a nice night!"
Lemon Zest was on a mission. Not only did she want to escape the dull routine of her family, at least for the night, but she wanted to find the portal Sour Sweet had informed her about.
Lemon Zest quickly ducked under some low-hanging branches.
"What did Sour Sweet say?" she muttered, trying to recall. "She was pushed by Pinkie Pie back into the statue? Seems legit." Lemon Zest smiled before she realized something.
"Oh, shoot!" she cursed. "I forgot to put my lipstick on!" Lipstick was a priority. She was no diva, but Lemon Zest wanted to look her best if she was ever invited to a flash mob.
"I wonder if there'll be a flash mob at the portal," Lemon Zest mused. "Eh, probably not. Sour Sweet didn't tell anyone else, did she?"
Lemon Zest considered a blessing and a curse that she lived relatively near CHS. On one hand, she didn't have many excuses for being late. On the other hand, the distance allowed for late night escapades like this one.
"Here we are!" Lemon Zest zoomed right across the street and onto CHS's grounds.
I wonder if this could count as loitering. Or breaking the law. Or will get me in trouble, Lemon Zest mused as she bladed up to the statue.
The statue, the one of the stallion, was intimidating in the dark. Exaggerated shadows were cast onto the walls of the school. As Lemon Zest skated around into the shadows, she felt like she was walking on the dark side of the moon.
Lemon Zest unlaced her blades. She dipped two fingers into the statue. The marble surface rippled at her touch.
"Woah," Lemon Zest breathed. She was completely taken by the notion of dimensional travel.
"No regrets," she muttered, right before she jumped into the portal.
~
Lemon Zest blinked her eyes open. Everything was silent. Even the faint sound of cars screeching in the distance was gone. Moonlight fell on her
"Crystal," she muttered, gazing at the familiar material beneath her. Lemon Zest ran a hoof over the flo- She ran a hoof.
Lemon Zest's orange eyes widened as she stared at the hoof in the bright moonlight. Of course, she had been prepared to become a pony, but she was a pony. A pony.
The moonshine provided just enough light for Lemon Zest to observe her reflection. Her braid was still in. Now sitting, Lemon Zest's braid sprawled out on the floor next to her. Nestled in her lemon mane was a pink horn.
"I'm a unicorn!" Lemon Zest gasped in delight.
"Okay, so I'm a unicorn, what now?" Lemon Zest asked herself quietly. She carefully stood up on her hooves. The moon was still overhead; what could she do while it was still night?
Lemon Zest's new, sensitive pony ears suddenly pricked. The sound was faint, put she could distinctly a song playing downstairs. A catchy song, at that. What the heck is that?
As if in a trance, Lemon Zest cautiously walked down a flight of stairs. With each (wobbly) step she took, the sound became stronger. She could even make out lyrics!
"When you walk into the roooom," sang out a girly voice. Lemon Zest wrinkled her nose.
"Sounds like one of those old 80s songs they play on the radio," she remarked. Still, it was catchy. Who was playing music at this hour?
Lemon Zest turned another corner to find a doorway lit up with light. Her eyes widened. This was where the music was coming from! Lemon Zest turned the corner.
Her mouth immediately dropped to the floor.
"In this world we're just beginning..." Twilight Sparkle, the studios girl who had just joined Sour Sweet in the archery division, was dancing along to a song in the middle of the night! Twilight FREAKIN' SPARKLE!
"Twilight?" The name popped out of Lemon Zest's mouth before she could stop it. She backed away into the shadows.
Twilight immediately froze.
"Spike?" she asked tentatively.
That's Twilight's dog, Lemon Zest remembered. Is he still a dog here?
Back to the matter at hand, er, hoof. Lemon Zest cautiously backed up. Maybe Twilight would go back to her dancing?
Twilight popped her head out the doorway.
"Eek!" Lemon Zest squeaked, stumbling away.
"Come back here!" Twilight shouted. "You're not stealing my record player like Sunset Shimmer did!"
Lemon Zest paid no attention. She was too busy running for her life!
The music was still playing as she stumbled up the steps that led to the room she had arrived in.
"Hello!?" Twilight shrieked. "Where are you?!"
"Twilight?" a masculne voice asked.
"SPIKE! There's an intruder in our house! We must install a security alarm!"
"Calm down, Twi-"
Lemon Zest didn't stop to hear the rest of the conversation. She dove straight into the portal.
"Lemon Zest? W-what are you doing here?" Lemon Zest looked up to see a familiar classmate with a clipboard and pen in her hands.
"Twilight?" Lemon Zest jumped to her feet. "What are you doing here?"
"Studying this portal- I mean statue!. Erm, where did you come from?"
"Vandalizing the school in a fit of teen angst," Lemon Zest replied, trying to sound casual. "See ya around, Twilight."
"Don't let anybody steal your record player!" she called over her shoulder.
Blueberry Pie giggled as a bubble popped over her nose. Raspberry Fluff and Derpy joined in the merriment.
"Do another, Derpy!" Raspberry encouraged.
"Alrighty!" Derpy beamed and dipped her bubble wand back into the solution. She brought it out and blew again. Several soapy bubbles emerged and drifted aimlessly. Blue (her friends called her Blue so she wouldn't be confused with Blueberry Cake) and Raspberry clapped.
"This is so fun!" Raspberry sighed, leaning on her back in the lush green grass. "Three bandmates just hanging out before school starts!"
"I totally agree!" Blue agreed. "More people should do this!"
"More people should smile," Derpy added.
"Lots of people smile!" Raspberry protested.
"Yeah, but not constantly," Derpy pointed out. "Kids look so miserable during Mr. Donkey's lectures."
"Because they're bored," Blue countered.
"My point is, everyone should smile more often," Derpy summed up.
"Well, there's nothing wrong with smiling," Blue decided. Unconsciously, she reached up and patted her afro.
"Stop touching your hair!" Raspberry cried.
"What? Why?!" Blue replied, confused. Raspberry shrugged, her pale blue eyes sparkling sheepishly.
"I dunno," she answered sheepishly. "You do it all the time, and it's weird." Blue chucked a leaf at Raspberry's head.
"May the force be with you!" Derpy proclaimed. The group giggled. At that moment, Rose Heart and her posse of eager Freshmen walked by, eyeing the trio in distaste. Blue and Raspberry flinched under her gaze. Derpy remained oblivious, however. She waved to the passing students.
"Hi, Rose Heart!" she called.
"Ugh!" Rose Heart rolled her eyes. "Don't act like foa-er, babies, kids," she told the Freshmen, loud enough for Raspberry, Derpy, and Blue to hear.
"Jeez," Raspberry muttered.
"She just insulted us, didn't she?" Derpy asked, blowing another bubble.
"Aw, who cares about Rose Heart?" Blue asked, fiddling with her hair again. "We can do whatever we want, without her consent!" Raspberry and Derpy smiled.
"You really know just what to say, Blue!" Derpy complimented her friend. Blue nodded.
"Thanks, Derpy."
"Anyways," Derpy continued. "Let's head inside now. School's gonna start soon." She grabbed her pale blue backpack and stood up. Raspberry took her yellow backpack, and Blue took her purple backpack, then stood up as well. The three girls walked leisurely to the front of Canterlot High.
Blue suddenly stumbled over a loose pavement stone!
"Gah!" she cried as she fell forward.
"Blue!" Raspberry and Derpy cried as she tumbled into the statue- then disappeared.
"Should we go after her?" Raspberry asked Derpy. Derpy picked up Blue's packback, which had somehow slipped off her shoulders.
Derpy smiled. "Let's let her have her adventure."
"Stars and bananas!" Blue yelled when she tumbled out of the portal.
"What just happened?" she asked herself, getting up immediately. Blue stumbled as soon as she did. Her balance was off, but why?
Blue's question was answered when she looked up, into a shiny reflective surface. Her mulberry eyes widened in shock.
"I'm a pony!" she yelled.
"And I have wings!" she observed. "That's cool!" She flexed the feathery limbs twice. Blue beamed in delight. This would be an adventure!
"Where to?" she murmured, scanning the room.
"Read a book? Nah.
"Walk down the stairs and see what lies ahead? Psh, as if.
"Jump out of the window and attempt to fly even though that could cause major health problems? Let's do it!" Her band, the Muffins, was all about encouraging the wild and wacky. What was wilder and wackier than flying?
Blue spread her wings- and promptly yelled, "Stars and bananas!"
There were two problems: 1) She hadn't been able to balance so far, and 2) Blue couldn't fly.
"Isn't there a movie about some bird named Blue that couldn't fly?" Blue wondered as she looked up at the window. The bright blue sky seemed to call her name. What was there to lose? Blue flexed her wings.
"Just my sanity," she decided. Crouching down, Blue fixated her eyes on the window's ledge. If she could just make it there, she'd be good.
"One, two," Blue counted under her breath, "three!" She pounced like a cat, flapping her wings in a desperate attempt to make the leap. Blue's hooves made contact with the wall. She struggled to get up. Wings beat furiously.
One hoof managed to find its way onto the ledge. Smiling in determination, Blue gave herself one last push. That was enough to get both hooves on the ledge. Her wings stopped flapping for a moment as Blue heaved herself up onto the windowsill.
"Phew!" Blue wiped her brow. "That was exercise, wasn't it? I wonder if that took off a few pounds in the human world." The statement was followed by a thought. I wonder what Raspberry and Derpy are doing right now.
