Ponies through the Portal

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Epilogue

Chapter 1

Life as a brony in my family is tough. Watching new episodes on youtube cause you don't want anyone to see you watching it on TV. It's a hard life, but it becomes easier when you have friends who enjoy it just as much as you do. My two bestest friends, both pegasisters would agree. Thats us, the pony crusaders. Most times our adventures don't involve much. But there was one time, that changed everything.

It was a sunny morning, rather average in every way. I was taking a stroll around my farm, looking around at the ground as usual. I had reached the river at the bottom, and noticed a glimmer in the water. I reached forward and grabbed it. When I pulled it out, I saw that in my hand was a gem, but no ruby or diamond. It was a sort of strange black and purple, with cyan spots all over it. I stared at it with wide eyes as I got back into my room.

I placed it carefully onto my chest of drawers, and tapped it to see if it would do anything. Nothing, it just sat there, continuing to look bedazzling, until after I place my reading light onto its surface to get a better look. It burst into purple light that lit up the entire room. As I walked back from being stunned by the light show, the light began to condense, creating a large round circle of pure purple light. It seemed to be drawing me in, as if it would swallow me whole. It was... no, it couldn't be... a portal? I turned the light off, and it immediately disappeared. It combined back into the small rock it had been only a few minutes ago. I stood, mouth agape, staring at the rock.

After I had stopped my stare contest with the rock, I quickly grabbed my phone, sending a message to my two fellow crusaders, asking them to come over as soon as possible. 30 minutes later, and they pulled up in the driveway, both with confused looks on their faces. After I had explained about the rock, showing them the strange artefact as proof, both of them went from confused to excited. We decided that, if we were going to use the portal, we would do it together.

I set the rock down under the sun's ray. The rock once again burst into light, and in moments became a portal again. The three of us looked at each other. "The Pony Crusaders" I said, "shall stick together!" The two beside me nodded, and we jumped through together.

As I soared through a giant wormhole of sorts, the purple light began to change. I could see a sun, and clouds, with strange figures moving them around. Trees began to appear and animals as well. But when I looked down, my hands weren't there. Instead, I saw a set of blue legs, each with yellow hooves. I noticed as I looked around my vision was a little funny, as if my eyes were on the sides of my head. And I saw two blue wings, the bone covered by a yellow metallic bond. My rear end had a bushy black and white tail sprouting from it, the same colour as my sleek mane.

As I finally realised I was now a pony, I came to a thud onto the ground. I looked around, and realised I had landed, in the Everfree Forest. I hesitated, looking around for any sign of my friends. I saw a rustle in the bushes nearby and went over to investigate, when a pony jumped out and pinned me to the ground. "Who are you?" she asked, keeping a firm hold. I recognised her voice, and knew what to do. "Its me, I know its you..." but when I went to say her name, I said something completely different. She looked at me in puzzlement, but I could tell she knew who I was.

"Did you just call me Ginger Snap? What is up with this place, Zoom Star?" she put a hoof to her mouth. "I think," I said, "that our names don't work in this world, so we have to call ourselves our pony names." She thought it through, then nodded in agreement. After she had released me, we stood there watching each other in amazement. She was a deep purple, with a appaloosa styled hide, that was the same reddish-orange as her mane, tail and hooves. Her back left leg had a small black leg bracelet around it, and her nose was coloured in a reddish-orange as well.

After we both realised what was happening, we decided it would be best if we find civilisation. And if we were where we thought we were, that meant we would need to get to Ponyville. It shouldn't be too far, I thought, seeing as we are in the forest that runs along side it. So we began our walk towards the town. It was rather easy, seeing as we already knew the forest rather well. We got to the edge of the forest, and Ponyville, in no time.

The town was already bustling with ponies, and so we decided to blend in. Hopefully, we'd be able to find the third one of our number, but we would need help. As we walked through the streets, we began to recognise some of the buildings. We could see Sugarcube Corner, the smell of baked goods reaching our noses, and the Library, full of books. Familiar faces greeted us, such as Cheerilee and Apple Bloom.

We continued walking, seeing the school house in the distance along with Sweet Apple Acres. Ginger Snap thought she noticed someone walking into Fluttershy's house in the distance, and regarded it as the first glimpse of Fluttershy since arriving here. The marketplace had just started to spring up, the various stalls already selling their goods to the various townspeople.

After a long walk through the town, we finally saw a pink pony bouncing towards us. We thought of running, before she would go off to throw a party. But it was too late, she spotted us, and after she looked at us quizzically, she sprung up, mouth agape, and disappeared into Sugarcube Corner.

We decided that the first person we talk to should be Twilight, seeing as she was the most magic trained, and would eventually help us get back. So we knocked three times on the library door, and waited. When the door opened, we looked down to see that there was a small purple dragon with green spikes. "Yes?" he said, sounding tired. "What is it?" I spoke up first. "Me and my friend here would like to speak to Twilight Sparkle." I said. He nodded, stepping back to allow us in. "Twilight!" he shouted. "You have visitors!" As he finished, Twilight bounded down the stairs, and her eyes sparkled with excitement when she saw us.

She walked over to us, a smile spread across her face. "You must be the new ponies Pinkie told me about." she quickly grabbed my hoof with hers, shaking it wildly. "My name is Twilight Sparkle, and allow me to be the first to say welcome!" She smiled as she stepped back.

"You will find it easy to make friends here, everyone is excited about new arrivals." she said, her smile just as wide. "In fact, another newcomer arrived moments before you, and is currently staying at Fluttershy's place" We looked at each other, then shouted what we heard was "Ginger Bread!" We both covered our mouths, then smiled at each other. Ginger Snap spoke, "Do you think you could take us their? She is an old friend of ours." Twilight nodded, confused as to why they shouted out her name.

