First Thanksgiving To Equestria and the Lands Beyondby xd77ChaptersPart One of InvitationsPart Two of InvitationsNon-Friendship Lesson on ThanksgivingPreparing for the BanquetThe BanquetPart One of InvitationsIt was a good relief for Equestria since all the stolen magic was returned to its rightful owners and Luna and the royal guards putting Cozy Glow in Tartarus. But three months had gone by after all of that happened and Nathan was pretty much in a good mood now that he had heard that the real perpetrator was locked up. The citizens of Dallas and the children and nuns of the Lone Star Orphanage were also in relief because two-thirds of the city had been rebuilt including the church that Nathan attended and Sunday worship service had been put back in place. Luckily though, it was November and since the church had been rebuilt, they would go back to doing their annual Thanksgiving Worship Banquet. This banquet was a time in which the church members, congress, and almost the entire city would be invited to come and spend Thanksgiving with a fresh meal. Plus, they would have a moment to write down on a piece of paper what they were most thankful for, after that, they would have worship and Pastor Steve Schwartz would preach his daily evening message from the Bible. Anyway, it was nearing the ending of Sunday morning worship service as Nathan sat with Kyle and Luke in their pew listening for the upcoming announcements as the deacons had just finished up with the morning offering. As if right on cue, the main deacon came up with a paper in his hand that contained the announcements. "Now the only announcement we have for today is our annual Thanksgiving Banquet is coming up in two weeks, so grab as many invitations out in the hallway on the tables and invite as many people as you want. It is November 20th at 4 PM and ends at 9 PM in the chapel downstairs, bring any food you want." Nathan was really excited about this because he could let the student 6 experience a human holiday because ever since the accident on Hearth's Warming, they've always asked him about human holidays and now would be their chance. "Nathan, aren't you hyped up?!" asked Luke excited. "You bet, Ah'll get to invite the School of Friendship over here for it!" Nathan said. "Why?" asked Kyle. "Because they've been buggin' me to experience a human holiday, so ah' figure now is mah' chance to do it." said Nathan. "Alright." said Pastor Schwartz, "Now that we have our announcements done, will you all stand and we'll be dismissed in prayer." The entire congress stood up and bowed their heads and after their prayer, almost the entire congress went over to the tables getting as many invitations as possible, Nathan managed to get the amount needed since he knew how many to invite. "Well Nathan, we'll see you at the banquet." said Luke. "Right, bye y'all." said Nathan as he hugged his two best friends. He then put the invitations in his bag that contained his Bible and Sunday School books that contained lessons, then proceeded towards the crowd that was going out the doors to their cars and heading home. As he exited the church, he was surprised to find Lucy there waiting for him and take him back to the orphanage. "Hi Ms. Fanning." Nathan said hugging her, Lucy returned his hug. "Hi Nathan, you ready to head back to Equestria?" she asked. "Am ah' ever, ah've got a bunch of invitations to give out." Nathan answered. "Are you going to invite your friends at the School of Friendship, because I'm pretty sure they wouldn't mind experiencing a human holiday as you said they called it." remarked Lucy. Nathan shrugged, "Ah'm not sure, but one thing is certain, Smolder and the others are going to finally stop pesturin' me about it when ah' give them these invitations." he said as he hopped in the back of Lucy's GMC Yukon and buckled up. Lucy then started her car and left for the orphanage. Lucy had managed to make it to the orphanage without any problems whatsoever, parked her car, and turned off the engine as Nathan unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the backseat, grabbing his bag, and hopping out with Lucy. After he shut the door and Lucy locked it, she gave Nathan a goodbye hug. "I'll see you at the banquet in two weeks." she said. "Ah'll see ya there as well, bye Ms. Fanning." Nathan said as he pushed a device on his wrist that activated the portal, Lucy waved goodbye as Nathan stepped into the portal and got sucked in. As Nathan was journeying through the portal, as usual, he could feel his bat wings developing on him as he saw the the Crystal Heart which powered the portal from the Equestria side and he landed beside it glad to see the Crystal Empire in its usual look. He then touched the Crystal Heart with two fingers and deactivated the portal, then walked to the castle entrance. As Nathan opened the doors, he saw Shining Armor making dinner for the whole family. "Hi Dad." Nathan said entering the kitchen. "Hey Nathan, how was church?" he asked. "Oh, it was good, we've returned to our normal routine and we've got our big Thanksgiving banquet comin' up in two weeks." Nathan answered as he went into his bag to show Shining Armor the invitations. Shining Armor quickly got curious and levitated the invitations out of his hands and into his view. "Are these invitations to this banquet?" he asked. "Yes, and ah'm invitin' you and mom to come." Nathan answered. "Oh sport, of course I'll come, why don't you go upstairs and give your mother one." Shining Armor said as he put the invitation in a drawer. "Yes Dad, ah've gotta go change anyway." Nathan said as he exited the kitchen and went upstairs. As he got up the stairs and into the hallways, he could hear Flurry Heart giggling and Cadance doing something to her, but decided to go change first before helping with Flurry Heart. As Nathan went into his and Skyla's bedroom, he closed his door, only to see Skyla in a deep sleep because she was taking a nap and since she and him shared the room he decided to dress quickly so as not to wake her up. Putting on some fresh clean jeans and a shirt, he then left the room and quietly shut the door to let Skyla sleep. As he walked towards the room where Shining Armor and Cadance changed Flurry's diaper routinely, he heard Flurry Heart giggling along with Cadance. "Boy you sure are giggly today aren't you?" she said where Nathan could hear, he then entered the room. "Hi Mom." he said. "Hi Nathan." she said, that's when Flurry Heart saw her big brother and flew up in a fresh clean diaper. "Oh you wanna see your big brother, go on!" she said, and Flurry Heart quickly flew into Nathan's arms. "Hey Tiger." he said giving her a kiss on her head as Flurry hugged him. "So Nathan, what's the progress of Dallas?" Cadance asked. "Well nearly two-thirds of the city has been rebuilt, and since mah' church is part of it, we're celebrating the return of our annual Thanksgiving banquet in two weeks and you and Dad are invited." he said handing over another invitation to her. Cadance used her aura to read the invitation. "Oh Nathan, of course your father and I will come." "Well, while you and Dad are puttin' two and two together, ah'm going to fly over to Canterlot and hand some out to Grandma and Grandpa while there is still daylight left. "Sweetie, while you're there, how about seeing if Celestia, Luna, and Zodi would like to attend." Nathan giggled, 'Oh mom, ya' know ah' will." he then turned towards his little sister. "All right, Tiger, time to go back to Mom now." he said handing Flurry Heart back to Cadance. "Be sure to be back in time for dinner." said Cadance. "Yes mom." he said, heading out for the balcony, he then flapped his wings and shot for the air. He could now feel the wind blowing through his hair as he was now in the sky with clouds below him. Nathan was gliding through the sky when the mountain that Canterlot rested beside on came into full bird's eye view on him, quickly going into rapid descent, Nathan landed at the gate entrance. Even though, it was guarded top to bottom, Nathan knew he was the future captain of the royal guards, so he had easy access. Nathan walked through the streets of the royal city when he was approached by two familiar unicorns, Fancy Pants and Fleur De Lis who quickly greeted him with great appreciation. "Good afternoon Nathan." said Fleur De Lis as she hugged him. "What might bring you to Canterlot today?" asked Fancy Pants. "Oh ah'm just handin' out invitations to a banquet on mah' world." Nathan answered. "And what might this banquet be?" asked Fleur De Lis. "It's to celebrate a holiday we humans call Thanksgiving." "That sounds very delightful, but we're afraid we are unable to attend it." said Fleur De Lis, "Ta ta for now." she then hugged him again and she and Fancy Pants vanished into the streets of Canterlot. Nathan continued on himself as well towards the Canterlot Castle. As he neared the entrance doors, he was approached by two royal guards who bowed to him since he was going to be the next captain in line when Shining Armor died or retired. "Greetings young captain." said