Project: Human

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4

Prologue

"Are you sure this is wise, Tia?"

Luna was following her sister close by down a long corridor. The windows on the side showed that the sun was edging its way over the horizon, leaving the sky to look blood-stained. The corridor was now growing dimmer with each passing second. The lanterns were kindled to help light the path ahead. The two princesses were accompanied be two royal guards, as usual, to ensure the safety of them.

"I am uncertain," Celestia responded as they continued to walk down the corridor. "But I am willing to try out this little experiment I had planned."

"But what if all goes wrong?" Luna persisted, trying hard to persuade her sister into reconsidering.

"It will be fine, Lulu," Celestia said, reassuringly. Luna was not easily convinced, but she continued to follow until they came to a halt in front of a large door at the end of the hallway. Celestia signaled the guards to wait by the entrance of the door and stepped right on in with her sister at her side. Celestia closed the door behind her.

Inside was pitch black, there was nothing that came into sight. Celestia, with her magic, lit up the scorched chandelier that hung from the ceiling.

Everything illuminated instantaneous, revealing anything hidden in the darkness. The room was enclosed by wall on all sides, not a single window to brighten up the place. In the middle of the room was an enchantment in the shape of the a six-sided star, made by two triangles, with six candles, unlit, at each corner of the star.

"Tia, h-how...w-when..." Luna stammered at the sight of this.

"Zecora help me with this," Celestia explained. "I asked for her help and she complied with my idea." She moved toward the center of the room, eyeing the work the zebra had put in. "This incantation will also help me with in succeeding at the task at hand."

"Tia, this is foalish," Luna stated bluntly, finally finding the words to say. "What if it is not what you want it to be?"

"That is the reason why you are here with me," Celestia said, making Luna cock her head in confusion. Celestia sighed in response to her sister's reaction and said, "You will aid me if any danger should fall upon us."

Before Luna could raise another objection, Celestia said, "Luna, it will be fine. Please take your place." She pointed to one of the star on the floor. Luna, knowing she will not be able to persuade her sister, obey and took a place near the incantation. The candles that stood on both sides of her were slightly shorter than she was. Celestia took her place opposite of her sister and the ritual began.

Celestia's horn began to glow and her wings were spread apart. Luna stood and watched as her sister castes a spell. The hanging chandelier's candles were snuffed out, enshrouding the entire room in total darkness. The only light that was visible was that of Celestia's horn as it expelled magic from the tip.

The candles that were surrounding the star began to spark alive, one by one, dimly relighting the room. The floor began to glow with a strange aura both alicorns have never felt before. Celestia remained unfazed as she continued to cast her spell.

The flames of the candles were beginning to change hue, from a bright red flame to a cool blue flame. The incantation grew brighter and brighter. A shape, suddenly, began to take form. The figure took Luna by surprise, she take a stand, ready to take action if any is necessary. The figure was not familiar at first, but Luna knows what her sister is trying to do.

She was teleporting a human into Equestria.

The human the was being materialized right in front of the princesses eyes. The human began to scream, scaring both Luna and Celestia, breaking her concentration and dropping the human in the middle of the star. Luna was preparing to counter if the being started to attack.

The being did not budge from its original position. It laid on the floor, nude and limped. Celestia to a step forward when the human began to shift into another shape. This took the curious princess by surprised. The human was transforming into a pony. Not just an ordinary pony, but an alicorn. The bare skin was beginning to grow a coat over his skin, the hue like that of the sky. The hair on the being's head was growing down his neck area as brown and messy as ever. The wings were spread open but were laid out beside him. The horn grew out from his forehead, sharp like those of the princesses.

Celestia stood over the newly made alicorn while Luna remained where she was. The body of the human-alicorn was laying on the floor unconscious. Celestia was the first to break the silence. "This is not what I expected."

Luna, who stood where she was, stared at what had just happened. "What do you mean?" she was able make out.

"This human took a form of a pony, but what I didn't expect was his transformation," Celestia explained. "We need to extract his power."

Luna was well aware of the situation at hands and was willing to help her sister. They both stood over the alicorn and began to extract his magic. Slowly, the wings and the horn began to sink back into the pony till he was just a regular earth pony.

"This is all we can do," Celestia said after finishing. "This will prove to be a problem, however."

"I agree," Luna respond back. "What do you reckon we should do with him?"

Celestia began to pace as she pondered at the thought of this. "I think... Yes. That will have to do."

"What? What do you have in mind?"

"Don't worry too much on it Lulu. Rest assure I will handle him."

Luna did not like the idea that Celestia had an idea and was unwilling to share. She didn't question her judgement, though, for she herself didn't have any idea what to do with a now earthen pony. "Alright, Tia, I will trust you know what you are doing." And with that, Luna turned to the door and left, leaving Celestia to handle the situation.

Once Luna was not in sight of her, Celestia conjured in a quill and parchment.

"My faithful student, Twilight Sparkle..."

Chapter 1

"...I am well aware that your study of friendship is going fairly well. I believe now would be a good time to put what you have learned to the test. I will be sending over somepony that is in need of assistance. He is a rather special pony. You will know what I am talking about once you see him. I am confident that you will lead him in the right direction.

