The first, and last thing Twilight saw was a flash of light. After that, her entire world was reduced to just the feeling of her friends’ and their desperate hold on her. There was no light, or sound, though she could barely see the shadows that were her friends.

Twilight could feel Pinkie Pie still clutching one of her legs, while one of her own forelegs was wrapped around Fluttershy. The distinct sensation of Applejack wrapping her tail around her waist was the final discernible feeling. Rainbow and Rarity were outside her awareness in the blackness that had enveloped them all.

All at once, the feeling of being ripped through the open air came to a halt, and Twilight hung there; wherever there was.

What the hay just happened!? The thought finally squirmed its way to the front of Twilight’s mind in her panic, as well as prayers to Celestia that her friends would all be alright. She could feel herself breathing hysterically even if she couldn't hear it, but forced herself to calm down in order to think clearly. Alright, get it together, Twilight.

Twilight tried to call out to her friends, only to be disappointed by the continued lack of sound, even from herself. She did, however, get a hoof to her ribs suddenly, making her oof in surprise and pain. What was that for!? It was clear talking wouldn’t work for a means of communication, but she knew she needed some way to speak to her friends.

Twilight wracked her brain for a solution. Come on brain. You can do this, think of something! Think of anything! You’ve outsmarted dragons, hydras, changeling spies!

After a brief pause her mind answered her back in turn. ...I can’t think of a single thing. She floated for a moment in the quiet with only her defeat as company.

Aaugh! Twilight flailed in frustration a moment, and felt a wing slap her face for the trouble. This makes no sense! What happened? Truly, she didn’t know

Both she and her five pony gal pals had been peacefully enjoying a picnic, then without warning they were all tumbling together through a dark void with no sound. A solution or explanation escaped her, as well as what to do.

Time seemed to stretch on for Twilight. Meanwhile, her friends periodically shifted about her now and then. Everypony seemed to calm down after the first couple of minutes, though she felt somepony crying into her coat at her side. With one hoof she briefly smoothed the mane of the pony, which was probably Fluttershy given its silkiness, though it was hard to tell in the dark.

Twilight tried everything she could; Teleporting, recalling, telekinesis, time travel, none of it worked. Odder still, even her horn made no light when used.

So, all six of them hung there.

...

Something changed abruptly.

Twilight saw it over in the distance; a little, blue light in the blackness like a marble, or a spark perhaps.

What is that? While staring at it, she thought it grew, or perhaps was coming closer. Maybe now we’ll get answers… she thought warily.

Trying to see if it was stationary, or a trick of her mind, Twilight looked to her side, then gasped at what she found instead.

Applejack was visible now, and looking back at her. She looked a little strange though, blurry in fact. Her body appeared in a haze, as if she were vibrating. Her mouth was moving, but Twilight couldn’t hear the other pony's voice, which sort of gave her the look of an older film reel. Stranger still was the texture of her fur, blurred as if it were moving at an incredible speed.

That didn't make sense though, Twilight didn’t feel as if she were moving quickly at all.

There still wasn’t any sound, merely the steel grip that Fluttershy was returning to her and the dim shapes of five other ponies surrounding her. However, in the looming darkness, the light from the little speck was growing.

Twilight, and it looked like her friends as well, paid close attention to the oddity. What is that? she thought angrily, mostly because it was the only clue she’d been given so far and it told her next to nothing.

Grrr! Well, okay, what have I got to work with… Twilight looked around herself again. Pinkie Pie was there, and looked to be twirling in a constant back-flip of some sort. Pinkie, this is hardly the time for… oh, never mind. Beside Pinkie was a blue outline that had to be Rainbow Dash. She was flapping her wings furiously, possibly trying to fight back against what was dragging them all along.

Twilight breathed out a sigh, watching Rainbow’s fruitless efforts. Looks like we’re along for the ride no matter what… But why? Rarity seemed to be adjusting her mane nervously, looking every which way. She briefly glanced towards Twilight, wearing a decidedly desperate expression.

I’m sorry, Rarity, Twilight apologized internally. But there’s nothing I can do right now… I just hope we get answers soon. She turned again and looked back at the blue mystery speck. The situation struck her as strange, especially the way they were apparently traveling. She wondered, though, how did the speck play into it all?

Twilight tried to squint to get a better look, but the blue oddity was difficult to make out. It looked a little bit like a small… spherical ball perhaps, like a marble, but that didn’t tell her anything. As she watched the marble, she noticed that it was without a doubt increasing its size slowly.

Without warning, the speck disappeared and was replaced by a giant swirl of several colors ranging from blue to grey and green. Twilight’s eyes widened to their utmost, taking in the sight. Along with the speck disappearing, the blurred appearance of her friends had disappeared as well. What in the name of the Elements!?

The huge field before her was like a strange painting, but looked far too immense to be just that. At each of its edges were slight curves, giving it further definition, while surrounded by the blue parts were…

Twilight gasped, suddenly jerked forward towards the strange painting; she felt her friends at her sides, and saw them cling closer to one another at the corners of her vision.

The bizarre blue and green surface beneath them began racing up to meet her faster than she could even react to.

Twilight gritted her teeth angrily, with just enough time to think one final thought before the untimely end she was sure she was about to meet. Just what is going on-!?

A dark circle, completely flat but nearly two meters wide, opened, then deposited six Equestrian ponies into a large room. They all landed hard on the wooden floor unceremoniously. All of them cried out, oofed, shouted angrily, or yipped with glee as they fell.

