A Strike of Change

Chapters

The Start of Something New
A Strange Savior
False Rumors
A Letter to the Princess
A Nice Place to Stay

The Start of Something New

The Start of Something New

A/N: This is the very first fan fiction I've ever written, please leave any criticism in the comments. It would be greatly appreciated if you left me some tips of what to improve and what to change. I won't be insulted or anything so just mention anything that needs to be changed. Thanks!

“Ugh…”

Lucius groans softy as he stretches out and bends his back to the side. It’s about 8 o’clock in the morning right now and he’d been at his computer for a good few hours, the habit isn't really a good thing. He even missed work once because he had lost track of the time while on his laptop. He’s used to his daily routine of surfing the web whenever he had time, he hadn't taken a long walk or a stroll around his neighborhood for a quite a while now.

Lucius turns his head to glance outside his gloomy window, there is a soft pitter-patter of rain hitting the glass but it didn't surprise him, as the weather was always rainy nowadays. Although, the weather did change quite drastically in the past few months, it was a large enough difference for it to catch Lucius’ attention but he drowned out the thought since he knew he was usually just paranoid, it was probably nothing to worry about.

The clear glass panes of the window were much cleaner compared to the rest of his house, he liked to look through it every now and then to take in the view of the small town. His house sat on top of a small hill at the edge of town, the view from the window looks down on the many small buildings scattered throughout the town.

Lucius always cleaned the window more often than the house. He didn't know what it was about the small buildings and the bright lights, but he always liked it better than the country side. This house was at least over 15 years old and it was left to him after his parents passed away a few years ago in a plane crash, that day was a nightmare to him, he was only 9 years old and didn't want to believe it but the thought of his parents leaving him was too much. His grandparents later took care of him for a few years but were no longer with him now, so he was basically alone.

3 months after he graduated from high school his grandma died of old age, his closest relative that was still alive was his grandfather, but he lived far away from this town. He left his family behind to travel around the world and he never really took care of Lucius, but even after going through the pain of losing his closest family members, he is still determined to live his life. His mother always told him to look at the brighter side and never give up hope. Lucius actually got a sustainable job after a while. His daily income was just enough to survive.

The one thing he needs right now is to relax, stress was always an obstacle but he has a strong will. With another look around the room, he slowly sits down again trying to think if he had forgotten anything to do today, rubbing his face with his hands attempting to get rid of his frustration.

“Dammit! I’m late for work again!”

His eyes dart around the room again and a sense of worry starts to sink in. He didn't want to lose his job, not now at least. Lucius quickly swipes his jacket and heads outside. The rain quickly turned into a downpour within in a few minutes, the rain was so heavy he could only see a few feet in front of him. Lucius used his old leather jacket gifted to him by his father as a temporary cover from the rain while he made his way to a worn out car that was parked in in front of his house. He started the engine and rashly made his way out of his driveway. Luckily the place he worked at was quite close, maybe one or two miles from his house. Lucius steps on the accelerator and drives as fast as he can down the grey, cracked road of his neighborhood.

The rubber wheels of his car screech on the asphalt as it speeds up. He attempts to come up with a valid excuse for being late again and tries to relax a bit while studying the interior of his car, a lot of things were passed down to him from his family. Even though they weren't very wealthy, there were a lot of things that proved to be useful to him. But it’s the little things that contain the happy memories of his parents, especially this jacket. His father used to wear it all the time, the memory that he was most fond of was when he visited an amusement park for the first time. His dad took him everywhere; Lucius always looked up to him and wished he was always there with him.

*CRACK*

The loud sound of lightning ripping through the air snaps him out of his memory, the small shower from this morning has formed into a large storm. Lightning continues to strike near him, coming dangerously close to the car. So close in fact, he has to swerve slightly to avoid the strikes hitting him. He knew lighting is usually directed away from the driver and through the car, but the thought of lightning being so close is just frightening. The road is now slippery from the constant downfall of rain, the small houses around him are almost unable to be seen. He concentrates on the glossy road and has become cautious of his driving, Lucius was never really a great driver but he got his licence nonetheless.

“Since when was lightning apparent? It was only raining a moment ago…”

He mumbles under his breath, now really worried due to the sudden alteration of the weather and the darkness of the day. There should be daylight, even if the rain was so heavy, the daylight would still be there.

