"Are ya sure this contraption of yers is safe tah be drivin' 'round mah farm?" Applejack asked, looking over my dark blue 2004 Ford Escape as Twilight and I both lowered it to the ground using our combined magic. We'd floated it over to Applejack's farm after getting permission from the family's matriarch to drive it around on a small patch of land near the southern portion of the farm. Aside from starting it and letting it run for a bit every couple of days, I hadn't really touched my car and Twilight had been bugging me about letting her watch me drive it for the past few days, especially ever since I talked about it at the celebration after the Running of the Leaves.

"I won't be going at full speed, and you have a good enough space in this part of the farm to do some driving," I explained as I put the car down. I looked past the car to see a small crowd of curious Ponies who'd followed. "Besides, this is turning into an impromptu show. Maybe you can sell these Ponies something."

Applejack snorted, shaking her head with a small smile on her face. "Yer hopeless."

"Nooo, I'm Jethro," I laughed as I opened the driver's side door. After making sure the car started, much to the curiosity of the gathered Ponies. I turned the car back off then turned back to the crowd. "I doubt I'll be showing you how this all works for very long! So enjoy it while it lasts!"

Twilight stood by the passenger side door, eager to get in. I walked up and opened the door. She bounded in and sat in the chair, looking around excitedly. I reached up and brought the seatbelt down. "What's this?" she asked.

"A seatbelt," I explained. "If there's a sudden change in momentum this is meant to hold you in place. Watch." I moved it slowly back and forth once, then pulled hard on it. Twilight's eyes widened when it stopped moving. "If there's a crash, these things have saved more lives than before they were out in cars."

"Oooh! What's this thing?" Pinkie Pie popped up beside me and looked in the car. "A new carriage? I love carriage rides! Can I come along?"

"Pinkie, this isn't for fun," Twilight admonished.

"I don't mind if she sits in the back," I said as I opened the door behind the passenger side. Pinkie bounced in and sat down, looking at everything with wide eyed curiosity.

"Applejack, what about you?" I asked. "There's room for one more next to Pinkie," I said.

She shook her head. "Another time. Ah'll be fine right here."

"Suit yourself," I said as I returned to buckle Twilight in. I tightened it so it held her as securely as it could. "Cars weren't designed for Ponies. But I won't be going too fast." I closed the door then went to buckle Pinkie up.

As I leaned over her to buckle her securely in, I heard Pinkie whisper into my ear, "Getting a good look at my sexy butt, Jethy?"

I looked up at Pinkie, who was giving me her version of a sultry wink. Rolling my eyes, I sat up after strapping her in securely. "You're never gonna let me forget that, are you?"

"Nope!" Grabbing both my cheeks, she pulled me forward and planted a big playful kiss on my lips. I was so startled that I didn't move, giving her enough time to slip in a little bit of tongue. Coming to my senses, I pulled away and coughed as she grabbed a carrot from nowhere and began chomping on it. "Eeeerm, what's up, Doc?"

"I should never have shown you Looney Tunes," I gasped, wiping my mouth.

"Never!"

"My my, love, that looked fun," a familiar Zebra said from behind me.

I turned and saw my marefriend looking at me with a knowing smirk. Before I could say anything, she held up her hoof. "I know why she did it, Jethro. Don't worry." She looked at my car. "So, you're finally taking this car out for a drive?"

I nodded. "Twilight kept on bugging me about it, and I need to take a little drive to keep the skills intact. And besides, wings aside, I like the feeling of driving. Wanna join? There's one more seat available."

She shook her head. "Not today, dearest. Another time."

"Alright, well sit back and enjoy the view." I closed Pinkie's door and headed to the driver's seat, only to be met by Rainbow Dash who hovered in front of me, glaring. "Um…yes?" I asked.

"Why didn't you ask me to come?" she pouted.

"RD, this thing doesn't fly," I said. "And I'm not going that fast. I didn't think you'd be interested-"

"Well I am, so let me in!" She pulled on the other passenger side door.

