Upon going through the portal, the six ponies and one dragon immediately realized that something was off. First of all, they were now wearing clothes that they were not wearing beforehand. Second, they had all turned into strange white creatures with the exception of Spike who was now a dog. Third, the group was right in front of a castle surrounded by a jungle. Upon noticing that they were no longer ponies, the ponies proceeded to freak out, with the exception of Pinkie Pie, who was busy trying to find out what she could do with her new form.
"What happened to us?!" Twilight screamed out, panicking that she was no longer a pony.
"I don't know! Though I have to admit that our outfits look pretty nice all things considered," Rarity took a moment to appreciate their clothes.
"What's up with our hooves? They have strange claw-like appendages attached to them," Applejack was confused.
"Forget our hooves! Where are my wings?!" Rainbow Dash yelled. "How am I supposed to fly without my wings?"
"Hey, it isn't that bad to be these new creatures. Look! I can walk on two legs!" Pinkie Pie said as she demonstrated her ability to walk on two legs instead of four.
"Um, how did you figure that out?" Fluttershy asked Pinkie Pie.
"Just experimented," Pinkie Pie responded.
"Okay, calm down everyone," Spike tried to reassure the group.
"Wait, you can still talk?!" The six of the ponies turned human were shocked.
"Um, Spikey now don't be alarmed but you are kinda a dog instead of a dragon," Rarity tried to calmly reveal this truth to the dragon turned dog.
"Wait, what?!" Spike proceeded to take a moment to look at himself, before groaning in disappointment. "Aw, come on! I can't even be whatever you guys are?!"
"Okay, calm down Twilight," The purple haired leader said to herself as she walked back and forth. "So, we are brand new creatures in a strange land. Chances are we are what the dominant species is in this world. We just need to find this Pegasus creature and see if he knows where the problem is at." Twilight proceeded to turn her attention to the others. "Guys. We should try to find Pegasus and find out where the problem is."
"But where should we look? Should we check the castle?" Applejack asked Twilight.
"Probably. Let's go check there before we go any further," Twilight answered. "Let's go."
After taking a few minutes to get used to walking on two legs, the group started to walk to the castle's entrance. Upon reaching the entrance, they were met with a guard. "Hold on! Who are you six and what business do you have with Pegasus?"
"You see, we have been summoned to here in order to deal with a world endangering cataclysm that may happen at some point in the near future," Twilight tried to explain. "Now, if you would just kindly let us through to see Pegasus, we can get started in saving the world."
"A likely story. You are most likely just here to harm him or get some blackmail material," The guard refused to allow entry.
"Hey, buddy, what's the big idea? You refuse to let us in, even though we asked nicely and are trying to save the world?" Rainbow Dash growled as she got into the guard's face.
"The world is fine, kids. Now I suggest you leave before I am forced to use force to get you to leave," the guard countered.
"Really?! You don't want to get on my bad side, bub," Rainbow Dash was furious, ready to rush at and hurt the guard. Suddenly, Applejack grabbed her by the arms in order to keep her from doing something rash.
"Settle down there, sugarcube. The last thing we need is to cause a fight," Applejack warned Rainbow Dash before she could do anything rash.
"Please sir, this must be a misunderstanding. Can you please bring Maximillion Pegasus here so that we may speak with him?" Rarity pleaded with the guard.
"Look, I was given orders to guard the entrance to Pegasus's castle and to not let any unauthorized guests in. While it is true that there are guests expected to be here later today, you do not appear to be the expected guests. So, please leave before I stop being so patient," the guard warned.
Before the group could say anything else or try to leave, the door that the guard was in front of opened and a man in a red suit and with gray hair stepped out. "Please, Richmon, tell me who these guests are and what they are doing at my door." the man said.
"Sorry Mr. Pegasus, but these kids here are trespassing and are trying to make claims that they have a meeting with you," The guard explained.
"Wait, that's Pegasus?" Rainbow whispered to Pinkie Pie.
"Yeah, I know right? I though he would be an actual pegasus," Pinkie Pie responded.
"Is that so, well then can you tell me who it is that sent you here?" Pegasus asked the group.
"Princess Celestia, Mr. Pegasus," Twilight answered.
"Princess Celestia?! Well then, Richmon, you can let these six in. These were the guests that I have been expecting," Pegasus explained.
"Sorry, sir," Richmon apologized. "Ladies, you may head inside."