*CRACK*

“CRAP!” Lucius’ scream was drowned out by the screeching of his tires and the bolt of lightning that struck directly in front of his car. The car came to a sudden stop, Lucius is sweating from the struggle to stop the car. All he could hear right now is the repeated tapping of rain on the roof of his car and his panting. The lightning seemed to have stopped for the time being. Lucius breathes out slowly and starts to accelerate down the road again, his work place wasn't too far now, it would only take a few minutes more to get there. The rain died down a bit but was still heavier than usual, he could see the familiar buildings around him and the dark grey clouds looming over the small town.

“What’s that?”

A slither of light travels through the thick blanket of clouds above, it wasn't like lightning, it was much too slow and it seemed to dart around from time to time as it approached Lucius.

It seemed like it was travelling faster and the light got much brighter as it weaved its way through the sky. As soon as it got close, Lucius could hear the loud rumble emanating from it, the sound was the same as thunder but more constant and sharper. When Lucius finally drove his attention away from the light, it was too late. With another extremely loud crack, he was blinded momentarily and felt a dull pain move through the back of his neck to the bottom of his back.He starts to feel nauseous and sick. He was no longer in his car, the brightness of the light still lingers as Lucius falls unconscious.

*CRACK*

The lightning continues to strike, one after the other, but this time it was different. The sounds are different, and the bolts of lightning are much faster to strike then before.

“W-What the hell happened…? Where am I?”

Lucius is lying down on his side, in a puddle of muddy water. The coldness of the water is creeping into his skin making Lucius shiver. The rain flows down his face in small streams. He finally comes up with enough energy to open his eyes, but only slightly. Lucius’ vision is blurred and his eyes sting from the flash of light from before, he can make out a few outlines of large trees and a few woodland animals scurrying to their homes.

“Where am I?” He repeats, trying to comprehend what just happened.

“HELP! ANYONE THERE!?”

It wasn't the best idea to scream that loud, for one, his chest now has strong pains shooting down to his stomach, but that isn't his main concern. Lucius is petrified, he sees a few red eyes in the darkness of the trees, more start appearing and multiple pairs of red eyes stare straight at the motionless body of Lucius.

The pairs of eyes growl and advance, slowly moving towards him. The creatures are now in plain view, WHAT? Lucius screamed in his head. They seem to consist of rough timber, and they resemble small wolves. They show their razor sharp teeth and growl at Lucius again, those teeth looks like they can rip through any flesh just mere seconds. He is too frightened to move, but he doesn't want to accept death, not at this age and especially with so many things to do. “STOOOOP!!” A high pitched scream came from behind Lucius, the wolves dart their eyes up and snarl. The pack of ‘wolves’ leave obediently and disappear into the dense forest.

Lucius attempts to get up by wedging his arm under his chest to push his limb body up. He has no energy to move his legs and the horrible pain is still coursing through his body, now with the addition of a pulsing sting on the back of his head.

“Argh…”

He winces in pain as he gradually sits upright. There is a light galloping noise coming from behind him, moving closer.

“Please… D-Don’t hurt me… I’m not… “

His last words were slurred and almost inaudible. The galloping ceases for a few seconds but then proceeds but much faster. Lucius feels something warm and wet touch his shoulder, and a strange feeling of relief falls over his mind…

A Strange Savior

A Strange Savior

“I-I’m here to help.”

Whatever saved Lucius has a surprisingly quiet voice compared to before, from the higher pitch, he could tell that it was a female.

“Who are you…?”

Lucius is starting to regain some of his energy; it was either the strike of light or the nausea that drained the life from him.

“That’s not important now; I have to get you back to my house.”

The reassuring tone of her voice was calming, that alone convinced Lucius to trust her. He feels two limbs under his arms that start lifting his body slowly, the pain makes him flinch but it was lessening and starting to fade away. By now his legs were dangling and swaying in the wind, with muddy water dripping off his shoes.

Whoever the female was, she had to be really tall and strong to lift him up off the ground, but that isn't it; he could hear a light flapping. Did she have wings? Wait… WINGS!? Lucius opens his eyes fully and lifts up his head to look up at her, she has long pink hair that was soaked and dripping wet. She had yellow fur and had the look of a small equine, though that isn't what caught Lucius’ attention, it’s the wings that left him speechless, it’s not like he had the energy to talk anyway. The wings on her back are smaller than he had expected, but they still managed to lift both Lucius and the yellow equine. She is most likely a small Pegasus… That could talk.

“Not to be rude, but what are you exactly?”

