The shadows loomed heavily around the Everfree Forest, the soft rain leaving the forest soaked with water and sap, coupled with the soft smell of growing shrubbery. The darkened sky promised the chance of more rainfall soon, with even possible lightning. However, in the small, sinister hut lined with all sorts of foreign masks, five ponies and a zebra gently sat inside, with four of the ponies wheezing every few moments from a rare illness.

Rarity give a soft sigh, her dark turquoise uniform slightly ruffled, her three-colour bowtie hung at an angle around her neck. Glancing around the dark room, purely lit by candles, she noticed Zecora, the local herbalist, reading through yet another book. Gently shaking her head, Rarity turned to the other ponies, and her gaze darkened.

"Is there nothing else we can do? Absolutely nothing?" Rarity choked, her voice grating and broken as her gaze met with her zebra friend.

"I'm sorry, Rarity, but I don't think there is anything else..." Toe-Tapper rasped, his golden eyes glancing over to Rarity, before the room around him, and silently voiced his suspicions about the rows and rows of oddly coloured bottles. He gently gave a flick of his dark-azure mane and gave a broken sigh, "Just a shame we have to disappoint everypony..."

"Toe-Tapper..." Rarity sighed, tipping her head downward and looking to the wooden floor, digging her fore-hoof into the floor, "Zecora, is there anything?"

"I'm sorry for this illness, friends, but there is no instant cure for this sickness..." the Zebra sighed with her heavy accent, her fore-hoof stretching out and grasping another book.

Releasing yet another sigh, Rarity forced herself to stand up, "I'm sorry, Zecora, for wasting your time..." she muttered, about to start heading towards the door, until there was a soft, gentle tap, and it was pushed open slightly.

Standing in the doorway was a pure white pegasus mare with what seemed to be tiger stripes across her body, with a pure white mane with black tips on the end.

"Oh, sorry if I interrupted anything, I'll come back later if I have to," the mare apologised, taking a step backwards.

"No, no. It's fine. You're not interrupting anything," Rarity waved her hoof dismissively, allowing her to enter.

"Rarity? Are you alright? What happened?" she asked softly, walking over to her friend, her eyes wide with fear.

Rarity looked to the floor, "At first we thought this was just a bad case of the cold, but we're starting to think it's something worse... We came here to possibly get a cure for the show, but it doesn't seem that way..."

"Oh, that's terrible... On your last show as well..." she muttered sympathetically, gently rubbing Rarity's back, "Are all of you guys affected by it?"

"I'm afraid so..." rasped Toe-Tapper, his eyes filled with sadness, "Sorry for asking, but, what is your name anyway?"

"Oh, sorry. My name is Silent Paw, but most ponies just call me either Paw or SP. Either way, I don't mind," she replied with a smile.

"We met a little while ago, when she came to the boutique to place an order for a dress, but we ended up getting into a rather lengthy conversation, and eventually became friends," Rarity explained to her other friends, before shaking her head dismissively, "But the entire story is not important at the moment."

"So are you guys gonna like, cancel the show or..." Paw paused, raising a hoof questionably towards her friend.

"It very much seems like that..." Rarity sighed. She always did hate disappointing other ponies, but they just couldn't sing at that time, "I seriously doubt this will heal in less than a week..."

"Oh... I was really looking forward to the show as well... unless..." Paw's face instantly lit up as an idea entered her head, "I mean, I know this band called the Pentatonix in another realm, that Kitty showed me."

"Kitty?" Torch Song asked, her voice the most badly effected out of them all.

"She's my friend from the other realm. It's a long story, but I remember her showing me this AMAZING band called the Pentatonix, and oh my Celestia, they are so amazingly good, ImeanWORDScan'tevendescribehowgoodtheyareseriouslyTHEYAREAMAZING!!" she spoke as fast as she could, and ending her small rant off with a loud 'Eeeeeeek!' and an inward coil of excitement.

Everypony stared at her as if she had grown a second head, but she simply gave a sheepish grin, before clearing her throat nervously, "I mean, they are purely a cappella group, which would fit with you guys, and they are a five member group as well. They can fill in for you guys, if you want, so you wont have to cancel it or anything."

Rarity paused, studying the notion of another band filling in for them, "Hm... I guess.... it means that we're not disappointing anypony..."

"Wait," Toe-Tapper interrupted, confusion drawn across his face, "Didn't you say they were in a different realm?"

"Yeah," Paw replied with a smile growing across her face, with Toe-Tapper tilting his head, looking completely perplexed, "I can send a message to them," her eyes flung open and she gave a loud gasp, "Ohmygosh!! I can go and actually meet them!"

"I'm not sure... Fluttershy, Big Mac, Tapper, Torch, are you guys on board with this?" Rarity turned and asked her friends uncertainly.

