+*+ SANDBAR +*+

     They didn't know what caused it, but it felt like the air was simply filled to the brim with excitement, devoid of gases. The excitement grew heavier for Sandbar, as he stared at the golden concoction. The smell of cherries really was hitting him hard, considering he had a great affinity for cherries. Golden cherries, meanwhile, were simply unheard of.

    "Let's drink it," Ocellus said, her irises bright but her pupil dull. The potion seemed to glow and cast a golden aura on the Changeling's sky blue coat.

    Sandbar watched, practically bouncing up and down in excitement, as Ocellus split the potion into six paper cups which Gallus had taken from the school's cafeteria a minute ago. He surprised himself by being the first one to take a cup, but he quickly wiped the surprise off his face and the usual giddiness returned to his pastel green face. He watched as his friends took the rest of the cups, some as eager as himself, while some were more reluctant. He didn't really understand their wariness. After all, it was Ocellus who brewed the potion, and he would trust her with his life. She may feel like a little sister to him, but a very good little sister nonetheless.

"Cheers," Ocellus said in an attempt to break the ice for their more nervous friends, but it was clearly written on some of their faces that it hadn't worked.

Sandbar most willingly clicked his paper cup with the rest of his friends' and drank the potion. It didn't taste like cherries, despite the smell, but it was sickingly sweet and went down his throat as smooth as cream, but a cream with very strong hints of excess vanilla and a taste of fruit salad. He looked at his friends, quite surprised to discover that nothing changed and they were still their usual selves.

"What now?" Sandbar asked, frowning a little with disappointment clearly painted across his features.

"I guess we fly up there," Ocellus said, motioning to the sky above.

Sandbar's eyes widened. He couldn't believe that the great nerd Ocellus had used the words 'I guess.' He started to act a little queasy and could feel his stomach churning inside of him just a little bit, but he decided to trust Ocellus. Unfortunately, the churning was still ever present, but it had been pushed to the back of his mind.

Gallus scoffed, Griffin pride dominant in his features, but perhaps he was also confident about Ocellus' skills. "Isn't there an easier way to do this?"

Ocellus' eyes brightened up and was enveloped by a chrysalis just briefly and emerged as their headmare. "Of course there's an easier way, Gallus" Ocellus-Twilight winked as they were all enveloped in a magical aura and before any of them had a chance to blink, they found themselves in a cold desolate place, with tiny dots of light shining continuously in the distance.

Sandbar shivered. It was cold here. Deathly cold. He felt like everything was just squeezing in on him, and his breath formed icicles. He was glad he was still breathing, but Pony bodies have their temperature limits. He looked at Ocellus as Twilight, wondering if there was anything she could do, but it seemed like his friend was wide-eyed, looking around in wonder, yet she showed reactions to the cold, too. Sandbar saw tiny dots dance across his vision, until it all faded to black.

+*+

"Sandbar? Wake up, you big dork"

Sandbar's eyes were still closed, but he was concious as of the moment, though he tended to swim in and out of conciousness, until at long last he managed to get a grip on his conciousness, but he was still too tired to do anything about that.

"Come on! Don't just stay there dreaming about choosing cupcakes!"

Sandbar knew this sarcastic voice well. He could almost see his Griffin friend roll his eyes, and maybe he did. Sandbar wondered why Gallus was acting this way at a time like this, but then again he could be trying to keep some things the same in this new environment.

This new environment. Those words seem to echo in his head for a really long time, appearing and disappearing. He groaned as he tried to sit up and opened his eyes. His eyes quickly travelled to his hooves, which were expecting to come in contant with the floor, then he realized there wasn't any. Then he also realized it was much warmer now.

Sandbar looked at his Griffin friend, his snarky attitude shown clearly by his features, but his dark turquoise eyes seemed dull in comparison. Sandbar's concern was reflected clearly in Gallus' eyes.

Sandbar decided to have a full look around, having trouble maneuvering himself, but realised it was just like swimming, a sport he most seemed to enjoy. There was something that looked like the sun far away, and a circular blob on his right, though it appeared to be three dimensional.

Sandbar swam a little closer to the sun and posed himself like a Pony standing on the ground. It was quite hard. "That's what Twilight moves everyday? I thought it was in the sky!"

Gallus moved next to Sandbar and crossed his arms, standing on two paws, something he didn't do quite often back in Equestria. He was clearly enjoying this. "I thought so, too," Gallus said with an interested smile, "But apparently not"

"And why is it warm all of a sudden?" Sandbar asked, turning to face his other friends, who were clearly too busy admiring their new scenery.

