The next morning was an especially busy one for the Castle of Friendship, as there were now three more creatures who dwelled within it. Twilight had invited the three of them to breakfast, and while they didn't actually need to eat, they wouldn't dare to disrespect the princess. So, the five inhabitants of the castle were now seated around the dining table as they dug into Spike's masterfully cooked waffles. Cosmos begged him for the recipe when she took her first bite.

After a moment of silent eating, Twilight spoke up, "So, what are you all planning to do today?"

"I think we're going to scout the area a bit. Maybe a little sightseeing, just checking things out, I guess." Cosmos answered as she tore off another sizeable chunk of her waffle with a fork.

"If I may ask, princess, what sort of beings reside in this region? Judging by the name of your nation, I'm assuming its primarily inhabited by equines and equinoids, yes?" Grogar asked while he wiped off crumbs from his beard.

Twilight nodded, "Yes, most of Equestria's citizens are ponies, but there are also other creatures who live here, like griffons, zebras, minotaurs, donkeys," she turned to Spike, "and occasionally, dragons."

She put a hoof to her chin, "There's also the deer in the Everfree, diamond dogs, and... One spirit of chaos? I think that about covers it."

Cosmos spat out her food, covering Grogar's face in the process, "One... Spirit of... Chaos? Y-you guys just let one spirit handle chaos?! Are you crazy?!" she slammed her hands on the table, her frills were flared and her wings unfurled slightly.

Twilight and Spike leaned back, taken aback by Cosmos' outburst.

She took a deep breath and calmed herself, "Sorry." she cleared her throat, "Do you know how- how bad this is, princess? If a spirit is tasked as a Chaosbringer on their own, they could- no, they will go insane, leaving only a husk of their maddened self. I wouldn't be surprised if they're going mad with power and currently planning on world domination as we speak."

"U-um... Well, he... Kind of... Did?" Twilight hesitantly answered, "B-but he's good now! He's been reformed, Discord's using his magic responsibly," she paused, "well, most of the time, anyway."

"Did somepony say my name?"

A voice can be heard from the other side of doors to the dining hall, Midnight, Cosmos, and Grogar seemed intrigued, while Twilight and Spike shared a look of concern.

Instantly, the doors burst open, allowing a roll of red carpet to pass by and stop near the table, Discord strolled in with sunglasses while various copies of himself cheered and clapped, some even took pictures.

Cosmos was astounded, her frills flared again, "HIM?! This world's version of him is the sole Chaosbringer?! In my world he just handles Mischief, simple normal Mischief! There's a reason Hades only gave him Mischief! Oooh, if he's anything like the one in Hades, he's a pain in the tail and a thief!"

"Hey now! Who are you calling a- wha..." Discord looked towards the being who insulted him and dropped his jaw, literally.

He cranked his jaw back into place and pointed at Cosmos, "C-C-C-Cosmos! But-but how?!" he looked towards the two familiar creatures in the room, "Twilight, Spike! Get away from her, she's dangerous!" in a flash, they were both now behind Discord.

"Wait! Discord!" Twilight tried to get his attention.

"Oh no no no!" Discord snapped his talon and disappeared; he returned mere moments later looking just as frantic but also fairly confused and in a suit of armor, "The stars are still there, so how..."

Cosmos stood up and waved her hands, "Woah, woah, this is a big misunderstanding! I'm not your Cosmos, I'm with them," she pointed to Midnight and Grogar, "from a different, alternate world. I'm gonna assume you and the other me had some history?"

"What?" Discord asked, dumbfounded.

Twilight walked up to him, "She's right, Discord, they're from another world, they're only here to find a home, so they're staying in the castle. I take it you knew our world's Cosmos?"

Discord stared at the other spirit for a moment, then turned to the new alicorn and ibex, and then at the princess and dragon, he then looked into the distance, staying silent.

Spike poked Discord's cervine leg, he didn't react, "I think we broke him Twi."

She shook his paw, "Discord?"

Twilight flew up to his face and waved a hoof, "Discord, are you alright?"

Discord didn't say or do anything, he stayed there, unblinking. Spike poked him again, still no reply, Twilight tried shaking his head, no reaction whatsoever.

Midnight and Grogar turned their gaze towards their chimeric friend, who held her hands in front of her, "Not it!" she exclaimed.

"Well, that's definitely something, alright." said Discord as came in out of nowhere, which got the attention of all the other creatures in the room.