Lucius is more confused than he had ever been, it’s either a dream or he was dead, or at least that's what he thought.

“Eep!” The yellow Pegasus fumbles a bit and almost drops him, “U-Uh, I’m… a Pegasus…”

Lucius’ assumption was true, she WAS a Pegasus, but how? They didn't exist. Now the pain and desperation from before was replaced with curiosity and confusion. He didn't want to ask any more questions until everything settled down a bit, he didn't want to be consumed by the inquiries and different possibilities of what this was. He just wants to wait until the Pegasus brought them to the destination, hopefully a safer place to figure things out. The rain had almost cleared now, there’s only a light pitter-patter on the dirt roads, just like this morning.

After a few minutes they reached a wooden door of a medium sized cottage, it has leaves covering the roof and a few small birdhouses outside. This must be her house she was talking about.

“We’re here, uh… I didn't catch your name…” She must be really shy, her voice is so soft and calming.

“My name is Lucius, what’s yours?”

She looks at you, hiding behind her wet mane and hesitates but finally manages to answer.

“It’s… Fluttershy…”

Awww, she’s so cute! I don’t know what it is about this mythical creature, but she’s just adorable!

“Nice to meet you Fluttershy, could you please put me down for now? I think I’m fine.”

His legs were starting to get numb, he put on a friendly smile to reassure Fluttershy that she hasn't done anything wrong, since she seems worried now. She may have forgotten she was still holding Lucius, she slowly lowers and places him on the damp ground. Lucius hears a light creak as Fluttershy opens the red wooden door to her cottage, signalling for him to come inside.

“Wow! This place looks great!”

Even though the cottage wasn’t that spontaneous, Lucius was still amazed at how a Pegasus could have decorated a house, let alone live in one.

"T-Thanks..." She smiles shyly and nervously taps her hoof on the ground.

The thing that intrigued Lucius the most is the fact that she is able to talk, what’s next? A mythical talking dragon? He chuckles to himself at the thought of a real life talking dragon. Lucius stands in the doorway, looking around the cottage and scans every little detail.

“This can’t be a dream, it’s too detailed…”

He wasn’t aware that he was speaking aloud, he was too mesmerized by Fluttershy’s little establishment.

“Of course it’s not a dream! This is real, you know.”

Lucius snaps out of the thought and smiles at Fluttershy, he draws his attention to a small white bunny munching on a carrot, it doesn't look very content about his meal.

Fluttershy noticed Lucius was looking at it with a curious expression.

“Oh, that’s my pet bunny, his name is Angel! Isn't he just adorable?”

No, not really. He looks stubborn and forceful… Lucius just nods and slaps on a fake smile, it seems like he won’t be making friends with Angel anytime soon. Lucius decides to sit down and try to relax once again, letting the events shroud his thoughts, it was strange, but amazing at the same time. He didn't want to fuss over how he got here and how to get back right now, all he wants to do is enjoy this for the time being before anything else goes wrong.

*CRASH*

Speak of the devil... A loud crash and clatter came from what looks like the kitchen, Lucius gets up quickly and jogs towards the sound of pots and pans clashing together.

“Fluttershy? Are you alright?”

He hears a soft moan and sees her sitting on the floor with cutlery and utensils sprawled across the kitchen.

“What happened?” He walks towards her and helps her up, she hesitates at Lucius’ touch, but gets up on her four hooves.

“Sorry about that… I was trying to get you some fruit to eat…” She points at a cupboard high up with a bowl and fruits in it, Lucius spots a few apples and bananas.

“Thanks Fluttershy, but you could have just told me. I can reach the fruit myself.”

He says with a smile, why didn't she use her wings? He shrugs it off and reaches for the fruit. Fluttershy was about two-thirds the size of Lucius, so he can reach it easily.He grabs a small apple and takes a bite, savoring the taste.

“My god… This is amazing!”

Lucius drools over the sweet taste of the crunchy apple, fruit here was apparently delicious and contains liquid awesome. “I-It’s just an apple…” Fluttershy doesn't know that Lucius isn't from this place. He licks his lips and wipes some apple juice from his chin and finishes the rest of the apple. He disposes the core and looks back at Fluttershy.

“Well, it sure is better than the apples from where I come from.”

She raises an eyebrow and looks at you skeptically.

“Where you come from? What are you anyway? I've never seen an animal like you before…” Animal? Was my species unknown here?

