New Beginningby Cyanjames2819ChaptersChapter 1: First Day of SchoolChapter 2: Battle Stations!Chapter 3: Surprise VisitorChapter 4: TourChapter 1: First Day of School It was now a cool winter in the small town of Ponyville. Mostly all white and bright as the sun reflects off the snow and ice. All ponies wore vests, scarf and hats on, to keep a little warm from the occasional, random windy days. Near Fluttershy's cottage, though, two peculiar looking kids were playing and laughing merrily. They stood on their hind legs, both had fluttering, little wings on their backs, also had two fingers and a thumb on each hand and three toes on their feet. They stood tip toe like the ponies, but had a hard time trying to go on all fours, because their arms were a little shorter than their hind legs. They both had mane and tail like the ponies and had a head and face of one, and had their little ears at the top as well, but their mane seemed to spread out across their scalp instead of a traditional Mohawk like mane all ponies have. The female's coat was icy blue; her mane and tail were white and aqua blue in color. The male's coat was pure white like clean snow, with an icy blue mane and tale. The female's eyes were baby blue in color and the male had a darker shade of color then she had. What could make such strange little pony, adorable hybrids? The girl caught up to the other and jumped at him, "Gotcha!" she yelled in her squeaky tone with her arms out forward, as she flew towards him. He looks back and was forced on the snowy ground with her on top of him with a small puff of snow and a light ‘Thump!’. When he recovered and opened his eyes, she pocked his nose, "Tag! You're it!" she quickly got off and started scurrying away, giggling. "No far! You jumped on me!" he yelled back and went after her with a stumble to presume the chase. A light yellow Pegasus mare opened the cottage door and smiled at the playing duo, "Snowflake! Spirit! Lunch time!" she yelled the best she could in her quiet, motherly voice. The two stopped on their tracks and looked back at her with smiles. "Okay!" the girl known as Snowflake yelled back. "Race, ya!" she told the other and went past him with a giggle. They both got in and took off their vests and hung them up on the coat hanger beside the door, as Fluttershy nuzzled both their noses, earning a nuzzle back from the siblings. The three then moved in the kitchen and there, stood near the counter, was another strange creature known as a human. He was tall, his hair was dark brown, near black but the light reflecting off him from the window showed a light tint of brown. He wore a light grey t-shirt, a small, burnt hole on his left shoulder showing a permanent scar. His pants were navy blue and hung freely like a wavy flag, with two white stripes going down the sides to his ankles. "Daddy!" the two yelled and ran up to him, and hugged both his legs tightly. "He-heh. How was outside?" he asked, and carried two plates to the table, dragging along the two bundles easily. He lifted one of his legs and grabbed onto Snowflake, "So much Fun!" she answered. He smiled and set her down on a chair with a pat on the head. He lifted his other leg and set Spirit down on another chair, as he nodded his little head in agreement. The family started eating, and after lunch, the father started cleaning the dishes. Fluttershy gently put the two down on the floor, "Are you two excited to go the school?" she asked them both in her motherly tone. "I'm I!" Snowflake answered giddily. "Um…" Spirit seemed thoughtful, "A… little…" he answered nervously as he seemed to shrink a curl a little while standing. Fluttershy smiled and hugged him against her warm barrel, "Don't worry, you'll be with your sister, Spirit". She looked at both of them, "Just listen to your teacher and behave. You’ll have a lot of fun with other’s your age. Maybe you make new friends?" she reached out and fixed Snowflakes mane a little. "Winter, ready to go?" she asked her husband as she looked back. He dried his hands with a towel cloth as he walked out the kitchen. "Yup." he answered and rested the towel on a counter. Then there was a knock on the door, earning everyone’s attention. Fluttershy went over and opened the door, "Oh, hello, Sapphire." she greeted her assistant. The mare was white and had a cobalt blue mane and tail. "Good day, Fluttershy" she greeted back. Fluttershy let her in as she helped Snowflake and Spirit put on their vests and little nit hats. "I and Winter will be taking our kids to their first day of school. We won't be long." she said to the mare. "Okay." Sapphire answered and hung up her vest and scarf. "Oh, and Angel's sick today. Can you take care of him while we're gone?" she took on her own vest. "Will do, ma'am." Sapphire answered and went to go find the sick bunny. Winter grabbed his brown, leather Stetson hat, sunglasses and vest, "Not to point out the obvious or anything, but I think he's just a little jealous of the kids getting the attention." he said and took on his shoes while crouching down. Fluttershy slightly lowered her head, "I hope not." she answered little sadly. They all got out and Winter closed the door behind them. Snowflake bounced around happily around the snow, while humming a tune to herself. But Spirit looked more hesitant and followed his mother closely on her side while fiddling with his fingers nervously. As they reached the little gate of the school, Snowflake hopped up, grabbed the top and lifted herself up with little grunts of struggle to get a good look at the school grounds with peeking eyes. There were young fillies and colts going around happily, laughing and playing with one another in the snow, but more than half were shivering in little huddled groups. "Wow!" she said silently to herself with a smile. She dropped back down and looked back at her parents and brother. Fluttershy opened the gate, "Let's go see your teacher, shall we?" she said to the two. Snowflake nodded happily and bolted towards the door. But Spirit was still close to his mother, nervously looking around and his himself when the fillies and colts get too close. Winter opened the door and all went in. They all saw a cherry red earth pony known as Cheerilee, working on some papers on her desk. "Oh, hello." she got off her seat and went up to them with a small smile. "Good day, Cherrilee." Fluttershy greeted back. Cheerilee looked down at the kids, as they hid behind their mother’s and father’s legs from the stranger. "Oh, who might you two be?" she leaned down to eye level. "I'm Snowflake!" she introduced herself as she came out from her father’s legs and stood up tall, bringing out her hand. Cheerilee smiled and shook her little hand, "Nice to meet you Snowflake. I'm Miss Cheerilee." she introduced herself. She looked at the other one. Spirit was hiding behind his mother's fore hooves. Fluttershy looked down, "Come on out." she said gently and lightly nudged him with her nose. He took a few steps out. Cheerilee smiled, "Hello. My name is Cheerilee. Who might you be?" she slowly brought out a hoof. Spirit slowly brought out his hand, "H-hi Miss Cheeril-lee. I-I'm Spirit." he introduced himself next. "Nice to meet you, Spirit. Don't worry, I'm a nice pony." she assured him. "O-okay" he answered timidly, but was yanked into a hug by his sister. Cheerilee looked at the clock, "Time for class." she said and looked back at Fluttershy and Winter. Fluttershy looked at the kids, "We'll come and get you two after school, okay?" she said to them both and they nodded, Snowflake little more fast then Spirit. The adults got out; "Hey, Spirit." Snowflake looked down at her brother. Spirit sat down, "Hm?" he looked up. "We'll be okay. Mommy said, we just have to listen and behave to Cheerilee." she said to him. She then sat down beside him and wrapped an arm around her brother, "Will always be together, no matter what." she said to him happily. He smiled and nodded at her. Then the doors opened and a horde of colts and fillies went in, all wearing vests, scarf and hats. The siblings separated and looked around nervously as they stood back up, Spirit taking cover behind his sister like a little puppy. "Good morning, my little ponies!" Cheerilee greeted. "Good morning, Miss Cheerilee." they all greeted back in unison. "Now, we have two new students joining us today." she went behind the two siblings, "Their names are Snowflake and Spirit. I suspect open hooves from all of you." she said to them. She then nudges both of them lightly and leaned down, "Go on. Introduce yourselves.” She whispered to them with a small smile. Snowflake stepped forward first, “Hi… my name is Snowflake…” she held her hands at her back and looked down at her feet with a little brush. “Hi, Snowflake.” They all chimed in greetings. Snowflake looked back at her brother, a fix of fear and anxiety fixed onto his face and body language. She took a few steps back and covered his body behind hers and whispered, “It’s okay, Spirit, I’m right here. Say ‘hi’.” After a short moment, Spirit took a few deep breaths taught by his mother and calmed downed enough to speak. He looked at the class from behind his sister. “Um… h-hi… I’m Spirit.” He quietly greeted with a little wave of his hand from behind his sister. “Hi, Spirit.” They all greeted once more. “Take your seats." Cheerilee said to them both with a smile. They nodded and started looking around. Spirit found a desk on the second row to the left side of the room and Snowflake sat down right beside him. "Okay everypony, take out your papers and pencils. We are now starting on the studies of the sun and moon cycles." she said. Snowflake and Spirit smiled brightly and took out a couple of papers and pencil from their desks. Thanks to aunt Lulu and Tia, this should be easy. Snowflake thought to herself with a smirk. In recess, all but Snowflake and Spirit were hesitant to get out the warm building, some asked Cheerilee to stay in. "If you want to stay in, you'll have to do some extra work." she said to them with a smile and they all started headed for the door, most groaning and whining about the cold. Once outside, Snowflake and Spirit went over to a nearby tree and sat down on the snow. They both looked around and saw some already starting to shake in the cold. She looked at her brother, "So what do you want to do before we go back in?" she asked him. He shrugged his little shoulders. They both started looking around and Snowflake spotted an empty swing, "How about we go on the swing?" she looked at her brother. "O-okay" he answered and both started going towards the empty swing, Spirit staying close behind his sister. They both reached it and Snowflake nudges her brother and motioned her head on the seat. He slowly nodded and got on the swing with some difficulty, but was helped by his sister. He sat up straight and held onto the chains, "Um, I-I'm read’EEEEEE!" he yelled as the swing suddenly started swinging up towards the sky, his little fists clenching onto chain for dear life. Snowflake got out of the way and saw her brother holding onto the chain with bulging eyes. "Come on! Swing higher!" she cheered with a bright smile. "I am high!" he yelled to her. "No you're not!" she replied with a little giggle and went beside the swing. "Get… Me… Down… Now!" he said as he passed by with every swing. She giggled and looked at him again, "Awe, so soon?" she smiled at him. "Yes!" he yelled once more. She thought for a moment and just decided to get behind the swing and stop him. As Spirit swung forward, she quickly got in positioned and stood up ready like a quarterback, "I got ya! OoF!". They both flew for a couple of feet, landed down on the snow and slid for a couple more, buried alive within the snow. Snowflake lifted her head out of the pile and spat out snow with a laugh, "That was fun!" she yelled and laughed again. "For you it was" Spirit replied, shaking a little. Snowflake looked at him with a little smile, “Sorry, Spirit. I promise, I wont do it again.” Just as his smiled, a snowball nailed him on the face and forced him to fall back into the snow, and then three fillies started laughing hysterically. "Hey! What was that for!?" Snowflake yelled and helped her brother up. Spirit shook his head and wiped the snow off his face. She then angrily stomped over to the three fillies, "Well! What do you have to say!" she yelled and stared down at the fillies angrily. "What do I have to say to a weirdo." the yellow filly with a blond mane and tail said and laughed again. "Yeah, weirdo!" the red filly with white and pink mane and tail said next. "Hahahaha!" a white filly with an orange mane and tail laughed. Snowflake squeezed her fists and growled angrily at the trio. She just wanted to make a building sized snowball and throw it at the three fillies. Before she could make a snowball and throw it at the filly, another one went in front of her and blocked her path. "No need for violence." she said and started to ushered Snowflake and Spirit away from the laughing bullies. They got near the steps of the building, "First day and you almost got in trouble." a light purple unicorn with yellow mane said to her. "I'm Dinky Doo." she brought out her hoof with a smile. Snowflake looked at the hoof for a good moment then both shook, "I-I'm Snowflake." she introduced herself. Dinky smiled and looked at Spirit, sitting down near the steps. "Hi." she greeted. "Ah… H-hi" he greeted back with a slight wave. "Are you okay?" she asked, examining him. Dinky was a couple of years older and Snowflake knew that, but she's such a good pony. "Hey! Snowflake!" the three looked and Snowflake and Spirit smiled. It was Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootalooo going towards them. "We saw what happened, are ya two okay?" Applebloom looked over both of them like a worried mother. "Uh-huh" Snowflake nodded. Sweetie Belle looked at Dinky, "Thanks for getting them out." Sweetie thanked her. "No problem." she answered back. Scootaloo looked back, "Great… three more." she hissed with a frown, looking at the three new school bullies. "It's bad enough with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon around, but three more!? Come on!" she looked back and stumped down with her hoof and huffed. Applebloom looked at Snowflake and Spirit, "Want ta hang with us?" she asked. Snowflake nodded happily and Spirit a little slower, but was just as eager. She then looked at Dinky, "How about ya, Dinky?" she asked. "Okay" she answered with a hopeful smile. Chapter 2: Battle Stations! A few weeks passed and Snowflake and Spirit started to get used to being in school, but her brother was still a little on the timid side, like always. Soon after their first day of school, the siblings and Dinky Doo were now a part of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. In the warm confines of the Carousal Boutique, Sweetie Belle asked her older sibling, Rarity, to make three more capes as the white, unicorn mare quickly worked in her shop. Rarity excused for being too busy at first, but when she told her it was for Snowflake, Spirit and Dinky Doo, she looked at her little sister with wide eyes and went right to working on the capes. "Why didn't you tell me it was for the three!?" Rarity rapidly worked on her sewing machine and levitated a few fabrics to her way, snipping them away with her scissors. "I forgot?" Sweetie answered unsurely, standing right behind her sister with a tilt of her head. Rarity finished, folded the capes neatly in her magical grasp after at least fifteen minutes and gave them to her little sister, "There, now go along darling, I have designs to work on, and customers to please." she went back to her work table, gently pushing her glasses up her muzzle. "Thanks, sis!" Sweetie Belle thanked her, put the folded capes on her back and scurried out the door, but forgot to close it behind her. Rarity sighed as she felt the cool wind going against her white coat, swung her horn up and closed the door with a little smile. Sweetie Belle had a white tricycle with a few light purple ribbons and a plain old basket at the back. She put the capes in the basket and got on her tricycle. She then put on her white helmet on, decorated with a few flowers and rode off towards their headquarters in Sweet Apple Acres. It was a little difficult trying to get to the tree house in all the snow, but with a little determination and some self couching, she managed to reach the place. She grabbed the capes from her basket as they hung from her mouth and started going up the steps while gasping through her nose. She knocked on the door as she held her head up to keep the new set of capes from dragging in the snow. The door opens and Apple Bloom smiled, "Good, ya got the capes!" she said and stepped aside to let Sweetie Belle in. Sweetie set the capes down on a small round table and sat down with a tired huff. "Oh yeah! They're goin' to be so stoked!" Scootaloo looked at the neatly folded capes with a big smile and glinting eyes. As Apple Bloom looked at the capes, a small memory forces its way into her line of thought, remembering something on what tomorrow is going to be and looked at other