Worlds Collide

PLAYER LIST:
StrawBerry Gamer

Veryveryfluttershy

Star Sentinel

Mr Market

Brother Roga

DragonXNeon

Charemoed



They all had their own little rooms. A simple room each, nothing too lavish. One might have expected just slightly better treatment considering they were technically doing a service to their world but then again it didn't seem that a lot of people in the chain of command had any real respect for this plan they were about to take part in.

The seven of them had been selected purely at random, at least that's what they were told; frankly there was so much going on behind the scenes that even they didn't know the true purpose of this expedition but for them it probably wouldn't even matter.

The chance to see an entire new world... an entire new species, way of life, literally a new universe. Who could resist that? And all they had to do was go and learn to live there.

The day finally arrived, after weeks of basic education about this "Equestria" and the three different pony types that inhabited it. Three weeks after arriving at the bland and grey government building, their alarm clocks went off... the day had come.

Fantasy was sideways in her bed when the alarm clock went off. The blankets she'd been cocooned in, and now simply covered her in a crumpled heap, did very little if anything to muffle the loud buzzing. That didn't stop her from simply lying there for half a minute, then finally gather the energy to sit up, turn the alarm off, then lay back down. She stayed that way, halfway underneath her crumpled blankets, for a little less than five minutes before responsibility took over and she forced herself out of bed with a long stretch and yawn, and forced herself to stand up.

She trudged an entire five feet over to the dresser and exchanged her pajamas for a simple blue t-shirt, jeans, and a bra. She was grateful that she also had some pre-matched and folded socks to wear. After she was dressed, she went to the bathroom and came out about ten minutes later with a more alert expression and her reddish-brown hair combed and pulled back in a ponytail. At this point, she decided she was pretty much ready to go, and left her room.

Fantasy walked through the unfamiliar halls, resisting the instinct to wrap her arms around herself, or stare at the ground like she usually did, so she wouldn't be looked down on by every government employee she passed (though she feared they were already doing that). Honestly, she was a bit concerned about their interest in this alternate universe, dominated by an alien society. She was sure someone would want to take advantage of this somehow- there was a lot of "somehow" -and the people who did probably had the funds and influence to do so. Or at least attempt. The aliens might be more powerful than the human race can handle, and Fantasy was worried about the American government getting the human race in hot water because their rich politicians got greedy.

While her mind was on this, Fantasy's gaze had fallen to the floor and she didn't realize she'd reached her destination until she was a foot from it. Looking up, and blushing when she saw how many people had seen her staring at the ground like some anti-social weirdo, she looked at the door and tested the knob, to see if it was unlocked.

Star opened her eyes slowly, reaching a hand over to turn off the alarm clock. Once it was off, she turn on her side and closed her eyes once more. It took her a few minutes to realized that today was an important day. Sighing, she sat up and hopped out of the bed. She took a moment to stretch before walking over to the closet to get dressed for the day. She put on her usual clothes, jeans (that were, honestly, a little too long for her), a white t-shirt, a white hoodie, and a bra.

She made her way over to the bathroom to comb her blackish hair and bush her teeth. Once she was done with that she made her way over to where she was told to go. She pulled the hood of her hoodie on once she left her room because she stuck out like a sour thumb as all the adult government employees walked by. After all, she was only 4' 10" while the adults were very much taller than her. Keeping her head low and her hood pulled over her head, she made her way over to the area she was told to go too.

She couldn't believe she was about to go to a different world. A whole world that had ponies of all things. She couldn't wait to meet some of them. In all honesty, she didn't really like ponies. They were...girly, but she didn't complain as she couldn't wait to see what this "Equestria" had to offer. She had really liked the pegasus pony race the most because who wouldn't like to fly through the air. She had also liked the unicorn pony race too, but she would choose wings over magic any day.

Once she got to the place she had to be, she lifted her head up and shrugged off any looks anyone was giving her. She was always used to people staring at her. She saw that there was another person who looked to be testing the doorknob. Star just stayed to the side and let the other person see if the doorknob was unlocked, not wanting to interrupt.

Arc snapped to reality, awoken from his sopor at the sound of the insistent beeping coming from the alarm clock. He kept his eyes shut and groaned, smothering his face into the soft pillow. He pulled his knees towards his waist and hunched his back as he steadied himself on his elbows. He shot up and tossed the heavy comforter from his back and onto his feet. As the beeping continued, Arc realized where he was and looked pained for a moment before hobbling out of the bed and walking to the nightstand that held the alarm clock. Finally the annoying beeping ceased and the room turned silent, at least until an all too familiar ringing created the white noise that Arc had become accustomed to.

One yawn and stretch later, Arc picked up his glasses and walked into his own personal bathroom connected to the room he had been assigned to. He stared back at his short self in the giant mirror on the wall in front of the bowl shaped sink. Short black hair that stood up in the front from bed head and a pair of rounded black glasses sat atop the bridge of his nose made up the distinguishing features of Arc’s tired and worried looking face. He bared his teeth at the mirror before picking up the toothpaste and brush. He went to work and finished quickly, two minutes was too long, just a minute was enough for Arc to feel satisfied when brushing his teeth. A rinse and gargle later, Arc striped and entered the shower. He took his time standing under the hot water, stationary more of the time than actually cleaning himself. Unlike brushing his teeth, Arc enjoyed his time in shower and took as long as he wanted, twenty minutes to be exact.

