Starting over

The sun had barely risen up past the horizon. Lucas woke up with a yawn, and proceeded to walk outside of the cottage to catch a breath of fresh air. The silent morning felt so serene to Lucas. He took off his shoes, and dipped his toes in the small pond nearby. He closed his eyes and let nature take it's course around him.

Then, it hit Lucas. If he's alive, then what about Claus, Duster, and Flint? Perhaps, they were in separate places, existing happily without him. The more he thought about it, the more anxiety he felt. The thought gave him hope. Lucas then had a revelation. Maybe his past life wasn't a complete hell? Or maybe it was, but he was overlooking the good parts. When he reflected on the past, he could point out a few good memories. Lucas remembered the first time he learned PSI, it was a whimsical experience. Or when a bathroom sign used PK starstorm. And no matter what, his companions stayed with him until the very end, through flames, blizzards, and storms. His thoughts were loudly interrupted by a mail carrier.

"Mail delivery! It's addressed to the pony who scared off the Ursa Major!" yelled a pint-sized dragon.

Lucas walked over to him to receive the letter, and the dragon glanced down at what appeared to be a sketch of Lucas.

"You scared off the Ursa Major?" said the dragon with a snicker, Lucas gave him an impatient look, and he handed over the letter.

Dear nameless hero,

You have been cordially invited to a high-class party in Canterlot. We understand you are new here in our humble community, so we made sure to invite others to lessen the awkwardness for you.  If you're wondering about directions to the castle, simply look for the large, obvious building perched on a mountain. You may bring one guest. It starts at 7 PM.

Sincerely, Princess Celestia

"Is it normal for a kingdom to have more than one princess?" Lucas thought, the most he had heard about royalty was in fairy tales his mother used to read him. The guest he was going to choose was obvious, Fluttershy. After all, she was the one Lucas was most acquainted with.

"Lucas! Breakfast is ready!" cried Fluttershy from inside the cottage, and Lucas went inside. Eggs with a side of toast and jam was served. For the first time, Fluttershy saw that Lucas was genuinely happy, it brought a smile to her face. Lucas slipped the letter over to Fluttershy at the other end of the table. She read it over.

"You want me to come?" she asked, and Lucas nodded. She then looked at the striped yellow and red shirt Lucas had been wearing for days now. It was tattered and admittedly, a little smelly.

"Oh Lucas, um, about your shirt. I'm not sure you can go the party in that. But don't worry, I can make you one." said Fluttershy, who had taken an interest in sewing after Rarity showed her the tricks of the trade. Lucas looked down at his shirt and blushed.

From her closet, Fluttershy got out a dusty sewing machine which Rarity had given her a couple months ago for her birthday. She also grabbed one black cloth and one white cloth. For the next few hours, Fluttershy sewed tirelessly, Lucas watched patiently the whole time.

The end result was a stylish tuxedo, with a small hole near the top. Lucas put it on, and looked in the mirror. It looked quite charming, and Lucas felt a boost in self-confidence when he wore it.

"Oh, please excuse me. I have to get something." Fluttershy stepped outside briefly. When she came back, she was carrying a rose in her mouth, and put it in the hole in the tuxedo. Lucas couldn't deny that it was a bit gross, but it did compliment the tuxedo nicely and Fluttershy had worked so hard on it, so Lucas accepted it with a smile.

It was 6:30 PM, it was going to be a long walk to Canterlot, so they decided to get a semi-early start. As they walked, the night sky was lit up by fireworks. They came in all colors, red, yellow, green, blue, you name it. Finally, they reached Canterlot, standing in front of the gateway was a rather intimidating bouncer. He was a pegasus, with rather pathetic wings, but his muscles were insanely large.

"Names?" he said in a gruff voice

"Lucas"

"Fluttershy"

"You're on the list." he said looking at Lucas

"You're not." he said looking at Fluttershy

"B-but, the letter said-" began Fluttershy

"I'm sorry ma'am, but you're not on the list. I don't want to have to escort you out of here." said the bouncer, Lucas noticed that Fluttershy looked quite disappointed. Then, Lucas had an idea. He took a step back.

"I'm sorry about this, but..." said Lucas, and he used the weakest version of PK flash possible so it would stop right in front of him, blinding him for a few seconds. Lucas gestured for Fluttershy to go inside with him, and she followed.

Throughout the long hallway leading to the grand ballroom, there were stained glass murals depicting the same winged unicorn, with a multicolored mane and white fur. Lucas stared in awe, they seemed to tell a story without words. In the first mural, the winged unicorn was young and frail, in one of the newest, she had matured quite a bit.  It almost felt like traveling through time.

Lucas got so caught up in the murals, he zoned out for quite a while. Fluttershy must have gone ahead without him without realizing it. He kept running until he reached the ballroom. Upper class ponies were gossiping about their neighbors in a snooty manner while drinking fine wine and champagne. Lucas wandered through the crowd, looking for Fluttershy, and he tried not to look nervous.

Lucas began to feel a little thirsty, and he looked around for any non-alcoholic beverage that was being served. After about five minutes of looking at labels on bottles, he had finally found a jug of apple cider, he poured himself a glass and took a sip. He became more relaxed the more he drank, he didn't feel drowsy or anything. The small glass of apple cider Lucas was drinking seemed to have so much hard work put into it. Lucas personally wanted to thank whoever made it.

"Hey guys look, I didn't know Canterlot had a freak show."  Lucas looked up from his glass, and three teenage pegasi in some sort of uniform. Lucas remained silent.

"Aw look, the wittle foal can't talk, that's cute." said another pegasus mockingly, Lucas tried to look strong, but he still showed signs of weakness.

"Hey guys, watch this!" said the third pegasus, and he pushed Lucas over, caught his apple cider, and poured it all over him, drenching his hair. Everyone's eyes were suddenly diverted towards him. He was struggling to hold back tears. Lucas then realized that these were the same group of pegasi he had admired a few days ago, the ones he had witnessed in the forest. It was almost heartbreaking.

Then, someone pushed through the crowd, it was Fluttershy, with an openly shocked expression, which changed to a look of pity once she saw Lucas.

"Lucas! I mean, Lucas.. could you please turn around for one teensy minute?" said Fluttershy, and Lucas looked away.

"How dare you? How could you pick on someone as young as him just because he's not from here? You're supposed to be role models for fillies everywhere, and you go and do this? You give a bad name for Wonderbolts, you should be glad that I don't know your mothers because they would be far more than disappointed in you right now!"

"Whoa, chill out lady." said one of the pegasi, backing away.

"Chill out? Chill out?! If you wanted me to chill out, you should've never crossed paths withmy son!" said Fluttershy angrily

""My son" The words hit Lucas like a thunderstorm in a desert. It seemed impossible, like a dream, but it was so real. Offically, he was no longer an orphan. He felt his heart melt a bit.

For the next four seconds there was dead silence, although Lucas couldn't see their faces, he could sense that they were nervous.

"The stare, it burns!" said one pegasus

"Stop it, you're freaking me out!" said another

"I'm sorry!" said yet another, and with that, Lucas heard the distinct sound of three pairs of wings flapping at an unnatural rate, and they were gone.

"...And stay out!" said the bouncer, who had thrown out Fluttershy and Lucas out of Canterlot without hesitation.

"Fluttershy... Thank you." said Lucas sheepishly

"Oh, it was nothing, really." said Fluttershy kindly. Although it was only 8:00 PM, both Fluttershy and Lucas were both (emotionally) exhausted at that point. When they arrived home they wasted no time in going to bed. Fluttershy slept with a clear conscience.