"Okay okay! Calm down, would ya? Back away and I'll let you in!" She backed away and I opened the other door. She zoomed in and sat down. After I buckled her in, I stood and looked at the gathered crowd. "Listen up, everyone! This vehicle can be dangerous. Do not get in front of it under any circumstances, understand? Just keep a respectful distance from it at all times, okay?" With that, I finally got back in the driver's seat. "Please don't touch anything without asking first," I told them all. "Driving takes a lot of concentration." I started the car. Pinkie and Rainbow Dash were looking around at everything they could in the car while Twilight was watching me and taking notes. I put the car in gear and put my foot on the gas.

Twilight was the first to say anything. "If we could replicate this technology, it could jump start a technological revolution!"

"As long as you find something other than gasoline to help run them," I said. "It's a pollutant and dangerous to the planet."

"But in small doses it's harmless enough, right?" Rainbow asked. I was surprised she was even listening.

"There's only one car in Equestria right now," I said, "but even so we should be careful. I'd like it if somebody could find a cleaner resource to use than gasoline."

"I'll look into the problem," Twilight promised.

"Can this thing go faster?" Rainbow asked.

"It can, but the road would have to be smooth," I said. "Even though Applejack's farm was the closest I could come to a flat surface, we're gonna be still experiencing some bumps."

As if on cue, we hit a clump of dirt. Pinkie squealed in delight as she was thrown up a bit, Twilight held her pen (a non-quill which I'd given her from my collection of bank pens) and muttered a bit in frustration, and Rainbow Dash used a minor expletive, earning her a glare from Twilight. "Like that?" Twilight asked a few seconds later.

"Like that," I said. "Now then, there's a flat stretch of land just ahead. Twilight, can you flatten it more? Possibly make it firmer?"

Nodding, the Unicorn's horn glowed and the ground ahead did as well, rearranging the ground to make it flatter. "There. Does that work?"

"Poifect," I said as I pushed down on the gas more. We sped up and the two mares in the back made happy anticipation noises. "Okay, let's make some trails!" I floored it and I felt the tires catch and spray dirt behind me before they caught and we jolted forward. "Whoo!"

"Okay, that was preeeetty awesome," Rainbow said.

"I wish you guys had some nice open roads that I could drive on," I said as I put the brakes on, slowing us down and turning back around. "Then I could break some road rules and put the pedal to the medal! But your roads are dirt and cobblestone. Not the kind that are ideal for my kind of vehicle."

"What kind of roads do you have?" Twilight asked. "What are they made of?"

"They're made of something called concrete," I said. "I'll google how to make it later. And maybe this time around we can make some roads that actually are built to last." I laughed. "I feel like I'm playing the Civilization games. And I never played them!"

"What are those games? Are they fun?" Pinkie asked.

"Not sure you'd enjoy them," I said. "From what I know of the video game franchise, the goal is to create a civilization that doesn't fall. Then again, like I said, I never played them."

Twilight perked up. "That sounds like a fun game!"

"I'll try and find it, then," I said. "For now, let's give the gathered Ponies a bit of a show. Nothing fancy, though."

For the next ten minutes, I showed the girls what the car could do. I accelerated, braked hard, braked softly, turning, backing up, parking in a temporary parking spot I'd made, and more. Just as I was about to pull another acceleration maneuver, I saw a purple and green blur rush out in front of the car, waving a scroll. I braked hard, throwing everyone forward a bit. I put the car in park and got out of the car quickly, anger building inside me. "SPIKE! What the hell were you thinking!?" I yelled at the now startled dragon. "You don't jump in front of a carriage, so why did you jump in front of my car?!"

"Jethro! Don't yell at him!" Rarity, who'd arrived a few minutes ago, rushed over to Spike's defense.

"Rarity, this vehicle can easily kill someone in the right circumstances," I said. "If I hadn't been on firm ground and my brakes weren't in good shape, I could have hit him." I looked down at Spike sternly. "You could have been seriously hurt, Spike."

Twilight rushed over and began looking the trembling Dragon over. "Are you alright? Did you get hurt anywhere?"

"N-No," Spike said, still looking up at me with teary eyes.

Damn it, now I feel bad…but he needs to learn this lesson. Yelling might have been a bad choice, though. I took a deep breath, and knelt in front of Spike. Putting a hand on his shoulder, I pulled him forward. "Sorry for yelling, kiddo," I said as I pulled him into a hug. "I don't want to hurt you, is all."

