A Freshman's Tale

by broncoman18

Rating: teen
Tags: Main 6, Princess Luna, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Cadance, Dark, Sad, Original Character, Tragedy, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Human
Length: 22626

Joey Steffen has lost his parents and is thrown into an orphanage. When he somehow ends up in Equestria, will the inhabitants accept him or try and throw him away? He thinks he is worthless, but a certain princess thinks otherwise.

Freshman's Tale II is out!!

Joey Steffen is done with life. He has been beaten and lost his parents, and is thrown into the worst orphanage you can possibly imagine. Bullied or ignored by every person in his school, he even tries into kill himself. When he finds himself in Equestria, how will the inhabitants take his presence? Could he maybe even find a new life there? Even a new home?

He thinks he is totally worthless, and he has no hope of finding a family ever, ever again. He is convinced that he is a lost cause.

But a certain princess thinks otherwise.

This is my very first story, so I hope you enjoy it.

Part 2 is coming soon!!!!

Lots of credit to Alejin for the cover photo and REDMAMBA for editing!!!!!:pinkiehappy:

Published 2016-10-12 04:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2017-02-08 20:26:36 UTC

The Intro

I can't take it anymore! I just CAN'T.

If you were an orphan that had no friends and is whipped and beaten in every way imaginable every day of your life, you would be done as well. I was having a perfectly fine day, then POOF! Everything I ever new and everyone in my family were gone.

Want to know my story? Well, I guess I have some extra time on my hands........

~FLASHBACK~

Birds were chirping as the sun slowly rose over the horizon, casting light on a beautiful house in a lively neighborhood. In an upstairs room, a 7 year-old boy slept quietly until being startled by the blaring of an alarm clock. "Oh boy, ready for another long, tiring school day," he sighed as climbed out of bed. He had no friends at his school, but he had a loving family. That kept him going.

He got dressed, then proceeded to get breakfast. He wasn't ready for the day ahead, but he had to go anyway. He went downstairs and opened the cupboard, hunting until he found his treasure. He ate his cereal, and proceeded on to grab his lunch money.

"Morning Joey!" his mom and dad cheerily said before Joey could sit down with them. "Are you ready for school?" his dad asked, putting a coat on.

"I don't know, sure" Joey replied, "I'll just see what happens. Hopefully I won't get tortured like all the other school days. Even if they do bully me at school again, I'll just remind myself that I have you guys." He smiled innocently. They smiled back. "Love you mommy! Love you daddy! Goodbye!" Joey said, walking out the door. "Love you too! See you after school!" They said, as Joey stepped outside. The brisk Colorado air was a tad refreshing, as he walked off his driveway. The sound of the garage door opened behind him, announcing his parents leaving to their job. They worked at the same place, so they naturally used the same car.

He made it about ten feet when he heard a low, rumbling sound. A car came flying up the street and smashed into his parent's car as it was backing out. He stared in disbelief. He then broke down into tears, as his parent's words echoed inside his head. "Why me?!" he said between sobs.

~END OF FLASHBACK~

So yeah. It was really hard for me. By the way, I was bullied at school that day. It never fails. It NEVER does.

So two days after, I attended their funeral, which none of my family members came to, because their all assholes. I was put in an orphanage two days later.

It wasn't one of those "nice orphanages either. The only one that would take me was one near my school, which was unfortunate because I though I could possibly transfer. Wrong. The orphanage I was in was like a moldy barn that is falling apart. Did I mention it smells like dog crap?

The director is even worse. I bet he has a child abuse criminal record, because he's awfully good at it. If you do so much a toss and turn in your sleep, he'll either whip or beat you in any way possible until you can't move. I was beaten once for doing homework. HOMEWORK, FOR FRICKEN SAKE!! He would make good competition for SATAN. I can't wait to get adopted. If anyone is stupid enough to do so, that is.

The only thing in my life that I'm proud of is the fact I live in Colorado, home of the majestic Rocky Mountains. I can't seem to have time to climb any more fourteeners (14,000 feet tall mountains) ever since my parents died.

School, as I have said, is no better. Nowhere CLOSE. You think a pretty athletic kid who's kind of smart would have a better life. Wrong. I'm bullied left and right. There's a certain someone who will do anything to make my life miserable (who also a bully if we have some dull people reading this who can't figure that out)..............his name is Tate Bessire. He is the armpit of bullying. The worst. I can't make it through ONE HOUR of the day without him finding a way to insult me. I can't STAND it.

I'm okay at school, grades wise, having straight B's and everything, but the only way teachers know I exist is my schoolwork. Nice, huh? Kind of. I'm never chosen to answer a problem at school. Still, school SUCKS. Period.

Ya, so I'm stuck in a world where literally everyone hates my guts, or just ignores me. Some times it gets so bad, I wish on a star and hope for the supernatural. Ya, I'm that desperate.

Nice sob story huh? Ya. That's my life. I really can't take it anymore.

Author's Note

I know it's a dark intro, but it will get better. I'll try and make this as original as possible. :twilightblush:

The Beginning

Luna calmly gazed from her balcony at the moon in the night sky. She had been concerned for her sister, Celestia, because she had been very lonely lately. Even though she had her sister back, Celestia seemed to still be missing something. And just a couple of hours ago, she had confessed to Luna.......

~FLASHBACK~

Celestia ran into her sister's room, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her eyes were like they had been forced open while someone else opened fire with a water hose.

Luna was shocked. "Sister, what seems to be the matter?" she asked with concern. Celestia looked up at her sister. "It's time I tell you now." she said. "I have always wanted a son, pony or not. I have become so lonely, even with you, sister!" She just broke down after that.

"There, there" said Luna, putting a wing over her sister. "Just let it out."

~END OF FLASHBACK~

Luna sighed, the sad event just refused to leave her mind.

Suddenly a guard came through the door. "Your highness" he said, bowing, "Discord wants to see you." Luna grunted, as she said, "Bring him in."

The lord of chaos strutted on thin air into the room. "How is it going princess?" he asked. Luna looked up at him and sighed. She told him about everything Celestia had said earlier that day, and how Luna felt like she couldn't do anything.
Discord grinned. "How funny you say that, because I have just recently returned from the human world." he said. Luna gave him a confused look. "What do humans have to do with anything I just said?" Discord rolled his eyes. "I was getting to that. I have just witnessed the suffering of a young human, who has lost his family and everything he possessed, with the exception of his life and a set of clothes."

Luna gave him a smile of realization. "Are you saying that-!" Discord cut her off. "Yes. I'm implying that I can get him to this world, and then Celestia could possibly have a son."

Luna gave a look of glee. "So," she started, "how will you get him to this world, exactly?" She gave him a quizzical look.
Then Discord held up a glowing apple. It took Luna all she could muster not to break down laughing. "Yes, yes, I know it's ridiculous, but it just might work. All he has to do is eat it!" Then he disappeared in a flash and ping.
"I hope it works," Luna said, looking worried again. "For my poor sister's sake."

It was a brisk morning in Windsor, CO as a dirty yellow bus pulled up to Windsor High School, home of over 1,400 happy students. All except one.

The bus came to a screeching halt. The doors opened, releasing a horde of students from the depths of the bus. All of them were in a hurry, all except one. A skinny, brown haired, blue eyed, kind-of-short freshman got off the bus.

His name was Joey. Ever since life killed his parents, it hasn't treated him so well. Today, he would give life one more try before he would go to his very last resort. It would show he is done with life, and that he gives up. He had a rope hidden away in his room in the orphanage.

Yep. Suicide.

He was going to kill himself if things went terrible, as usual.

He decided if no one bothered him, he would go on with life. If he was, well, you know.

He slowly walked to the school courtyard. That proved to be a mistake. He saw out of the corner of his eye that Tate was making a beeline for him. Joey turned around and started speed-walking towards the front doors. Before he could make it, he felt a hand on his shoulder, spinning him around. Then he found himself face to face with Tate. That noose is just calling my name, Joey thought to himself.

"So....." He started. "Thought you can run away from ME, huh?" Joey was so frightened, he couldn't respond at all. He was shaking all over like a two year old on energy drinks.

"HEY! I asked you a QUESTION, scrub!" Tate barked.

Joey tried to get away, but Tate's grip got even tighter. "Don't even try, you worthless piece of shit-loaf." He growled. He slammed Joey's face into the brick wall. "Why have you not killed yourself yet? It surprises even me!" Tate laughed. Tate pulled Joey's face across the wall, creating a huge gash sprinkled with pebbles on his cheek. Blood trickled down the side of his face.

Then Joey decided he had enough. He kicked Tate in the crotch, fearing the worst. But Tate backed off, giving time for Joey to make a break for it. He had never run so fast in his entire life. He was done. Totally done. Tears streaming down his face, he ran into the school parking lot.

But Tate wasn't finished. In fact, he was thirsting for serious revenge. He bolted after Joey, screaming things like "TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB AND SHOVE THEM ALL UP YOUR ASS!"

He could hear the heavy footsteps of his pursuer closely behind. That made him run even faster. He had never run so fast in his life. He knew where he would go. He just had to lose Tate first.

"Come BACK, YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING-!" Right before Tate could finish, Joey made a sudden move to the right, while Tate crashed right into the pole Joey had evaded. Joey cringed at the PING that rang out across the parking lot. Serves him right, he thought.

Joey still ran. He ran into a nearby forest and went in as far as possible. When he thought he was clear, he sat down. He felt like his chest would explode into a million shards, right then and there. Not like anyone would care.

Joey sat up. He was very hungry, since that fuck-boy of an orphanage director barely fed him at all that morning, and all he got for lunch was a bag of stale cashews. Which, by the way, was somehow stolen on the bus ride to his school. Kids theses days.

He pulled a bungee cord out of his backpack. "At least I came prepared," he thought. He started to climb up a tall tree, only to fall back down on his rump, scratching his knee in the process. "Just my luck" he muttered. "Doesn't matter anyway. My story is over."

Then Joey saw it.

On the ground, approximately two feet in front of him, he spotted a apple that was a glowing green. "Oh wow, that is the most ridiculous thing I have seen all day. Oh well. I should probably get a little more energy before I.........leave." He picked up the apple, for he was too hungry to care that it was glowing, and took a huge bite and chewed.

As he chewed, he muttered to himself, "I wish I could have a loving family again." When he swallowed, he felt a burning feeling in his stomach. "What the HECK?" he cried out. "What's happening?" He was getting frantic, sweat starting to bead on his forehead. His heart was pumping like a hawaiian drummer. Then all of a sudden, he disappeared in a bright flash.

Author's Note

Oh boy, things have started to heat up........ BTW this is my first story so don't be too harsh on me. :derpytongue2:

A New World

It was a new morning in Equestria, and all of its inhabitants were joyously going about their day. Meanwhile, there was a bright flash in the Everfree forest, just outside the small town of ponyville. A young human appeared where the bright flash was, totally unconscious.

Then he started to stir.

"Ooooh, my head. I hate Tate SO much!" Joey moaned, spitting dirt out of his mouth. "I wonder how long I was unconscious. Maybe it was that demented excuse for a peanut." he chuckled. Then he noticed his surroundings through the corner of his eye. He was in a eerie swamp-like like forest, which was way different than the one he was in before he ate that peanut. hmmm......peanut......
he thought to himself.

"Never mind that," he thought out loud. "I need to know where I am first." Joey sighed in defeat. he was too tired.

Then he started hearing creepy noises all around him. "Uhhh...." he said nervously. Then he heard intense growling behind him. He didn't even turn around to see what was behind him. He just bolted in the opposite direction.

"C'mon, legs, don't give out now!" he said, hearing his pursuers getting closer. He was already running as fast as his legs could carry him.

He saw the forest's edge up ahead. "Almost there!" he gasped, tearing through the brush like a maniac. "Almost............there!"

Right before whatever was behind him caught him in their terrible maw, Joey made a leaping dive out of the forest. Then he quickly got up, and continued running.

Once he realized his pursuers gave up, Joey stopped and caught his breath.when he looked up, he saw that he was standing in the middle of an apple orchard. "Um......okay." he said, looking at the bulging apples dangling ripely from their branches. Their shiny red skin made it very tempting to take one.

