This was most definitely the most lucid dream Coco Pommel had ever experienced. She wasn't really a pony who had such dreams in the first place- usually they were mostly flat ones that would suddenly devolve into nightmare territory- and something like this was very new to her.

When ponies dream everything seems to be separated by a gauze veil, has a jerky sort of quality or moves in strange ways, but this one was smooth and indistinguishable from reality in her dreaming state. She could move any way she wanted to and her thoughts were fully conscious to everything except for the fact that she was dreaming.

Filly Coco had to push open the doors with her little hoof and her head to get them to budge, wanting to get away from the quiet stillness of the night that lay behind her on the road and the trees and houses on the sides. It was any suburban street, except for the redwood double doors that weren't really connected to anything and beyond which nothing else existed (because of dream logic).

They creaked open grimly, and the filly walked into what was apparently some sort of polished bar.
It was rather dark in there but she could see that there were many red stools accompanying some strangely shaped flat tables. There was a smooth dark tiled floor with shiny crimson walls and the decor of the place was rather surreal- such as a statue of half a unicorn and a cardboard cutout of a droopy melting pocketwatch.

Coco came up to the inky granite counter. There was nopony in the room except for her and the bartender in front steadily wiping away at the counters and consisted of nothing but a floating well- trimmed suit (which raised the question of how exactly he could hold the cleaning rag).
She hoisted herself onto one of the stools lining the counter and sat up as straight as she could, her chin just managing to clear the top and stretched out her legs enquiringly.

A thick glass of something that was probably water (she had never touched alcohol in her life) materialized between that she drew close to herself and peered down into, noting that instead of a reflection there was a rather solid image of a crumbling house surrounded by grass, the significance of which she was not bothered to decipher.

And then she began to talk.

"Most of the time, ponies who are celebrities get together because it would improve their ratings, something which their whole career depends on," she said, her voice still that of an innocent yet all-too-knowing foal. "The media's often made of really shallow ponies- ones who don't read into things at all, but they just snap it up and display it- like ponies who don't read the nutrition labels but just scoop something up because the thing looks pretty. But you can't really blame them, because so many of them live in a way in which I would call sheltered..."

She swallowed. "I never felt like a normal teenager, because everypony I knew had comfortable nuclear lives which they were always complaining about- their parents, how they grounded them or they never give this thing they want, and-and how they were always getting into all these relationships-"

She slammed her hoof on the table, looking a little shaky. "It's one thing to say that you don't believe in love and another to feel like it! You can't just tell somepony that you don't think it's real, or how you believe that it's just some stupid trick of nature to get you to reproduce- they'll never understand! They don't change their views or put themselves in my shoes!"

Coco hung her head. "My parents were married because it would give them so much good publicity- it was like something that comes out of a fairytale possibly, one who is invested in song and the other who can dance, both having some noble lineage. But it is so, so much harder than you think to live with somepony you don't know... don't have any feelings for... who is nothing but a stranger with a wallet to you...

" Every filly's views on life are centered on how their life was with their guardians no matter how much they try to deny it. I was born out of an arranged marriage for the sake for publicity, but it didn't work out because I was so shy and retiring. Being out in the spotlight, talking to ponies, it terrified me so much that my parents thought I was addled... and they put my brother at the forefront instead. And that shaped our personalities for the rest of our lives...

"My brother is a social stallion, refined and very aware of how the media works, who is always surrounded by his yes-ponies and he always knows what to say.

"But I am nothing but somepony who always keeps to herself, always hides, and I dislike being put in the forefront- things all undesirable- one who's so anxious-to-please that my biggest dream was to be a servant- an especially favoured servant- and that is how I managed to get roped into that horrible assistant job that Suri Polomare gave me...

" For though she may have been a very off-putting mare in the start she knew exactly how to get me to be so dependent on her that I wouldn't want to leave no matter how badly she treated me. I guess my fatal flaw is that I get attached much too quickly than anypony else can, no matter how many times it has given me my destruction.

"It just makes me so happy to get praised, to be shown preferential treatment like I had never been given in my foalhood. It sort of could be said that I'm a bit of a hypocrite- I don't believe in love but it's the one thing I've ever wanted.

Coco now buried her head in her forelegs. "My parents managed to file for divorce without any public exposure, and I became nonexistent to the media...

"When you're living with parents who are divorced, emphasis is on them and not their foals- not how they make they choose between them, not how you feel so torn because you still love somepony they've given up on, not how they change in these small but devastating ways, not how you know that this is not what life's supposed to be- they're supposed to be h-happy, t-they're s-supposed to be- to be together, they're s-supposed to g-grow old together a-and die at the same time- t-t-they're supposed to- supposed to s-show you how- how love is m-meant to et-eternal and-and forever-"

She was not able to say any more and simply took shaky breaths on the threshold of sobbing, hiding her face on the counter with her ears flattened against her head. She had over the course of talking grown into the young mare she was the present.

The lighting changed. Instead of being dimly lit all of a sudden the roof melted away to reveal a blanket of stars- the night sky- with a crescent moon hanging above Coco's head. Standing gravely in front of her wearing the suit the bartender had been donning was Princess Luna- and not something her mind was making up, the actual Princess of the Night had managed to somehow penetrate her dream.

