The Equestrian

***Introduction***

One hundred years ago, the ponies of Equestria lived together in peaceful and prospurous nation. Then, they came... They came from outside of Equestria. At first, no pony had any words to describe them. They were an unstoppable force, an unquenchable thirst. They destroyed everything in sight. Then, a few months later, the ponies first make contact with the invaders, strange animals that called themselves 'humans'.

A deal was struck.

***Part 1: Proud Parents***

Velvet and Starlight Sparkle looked happily into their daughter's bedroom. She was playing. Not with dolls or blocks, but with books. She had two towers. One tower consisted of books she had read previously. The second tower was made of books she wanted to read later. They were proud parents. They had every right to be. Twilight was top of the class. Tartarus, she was top of everything she tried. She excelled in magic faster than any professor had seen. She had even gained the attention of Princess Celestia. For an eight-year-old filly, Twilight had accomplished quite a lot.

"We did a good job..." Velvet says with a happy sigh.

"No, we did a great job." Her husband corrects. "Not many fillies get the privilege of learning directly from the princess."

Velvet lets out a light-hearted chuckle, forcing her husband to laugh along with her. She looks up at him and plants a loving kiss on his cheek.

"So, what is all that stuff in the kitchen for?" Starlight asks as he walks with his wife down the hall. "Are we expecting company?"

"Shining is coming home, dear." Velvet says. "He'll be here soon, and I thought he might want something to eat."

Starlight nods his head with approval.

"Right. I read that in his letter. Did... anything about it sound strange to you?"

Velvet cocks her head. She rarely received letters from Shining. That was strange in itself, but nothing about the actual letter struck her as abnormal. After several moments of thinking, she shakes her head.

"He sounded very urgent in his letter." Starlight explains.

Velvet shrugs as she returns to the kitchen.

"I'm sure everything is fine, dear. Maybe, he is just really eager to see us and Twilight."

There is a loud knock at the door, startling Starlight.

"That must be him. Get the door, sweetie!" Velvet calls from the kitchen.

Starlight does as instructed ad approaches the door. Using the magic from his horn, he opens it. Sure enough, Shining Armor is at the door. Standing behind him is a young, human boy.

***Part 2: With Family Members Like These***

Shining and Fives were seated at the Sparkle's dinning table. On any other day, Shining would have been enjoying a nice, home-cooked meal with his family. Now, he felt as though he was being interrogated

"Shining, what do you think you are doing with this... human?". Starlight demands in a hushed tone, as he did not want to disturb Twilight in the room above them. "You know this family does not tolerate slavery. I thought you were raised better than this."

"Dad, just let me explain, please." Shining begs. "This was Princess Celestia's idea, not mine. I don't know why, buy yesterday morning, she had me go into the slave market and pick out this human. At first, she wanted me to keep him, but it quickly became clear that he wouldn't be safe in the Royal Guard's barracks. I talked it over with her, and the princess said it would be acceptable if i allowed him to stay here, with you."

The look on Starlight's face was pure disbelief. He was shocked and furious. Just as he was about to say 'no', his wife stops him.

"Wait, honey, this could be the opportunity we've been waiting for." She whispers to him.

"What do you mean?" He demands.

Velvet clears her throat before resuming her argument.

"Dear, we have been trying to get Twilight to make some friends for a while, and she has yet to find even one. What if we... kept this human to be her friend? He could be her playmate, her companion."

Starlight lowers his gaze. Twilight's lack of friends was beginning to worry him, and the human could very well be the solution to the problem. He didn't like it, but Starlight agrees with a dissatisfied 'grunt'. Velvet smiles and kisses him on the cheek.

"Thanks, mom... Thanks, dad..." Shining says. "But, you have to promise me you will take good care of Fives."

"Fives?" Both Sparkles ask in unison.

Shining looks down at the tablecloth as his cheeks turn red.

"Uh... I may have named him... He kinda grew on me. He's a good kid, mom. Though, he does have one big appetite."

The boy having a big appetite was something Velvet was thrilled to hear. She loved anyone who enjoyed her cooking.

"We'll take great care of Fives." Velvet says. "Wont we, dear?"

Starlight nods.

"Of course... He'll have plenty of food, warm clothes, and a bed."

Shining feels a sense of relief  when a smile manages to form its way onto his father's expressionless face. He truly felt confident in his parent's abilities to care for the human.

"Well... I had better be getting back, or Captain Silvershield is going to have my hide." Shining says as he stands up from the table."

"M-Master Shiny?" Fives asks, fear rising in his voice.

The human leaps up from his chair, and he tries to follow Shining to the door. Shining firmly plants his hoof on Fives' chest to stop him.

"No, bud, you cant come with me. It's not safe for you, where I'm going. Youll be staying here with my family. They are good ponies, I promise."

Shining ruffles Fives' hair with his hoof.

"Take care, bud. You're gonna love it here, and i guarantee Twilight is gonna love you."

With that being said, Shining opens the door with that magic from his horn, and he leaves, closing the door behind him.

***Part 3: Twilight Sparkle***

Fives was shocked by the size of the Sparkle Estate. Living in a cage his whole seven years of life, a huge, fancy house was new to him. It even rivaled the decor he had witnessed in the Royal Palace. He looked up in awe at the walls made entirely of windows, laced and trimmed with gold and silver polishings.