“Uh… I’m a homosapien from a place called Earth.” She looks at him curiously, but with a slight hint of excitement now, she must really like discovering new species.

“Homosay… saypi…” She tries to say the word but struggles and stutters, they really don’t have knowledge on my species…

“A human, I’m a human.” Fluttershy’s eyes widen and she freezes in place, fear is the only expression on her face.

“A H-Human!?”

Why is she scared all of a sudden? What’s wrong with humans? She slowly moves away from Lucius, step by step until she’s backed up on one of her wooden cupboards.

“Please don’t hurt me…”

False Rumors

“I-I’m not going to hurt you Fluttershy… Why are you scared of me…?”

Lucius stares at the frightened mare with raised eyebrows and an emotion on his face that showed confusion and sympathy. Fluttershy cowers on the floor, still curled up in a ball, she attempts to talk but hesitates and is unable to speak any words.

All that comes out is a small whimper. The rain had cleared now, and by Lucius' knowledge it was about 5pm from the looks of the sun's position, but he had no idea what it was like in this place and how they managed time.

She must be overreacting, humans aren’t aggressive, and my species wouldn’t be able to intimidate these ponies to this extent. A thought of war, pollution and destruction caused by his species crosses his mind. I guess we are frightening, but how did humans get here and what did they do? Even I’m not aware of how I got to this place…

*Knock* *Knock* “Fluttershy? I brought the book you were looking for, you said you would be at my library by this afternoon but you weren’t there, so I decided to bring it to you.”

Fluttershy was apparently unaware of her friend who was at the door; she was too busy shuddering to have noticed. Lucius turns to the red wooden door and slowly creeps toward it, he doesn’t want to frighten anymore Pegasi, and unwanted attention could lead to him being in a dangerous situation. Lucius didn’t know what punishments they had here; jails or some sort of confinement was his best guess, Pegasi jails? Now that’s a bit farfetched for me, but seeing what they had already, I wouldn’t be surprised.

*Knock* *Knock* “Fluttershy? Are you there…?”

Lucius pauses for a moment to figure out what to say to Fluttershy’s friend, at least she doesn’t sound as shy as Fluttershy, heck, even her name has shy in it, so it wouldn't be hard to beat her in confidence. I just hope her friend is more understanding. By now Fluttershy had jumped up and ran upstairs, however, Lucius was oblivious of the yellow Pegasus, he was too focused on the door. Having someone who would at least listen and not cower would be very beneficial to him, he just wanted to get home by this point.

Lucius didn’t know what the physical power of a Pegasus could do to him, Fluttershy seemed to have quite a bit of strength since she lifted him with ease, but the power of their wings probably wouldn’t be able to hurt him. I hope I can get home soon, this place is starting to scare me, the only thing I’d miss is the delicious fruit though…

A soft but audible mumble comes from the door, causing Lucius to pause again. “Hm… I guess she isn’t here, I’ll just come back tomorrow. Now I just need to schedule the quick visit, maybe in the afternoon? Or maybe…”

Her voice trailed off as trotting could be heard from behind the door, Lucius let out a long sigh before relaxing his tense muscles. Phew, that was close, being assaulted by mythical creatures isn’t really quite that high on my list.

*Creeeak…* “I’ll just leave the book here, I wouldn’t want her to…“

The large door opens tardily, revealing a purple hoof and the head of what seemed to be a unicorn, since she had a small horn above her forehead. Both Lucius and the purple unicorn stare at each other with emotions coming and leaving their faces; fear, confusion, curiosity. They stare for a few long seconds until it was broken by the loud ‘Eep!’ coming from the stairs.

“TWILIGHT! RUN! The human will kill you!” Fluttershy screamed loud enough for Lucius and the unicorn to flinch from the sheer volume.

Lucius stands up straight and spoke with a 'tad' bit of confusion, “Kill? Why would I KILL you? You saved my life!”

The three exchange perplexed glances as the purple unicorn burst into laughter, Lucius is now mentally ripping his hair out considering the events that just unfolded. Twilight wipes a tear from her eye and calmly trots around Lucius while tapping her fore-hoof to her chin, is she studying me? What the hell is going on!? She looks up to Lucius and gives him a warm grin and a twinkle appears in her eye.

“So this is what a human looks like…”

“Wait, you’re not scared or intimidated by me…?”

Twilight looks to him with and shakes her head and looks over to Fluttershy angrily, the Pegasus glides down the stairs and lands beside Lucius and Twilight.