Twilight landed on her head with a thump, Rainbow Dash fell backwards, but flapped her wings and zoomed up into the air; Applejack landed on her front hooves with a twist of her body, only to be knocked over roughly by Rarity, careening into her side.

Fluttershy drifted slowly downward, already flapping her wings, before letting out a shrill eep of surprise and flying higher.

Lastly, Pinkie Pie did a somersault from the black circle and landed upright with a flourish and a loud, “Tah dah!” She grinned around herself, then gasped in genuine surprise and moved to help her friends.

Applejack spoke over the groans from everypony, first. “Whoa nelly… what was all that?” She gasped and felt a hoof around her scalp in a panic. “Anypony seen my hat!? I-”

“Right here, AJ,” Pinkie chimed right away. She pointed to the stetson, which had somehow found its way to resting on her rump and tail. “How’d this get here?”

Twilight looked around quickly. It was a little dark still, about the same quality of dim light as… wherever it was they had just been. “So that’s Pinkie and Applejack accounted for,” Twilight mumbled to herself. “Rarity? Fluttershy? Rain-”

“Right here, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash called out loudly from above.

Applejack tried to stand up and felt her tail get yanked. “What the- Who’s on me? Rarity? Get off my tail,” she jerked herself up again, only to gain a mere inch of freedom for her trouble.

“Oh!” Rarity exclaimed. “My apologies, dear.” She moved herself over slightly, but remained on the ground, still disoriented. “Fluttershy, darling, are you alright?”

“Where are we? What happened? Can we go home now!?” she was cowering slightly, cringing in on herself where she hovered still.

“Geez, calm down Shy.” Rainbow flew over to the other pegasus, who proceeded to flinch as if being attacked. “Gotta agree with Shy on this one though; Where are we?” Her eyes adjusted further to the dim light, enough that she could distinguish everypony.

“Wherever we are, that was fun!” Pinkie Pie looked around herself at her friends, half of them still moaning in mild discomfort from the floor. “Let’s do that again!” She giggled and searched around for support, but her friends didn’t seem as enthusiastic about the idea as she did.

Twilight lifted her head painfully so she could glare at the other mare. “Pinkie,” she started gruffly, then grunted and stood up. “We are not doing that again under any circumstances. Unless it explains things and is safe, anyway… What we are going to do, though, is figure out what the hay is going on.” Her ear twitched somewhat, catching a sound. “Do you girls hear anything?” she whispered, quiet enough that nopony else answered her right away.

Applejack had turned to help Rarity stand up, the two of them wincing each from a bruise or two they’d acquired from their landing. “More importantly, Twilight,” Applejack started to say. “Is everypony alright? That fall weren’t nothin’, but I don’t know what it was we just went through. We all still got four hooves and a tail?”

Rainbow Dash landed besides the farmpony, hooves thunking loudly on the floor. “And wings,” she interjected snarkily. “Also, yeah, I’m fine. Fluttershy?” She looked up to where the other pegasus still hovered just overhead. “Are you alright?”

“Y-yes, I-I’m fine, oh dear…” Fluttershy was having obvious trouble breathing; she had two hooves pressed to her chest in an effort to keep calm. Her gaze swept from Rainbow to Twilight, who was busily surveying their surroundings. “Twilight? Where are we? What happened?” she asked, repeating her questions from before. “Please say you know, Twilight.”

Rarity ahemed and approached the other unicorn, dusting her front off lightly with a delicate hoof. “Yes, Twilight, was that a spell of yours…?” Her tone was a little worried, and hesitant, mostly because she could not remember any sign that Twilight had used magic at all. On top of that, she was quite certain what happened had been no sort of magic she herself had ever learned about or seen before.

Twilight frowned before answering either mare, still looking at the surrounding area. It looks almost like… a stage, she thought. The one defining feature that gave the room that impression was the large, red curtain on one side of the tall-ceilinged room. “I don’t know what happened, girls, but it wasn’t me that did it.” She managed not to show any obvious chagrin or resentment over her friends assuming she might know or be responsible.

“At least, not intentionally,” Twilight went on, rubbing a hoof under her chin. “But I wasn’t using any magic, either.” She looked around again, her eyes resting briefly on a slightly glowing red sign that read ‘exit’. At least we have a way out, she thought. So not a trap? An anomaly perhaps? Quickly, she peeked underneath the red curtain. Brick? How strange.

Twilight stood up and snorted, angry at knowing nothing, but decided to take some action. “Everypony, don’t move from this spot, it might be dangerous. I’m going to look around really quick, think, and hopefully figure out where we are.” She began trotting towards one side of the room, intent on checking the far door.

A whimper from Fluttershy, and wary looks from everypony else, even Pinkie, all met Twilight’s command. The girls all shifted about, speaking quietly amongst one another in worry while watching Twilight’s back.

Applejack harrumphed, her eyes shifting around the area. “Well, I don’t know about you girls, but I definitely don’t like the looks of this.” She dug one foreleg at the ground absently.

Rarity brought the still-muttering Fluttershy in a consoling embrace once she landed. “Well, it is rather odd, to say the least. I’m still shivering over just how we got here.” She turned her nose up at the curtain and surroundings. “To say nothing about the state of this place. It’s musty and there’s dust everywhere.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and groaned, sitting down with a thud. “Rarity, we have way bigger issues here, I think,” she pointed out.