I heard the poor drake sniff and slowly hug me back. "I'm sorry…"

I tightened my grip on him. Stardust Balance/Jack I am not, but this kid is growing on me, I thought. "Tell you what, sometime in the future, I'll show you some car racing video games I have. And then you can sit in front like Twilight was doing and we can go for a small drive. Sound good?"

He sniffed and I felt him nodding. "Sure…"

I broke the hug and rubbed his head playfully. "Now, what did you interrupt us for? It seemed important."

His eyes widened and he handed me a sealed scroll, with the words JETHRO'S EYES ONLY written on it. It bore the seals of Celestia, Luna, and Cadance on them. I broke them and opened it.

Golden hour approaches. Seven days of good weather comes.

Attend to us. Come the morrow, the mirror awakens.

My expression didn't change, but inwardly alarms were ringing in my head. Four lines. All meaning one simple thing…

"The mirror is about to open already, isn't it?" I asked a few hours later. I was sitting in the living room of my Earth house with Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Zecora who I knew I wouldn't be able to hide the truth from anyway.

"That's correct," Celestia said in a grave tone. "The thirty moons since the last time it was open ends tomorrow at noon. Once it does, the mirror will be open for seven days until the moon reaches its peak on the third day."

"I remember that from the Equestria Girls movie," I said, "but I also remember that when it first appeared in the show, Twilight was a Princess already. I also know that Twilight found a way to make the portal between the worlds open permanently thanks to the book Sunset took with her acting as a link to keep the portal open." Something about the time frame for the portal's opening didn't sit right with me since I remembered it being three days in the movie, but I wasn't going to complain.

Celestia looked thoughtful at this revelation. "Hmm…fascinating."

"Sister, perhaps it would be prudent to bring Twilight in on this to see if she can mirror the success she found in the show," Luna offered.

"For the time being, I would prefer her not to know," Celestia said. "At least until the seven days have passed. Either way, having the portal open to another world at all times is a dangerous prospect. If the mission fails, I will ask her to make opening this portal between worlds a top priority, and if it succeeds, well, I would ask the same of her." She looked up at the ceiling. "Sunset…"

"I'll certainly do my best to keep the events of Equestria Girls from happening, and to bring Sunset to her senses," I said.

"I will be going with you, love," Zecora said.

"I can't allow that," Celestia said. "You could easily upset the balance of the other world."

"Yeah, that's a load of bull," I said. "I remember seeing parts of an episode where Sunset and two humans make their way to Equestria through another natural portal. At the end of the episode, a bunch of humans come through that natural portal to Equestria. No balance upset. No worldwide destruction. Not a thing."

"Other humans in Equestria?" Cadance asked, sounding worried.

"Remember what I said about the Crystal Mirror changing the forms of Ponies to humans, and vice versa when coming back?" I asked. The princesses nodded, so I continued. "Well, the same thing happened in the case of this portal. All the humans changed to Ponies, or rather, their Pony counterparts. This other human world is nothing like Earth. Not the Earth I knew. Hell, Celestia, you and Luna exist as Principal and Vice Principal of Canterlot High."

"Do you recall where this natural portal was?" Luna asked.

"Not specifically," I replied. "All I know is that it was in some kind of cave. Canterlot was in the background, and it had to be near Ponyville. And it was around a forest, if I recall correctly. Not the Everfree, I don't think."

"That does help narrow the search pattern down," Celestia said. "Perhaps it's in the White Tail Forest."

"But we can think about that later, can't we?" I asked. "Our main concern should be mitigating any interpersonal damage Sunset might have caused in the human world."

"From what I saw, part of it was breaking up the friendships between the human versions of Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy," I said. "She also took the time to run the high school she ended up in at the top of the popularity chain. Complete and utter teen drama shit."

"There are human versions of the Bearers?" Luna asked.

"Not just them," I said. "You have a human version, and so do you, Celestia."

"And me?" Cadance asked. "Am I there, too?"

"You work at another high school called Crystal Prep which is where the human Twilight Sparkle is currently studying," I explained.

"Have you seen me there, love?" Zecora asked.

"Not yet," I said, "so I think it's okay if she comes with me."