one guard. "What might we bring from you today?" asked the other. "At ease guards, ah'm just hear to see Princess Celestia and Luna, ah' wish to speak to them about somethin' important." "As you were." said one guard and the stepped aside to let Nathan pass and Nathan opened the doors and entered the humongous corridors that surrounded and connected the entire castle. A lot sure had changed in this place to him since the day he ran away from home due to being jealous of Skyla. Meanwhile in the far end of the castle, Celestia and Luna were with Zodiac in a huge playroom that contained a toy box with a decent amount of toys that he played with, a nice comfy couch bed that he used to take naps on if he got tired from playing or just tired period, and a balcony that had a decent view of the mountains and the river. Anyway, Zodiac was in here with them playing hide and seek and he was hiding underneath the couch bed as Celestia and Luna playfully searched for him. "Where oh where is he?" asked Luna. "When we find him, we're gonna gobble him up and give him a tummy attack." exclaimed Celestia, that's when they took notice of a hoof sticking out. They giggled and quickly dragged him out of his hiding spot as Zodiac laughed. "Gotcha!" said Luna as she lifted his wonderbolt outfit and blew a raspberry on his belly and Celestia tickled his right side making him laugh louder, as they played with him, they heard a knock on the door, causing them to put down Zodiac. "Who is it?" asked Celestia. "It's Nathan." said Nathan from the outside, Celestia then opened the door to actually reveal him with a warm smile. "NATHAN!!!!!!!!" Zodiac screamed happily. "ZODI!!!!!!" screamed Nathan and they both hugged. "So what brings you to Canterlot?" asked Luna. "Well mah' gathering is havin' big banquet goin' on in a couple of weeks." "I see." said Celestia with a smile. "And where will this banquet take place?" asked Luna. "At mah' church, it'll be on the 20th of this month from 4 PM to 9 PM and ah've got invitations for all of y'all." said Nathan as he handed three of them to Celestia, Luna, and Zodiac. As Celestia read the invitation, she thought for a minute. "I don't know." she said. "Come on mom, Nathan just wants you and Aunt Luna to spend a day in human life." said Zodiac. "I would have to agree with Zodi sister," said Luna, "we've been through a lot of bad predicaments lately, not to mention our magic failing, so I think it would be great to take a break and spend the day on Nathan's world." Celestia smiled, "You know Luna, you're right, Nathan we would love to attend this banquet, we will see you at the portal." Nathan smiled and hugged her, "Thanks Celestia, ah'll see ya' later." "Bye Nathan, see you at school tomorrow, hopefully Headmare Twilight would allow you to hand out more of those invitations." "Oh she won't mind, see you at school tomorrow as well." Nathan said as he hugged Zodiac a second time and then left. Zodiac was wanting to leave too, but as he was about to set hoof out the door, it suddenly closed shut on him. "Wha..." he exclaimed, then he turned to see his mother and aunt with mischievous yet playful evil smiles on their faces. "And where do you think you're going?" asked Celestia. "We're not done with you yet." said Luna as they both walked up to Zodiac and cornered him, Zodiac laughed nervously and realized he was trapped. "Come here, timberwolf." said Celestia, as she picked him up with her aura and she and Luna went back to tickling him and blowing raspberries on his belly. "....Later that Night.... Nathan had finished his dinner about two hours ago and had finished taking a bath and had his teeth brushed. Now he was in his pajamas and sorting through school work that had to be turned in tomorrow, and stacking and sorting the remaining number of invitations that he would give to the student six and mane six, as soon as he got it ready and put in his backpack, Cadance came in the room. "All right Nathan, bedtime." she said. "Yes mommy." Nathan said and he climbed into bed as Cadance tucked him in and kissed him goodnight. "Nathan, are you going to hand out more of those invitations at school tomorrow?" Cadance asked. "Yes mom, good night." said Nathan as he rested his head on his pillow and fell asleep, Skyla falling asleep in her tiny bed as well. "Good night dear." she said, turning out the lights and closing the door. Part Two of Invitations"....Nathan...." "....Nathan...." Nathan could feel his dream ending as he felt a hoof shaking him. "Unngghh." He groaned as he pulled the covers over him, only to have them removed and showing his pajamas. "Come on Nathan, you don't want to be late for school." said the voice, he opened his eyes and yawned while at the same time stretching his arms and legs. Once his eyes were cleared of blurring from sleeping, the view of Cadance came into his view. "Morning cowboy, did you sleep well?" Cadance asked. "Sure did Mom." Nathan said with a smile and a groggy voice due to just waking up. "Well, go on and get ready, your father is cooking breakfast right now." said Cadance as she left the room to let Nathan get ready. After she closed the door, Nathan went over to his closet and pulled out a long sleeve striped shirt, black cut jeans, cowboy boots, denim vest, and clean underwear. Then he went into the bathroom and took a morning shower. After he rinsed himself off and got out and dried, he then went back into his room and put on his clothes that he pulled out. Once he was dressed, he then went downstairs to the smell of breakfast waiting for him in the kitchen at the table, Skyla and Flurry Heart were already in their high chairs being fed by Cadance as Shining Armor put down a bowl of buttered grits and eggs on the table for Nathan to eat. Nathan sat down and said a small prayer before digging into his grits. "So Nathan, are you going to hand out more of those invitations to the students?" asked Shining Armor. "Mom asked the exact same question last night." Nathan said. "So obviously, it's a yes." answered Shining Armor. "Ah've got plenty of 'em Dad, so don't worry, everything's A-OK." said Nathan. "Well hurry up and finish your breakfast, you have to leave soon." said Cadance. And Nathan went back to eating his grits, after finished his breakfast, he looked at the clock to reveal that it was 6:30 which meant it was time for him to go, so he went over to the door and got on his backpack then he gave his parents goodbye hugs and kisses. "Have a good day at school sweetie." said Cadance. "Bye y'all." Nathan said as he headed out the door and closed it behind him, once the sky came into view, he flapped his wings and took off into the clouds, as he was flying through the sky, he stopped midway through to check and see if all his papers and invitations were in and ready, which in luck, they were. He sighed in relief as he slipped his backpack back on him and continued flying to Ponyville. As Ponyville entered the view from the sky, Nathan couldn't have felt more greater that everything had been returned to normal for his aunt, the professors, and all the friends he made there, especially Zodiac, who was already at the school with the young six. Once the school was in full view, he descended to the ground and landed while folding his wings behind his back. As he opened the doors and entered, he went back into his backpack to pull out his iPod touch, he turned it on and put his earbuds in so he could listen to some country music while walking to the library that he and the gang would meet. Once he got to the massive library, he opened the door, sat down on a chair, went into his backpack again and read over the loyalty report that Professor Dash said was due today, he then started humming along to the song that was playing on is iPod. Meanwhile, the young six, along with Zodiac who was riding on Silverstream's back were walking away from their quarters and into the library as well. "So Zodi, you're basically saying that Nathan's world has been halfway completed?" asked Gallus. "Yes, as a matter of fact, the trains there are back in business, so all the people there can get to work as well." "Yak seem impressed by humans." admired Yona. "This is so good!" exclaimed Silverstream, accidentally jumping. "WHOA!!!!!!" screamed Zodiac as he landed on Silverstream's back again. "Sorry Zodi, I forgot you were on my back." said Silverstream who then gave a nervous laugh. "Silverstream need to be careful when handing pony." replied Yona. As soon as they got to the library section, they opened the door to find their eighth member reading over his assignment, but turned off his music. "Hey Nate!" Smolder said, Nathan quickly recognized the voice and turned to see his friends with greeting smiles waiting for him to come and join them. "Hey, y'all." Nathan said as he got up out of his seat and walked over to them while giving Smolder a big hug because ever since she heard how tough and strong Nathan was, she admired that and quickly developed a brother-sister like bond with him, as was Zodiac to Silverstream, even though Zodiac's crush was