After one last glance around town, you head back to the bus stop and wait for the bus. When it arrives the driver, remembering who you are, is worried at first. However, once you show him the green note he seems pleased and hands you two coins in return. You take your seat against the window and watch the world speed by again. It’s a shame you can’t see such a view more often.

Once the bus passes by the school you get ready to get off at your stop. You wave goodbye to the driver on your way out, who returns the gesture with a smile. While you walk back to the school you reflect upon your trip here. The wound on your head still hurts a little. You wonder if it will still be there when you get home.

In front of the statue you find Blossomforth scolding Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Aunt Bon-Bon is there too, but seems to be staying out of it. She sees you approaching and waves. Evidently she was already told you were coming. As you get near, you can hear Blossomforth.

You spend the next few minutes in the other bathroom with Blossomforth cleaning up, drying off, and changing. You get a look at your face in the mirror. It looks so foreign. The bandage above your temple doesn’t look very good either.

If there is, you didn’t notice. Things appeared to be more obvious and in the wrong place, but nothing compares to basically having your knees bend backwards. And these huge feet…

Fur. Your coat. These tiny little hairs… No wonder you’re so cold, even when dried off.

When you both walk out of the bathroom you’re wearing a dark blue jumpsuit, kinda like a parachuter, with a lighter horseshoe and a gold “C” stitched into the chest. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are waiting by the table. You notice the window you came in from is closed now.

“I think it’s safe to say at this point that we’re not going to be getting any searching done tonight.“ Blossomforth pulls out some blankets from a bag she brought back with her, and a book. “Try to find a place in here to get some sleep.”
“There’s some sofas in that corner!“ Diamond Tiara points behind a bookshelf.
“Good. I’m going to see if this book can help me figure out what, where, or even who we are.“

You follow Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon to a set of chairs and sofas arranged in a circle. You pick the one against the wall and lay your head down. You hear Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon whisper for a moment, but it doesn’t last long before you drift away into a dream.

While she tends to your wound, you ask Blossomforth about all that crazy stuff she was doing. The two-legged running, the leaping, the flipping! And all while carrying you! It was incredible! How did she do that without wings?

She shrugs, “I don’t know. It felt natural. I mean, this body doesn’t. But, I guess it pays to be fit and flexible? I think I can actually run faster like this on two legs. All the pictures I saw showed… whatever we are now… standing up on two legs. I guess this is what they do.“

You can’t help but notice how easy it looks for her to use her hands. Maybe because she’s a pegasus.

You suddenly yawn. You didn’t realize you were so tired.

“I know, me too,“ Blossomforth answers with a yawn of her own. “But we at least have to get you dried off. Bloodstained cloths probably aren’t ideal. I found you something to change into. Hopefully it’ll fit. Can you walk?“

You didn’t hear her coming, but you see Blossomforth running back, on her hindlegs again, carrying some things. She puts everything down in front of you and pulls your hand away.

A wave of relief seems to relax her face, “Oh thank Celestia. It’s not as bad as I thought.“ She turns her head to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, “There’s a… There’s a bathroom across the hall. Go wring out your cloths and try to dry off. Then put them back on and come back here.“
“Can’t we just take them off?” Silver Spoon asks, hesitation in her voice.
Blossomforth’s reply sounds tired, “No… There’s a… There’s a lot of pictures and posters in the hallway. Everyone is clothed in them. I… I think they just always wear cloths here.“

The two turn to walk away, but Blossomforth calls after them, “And… and I’m sorry for yelling.“ She turns back around to you and opens a box she brought with her. Under her breath, she mutters, “… not very good with stress…“

You spot the opened window up ahead and expect Blossomforth to slow down, but instead she seems to speed up. She takes a curved approach, spins on her heel, skids in the mud, and leaps up like a hurdle jumper through the window, headfirst, belly up! Your whole world twists upside down as she flips in the air and lands inside, facing the window, hindlegs first, with one hand on the floor balancing herself and one still gripping you strongly! Even with the pounding in your head making you feel like you’re going to throw up, that was still really cool!

She sets you down in a chair at a table and goes to help Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon inside, but not before telling you, “Sit up, and whatever you do don’t put your head down. If you fall asleep now you might not wake up!“

Wow! You’re completely terrified! If you weren’t trembling before, you sure as hay are now! Frantically trying to keep your wits about you, your eyes scan the darkened room you’re seated in. It looks like a library. Behind you Blossomforth is talking, but you’re too afraid to even turn your head.

