Through the Portal

Through the Portal Part 1: The Transformation

Written by Afterburn

The sun slowly crept over the horizon, as if Princess Celestia was in no hurry to start the day. The first beams of light awakened the roosters just outside of Sweet Apple Acres and at once the air was filled with their happy crows. Applejack cracked open her eyes as the living alarm clocks woke her from her peaceful slumber. As she stood up from her bed, she stretched out her tight muscles, a bit sore from work the day before. The orange mare stepped outside her bedroom, casting a glance over at Winona, sleeping in the corner on an old pillow. Applejack yawned.

“Boy howdy, mornin’ always comes too soon,” She grumbled tiredly.

These were the mornings that Applejack loved, peaceful and quiet. No one stirred in the homestead but her. Big Macintosh had gone to Fillydelphia to visit some cousins. Granny Smith always slept in on the weekends. Applebloom was supposed to be awake to tend to the barn animals, but AJ didn’t mind. Admiring the silence, she stepped into the bathroom and looked into the mirror. Her corn silk mane hung to the side of her face.

“That’s a new look,” She chuckled to herself as she quickly brushed it back.

AJ glanced behind her to see Applebloom, who had finally decided to wake up, stumble into the bathroom. “Well, hey there, sugar cube. Did ya sleep good?” she asked the little filly. Applebloom gave a half hearted grunt in reply. “You do look mighty tired. Maybe a good breakfast’ll wake you right up!”

The filly’s ears perked up. “Can we have pancakes?” she asked.

“Sure! You can help me,” Applejack smiled.

After getting ready, the sisters got to the kitchen to prepare a breakfast feast. In a cottage outside of the Everfree forest, Fluttershy began her busy day.

“Good morning, Angel.” She cooed sweetly to the drowsy bunny, who squeaked back a tired greeting.

As she stepped outside, her buttery yellow coat shimmered in the early morning sun. Fluttershy took a deep breath, and sang a pure note that hung in the air. Blue jays, cardinals, and birds of all kinds flocked towards the heavenly tone, and began to sing in harmony. The sweet melody carried through the air, and more birds came to join in.

As the meek little pony began gathering birds near and far, the not so meek Rainbow Dash zoomed through the sky weaving in between the wispy clouds that lined the horizon. The wind roared in her ears and stung her eyes. But she didn’t care. Nothing compared to the freedom of flying. She looked down and scouted out Fluttershy on her front porch. Let’s pay her a little visit! She thought. Rainbow tilted her wings downward and plummeted gracefully toward the Earth. She landed silently in front of the singing mare.

“Hey, Fluttershy!” Rainbow greeted happily.

“Eep!” Fluttershy fell on her rump in surprise. “R-Rainbow Dash, what are you doing here so early?”

“Well, I was in the neighborhood, and I figured I’d show you this totally amazing trick I’ve been working on all night!”

“You’ve been up all night?” Fluttershy enquired quietly, noticing the dark bags beneath Rainbow’s fuchsia eyes.

“Well, yeah, actually,” she croaked, scratching her head. “But it didn’t really bother me, until you brought it up.”

Fluttershy’s face reddened in embarrassment. “Oh, I’m sorry. But, sure! I’d love to see the trick! Do you have a name for it?”

“I was actually debating between the Hellion’s Corkscrew or the Barrel Roll Barrage. But, the name’s not important. You gotta see this baby in action!”

The mare launched herself into the crimson sky. She folded her wings in and began to spin rapidly as she descended, leaving behind a helix of color. As she approached the ground, she unfolded her wings and tilted them upward, changing direction, and creating a noise that resembled a fighter jet taking off. All the birds within a two mile radius fled the scene.

Fluttershy winced at the thunderous sound. “Gee, that was great, Rainbow Dash. But um... Could you not scare the animals off, next time?”

Rainbow landed and smiled sheepishly at her partially annoyed friend. “Heh… Sorry about that. It’s a work in progress. But, since I’ve probably woken up everypony nearby, why don’t we go visit Twilight?”