"Princess Luna!" Coco struggled to shift herself into some sort of respectful position but instead ended up giving a hasty military salute. "I didn't mean to burden you with-"

"There is no need for that, young Coco Pommel," Luna said, holding up a hoof. "Often do ponies forget they are my subjects and thus my concerns as much as they are my sister's. I suppose it does come from not being there with them for a millennia."

Coco felt terrible- she hadn't meant to remind her of her banishment. "Oh dear-"
She stopped at the expression on the princess's face. "Oh- oh- I mean- Princess Luna! How did you come into my dream? I thought- well, I'm in another dimension, you see!"

"While your physical body lies in a land inhabited by no living pony, your mind is in the one place where all subconscious minds wander to- the dream dimension which I am known to be able to access at will."

"Oh, I didn't know that dreaming minds went to the same dimension, I thought it was just, well, something in your head," Coco said, trying to put into words about the things she had learned in textbooks.

"Ponies are all creatures of magic, so their minds naturally do not behave the way it is detailed for animals- but enough of this idle talk," her face became sombre. "I have come to discuss something something with you- namely, the terms for your return... Discord has told me about what he had done."

She seemed to became disapproving when talking about Discord making Coco guess that they had probably had had a fight over his actions. "It wasn't his fault at all, I was the one who made him."

"The fact that Discord actually gave in to somepony he had just met raises an eyebrow."

"Oh..well... I told him some things like now- no, no, but I didn't mean to guilt trip him or anything at all!"

"I believe in your innocence. Now," Luna began to pace back and forth behind the counter still wearing that business suit, "there is a way to bring you back into your homeworld."

Coco would not have told to save her life, but she did not want to go back.
It felt as if here she had been given a fresh slate, where she could start over- there was no such thing as the media here, there were no hotline- seeking ponies, there was no evidence of the mistakes her parents the she had been made to adopt. Coco wouldn't have admitted either that she was very happy everyone she had met seemed to have a very favourable view of her, a phenomenon she had never experienced before. "Yes.."

"However, it is not guaranteed that it is a very easy one. There are many deities in the land you inhabit and their power and status must be respected-" she turned to look Coco in the eyes," and the primary god here does not want to let you go."

"What?"

"Have you noticed any rapid changes in your body? Have you become stronger, more capable, and has your physique transformed in even small ways during your stay? For it is not only your abilities as an earth pony. The magic of this land is different from the forces in Equestria in many ways, but it seems to have adapted very readily to you- it has been steadily transforming itself and evolving, while not enough to change it's makeup enough to merge and flow with your own without ending your life. Why, I do not know- possibly it is only curious or has taken a liking to you, or there is a more sinister motive."

"Magic can feel curious?"

"Not in the way that ponies do or understand, but it does."

"Should I be worried, Princess Luna?"

"As nothing very harsh as happened to you as of yet, I suggest that you relax for the time being. As to the issue of returning... there is a place in this land that contains an extraordinary amount of unique magic which is also fabled in the land itself. It is described as 'the home of the gods' and while that may or may not be true, there is certainly enough with the capability to take you home- Discord has informed that it is called 'Earthend'."

Coco blinked twice. She had to go to Earthend? The same place that the Patapons had been searching for in all of the stories? She could feel something like catatonic excitement bubble in her stomach. I'm going with the Patapons.. to Earthend...!

Princess Luna mistook her expression for shock. "I understand that it is a lot to be asking of a young mare, but if in the event that you cannot make it I will make sure that there is another way."

Coco was touched. "Oh, Princess Luna, thank you so much..." She could see that she was anxious to show that she cared and to do something good with the ponies she ruled over after how she had wronged them.

She opened her mouth to respond when all of a sudden rather frighteningly the lights buzzed, flickered and then went dead- everything was completely black and Coco couldn't feel herself anymore. Panic began to rise in her throat and in her sleep she moved her hooves her legs as if running in slow motion, her tail twitching restlessly.

They came back on and Pommel found that she was now on Luna's back, navy wings beating on either side as the alicorn soared through an endless expanse of nothing- unlike simple darkness this felt empty like a well she was falling into. "You are awakening, Coco Pommel!" Luna called out over the abyss. "My time with you is over- farewell-"

Coco wanted to desperately ask when she was going to see her again- the lack of contact with her own kind was starting to grate and gnaw at her when she was thrown off violently, and fell, her stomach dropping and her body spinning-

And then with a terrified gasp and her legs kicking out involuntarily she came back to earth. Coco could do nothing but lie there with her flanks heaving for a little while, then puffed at her mane when she realized the unladylike position she was in. Quickly to preserve her dignity Coco rolled to her hooves and shook out her coat, fluffing it up temporarily to get rid of any dirt or grass she acquired.
It took a little more time to untangle herself from the scarf that she (for some reason) went to sleep with.

Coco Pommel remembered what Luna had said about physical changes and looked down at herself with the expertise of a fashion critic, sticking out a leg. She saw that she was getting a little taller and her legs were more graceful like a deer's, but had mostly neglected to worry about it. Her tail seemed a bit more voluminous and when she passed her hoof over them found her ears had little fluffy tufts on them like a batpony (or thestral, or nocturne, whichever one) would have.