Ocellus. And as usual, Smolder picked up Nathan and held him in her arms, "So what's new kid?" "Well ah've got a little surprise for all of y'all, and it's in mah' bag." Nathan said, so the young eight then ventured over to the table that he was sitting at earlier and Smolder put him down temporarily. "What's the big surprise?" asked Ocellus. "Well remember back on Hearth's Warming when we were cleanin' up all that goop from that prank?" "Yeah." answered Sandbar. "Well do y'all also remember when we were chattin' about all of our holiday traditions and y'all turned to me about wantin' to know about human holidays?" "Is this what your big surprise is?" asked Gallus. "Yes Gallus." Nathan answered, "Ah've got some invitations in mah' bag here to a special kind of human holiday for y'all." He then went into his backpack and pulled out some more invitations and passed them to them all except Zodiac since Nathan gave him one the previous day. Nathan smiled as they carefully read the invitations. "In order of the celebration of Greenwood Baptist's renovations plus total recovery from the massive storm....." said Ocellus. "We invite all of Dallas to the return of our church's annual Thanksgiving Banquet on Saturday November 20th from 4PM to 9PM in the church fellowship hall." said Sandbar. "Greenwood Baptist?" ask Ocellus puzzled. "Uhhh weird, I never would've thought that there would be a city that would rhyme with my name." said Gallus, that's when Nathan put a hand around him and gave a rather sly look. "Ah' can totally see it now, Gallus........in Dallas!" "You know Nate, that is rather catchy." replied Gallus. "Yeah, but what's Thanksgiving?" asked Smolder. "It's a holiday in which humans gather together to celebrate what they're most thankful for, plus they get to enjoy a good feast." said an all too familiar voice, the young eight turned to see their headmare Twilight Sparkle and the others in the library with smiles and they walked inside to join them. "Good morning Headmare Twilight." they all said, except Nathan, who still addressed her as his aunt. "Hmm, I see you've got some invitations to something." Twilight said to her nephew. "Yes ah' do." said Nathan, "And here's more for you and y'all." he then handed out seven more to the main 6 and Spike. Twilight and the others smiled at Nathan. "Oh darling, we would be delighted to go." said Rarity. "Thanks Professor Rarity." said Nathan. "All of us?" asked Rainbow Dash. "All of us." said Twilight. "This will be good." replied Smolder, "But Headmare Twilight, how do you know about this holiday?" "Because I have been to his world, and I've experienced it first hoof myself." answered Twilight. "Well, we still have no idea why humans celebrate thankfulness." said Silverstream. "Perhaps Nathan could be of assistance on that." informed Zodiac. Suddenly, a light bulb flickered on in Nathan's head, triggering an idea. He then tapped his aunt to get her attention. "Yes Nate?" asked Twilight. "Aunt Twilight, would it be alright if ah' taught a history lesson to everypony and creature today, a non-friendship lesson?" "Well if you know the history of this holiday, you are more than welcome to teach it." answered Twilight. "Yes!" exclaimed Nathan, that's when the bell rang. "All right every creature time for classes!" shouted Twilight, then everyone went to their classes, but their first lesson was not one on friendship. Author's Note Find out about the history of Thanksgiving in the next chapter. Non-Friendship Lesson on ThanksgivingTwilight was managing to teach a class today, but today would not be a lesson on friendship. Instead, she decided to let her nephew teach a history lesson on Thanksgiving and why the humans celebrated it. Anyways, ponies and the young seven sat in their desks with notebooks and pencils or quill pens as Nathan stood beside a projection screen. "All right class, are we ready to begin our first non-friendship lesson?" asked Twilight, her response was murmurs and nodding of heads. "Okay, Nathan it's all yours." "Thanks Aunt Twi." said Nathan with a smile. "Now as many of y'all may have heard, ah've been givin' invitations to celebrate a holiday on mah' world known as Thanksgiving, but many of y'all may ask, 'what is this Thanksgiving that our dear Nathan speaks of?" "Well, Thanksgiving is a holiday in which humans gather around in groups to celebrate what they are most thankful for and we do it in the form of feasting." "Thanksgiving like Snilldar, humans destroy feast like yaks?" asked Yona. "Actually Yona, we do in a way, we destroy it by eating it." Nathan said, every creature laughed, that's when Smolder raised her hand. "So how long have humans been doing this holiday?" she asked. "Well for that, we are goin' to have to travel all the way back to the year 1621, 155 years before mah' country of America was even discovered." and Nathan turned on a projector which showed a picture of the Pilgrims and the Indians. "In that precise year, a group of people called the Pilgrims of a colony known as the Plymouth Colony had arrived into a region which would later be one of the 50 states named Massachusetts, which was known as The New World back then. One of the English traditions for them was celebrating a fall harvest in that era and the Pilgrims had a lot to celebrate." "I see." said Twilight. "So what did they do?" asked Spike. Nathan then showed another slide that had a picture of the Mayflower and Pilgrims. "Well, during their journey to the new land, they came on a ship called the Mayflower. Now when they first embarked, there were 158 colonists of them on this ship, however through their journey, they were struck by disease and starvation, infecting almost half and killing half as well, the remaining 53 had arrived." "So obviously, these 'Pilgrims' wanted to celebrate being thankful that they made it, even though they lost half their group?" asked Gallus. "Yes, in fact, they were joined by a Indian tribe known as the Wampanoags, in which 90 of them were there to greet them with their leader named Massasoit." "One Indian whose name was......." that's when Nathan's giggle side got the best of him, because he always found this Indian's name laughable. Every time he heard this Indian's name, he laughed. "His name was....." he started giggling. "His name was what, why are you laughing?" asked Smolder. "Squanto!" Nathan said, and then it switched from giggling to solid laughter. "Squanto?" asked Zodiac, he then showed a smirk and started giggling as well. Suddenly, the whole class broke in laughter, they thought it was the funniest name they had heard in their lives. "I think it's a fine name." Ocellus thought since she was the only one not laughing. "Okay, okay." said Twilight, "We all know Squanto is a funny name, but let's back to this quick lesson." Nathan and the others stopped laughing, "Anyway, Squanto spoke very fluent English and had managed to become the pilgrim's interpreter for the language they spoke during his years as a slave." "Squanto was a slave?!" asked Zodiac in shock. "Yes, years before, he was captured by English explorers." "So, that's when they got together and celebrated their fall harvest which would be knows as the First Thanksgiving." The whole room applauded. "And that every creature is what we are going to experience when we go to Nathan's world." Twilight said, that's when they heard a knock on the door. It was Starlight. "Oh Guidance Counselor Starlight." said Nathan. "What's going on in here?" she asked. "Oh, Nathan here is giving a lesson on a holiday on his world known as Thanksgiving, in fact, he's got invitations to celebrate it." Nathan went into his backpack and gave one to Starlight. "Thank you Nathan." said Starlight, "I will come." Author's Note Sorry this chapter is short, but the next one will be as long, I'll try to make it like that. Preparing for the BanquetAuthor's Note "Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His steadfast love endureth forever." 