When I woke up, I was somewhere else. I think. At least I probably hadn't been here before, since my new surroundings looked nothing like anything I could remember. And where had I been before, anyway? While I couldn't exactly tell, I was pretty sure it couldn't be as much fun as this place. Any location in Equestria could easily be put to shame by this strange new sensation, whatever it was or meant. Of course, that didn't include the Power Ponies-thing from a few weeks back. Because that sure was a blast I hadn't had in forever.

Taking a look around, I still couldn't make out just what exactly my new surroundings could possibly suggest. They looked like the starlit sky at night, only it was everywhere. Not just above my head, but also surrounding me to all sides. As if I was floating in some kind of outer space dimension. Then again, I could still feel some kind of ground resisting beneath my hooves' stomping motions. Only I didn't actually see it. Like I said, this certainly was a strange sensation. I did say so before, didn't I? My memory tends to play games with me sometimes. Which I'm okay with, as long as it's some fun party games with some action in them. Not something dull and stretching like chess or something like that. Twilight enjoys those, but I never really figured out what the whole fuzz was all about.

Moving on.

While not feeling all too reassured about my surroundings, one thing I did get a better grip on now was the state of my own self. Which was a start, and I felt determined to make the most off it. As it turned out, my mane had obviously gone back to poofy, no longer obscuring my view to one side. Also, my legs felt no longer shaky and the overall weariness had worn off. All in all, I felt extremely good for once, even though I still didn't know what happened. Or where I was, for that matter. All of this was probably nothing but some kind of strange dream. I had fallen asleep, after all. Or had I? My short-term memory still remained a little blurry, like I've been hit over the head or something. Only without the pain that usually followed suit. Which was just as well, I suppose.

Wherever all this was, it sure didn't look like anything I felt familiar with. Of course, outer space isn't exactly the kind of place that ponies would go visit all the time. If I recall correctly, there was that one pegasus who did, a while back. But he didn't return to Equestria highly successful. I think his eardrums exploded or something. That's probably why most ponies don't really like extreme heights. Especially earth-bound ponies like yours truly. Maybe that's the reason why they call us earth ponies? I wonder.

In an effort to focus my thoughts for once, I tried to face the facts, and figure out an answer to each of the three most important questions coming to mind: First of all, where was I? Second, how did I get here? And lastly, how the hay would I manage to get back?

Setting myself in motion, I kept passing over the invisible plateau beneath my hooves for a minute or two. I didn't try to rush anywhere in a hurry, in fact, I never did get beyond a light trot most of the time. And yet, I soon realized how this flat terrain seemed to stretch out unchangingly in every direction, forever. Or at least I assumed it did, since there didn't seem to be any visual change anywhere nearby.

Properly examining the soil texture was also kinda hard, considering I couldn't even see it. Which brought me to another thought: What if the ground wouldn't continue in the same, flat way wherever I went? I said it would, earlier on, but how could I be sure? It might as well end abruptly, and any of my steps might be my last, tossing me into some kind of invisible canyon...or worse. The very thought sent a jolt through my spine, and made me perfectly freeze in place.

I needed to try something else if I wanted this to go anywhere, anytime soon. So I jumped. Only straight up, of course. Pushing myself from the undetectable ground, I managed to toss my entire being upward for about three feet, before I came back down, just as quickly. To my relief, the ground under my hooves still remained in place.

It didn't have to, did it? Sure, the ground in Equestria always remained in place. But back home, the dirt beneath my hooves was also opaque. And none of the surroundings would look like I'd just been blasted off the planet for some reason. That was all different. Anything could happen in a place like this. And considering that fact, jumping probably hadn't been the bestest of ideas, either. Nothing seemed a good idea when you're not sure about any of the consequences. And when did I start considering the consequences for my actions, anyway? Was I becoming self-aware? Yikes.

But since I couldn't think of anything else, I repeated the same jumping four, maybe five times. It turned out pretty safe the first time, so I just hoped I wouldn't be ripped apart or something like that anytime soon. And just like I expected, nothing bad happened at any of the other times. To be precise, nothing happened at all. I couldn't even hear any kind of clopping sound from my hooves touching back down after each leap. Soon enough, repeating the same motion without any notable results became boring. So I stopped.

