> Home is where True Peace and Love Is
>  by MetalBrony823
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Wish Come True (Editied)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In a very peaceful town called Bend, Oregon, was a young man about 19 years old and just in the middle of August. It was high noon and Summer was still on the air, and the birds were chirping all round the area. The boy was named "Luke Smith". He was a fine, normal looking person with long, shoulder-length hair, a little pass his shoulders, but not long like a long-haired woman. he was just eating some food at Burger King with his friends. After his friends Brad, the same age as Like with shorter shoulder-length hair than Luke did. He wore an Avenged Sevonfold t-shirt and light blue shirts with a backwards baseball cap on his head. went to get the food, Luke was wondering and thinking about something that made him drift into Lala land."

"Hey, Luke, you alright, man?" Asked one of his friends curiously

"Wha? Oh yeah, hell yeah, I'm fine, Bobby." Luke replied to him in response. "I was just.... Thinking, that's all, nothing to bad or serious."

"You sure?" Said Brad, who was back with the food so that he and his other friends can eat lunch. "You looked a little.... Out of it, dude."

"Yeah, I promise. I'm fine." Luke said.

Brad sat the food, and they began to eat their food, more hungry than a white rhino not eating anything for a month.

Another of his Friends, Bobby, was also one of Luke's best friends. Unlike him and Brad however, he had shorter hair, and a small patch of beard on his chin, wearing camo cargo shorts

While enjoying his food, Luke decided to tell them what he was thinking about. These are his best friends after all, and they are always nice to him. After he was done eating his triple whopper with cheese, he said to his fellow cronies. "Hey guys, can I tell you something?" He asked all of them

"Of course, Bro." Said another friend named Jacob. This peculiar person also had semi-long hair, but not as long as Brad's or Luke's of course

"Yeah, fire away." Brad added

"Well, I was thinking that.... Don't you ever think this world can be really boring sometimes?" Luke asked

"Oh hell yeah!" Bobby exclaimed. "It can be so dull a lot of times."

"You would not believe how I feel Luke. Hahaha." Brad replied

"Everyone feels that way Luke. Don't worry, dude, you're not alone on this one." Jacob added.

"Yeah. I know." Luke said. "I just wish that... There would be something really.... Exciting on my life. Like in a book or a story where you are a hero and you have to save the world from evil. Like in the Legend of Zelda."

"Yeah man! That would be awesome!" Brad said in agreement.

"I would definitely like to wish For that to happen in my life." Said Bobby

"A bunch of falling master swords and Hylian shields raging from the sky." Jacob added

"People better get out of the way when that happens to them and not get that sword on their throat. Hahahahaha!" He laughed and then his friends laughed with him

"That's right." Brad said in a chuckle. After they have eaten, they all exited Burger King and Brad drove to drop his friends off back him, starting with Luke.

"So, Luke, if there's any problems, let us know, and we'll help you." Bobby offered. 

"Yeah, we're here for you bro." Jacob added kindly.

"Give us a call sometime, alright, man?" Brad said

"Okay. Thanks's guys." Luke replied to all of them with a smile.

"Oh, here we are." Brad said, parking his car on front of Luke's house. Luke got out and waved his friends "bye" before they drove off into the road.

Luke took a breath and went inside his house. Home sweet home. "Mom, I'm home." He called out.

His mother went up to him, and said "hey, Luke. How was it with your friends?"

"It was good. Very fun." Was all he replied. "Also, I was thinking."

"About what?"

"Well, I some times get a feeling where this world that we live and walk upon has no happily ever afters. Sure we are happy, mom, but don't you just want something more..... 'Exciting' in your life?"

"Oh Luke." Said his mother with a sigh. "Everyone feels tat way. We just got to deal with the fact that Life is not fair a lot of times, and just got to make the best of it."

Luke sighed in response "Yeah, I know, mom." He went upstairs and opened his bedroom door. He loved the smell of his own room, reminding him of home.

Luke, had a disability. "Autism" but he was very high functioning, and he can speak really perfectly, and had a higher iq than a lot of people had. So,stores, he would be ashamed of it, because he felt so.... Stupid, but in many other cases, he would call it lucky that he has autism within him. He loved animals and would do anything to help the, on their time of need. He would sometimes hate his own race for hunting many types of animals for sport. But he wouldn't let that get to his head, because he knows it will make him an unhappy person.

He turned on his Xbox 360, and started to play Skyrim. The game was so,what addictive to him, but he would never let the game get in the way of his life, for he knows he should do so,e exercise in most days. The house had an elliptical for the family downstairs in the living room. He would go on it and use it for about thirty minutes away then taking a shower after that so that the body odor wouldn't stick to him later on.

After one hour of playing, he decided to take a break from it. 

"Luke." His mom called him from downstairs. "Can you help water the plants for me please?"

"Yeah, mom. I'll be right down." Luke called back to her. He looked at one of his wallpapers, which was a map of all of Africa.

Luke, also had a love for Africa, and it's animals. Of course he loves all animals everywhere, but Africa can really catch his attention. He has been fascinated with the dark continent. ever since he was six, and read many books and articles about it, along with looking up it's histories. Sure he was not a Rasta, but he still loved Africa anyway. He would look up any animals that would catch his eye, and look the, up in books or on the net. He always dreamed of going to almost everywhere on Africa, except for Somalia because of the pirates, along with Equatorial Guinea, and Eritrea because of their strict rules.

Luke headed downstairs and went to do his chores like his mom asked him to. He enjoyed the nice breeze of Bend, and was happy watering his beautiful plants, even though he would just do it for allowance from his mother. 

What his mother doesn't really know, is that he was a little.... Troubled lately. He was not really.... Happy with the world he lives in. The wars, the conflicts, and animals becoming endangered, mostly conflicts on some African countries, for it broke his heart to hear about the conflicts in them, and the global peace index information about the. He also felt that this world was too fell for him, and not really exciting like he told his friends back in Burger King. He continued watering the plants so that it wouldn't keep him down.





It was nighttime, and Luke was just looking at the stars outside, laying on the grass of his backyard. He really loved the view, and looked for any constellations in the blue night sky. Looking at them makes him feel so free from any worries that would come to him

All of a sudden, he saw a shooting star, and thought of whether he should make a wish. He didn't really believe on magic or luck, but he decided to just play along any play, just to break the silence by talking in the wilderness. 

He thought of what he should say and wish, and finally he had something. "I wish.... I wish I can be in a world full of magic, and REAL adventures, with no terrorist attacks, no animals becoming extinct by poaching, no politicians, and everything would be just fine. That would be amazing." Then the star disappeared after he finished. He sighed and decided to go to sleep. He took off his Appetite for Destruction t-shirt, and light blue jeans, and only wore his underwear to sleep in.

He wondered if the star could actually grant his wish, or if it just faded because it finally burnt out of it's energy flowing through it, or the atmosphere of Earth was too much for it. He decided not to think about it too much, because he was too tired and looked around his room. He said goodnight to his Slash, Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath posters a goodnight.

It was absolutely silent except for the crickets chirping outside, and Luke's breathing while he was asleep.





The next morning, Luke awoke with a yawn, and put on his clothes from yesterday. He grabbed his smartphone and his IPod, put them in his pocket, and was about to be ready for a whole new day ahead of him. 

However, he noticed some kind of glowing around him, and an... Energy force slowly reviled around him. It was rather unusual. He walked out, but the magical force wasn't going anywhere, and continued swirling around him. Now Luke was starting to become a little scared.

"Wha-? What's going on?" Luke said, starting to panic. Then the magic force started to swirl faster around him. Luke had no idea what to do know since there was nothing he COULD do to stop this unusual mist. Then, all of a sudden, he was suddenly engulfed by the force completely and in a flash, the mist was gone, and so was he. 

***

In a a flash, Luke landed on a ground that felt like grass, and it felt a little.... Softer than the grass back home. He nodded his head rapidly to recover from his dizziness and slowly got up with his arm feeling sore. 

He looked around and saw a large landscape and saw a meadow with flowers all around, and some mountains with the caps covered with snow. Many trees were beautiful and green. Where was he? What happened to him?

"What happened?" Luke thought to himself loudly. "What.... Is this beautiful place? It feels so.... Peaceful." He could be in this field forever, and not worry about a thing about anything going wrong, and wouldn't have to deal with all of them.

However, he couldn't just stay there, he decided to call for help for he had a life, friends. And family back home, and didn't want them to think he died, or disappeared like a ghost. He looked around and walked around the meadow, and wondered for any help. Finally, he saw a small yellow figure, and wondered what it was. He walked over there, and there was a small.... Pegasus picking flowers, humming in a beautiful, soft voice. Luke could hardly believe it. A pegasus humming in a human voice? It sounded impossible.

He slowly hid behind the bushes, trying not to alarm her, and thought of the novel version of Frankenstein. What if it was like that? What if there are no humans in this world? What if any dominant creature of it harshly reject him like the creature in the book. There was only one way to find out, and slowly walked up to her, wanting to interact with it. When he got close enough, he said "umm, hello, little fella."

The yellow pegasus stopped pick inner flowers, and looked behind her and saw Luke, trying to look friendly as possible. The pegasus however, gave him a look of of fear in a snap. This was exactly what Luke was afraid of.

"It's okay." He said softly to it. "I'm a friend. "Don't be afraid."

The yellow pegasus however gave a loud, cute scream that sounded like a long kitten's mew, then flew away from him in the speed of light.

Luke could not believe what just happened "god damn it, Luke." He yelled at himself. "What the hell were you thinking?" He kicked a like of flowers on he ground in mild frustration. He was definitely wondering if this will actually be like Frankenstein, and if he would be killed by this.... Ponies

He decided to keep looking and kept walking around the meadow, possibly to look for this small pegasus again and try to start his introduction all over again.

Finally, after fifteen long minutes of walking, he found her cowering behind the bushes, covering her face on fear. The sight of that was just heartbreaking for Luke to handle. 

"Please." It said in a soft, high voice. "Please don't hurt me."

"She's so cute." Luke said in his head. He tried to reach out for her again, but felt a pain. He forgot that he was reaching with his sore arm. "Ow ow ow ow, god. My arm. It hurts! God I forgot that my arm was sore." He exclaimed.

The yellow pegasus suddenly stopped her cowering and looked up. She gasped and said "oh my, you're hurt. Are you alright?"

"Ummm not really." Luke replied. "I just came to this world through an energy force and I landed on this arm really hard on the grass, ow."

"Oh you poor thing." The yellow pegasus said with sympathy. "She looked around for anything to treat that pain on his arm, and remembered her first-aid kit that she would have with her just in case she would find an injured animal in need. By her point of view, Luke was an animal to her. "Now is will hurt for just a second." She said to him softly "Hold still." 

Luke reached out his arm, and felt a soft cast wrapping around him. "Ow ow ow," he said

"Shh, you're doing good." Said the yellow pegasus.

The cast felt really warm, like a heating blanket. The pain was starting to ease, but he still felt some pain in it, just not much as before.

"There, good as new." Said the yellow pegasus "how do you feel?

"I feel.... Great." Luke replied to her. "I don't feel as much pain anymore. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Always happy to help a creature in need." The yellow pegasus replied. "So since you can talk, what's your name?"

"Luke. My name is Luke Smith. But you can just call me Luke." He replied. "And You?"

"I'm Fluttershy. It's wonderful to meet you." She replied

"Nice to meet you too, Fluttershy. I hope you don't get offended if I say this, but... You're really cute."

"Aw thank you. That's sweet." Said Fluttershy. "So tell me about yourself. What are you? Where did you come from?"

"Well.... I have no idea on how I got here. I was just in another world, and then poof, I came here," Luke replied. "What I am. It's a long story. Is there any place where I can eat someplace? Is there anymore horses like you took."

"Oh yes, but we are called ponies." Fluttershy replied. "Come on, I'll get you to Ponyville and you can find what to eat there. My friends would also like to meet you when I see them"

"But what if they think I am a monster?"

"Oh nonsense." Said Fluttershy. "A friend of mine named Applejack can sense truth or lies inside anypony. Besides you will be with me. They will understand why I brought you there."

"Okay. Let's go." Luke followed her to Ponyville, the supposed town where she possibly lives in. Hopefully he will know what this strange world is. 
> Meeting Fluttershy's best Friends (Edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the beautiful fields on the unknown yet amazing world that Luke just got unexpectedly transported to. He was still walking with Fluttershy, the yellow creature that she calls herself a "pony" from behind. On their way to this place called "Ponyville," Luke was really worried that he might get himself killed  because that Fluttershy might introduce her friends to him. However, he decided to be brave, like his dad always said before he and Luke's mother got divorced then moved to Reno, and he kept that vow.

"Uh, Fluttershy?" Luke said from behind. "How much further before we reach.... Ummmm... What's this town called again?"

"Ponyville." Fluttershy answered softly. "Don't worry, Luke, we are not really far. You'll see it in a moment. And don't worry. My friends will really like you." She sounded very certain, but the human was not. He still remembered Frankenstein by Mary Shelly from his senior year on high school.

"Okay." Luke said, continuing to follow her. They continued walking, then their it was. A beautiful little town in a far distance that might be Ponyville as Fluttershy talked about. More butterflies flew in Luke's stomach and could already smell something about to happen.

"Well, here we are." Said Fluttershy. "Ponyville."

"Wow." Luke said in awe. From an even longer distance, Luke saw a really large castle on a left side of a large mountain. Never before has he ever seen such beauty, besides Mt. Kilimanjaro in his books, many landscapes across the globes like Angel Falls, and the sharp Rocky Mountains of Madagascar, and the plains of central Canada. 

"Well, come on. I'll show you around." Said Fluttersny

"Oh, god, here comes.... Whatever will happen to me." Luke thought in a worried expression to himself, and made a little silent gulp.

They both walked through the knolls where the road took them along the way. Luke was starting to become even more nervous. As they both set foot in this place, Luke started to sweat, but then became a little bit more brave. He looked around and saw many of the residents, who are also ponies, staring at him. Luke looked at them and nervously waved at them with a nervous smile. The ponies still kept staring at him, some of them muttering to each other

They were all so adorable and colorful.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy was looking for her cronies and found no sight of them. "Hmm, why don't we look at Twilight's castle.

"Twilight?" Luke said

"Oh yes, she's one of my friends, and she's a princess of friendship." 

"Princess?" Luke said to himself. "Well, I hope this princess can help me too." They both continued walking down the road to this castle. On the way, there it was, a large, crystal like castle with a purple amethyst color. Once again, the human was amazed by this sight.

They both walked inside, and Luke looked in awe at the interior.

"Twilight." Fluttershy called. "Twilight?" However, there was no answer in response."

"Hmm, why don't we look at Sweet Apple Acres." Said Fluttershy

"What's that?"

"It is a farm where all the best apples grow. It's where y friend Applejack lives at." 

"Okay." Said Luke. They both exited the castle, and saw a beautiful farm ahead of them with a long line of picket fences. Once again, the human was really amazed. He followed Fluttershy to the farm under the arch that was above the entrance to the farmland.

"Oh, Fluttershy." Said a voice. "There you are." Luke looked behind him with fear, and saw a purple Alicorn, a white unicorn, an orange earth pony, a pink curly-haired earth pony, a blue rainbow maned pegasus, and a small unusual looking reptile with them from the side of the barn

The white unicorn then got the attention of Luke. "Ah! What in the wide world of Equestria is that?!" She exclaimed

"What.... Kind of a creature.... Is this?" Said the purple one. "I have never seen anything quite like it."

"It looks dangerous." Said the blue one a little suspicious.

They all got a closer look at Luke and inspected him to see what kind of creature he is.

"It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you." Luke said to all of them, trying to console and make them feel better. 

"He can talk?" said the orange mare on a cowgirl accent. 

"yeah. i can." Luke replied. He tried to reach his hand to them, like he did with Fluttershy when he first met her. Then, the purple one suddenly walked up to him, and looked at his hand, then sniffed it. "See. Like I said."

"My, who are you and.... Where did you come from?" Asked the purple unicorn.

"Well it's...l it's a rather long story." Luke replied. "So, are you all friends of Fluttershy here?"

"Oh yes." Said the white unicorn in an elegant voice.

"Yeah, how did you two met?" Asked the blue pegasus in a raspy voice.

"Like I said, it's a long story. So, who are you, and.... What just happened to me?" Luke asked curiously.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle."

"I am Rarity, best fashionista in all of Ponyville, then all of Equestria." Said the white mare.

"Name's Applejack, owner of Sweet Apple Acres with my family."

"I'm Rainbow Dash. That's my name, winning and racing is my game." Said the raspy-voiced pegasus. She sounded a little arrogant to the human in some way. Luke could see it in her posture.

"And I am Pinkie Pie! The best party pony in all of Equestria. I am the master of birthdays, parties, fiestas, and-" she talked so much, it was difficult for Luke to keep up with it.

"Pinkie, I think he get's your point." Said Fluttershy.

"Oh, sorry."

The small reptilian creature cleared his throat very loudly with a somewhat impatient look on his face. 

The purple allicorn made a cute chuckle and said to him "don't worry, Spike. I would never forget you."

"Thank you, Twilight." The reptile replied. The small creature walked up to Luke, and said "My Name is Spike."

Luke smiled and shook his small hand as he knelt down to his level. "Nice to meet you, little guy." He kindly said to him. "What are you exactly?I hope I didn't offend you if I asked you that."

"Oh no. You didn't, it's alright. I'm a baby dragon."

Luke's eyes widened. "A baby dragon? That's awesome! I never thought I would actually see one. Dragons aren't real in my world."

"They're not?" Spike said, a little confused. 

"Nope."

"So, who are you, hmm?" Asked Twilight Sparkle.

"I'm Luke. Luke Smith. I know, it's a weird name, but it is my name. You can just call me Luke if you please."

"Well, nice to meet you, Luke." Said the Rarity

"Yeah, you seem like an alright guy." Applejack added.

"Aw, thanks." Luke said, rubbing the back of his head bashfully.

"Well...... Luke..... How did you get here? And where did you come from?" Asked Rainbow Dash, curiously.

"Well, I come from another world called Earth." He replied

"That's what our planet is called." Pinkie pointed.

"Right, but it's a very different planet than this one. I just got up from my bed from my sleep and then..... Some "aura" went around me, and.... It transported me here."

"Aura?" Said Twilight. "Why would that happen?"

"I don't know. I have no idea why the hell that would even happen to me. Last night, I just made a wish on a shooting star that I would live in a more cool, and peaceful world." Then Luke's eyes went a little wide, starting to realize what happened. "Wait. I think I know what happened."

"The star must have brought you here." Said Pinkie

"That's what I was about to say." Luke exclaimed. "But, I... I never thought it would come true."

"Why?" Asked Fluttershy.

"It's also complicated." Luke replied. He sighed and said "Look, I need a shower to clean myself. Do you know where I can go to one?"

"You can use my shower if you want." Said Applejack. "Just don't mind Granny Smith. She'll be alright with you."

"Uhhh, okay. Thanks." Then Luke went inside the house and went upstairs. Then, he heard a loud barking as he ran upstairs. He saw a brown Aussie dog barking at him, like he was a monster.

"Hey hey hey, Winona." Applejack scolded. "No!" Then the dog stopped barking in an instant. "I am really sorry about Winona. She.... She's just surprised."

"It's fine. I just didn't see her there, or know she was in here." Then he went into the bathroom, and closed the door behind him, locking it. The bathroom was rather adorable, and a little small, but nevertheless, the shower was just the same height as him. When he got in, the waster was so soothing, amd relaxing. While bathing himself, he thought of his wish come true, and couldn't believe it worked. However, he also thought if his family and friends back home would feel worried about him, missing him dearly.

"I really hope everyone in Bend is alright." Luke said to himself. He knew he couldn't possibly do anything to get back home now, and had to face the facts. On the positive side, he thought that maybe he didn't want to go back home, and he saw how beautiful this land is, as if he just died and woke up in heaven to live a new life as an angel.

Finally, he was done. He got out, and rinsed himself off, then brushed his semi-long hair all the way down to a little past his shoulder. Since he has hair like a true rocker, he made sure that it is well groom

"Ah. Lovely." He said to himself. He put on his clothes and went back out of the bathroom. He saw the dog that barked at him again. He remembered the name that Applejack called her: "Winona." He remembered. However, he decided not to get bitten or mauled, so he just waved at her as she tilted her sideways in curiosity. 

He saw the seven new creatures he just met, and Fluttershy in front of them. 

"Sorry to keep you all waiting." Luke said.

"No it's okay." Said Twilight. "So how did you and Fluttershy meet, exactly?"

"Well, I just landed on the fields, on my arm. It.... It was crushed a little since I hit it with the ground a little hard, and.... I was confused. So I found her, and tried to encounter and talk to her, but she was afraid of me, then ran. I found her again, but then I hurt my arm, but then she helped me, then we we really started to form a friendship."

"Oh yes. Luke is a very nice creature. Very kind and easy-going." Said Fluttershy with a smile.

"Well, that's a rather fascinating tale, darling." Said Rarity.

"Right, well, do you at least know where I can find someplace to eat? I need some breakfast too." Luke said

"Of course. Why don't we try the cafe." Said Rarity.

"Well, after you eat, do you think you can tell us Bout yourself, Luke?" Said Rainbow

"Yeah, of course, but not on an empty stomach." Luke patted his belly.

Rainbow chuckled a hoarse laugh at his comment "yeah, you an me both, buddy,"

"Well, we might as well be going." Said Twilight. Luke then joins the group and followed them to the cafe in town. Turns out that maybe his wish may have been the greatest one in his life after all.
> Talk Between Worlds (Edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke was now at the cafe in Ponyville. He was still a little nervous being in town as some of the ponies were still kind of staring at him because he was a human. He looked at the menu for anything that he would want to munch on to fill his empty stomach.

"Everything okay, Luke?" Asked Twilight, noticing his nervousness.

"What? Oh yeah, yeah. I'm just fine." He looked at the ponies walking past him from a semi-far distance. "They are kind of staring at me." He moved his face close to her ear and whispered "I don't want them to think I am a monster."

"Oh nonsense, darling." Said Rarity.

"Just stick with us and you will be just fine." Said Fluttershy.

"I know. I know." Luke said. He looked at the menu and saw that there wasn't anything like burgers or steak or ribs because the ponies are herbivores after all. So, he decided to take a salad with no cheese in any way as lunch.

"What will you eat, Luke?" Asked Applejack.

"I'm just going to eat salad right now. And I think I'm just going to hold the cheese. Then he stuck his tongue out and made a face of disgust. "Blehh. God, I really hate cheese." He said

"Why not?" Asked Rainbow. "What do you have against cheese?"

"Well.... I really don't hate it entirely, I really like it on burgers, pizza, and some crackers, but plain cheese, I just can't stand." Luke replied

"We understand your opinion. Everypony has their own sense of taste in food." Said Twilight.

"Right. I can be a little picky when it comes to food sometimes"

"Well, enough of that, do you think that your parents know that you just disappeared?" Asked Spike

"My dad doesn't really speak to me and my mom anymore, they got divorced. All in all, my mom would definitely freak and have a nervous breakdown when she realizes I am missing. In fact, I think she notices that I'm gone right now."

"May I take your or...der?" The waiter said in front of the group, noticing Luke.

"I mean you no harm sir, I promise you." Luke said to him

The waiter cleared his throat and replied "very well, have you made your decision at least?"

"Yep, I'll just have a salad with no cheese of any type on it whatsoever. And maybe a glass of water would be nice."

"Very good, sir. And Princess Twilight, Spike, and the elements, have you made your decision?"

"Oh, we're not hungry, Silverware." Fluttershy said

"We already ate something." Said Applejack

"Very well." The waiter turned back to the human and said "your food will be ready in a few short minutes."

"So tell us, what do you think of Equestria so far?" Asked Twilight curiously

"To be honest, it's a pretty peaceful and cool place. Pure happiness, joy, the air feels good, so serene and peaceful, and absolutely nothing to worry about. Back home was peaceful too, but not as peaceful as this world."

"That's good." Said Fluttershy. "What is it like on your world?"

"It's..... Complicated, and a very long story to tell you all. Besides, I would probably bore you all to death anyway."

"Oh don't be silly." Said Applejack. "There has to be something mighty fascinating in your world."

"Oh there is, Applejack. I just don't feel like talking about it do much right now. I need to learn more about this world."

"Okay." Said Rainbow Dash. "We can appreciate that."

"Right. We'll tell you some facts about Equestria later. For now, you should think of a place you cou;d stay for a while."

"That sounds perfect." Luke nodded

"Your salad sir." Said the waiter gently putting the plate in front of the human. The salad looked really appetizing to him and really delicious.

"Merci." Luke said to him

"De rien, monsieur." The waiter replied to him kindly

Luke then ate the salad he ordered and it was unlike any other salad he had ever had before in his life. After he was done eating,me gave a little yet long burp. "Excuse me, sorry."

"Oh it's fine, Sugarcube." Said Applejack with a smile.

"How was the salad?" Asked Rarity

"It was..... Pretty delicious. Way better than what my mom makes me." Luke said

The others laughed. "Good to hear." Said Twilight. "Say, why don't we introduce you to some of our other friends in Ponyville? What do you say, girls, Spike?"

"Oh yes. He really should meet the other ponies that live here." Fluttershy concurred.

"I can show him my beautiful boutique." Rarity said with an idea.

"That sounds awesome." Said Luke. "But..... Do you think that is a good idea? I feel like Frankenstein to some of them." He covered his face

"Well I have not idea what a 'Frankenstein' is, but I'm sure you are nothing like it. They will like you, dude." Said Rainbow

"Yeah, come with us." Spike added

"Well, I guess I can give it a try, but I still want to know what this world is, and I want to know more about Equestria. Not to mention you want to know more about me."

"We do." Said Fluttershy with a cute smile. "Why don't we go to the park and talk about it?"

"That sounds nice. Maybe a stroll in the park would relax me." Luke said

"Okay. We'll explain there." Twilight agreed. Luke followed them all to the park, and looked around the houses again.

"Hey, Applejack." Called a voice that sounded lie a little girl. There was an orange pegasus filly, a yellow earth filly, and a white unicorn filly. "We were wondering if- Aaaaahhh!" She screamed as the yellow one noticed Luke

"Monster!" They all exclaimed

Luke was cautious and was ready for anything that might happen like them charging at him in full speed. "No no no." He said to the three. "I'm not a monster, I'm not a monster."

"Calm down, Applebloom." Said Applejack. "He is not a monster."

"Yes, Sweetie Belle." Rarity referred to the unicorn filly

"Cool your jets Scootaloo." Said Rainbow to the orange filly. "He is actually really nice."

"Oh. Are you?" Asked the white filly.

"Yeah. I would never hurt an animal." Luke replied. "I am a very friendly guy. Please don't be scared of me."

"Oh. Sorry, sir." Said the yellow earth filly

"It's fine. It's fine." Luke replied calmly. "I kind of expected something like that to happen anyway. So, who are you?"

"I'm Applebloom."

"I'm Sweetie Belle."

"The name's Scootaloo. And we are....."

In a loud voice, they all exclaimed "The Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Luke covered his ears from the noise for he had some sensitive hearing.

"Oh well, nice to meet you girls. The name's Luke. Luke Smith, but you can just call me Luke, because it's my first name."

"Well nice to meet you Luke." Said Scootaloo

"So, what are you exactly?" Asked Applebloom

"Where did you come from" said Sweetie Belle. "And what do you eat?"

Fluttershy chuckled "alright alright. You can ask him later. Luke still needs to know what Equestria is, okay? Maybe you'll meet him again some other time."

"Okay, we got a meeting at our clubhouse anyway. It was really nice meeting you, Luke. "Said Sweetie Belle

"Yeah, see you soon, Luke." Said Applebloom

"Come on, girls." Said Scootaloo. They all ran to the fields at the same direction that Applejack's farm was.

"They are so adorable." Luke thought. "Really really cute."

"Well, let's keep going." Said Twilight, then they continued to the park.

***

The park was really beautiful. The birds singing and flying, and the fountain spraying so e sparkling water, Luke never saw such beauty of a park like this.

"Oh, here's a spot we can talk at." Said Pinkie.

They all stopped at a small field and sat underneath at willow tree. "So, tell us, Luke." Said Twilight. "What are you?"

"I sort of made a deal about at after I eat something and I kept my word, so what the heck?" Luke said. "I.... I am a human, I might have told you. I.... I'm a member of the primate family. You know, gorillas, chimpanzees, lemurs, monkeys?"

"Right." Said Rarity.

"Take a look at my hand for example." Luke showed his entire left hand to the creatures to show what he means. "Now, see any similarities to a gorilla or orangutan hand to a human one?"
"Oh, I do." Said Pinkie

"It is shaped like a gorilla." Said Applejack

"Definitely primate-like." Rarity added

"So, what are many humans like?" Asked Fluttershy curiously. "What do they like to eat, and what do they like to talk about?"

"What do you want to know exactly?" Luke asked

"A lot of things." Said Rainbow. ,

"Well I don't know if I can tell you everything. Just because I am the only human in Equestria right now, doesn't mean I know everything."

"Oh we know." Said Twilight. "No pony knows everything, not even Celestia and Luna."

"Who are they?"

"Who are they?" Asked Rarity, shocked at seeing him not knowing of their co-rulers. "They are the princess' and rulers of Equestria."

"They are alicorns, which are like a combo of a pegasus like me and a unicorn like Rarity" Fluttershy added.

"Princess' huh? That's really neat." Luke said. "So many humans like me are very nice and kind type of animals. Well, there are some humans that are not good at all, but I would rather prefer if we didn't talk about it."

"Okay. Fine with us." Said Pinkie Pie

"Humans are.... omnivores. Like bears and pigs, we eat both vegetation and....." he cleared his throat. "Meat. But please, Don't worry. I will never eat you guys, and besides I would never kill an animal than eat it, because that would be too evil of me."

The others sighed with relief, and were happy to hear that Luke will never eat them. "That's good." Said Rainbow.

"I do love animals, and I would love to do anything to take care of them." Luke continued. "I'm like a zoologist and know alot about different species more than a lot of my kind do, but that would be a little off topic. The point is many humans like me are good."

"That's really awesome." Said Rainbow.

"What is it like in your world and where did you live?" Asked Fluttershy

"Well, i live in a country called the United States of America. Many people call the country the land of the free and the home of the brave. One of the states I lived in was called 'Oregon' in the city of 'Bend'. It's a very nice middle sized town, and very peaceful with almost ninety-thousand people in it."

"Wow." They all said in amazement

"That's wonderful." Said Twilight

"Ninety-thousand is still quite a large number for humans to live in" said Fluttershy.

"Not compared to the largest cities in America, but that's not very important. I might have told you this before, but we live on a planet called Earth like this world is called."

"What other countries or continents are there on your Earth?" Asked Applejack.  

"Well, there are seven continents: North America which is where the United States are, South America, Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia, and Antarctica."

"Kind of funny names if you ask me. Well, Africa sounds a little funny. Africa Africa Africa." Rainbow said in a fast pace. "He he, sounds fun to say."

Luke chuckled. "Alright alright, that's enough, Rainbow." He said. "Anyway, I think it's your turn to tell me: What is it like in Equestria?"

"Well, Equestria doesn't just have ponies, there are also buffalo, sheep, cows, goats, and other creatures that are not related to ponies."

"What kind of ponies are there in particular?" Luke asked curiously

"Well you got pegasi ponies like Rainbow and Fluttershy, then you have unicorns like Rarity, and then Earth ponies like Applejack and pinkie." Twilight answered

"Oh, I thought those body parts struck me somehow." Luke said, remembering the definition of a pegasus and a unicorn in his homeworld. "I have read about them, they..... they are just a myth and not real in my world."

"What?" They all exclaimed

"Not real?" Said Rarity. "Outrageous!"

"Is magic also a myth in your world?" Asked Pinkie

Luke gulped and closed his eyes. "Yes. My world is kind of a boring place, and I always want to see something exciting and.... not boring, you know? A place more like this one."

"We can understand." said Fluttershy.

"Yeah, it does sound kind of boring in your home." Said Rainbow

"Well, enough of that, I am an Alicorn, a rare species of pony that are only born once in a while." Twilight continued. "As you can tell, I have wings and one horn. I used to be just a unicorn, but that's not very important right now. Celestia and Luna are also alicorns too."

"Really? Are there other alicorns at least?" Asked Luke

"Well, there's my sister in law, Princess Cadence who lives in the Crystal Empire north of here who is married to my older brother Shining Armor." Twilight answered.

"Huh."

"I am a savior of the Crystal Empire." Spike pointed

"You are?" Luke said with his eyes open.

"Oh yes, Spike has saved the Crystal Empire from certain destruction, twice." Said Fluttershy

"That's so cool. So are you a hero to the ponies of the place, Spike?"

"Yep. They all call me Great and Honorable Spike the Brave and Glorious."

"Neat." He got back up from the grass, and cleared his throat. "Well, do you think you know a way of how I can get back home?" He asked curiously. "Not that I don't like this world, it is so amazing and magical, but I got a family and-"

"Oh we understand." Said Applejack

"And..... no. I'm terrible sorry." Said Twilight sadly

"Alright. I kind of thought so. Well, do you know a place where I can stay at least? I can just sleep in a dumpster or-"

"A dumpster?" Said Rainbow.  "That's crazy!"

"Yeah, why would you say that?" Said Pinkie

"I don't know. I just wouldn't think you would let me stay with you for a little while. That's all. Just a thought." Luke replied

"Well of course you can stay at my cottage. You are more than welcome to come stay with me for as long as you want." Said Fluttershy

"And my Boutique. " said Rarity.

"We have a guest room in the castle if you would like." Twilight added.

"Or my family's farm." Said Applejack

"Or Sugarcube Corner." Pinkie leaped

Luke smiled at their kindness. "Thank you for offering, but I can only stay at one place. Can I Just Think About It, please?"

"Oh of course you can." Said Fluttershy respecting his choice.

"I should probably tell you that you probably wouldn't want to be in my house." Said Rainbow Dash. "Not that I don't want you to be in it, it's just that it is made out of clouds and only pegasus ponies can walk on clouds."

"Oh i understand. So I guess your place wouldn't work out for me."

"Nope."

"Right, well can you show me the rest of Ponyville? I'm a little curious about this place and I have a big curiosity." Luke said

"Sure. We'll show you around." Said Rarity.

Luke smiled. He walked with the group back to town to show him around the place to make him more comfortable.

"So Luke, I wonder, you really love animals?" Flutterhsy asked

"Of course. Why do you ask, Fluttershy?"

"Because in my cottage, I have many animal friends that live in and out of it that you could interact with." Fluttershy reminded

Luke made a small gasp. "Really? I would love to do that. I just hope they are really friendly and not bite me."

"Oh they won't bite you. They love everything." Fluttershy said.

"Alright."

"You should also look at my boutique and maybe I can make an outfit you want for you." Said Rarity

"I don't know if that's such a good idea. It's just that your more of designing clothes for ponies and not humans."

"Sure I have never created a human ensemble before, but I might be able to do that when I get a look at your clothes."

"What? Please don't, Rarity." Luke covered his shirt with an embarrassed look on his cheeks.

"Oh no, she's not going to make you take it off." Said Pinkie Pie. "She'll still measure you just with your clothes on. Although it is no shame of not having your clothes off anyway."

"Well it is for a human if in public. Of course many of you go without clothes all the time, but for a human, it is quite different." Luke explained. "In my world, it's against the law to be naked in public."

"Really? That's odd." Said Rainbow.

"To you maybe, but not many humans think that the way you do."

"Oh! Here's Sugarcube Corner" said Pinkie. "Here's where I live."

Luke felt like he was a cowboy when he pushed the old fashion front door, and he walked in front of the cashier stand. Then somepony walked in after Pinkie rang the bell. "Hello, how can we- Oh! Who might this be, Pinkie Pie?" Asked an orange earth stallion, and a smaller blue Earth mare with him as if they were a married couple

"Mr and Mrs Cake, hello. We want you to meet somepony." Pinkie greeted. "Luke, this is Mr. and Mrs. Cake, the owners of the shop."

"Hello." Said Luke

"Oh, well nice to meet you, Luke." Said Mr. Cake. "We hope we are not being rude but what are you exactly?"

"Yes, and where did you come from?" Mrs Cake added

"Well, I'm a human and I came here from a shooting star, and it's a rather long story. So you make cakes, cupcakes, and other desserts with Pinkie Pie?"

"Oh yes. Pinkie is such a great help to us in the shop. She knows how to help run a business and throw a party." Mrs. Cake answered

Luke noticed something nibbling on his shoe. He looked down and saw a small large eyed alligator, with no teeth. "Huh? Oh, hey little fella." Luke said to the gator.

"Oh, this is Gummy, my pet alligator. He is a real charmer, aren't you Gummy?" The small alligator just did a slow blink to her in response. "Right!"

Then Luke felt Gummy trying to put his paw on his shirt

"Oh look, he likes you." Said Fluttershy.

"Would you like to hold him, Luke?" Pinkie asked. "He won't bite. Actually he might but it won't hurt because he has no teeth."

"Okay." Pinkie gave him the alligator and he held him in his arms. The texture of the skin was not what Luke expected, it was a little more softer than he would expect it to be, and thought that it would be as hard as a rock. The alligator then nugded him on his chin with affection.

"He does like you." Rainbow laughed.

"He does." Luke said with a smile. Then after a moment, he slowly gave the gator back to his owner. "Thanks, Pinkie."

"No problem." Pinkie replied

"Well it was nice meeting you Luke." Said Mr. Cake

"Feel free to visit us when you feel le it, and maybe introduce you to our babies when they are not sleeping."

"Okay. It was nice meeting you Mr. and Mrs. Cake." Luke replied to them. "See you later."

"Come back soon." Said Mr. Cake before the others exited the dessert shop.

***

It was not far when they reached the cottage. Before they all entered, Fluttershy said to Luke. "Now, they might be a little scared if you when we come in here, but don't worry, they will like you."

"Okay, Fluttershy. I'll keep that in mind."

They all entered and Luke saw animals as far as his eyes can see. It ranged from squirrells, chipmunks, and mice to porcupines, raccoons, beavers, bears, pigs, goats, and many more. Many of them were a little stunned, frozen on the spot when they saw Luke.

"Hello, everyone." Fluttershy announced. "This is Luke. He's a human from another world, now please be nice to him." She and Luke walked up to the center of the cottage while the others stayed in front of the door. "This is Harry." She referred to the large grizzly bear.  "Mr Prickles." She referred to the first porcupine. She introduced him to many more animals so on and so forth and finally she stopped when she introduced him to her rabbit friend. "And this is Angel." The rabbit didn't really look really happy and looked a little grouchy. Then he just hopped away.

Turns out Angel doesn't really like him very much, but the other animals however, we're getting along with him just fine. The large bear bent his head close to Luke's face and then sniffed it. Then he licked his face with his large tongue making him laugh.

"Hey cut it out." Luke laughed. Many ferrets mice, rats and other small animals around the floor circled around his legs like a bunch of cats. Some birds like finches and Blue jays perched on his shoulders while singing.

Luke really loved what he was experiencing. He was a little nervous at first but it turns out it went better than he expected. He was really enjoying this experience and treatment that almost all the animals are giving him

"They like you already." Fluttershy said happily with a smile.

"I know." Luke said.

"Alright, everyone. Let's give him some space, please." Then the animals back up for him to move.

"I think I know where i might want to stay for a while, but yet again, I still need to think of where I should stay since there is so much out there." Luke remarked

"Well, let me show you my boutique next, darling." Said Rarity. Then they all, minus the animals of course, went back to town to look at Rarity's house this time. Fluttershy said bye to her critter friends before she left with the others to let them know she will be back.
> Knowing Ponyville/Luke's Disability (edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Here is my humble home, Luke. Carousel Boutique." Said Rarity. She and the others were giving Luke a little tour of the town, starting now. Luke was rather fascinated by the interior and looked really fancy.

"Wow, that's amazing." He said.

"Thank you. I take great pride in my work of fashion and my home decor." Rarity boasted. Applejack rolled her eyes with a smirk from Rarity's ego. "I could make you some new clothes for you some time if you would like. Oh! and also a new chapeau for you if you would like."

"That's kind of you Rarity, but my clothes are not like the clothes you would normally wear, even though it is common for you guys to walk around without clothes."

"Oh pish-posh, Luke. I can create clothes suited for you." Rarity said. "Besides, I create some clothes for Spike whenever he wants any, and he has the same body structure as you."

"True." Luke replied. "Do you think you can make me some metal or rocky sometime like my shirt?"

"Well... I never did that kind of thing before, but I suppose I can give it a shot." Rarity said. "Even though I am not really a pony of rock n roll."

"Ah, don't pay attention to her Luke. I love your music taste. It looks so awesome." Rainbow said

"Oh. thanks Rainbow."

"Sure."

"So anyway, do you get a lot of customers often?"

"Umm, more or less. I can be very successful."

"Huh."

"Yep, rarity is one of the most successful and most recognizable fashionistas in Equestria." Pinkie pointed

"Guilty as charged." Rarity boasted again. "I even opened my own boutique in Canterlot not too long ago. And, I have a friend of mine named Sassy Saddles to watch the place. Even though I do love Canterlot, Ponyville is my home."

"Cool. That does sound so successful." Luke said proudly.

"So, where else would you like to go?"

"Well, I don't know. there are so many places as far as I can see that are really cool." Luke said. "I don't even know where to start."

"What about my castle?" Twilight suggested. "We have a guest room for if you want to stay with us."

"Really? oh no. I'm just a peasant. I couldn't possibly do that. I might disrespect you that way."

"Oh don't be silly, you don't have to be a princess or have any royalty to visit my castle." twilight said. "Besides, I don't have any guards."

"Oh. Good. I suppose I can look at it. Lead the way." then the others went out of the boutique and Luke followed them to the large Crystal castle just outside of town. When Twilight opened the humongous doors, Luke was amazed at the interior. I was unlike any other castle he has seen back in his world. "Oh wow. That is really awesome. It's all crystal, and shiny."

"Never seen a castle like this before, have you?" Twilight teased

"Nope. There are castles in my world, but nothing like this. Oh I wish my dad were here to see this, he would love it."

"Well, this wasn't my first home. My, or our first home."

"What was?"

"It was a library made out of a tree." Then Twilight's face looked a little saddened. "Sadly, it was destroyed."

"What? I am so sorry to hear that. Really I am."

"Thanks Luke." Spike said. "But we're alright now."

"Good. What kind of rooms does this have?"

"We'll show you." Said Twilight. Luke followed the others to the conference room wi the map table, the library, the stump and roots where the tree house came from, Spike's room, then e guest room in case he wants to stay in the castle.

"This is really amazing. Very big and awesome." Luke said

"Thanks. Glad you like our home."

"I do. I love it."

"So, where would you like to go next?" Said Fluttershy.

"Well, I would like to know the person in charge of this place, besides Twilight. Is there like a president or a mayor by any chance?"

"Oh yes, Mayor Mare is in charge of Ponyville." Said Rarity. "Why do you ask?"

"Just in case something happens like if anyone tries to kill me because I am not a pony, I would go to her for help."

"Oh nonsense. That will never happen." Said Twilight. "That's a silly thing to think about."

"It could happen. Just saying." 

"Don't worry. I doubt anything like that will ever happen." Said Applejack. "Like we say, just meet many ponies around here and get to know them and maybe they will like you."

"You saw how the three fillies were, and the cakes, Right?" Said Rainbow

"I did. Maybe you're right."

"So don't worry. Keep your head high and don't be nervous."

"You're right."

"So, have you thought about where you would want to stay?" asked Twilight.

"Well... I still haven't decided yet, these places look so awesome and look very nice to live in for a while. Sorry if it is taking a little while."

"Oh no, don't be sorry." said Rarity. "We understand how you feel."

Then Spike felt something caught in his throat, and then coughed up a scroll with an elegant string tied in the center. "What was that?" Luke said

"That was just Spikey-Whikey receiving a letter from Princess Celestia herself."

Spike then read it to himself and said to the others "it is from the princess, she says she wants to meet you, Luke."

The young man's eyes went wide. He felt a small amount of butterflies and moths fluttering in his stomach with nervousness written all over it. "Oh god, I think she wants to kill me, or use me as a human experiment or something?"

"What? That is ridiculous." Said Fluttershy. "Celestia would never do something like that."

"Yeah, Luke. She probably just wants to meet you, that's all." Applejack added

"Well, maybe she might want to experiment on me because I am the only human in Equestria." He gasped with horror, and grasped his arm. "Maybe she might give me really painful injections." Then he felt the soft hoofs of Fluttershy soothe his shoulders

"Luke. Please settle down. I can't stand to see you like this."

"Yeah, dude. Chillax. I doubt that princess Celestia would ever do that, neither would Luna." Rainbow said

"You're right. You're right." He took a few deep breathes and calmed down a little. "I'm sorry. I.... I can get a little nervous sometimes."

"Don't worry. We all can get nervous." Said Spike

"Yeah. I know." Then the human took a little breath "guys, can I tell you something?"

"About what?"

"Well, I have.... I have..... Autism." He replied weakly.

"Autism?" Asked Rainbow. "What's that?"

"Well, it's a disability that prevents some ponies from performing some certain obstacles. Some can be very smart, and some can be non-verbal." Twilight said. Luke was surprised and happy to hear that autism exists in Equestria,

"Right. Sometimes. I feel like a retard."

The others gasped with shock.

"Luke, you are not retarded." Said Pinkie

"Well, I'm a loser sometimes. I have autism and sometimes feel stupid because of it."

"Listen to me. Please. You are not stupid. You just have a disability." Twilight consoled. "And it's okay if you have autism. I would call it..... A gift."

"Yeah, Sugarcube. You sound like a pretty lucky guy with autism." Said Applejack with a smile.

"Oh yes. By telling us about a continent like Africa, you are a really smart creature and a kindhearted one too." Fluttershy added

"You.... You think so?"

"We know so." Spike remarked. 

"You still think I'm cool right?"

"Of course." Said Rainbow Dash. "You seem like a totally awesome guy." The human smiled at her compliment and felt a little better.

"Thanks guys. I really appreciate it."

"What are friends for?" Fluttershy stated warmly

"So, when will they come here anyway?"

"They should be arriving in.,.." Then a magic bubble rather harmless Bursted out of thin air, and revealed a tall white allicorn and a smaller blue one. "Right now," Twilight finished

Luke felt more butterflies and mouths swarming in his tummy but was trying to stay strong and not be very nervous. Besides, he knew he was making new friends already.

"Ah, there you all are." Said the white alicorn. It was like a soft, majestic, and beautiful motherly voice. Then they both looked at Luke, who gave them a nervous finger wave at them.

"Oh hell. Here it comes." Luke thought in his head.

"So this is the peculiar creature we have heard about." Said the smaller blue alicorn. Her voice was beautiful and mother as the bigger white counterpart, but a little higher in pitch.

Luke flushed a little, and hoped that everything will go well.

"Such a peculiar creature." Said the white alicorn. "Could you please come here, dear?"

The human gulped and slowly walked over to the two rulers of the land. 

"Bow To them, sweetie. They are the rulers of Equestria after all." Rarity whispered in one of his ears. 

"Oh." As she suggested, the young man knelt on one knee and bowed his head to them in respect. "They... kind of look beautiful." He thought.

"What is your name, young creature?" Asked the white princess in her soft voice.

"And what are yo exactly?" The blue one added.

"M- my name is Luke, Luke Smith, but you can just call me Luke." He said a little nervously. "And... i am a human. I would also like to say you both are really beautiful." Then he yelled at himself in his brain "oh my god, Luke! What were you thinking? Now they'like decapitate you for saying that."

The two princess' blushed at someone calling them really beautiful. They both smiled at his sweetness. "Oh. Well, thank you." Said the white Alicorn. "Well, Luke, it is wonderful to meet you." The blue alicorn nodded after her sister was done with her sentence. "My name is princess Celestia."

"And I am princess Luna."

"Well, it is an honor to meet you, your majesties." The young human replied to them. "Twilight and the others told me some stuff about you."

"Oh. We are flattered." Said Celestia

"Yes. You seem like a really nice young boy." Luna added

"Thanks."

"You can stand up now, dear. You don't have to bow to us the whole time." Celestia chuckled

Then Luke stood upright. "I'm sorry. 

"No need to apologize, child." Said Luna

"My, you are quite a handsome human, aren't you?" Celestia complimented.

Luke blushed and rub the back of his head. "Oh well I..."

"Let us go in Twilight's castle. We have so much more to talk about." said Celestia.

"Sure." then he, Spike, and the mane six followed the two princess' to the crystal-like castle. "So, what else do you want to know?" he asked them.

"Well, We would like to know how you got here." Luna replied

"I came here through a shooting star. You see, I made a wish that I wish I can be in a world with real excitement and adventure. I.... don't hate my homeworld, but I want a little more excitement in my life, you know?"

"I see."

"So what kind of an animal is a human?" asked Luna

"Well, we are primates." he answered. He showed his hand to the princess to give the same example he did with his new friends. "Now, take a look at my hand, see any similarities between a gorilla and chimpanzee's hand with a human hand?"

The princess looked it really closely one at a time. "Oh, yes. They do look really similar." Celestia said in awe. "That is really intriguing."

"Right, except we don't have the same type of feet that they do, like we don't have the thumb on our feet so we can climb on some things or swing on pipes or ropes."

"Interesting. If only we had more information about humans in Equestria." Luna remarked.

"Well, I don't know if I can answer everything about humans. I may be the only human in Equestria, but that doesn't mean I know every single thing."

"Oh we know." said Celestia. "We understand."

"So, princess Celestia, and princess Luna, do you think you might think of something to get me back home at least? I really love this place, and I still need to think of whether I should stay here forever if i want to, but I got a family back in my home."

"We completely understand." Luna stated. 

"Sadly we do not know how to bring you back to your Earth." Celestia added in a sad voice

"Oh. That's what I thought. I just wish that there was something to let my mom, friends, and other family members know that I'm okay. Oh! wait, I still have my cellphone." then he pulled out one of his most important devices.

"What's a cell phone?" Spike asked curiously. 

"Well it's like a telephone and, there are such things as telephones in Equestria, right?"

"Oh of course there are?" Said Rarity

"Well, cell phones are like telephones on the go, so I can talk to someone whenever I feel like it."

"Ooh, that's very useful." Said Pinkie in her naive tone

"So, I just put up the number and see if I can call my mom on here." He put his mother's number in and waited for an answer after a few tones.

"Luke?" Said a voice from the other line.

"Mom? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me. Where are you, I was so worried."

"I'm fine, mom. I'm fine. I promise. Where i'm at. You would really believe me if I tell you this, and I promise you I am telling you the truth."

"What?"

"I wished on a star to be in a much cooler place, and my wish came true." He explained flatly

"What? That's not possible." His mother said

"Well, i didn't think it wouldn't actually happen either, but it did. I.... i promise you I am fine and i'll try to see what I can do to get back to you and the pets. In the meantime, please stay strong about this okay? I will come back to you and Logan. I promise you I will, and please tell Logan to stay strong too. Please don't be mad at me, and you gotta believe me."

"I.... i do believe you and I can tell by the sound of your that you're not lying. I promise you I will be on my best to stay strong. I know you can handle yourself. Logan, might not be so easy to handle, bu I will do what I can to make him understand."

"Good, I might tell my friends and my dad about this too. I don't want them to think I was killed in an accident."

"Okay. Please come back to me soon. I love you."

"I know. I love you too, mom. Bye."

"So how is she taking it?" Asked Applejack. 

"Not so well, but I know she will stay strong." Luke replied

"That's good at least." Said Celestia. "Well, me and my sister better get back to our royal duties. It is nice meeting yoy, Luke, and I promise you, we will do what we can to get you home. In the meantime, why don't you enjoy the rest of Ponyville, and come to Canterlot for a visit sometime, and talk to us if you have any problems, alright dear?"

"Thanks. I'll get uses to living here for a while." Luke said with a smile, and having a thought of what staying in Equestria would be like.

"See you soon, your majesties." Twilight said to the two rulers

"By my little ponies. See you all later." Said Luna. In a flash of magic, they uses their horns to disappear possibly back to Canterlot. 

"So, guys, I think I know where I want to stay." Luke decided

"Where?" They all asked "please don't hate me if I say this but I want to stay with...... Fluttershy."

Then the yellow pegasus' eyes went wide and a smile formed on her face. "Really? That is so wonderful. I don't even know what to say."

"What you choose is fine with us." Said Applejack

"We're not mad. We respect your decision." Said Twilight. 

"But you will visit our houses again sometime, right?"

"Of course." Luke chuckled. "But I might as well settle into that cute cottage."

"Oh of course. Let me lead you back." Said Fluttershy. 

"Se you in a little while guys."

"Bye Luke." They all replied to him, then Luke went out the door with Fluttershy to what might be his new home.



> Luke's new clothes Given by Rarity (Edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the cottage, Luke was looking around the place again while looking and examining all the animals inside curiously. Some were a little skittish around him while many of them all started to take a liking for Luke. Some of them such as ferrets, badgers, porcupines, and more were sitting with him. The human was really enjoying it and petted some of them, minus the porcupines of course Fluttershy was fluttering downstairs and she noticed the few animals circling around him and sitting with him. He was a little nervous because he was worried at some degree that the animals might bite him or the porcupines might puncture him with their quills. 

"Oh look, they already like you." said Fluttershy. "That is so cute."

"I know." Luke took a little heavy breath as he was nervous. "I never had this kind of encounter with these types of animals before, minus dogs, cats, lizards, hamsters, and other ones like in pet stores or farms."

"You alright?"

"Yeah, i'm fine. I'm just a little worried that some of these animals might bite me or something. and.... please don't think i am a baby, but.... i'm sensitive. You know, because of my autism?"

"Don't worry, Luke. They wouldn't hurt a fly. They never bite anypony. And there's no need to feel bad about feeling sensitive, I for one am sensitive too."

"Really?"

"Hm-mmm."

That would explain alot since the first time i met her, she was scared like hell when she looked at me. Well, I will try my best not to make her cry, I would hate to see that. He thought. Then he realized that he and Fluttershy might have some things in common of one another, their love for animals, and both kind. "I see. Guess that makes both of us." he chuckled

Fluttershy giggled adorably and replied "I agree."

Then a badger came up his lap like a cat.

"Aw, Stripe wants you to pet him." 

the human slowly put his hand over the badger's head and slowly stroked it. the badger was really enjoying it and rubbed his claws against his shirt. Luke began to feel more comfortable than ever. The little creature chittered happily to him as he continued petting him.

"So tell me, Luke, how did you think you did meeting the princess' in Twilight's castle?"

"Well, I thought they are very nice and motherly to me. They have hearts of pure gold, I can tell you that."

"Oh yes. They do. And they seem to be having a liking for you now."

"You think so, Fluttershy?"

"I do. They are the greatest rulers in all of Equestria. They always know how to treat their subjects with care to all of them."

"Yeah, definitely better than politicians back in my own home world. They are nothing like these two were."

"Why do you not like these politicians?"

"That's a long story, and complicated. Besides, I really don't like to talk about. Well, I guess I should say that my country has a president and no monarch. And alot of people in my world don't like to talk about politicians anyway."

"I understand."

The badger slowly got off Luke, already done with him petting his head gently. He jumped to the floor and slept on a little bed next to Angel's.

"Do you have any pets in your home?" Fluttershy asked curiously

"Oh yeah. two dogs, and two cats. Well, one of my old cats, Felix, had to be put down because he was getting too old."

"Oh i am so sorry to hear that. I bet that he had a good life because you were in it." she said, softly comforting him. 

"Thanks. He did. But i got a new calico kitten and she's very playful i'll tell you. My dogs are kind of big, but I can still handle them. I always clean up after them, and feed them and give them attention."

"Wonderful."

"But I always want to work with more types of animals. I mean i love pets, but I want to broaden my horizons, like volunteer at some place like a shelter, humane society, or a farm."

"I am glad you would really want to do that for animals. That means so much to me that you love animals and you would like to help them as much as I do."

"You know, Fluttershy, I think we have a few things in common you know. We both love animals and take care of them. We are both helpful to those around us. What do you think?"

"I think i agree with you. You love animals as much as I do, and also take care of them like me."

"I hope that wasn't weird of me to say."

"Oh no, of course not."

Luke smiled again. He really was starting to like these ponies in this world a great deal, and Spike too. He hoped that the other inhabitants of this adorable little town will all warm up to him as well, like Fluttershy, and all of her friends and of course, her animal friends. After all, he seems to be warming up to them already.

"Would you like some tea?" Fluttershy offered. "It's herbal."

"Thanks, but I really don't like tea." Luke replied. "I usually drink diet coke, root beer, water, sports drink, maybe some hot chocolate for winter too."

"I'm sorry, but I don't have root beer or.... that diet soda you just said. But I do have water."

"That's sounds fine. And don't worry, i'll get the water myself." he got back up from the couch with some of the surrounding animals backed away a little to give him space. Luke went to the kitchen and got himself a little glass and looked to see if there was a refrigerator. "Umm, Fluttershy, do you have any ice for the water?"

"No, i'm sorry." she called.

"That's fine." Then he just pored some water from a large bottle and drank it while still holding the cup. When he tasted it, it tasted way better than any ordinary water back home. "Why doesn't my world have this water like this? this is awesome." he thought. "So do you think it will take a little while for everyone in this town to like me like these animals do? yeah, you're friends think i'm cool and they are really nice of course, but what about all of these ponies?"

"Of course. It will not take a long time, i promise. In fact, why don't we go for another trip through Ponyville and introduce yourselves to some ponies and get to know them better."

it did seem like a good idea for the human to show his colors to everypony, and perhaps, it would be an opportunity to understand what these creatures are like and see how the live their lives different than humans more. There was so many things that Luke wants to see in Ponyville, and was very curious to see what else there is in Equestria, and if his wish he made was worth it. "I suppose why not."

"Would you like me to come with you and help you out?" Fluttershy offered

"I guess i could have you do that for me. Besides, it might be easier if you were with me instead of myself being alone while getting know other ponies in this cool place." 

"Good. i'm sure that everypony will love you."

"Yeah, I guess they will."

Then the doorbell rang. Fluttershy answered it, and it was one if her closest friends, Rarity."

"Hello, Fluttershy. Hello, Luke." Rarity greeted. She had a pile of some clothes with her and looked like the types that Luke would be able to wear.

"Hello, Rarity."

"Hey Rarity."

"I hope I am not intruding, I am here to tell you Luke, that I brought new clothes for you." She used the magic from her horn to show the human his new garments.

He took a look and saw that to his surprise, she made jeans that were made with the exact same fabric and the right shape, and light blue. His shirts were were also perfectly shaped for him to wear on his torso, and had many colors, green, red, yellow, black, white, gray, orange, and others. Some of them had rock themed features like a guitar and such and others were just a little plain with nothing special on them.

"Well, what do you think, darling?"

"I love it! These are the type of clothes I need." He said, very impressed with the details. "They really describe me. Thank you so much Rarity."

"You're welcome, Luke. Happy to help a friend." She replied with a wink. "I suppose I might be going now. If you have a problem with any of these, please come and remind me, alright? And I will correct the problem for you."

"Wow. Thank you. I'll put the, on a little later and clean these clothes tomorrow."

"Brilliant. Au revoir." 

"Bye Rarity, thank you for coming." Said Fluttershy.

"Of course. Always happy to visit you Fluttershy." Then Rarity went back to her boutique.

"Bye, Rarity." Luke said to her as she was walking away.

"So would you still like to go look around Ponyville with me later?"

"Yes, of course."

"Good. We'll leave in about an hour or sometime later."

"Okay."





Back in the town, Luke was walking with the yellow pegasus down a dirt road. Some of the ponies weren't as weirded out by him as much anymore. He was feeling more confident about this idea because of that.

"So, where would you like to go first?"

"Ummmm I don't know." He replied in honesty. "There is such cool things in this cute little town. I think I'll..... I'll look over-"

"Hey, Fluttershy." Said a female voice. They both looked behind there was a green unicorn mare and an earth mare with a b,us and pink coat and tail.

"Lyra, Bon Bon. I didn't know you were passing through here." Said the yellow pegasus.

"Woah, this animal looks even cooler up close." Said the earth mare.

"Bon Bon!" Her best friend scolded. "Sorry about her. She's just curious, that's all."

Luke laughed. "It's cool. No worries."

"So, we wanted to know, who are you, and.... What's your name?" Asked the green pony.

"The name's Luke. I'm a human from another world. And who might you be?""

"I'm Lyra."

"I'm Bon Bon."

"And we're besties!" They both exclaimed while hugging eachother like best friends would do. Luke's heart melted as he noticed this interaction

"They are so cute when they do that." He thought. "Nice to meet you."

"So what brings you here to Equestria?" Asked Lyra

"It's a rather long story, and complicated also. To shorten it out, I got sent here by a shooting star, and then, poof, here I am."

"Wow." They both said in amazement. 

"So what can I help you two with?"

"Oh nothing." Bon Bon remarked. "We just thought we should meet you in the flesh and see what kind of creature you are.

"So what is it like in your world?" 

"It's a little complicated also. Besides, it would be a loooong explanation of what my world is like. To be honest, it's a little boring there, while this place has everything I can ever ask for."

"That's good. Well, we welcome to you Equestria, right Bon Bon?"

"Right."

This made Luke really touched by their kindness and everything is just keep getting better and better like a new change is going to come his way.

"Well, we might be going now. We gotta go help our friend Derpy get out of the well again." Said Bon Bon in a little irritated tone of voice.

"It was nice meeting you Luke. We'll see you later." Said Lyra.

"Okay, see you guys soon. I hope you get your friend out of the well." Then he and the other four laughed.

"Yeah I hope so too. Poor Derpy." Lyra remarked. Then they two best friends went it another direction of town.

"They seem nice. Come on, let's see what else there is."

"Of course." And then they both continued down the road for anything that Luke would be interested in.
> More Touring (Edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everypony was growing more relaxed and tolerable seeing Luke more and more often. The staring did still continue from some of the other inhabitants. But the human didn't care, because he was glad that many of them were getting used to him being in town. 

"So, what kind of fast food do you have here, Fluttershy?"

"We have a place called the Hayburger down the street on the other side of Ponyville." She replied. "It's a rather delicious place to eat some hayburgers if anypony wants any."

"Hayburgers, huh? I can't really eat hay. It's.... not really fit for my mouth and it might damage my teeth, since I am not a pony after all."

"What kind of burgers do you in your world if it is not hay?" Fluttershy asked curiously

"Well.... they are called hamburgers, and added with American cheese, you get a cheeseburger for it. You see.... they are... how should I?.... no, I shouldn't tell you."

"Oh, but I insist." Fluttershy begged softly.

"Well, okay. To say it without frightening you, it is also meat. One, two, or even three grilled meat patties in a burger and it can come with cheese." He answered nonchalantly.

"Oh. I see." Fluttershy said uncomfortably.

"See. I knew you would feel squeamish if I told you this."  He quietly cursed at himself without her hearing it. "Sorry if I made you sick."

"Oh no. You did not make me sick." She reassured. "I understand if it's a custom to your world to eat meat. And I do understand that you are an omnivore. It just surprised me."

"Oh, really?" Are you sure I didn't make you sick?"

Fluttershy nodded. "Don't worry, you didn't. So, I think we should keep going."

"Yeah, good idea." Then they continued going through town together. "Oh, and Fluttershy."

"Yes?"

"I forgot to tell you that in my world, we have humans that are vegetarians and don't eat meat. Only fruits and vegetables. Actually they can eat other foods like dairy or sweets unless if they are vegans. I thought it should help you feel better and not think of my kind as savages."

"Oh. That's good to hear. And I don't think you are a monster. What give you a silly idea like that?"

"Nothing." He replied. "I just wanted to make you feel more comfortable and less disturbed by food on Earth, well my earth, I mean."

"It's alright. Really. It's perfectly okay with me."

Luke smiled. "That's good to hear."

The human got a good glimpse of the city hall. Then an earth mare with white curly hair and glasses came out the door. "Oh! My goodness." She noticed the young man.

Luke was a little startled, and his heart pounded. His butterflies flew back in his stomach. 

"So, you are the creature that everypony is talking about." Said the mare, walking up to the human to get a good look at him.

"Uhhhh, yeah. That's me. But, I promise you, I mean you and everyone else no harm." Luke explained as calmly as possible

"Oh i know, deary." She replied. "I just wanted to see you for myself, that's all. My sincere apologies, but I am afraid we haven't introduced ourselves yet." She cleared her throat "my name is Mayor Mare, and you probably realized that I run this town."

"Mayor 'Mare'. Hahaha. I get it." He recognized that little pun. "Anyway, the name's Luke. Luke Smith, miss Mayor."

"Well, nice to meet you, Luke" she said happily. "So, we are all very curious about you, you know?"

"Oh yeah. I definitely noticed that. Well, i would like to tell you about me, but I think it would take all day, and you probably have some work to do since you, you know, run the town, miss Mayor?"

She made a small groan and rolled her eyes while she replied "I do. I have so much paperwork to do, and you are absolutely right, I do got a city to keep." She winked.

"Well, we might as well be going now. I want to show Luke the rest of Ponyville, mayor." Fluttershy noted

"I understand, Fluttershy. It was wonderful meeting you, Luke. I hope you will enjoy your stay in Ponyville"

The autistic human smiled "i'm pretty sure I will. So, see you soon, miss mayor." Then they went back to walking around the town. This was turning out for Luke easier than he thought it would be. "So, Fluttershy, I wonder. Does Angel always have to be so.... what's the word, spoiled?"

"Oh no. Angel is not spoiled at all." she replied. "Well... most of the time, he's not. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I get the feeling he doesn't like me very much." He rubbed the back of his head, feeling a little uncomfortable and regretting mentioning that to her. "I don't know. I'm just saying is all. Sorry."

"No, it's perfectly alright, Luke. No need to apologize."

"Okay." Then he noticed a building with an old fashion sign like some countries that England and France above their doors. I had a quill and some couch of some sort. "Quills and sofas?" He said. "What kind of a place is that?" He thought it was a little silly combination in a store.

Fluttershy looked at where he was looking and said "well, I think might have notice, it sells quills, couches, bed mattresses, and chairs. Oh, and along with writing quills."

"Hmm. I like how many of these buildings are like old-fashioned and all of that."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, many signs in home where I come from are electric, and some big cities like New York have telescreens for advertisement."

"Really? Is it colorful?"

"It is very colorful when it's nighttime. The place is called Times Square, and it's a place for many people to celebrate New Year's Day because there is a large screen that counts down the clock when it comes, then fireworks go off, and everyone goes wild."

"That's amazing. You're world sounds like a very interesting place to see."

"Oh I agree." Luke said. "Well, not everywhere is a nice place, you know?"

"Goodness yes." Fluttershy admitted sadly. "There's a place next to Ponyville called the Everfree Forest. It has many scary and strange creatures."

"Really? What kind?" Luke asked curiously.

"Well, I would rather..." She gulped "not tell you about it. I'm very terrified by it."

"Oh, alright. I understand." 

"Fluttershy! Luke! hello." Called a voice. It was Twilight and Spike, who was riding on her back so he wouldn't have to walk.

"Oh, hello, Twilight." She replied.

"Hey, Twilight." The human added

"We were just looking to see what you guys might be up to at the moment."

"Oh, I was showing Luke a little more of the town. He's growing really fascinated by it."

"Really? So, how is it going, Luke?"

"It's doing awesome. I met a couple of ponies and they liked me. Very friendly."

"That's good to hear." Spike said. "So what did you see?"

"Eh, town hall, the Hayburger, and Quills and Sofas. To be honest, I think that's kind of a funny name for a store." 

"I know! I mean, what kind of store has those only two things?" Spike agreed

Twilight giggled "oh, Spike. So I kind of researched you in the library, Luke. I must say I am quite fascinated by the humans"

"Really? Wait, where did you look?"

"I actually been to a world that has people like you?"

"Spike added "me too",

"Really?" Luke asked fascinatingly. "You been to my home?"

"Well, not exactly your world, but it was very similar, and it was like how you would like normal lives everyday."

a World similar to Luke's that's connected to Equestria? Now that was very peculiar. "Wow.do- you think you can take me there Twilight? I'm very curious to see what it looks like."

"Well... Maybe sometime when I am not so busy, okay?"

"Oh" The human was a little bummed that he doesn't get to see it now. But he was fine with it. "I understand."

"So, we were planning on having a picnic together with me, Fluttershy, and our friends. Would you... Like to join us?"

"I would love to. When?"

"A little later on." Spike answered.

"Good. Good. I hope there aren't any hay in the food, because I can't eat hay. My mouth doesn't really have the kind of structure for eating hay or oats."

Twilight giggled. "Don't worry, you won't have to eat any of that."

"Good."

"Well, see you in a little while then. Me and Spike got to get back to the castle."

"Okay, see ya soon, guys." Luke said.

"Bye Spike, Bye Twilight." Fluttershy said

"See you later, Fluttershy." The purple Alicorn replied to her in return, then she went back to her home with Spike still riding on, humming whimsically as she trotted.

"Let's continue, shall we?" Fluttershy said to him. Their next stop was at a train station with a rather adorable train, just about ready to leave.

"Wow, that's cool." Luke said. "This train looks more... Happy than back in my world. Is it a passenger train?"

"Of course. This is where many visitors from Canterlot or other cities in Equestria come to visit often."

"Nice. Do you get visitors in Ponyville often?"

"Yes. We have many visitors arriving here everyday. Not as much as Canterlot, but we do get alot."

"Cool."

They both headed to their next destination where there was something like a building with a court jester hat. "That' a funny looking building." He remarked. "What is it, Fluttershy?"

"This is the joke shop."

Then Luke realized the hat and remembered hearing a joker like in ace of spades. Now he understood it completely. "Now, I get it. Joke shop as in 'joker' hahaha."

"Yes. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash love coming here so they can pull some pranks if they want to."

"Pranks. Why do you hate this place?"

"I don't really hate it." Fluttershy modestly said "I... I don't like getting pranked. I'm sensitive to that."

"Oh. I understand. You know, to be honest, I don't like getting pranked and tricked either."

"Really?"

"Really really."

"That's makes two of us then." They both laughed at that remarked

"Yeah. I know." They went on to many other places to look at, the arcade, the bowling alley, spa, and other places. Then they decided to have enough, and sat on a bench to take a break. "Thank you for showing me this place, Fluttershy. I really love it here."

"Oh you are very welcome, Luke." She replied.

Luke rested his feet on the ground and relaxed in the nice fresh air. He looked at the castle in Canterlot on the side of the mountain under the sun. Luke could never get enough of the beauty. From the moment he first came here, he felt like an alien or an outcast to this beautiful world, but now he has began to understand that he has nothing to worry about. Well, almost nothing. He still has his family and friends back home, and wondered if they would be okay without him for a while.

"Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked

"Wha? Oh yeah, yeah, i'm fine. I was just thinking if all my friends and family back home are okay. I just hope they are okay since I came here. They probably all miss me so much."

Fluttershy put a comforting hoof on the human's hand, and said gently "don't worry, Luke. I'm pretty sure they are okay. Besides, you have your little phone with you."

"Yeah. That's true. Princess Celestia and Luna said they would figure something out, right?"

"Of course. They will do anything they can to help you. I promise."

"I know you do"

"Hey, Fluttershy." called a voice. They both looked to see who it was, and there was two pegasus mares that looked identical like sisters. One of them had a pretty cool hairstyle and it reminded Luke something a little rock n roll. With them were a black pegasus stallion with like a buzz cut type of mane. With him was a rather adorable grayish white pegasus colt with no cutie mark on his flanks, yet.

"Oh, hello Cloudchaser and Flitter. Hello to you too, Thunderlane and Rumble."

"Hey, Fluttershy." The sister with the cool mane replied. "We hope we are not bothering with you about anything."

"Oh no of course not." The yellow pegasus replied.

"We just wanted to meet this cool alien here." The colt said, looking at Luke. 

"Rumble." The black stallion gently scolded him. "That's not very nice."

"No. It's alright." Luke replied calmly. "That's kind of the reason why i'm out here with Fluttershy, so I can meet new faces."

"Oh. That's good." The black stallion remarked.

"I'm Cloudchaser."

"I'm Flitter."

"Name's Thunderlane."

"And i'm Rumble."

"Nice to meet all of you. And um, Cloudchaser, right?" He referred the older sister of the pair

"Hmm-mmm."

"I hope I am not being weird, but I really like your mane. It looks really cool."

"Oh. Thanks. It's awesome ain't it?"

"Very awesome."

"So, what's your name?" Flitter asked 

"Luke. Luke Smith. I know, it sounds a little weird, but it is my name."

"Well, nice to meet you, Luke." Thunderlane remarked kindly.

The human smiled "it is nice to meet all of you too. Now I know we just met, but i would still like you to know that I am not a monster. I mean, sure I'm from another world, but not, I'm not a monster."

Cloudchaser smiled "don't worry." She said. "We know you're not a monster. We've heard alot about you from Lyra, Bon Bon, Rainbow Dash, and other ponies around here. Besides, we like you already."

"Thanks that means alot."

"You're welcome." Flitter replied. "Anypony who is a friend of Fluttershy and her friends is a friend of ours."

"Right." Thunderlane agreed. "And yeah, you seem like a really cool dude. And that sure you wear looks really awesome too." Then the other three closely looked at his Appetite for Destruction shirt.

"Hmm, Guns N' Roses?" Rumble said curiously. "Are they a band?"

"Yeah, one of the greatest bands ever to exist. In my world, well I mean my world."

Cloudchaser and Flitter looked closely at the skulls of the band members. "They look awesome." Said Flitter.

"Are these guys like a rock band?"

"Heck yeah. A rock/metal band. They... Kind of broken up years ago, but now, they are back."

"Really?" Thunderlane asked "that's awesome. I really wish we can listen to them. They look like really good musicians."

Rumble added "me too. They look really cool."

"They are."

"Well, we might as well be going now. Nice meeting you, Luke." Cloudchaser concluded

"Yeah, really nice." Flitter added.

"See you soon, and we should hang some time." Thunderlane added

Then the colt said "see you later Luke. You're awesome." Then he gave the human a hug on his leg. He was experiencing a cuteness overload with this, but he liked it anyway. 

"Thanks Rumble. See you all soon." Then the four went down the road as he and Fluttershy kept sitting.





It was a little later during the day, and Luke was just sitting alone out of the picnic rug while the others were eating their food. "Come on, Luke. Join us!" Pinkie said

"Oh, that's okay. I don't want to get in your guys' way or anything."

"Don't be silly." Said Fluttershy. "You would never get in the way with anything when it comes to being our friend."

Her words really touched the human "well... Okay." Then he sat in the group and he ate a few baegettes and thought it was rather good. He felt like going on a vacation somewhere in France or what not. "So, Twilight, I wonder. I heard about this place called the Everfree forest."

"What about it?" Asked the purple Alicorn.

"Well, Fluttershy said it had many strange and scary creatures. I'm just a little curious myself because I like cool things like that."

Twilight tried to think of what creatures there were. "Well, they have manticores, they are a-"

Luke gasped "manticore? They live hear?"

"You know about em?" Applejack asked curiously

"Yah, I studied a book of mythological creatures and the manticore was one of them. Please don't judge me, but I like looking at weird and freaky things."

"That does sound a little.... Unusual for me, but I will not judge you. I promise.

"Me neither." Said Rainbow.

"Yeah, we understand, Luke." Spike added.

"So, the point is, you must never go to that forest, you'll never know what you will find in there," Twilight warned

"Is it that dangerous?"

"Oh yeah." Rainbow added. "Very dangerous."0

"Oh, well, if you put it that way I believe you."

"Good." Said Fluttershy. Then they all went back to eating their lunch.
> New Day in Ponyville (Edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke was finished eating his lunch with his new friends out on the outskirts of town. He had to admit, it was really delicious. The zesty cucumber sandwiches and the fruits such as nectarines and root beer. It may not have had meat, but he was full either way.

"Hey, Fluttershy, thanks for letting me come with you on this shopping." The human said to her

"Oh you are very welcome, Luke." Fluttershy replied. "And I should thank you for coming with me. It made it more fun for me."

"So, how did you enjoy your food, Luke?" Twilight asked

"It was good. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of spicy food, but the zesty cucumber sandwich was okay for me."

"Good."

"Rarity makes the best zesty cucumber sandwich in all of Equestria." Rainbow remarked. "They never cease to make me smile. Along with apple cider. That Applejack makes."

"Hmm. They do taste really exquisite." He said patting his stomach. "It may not be something like Burger Ming, McDonald's, or something to do with meat, but still it was good."

"Brilliant darling." Rarity said happily. "I am so glad you liked my cooking."

"I do." Then Luke remembered something. Ever since he was a toddler, he has this... Problem sleeping at night and addressed "guys, can I tell you something?"

"Sure Luke, what?" Spike asked

"Yeah, tell us?" Pinkie bounced with joy.

"I.... I..."

"Yes?" Said Applejack

"I... Have a problem sleeping at night." He admitted flatly. "I always take some pills at night to help me get the sleep I deserve. I don't know if it's insomnia.... Or what."

"Oh Luke. It's nothing to be ashamed of" Fluttershy reassured "it's okay if you have insomnia. ,Amy ponies out here have sleeping problems too."

Applejack said "yeah, Sugarcube, as a matter of fact, Granny Smith has the same problem at night. Well, I think she has no problems with her afternoon naps, but at night, she can be wide awake like a rabid timberwolf."

Luke laughed "yeah, I know. I'm not alone, but the point is, do you all k ow where there are sleeping pills for me to take at night, or at least something to help me get to sleep?"

"I have some if you need any." Rarity said. 

"Thanks."

"Of course."

"And I can see if the pharmacy has the pills for you." Twilight added

"That sounds perfect."

"Excuse me?" Said a female voice. They all turned and the human noticed a white earth mare with her mane in a knot and a nurse hat. Her cutie mark was a health cross like in hospitals.

"Nurse Redheart, hello." Said Rainbow

"Hello, everypony. Pardon me for eavesdropping, but I could not help but notice that somepony needed some sleeping pills?"

"Uhh, yeah. I do."

"Oh. My sincere apologies. My name is nurse Redheart, an employee at the Ponyville hospital."

"Nice to meet ya. My name is Luke." 

"Well, Luke. It is a pleasure to meet somepony, or whatever kind of being you are like you too." She replied

"I'm a human, if you're wondering what I am."

"Oh yeah. I noticed word about you staying in Poniville." She remembered. "I hope I am not intruding, am I?"

"No no no. Of course not, Redheart."

She smiled. "Good. You see I have some sleeping pills if you want any of them."

"Really?"

"Hmm-mm."

"Oh, good. Perhaps I can pick them up tomorrow. Rarity already volunteered to give me some of hers today."

"Wonderful. I might as well be going now. I got to remove a cyst on Bulk Biceps' back."

"Eww." They all said in disgust.

"Yes, I know. But I nurse has got to do what nurse needs to. Duty calls. Nice seeing you again, everypony. Oh, and it was a pleasure meeting you, Luke. If there is something wrong or if you catch something, please do notify me and I will make sure I can help you."

The human smiled "thanks. Nice meeting you too. See ya later."

"Bye, everypony." Then the nurse went back to her hospital.

"She seems nice." Luke said

"She is." said Applejack. "She is one of the nicest, and greatest nurses in town."

"I can see that. So Rarity, do these pills really work?"

"Of course they do, Darling." she replied. "I don't really use them all the time to tell you the truth, but they still work."

"Good." Luke was starting to grow more atoned to Ponyville, even if it is his first day in this strange new world. It was getting better and better for him. This world seems more... Kinder to him than anything in his home world, especially the safest countries like Canada, Denmark, and all of those countries considered safest in the world.

"So Luke," Spike said to him. "Do y have any friends in your world?"

"Oh yeah, dozens of them. We hang out together and do some fun stuff like go to the movies or the fair if it's in town. Brad, is one f them, and he's in a band as a drummer."

Rainbow remarked "Drummer? That's awesome!"

"Yeah, you guys should hear him when the bangs the drums."

"Any other friends?" Spike asked

"There's Nick, Beverly, Dylan, Tyler, and some others. Oh, that reminds me, I think i should should call them and tell them that I'm okay later on."

"Good idea." Fluttershy said.

They walked a little down the road through the town together. "So, what is it like in Canterlot?" Luke asked curiously.

"It's a beautiful city to be in," Rarity answered in awe. So many wonders of high society in the capital and not to mention where the princess' live, but I think you know that already."

"I do."

"I lived in Canterlot before I moved here." Twilight said

Luke looked at her in amazement. "Really? What was your experience, Twilight?" He asked

"Well, it was a very peaceful city. I was Celestia's prized student before I became a princess."

"That's cool. You must have been lucky to be under her wings." Then he paused "literally. Haha."

Twilight laughed. "Right. I was very flattered and felt more lucky than anypony in the land of Equestria. Then she taught me about friendship and moved to Ponyville. I didn't really know what friendship was really like. Minus Shining Armor and you, Spike, but I didn't have that much friends."

"So, what made you moved here?"

"Nightmare Moon returned to Equestria, and me and my friends stopped her tougher." She and the others hugged eachother.

There was another new name for the human to hear about. "Nightmare Moon? Sounds like a cool name. Who was she?"

"She.... She was Luna, turned evil and corrupted." Fluttershy stated nervously

"Wait, really? Luna was evil?"

"Corrupted was more like it." Twilight explained. She was corrupted by a deity called the Tantabus who turned her into a Nightmare Moon. Celestia stopped her one thousand years ago, and Luna was banished to the moon for a millennia."

"Wow, but then that was when you guys came in one thousand years later, right?" 

"Right." They all said

"I studied friendship on my, I mean our journey to stop her together, and learned how valuable friendship can be. So we turned her good again."

"That's awesome. That's good that you you did that with friendship."

"Very awesome." Rainbow added.

"Well, i think we should be getting home now." Fluttershy said

"Yeah, us too." Spike added. "I'm stuffed from the lunch we ate together."

Rainbow patter her stomach. "Me too."

"Me three!" Pinkie added.

"Well, see you guys later." Luke said

"See ya soon, partner. You too, Fluttershy." Applejack said kindly

"Bye Luke. We should totally hang out some more." Twilight said. They all said their byes for the day and all went home, with the human walking by Fluttershy back to the cottage.





At Night, Luke was gazing at the stars and looking for consolations that he would know in particular in Equestria's beautiful night sky and Luna's bright and shiny moon. He laid in the grass and sighed in relaxation. He already had his dinner for the day earlier: a salad with tomatoes, lettuce, and croutons and sunflower seeds, and was really delicious. He still wished he had a hamburger or a pizza for him to eat, but he knew something like that doesn't exist in this world, but he still enjoyed it anyway

"It is very beautiful at night, isn't it, Luke." Fluttershy said from behind him. It gave him a little bit of a startle. "Oh my goodness, u am so sorry if I scared you, Luke." She worried she might have made him mad

Luke replied kindly "no, it's okay, Fluttershy. I get that a lot of times. And yeah, it's very beautiful out here in the nighttime. So shiny under the stars and moon. You know, u have seen really beautiful night skies before, but nothing like this. But I think I do see some consolations like Leo the Lion, Capricorn the goat and.... that's pretty much it."

"Oh you know the consolations of the stars?"

"Yep. I know a lot of them. "Wait, you have Leon the Lion and all those guys too?"

Fluttershy sat down next to him "of course. I like to come out and look at these beautiful sights at night."

"Wow."

"So did you call your friends about what happened?"

"Yep, got that taken care of. I didn't really think they would believe me, but they did."

"Wonderful. Well, I suppose I should help tuck the animals now."

"Yeah." the young human got up and said "I suppose I can use the shuteye."

"What about your pills?"

"Oh yeah. I'll need some water for that. I like to take medicine while drinking water, or any other drink. I... don't really like the taste of it. Too disgusting."

Fluttershy then knew what he was saying. "I understand. Nopony likes the taste of those kind of pills, but they do help."

"Yeah i know. They will help me sleep, that's for sure." 

"Hmm-mm." 

Luke yawned and stretched. "So, can I sleep on your couch tonight?"

"You could do that, or I got my own sleeping bag if you want. You see, I knew you probably wouldn't fit on the couch, so I got you a really large sleeping bag if that's okay with you"

"Really? Thank you, Fluttershy." then he gave her a hug, then she hugged him back.

"You're welcome Luke. What are friends for?"

"I suppose I can sleep in that." He went inside and Fluttershy walked with him. He looked around and noticed many animals fast asleep already. They looked so adorable like this.

"Let me get you the sleeping bag." Fluttershy said. She went into her closet and pulled out a large sleeping bag for Luke to sleep in for the night. She gave a really adorable yawned and placed it on the floor. "Well, goodnight Luke."

"Goodnight, Fluttershy."

She smiled and then went upstairs to give her some shuteye after turning off the lights. Luke took off his clothes, minus his black boxers and went inside the sleeping bag. It felt really nice, and felt like he was in his own bed, even thought it wasn't really a bed to say the least. The peaceful atmosphere and the pills that Rarity gave him earlier. He thought of how much his friends and family miss him right now. At least they know that he just got transported to Equestria. He also felt lucky that they don't think he's crazy too.

The Next Day

The morning came for him and the birds were chirping. "Good morning, Luke." Fluttershy whispered in his ear. He got up and yawned. He looked a the beautiful morning light out the windows.

"Good morning, Fluttershy." he said in return, then he got out of the sleeping bag.

"Did you sleep okay?" she asked him sweetly

"Yeah. I did. Thanks for letting me sleep in this sleeping bag."

"You're welcome. Happy to help you out. How would you like to help me feed the animals again?"

"Yeah, I would love to. What do I have to do first?"

"We'll start with the ones living outside."

"Brilliant."

"Here, let me get out the feed for you to hand out." then they both worked together on feeding the animals outside. Many of them are starting to like him more a greater deal. Luke was feeling the same thing for Fluttershy's animal friends, well, almost every animal likes him. There was still Angel, Her spoiled pet bunny, who still doesn't really like him so much, but doesn't really hate him. The human just ignores him and just leaves him alone and leaves the feeding for Fluttershy to do.

Many of these animals that look dangerous like Linus the lion started to warm up to him, and was more like a house cat than a wild lion, a really large house cat to be exact. Luke always dreamed of getting close to a majestic creature like this one without getting mauled to shreds then eaten .

After the animals outside were given the food to keep them happy and alive. Thy went inside the cottage and fed the indoor critters

Fluttershy was really happy to have some help around her cottage and was really grateful to Luke for helping her out. "Thank you so much, Luke. You did a wonderful job."

"Thanks Fluttershy. I appreciate it." He replied. "You did good too." She lightly blushed from the compliment he gave her. "Well, I might as well use the shower now. Is that alright with you?"

"Hmm-mm. Anything for an honored guest like you." Luke was flattered by her words. He took a shower and got out fifteen minutes later to dry himself off. the human put on one of his new clothes that Rarity made for him, some jeans and a shirt that had a picture of a lion on it, looking rather majestic and lifelike.

"So Fluttershy, what do you think of rock n roll? Or heavy metal? I'm just curious."

"Well, it's okay. It may not be my cup of tea, but I think it's alright. It's better than hip-hop. That's for sure. Why do you ask?"

"I'm just curious like I said. Is that alright with you?"

"Oh, of course. I love all music, except hip-hop of course."

"Yeah. same with me. Where I come from, pop music sounds so horrible and is just noise. Trust me you wouldn't like it."

"Oh I know. Well, I tolerate pop if that's fine with you."

"Yeah it is. Everyone has their own taste in music after all."

"That's true. That's true."

"Well, I can say that not all Rock and heavy metal sounds evil. Many bands sound really good. Guns N Roses is one of them, Metallica, Black Sabbath, Black Label Society, Dokken, and White Lion and all of them. You might like some of them if you listen to one of their songs at least. "But I won't force you. If you really don't want to, I understand."

"Thank you, Luke. I really appreciate that." Then she gave him a hug of appreciation again.

Then there was a knock on the door. While Luke went to get himself a root beer from the fridge, Fluttershy was happy to see two of her best friends visit, Twilight and Spike. "Oh, good morning, Spike, hello Twilit." She greeted them with the upmost kindness.

"Hi, Fluttershy." They both said.

"Tell me, what brings you here on this fine morning?"

"We're just looking for Luke."

The human heard a twilight mentioning her and walked out to the kitchen to greet them with a glass of root beer in his hands. "Did I hear someone say my name?" He asked, then made a little burp. He covered his mouth in embarrassment. "Excuse me." He said

The three laughed

Fluttershy said "It's okay, Luke. You're excused."

"Good. So, how are you guys?" Luke asked the allicorn and baby dragon.

"Doing good." Spike said

Twilight stepped in and clarified "We are so sorry if we are bothering you with something, but we just wanted to see you, and we wanted to have some little time together with you."

"Oh no, you're not bothering me at all. And, I would love to. Not that I am not happy to see you guys, but what do you want with me in particular?"

"Well, we just want to know a little bit more about you. That's all."

"Like know about my kind?"

"Oh yes. And we want to know what it's like in your world." Twilight added

"I guess I can do that, but like I said before, I don't know everything about it."

"We know." Spike said. "Just tell us as much as you can tell."

"Good. That's what I needed to hear."

"Well, will you be okay without me, Fluttershy?" Then he thought about how much of a stupid question it was, and wished he didn't asked her that in the first place

However, he got a positive feedback when Fluttershy added "oh of course. I'll be just fine. You can go and have fun with Twilight

"Perfect. Okay, let's go."

"Perfect. Oh, we will have such fun talking to eachother." Twilight said excitedly. "We can talk about the books over their, the literature and all those peculiar things about your earth."

Fluttershy giggled as she saw Luke walked away with with Twilight and a spike right beside her. She closed the door and went to give Angel his monthly bath. This sounded like another perfect day for Luke in Equestria.
> Twilight's Curiosity (edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke was enjoying more fresh air outside as he was still walking beside Twilight with Spike on her. "So Twilight, how long have you been the princess of Friendship?"

"Oh my goodness, I can't even remember the correct year that happened to me." Twilight admitted. "But i'm still working out the flying a little bit."

Luke laughed softly. "That's good to hear." Then he noticed one of his shoes were not as tight as the other one. "Oh crap." He muttered. "Not again, why must this happen to me a lot of times?"

"What's wrong?" Spike asked

"Ah. One of my shoes needs to be tied again. Can we... stop for a second please?"

"Of course, take your time."

The human really hated to keep the two waiting like this, but they were perfectly understanding on why they were stopping. "If only I had shoes like Z-strap."

Twilight and Spike were a little confused. Of course they never heard of the shoe companies like Sketcher's or Nike. "Z strap? What's that?" The purple Alicorn asked

"It's a... it's a type of shoe that works faster than these stupid shoe laces. Shoe laces are the bane of my existence. You just strap them on your foot so you won't have to take a long time to tie them with laces. But, I think I am too old for them now. If only there were shoes my size that were the same."

"Oh."

"Ready to go, Luke?" Spike asked

"Yep, onward."

"Perfect." As they were continuing walking, Twilight asked "so, what kind of books do you like to read?"

"You mean chapter books?"

"Hmm-mm."

"Well, i am not really a big book fan. I read a couple of novels, but mostly when I was in school."

"Oh. What kind of books are there that you read?"

The human was trying to remember exactly, and finally he remembered the ones that he really loved. "Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, the Inheritance series, and I have seen movies of some books, but I don't think that counts."

"Movies huh? What kind of movies?"

"Harry Potter. It's about a kid who is a wizard and attends a school in the Wizarding world. Let's see what else..... oh, there is the Jungle Book. This one is about a boy named MowglI who was raised by a pack of wolves in a country in Asia called India, and he has friends like a sloth bear, and a black leopard."

"That sounds like something I would love to read."

"I wish I had some of those books but I don't. I'm sorry."

"No it's okay Luke."

"So I think it's  your turn. What books are there in this world?" The human asked.

"Oh there are so many, I can't really describe them all."

"Twilight is a real bookworm." Spike teased, which made Luke chuckle.

"Oh Spike. Well one that I really one in particular is the Daring Do series. Rainbow Dash also loves them. It's about a pegasus mare that goes on dangerous adventures in temples and caves for treasure and escaping booby traps and to stop her nemesis, Ahuizotl."

"Hmm. Sounds familiar."

"Is there someone like Daring Do in your world?"

"Well yeah. I wasn't really a book series, but it reminds me of Indiana Jones. They are movies about this man played by the famous actor Harrison Ford, and he looks for treasure like Daring Do does."

"That's awesome! Does he have any arch nemeses as well?" Spike asked

"Yeah, but Indiana Jones is not really my forte to say the least. So I don't even know their names."

"That's fine." Twilight replied. "So what is your all time favorite book of all time?"

"It's a book called 'Animal Farm' by George Orwell. It is not what you think it is, I promise you."

Twilight and Spike gave a little confused look at eachother. "What is it really about?" the baby dragon asked.

"It's about these animals who were living under a mean, and drunken farmer then kicked them out, then they discover a tyranny among themselves: the pigs. It's a dystopian novel and an allegory."

"That sounds like a good read." Twilight remarked.

"Maybe to you, but I don't know about Rainbow, many people in my world don't like to talk politicians or political news and all of that. I think this place is the same thing."

"Oh yes, you are not wrong, many ponies don't really talk politicians, except when it's Celestia and Luna, but still. I really like the way you think Luke."

The human was touched by her compliment. "Thanks." he replied, slightly blushing. The three noticed they already made it in town. "So, now that we made it, what do you want to do?"

Spike and Twilight thought of what they should do with Equestria's very first human visitor. Finally, the purple allicorn said "What do you want to do?"

"Well, I am a little thirsty. Is there any place where I can get a root beer?"

"Sure, at Sugarcube Corner."

"Okay." All three went inside the pastry shop and the couple who ran the place were more than happy to see Luke again.

"Ah good morning Luke. How are you?" Mr. Cake asked

"Morning, Mr and Mrs Cake, I'm just doing fine. How about you?"

"Oh you know, just being happy making cakes, ice cream, and other dessert pastries that everypony can enjoy. Isn't that right, dear?"

Mrs. Cake giggled "oh, I know how you feel, darling." Then they gave eachother a small kiss on their lips. "Oh and good morning to you too, Twilight and Spike.

"So what can we do for you on this very morning?"

"Well, I was wondering if you had any root beer that I can drink. Twilight said you guys had some."

"Oh of course we do, deary. We have the finest root beer in Ponyville. Oh, and the Hayburger too."

"Good. Can I have a bottle, or a glass? However you serve it is alright with me."

"Perfect, one iced root beer coming right up." Then Mr. Cake went to fetch Luke the drink he wants, and pulled out a medium-sized mug with ice in it, like the classic A&W root beer would have. It looked very delicious and fizzy. "Here you go, Luke."

"Thanks."

"Oh, and here is a straw." Mrs. Cake added.

"Wow. Thanks." He took a sip of it and his eyes went wide, feeling gripped with the flavor. "Oh my god, this tastes awesome." Then he took a few more sips. It reminded him of Barq's root beer a little, which was one if his favorite beverages, growing up.

"Do you like it?" Spike asked. 

"I love it!" After he was almost finished with his drink, he stopped for a moment, and asked "say, where's Pinkie?"

Then speaking of the devil, she popped out of the counter like a ghost next to Mrs. cake. "Here I am!" She said in her usual happy voice.

"Ah, good morning, Pinkie." The human said

"Good morning, Luke. How are you?" Then she slowly leaned her smiley face close to his, pushing it slightly. Luke felt a little uncomfortable since it is kind of violating his personal space.

"Uh, fine?" He replied with a nervous smile.

Then he felt Pinkie getting off of his face "Great! Hi Twilight, hi Spike!"

"Good morning, Pinkie." Twilight greeted politely

"Hey, Pinkie." Spike added

"So whatcha doing you guys?"

"Me and Spike wanted a little more time to spend with Luke. I'm just a little more fascinated with the human race."

"Wouldn't blame you." Said Mr. Cake.

Luke then gasped "oh hell, I almost forgot."

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked him

"I forgot that I need to pay for this."

"Not a problem, Luke. I knew this would happen, kind of, but still, I might cover it for you." Then the purple allicorn pulled out a couple of bits and placed it on the counter to pay for the root beer.

"Thank you, Twilight." Said Mrs. Cake. "Don't worry, Luke. You are covered."

"Oh. Good." The human felt relieved by this. Then he drank the last sip of his root beer and was happy that he had a nice refreshing beverage on this fine morning.

"Well, shall we be off then?"

"Yep, let's go, Twilight."

"You coming, Pinkie?" Spike asked her

"I would love to, but I can't. Work duty calls."

"Okay. See you soon, Pinkie."

"But Luke, bye guys." Then the others big their farewell to her and the Cakes then exited the shop.

"So now what should we do?" Spike asked

"Well, I think we can just continue you guys getting to know me better."

"Good idea."

"Oh and maybe we can see a pet store if there is one."

"Sure, but why do you want a pet?" Twilight asked

"On no no, I don't want one. You see I love animals so ,inch that I can't help but take a look at them. Besides, I already live in a house with lots of pets already. Although Fluttershy doesn't really call them pets of course."

"Oh we understand." Said the baby dragon.

"So sure, there is one in Ponyville. So why not?"

"Awesome. So tell me, how long have you guys lived in Ponyville?"

"Oh that we can't really remember either. We stopped counting after one year." Twilight chuckled sheepishly.

"For as long as we can remember." Spike added

"Wow. Sounded like a long time."

Twilight giggled "it does."

"Don't you ever get the feeling that time goes by slowly when you are in the middle of something you hate but goes fast if it's something you love to do?"

"Yeah of course. Everypony feels like that. We definitely get what you are saying."

"Yeah, who am I kidding? Every human in my world feels that way too."

"Exactly. So have you been to those seven continents in your world before?"

"No, not really. But, I might have said this before, I want to go to Africa someday."

Spike and Twilight remembered "Oh yeah, you did say that yesterday." 

"Right. I just need some money and I need a passport, then make a plan on how long I will stay there and what hotels i need to stay at."

"That sounds lie a good idea. And what is a passport?"

"It's something to help you go to another country outside of your home country. And we use that because we take passenger airplanes to travel there. You see, since we humans can't fly and don't have any wings we take an airplane. And maybe a boat, but that would take longer than a plan would take you"

"What does it look like?" Spike asked curiously

"It's a little hard to describe, I- I'm not good at describing at some things if they are not really animals. It has to do with math I think."

"Oh, that's fine. Do you hate math?"

"Of course. I hate with a burning passion that it's the bane of my existence. Well, I am good at basics like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, just not the really hard stuff like calculus, algorithms, and logarithms."

"Yeah, I hear you. Math is the bane of my existence also."

"No it isn't." Twilight said

"Oh, right. I do have some talents." Spike bragged. Luke and Twilight laughed.

"Anyway, do you have any video games in Equestria?"

"Yep, at the arcade not far from here."

"What about games you can buy for a console at home?"

"Yes of course. The electronics and music store has them for only fifty bits."

"Buts huh? That's the kind of money you pay in Equestria?"

"That's right. What about your world?"

"It varies. My country and some others have dollars as a currency while many countries have pounds, francs, and coins."

"Huh." 

Then they arrived at the pet store and Luke was really amazed with the interior. So many types of animals as far as the eye can see in his perception. There were dogs, cats, lizards and other reptiles, amphibians and birds. Spike and Twilight decided to take a look for themselves. After all, no one can resist the sight of cute and adorable pets, even if they look a little scary for some eyes.
> Zecora (Edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Luke was done in the pet store with Spike and Twilight, he continued walking with them. The human was ever so satisfied looking at more animals in Equestria. Then he thought of his own pets back home, wondering if they know that he just disappeared out of thin air to Equestria yesterday. "So, what did you think, Luke?" Twilight asked him

"I thought it was awesome." the human replied.

"Good." Twilight felt a little more proud of herself for showing this peculiar human what he would like to see in his first experience in Equestria.  "So, we were wondering, do you have any pets at him?"

"Yep. Four as a matter of fact."

"Four? that's kind of a lot of pets." Spike remarked.

"Well I wouldn't say a lot. I have two dogs and two cats at home. Very nice animals to be with. I even wonder if they know that I am gone, and that they will be okay."

"Oh, Luke. I'm pretty sure they know your fine. Besides, you know there is nothing you can do to get back home now." Twilight then glared back at the baby dragon. 

"Spike, don't say that." she reprimanded him

"No no. It's okay." The human said "I'll be fine. I'm pretty sure I will go back home someday."

"Right. So what was it that you love about animals so much?" Twilight asked curiously, changing the subject of the problem Luke was having.

"It just.... it just came to my very soul on the day I was born. I had this special.... connection with animals ever since, and see what many of them are like, both in real life and on documentaries on TV."

"That's good. Sounds like you can be a big help to Fluttershy." Spike noted.

Luke was flattered to hear something like that. "Thanks. I bet she is. So, what other cities are there in Equestria?"

"Besides Ponyville and Canterlot, there's Manehattan, Filydelphia, Appleoosa, the Crystal empire, and other places."

"Hey, that sounds like some names of cities that my home has." 

"Really? What are they?"

"They are called, Manhattan, and Philadelphia."

"What are the like?"

"I never really been there, been Manhattan is part of New York City, the largest one in my home country. Philadelphia is also one of the largest cities in the US, but not as big as New York. Nevertheless, they might be so crowded and filled with crime in some areas. But, besides that, New York has the Statue of Lady Liberty, the symbol of freedom." He gestured his hand as a salute on his forehead.

"That's really amazing."

"There is a statue in Manehattan kind of like that, but it's called Mare Liberty, not lady." Twilight noted.

"Really? Did she raise a torch in the sky with her right arm?"

"Yeah, how do you know?"

"Because Lady Liberty has the same thing like that."

"Wow, sounds like your world is kind of like ours." Spike said in amazement.

"That's beyond me. Maybe it is equivalent to Equestria. But like I said, this world is beyond different then my home on so many levels."

Twilight and Spike knew that he wasn't wrong about that. "You said that your world has no magic what so ever, right?" The baby dragon asked

Luke nodded his head "yeah. My world can get pretty boring, Spike. Nothing against it, of course, but I just wish it can be more like this place. That would be awesome. No matter, I think I will like it here."

Twilight smiled "that's good."

"So have you been to Manehattan?" Luke asked

"Oh yes. A couple of times. It's a very beautiful city with lots of coaches and cars on the roads and many ponies walking by you."

"Cool. So, Twilight, how long have you been a princess. And Spike, how long have you been Twilight's friend/assistant?"

"Oh for quite some time now." She replied modestly. "It ain't easy, but I am getting the hang if it, especially trying to learn how to fly."

"And I have been Twilight's best friend and assistant ever since I learned how to do things on my own after I was growing out being a baby."

"Uh, no offense Spike, but are you still a baby dragon?"

"Yeah. I meant a baby baby if you know what I mean."

"I got ya."

"Oh, Luke. I forgot to tell you that there is somepony here that you would like to talk to and be with." Twilight remembered 

"Really? Who's that?"

"A zebra named Zecora."

"A zebra?" The human thought. He knew that all zebras come from Africa, and maybe there is a place like Africa in Equestria. It might sound a little different than the second largest continent in his world, but it's the same idea. "Well, i would like to meet someone from.... where is she from?"

"Zebrica."

"Ah, that kinda makes sense."

"Yeah, you will really like her when you get to know her. You can ask her about her homeland and talk about Africa and Zebrica to eachother, and maybe mix potions with her." Spike explained 

Luke started to grow a bigger smile on his face. "She makes potions? Like an alchemist?"

"Uh-Huh. Potions, herbs, and cures for any diseases that doctors like Nurse Redheart don't even know about."

"Do you visit her? Or does she visit you guys in Ponyville?"

"Of course. She always drops in town from time to time."

"And we do visit her occasionally." Spike added.

"Where does she live per se?" 

"That part is actually quite dangerous." Twilight noted. "She lives in a hut that lies within the Everfree forest in the outskirts of Ponyville. It can be pretty dangerous in that place."

"What's in there?"

"Many strange and dangerous creatures and monsters."

The human started to become a little fascinated by this. He have been fascinated to cryptids and other strange creatures along with normal animals. "What kind of creatures?"

"Cockatrice, Manticores, cragadiles, parasprites, hydras, timber wolves, and others."

"Wow. I have definitely heard of the first two and the Hydra, but not parasprites, and Cragadiles. And timber wolves sound like any other wolf in the world. Just another subspecies of the grey wolf family."

"Oh ho, not these kind of timber wolves." Spike said. "These wolves are made out of wood, and have very bad breath that you can smell from miles away."

"Oh. I get it. timber wolf as in actually made out of timber as in wood."

"Exactly."

"And what is a cragadile?"

"It is like a crocodile, except bigger and has skin made of rocks."

"Wow, that's crazy. And parasprites?"

"They are a nuisance." Twilight said with a mild groan. "We had a little incident with them a little while ago. These creatures look really cute and adorable, but don't let that fool you, they are pests, they will eat anything, and I mean anything they can get their mouth on."

"God. That does sound crazy. How do you get rid of them?"

"Pinkie Pie knew about them before we did, and she played music with many instruments to draw them away from Ponyville back into the Everfree forest." She remembered something and became a little sheepish "And then it went on to another town by mistake." then she zoomed closer to Luke's ear. "Don't tell the princess' though."

"Don't worry. My lips are sealed. Besides, I wasn't there to observe that anyway."

"Right. So back to Zecora, how does she survive in a place so dangerous as that forest?"

"Oh she's a professional. She knows the creatures and animals in and out. So she is fine living there."

"Do you think I can meet her then?"

"Oh of course, but if you plan on going alone then don't."

"You'll never know what you will encounter in the Everfree forest."

"Oh, then I might as well take Fluttershy with me. She can take me to her."

Twilight and Spike had an uncertain look on their faces "I wouldn't be so sure about that." she said

"Why not?"

"Fluttershy is deeply afraid of that place."

"Oh. I understand. I would really like to meet her." 

"Well, I suppose I can take you there." Twilight offered. Then without warning, a beam of rainbow came right out of nowhere, incidentally crashing on Twilight and Spike. "Ow... Rainbow?"

Yes, it was the self-proclaimed most awesome pony in Equestria it has ever seen herself. "Sorry, Twilight, sorry Spike." she said sheepishly, helping them back up.

Luke was a little spooked but a little surprised "That was kind of a painful landing." he remarked. 

"Ah, hey Luke."

"Hi."

"Rainbow, what are you doing here?" Twilight asked in irritation. "Me and Spike were in the middle of having a conversation with Luke."

"Sorry, guys. I was just looking for Luke."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I was wondering if I can hang out with you." the cyan pegasus replied. "I wanted to know you more and I really like you, and I think you are really awesome, you know."

"Thanks."

"And I couldn't help but notice that you wanted to see Zecora, right?"

"Yeah, If there is a place like Africa in Equestria, then I might want to know more about it, and meet an inhabitant from that place. So, why not her?"

"Good point. Well, since you told us that you love that Africa place, I suppose I can help you going through the Everfree forest to reach her hut if you would like."

"That's very kind of you, Rainbow Dash, but I already volunteered to help him with that first."

"Aw, but I wanted to try my new moves against those monsters out there." she got on the ground, stood on her hindlegs and tried to do the karate crane kick, but she staggered and fell. Luke quietly snickered while Spike and Twilight smirked while nodding their heads in disbelief. "Ow, still working on it."