1 Chronicles 16:34-35 Preparing for the Banquet The two weeks of preparing and waiting were finally at the end of the road for our main cast as they were all in the Crystal Empire with gracious expressions ready to venture to a world they had never experienced nor even seen before in their lives. Celestia and Luna were just as livid with joy to see Nathan's world because they had always wanted to see the ways of human nature, so were the young six along with Zodiac, Starlight was there too, but as usual before they departed, Nathan once again went over his rules that he usually went over whenever he took somepony to his world. But this time, because he had done it enough, Twilight decided to cover for him. "Alright listen up." Twilight said, "Before we depart, Nathan usually goes through some ground rules whenever he takes a pony or creature to his world. But I'll lay them down." "First, when we enter his world, you will find a lot of things that are not of this world such as transportation, so don't be surprised. Second, the weather there handles itself, therefore, we will abide by the conditions of the weather there." "Third, you all will become humans like him, so you will not only lose your fur, feathers, wings, and tails, but you will also think, walk, eat, and talk like humans." "Fourth you're names will be changed." that got all of them arguing in rapidly. "Why?" asked Gallus "That's stupid." replied Sandbar. "It would be ridiculous yet foolish to do something like that." said Luna. Twilight interrupted, "Nathan doesn't want you all made fun of if humans heard your real names, so we're doing it so you all don't get ridiculed, Nathan, hand them their names." That's when Nathan stood up to the plate and handed them papers containing their undercover human names. "Zodi, again you'll be Zack." "Smolder, you'll be Sarah." "Gallus, you'll be George." "Celestia, you'll be Catherine and Luna will be Laura." "Sandbar will be Samuel." "Silverstream will be Melissa." "Yona will be Jessica, and you will learn to talk regularly." "Ocellus you will be Tracy." "Starlight, you will be Kelly." "The rest of y'all will stick with your regular names ah' gave y'all the last time." "OK Nate, I believe we are ready for departure." said Celestia. Nathan went over to the Crystal Heart, touched it with two fingers, and the portal opened up. "OK, hang on every creature, this is going to be a fast take-off." he said as the portal sucked them all in. Meanwhile in the city of Dallas, Lucy and Amber were preparing the children's outfits for the annual Thanksgiving banquet because the church Nathan attended supported and owned the Lone Star Orphanage, plus the church helped rebuild the orphanage. It was now even bigger with more luxury for the children, a new kitchen with better chefs, and a new swimming pool, but since it was fall, that was closed. Anyway, as they were preparing the children's outfits, they looked out the window and saw the portal that Nathan comes through open up. They smiled and left the room to go outside to greet him, and just as they had thought, he had brought not only the ponies turned humans, but also every creature turned human. "Whoa." exclaimed Sandbar. "I have never been so amazed by anything in my life." replied Gallus as the young eight with the new ponies that hadn't been to this world were now surprised as what they were seeing. "WHAT IS THAT????????!!!!!!!!!" Silverstream asked excitedly as she tried to fly to a car parked on the street but couldn't, she and the others went over to a big window to see their reflections, just as Nathan said, they were humans!!!!!! "Nathan was right, we did turn into humans!" exclaimed Ocellus. "Yona uncomfortable with new body." replied Yona stumbling backwards in her new African-American body. "Hey where's Spike and Smolder?" asked Nathan. "We're down here Nate." said their voices, Nathan looked down to see that not only had Spike become a dog again, but Smolder was one too, except her breed represented that of a golden retriever and she was a bit bigger than Spike's puppy form. "Well Smolder, ah' guess you and Spike can just stick with your regular names after all." he said with a nervous laugh as Smolder stared at him disapprovingly. On the other hand, Zodiac was mesmerized at how his mother and aunt looked in their new bodies, they looked like their EQG versions, only their manes had been turned into regular hair both pulled back into ponytails and they wore floral dresses. "Sister, I cannot believe how different we are." said Luna as she and Celestia looked at their reflections in the window. "I must say, Nathan really did make a good prediction." said Celestia. "Wow mommy, you look beautiful." said Zodiac. Celestia was touched by this, "thanks sweetie." Soon the door opened and out came Lucy and Amber with greeting expressions. "Ms. Fanning, Ms. Brown!" Nathan said excitedly as he ran to them and hugged them. "Hi Nathan, I see you've managed to invite new friends here." said Lucy. "Yes, this is George, Samuel, Catherine, Laura, Melissa, Kelly, Jessica, and Tracy. Of course y'all remember mah' regular family." "Well it sure is a pleasure to meet you all, welcome to Dallas." said Amber. "Our pleasure." said Celestia (Catherine) as she picked up her son with her new hands, "I see you humans thrive really differently than we ponies do." Nathan was really impressed yet happy that the orphanage was revamped and remodeled. "Ah'm really happy that the orphanage is back in business in Ms. Brown." said Nathan. "We are too Nate." said Lucy, "Now why don't you all come on in and get ready, we've got plenty of dress clothes for all of you. "So glamorously excited." said Rarity. Zodiac tapped his mother, "Mom, do we have to dress nice for this?" "Yes dear." said Celestia, "This is a big thing for the humans, and I believe it would really make them happy if we do dress properly." "Not to mention this church place is very complex in how creatures come." said Luna as they walked inside to get prepared for the banquet. The BanquetI twas 2:30 in the afternoon and everyone was inside the newly remodeled orphanage picking out outfits to wear for this evening's banquet, it started at 4:00 and didn't end till 9:00 so they had nearly one hour to get ready. Lucy and Amber also required them to take showers and get cleaned up as well because this banquet required the congress members to be clean since they were also going to have a short worship there as well. As Spike and Smolder, in their dog forms, ate some food that Amber and Lucy made for them, the first one to get cleaned up and was ready was Gallus (George), he came out wearing khaki dress pants, brown dress socks, black dress shoes and a blue button up shirt which was covered by a diamond plaid sleeveless sweater. Plus, since he was a human temporarily, his new brown colored hair had been gelled and combed, and he smelled good. "How do I look?" he asked, Amber and Lucy were stunned. "I must say George, you look fabulous." said Lucy. The next two to come out were Celestia and Luna (Catherine and Laura), they still had on their floral dresses because they figured it would be best for them and they wore platform sandals. Third to come out was Yona, she wore a black lace dress and high heel shoes, her black hair pulled back with a single pink bow instead of two. "Me like new dress and walking new." said Yona, she was still having a bit of trouble talking like a human. Fourth was Sandbar who wore a typical shirt and tie and dress pants. Fifth was Silverstream wearing a turtleneck sweater and black pants. And last was Ocellus in a sparkling dress. Nathan on the other hand wore a pearl snap shirt, cut pants, cowboy boots, and a neck tie. While Cadance and Shining Armor wore a suit and tie and a blue dress, Skyla and Flurry Heart wore cute little polka dot blouses. "Well we can say you all look good." said Amber. "Thank you ma'am." "Well we'd better get going, the banquet starts in half an hour." said Lucy, and they all loaded up on the bus that contained children that were ready. As soon as they were all loaded onto the bus, Amber started up the engine and turned on the radio, Celestia and Luna were awestruck with love at seeing these beautiful children, yet saddened that they didn't have families. "So what's this church place we're going to?" asked Gallus. "You'll see." said Nathan as the van entered the highway. ...Later that night... The entire cast of ponies and creatures were in the fellowship hall of Nathan's church and were gathered at the tables containing tons of foods and drinks that congress and members had brought over from turkey to lemon pies to lemonade. As everyone gathered together, Nathan was greeted by Kyle and Luke. "GUYS!!!!" he screamed with glee and hugged them. "Nathan, we'd figure you would make it." said Luke. "Yeah, but where are your new friends that you brought over?" asked Kyle. "Their over there." said Nathan pointing at the table where his friends and family from Equestria sat. "Well what are we waiting for, let's go meet them." said Luke. "Come on y'all." said Nathan as he led them to the table, after they sat their food and drinks on the same table, they walked over to the group. "Mom, Dad, everyone else, ah'd like y'all to meet Kyle and Luke. Kyle, Luke, this is Ms. Cathy, Laura, George, Sammy, and Jessica. "Pleasure to meet you all." said Celestia. And everyone sat down and ate their dinner as the pastor came up to speak. "It sure is a pleasure to have our congress back." said Pastor Schwartz, "I believe it is time for some of us to come up and tell what they are most thankful for." he said, "Who would like to go first?" That's when Nathan raised his hand and a microphone was given to him. "Ah' think the one thing ah' am most thankful for is.....the magic of friendship. Because with friends at your side, nothing will ever stand against you, so ah' am most thankful for friendship." Everyone, including Cadance and Shining Armor were touched by this as the next group of people talked about what they were most thankful for. THE END. Author's Note Sorry, it was short, I wish I could make it longer, but with December being tomorrow, I will be focusing on a story with which Nathan reads How the Grinch Stole Christmas to Skyla and Flurry Heart for a bedtime story.