“Yes, like getting h-home,” Fluttershy added in, still shaking somewhat.

Pinkie finally averted her own attention from the interesting room. “I dunno, this could be a really fun adventure!” she suggested, then wilted when three out of the four mares around her made withering expressions. “Or not? Eh-heh.”

“I really don’t think adventure’s the first thing we should be thinkin’ about, Pinkie. We all got responsibilities back home.” Applejack removed her stetson from her head and inspected it, checking for scuffs or damage. Beside her, Rainbow Dash, getting impatient, turned to watch Twilight; the other pony seemed to be casting a spell, then looking about herself at a loss.

Rarity picked up her head, and her ears went rigid along with the rest of her. They had picked up on the choice words Applejack had said. “Now wait just a second,” she exclaimed, eyes widened. “You don’t think we’re… I mean, we can’t be, can we?”

Applejack looked over at Rarity with a dark look, while simultaneously trying not to let Fluttershy see it. “What, not in Ponyville any longer? I thought that was obvious,” she replied. “There ain’t no way we’re still in Ponyville. Hay, we might not even be in Equestria right now.”

Fluttershy’s eye twitched, then proceeded to make a bleating noise and tip over slightly, despite the support from Rarity.

Pinkie blinked a few times, then grinned and bounced twice to get over to her capsized friend. “Aw, come on, Fluttershy, this is nothing! I bet it’ll even turn out to be fun. Remember that time we had to go to Tartarus to restore the magical barriers keeping all the demons and spookies from escapi-”

“Yes!” Fluttershy cried out, interrupting Pinkie. “Please don’t remind me…” Her voice was little more than a whisper. She gave Pinkie a pleading look, then hid beneath her wings, crouched close to the floor.

Applejack gave Fluttershy and Pinkie a worried look, then trotted over and put a hoof on the nearest pony’s shoulder. “Now, Pinkie, don’t go scarin’ us all silly. Girls, I’m sure everything is just fine.” Her own reassurances sounded confident, at least.

Pinkie responded to Applejack by sighing in exasperation with her cheeks puffed out. “I was just trying to cheer everypony up… Sorry, Fluttershy.” After apologizing, she flopped over onto her side, two legs kicking idly. “Yeesh. I know this might look bad, but I’m sure we’ll be fine, girls. We always are! There isn’t any foe that can take us!”

Fluttershy began to shake more at the mention of a villain, so, Rarity spoke up comfortingly. “I’m sure Applejack is right. This place doesn’t look scary in the least.” She craned her head down in front of Fluttershy and peeked through the shivering mare’s wings. “Fluttershy, I’m sure this is all a misunderstanding, or a mistake. We’ll be home soon. Twilight’s an expert at solving riddles.”

Pinkie continued to frown slightly, then sat upright in a flash, smile restored. “Hey, actually, what if this is just some prank by Twilight that she isn’t telling us about yet?” She looked over at Rainbow, her number one pranking pal for support, but she wasn’t paying attention.

Still, Pinkie went on, smile shrinking only a little, and continued talking at a speed only she could achieve. “After all, she haaas been swearing revenge for all those books me and Dashie accidentally ruined a little with that last prank involving the-“ She brought her hurried speech to a full stop, gasping with one hoof held to her muzzle. “I just solved the mystery!”

Applejack and Rarity gave one another flat looks, then turned back to Pinkie. “Oh?” they asked in tandem. Fluttershy peeked out from her cover slightly.

Pinkie turned her sly, knowing look towards the suspected purple horned culprit. “It was awfully clever playing the prankee along with us, Twilight, but nopony outsmarts detective Pinkie!” With that said, she whipped out her detective hat and pipe, placing them atop her head smoothly.

Rainbow spoke abruptly. “Hey, what’s up?”

The rest of the group looked up to find Twilight, slowly walking back towards them with a confused look on her face. That alone made them all feel twice as uneasy as they had before; except for Fluttershy, who still remained beneath her wings.

Twilight came to a stop and looked between each of them, briefly settling on Pinkie a moment longer than the others, before finally speaking. “Well, I have no idea where we are, girls. This place feels… wrong.”

Fluttershy looked out from her cover, teeth gritted. “Wrong!?” she asked desperately. Everypony acted in their own way, with Rainbow and Applejack looking serious and Rarity holding a hoof to her front, mouth slightly agape. Pinkie, on the other hoof, was giving Twilight a scrutinous look.

Twilight backtracked, shaking her head and mane. “Well, not wrong, or bad. I just mean, uhm, different. I can’t feel much magic at all, much less than back home. Weirder still, when I try to teleport somewhere familiar my spell just fizzles out. I even tried a blind teleport, but it wouldn’t let me out of the room.” her horn lit up briefly then, summoning a purple glow the bathed the room in light. “My other magic works fine though. I think we need to get outside, and that whatever brought us here wants us to stay. Other than that...” She drifted off, unable to say anything more because so much was still unknown.

Everypony surrounding Twilight gasped slightly or looked around themselves with worry; Everypony except for Rainbow. Rainbow grimaced and took flight, racing towards one door. She screeched to a halt at it, then tried to use the odd mechanism to get out. “Gah!” She turned back around. “Twilight, the doors are locked!” She bucked the metal door, but it was like bucking a boulder.

