Author's Note

Thank you for the support, seeing even one person interested in my story gives me the motivation to keep going. I know the story is a bit rough but I know it will get better.

Thank you and rock on!

A Royal Decree

Josh looked in awe as he watched the world fly by, it was a beautiful sight as he saw ponies going about their day-to-day lives. He had never seen such greenery as they approached the castle which he soon realized was in a sprawling city, he saw many armor clad ponies standing guard around the city. He noticed many of the ponies pointing up in awe at the chariot as it flew overhead, soon they came to a landing in a courtyard. Guards stood at attention around a red carpet, Josh looked at them wondering if they we're a bit uneasy seeing him next to what he is assuming to be the two most important and powerful beings in Equestria. However they kept a straight face, no one batting an eye. They made their way into and around the castle, soon arriving at a large set of doors. They opened revealing a meeting room with one large table with two thrones at the far-end, marked with a Sun and Moon. The princesses sat down and Josh and Twilight followed suite.

"I have to thank you for being so cooperative." Celestia said using her magic to close the door "It really makes this a lot easier"

"About that, what is this about?" Josh asked, he had some ideas like an interrogation, a trial but he honestly couldn't 100% know for sure considering he had no idea about the laws of this world.

"I guess you could call this an interrogation, but think of it more as an interview." Celestia said, her voice calming the young human. "This is really just to try and understand more about you, you could probably tell that we don't get a lot of beings like you around here, a human right?"

"Yeah a human, anyway if all you want is to know more about me then go ahead." Josh said, he really didn't feel the need to hide anything about himself or humanity.

"Alright, let's talk about your species first. Are you the dominant species in your world?" Celestia asked.

"Yes." Josh simply replied.

"Twilight, if you don't mind can you take no-" Celestia was interrupted by her fateful student.

"Notes! Got it!" Twilight said already writing things down, "You won't miss a thing!"

"Thank you Twilight, now Josh is your species one of peace or of war?" Celestia asked, Josh could tell the shift in her tone.

"Well we used to be a lot more aggressive, however that was long before our modern civilization. Most of us are peaceful and we haven't had a major war in a LONG time." Josh said, he was technically lying as 75 years wasn't that long in terms of human history but it was long ago. luckily this seemed to be satisfactory for the princess and he could tell she was revealed.

"Good, now what is your species diet? are you herbivorous, carnivorous or omnivores?" Celestia raised an eyebrow.

"Omnivores" Josh said bluntly.

"So you eat meat?" Luna asked.

"Yes but not large amounts, and if it makes you feel better we don't eat ponies." Josh said with a light chuckle trying to lighten the mood. I didn't work that well.

"Moving on, does your species use magic?" asked Celestia.

"Some people claim to but nothing like I have seen around here, so I'm saying no." Josh responded.

"I think that's enough about your species for now, let's start talking about you." Celestia said, "So Josh, where do you come from?"

"Planet Earth, if you want me to be specific, Canada." Josh simply responded.

"So you said your race is peaceful, are you an exception?" Celestia asked.

"Nah I'm chill, I mostly avoided fighting unless it's necessary to protect myself or the people I care for." Josh said.

The Questioning continued for what felt like hours until Celestia and Luna felt confident that Josh was not a threat, "Well from what we can tell, you are not a threat to anypony." Celestia said smiling at the boy "but if you don't mind I wish to know more about you." Josh looked confused at the princess, he wondered where this was going. Celestia looked at Twilight and spoke. "I think I have a new assignment for you Twilight, I would like you to "Study" Josh in Ponyville so we may learn more about humans."

"Wait "study" me?" Josh asked concerned.

"Don't worry, I don't mean dissect you or anything, just stay with her at the Golden Oak library and go about daily life." Celestia said reassuringly. "Unless you have any objections Twilight?"

"No problems, I'm sure it will be fine." Twilight said, looking at Celestia and Luna before turning towards Josh, "And I'm sure he can help me around the library." She said with a smile.

"Well then I guess we are done here." Celestia took out a note, "Show this to the guards outside and they will escort you to a chariot and back to Ponyville."

And with that, Josh bid farewell to the Royal sisters before him and Twilight left for Ponyville.