"I will not let him go alone," Zecora said, facing Celestia. I almost saw a hint of defiance in her eyes .

Celestia sighed, but nodded. "Alright, I understand. Just be careful."

I nodded in agreement. "Now…the big question: how to tell my friends…?"

It had taken a lot of convincing, but two and a half hours later, all of the Mane Six, Spike, and even Scarlet were sitting in my Earth house living room. I'd finally decided that Scarlet had earned enough of my trust to learn about the My Little Pony television show, which is where I started, since it had taken more time to convince the princesses to tell all the friends I had the truth.

Scarlet was unusually somber after learning the truth, and had taken a half hour alone in her room to initially process it. When she came back out, I felt my heart shatter when I saw her tear-stained eyes. I apologized profusely for keeping the truth from her, but she came up and silenced me with a hoof to my mouth. "Hush," she said softly, and to my surprise a small smile formed on her face. "I'm not angry at you for keeping it from me, just at how long it took for you to tell me. We're friends, aren't we?"

I gave her a small but sad smile of my own. "Who else am I gonna quote Earth memes and culture with," I replied. "I'm sorry it took so long. Guess I was afraid."

Scarlet threw her forelegs around me, and I hugged her back. "I know I can come off as a bit of a pervert at times, but I'd like to think I've done enough to earn your trust."

"I should have told you a while ago, because yes you did," I replied.

"Well…better late than never," she said as she broke the hug, then she turned to the princesses. She bowed and added, "This secret shall go to my grave."

"Your candor is most appreciated," Luna said appreciatively.

"So…was this why we were called here?" Rainbow Dash asked, sounding a bit bored.

I shook my head. "It's one reason, but it's not the main one." I looked to Celestia, who gave me a nod. Facing the others, I took a deep breath. "I'll be heading out of town for the next three days."

"You're going away again?!" Twilight Sparkle's expression was one of incredulous fear as she rushed over to me, her nose mere inches from mine. "Where? When? How long? I need to pack my bags, and-"

"You're not going with him," Celestia said.

That stopped her immediately. Her eyes went even wider, her mouth open in shock. Shaking her head, she looked back at her mentor. "What…why? Princess, what's going on?"

"That is a long story," Celestia said. "In a word, Jethro is heading to another world, one he knows more about than anypony here."

"You found a way for him to go back to his world?" Rarity asked in shock.

Celestia shook her head. "No, the world he is going to is not the same as his Earth. But it is one inhabited by humans. And it's the world where a former student of mine, Sunset Shimmer, has been living ever since she fled Equestria."

"There's a movie series that was made called Equestria Girls," I went on to further explain. "The movies and a subsequent series of short videos depict the adventures of Sunset Shimmer and…well, your human counterparts." I turned on the TV to show a group image of the human versions of the Mane Six along with the individual the fandom had called Sci-Twi as well as the dog Spike. I spent the next half hour briefly going over what I knew about this human world. I showed images of Canterlot High, other human versions of the Ponies they knew, other places in the human world, and a bit more. By the time I was done, I felt exhausted, but I stayed the course. "Sunset Shimmer is not lost to us forever. She just needs a guiding hand, or hoof I guess, back in the right direction. Besides, she still has princess potential."

"But why are you telling us this?" Twilight asked. "Especially if we can't go with you?"

"Because of this." I showed them an image of the mirror portal surrounded by all sorts of machinery. "Twilight, your cartoon counterpart discovered a way to keep the portal open permanently. If something goes wrong, and I hope nothing does, you're the only Pony I know of who can recreate this. And you'll need the time."

"But…we can't just let you go on your own!" Twilight shouted. "Last time you went off alone, you almost died! Somepony needs to make sure you're safe!"

"She right, sugarcube," Applejack said, stepping up to stand beside Twilight. "We ain't gonna leave ya behind again. Not after what happened last time."

"You'll have to," I said, then I put an arm around Zecora. "And don't worry. She's going with me, so I won't be going alone."

"Are you kidding?" Rainbow Dash shouted, flying down into my face as well, "Why is she so special?"

"Rainbow!" Twilight shouted.

Rainbow Dash backed away, looking down in frustration. She landed and tapped at the ground. "Aren't we your friends…?"