'Uh huh."

"Well, I don't know if I would need that much protection. I read about many monsters that live in that place. I think I will be just fine on my own."

"I wouldn't recommend it." Twilight said. "It is that dangerous."

"What about that sea serpent that helped us when we defeated Nightmare Moon? Steven Magnet, remember?"

"Right, but that was just one creature that was just friendly to us."

"What about the manticore that Fluttershy tamed when it had a thorn in it's paw on the same time we met Steven?" Spike added

"True. But still, it would be dangerous for you to go, Luke, since you are still very new to Equestria after all."

"Well, that's true."

"So, how about we all go. Fluttershy, me, Twilight, Rainbow, and our friends together." Spike suggested

"Okay, that sounds good." Luke agreed. "When?"

"In a little while."

"Okay, I might as well tell Fluttershy that."

"Can we still hang out together?" Rainbow asked the human. 

"Of course we can, Rainbow. In the meantime, is there anymore questions you would like to ask, Twilight?"

"hmm, I think I asked you as many as I can about you and your world."

"You didn't tell me about it." Rainbow reminded.

"Right. Well, i think we can do it on our way to Zecora's if that's alright with you, Rainbow Dash."

"That's fine, but wanna hang out sometime like just you and me?"

"Yeah, one of these days, we will."

"Awesome. We can have a good time together, I promise ya."

"Cool."

"So you want an escort back to Fluttershy's?"

"No, I think I can find it okay." 

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Alright."

"See you guys later." he said

"Bye Luke." all three said in Unison. Then the human happily went home. He could hardly wait to meet this Zecora character that Twilight told him about. He was a little cautious about going to the Everfree forest if it does sound that dangerous as it sounds like it. 

"Hmm, I think i'll be fine." Luke thought to himself. "Besides, These guys are heroes of this world after all. And I get to see really cool monsters that I wish exist in my world. That would be awesome to see these creatures. Hell yeah, That would be cool."





A little later on, Luke was telling Fluttershy about the plan that he, Twilight, and Spike made to visit Zecora in the Everfree forest. "Oh my goodness. I don't know if you should go. It might be too dangerous."

"Come on, Fluttershy." Luke said "I know you are scared of the forest, but you got me, and the others to keep you company."

"Well- yes, but I am not as scared anymore. I've been through that place a number of times and... i am pretty much used to it." Fluttershy admitted. This made Luke a little more relieved to hear that.

"Oh, but you can still go through it without any trouble." the human noted. "If you came in and out of the forest dozens of times, then I'm sure you'll do fine. Besides, Twilight told me of Steven Magnet the sea monster and the Manticore you just helped with."

It was coming back to the yellow pegasus. She remembered when she did help that Manticore out and then became a friendly, tamed beast. Then she remembered that other monster that he mentioned. He was rather kind to help them across the bridge to confront the princess of darkness that day. "Well, I guess you're right." she admitted. "Okay, I would be more than happy to come with you. Besides, I want to make sure you will be alright on the way."

"Good. Thanks."

"Anything for a new friend." then she hugged him gently. Then the door opened. "Oh, that must be them now." she answered it, and she was correct. Her best friends were there and were ready to go.

"Hey, Fluttershy, ready to go with us?" Applejack said.

"Yes. I'm ready." the yellow pegasus replied.

"So am i."

"Perfect. It's just right over there." Twilight pointed. Luke looked at the direction as he peeked outside where it lead to. "It was here the whole time?"

"Of course." said Rarity. "You didn't realize it before?"

"Well, I never heard of it until now. Like I said, I am still new here." He sung.

"Oh yeah. We forget." Rarity remarked sheepishly. "Anyway, onward then."

"Bye, critters. I'll see you all in a little while." Fluttershy said to them. She closed the door and they were off. They all stopped for a moment when they noticed Luke staring at it in awe.

"You okay, Luke?" Rainbow asked him

"What? yeah, I'm just fine. This place looks so spooky."

"Oooh, you're scared of the dark." Rainbow teased.

"I am not!" Luke retorted.

"I'm just kidding, Luke. Lighten up."

"Right, let's just move." as they were walking through the trees, Luke felt like he was in one of the Slender games, except they were just video games and not real. But this, is a different story. Nevertheless, he was being brave about it, and kept a sharp eye on whatever might happen. "Hey, guys?" he said

"Yes?" they all said in unison. "Who is... what's her name?.... Nightmare Moon? I heard Twilight and Rainbow talk about her, but I'm curious. Who is she?"

"Well... you would hardly believe it but she is... was is more like it, Princess Luna." Rarity answered

Luke was mildly shocked by this. "Really? Luna was evil?"

"Not anymore." Spike noted. "She was jealous that Everypony was active during the day and not during the night, so that's when she became Nightmare Moon. Then Celestia was forced to banish her to the moon for one thousand years!"

"Oh my god. That's.... quite a shocker. I wish I could have seen Luna like that. That would be really neat."

"I don't think you would want to." said Applejack

"She wanted to make the night eternal, but then we formed together as friends ans stopped her before she could do anything evil, and returned her to normal."

"Wow. That's awesome." then he heard a growling out of nowhere. "What was that?" he cautiously looked around his surroundings, so did Twilight and the others. They heard it again, then out of the nowhere, a manticore sprung out and looked quite fierce. almost all of them did a battle pose, except Luke who was too stunned to even move and Fluttershy, who suddenly recognized it.

Then unexpectedly. He playfully jumped on Fluttershy and licked her face with love "Oh, hello there." she said. "Yes, it is really good to see you again. yes it is. yes it is."

"Oh, this must be the manticore that Fluttershy tamed." Twilight commented

Luke was a little more relieved but kept his distance from him just to be safe.

"He must have smelled our scents when we came here." Fluttershy said, getting back up after the beast got off of her. "Luke, here is one of my friends, Fluffy."

The manticore studied the human and sniffed him with loud breathing from his nose. "Uh, hello." the human said sheepishly

"It's alright, Luke. He won't hurt you." Fluttershy said. Then Fluffy circled around him like a regular house cat would do, then licked his face, making him laugh.

"Oh look, he likes you." Pinkie said.

"Stop it." Luke laughed, then the creature stopped what he was doing and rubbed his head against the human's body. "It's nice to meet you, Fluffy." he said. the manticore made a soft roar of affection as Luke began to rub the side of it's body and under it.

"Yeah, look at him. He's really starting to grow attached to Luke all of a sudden." Twilight said.

"It's like they just met, and they already get along." Applejack added

"Well, it was nice meeting you big fella, but i think me and my friends should get going to Zecora's hut." said Luke

The beast gave him one last lick on his face and Fluttershy hugged the creature. Luke thought it was just too adorable. He definitely knows that Fluttershy has a special connection with all creatures like this one here. "Don't worry, Fluffy. We'll see eachother again. Back at the cottage maybe?"

The beast nodded and licked Fluttershy's face.

"Good." then the beast flew away to another part of the forest, and the others continued forward.

"So how much farther?" the human asked

"Not to far now."

After a little short walk, there was a large tree fashioned to be a house with rather intriguing decoration. Luke recognized this as an Africa type of esque. This had to be the place.

"Well, here we are." Rainbow said

"Perfect." Twilight knocked on the door, and it revealed to be a rather adorable looking zebra with a neck bracelet and her mane was in a shape of a mohawk. Her cutie mark was like a sun of some kind. 

"Ah, hello my dear Twilight." she said in a noble African-like voice. "What brings you and your friends to my wonderful home's light?"

"Hi, Zecora." Twilight and Spike said. then the zebra noticed Luke who was looking a little nervous. It was unlike any other creature she has soon before.

"Oh, and who might this creature be? for this is the most peculiar one I have ever seen." the zebra added

"Um, hello." the human said sheepishly

"Zecora, this is Luke. He's a human, and he wanted to meet you." Fluttershy clarified

"Oh. A human?" she said in amazement "Well, it is certainly a pleasure to meet you. Do come in, come in." then they all went inside. and made themselves at home.

"So, I hope I am not bothering you with anything, am I?"

"Of course not, Luke. Meeting a new face never gives me a spook. I am Zecora, I come from a homeland called Zebrica."

"Nice to meet ya." the human said happily. "I really like your house, with the decorations and potions and all."

"Thank you. creating potions and elixirs is what I love to do.

Luke smiled

"So what brings you to my home? for you saved me the trouble of being alone."

"Well, I was just curious. You see, I come from a different world, and I got teleported here by a shooting star making a wish. I didn't think it would actually work, but it did. Anyway, there is a continent on my world that I am really interested in called 'Africa' and it sounds like your land Zebrica, so I thought I might as well meet someone from a place like Africa if that's okay with you."

Zecora laughed humbly "That is quite okay. For I am so glad you have came here to meet me today."

"Good. So what kind of potions do you create mostly in particular?"

"Many cures and potions that many ponies may endure. I create these potions day after day. However, I mostly lost track of what they are that it is a little hard to say."

"Right. That's exactly why I hate math."

"Yeah." Rainbow said, then he and Luke high-fived eachother.

"So tell me, young Luke, what is it like in your world that you came from before your unexpected fluke?"

"I don't know if I can really describe everything. But, what I can say is that it is pretty boring with no monsters or magical things on it. Nothing against it, but I just wanted to see something more exciting."

"I understand, for you must be really happy that you came to this land." Zecora remarked

"Yeah I am. It's really awesome. Everyone in this world is so friendly. Especially Princess Celestia and Luna. But still, I got a family back in my world and.... I hope they are alright."

"Oh that is completely understandable. Many family bonds are inseparable. Fear not, young one, for they will be fine under your world's sun."

"I know. I talked to my mom on the phone and told her what happened, b I don't k ow if she believes me fully. I don't want her to think I am criminally insane." He rolled his eyes in a crazy movement and mimicked the sound of a cuckoo clock while moving his finger around in a circle

Everyone laughed at what he did and thought it was really funny. "Your funny, Luke." Rainbow said 

"Thanks. But still, I don't want her to think I am crazy."

"Nonsense, I am sure that your mother will not think you are insane, for your love and faith in you still remains."

"I bet it does. I might call my dad about what happened if my mom didn't tell him already."

"We'll wait outside if you want to head back to town." Twilight said

"That's fine, Twilight. Go ahead."

"Come on, girls." Then they all stepped outside of the hut to wait for him.

"So what can you tell me about Africa, the land that sounds like my homeland, Zebrica?" 

"Well, it's the second largest continent in the world, and it is home of some of the coolest animals in my world. Lions, leopards, cheetahs, rhinos, elands, African grey parrots, rock pythons and other animals that many people might have seen but don't know what they are."

Zecora was more asked and it kinda sounds like a parallel to her home as well. "Very fascinating, sounds like a land that is very intriguing."

"It is. I always dreamed of visiting there someday. I really want to go to some of those places so badly. Do they have those animals I mentioned in Zebrica too?"

Zecora said to him "Oh yes. You are beyond right with that guess. There are many things in Zebrica to do, but of course, one of he, is escaping a predator trying to eat you."

Luke chuckled "yeah. I know. Are there any talking creatures besides zebras?"

"Indeed. Zebrican buffalo, rhinos, giraffes, elands, and wildebeests. There are quite a few more species to describe, but naming them all would take a long time."

"Wow. That's awesome. I really wish I can visit a place like that."

"Ho ho, visiting my home you should definitely should, that experience might bring you good."

"I know, I'm pretty sure it will. Then Zecora was noticing her cauldron boiling over a little. Luke went over and looked at the boiling liquid inside. Without warning an explosion cloud erupted. His face was covered in black smoke, but it did not hurt him.

The zebra rushed to his aid "Luke, are you okay? Please let me know with something to say."

The human spat out the smoke marks from his mouth. "I'm fine.... I'm just a little smokey." Then he heard the others come in

"What happened" Fluttershy said

"Luke are you okay?" Rarity asked

"I'm fine. I'm not hurt. I just need a towel."

"Here you go." Twilight said pulling out a random towel out of nowhere. He wiped most of it out of his face and shook his head violently. Making it completely clean again.

"Thanks."

"Hm-mmm"

"And no need to worry, a cloud of steam just exploded on me. Black steam."

"Alright."

"I hope I did not hurt you, for I wouldn't know what to do."

"It's okay, Zecora. I'm fine." The human remarked "just warn me before something like that happens. Either that or I think I should keep my distance.

The zebra smiled in relief.

"And again, I hope I didn't come here at a bad time."

"Heavens now. If you would, the I would have known."

"good point. So what was in that cauldron, anyway?"

"That would be anti-stress serum. For ponies who have high anxiety, this liquid will surely help them."

"Ah, I see. Well, I don't think I have any more questions to ask you about.

Zecora replied "that is no problem because you made my day, with our interesting facts that we did say."

"I know. I like you, Zecora."

"Thank you. For I like you too."

"So, am I welcomed to come here from time to time and we talk some more? I hope I am not being weird or anything."

"Luke, you are always welcomed here." Zecora said "I would love to hear more of the interesting conversations between you and me my dear."

"Awesome. Okay, guys. I think I'm ready to go now."

"Perfect. Let's go." Said Fluttershy

"Bye, Zecora. It was nice talking with you."

"I bid you goodbye, but you are more than welcome to come here from time to time."

"I know." Then he closed the door to let her finish her brew for the serum, and happily went back home to Ponyville. Mostly Fluttershy's cottage on the outskirts of it.

"So what did you think, darling?"

"She's really nice and interesting, Rarity."

"Oh yes." Fluttershy made a gulp. "Especially if she had to live in this scary forest."

"Come on. I'm here Fluttershy." Luke reassured by patting her back

The yellow pegasus smiled and said "thank you."

"Your welcome."
> Hanging Out with Rainbow Dash (Edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke was having a little walk with Rainbow Dash, whom he promised to hang out with after he was done meeting Zecora for the first time. Rainbow was really happy to be hanging out with the young human, for she really thought he was one of the coolest creatures she had ever met and seen. Am y of the townsfolk greeted Luke by waving a hello at him, then he followed after. "So, Rainbow, Twilight that you like this book series called 'the Daring Do' stories, right?"

"Aw yeah!" Rainbow said. "She is super cool and awesome like me, and would be willing to go on any adventure."

"That's what I thought. You know, there's a human in my world that's kind of like her. His names' Indiana Jones, and he explores many temples and ruins across the planet from Peru, to the Democratic Republic of Congo, to Columbia, to Madagascar, to India."

"Ooh, does he have any adventures like Daring Do? Like very dangerous stuff?"

"Oh yeah. But.... He's just a really famous actor named Harrison Ford. One of my favorite actors, actually."

"Oh. He's just an actor?"

"Yeah. Like I said before, things can get pretty boring in my world."

"Riiiiggtht." Rainbow agreed. "Yeah, I remember you saying something that." She made a little chuckle. "So, do you play sports?"

Luke made a look of uncertainty on his face "not really. I used to be, not anymore. I like some things like swimming, basketball, bowling, boxing, wrestling, fencing, that sort of thing if that even counts, but I really don't play any sports recently. Are you a sports fanatic?"

"Of course I am. Sports are my middle name. I can handle anything that comes at me." She boasted. However, she noticed something was about to come charging at her, and she got out of the way just in time. The thing stopped, and under the sunlight, it revealed a gray pegasus mare with two funny-looking eyes with some bubbles as her cutie mark "Hey, watch it!" She cursed

"Oops, sorry, Rainbow Dash." Said the mare

"Oh, hey Derpy. I didn't know it was you." Rainbow said, recognizing this rather clumsy mare.

"It's alright. That was all me." Her voice sounded like a buffoon of some kind, like she wasn't all that bright. "Hey, who's the white gorilla?" She noticed Luke

"Hey, he's not a gorilla, he's a human." Rails corrected

"Oh, sorry, human." She slowly hovered back on the ground

Luke chuckled. "That's okay. I was expecting that actually." This mare looked really adorable with her innocent and dim-witted personality. "What's your name?"

"Derpy." She replied. "Are carrier for Ponyville and Cloudsdale." She answered with her tongue sticking out of her mouth like Wakko from Animaniacs. 

"My name's Luke, Luke Smith, but you can just call me Luke if you please."

"Nice to meet you, Luke." Derpy said. "Would you like a muffin?"

"What kind?,

"Chocolate muffins with chocolate chips."

Luke gasped "I love those kind of muffins!" He said with excitement. "Sure, I would love one. Are they for free?"

"Of course, silly." She replied with a funny laugh. She gave him the treat out of her basket, and he took a bite out of it, starting to like the taste and scent of this delicious muffin

"Oh my god." He thought taking another bite of it. "That's so amazing. Thanks, Derpy."

"You're welcome. Well, I might as well get back to the deliveries now. Nice meeting you, Luke!"

"Nice meeting you too, Derpy. Au revoir."

Then the gray mare flew off delivering mail once more. Of course, because of her ditzy personality, she bumped into a few chimneys and roofs of many houses along with some loose trees within town.

"What a peculiar type of pony." He said in his brain, then he continued eating his muffin. After he was finished, he asked Rainbow "so. do you know any of the Wonderbolts by any chance?"

"You know it. Their leader's name is Spitfire. Really cool flyer like me, then there is Fleetfoot, usually the one that is beside her in many cases, very nice pony. Finally, their is Soarin, the second-in-command for the team. He's the closest friend I have. And I forgot to tell you, I finally got to be a member of the Wonderbolts a few months ago."

"Really?" Luke said with enthusiasm "that's awesome, Rainbow. Congratulations on fulfilling your dream."

"Thanks, Luke. That means a lot." She remarked. "And yeah, I am finally a Wonderbolt. Not what I would expect when I first entered of course, but still I got in."

"Good."

"So what did you think of Zecora?"

"She was very kind and very nice. It was kind of fascinating of her to speak in rhymes. Don't get me wrong, I liked it, but i'm just curious: why does she always talk with rhyming?"

Rainbow was kind of thinking the same thing Luke was "that is a good question. I really don't know why. Despite that, it was nice of you to get to know her. She really likes you a great deal."

"I can't imagine why." Luke agreed. "I think my legs are getting a little tired. Wanna sit on the grass in the park with me?"

Rainbow stretched her legs "sure, I can use a little break myself.

"I guess even the fastest flyer in Equestria has her limits, eh?" The human joked

"Yeah I know." She laughed. They walked down through another path until they saw a rather small knoll within the park in Ponyville, and he promptly sat down on the soft, green grass, feeling comfortable. "So tell me, how are you liking it at Fluttershy's place?"

In a really happy voice, Luke promptly replied "it's amazing. It has many things I could ever want, make it an animal haven for me. Although I wish there would be TV to watch and video games to play on with an Xbox 360, Wii U, and maybe a PS3 or PS4 as icing on the cake.

Rainbow had a dumbfounded look on her face. "What are those things? The Xbox 360, Wii U and the PP3 and PP4?" She asked. Of course, she never heard of those systems since they are not in Equestria

"Actually it's PS3 and PS4, and they are different types of video game systems you can play on. Some video games are made exclusively on those systems."

"Wow, that's cool." Rainbow said. "I wish i can play those things."

"I know, you should. The point is, it's very nice to live in a peaceful house like Fluttershy's. No worries, no problems, nothing to bad to give a crap about." Then he thought of his friends and family back in his homeworld. "Although I still have a family and friends back home."

"Ah, Luke. I'm pretty sure they are fine. Besides, Celestia and Luna will help you with that, remember?"

"I know. I know. I just hope they are trying to stay strong without me."

"I'm sure they are." She winked at him.

The human smiled. "You're right. I should not really worry so much.

"Your friends know that you are in Equestria, right?" She asked

"Oh yeah. They know. I was worried that they would think I was so damn crazy that I would be put in the funny farm, if you know what I mean."

Rainbow did a cute laugh. "That's hilarious."

"Right. So what other books do you like to read?"

"There are others that I like. Not as much as Twilight of course, since I am not that big of an egghead like she is."

"Oh come on, just because you read chapter books, doesn't make you an egghead, or a nerd."

"Yeah, I know. Reading is for everypony after all."

"Right. I'm not that much of an avid reader either. I prefer to watch and hear stuff besides reading, you know?"

"Right back at ya. I am kind of a pony like that myself."

The two just laid back on the nice grass and looked at the sky together. They looked for any funny looking clouds that would look familiar to certain objects.

"So does your sky in your world look like this one?"

"Oh yeah, definitely. We can have rainy days, and snowy ones in the winter too. To be honest, your sky does look a little more beautiful than mine."

"Cool. You know I help bust clouds for some weather days."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if we were to make it rain or snow, then me, along with other pegasus ponies would kick some rain or snow clouds to make it happen."

"Wow. That's awesome. The way our clouds are created is kind of.... boring, since there aren't any pegasus ponies on earth."

"I can't imagine why. We also would form a large tornado in the lake not far from here to get to Cloudsdale to make more of those clouds for everypony in Equestria. One time, Fluttershy took part of it, and she did an awesome job at it."

"Really? I'll have to congratulate her when I get back."

"Definitely."

"Hey look, that cloud looks like a lion." He pointed to the sky.

The cyan pegasus looked closely and was amazed. "Wow, yeah I see it." Then she got a little glimpse of another funny looking cloud. "Look over there, it looks like Celestia."

The human looked and was truly amazed at how that cloud looked exactly like the co-ruler of Equestria herself. "Awesome." So on and so forth, They looked at other shapes of the clouds that passed through the skies.

"So, are you sure there are no monsters in your homeworld?"

"Well.... I wouldn't say that. I might have mentioned to you something called 'cryptids' before, right?"

Rainbow was uncertain. "I don't think I do."

"Well, in my world, cryptids are creatures that might or might not exist, so there might be monsters in my world. I know so many cryptids that I could name, but I don't know if you would want to hear it."

"Yeah! tell me! what kind of monsters are they?"

"Well I don't know if they even exist or not, but I'm pretty sure some of them do. They are all a mystery to researchers and cryptozooligists. To start, in America, there is a monster named Bigfoot in the rocky mountain areas."

The cyan pegasus snickered "Bigfoot? hahaha. What kind of a name is that?"

"I know, it's kinda ridiculous, but that's what they call him. His species is called a Sasquatch. He is one of the most famous cryptids in all of North America, and it went as far as the mid 19 hundreds. The first and most famous photo of it was caught in 1967." he got up. "They caught a picture of him walking like this." then he did that famous pose of the sasquatch."

Rainbow laughed "That's so funny."

"Right. So, he is described similar to a human like me, but he's bigger, and is all hairy like a gorilla or an orangutan. No one has ever caught him before. Well, there have been some reports of Bigfoot captured, but they turned out to be fakes and hoaxes."

"How?"

"Like they were just hoaxers in costumes doing that to get publicity and money, and that sickens me."

"That's just wrong."

"You think?" he agreed. Then Rainbow got back up. "But I know he is out there somewhere. I know it."

"Good. I would like to pick a fight with that guy." she made a few punches in the air in a boxing type of fashion. What other monsters? Oh, are there any in Africa? the place you told us about?"

"Oh yes. There are quite a few ones that I have read about. In western Africa, like in two countries called the Democratic Republic of Congo and Republic of the Congo, there is a creature like a river monster. It's a funny name so get ready to laugh."

"Okay." Rainbow waited to hear what he had to say and wanted to see if she will laugh her ass off.

"It is a dinosaur. I don't know if you are familiar with it, but is is a dinosaur that probably survived extinction millions of years ago."

"Wow. Yeah, I heard of them. We had them million years ago too."

"Really?" Luke said in amazement. "That's awesome. Anyway, the beast is called the Mokele-Mbembe."

Then Rainbow dropped to the floor laughing her eyes out. "That's a very funny name! HAHAHAHA! then she got up and wiped a tear from her eye. "I'm sorry, tell me more."

"Thanks. Now, he he a type of sauropod type of dinosaur with a long tail and long neck that inhabited the Congo river basin. It's a vegetarian don't have to worry about it eating you. His name means One who stops the flow of rivers in the Lingala tongue, which is a language that some tribes in those countries speak. I hope I am not boring you stiff with this, am I?"

"No no no, of course not." she replied with enthusiasm. "I love hearing this. This is really cool."

"Good. It's not really a threat to humans, and doesn't really attack anyone, but it does prefer to be left alone."

"Can't blame it. That's so cool,I would like to see that kind of creature."

"Another creature from there is called the Emela-Ntouka. It's either a triceratops type of dinosaur, or a species of aquatic rhino, because he has a long, sharp horn on his nose like one."

"Ooh. Now that is awesome."

"This monster has a large tale and is the size of an elephant."

"Wow."

"He lives in swampy areas like the Mokele-mbembe, but it doesn't have a long neck. His name means 'killer of the elephants' also in the Lingala language."

"Whoa."

"I know. Like I said, they could be real, or they could be not. They are total mysteries to scientists and people who study them like me. But, that would be so cool if they were real, right?"

"I know! Then I can fight them all, and take them on with my bare hooves! Hiyah!"

"I can see that." Luke chuckled. "So I think i'm ready to get moving again."

"Good. Wanna go play some basketball with me?"

He thought about it, and he said "Sure, I guess so. I might as well do some exercise."

"Good. Wanna race to the field?"

"Sure. Last one to the field is roadkill."

"Got it!" then they both ran towards the fields. Of course, Rainbow was running way faster than Luke was since almost any animal can run faster than humans. Except sloths, tortoises and turtles, but he still had fun anyway.


> Meeting a Chaotic Creature (edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the park, a little far from where they were discussing about Earth's amazing cryptids, Luke and Rainbow were having a good time playing a head on game of basketball. Luke would have gone swimming if it was summer or maybe spring. Alas, since it was fall, it was too cold for him to swim in any pool outdoors or indoors.

"Come on, Luke." She said. "Show me what you got."

"You too!" It was a rather playful grudge match between them. Rainbow, since she knows that Luke cannot fly, decided not to hover when she was dribbling the ball or when he was, for she knew it would be foul play since he doesn't have any flying abilities whatsoever. Luke dodged as many times as he could from Rainbow to keep the ball from her, and was doing all his best to try and goal for the hoop, but alas, Rainbow got the best of him and took the ball.

She raced towards Luke's part of the field and Luke was blocking her everytime she was about to make a shot at it. He blocked lots of attempts with all his might, but Rainbow made her move, and the ball went straight into the hoop. "Aw yeah!" she cheered. "Go Rainbow! Go Rainbow!" she started to dance the warm in midair while she was hovering. This is exactly what Luke would expect, hence the fact that Rainbow had beaten him thirteen times in a row. He was no Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, or Lebron James. But he didn't care, because he wasn't into sports as much as he is into music or animals, or video games.

"Aw man. You got me again." Luke said. "You're a real pro, Rainbow. I'll give you that. Beaten my all through the rounds.

"Of course I am. I'm the awesomest pony in all of Equestria." She boasted again. She went back on the ground and stretched her arm to him for a hoof bump, or a fist bump to day the least since Luke has hands. "Good job, and good game Luke."

"Thanks." Then he bumped his fist with her hoof. "So what should we do now?"

The cyan pegasus made a cute yawn and replied "i'm pretty worn out. I think i'm gonna take a nap on a cloud."

"Alright. See you soon, Rainbow." 

"Bye Luke." Before she went off, she had a thought. "oh, and you should tell me more of those cryptids or monsters, whatever you call them to me and my friends, they would be really fascinated to hear about them."

"yeah, they are called Cryptids. and i would love to share my knowledge of those mysterious creatures."

"good, see ya."Then she flew off with great speed, leaving Luke amazed by her flight as he would usually be. He took his little basketball and decide to go back to Fluttershy's cottage. On the road, he was happy to see everypony in town was as happy as he was. He looked at the castle and the whole town in Canterlot on the side of the mountain north of where Ponyville is. He wondered if he would be able to see the capital of Equestria itself. He sighed at the beauty of the city.

"Howdy, Luke." Said a cowgirl voice. He turned around and saw Applejack coming to greet him.

"Oh, hey Applejack. What's up?"

"I was just looking for you to ask ya if you wanted to help me with my farm tomorrow."

Luke's eyes went wide. "Of course. I would love too. I might as well tell Fluttershy that when I get back."

"Good. I knew you would say yes since you love animals so much."

"I do. I was born an animal lover, and I'll die an animal lover."

Applejack chuckled "that's good. So what's with the basketball?"

"Oh, I was just hanging with Rainbow Dash and we played a few friendly games together. She beat me at everything, I'll tell you that. She is a pro."

"Wouldn't blame you. Rainbow is quite an athlete. Of course she can get carried away, just so you would know. She didn't rub it in your face too much, did she?"

"Well, she was kind of an..... Ego maniac sometimes, but no. She didn't hurt my feelings. She said that it was a good game."

"Oh, good. Rainbow is gifted in her sporting abilities."

"Yeah, she is. So anyway, what kind of work is there to do at Sweet Apple Acres?" He asked curiously. "Helping with pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, and all of that?"

"Uh-huh. All of those things that have to do with farming. Along with picking apples from Sweet Apple Orchard. Those are were all the apples in Ponyville come from. Big Mac, and Applebloom can help out too."

"Nice. Well, see you tomorrow then."

"Bye, Luke. And if you don't want to help out, I understand. Just let me know today or tomorrow if you decided you don't want to help, and we will not take it badly at all."

"Of course I want to help you all out. I promise you."

"Good. See ya." Then they both parted ways. Now Luke can help animals more than he would be able to do than before when he first came here to Equestria. He was walking back to the cottage with the thought of being more helpful to his new friends than ever. Things are definitely going his way, even if everyone can't have their own way all the time, he knew something that he did not want would happen. But he didn't worry about it too much and decided to just be happy with the here and now events.

"My friends are gonna be there too." He sang "I'm on the Highway to Hell. Highway to Hell." He was halted when he heard another voice call to him

"Hey, stranger!" He turned around again and saw a rather small colt, smaller than a lot of foals here in Ponyville that is. He was white with patches of brown spots. 

"Oh. Hi" Luke greeted. "What can I help you with, kid?"

"Sorry to bother you, I was want to get to know you. That's all."

"It's okay, you're not bothering. I'm learning to make new friends in Equestria anyway."

"Oh really? Good. My name is Pipsqueak from Trottingham, but you can just call me Pip." He introduced himself. He was talking in a rather British-type of accent, hence the name of the town Trottingham that sounded like the city that Robin Hood took place called Nottingham.

"I'm Luke. Luke Smith, but Luke is my first name, so you can call me that. Nice to meet you, Pip."

"Nice to meet you too, Luke." Pip replied with a smile. "So how long have you been here?"

"A number of days. You see, I came here through a shooting star from my home world, Earth."

"You got here just by making a wish?"

"Ironically, yes. I didn't think it would actually work, but it did anyway."

"Why would you think it wouldn't work?" Pip asked him a little confused

"Well, because..... There is no magic in my world like this one."

"That's boring." Pip remarked. "What good would the world be without any magic at all? A world with total boredom is what it would be."

"I know right." Luke agreed. "This world is definitely more fun than back home. I am rather glad to be here, but I still have a family and friends that are worried about me."

"Oh. that's not good. they might be worried about you." pip remarked with sympathy,

"it's alright. i can handle myself. they just need to stay strong."

"good. Wait, how did you came here from that star if there was no magic?" Indeed, it was a mystery how he would even get here if there was no sign of magic.

"That's a good question. I don't know. Princess Celestia and Luna are working on it?"

"You know them?"

"Of course. They were curious about me too. As a matter of fact, I think everypony around here is, since they have never seen a human in Equestria before"

"Human?"

"Yep. That's the kind of creature I am."

"Wow. That's cool. So where are you staying?"

"At Fluttershy's cottage. That's where I will stay until I can possibly get back in my homeworld. Besides, this world seems so much better than mine. Having magic, monsters, the peace, everything."

Pip knew he was right, even though he didn't even step foot on the human's world, he would agree that this world is much more fun. "I think you're right."

"Well, I might as well be getting back to Fluttershy's cottage now. Awesome meeting you, Pip."

"Nice meeting you too, Luke." The colt happily replied. "I should get back to my home too, my mum is making me zesty cucumber sandwiches for supper." He licked his lips.

"See you soon." Then the colt happily ran back to his house for supper. "Such a nice kid." He thought. Now he went back to Fluttershy's place. Everypony was absolutely nice to him like he was a special guest, not only to Twilight, her friends, or the princess' but to anyone. Now he felt the confidence of finding new friends in Equestria getting bigger and bigger, making him happier. He didn't have much fun playing basketball like that for years, and thought that it was a blast that he just did it again.

When he made it back to the cottage, he was happy to be back home, or his temporary home to say the least. He opened the door and was caught by surprise to see a weird and odd looking creature with Fluttershy. He had many animal parts on him, like some kind of robot parts or something.  A pony's head, lion's paw, Dragon's arm, and some other body parts. "Uhh, hello." He said, taken aback by this strange being

"Oh, Luke. Hello. How was it with you and Rainbow Dash?" She asked the human, happy to see him back in the cottage.

"Hey, Fluttershy. It was very fun."

"Oh you must be this... Human that I have heard of." Said the creature. He had a regal voice like a Kelsey Grammer type of accent, or kind of like David Hyde Pierce a little. He disappeared and then reappeared in front of the human, startling him. "Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Discord, the master of Chaos, at your service." Then he shook Luke's hand hardly.

"Nice to meet you, Discord." The human said uncomfortably. Despite that little awkward moment, he was rather fascinated by this strange monster. "My name is Luke."

"A pleasure to meet you too, Luke." He replied he bowed in respect to the human. "Here, have a mug of iced root beer." Then he created the drink out of thin air and gave it to him

The human gasped with joy. "Wow, thanks," and he drank the first sip

"You are very welcome Luke."

"Discord and I was just having our Tuesday tea together." Fluttershy said to Luke. "Would you like some more Darjeeling, Discord."

"Oh but of course, my dear Fluttershy. Have another round on me, please." Then he changed into a rather formal tuxedo with a snap of his finger with a monocle over his right eye, slurping his hot tea like a gentleman would do it with his pinky out.

"So, Fluttershy. I wanted to tell you something." Luke said, sitting on the couch with her.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Applejack came to me not too long ago and asked me if I would like to help her out with the animals at Sweet Apple Acres with her and her family tomorrow."

"Oh, that's wonderful." She congratulated him. "Thank you for letting me know."

"You won't mind me being a little gone again, do you?"

"Of course not. I want you to be out there making new friends in Ponyville." She remarked. "Can you just help me with the animals breakfasts' tomorrow, first?"

"Sure. Anything for you, Fluttershy."

"Oh Luke, you never let me down." She said happily. "I am so glad to have you stay here with me."

The human was touched by her kind words. "Thanks, Fluttershy. I'm honored to be here."

Discord was having a little sense of jealousy within himself, but he didn't want to hurt Luke. He seems like a nice young human, and he had changed his evil ways, especially the time he tried to send Tree Hugger, another friend of Fluttershy, to another realm out of jealousy. He let the negativity within him go and said "well, why don't you have a seat. We have so much more to talk about my, boy." 

"Sure."

"So how do you like your stay in Equestria? Per ce?"

"I love it! It's a little better than my homeworld. It has magic, monsters, more peace on some terms and has everything I could ever want. Not what I expected, but still, I love it!"

"Good. Good. Have to been here long?"

"For a little while to say the least. I have been here for quite a few days from a shooting star and I got transported here by making a wish for me to be in a better world, and here I am now."

"Riser unusual, yet fascinating." Discord remarked. "Well, I like you, Luke. You seem like an intriguing young lad." Then he gave him a pat on his back

"Ow!" Luke exclaimed "that was a little bit too hard."

"Oops sorry."

"It's okay. Just please be more careful. You see, please don't laugh at me, but..... I'm a little sensitive."

"Oh. I understand." Then he pulled Luke close to him, invading the human's personal space. "There is no shame in it."

"Oh yes. We all have our flaws." Fluttershy added

"Yeah, I guess nobody's perfect, especially if they are ponies from Equestria. Or..... Or..... What are you exactly, Discord?"

"What? Oh, I am a Drancequus. That is my species, thank you."

"Right."

"Well, I should be getting back home now. I got lots to do around the house, creating molds on the ceilings, and puking on the stairs."

Luke was a little grossed out by this. "No offense, but you are one of the weirdest type of person I have met and seen in my entire life."

"Hahaha! No offense taken, my boy. I take great pride in being unusual actually. Anyway, Au revoir." Then he disappeared again, back go his house wherever it may be.

"That was kind of cool." Luke said. "I like this guy. He seems fun."

"Oh I know. He can be really funny." Fluttershy said

"Here here."

"Well, would you like to help me give the critters their supper and maybe give them a bath too? I could use a little extra pair of hooves- I mean hands, right?"

"Right." Luke replied with a smile. "Sure. Like I said, anything for you, Fluttershy."

"Wonderful." Then they both went into the cupboard and got out a variety of goodies that consisted of bird feed, fruits and veggies and others. "Now, remember not to feed them too much, okay?"

"Got it. Just tell me when to stop feeding them, alright?"

"Okay." Then they both went to work with the supper feeding. They all the animals knew what was going to happen and they were excited. They all crowded around Luke and Fluttershy and begged for the food to be handed down to them. Some of them even tried to climb on Luke's legs like a bunch of cats wanting attention

Luke chuckled. "Alright alright. Just settle down you guys. My god." The he began to pour the bagged food to some of the critters.

After a few seconds, Fluttershy kindly told him to stop. "That's enough." She said. "Now we move on to the birds inside."

"Sure."

While the animals on the ground were eating their food, Fluttershy and Luke, one at a time, feed some of the bird feed on the houses and perches, making the, all happy. Some of them even perched on Luke's head and shoulders. 

"Yes, I know. You're welcome."  Luke laughed. "That tickles. They all flew off of hi. To eat some of their supper now.

"Now we just feed the rest, and five them all their baths after they are finished eating." Fluttershy instructed.

"Good."

"Oh, and we can start with Angel Bunny as the first one to have his bath." The white rabbit gasped in horror, and collapsed on the floor, too shocked to even say anything.

Luke chuckled and said to himself under his breath "oh Angle." Then they both went outside to continue the feeding to the outdoor critters outside the cottage. It would be good practice for him to help with Applejack's animals tomorrow at the farm, for they might need as much helping hands as they can get with him helping the apple family.



> New Farmboy (Edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, Luke was still asleep in his underwear under his sleeping bag. It was nine in the morning, but he was too deep in his dreams to even notice that. Then, his eyes clamped open, remembering what he would do on this fine morning. "Oh my god, I don't wanna be late and keep Applejack waiting." He thought out loud to himself.

"Oh, good morning, Luke." Fluttershy said kindly to him, noticing that he had just woken up.

"Morning, Fluttershy." The human replied to her in a yawn. Then he noticed his breakfast that consisted of an egg, tomato and lettuce sandwich on a plate, next to it was a glass of orange juice to drink from. "Am I too late for Applejack?"

"No silly." The yellow pegasus giggled. "I fixed your breakfast, just the way you want it to be."

"Yeah, I can see that." Then he went over to eat his food to get ready for a new day " the sandwich was at perfection for his taste buds and so was the juice.

Fluttershy then asked him curiously "So, did you have any good dreams in your sleep?"

"Yep. But, I'd rather prefer if I didn't tell you about them. I mean- it's personal, and-"

"Oh I understand perfectly. You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to. I was just asking, that's all."

"It's okay, I know you're just asking. No biggy." Then he took one last bit of his sandwich.

"Oh my goodness, you already ate it?" The yellow pegasus said in surprise noticing that the food she made him was already gone in an instant. It was like every time she was talking to Luke and having conversations, the sandwich would already disappear out of sight. "You must have been hungry, haven't you?"

"Very hungry." Then he made a burp. "Excusez-moi." He said, patting his belly. "So how about I help you with everyone around here, then I go to Applejack's to help her out. Alright?"

"Of course. Thank you so much for helping me, Luke."

"You're welcome, Fluttershy." He replied with a smile. Then he sniffed his armpit and had a look of mild disgust "and maybe take a little shower after this. Ugh."

Flutterhsy adorably laughed at what he said "no worries." They started with the usual steps, feeding the ones inside before the outside critters.

The birds all chirped happily after Luke poured some feed into their little birdhouses and flew onto both his shoulders "ah, you're welcome guys." Luke said to them. 

He was a little under pressure by the animals crowding around him, just begging for some food. Nevertheless, he filled pretty much of their food bowls and a fluttershy fed the other half. He heard a loud thumping on the ground and saw the spoiled bunny himself, Angel, who was looking quite impatient

Luke groaned "alright alright, just relax." Then he poured the special food for his own personal food bowl. "Happy?" He asked the bunny

The white rabbit nodded happily and started eating like a pig than any Lagomorph would eat like. Luke rolled his eyes in slight irritation, but he was happy to feed him anyway cause a fluttershy loved him so much.

He and Fluttershy made an excellent team at animal care and he even thought that he should have been doing this a long time ago. While everu critter was eating their breakfast inside, the two went outside. Fluttershy fed one half of the group, and Luke fed the other. Linus the lion rubbed his face against his side like a house cat would do.

"Yes, I know you're happy, Linus." Luke said to him.

The lion made a low roar at him in reply.

"You're welcome." Then he felt another big cat running against his back. He turned around to see the slightly larger, Tyler the white tiger, also looking quite happy and behaving like a house cat. "Ah, come here, Tyler." Luke said. He petted the tiger multiple times and Linus at once not to make him jealous."

"Aww, isn't that sweet?" Fluttershy said, noticing the cuddling.

"Hey, Fluttershy?"

"Yes?"

"I'm curious about the Discord guy. When I first met him and when I was talking to you, he sounded a little jealous of me. I don't know for sure, call it a hunch."

Fluttershy thought about yesterday, and did notice a slight touch of envy on the Drancequus yesterday after Luke got back from spending time with Rainbow Dash "well, Discord is still trying to know more about friendship from me. You see, he was evil once, but now he's good."

"Yep. That would all make sense to me now."

"But he was happy to have met you mostly. So, don't worry about him, he can be a real sweetheart when you know him."

As Luke put away the feed, he remarked "maybe you're right. One of these days I might spend a little time with him if he comes here again"

"Wonderful idea. He is always more than willing to spend time with me. I am his best friend after all."

Luke smiled "well, I should take that shower now, and go help Applejack after that."

"Of course. Go right ahead and use my bathroom." Fluttershy kindly offered.

"Thanks." The young human wiped his forehead of sweat from the work he did, went inside, and promptly went to the bathroom to clean himself off for the new day.





After the shower back in the cottage, Luke was walking through Ponyville and was halfway there to the Sweet Apple Acres farm. He remembered the way back there when Fluttershy went to introduce him to Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Spike, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and the Apple family who lived there for he had a very good memory of many things once he sees them.

He remembered the path that was the same one as Fluttershy and him walked on, and he was correct, he could see the beautiful farm just right in front of him within yards.

"Ah, there it is." he thought to himself. "Just as I thought it would be at." He smelled the nice and clean air of the whole farm. He humbly stepped through under the arch that was the entrance to the whole area. The fields of golden corn were blooming in the plantation area. He could be at this beautiful piece of land for hours.

"Howdy, Luke." Applejack called in a distance. "You made it." Next to her was her older brother, Big Macintosh.

"Hi guys." Luke greeted. "I told you I would be here." Winona barked happily to see him a second time, which was unusual because the first time she met him, she was very cautious and careful around him. "Oh come here Winona." He was tackled when the dog pounced on his chest and licked his face multiple times "stop that!" He chuckled. Then Winona got off of him.

"She's just happy to see you." Said Applejack.

"Right, well I'm happy to make it here on this fine morning."

"Good. We are so glad that you did."

"Eeyup. Definitely." Big Mac remarked.

"Awesome. So.... what should I do first? bring it on." Luke boldly remarked.

"Well, you can help us feed the pigs if you'd like." Big Mac remarked.

Luke made a silly gasp "Oh my god, I love pigs!" he said.

"Then the pigs will like you." Applejack said with a wink. "So they are right over there, and me and Big Mac can get the feed so we can get started."

"Cool." When they got the feed, Luke asked the two siblings "so where is your little sister..... Applebloom, right? One of the...... Cutie Mark Crusaders."

"Eeyup. That's right." Big Mac answered.

"Applebloom is already done with her chores." Applejack added "Feedin' the chickens."

"Ah, good."

"Hi, Luke." said three filly voices all at once. He turned and saw Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle themselves.

"Speak of the devil." Luke mumbled with a smirk. "Hi girls."

"You made it, Luke." said Applebloom.

"I wouldn't of missed it. Just about to feed the piggies."

"Cool." said Scootaloo. "How was Rainbow Dash yesterday?"

"Awesome."

"Got the feed." said Big Mac, carrying two bags over him. Luke thought to himself that this farm was lucky to have a wall of muscle like Big Macintosh around to help with the work. "You guys ready?"

"Yep." Said Luke and Applejack in unison. The three went over to the pig pen and Luke was very intrigued by how many pigs there were. Many breeds big and small, Yorkshire, Landrace, Berkshire, Gloucestershire old spots, pot-bellies, durocs, and so many other types of pigs. Indeed, he was quite fascinated by them "Hey Applejack, I know this sounds like a stupid question because I'm a man, but are any of these pig aggressive?"

"Oh no. These pigs are real sweethearts, especially Lil Pigginton over there." 

Luke saw a large obese boar who's eyes were hard to see. "Wow."

"Why would you think they would be aggressive?" asked Big Mac

"Well, they might not have ever seen a human before. Once again, only human in Equestria right now."

"Oh come now, Sugarcube." Applejack disagreed. "I think they will like you. So there's no need to be afraid of them."

"No no no, I'm not afraid of them." Luke said "I.... I just have a... sensitive side like Fluttershy does, and my skin is sensitive." he felt a little ashamed to admit it. "Besides, I heard that some pigs that are wild and feral can be mean and aggressive, territorial."

"Oh don't worry, You'll be fine. There's no shame in it." said Big Mac.

"Yeah, I know how you feel." Applebloom added. "I remember the first time I saw these pigs, nelly, did they scare the living apples out of me." they all laughed.

"Alright. Well, are we going in there to feed them? or are we just going to go fill it over the trough from the other side?"

"We do it inside. And don't worry, they will like you." Applejack answered. "Oh, and here come some of them now." Like she said, she was right A dozen of the hogs came over to the fence to look at the human thanks to their big curiosity "aww look. What did I tell you?"

"Ah, I think they came because they know they're going to be fed soon."

"That's partly true. Come on, let's get to feedin' y'all." The three went inside the pig Len with the Cutie Mark Crusaders watching them on the opposite side of the fence.

Many of the pigs were giving Luke a warm welcome inside his pen surprisingly. Some of them were rubbing their faces against his pants. The smaller ones tried to climb on him to give him a kiss on his face.

"See, they like ya." Big Mac said. After they dumped the food on the troughs, some of the pigs were still crowding around Luke while the others were eating happily. He got on the ground and let an old spot boar sniff his face, and lick it like a dog. Luke was really liking this sensation with pigs being around him.

"Alright. Alright, sorry guys. But I need to get back to work. Go on, go eat." The the pigs did what he told him to do.

"Well that was nice." Said Sweetie Belle. "I never seen the pigs act like this before."

"I know, that was...... Amazing." Scootaloo agreed.

"Yeah. I guess I just have a special connection with animals, like..... We are the same. I don't know why, but I always loved pigs since I was a baby."

"Wouldn't blame you." Said Applebloom. "Who could possibly hate pigs?"

"Yeah, they're so lovable." Said Applejack.

"What about Rarity?" Scootaloo asked curiously

"Hey! My sister doesn't hate pigs." Sweetie protested "she's..... A little obsessed with clean things and..... Pompous she is."

They all agreed with her. "True that." Big Mac agreed. "She may not be one of those hoity-toity snobs in Canterlot, but she can act like one, that's for sure."

"Tell me about it. I would have to deal with ego from time to time." Said Applejack. "Well, we might as well move on to the sheep pen now."

"Perfect." They walked a little far away from the pig pen, and Luke saw a fenced area with a dozen type of sheep. It mostly consisted of merinos, Cheviots, Suffolk, katahdin, and a few others. They were equally surprised when they saw Luke, but didn't go all that excited about it.

"Hey, what's this?" A ewe bleated. Luke's eyes went wide 

"A talking sheep?" He thought.

"It looks like a gigantic hairless gorilla mixed with a pig." Another one said

"Ma!" Applejack scolded "he's no monkey or a pig. He's a human."

"Sorry AJ" the first ewe said "we just never seen a creature like him before. That's all."

"Perfectly understandable." Luke remarked. "I came from another world by a shooting star. That's how I got here in Equestria."

They all bleated to one another. "Well, what's your name, human?" Asked a ram

"Luke."

"Well, nice to meet you, Luke."

"Well, here's the food you would want." Said Applejack. They went through the fence gate, and poured their feed.

Many sheep were getting a closer look on him and examine this unusual species "where did you come from?" Asked one sheep

"And what is it like?" Asked another

These questions were a little too overwhelming that it was making him feel uncomfortable "okay okay. I know you're very curious about me, but please, one at a time." Then one after another, after another, the sheep apologized to the human. "It's fine. Now, let me fill your trough."

Then part of the flock promptly stepped aside for the human to dump the food for them. "Bon apetite."

Thank you." They all bleated at him with gratitude. 

This made Luke feel more grateful than before. Then he rejoined with the others. 

"Oh, I forgot to ask you. How was it with Rainbow Dash yesterday?" Applejack asked him. 

"It was really fun. We had talk about cryptids from my world, and played basketball, and let me tell you, she beat me at every round, even without using her wings."

"She's awesome. What would you expect?" Scootaloo pointed

Luke chuckled "That's true, Scootaloo. She was a little.... to proud of herself to say the least, but she said good game."

"Well, that's just like her." Applejack agreed. "Can't have a game without Rainbow acting like a bit of an ego maniac when her opponent loses."

Luke chuckled "tell me about it."

"Um, Luke?" Applebloom asked 

"Yeah, what is it?"

"What is a..... cryptid thing?"

"It's a monster or a creature that might or might exist. Some of them are a real page-turner.

"Oh. Do you think you can tell us sometime? I want  to know if they really are interesting to know about." Sweetie Belle asked

"Yeah!" The kids agreed.

"And i'm pretty sure that maybe we would like to hear about them. Rainbow told me about these..... monsters yesterday after you went back to Fluttershy's. And some of these are real page-turners indeed."

"Eeyup." Big Mac agreed.

"I think i will." Luke said proudly "well, enough of that. What next? Are there any cows here?"

"No. But we would occasionally get visitors that are cows and bulls." Big Mac clarified

"Oh right. I remember you say that cows, bulls, bison, and buffalo can talk too."

"Exactly. So why don't you help out with the apple harvesting in the orchard, then maybe we can feed the ducks and chickens after that."

"Okay, Applejack." Luke said.

Then they all went to the large orchard to pick the delicious, red apples from the branches. Being a farm boy for Luke just made his stay in Equestria even better.
> Talents (Edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke was out playing with some of the animals a little, and he was rather having fun with them. He was happy that they were all greeting him warmly like he was a member of their family, even if it has only been a few days since he came here. Fluttershy looked on at him with a smile, petting Angel in her arms.

"So, how did it go?" Fluttershy asked him

"Amazing! I loved it." The human replied in enthusiasm. "We fed animals, picked some apples and made apple pie. It was really fun."

"How wonderful." 

Their conversation was cut short when there was a knock on her door, and it revealed to be Twilight and the others, with Spike on her back. "Hi Fluttershy." The purple allicorn greeted.

"Oh. Hello, everypony." She was always more than happy to see her friends come by to see her again, which was what best friends are for. "What brings you here?"

"We were going out for some ice cream, and we were wondering if you would like to join us." Rainbow clarified.

Fluttershy made an excited gasp "oh, of course. I would love to be with my own best friends." They all went "aww." And gave eachother a group hug, including Spike. They noticed Luke looking on at them.

"Luke, hello darling." Rarity greeted. "How might you be doing?"

"Doing fine, thank you."

"Hey, would you like to come with us and get some ice cream?"

The human gasped "yes. I love ice cream." Then he looked on at the critters "will the animals be alright, Fluttershy?"

The yellow pegasus smiled "don't worry. They will be just fine. We gave them their food, remember?"

"Yeah, you're right." The human flatly stated. "So, okay. I would love to join you guys." They all made wider smiles and mild cheering. He followed them back to Ponyville for more quality time together. 

While they were walking down the road together, Pinkie asked the human "so, how was it at the farm, Luke?"

"Awesome."

"Yeah, Luke was very helpful. He was just so amazing with the work and the animals." Applejack clarified. "You should have seen him with the pigs. They loved him."

"Perfect!" Pinkie bounced with joy.

"So, Luke." Twilight addressed. "Rainbow told us you know about these..... Monsters in your world that might be real or not, right?"

"Right."

"Do you think you can tell us a few of these creatures? I'm a little curious to know about them." Spike said

They all agreed with him in their own words. "Well, alright, alright." He chuckled. Luke was rather happy to see that friends like them would want to know about these beasts. Applejack was right about it earlier, they are real page-turners. "One of my favorite creatures that might or might not exist is, the Maryland Go-"

There was a rustling in the bushes, like some animal was stalking them. They all looked around cautiously with Luke's heart beating faster than it normally would be beating. 

"What was that?" Luke whispered.

"I don't know," rainbow said

"Shh, keep it down." Twilight instructed. Then out of nowhere in one of the bushes, some type of chicken head popped out of nowhere and looked at the group. This didn't look like any other chicken however, no, this one had red eyes of hell. When the creature came out, it had the head of a rooster and a body of a dragon

The human recognized this monstrosity from one of his books of mythological creatures. "Oh my god. It's..... A cockatrice!" He said in shock. Then he covered his eyes so he wouldn't be turned to stone, and hoped that this creatures would go away. Without warning, he felt the monster sniff his hands curiously and flew over to make eye contact with the human. Obviously, he wanted to turn him into a garden statue.

The yellow pegasus looked on in horror. "It's okay, friends." Fluttershy noted. "I have dealt with a cockatrice before." Then she gave him the stare through her eyes "You! Just what do you think you're doing?!"

They all watched in horror when they noticed Fluttershy slowly turning to a statue starting from her tail. 

"Fluttershy, what are you doing?!" Pinkie exclaimed in terror

"No!" Luke exclaimed. This was almost too much o bear for him. Was she going to be lost forever by this unusual cockatrice? Or what?

"Just who do you think you are? Turning anypony to stone like this?! You would know better not to turn a creature to stone because he is not from here! No leave, and don't ever let me catch you doing this to my friend ever again! Understand?" Then the stone that was consuming her stopped and got off of her, like the spell was lifted

The cockatrice was absolutely stunned in horror from her staring. The monster nodded a yes in cowardice and ran away squawking like a real chicken would do, never to bother them and hopefully anypony else again.

Luke was amazed by what just happened. Fluttershy taking care of a beast like a cockatrice? "Fluttershy." He said "how.... Did you do that?"

"Oh, that was a little something I call, 'the stare'. I use this to get an animal to stop misbehaving if asking them nicely does not work."

"The..... Stare?" Luke thought to himself. "I wonder if Victoria Stilwell or Jackson Galaxy ever did anything like this to dogs and cats." Out loud, he said "thanks for saving me, Fluttershy." 

"You're welcome. I couldn't possibly let that mean critter try and turn you to stone." She replied. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It just.... Caught us by surprise."

"So did us." Spike added.

"Well, enough of that. I think the worse is behind us, now."

They all agreed with him one at a time. "You're right." Said Rarity. "Let's not dwell on that little skirmish."

"Right."

"So, what kind of monster were you talking about?" Pinkie asked with a smile.

"Let's see...... Oh yeah, one of my favorite ones is the Maryland Goatman. Really strange monster with a very interesting backstory."

"What's a Maryland?" Asked Applejack

"It's one of the states in the fifty United States of America, my home."

"Oh." They all said in unison.

"So anyway, the Goatman of Maryland is one of the most famous cryptids in my world. It's pretty debatable if this guy actually exists, or of it's all a lie and an old folk tale."

"How was he like that?" Asked Twilight

"You guys really want to know?"

"Yes." They all replied happily. "Do tell us the story, please." Fluttershy begged. She made a really cute face that Luke could ever possibly say no too.

"Well, alright." Then they all happily cheered "so, the Goarman in Maryland takes place in the mid 19 hundreds in my world. Before this monster became the fiend the people of Maryland heard and read from, he was a scientist by the name of Dr. Stephen Fletcher. The accident was in a Maryland town called Beltsville in it's agricultural research center

"What did he do?" Asked Rainbow.

"He performed experiments on animals, particularly goats. That I do not like, because it's cruel to do that to any animal."

"I know, right?" Spike agreed. "What kind of sick twisted pony would want to do that."

"Well, i don't know if he was evil, he was just doing some science is all, i think. So, one day, an experiment went completely array, and turned him into the goatman. He had the torso of a human like me, except it was covered in hair. The lower body of a goat, and have horns on his head like one.

"Wow, so what happened next?" Rainbow asked, really wanting to l know more.

"Well, he took a large fire ax on the way out for him to keep. You see, he was so ugly with his transformation that he decided to take it out on the world. Now, he haunts the back roads of Beltsville, harassing teenagers in a place called lovers lane."

Rainbow, Pinkie, and Spike snickered at the teenager fact "that's kind of funny." The cyan pegasus giggled.

"Many people in Maryland have claimed to see the goatman around Maryland over the years it happened. In one event, he was blamed for the deaths of fourteen hikers that were coming through or near the place that he lived in. And another story of a dog suddenly decapitated by the Goatman with his ax."

Fluttershy gasped with sadness. She had great sympathy "that poor poor thing." She said twilight went to comfort her.

"I know. I feel the same way as you, Fluttershy." Luke remarked "but this was a long time ago. What's in the last is done and can't be changed."

The yellow pegasus made a small sigh "you're right. I'm sorry if I was overreacting."

"Ah, don't be sorry, Fluttershy. It's alright." The human place his hand over her back. "I feel just the same way as you do. It's rather conflicting whether this homicidal maniac is real or a fake and a hoax. Right now, there was an alleged photo of the Goatman in Maryland not too long ago. He was just walking out in the woods from a hiker walking around and such. The picture was a little blurry to describe it fully. But, I was sure I saw his head looking like a ram or a goat. He was hairy all over himself and was looking at the guy who took the picture.

"Did he have his ax with him?"

"No. That's why I kind of think the picture was fake."

"Why would you call it fake if this guy seen it?"

"Well, Rainbow might have told you guys about another cryptid I told her about the other day: Bigfoot. many hoaxers like to dress up like him, scare and trick people to get publicity and make money off of it. Meantime, who knows? maybe the Goatman could be hiding in Beltsville after all. Besides, I think he would be more likely to come out at night to make it all the more scary, and since it can be dark at night."

They all agreed with him. "Maybe you're right." said Rainbow Dash. "Anything could be possible."

"Agreed. Wanna see a picture of him on my phone?"

They all replied half yes and half sure. The human pulled out his Samsung Galaxy smartphone and went on the internet. It was a good thing that it worked in Equestria, even thought it might not make a lot of sense, but still good. Then he pulled out the most recent sighting of the goatman.



The others were quite surprised by this. "Oh my." said Fluttershy. "It does look like a hybrid of a goat and human being."

"I know. Look at it's horns." Rainbow said in amazement.

"Look at all that scraggly fur on himself." Rarity added. "He does look a little repulsive, and a ruffian."

Applejack looked at it closely. "You were right, this is a little blurry. Kinda hard to tell if this is describable." Luke nodded in agreement. 

"But look at the forest, it looks so green and beautiful." Twilight said.

"Oh yes, I never knew that Maryland looks so beautiful." Fluttershy agreed.

"It is. There are deserts, and tundras in my world if you didn't know that. Anyway, I'm not sure if this is real or fake. Maybe if this creature had the large ax with him that I told you about, then maybe it would be a little more believable. For all I know. This picture might be fake."

"Well, that's cool." said Spike. "I like it."

"I'm glad you like me telling you guys this. Very interesting stuff, huh?"

"Totally." said Pinkie.

"I agree, definitely a page-turner like you said." said Rarity.

Then they all arrived in town, looking as peaceful as it will ever be. "So, is the ice cream at Sugarcube Corner, pinkie?" the human asked him

"Yep! Oh you will love it, Luke. It's the best kind of Ice cream it is in all of Equestria!" This sound really promising to the human being. If that place had good root beer, then it would have good ice cream, too. They all stepped inside the sweets shop, and their owners, Mr. and Mrs. Cake were more than happy to see the human again

"Ah, Luke. Welcome back." said the husband.

"Morning, Mr and Mrs Cake." the human greeted kindly.

"We're here for some ice cream." Pinkie clarified.

"Oh of course. Since you live here, Pinkie Pie, and you are her friends, and you are a foreign visitor, I will make a special discount." Mrs Cake confirmed.

They all waited in line for their ice cream. For Luke, he got himself a vanilla/mint swirl in soft serve form, the best kind of ice cream their is. It looked really good, and tried a bite. His eyes went wide, and dreamt himself in a pasture filled with ice cream clouds.

"Oh my god." he said "This is delicieux. Thank you so much."

"You are very welcome, Luke. Happy you enjoy it." Mr. Cake replied. Then they all dug in their desserts. Spike had an emerald ripple, which was an odd type of flavor for the Cakes to have, but since that is what dragons eat, then it would make sense since Spike is one after all. Twilight just got regular, old school vanilla, Pinkie got a banana split, Rainbow got zap-apple jam flavor, Fluttershy also with mint and chocolate, Applejack with apple cider, and Rarity with strawberry vanilla swirl.

As they were enjoying themselves, Luke suddenly got a touch of brain freeze. and tried to ease the mild head-ache.

"You alright, Luke?" Twilight asked him 

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little bit of brain-freeze in my throat and brain of course."

"Maybe you should eat a little slower then, buddy."

"Good idea."

"So, Luke. I wonder, do any humans in your world have any special talents in your world?" Twilight asked curiously

The human gobbled another bite before he answered. "Of course. Well, we don't have cutie marks next to our butts of course, but we do have talents."

"What's your talent?" asked Rainbow

"Well.... I have many talents. I have a very creative imagination, that can be a little illogical sometimes. Playing video games, memorizing things for a long period of time. That sort of thing."

"Wow, that's nice." said Applejack.

"Thanks. But you should know that in my world, Everyone is best at something, nut no one is best at everything. We all have our strengths and weaknesses."

"That is so true." said Twilight. "That's the same for us."

"Oh yes, we all have things that we are not really good at." Fluttershy added.

Rarity stepped up by saying "Absolutely. Like, I am not very good at being so emotional."

"I'm not good taking care of animals." Rainbow said

"I'm not very good at math." Pinkie said

"And I am not very good at plowing the fields like my big brother does." Applejack admitted.

"Wow. I guess that kind of works in your world, too, huh?"

"Hmm-mm." they all replied.

The human looked at Fluttershy and asked her "What about you, Fluttershy? You don't have to tell me, i'm just curious. What is a thing you are not good at?"

The yellow pegasus looked a little flustered. "Taking care of kids to admit it. I mean, they can be more of a handful, you know?"

"That would make sense. Kids can be excited at times." the human agreed.

"Remember when you babysat Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Scootaloo for their little slumber party?" Rarity reminded

"Oh yes. How could I not, but it was fun anyway, and they swore that they will listen to me from now on when I need their attention."

"True."

"Well one thing I am not good at for sure, it math." Luke admitted with slight annoyance. "Simple math I can handle, but algorithms, logarithms, algebra, calculus, that sort of thing I cannot stand."

"Yeah, I am not much of a math wiz either." rainbow agreed.

"Oh come on, just because you are not good at math, doesn't mean you should hate it." Twilight remarked

"Uh yeah, it does. I mean I like the basic math, just not the ones I mentioned. I mean just look at them, they are just scrambled numbers everywhere. I mean, have you seen calculus before?"

"I have." Spike noted. "I totally agree with you, Luke."

"Maybe Twilight likes it because she's an egghead."

She scowled at her. "You're joking, aren't you?" she said with a change of demeanor

"Yeah." then they all laughed.

"Oh, and I have a talent of singing and playing guitar." Luke added with another thought

"Ooh." they all said in unison and amazement

"You sing?" asked Fluttershy

"Yeah, I used to perform at every open mic during lunch in high school. Everyone loves me, students and teachers alike." he admitted. "I would like to go into clubs to sing, but I don't think I would be in it, because I have to be 21 to get inside."

"Could you sing a song for us?" asked Pinkie

"Well not right now. I usually sing when I feel like it. Some time perhaps."

"We understand. But we would love to hear you sing a song for us."

"They wouldn't happen to be rock or heavy metal, would they?" asked Rarity

"A majority of them are, yes. I know, you hate that kind of music, Rarity, but come on, I can listen to whatever I want."

"Oh I'm not forcing you to stop listening to it deary." Rarity explained. "And I don't.... hate it to say the least. I just don't think it sounds very.... pleasant."

"Are you kidding me?" Rainbow said in disagreement. "Rock and metal are one of the greatest creations that music has ever made!"

"Yeah!" Luke and Rainbow bumped fist to hoof once again

"Well, we all have our different taste in music." Fluttershy said a little sheepish. They all looked at her, then they all smiled and agreed with her.

"You're right."

"So, who inspired you to sing?" asked Fluttershy

"Well, Axl Rose, the lead singer of Guns N' Roses. Lemmy Kilmister, the bassist/singer for thrash metal group Motorhead, Scot Weilland, the singer of Stone Temple Pilots, and others. One that really inspired me to sing was Ozzy Osbourne, the singer of the founders of metal Black Sabbath."

"Is he good?" asked Spike

"Is he good? He is a legend. You should hear him sing. It sounds a little funny, but he sounds really awesome too."

"Oh, I would love to hear him sing some time." Fluttershy said. 

" So, now what should we do?"

"Well, Applebloom and her friends wanted to know if you would want to visit their clubhouse." Applejack noted. "They would love to spend time with you."

"Sure. I guess i can be with those fillies for a while, besides, It will make me progress of making friend after all."

"There you go." said Rarity. "Well, I think it's best if we come with you. Those girls can be quite a handful."

"I don't mind, I guess I can have a little more company."

"Brilliant!" Twilight exclaimed.

They all thanked the Cakes for their food and went out of the shop to look for the three fun fillies.
> Children of Ponyville (Edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke was out for a little walk with Twilight, her friends, and the Crusaders in the woods not far from Sweet Apple Acres, since the girls wanted to spend more time with Luke. The human was very flattered and was more than happy to spend time in their company, helping him connect with Ponyville some more. "So, Luke, what are other humans like?" Asked Scootaloo curiously. "Are many of them like you? Cool, awesome, kind?"

He chuckled "well, they are like ponies, except we have five fingers instead of one. And yeah, there are humans that can be like me. But, every one of has have different opinions about things, you know?"

"That's like what many ponies are, too!" Scootaloo blurted.

"Right. At least you are all lucky to meet me."

The girls laughed with him. "That's fascinating, Luke. You're funny." Said Sweetie Belle. "Oh wait till you see the clubhouse. It is the best hideout in all of Equestria."

"Is that so? That sounds cool."

"Really cool." Applebloom agreed. "So glad you decided to hang out with us."

"Wouldn't have missed it for the better." Luke remarked at last, there was the clubhouse. It looked really adorable, like a child's fun house or treehouse. "Wow, it's beautiful."

"Yeah, it's where we crusaders hang out and have our meetings together." Scootaloo explained. "We used to go here to help find our cutie marks, but now since we got them, we help other blank flanks find their talents too,"

"Any progress perhaps?"

"Well, no. But we have he,led many colts and fillies find their special talent. "Applebloom stated "and we feel great doing it,"

Luke was rather proud of these girls for being so selfless in helping other ponies find their calling "do you think I might fit inside?"

"Yeah, I'm sure you will." Said Sweetie Belle.

"I don't know, girls." Said Applejack with mild uncertainty "Luke might be to big to fit inside."

"Yeah, I mean look how big he is compared to that small treehouse." Rainbow Dash added

"Well, I suppose I can give it a shot." Luke speculated. "Can't kill for trying,"

"Good point," spike agreed.

"Well, we might as well be going now." Said Rarity. "And are to sure you will be fine with the fillies all by yourself?"

"Totally. They like me already, it's not like they are going to suddenly hate me. Besides, I'm pretty sure that if they didn't like me, they wouldn't want to hang out with me anyway."

"Riiiiight." Rainbow said. If course what Luke said was not wrong, for indeed, Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle wouldn't want him if they hated, or were scared of him.

"Don't worry. I'm pretty sure we will have much fun together."

"You're right." Said Twilight. "Sorry for doubting you for a second."

"It's okay, Twilight. Well, I'm gonna try and go in now." Then he carefully went up the ramp, and ducked on his knees, and slowly came through the door, untouched surprisingly "well what do you know." He thought. "I made it."

"Yay, you fit!" All three fillies cheered loudly

"Ah! God!" Luke exclaimed in mildly agony. While rubbing his left ear, he added "Could you please not do that so loudly? I have sensitive hearing." 

"Oh, sorry, Luke." Said Sweetie Belle.

"Nah, it's fine. It only hurt my ears for a second anyway." Then he sat and made himself comfortable. "Once again, I would like to say this clubhouse looks so pretty."

"Thanks, I made it myself."

"Really?"

"Well, it was already built, but I made it better." The yellow earth filly admitted while slightly blushing of embarrassment

"That's awesome." Luke admired while clapping his hands in admiration.

"Oh stop it," she flushed even more. "So, what do you think of Equestria so far, Luke?"

"I still love it. I'll never get tired of this place, I can promise you that, sisters." He replied. "I swear, this places just keeps getting better for me."

"That's good to hear." Said Sweetie Belle. "Sounds like you're fitting in Equestria perfectly well."

"I know, right? Godspeed, I'm so happy I made that wish that very night on that star." The fillies agreed with him in return. "I've met some really cool ponies, like Lyra, Bon Bon, Cloudchaser and Flitter. I mean, don't you think how cool Cloudchaser's mane is?"

"I know, right? Said Scootaloo in agreement. "That mane is legendary!"

Scootaloo then asked him "So Luke, what kind of music do you like to listen to?"

"Almost all music, except many hip-hop songs, and pop music. I love rock and metal." He gestured the devil horns with his fingers again while crossing his arms.

"Yeah!" Scootaloo cheered on. "I love rock and metal, too! It's like an awesome feeling you get when you listen to them."

"Totally. One of the greatest feelings of all."

"Well, we like just about any music." Said Sweetie Belle. In a shy tone of voice, she added "well, my favorite music is show tunes." Scootaloo and Applebloom had a look of slit disgust on their faces, obviously it is clear that they are not fund of show tunes like Sweetie Belle is.

Applebloom stepped up by saying "well, we like just about any music there is."

"Me too! Well, I am not fund of hip-hop songs."

"We all have our different music tastes." The human remarked 

"That's true." Scootaloo agreed. Luke then noticed the pictures they were trying to do to earn their cutie marks. Of course, they were child drawings. Snorkeling, canoeing, sky-diving, mountain climbers, and more.

"What are all these drawings?" Luke asked curiously 

Sweetie proudly clarified "That is the things we tried to earn our cutie marks as a special talents." 

"Wow. That must have taken you a long time to get your cutie marks."

"Ugh, you have no idea." Applebloom agreed. "You would not believe how long we waited for those cutie marks."

damn right he thought in his head. "Well, at least you got them at last, right?"

"Yeah!" The three shouted again.

"Sensitive ears, remember?" The human reminded a second time.

"Sorry." They all said

Luke smirked and nodded his head cute. then his phone turned off, playing the intro riff of Rock You Like a Hurricane by the scorpions, and it startled the crusaders

"What was that?!" Applebloom shouted in surprise

"It's alright, it's alright. It's just my phone going off."

Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle felt a little embarrassed and felt ridiculous being started by a phone. "Oh." They all said nervously.

He looked at the person who was calling him and he answered it "hello?"

"Hey, Luke. What's happening?" Said a familiar voice. 

"Dad?" Luke said in disbelief.

Yes, indeed, it was his father, Larry Smith. "Are you alright?" He asked with concern

"Oh yeahs yeah, I'm fine, why?"

"Anne called me on the phone and said you got transported to a..... Strange world, I hear?"

Now it would come to the part that his father would he is suffering on the planet crazy-tron. However, since it was his dad, he answered, "yes. I did. By a shooting star." It was silent for a moment on the phone, then Luke added "please, I am not crazy or joking. I know it sounds like those things either way, but I am telling the truth. For the love of god, please believe my words."

"Alright. Alright, buddy. I was worried that I would lost you forever and I would never see you again." Larry clarified.

"Okay"

"So, how will you get back home?"

"I..... Don't know, but what I do know is that the rulers of this world might help me in any way they can of given the chance, so please. Stay strong dad, I'll be fine. You gotta believe me."

"I do believe you, Luke." Larry said "I just want to make sure you're okay."

"Good. I'll talk to you soon, alright?"

"Okay, I love you, Luke."

"I love you too, dad." What he said made Scootaloo snicker, but Sweetie Belle elbow-jabbed her to stop it. "Okay, bye" then he hung up. "Sorry guys." He said to the girls. "My dad waned to know if I was okay after I came here."

"Oh, that's okay." Said Sweetie Belle. "So, you wanna-?"

Then the door came open. It was a earth colt that was white, but had some white spot patches on him, and he was rather smaller than the crusaders. "Hey, guys." He said. It was like in a British accent. Then he noticed the human, and recognized him walking around Ponyville with the elements of harmony.

"Oh, hi Pipsqueak." Scootaloo kindly greeted "what's up?"

"Oh, I wanted to see this creature that Rumble told me about, and I found him With you guys," the colt clarified. His accent that he was speaking was definitely a British type of esque accent. Could this mean there is an England in Equestria?

"Hello, sir." The colt said politely

"Hi." The human replied with a smile. "What's your name, little guy?"

"Pipsqueak. I'm from Trottingham, but you can just call me a pip for short, that's what my friends call me most of the time."

"Ah. Well nice to meet you Pip."

"So, your name is Luke, right?" Pip asked, trying to remember exactly what his pal a rumble described the human to him.

"Yep! That's my name, animals and music are my game." He did the devil horn gesture again.

"I knew it, well, nice to meet you, Luke." The colt said very happily. "You know, Rumble told me about you, and a few other of my friends as well."

"Really? What did he say, exactly?"

Pip clarified by saying "Well, he thinks you are really nice, and very cool. Like how you love rock n' roll, one of my favorite music genres."

The human began to become more fascinated by this cute and intriguing young colt. "That's cool. I guess we can be on the same page here."

"I know. You know, I think I like you."

"Ah, thanks. I like you too, Pip." Then he playfully ruffed the colt's handsome mane, making him laugh. "So, since you're here, wanna do something fun?"

"Yeah!"

"What about you girls? Should he join us?"

"Of course" Sweetie agreed with a smile, then her friends followed after. 

"Yeah, we'll have so much fun together." Scootaloo added. "So, what should we do?"

"Hmmm, what do you wanna do?" The human asked curiously

"Well.... There is the arcade, or the bowling alley in town." Pip suggested

"Oh yeah, that sounds fun." Luke said with enthusiasm. Well, I was thinking we should go to the bowling alley. I love bowling."

"Perfect. To the bowling alley!" Said Applebloom

Then Luke crawled out of the clubhouse then Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and with a Pipsqueak now, followed after him.

"I think we should have so much to talk about, Pip." Luke said

"Me too!" Pip agreed. Then they both went to town to do the runs things together as a group of five as an opportunity to know eachother better.
> Song in Your Heart (Edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke was having a long walk from the clubhouse to The Ponyville Bowling alley, as it's name implies, it is the only one in the whole town. The human was accompanied by the crusaders and Pipsqueak. "So, Luke, are there any humans that are like you?" Pip asked him curiously.

"Oh yeah. Many people in my world are like me. Of course, we all have our different hopes and dreams."

"Yeah, that's true." Pip said "I always wonder what it would be like if I was in your world. I bet that would be so cool."

"Well, it might not be as cool as you thought it would be. Like I said to all of you, it can be pretty boring sometimes."

"Yeah, but still, we would like to know what it's like for ourselves."

"Perfectly understandable. Everywhere on my world has places that people would want to visit to, and there are also bad places in every country with it. You can't always expect a world to be perfect."

"That's a good point." Said Scootaloo.

"We're here!" Sweetie shrieked.

Luke was amazed by it when he stepped inside, of course, as usual, he was a little nervous because some ponies might stare at him, but he saw a few familiar faces inside. Because of this, he was feeling more comfortable coming in, just hearing the pins being hit by the balls really wanted him to play bowling so badly.

Luke remembered when he was a child and he and his dad (before he moved away) would always go out to the bowling alley on Sunday and Saturday nights when he was off work hours. He felt saddened again, because he really misses his father. Him and Luke, they were a team, and had the world in their hands. He honestly wished that his dad would be there right now, and play a few rounds, just for old time sake.

Yes, those were quite the days for young Luke here. The alley looked like any other type of bowling alley there is. Although, he wondered if there would be the three openings on the ball do his fingers like humans would do. Luke studied the way the ponies were aiming and throwing the ball throw the lane. Many of them were using their front legs to push them, and some were using their teeth, which made him grossed out a little.

"Hey Luke, you alright?" Asked Applebloom, snapping him back to reality

"Yeah. I'm fine. I was just a little turned around, that's all. Just thinking things." 

"Oh, okay."

"What were you thinking about?" Pip asked curiously

Luke was a little silent for a moment, but he replied "I was just thinking about the times when I was a little kid, like around your guys' age, and my dad would used to take me bowling."

"Oh, that's nice." said Sweetie Belle. "would you guys have fun?"

"Of course we would. How would a father and son not have fun?"

"Good point." Pip agreed. "Me and my dad would always do something fun together one in a while."

"I'm glad to hear that. Sounds like he is a good father."

"He is. He loves me and I love him."

"Good." the human looked at the bowling balls in the front "So, do the bowling balls have the three holes so I can put my fingers in them for when I roll the ball down to the pins? I wouldn't want to do something like kick it with my leg."

"Oh no, never try that, Luke."  Scootaloo warned. "I did the same thing that you thought of, and it went flying through the alley."

"Wow, that's just crazy, borderline nuts." Luke remarked "why would you do that, Scootaloo?"

"I don't know. I just wanted to try a new trick."

"Well, why don't you just stick with the basics where you just roll the ball." Under his breath, Luke muttered "and kill someone with these cannonballs."

"What's that, Luke?" Asked Pip

"Nothing. Nothing. Just thinking out loud here. So.... " he looked into his wallet for any bits, and it turns out it was empty. In his head, he said "aw, fuck!" But since there were children with him, he exclaimed "oh fish paste!"

"What's wrong?"

"Sweetie Belle, you wouldn't have to have any bits on you at all, would you? Because my wallet's empty right now." 

"Nope." The white unicorn filly replied "what about you guys?"

"I do." Said Pip. "I always keep some bits with me just in case." Then, He pulled out enough coins to show that the human, and the kids would be able to afford playing here.

"Thank you so much, Pip. Hopefully, this will help."

The colt smiled "thank you Luke. I'm pretty sure it will."

The human smiled back to him. He then went to the counter to pay "excuse me, we were wondering if we could play here. I got money."

"Ah, you're that guy that every pony's talking about." Said the concession stallion, recognizing the human "Lincoln, right?"

"Luke, actually."

"Oh sorry,"

"It's cool. Say, do the balls here have the openings for my fingers?" He showed him his hands "because I have hands and not hooves."

"Of course. Would you like a light or heavy ball?"

"Light, please."

"Oh, and the a cutie Mark Crusaders and Pip, nice to see you all again. Well.... Almost all of you. Anyway." Obviously. He WAS referring to Scootaloo

"So, are you with him?"

"Yep, we're with him." Applebloom replied 

"Good. So, I'll let you pick your balls and show you the lame and- oh no, not you, Scootaloo." He said in a slightly bitter tone. "I haven't forgotten what you did the last time you were here."

The pegasus filly mildly groaned "I said many times I was sorry already."

"You almost took everypony's heads off with your little.... Special trick. You know why you can never play here."

"Oh okay. Then she looked at Luke "can I at least just watch them play while I sit on he bench? Please."

"Yes, you can do that, but watching and sitting only. I promise you that if I catch you trying to perform that trick again, I will send you to the bowling alley hell. Are we clear?"

Luke smirked, even though he did kind of feel bad that a Scootaloo was being treated like this. Of course, Pip, Sweetie, and Apllebloom giggled quietly

"Oh, what are you all laughing at?" Scootaloo said

"Nothing." All four of them replied

"Either way, pick your balls and enjoy a few rounds down at lane 13." Said the employee.

"Good. Thank you so much." Luke said with gratitude

"Of course. Have fun, Luke." The employee said in his cheerful tone. The human smiled back to him, and went with the kids down the lane they were told to go. To Scootaloo, he gave her the "I'm watching you" gesture with his hoof. Of course, that wouldn't make so much sense, since horses, ponies, donkeys, and zebras have only one toe for each leg.

This might turn out to be kind of fun, even though he wasn't really that big of a sports fan. It will be just like the time he and Rainbow Dash were playing basketball together. To be honest, nothing against her of course, but she can brag when it comes to sports. Still, it will be fun just being with the kids.

"So, how was it with Zecora?" Applebloom asked him curiously

"It was so amazing. I mean, the decorations were so foreign, both to me and Ponyville."

"I know, that's so cool." Pip remarked. "What did you guys talk about?"

"Oh, about where i'm from, and Zebrica, and Africa, the place like Zebrica that's in my world." Luke answered. "She's a really nice zebra, and I thought it was a little funny that she always spoke in rhymes, you know?"

"I know, we always wander that ourselves." said Sweetie Belle. "Why does she talk in rhymes

"Beats me." said Scootaloo. "Well, since I can't play like mister Six-pin said I can't, I'll just watch you guys."

"That's cool, kiddo."" the human looked for a good bowling ball in the shelves and found a perfect one that was really light, and was the color of a lime-green. He sighed in relief when he saw that there were three holes for his fingers to fill in for when he was about to play. He wondered if this would be because in case Spike, one of his closest new friends, would want to play here, since he has the same type of hands Luke has. Either way, he was glad that there were three holes in the ball.

"Why don't you go first, Luke." said Applebloom. "Then me, Sweetie Belle, Pip, and then back to you."

"That's fine." then he went up to lane, and focused on the pins with a breath. And the he noticed Carrot Top making a sneeze to the left of him Finally, he made the first move by exclaiming "gesundheit" to her and the ball was rolling fast. With a loud sound of pins crashing to the floor, it revealed to be a seven-ten split.

"Wow, that was amazing, Luke!" Scootaloo cheered on.

"Thanks. I'm not that good at bowling, but it's still fun." The human said modestly "Okay, Applebloom, your turn."

"Right!" then the yellow filly took some steps back and ran forward to push the ball with her hooves. at first, it was about to go perfect for her. Of course, her ball was not as fast as Luke's was going, and just her luck, it quickly went of the approach, onto the foul line. Applebloom's hopeful smile turned into a flabbergasted face, with one eyebrow raised, and her lower jaw dropped to the floor. However, her demeanor changed from that to a smile "Oh well, it's still fun." she said

"Oh! So close!" Luke said

"Yeah, you almost had it Applebloom, don't give up!" said Sweetie Belle. Then she was up. She pushed it with her head down the approach, and it only hit one pin, the seventh one before falling to the left foul line. Unlike Applebloom, she just smiled "Oh well, at least I did hit one, anyway."

"Alright, now it's my turn." Pip said with confidence. Because of his smaller size to the crusaders, he had a much smaller ball for his size, but still heavy to knock down the pins at least.

"You can do it, Pip." Luke encouraged. "Just believe in yourself."

"I will, Luke." the colt promised. He concentrated on the pins down the approach, and then he pushed the ball down the lane. Somehow, it was a little slower than how the crusaders (minus Scootaloo of course) moved their balls. It kept going straight and then it hit the center pin making almost all of them topple to the ground, except for the third pin.

The girls were really impressed by how Pip got a near strike at this. "wow, Pip. that was amazing." Scootaloo said. "That's way better than I would do."

"Yeah, you almost had a strike!" Sweetie squeaked

"Good job!" Applebloom congratulated.

"Thanks, guys." Pip said

Luke walked up to him and knelt down saying "That was a very impressive display, Pip. Very good hit on those pins." he gently ruffed the colt's head "Good job."

Pip laughed, Thanks Luke." then he hugged him. The human thought it was cute, and he hugged Pip back with a smile. 

"You're welcome."

"So, come on, can we get back to the game?"

"Yeah." then they all went back to Luke on the second round of this bowling match. As the match went forward, The Crusaders were just the same as they were while Scootaloo kept on watching. 

They were having fun together. Finally, After the this match was over, Luke decided to have enough for now, and took a little break. The human took a seat on the bench next to the orange pegasus filly. "You okay, Scootaloo?" he asked her

"Yeah, I'm fine." she replied flatly. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, Mr..... Six-pin I think was his name, said that you're never allowed to play here anymore."

"Ah, it's cool. I prefer riding my scooter than bowling anyway. I'm way better at that."

"Hey, excuse me." said a muscular voice. The human looked behind him, and saw three ponies that looked very similar to the guys from the movie "The Big Lebowlski"

"Oh hey. What's up?"

"We watched you play on that ball, and you were pretty good." said the leader. "Especially the way an ape like you handled it."

"Hey, he's no ape." Scootaloo defended the human

Luke chuckled "It's alright Scootaloo. "I'm not an ape, I'm a human."

"Oh sorry. The name's Jeff Letrotski, the finest bowler in all of Equestria. These are my boys here. What's your name, kid?"

"Luke."

"Nice to meet you."

"Back at ya."

"So, I take it you heard about me too, right?"

"Of course, word gets around. Everypony around here is starting to like you." Jeff stated

"Oh yeah, I can see that. I'm making quite alot of friends here." Luke agreed. "Right now, I'm just taking a little break from this."

"Good. In the meantime, We want to know where you're from, and what it's like."

"That's fine." then Letrotski and his cohorts promptly sat down next to him. 

"So tell me, what is it like in your world?"

"It's..... okay to be honest. The place I love on is also called Earth like your planet is called in this dimension. You see, I came from another dimension. How did I get here? you ask, well, I came here from a shooting star."

The bowling team was rare surprised by this. "What did you wish for?" Asked one of the bowling stallions.

"Well, nothing against my world of course, but I wished I would being a world that would have no problems and magic."

"Well, what's wrong with your world?" Asked Letrotski.

"Nothing really. It's just that my world can be.... Boring, to say the least. It doesn't have any magical things, like fire breathing dragons, or Minotaurs, or pegasus ponies and stuff."

"He's not exaggerating about that." Said Applebloom. "His world sounds like a complete lack of adventure."

"I agree. That does sound boring." Letrotski concurred. 

Then Luke and the bowling stallions continued on with interesting conversations to one another, mostly about Luke's world.

"So, wait, how did you come here if there was no such thing as magic in your world?" Letrotski asked him

"Good question. I have no idea how I got here. All I know was that the next morning after I made my little wish, a bunch of aura swirled around me, and then voila, I came here to Equestria," he snapped his finger "just like that."

"That must of been a crazy experience." Said able bowling stallion

"Yeah it was. I never even thought it was possible, but turns out, I was wrong. Anything could be possible, even on my homeworld. So, I'm really liking Equestria very much. It's so awesome on this world. I don't even know if I would want to leave this beautiful place."

"Good, good for you."

"Hey Luke, Pip won the match." Said Sweetie Belle.

"That's awesome, I'm proud of you, buddy."

"Thank you, Luke." Pip slightly flushed.

"So, should we p,at another round?"

"Nah, I'm a little warned out."

"Me too." Said Applebloom

"Me three." Sweetie added.

"Alright. So now, what should we do next?"

"Hmmm, I really don't know what we should do next, to be honest. " said Scootaloo. 

"Oh. Well, we could-"

"Ah, Luke there you are." Said a voice. They all turned and it was Lyra and her from Bon Bon from before. 

"We've been looking for you everywhere." Said Bon Bon.

"What for?"

"Well, we just wanted to see if you would like to hang out with us. Lyra clarified "so, would you like to?"

"That's nice of you guys, but I'm kinda with the girls and Pip at the moment."

"Oh no, it's alright." Said Applebloom.

"You can go be with them if you want." Sweetie added.

"Totally. Besides, we had lots of time with you anyway." Said Scootaloo

"Really? Because I was wondering if you all would love to do something else."

"No, it's alright." Pip said "we had so much fun."

"True." Luke agreed. He thought that if the children said if they were alright being with somepony else, then he should just go with it. He understood if it won't hurt his feelings. "You sure you're all okay with it?"

"Totally. You go on ahead." Said Sweetie.

"Well, see you guys later, and hopefully, we'll do more fun things together when we get the chance to do so again."

"Bye Luke." All the kids said.

"Hey kid, feel free to come back here, and maybe we can play friendly games with eachother, huh?" Letrotski said

"Of course, I'll come back here from time to time." Luke replied

"So, shall we be off, then?"

"Yep. Ready when you are." Lyra remarked. Then, they all exited the bowling alley. "So Luke, do you play any instruments? I'm just curious."

"I do. I play the left-handed guitar. I also used to play saxophone when I was a kid."

The best friends looked at each other. "That's cool." Bon Bon said. "Do you play the guitar a lot?"

"Yep. I'm really good at it. Always practicing. I'm also a good singer too. I used to sing at open mic at lunch everyday when I was in school."

"Ooh, that's awesome. Do you think y can sing for us?"

"Well, I don't know if that's such a good idea. There's lots of ponies here, and I don't think hey can hear me. I have no microphone with speakers, or guitar to play with."

"Oh, okay."

"Is there a place like a karaoke bar where ponies can sing their favorite songs?"

"Well no." Bon Bon said "unfortunately not."

"Ah, I see. I mean, I would really love to, but I don't think now would be a good time,"

"That's fine, we understand." Lyra said "You can sing when you feel like it."

"Thanks, Lyra."

"Oh, hello, Luke." Said a familiar soft voice. Luke saw Fluttershy walking up to him, coming to greet him. "Oh, and hello to you too, Lyra and Bon Bon."

"Hi, Fluttershy." They both said

"I was done hanging with the girls and Pip with the bowling alley, and we had so much fun,"

"That's good to hear.' Said Fluttershy. "I was just heading down to Sugarcube corner to be with my friends."

"Cool." Then he had a thought. "Hey, Fluttershy?"

"Yes?"

"I was wondering if there were any places where there would be open mic where I can sing any songs to an audience?"

"Oh of course, there are a few places. In Sugarcube Corner, there is a stage for any pony who wants to show off their talents."

Luke was starting to like the idea "that sounds perfect. What else?"

"There is city hall, and then we would have a number of events that would involve charity for animals,  ill, and other types,"

The human grew a smile

"So why would you ask?"

"Because I feel like singing to everypony, that would want to hear it."

"Oh, that can be arranged, I'll ask Pinkie if she can help with that on the stage, and set everything up for you."

"Really?"

"Of course, what are friends for? Oh, or how about this, we can set up a stage at my cottage, and you can perform for me and my friends."

The human thought about it. Finally, he said "I think that would be a better idea. I mean, what if there are some ponies that won't like my singing?"

"Oh don't be silly. Everypony would love to hear a good singing from anypony, or any human of course. But if you prefer that, I understand. 

"So, I will tell Twilight, and my friends about this, maybe they would want to hear you, too."

"Oh! Oh! Can we come too?"

"Of course, I don't mind a little extra audience to hear my awesome voice and guitar playing." Luke remarked. "It will blow your mind."

"I bet it will." Lyra agreed.

"Hopefully, Pinkie will be a great help in setting up the stage." Bon Bon remarked

"Yeah, if she is good at throwing parties, I'm sure she can help set up a stage too."

Then they all walked down the road to Sugarcube Corner where Twilight and the others are, like Fluttershy said





The stage behind Fluttershy's cottage was already set up for Luke to perform. The amplifiers were ready to work, and so were the audience members about to watch him

Amon them were Fluttershy, Twilight, and their closest friends of course. Not only that, but there were Lyra and Bon Bon together, the cutie mark crusaders, Pip, Big Mac, Cloudchaser, Flitter, Thunderlane, and Rumble, the pegasus group that Luke met not too long ago.

Of course, there was Discord with them, waiting to see the performance, just as much as the others were, along with Fluttershy's animal friends all chattering, and talking to one another in their own animal sounds.

Luke was a little nervous "what if they don't like me?" He thought. "What if I am not good like I said I am?" He was lacing to and fro in circles, dwelling in his thoughts

Fluttershy went to check on him "Luke, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just nervous, is all." The human replied, slightly biting his fingernail.

"Oh don't worry, you will be great." She said with a wink.

"Okay. And.. What if they animals don't like it? And the noise?"

"Don't worry. They won't mind at all. They have listened to rock n roll many times before." Flutterhsy noted. "They will all love it."

All of a sudden, Discord came out of midair "pardon me, Luke, but I heard that you wanted a left-handed guitar, correct?"

"Hmm-mm. Of course. I would love that."

"Don't worry. One electric guitar coming up." Them with a snap of a finger, Discord conjured a nice looming left-handed Les Paul for the human to play for his new friends.

"Wow, this is sick! Totally baddass."

Fluttershy mildly gasped at what he just said at the end "Luke, such language." She said

"Oh, sorry, Fluttershy. Things just slip out. I'll watch my language next time. I promise."

The yellow pegasus made a smile as a change of demeanor "okay. Good luck." The she went back to the audience, and the same for Discord.

The human took a breath and went on stage. He tapped into the mic "testing testing, un, deux, trois. Okay. Hello. You all know who I am, so I am going to play a rock song to all of you in my guitar."

They all cheered for him, making him more inspired.

"Yeah Luke!" Said Flitter.

"Let's hear you rock it!" Cloudchaser added.

"Good," Luke cleared his throat and began "one. Two. One, two, three ,four."

Rights for this song go to Tesla



after it was over, everypony and Spike were cheering for him. All the animals cheered for him as well, liking the song he just did for all of them.

Luke was so happy to see that he made his new friends happy.

"That was so cool, Luke!" said Rainbow.

"Truly amazing!" Twilight said

"You rock, woohoo!" Fluttershy quietly cheered. "See, i told you there was nothing to worry about."

"Sir, you are an amazing guitarist." said Discord. "I greatly admire your playing."

"Thanks, Discord. I have practice guitar for some years after all."

"I be you have."

"Good job, Luke." said Rumble. "That really rocked.

Thunderlane said "Really awesome. You should do that more often."

"Yeah, we can always have someone like you sing for Ponyville in events one of these days." Cloudchaser added

"And maybe you can be the star of the show." said Flitter

Luke felt even more proud hearing those suggestions. "You know what, that would be good. If there is any open mic, I promise I will be there to perform if needed."

"That's good to hear, darling. Sure I might not be fan of rock n roll myself, but I definitely tolerate it." said Rarity

"eeyup." Big Mac remarked

"We'll be there to help you if you want to perform there whenever." said Spike with a wink, grouping with Twilight and the other ponies. They all shown Luke that they are true friends and the kind that will always be there for him, making him touched

"You should definitely play more rock songs. You really know how to rock." said Lyra

"I agree." Bon Bon said. "Well, we might as well be going now."

"See ya soon, Luke."

"Bye guys. Hopefully, we'll hang out some more."

"Of course." Lyra said "Anytime."

Then it was Cloudchaser, Flitter, Thunderlane, and Rumble's turn. "Luke, that was so amazing. You definitely got what it takes to be a rock star." Cloudchaser admired, gently jabbing her elbow at his arm. "Very good job

"Thanks, Cloudchaser." the human replied. "I have been practicing like I said. So, want to still hang out some time if possible?"

"Of course! If you feel like being with us, come find us." Thunderlane said

"Yeah, we'll have fun together." Flitter said "Maybe go to the arcade, or a little walk in the park"

"Agreed."

"See you later, Luke." Rumble said

"See ya." then the pegasus quartet went back to Ponyville.

Then, everypony else, minus Fluttershy and Luke of course, went back home as well.

"I am so proud of you, Luke." Fluttershy admired one last time.

The human was more than flattered to hear that from his very first friend in Equestria. "Thank you, Fluttershy. I really hoped you and the others enjoyed it."

"I did. We all did. So, would you like any lunch?"

"Sure. I'll just make myself a sandwich."

"Very well. Oh, and do you think you can help me with the stage?"

"Sure. What are friends for?" Luke said

Fluttershy smiled warmly at him, knowing she can always count on him. She was so glad to have an interesting human like him living in her cottage.
> Little Camping Trip
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two days later, Luke was still being happy in Ponyville. At the moment, he was listening to a little Black Sabbath on his iPod touch, relaxing on the couch with his arms on the back of his head. It was a good thing that there were electronics and chargeable wires in Equestria, because he would not know what to do without his iPod, for music was so important to him in his life.

A skunk got up on his lap, taking a rest. The claws were rather ticklish when they were touching around his thighs, it was almost like a cat doing the same thing.

"Aww, you like it up at my lap, Stripetail?" Luke said to the critter, smiling. The skunk looked at him and chittered happily in reply. Gently stroking his back, Luke enjoyed the skunk's company, even if it is a skunk, but he knows that skunks spray for if they are scared, and Stripetail here was anything but.

Then the human went back to listening to Children of the Grave, tapping his fingers on the couch cushion, like a rather odd drum set. As he listened and listened, he began to feel more proud of himself for singing a rockin' track to his new friends. They all loved him and his vocal range. He just wishes he can go and do it again, but he thought to himself "who knows? Maybe another opportunity will come to me."

He took a little sip of root beer with some ice, and let out a breath from the being. Of feeling refreshed.

As he looked around, he noticed a little conflict between two rats. Concerned, his smile turned into a small frown, wanting to know what that little skirmish was about. "Hey, Stripetail, can you please get off my lap?" He said politely to the mustelid 

The skunk nodded with a little chirp and lept off his lap like he told him to. Link paused his device, took out his earbuds, and went to see what this little problem was for. He could hear angry chittering and squeaking of the two feuding rats.

"Hey hey hey, what is going on, here?" Luke intervened.

Both rats then stopped their feuding and looked at the human, then they both tried to explain why they were fighting, but of course, Luke could not understand a word from both the rodents.

"Uhhh, I don't know how to talk to animals, remember?" Luke said with a nervous smile.

"What's wrong?" Fluttershy asked, coming from upstairs.

"Ah, Fluttershy. I need your help."

"Sure, what is it, Luke?"

"These two little guys are fighting over something, so maybe you can help me resolve this?"

"Of course." Fluttershy said sweetly. "There is nothing I would like more to make peace between two animals."

Luke smiled again "good." He said.

"Now, what seems to be the problem, Igor and Abby?"

Then one gave his side of the story, and then the female.

"Ah, I see."

"What did they say?"

"They both want the last cheese cube I have given them, but they don't want to share it with one another."

"Ah. Well. Why don't you just give one of them another cheese cube?"

"Good idea." Fluttershy turned to the rat pair and asked them "if I give Abby a cheese cube, will that make you both happy? After all, you ate most of the other cheese, Igor."

The two rodents squeaked happily. 

Fluttershy giggled "alright, alright. Camambere, or cheddar?" The rats both made small squeaking in reply to her "okay, cheddar it is." Then she went to the kitchen and got the female rat a cheddar cheese cube, then they stopped fighting, and both were happy

"Well that did the trick." Luke Remarked

"Of course."

Then the human opened his iPod screen again, more than ready to listen to his music again. He sat back down on the couch, and then Stripetail the skunk got up on his lap again for a rest.

"Aww, that's so cute. Stripetail really likes you." Fluttershy said softly. She spoke to the skunk, "do you like being on Luke's lap, sweetie?" The skunk chittered in return."

"He won't spray me, will he?"

"Of course not. You know that he only sprays when scared, right?"

"I do. Oh! And Fluttershy, i- well, well- i-" the human stammered, almost like either he didn't know exactly what to say to the sweet yellow pegasus, or he is uncomfortable to even say a word about it

"Yes?"

"I wanted to... give you some flowers I bought a little earlier today from Roseluck." Luke finally replied to her.

Fluttershy then said "aww, that's so sweet."

"Here, let me get them for you." Then he went upstairs to wear he put them when he came back to the cottage and held them. He gave her a small bouquet of chrysanthemums with a blend of roses. "Here you go. It's the least I can do."

"They are beautiful." Then she smelt them "they smell lovely. Thank you so much, Luke." Then she hugged him.

The human smiled and replied "you're welcome. It's a little something to you for being kind to me." Then they broke

"I like it."

Luke was more than glad to hear that. Then he went back to listening to Black Sabbath. After a few songs, he decided to take a little break from it. There was quiet around the cottage that Luke could hear the sound of Harry the grizzly bear breathing in his little nap, he wondered if there would be anything happening sooner or later to break this silence.

At last, Fluttershy then said his name, making him jump with slight fright.

"Oh my goodness, I am so sorry."

"No, it's fine." Luke said "it was just quiet for a moment there, and I was just waiting for something to happen. No worries, you just caught me by surprise."

"Good. I just wanted to ask you something, if that's okay with you."

"Sure, what?"

"I was curious about your device, how long have you had it?"

"Oh I had my iPod for quite a number of years. I always carry it with me because music means everything to me. I mean, I have no idea what I would without it."

"Where did you get it?" The yellow pegasus asked curiously

"Oh my mom got it to me as a Christmas present."

Fluttershy raised one eyebrow and asked "what is Christmas?"

Luke made a shocked gasp and realized that there was no Christmas in Equestria probably. "Oh, it's not in this world, huh?"

"Not that I would know of."

Luke thought right, and said "well, Christmas is the most important holiday of the world. It's the one time of the year where people gather around and have a little sharing with it. Playing in the snow in December, eating delicious food at a dinner table, having something called a Christmas tree where you put ornaments and lights on it, and a star on top, and put some lights around your house if you like, and on Christmas morning, you open Christmas presents where you get cool stuff like the iPod, video games, and other things you want as presents, and stockings on the fireplace where you can find candy on them."

"Oh, that sounds like Hearth's Warming."

"Hearth's Warming? What's that?"

"It is like this Christmas."

"What's the difference?"

"Well, on Hearth's Warming, it is the day we celebrate the formation of Equestria and how earth, unicorn, and pegasus ponies became friends."

"Wow. That's cool."

"And how it helped us fight off against the evil wendigos." 

"Wendigos? I heard of those."

"Really? Do you celebrate Christmas to fight them off too?"

"Well, no. These ones are a little different than the Wendigos in Equestria are. What kind of monsters are they in Equestria?"

Fluttershy didn't like to talk about it so much, but she decided to be brave and tell Luke anyway since he is one of the nicest creatures she had met. It was a little silent to the point where the only thing heard was Harry breathing again, until Fluttershy answered "they are evil monsters that are like ponies, but they are ghosts and feed off of hatred from ponies that feud with one another, until...." She gulped. "To the point where the wendigos freeze them to death."

Luke was a little surprised by this "wow that's.... That's dark." He remarked

Fluttershy felt a chill running down her spine just thinking of those cold-hearted beasts again. "Very dark." She said. Then she calmed down and kept her cool and asked him "so, what are the Wendigos in your world?"

Luke was trying to find a best explanation to say as simple as possible. "This one is way more intriguing." He worried that what he say might traumatized Fluttershy, and said "I don't know. I might scar you for a lifetime to come." Then he slightly turned away from her with his arms crossed, filled with uncertainty.

"Oh, Luke. You won't traumatize me." She softly placed her hoof on his shoulder.

The human felt a small shiver down his spine from the feeling. How could he possibly say no to Fluttershy? He took a little breath and said "okay, I hope this doesn't scare you so much." Then he began; "my world's version of a Wendigo is supposed to be a monster, an evil spirit from many Native American tribes that devours human flesh. It is also said that it is just a monster that has some human characteristics."

Fluttershy was a little terrified by what this was. "What does it look like?" She asked

"Well, the descriptions of this demon vary, but the mist depicted one is an evil, gigantic, horrible gaunt creature, half man and half deer, with his mouth dripping with blood. His rib age and his heart can be seen on it's chest with no skin covering it."

Fluttershy was  feeling more horrified. "Oh my goodness." She said with a shutter. "That sounds so terrifying,"

"But don't worry, it's not real, they are only mythology."

The yellow pegasus' demeanor changed from scared to relief in an instant. "That's good to hear" she sighed.

What she did not know was that Luke didn't tell her that it is also a creature that might or might not exist, for he did it to not make her cry or become traumatized. If there was one thing for sure, Luke would hate seeing Fluttershy cry.

"So, enough of that," Luke said.

"Good idea." She agreed with him

"So, Luke, I was wondering if you could help me count the newborn bunnies, and maybe help the, adapt to their new life."

"Baby rabbits were born?"

"Oh yes, just yesterday. Oh, they look like the cutest little this you have ever seen."

Luke smiled, and was curious to see those little rabbits himself. "I would love to help you."

Fluttershy's smile grew even bigger. "Good. I could use the help I can get."

Then there was a knock on the door. "I'll get that." Luke said. He answered it and it was Rainbow Dash. 

"Hi, Luke." She said

"Hey, Rainbow." Luke replied. "What's up?

"Is Fluttershy here?'

"Yes." Said Fluttershy in a distance, then she went to greet her lifelong friend "hello, Rainbow Dash."

"Hey, Flutters. Hey, I wanted to give you an invite."

"To what? Oh, that's right, the camping trip." The yellow pegasus remembered.

The human was a little puzzled "camping trip?"

"Oh yes, we were planning on going camping with Applejack, Rarity, their sisters, Scootaloo, Pinkie, and our other friends.

"Really?"

"And we were wondering if you would like to join us." Rainbow added.

Luke felt touched and flattered "well, that's nice of you, but what about the animals here?"

"Oh don't worry, it's just for the night, they'll be fine."

"Well, okay. When should we go?"

"In a few hours." Rainbow said. "And think of any scary stories from your world, or any campfire songs, I would like to hear more singing from you."

This made the human more proud of his talent. "Well, I suppose I can do that." He lightly flustered.

"Yay! I can't wait to hear it." Rainbow cheered

"And for a scary story, god, there are so many of them I just can describe them."

"Give us as much as you like."

"I know. But, i'm worried it might traumatized Fluttershy."

"Oh, I understand." Rainbow remarked. She was a little bummed out, for scary stories were one of her favorite things about camping. 

"I don't mind." Fluttershy said 

"You don't?" Said the human and cyan pegasus in unison. 

"Of course not. I realize it's fun to be scared at times."

"That's true. But, what if you get nightmares?"

Fluttershy giggled "don't worry, I will be just fine, as long as you and my friends are with me."

"Good." The human remarked with a warm smile.

"So, be sure to meet us as the woods outside of Ponyville later."

"Got it."

Then Rainbow bid farewell and left. After that was done, Luke and Fluttershy went to tend to the newborn bunnies she told him about, and got a few baby bottles with milk in them to feed them with.





Later on, Luke was out in the woods with Fluttershy and her friends. "Thank you so much for going camping with us, Luke." Twilight said

"Wouldn't of missed it." 