The sun was setting as they landed outside Golden Oaks, Thanking the Pegasus that flew them their Twilight lead Josh inside the library. Spike was already asleep so Twilight decided not to wake him, "Follow me, I'll show you to your room" Twilight said, Josh followed her upstairs and into an empty room with only a dresser with a mirror and luckily a large enough bed for him to sleep on.

"It's not much but I hope you like it!" Twilight said cheerfully.

"It's perfect, thank you Twilight." Josh said walking towards and flopping onto the bed, "I'm going to sleep early tonight."

"Well then Goodnight, oh and before I forget I was thinking I could take you to see my friend Rarity about fixing and making you some new clothes, Sound good?" Twilight asked getting a thumbs up from the now curled up in blankets Josh. "I'll take that as a yes." Twilight turned off the lights and closed the door behind her.

Josh rolled in the bed upon hearing someone knocking on the wooden door, "Come in!" He said, sitting up he saw the door open and the dragon, Spike was standing in the doorway. "Morning." Josh said with a yawn, now standing he walked towards the door.

"Morning Joshua, Twilight told me to come get you for breakfast." Spike said before grabbing Josh's hand, "Follow me!" Spike said tugging Joshua and leading him downstairs and a small kitchen area, Josh could see Twilight reading an old looking book with a similar stack of books next to her.

"Morning Twilight" Josh said, sitting down just in-front of her. Twilight snapped out of her trance and quickly waved hello to Josh before going back to reading. "Busy morning?" Josh asked as he settled in.

"Sorry I've just been looking for any kind-of spell, device or artifact that could explain how you got here," Twilight said brushing over the many notes from yesterday's "Interrogation" of the human. "You said you found, and I quote "Glowing Rock" and after touching it you got teleported here?"

"Yeah that's really it, if I knew anything else I would tell you." Josh said before Spike brought over the plates of food.

"Breakfast is served!" Spike said as he sat down to join them.

Josh and Twilight both thanked Spike before beginning to eat, there was some lettuce, scrambled eggs, and surprisingly to Josh, something that looked like bacon. "Wow Spike, you made this yourself?" Josh said munching down eagerly.

"Yep, I'm glad you like it." Spike said proudly.

"Oh Twilight," Josh said as he finished his food, "You still planning on taking me to see your friend Rarity?" He asked as he stood up to put away his plate.

"Yep, I was planning on doing it after lunch but If you want, I'm sure we can go now." Twilight said, closing her book and levitating her plate to the sink.

"Well we might as well get it out of the way, not that I have any other plans." Josh said stretching.

Josh walked out into the living room, slumping onto the small couch. suddenly a book was levitated towards him with a small note on it reading, "I forgot I had to do something real quick, so I thought you could give this book on the general history of Equestria a look.- Twilight Sparkle." Josh opened the book and scanned the chapters, he decided he would start on what looked interesting. That's when he noticed a chapter called "The banishment of Nightmare Moon".

"Wonder what this could be about?" Josh thought as he flipped to the page and began reading. It was about 15 minutes before Twilight showed up with her saddle bag.

"Alright let's go!" Twilight walked towards the door as Josh got up and followed her.

It was another nice day out, Josh saw many ponies playing, talking and the mood all around was very pleasant. Josh looked up towards the sun and smiled, "You know, I honestly thought that things would be a lot worse for me when I woke up in that field." Josh turned to look at Twilight as she turned to him.

"What do you mean?" She asked curiously.

"I don't know, I guess when I first saw you and Applejack I was first thinking it was a dream. But at the same time part of me already knew it was real, and I guess my first thoughts would be that I would be treated like a monster." Josh sighed as they continued walking, "But you, Applejack, the CMC, the royal princesses, you all have been so nice." Josh looked down at his feet as he walked. Just then he felt a hoof pat him on the back.

"Hey, what's got you down? Homesick?" Twilight asked, she could tell something was on the boys mind.

"Yeah I guess so, but I'm sure with your help I can get back in no time flat" Josh said his mood lighting up, "And hey, maybe I cou-"

Just then he and Twilight heard running from behind them, turning around they saw Pinkie run and stop in-front of them, she had a cake on her back and looked beyond happy.