Sincerely, Princess Celestia."

Twilight had just finish reading the letter, with Spike standing right in front of her. The two were in their usual library with books piled high enough to where they were on the verge of tipping over. The purple unicorn was feeling a little queasy. Her teacher, giving her another test? After barely passing Celestia's last exam with the Crystal Empire.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no! This soon?" Twilight began to panic.

"Twilight, calm down. It's just another test," Spike bluntly said. "This one will probably be easier than the last one."

Twilight paid no mind to the purple dragon. She began to pace back and forth, thinking about what was written in the letter. She passed by the pile high books, making them shift to and fro, which kinda scares Spike considering he usually has to shelve them.

She started to slow her pacing, letting Spikes words settle in her head. "You know what? You are right. After saving the Crystal Empire, I don't think there will be anything that I can't handle."

"There you go!" encouraged Spike.

"Oh, but there is still some much to do," the purple mare reminded herself. "This place needs to get tidy for this new pony's arrival." She levitated the pile of books and started to look scanning through them as quickly as possible. "Spike, can you clean out the guess bedroom and make sure it is neat and tidy?" she said as she places the books on their respective places.

"Yes, sir, uh, ma'am, eh, you know the drill," stammered Spike as he took off to the spare room and began cleaning it out.

~~~~~~~~~~

Walking around in Ponyville that same morning was a blue colt with a messy mane. The citizens here didn't mind the appearances of a new pony in town. Though this being a small town, he was kinda lost. The only things he had with him was a saddlebag with some bits, 'That must be the currency,' and a written piece of paper inside.

The note that was written on the paper ran through his mind over, and over again. "You are in a small town called Ponyville. Find a building that looks like a tree in the middle of town. It is a library. There you will find someone that can help you. I am sure you will get along with her just fine."

'Where the hay am I? Who wrote this note? Who is this "she" the note talks about? What do I need help with?'

He had no recollection of anything. He only remember waking up in the edge of the town. He didn't know where he came from, who his parents are, nor who he is? The only thing that came back to him was his name.

Lucas Sky.

His only lead was to follow the note left for him. He wanted information. Information that will help illuminate his path and answer any questions he had.

After a few minutes of walking, he came across a tree made into a house. "Is this the place?" the blue colt said to himself. "It doesn't look like anything I would have expected. How can a library fit in here?" Instead of pondering on the idea, he walked up to the door to see if the note was right.

Knock, Knock, Knock

Lucas waited patiently for a response. It didn't take long as the door open up on its own. Behind the door was a purple unicorn with a darker purple mane and a pink highlighted strand going down the middle. She was levitating a couple of books and putting them on the shelves. When she finished, she turned toward me, revealing her lavender eyes.

"Hello," greeted the purple unicorn. "My name is Twilight Sparkle."

"Hello, I'm Lucas," he replied back.

"I assume you are the pony the Princess sent over."

"Princess?" Lucas looked confused. 'No one mentioned a princess to me.' "I don't know any princesses, but I was told to find a library here in Ponyville." He pulled out a note from his saddlebag and gave it to Twilight.

She read the note over and let out a little chuckle. "Oh, Princess..." Lucas now went from confused, to dumbfounded. Twilight saw the look in his face and explained to him, "This is Princess Celestia's hoofwriting. It matches like the ones I receive from with every lessons I send to her." She levitated a letter from the desk on the opposite side of the room to me. Lucas thoroughly inspected and confirmed that the hoofwritings were identical.

'I assume this is the pony that is suppose to help me,' the blue colt thought.

"Twilight, I have finished what you asked me to do!" A voice came from upstairs. Lucas looked in the direction of stairs and found a purple dragon with green spines climbing down said stairs with a feather duster in one of his claws. 'A dragon butler? That's a first,' Lucas thought.

"That's great, thank you, Spike!" The purple unicorn gave her appreciation to the dragon. She, then turned to Lucas and said, "This is Lucas Sky."

Spike faced the blue colt standing next to Twilight and said, "Hiya."

"Hello," I politely responded.

"So, where are you from?" Spike asked as he walked up beside Twilight.

"Excuse me?"

"Where did you come from, Manehatten? Fillydelphia?"

"I don't know any of those places."

"Oh. Well, are the pony the Princess sent over?"

"I think so..." Lucas said, now getting a little annoyed with these consistent questions.

Spike, himself, was not getting comfortable either not getting straight answers from this colt. "Ok, well, I'm going to see if Owlicious needs help with anything. See ya."

Lucas nodded in return. Spike turned toward Twilight and whispered to where he was audible only to her. "She sure knows how to pick them." With that, he bolted out of the room, leaving Twilight, who was glaring at Spike after telling her his usual quips, with Lucas.

Twilight returned back to Lucas, quickly putting on a smile to hide her glare. "Well, you are welcome to stay here if you like, Lucas. There is an available room up the stairs to the immediate left. If you need anything, I'd be happy to help."

