Lions, Tigers and.... Ponies?!

Mohegan Sun Casino, Norwich, CT

The day had started out so simply. Carlos, 18, had driven his car to pick up his girlfriend Alexandra,17, who he had been dating for five years now, along with Viktor,19, and his sister Katelyn,15, to go to the Comic-con at the Mohegan Sun in Norwich. The four were dressed up as the Night Pride, a group of four consisting of a Lion, two Tigers, one orange and one white, and a Black Panther named after both the Greek and Roman gods. Carlos had gone with Ares, the white Siberian tiger while Alexandra had gone with Venus, the orange Bengal tiger. Viktor had gone with Pallo, the lion and the leader of the group and Katelyn chose Minerva, the Black Panther (not to be confused with the marvel character.).

The four had everything ready…. Except for their masks. “Damn it Carlos, you forgot our masks?!” Viktor yelled outside the door of the casino.

“Hey, I'm sorry! I was kinda in a hurry to get you guys and it slipped my mind!” Carlos retorted, his arms crossed.

“Guys, break it up! So Carlos forgot our masks, we can get new ones here!” Katelyn said, standing in between her brother and his friend before it dissolved into a full blown argument between the two.

“Kate’s right. Who knows, maybe we'll see Jack Lawrence or Mike Bullock here.” Alexandra said, referring to the creator and the artist of the Lions, Tigers and Bears comic from where the Night Pride came from.

The two male teens playfully glared at each other before laughing and the four entered the casino. Instantly they were surrounded by many people in costumes, some were familiar, some were not so familiar. Carlos spotted two people dressed up like an Orbital Spartan from Halo and a Space Marine from Warhammer 40,000 looking around.

Too bad I never really got into that game… the minis look sick! He thought.

Alexandra chuckled as she leaned her head against her boyfriend's shoulder. “Let's go look for those masks.” She said.

Carlos nodded and the four moved on. While looking at the stalls, Carlos noticed a single stall that looked… different. It was a single tent with a torch and manning it was a man dressed as the Merchant from the Resident Evil series. And the things he was selling… Carlos could not believe what he saw. There was an Omnitrix from Ben 10, a Halo Reach style Assault Rifle and much more. But what got his attention were the four sculpted masks of the Night Pride.

“Guys, I think I just hit the jackpot…” he said to the others, pointing at the stall.

Viktor looked at the stall with suspicion written on his face. “I don't know, that stall is giving me a bad vibe…” he said.

“Vik, they have the masks we need!” Carlos said.

Viktor sighed before saying, “Alright, let's go.” Both the girls and Carlos cheered before they headed over to the vendor.

“Welcome, welcome! And how may I help you four?” The vendor asked in a gravely voice.

Whoa, even sounds like the Merchant! Carlos thought. “We’d like to get the Night Pride masks.” He said

“$30 each, so that comes to $120 altogether.” The vendor said. The four nodded and each handed him $30. But as they put the masks on, a burning sensation swept through them, causing them to cry out in pain before they blacked out.

Equestria, 673 AD, (After Discord), 1671 BNM (Before Nightmare Moon)

Castle of the Two Sisters

Alexandra was the first one to wake up and look at their surroundings in confusion. The four of them were in what appeared to be an open courtyard to a castle. Wha…. What happened? And where are we? Last thing I remember was putting that mask on…. Groaning, she started to stand up only to notice that her hands were now paws. “AAAAAAH!” She screamed. She tried to stand on her hind legs only to fall flat on her side. Her scream woke the others up and they looked around wildly before staring at her in shock. She then felt her ears flatten in embarrassment and when she looked behind her, she saw what was now her tail flick nervously.

“Alex… when did you turn into an actual tiger?” Carlos asked in confusion.

Alexandra looked at her boyfriend and asked, “Have you guys taken a look at yourselves?” as she shakily got back up on four paws.

“What are you…..” Viktor began to asked before catching sight of himself in a puddle. “HOLY SHIT!” He yelped.

The other two were also shocked at the change they had gone through. “So… we’re now the actual Night Pride?! How… how is that even possible!?” Carlos asked, his voice conveying his shock and disbelief.

“I don't know… but right now we need to figure out where the heck we are…” Viktor said, looking around.