The walk was pleasant, and we saw even more of the town then before. As we arrived at Fluttershy's place, we could see various animals drifting about the garden. Twilight, ahead of us already, knocked on the door. The door opened, and standing in the doorway was a cream colored pony, with a pink flowing mane and tail. She was smiling as she listened to Twilight, glancing over at the two of us as she spoke. After a lengthy conversation, Twilight beckoned us to come inside. We immediately felt at home, the nature could be seen everywhere.

Then, we glanced over, and right in front of us, a smile bigger than Twilight's, was Ginger Bread. She was a light violet, her nose and hooves tipped in white. Her mane and tail were a deeper, more velvety red than Ginger Snap's, as was her similar appaloosa styled hide. She also had dark pink streaks through the center of her mane and tail. She walked over to us, her hair covering over one eye. She continued to smile as she said "I can't believe you guys made it here!".

Ginger Snap was first to speak. "Its so awesome here! I can't wait to explore the town!" She practically bounced as she said it. "I have an idea!" said Ginger Bread, smiling from ear to ear. "Why don't we explore together?" Ginger Snap and I nodded in agreement. Fluttershy and Twilight walked over, smiling. "We can go with you, and give you a tour!" said Twilight. Fluttershy simply nodded, quickly saying "If you, don't mind that is". I looked to her sympathetically. "Of course not, we'd love for the grand tour."

We began our tour at Sugarcube Corner, but we weren't aloud in, mostly because Pinkie Pie was preparing our surprise party. We stopped by the Library, and then the Town Hall where we met Mayor Mare. Mayor Mare was delighted that new ponies were coming to Ponyville, and we were warned of the infamous party-throwing pony and that if she has seen us we better be ready for a surprise. We smiled when we realised which pony this was.

Eventually, (after much nagging and begging) we went to Sweet Apple Acres. We had just got through the gate, when a familiar orange filly cam galloping toward us. Applejack stopped just in front of us, her hat slanted a bit to the left. "Well, howdy there partners! You must be the new ones. I'm Applejack!" she said, shaking our hooves, making me shake a bit. "Pleased to meet you Applejack!" said Snap. "I'm Ginger Snap, this is Ginger Bread, and thats Zoom Star."

As we sat down to have lunch at the farm, we tasted the apple pies and apple tarts. I just had plain apples, they were my favourite. After we mingled a bit, Twilight remembered that she had a new dress to pick up from Rarity, so we decided to head there next. Ginger Snap and Ginger Bread discussed whether they would get dresses from Rarity, while I decided to test out my wings, and I quickly got the hang of it as I flew above the others.

I landed with a thump, closing my wings back against my body as the others caught up. Twilight knocked on the door, and a cheery voice from the other side called back. "Come in!" it shouted, as we started to file through the door into the vast space full of mannequins, some with intricate dresses on them, others completely bare. In the corner of the room was a large chest full of sparkling jewels.

Standing in the centre of the room, her mane blowing back a bit from the wind coming from the open door, showing off her shining smile, was Rarity. She walked over and began to speak again. "You must be the new ponies!" she said, looking at each of us. "I'm sure I could find you two very dazzling dresses" she pointed at Ginger Snap and Ginger Bread. "The Grand Galloping Gala is soon after all!" She practically jumped for joy when she said this.

Ginger Bread smiled. "We would love that" she said, smiling from ear to ear. Her wings fluttered in agreement, which was the first time Ginger Snap and I noticed them. Ginger Snap stared at Ginger Bread's wings, then nodded in agreement. They both smiled as hard as they could at the idea of new dresses.

After a lengthy attempt at trying to pry the three of them from the store, we finally began our next visit. Seeing as Ginger Snap had no wings, and Twilight decided to use the same spell she used when they went to cheer for Rainbow Dash in Cloudsdale. Fluttershy, Ginger Bread and I soared up to the cloud palace, with the others in the balloon right behind us. I landed onto the cloud with a soft thud. It was a strange feeling to be walking on cloud. It felt like walking on giant plush marshmallows, only fluffier.

Rainbow Dash was easy to spot, and we eventually found her speeding away at the Cloud Arena. I remembered seeing this place before, the last time all the earth ponies and unicorns were standing on clouds. All the stadium seats were made of the same white clouds. Some were moulded into pillars, others just hovered as seats. Rainbow Dash skidded to halt just in front of us, then when she turned to leave the arena, she caught sight of us.

She practically jumped over to us, her mane and tail flowing through the air. She beamed as she spoke, "Hi! You guys must have seen my awesome moves! I hear your new. If so, you might not know that I'm practicing for the Wonderbolts auditions!" She practically squeed at the last sentence. I smiled, glancing at the others to see them smiling too.

This time around, it was me who was the one talking up a storm. Me and Rainbow Dash would not stop talking about the different flying moves and what she was just practicing. I finally realised how much of a fan of flying I was, and considered trying these moves myself later. Before I knew it, I was the one explaining different moves that I saw when watching a few trick planes flying around for shows, and Rainbow's eyes were quite large at the thought of new techniques.

After a lengthy chat with Dash, we realised that it was getting rather late. Twilight pulled out a small watch, and checked the time. She jumped into the air when she looked at it. "We're going to be late!" she screamed. Before we could ask what, the 5 mares were dragging us back to the balloon, and back to Ponyville.

We finally landed in Ponyville, and we took deep breaths from the extensive running we had to take. I finally managed to puff out my question. "Twilight... what are... we... late for?" I asked, breathing heavily. Twilight simply held up her hoof. She was, somehow, not out of breath, and simply said "No time." We headed off again, heading straight into town.

The lights had now been turned off, and it was so dark that none of the buildings were recognisable. The only dim light in the town was the moonlight. It was after a lot of time that we realised we had been shoved in through a door. The room was pitch black, I couldn't even see my hoof in front of my face. It seemed like an eternity in darkness, until...

"SURPRISE!" shouted the room. The lights blasted on, revealing 20 or more smiling faces, surrounded by streamers and balloons. A large banner was hung up along the rafters, emblazoned with the letters 'Welcome to Ponyville!'. Underneath it was a table full of assorted cupcakes, lollies, and various large mountains of different colored jelly. On various dishes were large cakes with different icing on each layer. Treats-a-plenty were stacked next to the table, and amongst them was a large clump of candy floss.