Joey slapped himself. "What are you thinking!" he told himself, "Those aren't mine. I should know better." He gave one more longing stare before he walked off with his head down. If he couldn't see the apples, they wouldn't be a temptation. He didn't care that he was starving. They just weren't his.

He heard a female voice humming behind him. He turned around only to be utterly scared and shocked. He saw a orange pony sporting a stetson walking up a path to his left, singing to herself as she walked. Joey pinched himself. Ponies don't hum!

Maybe he pinched himself a little TOO hard, because he said "Ow!" quietly. The pony's ears pricked up in his direction and she stopped. He mentally told himself to shut up and hide, but his muscles wouldn't let him.

Then the pony looked in his direction. She had surprisingly large eyes the size of dinner plates. She looked shocked for a second, then smiled again. She walked up to him.

She was at least four inches taller, not including the hat. Then she stuck out a hoof at Joey.

"Hi!" she exclaimed in a southern accent.. "I'm Applejack. I didn't know what you were at first, but then I realized that you're a human. What be your name, stranger?" Joey's eyes were huge.

He was truly terrified. Not only was this pony orange and wearing a stetson, but she could also talk. Then he noticed a picture of three apples on her flank. So he backed up slowly, tried to talk but only managed a squeak, then turned and ran. "Wait!" Applejack called out. She was puzzled. Why did he run away? Maybe there aren't any talking ponies where he comes from.

She trotted after him.

"Man, I've never run so hard in just one day." Joey panted as he came up on a scrap pile. He decided that he should take a breather and think about everything that just happened.

"Am I crazy? Did I pass out instead of dying? What happened? Where am I? Is this a dream? Man, I've never run so hard in just one day." Joey panted as he came up on a scrap pile. He decided that he should take a breather and think about everything that just happened.

Joey plopped down on a stump protruding from the ground. "Calm yourself, Joey. One thought at a time. First order of business: I just met a talking pony. Am I dreaming?" He pinched himself. "Nope. For one I know I'm not crazy either. So I really did just meet a talking mare." He got a headache just by thinking about this. He massaged his temples with his thumbs.

"Hello?" the voice made him jump. He looked up, just to see that "Applejack" was standing right there. Joey was too scared to even speak. He just squeaked again and scooted backward, accidentally falling over a stump. He groaned, rubbing his head.

Applejack gave a look of concern. "Are you alright there?" she said. Joey backed up against another tree and hid his head in his legs. He was up in a semi-fetal position, shivering of shock and fright. "Don't worry, I won't hurt ya, critter." Applejack said softly. Joey looked up. He didn't see any means of threat coming from her, and he felt......well........a feeling that she wasn't lying.

Applejack extended a hoof to him. He flinched, but then realized she was trying to help him up. "Come on" she said, "Don't be scared. I'm not try'in to harm ya, feller." Joey slowly took her hoof, then was carefully hoisted up. She noticed that his arms and neck were bruised and bloody, there was a cut...or nasty scrape, on his cheek, and he had huge bags under is eyes, and he looked totally deprived of energy. He was also way too skinny to be healthy.

"Whoa" she started,"You look terrible. Let's go fix you up. What do you say?" Joey just stood there, feeling weird, but then simply nodded. "Great!" Applejack exclaimed, kneeling down. "Hop on!" Joey just gave her a weird, confused work. "Have you ever ridden a pony before?" she asked looking at him with encouragement. He shook his head. "Well, it's not that hard. Just hold on to my mane, and I'll make sure you don't fall off, sugarcube." She smiled at him. Joey, building a tiny bit of courage, walked over and climbed on. "Woo-wee!"she exclaimed. "You're way lighter than I thought. Lighter than a feather!

Joey didn't say anything. "Hey, can you even talk?" Applejack asked, looking back inquinsitively. Joey nodded and quietly said, "Yah." Applejack smiled. "Hey," she thought. "I'm making progress!" Applejack looked back. "Well fella, what's your name?" Joey got nervous, but then quickly realized that there was nothing to worry about. "Joey" he quietly said.

"Huh," she said. "Never heard that one before. But a cool name, nonetheless." Joey smiled. A compliment! It's been forever since he got one of them! He knew it was sad, but he'll take what he can get. Then he quietly asked, "Where am I?'

"Well," Applejack started, "We are in Equestria. More specifically, Sweet Apple Acres." Joey did not know what to say. "I've never heard of this place before" he muttered. "I wouldn't blame you, be'n from a different world and all" Applejack replied. They came up on a red barn with a bright orange building that had symbols on top that looked like........carrots? Yep, those were carrots.

There were three ponies standing outside, a giant red one with an orange mane, a small filly with a red mane with a bow on top, and an old green one with a white mane. "Applejack!" the small one exclaimed, giving her sister a hug. "Hey there, Applebloom!" Applejack started. "Before we start our dinner tonight, I want to introduce a new guest." She turned to her side, revealing Joey. "Meet Joey, he'll be spending the night with us tonight." Joey waved, then said, "Wait- I will?!" He was totally shocked. Applejack laughed. "Well, ya! Wouldn't want you sleeping on the ground." Joey was silently thankful for this.

"Well, c'mon, sugarcube," Applejack said, continuing her path to the barn. "Before we finish introductions, let's get ya cleaned up." Joey silently agreed.

When the two entered the barn, Joey realized that it was a house, not a barn. The interior had a sofa lined up neatly against the wall, a glass coffee table in the center, and a rocking chair was in the corner, adding to the warm and cozy look. Applejack set him on the couch, and she trotted into a neighboring room. "Be right back, OK?" she said. Joey nodded.

A few minutes later she came back with a first aid kit in her mouth. "There, this should help!" she said while placing the kit on the table. She pulled out a cotton ball and dipped it in anti-oxidants. "This may sting a teeny bit." she said as she started to dab. After all his wounds were clean, she wrapped white bandages around them. "There" she sighed happily. "Now let's get you somethin' to eat. Are you able to walk?" He stood up. "Yah," he said.

Applejack led him to the kitchen, where she fixed him some veggie soup. "That should warm ya up," she said, placing the bowl in front of Joey.

He had never tasted anything so good in his life. Trying not to look like a pig, he drank up the soup faster than you could say "lickety-split". When he finished, he sighed. "Thanks" he said quietly. More quiet than he would of prefered, but thank the lord they could hear well.

Then came introductions. Everyone was gathered in the parlor. "Well, everypony," she started, "Like I said before, this here is Joey." She motioned a hoof towards him, and he did a small wave. "He's a human" Applejack continued, "And I found him all beat up in the west side of the orchard. He actually ran away from me the first time he saw me. So I thought somethin' must be wrong with him. So I caught up to him, and brought the poor fella here." She looked at him and smiled. "So Joey, these here are Applebloom, Big Macintosh, and Granny Smith." She motioned to the other ponies in the room. "We're known as the Apple family around here." Joey stepped forward. "It's nice to meet you all, and thanks for letting me stay here."

"No problem, young'un!" Granny Smith said in a high pitched elderly voice. "We wouldn't let a colt like you be left out hungry and hurt." Joey gave her a look of gratitude.. "I don't know about y'all," Applejack yawned, "But I need to hit the hay. C'mon, Joey."

Applejack showed him where he would sleep. She showed him the old attic that she and Big Mac played in when she was little. There was a bed in the corner all tidied up with warm looking sheets. "I haven't slept in something like this for years." Joey muttered. "WHAT!?" Applejack exclaimed. "Oh, nothing," Joey quickly said before faking a yawn. "I'm just tired, too." Applejack gave him a concerned look, but then smiled. "Alright," she said. Then she pulled him into a hug. "Sleep well, sugarcube," she said as she released him and went downstairs.

Joey got into bed, thinking about the hug. He felt really good after the hug, comforted, if you will. Then he slowly closed his eyes, wondering what the next day would bring.

What a day.

Author's Note

This chapter along with the first three have been re-edited!!

Well, Joey is finally in Equestria! BTW, this is my first long chapter that I didn't make by combining two shorter chapters. It was all from scratch!

Thanks for all the likes and favs..............you're all awesome!!!! :twilightblush:

So Much for Nice Introductions........

Joey found himself back in his upstairs bedroom in the orphanage where he was living before he ended up in Equestria. "Oh, please no!" he muttered. Then there was a violent crash. "WHERE'S THAT KID!!!???" a deep voice bellowed from downstairs. "WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON HIM, HE"LL WISH HE WAS IN HELL!!!"

Joey frantically searched for a place to hide. All that was in his bedroom was a itchy, sweaty cot with no blankets and a rotting wooden box to keep his tattered clothes in. The box wasn't big enough to hide in, and he'd be seen under the cot. Then there was the window..........no. That would be suicide. Then again, that's what he was gonna do anyway..........

Suddenly the owner of the voice burst into the room. Dave. He was a guy with unnaturally large muscles, a unibrow, and blood red irises. He had a huge scar from his upper lip to his right eye, which was totally white. He stood at 6'4", and he was wearing torn jeans and a beanie. His abs were the size of those EZ peel Cutie oranges. He was Hispanic, and with every footstep there was huge clomping noise. He was also holding a long, sleek black whip with an obsidian tip and a metal Louisville slugger. He looked down at Joey, and grinned sinisterly. His grimy yellow teeth showed. Yuck. "There you are, squirt." he growled. Joey was shaking all over.

"What have I told you at least a hundred times?" he asked Joey, smirking. Joey only squeaked. "I WANT AN ANSWER!" Dave sreamed, snapping Joey with the whip. Blood tricked down Joey's face. He still didn't say anything. "Fine" Dave growled. "I see how it is. There is no free thinking allowed in this building. You hear?"He waved the slugger menacingly. "Y-Yes sir" Joey said weakly. Dave snarled and slammed the back of his head with the bat, making a disgusting cracking noise. "THAT'S 'MY LORD' TO YOU!!" he bellowed. Joey's head flared with pain. Then Dave said in a sarcastically sweet tone, "Don't worry. This will teach you for good!" He raised the slugger and the whip. "No! Please! Don't do this!" Joey said frantically. Then Dave started beating him ruthlessly while screaming "useless" and "you're a nobody" while laughing maniacally.

"Joey!" "Joey!" "JOEY!!!!!" Applejack was tirelessly shaking him, trying to get him to wake up. He was sweating profusely, and crying out 'NO!' and things like that. She was starting to get really worried.

He suddenly shot up and gasped. His hair was matted with sweat. Applejack stepped back and sighed in relief. "Y'know, you were scarin' me half to death. A you all right?" she said, giving him a concerned look. Joey didn't say anything. He just sat there, wrapped up in a blanket and shivering from the horrible nightmare and the cold. He slowly shook his head.

Applejack turned to go, but then stopped and looked back. "You want me to stay with you for the rest of the night?" she asked. Joey quickly nodded his head. He needed someone to be here when he gets nightmares. Applejack smiled at him, then walked over and climbed up on the bed. He laid down, still shivering. "I wonder what's wrong with him" she thought to herself. "He seems so........hurt." She watched as Joey snoozed away. "Alright, sugarcube" she smiled, "See you in the morning."

The sun shined happily through the attic window at Sweet Apple acres. Yes, it was a beautiful morning in Equestria, and the air was crisp. It smelled of fresh flowers that had just started to bloom, for it was spring. Applejack slowly lifted an eyelid. Slowly getting out of the bed, she looked back at the form of Joey under the covers, slowly rising and falling with every breath. She smiled. Probably should let him sleep, she thought to herself.

So she proceeded to her daily stretch routine, hearing a million pops and cracks in the process. It felt gooooood. After she felt all stretched out, she went through attic hatch and continued downstairs, where the delicious smell of apple cinnamon pancakes hailed. She sighed happily once smelling the pleasant aroma. She trotted into the kitchen, where the rest of the Apples were. "Morning, y'all!" she she said, sitting down in a chair.

"The pancakes smell unbearably delicious." Granny Smith chuckled. "I thought you and the other young'uns would like to wake up to a traditional pancake breakfast. Speaking of young ones, how's the human doing? He was making a fuss last night." Applejack sighed. "He seemed to have a terrible nightmare, but he's fine now" she replied. Granny Smith smiled. "I hoped he'd be alright" she said.

