Human Roadtripby MyAwesomePonyChaptersThe Perfect FestivalSomething Seems A Bit OffFadedThe Perfect FestivalIt was one beautiful day in the town of Ponyville, and everypony was just having a splendid time as they went about their business. Lukas, the only human in Equestria, was taking a walk in the friendly town with a backpack. "ROAD TRIP!" Shouted Pinkie, startling Lukas "Okay, not technically a road trip, because we're taking that." She pointed towards the hot air balloon in the distance. "Holy.... Pinkie, warn me next time before you do that." Lukas exclaimed, obviously not pleased by that scare "Sorry, Lukas. I'm just excited." Pinkie explained. Before Lukas could say anything else, Rainbow Dash flew past them quickly, causing both of them to spin rapidly. After Lukas finally maintained the ground again, he felt a little queasy. "Beat ya to the balloon!" Rainbow boasted to the two. "Nope!, I'm gonna beat you" Pinkie said as they both raced off. "I'm gonna beat both of you." Lukas cried, chasing after them. Lukas struggled to catch up to them since they had a bigger head start. Pinkie continued to hum whilst running next to Rainbow Dash, but as Lukas was about to catch up to them, they all saw something in the distance, they say Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity already in the balloon. "Howdy." Applejack said innocently. Rainbow and Pinkie tripped over each other and ended up being rolled around together as Lukas follows behind and beats them as they both skidded towards them. Rainbow, acting cool, flew off Pinkie. "Okay, I was fifth." Rainbow admitted. "Yeah, well, I was sixth." Pinkie hummed and Rainbow looked dumbfounded. "That's not even-" Rainbow protested, but couldn't find the right words as Pinkie celebrated. "But I beat you." "Guys, give it a rest." Lukas panted out, entering the balloon. "Yeah." Applejack agreed. "We gotta shove off soon, or we'll miss the tailwind." She opened up the balloon door and Pinkie hopped in. "Don't worry." Said Fluttershy. "We wouldn't have left without you." "Well that goes without saying, darling." Rarity pointed out." After all, Rainbow Dash is the guest of honor at the Rainbow Festivial." Rarity pointed towards Rainbow and she flew around the balloon for a bit and then struck a pose. Meanwhile, Lukas was leaning over the balloon, panting. "Ya'll alright, sugarcube?" Applejack asked. "Yeah, It's just hard catching up to you guys." Lukas said, still panting. "Has anypony seen Twilight? It's not like her to be late for an adventure." Fluttershy questioned the whereabouts of the bookworm, but then heard a voice in the distance. "I'm coming, I'm coming." Twilight called out. Papers flew out of her saddlebag as Spike followed behind her holding up a bag of papers. "Sorry." Twilight said, running up to the balloon. "I just had to pack up a few books and papers to grade." "And by "few", she means "slightly less than I'm able to lift!" Spike grunted, dropping the bag. "Wait, you're bringing work to a festival?" Rainbow inquired the unicorn. "Come on Twilight, try to have some fun." Lukas advised, slowly regaining his breath. "Yeah, it's supposed to be a nonstop fun-o-rama party!" Pinkie cried as she hugged Fluttershy. Everypony agreed with Pinkie as Twilight started to mark some of the papers. She looks up. "Grading papers is fun." Twilight said. "It's relaxing and rewarding and-" Before she could continue, Applejack interrupted her. "Too much to talk about right now" Applejack said as she pulled a string, and the balloon flame sparked up. Spike strained as he carried the bag full of papers onto the balloon and dropped it, he sighed heavily, thankful that all the weight was gone. Twilight jumps in. "Keep an eye on things for me, and feel free to file those class assignments while I'm gone." Twilight instructed Spike. "It's my top priority." Spike said as he untied the balloon. "Have fun everybody." He called out as everyone waved goodbye, but just as they were about 10 inches above the ground, the balloon completely stops. Everyone was confused. "Uh... What happened to the balloon?" Asked Lukas. "Yeah." Agreed Fluttershy." Why aren't we moving." "Hmm, the bag's to heavy." Applejack thought. "Rarity." Rainbow asked, thinking she was responsible. "How dare you! I brought the itsy-est valise!" Rarity presented her bag "It's defiantly Twilight's bag." Lukas pointed out. "Sorry to do this Twilight, but." Applejack didn't continue. Instead, she grabbed Twilight's bag with her teeth and flung it off the balloon. "My papers!" Twilight cried as the bag plops on Spike, he gives a weak thumbs up. "They'll keep 'til we get back." Applejack said. "Applejack is right, Twilight." Lukas agreed as Twilight sadly groans. As the balloon flew further away, they all said their goodbyes to Spike. "Miss us." Rainbow said. "Bye bye." Pinkie cheerfully grinned. "See you later, Spike." Lukas waves. "Keep an eye on things." Twilight repeated. "See ya! And remember, whatever happens at the Rainbow Festival, I wanna hear all about it when you get back!" Spike said as they continue to say their goodbyes. The balloon drifted peacefully through the sky. A bird landed on Fluttershy's hoof and then there were a whole lot of birds on Twilight. As they flew away, Twilight and Fluttershy giggled. As the balloon continue to drift slowly across the lake, Rainbow Dash was amazed by the view. Lukas was reading a book and Rarity was doing her hooves. "Did somepony mention something about a spa in... where is it we're going again?" Rarity asked and Rainbow answered. "Hope Hollow, or as I like to call it." She says as she flies out of the balloon. "Rainbow Dash Fan Central." "You're gonna be like this the whole trip, ain't ya?" Applejack sighed. "Uh, she's Rainbow Dash. What did you expect?" Lukas asked. "Lukas is right. I mean, look at this letter. They love me there." Rainbow sighed as Twilight read out the letter. "Dear Rainbow Dash, thank you for agreeing to be our guest at this year's famous Hope Hollow Rainbow Festival." Twilight read out. "The many members of your fan club..." Before Twilight could continue, Rainbow dash cleared her throat, indicating that she has a fanclub. Applejack sighed and Lukas rolled his eyes and Twilight continued reading. "are looking forward to your visit. You and your friends will be staying at our famous luxury Rainbow Resort and Spa, where your every whim will be catered to." "Oh well, I accept that challenge. I have so many whims." Rarity said as she flickered her eyes. "Oh look." Fluttershy pointed out. "There's a famous butterfly garden, too." "And show off your true art skills at the art contest. That seems perfect for me." Lukas said. "Hmm. Y'know, it's strange that we never heard of this festival before." Twilight said, noticing