Before Lauren went to bed, she had to check on one thing. Putting her sleeping daughter to bed, she checked under the bed to make absolutely sure that the hole to Equestria was there. However, as she knelt down and turned on the flashlight of her phone, there was nothing there but a solid wall. She even felt it to make sure that it was solid, and it was. For a moment she wondered if something from the other side had sealed it up while the two of them were having their adventure. Perhaps the Tree of Harmony closed it up? But she was too tired to figure out how or why because she really needed to sleep.

Back in her room again, she got into her pajamas and slipped into bed. Taking off her wedding ring to set it on the nightstand before shutting off the light. The only thing on her mind was a single question: What was she going to tell Craig?

Looking back on everything, if she had told anyone what she saw – everyone in Hollywood would think that she had cracked. Of course, going into the fantasy world of the show’s ending sounds like a psychotic episode. The kind where expensive psychiatrists would get involved with mind-numbing pills. If it weren’t for her ring – the only proof she had – maybe Craig would think that she was crazy.

But as she was starting to fall asleep, another question popped into her mind.

Should I tell Craig?

Not because her husband would question her sanity – which is understandable enough. But that ring she has is something powerful that not even the likes of Tolkien or C.S. Lewis would have considered. A ring that could open doors to one's imagination – of any world she could conceive of. Any media, any scenario, any alternative world was only a concentration and a doorknob away. With it, not only she could go back to Equestria – but the Equestrias that her fans have imagined in their fanfictions and endless comics. She could also go into realms of books of any genre and it would be real… And the possibility that any of those characters would cross over here.

She began to wonder, if that ring fell into the wrong hands, the consequences would be devastating. Forget those like Chrysalis, King Sombra, Discord even – what if someone were to let in some of the most terrifying characters in fiction? What if someone wanted to visit Sherlock Holmes and accidentally let Professor Moriarty into our world? What if someone let in anything Lovecraft could imagine? Or anyone from comic books? Or anime?

If she could imagine it – it can become real.

The ring had been on her mind all morning. Even when she cooked breakfast and drove Alice over to the daycare to be dropped off, the ring has never left her thoughts. This question of if she should tell her husband about where she’s been and the enchanted ring on her finger was a tough thing to sort out. In the beginning, she was confident that she should say something to Craig, but now… she wasn’t entirely sure.

By the afternoon, she sat at her dining table waiting for Craig to come home. Her ring was placed to the side with her sketchbook in front of her. She was aware of how unspeakably powerful Discord’s gift was. This goes beyond any sort of responsibility she was given – forget coming up with a show or a movie – what this thing is capable of is like something out of a Twilight Zone episode. One that if she wasn’t careful could lead to a rather nasty twist.

On the other hand, it doesn’t seem right to keep this a secret from Craig either. It’s not that he can’t keep a secret – being in the business where they sign contracts not to talk about upcoming shows on a regular basis – this shouldn’t be much of a problem. Yes, without the ring she has no proof of anything that she and Alice had been to Equestria. Besides, was it fair if only she got to have access to the realms of her imagination? Craig had put just as much effort into his projects, creating worlds and characters with such care that it would be selfish of her not to share.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the unmistakable sound of a car pulling up in the driveway. Ready or not, now was her time to act. A minute or so later, the grudge door opened, and she heard him call out. “Hello? Anyone here?”

“Hey Craig,” Lauren called back.

It wasn’t long until her husband came into the kitchen. As long as she’d known him, Craig had his goatee under his glasses that he had kept before they were married. His hair hangs just above his shoulders. He walked in with a gray t-shirt and a black button shirt over it with blue jeans. In his left hand, he dragged a suitcase. “Man that took forever, I was worried I was gonna be stuck in traffic for hours.” He went over to kiss her on the forehead. “How’ve you been?”

“I’m doing okay. Nearly got my script all written up.” As Craig walked away to put his suitcase in their room, she asked, “How was the con in Seattle?”

“Kinda exhausting. The Q and A went good, nearly got a hand cramp from signing autographs. But to be honest, I just wanna be home. How’s Alice?”

“Oh you know, keeping me on my toes. And I think we’re starting to rub off on her.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, Alice has started to make a little show of her own. She’s been drawing a lot, and she asked me to help her create a setting and characters. About different animals and creatures living together on an island.”

“And I missed it? Aww, why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“Because you were probably flying at the time.”