The human was wearing his jacket to keep him warm, and had a bag of food for him and the others to eat. "So you think you're gonna tell us some scary stories?" Spike asked

"Or campfire songs?" Pinkie added with her big smile

"I might tell you some scary stories, and definitely a campfire song."

"What will it be about?" Asked Applejack 

"Well, it's a timeless classic called 'Ghost Riders in the Sky' but i'll tell you about it later on, okay?"

The others were rather curious about this particular song. "That's quite alright with me, darling. I can wait for tonight."

"Me too." Said Twilight.

"Thanks, guys. And, who else will be with us?"

"Big Mac, Cloudchaser, Flitter, Thunderlane, Rumble, Lyra, Bon Bon, Big Mac, Pip, and the crusaders." Rainbow listed.

"That's quite a lot of other campers."

"I know. But that's okay, it's good to share that kind of fun with other friends."

Luke smirked "true."

"So, have you been camping before?" Asked Fluttershy.

"Oh yeah, many times with my friends back home. We would go out to the woods near Bend and sit by the campfire while looking for Bigfoot."

"That monster you told us about?"

"Yep."

"And did you find him?" Spike asked 

"Nope. But I do know he is out there somewhere."

They walked a little further down the trail, and finally, there were two campsites close to each other. One tent was large in one, and another was normal sized at the second one.

"Wow, who made a tent like this?"

"Rarity." They all, sans Rarity, replied

"She knows how to make a tent alright." Applejack remarked "sometimes she would forget to pack real supplies."

"Oh ha ha, really funny, Applejack, but I know deep inside you are all jealous." 

When they made it, the other campers saw Luke and the cohorts coming down. They were all happy to see them. "Hey, Luke!" Said Cloudchaser. "Glad you can be with us."

"Of course. Wouldn't have missed it for the better."

"We'll all have so much fun together. I know we will." Said Flitter

"I can't imagine why."

"So, anything new happening?" Asked Thunderlane.

"Not really. Just same old things."

They all laughed. "So, wanna help us with the fire later?" Asked Rumble

"Sure. Well, I don't know how to make one, but I do have matches in here if you would like."

"That's good." Said Pip.

"Well, now that we are all here, why don't we set up camp?" Rainbow said

"Good idea." Said Twilight.

"I call the firewood!" Said Lyra

"I call the rocks!" Bon Bon said

"And I will call the smores." Pip said.

Then they all went to work on setting up camp.
> Around the Campfire (Edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The evening was coming, and the firewood was ready to be caught on fire in the middle of the camp site, Luke was having a good time with his new friends on this little camping trip. As of now, be was listening to a band called Leatherwolf on his iPod while looking around the area curiously.

"hey, Luke." said Cloudchaser, who gently tapped him on the shoulder, accidentally startling him mildly. "Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you, buddy."

"Nah, it's cool." The human replied on his easy-going attitude. He paused his iPod so he can hear what Cloudchaser was about to say to him. "Anyway, what's up?"

Cloudchaser's mouth turned into a smile again when she said "Me and Flitter were wondering if you were going to tell us a scary story. And.... Maybe a campfire song?"

"Yeah, I think you would do an amazing campfire song." The younger sister agreed.

"I have made a decision on what story to tell, and what song to sing to all you guys."

The sisters both smiled "what's that?" They said in unison, feeling more than curious to know.

"Well, for the song, it's called Ghost Riders in the Sky by famous music legend Johnny Cash" then he looked at Thunderlane and Rumble bringing the firewood. "For the story." Then he suddenly made an evil smile when he said "it's a surprise."

"Ooh. I like that." Said Cloudchaser. "I think it would sounds really scary."

Flitter agreed with her big sister and added "Way scarier than Rainbow Dash would tell anypony."

"Well, here's another thing: what would Fluttershy think? I don't wanna scar her for years to come? I would never want to do that to her."

"Oh. We understand." Said Flitter.

"Well, I did talk to Fluttershy about it, and she will not be scared by it..... Much, anyway. But she might change her mind after hearing what I will tell you all later on, and I might make her cry afterwards."

"Luke, if she said she won' be scared, then don't worry about it," Cloudchaser reassured him. "I totally think you should go with your story whatever it is."

The human smiled "yeah." He said a with a change of heart. "I guess I should tell it. After all, it's a real page-turner, I can tell you both that."

"We can only imagine." Said Flitter. "Definitely can't wait to hear it."

"Glad you are interested." Then he got off from the log "I'm gonna go stretch myself and go for a little stroll around the perimeter."

"That's cool." Cloudchaser remarked.

Luke went up to Twilight and the others and addressed them "listen guys, I'm gonna go for a little walk around the area if you need me." He stretched his arms and legs. "Anything to keep my legs from going to sleep."

"Sure Luke." Said Twilight. "Just don't go too far. You'll never know what's out there."

"No worries. I won't go far." The human replied "I'll be back in time for the scary stories and my campfire song to perform tonight."

"Aw yeah!" Rainbow said with enthusiasm "I would love to hear it."

"So would I, Rainbow." Said Luke with a larger smile formed out of his lips. 

Then the peculiar human went for his little walk around the area, but not too far from his friends like he promised them. He had a glimpse of a couple of woodland creatures, such as raccoon, beavers, squirrels, chipmunks, and many others, especially some trout and salmon in a nearby river. Luke smiled at how peaceful everything was. It was so serene and calm being out in the great outdoors. Then he heard s sudden bear roar on the other side of the river, and he saw it was an American black bear. Although it probably has a different type of name, it was the same creature, and probably a little bigger than his homeworld counterpart.

The beast was just eating some sniffing the shore waters, and picked up a large sockeye salmon from below him.

Luke was a little worried that the bear might come up to him, and haul him to shreds to the point where not even his own parents would recognize what was left of him, but the bear didn't, so the human was safe. This was reminding him of the times of how he and his old friends were camping on the outskirts of Bend in his uncle's trailer.

Perhaps it wasn't exactly like it, but it was still fun, even in Equestria. Luke saw the bear eat the upper half of the fish' body with the lower half dropping on the ground. "Oh hell." Luke thought. "I really hate to be that fishy."

Next he saw a few wolves coming up to the bear, possibly to steal his food, like he had seen on Animal Planet and Nat Geo Wild on TV. As he expected, the black bear aggressively drove them off, gritting his canines. The wolf pair knew that taking a large bear like him would be suicide, considering the fact that bears are more powerful than wolves (unless different it was the smallest species, which is the Asian sun bear.) So they went off back into the trees behind them.

The bear went back to his business, eating the last bit of the salmon he caught. After that was done, the bear made a loud belch that half of the woods could hear it like a lion's roar, then he smacked his lips, wagging his head in a crazy fashion for a few seconds, possibly to wipe off the dirt from his body. "Luke?" Said a voice. The human looked back and it was Lyra and Bon Bon.

"Oh hey guys. What's up?"

"Nothing." Lyra replied. "We just just wanted to join you, that's all."

"Of course. Feel free to join me." Then he went back to looking at the bear, who was still sitting there under the evening sky.

"Good." Said Bon Bon happily. "Ooh, is that a bear?" She noticed the majestic looking beast."

"Yep. I just saw him eating a salmon"

"That's intriguing. What else did you see?"

"Well a couple of wolves just came and was trying to steal his food, but he scared him off." He made a chuckle.

Lyra and Bon Bon laughed after. "Must have been funny." Said Lyra.

"It was."

"So the Campfire is all set up so we can light it later."

"Good. And speaking of campfires, can you believe how ridiculous Rarity's tent looks that way. I mean, it's like a castle."

"I know, right? " said Bon Bon. "Does she even know when to pack anything useful?"

"Applejack did say that she camping is not her cup of tea." Lyra joked.

"That would make sense, since she can be full of herself. Believe me, I have seen how much of a drama queen she can be." Luke agreed.

Lyra and Bon Bon laughed again. "Tell us about it." Then all three made a small gasp, seeing the bear coming up to them across the river waters, possibly to take a look at the human obviously. 

Luke protected Lyra and Bon Bon just on case he would try to swipe his mighty claws at them. The beast muzzled the human, smelling him to know what he was like. All of a sudden, he stood on his hind-legs, like most bears would do. He then did a little roar at them, possibly about to attack them.

All three screamed when Fluttershy came to their aid, and went up to the bear. The beast mildly growled at her, and then Fluttershy petted him. All of sudden, like magic, the bear was much more calm, and rubbed his head against Fluttershy's hoof. "Oh who's a good bear." She played. "Who's a good bear?"

The black bear then growled in a rather happy sound instead of an aggressive one. He began to feel much more relaxed and calm-minded, and got back on all fours. Luke and the two friends never felt so relieved before in their lives.

"It's okay, he's a human. A really nice human." the yellow pegasus said to the black bear

The bear than approached Luke and Lyra and Bon Bon, but this time, in a more peaceful approach. Than the bear nuzzled the human with his mighty nose around his chest and arm, and then licked his hand.

"Are you alright, Luke?" Fluttershy

"Yeah. Thanks to you."

then the bear made a long, but small grunt to him.

"He's says he was sorry that he was trying to attack you, Lyra and Bon Bon. He was just scared and didn't know better. He thought to were just some kind of monster." The human scrolled his eyes on slight annoyance. He did kind of expect that to happen to him, even with animals.

Nonetheless, he smiled at the bear when he turned his attention back to him. "Ah, it's okay, big guy." Luke said to the creature with a smile. Then he hugged the beast's face, making the it snuggle with him, or call it a bear hug to say the least.

"Oh look, he already likes you." Lyra said.

The human chuckled. "I know. I can tell. So what's your name, big fella?"

It made another grunt at him. Fluttershy translated for him "he said his name was Wilbur."

"Ah. Nice name. Thanks for saving our butts, Fluttershy. I don't know what we would do without you."

"Oh what are friends for?" Fluttershy asked, flushing a blood crimson red on her cheeks. "So how long have you been watching watching Wilbur?"

Luke was remembering the moment when he first saw the bear already near the waters when he entered the area. "For as long as I can imagine. And, there were a couple of grey wolves wanting to take a sockeye salmon from him."

Wilbur rolled his eyes in slight annoyance, then the spoke bear once more.

"He said the wolves deserved to be scared off for trying to steal my lunch. They were asking for it." The yellow translated "I just showed them who was boss around here, that's all."

"Ah, perfectly understandable. Hey, at least it wasn't a coyote, huh? Those guys are more like thieves than wolves are." The bear laughed with him

"That is true." Fluttershy agreed with a giggle. "So, have you found anything else interesting, Luke?"

"Oh yeah. Dozens. Badgers, foxes, beavers, skunks, and other stuff, not to mention seeing Canterlot Castle from this angle." Then they all looked at where the capital city was in their point of view.

"Don't you ever get tired of this view? Because I know I don't." Lyra remarked

"Never had, never will." Bon Bon agreed with her best friend.

Fluttershy was happy to see the castle on the other side of the mountain from this angle near Ponyville. "I could not Free more you." She sighed. Then she handed the bear with some raspberries "here you go, Wilbur. So,e nice berries for you."

The bear made a happy growl and began eating the berries.

"So, would you like to come back? It's getting a little late, you know?" Said Lyra.

"Yeah. I guess." Luke agreed with her, then they all went back to the camp, with Wilbur following them. "Whoa, Fluttershy, is this a good idea if he comes with us?"

"Don't worry, he will be just fine. And besides, if he misbehaves, then I will show him discipline"

"Okay."





It was nighttime, the crickets were chirping randomly all around the campers, the campfire was crackling, and sizzling under the moonlight.

"This was a really good set of firewood you guys have found," said Applejack to Thunderlane and his younger brother.

"Thanks, it's the least me and my bro can to, AJ." Then he turned to face the human, roasting a marshmallow with a stick over the fire. "So, Luke, are you gonna tell scary stories to us?"

"Yep. Cloudchaser and Flitter told you, did they?"

"I know." Thunderlane replied. "What will it be about?"

"That is a surprise."

"Oh okay."

"We can wait. For now I'm hungry." Said Rumble. Then they all had s'mores, the camping classic.

"That's a really good s'mores I have." Said Pip with his mouth open before gulping the first bite down. "This is genius." They all laughed with him after he finished.

"How are your s'mores, sweetie?" Rarity asked. Luke wanted to know if she was talking to him in particular, or someone else. "Yes, Luke. I was referring to you." She giggled

"Good. C'est delicieux." Then the human ate the last bite of his own s'mores, wiping his face with a napkin after. "That was good." 

"I know. Really good." Said Pinkie. "Almost as good as a a field with a million s'mores!" She bounced in excitement, and are a size of ten s-mores in her mouth, making it large and wide, making the human rather impressed sin her uncanny skills.

"So, is my guitar ready for later?" Luke asked to any one of his friends

"Yep, it's all set for you." Spike replied with two thumbs up next to his face.

"Awesome."

"So, who wants to tell their first scary story?" Asked Twilight

"I will go." Said Rainbow. Then she stood on a rock, more than ready to freak all her friends out. Luke rolled his eyes mildly and scoffed

"Now, it is a story about the Headless Horse."

Then she went on and on about a headless horse that would haunt anypony it could scare upon. It was a little terrifying to the others, but not Luke, who went "pfft. Lame." While hanging on a rock.

"Then he engulfed everypony in sight!" Then everypony screamed in terror, minus a Luke of course. Then their demeanor changed from scared to happy.

"That was a good story." Said Twilight.

"Hmm, I heard better." Luke said.

"You think you can do better, Luke?" Said Rainbow "let's see you try."

"With pleasure." The human replied to her. Then he went up to her place to tell his story. "Now, this is a true story. This a tale of the Beast of Bray Road."

Then they all bad a confused look on their face. "Bray road?" Rainbow scoffed "haha! What kind of a monster is that?"

"Let me finish. It all takes place in a place called Elkhorn Wisconsin. Legend has it of a monster that was stalking a place called Bray Road, mostly at night. It was depicted as a werewolf if you are familiar with one"

"A werewolf?" Said Cloudchaser. "That's cool."

"Yeah, I love werewolves." Pip added

"So, me and my family were out camping near the area when I was a kid. Later that night, I heard some sticks breaking and went outside my tent to check it out. I walked many feet away from the tent and I saw a creature half human half wolf. It looked like a normal wolf, except it was way bigger, and it stood on it's hind legs. I saw it eating a doggy carcass, with blood covering his mouth."

They all gasped, even Rainbow.

"I wanted to scream, but I knew it wasn't the best idea. So I stood still and kept quiet for a while. I backed away slowly, but then I accidentally stepped on a twig, then he saw me."

"Did it eat you?" Asked Pinkie. Everyone had an annoyed look.

"Come on, Pinkie. If it did eat me, I wouldn't be here right now."

"Ohhhh, right,"

"So anyway, it had really sharp teeth like a wolf wood have, and had grayish-brown fur all over it's body, and yellow, demonic eyes. It got up on it's hind-legs up to eight feet tall, and I just wanted to go back to my parents, I just wanted it to be a bad dream, but it wasn't. He started to slowly walk towards me, and then sniffed me, right above my hair. Then I realized that since I was vulnerable, I would be easy pray for the beast. It bared it's teeth, and swiped his claws at me, but he missed and I ran away."

"Sounds like he really wanted to eat you." Said Twilight.

"Oh ho, he did. He wanted me next on the menu. I ran and ran as fast as I could, but the monster was too fast for me. i kept on trying to get away until I slipped and tripped on the ground. It had me right where it wanted me, but before he could try and kill me, my dad came to my rescue and fired a gunshot."

"Did it die?" Asked Spike

"Oh no. It ran away with great speed. My dad comforted me and me and my family went back home to Bend. I have never forgotten the look on it's face since that night. This beast has been known to kill and eat people. Just ask the residents of Elkhorn.

They were all scared and petrified of this unusual creature. "Wow... I.... I don't even know what to say." Fluttershy expressed.

"Me neither. A werewolf like that? I thought they were just a myth." Said Twilight

"Most of them are, Twilight," Luke replied "but this one is much real. This guy is definitely not a creature you should cross paths with, unless you want him to eat all your innards. Believe me, this creature does exist. It lives on, within the areas of Bray Road" Then he pulled o his guitar "now who wants to hear me do a campfire song?"

Their demeanor went from deathly afraid to happy and cheerful, and excited to hear the human sing some more.

Luke chuckled "Okay okay. Now the song I'm gonna play is called Ghost Riders in the Sky by Johnny Cash. I know i told some of you this, but I am telling this to anyone I didn't tell. This is a classic campfire song that has been sung for generations. Are you ready to hear me?"

They all cheered for him. "Of course. We would be more than delighted to hear it." Fluttershy said

The human smiled. "Okay. One, two. One two three four."

Rights for this song go to Johnny Cash



When he was finished, they all cheered for him again. "That was amazing!" said Rainbow. "You did it again, Luke." she fave him a gently hoof punch to the arm

"I love how you made your voice as deep as Big Mac." Applejack remarked

"Eeyup."

Luke was feeling proud of himself again "Thank you. Thank you all for your kindness and cheers. I hope you all enjoyed the song." then he put the guitar away.

They all noticed that the campfire was almost out. "Hmm, i think we should go to bed now." said Spike.

"Wait, guys. Do you all have any other stories or songs that you want to share?" Luke asked any of his friends.

"Nah. Well, some of us did have our own stories, but you just beat all of us in a best scary story. And Campfire songs." Applejack remarked.

"Yeah, I don't think my story is as scary as yours." said Pinkie Pie.

"What's yours about, Pinkie?"

"Pony-eating cakes coming to life and eating people."

The human scoffed. "That doesn't sound so scary. I have seen and hear things more traumatizing than that."

"Oh goodness, I can tell." said Fluttershy. "You must really know a lot about monsters like you know about animals."

"I do."

The baby dragon made a more louder yawn this time. "I desperately need to recharge my batteries. Then he fell asleep, straight on the leg since he is a baby dragon.

"You read our mind, Spike." said Cloudchaser. "I'm gonna go hit the sack." then she yawned and went to her tent with Flitter. "Very nice job, Luke." she said before she went in.

"Thanks." In his mind he thought "I did it again."

"Very awesome job, Luke." said Lyra.

"Normally, I am not a country girl, but I simply adored what you did." Rarity added. Then she gave him a small kiss on his cheek, then she went into her ridiculous tent with Sweetie Belle. then finally, Fluttershy and Luke went into their own tent.

"You did absolutely wonderful. An amazing vocal range for singing." Fluttershy complimented

"Thank you, Fluttershy. I am quite a gifted singer."

"I know. You sing absolutely wonderfully." she said. "Oh if only everypony can hear your amazing talent for singing. Oh, and playing guitar, too. That is even better."

"If there is any other opportunity for me to sing and play guitar, I will try and be there at any given moment."

The yellow pegasus yawned and went into her sleeping bag to cozy up inside. "Goodnight, Luke." then she rolled over

"Goodnight." then the human took off his clothes with only his underwear and fell asleep within his sleeping bag, next to Fluttershy. This has definitely been one of the best camping trips he has ever had in his life
> Human Education Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another day has passed since Luke had the camping trip with his new friends. Oh, he had so much fun with them, especially the campfire stories and the Johnny Cash song he just sung on h following night. Right now, he was sitting on a bench on a street listening to "Big River" by Van Halen.

He felt more proud of himself for singing to his adoring fans once again. He shed he can go back in time on the night before, and play an encore to them all.

Nevertheless, he was happy with it either way. He realized that if he kept this up, then someday he might get more publicity and popularity, thanks to the word of mouth. Luke could not wait to perform to bigger audiences, but until then, he decided to wait when the time was right. Besides, he also wanted to be with his new friends and spend time with them as well.

When the song was over, he was about to play some Poets of the Fall, when he felt somepony gently tap him when he was not looking at it. The he gave a small yelp, since he was a little jumpy when it came to this. "What? What? What?" While he took his headphones out, he looked to and fro, and finally, he was face to face with a dark purple mare.

"Oh, sorry. I did not mean to scare you." She said.

"No no, it's alright." Luke replied to her kindly. "Probably needed a break from my iPod, anyway." The he put his music player and headphones in his left pocket. 

"Good. So, you are Luke, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"I am so sorry to bother you, but I wanted to meet you personally if that's alright with you."

"No of course. I need someone to talk to anyway."

She smiled. "Wonderful. Well, my name is Cheerilee, I'm a school teacher. It is que a pleasure to meet you, Luke."

"Ah, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom told me some things about you." The human remembered.

"Did they now?"

"Yeah, they say you are the coolest and sweetest teacher ever."

Cheerilee flushed at the compliment. "Oh well, you know. I am brilliant teacher who loves children." She said

"I can see that, I mean, by the look on your cutie mark, you are definitely made to be a teacher for a living."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

It was a little silent to the point where there was a slight awkward silence, except for the birds chirping in the trees around them. Finally, Cheerilee said at last "so, I was wondering if you would like to come to my school and show some of the kids where you are from."

Luke's eyes widened with surprised. This, indeed, sounded like an honorable opportunity for him to teach some children about his homeworld, and get to know them more. Of course, he didn't want to.... Challenge them like in the episode "Megan's New Teacher" from Drake and Josh, and didn't want to be like that.

"Really? That sounds awesome. What do you want me to do, exactly?"

"Well, you can show them what it's like in your world, and what it has. You would be an honored gust for me and everypony that I will be teaching."

"That's awesome. Well.... I don't know if I have anything to show them about my world." He remembered. This world probably doesn't have the screens and sideshows like in his world, he thought.

"Well, what about your music player, or what do you call it?"

"My iPod? Yeah, that's one thing. I'm a type of guy that likes to show things to people. And, what if they don't believe me?"

"Nonsense, sweetie, they will believe every word you say."

Luke smiled with relief. "Good." Then he remembered something. "Oh yeah, I got my cellphone that still works even in a different world. Maybe I can show them pictures."

"Wonderful! So will you do it?"

"Of course. I wouldn't miss it for the better, Cheerilee. When do you want me to do it?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Perfect. I'll tell Fluttershy about it, and remind myself to come to your school."

"Great. See you soon, Luke. I look forward to seeing you in my classroom tomorrow." Then, she was off down the road.

"Bye, Cheerilee." Luke called. "Being a guest as a speaker on a school with children? Such a wonderful opportunity. He could tell the kids about what his home is like, and what Africa looks like with the animals, and even some history from the earth's past. Of course, he does not want to teach them boring old math like calculus, algorithms and logarithms. He couldn't think of any person who does not hate math.

On one note, he was only starting to know some of Equestria's history, and maybe he should just stick with his homeworld that he should tell about.

"Ah, who am I kidding?" He thought with a chuckle. "I'm a guest. Cheerilee is a really nice woman. She'll understand." He made another chuckle "at least i don't have to teach them any damn math."

The next thing he thought was being with Pipsqueak, Rumble, Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle since they go to the same school. Ponyville elementary was the only children's school anyway, hence it's name.

He did feel something like a touch of nervousness in his stomach. "Wait, I sang to audiences in school and in Equestria a couple of times, why would I be scared of this?" He thought. "If I can sing to an audience, I should be okay teaching kids too. After all, they are just kids."

Then he got off the bench and stretched his arms and shook his leg to keep it from falling asleep on him so he wouldn't have to limp on the way back to the cottage. Oh, they would be a real pain on the ass for him.

He looked around and saw Derpy again. "Oh, hey, Derpy." He said to her. The cross-eyed pegasus looked at him and smiled instantly.

"Oh, hi, Luke." She said.

"You taking a day off from work?"

"Yep. It's my day off. In fact, my boss told me not to come until.... A week from now."

"Hmm. That's cool. So how are things?"

"Oh well, you know, been walking around and such, eating lots of muffins as possible. Oh! And I was hanging with Doctor Whooves a lot of times."

"Doctor Whooves, huh?"

"Yeah, he is awesome at making cool stuff and shock thingies. He can even step inside a circle with spinning lines.

"Like.... Time travel?"

"Yep. So,etching like that." Then she made a funny face while sticking her tongue out adorably. Luke was wondering if this sounded like the infamous Doctor Who the TV show. Are there any things in this world that were allusions to his own?

"That's cool. Well, I am going to be a guest for Cheerilee at her school tomorrow."

"Really? What are you going to talk about?"

"My world, and what it's like in it"

"Ooh, that sounds exciting."

"It does."

"Say, do you want a muffin?" Then, Derpy pulled out a muffin basket from behind her.

"Sure, what kind?"

"Blueberry,"

Luke made a small gasp "blueberry? I love blueberry!" Then Derpy was more than happy to give him a free muffin from the basket.

The human took a bite and his eyes widened. "Oh my god, this is so good." He said. Then ate it a couple more times before saying "well, I better go. Fluttershy probably needs me taking care of her animal friends."

"Okay. Bye, Luke." Then Derpy flew off

"See you Derpy, and.... Oh, watch out for that stall!" He called out.

Before she looked, Derpy accidentally bumped into a carrot cart, with stars floating around her head from he dizziness.

The human smirked and went back to the cottage.





The next day, Luke was outside the door that led to the classroom inside the schoolhouse. He had a few butterflies, but got over them and let them flew out.

"Okay, class, quiet." Cheerilee sang from the other side. "Now, I have a special treat from you. He is the human from the other world you might have seen in town. Let me go get him." Then Cheerilee went out the door and smiled at the human "alright Luke, come on inside, sweetie."

"Awesome." Then the human promptly went inside, and the crusaders, Pip, and Rumble were more than happy to see him again. The other students were more than eager themselves to know some things about himself. He saw all those smiling faces, blinking once every few seconds, the he stood at the chair he will sit in front of them

"Now, I would like to introduce you to Luke Smith. The human I told you about."

The children all cheered and applauded for him. "Thank you. Thank you, thank you." He said. "You're all too kind." Then they stopped.

"Now, Luke, why don't you meet some of my students and get to know the, better."

"good idea." the he looked around, and went over from desk to desk to ask the children their names, one at a time. "Very nice to meet you all. even though i already met you girls, Pip and Rumble.

"perfect, now, Luke here will tell us about his world and what it is like in it. Would any of you like to hear what he has to say?"

Then they cheer again.

"Alright. Good. Now, Luke, what can you tell us about your home?" It's called Earth, like this place is called. However, it is different than what Equestria is." He cleared his throat. "There are many cool places in my home world. All of the, have their own touch of beauty within. The place I am from is called the United States of America, or USA for short. I live on a city called Bend in the state of Oregon."

"What is it like on your home?"

"It's a thriving, calm place to be in, surrounded by woodland and forests. It has a few theaters and clubs, and lots of restaurants and woodland wildlife. Bears, deer, elk, raccoons, beavers, badgers, tree frogs, bald eagles, and more. I have lived on it for years and it is one of the best places to live on my world.

"That sounds wonderful." Said Cheerilee.

"Any questions on that now?"

There was some set of hooves up already. Then Luke pointed to Teacher's Pet. "Does it snow there?"

"Oh yes. It always snows there during winter. It's so beautiful when it snows in Bend."

Then he pointed to a rather dimwit red looking colt and he said in a slurry voice "duh, what kind of a monster are you again?"

"He's not a monster." Said Applebloom.

"No it's alright. I kind of expected that. Anyway, I am a human. That is what species i am known as. Now, the continent I am from is called North America."

"How many continents are there, Luke?" Asked Pip

"Seven. North and South America, Africa, Asia, Europe, Antarctica, and Australia, or another name for the last one is sometimes know as Oceania because it has lots of scattered islands. My favorite place in particular is Africa. You see, it is like Zebrica. How many of you are familiar with it?" 

They all raised their hooves, making him happy.

"Awesome. You all know that Zecora is from Zebrica, right?"

"Yeah." They all replied.

"Well, Africa is kind of like Zebrica, except humans are the dominant species, not the zebras. It has all those animals like the lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, lemurs, grey parrots, and others."

They all murmured with interest.

"What makes you like Africa o of all the seven continents?" Cheerilee asked him

"The animals, and the cultures. All of those animals are cool. Of course I love all animals, but Africa has some that can be real page turners in books about animals. Plus, it is the birthplace of all humans."

"Ooh." Said the children.

"Very fascinating. So, what kind of music is there in your world?"

"Every type as the ones here, rock, pop, hip-hop, metal, reggae, that sort of thing. My favorite type of music is rock and metal, like classic rock for example. I do like all music, except for today's pop music."

"Yes, Applebloom, do you have a question?"

"No, I just wanted to tell all of you, Luke is an amazing musician." She replied

They all looked more curious."

"Really? You can sing?" Said Cheerilee.

"Do you think you can sing for us?" Asked Diamond Tiara. "I would love to hear what you sound like." They were all as excited as she was.

Luke chuckled. "I don't know if I would want to. I usually just do it when I am in the right mood to do so."

The other kids begged. "Please?" Said Silver Spoon. "We want to hear you."

"Alright look, I'll tell you a little later, but right now I want to tell you guys about my home."

They all understood and decided to be patient and listen to what he has to say about Earth.

"Thank you all. Now, as I was saying, I love rock and metal as my favorite music genre. I grew up with it." Then he put some details on the bands who influenced him like Guns N Roses, White Lion, Tesla, Metallica, Scorpions, owe sort of bands. This is actually turning out well so far. All the kids were interested about this information and Luke himself.  "Any other questions?"

Then he pointed to Featherweight. "What kind of books do they have in it?"

"Ah, now hat is so sing interesting. We have all types of books like fantasy, adventure, horror, gory, any the of genre you all have in Equestria."

"Incredible."

"So, what are other humans like?" Asked Diamond Tiara.

"Like any other pony here. There are good humans, and some bad ones, but most of them are good." Then he thought of the terrorists and decided not to go as far as that, because he didn't want the, to worry so much about it.

So he continued on an on about many details and random facts about his home. Turns out this will turn out rather well. All of the children are curious and loved hearing what he had to say.

"Now in my country, we were only around for a few hundred years."

"How did America come to be as your home?" Asked Pip

"Well, that is a very interesting story." Luke replied. "We were originally a colony from a country in Europe called England in a group of islands called Great Britain. They..... We're not really nice to us at that time to say the least. They treated us very unfairly and taxed us with tea."

"And you fought back?" Asked Scootaloo, realizing where it was going.

"Yep. You see, in my country, we don't have kings and queens..... Anymore, anyway. Our leaders are president and the congress of out country. So, this man rose up against Britain back then, his name was George Washington. He was our very first president we have ever had.

"Was he a good human?" Asked Cheerilee.

"Oh yes. He was a great man, who wanted to free the people from British tyranny. He had all the good qualities of being a president, and was a great general for the Americans. Although he wasn't president before, he was a leader."

The students were amazed by this, especially this George Washington character.

"Of course, he didn't go off on an easy start against them. This war was called the American Revolution. And it was a key figure to America's creation. Like I said, we weren't doing so well in the war at first, because many of the soldiers were a little inexperienced."

"How did you win?" Asked Applebloom

"Well, we weren't alone. There was another country that itself and England were at eachother's throats back then for hundreds of years. This was another European country called France."

The kids were becoming more and more curious. And wondered what kind of countries they were like.

"What kind of a country is France?" Asked Pip

"Well, it is one of the greatest countries on the world, and they speak this language" he cleared his throat, and began in French. "Bonjour, Je parle Française. Je m'appelle Luke. Êtes-vous prêt à se rendre?"

The kids were highly amazed by this. "They speak Fancy?" Asked Sweetie Belle.

"Well, in my world, it's called French. What is this Fancy you speak of?"

"The language Prench ponies speak." Pip replied

"Ah. Okay. So anyway, France is America's oldest ally since it was created, and we have fought side by side on other wars in history. I deeply thank them for that."

"Ah, that sounds like they mean a lot to your home." Said Silver Spoon.

Luke smiled. "They are."

Then a hoof was raised up. "Yes, Diamond Tiara, did you have a question?"

"Oh yes." She replied. "What were you saying in French?"

"I said, Hello, I am speaking French. My name is Luke. Are you ready to surrender? 

they all laughed a little at the last part he translated. "Surrender?" Said Scootaloo. "Haha. You're funny."

"I know. I know. .Anyway, France gave us support to crush the British, with protection and weapons on both land and sea. One of the generals was named..... It's a funny one kinda: Marquis De Lafayette.

Mild snickering was heard from some of the students. "That is kinda funny." Said Rumble. "But yet, it does sound kind of cool."

"Right. Now this guy was only seventeen years old, and he was like a son to George Washington."

"Aww." They all said.

"Thanks to France, we became the country me and m people live on today. And they gave us a present called the Statue of Liberty in a city called anew York, marking our freedom."

"That's amazing." Said Applebloom. They all agreed with her.

"Yes, quite marvelous." Cheerilee agreed. "That is definitely a page turner.

"It is." Then he told the, about other European countries back in the day. The kids and Cheerilee never lost their fascination with him.
> Human Education Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was lunchtime at last at Ponyville elementary school. All the children came running out of the schoolhouse to eat their lunches. Luke decided to go out in the fresh out to take a little break from his teaching.

He had a look at Rumble going down he slide, then Featherweight after him.

The next thing he saw were the crusaders playing a little game of hopscotch in the grass. All three were perfectly well-balanced as they continued hopping on the squares. Oh yes, Luke was proud that he is spending time with these kids and Cheerilee.

"Mind if I join you?" Asked Cheerilee from behind him.

"Ah, no of course not." The human replied.

The purple earth pony smiled, and sat next beside him on a bench. "Thank you so much for coming here to talk to the children. We were all more than curious to know more about you."

"You're welcome Cheerilee. Always happy to be with kids like these ones. They all like me."

"They do. What is not to like about you?"

"Oh stop it." Luke flustered. "So you must really love being a teacher."

Cheerilee made a small chuckle. "I do. Children always make me smile." Then she saw Snips and Snails bickering about which bush is bigger. "Well, most of them anyway." She sighed. "Let me tell you Luke, it's never easy being a teacher."

"I can see that. Kids would think it's harder for them because they have to go through the lectures and be students, but they don't realize that being a teacher is way harder than that."

"I agree. They'll understand when they are a little older on dew time."

"Right. So what would you like me to do after lunch and recess are over?" The human asked curiously.

"Tell us more about your world and other historical events that happened in it."

"No problem. I just don't want it to be too gory, bloody, or inappropriate. Well, maybe some blood of necessary, but not a lot of it, because there were many times of bloodshed in my world."

"Oh! Of course not." Cheerilee agreed. There was a slight pause and silence. "So are you going to each anything, sweetie?"

"Nah. I already had some baby tomatoes and a banana this morning. Oh, and speaking of which, Fluttershy told me that she said hi to you before I came here by the way."

"Wonderful. Tell her I said thank you when you go back later."

Luke smiled "of course. You're kids here are special"

"I know they're special. Ever since I laid my eyes on them, I always had that feeling that they are more than just regular foals."

Luke looked on the playground, and saw Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon walking up to him "hi, Luke." They both said in unison.

"Hey." He replied. 

"I hope we are not interrupting anything." Silver Spoon remarked

"Nope. You're fine."

"Good." Said Diamond Tiara. "You don't mind hanging out with us do you?"

"Of course not. I'm always available." The human replied.

"Well, you all have fun, I am going to prepare the things you need for after recess is over." Cheerilee remarked before going back inside the schoolhouse.

"Okay." The human turned back to the filly pair. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

"Oh you know, we just wanted to know you more." Said Diamond Tiara. "We just want to shoot the breeze with you."

"That's cool."

"So, how long have you been here?" Asked Silver Spoon.

"For quite a number of days, and I'm loving it here. It's way better than my home."

"Why would you say that?"

"Because my world can be completely full and boring. There is no magic what so ever. No monsters, no spells, nothing like that."

"What?" They both said.

"I know. It's messed up. But this place, oh god, this place is everything I can ask for. Way more peaceful and calm, and united.

"What do you have against your home?" Asked Silver Spoon

"Nothing really. I just want a little more excitement in my life. Like a little more wow! In my life. Something weird about to happen, like magic.

"Ah."

"And my world is kind of a dangerous place right now, but don't worry about it. I'll be fine"

"Well we do hope you like it here on Equestria."

"I love it!" Luke exclaimed with enthusiasm. "So, you guys must have good friends here." Then Diamond Tiara's smile turned into a frown. "You okay, Diamond? You seem a little troubled."

"Well, I didn't have friends before."

"Why not, Diamond? Is there so sing you want to tell me?"

"I used to be mean to everypony here. I mean, I thought, well, me and Silver Spoon thought we were both better than everypony else, because we're rich you know?"

"Ah. Gotcha."

"And my mother is a dictator. She thinks so full of herself above everypony else, maybe except for Celestia and Luna of course, but still."

Luke felt sorry for her.

"And I would go along with her since she is my friend." Silver added

"Oh guys. You are friends with all of these kids now, and all the dogs you did at them spare all forgiven. Diamond, Silver, never let your parents control your lifestyle. Just be who you want to be, not what they want."

"You're right." Diamond said proudly. It was thanks to the crusaders that I did change, and they finally got their cutie marks."

"See, forgive and forget the past." Both the fillies were happy to hear Luke say that, and hugged him both at the same time.

"Hey Luke!" A voice called out. The human looked at saw Rumble, Pip, and the girls passing a ball at one another. "Wanna play with us?" Rumble called out to him

"Sure!" The human called back, then he ran up to them, more than ready to play with all of them. Then they all started catching and throwing the ball, having so much fun. "Heads up!" Luke exclaimed as he did a volleyball throw as he started the game.

"Got it! Got it! Got it!" Scootaloo thought she was gonna catch it, but it fell on Pipsqueak instead. "Don't got it."

"Pass it to me!" Said Sweetie Belle." Then Pip threw it to her as she requested, and then passed it on to Applebloom, and then Luke, then Rumble, and it repeated so on and so fourth.

Then the bell rung, and the students went back in, with Luke coming in last. He could not wait to tell the kids more about his Earth. He promptly went through the door, and the kids were all speaking with one another.

"Alright everypony, quiet." Cheerilee announced n a sing-song voice.

Then they all silenced so they can hear more of Luke's information about his world. "Thanks guys. I hope you all had a great lunch, and I had fun being with some of you, especially playing ball with Applebloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Pip, and Rumble."

The foals he mentioned smiled and were greatly flattered.

"Now, I suppose. Can give you all more stuff about my world. Now.... What was I going to tell you all about again?....... Ummmm, oh yeah! I was going to tell you all many cool animals of Africa. Do you guys want to hear it?"

"Yeah!" They all shouted

"Okay okay." Luke cleared his throat, and began "Africa, Being the second largest continent in the world, has more kinds of animals than a lot of places on Earth outside of it. One of my favorites is the eland antelope."

They all muttered to eachother. "What kind of an antelope is that?" Asked Teacher's Pet.

"A really cool one that is the largest antelope in the world and with males weighing up to two thousand pounds."

They all went "Oooh." In astonishment.

Luke pulled out his phone and looked up any good pictures of the eland, and found quite a few interesting images on google.  "I just wish there was a way to show you all on the chalkboard."

"Oh! I have a projection Luke, don't worry."

Luke was a little dumbfounded. "You do? I didn't think you would."

"That's alright." Then he plugged in his phone to the machine through a wire, and picture of a bull eland was shown on their.

"Oh wow." Said Cheerilee in greet astonishment.

"Wow." All the students followed thereafter.

"Isn't he big or what?"

"He's really big." Said Applebloom.

"Are any of you familiar with it now?"

They all replied yes one at a time. "Yeah, I have seen it, I just didn't know the name of it." Pip remarked.

"It's fine. It happens." The Luke showed more pictures of the majestic eland, both the common and giant species. Everypony was loving these details of the majestic beast.

"And you said they have lions on Africa?" Asked Sweetie

"Yep. Lions, leopards, rhinos, hippos, elephants, zebras, and others. So man others that I can't all describe in one day." Then he looked up the Cape buffalo, making the other students familiar with it.

"Ooh, it's a water buffalo." Said Rumble.

"Well, you're close, but it's not exactly it." Luke clarified.

"Oh. What kind of a buffalo is that?"

"The Cape buffalo, or African Buffalo as many people call it. These guys are mean. They are unpredictable, and you do not want to mess with them."

"How dangerous are they?" Asked Pip

"Oh they are highly unpredictable and easily irritated if angered or provoked. Along with the hippo and the Nile crocodile, they are responsible for killing over 200 humans a year all of Africa.

"Wow, that's cool." Said Scootaloo.

"Yep, just don't anger it and you'll be just fine, like any other animal."

"Well Zecora told me that in Zebrica. There are buffalo like that, and they are really peaceful." Said Pip

"Well, the place I am talking about is Africa, not Zebrica, although they are similar in many degrees. This place is a little more dangerous than Zebrica itself."

"Very cool." Said Featherweight.

"I hope you all enjoy what I am talking to you about."

They all replied positive feedback, all smiling at him. "We love it!" Said Sweetie Belle.

"Good. Then Luke talked about many wonders and other fascinating creatures in Africa. A little later on, he told them a little more history about his home, and other countries of the war.

"The Civil war was one of the biggest conflicts America was in. We disagree with ideas, so the southern US split from the Northern US. The north hated slavery while the south didn't.

They fought on the conflict of slavery, and we won, thanks to another one of the greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln. Thanks to him, the Union, also called the North won and ended slavery in the United States once and for all."

They all cheered for him.

"Abe was a great man, and a devoted president, with the ultimate goal of reuniting the United States to the way it's supposed to be like, and determined to stop slavery, which he succeeded of course."

"Sounded like everyone loved him."

"Well, I don't know about that. After a little while when the war ended, he went to see a play in a theater, and a man named John Wilkes Booth snuck up behind him with a pistol and killed him with it."

They all gasped with fright. "That's horrible." Said Cheerilee.

"I wish I can find John Wilkes Booth and beat him up!" Said Scootaloo. Feeling an anger towards the long dead murderer.

"Easy, Scootaloo." Luke calmed her down. "It's okay. He already got justice. The civil war only happened two hundred years ago, way long before I was born."

"Oh. That's good." Said Cheerilee. "And it is good that this Booth human got what he deserved."

"Yep, he was executed while on the run."

"Serves him right." Sid Pip.

"Exactly." The. Luke kept on telling more and more interesting times in history, and the description of other lands of his earth as well.
> Evil Mare Spoiled Rich 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another four days have passed and Luke was having a nice time spending some of his day with Cloudchaser and Flitter who were all looming within the music store. There were so many types of instruments ranging from guitars to saxophones to drum sets to synthesizers as far as both pony and human eyes can see.

"We're so glad you're hanging out with us, Luke." Said Cloudchaser. "We are always looking for extra company."

The human smiled warmly at the older pegasus sister, and replied kindly "no problem, Cloudchaser. I'm always up to hanging with cool friends like you guys."

"So, Rumble told us that you were a special guest in his class a couple days ago."

"Yep, I was. Cheerilee asked me if I wanted to be a guest of honor and tell them about my version of earth, and I said yes. So what else did Rumble say?"

"He said you were really cool and really awesome." Cloudchaser remarked. "He and the other kids loved you and how you told them about certain animals and about Africa."

Luke was proud of himself to here that. He was happy to hear the kids were happy to have them at their school. He was glad that Cheerilee asked him to be a guest of honor for her. "That's awesome. I was a little nervous that I would bore them stiff till they all died from it."

The two sisters laughed. "Oh Luke, you're funny." Said Flitter. "And don't worry, they all loved it."

"Matter of fact, if there was one thing that Rumble loves for sure, that would be animals."

"Good."

"And yeah, Flitter's right, you are funny." She chuckled

"Well I'm not really a comedian to say the least, my dad is. He knows some magic tricks and some jokes more than I do."

"Do you have a sense of humor at least?" Flitter asked him

"Oh yeah, of course. But......" he paused like he was trying to put words in a way that they would both 8nderstand because it sounded complicated for certain minds. "It can be a little dark at times, I sometimes have a dark sense of humor."

Both the sisters looked at eachother with slight confusion. "Like how?" Said Cloudchaser puzzled.

"It's complicated, and besides you wouldn't want to hear it it involves blood and gore in some cases.

The they both perfectly understood what he meant now.

"Sorry."

"No no no, don't be sorry. You didn't do anything wrong."

"Yeah, let's just forget we brought it up." Flitter suggested.

"Agreed." Then they all continued sightseeing around the interior. One thing that caught Luke's eyes was a golden Les Paul that reminded him of Slash and Joe Perry's signature ones. They were a little too steep for some pockets, but it was alright, because he had the guitar Discord gave him from his first litter concert performing for his friends, so he didn't care about it so much. At least a guy can dream.

Despite this, he gently stroke the guitar body down, and wondered if there was a parallel Slash in Equestria. "Are you finding everything alright, dear?" asked a regal voice, startling the human. "Oh gosh, I am so sorry, I did not mean to scare you." It was a female earth pony with gray fur and a long, beautiful black mane for her hair with a fancy collar around her neck. Her cutie mark was a bass or a cello of some kind.

"It's fine. Anyway, i'm just lookin' around, thank you." he cleared his throat.

"I believe we haven't met before, my name is Octavia, Octavia Melody at your service."

"Nice to meet you, Octavia. Name's Luke, Luke Smith."

"I've heard about you, and from the princess saying you are an amazing performer."

"Even if it involves metal and rock?"

"Oh yes of course. Maybe as long as it's not that genre.... what do you call it? Scream metal?"

"Screamo, yeah, I'm not a big fan of that either."

"Brilliant."

"So, I take it by your cutie mark, you play the bass or the cello?"

"Bass, thank you." She looked at her cutie mark proudly. "It is a rather amazing talent for moi." 

"Yeah, totally." Said another voice. There was another earth pony mare but with white fur and a blue mane and tail. She wore cool shades over her eyes and had a musical note for a cutie mark.

"And who might you be?"

"Vinyl Scratch, and I take it you're Luke, right?"

"That's me."

"Awesome. Dude, I heard about how you rocked out a few times to Fluttershy and her friends."

"Oh well, it was just a small performance." Luke flustered again.

"Yeah, you should totally hear him some time, he is really good." Said Cloudchaser. "He is so awesome when he sings and shreds on guitar." She made a few sounds that sounded like a guitar solo with her tongue."

"Well, I don't know if I would do that right now, mostly when I feel like it."

"Oh, perfectly understandable." Said Octavia. "Absolutely no problem, Luke."

"Good. So, do you and Vinyl know each other?"

"Yeah, we share the same house togetherness yo." Vinyl replied while wrapping her arm around Octavia's shoulders and pulling her close to herself. The more classy pony was a little irritated by this, but she was happy, nonetheless.

"Indeed. Although we can have our ups and downs, we can get last them."

"Here here. We would sometimes work with mixing orchestra stuff with some of my wubs and dubstep sounds."

"Dubstep eh, well.... I hope you don't mind me saying this Octavia, but Dubstep is not really my kind of forte. It's just my opinion, ad I hope you understand."

Vinyl smiled at him, and replied "that's okay, dude. We all have our own tastes in music. And I love rock n roll and metal too, as a matter of fact, I love all music."

"Awesome."

"So, do you think you can perform for us some time? I love a good concert."

"Oh yes, indeed." Octavia concurred. "I myself, am also eager to hear a new talent from anywhere."

Luke was happy to hear it and replied "I will. Maybe like at a club or a small stage somewhere on town."

"Say no more, me and Vinyl would be more than happy to help you with that. Isn't that right, Vinyl?"

"Totally!"

"Well, we should probably get back to work, a music shop does not run itself you know?"

They all laughed. "Agreed."

"Nice meeting you, Luke." Octavia concluded before she went back to work

"Yeah, see ya soon, and try to think about performing on stage some time."

"I will." Then Vinyl Scratch went off with her closest friend and roommate. "So, what about you two? Find anything awesome?"

"Eh, not really. We're just looking after all." Flitter replied

"Yeah."

Luke smirked "right. Well, wanna get a drink or something?"

"Sure!"

"Totally!"

Then they all went out of the store, and were about to go get an iced cold drink from a restaurant or a small stall that might sell them. However, they were halted when a voice stopped them.

"Excuse me." Said a regal mare's voice. A rather high-class looking mare that was also an earth pony, and had a purple mane with a diamond ring as a cutie mark. Luke was a little confused, but Cloudchaser and Flitter were not so happy to see her somehow.

With a slightly irritated tone of voice, Flitter said "hello, Spoiled Rich."

"Ah, Cloudchaser and Flitter." The mare had a change of demeanor when she sarcastically said "what a surprise, then looked face to face with Luke. "I beg your pardon...... Sir, but are you the one they called a human?"

"Uhhh, yeah, what can I help you with?" The human was feeling a little uncomfortable by this.

The mare cleared her throat and regally replied "My name is Spoiled Rich, Diamond Tiara's mother."

He suddenly remembered hearing about Diamond's mother when he was teaching at the school the other day. "So you're the one she told me about."

"Indeed. Well, I wanted to tell you to please stay away from my daughter." Of course, this sounded like a rude warning from a pompous pony like herself

In a confused voice, Luke said "why do you want me to stay away from her? I haven't done anything wrong."

"Perhaps, but I would rather prefer if she did not hang out with low lives and ragamuffins such as yourself."

"Hey, don't call him that!" Said Cloudchaser. "Luke is cool."

"Luke, hmm? So he has a name."

"You're darn right he has a name." Flitter stepped in.

Spoiled was not intimidated by this little posse. "Tut tut, you two, let us not make things ugly."

"Things got ugly when you came here you hypocrite." Cloudchaser insulted.

"What is your problem, Madame?" Luke asked

"I want Diamond Tiara to live the correct life, and I can assure you, interacting with a hairless ape like you is not one of them."

"I'm a human!" Luke retorted

"Whatever."

"Look, I can assure you I am not a lowlife, I had good grades on school, and I help out animals if need be."

"Oh how quaint, helping little filthy creatures such as animals."

Luke was starting to become a little angry by this rude mare's  prejudice remarks. "Please, I have autism, and.... I am sensitive."

"Autism? So that would make you a retard then?"

Both Cloudchaser and Flitter gasped at what she had just called him "how dare call Luke that!" Said Flitter

"Will you get the hell out of here before we kick your ass?" Cloudchaser was more than ready to take her on.

"Do you really think I am scared of brute force?" Spoiled Rich remarked. "You probably couldn't injure me even if you wanted to."

Luke did not like this mare one little bit. He couldn't believe a pony would call him that derogatory word for people like him. Then he walked up and her and took a breath. "Spoiled Rich, please. Let us not resort to insulting? If you want me to stay away from your daughter I understand."

"Well, I am glad you decided to see things my way, human."

"Wait, I think someone just dropped a bit on the ground." Then Spoiled Rich looked at the ground looking for the coin with eagerness and excitement.

"Where is it?" She said

"Right here!" Without warning her, Luke gave her an elbow uppercut to her face, knocking her away and performed a painful punch while grabbing her mane, and then landed another one before Cloudchaser and Flitter intervened.

"Luke, stop!" Flitter exclaimed.

"Don't you ever call me a retard again you Botox-faced bitch!" Luke shouted at Spoiled. The mare was covering her face from the pain, and it revealed to be slightly bloody with much of it coming out of her nose.

"Oh my face." She moaned. Her face was also a little bruised too, and her mouth was in slight pain. Lastly a bad, black eye was showing on her right one. "How dare you." She said to the human, spitting out a tooth from her mouth

"That's what you get for calling me a retard!"

Then Spoiled Rich just stormed off, probably going home or the doctor to help with her face.

The human noticed that he attracted some n wanted attention and some ponies were staring at him with disbelief. "Uh oh." He thought. "Guys I.... I'm so sorry." 

"It's okay, Luke. She deserved it." Said Flitter

"Yeah. We can perfectly understand that, but still, you should just ignore their type." Cloudchaser added.

"I know, but she made me."

"We understand. Come on, let's help you cool off and get that drink you want."

"I think that's a good idea, Cloudchaser." Then he looked at the staring ponies again, and said "I'm so sorry you all had to see that, but she called me a retard. Please don't hate me and try to understand. Can you all forgive me?"

Many of them nodded their heads and Flitter said "it's okay, Luke. They understand it was just an outburst."

"Good. I just hope they will not be forever afraid of me."

"No, they won't." Cloudchaser said "it's okay. Come on, let's go." Then they all walked to a cafe or a restaurant to buy themselves a drink. "So, you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I kinda been called worse than that word anyway. Besides, I kind of gave her what she deserved, so we're even. My only worry is that she kit sue my pants off for everything I have."

"Don't worry, just tell Fluttershy and maybe she can help you, and maybe even princess Celestia and Luna, they have more power then Spoiled and her family

"Excellent point. So, yeah, I'll be okay. A drink will just be the trick to cool me off."

The sisters smiled. "Good" said Flitter

"Yeah nothing like a refreshing drink to forget about your worries."

"Agreed. Hakuna Matata."

"What?" Both Cloudchaser and Flitter said in unison.

"It means no worries and no problems."

Then they both understood it..... Kind of.
> Consequence (Edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke was sitting on a bench, still with Cloudchaser and Flitter. This time, Thunderlane and Rumble were with the three. The young colt was enjoying a drink that contained lemonade, drinking through a straw. "Thanks for getting us some drinks, guys." Thunderlane remarked to the sisters

"No prob. It's the least we can do." Said Cloudchaser.

"So, Luke, I heard you kind of..... how should I say it...." he was trying to find a proper word to describe the recent event that happened between Luke and Spoiled Rich.

Rumble then blurted out "beat the snot out of Spoiled Rich!"

"Rumble." His big brother scolded firmly.

However, Luke replied. "No it's okay." And cleared his throat. "Yeah, I got in a little.... run-in with her to say the least. She.... she called me a retard."

Thunderlane made a small gasp. "She did not." He said.

Luke nodded a yes to him. "What's a retard?" Asked Rumble curiously. Of course a colt like him wouldn't really understand kinds of profanity or a derogatory term such as that.

The human cleared his throat and replied. "It's..... a bad word for someone with autism or any other disability." He sighed. "Someone like me. It's not really a kind of word you should really use in public." Thunderlane and Rumble looked at him in sympathy 

"Don't let it get to you, Luke." Said Flitter

"Yeah, never mind what Spoiled Rich told you." Thunderlane added. "What does she know? She's a type of mare who thinks she is better than everypony else because she's rich like her husband Filthy."

Cloudchaser stepped in and remarked. "She is the reason why Diamond Tiara was mean to everypony else at school."

Luke nodded in agreement. "That would all make sense." And he cleared his throat once more. "Listen 8 am so sorry about what I did, but no one ever calls me that."

"It's okay, Luke. Really." Said Cloudchaser gently patting his back with a smile.

"We all had days like that, we just need to control it is all." Flitter remarked. 

"But what would Fluttershy think of it? Will she go demonic on me for making a mare's nose bleed and punching her in the face until I knocked a tooth or two out of her mouth with a dash of blackeye?"

The four ponies had a look of confusion and then chucked and giggled. "Don't be ridiculous." Said Cloudchaser.  "What gave you a crazy idea like that?"

"I don't know. Just a thought, and Rainbow did tell me not to make Fluttershy mad because she can be pretty assertive when she's at that breaking point, and I intend to keep it that way."

"That is a good point." Said Rumble. "But she will understand if you tell her. That way she will tell the princess' and miss Spoiled Rich will get in trouble for it."

"That's right, Rumble."

The human thought about what they were telling him, and said "are you sure the others are not afraid of me after what I just did?"

"Of course. As a matter of fact, I heard many ponies thinking of how funny it was when you gave her a taste of her own medicine." Flitter remarked.

Cloudchaser laughed before saying "yeah, like we have said before, none of us like her so much, and she is kind of like that with everypony who is as not rich as her."

"I can't imagine why. Oh! But wait, what if the princess' get mad at me if Fluttershy told them what happened? I don't want them to throw me in a dungeon or exile me, I love it here."

"Come on, I doubt that Princess Celestia and Luna would even do that, and besides, you didn't beat her up that much anyway."

"Are you kidding? Surely they told you about the nosebleed and the blackeye, Thunderlane?"

"I know. But you only inflicted a few blows on her and she's not in the hospital or anything."

"And she should consider herself lucky, she would really consider health insurance when I was really done with her." Luke cracked his knuckles proudly."

"Right. But what we are trying to say is sometimes you need to face the consequences of your actions."

"I know, Cloudchaser. Who am I kidding? I mean Fluttershy really likes me and she wouldn't even dream of exploding right in my face."

"Hehe, true." Said Flitter. "You'll be just fine."

"I know. Well i'll be seeing you guys later, i'm going home." And he stood up from the bench.

"Okay Luke, see ya." Cloudchaser." Then her aister, Thunderlane, and Rumble did the same after. 

"Au revoir." Then he went back to the cottage while listening to White Lion on his iPod. For a minute he worried that Nopony would want to be friends with him anymore after what he did, but it turns our they were the same as before and many of them waved at him in a friendly gesture. 

***

When Luke was approaching the cottage, many of the animals outside were happy to see him again, and a few raccoons and weasels went up to him and placed their front paws at him.

He opened the door and tool put his earbuds so he can greet Fluttershy and her sweet smiling face properly. "Welcome back, Luke. How was it with Cloudchaser and Flitter?" The yellow pegasus asked while washing harry's back

"It was fine." As he our his music player on the sofa to be charged up, he took off his shoes and socks, then relaxed on the sofa a little. "Hey, Fluttershy, can i talk with you, please?" he sounded a little more troubled in his voice now.

"Of course, what's wrong?"

Luke was probably in for it now, and knew that Fluttershy would not be happy about to hear about these..... supposed event that just happened. He cleared his throat as the yellow pegasus sat next to him on the couch with concern, and began "Earlier, I met a mare named....." he gulped nervously. "Spoiled Rich"

"Oh- my- how did it go?" Asked Fluttershy

"You heard of her?"

"Of course I have. Everypony knows about her, like she is not very nice to some ponies. Why do you ask?"

"She... kind of criticize me a little bit, and thought I was lower than her on the pyramid." Luke confessed. "And then she.... she called me a retard."

Fluttershy was shocked and she gasped with disbelief. "Oh my goodness." she exclaimed. "How could she call you such a mean thing?"

"I've been told that she thinks she is above the law."

"I heard too. And what happened next?"

Luke took a breath and he said "I kind of beaten her up a few times."

Fluttershy was even more surprised to here that. "My goodness, is she in the hospital?"

"No no no, and she's lucky too, she would have been in a hospital after i was done with her. Anyway, I didn't want to do it, but she made me. Do you know how bad a word it is for people like me?"

Fluttershy understood, but she wasn't happy about it. "It's okay, I understand how you feel. But, you know it isn't really okay to beat somepony up, right?"

"I do, but I just lost myself."

"It's alright, just please try to control yourself and walk away from something like that, okay?" She smiled and he smiled back to her. Turns out it was alright, and she was a perfectly understanding mare about this little situation. "

"So if you're gonna tell Celestia and Luna, i understand."

"Good. Sadly, yes. I am."

"And what if I get sued for everything from Spoiled Rich? I don't want to get you in trouble."

"Don't worry, everything will be fine. Celestia and Luna will help you once we tell them if Spoiled tries to file a lawsuit against you." Luke was more than glad to hear that. " May i ask what she wanted from you?"

"she wanted me to stay away from her daughter because she considered me a pheasant and a lowlife."

"well that is not very nice."

"right. but that's all behind me now."

"good, and do not worry about any trouble, the princess' will understand. For now, would you like anything?"

"Maybe some root beer and a pickle sandwich would be nice,"

"Of course. Oh, and do you think you can help me with the animals again?"

"Anything for you." Luke replied.

The yellow pegasus smiled even wider than before and went to fetch the snack and beverage he wanted.

It was just then when Luke got what he wanted and thank Fluttershy for it, ere was a knock of the door. "Oh, I will get that," Fluttershy said. She hovered to the door and there was Celestia and Luna. "Oh your majesties." She bowed to them on respect.

Of course, what would it be two princess' walking without having a few guards by their sides? "Hello, Fluttershy." Said the princess of the sun in her motherly voice. "May we come in?"

"Certainly." Then she stepped aside and both saw Luke drinking his beverage, but he still had the nervous feeling within his stomach, now it appears he was in trouble.

"Luke." Said Luna with a little more firm voice. "Can me and my sister have a word with you?"

"Oh Jesus Christ." Luke muttered. To them directly, he asked "I think I'm gonna be sent to the dungeon for this, am I?"

"Of course not, we just want to have a word with you."

"You heard what happened, didn't you?"

"Yes, we have." Luna clarified. "It gave us quite a scare."

Guilt was starting to come with him. "Okay. Alone then?"

"Hmm-mm, do you mind?" Celestia asked

"No no, it's fine. Right, Fluttershy?"

The yellow pegasus nodded a yes with a smile, and Luke finished his drink wiping his lips. "Okay, Fluttershy, please save the sandwich till I get back, okay."

"Okay."

Then Luke went out the door and walked with the two most prominent figures in this world. "Listen, I am so sorry for what I did. I can explain, Spoiled Rich called me a retard and it was a major insult to my people and-"

"Luke, Luke, it's quite alright." Celestia chuckled. "We understand. Which is exactly why we are going to confront Spoiled Rich about this matter."

"How did you both now about this, anyway? Fluttershy was going to tell you a little later on."

Luna clarified by saying "Twilight sent us a letter as she was a witness to this event. She and Spike was worried about you."

"Ah, good. Well I guess that saved Fluttershy the trouble of telling you both."

"And don't worry, we will make sure this is sorted out and that she will never bother you again."

"Good. And.... Can you guys forgive me? She just provoked me to beat her a little, I swear."

"Perfectly understandable" said Celestia. "But, please just walk away from certain situations like that the next time it happens, alright?"

"Okay." He looked at his surroundings that consisted of the falling leaves in autumn and a dozen woodland creatures such as squirrels and chipmunks, who will probably be in hibernation very soon for winter was not far from Equestria now.

The next thing he looked was a glistening small lake under the sunlight with a beaver dam on the shoreline, and was quite in peace with this little scenario. This was almost making Luke forget about Spoiled calling him the derogatory term for disabled people.

"Isn't it beautiful out here?" Said Celestia. "Autumn is my favorite season of the year."

"Really, my favorite is winter and summer."

"I also like winter." Luna said "it has the winter solstice, the darkest day of the year." 

"That would make sense."

"While we are going to confront Spoiled Rich, why not have a little chat?" Said Celestia. "Perhaps you might have some page-turning tales you would like to give us."

Luke smirked and replied "sure. I absolutely love it here. It's everything I could ever ask for."

"Oh? What hp did you do recently?" Luna asked him

"Well, I have been helping Fluttershy with the animals of course, and hanging out with my new friends. I also performed a little concert for them, too."

"Ah, Twilight did tell us about that. She said you did a pretty old job."

"Oh well, you know." Luke flustered. "So, I also went camping with them and had an awesome time with that."

"Did you tell campfire stories?"

"Of course, and performed a campfire song, which I also got praised for, I even won the scariest story competition."

"That sounds wonderful."

The conversations went from many subjects and details until they finally reached the mansion where Spoiled Rich lived in.

Luke was rather I pressed by it. "Wow, for an evil hag, she has a nice place."

"And don't worry, we will make sure you don't get sued." Then Luna rung the doorbell to a lovely chime. It revealed to be a butler and bowed bowed in respect to the two royals. 

"Princess Celestia and Luna, what a pleasant surprise." He said in an elderly British voice. "What can I do you for, your majesties?"

"We want to have a word with Spoiled Rich."

"Of course. Miss Rich, somepony is here to see you."

"Oh what now." Came a grouchy Marie's voice. Luke saw her with her face covered in a bag with eye-holes. "Can't you all see that I am in the middle of-" and she gasped. "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, what a pleasant surprise." When she saw the human, she had a change of demeanor "You?!"

"Spoiled Rich" said Celestia in a firm voice. "We have heard that you have called Luke a derogatory word by the name of retard at him. Is this true."

Spoiled gulped and replied "no no no, of course not."

"Guards, arrest her." Luna ordered.

Just as when the guards would try to arrest her, she finally confessed "alright yes, but only because he was a lowlife."

"You started it by calling me a retard." Luke said "yes because a Diamond Tiara should not be with low lives like you and-" the. Luke flipped her off "oh! How dare you give me the middle finger gesture!"

"Luke please, let us handle this, sweetie." Said Luna

"Sorry."

"Do not call him a retard ever again." Said Celestia turning her attention back to Spoiled "If this happens again, I will know, and I will throw you in the dungeon."

She never had been so scared in all her life and replied "yes, your majesties." In a shaky voices "I promise it will never happen again."

"Good."

"Now now now, what's all the ruckus about." Then a stallion with money bags for cutie marks came up to them curiously, then he noticed the princess' now "oh my gosh, forgive me your majesties." He said

"It's quite alright, Filthy Rich" Celestia replied warmly

"Ah, so you're the one everypony is talking about." He addressed the human. "My name is Filthy Rich, but I would prefer of you call me mister Rich."

"Nice to meet ya. Name's Luke." He replied. "Listen, mister Rich, your wife called me a retard."

"What?" Then, He gave Spoiled a dirty glare. "No wonder you came home like this, you should be ashamed of yourself, Spoiled!" He heavily scolded her. "I am so very sorry about this, Luke. Please forgive my wife's inexcusable behavior. And we will discuss your pompous attitude later, Spoiled."

"But dear-"

"No arguments!"

She growled and reluctantly agreed.

"Thank you so much, mister Rich."

"Hey, can you please tell Diamond Tiara I said hi too?"

"Why of course, she told me about how cool you were at school the other day."

Luke smiled.

"Come along then, Luke, let's walk back to the cottage. But first, Spoiled, is there anything you would like to say to Luke?"

"No." She rudely turned her head away.

"Say your sorry, Spoiled!" Filthy threatened her.

"Fine fine fine!" While grudgingly gritting her teeth, she muttered "I'm so very sorry."

"Thank you."

"Let's go." Then Luke, Celestia and Luna went back on the road to the cottage. He was so more than grateful by this little favor by Celestia and Luna. Of course he remembered that next time if something like this happened again, he will just walk away and ignore them.
> Little Bonk on the Head
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everypony was not as concerned for Luke about him beating Spoiled Rich to a pulp for calling him a retard. As a matter of fact, many of them believed that she deserved it, after all, Nopony doesn't really like her gigantic ego and narcissistic personality, which was why Diamond Tiara was a bully to the kids at schools.

But that was all behind Luke now, for he was continuing at the here and now in his life. For sure, Luke thought he was going to get in deep trouble for beating a self-absorbed mare who thinks she is better than everypony else, but it turns out, he only got a gentle talking to.

And sure, Fluttershy was okay, but what of the rest of his new friends? Along with Cloudchaser and Flitter, for they were sole witnesses to that incident  when it happened the day before. As of now, he was watching funny YouTube videos on his smartphone, the goats screaming like humans compilation to be exact. If there was one thing Luke could never get enough of, that would be animals doing silly, cute, or weird things on the Internet such as the sneezing panda or talking dogs for instance.

While doing that, he was drinking some lemonade with ice while relaxing on the couch. Fluttershy then noticed his snickering, and wondered what he was chuckling about.

"Uhh, Luke." She said really quietly. Of course, the sound of her voice was so quiet that he could not hear or notice her looking at these funny videos. Then she gently tapped on his shoulder.

"Oh, Sorry, Fluttershy. What's up?"

"It's okay. Umm, I was wondering what yoy were laughing ablut?"

"I was watching a compilation of goats screaming like humans would, with a few sheep in it. Haha, it's do freaking hilarious!"

"Compilation?" Fluttershy asked curiously. He remembered that Equestria probably doesn't have smartphones or Samsung galaxy phones like many humans in his homeworld.

Luke cleared his throat and remarked "it's like a clip of videos mashed together like a PB&J sandwich, and you can watch all those videos at once like a montage."

Fluttershy then said "that's rather intriguing. Do you think we can watch it together?"

"Sure."

"And maybe my animals friends can join us?"

"Absolutely!" Then they all gathered around Luke's phone so they can watch the screaming goats compilation. All through the video, and they all laughed their heads off, and the loudest one ever was at the end of the video with the baby black lamb with a low voice. "See? I told you it was funny."

Fluttershy giggled. "Oh yes, and it was so adorable, too." she agreed. "Is this a really popular video on your internet?"

"Yep! it's a viral video to be exact. There are two things the internet can never get enough of, music videos from both rock and metal, and pop, and animals doing very cute or silly things, this is one of those things."

"Oh my. I can imagine how many people have watched it." said Fluttershy in amazement. "Although I wonder, did they have sore throats?"

"No no no, of course not. They were fine. I think it was just how they sound, don't you worry."

"Good." All of a sudden, Fluttershy remembered something important. "Oh! I almost forgot that today is pet play day."

"Pet play day?"

"Yes, it's where I bring Angel Bunny to the park to spend time with them, and my closest friends do the same thing with their pets."

"That's nice. Does sound like fun."

"It is. How much do you guys participate in it?"

"Oh every once in a while. We would always give them the best attention and as much fun we can give them all. They all love it, well, maybe not Opal so much."

"She's Rarity's cat, right?"

"Hmm-mm."

"I thought so. You don't suppose I can join you guys?"

Fluttershy's smile grew bigger. "That would be wonderful, thank you, Luke."

"Ah, what are friends for?" Luke slightly flushed. "So when is it?"

"A little later on in a number of hours. I could always use some help with Angel Bunny. For a small bunny, he can be quite a handful for his size."

Luke rolled his eyes in slight irritation. "I can only imagine why." then he looked at Angel, and the bunny waved at him in a more friendly gesture. Turns out Angel is starting to warm up to the peculiar human, and didn't have that much distaste in him anymore. Then, all of a sudden, Fluttershy's cutie mark was glowing in a peculiar type of light, like a car blinker.

The human was a little confused and began to panic a little.

"What's happening?"

"It's okay, my cutie mark is just calling me to Twilight's castle to solve a friendship problem. I am very sorry,  but I am afraid we might have to do the pet event another time."

"Oh, that's okay. Go ahead and fix whatever the problem is. I'll be fine."

Fluttershy smiled.

"In the meantime, do y want me to feed the others for you since you will be gone?"

"No, I'll be back to he,p you with that. I won't be gone long, I promise. Maybe in time for dinner."

"That's cool."

"Well, I'll let you know about what the friendship problem is, and I will be on my way. In the meantime, why don't you do something fun with Spike or your other funny friends?"

Luke thought about it, and replied "I'll try. But what if the animals need some attention?"

"Oh-ho, don't worry, they will be just fine. Isn't that right all my critter friends?" All the animals replied yes to her. Saying they will be just fine. "Good. Well I might as well be off, and don't worry, I will let you know what the problem is when I get to the castle."

"Check."

Then a Fluttershy went off, and Luke was alone with the animals inside the cottage. For a moment, he was a little nervous around Harry, Linus the Lion, and Tyler the white tiger, but turns out, they all still liked him and had nothing to worry about.

"Hey, you guys want to see the sneezing panda video? It's really cute and funny!" All the critters chattered one another, and were rather curious about this sneezing panda video that is very popular on Luke's home world.

They all there'd around Luke, and watched the video. Of course after the first few seconds, they wondered if anything will ever happen, and then when the baby panda sneezed and scared his mother, they were all laughing their heads.

Even Angel bunny was having a gut attack from all the laughter. At the time, they all watched it over and over again until they got bored with it, but still, they thought it was really hilarious.

After that, they watched many other animals doing goofy things like a dog on helium, or a pig playing a guitar, so on and so forth.





At the train station, Fluttershy, and her best friends were ready to depart to their destination. "So what is this problem?"

"It is in Griffonstone, but... I don't know if it's right." She gulped. Rainbow held he close to her.

"Don't worry, Flutters." She said. "It's better bow, and Gilda has changed. Trust me, it is a better place." She winked at her. True to her words, if Rainbow Dash has been to the griffon capital, then Fluttershy believes her.

"Yeah, Sugarcube." Said Applejack. "I'm retry sure we will be mighty fine."

"I know. You're right."

Then the conductor came out and shouted "All Aboard!" Then all six entered the train "have a good time, Fluttershy,"

"I'll try."

"Bye Luke." The other five said. Then the train was off to Griffonstone. Luke was alone, but Fluttershy will he back soon, and so will her best friends.

He thought of what she said before about hanging with Spike to pass the time. Maybe he can show him all those funny animal videos like he had shown the animals back at the cottage.

He went to Twilight's castle, and knocked at the double, gigantic doors, with the sound of rumbling with every small pounding

It took a little while, but they both opened and it revealed to be Spike, as he would expect it to be "oh hey, Luke. How's it going?"

"Bonjour, Spike. I am magnifique."

"That'a good. So y know at Fluttershy, Twilight, and their friends are on their way to Griffnstone, and I was wondering if I could spend some time with you, if you don't mind of course."

"Oh sure! Come on in. Me, Big Mac, and Discord were going to play on our guys day out,"

"Guys day out huh? Like what?"

"Well, playing a real board game called Dungeons and Drancequus."

The human stepped inside and the doors closed. "So when will they be here?"

"In a little while. I was about to go ask them if they would want to play our game. At first, it was just a regular board game, but thanks to Discord, it looks real!"

Luke was even more impressed "ooh, c'etait fantastique." He remarked. "So can I join in on the fun?"

"Of course, we can always have an extra player to join us."

"Parfait! Thank you so much."

"De rien. (You're welcome.)" he replied. They both walked down the hallway and Spike was sorting a few rugs out of place, and getting some stains off. "Ugh, wouldn't want that to be there." He muttered, and sprayed them with a spritzer bottle. "There, good as new."

Luke then noticed a club-like weapon and felt like fooling around with it. "So, what can I be in the game?"

"You can be whatever you want?"

"Awesome! That is just great!" There was a loud "Clang!" And Luke jumped with fright. He wondered what it was, then he noticed Spike laughing foolishly, and had stars around his head

"Ooh? Can I have some more gems?" Spike laughed before collapsing on the floor with a thud. Luke could not be,I'd've what just happened. He realized that he accidentally conked Spike with the club while he wasn't paying attention.

The human immediately dropped the object and knelt down to Spike's level. He moved his ear close to his chests and sighed on relief that he was still alive, but knocked out.

"Spike, can you hear me? Please wake up." Luke begged.

Then Spike's eyes opened and and began to garble some gibberish. Luke couldn't really understand what he was saying, and expected him to get right back up into the swing on things. However when he did get up, he was just crawling and not walking or running.

To make thins more unusual, Spike put his thumb in his mouth sucking it.

Luke was starting to understand what was happening and what was wrong with him "oh perfect." He thought to himself. "I think I made Spike into a real baby dragon, but what is it called exactly? And.... Is it permanent?" Then he was pacing to and fro while Spike was watching on, giggling like an infant. "If Twilight finds out, she will kill me, and bury me alive. Oh what the hell am I going to do?"

He was thinking of any idea and made a decision. He remembered seeing Nurse Redheart on one of the first days he was here, maybe she knows a doctor that would know a solution to the problem. He was determined and picked up Spike to show them.

"Come on, buddy. Up you get." He sighed "god, I hope this isn't permanent. Then he imagined the horrors of changing a baby Dragon's diaper. Oh the horror of it. "Oh fuck no." He muttered. "We're definitely taking you to see a doctor." The he went out the door to see Nurse Redheart at the hospital.
> How to Not Take Care of a Baby Dragon (Edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke was finally there at the hospital. On the way, of course, many ponies were staring at why Luke was carrying Spike like an infant. Luke had to explain to them why it was the case so they wouldn't think he is a complete weirdo. Turns out the ponies he explained to understood what was happening, and hope Spike would feel better soon.

Luke took a breath and went inside the building. Turns out, the waiting room was already almost packed with ponies that are sick or not in the right mind, like the situation that Spike was having right now. He found a good spot to sit at, and relaxed with Spike being placed on the ground. 

He was not having the best day in Equestria, and wished this was all just weird nightmare of some kind, but h e knew it was not a dream, it was for real. He watched as Spike kept making baby noises and garbling baby talk, including spitting noises.

One stallion was getting weirded out by this, and asked Luke "is this baby dragon yours?"

"Nope, never seen him before in my life." Luke replied.

The stallion gave him a skeptical look in his eyes

"Okay, it's Spike. I accidentally hit him in the head hard, and.... you see what happened with him, but I want to know if this can be cured."

"Ah."

It was just then Lyra was coming out through a hallway behind the wall. She noticed Luke and smiled "ah, hi Luke." She said

The human looked up and was more than happy to see her. "Oh, bonjour, Lyra. Not that i'm not happy to see you of course, but are yo sick too?"

"Not me, no. But Bon Bon is." She replied. "So how are you doing and...." Then she noticed the baby dragon crawling on the floor sucking a binky. "What's wrong with Spike? Is he feeling alright?"

"I- it's a long story, Lyra. I.... accidentally hit him in the head and now he thinks he's a baby." And mildly groaned. "But I didn't mean to do it, I promise."

"It's okay, accidents happen." Lyra remarked with a smiled. Then she looked at the baby dragon again.

Luke cleared his throat and checked his phone as he asked the green unicorn "So, what'a wrong with Bon Bon?"

"She uh- got a little bit of poison joke trouble." Lyra chuckled nervously. "She's getting a medical exam to see of there is any cure or how to treat it."

"Poison joke?"

"Yeah, it's like poison oak, but it's more.... funny and comical."

"Oh, hence the name joke."

"Exactly."

"So, since you are here, do you know what Spike has?"

"I... do not. Sorry."

"Ah, it's okay. I expected that. But, Twilight might not be okay, she will kill me of she finds out about this. What should I do?"

Lyra wrapped an arm around his shoulders "don't worry, if you say it's an accident then everything will be fine. Sometimes you have to face the consequences of your actions."

Luke sighed. "I know. Maybe you're right. In the meantime, do you think you and Bon Bon can help me with the problem later if needed?"

"Well we're not ones to change diapers and such." Lyra replied "especially baby dragon diapers."

"Ugh, can't blame you, but someone has to do it."

"Hmm, if you need me or Bon Bon, please look for us, and we'll see what we can do."

"Perfect."

"Lyra." Said Bon Bon, coming from the hallways as her best friend came from. Her nose looked like Squidward's nose from SpongeBob, and her lips were large like she was about to some someone.

The human snickered and laughed at her condition. "Hello, Bon Bon." He said. 

"Oh! Hello, Luke." Said Bon Bon in a funny voice that sounded like a lisp. She became a little irritated from Luke laughing at her condition. "Okay, I know, go on and laugh."

"I'm sorry, where are my manners?" He wiped a tear from his eye. "It just.... caught me by surprise, Hahahaha." He laughed again. "Anyway, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I just need to sooth my face at the spa."

"Okay."

Then Bon Bon noticed Spike "is Spike feeling okay?"

"I accidentally bonked him on the head really hard, and now he thinks he's an infant."

"Oh."

"But I didn't mean to, I promise."

"I understand."

"Well, come on, Bon Bon, let's go to the spa to treat your beautiful face with." Lyra suggested.

Bon Bon sneezed "sure."

"Oh and can you guys help me with Spike if needed?"

"Sure, just let us know what the doctor said."

"Gotcha, and Bon Bon, the circus called, they need their clown back right away! HAHAHAHA!" Luke joked before slapping his knee.

Bon Bon mildly groaned again "haha, very funny. Come on, Lyra."

Her best friend then started to snicker. Bon Bon glared at her with irritation. "I'm not laughing I promise, and you know Luke was only kidding, right?"

Bon Bon chuckled. "Yes, I know."

So Luke was alone, and went to the front desk with Spike in his arms again. "Excuse me," Luke said "But is Nurse Redheart available by any chance? and is there a good doctor that can help fix my friend here? he thinks he's a baby."

"Really? how did this happen?" she asked in a nasal voice

"He... accidentally bumped his head after tripping down the stairs." he lied.

"Hmm, well, You happen to be in luck, you are the first one to ask for her today."

Luke smiled in relief.

"And we'll see if we can get doctor Caramel to see what is wrong with him."

"Perfect." the human waited back at his spot in the waiting room, and waited for the nice nurse he met the other day to have a look at Spike, along with this doctor Caramel that the lady at the desk spoke of.

Finally, he saw her a few minutes later while listening to Dokken. She saw him and smiled. "Ah, Luke, it's so wonderful to see you again." she said warmly

"Hello, Nurse Redheart. Nice to see you too." he walked up to her cradling Spike once more.

"Ah, hello Spike." she said to the baby dragon.

"aahh-la-la." he garbled in reply.

The nurse was confused by that unusual reaction "O-kay."

"Sorry about him. I accidentally bumped his head and now he thinks he is a baby."

"Oh, well that's not good."

"Indeed, now he thinks he's a REAL baby dragon. Do you think there is Doctor Caramel available, the lady at the desk said he could help."

"Oh yes, we most certainly can see if he can help, he is one of the best doctors here, you know?"

"Hmm."

"Well, come on, let us see what is wrong with him." said the kind nurse

"Thank you, Redheart, I knew I can count on you."

"You are quite welcome Luke, I was very glad to have met you the other day, you seem like a nice young human."

"Ah well." then he followed her to the patient room to inspect him.

***

Spike was in bed, babbling more baby talk. Doctor Caramel and Redheart were inspecting him to see what was wrong with the poor little guy. "Hmmm." Caramel inspected. "He looked at his head through an x-ray

Meanwhile, Luke was pacing to and fro nervously, scared to know what was wrong with him, or if it was permanent. If it was, he would be in big trouble. Will he be alright? will it only be temporary.

"So, what's the diagnosis, doctor?" the human asked him at last. He was ready to hear for the worst about the condition he has. "Is it permanent? or temporary?"

"Spike here," Caramel began "He has a head condition known by the medical term of Head-go-boom-boom-itis"

Luke had a very confused look on his face. "Head-go-boom-boom-itis?" he asked

"Hmm-mm. It's a head condition that if he gets knocked on the head, really hard, then he thinks he is a baby." Redheart clarified

"Oh sweet Jesus, Give me strength." Luke muttered clenching his fingers in between his eyes

"But don't worry. It's only temporary. He'll recover normally overtime."

"How long will he be like this?"

Doctor Caramel was thinking about the usual time it will go away, and replied "usually it takes about a number of days to recover from this condition."

"Number of days?!" Luke exclaimed. "nonononononono! I can't wait that long! if Twilight finds out about this, she will kill me!" then he sat on the chair groaning. The sound made Spike giggle.

"I'm sorry, Luke, but that is all we can do." said Redheart remorsefully."

"No no, it's my fault. I accidentally bonked him on the head, now I gotta pay the piper for it."

Nurse Redheart then sat down with him "Luke, sweetie, it's okay. Twilight won't kill you, she will understand. I have known her for quite some time, and she is one of the most understanding mares ever, she is the princess of Friendship after all."

"I know, you're right. I guess she will understand."

"There you go."

"Just take care of him as if he was your own baby boy, and he will be just fine." said Caramel."

"I'll try."





A little later on, Luke was pacing to and fro in Spike's room, while he himself was clapping his hands happily while babbling baby talk once more. 

Then he suddenly remembered that Big Mac and Discord were coming over for their guy's day out. Maybe they can help him with this problem. "Alright, Luke, you can do this, now how do you properly take care of a dragon?"

Then he heard Spike crying really loudly, probably wanting something

"What is it Spike?" then he heard his stomach growling loudly. "Ah, you're just hungry. Here let me look for some gems. Just hang tough." then Luke went into the kitchen to look for any gems that might be in store. Finally, he found a bag of them, and this will really keep Spike happy. "This should do the trick." he went back to Spike, still crying, but he stopped immediately and smiled again after seeing the yummy gems for him to eat.

"Yay!" he exclaimed. He began eating the gems like a baby would do. "Gemmy gems!" he shouted with glee. After he was finished, he burped so loud that the hallways echoed it.

Luke was rather impressed by this. "Not bad, even for a baby dragon who actually thinks he's a baby." he thought."

"Hello! Spike!" said a stallion's voice. 

"That must be Big Mac and Discord. Thank god they came." He turned his attention to the baby dragon and said to him "Just hang tight and drink your milk, I'll be right back."

Spike then began chewing on his foot for no apparent reason.

Luke was correct, Big Mac and Discord had both arrived to play with Spike. "Hey, guys."

"Ah, howdy Luke."

"How might you be doing, my boy?" Discord asked him

"We.... have a little bit of a problem with Spike." Luke said really nervously

"What's wrong with him?" asked Big Mac

"I accidentally conked him in the head, and now he think's he's an actual baby, as if I need to say dozens of times."

"Oh no. Is he alright?"

"he's fine, Big Mac. He'll recover normally overtime, that's what the doctor said about him. I'm worried of how Twilight will react to this."

"It was an accident, right?" asked Discord

"of course it was an accident, silly god of chaos. I would never do that on purpose."

"I was just asking."

"I know." Luke cleared his throat. "Do you guys think you can help me with him? at least until Twilight gets back home?"

"Sure, we might help, does it involve changing any diapers?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

Discord had a look of disgust "Count me out, I am not one to change any diapers of any creature."

"Come on." Luke begged. "It's the least a friend can do."

Discord gritted his teeth in irritation "We'll see. There guys our guy's day out."

Then they followed Luke to Spike's room, rocking back and forth on the bed, giggling happily. "Here he is."

"Oh, this is not good. I know Spike is a baby dragon, but this?" Big Mac said

"No kidding. Well, in the mean time, we just treat him like he's our child, and maybe get some more help if needed. Like from Lyra and Bon Bon if needed."

"That's fine." said Discord

Then their eyes went wide hearing a fart noise.



Then their was a horrendous smell in the air. "Oh for god sakes." Luke said with extreme disgust, covering his nose.

"That is the worst thing I have ever smelled!" Discord added.

"Well, I guess it's your turn to change him, Discord."

"Never in a million years am I cleaning baby dragon butt!" the master of chaos protested.

"Well, I'm not changing him." said Big Mac. "It stinks!"

Luke was the last one to protest by saying, "No, I can't change a diaper. I don't know that much about babies. Alright, I suppose I'll do it, but I'll need a clothes pin." This was definitely not a fun time for the three, changing a baby dragon's diaper like this. Luke was so disgusted, but he did not vomit, and put the old diaper in the trash, and put the new one on Spike. "There, next time, we'll ask Lyra and Bon Bon to help us."

"Agreed." said the other two.
> Accidents Will Happen (Seriously)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Things were not going so well for Luke, Big Mac, and Discord. Of course things were not going so terribly bad, but it wasn't going so goodly either. Taking care of a baby dragon who ACTUALLY thinks he is a baby is way harder than they would imagine. As of now, they were walking down Ponyville to Lyra's house where hopefully they can help them out with this problem.

As they were walking past the cafe, they noticed some ponies staring at them in confusion, wondering why Luke was carrying Spike like this and why he was wearing a diaper while sucking his thumb

The human sighed and addressed to them "Spike accidentally hit his head and has Head-go-boom-boom-itis. Get on with your meals." then the ponies eating went back to their food just like that pretending that nothing weird was happening at the moment. "That's better." he thought, then the three continued walking down the path.

"Are you sure Lyra and Bon Bon can help out with our problem?" said Big Mac

"Yes, what could two bestie mares know about taking care of an infant? or in Spike's case, a baby dragon who actually thinks he's a baby." Discord added "This sounds like a bad idea

"Well, women have maternal instincts like I said before, and Lyra and Bon Bon are girls. Women would probably know about this stuff better than guys who are not dads were."

"True." both the stallion and drancequus agreed in unison.

"And we don't have Fluttershy with us. She would know what to do since she knows how to take care of a baby like she knows how to care for animals as much."

Big Mac nodded his head in agreement "till then, we'll just have to do something else until she and the others get back."

"Right."

The house was just in front of them and then Spike needed to burp again. So Luid patted his back gently and felt something wet on the back of his shirt 

The human's eye twitched with disbelief and said "I blame myself!" Sounding like he was crying.

Discord snickered behind Luke's back and said "not to worry, I'll fix that." Then he snapped his finger and made the baby vomit disappear.

Luke was more than grateful by this action. "Thanks, Discord."

"De rien, Luke."

Then Luke gave Spike to Discord to hold on to while he knocked on the door three times. It took a little while and it was so still that all they could hear was the foot tapping on the human's shoes, and the heavy breathing of the red stallion.

Finally, the door opened and it revealed to by Lyra, just as expected. And through the house, there was Bon Bon with her lips were and nose were still out Gigsntic like a sad clown face, except they were not as big or swollen as before.

"Ah Luke, hello again." The green unicorn greeted warmly. Then she noticed Discord who was still carrying the baby dragon, and Big Mac

"Can we ask for your help, we can't do this on our own." Luke begged. "He may be way smaller than us, but he is quite a handful."

"Has his diaper been.... you know... filled before?"

"Oh ho yes." Said Big Mac. "You would not believe how many diapers we had to change on Spike. It's worse than changing Applejack and Applebloom when we were younger." He made a shiver "I don't want to talk about it."

Bon Bon went to the front door with her nose dangling down. Big Mac snickered and Discord just rolled on the floor laughing his ass off.

"Oh my gosh! Hahahaha!" The god of chaos cackled "Bon Bon, you look like an elephant mixed with an angler fish!" He continued laughing and laughing.

"Hahaha. Very funny, Discord." Bon Bon said irritatingly. "Go on! Laugh it up!"

"Oh I will! Hahaha!"

The laughing continued for quite some time. They were all becoming a little irritated by this "uhh, you done now?" Asked Lyra

"Ummm....... nope! Hahahaha! Okay, I am done."

"Good."

"So anywho, we need you're guys' help." Luke said again. "I don't want to change anymore diapers."

"Sure. Should we do it here our at the castle?" Bon Bon asked the human

"Well, I think it's better if we go to the castle. I mean, that's where his favorite food and toys are."

"That's fine." Lyra said. "But changing diapers is not that bad."

"Sure for regular babies, but Spike, I accidentally conked him on the head and made him think he was like this. He was more like a kid than a baby. And besides, have you seen his..... items before?"

Lyra and Bon Bon nodded their heads a no in reply with blank looks on their faces. "You're right." Said Bon Bon. "Spike should be able to take care of himself in this state if not for him thinking he was a toddler."

"Exactly! That's exactly what I mean." Luke pointed

"Wait a minute!" Bon Bon said with a thought. "Discord, you have the powers for a lot of things, right? Do you think you can make Spike normal again?"

"I'm afraid not, Lyra."  The drancequus sighed "Since I am a master of chaos, my powers are mostly used as destructive types of magic, oh and funny magical ones, too."

Lyra and Bon Bon then suddenly realized what he meant, for he was right, he mostly just has powers to bring destruction and chaos, not really for peace and harmony. Therefore they do all have to do this the old fashion way.

Besides, Twilight might figure this out if she finds a stinky filled diaper in a garbage or in her bathroom or kitchen.

Big Mac sighed and said "we were afraid of that. So come on, y'all. Let's get back to the matter at hoof." Then they all went back to the castle. Things might probably go a little smoother with Lyra and Bon Bon since they are both mares and have maternal instincts.

Of course, it might not go one hundred percent perfect, matter of fact, no plan is perfect.





Back in the castle, Luke, and his friends were relaxing for a little while on the couch while Bon Bon was the one holding Spike because every time he saw her face, he giggles and laughs.

As usual, she groaned in irritation "I'm always the fall mare." She muttered "how much longer do I have to do this?"

"You want to switch?" Luke asked "we'll switch places after a couple more minutes every now and he. So we can all take turns tending to him. That way, everyone will get their fair share of taking care of him.

"Alright, alright." Bon Bon said reluctantly.

So on and so forth, they would all switch places and give Spike to one after another. He suddenly began to cry again, and the foul stench was back.

They all knew what it meant and they all went worked together to change yet another diaper. This was much faster than before, probably Lyra and Bon Bon were there with them.

"Okay there, now all it needs is another diaper- ahh!" Big Mac was interrupted. All of a sudden Spike began squirting his urine on the air, slashing it against his friends in front of him, all screaming in disgust.

"Oh I hope this is water!" Lyra sobbed in disgust.

"Perfect, just perfect."said Big Mac "now I smell like asparagus, which I hate." He wiped pee off of himself like a dog, and said "I need a shower."

"So do I!"

"Us too!" Said the bestie mares in unison. Luke didn't have any urine on him, for he dodged out of the way thanks to his cat like reflexes. And it was a good thing his clothes weren't covered in pee, for it would not have been pretty, so he didn't need a shower.

"You guys do that, I'll take care of him, I guess." The human looked at the baby dragon "I haven't been touched by his.... fluids."

"Okay, and don't worry, we'll make it quick so we can help you some more." Said Bon Bon. "Right, Lyra?"

"Right."

Then they all went outside and Discord pooped up a bathtub with a shower head and curtain, then they formed a small line on who goes in first. Of course, since Discord conjured it, he was the one who got in first, and began singing Winter Wrap Up a few times.

He was probably singing to irritate the others just for fun.

For Luke, he relaxed on the couch listening to his iPod again. He would look around the room curiously, and wished their was a TV for him to watch on, but alas, it did not have a TV. Of course since Spike was not able to take care of himself in his current state, the human would look at him every once in a while.

The baby dragon then slowly crawled up to the human, babbling baby talk, and patted his hand on his leg like a dog or cat would do.

Luke reacted by gently patting his head of back, making him giggle playfully. "Oh I hope this ends soon. I'm probably going to be dead, anyway." He muttered. Then he felt Spike give him a small bite on his hand "Ow!" The human exclaimed, jumping up from the couch.

Spike had a look of guilt and regret on his face "uh oh." He said

"Uh oh is right." Luke said "no biting, Spike. No biting. Don't bite"

The dragon nodded his head a yes she n reply then the human saw back to listen to his music again.

"What happened?" Said Big Mac rushing in the living room with the others.

Luke sighed, and he said "it's.  thing Big Mac. Spike just bit me is all."

"Bit you?!" Lyra shouted "are you okay?"

"Yeah, Lyra I'm fine. It did hurt a little but I'm fine." He looked at the red marks from Spike's teeth, and said "I'm lucky his teeth didn't puncture Mel otherwise I would be in big trouble."

They all agreed with him "oh yes. It would have not been very pretty."

"Yeah, I would hate to see some blood on the floor." Bon Bon said. She and Lyra were feeling a little squeamish just thinking about it.

"That and I would have to get a tetanus shot. And I hate shots!" He had a look of horror in his eyes. By the sound of his heads and his eyeballs being bloodshot, he was truly afraid of them. Not as much as Goku and his little fear of needles, but still, Luke did not like them and wanted nothing to do with them (unless if it was a life-threatening matter.)

"Don't worry." said Bon Bon. "You don't have to get a shot."

The human sighed in relief, feeling more glad to hear that. "Good." Then he drank his root beer in a cup from Hay Burger. "So now what?"

"Well, I think Twilight will be getting home soon." Big Mac said "I guess we'll have to tell her and the others what happened.

He was not wrong, for the worst that Luke will face will meet him sooner than he thought. Unable to cover this from her, he sighed and decided to fully accept the consequences of yet to come.

However, he became less scared because of what his new friends told him that Twilight and the others will understand once he explained this little situation to them and why Spike is acting like an infant.

The Human took another sip from his drink before he went back to listening to his music, then he remarked "I reaped what I sow."

Lyra, Bon Bon, and the boys went to comfort him "everything will be okay, Luke." The green unicorn said, putting a shoulder on his left shoulder, and Bon Bon did the same thing on his right one

"Like we have said, just tell Them the truth."

"I know. Till then, let's jus deal with him."

They all agreed, and many of them looked around the castle, except for Luke, who is taking the liberty of taking care of Spike. The baby dragon slowly crawled his paws on the human's lap. He was giggling and it told Luke that he wanted to play

"Oh alright." Luke said with a smirk. Then he made silly funny faces to keep him happy and not bored. The last thing he would want to hear is Spike bawling again, especially in this state.

Spike giggled and clapped his hands in a happy gesture. 

The human kept this little game up for a little while until after fifteen minutes, he decided that he was done.

"Hey, Luke. We found some gems." Said Big Mac, walking with a small bag of apples on his side. Lyra, Bon Bon, and Discord were walking behind them. When Spike saw the gems leaking out from the pouch, he was reaching his little hands to grab them

"Ah, perfect."

Then they all took turns feeding him the jewels.

It was just then the large front doors opened. "Spike! We're home!" Twilight sang. It echoed through the room, and Luke felt his heart sank.

"Oh dear god. Here we go." He muttered with a gulp. Then it was just then Spike's diaper was filled again. He and his friends groaned in disgust. "I'll go talk to Twilight while you guys take care of him."

"Oh no, I am coming with you." Discord protested. "I am not cleaning anymore of Spike's items

Luke groaned mildly "fine."

Then they both went to the door while the other three began changing the diaper once again. There they were, Twilight, Fluttershy, and their friends smiling with a warm greeting.

"Ah Luke. How was it?" Twilight asked him

"And did you guys have fun?" Fluttershy added

Luke had a very nervous look on his face and had a drop of sweat coming down from his skin, close to his eye. The others began to notice this and looked concerned. Then Discord was sweating way more, no, raining a storm of sweat.

"Are you okay?" Asked Fluttershy

"Guys, please don't be mad at me, but..... but...."

"But what, Luke?" Asked Applejack

"I accidentally hit Spike on the head and made him think he's a baby!" Luke finally said

They all had their eyes bloodshot open in disbelief. "Whaaat?!" They all said.

Discord cleared his threat and said "I had nothing to do with this, FYI."

"Why would you conk his cute little head?" Asked Rarity 

"It was an accident." Luke explained "I never mean to hit his head. Please. You all gotta understand."

"Where is he?" Twilight asked him

"Big Mac, Lyra, and Bon Bon are taking care of him. Don't worry, he's fine.

"Wait, does he have head-go-boom-boom-itis?" Asked the purple alicorn

"You know of it?"

"Oh yes, on the book of sicknesses and diseases in Equestria."

Luke thought that since she is a bookworm, she would know something about this. 

"What's going on now?" Asked Rainbow Dash

"We're taking care of a.... filled diaper."

They all had a look of mild disgust. "Ooh, that'/ not good." Said Fluttershy

"No, it it is not, Fluttershy. But...  I am growing a little used to it now. So, Twilight, do you think you know a spell that can turn Spike back to the way he was?"

"Of course. Come with me." Then they all went to the library and they all found a book about a spell to turn Spike back to his normal mind.

"Ah, head healing juice. Turns your mind back to normal from any conditions in no time." Twilight read.

"Perfect!" It took a little while, but the juice was ready to be made.

Then they all went to baby Spike and the other three taking care of him. "Aww, he looks kind of cute on a diaper." Rarity said

"And ridiculous!" Rainbow laughed. Then Fluttershy hit the back of her head "Oww! Sorry."

Twilight out the juice with in a baby bottle and gave it to Spike. The baby dragon then took a little sip and then drank it all in a fast pace. Then his eyes went wide and his mouth went agape. Something magical was happening around his brain and instantly dropped the bottle without knowing.

"Huh, what? What happened?" Spike said

They all cheered that Spike was back to normal. "Thank goodness you're back, Spike." Said Pinkie Pie.

"What do you mean?" Then he noticed something "am I.... wearing a diaper?" The baby dragon asked.

"Yes! Yes you are." Pinkie replied

The baby dragon looked at his lower body and helped in horror. "Is it full?"

"No no no, don't worry, kiddo." Big Mac chuckled.

"Spike, I am so sorry I hit you in the head. It was an accident. Can you please forgive me?"

Spike smiled "of course. I forgive you, Luke."

The human smiled in gratitude "good. And guys, can you all forgive me too?"

"Of course we do." Said Fluttershy. "We know you wouldn't hurt him on purpose."

"You're our friend, Luke." Said ateilight

"Best friend." Rainbow added. She pulled him close to her in a side-hug "always."

"Thanks, guys." Then they all hugged him. "Well, I'm sorry that I ruined your little guys day out, Big Mac and Discord."

"Do not worry about it, boy." Discord winked at him. "There is always next time."

"Eeyup." They all had a good laugh with him.
> City of Great Heights
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two days later, Luke was helping out with Fluttershy's animal friends again as usual. he was just finishing up brushing a goat's line of fur, like a landrace or angora goat of some kind. The bovine bleated happily showing it's funny teeth as a sign of thanks to the human, really loving how he is stroking the brush up and down his long fur.

"Goodness, Luke. You are doing rather well."

"Thanks, Flutters." Luke replied. "Samson really likes this, isn't that right, boy?" The goat bleated a yes to him and nudge his face to the human's knee with affection like a cat or a dog would do. "Yeah, yeah, you're welcome." Luke said with a chuckle, then he petted his head and stroke his mighty, long horns three times

For Fluttershy, she w as feeding a couple of treats to Jango the Walrus. It was small fish bits she was feeding him, and after she was done, the hulking creature clapped his flippers and grunted in happiness. "Oh you are very welcome." She replied to the magnificent beast.

She put the treat bucket away near the outside shed, and went to grooming Angel as she would usually do. The little white rabbit was enjoying himself way more than he would usually do, even more than eating a pyramid of carrots, which would be every rabbits dream

Luke rolled his eyes away from them in slight irritation. "That bunny just doesn't understand that even a special rabbit like him has his limits." he said in his brain. He ignored how the spoiled bunny was getting his brushing and decided not to let that get to him, because he knew one day Angel will learn the hard way that he can't have everything his way.

Meantime, he was petting one of her Gloucester old spot pig friends, Gumball, oinking happily as the human was patting and stroking down his back. He even let the cute piggy sniff the palm of his hand with his large, wet snout.

"Luke, I want to ask you something." Fluttershy said, walking up to him with her adorable face looking up at his own,

"Sure, what is it?"

"I was thinking of showing you my former home, Cloudsdale. But if not, I understand."

"That would be awesome!" Luke said. Then he remembered something "but wait, I thought only Pegasus ponies could walk on clouds and no other types? I remember Rainbow Cash saying that,"

"Well, Twilight also said that there was a spell that can make any creature walk on clouds for a limited amount of time, like up to a few hours, or maybe a day."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. So sure, I would love to come. When?"

"Tomorrow."

"Ah, alright. I can take the wait."

"Good." Fluttersh smiled. "Oh it will be so much fun, I can show you some of the restaurants and arena and the Wonderbolt academy. You will love meeting the Wonderbolts."

"Do you know what they are like?"

"Oh yes, they are very nice like everypony else in Equestria. They are the most talented flyers in Equestria, after all."

"I heard that, Rainbow told me that she is in the academy. I wonde if they can handle her big ego within her confidence."

Fluttershy giggled "oh you are funny."

Luke flustered "well, I wouldn't say I am a comedian, my dad's more of a comedian, and one thing's for sure, I am not like Kevin Hart, or Billy Connolly."

"Who are they?"

"One of the most famous comedians in my world. But I really don't follow comedians and their humor, even though some of their stuff is funny. Oh, Pinkie Pie would love those kind of people if she gets a chance to meet them.... and so would Discord.

"Oh yes, Discord and Pinkie can be funny." Fluttershy agreed. 

"So is there anything else we need to do for the animals?" 

She looked around outside, and turned her attention back at him "nope, everyone is happy. All fed with food and groomed, and i thank you for getting it all done faster."

Luke flustered again. "So listen, Twilight told me that someone wanted to meet me. Some pony named... Starlight Glimmer. Or something like that." He rubbed the back of his head "ic ain't really remember clearly

Fluttershy' is eyes went wide hearing that name "oh wonderful, Starlight is a good friend of ours."

"What's she like?"

"Well, she used to be a..... villain, but she's changed, like Discord. Starlight is a very nice mare, and she can be really sweet once you get to know her. God luck."

"Okay, I'll be back in a little while." Luke remarked, then he was off with his long, shoulder-length hair bouncing up and down from every step he took. It made him look like a handsome lion with all that gorgeous, straight hair.

As he was walking, he was listening to a bit of Skinflint, an African metal band from Botswana. The band was like an African version of Iron Maiden, really heavy, awesome-sounding guitars and the mix of some African traditional mood to go with it.

Oh yes, he could never get enough of this band. Two things he loved at once combined into one, Africa and Rock music blended together.

After a few songs, he listened to a few Judas Priest songs next. He arrived at Ponyville, and everything was still as peaceful as the last time he was there. Looking around at the happy go lucky citizens, he saw Pip playing with his dog, Buzz down the street near the marketplace, and then Roseluck watering her flowers, which mostly consisted of roses in and around her stall to be ready for sale, hence the name Roseluck 

There it was, right in front of his view, Twilight's castle was shining under the glistening sun. He promptly continued down the path that lead to the town's newest landmark.

Before he went inside, he turned off his iPod touch and his headphones away in his pocket. Luke promptly cleared his throat and opened the large double doors. He looked inside ththe interior, and saw Twilight and Spike speaking with a unicorn mare that had a very pale purple color and had a darker purple, like a heliotrope color in her mane and tail with aquamarine streaks in them.

"Ah, Luke, hello." Said Twilight, noticing him, and the same for Spike and the other mare. "So glad you came."

"Wouldn't have missed it." The human remarked.

"Ooh, so he does talk." Said the other mare in amusement. Then she got a closer look at him to the point where it was invading his personal space, for instance, she would touch her hooves against his cheeks to get a better look of his face.

"Ow! Personal space." Luke said

"Oops, sorry. I'm just so curious." Said the mare."

"Ah, it's fine, wouldn't be the first time this happened to me." The human shrugged, wiping his face from the hoof stains.

"Luke, this is Starlight Glimmer, my pupil on friendship lessons. Starlight, this is Luke, the one I told you about."

"Ah hello."

"Hey."

"Starlight heard about you and thought she wanted to meet you."

"Yeah, I can get curious very easily." Starlight admitted. "So again nice to meet you. So what kind of world are you from?"

"It's a rather long and intriguing story,  it if you want to know, I'll tell you anyway."

"Yes please."

Luke smiled, always happy to see a new face in this world as he would always be. "Well okay, but first tell me a little about yourself first."

Then they all had a little walk down the hallway. "Well, I love magic and and friends of course. Ever since I was a little girl, magic was my life."

"Cool, and I hope you don't mind me saying, but Fluttershy told me you used to be evil, correct?"

"She wasn't evil."

"No, it's okay Spike." Starlight said, then she turned her eyes back to Luke. "Yeah, I used to be... not so good. You see, I used to go around villages, and make everypony.... equalized."

"Uhhh.... how?"

"By taking away their cutie marks with the Staff of Sameness, and replacing them with equal signs on their flanks." By the sound of her voice, Starlight felt guilt-stricken over it, even if that past was long behind her.

"Deju vu." Luke said with a thought.

"What do you mean?" asked Starlight curiously.

"It sounds kinda like Communism."

"Communism?" asked Twilight. "What's That?"

Luke felt a little unsure and uncomfortable about talking about it. "I don't know if you should know, it involves politics and it's one of the things many people in my world do NOT like to talk about."

"No, do tell me. I want to know anyway."

"So do I." Twilight added.

Looking more than curious by their faces, Luke decided to give in. "Okay." he cleared his throat and explained "Communism a type of system where all the rights go to the workers, meaning that there is no rich, no poor, and everyone gets their fair share equally. Sadly, it doesn't ever work in real life, only in fantasies."

"Well that sounds like a good idea at least." said Twilight

"But why can't it ever work in real life?" Starlight asked.

"Because of the people who take power in the name of it, what I've learned is that power corrupts people to do many unforgivable acts, and they can turn out to be tyrants once the power goes to them. The fame, the wealth, the awards, and all that. You get what I'm saying?"

"Oh yes." Twilight said. "I know exactly what you mean."