Wait... that wasn't candy floss. No, it was moving. I reached forward, but before I was able to grab it, a head emerged underneath it. Pinkie Pie. "Surprise!" she shouted, and I fell back. She jumped ontop of me, her giant smile beaming down on me. "I gotcha! Welcome to Ponyville! I'm Pinkie Pie, I'm sure we'll be the best of friends!" she was very energetic for a pony. She managed to say it all in a single breath.

She pulled me up onto my legs, and shook my hoof. We talked for a bit about how Ponyville was so far, and how surprised I was. Eventually Pinkie decided to mingle with the other two, so I decided I would try a few of the cupcakes. Without hesitation, I picked up the closest one and took a bite. It was surprisingly tasty, considering I was a pony and ponies don't normally eat cupcakes, but this was Ponyville.

After eating a few more, I decided to mingle. Various people came to talk to me, including various foals who asked me if I was a good flier. I told them I was decent, which was probably a lie. I spoke to Cheerilee again, and Applebloom kept talking about how she had started a Cutie Mark Crusaders group. After she and I talked lengthily, I realised that GInger Snap, Ginger Bread and I didn't have Cutie Marks. But this thought had quickly dissapeared from my mind quickly.

It wasn't long before I noticed that everyone had surrounded a small area. I approached with caution, expecting to find someone injured, or hear crying. But the only sounds coming from the huddle were immense amount of giggles! I squeezed into a gap between two other ponies, and the sight was unimaginable.

Ginger Snap and Pinkie Pie were standing face-to-face in the middle of the group, both giggling at each other. Neither would stop giggling at all, and a few people on the side were cheering at them. I decided to ask the pony next to me what was going on. "A giggle-off I heard. That new pony challenged Pinkie to a giggle-off, and they have been going at it for five minutes" he smiled. "First big mistake she made since arriving I say. Pinkie is unbeatable!" he reared as he said this. He then began conversing with the pony next to him.

The giggle-off seemed to last forever. Eventually, the two of them stopped giggling, their sides hurting. No one was sure who stopped first, so it was proclaimed a tie, and they said they would have a rematch some other day. After a few more hours of mingling, and meeting everyone in the town (I especially enjoyed my conversation with Derpy Hooves, she could not stick to a single topic for longer than 30 seconds), we finally headed off for the night.

Seeing as we did not have our own places, Fluttershy said that she could fit another pony in her house, so Ginger Bread went home with her. Ginger Snap stayed back with Pinkie Pie to stay with her at Sugarcube Corner, and Twilight offered me a side room at the library that she could set up a spare bed for me. I kindly said thank-you, and followed her back to the library. This was the start of a fun journey in the land of Equestria.

Chapter 2

I awoke to the sound of birds chirpping just outside the small window nearby. I yawned loudly, jumped off my small bed, and walked over to the window. The sun had risen fairly high, and there was a bird on a small perch just outside the window chirping loudly. I walked back and studied the room as the daylight poured in.

The room was small, with just a single bed in the centre and a few bit and bobs around it. There was a small bedside table with an intricate flashy lamp standing atop it, which I promptly switched off when I noticed it was still on. I smiled at the beautiful light from the window, then I made my way to the nearby mirror.

The mirror showed an average sized pony, dashing dark blue coat, black mane and tail, with white streaks through the middle, and dazzling wings which were spread up above the pony's head. That pony was me. Zoom Star. And I knew exactly what today would bring. Adventure, excitement. And more importantly, a place to rest my head that wasn't inside a library.

I exited the room, seeing stacks upon stacks of books. I realised how much time I had, so I began to look through the various titles on the shelves. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't read any this morning, seeing as I was going to take Ginger Snap and Ginger Bread house shopping. Perhaps I could borrow one for late night reading. But which one to pick? So many to choose from, and yet-

BAM!

I crashed, a head-on collision. When I came to, I was looking up into the worried face of a purple unicorn. "Wha... WHat happened?" I asked, still in a slight daze as I pulled myself up. "You were so focused on the books that you crashed into me!" said Twilight, giggling a little. I smiled, my vision becoming less blurry.

"I'm sorry Twilight. I'll help you clean this mess up" I said, picking up books and putting them back on the shelf. Twilight smiled, then took a few books to get back to her reading. I shook myself off, then said my farewells, placed my saddle-bag over my back (lent to me for the day by Twilight), and left the Library.

The town had already began to spring into life. The market stalls were up again, the foals were prancing around the fountain, splashing each other in the water. I decided to look through my bags, and found a small pouch inside. In the pouch as a small sum of coins, which were clearly not there when I left the Library. Oh well, I needed it anyway.

My first stops were to Fluttershy's place to find Ginger Bread, and then Sugarcube Corner for Ginger Snap. I flapped my wings twice to get myself in the air, and began to fly towards Fluttershy's. The wind flew past me, and I felt a rush as I flew towards the small cottage. It was an amazing feeling, and I just didn't want to stop.

But all good things must come to an end, so I landed with a thud in front of Fluttershy's door. I walked briskly upto the door and knocked three times. After a few moments wait, the door swang open, and Ginger Bread was smiling at me. "Hi Zoom Star! I was wondering when you'd show up!" she said. I explained my idea of house shopping, and she agreed. We began our walk back to the village, saying goodbye to Fluttershy as we left.

The walk to Sugarcube Corner was brief. I couldn't seem to figure out a conversation starter, so we just walked in silence. We said hello occasionally to passers by, and there may have been a few times where I pointed out something that was worth noting. But it was a mostly peaceful quiet walk.

We walked in, looking around at the cakes and treats stacked all over the shelves. Ginger Bread rang the bell on the counter, and Pinkie Pie bounced down the stairs to the counter. As soon as she saw us, her face erupted into a massive smile. "Hey guys! Ginger Snap was so excited for today!" she said, enthusiasticly bouncing on the spot.