Part One of InvitationsIt was a good relief for Equestria since all the stolen magic was returned to its rightful owners and Luna and the royal guards putting Cozy Glow in Tartarus. But three months had gone by after all of that happened and Nathan was pretty much in a good mood now that he had heard that the real perpetrator was locked up. The citizens of Dallas and the children and nuns of the Lone Star Orphanage were also in relief because two-thirds of the city had been rebuilt including the church that Nathan attended and Sunday worship service had been put back in place. Luckily though, it was November and since the church had been rebuilt, they would go back to doing their annual Thanksgiving Worship Banquet. This banquet was a time in which the church members, congress, and almost the entire city would be invited to come and spend Thanksgiving with a fresh meal. Plus, they would have a moment to write down on a piece of paper what they were most thankful for, after that, they would have worship and Pastor Steve Schwartz would preach his daily evening message from the Bible. Anyway, it was nearing the ending of Sunday morning worship service as Nathan sat with Kyle and Luke in their pew listening for the upcoming announcements as the deacons had just finished up with the morning offering. As if right on cue, the main deacon came up with a paper in his hand that contained the announcements. "Now the only announcement we have for today is our annual Thanksgiving Banquet is coming up in two weeks, so grab as many invitations out in the hallway on the tables and invite as many people as you want. It is November 20th at 4 PM and ends at 9 PM in the chapel downstairs, bring any food you want." Nathan was really excited about this because he could let the student 6 experience a human holiday because ever since the accident on Hearth's Warming, they've always asked him about human holidays and now would be their chance. "Nathan, aren't you hyped up?!" asked Luke excited. "You bet, Ah'll get to invite the School of Friendship over here for it!" Nathan said. "Why?" asked Kyle. "Because they've been buggin' me to experience a human holiday, so ah' figure now is mah' chance to do it." said Nathan. "Alright." said Pastor Schwartz, "Now that we have our announcements done, will you all stand and we'll be dismissed in prayer." The entire congress stood up and bowed their heads and after their prayer, almost the entire congress went over to the tables getting as many invitations as possible, Nathan managed to get the amount needed since he knew how many to invite. "Well Nathan, we'll see you at the banquet." said Luke. "Right, bye y'all." said Nathan as he hugged his two best friends. He then put the invitations in his bag that contained his Bible and Sunday School books that contained lessons, then proceeded towards the crowd that was going out the doors to their cars and heading home. As he exited the church, he was surprised to find Lucy there waiting for him and take him back to the orphanage. "Hi Ms. Fanning." Nathan said hugging her, Lucy returned his hug. "Hi Nathan, you ready to head back to Equestria?" she asked. "Am ah' ever, ah've got a bunch of invitations to give out." Nathan answered. "Are you going to invite your friends at the School of Friendship, because I'm pretty sure they wouldn't mind experiencing a human holiday as you said they called it." remarked Lucy. Nathan shrugged, "Ah'm not sure, but one thing is certain, Smolder and the others are going to finally stop pesturin' me about it when ah' give them these invitations." he said as he hopped in the back of Lucy's GMC Yukon and buckled up. Lucy then started her car and left for the orphanage. Lucy had managed to make it to the orphanage without any problems whatsoever, parked her car, and turned off the engine as Nathan unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the backseat, grabbing his bag, and hopping out with Lucy. After he shut the door and Lucy locked it, she gave Nathan a goodbye hug. "I'll see you at the banquet in two weeks." she said. "Ah'll see ya there as well, bye Ms. Fanning." Nathan said as he pushed a device on his wrist that activated the portal, Lucy waved goodbye as Nathan stepped into the portal and got sucked in. As Nathan was journeying through the portal, as usual, he could feel his bat wings developing on him as he saw the the Crystal Heart which powered the portal from the Equestria side and he landed beside it glad to see the Crystal Empire in its usual look. He then touched the Crystal Heart with two fingers and deactivated the portal, then walked to the castle entrance. As Nathan opened the doors, he saw Shining Armor making dinner for the whole family. "Hi Dad." Nathan said entering the kitchen. "Hey Nathan, how was church?" he asked. "Oh, it was good, we've returned to our normal routine and we've got our big Thanksgiving banquet comin' up in two weeks." Nathan answered as he went into his bag to show Shining Armor the invitations. Shining Armor quickly got curious and levitated the invitations out of his hands and into his view. "Are these invitations to this banquet?" he asked. "Yes, and ah'm invitin' you and mom to come." Nathan answered. "Oh sport, of course I'll come, why don't you go upstairs and give your mother one." Shining Armor said as he put the invitation in a drawer. "Yes Dad, ah've gotta go change anyway." Nathan said as he exited the kitchen and went upstairs. As he got up the stairs and into the hallways, he could hear Flurry Heart giggling and Cadance doing something to her, but decided to go change first before helping with Flurry Heart. As Nathan went into his and Skyla's bedroom, he closed his door, only to see Skyla in a deep sleep because she was taking a nap and since she and him shared the room he decided to dress quickly so as not to wake her up. Putting on some fresh clean jeans and a shirt, he then left the room and quietly shut the door to let Skyla sleep. As he walked towards the room where Shining Armor and Cadance changed Flurry's diaper routinely, he heard Flurry Heart giggling along with Cadance. "Boy you sure are giggly today aren't you?" she said where Nathan could hear, he then entered the room. "Hi Mom." he said. "Hi Nathan." she said, that's when Flurry Heart saw her big brother and flew up in a fresh clean diaper. "Oh you wanna see your big brother, go on!" she said, and Flurry Heart quickly flew into Nathan's arms. "Hey Tiger." he said giving her a kiss on her head as Flurry hugged him. "So Nathan, what's the progress of Dallas?" Cadance asked. "Well nearly two-thirds of the city has been rebuilt, and since mah' church is part of it, we're celebrating the return of our annual Thanksgiving banquet in two weeks and you and Dad are invited." he said handing over another invitation to her. Cadance used her aura to read the invitation. "Oh Nathan, of course your father and I will come." "Well, while you and Dad are puttin' two and two together, ah'm going to fly over to Canterlot and hand some out to Grandma and Grandpa while there is still daylight left. "Sweetie, while you're there, how about seeing if Celestia, Luna, and Zodi would like to attend." Nathan giggled, 'Oh mom, ya' know ah' will." he then turned towards his little sister. "All right, Tiger, time to go back to Mom now." he said handing Flurry Heart back to Cadance. "Be sure to be back in time for dinner." said Cadance. "Yes mom." he said, heading out for the balcony, he then flapped his wings and shot for the air. He could now feel the wind blowing through his hair as he was now in the sky with clouds below him. Nathan was gliding through the sky when the mountain that Canterlot rested beside on came into full bird's eye view on him, quickly going into rapid descent, Nathan landed at the gate entrance. Even though, it was guarded top to bottom, Nathan knew he was the future captain of the royal guards, so he had easy access. Nathan walked through the streets of the royal city when he was approached by two familiar unicorns, Fancy Pants and Fleur De Lis who quickly greeted him with great appreciation. "Good afternoon Nathan." said Fleur De Lis as she hugged him. "What might bring you to Canterlot today?" asked Fancy Pants. "Oh ah'm just handin' out invitations to a banquet on mah' world." Nathan answered. "And what might this banquet be?" asked Fleur De Lis. "It's to celebrate a holiday we humans call Thanksgiving." "That sounds very delightful, but we're afraid we are unable to attend it." said Fleur De Lis, "Ta ta for now." she then hugged him again and she and Fancy Pants vanished into the streets of Canterlot. Nathan continued on himself as well towards the Canterlot Castle. As he neared the entrance doors, he was approached by two royal guards who bowed to him since he was going to be the next captain in line when Shining Armor died or retired. "Greetings young captain." said one guard. "What might we bring from you today?" asked the other. "At ease guards, ah'm just