"Thank you, Ms. Sparkle."

"Just Twilight is fine enough."

"Alright. Thank you, Twilight." Lucas followed the direction he was given to his room. The room was quite small, but doable for Lucas. It did contain the necessaries of a room, a regular sized bed, a window to view the outside, and a small wardrobe.

Lucas took off the saddlebag and placed it in the wardrobe. He walked over to the window to see the view of the town. Ponies were walking about, conversing with one another, walking in and out of shops, daily routines. 'This is such a peaceful town,' Lucas thought. 'The ponies are nice. The fillies are out and about. What more can you ask for?'

"Enjoying the view there?"

Lucas jumped after hearing the unexpected sound of Twilight coming from the doorway. He regained his composure and turned back to the window. "Sure am."

Twilight examined the blue colt closely. Messy mane, blue eyed, blank flank? "I noticed you don't have a cutie mark," she said as she walked next to him.

"Yes, I don't know why, though. I know it tells your special talent and what not. I just don't know what my talent is, but I'm not too worried about it," Lucas explained. "This isn't a problem, is it?"

"Oh, no. Not at all," Twilight answered, trying to not make it sound too major. "You have plenty of opportunities to find your talent." Lucas didn't take offense. He didn't worry about it and he did not want others to worry about either.

Deciding to change the topic, Twilight asked, "Do you mind telling me a bit about yourself?"

This ticked off Lucas just hearing the question. He asked himself the same question over and over again. He wanted to know too, he just doesn't know the answer. He was on the verge of raging when he realized Twilight was in the room with him. "I...I don't...know..." Lucas tried to keep calm.

Twilight saw the colt struggling. 'Uh, oh. I think I might have crossed the boundary,' she thought. "Um, I'm sorry if I stepped over the line. I didn't know..."

"It's...okay," Lucas relieved himself. He saw that he scared the purple mare. "Oh, I'm sorry. I...need to be left alone for a while."

"Ok, if that's what you need, I can step out." Twilight started to door. She turned one last time and suggested, "When you feel better, would you like to visit my friends? I'm pretty sure they would like to meet you."

Lucas thought for a while. The anger was lessening, but it was still there. He turned to Twilight, putting on a smile to reassure her and said, "I would like to."

Chapter 2

Twilight left the room leaving Lucas alone. Lucas closed the door behind her and shut the curtains of the window. He was alone in the dark, now in an all out struggle against himself.

'You stupid colt! Why can't you remember anything?! Where the buck did I come from?! Why am I even here?! I need ANSWERS!'

Lucas leapt onto his bed, face against the covers. Tears were streaming down his face. All that anger toward himself turned into sadness. He has no memory of the event preceding the time when he first woke up. He wanted to remember, he wanted to know, he doesn't want these questions to linger in his thoughts anymore.

"Aww, what's the matter?"

Lucas's ears perked up as an unrecognizable voice sounded through. He immediately turned to an unfamiliar figure, quickly wiping his tears. "That doesn't concern you," he firmly said as he stood back up.

"Is that any way to treat a guest?" The figure had a dark and extremely slender body. Its eyes were green with the pupils elongated touching both the top and bottom of the eye. Having to squint in the dark, Lucas could make out a horn atop of her head.

"Who are you?"

"That is of no importance," replied the stranger. "What I can say is that I can help you, if you are willing to cooperate."

"What do you mean?" Lucas questioned, not sure whether to believe the stranger. 'Could this have been the pony the note was specifying? I'm not sure anymore.'

"In due time, all will be revealed. But for now, you must live..." She turning to the window and stopped right in front. Before making an exit, she muttered something that caught Lucas by surprise.

"Until next time, Lucas Sky."

She opened the window, leaving Lucas temporarily blinded after being kept inside a dark rooms for a while. When Lucas adjusted to the light, the stranger was gone. He ran to the window to see if he could catch a glimpse of her, but nothing outside was out of the ordinary.

'Who was the stranger, and how did she know my name?' Lucas thought for a while. This however made him forget about his sadness. "That's right, Twilight made plans to meet her friends." Lucas headed straight for the wardrobe and grabbed his saddlebag. He made sure everything was in place before heading downstairs.

He was in the living quarters where they first met and decided to forget about the occurring event that took place. Instead he greeted Twilight at the front door, who was prepared herself, like she had to run some errands. "All set," Lucas said to the unicorn.

"That's great," Twilight responded. "I'm glad to see that your feeling better, as well." She swung the door open with her magic, letting in the nice, fine afternoon breeze. "Shall we?"

Lucas nodded in content, feeling a lot better after the breeze hit his coat. They both took their first step out the door, Twilight closing the door behind them. They remained silent as they walked down the road toward their destination.

Lucas was the first to break the silence. "Hey, what about the dragon, Spike? Is he going to be alright on his own."