“Well, I have chores and…”

“Don’t worry about those, now,” Rainbow interrupted. “We’ll, be back before your little critters even notice that we’re gone.”

“I guess…” Fluttershy gave in reluctantly.

Twilight Sparkle’s eyes flew open at the thunderous sound that echoed throughout Ponyville. She glanced over at the now wide awake Spike. “What was that?” she asked, shocked.

“The way I see it, either there’s a thunderstorm outside, or Rainbow Dash is practicing a new trick,” the baby dragon replied sarcastically.

The purple mare looked out her large windows at the now orange sky. “Nope, there’s not a storm cloud in sight. It must be Rainbow Dash.” She smiled, slightly amused.

As if on cue, a loud rapping came from Twilight’s door. “I wonder who that could be…” the unicorn walked toward her large oak door, and looked through the glass port. “Oh, it’s Rainbow and Fluttershy, what a surprise.” She smirked at Spike who returned with an amused chuckle.

Twilight straightened her face and opened the door. “Hey, girls! What’s going on?”

“Oh, nothing really,” Rainbow replied nonchalantly while casually inspecting the underside of her hoof, “I was just practicing a new trick. Do you wanna see?”

Twilight giggled silently to herself. “Sure, why not?”

“Oh man, you’re not gonna be disappointed,” Rainbow reassured.

Fluttershy piped in meekly. “I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you show us all by the Everfree forest? It’s far enough away from Ponyville that it won’t really bother anypony. Plus, you’ll only have to do it once.”

“That’s a great idea! I’ll go get the others. You girls can meet us at the Everfree!” Rainbow took off like a shot towards Sweet Apple Acres giggling to herself.

A short while later, Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Spike gathered around Rainbow Dash along the treeline of the Everfree forest. Rarity rubbed her eyes, slightly annoyed that she had been woken from her beauty sleep so early. Pinkie, as usual, was her upbeat self, bouncing up and down like a little school filly. Fluttershy leaned toward rainbow and asked timidly,“Um... Are you sure you can do this? You looked awful tired after your first try.”

The sky-blue mare laughed haughtily. “Have I ever given you a reason to doubt me? I’ve got this thing down, pat.”

“Well, okay. If you think you can do it…” Fluttershy gave in without argument.

“Alright, everypony! Stand back and be amazed.” Rainbow reared back and launched herself into the air. She angled her wings and began spinning rapidly as she ascended. At the top of her trajectory, the mare quickly changed direction and bolted downward. Just before she reached the ground, she angled her wings upward creating a massive boom that rivaled that of a thunderclap.

As she was performing her trick, pegasi began ushering in clouds from the western sky. Soon, the atmosphere was filled with a blanket of thunderheads. Long bolts of pure energy built within the systems began to crackle across the surface of the clouds. Twilight’s eyes widened and she began screaming for Rainbow to come down. Soon, the whole group began shouting the daring mare’s name at the top of their lungs. Rainbow didn’t hear their cries of horror or behold the impending danger that loomed above her until she looked up.

When she finally noticed the lightning, it was too late. A long arc of electricity lashed out and struck the dumbfounded mare right out of the airspace. Her friends screamed in horror as she plummeted, smoking, into the canopy of the Everfree forest. The sound of leaves rustling loudly filled the air as Rainbow fell toward the floor of the forest. A loud thump confirmed that the mare had made impact with the ground.

“Dear Celestia, we need to find her quick!” Rarity shrieked, reasonably out of her normally calm and collected character. Applejack still in shock began galloping toward the line of the woods.

“I’m on it, y'all!” Applejack raced into the brush to rescue her incinerated friend. The wind whistled in her ears as she dashed through the gloomy trees and bushes that filled the path in front of her. The group followed closely behind her, ignoring the frightening scenery around them.

Rainbow Dash lay on the wet grassy floor of the forest, still smoking. Applejack called her name frantically in the distance. Her eyes cracked open. “Wha-?” Her ears rang loudly, damaged by the mighty boom created by the lighting.