He walked up to his catatonic lookalike and poked it, which caused the clone to deflate at flail around the room before vanishing.

He turned to the trio, "So you three are visitors from another world? My, how interesting, I wonder how much chaos you'll cause by just being here!"

"I'll be seeing you around, toodles!" Discord was about to snap his fingers to leave before he was caught in a red telekinetic aura.

Cosmos pulled him closer and glared at him, causing Discord to flinch, "Hold it, buster, I've got a few questions. First, what insane Force had the bright idea to drop the job of Chaosbringer on a single spirit, let alone you? Second, why the Hades are you using your powers like that? That's irresponsible! And third, is the other me some kind of villain?" Cosmos asked Discord before letting him go.

Discord rolled his eyes, "One, I don't know and don't care; B, because I can and I will; and tres, yes, you are, but we're not at that arc yet."

Cosmos raised an eye ridge, "And when will that start?"

Discord gasped dramatically, "Spoilers!"

She sighed and nodded, "Okay, fine, you can go now." she said.

Discord snapped his fingers and disappeared as Twilight and Spike made their way back to the table, "Sorry about that, Cosmos, Discord can be a little much sometimes."

Cosmos waved her hand, "Eh, it's not as bad as the usual antics other spirits get into in Hades. He's irresponsible with his powers, but he seems pretty tame compared to the other Discord, at least this one hasn't tried to steal my deluxe edition Battlemace crystal set yet."

Twilight nodded, even though she didn't really understand that last part, "I'm curious through, what did this world's Cosmos do to make even Discord scared of her?"

"Must have been quite the nasty villain." Grogar said as he picked off bits of waffle still stuck on his horns.

Midnight stood up and floated her and the others' tableware, "If you would excuse me, everybeing, I will retire to the kitchen do deal with these."

"Of course, do you know the way there?" Twilight asked.

"Sunset and I have mapped out the entirety of the castle's layout, do no worry, princess." Midnight assured.

"That's good to hear."

After Midnight left the room, Cosmos and Grogar also prepared to leave.

"Alright princess, we'll be waiting for Midnight at the foyer, and then we'll head out to town." Cosmos told Twilight as she and Grogar made their way to the door.

"Alright, have fun you three!" Twilight replied.

When the spirit and ibex exited the room, Twilight turned to Spike with a look he knew all too well, "You're going to do some research on this world's Cosmos, aren't you?" he asked.

"Yup!"

He sighed and got off his seat, "Okay then, let's go."

Midnight, Cosmos, and Grogar were now making their way into Ponyville, along the way, they received stares from every pony they passed, many were also whispering among themselves, gossiping about the new, never before seen alicorn and her entourage. This didn't bother them much though, they were used to mortals looking at them in awe, confusion, and fear, especially when they visited areas of Tellus that were disconnected from Skyros, Oblivion, and Hades.

"So, where to?" asked Cosmos.

"Based on the directions that Princess Twilight had presented to me last night, as well as Sunset's scans on the surrounding region, we shall be stopping by areas where the princess' friends are frequently found in, and while we progress, we can get accustomed to traversing through Ponyville." Midnight explained, laying out their plans for the day.

They were just about to take off in a random direction before a voice called out to them.

"Oh hey, it's you guys!" Rainbow Dash said as she descended closer to the trio.

"Ah, Miss Rainbow Dash, to what do we owe the pleasure?" Midnight asked with a smile.

"Just Rainbow Dash is fine" Rainbow waved a hoof, "I was just on my way to check up on Twilight and you three, but then I saw you here and thought I'd say hi." she said.

"I see. Well, we are on our way to explore this quaint little town. If we are to persist in this region indefinitely, we would need to form a sense of familiarity with its layout." Midnight explained.

"Hm... You could try going to Sugarcube Corner first, that's usually where outsiders go to first because it's a big old gingerbread house." Rainbow recommended to them.

"Very well then, we shall be on our way. Farewell, Rainbow Dash." Midnight said.

"Yeah, bye!" Rainbow replied before launching off to the direction of the castle.

Cosmos and Grogar looked at each other with confusion, "Gingerbread house? Like an actual building out of... Gingerbread? In the middle of town?" Grogar asked Midnight.

"Either that, or the building simply resembles a gingerbread house." Midnight said as she shrugged her wings.

It took them a while to find the way to Sugarcube Corner, but after a couple of wrong turns, some questions to terrified ponies, and a little bit of bickering that almost caused a black hole to form, they finally made it.