"Oh, yes," Twilight responded. "Spike is capable of taking care of the place while I'm gone. And if anything else happens, he's got Owlicious."

"Owlicious?" Lucas said as he cocked his head.

"She's an owl that helps around the library when Spike dozes off," she explained. "He is a baby dragon after all."

"Right. Well, I can't wait to meet her?" They continued walking closer to the edge of town, toward the forest. Lucas was able to make out a small cottage near the edge of the forest. "Huh, I wonder who lives out here?"

"We are about to find out," Twilight answered, already knowing who lives there. Lucas was confused at the reply the purple mare gave. Ahead, he sees, what appears to be, the front door opening. Out popped a pegasus, yellow as the sun, with a pink mane and tail, both curled at their ends. Her mane was long enough to cover most of her face, letting the rest of her mane to flow behind her. On the rear showed three butterflies, showing their pink wings. The pegasus flew over to a coop with a bag of seeds and began to feed the chickens.

The duo approached the yellow pegasus. "Hello, Fluttershy," Twilight greeted

This startled the mare, making her almost drop the bag she was carrying. She turned to see that it was her friend Twilight who spoke. "Oh, hey, Twilight," Fluttershy said. Her voice was very soft and hardly audible. "What brings you here?"

"I just want you to meet somepony new." She turned to Lucas and introduced him to Fluttershy.

"Hiya," Lucas said to the pegasus.

"Um, hello," she whispered, beginning to shy away. Fluttershy wasn't very good conversing with new ponies. She looked off to one side, only revealing one calm, sea-green eye visible to him.

"It's ok, Fluttershy," Twilight said, reassuringly. "Lucas is friendly." This made the timid mare a little calmer to hear her friend say that. She turned from Twilight over to Lucas, who had a smile planted on his face.

"How are you?" Lucas asked, still smiling at the Fluttershy.

"I'm fine," she responded quietly. Fluttershy finished feeding the chickens, still holding the bag. Lucas looked around and saw every species of animals under the care of this yellow mare, from snakes to mice to birds to bunnies.

"Are all these animals yours?" Lucas asked curiously. After asking his question, he saw Fluttershy brighten up at the month of animals.

"Oh, yes," she responded gracefully. "I take care of all things cute and cuddly."

"Don't be modest, Fluttershy," Twilight interjected. "There was that time where she tamed a wild manticore and stood up to that giant dragon that was endangering Ponyville, even though you were scared of him."

Fluttershy blushed at the remarks the unicorn made. Lucas was amazed at what Twilight said. 'This timid pegasus did all that!? Wow!' Lucas just stared at Fluttershy in amazement. "That's amazing," the colt added.

Twilight looked up at the sky and noticed what little time they had left to meet the rest of her friends. "Sorry to cut this short Fluttershy, but we are on a tight schedule. I hope you don't mind?"

"Oh, not at all," Fluttershy said. "I know how busy you can be. I see you guys another time, I guess?"

"Sure," Twilight agreed. "Well, see you later, Fluttershy."

"It was nice knowing you," Lucas called back as they started walking away.

"Good luck, you two," were the final words of the yellow pegasus.

Both Twilight and Lucas were now walking along the edge of Ponyville. The sun was directly overhead and was now about to begin descending westwardly.

"So, what do you think of Fluttershy?" Twilight asked, trying to see how she was progressing with her plan.

"She does live up to her name toward others," Lucas answered. "Other than that, she was really kind and caring."

"That's kindness for you," Twilight inputed, still sticking to the path toward Sweet Apple Acres. 'What does she mean by that?' Lucas wondered. There was a red barn appearing over the horizon, pass all the trees that blocked the path. The smell was lingering with apples, which Lucas found very soothing and appetizing. 'Geez, when was the last time I had a bite to eat,' Lucas thought.

"Yee-Haw!"

The sound rang out of nowhere. Lucas looked around to find the source of it. He did see a orange blur running across from him. He followed the direction of the object and sure enough, it was an orange pony with her mane and tail the color of the dandelions. Both her mane and tail were held together by a red band that keeps it from flying everywhere. On top of that, she wore a nice-looking straw hat to fit the theme of this ranch.

She stopped in front of an orchard with baskets siting on the sides. The orange mare lifted up her hind quarters and give the tree a good whack at the base. Apples began to fall into the basket one by one until they formed a neat little pyramid. She lifted each basket and placed them on both of her sides.

When she was done doing that, she noticed Twilight and a stranger trotting up to her. "Hey, Applejack," Twilight greeted as both ponies came to a halt in front of her.

"Howdy, Twi," said the country mare. "What brings y'all to these neck of the woods?"

"I thought I'd introduce you to somepony new..."

"Hello," Lucas said, holding out a hoof. "My name is Lucas Sky. Nice to meet yo-o-o-u-u-u." Applejack had just grabbed the poor colt's hoof and started to vigorously shake it, making his voice quiver at the end.

"Well, howdy do there, Mr. Sky. Names Applejack and welcome to Sweet Apple Acres."

The orange mare released his hoof, but the up-down motion of the shake kept going, making Lucas shake, from hoof tip to tail. It took the colt a few seconds to realize Applejack had already released him and regain his composure. Twilight, of to the side, chuckled at the sight of recovery.