Shortly after, GInger Snap followed Pinkie down to the shop, greeting us in a similar manner. As we conversed the plan of house-shopping to her, she nodded in agreement and we set off. As we reached the door, we waved goodbye to Pinkie, who waved back, then dissapeared into the kitchen.

We began looking around, trying to see if we could see any 'For Sale' signs in the corner of our eyes. We began looking around the outskirts of town, seeing if any houses were available. After hunting and hunting, we found a small cottage near the river that was for sale. The cottage was nice, and had all the necessary rooms for living, but the cost was very expensive. We couldn't afford it.

We continued our search for another hour, with no luck. We sat down at the fountain, feeling defeated, when a familiar face appeared. Applebloom was walking by, and noticed us sitting down, seeing our depressed expressions. She walked over to them, a smile on her face. "Well, howdy ponies! Whats got you so down?" she asked.

We explained our house shopping dilema. She just jumped into the air with a big smile on her face. "I know the perfect place!" she said, loud enough to make us all jump. "Come on, follow me!" and she sprinted off. We looked each other quickly, then ran after her, starting a wild goose chase.

It felt like an eternity of chasing, turning every corner imaginable. Right, left, left, right, left, right, right. It was a maze, one that played on the weak minded. Eventually I decided to focus on keeping up with Applebloom, rather than where we were going. After ages on end, we finally stopped, in front of a very large house.

It was a tower of some sorts, two stories high. The walls were built with stone bricks, making it seem more and more like a tower that had fallen off a castle. "Come on! You need to see inside!" shouted Applebloom, rushing through the door. As we approached, we smelled the warm waft of strawberries and cream from the open window. I thought to myself, how is this a house?

We followed the small pony into the tower, and my question was immediately answered. The bottom floor was bright and colourful, the wall covered in bright yellow wallpaper. The living room took up most of this floor, with two sofas in the centre of the room. The stairs leading to the top floor were at the back of the room. Hanging from the roof just above the sofas was a glamourous chandelier. The floor was warm from the firelight of the firplace in front of the two sofas, warming the entire room.

Against all the walls were a number of old dusty books and tomes. They weren't sorted like the library though. They were placed under themes and topics, such as Adventure, containing the entire series of Daring Doo, Romance, with various novels with glamourous ponies on the front cover, and much much more.

I was stumped... amazed even. It was perfect, no, better than perfect. I was so entranced I hadn't noticed that the girls had went up the stairs already. I was brought back down from dreamland when I heard a loud squeal from upstairs. I ran upstairs, and in front of me was three doors, each of them open. Behind each door was an identical bedroom, one with blue wallpaper, one with purple, and the third had red.

Ginger Snap was bouncing up and down on the bed in the purple room, and Ginger Bread was rolling around on the floor in the red room, a giant smile on her face. It was obvious who made the squeal. Applebloom was standing in the centre of the three rooms, a bigger smile than GInger Bread's on her small face.

"Applebloom," I said as she turned to face me. "I think you've found us a miracle. Thank you so much!" She just smiled, her face practically saying 'Your welcome'. I gave Applebloom a small pouch of gold to take to the real-estate agent, and she placed it in her saddle-bag and dashed off. I smiled as GInger Snap and Ginger Bread left their rooms, grinning from ear-to-ear.

We stood there smiling at each other for some time, until Ginger Snap spoke. "This is going to be so fun!" she said, practically jumping. We nodded excitedly in agreement. We decided to try some activities in town, so we left the tower and began walking back to the centre of town, all of the market stalls bustling even more.

We began our stroll through the market, taking note of what each one was selling. I saw the Library, wondering what Twilight and Spike were currently up to in there. As we approached the edge of town, I saw Applejack running around an obstacle course. I pointed it out to the others, and they watched in awe as she jumped hurdles and performed tricks.
As she soared over another jump, It reminded me of flying. Flying. Wings! I wanted to practice flying today. I told the others, and they said they would gladly watch me. I told them they didn't have to if they didn't want to, but they insisted. I smiled as I stretched my wings out and jumped into the air.

Flapping my wings, I began soaring in circles around the two ponies below. They smiled, watching me go round and round. After I got used to my wings, I span around in a circle, making sure not to clip my wings back in. It was tough, and I began to tumble back to the ground.

Just before I crashed, I snapped my wings out, backflipping before I could hit the ground. After hearing the cheers from below, I regained my normal flight pattern. I looked out of the corner of my down below and saw a lot more than two ponies. A lot of ponies were now cheering, clapping and making as much noise as possible.

I smiled, soaring down a bit, then snapping my wings up and pushing down, causing me to do a front flip. I misjudged the outcome, however, and began flying sideways. I used this to my advantage, spinning around in a barrel roll and skidding, speeding off into the sky. A tumultuous applause followed this. It felt good.

I floated down to the ground, and saw that most of Ponyville was now standing before me cheering me on. I could see Twilight, with an excited Spike on her back, next to her I could see Rainbow was so happy, smiling from ear-to-ear. I decided to finish with the finale.

I began running around the larg clump of people, collecting as much speed as I could. The group saw what I was doing, and began forming more of a circle. I smiled, running as fast as I could. My feet were burning from the immense speed, hitting the gravel repeatedly. When I got enough speed, I jumped straight up into the air.

The feeling was amazing, the wind flying past me as my speed rose faster and faster. I climbed higher and higher, soaring past the clouds, and out of the sight of the ponies below. I continued to climb, my wings working as hard as they could. The cold air began fighting back now, and I could feel my body ache, wanting me to stop.

I slowed to a halt, leaving my wings at a casual flutter as I hovered, amongst a starry night. The stars seemed to wink at me, as if telling me it would be okay. I smiled, winking back. I looked back down, seeing nothing but the clouds in the sky. Then, my body seemed to think for itself, as if something inside me just wanted to go back down.

