Ponyville was a quaint little place but a few miles from the Equestrian capital of Canterlot. Why is a town like this even on the map? It was one of the places that began Equestria, founded by earth pony farmers. Thanks to the Apple family, Ponyville grew quickly and prosperous, and many ponies of all races came to live there for a quiet, comfortable life. After that, there wasn’t much to make this pillar of Equestria stand out. Until Twilight Sparkle came. Some view the “Coming of Sparkle”, as it came to be known, as a boon. After all, Twilight Sparkle was the personal protégé to Princess Celestia.

“This will boost the town’s economy!” Mayor Mare had said.

She was right. It did boost the town’s economy. Subtly. The increase in the amount of bits in Ponyville’s coffers had to be discreet, or Twilight Sparkle would investigate. Thanks to the influx of tourists who had come to see the wonder that was Sparkle, some of whom stayed in Ponyville after being swept up by the town’s rustic charm and quiet lifestyle, Ponyville sat comfortably. However, Ponyville never accounted for Celestia’s long-reaching plan for her student. Ponyville never accounted for Nightmare Moon’s return. Ponyville never accounted for Twilight Sparkle making friends.

Normally, a pony making friends was a good thing; it was still a good thing in Twilight Sparkle’s case. It was Twilight’s learning what a friend and friendship was (not to mention her experiments, both magical and scientific) that hurt Ponyville financially. This was on top of the many incidents that followed after Sparkle and friends defeated Nightmare Moon. You name it, it probably happened. Ursa Minor? There’s a contingency plan for that. Parasprites? Musical instruments are at the ready. The Great and Powerful Trixie? Eh, she’s cool now.

Ponyville, despite its denizens cringing instinctively every time Twilight Sparkle met up with one or more of her friends, grew to appreciate the six ponies who caused so much havoc. They saved Ponyvillians and the town on multiple occasions, saved Equestria four times over, and were ultimately good friends to everyone. That was why Ponyville didn’t mind Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie could be debated, but there was no denying what an asset to the quality of life she was.

It was also heralded as an achievement when Twilight Sparkle became the fourth Princess of Equestria. After she had cast Starswirl the Bearded’s misguided spell, something went horribly wrong, and her friends had their destinies changed. In the face of this, she rallied herself and managed to turn her friends back to their old selves, at the same time figuring out how to finish, or rewrite rather, Starswirl the Bearded’s unfinished spell, creating new magic and triggering her ascension into alicornhood. The “Mane Six”, as Twilight and her friends had come to be known, thanks in no small part to a suggestion from Pinkie Pie, spent even more time together after that, helping Twilight adjust to her new position, role, and wings. There were many misadventures, mishaps, and the like that took place during Twilight’s first few months as Princess. Then Tirek happened.

Worse than Nightmare Moon. Just as, if not more cunning than Discord. Leagues more dangerous than Queen Chrysalis and her changeling army. Tirek was the biggest threat Equestria had faced in years. Before Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadence decided to pool their alicorn magic into Twilight, they had entertained the idea of fighting the centaur on their own. Fully armored, and Celestia with her Solar Halberd, Luna with her Nocturne Scythe, and Cadence with her Crystal Love Spear. They had deemed it too much of a risk.
So Twilight took their magic, and when Tirek found out about her, they had an epic battle in and around Ponyville. It looked like Tirek was going to win, but to attack Twilight directly, he had the brilliant idea to destroy Golden Oaks Library, which had only been in the way. There are two things you never attack in battle or in war. The first is hospitals; attacking the sick and wounded is cowardly and immoral. The second is schools; institutions of learning are the pillars of civilized society. In Twilight’s mind, there’s a third thing. That is libraries. Libraries were wondrous places of knowledge and words that opened worlds and gave valuable information. When that library is also your home… Tirek done bucked up.

This was the first and possibly only advent of the Royal Alicorn Magical Beatdown. During the Beatdown, Twilight fought Tirek to a standstill, at which time Tirek offered Twilight a deal: relinquish her magic and free her friends that he had captured, or continue fighting and possibly destroy Equestria in the process. Twilight chose the former and let Tirek absorb her magic. It was a necessary sacrifice, because this choice granted her and her friends a new power: Rainbow Power. It is much cooler than it sounds. Using this power, they defeated Tirek and sent him back to Tartarus, becoming heroes once again. Oh, Twilight also got a magnificent crystal castle. That happened, too.

All of this was years ago. 25 years, give or take a few. Since then, the Mane Six managed to downplay their celebrity status and carry on normal lives, all but one finding love along the way. Ten years after Tirek, Twilight finally relented and allowed herself a Royal Guard, the Friendship Guard. The captain of the Friendship Guard was one pegasus Flash Sentry. During two adventures into another world she doesn’t like to discuss, before the battle with Tirek, she had developed a crush on a human doppelgänger of Flash, which had translated back into her own world. The crush escalated into love over the years, and after getting to know the pony Flash Sentry, they married and had a unicorn son, Night Light (the Second) and pegasus daughter, Starburst, bringing the total number of royals to ten. This is because Princesses Celestia and Luna also once again tried their hooves at love and succeeded. Celestia was courted by and married Discord, producing one draconequus-pony son. Luna was courted by and married the captain of her Lunar Guard, producing a bat-pony daughter. Prince Shining Armor, Twilight’s older brother, and Princess Cadence, his wife had a child around the same time as Twilight, being the only royal couple to produce a pure alicorn. Luna’s daughter would too qualify, but being part bat-pony reduced that a bit.

Applejack settled down with Caramel, a light brown earth pony that had been helping the Apples since before Twilight came. There was a lot of back and forth between the two before they realized they had feelings for each other, and Applejack insisted she made the first move (she did, but Caramel enjoyed saying that he had). They had a son, Golden Delicious, not much longer after they married.

Rainbow Dash joined the Wonderbolts main team and quickly developed relationships with Vice Captain Soarin’ and Captain Spitfire, eventually taking Spitfire’s captainship once the fiery mare retired. However, Rainbow and Soarin’ found they shared a connection and rhythm, a bond that quickly led to love, and soon after, marriage and two sons, Prism Bolt and Icy Storm.

For a few months, it seemed like Pinkie Pie wouldn’t follow her friends and get married and have children. They didn’t even know if she had her eye on somepony, adding yet another mystery to the existence that is Pinkie. But, being ever the surprise, Pinkie revealed her special somepony to be Pokey Pierce, a unicorn whose talent appeared to be the ability to rein Pinkie in, since dating him reduced the party pony’s eccentricities to a minor degree. She was still Pinkie Pie, though more subdued. Despite not knowing Pierce very well, the Mane Six accepted him, especially after Pinkie told them almost everything about him. Even things they didn’t necessarily need to know. More surprising than that was Pinkie and Pierce’s wedding was quiet… until the reception.

This became known as the Great Wedding Sweets Battle of Ponyville. Ponies and buildings discovered frosting and bits of sweets in places they didn’t even know existed. Some fillies and colts remember the reception as the best party they’d ever been to. Other fillies and colts barely remember the party. The same could be said for the adults, although for different reasons. This was also one of the few parties ponies had ever seen Princesses Celestia and Luna, the portraits of regality and sensibility, let loose. Much like with the party itself, ponies saw events they had never seen before. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash worked together to encourage both the Princesses and the nobility to let go of their usual decorum, and seeing as it was a Pinkie Pie Party, where anything was possible, some of the nobility and the Princesses took the suggestion to heart. To this day, the nobility is now divided between the “cool” and “uncool” thanks to this event. Princess Celestia ordered everypony there to never speak about what they saw her do that day. The order didn’t take; after all, nopony had ever seen any one pony inhale that much cake at one time, not even Pinkie Pie. On the other hoof, it was universally agreed to never let Princess Luna near anything with sugar ever again. Some ponies still see her near-indescribable ungodly and most decidedly un-princess-like face and that in their dreams and nightmares. I, the narrator, will leave what that is to your imagination.