"Aw, relax!" Derpy grinned. "Blue's just having a great adventure! Let's go inside, she'll catch up."
"Blue's totally gonna kill us!" Raspberry giggled as the duo walked back into Canterlot High. "Hey, have you even considered watching anime? It's really good..."
Blueberry stared out the window, simply observing the view. Forest stretched for miles, as far as she could see! The trees met with the brilliant blue sky in the distance, next to a lavender mountain range.
"Is that-" Blue squinted. "-a castle?" Blue's mouth split into a smile at the sight of the beautiful building wrapping around the mountains.
"I should totally fly there!" she decided. "But, that's not gonna happen, is it? I won't be strong or experienced enough." She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Maybe I could fly down and walk! Yeah, that would totally work! Wild and wacky trip, here I come!" Blue jumped out of the window.
"Wheeeeeee!" she cried. The wind rushed through her mane as she fell. Blue's wings were extended to their full span. A wind gust caught in her feathers. The fall stopped, and Blue began gliding.
"That was amazing!" Blue exclaimed as she touched down. Her wings instinctively closed when they were not needed. Blue smirked as she looked to the skyline.
"Beautiful mountain city, here I come!" she cried. Blue began to trot.
Derpy stared at the classroom clock. 2:58. Maybe letting Blue off on her own adventure in a world full of ponies wasn't such a good idea. She hadn't returned yet!
"Raspberry?" she leaned across the aisle to whisper to her friend. "I think we made a mistake." Raspberry twisted a strand of pink hair.
"We should ask Sun-"
"I have an idea!" Derpy interrupted, beaming. "Let's go through the portal ourselves! To find her!" Raspberry raised an eyebrow.
"Derpy, no offense, but that doesn't seem the most prudent-"
"I want to see myself as a pony!" Derpy explained. "Don't you, Raspberry?"
"Yeah, but that wouldn't help if-"
"Then let's go!" Derpy ran out the door.
"Derpy!" Raspberry hurried after her.
"Miss Hooves, Miss Fluff! School hasn't let out yet!" Ms. Harshwhinny yelled after them.
"Sorry, Ms. Harshwhinny!" Derpy called back.
"Derpy, we're going to get in so much trouble!" Raspberry exclaimed.
"Blueberry needs our help!" Derpy yelled, pumping her fist in the air like she was preparing for battle. "We must defend her!" She heard Raspberry sigh as her friend caught up.
"I'll play along!" Raspberry cried, waving her hands in the air. "Crusaders for Blue!"
"Woo hoo!" Derpy cried. They raced out the doors of the school.
The statue stood glinting in the afternoon sunlight.
"It's inviting us," Derpy commented. Raspberry nodded in agreement.
"On the count of three, we run through, okay?" Derpy grabbed Raspberry's hand.
"Okay, Derps!" Raspberry agreed. "One!"
"Two!" Derpy responded.
"Three!" they cried in unison. Derpy and Raspberry ran forward and disappeared into the portal.
This story is brought to you by chicken wings:
and by contributions from viewers like you. Thank you!
Derpy was up on her new hooves in an instant.
"We're ponies!" she squealed, prancing around. "Ponies!"
Raspberry, however, wasn't as quick to get up.
"Okay, Derpy, never again," she said, raising her head slowly.
"We're pegasuses!" Derpy exclaimed in delight, observing her wings. "You and me both!"
Raspberry looked at herself in the reflection.
"Nice. But, uh, Derpy, we have a mission. Find Blue!" Raspberry reminded her.
"Oh. Right." Derpy blushed. "Here, need a hand- uh, hoof?" She extended her right hoof to Raspberry. Raspberry accepted the offer, and Derpy pulled her up.
"So, what do we do know?" Raspberry asked.
"I guess we get out of here and start asking ponies if they've seen Blue!" Derpy decided. "Alright, this way!" She skipped across the room to the top of the stairs-
"Uh, Derpy? I don't know how you started walking so quickly, but I sure as muffins can't move like this!" Raspberry called. Derpy paused and turned around.
"Just put on hoof in front of the other!" she suggested. Raspberry nodded.
"Alright, Derpy," she agreed, albeit uncertainly.
"How could I doubt myself?" Raspberry asked as they walked outside. "This is so easy!"
"Well, we can't fly yet," Derpy pointed out, "but this is still totally awesome!"
"Where do we start looking for Blue?" Raspberry responded, flexing her wings.
Derpy frowned.
"I don't know!" she admitted. "Maybe we should find the Pinkie Pie pony that lives here? She could probably help."
Raspberry bit her lip. "But it could take even longer to find her than to find Blue!" she pointed out. "We need to do something quick, Derpy!"
"I know, I know!" Derpy replied. "I'm not good at this stuff."
"And we're just standing around, talking!" Raspberry continued, her voice rising.
"I think I'm starting to panic!" Derpy sat down, her eyes beginning to fill with tears.
"This was a bad idea!" Raspberry cried.
"I know!" Derpy yelled. She started to cry openly. Raspberry started crying, too.
"We're doomed!" Raspberry yelled. "We're never going to see our best friend again!"
Raspberry curled up next to Derpy and began crying even harder.
"What are we doing?!" Derpy sniffled, trying to wipe her eyes.
"Excuse me? Do you two mares need help?"
Derpy blinked through her tears. An orange pegasus stallion had appeared on the path. With his spiky blue mane and deep blue eyes, he looked familuar to Derpy.
"W-who are you?" she asked, sniffling.
"Oh, uh, my name's Flash Sentry," he told them. Raspberry jolted right up.
"Flash Sentry?" she gasped, nudging Derpy.
That's why he looked familiar! Derpy realized. He's the pony counterpart of Flash at school!
"Do I know either of you?" Flash asked. "I don't think I do, since I work in the Crystal Empire, but I'm bad with faces."
"I don't think you know us," Raspberry responded, standing up. Derpy stood up, as well.
"I'm Derpy Hooves, and this is Raspberry Fluff," she introduced herself and Raspberry. "We lost our friend Blue-"
"That's short for Blueberry Pie!" Raspberry interjected, her eyes trained right on Flash.
"Yeah! Blueberry Pie!" Derpy agreed. "We lost her this morning."
"Have you talked to Twilight Sparkle?" Flash asked. "She's a friend of mine. I'm on vacation to visit her, actually. I bet she could help you!"
"Maybe, Flash," Derpy agreed. "We thought maybe if we could find Pinkie Pie, she could help us find Blue."
"Pinkie Pie?" Flash rubbed his chin. "I think the name rings a bell. Twilight may have mentioned her. I could help you look for her! What does she look like?"
"Like me!" Raspberry exclaimed. "She's pink, and has pink hair and blue eyes!"
"We don't know if she's a pegasus, though," Derpy added. Suddenly, she remembered something. "Balloons! She might have balloons on her flank!"
"Hmm..." Flash pondered the information.
"Where'd you get balloons from?" Raspberry whispered.
"I have bubbles on my flank, the symbol I use on my clothing," Derpy responded quietly. "I figured if it was the same for everypony else, Pinkie would have balloons!" Raspberry's eyes lit up.
"Good thinking, Derpy!"
"Good news!" Flash announced. "I think i might know the mare you're talking about. She gave me a giant hoofshake this morning, then put an possum on my bags. That scared me half to death!" Flash chuckled. "But I can take you back to Ponyville, if you'd like."
Raspberry and Derpy exchanged glances.
"We'd like that very much, thanks!" Derpy responded. Flash nodded.
"Isn't Flash such a gentleman?" Raspberry whispered to Derpy as the walked. Flash had just pulled a low-hanging branch out of the way for them.
The girls-turned-ponies looked behind them, just as the branch whipped back to slap Flash in the face. Both cringed.
"He's just as clumsy as us," Derpy responded, smiling.
"Yeah, but still! It's really nice he offered to help us," Raspberry commented with a smile.
The trio was almost at Ponyville by now. Up ahead, Raspberry saw a multitude of thatched roof cottages.
"Ponyville is... quaint," she observed, grinning. "Derpy, you wanna take a vacation here sometime?"
"Yeah, once we find Blue!" Derpy added.
"So, girls," Flash butted in, "um, do you live in Ponyville?"
"Yes!" Derpy exclaimed, right as Raspberry shouted, "Nope!"
They looked at each other.
"No?" Derpy tried again.
"Yup!" Raspberry smiled at the same time.
"Um, I don't mean to pry, but which is it?" Flash asked.
"Hey!" Derpy pointed. "We're here! Thanks for walking us, Flash!" She smiled widely.
"Uh, you're welcome," Flash responded, looking semi-confused. "If you need me, I'll be at Twilight's house."
"Okay! Bye!" Raspberry waved as Flash returned back the way he came.
"So," Raspberry began, "we need to find Pinkie now?"
"Yeah, I guess." Derpy and Raspberry stared at the many ponies bustling around.
"Good afternoon, Derpy!" A pony reminiscent of Golden Harvest waved as she walked by.
"Derpy, your moves were super amazing at the party last night!" called a stallion colored similarly to Caramel, who was walking with a pegasus that looked like Sassaflash.
"Whoa, you're popular," whispered Raspberry. "At least, your pony version is."
"If there is a pony me, it might be harder to find Pinkie!" Derpy responded, chewing her lip. "i need to hide."
"Hide in a bush!" Raspberry decided, noticing a blackberry bush a few yards away. "I'll find Pinkie, she can help us, and then I'll come back for you!"
