Thanks to Princess Twilight, the portal was now kept constantly open. This had a few advantages: Sunset could return to Equestria when she needed advice, and the Princess of Friendship could visit the human alter-egos of her pony friends. There were also a few drawbacks: like the disturbances that began to be felt. These anomalies took the form of visions of landscapes of Equestria or Earth reflected by the portal. These anomalies went largely unnoticed. It was only during lunchtime on Friday, when they were eating near the portal, that the seven friends - Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Sunset and Rainbow Dash - witnessed one of these dimensional disturbances and saw the images that the portal brought them.

The portal showed them an island in the middle of the ocean, devastated by a battle between war submarines and an army of demons streaming in from a gigantic red portal in the sky. There were also two dragons, white and green, flying and spitting flames at each other.

On the other side of the island, a 50-metre-high devil wielded a hammer to match. He was fighting a red-haired human with a rather muscular afro, wearing faded beige trousers adorned with a red cross and carrying a broken sword held in place by an iron chain. And the hardest thing to believe was that the red-haired man had the giant in check. While the giant had the advantage in power, the warrior avoided his attacks thanks to his small size.

The devil saw that his gigantism was defeating him and disappeared in a cloud of dust. He reappeared a few moments later, having grown to human size. The battle was fierce between the submarines, the dragons and the two combatants, and to say that the island would soon disappear beneath the waters would have been a prediction. The image forked to show the fight between the afro cutter and the devil. They were so powerful that their blows created shockwaves that transformed the landscape.

The portal that brought the demons to the beach began to shrink. And the smaller it got, the less clear and precise the image became.The warrior noticed this and began to hammer his opponent, landing blow after blow without stopping.The speed of his fists was so great you'd have thought he had several arms instead of two. The demon didn't seem to have taken as much damage as he should have.When the warrior saw that his opponent was sufficiently stunned to fight back, he grabbed him firmly by the waist and leapt skywards to reach the portal.

The devil and his adversary passed through the red portal before it closed for good.Then the image blurred, revealing only the usual white surface of the portal. For a few moments, the girls stood dazed by their reflections on the marble surface of the portal.

"Did I see what I think I saw?" Fluttershy asked the others timidly.

"Darling," replied Rarity, "I think we all saw the same thing.

"It was huge," shouted Rainbow Dash. "You saw this man fighting like a lion against this monster. He was doing it with a smile on his face, as if it was all just a game. And the fight between the two dragons? Phenomenal".

She tried to imitate the red-haired warrior but only succeeded in gesticulating in all directions, attracting stares from the other students. Realising what was happening around her, Rainbow Dash immediately stopped making a spectacle of herself, blushing in embarrassment.

"What I don't understand," began Sunset Shimmer, "is how this is possible, even though the portal is connected only to Equestria. This shouldn't be happening, I'm sending a message to Princess Twilight immediately."

"You can do that later," Twilight cut her off, pointing to the clock above the door.

"The funny thing is that this isn't the first time the portal has shown this particular world." Pinkie Pie stretched out on the pedestal, savouring his vanilla and raspberry cupcake.

Not wanting to be late for the next lessons of second period, and above all not to get bogged down with this story about parallel worlds and Pinkie using the gate as a cinema when the opportunity arose, the girls went off to throw their rubbish in the bin, gathered their things and joined their classmates.

Only Sunset dared to take one last look at the gate to make sure nothing else happened while they were away, but all she saw was the plinth that once housed the horse statue.

Even though it had been destroyed several months ago during the Friendship Games, the fact that she could no longer see it left a feeling of emptiness and sadness in Sunset's heart.Her friends beckoned her to follow them with big smiles, and for a few moments Sunset's sadness disappeared as she ran to join her friends.

***

After several hours of lessons, an English test and a group rehearsal, the seven girls left for Sugar Cub Corner to spend some quiet time. It was Pinkie who went to collect the others' orders. While she waited at the counter, the others talked incessantly about the events that had taken place earlier.The subject that kept coming up was the portal and the images it showed. Pinkie pie returned from the counter with the orders and sat down at their usual table between Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

"So you've seen this world before ?" Sunset Shimmer asked Pinkie.

"Yes, I have. I recognised some of the people who were here during the battle this morning. Except that last time, they were fighting against a giant Spider Clock and a knight who was manipulating a strange magic cube that shone and flew through the air".

"And when was that ?" Twilight asked as she sipped her hot chocolate.

"About two months ago... I think".

"And you didn't think to tell us about it ?" Applejack asked incredulously.

"You didn't ask me," cried Pinkie Pie in exasperation.

She was getting fed up with the questions and decided to calm down by drinking her strawberry milkshake with whipped cream.

"What's curious," Twilight continued, "is why this particular world. I mean, there must be an infinite number of universes, so why this particular world?"

"I've sent a message to the Princess," replied Sunset.Perhaps she'll have an answer.

"I wonder what could have happened to the red-haired man," shouted Applejack. "He did give his all to fend off the big horned man".

"He's probably kicking that demon's arse," chuckled Rainbow. "He looked like he was having the time of his life on the beach, giving him blow after blow". You've got to have some guts to give up your world to save it," concluded Applejack. I don't know anyone with that much courage".

"Yes, I do," boasted Rainbow.

"His courage doesn't excuse his style of dress," said Rarity indignantly, sipping her vanilla-chocolate frappé. "Wearing nothing but a pair of trousers that's worn to the hilt isn't really a decent style. Even our caretakers wear cuter uniforms".

"The way he fights reminds me a bit of a warrior," commented Sunset. You know, like the Spartans of ancient Greece.
Apart from the broken sword, he was the perfect fighter. And for them, style of dress took second place.

"I'm glad everyone was saved," said Pinkie Pie, sipping her Coke. But I'm sad for him. He had to leave friends behind to save his world.

Pinkie's statement was so cold (especially coming from the happiest person in school). It completely froze the conversation.
You worry too much, Pinkie," Rainbow Dash comforted her. It's not going to happen to us.

"Rainbow Dash is right, darling," said Rarity. "We can handle ourselves against evil beings".

"After mermaids, friends who turn into monsters and grown-ups corrupted by magic..." declared Applejack. "You really can cope with anything and everything".

She realised her words a little too late and looked at Twilight and Sunset, who had a heavy past behind them linked to magic they couldn't control. "Sorry girls," Applejack apologised. "I shouldn't have..."

"It's all right," Twilight reassured her. "It's all behind us now". Suddenly, Sunset's book began to glow. The owner quickly noticed:

"Girls," warned Sunset, "the princess has just replied to me.

"Better late than never," quipped Applejack."So what does she say?" asked Fluttershy.

She opened the book and began to read the answer.

Author's Note

I'm french, but I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it.