Twilight hummed, then raised a hoof, recalling that detail. “Oh, yes, also we’re locked in.” She pointed a hoof to the curtain. “Even over there, it’s another wall. I’m gonna try some more spells… but we might be stuck here for now, girls.”

Fluttershy stood up eyes fluttering, then fainted. She was just barely caught in time by Rarity. “Fluttershy, dear, that’s my line…” Rarity mumbled.

“Everypony, relax!” Suddenly, all eyes were on Pinkie as she stood up on her hind legs, smiling, and jabbed a hoof at Twilight. “Because I’ve already solved this case. You can belay the act, Miss Primary Suspect! If that is your real name! I’ve got you figured out!”

Twilight blinked, then looked sourly towards Applejack. “Okay, what did I miss?” she asked plainly.

Applejack sighed, blowing a loose strand of her blonde mane away. “Oh, Pinkie seems to think you’re revenge pranking her and Dash.”

Pinkie nodded along appreciatively. “Indeed!” She whipped out another, smaller hat from her mane and plopped it atop Applejack’s stetson, giving the farmpony two hats. “It was all quite... elementary, you might say. I’ll spare you all the details, but it’s quite obvious that the culprit is-!” she paused dramatically, a hoof raised in the air like a gavel, just as she was interrupted.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” A voice, loud and sounding deeply amused, suddenly broke the relative silence. Afterwards, more sound suddenly burst into the room, loud and clamorous.

Five mares gasped and jumped as one, their eyes leaping over to the sudden appearance of noise through the red curtain. Rainbow Dash raised back to her friends and got between them and the opening. Pinkie, however, let out a disappointed ‘aw’. Reluctantly, she turned to face the curtain as well, which seemed to be raising itself slowly.

Rarity shuffled sideways and bumped up against Twilight. “I thought you said that there was no way out!?” she hissed, just loud enough to be heard over the racket.

Twilight turned to look at her, bug eyed. “I did! Because there was definitely a wall right-”

“Welcome to the mane event!” the voice began chuckling, obviously amplified by some means. On top of its sudden presence, was that of the large crowd; a crowd that was somehow very close by the sound of it. The sudden voices all pouring over one another had all appeared as if by a switch.

The voice continued. “I, John De Lancie, give you... the, Maaane Six!”

Pinkie tilted her head, confused. “The mane who?” were the last words any of the six ponies spoke, before catching sight of just what lay beyond the curtain.

As the sounds had hinted, there was in fact a large crowd of beings on the other side of the curtain wall, but they were not ponies, as Twilight and her friends had expected. The crowd was actually made up of strange, completely clothed things. Every single creature gasped, then all fell immediately silent, staring openly at the six ponies now on stage.

Twilight and her friends were all pressed up against one another side by side, except for Rainbow slightly at the front. Rarity’s eyes quivered and searched the multitude of strange creatures; Applejack stared, jaw slack, with a lost expression; Pinkie stared open-eyed with an unreadable look on her face, and Fluttershy, still had yet to look at anything except the insides of her wings.

Twilight wore a mixture of fear and curiosity, but also apprehension. What are these things? Are they wearing clothes? They brought us here? ...Why? were all thoughts that bounced around inside her head.

The silence continued.

Twilight looked around, then caught the sight of someone separate from the crowd in the corner of her eye. There was one creature standing on stage with them, just behind a podium; he winked at her slyly, then gestured towards the crowd.

Twilight scrunched her forehead up and gave him a look that bordered on disgust, but faced the crowd nonetheless. In the interest of getting answers, she cleared her throat, then spoke.

“Uhm… Hello?” she called out slowly, only to be to be replied by a thunderous roar of cheering from the crowd.

The Elements of Harmony began to panic and almost all of them followed Fluttershy’s lead as they hunkered down, close to the stage. Twilight backpedaled up into the other five mares, nearly tripping over Rainbow Dash.

“Get behind me, Twilight,” Rainbow mumbled quietly.

As the mares retreated the crowd quieted again, as if by a switch, with the exception of excited whispers from nearly everyone not staring silently.

The mares all tried to think of what to do, all of them thrown for a loop; all of them, except for one.

Pinkie Pie surveyed her friends quickly, saw how scared or worried they were, and went into action. She bounded forward to the front and made her voice as exuberantly loud as she could. “Hey there, everypony!” Her head swiveled from one side of the big room to the other, waving one hoof and smiling. “I’m Pinkie Pie! Do any of you know where we are!?”

Every creature in the crowd seemed to inhale, possibly readying to answer. “The cooon!” they suddenly all screamed as one.

Pinkie was almost blown back by the force of the loud and cheering shout she got in answer. Her ears picked themselves back up. “Gee, thanks!” She giggled and turned to face her friends. “Hey Twilight, the weird who-knows-whatsits say we’re somewhere called a convention!”

Twilight growled and stood up. “I heard them, Pinkie!” She scanned for an exit, or a way out, or some sort of plan. Her friends were all out in the open, defenseless, and in the dark. “Girls,” she muttered, “any ideas?”

Suddenly, the creature at the podium began clapping happily, then gestured a foreleg out with a flourish. “Pinkie Pie, everypony! Give her a big round of applause! Let’s hear it for Pinkie, the Element of bringing joy to us all, otherwise known as ‘laughter’!”

Fluttershy spoke first, her voice mostly drowned out by the crowd even after they quieted some. “I wanna go home!” she wailed.