After quickly drying off, Arc went to the steam covered mirror, which he quickly wiped down with his towel, and then began styling his hair in the usual way. He stuck his fingers into a small jar of pomade resting on the sink counter and ran his hands through his hair. Morning bed head was gone, replaced by a slicked back hairstyle that Arc had always admired. Steam poured into the room from the bathroom when he opened the bathroom door. He took certain clothes from the room’s drawer, careful to pick out something comfortable. He dressed in dark green cargo pants, a black shirt, and a grey hoodie, which he wore unzipped. The shoes he stuffed his feet into were dark blue with white details and shoelaces. One last look in the bathroom mirror and Arc was set for the day.

Arc stepped into the dull hallway, shutting the door to his assigned room behind him. It was a short walk to the area he had been told to assemble at and yet he still ran into a plethora of intimidating government officials along the way. Arc was bothered by the stuffy and formal environment the facility he was staying at made him feel. Other than that, Arc was fine putting up with the new housing simply for the chance to travel to a new world. A one in a billion chance at winning a ticket to the new world and he had won that lottery. The very thought of the trip kept his mind occupied, dreaming of every possible outcome that could occur, some terrifying and others full of wonder. The line between excitement and anxiety was blurred by this point and he didn't know what to feel.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Arc stopped near the entrance to the meeting area and saw the two others who had just arrived. The moment was fast approaching and soon, Arc would be in a new world.

When the alarm clock rang, it did not last long as Market was already somewhat awake by then having made sure he had showered and gone to bed somewhat early the night before. in fact, he had gone to bed nearly fully clothed already, needing only to put on his socks and tennis shoes in less than a minute after getting up to go along with his blue jeans and plain white shirt.

First thing he did after getting up and out of bed was smile with glee that the day had finally come. He didn't really question the motives of those that had interviewed him, nor dwell on his living conditions for the last 3 weeks. They were fine, if dull; He'd been through less comfortable living quarters having shared his space with others before at times, even if it meant dealing with snores.

What had really been on his mind the entire time was one of two things: Either he, along with the others, was being tested on their behavior for some sort of psychology research... or it was all for real, and all he needed to do was wait and see this new world, culture, and even magic up close as an actual representative. What really mattered about this day was that he would finally know the true nature of why he had been there at last, as the ongoing days had left him relatively anxious to see it through... And if he truly was about to cross elsewhere, he'd embrace it with open arms...

With peace of mind slowly returning to his being knowing that today was the day, or so he hoped, he went and started up an instant coffee mix he had been given as he went over to the bathroom to get somewhat freshened up. After brushing his teeth and washing his face a bit, he brushed his semi-long and slightly wavy ash brown hair back to reveal his slightly pale yet somewhat tan face, slowly growing but very short beard and moustache, chocolate brown eyes, slightly big nose, and slightly puffy lips.

He'd make his way out and wait up a bit on the coffee as he once again pondered on one particular detail he found somewhat interesting: He, at age 27, was the second oldest of the chosen group, and the only other full fledged adult. He still wondered if that fact held any importance or not. But either way, he figured he'd set an example for the others with generally passive behavior during the briefings and instructions.

After taking his coffee, he bid farewell to the room as he got his personal bag from the foot of the bed and casually made his way out to the halls. Initially, he wasn't particularly fond of being surrounded by stuffy government employees and officials, but after the first week, they were faces with suits he had more or less gotten used to by now; Some more than others.

Walking along the hallways, it wasn't hard for him to maneuver around the occasional group cluster as he was a somewhat small man at 5'6" with an average, though slightly toned, slim build. Eventually, he'd find the room he was supposed to go to, and make his way in accordingly. One way or another, something different was scheduled for today. Until further notice, that was all that mattered for the time being...

Luke tried to ignore the alarm clock when it went off, but it was simply too loud and too annoying for him. He slammed the alarm clock, making sure it quiets down before going into sitting position, stretching his arms, yawning and reaching for his glasses on bedside table. He then forced himself to stand out of bed and almost immediately tripped over the set of clothes he had prepared for the day. "Oh, thanks, I am awake now..." Luke says when he stands back up.

Luke first proceeded to make some coffee for himself. After it was done, he quickly drank it and went to the bathroom, still only in his underwear. First he washed his face, then he grabbed his toothbrush and brushed his teeth. He never cared about his hairstyle and thus didn't even bother combing it. He then proceeded to walk back to his room and put his clothes on.

He put on a blue t-shirt with a dragon image on it, black hoodie that was unzipped and thus revealing the t-shirt beneath it, and a pair of dark jeans. He made sure he had everything in his black satchel before walking out of the room.

Luke was very excited for the day, that being the reason why he managed to wake up earlier than usual. To see a new different race and their way of life, and that not by a documentary on a TV... It might aswell be the best day ever for him. He proudly walked through the halls filled with government officials, not caring what they think about his messed-up hairstyle. When he finally reached the group that he knew, he sleepily said "G'morning." to them and started waiting for others.

Roga woke up with a groan as the alarm clock rang loudly. He first dragged his blanket further up until he was completely covered by it save for his feet, but his head slowly began to throb as sleep failed to take hold once again. He groaned once more as he threw off his covers and stood up, grabbing a tissue he put on his nightstand and sneezing the mucus out of his nostrils before throwing the tissue in the bin and putting his glasses on. The sneezing only helped increase the throbbing in his head. "Ugh..." He moaned as he coughed a bit to clear his throat as he walked over to the alarm clock to shut it off.