two fillies, "Hey girls! Tomorrow's Snowflake's and Spirit's Birthday!" she said happily. "Really? How do you know?" Scootaloo asked as she stared her friend in confusion. "Ah asked Winter and Fluttershy of course! Ah wanted to know when their birthdays were." she answered. "They're goin' to be even more stoked now!" Scootaloo bounced around, fluttering her little wings with a bright smile. The next day, Winter brought Snowflake and Spirit to school this time around. When they got there, he opened the gate and the two siblings quickly scanned the snowy school yard, and found the Crusaders and Dinky Doo near the steps, seemingly waiting for their arrival. They both bolted towards them, "Hi, girls!" Snowflake greeted as they reached them. "Hey!" Scootaloo greeted and pat Snowflake on the head with a smile of her own. Then Winter whistled. They all looked at him and he pointed at Apple Bloom and waved her over. She galloped over to him and he crouched down, "Apple Bloom, can you and the others distract Snowflake and Spirit? We're going to set up a surprise party for them in Fluttershy’s cottage." he whispered to her. She nodded happily, "Will do!" she said quietly. "Good. You and the other three can come along in the party if you like. I already invited your sisters, so there’s no need to go and ask." he whispered to her again. She smiled a little wider and saluted, "Thanks, Winter." she thanked him and put her hoof down. "You can go back now, just keep this a secret from Snowflake and Spirit, okay?" he said to her. She nodded and zipped her mouth with a smile. He smiled back and petted her on the head, "Good." he said to her. She ran back as the lone human started going back with a close of the gate, "What did you two talk about?" Scootaloo asked. "Uh… nothin’ interestin'" she smiled nervously. "Okay, so what do you guys want to play before school starts?" Dinky asked the little group as she sat beside Spirit. "Want to make a snowpony?" Sweetie suggested. "Sure, why not." Scootaloo answered and they all started to roll large snowballs on the snowy ground. Just as Cherrilee rang the bell, they were finished. At the end of school, the same snowpony they created was destroyed mercilessly by the school bullies. Scootaloo stumped up to them in rage, puffing out her now red cheeks, "Whatcha' do that for!?" she yelled at the five with a flushed, fuming face, surprising the younger fillies, but their two leader snorted at her. "Hahahaha! Because it's fun!" Diamond Tiara answered with an evil grin. "What are You going to do about it?" she poke the orange filly’s check a little hard. Scootaloo didn’t wince as they both faced down, Tiara daring her to make the first move as her smile widened. Before anything happened, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle started to drag their friend away from the five, "Let me at ‘er! Let me at ‘er!" she struggled as her friends pushed her away, flaying her fore hooves the bane of their existence. "She ain't worth it, Scoot!" Apple Bloom struggled to get her away from the bullies mocking bullies. Then the five started yelling, "Scootaloo-Scootaloo!" like chickens and acted like one as well. Then they all laughed and fell on the snowy ground flaying their limbs, while rolling like evil, ugly Gremlins. With some time and some convincing, they finally got Scootaloo to stop her from beating the daylights out of Diamond Tiara and her new, additional minions. Snowflake and Spirit were just small enough to fit in the baskets on the tricycles as they rode to get to their tree house. Snowflake was on Apple Bloom's tricycle, while Spirit was on Sweetie Belle's. Dinky Do stood on the back step of the tricycle on Scootaloo's, steam still pouring out of the orange filly’s ears as she angrily road, leading the little bicker gang. "So, what cutie mark are we trying to get today?" Sweetie Belle asked as the peddled. "Uh…" Apple Bloom thought for a moment, sweat starting to form. "Why don't we just play for a couple of hours?" she answered nervously. "Okay, so what are we going to play, then?" Scootaloo asked next as she glanced back, now slowly calming down, the thought of playing with her friends distracting her from the bullies with the after school incident. "How about a snowball fight? We can make snow forts and we battle it out." Dinky suggested, looking back at the little group. "That's a great idea! Hurry! To our headquarters!" Scootatloo pointed up ahead and zoomed toward the Sweet Apple Acres, Dinky Doo holding on for dear life as her eyes watered from the rushing wind blowing at her face. "Okay, ta be fair, Scootaloo, Dinky Doo and Spirit will be the first team. Ah, Sweetie Belle and Snowflake will be the second." Apple Bloom said to semicircle of Crusaders. They all nodded and went to their places and found themselves a spot about fifteen feet from each other right under their tree house. The four older ones quickly started making their forts and the two siblings started making snowballs for the battle to come. The snow was a little deep on the area they were in, so they dug down about two feet and hit frozen ground, a few stands of green, wilting grass poking out. Then they started making the wall next and made a little stairway to go up. Snowflake and Spirit cleared three square foot of snow and made a little hill of snowballs behind the wall. After fifteen more minutes, both teams practically made miniature snow castles right under their tree house. Apple Bloom went up to the ledge to look at the enemy fort with her teammates. "Ya ready yet!?" she yelled. They waited for a moment, and then a snowball flew up and almost nailed Sweetie Belle on the face, causing the filly to “Eek!?” as she ducked down. Scootaloo and her team popped out their heads from behind their snow wall, "Dose that answer your question!" she yelled back with a smirked. "Battle stations!" Apple Bloom yelled a battle cry and threw one of her fore hooves in the air. The three grabbed their snowballs and went back up. "Sweetie Belle, ya keep passin' snowballs with yer magic!" Apple Bloom ordered. Sweetie Belle saluted with a little frown and puckering her lips up and went back down, sat down near the pile, her little horn now starting to glow a Lime Green. Spirit peeked up and was nailed by his sister on the face and fell back on his bum. "Hahahaha! Gotcha!" Snowflake laughed playfully. Then a snowball hit her on the face in mid laugh as well and fell on her own bum just like her brother, "Right back at, ya!" Spirit yelled back, followed by a little chuckle. "Oh, this is on!" Snowflake was passed snowballs by Sweetie Belle from bellow and the two siblings started to throw snowballs at each other in an all-out war. Apple Bloom made a snowball about the size of her body and rolled it over to Sweetie Belle, "Ya think ya can throw this at the others?" she asked her with little huffs. "I… I think so." she answered and concentrated on the large snowball, scrunching up her face in shear concentration. The thing slowly rose off the ground and floated in the air. She then swung her head towards the sky with an arch and threw the mass of snow towards the other team. "Aaahhhhh!" Scootaloo screamed as she was hit by the snow bolder and made a half circle hole at the top of their fort, where Scootaloo once stood. The snow bolder was halfway buried at the other wall of snow fort. Spirit and Dinky crumbled away the large snowball and Scootaloo appeared, pressed up against the snow wall. She spat out a chunk of snow and blew her mane away from her eyes, "Dinky, Spirit… make a bolder." she said to her team. They both saluted and quickly made a snow bolder just like the others did. Spirit and Dinky stood up straight and saluted, "It's ready, Captain!" they said to her. Scootaloo pulled herself out of the snow and fluttered her wings to get the snow out. She went up top, tightened her scarf and then pointed with her hoof, "Fire!" she yelled with burning passion. Spirit first threw a couple snowballs at the peeking Apple Bloom. When the filly ducked away, Dinky levitated the snow bolder with a wince and a little grunt, then threw the mass of snow with her magic. Apple Bloom waited a few moments for the snowballs to stop being thrown at her but when she heard nothing anymore, she slowly peeked over the edge, squinting her eyes at the other fort to try and find any signs of their enemy. “Anything, yet!?” Snowflake yelled from the bottom, stroking her friend’s mane as Sweetie Belle huff and puffed from exhaustion. Apple Bloom looked down at them with shake of her head, “Nope! Nothin’ ye-” “Fire!” The moment she looked back, she screamed with wide eyes. "Aaahhhh!" the snow bolder hit the little filly as her other two teammates scrambled away from her sides to try and get out of the way. Sweetie and Snowflake scrambled up and quickly scurried over to the half embedded snow bolder. They both crumpled away the snow and found Apple Bloom frowning, stuck in the snow with her limbs sprayed out. "Sweetie Belle… Snowflake… on mah word, fire ALL the snowballs." she said to the two. They both saluted and went over to the pile; "Ready!" they said in unison and got ready themselves ready. Apple Bloom shacks herself out the snow and fell on the ground with a grunt. She gets up and looked at Snowflake, "Snow, how fast can ya dig?" she asked her. "Fast." she answered simply. "Good, get behind the enemy lines, and when yah finish, get back, grab a few snowballs and we’ll surprise ‘em." she said to her. Snowflake saluted, dropped two snowballs she held and with a crack of her fingers she learned from her father, she started digging quickly towards the other fort. Apple Bloom went back up the ledge and yelled, "Fire!" at Sweetie Belle. Then a horde of Snowballs started pounding the others seconds after her command. "Get in cover!" Scootaloo yelled and the little group went under a little space under the wall, huddling together as a rain of snowballs bombarded them like a hailstorm. After a few more moments, Snowflake came back just as Sweetie Belle finished two thirds of the snowball pile; "Made a tunnel behind enemy lines, ma'am!" she got out and stood straight. "Good, grab snowballs for yourself and Sweetie Bell." Apple Bloom said to her as she grabs her own snowballs from the shrinking pile. “When she’s done, both of yah come in.” Snowflake saluted once again and started picking up snowballs as Apple Bloom crouched in the little cave system. Apple Bloom positioned herself at the end of the tunnel under one of the little patches of light going through the snow. "Out of Snowballs!" Sweetie yelled. "Fire!" Scootallo yelled from the other side, then falling snowballs started to pound the fort. Snowflake and Sweetie Belle goes in the cave mouth with their last bit of ammunition. The shock-in-all version of the snowball fight stopped and the three Crusaders started to wonder if they won the battle. "Helloooo!?~" Scootaloo yelled with a little smirk. After a moment, the three then looked at each other in confusion when no reply was said. "Fire!" they all heard a muffled yelled around them. Snowflake, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle popped out of the snowy ground with a small explosion of snow, armed with snowballs, surrounded the three with devious smiles. Dinky was the first to go down, Spirit was next and Scootaloo was bombarded last. "We won!" Apple Bloom yelled with her hooves out in the air and the three started cheering in the snow. Scootaloo wiped the snow off her face, "Hahaha! That was Fun!" she laughed again and her team started to laugh along as well. The Crusaders got onto their respective tricycles, but Apple Bloom when up to the steps of their tree house. "Go on ahead, ah have ta pick somethin' up in the club house." she said to them. Snowflake gets out of Apple Bloom’s basket and went on Sweetie Belle's tricycle, and sat beside her brother. "Don't take too long, or your hot chocolate might get cold!" Scootaloo yelled as Apple Bloom went up the steps. "Ah know Scoot! Ah won't be long!" she went into the tree house and the others started going. She peeked out and waited till they were out of sight. She went over to the small desk and grabbed the capes and threw them onto her back. She went back out, put the folded capes in the basket of her tricycle, puts on her orange helmet decorated with red and green apples and started following the new bike tracks. As the little group reached Fluttershy's cottage, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle parked their tricycles beside Winter's mountain bike. They took off their helmets and hung them on their handle bars as the rest of the Crusaders gets off to stretched a little. "Oh my goodness, am I getting cold!" Scootaloo shivered as well as Dinky and Sweetie Belle, they both nodded in agreement with their teeth chattering. Snowflake and Spirit seemed okay as they watched their shivering friends, "It's not That cold to me." Snowflake said and Spirit nodded. "W-well, I was b-born in the summer, not w-winter." Scootaloo stuttered and knocked on the door shakily. They waited for a moment then the door swung open and streamers popped out, balloons rose and Winter and ponies yelled out with party hats on, "Happy Birthday!". The two siblings gaped in awe and fainted on the snowy ground with a little thud. "Oh my." Fluttershy said, then Apple Bloom shows up. "Howdy y'all! So what… oh…" she looked at the passed out siblings on the ground with the folded capes on her back, still wearing her helmet. After a moment, Snowflake and Spirit woke back up on the couch with a blanket covering them and saw many eyes looking at them with party hats on. "SURPRISE!" Pinkie suddenly popped up in front of them and threw out her fore hooves, throwing confetti in the air. "Aahhhh!" the two yelled in shock. Once they saw who it was, they put their hands on their chests and took their time to try and slow down their pounding, little hearts. Fluttershy hugged them both to comfort the little ones. "Pinkie, you almost gave them a heart attack!" Twilight said to her with a little frown, Spike sitting on her back as he ate a cupcake with a messy cheek. "Ha! But they didn't! So the party must go on! I just knew how much to scare them so they wouldn't heart attacks! I learned my lesson with Granny Smith." she said to her proudly, as Aj was next to scowl at her. Rainbow dash face hoofed herself with an audible bonk. "Are you two okay?" Fluttershy asked them with a bit of a worry in her tone. They both took a deep breaths and let it all out. "Uh-huh." Snowflake nodded and Spirit as well. "Happy birthday, little ones!" Luna jumped at the back with a bright smile. The two gasped, "Aunty!" they both cheered on the couch. Princess Luna, a tall, blue Alicorn, walked up to them with a bright smile, and leaned down to the two, nuzzling them. “Great to see, you both, as well.” She said and stepped back. Then Apple Bloom and Scootaloo went up front with capes on their mouths. They both sat down on their rumps, held the capes with their hooves and showed them the folded capes, "We are happy to give ya two, the official Cutie Mark Crusaders capes." Apple Bloom said. "Really!" Snowflake said with a bright smile, Spirit as well as they both started giddily bouncing on the couch, draping out the blanket from their sides. They both nodded and wrapped the capes around their necks and tied them, "Welcome ta the team!" they both saluted. "Yay!" they both started jumping around on the couch while hugging one another. Snowflake looked and saw Dinky Doo had a cape as well. "Oo! You have one too!" Snowflake and Spirit went down with a little hop and went up to Dinky. She nodded happily with a bright grin. "The… Best… Day… EVER!" Snowflake yelled happily as the group chuckled and giggled at her excitement. Chapter 3: Surprise Visitor In the next few days since both Snowflake’s and Spirit’s birthday, it's been going well for our little family. Snowflake and Spirit were trying to find their cutie marks with the Crusaders with their new friend, Dinky Doo, throughout the new days, failing and having fun with their long time babysitters. Dinky's mother is a little… interesting to say the least, but if the encounter with her in the party says anything, is that she loves her daughter greatly. She seems to really love muffins as well and thus, calls her daughter, "My Little Muffin". Money was still pouring in to Fluttershy’s bank and from what the letter said, that was sent to me from the president of a toy making company, "Tricycles and similar designs are selling everywhere!". We were rich, but we haven’t really done anything ‘big’ with it. We might go and take a short vacation to Filly Delphia to visit Fluttershy’s parents and bond with Shy’s new baby sister, Angel Bell, who’s only a few years younger than our little siblings by the way. I was a loving father and a husband to my little family. I granted their wishes as often as possible and made sure to keep them happy, healthy and safe from anything that presented any danger. But it seemed Fluttershy was already happy of what she got, and by that I mean, she got me; a big, loving, living teddy bear to hug and