Applejack looked down at her. “We know, sugarcube, we all do. Just hang in there. Twilight, I say we get backstage again, there’s a nook we can at least hide in and get some privacy.” Her eyes scanned the crowd, not appreciative of all the camera flashing and eye-goggling. It certainly seemed to her like they were all stars or something here, but that made no sense.

Rarity let out a shrill cross between a squeak and a whimper. “But we’ll be cornered!”

Applejack hissed back, “Well it’s that or run through this crowd to that other exit I see!”

Fluttershy looked up quickly to respond, only to finally see just how many figures there were. Her pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks, and she slowly recovered her head with her wings to hide once again. From the safety of her cover she replied, “I-I don’t like that plan. I like the hiding plan.”

Meanwhile, at the front of the stage, Pinkie looked out across the crowd, her face blank, except for some earnest surprise. A small grin replaced the look after a second and she bowed, giggling. “Thanks, everypony! Or, everywhatever-you-are!”

A few shouts came from the crowd saying ‘everybody’, along with laughing and a hundred other random things that couldn’t be heard over everything else.

Pinkie smiled bigger. “Well, duh I could say that, but that’s boring!”

More laughter came from the crowd.

Wow! Pinkie thought, Didn’t think I was this good! Her smile mellowed out and she spoke again. “So, you all know me now, but I don’t know you, but I can sure fix that!” She trotted a step forward and jabbed a hoof at one of the creatures. “Hi, what’s your name, Mister?”

The crowd went deathly silent in an instant, and they all turned to face the chubby person that Pinkie had pointed to; he looked ready to faint. “U-uh, Greg,” he replied aloud, barely loud enough to hear.

Pinkie waved to him, smiling widely. “Hi Greg!” She took a few steps across the stage and stopped again. “Okay who’s ne-?”

Twilight interrupted Pinkie with a fierce whisper. “Pinkie! Cut that out and get over here!” She stomped a hoof, eying the crowd warily still. “Everypony, back behind the curtain!” she hissed at them.

Quickly, the four ponies adjacent to Twilight nodded slowly, except for Fluttershy, who zoomed away and around the corner in flash without waiting.

The voice at the podium let out a disappointed ‘aw’, along with the pleas from the crowd, which went unheeded by the five retreating mares. “Come now, Twilight,” the creature at the podium implored. “Everyone wants to get to know you better and be friends!”

Twilight had been backing up slowly, and shot the speaker an angry look, then called to her remaining friend out in the open. “Pinkie!”

Pinkie, still smiling, turned her head around after hearing Twilight, then saw her friends galloping backstage. “Aw, okie dokie lokie!” she chirped in answer, then turned the rest of herself about in a one-eighty to hop her way after her friends. “Be right back everybody.” She giggled, until a purple hoof hooked around her neck then dragged her backstage.

The ponies were all breathing heavily, circled up in a group in one corner. The sound of the crowd grew enormously once again, and only a few words from whoever ‘John’ was got them back under some semblance of control.

Applejack spoke first, addressing Twilight as soon as she joined the group. “Alright, I know I asked this already, but what the hay is going on here!?” While speaking she fought to steady her breathing, too.

Twilight came to a halt, biting her lip until she responded. “I’m not sure, AJ. I’ve never seen anything like those creatures,” she replied shakily.

“Oh, come on out, girls! No one here wants to hurt you, promise!” The voice returned again from the direction of what was obviously a concert hall of some sort.

“What do they want!?” Fluttershy yelped and cowered behind Rainbow Dash. Pinkie bounced up and sat in the circle, grinning contentedly, which Applejack sighed towards upon seeing.

At the edge of the circle, Rainbow creased her face into a frown, which was directed around the corner and back into the crowd. “That weird guy said they want to be our friends,” she muttered gruffly, then went on with a change of subject. “Did you see all the stuff those things were wearing and carried around? They were dolls, tons of dolls of us and other ponies.”

Rarity shivered, clutching herself with both forelegs. “I saw and know what you mean, Rainbow. Such dreadful stitching and materials! I need to find the pony that instructed them on how to sew and give them a piece of my-”

Rainbow shoulder checked Rarity lightly, interrupting. “Totally not what I meant.” She rolled her eyes and turned to face Twilight. “Hey, this is going to sound really weird, but it seems pretty obvious they know about us somehow. I felt like I was in a circus out there.”

Twilight had been deep in thought, searching the ground for answers. “I got that impression too, Rainbow,” she replied, then looked up. “This whole situation is highly suspect. I think I might know what’s going on though.” Slowly, she crept to the edge of the curtain and turned her ears towards the crowd, listening. The announcer named ‘John’ seemed to be quelling unrest and answering questions still.

Applejack tilted her head. “You do?” she asked, incredulous of the notion that there actually was a reasonable explanation. “Well, spit it out, Twilight,” she prompted to her friend.

“Well-” Twilight began, only to be interrupted quickly by Pinkie.

“Ooo! Oh oh oh! Me! Pick me!” Pinkie sat back on her haunches and waved both forelegs in the air, her detective hat once again on her brow.

Twilight snorted, then sighed when the other pony persisted. “Alright… Pinkie, what do you think?”

