The Blood Elf and the Tauren sat in shock, their faces not showing any sign of emotion.

"I guess there's no getting out of this?" Luxxoria asked solemnly.

Zorann shook his head.

"No, I doubt it." he replied, "We agreed to help the Alliance, and I intend to stick to that agreement."

Luxxoria nodded.

"As will I."

They both sighed.

"Why do you have to go?" Twilight asked, "I thought you were done with war?"

"I thought so too," Luxxoria replied, "but maybe this time the Horde has nothing to do with this, and Anduin is just stuck in a cave somewhere, waiting to be found."

"You hope." Zorann muttered.

Luxxoria sighed and looked at her letter.

"It says here I was supposed to get something." she said, "But I don't see anything except the letter."

"Maybe Derpy still has it?" Dash replied, turning to the mare in question, who was eating a muffin, "Hey, Derpy!"

The grey mailmare looked up from her treat.

"Luxxoria says she was supposed to get something besides the letter." Dash said, "But she didn't get it. Any chance you're still carrying a parcel for her?"

Derpy swallowed a mouthful of muffins and trotted over.

"I don't think so," she said, "but I can look if you want."

"Please do." Luxxoria replied, "I'm curious as to what it could be."

Derpy removed her mailbag and set it on the counter, before opening it with her teeth and peering inside. She rummaged around in the bag with her head before emerging with an envelope in her mouth. She placed it on the table before grinning sheepishly.

"Sorry," she said, "I guess I missed it."

"No harm done, Derpy." Luxxoria replied, as she picked up the envelope and opened it, "At least I have it."

Reaching inside the envelope, Luxxoria removed a folded piece of parchment which shimmered in the light.

"What the hell is that?" Zorann said.

Luxxoria unfolded the parchment and cast a sceptical gaze over it, her eyes widening as she did so.

"It's a spell." she said, "According to this, the effect is similar to that produced by an Orb of Deception, but lasts for as long as the user wishes it to, meaning it can be toggled at will."

"An Orb of what?" Twilight asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Orb of Deception." Zorann explained, "It's an artefact which allows Horde to disguise themselves as Alliance, and vice versa. It only lasts for a few minutes though."

He sighed.

"I'm guessing Varian wants you to use that spell to disguise us as Alliance," he said, "since I doubt the people of Stormwind would welcome two Horde with open arms."

Luxxoria nodded.

"I'd better learn this then." she said.

She read the text on the parchment out loud. As she did so, the shimmer of light became a glow, before the parchment suddenly vanished in a flash of light.

"Is that it?" Zorann asked, "You've learnt that spell?"

"I have," Luxxoria replied, "and I'm going to cast it on you first."

Zorann opened his mouth to protest, but decided against it, having realised that time was short.

"Get it over with, then." he grunted, "I'm keen to see what race I get turned into."

Luxxoria muttered a few words, and soon Zorann was enveloped by the same blinding light as the parchment.

"Well," he said, "how do I look? Because I certainly feel different."

"... you're a Night Elf." Luxxoria replied.

"Good." Zorann replied, "I was hoping for that. Anything but one of those flea-bitten Worgen."

Luxxoria cast the spell again, surrounding herself in the by now familiar light.

"What the hell?!" she shouted, "Why has everything gotten bigger? ... Oh, no ... don't tell me."

"You're a Gnome!" Zorann said gleefully, before collapsing on the floor holding his sides as he laughed out loud.

Luxxoria sighed.

"Come on," she said forcefully, "we have to get going."

Zorann got to his feet, still laughing.

"I guess this is it then." Twilight said, "You're leaving, and we'll probably never see you again."

Zorann stopped laughing as his face fell.

"Crap," he muttered, "I forgot about that."

"We'll miss you." Rarity said, stifling a sob, "Both of you."

"Likewise." Luxxoria replied.

Chanting another spell, a portal to Stormwind soon opened in front of the group. On the other side, Varian could be seen pacing around his throne room, occasionally throwing his arms up in exasperation.