love whenever she wanted. In the early morning, I yawned and stretched my arms and legs on the soft bed, being woken up by the rays of light cutting through the window. I lightly smacked my lips and looked to my right, still feeling a little tired, but when I saw Fluttershy sleeping peacefully on my shoulder, my lips curled into a smile. I wrap my arms around her, pulling her a little closer to me as I nuzzled into her pink mane, smelling her sweet scent. She made an adorable coo and positioned her head under my chin, snuggling up to me while she rubbed her cheek on my neck. Her gentle breath and beating heart were still very relaxing to me, and as always, teasing me to get back to sleep like a gentle lullaby echoing into my ears in the gentlest tone. Then all of a sudden, before I could rest a little more with the sleeping mare, the door to Fluttershy’s room swung open and two of our kids scurried up to the bed. They both get themselves up with little grunts and pulled on our bed sheets. "Wake up! Wake up!" Snowflake shook both of us to our right. "It's morning!" Spirit jumped up and down on the bed but suddenly falls in a heap with a little grunt beside his sister. I heard Fluttershy sigh. I looked down and saw her smiling lovingly with closed eyes, "Good morning…" she moaned out as she opened her eyes, leaned up and placed her soft lips onto mine, reclosing her eyes as well as me for the moment to feel nothing but our loving pouring into one another. "Eew! Come on, not in front of us!" Snowflake said and both siblings cringed in disgust and covered their eyes with their hands. We both lightly laughed and sat up on the bed with the mare on my lap. Fluttershy yawned and stretched her fore hooves high in the cool, morning air, "Okay, we're getting up." she said tiredly and looked at them with a gentle smile. I looked at them, "Ready to visit Aunty Luna and Celestia?" I asked them both and they nodded their heads so fast, I thought they were going to fly off their bodies and roll around on the floor. I looked at the time on the little alarm clock as I slither my arms around the mare, she returning it in kind with a little hum, "Luna should get here in an hour." I said and sat on the edge of the bed with Fluttershy still attached to me, continuing to rub her cheek on my chest with closed eyes. "Let's make breakfast, feed the animals and you two get ready to go for a little field trip." I said and the two yelled, "Yay!" in unison. When they left the room in a hurry, I looked down at the mare and hugged her, planting a kiss on top of her head, “Sleep well, sunshine?” I whispered. “Very…” she replied in the same quiet tone. We both just sat there, enjoying each other’s company for a few more minutes before she stirred, leaned up and pecked my neck, causing me to chuckle. “We should get ready.” She spoke and nuzzled into my neck. I chuckled a little more, “Sure. We’ll get more time to ourselves in an hour, anyways.” She kisses my chest, where my heart was thumping in a gradual pace, “Yes we will.” She said with a little giggle. I hesitantly let her go and she hops off, now feeling a little empty without her in my arms. I look at the little table and saw my new journal just laying there, where I left it. I grabbed it and looked at the black, blank cover for a moment before Fluttershy spoke up. "Are you coming?" Fluttershy asked from the threshold. "I'll be down in a minute, Shy. I have to update my journal first." I said to her and grabbed the quill from a jar of ink. "Okay." she replied and started going down, her hooves echoing into the room. I spent fifteen minutes writing on my journal and finished with a final period. "There…" I said to myself and put the journal back on the table with an open page to let the ink dry. I finished one third of the journal by now and wrote on it when something interesting happens during the day, or just want to write in general, really. I still wondered where exactly I threw my original book into. I know I threw it in a portal to my home, but I can't remember how my home looked and where it was. But there was a good reason I didn't go back and I chose to follow what I lead myself into. It was a bumpy road for a few months, but with the kind help of Fluttershy, Luna and the others, I somewhat recovered from my somewhat depression, but still somewhat thought about home and a somewhat more happy way. Somewhat anyways. I slipped on my clothing and zipped up my pants. I got to the open door and looked back to see my shield hanging on the wall above the bed, light reflecting off it like a proud suit of armor. I smiled at it for a moment and started going down to the living room to get something to eat. I went down the stairs, I saw the usual morning routine playing out; Snowflake and Spirit feeding the animals, filling their little bowls; Snowflake scooping up the animal food from their bags while Spirit dragged them along with some difficulty and puffed out cheeks. I looked up and grabbed the empty bird feeder and filled it with a few scoops of different, mixed seeds. I hung it back up and birds fluttered over and started eating away with a few chirps. I went over to the kitchen and saw Fluttershy cooking at the stove to my right, a pink apron wrapped around her front. It was her turn to cook, it's something we agreed on and got used to over the years we were together. So I walked over to the cupboards and started taking out items from it. I put the plates down on the table, as well as cups and silver wear, but then felt both of my legs being embraced. I looked down and smiled at Snowflake and Spirit looking up at me, hugging my legs with both their arms and legs, their little wings sprawled out in excitement as they looked up at their father with big smiles. I wobbled over to each seat, lifted one leg at a time as they ‘Wheee!’d, pecked each of their foreheads as I gently handled them from under their arms and seated them on their rightful seats, sitting beside one another. When breakfast started with Fluttershy putting out her cooking to us, the two ate their breakfast pretty fast, almost like a hungry vacuum cleaner. "Um, not too fast, sweetie. You might get a tummy ache." Fluttershy said to the two with slight concern for our little ones as she casually ate her salad. They both swallowed, "We'll be okay." Snowflake said and both hopped off their seats and ran up the stairs without another word. With a little chuckle and a shake of my head, I grabbed both their somewhat empty plates, mine as well and started washing them in the sink. After half an hour, Snowflake and Spirit wore their vests by the door with giddy smiles and whispering to one another. They also had bracelets Luna gave them on their birthday. They were icy blue, smoothed out oval shaped crystals with Star Sapphires as the main piece. Then there was a knock on the door and the kids went ecstatic. I walked over from the couch, where Fluttershy rested on her side, opened the door and smiled, "Good morning, Luna, just in time. They both couldn't wait any longer." I said to her. She giggled, "Well, they are visiting the capital and castle with their Aunts. Who wouldn't be happy?" she said with a smile. The siblings forced their way between my legs both hugged their aunty on her for hooves, "Hi, Aunty Luna!" they both greeted her in unison and nuzzled her coat affectionately. Luna smiled and leaned her head down to them, "Good morning, you two." she nuzzled both their cheeks. She leaned back up and levitated them both onto her back, Spirit gripping onto her neck while Snowflake held onto her brother. "I will take good care of them. Don't you two worry." she said to both me and Fluttershy at the door. "Have a good day at the castle you two. Listen to Luna, okay?" Fluttershy said to the two on Luna's back with a worried smile. They both nodded happily. "Have a nice day, you two." Luna said to us both and started going back to the carriage with the two. "Be safe!" Fluttershy waved and the two waved back. The carriage door closes and flew off towards Canterlot. Fluttershy sighed and hung her head a little, "I hope they'll be okay." she worriedly said, more to herself then at me. "I'm sure they will, Shy. They’re with the two most powerful ponies in Equestria. And besides, Luna is like their second mother to them, so they’ll do whatever she tells them to, like they do with their real mother." I picked her up with a little yelp and face her to me as she blushed, "How about we take a little stroll around town and visit a few friends, hm?" I said to her and ran my right thumb onto her warm, blushing cheek, my other arm wrapped around her rump to keep her up. She smiled, "Um, h-how about…" her blushing increased and leaned into my ear, "We take a day off… and… you know…" she said to me and looked at me with adorable, somewhat sultry eyes. I smiled, forming my own blush and returning the sultry expression to the mare, "As you wish, m'lady." I said to her with a little nod. I carried her back in and closed the door with my foot as we kissed, her fore hooves wrapped around my neck and shoulders. After spending the whole morning in her room and ate some lunch, I went to my shed to work on a little project I’ve been wanting to finish. I closed the darkened, ashy double doors, put on my thick leather apron, gloves and metal face mask and started up the fire pit with a smile. Just when I flipped on my mask while starring at the fire pit, I heard a frantic knocking on the doors. I looked back at it for a moment in confusion and walked on over as another set of frantic knocking came. I opened the doors and flipped up my mask and saw Rainbow Dash hovering in front of me, "Winter. We-ah… kinda need you." she said to me nervously and fiddled with her fore hooves and scarf. "Okay, so what is it?" I asked and adjusted my gloves. "We… found someone in the forest and… she’s kinda freaking out. And I mean Freaking out." she answered, putting emphasise on the word. "Okay, so who's the pony?" I asked and walked back in, started to take off my things and put them back where I found them. "She's, ah, not really a… pony." she answered again. "No? Then what is it then?" I briefly looked back at her as I walked over to the fire pit to put it out. After a moment pause, she spoke and slightly gestured to me with one of her hoof, "One of you." she answered nervously. I froze, trying to process what she just said to me and slowly looked at her, "Ah… did I hear you right?" I stepped closer to her. She slowly nods, "Y-yeah. She's a-a… hoo-man…” she tried to say, making a ridiculous face as she did, “and I'm pretty sure she's about to have a mental breakdown pretty soon. So if you don't mind, can you go and calm her down?" she said to me. "Ah, okay, so where is she?" I asked, took out the fire, grabbed my Stetson hat from a little hook on the nearby wall and closed the door from the outside, locking it. "In the library." she answered. I dragged out my bike from the side of my shed and got on it, "Okay, thanks, Dashie." I thanked her and we both started racing towards the library. We arrived to the tree-made-town-library and saw Twilight, Spike, Rarity, Pinkie and Applejack outside the doors with worried looks, but Spike looked like he’s about to be frozen on Twilight’s back. I rode up to them, "Okay, I got the news. So where is she?" I asked and propped my bike on the side of the building, near the door. Twilight went up to me, "Inside on the couch with some tea… I think." she answered, unsure of herself as clattering teeth rang out from Spike. I stood in front of the entrance and slowly opened it. I peeked in out of caution and couldn't find the visitor anywhere. I looked back and raised my hand to let them know to stay out till I say so. They all nodded and Pinkie zipped her mouth, dug down in the snow and ground, pretended to thrown something in, buried it back again and sat on the spot with a big smile like an adorable, loyal, pink dog. I slowly got myself in and closed the door silently with a little click. I started looking around the warm library, looking for its new resident at the door, "Hello?" I quietly spoke out and tip toed towards the couch and a coffee table. I saw the tea pot and a filled cup, steam still rising from the cup itself. I stood up straighter and adjusted my hat a little in thought, but just as I did, I heard a crook behind me. I swung my head to my left and saw a glimpse of the person docking back in the kitchen. I held up my hands, "Oh, hey… It's okay, it’s just me." I said gently and took off my hat and set it down on the coffee table, "I'm human just like you. Nothing to fear." I said and started slowly walking towards the kitchen threshold. The peeked out and figured to myself the new human of Equestria was a female. As she stared at me, her eyes started to slowly widen in surprise and awe. "J-James? Is… is that you?" she started to step out, her voice quiet and shaky as her eyes started to sparkle with the beginnings of a tears. "Aah…" I thought for a moment in confusion and started looking around the room for some answers, but then all of a sudden, she ran to me and hugged me tightly around my waist. "It is you! I missed you so much!" she buried her face into the crook of my neck. I looked out the window and saw the five mares looking at me expectantly; I only lightly shrugged in confusion. The woman had some thick clothing on, grey thin jacket with a black vest over it, black wind pants, blue shoes, and pair of gloves in her pocket, pocking out and sagging. Her brown hair was a little short, only reaching down to her shoulders and had a pair of chocolate brown eyes. I managed to calm her down by hugging her back and caressing her head carefully. After a few moments of silence, I lead her over to the couch and sat down on it. "Where are we?” she let me go and wiped her eyes and sniffled, than started looking around anxiously, “Are we dead?" she asked me, "And what are those things outside?" she pointed towards the door. "Ah, first of all, nice to meet you. Second, we're in Ponyville. Thirdly, like it not, you're not dead and lastly, those things are called ‘Ponies’." I answered with a straight face. "Wait… you don't know who I am?" she gestured to herself. "Aaah…" I was thoughtful, "All I can remember is my time being here for the past couple years." I said to her. "You're kidding me, right? You don't know who I am?" she chuckled nervously with a crooked smile. I stared at her blankly and blinked a couple of times, "I can't say I don't." I answered. Her smile started to crack, "I'm your best friend, how can you not know me?" she said and gently grabbed my wrist. I stared at her again, "Sorry, but I can't remember who you are." I answered again and looked at her hand grasping my wrist. Her smile slowly fades away and replaced by shock, "You can't remember me?" she said sadly and started to tear up with quivering lips. "Look I am sorry, but I can't remember my original home, my parents, my friends, or anything from our universe.” I grab her shoulders and drew her to me, hugging her as I did, “All I know is that my journal had all of my history and I threw that back to my world. But please… I don’t know why, but please don’t cry. It hurts me too." I said to her. She looked thoughtful for a moment, and seemingly enjoying the hugging, snuggling up to me for a brief moment before she reached into her coat, "I… have your journal." she took out a book, "Your parents gave it to me sense I was your closest friend. They didn't want to keep it because it hurt them." she stared down at the book for a moment, pain very evident in her expression, but then she shows it to me. I grabbed it and skimmed through it. It was interesting, certainly my hand writting but nothing came back. I got to the last page and it was written by someone else and I smile. I looked out the window and saw Fluttershy peeking in like the others. I smiled, pointed at her and waved her to come in. "I'd like for you to meet someone." I said and the door started to open slowly. The timid pony started to come in slowly, cautious of the girl. The door suddenly closes and she jumped and yelped in surprise with an adorable squeak. I looked at the girl and she started to slowly curl her lips up at the pony's reaction. I looked back at Fluttershy, "Hey, Shy. Lookie what I found." I showed and waved the book to her. Her eyes widen, "Oh, y-you got your journal back." she said quietly with a smile and started going towards me with her head hung a little low. "It still has your writing in here." I said to her and skimmed to the last page to show her as she got up behind the short table. "Her? It was her?" the girl asked and pointed at the pony hiding behind the table. "This last page is the only thing I can remember about this journal." I said to her. “And it held a moment in my time here that we’ll never forget. My supposed ‘Last day’.” I looked back at the timid pony again, "Come on over, Shy. Don’t be a stranger." I said to her with a smile and a little wave. She gently sinks down in fright, looking at the second human in the room, thinking this over before she slowly started going over to me while still trying to hide