The duo spun widely out of control in their cardboard box as it traveled through the inter-dimensional wormhole. Calvin and Hobbes gripped the edge the box with enough force it made their fingers hurt.
"Let's go to another world you said! It'll be fun you said!" Hobbes whined.
"I'm sorry, all right?" Calvin yelled back. "Just be glad we're not being ripped apart!"
"I'm eating the salmon now in case we don't make it." Hobbes bit into the can with his fangs and sucked out the juices.
"Hold on! I think we're materializing!"
The wormhole surrounding them slowly faded as they landed into another world. A grassy field alongside a riverbank formed just ahead of them. Various trees surrounded them, with flowers growing at the base of each one. Hump-shaped mountains lined up the horizon, with snowy caps on top. Eventually, the box stopped moving all together and it had successfully transported them into another world.
"Ok, we made it." Calvin sighed with relief. He looked around and studied his surroundings. "This isn't the world I had in mind."
"Forget about the world!" Hobbes shouted. "Now that we know about the safeguards, let's go home!"
Suddenly, a piece exploded out of the cardboard box. The chunk landed near the riverbank in multiple pieces, causing Calvin to shriek in terror.
"Oh no. Oh no. OH NO!" Calvin yelled as he jumped out of the box.
"What was that?" Hobbes asked.
Calvin scooped up the broken pieces in his hands, staring at them with horror in his eyes.
"This was the module that allows access to the inter-dimensional wormhole." Calvin stated. "It must have been damaged when we landed."
"Whoa, so let me get this straight." responded Hobbes. "You're telling me that we're stuck in an unknown world all because you failed to enable the safeguards?"
"It was a mistake, all right?" Calvin defended himself. "I can build a new one, we just need some new cardboard!"
"Ok, what about our box?"
"Are you crazy Hobbes? That's our ride home! We need it to be safe when traveling through the wormhole!"
"And where do you expect to find cardboard in this world?" Hobbes asked. "We don't even know if it exists here!"
"Then why don't we explore this world? I'm sure we can find some sort of civilization or something!"
"There's a city on that mountain over there." Hobbes pointed north.
Calvin followed his friend's gaze, staring in awe at the city. Multiple towers stood up, being built from the side of the mountain. Multiple waterfalls escaped from the city, which probably created the river they found themselves at.
"We must be in some sort of medieval world." Calvin suggested. "C'mon Hobbes, let's go."
"What about the box?"
"Oh yeah! We can't let anyone find it! Hide it behind that bush!"
Hobbes lifted up the box, while the cans of salmon inside tumbled against each other. He forcefully shoved it into a bush, which was surrounded by multiple trees.
"These trees look kind of odd, don't they?" said Hobbes as he studied one of the trees.
"Yeah, they do. They grow in a weird shape." Calvin replied.
After hiding the box, Calvin and Hobbes proceeded north towards the city on the mountain. They hiked up a large hill that was alongside the river, and found something not far from their location. A small village was built in the area surrounded by the mountains, with signs of activity evident. Smoke rose from the chimney tops of the houses, which were strangely made out of wood and straw. A set of train tracks ran through the town, leading off towards the mountain with the city built into the side. And the village was full of life as the ponies trotted throughout the town. Wait, what?
"Hobbes, are those... ponies?" Calvin asked, viewing the town from the hill.
"Huh, I believe they are." Hobbes replied.
"This world is inhabited by... PONIES?" Calvin shouted. "What is this? This is the kind of world Susie Derkins would go to!"
"Well, what do we do?" Hobbes asked.
Calvin rubbed his chin as he pondered that. He lit up as an idea formed in his head.
"I have an idea."
The cardboard box, now upside-down, made a brilliant flash of light as it finished the process. Scribbled on the side of the box was "Transmogrifier", and a dial next to it was set to "Pony".
Hobbes lifted up the box, revealing a young colt. Calvin's fur was as red as his striped t-shirt, and was an odd sensation to have hair covering his whole body. His yellow mane was spiked at the top like it usually was, but it ran down the back of his neck much like that of a horse.
"How do I look?" Calvin asked, trying to walk on four legs.
"You look like dinner to me." Hobbes joked.
"Ha ha, now it's your turn."
"Oh no, I don't want anything to do with that box. You can't take the tiger out of me." he protested.
"Hobbes, you're a carnivore! If the ponies see you, they might panic! We don't need the attention!"
"When they see me with you, I'm sure they'll be fine knowing I wouldn't harm a little horsey."
Calvin's face went a darker shade of red with anger. "Fine, but just try not to eat them, unless they attack us. Now let's go, I want to get this done before nightfall."
After hiding the cardboard box again, Calvin and Hobbes again proceeded north towards the village. They eventually made it into the town, and several ponies glanced towards them. They appeared to be frightened at first, but looked the other way seeing that the tiger wasn't there to harm them.
"I told you they wouldn't care." Hobbes whispered.