"Looks like he's waiting for us." Zorann said, "Better not piss him off any more than we already have."

"Take care of yourselves, girls." Luxxoria said.

"It's been nice knowing you." Zorann added.

The six ponies grabbed the two Horde and smothered them in a group hug, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Be safe," Pinkie said, "and try to come back to us. I really love your conjured cakes."

Luxxoria chuckled.

"We'll try." she replied, "I promise."

Zorann and Luxxoria pulled themselves away from the group. With one final wave, they stepped through the portal, which closed immediately afterwards, much to the disappointment of six ponies.

"What now?" Applejack asked.

"Now..." Twilight trailed off.

"... we wait." Rarity completed the sentence.

The six friends sighed together and turned their attention back to fanning themselves from the heat.

"It's about damn time you two got here!"

"Sorry, your Highness," Luxxoria said, "but we got delayed. It's not easy saying goodbye to your friends."

Varian sighed.

"I see that you are making use of the spell I sent you." he said, "That's good. The last thing I need is two Horde being lynched by an angry mob."

"Yeah, yeah." Zorann groaned, "Just tell us about Anduin."

Varian shot the tauren/night elf a vicious look before walking over to a table in the middle of the room.

"Anduin's last known location was somewhere in this area." he said, "Apparently, he and his crew discovered an uncharted landmass, but were ambushed by the Horde."

Zorann and Luxxoria nodded.

"We sent reinforcements to the area and destroyed a Horde base on the shore. We made contact with the locals, whereupon we learned that the landmass was none other than Pandaria."

"Pandaria?" Luxxoria said, "The land shrouded in Mist for ten thousand years?"

Varian nodded.

"The mist has cleared, and now the Horde seek to claim the land for themselves." he said, "The Alliance aims to stop them. Needless to say, the fighting has been fierce."

"No surprises there, then." Zorann deadpanned.

Varian ignored him and continued talking.

"Unfortunately, the Horde isn't the only problem. We have also had to deal with mantids and mogu. But these are insignificant when compared to the Sha."

"Sha?" Zorann raised an eyebrow.

"They are the physical manifestations of negative emotions like fear, hatred, and anger." Varian explained, "And with the war still ongoing, those emotions are plentiful."

"Sounds lovely." Luxxoria said sarcastically, "And where exactly does Anduin come into all of this?"

"His last known position was somewhere in the region called the Jade Forest." Varian replied, "Your search will begin in Paw'don Village. The rest of the team awaits your arrival."

"And who is the rest of the team?" Zorann asked.

"They are adventurers like yourselves." Varian said, "There is another druid, and a paladin."

"Only four of us?" Luxxoria chimed in, "I guess that makes sense. Four people would attract less attention."

"What are their names?" Zorann said.

"The druid is Navitas, and the paladin is Baegon." Varian said, "I should warn you that they don't really like the Horde that much."

"I can't imagine why." Luxxoria sighed.

"So needless to say, they don't know who you really are." Varian continued, "Keep those disguises up at ALL TIMES."

"Gotcha." Zorann said dismissively, "When do we leave?"

"Immediately." Varian replied, "Several Pandaren from the Wandering Isle have joined the Alliance. They have a small settlement on the shore of the lake. There is a portal there that will take you to Paw'don Village. Navitas and Baegon will be waiting."

Zorann and Luxxoria saluted.

"Find my son, and bring him back safely." Varian said, "Dismissed."

The two Horde walked out of the keep into the cool Stormwind air. Taking to the skies on their flying mounts, they spotted the portal to Paw'don Village in the distance and headed towards it.

"Right, here's the plan." Zorann said, "Go to Pandaria, find Anduin, maybe kill a few things, bring him back and then return to Equestria and chill with our friends. Sound good?"

Luxxoria nodded as they landed in front of the portal.

"Right then." Zorann clapped his hands together, "Let's go."

No words were spoken as both Horde stepped into the portal.

And into the unknown.