"Blackberries?" Derpy dove into the bush. "Carry on with your plan, Raspberry!" She tossed a blackberry into her mouth, then added, "You can take as long as you'd like!"
"Save some for me!" Raspberry called back as she walked away. Now, to find the one crazy girl- er, pony, that might be able to help us.
"Pinkie Pie?" she asked, passing groups of ponies. Laughing ponies, talking ponies, flying ponies. "Pinkie Pie? Where's Pinkie Pie?
"Wait, what if she doesn't live in Ponyville?!" Raspberry realized.
"Excuse me!" She stopped a passing blue mare with two small foals. "Do you know somepony named Pinkie Pie?"
"Sure do!" responded the mare responded kindly. "She's working her shift at Sugarcube Corner right now!" The mare pointed a hoof to a gingerbread house. At least, that's how it appeared to Raspberry.
"Okay, thank you!"
"Anytime, dearie!" the mare waved as she walked on.
Raspberry walked right into Sugarcube Corner.
"This isn't all that different from the Sugarcube Corner at home!" Raspberry murmured under her breath.
"Come and get your fruit cakes!"
Raspberry's ears perked when she heard a high pitched voice talking to customers. A pink mare stood behind the counter. She had bright blue eyes and a curly fuchsia mane, one that was not unfamiliar to Raspberry.
"Pinkie Pie!" she yelled in relief.
Pinkie Pie immediately turned to look in Raspberry's direction.
"Well howdy-doo, Raspberry Fluff!" she exclaimed, waving her over. "What can I do for ya?"
"I'm from an alternate universe, and my friend is missing," Raspberry deadpanned.
Pinkie Pie's mouth dropped open.
"I knew my tingly Pinkie Sense this morning meant somepony had come through the portal!" she exclaimed. "I just couldn't find them!" In an instant, Pinkie had dragged Raspberry out of Sugarcube Corner by the hoof.
"Tell me everything!" she demanded, eyes bulging slightly.
So Raspberry recounted the events that had led Derpy and her to enter the portal in search of Blue.
"This is a problemo of maximum proportions!" Pinkie exclaimed when she had concluded. "Jeez, I need some time to think 'bout this!"
Pinkie bounced around. She ate a chocolate bunny. She solved a couple crossword puzzles.
"I'll go get Derpy while you're thinking," Raspberry whispered, trotting away.
Derpy was right where Raspberry left her, nomming on blackberries.
"Derpy!" Raspberry waved. "Pinkie's here to help us!"
Derpy popped her head out of the bush. With her cheeks stuffed up with blackberries, she looked like a chipmunk!
"Yay!" Derpy swallowed (How? Raspberry wondered) and jumped out to join Pinkie and Raspberry.
"I got it!" Pinkie clapped her hooves. "Flash Sentry's in town! I bet we can organize a Royal Guard Search Party!" She beamed as she continued, "Our plan is foolproof! As long as Twilight doesn't find out!"
"Why would this Twilight person finding out be a bad thing?" Raspberry asked.
"That is an explanation that has been evaluated in multiple chapters," Pinkie replied promptly, "and cannot be touched upon in this one. To the castle!"
"Hey, Twilight, we need to borrow Flash Sentry for a moment! Actually, it might be like half an hour! But whatever, see ya!" Pinkie Pie grabbed Flash and was out of Twilight's house faster than a banana peel.
"Where did that metaphor simile thing come from?" Raspberry wondered as she and Derpy followed Pinkie down the road.
"Okay, Flash!" Pinkie cried, setting the young stallion down on the ground. "We need your Royal Guard skills to come into play! Where can we find Blueberry Pie? She's been missing for a couple hours, coulda gone anywhere by now! Wait, hold on!"
"This search party has gone down the drain," Derpy remarked as Pinkie zoomed away.
"You're telling me!" Raspberry laughed.
"I'm sorry, what's happening? You guys need my help again?" Flash asked, scratching his mane in confusion.
"Yeah, Pinkie Pie was hoping you could help us," Derpy explained.
"I bet you can, right?" Raspberry asked, positioning herself right next to Flash. "You've been really helpful so far!"
"Okay, I have an update!" Pinkie Pie suddenly zoomed back, positioning herself right between Flash and Raspberry. Raspberry duck-faced.
"She isn't in Ponyville, I just checked!" Pinkie exclaimed. "So, we have two options! We can do a normal, run-of-the mill, search party with Flash Sentry here, or we can call in our troops from across dimensions!"
"What troops are we talking, exactly?" Raspberry, Derpy, and Flash asked in unison.
"I'm talking Power Ponies! Genderswaps! Mythical beings! C'mon, ponies, put on your thinking caps!" Pinkie bounced around them.
"Maybe that isn't necessary?" Flash suggested weakly. "She couldn't have gotten far, could she have?"
"Blue probably can't fly even if she is a pegasus," Derpy pointed out. "We still can't." One of her eyes twitched. "I think I'm gonna start to panic again!"
"Derpy, calm down!" Raspberry told her, placing a hoof on Derpy's back. "We can do this. We need to think. Flash, what can you do?"
Flash bit his lip as he responded, "If she isn't in Ponyville, she's probably traveled somewhere else. I can send a scroll to other guards in other cities- Canterlot, Appleloosa, and Dodge Junction, though the last two are far stretches."
"Good idea!" Pinkie chirped. "Do you need a picture? I have some resources! And Spike! Twilight's dragon assistant can send letters with his breath! To Princess Celestia, but he's our only option!" Everypony exchanged glances.
"Sounds good," Raspberry agreed. "So can you write those letters, Flash?"
"Can do!" Flash accepted some paper from Pinkie Pie and began to write a letter to his guard friends.
"What do we do?" Raspberry asked Derpy.
"Wait? Want a blackberry?" She passed Raspberry a blackberry, and they chewed as Pinkie and Flash did stuff.
"The Canterlot Royal Guard responded! They found a pegasus matching Blue's description in Canterlot!" Pinkie beamed. "Flash has gone to get her! She'll be back any minute!"
"Wow, can pegasi fly that fast?" Derpy asked in amazement.
"Nope, I just lent him one of Twilight's incantations for teleportation!" Pinkie responded cheerfully.
As she finished speaking, Raspberry noticed a bright blue flash next to them.
"They're back!" she cried as the flash dissolved to reveal Flash and Blue!
"Derpy! Raspberry!" Blue cried, rushing towards her friends.
"Blue!" Raspberry and Derpy yelled, running up as well.
"We were so worried!" Derpy exclaimed, jumping into a giant hug.
"Sorry guys!" Blue apologized as the Muffins embraced. "I visited Canterlot, it was super epic!"
"Thanks, Flash, for bringing Blue back!" Raspberry told Flash.
"Anytime, Raspberry. I'm glad to be of service," Flash replied, smiling.
"Hey, you guys are pegasususes too!" Blue realized. "What are the odds?"
"I don't know!" Derpy laughed.
"Okay, guys, final game plan!" Pinkie interrupted. "Flash will keep Twilight occupied while I help Derpy, Raspberry, and Blue return to the portal! Then you guys can swap stories and all that awesome strawberry sauce!" Pinkie giggled. "Sound good?"
"How am I occupying her, exactly?" Flash queried.
"C'mon, girls!" Blue laughed. "Let's go home!"
"I can't wait to hear about your travels!" Raspberry remarked as the party began to return to the castle.
Looks like this story has a happy ending, she thought.
"I can fix this," Starlight Glimmer muttered to herself. Her hooves pounded on the rocky terrain as she raced through the dank, dark caves. Her horn glowed green to illuminate her way, but even then, Starlight couldn't see more than a few feet in front of her.
"I just need a bigger source of magic," she murmured as she ran. "Something to make them all pay!"
Starlight slowed her pace a bit.
"I think I'm safe now," she decided, looking back. Nopony was in sight. This wasn't comforting in the dark, but she must have gone far enough, right?
"Now, my favorite activity," she murmured, "plotting revenge in a dark cave."
Starlight was at a full stop now. She turned her head this way and that, looking for something useful. As hopeful as it was, an abandoned lantern would be a great help right now.
"I'm sure I can find a way," Starlight muttered as she began walking again, "to return to my village and reclaaaaaaaaim-"
Starlight tripped. She lost concentration and her horn sputtered out. Starlight pitched forward.
Suddenly the darkness was gone. She was in a spiraling vortex of color!
"Buuuuuuuuuck!" she cried.
Starlight was lying flat on her back. Her eyes were closed. To a bystander, she looked like she was sleeping.
"Hello?"
Starlight's eyes snapped open when she felt a tap on her shoulder.
"Don't touch me!" she snapped, instantly leaping to her hooves.
"Wait, these aren't hooves!" she realized, looking down. She wasn't a pony anymore. She was a bipedal creature with stringy limbs wearing a black and purple outfit. Starlight looked up at the girl that had tapped her. This one was bipedal as well, with green skin and long lavender hair.
"Where am I?" Starlight asked, looking around. "The vortex I fell into... landed me here?"
"This is Canterlot High School," the girl explained, twirling her star shaped necklace as she spoke. "By any chance, you're not from a pony world, are you? There are several students here that used to be ponies, and you don't look familiar."
"I, um, yes, I am!" Starlight beamed at the girl. "I am Starlight Glimmer, and I hold a lot of power where I come from!" Maybe I can take control of this world, instead, I just need to say the right thing."
"You're named Starlight?" The girl's magenta eyes widened. "My name is Starlight!"
"Well, isn't that a coincidence!" Starlight exclaimed. "Call me Glim, if it helps with the confusion."