behind the small table. When she got close enough, I picked her up with a squeak and set her down in front of the girl. Shy curled herself up in a ball and gently shook in fear. I wrap my arms around her to calm her shaking body, and a second later, Fluttershy gradually peeked out and smiled nervously and waved a hoof at the girl. The girl waved back. I smiled, reached out, grabbed my hat and set it down onto the mare, earning a heart warming giggle. Fluttershy looked back at the girl with a timid smile and a little blush. "H-hi. I'm Fluttershy." she introduced herself quietly and pulled my arms a little closer to herself. The girl gently giggled, "Hi, Fluttershy. I'm Kathrine." she said next. Subconsciously, I started making a list of mental nicknames quickly like a computer, checking off every nick-name and ‘Ding!’d when I found the right one. "Okay, Kat,” She seemed surprised at that for a brief moment, but smiled right after, “just to warn you, the other ponies are a little different from her. There's a pink pony called Pinkie Pie. The laws of nature don't always apply with her and she's a little… chaotic and energetic, so be ready for anything." I said to her. She started to look a little nervous, "Aah…" she said. I smiled, "Just relax and greet them like you do with new comers. They’re all nice and friendly to every visitor that comes by." I said to her. I looked at the window once again and nodded at the lavender face. Twilight looked at the others around her, her mouth moving as she spoke to her friends. After a moment they started coming in and Applejack closed the door with a light kick of her hind leg and shook their body side-to-side to get rid of the cold and snow that clung on their coat. Spike on the other hand, was practically frozen on Twilight's back; his body shimmered as he shook like a filly with a sugar rush. Then all of a sudden, and as predicted, Pinkie popped out of nowhere and stood in front of Kathrin with a comical grin, "Hi! I'm, Pinkie Pie!" she squeaked out a greeting. The girl jolted back on the couch, startled by the law defining pink mare, "I… ah,I-I'm Kathrin." she said to the pink pony as her chest rose and fell quickly. Pinkie gasped in midair and bolted out the library, leaving a cloud of pink smoke shaped like the party mare herself. Twilight went up to her next as she waved the cloud away with a little scrunch of her muzzle, "Hello. My name is, Twilight Sparkle." she greeted next and smiled kindly at the woman. "Oh… Kathrin." she introduced herself once she calmed down with a sigh of relief. "Kat-thr-EEn." They all started to try and pronounce her name, making funny faces as they did, Fluttershy as well, but a little more quietly while looking down at the couch with a more neutral expression. I chuckled, "Just like the last time with my name, though I can’t really remember what they were trying to pronouns." I said as I scratched my head. "Aah… Kat's good enough." she said to the little group. I looked at her, "They call me, Winter. Winternight." I said to her, "And I don't mind starting over our friendship, if that’s okay, Kat." I brought out a hand while the other was around Fluttershy. Her smile widened and we shook, "Okay then, Winter.” She giggled before composing herself once more and sat up straighter, “A pleasure to meet, you." Chapter 4: Tour Kat looked at the Twilight and stared at her horn for a moment before speaking up, "What are you exactly?" she points to her horn, "And why do you… and you have horns?" she asked Twilight and Rarity. "We're Unicorns." Twilight simply answered with a small smile, Rarity nodding in agreement. She then looked at Fluttershy wrapped in my arms and Rainbow Dash hovering beside Applejack, "How about-" she was cut off. "Pegasus." Dash answered with cross fore hooves. She then looked at Spike, shivering on Twilight's back and tried to warm his hands by rubbing them together and blew on them. "Aah…" she pondered and pointed a finger at the purple dragon. "Dr-drag-gon" he stammered as his teeth clattered. "In this world, monsters are real. Like the Mnaticor, Sea Serpents and etcetera, as well as magic." I said to her. "M-monsters?" she looked at me with shrunken pupils and hugged her legs in fear and hiding half her face in the process. "Don't worry; they don't really go into towns like this one. They all stay in the Everfree Forest." I tried to calm her down. "Ever-what now?" she looked at me, confused. "The Everfree Forest" I said. "Okay… so… the scary looking forest where I've been found?" she asked questioningly. "Yeah." Dash answered. She hugged her legs a little tighter, "I want to go back home." she whimpered. "When?" I asked. "What?" she looked at me. "When do you want to go home?" I asked again. "You mean I can go back?" she said to me, a hint of hope in her tone. "Yeah, your call." I answered. "If I could go back, then why didn't you?" she points at me and narrowed her eyes a little. "I tried, but I wanted to stay here. I threw my journal through the portal and I was thrown back here like a ragdoll. After being knocked out for a couple of days, I couldn't remember anything about my original home." I answered, "But… I have a good life here.” I nuzzled into Fluttershy’s mane for a brief moment, earning a giggle from the mare. “If I did go back without my memories, I wouldn't have known what to do or know who anyone is, even my parents. I wouldn’t have been home; I would be interloped like a lost poppy and start missing this world because I would have memories pertained to this place." I said to her. "But… we could've helped you…" she said with a sad tone and seated herself on the couch a little more properly, resting both hands on the couch with curled fingers and leaned towards me, making Fluttershy shrink a little in my grasp. "Celestia already tried to bring my memories back. They are lost… and all my memories I could remember are my time being here in Ponyville." I said to her I said and gently tightened my embrace on Fluttershy. “I wouldn’t know what to do or how I should live back in our Universe. And sense it’s been quite some time, I’m a dead man. How are they going to react to my sudden arrival? Or how am I supposed to explain I’ve in been living in a different Universe filled with colorful, magical ponies, and monsters?” I gently rest my chin onto Fluttershy’s head and looked down at the couch, “I wouldn’t mind having a quick look or remember what my life used to be like, or where I lived in a world, but if I had to make a choice of going back home and never come back here, versus staying here in Equestria to be with Fluttershy, I would stay here. But there’s not a time here where my lack of memory of my home haunted me, Kathrin. I do think about home sometimes, but I try and move on for my mare’s sake.” I finished speaking as Fluttershy wrapped her hooves around my arms and nuzzled my shoulder. "Well…” She sighed and leaned back on the couch, looking down at her lap, defeated, “I guess I could go back tonight." her expression saddened. "If you want to be happy, find somepo-I mean someone to spend the rest of your life with, and less about me. Try to move on like me, Kat. Make yourself happy like your old friend." I said with a smile. She looked at me with a raised eyebrow, "Make… myself happy?" "Yes, because any of your loved ones would want you to be happy. I just started to know you again, and I want you to be happy, Kat." I said to her. She curled her lips to a small smile, "I guess so." she said. After a brief moment, she took a breather and her smile widened while she sat up straighter. “Okay. I’m ready to go.” She said. "Okay, so we could just wait for Luna to get back to the cottage, later on. Want to do anything till then?" I asked her. "What do you do here?" she asked. "Helping out Fluttershy taking care of animals, forging metal in my shed and taking care of my family." I answered with a little shrug. "Family? You have a family?" she said to me, a little shocked. "Yes." I looked down at Fluttershy and rested my chin on top of her head, gently rocking both of us from side to side, "Why wouldn't we?" Fluttershy smiled up at me. "O… kay…" she said awkwardly, looking at me like I did something out of the blue. I grabbed my journal and showed it to Kat, "Here, you could have it. My new story is here in Ponyville." I said to her with a smile. She grabbed it and held it close, "Okay." she answered with a smile of her own. "You hungry?" I asked her. "A little." she answered and put the book back in her vest before zipping it back up. "Want to go to Sugar Cube Corner and get something to eat?" I suggested. "Um… Okay." she answered. I looked at everypony else, "Any following?" I asked. They all nodded but Spike as he got himself down from Twilight’s back. “M-maybe some o-other t-time, Winter. I’m a-a little cold.” Spike said as he walked himself up the stairs shakily. "Okay, Spike. Get well soon!” I waved and returned it with a shaky hand. I looked back at our little group, “Let's get going then." I said and stood up and Fluttershy flew up beside me as I let her go. As we got through town, other ponies we passed looked at Kat with confused and questioning looks. I looked at her, "Don't worry, it was like this the first day I got here as well." I said to her and lightly padded her back. "I don't blame them. Being in a world ruled by ponies a little weird for me." she said and continued to look at her surroundings. As I opened the door to Sugar Cube Corner, and without warning, Pinkie bounced out in front of us yelling, "Surprise!" We all jumped, startled at the mare’s antics. "Time for a ‘Welcome Party’!" she slipped right between Kat’s legs, getting behind her and started pushed her in the building with her head. She got her in, "We got games! Cake! Friends! Oh! Did I Say We Got Games Too!?" She brings out her party cannon from behind her and shot out streamers and colored smoke. Kat jumped again and fell on the floor. I went up to Pinkie, "Uh, Pinkie, can you tone it down a little?" I asked her and leveled my hands with a little shack of my fingers going up and down. I looked down and saw Kat hiding underneath a table, hugging the one leg, shaking and swiftly darted her had from to and fro. After the short, small and quieter Pinkie Pie signature ‘Welcome Party’, we started going around town for a little tour. As we started going out of Applejack's Apple Acres, we met the crusaders in their tricycles. "Hey, Winter!" they all greeted me in unison. I crouched down, "Hey there, any luck on betting your Cutie Marks?" I asked. "Not yet." Sweetie Belle answered a little sadly with a hang of her head. They looked at Kat behind me, "Who's she?" Apple Bloom asked. "Oh." I stood and showed them the new human, "Her names Kat. She got stuck here like I did through the Everfree Forest. Just giving her a little tour before she goes back home." I said to them. They looked up at her for a moment, "Ya look like Winter when he turned inta a girl." Apple Bloom commented. Kat looked at me, "You turned into a girl?" she asked. "Ah, yeah, I'll tell you all about it in the cottage later." I said with a little chuckle of embarrassment. "Hey, Winter!" Scootaloo said. I looked, "Yeah?" "When are Snow and Spirit coming back?" she asked with Dinky Doo on her back. I took out my pocket watch, "In… four hours. Just keep an eye out for a gold carriage." I said to them. "Okay, thanks!" she thanked me and they all started going like a Ponyville Biker Gang. Rarity looked at Kat closely and started circling her, "You do look like him when he turned into a female." she said, leaned in her head to Kat’s right leg and brushed off a bit of snow from her. "Ah…" Kat’s eyes widen just a tad. I looked at her, "Hm… she kinda does" I pondered. "Wait…" I stepped closer to her, purposely invading her space, "What I remember is that I looked like my sister when I looked myself in the mirror." I said to her with narrowed eyes. She leaned back, "A-ah…" sweat started to form on her forehead. "Are you?" I said. She gulped and took out the book from her vest, "Page one-fifty-two…" she said and showed me the book. I took it and skimmed through it to find the page. I got to the page and started reading it out loud, "Today, I found my long lost sister. My parents told me I was adopted few days after my birth. Not really a shock to me that I was adopted, though. Anyways, my sister turned out to be one of my closest friends named Kathrin. I wasn't mad at my parents for not telling me this sooner, I was just glad I had a sister all this time. We act like best friends other than having a sibling rivalry like most do." I finished. I looked at her, "You are my sister." I said to her. She nodded nervously and slightly tilted her head down. "So… why didn't you tell me?" I asked and showed her the book. She took it back and held it close, "I didn't want you to feel sad when I go back home." she answered and put the book back in her vest and refused to look at me. I smiled broadly and swiftly hugged her tightly, causing her to yelp, "Of course I would be sad! But I'm even happier that I have a sister." I said to her. "Re… r-really?" she stammered. We separated but I held her shoulders, "Of course." I answered happily. We got back to the cottage right after I showed Kat my shed and the others went back to do their business. "Wow." Kat said while looking around the house and its little residents. I was sitting on the couch with Angel munching on a carrot beside me. "Oh, hello there." Sapphire greeted and went up to her. "Oh, h-hello." she greeted back nervously. "My name is Sapphire." she introduced herself and brought out her hoof. "Ah, I'm Kat" she leaned down and both shook. Sapphire nodded and went about doing her work on helping Fluttershy take care of the animals. "Um, make yourself at home Kat, if you’re okay with that, at least." Fluttershy said to her. "Oh… okay." she answered. She took her vest off and jacket, then hung them up on the coat hanger. "So, Kat." I said as I stood up and went up to her, "What happened when I was missing?" I asked. She froze for a moment, but slowly turned around, "Everyone searched for you everywhere for two years… after that, we had a funereal. On that day, your parents gave me your journal. They said they didn't read one word, and they trusted me on keeping it safe. So I treasured it and bring it along when I go on a trip." she answered and it looked like she was fighting back. "Wow… so what happened next?" I asked again, rubbing the back of my neck, feeling a little guilty now. "They went on with their lives, but… I had a really hard time without you. My other friends tried to get me smiling again, but it only worked a little." she lowered her head and rubbed her eyes with her sleeves. I stepped in and hugged her once again. She gladly returned it and breathed in a shakily breath. With a sniffle, she separated, but I put a hand on her shoulder, "Look on the bright side, now you see I'm doing okay. And I'm glad to know now I have a sister." I said to her with a comforting smile. She smiled back and briefly hugged me, "I missed you so much." she said to me. After showing her the cottage inside and out, she showed me playing my new fiddle I got a few years ago as a gift. She wrote down a few new tunes for me and we had a bit of fun doing so. We got back down and heard a knock at the door. I walked on over and opened it. I saw Luna with Snowflake and Spirit on her back, sucking on their lolly pops and waved happily at me. I smiled with a little wave, "Hey, Luna. How was your day?" I gestured her in. "Splendid. We had a lot of fun." she got in and stops dead in her tracks as she sees Kat at the staircase. I walk up beside the Princess, "Luna, this here is Kat. Kat, this is Princess Luna, a close friend." I introduced them both. "Another human?" Luna said and stepped closer. Kat started to get a little uneasy and made a nervous smile. "Yes, she got in the same way I did. Wrong place, wrong time." I stood by Kat and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "She's also my best friend slash sister." I said to her with a smile. "Oh, really?" Luna smiled at her, "Nice to meet Kat. Your brother is a good friend of mine." she greeted. "Daddy? Who's that?" I heard Snowflake. Luna used her magic to get the two down. They both went up to Kat, looking up at her with interest. I picked them both up, "Her name is Kat, your third Aunty." I said to them both. They both looked at her and waved happily. Kat smiled and waved back. "Your kids?" Kat smiled at the two. "You know it." I answered. I put them both back down and they started looking for their mother. I looked at Luna, "Luna, you think your sister can bring her back home?" I asked her. "Most likely. What time?" she looked at me for an answer. "Tonight." I answered. She nodded, "I will inform her. We’ll see you later, Winter. You as well, Kat." she said and went out. "Um… Aunty Kat." I heard and looked down at my kids. She kneel down, "Hm?" she answered with a smile. "Do you want to draw with us?" Snowflake asked a little shyly and kicked around one of her legs. Kat giggled, "Okay." she answered. Both Snowflake and Spirit brightened up and scurried over to the staircase, Kat followed in their wake.