Back in the attic, Joey started to stir. He slowly woke up, and jumped, not recognizing where he was. When the memories flooded back to him, he started to calm down. He yawned, stretched, and stepped out of bed. As he stumbled towards the attic hatch, he tripped over something. He looked back, muttering "Hey! What gives?" Then he realized it was only his backpack.

His backpack! He almost forgot about it! It had been with him the whole time! He zipped it open to see if anything was missing. But it wasn't a school bag. This was his secret backpack. Dave the dickhead of a director didn't allow any kind of fun, and what was in Joey's backpack are what he used to occupy himself. He peeked into the bag, and much to his relief, he found his phone, Ipad, laptop, and comic books still there. "Oh, thank the lord!" he whispered to himself. Then his stomach growled. He slowly got up, and continued on out of the attic and downstairs. He slowly walked into the dining room.

"Well, look who's up!" Applejack said cheerily. "Morn'in, sugarcube!" Joey just simply smiled and waved weakly. He took a whiff of the pancakes, and then he was officially awake. He would not stop staring at that deliciousness on the table, just calling his name. "Have all the 'cakes ya want," Granny Smith confirmed after seeing the look on his face. "You're more than welcome!"

Joey stared for a couple more seconds, then proceeded to sit down. He first took a serving of four. Then he took more. And more. It was just the perfect blend of apples, cinnamon, and pancake batter. He thought he would never stop eating. While he was eating, Applejack noticed huge rings under his eyes. "Poor guy," she thought.

Soon, he was so full he finally stopped eating. It was the best he had felt in a long time. He sat back and sighed. It was the first good meal he had in..........how long was it? Seven years. The last meal he ever ate at his home. He shook the mind out of his head. He wasn't gonna cry. Not in front of these nice ponies. That cruel orphanage had taken a toll on him.

Applejack disrupted his thoughts. "You want to meet my friends today?" she asked. Joey pondered for a moment, and then asked "Are they nice?" Applejack chuckled, even though Joey failed to see what was funny. "Do I seem like the kind of pony that would hang out with mean ponies?" she asked, smirking. "Oh, yes you would." Joey said sarcastically. "Hey!" Applejack exclaimed, but Joey was already outside, running for his life and laughing like a madman. "Wait!!" Applejack called after him, "You don't even know the way!!"

The two were walking down the road, chatting and laughing to break the ice, when out of nowhere, they heard a gasp from behind them. Joey turned to see a pink pony with a huge, puffy, mane. She looked unnaturally excited. "Pinkie" Applejack started, "Gather the other five at Twilight's place. I'm goin' to introduce you to this little guy. She motioned to Joey, who gave a small wave. Pinkie didn't say anything, she just gasped and said "OKAYIWILLOMYGOSH!!" and zoomed away at an unnatural speed.

"Uhh....." Joey started. He didn't finish, though. His jaw was hanging open. Applejack just sighed with a smile and closed Joey's mouth. "It's just Pinkie, don't worry about it," Applejack reassured. Joey slowly turned away from looking in the direction Pinkie Pie had gone, not taking his eyes off. "That was......... well, weird," he said, finally pulling his eyes away. "Well, there's Pinkie Pie for ya!" Applejack laughed.

A couple minutes later, they came up on a giant crystal tree. A giant crystal tree with a castle-ish on top. Wait......the tree WAS the castle. More like a palace, actually. He still failed to understand the logic of the new world he landed in. "Oy," he muttered. "That's a huge crystal house thingy right there." "Yep!" Applejack replied, "That is my friend Twilight's house!" Joey didn't take his eyes off the crystal structure.

"You stay here," she continued, "While I go knock on the door." Joey slowly nodded, but he didn't move. His eyes were still on the giant castle. "Okay," he said, glassy eyed. Then he snapped out of his trance when he heard Applejack knock on the big front doors. "Coming!" said a masculine voice from inside.

When the doors opened, there was no pony to be found. instead, he found a small dragon at the door. "Hi, Applejack!" he said cheerily. His expression changed to surprised when he saw Joey behind her. "Whoa" he muttered. "Is that a human?"

Applejack nodded. "THIS.......IS..........SO.........AWESOME!!" he said, sprinting back inside. "Uhh........." Joey muttered in confusion. "Was that a dragon? He looked pretty happy to see me." Applejack smiled. "Yep," she replied, "A baby one, as a matter of fact." Joey was intrigued. "That's so cool!" he exclaimed. "How do they know about humans?" he asked. Applejack rolled her eyes. "Long story," she replied.

Soon, they heard a voice scream, "Applejack! Don't move! There's a monster!!" They looked up to see a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane. Then they frantically looked around. "Where, Rainbow Dash?" she shouted back.

'Rainbow Dash' face palmed (or face hooved) and groaned. "Never mind, I'll take care of it myself!" she said, clomping her forehooves together. Then Joey realized she was looking right at him. Before he could say anything or turn and run, Rainbow flew right at him with super speed. She was satisfied with the crunching sound of her hoof colliding with his forehead. Joey flew back into a tree trunk and then just laid there, limp.

"AW YEAH!!!" exclaimed Rainbow, doing a flip. "Rainbow Dash for the win!!" Applejack stared at Joey in horror. There was a round hoof mark on his forehead, and it was swelling fast. She started to give Rainbow a piece of her mind when the castle doors opened again. "I hope you're right, Spike!" a purple alicorn said, walking out. "If this human IS different from the others I saw, then this will be a great learning opportunity!!"

"Wait....." Rainbow said. "Human? Those friendly creatures you met in that other world?" she started to sweat, seeing the mangled boy in the corner of her eye. "Why, yes!" the purple unicorn replied. "Is he here?" Rainbow was really sweating now. "Ya, Twilight" Applejack replied, glaring at Rainbow Dash, "He's right over there." Twilight looked over at the tree, then screamed.

"SWEET CELESTIA!!" she cried. "We need to get him inside. Fortunately, Fluttershy is here. HURRY!!!!" She levitated Joey on her back, and then took off into her castle at top speed. "Nice going, Rainbow" Applejack groaned, "I hope your attack on the 'monster' was FUN!!" She gave her one more glare before following her purple friend. Rainbow just looked down at the ground in shame.

Author's Note

Boy............Rainbow can be a knuckleheaded asshole sometimes. :flutterrage: Tune in next time to see how Joey fares.

Meet and Greet

Spike was fixing himself and all his friends a cup of tea. While he had just started working on the young human's cup when he heard Twilight dashing behind him. "Is everything alright?" he asked, a tiny bit worried. "No time to explain!" Twilight huffed, but then finished, "I'll tell you later, though." Spike nodded, still concerned. Then he noticed the limp human on her back. "Oh, no......" he thought.

Twilight quickly burst into the guest room. It wasn't as big as her room, but it was all she had. She carefully levitated Joey off her back and rushed down into the library. Once she reached the giant bookcase, she began searching for a healing spell. "No, no, NO!!!!" she screamed in frustration, not finding anything. Soon she found a book with a bright red cross on it, and the title read 'Healing Spells for Foreign Creatures'. "Ah!" she sighed. "Perfect."

Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy trotted in. "What in heaven's name is going on, darling?" Rarity questioned. Twilight huffed. "No time to explain! I'll tell you later!" she said, dashing up the stairs. Fluttershy and Rarity both looked at each other quizzically. Applejack finally sighed. "Oh, all right. I'll tell ya."

She quickly told the short story about finding Joey, and what she did and the recent events that just happened. Rarity and Fluttershy had shocked faces. "I know Rainbow can be blunt" Rarity started, "But she has never stooped so low before!" Fluttershy slowly nodded her head in agreeance. "Let's forget about all this" Spike interrupted, sticking his head into the room, "And just relax with some tea."

Twilight was sitting by Joey's bed quickly flipping through the pages, muttering. "Lions, no........griffons, no.........zebras, no..............A-HA! Humans!" she exclaimed in triumph. Then, carefully following directions, she lit up her horn. "This might hurt a little bit" she said, even though the human was unconscious. She gently touched her horn to his forehead, and slowly, his forehead lost the hoof-shaped hole, and went back to normal. It was still a little bruised, but she couldn't do anything about it. She smiled, watching the human sleep.

She trotted down the stairs, still smiling. Her other friends smiled at her as she reached the bottom of the stairs. "Is the little fella okay?" Applejack asked, looking concerned. "He'll be fine," Twilight replied, "But if I didn't find that healing spell I used on his forehead, then......I don't know what would have happened." She glared at Rainbow Dash, who looked down at the ground. "I'm really sorry, guys," she apologized, "I was just trying to protect you........I thought it was some kind of mons-"

Before she could finish, Twilight teleported across the room and slapped her in the face. "One," she growled, "It's a HE. Two, he is NOT. A. MONSTER." Sheteleported back and sat back down in a chair, taking a sip of her tea.

Meanwhile, in Canterlot.......

A white alicorn princess with a rainbow main sat on her throne, smiling at her subjects. Except there was a problem. The smiles were fake. Not too noticable, but definitely fake.

And of course her sister noticed it. Luna was sitting right next to her. It was hard not to notice it. She knew why it was fake, too. Luna was a great help to her sister's loneliness, but it wasn't enough. Celestia had always wanted a foal of her own, but none of them had a certain 'spark', according to Celestia. It hurt Luna to know that her sister had been this way for years........and there wasn't any hope. Then Luna stopped her track of thought and her eyes brightened with realization.

There was hope! She had almost forgotten. Discord. A couple days ago, he had made an offer to find the exact kind of child her sister was looking for. He even claimed he knew the kid personally! Luna chuckled.

"Excuse me, sister" Luna said, standing up. "I will be back shortly. I have, er, business to attend to." Celestia nodded her head. "I understand." she replied wearily. Luna slowly proceeded down the hall to the living quarters. When she was safe in her room, she walked to the balcony. She lit up her horn and muttered a few words.

Than, out of literally nowhere, Discord materialized. He looked shocked for a moment, then he realized where he was and calmed down. "Oh, hello, Luna my old friend. Wasn't expecting to summoned so soon." Luna sighed. "I brought you here because of the offer you made....you know, about the.........human, right?" Discord nodded. "Anyway," Luna continued, "You said you knew him personally. Do you?" Discord suddenly grew a pained expression.

"Yes..." he started, "His name is Joey. Joey Steffen. I would visit him a lot in the human world, and frankly, he hasn't had the best going, you know?" Luna nodded for him to continue. "He talked to me whenever he could, but one day, a kid named Tate walked up to him, and......well...... said that he should stop talking to imaginary friends. Man, that Tate kid was mean. Just because he couldn't see me doesn't mean I'm imaginary, right?" Luna nodded again.

When Tate walked away after inflicting some physical abuse on Joey......." Luna gasped. Discord sighed and continued. "Joey started to cry. He said, 'Ah, who am I kidding, sorry D............I know you're imaginary. I know I have no friends.' and ran away crying. It shattered my heart." He literally shattered into a million pieces after telling the story. He rebuilt himself up while Luna just stood there in shock. "The poor kid thought you were.....imaginary?" Discord nodded slowly. "I wouldn't blame him, either. I made myself invisible and inaudible to everyone but him." Discord wiped away a tear.

"So........" Luna started, "Did you actually bring him here?" Discord's brightened up. "As a matter of fact, I did!! My plan worked accordingly. I believe he's with Twilight Sparkle right now. Do not tell your sister though, she will know when the time comes." Luna nodded excitedly. Then she quickly gave Discord a hug. "There IS hope for my sister! That is.........never mind." She looked at Discord. "Is there anything else for me to know?" she asked. "Yes........"Discord replied. "Kind of a dark topic.......but, you are trustworthy and you need this information. Joey's an orphan. His parents died in a sinkhole 7 years ago. Very hard topic for the child." Luna gasped again. Orphaned!

"You said he was a child?" Luna asked. Discord nodded. "He is 14 years, give a couple months. A young fellow indeed! He's active, smart.......very athletic, too, which makes the bullying the biggest mystery for ponykind." Luna just squeaked in excitement. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Then she trotted out of the room. Discord smiled. "I'll do anything for a friend, even if he thinks I'm imaginary." Then he teleported away.