"So do I." Starlight added

"millions and millions of humans died while living under communist rule, hell, I don't know if i would call it communism, but more like dictatorship."

All three were surprised and shocked to hear that. "Millions?" Spike said

"That's horrible." Twilight remarked.

"Right, but enough of that. How did you change, Starlight?"

"Well, it was some time ago." she began. "I thought that cutie marks are a threat to friendship and nothing more, because of my old friend, Sunburst." She explained to him about her past with his former friend, how this Sunburst got his cutie mark, and how he had to leave Starlight for Canterlot, causing her to become alone and embittered.

Luke was rather surprised and sympathetic to hear this rather sad and tragic tale. "Well, I'm sorry to hear that, Starlight."

"It's okay." The unicorn said. "I reunited with him later on in the Crystal Empire where Flurry Hearts was born."

"Ah, that's good to hear." He took a sip of iced lemonade that Spike gave him. 

"So, Twilight convinced me that I was wrong and I made a grievous mistake by traveling through different times and years, and then the future if not for the Sonic Rainboom caused by Rainbow Dash."

"And what was that future like exactly?"

"Nothing but a desolate wasteland if not for the Rainboom." Spike said

Now Luke was really surprised. Maybe a dystopian society like George Orwell's 1984 or Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 would be one thing, but a desolate wasteland? That was another thing. "That's dramatic."

"Heh, I know, right?" Spike agreed.

So it was Luke's turn to give his side of the introduction between him and Starlight Glimmer. He told her about sown details about his world, and then some about himself and what he liked to do. This knowledge was truly fascinating Starlight Glimmer, she even took down a few notes on a line of scratchpad while using the magic of her horn to write with a pencil.

"And I hope you don't mind, but... I have autism."

"Oh no, I don't mind. That's amazing, I hear if that some ponies with autism have extraordinary talents."

They all talked with each other on and on, and they had really good conversations to each other, Luke would give her more details on his home world, such as Africa of course, his musical taste. And his love for all animals.

"You can sing and play guitar?" Said Starlight, even more impressed. "That's amazing! I'll have to hear you some time."

"Well, I'll let you know when I will make a performance." Luke chuckled.

"Luke can sing really amazingly, Starlight." Twilight said. "You should really hear him when you get the chance."

"Yeah, he knows how to rock!" Spike added. "We heard him once, and he was awesome."

"Guilty as charged." Luke boasted. Luke even went on to tell Stsrlight about some of the bands he liked and what type of bands from his world. This conversation getting better and better since Luke and Starlight were telling each other's differences. "Oh Twilight, I almost forgot something!" He remembered something

"What's that?"

"I'm going up to see Cloudsdale with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash tomorrow. Do you think you can create a spell for me so I can walk on clouds without falling?"

"Of course." Said the purple alicorn boldly. "I do know a spell that can help with that." She readied her horn. "Now it won't hurt, I promise, just hold still."

"Sure."

She concentrated and she conjured a spell from her horn and an aura swirled around the human. It caused Luke to slightly levitate above the floor, and then the aura flew around him faster than ever, and then a blinding flash of light erupted.

After the light was gone, Luke was back on the floor, but he looked the same. "Huh, nothing happened."

"No it work. I made you able to walk on clouds without requiring any wings to fly."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive."





The next day, Luke, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash were in town on this fine morning, and they all saw a hot air balloon for all of them to ride in to go to Cloudsdale, the Pegasus pony capital of all Equestria.

If one of the ponies could carry Luke up to the city in the sky, they would, but hence, he was too big for them to carry, and he might break their backs.

Rainbow Dash was more than happy to gov some bits to the mare who owned the adorable hot air balloon sonthy can ride it. As they both got it, Fluttershy noticed Luke being a little nervous about going up like this. "Are you alright, Luke?"

"Oh yeah, I- I'm just a little nervous to ride a hot-air balloon. I mean, I have been in the sky before,  it only in an airplane."

"Ah don't worry, buddy," Rainbow shrugged. "It will be fun. Oh you will love Cloudsdale, it's so awesome and be shining under the sun. Oh! Just wait till ya see the Wonderbolts."

"Right." Then the hot-air balloon was off. As they were taking off, Luke looked down as the ponies down below him were looking more and more like puny insects in a garden. He was becoming a little dizzy and his eyes were slightly rolling.

The yellow Pegasus noticed this and giggled "it's oaky, Luke. I was exactly like you when I was in a hot air balloon for when I first moved to Ponyville"

"I.... just need to get used to it."

"Maybe not looking down will help. You know that old sayin, don't look down?"

"Of course." Then the human turned away and looked at the balloon interior.

"So, I heard you met Starlight Glimmer. How was it?"

"Starlight was really nice, we talked about some things like how she went with enslaving villages and such and how she became a good guy in the end."

The cyan Pegasus chuckled "right, I figured. I remember the time me and my friends took on Starlight Glimemr like it was just yesterday. I'll never forget that awesome time! Except the part where our cutie marks were taken away of course."

"Oh, I hope I never have to lose my cutie mark ever again." Fluttershy remarked. "How shameful it will be without my cutie mark."

"There there, Fluttershy. Let go of the past."

"You're right."

It was a little silent and still, hearing the wind rushing by them in the basket. "So, I wonder, what will all the inhabitants think of me?" Luke asked the two Pegasi curiously

"Don't worry, they will all like you, so will the Wonderbolts. Ponies in Cloudsdale are just as the same as Ponies in Ponyville, except they are all Pegasus ponies." Rainbow clarified. "Trust me, you'll be just fine."

"I know."

"Just wait until we get there."

"I should have more confidence, but what if they think I am a genetic experiment or an evil creature from hell going on a rampage?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Where would you get such a silly idea like that?"

"I don't know. I kinda have a weird imagination on many things. Don't judge me."

"No no, it's okay, I never really like to judge." Said Fluttershy. "Oh! And did Twilight cast the spell on you to stay on clouds?"

"Yep, she gave it to me when I visited her yesterday. Speaking of which, why isn't she coming along?"

"Well, you know her being the princess of a Friendship." Said Rainbow Dash. "She just loves to study, study, study."

"Perfectly understandable." Luke agreed. "She has more books in her library than anyone could bargain for. It might even be a world record for the largest library in the world."

"I don't know about that." Said Fluttershy. "You should see the library in Celestia's castle in Canterlot, or the Crystal library in the Crystal Empire."

"Hmmm."

"Ooh! We're here." Said Rainbow. The human stood upright on his legs and looked at the clouded city. He was absolutely stunned by the appearance and how beautiful it looked. Almost everything in Cloudsdale was entirely made of clouds themselves.

Many different Pegasus ponies were passing by down the streets and doing many things like window shopping, eating at a cafe, flying around the place instead of just walking, and other things. The human was so glad to come along with them on the trip.

Both of Pegasus friends promptly set food on the clouded area, and for Luke, well, he was feeling a little nervous. "Come on, Luke. It's okay. Twilight did cast the spell on you." Fluttershy gently urged him.

The human gulped and slowly motioned his foot on the clouds and it turns out, his foot didn't fall. Feeling more confident he slowly rested his feet on the cloud and smiled in triumph. "Success!" He exclaimed on victory.

"Awesome!"

"So, what would you like to do first?"

"Well, I would like some breakfast." The human's stomach growled.

"Sure, and then we can go see the Wonderbolts?"

"I think we should let him chose, Rainbow." Fluttershy suggested

"Sure, that would be nice." Luke agreed.

They all saw a cafe where Luke can get a decent breakfast and keep the beast in his stomach contained. Some of the other ponies noticed Luke, but they weren't really afraid of him, just curious. Obviously, they would only be afraid of him if he was on a rampage, which he would never do of course.

The waiter came out and went up to the table the trio were sitting in. "What can I get you for today..... sir?" He asked the human.

"Do you have any croissants I can eat?" He cleared his throat. "S'il vois plaît?"

"Of course, sir. A small batch of croissants a la mode,"

"Merci, Monsieur." Luke remarked,

"De rien." Then the waiter got went to fetch the croissants.

"You're really good at this... French stuff, Luke." Said Rainbow

Fluttershy agreed by saying "yes, and you say it so perfectly."

"Thank you."

Then the croissants were served at the table with a touch of butter to put it on each of them. The human promptly began eating the French pastries and was really enjoying himself. ,Albert he will love Cloudsdale after all.
> Wonderbolts
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke had a very decent meal from the cafe. He patted his belly, happy to see that his own belly was happy too, now that that was taken care of, he can look at the rest of Cloudsdale. "Boy i'm stuffed." he said

"Glad you enjoyed the cafe." said Rainbow Dash. "That Zesty Cucumber and mayonnaise sandwich was so good!" she licked her lips.

The young human made a look of disgust. "I for one, do not like mayo at all. It's so disgusting and looks like pus. This is just my opinion, but I would call mayonnaise the Devil's condiment. Then he began to feel a little queasy from the feeling and taste of mayo.

"Oh come on." Fluttershy said. "It cannot be that bad. I find it a little delicious. And I really don't see it associated with Tartarus."

"Like I said, this is just my opinion. We all have our opinions about many things, right?"

Rainbow nodded in agreement. "You're so right." she said. "I love flying and performing tricks in front of others while Fluttershy doesn't so much. You like rock and metal, but Rarity is not so fond of it. She would say it's not her cup of tea."

He chuckled. "That is a very fair point, but from my point of view, she doesn't hate it, but she tolerates it. Take my little concerts for example. When I was singing and playing guitar for you guys, she liked it. I didn't see her heckle me, or throw tomatoes or rocks at me, didn't she."

"Of course not." said Fluttershy. "Rarity loved it. As a matter of fact, she told me she would love to hear you perform rock n roll again, and would like to know when you might do it once more. We all would like to see you perform again sometime." Luke was really flattered to hear that.

The young man smirked and said "We'll see maybe a few days from now. Because right now, I think I should perform sooner than I think it will happen." He looked to and fro at the surroundings within the clouded city again, and he smiled to see a bunch of pegasus foals flying around, playing air-tag

Ah, the young children playing and having fun without a single care in the world, it reminded Luke of himself when he was a child. He kinda wished he can go back an time to know what it was like to be a kid, but alas, he knows he cannot change the past, and it wasn't like Equestria had a time machine or another that would turn him back into a kid, but he decided not to let it go to his head

"So how far is this Wonderbolt academy from here?"

"Not far. Oh you will love it! It's so cool and only  He best flyers in Equestria can be qualified to be at this place, and I'm one of them."

He smirked again. "I can imagine why. So I might have asked you this before, but what's Spirtfire, Soarin, and that other mare like again?"

"Fleetfoot?" Fluttershy asked

"Yeah! That's her name."

"Don't worry, they will all like you like everypony else here in Equestria." The yellow Pegasus reassured. "And you will like them, too."

"Yeah, what am I worried about, anyway?" Luke chuckled. "Well, I hope they will have time to meet me, because I don't want to intu de with any lessons they might get to recruits or other Wonderbolt troops."

"Of course they will have time for you, i, the awesomest flyer in all of Equestria will be with you after all."

The human rolled his eyes. It was a rather long walk, but it wasn't like going from one city to another, otherwise, Luke's legs would have give in and he would pass out from walking long distances. After many yards, Fluttershy said "well, here we are."

Luke was absolutely amazed by the design of the Wonderbolt academy, the place where all Pegasus ponies with ten best flying abilities go to train to make their dreams come true. He had glimpses of many Pegasus ponies flowing around the place with astonishing speed. "Oh my god. This is amazing."

"What'd I tell ya?" Said Rainbow. "Pretty awesome, right?"

"Very."

"Now, you might want to climb on me." Fluttershy noted. Luke nodded and got up on Fluttershy's back. "Okay."

Luke then said "I hope I don't push a lot of weight on you."

"No worries, I will be just fine."

"Okay."

Then Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew to the piece of land that was part of the academy. As Luke was about to cross the runway, he was suddenly stopped by Rainbow Dash. "Whoa there, Luke. In the academy, we have a simple rule; always look both ways before crossing the runway."

"And why is that?" Then he heard the sound of Pegasus moving fast, hovering over the runways like a bunch of airplanes."

"That's why." Fluttershy pointed.

Luke was a little nervous, sure it's not really for cars, but a Pegasus pony bumping him to the ground would hurt almost as much. "Thanks for the tip." Then all three looked both sides of the runway, and it was clear, and they crossed it.

Two double doors marked as the entrance of this beautiful and glorious place in this world. "Allow me." Then Rainbow Dash pushed open the doors, and Luke was really impressed with the interior of this academy. 

"Quite a sight." Luke remarked, looking at the ceiling. "I don't know why, but it kind of reminds me of a cathedral, at least the inside does."

"Ah, Rainbow Dash." Said a female voice. They looked and saw three Wonderbolt ponies coming down the stairs. Two were female and one was male. Their leader has a cool looking orange mane and tail, with a golden coat. The maretp the right of her had a light arctic blue coat with a light green mane and tail. Finally, the stallion had a very dark blue mane and tail, and a pale blue color. Unusually. He had bags under eyes, like he is a hard working stallion.

"Hello Spitfire -I mean ma'am!" Said Rainbow Dash, trying to respect her superior with the salut gesture.

The leader made a cute laugh. "It's alright, Rainbow Dash. You don't have to be so formal when you're not in training." She noticed the yellow Pegasus, and smiled at her. "Hi, Fluttershy. Still working on your flying?"

"More or less." She modestly replied. All of them, minus Luke laughed.

Then they looked at the human. "And who might you be, stranger? I've never seen somepony like you before." Spitfire addressed to alike curiously

"Yeah, it's as if you came from a different world." Said Fleetfoot. The ironic thing was she didn't think she would be right on that one,

"Actually I am from another world. I'm a human," Luke addressed flatly to them.

All three were intrigued by this. "And I thought I was kidding." Said Fleetfoot. "But I guess not. Heh."

"A human, huh?" Said the stallion. "I never seen a human before. Do you have a name, stranger?"

"Hmm-mm. Luke, Luke Smith." He replied. "I come from a planet called earth like this planet is named, but just in a different universe."

"Nice to meet ya, Luke." Said the leader. "I'm Spitfire, Captain of the Wonderbolts."

"Fleetfoot, best friend of Spirfire."

"And I'm Soarin, second in command for the Wonderbolts "

"Nice to meet you all." He cleared his throat. "Listen, I hope we are not intruding on any training or teaching for any Wonderbolts of recruits."

Spitfire chuckled "don't worry, we're just taking a break, anyway."

"Oh good."

"You got nice hair, Luke." Said Fleetfoot.

The human was honored and flattered to hear his hair being complimented. "Merci." He waved it around a few times. "It makes me look like a handsome lion."

They all agreed with him. "Oh yeah, a really cool lion, the shirt your wearing makes it all the more badass."

"Oh stop it." Luke muttered with a small smile.

"Why don't we have a talk." Spitfire said

"Sure, at least a place where I won't have to walk so much." He rubbed his calves, feeling a little sore from the walking. 

All three laughed again, "don't worry, we can hang at my office." Spitfire suggested.

"C'est magnifique." The human cheered. They all went upstairs to the leader's office.

Meantime, Spitfire asked "so how long have you been here, Luke?"

"Quite a while now. Maybe weeks, I kinda lost track." The human rubbed the back of his head, laughing nervously. "I came here after making a wish from a shooting star."

Soarin said "A shooting star, huh? That's really cool. And what kind of wish was it?"

"For a place where there is always happiness and any real adventures. My world is... kind of boring."

The three flyers didn't really understood what he meant. "How?" Said Fleetfoot.

"There was no magic or anything exciting like that in my world. No monsters, no wizards, or magical kingdoms. Just boring."

Fleetfoot remarked "who could possibly live on a world like that? It sidles sound really boring!"

"Tell me about it." Rainbow agreed.

"Would you like to tell them of your talents?" Fluttershy suggested.

"Of course. I like to sing and play guitar. I'm a really good singer, you know."

Becoming more and more curious, Spitfire said "that's cool. What kind of music do you like?"

"Almost all music, except for today's pop, many hip-hop, and dubstep. The rest i do like. My favorite type of music would have to be rock and metal."

"Oh yeah!" Said Soarin. "We love rock too!" 

"I can see that. You guys got the looks to be rockers or metal heads like myself. The hair, the looks, the uniforms that say you rock, everything."

"Totally. Rock music is awesome. Rock n roll forever!" Fleetfoot said triumphantly. Then they all arrived at the office, and all stepped inside to take a seat so Luke can relax his legs. Yeh human lounged on a chair and relaxed himself.

"So, how do you like Cloudsdale, Luke?"

"I love it, Spitfire. I always wondered what heaven would look like and now I think I just found the perfect definition for it." They all laughed once more.

"Hey wait, how can you walk on clouds if you're not a Pegasus pony?" Asked Soarin curiously

"Twilight put that same spell on him to help him not fall." Said Rainbow Dash. "Leave it to Twilight to make anything happen with magic."

All three of the Wonderbolt leaders laughed "right, no pony does magic better than the princess of Friendship herself"

Soarin cleared his throat, and asked him flatly "So where are you staying in Equestria? And do you know how to get back to your home?" 

Luke slightly frowned to hear the last part of what Soarin said. "I'm staying at Fluttershy's place in Ponyville. It has animals and I love animals."

"He is wonderful with my critter friends, they all love him." Fluttershy noted.

"And.... I don't know how I will get back, I mean, I love Equestria, and I think it is so fun, but I got a family back home."

"We understand." Said Spitfire. "Some cases, family must come first before anything. Just look at me and my mom, Stormy Flare, if she was sick and desperately needed my help, I would do whatever it takes to help her before the team.

Luke smiled to hear that. He liked the type of person, or in this case, a pony that would put his or her family before all others. "Good."

"I don't know, if I would want to. I only perform when I feel like it, and I would prefer to do it in front of a more larger crowd to get more recognition."

"Oh, you're quite confident, aren't ya?" Said Fleetfoot.

"Yep, it's all a walk in the park when it comes to performing in front of many humans or ponies. I hardly get any stage fright whatsoever."

"He's right. You should see and hear him when he plays guitar and sings. He is so awesome at it, it will make your jaws drop to the ground,"

"hmm, call every pony on the academy in, we're gonna put on a little stage for Luke to be on." Said Spitfire with an idea.

Luke's eyes went wide "really? You'd put on a concert for me? Even though we just met each other."

"Anypony or human that is a friend of Raingow Dash, or her friends, is a friend of mine." She winked

"And mine." Said Fleetfoot

"Me too." Soaring added.

The human could not be more grateful to hear this. A show for him to perform in front of his old and new friends and the other Pegasus ponies? What more could a human like him want?

"In the meantime, why don't you stick around while we set up at the auditorium for you?" Spitfire suggested.

"Awesome."

"We probably have so much to talk about." Fleetfoot said. 

"I think we do." Luke agreed.

Spitfire got off her chair and said "I'll be right back, I need to go spread the word about Luke, and his show." Then she went out the door as Luke stretched himself.

"So, what else is there in your world?" Asked Soarin

"Well, I might as well tell you some things." He cleared his threat and went on about some amusing things about his definition of Earth and not to mention Africa. Soon, Luke will probably be a sensation in Cloudsdale once this little concert was set up
> Wonderbolt Academy Concert
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke was listening to some White Lion on his iPod. He couldn't believe he would have a little concert in the air as high as a mountain, or maybe just a little smaller than a mountain, probably like the size of a large building to say the least. This could possibly be something that White Lion, Guns N' Roses, Metallica, Dokken, or other rock bands from his home world could never pull off before in their lives.

Maybe it would be possible to do this kind of stuff on a blimp or a zeppelin if needed, but this was in the heavens in the sky, and Luke imagined some deceased rock icons that would watch him from their; Lemmy Kilmister, Dimebag Darrell, Randy Rhoads, Jimi Hendrix, and other legendary rock-stars who were all dead, watching him as a newest rock god. He even imagined himself being a king on top of Mt. Kilimanjaro or Olympus with a viking helmet and a golden electric guitar with thunder roaring within clouds in the sky.

Of course, while he was listening to his music, he gave a little hoof, or in Equestria's case, a hand in setting up the stage, and the microphone and all of that so he can perform for the Wonderbolts on the academy grounds. Honestly, Luke wished that more and more ponies would come as an audience, but he did not lose hope in that, because the human knew he would get more recognition in his musical talents someday. Maybe not the guitar god idea because it looked a little unrealistic, well, at least a guy like him can always dream.

The Wonderbolts already liked Luke a great deal, and Luke the same with them. He always had a feeling that these pegasus flyers like rock and metal music like he did, mostly because the type of manes they had were a dead giveaway, and that they were energetic type of ponies.

So far, everything was looking great, and the stage looked very well done in the auditorium. Many Wonderbolts warmly greeted Luke whenever they passed by him, and some would shoot the breeze with him as well.

"I'm so glad I came to this city in the sky." He thought. "This is gonna be so epic!" He tried reaching a green colored strobe light out of his reach but as the name implies of that, Luke could not reach it. He kicked the stage in frustration. "Just perfect." he muttered.

"Here, let me do something about that." Said Fleetfoot. The light blue pegasus "So how do ya feel about this, Luke?"

"A little nervous." Luke admitted. "I know this sounds idiotic, but i'm a little worried that your other friends here will think I am a monster of some kind. Like a hairless gorilla ready to go on a rampage any given moment" He thought of King Kong when the gigantic fictional ape went on a rampage in New York City.

Fleetfoot made a cute chuckle. "Don't be ridiculous, Luke. You'll do awesome! I know it!"

The human smiled at her words. They were giving Luke a boost of confidence. "Yeah, who am I kidding? I just hope I don't fall through the stage, the spell could wear off soon."

"Oh don't worry." Fluttershy said softly. "Twilight did say that the spell will wear off in a few hours, and we only been here for almost one hour, so you got plenty of time, Luke."

"Okay, perfect."

Then Spitfire and Soarin came up to him. "Feeling good, buddy?"

"Yep, ready to perform."

"What song are you going to perform for us?" Soarin asked him. "Something rocking and with a solo?"

Luke nodded his head while using the devil horn gesture on his fingers. "You know it. I don't know what song i'm going to sing exactly, I need to think." He looked at the cyan pegasus who was setting up lights on the balcony. "Hey Rainbow! Did you ready my guitar yet?"

She looked at him "i'm just about to get it for you! Just let me finish this light!"

"Thank you!"

Luke imagined how many pegasus ponies will attend this little concert starring himself. He didn't want it to be awkward because he is the only human in Cloudsdale, but he remembered what his dad taught him, which he said "Never be afraid to do what yoy want, believe in yourself."

"Oh won't this be ever so fun?" Said Fluttershy. "All of the Wonderbolts coming to see you. I can hardly wait!" She was hovering and flapping her wings in excitement. Fluttershy wasn't so spazzy like Pinkie Pie would be, but she was feeling great about this. No, Pinkie would be a little too excited if she was in Fluttershy's position

"So who else is going to attend?" Luke asked Spitfire.

"Well, pretty much all of the Wonderbolts, and the recruits we have. They will all love it."

"Perfect, and I hope this won't get in the way of your training you're giving them."

'Nah, of course not." Soarin replied. "This would never get in the way of anything."

Fleetfoot got back on the floor and added "besides, if it was getting in the way of training, we, or at least Spitfire would know."

"Oh yeah, Spitfire takes work and training seriously." Soarin remarked. "So if you were in Rainbow Crash's position, you gotta respect her."

"Rainbow Crash?"

'Yes." Rainbow said annoyingly. "That's my nickname here at the academy."

Luke kind of chuckled to his hand, and thought it was a little funny. "Why would they call you that?"

"It's a reaaaallly long story." Fluttershy said.

"Nox it's cool, Shy." Then she turned attention back to the human. "Because I kinda.... got off on the wrong hoof here, and it got the best of me." She had an embarrassed looking smile and pawed her hoof on the stage floor.

"And she's not the only one with a name like that, we all have nicknames too."

"Well, I hope you don't mibd, but what is your nickname?"

Spitfire had a little unsure look on her face and pushed her lips back "come here, i'll tell you." The human got his ear close to her mouth, and she whispered something so horrible that it made him gasp and have a look of disgust on his face

"Oh! Oh hell no!" He exclaimed. "Oh my god! Why would they give you such a god horrible name?"

"I don't know." She replied. "But I think the name suits me, don't you think."

Luke was a little still. He didn't know if he should answer her, Luke might worry that he would hurt her feelings, and he said "do I have to be honest?"

All of them laughed at his honest response.

"Ha, you're funny." Said Soarin. "You are a real card,"

"I'm not much of a comedian and such, my dad is." Luke modestly flustered. "He is more of the joker than I am."

"I bet he is," said Rainbow Dash with a chuckle. Just then a light fell on her head, mocking her to the ground with a funny face. She got back up and exclaimed "oww!" She looked up and one of the technical Pegasus stallions had a nervous smile

"Sorry! It slipped out of my hooves."

"Just be careful!"

"You okay, Crash?" Asked Fleetfoot.

"Ah, I'm fine. I suffered way worse than this."

"She's right, you know." Fluttershy added.

"Say, if you pick a song, make sure it's rocking and rollin." Misty Flyb suggested to the human. "Well, it's your spotlight, so I won't force you, honey."

Luke smiled at her thoughtfulness. "Thanks, Misty. That means a lot." He replied proudly.

It was just then Sunny Flare came on stage from another room from backstage, and she announced the news. "Guys! Guess what, all the other Wonderbolts and Pegasus ponies in the academy would love to see Luke perform!"

The others cheered to hear the great news. For Luke, he was more than happy to hear that more and more pegasus ponies in this little academy will watch him play this little concert starring himself. He could already imagine himself being on stage with a crowd of hundreds or maybe thousands in an audience, even thought it would be ponies, this would be another step for being a somebody.

The human could already hear the roaring crowd chanting his own name. His daydreaming ended when Fluttershy was the one saying his name while gently touching his shoulder. "Luke, are you alright?"

"What? what? yeah, i'm just fine. I was just thinking about how awesome this concert will be!" He made the devil horn gesture with his fingers once again.

Fluttershy smiled at his enthusiasm. "I'm glad."

It took a little while for the stage and equipment to be completed, and when it was done, The three main Wonderbolts went to tell the others that they can come in the auditorium. Luke was backstage and was more than confident to play and sing at the stage center. Of course, he still had some butterflies flying around in his stomach, but he remembered the words his father said, and kept his head high. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were in the very front of the stage as honored guest, and the same with Spitfire, Soarin, and Fleetfoot since they were the three ringleaders of the flying team. Some ponies from Ponyville also came from their friends who were WonderBolts, such as Sprinkle Melody, Cloud Kicker and others.

Before the show could begin, Spitfire got out of her seat so she can make the announcement to her fellow colleagues. She tapped the microphone to see if it was working right. Turns out, it was working perfectly, and she thought she should give praise to the others that helped out. Clearing her throat, she announced "Ladies and Gentlecolts, Sorry for the wait, but here it is. Now don't be alarmed, for he is not a monster. Maybe you already seen him walking around and such, but he's a really nice and sweet guy. Here he is, I give you....." a drum roll was heard "Luke Smith!"

Then the crowd cheered for his name. For the human himself, he boldly walked to the center with the guitar strapped around him. Some of the other flyers didn't really know what to think of him, but decided to take Spitfire's word for it, and not try to point out something about him. Luke kept his cool, and said "Hello Wonderbolt Academy!" Then he heard some cheering from the crowd. Perhaps this might go smoothly after all "Don't be alarmed for what I am, for I will sing a song that will rock this house!"

More cheering was heard. He smiled, and readied his guitar.

Rights for the Song go to Ozzy Osbourne


While performing, he could imagine himself in an epic background and dressing like Zakk Wylde or Ozzy Osbourne themselves. Feeling like a true rocker, Luke was feeling more proud of himself. Probably thinking of what the prince of Darkness himself would think of him.

At the solo, he was just shredding away with his axe, and everypony loved him. When the song was over, he heard the roaring cheer of the crowd. They all loved him, especially the solo.

Luke felt proud of himself as he would always be after performing at a concert, or open mic when he was still at school. Fluttershy went on stage and the same with Rainbow Dash so they can both congratulate him on his yet another amazing performance. "Luke, you were amazing!" said the yellow pegasus hugging him.

The human flushed at he fact a sweet pegasus like Fluttershy was hugging him. He was starting to feel warm and fuzzy feelings from this sensation.

"Yeah! You never cease to be so awesome!" Rainbow Dash agreed. She gave him a gentle punch on his arm.

The Wonderbolts then joined to all congratulate one at a time. "Luke, you are amazing. You showed a lot of guts on there."

"Thanks, Spitfire."

"Totally nailed it!" said Soarin. "I never thought you could shred a guitar like that."

"Ah well, you know. It's in my blood." Luke modestly said. 

Many pegasus ponies walked up to him and asked for his autograph, and he humbly accepted them. "You were awesome today, Luke!" said Sprinkle Medley, giving him a gentle head rubbing

"Thanks Sprinkle. I knew I still had it in me."

"Let me know if you are performing again soon." Sprinkle added

"Of course" then Luke continued signing autographs here and there while being heavily praised vice versa. He hoped to be in another concert the next time he would visit Cloudsdale
> Discord's Jealousy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

At Cloudsdale, within the Wonderbolt academy, Luke was just signing autographs to his new fans from the city in the sky, looking quite bold and happy. There was quite a long line of Wonderbolts and regular Pegasus ponies just eager to have his signature.

"Okay, thank you so much for watching my performance." Luke said to a Pegasus mare named Sun Shower.

She smiled and made an "eek!" Said as she saw the signature on her paper. "Thank you so much, Luke. You are awesome!" Then she went off hovering her wings, kissing the paper with his signature. The human was happy to see this new fan happy

Rainbow Dash was taking the honors of being Luke's bodyguard to make sure nopony would try and hover all over him to the point where it was invading his personal space.  "Alright. Give him some space, everypony." Said Rainbow Dash.

It wasn't just her, Spitfire and Soarin were also making sure that that Luke wouldn't get tackled by his fans to the point where they would tear off his clothes. "Back up!" Soarin said, pushing back a couple of Pegasus ponies "Get back!"

"You heard him, back it up, chief! Single-file line!" Spitfire barked thereafter. Thanks to her voice, every Pegasus who did not get an autograph yet got back into an orderly line like a military school roll-call.

It was just then the line was almost enpty, and Luke finally gave the last autograph to a yellow pegasus colt. "Oh thank you, thank, thank you so much!" He said cheerfully. "I want to be like you when I grow up, mr. Luke!" Then he hovered away.

"Good luck, kid!" Luke called out proudly. "Make me proud someday!" Then the line was empty of the new fans in the Wonderbolt Academy. The human was already a little tired from all that signing that his arm was starting to feel a little sore, throbbing a little.

Fluttershy walked up to him, and said "congratulations, Luke. I am so proud of you." Then she hugged him gently yet tightly

The human was happy to hear that from the very first friend he made in Equestria when he got transported to the majestic land. "Thanks, Fluttershy." He said, gently stroking her mane. He turned his attention to Rainbow and the three main Wonderbolts. "And Thank you guys for helping me with this."

"No problem, Luke." Said Spitfire. "You did so awesome."

"Amazingly awesome!" Rainbow added

Fleetfoot then added "totally rocked the stage dude!"

'We look forward to seeing you perform again. Let us know if you are doing another concert. We can always use more entertainment like that." Then the three Wonderbra winked at him.

"Well, we gotta go back to training our comrades and recruits." Said Spitfire. "And hopefully, Bulk Biceps will get through a ring this time." She rolled her eyes in irritation."

"Oh come on, Spitfire." Said Soarin. "At least he is trying, we gotta give him credit for that."

The orange pegasus smiled. "Yeah you're right." Then she went back to Luke and his two friends. "Well, see ya around, Luke. Keep on rocking and stay safe, alright?"

"Okay."

She made one final wink at him and all three went out of the auditorium, leaving Luke alone with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. "So, whatcha wanna do next?" asked Rainbow Dash

"Well... I think i'm a little warn out from that last performance." Luke replied, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I kinda rocked a little too hard back there."

Both the pegasus mares laughed at  his modesty. "That's okay, Luke." said Fluttershy. "I understand."

"Yeah. I honestly thought you could have done an encore, but I respect your decision because you're my buddy." Rainbow remarked, gently bumping her hoof on his left arm. Luke smiled at her niceness. "Even a rockstar like you needs a break and shouldn't work himself to the bone all the time."

Luke smiled "Thanks Rainbow. One thing I learned is that being a metal-head or a rocker like myself is never easy." They all laughed again. "Well, I suppose I can look at the Cloudsdale Colosseum since it's the most famous landmark in the city.

"Okay, that sounds good."

"Wonderful." Fluttershy said. Then they all went out of the Wonderbolt academy to look at this Colosseum in the middle of the city. As they were walking down the cloudy streets, some of the pegasus ponies looked at Luke, and recognized him as the mysterious human who rocked the Wonderbolt academy. Many of the pegasus ponies smiled looking at him, and politely waved at the human.

Luke himself was feeling rather grateful, already starting to feel like a celebrity, not just in Ponyville, but in Cloudsdale as well. "Looks like you're getting some recognition, huh?" asked Rainbow Dash, noticing the pegasus ponies greeting and waving at Luke. 

"I know. I'm flattered."

"I think you did a great job, Luke. I can not really blame them for giving you recognition." said Fluttershy. "Or, I think you are starting to get recognition, are you?"

"Well for now, it's a small crowd, but someday, I will get even more and more recognition, like the size of a stadium during a football game."

"Speaking of stadium, here we are." said Rainbow Dash. Luke was in awe seeing the beauty of this enormous stadium entirely made of clouds with some flags in rows on top of the circled building. It kind of reminded him of the Colosseum in Rome, Italy, except this one was in top shape, and not in ruins.

He looked around at the place with awe with his mouth slightly agape. "This is so cool. Freaking awesome."

"It's big, isn't it?" said Rainbow

"This is one of the place for if they want to host the Equestria games, and of course, any Wonderbolt special event." Fluttershy said.

"Wow. This reminds me of a Colosseum we have in our home world." Luke thought with a sense of deja vu.

"You have a colosseum?" asked Rainbow Dash. "That's awesome!"

"Yep. It's in a city called Rome, in a country called Italy. However, it doesn't really look... ship-shaped compared to this one?"

Both Rainbow and Fluttershy looked at each other with confused looks in their eyes, and then looked back to him. "What do you mean?"

"The Colosseum in my world is still standing, but's over thousands and thousands of years old, and hasn't been used in events ever since. Now the place lies in ruins with a part of the building chipped off."

"That is quite old." said Fluttershy

"It is. However, it is still used as a tourist attraction for both Rome and Italy. Thousands from across my world would go there to see and visit this landmark and look at its beauty."

"Sounds amazing." Said Fluttershy.

"I sometimes wish I can come over there too. Of course Italy is not in Africa, my favorite place, it's still pretty cool to visit. But still, I woukd consider Africa my top place to visit above anywhere else."

Just then a certain Drancequus appeared from below the cloud they were on, startling then instantly. "Here's Johnny!" Said Discord teasingly. Rainbow groaned irritation as he laughed while emerging from the cloudy floor. "Oh you should have seen your faces!" He laughed

"Discord, must you always do that?" Said Fluttershy in an irritated quiet voice.

"Yes." Discord teased. Fluttershy was not amused, and she raised an eyebrow to show it. "Oh come now, Fluttershy. I was just joking."

"Well that almost killed us!" Rainbow exclaimed.

"Oh you are such a baby Rainbow!" Discord shrugged with a devious chuckle. Angered, Rainbow Dash was about to charge him, but before she could touch him, Discord snapped his finger to the other side of the gang, just in time before she could have even touch him.

"Calm down, Rainbow Dash." Said Fluttershy. "Discord was just playing a joke."

"Yes, Rainbow." Discord added. "It was just a harmless joke."

The cyan pegasus wasn't so angry anymore, but still irritated by this prankster's practical joke. It was Discord, the Master of Chaos who used to be an evil villain after all, no one could blame him, not even Luke or Fluttershy.

"Ah, and hello again, Luke." the master of Chaos noticed the human

"What's up?"

"Nothing much, just thought I drop by and say hello to all of you." the master of chaos turned his attention to Fluttershy "I was wondering if you would like to go look at the fire mantas in my world tomorrow?"

"Oh! well... that does sound fun, but... Luke and I were planing on helping out at the Ponyville Animal festival tomorrow." Discord's face turned from a smile to a big frown in an instant hearing that. "Luke said he really wanted to help out with the animal care."

"Yep. It's gonna be so awesome. There's even a live music performance, which I will be attending of course. Oh I can hardly imagine how much they would want me to sing and play guitar tomorrow."

"It will be so awesome!"

"Hellyeah!" Luke made his rock pose with the devil horn gesture.

"Oh. That's wonderful news." Said Discord, trying to sound happy and cheerful, but it sounded a little week. In his head, he was thinking "is he tying to steal the very best friend I ever made?" Then he felt a touch of anger about to rise up in him, but he still kept that cheerful face on him so no one would notice ihow he really felt.

"I know!" Said Rainbow. "Now he'll make it more fun tomorrow rocking out!"

"And you're more than welcome to come help out, Discord." Fluttershy."

"Well I wish I could, Fluttershy, but I am on a tight schedule." Then he conjured a piece of paper, and he held it in his hand. He read out "fill entire house with garbage, mess with Princess Celestia and Luna by pulling pranks, make it snow in dragon land, I'm booked solid." Then he ripped the note into tiny pieces."

"Oh. I understand." Said Fluttershy in a cheerful manner."

"Well, I need to go, I need to dirty the dishes."

"Don't you clean dishes?" Luke asked curiously

"Nope, in my home, everything you would normally do every day, me and the other inhabitants there do exactly the opposite."

"Do they?" Asked Rainbow with a raised eyebrow.

Discord was a little silent, and it looked like he was about to say yes to that question but he made a sigh of giving up and confessed "no, mostly me who would make things dirty in my own house."

"Right. We'll see you soon, Discord, and we're still on for our Tuesday tea, right?" 

"Of cours, of course, I am always there for Tuesday tea whenever possible." And he muttered "without Luke."

"What's that?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all." He lied. Then he snapped his finger and he was gone.

"Well I think we've seen enough of this beautiful city." Luke said

"Me too, let's go home." Then they all exited the colosseum to go back to the balloon where it will take them back to Ponyville on the ground.





Meanwhile, Discord was back at his own home, in the chaotic dimension, one of the most freaky and unusual places to ever exist. He went inside and his house was as it always how he liked it, filthy and unpresentable, with everything working all upside-down like

Discord, who was rejected by Fluttershy about coming to see the fire manta creatures, was not happy one little bit. He was feeling the jealousy rise and rise up to a higher boiling point.

"Honestly, what does that 'cool' Luke think he is?" Then he began putting dust bunnies all over the floor while grumbling. "Stealing the fey best friend I ever made? Fluttershy is everything to me." Then he remembered at the agrand Galloping Gallop. "Well I admit I did go a little overboard with a Tree Hugger, but that human lives with Fluttershy like a college roommate now.

After he was done with the floors, he went to dirty the dishes at the kitchen sink, with lots of stains added on them with some cuts on the side.

"I can really imagine what Fluttershy is saying about Luke right now." Then he said in a mock voice "Oh Luke, you are so amazing and talented. Luke you are absolutely one of a kind with that guitar, and a natural with animals." then he gave a loud "bah!"

It was just then he had an idea, a very awful and selfish idea. A grinch smile formed on his face, showing his teeth. 

"Well, I suppose I can go there, and I will make sure that Luke's day will be a day that he will not forget."

Then he cackled like an evil maniac throughout this messed up dimension, but suddenly stopped when he got a cough in his throat.
> Ponyville Animal Day (Edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day finally came, and the Ponyville Animal Day Festival was already happening across the town. Everypony was all present at the event, and of course, Luke as well. The human was walking around with Fluttershy and her friends to look at the whole event and what was happening.

Mayor Mare was present, and along with Fluttershy, she was in charge of it to make sure everything is going smoothly. Look looked on at how many types of animals were being cared for by many ponies.

The first thing Luke saw was a bunch of pigs being cleaned and petted by Lyra and Bon Bon. One boar used his head to lift Bon Bon up, making her yelp, and and then ended up riding him, but she only lasted for a few seconds on the pig, and then she fell off after the pig took a couple of steps. Lyra laughed at how she fell. "Hahaha! That's one way to ride a pig!" she laughed. "Oh, you're such a cute piggy aren't you?" she began petting another pig from his head, to his back, and then rubbing his belly. The boar smiled and was oinking to show how happy he was.

"Oh you naughty piggy." Bon Bon said with a smirk while rolling his eyes. Then a few other curious pigs began crowding her and licking all over her head, making her laugh "Ah! Make it stop! HAHAHAHAHA!" she cackled, feeling the touch of many pig tongues.

Lyra laughed at how she was being tackled by many boars and sows like this. "That's one way to play with pigs! Haha!" then Lyra herself was being crowded by another group of pigs. "Oh, yes, I see you all. Oink, oink."

Luke laughed at that touching sighed, and smiled, what he first saw reminded him of the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy fell into the pig pen, except the pigs weren't aggressive. "Oh, that's just one of the reasons I love pigs." he muttered with a chuckle. The next thing Luke saw was Cloudchaser and Flitter tending to a large bull elk, feeding it some greens like spinach, or leaves, oregano, something like that. It made a low bugle sound like when the bulls call for a mate.

"What was that?" said Flitter. 

"Was that you?" said Cloudchaser with a confused smile. Then the elk bugled again, more louder than before. "Wow, I didn't know an elk would sound like that. But still, you're a cool, big guy." she patted his head, in between his antlers. The elk did enjoy it, but one of the ends of his antlers accidentally poked her in the arm "OW!" she said "You're antlers are sharp. Note to self, never make an elk angry unless you want to be gored by their antlers.

"Well said, sis." said Flitter. "Ah, who am I kidding, we won't make him mad, will we?" then she made a sneeze and the majestic beast was spooked and bucked in a startled matter. His hooves almost hit Flitter and said "Or scare them, another lesson learned" she added. Both sisters looked at each other and had a good laugh.

"To be honest, I was expecting an elk call to be lower than that." Cloudchaser remarked with one raised eyebrow.

"I know, me too."

"What was that sound?" said Rainbow Dash. "They sounded like a little filly screaming."

Luke and the others chuckled at that statement "It did kind of sound like it, but don't worry, it wasn't. It was just an elk bugling, they call like that to attract mates and show their dominance."

"Oh, that's cool. I never knew that."

"It's a real good thing you came here Luke. I knew you would love it." Fluttershy remarked

"Wouldn't have missed it in the entire universe." Looking around again, he saw Pipsqueak interacting with an African grey parrot. The bird made a few funny noises, tilted it's head a few times, and then he used it's talons to climb on Pip's back. The colt smiled and he was enjoying it. Luke decided to walk up to him to say hello and shoot the breeze with him "Hi, Pip." he said

"Oh, hello, Luke. How are you?" Pip asked him

"Awesome." and he looked at the parrot. "And I see you made a new friend." and he made a small chuckle after that reply

Pip laughed "Yeah I know, Steve here really likes me." then the African grey nudged his head against Pip's neck. "Give up them cookies!" it said. Both of them laughed at the bird's statement. He was a parrot after all. 

"Well, I hope you enjoy the rest of the festival." Luke said, before he rejoined his friends. Then he followed them to the stage that was set up for the mayor to speak. Speaking of which, Fluttershy went to talk to her about the event and how amazing it will be.

It was just then the mayor noticed the young human, ""ah, Luke, hello. Wonderful to meet you again."

"Same with you, miss mayor." The human replied humbly. 

"Oh this festival is working out perfectly.  now I must make a speech and the same with You, Fluttershy. After all, this was all your idea."

The yellow Pegasus began to look really nervous just thinking about what to say to the whole town "well um- I don't know." She said

"Don't worry, you'll be fine, think of all the animals here, just to raise a fundraiser to help even more animals everywhere." Luke said

"He's right, Fluttershy." Said Twilight "we know how much you wanted this to be out into reality." The other friends began urging her to do so.

"Remember the Ponytones, sweetie?" Rarity suggested.

"I- I do."

"Then don't worry. Just think of what to say, and go over your lines." Said Rainbow.

"You know, this might sound silly, but in my homeworld, there's a method to get rid of stage fright to imagine the audience in their underwear."

His friends and the mare looked at him with a weird look. "Now why in tarnation would that help anything?" Applejack said with a chuckle "that sounds so silly."

Luke smirked and shrugged "I don't know who invented that solution, all I know is that I heard it can relieve stage fright. For in my world, there are some humans that everyone do not want to see naked. And public nudity is against the law in my world, but you guys, you are all a different story because most of the time you don't wear clothes at all. So people on their underwear are usually ridiculed in my home world, so that's why it would work,  but I don't think it will work on this one."

Rainbow, Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike, and the mayor still didn't really understand this "imagine everyone in their underwear" bit. "Well you're right." Said Rarity. "Many of us do not wear undergarments at all."

"So the underwear thing won't work." Rainbow theorized

"Exactly my point. So, how about I come up with you just to make you feel better." Luke suggested. "The least I can do is relieve you of you're stage fright."

Fluttershy was flattered to hear Luke's offer "you're really sweet, Luke. I would love." She softly remarked.

The human smiled, showing his teeth, feeling more than happy to go up with Fluttershy to help her out with the speech. Just then, Discord appeared out of nowhere, floating on midair. As usual, it startled everyone a little bit. "Do forgive me for my bad manners, but I couldn't resist coming to Ponyville Animal Day to spend with Fluttershy."

"Discord! You made it!" Fluttershy cheered, hugging the drancequus, then he hugged her back in return for her usual kindness. "I knew you would come!"

"Of course, I would not miss it for my very GOOD friend." Discord said. Then he looked at Luke, and he felt the jealousy rising up again.

"Well, we're glad you can be here, Discord." Said Spike.

"Yeah, we can always use an extra set of hooves to help out, or in your case, paws." Twilight said cheerfully.

"Yes, nothing like helping innocent animals and creatures be happy and taken care of." Then he created an angel robe and a halo above his head "when it comes to animals, I can be quite an angel." A chorus choir was heard in the background and a spotlight rained down on the master of chaos.

What he did next, kind of made everyone around him weirded out. He turned his face into exactly like Fluttershy's, and added "and I want to be as good as Fluttershy with animals and creatures."

"Please don't ever do that again." Spike said, a little creeped out by the face.

Annoyed, Discord snapped his finger and turned his face back to the way it was before. "My sincere apologies for that, I was just trying to make a point."

"Well point taken." Said Applejack

"Anywho, we better get on out there." Mayor Mare suggested. Still feeling a little uncertain, Fluttershy walked up the stage anyway, but Luke followed after so he can make her less nervous. 

"Luke! I knew I would find you here. So wonderful to see you again my dear." said a mare with an African accent. Luke recognized who it was. He turned around and saw Zecora, just walking up to them to meet the human a second time. "Wonderful to see you again, I thought I would see you at this celebration." she warmly remarked at the human.

"Zecora! Nice to see you again." Luke replied with a big smile. He was feeling more than happy to see this zebra again. They both hugged each other both chuckling. "How's it going?"

"Doing quite fine. Always happy to attend Ponyville Animal Day with all the friends of mine." the zebra humbly remarked. "And of course it happy to see all of you, for helping animals is something I always want to do."

"Nice to see you too, Zecora." said Rainbow "any potions or elixirs lately?"

"Nothing that anypony should really know. taking a break from alchemy for a while, i must do." said Zecora.

"Like Twilight with her books when she overstudies too much?" Spike said jokingly. Everyone, except Twilight of course, laughed with him. The purple allicorn herself just scowled at him. 

"I'm a princess, I don't need any break from reading!" she protested with a look in her eyes telling everyone that she was NOT amused.

"Aw come on, Twilight. I was just kidding." 

Then Twilight laughed not long after realizing that it was just a silly joke after all. "Oh Spike." she said with a giggle, then she gently rubbed his small head playfully.

"So anyway, are you going to stay long enough to see my performance?" Luke asked Zecora

"oh yes, i most certainly have." Zecora replied warmly. "but right now, I have to go tend to a watusi calf."

"That's fine. Enjoy the festival, Zecora."

"You too. Attending you're performance, I will certainly do." Zecora remarked before walking to a different direction from them.

Discord rudely came to close to Luke and walked next to him. "Excusez-moi, mon ami." He said to the human. "Perhaps i shoukd jkin Fluttershy with you just in case

"Okay." Luke replied, a little weirded out. 

"Thanks Discord. Of course i can always count on you." Fluttershy said. 

Discord smiled and looked at Luke, and bent his eyebrows telling him "in your face!" And then he said to hdr "what ate good friends for?" Then both Luke and the Master of Chaos took a seat on two chsirs in the back. 

"Alright Everypony, gather round for what I am about to say." The mayor announced. She cleared her throat, checked the microphone, and said "welcome one and all to the Ponyville Animal Day fundraiser!" Then there was a sound of cheering and applause. "We have gathered on this event to care for animals of all kinds, and in the hope for a better future. This say is a special contribution to them, and it will raise money to help all animals in need to be saved from neglect, and abuse. Feel free to interact with any animal you wish to interact with, and always make sure they are all well. And of course, there will be apples to sell, along with hay burgers to sell for anypony who is hungry. One last thing, We will have a special special performance by our favorite human, and talented visitor from another world: Luke Smith."

Another sound of cheering was heard, and it was louder than before. "Yeah Luke!" Rainbow Dash cheered. "You rock!"

"So amazing!" Pinkie added with a happy bounce. She pulled out her party canon and fired confetti from it in a loud blast.

"Now, I would like to present the one who started this amazing and thoughtful idea, Element of Kindness, Fluttershy." After another round of applause. Fluttershy took the place on the pedestal in front of the microphone.

The yellow Pegasus looked at Luke and he gave her a thumbs up with a warm smile, telling her everything will be alright, and he was with her through the speech. Discord gave a slight glare at the human without him lnowing, and he poofed up a large sign like they would use in casinos or in the big cities, and it said "Go Fluttershy!" In a blinking state. "Hello everypony." She began. "Thank you all so much for coming to Ponyville Animal day. I am so happy that there are so many who love to help out with animals as much as I do, and provide care for them. I created this event so if any animal is being awfully neglected, or is miserable, we can all provide them with love and care, and to make a difference."

Yet another applause was heard. 

"All animals need our love." She continued "and we must be the ones to share them our love. All animals are special to us, and have feelings too. Today, we can make a contribution with this fundraiser to benefit all animals, and provide them lots of food, better wild lands to live for the wild animals, and better houses and pens for pets and livestock. Let us all do our part to give them our love."

One last applause was heard, even louder than before thanks to the combination of ponies, baby dragon, human, and the animals to cheer on for her. For Fluttershy was Equestria's very own Mother Nature.

Luke smiled on proudly, and then clapped his hands, but he was quite with the verbal cheering, for he wanted to save his voice for the performances later on. Everypony got back to what they were doing before and interacted woth as much animals as possible, along with grooming them.

Luke and Fluttershy doing a little fun time with African wild dogs, or in this world, Zebrican wild dogs. Luke always wanted to interact with one of Africa's most agile and ferocious predators next to the lion, hyena, and leopard.

"Aww, they like you." Fluttershy said. One of the wild dogs tried to stand on his hind kegs and wanted to give Luke a kiss on the lips. Luke gave a chuckle feeling the ticklish tongue lick his lips.

"This is so amazing." Luke noted. It reminded him of one of his dogs, Bruno, who was a mutt, and woukd kiss him on the lips when Luke would come home from school, just like the wild dog did. Meanwhile, Discord was jealously looking at Luke and Fluttershy interacting with the animals and having a good laugh together.

Rainbow Dash was hanging out with a herd of sheep that had horns for some, and no horns for most of the flock. One of the ewes was chewing on her tail. "Ah!" She made a cute shriek "stop that!" She pulled her tail away from the sheep. 

"Everything okay here, Rainbow?" Luke asked her

"Had better days, Luke." Rainbow replied "had better days." Then another sheep chewed on her tail as well. "Ow! Hey, cut that out!" She complained.

The human chuckled.

"Haha very funny."

"They're just animals Rainbow Dash. They can't help it."

"Yeah yeah." Rainbow muttered to herself. 

As Luke pressed forward, Pip ran up to him wit a large frog in his arm. Rumble was next to him, and his big brother, Thunderlane, was walking behind them. This frog looked very different that frogs he would see back home on Earth (his definition). This amphibian was green like any other frog or toad, but this majestic creature had a pair of horns like a water buffalo would have. "Luke! Check out this little guy!" Pip said

Luke was absolutely fascinated by this intriguing frog. A frog with horns? It was truly amazing to see such an unusual animal like this one, and Luke wished that a creature like this one would exist in his own world. "Ain't it cool?"

"Totally! What kind of frog is this little guy?" he began slowly petting it's slippery back, and the amphibian began ribbiting touch after touch.

"A Zebrican horned frog." Fluttershy said. "I never seen such a beautiful creature like this one before." then she gently held the odd-looking amphibian.

Then Discord walked up from behind to look at what was happening. "Ah, the Zebrican horned frog, very intriguing." he said. He conjured a lab coat, and conjured a small torture table, and carried the frog himself, then he pulled out glasses like biology scientists would use. "quite a very interesting creature. one hundred percent amphibian, one hundred percent horns, and one percent evil."

This kind of reminded Luke of the infamous Luigi Galvani, who learned electricity from animals inside their bodies, like the frog for instance. "Hey, you're not going to dissect it, are you?" he asked the drancequus

Discord lifted his his classes and replied "Oh heavens no!" he said with a chuckle. "That would be too barbaric of me. I only do research, nothing more. As a matter of fact, I would never forgive myself if an animal was... disposed of because of me. I love animals just as much as Fluttershy does. Isn't that right, my dear?" then he got the frog out of the torture chamber and gave him back to Fluttershy

The yellow pegasus smiled "Oh Discord, you're a really sweet drancequus. And of course I know you love animals too, I even remembered the times you would help me." and she had a thought "Even though, you can... complicate things."

"Nonsense, all I do is make it faster and better for you." said Discord in denial. 

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, I kind of seen how you can handle the animals back in Fluttershy's cottage." Luke pointed out

"What do you know?!" Discord snapped at him with fire burning in his eyes. Luke was really surprised about that reaction. 

"Sorry, I was just saying is all." 

The master of chaos realized what he did and said "no, i'm sorry." He sighed. "You're right, perhaps I should treat animals with better care, starting now."

The others didn't really know what to think of this. "Thst's... nice."

"Yes, yes it is."

"Well, hope you have fun here, Luke. I really look forward to you're performance later. Come on kids, let's look around some more."

"Okay bro." Rumble said.

"Right behind you, Thunderlane." Then he, Rumble, and his big brother went on to look around some more. 

So as the festival kept going ln, everypony, Spike, and Luke were having a real good time with this festival. Pinkie Pie was chatting with a group of spider monkeys, making monkey noises like they would normally sound like. Weirdly, she would use her tail to Lance onto a branch, like some monkeys would do.

Linus the lion, and Tyson the Tiger went up to Luke and they both crowded arundel Jim like house cats would do. Luke was wrestling the two big cats, despite getting minor scratches from their claws.

"I hope this doesn't turn into a cat fight." And a rimshot was heard after Discord's little joke. "Oh I am too much." And he wiped a tear from his eye after laughing so hard. The others however didn't really laugh, and they all had blank expressions on their face.

"Fluttershy!" A mare's voice called out to the yellow pegasus. They saw what it was, and Luke saw an Earth mare that had a green coat, slightly bushy eyebrows, and a light red and tail that were styled as dreadlocks. "Real groovy to find you here " she said

What she said made Luke wonder if she was a Rasta pony, or a hippie of some kind, because this peculiar mare sounded like someone a hippy would say, and the looks of a rasta with a bandana on her mane  "Tree Hugger, pleasure to meet you again." Discord greeted

"Oh yes, I knew you would come to Animal day."

"Are you kidding, sweetie? I wouldn't have missed this day in all my dream cathcers, dude. Blessings, one love." Then the peaceful mare noticed Luke "oh, and what kind of animal are you?" She asked him curiously. "I have seen many rare creatures in Equestria, but I have never seen you."

"Well... that's because I am from another world. Tell me, what's you're name?"

"I am Tree Hugger. Blessings." She replied 

"My name is Luke, Luke Smith, but my friends can just call me Luke."

"Radical to meet you. I am really digging you're aura." What she said made look a little dumbfounded.

"My.... aura?" He asked her.

"It was a compliment." Fluttershy noted with a chuckle. "Tree Hugger is a member of the Equestrian Society for the Preservation of Rare Creatures like me."

"That's right. I work to help all creatures across Equestria with my love, and the other member's love. Anyway, nice to meet you, Luke." She said politely.

"Nice to meet you too, Tree Hugger." The human replied kindly to her. 

Tree Hugger then net face to face with the master of chaos. "Oh, and it's really nice to see you too, Discord. You haven't been sending ponies to the puppet dimension like you did on me, are you?"

"Of course not." Discord scoffed. "And I said I was sorry about that, and you did forgive me for it."

"You're right. I did forgive you for what happened."

"What happened?" Luke asked curiously.

"It's a rather long, yet groovy story, Luke." Tree Hugger replied, letting out a nervous giggle. "Anyway, do tell me about yourself. You seem like an interesting human."

The young human flustered. "Well okay."

The Luke and Tree Hugger began talking to one another, and they seem to really like each other already. After almost an hour later, it was time for Luke to perform a song as the entertainment of the event. He was feeling more than ready to get out there, and just rock out on Animal day.

Fluttershy and her friends were in the very front of the audience as VIP seers. Mayor Mare came out from behind the curtain of the stage, and announced "Fillies and Gentlecolts, our only human inhabitant, and amazing rockstar, Luke Smith!" then a loud cheering was heard, well all, except Discord, who was still quite jealous, but he kept it in himself to not cause another uproar.

Luke came on stage and waved at the inhabitants of Ponyville with confidence. "Hello everyone." he called out. "I hope you all enjoy music because is everyone having a good time?"

A large sound of cheering was heard within the crowd. Obviously, from all that cheering, it sounded like a "Yes" to him.

"Perfect! Time to rock for all you, and animals who need our love."

Rights for this Song go to Lions


After ge was done, everypony roared I'm excitement, and all chanted "Encore!" Over and over again. Luke was thinking of whether he should give them an encore or not, and he ultimate decided yes.

"Okay, okay. I'll play one more song." He announced. Then the crowd roared once again. "And firstly, I want to thank utters so much for not just helping me, but all animals here. Keep up the good work, and make the lrincess' proud, Fluttershy."

Fluttershy smiled, feeling so touched to hear those words.

Just then, Discord could stand it no longer. His eyes turned to fire again, and gritted his teeth real tightly that they all broke, but of course, all of his teeth came back thanks to his magical powers. "Shut up!" He shouted "Shut Up!!"

Everyone in the crowd was shocked and surprised by this sudden reaction. The drancequus angrily warmed on stage to confront Luke and release his anger on him. 

"You think you can steal Fluttershy from me, lion boy?" He snarled. "Well let me tell you, if anypony is going to be best friends with Fluttershy, that better be me!" Then he pulled him up using his magic by levitation. 

"Discord Wait! I-!"

"Silence Human!" Said the Master of Chaos I'm a booming voice, silencing him instantly  then he ripped up a portal with his claws and revealed Luke what it was. It was the hot pits of Hell woth tormented souls in them. 

Luke was absolutely scared and horrified. "Wha- what are yoy doing?!" He shouted 

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you, I will just send you to Tartarus to suffer for the rest of eternity. I cannot let you ruin me and Fluttershy's friendship any longer."

"No!!' Like screamed

"Discord! Stop it right now!" Fluttershy hovered in the air to make eye contact with Discord and had a glare on her face.

"I will, Fluttershy, I will. Just as soon as he suffers."

"No! I'm a good person! I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Discord, it's the grand galloping gala all over again. First Tree Hugger, and now Luke?! Why must you do this?"

"This? This is different. Luke is not from Equestria. And-! Look, he took you away from me yesterday, and you wanted to return the favor. We were about to go see the flying mantas together, but HE had to ruin everything!"

The yellow pegasus realized that Discord was just a little hurt from yesterday, and replied "Discord, I am sorry if I hurt you about not wanting to come with you to see the Flying Mantas yesterday, but it still doesn't make I okay for you to just banish Luke to Tartarus."

Discord sighed. "Look, do you know how important you are to me, Fluttershy? You are the very first friend I made in my reeeaaaally long lifetime."

"I do know how important our friendship is, Discord." Fluttershy remarked. "But please, Luke did absolutely nothing wrong."

"She's right, Discord." Twilight said firmly.  "Please just let it go. Do not make us report this to the princess'."

"And we promise she will throw you on the dungeon!" Said Rainbow in a threatening voice.

Discord was conflicted whether he should let Luke go, or send him to Hell. Finally, he said "I just wanted to spend time with you, Fluttershy."

"I didn't abandon you just because me and Luke are spending time together. He is a good friend, and I have more than one friend, you know?"

The master of chaos sighed "I know, I know."

"Now please let him go." Fluttershy remarked firmly. Discord did what she demanded and closed the portal to Hell, and gently sat Luke down back on the stage. "Now, do you think you owe somepony an apology?"

Discord conjured a flower to her, but Fluttershy promptly swatted it away. "Not me! Luke!"

The master of chaos looked at Luke, with his eyes wide open. He was worried that Luke had been traumatized by what he just saw through the portal. Then Fluttershy came to his aid

"Are you okay, Luke?" She asked him, vey worried

"I'm fine." He replied. "Thanks for saving me, Fluttershy. I really appreciate it."

She smiled at him and gave a stern look at Discord. "Go on." She urged him.

Discord had a look of guilt and said to the human. "Luke, I am so very sorry about that. I know you weren't trying to hog Fluttershy away from me, I was just... jealous." He admitted.

Luke got up and said "it's okay. I've seen scarier things than what you were about to send me to anyway."

"Look, it's just that, Fluttershy is really important to me. She was the very first friend I ever made in my life. That's why she is so special and important to me."

The human smirked. "Well, you're not alone. When I first came here, Fluttershy was the first friend I ever made, too. So... I guess we can kind of relate." Then both of them had a laugh. "So, are we good?" He offered a handshake to him

"We're good." Then they both made up. Yet another applause from the crowd was heard. "And, i'm sorry if I broke you're guitar. Here, let me fix that for you." he snapped his finger, and the guitar was back in good shape. Luke smiled, and put the strap back around him. 

"Thank you, Discord. I really appreciate it."

"You're quite welcome. Come one Everypony? does everyone still want to hear Luke do an amazing guitar performance?" then another cheer was heard.

Fluttershy looked at Luke with a smile "Good luck. Make us proud."

"I will." Luke replied. Then he went in front of the microphone, and realized it was a full instrumental song, and decided to put it aside. "Prepare to be filled with magic from this instrumental masterpiece."

Yet another roar of the crowd was heard again.

Rights for this song to go Poets of the Fall


Everypony cheered even louder after Luke was done playing that beautiful instrumental guitar song. His closest friends went up and congrutulated him. The same with Cloudchaser, Flitter, Rumble, Thunderlane, Lyra, Bon Bon, Pip, the Crusaders, and Big Mac.

"That was so beautiful." said Fluttershy. "Truly magical."

"Thanks. I told you I would blow your minds."

"yeah! that was awesome!" said Cloudchaser.

"Luke, you did it again." said Pip. "With this, we will get more funds to help animals.

What Pip said made Luke even more proud of himself, doing this for charity. "I think it just might." then he went to hang out with his friends one by one as the festival continued. Discord went up to Luke, who was interacting with Linus the lion and Tyson the tiger once more. "Luke, can you forgive me for my behavior?"

"Of course." then he petted the lion's tawny and black mane, making him howl in happiness. "So, have you met these guys yet?"

"Oh yes, multiple times. They are quite the pussycats." then both the big cats snarled at what he just called them. "I am just kidding, surely, can anypony take a joke around here?"
> Offer for a Visit to Canterlot
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another day has passed, and the Ponyville Animal Day Festival was a huge commercial success two days ago. As a matter of fact, lots of money was given to charity so it can make many animals get a better life, and saved neglected and abused pets and livestock.

Half of it was thanks to Luke's aspiring rock performance during the festivity, and another half was because of Fluttershy, Equestria's version of Mother Nature, or Pan the Greek god.

It was thanks to these two, and their friends that gave such a lovely contribution to animals. Honestly, Luke could have wished that his world would do something like this, well, there was Earth Day, but still, he wished.

Luke thought that everyday should be earth day, but alas, it probably won't happen. As long as there are people like him, he wouldn't really have anything to worry about. Right now, Luke was just playing a little game of Candy Crush on his smartphone, and played for a long half an hour.

Like Fluttershy, he wished that the festival could have lasted longer, because he had such fun with it, and he remembered that old saying "time flies fast when someone is having fun, and it feels slow when someone is doing something they hated or thought it was very boring."

It was all behind him because what was in te past was done, and he knew he didn't have the godlike powers to go back and celebrate that the festival on the very day one lasttime. Right now, Luke was just signing autographs to his fans from the concert before. These ponies he was signing for were from outside of Ponyville.

Zecora was on example for she lived in the Everfree Forest, and a couple other ponies from Appleoosa, Canterlot, and a few other places across this land.

"One for you," Luke said to a fan after he was done signing his signature. "One for you," he repeated. And then the line quickly got shorter and dissolved within a long thirty seconds. "Thank you all so much you guys." He said to his fans. "Hope to see you attending my next perofrmance."

All of the ponies with the signed signature cheered to him, and then chanted his name a few times with enthusiasm. 

Then Zecora went up to him "Luke, I have spend a great afternoon with you, and I hope to see your again sometime soon."

"Don't worry. I'm pretty sure we'll meet again." Luke remarked.

"You made me very proud, for your performances were beautiful and loud."

"In a good kind of loud?"

Zecora giggled. "Yes yes of course. I tell you that truth woth no remorse."

"Good. Au revoir."

"Have a wonderful day, Luke. I am going to fancy myself with pumpkin soup." Then the zebra promptly went off back to the Everfree. Luke himself was all done with the autograph signing, as a matter of fact, his arms were getting tired and a little sore.

He promptly went back to Fluttershy's cottage to take the load off, and relax. While walking, he was listening to Skid Row on his iPod, and the song was "Monkey Business" from their album "Slave to the Grind."

Also, Luke looked around at his surroundings, just looking at the peaceful environment Ponyville would normally be in, and he hoped it will stay that way. Then he made it to the woods with the cottage not far from him now.

Then Discord poofed himself up in front of him, floating in mid-air, like he would normally do. "Ah!" Luke exclaimed, and he fell bqck, landing on his ass. He groaned as he recognized the creature in front of him. "Discord, I hate it when yoy do that!" He complained

The master of chaos just made a chuckle in teply, shrugging off what the human remarked. "Oh Luke, you just don't really understand me. I am more of a.... complicated creature to say the least "

"That's a light way to describe yourself " Luke partly agreed while he rolled his eyes. "Hey listen, I am sorry if I was keeping Fluttershy away from you. I know we made up yesterday, but still."

'No no." Discord said. "I was the one to blame. I let my envy get the very best of me, and I almost sent you to Hell. And I know you weren't hogging Fluttershy to yourself. I.... i'm just still trying to get used to the more than one friend thing you know?"

'I undrstand. It's okay, I forgive you."

Discord smiled at him "good. Oh, and very well done with your performances, especially that magical guitar melody."

The human flushed slightly. "I am a man of many talents after all."

"A man with many extraordinary talents to be exact." The drancequus pointed out. "Well I got to go visit the puppet dimension to cause havoc."

Luke had a look that said he was a little creeped out by what he just said. "Oookay." He said with a raised eyebrow, then he decided to shrug it off, deciding not to ask about the puppet dimension. "And by the way, i'm sorry if Fluttershy didn't come with you to see the Flying Mantas yesterday."

"Don't worry about it. Those majestic, gigantic beasts will come back next week." Discord remarked. "Those puppet people won't know what will hit them before i'm finished with them." He made a creaky chuckle with a sinister look in his eyes.

"Wait, I thought you were a good guy now?" Luke asked in confusion.

"Oh yes, of course I am. But I still like to have some.... fun to say the least. I am a god of chaos after all, and chaos is my favorite type of activity."

"I see."

"And besides, a person with a rock n role lifestyle can be quite wild, too."

"Touche." Luke agreed. "But don't worry, I will never do drugs or alcohol like many of them back home do, or used to do for some."

"Wonderful to hear. Anyway, au revoir." he sang. Then he vanished himself to the puppet dimension. Luke smirked and nodded his head sideways.

"Quite a damn trickster, that Discord." He muttered to himself while chuckling, then he continued back home, putting his earbuds back in his ear holes. When he got back, Fluttershy warmly greeted him like she would usually do he returns, kind of like his mother did after he camwas home from school.

"So, did you sign a lot of autographs?"

"Oh ho, yes. Let me tell you, my arm was getting a little tired just writing my signature down on every single paper they wanted me to put it on." Then he cracked his knuckles.

"Oh goodness. That's really exciting."

"Let me tell you, Fluttershy, I'm getting quite the reputation around here." Then he connected his iPod to his charger to fill up the juice within the battery.

Fluttershy made a small giggle, and remarked "I know. You're performances were really magical and extraordinary."

"Thanks, Fluttershy." 

All though the few hours, Luke was relaxing himself, watching a little YouTube on his Samsung galaxy smartphone. There was the time where he helped Fluttershy feed the animals inside, and outside their cottage lunch.

The animals thanked them both and the human found himself some snuggling with some of the critters. He even played a small game of gin rummy with them, too. Not for money of course, but just for the fun of it. Instead of bits, They used fruit as the stuff to bet with in the game.

When thy were all finished, the doorbell rang, and Luke was the one to get it. It revealed to be Rarity when he answered the door. "Luke, so wonderful to meet you here on this fine day." She greeted the human

"Hey, Rarity. Ça va?"

"Oh you know, just making dresses in my boutique, and looking into fashion ideas as usual." She replied. "By the way, your performances yesterday were inspiring."

"Thanks, but I thought that rock and metal are.ll not your cup of tea?"

"To be frank, they aren't really my cup of tea at all, but I tolerate it very much. At least, it's better than...." with a look of disgust and giving a small "bleh!" She finished "hip-hop and rap. Ugh!"

Luke made a small laugh. "I agree with you. Ah, who am I kidding? We all have a different taste in music."

"Exactly right, darling."

"Hello Rarity."

"Fluttershy sweetie, hello." Rarity warmly greeted her best friend. "Wonderful to see you as usual, darling."

"And the same with you, Rarity. What brings you to my cottage?"

"I wanted to ask Luke if he wanted to go on a little tour to Canterlot with moi." Rarity answered her. "I was just curious because Luke told me that he did want to look at Equestria's capital city, after all."

The human made a small smile, and said "that would be cool, I would love to come."

"Brilliant. I mean, you do not have to if you do not want to."

"Of course I do. I want to see more of Equestria, like I want to see more towns and cities and other cultures."

"That would be a wonderful idea." Fluttershy remarked. "You got to see Cloudsdale with me and Rainbow Dash, so you can do the same with Canterlot, except it's with Rarity."

"Totally. You coming with me, Flutters?"

"I would love to come, but I have to help Mane Goodall be her partner at her veterinary clinic in the town."

"Oh, okay. I don't mind going alone." Then he turned his attention to Rarity. "So, can I just at least get my stuff and I will-" then he had a thought. "Will it cost a lot of money to spend for the train ticket?"

Rarity made a small smirk. "Not a worry. Since I am the element of generosity and the fact that I am a friend of the princess of Friendship herself, they will make an exception for us. And of course, if that doesn't work, I will use my.... charms to persuade him otherwise if the conductor is a stallion."

"Ooh, I've seen that trick before. I've seen it millions of times before in movies and TV shows throughout my life."

"Magnifique. Oh you will love Equestria's capital. Fine dining, the city's decor, and other things to do over there."

"Wait, what would the other ponies there think of me? Like what if they think I am a monster of some kind. Rainbow Dash did tell me that the place is full of snobby type of folk."

"Don't worry. Perhaps a few of them think they are better than everypony else, but most of them will like you."

"Well alright. Fluttershy, I'll see you in a little while, okay?"

"Of course. Have fun in Canterlot."

"I will." Then the human went with the white unicorn to the train station so they can visit the capital city together.
> Capital of Equestria (Part 1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

On the train to Canterlot, Luke was still a little nervous about going because of what he heard about some hoity-toity ponies living over there at the capital. His foot was slightly shaking, feeling a few butterflies swarming around his belly. (There aren't any real butterflies, of course) Rarity was sitting next to him, looking more than excited to go back to visit Canterlot herself.

The white unicorn noticed Luke and his nervousness. She frowned and gently placed her warm hoof on his hand "Are you feeling alright, sweetie?"

"What? what?" Luke went out of his thoughts, and looked around, a little alarmed by what just touched him. He realized it was just Rarity, nothing more. "Yeah, I'm just fine." he let out a deep sigh. "Listen, Rarity," he said "Are you sure I'll be fine in this place?"

She smiled at him "Of course you will, sweetie. We already talked about this, not everypony in Canterlot is snobbish or self-centered. As a matter of fact, there are some nice ponies over there, and not to mention my second boutique in it."

"Right. I remember that." Then it was silent for a few seconds. It was so still that Luke could hear the sound of the train whistling, and the mechanics from outside working. Finally, Luke said "so, about what you say, there is a ciy in my world called Paris, in a country called France. It was a place where everyone outside of France thought everyone there were self-centered, and think they are all better than everyone else."

"And are they?"

"Well.... I never been to Paris, but I have heard from my friends and relatives that Paris has rude people on it, but that's just a stereotype for the most part. Every country, and every city has their ups and downs."

"Quite right, Luke. Not to mention that Spoiled rich." She agreed in disgust just saying that self-absorbed mare's name.

Luke himself began having negative thoughts about that one mare that called him retarded once before. Well, he let it go, because he did give ego a little beating, and the co-rulers of Equestria themselves gave her a penalty for it to make her suffering worse

"I hear ya." He agreed with her. "I shouldn't probably think about ways to hurt her or possibly kill her, because it's unhealthy."

"Good heavens!" Rarity exclaimed, covering her mouth in slight horror. "Surely you would not kill her, would you."

"No. Of course not. I just don't like her."

Rarity giggled "believe me, Luke. Everypony, we'll just about everypony does not like her anyway. Spoiled Rich can make narcissistic remarks to anypony. It happened to me, Twilight, and a lot of ponies in Ponyville."

"Heh." Then he looked out the window. "I wouldn't even be surprised that Spoiled didn't come to the Animal Day festival, or heckle me on my songs." Luke made a smirk just thinking about what the rotten mare would do to heckle him.

Rarity made another laugh. "Of course. She always views animals as vermin, and absolutely filthy creatures."

Luke made a small gasp "how dare she?"

"I know. But don't worry about her, you just need to ignore her type. The point is, you will do marvelous here. I even know a couple of ponies that live in Canterlot, and are quite nice folk."

The human smiled. "Good."

It wasn't long, for they already made it to the Canterlot train station. Rarity was more than happy to see the city outside through the window. Her eyes sparkled, and pressed her hooves against her cheeks like a marshmallow.

The white unicorn got off the chair, and then Luke followed her outside. The human was absolutely amazed to see such a majestic city like this before. It was compatible to London, Paris, Toronto, and other beautiful cities like them. "It is gorgeous, isn't it?"

"Very gorgeous." Luke agreed with her. He looked at many ponies who look like they're were in the high-class societies. It was what made Luke worry, he has seen people like them, such as the rich people on a country club. But of course, there were regular ladies joint ponies that he hasn't seen in Ponyville before.

What if they will give him a very rude greeting? "Well, why don't we look into my boutique first, shall we?"

"perfect idea." 

"Just try and stay close to me, wouldn't want you to get lost, won't we?"

"Yeah, this place is much bigger than Ponyville. But don't worry, I'll stay close."

"Perfect!" While walking, Luke was looking around to and fro at the buildings, and cafes that swept across Canterlot. This all did kind of made him think he was going on vacation in Laris, except, no Eiffel Tower, and the fact he wasn't in France.

Some of the ponies looked at Luke with suspicion, and didn't know what to think of the rogue human. Luke felt like sweating like a big, juicy, baked him, hot from the oven, but he kept his cool, and held it in himself.

"Okay Luke, don't worry about what they think about you." He thought to himself. He took another breath and kept his head high, along with his spirit. Many of the normal looking ponies were looking more friendly towards him than some of the residents that look like they were at the top of the pyramid.

"Ah, here we are." Rarity sang. She went through the door and was more than happy to see her own boutique in Canterlot was in ship-shape as usual. "Hello? Anypony here?" She called out.

"Rarity! Welcome back." Said a voice. Luke looked ant it was a pretty unicorn mare with blue fur, and a mane and tail that had the color of orange. She had same type of shape princess Luna has, except this mare did not have any wings.

The mare noticed Luke and looked at him. "Ah, quite an intriguing young.... fellow." She said.

Luke lightly flushed. "Sassy Saddles, so wonderful to see you again." Then both unicorns hugged eachother as a friendly greeting. "I take it the shop is doing brilliant, I presume?"

"Oh yes, of course. I am always keeping everything in one in your boutique, Rarity." The mare looked at Luke again, then back to Rarity. "Tell me, who is this character?"

"This is a good friend of mine, Luke Smith, but you can just call him Luke since it is his first name."

"Hello." Luke said.

"A pleasure to meet you, Luke." Said the mare. "I am Sassy Saddles, the mare in charge of ararity's boutique here in Canterlot, and I am quite a fashionista myself. Tell me, where are you from?"

"I.... don't think that would go over too well." Luke shrugged with uncertainty

"Oh come now, why don't you let me be the judge of that?" Sassy suggested.

"Okay, okay." Then Luke told her the whole story about where he came from, and how he got to Equestria in the first place. The details truly fascinated Sassy Saddles, feeling more than curious. "And that's pretty much how I came here." He concluded.

"Truly fascinating. I never would have guessed it."

"Do you believe me?"

"Of course, dear. I mean, nopony around has ever seen a creature Ike yourself before. Until now that is."

"Wouldn't surprise me."

"So, what might somepony like you be doing in Canterlot?"

"I wanted to show Luke here, and he agreed." Rarity answered. 

"And let emu tell you, Sassy, I am quite amazed by this place." Luke added. He flipped his hair back to get it away from his eyes.

"I am glad to hear that. Just wait until you see the rest of the city. So many wonders as far as the eye can see, delicious food and other amazing places to visit while sightseeing."

"No kidding." Luke agreed.

The human decided to look around the store, and was truly amazed by the dresses and designs in 
Rarity's fashion line for Canterlot. The dresses and clothes were similar to the ones she made in her home. Nopony would make outfits better than Rarity.

When he was done, he told Sassy that it was nice meeting her and Sassy Saddles said the same thing vice versa to Luke. Rarity gave her a farewell until they meet again someday soon.

"Once again, I hope you enjoy your visit here in Canterlot!" She called out.

"I will!" Then Luke and Rarity continued the tour in Canterlot. While walking, Rarity saw a pair of ponies she knew on the city just as much as her coworker.

"Oh! Fancy Pants, Fleur!" She called out. It was a white unicorn stallion that looked rather bigger than some ponies would be. He had a monocle over one eye and a tuxedo. This stallion was probably the size of Big Mac, except he looks more fancy.

"Rarity! What a pleasant surprise.." said the stallion, in a handsome British accent. He and the mare walked with him to greet Luke and Rarity. The white mare was also a unicorn, except she had a shade of pink in her mane ad. Tail, and looked very beautiful and slender. Her cutie mark struck Luke with a sense of deja vu.

Her cutie mark was the Fleur De Lis symbol on her flanks. He recognized it because Luke was quite fond of anything French, the language, history, and all that."

"Fancy meeting you here, Fancy Pants." Then they both gave each other kisses on the cheek. "And of course for you, Fleur."

"Thank you, mademoiselle Rarity." The white mare added in a French accent. Luke thought correctly, she was something French.

"And who might this fellow be?"

"Go on Luke, introduce yourself, sweetie." Rarity urged with a big smile

"Okay okay. My name is Luke Smith, but you can just call me by my first name, which is Luke." The human introduced himself plainly.

"Quite a pleasure to meet you, Luke." Said Fancy Pants. "You look like you have an interesting backstory to tell me."

"Pardonez-moi." Said the mare. "My name is Fleur De Lis, and it is quite nice to meet you, Luke."

Then Luke gently held her hoof and said "enchante, Fleur." Then he gently kissed her hoof to be more polite since she is a lady after all.

Fleur smiled and was more than flattered. "Merci beaucoup, mon ami." She replied. "I didn't know you were into anything Fancee."

"I am, but in my world, the language is called French."

"Well you say it excellently." Fancy Pants complimented. "Do walk with us, we have so much to talk about."

"Oh oui. And I am beginning to like you already. And honestly, I think you look handsome with that hair."

Luke flustered. "Thanks"he replied. Then he waved his hair back and forth. "I look like a handsome lion, don't I?"

The three ponies laughed. "Oh yes, by the look on your face, and your hair, you do look like a handsome lion." Fleur complimented. Then they decided to have a little walk together to exchange conversations. This looked it Luke was doing just fine with his visit to Canterlot.


> Capital of Equestria (Part 2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke was enjoying a nice cup of coffee, sitting with Rarity, Fancypants, and Fleur de Lis. The other three sitting with him were having tea instead of coffee. Apparently, Tea seams to be more popular in Equestria than Coffee would be, sort of like Great Britain and India.

"So do tell us, Luke, how did you come to Equestria?" Fancy Pants asked the human. "It sounds like a real page-turner."

"Ho Ho, it is a page-turner, Fancy Pants." Luke began telling the tale of how he came to be in Equestria, and why he came here from the shooting star. "That Discord heard me, and granted me my wish."

"Hmm, leave it to the master of chaos to travel to different dimensions and mess with the laws of physics."

"That guy really gets around."

"I agree, mon ami." Said Fleur De Lis. "Zis is really fascinating information, Luke."

Luke flustered. Then after they were done with their drinks, all four continued walking down the road so the human could go sightseeing some more. Some ponies looked at Luke like he was a little lower on the pyramid than they were.

Many of the townsfolk were really friendly towards Luke, and all greeted him by saying "Hi, or salutations" along with waving their arms at him in a friendly gesture.

"Do you like everything so far, darling?" Rarity asked.

"Yep. Definitely a beautiful city." Luke replied.

"Beautiful indeed." Said a different stallion's voice. The human looked and ad saw a pair of rich-looking ponies, looking quite sophisticated in fashion. "And what might you be, creature?" Said the stallion in a somewhat rude tone of voice.

"Umm, I'm a human." The human replied uncomfortably.

Rarity had a look of disgust. "Jet Set and Upper Crust? What are you two heathens doing here?" She said in a voice that sounded like disgust or annoyance. Has she had any bad experience with these two snooty ponies?

"Never mind us, Rarity. Just passing through the capital of Equestria as usual." Said the mare. "And it is always a pelasure to run in to Fancy Pants and Fleur De Lis."

"Even though they mingle with the commoners." Said the stallion rudely. The pair made a snobbish laugh that sounded like a spoiled rich person would do at a country club while playing mini-golf.

"Oh tais toi (Shut up) you pompous imbeciles!" Fleur said.

"Anywho, we have saw you, primate and we thought we should look at you." Said Jet Set. "Hmm, quite an unusual looking creature, especially a peasant such as yourself."

"Hey, I'm not a peasant." Luke countered.

"Either way, just try and stay out of our way." Said Upper Crust. "We wouldn't want a grubby primate like you to ruin our entrance."

"How dare you!" Rarity said.

"It's alright, Rarity. At least I'm handsome, unlike you pair of toffs who are only just hicks pretending to be they are better than everyone else."

The snotty couple gasped and everypony around them went "Ohhh! Burn!"

Not willing to take this, Jet Set and Upper Crust angrily shrugged off and walked away with a huff. "Bravo Luke, quite a good comeback." Said Fancy Pants.

"You really showed them how to back off." Fleur added

"Learned it from my dad. He was always good with insults and comebacks."

"You're father taught you well, Luke." Rarity remarked. "Shall we continue then?"

"Let's shall." Luke replied. "And can we look at the castle, I really want to see what's inside. I would like to see Princess Celestia and Lrincess Luna again."

"You also met the princess'?" Fleur said with surprise "c'est incroyable."

"Oh yes, you had quite an honor meeting our leaders for the first time." Said Fancy Pants. "How did you meet them?"

The human cleared his threat and replied "they both wanted to meet and see me for the first time. They said they were really curious about me and how I came here to Equestria in the first place."

"I would not blame them, you are a really interesting type of human." Rarity said.

"Oh i'm not that interesting of a human being." Luke said modestly. "So Raroty, have you met those two rude folk before?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Rarity admitted. "Those two are quite a nasty piece of work. They even called my friends ruffians a long time ago. They didn't think I was sophisticated enough to be in this beautiful city."

"What? Rarity, yoy are by far one of the most sophisticated ponies I know. Don't ever question that."

"Ph, that's sweet. Thank you, Luke." Then she gave him a hug to show him gratitude. Luke was touched by this gesture, and it felt like a living marshmallow was gebtly squeezing him. They went in front of the castle, the guards used their feathers to prevent them from going any further. 

"Halt! Who goes there?" Said one of the guards.

"It is quite alright, sirs." Said Rarity. He is with me."

"And surely you must recognize me and my dear friend Fleur de Lis." Fancy Pants added.

"Ah, yes. You three we recognize, not the.... stranger." Said the other guard.

"This is my good friend, Luke." Said Rarity

"Don't worry, I know the princess'." The human noted.

Both guards looked at each other. "Oh, why didn't you say so?" The the first guard. "This changes everything."

"Yeah, if he is friends with Rarity and Canterlot's most famous ponies, then it must be true. Very well, go ahead in." It was exactly what Luke wanted to hear. Both guards opened the door and the four were inside.

"Thank you so much, kind soldiers." Said Fleur De Lis. She kissed one of the guards on his cheek, making him chuckle and flush a tomato red.

"No problem, miss De Lis." Said the guard in reply. "Always a pleasure for Equestria's most famous model."

Then the four happily entered the castle. "Enjoy your visit up the castle tower, folks." the second guard concluded before he and his friend closed the doubled doors behind the group. Luke was absolutely amazed by how the interior looked. So elegant, so old-fashioned, and more. It felt like he was visiting Buckingham Palace in London or Les Invalides in Paris. From what he read, none of those places looked as wonderful as this place was.

"Marvelous, ain't it?" said Fancy Pants

"Very." Luke agreed. "This is cool."

"Princess Celestia and Luna would be more than delighted to see you, Luke." Rarity said.

"Do I have to be invited or something like that?"

"Oh I'm sure you can be an exception." said Rarity. "You already met them before in Ponyville, and they would love you as a visitor."

"True. I already met them before. I just don't know if I am an... honored guest here."

"Of course you would be an honored guest, Luke." said Rarity.

"And of course you well be with us, two prominent figures in Canterlot, old chap. Minus the princess' of course." Fancy Pants added. "Isn't that right, ma cherie?"

"Oh ho ho, right you are, Fancy." Fleur agreed. 

"Do follow us, Luke. The princess' would be more than happy to see you here." The human followed the three upstairs, and was quite impressed by the stain-glass windows. Each one as he climbed from stairway to another had many. One had a mosaic that represented Celestia raising the sun, and the next one represented Luna raising the moon.

When they stopped at two large doors in front of them. This had to be the throne room where the princess' sit and reside in. Luke was feeling all the more eager to be in this cool place. He also hoped he won't get in trouble just because he wasn't invited or announced that he could come, or that Rarity will get in trouble either.

Rarity was the element of Generosity after all, and she has close ties with the co-rulers of Equestria. Luke decided that he shouldn't have too much of a problem with the princess'. When the doors flew open, the human was even more amazed seeing more stain-glass windows that had Twilight, her friends, and by the looks of them, they looked like last events they all had together saving Equestria and what not.

"Well, here we are." Sang Fancy Pants. "Celestia and Luna's humble throne room."

"It's so amazing." Luke thought to himself. In front of him was a long red carpet like Queen Elizabeth or the king of Swaziland would have in his castle (if Mswati III ever has one that is) and he followed it down the long throne room with the other three.

There they were, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, sitting on their thrones together as one. There was also a white stallion with blonde hair, something like a Prince Charming type of pony. At the end of the carpet. The three ponies bowed to her in respect, then Luke followed suit.

"Ah, Luke, how good to see you again, my dear." Said Celestia in her warm, motherly voice. Luke was more than glad to hear that from her mouth.

"So am I, Luke." Luna added. "It's nice of you to visit us on our castle."

"Hmm." Said a stallion's voice. "So you're the hairless ape I heard about." It was the white stallion, in a same type of rude voice as Upper Crust and Jet Set had when they first met him. Celestia and Luna glared at him.

"Prince Blueblood." Said Celestia firmly. "How dare you address our guest in that such a tone." 

"Ah, Rarity and Fleur De Lis." The white stallion walked up to them, and tried to kiss the, on their hooves, but both the mares were disgusted by his freshness, and swiped their hooves away from his mouth. In a grudge full voice, the stallion said to the British stallion "Fancy Pants."

"Blueblood." Fancy Pants spat.

"It is so wonderful to see you beautiful mare's again, it has been such a long time."

"Not long enough." Said Fleur De Lis sarcastically.

"Yes, and I have told you countless times that we will never be one."

"But we should." Said Blueblood. "We could be one in a million together, Rarity. Think about it."

Rarity thought what this snobbish stallion said, and answered "no!"

"Anywho, mysterious.... thing. My name is Prince Blueblood."

"Uhhh... charmed." Luke didn't know what to think of this. It was starting to become a little awkward. It sounded like Blueblood was Rarity's ex-boyfriend to say. The way Blueblood was trying to make a move on Rarity was like a rude jock boyfriend in high school that had a girlfriend that he only viewed as property, nothing more.

"Charmed indeed." Said Blueblood. "And what might you be?"

"This is Luke. He is a human, and do not call him creature you self-absorbed fool."

"Who are you calling self absorbed, you haughty windbag?!" Blueblood said

"Enough!" Luna interrupted before a fight could be broken out. "Blueblood, we think you should leave our presence."

"Yes, you are sounding quite rude to Luke already." Celestia said

"With pelasure. I have no interest in being in a room with this... animal." Then he let out a huff and exited the room. Before he exited, he said "enjoy you're stay in Canterlot, human. Just try and stay out of my way, just try it."

Luke didn't say a word to him, feeling more awkward than before. Blueblood exited the room with the door closing heard echoing. 

"I am really sorry about that, Luke. Prince Blueblood thinks he is better than Everypony else." Celestia said "please forgive us."

"No, it's alright. I've been called worse anyway. And he's not wrong, humans are in the animal family after all."

"Zat's a good point. A point very well taken, Luke." Said Fleur.

"So, why was he hear?"

"He's... our nephew."

"Oh, that explains a lot since you call him prince and looking a little different than some other ponies around here."

"Indeed. He think everypony who is not him is a ruffian, but deep down, he is a ruffian himself." Rarity remarked.

Fancy Pants, with a tone of irritation said "But don't let that ego maniac get on your nerves. He is like that to nearly everypony, praddling on about how amazing he is, oh the fool is just so exceedingly arrogant, strutting about his looks."

"Hmm. Well, enough of that.' Luke said

"Right, so what brings you here to Canterlot, Sweetie?" Celestia asked 

"Rarity invited me to visit the city with her, and I agreed. I wanted to see more places in Equestria and what there is on this world." 

"We are really flattered." Said Luna. "We can both appreciate that."

"And is it alright if I am in here, even if I wasn't invited or announced to both of you?"

"Don't worry, you're just fine." Celestia remarked with a wink. "How would you like a little tour on the rest of the castle?"

"I would love that."

"Brilliant. And we can show you where Twilight and Spike stayed in before they moved to Ponyville." Luna added.

"Sure thing. I'm a very curious guy. Oh, and I don't want to run into Blueblood again."

"Oh, you do not need to worry, dear." Said Rarity. "Prince Blueblood would not even bother trying to interact with you, or other ponies he would look down upon he thinks are inferior to him.

"Yes, you'll be just fine."

Luke smiled "okay."

"We'll come on, let us show you around the castle. You will be truly amazed by our beautiful, humble home." Celestia noted.

"Oh, and after you are done, why don't we stop by Sassy Saddles for a visit in my Canterlot Boutique? I have not talked to her for quite a while now."

"Perfect! So you guys are staying behind then?"

"Of course. But don't worry, we'll be waiting for you when you are done, good chap.in the mean time, we might have a little talk in the parlor downstairs."

Then Luke went with the princess' so they can begin the tour.
> Rarity's Second Boutique
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke was having a marvelous time being given the tour of Celestia and Luna's castle. The first thing they showed him was Twilight Sparkle's old room when she was still Celestia's faithful student at that time

"Before it was cleaned up months ago, it was quite dusty with some cobwebs after Twilight and Spike moved to Ponyville together." Celestia noted

Luke looked around at the books, and noticed the telescope upstairs. More than curious, he hurriedly went upstairs and peeped his eye through the telescope. What he was seeing was quite beautiful, just looking at the stars and planets in outer space. It was almost like he was visiting an astronomy tower.

"Having fun, Luke?" Asked Luna

"Yeah, this is so awesome!" Luke replied before being done with the large telescope. "I can't believe Twilight and Spike left this all behind. What do you do with this place now?"

"One of Twilight's old friends, Moon Dancer, is using this place now, and she is quite intrigued with all of this." Said Celestia.

"Moon Dacer is also quite the scholar like Twilight is." Luna noted.

"Hmm. So, what else s there on the castle?" The human asked curiously. "I feel like seeing more stuff around here."

"Well, there is also the dungeon, but I don't think you would want to see that. It's..... not the happiest place in all Canterlot." Said Celestia. "But if you want to, then that's fine."

"Of course I want to see the dungeon. I like some dark and scary stuff."

"I see." Said Luna "very well, come with us."

"Alright."

"And besides, we do not have a lot of prisoners in our dungeon." Said Celestia. "We have very little to no crime at all here on Canterlot."

Luke was relieved to hear that. "I can't imagine why." He thought. The dungeon was a little dark. But brighter than any other dungeon on the world. Rows of yellow torches were aligned on both the walls. It turned out that it looked peaceful and quiet, and there were hardly any prisoners in the cells. The ones ina few cells didn't give Luke any trouble and kept to themselves.

Another place they decided to show Luke was the castle library, Twilight's favorite part of the palace since she is a bookworm. Next was the guest room, which was the tallest tower in the castle, then th princess' own bedrooms they would sleep in. Honestly, Luke was a little jealous that the princess' roms looked nicer than his own back home, and wished it did look nice as these ones. The high-society life was really elagant and graceful. But Luke decided not to care.

Throughout the tour, Luke looked at the castle gardens, then the ballroom for big events like parties or festivals or events. The garden looked really beautiful with all the flowers blooming all around them, and a few deer prancing past him like Bambi. The experience was truly magical for him, and he kind of got the feeling from the Wizard of Oz, except the flowers weren't trying to put him in a permanent sleep like the poppies from the movie were to the protagonists.

Another feeling was from Beauty and the Beast, and he kind of felt like Belle. As they went back inside, a Phoenix appeared with a loud squawk echoing the halls, and landing on Celestia's hoof. The human was really amazed by this creature. "Wow, what is that?" He asked

"This is my pet, Philomena, and she's a Phoenix."

"A Phoenix?" Luke said with his eyes wide open. "I have heard about the Phoenix in my world, but they are only myths and fairy tails and make-believe stuff."

"Really? I am surprised that your home doesn't have these beautiful creatures." Said Luna. 

"I know, that's what makes my home world kind of boring and all that." Said Luke. Then the bird lowered her head and nudged her head on his chest. "Oh you're so cool. Is the Phoenix immortal like it says on my world?"

"They most certainly are. You see, Luke, a Phoenix must always shed it's feathers and look like it is dying, but after it burns out, it rises up from the ashes, good as new. All of these are a normal life cycle of a Phoenix." Then Philomena perched on Luke's arm, gently piercing her claws on his skin. It felt really warm like the outside of a cup of hot coffee. It would make sense since the Phoenix is associated with fire and flames.

After a little while, the Phoenix flew off back into her cage in Celestia's bedroom. Turns out there was nothing left to show Luke, and it looked just about done.

"Well Luke, that's it. Me and my sister hope you have a wonderful stay in Canterlot." Said Luna warmly. "And let us know if anything is bothering you."

"Okay." Then the princess' escorted Luke back to Rarity, Fancy Pants, and Fleur De Lis in the foyer. "I'll see you soon, you're majesties."

"Have fun, Luke." Celestia concluded in her motherly voice.

Then the human went with the three ponies and exited the castle with the double doors shutting behind them with a loud thud. "How did it go, Luke?" Asked Rarity curiously.

"It was good. A really nice place this castle."

"Very nice indeed." Fancy Pants agreed.

"Well now zat you are done, how would you like to go see ze Canterlot boutique like Rarity said she would show you." Said Fleur.

"Of course." It was not a very long walk, somewhere like one or two miles, and then, there they were, Rarity's second boutique in Canterlot. It looked quite bigger than the home one in Ponyville. Looked fancier, too. Luke was more than eager to step inside and look at the dresses and outfits within. Rarity herself was more than eager to meet Sassy Saddles again, wondering how the shop is doing with this mare in charge

"Well, here we are." Rarity sang in a beautiful voice. "My very own Boutique in Canterlot."

The human was rather impressed by the exterior, now he couldn't wait to see the interior. "This looks homey." he thought. Out loud, he said "I wonder if it is busy."

"Oh her boutique is always busy in Canterlot. Everypony can never get enough of her styles and clothing." Fancy Pants remarked.

"Oui, Rarity does create the most beautiful dresses, and they are quite elegant, ne c'est pas?" Fleur added. "Her outfits are so beautiful that it can make a grown stallion cry." Luke chuckled at what she said

Rarity herself was quite flattered to hear these compliments two of the most prominent figures in Equestria. "You both are too kind." she said with flattery. "Well, I shouldn't keep you waiting, Luke." then he followed her inside the shop, with Fancy pants and Fleur following behind them.

Fancy Pants was right, this place is quite busy with a lot of shoppers. Many mares and stallions were looking at many outfits and accessories left and right, along with a line at the counter. "Rarity, how wonderful to see you again, my dear." Luke looked and it was blue unicorn mayor who's bosynand face were shaped like Luna and Cadence in some way.

Then the blue unicorn noticed Luke. And looked at him curiously. "Sassy Saddles my darling. How wonderful it is to see you again, too." Rarity replied. Then both the unicorns hugged one another.

"And who might this new friend of your be?"

"This is Luke, Luke Smith. Do not be alarmed by him though, he is a very nice gentleman, who came from another world."

"Yeah, it's true." Said Luke. "Take Rarity's word for it."

"Oui, Luke is a real sweetie, Sassy." Said Fleur 

The blue unicorn mare warmly smiled at him "well nice to meet you, Luke I am Sassy Saddles, the pony in charge of the boutique in Canterlot." The. She shook her hoof with his hand

"The pleasure's all mine."

"And of course, it is always a pleasure to have you Fancy pants and Fleur De Lis in here as well. I give you all welcome."

"No need for the formalities." Said Fancy Pants. "The pleasure is all mine and Fleur's." then the stallion gently kissed Sassy's hoof like a gentleman would do in a fancy gesture. Fancy was quite a real charmer when it comes to the ladies, especially Rarity.

"So, Sassy Saddles, I was curious, and I wanted to come inside here to check it out with my friends here."

"Of course. Why don't we have a talk?" Sassy said with great flattery.

"But what about the customers?" Rarity asked

"I am not the only employee, Rarity. Remember?"

"Oh. Right. I forgot about that." Then Luke got settled inside the shop, and sat with his friends and Sassy Saddles in the back room for employees only. Normally, that would be against the rules, but this is Rarity's second boutique shop in existence, and she had no problem with it at all. Sassy was only the second-in-charge for the Canterlot boutique since Rarity does not live there so she would keep an eye on the place.

On the room, Luke and Sassy Saddles were having a good conversation with each other, such as what he thought of this beautiful city in Equestria. "To be honest, some of the habitants here are... pompous in my opinion." Luke said modestly

Sassy chortled "I agree. Some of the ponies living here in Canterlot think they are better than everypony else, and above the law."

"They should realize the laws apply to everyone, just the 'common rabble' as they would call it." They all laughed with him.

"Exactly, exactly." Rarity agreed. "It might only get them in to trouble some day." The. She looked at the two celebrities. "And I am glad you Fancy Pants, and Fleur are not like those self-centered ponies."

"Right you are, my dear." Said Fancy Pants. "Even celebrities living the good life like ourselves have our limits."

"If only some ponies would see that, but apparently, you cannot convince some ponies in the world that their mane is on fire." Fleur remarked. They all laughed with her.

"Especially that ego-maniac, Prince Blueblood" Luke remembered.

Sassy had a look of disdain hearing that name. "Ugh, yes, do not get me started on him." She said. "I cannot stand that narcissistic stallion, he does not know how to treat a lady properly, and only treats them as a trophy of some kind."

"I know how that feels, really I do." Rarity said. She remembered the time at the grand galloping gala when she and Prince Blueblood bonded together, but realized that the prince was not who she thought he was. In reality, he was rude, self-absorbed, and insensitive at the same time.

Rarity decided not to think about it since it was not a good time for her at all. She even wished she would just forget about that awful night with that ego-maniac.

"So, did Prince Blueblood give you any trouble, Luke?"

"Well, not so much." Luke replied modestly. "He did call me a hairless ape, but that's it. No biggie. And the princess' were there so that was probably another reason why he didn't give me so much of a hard time, because he didn't want his special privileges taken away by his aunt Celestia."

"Oh I can imagine. Blueblood may be rude. But he does fear Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Ore than anything else. I myself would not want to face their wrath."

"Wouldn't blame you, Sassy. One thing that would scare me is getting in trouble with a leader of a country." Luke agreed. "Not saying I would want to."

"yes, yes. of course. Well, I sure hope he gets his rightful comeuppance."

"I'm there with you." Luke agreed.

"Perhaps someday, justice will be done for him. I will be waiting for that when that pig finally gets what he deserves." Fleur remarked

"I will drink to that." Rarity agreed. Then Luke and Sassy had a nice conversation about what he just did in Canterlot with Rarity, Fancy, and Fleur. Sassy was really impressed and a little jealous when he said he got a personal tour of the castle.

"The princess' were more than happy to show Luke the interior and the decor." Rarity explained. "And he loved it."

"I cannot imagine it. Honestly Luke, I am a little jealous." Said Sassy Saddles. "It sounded like an honor of a lifetime being given a tour of the castle. Oh how it would be my lifelong dream to see inside the castle."

"Maybe someday, that will come to you, you just don't know when it will hit you."

"Cannot argue with that, chap." Said Fancy. "Some things happen unexpectedly, like we never know what will hit us."

Then Sassy asked him about his homeworld, and Luke explained some interesting stuff about his definition of Earth, and how he came to Equestria in the first place. For Sassy, it was a real page turner, and she was quite fascinated by this intriguing experience.

"Well, that was rather random." She said

"And honestly, I didn't think my wish would come true."

"It's like Fancy Pants said before, some things happen by coincidence and never know when it will come. Well, I should probably get back to work now, the boutique needs me to run the business."

"Okay. Nice meeting you, Sassy."

"Anytime Luke. Do pay a visit here again sometime soon." Sassy Saddles replied. Then Luke, Rwrity, Fancy Pants, and Fleur exited the building and all decided to look for something to eat, for their stomachs were growling.

Then Rarity had a thought. "Luke, I think I know a place where you would love to eat at."

"What's that?"

"A restaurant called the Tasty Treat. It is a place with exotic food, and run by two ponies we know, Saffron Masala, and Coriander Cumin run the place together. The food over there is quite Devine and exquisite."

"She is not wrong, they have the best curry and spices served with greens." Said Fancy Pants.

Luke noticed that the names sounded like the Indian spices, and it might be an Indian type of restaurant. Perhaps he should try something new in his life. "That sounds good. Sure. That would be nice."

Then all four went off to the Indian restaurant so the human could try their food.
> Crazy Monster Encounter (Edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Tasty Treat, one of the most successful restaurants in Canterlot. Luke looked at the sign that sells out the restaurant's name. "Hmm. The name's original." The human thought Inside his head. This restaurant looked rather adorable, like everything else in Equestria is. He hoped that the interior was indeed, Indian style, like the owners names say it is.

"Here we are!" Rarity sang in a beautiful voice. "The Tasty Treat: the newest restaurant in Equestria. Oh you will love how Coriander Cumin and his daughter Saffron Masala will make food for you."

Those names still made Luke hungry just thinking of those Indian style foods. Especially curry since that is one of the many things India was popular for, along with Bengal tiger. Luke even heard his stomach growling, obviously telling him to fill him up with Indian cuisine.

"Indeed, the food on this fine dining center will leave you in awe." Said Fancy Pants. "Prepare to be amazed."

'Yes sir." Said Luke. When he entered, the smell of exotic food went right through his nostrils. The smell was definitely something from South Asia. The human was indeed, amazed by this.

He hoped that he will eat at this place sometime soon of he would ever want to. Of course he was also eager to meet this Coriander Cumin and Saffron Masala ponies.

"Welcome to the Tasty Treat." Said a female voice. A mare with a dark purple, bushy mane and tail cake out from the area where only employees were allowed to enter within. This mare was a unicorn, and she had a golden headband, and golden earrings to go with it. Yes, this definitely looked like somepony from a country inspired by India.

The coat she was wearing was like a brilliant orange type of color, and her cutie mark was a pretty looking, purple flower blossoming

The mare noticed Luke and she looked a little curious about him. Nopony can blame her though. Luke is quite a fascinating human being, considering the fact he was the only one in this world right now. "Oh, hello." She greeted. "I believe we have not met before."

"Hmm-mm. I'm from.... another world." Luke clarrified, trying to not make it sound so complicated for this Indian mare to understand.

"Oh my. That is rather peculiar." Said the mare. "I am Saffron Masala, the chef at Tasty Treats."

"The name's Luke. Luke Smith." The human flatly replied with a small smile. 

"Well, it is quite an honor, Luke " said Saffron kindly. "Oh, and Rarity, it's wonderful to see you again, too." She addressed the white unicorn.

"And always a pleasure to see a familiar face like yours, Saffron." Rarity humbly remarked.

"If it was not for you and Pinkie Pie, me and my father would not know what to do without you."

"Wherever my cutie mark calls me for a friendship problem, I will always answer."

"And of course, I give you both a warm welcome, Fancy Pants and Fleur De Lis." Saffron added. She and Flitter gave each other two kisses on one another's cheeks.

"This places always smell so nice, ne c'est pas? C'etait incroyable." Fleur said.

"And it is quite more delicious and appetizing than those other restaurants that say they are delicious, but in reality, it tastes completely like dog kibble." Said Fancy Pants 

"I would call it false advertising." Said Luke. The others laughed at what he joked to them. 

"Exactly! Magnifique, Luke." Fleur commented. "You are quite drole (funny)."