Chapter 1: First Day of School It was now a cool winter in the small town of Ponyville. Mostly all white and bright as the sun reflects off the snow and ice. All ponies wore vests, scarf and hats on, to keep a little warm from the occasional, random windy days. Near Fluttershy's cottage, though, two peculiar looking kids were playing and laughing merrily. They stood on their hind legs, both had fluttering, little wings on their backs, also had two fingers and a thumb on each hand and three toes on their feet. They stood tip toe like the ponies, but had a hard time trying to go on all fours, because their arms were a little shorter than their hind legs. They both had mane and tail like the ponies and had a head and face of one, and had their little ears at the top as well, but their mane seemed to spread out across their scalp instead of a traditional Mohawk like mane all ponies have. The female's coat was icy blue; her mane and tail were white and aqua blue in color. The male's coat was pure white like clean snow, with an icy blue mane and tale. The female's eyes were baby blue in color and the male had a darker shade of color then she had. What could make such strange little pony, adorable hybrids? The girl caught up to the other and jumped at him, "Gotcha!" she yelled in her squeaky tone with her arms out forward, as she flew towards him. He looks back and was forced on the snowy ground with her on top of him with a small puff of snow and a light ‘Thump!’. When he recovered and opened his eyes, she pocked his nose, "Tag! You're it!" she quickly got off and started scurrying away, giggling. "No far! You jumped on me!" he yelled back and went after her with a stumble to presume the chase. A light yellow Pegasus mare opened the cottage door and smiled at the playing duo, "Snowflake! Spirit! Lunch time!" she yelled the best she could in her quiet, motherly voice. The two stopped on their tracks and looked back at her with smiles. "Okay!" the girl known as Snowflake yelled back. "Race, ya!" she told the other and went past him with a giggle. They both got in and took off their vests and hung them up on the coat hanger beside the door, as Fluttershy nuzzled both their noses, earning a nuzzle back from the siblings. The three then moved in the kitchen and there, stood near the counter, was another strange creature known as a human. He was tall, his hair was dark brown, near black but the light reflecting off him from the window showed a light tint of brown. He wore a light grey t-shirt, a small, burnt hole on his left shoulder showing a permanent scar. His pants were navy blue and hung freely like a wavy flag, with two white stripes going down the sides to his ankles. "Daddy!" the two yelled and ran up to him, and hugged both his legs tightly. "He-heh. How was outside?" he asked, and carried two plates to the table, dragging along the two bundles easily. He lifted one of his legs and grabbed onto Snowflake, "So much Fun!" she answered. He smiled and set her down on a chair with a pat on the head. He lifted his other leg and set Spirit down on another chair, as he nodded his little head in agreement. The family started eating, and after lunch, the father started cleaning the dishes. Fluttershy gently put the two down on the floor, "Are you two excited to go the school?" she asked them both in her motherly tone. "I'm I!" Snowflake answered giddily. "Um…" Spirit seemed thoughtful, "A… little…" he answered nervously as he seemed to shrink a curl a little while standing. Fluttershy smiled and hugged him against her warm barrel, "Don't worry, you'll be with your sister, Spirit". She looked at both of them, "Just listen to your teacher and behave. You’ll have a lot of fun with other’s your age. Maybe you make new friends?" she reached out and fixed Snowflakes mane a little. "Winter, ready to go?" she asked her husband as she looked back. He dried his hands with a towel cloth as he walked out the kitchen. "Yup." he answered and rested the towel on a counter. Then there was a knock on the door, earning everyone’s attention. Fluttershy went over and opened the door, "Oh, hello, Sapphire." she greeted her assistant. The mare was white and had a cobalt blue mane and tail. "Good day, Fluttershy" she greeted back. Fluttershy let her in as she helped Snowflake and Spirit put on their vests and little nit hats. "I and Winter will be taking our kids to their first day of school. We won't be long." she said to the mare. "Okay." Sapphire answered and hung up her vest and scarf. "Oh, and Angel's sick today. Can you take care of him while we're gone?" she took on her own vest. "Will do, ma'am." Sapphire answered and went to go find the sick bunny. Winter grabbed his brown, leather Stetson hat, sunglasses and vest, "Not to point out the obvious or anything, but I think he's just a little jealous of the kids getting the attention." he said and took on his shoes while crouching down. Fluttershy slightly lowered her head, "I hope not." she answered little sadly. They all got out and Winter closed the door behind them. Snowflake bounced around happily around the snow, while humming a tune to herself. But Spirit looked more hesitant and followed his mother closely on her side while fiddling with his fingers nervously. As they reached the little gate of the school, Snowflake hopped up, grabbed the top and lifted herself up with little grunts of struggle to get a good look at the school grounds with peeking eyes. There were young fillies and colts going around happily, laughing and playing with one another in the snow, but more than half were shivering in little huddled groups. "Wow!" she said silently to herself with a smile. She dropped back down and looked back at her parents and brother. Fluttershy opened the gate, "Let's go see your teacher, shall we?" she said to the two. Snowflake nodded happily and bolted towards the door. But Spirit was still close to his mother, nervously looking around and his himself when the fillies and colts get too close. Winter opened the door and all went in. They all saw a cherry red earth pony known as Cheerilee, working on some papers on her desk. "Oh, hello." she got off her seat and went up to them with a small smile. "Good day, Cherrilee." Fluttershy greeted back. Cheerilee looked down at the kids, as they hid behind their mother’s and father’s legs from the stranger. "Oh, who might you two be?" she leaned down to eye level. "I'm Snowflake!" she introduced herself as she came out from her father’s legs and stood up tall, bringing out her hand. Cheerilee smiled and shook her little hand, "Nice to meet you Snowflake. I'm Miss Cheerilee." she introduced herself. She looked at the other one. Spirit was hiding behind his mother's fore hooves. Fluttershy looked down, "Come on out." she said gently and lightly nudged him with her nose. He took a few steps out. Cheerilee smiled, "Hello. My name is Cheerilee. Who might you be?" she slowly brought out a hoof. Spirit slowly brought out his hand, "H-hi Miss Cheeril-lee. I-I'm Spirit." he introduced himself next. "Nice to meet you, Spirit. Don't worry, I'm a nice pony." she assured him. "O-okay" he answered timidly, but was yanked into a hug by his sister. Cheerilee looked at the clock, "Time for class." she said and looked back at Fluttershy and Winter. Fluttershy looked at the kids, "We'll come and get you two after school, okay?" she said to them both and they nodded, Snowflake little more fast then Spirit. The adults got out; "Hey, Spirit." Snowflake looked down at her brother. Spirit sat down, "Hm?" he looked up. "We'll be okay. Mommy said, we just have to listen and behave to Cheerilee." she said to him. She then sat down beside him and wrapped an arm around her brother, "Will always be together, no matter what." she said to him happily. He smiled and nodded at her. Then the doors opened and a horde of colts and fillies went in, all wearing vests, scarf and hats. The siblings separated and looked around nervously as they stood back up, Spirit taking cover behind his sister like a little puppy. "Good morning, my little ponies!" Cheerilee greeted. "Good morning, Miss Cheerilee." they all greeted back in unison. "Now, we have two new students joining us today." she went behind the two siblings, "Their names are Snowflake and Spirit. I suspect open hooves from all of you." she said to them. She then nudges both of them lightly and leaned down, "Go on. Introduce yourselves.” She whispered to them with a small smile. Snowflake stepped forward first, “Hi… my name is Snowflake…” she held her hands at her back and looked down at her feet with a little brush. “Hi, Snowflake.” They all chimed in greetings. Snowflake looked back at her brother, a fix of fear and anxiety fixed onto his face and body language. She took a few steps back and covered his body behind hers and whispered, “It’s okay, Spirit, I’m right here. Say ‘hi’.” After a short moment, Spirit took a few deep breaths taught by his mother and calmed downed enough to speak. He looked at the class from behind his sister. “Um… h-hi… I’m Spirit.” He quietly greeted with a little wave of his hand from behind his sister. “Hi, Spirit.” They all greeted once more. “Take your seats." Cheerilee said to them both with a smile. They nodded and started looking around. Spirit found a desk on the second row to the left side of the room and Snowflake sat down right beside him. "Okay everypony, take out your papers and pencils. We are now starting on the studies of the sun and moon cycles." she said. Snowflake and Spirit smiled brightly and took out a couple of papers and pencil from their desks. Thanks to aunt Lulu and Tia, this should be easy. Snowflake thought to herself with a smirk. In recess, all but Snowflake and Spirit were hesitant to get out the warm building, some asked Cheerilee to stay in. "If you want to stay in, you'll have to do some extra work." she said to them with a smile and they all started headed for the door, most groaning and whining about the cold. Once outside, Snowflake and Spirit went over to a nearby tree and sat down on the snow. They both looked around and saw some already starting to shake in the cold. She looked at her brother, "So what do you want to do before we go back in?" she asked him. He shrugged his little shoulders. They both started looking around and Snowflake spotted an empty swing, "How about we go on the swing?" she looked at her brother. "O-okay" he answered and both started going towards the empty swing, Spirit staying close behind his sister. They both reached it and Snowflake nudges her brother and motioned her head on the seat. He slowly nodded and got on the swing with some difficulty, but was helped by his sister. He sat up straight and held onto the chains, "Um, I-I'm read’EEEEEE!" he yelled as the swing suddenly started swinging up towards the sky, his little fists clenching onto chain for dear life. Snowflake got out of the way and saw her brother holding onto the chain with bulging eyes. "Come on! Swing higher!" she cheered with a bright smile. "I am high!" he yelled to her. "No you're not!" she replied with a little giggle and went beside the swing. "Get… Me… Down… Now!" he said as he passed by with every swing. She giggled and looked at him again, "Awe, so soon?" she smiled at him. "Yes!" he yelled once more. She thought for a moment and just decided to get behind the swing and stop him. As Spirit swung forward, she quickly got in positioned and stood up ready like a quarterback, "I got ya! OoF!". They both flew for a couple of feet, landed down on the snow and slid for a couple more, buried alive within the snow. Snowflake lifted her head out of the pile and spat out snow with a laugh, "That was fun!" she yelled and laughed again. "For you it was" Spirit replied, shaking a little. Snowflake looked at him with a little smile, “Sorry, Spirit. I promise, I wont do it again.” Just as his smiled, a snowball nailed him on the face and forced him to fall back into the snow, and then three fillies started laughing hysterically. "Hey! What was that for!?" Snowflake yelled and helped her brother up. Spirit shook his head and wiped the snow off his face. She then angrily stomped over to the three fillies, "Well! What do you have to say!" she yelled and stared down at the fillies angrily. "What do I have to say to a weirdo." the yellow filly with a blond mane and tail said and laughed again. "Yeah, weirdo!" the red filly with white and pink mane and tail said next. "Hahahaha!" a white filly with an orange mane and tail laughed. Snowflake squeezed her fists and growled angrily at the trio. She just wanted to make a building sized snowball and throw it at the three fillies. Before she could make a snowball and throw it at the filly, another one went in front of her and blocked her path. "No need for violence." she said and started to ushered Snowflake and Spirit away from the laughing bullies. They got near the steps of the building, "First day and you almost got in trouble." a light purple unicorn with yellow mane said to her. "I'm Dinky Doo." she brought out her hoof with a smile. Snowflake looked at the hoof for a good moment then both shook, "I-I'm Snowflake." she introduced herself. Dinky smiled and looked at Spirit, sitting down near the steps. "Hi." she greeted. "Ah… H-hi" he greeted back with a slight wave. "Are you okay?" she asked, examining him. Dinky was a couple of years older and Snowflake knew that, but she's such a good pony. "Hey! Snowflake!" the three looked and Snowflake and Spirit smiled. It was Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootalooo going towards them. "We saw what happened, are ya two okay?" Applebloom looked over both of them like a worried mother. "Uh-huh" Snowflake nodded. Sweetie Belle looked at Dinky, "Thanks for getting them out." Sweetie thanked her. "No problem." she answered back. Scootaloo looked back, "Great… three more." she hissed with a frown, looking at the three new school bullies. "It's bad enough with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon around, but three more!? Come on!" she looked back and stumped down with her hoof and huffed. Applebloom looked at Snowflake and Spirit, "Want ta hang with us?" she asked. Snowflake nodded happily and Spirit a little slower, but was just as eager. She then looked at Dinky, "How about ya, Dinky?" she asked. "Okay" she answered with a hopeful smile.
Chapter 2: Battle Stations! A few weeks passed and Snowflake and Spirit started to get used to being in school, but her brother was still a little on the timid side, like always. Soon after their first day of school, the siblings and Dinky Doo were now a part of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. In the warm confines of the Carousal Boutique, Sweetie Belle asked her older sibling, Rarity, to make three more capes as the white, unicorn mare quickly worked in her shop. Rarity excused for being too busy at first, but when she told her it was for Snowflake, Spirit and Dinky Doo, she looked at her little sister with wide eyes and went right to working on the capes. "Why didn't you tell me it was for the three!?" Rarity rapidly worked on her sewing machine and levitated a few fabrics to her way, snipping them away with her scissors. "I forgot?" Sweetie answered unsurely, standing right behind her sister with a tilt of her head. Rarity finished, folded the capes neatly in her magical grasp after at least fifteen minutes and gave them to her little sister, "There, now go along darling, I have designs to work on, and customers to please." she went back to her work table, gently pushing her glasses up her muzzle. "Thanks, sis!" Sweetie Belle thanked her, put the folded capes on her back and scurried out the door, but forgot to close it behind her. Rarity sighed as she felt the cool wind going against her white coat, swung her horn up and closed the door with a little smile. Sweetie Belle had a white tricycle with a few light purple ribbons and a plain old basket at the back. She put the capes in the basket and got on her tricycle. She then put on her white helmet on, decorated with a few flowers and rode off towards their headquarters in Sweet Apple Acres. It was a little difficult trying to get to the tree house in all the snow, but with a little determination and some self couching, she managed to reach the place. She grabbed the capes from her basket as they hung from her mouth and started going up the steps while gasping through her nose. She knocked on the door as she held her head up to keep the new set of capes from dragging in the snow. The door opens and Apple Bloom smiled, "Good, ya got the capes!" she said and stepped aside to let Sweetie Belle in. Sweetie set the capes down on a small round table and sat down with a tired huff. "Oh yeah! They're goin' to be so stoked!" Scootaloo looked at the neatly folded capes with a big smile and glinting eyes. As Apple Bloom looked at the capes, a small memory forces its way into her line of thought, remembering something on what tomorrow is going to be and looked at other two fillies, "Hey girls! Tomorrow's Snowflake's and Spirit's