“Well does she still have the drawings at least?”

“Yeah, I’ll show you them later.” Lauren looked at her wedding ring. Picking it up and putting it on her finger, she called out. “Hey while you’re here, mind if I run something by ya?”

“Go ahead.”

“Well… I have to show you first.”

“Okay, give me a sec…” A moment or so later, Craig came back. “What’s up?”

Lauren chose her next words carefully before she opened her mouth. “Well… I don’t know how you react to this, but lately, I’ve been thinking hard about something that has… potential.”

“Oh yeah?” Craig pulled up a chair, sitting down with his arm on the backrest. “What do you have in mind?”

“How about this: picture someone having a magic ring that could turn any door that wear touches into a portal into their imagination. And I don’t just mean like going into one world, but anything they could think of.”

Craig raised an eyebrow. “For example…?”

“Like say… if that person has read some fairytales, with that ring they could go inside that world of fairytales – like Rapunzel, Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel. Now if that door is opened, there’s also the potential that those fictional characters could walk into the real world too. And this doesn’t just have to limit to books either, just any place of that wear’s imagination.”

“It almost sounds like a long-lost Twilight Zone episode.”

“Well… kinda-sorta.”

Craig scratched his head, “Okay so… Where would this ring come from?”

Lauren shrugged. “Maybe anywhere, a grudge sale, an attic…” She looked down at her finger, “A wedding ring.”

“That could be interesting. Is this something for a new show you might work on?”

“Not exactly.”

“Movie? I can totally see Warner Brothers picking this-”

“No, but… Okay, hear me out on this. What if… that ring exists?”

Her husband tilted his head, confused. “Excuse me?”

“I know how it sounds but just humor me here.” She took off her ring and gave it to Craig, “Here, put that on.”

“Why?”

“Just play along for a second. Let’s pretend that there is the ring I’m talking about.”

“… Okay…?” Craig slipped the ring over his pinkie finger. “Now what?”

“Try this – if you could open a door that would lead to anything that you’ve made in the past, what would it be?”

He blinked. “I… Guess it would be Wander over Yonder.”

“Okay.” Lauren nodded. Pointing, she instructed, “Go to the back door.”

“Lauren, where is this going?”

“Just play along.”

“Well… alright.” Craig got up and walked over to the back door.

Just as he touched the handle, Lauren added, “Now really think about that show before you open that door. What it looks like. Who would be there and all that.”

“Okay…?” There was a moment that Craig looked down at his and, his face squinted in concentration before turning the knob. “I don’t see where you’re getting a- THE HELL!?”

Lauren shot up from her chair to look out what Craig was stunned at. Gone was their backyard, and in its place was a vast, beautifully hand-crafted universe of brightly colored planets and millions upon millions of stars in every direction. Craig stuck his head out, looking this way and that, holding onto the door frame as he saw that somehow their back door was floating out in this artistic space.

“Hon, are you seeing this?” Craig asked in disbelief.

Before Lauren could answer, there was the unmistakable sound of lasers going off. Suddenly red streams of light went right past them from above. Craig stuck his head out and looked up. His jaw dropped. “No way…!”

“INCOMING!!!”

What happened next was so fast that Lauren barely had time to process it all. One moment she was next to her husband standing up. The next was that there was a loud POP! And then suddenly they were knocked over when something noticeably heavy hit the couch. They looked over to see two cartoon characters have latterly crashed on the couch. Not just any 2-D characters – but those that Craig had made himself. Upside down was Sylvia, and slumping off was Wander. Thee Wander! There was no question about who they were.

Sylvia pointed frantically, “Wander! Close the door! Close the door!”

The short orange peanut creature spent no time getting up and slammed the door before a familiar-looking skull-shape spaceship could start firing at them. His back against the door, he slumped to the floor, wiping the sweat off his brow. “Phew! That was a close one.”

“Oh… My God…” Craig looked between him and his wife. “Am I having a mental breakdown? I think I’m having a mental breakdown.”

“Hey there,” Wander got up on the floor, and went over to the couple with both hands stretched out. “Sorry for the crash landing like that, but you saved our behinds back there. Name’s Wander, and that Zbornak on the couch is Sylvia.” He smiled at them.

“Yeah, where… Where are we anyway?” Sylvia rolled over on her back and off the couch. “And why is everything in here so… three-dimensional?”