Luke flustered at her comment. "Merci beaucoup, madamoiselle." He replied.

"Saffron!" An aggressive stallion called out from the back of the restaurant. The stallion looked rather obese, and has a large, scruffy mustache along with large, bushy eyebrows to go with it. His cost was a little more of a yellowish color than the mare here. "Ah, there you are my daughter. What could possibly be taking you so long and- Oh, Rarity, Fleur De Lis and Fancy Pants. What a very pleasant surprise to see you all here."

"Coriander Cumin. I can say the same for you." Rarity replied humbly.

Then the stallion noticed the human. "You!" He suddenly barked. The next thing he did was inspect Luke to know more about what he exactly is. "I don't recognize you." He said in a more calm voice. "Are you some kind of.... hairless albino orangutan?"

"Father!" Saffron scolded. "That's rude!" Back to the human, the mare said "I am very stubborn about my fsther, he can be very blunt at times." Her dad gave her a small glare

"No it's fine. I kind of expected that reaction to happen around me. Wouldn't really blame them though."

"Forgive me." Coriander said, clearing his throat. "I was just curious."

"Heh, no worries. You're not the only one to react like that. At least you're not like Jet Set and Upper Crust, and of course Blueblood."

"Oh tell me about it." Said a mare, overhearing the conversation. "That guy is such a rude pig."

"And mean!" A unicorn stallion added

"He called me and my family a bunch of sniveling beggars!" A pegasus mare added. Then there was a large chatter of negative comments for prince Blueblood.

"Alright! Alright! We can all agree on something!" Said Coriander Cumin. "Prince Blueblood is a lot of things, a slimy little jackal, a shyster, and a self-centered ego maniac, but let us not dwell on it inside our thoughts, and let it not bring you down. Just please continue all your meals."

Everypony in the place agreed and decided to drug off the bad thoughts of Blueblood and forget about him. It was as if they didn't remember what they were criticizing anymore when they continued eating.

"Anyway, Luke is absolutely right. We all have a common enemy in that prince Blueblood." Said Saffron. "But at least Celestia and Luna are in power."

"Here here." Fancy Pants agreed.

"So, are you hungry, Luke?"

"Of course. That's why I came here."

"Brilliant." Said Coriander. "Come have a seat and we will bring you your food."
Then Luke found himself enjoying many type of Indian cuisine. His belly will definitely be full after he is through with all of this food.





A little later, Luke was back in Fluttershy's cottage close to Ponyville. Right now, he was just playing with Linus the lion again, and then scratching Harry's belly. 

The large grizzly bear was simply enjoying the belly rubbing from the human, like a dog would do the same thing. Harry was making small growls, really liking Luke's magic touch.

"Oh, isn't that cute." Said Fluttershy, done giving Angel his snacks. The white rabbit's snack bowl wad like a salad with chopped off carrots, which I'd the kind of vegetable that every rabbit and hare loves. Along with the carrots were tomato and lettuce slices, like there would be in any salad. "So, how was Canterlot with Rarity?" The yellow pegasus asked him curiously.

"It was good." Luke replied, petting the lion's handsome mane. "It was so amazing in Canterlot, the buildings, the people, and the princess' even gave me a tour of the castle inside."

Fluttershy made an excited gasp. "Ooh, how wonderful. That was really kind of princess Celestia and Princess  Luna to show you around their home."

"And I also met Fleur De Lis and Fancy Pants that accompanied me and Rarity to a few other places. And of course..." the human's demeanor slowly began to change when he said "there was also Celestia's evil nephew, prince Blueblood."

"Oh goodness." Said Fluttershy, mildly shocked to hear about the last thing he talked about during his visit. "Was he mean to you?"

"Well, he wasn't that mean to me. He just told me to stay out of his way, but don't worry about that. That guy didn't really give me that much a hard time."

"Good." The yellow pegasus sighed.

"And I saw that he and Fancy Pants have a grudge against one another."

Rarity did tell me about that a little while ago. Well, enough of that, what else did you do?"

"We went to Rarity's second boutique in town, and met the mare in charge of it, Sassy Saddles. She seemed very nice like a lot of people in Canterlot."

"Did you meet anypony that seemed egotistical?"

"Well... there was this self-absorbed couple named Jet Set and Upper Crust. They thought they were better than everybody else."

"Oh goodness. I have heard those ponies. Did they give you a real hard time?"

"Not as much. We just ignored them."

Fluttershy smiled to hear that. "Good."

Luke told her about the two Indian-like ponies that owned the Tasty Treat Catering, Coriander Cumin and Saffron Masala. After a long conversation about the trip, Luke and Fluttershy went to feed the animals their supper.

As usual, all the animals were happy to be fed with their meals. The human promptly went back inside, and checked his text messages. As usual, all his old friends from home were checking on him, and the same with his mother and father, both hopping he is okay and he gets back home soon.

"Oh guys. I miss you, too." He muttered under his breath.

"What's that?" Asked Fluttershy, hearing what he briefly said. 

'Oh nothing, just thinking of my family and friends back home as usual." The human replied flatly. "No big deal."

Fluttershy smirked "I understand." She remarked. "I just hope they are okay."

Luke made a deep sigh, and texted his friends and family back to tell them he's perfectly alright. "Me too." Ad he sent it to all the people be loved, he got back up. Just then he noticed one of the ducks going outside, into the Everfree Forest.

"Uh, Flutters?"

'Yes?"

'One of the ducks wandered off into the forest." 

They yellow pegasus realized what he meant, gasped, and hurriedly went back outside. "Oh no, no no, this can't be good." She panted. Then she turned back on Luke, and asked the human "Which duck was it?"

"Sir Quacks-alot."

Then Fluttershy fainted for a short period of time, and Luke helped her get back up. "This is terrible! Who knows what mean, nasty creatures who live in it might do to poor Quacks-alot."

Luke boldly stated "I"ll go look for him."

"What? I know you want to help me Luke, but going into the Everfree Forest alone is just too dangerous."

'Don't worry about me. I'll be just fine."

'But what if you get hurt?" She asked.

"Don't worry, i'll make sure That I find Sir Quacks-alot, and bring him back here where he belongs."

'Okay but.... but..." she was about to protest against this again, but she was stopped by one of Luke's fingers gently pressing against his lips. 

"Please, just trust me. I'll do my very best to be careful out there."

She was still reluctant about this decision. If anything happened to Luke, Fluttershy would never forgive herself. Nonetheless, she said "okay. Just please promise me one thing."

"What's that?"

There was a pause sp still that the human could heard the breathing of many animals around him. Finally she replied "just please be careful out there.... okay?"

"I promise. And if I am not back by thirty minutes, call the cavalry, and by cavalry, I mean you and the others."

"Okay."

Then the human went outside and slowly wandered into the Everfree territory. A chill crept down his spine, knowing that this place was creepy as hell. It was like wondering into a haunted forest, except it was much worse. He went deeper and deeper in the area the flaming geyser swamp.

He only had one thing in mind, and That was to get one of Fluttershy's ducks back home where he belongs. "Sir Quacks-alot?" He called out to the missing animal. "Where are you? Fluttershy misses you."

Then there was no answer, except for an eerie sound of wind passing by. The human searched high and low for the duck in many parts of the Everfree Forest, but so far, he found nothing.

At last, he found the poor mallard feeling scared ad alone. "Ah there you are, little guy." He sighed in relief. Luke hurriedly went to the bird's aid, and went to check up on it. "What the hell were you thinking?" He asked Sir Quacks-alot. "You could have gotten killed out here. Any reason why you went all the way here?"

Then the mallard began to quack about why he just went off into the Everfree Forest, but Luke couldn't really understand him.

"Okay, okay, you can tell it to Fluttershy. Come on, we need to get you home." Sir Quacks-alot agreed and went on Luke's arms. Then Luke was on the trail back home where he heard a growling noise. "Uhh, hello?"

Then he saw  a large figure that had three pairs of glowing red eyes, and then as the creature got close to the human, it revealed to be a creature that had a tiger's head and front body, a goat's head and hind-body, and the tail wasn't even a tail, it was a fierce looking snake.

"Quacks-alot, get out of here!" He warned the drake. Then the duck immediately flew off. The human was absolutely stunned to see such a creature like this. He recognized the monster from Greek Mythology when he was little. Luke read many books about it, and knew what it was really well."

"Oh shit." He muttered.

The creature approached him more and more, until it got close enough to move it's face against his own. "Hello there." Said the tiger in a fierce, demonic voice."

'And what might a.... creature like you be doing out here?" The goat head bleated.

"Yesss, are you lost?"

"Wow, you're a Chimera." He said in awe.
> Chimera Commotion 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke did not even know what to think of the situation he was in. A Chimera in front of him? He definitely didn't expect that beast from Greek Mythology, at least a myth in his world, to exist in a world called Equestria. Nonetheless, he had to keep his cool, because monsters like this one can smell fear.

"You're- you're a Chimera, aren't you?" Luke pointed his finger at the monster

All three heads looked at each other, rather impressed that he knows what they are all together, and turned their attentiom back to the human. "Well," said the goat in an amused voice. "What a smart looking hairless ape."

"You know who we are, but what are you?" Said the snake.

"Well, i'm a human." Like replied, trying to be as brave as possible. "I'm not from Equestria."

"Hmm. Me and my sisters can definitely see that." The tiger said.

"And, wait, I thought a Chimera would be half lion instead of half tiger." Luke noted. What he said made the tiger facepalm herself in the face, and growled in irritation. 

The feline part then exclaimed "why does everyone keep saying that? What does everyone want a lion instead of a tiger? Huh?!"

"Oh calm down. I thought you were used to that." Said the goat, a little irritated.

The tiger part didn't say anything, but made a small huff I'm reply while moving her eyes the other direction. "Well, enough of thisss." Said the snake. "Tell usss, human, what bringsss you here to our home?"

Luke stammered a little, but he finally said "well, I wasn't supposed to be here, I was trying to help find a lost duck for Fluttershy, and I saw him run over here in the forest." He cleared his throat.

"Well, that sounds like a real page-turner, human." Said the goat amusingly. 

"Look, I don't want any trouble, I was just passing through, and I did not mean to trespass in your own home in this hellish swamp."

All three heads smiled evilly at him. "Don't be sssily." Said the snake. "We do not mind the extra company." Then the creature slowly walked around him, starting to invade his personal space.

"Yeah, it can be so lonely here in the swamp, and we hardly get visitors." Said the goat. Then she used her left front paw, which was tiger feet, to gently run his head so softly. "By the way human, we are always willing to stick around for lunch." She began caressing his face.

Luke realized what she meant, and he just replied "well, that's nice, but I don't think I have any food to give you all."

"Oh, that will not be any problem at all. Normally, me and my sisters can never agree on what to eat, except for pie, but in your case," the tiger used one of her claws to gently pierce his neck with it. "You can be an.... exception and a delecacy."

Now Luke's heart was pumping even more rapidly. "Well, that's nice, but... I have to get back home to my friend, Fluttershy's, so I am so sorry." He was about to escape from the monster, but then the goat used a large paw to stop him from doing so, then she gently pulled the human close. 

The goat head then said in his ear, making his spine shiver done everytime she talked "it's okay, you will not have to worry about that anymore." At first she sounded like a nice goat but then more sinister when she added "you do not have to worry about anything anymore."

"Indeed, because for lunch, we are going to have a bacon and human served with barbecue sauce." The tiger added, baring her sharp teeth at Luke.

"And don't worry. We won't leave anything that remains of you." Said the snake.

Boy oh boy, Luke was in a really heavy pickle here. He was about to get eaten by a real scary Chimera who wants him as their lunch or dinner. Then he had an idea 

"Can I say something first before you eat me?" He asked them.

"Very well." Said the tiger. "What lady request do yoy have to say?"

"Oh well nothing, except..... This!" Then without warning Luke punched the tiger head with a powerful blow to the nose, biding him so time to distract the Chimera and get out of this wretched swamp. The human ran fast and fast as he could, but then he saw the beast charging at him with incredible full speed.

The Chimera was right on top of him. He turned around when he saw the monster about to pounce on him from behind, but it ran into a tree causing them to feel dizzy

"Get back here!" The goat shouted.

"Oh this is just like you, always messing up." Said the tiger.

"Me?! You're the one that always mails first, and asks questions later!" The goat protested. 

"Well at least I know how to hunt!" Said the tiger. "You're weak when it comes to attacking."

The goat head gasped, highly offended "Why I oughta!" She growled.

"You oughta what?"

Luke noticed the bickering and realized that this could be his one and only chance to escape from that horrible beast. He was about to make a break out of this fiery swamp, but then the beast jumped down in front of him

"And just where do you think you're going?!" said the tiger.

"Oh um, well, I was just leaving." Luke said. In a girly voice, he screamed "I have to go now!" then he began running almost as fast as Sonic the Hedgehog where he was heading to. It was not easy, for many geysers were erupting fire. Not only was it a problem for him, but the Chimera had to deal with the same problem they were having at the moment.

It was rather dangerous, but Luke hopped over a geyser of fire with a great jump. He decided to hide behind a large tree while the monster was distracted with the flame geysers. "Now where did he go?" said the goat head.

"It's your fault! you always got to be a- a backseat driver!" the tiger head argued with the goat. "You think you're the brains, don't you?"

"Well, You know what you say, Brains beats brawn all the time."

"False!" the tiger head countered. "Strength can get you out of many situations."

"Will you guys sssshut up and ssstop fighting for onccce?" the snake intervened. Both the goat and tiger growled and continued searching for Luke.

The human wanted to be absolutely sure that they could not see him, or pick up his scent like a bloodhound. Either way, he had to stay well hidden. He waited for a few long minutes of dead silence while hiding. At last, he noticed that the coast was probably clear, and made a break for it out of the Everfree forest as soon as possible. He was about to get out of the swamp, but then he was pounced from behind and landed on the ground. He felt something heavy and a little sharp pinning his chest. The Chimera had pinned him to the ground.

All the heads smiled wickedly at their soon-to-be lunch or dinner, and the Human knew he was in a heavy pickle here. The paw was too strong for him to push off of his body, and too far to bite so they would let go.

"Well, you are a sssmart human." said the snake.

"But not smart enough to evade us!" the tiger remarked.

"Don't worry, we'll make you're death as painless as possible." said the goat. Then they all bent their mouths onto his face. Luke assumed that it was the end for him, and he would die like this. However, before all three heads could get their teeth on him, Luke suddenly felt the weight come off of him.

He didn't know exactly what he was at first, just a rainbow flying past him, hitting the beast. Then he also remembered that next to it was a color of light yellow. He recognized what they were.

"Luke!" said the yellow pegasus, rushing to his aid. "Are you okay? I was so worried about you." she was gently patting his back, and helping him get back up, and Twilight had a little hoof in it as well.

"I'm fine. Thanks to you guys." Luke replied.

Fluttershy smiled to hear that. "I was worried that you wouldn't survive."

"I guess I should have listened to you."

The yellow pegasus reassured him by wrapping her arm around his torso. "Oh it's okay. I know you wanted to help me find Sir Quacks-alot." The human smiled back at her, then Fluttershy turned back at the Chimera, and went off to fight it with Rainbow Dash.

Both pegasus ponies were taking on the Chimera head-on, and the monster was getting frustrated in trying to catch Rainbow Dash, considering the fact how fast she was. Every time the Chimera tried to swing it's claws, and the snake would always try to bite either one of them with a vicious strike. Alas, she always missed, too.

"Come and get me, ugly!" Rainbow taunted while making a face at all three heads. This infuriated the Chimera even more, growling with frustration.

"Stop moving!" the tiger shouted.

"I don't think so!" Rainbow teased.

Then their other friends began fighting the monster, except Luke, who was watching how they were fighting so well against the Chimera.

After many minutes of fighting and fisticuffs, the Chimera couldn't handle it anymore, and they all shouted "Stop!"

Twilight, Fluttershy, and their friends immediately stopped, seeing that the monster is giving up. Fluttershy flew in front of them, and used her stare, scaring all three silly. "Alright you mean monsters, you leave Luke alone!" She said in a very assertive tone-of-voice, like she meant business.

Feeling more than intimidated, they all didn't say anything back to her.

"Now go away, and never bother him again!" The yellow Pegasus continued onward. "If you so much as out another claw on him, or any other of my friends. You will all be sorry! And I mean all of you! Do you understand me?"

They all nodded their heads a yes, and the Chimera ran away into parts unknown, feeling very afraid of her stare, therefore, Luke was safe from that thing. All six friends cheered for their efforts against the Chimera.

Luke never felt more relieved before. For a minute there, he thought he would be Chimera chow, or a human burger like the heads say how they would eat him. All six of them crowded around Luke to check on him.

"We're glad you're okay, sugarcube." Said Applejack. "We came just in the neck of time, too."

"Yeah, good thing we showed up." Rainbow added. "That Chimera was no match for my awesome abilities." She made a few punches while hovering.

"Are you sure you're okay, Luke?" Asked Twilight.

"Of course. That Chimera didn't really hurt me, just pounced on me, that's all. And I even punched it when I distracted it."

"Ooh, that is quite a feisty way to fight back." Said Rarity.

"Oh yes. It is good you know how to defend yourself." Fluttershy remarked.

"So how did you guys know that I was being attacked like that?"

"Sir Quacks-alot came back and warned me about that really mean monster. I got my friends with me and came here as soon as we could. I don't know what I would be without you." Then she hugged him. "But I am so glad you're okay."

The human smiled warmly and hugged her back, then the other five ponies joined in, becoming a group hug. "Thank you Fluttershy. Well, let's go home." They all greed with gen human and walked with him back to the cottage, and hopefully, that monster would never try to give him trouble again.
> Go Go Power Ponies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

While drinking a sip of root beer, Luke was having spaghetti without meatballs foe dinner sine ponies don't eat meat and all. Still, the noodles and the sauce were good, even without the meatballs. Fluttershy herself was having some spaghetti.

"Hmm, this is delicious, Luke. Did you make this yourself?"

"Yep." He replied boldly and proudly. "It's my grandma's secret recipe for the sauce. It's actually quite easy once you get the hang of it."

Fluttershy took another bite of noodles, and wiped her face with an unused napkin. "It is so good."

Luke shrugged a little and flushed "you know me, i'm quite a fast learner. My grandma taught me all that there is to know about Makin spaghetti sauce." And he slurped down a lone noodle. 

"I'm glad to hear that. Is spaghetti your favorite type of food?"

"Oh of them." Luke said modestly. "But I like pizza hamburgers, hit dogs, some fish like tilapia. I also love melons like honeydew and citrus like lemons. But I think I might have told you that before."

The yellow pegasus was remembering a time when the rogue human did mention the food he liked to eat. "That's wonderful. Wait, what are hot dogs?"

"No need to worry about that, they are not really dogs, just.... pig intestines." Luke said, trying not to freak her out in any way possible." The yellow pegasus was a little grossed out by this, but she realized that it was probably a human custom. "Don't worry, I will never kill am animal and try to eat."

Then the smile came back to her face. "I know you wouldn't. You're too kind and sweet to do such an evil thing, Luke."

Luke flustered mildly again, and slightly looked away from her. "He stop it." He said with a chuckle. "But to be honest, I am missing the taste of a double whopper from Burger King." Then he began daydreaming of that infamous hamburger.

"Uhh, Luke, I don't mean to be rude, but-"

"Oh, sorry," then he wiped out a few drops of saliva off his face, and focused back on reality. "But the point is, i'm okay if I don't eat it that much anymore. Besides, fast food isn't really the... healthiest choice for eating anyway." and he made a small growl. "Sometimes I wish that the food that is healthy like carrots, and broccoli, or bran, anything that doesn't have so much taste as the unhealthy food, while the fun food like ice cream, Burger King, a restaurant called McDonald's, cookies, and candy were the healthy food."

Fluttershy giggled. "That would be nice. Pinkie Pie would love it if that actually happened."

Luke made a small chuckle. "Yeah, it would be paradise for her. It would be like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory for her."

"Who's Willy Wonka?" Fluttershy asked

"He's a fictional owner of this candy utopia called the Chocolate Factory. It's from an old movie from a long time ago that many people love. It's just a made-up place that everyone wishes they could visit. Heh, I can imagine how much Pinkie Pie will love to be in a place like that one."

"That is true." Then both of them continued eating their dinner. After they were finished, Both of them were more than stuffed, and the human patted his belly, knowing it appeased it's hunger. "Oh boy, that was really delicious. Thank you for making dinner, Luke." Fluttershy said said gratefully while patting his back

"No problem. I knew you would love it."

She nodded a yes to him, and remarked "I did." Then she went to give Angel Bunny her special extra dinner just for him. "Here you go, Angel. An extra bowl of greens for you."

The rabbit made a happy squeak, and dug into his extra dinner. He may be a white rabbit, but he was eating like a pig.

"You really love extra dinner, don't ya, Angel." Luke asked him, looking a little annoyed by the rabbit's spoiled behavior.

Angel looked up, with his mouth looking quite packed, and boldly nodded a yes before eating the rest of his food down like a pig eating a pale of slob.

"Of course you do." He muttered. "No offense, Fluttershy, but doesn't Angel have any limits? I mean, sure, he is cute, but even he needs limits around here."

"Oh yes. I always put my hoof down on him if he is acting mean or rude to me or any other animal in my cottage."

"How?"

It was almost as if she hated to talk about it, but she said "well, umm- I have this technique that I used to... make animals listen to me if they were misbehaving."

"What's that?"

"The stare."

"The stare?" 

"Hmm-mm. You see-" but before Fluttershy could finish, she was interrupted when Angel tapped his foot on the floor in an aggressive matter. The bunny was telling her he wanted more food, but Fluttershy looked bold, and looked stern at him. "Angel Bunny. I already fed ypu." She stated.

Angel however looked more aggressive and stomped his foo again

"I didn't want to have to do this, Angel, but you leave me no choice." Then Fluttershy cleared her throat, and then gave Angel an evil look in her eyes, like she was going to do something horrible to him. The spoiled white rabbit stepped back in fear, and Fluttershy kept on giving him an evil death glare.

Luke himself was surprised by this, and didn't know what to think of about what she was even doing. Just then the rabbit went to bed in a snap, and began snoring rapid and loudly

Her demeanor suddenly changed back to her happy self when Fluttershy. "That's a good bunny."

"Whoa, what was that?"

"That was something I call the Stare." Fluttershy said. "It's not really what I like to do, but... I only use it if necessary, like how rude Angel was to me."

"Hmm. Well that works. Let's see Jackson Galaxy and Victoria Stillwell do that to cats and dogs who would misbehave."

"Who are they?"

"Jackson Galaxy is a cat behaviorist and has his own show on Animal Planet called My Cat from Hell. Victoria Stilwell is a dog behaviorist, and helps keeps dogs under control, who also had her own show on Animal Planet."

"Oh my, I wish I can meet them."

"Well, I think they should meet you. By the looks of my eyes, you know about animals way more than they do."

"Aww, thank you, Luke." then she hugged him again. The human was always happy to feel the warm embrace of Fluttershy. "I just hope that any animals aren't scarred for life by that technique."

"Don't worry. I have given the stare a couple times on them before, and they all still love me." and the other made sounds of agreement with her, like roaring, grunting, squeaking, growling, chittering, and other type of sounds animals make. "Right."

"Yeah, who am I kidding. Many animals just wouldn't know any better, but for a certain rabbit here, he knows exactly what's going on around him."

Fluttershy made a giggle. "Right, but I'm sure he learned his lesson now." While looking over, Angel made a small growl of irritation before snoring himself to sleep again. Then Luke and Fluttershy had a small laugh together. The human drew himself one last glass of root beet from the kitchen, and then went up to the bathroom.

After he was finished, Luke put his phone and iPod back in their chargers, and promptly made his way up to bed. "Goodnight, Luke. I'll see you in the morning."

"G'night, Fluttershy." He replied with a yawn, and then made his way up to bed.





In the next morning, the sun was shining over Luke's bedroom window in the cottage. The human slowly awaken from his long, eight hour slumber, and stretched himself before waving his long hair back two inches past his neck.

"What a night." he muttered to himself. He lumbered downstairs, and smelled the scent of waffles. He wiped his eyes and heard Fluttershy humming to herself in the kitchen.

There's nothing more soothing to him than hearing his closest pony friend's beautiful singing voice. It was like some beautiful goddess just came down from the heavens in the skies. He sat down on the table and began eating his breakfast.

Fluttershy came back in, still humming, and immediately stopped when she saw Luke eating his food. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Uh-huh. Thank you for making me breakfast, but you didn't have to do that. I could have mad it myself."

"I know, but you're one of my closest friends I could ever ask for."

Luke was touched to hear those compliments. "Thank you Fluttershy." And he ate the last bite of his waffles with a touch of butter on them."

Then Fluttershy remembered something "I almost forgot." Then she brought in a cup of ice cold root beer for Luke to drink. "I know how much you love this."

"Once again, thank you." And he took a sip. "Hey Flutters,"

"Yes?"

"I want to thank you guys again for saving me from that Chimera yesterday. Without you, I would have been it's juicy baked dinner, like a big juicy baked ham."

The yellow Pegasus giggled adorably, and said "you're very welcome. Always happy to help one of best friends. Did you know about that monster?"

"Yeah, that monster is also in Greek mythology. Although it is usually portrayed with a lion head instead of a tiger head. But then I realized the Chimera was a female so now it makes sense."

"Oh yes."

Then there was a knock on the door, and Luke was the one who answered it this time. It revealed to be his other best friends. "Ah, hey guys."

"Hi Luke." They all greeted warmly.

"Is Fluttershy here?"

"Uh-huh." The the human stepped inside so the others can come inside.

"Hello everypony." Fluttershy greeted the others. "What bring your here to my cottage?"

"I wanted to show everypony the new Power Ponies comic book!" Spike said, holding up a very peculiar comic novel. 

Luke then asked "Power Ponies? Like superheroes?"

"Yeah, really awesome superheroes." The baby dragon replied. "They protect the city of Maretropolis from an evil mare called the Mane-iac."

The name make Luke chuckle a little and said "ha, I get the pun."

"Yeah, and I want to go fight crime some more."

"You mean go back in there and foil the Mane-iac's plan in the newest addition right here?" Asked Rainbow Dash.

"Yep! For old time sake."

His friends were a little uncertain about this. "I don't know, Spike. It sounds kind of dangerous." Twilight remarked

"Ah, we made it in their and defeated her before, we can do it again."

"We don't think it's a good idea," said Fluttershy 

"Pardon me, but, what do you all mean?"

"Well Luke, this is from the Canterlot house of magic comics." Pinkie said "and they really are enchanted!"

"Oh. That explains a lot. Can I join in on the fun?" Luke offered. "I always wanted to have a superpower."

"See? Luke wants to have fun."

"Well we-"

"Please?" Said the human and baby dragon begged with the puppy dog face in their eyes. "I really want to see Maretropolis. Besides, it's my day off."

It took a little while, but Twilight said "Alright" with a smirk. Then the others said yes as well. Luke and Spike were more than thrilled to hear it, and the baby dragon pulled out a magnifying glass out of nowhere.

The reason why he used it was because the words were too small for even his eyes. When he was done reading it, a wormhole appeared from the book and began sucking everyone in the book, one by one.

Luke was the last of course, and landed with a thud on something made of cement. "Ow. That hurts." He said. When he got up he saw that he was in a beautiful looking city under the moonlight, sort of like the world of Batman and Spider-Man of some kind.

He looked, and saw that his closest pony friends have turned into superheroes and Spike looked 
like Robin the boy wonder.

"Wow, look at you guys! You look like superheroes!"

"We are Superheroes. I am the Masked Matterhorn."

"The graceful Radiance.

"I'm Saddle Rager, well, I think I am."

"Fili-second!"

"Zap!"

"And Mistress Marevelous."

"Ahem! Don't forget about me. I am Humdrum!" Spike said. "And look at you, Luke."

The human took out his iPod and saw his reflection. He was rather surprised to see that he was wearing leather pants, and a set of lightweight armor on his torso. He wore a large belt buckle with a lion roaring as a symbol, made of pure silver. His hair was still the way it was, but he had sharp teeth like a vampire or a carnivorous animal would have. Not only that, but he had a green lion mask with his long hair poking out of it.

"Wow, I look so badass." He even had a green cape behind. "What am I?"

"The Green Lion." Spike said. "A musician that turned into a superhero after a guitar and amplifier accident, and it mutated you to give you the power to use his guitar against his enemies with amazing guitar solos and chord. The lion part was from a time he got bitten by one before the accident. Now you can roar like one."

The human was getting more and more excited, and then made an actual roar, that indeed, sounded like a lion would sound like. His friends were more than impressed by this."

"This is so wonderful!" Fluttershy said. "This should be fun."

Then an explosion was heard out of nowhere, and saw an earth mare with a body shape like Princess Luna would have, except she was dark blue on color, and wore a purple bodysuit, and her mane and tail looked green and were used like tendrils.

"Well well well." Said the mare. "The Power Ponies have come to play with me! Haha! Oh! And the Green a lion is here too! This is going to be fun! Mwahahahahaha!"

She kept on cackling and cackling. From the looks and sounds of this, she sounded completely crazy, criminally crazy. "This must be the Mane-iac Spike told me about. She kind of looks like a combination of Joker, Doc Ock, and Medusa."

"Time for the Mane event."

"Oh hell." Luke muttered. "She's nuts."
> How A Human can Save his Friends 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

At first, it was a little quiet and still, but then, the Mane-iac used one of her tendrils to try and strike at her enemies like a whip or a sword. However, she missed, and the fighting between them began. Luke tried to think of something, and then an electric guitar just appeared out of nowhere. It was also green, and it was like a les Paul, except, it was left hand, like Luke himself is.

"Face my wrath!" Mane-iac shouted viciously.



Luke started playing a solo from his guitar, and musical waves appeared from out of it, knocking Mane-iac radically off-course.

"Well, we did it!" Luke cheered. "That was fast."

"Not quite you haven't!" Mane-iac said from bellow the building, using her mane and tail to climb back up to the fight.  "It will take a lot more than a mere guitar blast to defeat me!"

The human made a scowl, and said "Fine, then try this!" then he played chords and a solo that made fire and lightning appear out of nowhere, trying to hit the Mane-iac. However, she dodged every blast from the musical waves. "Damn!" Luke muttered.

"Hahaha! You missed me!"

Then Rarity jumped into action by using the powers from her bracelet to create a hammer out of pink magic, and smashed her to the roof of the building "Like I said, I love a very functional accessory." then she blew at her bracelet as if it was her trusted handgun. Nonetheless, Mane-iac had quite a lot more fight left in her.

"Take this!" she shouted, then without warning, she knocked Rarity off of the building with a tendril from her tail. At first, everyone was so scared that she might fall to her doom, but then the heroes saw a pink light from below, and they saw Rarity used the bracelet again to conjure a flying carpet back to the roof.

"You'll pay for that!" said Rainbow Dash. With full zeal, she charged at her with a number of punches and kicks, and even used her lightning bolt necklace to electrocute her with by creating a thunderstorm out of nearby clouds passing through.

The Mane-iac did get electrocuted, but had little affect, for she was only stunned for a few seconds, and made a quick recovery. "Hahaha! I am soooo used to getting electrocuted. Poor Zap, so naive, and so stupid." She taunted.

"Then prepare to meet my hooves!" then she punched her so hard in the face, she fell off the building again.

The heroes went down with Fili-second just running down the building, Radiance by using her magic carpet trick, Mistress Marevelous went with Radiance, and then of course, Masked Matterhorn, Saddle Rager, and Zapp used their wings. For Luke, he was trying to figure out how to get down from this building

"Don't worry, Luke. You have super strength. And have animal like reflexes. You won't get squashed, I promise, just use your guitar to create an energy force out of music to hover you back down."

"Gotcha." after another amazing solo, Spike grabbed onto his neck, and a green force of energy was carrying Luke and lifted him to the ground, with the baby dragon more than happy to hop off of him now. "This is kind of fun." Luke said, starting to get the hang of this.

"You're doing good, Luke." Fluttershy complimented the human. 

"Thanks."

"Don't get too comfortable, the fight is not over yet, hero!"

"Try to catch me!" Pinkie said playfully. She was running so fast like Sonic or the Flash would be like, even faster than the speed of sound. Luke wondered if Chuck Yeager would be surprised to see this, and imagined him crying.

Meanwhile, Mane-iac was turning around as fast as she could and tried to squish her with her tendrils like a whack-a-mole game, but she was clearly not fast enough. "Stop moving!!" she exclaimed in frustration.

"No, that's no fun!" Pinkie said innocently, then the shenanigans continued. 

Growling, Mane-iac pulled out what it looks like to be a gigantic spray can, held by her tendrils of course, and she sprayed Pinkie Pie with some weird mist, and then she froze on the spot, as if she just turned into a statue

"Oh no, not the hairspray ray of doom again!" Spike exclaimed

"That's right, Humdrum! HAHAHAHA!!"

Twilight retaliated by freezing her with her horn, like a living Popsicle. At first, it did look like they have won this battle, but then, Mane-iac was shaking inside the ice, and then broke through, free. 

Then Applejack tried used her magic rope to tie her up, like a calf about to be branded in a rodeo. The rope got to her mane, and tangle it, and she tried to use the hair from her tail to retaliate, however, Applejack used her golden horseshoe cuffs to stop the hair from doing anything. Then Fluttershy was about to charge at her, but then the unhinged mare broke free from the rope and slipped the cuffs off her tail with a few free tendrils, but then swatted her away.

"No!" Luke said with shock. "Fluttershy!" then he did a slide on the cement with his knees and tended to her aid. "Saddle Rager, speak to me!"

Then Fluttershy felt a touch of anger in her. "How dare you swat me away like that!" she said. "Don't you supervillains play by the rules!" then he noticed her voice was starting to get lower as she was raising her voice. "The whole world doesn't revolve around you, Mane-iac!! Let me teach you a lesson in RESPECT!!!" then she transformed into a gigantic monster, sort of like the Incredible hulk and then she made a roar

Luke was absolutely stunned and amazed to see this.

At this, the Mane-iac was becoming consumed with fear, and then she whistled, and all of a sudden, her hench-stallions came out, looking for a fight to defend her mistress. "DESTROY THEEEEEM!!!" she screamed to her minions. Just like that, the stallions all charged with a loud battlecry.

Then it was like a small battle in a war was happening. Saddle Rager was using all her strength to swipe away any enemies that would come at her. "Luke! Behind you!" she warned

Then the human made a supersonic shout that sounded like a lion roaring, and blew four charging enemies away from him. "Wow, I didn't know I can do that. Thanks, Fluttershy."

"You're Welcome, Luke." then they both continued fighting.

The human remembered playing video games and it was almost like a video game or a movie. He would bash enemies with his guitars, blow them away with his powerful chords with his guitar, and did the super lion roar too.

Meanwhile, Fili-second slowly recovered from her paralysis, and got back to the fighting herself. As the battle continued on and on, Mane-iac decided she has had enough of this conflict, and instantly uses the hairspray ray of doom on the others, except for Spike. She was about to do it on Luke, but he dodged and escaped.

"No! Please! Not again!" Spike begged for mercy.

"Oh, come now, Humdrum. I would never even bother using my weapon on you. You have no powers after all. And besides," then she unexpectedely gave him a small kiss on his lips. "You're just too cute to try and hurt, or kill. Hahaha. Come minions! To my secret lair we go!"

"What about the Lion?" asked one of the minions

"Don't bother with him! He's outnumbered a dozen of us to one now. We'll see to him later, for now, I have got to try and turn these ponies into my personal slaves! HAHAHAHAHA!"

Twilight, Fluttershy (Who changed back to her original form while still frozen) were scared hearing this, and imagined how horrible it would be to be into her slaves.

Then she, and her hench-stallions went back to their lair, leaving Spike. However, the Mane-iac suddenly turned around to look at him again, and said "If you ever want to come rescue your... friends here, I am always willing to accept an adorable little child to my home, I'll give you a warm blanket, and a LITTLE MAYHEM AS MY PET! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" then she and her minions were off.

"At first, Spike didn't know what to think, whether he should be touched the Mane-iac likes him in some way, or the fact that she was probably toying with him. Either way, he realized that he was missing the point where his friends have all been kidnapped.

"Spike!" Luke called out, running back to him. "Sorry, buddy. I wasn't running away, I was hiding."

"Oh, Luke. It's just you. It's okay, perfectly understandable. The Mane-iac took our friends hostages and is bringing them to her evil lair. She's trying to turn them into her personal slaves and servants!"

The human gasped "Oh mother of god. We gotta do something. You know these comics longer than I have, do you know where she is hiding?"

"Uh-huh, follow me." Then Luke did what the baby dragon instructed, and followed him to a building that looked like some kind of warehouse on the other side of town. 

There was a flashing sign on there that showed a beautiful mare getting her mane sprayed with some shampoo or a perfume. "Is this like a... perfume factory?"

"A shampoo factory." Spike corrected.

"Before we try to save their butts, what else can I do with these powers?"

"Well, you can change back to your civilian self, like before you got sucked out of the comic." Spike said.  "And like i said before, you have super strength, and lion-like reflexes."

Luke was thinking of something and finally hatched a thought. "I got an idea." he said. Then he willingly turned himself back to his normal clothing, before he got sucked into Maretropolis. His black t-shirt with Africa on it in the red, yellow, and green patter, and his jeans along with his belt. Before he could talk to him about the plan, he noticed Spike looking a little guilty. "What's wrong, Spike?"

"It's all my fault that I got my friends into this mess."

"Don't say that, Spike. I know you wanted a little taste of this world. And show the others a good time as best friends. These things happen, we can fix this."

"I hope the others are not mad at me for this."

"Oh that's nonsense. They need us more than anything. Besides, they wanted to come with you, and granted your wish to be a superhero again."

"Yeah, that's true. You're right Luke. I shouldn't be too hard on myself. I'll just apologize to them when I free them and get us back home

"There you go." Then Luke gently patted his back.

"So what's the plan?"

"I'll create a diversion, you know, a distraction for Mane-iac and her minions, and then you can try to help the others. But first, I'll need a guitar that is not super powerful."

"Ummm, there is one at the shop over there. Wait, you plan to do a show for her?"

"To buy us some time to safe the others while you help the others while nobody else is looking. That way, when you do that, our friends can help us finish the job."

"Hmm, that's actually not a bad idea." Spike remarked. 

"Can you fit in an air vent to sneak inside?"

"Uh-huh."

"Perfect. Be careful on the way."

"Thanks, I will." Then the baby dragon waited on the part of the building he climbed on. Meanwhile, Luke went into the music store and looked at which guitars he could borrow. Turns out they were all top of the line for him. Just then he saw a customer with an old guitar, buying a new one to play.

"Well, I won't need this piece of junk anymore."

"Wait!" Luke said. "I'll take it. Please?"

"Really? You want this guitar?" It didn't really look like much, but it was a les Paul like Luke's super guitar,  but it was just a plain cherry sunburst color one, it was a certified classic in that color. "Ah, knock yourself out. It's all yours."

The human smiled. "Thank you so much."

"Have fun with it!"

Luke happily went back to the shampoo factory and Spike said he was ready for the operation to commence. "Okay, buddy. Go!"

"You betcha!" Spike opened a circular air vent, and slowly made his way inside of it as a way to sneak inside the unhinged mare's territory. Meanwhile, Luke slowly opened the door, and peeped through. What he saw was a little unnerving. 

Mane-iac was mysteriously creating a hair dryer to use on Fluttershy, Twilight, and the others. At first. He didn't know what the hairdryer was for, but after thinking, he knows what is going to happen.

"Well, Power Ponies. I am so glad you can try my newest creation, the Brain-dryer! Mwahahahahaha!" She cackled on and on again. "With this, it will create a line of flux waves directed at you, and you will all be brainwashed, thus turning into my own minions."

"I thought you hate us?" Said Twilight.

"Of course I hate you, Matterhorn. But, I could always use some extra help in my employ." Mane-iac made a wicked smile on her face. "With that, there would be nopony who could try to stop me when the Power Ponies become the mad ponies!! Mwahahahahaha!!!"

"Oh shit." Luke muttered. "I got to do something before it's too late." Then he slowly tip-toed his way inside, being as stealthy as possible. He looked around for an amplifier to plug the guitar into. And couldn't really find any.

Then he kept looking on and on, then he felt something grab the back of his shirt, dangling him from the air. "Whoa whoa whoa!"

"Well, what do we have hear?" It was Mane-iac, obviously busting him for snooping. "What kind of creature are you, exactly?"

"Why must everyone keep asking me that?"

"And what little bobble have you brought me? A guitar?"

"Yeah, yeah. I just feel like playing a rock song and I was wondering if any of you would like to hear it. By the looks of you, Mane-iac, you like hair metal, do you?"

She chuckled "yes, that is true. Aren't you a smart...."

"Human."

"Ah, a human. Well, human, what is your name?"

"Luke, ma'am. Luke Smith."

"Well Luke, it is quite an honor to meet you." Then she gently pressed her hoof against his cheek. "Do tell me, do you have the talents to be a rockstar?"

"Yeah if you all want, I can perform a song for all you guys. Heavy metal!" And he did the devil horns gesture. "The only problem is I need an amplifier for my axe."

"No problem. If it is a concert you want, it is a concert you shall get." And she zoomed in close to his face and wickedly said "before I.... dispose of you, hehehe."

The human gulped, but nonetheless, he said. "Thanks."

The unhinged mare pulled out a large amplifier and Luke plugged the guitar into it. "That's more like it. Hello super Villains!" He said through the microphone. 

"Do give me a little taste of rock. I always love a musical number." Mane-iac said.

"Yes, ma'am." Right before he could strum the first note, he was suddenly interrupted.

Mane-iac shouted "wait a minute!" Then she had a closer inspection on Luke's face and body. "Hmmm, yoy look rather... familiar to me. Have we met somewhere before?"

The human felt a little butterflies in his stomach, and worried she might be onto him and his plan. He knew very well that just because Mane-iac is criminally insane, it does not mean she is stupid either. "I promise you we have not met before, Mane-iac. Of course, everyone has heard of you and the way you cause destruction and mayhem around you."

"Guilty as charged." Mane-iac agreed. "And by the way, I would like to say what handsome hair you have." She gently began touching his hair a little past his neck. "It Makes you look like a..... what is the word I am looking for?"

"Handsome lion?" Luke then scolded himself in his head by thinking Luke, what a goddamn stupid move you made! She is bound to be onto you now!"

"Yes! That's it!" Turns out, she still didn't recognized who he really was. "My sincere apologies for keeping you waiting, you handsome human. Please entertain me." And she had a change of demeanor when she threatened "Or else!" And she used her tendrils to form weapons like swords, knives, clubs, and spears at him, obviously telling him she will kill him if he displeased her.

Well, it's time to give the performance of my live Luke thought to himself. He got a glimpse of Spike, successfully breaking inside the lair without anyone looking. 

Now that Spike was inside, he could try and break his friends free from the metallic chairs they were restrained in. "Spike!" Fluttershy whispered. "You came!"

"Shh. quiet. I'll get you guys out of here. Luke's gonna create a distraction for Mane-iac and her hench-ponies."

"I hope that will be soon." said Applejack. "This will give us some time to break free from her, and not get brainwashed."

"Yeah, I would rather die than be a slave to Mane-iac." Twilight noted. The others agreed with her and Spike began working on trying to bust them out of the confined chairs.

Luke readied himself and began to play.

Rights for the song go to Guns N' Roses



Mane-iac was also impressed by how Luke could play that axe he was wielding. Along with her hench-stallions, they really liked the way it sounded, like a very angry type of tone. "I think I will truly enjoy this." then she used her tendrils as a bed, and laid on her belly while crossing her arms under her chin while watching him do his performance.

While Luke was playing his amazing guitar skills, Spike was trying to figure out how to get these cuffs tied to his friends wrists off by himself. "Twi, can you and Rarity use you're magic to get these cuffs off of you?"

"No." both of them replied. "Mane-iac put these blasted rings on our horns to prevent us from doing anything." Rarity noted. "And she took away my precious bracelet from getting us out as well."

"Drat!" Spike cursed under his breath. "Okay, okay. I'll see what I can do" at first, Spike tried to pull the cuffs out of the chairs, first Twilight, then Fluttershy, then Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, then Pinkie. "Boy, these are tough locks." and he began pacing to and fro for any solutions to this problem. "come on, Spike, gotta think think think. What would Humdrum do?" then he hatched what it appears to be a plan.

Spike pulled out a jackhammer, but worried that it might be too loud to use, even louder than how Luke was playing his guitar to the villains. He gave it a shot, but realized that it wasn't really loud enough, and he continued. After a little while, he pressed the jackhammer harder the cuffs of each chair, but oddly, to no avail."

"What? that usually works." then he threw the jackhammer away.

"Any other ideas?" asked Rainbow Dash a little impatiently.

"Working on it." the baby dragon paced to and fro again, and asked Saddle Rager "Fluttershy, can't you just transform yourself out of that chair and sat the others free?"

The yellow pegasus sighed sadly "No. I tried to a number of times, but it didn't work."

"It's super-power-proof." Pinkie said.

"Wow, the Mane-iac has gotten smarter since the last time we fought her together."

"Heh, you can say that again." Rainbow said. 

"And I take it that she took your lightning bolt as well, Rainbow?"

"Yeah, she did." the cyan pegasus admitted in mild frustration. "There's got to be a way out of these stupid chairs, because this looks totally embarrassing for me. It's a good thing that the Wonderbolts aren't here to see me like this."

"Come on Rainbow, focus." Twilight said. "We are in a very serious situation here!"

"Right, sorry."

Applejack then noted "she also took away my rope and cuffs. We'll have to figure something out fast."

Meanwhile, Mane-iac was absolutely loving Luke's performance, and especially when he got to the slow middle part of the song. Even many of her minions, including the four leading ones, danced to it a little, like headbanging, and forming a mosh pit.

"Oh, such tremendous chaos this is turning out to be. I love it!" Mane-iac said, and she was cheering on for him so more. "This.... child has quite the guitar skills, playing a small hair metal concert just for us."

For Luke himself, he was happy to gain more fans, especially from the wrong side of the law. He only wished that this mare wasn't crazy enough to kill someone. 

When he got to the solo, the crowd in front of him was in a frenzy of excitement. All of the evil ponies loved the way he was shredding on that Les Paul. Luke was starting to wish that Slash, Zakk Wylde, or Dimebag Darrell were here to watch him already. For that, he was playing it more proudly than before.

Spike tried many other things to free his friends, a really sharp rock with a happy, but to no avail, and then he tried a crowbar, and it also failed to be successful.

"Wow." Spike panted. "These cuffs are tough. I'll give Mane-iac credit." Nonetheless, he noticed a key next to the giant brain-washer. Apparently some minion was stupid enough to drop it so he can go see Luke do his song. "Oh man. Why am I so stupid to not notice that."

"It's okay, Spike." Twilight reassured him softly. "We make mistakes."

"Yeah, thanks guy. And, I am so sorry if I put you all in danger like this, it's all my fault I got you into this mess."

"It's nopony's fault, Spike." Fluttershy said. "We know how much you wanted some fun to be Humdrum again. Oh! Not that you actually are humdrum of course, but- you know what I mean."

"I know, i know."

"We're not mad at you, Spike. We promise." Rarity said. "Besides, you have saved us from that psychopathic mare once before, remember?"

The baby dragon thought about the first time he helped his friends escape from the Mane-iac the last time he and the others were in Maretropolis. It was not easy of course, but he pulled through and helped them escape from her grasp, and together, they all defeated Mane-iac as one.

Spike felt more proud of himself, and smiled boldly. "Alright."

"Uh, I hate to ruin such a sweet moment like this, but please get us out of here." Applejack said. Just then themachine was about to fire on all six of the heroes, but ultimately 

"Oh right, sorry." The baby dragon quietly got th key, and unlocked the holes on the cuffs restraining all of his friends. Next, Twilight and Rarity took the horn rings off, gaining their magical abilities from them again. The heroes who had accessories got them back and were all ready to fight again.

Seeing how Luke was doing so well with the distraction, they all decided to let him finish what he was doing, and take Mane-iac by surprise.

The human himself got a glimpse of them all free and felt like stopping, but the others gestured to keep his song going till the end.

Mane-iac was so inspired and entertained by this little private concert, and so did her minions as well. "Smoke em of you got em!" Luke concluded

"Yes! Bravo, Luke! Bravo indeed!" Mane-iac applauded enthusiastically and wildly while clapping her hooves. "I must admit, you have quite the guitar skills."

"Thanks Mane-iac." Luke said flatly.

"And Thank you ever so much for giving us such a mane raising performance of hair metal. But right now, we got to-"

'Deal with us!" Rainbow Dash said confidently. The crazy villain turned arpund, and was shocked to see her captors free, and Humdrum with them. The hench-stallions were all just as surprised as she was, and didn't know what to think.

"What in the world?! How did you get out of your chairs?"

"You don't need to know that." Said Applejack.

'But, I do not understand." Then she looked at Luke. "What is going on here?"

"That Mane-iac, is what I call, saving the day." The human said proudly. He snapped his fingers at the same time, and he instantly changed back to his superhero suit and helmet, and he discarded the old guitar before conjuring his super-powered one. "Ta-da!"

'Green Lion?!" Mane-iac exclaimed.

"You betcha."

"Power Ponies, go!" Twilight said. Another battle broke out between the heroes and villains, but this time, the heroes were having the upper hand, and it was all fighting sounds left and right.

Luke faced the Mane-iac alone and he punched her on her right side, knocking her down. He charged, but he felt something heavy knock him away, and his helmet flew off. "That was a very clever plan, Lion. Foolish, yet clever."

"I am a clever human."

Luke used his guitar to play energy blasts against her, knocking her radically off-course, into the wall with a loud thud. Mane-iac slowly fell to the floor, and looked really dizzy. Nonetheless, she recovered quickly and growled in frustration.

"Give up?"

"Never! I, the Mane-iac, never give up on anything!" She swore boldly.

"Fine!" Then the fighting became a little more fierce, with Luke dodging more and more tendrils from both heran and tail. Her attacks would only hit Luke a few rimes, but no serious injuries were inflicted upon him. She used another move by using her hair to jab him in a very rapid position, like a sword thrusting.

One by one, the hench-stallions were becoming more and more tired, but the heroes were still a little putbumbered.

"I got an idea." He muttered. Luke created a solo and all of a sudden, many types of animals crashed through the garage door, charging at Mane-iac. It ranged from lions, to tigers, to bears. 

"Oh my. That is quite useful." Rarity said. There were also, rhinos, hippos, wolves, elephants elands, tapirs, emus, and other types of wild animals.

"Wow that was so amazing." Fluttershy said. "Now animal friends can help us."

"What trick was that?"

"The call of the wild solo." Spike pointed.

"Heh, that's original." And the fighting and beatings went on. With all the animals Luke had summoned the heroes were all bound to win against this battle.

Fluttershy was even more than happy to have extra help from wildlife. While in her monster form, she smashed many foes to and fro like golf balls in a golf tournament.

"Bah! Enough of this!" Mane-iac exclaimed. She pulled out the hairspray ray of doom like before and sprayed it on her enemies, but it turns out nothing came ot of it. "What?! No, no, no, no, no! It cannot be out of spray!"

"Ha! Looks like you underestimated me." Said Luke.

Furious, Mane-iac charged at him with full zeal, but was immediately thrown back with Luke's lion roar, and she crashed into a pile of boxes. The stallions were all beaten, and so was the Mane-iac.

The heroes cheered and praised each other for their efforts. "Thank you so much, you guys!" Said Applejack. "We don't know what we would be without you."

"Yeah, you saved us, and Maretropolis!" Twilight added

It wasn't long before the cops arrived and arrested all the villains.

While her mane and tail were tied together, she was being dragged away into the police truck. As she was thrown in, she said "this is not over yet! I will get pit of jail, and you will all fave my wrath! I will be back! Mwahahahaha!" She cackled on and on as the truck drove awsy, and her laughter became more and more faint, and then silent.

"Well done, Power Ponies, you did it again." Said the chief.

"No problem." Spike said.

Just then the portal from before sucked them back to the real world, and their superhero suits were gone. All of them were so glad to be back home where they belong."

"Is everyone alright?" Luke asked his friends.

They all said "yes" to him and the human was more than relieved to hear that. It was all he needed to hear.

"Guys, are you sure you're not mad at me?" Spike asked again.

They all smiled at him, and the six mares hugged him warmly. "Don't worry, Spike. We're friends." Fluttershy said.

"That was quite a battle, I feel like getting some ice cream. Anypony want some?" Pinkie asked

All of them agreed with her, and made their way to the ice cream shop. While walking woth his cronies, Luke wondered if the Mane-iac will come back like she said she would, but he decided not to let it go to his head so much.

Little did they know that the comic book just disappeared into thin air, or magical dust. Perhaps the Mane-iac will come back, but that will be for another day. For now, there was peace
> Luke's First Nightmare Night (Costume)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ah, it was that time of year again, Halloween, one of everyone's favorite holidays next to Christmas. Of course, this was for Luke's homeworld only. For Equestria, no, Equestria has it's own version of halloween, called Nightmare Night. It was Equestria's definition of celebrating a day where they can dress up as monsters, demons, or anyway they want to dress up like, anything hellish. 

Of course, it was only a few days away until the national Equestrian holiday would officially commence. It was in the afternoon when Luke was helping with decorating some parts of Ponyville.

He wasn't alone on setting the Decorations. Cloudchaser, Flitter, Thunderlane, and Rumble were having a hoof at it, too so they can help put the decorations right below the ceilings of houses and stores. Of course there would be jack-o-lanterns, ghosts, and other type of decorations similar to Halloween. It wasn't that hard, mostly because the four pegasus ponies were helping him with putting decorations on the heights heights he couldn't reach since they have wings after all.

"A little more to the left Cloudchaser, Flitter." Luke instructed the sisters.

Both the sisters moved the ghost and jack-o-lantern decorations over the entrance to Town Hall. "How's this?" asked Flitter?

"A little more to the right, aaaaand.... right there! Perfect!" He gave the double thumbs up to them from the ground. Both the sisters humbly hovered back on the ground. "Nice job you guys."

"Thanks, Luke. Have you ever celebrated Nightmare Night before?" said Cloudchaser

"Nope, this is my first time actually. Besides, there is still a couple days to go." Luke remarked. "It's like a similar holiday we have back in my home. It's called Halloween. It's like NIghtmare Night, scary stuff, dressing up as monsters, bobbing apples, blah blah blah all that."

"Do you celebrate it?" asked Flitter

"I love Halloween! It's one of my favorite holidays this time of year. I like scary, dark stuff, and many types of monsters like werewolves, vampires, goblins, gremlins, aliens, and all of that. The same thing with superheroes and supervillains, too. Many kids in my world like to dress up as those kinds of people from comic books.

"That's cool." said Cloudchaser. "What are you gonna be? A Changeling, a Diamond Dog?, A Manticore?"

Luke had an eyebrow raised over his eye, and replied sheepisly and modestly "Well.... I don't know if I would want to dress up.... it's kid stuff to me."

"Ah, maybe going around Ponyville from door to door to get free candy may be child things, but there's nothing wrong with dressing up." Cloudchaser added. "Come on." she wrapped her arm around his shoulders while hovering in midair.

The human was thinking about it, and he ultimately said "Well, i would like to wear like an actual costume, like, something looking so realistic and CGI-like, you know, like in movies and stuff? And the makeup department and all of that."

"yeah i get what you mean." said Flitter. "Don't those things cost a lot of money though?"

"Oh yes. As a matter of fact, there is a creature that I would really love to cosplay as. It's called Predator, a fictional alien from a movie that looks so freaky with four mandibles over his mouth, dreadlocks for hair, and lots of weapons and gadgets for hunting it's victims. the last time I checked at an actual costume, it was around three thousand dollars."

"What?" both sisters said in disbelief

"Good grief, that is expensive." said Cloudchaser

"Why would good looking costumes like that be worth a fortune?" asked Flitter

"because they look very well done, and in many cases, they were the real costumes that the actors would wear in the movies. That's why it is so valuable."

"That would make sense." said Thunderlane, coming back on the ground with his little brother. "It would be nice if they didn't cost so much dough." Meanwhile, Rumble was having trouble lifting a large pumpkin over his back. He was a small foal after all, and that pumpkin looked so big.

Luke chuckled and gave him a helping hand. "Here, I'll get that for you."

He smiled "Thank you Luke."

"No problem, kiddo." The human replied while lifting the large vegetable.  "Where do you want me to put it?"

"Right next to those stairs."

"Got it." and the human carried the pumpkin, and softly placed it next to the stairs. "There we go." he panted while wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Nothing to it." and he had a sit on a nearby bench. Then the others decided to take a break too.

"So, about this predator guy, what does he look like?" asked Flitter

"Well, he looks really cool. I'll show you on my phone with, and without his mask." then he went to Google and showed the four pegasi the kind of alien he was referring to. All of them were rather impressed by how this Yautja looked, with and without his mask.

"That is so cool." said Rumble."

"Yeah, wouldn't want to get bitten by that guy." Thunderlane agreed. "Got a good taste in movies, buddy."

"I know. It's a classic, and like I always say, you can't beat the classics."

"True that." Cloudchaser agreed, then she bumped her hoof with Luke's fist.

"Well I Just wish i can get a costume like that to show off, if not for the price. Three thousand dollars is top of the line, and too steep for me."

The three laughed with him. "Don't worry, Luke. We're not forcing you to dress up. We're just making suggestions."

"I know, I know." Then he promptly got off the bench and proceeded to help setting up the decorations. While putting more pumpkins across the area, Luke was thinking maybe he should dress up in a costume. After all, it was always half the fun on Halloween.

"Here Luke, let me give you a hoof." Said Cloudchaser. She helped Luke with the pumpkins by lifting a few on her back, and the other three followed after.

"And me." Flitter added. And then the work was getting done a bit faster. So far, thanks to their efforts, many parts of Ponyville were ready for the spooky night in the days to come.

"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!" Said Mayor Mare. "Especially you, Luke. You all did a great job setting up the decorations out here."

"Nothing to it, miss mayor. Always happy to help." Then he noticed Big Mac trying to set up his car with spooky details. "Hey Big Mac, need any help there?" He asked him.

The red stallion stopped putting a pumpkin in the carriage, and halted putting fake spiderweb around it when he noticed the human. "He promptly replied "Eeyup. That would be nice. Thank you so much."

"No problem. So what are you going to be?"

"A werewolf, a really hairy werewolf." He replied. "And you?"

"I... haven't decided yet." Luke replied. "I need to think about it."

"No pressure."

And when the wagon was finished, the four pegasus ponies walked up to him to see if he was doing a good job. "Sp, what are yoy guys gonna be?" He asked all of them.

"I'm gonna be a Shadowbolt." Cloudchaser said. "A really cool Shadowbolt."

"I will be a tiger." Flitter added

"A Lion." Said Rumble.

"And I will be one of Luna's royal guards. The ones with bat wings."

"Gotcha."

Then Lyra and Bon Bon came and walked up to the group. "Hello, Luke." Said the mint green unicorn. "You guys did an amazing job with the place. I even liked how you made some stuff even more spooky."

Luke shrugged and said "I'm kind of a fan of dark things. Not like a goth, but some fascination to it. I have a little bit of Ozzy Osbourne inside of me, my favorite singer. He's been known to bite heads off rubber bats in his younger days."

"Bite the heads off bats?" Said Bon Bon. "That's weird."

'Yeah, the old days were wild times when it comes to music, guys, especially the 80's back then with the mullets, hair metal, and spandex suits."

"Totally! That sounded like an awesome timeline! Mostly in for the hair metal part." Said Cloudchaser. She cleared his throat and asked him "so, we heard you and the others fought the Mane-iac before in a Power Ponies comic."

"Oh, that I did." Luke said boldly. "I was the Green Lion, a rockstar superhero. Me and Spike got to save our friends from Mane-iac ourselves."

All of then we're quite impressed.

Cloudchaser even said "That is so cool. We'll have to try it some time. Where can we get these comics?"

"At the Canterlot house of enchanted Comics. You can see a large sign with a comic book next to it, you can't miss it."

"Hehehe, thanks for the tip." Said Thunderlane. "Well let us know if you are going to fight some crime. I love me a good crime fighting and bringing a lightning bolt of justice."

Luke chuckled. "Sure. I'll let you know." And he took a sip of root beer. While sipping, he was thinking about who he wanted to be. It was a character from the Star Wars he grew up watching at. He wondered if there was a costume for it, but it was only a knock-off, and not so good. "Hmmm, perhaps Rarity can make the costume for me." And out loud, he addressed "I think I know who I want to be?"

Everypony was more than eager to hear what he had to say.

"An alien named Kit Fisto. He's a character from the Star Wars movies, and he looks so weird, yet cool."

"What kind of an alien is he?" Asked Flitter. 

"A nautalon. He just looks freaky a little, like a frog or an amphibian. Here i'll show you." The human pulled put his Samsung phone again, and showed them the picture of one of the coolest and greatest jedi of all time.

"Whoa, he does look cool." Said Flitter.

"Ooh, look at his sword." Said Cloudchaser. "What is it?"

"A lightsaber. It is a weapon of a jedi. Keeper of the peace throughout the galaxy."

They all had a look of awe on their faces.

"Nice choice look, especially those dreadlocks he has. I mean, look at him, be is like a fish creature, or frog creature."

"I know, right?" And he thought of how to get it. "Is Rarity good with designing makeup too? At least, to make ponies look like a monster?"

All of them were uncertain about this, but Bon Bon said "well, I wouldn't get my hopes up, but it's worth the shot."

"She's one of my closest friends, I don't think I have anything to worry about." Luke remarked. "Maybe she can help me with that."

Lyra then said "it would be cool if you would dress up like that, it would blow everypony's minds looking like that."

"Exactly. Well, I'll see you guys later. I gotta help Derpy with the lighting..... again."

"Perfectly understandable." Said Rumble. "We'll see yoy soon, Luke."

"By Rumble, guys."

All the group said by to him back as they saw Luke trying to help the gray pegasus with some items she is struggling with
> Luke's First Nightmare Night (The Night Has Arrived)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few days passed, and it was in the middle of the day. Nightmare Night has officially arrived. Of course, nopony was out in their costumes yet, for they would save that when the eerie night comes this very day. Meanwhile, Luke was in the cottage, and when he walked passed Fluttershy's room, he noticed something odd. The yellow pegasus was pulling some sheet, and covered it under her bed, and pulled out some pillows, snacks, and a few books to go with it for an unknown reason. Feeling More than curious, Luke slowly went in her room to see what this was all about

"Hey Fluttershy, what are you up to?" the human asked her

Fluttershy made a small yelp of surprise and accidentally bumped her head under the bed. "Ouch." Luke went to her aid to see if she was alright. "I'm okay, i'm okay." she said. "Anyway, I was just... preparing myself for Nightmare Night. That's all. You see, I- I'm a little terrified of the holiday. Well, not as much as I used to be, but still a little scared of it."

Luke didn't quite know what to think of this. "By hiding under the bed for the rest of the night until it ends?" he asked

She nodded a yes with a small smile. "Uh-huh. It makes me feel safer and comfortable when I am under my bed on Nightmare Night. I have snacks, books, and many of my critter friends will keep my company."

"Hmm. Have you ever celebrated Nightmare Night before?"

"I have. It was... actually very fun. I had a good time with all my friends, and I even set up a really scary event at the maze in Sweet Apple Acres with Granny Smith."

His eyes went wide in surprise. "Really? How did you scare the others?"

A sly smirk appeared on her face. "Well, Angel of course helped me."

"Figures."

And Fluttershy told Luke about the big scare on a Nightmare Night that happened in the last year before this one. She told him about how much of a big scare she caused with her plan. On and on, Luke was feeling very impressed by this. A sweet pony like Fluttershy creating something so scary, so frightening, and mibd-blowing like that. "I scared them real good."

"Heh, I should say so. Very well done, Fluttershy." Luke congratulated. "You really know how to make stuff scary."

She flushed a crimson red on her cheeks. "Aww, you're too sweet." She said. "Well, I don't think I would want to do that again. It's just... not my cup of tea."

Luke immediately frowned. "Oh come on, you handled it so amazingly. You had potential within you. Look, if you don't want to scare anyone anymore I understand. But, I think you should celebrate this year. It will be fun, and I have a good idea for a costume I would want to wear tonight."

While thinking, Fluttershy liked how she would normally stay in the cottage at this one day this time of year. Yet again, this is Luke's very first Nightmare Night of his life. And of course she thought of how much fun she had last year. Finally coming to conclusion, she decided "Well, okay. My friends will celebrate it as usual, and you like this kind of holiday."

The human smiled. "I do. In home, Halloween is one of my favorite holidays of the year, next to Christmas of course. About my costume, it might require Rarity's assistance, if she is up to the task."

"Of course, Rarity can design anything. What would you like to be?"

"A creature named Kit Fisto, from the Star Wars Movies."

"What does he look like?"

Luke pulled up his phone so he can show her the Jedi that he showed Cloudchaser, Rumble, Flitter, and Thunderlane. Like them, she was intrigued by how this character looked. "Oh my, that looks terrific."

"Do you think Rarity can do this? like with the makeup the actor is wearing with the beady eyes and all?"

"Rarity can sure try. As a matter of fact, she should be arriving here soon."

"Parfait! (Perfect!) When will she be here?"

It was just then a sing-song voice was heard from downstairs. "Hello! Anypony home?" It was Rarity coming inside, as Fluttershy suspected.

"Nevermind." Luke remarked. "Found her." then both of them went downstairs to greet Her personally. Turns out their other friends were with her as well. "Hello, guys." Luke said, getting himself some iced root beer as usual.

"Hi, Luke." they all replied back to him.

"Hello girls, Spike. What brings you all here?"

"We just wanted to know if you would like to come with us for some Nightmare Night fun again like last year." said Pinkie with excitement. "Oh just think of the candy we will have together! the chocolate, the gummy bears, gummy worms, gumdrops, lemon drops, so good!"

"Well... I don't know. I would rather prefer to stay her tonight like I would always do." said Fluttershy. After hearing that, her friends seemed less than thrilled.

"Aw, come on." Spike said. "I thought you like it now?"

"Of course I do, Spike." said Fluttershy. "But like I said before last year, it's not really my cup of tea."

'We remember you saying that." said Twilight flatly.

"Well.... yet again. Luke will celebrate it." Fluttershy said, rethinking her decision over. "And, I would like to show him what the holiday is like, and it would be fun if Luke was spending time with me." And it was just then her mind was made up. "You know what, I think I will spend time with you guys this year."

There was a tremendous uproar from her friends, more than happy to hear her final decision. "Awesome!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed while hovering. "So what kind of scary stuff are you gonna do this year?"

"Goodness, I don't know if I would want to go the far. I remember last year where I almost made Rarity cry from my plan."

"No, don't be ridiculous, darling. I wasn't crying at the last moment." And she saw Applejack, looking quite skeptical.

"Oh really?" She said with a raised eyebrow. "How can I not forget about that moment?"

Feeling a little annoyed, Rarity said "Well I wasn't actually bawling!" She said in a rather assertive tone of voice. And the others looked more skeptical at her. "No matter." She said, back in her calm voice, brushing her mane back behind her 

"What we're trying to say is, that's half the fun on Nightmare Night, Fluttershy." Twilight said. "Besides, that prank was really impressive."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"And yoy faced your fear of the holiday that night."

"That's true." Fluttershy admitted. "Well I might do something scary, but I might as well think about it. Besides, i- I don't have a costume yet."

"I thought you would say that." Said Rarity with a very eager smile. Then she used her magic to pull up a costume that looked something similar to a wolf or a dog. "Voila!"

"Oh my." Said Fluttershy with a look of awe all over her face. "Is it like a dog, or a puppy?"

"A werewolf." Said Spike. "We figured if you would want a costume for Nightmare night, we might as well pick a costume that fits you."

"A werewolf? That's nice." Luke thought. And he thought of how adorable Fluttershy would be like in a werewolf uniform. "Why don't ya try it on?"

"Okay. Maybe later." Said the yellow pegasus with a smile. "I almost forgot, Rarity, Luke wanted to know if you could help him with a costume. Do you think you can help him?"

"Oh of course!" She said.

"What would you like to be?" Asked Twilight 

"Well.... I hope this isn't too complicated. I'm worried that it might be too complicated for her." Luke explained. "Here, I'll show you on my phone, Rarity, and see if you can make it happen."

"Of course. I would be more than delighted to help you in costume making, dear."

"Alright, if you insist." then Luke pulled up the picture of Kit Fisto again to Rarity. "I would want it to be like how the movie people made this character for the actor who played this guy. Do you think you can make it happen?"

"Hmm. Well, I'll do my best darling." said Rarity. "He does look a little grotesque, but it will be worth a shot."

"Are you sure?"

"I am positive, sweetie." Rarity concluded. "Come with me to the boutique and we'll see what we can work on." The human smiled hearing that, and he hoped that it won't be like a cheesy knockoff costume like the kind that Party City would have. The others followed them afterwards to the Carousel Boutique to see for themselves.

As they arrived, Luke was feeling a little anxious about this, but he had his fingers crossed for if this goes smoothly and that he would almost look exactly like one of the Greatest Jedi of all time. He also thought that if this didn't go well, then he would be okay about not having a costume to go with this fun time of year.

The white unicorn carefully studied the details, and noticed how the dreadlocks looked, and the eyes, along with the fingers. "Hmm, I suppose I can make this work."

"Well, if you can't make it... perfect, then I understand." And he had another idea. "Oh, and ,aybe if this fails, maybe I can get Discord to turn me into a Nautalon like Kit Fisto."

"I don't know, Luke. Sure Discord is reformed, but he can still be... tricky and mischievous." Said Applejack. "So I wouldn't call that a good idea, sugarcube."

"Oh come on, now. Discord is a very nice guy." Said Fluttershy. "..... most of the time" she made a sheepish smile.

"Well, we'll see. But for now. Let's see Rarity work her magic." 

"Right, good idea." Said Rainbow Dash. 

The human went upstairs with Rarity in her special makeup room. As he got seated, he asked "So, do you know a thing or two about monster or alien makeup by any chance?"

"Oh ho, I am an artiste, Luke. Don't you worry about a thing." Then she spun Luke around in a crazy fashion, and made him dizzy a little.

"Oh, and please don't cut my hair. I still want to look like a handsome lion when this is over."

"Don't worry. I won't cut your precious hair, Luke."

And then, she got to work with her magic to make him look like Kit Fisto.





It did take a little while, and it was the afternoon. The others were waiting anxiously downstairs for Luke and Rarity to be done.

"It's taking forever." Said Rainbow Dash. "I hate waiting for a long time."

"Please Rainbow. Be patient. The day is still young for us to celebrate Nightmare Night again." Fluttershy remarked softly.

"Yeah. And besides, it's only been an hour and thirty minutes." Said Applejack. "And if it took a long time, then it means it will look so good."

"Applejack's right." Twilight agreed. "It's only two-thirty in the afternoon. We still have time  for ourselves to prepare our costumes.

It was just then the door upstairs was heard being flung open. "C'est finit!" She sang from upstairs. All of the others were more than anxious to see how Luke turned out to be, and how she made him look.

Rights for the track go to George Lucas and the Star Wars company

Rarity came down with a curtain behind Luke, being held by her magic. "Fillies, and drake, I give you, Kit Fisto!" when she removed the curtain, they all looked in awe. Luke looked like a very different person, and creature of course. The clothes he was wearing was a Jedi tunic, but no long gown with the hood.

The eyes were well done, black and beady, and the dreadlocks looked so lifelike. "Wow! that is so cool." Rainbow said in awe.

"My goodness, he looks so handsome in that." said Fluttershy

"The coolest thing ever!" Pinkie bounced with joy. The human waved the tendrils on the back of his head a few times, and smiled.

He cleared his throat, and asked them "So, how do I guys look?"

"Mighty magnificent!" Applejack said.

"Totally awesome! You look exactly like that fish guy!"

"I know, it's like a complete transformation." Spike added.

These compliments made Luke smile even wider, and she turned to Rarity before he kindly stated "Thank you so much, Rarity. I really appreciate what you did for me."

She was more than proud of herself for giving the human this remarkable, yet a little difficult request. "You are quite welcome, Luke. Honestly, I didn't think I would have it in myself to create such a masterpiece."

"Yeah well, you did it!" Luke said. It made Rarity flush even more

"Oh you."

"Well, I wished I had a light saber, but I'm okay with it."

"Light Saber?" Asked Spike

"Yep, it's a weapon Jedi like Kit Fisto would use in defense. A very cool looking sword that is pure light, and it can cut and burn through anything, including metal. Of course, it's powered with something called Saber Crystals, and they probably don't exist anyway." And he flipped the tentacles again. "But still. I like this nonetheless."

"I'm glad to hear that." Said Fluttershy. "Well come on, we better get ready for the night. At least the rest of us, right?"

"Of course." Said Twilight. "My costume is quite amazing."

"Is it Star Swirled the Bearded again?" Spike asked annoyingly."

"No! It's Queen Chrysalis." Twilight stated

"Ah, gotcha."

"I'm gonna be Zapp." Said Rainbow Dash.

"I will be Princess Luna!" Rarity sang.

"And I will be a pig!" Pinkie bounced while oinking like a piggy would normally do.

"I will be a Timberwolf."

"And I am Burnferno: Warrior dragon from within." Spike concluded, trying to flex his muscles." Rarity giggled at his little action and thought he was cute trying to look tough. Then they all went back to their hones, except for Rarity, because she was already home.

While walking back with Fluttershy, Luke noticed that many faces noticed how he looked, like a combination of freaky and amazing. It was just then Lyra and Bon Bon came up to them. "Hey Lyra, Bon Bon. What do you guys think?"

"Whoa, Luke. Is that you?"

"Uh-huh. Rarity made it herself. Do you like it?"

"Yeah Luke, you look so cool." Lyra said. "I mean, look at those alien eyes and tentacle dreadloxks, and that tunic you are wearing on you."

'Are you like a fish or frog creature?" Asked Bon Bon curiously 

'It's literally a long story, Bon Bon. But to shorten things out, he is a character from a line of movies called Star Wars." And he told them about the character of Kit Fisto and what he is."

Lyra made a remark by saying "That's so intriguing. This Kit Fisto sounds like a really cool guy." 

"Lyra, this guy is amazing. Kit is so bad-" and he covered his mouth to prevent him from saying the last part. "I'm sorry, I can't say it fully. It's kind of foul language."

"Ah, we understand" said Bon Bon. "We know exactly what you mean. You know, you just might win the contest tonight."

"What contest?"

"The costume contest." Lyra explained. "It's hosted by Mare Mare, and the winner of the contest gets a large wagon of candy as the prize!"

Luke's eyes widened "wagon of candy? I think i'll participate in it."

"Oh yes. I think you should." Fluttershy said. "Your costume looks very well designed."

"Heh, you can say that again, Fluttershy." Said Bon Bon. 

"And I think I am looking at tonight's winner." Lyra added, gently bumping her elbow on Luke's arm. "If you decide not to, it's fine."

'Well, it does sound fun."

"Oh! And maybe you can perform a Nightmare Night song on your guitar for the whole town." Bon Bon added.

"Really?" Luke was thinking of how more fun that would be. "That could also be arranged. I'll see what Mayor Mare can do about that."

"Right. Well come on, I want to get myself in that werewolf costume." Fluttershy teasingly urged.

"I can hardly wait for it." Luke muttered, then they continued back to the cottage.

While looking at them going back home, Lyra called out "See you tonight, Luke! We hope you win the contest and perform tonight!"

"I will, Lyra!" Luke called out in the distance to her. "So, how do you feel about going with us tonight?" Luke asked the yellow pegasus

"Well, I feel quite okay with it."

"Good. And... I know this sounds silly, but I will stay right with you in case you get scared. I promise." Luke remarked, feeling a little sheepish. Then he felt Fluttershy gently hugging him affectionately again.

"Thanks, Luke." She said. "That means so much to me." And then she immediately let him go.

"No problem." Luke replied with a smile of his own.





At last, the spooky, yet fun night had come. Luke was still dressed in his Kit Fisto outfit and makeup. He was pacing to and fro, waiting for Fluttershy to come down in her costume.

"You coming, Fluttershy?" Luke called from downstairs.

"I'm coming, Luke. I am exiting my room right now." Fluttershy called back to him from above. Then the sound of footsteps were faintly being heard, and became louder and louder wit every step she took. Luke saw her in her costume, and he was stunned to se how adorable she looked in it as he would thought she would be.

The end of her hooves had three claws on each of them, and it came with a large bushy tail to go with it. Over her head was a Werewolf's head, as if it was like a pelt, and her body was covered in soft, black fur.

"Well, how do I look?" She asked eagerly.

"You look fantastic!" Luke said. It deeply flattered the yellow pegasus, anf felt quite touched by his compliment.

"Good. So, are you ready?"

"Ready when you are." Luke replied.

"Good." Then she happily accompanied Luke outside before she said bye to her critter friends, telling them to have fun. Luje locked the door, and happily walked woth her down the main road to Ponyville. While strolling on the dirt path, Luke noticed many ponies wearing so many different costumes.

Of course, many ponies came amd praised him for how he looked. "Wow Luke, that's a nice costume your wearing." Said Carrot Top.

"Thanks. Rarity made it for me."

"Nice. You participating in the costume costume?" Asked Roseluck

"Well Roseluck, I'll think about it, but I think I will participate.

She, Carrot Top, and Lily Daisy were more than happy to here that. "Perfect, happy nightmare night!" Said Carrot Top

"Thanks. You guys too." Luke bolt replied, then he and Fluttershy continued walking down the main road. As they both arrived at the town, Luke saw that the whole town was up at night, with the colorful spooky lights and decorations and all of that. Then they saw their closest friends come up to them.

"Guys, you came!" Rainbow said in excitement. As they said, they were all in their costumes. Spike had a toy sword and shield with him, and some type of small dragon-like battle armor, like a Roman soldier of some kind.

"You all look wonderful." said Fluttershy

"And the same with you. You make a beautiful werewolf, Fluttershy." said Rarity.

"Oh stop it." Fluttershy flustered herself. "So, what do you think we should do first?"

"Well, there's the apple bobbing bucket challenge." Applejack suggested. "Why not try that?"

"I don't think I would do that, I would want to wash my makeup off of myself." Luke said

"Perfectly understandable." said Twilight. Then they all went to the apple bobbing activity, and took turns trying it out one at a time, ans Luke of course. All of them had so much fun with this little game. When it was finally over, they decided to move on to the spider tossing game right next to the apple bobbing one.

"You ever played this game before, Luke?" asked Pinkie Pie

"Not really. But this does look familiar. It kinda looks like playing darts, or something like that." Luke modestly remarked. Then he payed Cheerilee, who was supposed to be like a Harley Quinn type of clown with two ponytails in her mane, and a suit that looked like a jester.

"Give it your best shot, Luke." Cheerilee remarked

"Right." then the human carefully aimed the spider at the cardboard, and tried to clear his thoughts on anything but throwing the spider at the target in front of him. He was about to make his move, but then he was suddenly interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Luke!" Cried a colt's voice. He made a small yelp and accidentally dropped the beanbag spider. He looked over, and saw Cloudchaser, Thunderlane, Rumble, and Flitter, all wanting to see Luke's costume. "Wow, you look so much like that guy you showed us before."

"Yeah, that Kit Fisto guy." Thunderlane agreed. "That looked like you were looking for a good costume."

"Rarity made it." Luke remarked boldly.

"Really?" Said Flitter, and she looked at the fashionista. "Wow Rarity, you really outdone yourself with this attempt."

"Oh well, I am a brilliant artiste after all." Rarity boasted proudly.

"Well, sorry for making you miss your target," said Cloudchaser a little sheepish. "You just look so cool like that.'

"Nah, it's fine. And Rumble, you look cool in your costume, ad the same with all of you."

"Thanks." Said Rumble, flattered. "It costed a lot of bits but it was worth it." 

"So, Cloudchaser, how are you guys enjoying yourself?"

"It's awesome!" Said Cloudchaser.

"Oh, hold on, I gotta throw this spider at the target."

Then they all gave him some space, and Luke carefully threw the spider at the cardboard, and it almost hit the bullseye spot. "Oh! So close." Said Rainbow Dash. "Almost had it."

"You can do it, Luke." Said the gray Pegasus stallion

"Thanks, Thunderlane." Then Luke threw it at ten target again, and almost had it once more. "So close!" He snapped his fingers.

"Come on, Luke. You rock! Woohoo." Said Fluttershy.

Then at the third time, Luke hit the spider exactly at the center of the target., and he cheered at himself for it.

"See, you got it!" Said Flitter.

"Yeah, I know. Thanks Cheerilee."

"No problem, Luke." The school teacher replied kindly. "Do enjoy the rest of the night!"

And Luke went to look at the other activities he can do with the others. It was just then he saw Lyra and Bon Bon dancing on the dance floor. "Hey! Lyra! Bon Bon!" He called to them. Both of them noticed Luke and warmly greeted him

"Luke! You made it!" Said the mint green unicorn. She was wearing a one piece bodysuit that was black, and had a hood at the back of her head. Bon Bon was a beautiful princess with a very thick blue dress "How do you like NIghtmare Night?"

"I love it!" Luke made the devil horns gesture."it's awesome. And... I think I am going to enter the costume contest."

'Well that is good news." Said an African female voice. "And I suggest you try the apple juice." It was none other than Zecora wearing an army costume with a red beret on her head.

"Bonjoir, Zecora. Happy Nightmare Night."

"And a happy Nightmare Night to you too, there is so much for you to do."

"I can imagine. Now, if you excuse me, I gotta sign up for the contest." And he went to see Mayor Mare, who was wearing clown makeup and a rainbow colored afro wig on her head. "Miss Mare." He said 

Even she was amazed by how Luke turned out to be in that makeup and costume. "My goodness Luke. You look so ravishing "

"Thanks. Day, I want to sign up for the costume contest."

Mayor Mare made a gasp and replied "Of course! I'll give you the paper you can sign up for." And then she handed him the clipboard. Luke promptly signed his name with his signature, and happily gave the Len back to her. "Perfect. Now, I will start in forty five minutes. By the way, are you going to perform tonight as well?"

"I might. Yep, i might as well play something that fits the mood of this event."

"Brilliant! A wonderful idea! I'll wish you good luck tonight."

Then Luke went back to his friends again. And then the human asked "what do yoy guys want to do now?"

'Well, there is the maze at Sweet Apple Acres. Why don't we go there?" Asked Fluttershy.

"'Ello, Luke." Said a British child's voice. It was Pip, dressed up as an Assassin from the Assassin's creed games.

"Pip, buddy! Hey." Luke said. He happy picked him up when he ran up to him, and both hugged eachother. "How are you doing, Pip?"

"Awesome. That costume looks so cool."

'Yep, I think I might win the contest with it."

"I bet it will."

"Hello, Pip. You wanna hang out with us?" Asked Spike

"Of course. It's always nice to spend time with my friends." Pip happily said. "Where are we going?"

"The maze."

The colt made a happy gasp and said "yay! I love the scary maze!" And he was about to promptly go with the others when they were all interrupted again. 

"Hello, Everypony." Said a motherly mare's voice. It was Princess Celestia, dressed as Nightmare Moon. Luna was also with her, dressed as the Mane-iac. "Happy Nightmare Night."

'Your majesties!" Said Twilight, she and the others bowed to both of them in respect. "Pip, you look so adorable." Said Luna to the colt, smiling warmly at him.

"Thank you, Princess Luna." Pip said with flattery. "Happy Nightmare Night."

Luna Suddenly gave him a kiss on his cheeks, making the others go "oooh."

"You too, Pip. I really hope you have fun."

"Thanks." Pip replied, flushing a crimson red on his face.

"My Luke, you look so wonderful, dear." Said Celestia. "What are you?"

"I am Kit Fisto, a character from Star Wars."

"Intriguing." Luna remarked. "He seems like an interesting character. Well, me and my sister would love to stay here and talk with you some more, but we have got to have a short meeting woth Mayor Mare. Have a nice Nightmare Night everypony."

Both sisters promtply wished them a good Nightmare Night, and went to see the mayor for royal duties.

"Well, come on guys. Some scary stuff awaits us" Luke said. All of them, including Pip and Zecora followed Pip to the corn maze. Of course, it wasn't a long walk, and all of them began to slowly walk in the maze. 

"Wow, this looks more scary than last year." Said Rainbow Dash. "Not as scary as Fluttershy's of course, but still scary."

Indeed, this little maze was looking quite eerie than before. There were the sounds of bones cracking every step they took, but it turns out they were just fake bones, and hears the sounds of werewolves howling, along with random screams being heard from all around.

Nonetheless, this is fun. Boy Luke can hardly wait for the costume and performance tonight. Sure, he was feeling eager, but he remembered that he performed for a crazy mare in a comic book world, and had lots of confidence.

After the maze was done, It was only about fifteen minutes until the costume contest would began, and the human finally decided that he will perform again. While waiting, Luke saw Diamond Tiara, Big Mac, Fluttershy, and along with the two princess entering this little event, too.

Diamond Tiara was dressed as princess Celestia, with her own slippers that she would normally wear, along with fake wings and a fake horn on top of her head. For Big Mac, he was wearing a cowboy costume, that looked amazingly badass. It was a brown hat, and he had a piece of straw in his mouth, along with a blue cape to go with it. Yes, he looked absolutely badass in that type of costume.

"Oh hey Diamond Tiara. I didn't know you were entering this contest too."

Even Diamond Tiara was stunned by how Luke looked at as Kit Fisto. "Oh my gosh, Luke I almost didn't recognize you. That is a very nice costume you have on." She remarked.

"Thanks."

All of a sudden, a certain drancequus appeared out of thin air in front of Luke's face "BOO!" and it startled him so bad, he stumbled and fell backwards. It was Discord, laughing at Luke's reaction. "Oh ho ho, you should have seen the look on your face when i jumpscared you! HAHAAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The human groaned in extreme irritation. "For Christ sake, Discord! You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Oh relax!" Discord said. "It is the best night of the year for pranks and scares. That's why it's one of my favorite times of year!"

"Discord!" Fluttershy reprimanded. "Must you always do that on Nightmare Night?"

"Pretty much."

The yellow pegasus just raised her eyebrow at him, not amused at all. And then The drancequus promptly picked him up as if she was his teddy bear.

"Just look at how adorable you look as a werewolf. I could just eat you up!" and hugged her even tighter. It was just then the others had a look of horror on their faces, worrying that the master of chaos meant what he just said to her. "Oh calm down, I would never eat her. You're all just a bunch of wusses." then he immediately let her go. And then he had a sudden realization. "And Luke, I should tell you, how amazing your costume looks. Very alien-like."

"Thanks." Luke said flatly "Rarity made it herself."

"Ooh, yes. I can see that she has really outdone herself this time." Discord acknowledged him. Of course, it might has sounded a little sarcastic. "I bid you all good luck tonight." and then he poofed himself to the audience section.

"Are you alright, Luke?" asked Luna

"I'm fine. It just caught me by surprise. Ah, you know someone like Discord."

"Indeed." Celestia agreed. "Sometimes, he can be rather of a pest at times."

Then he poofed in the backstage again "I heard that!" and then vanished again

"Anyway, just don't let it get to you." Celestia continued. "So, how do you feel?"

"A little nervous."

"Ah, you shouldn't be, sweetheart." said Luna. "You'll do just fine. In fact, We think we are looking at the eyes of a winner." she smiled warmly at him.

"Thank you, your majesty."

"You are quite welcome, Luke. Me and my sister bid you good luck tonight."

"You guys too." and Luke flipped his tentacle-like dreadlocks again, feeling more than confident, thanks to the princess' encouragement. 

There was a drum roll being heard, and Mayor mare was tapping into the microphone. "Check, check, 1, 2, 3." she said. Clearing her throat, she announced "Alright Everypony, welcome one and all to the annual Ponyville Nightmare Night contest!" and then cheering was heard. "We have a number of contestants here this very night. Every one of them has a pretty intriguing costume to share to Everypony, but only one will win this."

A group of stallions pulled down a large curtain, and it revealed the large candy bucket inside a Jack-o-lantern. Everypony's mouths were watering just looking at that amazing load.

"A large supply of Candy that will last for months to come. This is what the winner will get as his or her own prize." the mayor continued on. "Let the contest begin!" then more cheering was heard. As the curtains slided out of the way, the contestants walked foreward, and looked proudly at the crowd.

They all thought that everypony looked absolutely stunning in those costumes, but of course, most of them had their sights on Luke in his Kit Fisto costume and makeup. "I kinda wished I had a lightsaber with me. That would be awesome." the human muttered to himself.

"Behold, Princess Celestia as Nightmare Moon!" then a line of clapping was heard. "Next, Princess Luna as the Mane-iac from the Power Ponies comic book series." both the princess posed for the camera, and had many snapshots taken. "Fluttershy as a really adorable werewolf."

The yellow pegasus also posed, in a rather adorably fashion, just having a cute smile while taking a picture after another. "Hello." sh muttered. "I'm Fluttershy." and she pawed her hoof on the floor board.

"Isn't she a delight, everypony? simply amazing!" Mayor Mare said, and more cheering was heard. "Big Macintosh as Clint Hoofwood."

"Yee-haw! Howdy there, partners!" Big Mac announced. He posed for the pictures, and the background had a wild west type of theme to go with it.

"Diamond Tiara as the princess of the sun herself!"

The filly posed once more with a sun background behind her as she was having her own photos taken.

"And Finally, Luke Smith as a jodi-"

"Jedi." Twilight whispered

"Jedi master, Kit Fisto." Then something appeared beside the human. It was an actual lightsaber, and wondered where it came from, and then noticed Discord with his thumbs up. 

"Of course." he muttered. Then he pressed the button and a green glow appeared from the blade. Everypony was rather impressed by this display, and Luke posed with the lightsaber in his hands, with a space background, and even showed off the lightsaber a couple of times.

"Brilliant! Now, you have all seen these amazing contestants, but which one do you think will be the winner?" Mayor Mare announced. Luke turned his blade off and put it next to his pocket, like where a Jedi would put it if he didn't need it at the moment.

"Contestants, you may now take a short intermission while the votes will be tallied and counted in the voting box.

Then as the voting began, Luke and the other contestants went backstage for a short break before the votes are all in completely. They all had a seat on chairs, and then Fluttershy asked the human "What kind of a sword is that? it looked beautiful."

"This, Fluttershy, is a lightsaber. This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight or a Jedi Master that I told you about before."

"It looked absolutely gorgeous and colorful, dear." Celestia acknowledged

"Indeed, Luke, Especially the sounds it made when you activated it." Luna added

"Do you think you can show us the beam again?" asked Diamond Tiara. 

"Yeah, it looks mighty cool." Big Mac acknowledged. And there was a sound of agreement.

Luke chuckled and said "Okay, okay." and he immediately activated it once again. All of them looked at it in awe. 

"It looks really beautiful." Fluttershy said. "Where did you get it?"

"It just appeared right next to me, by Discord."

"Oh, figures, he might of had a hand this." Celestia noted in slight irritation

"Like we said, he gets around unfortunately." Luna remarked.

"Well either way, I thank him for getting me this. It's a realy majestic and delicate weapon, ain't it?"

"Yeah, it looks so bright." Diamond Tiara said

"Is it dangerous?" asked Fluttershy

"Oooh yes. It is dangerous. This thing can even cut through metal. Observe." then the human looked around for anything he can cut with that he won't get in big trouble for it. "Discord." he called out

"Yes?" the master of chaos appeared out of thin air once again, with his hands under his chin while hovering in mid-air.

"First of all, thank you so much for getting me this!" Luke said with joy. "And secondly, I want to cut something with this. Do you think you can conjure.... a large lamp I can cut down with this baby?"

"One lamp a la mode." then Discord snapped his finger and a lamp magically appeared out of nowhere.

"Magnifique! Now, watch this." the human focused on himself and took a breath. "You all might want to stand clear when I do this, this can burn you if you touch it."

He concentrated on nothing but how to properly strike this mere lamp down. He made three slashes in a rather incredible display, with pieces of the lamp falling on the stage.

The other contestants made sounds of awe when he cute down the lamp three times. Burn marks were glowing on the lamp for a short time.

"That was so amazing. So... incredibly wonderful. I don't even know what to say."

"Me neither." Big Mac said ."That looks dangerous alright."

"I hope you know what you are doing with that sword." Luna remarked

"Of course I do. A weapon like this comes with great power and great responsibility." Luke remarked. "This thing can cut through anything, and I mean anything, so that is why I will only use it in a responsible way. Honestly, it's way more better than a gun or a regular metal sword."

"I know. It looks really marvelous." Diamond Tiara said.

"A very mejestic weapon indeed."

"Diamond Tiara!" said a female voice. "Ah, there you are." it was Spoiled Rich, her mother, not dressed in a costume. "I bid you good luck with the voting. I certainly hope that you win this. You really deserve some candy. Oh, hello, Luke." she said, not very happy to see the human again

"Salut, Spoiled Rich." Luke replied with a bitter look in his eyes. "I don't want any trouble okay, I just want to wish your daughter good luck, that's all."

"And I thank you for it." she replied. "And to be honest, I thought you looked a little... ruffian than before that costume you are wearing."

Then Luke immediately got up, feeling a little angered.

"Now Spoiled." Celestia said "You have been told to be more nicer to Equestria's one and only human."

"I know, I know." the mare sighed

"Please be nicer to him." Luna begged

"Or else, pretend that this is your head." then he ignited his lightsaber again and marked the floor with it a couple times.

"Now, now, Luke. Don't let her get to you." Fluttershy calmed him down by gently putting her hooves on his shoulder.

The human sighed and said "You're right. Besides, Revenge and brute force are never the Jedi way anywho. It I was truly a Jedi, that would make me go to the Dark Side of the force." and he immediately turned the lightsaber off again.

"Well... I suppose I bid you good luck to you too. Not that you might even win."

"What was that, mother?" Diamond Tiara warned

"Nothing, nothing." and she immediately went off stage.

"Is it me, or did she sound a little scared by how I used my lightsaber?" Luke noticed

"Yeah, she looked very afraid." said Big Mac. "Just look at her face when she saw your skills, hehehehe." and he took a sip of apple cider

"And, don't worry, I would never use this to kill anyone or anypony. I would just stoop to her level anyway"

"Very good, Luke. We're proud of you." Celestia said warmly.

"Alright, the votes are in!" the Mayor announced from the other side of the curtain. This made the contestants way more excited to hear this. The mayor went behind the curtain too, and said "Alright, everyone, good luck. Come on back to the front of the stage, please."

As Luke, Fluttershy, and the other contestants went on stage, the mayor went to tally the votes. She pulled up the envelope and was ready to tear the letter out of it.

"Drum roll, please." and another drum roll was heard. "And the winner is...... Luke Smith as Kit Fisto!" then a tremendous amount of cheering was heard again. Luke was more than surprised and flattered that he had won. Yet again, the costume looked very well done, thanks to Rarity. The other contestants all went up to him to congratulate him for this.

"I am so happy and proud for you, Luke. I knew you would win." said Fluttershy, hugging him

The human hugged her back as a token of appreciation. "Thank you, Fluttershy.

"Indeed, child. Me and my sister are very proud of you too." Celestia said warmly. "Congratulations." and she and Luna warmly patted him on his head

"Yeah, Luke. Good job." Diamond Said

"Give me some hoof, there." Big Mac said, and he bumped his hoof at him with his fist. Then his other friends who were not contestants, went on stage to congratulate him too.

"Good job, Luke. You did it!" Lyra said

"Yeah, I knew you would win this." Cloudchaser added. "I just knew you would."

"Now you can have free candy in the months to come." Bon Bon said

"Lucky you." said Lyra with a smirk on her face. "That candy looks so good." and she licked her lips. "Ah, but that's okay, I got some candy with me already.

"So do we." said Rumble." and he showed everypony and Luke the candy he collected while trick-or-treating. "Right Big Brother."

"Got that right, little buddy." Thunderlane winked at him.

"Well, you guys all looked amazing too." Flitter complimented

"Especially you, your majesties." Cloudchaser said, bowing to the princess' in respect.

"Thank you all, but I feel like this is a destined victory for Luke.

"Wouldn't blame ya, yor majesty." Rainbow agreed. "He looks totally amazing and awesome like this. Of course I voted for him for that."

"Me too." said Applejack. "I also voted you the best sugarcube."

"Me three!" Pinkie added

"Me four." Spike said

Twilight smiled and said "So did I."

"And Me also." Rarity remarked as the last.

"Thank you all so much. I really appreciate it."

"And now for his prize, the candy, and not only that, but a trophy to go with it!" Then she was holding a golden trophy with a small statue of Nightmare Moon at the sop, and the handles resembling demon wings. "And before, we wrap things up this year, how about an encore performance by Luke?"

And the crowd screamed at the top of their lungs with excitement.

"Perfect!" and she turned her attention back to the human. "Alright, ready when you are, winner."

"Perfect. Guitar!" Then Discord snapped his finger, giving Luke his signature ax to shred on to close this years Nightmare Night.

he tapped on the microphone and announced "Happy Nightmare Night to all of you! I decided to give you yet another guitar performance to make things more fun. Are you all ready to rock?"

And more cheering was being heard.

"Alright!" then she looked at Luna, and went up to her. "Hey, your majesty, how would you like to sing a duet with me as I play?"

"Me? Oh no, no, I couldn't I am a terrible singer." Luna remarked while flushing

"Come on, sis." Celestia urged. "You are an amazing singer. I have heard you myself. And besides, this holiday is dedicated to you."

Luna smiled and replied "Very well." and she went on stage with Luke.

"And Luna is going to sing a duet with me!" and the crowd went even more wild than before.

"one, two, three, four! Hit It!"



When the song was over, the crowd just went crazy and really enjoyed the performance. Luna even transformed into Nightmare Moon to fit the mood of it.

"Mwahahahahaha!! Happy Nightmare Night!" she said. "And a goodnight to all of you, too." then she immediately turned back to her real form.

"Well, come on, Fluttershy. Let's go home."

"Of course." the yellow pegasus replied happily. "Don't forget the trophy and candy."

"Right. Discord, can you please help us with the candy?"

"Of course, for my dear, dear human friend." the drancequus said, then he used his great strength to lift the gigantic candy container, and happily walked back to the cottage with Luke and Fluttershy. What was even more exciting for Luke, was that, he has his own lightsaber now.
> Gilda the Griffon (Edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A numbers of days have passed since Luke had his first Nightmare Night with all his friends. he had his Kit Fisto costume off of him, but on the positive side, he got a lightsaber with him to keep, thanks to Discord. However, he didn't want to do something rash with it like getting overconfident within himself that he might accidentally decapitate Fluttershy or her animal friends with it, and decided to use it like when there is no one around to get hurt, or if somepony requests to see what his sword looked like, and of course in times of severe distress.

Meanwhile, he was out doing a little game of bowling with Lyra and Bon Bon at the Ponyville Bowling alley. So far, Luke was getting pretty good scores, probably because he was the only living creature in Equestria  with more than finger in each of his hands

It was only just a friendly game after all. All three of them were having fun together in the match, and the were having a blast as a group together. For Bon Bon, she was using a bowling bowl with only one big opening for her hoof since horses and ponies only had one toe on all fours. Lyra, however, was a special case, she used magic from her horn to control the ball with it, and rolled it like it was a piece of cake. Of course Bon Bon would make little rants saying that's a foul or that's just cheating.

Nonetheless, She didn't try to stop her, for it was indeed, just a friendly game after all. Luke even made a few victory dance like the infamous Moonwalk by Michael Jackson, and even a few disco poses.

During the matches that went on and on, Luke eventually prevailed, and he did an air guitar while doing a power slide on the floor. "Nice game guys." he said getting back up.

Lyra chuckled. "Thanks, Luke. You two. You're pretty good at bowling, you know that?"

"Well, I'm not that good."

"Are you kidding?" said Bon Bon. "You're like a pro with that bowling ball, as if it runs in your blood."

"Well, I did use to go bowling with my dad when i was little.... before the divorce. It was always so fun to try and strike a pin down to it's knees, and I would try my very best to get a strike, but while beginning, I could only strike three to four pins down."

"Ooh, you mean you didn't get a strike at all?"

"No no, Lyra. I wouldn't say that. I at least got one strike in my first tries, but that was just luck. I only got lucky with those strikes when I was a kid. However, after many tries over the few years, I did become a little better at these games."

"More like insanely better at these games." Lyra said proudly. "You are amazing, Luke. You're like.... a human with many talents."

It made the human smile and feel flattered to hear those kind words from another one of his closest friends.

"Well, I still kinda feel that you using magic to move the ball was cheating." Bon Bon noted.

"Give it a rest." Lyra smirked, mildly shaking her head sideways. "Bon Bon, I would' call that cheating. It is quite useful for unicorns like me. Right Luke?"

"I really don't care." The human said flatly with a raised eyebrow. "Come on, let's not get too worked up about. I mean, it is just a friendly game of bowling, right?" And he chuckled when he noted "at least we are not bowling for our lives."

The two mares laughed "That's true." Said Bon Bon in agreement. "You're right, Lyra. I'm sorry, I shouldn't jump to conclusions." And she turned to her best friend. "Sorry, Lyra."

"Nah, it's fine." The mint green unicorn chuckled. "Besides, I have seen many unicorns use that trick all the time."

"Hmm." Then Luke took a sip of soda from the food court, and felt a little refreshed. And crossed his legs on the table booth in their lane. "So, you ladies wanna go again?"

Both mares thought of it, and Lyra was the first to reply by saying "I think I am going to call it a day for now." Then she stretched out her legs.

Bon Bon was doing the same thing as her friend was doing and said "me too. I could really use some pizza right now."

"You read my mind," Luke said boldly. All three of them sat in a table at the food court section of the alley, and had pizza together. "Hmm, this is really good." The human said. "Not as good as Pizza Hut or Little Ceasers pizza, but still really good."

"Are they restaurants?" Bon Bon asked curiously

"Oh yes." Luke said before taking another bite of his piece. "Those places have really good pizzas."

"I wish I can try one of them."

"Well.... I don't know if that's such a good idea, Lyra." The human noted with uncertainty. "There are pizza flavors that have meat as toppings, like pepperoni or Canadian bacon, or barbecue chicken."

"Well, there are flavors with no meat, right?"

"Oh yeah of course. Many pizza flavors like the ones here, except for meat obviously."

"Right."

Bon Bon then asked the human "About that beam sword, what is it called?"

"The Lightsaber."

"Right, so how often are you going to use that thing?" Lyra asked curiously. "It looks really cool for taking out bad guys or evil monsters."

Luke started to think of the positive things he can do with that weapon Discord gifted him last Nightmare Night. "I might do that, but... I don't want to use it so much that it will make me go power crazy."

Both Lyra and Bon Bon looked at each other as if Luke might have been on to something. "Fair enough." Said the earth pony.

"And I don't want to be careless with it like I could accidentally burn or decapitate someone if I am not careful, because the beam of it is scorching hot. If I burned a Fluttershy with it, even by accident, I would never forgive myself. Ever!"

"We understand." Lyra noted warmly. "It wouldn't be a pretty sight, that's for sure." And the other two agreed with her with a slight chuckle emitting from their mouths.

"And I did get this from you know who." Luke noted "if you guys know what I mean."

Bon Bon chortled "we know exactly who you mean, Luke." She agreed with him. "As long as you know how to use it,"

"Of course I do. I have wielded toy swords before, and it kinda taught me a think or two about wielding it properly."

"Cool."

"So what do ya guys wanna do after this?"

"Well, I was going to show you what I can do with my light saber if you would like to see it." Luke said.

"Ooh. That sounds cool." Lyra said. "Okay. Just let me finish finish my pizza first." And then she took another bite of her lunch. After that was all taken care of, Luke laid a few bits to the concession stallion, then he went off with Lyra and Bon Bon.

Following the trail that went back to the cottage, Luke suddenly heard a voice. "Hey Luke!" He looked back and it was Twilight, Spike, and Rainbow Dash. With them was a gryphon with a white head and a brown body, like a lion would usually have as their coat, since that is one half of a gryphon.

"Hey guys." 

"W'sup?" Said Rainbow Dash. "Luke, I want ya to meet Gilda. She's a good friend of mine from Griffonstone."

"She wanted to come and visit here." Twilight added in a cheerful voice.

"What is she doing here?" Asked Bon Bon, not feeling very happy to see her.

"Yeah, get out of here you!" Lyra mildly barked at the gryphon.

"Relax, I'm not here to cause any trouble, you have my word as a griffon." She said.

"Griffon, hmm?" Luke said. The human felt a slight touch of fear in himself because this peculiar creature looked big enough to try and maul him to death and make a meal out of him. Both halves of a griffon are predators after all, as her beak did look a little sharp. He even remember studying the extinct Haast's eagle from New Zealand, and the African Crowned eagle. Boy, those birds could pick up animals twice the size their weight, such as monkeys, to something as big as an impala or a springbok antelope. It was the reason why the African Crowned eagle is called the "Leopard of the sky."

"Uhh, you gonna say something, or what?" Asked the Gryphon with a raised eyebrow.

"What? What? Oh, sorry." Luke snapped himself out of it to talk to Gilda. "Nice to meet you, Gilda. The name's Luke. Luke Smith."

"Yeah, Rainbow kinda told me about you." Gilda said.

"Really? Well.... you're not going to eat me are you?" Luke said. In his thought he scolded himself "what did I just say that for? WY to blow it, Luke!"

"What?" Gilda said with a small laugh. "Eat you? Why would I want to eat you, weirdo?"

"I don't know." Luke admitted. "Because you're half eagle and half lion?"

"Ah, I understand." Gilda said "yeah, I sometimes get that by a couple of ponies because of that." And she made a small chortle.

"Hmm. So, what brings you here, Gilda?"

"I.... have a favor I want to ask you."

"What's that?"

"You see.... a few years ago I was the meanest gryphon around and when I came here, I made a Pegasus named Flutter Shuter-"

"Fluttershy." Spike corrected 

"Fluttershy cry by being mean to her."

Luke's eyes went wide in shock. "Why would you do that?"

"I don't know. It was... normal griffon behavior like that to be a total jerk-wad"

"Ah."

"So, I wanted to apologize to her for being so mean and make it up to her. These guys told me about you, and maybe you can help me out."

"Of course. I'll try to... make Fluttershy see that she and nothing to fear from you anymore, or any other gryphons."

Gilda was more than happy to hear that out of his mouth. "Neat! Come on." And they all went with Luke back to the cottage.
> Apologies for the Past
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In front of the cottage, Luke, Lyra, Bon Bon, Rainbow Dash, and the griffon named Gilda were just about to come inside.

Before Luke could open the door, something stopped him. A hand from Gilda was gently holding him back by the shoulder, well at least, she trying to be gentle with him

The talons were slowly pressing against his skin like a pair of daggers or needles were trying to puncture the dermis, almost to the pint where it was starting to be painful. "Ow Ow ow!" Luke exclaimed. "What the hell Gilda? Are yoy trying to kill me then eat me?"

"No!" Gilda replied defensively, and her tone changed to a rather nervous voice when se said "i- I just don't know about this. What if she doesn't forgive me, and starts throwing rocks at me the first moment I come in?"