It took him a second after he shut it off to realize why it was there in the first place.
"Wait a second... Oh shit!" He started walking rapidly towards the showers as his realization sunk in his head. The day has arrived!
Being the 19 year old obese sight-impaired man that he was, Roga was used to the small showers that he had to use in his family home. He spent a long time in the shower as he always did, though he eventually reminded himself that he still had plenty of other stuff to do to get ready. For that to happen, he had to get out of the shower first. As he did, he thought a bit about the day when he was selected by the government for this task. His big sister was quick to wave goodbye to him and basically give him the boot. His two brothers immediately began arguing over which one of them would get his room when he was gone. His mom was surprised to the extreme, so much that she even forgot to say anything. His older siblings who had moved from home hadn't even heard of this until it was far too late for them to say goodbye to him face-to-face. "As much as I liked being there, it was hellish. So good riddance."
After drying himself off, he began brushing his teeth, not bothering to use any of the toothpastes that the facility offered due to their horrible taste. Instead, upon finishing the brushing, he opted to take some breath mints - which also tasted horrible - and putting his fresh batch of clothes on, consisting of a gray T-shirt with red and yellow lines on it in addition to basic black jeans with a belt made of steel with a thin coating of silver. He also put on a white hooded sweater.

Once he deemed himself presentable enough, Roga went to the kitchen area and prepared his meal to begin his day in earnest: A piece of toast with some cheddar cheese on top, with a small salad with two physalis' sliced in for extra acidic flavor. He also poured some orange juice for himself, something he drank a lot and not always during the mornings.
A part of him wished he had some crispy bacon along with what he had, but given his education about the place he and his group were going to, he prompted to leave all meat-based products out of his diet. He had no idea what would happen when they actually went to this "Equestria" so he didn't want to take any chances. He wanted to make a good first impression.
Once he was done eating, he grabbed his semi-packed backpack with some fantasy books & sci-fi books and went out of his room and started walking towards the area reserved for his group. Some of the government officials eyed him with contempt - it isn't everyday you see a civilian walking around with a backpack throughout such a high-security area like he was on a field trip and to a some it was equal to a sacriligious act. A few even had the look of jealousy on them.
"Look at me all you want. I care not for your opinions on this." He thought as he glared at them. He wouldn't say it straight to their face without provocation, but he didn't like people who think themselves high and mighty when all they are is a bunch of fuck-ups who can't even run a country without solving some simple problems.

When he finally reached his group, he gave them a wave and a smile before yawning. "Good morning." He said as he went to sit down on a simple chair, taking his backpack off his back and setting it down on the side of his chair, letting it lean down on it. It instead decided to fall face forward, making Roga sigh and letting it stay there.

Will was startled out of his bed by the alarm, up a little louder than the others, and jolted up from his slumber. "All hands on-" He was cut off by the floor waking up to greet his face and give him a hug. Oh wait, he just fell off the bed and landed face first on the floor. "Ow." He pulled his face off the floor and shook his head. "I'm okay..." He picked himself off the ground and dusted himself off. "That was one heck of a wake up call." he said to himself, turning off the pesky alarm.

After his close encounter with the floor, he went over to his backpack. He usually took his backpack on trips to hold his stuff while others would just carry their things by hand. He liked feeling prepared. He didn't bring much this time around. In the backpack were a few books he liked reading. There was also a chocolate bar that he forgot to eat. Oh well, he'd save that for later. As for clothes, he really didn't care what they thought about his looks. He brought the clothes on his back and one spare change. T-shirt and sweatpants. Comfortable and easy to wear. Grabbing his water bottle, he took a quick drink. "Well, better not keep them waiting." He grabbed a Pop Tart he brought and started eating it.

Will put on his backpack and opened the door, Pop Tart in his hand. Walking out, he spotted all the big suity type government officials watching him. He paid them no mind as he found the others who were waiting for the big event thingy. Finishing the last of his small rushed breakfast, he waved to the others. "Hey." He greeted simply. He didn't take the time to get to know them. Since they were going to enter a new world, why bother making friends with people he was very unlikely to meet on a regular basis? Besides, there would be plenty of time to make new friends. Plus if he did end up meeting the others often in the new world, they could become friends. Either way, he was excited for this trip, but his body language hid the excitement.

The alarm goes off in the room and a lump in the random pile of blankets and pillows that was Kay stirred and a hand shoots out, groping for the alarm clock while vague sounds under the covers promise all manner of murder, death, mayhem, and general destruction of electronics if she finds that alarm clock. However, the previous evening, Kay herself decided that mostly awake, she was more than a match for the befuddled reactions of her future self and so she cunningly placed the alarm clock in question outside of immediate reach. However, Evening Kay had forgotten one vital fact:

In all situations, wherever she was, Kay had the power of book.

Book is to Kay like spinach is to Popeye the sailor: it gives her all her powers and permits occasional superhuman feats. As such, Kay always keeps book within easy reach so that if the world needed saving (or people needed ignoring, or alarm clocks needed killing), she would have that power. In this particular instance, book empowered Kay to bullseye an unfortunate alarm clock with "The Complete Works of Flavius Josephus" and the infernal racket ceased. Satisfied with the new state of existence, a thoroughly awake Kay slithers out from the pile of bedclothes, collects the fortuitous Josephus from his temporary home where once an alarm clock sat, and opens to her page. Thus, clad in the loose t-shirt and bicycle shorts she sleeps in, Kay holds the book in front of her face as a shield against random humans piercing her cloud of literature-induced bliss and begins to read as she makes her way down to retrieve a perfunctory pile of donuts and a styrofoam bowl of cereal from the corner of the motel lobby before, somehow balancing this food while still reading her book, Kay makes her way back to her temporary fortification.