"Oh, I just casted a heat spell around us, and an ether spell, too," Ocellus-Twilight smiled warmly. Sandbar could almost believe that was actually his old headmare.

"What's an ether spell?" Sandbar asked, and he saw Gallus roll his eyes playfully.

"Do you know what a vacuum is?" Ocellus-Twilight asked, having somewhat the same enthusiastic tone as their real ruler of Equestria.

"None of us knows what that is," Gallus quickly cut in even before Sandbar opened his mouth to talk.

"Vacuum is something that's completely empty," Ocellus-Twilight explained layman's terms.

"And what does that got to do with ether?" Gallus asked as if he was accusing Ocellus of a crime of straying from the topic. Sandbar groaned, wishing he could reply faster to avoid Gallus' snappy comebacks.

"Ether was what ancient Ponies used to think vacuum is, except they thought of it as the fourth form of matter. You know, solid, liquid, gas. And ether," Ocellus-Twilight said, though her voice seemed to get more giddy as she felt like her friends would understand for once, "The thing is, though, vacuum does not have matter, while they thought ether was a type of matter!"

"Yeah... I don't understand," Gallus said almost immediately.

"I get it," Sandbar offered in a voice that would've been convincing if Gallus didn't know the look of a dumbfounded idiot. The thing was he did know the look of a dumbfounded idiot, and raised his eyebrow at Sandbar, unamused.

"I kind of get it," Sandbar corrected himself, smiling, "So the ether allows the vibrations of our vocal chords to reach our ears"

Ocellus-Twilight clapped her hooves enthusiastically. "You got it!"

"Guys?" a bubbly voice rang out. Sandbar turned his head along with Ocellus and Gallus to see Silverstream approaching them, with Smolder and Yona right on her tail.

"What are we going to do now?" Silverstream asked. All her pink features were as bright as usual, but she also exuded a smidgen of concern. It was apparent that the pink Hippogriff didn't want to stand around doing nothing. The energetic energy made her seem like she was vibrating from it.

"Yona see an hourglass," Yona said, pointing to a further landmark, err, spacemark.

"Seems interesting," Smolder said, nodding her orange head towards the hourglass shape.

It didn't really look like an hourglass. It looked like a vertical Venn diagram, though Sandbar admitted it could pass for an hourglass to some extent.

"There are so many nearby things for us to visit and you guys go for something far away?" Gallus said, quite a rhetorical question. He knew that they'd go there anyway.

"What happened to the your adventurous nature, Gallus?" Ocellus asked, momentarily transforming into herself just to raise her eyebrow as she smiled sweetly, then immediately transformed into Twilight Sparkle again.

Sandbar found it odd Ocellus went beyond her personal limit to tease Gallus, but considering how the Griffin did the same to all of them, he suspected that was enough revenge.

Sandbar began swimming towards the hourglass, though it would probably be a pretty long time before he reached it. Then he was enveloped in a magical aura and they appeared a good kilometer away of what appeared to be some sort of village or city made of dust and gas clouds. The city was shaped like an hourglass, which explained how it looked from afar. He gasped in wonder, never quite anticipating a whole new civilization in space. Who knows what creatures they would find there?

    Sandbar squinted, looking at the city's walking inhabitants more closely. It looked like they were ponies, but it couldn't be possible. He himself could've barely survived without Ocellus' help. And yet could it be possible?

"Should we go down there?" Smolder asked, who was starting to flap her wings to go towards the city.

"We can't be sure it's safe," Ocellus-Twilight said, looking at their surounding area. They could espcape easily if there was trouble, but who knows what restraining magic those creatures have. They may be more advanced than them. But she may be able to transform into one of them if all else fails..,

"So we're just going to stay here?" Silverstream asked, pouting like a disappointed child.

Ocellus-Twilight sighed and proposed a compromise. "Maybe we could scout the area then see what we could do. Let's split up in pairs"

Sandbar looked at his five friends with nervous eyes. He swallowed. This was absolutely new and he hd no idea if he would be safe. He would need to be with someone who knows their stuff.

"Smolder, you could go with Silverstream and keep her in check," Ocellus-Twilight said in the same tone their old headmare would use, clearly anticipating who would be safest with who, "Yona, you could fo with Gallus. Sandbar, you're with me"

Sandbar sighed in relief. Ocellus probably anticipated who he would be safest with, as always. Especially considering that he didn't have any magic, and he didn't make up for it in size or attitude either. He was glad he had someone who could turn into any powerful being watching his back.