“No idea, but this is a lovely home though.” He turned back to them. “Sorry, I don’t think I got your names yet.”

Lauren’s husband, slack-jawed, shook Wander’s hand. “C-Craig…”

“Lauren.” She shook his head.

“Oooh! C-Craig and Lauren! Sounds exotic, I love it!”

“Still…” Sylvia got up and walked over to Wander. “Again, sorry for busting in like this. We were on the run from Lord Hater when we saw this door in the middle of space. You saved our hides back there.” She grabbed Wander and tossed him on her back. “C’mon Wander, we should probably go.”

“Aww, but we just got here!”

“And we still need to get to Sauntree Five, remember?” She turned and opened the back door, “Again, sorry to bother ya folks. Now let’s get that bubble up and… Huh?” Instead of space, Sylvia saw a green backyard. One with children’s toys strewn about. She closed and opened the door several times. “Hey, what’s going on?” She looked over to the couple. “Where are we?”

“What planet is this anyway?” Wander was already off Sylvia’s back and peering out a window. “I’m pretty sure we’ve never been here before.”

Lauren could see that Craig was too stunned to say anything. In shock, the characters that he had drawn years ago had suddenly and inexpertly crashed into their home. She was the first to get up from the floor. “I know you have a lot of questions, and so does my husband here. So to try to put it in a nutshell… you two are in another dimension, that’s why everything here is so… 3-D. If you’re weirded out, well… this is new to us too.”

“But how did we get… where ever here is?” Sylvia asked.

Taking the wedding ring off Craig’s finger and putting it on her own, she said. “It’s because of this. My ring has an ability to open doors to worlds that are fictional to us.”

Sylvia craned her neck down to get a better look at the ring. “What? That thing? Looks like any other ring to me.”

“Looks, yes. But it’s not like any other.” Lauren went over to the back door. “Watch this. Now you see our backyard.” She opened it for a moment before closing it. “And now…” Lauren took a moment to concentrate. To think of a particular place in Equestria. If she was going to have a crossover with these characters of her husband’s, there was one pony to do it.

Opening the door, this time it showed the kitchen of Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie was putting the last touches on a couple of sugar cookies. She looked up from her work. “Hi Lauren!” Pinkie waved, “It’s so good to see you again, I’ve made you some chocolate chip cookies that just came out of the oven.”

Craig blinked. “Wait… You know her?”

“Well duh, of course I do… Oh wait, aren’t you Craig? Yeah, Lauren mentioned you were married a while back. Anyway so to make a long story short, Lauren and her cutesy daughter Alice had slipped into this world for a bit, almost causing Equestria-wide-panic when she said the show was about to end and unexpectedly left but now she’s back and-” She gasped when she spotted Wander. “Oh hi there new friends! I’m Pinkie Pie! Would you like some cookies?”

“Well sure I would.” Wander smiled.

“In that case, good thing I made these super-extra-welcome special sugar cookies.” Pinkie, quick as the wind, snatched a plate of cookies, entered Lauren’s living room, and presented it to Wander and Sylvia. Two large cookies had white frosting and colorful depictions of flying saucers and the words, Welcome! Written beautify in black icing.

“Wait, you knew this would happen?” Sylvia asked, picking up one of the cookies.

“Not exactly, my Pinkie sense was going crazier than usual this morning. You should have seen me I was bouncing off the walls but I had this instinct that I have to make these cookies not just for Lauren and her husband, but for two out-of-this-world aliens too. Mrs. Cake looked at me weirdly when I told her what I was doing but I found the time to have these come out just right.”

“Oh I like you.” Wander took a bite of the cookie. “Yum! Sylvie, you got to try this! It reminds me of the mini cakes from Yoyou Twelve but with more butter.”

Lauren turned to her husband and offered her hand to lift him up. “Yes, this is all real. It’s not just you.”

Craig got up and looked over to their creations, happily chatting away over a plate of cookies. “Hon,” he finally said, “I think we just entered The Twilight Zone.”

Author's Note

The End.

While I don't know if this would be a good enough ending for a crazy story like this one, but overall, I'm satisfied. This has been a long time coming. I wanted to see this story finished, and today is that day. I want to take a moment to thank you, the reader, for being so patient with me. With collage and other stuff in real life that has made it a little difficult to work on these stories, I'm glad that at least I was finally able to bring it to a close.