"Don't play that card with me, RD," I said sternly. "You all are my friends, but this isn't something that you can join me on. Unlike most of you, Sunset Shimmer doesn't know me. I'm a complete unknown to her. I have no counterpart over there, so she won't see me coming."

"But how will you find her?" Fluttershy asked.

I chuckled. "I know what she looks like, remember? All I need to do is namedrop Equestria and I'll gain her attention."

"Oh…right."

"I still think we should go with you!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Do you have any experience in being human?" I asked. "The moment you step through that mirror, your body becomes human. Zecora has experience with a humanoid form."

"Then we can learn! Twilight has that spell she uses on Zecora sometimes and on Princess Luna that other time!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. She grabbed my collar and pulled me closer. "I'm not leaving you behind a third time!"

"Third time? What do…oh…" was all I could say. "RD…are you still upset about the Cloudsdale incident? Seriously, it wasn't your fault."

"You could have died!" Rainbow Dash shouted at me, and I could see a small hint of a tear escape one of her eyes.

"Rainbow, Jethro's right," Applejack said sincerely. "Ya couldn't have done more."

"I could have! I could have…" Rainbow Dash floated down, looking away from me.

Acting on instinct, I wrapped my arms around the poor mare, holding her close. "I'm sorry, RD, but right now, you need to stay behind. I appreciate your concern, I really do. But if things go wrong, I'll need you all back here. You're the Element of Loyalty. The planet needs you. It would make me feel better knowing you're here, keeping the inhabitants of Ponyville save for the next thirty moons." Rainbow clung to me hard, surprising me with how she was acting. I looked at the others. "It needs all of you."

Twilight looked just as distraught as Rainbow, Fluttershy even more so, and the others didn't look too happy to be seeing me go either. To my surprise, Fluttershy came forward and stood on her hind legs. She got in my face, giving me her first look of her famous Stare. "You had better come back to us, damn it," she said.

We all stared in shock at Fluttershy. None of us had ever heard her swearing before, and I certainly didn't expect her to either. I swallowed, a chill running down my spine. Guess even I'm not immune to her Stare, I thought. "Y-Yes, miss," I said.

Canterlot during autumn was slightly different than during the summer months. For one, as with the trees in Ponyville, the deciduous ones were losing their leaves. As I walked down the street with Scarlet, Zecora, the Mane Six and Spike, I also saw many of the fancy city Ponies wearing warmer clothing than anything else. The streets were crowded with city Ponies, most of whom gave me the same looks they'd given me before, but a good number gave me looks of curiosity and I swore I saw a couple of mares winking at me. The excessive makeup and the clothes told me they were either very rich or belonged to the oldest profession in the world.

Rarity moved to my side and pushed me along. "Move your behind, darling. Those are mares of the night," she whispered.

"Seriously?" I whispered back. "Never thought Equestria would have prostitutes."

"A vulgar profession," she said seething.

I didn't answer, just continued walking. I didn't quite agree that it was a vulgar profession, but she probably wouldn't have wanted to hear that. Especially with the mood of the Mane Six being somber. I hated seeing them like this, but I knew that I was doing the right thing by keeping them out of the Sunset Shimmer operation. Even after Fluttershy gave me her Stare, the others weren't so keen on giving up. They begged the princesses, pleaded with them to let them come along. But the princesses wouldn't budge.

When we reached the palace proper, Shining Armor was there with a few other soldiers. They all led us inside and down a flight of dark stairs. One concession the princesses had given to those not going was the chance to see me and Zecora off, and that was after Twilight pleaded her hardest. It would appear not even Celestia was immune to the puppy dog eyes that the Element Bearers could give.

We reached the bottom in silence and were greeted by all three princesses waiting for us. Celestia dismissed the guards who all left, all except for Shining Armor. Celestia and Luna used their magic to open up a set of stone doors, which led into a dark room. When the doors were completely open, the princesses used their magic to ignite a bunch of different torches around the mostly empty domed room.

My jaw hit the floor when I saw the mirror standing in the center of the room. It looked absolutely nothing like the mirror I'd seen in the show. For one, it was a lot larger, and the frame was completely ring shaped. A large eighteen-wheeler truck could fit through it with plenty of room to spare.