"Alright, Glim!" Starlight the bipedal responded. "So, what brings you to Canterlot High? Some monster threat? Can I help you in any way?"
"Thank you for the offer, Starlight!" Starlight told her. "I am here to help reform your school! I'll just need to get accustomed to this body!" She waggled her right limb as an example. "We aren't bipedal like this back in my town."
"Oh, I can help! These are your arms, and those are your legs! And those five things are your fingers! And our species is called human. Got all that" Starlight the Human asked when she finished pointing out body parts.
"Yes, thank you dear!" Starlight responded cheerfully. "Now, as for your school, do you have cutie marks?"
"Cutie marks? Is that something you ponies have?" Starlight the Human asked. "Because we don't."
"Oh, right! Don't tell anypony- anybody -about my being from the pony world. Keep that confidential. Meet me back here in a day, okay? You will be very helpful in my quest for reform and refinement, Starlight! In the meantime, I will be getting accustomed to this body." Starlight took a few shaky steps forward.
"Alrighty, Glim! I'd be glad to help you! Do you need any help currently?"
"No! Go back to your studies!" Starlight Glimmer smiled widely.
"See ya tomorrow, Glim!" Starlight the Human waved as she walked back into school.
"I will, don't worry!" Starlight called back. Under her breath, she muttered, "Starlight will be wrapped around my fingers once I have a plan formulated."
24 hours later, Starlight walked back to the place she had first met Human Starlight. It had taken a little while, but she had managed to get a hold on the new fingers and arms she possessed.
Starlight tapped her foot as she waited for the other Starlight to arrive.
"I'm here, Glim!"
Speak of the devil, Starlight thought as Human Starlight ran up. In contrast to the long red skirt Human Starlight had been wearing the previous day, she was now wearing a short pink skirt with pink lace.
"Starlight! How good to see you!" Starlight Glimmer placed her hands on Human Starlight's shoulders. "Now, we need to get right down to business."
"What are you doing?" Human Starlight queried curiously.
"Sometimes people become too obsessed with their special talents!" Starlight began, pacing around Human Starlight. "Back where I came from, our entire philosophy was centered around the equality of everyone!"
"No one is better than anyone else?"
"Exactly!" Starlight replied, smiling. "And my system brought peace, order, and tranquility to the beautiful town I ran!"
"Are you here to do that to Canterlot High?" Human Starlight asked, eyes widening.
"Yes, my friend! And I know just how to do it!-"
"Uniforms!" Starlight Glimmer announced to the whole cafeteria. A song sequence later, she, Starlight, and another girl named Sophisticata stood in front of the student body, showing off the new uniform. It was a deep purple, a color that complimented Starlight Glimmer's palette.
The student body sat in silence.
"Well, let's get her!" yelled a blue-skinned girl wearing a multicolored headband. "Her idea sucks!"
"I concur!" added a girl with pale skin. "How else can we express our creativity unless we can create fabulous outfits?" She flipped her violet locks to emphasize her point.
"You guys are missing the point!" Starlight Glimmer responded, trying to keep her calm. "With uniforms, we can live in freedom..." As Starlight went through her speech once more, she noticed something about the girl. She looked almost exactly like one of the unicorns that had led to her downfall.
And the girl next to her, looks like Fluttershy! Starlight realized as she continued speaking. Same wavy pink hair and everything! And the rest of those girls! They all threw me from my town! Their pony counterparts, at least. Except for the last girl. What's she doing? The final girl had fiery red hair, a turquoise sundress, and was writing in a book.
"Uh, Glim?" Starlight whispered in her ear. "You stopped speaking."
Starlight blinked.
"You there! Next to Fluttershy!" Starlight barked, pointing in the new girl's direction. "What are you writing?"
Fluttershy, hearing her name, squeaked in alarm. Fire Hair looked up in surprise.
"Me? I'm just writing a letter to my friend Twilight," she replied, looking Starlight straight in the eye. "You don't have any other motives for this uniform idea, do you?"
"Motives? Whyever would you say that?"
Though Starlight's tone was the same sweet tone she had used the entire time, inside she was growing uneasy. Twilight Sparkle, as in the mare that visited our village?
"Uh, because whenever new students come to our school, they cause trouble!" yelled out Rainbow Dash- the human lookalike of Rainbow, at least. "And come on, barely anybody wants your dumb uniforms!"
"Nonsense!" Starlight snapped. "Everyone, raise your hand if you'd like uniforms!"
Sophisticata and Human Starlight raised their hands. Several hands halfheartedly raised from other students. A few of those hands were swatted down by opposing classmates.
Fire Hair was still writing.
Starlight's mouth contorted into a scowl.
"Stop writing!" she commanded. In a few moments, she had bounded across the cafeteria and up to Fire Hair's group. In another moment, the page Fire Hair had been writing on was torn and in Starlight's hand.
Dear Twilight......could she be an escape from Equestria?......Please come, if you can...
Starlight's eyes widened.
"I have to go!" she yelled, running back. "Human Starlight and Sophisticata, you two continue wearing those uniforms! I have to go!"
"Why?" Human Starlight asked, following Starlight Glimmer through the halls to the main door.
"Because I have to go for a while!" Starlight snapped, gripping Fire Hair's paper in her hand. "But I'll be back."
Starlight's expression tightened into a determined frown.
"I will get my revenge," she muttered as she pushed open CHS's doors and left.
"So, I am doing what now?" Aria muttered to herself. "Going to the pony world without telling Adagio? Gosh, I'm insane."
The former siren walked down the sidewalk one breezy afternoon. Instead of her usual pigtails, her hair was down in one loose ponytail, still kept with her star hairband. She wore an offwhite tank top as well as jean shorts and slip-on shoes, a style she had decided would keep her cool in the warming weather.
Aria was silent as she continued her walk. Jeez, what the heck made me do this? Certainly not Sonata, that ditzy fool wouldn't have the brains to find the portal! Maybe it was the fact she had started watching a kids' TV show involving a kick-butt cast fighting aliens from another dimension that had sparked her interest in returning to Equestria's dimension.
Aria cursed inwardly. Adagio would have her head if she discovered Aria had access to Equestria. But, hopefully, that would not happen.
As Aria brushed past a low-hanging branch, Canterlot High School came into view. Its magenta walls lined with large windows gleamed in the sunlight. In front of it stood a statue of a horse.
That doesn't do the pony race justice, Aria thought every time she saw it.
Bushes dotted the campus, and Aria stood there just looking for a moment, before she shook herself back to the present.
The portal had been insanely obvious once Aria thought about it.
"A bush!" she exclaimed, looking around. "So many to chose from, it would be tedious for any evil doers to search for. Luckily, this evildoer knows exactly what she's doing!"
Aria jogged over to the nearest bush and pried the branches open. No portal.
"Whatever." Aria scrunched her nose to cover up her annoyance. "I bet it's in the next one." Aria darted to another bush. Nothing there. After checking several more, she came to an important conclusion.
"I am either terrible at portal-finding, or I'm being even stupider than Sonata and there is no portal in the bushes," she declared. "Given a choice between the two, it's a tough contest." Aria shifted her weight from foot to foot.
"But I am not going back home until I find this portal!" Aria declared.
"Psst-"
"And I am not getting any help from mysterious voices hiding in the bushes!" Aria added testily. Pinkie Pie ran out of the bushes, a pout on her face.
"Seriously? There was someone there?" Aria's eyes widened in disbelief. "I thought I was just hearing things!"
"Uhm, that's nice." Pinkie had started to scribble in a book and wasn't paying any attention to Aria. Aria blew her bangs out of her face and rolled her eyes.
"Whatever, I can find that portal by myself."
Aria looked around again. Not in the bushes. Not anywhere inside Canterlot High.
Aria sighed as she let her eyes wander across the pale horse statue-
"Argh, how could I have been so blind?!" Aria exclaimed, facepalming. "It's the statue!"
"Congratulations!" Pinkie chirped, scribbling away. Aria shot her a dirty look before approaching the statue.
This is it, she thought to herself. Back to Equestria. And then Aria stepped into the portal.
Aria was... right where she had last been, when Starswirl had banished her to Equestria.
"Wait, what?" Aria looked around. She was in the wings behind a stage. Aria looked down.
"I'm a pony!" she exclaimed in shock. "Not a siren! What? How?"
A piece of paper fluttered to Aria's hooves. The siren-turned-human-turned-pony bent down to read it.
"'Dear Aria, we thought we'd surprise you, since you didn't want our help. Instead of appearing in Twilight's house present day, we borrowed our friend Minuette's time spells and sent you back to Canterlot, a thousand years into the past! Have fun! Pinkie Pie and Pinkie Pie.'" Aria furrowed her brow.
So, would I run into my past self and past Adagio and Sonata? she wondered. Another piece of paper fluttered to her hooves.
"'Minuette says,'" Aria read, "'that this is more like looking into a mirror. You can see your past selves, but they can't see you, and you can't affect them. Stop asking questions, okay? Go explore!'"
How did the know what I was thinking? Aria wondered. Another paper flittered down.
"'Stop asking!'" Aria read. "'Go explore!'
"Alright, I will! Sheesh." Aria rolled her eyes as she walked out on stage. The place seemed deserted, except for a janitor pony sweeping up popcorn.
"This is... surreal," Aria admitted to herself. The bright blue sky seemed ancient. Aria had stepped into a painting of the past.