“I-I’m so sorry… I d-didn’t mean to scare you…” Fluttershy whispers in an almost inaudible voice, she tilts her head down and at stares at the floor while tapping her hoof to the ground, just like before, but now in an apologetic and sympathetic manner. Lucius’ face was white when Twilight had first entered Fluttershy’s cottage, he had thought that this was a misunderstanding at first, turns out he was correct. My assumptions seem to correct all the time… then again I’ve only made an assumption twice. I hope that continues, at least I'll have that advantage.

“It’s ok, I still have to thank you for saving my life earlier today. I’m very grateful you turned up.” Well thankfully I can calm down now, knowing that I’m really not a threat to… Hold on, I thought this place only had Pegasi living here, but Twilight was a unicorn, or at least I think she is… What other race of equines haven't I encountered? Bah, whatever, the more questions I ask the worse this is going to get.

“Oh right! I still haven’t introduced myself! My name is Twilight Sparkle, but you most likely already knew that from my friend’s little outburst just then… “

“Heh, yeah… Well, nice to meet you Twilight! my name is Lucius.”

Fluttershy tilts her head at Lucius and starts to become slightly paranoid again, with quivering lips. “S-So you won’t murder me…?”

Lucius looks to her with a soft and caring expression, “Of course not! I would never hurt you in any way! I told you already, you saved my life and I wouldn't harm you.” He responds almost immediately and in a reassuring way.

Fluttershy quickly regains her composure and becomes noticeably more relieved now. Twilight is standing awkwardly, just listening to their conversation, but is occupied by the millions of questions rushing around her head, just like Lucius. He was probably more confused than Twilight is, although she was mostly focused on finding out about this creature. Humans were not widely known to them apparently, or at least they weren’t interpreted correctly since Fluttershy almost had a heart attack when Lucius had mentioned that he was a human.

Lucius looks back at Twilight again, “Uh… Twilight? Could you please explain to me what’s going on?”

She now has a large grin on her face, I guess she likes explaining things? She does seem like a bit of a stereotypical nerd to me though, having books and her choice of words.

“I’d be delighted to! What would you like to know first?

“Um… How about we start with EVERYTHING?”

A Letter to the Princess

A Letter to the Princess

“Everything? Hm…”

Twilight starts contemplating what to start with; there was so much to explain. Both of them want answers and Twilight would love to explain what was going on, she seemed so excited about sharing her knowledge on their society and how Lucius might have got here.

“How about we start with why Fluttershy had acted like that?”

“Yeah, that would be a good place to start.”

Lucius looks at Fluttershy; she’s smiles apologetically and nods to Twilight. I feel bad for Fluttershy; she looks and acts so vulnerable. However, the things she does when trying to protect something is just so out of place for her. He looks back to Twilight and listens attentively, hoping to finally understand what his species did to these Pegasi and unicorns.

“The reason Fluttershy was so frightened by you was because she has heard many rumours about your species. Just like most of the other ponies who live here, the only ponies who know the truth behind humans are the two Princesses and me. Princess Celestia has shared a few notes on humans through the letters we send to each other.”

That clears out why Fluttershy was so paranoid, but now I have even more questions. Princess? They have royalty here? And the letters, Twilight had contact to a Princess!? He just stares at Twilight with a quizzical expression. This place was more technologically and socially advanced than Lucius had thought. He hadn’t realised that she was still explaining things to him and didn’t catch any of what she said after the mention of Princesses and sending letters to them.

“So, did you get all that? Any more questions?”

“Huh? Wha-?”

Lucius was too busy thinking about the monarchy in this land. Twilight looks at him, annoyed, having noticed that he wasn’t paying attention to her explanations. It wouldn't be such a great idea to do that for a first impression. Lucius is just stands there, lost in thought. It’s a shame he missed what she said after that…

“Hello? You there?” Twilight waved her hoof in front of Lucius’ face.

“Oh I’m sorry, I was just thinking about your Princesses and the monarchy. I’m just trying to recall everything that’s different from the place I come from.” Although, we do have Queen Elizabeth, I wonder if their queen is more of an icon and if she didn’t play much of an important role.

She taps her hoof on her chin again, it’s so easy to tell what she is doing by her expressions and actions. Now I know she’s thinking every time she taps her hoof on her chin. After a few seconds of rummaging through her thoughts, her face immediately brightens up and she hops right in front of Lucius.