something fishy about this whole deal. "Especially since everything in the town is so well-known." "Yeah." Lukas agreed. "And the fact that we traveled all around Equestria to try to find the Hippogriffs." "Lukas does has a point." Applejack admitted as Rainbow dash read the letter. "At this year's festival, you can eat treats at the traditional Rainbow Bakery Booth, sing your favorite rainbow-themed songs at the karaoke competition." As she said that, Pinkie looked quite interested in the offer. "Bakery and karaoke?! It's like they see into my soul!" Pinkie sighed as Lukas pointed out something else. "and try our famous rainbow trout catch-and-release activity." Huh. Now that sounds right up my river." Applejack admitted. "Uh... guys. Doesn't this seem convenient to you?" Lukas asked the colorful group. "What do you mean?" Fluttershy wondered as he explained. "Well, everything there is a specific thing that each of us like, doesn't that sound a little bit fishy." "Now that I think about it. That is an excellent point." Twilight agreed. "Nonsense." Rainbow said as she put a hoof over Lukas' shoulders. "You worry too much, Lukas. I'm sure it's fine." "Well, if you say so." Lukas said. "Plus, we get to watch the mayor give Rainbow Dash an award!" Pinkie announced as she brought out her party cannon. "I call dibs on the cheering section!" Pinkie squeals and blasted the party cannon. Everyone was covered in confetti. "Pinkie, did you really have to bring your party cannon?" Lukas asked, deadpanned as Pinkie nodded before Lukas realized something. "Wait a minute, how is the balloon holding up the-" Before he could continue, he stopped himself. "Never question Pinkie Pie. "An award for what, exactly?" Rarity questioned the Pegasus. "I dunno. Showing up? General coolness? All of the above?" Rainbow laughed. "Well, we're so glad you brought us along." Twilight said. "Yeah, I've been looking for a new adventure." Lukas exclaimed. "It's gonna be one long party, which starts... now!" Pinkie gathered everyone together and started to sing A hundred bottles of pop on the wall A hundred bottles of pop The others joined in. Take one down, pass it around Ninety-nine bottles of pop on the wall Ninety-nine bottles of pop on the wall Ninety-nine bottles of pop. At night time, Pinkie was continuing the song but everyone else looked tired. Two bottles of pop on the wall Two bottles of pop Take it down, pass it around One bottle of pop on the wall "And a one more time!" Pinkie cried and started from the beginning. A hundred bottles of pop on the wall Before she could sing anymore. Rainbow covered her mouth with her hoof, signaling her to stop. "Six times too many?" Pinkie asked innocently, getting the message as Rainbow sighed. "Shouldn't we be there by now?" She wondered. "I told you we should've turned left at that last tree." Lukas called out. "Ooh, it's getting darker by the minute." Fluttershy whimpered as Lukas patted her on the back. "There there, Fluttershy. It's gonna be okay." Lukas assured her. "Oh dear. I sure hope so." Fluttershy whispered. "I can't see anything!" Rarity cried as Applejack took her sleeping mask off. Rarity looked embarrassed. "I spy with my little eye, a rainbow." Pinkie said. "Great, we're playing that game now?" She asked, thinking that she was referring to her. "No, No, I really do spy a rainbow!" Pinkie pointed out. As Pinkie said, there was indeed a rainbow. Everyone gasped. "I've never seen a rainbow at night before. It looks so majestic." Lukas marveled at. "And we're headed right for it!" Rarity cried. "Don't worry, we'll pas right through it. Rainbows aren't solid." Rainbow explained, but to their surprise, it actually was solid as they bashed into it. "Tell that to the rainbow." Applejack worriedly exclaimed. "I don't think that's a rainbow. It's a rainbow billboard!" Twilight cried. "And it's gonna drop on us!" Lukas called out. "Oh no!" Fluttershy quietly said. "Hang on everybody." She instructed as everyone ducked, except Applejack as the rainbow struck the balloon. Everyone was screaming in terror. Pinkie was blowing on the balloon flame frantically. "I don't think that's working!" Rarity cried. "We're gonna crash!" Applejack called out. Everyone screamed once again as they plummeted towards their death. To Be Continued..... Something Seems A Bit OffThe mane 6 and Lukas continued to scream as their death was going to be their reality in a few seconds if they don't do something. Twilight cried out: "Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, let's get everybody out!" The flyers all flew quickly to save their friends. Rainbow grabbed Applejack and Rarity, Fluttershy got Pinkie and Twilight got Lukas as everyone was out of the balloon safely as the balloon continue to fall, thankfully, with nobody on it, and with a blast of Twilight's horn, everyone was safely on the ground as they all sighed with relief, knowing that they were safe. The balloon came crashing down to the ground as everyone evacuated the area. When the dust cleared away, it revealed the wreck of the balloon. Everyone was shocked that if they hadn't have done anything, they would've been screwed. "Thanks ya'll." Applejack said gratefully. "That basket could've been us." "Yeah." Agreed Lukas. "I guess we all owe you one." "Where... are we?" Fluttershy asked with slight worry in her tone as Pinkie read a nearby sign. "Uh-huh! Welcome to Hope Hollow: Home of the Famous..." She was interrupted by more rubble falling down and she continued. "Rainbow festival." "Convenient." Lukas added. "We've arrived, and there's nopony here to greet us?" She said as she grabbed her bag from a nearby branch. "Good thing, too." Twilight said with relief. "The guest of honor and her friends just destroyed the town sign." "Hey Rainbow Dash?" Lukas asked the Pegasus resting in the hanging balloon . "Did the letter say where our hotel is?" Rainbow Dash got the letter and flew down to read it aloud. "The middle of town." "Not very helpful if you ask me." Lukas exclaimed. "Yeah." Twilight agreed with the human. "Especially when you don't know where the middle is." Twilight got out her saddlebag. "Let's start looking." Everyone got ready as they all walked up the unknown path. Finally, they came to a really interesting and creepy sight, in front of their eyes was an abandoned village by the looks of it. It looked like nobody had been there in a really long time. The more deeper they got into the menacing town, they more they got nervous. "Huh. Funny." Applejack said. "You'd think a big luxury resort would be sorta, well... easier to spot." "Yeah! It seems like the whole town's shut down." Pinkie cried out, hanging around the fountain. "I'm getting some chills from this place." Lukas admitted as Fluttershy comforts him as she