"I guess I could explore Canterlot Castle for a little bit," she decided, hopping off stage. Aria walked right past the janitor pony. Obviously, he paid her no heed because she was basically invisible.
Once Aria left the quiet stage, constant chatter filled her ears.
Clip, clop, clip, clop, went the sound of ponies' hooves walking along the dusty road. Aria looked around in absolute wonder.
I've never stopped to marvel at this place, she thought. Tall, cultured buildings spiraled into the sky. Canterlot Castle stoof above all of those buildings, however.
"Wouldn't it it be fun," Aria mused to herself, "to pretend I was a princess? Here where Sonata isn't gonna give me grief? Present Sonata, anyways."
Aria turned a street corner and was confronted by Canterlot Castle almost immediately. Her smile brightening, Aria trotted up to the magnificent gates. She tentatively put a hoof up to the iron, and felt her hoof slip through it.
"I'm a ghost," Aria marveled. "Awesome." Aria trotted easily through the barrier and found herself in the main hall.
Aside from several guards Aria had just passed, there was one other pony visible in the room. Princess Celestia stood idly near her throne, loooking just as Aria remembered her. This Celestia was much prettier than Long Legs McLizard Lips at Canterlot High. She was youthful, radiant, and her flowing hair glowed like the sun.
"Starswirl, come in!" Celestia spoke suddenly. Aria flinched as a very familiar unicorn trotted in from the left.
"Celestia, I believe we have some trouble," Starswirl told her. Aria swaggered right up to him, intent on listening to this conversation.
"What is it?" Celestia asked.
"I just witnessed three merponies parading through the streets," Starswirl informed her. "They sang a bit, and I noticed something disturbing. Ponies began to fight as soon as they sang."
"Those sound like sirens," Celestia responded thoughtfully.
Aria's ears flattened.
"Indeed, that is my suspicion as well," Starswirl confirmed.
"Do you believe you can find a way to stop them, should they cause any trouble?" Celestia asked.
Aria's conscious briefly slipped away from the conversation.
I told Adagio coming to Canterlot was a bad idea. I was right! Starswirl noticed us immediately, Aria thought, gazing at nothing.
"... I'm sure you can think of something, Starswirl," Celestia was saying. Aria shook her head to clear her mind of the flashback.
"Thank you for your support, Celestia." Starswirl nodded. Bowing slightly, he trotted out of the throne room.
"Hey, come back!" Aria shook a hoof at him. "This is your fault, you old hag! You banished us!"
Starswirl obviously did not hear her, and left through the doorway.
Hmph! Aria snorted.
"I HATE this guy," she muttered as she cantered after him. Maybe- just maybe- she could change history somehow and change her circumstances. It was a lame plan, but who said she couldn't try?
"Yo, come back here!" she shouted again, walking after him.
Starswirl continued trotting. He turned the corner, leaving Aria to scramble after him. She muttered a few choice names under her breath.
"Okay, this is stupid," Aria muttered. "If I can't change anything, I want to go home!"
A paper bopped her on the nose.
"'You can't go home until you learn a lesson.' WHAT THE HECK, PINKIE?!" Aria shook another fist-hoof at the sky. "What am I supposed to do, follow Starswirl around all day?"
"I can't believe I followed Starswirl around for 2 days," Aria grumbled. Having found no alternative way to escape, Aria had resigned to this torture.
She wasn't looking so well, actually. Aria's ponytails were scruffy and dirtied from the dusty streets. Her ears twitched in annoyance, and her pink coat was dulled. The dust hadn't done this to the mare, however.
Aria's mouth contorted into an even deeper scowl as she recalled the events of the past days. It was all so very familiar. Starswirl had just invented pop music and sent three sirens into a portal.
"This better not be his house," Aria grumbled as Starswirl led her up to a regular-looking marble house. "Is this his bucking house?!"
Starswirl pushed the door open, and Aria entered into the dimly lit abode. He made his way to a plush chair in the next room. Aria's eyes slid around. Papers littered the place, and several candles were scattered around.
"Fire hazard," Aria muttered. Starswirl's magic enveloped a nearby book. He began to write in it, muttering something under his breath all the while.
What is he saying? Aria stepped closer to read over his shoulder.
'Indeed, maybe they could have used their magic for good instead of evil, Aria read silently. But it was not to be- Aria stopped reading with an indignant snort.
"Ha! This idiot clearly does not understand my magic!" she growled. "It doesn't work for being good. Siren magic only works for evil, for adoration!"
A scroll appeared at her hooves. Still annoyed, Aria bent to pick it up.
The instant her nose touched the parchment, Aria felt a gust of cold wind. Aria shut her eyes and shivered.
Aria blinked again, and she was back at Canterlot High.
"W-what? What just happened?" Aria gasped, looking around. Pinkie Pie, a pale blue girl, another Pinkie Pie, and another pale blue girl stood in front of her.
"Hey, Aria!" the second blue girl waved her hand. Her blue hair was bound in a bun, and her fuchsia eyes carried the regular sparkle of stupidity.
"Sonata! Where you in on this? And why are there two Pinkie Pies? And who's the other girl dressed like Renet from TMNT?"
"Oh, you were just gone for two days and Sonata got suspicious!" the first Pinkie Pie chirped.
"So I went to the portal and I found Pinkie and Minuette hanging around!" Sonata continued.
"I'm from the pony world!" the second Pinkie beamed and waved.
"And because you can't learn a friendship lesson on your own, we're taking you to a dance club!" Sonata exclaimed. She linked her arms with Aria. Minuette linked her arms on Aria's other side.
"This is gonna be fun!" she exclaimed.
"What are you doing?" Aria asked, annoyed.
"To show you the power of music in a non-evil way!" both Pinkies informed her.
"Noooooooooooo!" Aria wailed as the four girls dragged her down the street.
Sunset's teal eyes darted around the room. Celestia found this sign of nervousness amusing. Sunset obviously had no idea why she had been called to the office.
"Yes, Principal Celestia?" she ventured.
"Would it be possible for me to visit the world on the other side of the portal?" Celestia queried. Sunset opened her mouth, then stopped and blinked.
"Principal Celestia, why would you be interested in that?" Sunset questioned. Celestia smiled.
"The portal is on school property, after all. I feel I should get to know this world, in case our students take unintentional trips." Celestia rolled her eyes. "No doubt this has already happened on occasion. There was the Fashionista Vs. Faculty War... I'm not sure what that was about..." Celestia cut her ramblings off when she cleared her throat.
"Principal Celestia, I'm sure nobody has gone through the portal," Sunset reassured her. "Twilight has it carefully guarded!"
Celestia narrowed her eyes, watching Sunset. The teenager's seafoam eyes were looking everywhere except for Celestia's face.
Celestia nodded.
"That guard system certainly did not prevent you from entering, Miss Shimmer," Celestia remarked intuitively.
"W-what are you talking about, Principal Celestia?" Sunset protested. "I haven't- alright." Sunset resigned herself. "I went once. But, er, that doesn't have anything to do with the, um, current situation." Sunset shifted in her seat.
"So, would it be possible for me to visit the portal?" Celestia repeated.
"I'll schedule it with Twilight," Sunset replied.
"Thank you, Sunset Shimmer." Celestia smiled. Sunset managed a smile back, then stood up. She quickly scurried out of the room.
After a moment, Principal Celestia uncharacteristically squealed in delight.
"I'm going to a pony world!" she fangirled.
"Principal Celestia, Twilight requested you stay no longer than a half hour," Sunset informed the principal a few days later. "This was the earliest she could fit in, there's a wedding later today, and the rest of her week is packed."
"I understand completely, Sunset," Celestia responded. She stood with Sunset and Vice Principal Luna, as well as the rest of Sunset's friends, right next to the portal.
"Before I go, is there anything I should know?" Celestia asked. Sunset thought about it for a moment.
"You're an alicorn, I'm assuming, and your counterpart is the ruler of Equestria," Sunset replied. "That's about it."
Celestia nodded and responded, "Thank you for telling me."
"Don't worry Celestia, I'm capable of running this school while you're away," Luna remarked teasingly. Celestia smirked back.
"I'm sure you are, Luna."
Without further ado, Celestia stepped into the portal.
Sunset turned to look at her friends.
"I bet you guys want to go too, right?" she asked, smiling playfully.
The rest of the girls looked up and down, averting Sunset's gaze.
"Yup.""It would be... quite interesting.""Sure do, Sugarcube.""Um, I'm sure they have lovely animals... I wish I could've stayed!"
"Oh, Sunny, I already know what it's like over there! I've only been, like, a billion times!"
Everyone stared at Pinkie, especially Sunset.
Celestia's feet landed on hard rock. At least, that's what it felt like.
Not feet any more, she reminded herself. Pony hooves.
"Celestia's here!" a familiar tom-boyish voice called out.
Celestia opened her eyes. Did Rainbow Dash follow me in?
She was immediately met by the gaze of a blue pegasus. Her choppy rainbow mane wasn't the only thing reminiscent of Rainbow Dash, this pony also had the magenta eyes and friendly smirk of CHS's top athlete.
"Welcome to Equestria, Princess- er, Principal Celestia!" Rainbow threw her hooves up in the air. "I'm Rainbow Dash, but I'm sure you can tell, since there's another me over there!"
"Hold up, Rainbow! Wait for the rest of us!" A country-accented voice preceded the orange pony that walked into the room next. Applejack was followed by a yellow pegasus, Fluttershy, and a pale unicorn, Rarity's counterpart.