The changes weren't unpleasant, actually. I could get used to this... hopefully I won't 'wild out' too much, though... She tried to imagine herself as a fully-fledged deer.

It's a little hot. While Coco was lucky that the Hideout had a forest on its sides, that didn't disguise the fact that otherwise it was a dry landscape with cacti and short trees and hills. Being hot was something that made Coco very uncomfortable, and she felt lucky that as it was nighttime it wasn't that warm... yet.

Hmm, I remember that there was a great big beautiful snowfield near the Plateau. Would I be able to find it if I tried? I wish the Patapons were here, but they're always going out on these big adventures... maybe I should have gone with them...

She absentmindedly walked around the forest, flicking her tail and watching the ground move past. I don't know... I'm such an idiot, I should have written down the stories that Octavia told me. I would have such of an advantage here- but nooo, the most important parts I have to forget.

She sighed heavily, trotting up to the entrance of the cave, peering inside. It's... really a little lonely here. There aren't really any ponies other than me and there's about exactly as much girls as well.
Except for... "Hello, Meden- statue."

The Patapons put her statue outside at night or when there was fair weather in general, and when Coco asked they replied 'she should be able to enjoy the view' which just made her feel sad. They must have liked her a lot.

She looked into the stone eye of the priestess, frozen in time, forever holding up that staff and wearing the cloak and headdress. She was one of the things that Coco remembered relatively well.

The pony carefully seated herself next to the Patapon, tucking her legs underneath her and watching her silent companion forlornly.
"You know, I just thought of something... All of the races that I had heard of before coming to this place all have female leaders- the Patapons have had you, there were red ones that had a moth queen, I think- oh dear, I sound so disrespectful- and there were demons- something like Puma- that had a black star, like Silver Hoshipon. Except he's silver. And he's old. And has a beard (a nice one). Um, nevermind...

"When I met Silver Hoshipon I liked him right away! But that doesn't really mean much, because I like everyponyone right away. Like you and even the scary Ragewolf person. Octavia used to tell me stories about you and you were nice and you were kind of like me. Um, no, you weren't like me, I'm too useless, aha..."
Coco fiddled with her hooves. "You were also kind of funny. 'A funny looking mask dude will meet the Great Patapon and save the world', something like that, huh? And all of the Patapons really like you too."

She sighed heavily. "Hhhhhhhh... I wish I could talk to you properly... there aren't any other girls at all- I mean, there's one, but I've never met her and I really don't know a single whit about her other than that she's female and a Dark Hero. A Dark Hero's different from a normal Hero because they're evil- they're supposed to be, I mean, I met two, they were okay well I didn't like Sonarchy at all but don't tell him, and then I also met the Uberhero, and-"

Coco suddenly slapped her forehead. "Oh! I forgot to ask his name! I keep calling him Uberhero! It's like me calling somepony 'pink pony' or 'white unicorn' or 'yellow'-" she stopped herself, realizing that she was only listing the characteristics of her Ponyville friends.
And also that she was rambling to a statue. "Weeell, would you look at that, I'm talking to a rock..."

Meden did not comment.

Coco laid her chin on her forelegs, trying to follow the stone eye's line of sight and curling her tail around herself. The sky was still relatively dark and there was a blanket of quietness stretched out across the land.
Coco reflected on all of the kinds of silence there were- the lull following bad news, the hushed of an anticipating crowd, the quiet of nopony else in the house-

"Seems like there's a lot of silences as well as noises," she remarked.

The silence was dissipated by someponyone's awkward cough. Coco blinked, and then turned her head, flicked her ears towards the intruder.

Both stared at the other for a moment. "I thought you were gone?"

"It's nine at night..."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Is it okay if I know your name?" Coco said, desperate to break the awkward tension.

"I'm...thing."

"What?"

"I'm sorry!" he burst out. "I just find it strange that I'm talking to a horse!"

He then paused. "I didn't mean..."

"It's okay," Coco said. "I also think that it's rather surreal to be able to talk to you. I really didn't think it was possible to be able to come to your world like this."

"'Come to my world'? But...what does that mean..."

"Um, I'm sorry, nevermind that- um, so, what do I call you?"

He seemed to stretch his hand out for a shake before dropping it awkwardly. "...Felix."

Coco was quite sure that her eyebrows disappeared. No way... Does that mean that when Octavia told the story she created this world...? No way...! "Your name is Felix?!"

She did not allow him to answer, leaping up to her hooves. "That's wonderful, it's my favourite name! Did you know that I named you? Everypony else wanted to call you something with four letters, because that was the tradition, but I still- still...." she trailed off, realizing what exactly she was saying. "Ah..."

"Y-you named me?!"

Coco quickly tried to think of some way out of this- she had inadvertently implied that she was somehow the Great Patapon by saying this. it was definitely a lifesaver that he didn't remember much about his past life or else it could have raised some of the most awkward questions she would have to answer.. Was it safe to really tell him about Equestria? Could he handle it? Why was she even stopping? "Y- es? In a very roundabout way..."

"What did you say your name was again?" he asked quickly.