"Hey, you look decent 'nough to be doin' some apple buckin'," Applejack suggested. "Care to try?"

"Umm, they are rather high up there, aren't they?" Lucas questioned.

"That's why y'all give 'em a good kick. There a fine tree set up," the orange mare pointed out. "Go on, now."

"Go ahead, Lucas," Twilight encouraged.

'Thanks for the support there,' Lucas thought sarcastically. The blue colt walked up to the tree with baskets already set off on the side. His stomach gave a low growl. 'Those apples look do look tasty. I guess I'll it a try.'

Lucas turned his rear toward the tree, just like how he saw Applejack do it. He lifted his hind legs, and, with all his might, gave his best kick. He looked up at the tree and saw the leaves rustling.

Nothing came down. He looked back at the two mares, who were just watching patiently. Just then, an apple land on top of Lucas's head with a big thump. This got him dazed for a few seconds. The girls were beginning to laugh at what had just happen. Lucas shook his head to collect his thoughts. He looked down at the apple and thought 'Well, it's better than nothing, but that kinda hurt.'

"I'm not gonna lie," Applejack started after finishing up her laugh. "I have seen better, but I also have seen worse. Don't fell down on y'all self there." She walked up to him and placed a hoof on his shoulder. "In commemoration of y'all's efforts," she lifted the apple that fell to on his head. "Here ya go."

"Thanks," Lucas responded, accepting the apple. 'Thank you so very much,' he thought in his head, considering how hungry he was. He ate the apple within seconds and thanked Applejack again for the apple.

"No problem, sugar cube. Although, y'all will need some training if you wanna to help out here."

Twilight walked up to the two. "Thanks for your time, Applejack."

"It was nothin', Twi," Applejack said. "I best be gettin' back to work now."

"Yeah, we're also kinda busy ourselves. Be seeing you Applejack."

"It was nice knowing you," Lucas put in as the he and Twilight began to walk.

"Y'all take care, now. Hope to see y'all two again," Applejack shouted back, running back to the farm.

After a minute of walking, Lucas was the first to speak. "She seems rather dependable."

"Yes, she is," Twilight replied back as they continued to walk back into town. "Applejack is one of the most dependable ponies in all of Ponyville. She is always happy to help those in need and she is very honest to everypony."

"I can tell," Lucas added. 'She did say what sounded the truth. Then again, I do think I am the worse apple bucker to ever existed,' he thought.

Both the blue colt and the purple mare were now at the edge of town. When all seem well...

CRASH

Chapter 3

Both Twilight and Lucas continued to walk down the road entering Ponyville. They were silent, up until...

CRASH!

Somepony crashed along side the duo and were sent tumbling over one another. Lucas can only see the world revolving around him, now fading to black. The colt could see straight again and found himself on top of Twilight. She was almost muzzle-to-muzzle with Lucas. They both stared at each other for a while until they realized what was going on. Lucas lifted himself off of the purple mare, slightly embarrassed. Twilight was also red in the face.

"Hey, you!" the newcomer shouted to Lucas. This pony was a sky blue pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail. Her eyes, what looks to be a mix of purple and red, were staring me down like a hawk. Speaking of which, the rainbow maned mare flew up to the blue colt till they were about eye to eye, making Lucas step back a couple of steps. "What's the big idea, getting in front of a future Wonderbolt while she is practicing her flight skills?"

"Umm, I'm s-sorry for that," Lucas managed to stammer out, who continued to step back to get some space between the pegasus.

"You better, or next time will not be pretty."

"Rainbow!" Twilight stepped in, confronting the cyan mare. "Calm down. He was just walking by until you flew in and swept us off our hooves."

The rainbow maned mare looked over to Twilight. "Oh, sorry about that," she apologized, now rubbing the back of her head with her hoof. "See, I was trying this new move out to try and impress the Wonderbolts."

"The who?" Lucas cocked his head as he questioned the sky mare.

"Don't tell me you don't know the Wonderbolts?" She crossed her hooves, making a face that can almost scare the fillies.

Lucas honestly had no idea who anybody is, let alone the Wonderbolts. Instead, he try to wing it. "Are they suppose to be the best fliers in Equestria?"

"They certainly are, and you are in the presence of a future member." She bowed as she finished her statement.

'I hope her ego doesn't go as far as this,' Lucas thought to himself, smiling a little at that quip.

"Rainbow Dash," Twilight started. "This is Lucas Sky." She pointed to the blue colt as she made the introduction.

"Hiya," Lucas greeted, raising a hoof up as if giving a wave.

"Yeah, well...just be careful next time," Rainbow quickly said. "Anyway I'd love to sit and chat, but I have to get back to practice. These moves aren't going to perfect themselves, you know."

"Do you mind if we watch some of it?" Twilight suggested. She was kind of curious as to what the rainbow mare had been doing. Lucas was also curious to see some of the pegasus's skill.

"Alright, just sit back and watch." And off she flew, leaving the colt and mare to just sit and watch.

"Is she always like this?" Lucas asked Twilight as they watched Rainbow make a loop around a cloud.

"Like what?" questioned the unicorn, watching the pegasus swerve between five clouds.

"Slightly...egotistical?" The sky mare took off higher into the air.