I looked around. Nothing to be seen except stars, strange milky nebulas, and the blue-blackish darkness that surrounded each of them. And then there was the ground of course, which I couldn't see. Trying to dig a hoof into it didn't work, either. Whatever this soil was made of resisted my push one-hundred percent. It felt just like scratching over a pane of glass. Only this time, I couldn't even hear any squeaky sound. The one that glass usually makes when rubbing something on it, y'know? Right here, there was nothing safe for the silence that prevailed all around.

With a frown, I turned back around, taking a few steps in what I presumed to be the direction I came from. There was no way telling for sure of course, with everything looking exactly the same, but I took a lucky guess. It was probably my best option, anyways. Plus, if I was right, going there should at least be safe until I returned to where I started. Pondering another few, possible scenarios in my head, I came up with another idea. There had to be some way I could get a sound out of this place. And breaking the silence would be the first step in returning to anything similar to normal.

Head held up high, I opened my mouth for a single "HELLO?" yelled at the top of my lungs. If anything, I could at least get the attention of whoever else might be around. If there even was anypony here, safe for me. I should've been able to see them, though...right?

I didn't expect the kind of reply I got. Instead of simply fading into nothingness, the cry I uttered produced one of the most powerful echoes I've ever heard. Reflecting from a number of invisible walls in the distance, the word I shouted kept roaring through the ether for at least half a dozen times, before it disappeared from my hearing range. The revelation wasn't just surprising, but also a whole lot of fun. I answered it with one of my signature giggles, which subsequently got tossed all around myself in a similar way.

And what can I say? That's what I call laughter.

A sudden smirk on my face, I realized that an echo strong like this one might turn out an opportunity I'd never get ever again in my life. I had to use it wisely. And by wisely I mean that it deserved nothing but the very best of puns...and jokes in general. If only I could think of one right now...

After some consideration, I decided on an all-time classic: "Cross my hoof and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

After the word fly already echoed throughout this nonexistent room of mine, eye soon followed suit. With both rhyming words repeating themselves, the effect was too comedic. I quickly realized that just before doubling over, and spending the better part of the next minute laughing and giggling away at my own joke. And don't forget about rolling around on the floor. That was fun. Even if I didn't fully understand it.

I went through a number of jokes, calls, and whatever else came to mind. And the effects became more hilarious with every single one. Halfway through my repertoire, I honestly started expecting my stomach to collapse from all the laughter or something. That wouldn't be very pleasant. I could tell from all the potential pain brought along, and from having had a few unpleasant experiences in my time. So I decided to get a little more serious, again. After all, I still hadn't figured out where I was, or how I'd get back home.

Calming myself, and managing to stand back up, I dried the last of my tears. As my vision cleared, I made a discovery that didn't come along entirely appreciated: Withing an instant, I realized that I was, in fact, not alone. Or not anymore, to say the least. I'm pretty sure those four white-coated, ornamented hooves hadn't been there before. Looking further up, I suddenly stared into a majestic, white face that reached a lot higher than my humble earth pony body could even manage.

I jumped at the sudden realization. All of this turned from hilarious to extremely awkward within the blink of an eye, and I never saw it coming. And how could I have expected something like this? Where did that even come from?

One eyebrow raised, Celestia eyed me critically. Those last words of mine, directed to nopony in particular, probably still ringing in her head. "Don't get any ideas," she told me. She also looked like she knew the meaning of that gibberish I'd just pronounced, judging from her disturbed, and somewhat scared features.

Gibberish...right. I forgot to mention that. The last thing I called out before getting back up on my hooves had been in some kind of strange language I didn't understand. I have no idea what it means, my brain just comes up with that way of pronunciation at times. Like that one time, when I danced on that giant rainbow pinata at Dashie's birthday party? That kind of thing.

I felt my jaw drop, as I got a complete overview of the situation. Celestia, the Princess Celestia was standing here, right in front of me. Looking horrified because of words I didn't even know the proper meaning to. Or just mildly disturbed, I'm not sure. She certainly didn't approve of them. Standing by her side was her sister, Princess Luna, who looked at me with a similar expression.