"Coco..."

He held up four fingers. "C- O- C- O?"

"Mhm."

"That's four letters. That cannot be a coincidence!"

"I think it is a coincidence..." She finally understood what he was pointing at now. "Well- well- because I don't..."

She was once again scrambling for something to say, trying to find a good argument against his idea. She didn't have any powers? That was untrue.

"I'm not a Patapon and can't command the drums!" Coco said. "I'm just a weird horse pony. Pony horse. I don't know..."

She watched him begin to pace back and forth. "But practically everything you've done so far seems to point towards you being some kind of deity..."

"I'm not... I'm actually one of the least magical of my kind," Coco said, her head drooping. "I'm not a unicorn, I can't do any useful spells. I'm not a pegasus, I can't fly. I'm just a normal earth pony and I can only do normal earth things."

"Your kind?" He was made alert again.

"Yes, there's lot of other ponies as well," Coco explained. "There are four kinds- alicorns are the most powerful with horns and wings, unicorns have horns, pegasi have wings and can touch the clouds- literally- and earth ponies... well, I've had the concept explained to me by Discord, but it doesn't really seem as if we can do anything, it's just farming and being strong and I'm obviously not very strong."

Surprisingly, he didn't react to this bit of information with extreme confusion. "I believe you're being too self-deprecating," he scolded, sitting down. "You don't need to be physically powerful to achieve great things-"

"Well, Taterazay is like a well- meaning teacher," Kan said.

"- which is proven by the fact that you manged to get on Ragewolf's good side. I wasn't even aware that he possessed something like a 'good side', I always thought it was more 'I don't want to throttle you that much right now' side."

Coco looked a little less disheartened and went back to her position. "I guess I am being really ungrateful... It's actually a good thing I'm an earth pony here, as I can last longer that way..." Or has my newfound abilities only been due to the Patapon magic? "Thank you- um, Felix." The name tasted strange in her mouth- she had never realized that would ever be coming out of her mouth to someponyone.

This seemed to embarrass him. "Ah... you're welcome..."

"...Felix?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you get tired?"

He gave her a look.

"No, no, I mean... from fighting all of the time. Isn't it boring? Doesn't it... hurt?"

"Hurt?"

Coco fidgeted a little. "Is it a little repetitive? How do you do it?"

"The Archfiends turned my entire tribe into stone. Even thinking about tends to make me feel bitter, all of these Patapons all gone... so if I can do something about it, I will."

Coco's mind suddenly brought up a memory- the part of the story where the Hero met the Patapons for the first time - how unimpressed he had been with their strength and how he'd made himself their leader. Comparing it to this one felt as made her feel very strange- as if she had somehow transported herself back into time for a while before coming to the present, finding out exactly how much things had changed.
"What is this something?" Coco said before he had a chance to ask why she was looking at him funny.

"Defeating the Seven Archfiends," he said confidently.

"The Seven Archfiends..." She knew she had heard some details in one story, but it wriggled frustratingly like a fish between her hooves, not allowing Coco to grasp it properly. "Seven... Archfiends..."

She suddenly had something come to the front of her mind. Something about a big box, or possibly a chest, and something about Silver Hoshipon, she was sure. "So the Archfiends all inhabit a Dark Hero... Felix, who is Naughtyfins?"

He started as if she had pricked him with a pin. "W-What?"

...He stuttered. Coco raised her eyebrows. "Naughtyfins. When I was getting kidnapped we stopped at her place, but she wasn't there." It could have used some redecorating on the outside- hardly a place for a girl to live in.

"Well, Naughtyfins is a..." He trailed off. "She's a..."

"I know she lives in a big tower and she's rather feminine," Coco reflected. "Ragewolf said that if I got captured by her I'd get tied up in ribbons or something."

"Well..."

"She's a female!" Coco suddenly shouted and leapt to her hooves.

"You just noticed?"

"Oh, that means I should go talk to her!" Pommel fretted. "It would be impolite of me, seeing as we're both the last of our kind-"

"'The last of our kind'?" he deadpanned.

"Sorry, I really am laying it on thick, aren't I... It's just that I'm a little lo-!" She cut herself off- no need to bother him with my problems- and said quickly, "Which way-?"

"Now? You're just going to take off like that?" He said bewilderedly.

"It's now or never!" Coco said adamantly. "Because usually I'm really shy so if I don't do it now I'll just lose my nerve! Please, please, please-"

He puts his hands up defeatedly. "Alright, alright, calm down... See, first you go this way..."

Felix detailed the way to a Coco who was springing on the tips of her hooves. "Shouldn't you wear something protective? It's obviously very cold in the Snowfields..."

I have this," Coco said triumphantly, holding up the edge of her long flower scarf. "I'll be completely warm and fuzzy in this."

For some reason he looked doubtful about that. "You will be coming back, right?"

"Of course. Where else could I possibly go?"

"Just... don't get lost, okay? Come back before midnight."

Coco nodded solemnly. "I'll try as hard as I can."
_______________________________________________________

"It's a little hard to keep promises," Coco Pommel muttered.