"Mmm... lessee..." she says as she reenters the room and sits down on the bed with foodness. "Um... something's happening today, isn't it? Uh... I think my extractor is finished on Saturn... no, no, I took it down because... mmm... uh... yanno, there's a reason I did that. I just have to figure out what it was." Okay... when I went to sleep last night, I was imagining a scenario where instead of that priest and rabbi showing up at Third Eye Books, my two original characters... "Oh yeah! That pony thing is today!" Closing Josephus she strips down completely to bare skin on the way to the bathroom, stuffing down a donut as she gets into the shower and hoses herself down with a little soap and shampoo. Upon getting out (and having to walk around dripping and nude because she forgot to get a towel and new clothes ready and waiting), she opens the room closet to reveal her large school backpack wherein is located books, more books, still more books, additional books, and some things for writing other things down... and then a few more books in case of a book emergency.

Kay emerges from the hotel room with Josephus in her face, a backpack of books on her back, faded t-shirt and new blue jeans on her body, a pair of ratty paint-stained black shoes on her feet, and a caribiner of keys hanging from both hip belt loops. She pays no attention to the government fellow--more specifically, she doesn't realize he exists at the moment--and expertly weaves her way down the hall to the rest of the gathering, at no point looking up or stopping her reading but dodging random humans as if she was looking straight ahead and being watchful. When she arrives, she says absolutely nothing, simply standing there with still-wet hair hanging limply off her head, a pair of literal inch-thick glasses perched on her nose, and no discernible awareness of the world outside of her private sphere of reality.

The meeting area was a comfortable enough room set out like the lobby of some important office building; comfortable chairs and a table with week old magazines were the most noticeable furniture besides what looked almost like a reception desk except for the receptionist being not some young woman with a welcoming smile but rather a large soldier in fatigues.

For such a mundane looking room it was almost surreal to think they were likely the first people outside the highest of military personnel to step foot inside. The soldier nodded as they entered and ticked their names off, giving an attempt at a reassuring smile when Fantasy entered tentatively as if she hadn't been sure if she was allowed or not.

On the table along with the magazines were some canned drinks and packets of sweets. The soldier gestured for them to help themselves just as the door opened one last time to admit presumably their final companion, a very tall and heavyset man who looked rather out of breath.

"Sorry... slept through... alarm." He panted out before flopping down into the seat next to Roga to catch his breath. The heavy brown jacket and packed rucksack he wore probably hadn't helped what looked like a sprint from his room.

The soldier on reception ticked his name off then gestured for their attention. "Now that our last explorer has made himself present, we can begin with what you need to do. But first, allow me to extend my most sincere compliments; the whole lot of you have shown exceptional bravery in accepting this opportunity and what you learn on this journey may very well change the course of history forever."

He took a moment to let his words sink into them before standing back up. "Follow me now; it's time for your journey to formally begin. If anyone has any second thoughts, now's the time to voice them, no turning back after this." He warned them before he walked past the reception desk again and picked out one of the keys he had on a keyring on his belt.

On the far side of the room, the wall rumbled and split down the middle, sliding to the sides to reveal a small compartment with an ornate and antique looking mirror inside, the frame made of amethyst and embedded with rubies along the frame. Despite obviously being a mirror it reflected nothing of the room in front of it and the glass shimmered in an odd way, almost as if it were made of water.

"When you're ready team... take that first step. We will be here with the mirror 24/7 and ready to extract you at a moment's notice should anything go wrong." He assured them. "Good luck. And who knows, maybe you'll get to enjoy yourselves while you're there."

The young man who had come in late certainly didn't wait, standing up immediately with all traces of exhaustion gone and stepping up to the mirror, poking it experimentally and causing the surface of the glass to shimmer and distort like he'd poked his hand into a pool.

"Anyone wanna go first?" He asked.

Kay lowers the book upon the mirror being revealed and uses a middle finger to push her glasses up the bridge of her nose and then gives her head a quick shake so they fall back to their original position. "So we're going through the looking-glass," she observes as she steps closer to join the young man who arrived late. "You know, I'm gonna be more than a little annoyed if we meet a red queen who wants us to advance to the eighth row." She sighs and closes the book entirely, reaching behind her with it and slipping it into the outermost pouch of her overlarge backpack. "Oh well... once more into the breach." Barely has the young man mildly asked if anyone wants to go first when Kay politely brushes passed him and steps inside.

Luke watches as Kay disappears through the mirror. He then stands up. "Well, I guess I'll be the second one then." He says as he walks towards it. Luke pokes the mirror once as if he wanted to check if it's cold or warm and then makes a step back. "Here goes nothing." Luke says and jumps through the mirror after Kay.

Will watches them go through the mirror with a look of interest. He gets up and does a quick stretch. "Well, here goes nothing." He casually saunters towards the mirror and gives it a more thorough look over. "I really like the design of this mirror. So... what's the word I'm looking for? Fancy. That's it. Anyway... Nothing ventured, nothing gained." As he was about to step in, his expression suddenly shifted to excited. "Time for adventure!" He shouted as he dove right in.

At the guards reassurance, Fantasy had hesitantly sat down in a chair closest to the door. Then, she'd spent a few minutes eating some sour gummy worms, chocolate things, and a lot of twizzlers; she fucking loved those things. She did try to limit herself, though; she wanted the others to have some, too, and it probably wouldn't be good for her to eat so much chocolate and twizzlers before going to an alternate realm. She had no idea how a full stomach, sugar, or artificial ingredients would react in a different dimension. She had no idea how anything would react. Or anyone. Then again, that's what she and the others were here for. She still found this somewhat suspicious.

And~

A mere few minutes later, and after a short informative speech from the guard, people starting going through the portal with barely a second thought on the matter. Fantasy figured they'd probably thought plenty on it, and she had too. That didn't mean her heart didn't skip a beat when it was finally time to go to the other world, or especially when the strange mirror did prove to be a supernatural gateway. After the preparation time she was given, she still didn't know if she should do this.