And before I knew it I was soaring downwards, speed and gravity entwining as my body began to heat up. I could feel the heat surround me, as if I was on fire. But the cold air was gone, changing immediately into searing heat. As I burst through the clouds, my eyes seemed to close on me, and I drifted into a small sleep.

When I awoke, I saw many blurry faces in front of me. I blinked a couple of times, shaking my head to get rid of the diziness. When I regained my clear vision, there were many worried faces in front of me. I looked over my body, seeing no change. I looked at them quizzically, then simply said, "I'm fine."

Immediately, the faces went from worried to amazed. The cheers were deafening as everyone lifted me up, clapping and whistling. I looked at them as though they were completely mad. As they lifted me back down, Ginger Snap and Ginger Bread walked over to me, their mouths agape. "What is all this? What did I do?" I asked.

Ginger Bread spoke first. "You dissapeared through the clouds, and we stared waiting for you to come back. We had almost given up and began walking home, when a loud noise like a crack mixed in with a pop came from above!" she imitated a wacked up sound of a lightning bolt and a bottle opening mixed into a single note.

"And then, a massive shooting star burst through the cloud, and it landed with an almighty BOOM!" shouted Ginger Snap. "And then you emerged from the wreckage. You were the shooting st-- You have a cutie mark!" The sudden change in topic took me by surprise. I followed her gaze to the mark on my flank.

There, in all its glory, was a glistening mark on my flank. I saw what seemed like a shooting star, bright yellow in color. The cutie mark was shining brightly, the sun's light reflecting of the shiny surface. After having a thorough look at the mark, I looked back up at Ginger Snap and Ginger Bread, and returned their smiles excitedly.

As we ventured around town, we heard many ponies whispering and murmuring. They kept smiling at us, pointing at my flank a few times. Some ponies even said hello to me, which was unexpected. We simply replied with a hello back, and the pony in question normally ran back to their friend to whisper and talk about there small conversation they just had.

My mind was off in the distant blue summer sky, when a blue blur zoomed past us. I quickly lookd in the direction it went, and saw a familiar group of girls, Scootaloo on her scooter, with Applebloom and Sweetie Belle in the small tray it was dragging along. Scootaloo saw us as she went past, taking one of her hooves off the handlebar to wave.

Unfortunately, the scooter began to swerve, and Scootaloo lost control. The three fillies dissapeared around the corner, the distant screams snapping the bitter silence. WIthout a moments hesitation, Ginger Snap and Ginger Bread bolted towards the place they had dissapeared. I followed suit, but ran out of breath from the exhaustion of the flight show I had just performed.

I stood, breathing heavily as I watched the two of them running after the out of control scooter. As I watched, I was amazed when Ginger Bread flew up into the air, and hovering behind Ginger Snap. Ginger Snap leapt into the air and did a backflip, stretching her back legs upwards, allowing GInger Bread to grab them, holding her upside down.

Then, they soared towards the Crusaders as they veered all over the place. They got closer and closer, GInger Snap reaching her front hooves out and Ginger Bread getting her as close as possible, lowering and speeding up to keep up with the crazy blue scooter. In a single moment, it was all over.

Ginger Snap managed to hoist all three girls off the scooter as it plummeted into and abandoned stall. Ginger Bread slowly let them all down to the ground, where she and Ginger Snap were met with a massive applause. The three fillies, now smiling up at their rescuers, hugged them as thanks for saving them.

They rescued the scooter out of the broken stall, and gave it back to Scootaloo. She smiled, saying "Thank you!" before running off to get it fixed. Once again the crowds erupted into applause, and Ginger Bread and Ginger Snap barely escaped them, running over to me as I stood there panting.

We stood there smiling at each other, and that is when I noticed the marks on their flanks, shining brightly. I pointed to them, excited as they were as they turned to admire their newly decorated flanks. They looked at each other, smiled from ear-to-ear, and showed each other their cutie mark.

Ginger Snap had a small imprint of a ninja star, a deep black color. Just like mine, it glistened in the sun's rays as they hit the mark. Ginger Bread's cutie mark was a pair of deep brown nunchuks, which obviously meant that they were being acknowledged for their acrobatic, ninja like talents.

After saying hello to a few more ponies, and shaking peoples hands, we went back to our new home, the tower. Ginger Snap and Ginger Bread were exhausted from the rescue mission, and went to bed early, so I picked up a book of the shelf and began to read. I usually dont look at covers, because it brings about too much judgement on my part.

I simply opened to the first page, and began reading. It was a delightful read, and I would mak sure I found the title before I put it down. I read as I sat down on the couch in front of the fireplace, the warm embers flicking as the heat slowly engulfed my body. It wasn't long, therefore, that I had fell asleep, the book covered over my head as I dozed off.

Chapter 3

The light of the sun shone through the window, refracting against the glass and igniting the entire room with light. The walls shined blue from the beams that were coming from the window. I awoke from my deep slumber, rubbing my eyes with my hooves and lifting the covers off of me so I could get out of bed.

The room around me was a deep blue in color. The sun was up in the sky now, emitting a cheerful glow and lighting up all of Ponyville. As I looked out the window, I saw the bustling town of ponies already whirring into action and selling their goods in the town square. It took me some time to stop admiring my view and realise the time. I had overslept.

I rushed to the mirror, grabbing a brush and setting my mane and tail properly. I had really bad bed hair, which made it even longer to do. After I had finished doing that, I quickly burst through my door, expecting to see empty rooms in front of me. And as I looked towards the other's rooms, I saw empty beds.

The closest room was a pleasant cream colour, which went well with the rest of the room. The sun had obviously entered this room, as it shone brighter than my room, much brighter. The one next to this was purple, deep purple, and the light was having a similar effect as it did on my room's walls.

I rushed downstairs, hearing people talking. Two mares were downstairs, chatting up a storm, and from the tones in their voices they seemed concerned and worried. I slowly made my way down the stairs so as to not make a noise, but it wasn't until when I appeared in the doorway that I heard what they were saying.