"Come on, it's time you meet your new play-mate." Starlight says as he ushers him inside.

He follows Velvet up the winding staircase and down a long hallway. At the end of the hall was an open door. Inside the room, a little purple filly was asleep on a pile of books and novels.

"Oh..." Starlight sighs with disappointment. "She stayed up all night reading, again... Uh, just a moment."

The human watches with curiosity as the blue stallion enters the room and taps on the little filly's head with his hoof. The purple filly yawns and stretches her way out of sleep.

"Hey, Twilight..." Starlight whispers to her. "Your mother and I have a surprise for you."

The purple filly, whom the boy assumed was 'Twilight', yawns again.

"W-What, daddy?" She asks, giving one last large yawn.

Velvet gives a tired yawn herself before stepping aside to reveal the slave. Twilight's eyes instantly widen to the size of dinner plates.

"You got me a human?!" She squeals. "Oh, Celestia!"

Twilight makes a mad dash for the terrified boy. She circles around him at least a dozen times before stopping in front of him to analyze his face. His bruises were light, but still noticeable, and his shaved head exposed the bumps from previous beatings. These features made Twilight frown.

"What is her name?" She asks innocently.

"Uh, baby, this is a male human. This is a 'he'." Velvet corrects her.

With all her knowledge, the little filly knew almost nothing about humans, due to her parents avoidance of slavery.

"H-55555..." She mutters. "That is a lot of fives."

"Shining actually already named him 'Fives'." Velvet says.

"Y-Yes, mistress. I... I am called Fives..."

"That is so cool!" Twilight yells before wrapping her hooves around his waist.

Fives' chest was beating three times faster. He had never felt... affection. Starlight and Velvet couldn't help getting teary-eyed. They felt as though they had rescued a young human from working to death for a brutal, cruel slave owner.

"I think Fives is a wonderful name." Velvet says. "Why don't we get him some clothes and fix up something to eat? We can figure out where he will sleep afterwards."

Twilight's ears perk up, and Fives' felt his stomach growl violently. Everyone must have herd it, because they all turned in his direction. Velvet gives him a light-hearted chuckle.

"We'll take care of that, too." She says, giving him a sweet smile.

***Part 4: Velvet's Cooking"

The meal was a quiet one. Starlight and Velvet quickly passed around the mashed potatoes, green bean, and glasses of water. Twilight eagerly filled her plate to the brim. Starlight also enjoyed his wife's cooking. Velvet served Fives herself, giving him a plate with roughly a fourth of the proportions a normal pony would eat. Twilight notices quickly.

"Mommy, why is Fives not getting as much food as the rest of us? Look at how skinny he is!" She demands, pulling up the human's shirt, revealing his visible rib cage.

"He has been starved for so long, Twilight." Her father explains. "Any large amounts of nutritious food would only make him dangerously ill. Shining's tale already proved this. He said Fives ate way more than he should have at the barracks, and he threw up on the walk over here. We need to get his appetite back by giving him a little more each month. For now, that will be more than enough to fill him."

Fives stayed quiet, but he knew his master was right. He had seen other slaves steal food when their ponies weren't looking. Their moans were unbearable. Twilight didn't like her parent's logic, but she couldn't protest any further.

***Part 5: The Grand Tour***

After lunch, Twilight nearly dragged her new human up to her room to give him a VIP tour. Starlight and Velvet watched happily from the door.

"This is where I keep all of my favorite books." The little filly explains. "Alright, that should cover my book shelves. Any questions?"

Fives shakes his head.

"No, m-mistress."

Twilight was confused as to why her Human kept referring to her that way, but she ignores it.

"Oh, you are going to love this one!" She shouts, holding up a thick novel.

Using the magic from her horn, she levitates the novel over to Fives. The human's legs nearly buckle when the book lands in his hands. It was heavy.

"This was one of the very first books I ever read. It has action, adventure, and cheesy romance!" She says happily.

Fives only stares at the cover with frustration and disappointment. He wanted so desperately to make his little mistress happy, but he couldn't. Velvet understands quickly, and she steps in to help.

"Uh, Twilight... Fives can't read."

Twilight looks as him with dispair in her eyes. It hurt Fives to see such disappointment.

"I... I'm sorry, mistress Twilight..."

"Don't be. I'll teach you how." She promised.

Starlight's tail twitches nervously.

"Now, Twilight, I'm ok with you helping Fives learn how to read, but we don't want you getting in trouble."

"Why, daddy?"

"Sweety, it is illegal to teach humans anything except how to work. You can teach Fives how to read, but don't do it outside of this house. No pony can know."

Twilight nods in understanding.

"Now, all that's left is to find him someplace to sleep..." Starlight says.

Twilight's hoof shoots up.

"Can he sleep with me, pleeeeeease?" She begs. "He has to! I won't sleep without him! Me bed is more than big enough!"

"Twilight, Fives will grow much larger. He can't sleep in your bed. He will need his own."

But Twilight had made up her mind, and she wouldn't accept defeat. After several minutes of heated debate, Twilight finally settled with Fives sleeping on a mat at the base of her bed. Twilight looks back at her human with a huge grin on her face. Fives couldn't help smiling back at her. It was the first time he had smiled because he felt... happy. He was happy. He had a home, he had caring masters and a mistress who adored him. He was looking forward to serving them.

***TO BE CONTINUED***