She did state that she really loved the cold and snow, but this was really getting a bit too much. She had never understood how cold could reach somepony's bones before, but she certainly did now- it really did feel as if her legs were nothing but a skeleton with her flesh being all numb.
It was so cold that her eyelashes would freeze together if she shut her eyes for long, which was impossible not to do due to the dry wind whipping at her muzzle and sending her scarf fluttering like a frantic bird all around her face. Her fur was standing on end to ward against the cold and her tail probably resembled some sort of sea urchin and her hooves hurt as they awkwardly slipped on the ground compromised of frozen pebbles.

It was impossible to see where she was going anyways, with the air twirling millions of snowflakes like a storm of power into her vision, so she didn't spot a large turretlike structure until she banged into it snout-first. Moaning in pain she reeled backwards, rubbing at her red nose and staring at the thing through a film of tears.

The tall tower in front of her looked strange and forbidding and was part of another stranger structure that wasn't as symmetrical. It resembled a cluster of icicles with a thick base jutting out from the snowy earth and had some black icy flags flitter in the wind from it's peaks, and Coco could see some gaping windows in the somewhat terrifying building as well.
There were some black walls in front of it a little far away and a couple of mounted weapons she had heard described as 'snow cannons' (which were inky black as well)

Black flags? Black walls? Black snow cannons? That means Bonedeths! And where there's those little cat skull creatures there's obviously a Dark Hero around as well!
Coco came up the drawbridge door nervously. What they're against visitors? Should I knock or just go on? There doesn't seem to be anyone inside... but then it would be breaking and entering and I could alarm someponyone unnecessarily, besides, I don't want to appear rude and that's important, not being from this land and all, so they mustn't get a bad impression... Is this what a foreign ambassador feels like? Note to self- do not become a foreign ambassador anytime soon. This is rather difficult.

Pommel swallowed hard, let out a shaky breath, and then leaned forward and formally tapped on the icy door with a rather bell-like sound thrice. After standing around with nothing else with the howling winds to accompany her, she started to feel very foolish. So, there isn't anypony home...

A loud creak and a shifting sort of cracking noise made her jump back, startled, with her ears against her head, and then the drawbridge started to move in what seemed to be the wrong way- upwards instead on outside like drawbridges normally did. In the bluish darkness of the interior, she saw someone frantically working away at a crank on the side of the door in a bad attempt to appear surreptitious.

She waited patiently for the rather exhausted little Bonedeth to stop and slump against the side, holding the handle firmly to prevent the door from closing again.

"Hello," she said politely.

The door slammed shut in her face.

Coco stood there with a bemused looked on her face as the process of cranking the door open began again. She saw now that a more senior looking Bonedeth was upbraiding the other one in it's native language (the words of which appeared to consist of their name repeated in various ways) and holding up the crank itself, distrusting the other.

She saw the small one point shakily at her and, in shock, the larger one let go of the crank as well.

The small Bonedeth managed to rescue it with much difficulty just in time before it came down again and the two started to argue profusely, with the one now holding the crank struggling to snap and keep it in place at the same time.
The noise summoned another Bonedeth, this one with large and impressive horns, to smack them both upside the head with it's spear and then used the tool to point at the patient pony standing out in the snow.

"Numskulls! Look at the Lady Pony getting covered in ice!" he scolded surprisingly in a language Coco could understand and pattered up behind her and she felt him give her a forceful shove from her back. "In! In!"

Coco obediently trotted inside and heard the door slam shut behind. She faced the three Bonedeths in the newfound darkness, each looking at a loss for what to do with her.

All a sudden as she stepped backwards onto the circle on the snowflake pattern inlaid in the floor jets of blue light shot across it's arms and filling the whole snowflake with an eerie glow. The entire floor gradually became illuminated as well, tendrils of light racing and curling across it and spreading onto the walls until the four where bathed in softly pulsating pretty blues of various shades, the strongest appearing underneath Coco's hooves.

Immediately the three soldiers formed a huddle, whispering secretively with the smaller one popping up to peer at Pommel occasionally. Upon an unanimous decision reached they all scuttled off into the different doorways that lined the chamber they were in, leaving Coco quite confused and alone.
Well, alright then. I have to restrain from acting upon my silly fits like this, I shouldn't have... Now that the excitement had worn off Coco was feeling herself to be very rash indeed. I should have simply stayed put, it's not as if the Patapons are bad company...

Coco tilted her ears forwards in interest- she was sure she could hear some wailing in the tunnels that made her fur stand on end even more than it already as the sound echoed and bounced all over the place. I-Is it a- is it a ghost? Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear-

Coco bit her lip on the verge on pain, wondering if it was too late to somehow jump out of the windows or something. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear- wait! Words, I can hear... words...

"Oh, how many times do I have to tell you? Oh, but you can't imagine how terrible it is to have to walk all over the place! I want Felix to carry me ❤..."

Who...? What even... Coco listened to this rather strangely high pitched voice with one ear dropped. What kind of Bonedeth talks like this?

"But Lady Naughtyfins, we have finally found the perfect horse for you!" The patient voice of the most senior Bonedeth floated through the tunnel.

Coco Pommel didn't know exactly what they used a horse for in this world, having never seen one even, but another pressing matter on hoof.