"I don't know! It's frustrating to say the least" said Ginger Snap. Ginger Bread frowned, and then finally responded. "We have to find some way, or who knows what will happen!" she shouted, causing Ginger Snap to jolt. "Well, maybe Twilight can help us? She knows how to use magic she can- Zoom Star!"

They both smiled as they realised that I was there, and fully awake, especially after the jolt I got from Ginger Bread shouting. I smiled back, trotting over and taking a seat next to them. "Hey guys. So, what is this you guys were talking about?" I asked, hesitant at first. Ginger Bread looked at Ginger Snap, and they both nodded.

"Ginger Snap and I have decided that we should find a way back home, because our family is probably missing us heaps" said Ginger Bread. It had not occurred to me that we were away from our actual homes. I suppose I just felt like I belonged here, with the ponies. It was that moment I realised that we needed to get back home, to our real home.

"Well, I still think Twilight can help us, so maybe we should visit her, see if her books can find something to help us" said Ginger Snap. Ginger Bread and I nodded in agreement. We packed a few books into our saddle bags and a few coins as well, and walked out the door. We closed the door behind us, and began walking towards Ponyville.

The sun shone like a large orb of happiness, smiling down on the town. The lake glittered and shined from the reflection of the sun on it's calm waters. I smiled, looking down at the calm lake and regretting more and more the decision to leave. But as much as my heart told me to stay, my brain became insistent on telling it to keep quiet.

As we approached the edge of the town, the greetings and smiles began following us through the town. We smiled and waved back, greeting everyone with simple hellos, until three small fillies bounded toward us. They stopped in front of us, now easily recognisable as Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

"We would like to say thank you to you for saving us, Ginger Bread and Ginger Snap" they recited together, beaming with enthusiasm at meeting their saviors once again. The two mares looked down at them and smiled, simply saying together "You’re welcome". The three fillies then bounded away, with a skip in their step.

We had just reached the fountain when we were interrupted once again by a familiar cyan pony flying toward us. Her rainbow mane and tail fluttered in the wind as she landed in front of me. She smiled at me, almost jumping on the spot from excitement. When she calmed down, all she could say was, "You were epic yesterday! Can you teach me to fly like that?".

I smiled back, simply nodding. When the bump in my leg, Ginger Bread pretending not to be interested, told me otherwise, my smile turned upside-down. "Sorry Rainbow, but I can't teach you now, perhaps another time? I'm kind of busy at the moment" I said, giving her my best artificial smile I could. She simply smiled and nodded.

As she trotted off in the opposite direction, we began making our way to the large tree that was the library. I casually knocked on the door three times, and waited for an answer. None came. I knocked again, but again no-one answered. It was only after my third, very hard knock that I heard a noise like tumbling down stairs on the other side of the door.

When the door opened, the purple unicorn we saw two days ago was completely different. Her mane and tail were all over the place, her horn no longer visible from all the hair covering it. Her fur was ruffled, poking out in odd places. Her eyes were baggy and red. Immediately I realised, we had just woken Twilight Sparkle up.

"Sorry for my state, I was sleeping in. Please come in, I'll just fix myself up" she said, opening the door wider so as to let us through. We smiled at her, casually walking in at sitting down on some nearby cushions. Twilight closed the door and then rushed upstairs, no doubt addressing her case of bad bed hair.

After a while I decided I’d look around at the books. I walked around, reading the titles to find anything worth reading. I continued to look through the titles not noticing that Twilight had emerged from upstairs. The others called over to me, but my mind had gone into a trance of finding anything. As I read the title of ‘Elements of Harmony’ I felt a bump on my back. I turned so fast I hit the shelf with my flank.

Nopony had seen me hit the shelves, so I replaced all the books onto the shelf and walked over to the others, not noticing the empty spot in the shelf where ‘Elements of Harmony’ once rested. I closed my saddlebag and placed beside me before sitting next to Ginger Bread on a cushion. Twilight looked normal now, her hair straight and her mane set with no more tufts in awkward places.

“Now” Twilight started. “What can I do for you?” she asked, smiling curiously at us. Ginger Snap got up. “We need to inform you of something, something that you may not understand” she said, frowning. Twilight tilted her head to show her misunderstanding. It was my turn to get up now. “We aren’t actually ponies. We came from another world, from a different race” I said.

Twilight was frozen on the spot, until her mouth opened to form a perfect ‘O’ shape. She gasped, placing her hoof on her mouth and looking from me, to Ginger Bread and then Ginger Snap. Ginger Bread stood up now, ready for her contribution. “And now we have to get back, but, we don’t know how to. We got here when we found a strange rock and it created a portal that took us here” she said, rubbing her head.

Twilight frowned, looking at us all with sadness in her eyes. She seemed to be struggling with the idea that not only were some of her new friends not actually from here, but they were planning to leave. She swerved a bit, seemingly paler than normal. We looked at each other, the same worried faces replicated like a mirror over our heads.

“I… I will look” Twilight finally said, eventually gaining back her colour. She trotted forward toward the shelves and began throwing them off and into a large pile. Spike stood in the background, an angry smirk on his face as he saw all the cleaning he would have to do. She continued through a cycle, picking up a book, looking at the title, then throwing it over her shoulder.

Sometimes she would take one off the shelf and read over a few pages, which struck smiles in our face, thinking she had found something. But alas, she found nothing every time, simply adding the book to the pile. I had even started sorting the pile into different neater piles so it would be easier to clean later, making sure to catch the books that would have endangered the clean mountains of literature.

Finally, with a sad frown, she slumped into an uncomfortable sitting position on the floor. Every book in the library had been taken off the shelf and put into the piles. She looked at us, and then said “Nothing! I couldn’t find anything!” She got back up onto her four hooves and walked back to us. “Well, we’re going to have to find another way soon. I’m starting t miss my striped hair already” I said.