She could see the blurry outline of her tangerine friend and hear her country drawl calling her name over the persistent ringing. “Rainbow Dash? Oh my, are you alright, sugar cube?” AJ galloped towards her fallen friend. “If you can hear me, move something.”

The soot-covered mare twitched her ears and answered. “Unh… Applejack? I’m okay. Just a little shook up, is all.”

“Oh, Rainbow Dash, you had us all worried!” AJ embraced her gingerly. The rest of the group emerged from the bushes, galloped toward the two mares, and embraced one another in a big group hug. Rainbow winced a bit, still sore from the crash landing.

“We thought you were dead meat!” Pinkie Pie stated, rating a few glares from Rarity and Twilight.

“What she meant was, we thought we had lost you,” Rarity corrected, blinking back tears.

“You kidding? It’s gonna take more than just a little lightning to take me out,” Rainbow Dash coughed out, more hoarse than normal. A small cloud of soot popped out of her lungs. The tips of her mane and tail were singed black, but she was otherwise okay.

“Oh, no. We need to find shelter,” Fluttershy announced quietly as the cold rain sent a shock down her spine.

“Good idea,” Twilight agreed. “I don’t think we can make it to Zecora’s hut fast enough. We’ll have to find a cave of some sort.”

“I believe I saw a cave on our way out here. It was pretty large. We could all fit in it easily,” Rarity said and then added, “We need to hurry. All this rain is going to mess up my mane.”

“Lead the way, Rarity. I’ll help Rainbow get to it.” Applejack carefully slung Rainbow Dash over her back like a pair of saddle bags, and marched behind the rest of the group. The burden wasn’t unlike anything that she had been used to. After years and years of harvesting apples, Applejack had developed a strong back. The group followed silently behind Rarity. Gradually, the rain began to worsen. The warmth of Rainbow’s belly against AJ’s back was a stark contrast to the cold and wet air around her. Rainbow lightly nudged AJ about halfway through the walk.

“Hey, AJ? I think I can go on my own, now.”

“You sure, sugar cube? It’s no bother to carry you,” Applejack replied truthfully.

“I’m sure,” She smiled. Applejack gingerly let her off of her back. She watched Rainbow carefully as they made their way down an undergrowth covered path. Brier patches laid across the trail, making it a long and painful journey. After what seemed like hours of careful walking and getting rained on, they made it to their destination.

The cave was carved out of the side of a large cliff. It stood relatively hidden behind thick undergrowth. The mouth stood gaping open, ready to swallow anything that came near it. The group huddled underneath the stone canopy trying to avoid the torrential rain that streaked down from the sky. Pinkie Pie peered into the darkness and noticed a narrow trail that led deeper into the darkness.

“Ooh…” She cooed in wonder as she bounded down the dark trail. Twilight raced after her, attempting to bring her back to the group.

“Pinkie, wait! Come back here!” The unicorn flared up her horn like a light to illuminate the way. Rarity stepped forward after her, but Applejack held a hoof out to block her path.

“Best let her alone. She knows how to take care of herself,” she said slightly amused. Rarity simply shrugged and joined the remaining group that huddled in a tight circle for warmth. Applejack glanced around the cave in curiosity, spotting the thick stalactites that hung from the curved ceiling. What a sight. She thought. It’s a wonder that no one’s ever seen this cave, before. She looked at the shivering mass of ponies and dragon in the center of the room.

“Hey Spike, why don’t you help me gather some firewood? There’s bound to be some in this here cave, seein’ it’s surrounded by trees and all.” Spike nodded and began looking for some kindling. Applejack began gathering some, herself. Fluttershy set stones in a circle for the fire pit. Soon, they had a crackling fire in front of them. Their shadows danced on the walls of the cave.

“Why does rain make everypony cold? I find it to be the most dreadful kind of precipitation,” Rarity complained, her mane hanging wet and limp around her shoulders. The group shrugged, too wiped out to think of a response. They were just happy to finally be together and safe, more or less.