But everyone else was obviously decided on the matter, and if she didn't go soon, she'd be the last one to; she didn't want that.

Fantasy stood up. She, seemingly perfectly calm, threw away the candy wrappers she'd accumulated, and walked to the center of the room, looking directly at the shimmering portal. Wasting only seconds, Fantasy speedwalked over to it, tensed herself, and took one large step/leap into the portal before she could chicken herself out of it.

Anxiety was a crippling emotion, one that paralyzed and frightened by instilling thoughts of all the horrible things that might happen in the immediate future. It was a very stressful and unpleasant feeling that Arc experienced a lot during his life. Sure, others might feel this way in moments like these, they were traveling through a mirror that supposedly lead to a whole new world, who wouldn't, but Arc felt this hard to shake emotion even when he was just going out. He tries to hide it the best he can, swallowing his anxiety into the pit of his stomach where it festers, but at a big moment like this it is impossible to contain.

Listening to the receptionist in soldier's fatigues and seeing the actual portal forced the gravity of the situation to sink in, that was when he felt the anxiety boil over into a panic attack. Arc felt the beating of his heart, pulsing rapidly in his chest, his ears tingled and blood rushed to his face. He felt hot and was ready to break into a sweat, but at the same time felt the pain in his stomach turn cold and sink, as if he were launched into the air and was falling back to the floor. His breath was short and wispy as he furiously inhaled and exhaled for the air he felt he so desperately needed. He shifted his eyes around the room and was ready to bolt out the door just so he could get back to his room and hide under the covers for the rest of the day. He cursed at himself for feeling like this, just seconds ago he was excited for the chance to travel to a new world and now, now he just wanted out.

Arc leaned forward in the chair he’d been seated in, hunching over and resting his elbows against his knees. He held his hands to his face and wiped away the sweat that had slowly started to moisten his skin. Careful of his his glasses, Arc rubbed his tired eyes in a therapeutic motion, keeping them shut for a few seconds. He tried to steady his nerves and chase off the anxiety, but he had done this so many times before and had never succeeded. The most prominent attempt in his mind was the time he flaked on a friend the day they were going to a concert. He had been so excited to go, his friend had gotten them tickets to see their favorite band, a once in a lifetime opportunity for him, and he blew it. He didn't go, letting the anxiety take over, and instead, stayed home to wallow in his own filth. Arc regretted this moment in life so much that whenever he was reminded of it, something would click in his head. Don’t think, just go.

In that moment, Arc stood up, slapping his knee with his palm. He was still stressed, but the dreadful look of worry on his face changed to one of determination. Seconds passed before he could actually move one foot forward, but when he did, Arc marched straight into the mirror, leaving a ripple on the watery like surface in his wake.

Star watched as more people came. She shrank back a little, noticing that she was the youngest out of all of the others. She walked passed the guard and sat down in a random chair, grabbing a can of soda and opening it. She didn't care much for the guard's reassurance. After a few minutes, the guard finished his little speech, and Star finished about half of her soda. She moved it off to the side and watched the others go through the portal, without any hesitation it seemed. She wished she wasn't hesitant.

A small twinge of fear suddenly ran through her mind. Her brain ran through most of the things that could go wrong and she didn't like any of them. She began to slide lower into the chair having second thoughts. All but two of the others had went through the mirror already. Star looked across the table at Market. The shortest, youngest, and most doubtful. How did I ever get picked... She though to herself. It's a new world. Best to explore it yourself. Something new, and maybe when and if I get back I'll have one heck of a story to tell my friends. She let out a sigh and sat up.

"I don't know about you, but I think we might be making the others wait." Star said to Market, getting up and walking over to the mirror. She took off her hood and used her hand to brush her hair off to her right side. "Now's the time...No regrets." She muttered to herself, taking a small breath and hopped through the portal, still a bit of doubt going through her mind. She had a small, very small, smile on her face as she hopped through though.

As Roga watched the others go through the mirror, it rippled as if the reflecting glass was made of water.
He wasn't exactly the worst of swimmers, but if he was going to step through the glass something told him he'd be taking a dip into something dangerous.
"The Chaos Gods await." His brain told him. He slapped himself mentally, though given that he had no idea what it would be like going through it, it wasn't exactly a thought to pass up. If he were to be thrown into the Warp, might as well make sure the daemons don't make a meal of his soul.
Roga rose up and sighed as he cracked his knuckles, making a show of it as he craned his neck too to loosen it up. He grabbed his backpack and put it on his back before coughing a bit and beginning to walk towards the mirror.
Once he was in front of the mirror, he stopped.
He looked at the soldier who crossed his name a few seconds ago.
"If I don't make it back or just refuse to come back... Tell my fat sister that she's a dick."
With that final insult to his bullying know-it-all big sister, he stepped inside quickly before anyone had anything to say to him.
"Hell, I should have people carve that on my tombstone. Ah well, if I go back, perhaps." He mused to himself.
Once he was through the portal, he took a long minute to look around his enviroment before finally concluding with a single sentence.

"..."

"..."

Market had been greeting those of the group he was with as well as any others nearby with a casual 'hello', not being bothered by the soldier in fatigues nearby since it was just a uniform like any other. Like Fantasy, he too indulged himself in what treats he could get as he had quite the sweet tooth himself, though held back as he only had coffee so far and didn't want to risk a stomachache later on.