Cosmos looked at the building in awe, "Woah, she wasn't kidding. I mean, look at this! Can't imagine Skyros even having anything close to this." she said while throwing her arms.

She looked back towards Midnight and Grogar, "Kinda sad it's not actually made of gingerbread though."

Midnight started walking towards the door, "It appears to be a bakery of some kind."

The trio entered the building while ducking through the doorframe due to their statures, Grogar especially had to maneuver his horns in odd angles so he could go through without getting stuck. Once they were inside, they were greeted by a familiar hyperactive pink pony.

"Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! How may I help y-" Pinkie Pie stopped and gasped loudly.

"Oh my gosh! It's you! Welcome welcome welcome!" she giggled, "Get it? Because there's three of you?"

Midnight tried to greet her, "Er, right, hello, Miss Pinkie Pie, we are here to-"

Cosmos interrupted her, "Hey there Pinkie, we're just here to check some stuff out. Nice place ya got by the way." she said as she heard Midnight snort in annoyance.

"Sugarcube Corner isn't mine, silly! I just work here for Mr. And Mrs. Cake!" Pinkie explained.

"Oh! That reminds me," she went back to the kitchen and retrieved a small box, "I got something special for you!~" Pinkie said in a singsong voice.

She then opened the box and motioned the trio to look closer, they did as they were told and were surprised by the contents. Three cupcakes decorated with frosting and sprinkles that matched the colors of their coats and general coloration.

"These are... For us?" Grogar asked uncertainly.

Pinkie nodded quickly, "Yep! These are special 'Welcome to Equestria' cupcakes! Just for you!"

"But we do not have any currency." Midnight protested.

"It's free! It's a gift from me to you." Pinkie replied.

Cosmos turned to the box and the cupcakes inside, "I don't really know what to say... Thank you, Pinkie." she smiled at the pink pony.

The trio looked at each other before taking their own cupcakes and biting into them. To say that they were utterly amazed by the flavor would be an understatement.

"I-it's marvelous!" Grogar exclaimed.

"This is incredible!" Cosmos added.

"Impeccable..." Midnight muttered.

Pinkie giggled at their reactions, "Glad you liked them!"

Cosmos finished hers and turned to Pinkie, "Do you make all of these?" she asked while pointing at the various baked goods being displayed.

"Some of them! When Mr. And Mrs. Cake are busy, I take over the baking!" Pinkie answered.

"Hm..." Cosmos turned back to her friends, "We should ask the princess if there's something we can do for money, I really want to try some of these."

Pinkie looked around conspiringly and leaned in near Cosmos' ear, "Psst, you can have some of these for free." she whispered.

Cosmos was surprised, "R-really?"

Pinkie nodded, "Yup. It'll be our little secret." she whispered again.

Cosmos smiled and wagged her finger, "You sneaky little equine, you."

Pinkie snickered. Midnight and Grogar only watched this exchange with confusion and concern.

They were now making their way to Sweet Apple Acres under Pinkie Pie's direction, Cosmos was eating the last bits of a cupcake that she 'obtained' from Sugarcube Corner, while Grogar was particularly interested since it had been quite some time since he had last tasted a sour apple, which just so happened to be his favorite kind. They were continuing along the dirt path when they heard the sound of something striking wood. The trio looked around them in search of the sound and found the source. They saw Applejack bucking a tree on a hill and harvesting the fallen apples.

The trio teleported to where she was as she was performing another buck. The sudden flash of light and appearance of three towering creatures caused Applejack to miss her target and fall on her stomach.

Midnight helped her get up, "Apologies, Miss Applejack, we did not mean to startle you."

Applejack dusted herself off before waving a hoof, "Nah, it's fine, s'all good."

She looked up at the trio, "So, y'all explorin' 'round Ponyville today?"

Midnight nodded, "Indeed we are, it is an effective way to get adapted to our new environment, as well as getting the populace used to witnessing our presence."

"Then welcome to Sweet Apple Acres!" Applejack said as she tipped her hat.

Grogar looked around the orchard, "My goodness, this is quite the land. Miss Applejack, just how big is Sweet Apple Acres?"

Applejack put a hoof to her chin in thought, "Hm, I'd say 'bout three hundred acres if I remember, one-fifty for the orchard, one-thirty for pasture, and the rest is for zap apples."

Cosmos let out a whistle, "That's pretty big, how many beings work here?"

"Mainly my family and I, we work from dawn 'til dusk!"