patted him. Then she notices something in the distance. "Oh, look. There's somepony." She announced as everyone looked in the direction she was pointing at. Just coming out of a room, was an oddly grey mare as the group runs up to her. "Hmmm. Hello!" Twilight greets. The pony turns around an gasps, not expecting guests. "We're here for the Rainbow Festival" Lukas exclaimed as she looked confused. "Oh, uh, "Rainbow Festival"?" She said in a confused Minnesota accent. "Yeah, you know, the one where I'm the guest of honor?" Rainbow says as she laughs. "Yeah, what she said." Lukas agreed. "Oh, for cryin' in the mud, what's Sunny done now?" The mare says. "Who?" Lukas asked. "I mean, um, you'd best talk to Mayor Skies about that." She explained. "Great." Twilight said with hope. "And where would we find him?" "City hall, Uh, but it's closed 'til tomorrow, don'tcha know? Is there somethin' I can help ya with?" "Uh, yes, please." Rarity said. "Could you direct us to the Hope Hollow Luxury Resort?" The mare ended up laughing by that statement. Everyone had a confused look plastered over their faces, there was an awkward silence. The mare suddenly stops and realizes everyone's dumbfounded expression. "Oh! Oh, you mean the hotel?" She asked as everyone nodded their heads in agreement. "That's easy. There's only one in town." "Only.... one in town?" Lukas asked. "Could you, uh, give us directions?" Applejack suggested. "No need. You're there." The dull mare says as she unlocks the huge doors behind her and swung them open. "I mean there." She correct herself as they all entered in a dimly lit hotel of some kind as the lights flickered on. "Hotel Hope, also known as the Town Information Center and Library! My name's Petunia Petals, by the way. Helloooo!" "Well, hello Petunia. My name is Lu-" "I'm the librarian here." Petunia informs the group, interrupting Lukas. "And the information guide, and the hotel manager, historian, chef, portrait painter-" Before she continued to list her applications, Rainbow interfered her. "Um, I'm Rainbow Dash, and this is everypony." She gestured to everyone who said "Hi." "We have names, you know? and also, I'm not a pony" Lukas said to the rainbow Pegasus. "Then, what are you?" Petunia asked, pointing to Lukas. "This is Lukas." Pinkie exclaimed, bringing Lukas in a hug. "He is the only human ever in Equestria." "Pinkie, not so tight!" Lukas said while being squeezed in a big bear hug as Pinkie let go. "Interesting. Anyways, You just wait one hoofshake, and I'll take ya to the room." Petunia explained. Everyone looked confused. "The room." Rarity said perplexed. "There's only one. Makes it easier to find!" Petunia chuckled as she got the key to the room. She walks up the steps to the room, and everyone followed, having second thoughts about this. They arrive to the room. "Here we are, the royal suite." She says as she swings the door open to reveal a really scuffed up room with broken lights and unstable beds as everyone gasps at the sight before their very eyes. "How rustic and charming." Rarity gasped dramatically. "Isn't it just?" Petunia asked the confused group. "I couldn't help noticing there are only four beds." Rainbow pointed out as one of the beds broke in half. "Okay, five." She corrected herself. "Oh, there's a pop-out, too!" Petunia says as he walks up a nearby wall and gives it a few bucks. "It can be a little tricky." She gave it one final buck and finally, the double bed landed on the hard wooden floor with a thud as everyone coughed from the dust. "There she is. Sleeps two. You'll be all fresh and ready to see the mayor in the mornin'." Petunia walks out of the room. "Sleep tight." She slams the door as the picture on the door smashed on the floor. "Did anypony notice anything strange about Petunia?" Twilight asked. "Quite a few things." Lukas replied. "Other than that she just called this place "the Royal Suite"?" Rarity stated. "Hard to tell in this light, but she looked a little gray, didn't she?" Applejack asked. "Probably from all the dust up here." Rarity responded while blowing on a drawer and coughing from all the dust. "Seriously, how does she expect us to sleep in here?" Lukas asked with slight anger. "Aw, this room's not so bad." Pinkie cheerfully said, still in a good mood. "All it needs is some balloons." She pulled out a bunch of colored balloons is out of her saddlebag as they hit the ceiling. "Some streamers." She sang a happy tune as she decorated the poorly and dull room and to cap it off, she adds a pinata to the roof while Fluttershy already makes friends with a spider nearby. "And look. It comes with a cute little spider. Hello, spider." The spider makes a heart shape from its web and Fluttershy hugged the spider. Meanwhile, Rainbow looked a bit guilty, knowing that she was responsible for this whole ordeal. "Sorry everybody." She groans. "I didn't know what I was getting you into." "The most important thing is we're all together." Twilight cooed. "Twilight's right." Lukas agreed. "Yeah." Applejack also agreed with Twilight as she hoped on the double bed. "As long as we have beds to sleep in, we're set." On queue, the bed flipped back into the wall with Applejack still on it. To Be Continued.... FadedAuthor's Note From now on, the story will now be told from Lukas' point of view. Hope you enjoy. Faded There was something strange about Petunia, but I couldn't just put my finger on it. She was more than welcome to let us stay at the "royal suite" as she calls it. Well, I mean, it is a good thing that she offered a place for us to stay, but she seemed all too nice. But maybe that's just a crazy theory of mine. I slowly opened my eyes to see a certain cotton candy maned pony right in front of my face. My reaction was expected. "Gah!" I cried out. "uum.... hey Pinkie." I said, maintaining myself. "Wake up, sleepyhead." She cheerfully said. "Time to go." "Okay, Pinkie. Just don't ever do that again. EVER!" I got closer to Pinkie's face. "Okie dokie lokie." Pinkie said innocently as I groan. I ripped open the sheets and got my bag ready and walked over to the door to join the others. "Well... it wasn't the worst night of sleep ever." Twilight said as she yawned. "But definitely in the top three... or would that be the bottom three?" Rarity asked. "I think it would be the bottom three." I replied as we all walked through the village. But instead of a warm greeting, everyone looked at us with confused faces. "Why is everypony looking at us?" Asked Fluttershy. "Maybe they recognize Rainbow Dash." Applejack suggested. "Or Princess Twilight." Rainbow added. "But probably me." Rarity looked around, trying to think of a reasonable explanation of why the town looked so lifeless. "No. I think they're staring because we're the only part of this town