Up till this point, he had gotten along more or less well with the others as time went by. Star seemed nice in general, and as the youngest of the group he thought she was adorable. Fantasy seemed rather shy, but otherwise thought of her as a good teen. Roga was quirky, but very amicable. Arc he barely knew, but never got any bad vibes from him at all. Luke, he felt, wasn't easy to connect to, but made for good company in general once the initial meetings were done and his affinity for model airplanes and figurines made for interesting ideas and topics. Will came off as decent and fairly quirky to him as well. Kay, as far as he was concerned, was a textbook example of a bookworm, but felt it was a good trait out of the only member of the group older than himself. And then there was the one that had entered the room last after them: Larger than life and a hardcore wrestling fan, he was always making things unusually interesting in conversation... At least, that's how Market felt about them thus far.

Then came the moment of truth... He thought the way they had been shown the other room was fairly cool in and of itself, but the sight of the mirror made more of an impact on him than the thought of knowing things were about to change according to schedule. He thought it was somewhat of an odd joke in the back of his mind despite being open to the possibilities of it all being real... "...!?!?!?" But his heart would skip a beat the moment he saw the young man touch the mirror first and see the ripples himself. He said not a word when Kay went in first. He said not a word when almost all the others had gone in through the mirror as well. He was stunned, had the strongest goosebumps he ever felt in his life, he thought his heart was gonna jump out, and there was a nagging sensation in the back of his mind that urged him to believe it was actually happening despite a part of him somehow still being skeptical of it all.

Only when Star spoke to him did he release the breath he had just now realized he was holding in, easing up a bit. Only when he saw her walk in after the others did he finally realize that he had actually been hesitating on what he thought he'd be more than willing to try for himself if he ever got the chance. He smiled a bit and chuckled nervously at the irony of it all, but even as he took each and every step forward at last himself, he still hesitated much more than he was comfortable with. It felt like he had undergone a journey just to move up close to the mirror himself, stopping and hesitating one last time before looking over at the officer that led them to share a few words of his own. "... If this is a big a deal as you made it out to be... I really hope you all know what you're doing..." His tone was passive, but serious. His words could be considered ones of caution or a warning, but either way, he felt he needed to voice them as this was unlike anything he had ever expected earlier in life now that he was right there... Still hesitating, he still managed to actually touch the mirror. Slowly, ever so painfully slowly, he nervously walked into the mirror at last with an extended arm, and took the gamble of accepting his fate as it came...

The last sight of the soldier was him looking after them with slight trepidation, as if he expected something to go wrong. Market, being almost the last to go through, had enough time to see the late arrival wave to the soldier before presumably leaping in after him if the sounds from behind were any indication.

The feeling was immediately bizarre and unpleasant; it felt as though they were being stretched in all directions like a human rubber band, any control of their own bodies immediately gone and instead at the mercy of whatever bizarre invisible force was molding them into new shapes. To feel one's entire physical structure being meticulously taken apart then put back together in a totally unfamiliar way was unpleasant to say the least.

Even more unpleasant was the sudden collision their feet had with hard marble floors... the feet which now lacked toes, had become rather flat and had suddenly doubled in number.

Any chance Market had of staying upright was shattered when the late arrival immediately crashed into him from behind sending both of them to the floor. He mumbled an apology, tried to stand up, and immediately vaulted forwards onto his face at the utterly unfamiliar feelings of having four legs and no arms.

"Welcome." A low, echoing voice sounded around them from above; the first pony they had met was standing above them, looking at them with a rather amused look. She was a thestral, a sub-species of Pegasi so they had been told which took on more bat like traits compared to their avian like cousins.

This one showed that in spades, with her narrow, amber eyes slitted like a cats and her small, pointy fangs just visible under her lips while she grinned. Her bat wings weren't visible, tucked underneath a dark blue suit and tie that seemed odd contrasting to her dark grey fur and almost luminous eyes.

"Welcome to Equestria. I get that you'll probably need a few minutes to adapt so I'll introduce myself; I'm Silhouette, Princess Luna's second, personal guard and generally her gopher. Any basics you need to ask you can ask me, I'm sure you'd rather ask more productive questions of the Princesses than learning how to walk."

Though Silhouette said it casually, no one at the base had mentioned meeting royalty.

"Hoodwink." The late comer finally introduced himself and attempted to hold out a hoof to Silhouette but immediately his face made contact with the floor again from the effort; he had become a light brown Earth Pony with a very dark brown and neat mane and clearly walking was something he hadn't mastered yet.

When Fantasy took her long step through the portal, she didn't expect to fall through it; she'd expected to walk through it like a doorway. Serves her for having expectations about something she knew nothing about. Fantasy was able to resist screaming for about five seconds, because she could handle falling tumbling sensations. What she had not been prepared for, though, was the feeling of her body being pulled, torn, squished, and remolded like it was a piece of taffy. A piece of taffy trapped in a wind tunnel. Obviously, Fantasy shrieked, and screamed, and cried. She was sure she was going to die now. Whether or not this was actually a portal, it would kill her. She'd end up a bloody, mangled pile of flesh whether or not this thing actually led anywhere. This was not a painless death, either; all of her flesh being reshaped at once, all of it being stretched well beyond what should've been its breaking point, smashed together much too hard to possibly be mended, bones, muscles, organs, and everything being completely destroyed and rebuilt. It was excruciating. A nightmare.

She came out the other side an unconscious form, ponytail holder gone and mane an absolute mess. She was smaller than some of the others due to her age, but still as almost concerningly thin as she'd originally been. Her legs were a bit long, and her coat was only a bit more tan than her pale skin had been; she had the color of parchment.

