Hold Your Horses: A My Little Pony Story

Ginger Blush stumbled around and toppled to the ground as she landed. As she stood up from her fall, she was confused at her surroundings. A dazzling, unfamiliar city surrounded her on all sides, and only one pony accompanied her amongst the towering buildings and stunning architecture.

“Sombra?” she addressed.

Sombra stood up from the ground, also confused by his surroundings, and faced Ginger.

“Ginger?” He looked around, noticing the completely unfamiliar city. “What’s going on?” he asked. “What is this place? Why are we the only ponies here?”

Ginger Blush paused and gazed at her foreign environment. The city was unlike anywhere she’d ever been before. It resembled Canterlot in some ways, but it was too different to even make the comparison. The buildings stretched far up into the sky, sleek and pristine. Extensive amounts of greenery were implemented cleverly into each design, all clipped and pruned to perfection. It was architecture beyond Ginger’s wildest comprehension.

“Did we get transported to a different dimension?” Sombra inquired. “This can’t be the Equestria that we left.”

Ginger was beginning to wonder the same thing, her disbelief only suspended by the plethora of regular old ponies that surrounded them. Well, regular wasn’t exactly the right way to put it. The ponies resembled the normalcy of Ginger Blush and Sombra, but they didn’t quite look normal. They were adorned with eccentric fashion and unusual mane stylings, unlike anything either of the lost ponies had ever seen before.

The realization set in that their friends were nowhere to be found. Ginger began to become intensely worried. Images of her friends flashed in her mind. Their survival in Limbo had brought them closer than ever, just to be ripped apart from each other the moment they escaped.

“Sombra, we just had everypony back together… and now we’re lost. Again,” she cried.

Sombra took a confident stance, not ready to give into worry or doubt. “We will all be together again.” A part of Sombra was also worried, but he wasn’t going to give up easily. He put a hoof on Ginger’s shoulder, and stared into her eyes. “I promise.”

Ginger felt herself relax in the presence of Sombra's determination. She herself became determined to find her friends again, although the sadness of missing them continued to weigh on her.

“Come on,” Sombra suggested to Ginger as he began to walk away from her. “We’re going to figure out what’s going on.”

Ginger acquiesced and followed Sombra as he led the way. Sombra made his way across the polished streets, maneuvering in between groups of ponies, receiving some strange looks along the way. Sombra arrived at the front of what appeared to be a convenience store. A glass door slid open in front of him, without him even having to open it. Ginger followed Sombra as he entered the store.

His eyes finally landed on what he had hoped to find inside. He stepped up to the newspaper stand and picked up the newspaper that sat on the top of the stack. The paper felt and looked cleaner and nicer than the newspapers he was used to.

He scanned the headlines, searching for anything that could tell them where they were. One headline caught his eye, and the article underneath was particularly illuminating.

“Ginger, look at this,” said Sombra.

Ginger peered over Sombra’s shoulder at the newspaper in front of him. Sombra pointed towards the article, and Ginger read it in full.

Princess Memorial and Celebration Festival: Major Success!
The Princess Memorial and Celebration Festival surely shook the streets of New Hoofsfield last week. Honoring our princesses of the past and celebrating the princesses of today, ponies everywhere celebrated names amongst the likes of Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess Flurry Heart, Princess Goldwing, Princess Lightshine, Princess Aurora Glow, and many more. The festival was aglow with lights and joyous spirit, and the festivities lasted long into the night. It was surely a night to remember.

Ginger raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“I don’t recognize like half of those names,” Ginger pointed out. “But, I recognize the first ones. If those are listed in order of time, then…”

The doors to the store slid open once again, and two stern looking ponies in black uniforms stepped inside.

“Sandy, your presence is requested back at the palace immediately,” one of the ponies ordered.

Ginger and Sombra followed the gaze of the ponies and landed on one unicorn standing in the middle of an aisle dedicated to snacks. The unicorn had a cream-colored coat which paled in contrast to her deep teal mane. A single stripe of neon green sliced through the center of her mane. She set down her snack selection and began to head towards the two ponies that beckoned for her.

“Fine…” she rolled her eyes.

Sombra and Ginger looked at each other in shock.

“Does she look familiar to you?” Ginger whispered.

Ginger flinched as Sandy walked past them, and Sombra prepared a battle stance. But, Sandy seemed completely disinterested in the two strange ponies. She didn’t even spare a passing glance. It seemed as though she didn’t recognize them at all. She exited the store and headed away, presumably towards ‘the palace’.

Sombra and Ginger both relaxed as their nemesis disappeared.

“Why didn’t she try to… get us or something?” Ginger wondered.

Sombra narrowed his eyes, trying to think of a reason. “Because… that’s not Effie. That’s Sandy. I don’t think that’s the same pony we met back in Time Jail.”

Ginger began to piece everything together in her mind. The futuristic city, the newspaper, Sandy.

“Sombra, I think we’re at Effie’s- er- Sandy’s home,” she realized. “We… are in the future.”