Suddenly, a large rush of warm wind came from the dark interior of the cave. The girls looked up in surprise. A moment later, the shrieks of a startled and confused Pinkie Pie echoed down the narrow pathway. She came around the bend of the cave babbling incoherently.

“Oh my. What happened, Pinkie? Where’s Twilight?” Fluttershy asked nervously. Pinkie stopped and took a large breath to calm herself and answered.

“Oh my goodness! Girls, follow me! Something’s happened to Twilight! She saw this thing in the back of the cave and walked into it, and now she’s gone!”

The group stood up, astonished. Applejack looked down the gloomy path bathed in an eerie purple light. She motioned for them to follow Pinkie. The frightened mare led them down into the depths of the cave. Rarity helped support Rainbow as she hobbled with difficulty behind the group. Fluttershy shook nervously the whole time, frightened of the unknown. When they finally stopped, they were engulfed in a warm purple light. On the wall of the cave across from them stood a massive ring of shiny black obsidian. A swirling vortex of fuchsia emanated from the center of the structure; the sound of a distant roar echoed throughout the room.

“That’s where she disappeared!” Pinkie pointed at the spiral.

Applejack swallowed audibly. “Well, I think we have to go in and find her.” She looked back at the group for support, but was only met with frightened faces. “Girls, get ahold of yourselves!” She snapped. They all turned their heads toward the orange mare bathed in the eerie glow of the portal. “I know it’s scary, but we never leave a friend behind. I don’t know what’s behind this thing. But, I know we have to go through it. I promise we’ll be alright.”

The girls nodded their heads nervously and slowly walked toward the pulsating wall of purple. The distant roar became louder and louder as they moved closer and closer. Reality itself began to warp. The walls of the cave curved to and fro, and flashed different colors. Fluttershy whimpered loudly as they passed, one by one, through the threshold with Applejack and Rarity leading the pack.

Suddenly they were blinded by a white light, and the deafening roar came to an end.

Applejack opened her eyes after what seemed like hours. Everything was blurry and discolored. She rubbed her eyes back into focus, but stifled a scream as she looked at the instruments which she had done it with.

She stared blankly at them. They were definitely not hooves. They were flat and had bony tendrils protruding from them. In fact, they looked very similar to Spike’s. These must be hands, she thought numbly.

She looked around the light-filled room, and her mind caught up with the situation. In a moment of panic, she lifted the sheets of the bed she was laying in to see her legs. Not only were the joints of the knees reversed on them, but she no longer had rear hooves. They were replaced by what she could only describe as smooth dragon feet. Although her toes had nails, they were not sharp or dark like a dragon’s, but were rounded and white. She used her hands to feel the soft fabric that covered her now bulging and soft chest. What is this? What are these? she wondered as she felt the fleshy protrusions.

Tears began to well up in her eyes. What’s goin’ on? I don’t understand this… Applejack looked beyond the white door that stood open to her room and saw a large mirror hanging on the light brown wall. She crawled out of the bed and shuffled along the floor towards the hallway. As she made it to the mirror, she used the wall for support and looked into it.

What she saw almost made her stumble backwards. Her face was not equine, nor was it covered in short orange fur. It was covered with bare skin that had a fair complexion and contained small brown dots of pigment. Her nose was not a prominent part of her features. It was small and angled up slightly, resembling a pug dog’s nose. Her cheek bones were now at the front of her face. They had a slight rosiness to them, and were littered with the tiny brown dots. She felt in panic for her tail, but her hands only came in contact with her now soft and fleshy rump, which was also covered in a soft fabric. The only thing that was the same about her was her emerald green eyes and her thick corn silk hair that was tied in a fashion that resembled her now missing tail.

“Where did that portal thingy take us?” She wondered aloud.

Suddenly her ears were assaulted with the all too familiar scream of her companion. The source of the noise came from behind a door in the hallway. “Rarity, I’m coming!” She yelled in panic.