Lady Naughtyfins! Oh, so this is Naughtyfins! No wonder I was confused about that voice, it belonged to a mare! No, not a mare, um, a maiden!

...Why does she want Felix to carry her?

"Perfect horse? What perfect horse?" Naughtyfins groused. "There isn't any perfect horse unless it's ridden by a mask-wielding Kibadda❤! "

Also, what is a Kibadda? It has something to do with a lance, I think.

Out of the centermost doorway the three Bonedeths from before appeared and made a practiced sort of salute with their weapons. "Deth!"

They were accompanying another one of those people who wore masks except this one was blue and it looked something like a hood, possibly, shaped after the tail of a fish with rather ornamental fins. This Dark Hero(ine) was wielding a really long black (but why not) spear with an icy glittery head that reminded Coco of a snowflake (which made sense as they were currently surrounded by nothing but ice and snow).
Even if Coco didn't hear her voice she was certainly standing like someone who was most definitely not male.

"Hello," Coco tried again politely, fidgeting skittishly. "I know I'm far from being the most perfect horse, but-"

She was cut off with an 'Oof!' as Coco was tackled from her side by someone who had completely forgotten that walking was supposed to be too terrible to comprehend.
"Oooh, she's so precious ❤!"

"Th-thank youuu..." Coco said as un-awkwardly as possible with her clinging to her neck.

"And you can talk too! Where did you find her? I've never seen something this adorable before (except for this little puppy I had once, you see...)❤!"

"What's up with all of this racket?!" someone roared irritably from one of the doorways.

"Oh, fabulous," Coco mumbled.

______________________________________

"So you've actually been inside it?" Naughtyfins shifted forwards a little with interest. "What was it like- don't leave anything out, now ❤!"

Coco Pommel was quite happy to and certainly wasn't short of words she could use to describe the Hideout, having been quite familiar with colour adjectives in her illustrious designing career- and it was probably due to the sweet tooth that she was forced to suppress that most of them were related to chocolate and caramel.

She really had missed making small talk like this that could flow for hours, as before the only things she could attempt to make a conversation with otherwise were her rather restive Patapon friends and a statue.

Both were seated on the same red cushion that Coco had sat on in that ice cathedral- there was plenty of room, as it was a pretty big cushion- while Ragewolf leaned grumpily across the wall with his arms crossed, most probably bored to death by their endless nattering.

"And the stalactites- those are the ones that come down from the ceiling, and you remember which is which as 'stalactite' has a 'c' in it like ceiling- are like gnarly ice-cream cones with a caramel gradient that starts cocoa with melts with gold near the tip, and next to the Team Totem- the grey structure with the symbols that makes a weird murmuring noise when you pass it- is this little pedestal that Felix stands on," Coco chattered.

"What does he look like standing on it? " she asked keenly.

"Well, like a hero I suppose." Coco said, a little embarassed. " I've always wanted to capture the way his cape flows in the wind (even if there isn't any wind) preferably with somepony- someone's gown- just think of that, the silk and tassels rippling as if in a breeze..."

"Who even cares?" Ragewolf grumbled. "He's the same prick no matter how he happens to be standing on a..." He trailed off at the look Naughtyfins was giving him.

"Um, um," Coco said quickly to defuse the tension. "What do you use a horse for in this world?"

They both looked at her and Coco dropped her ears sheepishly. "Um, you see, I'm from somewhere else..."

Ragewolf looked pointedly at Naughtyfins. "You use them for sitting on. Isn't that obvious?"

"Like stools?"

"You use them for riding on," she corrected. "I've always thought horses were such regal creatures ❤~"

"I'm... a lot of things, but I don't think I'm that regal," Coco said modestly with a shrug.

"You don't need to be regal- you're already sweet enough as it is ❤!"

"Noooo..." Coco hid her face in her forelegs.

"You're only proving my point ❤~"

"Noooooo...."

"Really, though, I haven't ever met any other creature like you before- are you some kind of deer, maybe?"

"I call myself a pony," Coco said. "I'm supposed to be similar to a horse, but I don't know what horses look like down here and I'm guessing they don't really talk.

"A little pony! That's even better than a deer ❤~"

"I am considered to be quite small compared to other ponies," she said thoughtfully.

"Ooh, there's more like you?" Naughtyfins asked interestedly.

"Oh, yes! There's pegasi who have wings and can fly, and unicorns who have horns and can do magic, and there's alicorns who have both and they're really very beautiful," Coco replied longingly.

They both stared at her, looking as if they very reconsidering a lot of their opinions.
"You don't seem to have either," Naughtyfins finally pointed out for lack of anything else to say.

"I'm only an earth pony," Coco said, not able to keep a little dismal note from entering her voice. "There's not-"

"I believe you're being too self-deprecating, you don't need to be physically powerful to achieve great things-"

"I meeaan, I can, um, sew." She buried her head in the cushion again. "I mean, see, it's my cutie mark- a cutie mark is something that appears when you find out your biggest talent," Coco said, tapping the image of the violet hat on her flank.

"A land of horses with pictures on their behinds. Certainly somewhere to go in the summer," Ragewolf muttered mordantly.