Birthday!" she said happily. "Really? How do you know?" Scootaloo asked as she stared her friend in confusion. "Ah asked Winter and Fluttershy of course! Ah wanted to know when their birthdays were." she answered. "They're goin' to be even more stoked now!" Scootaloo bounced around, fluttering her little wings with a bright smile. The next day, Winter brought Snowflake and Spirit to school this time around. When they got there, he opened the gate and the two siblings quickly scanned the snowy school yard, and found the Crusaders and Dinky Doo near the steps, seemingly waiting for their arrival. They both bolted towards them, "Hi, girls!" Snowflake greeted as they reached them. "Hey!" Scootaloo greeted and pat Snowflake on the head with a smile of her own. Then Winter whistled. They all looked at him and he pointed at Apple Bloom and waved her over. She galloped over to him and he crouched down, "Apple Bloom, can you and the others distract Snowflake and Spirit? We're going to set up a surprise party for them in Fluttershy’s cottage." he whispered to her. She nodded happily, "Will do!" she said quietly. "Good. You and the other three can come along in the party if you like. I already invited your sisters, so there’s no need to go and ask." he whispered to her again. She smiled a little wider and saluted, "Thanks, Winter." she thanked him and put her hoof down. "You can go back now, just keep this a secret from Snowflake and Spirit, okay?" he said to her. She nodded and zipped her mouth with a smile. He smiled back and petted her on the head, "Good." he said to her. She ran back as the lone human started going back with a close of the gate, "What did you two talk about?" Scootaloo asked. "Uh… nothin’ interestin'" she smiled nervously. "Okay, so what do you guys want to play before school starts?" Dinky asked the little group as she sat beside Spirit. "Want to make a snowpony?" Sweetie suggested. "Sure, why not." Scootaloo answered and they all started to roll large snowballs on the snowy ground. Just as Cherrilee rang the bell, they were finished. At the end of school, the same snowpony they created was destroyed mercilessly by the school bullies. Scootaloo stumped up to them in rage, puffing out her now red cheeks, "Whatcha' do that for!?" she yelled at the five with a flushed, fuming face, surprising the younger fillies, but their two leader snorted at her. "Hahahaha! Because it's fun!" Diamond Tiara answered with an evil grin. "What are You going to do about it?" she poke the orange filly’s check a little hard. Scootaloo didn’t wince as they both faced down, Tiara daring her to make the first move as her smile widened. Before anything happened, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle started to drag their friend away from the five, "Let me at ‘er! Let me at ‘er!" she struggled as her friends pushed her away, flaying her fore hooves the bane of their existence. "She ain't worth it, Scoot!" Apple Bloom struggled to get her away from the bullies mocking bullies. Then the five started yelling, "Scootaloo-Scootaloo!" like chickens and acted like one as well. Then they all laughed and fell on the snowy ground flaying their limbs, while rolling like evil, ugly Gremlins. With some time and some convincing, they finally got Scootaloo to stop her from beating the daylights out of Diamond Tiara and her new, additional minions. Snowflake and Spirit were just small enough to fit in the baskets on the tricycles as they rode to get to their tree house. Snowflake was on Apple Bloom's tricycle, while Spirit was on Sweetie Belle's. Dinky Do stood on the back step of the tricycle on Scootaloo's, steam still pouring out of the orange filly’s ears as she angrily road, leading the little bicker gang. "So, what cutie mark are we trying to get today?" Sweetie Belle asked as the peddled. "Uh…" Apple Bloom thought for a moment, sweat starting to form. "Why don't we just play for a couple of hours?" she answered nervously. "Okay, so what are we going to play, then?" Scootaloo asked next as she glanced back, now slowly calming down, the thought of playing with her friends distracting her from the bullies with the after school incident. "How about a snowball fight? We can make snow forts and we battle it out." Dinky suggested, looking back at the little group. "That's a great idea! Hurry! To our headquarters!" Scootatloo pointed up ahead and zoomed toward the Sweet Apple Acres, Dinky Doo holding on for dear life as her eyes watered from the rushing wind blowing at her face. "Okay, ta be fair, Scootaloo, Dinky Doo and Spirit will be the first team. Ah, Sweetie Belle and Snowflake will be the second." Apple Bloom said to semicircle of Crusaders. They all nodded and went to their places and found themselves a spot about fifteen feet from each other right under their tree house. The four older ones quickly started making their forts and the two siblings started making snowballs for the battle to come. The snow was a little deep on the area they were in, so they dug down about two feet and hit frozen ground, a few stands of green, wilting grass poking out. Then they started making the wall next and made a little stairway to go up. Snowflake and Spirit cleared three square foot of snow and made a little hill of snowballs behind the wall. After fifteen more minutes, both teams practically made miniature snow castles right under their tree house. Apple Bloom went up to the ledge to look at the enemy fort with her teammates. "Ya ready yet!?" she yelled. They waited for a moment, and then a snowball flew up and almost nailed Sweetie Belle on the face, causing the filly to “Eek!?” as she ducked down. Scootaloo and her team popped out their heads from behind their snow wall, "Dose that answer your question!" she yelled back with a smirked. "Battle stations!" Apple Bloom yelled a battle cry and threw one of her fore hooves in the air. The three grabbed their snowballs and went back up. "Sweetie Belle, ya keep passin' snowballs with yer magic!" Apple Bloom ordered. Sweetie Belle saluted with a little frown and puckering her lips up and went back down, sat down near the pile, her little horn now starting to glow a Lime Green. Spirit peeked up and was nailed by his sister on the face and fell back on his bum. "Hahahaha! Gotcha!" Snowflake laughed playfully. Then a snowball hit her on the face in mid laugh as well and fell on her own bum just like her brother, "Right back at, ya!" Spirit yelled back, followed by a little chuckle. "Oh, this is on!" Snowflake was passed snowballs by Sweetie Belle from bellow and the two siblings started to throw snowballs at each other in an all-out war. Apple Bloom made a snowball about the size of her body and rolled it over to Sweetie Belle, "Ya think ya can throw this at the others?" she asked her with little huffs. "I… I think so." she answered and concentrated on the large snowball, scrunching up her face in shear concentration. The thing slowly rose off the ground and floated in the air. She then swung her head towards the sky with an arch and threw the mass of snow towards the other team. "Aaahhhhh!" Scootaloo screamed as she was hit by the snow bolder and made a half circle hole at the top of their fort, where Scootaloo once stood. The snow bolder was halfway buried at the other wall of snow fort. Spirit and Dinky crumbled away the large snowball and Scootaloo appeared, pressed up against the snow wall. She spat out a chunk of snow and blew her mane away from her eyes, "Dinky, Spirit… make a bolder." she said to her team. They both saluted and quickly made a snow bolder just like the others did. Spirit and Dinky stood up straight and saluted, "It's ready, Captain!" they said to her. Scootaloo pulled herself out of the snow and fluttered her wings to get the snow out. She went up top, tightened her scarf and then pointed with her hoof, "Fire!" she yelled with burning passion. Spirit first threw a couple snowballs at the peeking Apple Bloom. When the filly ducked away, Dinky levitated the snow bolder with a wince and a little grunt, then threw the mass of snow with her magic. Apple Bloom waited a few moments for the snowballs to stop being thrown at her but when she heard nothing anymore, she slowly peeked over the edge, squinting her eyes at the other fort to try and find any signs of their enemy. “Anything, yet!?” Snowflake yelled from the bottom, stroking her friend’s mane as Sweetie Belle huff and puffed from exhaustion. Apple Bloom looked down at them with shake of her head, “Nope! Nothin’ ye-” “Fire!” The moment she looked back, she screamed with wide eyes. "Aaahhhh!" the snow bolder hit the little filly as her other two teammates scrambled away from her sides to try and get out of the way. Sweetie and Snowflake scrambled up and quickly scurried over to the half embedded snow bolder. They both crumpled away the snow and found Apple Bloom frowning, stuck in the snow with her limbs sprayed out. "Sweetie Belle… Snowflake… on mah word, fire ALL the snowballs." she said to the two. They both saluted and went over to the pile; "Ready!" they said in unison and got ready themselves ready. Apple Bloom shacks herself out the snow and fell on the ground with a grunt. She gets up and looked at Snowflake, "Snow, how fast can ya dig?" she asked her. "Fast." she answered simply. "Good, get behind the enemy lines, and when yah finish, get back, grab a few snowballs and we’ll surprise ‘em." she said to her. Snowflake saluted, dropped two snowballs she held and with a crack of her fingers she learned from her father, she started digging quickly towards the other fort. Apple Bloom went back up the ledge and yelled, "Fire!" at Sweetie Belle. Then a horde of Snowballs started pounding the others seconds after her command. "Get in cover!" Scootaloo yelled and the little group went under a little space under the wall, huddling together as a rain of snowballs bombarded them like a hailstorm. After a few more moments, Snowflake came back just as Sweetie Belle finished two thirds of the snowball pile; "Made a tunnel behind enemy lines, ma'am!" she got out and stood straight. "Good, grab snowballs for yourself and Sweetie Bell." Apple Bloom said to her as she grabs her own snowballs from the shrinking pile. “When she’s done, both of yah come in.” Snowflake saluted once again and started picking up snowballs as Apple Bloom crouched in the little cave system. Apple Bloom positioned herself at the end of the tunnel under one of the little patches of light going through the snow. "Out of Snowballs!" Sweetie yelled. "Fire!" Scootallo yelled from the other side, then falling snowballs started to pound the fort. Snowflake and Sweetie Belle goes in the cave mouth with their last bit of ammunition. The shock-in-all version of the snowball fight stopped and the three Crusaders started to wonder if they won the battle. "Helloooo!?~" Scootaloo yelled with a little smirk. After a moment, the three then looked at each other in confusion when no reply was said. "Fire!" they all heard a muffled yelled around them. Snowflake, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle popped out of the snowy ground with a small explosion of snow, armed with snowballs, surrounded the three with devious smiles. Dinky was the first to go down, Spirit was next and Scootaloo was bombarded last. "We won!" Apple Bloom yelled with her hooves out in the air and the three started cheering in the snow. Scootaloo wiped the snow off her face, "Hahaha! That was Fun!" she laughed again and her team started to laugh along as well. The Crusaders got onto their respective tricycles, but Apple Bloom when up to the steps of their tree house. "Go on ahead, ah have ta pick somethin' up in the club house." she said to them. Snowflake gets out of Apple Bloom’s basket and went on Sweetie Belle's tricycle, and sat beside her brother. "Don't take too long, or your hot chocolate might get cold!" Scootaloo yelled as Apple Bloom went up the steps. "Ah know Scoot! Ah won't be long!" she went into the tree house and the others started going. She peeked out and waited till they were out of sight. She went over to the small desk and grabbed the capes and threw them onto her back. She went back out, put the folded capes in the basket of her tricycle, puts on her orange helmet decorated with red and green apples and started following the new bike tracks. As the little group reached Fluttershy's cottage, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle parked their tricycles beside Winter's mountain bike. They took off their helmets and hung them on their handle bars as the rest of the Crusaders gets off to stretched a little. "Oh my goodness, am I getting cold!" Scootaloo shivered as well as Dinky and Sweetie Belle, they both nodded in agreement with their teeth chattering. Snowflake and Spirit seemed okay as they watched their shivering friends, "It's not That cold to me." Snowflake said and Spirit nodded. "W-well, I was b-born in the summer, not w-winter." Scootaloo stuttered and knocked on the door shakily. They waited for a moment then the door swung open and streamers popped out, balloons rose and Winter and ponies yelled out with party hats on, "Happy Birthday!". The two siblings gaped in awe and fainted on the snowy ground with a little thud. "Oh my." Fluttershy said, then Apple Bloom shows up. "Howdy y'all! So what… oh…" she looked at the passed out siblings on the ground with the folded capes on her back, still wearing her helmet. After a moment, Snowflake and Spirit woke back up on the couch with a blanket covering them and saw many eyes looking at them with party hats on. "SURPRISE!" Pinkie suddenly popped up in front of them and threw out her fore hooves, throwing confetti in the air. "Aahhhh!" the two yelled in shock. Once they saw who it was, they put their hands on their chests and took their time to try and slow down their pounding, little hearts. Fluttershy hugged them both to comfort the little ones. "Pinkie, you almost gave them a heart attack!" Twilight said to her with a little frown, Spike sitting on her back as he ate a cupcake with a messy cheek. "Ha! But they didn't! So the party must go on! I just knew how much to scare them so they wouldn't heart attacks! I learned my lesson with Granny Smith." she said to her proudly, as Aj was next to scowl at her. Rainbow dash face hoofed herself with an audible bonk. "Are you two okay?" Fluttershy asked them with a bit of a worry in her tone. They both took a deep breaths and let it all out. "Uh-huh." Snowflake nodded and Spirit as well. "Happy birthday, little ones!" Luna jumped at the back with a bright smile. The two gasped, "Aunty!" they both cheered on the couch. Princess Luna, a tall, blue Alicorn, walked up to them with a bright smile, and leaned down to the two, nuzzling them. “Great to see, you both, as well.” She said and stepped back. Then Apple Bloom and Scootaloo went up front with capes on their mouths. They both sat down on their rumps, held the capes with their hooves and showed them the folded capes, "We are happy to give ya two, the official Cutie Mark Crusaders capes." Apple Bloom said. "Really!" Snowflake said with a bright smile, Spirit as well as they both started giddily bouncing on the couch, draping out the blanket from their sides. They both nodded and wrapped the capes around their necks and tied them, "Welcome ta the team!" they both saluted. "Yay!" they both started jumping around on the couch while hugging one another. Snowflake looked and saw Dinky Doo had a cape as well. "Oo! You have one too!" Snowflake and Spirit went down with a little hop and went up to Dinky. She nodded happily with a bright grin. "The… Best… Day… EVER!" Snowflake yelled happily as the group chuckled and giggled at her excitement.