“Oh! I know! I could arrange a visit to the Princess! You can help her understand more about humans too. There are barely any books about your species, even the Canterlot Archives has just 4 books and the information on there is just myths and legends.”

“B-But… Lucius just got here and he might need some rest before he goes anywhere… “

Why is Fluttershy so nice and caring? And to think how scared she was just a moment ago. She does remind me of my mother though… I miss home so much already.

“I would like to rest for a while if you don’t mind, I feel like I haven’t slept in days.”

Twilight smiles and nods understandingly, “Of course, I doubt Princess Celestia will be able to arrange a meeting this soon anyway.”

Visiting royalty wouldn’t be the best idea in Lucius’ current state. It would cause so much commotion since Twilight mentioned that other ponies have passed around rumours about humans. But Lucius really did need a rest after what happened, it would provide him some time to get a few questions answered too.

“How about all the other ponies? Won’t they be afraid of me?”

Lucius wants to be cautious of these ponies, he wouldn’t want to be in a fight with them. Especially a Pegasi since they could pick him up and drop him from a deadly height.

“There’s nothing to worry about! Humans have never been seen in Equestria, though Princess Celestia claims they lived here thousands of years ago. If we just show everypony that you’re harmless and friendly, I’m sure they will understand.”

Everypony? They even have puns in their language. Lucius agrees to visit the Princesses after Twilight arranges a meeting, hopefully they will know of a way back to Earth. It was almost night time and the sun has just about fallen below the horizon, it would be about 7pm by the looks of it.

Hold on… Language… How do they understand me and how do I understand them? “Oh Twilight, one more question; how can we understand each other? I mean, we’re from different worlds right?”

“Hm… That is a good question. I haven’t thought of that yet, it may be a coincidence or the language could have been passed down from humans to us ponies.”

The thought of humans that lived here thousands of years ago is just incomprehensible, how would they have gotten here? Or more importantly, where did they go? It was possible that humans once lived in this place, but there is no evidence other than their current language. Lucius is a linguist back on Earth so he knows quite a few foreign languages just in case this place had different countries.

“I should get back to Spike and send Princess Celestia a letter right away. It’s getting late too so I need to go give Spike a snack, he must be starving. I hope to see you around, Lucius.”

Spike? Who’s that? It sounds like her son but she only looks like a teenager, and who in their right mind would name their son “Spike”?

“Hope to see you tomorrow, also could you maybe tell me a few things about what it’s like here when I meet you tomorrow? If I’m going to stay for a while, I might as well get used to things.”

Twilight nods and smiles at Lucius again while she heads for the door, a light creak can be heard, followed by the click of the lock. It’s been a long and difficult day for Lucius, maybe tomorrow will be less confusing for him.

“U-Um… Lucius? You could sleep at my place tonight if you’d like, I have a spare room upstairs.”

“Thanks Fluttershy, you’ve been a great help to me since I got here, I wouldn’t even be alive if it wasn’t for you.”

Dear Princess Celestia,

I am proud to inform you that a ‘human’ has somehow made its way to Equestria early this morning and is currently staying with my friend Fluttershy, the element of kindness. I wish to arrange a meeting with you when you are available, the human has agreed to share any information about his world and his species. This will serve as a great source of knowledge as we currently lack any evidence on the existence of humans, or as he calls himself, a “Homosapien”.

I hope to meet you and Princess Luna after you have considered this meeting. He will gladly answer any questions we provide. With your permission I would like to teach him the basic rules of the Equestrian society and hopefully provide him with answers to his questions. I await your quick response.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment for as long as I can remember! Princess Celestia has told me so many tales of humans and what they did for us those millennia ago. Though that unicorn… What was her name...? Oh right! Lyra Heartstrings. She somehow knows of this species and has a huge amount of information about them. Could she have met a human before?”

Spike stares at Twilight with an unamused expression, “I still don’t think they are friendly, they’re going to kill us eventually if you’re not care- *BUURP*”

A scroll appears with a flash of light, “Well that was much quicker than I had expected.”

Twilight takes the scroll and unravels it.

My dearest and most faithful student Twilight,

I will require the human you have encountered to arrive at Canterlot to meet me by tomorrow afternoon. I ask for you to escort him to Canterlot castle and allow him to enter alone. I thank you sincerely for alerting me about the appearance of his species. I await his arrival tomorrow.

