The past is always greener on the other side...

The road back

The town of Ponyville was a friendly enough place, filled with friendly ponies of all three types going about their business.  Some say this little community is the best example of friendship in all of Equestria, with all ponies getting along in perfect harmony. The very air radiated the kindness and warmth that filled the heart of every equine in this happy little village. Houses and buildings both small and large, eclipsed by a tall crystalline castle in the background, gave the small village a quaint and atmospheric castle town air.

As she trotted through her new home, Kimono simply couldn't believe how different everything looked- from the houses that were not all pastel colors and overly girly (well, at least not compared to where she had come from), and the town seemed to have a neat and orderly look to it. Oh sure, there were some odd things, like the fact the ponies were all disturbingly tall, and had such oddly shaped faces. But these ponies seemed much more calm and less goofy and chaotic then the ones she knew back back in... well, the other Ponyville!

As she stopped a moment to take it all in, Kimono thought about how wonderful this was going to be. No more goofy ponies playing random games in the street! No more annoying mares pulling her this way and that to do stupid things! And best of all, no more Minty! Kimono was at last in a place where she could get in touch with her inner self, and at last converse with equines of an equal intellect to herself. First though, she would have to locate a place to stay, and.....

"Say, what's up with that strange pony over there? She is so weird looking!"

"I've never seen a pony that looks like that! What's she even doing here?"

"Where the hay did that mare even come from? I'm not going anywhere near her!"

These whispers reached the purple mare's ears, and she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Were these equestrian ponies... saying things about her behind her back. Wait, that couldn't be right! Equestria was a utopia according to the books, a place of love and toleration that had no place for any kind of prejudice or dislike of those who are different. Surely she must have heard wrong, as this Ponyville obviously wasn't rife with stereotyping and bridle gossip. why, just look at how unicorns, Pegasus ponies, and earth ponies all lived here together in harmony. Surely this place was the society of her dreams!

Yes, most pones here were very welcoming, but even they seemed to be caught off guard by the strange looking newcomer who came trotting through town this afternoon. The purple earth pony mare clearly stood out, standing just a little bit taller than the other ponies in town, and having a slightly odd looking face. Many of the stallions and mares quietly pointed and stared, but one particular pony came bouncing up to the newest arrival, totally oblivious to the oddities that seemed to surround the mysterious mare.

"Oh, hello! I've never seen you are here before! And if I've never seen you around here before, that means you're new in town! And if you're new in town, that means I need to throw you a welcome to Ponyville' party! And if I haven't thrown you a party yet, that means we're not friends yet! And if-"

"Ummmmm.... hello?" Kimono replied nervously, watching the little pink ball of fire leap and jump around her in all different directions. The confused mare thought the pink pony with a balloons cutie mark. She looked like a mare Kimono had known, but there was something... off  about this pony. "I take it your name is... Pinkie Pie?"

"Yep, thaaat's me!" The energetic mare replied, bouncing around like a toddler who had too many pixie sticks. "And it's always great to meet a new pony, and- oh! The cakes are calling me, gotta run!" And with that, the little pink ball of fire zipped away, as quickly as she had come.

"Wow, that certainly was... interesting." The earth pony mare said aloud, flabbergasted at what had just happened. "Well, she's clearly not as sane as the Pinkie I know, but the rest of Ponyville surely can't be-"

"Everypony, LOOK OUT!" Three little fillies- one on a scooter and the other two trailing behind- went zooming down the center the muddy main  road of Ponyville. Every other pony leapt out of the way as they came tearing through. But Kimono wasn't ready for this speeding trio to come storming on through.  "Gang way, we're coming through!"

"What the.... AIEEEEEEEEE!" The scooter plowed straight into the purple mare, sending her skittering to the side of the road, and planting her face directly into the mud. As the dazed and confused earth tried to stand again, the three little fillies stopped dead in their tracks,  and rushed over to where their stunned victim stood.

"Oh, gee! We're terribly sorry lady! We didn't mean to run over you like that..." The little white filly called trying to get some of the mud off of Kimono. "We were just trying to get the world's record for pony-trio scooter racing!"

"Yeeeah, but now we'll never get those checkered flag cutie marks!" A little Pegasus filly grumbled, stamping her hoof in frustration. "Oh well, racing too fast makes you two dizzy, anyway!"

"Trio... racing?" The confused earth mare asked, looking between the trio of fillies as her vision started to clear. "Wha... cutie mark?"

"Wow, she must have hit her head harder that we thought!" A little earth filly with a bow in her mane commented. "Maybe we should see if we could take her to the doctor, or somethin'."

"Hey look! She's got some kind of pottery cutie mark!" The unicorn filly exclaimed in excitement, pointing a hoof at Kimono's flank. "Why don't we take her back to the tree house, and she can show us her special talent so we can earn our cutie marks in pottery making!"

"Take me back to your tree house!?" Kimono started, not believing the audacity of these three fillies she had just met. "Now listen here, young ladies! Those are not pots, they are paper lanterns, and-"

"I dunno, Sweetie Bell. We've never seen her before, and she looks really weird." The Pegasus filly replied, looking the mare up and down. "I mean, what's with those little heart shaped things in her eyes? And her mane looks all goofy!"

"Hey!" Kimono snapped, starting to get annoyed. "I'm standing right here, you know!"

"Yeah, with that bizarre face, I think she might be a horse." The one called Sweetie Bell added. "But that doesn't mean a foreigner still can't help us get our cutie marks, right?"

"A HORSE!?" Kimono sputtered out, finally at the end of her rope. "Now see here, you are some of the rudest little foals I have ever-"

But before the shocked Kimono could do anything the three little fillies had already started to drag her away.

"The horse lady is gonna show us how to make clay jars!" The trio cried triumphantly. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADER POTTERY MAKERS! YAY!"

"Wait, what are you doing?! Where are you taking me!?" The oriental pony cried out in terror as the three little fillies dragged her off to some unknown destination.  "Somebody! Anybody! HELP MEEEEE!"