that isn't... gray." She explained as Pinkie questioned her. "What do you mean." "Look around. All the colors here are gone!" Rarity motioned everyone to look around and as she described, all of the colors had indeed vanished from the village. "That's so strange." Twilight thought as she looked around. "It's just like I noticed about Petunia last night. Everything's mostly gray." Petunia Petals was working at some sort of flower stand and waves to us and we wave back. "Except the stuff that's grayer." Added Applejack. "This reminds me of when we went to Starlight's village." I said. "Oh, my." Fluttershy whispered. "I knew something was different, but-" Before she could continue Rainbow interrupted. "This is so weird," She stated as someone walked by, he looked back at let out a confused "huh" and walked away. "And the way they're gawking at us, it appears they think we're the odd ones." Rarity explained. "Maybe they don't even notice." Fluttershy suggested. "It might be a little rude to point out." I thought. "I wonder what caused this?" Twilight pondered while tapping her chin with her hoof. "We could ask the mayor." Applejack said. "Yeah." Rainbow agreed. "If we ever find him." She groaned as we all tried to look for the mayor. As if Petunia Petals wasn't strange enough, we were walking through a dimly colored village while the citizens looks at us strangely while we try to find the mayor of the faded town and have him try to get him to explain why the town was so colorless. If that doesn't sound unusual, I don't know what will. Maybe I'm right about my theory back on the balloon that this was all just a scam to get us to visit by telling us that the town was the place to be. Suddenly, some screeching sounds interrupted my thoughts, we all looked over and saw two young fillies screeching on the ground towards us and then came to a stop in front of us. Then, their eyes widen and their mouths hung open as they looked at Rainbow Dash, I couldn't tell what they were thinking, but after a while of staring at the rainbow maned pegasus, they backed away slowly and hid behind a wall, they then whispered to each other and went away from behind the wall. We then hear some upper class voices beside us, we look over and we see two high class ponies, one mare and one stallion, walking by, having an argument. "Don't pout, dear. It'll wrinkle your withers." The mare complained. "I'm not pouting, sweetums, but I am hurt by your comment." The stallion replied. "I thought the pie I baked was quite tasty." "I didn't say it wasn't." The mare protested "You didn't say it was." The stallion pointed out. They both bumped into an elder stallion. "Watch where you're goin'!" He grouched. "You don't own the sidewalk, ya know?!" He said as he walked away. They both complained about the elder's attitude, then they looked at us and gasped and ran away. We all exchanged confused looks and then continue to find the mayor. Then, I notice something in the distance. "Hey, there's some color." I said hopefully, finally thinking that there was some color. "I think that's just someone fixing our balloon, sugarcube." Applejack said. "Oh right." I said disappointed. We walked up to the scene and saw someone was indeed repairing our broken balloon while someone else was watching her. "Oh, goodness. This is unfortunate." The stallion in front of her said worriedly as he paced around. "Bad with a side of terribly awful." He then plowed through us, much to our anger. He sighed, not paying attention to us and then realized something. He let out a silent "whoa" under his breath, then he turned to us with a smile on her face. "Well, stuff me in an olive and call me a pimento! It's the Rainbow Dash! Ya made it!" He grabbed Rainbow's hoof and shook it vigorously, much like Applejack. "Uh, it is.. you, isn't it?" "Pretty sure, yeah." She assured him. "Yeah, I mean. Have you seen her mane?" I asked as I flickered her mane. She gave me a stern look. "Oh, thank Celestia!" He said thankfully. "I saw the balloon, thought the worst, and..." He paused for a second and then continued. "Well, you're here, all o' ya! Welcome to the Hope Hollow Annual Rainbow Festival!" "So there is a rainbow festival?" I said under my breath. "What was that?" He asked me. "Oh nothing." I said quickly but he looked suspicious and then circled around me, as if he was inspecting me. "Now that I'm really looking at you. I don't think I've ever seen you before." He stated. "Well this here is Lukas." Applejack explained while putting a hoof around my shoulder. "He is the only human to ever be in Equestria." "Oh really?" He asked me, invested. "Yes sir. She speaks the truth." I told him. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, and you must be..." Twilight trailed off, signalling him to tell his name as well. "Sunny Skies, the mayor o' this lovely town, and pleased as a poplar tree to meetcha!" Sunny exclaimed. "We're very sorry about your rainbow billboard, Mr. Mayor." Fluttershy apologized." It was dark and-" "Oh, don't give it a second thought." Sunny said, interrupting the timid pegasus. "That old thing needed repair anyway. I haven't used it since... uh..." She paused for a second but then decides to ignore his statement."Well, never mind. Uh, a-a-anyway." He stuttered. "Once your balloon's fixed up, Torque can take care of the billboard." "Torque?" I asked, obviously not recognizing that name. "Everybody meet Torque Wrench, our town handypony." She introduced us to a pony with a welding helmet on. "She offered to repair your balloon for ya." Torque Wrench then took off the welding helmet. "He volunteered me." She said as she put the helmet back on. "She'll have it fixed in a jiffy." Mayor informed us before she took the helmet off again. "If, by "jiffy", ya mean "this will take all day". "Sooo ya got in last night. I wish I'd known. I would've been here to greetcha. Uh, where'd y'all stay?" Sunny Skies asked us and Rarity replied. "At the Luxury Hotel." "Yeah, you know. The only hotel in town." I pointed out before Applejack covered my mouth with her hoof. "Petunia Petals let us in." She said while I pushed her hoof away from my mouth. "Oh, well, of course she did. She's somethin', I'll tell you what. I'd be lost without her." Sunny cheeks suddenly turned bright red, as if he had said something that he shouldn't have. "I mean, uh, th-the town would be." He said quickly. There was a long silence, then Twilight spoke up. "Mayor, I hope you don't mind my asking, but is there a reason your town is... faded?" "Oh! Heh. Ya spotted that, did ya?" He asked us. "Yeah, it's kind of not hard to spot." I pointed out as the mayor continued. "Well, it's a... long story. Uh, why don't I show you the town highlights first?" He suggested and walked off. We all shrugged and followed Sunny Skies. To Be Continued...
