It was another beautiful sunrise in Equestria, and the welcoming light brought happiness forth into the new day. Welcoming to all, that is, except for a certain human teenager who just wanted some sleep. The light came in a beam through the cracks of the curtain in a guest room in a giant tree-like castle, resting right on the eyes of Joey. "Oh, give me a break," he groaned, "You just have to be this way to a guy who's sleep is ridden with nightmares every time." He chuckled at is unintentional pun, night'mares'.

Meanwhile, Twilight rotted up the stairs and into his room. he looked up groggily. "Well, look who's up!" she said cheerily, "Good morning, sleepyhead!" He slowly got up out of bed. 'Spike's making breakfast, so wash up and head downstairs." Then she noticed the bags under his eyes. Wow, he IS sleepy, thought Twilight. She trotted out the door. "If you need anything, just let me know, okay?" she added, continuing her journey down the stairs. "Okay," he responded.

He forgot how good it felt to be clean. The orphanage he lived in had no bathrooms whatsoever, and the only showers he ever got were the ice cold ones in gym class. Even then there wasn't soap. But this, this was different. The water was at a perfect temperature and the soap washed out grime so easily. When he was done he felt like a new person. He was about to put on his old clothes when a knock came at the door. Twilight's voice came from the other side. "Rarity stopped by with your new set of clothes today. She thought you would want them," she said. "Yes, I do, and thanks!" Joey replied with enthusiasm. He peeked out the door, finding no one there. He put them on quickly, and then headed downstairs.

As Joey reached the table, he saw a big bowl of fruit salad. It looked really good. Twilight looked up from her book, noticing Joey. She smiled. "Good morning! Have a seat!" she chirped, motioning to a chair. "How did you sleep?" Joey sat down and watched as Spike placed a bowl in front of him. "I'd rather not say....." Joey replied. Spike served him some salad, and Joey proceeded to take a bite. Then another. And another. The fruit wasn't overripe or underripe...........it was perfect. He wasn't that hungry either because of the breakfast the day before, so this was perfect.

"So, Joey," Twilight started, "Today's the day!!! You get to meet the princess!" Joey finished his fruit salad, and sat back. He just nodded. This was the most nervous he'd ever felt in his life, and that was pretty dang nervous. Joey calmed himself, remembering that he had new supportive friends. He took a deep breath. Twilight cleared her throat. "You'd better get ready, the train leaves in ten minutes."

Joey was confused. "You have trains here?" Twilight turned to look at him. "Of course we have trains. It's the only way for citizens from city to city. Now, go get your stuff. We are leaving as soon as possible."

Joey quickly ran upstairs. He slowly put on his backpack, careful not to drop it, and walked back downstairs. He noticed Twilight was bearing two bags on either side of her, with a strong looking piece of fabric connecting the two hanging over her barrel. The bags were decorated with the same picture as the one on her flank.

"All ready?" Twilight asked turning toward the door. Joey just nodded. He was trying to stay awake, so he didn't really want to say much that morning. The previous night was pretty rough compared to all the other nights he had. And those nights were pretty sleep-depriving.

As Joey exited the castle, Joey closed the door behind him. He never really noticed the beauty of this world. It was just so colorful, and..............so full of love. Joey didn't know of a single place back on earth that was like that. Even when he was above treeline in the Rockies, he didn't feel any love up there, and that was one of his favorite places!!

Twilight turned to him. "We don't have much time, and my friends are waiting for us. Hop on!" She knelt down, and Joey got on. Naturally he would argue, but he was too tired for that. Besides, Twilight was a nice pony.

Twilight sprinted through the streets of Ponyville, ignoring the stares she was recieving from other ponies. She was just focused on getting to the train station.

Joey, on the other hand, was more self conscious.

The stares were disturbing him. It was like they were a moving wall, trying to push him away. They were anything but, well, accepting. Even though he was used to those stares, this was.....different. More unwelcoming.

They soon reached the station, where Twilight let Joey off. Twilight handed him a pre-bought ticket, and they both continued to the track. Travelers kept the horrible stares going. It was getting annoying.

Finally, they reached the train itself. The words "Friendship Express" were embellished in gold on the side of the train. The conductor motioned them on board, not even looking twice. That was a first. On board, they heard a voice calling them.

"Yoo-hoo! Over here, Twilight!!" She looked over and saw her friends, smiling at them. "This way," she told Joey, motioning for him to follow. When they were all seated, the train started to pull out of the station. "Next stop, Canterlot!!!" shouted the conductor from the front of the car. After five minutes talking during the ride, Joey was out like a rock. He couldn't stay awake any longer. The other girls (and dragon) just giggled at this.