"I must say, you have quite the interesting harvesting technique. It reminds me of how the old tribes of Capria harvested sapodilla." Grogar said,

Applejack was intrigued, "Really? How did they do it?"

"Well, they would strike the bark of the tree at a specific angle that would cause the fruit to fall but leave the bark itself unscathed. Perhaps I could show you?" Grogar asked.

"Well, go on ahead." Applejack said as she moved aside.

"Very well." Grogar then moved closer to the tree, he tapped the wood a few times while muttering to himself. He took a couple of steps back, raised himself on his hindlegs, and slammed his head and horns on the tree, causing a loud slamming sound to echo through the orchard.

At the same time he made contact with the tree, the golden bells on his harness glowed, and sent a shockwave in a twenty-meter radius that channeled the kinetic energy of his headbutt to the surrounding trees, causing them to shake voilently and drop their own apples as well.

Midnight and Cosmos covered Applejack with their wings as it happened, preventing her from falling over again.

After they retracted their wings, Applejack looked around the area, "Well I'll be darned, that was one heck of a headbutt'!"

Grogar turned his gaze on to the other trees, "I will admit, that was not supposed to happen, it seems I might have left an enchantment active and forgotten about it." he said while fidgeting with his bells.

"Don't worry 'bout it, it's just an accident, plus ya just sped up the process a bit. I'mma go get another cart real quick, maybe get Big Mac to help me with this." Applejack assured him.

"Perhaps we can help with collecting these apples?" Midnight offered.

"Sure, just put 'em in a neat stack if the buckets are full, be right back."

And so, the trio started gathering all the apples that fell because of Grogar's magical discharge, Applejack returned with Big Mac and two more carts, and they were able to bring them back to the barn after a while.

Applejack wiped off the sweat on her forehead, "Well, that just about does it. Thanks for all the help by the way."

Cosmos waved her hand, "It's no biggie, reminds me of when Midnight broke a crystal statue and we had to pick up the pieces."

Grogar snorted in amusement and Midnight gave her a glare.

"That's gotta be one heck of a story. Say, why don'tcha stay a bit for lunch?" Applejack asked.

Midnight waved a wing, "Thank you for the offer, Miss Applejack, but we would not want to intrude."

"Well I insist, think of it as our way to say 'thank you' for helpin' us harvest these here apples." Applejack countered as she tapped a barrel of apples.

The trio joined in for lunchtime and found that they actually quite enjoyed it, they introduced themselves to the rest of the Apple family as well, Granny Smith seemed mostly unphased by their appearance, while Apple Bloom was startled when she made first saw the trio, but she warmed up to them eventually. Grogar also finally had the chance to eat another sour apple after five hundred revolutions of exile.

After lunch, they said their goodbyes to the Apples and made their way into town again, as they were passing by the town hall, they were greeted by a familiar unicorn and pegasus who just exited the spa.

"Midnight, Cosmos, Grogar! I see you're all out and about." Rarity said as she approached them, Fluttershy was timidly following behind her.

"Miss Rarity, Miss Fluttershy, it is good to see you. Yes, we are currently getting ourselves accustomed to your quaint little town, we actually just returned from Sweet Apple Acres." Midnight replied.

"That's wonderful to hear! I do hope you've enjoyed what Ponyville has to offer thus far." Rarity said. Fluttershy continued to hide behind her.

"It's been great! I actually really like the feel, Ponyville's so nice and peaceful. Skyros can get a little hectic sometimes, and Hades is always crazy thirty-two-seven." Cosmos said with a smile.

"Oh? I take it those are the names of places where you're from?" Rarity asked, intrigued by the mention of the extradimensional regions.

"Skyros is the nation where we once lived in, it's the largest and most technologically advanced nation in Tellus and is primarily filled by sprawling metropolitan cities with the occasional rural areas located near the borders." Grogar explained.

Cosmos lit her horns and conjured a screen that showed a video of her home, "And Hades is a region in Tellus where all reason and logic ceases to exist, leaving only a metaphysical landscape of madness and nonsense."

Rarity and Fluttershy looked at the screen with curiosity, the screen showed a swirling and writhing maelstrom of various eyes that turn into mouths as they snatch up smaller creatures, whipping thorny tentacle plants, random mishmash furniture covered in and filled with color-changing ooze floating and imploding, arms reaching and grasping at nothing before turning into smoke, disembodied tongues flailing and licking food items made of ever-changing materials and incomprehensible blurred shapes darting all over the place.

