Pixel Berry stumbled through the door, and found herself standing, to her slight surprise, in the middle of a dense forest. There was something vaguely familiar about it. Then, she let out a disgruntled sigh.

'Great. Just great. The Everfree Forest. Well, better keep moving, if I don't want a timberwolf to bite my leg off.'

As she trotted along, she thought she could hear voices off to the left. She became suddenly wary, and kept her ears perked. She wasn't alone.

A deep male voice was speaking. He sounded apologetic about something.

“Kids, I’m really sorry. I know that raft took a long time to make, and-”

“It’s not just the raft, Dave,” came a filly's voice, which sounded oddly familiar.

“Huh?”

“We were so excited about being Cutie Mark Crusaders Pirates,” came another filly's voice.

“But we almost get all of us and you killed, lose the raft, and didn’t even find any treasure,” said yet another filly.

An even higher and squeakier voice sighed sadly.

“Aw, girls...” said the male voice, sympathetically.

Pixel paused. There was something very familiar about those fillies' voices, even from a distance. She peered around a thick tree, curious. Five figures were walking past slowly and dejectedly. One of them, easily distinguishable even from a distance, was a six-foot human male. He had short black hair and a mild, friendly face. He wore glasses, a T-shirt, jeans, sneakers, and, oddly enough, a tri-corner pirate’s hat. Walking with him were four fillies: Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Dinky. All four of them were wearing bandanas around their heads, and all of them, including the human, were wearing belts with wooden swords.

Pixel gaped. She couldn't believe her eyes. This was a scene straight out of Living in Equestria, which, despite over 100 chapters, was still ongoing! That was the human, Dave, who'd made best friends with Pinkie Pie when he first arrived, with no memory of how he got to Equestria! And now here he was, with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, returning from their failed attempt at being pirates, their raft having been wrecked in the forest's rapids. This was too good to miss.

The five walked on in silence for a time, Pixel doing her best to keep up while staying out of sight, the better to see what was going on, Then Dave said, in a reasonable tone,

“Playing pirates is fun, but do you really want to make a living sailing for weeks, maybe even months on end in a boat, just to go tramping around in the hot sun through sand and jungles searching for treasure that might not even be there?”

The four fillies turned to look at him. Pixel privately agreed with his perspective.

“If you ask me,” said the human, “I say we leave the dangerous treasure questing to ponies like Daring Do. Besides, isn’t it more fun to be able to hear about those stories than to blindly fall into dangers like that ourselves?”

The four looked at each other, then back at their human friend. Finally, they smiled.

“Yeah, you’re right, Dave,” said Scootaloo.

“It was a good try, though,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Yeah. It was kinda fun, wasn’t it?” Dave asked.

“It may be something to scratch off the list,” said Apple Bloom, “but we’re not gonna pack it in yet!”

“A Crusader’s job is never done!” squeaked Dinky.

“You said it, sis,” said Scootaloo, grinning.

Their gloom and misery was long forgotten. Now they were happy and peppy. It brought a smile to Pixel's face to see such an adorable sight, as well as to remember that, in this universe, Scootaloo and Dinky were sisters by adoption.

“That’s the spirit,” said Dave, beaming. “Now what are we?”

“The Cutie Mark Crusaders!” chorused the fillies.

“And we’re not afraid of anything, are we?”

“No, sir!”

At that precise moment, Pixel accidentally brushed up against a bush, making it rustle. She winced, especially when Dave yelled and jumped about a foot in the air. He whipped around, pointing his wooden sword directly at her. She yelped and raised both forehooves.

"Whoa! Don't stab me!"

Dave stared, bewildered, sword still extended. The four fillies were goggling at Pixel. No one spoke for a time. Pixel still couldn't believe she was face-to-face with a character from a fic she'd read...Then, Dave broke the silence.

"What were you doing behind that bush?"

"I wasn't spying!" Blurted Pixel, hastily.

Dave raised an eyebrow.

"I never asked if you were," He said, dryly.

"Oh," Said Pixel, her cheeks reddening. "Er, right."

Dave finally lowered his sword and adjusted his glasses, still looking a bit perplexed.

"Who are you?" He asked,

"Pixel Berry, though some people call me Lean. And you're Dave, right?"

Dave's mouth fell open in shock.

"How do you know my name?!" He asked.

"Err, you look like a Dave," Said Pixel, quickly, realizing she might bewilder him all the more with the full truth. "So, were you guys playing pirates?"

"Yes," Said Dave, still looking perplexed, though he was recovering slightly. "We were 'Cutie Mark Crusaders' Pirates."

"Emphasis on 'were'," Said Scootaloo, ruefully.

"Aren't you a little old to be a Crusader?" Pixel asked Dave, though she knew full well the circumstances of his initiation.

"I don't think age really matters," Said Dave, unabashed, holding his sword aloft. "All that matters is spirit and dedication. As a Crusader, it's my duty to help these fillies get their cutie marks!"

"And for us to help him get his!" said Sweetie Belle.

Pixel noticed that Dave looked a bit awkward at this, as he rubbed the back of his head. She knew why: he'd never told them humans didn't get cutie marks.

"Er, yeah, right, Sweetie Belle," He said, then cleared his throat. "Anyway, Pixel, what are you doing out in the middle of the Everfree Forest?"

"It's a long story," Said Pixel. "To make it short, I stepped through a door, and ended up in the middle of the forest. It's not the first time it's happened. Today."

She knew she must sound crazy, and wondered, for a split second, if Dave and these girls thought she was. However, Dave smiled kindly.

"You're not the only one who's come from home to an unknown place without knowing why," He said, gesturing to himself with his thumb. "Small world, huh? At least you know how."

Pixel nodded sympathetically. She knew what it was like for Dave right now: away from home, not being able to contact his family and friends. He'd sent a letter to them by Twilight's magic, and that, plus being surrounded by all of his pony friends, had eased his suffering slightly, but he was still longing for the chance to return...

"I'm sorry," She said.

"It's all right," Said Dave. "I've got a good friend looking into it. In the meantime, I get to spend time with my new pony friends, like these little rascals."

He bent down and pulled the four fillies into a group hug, two on each side, making them squeal and giggle. Pixel grinned at the adorable sight. He really seemed like the sort of person you'd want to have as a friend. Chancing a look to the right, she gasped. Another door stood open, as if beckoning to her. The five Crusaders seemed to have spotted it too. They gazed, open-mouthed, most likely having never seen a door appearing in mid-air, attached to nothing.

"I'd better go," Said Pixel. "It was very nice to meet you all. I hope you find your way home soon, Dave."

Dave wrenched his eyes away to look at Pixel again.

"Same to you, Pixel. Take care of yourself."

"Bye!" Said the four Crusaders together.

"Goodbye, little ones," Said Pixel.

She took off at a gallop, and was soon over the door's threshold. Just as it began to swing closed behind her, she heard Scootaloo say,

"Well, that was weird. And just after we'd seen a sea serpent with two different mustache styles..."

Author's Notes:

This chapter was created by Blazewing. To be honest, his fanfic was the first one I ever read on this sight... EVER. Before I even made an account for this website. I had such a blast reading his fic twice and my favorite chapter out of all of them is the one where Trixie messes with David's voice as a magic trick. Anyways, hoped you liked it as much as I did! ^^