Pinkie grinned, then coughed to clear her throat. “Well, if you girls had listened to them all, you’d know that we’re actually something called ‘characters’ in a ‘TV program’ that apparently is all about ponies! I think it might star us, too. Kinda weird sounding to me, and I don’t know what a ‘Hasbro’ is, but it seems to me like we’re famous!” She stopped a moment, blinking, then hurriedly added, “Oh! Also that John Ge Dancie guy sounds like Discord.”

Twilight blinked, expression unreadable, while the other four mares stared with varying looks of shock. Slowly, shuffling their hooves, they all began murmuring understanding and acceptance over the news.

“Yeah that… that sounds about right, actually, but I don’t know how that all could make sense... Also, I think his name was ‘John De Lancie’, Pinkie.” Twilight poked her head around the corner to glare at ‘John’ again, which got an excited scream of joy from the crowd briefly before she retreated back. “Augh, this is ridiculous,” she muttered, shaking her head in ripe confusion.

Out in the concert hall, John’s voice could be heard raising itself again. “Now, now, everyone. Please, stay calm for our guests! They’ve come a long way to meet you, after all! The girls just need a moment to compose themselves and then they’ll be right back… Trust me, they’ll be back.”

Twilight, curious and a little angry after hearing the tones in ‘John’s’ voice, poked her head out, but only a little. After she did, the crowd exploded again into cheering, again, and ‘John’ gave her another wink.

Quickly, Twilight pulled back into cover and turned to face the girls. “Yeah, that’s Discord I think,” she breathed out tiredly. “If it isn’t, then it’s somepony… or someone, I guess, that’s just as bothersome and annoying. It doesn’t matter, but I’m not going to play by their rules either way.”

‘John’s’ voice called out again jeeringly. “Come on back, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, your fans are all waiting for you!”

Rarity traded another worried look with Applejack, while Fluttershy cowered beneath Rarity’s legs. Pinkie Pie merely giggled, then said, “Well, at least they’re probably not dangerous, right? I don’t really understand everything, but this sounds like it could be a lot of fun, girls!”

Fluttershy looked out from underneath her new shelter, eyes wide. “No it doesn’t!” Her voice was stark and tinged with desperation. She turned to Twilight. “Twilight, is your magic working yet? I want to go back now, please.”

Twilight frowned up at her horn and briefly checked; it lit up, then extinguished again a second later. “Not yet…” she mumbled. “What we need is a plan, though, and we lack information. But, I think I do have a spell that will help. It seems to me, thanks to Pinkie, that us being Equestrians is what has everypony out there so excited. So… that I can change, at least.”

The other ponies gave her worried looks.

Twilight rolled her eyes as her response back to them. “Oh, stop that, girls. You know that I’m perfectly proficient with all forms of magic. I’ve practiced this spell dozens of times on Spike!”

Her friends traded a few more worried looks between themselves.

Applejack sighed and decided to respond to Twilight first, just to get to the root of things. “Twi’, that’s great and all, but what’s the spell? I’m not so sure I want you messin’ with the natural order of things… And out of curiousity how exactly did you practice to make sure it’s safe? Cause it sounded to me like you were suggestin’... somethin’ I really hope you weren’t suggestin’.”

The other mares all mumbled agreement in one form or another. “Yeah,” Rainbow agreed loudest. “You do like to do that, Twilight.”

Twilight looked over, poking her hooves together sheepishly. “Oh, well I practiced on Spike lots. Remember when I asked to borrow Winona?”

Applejack traded worried looks with Rainbow Dash and Rarity, then faced Twilight again. “Yeah…” she said back.

Twilight put on a look of sheer pride. “Well, I can safely say that I can transform any living creature into a perfect match of another as far as appearances go, without flaw! I can do that now, easily. Think about it, this way if this is a game that Discord’s playing, he’ll change us back and reveal himself to us. If not, then we could be securing ourselves. Maybe we can even make him send us back from wherever this place is.”

The other five mares all stared at Twilight, who couldn’t look happier after her proposal.

“Uh, Twilight,” Applejack started to say. “Just one kink in that plan of yours. Without the Elements, how’re we supposed to make him do anything?”

The other ponies muttered agreement with Applejack, with even Twilight rubbing her hoof under her muzzle in thought.

“Oh, I know!” Pinkie began hopping, then inhaled deep. “I know a song that gets on everypony’s nerves!” she began singing cheerfully.

“No!” four of the other five mares all chorused together in protest as one.

Pinkie giggled and sat back. “Just kidding!”

Twilight heaved a sigh. “Maybe it isn’t Discord, though. This is a bit too mundane, if still odd. I don’t see why he would think this situation is worth orchestrating. Either way, whether we could force him into anything or not, I think not sticking out so much would help. Don’t you?” She turned to Applejack, finished.

Applejack looked off to one side, thinking hard on her friend’s proposal. “Hmm… Ah… Ah guess, Twi’,” she relented slowly.

Pinkie Pie grinned, satisfied with the decision made, then pumped a hoof in the air and cheered aloud. “Whoo! I like this plan! Dibs on being a dolphin!”

Fluttershy wailed, finally working up the will to voice her own opinion. “I don’t want to be a dolphin! I want to go home, girls! Twilight...” she looked up through her folded hooves and wings in defeat at the others.

Rarity rolled her eyes and prodded Pinkie’s side with a hoof. “She is not suggesting we become dolphins. Twilight is recommending we match those… bizarre looking things out there.” She then knelt down alongside her spa buddy. “Fluttershy, I’m sure it will be... fine.” she held a hoof to her muzzle, trying hard not to linger on thoughts of her beauty being stripped from her. “Yes… fine,” she repeated.