"This is so very interesting!" Celestia exclaimed, watching the four ponies in interest. "Where is Twilight? And you have a Pinkie Pie, right?"
"We're right here!" Twilight Sparkle backed up into the room. Her sentence was muffled by the fuchsia tail of a pink pony. Pinkie Pie's counterpart was hastily scribbling in a book of sorts.
"Stop, Twilight!" she yelled. "I am in the middle of dealing with- oh, hi, Celestia! -an inter-dimensional crisis!"
"That can wait!" the purple unicorn reprimanded her, dropping Pinkie's tail. "We have a guest!"
"It's nice to see you again, Twilight!" Celestia exclaimed. "Especially in this form."
"Thank you, Principal!" Twilight responded. "I hope we can give you a sufficient tour in the little time we have!"
"Perhaps I can attend this wedding?" Celestia suggested immediately.
"Sorry, your counterpart's gonna be there," Applejack piped up. "That might result in some complications, accordin' to Twilight."
This statement earned a quick eye-roll from Pinkie Pie as she scribbled away.
"Um, Celestia? Have you bothered looking at yourself?" Fluttershy asked. "You look like you've been standing there this entire time."
"Oh! I have, haven't I?" Celestia immediately looked down at herself. Her legs were long, no surprise.
"My hair! It's flowing!" she realized, raising a hoof to the multicolored mass. The sensation felt like touching stardust.
"So, Celestia, what do you want to see in this amazing town?" Rainbow Dash asked. Celestia paused for a moment, thinking.
"I think I'd like to tour this lovely building, first," she decided.
"Twilight!" a purple dragon burst into the room. "Twilight, there's some monster outside!"
"We'll deal with it in a moment," Twilight told him. "Come on, Princess, we can go to the dining room first."
After a few wobbly steps, Celestia confidently followed the ponies throughout the castle. Though it was barren, she marveled at the beautiful architecture.
"This very much reminds me of Crystal Prep, back in the human land," she remarked as she peeked into the main room. "Are you familiar with them?"
Pinkie once more looked up from her book. "Yeah! Sunny Flare, is, like, on the Master Shipper's list!" She returned to scribbling. "Abandon ship! Abandon ship!"
"I don't know them," Twilight remarked, looking around.
"They really are a delight-ah!" Celestia was cut off by a violent shaking. She stumbled into the wall. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew into the air. Only Pinkie remained unfazed.
"What was that?" Rarity asked.
"The monster!" Spike exclaimed, pointing to the window. Everypony crowded around. A giant bee-bear was hovering outside. The creature rammed itself against the castle once more.
"Agh!" Applejack was sent tumbling into Rarity, who tumbled into Twilight, who tumbled into Fluttershy, who was knocked up against Celestia. Celestia fell back, and Rainbow Dash consequently became entangled in her hair.
"We've got to get that beast!" Rainbow shrieked, breaking free of Celestia's mane.
"Are you girls capable of taking over that, that thing?" Celestia asked in concern.
"We're more than capable, Miss," Applejack told her, tipping her hat.
"There's not a threat we can't beat!" Rarity added.
"I'm gonna beat my score this time," Button Mash muttered as he swiped on iPhone.
"Hey, Button, whatcha playin'?" Sweetie Belle, a girl in his class, appeared next to him.
"Crossy Road, shh!" Button Mash didn't even look up from his screen.
"What's your high score?" Sweetie queried.
"Seven hundred thirty five," Button Mash replied absentmindedly. "I'm at four hundred and thirty five, thirty six, thirty seven..." Button trailed off as he guided his Pew Die Pug across a busy street.
Sweetie snickered and shoved him.
"Hey!" Button stumbled forward, but remained focused on his game. For a short while, it became harder to play, so he paused his game until the feeling subsided.
"Button?" Sweetie asked again.
"What?" Button asked, guiding Pew Die Pug around a bush.
"Do you even know where we are?"
"At school, right?" Button responded. Sweetie's tinkling laugh filled his ears for a moment.
"Button, look up for a moment!"
Button sighed, paused his game at 557, and looked up. Sweetie Belle's green eyes stared at him expectantly. Button blinked.
"Can I go back to my game now?" he asked. Sweetie Belle groaned.
"I don't know why Scootaloo ships you with me, you're so engrossed in your game you don't notice anything else!"
"Did you say something?" Button mumbled.
"Ugh!" Sweetie Belle started doing something, probably bashing her head on the wall in frustration. Button was too busy grabbing coins to notice.
"Sweetie, what are you talking about?" he asked.
"Button, you are a pony!" Button rolled his eyes.
"No, I'm Pew Die Pug. I unlocked the pony a long time ago."
"You are impossible!" Sweetie Belle screeched.
"With you yelling in my face, it's mpossible to enjoy this game!" Button Mash hit the pause button and looked up. "Stop screaming so I can concentrate!"
Sweetie Belle grabbed Button Mash's face. "What do you notice about my face?!"
"...It's pretty?" Button suggested weakly.
"No! I am a pony! I have a horn! I'm a unicorn! You're a pony too!" Sweetie yelled. Button stared at her.
"Wait a minute, Sweetie! When did you hit your head?" he yelped in surprise. Sweetie let go of his face and blinked.
"When did I hit... my head?" she repeated
Button nodded vigorously. "Yeah! There's a nasty bump, right on your forehead! Makes you look like a unicorn!"
Sweetie Belle pursed her lips and glared at him.
"You're just trolling with me now, right?" she asked. "I just told you we are ponies."
"If the bump's okay, I'm going back to my game," Button said. He resumed and began to guide Pew Die Pug across a train junction.
It was about 7 o-clock-ish, and the young Button Mash sat in the exact same room! He was still playing his funtastic game, Crossy Road! The young foal had long surpassed his high score, and was now approaching one thousand. I mean, don't evenask how he does that! Even my high score isn't as high as that!
Anyways, Button was being pretty noisy as he continued on. A certain purple pony happened to overhead these noise.
"Spike!" she called. "There are ghosts in the attic!"
So, like, Twilight's pretty tired today. Cut her some slack, guys, okay?
"Sure thing!" Spike responded. He had a pretty good idea of what the noises were, but he didn't inform Twi of his suspicions. Instead, he dutifully climbed up the stairs like the sweet little dragon he is!
Sure enough, Spike arrived to find our protagonist tapping away at his phone.
"Ugh!" Spike remarked, shielding his eyes from the horror. Button Mash's eyes were bloodshot from staring at a screen all day. A vein pulsed right near his neck, and drool was dripping out of his mouth like honey.
"Z-zombie!" Spike cried. Indeed, Button Mash could be mistaken for a zombie, especially since the lights were out and the only Illuminati luminous object was his phone.
And that's where I come in!
I jumped into the scene, wearing a zombie mask I picked up from Discord's house. Sweetie Belle jumped out of the portal right on cue! She, too, also sported zombie attire.
"Don't mine at night!" I sang, right as Spike backed up against me.
"Augh!" he cried, turning around in terror.
"I know you're looking at that cave, and you're feeling kind of brave!" I continued. Button's ears perked up, but he continued playing.
"Go to bed you'll be alright!" Sweetie Belle added.
"Don't mine at night!" the two of us chorused.
Spike fainted.
"Don't go deep or make a change-"
"Get that gold and get away!"
"Zombies wanna eat our brains!" Button finally abandoned his phone and began to sing with us!
"Don't mine at night!" Sweetie and I chorused.
"I'll fight away the skeletons, while you're looking for diamonds! They're getting close you'd better run!"
"Don't mine at night!"
We continued to sing, confident Twilight wouldn't hear us! Plot convenience, everypony! Plus, I just like to drive her nuts!
Oh no, I just broke the sacred rules of narrating!!
Meanwhile, Spike got up, screamed again, and ran crying for his comfy new bed.
"Pound, could you be a big boy get yourself buckled?" Cup Cake hollered as she and her husband shoved cake after muffin after confection into the back of their mini-van. "You too, Pumpkin!"
"Sure thwing, Mommy!" Pound Cake replied eagerly. The four-year-old and his twin sister grabbed for their seatbelts and managed to strap themselves in.
"Why are we always so late?" Carrot Cake moaned as he jumped into the car.
"We have everything!" Mrs. Cake finished counting the goods and hopped into shotgun.
"What are we late fwor?" Pumpkin asked curiously.
"We're catering to a school event," the kids' father explained as he frantically began to drive. "Mrs. Smith called in sick so we have to rush!" Pound Cake scrunched his nose.
"I don't like- I don't like school!" he cried, squirming in his carseat. Mrs. Cake looked back at him.
"Pinkie Pie will be there, don't you worry!" she told him in an attempt to calm the little boy down. "Your nice babysitter!"
"Yay!" the twins chorused.
When the Cake family arrived at CHS, they were all immediately out and rushing.
"Stay right by the car, darlings!" Mrs. Cake told them while she and Mr. Cake grabbed all the confections.
"Bwankie's in the car!" Pumpkin whined, climbing back in. Pound rolled his eyes and refocused his attention on another object. It was a statue of a horsey, like the one Pinkie told the twins bedtime stories about.
"Horsey!" Pound cried, running towards it.
Pumpkin Cake popped out of the car a moment later. Her brother wasn't in sight.
"Watch out, sweetie!" Mrs. Cake dropped boxes of cupcakes onto a tray. Pumpkin dodged her parents' busy feet.
"Pound?" she asked in confusion. She started sucking on her blanket.