Rarity made both a move and a decision few expected and one had hoped for. Out of nowhere one day, a few weeks after Twilight and Flash began dating, Rarity subtly asked Spike on an actual date. Needless to say, he eagerly accepted. Spike’s crush on Rarity had actually grown into real love over the years, and Rarity had noticed. In pony years, Spike was realistically around five years younger than the mare of his affections, but the beautiful mare saw no reason a real relationship couldn’t work out. Truth be told, even with her boldness, Rarity wasn’t sure if she would truly love Spike back the way he did her. But, through a series of events and dates that played out much like heartfelt and cheesy romantic comedies, Rarity did end up falling for the young drake. They wed two months after Twilight and Flash, Rarity’s ring set with a diamond the two had found together.

Past the small fights and the like, the couple experienced one other dilemma: making children. With Twilight’s help, they researched if and how a pony-dragon hybrid could be created. It was a long process, but Rarity and Spike completed their research and Rarity birthed the world’s first draconies. They had a daughter, Crystal Clarity, and a son, Turquoise Blitz. Crystal Clarity, or Claire, as most everypony called her, was like a unicorn and a dragon, in that she had not one, but two horns; ivory horns behind her ears that allowed her to cast magic. This magic was not very strong due to the dragon blood coursing through her veins, but it did allow simple levitation. The rest of the power went to her ability to breathe fire, a trait she and her brother shared. Turquoise Blitz, on the other hoof, was more like his father. Though younger than Claire, he grew to be two heads taller than his mother and one head taller than Claire. Another difference he shared with his father was the ability to fly. Spike had turned out to be a breed of dragon whose wings appeared began growing later in life, and by the time Claire was born, he had grown so much, the entirety of the structures of the buildings in and around Ponyville (minus Twilight’s castle) had to be expanded and reinforced just to accommodate him. Turquoise’s wings were visible from the beginning, leading Twilight to speculate that he gained a trait from Spike’s actual parents. Doing further research on dragons also revealed that older dragons of all breeds were extremely resistant, if not totally immune to unicorn and even alicorn magic.

Fluttershy was the only one of the Mane Six who didn’t marry. That was to be expected. As the shyest of the group, it was almost a given that she wouldn’t actively seek out a special somepony, and early on, Rainbow Dash and her friends protected her from suitors. Rainbow even took a collection of clouds and kept watch over Fluttershy’s home, acting as a security guard, or the mother she was to become. She permitted very few stallions to try and date Fluttershy; there was one she really approved of and Fluttershy liked as well, yet for a reason neither of the pegasi remember, Fluttershy and the stallion broke up. That isn’t to say Fluttershy didn’t end up happy. She adopted a unicorn filly named Anthea, and they live together comfortably.

Where were are now, the children of the Mane Six are teenagers and young adults, experiencing many of the problems their parents had when they were their age, though nowhere near as magical, outlandish, and crazy. And so, though it’s cliché, this is where our story begins.

Prism Bolt, son of Rainbow Dash and Soarin’… was bored. You would think a pony with such famous parents would find himself busy. If his parents were celebrities, then he would be, too. He should be fighting off the mares with a stick. Or something you generally fight mares off with. Not the point. The pegasus was bored, and he knew just sitting in his room wasn’t going to change that. No, it wouldn’t do at all. He had to… he had to pull a prank. Perfect. Yes, that was what he needed to do. He grinned mischievously as a list of potential targets rolled in his mind. There was one pony in particular he hadn’t pranked recently, and for what he was cooking up, he needed help. Help that could also give him breakfast, possibly in the form of a donut. With that in mind, he leapt from the window in his room in his cloud home that he shared with his parents and made a gliding beeline for Ponyville.

Sugarcube Corner was the place for anything sweet. Of course, there were other sweets shops and stalls in Ponyville, but Sugarcube Corner was first. Much of its charm came from the faux-gingerbread and frosting exterior, which already made you feel like you were about to walk into a cavity-inducing wonderland. The rest of the charm and popularity that made “The Corner”, as the cool kids called it, a hotspot was how well every single item sold there was made. Always fresh, never stale, and delicious beyond belief. Sugarcube Corner expanded over the years, partly to accommodate for Spike, and partly because Ponyville had grown, which meant more customers. More tables, a wider counter, and a few modern upgrades translated into an even more prosperous Corner. It was a place Prism Bolt and his friends loved, and one they hoped would remain standing for a long time. Sugarcube Corner also had an upper section where the owners and proprietors of the establishment lived. As per the will of Mr. Carrot and Mrs. Cup Cake, they left their sweets café to their twin son and daughter, Pound and Pumpkin Cake, and live-in employee, Pinkie Pie. However, unlike his sister, Pound Cake found his calling in demolition, and now runs a successful demolition company. Pumpkin followed in her parent’s hoofsteps and runs Sugarcube Corner along with Pinkie Pie.

Prism landed near the door of the Corner with a small skid, making small flaps to dust himself off. Trotting inside, he heard the pleasant ringing of the café’s bell above him and smiled at the young candy blue, pink-and-white maned mare at the counter. She was Cotton Candy, Pinkie Pie’s daughter.

To say Pinkie had produced another her was an understatement. Candy was like her mother in almost every way, right down to the cheeriness she gave everypony when she was around. She was essentially an extension of the PinkiePie.exe program. While Pinkie’s main talent was to make ponies smile and laugh, usually through parties and pranks, Candy was able to do the same, albeit on a bigger scale. She even received her cutie mark after successfully organizing and setting up a carnival for all of her friends to enjoy, and her mark was, or is, a stick of cotton candy, which was more than fitting. Prism counted himself lucky; it was still early in the morning, so there weren’t many ponies in the café, and even better, no one in line at the moment. He approached the counter with his usual swagger, a confidence gained from his mother.

“Hey, Candy,” he greeted her. “One chocolate-glazed donut.”

“What’s the magic word?” Candy sing-songed.

“Alfalfa.” he replied.

“Wow, you actually got it right today. What’s the other one?” she smiled innocently.

“Do I have to say it?” Prism groaned.

“No, but if you don’t say it in the next five seconds, I’m doubling the usual price.”

“Come on, Candy, that’s not a deal,” the pegasus groaned. Candy continued to smile back at him. “Ugh, fine. One chocolate-glazed donut, please.”

“There you go!” Candy disappeared behind the counter and popped back up with his order. “Two bits.”

Prism fished into his mane and removed the payment, placing it on the counter.

“Got any plans for today?” he asked as he took the donut and took a bite out of it.

“No, not really,” Candy answered. “Why? Do you have something planned?”

“I was thinking of pranking Star today,” Prism nodded. “Want to help?”

“You know getting at Star is never a good idea, Prism. She’ll just yell at you all day.”

“Not if she doesn’t know it was us,” he grinned.

“Star’s great at putting two, four, and six together, Priz.” Candy warned him. “She’ll figure it out.”

That got Prism to raise a brow.

“What’s with you?” he asked. “You love pranking ponies with me.”

“I dunno,” Candy shrugged. “It just doesn’t seem good right now. Pranking Star is…”

“Pranking me is what, exactly?” Prism stopped mid-bite when he heard Starburst behind him.

“Plain glazed like always?” Candy asked the newly arrived orange pegasus princess.

“Yes,” Starburst affirmed. She glanced at Prism as Candy collected her order. “You were saying?”

“No, Candy was… c’mon, Star, it wouldn’t have even been that bad.” Prism whined.

“It doesn’t matter; I’m wise to your plans now,” Starburst said triumphantly as she took her donut and paid for it.

“Killjoy,” Prism snorted. “I can help you work on the Filly Flash to make up for it.”

“That’s going to have to wait until later,” Starburst said. “I need the both of you. Candy, can you ask your mom to give you the rest of the morning off?”

“Uh… sure!” Candy replied. “What for?”