Chapter 3: Surprise Visitor In the next few days since both Snowflake’s and Spirit’s birthday, it's been going well for our little family. Snowflake and Spirit were trying to find their cutie marks with the Crusaders with their new friend, Dinky Doo, throughout the new days, failing and having fun with their long time babysitters. Dinky's mother is a little… interesting to say the least, but if the encounter with her in the party says anything, is that she loves her daughter greatly. She seems to really love muffins as well and thus, calls her daughter, "My Little Muffin". Money was still pouring in to Fluttershy’s bank and from what the letter said, that was sent to me from the president of a toy making company, "Tricycles and similar designs are selling everywhere!". We were rich, but we haven’t really done anything ‘big’ with it. We might go and take a short vacation to Filly Delphia to visit Fluttershy’s parents and bond with Shy’s new baby sister, Angel Bell, who’s only a few years younger than our little siblings by the way. I was a loving father and a husband to my little family. I granted their wishes as often as possible and made sure to keep them happy, healthy and safe from anything that presented any danger. But it seemed Fluttershy was already happy of what she got, and by that I mean, she got me; a big, loving, living teddy bear to hug and love whenever she wanted. In the early morning, I yawned and stretched my arms and legs on the soft bed, being woken up by the rays of light cutting through the window. I lightly smacked my lips and looked to my right, still feeling a little tired, but when I saw Fluttershy sleeping peacefully on my shoulder, my lips curled into a smile. I wrap my arms around her, pulling her a little closer to me as I nuzzled into her pink mane, smelling her sweet scent. She made an adorable coo and positioned her head under my chin, snuggling up to me while she rubbed her cheek on my neck. Her gentle breath and beating heart were still very relaxing to me, and as always, teasing me to get back to sleep like a gentle lullaby echoing into my ears in the gentlest tone. Then all of a sudden, before I could rest a little more with the sleeping mare, the door to Fluttershy’s room swung open and two of our kids scurried up to the bed. They both get themselves up with little grunts and pulled on our bed sheets. "Wake up! Wake up!" Snowflake shook both of us to our right. "It's morning!" Spirit jumped up and down on the bed but suddenly falls in a heap with a little grunt beside his sister. I heard Fluttershy sigh. I looked down and saw her smiling lovingly with closed eyes, "Good morning…" she moaned out as she opened her eyes, leaned up and placed her soft lips onto mine, reclosing her eyes as well as me for the moment to feel nothing but our loving pouring into one another. "Eew! Come on, not in front of us!" Snowflake said and both siblings cringed in disgust and covered their eyes with their hands. We both lightly laughed and sat up on the bed with the mare on my lap. Fluttershy yawned and stretched her fore hooves high in the cool, morning air, "Okay, we're getting up." she said tiredly and looked at them with a gentle smile. I looked at them, "Ready to visit Aunty Luna and Celestia?" I asked them both and they nodded their heads so fast, I thought they were going to fly off their bodies and roll around on the floor. I looked at the time on the little alarm clock as I slither my arms around the mare, she returning it in kind with a little hum, "Luna should get here in an hour." I said and sat on the edge of the bed with Fluttershy still attached to me, continuing to rub her cheek on my chest with closed eyes. "Let's make breakfast, feed the animals and you two get ready to go for a little field trip." I said and the two yelled, "Yay!" in unison. When they left the room in a hurry, I looked down at the mare and hugged her, planting a kiss on top of her head, “Sleep well, sunshine?” I whispered. “Very…” she replied in the same quiet tone. We both just sat there, enjoying each other’s company for a few more minutes before she stirred, leaned up and pecked my neck, causing me to chuckle. “We should get ready.” She spoke and nuzzled into my neck. I chuckled a little more, “Sure. We’ll get more time to ourselves in an hour, anyways.” She kisses my chest, where my heart was thumping in a gradual pace, “Yes we will.” She said with a little giggle. I hesitantly let her go and she hops off, now feeling a little empty without her in my arms. I look at the little table and saw my new journal just laying there, where I left it. I grabbed it and looked at the black, blank cover for a moment before Fluttershy spoke up. "Are you coming?" Fluttershy asked from the threshold. "I'll be down in a minute, Shy. I have to update my journal first." I said to her and grabbed the quill from a jar of ink. "Okay." she replied and started going down, her hooves echoing into the room. I spent fifteen minutes writing on my journal and finished with a final period. "There…" I said to myself and put the journal back on the table with an open page to let the ink dry. I finished one third of the journal by now and wrote on it when something interesting happens during the day, or just want to write in general, really. I still wondered where exactly I threw my original book into. I know I threw it in a portal to my home, but I can't remember how my home looked and where it was. But there was a good reason I didn't go back and I chose to follow what I lead myself into. It was a bumpy road for a few months, but with the kind help of Fluttershy, Luna and the others, I somewhat recovered from my somewhat depression, but still somewhat thought about home and a somewhat more happy way. Somewhat anyways. I slipped on my clothing and zipped up my pants. I got to the open door and looked back to see my shield hanging on the wall above the bed, light reflecting off it like a proud suit of armor. I smiled at it for a moment and started going down to the living room to get something to eat. I went down the stairs, I saw the usual morning routine playing out; Snowflake and Spirit feeding the animals, filling their little bowls; Snowflake scooping up the animal food from their bags while Spirit dragged them along with some difficulty and puffed out cheeks. I looked up and grabbed the empty bird feeder and filled it with a few scoops of different, mixed seeds. I hung it back up and birds fluttered over and started eating away with a few chirps. I went over to the kitchen and saw Fluttershy cooking at the stove to my right, a pink apron wrapped around her front. It was her turn to cook, it's something we agreed on and got used to over the years we were together. So I walked over to the cupboards and started taking out items from it. I put the plates down on the table, as well as cups and silver wear, but then felt both of my legs being embraced. I looked down and smiled at Snowflake and Spirit looking up at me, hugging my legs with both their arms and legs, their little wings sprawled out in excitement as they looked up at their father with big smiles. I wobbled over to each seat, lifted one leg at a time as they ‘Wheee!’d, pecked each of their foreheads as I gently handled them from under their arms and seated them on their rightful seats, sitting beside one another. When breakfast started with Fluttershy putting out her cooking to us, the two ate their breakfast pretty fast, almost like a hungry vacuum cleaner. "Um, not too fast, sweetie. You might get a tummy ache." Fluttershy said to the two with slight concern for our little ones as she casually ate her salad. They both swallowed, "We'll be okay." Snowflake said and both hopped off their seats and ran up the stairs without another word. With a little chuckle and a shake of my head, I grabbed both their somewhat empty plates, mine as well and started washing them in the sink. After half an hour, Snowflake and Spirit wore their vests by the door with giddy smiles and whispering to one another. They also had bracelets Luna gave them on their birthday. They were icy blue, smoothed out oval shaped crystals with Star Sapphires as the main piece. Then there was a knock on the door and the kids went ecstatic. I walked over from the couch, where Fluttershy rested on her side, opened the door and smiled, "Good morning, Luna, just in time. They both couldn't wait any longer." I said to her. She giggled, "Well, they are visiting the capital and castle with their Aunts. Who wouldn't be happy?" she said with a smile. The siblings forced their way between my legs both hugged their aunty on her for hooves, "Hi, Aunty Luna!" they both greeted her in unison and nuzzled her coat affectionately. Luna smiled and leaned her head down to them, "Good morning, you two." she nuzzled both their cheeks. She leaned back up and levitated them both onto her back, Spirit gripping onto her neck while Snowflake held onto her brother. "I will take good care of them. Don't you two worry." she said to both me and Fluttershy at the door. "Have a good day at the castle you two. Listen to Luna, okay?" Fluttershy said to the two on Luna's back with a worried smile. They both nodded happily. "Have a nice day, you two." Luna said to us both and started going back to the carriage with the two. "Be safe!" Fluttershy waved and the two waved back. The carriage door closes and flew off towards Canterlot. Fluttershy sighed and hung her head a little, "I hope they'll be okay." she worriedly said, more to herself then at me. "I'm sure they will, Shy. They’re with the two most powerful ponies in Equestria. And besides, Luna is like their second mother to them, so they’ll do whatever she tells them to, like they do with their real mother." I picked her up with a little yelp and face her to me as she blushed, "How about we take a little stroll around town and visit a few friends, hm?" I said to her and ran my right thumb onto her warm, blushing cheek, my other arm wrapped around her rump to keep her up. She smiled, "Um, h-how about…" her blushing increased and leaned into my ear, "We take a day off… and… you know…" she said to me and looked at me with adorable, somewhat sultry eyes. I smiled, forming my own blush and returning the sultry expression to the mare, "As you wish, m'lady." I said to her with a little nod. I carried her back in and closed the door with my foot as we kissed, her fore hooves wrapped around my neck and shoulders. After spending the whole morning in her room and ate some lunch, I went to my shed to work on a little project I’ve been wanting to finish. I closed the darkened, ashy double doors, put on my thick leather apron, gloves and metal face mask and started up the fire pit with a smile. Just when I flipped on my mask while starring at the fire pit, I heard a frantic knocking on the doors. I looked back at it for a moment in confusion and walked on over as another set of frantic knocking came. I opened the doors and flipped up my mask and saw Rainbow Dash hovering in front of me, "Winter. We-ah… kinda need you." she said to me nervously and fiddled with her fore hooves and scarf. "Okay, so what is it?" I asked and adjusted my gloves. "We… found someone in the forest and… she’s kinda freaking out. And I mean Freaking out." she answered, putting emphasise on the word. "Okay, so who's the pony?" I asked and walked back in, started to take off my things and put them back where I found them. "She's, ah, not really a… pony." she answered again. "No? Then what is it then?" I briefly looked back at her as I walked over to the fire pit to put it out. After a moment pause, she spoke and slightly gestured to me with one of her hoof, "One of you." she answered nervously. I froze, trying to process what she just said to me and slowly looked at her, "Ah… did I hear you right?" I stepped closer to her. She slowly nods, "Y-yeah. She's a-a… hoo-man…” she tried to say, making a ridiculous face as she did, “and I'm pretty sure she's about to have a mental breakdown pretty soon. So if you don't mind, can you go and calm her down?" she said to me. "Ah, okay, so where is she?" I asked, took out the fire, grabbed my Stetson hat from a little hook on the nearby wall and closed the door from the outside, locking it. "In the library." she answered. I dragged out my bike from the side of my shed and got on it, "Okay, thanks, Dashie." I thanked her and we both started racing towards the library. We arrived to the tree-made-town-library and saw Twilight, Spike, Rarity, Pinkie and Applejack outside the doors with worried looks, but Spike looked like he’s about to be frozen on Twilight’s back. I rode up to them, "Okay, I got the news. So where is she?" I asked and propped my bike on the side of the building, near the door. Twilight went up to me, "Inside on the couch with some tea… I think." she answered, unsure of herself as clattering teeth rang out from Spike. I stood in front of the entrance and slowly opened it. I peeked in out of caution and couldn't find the visitor anywhere. I looked back and raised my hand to let them know to stay out till I say so. They all nodded and Pinkie zipped her mouth, dug down in the snow and ground, pretended to thrown something in, buried it back again and sat on the spot with a big smile like an adorable, loyal, pink dog. I slowly got myself in and closed the door silently with a little click. I started looking around the warm library, looking for its new resident at the door, "Hello?" I quietly spoke out and tip toed towards the couch and a coffee table. I saw the tea pot and a filled cup, steam still rising from the cup itself. I stood up straighter and adjusted my hat a little in thought, but just as I did, I heard a crook behind me. I swung my head to my left and saw a glimpse of the person docking back in the kitchen. I held up my hands, "Oh, hey… It's okay, it’s just me." I said gently and took off my hat and set it down on the coffee table, "I'm human just like you. Nothing to fear." I said and started slowly walking towards the kitchen threshold. The peeked out and figured to myself the new human of Equestria was a female. As she stared at me, her eyes started to slowly widen in surprise and awe. "J-James? Is… is that you?" she started to step out, her voice quiet and shaky as her eyes started to sparkle with the beginnings of a tears. "Aah…" I thought for a moment in confusion and started looking around the room for some answers, but then all of a sudden, she ran to me and hugged me tightly around my waist. "It is you! I missed you so much!" she buried her face into the crook of my neck. I looked out the window and saw the five mares looking at me expectantly; I only lightly shrugged in confusion. The woman had some thick clothing on, grey thin jacket with a black vest over it, black wind pants, blue shoes, and pair of gloves in her pocket, pocking out and sagging. Her brown hair was a little short, only reaching down to her shoulders and had a pair of chocolate brown eyes. I managed to calm her down by hugging her back and caressing her head carefully. After a few moments of silence, I lead her over to the couch and sat down on it. "Where are we?” she let me go and wiped her eyes and sniffled, than started looking around anxiously, “Are we dead?" she asked me, "And what are those things outside?" she pointed towards the door. "Ah, first of all, nice to meet you. Second, we're in Ponyville. Thirdly, like it not, you're not dead and lastly, those things are called ‘Ponies’." I answered with a straight face. "Wait… you don't know who I am?" she gestured to herself. "Aaah…" I was thoughtful, "All I can remember is my time being here for the past couple years." I said to her. "You're kidding me, right? You don't know who I am?" she chuckled nervously with a crooked smile. I stared at her blankly and blinked a couple of times, "I can't say I don't." I answered. Her smile started to crack, "I'm your best friend, how can you not know me?" she said and gently grabbed my wrist. I stared at her again, "Sorry, but I can't remember who you are." I answered again and looked at her hand grasping my wrist. Her smile slowly fades away and replaced by shock, "You can't remember me?" she said sadly and started to tear up with quivering lips. "Look I am sorry, but I can't remember my original home, my parents, my friends, or anything from our universe.” I grab her shoulders and drew her to me, hugging her as I did, “All I know is that my journal had all of my history and I threw that back to my world. But please… I don’t know why, but please don’t cry. It hurts me too." I said to her. She looked thoughtful for a moment, and seemingly enjoying the hugging, snuggling up to me for a brief moment before she reached into her coat, "I… have your journal." she took out a book, "Your parents gave it to me sense I was your closest friend. They didn't want to keep it because it hurt them." she stared down at the book for a moment, pain very evident in her expression, but then she shows it to me. I grabbed it and skimmed through it. It was interesting, certainly my hand writting but nothing came back. I got to the last page and it was written by someone else and I smile. I looked out the window and saw Fluttershy peeking in like the others. I smiled, pointed at her and waved her to come in. "I'd like for you to meet someone." I said and the door started to open slowly. The timid pony started to come in slowly, cautious of the girl. The door suddenly closes and she jumped and yelped in surprise with an adorable squeak. I looked at the girl and she started to slowly curl her lips up at the pony's reaction. I looked back at Fluttershy, "Hey, Shy. Lookie what I found." I showed and waved the book to her. Her eyes widen, "Oh, y-you got your journal back." she said quietly with a smile and started going towards me with her head hung a little low. "It still has your writing in here." I said to her and skimmed to the last page to show her as she got up behind the short table. "Her? It was her?" the girl asked and pointed at the pony hiding behind the table. "This last page is the only thing I can remember about this journal." I said to her. “And it held a moment in my time here that we’ll never forget. My supposed ‘Last day’.” I looked back at the timid pony again, "Come on over, Shy. Don’t be a stranger." I said to her with a smile and a little wave. She gently sinks down in fright, looking at the second human in the room, thinking this over before she slowly started going over to me while still trying to hide behind the small table. When she got close enough, I picked her up