The Perfect FestivalIt was one beautiful day in the town of Ponyville, and everypony was just having a splendid time as they went about their business. Lukas, the only human in Equestria, was taking a walk in the friendly town with a backpack. "ROAD TRIP!" Shouted Pinkie, startling Lukas "Okay, not technically a road trip, because we're taking that." She pointed towards the hot air balloon in the distance. "Holy.... Pinkie, warn me next time before you do that." Lukas exclaimed, obviously not pleased by that scare "Sorry, Lukas. I'm just excited." Pinkie explained. Before Lukas could say anything else, Rainbow Dash flew past them quickly, causing both of them to spin rapidly. After Lukas finally maintained the ground again, he felt a little queasy. "Beat ya to the balloon!" Rainbow boasted to the two. "Nope!, I'm gonna beat you" Pinkie said as they both raced off. "I'm gonna beat both of you." Lukas cried, chasing after them. Lukas struggled to catch up to them since they had a bigger head start. Pinkie continued to hum whilst running next to Rainbow Dash, but as Lukas was about to catch up to them, they all saw something in the distance, they say Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity already in the balloon. "Howdy." Applejack said innocently. Rainbow and Pinkie tripped over each other and ended up being rolled around together as Lukas follows behind and beats them as they both skidded towards them. Rainbow, acting cool, flew off Pinkie. "Okay, I was fifth." Rainbow admitted. "Yeah, well, I was sixth." Pinkie hummed and Rainbow looked dumbfounded. "That's not even-" Rainbow protested, but couldn't find the right words as Pinkie celebrated. "But I beat you." "Guys, give it a rest." Lukas panted out, entering the balloon. "Yeah." Applejack agreed. "We gotta shove off soon, or we'll miss the tailwind." She opened up the balloon door and Pinkie hopped in. "Don't worry." Said Fluttershy. "We wouldn't have left without you." "Well that goes without saying, darling." Rarity pointed out." After all, Rainbow Dash is the guest of honor at the Rainbow Festivial." Rarity pointed towards Rainbow and she flew around the balloon for a bit and then struck a pose. Meanwhile, Lukas was leaning over the balloon, panting. "Ya'll alright, sugarcube?" Applejack asked. "Yeah, It's just hard catching up to you guys." Lukas said, still panting. "Has anypony seen Twilight? It's not like her to be late for an adventure." Fluttershy questioned the whereabouts of the bookworm, but then heard a voice in the distance. "I'm coming, I'm coming." Twilight called out. Papers flew out of her saddlebag as Spike followed behind her holding up a bag of papers. "Sorry." Twilight said, running up to the balloon. "I just had to pack up a few books and papers to grade." "And by "few", she means "slightly less than I'm able to lift!" Spike grunted, dropping the bag. "Wait, you're bringing work to a festival?" Rainbow inquired the unicorn. "Come on Twilight, try to have some fun." Lukas advised, slowly regaining his breath. "Yeah, it's supposed to be a nonstop fun-o-rama party!" Pinkie cried as she hugged Fluttershy. Everypony agreed with Pinkie as Twilight started to mark some of the papers. She looks up. "Grading papers is fun." Twilight said. "It's relaxing and rewarding and-" Before she could continue, Applejack interrupted her. "Too much to talk about right now" Applejack said as she pulled a string, and the balloon flame sparked up. Spike strained as he carried the bag full of papers onto the balloon and dropped it, he sighed heavily, thankful that all the weight was gone. Twilight jumps in. "Keep an eye on things for me, and feel free to file those class assignments while I'm gone." Twilight instructed Spike. "It's my top priority." Spike said as he untied the balloon. "Have fun everybody." He called out as everyone waved goodbye, but just as they were about 10 inches above the ground, the balloon completely stops. Everyone was confused. "Uh... What happened to the balloon?" Asked Lukas. "Yeah." Agreed Fluttershy." Why aren't we moving." "Hmm, the bag's to heavy." Applejack thought. "Rarity." Rainbow asked, thinking she was responsible. "How dare you! I brought the itsy-est valise!" Rarity presented her bag "It's defiantly Twilight's bag." Lukas pointed out. "Sorry to do this Twilight, but." Applejack didn't continue. Instead, she grabbed Twilight's bag with her teeth and flung it off the balloon. "My papers!" Twilight cried as the bag plops on Spike, he gives a weak thumbs up. "They'll keep 'til we get back." Applejack said. "Applejack is right, Twilight." Lukas agreed as Twilight sadly groans. As the balloon flew further away, they all said their goodbyes to Spike. "Miss us." Rainbow said. "Bye bye." Pinkie cheerfully grinned. "See you later, Spike." Lukas waves. "Keep an eye on things." Twilight repeated. "See ya! And remember, whatever happens at the Rainbow Festival, I wanna hear all about it when you get back!" Spike said as they continue to say their goodbyes. The balloon drifted peacefully through the sky. A bird landed on Fluttershy's hoof and then there were a whole lot of birds on Twilight. As they flew away, Twilight and Fluttershy giggled. As the balloon continue to drift slowly across the lake, Rainbow Dash was amazed by the view. Lukas was reading a book and Rarity was doing her hooves. "Did somepony mention something about a spa in... where is it we're going again?" Rarity asked and Rainbow answered. "Hope Hollow, or as I like to call it." She says as she flies out of the balloon. "Rainbow Dash Fan Central." "You're gonna be like this the whole trip, ain't ya?" Applejack sighed. "Uh, she's Rainbow Dash. What did you expect?" Lukas asked. "Lukas is right. I mean, look at this letter. They love me there." Rainbow sighed as Twilight read out the letter. "Dear Rainbow Dash, thank you for agreeing to be our guest at this year's famous Hope Hollow Rainbow Festival." Twilight read out. "The many members of your fan club..." Before Twilight could continue, Rainbow dash cleared her throat, indicating that she has a fanclub. Applejack sighed and Lukas rolled his eyes and Twilight continued reading. "are looking forward to your visit. You and your friends will be staying at our famous luxury Rainbow Resort and Spa, where your every whim will be catered to." "Oh well, I accept that challenge. I have so many whims." Rarity said as she flickered her eyes. "Oh look." Fluttershy pointed out. "There's a famous butterfly garden, too." "And show off your true art skills at the art contest. That seems perfect for me." Lukas said. "Hmm. Y'know, it's strange that we never heard of this festival before." Twilight said, noticing something fishy about this whole deal. "Especially