A/N: First of all, credit to "Awesomeguy256" for a few ideas used in this story. Second, I'm sorry for the delay on this update, I ran out of inspiration and ideas so I had to stop writing for a few days. Hopefully I can write the next chapter by tomorrow. If I can't, then sorry in advance. Also, thanks everyone so much for the positive feedback! I never expected for this to go anywhere.

A Nice Place to Stay

A Nice Place to Stay

“What!? This isn’t like Princess Celestia, why would she want to meet Lucius so soon and why alone? I have to inform him early next morning if we want to get there by the afternoon.”

Twilight paces around her tree house library nervously, trying to figure out why this was so urgent. Princess Celestia usually takes a few days to arrange a meeting, no matter who it was. After the many letters the Princess sends, Twilight knows what her intentions are through the way she writes. This letter seems urgent. Maybe humans were dangerous, what if they actually did murder ponies! Oh no, I’ve got to check if Fluttershy is alright…

Spike groans and stands next to Twilight, “You can do whatever you want but just don’t wake me up so early tomorrow, I’ve been tired all day.”

“Fine, but I’ve got to check on Fluttershy to see if she’s alright.”

“Oh so now you’re worried? I’m going to be the one saying ‘I told you so’ after you find out Fluttershy is actually in danger.”

Twilight sighs and tries to calm herself down, she was the one who reassured Fluttershy so it would be her fault if she was in any kind of danger. She opens the door slowly and peers out the gap between the door and frame; there is nopony in sight, just as expected. The luminous moon shades the town in a soft blue glow.

“Jeez Twilight, why are you acting so sneaky?”

“AHH!”

She screams loudly at Spike's sudden remark, it frightened her to say the least. She noticed the door was still open and her scream had echoed to all the neighbouring houses. Lights start to flick on and a few ponies look out their windows. It was already dark so shadows were cast onto the dirt paths by the lights in each of the ponies’ houses. Twilight could see a few ponies walking around their rooms and she could hear soft mumbling throughout the neighbourhood.

But fortunately after a few minutes of being patient waiting, everypony decides to go back to sleeping. Light’s turn off one by one until the moon’s glow covers everything once again.

“Spike! You almost made have a heart-attack! Just go to bed and I’ll be back soon ok?”

Spike almost chokes on his words as he attempts to hold back a laugh. Twilight aims a frustrated glance at Spike and heads outside. She can hear giggling from inside her library which quickly escalates to a loud laugh.

Twilight approaches Fluttershy’s cottage after a 5 minute walk. The lights are still on and can be seen from afar. They’re still awake? It’s so late, they should have been to bed an hour ago. *Thump* A soft thump came from inside the cottage, followed by rapid flapping of wings. Twilight tenses at the thought of Fluttershy being in danger, it sounded like Lucius was tackling Fluttershy.

*Thump* Another thump can be heard, this time it was louder and caused a few birds to fly away in the area. Now Twilight was worried, she gallops up to the door and knocks as hard as she could while kicking up some dirt in the process. Heavy footsteps can be heard through the wooden door, coming closer and closer. Everything was silent except the unlocking of the wooden door and the slow creaking.

“Oh, hello Twilight! Why are you here so late?”

Lucius answers the door with a bead of sweat making its way down his forehead. He smiles warmly to Twilight as she glares at him.

“Where’s Fluttershy!? Is she alright!?”

Lucius’ smile disappears and he takes a step back because of her forceful question. “She’s right here, why do you seem to worried?”

He opens the door fully and Fluttershy trots to the door while giggling, Twilight raises an eyebrow and looks behind Fluttershy and Lucius, the room is a mess; pieces of furniture are scattered throughout the cottage with a few small things scattered around the place.

“What happened? Are you alright Fluttershy? It looks like there’s been a fight in here!”

Lucius’ smile returns as he realizes why she was so paranoid. “Well, technically it was a fight but it’s just a game I taught Fluttershy. We humans call it wrestling and I used to do it all the time.”

Twilight’s head dips down and she lets out a loud sigh. She was relieved that Fluttershy wasn’t being assaulted by Lucius. When she raised her head to look at him, she sees a bruise on the side of his head. Twilight opens her mouth to ask him what that was from, but he had noticed her curious stare.

“Oh the bruise, Fluttershy accidently kicked me when I was pinning her down. She’s pretty good for a beginner.” He smirks at Fluttershy.