"Mrs. Cake, Mr. Cake! Let me help you with that!" Pinkie Pie arrived on the scene. Pumpkin tugged on her babysitter's leggings.
"Where's Pound?" she asked. Pinkie looked down at her favorite little buddy.
"Sorry, Pumpkin, I can't play right now. I'm super tired from shooting lazers at an evil bad guy!" To emphasize her point, she yawned. "Now, we have to get these super delicious confections into the gym!"
"Where are you, Pound Cake?" Pumpkin wondered, worry creeping into her tone.
"Wowzers!" Little Pound Cake looked up at the crystal above him. After he had fell against the horse statue, the scenery had changed. And he suddenly felt incredibly little.
Pound Cake tore his gaze from the ceiling and looked down. His jeans and blue t-shirt were gone! Instead, Pound had horsey legs. Pound was a pony!
"Did Pinkie Pwie do this?" he wondered, gazing into the reflective mirror. He had pony ears, and on his back was a set of small, feathery wings. Pinkie Pie was a magical baby sitter, and she always told him and Pumpkin stories about growing pony ears.
Pound began to flitter his new wings. The action required minimal effort, but he accidentally banged into the wall.
"Oof!" Pound set himself straight. Like a miniature airplane, he flitted down a set of stairs.
A lavender pony walked right past. When Pound giggled, her purple eyes slid to him. They widened in shock.
"Pound Cake! How did you get here?!" she yelped, grabbing him out of the air.
"Uh, uh, who aw you?' Pound asked. Perhaps this might be Pinkie's friend? But he didn't recognize her.
The pony's brow furrowed in confusion.
"I'm Twilight. I come by Sugarcube Corner sometimes, remember?"
"Oh!" Pound nodded. "You aw Pinkie Pwie's friend!"
"Now, I have no idea how you got here, but we are getting you back home immediately!"
"Where's Pinkie?" Pound asked as Twilight carried him down a staircase.
"She's back at Sugarcube. She's been planning a party for some yak delegates and is super tired," Twilight explained. "She's probably sleeping now!"
Pinkie Pie collapsed onto the floor of the gym. Somehow, moving those cupcakes had zapped the last of her usually boundless energy. Students all around buzzed, talking and chattering.
"Pinkie!" Pumpkin Cake ran up to her. "Where's Pound? I can't find him!"
"Oh, I'm sure he's with your parents!" Pinke yawned. "Don't worry, Pumpkin. Now, I'm about to doze off."
Pumpkin Cake's blue eyes stared at her in confusion as Pinkie's eyelids fluttered. Pinkie was vaguely aware of her feet tingling as she lost consciousness. Pinkie Sense, deal with it in the morning...
Pound was incredibly annoyed with Twilight now. Okay, this was kinda fun. He had seen a nice countryside so far, and in the distance was a bustling village. On the other hand, he wanted to go back to Mom, Dad, and Pumpkin.
"Can I go home now?" he complained once again.
"We are going home!" Twilight's voice was tinted with annoyance. "Look, we're almost there! Hang on, Pound Cake!"
Pound held his tongue for a couple minutes longer, hoping Twilight's annoyance would simmer down. Ponies passed them, casting curious glances their way. Finally, he didn't want to be silent anymore.
"I hate being a pwony!"
Twilight froze.
"Pound Cake, what is this town called?" she asked in a carefully controlled voice.
Pound scrunched his nose. "How should I know? I just got hewre!"
Twilight groaned. "Oh Celestia, how could I have not seen this?"
She began running back the way they had came.
"Excuse me, Principal Celestia?" Mrs. Cake tapped on the Principal's shoulder. Celestia turned around.
"Oh, Mrs. Cake. Thank you so much for-"
"We can't find Pound Cake!" Mrs. Cake interuppted. "You're the principal of this school; do you have any idea where he might be?"
Celestia's brow furrowed in concern. "Oh no. Tell me, when did you see him last?"
Twilight panted heavily; she hadn't run this hard in a while, not to mention she was carrying a foal with her.
"We're almost there, Pound Cake," she told him. "The castle's... just up ahead."
"Why awe you cawwing me still?" Pound Cake complained. "Unicorns can fwy!"
"No, but we can telepo... Ugh!" Twilight groaned. "There was an easier way to do this?!"
It had been a few minutes of searching now, but Pound Cake was no where to be found.
Celestia sighed with worry for the little child. She opened the main doors of CHS. Had he gone outside?
"The portal," she realized, rushing towards the statue. The principal promptly jumped in, anxious to save Pound Cake.
"Here we are!" Twilight announced to Pound Cake. Without a second thought, she jumped through with the colt.
Pound Cake laughed in delight when he felt his normal feet and hands had returned. He looked up to see that Twilight wasn't a pony anymore, either.
"Okay, now where are your parents?" Twilight asked him. Pound pointed to the school.
"In dere," he said. Twilight nodded. Taking Pound by the hand, she walked inside.
"Mrs. Cake? Mr. Cake?" she called. Mr. Cake popped his head out of the janitor's closet.
"Twilight Sparkle! You found Pound Cake!" he exclaimed in relief, rushing towards them. He scooped Pound up in his arms. "I'm so relieved! Thank goodness you're alright! Cup Cake! We found Pound!" Mr. Cake ran off in another direction to find his wife.
Twilight sighed. "Okay, that's over with. Now, I better get-"
Twilight stopped talking when she noticed a group of students exiting the gym.
Sunset had informed her of the opposing team, the Shadowbolts. Their main competitors where Sunny Flare, Sugarcoat, Lemon Zest, Indigo Zap, Sour Sweet, and herself, Twilight Sparkle.
The other Twilight hadn't seen her yet.
Run! Twilight's brain told her. Run before she sees you and you both cause an inter-dimensional imbalance!
Twilight ran.
Celestia licked her lips as she sank her teeth into another slice of cake. The former human sat in Twilight Sparkle's kitchen.
"I'm sure they've found him by now," she told herself. "After all, he's certainly not here." She licked frosting off her muzzle.
Moon Dancer shifted her backpack as she walked out of Canterlot High one afternoon. She pushed her glasses back as she read another book she had checked out from the school's library.
"Hey, Moon Dancer!" Minuette, a rather annoying student, ran to catch up with her. "Watcha readin'?"
Moon Dancer glanced up at Minuette.
"Just Slumber Parties 101," she responded, though she had no emotion in her voice.
"Really?" Twinkleshine, another annoying girl, popped up next to Minuette.
"Does that mean you're going to have a slumber party?" she asked. Moon Dancer rolled her eyes.
"No. It's just a book I haven't read, and I will finish reading if you guys stop talking to me," Moon Dancer rolled her eyes and began reading once more.
"Hey, Moon Dancer?" Lemon Hearts commented. "I know you're trying to go for the whole 'friendless recluse' thing, but why do you have your hair up like that? And that sweater doesn't work at all!"
Moon Dancer paid no attention to the friendly bickering that ensued.
After a quick walk across the street, she sat down on a bench to read in peace.
For the life of me, thought Moon Dancer, I can't understand why Mom and Dad make me go to a school halfway across town when Crystal Prep is two blocks away. No matter; the bus should come soon.
After she finished the book, Moon Dancer glanced at her watch.
Hmm. She frowned. The bus should've come a half hour ago.
Moon Dancer slipped Slumber Parties 101 in her backpack and walked back across the street. Maybe Principal Celestia will let me call my mother. Despite her parents' insistence, Moon Dancer did not carry a phone with her, or anything else "social."
As Moon Dancer walked past the statue of a horse that stood in front of the school, Minuette, Twinkleshine, and Lemon Hearts watched her from their perch on the statue.
"We need to do something about her," MInuette remarked.
"Why?" Lemon Hearts asked, flipping her hair. "She obviously doesn't want to be our friend."
"We have to try!" Minuette pleaded. "I'd feel awful knowing this is all she does!"
"Quick, she's about to walk into school!" Twinkleshine jumped down and ran after Moon Dancer. Lemon Hearts and Minuette followed in suit.
"Moon Dancer!" the trio cried.
Moon Dancer pursed her lips and turned around.
"Why do you keep bothering me?" she growled.
Lemon Hearts stuck her hands into her hoodie. "Listen, Dancer, we want to help you."
"You don't have a choice!" Twinkleshine added.
"Can you please bother me tomorrow? The bus didn't show up and I need to get home."
"But-"
"Be quiet!" Moon Dancer snapped. She spun around to open the door. The force of the motion caused one of her books to fall out of her unzipped backpack.
"Hey! You dropped a book!" Minuette giggled as she picked the object up.
"Give it back!" Moon Dancer shouted.
"No way!" Minuette giggled.
Moon Dancer grabbed for her book, but Minuette deftly maneuvered out of the way.
"Catch me first!" she teased, jumping back and out of Moon Dancer's range.
"Um, Minuette? I don't think you should make Moon Dancer angry," Lemon Hearts called out in concern. Twinkleshine and Lemon turned to look at Moon Dancer.
The girl's face was turning shades of red.
"Give it BACK!" she shouted, sprinting after Minuette like a cheetah. MInuette's eyes widened.
"Oh no!" Minuette took off running; Moon Dancer was in hot pursuit.
"Careful guys!" Twinkleshine called out.
"Huh?" Minuette turned to look behind her. As she did, she tripped and fell.
"Ouch!" she cried. The book spiraled out of her hands.
"My book!" Moon Dancer cried. The book fell into the statue.