“Mom says the castle basement needs to be cleaned, and I can’t do it alone,” Starburst answered. “Nighty’s with dad in Canterlot, and the basement is way too big for any one pony to clean on their own.”

“You’re making us do chores? Really?” Prism groaned for the second time that day. “Did anypony teach you what fun is?”

“It’s just one chore!” Starburst exclaimed. “Besides, with all seven of us working together, we’ll be done in no time. Plus, there are potentially dangerous items down there that could cause problems if something shifts wrong.”

“Seven of us?” Prism raised a brow again. “Oh, you’re dragging poor Claire into this, aren’t you?”

“Claire doesn’t mind going to a place that’s a little dirty. It’s being spooked she doesn’t like.” Starburst smirked. “You should already know.”

“I know, I know,” Prism rolled his eyes. “Don’t frighten Claire. I learned my lesson.”

“I’ll go talk to Mom,” Candy informed her friends. “I’ll join you if I can!” She bounded off into the kitchen.

“So, are we going to get the others now?” Prism asked Starburst.

“No, they’re already waiting at the castle.” Starburst stated proudly.

“Alright, then! Let’s get moving!” Candy came prancing back into the café proper. “Mom says I can go!”

“Let’s not keep the others waiting, then,” Starburst nodded, beginning to walk out of the store while finishing her donut. “We’ll be back soon, Mrs. Pie!”

“Oh, Star, you know you can call me Pinkie.” the older pink mare giggled as she exited the kitchen. “Have fun!”

“As much fun as cleaning a basement can be…” Prism muttered.

“It’s just a little work, Prism,” Starburst sighed. “Mom said there are a few things that everypony’s parents couldn’t keep at home down there, kind of like a vault. We’ll need to organize that from the junk.”

“Shouldn’t you be telling us this after we’re all together?” Prism asked skeptically as he took to the air and downed the rest of his own breakfast. “It’s all of our parents’ stuff.”

“I thought you might want to see your mom’s bigger trophies. Didn’t you say your mom told you the trophy the Wonderbolts won for that aerobatics competition was huge?”

“It was ridiculous,” Prism chuckled. “The whole thing couldn’t fit in the picture she showed me.”

“What else do you think is down there?” Candy asked. She suddenly gasped. “Maybe Princess Twilight is keeping a horrible monster locked up!”

“Please,” Starburst scoffed. “Mom wouldn’t do that. Everypony agreed that no one should keep magical creatures for observation. Especially after that… apparently second parasprite incident.”

Candy shivered. “Yeah. I’m not going near those things again. It’s not my fault I smell like my namesake.”

“Actually, it is,” Prism pointed out. “You should really stop buying that shampoo.”

“But I like cotton candy!” Candy exclaimed.

“Everypony does.” Prism said flatly. “That goes for you and the food.”

“Are you sure you can take the morning off, Claire?” Turquoise asked his sister.

“Of course!” Claire laughed. “Tuesdays are usually slow anyway. I won’t be losing a lot of business. Thank you for your concern, though.”

“Ah’m interested to see what we’ll find down in that basement,” Golden Delicious commented. “There ain’t much we don’t keep at the farm. Can’t imagine what Ma and Pa need tucked away.”

“I’m curious, too,” Anthea nodded in agreement. “Mom doesn’t keep anything dangerous. Except knives, but those are for cooking.” She blinked as a multitude of colors entered her blurry vision. “Oh, are those the others?”

Turquoise followed her line of sight and smiled as he recognized his friends.

“Yeah, that’s them. Good eye, Annie.” He grimaced at his words. “Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Anthea giggled. “I’m getting better at recognizing everypony’s colors.”

“It’s about time,” Claire huffed. “I expected Starburst to be punctual, which means that Prism held them up by sleeping in.”

“It’s 9 AM, Claire,” Del observed. “You can hardly call that sleepin’ in. But, he does usually sleep till 10 if he ain’t got much to do.”

“Hey, everypony,” Starburst greeted her friends when she, Prism, and Candy approached. “Thanks for helping me with this.”

“Oh, it’s no problem, dear,” Claire smiled. “It will be a good chance to get a look at our parents’ pasts past what they’ve told us, and–”

“Gah! Sun’s in my eyes!” Prism reeled back suddenly, holding his forehooves to his eyes and dropping to the ground. “For the love of Celestia, Star, why does your house have to reflect light?!”

“It’s not my fault it’s made of crystal!” Starburst snapped at him. “There’s a reason I don’t fly out in the morning.”

“Starburst, what are you yelling about? You don’t need to – oh, hello, everypony.” Princess Twilight had opened one of the large doors to her home, looking out at the commotion. She blinked after spotting Prism on the ground, writhing in pain. “He was flying high when he got close, wasn’t he?”

“It still burns!” Prism yelled out.

“I told everypony not to fly more than five feet above the ground near the castle until 10 o’clock years ago,” Twilight sighed. “You forgot what your mom told you, didn’t you, Prism?”

“Yeah, I did!” the pegasus stallion whimpered. “Help, please?”

Twilight sighed again and shook her head.

“Come inside, everypony. Prism, let’s get you an ice pack.” She began thinking back while she led the children in. “Your house makes one pegasus crash, and you have to make a no-fly zone around it. Stupid chest… Dash was flying into my house way before this dumb castle sprang up…”

“What?” Prism asked.

“Nothing,” Twilight replied. She quickly teleported away and returned into same fashion with an ice pack in tow in her magic, levitating it over to Prism. “Hold this on your face for a few minutes. The pain will fade. Follow me to the basement, everypony.”

“Mom, why are you just now asking to have the basement cleaned?” Starburst asked.

“The truth is, I kind of forgot we even had it,” Twilight admitted with a giggle. “The castle has so much space, it’s hard to remember there’s still a gigantic room underneath our hooves. Like I told you, your dad, Spike, the girls and I thought it’d be best to put some old relics down there so they wouldn’t cause any harm. When I decided to go down to reminisce, I realized how cluttered it was. Then I thought it would be a good idea for you to clean it because you might find some surprises. Some of the things are so old, I don’t even remember what they were supposed to do anymore.”

“Does that include that Chocolate Ray you helped Uncle Discord make?” Starburst asked.

“Nope. That tool of delicious destruction is in your Aunt Luna’s vault that’s also inside Aunt Celestia’s vault. It is never coming out again.”

“Did you ever notice that Mrs. Twilight’s mane frays the longer she talks about some of the stuff Uncle Discord’s done in the past?” Turquoise whispered.

“Yeah, not to mention that creepy smile,” Candy nodded. “It reminds me of the look my mom gets when she’s lonely. It scares me…” She shivered.

Twilight stopped in a room where only a set of stairs that led down to darkness lay.

“Whoa, talk about ominous,” Del commented. “Jus’ lookin’ at them stairs gives me a bad feeling.”

“Do you think you could light the way for us, Mrs. Sparkle?” Turquoise suggested. “You know Annie doesn’t like the dark.”

As if to prove his point, Anthea had scampered from the front of the pack to the back, taking shelter under the dragon-pony’s wing.

“Don’t worry,” Twilight smiled. “I already placed an automatic light spell that will light the way as you go down. I would help you clean, but Prince Shining Armor, the other Princesses and I need to conference on the situation between the Griffon Kingdom and the Minos Empire.”

A spark grew in Starburst’s eyes. Unfortunately for her, her mother caught it and gave her a caring smile.

“I know you want to help, Star,” she said as she nuzzled her daughter. “But the best thing you can do right now is be with your friends. You’ll be helping us protect the world before you know it.”

Starburst returned the smile, yet even Twilight could tell it wasn’t genuine. She felt for her daughter, she really did, what with the Royal Guard Academy turning her away multiple times because of her status, gender, and size. Twilight had petitioned both the head of the Academy and the Princesses and even wrote a letter herself to get Starburst into the Academy, but every response stood by the reasoning that Twilight herself had made one of her only decrees that, on paper, read this exactly:

“Under no circumstances, even should I revoke this decree, will the children of the Princess of Friendship or the Elements of Harmony, be given any special treatment by anyone across Equestria or wherever they may choose to live throughout their lives.”