"No, that's crazy, Gilda." Rainbow chuckled "Fluttershy would never do that to anypony, she is the kindest, and sweetest pony I have ever met in my life."

"She ain't exaggerating about that, Gilda." Luke agreed. "Just walk in there, look her in the eye, stand tall and just say that you are sorry to her for making her cry all those years ago and ask her if she wants to be friends with you in return."

"And ask how you can make it up to her." Lyra added.

Gilda was still a little nervous, and had a few butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Nonetheless, she took a breath, and went in the cottage very slow-like.

All of them heard a very beautiful humming and singing voice, and it was Fluttershy, who was tending to a few plants inside of her house.

"Fluttershy, someone is here to see you." Luke called out.

"Hmm? Oh, and who is this- Aaaaaaahhhh!" She screamed at the top o her lungs after getting a good, long look at Gilda and went up to her room with the sound of a door being slammed above.

"Well, that went as I expected it to be." Gilda muttered sarcastically.

"Nah, she just needs to see how sorry you are." Luke said. Thinking, he finally said out loud "maybe I should go talk to Fluttershy. Alone"

"Why you?" Asked Bon Bon.

"I live with her, remember?"

"Oh right."

"Just don't take too long." Said Gilda, pawing at the floor with her first claw. "I'm not the patient type of griffon." She muttered while gritting her teeth.

Luke rolled his eyes slightly up, and said "don't worry, it won't take long. She'll always see reason with me."

"Go ahead, buddy." Rainbow said. The human promptly went upstairs, into Fluttershy's room, and saw that she was nowhere to be seen.

Curious, he called out. "Fluttershy? You in here?"

Then he heard a few squeaking noises that sounded a little like mice squeaking or a cute little kitten mewing.

Noticing that it was coming from under the bed, Luke crouched on his knees and peeked to see if she was done there, and he thought right. There was Fluttershy cowering in complete terror, shaking.

"Ah there you are." Luke said. "Are you alright, Flutters?"

Gulping, the yellow pegasus replied "no. I never even thought I would ever see that mean Gilda again after what happened last time."

"Oh Fluttershy, that's why Gilda is here, so she can say sorry to you for roaring into your face."

"How do you know that?" She asked in a shakey voice.

"Well, at first, I thought she was a no good hoodlum, technically she was in the past, but the point is, she changed now." Gilda is a totally different griffon then when you have met her a long time ago. Honestly, I was quite surprised to see her, but I was glad that she didn't eat me."

Fluttershy made a few more whimpers of fear, making Luke realize what he was saying. "Sorry, shouldn't of said that last part." he said while making a sheepish chuckle. "The point is, please, try and give her a chance. And, if it makes you feel any better, I'll be right with you and... maybe I can pull out my lightsaber and decapitate her with it just in case she is lying to us, you know."

Those words made Fluttershy so touched and felt so lucky to have a good friend/roommate living with her in the cottage. She slowly peeped her head out of from under her bed and didn't look as scared as before. "Umm, thanks, Luke. Are you sure about this?"

"Positive." Luke proudly replied back to her. "Just come with me and everything will be fine."

"She- she really hurt my feelings when I first met her in Ponyville." the yellow pegasus noted as she slowly got back on her feet.

"I hear you, Fluttershy." said Luke with great sympathy. "But that was all in the past, and you need to let go of it. That's what my dad told me, you know, before he left me."

The yellow pegasus made a small smile. Knowing that Luke would never lie to her like this, she was silent, but she finally said. "Okay. I'll.... I'll come with you. Just... please don't leave me when I see her again." then she gently clasped her hooves on Luke's right hand. The human began to feel a little warm and fuzzy on the inside.

Nonetheless, he was quick to reply when he said "Of course. And, like I said, I'll just.... deal away with her using my new lightsaber if she is mean or if she lies to you."

"Oh goodness." Fluttershy said. "I didn't think you would mean that." and she covered her mouth with both her hooves in surprise.

"I'm just trying to help you. And... yeah, I was just saying that." Luke admitted, rubbing the back of his head in a sheepish fashion. "Yeah, i would never actually kill anyone."

Fluttershy smiled. "I know you wouldn't. You are too kind and sweet to do something like that."

"Well come on." Luke said. He was more than happy to step out of the room with his closest friend in Equestria. "Well too be honest, Flutters, Gilda was a little nervous about meeting you too."

"She was?"

"Of course she was. She was worried that you might shoo her away by stoning her with rocks until she leaves the cottage." and then he made a chuckle with a smirk.

As they both head downstairs, Gilda was just waiting on the couch, scratching on her scalp with Rainbow snuggling with Angel Bunny. Lyra and Bon Bon were both busy having a relaxing massage from Harry the bear.

"Gilda." Luke said. "Fluttershy is here to see you now."

This made the griffon more than happy to hear that. "Awesome." Then she promptly got back on all fours, and she went up to the yellow pegasus. A small touch of fear went through Fluttershy, but she decided to not let that stop her. "Hello, Fluttershy." She said in a slightly uncomfortable voice.

"Umm, hi." Fluttershy replied.

"Listen, i... I am so sorry if I roared in your face and are you cry." Gilda said. "I am hoping you can forgive me and... maybe we can be friends?"

It was still for a moment, but she felt Fluttershy gently hugging her as a thank you token for her kindness. "It's okay, Gilda. I forgive you." Then the griffon tried her best to do a hug, but she wasn't very good at it.

"Well, now that wea are all square, why not have a talk together." Said Lyra.

"Perfect idea. You like root beer, Gilda?" Luke asked 

"Yeah! I live root beer!" The griffon replied, and they were all friends now, and all was forgiven between Hilda and Fluttershy
> Pony of Pop
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

While sitting on the couch in Fluttershy's cottage, Luke was listening to more sweet classic rock songs on his iPod. Oh he would never get tired of listening to bands that Guns N' Roses, Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Poets of the Fall, White Lion, Tesla, Dokken, Black Label Society, and many of those rock and metal bands.

Drinking another sip of root beet with ice in the glass, Luke suddenly felt a small touch jab his right shoulder. He was immediately startled and he looked left and right rapidly, then next to his right, he took out his headphones and it was none other than Fluttershy

"Oh, my goodness." she said, feeling a little guilty and sheepish all at once. "I didn't mean to scare you, Luke. I promise."

"Nah, it's alright." Luke shrugged with a smirk. "I was kinda lost in my train of thought. You know what they say, music soothes the beast after all."

The yellow Pegasus giggled. "That's right. I completely underetand what you mean by that."

"I mean, don't you have a little trip to la la land when you listen to any songs you really love?"

"Oh yes. I do get that a lot when I am listening to the birds chirping inside and outside the cottage, especially Hummingway." Then a small green hummingbird fluttered by, and it made beautiful and adorable tweeting sounds.

"Well said, Hummingway." Luke admire the bird with a thumb up. The little avian tweeted in flattery from the human's kind words at him. "Anyway, what is it, Fluttershy?" He asked, eager to hear what she was going to say to him 

While turning his iPod off and pulling his earbuds out of his sockets, Fluttershy addressed him by saying "Well, umm- I was just wandering if you would like a zesty cucumber sandwich? I just thought so because you didn't really eat so much today."

Luke smiled and replied "sure thing, and with mustard please? And hold the mayonnaise, as well."

"Sure, I know how you like your sandwiches." Fluttershy said with a giggle, then she hovered a
Over to the kitchen to fix Luke what he wanted on his lunch. Meantime, Luke just relaxed himself while leaving his head on Tyson the white tiger. The big cat's body felt so warm and yet so furry.

Letting out an excited growl, Tyson licked Luke's face like a normal house cat would do with people in a friendly manner. It didn't take long before Linus came along and joined in on the fun, and then Scar the gray wolf followed after.

Fluttershy giggled seeing that. "Oh, that's cute." She said with a warm smile. "They all like you."

"Just don't try to crush me to death, alright guys?" Luke remarked, feeling a little uncomfortable from these massive animals wanting to hug and snuggle in. Worried that he would be crushed to death by more animals wanting to join in on the fun, he decided to gently push the others off, and stood back on his feet.

"Here is your sandwich, Luke."

"Thanks, Fluttershy. Always love the way you make them."

"I flush." She replied back to him.

When he began eating his little lunch, Luke was still thinking about Gilda, that griffon he met before a few days prior. He was more than happy to be friends with a griffon, and thankful that she didn't try to make human ground beef out of him. A small chill crept down his spine, and decided not to think about something so barbaric.

What really mattered was that a Fluttershy and Gilda started all over with meeting each other properly. Now he was starting to wish that he can go to Griffonstone one of these days and Fluttershy could probably go with her.

When he finished eating, he took yet another sip of his drink, and went to clean his plate off from a few mustards stains, for he was kind of a messy eater. Luke wouldn't really admit that because he was a little too embarrassed and ashamed to do so.

"So Fluttershy, do you think you want go to Griffonstone sometime now that you and Gilda are friends?"

She had a look of uncertainty, and she replied skeptically "I don't know. Sure, me and Gilda are friends now, but I don't know if I would want to visit Griffonstone. What if the other griffons do what Hilda did in the past?"

"Nonsense." Luke scoffed. "She specifically said she is rebuilding the griffon capital to it's former, without the Idol of Boreaus, that is. Not all griffons are not like you think they would be. Well, not anymore I mean."

"I know." Fluttershy said. "She was telling the truth about that, and Rainbow Dash was with Pinkie Pie when the cutie map called them over to that place." And she took a sip of orange juice.

"Exactly! So you have absolutely nothing to worry about." Luke said. "Maybe not one of these days if you would want, but maybe someday?"

"Perhaps. But I still don't know if I would want to go visit Griffonstone." She shyly pawed her hoof on the floor. "I might accidentally bump them without me knowing and screech in my face," and then she gulped in fear just thinking about it.

"Nah." Luke said. "I mean, it's fine if you don't want to come with me, but I would really like to see that place. Hmm, maybe I can have Rainbow Dash come with me since she has been there before."

"Yes, that sounds like a wonderful idea." 

Then Luke went to finish his root beer and went to clear the glass out in the kitchen sink, and used a purple rag to clean any stains or missing drops out of it to be on the safe side.

Scar the wolf then ran up to him, and acted like a golden retriever dog, and placed his front laws on his chest so he can try and give him a kiss on the lips. "Oh come here, Scar." Luke chuckled, and then he bent down to let the wolf "pounce" on him so he can lick all over his handsome face, and the human just laughed and enjoyed this.

Scar then got off him, and made a playful standing posture, wagging his tail happily and and panting his tongue. The wolf also let out a small howl that lasted for a few seconds and circled around two or three times.

"Oh you're such a good boy, Scar!" Luke said playfully, then he rubbed the canine's face while Scar began licking his face again.

After Luke had his fun, he promptly sat back on the couch and decided to play Candy Crush on his smartphone (the soda saga that is) and slowly became a little addicted to it. Meanwhile, the black wolf promptly sat next to him, looking around his surroundings.

He decided to play Hallowed be thy name by Iron Maiden and was almost Completely drifting out of really once again. While listening, be noticed Fluttershy walking out the back door, and he pulled out one earbud out "where you going, Fluttershy?"

"Just going to give Sly, and Agnes the raccoon a little treat as usual."

"Can I help you with that?"

"Of course." She said with a warm smile. Luke promptly got off the couch and went to help out Fluttershy with a few animal care chores. While feeding the chickens, Fluttershy then remembered something "Oh, I forgot to to tell you, Luke."

"What's that?" Then Luke felt a chicken trying to get the piece of corn by leaping in the air and trying to grasp it with her beak.

"I have built a sanctuary for all animals to be happy and live together without any worries or problems at all."

The human's eyes went up with surprise and said "really?" Then he dropped the large piece of corn for the chickens and roosters to eat out of, then they moved forward to the ducks, geese, and swans in the small lake in the backyard.

"Hmm-mm. It was one of my dreams to make in all of my life. And Dr. Fauna was getting a little too overcrowded in her veterinary clinic."

"Ah, perfectly understandable. Does it have a lot of animals in it?"

"Oh yes. Of course, many animals come and go anytime they please. Just in case they want to go back to the Wild."

"Awesome!" Luke remarked proudly throwing a few pieces of white bread on the lake waters. All the ducks, geese, swans, loons, herons, bitterns, and other aquatic birds were all happy to be fed with bread like this. "Do any ponies come by to see what it looks like?"

"Yes. It is a very wonderful place that me and my friend, Big Daddy McColt created together." Then the work was over and ended when the raccoons were given their treats.

When that was taken care of, Luke just remembered something "Hey Fluttershy, I just remembered something."

"Yes?"

"I was supposed to show Pip with some Amazing music from my world and try to show him the way of rock and metal, because he is kinda getting interested in it right now."

""Oh, okay. That sounds wonderful." She admired. "Go on ahead."

"Thanks" and he was about to head out, but then a knock on the door was heard. Luke opened the door, and it revealed to be Rarity, and next to her was a pale grayish gold mare with fancy clothing, and a white top-hat on her head. She had a blue, slightly curly mane, and looked a little taller and bigger than Rarity.

"Luke, hello there." Hey Rarity, what's up?"

"Well. I would like you to meet Sapphire Shores. The pony of pop!"

"Pleasure to meet ya, honey." Said the mare in an African American voice, shaking Luke's hand with both her hooves,

"Pony of pop? He muttered to his head. "Oh god, I hope she is not asking me to do a shitty pop song with her, cause I would rather die than do that. Hiding his true feelings, he didn't want to be too judgmental and said "pleasure to meet you too, miss Shores."

"Sapphire Shores?" Said Fluttershy in a tone of surprise, and promptly went to the front door. "Oh, how wonderful to see you again, Sapphire."

"Same with you, Fluttershy."

"What are you doing here?"

"Sapphire just came back from her Equestrian world tour yesterday." Rarity said. "And she was looking for Luke."

It made Luke's eyes wide to hear that remark. "Looking for me?" He asked.

"Of course, honey."

"What for?"

"I heard so much about you, and I heard you are an amazing hit artist and singeeeer!" She sang at the last part in a high note.

"Ah! Please don't do that." Luke said, "I kinda have sensitive hearing."

"Come on, Sweetie, I am just born to-"

"Please! Please!" Luke begged in a more assertive voice. The three were a little shocked to here that little outburst from him. 

"Luke? What's the matter?" Fluttershy asked him with concern

"Yes, that was a little shocking."

"Oh, sorry." Luke caught himself. "Anyway, you want to get to know me, for real?" He asked the pony of pop.

"Yeah, you are quite an amazing.... gorilla."

Luke was highly offended, and barked "I am Not a gorilla! I am a human, okay!? Get your facts right goddamnit!" And he made a huff like an angry bull would do, and realized what he has done again. "Oh, did I just say that?"

The mares has a shocked and concerned look on their faces again. "Yes." Rarity said.

"Goodness, you're starting to scare me, Luke."

It made Luke guilty to here those words and bent down to make better eye contact with her. 

"I am so sorry, Fluttershy. I... I just need my Prozac, that's all." And then he went to go take his pill for calm him down, and gulped it down with some water.

Going back to the three, Sapphire Shores asked him with concern "are you sure you are alright, sweetie?"

"Yes. I'm just fine." Luke cleared his throat.

"Well. Why don't we come on over to the boutique?" Rarity suggested. "and we can bring our friends here too."

"Are your backup dancers here?" Asked Fluttershy

"Wherever I go, they go with me." She said with a head nod and a spunky attitude.

"Oh goody." Luke muttered sarcastically.

"What's that?"

"Nothing. Just thinking out loud." The human made a few whistling noises with his mouth, trying to act as innocent as possible.

"Alright."

Then Fluttershy told her friends in the cottage bye and promptly went with them after locking the front door. 

"So I hear your a rockstar, right?" She asked him

"Yep, and a TALENTED rockstar, thank you." He said flatly.

The mare laughed at his remark, making Luke mildly grit his teeth. "Oh you are a card Luke. We definitely have so much to talk about."

In his head, Luke thought "I don't want to talk with a pop star with you. I have seen what people such as yourself are like, talentless annoying, today's pop music is a disgrace and just noise compared to real music, like every other genre besides pop."

Yes, Luke definitely did not want to talk with her, and was trying to figure out a way to weasel himself out of this.

"Look, Sapphire Shores, I was supposed to show a good friend of mine, Pip, a thing about some music back home like really cool rock and metal bands, and other music genres of course." And in his head, he said "except pop trash."

"Oh, don't worry, I can come along with ya and you won't have to worry about missing that little meeting." Then she gave him a wink

"God give me strength." He thought.

Luke absolutely did not want to be with a pop star, and thought it was a waste of time, but he didn't want to be too hasty about this, and tried to hear her out at least, and prayed internally that she will not ask him to do a song or a duet with her, because he would rather die.

When they arrived in town. Many ponies gathered around and cheered for Sapphire Shores, and she herself kissed at her adoring fans,

Luke was becoming even more annoyed with this, and just wanted this to end. It was just not his style
> Music Taste
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke was at a table over at the cafe, showing Pipsqueak some really cool bands from his homeworld that he should listen to, and how he did it was letting Pip listen to his iPod.  Pip was liking these songs, and then the human was more proud of himself that he was spreading the magic of rock to a lucky soul, along with really good tunes from really awesome bands that Luke considered the best there were ever created.

"This is amazing Luke!" Pip said, bopping his head front and back repeatedly. "Thank you for listening to some of these amazing songs."

The human gave a proud chuckle and said "No problem Pip. Although I would like to point out that some of my songs on there are.... not really meant for kids, and you should listen to them with your parents. Or at least try your best not to say any bad words, and consult with your parents first."

"Okay, I just wish that I can keep these songs." Pip said

"Well, if there was a computer in Equestria and if I can burn discs, I would be more than happy to give them to you." Luke said "Do you have computers here in Equestria?"

"What's a computer?"

"Right. I thought so. Anyway, it's kind of a long explanation. It's a type of device that is widely popular among the human race, like if you were going to mail someone, you can just send it on the computer through something called email."

"Email?"

"Hmm-mm. It's very useful for if you are busy to write a letter to the post office personally, and it's a good way to talk with friends through long distances."

"Wow, your world sounds so cool." Pip said

"Well, I wouldn't totally say that. I might have mentioned that there is no magic at all in my world. This place on the other hand, does, and it's way more cool here than in my home. I'm actually quite happy with my new life in Equestria. It's everything I could ever ask for in my life. It's my...."

"Definition of heaven?" said Twilight with a raised eyebrow and a smile.

"Exactly! yes! But of course, I still have a family back home, and they probably miss me so much." and he began thinking about his parents and old friends, feeling quite sentimental."

"Oh, don't worry, honey." said Sapphire Shores. "Celestia and Luna is definitely working on something to help you go back to home sweet home." and she sang the last part of that sentence, making Luke cringe again. looking back at her, and putting his hand on his forehead, he looked quite irritated."

Sapphire realized her mistake, and said "sorry, about that. It just happens. It's my musical talent."

"I concur." said Rarity.

"pfft. I can hardly imagine." Luke muttered sarcastically. 

Pip heard the human with his remark, and with concern, he asked him "Are you alright Luke? It sounds like you got up on the wrong side of the bed."

"What? no. Of course not." Luke lied with a shrug. "I'm perfectly fine. Just the only living human in Equestria having a life as dandy and happy as can be." and he took another sip of his root beer.

"Did you take your pills, Luke?" Rainbow asked him curiously

"Of course. I always do." Luke boldly replied, tapping his fingers on the table, almost like a piano.

"Okay. It just sounded like you were mad about something."

"Don't worry, Pip. I'm not." Luke lied again. "Anyway, would you like to listen to more songs or see if I can get DJ Pon-3 can burn any discs from my iPod some I can give them to you to listen to?"

"That would be delightful." Pip said. "When will you get them for me?"

"I'll try to do it as soon as I can, in the meantime, I gotta go with the others to the boutique."

"Perfect. It must be a real honor for you to meet Sapphire Shores herself."

In his head, Luke rudely thought "yeah, an honor for her to make my life hell." But he still kept those negative thoughts and feelings to himself so he wouldn't make a scene in front of his closest acquaintances.

"Yeah, I can hardly believe that I am meeting a human in Equestria that is almost a star like me."

"Well, I don't really care about the fame, asapphire." Luke pointed out to her calmly. "I just want to spend time with all my friends and spend a good life in Equestria, or if Celestia and Luna already found a way to take me back home, that is."

The pop star made a friendly, warm smile at him, and gently placed her hoof on his shoulder. "That's wonderful, and I think everypony around here likes you, too."

"Not all of them." Luke said "There's Spoiled Rich, and that Chimera I encountered almost a month ago."

"Well, there are only a few that don't like you." Said Twilight. "I mean there will always be somepony that won't like you in some way, but you can't let that bring you down, right?"

"Right." Then he noticed Sapphire's hoof on his shoulder, and swiped it like a fly or a bee was buzzing around him. "I don't like to be touched, thank you very much." Luke said with a small huff. "Please, I wish you would respect my personal space."

Sapphire didn't really know what to think about this and she said "okay, sorry. I didn't know that you didn't like to be touched, honest."

"Just please don't do it again, okay?"

"Of course. I'll keep my hooves off the merchandise."

"Thank you."

Fluttershy, Rarity, Twilight, and the others knew by that little outburst, something was definitely bothering this human right now. It wasn't really like Luke at all to act this way,

"Well, why don't we go meet on the boutique?" Said Applejack.

"Right."

"Well Pip, I'll see you soon okay. And don't worry, I'll give you some discs with all the bands on it, okay?"

"Alright. See you later, Luke." Pip said in his cheerful demeanor and happily trotted all the way back home. They all went to the boutique with Luke reluctantly following behind. All he cared about was just not dealing with a pop star like Sapphire Shores right now.

While entering inside, there were four other ponies, all of them were mares just looking around the boutique at the really nice outfits Rarity was creating for them. When they noticed Sapphire Shores, all four went in front of her, and greeted her.

One was a skinny yet tall mare with a large orange mane in an Afro type of hairstyle said "Welcme back, darling, I hope you had a safe travel back home."

"Foxxy, I am always on the right track when I am on the road to my destination" and they all laughed with her, except Luke of course. The human didn't even snicker and just rolled his eyes in disgust and irritation.

Then the backup dancers saw Luke and were more than happy to see him. "Ah, this must be the one we heard about." Said the Afro mare, and she proudly walked up to him to introduce herself. "I'm Foxxy Trot. And you must be.... Lincoln, right?"

"Luke, thank you. Remember my name." He said, not very amused with a raised eyebrow in irritation. "Luke Smith to be exact."

"Sorry, so sorry." Said Foxxy.

Then another mare in a workout shirt and pants went up to him and said "I'm Blue Cutie, very nice to meet a human in Equestria for the first time."

"Hmm-mm." Was all Luke replied.

Then another one in a large blue mane and a pink coat said "Sweet Conshell is my name."

"Nice to meet you." The human replied in a huff.

Finally, a mare with a blue mane in a headband and a yellow workout unitard walked up to him last, and seemed the one most excited to meet Equestria's only human. "And I am Ocean Breeze. It is such an honor to meet you, Luke." And she tried to shake his hand with both hooves to be nice and friendly, but Luke swiftly moved his hand away from her by raising it out of her reach in the air.

"Backup now. Sorry, but you cannot touch me." Luke said. "I'm not the.. touching type of human being to say."

Ocean Breeze was a little bummed to hear that, and said "oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't know, honest."

"It's fine. It's fine." Luke said. "So, why are we here anyway?"

"Well, like we said, we wanted to meet you and get to know ya better, Luke." Sapphire reminded. "And we want to the all to you about something."

"Oh boy." Like sighed.

"Come along, we'll go upstairs." Said Pinkie. And they all went upstairs to the designing room and Luke had a seat on a nice chair while the others sat down on the floor in random spots.

The human let out a sigh, and said "alright, Sapphire Shores, what do you want to talk about?"

"Well, I heard that-"

But then a barge in the door was heard, spooking them all. It revealed to be the cutie mark crusaders. Applebloom, and Scootaloo were rather hyped to see her, but Sweetie Belle was in her calm demeanor.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" Said Applebloom. 

"Sapphire Shores!" Scootaloo said with a bounce of joy. Both fillies ran up to her, wanting an autograph from her obviously. Then a large security stallion came in, and had shades and a tuxedo, looking quite tough with a goatee to go with that.

Intervening, the mane-less stallion gently pushed them back "hey hey hey! Please! Please!" He said "if you want to have an autograph from Sapphire Shores, then please wait patiently outside." And he was gently pushing them away from her "come on, back up, out you go." 

Both crusaders were bummed, Ans Sweetie Belle. Probably because she is not a big fan of Sapphire Shores either. "Alright, come on girls." Said Applebloom, walking downstairs with the orange pegasus filly."

"I am so sorry about that, Miss Shores. They are just really big fans and admirers of you."

The pop star chuckled and said "that's quite alright, Sweetie Belle, I'll give them an autograph as soon as I am finished.

Sweetie smiled. "Thanks." When she was gone,  Luke still didn't look very happy or unhappy either, like a neutral face to say the least.

"Go on." The human said with a raised eyebrow.

"Right then, I heard that you have an amazing gift for musical talent, and I was rather curious about you, Luke. Your friends here told us about the concerts you would perform and they say you are incredible in music."

"Guilty as charged." Luke flustered slightly.

"Since I got back from the world tour in Equestria, I thought why not lay a visit to this handsome young man."

It made Luke fluster even more to be called handsome, even if it is from a pop star. "Hmm. Many ponies around here call me interesting because I am the only living human here. It is sort of like I am a Dwemer that didn't disappear from the effects of the Heart of Lorkhan after tapping Keening and Sunder on them.

All of them had a confused look on there face. "what is a Dwemer?" Spike asked "and who's Lorkhan?"

"It's nothing. It's just from the video game series called the Elder Scrolls."

And they all went "ohhh." And "I get it." To go with it

"Now, the point is, I can be a very interesting guy." And he took a sip of his lemonade that Rarity fetched him.

Sapphire made another small laugh. "And why I'm here is because Rarity has created a new line of dance clothes for me and my girls."

"They look absolutely beautiful and astounding." Said Ocean Breeze. "It will be very good for our next tour someday."

"I doubt that, probably looks cheesy or something." He muttered.

"What's that?"

"Nothing nothing. Just thinking out loud to myself, no biggie." Then he crossed his arms acting as innocent as possible for them all. 

"Oh yes, here I will show you the, right now. Voila!" And they all looked in awe at what appears to be a tiger themed dance suit for Sapphire and the dancers to wear. Luke however, stuck his tongue out in disgust.

"What do you think?"

And they all, minus the human, gave compliments saying how much they lied how it looked.

Finally Luke didn't know if he could hold these negative emotions within himself any longer, and made yet another huff, and decided to listen to his headphones to calm him down.

"These will make a perfect line for you, Sapphire. I know it will help you accomplish the tour." Said Rarity "well Luke, what do you think?"

All of them looked at him, but immediately saw that he had earbuds in both ears with a faint sound of rock or metal being heard.

"Luke?" Rainbow tried to get his attention. "Luke! Hello?" And she went up to him and waved her hoof at him to snap him out of his thinking while listening to the music.

"What? Sorry." Luke said, acting innocent once more. Then he took both earbuds out of his ear.

"Luke, you have been acting a little... rude lately." Fluttershy said. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I mean-" not being able to hide anything anymore, he mildly lashed out by saying "look, Rarity, It's that talentless whore, okay?!" He was obviously pointing to Sapphire with his first finger 

They all gasped at what he just said. "Luke! Such language!" Fluttershy remarked, covering her mouth hearing what Luke just said in complete shock.

"Excuse me?" Said Sapphire, feeling rather confused and a liter frightened but that little outburst.

"You heard me!" Luke said. "Pop music is my least favorite genre of music, alright? Today's pop music is nothing but a load of garbage and feces.

The dancers gasped in offense hearing that.

"Luke, please calm down." Twilight said.

"Yeah Luke, you're boiling like a steamed vegetable." Spike added on agreement

He was trying to calm down, but every time he sees Sapphire, it wouldn't work.

It was just then the security stallion came in barging. "What's going on here?" He asked

"Yeah Luke, what is going on?" Said Applejack with concern.

Sighing, Luke said in defeat "I told you I don't like pop. I just don't like ten kind of music it is."

"Honey?" Sapphire said. She tried to put her hoof on his shoulder again to console him, but the human angrily swatting it away from him.

"I said don't touch me!" He lashed. 

"All I am asking is if you would like to do a song with me, that's all? I just thought it would be a great honor to sing with a new talented voice and-"

"Forget it!" Luke said "I don't want to hear it, goddamnit!" And then he stormed out of the room with a small growl. Everyone in the room was worried and concerned about the human, and just wanted him to be happy.

Meanwhile, while noticing him leaving, the crusaders looked on at Luke in a foul mood. "Luke, what's the matter?" Asked Scootaloo.

"Nothing. I'm fine. I just need to be alone." He said. "Just a little quiet time alone, thank you." And he began storming out into the streets in Ponyville 

"Luke, wait!" Said a voice. It was Lyra, with Bon Bon running after him. Cloudchaser, Flitter, Thunderlane, and Rumble also went after him as well. "Luke, what's wrong?" Asked the mint green unicorn.

"It's nothing, Lyra." Luke sighed. "It's just Sapphire Shores, she asks me to do a pop song even though I am a hardcore rock fan? What the hell, man?"

"Whoa whoa whoa, Luke." Said Cloudchaser, stopping him by placing her hooves on his shoulders. "I don't understand, what do you have against Sapphire Shores?"

"It's not really her personally, it's the type of music she is, the electronic music and drum machines and all that stuff. It's not my style." Placing his hand on his forehead again, he remarked "look, I just need to cool off."

"Oh come on, Luke. I get that you don't like Sapphire Shore's music, but me and Rumble are not big fans of it either."

"Yeah, she's a really nice pony." Rumble added

"Besides, I am pretty sure she just wanted to be friends with you." Said Flitter

"And we all have different music tastes, right? That is what Lyra always told me when I first met her." Bon Bon added

"She's right. Being a music expert, I have come across many music genres, and I love the, all." Said the green unicorn. "I mean, you can't just try and brush Sapphire off when she wants to know you, and it hurts other ponies that you judge them without even knowing them first."

"Yeah, it can really hurt them that way." Cloudchaser agreed. "You should really try to know her and don't be quick to judge about her."

"I don't have to know what she is like, Cloudchaser." Luke retorted "I have seen what pop divas like her are like, eccentric, and think they are better than everyone else and think rock and metal are stupid. And I hate it when they play their so-called music, but it's just noise. And... I'm worried that she is taking away everything that is important to me."

"Why would she do that?" Said Bon Bon with a very confused look on her face.

"I.... I don't know." Luke admitted. "She just wants to put rock to shame and say that Pip music is way better now."

"No she doesn't." Said Flitter. "It really sounds like she wants to be your friend."

"She says that, but I don't buy it."

"Come on Luke, don't be ridiculous." Said Lyra. "She would never do try and take advantage of anypony."

Making a small growl, Luke said "look, I just need some time alone and... a little bit of ice cream would be nice. And then he went off to the ice cream shop and decided to just go back home to the cottage to think things over.

Meanwhile, the others looked on at him with concern like Twilight and the others back in the boutique. Clearly he was in a really angry mood right now.

"Will he be okay?" Asked Rumble

"We'll check on him later to see if he is not mad anymore." Said Thunderlane

"Good idea." Said Cloudchaser.
> Trying to Calm Down
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke was just right in front of the cottage, and was still a little pissed about Sapphire Shores, her dancers, and how she was asking him to do a song with her. He had an ice cream on a waffle cone in a soft serve fashion, but it was just about gone, it looked like there was only one or two bites left, then he decided to scarf the whole thing down. Despite how good it was, it didn't really help soothe his anger

Honestly, Luke never felt so insulted about someone with his most hated music genre asking a hard core rockstar like him to do a song with him.

Making a small growl, he said to himself "my god, I need some root beer." Then he promptly got himself some ice and got a root beer out. Meanwhile, many animals were both concerned and confused for the human.



Then he promptly sat down on the couch and listened to For the Love of God by Steve Vai to calm him down.

"Hopefully this should help me out with my stress. Merde! (Shit!)" Then he just lite Ned in on the nice guise tune of Steve Vai, and it was slowly starting to relax him in a kind of meditation.

Another thing he did was look up many types of animals on his smartphone, since he loves them just as much as Fluttershy does.

In the middle part of the song, he felt something lick his knee, and was immediately startled.

It was only Linus the lion, looking rather concerned about him. He made a small roar at him, not in a threatening way of course, but trying to ask him if he was alright.

Unfortunately, Luke could not understand him like Fluttershy would. However he just said "i'm sorry, Linus. It's just that Sapphire Shores is hogging up all the attention. A popstar like her asking me to do a song with her?" He took another sip of his root beer. "Hell, I would never do a song with a pop star with electronic sounds that are so-called music if we were the last living creatures on earth."

The other animals looked on at him, then Angel Suddenly realized what was happening and bounced his eyebrows a couple times woth a very smug face.

"Oh who asked you?! Don't rub it in." He said to the rabbit. Then Angel Bunny hopped away with that smug look on his face. Looking at the others and worried he might have scared them, he said to all of them. "Sorry guys. I'm just peeved right now." Then he took another sip of his drink.

Linus couldn't help but try and sit next to him on the couch, and gently rubbed his gigantic head against the human's right side.

Luke made a small smirk, and stroked the lion's mane, making him do a happy growl with every touch.

It wasn't long before Tyson the white tiger came up to him and licked his leg, wanting the attention too. How could Luke possibly resist an adorable white tiger's face, especially this one. He then petted Tyson's pelt, and both big cats were happy to enjoy this.

Still listening to the song, he felt Harry the grizzly bear gently rubbing his shoulders with his mighty paws. Turns out he was massaging him to help relieve his stress even faster. "Thanks, Harry."

And the grizzly made a small happy growl in return.

Just then two wolf brothers, Remus and Sirius, were more than happy to come up to Luke and have a little fun with the, like a let dog would do. It was almost as if Luke's anger and hatred had completely gone away, thanks to the help of these animals.

"Thanks guys." And they all happily made sounds of gratitude. "Listen, I... I just don't like pop music, especially today's pop music." And he paused the song from moment. "I mean, I have seen stars like her in my world, and they all sound horrible, just noise and not real music, Ariana Grande, Kesha, Rhinahna, Britney Spears, they were all so horrible I cannot bear to listen to something so.... annoying."

And then he thought of how scared and concerned Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike, Twilight, and the others when he just lashed out at them like a rabid Rhodesian Ridgeback dog. And of course, he thought of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who were also a little scared by his anger.

Not only them but Cloudchaser, Flitter, Bon Bon, Thunderlane and his brother Rumble were almost as scared as his friends at the boutique. "Oh, I just hope I didn't hurt anyone's feelings." He muttered to himself. "Anyway guys, I just need to cool off if that's okay with you."

All the other animals replied with animal noises again, saying they understand how Luke felt. The human went to his bedroom and decided to just wear his champion's boxers and took his clothes off of him.

While listening deep into the song, he began to feel the calm, relaxing sensation of Steve Vai doing his magnificent skills on that axe. He slowly began to go deep into his mind, like this was a meditation method to relieve his stress, but of course it was almost like that.

When the song was over, he still felt some type of negative emotions swirling in him, but he was not as angry as before. Another thing he tried to do was listen to Poets of the Fall. This underrated Finnish rock band was known for creating such beautiful, symphonic masterpieces.

While taking a sip, he saw that he ran out of root beer and decided to get himself some more, along with a few more ice cubes.

It was almost he had completely forgotten about why he was so furious in the first place. Yes, the thoughts of Sapphire Shores were slipping away in an instant. He went back up to his bedroom, and drank the second root beer in an instant, and then he went back downstairs in the kitchen to repeat what he did try third time. It was just so good and delicious, he just wish that the drink would never go away.

Oh he grew up with Root beer when he was a child, especially Barq's root beer brand, and A&W as well. It was probably a little too much sugar, but then he thought "oh come on, it's not alcohol, I would never drink an evil so-called drink like alcohol." He shrugged with a loud "pfft."

As he went back upstairs, he was still trying to let go of his stress comepletely, and decided to talk to his dad about this. Pulling out his phone, he dialed his dad's phone number, and waited for him to answer.

Finally, he heard his voice when he said "Hey Luke, it's dad."

"Hey dad. Listen, I want to talk to you about something."

"Sure, what's up?"

He gave out a little sigh, but he finally said "Dad, I just met a pop singer who asked to do a song with me. A performer who plays my least favorite music in the universe! Then she hogs all my friends, along with her backup dancers."

"Whoa whoa whoa." said Larry on the other line. "Calm down, buddy. Why would she do that to you? You are a really good singer and a rock star. I even remember you singing in the Jack and the Beanstalk play on the third grade as the giant. You were really amazing."

"Right, but that has nothing to do with this. She probably wants to plot some secret shit on me, like knowing my darkest secrets so in case she wants to steal my credit and get me out of the picture."

"No, that's crazy talk." His dad said on the other line. "Have you even met her?"

"Yes."

"And what did she say?"

"She said she really loved my music and how she heard about my amazing skills, which are better than hers, by the way."

"Well, what's wrong with that?"

"Well, it's fine if she likes what she heard about me, then that's okay, but she asked me if I wanted to do a song with her."

"Oh. Come on Luke, remember what me and your mom told you that you can't just judge them without getting to know them first."

"Yes, and I met her."

"I don't think you have met her enough to know him somehow." Said Larry. "And, I think your jealous of her."

"What? Dad, I'm not jealous. I just don't like.... how she is getting the attention by signing autographs, and being adored."

"Yep, that's jealousy, Luke."

"I am not jealous!" Luke defended himself. "It's just. Look dad, I just need to cool off and think things over, okay. I'm sorry if I yelled at you like that, but I need some time to relax myself."

"It's okay buddy.' Said Larry. "And try listening to your iPod. Music is the best medicine."

"Excellent point." Luke agreed. "Bye dad. Love you."

"I love you too, bye." Then Luke hung up and plugged his phone back into the charger. He decided to listen to Bob Marley on his iPod to calm his nerves. After all, who wouldn't be so relaxed to hear this late music legends great tunes?"

Getting himself a root beer for the fourth time, he let out a loud burp. "Why can't we roam our land." He sang to himself while listening to Rebel Music.

He just crossed his arms behind his head and relaxed himself listening to Bob do his magic. When the song was over, he was suddenly becoming more... calm, and almost forgotten about what he was even furious about, until....

"Luke?" Said a familiar voice he knew. It was Fluttershy, who just happened to open her front door, since this was her house.

"Where are you, Sugarcube?" Called Applejack's voice. He knew exactly why they were all here, and gave out a small sigh while having another sip of root beer. He was unable to evade them like this and he decided to go out without a fight. At least, try to relax, for he was sure that Sapphire Shores and her dancers were with them.

"Please, sugar." called Sapphire's voice from downstairs. "We just wanna talk to you."

"Yeah, please, be reasonable." said Ocean Breeze.

Then the human decided to come outside of his bedroom and just face the music, literally. Even he still wished he would strangle her to death so he would never have to hear her voice again. Honestly, he didn't know if he was going to calm down anytime soon since a singer of his least favorite music genre was in the cottage now.

Walking out of the room, and slowly heading downstairs, he already bumped into Fluttershy by accident. "Oh my god, I am so sorry, I didn't see you there."

"Luke, it's okay." said the yellow pegasus. "We were looking all over for you."

"I know."

"Please, come downstairs. We just want to talk to you."

"Do I have to be be around Sapphire Shores and her dancer posse to do do?" he asked.

"Please?" she begged.

Letting out a reluctant sigh, Luke said "Okay, but just for your guys' sake." The yellow pegasus smiled and was very grateful to hear that. "Just let me get my root beer and I'll be right down."

"Okay." Then after Luke got his beverage, he sighed again and walked downstairs and there they were, their friends, Sapphire Shores, and all her backup dancers were there, and of course, her security guard. It irked Luke seeing her and her dancer posse again, but he wanted to make Fluttershy happy, and tried to take his fathers advice while on the phone.

Sitting on the couch again, Luke waited for at least someone to say something. "Okay, Sapphire. Let's talk." he said to the pony of pop.

"Luke, you kinda gave me a little bit of a scare back there at the Boutique." she replied in concern. "What's the matter? Why are you acting all huffy all of a sudden."

"I told you." Luke said flatly. "I hate pop music, alright? There I said it."

"Why did you come with me and Fluttershy then, darling?" Rarity asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well... Fluttershy was coming with you, so I figured why not come with her since she is the very first friend I made in all of Equestria. Secondly, I didn't want to make myself look bad or a complete jerk in front of my friends."

"No offense, Luke, but you already did." Rainbow said

"No one asked you!" Luke barked at her, and realized what he did. "Sorry. Anyway, i just didn't want to hear Sapphire Shore's music because it is probably unbearable to hear for me. I mean, don't we all have our music tastes?"

"Yes." Said Applejack. "Of course we all have our tastes in music, but you can't just do something like cuss out what yer feeling."

"Fine, but I doubt that she," he pointed his finger at her again "Sapphire Shores would like rock or metal."

"Actually, I very much tolerate it." She admitted.

"Pfft, yeah right."

"No really." Said Ocean Breeze. "We may not be gigantic rock fans like you, Luke, but we do listen to it."

Luke looked at the others with a skeptical look on his face. "She is telling the truth." Said Spike. "We talked to her about it, and they actually do like it."

"Fine, but she is ruining true music."

"Oh Luke honestly." Said Bon Bon. "Have you even heard of her music?"

"Well... no, unless you count as Sapphire Shining right next to my eardrums until I go deaf."

"Nope, that's doesn't count." Pinkie noted,

"Come on, you are being a little too judgemental around her." Said Lyra. "And... I think you are jealous of her."

"Yeah That was what me and Flitter were thinking too."

"Jealous?" Luke scoffed. "I just don't like the way she was getting the attention in Ponyville. It was kinda... stealing my spotlight."

"That's jealousy, Luke." Said Twilight. "I am certain it's jealousy."

Luke made a small growl in denial at her. "Okay fine, I have never heard of her music, but I intend to keep it that way. Then she asks me to do a crappy pop song with her? That was just unbelievable! I would never degrade myself by performing in my least favorite genre of music."

"She was just asking you, honey." Said Foxxy Trott. "She wasn't trying to offend you or anything." The others made words of agreement with her.

"Either way. The answer is hell no. I would rather die than do a pop song with her.'

"It doesn't have to be a pop song." Said Ocean Breeze. "If you want it to be completely rock-sounding, then we can make that happen."

"Yeah, honeybunch. We can work something out."

Sighing again, Luke took another sip of his root beer.

"How many of those did you have?" Twilight asked him m curiously

"This is my fourth one."

"Fourth?!" Rarity said "that's not good. You really should drink more water."

"I'm sorry okay, but this is what helps me when I am troubled. Besides, at least I am not drinking any alcohol."

"Yes, but still. It's not very good for you." Fluttershy pointed.

"Okay."

"Come on, honey, I really want us to be friends."

"So do we." Ocean Breeze added in a mildly begging type of voice.

Letting out a sigh, Luke said "Look, I was just trying to cool off cause you know what they say out of sight, out of mind."

"Please Luke, just give her a chance. They really want to be your friends."

"How do you know she's not lying?"

"Because I sensed it in her." Applejack noted. "I swear, just take it from me, she is not lying. We promise you."

Still very relent about this, Luke was silent, but he finally said "well, I suppose we can go back to the boutique and tr this again."

The others smiled to hear that.

"Were you guys really worried about me?" He asked them

"Of course we were." Fluttershy said. "You are our friends it's what friends do."

Luke was flattered by Fluttershy's kind words again, and said "thanks."

"What are friends for?" She said.

Still very relent, he decided to heed his dad's words about not judging someone before getting to know them first.
> Starting Over Again
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So an entire race actually disappeared?" said Rainbow Dash

"Yep." Luke replied. While walking along the road in Ponyville with his friends, and Sapphire Shores, along with her dancer posse. "The dwarves, or Dwemer as they are also called. They used the tools on the heart of Lorkhan to try and become gods themselves."

"And you said they were master architects and crafters?" said Twilight, rather fascinated by the fictional Dwemer race in the Elder Scrolls series.

"They built robots like guardians, dwarven mechanical spiders, and gigantic dwarven centurions as their big guns. I just hope I am not boring you guys by taking to you about this stuff."

The others disagreed with him. "Absolutley not, Luke." said Sapphire. "that is..." but before she could sing a note again, she covered her mouth, stopping herself from doing so, remember how Luke doing want to hear her voice. "Sorry." she said. "What I mean to say is, they sound quite interesting."

"thanks." Luke said flatly. "The Dwemer were a really cool, yet a cruel race."

"What do you mean?" asked Fluttershy. "What did they do that was so evil?"

"it's a rather long, yet fascinating story, but I'll shorten it out for you, another race of elf called the Snow Elves, were in danger of becoming extinct in Skyrim from the Nords, and most of them decided to take shelter with a Dwarves in their underground homes. However, it came at a price."

"What's that?" asked Rumble curiously

"The Dwemer tricked the snow elves by giving them a toxic mushroom from Blackreach, and made them permanetely blind, and losing their sanity, thus becoming the Dwemer's slaves. They slowly turned into hideous monsters over the centuries called the Falmer, or the betrayed in their tongue"

His friends and Sapphire gasped. "That's horrible!" said Spike. "How could they do that to an endangered race?"

"Like I said before, Spike. The Dwemer were a cruel and conniving race."

"I should say so." said Rainbow. "I think they deserved what they have got when they all disappeared."

"You're not wrong, Rainbow. Still, many Elder Scrolls fans like me are wondering what happened to them, or where they are. At least some kind of clue."

"So, they are all gone? Did they all just vanished from their world?"

"All of them, ans one." Luke said in a bold voice.

"Only one left?" said Applejack. "Who is he or she?"

"it's a funny name." Luke chuckled. "His name is... Yagrum Bagarn." 

Then the cyan pegasus and Pinkie Pie made a small laugh in an outburst. 

"That is a very funny name." Pinkie chuckled.

"Well, how did he survive the disappearance?"

"Yagrum was in another dimension when that happen, therefore, he wasn't on Tamriel."

Everypony and Spike went "Ohh."

"Now I understand." Spike said. "Are there any other dwemer living on that world?"

"As far as I know of, not really. Yagrum Bagarn came back from the outer realm and saw that his people were gone. He searched all across Tamriel for any other survivors besides himself, and in the Dwarven city ruins, but no luck. Finally, he returned to Red Mountain where his race disappeared in the first place, only to be infected with a contagious virus called Corprus disease, and he had to be quarantined ever since because of that."

"Gosh." said Lyra. "That is so interesting. Do you think they might tell you what happened in the next Elder Scrolls game?"

"Honestly, Lyra, I have no idea, because they are not planning on making another game at the moment. But, I can at least hope that the Dwemer come back to Tamriel, or if i truly find out what happened to that lost race."

"Wouldn't blame you." said Rarity. "They do sound like an interesting race, despite them enslaving another, and trying to use improper use of a god's heart."

Luke made a chuckle. Then the human was thinking some things over and felt some guilt building up inside of him. "Guys, look, I'm really sorry if I was behaving like a real jackass back there."

"Don't say that, Luke." Fluttershy said with a gasp, covering her mouth in shock. "you are definitely nothing like that."

"And can you please watch your language?" Thunderlane said, covering Rumble's ears. "There are kids present."

"Thunderlane!" He groaned. "I've heard that word before."

"Well... I wished that you didn't." Thunderlane tried to defend himself. "Ah, who am I kidding."

"The point is, I just don't like pop music, the electronic sounds and all. It's... just my opinion, that's all." Luke noted. "I just lost myself for a second back there."

"It's okay, darling." said Rarity. "You don't have to listen to her music if you do not want to."

"I know."

"And Sweetie Belle says she rather prefers show tunes other than Sapphire Shore's Music. Oh! No offense darling."

"No offense taken, honey." said the pony of pop. "And I am totally okay if you do not like my music. It's not like I am a music dictator, telling everypony who they can or cannot listen to."

"Thank god." Luke muttered to himself. 

"And is there something you would like to say to Sapphire Shores and her dancers, Luke?" Twilight said with a mildly stern look on her face. Spike was also having the almost exact same face as she was towards the human.

Luke sighed He didn't really want to, but he still remembered his fathers words. "Sapphire, and dancers, I- I-"

"Yes, sweetheart?" asked Foxxy Trot. 

The human let out a sigh before he finally said "I'm sorry if I exploded and insulted you guys back there, especially when I called you all talentless W's and all of that." he looked away from them in shame a little, and back to his closest friends. "I understand if you guys don't want to be friends with me anymore because of what I just did."

Every one of his friends gave him a sympathetic look. "It's okay, Luke." said Fluttershy, pulling him close to her. "We all do and say things we regret."

"But I accidentally... turned into a small cuss-bomb for a second there." Luke admitted.

"It's okay, Luke." said Sapphire warmly. "They are absolutely right, and we all say things we regret."

Then Ocean Breeze and Foxxy Trot went up went to him with a warm smile as well. "Yeah, we forgive you." said Ocean Breeze.

"Alright." Luke said.

"Yes, you just need to think about what to say before you actually say it."

"That's kind of what my mom always said to me if I would lash out at anyone."

"You're ma's right, Sugarcube." Said  Applejack. "Just try and think over what yer gonna say before you actually do say it, that's all."

While back in the Boutique with his friends, Luke was trying his absolute best to control his absolute best (for real this time.) of course, he was still feeling quite relent about this, and only did this for his father's and his friends sake and he wanted to keep his positive image. If there was one thing Luke was certain, he didn't want to look like a total jerk to everypony he ever knew.

He was sitting in the same spot where he was before, right before he absolutely lost himself back there, that is.

Rarity went back to showing Sapphire and her dancers the outfits she made for them on a next Equestrian tour in the future.

"Well Luke?" Said Rarity 

"Well what?"

"What do you think of my new line set of clothes for Sapphire and her group?" Rarity clarrified with an eager smile.

"Ohh, that. It looks... dazzling to say the least, and shiny to go with it."

It was exactly what Rarity wanted tl hear pur of him. "Oh thank you so much darling. That opinion meets so much to me."

I wasn't really honest enough. I mean, I would like to be more honest but i'll let this slide for your sake. Luke thought to himself in his thinking space. He wasn't really a fashionsta like the white unicorn was, but he did think they looked absolutely amazing.

"Ooh, they really look absolutely fascinating, honey." Said Sapphire Shores with an intrigued look on her face. The other dancers were thinking jus the same way as their boss was. It ranged from an ancient Egyptian style dresses and tiaras. Another was like Halloween style suits sort of similar to Michael Jackson's Thriller.

The human began to think how kinda silly it would be if they were all dancing the thriller like MJ did when he was still alive. Michael Jackson was one of the many pop artists Luke can very much tolerate, along with some 80's pop bands back in the day.

The last one consisted of scaly unitards as if it almost looked like dragon skin. It began to concern Luke and he asked "Rarity, that's not really dragon skin, right?"

Rarity made a chuckle. "No, of course not. Why would you even think that?"

"It just looks so... lifelike in my eyes."

"Nah, it's okay, Luke." Spike said. "They're just leather with fake scales. Rarity is quite a designer."

"Maybe too good." Luke muttered. Just then the security guard, Magnum Goatee heard a buzzing on his walkie talkie. 

"Hello." He said in a gruff and tough voice. "Oh, mr Toity. Yep, uh huh. Sapphire is still on for that appointment latter on in Canterlot. Perfect, ciao."

"Who was that?" Flitter asked

"Hoity Toity." Said Magnum Goatee. "He still wants to know if you are still gong to show up at his appointment, Sapphire."

"Of course. Let me just finish a few things in Ponyville. Besides, it's not till six thirty in the evening, Magnun."

"Gotcha. I'll let him know that girl."

Then the tough stallion went outside to have a talk with Hoity Toity with his walkie talkie again, and the door was shut as he left the room.

Luke drank a sip of water that Rarity made him and asked, "so, when do you do a next tour?"

"Four months from now. For now, I got to take it easy on my voice, and unwind for the moment. I wouldn't want to permanently damage my vocal chords, wouldn't we?"

"Hmph. It kinda happen to one of my favorite singers of all time, Steven Tyler."

"What band does he perform with?"

"Aerosmith. These guys are one of the greatest and well-known rock bands in my home world. Steven Tyler has one of the greatest rock voices ever, and kinda... looks like a lady."

"A lady?" Said Rainbow, about ready to guffaw at that statement. 

"Yeah, that was kind of a popular thing back in those days. The hair metal bands and the mullets, and the crazy fashion senses people had back then. To be honest, I kinda wish I was born in that era."

"That does sound interesting." Twilight remarked. Looking at Sapphire. She said to her. "His world is rather quite fascinating. Except, no magic." She made a small, nervous chuckle."

"No magic?" Said Sapphire and all the dancers in shock. "Wow, Luke. How can you live in a world like that?"

"Well, it's not completely boring" Luke modestly admitted. "I mean, the bands in it are really cool, so are many landscapes beyond beauty. Of course the history of my country is very interesting once you get hooked on it."

"I should say so." Said Oxean Breeze with her usual smile. "You're earth kind of sounds so fascinating."

"Not as Fascinating as Equestria. Trust me, you guys would not like it so much in my home world." Then he took another sip of his water.

"Hmm. Well now that this is settled, why don't I get to know you a little more, sweetie." Sapphire suggested,

"Well, alright."

"An excellent idea, my dear Sapphire." Said Rarity in agreement.

"Right." Luke said flatly. "So how is this going to work?"

"Well, we decided that you can just have a little walk with Sapphire Shores around Ponyville, and maybe even get something to eat while you are at it." Lyra noted. "What do you think?"

"Does this sound like a good plan to you?"

Thinking deep in his thoughts, he was silent for a little moment, and finally, he asked her "You really want to be my friend, Sapphire Shores?"

"Of course. I love meeting new faces, even if they are from another world."

"Okay." Luke remarked. " so you guys coming with or staying here?"

"We can come with you if you like." Said Fluttershy, in an eager voice. "At least just in case you need us."

"And to stop you from causing another scene." Rainbow muttered. Then she felt Twilight's elbow jabbing her hard on her right side "Ow! What was that for?"

"Not helping, Rainbow." Said Twilight, gritting her teeth in irritation

"Sorry."

"Yeah, we can get something to eat while having a little stroll around town." Sapphire suggested. "You hungry, honey?"

"Well... I haven't eaten a lot today, so why not?"

"Fantastic!" At first Luke was a little unsure about this, and then he finally had his kind made up, and he addressed to the others by saying "you guys can go on without us."

The others looked quite surprised by his decision. "Are you sure?" Asked Cloudchaser. "Because we always got your bCk if you need us."

"Thanks, Cloud, but I think we'll be just fine." Luke noted, waving his hair back behind his head. "My dad was right, I shouldn't be really too quick to judge. So for now, I reserve judgement."

The pony of pop and her dancers smiled big and wide to hear that. "Thank you, Luke." Said Blue Cutie with great gratitude. "This will be so much fun."

"Yeah, we can talk about many things." Said Foxxy Trot."

"And hang out a little together." Ocean Breeze added.

"Alright Luke, we'll see you over at the cafe." Said Twilight. "Come on Everypony, zesty cucumber sandwiches, tea, and biscuits are on us." Then they all left the boutique so Luke can be alone with this pop star and her dance posse.

A little silent again, Sapphire said "So what kind of bands do you like to hear? It sounds like these are really cool bands. Oh! Like this guy." She pointed at Luke's Zakk Wylde t-shirt, and the other dancers agreed with her.

"Zakk Wylde, that's this guy, is one of my favorite guitarists of all time. This guy is absolutely insane. He can play guitar, sing, and play piano."

"That's wonderful. Can you play the piano, Luke?" Said Ocean Breeze curiously. "And we heard that you can play guitar."

"I'm... not as good on the piano as I am on the guitar, that's for sure. Yet again, I am a fast learner. So learning a piano shouldn't be too hard." Then he cracked both his knuckles to try and be a south and manly as possible.

"So Luke,"

"Yes, Sapphire?"

"Who inspired you to be a singer?"

"Oh, it's so hard to chose. There are so many. Zakk Wylde here." He pointed his shirt again. "My all time favorite band would have to be Guns N' Roses. Those guys are definitely my favorite. They kinda broke up,years ago, but now they recently kinda got bac, together."

"Really?" Said Ocean Breeze in astonishment. "Who is the guitarist?"

"There were two. The lead guitarist' name was Slash, and the rhythm guitarist was named Izzy Stradlin."

"Slash huh? That's a very cool name." Said Sapphire. "Why is he called that?"

"Because he had been know to... slash through the stage while performing his songs. He's another one of my favorite guitarist. He wasn't in the band since 1996, he left Guns N Roses three months after I was born."

"Why did he quit?" Asked Foxxy.

"He had... differences with Axl Rose, the lead singer. They had a big feud with one another for years, and haven't spoken to each other since. However, one day, right on my birthday, it was announced that Slash and Axl Reconciled at last, and he was officially back in GnR."

"Good, good. Have they created a new album together?"

" it yet,  it I really hope that they do create new music someday. These guys are one of the biggest bands in my world, and a reunion was one of the biggest hopes for any music fans."

"Can we listen to them?"

"Well no, I want to save some battery power on my iPod."

"iPod?"

"Uh-huh. It's my personal music player for everywhere I go." Luke clarified.

"Hmm. So honey, about this Axl Rose, how does he sing?"

"Some people don't like it, but I very much love it." Then he cleared his threat and sang in a raspy voice "Take me down to the paradise city where the grass is green and the girls all pretty! I want you please take me home!" Then he repeated the first chorus and did it in more soul "yeah!"

"Ooh, that is quite a nice voice you have there, sweetie." Sapphire congratulated him. "I can see why everypony loves you so much."

"Ah, you're going to turn my fade into a red tomato." Luke flustered a little. Then she and her friends made a small laugh.

"Talented and funny." Said Ocean Breeze. "You are really amusing  Luke. I like you already."

"Same with me, honey." Sapphire added. Then the other backup dancers followed on after them, and Luke began to think maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all, and perhaps he was wrong about her, and felt a little bad about how he treated her and her dancers.

"I... guess I was kinda wrong about you, Sapphire. I was kinda thinking you would want to steal all the spotlights from me and hogging them for yourself."

"Don't worry, baby." Said the pony of pop. "I would never do anything crazy like that. Anypony who is a friend of Rarity is a friend of mine." Then she made a wink at him.

"Do you all really forgive me for my outburst then?"

"Yes." They all replied in unison.

"Come on, let's meet up with the others on the cafe. Me and my gals still hav quite a bit of time before we see Hoity Toity tonight."

"Alright." Then Luke went with the girls and began to think, maybe this could work, and a new friendship might form between these two, even if they have different genres of music.
> One Flu Over Ponyville
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke was more than happy to get up on this fine day, and the morning over Equestria was as beautiful as it always is during this time of day. He felt like making himself a sandwich as his breakfast, and a usual iced root beer in a glass to go with it. Although something was rather odd. Normally, Fluttershy would be up before he would be, and she would always be the one to serve him some breakfast just the way he loves it.

Well, at least some of the other animals were wide and awake. After he had his decent egg sandwich, he texted a few of his closest friends and family back home to say hello, and that he misses them, but he is doing just fine.

All of a sudden, when he was finished, Angel was heard hopping down the stairs, squeaking at the top of his lungs, and immediately stopped in front of Luke, jumping and pawing at his hairy legs. By the looks of this rabbit, he knew something was up, even if both of them have their differences.

"Whoa whoa, slow down there, turbo." Luke said. "What's wrong?"

Then the white rabbit pointed upstairs with a little white finger, in an expression of worry and panic, and bolted back up the stairway in the speed of light.

raising an eyebrow of confusion, Luke walked back upstairs and saw Angel standing in front of the doorway in front of Fluttershy's room, waiting for him.

When Luke got a good eye of him, the rabbit went inside, and it was almost like Alice in Wonderland with this chase.

Except of course, Angel doesn't have a pocket watch with him, or is wearing a red suit like in the story.

Promptly heading inside, the human saw Angel, next to Fluttershy, who was still laying on her bed, and he heard a soft, adorable moaning noise from her.

"Fluttershy, you okay?" Luke asked, slowly walking up to her to see what the problem was.

"Luke?" Said her sweet, high-pitched voice. "Is-is that you?" Then she made a small cough.

"Of course it's me." Luke replied. He got a look and saw that she was looking rather pale, as if she was feeling under the weather "whoa." Luke noticed with his eyes a little wife. "What's wrong?"

"I... I have a cold, nothing to worry about." She replied with a small squeak. Then she made an adorable sneeze.

"Oh hell. Is there anything I can do to help? Medicine warm milk, that sort of thing?"

The sick pegasus made a smile of gratitude and said "no thank you Luke. All I need is plenty of bed rest."

"You sure about that?"

"Oh, of course. Thank you so much for your kindness. But maybe some warm milk would be nice."

"Gotcha." Then he went down to the kitchen and fixed up a small cup of the beverage Fluttershy requested. He was very careful not to spill the big jug onto the little cup, but he managed to get some of it without a single drop spilled.

Carefully going upstairs, he gebtly offered his friend the milk, and it made her smile warmly. "Thank you, Luke." And she took a big, yet slow sip of her drink.

"Anything for my best friend." The human remarked warmly. Then he gently patted her back under the covers. "Just let me know if you need anything else."

"Of course. I will do that."

"Okay. Get well soon, sunshine." Then Luke promptly got up and then offered "would you like to listen to my iPod just in case you get bored?"

Thinking about it, she said "okay. Maybe some music will help with this bug inside of me.

"Now if you need to change a song or if you don't like it, uh.... Angel, can you be her hands since her hooves are too big for the buttons?"

Angel promptly nodded a yes to him and hopped on the bed next to Fluttershy.

"Thank you, Luke, and thank you, Angel." Then Luke gave her his music player and some headphones.

"Now, if it's too loud or not loud enough, just have Angel press on these buttons right here. The upper button will turn it up, while the lower button will turn it down."

"Wonderful." Then Luke went out of the room, and the yellow pegasus began listening to some of Luke's tunes, and Angel promptly helped her.

After he took a shower, Luke suddenly had a thought and said to himself "I might expect the others coming over so they can ask her to hang out, so I might as well spread the word that Fluttershy is too sick."

The human promptly put on a new set of clothes that had a blue color shirt and having a Just Do It logo from Nike.

"Fluttershy, are your friends coming over or are yoy supposed to hang out with them today?"

"What?" Of course she was busy listening to music to hear what he said. Pulling one earmuff out, she asked what he said, then he repeated. "Oh, well, not really." 

"Well, just in case if they come over, i'll tell them you would be too sick for if they want to hang out with you. And of course, if you want then here to help you get better than that's okay."

She smiled at him once more in gratitude. "Thanks Luke." Then she continued listening to her music before she Said "be safe out there."

"I will." Then Luke told the animals what he was doing and then he promptly went out of the cottage. In Ponyville, It was at it always is. Or so it looks like it. Walking through town, he saw a few mares were also as sick as Fluttershy was. He saw Stormy Wind trying her best to stay in altitude, but she immediately landed on the ground, face-first.

Rushing to her aid, Luke helped her up, and she sounded rather stuffy in her nose. "Oh, hi Luke." she said in a stuffy tone of voice. "How are you?"

"I was about to ask you the sand thing to you, Stormy Wind. Are you feeling sick too?"

"Yeah but- ah- achoo!" she sneezed. Luckily, the human dodged the mucus by dodging like they did in the Matrix. "Sorry. This flu is kinda spreading like Wildfire." she sniffled again.

"Is everyone getting this virus called Hay Fever?"

"I honestly don't know." The Pegasus mare admitted. Then a male, wavy-haired Pegasus stallion came on the ground, looming just as sick as she was.

"Whoa, Feather Bang, you too?"

"Afraid so, Luke." The stallion replied. "We don't know how it came to us, but it's highly contagious."

"Can't you guys see a doctor or a nurse?"

"We're trying, but apparently, it's packed with ponies as sick as we are." Compass Star then wiped a few drops of mucus from his nose.

Boy, this sounded like troubling news for Luke and all of Ponyville. Was this some kind of plague? Then a sudden thought came to him. He remembered reading about the deathly bubonic plague that wiped out half of Europe back in the Middle Ages, also known as the Black Death

"Oh no, don't tell me Equestria's having a plague too." He muttered, he began to panic and then asked them "is there anyone here who is not sick?"

"I honestly don't know." Said Compass Star with a sneeze. "Is Fluttershy sick, too?"

"Sadly, yes. I found her laying in bed this morning, looking paler than a white bone." Luke remarked. "She said that all she needs is a little bed rest."

"That sounds like a good idea. You know, maybe one or maybe a few ponies with Hay Fever is one thing, but the whole town?" Said Stormy Wind

"I know. This is starting to get a little serious. Well, I hope you get better, soon guys."

"Thanks, Luke." Said both Pegasus ponies. Then they both flew off and tried their best to stay in altitude once again, but of course, they were struggling again, and landed on the ground a few times.

While walking down the streets, he saw more and more sick ponies walking and flying around him. Becoming a little more scared, it looked like a zombie apocalypse was breaking out in Ponyville like World War Z or I Am Legend or The Last of Us.

He noticed Cheerilee, Roseluck, and Lilac Daisy walking together, moaning and sniffing their stuffy noses. "You guys have the Hay Fever too?" Luke asked them

"Yes." Said Roseluck in irritation

"This is just so weird." Lilac noted. After she mad a big sneeze, she said "Yesterday we were doing just fine, but today, it just came to us all like a bug was flying around."

Cheerilee coughed a few times and noted "I just hope this goes away real soon. I feel terrible, more terrible than a weasel on a rainy day."

"Have you tried bed rest to help? And warm showers can help with that too. That's what I would use whenever I feel sick."

"That sounds like a cough- achoo! A great idea. Maybe that should help wme th this flu."

And Luke continued going through town, and decided to pay Twilight a visit to see if she was under the weather as well. Knocking on her front door, Luke waiter for an answer, and then it opened to reveal Spike. "Oh Luke, fancy meeting you hear." He said with a smile

"Spike, have you noticed what is happening on in Ponyville?" Luke asked very slowly

"Of course. It's like Zombie-ville." The baby dragon said.

"Can I see Twilight?"

"Sure, but I might as well warn you, she's... not feeling so well."

Making a small growl, Luke said "I was afraid of that." Walking upstairs to her bedroom, there she was, resting on her bed, coughing a few times nonchalantly. "Twilight, is that you?" He asked her

Slowly turning her head, she immediately recognized him. "Luke? You're feeling okay?" She asked

"Well yeah, I feel like a million bucks if you ask me. First Fluttershy, and now you? What can we do about this outbreak before it kills someone?"

"Don't worry, Twilight said with a a small cough. "Hay Fever won't kill you. It just makes you feel horrible."

"Hallelujah for me, good thing I can't get that."

"same with me because I'm a dragon not a pony." Spike said.

Twilight made a small giggle "oh Spike."

"So is there anything I can do for you?"

"No it's okay, Spike." She replied with a warm smile, gently touching his face. "I just need a little rest to make me feel better."

"You should try taking a warm shower for that as well, it always helps me whenever I feel sick." Luke reminded

"Good idea." Twilight said. "So is Fluttershy sick as well?"

"Yep."

"I wonder if the rest of our friends are sick, too."

"Hmm, I'm beginning to wonder that myself. Is it a plague? Or what is it?"

"I honestly don't know."

"Well, something screwy is going on here, that's for damn sure."

Spike and a look of agreement on his face. "Maybe you're right, Luke."

"Oh, it's probably nothing. Just a little bug going around." Twilight theorized.

Feeling skeptical about her response, Luke countered it by saying "well, maybe I should look for the others to see if they're sick or not."

"Okay." Then she began pulling the covers over her purple body.

"Come on, Spike. We gotta get to the bottom of this."

"Right! Looks like it's up to us to find a cure for the town's Hay Fever problem." Spike promptly noted with a head nod. Looking around town again, both drsgonnand human were very uncomfortable walking around a town infested with ill ponies dwelling within like rats.

"Just look at this place." Luke said

"Yeah, I would really hate to be all of these guys." The baby dragon agreed. The first stop they went to was Sugarcube Corner, and as they had feared Pinkie was Sick

Making a small cough with a thermometer in her mouth, Pinkie Pie said "I don't know,  hit it feels like I have very berry fever." She giggled, but she gagged at the feeling of her sore throat.

"Look at you Pinkie. You look horrible, no offense."

"Nope, that's okay." She replied, trying to sound as happy and cheerful, even if she is under the weather. "I'd stay away from me if I were you, wouldn't want to get you guys sick, wouldn't I?"

"Well that doesn't matter me, because I'm immune. Give me all the germs you got."

"Okay Spike, don't get so cocky. Don't let your guard down. You'll never know if you can get sick or not, whether it's Hay Fever, chickenpox, small pox, any one of them."

"I'll be fine." He shrugged. 

Nodding his head in irritation, Luke looked back at Pinkie. "Get well soon, Pinkie. Just hang tough."

"Thanks Luke!" She said cheerfully. As Luke and Spike went back outside, and went to Rarity's boutique. Turns out, she was feeling ill, too.

"Oh Rarity, not you too!" Spike said. "You can't get sick! You're too perfect!"

"Don't worry, Spikey-poo." Said the white unicorn. "I will be just fine. Nothing like a nap to cure your body system." Then she patted the baby dragon's head affectionately.

"Rarity." Said a filly' voice. It was Sweetie Belle. "Do you know where the ice cream is?" Then she made a cute sneeze.

"Just look in the freezer. And you really should be in bed, little sister."

"I know, I know."

Going back outside yet again, Luke and Spike were immediately stopped. They heard a stallion say their names, it was Thunderlane, wearing white masks to covering their mouths so he wouldn't get sick. Cloudchaser, Flitter, Lyra, Bon Bon, Rumble, and Pipsqueak were with them too.

"Oh Luke. Thank goodness you are not sick." Said Lyra. "This Hay Fever infestation is getting out of control."

"Yeah, everypony is like a zombie walking." Bon Bon added,

"I just hope they don't bite our skulls and eat out brains." Rumble said in worriment.

"Yeah, I love my brain." Pip added.

"Don't worry you guys." Said Cloudchaser. "They would never do that, and they're not really zombies, they just look like them."

"Yeah, it's really nothing to worry about." Flitter added.

"I don't know about that." Said Luke in a skeptical voice. "A whole town infected with a sickness? What could this mean?"

"Yeah, I'm beginning to wonder that myself." Said Thunderlane. "What are we gonna do?"

Thinking. Luke said "I want to see if Applejack, her family, and Rainbow Dash are doing okay first. Drops anyone know how to cure all of this Hay Fever madness?"

All of them sadly replied "nope." And it was exactly what Luke was afraid of. "And the doctors don't really know a cure for Hay Fever." Said Lyra.

"Hmm..." thinking in his thoughts again, Luke had an idea "maybe the doctors might now be able to help with this, but I know someone who can help out." 

Not really knowing what Luke was talking about, they all recognized who he was referring to. "Zecora!" They all said in unison

"Yeah, she's a potion and elixir master. Maybe she will know what to do. Looks like it's up to us to safe Ponyville!"

His friends all said "Yeah" in enthusiasm, and felt like a team already.

"We might as well be careful, Zecora lives in the Everfree Forest after all." Pip noted.

"Right. Oh, I know, I'll get my light saber from the cottage so that way I can slice and dice some monsters that would want to kill or eat us mercilessly."
> Stopping the Outbreak (Updated)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke humbly grabbed bis lightsaber and clipped it to his belt in case he needed to use it for his quest with Lyra, Bon Bon, Pip, Cloudchaser, Flitter, Thunderlane, Rumble, and Spike for their big quest to stop the Hay Fever from spreading like wildfire or the bubonic plague.

Looking at Fluttershy who was still listening to Luke's iPod, she was still enjoying the tunes.

Smiling at her he said "Fluttershy." And waved his arms to get her attention. The yellow pegasus noticed and took one muff out. "Listen, i'm gonna go find Zecora and see if she can help me with the outbreak. Don't worry, I won't be gone too long."

"That's really sweet. Thank you Luke." Fluttershy replied in a flattered voice. She made a small cough and took a sip of her milk.

"You're welcome, Flutters." Said Luke.

"Wait. You will be careful will you? The Everfree Forest is a dangerous place."

"Don't worry, I got my lightsaber to help me with that."

"Okay. Because I feel rather horrible." And then she made yet another sneeze

"Just hang in there, Fluttershy, stay strong for me." In his head he thought "what did I just say that for? She's just sick she's not dying of measles or something."

"I will. Be careful." Then Fluttershy continued listening to the music playlist. The human went downstairs and told the animals where he was going and asked them to keep an extra eye on his friend upstairs in bed.

His cronies who were not sick were just waiting outside the front door. "Did ya get the light sword or whatever it's called?" The baby dragon asked him.

"Yep." Luke patted the side of his belt where the lightsaber was attached to. "Everything is all set. "Now, remember we need to check on the Apples and Rainbow, remember?"

"You got it, Luke." Said Lyra with a nod. All of them made a walk down the road to the Apple family Farm, and the animals in the place looked rather hungry and want their food so bad. Worried, Luke thought that maybe the animals living on this piece of land would need their breakfast so bad and it would figure since Applejack, Applebloom, Big Mac, and Granny Smith would be too ill to do anything about it.

"These animals look rather starving. Just look at the pigs squealing over there." said Cloudchaser with a raised eyebrow.

"You're right." said Flitter in agreement. "Poor things."

"I think we should feed them, but first of all, the matter at hand, or at hoof." Luke reminded everyone.

"Right!" they all said in unison. Rumble was the one who promptly knocked on the door, and waited for sixty seconds for anyone to answer. Finally, after tapping his foot, Applejack was the one who answered it. She looked just as sick as everypony else in Ponyville, ans the ones that were with him of course.

"Oh Luke, Spike, and Lyra, Bon Bon, Cloudchaser, Flitter, Thunderlane, Pip, and Rumble." she said in a stuffy voice. "What brings y'all here." then she sneezed.

"say it, don't spray it." said Cloudchaser."

"I'm sorry. This Hay Fever is just killing me, I don't know how much longer I can bear with this." then she wiped her nose with a tissue. "Come on in, just be careful not to get what we have." hen she stepped aside, and revealed her knees slightly shaking, probably because one of the affects of Hay Fever is unexpected chills once in a while.

"You look cold." said Bon Bon

"Don't worry about that. Me and my family have blankets with us to keep us warm." Applejack said

"Right." Luke said in an awkward tone of voice. As all of them stepped inside, there was all the other members of the Apple family, just as sick as the Element of Honesty was. Big Mac was completely wrapped in a turquoise colored blanket, except for his head peeking out like a hoodie, along with a thermometer in his mouth

Applebloom was sitting on the floor, looking so weak to even move a muscle, and shaking like it was minus fifty degrees in the farmhouse.

Granny Smith looked just as bad as the others in a horrible condition. Now Luke was starting to worry that the Hay Fever might spread like a plague for sure. The worst part is, his other friends could be next on the list, ans Spike, who is immune to this sickness. 

Winona noticed the otehrs and happily barked in joy, and tried to put her paws on Luke's jeans. The human bent down to his knees and then petted the Aussie, making her really happy.

"Well you're looking live and well, Winona." Luke chuckled.

"Yeah, animals are immune to Hay Fever."

"Figures." Luke said. "Well, we just wanted to see if you were all sick like the rest of the town was."

"Afraid we are, Sugarcube." said Applejack in annoyance. "I myself wasn't expecting this to happen."

"Nope." said Big Mac. He himself made a huge sneeze that was louder than any sneeze in Equestria, and even broke a record for the World's loudest sneeze. "We have no idea how or why this is happening." then he took a sip of hot chocolate with little marshmallows in it.

"We don't even know when this will end." said Applebloom, coughing at the top of her lungs.

"Don't sneeze us on." Thunderlane warned. "We don't wanna get infected either."

"Sorry." Applebloom remarked quietly.

"Have you guys... you know, fed the animals around here by any chance?"

"We would, but we are too sick, plus, we don't wanna get the critters sick, wouldn't we?" said Granny Smith.

"But, animals are immune to the disease."

Granny Smith had a dumbfounded look on her face as if she didn't know what Luke was talking about.

"Never mind her." said Big Mac. "Granny Smith suffers from short term memory loss when she is as sick as a dog." Big Mac remarked. Winona made a bark of offense, making Big Mac a little nervous about what he just said "No offense, Winona." he added. The Aussie just rolled her eyes in irritation.

"Well, we can help you guys out with the animals if you all want. Just to save ya the trouble." Pip.

"That would be mighty kind of you." said Applejack gratefully.

Everyone in Luke's posse went to work on the farm for a little while, just to feed the animals, and did it as fast as they could for they still had a job to do that involved curing all of Ponyville from this Hay Fever madness before it turns to Europe's black death times internationally. 

After that was all done, the animals were all happy with all the food they were giving to sustain the breath in their bodies. The next stop was at Rainbow Dash's house, but unfortunately, her house was entirely was made out of clouds, and only pegasus ponies and Alicorns alone can walk on clouds alone, no other type of pony else can unless there was a spell that can help them with it.

"No problem, me and Cloudchaser will get her down from their." said Flitter. Both sisters went in front of the door, and rung the doorbell

"Guys, our friends say that it is probably nothing, but a whole town to get sick, I say there is something fishy going on here."

"You're right." said Lyra. "Maybe a few ponies getting the flew is one thing, and so is pollen count, but this?"

"Exactly. You know in home, there was a horrible timeline in the middle ages called the black death."

"What's that?" asked Rumble

"It's a long yet fascinating historical story." Just then the pegasus sisters came back down with a very sick Rainbow Dash, just as pale as a bone would be like.

"Hey guys." she said, and then greeted them with a sneeze to go with it. However, the others dodged the germs that were flying about. "What's going on?"

"Rainbow, are you perfectly aware that almost everyone in Ponyville is just as sick as we are?" asked the human

"Uh-huh. I feel so horrible. I just feel sorry for everypony who is suffering from this illness. What the hell is even going on here?"

"That's what we're wondering." said Thunderlane. "But, we might have a solution to the problem with a potions master."

"Zecora?"

"Uh-huh. Something is definitely amiss with all this illnesses going on here."

"Can't blame, Luke. Well, good luck. I desperetaly need my nap. She made another sneeze away from the uninfected posse. "Catch ya later." then she went back in her cloud house, and a loud sneeze was heard from within.

"Well, that's taken care of. To the Everfree forest we go." said Luke, pulling out his lightsaber and pointing the green-beamed blade towards where the Everfree forest was. His friends agreed with him and followed suit into the dangerous woods. The human didn't let go of his lightsaber for even a second, for he remembered seeing the Manticore there, even though he was friendly, and the fact that he knew Fluttershy.

Not only that, but he was trying to remember the path that led her to the hut the last time he visited her there. 

"Stay in formation, everyone." he warned cautiously. "You'll never know what kind of monster will pop up anytime soon."

"Don't worry, careful is our middle name." said Rumble, looking around cautiously.

They progressed further into the Everfree trees and Luke slashed lots of branches with his lightsaber as if he was in the Congo jungle, one by one every time they were in the way. His friends all stood close behind him. All of a sudden, they heard a small and faint growl out of nowhere.

"Shh, what was that?" Lyra noticed. "I heard a growling noise." She and Bon Bon clung to eachother like sisters would do and stood alert for what might happen next. The grownups kept the kids close to them so they could all keep them safe. Luke readied his lightsaber for anything bad that might happen.

All of a sudden, a jumping growl was heard, and out of the bushes, was a horrible, grey, gaunt, dog-like creature who was completely hairless and a set of spines down his back, with his eyes glowing vermilion red like a pair of suns. It's ears were pointed like needles like a Doberman Pinscher would have on his head

"Oh no, it's a Chupacabra!" said Pip.

"Chupacabra?" Luke said to himself. "A monster kinda exists in my homeworld, I never thought that there would be one in Equestria. Stay back guys, I'll handle this!"

The beast charged with an ear-piercing screech and swung it's claws on the human. Luke however dodged his attacks, and then almost got bitten by it's vampire-like fangs on the neck, even if he wasn't exactly a goat. He would not let a monstrous, evil goat-killer try and suck his blood.

The monster then disappeared for a second into the brush, and all of them were feeling scared for a moment. Luke kept his wits about and waited for the gaunt creature to make his next move. All of a sudden, he heard another screeching sound, and saw the Chupacabra leaping on him, causing him to land on his back, and losing his lightsaber

It was trying so hard to take a big ole bite out of Luke's face, but Luke was tough, and he was using all his strength to prevent this blood-sucking monster from doing that and sucking his blood.

Luckily, Luke kicked the Chupacabra's face, knocking him against a tree while making a whiny shriek of pain like a dog would emit. It gave Luke enough time to get back his lightsaber and ignite it once again. Now the monster was more than angry and determined to suck the blood out of his opponent. With a very fast charge, Luke rolled out of the way just in time, and with one slash from the lightsaber, the monster's head rolled on the ground with it's mouth wide open.

"Oh so gross!" said Cloudchaser. 

"keep it away from us!" Bon Bon

"It's alright, it's alright." Luke said, catching his breath. "It's dead now."

"I hope so." said Pip. Since he was a little boy, he felt like touching the skull with it's hoof, but of course, he was immediately stopped

"Don't touch it, Pip." said Lyra moving his small arm away from it, and with a look of disgust on her face. "That's disgusting, you might get germs from it."

"Sorry." Pip said, no feeling glad he didn't touch the monsters decapitated hear. Thunderlane was more than happy to kick the head away from them into a row of bushes. Luke took away the body and flung it into a small chasm nearby, and hoped some other meat-eating animal will eat that corpse sooner or later.

Now that the little Chupacabra problem was taken car of, Luke and the other heroes could continue to to see Zecora. Hopefully, for their sake, it won't be long now.

"I would like a heads up about this, what is the Chupacabra like in Equestria?" Luke asked his friends curiously

"Well, they suck the blood out of goats obviously." Spike said. "And other livestock, and sometimes ponies, along with meat."

"Gotcha."

"Oh, I just remembered, they sometimes hunt in-" then Spike was immediately interrupted by something. Just then, three more came out from another set of thorny bushes. "Packs!" Spike said, feeling more scared than ever.

"Oh come on." Luke said. Then he readied his lightsaber again, and hope that he will survive this kind of attack. The others kept their distance again, and huddled together for safety

One monster charge at Luke, but was easily impaled by the laser sword with a whine being heard. When Luke tossed the body off his weapon, he charged at the second one with a few swings trying to scare them off. It was to no avail, for the remaining Chupacabras wouldn't leave him or his friends alone. With no other option, Luke slices on one's back, and the cut was deep enough for the creature to die.

Finally, the last monster was smarter and dodged every attack Luke could throw at it, but since Luke was a human being, he was smarter than the beast. With a quick spurt, the monster tried to bite him with his dagger-like teeth, but Luke slice it a few times, and it dropped dead on the ground.

"Let's just get out of here before anymore of them come back." Cloudchaser suggested.

then they hurriedly went on, and they were in luck, for they found Zecora's home looking the same as before. At last, they have reached their destination. Everyone was more than happy to reach the safety of Zecora's hut. Luke humbly knocked on the door and waited for her to answer.

"Zecora? Hello? It's me, Luke." the human said

Then she opened the door and was more than happy to see the lone human. "Oh Luke, it's nice to see you, what have you been up to? And Lyra, Bon Bon, Cloudchaser, Flitter, Rumble, Spike, Pip, and Thunderlane. What brings you all here on this fine day

"We would love to stay and chat with you, but we got a problem." Spike said

"A Big one!" Rumble added.

"A problem? what kind of problem would there be in the middle of autumn?"

Then Luke went inside, cleared his throat, and explained Zecora, there is a mass outbreak of Hay Fever all across Ponyville. Do you think you know a cure for all of this to go away?"

"a mass outbreak? Sounds like Equestria is definitely at stake."

"No kidding. Everyone in town, except us of course, are infected with the disease." Thunderlane remarked. "So maybe you can help us out before it spreads to other places in Equestria."

Zecora nodded her head and said "You are quite right, but usually, the potion for everypony will take all night."

"All night?!" Spike said in disbelief. "We have to cure everypony now!"

"Patience Spike, patience." Zecora calmed him down. "Perhaps there is a way for the process to be quick in the creation."

Then the feeling of hope immediately came back to Luke. 

"I will make try and create it right quick, and my special recipe for the Hay is for Horses potion should do the trick.,

"Heh, hey is for horses. Good one." Said Lyra with a chuckle. Luke and his friends were more than happy to help out Zecora create this mysterious potio. With a pun name. Spike and Luke did most of the stirring with the ladle, for they were the only creatures that had more than just one toe on their appendages

When it came to potion making and alchemy, it is definitely not easy as it sounds. The human knew he was no Harry Potter, but he had no choice. All the rest of his friends were at stake.

Lyra and Bon Bon would carry the bags of sugar and carefully put a small amount in the cauldron. "That should do the trick." Bon Bon said.

"Yep, thet'a enough sugar." Lyra agreed.

"Wonderful." Said Zecora. "You know all know how to create such fun medicine, for you are giving it more and more adrenaline."

"Oh, I'm not that good." Said Spike."

"Neither am I, either." Cloudchaser added.

"A few small explosions were seen in the large pot but they were only sparks, nothing to serious. They exploded something similar to fireworks on Independance Day.

The kids looked at the sparks in awe, "wow, pretty lights." Rumble said.

"You said it, Rumble." Pip agreed with him, just as astonished.

While it looked like they were all making good progress with this potion making, it didn't take until twenty five minutes for it to be truly ready for everyone to be cured with. Despite it, it was worth it. For Ponyville's sake, it will work one hundred percen, and his little plague will go away.

"How are we going to cure everyone with all this?' Asked Flitter

"Not to worry. I have a plan that will work surely." Zecora stated. "If an infected pony with Hay Fever drinks with one drop, it will cause the spreading of Hay Fever to stop."

"Can it work with putting a drop in another drink?"

"Yes Luke." Zecora replied. "It definitely will work like that and won't be a fluke."

"Perfect!" Luke said with happiness. "We'll need to put all of this in a big jug for when we carry it to Ponyville."

"Not a problem, we'll help with that." Said Thunderlane boldly. He, and the mares pulled out a big plastic jug, and the Pegasus sisters were more than happy to carefully put the liquid in their. 

When that was taken care of, all of them were ready to go back to Pomyville. Luke kept his light saber out just in case anymore chupacabras come back, or any other dangerous monster that might try and hurt or eat him and his friends.

"Ooh, you have equipped your lightsaber." Zecora noticed with a smirk. "Very useful that you have that for any impending danger."

"A man must always have a plan, Zecora."

As they all walked back, Spike and the others gathered every Ponyville inhabitant living within the town in the central plaza for an announcement.

"Ponyville, I have a solution for your sickness, and it will help you from aches or dizziness." Zecora said. "Forget about pills, and you will not need to pay any medical bills. I give you the potion called Hay is for Horses, and it will help clear any thing Hay Fever poses."

Luke, Lyra, Bon Bon, and the others were more than happy to put a single drop in a large set of drinks for The Who,e town to enjoy and sand their sicknesses away.

"Okay, everyone, dig in." Luke announced. Everypony who was infected was more than happy to take a sip of their waters that contained a single drop of the cure. It took a few minutes, but everyone wasn't looking sick anymore, and looked well refreshed.

"It worked!" Fluttershy said. Everyone in Ponyville cheered. Luke, Lyra, Bon Bon, Cloudchaser, Flitter, Spike, Rumble, Thudnerlane, and Pip were proud to have safe a whole city from a plague spreading like a swarm of termites or locusts. His friends went on stage to congratulate the others for their valiant effort."

Every single one of the heroes were praised and congratulated, including Luke. "You were right all along, Luke." Said Twilight. "Something was definitely amiss with all the yellow fever spreading around Ponyville. We all have you tp thank for your valiant effort.

"So do we get medals or something?" Spike asked. Some of the others giggled with him. 

"Don't worry, Spike." Said Fluttershy. "You'll get a present."

"As a matter of fact, I think you all deserve something for your valiant deed to help all of us." Said Mayor Mare.

"I believe that after all we did, we should all celebrate it with spirit. Pinkie Pie, I believe you know how to bring us a glorious and exciting light."

"Ooh, you read my mind, Zecora." Said Pinkie Pie. "Time for a Thank You for making us not sick Anymore Party!" Then she pulled out her party canon and a wild party commenced in an instant.

While partying, Fluttershy went to mingle with the human living with her. "Luke, I really thank you for helping me and our friends."

"Anything for my friends, Fluttershy." Luke said warmly, then he gently stroked her soft, beautiful mane. 

"Oh my gosh, I almost forgot!" She remembered something then she pulled out Luke's iPod and gave it to him. "Thank you so much for letting me music, Luke. It was really relaxing."

"Even though it had some loud stuff in it?"

Fluttershy made a giggle. "It's okay. Discord kind of taught me some loud and chaotic things in life."

"Fair enough. Come on, let's eat some cake."

"Of course." Then both of them went to enjoy the rest of the party. While dancing, Zecora made a remarkable discovery. 

"Hold everything!" She said. "I am sorry to interrupt but please let me sing!"

And the record scratches were heard and the music immediately stopped playing. All of the, listened.

"The cause of this little outbreak was.... Pip!" Everyone gasped and looked at the colt. "I thought you should all know this important tip."

Pip never felt so guilty in his life and was shocked himself. Now he felt like crying in complete shame. "No! I'm sorry!" He said. "Okay, I was sick, but I just thought I had a cold! I... I... didn't know it was Hay Fever." And he knelt to the ground and began sobbing as he covered his face on the dirt.

Zecora and the others went to console him about what happened.

"I'm so sorry!" Pip said to everyone everypony with tears flowing down his cheeks. "Oh Pip, it's okay." Said Fluttershy, soothing him.

"Yeah, these things happen." Luke said, patting the colt's back to cheer him up. "Don't be so hard on yourself."

"Yeah, isn't Hay Fever like a rare type of virus? That's what it says in one of Twilight's books of sicknesses and diseases." Spike noted

"Of course." Said Twilight. "It is very rare, yet you will never know when it will strike.

Then Pip began to cease his crying a little. "Don't cry, Pip." Fluttershy said hugging him. "You're not a bad colt. It just caught us by surprise."

And then everypony and Luke said they all forgive him, many in unison, and some one at a time. Pip was so happy that he was forgiven.

"Come now, Pip, do not worry. We all know that you are sorry." Zecora said, gently lifting his chin up to make eye contact with him. "It was just a little sickness, and we all know you would never want to spread any diseases."

"Do you really al, forgive me?" The colt said

"Of course, buddy." Luke said. "You're a good kid. A kid like you would never even dream of spreading a plague around Ponyville."

"Yeah Pip." Said Lyra, trying to console him also. "Some sicknesses and diseases can hide really well, and you shouldn't really blame yourself."

"So yeah, we all love you, Pip." Cloudchaser said. "Nothing will ever change that."

Pip smiled gratefully. "I love you guys, too." Then Fluttershy and some of her friends, including the non-infected posse huddled around Pip for a hug to show how much they care about him.

"Come on everypony! Let's get this party started.... again!" Pinkie cheered, and just like that the party continued.
> Feeling Like Home
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As two days passed, more and more leaves were turning orange and falling down from the tree branches in November. One thing was for sure, it would he the time of year when his homeland celebrates Thanksgiving, however, he still can't really go back home yet. Of course, he realized that with Discord's help, he could probably ask th master chaos to take him home in an instant

Feeling a little sad about it, he admitted that he does miss his family and friends back on Earth, but this place seemed... perfect to him, and made him not really want to come back.

Of course he would get in touch with his friends and family by phone, but he knew that it wouldn't really stop their pain of missing him so much. Luke has seen how peaceful and united Equestria is from his home world. He saw that every inhabitant in this dimension was happy as they can be.

Oh in this world, there was no conflicts or civil wars, or dispute about politics and no acts of terrorism in any way. Equestria seemed like a perfect definition of heaven for him, gen if it doesn't have exactly everything he would want. He was thinking that maybe Equestria can be his new home after all.

While walking through Ponyville, he was having a decent lunch with his closest friends at the cafe. He had the usual dish he would normally have, which was the zesty pickle sandwich with mustard inside.

"Luke, are you alright?" Fluttershy asked him with concern, noticing his daydreaming and thinking.

"Of course, Fluttershy." The Human replied "why wouldn't I be okay?" Then he took a sip of lemonade with ice inside the glass. "Do I have something on my face?"

"No, it's just that, you have been a little quiet lately, dude." Rainbow pointed mildly. "And I see that you look away from us like something is definitely distracting you."

Applejack cleared her throat and stated "Yeah, sugarcube. I've seen that kind of face countless times before, and it tells me that something is buggin' ya."

Admitting defeat, Luke finally stated flatly "okay, I just miss my friend and family as usual. And... November is when the holiday called Thanksgiving comes on the twenty-fifth." He took yet another sip.

"What kind of a holiday is Thanksgiving?" Spike asked curiously. Scratching his head with a claw in confusion. 

"It's... a holiday where everyone's family gets together and celebrates the very first harvest from the pilgrims when my ancestors first started to settle in America, since it came from immigrants."

"Pilgrims?"

"Long story, Pinkie. Anyway, we celebrate by eating foods like gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, asparagus and all that. And the number one thing we eat is.... how can I say it? Turkey." Luke sounded rather uncomfortable admitting that.

"Turkey?" Said Twilight, covering her mouth. "You don't kill the turkey and then eat it, do you?"

"Don't worry, Twilight. I would never kill an animal before I eat it. Like I have said, humans like us are omnivores."

"We know, Luke." Fluttershy said with a small sigh. "Well, as long as you. Ever kill a turkey, then that's okay."

"Of course I wouldn't. It's too evil for me to do." Then he took another bite of his lunch.

All of them smiled warmly at him, and Applejack said "we know Luke. We all know you would never do something like that."

"So, the point is, I might miss a thanksgiving with my family this year. Nothing against you guys, but family is family."

Fluttershy made a small pat on his shoulder, and stated herself "I understand. nothing is more important than family." And the rest made words and remarks of agreement.

"Well... Discord might take me back if he could but..."

"But what?" Asked Spike.

"Look around us, this place has everything I could ever want in my life.... well, mostly anyway. Equestria is so remarkable and peaceful. No worries, no pressures, no cares in this world, that sort of thing. No political disputes, no conflicts, and no civil wars or acts of terrorism and all that."

"It's okay." Twilight said. "We perfectly understand your decision if you want to stay here with us."

Luke smiled seeing at how much all of his new friends cared about him, and it made him feel so touched to be surrounded by a bunch of great friends like these ones, along with Big Mac, Lyra, Bon Bon, Zecora, Cloudchaser, Flitter, Thunderlane, Rumble, and Pip.

"Still, I would like to see them again, like... get into a thanksgiving dinner, like we would always do back home in Bend."

"Why don't you just get your family and friends to come visit here so you won't feel left out?" Fluttershy suggested. "That could help you."

Thinking about what his closest pony friend just said, he remarked "that's.... actually not a bad idea. We'll have our own Thanksgiving celebration in Equestria." And he began thinking about this some more. "But, since you guys are ponies, we'll have to find something to replace turkey and gravy and all the meat stuff."

"Good idea." Said Rarity. "We all love how you think ahead of time, darling."

"Of course. Some things require planning after all, Rarity."

"Well, I don't think we have to worry about that yet, do we?"

"No. No Pinkie, not at the moment. Today's November third and Thanksgiving is on the twenty-fifth, so it's still kind of a long way from today."

"I think you're right, Luke." Said Lyra. "We can even invite the princess' over hear to celebrate with us."

"Great idea, bestie!" Bon Bon agreed with her best friend. Then they both hugged each other like close sisters would do.

Luke then said "well, I better use the little human's room. That lemonade sure makes you want to go."

"Go ahead, Sugarcube, we'll wait." Said Applejack. As Luke hurriedly went into a restroom to do his business, Twilght suddenly had an idea for him. It didn't take long and after thirty seconds, the human was back at the table.

"Right, so where were we?" He asked, ready for a conversation to happen anytime soon.

"Hey Luke,"

"Yeah, Twilight?"

"How would you like to visit a whole new world with me and Spike?"

With his eyes widened, Luke suddenly asked "what do you mean by that?"

"I know a world me and Spike can visit whenever we want." Twilight explained. "But... originally if you couldn't get back here in a certain amount of days, you would be stuck in that place for the next thirty moons."

"But thanks to Twilignt," Spike noted "we can come and go into that place whenever we want."

Luke was feeling more than curious to see this peculiar world for himself. "Hmm, well I guess I could have a look at this place for a little while."

It made both Twilight and Spike happy to hear those words. They were all they wanted to hear him say.

"Awesome. Oh you will love this place!" Spike bounced with excitement.

Twilight giggled and said "easy Spike, you wouldn't want to hurt yourself." Then she gently ruffed his head. "So we can do it later on, and I can show you around some places and meet my friends in that dimension."

"That sounds perfect. Count me in."

"Wonderful."

"Wait, why can't the others come with us?"

"Because it would upset the balance in that world." Twilight said. "I'm sorry, Luke, but we have to go there alone."

Feeling a little bummed out, Luke felt great sympathy for Fluttershy, knowing that she won't come with him this time. He hated it, but he understood if it meant keeping both worlds at peace.

The yellow Pegasus then said "it's okay, Luke. I'll be alright." And she made a reassuring smile at him, and it made the human smile back at her.

"Good."





In the castle, there was a peculiar mirror in the middle of the library in a special room, powered by some machines and cables.

Rather impressed, Luke was also a little nervous about this, too. 

"Alright, Spike. You ready to go?"

"You bet I am, Twi." Spike said boldly. "I can hardly wait to see the others again."

"What about you Luke. Are you ready?"

"Uhh, yeah, sure."

Twilight made a small frown, possibly knowing what was troubling Luke a little. "You feeling a little nervous about this?"

"Well.... this won't be painful will it? Like making a crash landing on the ground that would possibly break your neck, would it?"

Giggling, Twilight said. "No, it's quite painless, and a little fun. You'll see." And she made a small wink at him, giving Luke some more confidence. "Trust me, you will love it over there. I know you will

Taking a breath, the human slowly walked with her and Spike into the magical mirror, and he found himself in a vortex, spinning uncontrollably, and the same with Spike and Twilight.

At first, the human couldn't really see what just happened, but what he saw in front of him was like a regular high school, and looking back, it was where he came through from that  portal. It looked like a mirror or a marble, which was the same glass as the mirror as well. 

Looking at Twilight, Luke saw that she had completely changed, and the same with Spike. His eyes widened in awe. "Twilight?" He said "is that you?"

The allicorn turned from a pony to a beautiful human girl, and Spike into an adorable puppy dog.

"What do you think?" She said

"I... don't even know what to say." And he tried to look at himself if he changed too. "Did something happen to me?"

Making another giggle, Twilight noted "nope. You're still the same human named Luke Smith me and the others know in love."

"You look beautiful." Luke complimented.

It made Twilight flush hearing that. "Thank you." She said.

"And Spike, you're a dog now?"

"At least in this dimension, but that's fine. I'm still the same baby dragon back home."

"Gotcha." The human looked around at his surroundings and saw many humans with many skin colors and different styles in clothing and fashion. He saw many recognizable faces that ranged from Vinyl Scratch, to Octavia, and even saw human counterparts of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Was this world almost like Equestria? Except that the dominant species are humans and not ponies? Honestly, Luke was so amazed he didn't even k ow what to think,

"So, what do we do first?" He asked curiously.

"Come on, I want to show you my friends here." Then the human followed Twilight and Spike walked next to her as all three went to the school building.
> New Friends can Come From Anywhere
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Luke went inside the magnificent looking school, he was absolutely impressed by how the interior looked, and in the foyer, there was a stack of trophies inside a big display case behind glass. Feeling more than curious, he decided to look at them, and saw many types of sports trophies, and most of them had the name Rainbow Dash on them.

As he would figure, there was a human Rainbow Dash in this world, and it made him wonder if there was a human Fluttershy, too.

While looking at a few other trophies and plaques, he saw the name "Wondercolts" as the team's name, and probably the mascot of this school. The name struck him, making him remember the title "Wonderbolts" back in Equestria.

"It's nice, isn't it?" Twilight said.

"Really nice." Luke agreed with her. "I almost wish I could have come here sooner, but still. It looks amazing on this world. How did you come into this nice world before?"

Spike got out of Twiligh's backpack with a leap and hopped on all fours like a cat would do after falling. "It's a really long yet fascinating story." He said. "Remember what Twilight told you about Sunset Shimmer?"

"Oh yeah, right. What about her?"

"She stole-" Spike was immediately interrupted by the sound of the school bell ringing, and  Luke realized that it was already the end of the day for all the students here.

"Uh oh, we might want to go back outside. Wouldn't want to be on the middle of the crowd." Twilight wanted with a sheepish smile.

"Yeah, I hear that. Good idea." As all three of them went back outside to stand clear of the walking students, Luke was more than excited that he will meet the human version of his closest pony friend. Well, at least it wasn't a stamped of rhinos or angry bulls or something like that. No, if it was exactly like that, Luke would run for his dear life.

The human saw many humans thatvlooked exactly like his friends, and all the ponies that he knew in Ponyville and Canterlot. Many of them waved at Luke in a friendly gesture, and some of them said "hello." To him.

"Twilight!" Said a raspy female voice. He looked and saw beautiful and cute human versions of the other closest friends he has back in Equestria. There was Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie, and two girls that he hasn't really met yet, or wasn't very familiar with back home. One had orange skin and beautiful red hair with some yellow in it, and the other was a girl with green hair, glasses, and a pair of ponytails.

Looking at Fluttershy, he thought she was the most beautiful and cute girl he had ever seen in his life. Even as a human, Fluttershy looked so adorable and sweet. Then he thought that just because it looks like the Fluttershy he knew, it doesn't mean she is the same one. No, these were different people than the ones back home.

And finally, Luke saw another atwilight and Spike. He raised his eyebrow in confusion and looked at both pairs.

"Ooh, who is your handsome friend?" Fluttershy asked her curiously.

It made Luke flush hearing the word cute about him, especially if she is a counterpart of the closest Equestrian friend he ever made.

"Girls, this is Luke, Luke Smith." Twilight said. "He is new to Ponyville, and I thought we
Hey not bring him here?"

"Luke, huh?" Asked Rainbow Dash. "Well nice to meet ya, Luke." And she shook his hand in a rough fashion. "Name's Rainbow Dash, captain of the sports team in Canterlot High! But you can call me Rainbow for short. I gotta say you are quite cool."

"Ah, thanks." Luke said.

"Oh my, you look really dazzling." Said the human Rarity. She gently touched Luke's hair and liked how it felt. "I am Rarity, and I say You got quite beautiful hair, sweetie."

"Thanks, it's nice."

"NameMs Applejack, and Yeah, I'll say, the hair makes you look like a handsome lion or some kind, or something like that." Applejack pointed. "Anyone who is a friend of Twilight and Spike is definitely a friend of mine." And she winked while patting his back.

"Oh! We should totally hang out! What's your favorite color? What kind of music do you like to hear?" And the human Pinkie Pie kept on asking him so many random questions about himself.

"Pinkie! Calm yourself." Said Fluttershy gently holding her back. "We're sorry about her, that's Pinkie Pie, and I'm.." then she said her name quietly in a shy tone of voice.

"It's okay, Fluttershy, you don't have to introduce yourself." Luke remarked warmly to the shy human. It made the human version of Fluttershy perk her head up and feel more comfortable than she did before.

"Oh my." She said "How did you know my name?'

"Because I'm.... a people person." Luke said modestly. "Anyway, sorry, I should have let you introduce yourself to me properly." And he kinda moved his head away in mild shame, thinking he kind of made a fool of himself just saying her name like that.

Fluttershy smiled warmly and said "Oh it's okay, Luke. I understand perfectly." Then she gently placed her soft, warm hand on his shoulder, making him a little warm on the inside.

He heard a woman's clear her throat, and saw the other two girls he doesn't know anything about. "Sorry, Luke. I'm Sunset Shimmer, very nice to meet you." And she shook hands with the human.

"Ah, so you're the one Twilight told me about."

The woman nodded a yes to him. "Yeah, she might have told you that I was a former student of Princess Celestia."

"Right, but... of course you changed, right?" Luke reminded

"Of course, thanks to princess Twilight" she looked at the princess of Friendship warmly, and Spike the same way.

"And... I am also Twilight Sparkle." Said the second one.

"Wait, too of you?" Luke asked while pointing his fingers in a Chris-cross fashion. "Waits I'm confused. You apguys aren't multiplying are you?"

Then the others laughed at his modesty. "No silly, they are just this world's version of me. How are you doing, Twilight?"

"Really good, princess Twilight?" Said the one with the glasses.

"Looking good, Spike." Said both dogs.

"This is so confusing." The human said with his eyes crossed mildly. "Two Twilight's and two Spikes at the same time? Am I hallucinating or delusional? My head kinda hurts a little."

"Don't worry, you're not going crazy." Said the girl with the green hair. "Juniper Montage, at your service."

"Oh, so your the one Starlight told me about." Twilight said intriguingly. "She told me about how you wanted to be famous and used the magic mirror to-"

"I don't want to talk about it!" She blurted. Realizing what she was doing, she covered her mouth, and calmed down a little. "But yes, I did." And then she bowed her head on shame. "Look. I am so sorry about that. I... just wanted people to like me and be famous."

"It's okay." The Equestria version of ztwilight said warmly. "We all make mistakes, and it's okay to learn from them."

"Yeah Juniper, we forgive you, and now we're your friends." Said rainbow Dash putting a hand on her shoulder for comfort. 

"What kind of thing did she do?" asked Luke curiously

"It's... complicated." said Juniper in a sheepish tone of voice. 

"Well, where is a good place have a conversation at?" 

"Well there is Sugarcube Corner." Pinkie Pie suggested. "It's one of my favorite places in the universe."

"Really? That sounds perfect. Then he had a thought, since there were humans, maybe there would be hamburgers in this world. They were one of his favorite foods after all. "On second thought, are there any burger chains around here?" Luke asked, patting his stomach. "I haven't had that in months now."

"Of course. There are so many burger restaurants here." Fluttershy noted.

"Magnifique!" Luke said with joy. 

"It's settled, we'll look for one here and we can all hang out there." Said Sunset Shimmer. They all made remarks of agreement, and went down to many restaurants that were burger themed and, and finally found a good place called Burger Prince, and it sounded a little bit like Burger King from back in Luke's homeworld, and they all went in there.

The atmosphere was rather clean and very nice. The place was filled with so many customers,  it of course it wasn't like a Walmart on Black Friday. At least there was still some seats that were not taken by any other customers.

"I hope the line doesn't take so long." Luke said to himself

"Don't worry, this place has a pretty fast line, Luke." Applejack said.

"Good. You know this place is like a restaurant that I have in my home world."

"What's it called?" Asked the science Twilight."

"Burger King."

"Ooh, does it sound better?" Asked Pinkie Pie

"Well... every restaurant has it's ups and downs, no matter what location it is, that's for sure, like there are restaurants with good employees, and there are some that don't. You all get what I'm saying?"

