The Great Lepidoptera

10,000 years before modern-day Equestria

Fearsome dragons swooped down from the sky, chasing after the small, technicolor horses.

"Leave them alone!" shrieked Megan, beating futilely upon one of the beasts with her fists. One dragon dove down and snatched her up in its talons, as she continued to scream defiantly.

"I'm coming, Megan!" cried Firefly. Zooming after the dragon, she did a double inside-out loop in order to confuse it. It worked for a little while, but when the dragon realized what she was up to, it snorted and ignored her. The pegasus began to pummel the dragon, butnit didn't even seem to notice. Firefly, reaching the point of exhaustion, began to glide down to Dream Castle, head hung in shame.

"I-I lost her," she whimpered, eyes brimming with tears. "S-she could've saved us. I just know it!"

"We should try again," Twilight said, catching the attention of the other ponies. "We should send Firefly back over the rainbow and find another human."

"Oh please!" said Whizzer, rolling her eyes. "She'll just mess up agai-" Ribbons clapped a hoof over Whizzer's mouth.

"Hold your tongue! You'll make her even more upset than she already is," Ribbons scolded.

"No, no," said Firefly. "She's right. Send somepony else over."

"I'll go!" cried North Star. "I've never been to the human world! I would love to explore at least a little bit of it!"

"You can go," replied Twilight. "But there is little time to explore."

"Wasting time is illogical,"  droned Wind Whistler.

"Don't worry. I won't let you down!" With that, North Star flew off into the dark sky and over the rainbow. The other ponies watched the small patch of sky, their hearts full of hope and doubt.

"I just know she'll succeed," murmured Twilight, smiling softly.

I adjusted the headband, then took a look in the mirror to get a good look at the whole thing. I was dressed in a blue kimono, complimenting my blue eyes. My normally brown hair had been dyed orange, except for the bangs, which were white. In my hair was headband, with two attennae attached. Completing the whole costume was a pair of brightly-colored wings, which I had cut out of cardboard and painted myself. Overall, it wasn't perfect, but I thought it was pretty good. The only problem remaining was the shoes. Wiggling my bares toes, I pondered whether I should wear a pair of black flats with short socks or just not wear any shoes at all.

Before I could make up my mind, I heard a voice overhead cry, "INCOMING!!!!" A loud SPLASH, followed by "Oh dear!" came from the backyard. I hurried out, not bothering to put on normal clothes or shoes. Even for Wisconsin, raining British people is pretty strange weather.

I skidded to a stop in front of the pond, ready to jump in and save the foreign visitor. I didn't have to, however, as they climbed out of the pond and shook themselves off. It was then I did a double take. The British person was a pegasus. Things were getting curiouser and curiouser.

"Hello!" she said, trotting boldly up to me. "I'm North Star, and I need your help!"

"M-me?" I stuttered. "What could I possibly do?"

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "But if I crashed in your pond, it must mean that you can do something. Climb on!" She turned sideways, beckoning me to mount.

"Well...okay," I said, clambering on to her back. I doubted the logic of her statement, but then again, North Star was talking, pink and purple pegasus. Perhaps whereever she came from, landing in someone's backyard actually meant something. I clung to her neck, waiting for takeoff. She quickly began galloping, flapping her wings furiously. We came up a hill, and she leapt at the top, finally becoming airborne. She sped through the clouds, towards a rainbow.

"What's that?" I shouted over the wind.

"The rainbow will take us back to Ponyland, where I come from!" she shouted back. As we flew over the rainbow, I began to feel tingly inbetween my shoulderblades. The feeling spread over my whole body, fuzzing out my mind, slowly fading to black.

I was laying on my stomach when I came to. I groaned softly. There were voices over me, saying things like "She waking up!" and "She's real pretty, Twilight!" I blinked once, and tried to move. I was overtaken by dizziness, and a bossy oice, this time with a South American accent, scolded, "Stop moving, I want to make sure you haven't been hurt badly by that fall!"

I sighed, and sat still, feeling hooves gently palpitate my body, checking for injury. The voice said, "You can sit up now." I gladly obliged. Every movement made me feel like I was going to throw up, but I ignored the feeling, not resting until I was finally in a sitting position.

The world look fractured, like I was seeing through multiple lenses at once. This was alarming, but I figured that maybe things looked weird because I hit my head, and my eyesight would return to normal. I then took a look at the owners of the voices.

I was unsurprised to see more colorful ponies. After all, North Star had to have come from other ponies. What was a little surprising were the different varieties. Some had wings, like North Star. Others had horns, and some had neither. A few ponies of the three different types had eyes like gemstones. Even more interesting were the symbols on their flanks.Each pony had a different one. I guessed that it to do with their personalities or skills. They seemed too detailed to be mere decorations.

"H-hello," I managed to spit out through a mouthful of cotton. I really could've used some water. One of the unicorns ran off, and came back with a glass full of crystal-clear liquid. I gratefully took the glass, and swallowed it in two gulps. Refreshed, I decided to try and stand up. As I did so, my wings brushed against the wall. It felt quite...odd. I could feel the wall's coolness with my wings, despite them not having any nerve endings. I should've merely felt the pressure of the wall on the wings, not the temperature of the wall! I suddenly had a thought.

"Excuse me," I said. "I know you need my help, but first...could I get a mirror?"

"Yes!" piped up a pony. She was smaller than the others, and had no symbol on her flank. She trotted up the hall, and I followed. After a few minutes, we came upon an ornate, full-length mirror. I looked myself over, and then I became really alarmed.

For starters, my brightly-colored hair looked more natural. Like it had always been orange and white, instead of dyed. I felt around in my hair, searching for a headband. I didn't find one. The attenae were rooted in my skull. I had glowing, blue compound eyes. Then, I turned around. I poked at the base of my wings, feeling a small hole near each. I probed through these hole, and felt the bases of my wings connected to my shoulderblades.

"Oh, my," was all I could say. It seemed as though I had been fused with anthropomorphic Mothra costume.