In short: The two most powerful ponies in all of Equestria had just materialized out of thin air, right in front of me. And I made a complete fool out of myself for reasons that were beyond my comprehension. Great, just great. Could this day even get any better? Probably not, because I didn't even know whether it even was a day. At least right now, I didn't see the sun anywhere

I continued with the only acceptable response I could think of. A respectful bow that was, one that would hopefully appease them just a little bit. This really didn't need to get any worse. Besides, don't we always do that? Just a natural thing or something, I guess.

"You may rise, Pinkamena Pie," the voice of the night goddess told me in a stern tone. "In either way, there is no time for such formalities."

And that I did. Honestly, why wouldn't I? There's really no point in disagreeing with Princess Luna on a simple request like that. If there's ever a point in disagreeing with her at all. As long as I won't have anything like the elements with me to control her nightmarish side, it's probably a bad idea, anyway. Also, my bending position did get just a little bit uncomfortable after a few moments, so I was more than happy to get back into an upright stance. Not that I'd care all that much, though; I'm usually rather flexible when it comes down to uncommon body positions.

What made me stand on edge a lot more was the question on how to handle this situation. I mean, being friends with Twilight I already do feel like I'm meeting the princesses all the time. But they don't just appear out of thin air, most of the time. And on most days, I also have my friends around me. Being all alone with those two majestic alicorns can get kinda...creepy, actually.

So, how does a pony properly react to Celestia and Luna just randomly materializing right in front of them? Considering the thought for a minute, I remembered something else Twilight had taught me a while back: When in doubt, the best thing is normally to just be yourself. And that's what I planned on doing. No need to get all nervous, is all. Just be myself.

"Hi, there! Whatcha doing?"

Okay, probably not.

"I-I mean...what's going on, and...where are we? Or something...sorry."

Had anypony around been waiting to do a proper facepalm, this would have been the proper moment. Dashie was always pretty good at those. I mean, it's not like they're hard or anything, but she really does have a talent for the proper timing. And all of this would be a lot easier with her by my side. Or any of my friends, for that matter.

But as of now, the three of us were alone, and both princesses obviously above all the simple gestures of frustration I considered to perform. They didn't show any reaction to my nervous stuttering, except maybe the corners of Luna's mouth slightly tucking upward for just a second. Other than that, the two of them remained super-serious, looking me dead in the eye. I gotta say, I was a little intimidated at that point. I tried not to show it, but there probably wasn't any point in that. These two could easily see right through me, anyhow.

"So, uh..." I trailed off for a moment, wincing. "...where are we?"

In response to my question, Celestia tilted her head over to her younger sister, raising one questioning eyebrow. Apparently, descriptions of this sort fell more into Luna's duties. As she realized being called upon, the goddess of the night cleared her throat.

"Very well, you shall have your answers. But as I said, we do not have much time, so I will have to give you the brief version," she explained. "This is a special place; one, that exists between everything which is real, and everything that is not. It separates our world from the black nothingness that everypony derives from, and that we all must inevitably return to."

Black nothingness, huh? Wow.

Waving a hoof, she added, "take a look around you. I do suppose you wonder about certain properties of this place. Why it is possible to stand on some sort of ground without even seeing it, you ask. The truth is simple, although we can't explain it to you in its entirety. All I can tell you is that this place we find ourselves in now abides by different rules than our home does, Miss Pinkamena. Neither my sister, nor me were ever able to properly explain all of them. Frankly, we do not even know for sure what purpose all of it serves..."

"We do think it was never meant to be walked upon by anypony," Celestia added. "The two of us discovered this dimension many generations ago, mostly by accident. We've been using it for different purposes ever since."

"But all these explanations can wait," Luna again interrupted her sister, the tone of her voice growing impatient. "Right now, the two of us are running out of time for any long explanations. We need somepony to bring a message back to Equestria. Instructions on how things will continue from here."

Celestia sighed in the silence that followed, eyes cast downwards. "I didn't mean to drag you into the mess we find ourselves in. I usually contact Twilight, whenever an emergency like this one arises. But for several reasons, I needed to go for a backup plan this time around. One that majorly involves you. In short, we need you to deliver a message to the ponies of Equestria as soon as you return."

"Time is of the essence, many ponies' lives depend on it. I hope that is absolutely clear to you?" Luna asked, her tone growing somewhat more strict during her last few words. I suppose I might have trailed off a little, so it was probably for the best. And who could blame me? The spaciness of this place really started to fascinate me, now that I had to sit down and watch for just a while. Dozens of ideas for parties thrown in here already entered and exited my mind during every second that passed.