Joey's head felt like it was split in two. He had felt worse, sure, but this was the worst he's felt since he came to Equestria. He tried to recall everything that happened earlier, but for some reason.......nope, he remembered. He saw a baby dragon at the door of the crystal palace he and Applejack had gone to. They were trying to find her friend.......... Twilight. That was her name. Then he saw a cyan hoof in his face and remembered nothing more.

Which brought him to the next question: where was he? The crystal palace-thing, probably. The only thing working for Joey was his brain. He couldn't see, probably because his eyes were closed, and he couldn't use any of his five senses.

All of a sudden, like a tidal wave, his senses came back. He was lying on what felt like a bed. He heard small voices in his general vicinity, and he could also move. His eyelids slowly started to open. He could hear the voices more clearly now.

"He's waking up!"

YAY! Paaaaartyyyyyy tiiiime!"

"No, not yet, Pinkie."

"Get ready to apologize, Rainbow."

"I'll apologize as soon as I can guys. Seriously."

Joey just sat up and groaned. "Oooh, my head" he muttered. He felt a wave of nausea come over him, and he stuck an arm out behind him for support. His vision was so fuzzy, he only saw blobs. But even they slowly came into focus. He was in a pretty large bedroom with crystal walls surrounding him. So he was in the crystal palace.

He could make out ponies he met earlier. Applejack, ..........the pink one............ Pinkie Pie, right? Yep, that was her. She would not stop bouncing, like she had endless energy. Oh man. She seems like the crazy type. Then another voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "You're awake!!" it said. He looked over to see a purple alicorn walking - nope, trotting - to the side of the bed. "Let me introduce myself," she said. "I'm Twilight Sparkle. What might your name be?" Twilight smiled at him. He looked really nervous.

She extended a hoof out to Joey, but he flinched and backed off. "Don't worry," she comforted, "I'm not going to hurt you." Joey slowly sat up again, still nervous. Twilight tried again, and this time, he didn't flinch or back off. She placed a hoof on his shoulder. "Please tell us your name. We promise not to say anything dumb." She glared at Rainbow, who quickly nodded her head with a sheepish smile. "J-J-Joey" he muttered. "That's a nice name. Like I said, I'm Twilight Sparkle, but you can call me Twilight. Girls, would you like to introduce yourselves?"

She looked back at her friends with a hopeful glance. "Well, you know who Pinkie and I are" Applejack chuckled. A white unicorn with a dark purple curly mane stepped up. "Pleasure to meet you," she started. "I'm Rarity, and I'm the Ponyville fashonista. Speaking of fashion, look at your clothes! I must make you a new set! Can I get your measurements?" Joey was a little surprised at her sudden reaction. What a diva.

"Later, Rarity" Twilight interrupted. "We need to finish introductions first." Rarity looked sheepish. "Oh, all right. My bad!" she replied. Joey gave a little smile and an apologetic nod. Then he looked at Rainbow Dash. One glimpse of the color of her coat was all he needed to know she was responsible for knocking him out cold. He didn't know what to do.

She looked at him with a sad expression. "I-I'm sorry," she apologized, "I didn't know what you were and I thought you were threatening my friends. So I thought I was protecting them when I hurt you, but that's no excuse. Please forgive me." She closed her eyes, ready for the yelling. But Joey just sighed.

"It's alright," he replied, "It happened enough to me at my school, and ........... where I lived." They gasped. They didn't know that Joey was an orphan, and he wasn't about to tell them either. He wasn't ready. They also weren't expecting that quick of forgiveness.

"Anyway," Joey continued, "Who are you?" He pointed at Rainbow Dash, smiling at her to know that it was cool between them. She grinned from ear to ear. "I'm Rainbow Dash, best flier in all of Equestria!!!" she replied, striking a pose. Every one except Joey and Rainbow rolled their eyes.

A butter colored pegusus walked up. "Hi there, Joey! I'm Fluttershy, and I've never met a real human before!" She studied his hands and face. "This is so cool!" she continued, "You're very cute as well!" Joey was a little surprised at the last remark, and blushed a little. "I mean, 'animal' cute............" she corrected before smiling. Well, that was a relief.

"You hungry Joey?" Twilight asked. Joey thought about his breakfast that morning. He was still a little hungry, so he nodded. "Alright, hop on!" Twilight replied, motioning him to get on her back. He jumped off the bed, and Twilight kneeled so he could get on. Once he was comfortable, they proceeded down a set of stairs and reached a giant living room. "Spike!" Twilight called. The baby dragon was reading a comic book on the couch. "Yes?" he replied. "Can you fix Joey some food?" He saluted. "Sure thing! Good to see that he's finally up!" he said. "Wow" Joey thought. "What a weird morning."

Wait a minute........morning........... how long was he out? "Um, do you know how long I was unconscious?" he asked. "Oh, just a couple hours." Twilight replied. Joey sighed in relief. Twilight kneeled down so he could get off. Once he had two feet on the ground again, Rarity attacked him with measuring instruments. Once she had his measurements, she left to go make the actual clothes. "I'll send you the clothes once I'm done" she said before leaving. Spike came in with a bowl of oatmeal. "I figured you don't eat gems, so I made you this." Joey smiled as excepted the bowl. "Thanks, dude!" he said. "Man, I can't believe I'm talking to a dragon. This is cool!!" Spike chuckled. "The name's Spike" he said. "And you're......... Joey, right?" Joey nodded as he took a bite.

"This is good. Thanks!" he praised, taking another bite. "Spike," Twilight called from the other room, "Before you start a big conversation, I need your help!" Spike sighed and waled into the other room, muttering, "Another letter to the princess, I bet." Joey's eyes grew wide. "Twilight's reporting me? Am I illegal?" he asked, frightened. Applejack laughed. "No, she's informing the princess about you. You're not in trouble. She's a princess yourself, you know." Joey was shocked. "WHAT!?" he exclaimed. "I didn't give her proper respect!" Fluttershy patted his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. She hates the whole 'bowing' thing." Joey relaxed again.

In the Royal Canterlot Palace, Celestia was perched on her throne. She was lonely. Sure, she had her sister, but she just needed a child of her own. None of the colts in the orphanage had that certain "spark" she was looking for. She was almost done with her court session, when a letter flew in.

It read:

Dear Celestia,

There is a human teenager (14 years) that has recently shown up, and his name is Joey. Spike informed me about him, and I brought him in after an "incident" (it is all resolved now). He said something about him being abused at his school and where he resides. I don't know much, but looking at his clothes, I can tell he's suffered. And I'm no clothes expert.

Anyway, I'm just informing you about his presence here in our faithful country of Equestria.

Your Fellow Princess,

Twilight Sparkle

Celestia pondered for a moment, then wrote back:

Dear Twilight,

I would like to meet this 'Joey'. He sounds worth meeting. Please bring to Canterlot so Luna and I can meet him personally.

Your Fellow Princess,

Celestia

Celestia had a glimmer of hope inside of her as she sent the letter. "Abused?" she thought out loud. "Maybe there is hope!" Luna looked at her weird. "Are you alright, sister?" Celestia smiled.

"I need to tell you something, dear sister!" she said motioning Luna off the throne to come with her, as their court session came to an end. "What do you want to tell me?" Luna asked. "There is still hope Luna!!!" Celestia exclaimed, a huge smile on her face.

Author's Note

Things are looking up for Celestia. She might get a son! But who knows what will happen?

Tune in to find out!!
P.S. I am looking for fanart for this story. If you are willing to do fanart for me, please comment! It will not go unnoticed!

Thanks,
broncoman18

Meet and Greet Part 2

Joey just finished his oatmeal when he heard a grunt from Spike. He whirled around to see the baby dragon holding his stomach. "You good, man?" he asked. "Ya," Spike replied, "It's just......."

Then he belched out a letter, sending green flames everywhere. Joey jumped back in fear and surprise. "Wha..........wha......" he muttered. "How....." Spike just chuckled. "It's the princess's way of sending letters to each other." Joey was still surprised. He just massaged his temples.

"Oh!" Twilight exclaimed from the other room. "She responded! That was fast." Joey was a tad nervous. What would the princess think? Would they chase him out? He wouldn't blame them. He felt pretty worthless. How could anybody like him, especially ROYALTY? He didn't know why these ponies (and dragon) were being so nice to him. Maybe they felt bad for him.

Twilight snapped him out of his thoughts. "Joey!" she exclaimed. "The princess is interested in meeting you! Isn't that great? She never requests to meet anyone, unless it's royalty!" Joey was more nervous than ever. He didn't know whether to be afraid or excited, but he vowed he would try to stay humble, no matter what. He didn't want to risk losing his head. Then again, he wanted to die...........

He shook the thought out of his head. He had a strong faith in God, being a Christian and all, but he was ready to give up. His life had been bad enough already. As Joey was thinking these things, Twilight noticed his expression.

"She won't mean you any harm," she reassured, "She just wants to know who you are." Joey eased up a tiny bit, but was still really nervous. He still didn't know fully what to expect. He just yawned quietly, making sure no one heard it. He wasn't in the mood to be babied. He never was either, as a matter of fact.

"We will leave tomorrow, guys, so you have time to prepare," Twilight continued. "But before we all go home, let's take some time to learn about Joey." She looked over to where the young human was sitting, only to find an empty chair.

"JOEY?!" she cried out. "Where did you go?" The others in the room looked around nervously.

Joey was currently back in the guest bedroom in Twilight's crystal castle. He immediately thought about his backpack when Twilight talked about travelling..........which reminded him of luggage, which reminded him of his backpack.

And now he was searching for it like crazy. He wasn't making a mess, but he was for sure freaking out. "Where is it? WHERE?" he kept muttering to himself. He didn't know if his new friends did something with his backpack. He didn't think they would have the heart. He was just so intent on finding the remaining thing that reminded him of his family. He was starting to get desperate.

Then he saw a strap from his backpack hanging off a shelf. He ran over, and found that his backpack was covered in blankets. He took a deep breath of relief. "Oh, thank the lord. I FINALLY found it. All my memories are back!"

Then the door behind him opened, and Pinkie Pie bounced in. "Oh! There you are, silly!" she squealed. "We were all getting so worried, and not to mention concerned afraid........." Joey was amazed at how fast she was talking. She was SO energetic - he thought it was pretty funny. Then Pinkie spoke again.

"So, what were you doing up here that made us all sooooooo worried that you ran away-" Joey interrupted. "I was just looking for this." He held up his backpack. "OH!" Pinkie replied. "What's in there?" Joey looked down to make sure all the contents were there. He sighed in relief when he found each device accounted for.

"It's something that means the world to me" he replied. "It's my only memory of my family." Pinkie looked at him like there was something he was not telling her. Something he was hiding - something mysterious. But she decided not to push it. "Anyway, you wanna come back downstairs?" Pinkie asked energetically. "Ya, why not?" Joey replied, putting on his backpack.

Before Joey could take a step, Pinkie zoomed up to him, plopped him on her barrel, zoomed him down the stairs, then set him on the floor. Joey stumbled around, dizzy from the unexpected ride. "Oy," he muttered. Pinkie then proclaimed to the rest of the group proudly, "I found him!"

Twilight trotted into the room. "Oh, thank Celestia! I was getting worried. Where were you?" she asked, sighing in relief. "I was in the guest room upstairs," he responded, "Looking for this." He held up his backpack. Twilight grew a sheepish look. "Sorry, I knew it was some kind of saddlebag, and I couldn't help but see what was inside." Joey just smiled and looked up at Twilight. "As long as you didn't break anything, we're good." She sighed in relief.

Joey took a seat on one of the living room couches, then proceeded to open his backpack. The others, who had just walked in, watched curiously as he pulled out his laptop. "Good to see that you're back, sugarcube" said Applejack, we were startin' to get worried there." "Sorry," Joey responded, "I was just looking for my backpack."So THAT'S what it's called, Twilight thought.

Joey opened the lid and the screen lit up. The others watched in amazement as he logged in. There were buttons that had letters on them, and when they were pushed, the letter appeared on screen! They had never seen anything like it before! "Let's see if I have internet......" Joey thought out loud.

When he pulled up the indicator, he somehow did! This world WAS magical. Heh.