"Oh yes of course." Said Rarity. "We have the same exact problem as you do in many restaurants."

"Oh yeah, services are good most of the time, and services suck sometimes." Rainbow said with a smirk on her face. " it, at least we can just ask them to fix the problem.p, and ask for a complete refund, cha-ching!"

"Good point, that's why I would always check my food before I would actually take it home or eat it in the booths." Luke pointed. "I just wish that many workers would be more mindful of what they are doing, especially if they are teenagers with no experience." And the human cracked his knuckles just for kicks.

"I couldn't agree more Luke. Well at least this place has good employees from what I have experienced." Said Sunset Shimmer. "Well, my stomach is growling like a werewolf, I'm starving.

"You don't have to say that twice!" Said Juniper Montage in a sing-song voice they all went in line and it was moving rather quickly indeed. "So, who's gonna pay for the food?" Juniper asked curiously

"I'll do it." The real Twilight volunteered herself. It took a little while for Luke to decide and then he ordered a double cheeseburger with no onions and no mayonnaise and a smaller double burger that is the same as the bigger one,  along with some fries, chicken tenders, and a large root beer to go as a drink. 

For the rest, Twilight had a salad with some fries to go with it, and the same for the Human World's Twilight. Both Spikes were more than happy to have a piece of steak on a plate, eating on the floor.

Fluttershy, being a hardcore animal lover, had herself a veggie burger and a cup of soft-serve ice cream with chocolate buttons swirled within it, almost like a McFlurry from McDonald's.

Rainbow Dash had herself triple cheeseburger with no pickles, for she didn't really like them, and three sides of fries.

Applejack had herself three double cheeseburgers all at once, much to Luke's surprise. "Wow, Apolejack, I didn't know you can eat so much."

"Yeah I... kinda eat like a horse." She said while fluttering a little.

Fluttershy made a giggle and said "it's true. One time she had a whole meatloaf and then she ate a whole birthday cake after that. Oh,  it in a bad way, but- I mean-"

Then the cowgirl made a giggle "it's okay Fluttershy, I know you're just being modest." Then she dug into her food.

"And we thought Pinkie Pie ate like a pig." Rarity joked, and they all laughed. Speaking of which, she had herself a salad with tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, and croutons with ceaser dressing to go with it and her drink was herbal tea with ice in them

Juniper had the same thing as Rarity had, while Sunset Shimmer had a chicken sandwich that was spicy.

As they all dug on, Fluttershy noticed Luke eating rather quickly, not like a paper shredder doing it's work, but still."

"Goodness Luke, try and slow down." Fluttershy noticed.

"Sorry." He said after he made a gulp down his throat. "I'm just so happy to eat hamburgers again. They are one of my favorite foods ever. And he slowly took another bite to savor the sweet, juicy taste of the meat.

"It's okay." Said Fluttershy with a smile.

"So tell us, how l long have you been in Equestria?" Asked the Human Twilight.

"Many months now actually." Luke replied boldly. "It's a very cool place, and nicer than my home world."

"How did you get to Equestria?" Pinkie Pie asked curiously

Then Luke narrated about how he made the wish on the shooting star and was magically brought to Equestria from another dimension. For all his new friends, it was a real page-turner, but of course the real Twilight and Spike already heard his story before. 

They all had aconversations like what his favorite type of music and what he really likes. "Wow, you play guitar and sing rock songs?" Asked Rainbow in an impressed voice.

"Uh-huh. I am quite a gifted musician."

"He's not exaggerating about that." Said Spike. "We heard him sing and play guitar many times back in Ponyville, and he is so awesome."

"Can we hear you play?" Asked Fluttershy with a very eager look on her face.

"I don't know if I feel like it right now but-"

Then he was suddenly interrupted by another female voice. Luke suddenly looked, and he saw human versions of Lyra and Bon Bon themselves. Like the other girls, they both looked beautiful and adorable. "Excuse us guys, but we couldn't help but notice you have a new friend with you." said the green girl

"Yeah, sorry for intruding." said Bon Bon

"No, it's fine." said Twilight. "I'm sorry that you can't sit with us because we already packed the booths." and she made a sheepish smile while rubbing her head.

"That's okay, we can just sit over at this table." said Lyra with a warm smile. "It's good to see you again, princess."

"Same with you." Twilight replied with a warm smile. "How have you girls been?"

"Oh you know, I've been running my own sweets stand." said Bon Bon in a modest tone of voice.

"And I have been practicing my Lyre instrument and along with piano lessons. Of course hanging out with my bestie over here, right Bon Bon?"

"Got that right, Lyra!" and they hugged eachother "Best friends!"

"So, what's your name, stranger?" Lyra asked the human curiously

"Luke. Luke Smith."

"Ooh, that's a handsome name. Where did you come from?"

"It's a rather long yet interesting story if you would like to hear it." the human said, taking a sip of his root beer. After that, he let out a loud and rather long burp. He covered his mouth, not knowing it would be like that. "Excusez-moi." he said. Then the others laughed

"it's quite alright, Luke." said Fluttershy softly. "Better out than in."

"And at least it's coming from up here and not down there." the human joked. Then they laughed even louder than before.

"That is so true!" Pinkie agreed while laughing.

"Anywho, I came from another world, that sort of stuff." then the human told the two best friends about how he came to Equestria and the shooting star wish and all of that. Lyra and Bon Bon were just as surprised and amazed as the others were.

"That's so cool. we didn't know you live in Equestria too."

"Well, I still have friends and family back in my home world, and i can imagine how much they all missed me." and he started to eat his second burger. "Yet again, my homeworld is kinda.... boring to say the least, but it is where my family lives. Equestria on the other hand has magic and cool stuff and creatures that is only mythology in my homeworld."

"Do you still plan to go back home?" asked Rainbow Dash curiously

"I'm... still thinking about it, but Equestria seems like a perfect world for me, and my own definition of heaven. That, and living in a place where everything is rock and metal related."

"How are you going to get back?"

"Well... I have a friend named Discord, who was the one who got me into Equestria in the first place with his magic since he is the master of chaos. I thought, well I guess I can always ask him if he can take me back home, but... Equuestria is perfect. No conflicts, no wars, no pressures, no cares, those sort of things."

"What's wrong with your world?" asked Lyra curiously

"It's.... just not perfect. There is some wars going on in some countries in my world, not my home of course, but some places are in conflict and some dictators in the world rule over those certain countries. And it is just so boring, no magic, or monsters like manticores, or chimeras."

"No magic?" said Bon Bon. "That does sound boring."

"Anyway, I am still in the middle of an inner conflict whether I should come back to my home or stay in Equestria and live a better life."

"Well, we can respect your decision." said Fluttershy warmly. "It is your decision after all."

"Thanks, Fluttershy." the human said to her.

"You're welcome. Always happy to help out a new friend."

"So anyway, Luke is a great singer and guitarist." Rainbow said. It made Lyra and Bon Bon even more eager about meeting this lone human being.

"Really? can we watch you perform?" asked Lyra. Then she, Bon Bon, and the others began begging to Luke that he should perform a song all for them.

"Come on Luke, it will make them very happy." Twilight said

"Yeah, they will love it." Spike added.

Thinking about it for a moment, Luke said "Well, alright." and it made all his new friends happy. "but where can we actually perform?"

"Well, there is the school auditorium." Sci-Twilight said. "You can do it there."

"That sounds perfect." Then after they were done with their little lunch, they went back to Canterlot High School and Luke was amazed at how the auditorium looked, especially the stage. It looked like a perfect place stage to perform a small concert, even if it wasn't like the House of Blues.

Still, it was perfect for him, 'cause he probably won't perform a big spectacle song anyway, just for these new friends along with Twilight and Spike.

"here, we know how to set the stuff up." said Rainbow voluntarily. "Even if we are not exactly roadies."

"Are you guys in a band?"

"Yes. We're called the Rainbooms." Fluttershy said. 

"Really?" Luke said in amazement.

"Yep, we play some gigs and perform really great songs." Sunset clarified. "Rainbow's kinda the leader of this band."

"Well, I don't like to brag but I treat my band-mates equally since you are my best friends."

"What are you talking about? You brag all the time, Rainbow Dash." Twilight said. "You always say how awesome you are and those things, and I even remember how you beat me in the soccer game and all that."

"Well yeah, because I am awesome." Rainbow gloated. Then they all laughed with eachother like friends would do. These human counterparts were exactly like their pony counterparts, except they were human.

After trying to work on the speakers and the amplifiers, a small group of girls came inside the auditorium. They were almost like the Mane six, except they were quite different, as if they were complete opposites. There were five of them and they were wearing the same type of uniform like they were in boarding school or something like that.

"Oh. The Shadowbolts." said Sunset. "What a surprise."

"Hey, what's up everybody?" said the one with the wild green hair with a devil horn pose with her hands. 

"Hello." said Fluttershy, and then the rest followed after her, ans Luke of course.

"How's it hanging?" said Pinkie.

"Not so much happening right now. Everything is just fine for us as always." said the one with short purple hair.

Then the five new girls took a look at Luke and weren't very familiar with him. "Who's the new guy?" Asked the one with pale blue hair with glasses and two ponytails.

"Girls, this is Luke." Said Sci-Twilight. "Luke, these are my old friends from Crystal prep academy. Lemon Zest, Sour Sweet, Indigo Zap, Sunny Flare, and Sugarcoat."

"Bonjour." Luke flatly said, waving his hair back.

"Wow dude, I love the jacket you are wearing, very stylish." Said Lemon Zest. "It makes you look totally rad."

"So, are you from Equestria too?" Asked Indigo Zap curiously 

"Well, not originally. It's a long yet fascinating story." The human clarified. "To shorten things out, I came from another dimension."

"Another dimension?" Did Sugarcoat in astonishment. "That's rather fascinating."

"What is it like?" Asked Sunny Flare. "Are they all like us?"

"Do they have cool schools like us?" Asked Sour Sweet. "We really should know about your world."

"Alright alright, back it up, darlings." Said Rarity. "Far too many questions for you all to ask him."

"Right. So what's going on here?" Asked Indigo

"Luke's gonna perform an awesome song for us." Rainbow noted with pure excitement.

"Really? Is it a rock song?" Asked Lemon Zest with a big smile on her face.

"You know it." Luke said.

"Awesome!"

"Hmm, I wonder how that will go."

"You would all be surprised to see how awesome I do while I rock out." Luke gloated. "You will all love it." And then he remembered something. "I just wish I have a guitar with me."

"Oh I know. You can use mine!" Rainbow said, promptly letting Luke borrow her own signature ax.

"Ooh, that's very kind of you, Rainbow." Said Fluttershy. "What do you think Luke."

"Yep, that is nice." Then Luke took the guitar and wrapped the strap around his torso. "Okay, let's get this show on the road." And he went on stage to perform another amazing song. He still had his singing and guitar skills, and amazing vocals to go with it.

Plugging in the guitar, Lincoln took a little breath and counted to three.

Rights for the song go to Firehouse


Everyone was really impressed by his guitar skills and vocal range in the song.

When it was over, they all applauded for him loudly.

"That was so wonderful." Fluttershy congratulated warmly. Just then, she Suddenly gave him a kiss on his cheek. Luke honestly didn't expect that to happen, considering the fact they only just met.

"Wow Luke, you do know how to rock." Said Lemon Zest. "I like you already!" And she roughly patted his back a few times.

"Yeah, and the way you sing as well." Said Lyra. "It was a very good jov. You should be in a band."

"And you should totally be apart of the Rainbooms sometime." Said Rainbow Dash. "You can make a great addition to the band."

"Hmm that is nice, but I prefer to go my own way. Where a heard leads a man must follow."

"Ah, I like your style, dear." Said Sunny Flare. "We can appreciate that."

"Of course. I didn't say I will never perform with you guys. Let me know if you guys are jamming and I can join in."

"Absolutely!"

Indigo promptly stepped up and added "And you should share your talents with everybody here and Crystal Prep when you get the chance"

"I will definitely consider that." Luke said.

"So, what are you five doing here, anyway?" Asked Applejack.

"Oh! We came to give Twilight her laptop back. Thanks for letting us borrow it, Twi." Said Soursweet 

"No problem." Said the other Twilight. "Always happy to help out friends, even if they used to be mean to me in the past."

"We said we were sorry, didn't we?" Indigo pointed out.

"I know." Twilight said with a smirk.

"You know Luke, you are a very cool guy." Said Fluttershy. "I would really love it if you hang out with us some more. We can have so much fun together."

"Well, i'm not exactly done here yet." Luke replied.

"Well, you said you like animals. Woukd yoy like to visit my house and see my pets and maybe go down to the animal shelter after that?"

"Of course. Animals are my passion."

Fluttershy smiled even wider after hearing that, yes she will really like him indeed. As a matter of fact, all of these new faces like him already.

Then all of them went to Fluttershy's house. Except for the Shadowbolts who prefer to go their own way.
> Missing Possession
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the human Fluttershy's cottage on this fascinating human world, it looked exactly the same as the Equestrian counterparts back home, except it had stuff like a computer, a TV and some more modern features did.

But of course, like the Fluttershy Luke knew well in love, had as much animals as she did living with her inside. He was rather impressed and was happy to see that they were all just as friendly and cooperative as the ones back home.

"Wow, it's beautiful in here." Luke said. "It's kinda like a mini-zoo or a safari in your own house." And he petted a golden retriever, who was more than happy to be rubbed on his big nose from the human's gentle, magic touch.

"Oh thank you, Luke." Fluttershy said. "I am so glad you like it in here."

"I love it."

"Just be careful with Angel." Said Spike in a quiet murmur to his ear. "He doesn't really get along with strangers." Then he felt himself being held and cuddled with a Fluttershy.

He himself was enjoying the nice and warm touch of nature and love, and wagged his tail in happiness like a dog would normally do when they are happy or excited. "Aww, Spike." She said. "Angel's not so bad. He... just needs to warm up to him a little." And then gave him a belly rubbing. "Oh who's a good puppy." She playfully baby-talked "yes, you're the good puppy."

Spike relaxed as he was enjoying the belly scratches from Fluttershy. 

"That's fine." Luke said. "I learned that there will always be someone in the world that will not like me in some way." And he had a sip of his root beer from Burger Prince. "Still, I'm pretty sure we can work out our differences."

"Well you're not wrong." Said Rainbow Dash, relaxing her elbow on his shoulder. "We still have some enemies of our own."

"Yeah, my former headmistress in Crystal Prep, Principal Cinch." Sci-Twi noted, looking rage sheepish to admit it. "She... kinda has a reputation for getting her own way by being cunning and manipulative."

"Yeah, that hoity-toity Cinch thinks she and Crystal Prep are better than anyone else because of our rival school's history of beating us at every event." Said Applejack. "Until a little while ago of course." And she had a sip of apple cider with ice in a glass.

Rarity cleared her throat, and added "I completely agree Applejack, she is so conceited within herself. But she can do nothing now, for she has no powers and will not try to seek revenge on us ever again.... hopefully."

"The last thing we would all want is for her to make everything full and boring, or as she calls it neat and orderly." Lyra said. "She is the exact opposite of fun."

"Totally, Lyra." Said Bon Bon. "At least she will not try and hurt us anymore."

"Yeah, I would hate for her to ruin a super-duper fun event at Canterlot High." Said Pinkie Pie. "She is quite a party pooper if given the chance." And the all had a laugh together.

"Yeah. I never really met her and I don't think I should worry about her or any diabolical scheme she could come up with." Said Luke. "Besides. I'm pretty sure since you two have powers, you can solve this yourselves."

"Exactly." Said Sunset Shimmer. "Whenever there is a new threat, danger, or obstacle that is very difficult, me and my friends will always figure out a way to get past it."

"So, Luke, would you like to help me with the animals? They could really have their lunch right now."

"Of course." Luke smiled promptly. All of them went to work and fed all the animals within her house some lunch. Sure there was so much, but at least Fluttershy wasn't like a crazy old cat lady of some kind.

After that, Luke was more than happy to give some of her dogs a bath, making them a little wet. It was rather fun, and they all had a small splash fight, having quite a blast. All of the. Had a number of at least six small tubs for the canines to take a dip in to clean off and such. Each one had partners, Rainbow Dash was with Twilight, Pinkie Pie was with Sci-Twilight, Sunset Shimmer was with Juniper Montage, Lyra and Bon Bon since they were best friends, and Luke was with none other than Fluttershy herself.

It was just then he was getting another rag on the soft, grassy ground in the backyard, and reached his hand over to get it. All of a sudden, he found Fluttershy's hand gently laying on his. Both realizing what just happened, they didn't know quite exactly what to think of this, or how to react.

Marks of red appeared on their cheeks, and felt a little awkward. "Oh, I am so sorry." Luke said.

"No no, that was my fault." She said with a chuckle, still flushing. They both slowly took their hands off one another and Luke reached for the soap for Fluttershy didn't want to make it all the more awkward.

Honestly, that was a little strange and both began stammering about what to say to one another.

"Everything okay, you guys?" Asked Juniper Montage with a smirk and raised eyebrow. All of them had a look feeling like teasing them about that little.... unexpected event.

"Yeah everything's fine." Said Luke.

"Are you sure?" Asked Twilight in a mildly playful smile

"Yes, we are doing just fine." Fluttershy replied to her with a headnod.

""Riiiight." Said Rainbow, rolling her eyes away with her own smirk on her face. All of them continued washing the dogs, and the.pn the two Spikes were last to be cleaned, and both enjoyed it as equally as the other dogs did in the tubs.

"I kinda see what's going on here." Lyra playfully teased him when jabbing his arm with her elbow.

"Come on guys." Luke said. "We only just met."

"Yeah girls." Fluttershy said. "We're just friends."

"Ah we were just playing with you." Said Lyra. "We know yoy guys are just friends. These things can happen for an unknown reasons"

After that was all finished, they all took a break before moving on with other animals to clean up. Of course, many cats didn't want to take a dip into the baths, because they were cats, and most of them hate water after all.

"My you are good at this, Luke." Said Fluttershy."

"Thanks, I have two dogs and two cats at home." Luke boldly stated. "Well, me and my family had to put one of my dogs dog because she was getting too old." He said in a more sad tone-of-voice.

Fluttershy and the others had a look of sympathy for him. "I'm sorry to hear that.' She said softly putting a hand on his shoulder. "But at least you were there for her when she was still alive."

Luke made a sudden small smile on his face and replied. "That's true. At least she's in a better place now."

"There you go." said Twilight.

Continuing on with the helping, it was a little tiring at first, but it was all worth it, especially for Luke since animals are indeed, his passion

Taking a well deserve break, they all watched a little tv and then saw a music video that featured his new friends, and the Shadowbolts, except Indigo Zap and Juniper Montage for an unknown reason. Lyra and Bon Bon were also absent from the video as well.

The human was surprised to see this video seeing them on this video. Twilight and Spike themselves were amazed by this since they were gone for quite a little while.

"My, I have heard about you guys making a music video, but this is amazing." Twilight remarked in amazement.

"Yeah, it made quite enough money to save Camp Everfree frim being shut down by Filthy Rich." Said Rainbow Dash. "What do you think, Luke?"

"Not really my cup of tea." He replied modestly. "But it is well made."

"I made it." Rarity said.

"Hmm. Wow Fluttershy, you looked beautiful in that video."

The compliment made Fluttershy flush and was completely flattered "Aww thank you, Luke."

"No problem. What else did you guys do?"

"We all, well- almost all of us got cameos in the new Daring Do movie." Applejack noted. "I don't know if we should talk about this in front of Juniper."

"No it's alright." Said she. "I kinda deserved to be reminded of that day." And she brushed her dark green hair back. "Besides, I already kinds told you about it Luke."

"Gotcha, but just have faith and try to earn your way up their and you just might get what you want."

"See, Luke knows what he's talking about." Said Bon Bon proudly.

Juniper smiled. "Thanks Luke."

"And you do have us as your friends now." Sunset added. "So does anyone want to get some ice cream?"

"Nah I kinda had some already." Luke replied

"Well we would like some. You want to come join us, Luke?" Pinkie offered.

"Yeah, and I think I just want to go home after that."

"That's fine." Said Twilight. All of them went out of Fluttershy's house to get themselves, ans Luke, a frozen treat of their own.

Near the park, at an ice cream truck Luke promptly waited on the bench as his cronies all got themselves some ice cream and or popsicles.

He was about to listen to his music with his iPod, however he saw three beautiful girls walking towards him swaying their hips. The leader had large orange hair and light orange skin, the second had purple hair with green streaks in it in a form of two ponytails, and the third was blue and had only one ponytail.

He did think they were all hot, but the way they were walking, he had to be cautious about the his just in case. Something smelled a little fishy.

All three of them sat next to him in a flirty way. "Uhh. What's up?" Luke asked a little uncomfortably.

"Not much, cutie." Said the leader. "Is this your first time here?"

"Well. I don't know what you mean."

They all giggled. "Come on sweetie, we know you're from Equestria." And the lead girl gently stroked his back woth a soft hand

Something definitely fish was going on if they put it that way. "Equestria? What the hell is Equestria?" He lied.

"Come on now cutie-pie." Said the blue mare in an upbeat voice. "Lying will get you no where."

"Yeah, you can't hide anything from us." Said the purple one in a slightly monotonous voice.

Trying to keep his cool, Luke said "look, I don't even know who you girls are."

"Oh of course." Said the leader in mock-surprise "how rude of us. Please allow us to introduce ourselves." Said the leader putting a hand on her chest lightly. "I am Adagio Dazzle."

"Name's Aria Blaze."

"And i'm Sonata Dusk! Very nice to meet you."

"So now we think it's your turn to tell us who you are." Said Adagio in a cunning voice

"Okay." And he cleared his throat. "The name's Luke. Luke Smith, but you can just call me Luke, that's all."

"Mmm, that's quite a handsome name for someone like you." Said Aria.

"Anyway, what do you all want from me and how did you know where I was from?" Luke asked a little suspiciously.

"Oh don't mind us." Said Adagio. "We only want to talk and get to know you. That's all." And then she gently touched and rubbed his crotch while giggling seductively.

Luke flustered and rushed away from her. "Hey, that's private property!" He said, still flushing.

"Sorry, Luke. Where are my manners?" She said. "Anyway, we know because we're from Equestria as well."

"What are you guys exactly?"

"Sirens." A voice answered. It was Twilight and the others, who were looking quite unhappy to see these three girls. 

"Ah princess Twilight, Spike, and friends." Said Adagio." With a smirk. "How nice to see you all again."

"Too bad we can't say the same for you!" Said Bon Bon.

"Now leave Luke alone!" Lyra barked "he doesn't need to be with no good sirens like you!"

"Tut tut bow." Sonata said. "We don't want any trouble. We just wanted to say hello."

"He has quite a handsome face I will give him that." Aria conplimented.

"You guys know these three?"

"Unfortunately yes." Said Applejack.

"They tried to take over this world and used their voices from necklaces to turn everyone against each other in Canterlot High." Said Spike

"What?" Luke said in surprise. And he immediately backed away from the bad girls. "Look Adagio, Sonato, and Aria, I don't want any trouble or pick a fight." He said to them firmly.

"Fight you?" Said Adagio in mock-shock and then she giggled "how could we possibly hurt such a handsome face like yours.

"Look, you all leave him alone, unless you want is to take you out with our magic again." Fluttershy stepped up to defend him."

"Fine We have no need for you all anyway. Nice meeting you Luke." Said Adagio. "Call us some time." And then all three walked away.

"What was that all about?" Luke said in confusion 

"Ah ignore them." Rainbow Dash snubbed. "They are not so powerful anymore."

"Yeah, Twilight and the others defeated them with magic and they can't hurt anyone anymore." Said Bon Bon.

"Right, well I might as well head back home now."

"us too." Said Twilight. "Ready to go, Spike?"

"You know it."

And they all went back to the portal. And Luke was about to pull out his iPod to listen to music walking back home. However he realized something: it was gone!

"Oh no, no, no, Hell no." He began to panic. 

"What's wrong, Luke?" Asked Sci-Twilight

"My iPod's missing! I lost it!" Luke said

"Gone?" Said Twilight. "What happened to it?"

"I think I know." Spike said, then they all gasped at the idea.

Meanwhile, Adagio was looking at Luke's iPod and was impressed. "Hmm, he certainly has quite a taste in music." She remarked. "Once Luke finds out that we have his precious iPod, he will he ours girls." And she made an evil giggle.
> Payback! (Updated)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pacing to and fro inside Fluttershy's house, Luke was starting to panic. If there was one thing he could not live without, it was all the music he loved. Who knows what Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk might do with his machine. The human then placed his hand in his forehead. Thinking of some type of plan.

"Sweet Jesus, this is bad." Luke muttered. "God this is so bad!"

Fluttershy promptly tried to soothe him by gently massaging his shoulders. "Calm down Luke." She said "it's okay."

The touch from her sweet hands were so relaxing and it was beginning to relieve his stress, even if this is the Human Fluttershy, and not exactly the one that was his closest friend in Equestria.

"Everything will be alright. We can all find where they all live and get your iPod back for you." She said with a hopeful smile. "I promise, we will help you."

"Yeah Luke. Chillax." Said Rainbow Dash. "We defeated those sirens once, we can do it again." And then she cracked her knuckles, feeling more than ready to bash the three girls skulls like a peanut.

Twilight and Spike were also thinking of a plan to help Luke with his problem. "Just give us some time."

"But, what if those girls all smash it to the ground into a million tiny pieces, or turn into monsters and start chomping it down their throats bit by bit?" Luke said. The more he was starting to worry and even hyperventilate. The more Fluttershy was trying to soothe him."

"Shhh, it's okay. It's okay." She said in her really soft voice.

"Don't worry darling, I am certain that Adagio and her girls do not live so far from here." Rarity said. "With us, anything is quite possible."

Applejack promptly stepped up in agreement. "Rarity, I definitely concur with you on that.& she said proudly. "We have overcome many things along the way, and I believe we can see what those no-good girls are up to now."

Luke was now feeling almost completely calm about this. "Thanks guys." He said gratefully. "It's just that... the music I love is the only drug I ever need in my life. Music is like the type of drug that can't kill you if you use it too much."

"That's pretty deep stuff." Said Lyra. "But don't worry. We'll give those three troublemakers what for."

"And teach them not to mess with our new friend!" Bon Bon said, looking ready for a fight as well.

"But first, what did they want from you?" Asked Sci-Twilight curiously

"They said they wanted to meet me, and said how handsome I was, but I think that something more dark or sinister is what those three are hiding." Luke theorized. "And, call me crazy. But I think Adagio and her friends wanted to...." he gulped before he finished "violate me."

"Oh I don't think they were really going to... violate you." Sunset doubted for a second. "I know that they are evil, but come on, they're not that evil." And she began thinking in her head. "Or... are they?"

"I say let's not think about it so much." Juniper suggested with a finger pointing up. "We gotta focus on the matter at hand first."

"Right!" They all agreed with her. Then all of them started to brainstorm ideas, and then Sunset Shimmer remembered something. "Oh, I almost forgot!" she said. "I have the power to read people's minds now. All I have to do is grab one of the Dazzling's arms and so I can read what they are thinking. They'll never know what just hit them."

"Oh yeah, I forgot that almost all of us have super powers since Camp Everfree now!" Pinkie remembered as well. "Excellent idea, Sunset Shimmer."

"And you guys realize that we don't have powers, right?" Lyra reminded with a smirk

"right, sorry."

"It's fine." said Bon Bon.

"Hopefully, those girls shouldn't be too hard to fine." said Sunset. "We'll try the mall first, and then the schools."

All of them agreed with her, and went to the mall to look for Adagio and her no good cronies. It probably shouldn't be too hard to find, for Luke was a people person, and has a good memory of what people look like, especially with the structures of their face. It was one of his gifts of having high-functioning autism. That, and this world is more or less like a human universe of his friends back home.

All of them searched high and low on both floors for the Dazzlings, but turns out they were not in the mall. "Damn it! no luck." Luke muttered to himself in frustration. Looking at many shopping patrons around the escalators, he still didn't find any one of the sirens. "Now what?" he asked Sunset, growing a little impatient now.

"Patience Luke, patience." Sunset noted. "We'll find them."

"Yeah, Sugarcube. We're not giving up just yet. We swear to that." Applejack added. After looking everywhere in the mall, to no avail of course, the team searched Canterlot High, but no luck, and then Crystal Prep, but still no luck on where to find Adagio, Aria, or Sonata.

It made Luke a little more frustrated, and it made him feel like doing something like shattering a glass window with a baseball bat, or chopping a tree down with a woodcutter's ax, just to let out his anger. Alas, he was too smart and good to do any of those things. At least, he still has his new friends, along with Spike and Twilight at his side to help him with his problems.

It was just then they found the scatterbrained one, Sonata Dusk, eating a taco from a Mexican food truck. It was a little obvious since Sonata was the dumbest out of this sexy, evil triplet of women also from Equestria. "You guys stay here, I'll handle this." said Sunset.

She promptly walked up to Sonata with a firm look on her face "Hello, Sonata." she said in a mildly bitter voice. The blue haired siren girl perked her head up while still munching on her lunch, and turned around, almost like an owl. "Remember me?" said the orange girl with an unamused raised eyebrow.

"Sunset Shimmer!" she immediately recognized her. "What a pleasant surprise." she had a look tell her that she was actually quite afraid to see her again. Trying to toughen herself, she had a sheepish smile, and asked "how are you doing?"

And her tone changed from stern to cheerful and said "oh not much except, I was just wondering if I could do... This to you!" The. She placed a hand on Sonata's arm with a hard clasp on her skin.

Looking into her thoughts, Sunset saw flashbacks of her, and the other Dazzlings together hanging out at a small house in the suburbs, just chilling with each other, and Adagio had Luke's iPod touch in her hands, looking at her reflection through it.

"Well girls, this is gonna be so sweet." Said Adagio. "It would be nice to have a man of our own."

"And we can make money off of this." Aria said.

"Right! All we have to do is erase all the singers voices in this, and add our own auto tuned voices into all the tracks, sell them, and we will be rich!" And she made a brief cackle to herself. "And Luke will have to come look for us, and beg for it back."

"I thought we were going to keep his iPod?" Asked Sonata.

"Well yeah, but we also want Luke to be with us.... forever." Said Adagio raising her eyebrows in a sly way.

"Well I just hope we don't try and overdo it with Luke, he is just to handsome and cool to be... you know." Aria noted flatly

Adagio made a small cute giggle to herself. "Hurt him? Don't be ridiculous, Aria. I can assure you that we will take good care of him as our pet."

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I am definitely hungry for tacos right now." Said Sonata, promptly getting off the couch.

Both girls made a small groan of irritation and Aria said "Sonata seriously, what is it with you and tacos?"

"Hello? Tacos are everything to me!" She said in a cheerful demeanor. "If anyone needs to find me, I will be in the park having a taco from the food truck!"

"Just don't take so long." Adagio reminded "I want you to be here for when Luke comes to our place. I want him to to come here so he can be ours." And a wicked smile appeared on her face.

"No problem. I will totes be back before he can even come."

"You'd better, 'cause if you are late, then no more tacos for you." Aria stated sternly.

Sonata made a gasp of horror and drama in response. "Don't you dare bring tacos into this, Aria! Besides, you're not my mom!"

"Oh shut up!" Adagio said with an unamused look on her face. "Both of you! Or do I have to separate you two again?"

Both Aria and Sonata made a small pout to each other.

"Well anyway, BRB!" Sonata said, going back to her cheerful and perky voice. Her personality was something similar to Pinkie Pie, except she wasn't really... good to say the least, not after what she did with her sisters in the past.

Getting back into reality, Sunset Shimmer knew exactly where they were now. "Ah ha! Got ya!" She said.

"Uh-oh." Sonata said. "Oh no, Adagio is so going to kill me." She said

"Not if you're dead already." Luke said, stepping up, more than ready to give her a piece of his mind.

Before Luke and his friends could do something to her, Sonata pulled out a small ball and it blinded all of them temporarily, almost like a flash bang out of nowhere like a spy or a ninja would have when making a big getaway.

It only the blinding light, but there was a small amount of smoke blowing around the air, causing many of Luke's friends to cough themselves up. At last, when they regained their eyesights, Sonata was gone, as if she disappeared like a ghost would do if spotted on sight.

"Oh man! We lost her!" Said Rainbow, kicking the dirt on ten sidewalk in anger.

"Don't worry guys." Said Sunset noted confidentially. "I have gotten the exact location of where they live so we can just barge on their and get the iPod back."

"Can you take them?" Asked Luke

"Well it's not like we can't lose against them. There's thirteen of us and only three of them, so why not?" Said Applejack

"You said it AJ!" Rainbow Dash agreed. "If we defeated them before, we can do it again." She clasped her fist with her hand, being ready for a fight once again.

While following Sunset Shimmer, with his friends, Luke asked "so what was that?"

"I read her mind and saw what she and the other sirens were planning. They said they wanted you to be theirs and plan to take all the credit for all the songs and bands on your music player, and replace the original voices with their own, and sell them for profit."

Luke made a big gasp of horror. "What? That's piracy!" He said. "Like I have always heard, piracy is not a victimless crime."

"I am sure we will find them before they can even steal the songs." Said Fluttershy. "If Sunset Shimmer read Sonata's mind, then we will find them for sure."

"She's right." Said Twilight. "And I reckon they might want revenge against us for ruining their diabolical plans. For our sake, I hope we really can beat them again."

"We're In this together." Said Rarity. "As our friendship stands, anything is possible."

"Yeah, all we need to do is just be careful since you guys destroyed their necklaces that made them sing good."

"How bad can they actually sing now?" Luke asked

"You don't really want to know." Said Lyra. "But in my opinion, it sounds violin being thrown into a wood chipper."

"Eeesh. I don't think I really want to know now." Said Juniper. "If you put it that way then it sounds really bad now."

"And if you hear it, you will wish that you haven't heard of them." Rainbow said.

It wasn't long now, and not very far from the house they were staying in now. "Ah ha, there's the place." Sunset said. "Alright guys, let's go in there."

"Wait!" Luke stopped them. "I got a plan for this." And they all huddled around him and he murmured what his plan was. The others had a surprised look on their face.

Spike then asked "what about the signal?"

"I can sound like a parrot squawking, so when I get inside and when I get Adagio and her friends in the trap, I will call and you guys come in to bind and trap them."

"That's.... actually not really a bad idea. Just be careful, okay?" Fluttershy warned softly.

"Don't worry about me. I might not have my lightsaber with me at the moment,  it I can sure as hell take these three witches on." Then he promptly walked up to the front door and with a mighty powerful kick, he flung the door open with his foot.

Adagio and her friends were surprised as they sat in a small circle together on stools. The leader had a sly smile on her face. "Ah Luke, I knew you would come back for us."

"Shut it Adagio!" Luke barked at her. "Where is my music!?"

"Now now Luke." She said. "Let's just calm down now, alright?"

"Don't you tell me to calm down." Luke said. "Trying to seduce me into joining the dark side is one thing, but when you steal a man's iPod, you're messing with the man! Now give me my iPod!"

"Luke, I do not want any trouble, nor do my sisters here."

"Then be a good girl and give me my iPod back. I can never live without my music on my side."

"We know, you just have to something for us first." Aria said. 

"What do you want from me?"

Then all three girls walked seductively towards the human and Adagio whispered in his ear something that definitely made both eyes pop up.

"What?! Forget it! No fucking way!" He said, ctossing his arms firmly.

"You want your iPod back, do you not?" Adagio asked slyly. "Then please give us what we want."

It took a little while and Luke was in his thinking in his head on whether he should do this to get his music back or forget about his iPod completely and walk away, not giving Adagio, Aria, and Sonata what they want.

Ultimately in a sigh of defeat, he replied at last "if I do this for you, will you please give me my iPod back?"

"Don't worry." Said Sonata. "You have our word. Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a cupcake in my eye."

"Please? For us?" Adagio begged softly with the puppy dog eyes in her face.

"Okay." Luke said in complete defeat. "U'll do anything you ask."

It made all three of them smile wickedly to hear that. "Perfect." Adagio giggled evilly. She then took it upon herself to gebtly rub her soft hand against his crotch, making him gasp and twitch as she giggled sadistically.

"Come on sweetie, I know that you like it when I do this."

"Well... you are a beautiful woman i'll give you that." Luke admired her.

"Aww that is so sweet, Thank you Luke." Said Adagio, then she locked lips with Luke, then it was tongue wrestling.

"Take off your shirt." Said Aria. She and her friends were rather anxious to see him half naked.

Luke had his eyes go big again, and immediately broke the kiss with Adagio away. "Oh no. No way!" He protested

"Did we hear you say you would do anything we ask?" Sonata reminded.

"Oh me and my big mouth." Luke muttered to himself. "Crap, I don't really know what to do now. No choice, I have to do this." And back to the three, he said "fine." Flatly. "Jut don't try and hurt me. I kinda have sensitive skin."

The sirens made a small chuckle. "Don't worry Luke. We would never hurt you." Adagio said, running a finger down his chest. "How can we possibly hurt a pretty face like yours?"

"Oh give me a break." He muttered. Nonetheless, he slowly took off his shirt and showed the ladies his rather good-looking body. 

"My my. We were right after all. You are more handsome then we bargained for." Said Adagio. "Just look at those arms and those biceps. Aren't they just so strong, girls?"

"I agree." Aria said, gently grasping Luke's right arm.

"He can lift a whole barbell with these guns." Said Sonata, gently grasping Luke's left arm.

"Whoa-ho-ho. Hold on there." Luke said with a nervous chuckled. "I am not that strong. You all wouldn't want to see me crush my beautiful self, would you?"

"Oh he's just being modest." Adagio giggled. "But we like that."

Shirtless, Luke was flushing in complete embarrassment. The three girls were liking what they were seeing from him, which was exactly what he was worried about.

"Okay, my shirt's off, so now what?" Just then, he felt three warm, soft, sticky tongues gently pressing against some parts of his body like his back or chest. Twitching, Luke just wished that this would end, but he was doing it for his iPod. Nothing would be worth more than his music, or his friends.

"Come with us to our bedroom, Luke." Adagio murmured in his ear.

"Oh dear god no." Luke thought in horror. "She does have a hot body, but she is evil. Same with Aria and Sonata." Thinking about the plan again, he once again said "no choice. Just stick with the plan."

And Luke went with the siren sisters to their own bedroom, consisting of three beds. Two on one side of the room and just one on the other side.

"No close your eyes, Luke." Aria said.

Promptly shutting his eyelids down like a garage door malfunctioning. He heard a few drawers open and then clothes.

After a moment, Aria said "okay Luke, open up." As the human opened his peepers at last, he saw Adagio, Aria, and Sonata dressed in sexy lingerie.

He did think they look hotter now, but he still wasn't really interested in them.

"How do you like this?" Asked Sonata

"Well... you all look really beautiful I will give you that. "

"Oh you are so modest, and we like that." Adagio said. "Come on the bed and we can have some real fun together."

"Oh my god no!" Luke screamed in his brain. "Don't worry, that's your cue." He remembered.

He sat on the bed and then, feeling more than ready to give put the signal, he said "girls, I have something I want to say."

"Yes?"

Then Like began squawking like a parrot really loudly, and all his friends came in the room, subduing the three sirens violently.

Finally, Adagio and her friends were tied and bound to the chair.

"You set us up!" Adagio said.

"You're damn right I did, sucker!" Luke boldly stated with his arms crossed. "Now, where is my iPod?"

"I will not talk."

Then Luke made a big slap on all three faces of the evil girls. It was so powerful, red hand marks were left on their faces.

"We have ways to making you talk. Fluttershy, can you do the honors, please?"

"No problem, Luke." She sweetly replied. Then she had an angry look at the Dazzlings. She began using her stare on Sonata since she is the dumbest of the trio. "Where is Luke's music player?" She asked firmly while gazing into Sonata's eyes.

Feeling quite scared, Sonata tried to fight it, but the stare was just to horrifying.

"Okay! Okay! We hid it in the small table downstairs in the hallway! The first drawer!"

Adagio growled in irritation. "Sonata, I just don't understand you." She stated coldly

"I'm sorry, but look at her eyes!"

And both Adagio and Aria groaned in irritation again.

Fluttershy was the one who looked for it and finally found it in the first drawer.

"Here you go Luke. Completely unharmed." Said the sweet yellow girl.

Luke was more than happy to have his iPod back. "Thank you Fluttershy." He said, hugging her. Fluttershy was really touched and she hugged him back.

"You are welcome Luke. What are friends for?"

"Well, what makes you three think you can steal other people's music?" Said Juniper. "Piracy is not a victimless crime!"

"But you all got your just desserts." Spike said teasingly.

"We would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for you meddling kids and those puppies." Adagio bitterly remarked.

"Heh, like I never heard that one before." Said Lyra. "And don't even bother trying to seek revenge, the police are on their way."

"Ha! You think the police can hold us back? Well you're wrong!" Adagio spat. "We will be back, we swear to all of you."

Bon Bon scoffed and said "that will be the day."

"Come on guys, let's get put of here." Sci-Twilight boldly stated. All of them agreed and went put of the house and the cops came a few minutes after and put the three girls behind bars

"That was really good thinking, Luke." The other Spike noted. "It worked like a charm."

"Yep, hook line and sinker." Applejack added.

"I'm just glad to have my iPod back." Luke stated. "If not for you guys, they would have raped me on the spot."

"But they didn't." Said Rainbow Dash.

"Oh yes, that would have been awful." Fluttershy agreed.

"Well, now me, Spike, and Luke can go back home now."

"Oh you have to leave already?" Said Pinkie

"Yep. My place is in Equestria." Luke said. "But don't worry, I can come over here as much as I want, right Twilight?"

"Of course! You are more than welcome to come to this world. Just please let me or Spike know so we know where you are."

"And try not to bring anypony else from Ponyville here, because it would upset the balance of this world." Spike said

"Don't worry, Spike." Luke said with a smirk. Coming back to the portal, Luke said his byes to his new friends and hugged them all. For Fluttershy, he hugged her the longest, and she really enjoyed it. "See you guys on the other side." Luke said

"Bye Luke!" Said all of his new friends, then Twilight and Spike came back home and Luke came back last. He was glad to be back home in Equestria. It was quite an adventure for him in the parallel human world, but the fun was over for now.

Of course, there was always another day for him to come back to the world he just exited from.

"You want something to drink before you go back to Fluttershy's Luke?" Asked the baby dragon.

"No thanks, i'll just get myself some iced water when I get back."

"Okay. Safe travels Luke, oh and if you see Starlight Glimmer again, tell her that you went to the human world with me."

"Wait, Starlight was in that world before, Twilight?"

"Hmm-mm, and she loves it there. Feel free to tell her about what you were doing and how much fun you were having back there with your new friends."

Luke made a small smile and replied "i'll keep that on mind Twilight. What just happened in that world in my experience us a reap page-turner. See you guys later." Then he went back home to Fluttershy's
> Missing Old Friends (Updated)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was almost Thanksgiving in Luke's homeworld, and he thought of how his family and friends will celebrate it without him on his world. It was rather a shame that Thanksgiving wasn't officially a holiday in Equestria, and the fact he won't be able to be there to celebrate it with his loved ones. Not to mention that he didn't really want to go back to his old home, for that if he did that, he would worry that he would never see Fluttershy, Twilight, Spike, Rainbow Dash, or any one of his good friends in Equestria ever again.

The human definitely did not want to take that risks. His wish about coming to Equestria was probably a one time chance of a lifetime. He might never go back to this beautiful world again if he took that risk was what he feared.

Nonetheless, Luke still talks with his friends and family on the phone everyday just to make them happy and feel better, and show them that he will never forget about them. Of course, thanks to maternal instincts, his mother might be the one who misses him the most out of everybody else he ever knew in his life. At least that it makes her happy that he talks to her to keep her better and happy.

Just then, while sitting on the couch in Fluttershy's living room, he got a phone call and looked at his Samsung Galaxy, and it revealed to be Louise, his mother. He answered it and he heard her voice. "Luke?"

"Yeah mom?"

"I hope I am not bothering you with anything, but I just want you to know how much we miss you back home." Said Louise. "I just wish you were back home with us where you belong."

Feeling a little guilty, Luke said "I know mom. But don't worry, I'm doing just fine, and I always call you on the line."

"I know, and I thank you for that." She replied warmly. "But still, I always miss you everyday."

"Same with you. Look mom, it's not that I don't want to see you again, I just think that this world is a much better place to live in. No worries, no problems, no stuff like global warming or terrorism."

"I know. Everyone here on earth wishes for world piece, Luke." Louise clarified. "But still, it's just not the same without you at home."

"Stay strong mom." Luke said. "You know that I love you, right?"

"I love you too." She replied, feeling touched by his comment. "I just wish that I can see you again right now, that's all. I am your mother."

"I feel the same way as you. My dad, my friends. My grandparents, everyone that I known and loved in my life." Luke said. "And another thing. I'm worried that if I get back into Earth, I might never see all my friends in Equestria again, as if it was nothing but a dream, nothing more."

"Oh Luke." Louise sighed. "When there's a will, there's a way. Remember you telling me and your dad about this.... god of chaos?"

"Discord? Of course I do. Why?"

"Why can't you just ask him for help?"

"Because he can't always be trusted, and if there is one thing he loves, it would be tricks, and besides, he came when the scientists on the mountain accidentally created a hole through time and space, that's how he came to Earth isn't the first place. I know it sounds very hard to believe, but you gotta believe me, mom."

She was rather silent for a moment, and it was so silent for a little while, that Luke could hear the sound of the wind blowing through the fresh air. Finally, after thirty long seconds, Louise said "I know you're my son, and I do believe you, but it's just that, what would your friends think, and I'm still a little conflicted about if you just ran away from me or not."

"Oh mom." Luke sighed, squeezing the top of his nose under his eyebrows in frustration. "I know you might not believe about the land that I'm in, but I am your son. And I never even ran away from home before in my life."

"Well I wouldn't say that." his mother remarked. "Remember when me and your dad got divorced when you were ten and you-"

"I don't want to talk about it!" Luke blurted. Some of the other animals quickly looked over at Luke for his little outburst. On the other line, Louise was just as shocked. Realizing what he had just said, he noted in a more calm voice. "Sorry, mom. It's just a very bad time for me. Besides, you swore you never brought it up again." And then Linus the lion and Tyson the Tiger went up to him to check up on him.

How could Luke possibly resist these gentle giant cats. He began rubbing their heads like house cats would get, and they both loved it so much. On the other line, Louise said "I'm sorry Luke, I know you hate to talk about it, but I was just trying to make an example. And please don't yell at me like that."

"I'm sorry."

"Its fine, but it was a bad time for me." Luke admitted sheepishly. "All the fighting and the crying and all. I just wish that life wasn't so unfair for me to witness you guys getting divorced when I was a kid."

"And I'm sorry." she replied with guilt. "But it wasn't your fault that we broke up, you know that."

"Yes."

"Luke?" called a voice. It was none other than sweet, sweet Fluttershy's soft and gentle voice. She was coming downstairs, probably hearing that little shout that Luke just emitted. "Is everything okay down here?" then she noticed the two big cats sitting next to him.

"Hold on, Fluttershy." Luke said with his first finger up. "Just talking to my mom. Anyway, I just wish I can spend Thanksgiving with you, my dad, my grandparents, and everyone I ever love in my family. I'm just so sorry I can't be there to celebrate it with you."

"It's okay." his mother sighed. "At least it's good to hear your voice again."

"I know. Bye mom, I love you."

"I love you too, Luke, bye." then the human hung up and made another sigh. "Sorry about that, Fluttershy."

"What's the matter?"

"It's nothing much." Luke said. "Thanksgiving, the other Earth holiday I told you about is just around the corner. Of course, I won't be there to celebrate it with my friends and family. Just a shame, really. It's a family tradition for the Smith family to celebrate Thanksgiving on the day it commences. Since There is still not a way for me to come back home, I can't celebrate it with them."

"Oh Luke. I'm so sorry." said Fluttershy sympathetically, gently placing a hoof on his shoulder. "I know how much you miss them and how much they miss you back home. I just wish there was some thing I can do to help you."

"It's okay Fluttershy. You don't have to do anything for me." Luke said. "Look, I just need to be alone for a little while. If you need me, i'll be upstairs in my room, okay?"

"Okay."

Then the lone human went upstairs to his room, and Fluttershy watched on as he dissapeared into the corridor. She could clearly tell Luke was feeling a little sad about this, and really wished that she could help cheer him up, but she knows that she couldn't go to his homeworld so she can bring his parents, friends, and other family members here for a visit to Equestria, and she knows how much Luke loves Equestria more than just his homeworld, and probably doesn't want to go back home.

She honestly didn't know what to do about this, and was thinking of how he can make him more happy and see that handsome smile on his face again. Deciding that it will take than just more than her, she suddenly had an idea. "I got it." she said. "Luke will love the idea, and he can even see his family again, and my friends can help too. Luke?" she called out to him

"Yeah?"

"I'm just going to have a talk with my friends. Don't worry, I'll be back in a little while, alright?"

"Gotcha!"

Then the yellow pegasus promptly went out of her cottage and then brought her friends to Sweet Apple Acres for a meeting. Lyra, Bon Bon, Cloudchaser, Flitter, Thunderlane, Rumble, and Pipsqueak were there too. The specific place was at the big barn. She began explaining the situation that Luke was having.

"So, Luke was talking with his mom on the phone, and he misses her and his family and friends more than ever, and he seems sad that he can't celebrate this Thanksgiving holiday with them, he said it's a family tradition for him."

"Ah, poor Luke." said Thunderlane. "He must be going through a hard time a little."

"Uh huh. He kinda reminds me of when I decided to live with you in Ponyville and saying goodbye to mom and dad, big brother." Rumble said.

"Yeah, but your parents live in the same world as we do, while Luke is alone in this one." Twilight said. "I just wish that there was something we can do to help him."

"Yeah, nothing is worth more than family." Applejack said

"That's why I called you here. I have an idea on how to fix this." Fluttershy said. "But first, we'll need one of my other friends to help out. Discord?"

Then out of nowhere, the master of chaos appeared in a workout outfit while watching exercise videos on a floating TV. Realizing what just happened, he poofed himself back to his naked self. "Ah Fluttershy, how can I help you my dear?" he said while still levitating. 

"Discord, I want you to go into Luke's world again and look at the Thanksgiving holiday and see what kind of food and celebration it is." Fluttershy said

"What for?"

"Luke's starting to miss his old home, friends and family, and Fluttershy here says she has a way to make this better." Rainbow clarified.

"That's horrible!" he mocked gasped. "Anywho, do not worry, I will get right to it."

"So what exactly is your plan, Fluttershy?" the baby dragon asked with a raised eyebrow

"Well Spike, you see," then they huddled together to hear her plan, and they all liked it. Whatever she was planning, it sounded like a brilliant idea.
> First Thanksgiving in Equestria Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was Thanksgiving day at last (in his home world of course) and Luke was still a little bummed that he couldn't be there with his family to celebrate it.

Still, he thought all the friends he is with now, and at least there was Hearth's Warming, Equestria's definition of Christmas, so it wasn't a total lost for him at least. And he knows that he isn't alone in this world as long as he has friends.

At the moment, Luke was listening to a little Guns N Roses on his iPod while looking at any cool video games coming out this year, but it turns out most of them were on consoles that he doesn't own back home, like the Xbox One or the PlayStation 4. He doubt he might ever play these games again but at least he can still look up walkthroughs on YouTube on his smartphone.

Looking outside, he saw that many trees were almost completely naked, meaning that almost all of the leaves have fallen off, except for one, two, or even three brown leaves still remaining on the branches.

Well at least Luke can still talk to his friends and family on the line, and it was another reason why it wasn't a total lost for him. It makes them happy hearing his voice and he was happy to hear their voices in return.

Fluttershy was downstairs tending to a possum's injured paw by wrapping a cast around it. She even gave the animal a kiss like a mother would do for her son, and she said "Okay Jonathan, just stay off that foot and it will heal up in no time."

For some reason she was happier than usual today. Why she was like that was unknown, but she believes that she has a solution to make Luke better and the happiest human being alive, especially in Equestria right now. The possum made a sound of happiness to her.

"You're welcome, Jonathan. Always happy to help." Then the creature went back outside and started walking on three legs like Fluttershy advise him to do.

It was just then she heard the door knocked three times, ad she happily trotted over to answer it to see who it was.

When she opened it, it revealed to be Twilight, and the rest of her friends looking more than eager about whatever surprise they have planned for Luke upstairs. "Oh, Twilight, everypony, you all made it." Said the yellow Pegasus with pure joy. "Is everything ready for Luke?"

"Yep, everything is all prepared for him." Twilight said. "Oh I can imagine how much Luke will love what we did for him."

"I know" he will be so happy!" Spike agreed with her. "And he will definitely love the other guests that will be there at Sweet Apple Acres."

"Don't spoil it though. We all want it to be a surprise!" Pinkie Pie said with joy.

"I just hope that everything goes okay for him when he gets there." Said Bon Bon.

"Oh come on." Lyra remarked. "I am one hundred percent positive that Luke will love this party that Fluttershy came up with."

"Here's the blindfold for him for if you lure him to the farm." Said Cloudchaser, giving Fluttershy a black blindfold.

"Perfect." Then all of a sudden, Discord came back out of nowhere with magic with great news.

"I want to be one hundred percent sure, Discord." Said Twilight. "Is everything we have exact.y how you described to us a few days ago?"

"That it is. Everything is as it should be in Luke's homeworld, the decorations, the meal, the theme of the holiday is perfect."

"Good. Everything is all set" Fluttershy boldly noted. "Now, can you all help me out with Luke. I don't want him to trip or fall while he is wearing the blindfold over his eyes."

"No problem." Said Rainbow Dash. "I hardly doubt that he will fall down. Besides, we will help him guide the way to Sweet Apple Acres with you."

Fluttershy made a warm smile again. "Thank you all. Luke?"

"Coming!" Then the human went downstairs and they saw him putting both his phone, iPod, and headphones in in pockets. "What's up, Fluttershy? And what are you guys doing here?"

All of them had a very eager smile on their faces "Luke, we have a big surprise for you." Said Cloudchaser in a sing-song voice.

"You'll love it!" Said Flitter.

"But, of course, you have to wear this blindfold over your eyes. Sorry!" Pinkie said. Then she kinda tied it around his head against his free will

"Ah! Pinkie! Not so hard, you're kinda pulling my hair."

"Oh sorry. There, is this tight enough for you?"

"Uh-huh. I guess so." Luke said. "So where are we even going anyway?"

"To None other than Sweet Apple Acres, Sugarcube." Applejack clarified.

"All the way there? What if I run into a metal pole or fall on a floor of industrial cement and turn into a statue?"

"Oh that's silly." Thunderlane said. "That's another reason why we're here. To help you along the way to your special surprise. Right Rumble?"

"Right, big brother."

He was feeling a little unsure and uncomfortable about this. It was almost as like as he was going to be executed by walking on the gallows to be hung. But of course, he knew that it would never happen to him. "Well okay, just please help me be my eyes."

"Of course." Said Fluttershy. "We'll come on, th surprise is waiting for you." Then Luke tried to move to the direction where her voice was coming from, and he was outside the front door. "Good. Now Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Flitter will help you in the back to make sure you don't get lost or fall behind"

"Gotcha." Then his friends formed into something like a circle and a Fluttershy led the way. He still was unsure about this, but Luke decided to go along with this, and hoped that whatever surprise they had just plan for him, it will be good and worth all this trouble.

It was so far so good, for Luke didn't fall or bump into something, especially any taxi coaches. In Ponyville, it was rather quiet and felt a little eerie, for Luke could only hear his footsteps, his friends' and the sound of birds chirping and the wind rustling.

"How much farther are we?" Luke asked them curiously. "Because it's too quiet here."

"Don't worry, Luke. We're almost there." Said Cloudchaser. "Just hang tough." Then she gently patted his back to reassure him.

"Alright."

At last, Twilight told him to stop and the human could hear the sound of giggling and snickering. "Alright, Luke. We're here." She sang.

"You can open your eyes now." Fluttershy remarked.

"Ah finally. Then at last, he took off the black blindfold, and when he opened his pupils, he could hardly believe what he was seeing in front of him. It was almost like a dream of some kind.

"SURPRISE!!!" The people in front of them said. Everyone from town was there, along with some friends in Canterlot like princess Celestia and Luna, and Zecora was among the crowd, too. Not only that, by what made him more speechless was that his mom, dad, grandparents, cousins, many of his family members, and his closest friends were also among the crowd.

"Luke!" His mom said with joy." Then she went up to hug him so lovingly. 

"Mom!" Luke hugged her back. "It's so good to see you again." He felt like crying tears of joy right now.

"How are you doing, buddy?" Said Larry, his dad. Then he gave Luke a hug as well. "You're looking good, handsome."

"Thanks, dad. Still looking like a handsome lion as always." Luke said.

"How is our grandson?" Said Elise, his Grandmother, wanting to pinch his cheeks so bad, but she didn't really want to cramp his style.

"It is good to see you, Luke." Said Robert, the grandfather. He used his walking cane to help him over to him and give him a hug of his own. "We all missed you so much. We were all so worried about you."

Finally, his best friends, Brad, Jacob, and Bobby went up to him for a brotherly hug. "Dude! We missed ya.' Said Brad while patting his shoulder.

"So do you guys believe me about Equestria now?" Luke asked with a raised eyebrow and a teasing smirk on his face

"Oh yeah." Then all three of them had a small look of guilt on his face "sorry we didn't believe you at first, buddy." Jacob said, rubbing the back of his head.

"It's okay. I kinda expected that."

"Well, this world looks so cool, and adorable at the same time to be honest." Bobby said.

"It's an awesome place. But the question was how did you all get here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Discord said while invading his personal space. He bounced his eyebrows three times, then Luke finally understood what the master of chaos meant by that.

"You did this for me?" Asked Luke, feeling quite touched.

"Of course."

"We all did." Said Lyra. "Fluttershy told us about how you missed your family and she came up with all of this."

"We're sorry that you can't celebrate Thanksgiving in your homeworld. But then Fluttershy cake up with a great idea benefiting both you, and your family." Pip said. "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna even agreed to let this Thanksgiving commence today, just for you and your family and friends."

Now Luke felt a small tear of joy coming down his eye. Never has he ever been so grateful in his life than this. He went up to Fluttershy, and he immediately asked her "you really did all this for me?"

"Yes. I would do anything for my closest human friend." Fluttershy said warmly. Now Luke immediately broke down and hugged her tightly 

"Thank you so much, Fluttershy." He said "thank you for planning all of this for me." The yellow Pegasus was more than happy to hug him back.

"You are quite welcome, Luke." She said. "Anything for you."

After Luke was done, he looked at his family and friends again. "So what are we going to do to celebrate?"

"Well there's turkey of course." Said his cousin Michael.

"But of course, it's vegan turkey." Celestial said. "We are ponies and we will be eating the feast, too."

"And there will be corn and stuffing and mashed potatoes with gravy to go with it." Luna added. "Oh it just looks so delicious.

"Indeed, the food looks very delicious, I don't even know if it is strong enough to call them scrumptious." Zecora said. "This is a wonderful holiday in the Fall, for it is great for one and all."

"Well, are 't we going to do the activities first?" Said Diamond Tiara. "They all look fun."

"Of course. The day is still young and we have plenty of time to celebrate this holiday." Said Fluttershy. "Oh this will be so fun, being with the animals, playing in the corn maze, bobbing apples and paint faces for the little ones.

"Well, let the festival commence!" Pinkie declared. Then all of them went to have fun in their own way on this very first Thanksgiving day in Equestria, even if there wasn't actually turkey involved in it.

Luke was just sitting with his friends and family on the table, making up for lost time with them all. At first, the others decided to just give him and his friends and family some privacy for a little while, but then Luke called Fluttershy over, possibly going to introduce them to her if they haven't met already.

"So dad, how have things been in Reno?" Luke asked

"Everything's fine, working and making some money, but don't worry, I'll try and come back to Bend as soon as possible."

"I know." His mother had a skeptical look on her face. "So, you guys won't try and fight each other will you?"

"No, we promise." Said Louise. "We won't fight."

"Yeah buddy. Me and your mother made an agreement not to before Discord teleported us here." Larry clarified. "And besides, I haven't been drinking in three years now."

"I know dad."

"Have you guys met Fluttershy already?"

"Yep. She is so sweet and nice." Said Larry. "Planning all of this for you, it was just one of the nicest things a true friend could ever do."

The yellow Pegasus began to blush a little. "Oh well." She said. 

"So Luke, you ever think about coming back home with us?" Asked his mother

"Well, I do miss you guys, but this world is just so.... perfect for me. I honestly don't know yet. I... I need to think things over for a while."

"That's okay. If you are happy, then so are we." Said Robert. "As long as you are thinking about us of course."

"And we don't really want to take you away from your happiness."

"But of course we all miss you." Said Louise. The other family members and his friends made words of agreement with her. "When you got teleported here, it really scared us to death."

"I know, and I'm sorry, but I was a little... confused at first, but then I realize I was here for a purpose."

"That's when he met me." Fluttershy said. "Luke is really the sweetest guy I have met in my life. He is always willing to help me with the animals back in my cottage, and he is so good with them."

"Good. That's my boy." Said the dad, giving him a pat on the back with a hearty chuckle. "He always was interested in animals since he was a baby."

So they began mingling some more and the other pony friends began talking with them, obviously having a blast getting to know them while the little kids were busy doing activities like the apple bobbing contest and the face painting. Yes, this would be a good Thanksgiving for Luke, his family and friends and the ponies and baby dragon enjoying it, too.
> First Thanksgiving in Equestria Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke was making up for some more lost time with his friends and family that Discord all brought to Equestria to celebrate Thanksgiving with him. His Equestrian friends were all talking among themselves about how much of a magnificent feat they have pulled off, just for their very first human friend in their lives. Fluttershy herself was the proudest out of everypony else that made him happy. Applejack was more than happy to have some carrot cupcakes that Pinkie Pie made herself at Sugarcube Corner.

"Well, this is definitely fun." said Rarity. "Why didn't we even think about this sooner?"

"Maybe because we don't eat turkey?" asked Rainbow Dash with a smirk before taking a sip of her orange juice. "And isn't this cool? seeing more humans in Equestria? I never thought I would see something like this."

Discord cleared his throat and stated "well technically, since the government in Luke's world created that little accident, it is all thanks to moi." then he conjured bright, lighted signs in shape of fingers pointing to him like a billboard in Las Vegas. All three of them were glowing "Hero who saved the day!" on them.

They all laughed and Fluttershy said "Okay Discord, we get it. It's all thanks to you for bringing Luke's family and friends back home to visit here."

"Well I wouldn't say that." said Twilight eating an apple. "I think you deserve the credit for coming up with all of this. None of this wouldn't have been possible without you, Fluttershy. And the all looked at her with a warm smile. The yellow pegasus flustered a little on her face, and felt proud of herself as well. 

She didn't really know what to say at first, but then she stated "well, I don't think I should take all the credit. All my friends helped out too."

"Aw come here, you." said Lyra. Then they all formed a group hug. "I'm just glad that Luke is with his family again."

"Couldn't agree with you more, Lyra." said Bon Bon.

"Seems like you are all having fun together." said a motherly voice. It was princess Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and her husband Shining Armor. "We all just wanted to know how you all were doing on this fine, fine event." then they all sat with them at the table they were sitting in.

"This party is going swell, your majesties." Applejack said. "It was hard work for me and my family, but we all did it as a family." then she took a gigantic bite of her apple fritter. "My, I never even noticed how mighty hungry I was." then she let out a loud burp. "Excuse me."

"You are quite excused, Applejack." said Luna. "I wish that we could all celebrate a holiday like this... Thanksgiving a long time ago. It seems like a lovely holiday."

"I know. Spending time with family and friends like this in a large family reunion." Cadence added having a sip of her ginseng tea. "What do you think, Shining?"

"I think you're right. Of course, there's also Hearth's Warming. At least we have that, right?" her husband remarked. "It's not really a total loss."

Cadence couldn't help but giggle. "Yeah, you're right." then they planted a kiss on one another. "It's probably just a human thing after all. Would you like another spout of ginseng, my dear?"

"Please."

"Yeah, just take a look at how happy Luke is right now." Spike said.

"Indeed Spike." Celestia agreed with him. "It just fills my heart with joy to see one reunited with his family after so long."

"Except that it didn't take a thousand years for that to finally happen."

Celestia had a rather irritated look on her face. "Oh come on, Luna. I said I was sorry, didn't I? What's in the past is done, so can you please just let it go?"

"Of course. I'm just saying." the princess of the night said flatly. "Let's just drop that completely."

"Agreed."

"Hmm.... I wonder what Luke is talking about with his family and friends." Fluttershy thought to herself as she was looking on at him in a rather far distance. She didn't want to intrude of course, for she knew it wouldn't be very polite, unless Luke called her over again like he did with her moments ago.

Meanwhile, Luke was still having a pretty good time with his friends and family by having some good laughs. "Wait wait wait, you play guitar in a live show before?" Asked Brad in intriguememt.

"Yep, many times before as a matter of fact. The crowd absolutely loves me." Luke gloated a little. "I mean, I don't really like, to brag, but my friends here really love my sweet riffs and killer solos that I perform."

"Oh Luke." Louise sighed in an amused smile. "Well at least you are bing modest."

"Hmm-mm, but come on, mom. I am what I am." And he took a sip of Diet Coke to refresh himself. "So what did my other friends say about me back home. Do they miss me?"

"Heck yeah." Said Jacob. "Iliana, Richie, Avis, and Grayson all miss you."

"And our neighbor, mr. Chamberlain and his wife said they deeply miss you, and wonder where you are right now." Said Brad

Luke made another chuckle. "If they only knew. Well, at least they haven't been co planning about how we play as a band together." Then they all laughed again. Luke suddenly made a small face of guilt. "Listen everyone, I'm really sorry I haven't been there for you lately. Really."

"It's alright, buddy." Larry noted. "You'll never know when these things will happen. Besides, at least you have been talking to us on the line, and that always makes us happy."

"I know, dad." Luke said. "You sure you guys are not mad at me?" He asked again before taking a sip of his once again.

"Nah." Said Bobby. "We would never be mad at ya for that." Then he gave him him a manly pat on the back. "Besides, this place definitely looks like a cool place to party hard in." Then he made a few beatbox sounds while doing rather shiny dance moves.

"Why can't our home be as beautiful as this?" Asked Louise dreamily

"Yes, it is just so lovely in this world." Elise agreed.

"If me and my wife can ever retire anywhere if we wanted to, Equestria would definitely be the first that would come to our minds." Robert remarked. "I know I love this place quite much already."

"And it has magic." Said his cousin Harry. "Unlike our home." Then he cracked his knuckles on both hands nonchalantly. "It almost feels like I am in a dream, except it's not, it's way too real."

"So Luke." Said Leslie.

"Yeah mom?"

She was rather silent for a few seconds, but she finally replied by saying "we- we really need you back home."

Luke's face slowly turned into a frown. "Yeah buddy. We all miss you back home." His fisher added. "We all know you really love this place, but it's... not the sa,e without you around anymore.

The young human didn't really know what to say about this at first. Then he was about to speak his mind, he wa immediately interrupted by his grandmother. "Don't you miss my sweet spaghetti sauce that you would put your pasta in?"

"Of course grandma." Like said. "But this place is all I can ever ask for. No worries, no problems, no pressures-"

"We know that, my boy." Robert said, gently putting a hand on his right shoulder. "But we are your family."

It made Luke a little conflicted for a second, but he finally said "guys. I came here through a wish from a stark and I finally made it come true. It's nothing against you guys, I just.... really love this place, and Fluttershy has been a really good friend to me."

"We do understand but.... there aren't any Burger King's, McDonalds', KFC, or Wendy's in Equestria, isn't there?" Brad asked his friend. 

"Well.... no, but I'm okay with it. Besides, I really like it here. Honest." Luke finished. "Look, I just need to think about it."

"We understand buddy." Said Larry. "But think about how we all miss you back home."

"I know, but, look at how perfect this world is. No terrorist attacks, no corruption, or any of those stuff that's common in our home world."

"You're not wrong, Luke." Said Leslie. "I would never doubt you about that."

"Come on guys, at least we are reunited now. Here we all stand together as a family again." Luke said. "I always think about you guys, and you all know that."

"We know, brother." Said Bobby. "It just feels a little empty without you with us anymore."

"I know. But the ponies in Equestria here have been really nice to me, and give me all the hospitality I need to be here. For some reason, I feel like I should return the favor to Fluttershy, since she is my greatest friend here."

The human looked back at the yellow Pegasus behind him, and she warmly waved at him in a friendly gesture to go with her really cute smile. Luke smiled back to her in return for that. Yes, she and and the ponies sitting with her mean so much to him as much as his friends and family back home.

"Sounds like you really like her." Said Larry. The others made words of agreement with his dad "sounds like she really you back in return. But I don't really think you need to do anything so special to thank her for all the nice things she does for you."

"I do, dad." Luke stated. "It would be the least I can do for her. She is really special to me. Oh! Not saying that she's more special than you, but still."

"We know, Luke." The mother said. "We know that you could never replace us." Then she began thinking about something. "Can we at least drop by here from time to time?"

"That's a great idea, Louise." Larry said to his ex-wife. "If you really want to stay here in a Equestria, maybe there is a way that we can all be happy at once, like visits. That monster that came to our world can always come back there, can he?"

"Oh yeah. Guys, I think that is a great idea."

"Alright everyone!" Celestia called. "It's time for the feast." And they all rushed at the table so they can eat their food. Everyone from ponies to baby dragon to humans all came to the really long table so they can all feast on this holiday.

"Luke, before we eat, is there anything you want to say that you're thankful for?"

"As a matter of fact, Shining, I do." Luke cleared his throat and began "I'm thankful l to have friends and family that I love, from home and here and Equestria. I love you all with every beat of my heart, and thank you Fluttershy for organizing this for me. Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow, Spike, Applejack, Rarity, Cloudchaser, Flitter, Lyra, Bon Bon, Pip, Thubderlane, and Rumble. Thank you all for being good friends to me here. And of course I thank the rest of my family for being here with me to celebrate. The same with my closest friends here, Brad, Jacob, and Bobby."

They were all so touched, then Fluttershy couldn't helo. It hug him really tightly and her friends all joined in, and the Luke's family and closest friends of their own joined in as a group, then began eating.
> First Thanksgiving in a Equestria Part 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the really long dinner table, everyone was happy to have their food, which included mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls, and of course, the veggie turkey as a substitute for the real one.

Luke would prefer real turkey with lots of salt on it, but the veggie turkey was just as good.

He got to sit with his parents and closest friends to keep him company. Fluttershy of course, was the one sitting closest to him.

The dessert for this little occasion was apple and pumpkin pie, and Luke absolutely loved the taste of pumpkin pie.

His corn was really good and ate through it quite fast. Fast or not, he wanted to savor the flavor so he can fully enjoy it.

"Whoa, take it easy, Luke." Brad said. "You might chock on the kernels if you're not careful."

"It's just like Luke. He can est like a full grown horse." Robert remarked with a chuckle. "Some people are what they are."

"Grandpa." Luke said, feeling a little embarrassed. "Not in front of my friends." Then he took anotherbite of his veggie turkey. Just then, he realized what he just did and looked at how much he has eaten. "Oh come on, i'm really hungry."

"It's mighty alright, Luke." Said Big Mac. "Applejack already ate two whole meals." Then he let out a hearty chuckle.

"I wonder if there are more."

"Wow, Applejack, you can eat like ten bags of candy without getting sick." Said Pinkie.

"Oh that's silly." She protested. 

"Nope, remember when yoy were a little filly and you ate five whole trays of apple fritters?" Granny Smith said

"Well that was a long time ago."

"It was mighty impressive, AJ." Big Mac noted. "Nothing to be ashamed of, sis. It's kind of a hereditary type of thing in the family."

"He's right." Said Applebloom. "We have a really big family after all."

"We can all see that." Said Larry. "Boy this veggie turkey is sp good." Then the father wiped his face with a napkin. "I honestly wish that we could all have had this a long time ago."

"It wouldn't really be a tradition, Larry." Said Louise. "It's customary to eat real turkey. Not saying I would ever kill one that is."

"We know you wouldn't" said Twilight. "That would be a little barbaric and unsanitary." Then she took a sip of her apple cider. 

"So princess, how long have you ruled over this place?" Asked Uncle Ted,

"It has been quite a long time, I cannot say." Said Celestia. "I have been in Equestria since... forever."

"Celestial and Luna are immortal." Luke said. His family and friends from earth were rather intrigued to hear that, 

"Are you like goddesses or something?" Asked Jacob.

"Well, I wouldn't really say that." Luna remarked. "Allicorns like us are a rare type of pony that can be born in a very unpredictable time."

"Yes. We kind of lost track of how long we ruled here. But I can assure you that we have been princess' for as long as one thousand years or more."

"A whole millennia?" Said Robert. "Well I'll be. How are you two rulers able to live such a really long time?"

"Well, it is a rather long, yet fascinating story." Celestia said. "It may have been a thousand years ago, but me and my sister can remember it like it was just yesterday."

"Indeed, it was the happiest day of our lives just to become allicorns and eventually rulers of this land." Luna added. "Me and my sister were just earth ponies when this happened, but we had to stop a war between dragons and ponies, then that is when we became full Allicorns."

"We honestly didn't expect something like this to happen, but we were happy nonetheless." Celestial said. "Let me tell you all, it was never easy baby steps to become the beloved rulers you all know us as today."

"Wow. You two had everything you ever wanted." Said Elise. "So what are the dragons like here?"

"Let's... just say that most of them are not nice and can be really greedy with gems and gold to guard upon." Twilight said. "But not Spike. He is a wonderful baby dragon with a big heart."

"Oh yes, Spikeks absolutely a sweetheart." Fluttershy added. "He is always there for us when we need him and a wonderful little helper."

The baby dragon flushed at the compliments and praise he was receiving. "Ah stop it, you guys." He said bashfully. "I just what I can to help my friends and family here, that's all."

Twilight giggled at his modesty. "Oh Spike." She said with a smirk. "Anyway, there is another dragon named Ember, who is now a dragon lord and is nothing like the ones back in her home either."

"Where are your mommy and daddy, Spike?" Asked Aidan, one of Luke's cousin's who was nine years old.

"Aidan." Aunt Maggie gently scolded him. "It's not really nice to just ask someone that. It's a little rude."

"Oh, sorry mommy."

"No it's alright, Aidan." Spike clarified. "I honestly don't know what happened. But don't worry, I do have all the family I need right here, Twilight and her friends." Then the Mane six, Lyra, Bon Bon, Cloudchaser. flitter, Pip, Thunderlane, and Rumble all gave him a hug to show how much they all loved him and the things he does for them.

The baby dragon also gave a special hug to princess Ceslestia since she was the one who reared up as an egg. "Thanks, Spike." Said the princess of the sun warmly.

Then they all Continued eating their dinner and then finally, when that was taken care of, they moved on to the dessert dishes. Half of them were munching on pumpkin pie while the other half was eating on apple pie.

It all tasted so delicious that some of the guests mouths were watering with the strong flavors of the pastries.

While eating, Larry wiped his face and asked his son "so Luke, do you think you can show us how amazing you are on the guitar after we're all finished here?"

Everyone else in the table agreed with him and egged Luke on to do a performance on this special occasion. "Come on Luke, do it for your fans!" Cloudchaser urged him with a very eager smile.

"Yeah, remember the time you played in my band with me as the vocalist?" Brad said, wrapping his arm around his shoulder. "And the open mic you would do every lunch when we were in high school? You were a natural on the mic."

"Guilty as charged." Luke flustered. "I suppose I can show you guys my awesome skills once again, and show my family and closest friends on earth what I am capable of." Then veryone cheered

"We thought you would accept it." Said Big Mac

"Yep, we all got a state prepared for you to jam on for all of us." Applejack added.

"Oh, and here is your guitar, too." Said Fluttershy. "I know that you'll need it." The human was touched by her usual kindness once again.

"Thanks, Flutters."

And the eating continued on for one hour, and the sun was just about setting over the horizon. "Princess Luna, don't you gotta raise the moon up like you always do?" Asked Sweetie Belle curiously

"Of course. It is my duty to lift the moon into the sky, but I only have a few more hours until my duty calls, sweetie."

"Oh."

"You want to know something funny, Luke?" Celestia asked the human with a smirk.

"What's that, princess?"

"Starlight Glimmer switched our cutie marks for twenty four hours and switched roles for one day."

This made Luke slut out his orange juice and cough a little. "Wait, what? You're pulling my leg, Celestia. He fasted a peculiar side-long look at the purple unicorn who wiped pumpkin spice crumbs off her face.

"Nope, she's right." Said Starlight Glimmer after taking a sip. "I actually did that. At first I was a little unsure about it, but I knew my gut was right to do so."

"Why would you even do that?" Asked Rainbow Dash

"Me and Celestia weren't getting along so well, and the cutie map called Starlight Glimmer to us to help reconcile our relationship." Luna explained. "And let me tell you all, it was definitely not easy, that was a promise."

The princess of the sun giggled at that statement. "It was rather lonely for me, and I didn't even get enough sleep that night."

"And I incidentally didn't smile for the camera at a foal's school so they couldn't go on a field trip." Luna added

"Oh my god." Luke remarked in disbelief.

"And I was stressed that I saw Nightmare Moon, and an evil version of Celestia herself called Day Breaker." Starlight said.

"Day Breaker?" Luke thought to himself. Then he muttered "Now there is something I would love to see. I wonder what Celestia's evil self would look like."

"No you wouldn't darling." said Rarity, hearing what he was thinking out loud. "What I know, is that it would definitely not be a good sign."

"Yes, the last thing I would want to see is princess Celestia herself turn completely evil like Luna did as Nightmare Moon." Fluttershy agreed.

"Well at least a guy can dream, right?" Luke asked. Then they all laughed.

"Yes Luke, but don't dwell on it too much, it might go to your head." Twilight warned lightly.

"Don't worry, Twilight. I'm too good for that."

"Good. Then Starlight solved our problem afterwards."

"You must have felt pretty guilty there, Starlight." Luke remarked

"I was, but I'm fine now. I learned that sometimes, your gut is right, even if you don't expect it to be. I did learn from my mentor herself." then she looked over at Twilight herself.

"That's awesome." Then they all finished their dessert, all of the family members giving a loud burp. The female members were rather disgusted by this since they are girls, after all, but they tolerated it."

"Right at the table, Larry?"

"Come on, Louise. It's a special day for us."

"I know."

"Well now that we have eaten, let's hear Luke with his special performance, everypony." Shining announced. Then they all chanted his name in enthusiasm

"Alright, alright. Let me get myself ready for the song." Luke chuckled. Then they all went in front of the stage, and Luke went to the back to hook up his guitar and microphone so that they can all hear them do his song. Everyone, not even the grandparents can hardly wait to hear him perform an amazing song.

Discord created small spotlights pointing directly at the stage. At first, Luke was feeling a little nervous, but it is just his close friends and family watching him. Luke took a deep breath and promptly went on stage, with his guitar promptly in hand. "Hello everyone. Before I play I want to thank all of my friends and family for being here today."

They all applauded at him for that statement.

"Alright"

Rights for the Song go to Poets of the Fall


During his guitar playing, both Luke's parents never felt so proud to hear him play on the guitar so beautifully like this before. His closest friends all cheered and whistled for him during his performance.

Luke himself felt so proud that he can get to perform in front of his closest friends and family back home. He just felt the musical magic rushing through him again.

The part that everyone loved was the solo. After that, it fell back into a silent acoustic sounds again. When it was all over, a tremendous uproar of cheering was heard throughout the ground below the stage. Luke's closest friends and family all congratulated him on his amazing act.

"They were right, Luke, that was amazing!" said Larry proudly.

"I'm so proud of you, Luke." Louise added, giving him a great big hug.

"Ah, mom." Luke lightly groaned. "You're kinda embarrassing me a little."

"Sorry."

"Let's hear it for Luke!" Fluttershy cheered." then yet another sound of cheering was heard, and all chanted his name.

"Alright alright. Thank you all for coming here, my family. And of course, thank you Fluttershy for coming up with all this for me." The yellow pegasus blushed a tomato red on her cheeks, and felt so proud of herself again.

"You are quite welcome Luke. I would do anything for my best human friend." then she hugged him tightly.

"Well, I guess that's over, I guess we might as well go back home now." said Larry. "Discord you can get us back home, can you?"

"Nothing is impossible for moi." the master of chaos boasted. "I'll be ready when all you humans are."

Then his parents went up to him. "Are you sure you don't want to come back home with us?" asked Louise.

Luke thought about it and looked back at his Equestrian friends, and they smiled at him. "I'm positive mom. I'm happy her. But don't forget you guys are more than welcome to come and visit here from time to time. Right Discord?"

"Got that right, mon ami. If any of you would like to see him again, feel free to call on me yet again. I ain't no stranger to all of you. I always stop by your world from time to time myself."

Both parents didn't like it, but they wanted their son to be happy too. "We understand Luke. If you're happy, then we're happy." said Larry. Then they all hugged him, and his Equestrian friends went "Aww" to that heartwarming sight.

"See you guys later." Luke said

"Bye Luke!" they all said in unison to him. Then Discord brought them back to their homeworld.

"Are you okay, Luke?" asked Fluttershy

"Oh yeah. Why?"

"Just asking." Lyra remarked. "Will you be alright if you might go back home?"

"You know what Lyra. I am home."

"Oh Luke, you have no idea how long I have waited for you to say that." said Fluttershy.

"Well, we better clean everythin' up around here." said Applejack. "We could always use an extra set of hooves, and hands of course." And so they all cleaned up the tables and the messes made int his celebration which was now over. Luke was so happy to see his family again, and this time, it won't be their last goodbye.
> Winter has Come
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ah December, it was the very first day of the month of the year for both Earth and Equestria. Luke was preparing himself for the winter weather that will come. All of the leaves have completely fallen to the ground, and the birds are flying south for the winter like in Luke's homeworld.

It was said that the pegasus ponies were ordered to make it snow all over Ponyville and Canterlot the next day after this one, and Luke had a jacket for him just in case. Rarity was more than happy to give him a leather jacket that looked cool, and had a white fleece in it to keep him warm.

Meanwhile, The human was raking all the leaves near the cottage, and putting them in a pile. It wasn't that easy, but not that hard either. He felt like getting himself some hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows in them, the traditional day to spend a snowy winter. As a matter of fact, he felt like going to get some right now as soon as he was done with his leaf raking.

When he was finished, and got his warm, delicious beverage, he noticed Fluttershy being a little cold, shivering. "Oh, you cold, Fluttershy?"

"A- a little." she said, still shaking. "Winter is just around the corner." Then she took a sip of her own hot cocoa. Luke took the liberty of taking off his fleece coat and blanketing Fluttershy with it. "Aw, thank you, Luke." she said, feeling ever so grateful for that little deed.

“Anything fri you, Fluttershy.” Luke said with a warm smile on his Human face. “So correct me if I’m wrong, but the Pegasus ponies are going to bring in snow clouds from Cloudsdale and make it snow across Equestria, right?”

“hmm-mm. It’s time for winter to come back here in Equestria, and all the birds to go south for the winter.”

“Cool.” And he took yet another sip of his hot drink. “I wonder what fun things we can do for the winter. Is there ice skating involved or skiing or snowboarding?”

“Oh yes. It is so much fun with the snow around.” Fluttershy said. “Of course, some of my reptile and amphibian friends hibernate in the winter.”

“Oh, it’s because they’re cold-blooded animals, right?”

“Yes. Oh and Harry the best is getting ready for hibernation, too.” Speaking of the devil, Harry was walking around and held a blanket in one arm, and a teddy bear in another. He was also wearing a classic nightcap like Wee Willy Winky would wear in the fairytale.

"Ah, preparing yourself for winter, I see?" Luke noticed.

The large grizzly bear nodded a yes with a big smile, and gave out a big yawn. "And he made his way outside and a large hole to sleep in so he can hibernate the rest of the season. That Harry was quite a heavy sleeper and already went into his own dream world with honey and fish in a matter of minutes.

"So when do you think the snow will come here again?"

"I would say... tomorrow morning." she speculated her best guess. "Probably because of Rainbow Dash." and they both had a good chuckle about it."

"True that. When it comes to the fastest pony in Equestria, anything is possible." Luke agreed. And he began to relax and unwind on the couch while listening to usual heavy metal bands on his iPod. Then he took one earbud out and asked her "So what do you think of my family and closest friends?"

"They all seem very nice. Yeah, they are wonderful humans. Although I am curious on what caused your parents to get divorced." Then a sudden thought just went into her head. "What? Why would I even ask that? Oh, way to go, Fluttershy! You might make Luke sad again.

"Well... it's a rather long story to say the least and... I don't really like to talk about it."

"Oh! I am so sorry." she said, worried that she might have offended him. "I forgot about that." And she kinda turned away from him in shame in embarrassment.

"Flutters, it's okay." Luke said, giving her a reassuring smile. "Really, it's not that big a deal."

"You sure?"

"I am positive." and he took another sip of his cocoa. "besides, it's all in the past. I know I can't just go back in time and try and prevent that from happening. But to shorten things out, my parents... got married unhappily." he had a look of uncertainty of my face. "Let's just say my mom wants nothing to do with my dad anymore."

"Well, I'm not going to ask why since you don't want to talk about it."

Luke gave her another warm smile. "Thanks, Flutters. That means a lot. Well, I forgot to ask you, what are your parents like? And do you have any siblings?"

"Oh, my parents are the sweetest ponies I know. And for siblings, I do have a younger brother. His name's Zephyr Breeze, and... He is one to shirk at things, and he can be lazy."

"Ah. Kinda reminds me of myself when I was in middle school and high school." Luke said.

"Really?" Fluttershy giggled. "Oh well, you were a teenager, and that's common for teenagers to do."

"Does he weasel out of things that he is supposed to do?"

"Oh yes. He does that many times, and he can be quite crafty." Fluttershy said. "But, he is trying to do things on his own now."

"That's good."

"And... he likes to flirt with Rainbow Dash."

"Ha! And she doesn't like him back, right?"

"Of course not." Fluttershy doubted him. "She even called him annoying to her when she does that to her. He can be... fresh to her at times."

"Ooh." Luke made a small smirk on his face. “If there is one thing I learned about true love, it’s never be fresh with a girl in any way.”

Fluttershy couldn’t help but giggle at what the human just said. “I agree. One time, Zephyr tried to her again, and she zapped him with a storm cloud.” 

Luke made a small laugh and replied “Ha! I would hate to be in his shoes right now.”

“Of course you would.”

It was rather quiet for a moment, and both nonchalantly took sips of their hot chocolate. Finally, Luke remarked his opinion by saying “I just hope they don’t make too much snow that it would force us to remain here and not come outside.”

“No, I wouldn’t worry about that. The Pegasus ponies in Cloudsdale would never allow that to happen. Although... there have been a few incidents where the cloud machine would go on the fritz, and accidentally create too much snow to the point where we would get snowed in.”

“Hmm.”

“ it I’m sure that it won’t happen any time soon. It’s very rare for Ponyville to get snowed in.l

“Good. Here, let me ready the fireplace.” Then the Human went over and made a warm, toasty fire to keep him and Fluttershy cozy and not suffer from hypothermia. The cracklings flames looked really beautiful, and burning hot. “Et voila!”

“Perfect. Oh this will be so much fun. We can sit and relax by the fire together, and so fun things like snowball fighting and ice skating, and enjoy Hearth’s Warming when it comes in a few weeks.”

“And don’t forget the decorations.”

“Yes! Exactly.”

“Well, would you like my help feeding the animals again?”

She smiled again. “That would be great.” And both of them stood upright, and went to work on helping all the critters and animals around the cottage once again. As usual, they started with the ones outside, and then the ones who lived inside.

Luke even brought out an electric heater to keep many animals in their homes cozy and not suffer from too much of the freezing cold weather. Not only a heater, but there were also some blankets to help keep them warm too.

After that was all taken care of, Luke brought in an electric heater for inside the cottage too if needed. Of course, some animals like Harry the bear would be hibernating to not get hungry over the winter, and not go really short on food when the snow comes.

“Well, that’s done.” Luke said boldly, rubbing his hand in satisfaction.

“Wonderful. Oh! I just remembered.” She said. It was just so suddenly when the door was heard being knocked three times. “Oh, it’s her.” She opened it and it revealed to be Rainbow Dash.

“Fluttershy, I knew you would be home.” Said the cyan Pegasus mare.

“Come on in, Rainbow Dash.”

“W’sup Rainbow?” Luke greeted her.

“Not much. I came here to give Tank here a good place to sleep for hibernating through the season.”

Luke couldn’t help but go up to the green tortoise and said “Hey Tank. You going to hibernate for the winter, too?” And he gently stroked his head.

The tortoise was loving his gentle touch and smile, then nodded a yes to him in reply.

“Of course I can help you find a good home for Tank, Rainbow.” Fluttershy boldly Said.

“Awesome!” Rainbow Said. Then they went to the back to create a perfect hole for Tank to be in his long, peaceful sleep. When it was done, Rainbow Asked “Can I have some hot chocolate, too?”

“No problem. With marshmallows?” Luke said

“You know it, Luke!”

And Rainbow joined them in their time together around the warm fire.





The next morning, Luke got out of bed and went downstairs to fetch himself some breakfast. He was wearing pajama pants for it was getting cold on the cottage.

He got the usual, a sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and mustard and a root beer as his drink. Luke promptly looked outside through the window and it looked white.

After eating his breakfast, he opened the front door and saw many drops of snow falling on the ground. Yes, winter has truly arrived in Equestria. The human couldn’t help but take the liberty of creating a snowman with a smiley face on the head.

“Ha! Perfect!l then he took a picture of it with his phone while humming the theme song for Frosty the Snowman. “Ha! This will make an awesome Christmas card.” And he saved it in his files.

Fluttershy saw him and said “Goodness Luke, aren’t you worried about getting a cold?”

“Nah, it’s alright. I was just coming back inside anyway.l

“Perfect.” Then she noticed his creation. “Oooh, that’s a beautiful snowma you built. Did you make that yourself?”

“I certainly did. Honestly, it’s not the best but i gave it all I got.”

“That’s okay. I think it looks beautiful.”

“Thanks. So you want to go play with the others in the snow later?”

“Of course! It will be so much fun. But first I should take a shower and feed the animals their breakfast.”

“That’s cool.”

Both of them went back inside and were feeding the animals their breakfasts now. This should be a very fun winter for Luke and his friends Alright.
> Snowy Day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ah the snow has finally arrived in Equestria at last. The frozen crystals of water were falling from the clouds covering the hole sky. Yes, it was about to turn into a winter wonderland for all of the ponies living in Ponyville, and Canterlot. For Luke, it was one of Luke’s favorite times of year. The earth was like a big, blanket of snow covering it, and nothing could really be done in the farm fields, for crops like corn, wheat, apples, tomato, or citrus plants wouldn’t be Apple to grow in this kind of weather. Still, it was quite alright, food was still plentiful through trade and many inhabitants were storing extra food for the winter, kind of like how a squirrel would be storing nuts in it’s tree while hibernating through the season

Looking around at his surroundings, he saw many fun things like the Cutie Mark Crusaders snowball fighting next, he saw a couple of Pegasus ponies doing the same thing,  it were doing it in the sky.

Luke honestly didn’t know what exactly to do first, for it all just looks so fun. Not only that, but there were many ponies creating snow angels just for kicks. “Hmmm.” Luke thought, tapping his chin with his finger while going deep into his thinking space. “What to do, what to do.” He kept on jabbing his chin with his first finger for a little while, and finally, he thought of something. “A-ha! I got it.” He said, with a snap of his finger.

“Thought about what you want to do, Luke?” Asked Fluttershy

“I believe I have. I decided to give the ice skating on the frozen lake a chance first.” Then he ran across the snowy grounds, and tripped one time. He did ‘t care if he got his face planted into the ground, he was having too much fun to even notice it.

“Goodness, you really should be more careful.” Fluttershy said.

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy. I know exactly what i’m doing.”

“Well you kind of sound like Rainbow Dash right now.” Twilight said modestly.

“Oh come on.” Luke shrugged off. “If I was like a Rainbow Dash, I would be flaunting endlessly about how cool and awesome I am, and think I am better than everybody else to go with that.” Then he had a sudden realization “Oh! No offense Rainbow.”

“None taken. I can’t help if I am such an awesome pony to be with.” Turns out, she was showing a point about her flaunting. “Well.... you all get what I mean.”

“Oh we get it alright, Rainbow Dash.” Spike smirked. “We all get what you mean.” And they all had a good laugh. “I’ll just be careful not to get in the water and not get cold.” And he tightened the scarf around his neck. His mouth was completely covered, but not like how a burglar would duct tape his mouth shut.

Twilight made a small giggle. “Oh Spike, don’t be silly. I’ve known you long enough to be careful while ice skating on the frozen lake.” Then she pulled him close for a side-hug.

The baby dragon couldn’t help but smile gratefully at her. “Twilight, stop it.” He bashfully muttered. “You’re kinda embarrassing me there.” But of course, this only made a twilight hug him a little tighter than before.

Finally, when they reached the Now frozen lake, many ponies were already having fun on it as well. Still, it wouldn’t stop Luke from having fun on it himself. “Can I get some skates, please?” He asked Rarity.

The white unicorn smiled joyously and promptly said “I would be glad to, sweetie.” Then she used magic from her horn to conjure a pair of skates, perfect for Luke’s feet to fit in. “Et voila! Ice skates a la mode.” And she promptly gave it to him.

“Merci.” Luke replied with great gratitude. He sat on the cold, snowy ground and tied the laces that kept his shoes strapped on. “Here we go. Now I just get on the ice rink, and then have some fun.” He muttered to himself.

At first, he thought that he nailed it, but then he couldn’t keep his balance, and instantly fell face first on the ice like a pancake. “Ow.”

“You okay, Sugarcube?” Asked Applejack.

Getting back on his feet, Luke said, “Just fine Applejack, thank you.” And he tried to keep his balance on the skates, and he fell on the icy lake once again, face first once more. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie couldn’t help but laugh.

“Oh shut up.” Luke said in annoyance.

“Don’t listen to them.” Said Fluttershy. “Just keep trying, and you will be a pro at it in no time.” And she gently helped Luke back up to his feet.

“Gotcha. I can do this.” He said. “I can do this.” And he tried moving his skates around, while he was at it, he tried to do it in a circle like everypony else was doing, but sometimes he would fall and tumble.

Still. At least nopony was laughing at him or making fun of him whatsoever, except Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie,  it Lukew as okay with it, because they were not as mature as themrest of their friends were.

“Whoo! Come on, Luke! You gotta try this!” Lyra called out, having the time of her life. The green unicorn was skating like a pro on the ice, and the same with Bon Bon.

“You can do it!” Bon Bon cheered him on.

“I’m trying guys, i’m trying.” And he was trying so hard to keep his balance like he was walking on a tightrope over a bed of hot coal in a circus. Still, at least it wasn’t anything like that. 

“Ummm Luke, you haven’t really ice skated before, have you?” Asked Fluttershy, hovering next to him.

At first, Luke was being a little defensive, but ultimately, he made a sigh of defeat, and replied “not even once, no.” And he bowed his head in complete shame.

However, he felt his chin gently being pulled up and saw that sweet, warm smile on her cute little face. “It’s okay, Luke.” She said warmly. “You don’t have to be embarrassed about that. You just need a little practice.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Lincoln made another sigh. “Can you help me?”

“Of course.” Then she gently licked him up from his butt, and stood on his feet again, trying to keep perfect balance in himself again. “Okay. Now just relax and let go of your worries.” She said.

The human took a small breath, and slowly moved forward, and it was so far so good, and used the skates to slowly turn around and join the circle, and so far, it felt like he was getting the hang of it. Fluttershy decided to join him in the process.

Both of them were having a blast skating together. Of course, Luke didn't really want to do something like be a very flexible figure skater because he thought it would be gay and not manly. That, and he didn't want to risk breaking a bone unintentionally.

Finally, their other friends decided to join in on the fun, too. "You getting the hang of it now?" The yellow pegasus asked him with an eager smile

"I.... I really am." Luke replied, feeling more confident than he ever did before on those skates. He even had the pleasure of doing a spin that spelt swag all over it. "Thanks for helping me, Fluttershy."

"No problem."

All of a sudden, Pip, who was also having the time of his life, heard a small crackling noise right under him. Below, the ice was starting to break under him, and it could mean that he could fall in the freezing water, and get a cold from it.

Luke noticed it and immediately went over to his aid. With a quick spurt of speed, he immediately picked Pip up before he could fall into the water below the ice, and it was in the neck of time that he saved him.

"You okay, Pip?" The human asked, gebtly putting the colt back down.

"Yes, thanks to you, Luke." Pip replied with gratitude. 

"No problem, kiddo." Luke said. "But I wonder what happened. What caused the ice to almost break right under you?"

Just then. The master of chaos himself appeared out of nowhere, floating on midair. "Hello." He sang.  Discord had that mischievous smile on his face while resting his chin onto his hands.

"Discord." Luke said, not looking very amused. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Moi?" Said Discord in mock offense "i'm not doing anything. I assure you. Just having some fun on Equestria's first snow day of the year." Then he poofed up a leotard and his own skates, and did it in a rather graceful and flexible fashion.

"Well, you almost made me fall into the water." Pip said with a pout. 

"Oh come now, Pip my boy." The master of chaos took the liberty of patting the colt's brown mane like a dog. "I was just having some fun. Besides, it's not like it was a lake of lava or fire."

All of them gave him an unamused look with an eyebrow raised on all their faces. "Come on Discord, can you not try and prank everyone all willy-nilly like that?" Luke said. "Someone can get hurt if you're not careful."

"Get someone hurt?" Then he let out a hearty, mocking chuckle. "I would never dream of doing something like that. Tell me my friends, have I ever tried to hurt somepony before?"

"You really want our honest opinions, Discord?" Said Cloudchaser. "You were evil back then, so.... pretty much."

"That's the point, that was then. This is here and now." Discord said.

"Even though yoy can still prank some ponies once in a while?"

"Can toy blame me? I'm the master of chaos."

"Well, as long as nopony actually gets hurt." Twilight said. "Just please be more mindful, okay?"

"Not a problem, princess Twilight." He bowed to her in respecy. Then, just for kicks, he snapped his finger and a small spot of glue appeared on the lake, and a filly instantly stopped over, but her skating shoes stayed in place, and she was flying into a big pile of snow.

The tricky god of chaos couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably at the little prank he just did.

"Well, at least he's not trying to kill anypony."

"Oh, don't say that, Spike." Fluttershy said. "Discord woukd never dream of killing anypony."

"Yes! Take it from my dear closest friend." Said he, giving her an uncomfortable hug. The yellow pegasus couldn't help, but giggle nervous

"Well anyway, wanna go snowboarding with us?" Asked Thunderlane.

"That would be nice. I love snowboarding!" Luke said bodly. Then he went to a somewhat large hill near town, and Discord conjured a snowboard from his homeworld. It was rather coop looking, for it had a burning skull at the center of both sides.

"Thanks Discord." Luke said "wait, you didn't  trap this with something, did you?"

"No. I assure you. It is just a normal snowboard for you yo try out." Said the master of chaos.

"I don't think he's lying." Said Applejack. "Yep. He's telling the truth."

"Oh that's right, you can tell if somepony's lying or telling the truth, right?" Asked Pinkie Pie

"You know it." Applejack said proudly. "They don't call me the Element of Honesty for nothin', you know?" Then Luke readied his snowboard and was about to race down the snowy hill with Thunderlane, Rumble, Cloudchaser, and Flitter all at once. He narrowed his eyes at the valley below and he immediately went down the snow. Oh, how fun this was for the human.

"This is awesome, dudes!" Luke exclaimed while having the time of his life. Sure, he was no Shaun White, but he was a rather adept shredder on that snowboard. Fluttershy, and the others were impressively watching on how he was handling it, and how his hair was flowing through the motion.

"Wow, look at him go." Spike said. "He's like a pro on that thing. I wonder if he ever did this before."

"Yeah, look at how awesome he is on that snowboard." Pinkie said with an eager smile.

Rarity was just as amazed as the others were. "Just simply look at those displays he is showing us."

"He's obviously did snowboarding before he came here." said Rainbow Dash

"You know, I think I do remember him saying that it snows a lot in Bend during the Winter." Fluttershy said.

"He does have quite some skill on that thing." Discord agreed, and they all continued watching Luke, Cloudchaser, Flitter, Rumble, and Thunderlane have a blast while snowboarding.
> She’ll be the One True Love Of Mine
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke was still having so much fun going down the ski slopes on his snowboard. The human’s skills never ceased to impress his friends who were all watching him shred the snow away. “Whoo! If only Shaun White could see me like this!” He Said with joy. It went on and on for a long forty five minutes, then he decided to have enough of this, and grew bored with the snowboarding.

Coming down the hill, Luke suddenly tripped on a small rock hidden under the white, cold blanket of snow, and landed face-first in the ground. The landing was in a rather awkward position, and his friends couldn’t help but laugh.

They all came up to him and gave him a helping hoof back on his feet. “I’m sorry, Luke.” Fluttershy remarked with a cute giggle from her. The human immediately spat out some snow from his mouth, and thought it tasted disgusting.

“Well, at least it wasn’t yellow snow, that would be so god-awful.” And he grabbed hold of his snowboard once again. “No need to worry about me. I’m just fine, everyone.’ And he gave the master of chaos a mildly cold stare. “Discord, was that you?”

“Moi? Oh Luke, I can assure you that was not me this time, I promise.”

Luke just raised his eyebrows in a skeptical expression. “Are you telling me the truth?”

“He is. I can tell.” Said Applejack.

Luke still felt a little skeptical, but a small smirk appeared on his face. “Okay okay, That was kind of funny.” Then he cleared his throat a little bit. His smile turned into a rather sneaky one now. “Let’s see if you all laugh at.... this!” And he threw a snowball at Pinkie Pie’s face, knocking her to the ground like a lone bowling pin.

At first, everyone was surprised to see this little outburst, but Pinkie, being quite clever created a snowball of her own while using her mane, and said “You’ll lay for that, Luke!” In a playful voice.

Covering his face, Luke felt the snowball hit his back, a bullseye to be exact. “Oh ho ho. So that’s how you want it to go down?” Like Said with a teasingly evil smile on his face. Then he hit Pinkie in the fact again while she was too busy laughing in victory.

“Two can play at this game!” Pinkie said.

“Snowball fight!!!” Rainbow shouted boldly. Just like that, an all out battle ensued, and many snowballs were being thrown all around. Everyone was having so much fun with this snowball fight, especially Spike, who promptly threw one that landed on Pip’s head.

“What was that?” Said the colt.

The baby dragon couldn’t help but snicker at his reaction. “He doesn’t know what he’s up against.” He thought. However, he felt a snowball hit his face, knocking him radically out of balance.

“Come on, Spike. Don’t get too overconfident.” Twilight Said, helping her little brother back up. Luke dodged many incoming snowballs that were mostly coming from Pinkie, for he was fast, and quick to dodge.

“Is that the best you got, Pinkie?” Said Luke. “My grandma throws better than you do!” And then he immediately dodged a snowball that was about to hit his face, landing on a tree instead.

Fluttershy was more than happy to assist Luke in this little fun game with her friends. “Uh oh.” She noticed. There was a snowball coming to his eft side, But Fluttershy took it upon herself to take the hit for him.

Luke gasped and went to see if she was alright. “Flutters, speak to me!”

“Don’t worry, i’m Just fine.” She said with a warm smile on her face. “Just helping a good friend.”

“Oh ho, nopony does that to My Fluttershy!” Said Discord. Then he conjured a mini gun that had snowballs as ammunition. “Let’s try this on for size.” The master of chaos made a wicked chuckle, and cocked the large mini gun.

“Uh oh. We’re screwed” Big Mac muttered with a gulp.

Discord too the heavy pleasure of shooting his snowball mini gun at everyone he would come in contact with, except Fluttershy of course. The drancequus laughed maniacally as he kept on shooting.

Luke hid behind a tree so he wouldn't have to get hit. His other friends were all piled with all the snowballs that Discord threw at them. The human was rate frightened, even though this was fun.

At first, when it was silent, he decided to one out from the tree he was hiding behind. It was just then his luck ran out when he bumped into Discord.

"Heeeere's Discord! Mwahahahahaha!" He cackled maniacally again. He pulled the trigger, but then he realized no snowballs were coming out, for he was already out of ammo. "Oh poo."

Luke smiled triumphantly, and joyously threw a big snowball to his face in revenge. "Whoo! I win the match!"

Everypony cheered for him and Discord pouted on defeat. At first he was mad, but then he said "alright alright, that was really clever Luke. Good job." Ad he patted his head like a dog.

"You know back home, my buddies call me the snowball king."

"Can't blame them. You have such an awesome aim back there." Rainbow Dash agreed, giving the human an elbow jab on his right arm.

"Oh stop it, Rainbow Dash." Luke said, flushing a little. "I don't really like to brag like you do."

"What? I don't brag that much, do I?" Rainbow said defensively. She looked at her surroundings and saw her friends whistling and having their eyes looking at another direction.

"Do we really have to be honest about that?" Pinkie said.

"Oh you guys." Rainbow said with a laugh.

It was just then, Luke suddenly felt something weird within him. He didn't really know exactly what it was, but it had something to do with Fluttershy, probably because after she saved him from getting hit with a snowball. He honestly didn't know what it was, but it was all warm and fuzzy. Not only that, but he was thinking of hearing Nox Arcana’s version of the infamous song “Scarbourough Fair”. It was not as famous as the Simon and Garfunkel’s version but it was a beautiful cover.

"Luke?" Fluttershy said, snapping him out of his train of thought. The Human nodded his head rapidly in a foolish manner, and looked at Fluttershy with a concerned look on her face. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah i’m Just fine. Why do you ask?”

“Well, you were just standing still for a minute, like a garden statue.” The yellow Pegasus stated plainly. 

“Sorry, I was as just thinking about something. Nothing to worry about. Sometimes, I would be in a standstill. Come on, it’s what happens when I think of something interesting.”

“Oh, okay.”

“What were you thinking about, Sugarcube?” Asked Applejack.

“Well, it was thinking of a song to fit this weather.”

“Ooh, what kind of song?” Asked Pinkie with an eager smile.

“It’s an old folk song called “Scarborough Fair. I don’t really know who originally made it, but this cover is from a group called Nox Arcana. This version is so beautiful and haunting at the same time. Oh you guys would love to hear it.”

“What kind of place is Scarborough?” Asked Twilight. “Sounds peculiar. Something Old Ponish maybe?”

“No, it’s from Great Britain. It was sung by many singers and bands for decades, but the most famous one is from Simon and Garfunkel. But honestly, Nox Arcana has the most beautiful version of it like I said.”

“That does sound interesting.” Said Fluttershy. “Do you think you can sing it to us?”

“Yeah, I always been fascinated in music like that.” Lyra said.

“Well not now, maybe later or tomorrow.” Luke said. “For now I want to try looking around some areas near Ponyville and see how they look in the winter.”