The group of six and Spike followed after Pegasus into the castle, with Rainbow Dash sticking out her tongue at Richmon as they passed by.
"So, what has Celestia told you about this dimension?" Pegasus asked the group as he led them through the castle's halls.
"Not much. She mostly just said that this world is in danger and that our world could also be affected," Twilight explained.
"Well, the danger is unlikely to be due to any normal threat, but a matter of the Spirit World. So tell me. Have any of you heard of Duel Monsters before?" Pegasus questioned the group. However, each of the group shook their head, having never heard of the game before. "Really, none of you? Wow, you really are from a different dimension. Duel Monsters is a card game I created many years ago, based on old Shadow Games from many years ago. Also, most of the cards are based on real creatures from a realm separate from ours known as the Spirit World. The only threat that I can think of is one that can affect the Spirit World as well as this world. The only threat like this would be… the Sacred Beasts."
"Um, excuse me Mr. Pegasus," Fluttershy interrupted, "But what are the Sacred Beasts?"
"Very rare and powerful cards that have dangerous abilities. They could steal all of the souls from Duel Monster cards as well as cause untold danger to other worlds as well. If they were to fall into the wrong hands, who knows what could happen. In fact, I had a dream about them just last night," Pegasus explained, much to the fear of Twilight as she realized that she may have dreamt about the cards and the danger they could pose.
"So, what do you want us to do? Tear up the cards so that they can't be used?" Rainbow Dash asked out of curiosity.
"Actually, no," Pegasus shot the idea down. "The cards could attack you spiritually if you tried to do so. What we need to do is to find and stop whoever would try to steal the cards before they could steal them."
"Alright then. So, where are the cards anyway?" Applejack asked.
"They are hidden underneath Duel Academy," Pegasus answered as he stopped in front of a door.
"So, what is Duel Academy?" Rarity asked.
"Duel Academy is a school created by a man named Seto Kaiba in order to teach duelists to play Duel Monsters," Pegasus continued to explain.
Twilight finally proceeded to ask the question that all of the group had on their minds, "So, what do you want us to do, Mr. Pegasus?"
"First of all, you can just call me Pegasus. Second, I want you to enter Duel Academy in order to find the ones after the Sacred Beasts," Pegasus finally answered.
"So, you want us to attend a school that teaches us to play a card game to stop potential thieves? Sounds a bit lame if you ask me," Rainbow Dash rudely butted in.
"Rainbow Dash! Don't be so rude," Rarity scolded the brash girl.
"Yeah, think of all the potential new friends we could make and have a party with at Duel Academy," Pinkie Pie said.
"Still, it does seem a bit much. Potentially leaving home for months in order to keep these cards and different dimensions safe? I'm not so sure about this," Applejack gave out her concerns.
"Keep in mind, you all still have a pair of Dimensional Scissors, which you can use to visit home whenever you want," Pegasus reassured.
"So Twilight, what do you think we should do?" Spike asked Twilight for her to weigh in her view on the situation.
Twilight spent a good few minutes thinking about what should be done. On the one hand, not being able to see home or her friends and family for a long time seemed like a big ask, though fortunately they could still visit whenever they wanted. Also, her dream from the previous night concerned her. If those creatures she saw in her nightmare really were the Sacred Beasts, then who was to say that their dimension or any others for that matter, would remain safe if they didn't act soon. So for this reason, Twilight nodded her head and said, "I'm going to stay and help. You guys can go back home if you want, but I want to stay and learn about Duel Monsters so that I can protect the Sacred Beasts cards."
"Hey, who said you were going to do this alone? I'm with you all the way!" Rainbow Dash offered her help.
"You can count me in too," Spike agreed.
"Me too. We can't just let this world and possibly others fall to ruin like this," Applejack concluded.
"Same here. Though hopefully it will end up being a relaxing time rather than a stressful one," Rarity agreed.
"Yeah! It may be fun to be at Duel Academy," Pinkie Pie also agreed. "So, what about you, Fluttershy? You want to stay and help too?"
"Um, I guess if everyone else will be staying to help, I guess I can stay too. But only if I am allowed to visit home from time to time," Fluttershy reluctantly agreed.
"Perfect. Now that you all have agreed to help, it is about time we get to the issue of building your decks," Pegasus responded. Pegasus opened the door, which had an entire array of cards to find on the other side.