Starburst had only heard this decree once Twilight had told her herself after Prism had tried to exercise his family’s fame at Flight Camp a few years back. It shocked her, since she had believed there were so many royals about, ponies saw them all the time and felt no reason to treat them any different. It was frustrating, but she would have to keep trying. The Academy was open for applications next month. She’d surely get in then.

“A-achoo!” Starburst blinked. She’d been so lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t realized she followed her friends down the stairs. But what had she heard? It sounded like a sneeze, but it was meek and diminutive, almost as if Fluttershy was with them. She looked amongst her friends in the admittedly dim magic light of the dusty basement and found they were all staring at her. Prism’s face was scrunched up, trying to hold back laughter, and Del was similar, carrying a smile that betrayed mirth. “What?”

Prism couldn’t hold it anymore and burst out laughing.

“What the hay was that?! It sounded like a breezie sneezed, it was so tiny!”

“Oh, be quiet, featherbrain,” Starburst growled. “That’s how I sneeze.”

“It’s adorable,” Prism continued laughing. “Wittle Star has a wittle sneeze.”

“I will punch you so hard!” Starburst yelled, face reddening.

“Stop it, both of ya’ll,” Del cut in, stepping in between the two pegasi. “Star, your Ma gave us a job ta do and we’re gonna do it. Prism, if you can stop teasin’ Star for one minute, maybe we can get somethin’ done.”

“Y’know, sometimes, you can sound a lot like your mom,” Prism told Del. “Pretty creepy if you ask me.”

“I didn’t ask ya,” Del said.

They all took a moment to gauge the task ahead of them. Given the size of the room, it wasn’t that big of a job; only two walls had been completely covered. The majority of old and dusty items appeared to be… well, junk. Things that may have had a use at some point but were now useless or broken beyond repair. Prism groaned loudly, but was silenced from complaining by Claire.

“So… where do we start?” Candy asked her friends.

“Let’s get that big TV on that little pile out of the way,” Turquoise suggested, pointing at a television that couldn’t have been more than 50 inches wide. “Claire, could you…?”

“Turquoise, please, I can’t levitate something that heavy, and I doubt Annie could, either.” his sister apologized. “I’m sure you boys can handle it.”

“Alright,” Turquoise nodded. “Prism, fly around to the back of it. Del and I will get the front.”

“Gotcha.” Prism mock-saluted. He flew swiftly around the television, stopping short once he got behind it. “The back of this thing is huge, guys. I’m pretty sure it’s heavier than it looks. Hey, Candy, could you help us out?”

“Y’okay!” Candy chimed. She climbed the little junk pile and arched her back to begin lifting the TV. “Wow, okay, Prism was right. This TV is heavier… than it… looks…”

“We’re counting on your dragon strength, T,” Prism said as he helped begin lifting. “If we move… wrong, Candy and I are going to… ungh… pull a muscle… or get crushed… whichever comes first. You two got it?”

“Yeah, we – wait, it’s sliding too much this way! Del, move, now!” As Del dove out of the way, Turquoise slammed into to the junked electronic with all his strength, making it lurch left to the floor, where it slid a few feet before coming to a stop near the middle of the room.

“Del, are you okay?” Starburst gasped, rushing over to him.

“Yeah,” he nodded as he got to his hooves. “Didn’t think that would happen. ‘Least it’s moved.”

“Okay, let’s be a bit more careful,” Starburst advised everyone. “There are still dangerous artifacts down here, so if it looks like it might do something, let Claire or Annie handle it. We’re not touching anything like that with our hooves, just to be safe.”

“Good idea,” Claire nodded in agreement from near the top of another junk pile. “Star, dear, could you help me? I can’t quite get this… I think it’s a banner, out of here.”

“Alright,” Starburst flew up to the pile and began helping Claire tug the banner. It actually slid out of the junk rather easily and fluttered to the floor face-up.

“‘Welcome Princess Celest’?” Del raised a brow at the words. “Who’s Princess Celest?”

“Oh, I remember this story!” Candy exclaimed. “Long ago, when Equestria was just–”

“No, that’s not it,” Starburst laughed. “Mom told me what a near-disaster the first Summer Sun Celebration hosted in Ponyville was. The ponies back then got the banner measurement wrong. Hence, this. She said Ponyville was actually a real mess before she came along.”

“I guess there are a lot of old memories in here,” Anthea smiled. “But why would Mrs. Twilight keep all those memories in her dusty basement?”

“Because she needs the room for more books?” Prism guessed. “Like, five rooms in this place are the library.”

“There aren’t that many books here,” Starburst grumbled. “Prism, don’t touch that!”

“What?” Prism had just finished pulling a small golden, ruby-eyed dog-like statue from a junk pile on the far side of the room. That caused a chain reaction which toppled the pile towards Anthea.

“Annie!” Turquoise and Claire gasped and dashed for their friend together, loosing teal and emerald flames at the pile. The ashes of the vaporized junk fell on Anthea’s coat, staining her pristine pale pink fur with dirty blackness.

“Huh? I’m alive?” Annie cautiously opened her eyes that had screwed shut when the junk had started falling toward her. She found her face extremely close to Turquoise’s, which, even with her very blurry vision, she could tell was full of nothing but worry.

“Are you alright?” Turquoise’s mouth was still smoking. Anthea sniffed. Blueberries. He had probably eaten sapphires that morning.

“I’m fine,” Anthea replied. Instead of looking into the dragon-pony’s eyes, she cast her gaze around him, in the direction of junk-turned-ash. She blinked as Turquoise began brushing her coat, trying to get the ash out of it. “What is that thing?”

All heads turned to the “thing” in question. What they laid their eyes on was the strangest machine they had ever seen. A brownish-colored construction created sort of an arch over a large, oval, jeweled mirror. At the top of the arch, in a rectangular slot, was a clear rectangular crystal that seemed to be a replacement for an original component, whatever it was. Near the base of the mirror machine was a lever just begging to be pulled.

“Star, do you have any idea what that is?” Del asked.

“Yeah, this is… Mom showed this to me when I was younger. It’s a portal. She used to use it to go to a world full of… humans, I think she called them.” Starburst said, cautiously stepping towards the device. “According to her, it was… an experience. She met Dad there. Or his doppelganger. The world through there is kind of like a parallel universe, only with more advanced technology and things like that. She thinks there’s copies of everypony over there.”

“Even us?” Prism asked hopefully.

“Probably,” Starburst shrugged. “There’s no way to be sure.”

“Then why don’t we find out?” Candy suggested. “This mirror-portal thingy might be old, but it looks like it still works!”

“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” Claire interjected nervously. “I may not be Princess Twilight’s part-time student, but even I know it’s never a good idea to experiment with magical devices you know nothing about.”

“Let’s just turn it on, then,” Prism said. “If it works, then we can ask Mrs. Sparkle to take us through later. What can it hurt?”

Starburst suddenly found all eyes on her.

“What are you looking at me for?” she asked, her face twisting in confusion.

“It is technically your portal, Star,” Del told her. “Prism’s right. If we’re just turnin’ the doohickey on, Ah don’t think much can happen.”

“Why are you going along with this?” she shot at him accusingly, wings flaring. “We’re supposed to be cleaning here!”

“Ah’m as curious as they are!” he argued. “We’re only seein’ if it works; if it doesn’t, oh well.”

“F-Fine.” Starburst grumbled. “I think I remember her saying something about the portal needing magic to work. Anthea, could you aim your magic at the white box at the top? I’ll get the lever.”

As Starburst reached the lever, Anthea lowered her horn.

“Am I aimed right?” she asked.

“Almost,” Turquoise said. “Raise five degrees and to the right three.”

“Got it.” Anthea acknowledged, moving her head in that same instant.