Applejack crawled along the floor as fast as she could toward the sound. The door was closed. Now if I just grab here and twist... She thought, the door slid open slowly. AJ propped herself upon a nearby wall and made her way toward the bed in the far end of the room. A horror-filled creature that looked like her lay writhing on another bed.

Her long black hair set in large ringlets that crowned her alabaster face, which was now displaying a look of sheer terror and confusion.

The creature’s sapphire eyes glanced up at Applejack, who was halfway between the door and her bed. “Get away! Get away, you monster!” she screamed in Rarity’s voice.

Applejack’s eyes widened. “Rarity? Is that you? Dadgum, I couldn’t recognize you lookin’ like that!”

Rarity ceased screaming and looked up in confusion. “Applejack? My, word... What’s going on? Where am I? What happened to us?” she waved her hand, palm-up, in front of herself, indicating their current situation.

“From what I can tell, when we went through that portal thingy, we ended up in some freaky world where everypony looks like this.” she looked down, still shocked by her appearance. As she inspected herself, she noticed that her clothing had an apple drawing printed on the front of it. Rarity’s had a cluster of gems.

“Oh my goodness! Where are the rest of our friends?” Rarity worried aloud. The thought hit Applejack like a lead weight.

Oh my... What if they didn’t make it through? She wondered nervously.

“Well, we simply must find them!” Rarity announced. “Now, how do you use those things you’re standing on?” she pointed at Applejack’s alien-looking legs.

“Well, I recon you need to learn how to balance on ‘em like Spike did.” The thought of her missing friend brought a heaviness in her chest.

“Erm... Like this?” Rarity attempted to stand erect from her bed, but her knees buckled beneath her. She fell right on her rump. “Ow! That hurt!” she complained, rubbing her sore backside.

Applejack stifled a momentary grin. “C’mon, lemme help you up.” She waddled toward her fallen companion with difficulty and reached a shaky hand out. Rarity grasped hers into AJ’s, and was brought back to her feet. AJ stumbled backward into the wall, bringing Rarity with her. Their heads smacked together with a loud conk!

“Dear Celestia, that hurt!” Rarity complained, rubbing her forehead. Applejack winced in pain, but didn’t complain. She pointed toward the door, and started stumbling toward it. Rarity followed close behind.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“I found some sorta room down the hall. I figure we can get to it, and wait ‘till the others get here,” AJ answered, inspecting the room. If they do get here...

“What in Sam Hill is this fuzzy stuff that we’re standing on?” Applejack asked.

“If I remember correctly, it’s called carpet. I’ve seen it in some boutiques I have visited.” Rarity replied displaying her knowledge of fabrics.

“Whatever it is, it feels right strange on my uh... Feet.”

“That it does. That it does,” Rarity agreed.

As they reached the end of the hallway, they came to an open room that contained a large sofa made out of some sort of smooth black material. Applejack steadied herself on the wall and pushed off, stumbling toward the furniture. She fell over onto it and motioned for Rarity to try. Rarity attempted to imitate AJ’s actions, but rammed her stomach into the edge of the furniture.

“Oof!”

Applejack cringed. “You alright there, sugar cube?” She asked, worried.

“Yes... I believe so...” Rarity grunted. “All this stumbling around is very unladylike.” She waddled her way to where Applejack was seated.

“Well, now we have a good place to think about what happened. I think-”

Applejack was interrupted by a sound that came from the door to the side of the room. The noise sounded like a key sliding onto a lock. The troubled pair sat helpless on the sofa. The lock unlatched and the door opened. Rarity shrunk back in fear.

A tall, slender creature that resembled themselves walked through the door wearing khaki slacks, large framed sunglasses, and a knee-length navy pea coat. Her hair was jet black and had a long streak of fuchsia running through it. She looked over at the pair cowering in fear on the sofa.

“Oh, hey guys. It’s about time you got here,” she said in a familiar voice.

Rarity’s eyes opened wide. “Twilight! Is that really you?” she asked, dumbfounded.

“Of course it is, Rarity! I’ve been waiting almost two weeks for you girls to get here!” Twilight replied.