"I'm fine with it," Fluttershy muttered, giving Rarity a quick, reassuring smile, her voice seemingly unaffected by the illness, but they guessed it was that she didn't spend as much time with the others, since she had to care for her animals, as there was an influx of baby animals this season, much more than usual.

"Eeyup," Big Mac replied simply, his tone just as broken as Rarity's.

"Sure, I guess," Toe-Tapper shrugged, but Torch Song simply gave a nod, not wishing to strain her voice more, "But I don't see how you can-"

"Yes!" Paw shouted, thrusting her hoof into the air victoriously, cutting off what Toe-Tapper was about to say, "I'd best go get my stuff! Oooooooooooh! This is gonna be AMAZING!!" she instantly shot towards the door, her wings taking her as fast as possible through the Everfree Forest.

"Oh, never mind..." Toe-Tapper dismissed the thought with a shake of his head, and giving a tired smile.

"Well... that fixed that problem then," Rarity smiled, stealing a glance towards the others, relief painted across their faces.

"Hairbrush... jeans... top... glasses... deodorant..." she muttered, half to herself as she looked through her backpack, checking to see if there was anything she was missing, "Oh- phone," she quickly sped off, and grabbed her small phone, a gift from Kitty, and dropped it into her bag, "Ok, anything else? Hairbrush, jeans, top, glasses, deodorant, phone... um..." she paused. There was definitely something, at the very back of her mind, but what? "Um... Oh!" quickly shooting off again, she grabbed her copy of PTX Vol. 2, and placed it gently into a separate part of her backpack, and quickly put it around her back.

"Off I go..." she muttered anxiously, gently spreading out her wings, and stepping out of her door, 'Now, if I remember correctly, then I'll have to fly for a few hours.... that way,' she twisted her head around to face directly North, where a large, sinister mountain stood, with everything beyond it shrouded in fog. She gulped. 'Well, better get this over and done with...' beginning into a slow trot and building into a gallop, she quickly gained enough momentum to take flight.

"It's been... how long?" she gasped for air, her flight taken more energy out of her than what she expected. She was sitting in a grassy clearing on the mountainside, looking down to her phone, only to see that she had been flying for just over an hour. She released an exasperated shout of disbelief as she felt herself fall backwards, her back laying on the soft grass as she stared into the azure blue sky, with few clouds in sight.

The Everfree Forest was a hidden gateway to the Human realm. Most rumours that were spread say that the magic mirror in Canterlot is the only way to reach the Human realm, but they were anything but right. In reality, the further into the Everfree you got, the stranger and uncontrollable the nature became, until you passed the border into the Human realm. But that was besides the point, Paw was exactly on the border between Equestrian life and Human life, and by this point, she was already feeling the effects.

Her skeletal system did not change much, other than change her forelegs and hooves into arms and hands, and changed her mane shaping slightly. Her muzzle still remained the same, she still had fully functioning wings, her tail was still there and her tall ears were still at the top of her head. And on top of all of that, her skin was a pure white with large, black stripes across parts of her body.

As she pulled on her jeans and purple shirt, she realised. 'If I'm going to meet the Pentatonix, think of how much they'll freak out at the half-pony hybrid standing in front of them. I bet they'll freak out and call the police on me! I'll never return home because I'll be in some testing lab somewhere!' panic slowly began to rise within her as she stared in the direction of Equestria, thinking of how easy it would be to just fly home and avoid the whole situation.

'No! I've not come this far just to disappoint everypony! I'll have to do this whether I like it or not!' she flared her nostrils and stood up, and shot off again, leaving Equestria behind her, 'But let's just hope I'm right...'

Paw stood there shaking. She was staring directly at the house of Mitch Grassi, the home of one of the members of the Pentatonix. She could see clearly see Mitch, Scott, Kirstie and Kevin through the windows. Fear and nervousness dug right through her as she stood, frozen in place.

'C'mon! Go! You have to! Don't disappoint everypony 'cause you chickened out!' her mind shrieked at herself, and she desperately took a step forward, her hoof clicking against the rough tarmac that made the pavement (or sidewalk), before flinching backwards. She never felt so self conscious in her life. She felt so stupid having her entire body be such a glaring white which stood out against everything around her.

Her eyes wide, her body sweating with the ultimate fear, she desperately tried to take another step forward.

"Well, hey there," Paw nearly jumped out of her skin as a sudden, deep voice sounded from right behind her, making her stomach turn to a ball of ice, "Well, aren't you quite the character then?" as the voice came closer, Paw felt a warm hand gently placed onto her shoulder, and she slowly turned to face the man that addressed her, a face she instantly recognised to be Avi Kaplan, another member of the Pentatonix.

"H-hi..." she muttered, her eyes still huge and full of fear as her ears dropped backwards and she let her fringe slipped in front of her right eye.

"Oh, wow..." he breathed, looking directly at her features; the ears, the tail, the wings, the pure white skin, the muzzle, the hooves and the huge, dark brown eyes, "You certainly are quite the character."