“Alright, I’m pulling the lever,” Starburst announced. “Fire, Annie.”

The lever fell with a ka-chunk, and the portal apparatus activated once Anthea’s green-tinted magic impacted on the clear white crystal.

“Great, it works,” Starburst said. “Let’s get back to cleaning. I’m turning it off.” As she reached to the lever again, she stopped when spotted a pile of abnormally large sticky notes on the floor, some purple, some an orange-ish red.

“Dear Twilight,

I know this is weird, communicating through sticky notes, but I think it saves us both the trouble of lugging around heavy books and taking them out like giant cell phones. I posted this in the book so I could ask you to find a way to make these our new cross-world communication medium.

Your friend,

Sunset Shimmer

P.S.: Buy extra-large sticky notes.”

“Dear Sunset,

This was actually a good idea! I sent back an original sticky note along with the new magically enhanced ones. Can you believe it only took me three days to find a solution? Anyway, I have to get back to you. Spike just came back with Wild Berry Pop-Tarts!

Forever your friend,

Twilight Sparkle”

“Dear Twilight,

I’m writing this as I go back to my world after stealing your Wild Berry Pop-Tarts. Friends don’t deny friends Wild Berry Pop-Tarts. Besides, they don’t sell them in my world any more. I’ll pay you back.

Your friend,

Sunset Shimmer”

“Dear Sunset,

I have placed passworded alarm wards around my Wild Berry Pop-Tarts. You’re not stealing them again. Take that, Shimmer!

Ha hah,

Twilight Sparkle”

“Dear Twilight,

Try to come up with a better password than “password”. It was the first thing I tried.

Stealing your Pop-Tarts again,

Sunset Shimmer”

“Dear Sunset,

The mirror is going in the castle basement, which I didn’t know I even had until a few days ago. Also, I took the book off the mirror so you can’t come through anymore and replaced it with quartz. As you know, quartz is a very unstable magic conducting agent, and any attempt to charge the mirror from either side would result in an explosion of some kind. I do want to make up, so please don’t steal my Wild Berry Pop-Tarts again. I’ll open the portal again when I have the time.

Still a little angry,

Twilight Sparkle”

So that’s why we don’t buy Wild Berry Pop-Tarts… Starburst mused. Wait a minute! Starburst whirled around, desperation etched onto her face. “Annie, can you get the magic out of that quartz?! I have to shut the portal down!”

“I shot quartz?! Every unicorn knows how dangerous that is to do!” Anthea gasped, lighting her horn again.

“You’re my mom’s student, and I’m a pegasus! I wouldn’t know!” Starburst yelled back. She bounded back to the lever on the machine, attempting to push it up to no avail. “Go up, darn it! Somepony help me before this thing explodes!”

“Turquoise, Prism, get the quartz block! Candy, Del, let’s help Star!” Acting on Claire’s orders, the other six ponies leapt into action. Turquoise flew with Prism and grabbed ahold of the now violently shaking quartz.

“Are you pulling, T? This thing isn’t budging!” Prism exclaimed.

“I am!” Turquoise almost roared. “It’s like the block is stuck fast!”

“We’re not doing much better!” Candy informed them. “The lever slot’s rusted!”

Anthea gasped again. “I have an idea! T, eat the quartz! Your dragon physiology should negate the magic!”

Turquoise obeyed, but just as his teeth cracked the mineral, arcane sparks shot from it, forcing both him and Prism away. The sparks also forced the others away, making them jump to avoid the wildly whipping magic. Thinking quickly, Prism re-located the golden statue he had found and threw it at the mirror, causing the portal to crack. This ultimately proved to be a bad idea as all seven ponies were suddenly blinded by a searing white light. When it dissipated, a swirling violet vortex was in the mirror’s place.

“Uh-oh.” Candy blinked as the vortex blew her mane and tail around.

“Ahem, Starburst, I think you should get your mother before this gets worse than it already is.” Claire told her friend, unable to tear her eyes away from the magical catastrophe.

“Yeah, I’m – I’m going.” She took to the air, but instead of heading towards the stairs like she wanted, she actually found herself flying sideways, getting closer and closer to the vortex. “Or not. Help! It’s pulling me in!”

“I’d love to, but I think we’re all in trouble, darlin’!” Del exclaimed, trying to keep his hooves on the ground. “Annie, a little magic would be appreciated!”

“I can’t do anything against that!” the unicorn screamed, digging her forehooves into the floor for what little support it gave. “I – wah!” She shrieked as she was flung back, helpless against the pull of the magic tornado. In desperation, she lunged in the air for a flash of green that passed her vision, latching onto Turquoise’s tail with her mouth.

Claire was in a similar situation, biting down on Prism’s tail while he held Del’s barrel, each doing their best to escape what they believed to be their doom. Then, all at once, their resistance failed and the children were sucked into the vortex. Starburst went first, then Claire, then Candy, then Prism and Del. Turquoise and Anthea held out for the longest, Anthea managing to use her best friend as somewhat of a shield after she maneuvered to his front claws. In the end, though, the dragon-pony’s strong wings could not fight the vortex, and they finally succumbed to its grasp. The vortex continued trashing the basement for a few more minutes before disappearing with a pop.

Outside her castle’s conference room, Twilight was taking a short recess with the Princesses, rubbing her temples while also trying to drink some calming chamomile tea.

“I’ve been at this for years, but it never gets any easier. How can Queen Gilda be so unreasonable?”

“You were thinking it would be easier since she’s a friend of Rainbow Dash’s?” Celestia asked evenly. Luna nodded silent agreement.

“I don’t know, somewhat,” Twilight sighed, bringing her tea to her lips. “I never even mentioned their relationship. Besides, we’re on her side. We all know the Minos Kingdom is overstepping its bounds.”

“Yes, they are.” Luna again agreed. Her gaze shifted past Twilight and down the hall, as did her ears’ positioning. “Twilight, you set our honorary nieces and nephews on the task of cleaning your basement, correct?”

The purple princess noticed Luna’s body language and glanced behind her. “Yes. What about it?”

“You didn’t feel the magical disturbance just now?” The Lunar Princess’s face was beginning to show motherly and princessly worry.

“Luna, please, anything I have down there hardly does anything anymore,” Twilight laughed. “Your senses might be getting away from you.”

“I may have aged, Twilight, but we are all immortal,” Luna stated. “My senses will never dull. You may be concerned about politics right now, but I am concerned about our future.” The dark blue princess set her tea down and began cantering down the hall. “You are welcome to join me!”

Twilight and Celestia shared a look and nodded. Celestia lit her horn, sending one pre-written message to the Queen of Griffonstone and King of the Minos Kingdom, as well as Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor in the conference room. Then, she and Twilight both lit their horns and teleported, falling into the same hurried canter alongside Luna.

“What do believe happened, Lulu?” Celestia asked her sister.

“I do not know, Tia,” Luna answered. “I simply have a bad feeling.”

Once they reached the basement entrance Twilight was the one to raise a brow.

“Everything seems fine. The lights are still on.”

“Shouldn’t we be hearing them moving the artifacts and items; maybe arguing and the like?” Luna pointed out.

“Yes…” Twilight answered slowly.

“Twilight, are you sure you left nothing overly dangerous is in your basement?” Celestia used her “teacher voice”.

“Of course, Princess,” Twilight assured her former mentor. “The only thing that could remotely cause a problem down there is the old mirror portal, but the machinery should be so rusted by now that it wouldn’t work even if I put the book back in place. I put quartz in the book’s place to remind myself not to open the portal again.”

“Didn’t you make up with Sunset Shimmer?” Luna inquired. “Why would you block the portal off?”

“She kept stealing my Pop-Tarts!” Twilight whined.

“Ah. A good reason, Sparkle.” Luna nodded sagely. “Friends do not steal friends’ Pop-Tarts, especially s’mores flavor.”

“It was Wild Berry.” Twilight deadpanned.