"So, Joey," Twilight started, "What is this?" Joey patted his laptop. "This," he replied, "Is a computer. It can do so many things like browse the internet, play music, have games, etcetera. This, my phone, and my Ipad are my most treasured items in the whole universe." Twilight decided this was the time to know more about him.

"What kind of music do you listen to?" she asked. "Glad you asked," he replied. He went to his music folder. "I like heavy metal, dubstep, and christian metal." Rarity gave a look of disgust. "I take it you don't like metal" Joey chuckled. Rarity took a deep breath. "Well, er........I-I.........well, no, not really." She gave off an innocent smile, hoping he wouldn't be offended. "Ah, no worries. Not everyone is the same"he replied. He smiled at Rarity, who smiled back. "Anyway, here's one of my favorite Christian Metal songs"he continued..................he pulled up Skillet and hit "play".

"And here's a dubstep.........." he pulled up another song and hit "play".

"And just for the sake of Rarity, I won't play the heavy metal." She let out a sigh of relief. "Those were SOOOOO good!" Pinkie rambled. "I especially liked it when they did that 'pew pew pew' thing and that 'mraaaaaaaaaaa' thing, and-!" She was cut off when Rainbow Dash put a hoof over her mouth. She still continued to talk, although you couldn't understand it. It was entertaining.

Joey then shut his computer, receiving a disappointed look from Pinkie. He zipped up his backpack. "So," Rainbow Dash started, "You like sports?" Joey got up and nodded. "Oh heck ya!" he exclaimed, "Sports are like one third of my life. I play soccer, and made varsity for my school. So I guess that means I'm pretty good." Rainbow Dash nodded. "You kidding?" she responded, "Making a varsity means that you're so awesome!!!" Joey smiled. "Thanks," he said.

"Where do you come from, Joey?" asked Fluttershy. "Colorado." Joey stated proudly. "It is such an awesome place. The east half is all plains, but a huge chunk of the western half is towering mountains. They're fun to climb." Twilight responded, "When I was in the human world, a kid named Flash told me he had gone there, and he said that the mountains are so fun to visit. I've wanted to go since." She smirked at Joey. "Equestria is proud of our tallest mountain, Mt. Canterlot. Not only is the city of Canterlot built around it, the mountain stands at 5,600 hooves tall." Joey chuckled. "Hooves?" Twilight rolled her eyes. "Twelve inches. Don't you know this?" "In my world, we call them feet," Joey replied, "And Colorado's highest mountain is Mt. Elbert, which stands at 14,439 feet, or what you call it, 'hooves'."

Twilight was silent. Finally, she muttered, "No way." "Yep," said Joey, "And I climbed it too."

After a couple minutes of finding proof of Mt. Elbert for Twilight, They got to know Joey a lot better. Hours went by, and soon, it was time for everyone to leave. "See ya, Joey!" Rainbow said, flying out an open window. "Who am I staying with, guys?" Joey asked. Twilight looked at his stuff, then back at him. "I've already got a room set up for you, so me." Joey nodded. "See you all tomorrow," he said, "I'm going to bed." Twilight trotted up to him and gave him an unexpected hug. "Good night, Joey" she said. "Sleep well!" The others waved and said likewise as they walked out of the crystal castle.

Little did they know, that sleep would not come easy for this boy.

Author's Note

Sorry for a shorter chapter........December will be a slow progress month with this story. Good things and bad things are in the future. Please like and fav!!!!!!!:twilightsmile::twilightsmile:

A Canterlot Visit......and the Decision

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. :pinkiehappy: Stay tuned for more!!! (Word of warning: December will be a very slow month, so I probably won't finish the next chapter :applejackunsure: )

Please like and fav!!!

An Unexpected Change

Author's Note

Here it is........the chapter everyone's been waiting for..........Joey's life has finally turned to the light (No pun intended - his mom IS the one who controls the sun :twilightsheepish: ) P.S. Read the spoiler alert at the bottom when you're finished. I can assure you it's not a spoiler. :pinkiehappy:

An Unexpected Change

Every one looked at the princess in shock. "So.........that's why you've been acting differently?" Twilight asked Celestia. She nodded. "Not only do I want to be Joey's mother, there's a...........well, how do I put this? Spark! Yes, I felt a mother-son spark between us. Pinkie, I would like you to prepare a party." The others nodded understandingly. "First, I would like to know this boy better, before jumping to immediate conclusions. Shall we?" Celestia said, stepping out of the private room.

She summoned a guard. "Go and get Spike and Joey, then bring them back to my throne." She commanded. The guard bowed, then trotted off to complete his new task.

".............So that's how Game theory explained it. Makes so much sense, huh?" Joey asked Spike. The two were getting done with their tour, and Joey had explained the Five Nights at Freddy's series to him using Game Theory's theory. "Whoa....." said Spike. He was so into this game.

They were just chatting away when a guard trotted up to them. "Her highness requests your presence, sir." it said. Joey nodded. The guard motioned for them to follow. The two friends walked together. "So," said Spike, "What do you think about the princesses?" "They're way nicer than I thought they would be. They didn't treat me like I was different." Spike looked at him confusedly. "Which I am, but you know what I mean," Joey finished.

The guard escorted Joey and Spike into the throne room, where they found everyone smiling at Joey. Well, this is awkward, thought Joey. "Please, follow me," Celestia said to Joey. "Sister and I would like to know you better. The rest of you can stay here and make sure nothing happens to the castle." The others nodded, while Joey stuttered, "O-okay."

The two sisters led him down a back hallway until they were out of earshot of the others. "I want to start off by apologizing for what I said earlier that included your family. I didn't know that you lost them a while ago." Joey just nodded looking at the floor. How many more times would this come up today? It happened three times already!!

"You're forgiven. It's just a hard topic." "I would push it no further, young one," said Celestia. She had a motherly tone that actually helped him settle down. He brushed the thought away. There is no way that Celestia would take me in, thought Joey. It's absurd!!" Celstia then asked, "Mind telling us about yourself?"

"Well," started Joey, "I am a HUGE soccer fan. I play it and watch it. I made my high school varsity team with ease, and I scored a three goals in the state championship." Celestia and Luna were impressed. "So you are an active kind of person?" asked Celestia. "Ya," Joey replied, "I can hardly sit perfectly still, because I need to be doing something."

"So where are you from?" asked Luna. Joey replied, "I come from a country called the United States of America, or USA for short. I come from the state of Colorado, which is known for being half plains and half mountains. I like to climb mountains called 'fourteeners', which are mountains above 14,000 feet above sea level." Luna and Celestia asked in unison, "There are mountains that tall from where you come?" Joey smirked. "Yep," he replied. "I've climbed 11 of them." This boy is impressive, the sisters thought.

After a half hour of talking, they were finishing up. As the three were getting up, Celestia asked, "Joey, would you like to stay at the castle tonight? We have a spare room." Joey thought about it, then said, "Sure, if Twilight's okay with it." Celestia smiled, then said, "Just stay out of the dining room, okay, dear?" Joey snickered. "I totally forgot where that is," he said. "Then you don't have to worry," Celestia replied. Luna stepped out of the private room. "On to the spare bedroom, then!" she stated proudly.

The two princesses led him down a huge corridor with banners and stained glass windows clinging to the walls. Soon, they came up on a brass door with a silver handle. "This is where my nephew Cadence used to stay," said Celestia, "We took out all that girly wallpaper, but couldn't get the smell out." Joey opened the door, stepped in, and gagged. There smell of perfume was too strong! "Case in point," Celestia chuckled.

"Must......open........window!" Joey gasped desperately. When his hand found the latch, he swung the window open and stuck his head out. He let out an "aaaaaaahhh...." of relief. "Fresh air...." he muttered. Luna chuckled. "You might want to leave that open," she said smiling. Joey grinned sarcastically. "Yah, no kidding," he replied. Celestia cleared her throat. "Well," she said, "I'll let you get comfortable. I have big plans for tonight." Joey wanted to say something, but then decided against it. He didn't know what the outcome would be.

Then the two sisters walked way, leaving Joey to himself. He took a moment to take in the sights of the room. It was spacious, and had a blue silk bed in one corner. There was a small fountain in the center of the room, with a small statue of a majestic alicorn with long, wavy hair..........probably Celestia. There was a glossy wooden wardrobe in another corner, and a glossy semi-wooden table with a glass surface. There was also a big dresser off to his left, and another wardrobe.

Damn, this "Cadence" person...................

He found another door on the opposite side of the room as the entrance. It led to a spacious bathroom, with a large bathtub and toilet. Okay, thought Joey. Nothing more to see here. He plopped his backpack down on the bed. He then sat down on the bed. He sank in to the soft mattress.

He forgot suddenly that he left his door open. He got up and went out to close it. When he peeked his head out the door, he saw a stallion with a blond mane staring back at him in disgust. "Can I help you?" Joey asked, trying to be friendly.

The stallion's eyes went wide. He turned around and ran out of the room, screaming "Auntie! Auntie!". Joey thought it was sad, but at the same time a little bit amusing. "Hmm," he said to himself as he returned to his room.

Celestia was very excited, but very nervous at the same time. What if the child said no?

She pushed thought out of her head. After his reaction about the whole "family" thing earlier, why would he say no? It wouldn't make sense. She looked out to all the surprise party decorations. Celestia smiled. She would just hope for the best.

"Pinkie, this is perfect!" Celestia exclaimed, admiring Pinkie's handiwork (or hoofiwork :pinkiehappy: ). Pinkie bounced over. "Thanks!" she squeaked. "Only the best for you!" Celestia chuckled at this. Ooh, I hope he says yes, Celestia thought.

Then Blueblood came running into the room. "Auntie!" he said, out of breath. "There's a wild ape in Cadence's old room!!!" Celestia's eyes grew with rage. He's a human, and he's our friend! You will never say stuff like that if you think you can be ruler some day. Go to your room!" Blueblood scampered off, fearing that he would be hurt if he didn't.

Joey was in his room, thinking about the dream from the train. What did it mean?? The words flashed in his mind. NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, I WILL BE HERE FOR YOU. ALWAYS. Funny, now that he thought about it, the voice sounded just like Celestia's. What a coincidence. Did this dream have any significance? Was he going crazy?

Definitely the latter, he thought. He was in a magical world with magical talking ponies, of course he was going crazy. It would make his dreams crazy.

"Princess, the party is ready!!!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Good work, Pinkie!" Celestia replied. "Luna, did you send out the invitations to Cadence and Shining Armour?" Luna beamed and nodded. "How close are they to getting here?" asked Celestia. "Only a couple minutes," said Twilight proudly.

Then in walked Cadence and her husband. She and Twilight immediately ran to each other, chanting:

"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!!" They finished with a hug.

"So, why are we here again?" Cadence asked, looking confused. "Is something wrong?" Pinkie floated by tied to a balloon. "Didn't Luna tell you! PARTY! ADOPTION PARTY!!!!" She said this with so much excitement that she actually fell to the floor with a thud. Everyone stared for a couple of moments, and then laughed a little.

"So you're finally getting a child, huh, Tia?" asked Cadence. "Girl or boy?" "Boy," Celestia said. "But he's a human." Cadence looked a little shocked t first, but then smiled again. "As long as your happy," Cadence chirped.

"Alright everyone. Places! I'll go get Joey," said Luna. "Joey?" asked Cadence, "Is that his name?" "Yes," replied Celestia. "Now hide!" she said with a big, happy smile.

Joey rubbed his temple. All that thinking earlier gave him a headache. Maybe he needed a drink of water. That was his mom's old way of curing headaches. Then again, she could diagnose anything and it would be correct. She was a family doctor. Of course she would know. Tears came to Joey's eyes. Now she's gone, he thought, and I couldn't do anything to save her. I am such a lousy-

Just then a knock came at the bedroom door. Joey quickly wiped away his tears and walked over to the door. He opened it, revealing Luna. "Come on," she said, smiling a little weirdly. "Tia and I have a surprise for you." Joey looked at her, considering what might happen, but just nodded. "Do I need my bag?" he asked inquisitively. "Nope," Luna responded. "Now come." She kneeled down. Joey just stood there confused. Luna just chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Hop on!" she said with a smile. Joey climbed on reluctantly. He looked out one of the small actual windows on the wall of the chamber. There were snowflakes!!!!