But upon hearing Luna's stern voice, I snapped back into reality. Giving a brief salute with one of my forelegs, I added a giggling "of course" as an answer. The goddess nodded back towards me, only partly satisfied with my answer, I think. I have to hand it to Luna: She might be a little weird sometimes, but she definitely knows how to make a good authority figure. I couldn't read her face for the world, even though she kept staring at me all along.

From seemingly out of nowhere, another question suddenly arose in my head.

"But...why do you need me to tug along with your message? You could bring it along yourselves, you know."

Or maybe, I thought, they couldn't. Which would mean...

"Wait...are you..." I paled at the very thought. Of course, I had discussed all of this earlier with Fluttershy. But now, with the moment of truth apparently falling back on me for bringing along, I really wished I hadn't. "...are you...dead?"

Luna frowned at my question; the first time she deliberately used anything but her deadpanned expression during our talk. She exchanged a worried glance with her sister before turning back to me. It didn't last for long, and hardly required any motion from them, but I didn't miss it.

"I appreciate your concern," she then told me. "But it isn't the lives of the two of us that are at stake, right now."

"As we speak, our bodies are resting somewhere inside the rubble that once was Canterlot," Celestia added. "The detonation last night caught us both by surprise, and we still can't say what exactly caused it. When we realized what was about to happen, there were only seconds left before the city crumbled to dust. We did the only reasonable thing we still could: Combining the strength of our arcane power to evacuate the city as fast as somehow possible. Our alicorn magic then transported everypony in and around Canterlot to another place, far enough from the city to survive whatever might happen to it. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to help ourselves escape, so our bodies were both buried beneath the tons of rubble that came down the mountain.

"The two of us suffered several heavy injuries on the outside, as well as some internal bleeding due to the fall that followed. For time being, we had to move the spiritual parts of ourselves to this interdimensional state. They are what you see before yourself, now."

"Like I said before," Luna continued. "You need not worry about us. However, using an escape spell on thousands of ponies at once has left our physical selves extremely fragile. We need time to rest, and to rebuilt our strength. How long that will take, I can not yet tell. But until our bodies are perfectly healed, they need to be kept safe. There aren't any ponies or their bodies still resting within the ruins of Canterlot, but ours. As soon as both are excavated from the rubble, they need to be taken to a secure place until our cycle of regeneration is complete.

"Meanwhile, we can only do so much as to contact ponies in this other realm. And even that consumes a lot of the powers we have left, so we may not be able to do so very regularly. The reason we called you here is because someone needs to find the ponies of Canterlot, and securely bring them back home. Having received our message, you should be among those who do. You may choose whom to bring along on this quest, though we would of course highly encourage you to travel among the remaining element bearers."

And with that, they fell silent, all eyes resting on me. Even though all eyes were like...four. Yes, even I can be dramatic sometimes. and this seemed like a really good time, since they were obviously expecting some kind of answer from me. Oh, and the whole situation was pretty dramatic to begin with. Thought I might mention that.

"Uh...okay?" I replied. "So you want us to go somewhere on an epic friendship quest to save some ponies from somewhere and bring them back? I can do that. We've done so, like, a thousand times before...we can easily pull that one off."

Celestia gave me a generous smile in response. Nevertheless, the resolve behind it didn't seem to become any more relaxed while doing so. "I'm sure you will, my little pony. Just remember, this is a serious mission. The well-being of these ponies all depends on your success. And we're both counting on you."

"Got it," I answered with a grin, suddenly feeling a lot more assured about my situation. Which was probably because of her smile. I needed something like that. There is nothing in the world like an honest, genuine smile. Makes you feel right at home. And it certainly made me feel a lot better about my situation, even though I still didn't exactly know what was going on. Oh well. I would probably find out about that soon enough. There was only one more question on my mind. Everything else seemed to have fallen in place already, somehow.

"So, uh...where exactly are those ponies, anyway?"

"Well, they..." Celestia trailed off for a moment, hearing my request. Which was rather odd in my mind. Didn't she see that coming? Silly. It was a pretty obvious question, wasn't it? At least, I couldn't think of anything better to say than that.