“I’m going to look for medical supplies. Stay here and keep her conscious. She has a concussion, but it might be worse than that.“
You hear Silver Spoon suggest, “Shouldn’t one of us go with you, or-“
Blossomforth’s reply is so loud and filled with anger that you can’t help but jump in your chair, “You will stay here! Do you understand me?!“

You don’t hear Silver Spoon answer, but you see Blossomforth run past you, throwing her shoes across the room as she goes. Just before she disappears from sight, she’s sprinting on all fours. Silver Spoon sits down in the chair next to you, clearly fighting back tears. Diamond Tiara sits down on the other side. Neither of them say a word.

That seemed a little harsh. Your head hurts, yeah. But surely you’ve had worse tumbles than this. At least… that would have made sense if you hadn’t noticed the blood on your shoulder. And your shirt. It kinda does look like a lot.

That probably would have been good to know before you stepped through the portal. Looking down at your legs, they do seem to be jointed wrong. Like a… well like a dragon.

“Is she going to be alright?“ They’re talking about you.
“I… I think so. I think the rain is just making it look worse than it is.“

You can hear footsteps running toward you from the other side of… yeah, it’s a building. Looks big, like something that might take up a quarter of a block in Manehattan. A hospital or a stadium. Or a school.

The one that carried you runs back around the corner, still on her hindlegs. You guess she really is Blossomforth, which would make those other two Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

Blossomforth jumps up to the landing and scoops you back up, “I found an open window. We’ll warm up and dry off inside. Hopefully there’ll be some kind of first aid kit.“

She jumps back out into the rain carrying you and running along the wall; Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon following on all fours. Somehow, the way those two are moving doesn’t look natural. Like it doesn’t fit this body.

You gasp for air and choke on water. You’re drowning! Your eyes snap open but are forced shut by the rain. You hear a voice from above and realize something is holding you.

“You’re alright! You’re alright! Sit up, please! Breathe!“

She’s struggling to tilt you forward, so you push yourself up and curl your neck down to cough up the water. The rain so cold. You try to stand, but your legs won’t cooperate. It takes a moment to catch your breath, but once you do you open your eyes again.

You suddenly become aware that your entire body is shivering as your mind violently rejects what it’s seeing. This isn’t you! This is someone else! Out-of-body experience? Is that what it’s called? A growing pain on your head forces you to reach up and grasp it with your…hand?! Fingers?! Like a minotaur?! Like Tirek… You’ve become a monster! Your breathing becomes labored and you feel like you’re going to scream!

Your body is lifted up into the air by whoever is holding you. You turn your panicked gaze toward her and… The adult? Blossomforth? It’s not her, but it kinda looks like-

“We have to get out of this rain. That building over there! Hurry!“

She cradles you in her forelegs and runs on her hindlegs. You hear some other footsteps running with her, but you can’t get your eyes to focus. The freezing rain abruptly stops cutting into your skin, but that only seems to make you shiver more.

“It won’t open!“
“It’s locked!“

You’re set down on a hard, rocky ground, leaned against something vertical. A building? You hear a door being shook and loud banging.

“Hello! Anybody? Help! Please!“ She keeps shaking the door and screams in frustration. “Stay here. If somepony comes, get her inside!“ Then footsteps leading away.

Two faces appear in front of you. They look so strange. One of them moves your hand away and they both wince at what you were covering. You expect them to say something comforting, but all the pink-skinned one says is:

“Jeez, Liza. Why don’t you land right on your face next time?“

Down a few halls and up one flight of stairs, Spike only stops once to check inside a room, but quickly exits and continues on. He eventually leads you and the group into an empty room and rushes over to a gray tarp covering a massive form. Without any flair, he pulls the tarp off to reveal a giant machine! It’s got tubes! And cylinders! And beams! And-and little… stick thingies with circles! It’s all bursting with purple/pink magic! And at the center of it all is… A portal?! This must be it!

Spike is beside himself, “I can’t believe this! It’s been running this whole time! There’s the book up there!“ He points to a stand at the top holding a brown book with a picture of a sun on it- Princess Celestia’s cutie mark! Spike spins around to face you, “You said she’s been gone three days?!“ He grabs hold of his face and drags his cheeks down, “Oh, man! If Twilight found out about this she’d be furious!“ Spike closes his eyes and begins pacing back and forth doing a mock impersonation of Twilight’s voice, “Don’t you understand the repercussions of blah blah blah?! Alternate dimensions are not a playground for yakkity yak yak! The very idea of-“ He stops abruptly and opens his eyes to the group of ponies staring at him.