She gives Lucius a sorry look and moves her attention to Twilight, “Hey Twilight, Lucius told me so many stories about his world and what they did for entertainment there. He said something about vi- vid- ee-“

“Video games, I was telling you about the technology we had. It’s a pity you don’t have them in Equestria. Fluttershy explained so much to me, I should know the basics so it won’t be too difficult to live here.”

“Well I’m just glad you’re not a threat to us…”

“Twilight, I thought you were the one who told Fluttershy not to worry. Besides, I wouldn’t hurt a fly!”

She calms down and returns to her normal mental state at that response, after all, she was the one who reassured Fluttershy. Twilight stands awkwardly in front of Lucius and Fluttershy for a few seconds until she remembered Princess Celestia’s letter, I might was well tell him about it since I’m already here, I hope he can get enough rest before we depart next morning.

“Ah! Lucius, Princess Celestia has arranged a meeting for you tomorrow afternoon. Her letter sounded pretty urgent so I suggest you get ready for tomorrow, we will take a train to Canterlot early next morning.”

“Next morning!? I thought you said it would take at least a few days to arrange a meeting!”

“U-Um… Sorry Lucius, even I was surprised when I read the letter. My mentor has never been so urgent about something like this.”

“Mentor!? Your mentor is the Princess!?”

“Yes of course, she was the one who tutored me and gave me magic lessons. It’s because of her I got to come here and make these great friends!”

Lucius leans against the door frame and rubs the back of his neck. At least that explains the letters, but having a princess as a mentor? I’m kind of jealous of her; I’ve never really met royalty back at Earth. Lucius had hoped the visit to the princess would be delayed for a few days so he could clear out a few rumours floating around Ponyville. Fluttershy told me all about the best places to visit tomorrow, but I guess I’m going to have to cancel those plans.

“Alright then, I’ll need to get some sleep and clean myself up for tomorrow.” Fluttershy nods to Lucius and raises a forehoof to point at the bathroom.

“Bye Twilight, I’ll see you soon I guess.”

Twilight grins at Lucius and waves a goodbye to him before he leaves for the bathroom door. Phew, I thought he was going to be more resistant at Princess Celestia’s abrupt request. I doubt she actually thinks humans are dangerous… He seems nicer than most stallions I’ve met.

The next morning…

“H-Hey… Lucius, it’s time to wake up. You need to get ready for the train trip…”

*Snore* “Just… One more minute mum…”

Fluttershy smiles and giggles, it’s nice to have someone who actually appreciates her help, it’s usually only her animals that she takes care of who shows her some gratitude. She slowly closes the door and quietly trots downstairs to get breakfast ready for him. Rustling and footsteps can be heard from upstairs as the click of the opening bedroom door echoes through the hallway. Birds were singing their usual melodies and the aroma of morning nature wafts through the cottage.

Lucius walks down the stairs to see Fluttershy preparing some food in the kitchen, how did they hold things with their hooves? Is that even physically possible…? Lucius shrugs it off and sits down at an old, round wooden table.

“Oh Lucius… I have some breakfast for you, I didn’t know what you ate so I just got what I had.”

“Thanks Fluttershy, anything will do for now.”

It would be great if I could get some protein, it's a shame these ponies are herbivores. I wonder if they at least have fish that you could eat here. Fluttershy trots out of her kitchen and puts down a few plates with cut up fruits and an assortment of colourful foods that Lucius had never even seen before. He takes a strange red fruit dotted with small yellow circles and bites down. His mouth is filled with thick, sweet nectar and crunchy seeds within the fruit. The outside was soft and had a slight sour taste to it.

“This… is amazing! I’ve never tasted anything like this before!” Lucius says with his mouth full while taking a few more bites out of the delicious fruit.

“I’m glad you like it, I forgot what it was called but I bought it at the market yesterday.”

“Thanks again, there has to be some way I can pay you back. Your hospitality is just amazing.”

Fluttershy blushes at his compliment, “W-Well… You could tell me more about your world, I find it very fascinating…”

Lucius nods warmly and picks up another fruit from the various foods in front of him, he felt bad for eating and staying at Fluttershy’s place without giving her something in return, he always appreciated other people’s help.

The sun had come out by now and is shining brightly through the glass windows across from Lucius, he turns his head to look out the clear panes of glass and sees small animals pouncing about in the lush green grass, tall trees that loomed above, and between all of the flora and fauna, there is a town. Not the one Lucius is used to seeing, but one filled with houses of different shapes and sizes while the streets were bustling with colourful ponies.

I think I’m going to like this place.