Twilight frowned sadly towards Fluttershy, then put on a comforting smile and helped her to stand up. “Fluttershy… It’s just for appearances and is in no way permanent. Still, I won’t if you don’t want me to. Maybe this plan is unorthodox, but I think if we do this we could at least blend in better. After that, we’ll get a real plan, starting with me talking to that weird guy, John De Lancie...”

Fluttershy stared at the ground, but looked up after a second, her trembling slowly weakening until it stopped. “Blending in is good,” she agreed timidly. “O-okay, Twilight, I trust you…”

“Great!” Twilight exclaimed immediately. Smiling, she jumped up, spun around and trotted off to give herself some room to work with. “Alright, we’re going to blend in with the locals, figure out if that’s really Discord over there, then demand we get sent back home. Are you girls ready?”

Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity sighed or frowned, but nodded, too; Pinkie Pie nodded a little more rapidly and a lot more excitedly, while Fluttershy held back, hiding somewhat behind the others.

Twilight took a couple of deep breaths and shut her eyes, concentrating. “Alright, I’m ready too. Gather around, girls!” Her voice was now steady and resolute with the excitement that getting to solve a problem with her magic usually brought. The spell that she had in mind would take all of her concentration and power.

With her friends now huddled around her, Twilight began focusing magic into her horn, shaping her mind and will into the complex forms that advanced spells required to work.

“Please, do mind the hair, darling,” Rarity added quickly.

Twilight grumbled and maintained her focus.

The other five mares all shuffled on their hooves a little nervously; though they always had complete confidence in Twilight, the proposal to directly have their bodies tinkered with was a very rare one, even in the most dire of situations.

A bright purple flash went off, filling the room for a brief second. The crowd in the hall over all gasped as one, while John turned and arched an eyebrow.

Back on stage, all six mares hovered in the air briefly, bathed in a lavender, prismatic glow. Then, without any further fanfare, a bright flash of white erupted outward, and five thumps sounded off in quick succession of one another.

Once the magical aura faded from the vicinity, instead of six pony mares now stood six female versions of the creatures. Twilight, regaining her awareness, briefly recalled that there hadn’t been that many creatures out in the crowd of strange beings that looked the way she and her friends did.

“Ah, that smarts,” Applejack remarked first, amidst other mild complaints for her friends. Then, she got a look at her hoof, which was now a strange five fingered limb. “Whoa nelly, this is right strange alright. What is this thing?” She turned to the cause of her newest predicament. “Twi’, you sure this is a good idea?”

Fluttershy looked up from where she lay and sighed, inspecting her own lack of hooves. “It’s a hand, AJ…” she mumbled, just before Twilight spoke over her. “And these are feet… and these are arms… and these are bre-”

Twilight interrupted. She had been shaking her head, getting a feel for things, then looked over and nodded to Applejack. “The spell’s easy to reverse and wears off with time, AJ. It’s obvious going by what Pinkie said that something weird’s going on… So yes, I think it is a good plan.” Floating in the air above her, was Rainbow Dash, who was busy looking all around at her own new self.

Pinkie giggled manically, also looking over what had replaced her old form with genuine fascination and curiosity. “Neat! We look just like those whatsits in the big crowd-”

Rainbow Dash shouted all of a sudden, interrupting Pinkie. “Gaah! Twilight! Where are my wings!?” she cried, her voice scratching uncontrollably by the end. “What did you do?”

Twilight sighed. “Relax, girls. This is a very simple amniomorphic spell, the very same crafted by Starswirl himself. It just changes how we look, not what we are. It’s temporary, wears off, doesn’t change our inherent natures and, is our best bet at blending in.”

Rainbow, barely listening to Twilight, whimpered and was busy trying to turn around enough to mourn the empty spots on her shoulders. Her owns hands were pawing at the spot where a pair of cyan wings should be. Oddly, she had less trouble staying aloft without them flapping than she thought she would. “This is too weird… But I can still fly, so I don’t mind it, I guess,” she muttered, then landed on the floor with a thump. “As long as it isn’t permanent.”

Rarity spoke up next.

“My word… This... certainly is different, Twilight.” Rarity added as she acquainted herself with the new height she possessed. She was the first to stand, shakily using a chair to manage the feat. “Goodness!” she breathed out. Her legs were long and thin, devoid of fur, and made her positively tower over the others. “Strangely, this doesn’t feel nearly so odd as I would have certainly thought it woul-”

Twilight excitedly burst in, cutting off Rarity. “I know! That’s the greatest part! It’s an ambassadorial spell, which means it’s tailored to be used on the fly. You should adjust in just a moment.” She flexed her own new limbs from where she sat, doing just that. “Celestia taught it to me a long time ago; she uses it when visiting other nations so she can be respective and blend in! Not always, of course, but other leaders often enjoy the courtesy.”

Pinkie Pie looked up, beaming with a wide grin and excitement. “Oooh, you all look so ridiculous,” she laughed, then jumped up in a flash. “Lookin’ good, Rarity! Nice curves, AJ. Fluttershy, your face is so pretty! Twilight, your hair is great like that! And- “

Pinkie had been hopping around happily in a circle, laughing and looking around at all of her friends’ new shapes. She stopped behind Rainbow Dash, though, and put her hands down on the other mare’s shoulders, giggling. “Dashie, you’re so teeny and short! Hah!” She scrubbed a hand through her friend's multicolored hair like she were a foal. "Aaw..."