hear to see Princess Celestia and Luna, ah' wish to speak to them about somethin' important." "As you were." said one guard and the stepped aside to let Nathan pass and Nathan opened the doors and entered the humongous corridors that surrounded and connected the entire castle. A lot sure had changed in this place to him since the day he ran away from home due to being jealous of Skyla. Meanwhile in the far end of the castle, Celestia and Luna were with Zodiac in a huge playroom that contained a toy box with a decent amount of toys that he played with, a nice comfy couch bed that he used to take naps on if he got tired from playing or just tired period, and a balcony that had a decent view of the mountains and the river. Anyway, Zodiac was in here with them playing hide and seek and he was hiding underneath the couch bed as Celestia and Luna playfully searched for him. "Where oh where is he?" asked Luna. "When we find him, we're gonna gobble him up and give him a tummy attack." exclaimed Celestia, that's when they took notice of a hoof sticking out. They giggled and quickly dragged him out of his hiding spot as Zodiac laughed. "Gotcha!" said Luna as she lifted his wonderbolt outfit and blew a raspberry on his belly and Celestia tickled his right side making him laugh louder, as they played with him, they heard a knock on the door, causing them to put down Zodiac. "Who is it?" asked Celestia. "It's Nathan." said Nathan from the outside, Celestia then opened the door to actually reveal him with a warm smile. "NATHAN!!!!!!!!" Zodiac screamed happily. "ZODI!!!!!!" screamed Nathan and they both hugged. "So what brings you to Canterlot?" asked Luna. "Well mah' gathering is havin' big banquet goin' on in a couple of weeks." "I see." said Celestia with a smile. "And where will this banquet take place?" asked Luna. "At mah' church, it'll be on the 20th of this month from 4 PM to 9 PM and ah've got invitations for all of y'all." said Nathan as he handed three of them to Celestia, Luna, and Zodiac. As Celestia read the invitation, she thought for a minute. "I don't know." she said. "Come on mom, Nathan just wants you and Aunt Luna to spend a day in human life." said Zodiac. "I would have to agree with Zodi sister," said Luna, "we've been through a lot of bad predicaments lately, not to mention our magic failing, so I think it would be great to take a break and spend the day on Nathan's world." Celestia smiled, "You know Luna, you're right, Nathan we would love to attend this banquet, we will see you at the portal." Nathan smiled and hugged her, "Thanks Celestia, ah'll see ya' later." "Bye Nathan, see you at school tomorrow, hopefully Headmare Twilight would allow you to hand out more of those invitations." "Oh she won't mind, see you at school tomorrow as well." Nathan said as he hugged Zodiac a second time and then left. Zodiac was wanting to leave too, but as he was about to set hoof out the door, it suddenly closed shut on him. "Wha..." he exclaimed, then he turned to see his mother and aunt with mischievous yet playful evil smiles on their faces. "And where do you think you're going?" asked Celestia. "We're not done with you yet." said Luna as they both walked up to Zodiac and cornered him, Zodiac laughed nervously and realized he was trapped. "Come here, timberwolf." said Celestia, as she picked him up with her aura and she and Luna went back to tickling him and blowing raspberries on his belly. "....Later that Night.... Nathan had finished his dinner about two hours ago and had finished taking a bath and had his teeth brushed. Now he was in his pajamas and sorting through school work that had to be turned in tomorrow, and stacking and sorting the remaining number of invitations that he would give to the student six and mane six, as soon as he got it ready and put in his backpack, Cadance came in the room. "All right Nathan, bedtime." she said. "Yes mommy." Nathan said and he climbed into bed as Cadance tucked him in and kissed him goodnight. "Nathan, are you going to hand out more of those invitations at school tomorrow?" Cadance asked. "Yes mom, good night." said Nathan as he rested his head on his pillow and fell asleep, Skyla falling asleep in her tiny bed as well. "Good night dear." she said, turning out the lights and closing the door.
Part Two of Invitations"....Nathan...." "....Nathan...." Nathan could feel his dream ending as he felt a hoof shaking him. "Unngghh." He groaned as he pulled the covers over him, only to have them removed and showing his pajamas. "Come on Nathan, you don't want to be late for school." said the voice, he opened his eyes and yawned while at the same time stretching his arms and legs. Once his eyes were cleared of blurring from sleeping, the view of Cadance came into his view. "Morning cowboy, did you sleep well?" Cadance asked. "Sure did Mom." Nathan said with a smile and a groggy voice due to just waking up. "Well, go on and get ready, your father is cooking breakfast right now." said Cadance as she left the room to let Nathan get ready. After she closed the door, Nathan went over to his closet and pulled out a long sleeve striped shirt, black cut jeans, cowboy boots, denim vest, and clean underwear. Then he went into the bathroom and took a morning shower. After he rinsed himself off and got out and dried, he then went back into his room and put on his clothes that he pulled out. Once he was dressed, he then went downstairs to the smell of breakfast waiting for him in the kitchen at the table, Skyla and Flurry Heart were already in their high chairs being fed by Cadance as Shining Armor put down a bowl of buttered grits and eggs on the table for Nathan to eat. Nathan sat down and said a small prayer before digging into his grits. "So Nathan, are you going to hand out more of those invitations to the students?" asked Shining Armor. "Mom asked the exact same question last night." Nathan said. "So obviously, it's a yes." answered Shining Armor. "Ah've got plenty of 'em Dad, so don't worry, everything's A-OK." said Nathan. "Well hurry up and finish your breakfast, you have to leave soon." said Cadance. And Nathan went back to eating his grits, after finished his breakfast, he looked at the clock to reveal that it was 6:30 which meant it was time for him to go, so he went over to the door and got on his backpack then he gave his parents goodbye hugs and kisses. "Have a good day at school sweetie." said Cadance. "Bye y'all." Nathan said as he headed out the door and closed it behind him, once the sky came into view, he flapped his wings and took off into the clouds, as he was flying through the sky, he stopped midway through to check and see if all his papers and invitations were in and ready, which in luck, they were. He sighed in relief as he slipped his backpack back on him and continued flying to Ponyville. As Ponyville entered the view from the sky, Nathan couldn't have felt more greater that everything had been returned to normal for his aunt, the professors, and all the friends he made there, especially Zodiac, who was already at the school with the young six. Once the school was in full view, he descended to the ground and landed while folding his wings behind his back. As he opened the doors and entered, he went back into his backpack to pull out his iPod touch, he turned it on and put his earbuds in so he could listen to some country music while walking to the library that he and the gang would meet. Once he got to the massive library, he opened the door, sat down on a chair, went into his backpack again and read over the loyalty report that Professor Dash said was due today, he then started humming along to the song that was playing on is iPod. Meanwhile, the young six, along with Zodiac who was riding on Silverstream's back were walking away from their quarters and into the library as well. "So Zodi, you're basically saying that Nathan's world has been halfway completed?" asked Gallus. "Yes, as a matter of fact, the trains there are back in business, so all the people there can get to work as well." "Yak seem impressed by humans." admired Yona. "This is so good!" exclaimed Silverstream, accidentally jumping. "WHOA!!!!!!" screamed Zodiac as he landed on Silverstream's back again. "Sorry Zodi, I forgot you were on my back." said Silverstream who then gave a nervous laugh. "Silverstream need to be careful when handing pony." replied Yona. As soon as they got to the library section, they opened the door to find their eighth member reading over his assignment, but turned off his music. "Hey Nate!" Smolder said, Nathan quickly recognized the voice and turned to see his friends with greeting smiles waiting for him to come and join them. "Hey, y'all." Nathan said as he got up out of his seat and walked over to them while giving Smolder a big hug because ever since she heard how tough and strong Nathan was, she admired that and quickly developed a brother-sister like bond with him, as was Zodiac to Silverstream, even though Zodiac's crush was Ocellus. And as usual, Smolder picked up Nathan and held him in her arms, "So what's new kid?" "Well