The sight would've caused both ponies to go comatose if Cosmos didn't immediately dismiss the screen.

"O-oh my..." was all Rarity able to say.

Cosmos shook her head, "It's not a good place to be in if you're not a spirit. Any mortal who enters will be immediately get eaten or possessed by eldritch abominations or mind flayers."

"I-it's like when D-Discord took over P-Ponyville... B-but scarier..." Fluttershy mumbled, still trembling from the sight.

Cosmos' eye twitched at the mention of Discord's abuse of power, but she didn't want to go through another outburst in one day. The spines of her frills were clicking rhythmically against her cheeks and her stinger started to scratch the ground.

Midnight noticed this and changed the subject, "As unfortunate as it is, we must continue our trek through Ponyville before sundown, as it would not be very advantageous at nighttime, mainly due to the inability to ask for directions."

"Ah, yes, very well then, we must be going on our way as well, see you later!" Rarity said as she and Fluttershy walked away in the direction of the castle.

Fluttershy turned back to the trio, "Um... Goodbye." she said timidly.

Midnight smiled and nodded, "Farewell, Miss Fluttershy."

The three otherworldly beings went through some more areas of the town before eventually returning to the castle. By that time, the sun had already grazed the horizon, and the sky was tinted a bright orange. They were talking about the day as they entered the castle itself.

"We're back!" Cosmos shouted, causing her voice to echo through the foyer and halls.

The trio were making their way back to the archive when they saw a sticky note stuck on the giant door.

"Meet me at the dining hall :) - Twilight Sparkle" it said.

The three looked at each other and shrugged before they continued to the dining hall. When they entered the room, it was pitch black, but there were noises that sounded like shushing. Midnight was about to cast a lighting spell until...

SURPRISE!

Suddenly, the room lit up, and a crowd of ponies shouted in unison, confetti blasted from the ceiling and the sounds of party blowers rang around the room.

The entire room was decorated with banners, ribbons, balloons, and other various ornaments. There were tables set up with various snacks and drinks. And in the middle of it all, a large banner with "WELCOME TO PONYVILLE + EQUESTRIA!" written on it with colorful paint.

The trio were taken aback by this, they only stood there in awe of what just happened.

Pinkie Pie hopped over in front of them, "Were you surprised? Were you? Were you? Huh huh huh?" she asked excitedly.

Cosmos snapped out of her stupor, "Um, yeah... Pinkie, what's..." she waved her hands around the room, "all of this?"

Pinkie giggled, "It's your 'Welcome to Ponyville and Equestria' party, silly!"

Midnight looked at her in confusion, "A party? For us?"

"Of course! Everypony who moves into Ponyville gets their own 'Welcome to Ponyville' party! But since you're also new to Equestria you get a 'Welcome to Ponyville and Equestria' party!"

Grogar looked around the room, and at all of the smiling faces in it, "We- I- I don't what to say..."

Pinkie smiled brightly, "How about... 'LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!'"

And with that, the party was in full swing, the trio got to play Equestrian party games, try Equestrian party snacks, and familiarize themselves with the citizens of Ponyville. All in all, everybeing had very good time as they partied the night away.

When the party was over, everypony returned to their respective homes to get a good night's sleep. Cosmos was sorting through her Battlemace crystal sets in her private room in the archive, she placed each crystal set of a specific faction into their own customized glass case, decorated in the aesthetics of said faction. She was looking through her box of deluxe edition sets when she realized a crystal was missing, instead of a deluxe edition Entropy Marines crystal, there was a note left in its place.

"This looks neat! Mind if I try one for myself? - D" was written on it.

Cosmos' eye twitched, her frills flared, her wing unfurled swiftly, and her stinger stabbed itself through the color-shifting floor, she then ripped apart the piece of paper. She stood on her hind limbs, threw her arms in the air and shouted into the heavens.

"DIIIIIIISSCOOOOOORRRRD!"

Sunset popped her holographic head out from the wall, "Keep it down, will ya? Some beings are on sleep mode here!"

Cosmos flinched and lowered herself, "S-sorry..."

Author's Note

And that's chapter 4! Hopefully these three can get used to the nonsensical shenanigans of Ponyville in the future.

Cosmos Vs.; anyone?

Next chapter: Midnight and Twilight are the same pony?!

If you want to share ideas on how this story should go, consider commenting!

Corrections and criticisms are more than welcome, I can't improve without those now, can I?
Have a good existence!
:)

"Remembered forever, the land of Equestria"