Suddenly, Twilight sprung up, a grin on her face. “That’s it! Stripes!” she shouted, cantering back to us before we reached the door. “If I can’t help you, I know who can! Zecora!” she shouted, bouncing around with glee. We looked at each other, our spirits lifted. “Let’s go then” we said unison to Twilight. She smiled, showing us out the door and into the busy town.

We made our first stop at Sugarcube Corner and knocked on the door. A pink blur burst through the door, tackling Ginger Snap onto the ground. When the dust cleared, the two mares were giggling next to each other. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy emerged as well, smiling at us. We explained the situation, telling them we need help getting into the Everfree Forest.

“What do you mean your not ponies?” asked Rainbow, looking at us in curiosity. I smiled at her, walking along beside her as we headed to Carousel Boutique. Pinkie Pie and Ginger Snap were giggling at each other in front of us, and Fluttershy and Ginger Bread were conversing in whispers behind us. Twilight decided to listen to my answer to Rainbow’s question, and trotted up to my other side.

“Well, we are actually humans” I said. I quickly regained my sentence at the sight of their confused looks. “We’re about 3 times taller, and we walk and two legs, not four. We have arms as well, and instead of hooves we have hands and feet” After my brief explanation, the two mares looked at each other, then back at me. They simply said “Wow!”

We arrived at Carousel Boutique, hearing the sounds of tape being stretched and fabric being cut and shaped. Pinkie and Ginger Snap knocked three times, and a cheery voice from the other side shouted “Just a minute!” We heard the scramble of hooves on hardwood floor, and then various noises on the opposite side of the door. It opened, Rarity standing in its frame.

We explained all of the details to her, and she reluctantly nodded. “Why is everything troublesome always in the Everfree Forest!” she said. She opened the door wider, revealing Applejack, who was taking her newly fitted dress off of her body. She smiled, nodding at us and cantering out the door to follow us. With everyone here, we made our way to the edge of the Everfree Forest.

The forest seemed darker than usual, but it was probably just the spookiness of it. It seemed to emanate a vibe of fear, and I could see that Ginger Snap and Ginger Bread were shaking on the spot. I nodded to them, mouthing “We can do this”. They nodded back, smiling as we began walking forward into the forest. Pinkie Pie had her eyes closed and was bouncing along the path in front of us.

The further we went in, the spookier it became. The sounds of the trees swaying in the wind, and the branches creaking up and down would drive a lesser pony crazy with fear. But we persevered, and continued to walk through it. The others had no trouble at all, seeing as they had been inside the forest countless times before. Rarity seemed to still have a few tingles of disgust now and then.

The path became treacherous now, rocks pointing out at weird angles and various stones tripping up anypony who didn’t watch their feet. This made it difficult to go anywhere, seeing as you had watch your head as well from low branches or dangerous animals that hung from them, such as snakes or bats. Well, bats or more scary then dangerous, but you get the picture.

The trees began making faces, their clawed branches reaching through the shadows trying to pull us into a deep panic and moment of sheer peril. The clouds were moving on their own, with no help from the Pegasi. Even though we had these clouds normally on Earth, it still sent shivers down your spine when you looked up expecting to see a Pegasi and there is nopony there.

As if to make matters worse, the rain began to pour in, drenching all of us in water. Rarity began panicking, trying to fix her mane as the rain began beating down upon it. Pinkie seemed to just avoid all of the terror, and kept bouncing along the path, her mane and tail unaffected by the rain and still puff up like cotton candy.

The ground soon became muddy and wet, and we began to become more scared as our hooves slugged through the deep mud, the squelching noises reverberating, echoing throughout the forest. Even Pinkie started to get slower and more nervous than usual. She stopped bouncing, walking through the mud with everyone else.

We had reached a more mountainous area, and because it wasn’t raining here, we decided to rest for a bit before heading off. Rarity immediately began sprucing up her mane, reshaping it to its former glory. Because the noises and echoes had died down, Pinkie seemed to have perked up once again, bouncing about with more energy than a teenager on Red Bull (Red Pegasus in Equestria).

After we had been sufficiently rested, we began heading through the rocky mountains. The journey was very treacherous, the rocks spiking out in all directions. If you lost your footing for a second, you would be cut, bruised, or worse. The recent rain made the rocks slippery and hard to keep a footing, so it was even more dangerous.

We eventually managed to reach the darker area of the forest; a few of us sustaining a small cut or bruise here and there. The trees were calmer here, but the spookiness still remained. The leaves were grown larger and further out in these trees, creating canopies that shielded it from the light of the sun. The wind was stronger here, so the trees and their branches made more creaking sounds than the ones before.

We walked carefully, slowly making our way along the path. It was much dryer here due to the canopies shielding the forest floor from rain. Rarity had finally fixed her mane, keeping it from the low branches so it wouldn’t be damaged further. Pinkie was ahead of us again, bouncing away at the front of the group, a large smile on her face.

After a long journey, and many setbacks, we finally found the small hut that belonged to Zecora, the zebra that lived in the deep parts of the Everfree Forest. Pinkie seemed to act on her own accord, knocking loudly on the door three times. From the other side, loud noises of things crashing and being dropped could be heard.

“Who knocks on my door, it is half past four!” shouted a familiar voice. Twilight trotted up to the door where Pinkie was standing. “Zecora, we need your help urgently” she said. The door opened, and Zecora, moved to the side to let us in. As I walked in, I saw various strange objects along the shelves, such as masks and herbs.

“Twilight Sparkle, you brought your friends, but before we talk, I must make amends” said Zecora, pointing her hoof at the source of the crashing sounds. She had dropped a small pot with a liquid in it, that had now spilled across the floor. She began scooping the mixture into a similar pot, and placed it onto the shelf. The remaining pieces of the first pot were thrown away.

After she had cleaned everything, we began explaining our dilemma to the zebra. She simply stood and listened, seemingly unsurprised. We explained the rock we had found, and everything that happened to it when we held it under a light and made it into a portal. She simply nodded as if she knew what we were talking about.