"Yeah, she can make a fool of herself," Twilight started. At this point, Rainbow began to dive bomb, straight to the ground, adding a few barrel rolls here and there. "But her hearts always in the right place when it comes to her friends."

BOOM!

That loud sound penetrated through Lucas's ears as Rainbow had broken through the sound barrier, making her leave a trail of rainbow behind her. That trail split up the two ponies watching, leaving Lucas in awe.

"Wow! That was amazing!"

"Thank you." Rainbow floated down beside the two. "That's a Rainbow Dash original, the Sonic Rainboom."

"Well, keep up the good work and you are sure to join the Wonderbolts," Lucas complimented.

"That's the plan."

"Anyway, thank you very much for the performance, Rainbow," Twilight said, getting up to her hooves. "I guess we will see you later, then?"

"Alright. See you guys around," Rainbow waved as the three began to part their ways.

"Bye." Lucas replied back. The rainbow pegasus took off to the sky, once again, going back to practice her flying skills. "She is pretty talented, I'll give her that," he said as soon as she was out of earshot.

"One of the best flyers in all of Equestria," Twilight replied as they continued walking around Ponyville. "She even won the Best Young Flyer competition with her Sonic Rainboom."

'Wow, maybe she does have a chance to join the Wonderbolts,' Lucas thought to himself. The two were approaching a tall, purple building. The top had what looked like a merry-go-round, followed by the tip point on top of it.

"This is Carousel Boutique," Twilight pointed out, leading the way as Lucas just stared at the building. He saw purple unicorn waiting at the door, urging him to step on in.

Lucas walked up and pushed the door open. He heard a ringing sound of a bell as the door swung wider. He stepped on in with Twilight following closely behind. Inside was a rack of clothes, neatly hanged. There was a folding screen off to the side if someone wanted to try out clothes.

"Good afternoon, sir," walked in a marshmallow unicorn from one of the rooms in the back of the shop. She was pure white from tip of the horn to the end of her rear hooves. She had both her purple mane and tail styled in a way that catches ones eyes. Her tail was swirled like a filly could ride it like a slide. The mane was pulled down along the side of her face, then lifted up at the tip. All of this helped compliment the shade of blue her eyes gave. "Oh, and Twilight. Hello, darling. How are you on this lovely afternoon."

"I'm doing fine, Rarity," the purple mare smiled. Her horn began to glow, lifting a book she was carrying in her saddlebag and levitated it over to Rarity. "Here is that book that you wanted." The book floated past Lucas, which read 'Stitching for Success'.

"Oh, my, Thank you so much Twilight," the white unicorn, Rarity, said. She then enveloped the book in her our aura of magic and sets it down on the desk cluttered with fabric. "I will need to learn these stitching patterns to please these, excuse my language, stuck up business ponies."

"I'm just glad I can help," Twilight responded with a smile. The purple mare stood beside Lucas. "I'd like you to meet somepony new. His name is Lucas Sky," she said as she pointed toward the blue colt.

"Ah, yes," Rarity said as she turned toward him. "Nice to meet you. My name is Rarity."

"Likewise," Lucas responded back. "So, what do you do for a living, Rarity?"

"I'm glad you asked, Mr Sky."

"Just Lucas is fine enough," the colt interrupted. 'Though I like the way it sounds.'

"Alright. I am Ponyville's fashionista, making and designing outfits for all to enjoy. But I don't just make any outfit for anypony." Rarity walks over to a mannequin that was wearing a blue, detailed dress. "I make clothes that will suit the pony's character...their style...their...individuality." With every pause, the marshmallow unicorn struck poses around the mannequin, as if trying to be dramatic.

"That sounds pretty tough."

"Oh, not at all dear. In fact, I rather adore the challenges that come with the design." As she finished explaining, she turned toward Lucas an examined him top to bottom. "Hmm, let's see... I think you need something to bring out those handsome brown eyes of your, maybe do something with your mane..."

Lucas just stares at the white unicorn turns to Twilight, who just stood there rolling her eyes, smiling, and turned back to Rarity. "Umm...I really don't thi-"

"I-de-a!" she sang close to Lucas ear, it began to ring. "I will design an outfit that will tell others who you are and what you stand for."

The blue colt shook his head to get the ringing out of his ear. "That's nice of you to do, but I don't want to put to much on you, considering how busy you will be with these business ponies."

"Oh, nonsense. It's the least I could do to a friend of Twilight." She levitates a measuring tape and a notepad and quill. "Now, hold still..." Lucas obeyed what he was told while Rarity began to jot done measurements.

"Do you need help with anything, Rarity?" Twilight offered. "I don't have much on my hoof."

"Oh, well I do need to get the supplies ready..." the fashionista said, tapping her chin. "Well if you insist, you can finish getting measurements while I gather the supplies."

She levitates the tape, the notepad, and the quill toward the purple unicorn, who then cover the equipment with her own aura of magic. "No problem."

Rarity gave her a quick thanks and went excavating in the back of her shop, leaving Twilight to measure Lucas from top to bottom. She measured the length of the body, wrapped the tape around the body for the waist, rested the tape along the side of one leg, and jot down whatever measurements she found.