since everything in the town is so well-known." "Yeah." Lukas agreed. "And the fact that we traveled all around Equestria to try to find the Hippogriffs." "Lukas does has a point." Applejack admitted as Rainbow dash read the letter. "At this year's festival, you can eat treats at the traditional Rainbow Bakery Booth, sing your favorite rainbow-themed songs at the karaoke competition." As she said that, Pinkie looked quite interested in the offer. "Bakery and karaoke?! It's like they see into my soul!" Pinkie sighed as Lukas pointed out something else. "and try our famous rainbow trout catch-and-release activity." Huh. Now that sounds right up my river." Applejack admitted. "Uh... guys. Doesn't this seem convenient to you?" Lukas asked the colorful group. "What do you mean?" Fluttershy wondered as he explained. "Well, everything there is a specific thing that each of us like, doesn't that sound a little bit fishy." "Now that I think about it. That is an excellent point." Twilight agreed. "Nonsense." Rainbow said as she put a hoof over Lukas' shoulders. "You worry too much, Lukas. I'm sure it's fine." "Well, if you say so." Lukas said. "Plus, we get to watch the mayor give Rainbow Dash an award!" Pinkie announced as she brought out her party cannon. "I call dibs on the cheering section!" Pinkie squeals and blasted the party cannon. Everyone was covered in confetti. "Pinkie, did you really have to bring your party cannon?" Lukas asked, deadpanned as Pinkie nodded before Lukas realized something. "Wait a minute, how is the balloon holding up the-" Before he could continue, he stopped himself. "Never question Pinkie Pie. "An award for what, exactly?" Rarity questioned the Pegasus. "I dunno. Showing up? General coolness? All of the above?" Rainbow laughed. "Well, we're so glad you brought us along." Twilight said. "Yeah, I've been looking for a new adventure." Lukas exclaimed. "It's gonna be one long party, which starts... now!" Pinkie gathered everyone together and started to sing A hundred bottles of pop on the wall A hundred bottles of pop The others joined in. Take one down, pass it around Ninety-nine bottles of pop on the wall Ninety-nine bottles of pop on the wall Ninety-nine bottles of pop. At night time, Pinkie was continuing the song but everyone else looked tired. Two bottles of pop on the wall Two bottles of pop Take it down, pass it around One bottle of pop on the wall "And a one more time!" Pinkie cried and started from the beginning. A hundred bottles of pop on the wall Before she could sing anymore. Rainbow covered her mouth with her hoof, signaling her to stop. "Six times too many?" Pinkie asked innocently, getting the message as Rainbow sighed. "Shouldn't we be there by now?" She wondered. "I told you we should've turned left at that last tree." Lukas called out. "Ooh, it's getting darker by the minute." Fluttershy whimpered as Lukas patted her on the back. "There there, Fluttershy. It's gonna be okay." Lukas assured her. "Oh dear. I sure hope so." Fluttershy whispered. "I can't see anything!" Rarity cried as Applejack took her sleeping mask off. Rarity looked embarrassed. "I spy with my little eye, a rainbow." Pinkie said. "Great, we're playing that game now?" She asked, thinking that she was referring to her. "No, No, I really do spy a rainbow!" Pinkie pointed out. As Pinkie said, there was indeed a rainbow. Everyone gasped. "I've never seen a rainbow at night before. It looks so majestic." Lukas marveled at. "And we're headed right for it!" Rarity cried. "Don't worry, we'll pas right through it. Rainbows aren't solid." Rainbow explained, but to their surprise, it actually was solid as they bashed into it. "Tell that to the rainbow." Applejack worriedly exclaimed. "I don't think that's a rainbow. It's a rainbow billboard!" Twilight cried. "And it's gonna drop on us!" Lukas called out. "Oh no!" Fluttershy quietly said. "Hang on everybody." She instructed as everyone ducked, except Applejack as the rainbow struck the balloon. Everyone was screaming in terror. Pinkie was blowing on the balloon flame frantically. "I don't think that's working!" Rarity cried. "We're gonna crash!" Applejack called out. Everyone screamed once again as they plummeted towards their death. To Be Continued.....
Something Seems A Bit OffThe mane 6 and Lukas continued to scream as their death was going to be their reality in a few seconds if they don't do something. Twilight cried out: "Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, let's get everybody out!" The flyers all flew quickly to save their friends. Rainbow grabbed Applejack and Rarity, Fluttershy got Pinkie and Twilight got Lukas as everyone was out of the balloon safely as the balloon continue to fall, thankfully, with nobody on it, and with a blast of Twilight's horn, everyone was safely on the ground as they all sighed with relief, knowing that they were safe. The balloon came crashing down to the ground as everyone evacuated the area. When the dust cleared away, it revealed the wreck of the balloon. Everyone was shocked that if they hadn't have done anything, they would've been screwed. "Thanks ya'll." Applejack said gratefully. "That basket could've been us." "Yeah." Agreed Lukas. "I guess we all owe you one." "Where... are we?" Fluttershy asked with slight worry in her tone as Pinkie read a nearby sign. "Uh-huh! Welcome to Hope Hollow: Home of the Famous..." She was interrupted by more rubble falling down and she continued. "Rainbow festival." "Convenient." Lukas added. "We've arrived, and there's nopony here to greet us?" She said as she grabbed her bag from a nearby branch. "Good thing, too." Twilight said with relief. "The guest of honor and her friends just destroyed the town sign." "Hey Rainbow Dash?" Lukas asked the Pegasus resting in the hanging balloon . "Did the letter say where our hotel is?" Rainbow Dash got the letter and flew down to read it aloud. "The middle of town." "Not very helpful if you ask me." Lukas exclaimed. "Yeah." Twilight agreed with the human. "Especially when you don't know where the middle is." Twilight got out her saddlebag. "Let's start looking." Everyone got ready as they all walked up the unknown path. Finally, they came to a really interesting and creepy sight, in front of their eyes was an abandoned village by the looks of it. It looked like nobody had been there in a really long time. The more deeper they got into the menacing town, they more they got nervous. "Huh. Funny." Applejack said. "You'd think a big luxury resort would be sorta, well... easier to spot." "Yeah! It seems like the whole town's shut down." Pinkie cried out, hanging around the fountain. "I'm getting some chills from this place." Lukas admitted as Fluttershy comforts him as she patted him. Then she notices something in the