"Let's go," Ocellus-Twilight said as she moved towards Sandbar, as if she were simply leading a field trip. Maybe this whole thing could just be a field trip after all.

Sandbar stayed behind Ocellus, quite wary of everything, though he didn't know exactly why. There was just this nervous feeling a whole new place would entrust to you, giving you paranoia beyond immaginable. Though as they maneuvered themselves closer to the city, a meter at a time, Sandbar could conclude that it was harmless.

    "Let's regroup," Ocellus-Twilight said, closing her eyes as she concentrated on bringing back all their friends to the spot they were in.

    Sandbar watched as Smolder materialised, then Silverstream and at last Gallus. But his eyes widened as he realised there was one last creature who was missing. He looked around on natural instinct, but something made him know full well that Yona wasn't just going to be lurking around the corner.

    "Where's Yona?" Ocellus-Twilight asked, with worry evident in her voice as she started moving around all four of them, as if Yona was just hiding behind one of them. She looked at Gallus, the one she trusted to look after the eager Yak.

   "I don't know!" Gallus said, abandoning his snarky attitude as his eyes moved around the place, his eyes covered by a fog of worry. "She was swimming closer to the city! I told her not to!"

    Sandbar gasped. "We have to get her out of there!"

    Just then, they heard the Yak's familiar voice who seemed to be speaking happily.

    Sandbar turned his head along with the others, but his face was still twisted in suspicion. All he saw was what seemed to be two walls, with a gap between them. An alley, perhaps, of some sorts. Then his Yak friend trotted happily to the very edge of the alley. She could've fell if they were in Equestria, but in here all she did was float around. She seemed to still not realise her friends were just there waiting for her a few metres away.

     Sandbar sighed in relief, letting his tensed up shoulders relax for the moment. Then he was surprised that a fuschia pony with a swirly violet mane walked out the alley just a few seconds after Yona. They floated there, laughing for a few seconds, until Yona finally noticed her friends. She stood up as much as she could in space and nudged the pony who was still on her back. The pony seemed to regain her senses and stood up next to Yona, then her eyes widened as she noticed the array of creatures in front of her.

    "Friends, this is Carina," Yona said smiling widely as she tilted her large Yak head to gesture to the pony beside her. Carina faked a smile.

    "Carina," Yona said, looking at her, feeling giddy to introduce her friends, "These are Yona friends!"

    "Hi," Carina said in an almost monotonous voice, the only emotion showing was slight interest.

"Psst! Yona!" Silverstream attempted to whisper, but she was very bad at it, instead speaking in a somewhat hoarse voice, "Is it safe?"

"Of course it's safe in the Engraved Hourglass Nebula," Carina replied almost immediately. She had an air of arrogance around her, that one.

"Engraved Hourglass Nebula?" Gallus asked with just as much arrogance in his voice.

Sandbar rolled his eyes. This was going to get bad unless someone interfered. If there was one thing you should know about Gallus, it was to not put him in the same room as an arrogant person who wasn't Smolder or Yona.

"How could you not know what this is?" Carina asked, raising her eyebrow.

Sandbar found her bluff. Of course they wouldn't know what this is. They were six different creatures who were definitely not locals. Though he was sad to know the look on her face very well. It was the same face Gallus put on when he didn't want to abandon his pride.

"The Hourglass Nebula?" Ocellus-Twilight asked, whose interest was suddenly perked.

Sandbar rolled his eyes again. It was just like her to get so excited over a potential lecture. If Carina seemed like the type to give a lecture, that is. He was still wary of that pony. Her aloof attitude wasn't making him feel any better.

"What's a nebula?" Silverstream asked with her eyes wide and bright, always interested in anything new.

"It's where stars form," Ocellus-Twilight replied as if it had always been in her knowledge, and maybe it has.

"Specifically, it's where we make stars," Carina corrected like a know-it-all.

Sandbar groaned internally. He did not like the guts of this pony. She was probably not as friendly as any of his friends and it was probably best if they had just decided to walk away right now, but knowing his friends, they wouldn't.

"You make stars here?" Ocellus-Twilight asked, moving closer to Carina.

Carina snorted. "Of course we do"

"How?" Ocellus-Twilight asked, with stars sparkling in her eyes.

"Let me show you," Carina replied in a much friendlier tone compared to the previous ones she had used, but Sandbar suspected her pride was just being fueled up, and would be unleashed when she showed them how.