"I- well... um I-just- um..." she stammered desperately, trying to formulate proper English, but that seemed to be the last thing that would be happening, before her brain finally snapped, "Oh, please don't hurt me or call the police on me! I swear I'm no monster!" she shouted as she flinched backwards, coiling her arms over her head, with a few tears streaming down her face.

Blinking, Avi paused, staring at the fearful creature standing in front of him, "Hey, it's alright. I'm not going to hurt you. Look, it's fine." he attempted to reassure her, putting his hand on her back, "Are you lost or something?"

"N-no... I-I was looking for you g-guys.... I'm j-just scared it all..." she muttered desperately, her shivers of fear becoming more and more violent by the second.

"You were looking for us? You mean the Pentatonix?" he asked gently, with Paw nodding slightly, "C'mon, let's get you inside and calmed down..." he decided softly, guiding her towards Mitch's door.

As soon as they reached it, the door seemed to swing open, and standing in the doorway was Paw's other four idols. 'Great, the first -and probably the ONLY- time you meet them, and you look like the physical encarnation of a mental breakdown!' she mentally scolded herself as she looked towards the four in front of her, their eyes glowing with concern and curiosity.

"Hey, you alright there?" she heard the voice of Scott call to her, and she looked towards the incredibly handsome form of Scott standing before her, "Avi, who is this?"

"I'm not sure. When I showed up, she was just, sorta, standing there. So I went up to her to see who it was, and she kind of freaked out a little. I'm not sure she's from here," Avi replied, rubbing her violently shivering back.

"Avi, I think that much is obvious," Mitch stated, watching her shivers, "Hey, do you want to come in for a little while, so you can calm down?" he asked, addressing Paw in a soft, yet pressing tone. Paw simply stood with her head facing downward in shame as her shivers became worse.

"Poor thing!" gasped Kirstie as she went up to her, and wrapped her arm around her neck, "C'mon in. It's ok, you're safe with us," she reassured her, guiding her gently into Mitch's house, and to the closest seat, "Poor thing..."

"How did she even get here?" Mitch asked questionably, his eyes full of sympathy.

"I... I flew..." Paw muttered, wiping the tears away from her eyes and looking towards the five members seated before her, and her nerves instantly started up again. Mitch put a hand on her shoulder for a moment, before deciding to get her something to try and calm her down.

"Wait, you mean to tell us.... you can fly?" Kevin asked, his jaw dropping even further, as if the talking humanised pony wasn't enough.

"W-well yeah.... the gateway from Equestria to here can only truly be managed by flying..." she sniffed, trying to put her nerves aside so she can relay the message.

"Equestria?" Scott asked, mentally putting two and two together, "Wait, that means you're a pony, right?"

Nodding slightly, Paw looked up, "I... I came with a request for you guys... I guess I sorta wimped out when I got here though..."

"Hey, it's ok now," Avi reassured her once again, forcing Paw to deliver a soft smile, "Now, concerning the request."

"Right... a band in Equestria- a five-piece a cappella band -is sick, and it's their last show as well, so I was coming here to ask..." she paused as she tried to figure out the right wording for the phrase, "Um... would you guys want to fill in for them?"

Scott, Kirstie, Kevin and Avi glanced towards each other, and Mitch re-entered the room with a cup of steaming hot chocolate, and gently sat the cup next to Paw.

"Oh, thank you so much..." Paw smiled towards Mitch, her eyes wide with admiration towards the kind person, before taking a few sips of the luxurious brew.

"Eh, it's no problem," he replied, gently rubbing the back of Paw's ear, and gave a big smile as she inadvertently leaned forward is she felt the sensation, "Dang, you are so cute."

Paw gave a silly giggle as he joined the others, "So.... are you guys up for it?"

Again glancing around, Scott looked up and gave a challenging grin, "Sure. I wouldn't mind seeing the guys again," and with that, a huge grin drew across Paw's face as she hopped onto her hooves, and fist-pumped the air.

"Yeah!" she shouted victoriously, causing the five to grin at her little celebratory dance, "Oh, now I'm so excited!" she continued, jumping into the air, fluttering her wings, "I'd better go and tell the others!" she chanted joyously, finishing off her hot chocolate, "Oh, and thank you guys so much for the hot chocolate.... sorry if I interrupted anything for you guys... I guess I'll see you in Equestria, then," she said, waving her hand as she proceeded towards the door.

"Be careful!" Avi called after her with a short smile, "So, do you think the recording can wait until our return?"

Scott grinned, "I'm sure it can."

Author's Note

I tried to make Zecora rhyme, I'm just so bad at it

How Paw reacted to meeting the Pentatonix is kind of how I envision myself reacting to meeting them, since I am easily freaked out and made very nervous.

Also, I did not describe Mitch's house, since I have no clue what it looks like, and frankly, I don't want to search it up, and I'm sure you can guess why