distance. "Oh, look. There's somepony." She announced as everyone looked in the direction she was pointing at. Just coming out of a room, was an oddly grey mare as the group runs up to her. "Hmmm. Hello!" Twilight greets. The pony turns around an gasps, not expecting guests. "We're here for the Rainbow Festival" Lukas exclaimed as she looked confused. "Oh, uh, "Rainbow Festival"?" She said in a confused Minnesota accent. "Yeah, you know, the one where I'm the guest of honor?" Rainbow says as she laughs. "Yeah, what she said." Lukas agreed. "Oh, for cryin' in the mud, what's Sunny done now?" The mare says. "Who?" Lukas asked. "I mean, um, you'd best talk to Mayor Skies about that." She explained. "Great." Twilight said with hope. "And where would we find him?" "City hall, Uh, but it's closed 'til tomorrow, don'tcha know? Is there somethin' I can help ya with?" "Uh, yes, please." Rarity said. "Could you direct us to the Hope Hollow Luxury Resort?" The mare ended up laughing by that statement. Everyone had a confused look plastered over their faces, there was an awkward silence. The mare suddenly stops and realizes everyone's dumbfounded expression. "Oh! Oh, you mean the hotel?" She asked as everyone nodded their heads in agreement. "That's easy. There's only one in town." "Only.... one in town?" Lukas asked. "Could you, uh, give us directions?" Applejack suggested. "No need. You're there." The dull mare says as she unlocks the huge doors behind her and swung them open. "I mean there." She correct herself as they all entered in a dimly lit hotel of some kind as the lights flickered on. "Hotel Hope, also known as the Town Information Center and Library! My name's Petunia Petals, by the way. Helloooo!" "Well, hello Petunia. My name is Lu-" "I'm the librarian here." Petunia informs the group, interrupting Lukas. "And the information guide, and the hotel manager, historian, chef, portrait painter-" Before she continued to list her applications, Rainbow interfered her. "Um, I'm Rainbow Dash, and this is everypony." She gestured to everyone who said "Hi." "We have names, you know? and also, I'm not a pony" Lukas said to the rainbow Pegasus. "Then, what are you?" Petunia asked, pointing to Lukas. "This is Lukas." Pinkie exclaimed, bringing Lukas in a hug. "He is the only human ever in Equestria." "Pinkie, not so tight!" Lukas said while being squeezed in a big bear hug as Pinkie let go. "Interesting. Anyways, You just wait one hoofshake, and I'll take ya to the room." Petunia explained. Everyone looked confused. "The room." Rarity said perplexed. "There's only one. Makes it easier to find!" Petunia chuckled as she got the key to the room. She walks up the steps to the room, and everyone followed, having second thoughts about this. They arrive to the room. "Here we are, the royal suite." She says as she swings the door open to reveal a really scuffed up room with broken lights and unstable beds as everyone gasps at the sight before their very eyes. "How rustic and charming." Rarity gasped dramatically. "Isn't it just?" Petunia asked the confused group. "I couldn't help noticing there are only four beds." Rainbow pointed out as one of the beds broke in half. "Okay, five." She corrected herself. "Oh, there's a pop-out, too!" Petunia says as he walks up a nearby wall and gives it a few bucks. "It can be a little tricky." She gave it one final buck and finally, the double bed landed on the hard wooden floor with a thud as everyone coughed from the dust. "There she is. Sleeps two. You'll be all fresh and ready to see the mayor in the mornin'." Petunia walks out of the room. "Sleep tight." She slams the door as the picture on the door smashed on the floor. "Did anypony notice anything strange about Petunia?" Twilight asked. "Quite a few things." Lukas replied. "Other than that she just called this place "the Royal Suite"?" Rarity stated. "Hard to tell in this light, but she looked a little gray, didn't she?" Applejack asked. "Probably from all the dust up here." Rarity responded while blowing on a drawer and coughing from all the dust. "Seriously, how does she expect us to sleep in here?" Lukas asked with slight anger. "Aw, this room's not so bad." Pinkie cheerfully said, still in a good mood. "All it needs is some balloons." She pulled out a bunch of colored balloons is out of her saddlebag as they hit the ceiling. "Some streamers." She sang a happy tune as she decorated the poorly and dull room and to cap it off, she adds a pinata to the roof while Fluttershy already makes friends with a spider nearby. "And look. It comes with a cute little spider. Hello, spider." The spider makes a heart shape from its web and Fluttershy hugged the spider. Meanwhile, Rainbow looked a bit guilty, knowing that she was responsible for this whole ordeal. "Sorry everybody." She groans. "I didn't know what I was getting you into." "The most important thing is we're all together." Twilight cooed. "Twilight's right." Lukas agreed. "Yeah." Applejack also agreed with Twilight as she hoped on the double bed. "As long as we have beds to sleep in, we're set." On queue, the bed flipped back into the wall with Applejack still on it. To Be Continued....
FadedAuthor's Note From now on, the story will now be told from Lukas' point of view. Hope you enjoy. Faded There was something strange about Petunia, but I couldn't just put my finger on it. She was more than welcome to let us stay at the "royal suite" as she calls it. Well, I mean, it is a good thing that she offered a place for us to stay, but she seemed all too nice. But maybe that's just a crazy theory of mine. I slowly opened my eyes to see a certain cotton candy maned pony right in front of my face. My reaction was expected. "Gah!" I cried out. "uum.... hey Pinkie." I said, maintaining myself. "Wake up, sleepyhead." She cheerfully said. "Time to go." "Okay, Pinkie. Just don't ever do that again. EVER!" I got closer to Pinkie's face. "Okie dokie lokie." Pinkie said innocently as I groan. I ripped open the sheets and got my bag ready and walked over to the door to join the others. "Well... it wasn't the worst night of sleep ever." Twilight said as she yawned. "But definitely in the top three... or would that be the bottom three?" Rarity asked. "I think it would be the bottom three." I replied as we all walked through the village. But instead of a warm greeting, everyone looked at us with confused faces. "Why is everypony looking at us?" Asked Fluttershy. "Maybe they recognize Rainbow Dash." Applejack suggested. "Or Princess Twilight." Rainbow added. "But probably me." Rarity looked around, trying to think of a reasonable explanation of why the town looked so lifeless. "No. I think they're staring because we're the only part of this town that isn't... gray." She explained as Pinkie