"Is it winter here?" asked Joey. Luna nodded. "In two days we will have our most popular holiday: Hearth's Warming Eve," she explained. She looked back at him, and he looked more confused than ever. "You don't celebrate Hearth's Warming?" asked Luna. The human shook his head. "The only winter holiday we have is Christmas. I come from a religion called Christianity, and we believe that a man named Jesus Christ came to save us from all the bad things we have done. Christmas celebrates his birth."

Luna nodded in understanding. "How do you celebrate?" she asked. "We cut down pine trees, put them in our house, and decorate them before the day comes. Then, on Christmas morning, we open gifts that are previously placed under the tree," Joey explained. "That is almost exactly a lot like our holiday. When you see the Hearth's Warming play, you will understand why we celebrate this holiday." Joey nodded.

Luna kneeled down, letting him off. She motioned toward the big golden doors leading into the common's room. Joey gripped the handle, then looked back at Luna with a confused look. She nodded for him to open the door. He slowly opened the door, peeking inside. It was very dark, and he couldn't see a thing.

Hmmm. Was it just him, or did Luna look......excited? Whatever. He took a couple of steps into the room, looking around. What was going on?

SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!

Joey fell backward as the lights were suddenly flicked on. He was startled and confused. He tried to say something, but all that came out was "Huh?"

Pinkie bounced over to him. "It's a PARTY, silly!!" she squeaked, bouncing around him. Joey was even more confused. "What for?" he asked. He saw Celestia walking over to him with a hopeful smile. Wow, this was fucking weird.

She put a hoof on his shoulder. "I was wondering...." she started. "If for now on, you would like to call me......mom."

Joey put a hand over his mouth as tears came to his eyes. He nodded, and ran up to Celestia, hugging her. Tears came to Celestia's eyes as well as she hugged him back. "Thank you," she whispered into Joey ear. Everyone cheered at what had just happened. Pinkie jumped up. "Now let's PAR-TAY!!" Everyone agreed, and Celestia and her new son released each other. As soon as Joey released her, he heard someone squeal in joy behind him.

"NEW COUSIN!" Cadence shouted as she tackled Joey in a crippling bear hug. "This is my nephew, Cadence," Celestia said with a smile. Joey couldn't respond because he couldn't breath. "K-k-kay..." he sputtered. Cadence released him. "He's adorable!!!!" she squealed. "In the pet way," Joey responded, "or the baby kind of way?" "In the COUSIN kind of way!!" she said, giving him another hug, although not as hard.

Celestia came over and nuzzled her new son, who still hadn't wrapped his mind around what just happened. "You ready to have some fun?" she asked. Joey shook all the dizziness out of his head. "Let's do it!" he said enthusiastically. Joey was in the best mood of his life.

First came pin the tail on the mare. "Do ya know how tah play?" asked Applejack. Joey nodded with a smile. "It's been a long time. In my world, we play pin the tail on the donkey." he said. He went first. Joey got two tries. The first time, he got the thigh of the mare. When he peeked out, he saw where he pinned the tail and started making suffering sounds, like he was stabbed in the leg himself. This made the others laugh.

On his second try, he didn't even try. He shouted "Rage!" in a joking manner, spinned around ten times, then THREW the tail. He fell over, making Celestia stop laughing. She rushed over. "Are you okay?" she asked nervously. Joey just smiled goofily. "Can you stop the room?" he said. "Cause I'd like to get off." she just chuckled and helped him to his feet.

After all the others went, they all had a massive pillow fight (which Joey started by whapping Spike in the face at random). Soon, they were all tired. It was time for dinner too. What a convenience.

The table was filled with all sorts of food (which a lot contained hay - it wasn't actually half bad). Pinkie would NOT stop talking. It was a blast. Joey had never expected this. Then he realized that his dream from the train kind of matched! Oy, more thinking. Just enjoy yourself for once, thought Joey. This was fun. Obviously.

Then Celestia and Luna led Joey to the throne room. There were a couple of guards that smiled at him. He smiled back. One of them held a paper and marched up to Celestia, who was now at her throne. "Come here," she said to Joey as she levetated him off the floor and over to her. She showed him what the paper said.

I, Princess Celestia,

Assume responsibility and care of this human child and promise to treat with the love and care a good family. Through good times and bad, calamities and peacefulness, I will love him forever and ever. I now decree myself mother of this new Prince,

Joey took a quill signed under 'Prince': Joseph. Celestia then signed her name and added 'Sol' at the end of 'Joseph'. That was it. They were officially mother and son. Luna and Celstia grabbed Joey, then sat in front of the camera. "Say 'family'!"exclaimed the cameraman. After the picture was taken, she wrapped Joey in her arms, kissing him on the forehead, and whispered these words into his hear:

"Welcome home, Joseph Sol. Welcome home."

But wait! That's not all!! There's more to come in the future! Merry Christmas everyone (or whstever you celebrate) :raritystarry:

A Happy Hearth's Warming

Author's Note

Hey, y'all! Sorry for the short chapter, but I wanted to get a festive one in before my two week break. Merry Christmas, everyone!!!!
P.S. please go easy on me, guys. This is my first story, and there are some people who are putting on a lot of pressure. With that plus all the things going on, it's hard to take. I'm seeing a counselor right now, life's that bad.

A Happy Hearth's Warming

After a while of embracing each other, Celestia finally released Joey. "Let us go to our quarters, Luna" she said. Then she looked at Joey. "C'mon, sweetie," she said, kneeling down. Joey got on, and the three continued down to Celestia and Luna's sleeping quarters.

They came up on a giant gold and silver door, with the equestrian flag etched onto it. Celestia opened the door and trotted in with her sister and Joey. Joey carefully slid off so he wouldn't fall to the floor. His new mom would probably overeact.

They all sat down on blankets that were laid out on the floor. This was probably where they slept. He continued to sit himself. The blankets were surprisingly comfy. "Joey?" Celestia said. "Do you mind sleeping here for tonight with your new mother?" There was a hopeful look in her eyes. Damn, pushy. Still, he felt like it would be awesome. He nodded his head, and was immediately pulled in by her magic and into a short hug. When they released, Joey laid his head on Celestia's barrel. She nuzzled him back. Luna then snuggled in alongside, making a nice kind-of-blanket for Joey.

As Joey started to slowly pass out, He felt Celestia gingerly kiss his forehead. "Good night, my prince," she said. "Good........night.........mom," Joey said in between yawns. Then he fell asleep like a rock. The two sisters smiled at the new addition two their family.

"I will make sure he has good dreams, Tia."

"Thanks, Luna.

Joey woke up that morning to a very happy pink alicorn that was staring inches from his face. "Morning, new cousin!!" Cadence chirped as she wrapped him in another bear hug. Thank the Lord is wasn't as long this time.

Thank you, Lord, Joey thought.

"You wanna grab some breakfast?" Cadence said cheerily. "Sure," Joey replied.

Before he knew it, she scooped him up on her back and trotted off to the kitchen. When they reached the kitchen, the two sisters who were already eating couldn't help but giggle. Cadence lifted him off her back with her magic and put him on a chair next to his mom. "That was unnecessary, Cadence," Joey laughed. "Humans are capable of walking." Cadence shook her head. "It was for ME!" she said joyfully.

Then Blueblood walked in. When he saw Joey, a look of pure disgust crawled onto his face. "Why is that THING still here?" he asked, half growling. Celestia frowned. "He's not a thing he's my SON!!!" she said, angrily. Blueblood's look went from disgust to smug. "So, you're her son?" he asked Joey. Joey nodded, mouth full of food. "Then just kill yourself and save everyone the trouble!" he said, laughing. Everyone gasped. He did NOT just say that.

Joey swallowed. "If I were to kill myself, I'd just climb to the top of your ego and jump off down to your IQ level," he chuckled. Blueblood stopped laughing. Everyone looked at Joey in surprise, then back at Blueblood, trying not to laugh.

ROASTED.

"I'll bet there isn't one good thing about you!!" Blueblood shot back, face turning red with rage. "Well," started Joey, "The only positive thing about YOU is you HIV test, fuckface." Blueblood just screamed in rage and ran out of the room. Everyone was laughing their heads off.

"What?" said Joey. "He should of seen it coming."

A whole day had gone by. A whole day being with a new family. A ROYAL family, too. What are the chances?

Well, it was the day Luna was talking about. Hearth's Warming Eve. They went to a play earlier that day, and that helped Joey understand better. It was about the three races of ponies: pegusi, unicorns, and earth ponies. They all basically hated each other. With all that hate built up, they summoned these demon-thingies called Windigoes, which made everything winter. There was more, but it was such a long play. Still interesting, though.

After the play, Celestia took Joey back to the castle. While they were in the carriage, Joey was looking out the window, taking in all the sights and smells of Canterlot. There was an Arabian style resturant that they passed by called "The Tasty Treat". He would have to try it out sometime. Then he saw a sign above an indoor sports arena. It read:

Indoor Soccer League Signups In a Week

His eyes widened. "No way!" he exclaimed. Luna and Celestia looked at him inquinsitively. He motioned to the sign as they rode by. "Barely any people know about you, hon," said Celestia. "I don't think it's a good idea." Joey nodded in understanding. "Alright," he said.

Soon, they made it back to the castle. "You ready to come open gifts?" asked Celestia. Joey immediately perked up. "I got awesome presents for you guys. I can't wait!" he exclaimed. "We have presents for you, to." Joey just shrugged. Heart of gold, thought Celestia.

When they arrived at the castle, Joey bolted out of the carriage. He had to make it to the kitchen.

After admiring all the gifts after the exchange, Celestia, Luna, and Joey all admired the fire. Celestia kissed Joey's cheek and nuzzled him the entire time. It was weird at first, but Joey got used to it. He drifted off to sleep, thinking about the last couple of days.

This was a Hearth's Warming to remember.

An Unexpected Turn of Events

Author's Note

Sorry for the late update, everyone! There is an update starting now, including different points of views. Please enjoy my new chapter, "An Unexpected Turn of Events".

An Unexpected Turn of Events

It had been three months since Joey was adopted. The huge change in his life was a miracle to him. There was no way he would of kept himself alive if no one had shown they cared.

No one expected what would come next......

Joey's P.O.V.

Joey was peacefully sleeping in his new room (which still smelled terribly of perfume - but let us spare the excruciating details), tossing and turning every now and then. He was a restless sleeper.

The maid for his room, Sparkle Dust (Joey heckles her about the name in a friendly sort of way) trotted in happily. She was afraid of him when they first met, but they soon became very good friends. She slowly walked over to where Joey slept, and said into his ear, "Wake up! It's a wonderful morning!!!" He didn't move. Sparkle huffed and placed her hooves on his sides, proceeding to shake him violently. "Come on, get up!" she chirped.

"Eeeeeerrrrm......." Joey muttered. "Oy, you say it like it's a good thing." Sparkle just rolled her eyes and grabbed the covers with her teeth. She yanked him off the bed along with the covers. He fell to the floor with a thud.

"All right, all right, I'm up!!!" he cried, throwing up his hands in surrender. He slowly rose to his feet with a small grunt. "Just let me get dressed up," he said.

"Already ahead of you!" Sparkle said, levitating an outfit over to him. Joey gave her a slight knowing smile. "Thanks, Sparks," he said, turning away to go change. "Tell my mom I'll be out soon, K?" he called.

"Will do."

Sparkle continued to dust off the furniture tops, then went to the royal commons to follow up Joey's request. Minutes later, Joey stepped out of the bathroom, all dressed up and ready. He sighed with a smile. Now, to breakfast! he thought to himself.

He had no idea what his mom had planned for him.

Celestia's POV:

Celestia patiently waited for her son while eating cake for breakfast. What else would she eat? She loved that crap. It was delicious and stress relieving.

That didn't matter. Today was a special day. Why?

She would introduce Joey this evening to the rest of Equestria.

It wasn't that he necessarily complained about it, but she could tell that he did not like being kept inside the palace day after day after day. I mean, he only had Sparkle Dust as his only friend in the castle, and visits from the Elements of Harmony were only occasional. It must be so boring for him!!

She was also worried about the opinion of her citizens. What if they thought he was a monster? What if they revolted against her because of it? Not only would it stress her out, it would emotionally hurt her son. She couldn't even think about Joey bursting into tears. It was just not right.