ah've got a little surprise for all of y'all, and it's in mah' bag." Nathan said, so the young eight then ventured over to the table that he was sitting at earlier and Smolder put him down temporarily. "What's the big surprise?" asked Ocellus. "Well remember back on Hearth's Warming when we were cleanin' up all that goop from that prank?" "Yeah." answered Sandbar. "Well do y'all also remember when we were chattin' about all of our holiday traditions and y'all turned to me about wantin' to know about human holidays?" "Is this what your big surprise is?" asked Gallus. "Yes Gallus." Nathan answered, "Ah've got some invitations in mah' bag here to a special kind of human holiday for y'all." He then went into his backpack and pulled out some more invitations and passed them to them all except Zodiac since Nathan gave him one the previous day. Nathan smiled as they carefully read the invitations. "In order of the celebration of Greenwood Baptist's renovations plus total recovery from the massive storm....." said Ocellus. "We invite all of Dallas to the return of our church's annual Thanksgiving Banquet on Saturday November 20th from 4PM to 9PM in the church fellowship hall." said Sandbar. "Greenwood Baptist?" ask Ocellus puzzled. "Uhhh weird, I never would've thought that there would be a city that would rhyme with my name." said Gallus, that's when Nathan put a hand around him and gave a rather sly look. "Ah' can totally see it now, Gallus........in Dallas!" "You know Nate, that is rather catchy." replied Gallus. "Yeah, but what's Thanksgiving?" asked Smolder. "It's a holiday in which humans gather together to celebrate what they're most thankful for, plus they get to enjoy a good feast." said an all too familiar voice, the young eight turned to see their headmare Twilight Sparkle and the others in the library with smiles and they walked inside to join them. "Good morning Headmare Twilight." they all said, except Nathan, who still addressed her as his aunt. "Hmm, I see you've got some invitations to something." Twilight said to her nephew. "Yes ah' do." said Nathan, "And here's more for you and y'all." he then handed out seven more to the main 6 and Spike. Twilight and the others smiled at Nathan. "Oh darling, we would be delighted to go." said Rarity. "Thanks Professor Rarity." said Nathan. "All of us?" asked Rainbow Dash. "All of us." said Twilight. "This will be good." replied Smolder, "But Headmare Twilight, how do you know about this holiday?" "Because I have been to his world, and I've experienced it first hoof myself." answered Twilight. "Well, we still have no idea why humans celebrate thankfulness." said Silverstream. "Perhaps Nathan could be of assistance on that." informed Zodiac. Suddenly, a light bulb flickered on in Nathan's head, triggering an idea. He then tapped his aunt to get her attention. "Yes Nate?" asked Twilight. "Aunt Twilight, would it be alright if ah' taught a history lesson to everypony and creature today, a non-friendship lesson?" "Well if you know the history of this holiday, you are more than welcome to teach it." answered Twilight. "Yes!" exclaimed Nathan, that's when the bell rang. "All right every creature time for classes!" shouted Twilight, then everyone went to their classes, but their first lesson was not one on friendship. Author's Note Find out about the history of Thanksgiving in the next chapter.
Non-Friendship Lesson on ThanksgivingTwilight was managing to teach a class today, but today would not be a lesson on friendship. Instead, she decided to let her nephew teach a history lesson on Thanksgiving and why the humans celebrated it. Anyways, ponies and the young seven sat in their desks with notebooks and pencils or quill pens as Nathan stood beside a projection screen. "All right class, are we ready to begin our first non-friendship lesson?" asked Twilight, her response was murmurs and nodding of heads. "Okay, Nathan it's all yours." "Thanks Aunt Twi." said Nathan with a smile. "Now as many of y'all may have heard, ah've been givin' invitations to celebrate a holiday on mah' world known as Thanksgiving, but many of y'all may ask, 'what is this Thanksgiving that our dear Nathan speaks of?" "Well, Thanksgiving is a holiday in which humans gather around in groups to celebrate what they are most thankful for and we do it in the form of feasting." "Thanksgiving like Snilldar, humans destroy feast like yaks?" asked Yona. "Actually Yona, we do in a way, we destroy it by eating it." Nathan said, every creature laughed, that's when Smolder raised her hand. "So how long have humans been doing this holiday?" she asked. "Well for that, we are goin' to have to travel all the way back to the year 1621, 155 years before mah' country of America was even discovered." and Nathan turned on a projector which showed a picture of the Pilgrims and the Indians. "In that precise year, a group of people called the Pilgrims of a colony known as the Plymouth Colony had arrived into a region which would later be one of the 50 states named Massachusetts, which was known as The New World back then. One of the English traditions for them was celebrating a fall harvest in that era and the Pilgrims had a lot to celebrate." "I see." said Twilight. "So what did they do?" asked Spike. Nathan then showed another slide that had a picture of the Mayflower and Pilgrims. "Well, during their journey to the new land, they came on a ship called the Mayflower. Now when they first embarked, there were 158 colonists of them on this ship, however through their journey, they were struck by disease and starvation, infecting almost half and killing half as well, the remaining 53 had arrived." "So obviously, these 'Pilgrims' wanted to celebrate being thankful that they made it, even though they lost half their group?" asked Gallus. "Yes, in fact, they were joined by a Indian tribe known as the Wampanoags, in which 90 of them were there to greet them with their leader named Massasoit." "One Indian whose name was......." that's when Nathan's giggle side got the best of him, because he always found this Indian's name laughable. Every time he heard this Indian's name, he laughed. "His name was....." he started giggling. "His name was what, why are you laughing?" asked Smolder. "Squanto!" Nathan said, and then it switched from giggling to solid laughter. "Squanto?" asked Zodiac, he then showed a smirk and started giggling as well. Suddenly, the whole class broke in laughter, they thought it was the funniest name they had heard in their lives. "I think it's a fine name." Ocellus thought since she was the only one not laughing. "Okay, okay." said Twilight, "We all know Squanto is a funny name, but let's back to this quick lesson." Nathan and the others stopped laughing, "Anyway, Squanto spoke very fluent English and had managed to become the pilgrim's interpreter for the language they spoke during his years as a slave." "Squanto was a slave?!" asked Zodiac in shock. "Yes, years before, he was captured by English explorers." "So, that's when they got together and celebrated their fall harvest which would be knows as the First Thanksgiving." The whole room applauded. "And that every creature is what we are going to experience when we go to Nathan's world." Twilight said, that's when they heard a knock on the door. It was Starlight. "Oh Guidance Counselor Starlight." said Nathan. "What's going on in here?" she asked. "Oh, Nathan here is giving a lesson on a holiday on his world known as Thanksgiving, in fact, he's got invitations to celebrate it." Nathan went into his backpack and gave one to Starlight. "Thank you Nathan." said Starlight, "I will come." Author's Note Sorry this chapter is short, but the next one will be as long, I'll try to make it like that.