questioned her. "What do you mean." "Look around. All the colors here are gone!" Rarity motioned everyone to look around and as she described, all of the colors had indeed vanished from the village. "That's so strange." Twilight thought as she looked around. "It's just like I noticed about Petunia last night. Everything's mostly gray." Petunia Petals was working at some sort of flower stand and waves to us and we wave back. "Except the stuff that's grayer." Added Applejack. "This reminds me of when we went to Starlight's village." I said. "Oh, my." Fluttershy whispered. "I knew something was different, but-" Before she could continue Rainbow interrupted. "This is so weird," She stated as someone walked by, he looked back at let out a confused "huh" and walked away. "And the way they're gawking at us, it appears they think we're the odd ones." Rarity explained. "Maybe they don't even notice." Fluttershy suggested. "It might be a little rude to point out." I thought. "I wonder what caused this?" Twilight pondered while tapping her chin with her hoof. "We could ask the mayor." Applejack said. "Yeah." Rainbow agreed. "If we ever find him." She groaned as we all tried to look for the mayor. As if Petunia Petals wasn't strange enough, we were walking through a dimly colored village while the citizens looks at us strangely while we try to find the mayor of the faded town and have him try to get him to explain why the town was so colorless. If that doesn't sound unusual, I don't know what will. Maybe I'm right about my theory back on the balloon that this was all just a scam to get us to visit by telling us that the town was the place to be. Suddenly, some screeching sounds interrupted my thoughts, we all looked over and saw two young fillies screeching on the ground towards us and then came to a stop in front of us. Then, their eyes widen and their mouths hung open as they looked at Rainbow Dash, I couldn't tell what they were thinking, but after a while of staring at the rainbow maned pegasus, they backed away slowly and hid behind a wall, they then whispered to each other and went away from behind the wall. We then hear some upper class voices beside us, we look over and we see two high class ponies, one mare and one stallion, walking by, having an argument. "Don't pout, dear. It'll wrinkle your withers." The mare complained. "I'm not pouting, sweetums, but I am hurt by your comment." The stallion replied. "I thought the pie I baked was quite tasty." "I didn't say it wasn't." The mare protested "You didn't say it was." The stallion pointed out. They both bumped into an elder stallion. "Watch where you're goin'!" He grouched. "You don't own the sidewalk, ya know?!" He said as he walked away. They both complained about the elder's attitude, then they looked at us and gasped and ran away. We all exchanged confused looks and then continue to find the mayor. Then, I notice something in the distance. "Hey, there's some color." I said hopefully, finally thinking that there was some color. "I think that's just someone fixing our balloon, sugarcube." Applejack said. "Oh right." I said disappointed. We walked up to the scene and saw someone was indeed repairing our broken balloon while someone else was watching her. "Oh, goodness. This is unfortunate." The stallion in front of her said worriedly as he paced around. "Bad with a side of terribly awful." He then plowed through us, much to our anger. He sighed, not paying attention to us and then realized something. He let out a silent "whoa" under his breath, then he turned to us with a smile on her face. "Well, stuff me in an olive and call me a pimento! It's the Rainbow Dash! Ya made it!" He grabbed Rainbow's hoof and shook it vigorously, much like Applejack. "Uh, it is.. you, isn't it?" "Pretty sure, yeah." She assured him. "Yeah, I mean. Have you seen her mane?" I asked as I flickered her mane. She gave me a stern look. "Oh, thank Celestia!" He said thankfully. "I saw the balloon, thought the worst, and..." He paused for a second and then continued. "Well, you're here, all o' ya! Welcome to the Hope Hollow Annual Rainbow Festival!" "So there is a rainbow festival?" I said under my breath. "What was that?" He asked me. "Oh nothing." I said quickly but he looked suspicious and then circled around me, as if he was inspecting me. "Now that I'm really looking at you. I don't think I've ever seen you before." He stated. "Well this here is Lukas." Applejack explained while putting a hoof around my shoulder. "He is the only human to ever be in Equestria." "Oh really?" He asked me, invested. "Yes sir. She speaks the truth." I told him. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, and you must be..." Twilight trailed off, signalling him to tell his name as well. "Sunny Skies, the mayor o' this lovely town, and pleased as a poplar tree to meetcha!" Sunny exclaimed. "We're very sorry about your rainbow billboard, Mr. Mayor." Fluttershy apologized." It was dark and-" "Oh, don't give it a second thought." Sunny said, interrupting the timid pegasus. "That old thing needed repair anyway. I haven't used it since... uh..." She paused for a second but then decides to ignore his statement."Well, never mind. Uh, a-a-anyway." He stuttered. "Once your balloon's fixed up, Torque can take care of the billboard." "Torque?" I asked, obviously not recognizing that name. "Everybody meet Torque Wrench, our town handypony." She introduced us to a pony with a welding helmet on. "She offered to repair your balloon for ya." Torque Wrench then took off the welding helmet. "He volunteered me." She said as she put the helmet back on. "She'll have it fixed in a jiffy." Mayor informed us before she took the helmet off again. "If, by "jiffy", ya mean "this will take all day". "Sooo ya got in last night. I wish I'd known. I would've been here to greetcha. Uh, where'd y'all stay?" Sunny Skies asked us and Rarity replied. "At the Luxury Hotel." "Yeah, you know. The only hotel in town." I pointed out before Applejack covered my mouth with her hoof. "Petunia Petals let us in." She said while I pushed her hoof away from my mouth. "Oh, well, of course she did. She's somethin', I'll tell you what. I'd be lost without her." Sunny cheeks suddenly turned bright red, as if he had said something that he shouldn't have. "I mean, uh, th-the town would be." He said quickly. There was a long silence, then Twilight spoke up. "Mayor, I hope you don't mind my asking, but is there a reason your town is... faded?" "Oh! Heh. Ya spotted that, did ya?" He asked us. "Yeah, it's kind of not hard to spot." I pointed out as the mayor continued. "Well, it's a... long story. Uh, why don't I show you the town highlights first?" He suggested and walked off. We all shrugged and followed Sunny Skies. To Be Continued...