with a squeak and set her down in front of the girl. Shy curled herself up in a ball and gently shook in fear. I wrap my arms around her to calm her shaking body, and a second later, Fluttershy gradually peeked out and smiled nervously and waved a hoof at the girl. The girl waved back. I smiled, reached out, grabbed my hat and set it down onto the mare, earning a heart warming giggle. Fluttershy looked back at the girl with a timid smile and a little blush. "H-hi. I'm Fluttershy." she introduced herself quietly and pulled my arms a little closer to herself. The girl gently giggled, "Hi, Fluttershy. I'm Kathrine." she said next. Subconsciously, I started making a list of mental nicknames quickly like a computer, checking off every nick-name and ‘Ding!’d when I found the right one. "Okay, Kat,” She seemed surprised at that for a brief moment, but smiled right after, “just to warn you, the other ponies are a little different from her. There's a pink pony called Pinkie Pie. The laws of nature don't always apply with her and she's a little… chaotic and energetic, so be ready for anything." I said to her. She started to look a little nervous, "Aah…" she said. I smiled, "Just relax and greet them like you do with new comers. They’re all nice and friendly to every visitor that comes by." I said to her. I looked at the window once again and nodded at the lavender face. Twilight looked at the others around her, her mouth moving as she spoke to her friends. After a moment they started coming in and Applejack closed the door with a light kick of her hind leg and shook their body side-to-side to get rid of the cold and snow that clung on their coat. Spike on the other hand, was practically frozen on Twilight's back; his body shimmered as he shook like a filly with a sugar rush. Then all of a sudden, and as predicted, Pinkie popped out of nowhere and stood in front of Kathrin with a comical grin, "Hi! I'm, Pinkie Pie!" she squeaked out a greeting. The girl jolted back on the couch, startled by the law defining pink mare, "I… ah,I-I'm Kathrin." she said to the pink pony as her chest rose and fell quickly. Pinkie gasped in midair and bolted out the library, leaving a cloud of pink smoke shaped like the party mare herself. Twilight went up to her next as she waved the cloud away with a little scrunch of her muzzle, "Hello. My name is, Twilight Sparkle." she greeted next and smiled kindly at the woman. "Oh… Kathrin." she introduced herself once she calmed down with a sigh of relief. "Kat-thr-EEn." They all started to try and pronounce her name, making funny faces as they did, Fluttershy as well, but a little more quietly while looking down at the couch with a more neutral expression. I chuckled, "Just like the last time with my name, though I can’t really remember what they were trying to pronouns." I said as I scratched my head. "Aah… Kat's good enough." she said to the little group. I looked at her, "They call me, Winter. Winternight." I said to her, "And I don't mind starting over our friendship, if that’s okay, Kat." I brought out a hand while the other was around Fluttershy. Her smile widened and we shook, "Okay then, Winter.” She giggled before composing herself once more and sat up straighter, “A pleasure to meet, you."
Chapter 4: Tour Kat looked at the Twilight and stared at her horn for a moment before speaking up, "What are you exactly?" she points to her horn, "And why do you… and you have horns?" she asked Twilight and Rarity. "We're Unicorns." Twilight simply answered with a small smile, Rarity nodding in agreement. She then looked at Fluttershy wrapped in my arms and Rainbow Dash hovering beside Applejack, "How about-" she was cut off. "Pegasus." Dash answered with cross fore hooves. She then looked at Spike, shivering on Twilight's back and tried to warm his hands by rubbing them together and blew on them. "Aah…" she pondered and pointed a finger at the purple dragon. "Dr-drag-gon" he stammered as his teeth clattered. "In this world, monsters are real. Like the Mnaticor, Sea Serpents and etcetera, as well as magic." I said to her. "M-monsters?" she looked at me with shrunken pupils and hugged her legs in fear and hiding half her face in the process. "Don't worry; they don't really go into towns like this one. They all stay in the Everfree Forest." I tried to calm her down. "Ever-what now?" she looked at me, confused. "The Everfree Forest" I said. "Okay… so… the scary looking forest where I've been found?" she asked questioningly. "Yeah." Dash answered. She hugged her legs a little tighter, "I want to go back home." she whimpered. "When?" I asked. "What?" she looked at me. "When do you want to go home?" I asked again. "You mean I can go back?" she said to me, a hint of hope in her tone. "Yeah, your call." I answered. "If I could go back, then why didn't you?" she points at me and narrowed her eyes a little. "I tried, but I wanted to stay here. I threw my journal through the portal and I was thrown back here like a ragdoll. After being knocked out for a couple of days, I couldn't remember anything about my original home." I answered, "But… I have a good life here.” I nuzzled into Fluttershy’s mane for a brief moment, earning a giggle from the mare. “If I did go back without my memories, I wouldn't have known what to do or know who anyone is, even my parents. I wouldn’t have been home; I would be interloped like a lost poppy and start missing this world because I would have memories pertained to this place." I said to her. "But… we could've helped you…" she said with a sad tone and seated herself on the couch a little more properly, resting both hands on the couch with curled fingers and leaned towards me, making Fluttershy shrink a little in my grasp. "Celestia already tried to bring my memories back. They are lost… and all my memories I could remember are my time being here in Ponyville." I said to her I said and gently tightened my embrace on Fluttershy. “I wouldn’t know what to do or how I should live back in our Universe. And sense it’s been quite some time, I’m a dead man. How are they going to react to my sudden arrival? Or how am I supposed to explain I’ve in been living in a different Universe filled with colorful, magical ponies, and monsters?” I gently rest my chin onto Fluttershy’s head and looked down at the couch, “I wouldn’t mind having a quick look or remember what my life used to be like, or where I lived in a world, but if I had to make a choice of going back home and never come back here, versus staying here in Equestria to be with Fluttershy, I would stay here. But there’s not a time here where my lack of memory of my home haunted me, Kathrin. I do think about home sometimes, but I try and move on for my mare’s sake.” I finished speaking as Fluttershy wrapped her hooves around my arms and nuzzled my shoulder. "Well…” She sighed and leaned back on the couch, looking down at her lap, defeated, “I guess I could go back tonight." her expression saddened. "If you want to be happy, find somepo-I mean someone to spend the rest of your life with, and less about me. Try to move on like me, Kat. Make yourself happy like your old friend." I said with a smile. She looked at me with a raised eyebrow, "Make… myself happy?" "Yes, because any of your loved ones would want you to be happy. I just started to know you again, and I want you to be happy, Kat." I said to her. She curled her lips to a small smile, "I guess so." she said. After a brief moment, she took a breather and her smile widened while she sat up straighter. “Okay. I’m ready to go.” She said. "Okay, so we could just wait for Luna to get back to the cottage, later on. Want to do anything till then?" I asked her. "What do you do here?" she asked. "Helping out Fluttershy taking care of animals, forging metal in my shed and taking care of my family." I answered with a little shrug. "Family? You have a family?" she said to me, a little shocked. "Yes." I looked down at Fluttershy and rested my chin on top of her head, gently rocking both of us from side to side, "Why wouldn't we?" Fluttershy smiled up at me. "O… kay…" she said awkwardly, looking at me like I did something out of the blue. I grabbed my journal and showed it to Kat, "Here, you could have it. My new story is here in Ponyville." I said to her with a smile. She grabbed it and held it close, "Okay." she answered with a smile of her own. "You hungry?" I asked her. "A little." she answered and put the book back in her vest before zipping it back up. "Want to go to Sugar Cube Corner and get something to eat?" I suggested. "Um… Okay." she answered. I looked at everypony else, "Any following?" I asked. They all nodded but Spike as he got himself down from Twilight’s back. “M-maybe some o-other t-time, Winter. I’m a-a little cold.” Spike said as he walked himself up the stairs shakily. "Okay, Spike. Get well soon!” I waved and returned it with a shaky hand. I looked back at our little group, “Let's get going then." I said and stood up and Fluttershy flew up beside me as I let her go. As we got through town, other ponies we passed looked at Kat with confused and questioning looks. I looked at her, "Don't worry, it was like this the first day I got here as well." I said to her and lightly padded her back. "I don't blame them. Being in a world ruled by ponies a little weird for me." she said and continued to look at her surroundings. As I opened the door to Sugar Cube Corner, and without warning, Pinkie bounced out in front of us yelling, "Surprise!" We all jumped, startled at the mare’s antics. "Time for a ‘Welcome Party’!" she slipped right between Kat’s legs, getting behind her and started pushed her in the building with her head. She got her in, "We got games! Cake! Friends! Oh! Did I Say We Got Games Too!?" She brings out her party cannon from behind her and shot out streamers and colored smoke. Kat jumped again and fell on the floor. I went up to Pinkie, "Uh, Pinkie, can you tone it down a little?" I asked her and leveled my hands with a little shack of my fingers going up and down. I looked down and saw Kat hiding underneath a table, hugging the one leg, shaking and swiftly darted her had from to and fro. After the short, small and quieter Pinkie Pie signature ‘Welcome Party’, we started going around town for a little tour. As we started going out of Applejack's Apple Acres, we met the crusaders in their tricycles. "Hey, Winter!" they all greeted me in unison. I crouched down, "Hey there, any luck on betting your Cutie Marks?" I asked. "Not yet." Sweetie Belle answered a little sadly with a hang of her head. They looked at Kat behind me, "Who's she?" Apple Bloom asked. "Oh." I stood and showed them the new human, "Her names Kat. She got stuck here like I did through the Everfree Forest. Just giving her a little tour before she goes back home." I said to them. They looked up at her for a moment, "Ya look like Winter when he turned inta a girl." Apple Bloom commented. Kat looked at me, "You turned into a girl?" she asked. "Ah, yeah, I'll tell you all about it in the cottage later." I said with a little chuckle of embarrassment. "Hey, Winter!" Scootaloo said. I looked, "Yeah?" "When are Snow and Spirit coming back?" she asked with Dinky Doo on her back. I took out my pocket watch, "In… four hours. Just keep an eye out for a gold carriage." I said to them. "Okay, thanks!" she thanked me and they all started going like a Ponyville Biker Gang. Rarity looked at Kat closely and started circling her, "You do look like him when he turned into a female." she said, leaned in her head to Kat’s right leg and brushed off a bit of snow from her. "Ah…" Kat’s eyes widen just a tad. I looked at her, "Hm… she kinda does" I pondered. "Wait…" I stepped closer to her, purposely invading her space, "What I remember is that I looked like my sister when I looked myself in the mirror." I said to her with narrowed eyes. She leaned back, "A-ah…" sweat started to form on her forehead. "Are you?" I said. She gulped and took out the book from her vest, "Page one-fifty-two…" she said and showed me the book. I took it and skimmed through it to find the page. I got to the page and started reading it out loud, "Today, I found my long lost sister. My parents told me I was adopted few days after my birth. Not really a shock to me that I was adopted, though. Anyways, my sister turned out to be one of my closest friends named Kathrin. I wasn't mad at my parents for not telling me this sooner, I was just glad I had a sister all this time. We act like best friends other than having a sibling rivalry like most do." I finished. I looked at her, "You are my sister." I said to her. She nodded nervously and slightly tilted her head down. "So… why didn't you tell me?" I asked and showed her the book. She took it back and held it close, "I didn't want you to feel sad when I go back home." she answered and put the book back in her vest and refused to look at me. I smiled broadly and swiftly hugged her tightly, causing her to yelp, "Of course I would be sad! But I'm even happier that I have a sister." I said to her. "Re… r-really?" she stammered. We separated but I held her shoulders, "Of course." I answered happily. We got back to the cottage right after I showed Kat my shed and the others went back to do their business. "Wow." Kat said while looking around the house and its little residents. I was sitting on the couch with Angel munching on a carrot beside me. "Oh, hello there." Sapphire greeted and went up to her. "Oh, h-hello." she greeted back nervously. "My name is Sapphire." she introduced herself and brought out her hoof. "Ah, I'm Kat" she leaned down and both shook. Sapphire nodded and went about doing her work on helping Fluttershy take care of the animals. "Um, make yourself at home Kat, if you’re okay with that, at least." Fluttershy said to her. "Oh… okay." she answered. She took her vest off and jacket, then hung them up on the coat hanger. "So, Kat." I said as I stood up and went up to her, "What happened when I was missing?" I asked. She froze for a moment, but slowly turned around, "Everyone searched for you everywhere for two years… after that, we had a funereal. On that day, your parents gave me your journal. They said they didn't read one word, and they trusted me on keeping it safe. So I treasured it and bring it along when I go on a trip." she answered and it looked like she was fighting back. "Wow… so what happened next?" I asked again, rubbing the back of my neck, feeling a little guilty now. "They went on with their lives, but… I had a really hard time without you. My other friends tried to get me smiling again, but it only worked a little." she lowered her head and rubbed her eyes with her sleeves. I stepped in and hugged her once again. She gladly returned it and breathed in a shakily breath. With a sniffle, she separated, but I put a hand on her shoulder, "Look on the bright side, now you see I'm doing okay. And I'm glad to know now I have a sister." I said to her with a comforting smile. She smiled back and briefly hugged me, "I missed you so much." she said to me. After showing her the cottage inside and out, she showed me playing my new fiddle I got a few years ago as a gift. She wrote down a few new tunes for me and we had a bit of fun doing so. We got back down and heard a knock at the door. I walked on over and opened it. I saw Luna with Snowflake and Spirit on her back, sucking on their lolly pops and waved happily at me. I smiled with a little wave, "Hey, Luna. How was your day?" I gestured her in. "Splendid. We had a lot of fun." she got in and stops dead in her tracks as she sees Kat at the staircase. I walk up beside the Princess, "Luna, this here is Kat. Kat, this is Princess Luna, a close friend." I introduced them both. "Another human?" Luna said and stepped closer. Kat started to get a little uneasy and made a nervous smile. "Yes, she got in the same way I did. Wrong place, wrong time." I stood by Kat and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "She's also my best friend slash sister." I said to her with a smile. "Oh, really?" Luna smiled at her, "Nice to meet Kat. Your brother is a good friend of mine." she greeted. "Daddy? Who's that?" I heard Snowflake. Luna used her magic to get the two down. They both went up to Kat, looking up at her with interest. I picked them both up, "Her name is Kat, your third Aunty." I said to them both. They both looked at her and waved happily. Kat smiled and waved back. "Your kids?" Kat smiled at the two. "You know it." I answered. I put them both back down and they started looking for their mother. I looked at Luna, "Luna, you think your sister can bring her back home?" I asked her. "Most likely. What time?" she looked at me for an answer. "Tonight." I answered. She nodded, "I will inform her. We’ll see you later, Winter. You as well, Kat." she said and went out. "Um… Aunty Kat." I heard and looked down at my kids. She kneel down, "Hm?" she answered with a smile. "Do you want to draw with us?" Snowflake asked a little shyly and kicked around one of her legs. Kat giggled, "Okay." she answered. Both Snowflake and Spirit brightened up and scurried over to the staircase, Kat followed in their wake.