Joey found himself back in his school. The weather was cloudy, and a little bit chilly. Kids were milling around, and based on the faint glint of the sun through the clouds, it was early morning. Say, maybe eight O'clock.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tate walking toward him. None of his cronies were following him. Joey started to slowly back off. "Hey," Tate said. He stuck out his hand, making Joey flinch. Tate just laughed a little. "I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to talk. I'm sorry." he said. Joey realized he was offering a handshake. Joey was unsure at first, but finally he submitted.

"Are we cool now?" Tate asked, smiling. Joey couldn't believe his eyes and ears. Was one of the two most feared people in his life warming up to him? Joey grinned. "Ya. You're forgiven," he replied. Tate smiled and walked off. "See ya!" he called over his shoulder. Joey waved back.

Then he heard a powerful, kind feminine voice inside of his head call his name. "JOEY," it said. "LOOK AT THE CLOUDS." He obeyed. The voice continued, "NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, I WILL BE HERE FOR YOU. ALWAYS."

Then a clank from the underside of the train woke him up.

All that was only a dream. Fuck, he thought to himself. That was the first good dream I had in years. Then he rubbed his eyes and looked up at Twilight, who smiled at him. Then he pretended to smash his head against the window of the train violently and jump out. Then he laughed along with all the others who saw.

"How long was I out?" he asked. "The grand majority," said Twilight. "We have a have hour before we reach Canterlot." Joey looked out the window, eyebrows raised. "It's deceptively far." he laughed. Rainbow butted in. "I know right?" she laughed.

Joey giggled and opened up his backpack, bringing out his Ipad. Spike watched over his should in amazement. "Oooh, when you tap there - oh! Look, the scene changed.........wow!" he gawked. Joey laughed at Spike. "Never seen touch technology before, eh?" Spike slowly shook his head, never taking his eyes off the screen. "Never in my life," he replied, still amazed.

Joey looked at Spike. "I can play games on this, too." Spike's smile grew even wider. "Can you play one?" he asked eagerly. Joey grinned and nodded. "Way ahead of you."

He proceeded to tap on the app labeled "Head Soccer". Spike looked on curiously. "Is this a sports game?" the little drake asked. "Only the funniest one ever!" Joey laughed. He selected his country (sort of, the flag was a planet that looked like a blue Saturn), and then started a tournament. When the match started.

His opponent was an alien, while Joey was an adult with glasses. "Ha!" Spike said, "Nerds don't play soccer! At least, not very well." Joey smirked. "Oh, you just watch." When the kickoff started, the alien scored first. No powers used. Then Joey's power bar filled up. "What does the power button do?" asked Spike. "Here comes the carnage," Joey laughed. When he pressed the button, there was an explosion where is character was. When the smoke cleared, he was the Incredible Hulk.

One blood-filled minute later.........

The final whistle had blown, and the score was 15 - 1, Joey's favor. Spike would not stop laughing. "That was HILARIOUS!" he cried. "Oh, it's not over yet," Joey smirked. The others came to watch the rest of the carnage filled tournament, which he won. The others were in tears, they were laughing so hard.

"Now for a creepy game. Five Nights at Freddie's 3," he grinned pulling up the new app. "This game is a first person game," he explained. "You're a night watch guard in a old, beaten down restaurant, and you're trying to survive an animatronic named Springtrap, who's trying to kill you. You survive from twelve O'clock to six. I'm on the fifth night."

The setting was in a greenish light. "Oooooooh, scary!" said Pinkie. "This is a jumpscare game." replied Joey. After a while of scary moments, it was five O'clock in the game. He was checking the vents when Springtrap walked into the office, signaling his death. It was just so sudden, everyone jumped. "FUCK!!" Joey cried. "SO CLOSE!!" Joey closed out all apps and turned off his Ipad.

Then Joey looked out the window. "Whoa......" he muttered as they pulled into the Canterlot station. "ALL PASSENGERS FOR CANTERLOT, PLEASE EXIT THE TRAIN," The conductor announced. "C'mon!" Twilight urged. "There's a chariot waiting for us!!" Joey placed his Ipad into his backpack, and headed out the train car door.

The station was huge. It was constructed completely of marble, and had a greek style roof with equine murals etched into the stone. Joey didn't know where to go, so he followed his new friends. With only a couple of weird glances received, they exited the station. There was a golden carriage waiting for them, with majestic looking guards in gold armor pulling it. He entered the carriage, finding a red linen interior. It was surreal.

`"So," Twilight said to Joey, "What are your parents like?" Joey bit his lip. This was the moment of truth. "Dead." he replied. The others gasped in horror. Unbelievable.

Everybody in the carriage was silent. Joey just stared out the window, trying not to let tears out. He would try to be tough. He would not cry in front of his new friends. No way.