Katelyn narrowed her green eyes. “You guys hear something?” She asked, flicking her ears behind her.

What sounded like...hooves clopping on cobblestone could clearly be heard from behind them then the sound stopped and a startled exclamation was heard.

The four spun around to see a unicorn in armor staring at them in shock. It was light brown with a dark orange mane and tail and on its flank was a picture of a mace and shield.

“Um… please tell me I’m dreaming…” Carlos said.

“Then I’d have to lie.” Katelyn retorted.

“How did you four beasts get in here?!” The Unicorn said, its voice female.

“Did… did the unicorn just talk?!” Alexandra asked in shock.

“Whatever you are, you’re trespassing on royal grounds!” The unicorn snapped, her horn charging up. She was then joined by two regular ponies, one was dark blue with a tan mane and tail and had picture of a hammer breaking a rock, the other a forest green with a white mane and tail and had a picture of a flower surrounded by moss and three Pegasi, one was dark grey with a black mane and tail and had a picture of the moon with a sword over it while the other two were light red, one with a blue mane and tail the other with a blonde mane and tail, with a star streaking down and a pair of blades crossed respectively.

First Unicorns, now Pegasi… this is getting crazy! Katelyn thought, her eyes widening at the sight.

“Wait, this isn't what you think it is!” Viktor said, “We just woke up here!”

The unicorn mare snorted, “A likely story. For one thing, we don't have your type around here in the Everfree and second, you’re not supposed to even be able to talk!”

“Our type? Lady, that's a rude thing to say!” Carlos said in an offended tone. “As for what you're talking about, Everfree? The heck is that? A tree of some kind?!”

“Since when were Lions, Tigers or Panthers even able to even talk? Someone must have cast a spell on you and is talking through you!” The unicorn retorted. “And the Everfree is that big forest outside!”

“Spell? What, like a magic spell? Please, that's ridiculous!” Katelyn said, sniggering.

The mare’s eyes narrowed before a bolt of explosive energy shot from her horn straight towards the four.

“Scatter!” Viktor shouted. The four great cats leapt out of the path of the projectile before it hit the ground with the force of a grenade going off.

“Night Slicer, Swooping Star, bring the orange tiger down, Blade Jumper, you help Rock Crasher with the white tiger. I’ll deal with the Panther, Moss Flower, you take care of the lion.” The unicorn ordered, “we’ll bring them to the Princesses for questioning.”

The guards nodded before moving to pursue their targets.

The two Pegasi mares, Night Slicer and Swooping Star sped after Alexandra, their wing blades ready. The tiger turned to engage, but upon seeing the blades mounted on their wings, ducked down with a yelp. The two flew over her, missing her by inches, and crashing into a wall with a clatter.

She then felt a chill breeze on her back, and when she looked, she saw that some of her fur had been shorn off by the blades. “Did..you two give me a buzz cut?!” She asked in disbelief and anger. She then heard Carlos stifling a chuckle. “Really Carlos? At a time like this?” She growled before getting jumped on by the two Pegasi.

“Surrender or die.” Swooping Star said, her voice hard, one wing blade aimed at Alexandra's throat.

“Alex!” Carlos yelled before getting blindsided by Blade Jumper, the stallion’s blow sending the tiger rolling. “Oof!” he grunted, before getting pinned down by two incredibly strong hooves. Stunned, Carlos could only watch as the rest of his friends were captured. Katelyn was stunned by a single blast from the unicorn’s horn while a single buck from the earth pony floored Viktor. The three were then hauled over to where Carlos was being held.

“Chain them up and let's take them to the throne room.” The unicorn ordered.

“Yes Captain Shield Breaker.” Moss Flower, the Earth Pony mare said.

Within seconds, the four were in chains and were soon being taken over to the throne room under heavy guard.

“Hey, keep that spear to yourself! I don't do that on the first date!” Carlos snapped after getting prodded by a spear.

“Silence!” The guard holding it snapped back.

Carlos rolled his eyes before looking straight ahead. Geez, how big is this castle? It feels like we’ve been walking for hours…

Shield Breaker halted in front of a pair of ornate doors and turned to the four cats. “Whatever you do, don't speak unless you're spoken to.” She warned before opening the doors and entering the room. The four then followed, pushed forward by the other guards.