“Even more so.”

“I believe we should go down and check, just to be sure.” Celestia said, beginning to briskly trot down the basement stairs.

“Ah, Princess, wait for us!” Twilight swiftly glided down after her.

Luna sighed and lit her horn, teleporting into the basement in lieu of walking. She blinked as she popped back into existence.

“This is very messy, Twilight,” Luna remarked, stepping over a pile of papers. “I can see why this place needed to be cleaned. Now, where are the children?”

“I don’t know…” Twilight said, ears drooping. “Starburst would keep them here until they were done…”

Celestia opened her eyes after having cast a life-detection spell.

“They’re not in the castle.” she announced. “Come, together, let’s cast the life-detection spell again.”

Luna and Twilight did as they were told and lit their horns alongside Celestia, increasing the spell range to the whole of Equestria.

“Oh, no!” Twilight gasped. “They’re not even in Equestria! What could have…?” She didn’t want to think it, but turned to the alicorn sisters. “Check for residual magic.”

Almost immediately, lavender, golden, and dark blue magic swept the basement once, twice, and a third time.

“The magic I detected is similar to that of the mirror portal.” Luna said.

“Yes, but the magic felt… violent, in a way.” Celestia added.

“Then, what could have…” Twilight trailed off when she spotted a tiny piece of a clear crystal: quartz. “Quartz? But the only quartz that was down here was on the… oh, no.”

“I see. The children found the portal. Somepony must have gotten curious and activated it.” Celestia mused. “The quartz allowed the portal to turn on, but without magic, the glass would have stayed solid.”

“Then somepony must have convinced Anthea to feed magic into the quartz without knowing what it was.” Luna again nodded in agreement.

“An explosion. While a quartz-based magic explosion is dangerous, it wouldn’t have vaporized them.” Twilight said while turning the tiny piece of quartz over in her hoof. “The magic in the quartz must have reacted with the magic in the portal to send them somewhere. But the question is…”

“Where?” they said together.

In a brilliant flash, the children of the Elements of Harmony were spit out of another magical vortex outside a little ways outside Ponyville. Starburst tumbled through the air, falling to the ground and skidding on her back. Prism and Del were ejected similarly, though Prism had let go of Del, who landed on his side a few feet away from his pegasus friend. Candy and Claire were tossed a short distance and landed on top of each other. Turquoise and Anthea were last, still holding fast to each other as they hit the ground beside Starburst.

“Ow…” Prism groaned, grimacing at a stinging pain in his wing as he sat up. “Is everypony alright?”

“I will be…” Starburst replied, dusting her back off. “Once I kick your ass!”

“Wait, what?!” Prism jumped. “Why? I didn’t do anything!”

“You found the portal. You wanted to see if it worked. This is your fault!” Starburst stomped closer to Prism with every accusation.

“Del and Candy had a part in it, too!” Prism defended himself. “We were all curious!”

“We wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t grabbed that statue.” the petite pegasus growled.

“So that makes it my fault?” Prism shot back. “I was helping clean, as much as I didn’t want to. Do you even know where we are?”

Starburst stopped short in her advance, wings still flared. She scanned her surroundings, eyes widening each second she took in the sights.

“This is Ponyville. The portal only took us outside. We can just go back and apologize!” She laughed gaily and did a loop in the air.

“Oh, yes,” Claire agreed, attempting to rise to her feet. “Er, Candy, could you…?”

“Whoops, sorry,” Candy giggled. She rolled off her friend. “You’re pretty comfy, Claire.”

“I’m going to ignore that,” the smaller dragon pony smiled, tail swishing amusedly. “A quick apology is better than none. That will teach us to avoid magical items.”

“Or listen to our own suggestions,” Anthea added. She looked up at Turquoise, who was still holding her in his claws. “Um, T, you can let me go now.”

“Sorry,” Turquoise apologized, lowering his friend to the ground. “Del, you okay?”

“It’s nothin’ I can’t walk off.” he assured as he stood up. “Let’s head back into town. Mrs. Twilight will probably be lookin’ for us if the meetin’s over.”

Suddenly a sound like fireworks brought the kids’ attention to the sky. Orange sparks lit up the late morning sky, followed by yellow, pink, baby blue, and finally a brilliant white. What made these fireworks interesting wasn’t that they were coming from Princess Twilight’s castle in the distance, but the fact that five distinct cutie marks had been blazing with them.

“That’s Mom’s emergency alert signal!” Starburst exclaimed. “That’s good, she knows we’re missing. But for some reason it seems like overkill. We’re just outside Ponyville. She should be able to find us by the locator spells on us.”

“She might be panicking, Starburst,” Anthea pointed out. “After all, we kinda did just vanish. Should I send out a response signal?”

“Go ahead,” Starburst nodded. “At least she’ll know we’re nearby.”

Anthea’s horn shone with a green aura, then launched seven magic fireworks into the sky, all to represent each of them. The response was almost immediate. The children had been taught to understand Morse code so Anthea could send back responses if they ever ended up in this situation. Until now, they’d never thought they would have to use those skills. Purple magic popped in a specific sequence several times in the air.

“Message… and location… received… we are… on our way.” Turquoise translated. “‘We?’ Oh, right, she called our moms.”

“Think we’re going to get grounded?” Prism asked.

“I don’t believe we should,” Claire said. “It was an accident. We shouldn’t be faulted for being curious.”

“But the portal’s gone, and that’s our fault!” Candy exclaimed. “We could get in trouble for losing Mrs. Twilight’s access to humans.”

“The important thing is we’re safe, dear,” Claire smiled. “That should trump everything else.”

“I guess…” Candy reluctantly agreed. Then she brightened. “Maybe our moms will help us clean the basement!”

“Better than punishment.” Prism added.

“Exactly,” Del nodded. “I suggest we get our story straight before they get here.”

“Hey, Twilight. You mind telling us what the heck that was?” Rainbow Dash asked as she followed her friends leaving Ponyville proper.

“What is ‘that’, Rainbow Dash?” Twilight questioned her friend.

“That bunch of fireworks!” Rainbow threw her hooves up as she flew. “I know the emergency alert thing, but after that. What was going on?”

“Well, I called all of you after seeing a big flash outside Ponyville and wanted you to help me investigate,” Twilight began. “But before I left, somepony from that same direction fired rescue response magic. Based on the number of lights, there are seven individuals who need help. I told them we were coming. I do find one thing strange, though.”

“The response magic?” Rarity guessed.

“Precisely,” Twilight confirmed. “The unicorn who fired the response magic didn’t give any more information other than his or her fur colors and the colors of their companion’s fur, as if…”

“You knew them?” Spike, who was also with the Mane Six, offered.

“Yes!” Twilight replied. “I know I have a lot of friends now, but the only ones I know who get into serious trouble are, well, us! And the Cutie Mark Crusaders, but that’s on an almost weekly basis.”

“Maybe they’re new friends!” Pinkie Pie squealed. “Ponies with a dark and mysterious past, or maybe they have a huge secret they can’t tell anypony and we have to figure it out!”

“That sounds pretty awesome.” Rainbow remarked.

“It also sounds crazier than goin’ up against–”

“–a pack o’ Timberwolves trussed up like a turkey.” Applejack said.

“Whoever they are, I hope they aren’t hurt too bad.” Fluttershy said hopefully. “I think a signal like that is used when somepony can’t move.”

Starburst’s ears flicked the moment she heard Fluttershy’s voice.

“They’re here!” she exclaimed. “Look alive, everypony!”

“We’re ready, Star, geez,” Prism groaned, once again wincing at pain in his wing. “Play guardspony some other time.”

“I wasn’t trying to – ugh!” Starburst huffed and turned just as Twilight came over the hill. She stood stoically as she and her friends’ mothers approached. She wasn’t scared, simply nervous. Depending on how panicked she was, a punishment from Twilight could range from chores for a few weeks to not being able to help Del with his work. Starburst’s mother approached with a smile on her face; the little pegasus couldn’t tell if that was a good or bad sign.