"The truth is, Pinkamena, we do not know for sure," Luna said, fitting in for her sister with slight embarrassment. "The power of our magic combined was strong enough to send all the city's residents away, and all of them together at that. But I am afraid we weren't able to pick an exact location, just then. As of now, they could be anywhere. And that is where you come in."

"Me?" I burst out, cutting short the princess's monologue. Realizing what I just did, I immediately felt the blood rush up into my face. I had not planned on that. Maybe I really did need to be a bit less impulsive at times. And gain a little respect towards whoever deserved it. That sure couldn't hurt.

"Yes, you," Luna continued, some slight annoyance mixed in her voice. "There is a reason we chose to speak to you in particular on this occasion." With that, she looked towards Celestia, who blinked once before taking over the explaining part once more.

"You may or may not realize this, Pinkie, but you are an incredibly special filly," the sun goddess explained to me. "Even outside of your element of harmony, and the bonds that you share with the ponies close to yourself, there is something about you that nopony else can say about them. Not even my sister and me. You have a gift that makes you see things. Not physically with your eyes, that is. But on a spiritual level. You experience things nopony else does, foresee things before they happen. From what I hear, not even my most faithful of students had any way to explain this impressive talent of yours."

"Ooooh, you mean my Pinkie sense?" I asked. "That's funny. I've had that since I was a little filly on my folks' rock farm. No idea where it came from, though. Probably just another part of my good old self, is all."

"That is what you call it, alright. Twilight told me so in one of her letters. Still, hearing you describe it that way yourself is somewhat...unique. And it is that special ability of yours that will play an essential role in the task laying before you."

My eyes widened with interest. If the two princesses hadn't got me hooked before, they certainly did now. With my Pinkie Sense becoming a part of the entire story, this could only be interesting. It was a pretty underrated aspect of myself, to say the least. Before I could ask about any details, however, Princess Luna already started to take back over.

"When you leave this place, we will transfer a small bit of our magical essence to you," she explained. "It will contain information of the most recent spell we cast, and connect with your Pinkie Sense in a number of ways. First and foremost, the combination of both will point you in the right direction, and lead you towards the ponies we transferred."

"Uh-huh..." I began, rubbing my chin. "You mean, like a compass?"

"Yes, very much so. It will point to the immediate direction, although you might have to find out about the quickest way yourself, at times. Remember, how you execute this task, and whatever ponies you choose to bring along, remains entirely up to you. But you should also keep in mind that, once we return you to your earthly body, there won't be a second for you to lose. For all we know, the ponies of Canterlot may be in an extremely dangerous location right now. If that is the case, you need to find them as fast as possible. Their lives are in your hooves, Pinkamena."

"Do you understand what we're asking of you?" Celestia asked in a tone that sounded extremely final. I didn't think she'd take no for an answer. If she ever did. She had this kind of You will not fail - attitude, that sounds really reassuring on first sight. But in the end, it's just a much more powerful way of saying I don't want you to fail or Fail me now, and I'll banish your flank to the moon super-quick, you won't even know what hit you.

Most of the time, I see Celestia as this powerful, protecting mother figure, who's always generous and there for us to rely on. But if Luna's biography is any indication, our sun goddess can be a real meanie if she wants to. Like there's some angry dragon sleeping inside her, ready to just burst out and ravage everything around, if need be.

I sure didn't want to wake the dragon.

"I...think so," I thus told her. It was the best I could do. If I'd told Celestia that everything was alright, and I'd be super seriously up for the task, she wouldn't have believed me, anyway. So I tried sounding a little insecure. Even if that wouldn't strike her to be entirely like me, it was probably a bit more reassuring.

"Then our business here is concluded," Luna said. "Keep in mind everything we have told you. This mission of yours will require your utmost attention at all times." Stomping one hoof on the ground, she added: "Farewell, Pinkamena Pie. And good luck, until we meet again."

Before I could say anything in response, the world around me started spinning, and my vision went black again. I have no idea what happened next. Except that I probably just talked to the princesses while they were in some kind of strange limbo, not alive and not dead, either. Or had I? This entire business confused me more than ever. And now, with the earlier wave of weariness washing over me once again, I couldn't even think straight.

All things considered, I really should have stayed home today. Next Chapter: Chapter 5 - Reach Out Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 50 Minutes