Rainbow Dash looked up from inspecting her new forelegs, then whirled around to glare at Pinkie. Her jaw slackened some immediately, looking up, because the other mare was a good head taller than her. She turned again, looking around, and saw all of her friends were much taller than her.

“Wha-” Rainbow started to mutter. “What?” In general, they were just bigger, even Fluttershy, whereas before they had all been roughly the same size. “Why is everyone taller than me now?”

Applejack jammed her stetson on her head and folded her arms gruffly; she was inch for inch the same height as Rarity. “Does it matter? Let’s just get out there already and hope this plan works.”

Rainbow opened her mouth to complain then shut it again, letting her embarrassment and temper over the matter diffuse. “No… it doesn’t matter… This is just too weird I guess-” Then, Pinkie jumped up in front of her.

“Look, Dashie, every part is of you so small! Even the party balloons!” Pinkie exclaimed.

Fluttershy, rather missing the cover her wings had offered, had acquired a tablecloth from nearby and was busy hiding beneath it. “P-party balloons? No, Pinkie those are-”

Pinkie gasped, then pointed at Applejack. “Applejack’s and Rarity’s are so much bigger than yours!” She jabbed her new fingers, two of them, and pointed at both the farmpony and the unicorn in question.

Rainbow looked up angrily, brow furrowed, and began taking stock of her far inferior form compared to that of her rival’s once again, and then the fashionista. Overwhelming jealousy swelled up in her.

Pinkie’s giggles grew, while beside her, Rainbow Dash started a one sided glaring contest with Applejack.

Pinkie gasped again a second later, ceasing her laughter. “Ooooh, wow, so are Fluttershy’s!” she marveled, then bounded towards the other no-longer-a-pony.

Fluttershy, for her part, gulped and hid beneath her hair, pulling the tablecloth closer around herself to hide her figure.

Rainbow turned again, scowl deepening, and decided she had endured enough. “Oh, hay no!” she exclaimed, fists clenched. “Fluttershy too!? No way they’re all better than me. Twilight, fix this now!” She turned and posed the words as an outright demand to her other friend, who was busy wobbling slightly as she found her own sense of balance.

Twilight frowned, trying to steady herself with front legs outstretched to her sides. “Calm down, Rainbow! It doesn’t matter what we look like, this isn’t actually us. Let’s just see if we can get some answers.” She hummed, concentrated her power, and a lavender glow sprang up around her hand. “Huh, that’s an odd place for magic to flow from…” she marveled.

Rainbow bit the inside of her cheek and glared around at her friends again, then harrumphed and looked away.

Pinkie gave her a hug, having quickly sensed a distressing friend. “Aw, I’m sorry, Dashie. It’s no big deal! I bet you’re small because you’re so fast as a pegasus is all. These creatures can’t be that fast if they only have two legs, after all. I bet this makes up for it or something.”

Rainbow blinked up at Pinkie, then put a hand to her chin. “You know, that makes sense…”

Rarity ahemed loudly. “I really do enjoy marveling over things, girls, as much as anypony really. But, it seems our public awaits us, so to speak.”

The six mares all looked up and over, all hearing the same thing now. Coming around the near corner was a storm of chanting from the crowd outside. Odder still, however, they all noted what was being chanted.

“Are they saying our names!?” Pinkie said, completely surprised. “Wow, we must be really popular, huh?”

Fluttershy let out an eep-like sound and fell to a crouching position, still beneath her impromptu cover.

Applejack snorted. “Well, lets get out there and get this over with. I intend to ask some question, and I’ve got just the right amount of temper to do some real askin’.”

Twilight stepped up beside the farmpony and nodded. “I agree, let’s get to the bottom of things, girls.”

Rarity sighed and extended one arm out. “I’m really not dressed for an audience like this, but I guess I’ll persevere.”

Pinkie, on the other hoof, charged out once again, dragging along a surprised Rainbow Dash. “Whee! Alright!”

Twilight’s eyes widened, then she chased after her friend, taken completely off guard and not quite prepared yet. “P-Pinkie! No! We don’t have a plan yet!”

Applejack and Rarity traded looks, then followed suit, running out and around the corner at full speed.

Back by the corner, Fluttershy risked a peek out from underneath her tablecloth. “H-hello?” she called out, only to find nopony still there. “O-oh dear…”

Shakily, she stood up and gave chase after her friends. “G-girls! Wait for me!”

Author's Notes:

Well, wow. I stand here in awe, fellows. We now have four seasons of pony... Amazing, isn't it? I made this story to sort of commemorate all that we've done, seen, and laughed to together. There will be three more chapters, with a possible prologue, all roughly the same length.

Now then, for the story, let's just all assume that there are no kids in the audience, shall we? Ponies may think nudity is perfectly fine, but obviously we have laws about it for a reason. So, in the hope of not ruining the fun of things, let's pretend in this silly tale this is just horribly embarrassing and not something that under normal circumstances would result in the Con Staff marching up on stage to put a halt to it.

Maybe 'John' has the staff stowed away somewhere for 'safekeeping'?

Part two will be here as soon as we dot a few T's and cross a few I's.

Lastly, Happy season Four everypony!