“Hello!” Twilight greeted her. “You were the ones that called for rescue?”

“Uh…” Starburst blinked. “Yes… Annie launched the signal… and I think Prism’s right wing is hurt…” The pegasus princess could only trail off. This was odd. She and her friends made a big mistake? Check. Their parents come and get them. Check. Reprimand for making that mistake? Un-check. Understandable; telling them what they did wrong could wait. Uncle Spike is a baby dragon? Check. Wait, what? She looked back at her friends. “Guys? Help. I’m very confused right now.”

“Starburst, please,” Claire chuckled as she plodded up to her friend. “We’re–” Taking in her father’s new size did not take long. “Oh, dear Celestia.” Claire fainted right then and there.

“Claire, are you–?” Del also stopped upon spotting the diminutive dragon. “Uh, y’all are gonna want to see this. And T, come get your sister.”

One by one, the children locked eyes with the dragon they once knew; Candy was rendered speechless; Turquoise took one look at his father and silently collected his sister, where Anthea opted to help revive her. Prism did the same as Turquoise, but instead of staying silent, he burst out laughing.

“Sweet Celestia! Is – is that Mr. Spike?! I mean I’ve seen the pictures, but still! He’s tiny! What happened?” A newly-irritated Starburst smacked Prism on the back of his head. “Ow! What the hay, Star?!”

“This isn’t the time to be laughing!” Starburst scolded him. “Uncle Spike’s a baby dragon, I don’t think Mom knows who I am, and this situation is still extremely confusing!”

“Uh, girls, I don’t think these ponies are right in the head.” Rainbow hissed. “One, that mare just called Spike ‘Uncle’, and two, there are dragons with them. Tell me that doesn’t sound weird.”

“Hush up, Dash,” Applejack rolled her eyes. “We’ve seen weirder things. Ah’m sure if we get the mare ta stop and think, everything will be right as rain.”

“Please, calm down!” Twilight tried consoling the new ponies. Claire was rousing slowly at this point, and at Twilight’s voice, the kids halted. “Thank you. Now, what happened? How did you all end up here?”

“We were cleaning the basement…” Starburst began.

“Uh-huh,” Twilight nodded.

“And we found the portal to the other world…” the pegasus continued.

“Go on,” Twilight again nodded.

“Then we turned it on, Annie used magic on some quartz, the portal exploded and now we’re here! We made a mistake, and we’re all extremely sorry! Right, Prism?” Starburst shot an icy glare at Prism.

“Oh, come on!” Prism groaned, half in pain and half in irritation. “You can’t still be blaming me! All of us, we didn’t think before we acted. Lesson learned. Can we go home now?”

“No,” Twilight said firmly. “I’m still confused here. Who are you? Who are these dragons? Why is Spike an uncle to you?”

“What?” Starburst stepped back. “Don’t you recognize me?”

“While I do have to admit you look a lot like a friend of mine, should I recognize you?” the purple alicorn asked.

“Yes!” Starburst exclaimed. “I’m your–!” She looked back at her friends. “Group meeting! Now!” She quickly cantered to her friends, where they huddled in a circle. “Okay, what the hay is going on? Mom doesn’t know who we are!”

“Could the portal have done some weird magic thing when it exploded?” Candy guessed. “Like, it gave them all amnesia?”

“I think they would need to be in range of the explosion for that,” Claire pointed out. “Besides, it doesn’t explain why Turquoise and I’s father is a baby dragon. Magic shouldn’t affect him now!”

“It’s almost like we’re in the past,” Turquoise agreed, taking a quick glance out at the Mane Six and Spike from the huddle. “This is too weird.”

“If we are in the past, the quartz must have done it,” Anthea said. “I’ve never heard of a quartz explosion making rips in space-time, though. Maybe the magic in the portal contributed to it.”

“Much as Ah understand magic, Ah think Annie might be right,” Del agreed as well. “Claire’s got a point, too. No way would our parents forget us. Question is, what do we do? Princess Twilight can’t know that much time travel magic at this point.”

“We could lie.” Prism suggested.

“Gosh dang it, Prism, that is the–!” Del started.

“Best idea you’ve had all day,” Star finished.

Del looked at her incredulously. “Star, darlin’, Ah don’t mean to sound rude, but Ah will. Are you crazy?”

“No, think about it. This is the past; our entire lives might change if we tell the truth now,” Star explained. “Worse than that, we might even end up not existing. We’ll stall until it’s a good time to reveal the truth. Sound good?”

“Ain’t got much choice,” Del sighed. “Ah don’t like it, but this is for our future. Come on.”

The children turned with a rather apprehensive confidence, walking back to their mothers and Spike.

“So, do ya mind explainin’ your behavior?” Applejack asked. “Nopony’s that jittery if they don’t got anything to hide.”

“Well, we kind of have something to say, but here isn’t the best place to say it.” Claire answered. “Might I suggest ho- I mean, Carousel Boutique?”

“But my castle is–” Twilight started.

“I would be delighted to host you,” Rarity interjected. “I’ll admit, it might be a little tight with seven of you, but everything can be arranged to be comfortable. Though, as with any guest, I’d like to know the names of who I’m taking in. You don’t mind, do you?”

“Ah, yes,” Claire smiled. “My name is Crystal Clarity. You can call me Claire.” She gestured to Turquoise. “This is my little brother, Turquoise Blitz.”

“Little brother?!” Spike gasped in disbelief. “He’s twice your size! He’s twice my size!”

“He was smaller than I was when I was born,” Claire laughed. “I suppose something else made up for that.

“My name is Starburst,” the orange pegasus introduced herself. “It’s… uh… nice to meet you. This is still so weird…”

“You seem frightened,” Twilight observed, offering a friendly smile. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“No, I’m not scared,” Starburst shook her head. “Just trying to wrap my head around all this.”

“My name is Anthea,” Anthea smiled. “Most ponies I know call me Annie.”

“Ah’m Golden Delicious,” Del offered a short bow. “Call me Del if my name’s a mouthful.”

“Or Goldie!” Candy giggled. “Oh, my name’s Cotton Candy. You can call me CeeCee or just Candy.” She laughed as Pinkie actually began sniffing her.

“Oh my gosh!” Pinkie gasped. “Girls! She actually smells like cotton candy! I wonder if–!”

“Pinkie, do ya remember when ya met me?” Applejack interrupted her. “Just because a pony happens to have a food in their name does not mean they taste like it. Ya shouldn’t be tastin’ ponies any – Pinkie!”

Pinkie clearly hadn’t been listening and was frozen near Candy’s backside, her maw inches from the new earth pony mare’s tail.

“Aww, but it looks so good!” she whined. “It’d be a totally new thing! Twilight didn’t mind when I tasted her. It tasted purple! I was expecting grape, or maybe blueberry, but nope, it was purple! Did you know purple has a flavor?”

“I don’t taste like anything!” Twilight exclaimed. “Wait a minute, when did you taste me?!”

“Really? Twi, you don’t remember when you switched our minds with our pets so we could know how they were thinking?” Rainbow asked.

“Hee-hee! That was fun!” Pinkie cackled. “No one even knew I wasn’t me that week!”

“I still don’t know how Gummy played you so well,” Spike commented. Then he snapped his claws. “Oh, yeah, you kept biting everypony’s tails. You were on Twilight’s the longest.”

“How does purple even have a taste?” Fluttershy wondered aloud.

“Pinkie’s thing wasn’t nearly as hilarious as what Opal did in Rarity’s body,” Rainbow laughed. “Rarity, want me to find a mouse for you to–”

“Alright, I think it time to get going!” Rarity interjected once more, beginning to quickly trot off.

“Ya had ta mention the mouse thing, didn’t ya, Dash?” Applejack asked her friend dryly.

“She can still do it,” Spike said. “Twilight had me catalogue all of the pictures from the experiment.”