Star didn't know what she was expecting when she hopped through the portal. She might have thought she would go through it, or maybe she'd just end up in another room with a banner say it was all just a trick. That, however, wasn't the case. The feeling of her insides being stretched and her outside being torn was...something she did not expect. She had a medium tolerance for pain but this was far from medium. She, of course, screamed in agony and cried for the people she forgot to say bye to. She cried for one person the most though, her boyfriend. She told herself that she should have said good bye to him, gave him a hug and something for him to remember her by if she died. Her mind did not stop telling her that she should have said good bye to the people she loved. Death had always been on her mind. she had been prepared for it if it happened, but now that she though she was going to die, she didn't want it to end this way.

Once Star game out for the other side, she was laying on the floor. She opened her eyes slowly. "I'm not dead, am I?" She said, but there was something off. Her voice was a bit...deeper. "W-what the!" She lifted her head and looked around, looking at herself to make sure that she was alright. She had a gray coat and bat like wings, but that wasn't what put her off. It was the fact that her body shape was more of a male's than a female's. What...the...HELL!

"What the hell! What?! WHY AM I AM MALE!?!!" Star yelled, starting to hyperventilate. He practically ignored the pony that was talking due to his freak out. He tried to take deep breaths to calm himself down, but then his brain finally registered what the pony waiting for them said. "Wait, Princesses??" He rolled onto his hooves to try and stand, but immediately fell face first onto the ground. Though he seemed to be calm, he was still freaking out about the fact that he was now a guy. Stallion, He mentally corrected himself. Why am I a guy. WHY?! How am I a guy?! This...new world must have something to do with it...or maybe the fact that I act like a guy way to much....At least I'm a live and can probably, maybe, get back to him.

"Okay, miss. Are you going to teach us how to walk?" He once more tried to stand up, spreading his legs out awkwardly. He looked around at the other ponies, noticing that one was unconscious. "Should we be concerned about her?" He asked, looking at his new pony body. He noticed something on his...er...flank, he believes is what it were called. He remembered being told what this thing was, a cutie mark. He did dare not lean closer to get a better look at it, in fear that he would fall flat on his face again, but could see it was a straight line of sorts. A straight line...Really. Then again, it could be something else. He noticed that there were 3 point on the straightish line, one at each end and one where the line makes a sharpish bend. He would figure it out later, but for now he looked back at thestral mare. I'll asked the...princesses why I'm a guy later. Still, WHY AM I A GUY?!?!?!?! He shook his head, noticing he had a black mane.

Nothing short of absolute buffoonery took place once the short, but otherwise average human, passed through the stretching and molding the portal painfully forced onto him. Who could ever be expected to balance themselves when thrown onto four new legs? Moving several steps to the right to let the others behind him room to come through the mirror was an ordeal in itself. Walking on all fours, that had magically transformed into blocky and unwieldy hooves, was the epitome of awkwardness. One step, two steps, it didn't matter, Arc tripped over himself every step away from the mirror. On occasion he would balance out and keep from falling, but once he was far enough away to allow the others room, Arc stood as still as possible to refrain from making a further fool of himself. Even though everyone else seemed to be having similar problems, it was nonetheless embarrassing.

Finally, in a moment of self awareness, Arc took in what exactly he had turned into.

He was a pony, the dominant species of the new world they had been sent to. He felt weird everywhere, there wasn't a single familiar feeling in his entire being. The first big change that was immediately noticeable was the fact that his normal, pale skin had changed into fur, light grey fur that felt like he was wrapped in a warm wool blanket. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks, he was naked! Sure there was fur that felt like he was clothed, wrapped in a wool blanket, but he still felt naked. This was a problem, at least for him, but he couldn't tell if it bothered any of the others. Maybe it was best not to think or talk about it all. His eyes had grown to the size of tennis balls and his head spun just trying to focus them, not to mention the lack of glasses. But Arc was pleasantly surprised to see, see perfectly without his glasses. Somehow, someway, during the transformation to pony form, Arc had gained 20/20 vision, which he had never experienced before. It was like he was seeing for the first time, in awe of every little thing, appreciating the sight of the others standing around trying to keep from tumbling over, and of the picturesque room they had been transported to. It was all new to him and he loved every second of it, excusing the first minute of falling over repeatedly onto the hard marble floor.

He noticed that the new ears he had that were placed towards the top of his head no longer rang annoyingly in his head. He nearly jumped in glee with his hearing impairment gone. For years now, Arc was deaf in his left ear and had been plagued by a constant ringing that had turned to white noise after so long. He felt he could even move his ears, flopping them up and down like a dog or bunny might. Next was the feeling of his new found nose, or muzzle. It was like combining one’s nose with one’s mouth and then stretching them together until they reached far out in front of the rest of one’s face. It was disturbingly gross to think about, especially thinking of his longer tongue, which he immediately thought of using to reach his nostrils, but refrained from actually putting one such act into practice. Then came the awkward feeling of his neck, it felt stretched beyond the limitations he was used to. At one point, it had caused him to flail his head around wildly when he tried lowering his neck and moving it around. His bean shaped torso that sprouted four legs was the least mind boggling. It just happened to be his normal, vertical self, flipped horizontally. The exchange was awkward, but beyond that he was more concerned about his clumsy new legs. Finally came the last thing on his new body parts list, the tail. The black and dark red tail he immediately started swishing around was the most appealing part of his transformation. Arc had wondered what having a tail might feel like and how he would interact with it. Now was his chance, but being in a room with a bunch of other people wasn't time to chase his own tail, he would probably fall over a bunch of times in the process anyways. Now he wanted a mirror that he could actually see his reflection in to scope out how everything fit together, he couldn't see his new hair, or mane, and wondered if it might be the same color as his tail.