Joey's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Hey, mom!" he said cheerily, walking up to his chair. "Hey, Aunt Luna!" Luna nodded at him with a smile. "Hi, sweetie!" Celestia said. Seeing her son with a smile on his face pushed all her worries away. "How are you this fair morning?"

Joey got to his seat and faked a yawn. "The usual," he said. Celestia smiled. He was such a sleeper. If Sparkle Dust wasn't his friend, just the chore of waking him up would make her quit. Good thing they were.

Joey scooped some eggs onto his plate and poured himself some coffee. He also grabbed some sausages from a covered plate and began eating.

Now, you may ask yourself, "Where and why the heck do ponies get sausage?" Well, it started when Joey went to the royal dentist with his mom, and the dentist discovered his canines. Well, it wasn't that big of a deal until Joey fell ill, then Celestia got desperate and made a deal with the griffons for meat. To make a long story short, Joey got better again.

"Joey," said Celestia. "I have a surprise for you today!" Joey stopped eating and looked at his mother curiously.

"Joey," she started, "I know that being hidden from the rest of the world is boring, and that you don't have friends with accessive amounts of free time like you have." Joey slowly nodded his head, looking at his food. "So I've talked with your Aunt Luna, and................we've decided to introduce our nation to you today." Joey's fork fell to his plate. He looked up in shock. "Seriously?" he asked in bewilderment. "You mean it?"

Celestia giggled and smiled, enjoying his reaction. She watched as Joey jumped up from his seat and ran off to tell Sparkle Dust the news. After he rounded a corner and went out of sight, she noticed Blueblood standing close by with a very shocked look on his face. "Auntie, this has gone too far!!!" he bellowed. "You are actually going to let that abomination be seen by all of our fair citizens? Are you out of your MIND?" His face was taking on a red hue.

Celestia gave him a stern glare. "One," she said, "He is NOT an abomination."

"But auntie-"

"TWO, it is for the greater good. There might be rumors that all this will put a stop to."

Blueblood gave her an even dirtier glare. "I tell you, this is NOT a good idea!!!!!" he shouted. "This for the greater good, you must realize-" Celestia held up a hoof to silence him. "You are dismissed, Blueblood." she said, giving him a look of extreme sternness.

Blueblood stomped out of the room, fuming. Celestia watched as he left, then went back to her breakfast.

Blueblood's POV:

Blueblood stalked down the hall to the guard barracks, deep in thought and rage. There was only one other pony that would actually side with him, and that was General Backbone. He was an intimidating and mysterious apprentice of Captain Shining Armour, but he would do anything that Blueblood asked. And they both hated Joey with a burning, flaming, passion. Surely he would listen, no questions asked.

He spotted Backbone leaning against the doorway. "Blueblood," he uttered in a deep tone, with a nod of his head. Blueblood nodded back. "Listen, Celestia has gone too far this time. She is about to introduce the human scum to the rest of the world. I need you to take him to the griffon city of Shagra, and sell him as a slave. Destroy all the evidence."

Backbone just smirked. "With pleasure," he rumbled. "I'll ready the War Blimp." Blueblood cackled. "Don't fail, Equestria depends on it." Backbone nodded his head in reply, and the two went their separate ways.

Joey's POV

To say that Joey was in a good mood was the understatement of the century. He was exploding with energy. He could be free! He could roam around outside the palace, making all sorts of friends.........it was another dream come true. It was so hard to keep in boredom previously.

Then he felt a twinge in his gut. What if he was considered a monster? He remembered the looks the others gave him while he and Twilight made their way to the Ponyville train station. All of a sudden, making friends didn't look hopeful. He could still try, though!

Joey looked around his room and sighed. It would be nice to meet some other ponies, even if they were rude. He would be happy to have a mom, and to at least HAVE friends. He had a lot more right now than he had back in Windsor. Just the thought of that place made him shudder.

He glanced at the clock. Cripes! he thought. I'm going to be late! Celestia had told him to meet in her room at three, and the clock's big hand was almost at the twelve. He dashed to the door and stepped outside.

Joey turned to go down the hall, but Blueblood stepped in front of him. "Going somewhere?" he said with a sneer. "Yes, to mom's room." Joey replied. "Now move." Blueblood snarled. "Oh, I don't think so. Meet General Backbone." he said, gesturing behind Joey. Joey turned, and only got a glimpse of Backbone before he was hit in the forehead with the blunt side of his spear. He went out cold.

"Now, get him to the warship, and scram!" Blueblood said with a cackle. Backbone saluted, and dragged Joey down the hallway, chuckling.

The Great Escape

Celestia's POV

Celestia glanced at the entrance to her room, then back at the clock. Where was Joey? He should of been there three minutes ago. Was he backing out all of a sudden? No. He wouldn't miss this, even if he was nervous. Something was wrong.

Celestia stood up from her sitting position. If he wasn't there, she would get him herself. She wondered if something held him back, making im a tad late. She walked down the hall leading to his room, holding her head at an upward angle. She smiled. Today would be a very important day for Equestria. They would meet their new prince!

As she neared his room, Sparkle Dust galloped out in a panic. Her pink, usually smooth mane was a mess, and her maid's outfit was terribly wrinkled. Her yellow coat was smudged, and her face was pale. "Is something wrong?" Celestia asked. Sparkle whipped her head around to face the princess. Something was definitely not right.

Sparkle wheezed. "S-sorry, princess, he wasn't there when I went to check on him, and I looked everywhere -" Celestia put a hoof over her muzzle to silence her. "Slow down. Start from the beginning." She removed her hoof, and Sparkle took a long, deep breath. "I-I was coming back to see if he was ready for the announcement, and when I looked in his room, he wasn't there. So I looked around. Everywhere. Searched the palace from top to bottom. He. Is. Not. Here."

Celestia felt like her heart jumped up into her throat. "N-not t-there?" she stuttered. "How? H-he wouldn't run away........i-it's just not h-him." Celestia's pupils were the size of raisins. "We have to find him!! He must of been coltnapped, or taken!!" She yammered in a panic-y tone. "But, Princess," Sparkle said, "Who would be crazy enough to sneak in and coltnap him?"

A guard marched up to Celestia. "Your honor," he said with a slight bow, "A War Blimp is leaving Canterlot. Does it have your authority to leave?" Celestia narrowed her eyes. "Sparkle, nopony said that somepony snuck in." She turned down to face the direction of the gaurd barracks. "Guards," she bellowed. "Stop that blimp!!" Then she turned to face the window. Who would be so self serving to actually take her son away? Then her face turned to a nasty scowl. She growled, "Blueblood."

She turned back to her guard. "Prepare my chariot as well," she said with a menacing frown.

Joey's POV

Joey's head hurt. A lot. It felt like he had an orb of lava shoved into his brain after someone ripped his head open with their bare hands. A huge CLUNK startled him. His eyelids slowly lifted, revealing a wooden room and a huge set of iron bars that stood in front of him. There was a rickety staircase off to the left of the room, and some holding cells, to his right.

Wait, wait.

Holding cells?

Wait a minute, he thought. He made an attempt to turn himself over. The second he moved, his head flared in a sharp pain, as if someone had driven a knife into his forehead. He tried to ignore the pain and succeeded in the task at hand.

Sure enough, he was in a cell. There was a dirty, flannel cot in one corner. It was a small space, probably ten feet by ten feet. The floor was made of rough wood as well. It was far from comfortable. No sign of a bathroom. Well, great. There were a bunch of thumping noises and harsh laughter coming from a higher level. Probably a drunk party.

More clunking sounds snapped Joey out his thoughts. His eyes traced the room, finally resting their gaze on the staircase. There was a shadow of a muscular pony making his way down the stairs. When he came into view, he wasn't muscular at all. He was a little skinny, kind of like a pony ninja. He was also wearing iron boots, which explained the clunking noise. So much for intimidation. Without the boots, he was like a toothpick with hair.

He carried a plate of green sludge, and he grabbed the keys to Joey's cell. He clumsily opened the cell, shoving the plate of "food" inside. "Eat up, (hic) APE!" he snarled. He was probably drunk, too.

That gave Joey an idea.

He sat up, which was not as painful since the pain subsided a little. A little. "Sir," he said in the most innocent tone he could manage, "It's a little stuffy in this cell. Can you leave the door open a crack so I can get some fresh air?" He knew it probably wouldn't work, with there being bars and all to let in air. The Toothpick Pony rolled his eyes, muttering "Whatever." He handle the door until it was open just a crack, then clunked up the stairs, muttering things like "stupid ape" "royal pain in the neck".

Joey tried really hard not to laugh. Ponies are STUPID when they're drunk!! Joey slowly got to his feet, stumbling a little. He had a chance to escape now. A little chance, but a chance. He slowly pushed the cell door open, cringing at the creaks it gave out. He started to climb the stairs, which surprisingly didn't creak. He was quite amazed. When he reached the top, the noises of the party were louder, without a surprise. He spotted a weapons stock across the room. If he could get there without anything seeing him, he would be golden. He peeked around the corner, seeing nothing. He did spot light coming from under a door that was just to his left. That's where the party sounds came from.

Joey dashed across the empty room and quickly made it to the weapons storage. He closed the door behind him as fast as he could, without slamming it. Then pressed his ear to the door for a few moments. Hearing nothing, he turned around and gazed at the room with a grin.

The room was very cluttered with boxes, most of them full of arrows. There was a rack of swords in the back, some katanas mixed in with some broadswords. There was a rack of bows to his left. He first turned to a small wooden crate of sword sheaths. It was surprising that ponies could wield swords at all. He dug through the box until he found a suitable sheath. It was a light leather sheath with an adjustable sword strap. Perfect.

He strolled over to the bow rack, selecting a metallic looking one. It was very light, to his surprise. Titanium. He grabbed a quiver and slung that over his back. Then he slung the bow over the quiver.

He then grabbed as many arrows as his quiver would hold, and stuffed them in. Then something in the corner of the room caught his eye. It was a leather tunic hanging out of a small box labeled 'BABY MINOTAUR ARMOR'. Joey snorted really hard. Seriously? he thought. Why would baby minotaurs need armor?

He walked over to the box, and pulld out the leather tunic. Then he spotted a pair of leather boots and pants as well. Joey tried them on with great effort, but they fit him perfectly. They were incredibly light as well, no doubt some sort of enchantment. It had a surprising range of motion, too. What a great find.

He then turned to the sword rack. As he was searching through, his head accidentally hit a low-hanging overhead lantern. It emitted a big spark, which floated down and settled on the hilt of a sword that held a golden hue.

Instead of melting through, though, it seemed to charge the sword. It glowed brightly, showering the room in a golden aura. Golden stripes of light ran through the sword from the tip of the hilt all the way through the blade. When spark died after a couple of seconds, the sword's energy died down and returned to what it was before. Joey stared at it, his feelings a mix of shock and curiosity.

He inched over to where the sword hung. It looked quite heavy. He reached out slowly to the sword, fearing the worst. The moment his finger connected, nothing happened. It just had a cold metallic feel, no surprise. Joey pulled it off the rack, and it went to the floor. Crap, he thought. Too heavy.

Then the sword glowed. not as strongly as before, and the yellow stripes of light reappeared. The blade and hilt shrunk a small bit, and then Joey could lift it off the floor. It was amazingly light now. He chuckled to himself and swung it to and fro. It was amazingly easy to control. The hilt also fit perfectly in his hand, as if it were crafted for him.

Joey took one last glimpse at his quiver. He was studying it, checking for anything he might be missing. And behold, in between the backstraps were two smaller sheaths. "Daggers!" he muttered in discovery. "Need to find some daggers." He looked around the room again. Where would HE keep a good pair of daggers? His eyes traced to a shelf that hung over the leather armor boxes. There was a small case, perfect size for a good set of daggers.

Bingo.

He quickly walked over and climbed on top of the armor box, then grabbed the case. Inside were the most wicked looking daggers he had ever seen. They had a firm gold and leather hilt, and the blades came to a wicked point. And to his luck, they fit perfectly inside the sheaths. He slipped them right in with ease. He was set.