"I wonder what my cutie mark would look like?" Naughtyfins said thoughtfully.

"Depends on what you're good at," Coco said, turning her head to look out of the window- the blizzardy winds had died down, letting her judge from the position of the moon that it was fast approaching twelve. He probably was hinting that strange creatures come out at midnight, and being a prey animal it doesn't really benefit me in any way to keep here for so long.
She hesitated from bringing it up, not wanting to appear hasty or rude. "Um, I think I should be getting back by now, because it's starting to look very late..."

"Oh, but what's the harm in a little stretching of the rules ❤?"

"I promised I would back before midnight, and I sleep early so I don't want to suddenly fall asleep on you or something."

"Ah, but that's not necessarily a bad thing ❤!" Coco was rewarded with another cling to the neck.

Suddenly pushing himself off the wall, Ragewolf stalked over and pushed the two apart. "That's quite enough-"

"Eek! Get your hands off me ❤!"

If he had a visible eye it would most probably be twitching. "You! Do you know your way back?"

"Uh huh." Coco nodded, sliding off of the cushion and fluffing out her fur momentarily. "I won't get eaten, right?'

"I'm a hundred percent sure that whatever ate you would get diabetes," Ragewolf said.

"I hope they don't," Coco mumbled. "I don't want them to get diabetes...Well, it was really nice meeting you."

"You are coming back though, right ? You can't simply leave me alone with pooch him for company ❤!"

"Um, well, if you want me to. Goodb- wait!" She quickly unwound and wriggled out of the scarf she had been swathed in until now and out of the blue flicked it to Naughtyfins, who caught it with surprise- "um, you can keep that- um, bye!"

Feeling herself burn up like a beet with embarrassment Pommel scurried out through one of the tunnellike doorways like a mouse and into the chamber with the big snowflake on it, promptly the breathtaking light show from before to start up again.
Wherever Coco stepped there would be frostlike hoof marks left behind, which would fade away gracefully after a while. Its all very pretty, but I wonder how they made it like that? And why didn't it react to the Bonedeths or anypony- anyone else for that matter?

She cranked the door open and after gathering her wits and her courage dashed under the door as quickly as possible before it snapped shut on her and pray it wouldn't cleave her in half.
Coco slid out uncontrollably onto the icy path with a squeal until she managed to slow her heart and her frantic movements, standing a little wobbly like a newborn fawn and puffed out her tail. She fiddled with her sailor's-collar around her neck and tapped the back of her mane for her red clip.

Oh, for a moment I forgot I had these on. There's just been so much happening all at once... and now I realized how tired I am... this cold isn't helping matters either. Giving the scarf (even thinking of that act made her ears go warm) wasn't such of a good idea I guess...

Coco started back towards where she came from, feeling her legs became heavy like lead and her head start to strain as she trotted on. She weaved through the snowy landscape and across the pine trees under which small spots of weeds were seen to be surviving.
Unlike last time she did not take her time to admire thee sparkling dewy scenery, but instead only moved on mechanically through the powdery snow and the icy crusts it had on top, flicking her tail every now and then, following the lichen growing on the trees.

In fact, she was so absorbed in only the destination that she nearly missed the warning hissing ad shadow wreathing through the pines. She froze, still as the moon and barely breathing at all, age- old instinct flooding into her as if she had encountered a snake.
A snake it could have been as well, what with a long, flexible, sinuous neck and an according tail to match. It didn't look as if it was made of actual flesh and bone, appearing to be consisting instead of translucent cold blue frosted glass.
It's back legs were surprisingly large while the front par were a fraction of the size and topped with talons, thick like an eagle's. Spikes and ice crystals lined the back of it's head embedded with two dandelion-yellow slitted eyes, and there was a vinelike pattern of splintery frost.

It was pretty in the way that a wildfire was pretty.

It seemed to move a little awkwardly as if not used to it's legs, which it kept thumping unnervingly against the ground with a series of muffled whumps in the snow. It was apparently cold that even the dry icy air in the region seemed to condense when in contact, making it look a bit like it was some sort of mild steam waterfall.

It looked straight at her.

I'm done for, Coco thought, with ice replacing her blood. She stared focused like a lazer at the thing as it watched her back, looking like as if it was quite at ease- and it should be, as it certainly had all of the advantages compared to the little horse. She couldn't make herself move, only stand there watching it back as it seemed to freeze her in place with it's unwavering, unblinking yellow eyes.
It didn't seem interested in pouncing on her anytime soon, only standing and simply staring. Possibly it was confused as to what this new creature was or could somehow sense the magic that Luna and Ragewolf had reported, giving her a little ease.

Behind it other shadows starting flickering, a trio of dark ghostly shapes popping up from behind the trees curiously and then disappearing and reappearing somewhere closer like a whack-a-mole game. The snow thing with lots of needlelike teeth stood quite still as cautiously the tree dark things emerged around it, making Coco break her trance, for they certainly weren't animals, but not exactly Patapons either.

Confusion was starting to replace the coldness in her veins as the all solemnly looked back at the each other. Had these things somehow tamed the big snow thing with lots of teeth, and really what were they exactly? If they were hunters of their species, the really weren't that good at it, showing up like that in front of their prey Coco.