"What?!" Moon Dancer gasped in shock when it disappeared, but she wasted no time jumping in after it.
"That was my plan," Minuette remarked to Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts, who were staring in shock.
"You banished Moon Dancer to another dimension?" Lemon Hearts asked.
"Nah, she'll come back in due time," Minuette responded confidently. "It might take three days, or it might take a few hours!"
The first thing Moon Dancer did was push her glasses up to their proper position. At that moment, she realized she had lost feeling in her fingers.
"Peculiar," she remarked. "I have somehow turned into a pony." No matter, I won't be here for long. Moon Dancer walked over and picked up her book. She had previously read a book on equine anatomy, so this was rather easy for her.
Moon Dancer was about to return through the portal when she noticed where she was.
"I'm in a library!" she realized. Moon Dancer looked around. She seemed to be alone.
She spent the next few minutes gathering as many books as she could carry. When the stack was sufficient and towered over her head, Moon Dancer left.
"Wow, you learned about friendship already? That was fast," MInuette remarked.
"Friendship?" Moon Dancer asked from behind her pile of books. "I don't have time for friendship. But thank you, Minuette." She pushed her glasses back before continuing, "If you hadn't threw my book there, I wouldn't have discovered even more books to read!"
"W-what?" Minuette sputtered. "No! How did my plan go so wrong?"
"Oh, and look- my bus is here!" Moon Dancer smiled. "This day has been pretty sufficient!" With her books in her hands, Moon Dancer ran to catch her bus.
It was yet another day of teaching those insufferable brats for Professor Cordial, or, as the students called him, Discord. True his method of teaching was a bit… unconventional, but they didn’t have to degrade him by calling him a force of chaos. That was crossing the line. He sighed as he packed up his lesson plan for the day. It was barely a plan, more like a suggestion. He straightened out his mismatched jacket, muttering to himself about how he wished the school year would end already.
He walked through the halls, stopping by Principal Celestia’s office when he heard her talking to a familiar voice. It was the voice of Superintendent Tirek, a gruff man that wished to control the school. Prof. Cordial scoffed. I wouldn’t be caught dead associating myself with him. Not after the way he tricked me awhile back.
He left, and soon found himself outside. He looked at the Stallion Statue, an eyesore that’d been there ever since the school’s founding. He never did like that statue. Sometimes he wished he could just snap his fingers and make it disappear. He shook his head. Such thoughts would not help him now. After all, he’d a weekend to look forward to- And not a force on this earth would prevent him from enjoying it.
However, he stopped as he got a bit closer to the statue. He remembered the Twilight that had saved their school twice had come through the base of the statue, if the rumors were to be believed. He’d also overheard some students that had claimed that they’d been to the other side of the portal, but he was uncertain if the brats could be trusted. Perhaps they saw him, and purposely spoke up about their “journey” to the other side. It was such an elaborate prank, that he almost approved.
But what if it wasn’t? What if the stories were true? Would he forgive himself if he never found out? By the time this thought had entered his head, most everyone else, save for the janitor, had left the school. Was there anything that he stood to lose if this was fake? A little pride perhaps, but nothing that he couldn’t undo later. Was there anything that he stood to gain if it was true? Knowledge as to what he was on the other side was very appealing, but was it worth the risk?
He sighed. "I might regret this later, but… here goes."
He put a hand through the base of the statue, a bit surprised when he saw an eagle talon. So does that mean that I’m a gryphon? I’d heard a rumor of a student from another school becoming one when they went through…
He decided he could wait no longer. He stepped through, and yelled as he fell. “Aaaaabstraaaact!”
Indeed, what he saw could be described as an abstract painting that used all the colors that existed. But what was odd was the sensation he felt. All over his body, he felt as it he was being molded like silly putty. After the trip, he stood up, a bit surprised that he was still bipedal. He then looked down to his hands- and the sight he saw confused him.
“An eagle talon and a lion’s paw? And what’s up with this brown, serpentine body? I’ve got to see what I look like!” He turned to see in the mirror behind him, and he was shell-shocked. “A chimera? Why’d I turn into a chimera?” Indeed, he was a conglomeration of parts: a lizard’s foot and goat’s hoof for legs, a pair of stubby wings, one of a bat and one of a bird, and an antler along with a twisted horn. But what alarmed him the most were his eyes- they were red, with yellow along the edges. He took in this new form, and only had one thing to think: What is going on here?
Then, somebody else spoke in his voice. “Oh this is too amusing to pass up! Two of me in the same reality! The chaos I could wreak would double!”
Prof. Cordial spun around, and raised an eyebrow at the creature before him. He spoke calmly. “You must be my other self… I overheard Miss Pinkie Pie talking of meeting her other self when crossing the mirror, but I didn’t think that it was possible! And yet, here you are, before my eyes!” For some reason or another, Prof. Cordial felt extremely... chaotic at the moment. “Maybe I should embrace that nickname my students give me, and be a tad more… unpredictable.” He then laughed a bit. “Oh, that’s such a good idea! But don’t want to go too overboard… After all, I can’t risk losing my job.” His smile however, never faded. “Say, other me, could you show me how to be more spontaneous? I already treat the lesson plan more like a suggestion, but that’s not enough. Will you help me?”
Discord smiled with a manic grin. “Let’s get started.”
Prof. Cordial agreed, “Yes, let's go!”
And so the two chaotic beings went on a rampage turning buildings upside down and clouds into cotton candy. They caused it to rain root beer from the sky and the ground to be turned into gingerbread. The townsponies were seemed torn between soaking in the jovial air or running in fear because there were two Discords running amuck.
However, their jovial antics were interrupted by Twilight Sparkle, the princess of friendship. The instant she saw the two Discords, she knew that one of them was from beyond the mirror. However, how was she going to get the one from the mirror back there if she couldn’t tell them apart? She then thought of something. If she could get one of them to turn into something that the other hadn’t seen before, then she would definitely be able to tell them apart! She smirked, and walked up to them. She cleared her throat, and garnered their attention. She spoke with confidence. “
"Well hello, Discords. I have a little challenge for you.”
That got their attention. Discord spoke up first. “Oh? A challenge, you say?”
Prof. Cordial mirrored Discord’s cheshire grin. “Has Sparklebutt finally allowed some chaos into her thought processes?”
The two Discords shared a chuckle, but Twilight didn’t let that nickname get to her. After all, she was calling the shots here. She kept her decorum and smug grin as she spoke. “I bet you two can’t change into something that the other has never seen before at the same time!”
Discord raised an eyebrow. “What do we get if we win this bet?”
Twilight smirked. “I’ll make there be an annual Discord Day where you can use your powers as you wish, as long as nopony is damaged mentally or physically, and as long as the ponies can enjoy themselves.”
Prof. Cordial crossed his arms. “And if you win?”
Twilight’s smirk remained. “I get to use your chaotic powers for one day, in which you cannot use them.”
The two Discords shared a look. They knew what Twilight was up to, but realized that the scenario was lose-lose for Prof. Cordial. Unless… The two nodded. Discord readied his talon for a snap as did Prof. Cordial.
Discord leered at Twilight. “You’re on.”
The two snapped simultaneously, and changed shape. Prof. Cordial turned into an Ursa Major the size of a mountain, and Discord turned into some kind of strange bat that, when its wings were fully extended, looked like a crescent moon. When the two looked at each other, they gasped (fake, but Twilight couldn’t tell). Each pointed to the other, and exclaimed together. “What are you!?”
Twilight smiled, and grabbed Discord, not knowing that he was the Discord of her world. She spoke. “It’s time for you to go back to the mirror.” She dragged him away in her magic, not noticing the wink he tossed Prof. Cordial’s way, nor the nod he gave in return. Twilight went to the mirror, not expecting to see anypony there, but low and behold, Sunset was there.
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Sunset? What are you doing here?”
Sunset took a look at Discord, and was about to ask something, but shook her head. She instead answered Twilight’s question. “Well, I recently found out that the Sunset of the human world was coming back, so I decided to let all my friends know about that, and decided it’d be too weird for there to be two Sunsets at the school. I said goodbye, and now I’m going to stay here.” She jerked her head over to Discord. “Why’s he here?”
Twilight huffed. “He snuck over the mirror, so I’m sending him back. Then, after that, I’m sealing it up.” She tossed Discord into the portal.
They could hear him say one last thing as he left. “It was worth it!” Then, Twilight lit up her horn, and deactivated the portal, unknowingly having sent the wrong Discord through the portal.
Canterlot High wasn’t ready for Discord. The students at first mocked him even more than before, but were surprised when he just rolled with it. This had never happened before. His lesson plans were entirely abolished, leaving for an entirely random class schedule from then on. However, this wasn’t all. As the year went on, some claimed to see him snap his fingers and have strange, impossible things happen. This caused many students to seek mental help from the school nurse. However, they could not be cured. This led to an irreversible change in the school, further spurred along after the field trip to Camp Everfree. Their world was changing. And there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.
Equestria wasn’t ready for Prof. Cordial. The ponies were swept away with his charm after the first official Discord Day. So much so, that the ponies didn’t mind his chaotic antics so much the rest of the year. Somehow, with his charm, he’d managed to befriend most of Ponyville in a few short days. The Princesses were torn between being concerned and elated, and couldn’t seem to make up their minds. As time went on, after every subsequent Discord Day, his popularity with ponies across Equestria grew. He was the friend to have, the person to know. He loved his life, and couldn’t have been happier. Needless to say, There was no going back to the way things once were.
.