"Ha! I found you!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed pointing a hoof at Josh, "I couldn't find you yesterday so I ended up eating that cake but I got a new one for you!" Pinkie turned to her side gesturing for Josh to take a slice.

Josh looked at the cake, It was chocolate with "Welcome to Ponyville!" In pink frosting, taking a slice he took a bite. His mouth immediately exploded with flavor and he munched down 2 more slices with Pinkie being extremely happy her new friend enjoyed it so much.

"I knew you would like it! You seem like someone who liked sweets" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, it was only a four slice cake so she decided to gobble down the last piece.

"Thank you Pinkie, Rainbow was right you got some great baking skills." Josh said smiling at Pinkie.

"You didn't tell me you met Pinkie and Rainbow." Twilight added on.

"Oh yeah, it was just before I showed up at Golden Oaks yesterday." Josh said as Pinkie hopped away, "Anyway, let's hurry to Carousel Boutique."

After much more walking, they arrived at Carousel Boutique and once more Josh had to marvel at the scale and size of it. It was big and not to mention beautifully designed, Twilight knocked on the door as Josh snapped back to reality.

"Rarity is very generous so I'm sure she'll help us out." Twilight said as they heard what Josh would describe as a "classy" voice yell out.

"Just a minute!" As they heard someone walking inside, then after about a minute a white pony with a purple mane answered the door.

"Ah Twilight darling! Whatever can I do for you?" Rarity said, not yet noticing the human.

"Hey Rarity I was wondering if you could lend me and my friend Josh a hand" Twilight said as he pointed at Josh.

"Hi, my name is Josh." Josh offered a hand in friendship but Rarity looked at Josh mortified.

Uh oh, He completely forgot about the fact that he was a human in a world of ponies and even though most people seemed fine with it, he forgot that some ponies might not take so kindly to his look. Josh readied for a scream but instead he was pulled inside with Twilight quickly followed.

"Oh my goodness darling! Your clothes are absolutely wrecked, and not to mention filthy!" Rarity said as she scanned Josh.

Josh hadn't thought about it but his once clean and plain white shirt was now a darker color, it had dirt marks and small holes forming and his dark blue jeans had a large hole around his right kneecap, not to mention the fact he hadn't had a shower since the morning before he ended up in Equestria so his hair was messed up and he hadn't had the chance to shave so he looked far from fresh.

"Don't tell me your here because your poor friend needs a complete makeover!" Rarity said walking towards Twilight.

"I mean I was just wondering if you could fix his clothes and make him a few extra pares" Twilight said.

"Well today is your lucky day because I am feeling quite generous and I insist on making your good friend Josh shine like a star! You won't even recognize him!" Rarity said as she picked up some measuring equipment and began taking measurements of Josh.

Josh felt unconformable at the sudden contact but was too nervous and couldn't move, luckily she didn't take long and soon put away her measuring tools.

"Lucky for you, I can easily replicate your clothing designs and then expand on them! I'll just need to look over them for a while." Rarity said as he magic grabbed Josh's Shirt and Pants.

"HOLD ON A SECOND!" Josh yelled as he sort of fanned away the magic, "I don't know if you noticed but I don't have another set of stuff to where so this stay on!" Josh said firmly.

"Well why don't you take a shower and I can look over them while you clean up, I am quite fast when it comes to these things" Rarity gloated.

"Alright, hold on a minute." Josh said, "Why are you helping me? You just met me!" Josh asked Rarity.

"Why because you need it darling." Rarity simply said, "And it seems Twilight is a friend of yours, so consider me one as well!"

"But that....I don't understand?" Josh struggled to find words to describe the confusion he was feeling, this was an absolute first for him. Why would someone he just met invite him into their home and then make them things, but the idea of a shower was intriguing. So Josh sighed and reluctantly agreed with a "fine, where is the bathroom?" as Rarity floated him a towel and grabbed his hand with her magic leading him towards the bathroom.

"I'm sure you know how to work a shower, so I'll leave you to it." Rarity said turning around, just slide your stuff under the door."

"What about my.....undergarments?" Josh said blushing, he still didn't feel comfortable taking a shower in someone else's house.

