Through the Cavern

"God, can't you make them stop staring, girls? It's really starting to creep me out." Ricky glanced around nervously at all the ponies that were watching him. They were less scared than fascinated, however.

"Sorry, Rick. Once everypony becomes interested in something, they won't leave it alone." Scootaloo said helpfully.

"Don't worry though, we'll be at Twilight's castle soon!" Sweetie Belle chimed in.

"So, I was meaning to ask, how strict is this princess? I mean, should I bow upon entering the room, or pull a seat out for her, or..." Ricky trailed off as the three fillies rolled around laughing "What? I've never met royalty before, so I don't know how to act."

Applebloom sat up, gasping for air "Trust me, Twilight might be the biggest nerd that ever lived in Ponyville. You should be more concerned that she doesn't try to hook you up to some kind of freaky device."

"Wait, so your royalty is a mad scientist? No, thanks." Ricky turned to leave, only to come face to face with a pink pony with a poofy pink mane and tail. She gasped loudly upon seeing him, then took off like...well, like a racehorse.

"WHAT was that?" Rick stared after the strange pony. Sweetie Belle groaned "That was Pinkie Pie. If I were you, I would be careful. You'll probably be seeing a lot of her in the next little while."

"Jeez. I'm really starting to wonder about this place. I mean, I..." Ricky trailed off as they came to Twilight's castle. He stared up in awe as the light reflected off of the crystal facets.

"Well, let's see if she's home!" Scootaloo banged on the door. Ricky shook his head and then tried to tame his messy blonde hair. After a moment, the door glowed with a deep aura and opened wide.

A purple unicorn...well, she wasn't just a unicorn. She also had the wings of a Pegasus, which Ricky made a mental note to ask about later. The winged unicorn glanced down at the three fillies and she smiled.

"Hi, girls! What can I do for you today?" Twilight asked happily "Do you need any help with your homework, or have an important thing to learn about friendship?"

"Well, no, not really. You see, we were in the Everfree Caves this afternoon on a school field trip, and..." Sweetie Belle began, but Twilight cut her off eagerly "Oh, I LOVE the caves! What was your favorite part? And PLEASE don't say the gift shop, because EVERYPONY always says the gift shop."

"Actually, we...wow, this is kind of hard to say, but...we found a human in the caves!" Applebloom said awkwardly.

Twilight stared at her for a second, then began laughing heavily "Oh, wow, girls, that has to be the best one I've heard all my life! A human in Equestria...it's not even possible! I mean, the whole concept of a hu..." She finally noticed Ricky, who smiled and waved at her. A second later, he felt himself being pulled inside by an unseen force along with the three fillies, the door slamming heavily.

"Sweet Celestia, you weren't lying! Oh, he's magnificent!" Twilight was all over Ricky, gushing at his hands, his ability to stand on two legs, etc.

"Uh, any chance you could back up just a little bit? You're kind of in my bubble." Ricky said calmly. Twilight blushed and backed off.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I just never imagined that I would ever get to see an actual human in the flesh! I mean, I had read all about them when I was a filly, and I used to spend hours in those caves with my brother, hoping to meet one!" Twilight sighed happily "I have to know, how did you come to be here in the first place?" She propped herself on her hooves, eager to listen.

20 minutes later, Ricky finished telling his story yet again "And once again, that's how I came to be in your world."

"Wow...I can't believe that those tunnels are actually portals to other worlds! I mean, a world full of actual humans! There could very well be other worlds beyond other tunnels, and...oh, I have to write a letter to the Princess! Spike!" Twilight said all of this in a single breath.

A few seconds later, Ricky heard light footprints, and then a door opened to reveal...to reveal...

"Hey, girls! What brings you by?" The little purple dragon waved to the three fillies, gave Ricky a friendly nod, and then walked up to Twilight "Let me guess, you want to write a letter?"

"Not just any letter, Spike! This letter contains quite possibly the greatest discovery in all of Equestria!" Twilight thrust a quill and piece of paper into the dragon's hands.

"Really? What kind of discovery?" Spike asked, preparing to write.

"Okay...brace yourself." Twilight took a deep breath "You've heard the stories about humans, right?"