Sandbar looked at his friends with an unamused face, raising his eyebrows. He shared the same look with Smolder, while Silverstream seemed to be too excited about a new civilization with so many new things to try. Yona seemed very interested to appeal to the likes of Carina to make a new friend. Then, of course, there was Gallus who would be very willing to challenge Carina again. And Ocellus who would suck in every bit of information like a vacuum cleaner, which was suitable since all around them was vacuum.

Silverstream, Yona and Ocellus were already making their first step towards the alley from which Yona had come from. Sandbar rolled his eyes again, but still maneuvered his way towards the alley. He was surprised to find out that he was stepping on the floor of the alley and not floating around. He didn't want to, but he looked at Carina for an explanation.

Carina seemed to have understood his gesture and put on a cocky face that made Sandbar want to kill himself. "Everything here is made of the dust and gases we use to make stars, so it all has its own gravity"

Ocellus-Twilight seemed to take a sniff of air, turning back into a Changeling, which worried Sandbar.

"Wait, why did you turn back?" Sandbar asked, worry piercing his voice. He trusted Ocellus the most but he still wanted an explanation.

"There's oxygen and other gases here," Ocellus said, surprise and wonder entering her voice.

"Yup. We installed an atmosphere here," Carina explained with her wide cocky grin.

Sandbar reluctantly joined his friends as they followed Carina through the alley until they emerged at a vast pink cloudy platform nearly as far as the eye could see. There were, what seemed like, walls at the end of it. Sandbar noticed most of what they called 'dust and gas clouds' were pink or purple, just like Carina. That was probably also a helper in boosting her ego.

After few meters, Sandbar trotted past a blank square with some type of fence to stop creatures from entering, but there were numerous ponies gathered around it. He looked around as he followed his friends and he could see more of those weird squares with ponies gathered around them as well. The weirdest part was there was some type of vertical column made purely from those dust and gas clouds. It was a truly weird sight.

"What are those?" Ocellus asked, back in her Changeling form.

Sandbar looked at Carina. He couldn't also help but wonder, though it seemed as if Carina never heard his poor friend's question. He repeated it a little louder and a little more hostile.

Carina clicked her tongue in annoyance as she stopped and faced them like a tour guide ready to explain a historical site. "Those are the columns that will soon become new stars"

She let them ooh and ahh, but Sandbar didn't want to, worried it would only fuel her ego more. Once most of his friends, Ocellus was still looking, were done admiring the cloud columns, Carina spoke again.

"Now if that's all you're here for, then you can leave now," and with that, she turned around and flicked her head, sending her mane flying elegantly.

    "Yona and friends want to visit space," Yona said, going for the truth.

    Carina scoffed in a way that made Sandbar's skin crawl. "Space? Space?! That's what you really decided to call my beloved home? At least Engraved Hourglass Nebula is more creative than that!"

    "Not too creative," Smolder muttered under her breath, causing both Gallus and Sandbar to snicker. Unfortunately, Carina caught it.

    "And what would you name my beloved city?" Carina asked, walking closer to Smolder with her eyes furrowed, trying to gain the position as the intimidator. Sandbar rolled his eyes.

     Smolder remained unfazed and decided to go for the friendly way out of this, though it was quite obvious with the way her tail sharpened that she was trying her best not to snap at Carina. "I don't know. Anything but Engraved Hourglass Nebula. That's kind of uncreative, don't you think? It looks like an hourglass so you call it that"

    Sandbar had to aplaud Smolder for approaching this situation calmly. He may be a kind Pony and Smolder may be a fierce Dragon, but this Carina was really grilling up his temper.

    "Don't you dare disrespect my elders in front of me!" Carina snapped, turning her head away from Smolder at last. She took a minute to breathe in and compose herself, then turned back to Sandbar and his friends, but mostly looking at Yona, and gave them a sickingly sweet smile. "Now since you travelled all the way from—umm..."

    "Equestria," Smolder almost snapped immediately, and Sandbar could tell her patience was getting thin.

   "Equestria..." Carina mentally gagged at the name, "Then I will give you the pleasure of me being your tour guide!"

    Ocellus was wide-eyes with excitement and Silverstream was flapping her wings enthusiastically while Yona wore a huge smile on his face and Smolder felt quite indifferent to the entire thing.

    Gallus scoffed, his arrogance returning, but Sandbar didn't really care at that point. "Gee, the pleasure is all ours"

   The Griffin took the words right out of Sandbar's mouth.

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

Here it finally is, sunshine185091. Chapter 2 of Nebula! I may have explained some science stuff there poorly, but I also twisted them up a bit. Please tell me if you don't understand anything. I hope you enjoy!

Remember to spread the Magic of Friendship!