“This place called Earth, this world of yours, I have been there, of this I’m sure” she said, after we had finished telling her our story. We looked at her with astonishment, and became excited. “So how do we get from here to Earth? Do you know a way?” asked Ginger Bread. Zecora nodded pointing to a painting of a river, with a green aura around it.

“If you wish to go, back to your home, this rivers path is your only hope” said Zecora. She twitched her hoof back, beckoning us to follow her. We left the hut, and followed a small path in single file. The trees here were surprisingly peaceful. The wind had stopped and the branches had been cut back. Zecora, kicked anything that had fallen onto the path into the surroudning forest to keep it clear.

Eventually we reached a small clearing, where a river flowed slowly into a small basin like pond. In the deepest center of the pond was a hole, a large hole that could fit a pony. The water seemed to create a whirlpool around this hole, as if it was being continuously sucked through it out into the world. We smiled at each other, realising now more than ever, that we were almost home.

Epilogue

As the rushing waters continued to flow, a strange swishing sound began to fill our ears. It was similar to a large object with wings, soaring through the sky. We looked around for the source of the noise, but there was nothing. After searching the skies over and over, I spotted a colourful blur, and in a single moment, the blur had landed in front of us, as Princess Celestia.

“Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student” said the Princess, smiling down at us. Twilight smiled back, walking forward. “Princess! What a pleasant surprise!” she said, bowing low. We decided to follow suite, bowing just as low as Twilight. Twilight finally spoke, simply asking "What brings you here Princess?"

Celestia smiled at her student. "I am here because I am soon to lose 3 ponies from my kingdom" she said as she pointed her hoof at us. "The links between Earth and Equestria have been drastically repaired, so that the river is fully functional to take you three home" she smiled at us. We nodded in appreciation.

The Princess looked around. “And now I suppose you will be leaving?” she asked looking down at Ginger Snap, Ginger Bread and me. We nodded, looking up at her. I opened my mouth to explain, when she held up her hoof. “I already know everything, young ones. And I understand completely” she said, smiling.

“However” she continued, beginning to pace, “I do not wish for you to go empty handed. I have now set up a special system between our two worlds, so that myself and your friends” she gestured to the 6 mares beside us, “may message you at any time” We all jumped up, happy as ever at this new proposition. She smiled at our enthusiasm, and then frowned.

It was at this point that I realised what was happening to me. My heart felt heavy with sorrow, heavy with the burden of saying goodbye to my newest friends, that I cherished so much. These ponies were everything, and I didn't want to leave, but I knew that I would have no choice but to go back home. I felt miserable all over my body, and it was horrible.

“There is only one thing left to do now” she concluded. “It is time for your goodbyes” she said, stepping back a few paces. We looked at each other, and then nodded. Ginger Snap was first, as she approached Pinkie Pie and Rarity. “Pinkie” she said, smiling at her, “Thank you for all the good times, and Rarity, thank you for the wonderful dress ideas. I hope we see each other again”.

Pinkie burst into massive gushes of tears, and continued in this manner for a few minutes before calming and hugging Ginger Snap tightly. Rarity joined the hug, her own eyes teary. Ginger Bread smiled, approaching Fluttershy and Twilight. “Fluttershy, thank you for being such a good friend, and helping me with my wings, and thank you for all your help as well Twilight” she said.

Again, the three embraced in a big group hug. I watched, a few small drops falling from eyes. I turned to Dash and Applejack, who seemed to already be crying softly as well. “Rainbow, thank you for helping me with the flying techniques. Applejack, you were an inspiration throughout my time here. I hope I can come back to spend some time with you guys” I said, more tears forming.

And then we had joined into a massive group hug, all of us in one huddle, letting our tears go. We waved at them as we walked back to the Princess. She smiled, and pointed at the river. “To get home, you will need to jump into the river, where the current will take you down the hole in the pond. Good luck” she said finally. We smiled back, and began walking towards the river.

We turned around, seeing the others lined up and waving at us. We returned the waves merrily, and then we turned and looked at the river. Before now, we had not admired the beauty of the river. It was a deep blue, the waters sparkling from the sun high in the air. The deep blue gave off a spectacular green aura that filled anypony near it with warmth and comfort.

We sighed as we prepared for the jump. And then, we leaped off the bank and into the river. The water was cold, and I squirmed a bit as I floated downstream towards the pond. Once there, the water began spinning, as did the world around me, making me very dizzy.

And then, I felt a déjà vu as I fell through on endless tunnel. Nothing was real here, everything was nothing. I could feel my body change as I continued to plummet deeper into the tunnel. Then a bright light appeared in front of me, getting closer and closer. My eyes widened as the light engulfed my vision, and I was thrown into deep sleep.

When I awoke, I was lying on the hard-wood floor of my bedroom. I felt around, waiting for my vision to return. After I had struggled to my feet, I began making out details such as a bed, a bookcase, a chest of drawers and two people just waking up. My friends had returned as well, and they too were gaining back their vision.

I looked around again. The bed was made, the bookcase was dusty as usual, the chest of drawers was clean and the saddlebag was lying comfortably against the wall. Wait, a saddlebag? I rushed over to it, picking it up and opening it. It was barely empty, but unmistakable. This was the saddlebag I had with me while in Ponyville.

I picked up the only object in the bag. A book, a small book with the title ‘Elements of Harmony’. I went back into my memories. I had bumped the shelves with my flank, causing the book to fall into my open saddlebag. I looked down at the book, amazed that it had made it through to my world. I excitedly added it to the bookshelf and smiled at the others.

And they smiled back, eager to get going to tell others of the adventure. And so there you have it. The Pony Crusaders, venturing through the portal into a mystical world full of ponies. Awesome huh? After the events, I decided, I need to share them with you. So this is my collection, of the journey back and forth. They story isn’t over yet though. We went back every week or so, and our adventures continued. But they are for another time.

Note: If you liked this, be sure to check out the Spin-Off written by Ginger Snap, set 1 year later.