They started to nudge each other and point to the pony who was feeling less and less mortally terrified by the second. All of sudden one of had was wrapped around her leg forlornly, saying in a voice that was surprisingly thin and wispy, "Can we keep it?"

"No," said the other two at the same time. They sounded much different- like posh upper-class colts- and they seemed to mirror what the other was doing as if predicting it easily.

"But I like it," the one on her leg whispered.

"Normally when one talks about other people-"

"And right to their faces as well-"

"- they address them directly and with their proper pronoun."

"Like this." The one on the left turned to Coco and said pleasantly. "Hello there, madam. Isn't it just a lovely day to be out and about at this time, wot?"

"I guess," Coco said demurely. "I didn't mean to be coming out so late, as I usually sleep early."

"And when it starts talking-"

"You young upstart, you just went and broke your own blinkin' rule in front of a lady!"

"Excuse me, sah, unless you're the bally Hawkeye, you can't be going around and interrupting well-meaning chaps-"

"Well-meaning chaps this snow salamander's tail-"

"Shut up," said the one still on Coco said feebly and both of the nattering twins fell silent. "Rei, Uko and Udo," he said, pointing to each in turn and looking up at her expectantly.

"Coco Pommel," she said, tapping her chest.

"Hmm, cocoa." Rei said thoughtfully.

"Always thought horses could only have colours for names like it was some sort of bloomin' tradition," Udo remarked thoughtfully.

"Don't listen to the little twirlcap, he often just spews what comes in his empty head, means no harm, the poor thing," Uko patted his head somberly.

"Oi, keep your blinkin' hands by your sides or I'll blast them off with your own bloody cannon!"

"Tut, tut, using such language in front of a well mannered young lady! Bad form, sah, keep a civil tongue in your head or I'll cut it off with a butter knife, sah!"

This time it was the snow salamander's sweeping tail that came down upon them which they narrowly avoided by ducking. "Er, point taken, me old pal."

Coco and Rei had been watching them go aback and forth like a tennis match. She was rather fascinated by these three and their salamander- their appearances were certainly being the thing most perplexing to her. So much like Patapons and yet not- there's something so important that I'm missing here...

"Well, madam, I'm Ukoton, and the fat ugly one is Udoton-"

"Fat ugly one? Aw, coming from someone who looks like you? It's a credit to her bravery that the young madam can stand to catch an eyeful of that without picking up her metaphorical skirts and takin' a run for it," he sniffed.

"- well, madam, the best and most deserving young chaps you'd ever see in your fine pretty life, including that one you're wearing as a bracelet of course, never forget the ever oh-so-loquacious Reiton," he continued, ignoring the other.

"I talk," Reiton said modestly.

"See, miss, proved me right, he did, there's a good lad."

"Now, see here, madam, you'd best be having to come with us-"

"- only for bragging rights, miss, having 'caught' the most pretty creature this side of the land, caught being in a loose term, miss-"

"- better not be running around at this time, madam, lots of wolves and other creatures with enough flippin' teeth to mince a flea-"

" no harm done, only show and tell, then you can run right off to your little abode, sure it's the most cozy this side of the land-"

"- with an escort of course, provided by none other than yours truly-"

"- the most reliable this side of the land-"

"- no harm done, we don't eat pretty gels, nosirree, wot, wot-"

"- the most civil this side of the land, of course nothing less, probably more, always room for improvement, though not in our case, miss, most improved there is this side of the land," Uko finished.

"We s'posed to be hunting," Reiton summarized. " but we din' catch no thing, so we'll just show then let you 'lone."

"Oh. Hmm," Coco shuffled around a little nervously, not knowing if she should go and suddenly trust these strange Patapons-but-not-Patapons. There seemed to be a high chance of her getting tricked in some way and being kept forever.

"How do I know you'll keep your promise?"

"We'll swear by our Queen's wings, madam, tis' the most serious swear we could do," Udo said solemnly.

"Rather die than lose her wings, miss, yes we would."

"Queen's wings- Oh!" Coco started as finally something seemed to fall into place like a jigsaw puzzle. "Queen- Queen Kharma! You're Zigotons, I remember now!"

"Good to know you recognize us, madam."

"Always being overshadowed by them Patapons, we are."

"Not since they turned to stone, though, eh old chap?"

"Poor fools, wot."

"Eh, so we all swear by our Queen's wings to keep our promise- just a while, madam, then off you go."

"So do I, so do I. Most trustworthy by this side of the anywhere, yep, there's us."

"I swear by th' Queen's wings t' keep th' promise," Rei finished.

"Well," Coco hesitated, trying to see a way out of this when she suddenly came face to face with the snow salamander. It was certainly taking care to emphasize it's needle-like teeth, inching that long neck close threateningly with its tongue flicking out and condensing air flowing down it's sides.

She swallowed nervously, her natural fear bleeding back up. "O-Okay. If you swear..."

"Top hole," Uko said cheerfully.

"Top notch," Udo said at the same time. "Imagine them blinkin' faces, can you, Uko m'boy?"

"Laddie buck, I ain't able to dream of it."

Author's Notes:

I had accidentally forgotten to save halfway through and well