As they entered, Carlos, Viktor, Alexandra and Katelyn saw two of what appeared to be a cross between a Pegasus and a unicorn arguing with each other. One was white and had a pink mane and a picture of the sun on its flank while the other was dark blue with a lighter blue mane and a picture of the moon on its flank and was smaller than the white one. Both were wearing crowns and had regalia on. Both also were a few inches taller than the four, who were the same size as the ponies surrounding them.. As soon as the door had opened, the two had stopped their argument and looked in shock at the four cats in chains in front of them.

“Why didst thou bring these four creatures to us? Canst thou see we're busy?” The white pony asked in a medieval dialect.

This proved to be too much for Carlos, who busted out laughing.

“Carlos!” Viktor whispered sharply.

“I'm sorry, it’s just that…” Carlos tried to stifle his laughter but failed miserably.

The guards looked mortified while the two ponies at the thrones glared angrily at the human turned tiger.

“Thou thinkest our speech funny?!” The blue pony shouted, the room literally shaking from the force of the yell.

The four winced, flattening their ears. Then Viktor spoke up. “No, we don't.” He said, giving an annoyed look at Carlos. “I'm sorry about my friend laughing, he was out of line.”

The two ponies relaxed and the white pony said, “Who art thou? We’ve never seen you four before…”

“We’re called the Night Pride. I'm Pallo, the leader of the group, the white tiger is Ares my second in command, the tigress is Venus and the Panther is Minerva.” Viktor said. “If I may ask, what are you? We’ve never seen you before…”

“We are Alicorns, a mix of Pegasi, Earth Pony and Unicorn.” She said. “I am Princess Celestia, and this is my younger sister, Luna.” Luna nodded her head in greeting, her eyes curious.

“Why exactly art thou here? We’ve heard of your kind, but we’ve never heard of any of them talking.” Celestia asked.

“That's the question we’re trying to figure out.” Alexandra sighed. “One minute, we’re back on Earth at a convention, and the next thing we know, we end up in your courtyard and get set upon by the guards!” She said with a glare at the guards behind them who glared back.

“Earth? You mean you're not from Equestria?” Luna asked in shock.

“Gee, if a lion, two Tigers and a panther show up suddenly in a courtyard, what do you think?” Katelyn asked, her tone sarcastic. Celestia's eye twitched.

Carlos facepawed. “To answer your question, yes, we aren't exactly from here. And we weren't cats either. We were humans, which look like a hairless ape except for the top of our heads. Our actual names are, well were, Viktor, Carlos, Alexandra and Katelyn.

Celestia's horn lit up for a few seconds before she said, “There is some strange magical residue surrounding the four of you, and unfortunately, I can not send you back to your world. Whatever this magic is, it prevents me from being able to. ” The group upon hearing this were stunned.

We… we can't go back to Earth? Ever? Katelyn thought in shock.

“You mean we're stuck here?” Carlos asked. Celestia nodded.

Alexandra bent her head down in shock. Seeing this, Carlos walked up to her and nuzzled her. “Hey, we’ll make it through this.” He said gently.

Alexandra blinked and returned the nuzzle. Both Luna and Celestia saw this and had confused looks on their faces. “Art thou mates?” Celestia asked.

The two Tigers chuckled. “Not exactly, we’re still dating.” Alexandra said. She then asked “Can we get out of these chains? They're starting to chaff a bit…”

The guards tensed while the Princesses stared at them in shock. “What makest thou think we’d let you out of those chains? For all we know you’ll attack us like you did the guards!” Celestia said.

“Okay, for one, they attacked us, not the other way round!  And for two, we don't fight unless we're forced to!” Carlos snapped.

“Then… you aren't a threat?” Luna asked.

Viktor opened his mouth to answer only to hear a bestial snarl and a scream from a guard. The four turned to see a furred bipedal monster with five other creatures with different features and different sizes. A guard was held in the first monster’s grasp. “So the Night Pride has come out of hiding… Valthraax will be pleased if he hears we took you blasted cats out!” It snarled in a pleased tone.

“What in Faust’s name is that?!” Celestia gasped.

Viktor’s answer was grim. “A Beastie.”