"I.....I-I'm sorry, Joey........I didn't know....." Twilight started before Joey cut her off. "D-don't worry about it," He replied. "They went down in a sinkhole with the rest of my family. Then I was put into an orphanage with a director that would beat me until I couldn't move for doing homework.......then I would go to school where I was tortured every day by a kid named Tate." Then he sat back in his seat and resumed staring out the window. Everyone else exchanged glances, then looked back at Joey.

Fluttershy got up from her seat and embraced Joey. "I'm so sorry. That's a terrible thing to experience for a kid your age," she comforted. Joey didn't move. "I know," he responded, taking a deep breath and forcing out a smile, which was plainly fake.

Soon the carriage rolled to a stop. Joey slowly stepped out of the carriage. The small breeze and beautiful weather cheered him up. Then he realized the massive palace in front of him, and his jaw dropped. Huge and amazing. Those were the only words that came to his mind.

Twilight chuckled, closing Joey's mouth with a hoof. "Never seen a traditional palace, huh?" she asked. Joey slowly shook his head, still looking at the palace.

Then she nudged him toward the door. "Hurry up," Twilight urged. "The princesses are waiting." Joey just followed behind, very nervous. Was this really going to be a friendly gathering? Or did the princesses have something else in mind?

They reached the big, gold and silver decorated palace doors. The guards in front of the door let them pass, although staring at Joey curiously. He ignored this.

Then they came to another set of doors similar to the previous ones. They had etchings of two other alicorns, he assumed these were the princesses. The guards guarding this door also granted access to the company, and led them into what Joey assumed was the throne room. Banners and stained glass windows decorated the grand hall.

At the end of the room, there were two thrones. One was gold with sun murals etched into the steps leading up. The other one was similar, but was smaller, silver and navy blue, and had moon related markings.

Then there were the princesses.

The one on the throne of gold had a white coat with a flowing, rainbow mane. She wore a golden tiara and a golden necklace. The one on the silver throne had a deep blue coat with a black tiara and necklace, and her mane was flowing as well, but it resembled a starry sky. Both were smiling at Joey. Well, THAT'S a good sign Joey thought.

The white princess spoke first. "Greetings, young one," she said in a kind voice. "I am princess Celestia, ruler of the day court." Then the deep blue one stood up. "And I am princess Luna," the deep blue one greeted. "Ruler of the night court."

Joey kneeled down quickly in respect. "P-pleasure to m-meet you, your highnesses." Joey replied. Celestia waved her hoof dismissively at him. "No need to be formal. You can just call me Celestia." "And just call me Luna, dear." said Luna. "What is your name?" asked Celestia. "Joey," responded the human. Luna felt a pang of joy at the sound of his name. She failed to notice that she had a big smile on her face.

"Now, how did you end up in Equestria, young one?" asked Celestia. "We must get you back. Your family must be worried." Another dent in Joey's emotion. Second time that day, too. Who would ever guess. Joey just hung his head and closed his eyes, trying not to cry.

"Celestia.." Twilight butted in. "Yes?" Celestia asked, confused at the human's actions. "Can my friends and I talk with you.......alone?" Twilight asked. "Of course, just as soon as I'm done here -" "No," Twilight interrupted, "We need to talk now." Celestia looked unsure, but then submitted. "Alright," she said, "We'll continue this later. Spike, will you take the human on a tour of the palace?" Spike smiled. "Sure thing!" he responded. "C'mon, Joey! While we're taking the tour, you can tell me more about Five Nights at Freddy's!" "Sounds like a plan," Joey responded.

Twilight leaded the others into a private room. "Celestia, about that thing you said to Joey earlier, you know, the whole 'family' thing?" Celestia nodded. "Well, here's the truth......he doesn't have a family." Celestia was shocked. No wonder he acted weird. It was a terrible subject for him. "H-how....how...." started Celestia before she was cut off by Twilight again. "He said his parents fell into a sinkhole seven years ago, along with the house and everything he owned. All he has now is that backpack." Celestia had a look of disbelief and concern. Her heart went out to him.

Seven years as an orphan. Seven years. How could someone withstand such a long time? It was almost unthinkable. The kid must be in so much more pain than he looked like he was. He must of been very resilient to be able to keep himself together emotionally. She spent many a minute thinking to herself about this.

So much pain......and I can't do anything, she thought to herself.

Or is there?

Then a look of realization spread across Celestia's face. "Sister..." she started. "Does.......does this really mean that -" Luna cut her off. "Yes, dear sister. Yes you can."

Celestia squeed loudly and leaped in the air. No one had ever seen anything like this. "Princess," Rarity started, "Is there a good reason for -" Celestia put a hoof over her mouth. "Yes! Yes there is!" Everypony but Luna looked at her, still confused.

"I'm going to see if he would like to be my son!!!" Celestia stated triumphant and happily.

Author's Note

No way.......looks like Joey's life is about to take an unexpected turn. Stay tuned for more!!! (Word of warning: December will be a very slow month, so I probably won't finish the next chapter )

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