"Yeah, yeah, you were right." Calvin whispered back. "Let's just find some cardboard and get out of here before-"
Calvin stopped as a pink pony smiled in his face. He had no idea how she suddenly appeared in front of him without him noticing, but nevertheless she was there. Her mane was a darker shade of pink, and it curled at the top. Calvin thought he could detect the scent of cotton candy, and it made him hungry.
"Um..." Calvin tried to say something intelligent. "...Hello?"
"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! You're a little young to be traveling alone, aren't you? But you have your own tiger! I didn't know tigers could be friendly! I thought they lived down south in the jungle! Are you from the jungle? I didn't know many ponies lived in the jungle! Oh that's right! You're new to Ponyville, aren't you? Well, of course you are silly! I would of known you if you've been here before! Let me give you the tour!"
Before Calvin and Hobbes had a chance to develop what had just happened, Pinkie Pie was dragging them both across town.
"This is Sugarcube Corner! You can eat all sorts of delicious treats here! It's also where I work and live!"
"Hey! What are you doing?" Calvin spit out as he suddenly realized what was going on.
"And over here is Twilight Sparkle's library! You can get all sorts of books here!"
"Wha? Huh? How did we get here so fast?" Hobbes asked, confused.
"And this is Sweet Apple Acres where my friend Applejack lives! She's the owner and her family makes the best Apple Cider in all of Equestria!"
"Applejack? Equestria? What?" Calvin was getting frustrated.
"Over here is Carousel Boutique! This is where my friend Rarity lives! She makes the best dresses and suits anypony could ask for!"
"Any.. pony?" Hobbes tried to render that in his head.
"Up in the sky there is Rainbow Dash's house! She's the most coolest pony in Equestria! She can perform a Sonic Rainboom in ten seconds flat!"
"The sky? Rainboom? WHAT'S GOING ON?" Calvin screamed.
"And if you like animals, this is Fluttershy's cottage! She's the best animal caretaker EVER! OHMYGOSH! I don't think Fluttershy has ever seen a tiger before! Let's go see her!"
"What just happened?" Hobbes asked Calvin.
"I don't know, just go along with it!" he replied.
They found themselves at the entrance of the cottage. Various animal noises could be heard from behind the house. Pinkie Pie knocked on the door with her head and patiently waited. A couple seconds later, a yellow pony opened the door. This one had a longer mane that was a lighter shade of pink. A surprising feature about her was that she had wings on her back. She was a pegasus.
"Oh, Hi Pinkie Pie. What brings you here?" she asked quietly. Calvin could barely hear her.
"There's a new colt in Ponyville and he has a tiger with him!" Pinkie Pie happily announced.
Fluttershy looked at Calvin, hiding her face as she did. But when she looked at Hobbes, a smile formed on her face and she quickly approached the tiger.
"Oh my gosh! I've never seen a tiger before! I didn't think they were friendly!" Fluttershy stated while circling Hobbes. "Wow, orange is such an amazing color for an animal."
Hobbes beamed with pride as she said this. "Well, tigers do have to look good."
Fluttershy smiled again. "I didn't know tigers could talk! You're such a cute tiger aren't you?" Fluttershy's wings extended, and she flew just above Hobbe's head. She began to gently stroke him with her hoof.
"Hey, what are doin... aw, that feels good!" Hobbes succumbed to the pleasure.
"You have to be kidding me." said Calvin.
Hobbes was now lying down on his back while Fluttershy rubbed his tummy. "Aw, you're just big loveable kitty aren't you?"
"I am..." Hobbes replied. He stretched out on the grass and began to purr.
"Hmm mmm" Calvin cleared his throat, trying to get attention.
"Oh I'm sorry. Were you going to introduce yourself?" Fluttershy asked. "Forgive me, I was just excited about your tiger." The mare hung her head in guilt.
"No, it's fine." Calvin replied, trying not to sound too harsh. "We're uh, new here and we wanted to introduce ourselves."
"Oh, well Nice to meet you. I'm Fluttershy. I take care of various animals from all over Equestria."
"I'm.." Calvin thought for a minute. His real name would sound weird in a world like this. He quickly thought of a new name. "I'm, uh, Napalm." He remembered the Captain Napalm comic books he read frequently back home. "And this is Hobbes, my pet tiger."
"Hobbes!" Fluttershy squealed. "Aw, that's such a cute name!" Fluttershy smiled again, and Calvin thought he heard some sort of noise as she did.
"Hey, do you have any food?" Hobbes asked "We've had a long day and I sure am hungry."
"Oh, of course!" Fluttershy replied. "Please, come inside!"
Calvin, uh, I mean, Napalm grabbed Hobbes. "Hobbes, what are you doing? We're supposed to be finding cardboard!" he whispered.
"I'm hungry and this nice pony gives me belly rubs." he replied as he walked inside the cottage.
Calvin growled as he followed him and Pinkie Pie inside the house.