In any case, it was time to give his attention to the pony who had introduced herself as Silhouette. She seemed friendly enough, and she looked cool in her blue armor. But the mention of a princesses got Arc nervous, pictures of what meeting someone important like that could possibly be like, raced through his head. Arc eventually decided it didn't matter, whoever they met as a group, he would let the others do the talking. He had grown surprisingly adept at avoiding conversations and diverting attention away from himself during his life, so this would only be a test of his proven abilities. He quietly waited to side where he had first stumbled to, letting the others air their questions to the one called Silhouette.

Will felt disoriented after going through the portal. He would later describe it as "getting your insides shoved out your outsides then getting new insides in your outsides after getting new outsides for your insides." Needless to say, it was not pleasant in the least for him. The resulting pain made him scream briefly and nearly pass out if it wasn't for the tumble and impact with the next person that came through as well as the marble floor. "Ugh... That was unpleasant..." He said.

Something in his voice made him freeze in place. Something was wrong with his voice. "What the?" He put a hoof to his mouth. Looking down at the hoof, he saw it was a bright yellow color. 'Not my first choice, but I like it.' Reaching up with a hoof, he tested his head. 'Nope, no horn. Not a unicorn." He looked back at the rest of his new body and saw wings. 'Okay. Sweet, I'm a pegasus. He also noticed his backpack had turned into a saddlebag which still held his stuff, laid on the ground beside him. 'Good, I get to keep that at least.' He checked his flanks to see a cutie mark. It was a sun design. 'Wonder what that means. I'll find out later." He noticed he had a rather wide flank. Wider than most if not all of the others, which was really odd. He tested his tail, which gave a flick. It was a bright two-toned tail with contrasting blue and pink stripes. 'I noticed I have a very odd look for a guy... Oh turtles, I hope it doesn't mean what I think...'

Will looked down at his reflection in the marble floor and let out a gasp of shock at what he saw. His face was very soft-looking and two vibrant blue eyes looked back at him. Two sets of long eyelashes lined the eyes. The muzzle was small and bluntly pointed with a gentle curve. All-in-all, he looked very feminine. He looked up at his mane. It was the same striking blue and pink that his tail was. It was definitely resembling of his hair's untidiness, except it was a lot longer, flowing down and brushing his shoulders.

The newly-turned mare gave a slow nod. "Mhm... I'm a chick now..." Without warning, she just fell backwards and fainted.

For the first moment or two as she stepped through the portal, Kay was cringing against the sensation of her body being pulled, twisted, and reshaped into one more appropriate for the setting. For the rest of the seconds that the sensation attacked her, however, she simply permitted herself to accept that the pain was present and accept that it wouldn't leave, and accept that she was faceplanted in a marble floor being squished by the sheer weight of book that had accompanied her.

"Oh ood... a estal ane Illoet..." she said as cheerfully and clearly as a pony with her face squished into marble can manage. After a moment, she used her mouth as a reference point to locate the joint upon which her neck pivoted and from here, she pushes her head upwards so her jaw is now resting on the floor and she can look around. "Um... as... lordy, I sound like a bloody Brit!" The exclamation was entirely spontaneous and accompanied by the green-coated unicorn's eyes shooting open comically wide to show the equally green irises with a long white mane just barely avoiding falling over them.

"Um... sorry," she says after a moment, looking up at Silhouette. "Nice to meet you, Silouette. I'd attempt to shake hooves but I'm sort of being squished by my luggage. Comfortably squished, mind you, but it means I can't exactly do much without either a spatula or..." She stops. "Um... I can't exactly cross my eyes well enough to see my forehead so I guess my first question is... um... is there a horn up there? Next, if there is, what's the quickest way to use that horn to move my books so I can experience the many joys of falling flat on my face trying to walk?"

Roga had transformed into a representation of the ponies known as "Earth Ponies", who had no wings or horns. Instead, he was a muscular, grey-coated pony, with a crimson-red and golden yellow mane that split at his brow.
He was still reeling from the effects of the mirror. His body felt like it was torn apart, reassembled, then torn apart and reassembled again - like he was a Rubik's Cube being re-arranged. He seriously thought he'd been taken to the Warp and being mutated into a Chaos Spawn.

"Voi helvetti että mun päätä särkee!" He groaned semi-loudly in finnish, his native language. It was then that he noticed that his voice had gone down a few octaves.
"The fuck?" He said before he noticed the thestral and frowned, not exactly thinking that his first impressions were pleasant due to his profanity.
He then rose up - or, to be more specific, wobbled up and tried to stand on his two hindlegs - ending up on the ground again as his attempt failed.
"Welp, so much for first impressions." He sighed as the reality of his new form sank in. He was now a pony. A technicolor pony. Well, at least his obesity issue was gone.

What was surprising however was the presence of a necklace - a silver necklace embedded with a sapphire the size of a man's fist. At first he found it weird that it weighed almost nothing to him - not to mention it's appearance which was the exact same of his own necklace back home but bigger - but then remembered his education about the strength of the earth ponies and filed the feeling of weirdness under 'Solved, buried and forgotten'. The resemblance to his human necklace was also filed away, this time under 'Irrelevant'. He also noticed that his backpack had disappeared, along with all the books.
"Welp, there goes my reading material." He sighed once again.

It was then that he decided to speak to this Silhouette character.
"I appreciate the help, miss Silhouette. Could you help me up?" He said as he held out a hoof. Her mention of the princess' was not the foremost thought on his mind. Right now, he wanted to be able to stand instead of snaking around the room like Jabba the Hutt.

It was at that time that his missing bag decided to come through the portal - in the form of a saddlebag - hitting him square on his back and the weight of books making his back make a satisfying crunching noise. Roga was not sure whether to feel like he was in pain or not, instead deciding to make no moves at all. "Ah, there's my backpack full of books." He said as if he just hadn't been crushed by said books.