As he admired his new tools, he remembered the task at hand: escaping. As he made his way to the door, he heard deep, harsh voices beyond the door. Joey reached for is sword, but pulled is hand away. No way would he be able to take those guys on. Might as well throw yourself into a hungry group of manticores.

But the leather boots silenced his steps, so maybe he could sneak around. So he waited. They would have to leave soon.

The minutes felt like hours, but sure enough, the voices became more distant. First, Joey opened the door a crack. Then again, just enough space so he could poke his head through. To his satisfaction, there was no one there. He took a step out, then another. Then he discovered he could even sprint without making a sound.

He looked down the corridors. Still no one. He decided he would have to find a trap door, or........wait. This was a blimp. Jumping out would be certain death. His mind raced. Then he realized the safest way to reach the ground was to crash the blimp.

And for that, he needed to find the bridge.

He looked around again. The bridge was probably up high, so he would have to go up. That made it easy, since one of the corridors sloped upwards.

He quickly ran through the tunnels, hiding behind a wall or something when somepony appeared. Before long, the corridor veered to the left, and ended in a room with a huge windshield and an interface. The bridge. And there was only one pony there, wearing a captain's uniform. Joey could sneak up on him and take him out without a problem.

Joey quickly ran in and hid behind a chair. The captain was facing the window, so he couldn't see Joey. Joey unsheathed a dagger, and quickly leaped from his hiding spot. He drove the dagger into the back of the captain's head, and he let out a small squeak of surprise before falling to the floor, dead. Not bad.

Then he faced the controls. They were very similar to airplane controls, so he knew exactly what to do. He stepped forward to the angle lever and thrust it forward. The blimp turned at a nauseating angle and plummeted towards a dense, creepy looking forest. Screams erupted from all over the blimp. Joey's stomach jumped up to his throat. That was the same forest he was in when he first arrived. This was bad.

It was too late too turn back now. He braced himself behind a chair, gritting his teeth. If he was going to die, he was gonna take these bastards with him.

The blimp crashed at deafening impact. The whole front window shattered, spraying glassy death all around the room. Thank goodness that Joey found that armor.

A deafening BOOM rocked the remains of the blimp, throwing Joey out of a new hole in the bridge ceiling. Joey flew right into a rock, knocking him unconscious. It was a lucky move, too, because the rest of the blimp imploded.

Joey groaned and slowly rose to his feet. His headache was even worse now. But he was alive.

There was grunting coming from behind him. He whirled around to face Backbone, who's forehead was bleeding. He had a sickening smile on his face, giving off a murderous vibe. "So, ape," he snarled, "I will not take any more shit from ya, you hear?" He took out a bronze spear. "I'll just have to kill you right here," he said, advancing.

Joey was almost not ready for his attack. Backbone stabbed at him with vicious speed. Joey barely had enough time to pull out his sword and deflect it. He knocked the spear to the side. Then he focused all his rage. These ponies had taken him from his new home. They were cruel. They were most certainly evil. Joey lunged and thrust his sword forward at Backbone's chest. The sword struck home, and it sunk through Backbone's chest. Backbone muttered in surprise, then staggered over, his eyes rolling up into his head. He was finally dead.

Joey took a step back. His stomach felt like it was turning to acid. He had actually killed a living pony. Sure, he was evil, but he was a living, breathing, thing.

Joey stooped over, retching.

He was so caught up with disgust that he forgot about his surroundings. He glanced around, studying the creepy forest surrounding him. Rickety sounds and howling echoed across the trees, sending icy shivers down his spine.

There was shouting coming from the remains of the blimp. Survivors. They would be here any second now, probably regrouped and ready to fight. Joey turned and ran.

He almost made it out of the clearing when his leg was snagged from behind. He fell forward and hit the ground, sending a sharp pain all the way to the back of his head. He turned to face none other than the Toothpick Pony. His face was pouring with blood, but Joey could still make out a cruel smile. Joey kicked and shouted, but Toothpick held on. Joey was about to give up, when something pounced on them from the woods.

It hit Toothpick first, giving enough room for Joey to quickly roll out of the way. When he got to his feet, he heard Toothpick scream in in pain. Joey whirled around to see a wooden wolf clawing his way through Toothpick's flesh. A growl from behind snapped Joey out of his momentary horror.

He drew his sword and turned just in time to cut down another wooden wolf. His sword passed through it like butter. The wolf let out an anguished howl and turned into a pile of twigs and wood. Another one jumped out from the shadows and raked it's claws over Joey's forearm, ripping off a bloody piece of his shirt. Joey shouted in pain, then brought his sword down on the wolf. It too disappeared into a pile of timber. A bigger roar erupted behind him to the left.

No other wolves came for him, they were all hunting down the other survivors. Joey took this chance to run off into the woods, completely ready for whatever happened next. He glanced over his sholder, and saw a glimpse of a manticore stomping torwards the wreckage. That made him run even faster into the dark.

Celestia's POV:

Celestia's soldiers were pulling the carriage as fast as they could in pursuit of the War Blimp. They were really close, too. So when the blimp veered down at a vertical angle, No one was ready for it, not even Celestia's wing forces. It also meant that Celestia's heart jumped down to her stomach.

All of her forces, including her chariot, overshot. They were going too fast.

When the blimp crashed with deafening impact, her throat swelled with panic. "EVERYONE SEARCH THE CRASH SITE," Celestia boomed. "AND FIND MY SON!!! I CANNOT LOSE HIM!!!" Her eyes were choked with tears.

When they touched down in the crash site, dead ponies lay everywhere. Their bodies were ridden with claw marks. "The survivors were attacked by timberwolves and manticore, by the looks of it," Celestia said, voice quavering. "The chance of surviving an attack like this are...........improbable." She blinked the tears out.

A soldier sprinted over to her. "Your majesty!" he urged. "You must see this!" She turned her head to face him, then slowly nodded.

The soldier led her over to the place where General Backbone lay. "Backbone," she snarled. "I should of guessed that he was in on this too." The soldier nodded. "But, your majesty," he explained, "It appears he died from a lethal stab." He turned the body toward her so she could see the bloody hole in his armor.

Then Celestia looked to her left. There was some gored remains of another pony, but footprints leading away. Then they were mixed in with more timberwolve pawprints. In the center of all this, there was a bloody shred of Joey's shirt. "No," Celestia muttered. "No, no, NO!!!" She started to weep uncontrollably.

Twilight's POV:

It had been a pleasant day, and what better to cap it off with eating dinner with your five best friends and number one assistant. That is, until the letter came.

Spike burped up the letter in firey style, floating it right in front of Twilight's face. She grabbed it out of the air with her magic. When she quickly read it over, a look of horror creeped slowly onto her face. "What is it, Twi?" Applejack asked.

Twilight looked up at them gravely. She stuttered, "G-Girls, we need to talk."

Epilogue

Celestia's POV:

Celestia gazed out at the horizon from her balcony. The events of the past day......................they were not ones she would get over. Joey had been presumed dead by the royal court, and ever since, she hadn't been the same. He HAD to be alive.

The thing was, all proof was against her. It wasn't healthy for her to stay in her room and cry, but she did it anyway. All afternoon.

Luna and the Elements had tried to cheer her up multiple times, but the situation was very hard to take for them as well. As soon as they mentioned his name, everypony had started to shed tears. Even Rainbow Dash. They eventually left as well, and Twilight was dragging a very sad Spike out of her bedroom door.

Celestia's tears started to run rampant again. It was no use to have hope when there was none. It was hopeless. Joey was gone.

Blueblood had received his punishment already; he had been thrown in the dungeon. Luna refrained Celestia from sentencing him to death. Besides, the Royal Court decided that Blueblood would not be Prince. If he was ever released, he would be under a criminal record.

Celestia hadn't given up. She had guards searching overtime all over the Everfree, and she had put up a big reward for whoever found him and brought him back safe.

She had almost given up hope. Almost.

Joey's POV:

Muck squished underfoot as Joey cut his way through the Everfree Forest. Joey grunted with effort in each swipe of his sword. He was slowly wearing down. He had lost all hope of finding his way back. He had watched his own mother in his chariot flying overhead, and he screamed her name over and over, but it was no use. It was obvious she was looking for him, but how did she not hear him with those alicorn ears?

Joey sliced his way through a crowd of thick vines, cursing his luck. Why did Blueblood have to go so far? Why had he actually tried to take him away from his new home? Because of hate, of course.

Right then and there, Joey vowed he would put Blueblood at the mercy of his blade next time they met.

Cadence's POV:

Cadance was in a cheerful mood until she got the letter.

She had just finished her morning routine stretch, and she was on her way to breakfast. She smiled at the guards on the way. She thought absolutely nothing could go wrong today. That is how most bad things begin.

She sashayed into the kitchen, where plates of food were waiting. Unlike Celestia, Cadance ate a healthy breakfast. She sat next to her husband, Shining Armor, and pulled up a plate with her magic. Right before she took a bite, the letter appeared.

As she read it, her pupils shrank into the size of peas. Her heart felt like it had been pierced with a knife.

She lept to her hoofs, and sprinted out of the room in a panic. "NO NO NO NO NO NO NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Shining cried, "Cadance WAIT!!!" But she was already out of the room. His gaze landed on the letter.

As he skimmed the note, his face fell into a grave look. He quickly followed Cadance out the door.

Joey's POV:

As Joey still cut through the forest, he realized how much he hurt. His feet felt like stepping on broken glass with every step. Every breath was shaky, and it felt like inhaling a bunch of knives. His stomach growled at him like a tiger. Hope those weren't in these woods.

Suddenly, howling came from behind him.

Timberwolves.

And by the volume of it, they were close. VERY close. There was also the sound of rustling leaves - Like they were hunting something, moving quickly through the bushes. And they were, obviously. Him.

Joey started to run. The pain was worse then ever before, but he didn't care. If he had to survive, this is what he would do. The howling grew more intense and determined as he ran. Joey was also determined to live. He wanted to see is mom again. No, he WOULD see his mom again.

He glanced over his shoulder. Holy mother of lesbians, there were a LOT of wolves!!!!! He ran even faster.

Joey quickly turned and ran down a slope, leading to a small, thin crevice maybe ten feet tall. As he ran in, he thought he lost them. He slowed to a jog. Right as he slowed, he heard them streaming in behind him, howling with all their might.

Well, fuck-nuggets.

Joey quickly sped up again, reaching the end of the crevice. He was really determined to lose them now.

On this side, though, there was a stony opening surrounded by rock walls in a U shape, and in the where the walls ended, there was a HUGE cliff. At the bottom there was a roaring river. Joey cursed his luck. A snarl startled him again, and he whirled around, unsheathing his sword just in time to smack away a timberwolf that pounced at him. The wolf sailed off the cliff, whimpering and snarling as if to say Help! Stop this! I'm scared! I'll rip you limb from limb in the afterlife, my pretty!

The other wolves poured into clearing, keeping just out of Joey's striking distance. That was an unexpectedly smart move.

Joey kept his blade pointed toward ones that would draw near. Then there was a lone howl, a howl that sent shivers down Joey's spine. The wolves in front of him parted to reveal one that was twice the size of the others. It stood nose to nose with Joey. The alpha, presumably.

Was it just him, or was this one.......smirking? It seemed kind of smug, as if to say Oopsie! You're out of room, hooman.

Then it howled a thunderous howl, and all the others replied. Then they all charged except the leader, from every side. There were too many to fight. One of them slashed at Joey's face, one of its claws making a cut mark from Joey's eye all the way to his upper lip. He cried out in pain and surprise, taking a step back. There was no more ground where his foot went, and he tumbled over the edge. The alpha howled in defeat, and the others replied again. Then they all retreated back into the forest.

Terror flooded through Joey as he fell like a wave of electricity running through him. He straightened out so that he was faced toward the sky. He looked at the moon, which was slowly rising from the horizon. He cried, "Aunt Luna, if you can hear me........I'm sorry." Then his back hit the water, and his vision went dark.

Author's Note

A Freshman's Tale Part II is in your future!!!!! You all have been great!!!

P.S. Don't ask me if Joey is alive, because I won't tell you. Spoilers.

Again, you all have been great! Writing this was so much fun!! Thank you!! The link for the next story will be posted on the summary for this story.