"Don't worry i'm going to wash everything, just enjoy yourself while I work." Rarity said closing the door behind her.

After sliding Rarity his clothing he hopped into the shower then enjoying the feeling of the hot water running across him. Rarity would have plenty of time to work as Josh was indeed going to enjoy this.

It had to be about an hour and a half before Josh heard a knock on the bathroom door, "Yes?" Josh asked peeking his head out of the curtain.

"It's me darling, I've washed and patched up your clothes and have all I need to make replacements." Rarity said, Josh could hear the cheeriness in her voice. Josh can tell she was proud of herself.

"Great, thank you just leave it outside!" Josh yelled back.

"Leave it on the floor? Ha!" Rarity scoffed at the notion, she just cleaned his stuff and she was not going to let it get dirty again. Not saying her floor was dirty but still.

"Just stay behind the curtains you won't even notice!" Rarity said opening the door.

Josh immediately felt a wave of embarrassment as he ducked behind the curtain and turned away until he heard Rarity leave. Once he calmed himself he stepped out and got dressed, he couldn't believe how new they felt. Hell they even fit better then they used too.

Making his way downstairs he saw Twilight had left and it was just him and Rarity who now noticed him. Putting down the various fabrics and paper she had been looking at she walked over to Josh. "Hello Darling!" She said, "Twilight had to leave but she thought that we could get to know each-other while I help you freshen up!" Rarity looked at Josh, his hair was now less messy and his clothes looked a lot nicer. "You seem to clean up very well! Now let's do something about that horribly dry skin!" Rarity said as she once more used her magic to pull Josh's hand in the direction she wanted him to go, leading him towards a couch.

"This is really not necessary" Josh said trying to hide is slight annoyance he felt, not from Rarity but from her bringing up his looks. Something that most teens and Josh especially cared about, even though he never really showed it.

Rarity floated a bottle of something over and opened it up, "This is an expensive all natural moisturizing cream I bought from Canterlot." Rarity got some on her hooves, "Now just hold still darling."

Rarity began applying it on Josh's face, he began blushing as Rarity leaned closer towards him. He felt embarrassment with her being this close, completely ignoring personal boundaries but at the same time Josh didn't want to be rude and say no. Plus she already started and he decided to let her finish.

"Is something wrong darling? Your checks are growing." Rarity said slyly, "I hope I'm not making you uncomfortable."

"Nope everything's fine!" Josh quickly said.

Rarity finished and took out a pillow putting it on the armrest, "Now you will need to let that settle in so why don't you relax while I work on your new clothing!"

"Hold on," Josh said, "I have to ask you something."

"What is it?" Rarity questioned.

"You don't know a thing about me, all you know is I am friends with Twilight." Josh began to question, "So why are you doing all this for me? Is Twilight paying you?"

"I thought you might ask, but I'm being honest when I say I just want to help someone." Rarity said, "While you got cleaned up, Twilight explained the situation. I couldn't imagine being taken away from your home with nothing but the clothes on your back." Rarity finished. She turned away and walked towards a closet, "So I just knew I couldn't just stop at fixing your clothes, I want you to feel welcomed." Rarity began searching for something, "So consider me a friend, and friends help each other."

"Friends? But you just met me!" Josh raised his voice, "It makes no sense, it's....." Josh was stumbling to find words, "I don't understand...." His tone shifted to confusion and sadness, "How can you be so nice?"

"Darling are you okay?" Rarity asked as she walked towards him.

Josh let out a heavy sigh, "I'm sorry Rarity, It's just that...." Josh paused, "I never thought someone could be this nice, especially towards me." Just then he felt a hoof grab his hand, causing him to look at Rarity directly in the eyes.

"Well you're in Equestria and even if the place you came from didn't, we help those who need it." Rarity said in a reassuring voice. "Now why don't you lay down while the cream settles, I even got you a blanket in case you decide to Nap." Rarity floated a Blanket Towards Josh.

Josh laid down on the couch and got himself relaxed, "Thanks Rarity." He said as he closed his eyes, he began to fall asleep as he heard Rarity working away behind him. He still felt conflicted about what had happened but the best he could do was to accept it, but the thought that maybe they weren't so genuine made him nervous. This haunted him as he finally slept.