“Rarity, um, convinced me to destroy her pictures.” Twilight said sheepishly.

“You switched your minds with your pets?” Prism asked.

“I hope you’re not still talking about it!” Rarity called back.

“Might as well get going,” Rainbow sighed. “Rares will get even more annoyed if we don’t follow her.”

“What happened to you all?” Twilight asked the children as they began the walk back to Ponyville. “From what it seemed like, a teleportation spell dropped you where you didn’t want to be.”

“You… could say that.” Starburst answered slowly.

“You must be pretty powerful if you can move yourself and your friends, Anthea,” Twilight continued in admiration. “It took me a year just to learn how to teleport myself and Spike at the same time.”

“And now she pops everypony around like there’s no tomorrow!” Spike said, throwing his claws up.

“I don’t teleport everypony around that much,” Twilight huffed indignantly. “I’ll admit, I do it to myself a lot–”

“Especially when you’re going crazy.” Spike cut in. Twilight gave him an icy glare.

“But it’s just to save time,” she finished. “Some things can’t wait.”

“Well, um, you could try to cut down on your magic use just a little,” Fluttershy suggested. “I think you’ve already learned that magic doesn’t solve everything. In your case, it kind of… makes things worse sometimes.”

“Since when have I used magic to solve a difficult problem? Name one time!” Twilight challenged her friends.

“One word, Twilight: tardy.” Rainbow deadpanned.

“That doesn’t–!”

“Ooh, ooh! Me! That super fun time we had sneaking into the Starswirl the Bearded wing in Canterlot Castle library to find a time travel spell because you thought you needed to warn yourself of a disaster but you were actually warning yourself not to stress so much!”

“That was–!”

“The first Winter Wrap-Up with us.” Applejack chimed in.

“Okay, I get it!” Twilight groaned. “At least I know to ask you guys for help now.”

“And we’ve learned to recognize when you’re stressin’ about something.” Applejack nodded. She turned her attention to Ponyville’s newest visitors while they entered the town. “Ain’t much farther now, y’all.”

It surprised the children to see Ponyville appear so small. There were much fewer buildings than in their time, and those that were there were smaller than they were used to. The only constant was Princess Twilight’s towering Castle of Friendship shining at the far end of town. It might have been a better idea to use the castle as a meeting place, mainly due to Turquoise’s size, but no one but Twilight had objected and Rarity had insisted after Claire’s suggestion. Rarity might have wanted to have practice hosting foreign parties since she was close friends with a princess, or probably because she was tired of always gathering at Twilight’s home when an incident occurred. It was that thought that brought Twilight to a halt, swiveling her head to Ponyville’s visitors.

“How do you know about Carousel Boutique?” she asked in a skeptic tone. “You just got here.”

“Uh... doesn’t everypony?” Starburst said nervously, fiddling with her hair ribbon. “I mean, it’s famous, right? You – I mean, my mom ordered my ribbon from there, and Claire and Turquoise sometimes… er, order gems from the boutique, too.”

“Not outside Ponyville or Canterlot,” Twilight shook her head. “I mean, sure, Rarity has business in Manehattan, too, but she’s never mentioned anything to do with dragon customers. Well, besides Spike, but he gets most of his gems for free as rewards.”

“Word of mouth, then?” Candy offered.

“I guess that makes sense.” Twilight agreed, and they all began walking again. She was still skeptical, but decided to leave the issue for the moment.

Rarity had gone ahead to await her friends at her home and business. Accounting for… what was the bigger dragon’s name? Ah, yes, Turquoise Blitz. Nice name. Accounting for his size, Rarity moved around and spaced the lobby and her home’s furnishings so that nothing of value was in danger of being knocked over. Claire (such a nice mare) was also bigger than she was used to, but she was much closer to… a pony’s size. That was odd. Spike was slightly bigger than the Crusaders, of course; she knew that, but none of the other dragons she had ever seen, especially those from the Dragon Migration were even close to a the size of a normal pony, yet Claire was much closer to her size and even walked like a pony. It didn’t escape a pony as detail savvy as her – Claire had a gait like a pony, while Turquoise’s was less equine. The winged dragon moved more like a four-pawed animal, like a cat. Why would a dragon walk like a pony? Spike walked like a biped, so that wasn’t much to go on, and it wasn’t like she could ask him. The only quadruped dragon she knew of was the one in the mountain near Ponyville. While now cooperative because of Fluttershy, it would take far too long to make the trek to him. But then, she could ask Twilight for more books on dragons. After all, while his efforts were still childish at best, Spike really was trying to woo her. Getting to know more of his draconic tics would help her make her decision on letting him continue. Her mind kept drifting to Claire. She walked like a pony. Rarity had only read one book that mentioned a dragon-pony hybrid, but even then, it was only a snippet of information. Hybridization was possible…

Rarity was jolted from her thoughts by knocking at her door. Opening it revealed her friends and their new acquaintances.

“Hello, dears,” she greeted them as she allowed them in. “I’m sorry if the layout seems a bit off. I had to account for Claire and Turquoise’s sizes, you see.”

“No problem, Rares,” Applejack said, tipping her hat slightly. “Ah’m just glad we got these folks from outside.”

“Thank you for allowing us into your home, Mrs. Rarity.” Starburst said gratefully.

“Oh, Starburst, just call me Rarity,” the fashionista giggled. Then she blinked. “Pardon, but did I hear you correctly? Mrs.?”

“No! Uh, I mean, I’ll go get something for Prism’s wing.” Starburst dashed into the kitchen.

“Do you need any–?” Rarity winced along with everyone else when they heard crashing coming from the kitchen.

“I’m good!” Starburst called.

“She seems… um, nervous.” Fluttershy blinked.

“She’s worried about a friend, is all,” Claire assured her with a nervous giggle.

“Um, okay…” Fluttershy could easily tell that wasn’t the truth, but didn’t attempt to pry further.

When Starburst came back with a bag of ice, she shoved the bag under the unfortunate pegasus’ wing.

“Oh, geez, that’s cold!” Prism hissed. “Don’t be so nervous, Star.”

“Not helping,” Starburst whispered back. “I can’t help but be nervous. We’re lying and I almost screwed up!”

“You’re lucky she misheard,” Prism commented. “Probably would have made this go faster, though.”

“I think it’s almost over, anyway,” Starburst subtly pointed at Twilight. “Look, my mom’s head is swiveling. She’s in analysis mode. When she finishes, she’ll find holes in our story. At least Del will be happy we don’t have to lie anymore.”

“Looks like the rest of our parents are taking it in, too,” Prism nodded. “I think you jump-started their brains with your slip up. Maybe. I don’t even know what CeeCee’s mom is doing right now.”

Pinkie Pie appeared to be copying Twilight, following the princess’s head movements and shadowing her as she began to examine the children.

“Girls, Spike, will you follow me to the castle, please?” Twilight asked suddenly.

“Why?” Rainbow questioned her.

Twilight only inclined her head and gestured to the door with it

“Oh, private, right. C’mon, ‘Shy.” Rainbow started for the door.

“But I want to ask – eep!” Fluttershy squeaked after she was pulled out of the boutique by Rainbow Dash.

“Oh, dear, it appears we have a group meeting,” Rarity said with an apologetic bow. “Please, make yourselves at home until we return. Come along, Spike.”

“R-Right.” Spike hurried after Rarity.

“Ya’ll play nice now. We’ll be back in a few.” She affirmed her words with a firm nod before galloping after her friends.

Pinkie looked around the now much emptier lobby.

“Eh, I got nothing.” With that, she pranced out the door, closing it with her tail.

Author's Note

Okay, first chapter, second chance! Feedback is appreciated, and likes are always welcome. I have chapter 2 written, but I won't post it until I get some words from you guys. Kilala fans, please tell me if I should change the children's expressions, reactions, and dialogue to fit them better. I want to write the best story I can.