"Rarity seems rather dramatic about...well, almost anything," Lucas decide to say after acting like a mannequin for what seemed like five minutes.

"Well...yeah," Twilight hesitated, trying to think of a way to make it sound as nice as possible. "But she can't help herself. She likes to live in the moment when it happens to arise."

"I guess I can't blame her," Lucas admitted. "And another thing. She seems rather generous, what with her trying to make me an outfit."

"Indeed, she is," Twilight agreed. Lucas didn't questioned any further as he was getting to know all of Twilight's friends like they were his. 'I sure am glad to I get a chance to make friends with these ponies,' he thought.

"I'm back," came a voice that just popped out of the back room as the marshmallow pony popped out with so fabric levitating closely behind her.

"Here you go, Rarity," Twilight said as she passed over the notepad and quill to her friend.

"Why, thank you, Twilight." The white unicorn take the pad and reads it over, making sure not to skip any details. "Rest assure, I will have your design ready by tomorrow, no later, Lucas."

"Ok, I look forward to seeing the end results," the colt replied.

"Well, we'll be seeing you Rarity," Twilight waved toward the white unicorn, heading to the door.

"It was nice meeting," Lucas added as he followed Twilight.

"Ta-ta," said Rarity as she went straight to work on Lucas's outfit. Both, Twilight and Lucas, took their step outside and were off.

As they continued walking about Ponyville, Lucas could hear his stomach growling at him once again, begging for food.

"I guess that apple was very filling, huh?" Twilight teased the hungry colt.

"Yeah, not really," Lucas responded back, a little embarrassed that Twilight was able to hear that. "Is there any place with something to eat?"

"Sure is. I'll take you there right now."

Chapter 4

"Here we are! Sugarcube Corners!"

Twilight pointed a hoof over to a building that looked like a gingerbread house with a cupcake up on top. This pink structure was not hard to spot in the mixture of the other buildings surrounding it. The smell sweets was lingering in the air as the approached the shop. At the front hung a sign with a cupcake for its logo.

At the sight of this, Lucas's stomach howled, longing for food to slide down his throat into his awaiting belly. Twilight looked at him and giggled. Lucas didn't noticed his tongue was hanging out. It was now dripping with saliva, leaving a puddle where he was standing. He drew his tongue back in his mouth, now embarrassed of his actions. "I can't help it, I'm just that hungry," he admitted, putting his hoof on the door.

The purple mare rolled her eyes in a playful manner. "Okay, if you say so," she teased. "Although, there is one tiny detail you should know."

Lucas was now pushing the door open. "Oh, and what is this 'tiny detail' you speak of?"

Ring, ring!

The bell attached to the door rang, signifying customers. In a blink of an eye, a pink blur stopped right in front of the blue colt. This pink blur turn out to be a pink pony with a slightly dark pink, rather puffy, mane and tail. Her eyes, the same color as the colt's fur, were wide and full of enthusiasm. That, and the was a smile stretching ear to ear plastered on her face.

"Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and welcome to Sugarcube Corners. What's your name?" Everything the pink mare said was rather fast for Lucas to process all at once. It took the colt a few seconds to respond to her question.

"Um, my name is-"

"Wait!" Pinkie interrupted. "Let me guess, I love to guess." The puffy mare put a front hoof to her chin. She put the other front hoof on top her head as she was thinking through the possibilities. Lucas looked back at Twilight, who was just walking through the door, and back to Pinkie, who had...another hoof on her forehead? 'Wait, what just happened?'

The pink mare brought her hooves down and began to give out answers. "Is it Reggie? No. Uh, Joshua? No. Oh-oh, Black Sooty, Black Sooty! Wait, that's not right... Um."

For some weird reason, Lucas seems to be enjoying this guessing game. 'Although, I wonder where she got Black Sooty from?' Though as much fun as he was having, the blue colt knew he had to end it. "It's Lucas Sky."

"Oh, shoot. That was going to be my next guess," Pinkie said. Lucas laughed. He doesn't know why, but it didn't matter because the pink mare followed suit. Twilight just shakes her head and realized how ridiculous they acted and joined in on the laughter.

Pinkie noticed a third voice enter the conversation. "Twilight, it's so good to see you," she gasped as she finally took notice of her friend.

"Hey, Pinkie Pie," Twilight greeted. "How was your day?"

"It was great. Sure it was busy and all, but that what shops are for, otherwise what kind of shop would it be if everypony would just sit around doing nothing all day." She took a breath of air after finishing the mouthful. Lucas try to keep up with what the pink pony was saying, which made him kinda dizzy trying to follow along. 'Maybe it's the hunger.'

"Anyway, who is this colt? Is he a friend of your Twilight?" Pinkie asked, pointing at Lucas. Twilight just nodded, which was good enough for pink mare. "Well, any friend of Twilight's is a friend of mine, as well as Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy." As she finished she had four hooves up in the air to symbolize each of the ponies. And yet, she was still standing. 'Should I question...maybe not.'