Spike exhales slowly, seeming to have calmed down, “Look. Twilight’s been under a lot of stress lately, and there’s no doubt this would be the straw that breaks the mare’s back. You’ve got to get in there, find the two ponies, and get them home! I’ll try to cover for you as long as I can, but eventually Twilight is going to figure this out! She’s already been freaking over the book being missing!” You and the others nod slowly in understanding, but Spike jumps with impatience and points to the portal, “Don’t just stand there! Go!“

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon break into a sprint and vanish into the portal first, with Blossomforth right behind them. You hesitate for just a moment, then run toward the machine. The closer you get, the more blinding the swirling, pink light becomes. Eventually you’re forced to close your eyes. You take two gallops more and jump.

But your feet never touch the ground.

Blossomforth leads you, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon to the upstairs foyer. She says to wait in the hallway and goes on ahead. Once she’s gone, Diamond Tiara begins voicing her disapproval.

She throws her forehooves up, “What did I say about telling as few ponies as possible? I was almost impressed with how you handled getting caught. Now an adult knows, and she’s going to tell Princess Twilight’s sidekick! You think he’s going to keep this a secret from her? If this whole thing comes back to us, we’re saying you forced us to go with you!“
Silver Spoon nods, “And it’ll be two against one. Who do you think they’ll believe?“

You try to explain that she wasn’t going to keep it secret anyway, but they won’t listen. Either way, you hear Blossomforth and Spike heading toward you.

“But the tour didn’t come this way. Twilight’s given the same tour all day and she’d never deviate from it.“
“Would you please just come on. I’m trying to show you something.“

Blossomforth rounds the corner and points to you. Spike looks at her funny, then glances over at where she’s pointing.

“Uh… Hello there?” He gives a weak wave and turns back to Bloosomforth, “Did I miss something?“
“They need some help and I’m calling in that favor you owe me.“
Spike’s face turns flush and he trips up on his words, “Uh… Well, I… Um…“
She puts a hoof on Spike’s shoulder, “We don’t have to discuss what it was, but what I’m requesting is very important. Two pony’s lives might be in danger.“
Spike nods and Blossomforth continues, “We need to know what you know about a portal to another dimension in this castle.“
Spike looks away toward the ground, “I’m… not supposed to talk about that. Twilight says it’s a breech of security.” Spike looks up to Blossomforth, who points to you, “Two pony’s lives are in danger?“
Your explanation gets as far as mentioning Lyra and Spike jumps with a start, “Lyra? I know her! She’s missing?“
You nod and he pounds his fist into his palm, “Then there’s no time to lose. Come on!“

Spike breaks into his strange, two-legged run, and the four of you follow.

You pause to think for a moment, then begin to tell Blossomforth why you’re here. About how Lyra and Aunt Bon-Bon just up and disappeared. About how you didn’t want them to get in trouble for leaving you alone. About how it all pointed to here, and to a portal leading to another world. The whole time Diamond Tiara throws one mean look after another at you.

Blossomforth bends down to eye level, “That’s admirable that you want to protect your family. You may not have gone about this the best way, but I feel it wouldn’t be right to stop you if somepony might be in danger.“ She scratches her head and looks outside of the room, “And I may have a way to help. But, with your permission, I’ll have to call in a favor from somepony. Or rather, somedragon.“

You see an opening and press your attack.

The mare takes another step back, this one completely obvious. “I-I heard something and saw you three. I knew you weren’t supposed to be off by yourselves, so-“
“And how did you know that?“ Diamond Tiara steps forward, “Did somepony- say, maybe a princess- tell everypony they had to stay together?“
“Y-yes. We were-“
“So…“ Diamond Tiara interrupts and looks up at the ceiling, while slowly walking toward the pegasus, “What you’re saying is…“ She swings her head back down and stares the nervous mare down, “You deliberately disobeyed a princess.“
The mare recoils as her eyes go wide. Silver Spoon gasps, evidently having finally caught on, “That-That’s treason!“
“No!“ She argues back in a panic, “I wasn’t! I was worried and-and- oh Celestia!” She drops to her stomach and covers her head, “I don’t want to be banished and then thrown in a dungeon in the place that I’m banished to!“
Diamond Tiara lowers herself to maintain eye contact, “Well neither do we! So you keep our secret and we’ll keep yours!“

Seeing the cowering mare slowly nod in fear makes you feel bad. But you have to admit, it was effective. She says her name is Blossomforth. You aren’t sure what to tell her, though. If you just let her go, there’s no way she’ll really keep quiet.