"Humans? You mean those two legged alien things that look like shaved monkeys? What about them?" Spike asked, then it dawned on him "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me, Twilight!" He started laughing his head off. Twilight glared at him and used her magic to turn his head to face Ricky. Spike took one look, froze, and then instantly passed out, pen and paper falling.

"Well, I guess he won't be writing a letter for a while now." Twilight sighed. Ricky picked up the pen and paper "Um, humans do know how to write very well. What did you want the letter to say?"

"Oh! Well, if you don't mind, could you put...Dear Princess Celestia, I have the most exciting news that I could ever possibly give you. I have discovered the existence of a new species of bipedal creatures, and request your permission to present a sample before you. Yours faithfully, Princess Twilight Sparkle."

"...Twilight Sparkle. Okay, so where do you keep your envelopes?" Ricky looked around, but saw nothing. Meanwhile, the girls were having noticeable difficulty reviving Spike.

"Oh...well, you see, we can only send it by dragonfire if we want the princess to receive it quick enough, but unfortunately, our only source is out cold." Twilight said dejectedly.

"Hey! Watch it!" Sweetie Belle jumped out of the way of Spike's flame, and Scootaloo quickly took her hoof off of the dragon's chest. Ricky suddenly got an idea from this.

"'Scuse me, girls." Ricky walked over to Spike and held the letter over his mouth. Then he pressed down on the dragon's stomach, and a steady flame shot out. The letter vanished into thin air.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that, but alright then!" Twilight said happily "Now all we need to do is-" But she was interrupted by a knock a the door.

"Who could that be?" She mused, but opened the door nonetheless. An orange colored earth pony wearing a cowboy hat and a white unicorn with an elegantly styled mane entered the room.

"Twilight, I do apologize for our intrusion, but Miss Cheerilee told us that the girls would be here?" The unicorn asked in a fancy voice.

"Oh! Rarity, Applejack! I'm so glad you two are here! I have the most incredible person for you two to meet!" Twilight led the two of them over to Ricky. Right away, the unicorn froze up, eyeing him up and down, while the one called Applejack just stared at him "So, er...what's so great about him?" she asked.

"What? Do you two have any idea what this is?" Twilight asked incredulously. Ricky sighed "Umm...I do have a name, you know."

Twilight blushed "Oh, sorry. Girls, this is Ricky, a human. Due to an series of unfortunate events, he's going to be visiting Ponyville for a while. And as Princess of this town, I expect you to make him feel welcome!" She fixed them with a friendly, yet steely gaze.

"Uh, Twi? Why are you trying to use the authoritarian stuff on us, here? I mean, no one said we was all gonna be rude to him." Applejack said hastily. She smiled at Ricky and held out a hoof "Howdy, there! Name's Applejack! I see you already met ma little sister, Applebloom."

"Oh, she's your sister, then? Makes sense." Ricky shook her hoof, then turned to Rarity, who still sat in shock.

"Um...hello? Are you okay, miss?" Ricky waved a hand in front of her face, and she came to her senses.

"Oh! Where ARE my manners?" She batted her eyelashes "I am Rarity, and I do apologize for my rude behavior. I was...surprised, you could say."

"Oh, because you've never seen a human before, is that right?"

"Human? Oh darling, I couldn't care less about that. I was just baffled at those...unsightly clothes."

Ricky looked down at his torn blue jeans and Doors t-shirt "What's wrong with my clothes?"

"Ignore her, she's a designer." Sweetie Belle piped up. Rarity glared at her.

"I happen to be a fine seamstress with a MARVELOUS eye for fashion. And you're lucky Mom and Dad are out of town, or else you would NOT be here in the first place!" Evidently, Sweetie Belle was her younger sister.

Ricky had never felt more awkward before in his life "Umm...shouldn't we maybe get Spike there to the hospital? He might have a concussion."

"Oh, just leave him for a few minutes. He'll wake up once he smells Rarity's perfume." Twilight giggled, and the designer glared at her.

"Anyhow, I need to get some air, so...do you have a back yard, or something?" Ricky was really getting agitated.

"Through those doors over there." Thanking her, Ricky slipped out and pulled out a cigarette.

"Ahhh....." he collapsed on a stump and sighed happily. As he took in his surroundings. Ponies were walking by, some stopping to stare while others just glanced and went on their ways. Taking a drag, he blew up into the tree branches. Suddenly, they began to shake and cough.