As the torches further lit up the room, I walked up to take a closer look. The frame, unlike the pink I'd seen on the show, was made of a dark gray stone with black crystals embedded in equidistant intervals around the mirror. Nine intervals, to be precise, seven crystals at each interval arranged in a V shape pointing towards the center of the mirror. It was held in place on either side by two large support struts which kept it standing in place. A stone ramp led up towards the mirror on the side facing the door we'd just come through. Pulling out my phone, I pulled up the images I had saved and found the mirror image. I looked up at the mirror before me, then back at the one on the screen.

I couldn't help myself. "Okay…who the fuck ordered a Stargate?"

"No shit," Scarlet said, staring at it beside me. "Sure, there's no DHD, and the frame is a lot…simpler, but this has Stargate written all over it."

"This is Star Swirl's mirror," Luna said, looking confused. "He and a Unicorn apprentice of his worked tirelessly on it for many moons."

"No, I believe you," I said, putting my hands on the frame, "It just looks way too similar to a device from a TV show Scarlet and I have watched." I looked at the time and saw we had seven more minutes until noon. I took my backpack off and opened it once more to quickly look through what I was taking with me.

I had two spare changes of clothes, all unaltered since I pretty much expected my wings to vanish when I stepped through the portal, three large purses full of bits that I hoped I could exchange somewhere for local currency, and if that didn't work, I had a few diamonds and a few large gold nuggets I could trade for cash. Toiletries were also there, double and triple checked, as was a small sleeping bag. I almost brought my old Earth wallet with what little cash I had on me, but I reasoned that since this world was so different from the Earth I knew, none of my money would work. I brought along a couple hunting knife with me as well, just in case I needed to rough it.

And then, there was my backup plan. I patted the side of the brown cover of the journal Celestia had given me the day before. In case something went wrong, or in case Sunset burned the journal she took with her, this was my bargaining chip and means of communicating with Equestria.

I zipped my bag back up and looked at Celestia. "When you mentioned that the mirror looked slightly different, I didn't expect this" I smirked. "If this is your definition of slightly different, I'd hate to see what your definition of vastly different is."

She actually looked a bit embarrassed. "Forgive me, Jethro. I didn't expect the mirror to open for a while longer. I did plan on showing you soon, I promise. Just…under better circumstances."

I walked over and put my arms around her neck. She lowered her head and wrapped her own wings around me. "I understand." We broke the hug and smiled at each other. After a few seconds, I turned away and faced the others. "Jesus, you all look like I'm going to my funeral. What's going on? We'll be gone seven days max, and if we somehow fail to come back through, I'm confident in your abilities to permanently open the portal so I can come home."

Twilight came forward first after a long moment of silence, and lifted herself on her hind legs. She looked directly in my eyes. "That's the first time I heard you call Equestria home," she whispered, hugging me close.

I hugged her back. "Yeah…I guess it is."

"We're really worried," Twilight continued, holding me tighter. "Last time you left, you almost died."

"I know, I know," I said, stroking her mane, "but I know this world better than most and how to blend in, so I need to go."

"Ah still don't like it," Applejack said, her frown clearly one of frustration.

"At least we agree on something for once," Rainbow Dash said, sounding equally as frustrated as Applejack looked.

"Princess, are you sure we can't go?" Rarity asked.

"Why can't we go with Jethy?" Pinkie asked, sounding a bit more somber than normal.

Fluttershy didn't say anything, but looked over at me with a worried look. Celestia shook her head. "If what he told me is true, you have younger counterparts in this other world. Time passes differently between the worlds when the portal is closed, so it's possible she'll be younger than even you, Twilight. I hate sending even Jethro through, but if there's a chance for Sunset Shimmer to come back, I can fix what I damaged in her."

"And I'm volunteering," I added. I looked at them all, letting Twilight go. "I'm not going to lie; I'm scared beyond belief. Scared that I'll fail and be trapped in that world for a time, scared that I'll fail to convince Sunset to at least come back and see Celestia. Scared of being found by the authorities in that world and arrested. But she's still a threat as she is, and we need to stop her before she tries something drastic."

"'Courage isn't about not feeling fear. It's about pressing past that to protect your friends and loved ones,'" Fluttershy finally said, with a sad smile on her face.