Preparing for the BanquetAuthor's Note "Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His steadfast love endureth forever." 1 Chronicles 16:34-35 Preparing for the Banquet The two weeks of preparing and waiting were finally at the end of the road for our main cast as they were all in the Crystal Empire with gracious expressions ready to venture to a world they had never experienced nor even seen before in their lives. Celestia and Luna were just as livid with joy to see Nathan's world because they had always wanted to see the ways of human nature, so were the young six along with Zodiac, Starlight was there too, but as usual before they departed, Nathan once again went over his rules that he usually went over whenever he took somepony to his world. But this time, because he had done it enough, Twilight decided to cover for him. "Alright listen up." Twilight said, "Before we depart, Nathan usually goes through some ground rules whenever he takes a pony or creature to his world. But I'll lay them down." "First, when we enter his world, you will find a lot of things that are not of this world such as transportation, so don't be surprised. Second, the weather there handles itself, therefore, we will abide by the conditions of the weather there." "Third, you all will become humans like him, so you will not only lose your fur, feathers, wings, and tails, but you will also think, walk, eat, and talk like humans." "Fourth you're names will be changed." that got all of them arguing in rapidly. "Why?" asked Gallus "That's stupid." replied Sandbar. "It would be ridiculous yet foolish to do something like that." said Luna. Twilight interrupted, "Nathan doesn't want you all made fun of if humans heard your real names, so we're doing it so you all don't get ridiculed, Nathan, hand them their names." That's when Nathan stood up to the plate and handed them papers containing their undercover human names. "Zodi, again you'll be Zack." "Smolder, you'll be Sarah." "Gallus, you'll be George." "Celestia, you'll be Catherine and Luna will be Laura." "Sandbar will be Samuel." "Silverstream will be Melissa." "Yona will be Jessica, and you will learn to talk regularly." "Ocellus you will be Tracy." "Starlight, you will be Kelly." "The rest of y'all will stick with your regular names ah' gave y'all the last time." "OK Nate, I believe we are ready for departure." said Celestia. Nathan went over to the Crystal Heart, touched it with two fingers, and the portal opened up. "OK, hang on every creature, this is going to be a fast take-off." he said as the portal sucked them all in. Meanwhile in the city of Dallas, Lucy and Amber were preparing the children's outfits for the annual Thanksgiving banquet because the church Nathan attended supported and owned the Lone Star Orphanage, plus the church helped rebuild the orphanage. It was now even bigger with more luxury for the children, a new kitchen with better chefs, and a new swimming pool, but since it was fall, that was closed. Anyway, as they were preparing the children's outfits, they looked out the window and saw the portal that Nathan comes through open up. They smiled and left the room to go outside to greet him, and just as they had thought, he had brought not only the ponies turned humans, but also every creature turned human. "Whoa." exclaimed Sandbar. "I have never been so amazed by anything in my life." replied Gallus as the young eight with the new ponies that hadn't been to this world were now surprised as what they were seeing. "WHAT IS THAT????????!!!!!!!!!" Silverstream asked excitedly as she tried to fly to a car parked on the street but couldn't, she and the others went over to a big window to see their reflections, just as Nathan said, they were humans!!!!!! "Nathan was right, we did turn into humans!" exclaimed Ocellus. "Yona uncomfortable with new body." replied Yona stumbling backwards in her new African-American body. "Hey where's Spike and Smolder?" asked Nathan. "We're down here Nate." said their voices, Nathan looked down to see that not only had Spike become a dog again, but Smolder was one too, except her breed represented that of a golden retriever and she was a bit bigger than Spike's puppy form. "Well Smolder, ah' guess you and Spike can just stick with your regular names after all." he said with a nervous laugh as Smolder stared at him disapprovingly. On the other hand, Zodiac was mesmerized at how his mother and aunt looked in their new bodies, they looked like their EQG versions, only their manes had been turned into regular hair both pulled back into ponytails and they wore floral dresses. "Sister, I cannot believe how different we are." said Luna as she and Celestia looked at their reflections in the window. "I must say, Nathan really did make a good prediction." said Celestia. "Wow mommy, you look beautiful." said Zodiac. Celestia was touched by this, "thanks sweetie." Soon the door opened and out came Lucy and Amber with greeting expressions. "Ms. Fanning, Ms. Brown!" Nathan said excitedly as he ran to them and hugged them. "Hi Nathan, I see you've managed to invite new friends here." said Lucy. "Yes, this is George, Samuel, Catherine, Laura, Melissa, Kelly, Jessica, and Tracy. Of course y'all remember mah' regular family." "Well it sure is a pleasure to meet you all, welcome to Dallas." said Amber. "Our pleasure." said Celestia (Catherine) as she picked up her son with her new hands, "I see you humans thrive really differently than we ponies do." Nathan was really impressed yet happy that the orphanage was revamped and remodeled. "Ah'm really happy that the orphanage is back in business in Ms. Brown." said Nathan. "We are too Nate." said Lucy, "Now why don't you all come on in and get ready, we've got plenty of dress clothes for all of you. "So glamorously excited." said Rarity. Zodiac tapped his mother, "Mom, do we have to dress nice for this?" "Yes dear." said Celestia, "This is a big thing for the humans, and I believe it would really make them happy if we do dress properly." "Not to mention this church place is very complex in how creatures come." said Luna as they walked inside to get prepared for the banquet.
The BanquetI twas 2:30 in the afternoon and everyone was inside the newly remodeled orphanage picking out outfits to wear for this evening's banquet, it started at 4:00 and didn't end till 9:00 so they had nearly one hour to get ready. Lucy and Amber also required them to take showers and get cleaned up as well because this banquet required the congress members to be clean since they were also going to have a short worship there as well. As Spike and Smolder, in their dog forms, ate some food that Amber and Lucy made for them, the first one to get cleaned up and was ready was Gallus (George), he came out wearing khaki dress pants, brown dress socks, black dress shoes and a blue button up shirt which was covered by a diamond plaid sleeveless sweater. Plus, since he was a human temporarily, his new brown colored hair had been gelled and combed, and he smelled good. "How do I look?" he asked, Amber and Lucy were stunned. "I must say George, you look fabulous." said Lucy. The next two to come out were Celestia and Luna (Catherine and Laura), they still had on their floral dresses because they figured it would be best for them and they wore platform sandals. Third to come out was Yona, she wore a black lace dress and high heel shoes, her black hair pulled back with a single pink bow instead of two. "Me like new dress and walking new." said Yona, she was still having a bit of trouble talking like a human. Fourth was Sandbar who wore a typical shirt and tie and dress pants. Fifth was Silverstream wearing a turtleneck sweater and black pants. And last was Ocellus in a sparkling dress. Nathan on the other hand wore a pearl snap shirt, cut pants, cowboy boots, and a neck tie. While Cadance and Shining Armor wore a suit and tie and a blue dress, Skyla and Flurry Heart wore cute little polka dot blouses. "Well we can say you all look good." said Amber. "Thank you ma'am." "Well we'd better get going, the banquet starts in half an hour." said Lucy, and they all loaded up on the bus that contained children that were ready. As soon as they were all loaded onto the bus, Amber started up the engine and turned on the radio, Celestia and Luna were awestruck with love at seeing these beautiful children, yet saddened that they didn't have families. "So what's this church place we're going to?" asked Gallus. "You'll see." said Nathan as the van entered the highway. ...Later that night... The entire cast of ponies and creatures were in the fellowship hall of Nathan's church and were gathered at the tables containing tons of foods and drinks that congress and members had brought over from turkey to lemon pies to lemonade. As everyone gathered together, Nathan was greeted by Kyle and Luke. "GUYS!!!!" he screamed with glee and hugged them. "Nathan, we'd figure you would make it." said Luke. "Yeah, but where are your new friends that you brought over?" asked Kyle. "Their over there." said Nathan pointing at the table where his friends and family from Equestria sat. "Well what are we waiting for, let's go meet them." said Luke. "Come on y'all." said Nathan as he led them to the table, after they sat their food and drinks on the same table, they walked over to the group. "Mom, Dad, everyone else, ah'd like y'all to meet Kyle and Luke. Kyle, Luke, this is Ms. Cathy, Laura, George, Sammy, and Jessica. "Pleasure to meet you all." said Celestia. And everyone sat down and ate their dinner as the pastor came up to speak. "It sure is a pleasure to have our congress back." said Pastor Schwartz, "I believe it is time for some of us to come up and tell what they are most thankful for." he said, "Who would like to go first?" That's when Nathan raised his hand and a microphone was given to him. "Ah' think the one thing ah' am most thankful for is.....the magic of friendship. Because with friends at your side, nothing will ever stand against you, so ah' am most thankful for friendship." Everyone, including Cadance and Shining Armor were touched by this as the next group of people talked about what they were most thankful for. THE END. Author's Note Sorry, it was short, I wish I could make it longer, but with December being tomorrow, I will be focusing on a story with which Nathan reads How the Grinch Stole Christmas to Skyla and Flurry Heart for a bedtime story.