Pinkie Pie let out another gasp, only this time, she allowed more air to enter her lungs. "We should throw you a 'Welcome-to-Ponyville' party. I will invite all of Ponyville. There will be cake and piñata and, my favorite, Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Pony." As she said this, Pinkie pulled out all the stuff she had listed out of nowhere. 'Somehow, I'm starting to grow accustom her silly antics.'

When she placed the piñata down, it began to shake. Curiosity deciding to take the better of him, Lucas examined the paper-mâché, taking a peep inside. What hopped out came to a surprise to the three ponies. A green alligator latched itself to Lucas's muzzle, though there was no painful screaming coming out of the colt. Instead, the alligator just hung on to the muzzle.

"There you are, Gummy. I've been looking everywhere for you." The pink mare grabbed the tail of the alligator and it immediately released Lucas. "This is my pet alligator, Gummy, and he's happy to see you, too," she muttered behind a mouthful of Gummy.

Lucas, still in shock at what had happen, just stood there, looking at the toothless alligator. Twilight began to chuckle after seeing the look on the blue colt's face. 'Umm...just what is this pink pony?'

There was silence as the three ponies heard a low grumble that came from Lucas's underside. "Oh, you're hungry," Pinkie pointed out. "Well don't you worry because Pinkamena Diana Pie will get you some yummy, delicious, extra-scrumptious food for that grumpy belly of yours." And with that, a smoky apparition of Pinkie Pie took the place of the pink mare that once stood in front of the colt.

Lucas just looks back at Twilight with a look of concern for the hyperactive pony. "Um...is she..?"

"Don't worry," the unicorn reassured the confused colt. "She's just being Pinkie Pie."

"Um, what does that even mean?"

"That's something even I don't know. But I try not to question it too much. I've had my experience, and trust me, you'd be safer if you just went along with her. But that is what makes her fun to be around.

"Uh-huh, if you say so." As he finished that sentence, Lucas felt a sudden breeze from behind him. 'Oh, when it get chilly in here?' He turned around to find the source and, not surprisingly enough considering he was starting to adapt to his surroundings, Pinkie Pie was standing there with three trays. What did surprise the colt was that each tray was being lifted by one hoof so she only has on one hoof.

"Whoa, you need any help with those trays?" Lucas offered, seeing how the pink mare was on one hoof with no means of walking to a table. 'Then again, how the hay did she end up..? I think I'll just follow Twilight's advice.'

"No thanks, I got this," Pinkie smiled, bouncing over to the table on one hoof. The trays she was holding never moved from their original position. 'This pony should be a performer! She is amazing!' Lucas thought to himself as he was thunderstruck by this strange, yet entertained, wonders that is Pinkie Pie.

"All set!" The energetic pony pointed to the table she set the trays. Lucas couldn't wait any long. His hunger reaching an all time low, he took his place next one of the trays. The remaining ponies took their seats opposite of Lucas. He pulled the lid off and found a stack pile full of daffodil sandwiches. He found it strange that there was flowers in the food.

'Why am I having second though about food?' He didn't ponder on this for too long. Nevertheless, he began to gobble down his platter. 'Hmm, this isn't bad.' The mares, after lifting up there own lid from the tray, revealing the own share of food, just stared at Lucas, jaw dropped.

After swallowing down half of his plate, which took no less than one minute, he looked up at the girls with a couple of petals hanging from mouth. "What?" Lucas sputtered out the petals that was hanging. "Haven't you seen a growing colt eating to his hearts content?"

"Not if you are like me who enjoys fudge, but then again, if I eat too much of it, I would look like a pudge and then I would not budge," Pinkie Pie laughed. Twilight chuckled at Pinkie's rhyming. The colt rolled his eyes playfully, paying no mind and continued to consume his food to his hearts content. Within the next two minutes, all the sandwiches have been devoured, leaving Lucas with a satisfied belly bulging out.

"That was-*buuurrrrrp*," Lucas cover his mouth with his hoof after expelling a rather loud belch. "Sorry about that." He looked around to see if there were any other ponies munching away. Luckily, it was just them three.

"That's just fine and dandy," Pinkie happily replied after she finished her meal.

"Maybe next time you will eat a little less forcefully," Twilight teased, taking her last bite of her sandwich.

"I'll take that under consideration next time my stomach doesn't want to rule me," Lucas replied back. He had to use most of his strength get up from his seat, almost tilting the table to his side. 'Maybe I should take up on Applejack's offer,' the blue colt considered.

"Well, it was nice seeing you Pinkie. I wish we could hang out a little longer but it's getting late," Twilight said this as she looked out the window to see the sun beginning to make its final descent over the horizon.

"Okie-dokie-wokie," Pinkie smiled. "I hope to see you at the party. Oh, that reminds me, I need to get started sending invitation. Bye, Twilight. Bye, Lukey." She hopped up the stairs, doing Celestia knows what...scratch that, doing Celestia doesn't know what. Lucas chuckled at the nickname that the pink mare.

Both Lucas and Twilight headed out to enjoy the sinking sun, feeling the remaining warmth hitting their fur. The library was within their sight. Lucas, as they continued to walk, broke the silence. "I see what you mean by she is fun to be around."