I nodded, proud to see her taking my words to heart. "Feel free to add country to that as well," I said. "Like I said earlier, Equestria is now my home. I may not yet be a naturalized citizen yet, but in time I will take the oath. Even before then, I will take action to protect everyone in this room, and all the Ponies outside of it, regardless of their personal feelings towards me."

"That's all anypony can ask of you," Luna said.

From behind me I heard a soft tone. I turned to see one of the collections of crystals lighting up with an orange glow. I stepped back as a second one lit up with the same tone. We watched as a third one lit up, then a fourth, fifth, all the way up to the ninth symbol, which ironically was the one directly at the apex of the mirror. As each cluster of crystals lit up, the ground below us shook slightly and I could hear a rumbling noise from below the ground. When the final cluster lit up, the rumbling stopped as did the shaking. The mirror shimmered a bit, then its surface began to glow with an inner light and began to warp and distort constantly, almost as if I was looking at the surface of a pool from above. I chuckled, walked up, touched the surface and pulled my hand back. "Chevron nine locked, I suppose," I said, stepping back down the ramp towards the other Ponies. Zecora was by my side in moments.

"The portal is open," Celestia said. "We will await your return. Be safe over there."

"I will," I said, grabbing my backpack and slinging it over my shoulder. Looking down at Zecora, I turned and made my way up the ramp. I was terrified as all hell, but I forced my trembling legs forward. I knew it was safe. Celestia had told me herself that Sunset had written a scathing message to her only once through the journal she took, so I knew she'd made it through. I took a deep breath, then looked down and took Zecora's hoof in my hand.

Just as I was about to step through, I heard a commotion from behind me. Alarmed Ponies were shouting at someone to stop. Turning quickly, I saw a dark gray and crimson blur flying towards me. "For Narnia!" Scarlet shouted as she shoved Zecora and I through the portal.

My world became a mass of colors and chaotic sounds. I was in a winding tunnel of rainbow light and stars, parts of which parted to reveal stars. I couldn't move my body and it felt as if I was being stretched like taffy. I screamed…

…And found myself rolling through some thick undergrowth, tumbling until I hit something and came to a sudden stop. I heard two other voices shouting in alarm as they too fell through leafy brush.

I groaned as I opened my eyes, rubbing the shoulder that had hit whatever I was leaning against. And I knew something was wrong. Horribly wrong.

We weren't in front of a high school at all. I stood and looked around only to discover we were in a densely packed forest. The only thing that looked out of place was a massive stone statue of a human riding a horse with a sword in his hand. The statue was massive and looked weather worn. The platform on which it sat was large enough to fit an eighteen-wheeler through, much like the mirror portal was as well. A rusted metal plaque on the statue read KING ARTHUR AND LLAMREI.

Slowly, I approached it and put my hand through the one side with a circular design on it. My hand went through it easily enough, so I pulled it back. Looking behind my back, I saw my wings were now gone, but that my clothes, which had been altered for my use with wings, were now as normal as could be.

Hearing Zecora groaning nearby as well as Scarlet, I turned and rushed towards them, and nearly froze when I saw what they looked like. Yes, they were human, but not in quite the way I was expecting.

Scarlet was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a dark gray pullover hoodie with a red lightning bolt streak across the chest. She had a beanie on with crimson flames rising from the bottom. She had a somewhat yellowish-brown skin complexion that reminded me of Native Americans. Her hair was loose around her head and completely black and her eyes were a dark brown.

Zecora was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a loose t-shirt with a multitude of colors on it that reminded me vaguely of African clothing styles. She wore an unzipped red jacket over said t-shirt. Her skin color, unlike the gray I was expecting, was ebony instead. Her eyes were the same deep blue I remembered, and her hair was also black and hanging loosely down her head.

I was flabbergasted. This wasn't anything like what I expected. My marefriend, now girlfriend, and one of my good friends, looked like normal humans, not the colorful ones from Canterlot. Overwhelmed with the influx of new information assaulting my brain, I could only say one word.

"Fuck."

For reference, "golden hour" is the name of the first hour of sunlight after sunrise and the last hour of sunlight before sunset where everything is enveloped in a golden glow.

Also, I've posted the Side Stories to FanFiction.