“We understand, Luke.” Said Twilight. And they all went down the snowy fields for a little winter sightseeing around town for the rest of the day.





The Next Morning

Luke awoke, looking well rested as always. He looked outside and it was still snowing a little out there. All of a sudden, he had a quick realization that those thoughts and the song to go with it meant something.

“Uh-oh,” He thought out loud. “I think i’m In love with Fluttershy.” And his heart dropped to his feet. “What am I thinking? She’s just a good friend to me. Trying to get his head straight, he decided to go out for a little stroll in the snowy plains to think things through.

He wanted to tell Fluttershy, but he realized that the best way to not think about this whole so-called love for Fluttershy thing was not to look or talk to her at the moment. He hated to leave without telling Fluttershy knowing, but he was feeling embarrassed about this foolish thoughts.

The human humbly went out the front door in his winter garments and walked down the snowy fields.
> Foolish Love
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Walking out through the snowy fields in a cloudy morning, Luke saw a line of trees not far from him. Snow was still falling from the cloudy sky, but he was okay with and didn’t really care about the continuous, falling flakes landing on him. At last, he found a lone tree not too far from him, and decided to have a seat under it.

He honestly didn’t know what to think of this unexpected love for Fluttershy. A small touch of crimson read appeared on his cheeks, both with a feeling of fuzziness within him and the other half with humiliation.

“Oh come on, man!” He said to himself. “A Human and a pony together? That’s pretty goddamn stupid.” Then he decided to throw a few snowballs in a short distance just for the heck of it. “What the hell am I thinking?” He scolded himself. “Sure, Fluttershy is a sweet and kind pony, not to mention adorable, but falling in love with her?” And the young Human made a small growl of frustration.

Another thing that worried him was that what if Fluttershy found out about this and felt absolutely disgusted because they are very different species.

“I can imagine what the kids would look like.” And then Luke paused “Ah! What am I thinking? That would violate so many laws of nature.” Deciding to throw more snowballs into the distance, he was thinking of ways on how not to be so in love with Fluttershy and like her as a good friend.

So far, he honestly didn’t know  what to do. At least, he wasn’t suffering from lovesickness. Man oh man, how much of a mess Luke would be if he was lovesick.

“Okay, Okay, maybe some awesome tunes should help me get my mind off this bull crap.” Pulling out his iPod, he was trying to find a good song that didn’t involve romance or a boyfriend/girlfriend type of themes.

All of a sudden, he remembered hearing about the Ponyville Winter Fair. Hearths Warming was Equestria’s defenition Of Christmas. Fluttershy has been a really good friend to him ever since he arrived here from his wish. Thinking deeper into his thoughts, he realized that if he was going to get rid of these love nonsense, he would have to admit it to her personally.

“Maybe... it wouldn’t be so bad.” He jumped to conclusions. “Yeah, maybe being a boyfriend and girlfriend as a different species isn’t so bad. And besides, couples don’t have to have kids if they don’t want any. That way we wouldn’t have to violate so many laws of nature.”

At last, maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all. Still, he had some feelings of doubt about this crazy, yet romantic idea. He got back up and decided to go walk around the snowy fields some more. It was a very peaceful wonderland, nothing but snow falling and the sound of the wind rustling against him.

It was all reminding him of Bend back home. Snow falling endlessly from the sky was certainly relaxing and felt magical every time he would experience it, and didnt’t even care about how cold it was, unless of it was a blizzard of course. Luke hardly doubt that a blizzard would come his way and enjoyed this weather, and it wasn’t like he would suffer from hypothermia, for he was wearing his warm clothes.

Without noticing, he saw a few elk prancing near him, one bull and two does. Luke heard the the male bugling at the top of it’s voice, and it kinda irritated him for it an elk bugle can be quite ear-piercing. He decided to go farther away from the elks so he wouldn’t have to listen to the rather annoying mating call.

A thought cam to him and realized “Hey, the Ponyville Winter Fair is coming soon. Why not try to get Fluttershy to love me then?” And the feelings of uncertainty came back to him a little bit. He kicked a small pile of snow in frustration, trying to let go of his negative feelings and emotions.

He definitely felt like staying away from Fluttershy for a little while, just to get these silly thoughts out of his system. Thinking again, he thought that maybe he should do something very nice for her on the upcoming festival and holiday.

“Yeah, maybe I can give her something so special and breathtaking, it will make her the most grateful girl in the world. But what?” Then he began creating a snow angel to help create some ideas of a perfect Hearth’s Warming present for her.

Luke made a total of twenty snow angels already, and yet not even a single good idea cake to him.



Wandering about any good ideas some more. Another ten mi utes have passed, yet still nothing interesting came to his brain. “Okay Luke think, what is the most thing Fluttershy loves more than anything else in this world? Maybe... a puppy? Nah, Fluttershy already has some critter friends at him already.

And he began pacing to and fro around a small portion of the field of snow. Indeed Fluttershy has more animals friends in her cottage than she can bargain for, and the human didn’t want to make it a little more difficult for her.

“Okay.... what else does she like?” He wondered. “A cruise line?” He thought, and he had another look of uncertainty. “Too expensive, way to steep for me.” He realized. He thought of more ideas, and decided to go look around a few more parts of this area outside of Ponyville he didn’t explore.

So many beautiful sceneries included many bushes and shrubs covered in the sparkling white snow, and the same with some pine trees. Luke had a very big curiosity since he had autism, and always had a thing for exploring many wonderous areas that he has never dreamed of looking at before. Exploring and sightseeing kinda runs in his family after all.

“Ah, this dandelion here is still it one piece.” He noticed the lone flower sprouting from the freezing ground. Luke decided to pick it up and sniff it, and softly blew on the florets, making them fly off into the distance. “I just wish there was some way I can make a Fluttershy love me and we can be together as soul mates.”

He decided to have apenough of this exploring, and wanted to go back to the cottage for a nice hot cup of hot chocolate with some marshmallows in the cup. He rubbed his hands together to keep them warm in a rapid movement, and opened the door. He saw Fluttershy sitting on the couch enjoying so,e hot chocolate while having a blanket wrapped around her.

“Oh Luke. There you are. I was worried about you. Are you ok?”

“Of course. I just felt like going for a little walk out there. Nothing to worry about.” Luke clarified. Then he took off his fleece jacket, and gloves then put them next to the door. “Right now, I can really use some cocoa right now.”

“What were you doing out there exactly? I mean, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“Nah, it’s fine.” Luke shrugged. “Anyway, how you holding up the freezing temperature?"

She made that cute, adorable little smile on her precious little face. "Of course. I got a blanket and hot chocolate to help me with that. Oh, and not to mention the fireplace, too."

"Good."

"Aren't you cold, Luke?"

"No, i'm so used to this kind of weather. I might have said this to you before, but in Bend, winters can be pretty freezing where I come from. I even had to get some heavy snow off the roof with a shovel.

Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle. "That's a little funny."

"Yeah, and sometimes we would get snowed in from time to time. But I would just cope with it most days and break out the candles in case the power went out. Besides, when that happens, it kinda feels like camping."

"That does sound fun." Fluttershy remarked softly.

"Yep. Anyway, do you need anything from the farmer's market?"

"Hmmm..... I think I need a few more apples and some other fruit for later."

"I can get them for you." Luke said. "But I don't think that the fields can sustain the cold weather to produce things like apples, watermelons, or strawberries."

"I'm pretty sure that they were all picked before Winter came. Applejack did say that she and her family picked a whole lot of apples before the pegasus ponies created the snow clouds."

"Alright. I might go down there later on and see what's in stock in the stalls." Luke said, taking a sip of his own hot chocolate.

"Thank you Luke. I knew I can always count on you. Just don't try and catch a cold now."

"I know we're hat i'm doing." Luke remarked with a smirk.





Luke decided to go down to Ponyville for a little produce shopping for Fluttershy like he promised her and hoped that there would be some produce picked out before this hard weather came.

Still, he couldn't get his mind on his little crush on Fluttershy. It was starting to drive him nuts.

Walking down the path, he saw a gyrfalcon with a beautiful, white plumage eating a dead pigeon since they are a falcon's favorite meal. Luke wanted to feel sorry for the dead bird, but he knew that the falcon was only following it's instincts.

Some instincts in many animals are too strong to control. After all. Luke couldn't help but take a few pictures of it woth his Samsung galaxy phone, then the gyrfalcon looked at him.

It didn't really do anything but stare at the lone human, and tilted its head from time to time. The black, beady eyes it had made it rather adorable to look at.

Luke waved at the majestic avian and then then tried to get a little closer to it. To do that, he had to take a few slow, baby steps to not frighten it or scare it away.

It was so far so good for him, for he was five feet away from the gyrfalcon. And took a few more pictures at his beautiful appearance. Without warning. The gyrfalcon mare a few chirping sounds and continued eating the dead pigeon he was perching on. 

Wanting to give the bird of prey some space to respecy his privacy, he slowly backed away from the gyrfalcon to let him continue eating his lunch. 

"That was was cool." Luke thought to himself. Then he continued walking down the road to Ponyville for his little errands to run for his closest Equestrian friend

He made it in town and saw that the inhabitants were still wearing their winter garments, he wouldn't really blame them since the temperatures out here were freezing right now.

"On the upside, there are no blizzards and it is not like Greenland or Antarctica. Heh, that would be unbearable, hell, I bet they would suffer from blizzards twenty-four seven. At least we have all four seasons in the year."

The farmer's market was not so busy, but it did have a few lines in many stalls. He decided to get some watermelons first, then a few lemons for himself, and finally purchased a few apples from Applejack and Big Mac.

It was just at the moment, Luke was thinking lovey-dovey thouguts about Fluttershy again and was caught in an awkward standstill.

"Uhhh Luke, you're kinda holding up a line there." Said Applejack.

Luke snapped out of his thoughts and said "Sorry Aj, I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"I.... don't really like to talk about it." Luke replied uncomfortably.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah everything's fine." Luke lied. "Anyway, I have to go." He payed for the apples and left in quite a hurry.

Applejack and Big Mac didn't know what to think of this honestly. Still, they had a job to do at the stall and decide to wait until they were all finished and get off work. 

"That was weird, big brother." Applejack said to him

"Eeyup. Should we be concerned about this?" Asked the big red stallion.

"Later, don't wanna leave these ponies empty-hooved, right?"

"Nope. True that. Granny Smith would kill us of she saw we were shirking our duties." And both siblings continued selling the apples.

Meanwhile, Luke decided to go sit down on a bench, and felt a little embarrassed for what he just did back there at the apple stall.

"Man, I almost blew it on that one, goddammit." And he made a small growl, barring some of his teeth.

"Luke?" Said a voice. It was Pip and Spike along with Lyra, Bon Bon, Cloudchaser, Flitter, Thunderlane, and Rumble. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, just fine Pip. Why?"

"Because yoy look like something's stressing you out." The mint green unicorn pointed.

"And you're eye is kinda twitching." Cloudchaser pointed. It made Luke even more embarrassed and tried to stop his little twitching problem.

"I am not twitching!" He said defensively. "Nothing has ever psyched me into twitching."

The others were not very convinced. "Luke," said Thunderlane suspiciously.

Realizing he can't hide it from another group of friends besides the mane six, Luke finally said "alright. You guys would laugh at me for it, so go ahead and do it when I told you about it."

"What is it?" Spike asked curiously

Luke took a breath and finally said "I think I am in love with Fluttershy. There, I said it, go ahead and laugh at my pain.

The others didn't know what to think, for they were all a little stunned by what the human just said to them.

"You love her?"

"Yes." Luke replied begrudgingly. "I know it's completely srupid, but it's true."

"Ah Luke. We don't think it's dumb. It's rather.... cute." Spike said with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah right." The human doubted.

"Why is that a bad thing?" Asked Flitter in confusion. 

"Because me and Fluttershy are different species. I'm a human, she's a pegasus pony. It will never work, and it would violate soany laws of nature."

"Okay, that is kind of a fair point." Said Bon Bon

"But it's okay if you're in love with Fluttershy." Cloudchaser added

"That's easy for you to say." Said Luke with doubt. "Cloudchaser, you're not a human like I am  and take a look at me. I'm practically the only human in Equestria right now."

"Fine, you are the only human, but it doesn't mean yoy are a weirdo." Said Pip

"Yeah, why don't you just talk to Fluttershy and tell her how you feel?" Lyra said.

"Because she'll think i'm a freak for admitting love to her. She will think u am weird and wouldn't want to be my friend anymore and call me creepy."

"That's crazy talk." Said Rumble. "Okay, fine you guys might not work, but it's okay if you feel like this."

"My brother's right." Thunderlane agreed. "We're toy planning on telling her some time?"

"Well... there was the Ponyville Winter Fair, that's what I was thinking."

"There you go." Said Lyra.

"Look. If you want to talk to us more about this, you can talk to any one of us." Spike said.

"Thanks guys. As a matter of fact, maybe u should talk to Twilight about this right now." Then he went to the castle and the other couldn't help but follow him there as well just to make sure he was alright.
> Help From a Shrink
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke was at the castle, accompanied by his friends he just encountered earlier at the cafe. He thought that maybe Twilight could help him try and get over his love for Fluttershy, for he wouldn’t want his friendship with her to be over because of this foolish love. Looking st the corridors to the left and right, he finally found Twilight at the Cutie map room, and Spike was also there, sleeping on the little throne next to the princess.

“Twilight? Are you busy?” The Human Asked, coming in while taking his jacket off of him.

The purple allicorn was reading a book about amulets, and was suddenly startled by The human’s voice. “What? What? What?” She looked around, and when she turned, she sighed with relief seeing Luke and the others behind him.

“Sorry about that, didn’t mean to scare you.” Luke said with a smirk. And he laid both his hands on the large, round table. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Oh no no, of course not, Luke. You're perfectly fine." then she noticed the others behind the human, smiled warmly, and said hello to them to be friendly. "Anyway, what can I help you with?" Spike noticed and looked at the human as well.

"Does Rarity finally love me?" the baby dragon asked him foolishly. Twilight, Luke, Lyra, Bon Bon, and the others looked at him with an unamused look on their faces. "I knew this day would come at last! Oh, I better get my tuxedo ready for our big date tonight!" and he was about to get some formal clothing for him to wear, but Twilight stopped him

"Spike." she said. The baby dragon looked back at her. "It's not that, believe me, it's not that."

And the baby dragon had a look telling everyone that he was so bummed. "Aww." he said. Then he went back to sitting on his little throne, reading his comic books.

"Ah come on Spike, a guy can dream, right?" said Cloudchaser

"True." the baby dragon agreed, feeling a little better. "Who am I kidding? So anyway, is there a problem, Luke?"

"As a matter of fact, yes." The human said

"Luke's just being a little too modest with himself." Bon Bon assured to Twilight. 

The human made a small look of irritation on his face, and said "It's the truth! I'm mental just thinking about it right now!" And he sighed in frustration while putting his hand over his eyes in complete and utter shame.

“Thinking about what?” The purple allicorn asked him in a confused tone of voice. 

Luke was hesitant to admit his little so-called “problem” involving Fluttershy, and worried that Twilight would call him a freak and a weirdo, too.

“Come on Luke, what’s wrong?” Spike asked in concern.

Finally, Luke had no choice but to spill the beans on both of them. He sighed and stated flatly to them “I think I’m in love with Fluttershy.”

Twilight and Spike gasped and looked at each other. They both smiled and looked back at the Human. Luke himself was waiting for the worst, such as being a laughing stock to them now. “You like Fluttershy?” Said the purple allicorn. “That’s so wonderful.”

“Wonderful? What is so wonderful about two different species being together till death do they part?” Luke said, becoming a little hysterical. “It’s nuts, it’s crazy, it’s not normal!”

“Calm down, Luke.” The baby dragon said, trying to sooth him of his moment of hysteria. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Besides, take a look at me and Rarity for example.”

“Nothing to be ashamed of?” Luke said with a raised eyebrow inna crazy manner. “Spike, it’s okay with you and Rarity to be together because you guys are native here. I, on the other hand, am not native to Equestria.”

“Luke, please, you’re sounding like this is a bad thing.” Thunderlane Said

“That’s because it is!” Luke countered. “She is a very nice mare, but me and her are different species. It will never work between us, and I think to myself what our children would look like when we get married.”

“What?” Pip said. “That’s just crazy and ridiculous.”

“Yeah, it would violate so many laws of nature.” The Human agreed. Realizing he was being hysterical, he kept his cool and cooled off. “Look, I do want her to like me back, but it’s forbidden love.”

“We understand Luke.” Twilight remarked. “And it’s okay if you feel this way.”

“You know what they say, love can be a crazy thing sometimes.” Said Rumble. “I remembered how our mom and dad would fall in love together.”

“Nah, you can’t remember that, you were a baby when they were doing that kind of stuff.” Thunderlane doubted his younger sibling.

“I remembered it because you told me about it, remember?” Rumble Said. “You told me about how their love was six weeks ago.”

Thunderlane had a look of realization on his face, and noted “oh right. Sometimes I forget, darn memory blackout.”

“What they’re trying to say is,” Said Flitter. “Luke was wondering if you can help him with this. He says he wants your help to get his mind off of this, Twilight.”

“Yeah, Rainbow Dash kinda good me and my sis that you have experience of being a shrink or a psychiatrist.” Cloudchaser added. “ it like what e said, Luke’s probably getting worked up over nothing.”

The others murmured words in agreement with her. “Well you heard right, Luke.” Twilight Said with excitement. “I most certainly can try to help a friend of mine overcome this adorable crush.”

“It’s not adorable.” Luke said. “It’s dumb and weird.”

“Stop saying that.” Lyra remarked. “It’s okay if you’re feeling like this, even if it’s a different type of advanced species.”

The human didn’t exactly know how to respond to that, and  Egan thinking about how nice Fluttershy would look under the sun, like an angel just fell down from the heavens. 

“Luke, You Okay?” Spike asked, snapping his fingers in front of his face.

“What? What? Yeah i’m Just fine.” Luke replied

“Were you thinking about Fluttershy?” Twilight asked curiously

“No!” Twilight, Spike, and the others gave him a skeptical look on their faces. Realizing he couldn’t lie to them about this, he said with a change of demeanor “yes.”

“Don’t worry, if you want us to help you, we’ll help you.” Said Spike in a warm voice. Luke felt grateful hearing this, and felt lucky to have good friends like them. “Now, where’s the shrink chair?”

“Oh! I’ll get it!” Twilight sang. She used the magic from her horn to conjure a long, therapist bed, and decided to take it to the library room. Luke and the others and the baby dragon, and when she put the mattress on the floor, Luke promptly sat on it, and a Twilight formed her mane in a knot to look more professional.

Not only that, but she also pulled out some glasses to make it even more professional. Lyra, Bon Bon, Cloudchaser, Flitter, Rumble, Thunderlane, and Pip sat on the other side of the library to give him some privacy.

For Spike, he gave the Human a glass of iced water as a refreshment. “Here you go. Thought you would have been thirsty.”

Luke smiled warmly at the baby dragon and replied “I am quite parched. Thanks, Spike.” Then he gently patted his scaly little head. “Okay Twi, you ready yet?”

“Hold on...... where is that notebook?” She said. “Aha! Found it!” And she opened the little notebook, and readied her pencil for some writing on what was bothering Luke. Of course she knew what this was about, but she wanted more details about it, and how it is affecting the young human. “Ready.” She cleared her throat, and began. “So Luke, you said you have fallen in love with Fluttershy?”

“Yes.” Luke admitted with a tone of shame in his voice. “Can you blame me though, she is one of the cutest, sweetest, and prettiest girls I have ever met in my life. Not to mention that she was my first friend when I first came to Equestria.”

The purple allicorn wrote what Luke said down on her pad going “Hmm-Hmm. Good, good, Alright.”

“I mean, look at those, adorable, green eyes of hers. It’s like looking into a pair of shiny, and priceless pearls glistening under the sun.”

“I see, and when exactly did you have these kind of feelings?”

“Well umm.... it was yesterday I think.” Luke remarked, trying to be modest with his friend. “During the little fun snowball fight we had yesterday, she saved me from getting hit by Discord. It made me feel.... flattered that she did that for me.

“We remember that alright,” spike remarked. “And It was funny how you finished off Discord.”

“Right, So back to this, have you began feeling these kind of feeling for her before the time she saved you yesterday?”

Trying to think hard about this little question she just asked him, he finally noted “Well, they were rather..... tiny feelings like this for her. But when she saved me, I thought that we would be meant to be for one another.”

“And you said you don’t want that because you are different species, right?”

“Yep.”

“I do understand, Luke.” Said Twilight. “And you’re right, it probably won’t work between you two because of that, but it doesn’t mean you are a freak, or somepony crazy.”

“Yeah, we all have those feelings once in a while.” Spike agreed with her. “But can you just tell her how you feel?”

“What? And make her think I am stupid or insane that she would kick me out of her cottage and not be my friend anymore? No thank you, Spike.” By the sound of Luke's voice, he was indeed, determined not to let Fluttershy about this embarrassing, dark secret. "Anyway, I have self-respect, you know?"

"Luke, Fluttershy really likes you. She says you are, right next to her animal friends, are one of the greatest roommates she has ever have in her life, not to mention that you are as close to her as me, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack are." These words made Luke somewhat touched.

"She really says that about me?"

"Of course she does. Fluttershy really loves how you help her out with her around the house. She even said how wonderful you are at the Thanksgiving party with your family members."

Feeling more touched and flattered, Luke said. "That's good to hear." and he made yet another sigh. "Look, I do want Fluttershy to like me, but we're different species, it will never work like I have mentioned before to you guys."

"And that's fine." Twilight said. "But at least understand how much she cares about you."

"I know. But I feel so stupid having a crush on Fluttershy. She's just been... so nice to me, and was more than kind enough to let me live with her when I first came to this dimension."

"Well I can assure you that Fluttershy would never think of you as a freak, weirdo, or a monster, no matter what you do. She really loves you."

Thinking about this a little more, Luke finally remarked. "I do get what you're saying, Twilight, but I don't want to take any chances right now. Besides, I was thinking about telling her how I feel at the Ponyville Winter Fair when it comes."

"Ooh, that sounds like a perfect time if you ask me." Spike said. "Mistletoes are quite a sight in Hearth's Warming festivals."

"Yeah, if you don't want to tell her till then, that's okay."

"Good. Anyway, I just need to get my mind off of this, and carry on with my life."

"Good idea." said Twilight in agreement.

"Here Luke, why don't you just go listen to music, or if you want you are more than welcome to hang out with us." Lyra kindly suggested

"That's nice of you guys, but I really need to get these groceries back to Fluttershy. See you guys soon." then he put his jacket back on and went back to the cottage with the groceries in hand.
> The Human Confesses to the Pegasus
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Many days have passed, and Luke was just listening to holiday tunes on his iPod while gazing outside the downstairs window at the ongoing snowfall in the morning. The white blanket of snow still made it beautiful in winter, but of course he hoped it wouldn't be so much that he would be snowed in. "Ah, the pegasus ponies wouldn't ever do that too anyone." he thought to himself.

Angel bunny was just resting on his favorite bed, taking a little nap. The Human looked over at the sleeping rabbit, and mildly scowled at him.

“Heh, sspoiked little rabbit, aren’t you Angel?” Luke muttered to himself. And when he turned himself back to seeing the snowfall, something hard hit him I. The back of his head “Ow!” He exclaimed.

Looking over at where it just came from, he saw Angel looking awake instead of sleeping, whistling innocently. The Human looked at the floor and it was a small rock that hit the back of his head.

“Grr, you behave yourself Angel, because you sir, are only my list right now.”

Angel blew a raspberry rudely at Luke and then immediately went back to sleep, snoring little grunt noises as he was back in his little dreamworld.

“Ugh. Whatever.” Luke said with an irritated sigh. Now he felt like getting another cup of hot chocolate with this little marshmallows floating in them to make it more traditionally during try cold, winter holidays.

After he was finished, he took a sip and loved every taste of that deliciousness us beverage, and had blankets wrapped all over him, except for his head while he was only wearing his boxers. Fluttershy came back inside from the s key wesrher she faced while going on a few errands.

“Brrr, it’s cold out there.” Said the yellow Pegasus as she put away her coat and hat on the hook. “I honestly hope the animals that are hibernating are okay right now.”

“I’m sure they are right as rain, Fluttershy.” Luke said boldly. “Besides, Harry, and other animals that are hibernating, dug some pretty deep holes down the ground. I’m sure the freezing weather won’t hurt them one bit.”

The yellow Pegasus made her usual cute smile on that adorable little face of hers? “Oh you’re right.” She admitted with a giggle. “So I got some more root beer for you, and some more ice in the freezer.”

“Matnifique.” Luke said, taking another sip of his hot chocolate. Without paying attention, some hot chocolate spilled on his shirt, where his tummy was, and yelled in pain. “Ah! Oh! Oh! Oh! Ow ow ow! Hot!” Luke bounced around in pain. “Hot!”

Fluttershy gasped and asked “what happened? Did you spill some hot chocolate on yourself?”

“Yes!” Luke said in agony. “God Damn it! It stings like hell!” And he took off his shirt and there was a small burn mark on his stomach, and even though he couldn’t see it, there were some drops that went in his belly button. “Ow god, that hurts!” He grunted.

“Oh no.” Fluttershy Said. “That looks like a burn mark. Hold on, let me get my first aid kit.” And she was about to get her medical set, but the Human stopped her from doing so

“No, it’s okay.” He Said. “I know a trick that can help with that.” And he went outside without his jacket and put some snow under his shirt while sitting down. “Oh, that feels so much better.” He sighed, slowly feeling the burning pain go away.

Fluttershy kinda looked on in confusion and asked “That is nice thinking, but can I please use my first aid kit on you just in case?”

“Well Alright.” Luke said “But i’m Keeping some snow under my shirt just in case like a bag of ice would help.”

“Okay.” The Human sat on the couch again and let the yellow Pegasus do her thing. Luke took out the small latch of snow he was using and then Fluttershy sprayed some rubbing alcohol on it, causing him to scream in pain.

Fluttershy felt really guilty for trying to unintentionally hurt her close friend, and even felt like shedding tears from her face. “Oh Luke.” She said. “I know it hurts, but it helps.”

“I know, Fluttershy.” Luke said. “Just don’t take so long, okay?”

“I’ll try Luke, i’ll try to make it a a quick as possible.” The Pegasus mare clarified. Another thing she did was put some lotion on the burn mark above his belly button. With every rib, Luke was grunting and gritting his teeth feeling more pain. “Are you okay, Luke?” She asked him

“Don’t worry about me Fluttershy.” Luke smiled. “Ah! Just keep doing what you know how to do.”

“Alright.” And she continued rubbing his belly for many long minutes, and she was finished. “Okay, i’m all done now.”

“Finally.” And Luke promptly put the piece of snow on his belly to ease the swelling on it. With this, he won’t get an infection from it, and it wouldn’t be so sore the next morning when he wakes up.

“So, are you going to the Ponyville Winter Fair?” The yellow Pegasus Asked him curiously while having some tea to drink for herself.

“Oh yeah. It will be fun, I know it. Heck, I even wonder how Pinkie will make it even more fun and exciting.”

Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle at that statement. “I agree. Pinkie does know how to throw a party and make it better.”

“Yeah, I haven’t even forgot about that Thanksgiving event weeks ago that you all did for me. Speaking of which, can my family come there too?”

“That would sound wonderful. I would love to see your closest friend and family again.” And she added a little more lemon juice in her herbal tea. “Oh, and you can play a concert that would fit the holiday spirit in Hearth’s Warming.”

“Perfect idea, Fluttershy!” The Human Agreed While eating a few of those little marshmallows that were not in the hot chocolate. “I even hear the princess’ will even be there, am I right?”

“Yes. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna always attend the Ponyville Winter Fair every year. We would build some shires outside of Ponyville near Sweet Apple Acres and do fun activities like making snow angels the fastest and vote on which one looks the best.”

“What else do you guys normally do in the Winter Fair?”

“We do ice skating and a snowboarding competition for the small hills, a snowpony contest, and all drink some hot chocolate to keep us all warm outside without getting sick. It will be so much fun, I know you’ll love it.”

“Let’s hope that the Pegasus ponies don’t snow us in to make us miss it, eh?”

The yellow Pegasus laughed again and replied “You know they would never do that.” And she went to make herself a zesty cucumber sandwich. "Besides, even if we do get snowed in, we can always light this fire up whenever we get too cold."

"Excellent point, Flutters." And he took yet another sip of his warm beverage, starting to cool down and becoming less hot. At least he won't have to worry about burning himself by mistake like a few minutes ago, and the marshmallows still tasted as delicious as ever when he touched his tongue to them.

"So Luke, are you feeling okay?"

"Of course." Luke replied with a confused. "I can assure you that I am perfectly fine, besides, I kinda suffered worse than a small burn mark on my skin. Like one times when I was a kid, I scraped my leg on the street after crashing my bicycle."

The yellow pegasus had a look thinking how painful that was. "Oh my." she said. "that does sound worse. Did you cry?"

Luke felt rather uncomfortable, and remembered how painful it was that a fountain of tears did stream out of his eyes from how painful it was. "No." Luke lied defending himself. Fluttershy gave him a rather skeptical look on her cute little face. Realizing it wasn't good to lie to his closest friend here in Equestria, he sighed, and admitted "Yes." and he slightly turned away from her.

"Luke, it's okay to cry, and you know it's not really good to hold in all those kind of emotions, right?"

"Right. Sorry for lying to you."

She smiled warmly at him and replied "It's okay Luke." and she patted his shoulder with her hoof very softly. These feelings of Fluttershy as his soul mate came back to Luke, and felt stupid just thinking about this, and the shoulder tapping for comfort from her wasn't making it any better for him.

"I'm pretty messed up right now." he thought to himself. "Ah but come on, like I said before, I'll tell her how I feel at the Winter Fair. That's when I will express how I feel about her." And Fluttershy stopped petting his shoulder. 

"So, would you like some more hot chocolate?" she kindly offered him.

"Yes, please." Luke said. "But not too hot, please? I don't want to melt my tongue off."

Fluttershy made another cute giggle. "Don't worry, I know how you like your cocoa." and she hovered to the kitchen to fetch her roommate his request, and added a few extra marshmallows in them to make her friend extra happy. When it was finished, Luke kindly enjoyed the second cup of hot cocoa.

When he was finished, the yellow pegasus had an idea. "I know another way to keep us warm for the winter."

"What's that?"

"I have a humidifier in the bathroom." she answered him with an eager smile.

"Like in a steam room?"

"Hmm-mm."

"How did I not notice that before?" he muttered to himself. "That does sound fun."

"Wonderful, I'll start it up right now."

"I'd better get undressed and get a towel to cover.... you know."

"I understand. You go ahead and do what you need to do." Then she went upstairs to start up her humidifier for some quality time with Luke, along with some animal friends that wanted to go in there with her. Luke came back in, and waved his hair a few times to get out of his face, and he was wearing nothing but a towel, and sat down next to the yellow pegasus

Both he and Fluttershy sighed in relaxation, along with a couple of raccoons, beavers, and other small varieties of animals joined in on the fun. "Oh yeah, that hits the spot." Luke said. "This was a really good idea, Fluttershy. Steam really hits the spot in a cold winter day."

"Yes it certainly does." she agreed with him. "It's so relaxing, don't you think?"

"Yep. A votre sante." he said, putting his hands behind his head. They both continued this heavenly activity, relaxing in the steam having no worries going about their heads. all of the participants were surrounded by steam and it went on for thirty long minutes.

After that, Luke decided to have enough, for he didn't want to look like a dried up prune. Fluttershy thought the same and when the human was about to go change, his towel suddenly flew down. He looked down and made a girly scream

"Ah! I'm naked! no one look at me!" and he covered where his certain body part was. Fluttershy and the animals covered their eyes and Luke went to put his underwear back on. "Whew, sorry about that. You can all look now." Just like that, they all reopened their eyes back up.

"Are you okay, Luke?"

"Yeah, I just don't know what happened. I tied the towel really good on me." then a small chittering was heard and the human noticed Angel snickering. "Oh, you little sneak!" Luke said. "You pulled that towel down from my body!"

All Angel could do was whistle and pretend to be innocent. 

"Angel Bunny!" Fluttershy scolded her rabbit friend. "That was not very nice! Go downstairs for a timeout, and no dessert for you tonight!"

The rabbit pouted and hopped away downstairs.

"I am really sorry about that, Luke. I had no idea Angel would try and do that to you."

"It's okay. As long as it was in front of you guys, and no other humans to see that. My friends would have guffawed at me if they were here."

“I had no idea all humans are supposed to wear clothes in public.” Fluttershy remarked

“Yeah, walking completely naked with nothing covering your birthday suit would be called indecent exposure, and like I have mentioned before, it is illegal on my world to... roam free without any clothes on your back.”

“And If remember correctly, there are some beaches in the world where you can go naked without clothes on?”

“That’s right. Nude beaches can be found in many places.”

“Hmm. It does sound interesting.” Then after they were done with the steam, both went to get the animals who weren’t hibernating some lunch and a heater for every stall, and the chicken coup with some blankets to keep them from getting a cold.





The Ponyville Winter was here at last. Everypony  H Ponyville was all attending this wonderful event and the holiday party was on full swing. There was skating on the frozen lake, skiing and or snowboarding on the hills close to town, and bobbing the apples to go with it.

A rather large stage was all set for Luke to perform his song. He knew exactly what he was going to sing and or play on there when the time comes.

Meanwhile, Luke saw Fluttershy getting some hot cocoa, and was just about ready to go over there and confess to her about his true feelings around her. Something stopped him however, and it turned out to be the rest of his closest friends.

“Hey Luke!” Rainbow Said. “We hear your going to tell Fluttershynhow you feel about her.”

“Oh god, please don’t tell me you are going to rub it in my face and make fun of me for it.” Luke mildly groaned in irritation.

“No, of course not. Why in the world would you think that, Luke?” Applejack Said.

“Becasue we’re different species.”

“Well that’s true, but I think this is really cute and sweet that you have so much affection for her.” Rarity Said.

“Can you all blame me?” Luke asked them all. “She is the very first friend I ever made near and she’s special to me. She’s like....”

“Like what?” Asked Pinkie curiously. 

“That she’s the heaven in my hell.” Luke remarked.

“Ooh, That is pretty deep stuff, dude.” Rainbow admitted. “But come on, who knows? Maybe she will totally except you.”

“No it won’t.” The Human disagreed. “We’re different and it will never work out between us. Why I am doing this is that because I need to get it out of my system.”

“We understand perfectly.” Said Lyra. “Just go and talk to her.”

“Right.” The Human had a determined look on his face and humbly walked over to the yellow Pegasus. “Fluttershy, can I talk to you for a second, please?”

“Sure.” And she followed the Human make to a section of he party where not a lot of other ponies were having a blast at. “So what is it, Luke?”

The Human was hesitant to say this, but he wanted to get it out of his head. “Fluttershy.... please don’t laugh at me for this, but... I.... I...”

“Yes?”

“I love you, okay?” He admitted. “Fluttershy, I... have a crush on you” and he knelt on one leg, looking like he was getting ready to ask Fluttershy for her girly hoof in marriage. “You have He most beautiful eyes like the color of the springtime, and your mane is so beautiful.”

She flushed and felt really touched by this.

“Fluttershy, you are one of the greatest things that ever happened to me in my life, and... I want us to be together closer than ever. I love you, and you are the heaven in my hell.”

“Oh, Luke. That is so sweet of you,” she replied. “I never thought I would actually hear you say that.”

The Human had a look of hope on his face.

“But... we can’t be together.” She said sadly. Just like that, Luke’s spirit went all the way down to his feet. “It just can’t work out. You’re... a human, and I am a pony.”

“Ah, I knew you were going to say that.” Luke gripped. “Agh! I am such a moron.” He said to himself, kicking a small amount of snow into the air. “What the hell was I thinking, goddamnit!”

“Luke, I am really flattered, and you are the sweetest human ever, but... it just can’t happen between us.” And she tried to comfort him about this. “But thank you for telling me the truth. I really appreciate it.”

At this, Luke never felt so ashamed and hurt like this. He may have got it out of his chest, and he was glad of it, but he can’t help but feel some sadness inside of him. “You’re welcome. He sighed. “I’m sorry if I said that to you.”

“Oh Luke it’s okay.” She softly and warmly reassured him while putting a hoof on his shoulder. “But we can still be friends, right?”

“Yeah, good friends, right?”

“Of course.” And he felt a tear run down his cheek.

Fluttershy noticed and frowned. “Luke, please don’t cry.” She said.

“What? I’m not crying.” Luke lied to her. “I... I just need to be alone for a bit.” And he walked away into the night.

“Hey Luke, what’s the matter?” Spike said, with he and others running up to him. “Did you ask her.”

“Yes.” Luke admitted. “She doesn’t love me back.” And he made a sudden stop.

“Oh Luke. We’re so sorry.” Cloudchaser said in sympathy. “Really, we all are.”

“No it’s perfectly alright guys. I am a fool just as tiring those kind of feelings for her.”

“Ah don’t say that.” Twilight Said. “It’s okay if you felt that way, remember?”

“Yes but... it still hurts.” And he sighed again. Then he continued out into the night to be alone for a little while. Another tear escaped his face and when it fell on the snowy ground, it was in a shape of a broken heart.
> Take it on the Run
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Walking for quite a long distance in the snow, Luke still felt hurt and heartbroken after being gently rejected by Fluttershy, even if she was never trying to hurt his feelings and express herself in a very nice way to him. No matter how nice and kind she was to him, it still hurt him. Now he was thinking about how stupid he was falling for a cute pony like Fluttershy, and he was a human, it was definitely forbidden love.

Finally feeling his legs getting tired from all of that pacing through the snow, he decided to stop and take a break and rest harm eet for a minute or two. He didn’t care if the snow would give his ass frostbite, he was too depressed to even think about it.

“Grr, god damn it.” He muttered to himself in frustration. “I am such a fool liking a different species. I’m a damn sick person.” And he threw a little snowball out in the distance in frustration. Never has he felt so ashamed of doing something like this before, and really felt like he was messed up in the head.

Sitting in the snow under a willow tree, he began playing Take it on the Run by the infamous band: REO Speedwagon, over and over again and again without stopping or even bothering to listen to another song for quite a while.

“Man, I am such an idiot.” He thought to himself. “What am I thinking? Fluttershy is probably better off with Big Mac or another Stallion like him. Both of them can be timid and quiet, right?” Realizing he was thinking a little bit too hard, he made a small growl.

Another thing that worried him was that his friends will now think he is a freak. Okay, maybe not his closest friends, but the rest of Ponyville probably would was what he was worried about.

Spoiled Rich, the pompous and conceited mother of Diamond Tiara thought Luke was a little bit of a freak already, but he didn’t care and let that goal but now how will Fluttershy face him or be used to him living with her having a crush on her?

“You take it on the run, baby.” Luke sang out loud. “If that!a The way you want it, baby, then I don’t want you around.” The poor Human felt like shedding tears again, as a matter of fact, he felt three teardrops running down his cheek in heartbreak.

He was feeling so bummed about this, that he didn’t even care if he would suffer from hypothermia, and more snowflakes came pouring on his head and coat. While listening to the same tunes over and over again while feeling glum, he looked at the surroundings and saw more snow falling on the ground and a couple of deer pass by him.

“I’m so sorry, Fluttershy.” Luke said. “I’m such a retard doing that to you. I... hope you do ‘t think i’m a freak.” He suddenly got back on his feet. “If you don’t wanna come look for me, I understand, and i’ll Give you the space I need.”

Luke decided to walk on back to the cottage and get out his lightsaber so he can slice at a few things in the woods like trees, bark, logs, stones, and even large boulders to let out his anger, like a punching bag in a gym. Of course it was kind of a long way back to the cottage considering the fact that he made a long walk out in these fields of willow trees.

The human’s nose began to become runny, but he honestly didn’t care about that because of how torn he was. “Hey guys.” Luke said, coming in through the door. Many animals were happy to see him, and crowded around his legs to welcome him back home. “Ah, not now.” The Human sighed. “I’m not in the mood.” He couldn’t help but get some root beer for himself and drink away his sorrow, but it was a good thing that root beer wasn’t really alcohol.

All of the critters were confused and concerned for Luke, as a matter of fact, Linus the Lion, And Tyson the Tiger stood next to him and wondered what the problem was. 

“I’m am such a fool.” He Said. “I admitted my true feelings for Fluttershy, and now she thinks I am weird.” Both big cats began rubbing their heads against the human’s lap to cheer him up. “Oh come here, you guys.” He Said, giving in to their kindness. They all supported and comforted Luke in any way they could.

It went on for about twenty minutes and Luke decided to have enough and finished his drink.

“Look, I gotta slash a few fruits or branches, or logs with my lightsaber for a while. I need to calm down from all this.” And he went upstairs to get his lightsaber and went back downstairs, hoping this would help him calm down.

All of the critter friends were still worried about Luke, but they decided to let him do what he wanted to do to soothe his soul.

“Don’t worry guys, I won’t take long. I’ll just be out there for an hour or two.” And he went back outside and closed the front door, and locked it when he shut it. “Alright. Now let me look for any stuff that I can slice through with this baby.” He thought. “I don’t wanna kill animals with it because that is too evil of me. So... oh yeah, snowmen. They are perfect practice dummy with my sword.”

He decided to go to the small willow tree fields he was sitting at before, and found a good spot to practice in the forest. He built up to five, six, or seven snowmen looking quite ready to be sliced by the lightsaber.

Luke ignited it, causing the green beam to glow and the sound of low humming heard. “Focus.” He said to himself. “Focus.” He narrowed his eyes at the first snowman, and charged at it with full zeal. He gave a small battlecry and slashed his lightsaber st the snowman like there was no tomorrow.

“I! Am! So! Stupid!” Luke said in full anger. For the final touch on his “victim”, he decapitated the head, and it dissolved when it hit the ground. “Okay, Okay, this is.... relaxing for me.” He muttered. “But let’s try this again.” The human turned his eyes to the other snowmen, and a small touch of evil appeared in his eyes, and hacked and slashed the others with no remorse. At least they were just snowmen.

He would never kill anyone or anypony of course, but he really wanted to let these negative feelings go. It was like an alternative to a punching bag like Muhammad Ali would use before he died a year ago. So far, he was feeling a tad bit better now than he was before when the yellow pegasus rejected her.

"Luke?" said a familiar voice. He turned around and he was surprised to see Fluttershy herself with a worried face. The human immediately put his lightsaber away and sighed. "What are you doing?" she asked him

"Not much, Fluttershy." Luke flatly replied. "Just trying to make myself feel better by using practice dummies for my lightsaber here. "Look, I am really sorry if I was such an idiot to ask you to be my lover. I know it can never work out between us because we are very different, but-"

"Shh." she gently shushed him by putting a hoof over his mouth, causing him to look confused. "It's okay Luke." she murmured tenderly. "I was thinking about it, and I want to make this work."

At first, Luke was surprised and didn't know what to think of this. Then, when he let the emotions sink in, he became very happy and thought that he wasn't such a fool after all. "Really?" he asked

"Of course. You have always been a good friend to me." Fluttershy remarked sweetly. "I think I should return the favor for you. Come one, let's go somewhere more private, hmm?"

"That would be a good idea." then they both walked together through the willow trees, and stopped in front of a frozen pond and a frozen waterfall to go with it. "wow, I hope any fish didn't freeze to death while living in there."

"Me too. But I'm pretty sure they will be fine when spring comes and they unthaw."

"Right."

"Umm, Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Kiss me."

the human's cheeks flushed a big crimson red, and stammered at first. "Uhhh, i don't know it that's such a good idea."

"Pleeeeease?" she begged with her cute face showing at him.

Finally giving in, the human decided to pucker his lips and kiss his best friend in Equestria under the continuing falling snowflakes. At first it was a perfect moment, but right before they could touch lips, something stopped them.

"Luke?" it also sounded like Fluttershy's, except she was right here, or was she? "Oh there you are, I was looking all over for you. And.... who's this?" she noticed the look-a-like.

"What the, Fluttershy?" Luke said. There she was, walking up to him, possibly looking for him. Now the human was so confused about what was happening. "There's two of you?" he said, looking at one Fluttershy to another. "What the hell is going on here?"

Just then the Fluttershy had a shocked expression on her face. "Wait a minute. Luke, I'm the real Fluttershy, not here!"

"Wait, if you are Fluttershy then who are you?"

Then the other one had an evil grin on her face. She shift-changed into a tall, gaunt creature that looked like a pony except with insect like features such as the wings, and she was just as tall as Celestia. "Heeeeere's Chrysy! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Luke never felt so spooked and so scared about something like this before and Fluttershy exclaimed "Chrysalis!"


> Deception
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke could not believed he has been deceived like this, and have his feelings taken advantage of. Now he was really played for a sap this time. He was about to kiss this.... witch or whatever this Chrysalis was. It was absolutely a good thing that his lips didn’t touch this one’s. One question his wanted to know was why this Chrysalis was trying to kiss Luke like that before Fluttershy saved him from doing so in the neck of time.

“Chrysalis?” Luke asked with a raised eyebrow.

The insect-like pony made another evil cackle. “That’s right, Luke.” She remarked wickedly. “Oh how I have longed to meet you.”

“Wait, you know about me?”

“Of course I have. I know you have so much love contained in yourself that it would make an excellent dinner for me in a long while.

The Human did not know what to think of this, and looked at the yellow Pegasus. “Fluttershy, do you know this hag?”

Fluttershy nodded her head. “Yes.” She said. “She and her followers tried to take over Equestria and feed off of love from the ponies to keep them from getting hungry.”

“She’s right.” Said a voice. Twilight and the rest of her friends trotted up to confrontation, looking more than ready to take on the former changeling queen again. For Spike, he was sitting on Twilight’s back, looking ready to fight her, too.

Luke began thinking how easily deceived he was on believing this Chrysalis creature looked exactly like Fluttershy. Yet again, now that he thought about it, he noticed the crooked horn on her forehead, so she was capable of magic too, so he wouldn't really call himself a complete fool for falling for a clever trap like this one.

"Get the hell out of here Chrysalis!" Rainbow barked at her, ready to take her head on. She was about to charge at her as a matter of fact, but she was stopped by Twilight with her magic.

"What are you doing here?" Applejack asked in a demanding tone of voice. "Come to steal love from Luke here?"

"Lucky guess, worm." said she in a rather calm voice. In a change of demeanor, she said in a fierce and hateful tone "Until you meddling vermin ruined it for me, like you and that meddling Starlight Glimmer ruined my life! I lost my throne and my reputation because of you all!" she bared her sharp teeth, looking ready to kill someone unpredictably.

For good measure, Luke ignited his green lightsaber back on, ready to fight back in case she strikes like a vicious, African forest cobra.

"You have done that yourself, Chrysalis!" Twilight said.

"Yeah, you were the one who kidnapped all of us in the first place! You refused to reform!" Spike added.

"Reform? Ha! I only wanted what was best for my people."

"And look where it got them now!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"All they did was starve to death because of you and your poor leadership skills!" Fluttershy shouted upon her with anger.

The evil changeling gritted her teeth at her in response, and said "What?! How dare you!" and she tried to charge at her with full zeal, but Luke came to her aid immediately and pointed the lightsaber at the evil former queen of the changelings. "No!" the human exclaimed. "You want her, you'll have to go through me!"

Chrysalis couldn't help but raise her eyebrow with a smirk on her face and chuckled in amusement. "You think a filthy beam sword will try and stop me from carrying on my vengeance? I don't think so!"

"So wait a sec." Luke began thinking. "Why were you doing this to me and what are you?"

"Oh yes. I believe a proper introduction is in order." she said in a more calm voice again. "Anywho, my name is Chrysalis, the queen of the glorious changeling kingdom." In a more begrudging voice, she added "Well at least I was until your wretched new friends ruined it for me." She gave all of them a look of pure hate.

"Eesh, talking about holding a grudge." said Thunderlane, feeling a little scared by hear.

"You said it." Flitter agreed. "besides, we don't even know you."

"Yeah, it doesn't have to be our problem." Cloudchaser said. "Now why don't you beat it and go crawl back to the cave from where you came from."

"Ah, but when it comes to you ponies." said Chrysalis. "It is all of your problems, now. You all took away from me, now I want all of you to suffer the same way as I have." Then she turned back to the human. "Anyway, my dear Luke, Thanks to them, I have to feed off of love the hard way and go into hiding. Finally, I have found the perfect creature with lots of love for me to fast for one hundred years."

"Let me guess, me?"

"Ding ding ding! Right you are." she sang. "I have never seen such a creature with so much love like yourself."

"No!" said Lyra. "There's no way we're letting you sucking his love out dry like a prune, you miserable hag!"

"And who is going to stop me?" she said with a wicked smile

"Uh hello." Rainbow said. "You are quite outnumbered, Chrysalis. You have no more followers to back you up against us." The others made words of agreement with the cyan pegasus.

"Perhaps, but I don't really need any help anymore. I'm a changeling, remember? I can turn into whatever I want!" then she transformed into a large, scary-looking dragon with the scales as the color of her skin, and her ragged, unkempt mane remained in place on her head.

Her dragon form had a rather slender appearance like any female dragon would have, except she looked more terrifying than any other grownup female dragon. Regardless of how big she was, Luke was ready to take her head on.

As her first move, Chrysalis tried to squish Luke and the other with a mighty dragon fist, but Luke sliced at the hand woth his lightsaber, making her roar in agony.

"Nice slice, Luke." Said Rumble.

"Thanks."

"Damn you human!" The changeling exclaimed with fury in her eyes. 

Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and the other pegasus ponies tried to punch at Chrysalis in her dragon form, right in her face.

Alas, in this form, it was like a bunch of flies buzzing around Chrysalis, and she tried to swat them away many times, but she would always miss when trying to hit them with her mighty paws.

The punches and kicks all over her neck and face only did small scales of pain compared to Luke's lightsaber behind her hand, which was still burning in smoke.

Applejack, Rarity, and the ponies without wings gave their best on the ground bu bucking and kicking at her feet, tail, and under her belly. The unicorns like Rarity and Lyra would use their magic to try and hurt her as well.

Chrysalis felt the continuous attacks from both sky level and on the ground., but she apparently suffered worse pain than this.

With a mighty swing, Chrysalis swung her dragon tail at the ponies on ground level. Luke saw Pip about to be hit too, but he came to his aide just in time and sliced at the mighty thick tail.

"Agh!" Chrysalis shouted while gritting her sharp teeth in pain. 

"Thanks a lot, Luke." Pip said.

"Now problem, Pip." Luke replied. "Go somewhere safe where she can't hurt yoy like that.Looking at the human again with pure anger. 

She began creating a big ball of fire inside her mouth as it was wide open.

"Uh-oh." Luke said. He knew exactly what was going to happen, and he began running as fast as he could. Just then, Chrysalis began breathing fire on the ground to try and cook the human to a crisp.

She tried to get Luke in the shower of fire, but the human was quite fast and ran with all his strength.

Of course, this changeling was only impersonating a dragon, not an actual one. Even she has her limits and began panting because she was out of breath with all of that straining while breathing fire.

Cloudchaser saw this as a perfect opportunity to kick at one of her dragon eyes while she was trying to catch her breath, as if she was gouging at it. "Ha! How do you like that, you witch? I know it hurts."

And then she saw her incoming tail looking like it was going to push her away like a fly swatter. Fast as the tail was, Cloudchaser was faster and dodged out of the way just in time.

"I'll crush you all like puny insects!" Chrysalis exclaimed.

"Good luck with that!" Rainbow taunted. "Nothing can beat the fastest, awesomest, coolest mare in all- Ugh!" Rainbow Dash felt a huge weight hitting her to the ground, and landed hard like a comet.

The cyan pegasus tumbled and hit her head against a nedium-sized rock. Rainbow was in great pain and she began moaning and groaning in agony.

"Rainbow!" Luke and Fluttershy exclaimed. Both of them rushed to her aide and tried to see if she was injured or not.

"Are yoy okay, Rainbow Dash?"

"Ow! No." She grunted. "I think one of my wings are broken. Agh!"

"Here let me see, Rainbow. Let me see." Luke said. He saw that her left wing definitely looked clipped amd broken alright, like a twig.

"Oh my goodness!" Fluttershy said. "You poor thing! Don't worry, we'll tend to you. Just let us defeat Chrysalis."

"Don't worry about me." Rainbow said. "I'm fine." Sure she says it, but both Luke and Fluttershy know that she was not by the look on her wing.

"Stay strong Rainbow." Luke said. "Hang tough."

"Always." Rainbow replied.

Both Fluttershy and Luke went back into the fight, but this time it was more personal. The yellow pegasus mare became more brave because of her enemy badly injuring her closest friend, and tried to kick and punch at Chrysalis.

Young Spike was trying to improvise by digging his sharp claws into her skin like a pair of knives. The baby dragon tried with all his might trying to pierce inside her skin over and over again.

Chrysalis noticed the small irritation that the baby dragon was causing, and she picked him up with a mighty hand, very tightly.

"Hmm, you thought you can try and hurt me with your puny little claws, Spike?" She asked tauntingly.

"Well... worth the shot."

"And so was this!" She was squeezing him tighter than before. Turns out she was squeezing the life out of him.

Twilight saw her brother yelling in pain and looking pale, and rushed hurriedly and furiously at the former Changeling queen. She had he mind of shooting a magic beam from her horn into one of Chrysalis' eyes, making her shout in pain. It was just about enough to let Spike go for it felt like lemon juice or hot sauce was just came in her eye.

The purple allicorn immediately caught Spike from falling to the snowy ground and going splat, and carried him on her back. “Spike, are you alright? She didn’t hurt you, did she?”

“Well... she might have squeezed my spleen a little.”

“Don’t worry Spike, i’ll See to it she pays the price.” Twilight Said. She went back on the ground and Spike got off of her. “I think it’s best if you find somewhere safe from all of this.”

“Got it.” And the baby dragon found a small hole underneath a rock to keep him safe from all that fighting going on. Hopefully, Chrysalis won’t find him under there.

“You’ve gone too far Chrysalis, trying to hurt Spike-Whikey like that!” Rarity shouted. “Now you have got to deal with me!”

“Ooh, aren’t you quite a trooper, Rarity.” Chrysalis stated mockingly. “Go ahead and keep trying because I will really enjoy kicking you around over and over again like a ball.”

“You’ll see what I am capable of, you monster!” Rarity shouted.

Luke then had an idea, he decided to go under Chrysalis’ dragon belly while she was distracted with his friend kicking her ass, and dodged as many obstacles as possible to do so. Luke readied his lightsaber and then made a big slice on Chrysalis’ belly.

She yelled in more pain than before and changed back to her normal form. She panted and panted to catch her breath. However, despite the cut on her belly, she was tough enough to still stand and keep fighting her opponents. This Chrysalis seemed tougher than Luke thought, but he knew that Chrysalis wasn’t going to keep it up much longer, for she was getting exhausted.

“You think it’s over?” She said. “Well it’s not, puny weaklings!”

“Come on, Chrysalis, where’s your honor?” Luke said. “Fight me like a true warrior!”

She made a villainous cackle again and replied “very well. To be fair, I was going easy on you, Luke, but now, you will see how tough I can be!” She began firing magic beams from her horn, but the Human dodged most of them and even deflected them with his lightsaber for some of them.

“You call that an attack?”

“Just getting warmed up.” Then she charged at the Human with full zeal, and tried to pierce him with her horn, but he side-jumped just in the neck of time. “Grrr, stop moving!” She said in frustration.

“Try and get me you evil hag!”

And she tried charging him again, and once again, she missed him. Finally having enough, she used the magic from her horn to freeze Luke in place as if he was being moved against his free will.

“Ahh! Let me go!” The Human said

“Never!” And she placed Luke on the grass and was about to stab him with her horn again, and this time, Luke might not dodge this one, for he was completely stuck in place. It was as if it was the end for him, something suddenly charged at Chrysalis, causing her to fall sideways to the snowy ground.

He looked and it was Fluttershy who pushed Chrysalis with a full charge.

“Grrr! You’ll pay for that, peasant!” She said. Thunderlane suddenly appeared and then kicked her in the face with full force. The queen however retaliated and blasted him with her magic, sending him flying to a tree trunk.

“Bro!” Rumble Said coming to his aid. “Are you hurt, Thunderlane?”

“Ah, no. Well, she might have bruised something, but i’m tough.” The Black Stallion said while grunting.

“Alright, I have had just about enough of you interlopers.” Chrysalis Said. “Nothing will stop me from taking Luke’s love. You will all die!!!”

“No!” Luke said, reigniting his sword. “You’ll never steal love from me!” They both charged at each other, and then there was a loud burning sound, and Chrysalis suddenly fell and tumbled. Luke looked back to see what just happened and it turns out, he sliced her horn off.

“No.” Chrysalis Said. “No, my horn!” She realized, feeling quite devastated. “Now look what you did! Do you have any idea how long it takes for a changeling’s horn to regrow in time!?”

“It’s over, Chrysalis!” Said Luke. “I’ve beaten you. Now why don’t you just give up?”

“Because I never give up on anything!” And she slowly started to get back on her feet. “I don’t need my horn to take all the love you have! Nopony will ever stop me!”

“Think again, Chrysalis!” Said a voice. Princess Celestia, Luna, and Cadence suddenly appeared out of nowhere behind the changeling. “I never thought we would see you again.” Princess Celestia Said. “Now you will pay the price for all that you have done!”

“Not if you catch me!” And she tried to fly away, but turns out the slice that cut her horn off really did a number on her. Many royal guards rushed to her and kept her as restrained as possible, including her wings.

“Chrysalis, you are under arrest for heinous acts of violence, crimes against ponies, and attempted murder.” Luna said.

“You are going to be locked up forever, you monster.” Cadence concluded.

“You think metal bars can hold me back forever?” She said in a more calm voice. “I will be back someday, this I swear.”

As the guards were taking her to the Canterlot dungeon in a special cell, the princess’ looked at the Human.

“Luke, are you Alright, dear?”

“Yep. Thanks to my friends here.” He humbly replied, putting his lightsaber back to his waist.

“We were so worried about you Luke, I was so worried about you.” Fluttershy Said.

“Even after I... You know, confessed, you still cared about me?”

“Of course I have.” She said. “Why wouldn’t I stop caring about you?”

Luke made a sigh and replied, “I thought you would see me as a freak Now after admitting I have a crush on you. There, I said it. Now all of you go on and laugh at me for admitting to Fluttershy I love her.” And he kicked the snow again.

“Oh Luke.” Said the yellow Pegasus softly. “It’s okay. I would never think you’re a freak. I did say I was flattered.”

“Fair enough.”

And he felt Fluttershy give him a big loving hug of kindness to show him how much she cares about him. “You will always be my friend, Luke. Nothing will ever change that.” Everypony And Spike went “Aww.”

“Thanks, Fluttershy.” And he hugged her back. The Human noticed the cyan Pegasus still looking injured. “Rainbow!” He exclaimed. He rushed to her aid and the others followed him. “We better get you to the hospital.”

“Oh my, just look at that wing.” Fluttershy Said. “Here, let me do something about that wing.”

“Don’t worry Luke, we’ll get her help.” Said Twilight. “So Luke, why did you have that lightsaber out in the first place?”

“Oh that, I wanted to get my mind off of this and use snowmen as practice dummies to see if it was still useful and strong.

“Ah, I see.” Said Applejack.

“So, who was that woman?”

“That was Chrysalis.” Luna said. “She was the queen of the changeling race and kingdom. However, Starlight Glimmer, Discord, Thorax, and a unicorn named Trixie stopped her and helped them realize that friendship was the answer to sustain their hunger.

“She’s right. Thorax became the new king and we have strong ties with them now.”

“Chrysalis even tried to marry Shining Armor and force him to be her husband so she can feed off of love endlessly. Cadence Said.

“Really? That’s crazy!”

“Tell me about it.” Said Applejack. “But of course, we stopped her from taking over Canterlot. It was before Thorax became king.”

“But sadly, Chrysalis wasn’t reformed, and chose to stay evil and nasty.” Pip Said. “I just hope that she will be in the dungeon forever.”

“Don’t worry, Pip.” Celestia remarked warmly at him. “Nothing ever escapes from my dungeon. Nope, we keep the most evil ponies under tight lock and key, and restrain them for as much as it takes.”

“She’s not wrong.” Twilight noted. “I’ve seen the dungeon and it has some pretty mean criminals in there.”

And everyone laughed at what she just said. “Well I highly doubt she will ever get out.” Luna said. “Besides, She has no power over the changelings anymore.”

“True.” Rainbow Said.

“Right, Thorax is the king now.”

“Do you think I can see him one of these days?” Luke asked curiously.

“Of course.” Spike said humbly. “Thorax is a very nice guy, and one of my closest friends.”

“Really?” The Human asked in amazement.

“Yep, He will like you. Trust me.”

“Awesome. Well for now, let's get Rainbow Dash some medical help.” Luke remarked. They all agreed with him and rushed to the Ponyville hospital to tend to that badly broken wing. Hopefully, it will be the last time Chrysalis will ever try to do something evil ever again.

After that will be taken care of, Luke will perform on the stage in the Winter Fair next, and will rock out to his friends again.
> Hearth's Warming Fair
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everypony attending the Ponyville Winter Fair was still having a blast in the party. For Luke, who just had a run-in with Chrysalis right before she was arrested by the royal guards of Canterlot, it was something he will never forget in the coming days of his life. Even if he turns into a senile old man suffering from dementia, he will never forget about this.

Still, he was so glad and happy to have all his closest friends come to his aid in his time of need. Hopefully, that evil Chrysalis won't be bothering him or the others anytime soon, for she will spend hard times in her dungeon cell, and hopefully, for Luke'a sake, she will freeze to death.

Luke enjoyed another cup of hot cocoa with his friends at the long table. "You're majesties." the human remarked to her. Both allicorns looked at him with a warm smile. "Listen, I thank you and the others for helping me against Chrysalis. If you hadn't come and intervene, I would have been a dead human walking right now." Celestia couldn't help but put a gentle, motherly hoof on his shoulder.

"You're quite welcome, sweetie. But I think that Fluttershy deserves your thanks. If not for her, you would definitely wouldn't be here right now." the princess of the sun stated. The human looked over at his closest pony friend again, and smiled at her cute face.

"Oh, I flush." the yellow pegasus said. "Like I have said before, I was only trying to look out for a good friend."

"And I thank you for that."

“I think you all have done a great service for us and all of Equestria by incarcerating Chrysalis where she belongs.” Cadence Said. 

“Sure, She has fell from power, but she was still dangerous.” Said Shining Armor. “It8s a good thing I didn’t marry that self-absorbed monster. Boy, would that be a total nightmare.”

Cadence couldn’t help but giggle at what her husband just said. “Oh Shining, sweetie.” She said to him. “She won’t be bothering us, or anypony ever again.” Then she looked at the Human again. Besides, you cut off her horn with that glowing sword.

“My lightsaber? Yeah I know.” Luke said. “But if she gets out of jail, she will come after me , and she might rip my throat out with her sharp teeth and throw my body to the vultures, hyenas, or wolves.”

“Eww.” Said Rainbow Dash. “That's disgusting.”

“And crazy.” Applejack added. “Besides, with that horn off, she might never be able to turn into somepony else ever again. Trust me, you have nothing to worry about.”

“Fair enough.” Luke sighed. “Well, at least if she does come back, i’ll be waiting for her.”

“We all admire your zeal, Luke.” Luna stated. “But me and my sister can assure you that Chrysalis won’t be going anywhere anytime soon, except in Tartarus.”

“Good.”

"So Luke, do you know what you're going to perform on the stage?" Twilight asked the human curiously. 

Luke was tapping his chin with his finger, trying to come up with any good suggestions that would fit this whole festival. "Ah, man. I still haven't figured it completely out yet, I just need-" then a sudden thought just came to him, an idea as a matter of fact. "I got it!" he said.

"What's that?" Applejack asked him curiously with a look of hope.

"Well, remember how I couldn't get the song called Scarborough Fair out of my head when I was thinking about Fluttershy? That's what I'm gonna do for the performance." And he promptly got out of the table. "I need to find Octavia and a couple of other ponies in an orchestra so they can help me."

"Ooh, this is going to sound quite promising." said Rarity.

"I'll be right back." and he went in search for Octavia, one of the musical earth ponies in town.

"I wonder how this will sound." Fluttershy remarked.

"I know! I can hardly wait to see what it sounds like and have an orchestra." Pinkie agreed in excitement.

"Yeah, I know it will be so fun to watch." Applejack added. "I just hope that it will be soon. Me and my family are all in the mood to hear some Hearth's Warming carols."

"Eeyup." said Big Mac. "I'm pretty sure that Octavia would be more than glad to whip up a musical group for him." They all clamored with him in agreement. It wouldn't take long for Luke to have a talk with Octavia and get a couple of other ponies with instrumental talents to help him with this performance.

"Oh that sounds rather interesting." said the cello mare with great delight. "It's a rather good thing I know some musical friends of my own, including Lyra."

Hearing that last name made Luke fill himself with more hope that this show will go well. "Oh yeah, I forgot she can play that lyre, hence the name Lyra."

"That's right, Luke." said the mint-green unicorn proudly. "I can also play myself a little guitar as well."

"How can you play a guitar if you only have one toe on each of your foot?"

"Easy." then she used the magic from her horn and created magical fingers from it so it looked like she can actually play a guitar."

"Ah, that's useful." Luke remarked with a smirk. Turning back to Octavia, he asked her. "You sure you can find a few ponies that can be backup minstrels for me?"

"of course. I can find you the best musical ponies to help you out before you can say Orchestra."

She looked for the most talented musical ponies that could back Luke up for the big show. Octavia did sound a little demanding to her cohorts, like a business woman would do to her employees, but the show must go on anyhow. Everypony within the crowd could hardly wait to see Luke do yet another amazing performance, even if he was going to be a little more mellow this time.

Of course, who doesn't like mellow and soothing when it comes to music? In the mean time, Like had an acoustic guitar with him this time instead of his usual electric guitar since he wanted this to fit in the holiday spirit.

All his strings were at a good tone, and he felt more than ready to rock this stage, Hearth’s Warming’s style. He took another sip of his hot cocoa, and wiped his face. “Hey Luke, I wanna say break a leg up there.” The baby dragon said.

“Ah, Thanks, Spike.” The Human remarked kindly. “I’ll be sure that it will go so amazing and awesome that it will make this the best Winter Fair ever.” All of a sudden, Discord appeared out of nowhere, instantly spooking all of them with a jump.

The master of chaos looked conniving and troublesome as ever and floated in midair with an amused look on his face, looking like he was up to no good. “Heeere’s Discord! Hahaha!”

“Oh boy.” Big Mac muttered sarcastically. “That’s all we need.”

“Ah Discord, Just In time.” Luke said. “Come to see my show?”

“You. Know it, my boy.” Discord Said in a sly voice. “I heard that you fought Chrysalis and took her horn off of her head with that lightsaber of yours.”

“Guilty as charged, I have no remorse for that after she tried to kill me and my friends.”

“Ha, i’ve heard, and I must admit, I am quite impressed. You managed to fight her off like that, even in dragon form.”

“Well.... I had some help with me.” And he looked at his closest friends again. “I don’t know what I would do without them.”

“I see, Well, help or no help, you managed to fend her off.” Discord stated. “I honestly could have take on her myself. She would be no match for my amazing powers of chaos and mayhem.”

“Well, Sorry you didn’t get the chance to help us.” Spike said

“I would have, but I had better things to attend to.”

“Like what?” Asked Twilight curiously.

“The usual stuff, make my house dirty, feed the dust bunnies, pull a little innocent pranks on a few ponies I don’t like, and torture Tirek while he’s in Tartarus for all eternity.”

“Ah. Well I would,be careful with Tirek. He might be powerless now, but you’ll never know what he will do.” Twilight remarked.

“Pish-posh, princess.” Discord shrugged. “Have I ever been wrong before? Oh! On second thought, don’t answer that, please.” 

Octavia came back with a small group of musical ponies with her already, and Luke smiled in excitement, looking more than ready to perform for everyone in the audience. He, Lyra, and the other musical ponies that will perform prepared themselves for the big recital.

“Alright Luke. You ready for this?” Asked Lyra. “‘Cause I know I am.”

“Totally! This is going to blow everyone’s mind.” Luke said.

“I bet it will. You feeling nervous?”

“Ah. No way. I’ve done this for you guys countless times before.”

“True. Well, we’ll do great, I just know we will.”

“Can not argue with that Lyra.” Octavia agreed. “This song sounds like a fine masterpiece.” And the curtains flew open and the sound of applause was heard. Luke pulled up his electric guitar and stepped in front of the microphone, clearing his throat for all the audience below him.

“Alright everyone. I wish you all a happy Hearth’s Warming, And thank you all for coming to this festival. Okay, here we go.”



The music that started to play sounded ever so beautiful, and peaceful. Snow also began to fall as they were all playing the music.

Octavia’s little minstrel posse were doing excellent with their instruments, along with the Ponyville choir. Lyra was a little bit behind him playing her own guitar with her morphed hooves.

She didn’t really need any help holding the pick, for she had magic to help her with that.

Everypony didn’t quite know what to say, for they were in awe to even murmur to one another.

When the song was over, a tremendous uproar was heard and Luke heard his friends and many other ponies in the audience cheering for him, Lyra, and Octavia. “Thank you all! I love my public.” Said the Human. Then he looked at his friends. “Sorry, I mean our public.”

Lyra and Octavia came up to the stage, standing next to him. Lura was on the left side, and Octavia was on the right, and they all bowed themselves to thank the adoring audience.

“Wow Octavia, that was so amazing!” Said Vinyl Scratch, coming on stage to congratulate her best friend. She shook her friend’s hoof in a rough manner, but still, Octavia was grateful for it either way. “Boy was that soothing to my ears.”

“Even though there weren’t any wubs in it.”

“Oh yeah. I know there is more to music than just wubs, that’s what you told me.”

“Fair enough.” Octavia smirked.

“Yeah, Luke was great.” Lyra Said. “That was quite a song he wrote.”

“Oh, I didn’t write it, mind you.” Luke Said modestly. “It’s an old folk song, a really old folk song that was created hundreds of years ago.”

“Ah, But still, we all did a good job up there.” Lyra Said. “Once again Puke, You never cease to amaze me.”

“Thanks.”

“Oh yes, that guitar of yours is such a magical instrument.” Octavia said. “It’s like me when I play my cello, like it speaks to me.”

Luke flushed. “Ah you guys, you’re making me fluster. I know i’m an awesome musician, but I don’t want to take the credit, you guys were amazing too, Same with the backup mucisians and the chorus.”

They all smiled and thanked Luke for taking one for the team. “Say Luke, you ever consider doing a song with me?”

“Hmmm. That’s very nice of you, Vinyl, but like I said before, I’m not much of a dubstep person.”

“Oh it’s okay, I can understand. And I mean like use your guitar shredding combined with my freaky beats! Maybe with a light show.”

“Like a laser party?”

“Yeah! That sounds better, a laser party while playing together.”

“Hmm. Maybe as long as it involves my guitar and I make it heavy for it, I suppose I can.”

Vinyl Scratch made a smile and said “Sweet! I would love that.”

“Wow Luke, that was so magical, it almost felt like you created the snow to fall.” Fluttershy Said. “I loved it.”

“We loved it.” Said Pip. “You did yet another fantastic job.”

“Thanks Guys.” The Human said with gratitude. “So you guys wanna go look at the petting zoo?”

All of them clamored in agreement and went with him to the tundra petting zoo that contained arctic foxes, snowshoe hares, and other types of animals that lived in the tundra. Celestia, Luna, Cadence, And Shining Armor smiled at how all the friends were doing with the Human.

“That Luke is one of a kind.” Said Shining Armor. “He should perform in the crystal empire stadium.”

“That is a great idea.” Said Candece. “But we really shouldn’t rush him darling, it would be his choice.”

“I know.”
> Lost Lynx
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three days past since the Winter Fair, and Luke has pleased yet another audience when he was performing Scarborough Fair. Everypony was so pleased and satisfied with Luke performing for all of them once again, especially the fact that Luke did a song that would fit into the holidays more.

The talented human decided to just take the load-off for a little while until Hearth's Warming comes to Equestria at last. Of course it won't be long before the official holiday strikes the land.

Meanwhile, Luke himself was taking care of some heavy snow on top of Fluttershy's roof, scooping them off with a snow-shovel. turns out, it was snowing a little more heavily than before, almost like a blizzard has struck the whole land of Equestria. At least it wasn't an actual blizzard to the point where he and the yellow pegasus would get snowed in.

He thought to himself "Thank god this isn't a place like Canada, Alaska, or Antarctica." and he scooped out a rather harder piece of ice onto the snowy ground. It wasn't that easy to do, but Luke was happy to do this for Fluttershy nonetheless. the sooner he would get this done, the sooner he would go back inside and take the load-off.

At last, all the heavy snow was taken off of her roof twenty minutes later, and the human promptly came down by leaping from the roof with a thud over the snow. Before he could go back inside however, he heard someone call his name in the distance. He looked over and saw Pipsqueak with some animal in his arms.

"Oi! Luke!" the colt called to him. He was promptly trotting up to him in an uphill run. "'Ello, Luke." he panted as he stopped right in front of him. "Have you got a moment to spare?"

"Sure thing, Pip. What is it?" and he looked at what appears to be a lynx kitten, looking really adorable with his kitty face. "Aww, who's this little guy?" and he knelt down on one knee to gently stroke his tiny head.

"I found this little Lynx on my doorstep, I think he lost his mummy." and he looked at the kitten below him, which made a small mew.

"Aw, poor guy." Luke said sympathetically. "Maybe Fluttershy should help us with it."

"Luke, I made you some more hot..." Fluttershy suddenly came outside. When she noticed the little lynx kitten, she gasped and immediately went up to Pip carrying it. "Aww, hello little guy." she said, trying to touch her nose to the animal's. The kitten made a cute purr an took an immediate liking to the yellow pegasus since she is one connected to nature after all.

"Fluttershy, thank god you came out here. pip said he found a lost lynx kitten in front of his front door, and we were wondering if you can help him find his mother, wherever she is." The colt gave Luke the adorable Lynx kitten, and held it in his hands.

"Oh, you poor baby." the yellow pegasus said the animal sympathetically. "Don't worry, little one. We'll find your mommy soon. Do you remember the last time you saw her before you lost her?"

The kitten nodded a yes to her and began making little growls, as if it was trying to talk.

"Oh, a lone tree in the meadow and then you got lost from her while trying to hunt for a jumping mouse?"

And the lynx nodded his head at her again.

Fluttershy felt like crying or at least shedding a tear from her eye hearing how this little kitten got lost in the first place. "I'm so sorry to hear that." she said to him. "But don't worry, we'll help you find your mommy."

The lynx youngling gave a very grateful smile to the yellow pegasus and made another cute meow. Luke couldn't help but stroke his tiny little head once more. "Don't worry, we'll help you find your mother. We promise."

"Here, let me just get changed first and we will help you." Luke and Pip waited for the yellow pegasus to get herself changed in her winter attire. It didn't take that long, for all she needed was a hat, earmuffs, and a fur coat to help her to not get hypothermia out here in the cold weather. "Alright. Let's go, boys." she said.

"Right." Luke and Pip said in unison with a head nod. It was turning into a rather small journey for all three of them. The Kitten was trying to keep himself warm from the freezing temperatures himself. Sure, lynxes would be very well adapted in harsh or cold conditions like this, but he was still just a kitten, and didn't have quite enough to keep himself warm or enough body heat.

It was no problem for the little guy since Luke was keeping the little creature warm by keeping him close in his arms like a newborn baby.

This plain was a little farther from Ponyville all three of them expected it to be from the town. “Hmm, I don’t see any lone tree anywhere.” Pip remarked. “Are you sure this is the place, Fluttershy?”

“Of course. I know this field. Don’t worry, Pip, we’ll find the tree. I know we will.” Thy searched high and low for this little dead tree that could be anywhere in this snowy field, but it migh probably be buried under a large amount of snow since it was as high as Luke’s knees.

It took a little while, fifteen minutes to be exact, but they found the lone tree on a small, snowy knoll. “Ah, Here we are.” Luke Said.

“Is this where you lost your mommy?” Fluttershy Asked the kitten

It made a small meow and nodded yes to her.

“Perfect.”

“But where will we even find a mummy lynx around here?” Pip Asked. Just then, he felt something sniffing his left rear leg, and he was startled there for a second. He immediately turned around and he was face to face with a rather big, grownup lynx. It was so big, it was a little bigger than him.

The cat made a small stance feeling a little frightened from Pip’s little reaction.

Luke and Fluttershy turned around and got a good look at this beautiful cat. “Wow. Look at her.” He remarked. Just then, the adult lynx saw the kitten and it’s eyes went open, and jumped up to Luke’s leg. Even though he was wearing jeans, he still felt the claws sinking through them. “Ah! My leg!”

Fluttershy gasped and the Lynx made a small growl at the Human as it was trying to climb up the Human. She acted fast and she said to it. “Excuse me!” And she sounded assertive to it. “You get off of my friend this instant!”

Just like that, understanding what Fluttershy was saying to it, the wild cat immediately got back down and sat on the snow.

“Thank you. Now, is this your baby?” Fluttershy Asked her in a much more calm voice.

Luke slowly put the kitten down and he immediately went over to the adult lynx, and both began purring and snuggling one another.

“Aww, it is his mummy.” Pip Said. “We did it!”

“Good. I’m glad we can be of service for you.”

And the adult lynx went up to the yellow Pegasus and licked her foot tenderly. The yellow Pegasus couldn’t help but pick it up gently, and hold it in her arms as if this wild cat was an ordinary house cat.

“Now, do you think you owe my friend here an apology?” She asked her.

The mama lynx looked at Luke again and When she was on the ground, it went up to him, and pressed his forelegs on his leg, obviously wanting to be held by the Human.

Luke couldn’t resist that adorable face like that and promptly picked up the lynx. Turns out it was heavier than he expected it to be. Still,he was happy to hold this beautiful cat in his arms. The cat herself began purring affectionately, and made a small meow to him.

Fluttershy giggled and said. “She says she’s sorry for clawing your leg. She only wanted to see her baby.”

“It’s okay.” Luke said to it, and began stroking his hair

Pip felt the lynx kitten gently touching his foreleg with his tiny little nose, and smiled at it warmly. “Oh come ‘ere, you.” He Said, gently picking up the kitten to hold it. “I hope the mum is okay with this.”

“Don’t worry Pip, she’s perfectly fine with this. We did reunite her with her baby here.”

“Good. Well, I guess it’s time for you and your mummy to go back home now,”

The kitten gave Pip one last lick on his face.

“Aww, Thanks.”

He slowly and softly put it back down, and the kitten went back to his mother. “And don‘t forget, you are both more than welcome to come visit me at my cottage.” Fluttershy offered both of them.

Just then, when Luke, Pip, and Fluttershy were about to go back home, a lion or tiger roar was heard, scaring all three of them. The lynx and her baby heard it too, and were on their guard for anything that might attack them.

“Okay, What the hell was that?” Luke said.

“It sounded like a big cat.” Pip Said. Then, out of the snow, something jumped in front of them. It looked like a big cat, a really big one. It was white with some white stripes on him, but not as much as a tiger would, and it was way bigger than an ordinary lion or tiger would be. It almost reached Luke’s height to be exact. An interesting yet scary feature it had was two long, protruding fangs from his mouth

Luke seen this kind of animal before, but it was extinct in his world.

“Uh-oh. Saber cat!” Pip Said.

“It’s alright, stand back.” Fluttershy Said. She walked over to the beast and had a stern look on her face.

“Careful, Fluttershy.” Luke warned.

“What do you think you’re doing, mister?” She asked him.

The saber cat made a small growl in reply to her.

“You’re looking for something to eat?”

And the beast nodded a yes to her.

“Well, i’m Sorry, but you will not eat my friends.”

Feeling quite irritated, the saber looked around and saw the lynx family and decided to have them for lunch. It was charging at them, but Fluttershy was faster and blocked the saber from the lynxes so it wouldn’t hurt them.

“Excuse me! How dare you try to hurt this poor lynx family!”

And the cat made another growl in reply.

“I know you’re hungry, but you should be more considerate with these two. They’ve gotten lost and found each other again. Now, if you so much as kill and eat them you will be sorry. Understand?”

The beast nodded a yes and then ran away from all of them to look for so,etching else to eat.

“You Alright, Pip?”

“Uh-huh. Thanks Fluttershy.”

“You’re quite Welcome.”

“Well, now that the saber cat is taken care of, let’s get back home.” Luke suggested.

“Good. And i’ll give you your hot cocoa as usual. I know how much you love them. Oh, and Pip, since you’re with us, would you like some, too?”

“Sure, I love hot chocolate.” Pip happily Said. All of them went back to the cottage, and all three of the. Had a nice cup of cocoa together. Meanwhile outside, the lynx mother and kitten smiled at them from the other side of the window.
> Minotaur Madness
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke was feeling more good about himself when he, Fluttershy, and Pip all helped the lynx kitten back to his mother out in the cold Equestria winds and blizzards. Of course, Fluttershy felt a little guilty for scolding at that saber cat, but she knew she did the right 5ing by disciplining it to look for other food to eat.

For the time being, Pip was enjoying a heating blanket from a Fluttershy, who was more than happy to share her hospitality to him in the cottage. The colt was obviously enjoying,the special blanket to keep from getting a cold.

Fluttershy herself was more than happy to give him some company as he unwinded and drank his small cup of hot cocoa. “Are you Okay, Pip?” She Asked him curiously while sitting next to him.

“Oh yes. I simply adore this heating blanket. I didn’t even know you had one, Fluttershy.”

“Of course I do.” She stated proudly of herself. “I always have many blankets like this just in case any of my animal friends are getting to freezing.

“Well, I say, this is really delicious hot chocolate.” Pip admired before taking another sip of his holiday beverage. 

Young Luke was simply enjoying himself by laying with the other animal friends in the cottage, particularly Linus the lion and Tyson the white tiger. Both the big cats snuggled against the Human, uttering little roars of joy and happiness whenever Luke was gently petting their fur.

The yellow Pegasus smiled seeing such a cute sight like that while keeping Pip some company on the sofa.

"Oh you're such good kitties, aren't you?" Luke said to them playfully. The lion and tiger made a small roar of affection in reply to him.

Remus also took the pleasure of spending some time with the rogue human, acting like a regular, domesticated dog, given the fact that dogs originally descended from wolves. While all three of them were enjoying their hot chocolate, a rather loud knock on the front door was heard three times, and it sounded more heavy and rough than how it would usually be knocked on.

"My, I wonder who can that be." Fluttershy said with her eyes wide. She went over and when she answered it, she was surprised to see a large, blue Minotaur with quite some muscles on him. “Oh, Iron Will.” Fluttershy Said “What a nice... surprise.”

“Ah, Fluttershy, one of Iron Will’s best customers, well, former best customer.” And he flexed his mighty muscles to show how tough he was in a rather boastful way like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

To Luke, he kinda sounded like Hercule from Dragon Ball Z a little, mostly because of how he talked in a macho accent.

Before she knew it, the brute puked him in for a rather uncomfortable hug that almost squeezed her to death. Fluttershy made a small, nervous giggle in response, and said “Nice to see you too, I guess.” And she dropped to the floor as Iron Will let her go in a ether rough way. “Ouch.”

“Do pardon the intrusion, but Iron Will could not help but ask of you for something... nice for a friend.”

The yellow Pegasus was a little suspicious of this monster, and she asked “You’re not pulling off anymore scams, are you?”

“No!” Iron Will said offensively. He had a rather peculiar look in his eyes and added “Yeah, no.”

“Okay. What do you need?”

“Well, came I please come inside your warm abode? For a friend that tried to help you stand up for yourself.” And he gave her the puppy dog eyes with his lip slightly quivering to make it more convincing for her to believe.

At first, the yellow Pegasus wasn’t really sure about letting this Minotaur inside her cozy little home, but as her face would tell it, she had a change of heart, and said “Well, Okay.”

Iron Will made somewhat of a slightly terrifying smile on his face, and promptly made himself at home within the cottage. “Ooh, Nice and toasty in this little shack.” Every footstep he took made the house slightly shake with a small thump.

Luke honestly didn’t know what to think of this guy, and wondered if he should be warm and welcoming to him, or fear him because of how Minotaurs were portrayed in the Greek story of Theseus and the Minotaur. Not to mention that the beast in the story would eat people.

The gigantic Minotaur noticed Luke and stopped for a moment. “Ah, what have we here?” And he picked the Human up with his big beefy hand by pulling behind his shirt.

“Whoa! Easy!” Luke struggled. “Put me down.”

“What are ya?” He asked curiously. “Some puny, hairless chimp or gorilla?”

“Iron Will!” Fluttershy scolded him firmly. “You put him down right now!”

“Sorry.” Turns out the Minotaur was a little scared of how tough she could be, but of course, he would blame himself for that, considering the fact that he kinda taught Flutterdhy on being mean to defend herself. “There. I put him down.”

Luke stumbled to the floor and felt a little dizzy from the impact. “Thank you.” And he got himself back up before waving his hair back. “And who are you?” He asked the brute.

“Name’s Iron Will.” He introduced himself. The Minotaur then grabbed hold of Luke’s hand with his own beefy hand, unintentionally crushing it to the point where it was starting to hurt and ache. All of a sudden, the brutish Minotaur began shaking his hand making his body shake too.

Feeling a little more dizzy than before, Luke gently grasped his hand to ease off his pain. It wasn’t that bad, but it was truly starting to ache from Iron Will’s immense and powerful strength so powerful, it would be enough to take down a bunch of MMA fighters at the same time.

“Yep, Iron Will is my name, doing business and making money’s my game.” And he flexed his abs once again,mane even went as far to kiss both his biceps.

“Well, The name’s Luke. Luke Smith at your service.”

“Luke huh? Not a bad name, but I think your parents could name you better than that.”

“Iron Will.” Fluttershy warned him.

“What? Just saying.”

“It’s alright Fluttershy.” Luke chuckled.

Then Iron Will noticed Pip and said, “hey there, little fella? You a friend of a Fluttershy too?”

“Uh-huh. Just wanted to enjoy her delicious hot chocolate.”

“Ooh, Iron Will loves hot chocolate! You don’t suppose I could have some, could ya?” 

“Remember what we said about the magic words?”

“I know.” He sighed. He cleared his throat and asked “Can I have some hot chocolate pleae?”

It made her smile, and she said “thank you. Of course I will give you some hot cocoa. It’s a time to be with family and friends after all.”

“That’s... kinda what I wanna talk to you about, my friend.” Iron Will admitted with the sound of shame and sadness in his voice. “Listen, i... i... i...”

“Yes?” She Asked him with a curious look on that cute little face of hers.

“I... want to fit in and celebrate Hearth’s Warming too, but every time I try to make friends, they are always afraid of me. And they even kicked me out of my own labirynth because of my... anger problem.”

“Anger problem?”

“Yep, every time Iron Will hears something bad about me, I always lose myself and get peeved like a big, mean, fighting machine.”

“Oh Iron Will.” Fluttershy sighed sympathetically. She gently patted his back for co fort to make him feel better. “What do you do?”

“Well,” he cleared his throat. “If they say something or point something to Iron Will, I would.... how can I say this? Uhh, Luke, can you pint something out to me?”

“Uhh, sure,” the Human was a little uncomfortable with this, and he awkwardly asked him “Have you ever thought about getting a trim on those horns of yours? They do look nice but-“

“But what?!” The Minotaur shouted in sudden anger. “You don’t have horns, so you shouldn’t tell me how to live with mine!”

Pip, Fluttershy, and Luke were rather surprised by this sudden outburst and felt a little scared and weary to be around him now.

“Oh.” He realized. “You see what I mean? Every time someone would give me some advice or if I don’t get what I want, I would just toss a whole stall over a bunch of buildings. Pretty good throws, too- Gah! What am I saying!?” In a much more calm voice, he added. “And also, Iron Will would try and scare off anyone I would bump into or scare me, and Iron Will hates being picked on or spooked.” And he cracked his knuckles in an intimidating way. “And... I do ‘t like it when people don’t accept my act of kindness. Every time Iron Will tries to warm up to someone, they would go Ah Help! A big, scary Minotaur!” And he sighed.

“Well there’s your problem.” Pip pointed. “All you need to do is control what you’re doing and think about what you say first.”

“He’s right.” Fluttershy agreed. “Don’t worry Iron Will. “Don’t worry Iron Will. Don’t be so hard on yourself. All you need is a different approach to make some friends and control your anger.”

“How?”

“Me and my friends can help you.” She Said.

Iron Will had a smile on his face and looked at Luke, who nodded his head telling him he will help him, too.

“Yeah, a light confidence booster would work. Exactly what Fluttershy Said, a different approach.”

“Good. So anyway, Luke, what are you If you’re not a chimp or a gorilla?”

“A Human.” Hen he told the Minotaur about how he cake from another dimension, but he shortened it out since he was getting a little tired of telling this to the inhabitants of Equestria every time he meets a new face.

Like his other friends, Iron Will was as equally surprised as they were.
> Iron Will's Approach
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Iron Will Set foot in Ponyville with a loud thump from his mighty hoof, causing the ground to mildly shake on impact. Luke, Fluttershy, and Pip were with him. The blue Minotaur was looking quite nervous about trying to be more docile and nicer than he once was before, and he is supposed to look as tough as a thousand nails.

At least the three would help this brute give a more positive outlook and control his emotions. A couple of ponies stared at Iron Will while passing by. Many of them were silent and felt a little scared, and some were murmuring to one another behind the minotaur’s back.

“Alright, Iron Will.” Luke said. “It’s just like Fluttershy Said, you just need to show a more positive outlook for anyone you greet and not be so aggressive if they accidentally insult you. Just follow the steps and you’ll be a whole new Minotaur.”

Iron Will was still a little unsure of this, but he trusted Fluttershy because of her excessive kindness and sweet personality. “Well, Alright.” He Said. “But Iron Will will knock the hell out of anypony who calls me stupid or-“

“Ah Ah Ah” Fluttershy pointed. “Violence is not the answer, remember?” The blue Minotaur sighed in defeat and calmed himself down.

“Okay, Okay. Sorry, Iron Will will try and be more friendly to faces around here.” And he turned his bull head to the Human. “So, candy britches, you Said I gotta think about what to say before I actually say it, right?”

“That’s right. Some people, or some ponies when it comes to this world can take it seriously, the wrong way to be exact, so that’s why you need to watch what tou day to certain faces.”

“He’s right.” Said Pip. “I heard a filly in Fillydelphia almost got in big trouble with the police because she was so mad at bullies, she said she would blow up the whole school.”

“Really? Did they arrest her?”

“Well...Yes ans no.” Pip replied modestly. “She was a Well-behaved student, and just let her out with a warning.”

“Oh, I see. Iron Will would not do well in jail, that’s for sure.”

“That’s what we’re here for, Iron Will.” Fluttershy remarked with that warm smile on her innocent face. “Now come on, let me take you to my friends.” And saw, the four walked down to Rarity’s Boutique, and found the others putting up some nice decorations for the holiday. “Hello girls, hello Spike.” She Said

“Hey Fluttersh-wha?! Iron Will?” Rainbow Dash noticed the Minotaur. “What are you doing here?!” She was just about ready to fight Iron Will.

“Easy there, Rainbow Dash.” Said Pip.

“Calm down.” Iron Will added. “I just wanna talk.”

“Why should we talk with a meathead like you?”

In a voice of anger, the Minotaur shouted “Who you calling meathead you heffer?”

“Heffer?!” Rainbow exclaimed in great offense. She and the Minotaur were about to fight one another, but the cyan Pegasus was stopped by the others, and Iron Will was stopped by Luke and Fluttershy.

“Alright, Alright! Calm down!” Twilight Said. It took a little while, and when Rainbow was calm, Twilight Asked him firmly “what are you doing here, Iron Will?”

“Yeah, not trying to make Fluttershy pay for what happened last time, are you?”

The blue monster looked at the three below him, and nodded a yes. “No, of course not. Forgive my poor manners. I... i want to be a better Minotaur.” He admitted. “Yeah, I want to learn how to think about things before I say them, and be less aggressive.”

At first, the others didn’t know what to think, but then Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but guffaw on the floor. “You? Be a better Minotaur? Hahaha! That’s a good one.”

“Rainbow.” Rarity Said. 

“You couldn’t change even if you wanted to.”

“Rainbow!” Fluttershy Said. The sound of her voiced immediately caused the cyan Pegasus to stop laughing and look up at her in surprise. 

“Sorry, Sorry, I was just joking.” She Said

“You know, Fluttershy, you should really put a leash on that dog of yours.” Iron Will rudely suggested. All of them gasped and Luke had a look on his face saying “Oh no he didn’t.”

“What did you call me?!” Rainbow Said with fury and anger. She was trying to charge at him with zeal again, but she was stopped by Twilight’s magic.

“Rainbow calm down.” Said Spike. “Well, I suppose we can try to help you out. I mean, you really wanna change, right?”

Iron Will nodded a yes with certainty.

“You know what, I think it would be a good idea.” Twilight thought out loud with a smile appearing on her face. "If we reformed Discord, and Starlight Glimmer, maybe we can do the same for Iron Will."

The blue Minotaur was grateful to hear the kind words of the princess of Friendship. "I can assure you that Iron Will does wanna change. if what i hear is true about you, princess Twilight, then I do ask for you and your friends' help."

Almost all of them smiled thereafter, except for Rainbow Dash of course, since she doesn't fully trust Iron Will, and is still quite mad at him for calling her a certain derogatory word for a lady, even if she is a hardcore tomboy. Still, she would have to trust him for her friends sake, especially Fluttershy.

"I promise to make all your Hearth's Cooling worth remembering if you all help ole Iron Will."

"So, what will Iron Will do first?" Luke asked the yellow pegasus curiously.

"Hmm."




***


The Cutie Mark Crusaders were present in trying to help the Minotaur out with his anger problems. "So, Iron Will," said Sweetie Belle. "My sister and her friends tell us you want some help warming up to everypony, right?"

"Uh-huh." the brute nodded his head a yes to the three girls.

"Well, you come to the right place!" said Scootaloo boldly. "We are here to help all those in need."

"No matter what it takes, we'll help you in any way possible." Applebloom added.

The Minotaur made a smile of hope at the three girls. 

"first, why don't we try opening a door for somepony?" Sweetie suggested. Then the crusaders led the group to a small field next to their little clubhouse. "Now, hold on a second. Rarity, can you conjure a door, please?"

"Of course, little sister." and Rarity Conjured a nice looking door with three diamonds on it, like her cutie mark looked like. Scootaloo gave the demonstration by opening the door open for Iron Will to go through.

"After you." she said.

"Okay." and the Minotaur promptly went through the empty door. Of course, due to his extremely huge size, he had a little bit of a hard time going through, and he even broke the door to pieces unintentionally. "There. Piece of cake."

The others looked uncertain about what to think of this. "Well at least he's trying his best." Fluttershy muttered.

"Yeah, but let's see what happens next. Hopefully, we'll make good progress." Luke encouraged her. the yellow pegasus mare looked up and made a smile of hope.

"I think you're right, Luke." she said. "We just need some practice." and they both continued watching the demonstration. Now, it was Iron Will's turn to politely open the door for someone. Of course, Rarity had to conjure another door since the brute unintentionally destroyed it.

Iron Will cleared his throat, and opened the door. "After you." he waved his hand in the direction through the open door. and the girls promptly went through like no problem.

"Don't mind if we do." said Applebloom proudly.

"There, you did it!" said Scootaloo.

"Perfect!" said the Minotaur. "Now would any of you like a hug?"

The crusaders looked horrified, worried they would be squeezed. "Uh, no thanks, we're not prone to public display." Sweetie Belle said nervously

Like his mind just snapped, Iron Will suddenly grew mad and said "How dare you reject Iron Will's act of kindness?!" and tried to run after them like he was going to strangle all of them to death at once. The three fillies ran and screamed in terror while flailing their arms in the air like a bunch of wild turkeys.

The others were horrified by this sudden outburst, and the crusaders sisters, and Luke had to step in to intervene and calm Iron Will down.

"No, nononononono!" Luke said, trying to hold the brute back by pressing against his chest with Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. "Slow down there, Iron Will. I'm pretty sure they didn't mean to make you mad like that."

"Yes, please simmer your temper down." Rarity added.

It took a little while, but the Minotaur finally calmed his anger and took a deep breath to relieve it faster. "I'm sorry."

Luke facepalmed himself and muttered with his eyes narrowed "This is gonna take a little while."


***


"Okay." said Fluttershy. "So now, you're going to give out a compliment. Now, why don't you try and give Spike a compliment?"

The baby dragon was unsure about this, but he decided to go forward with this little lesson and stepped in front of Iron Will. He hoped that the brute won't hurt or insult him too much. "So, Iron Will..." he looked at Luke and Fluttershy a little nervously.

"It's okay, Spike. go ahead." the yellow pegasus assured him very softly.

The baby dragon nodded and said to Iron Will "You look very strong today. Do you always work out?"

"Ah well, you know me, i'm a big mean, fighting machine!" he admitted proudly with a pose, he even kissed his biceps once again.

"Oookay." Spike remarked, feeling a little uncomfortable.

"Good, now it's your turn." said Pinkie Pie with a look of hope on her face.

The Minotaur didn't really know what to say at first, but he finally remarked to the baby dragon "Spike, you... are rather small for a baby dragon."

"Well I am a baby, so it would make sense."

"I know. But it was a compliment."

Spike made a small smile of gratitude.

"Besides, I bet your parents raised you quite well to be a fine young dragon."

And Spike made an immediate frown on his face. "Oh, well I... never even knew... my parents." he admitted in shame.

Twilight and Fluttershy went up to him for some comfort.

"Oh. Well, that makes sense. I guess we're both outcasts, so that explains a lot."

"Iron Will!" Fluttershy berated. "Spike is not an outcast! He is just like everypony else!"

"Sorry, sorry. Just saying." Iron Will.

"Well it wasn't nice." Twilight scolded with a glare.

Now Iron Will felt guilty making the baby dragon feel depressed like this. "Look, Spike. He said, bending on one knee to comfort him in some way. "My dad always sought me as a loser, and he never loved me, or said he was proud of me, or-"

"Okay, he gets the point." Luke said, growing a little impatient. Then he, Twilight, and Fluttershy all comforted him at once, and glared at the minotaur again, who made a sheepish smile. "It's alright Spike, Luke's got ya." he said while gently picking him up and and comforting him like a puppy. The baby dragon began to sob silently into Luke's shoulder. "You know what? Why don't we take a little break first?" he suggested

"good idea Luke. I'm getting a little hungry." Cloudchaser said. "Maybe I can get myself some lemonade."

"You read my mind, sis." said Flitter. All of them went over to the cafe for something to eat, and Spike looked a little depressed still. Iron Will just sat alone in a table, and noticed he was too big for it since this is a town full of ponies after all. All of a sudden, his butt broke through the chair and landed on the snowy ground, and made a small growl of frustration.

A small cloud of smoke came out of his nostrils like a regular bull would have if he gets angry. Luke and Fluttershy had themselves a salad and comforted Spike with Twilight since she was like a big sister to him. "You okay, buddy?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." he sniffed sadly.

"Look, I'm pretty sure Iron Will didn't mean to hurt you."

"I... I just need to be alone for a while." the baby dragon admitted

"Oh Spike." Twilight sighed sympathetically. "Come here." then she gently gave him a hug, and Fluttershy after her.

Pip himself decided to go over to the gloomy Iron Will to check on him. "How you pulling there, eh?"

"Oh not much, except I'm starting to see that I am a monster nothing more." Iron Will said sarcastically

"You're not a monster." Pip said. "It's like Fluttershy said. "You just need to be more careful about what you say, and control your anger."

"What about that baby dragon?"

"Just tell him your sorry. And not just tell him that, you have to really show that you are sorry, too. Like... show more concern for him, and maybe do something nice for him, like give him a present."

"A present eh? I wish I knew what baby dragon's like him love."

"Well, I think you can worry about that when Hearth's Warming day comes, but right now, I think you learning how to control your anger and be less mean and rude is more important.

Having a little confidence boost from the small colt, Iron Will decided "You know what, you're right. The sooner I learn how to control myself, the better."

Pip smiled. "Good, now then, what would you like?"

"Well..." then he saw a really obese colt with a hay burger for a cutie mark, and had a devious idea. "Hold on, I wanna try something funny." and he rushed over to the music store and then pulled out a tuba to play, and he began playing the tuba while walking directly behind the colt

"Hey, stop that!" said the colt. "I am not fat!"

"Oh my goodness." said Fluttershy. "Iron Will you stop that!"

Luke however, couldn't help but chuckle while covering his mouth, since he finds it a little funny. By the looks of this, it will take a long while for Iron Will to control himself.
> Trying to Change Iron Will Again (Edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After that lunch, Fluttershy was more than happy to show Iron Will the minotaur out in Ponyville to see what else there is to help him be a better minotaur.

Poor little Spike was still feeling a little bit bummed about who his parents exactly are.

Twilight was carrying the rather sad baby dragon on her back because she knew he wouldn't really feel like walking in this state. She and her friends would always check on him every ten minutes to see if he was alright.

For now, Spike was slowly starting to feel better about Iron Will unintentionally hurting his feelings back there.

The Minotaur himself was starting to feel a little bit guilty about making Spike glum like that, and decided not to speak with him at the moment out of fear that he would make it worse for himself.

"Fluttershy, does Spike hate me for what I said? Iron Will didn't mean to crush his spirit like that."

"Oh you didn't crush his spirit." The yellow pegasus doubted him. "I know you weren't really trying to hurt him."

"She's right." Luke agreed. "All you need is a little more practice, that's all."

"But of course you did make fun of that colt for his obesity by playing the tuba following him like that."

"Yeah, that wasn't very nice." Pinkie said.

"I said I was sorry, aright?" Iron Will stated. "I even bought him two apples as a gift to him."

"And that was a nice way to make it up to him for that mean prank." Lyra explained. "It was the least you can do for him."

"Right. Besides, I just thought it would be kinda funny for that."

"To be honest, it was kinda funny, especially the way he fell when you got him off balance." Luke admitted with a smirk.

"Luke," Twilight gave him a mildly firm look on her face. "How would you feel if somepony do that to you?"

"I know, I know, terrible. I'm sorry."

And the yellow pegasus had that smile back on her face. "It's okay, I forgive you."

"So anyway, there's Granny Smith on the sidewalk, do you think you can help hr across the street?" Twilight suggested.

"Alright."

The blue minotaur cleared his throat and went up to Granny Smith. "Hello ma'am. I understand you need some help across the street. Would you like some assistance with that? Old Iron Will will be more than happy to escort a puny weakling like you across the street."

"Ehh! Wrong." Rainbow said. "Good ponies don't call somepony else a puny weakling."

"Oh sorry." He cleared his throat again and said "My apologies miss, what I mean to call you was little lady."

Granny Smith made an adorable smile and said "thank you, sonny. That's very sweet of you." Then the Minotaur tried to hold her hoof, and Granny had a look of pain on her face, that Iron Will sure has a tight grip on her hoof.

“Ah! Too... tight!” Granny strained.

“Oops! Sorry ma’am.” The Minotaur noticed. “Maybe I should escort you that way and make sure there is no trouble.”

“Sure, you do that.”

Then Granny began moving her incredibly slow legs across the street, and she was shaking a little. Not out of fear of course, but becasue She was just old, which would as a common ailment for the elderly.

She was moving a little slower than then Minotaur can imagine. Still, he couldn’t just try and speed it up, for he knew he would accidentally hurt her again, like he did with her hoof while holding it. Iron Will just made sure nothing bad or dangerous was coming her way like a runaway coach, or a parasprite invasion, although it very seems likely that a swarm would appear in Ponyville anytime soon.

Granny Smith was in the middle of the road, halfway there to the other side, and Iron Will was starting to grow impatient, and made a small gruff from his bull nose while rolling his eyes in irritation. “Oh come on.” He muttered. “Can you go any faster, lady?”

“What’s that dearie?” Granny Asked him

“Nothing! Just mumbling to myself.” The minotare blared. “You’re doing great, Granny Smith.”

The elderly pony smiled at him and continued onward. It was at this moment she was about to fully make it, when she stopped with a sudden thought. “Oh! I forgot to tell Cheerilee about Applebloom’s perfect attendance record. I knew I should have created a trophy for her. Or... was it a medal?”

Then Iron Will became extremely irritated, and felt like blowing a fuse with anger, and gritted his teeth. He cracked his knuckles, and with Granny Smith being oblivious to this, she was walking to the school with Iron Will trying to bash her to a pulp with his meaty fists.

“Iron Will!” Fluttershy And Luke scolded.

“Goddammit, Iron!” Luke said. “Are you crazy!?”

“No.”

“Well you were going to smash my own Granny like an ant! I should have the mind to kick your face until next week!”

“Calm down, AJ.” Rainbow Said. “At least we are trying to help him out.”

“Look Iron Will, do you wanna be a better Minotaur or don’t you?”

“Of course Iron Will wants to be a better Minotaur.” And he flexed his muscles. “That’s what Iron Will definitely wants.”

“Then try and control yourself for Christsakes.” Luke remarked, becoming a little impatient with repeating these steps to help Iron Will out.

Rainbow Dash gently patted his back for comfort. “Don’t waste your time, Luke. Once a bully, always a bully.”

“Bully!?” The Minotaur Said in offense, Then he grabbed her cheeks with his hands. “Why don’t you come closer to my face and say that?!”

“Alright! Alright! Shut the hell ho! Both of you!” Luke exclaimed in stress. “My god. Can you please just go through one day without disliking each other?”

“Well he started it.” Rainbow Said

“I don’t care who started it, okay?! I’ll finish it!”

“Luke, please calm down.” Spike Said. “Please.”

The Human took a breath, deep and long. “Sorry. You guys are right, we just need a little more practice.”

“Right, we’re not giving up.” Fluttershy Said. “You are right. We just need a little more practice with him.”

“Yeah, we’ll be at this for as long as it takes.” Cloudchaser added.

“Granny Smith, I am very sorry for trying to clobber you like that. Iron Will is just trying to learn how to control his anger.”

“That’s Alright deary. I know you wouldn’t really try and clobber me like that on purpose.” Granny Smith reassured. “Besides, Big Mac would never allow you to do that anyway.”

“Nope.” Said the red stallion in agreement. “She is family to me, Applebloom, and Applejack.”

“So come on, let’s just move on.” Luke said. And they all tried other things, like teaching the brute to give out more compliments and how to treat other ponies nicely.

Over the course of time, he was progressing slowly, and not getting as angry or aggressive as before. It was certainly an improvement for him and everyone was pleased with the recent results.

Iron Will was doing many things like helping another elderly pony carry his groceries back home, and try to volunteer at the local animal shelter with Luke and Fluttershy.

Being around these animals made him more.... calm and relaxing like they would to to everyone else. It took a little while, but Iron Will felt a little “connected with all these critters like the dogs, cats, and other types of animals from many sorts. “You know, this isn’t so bad. I never thought I would do this for weak little animals.”

“Oh they’re not weak.” Said Fluttershy. “All of them are strong in mind.” And a raccoon went on Iron Will’s shoulder, gently licking his face like a dog or cat would do.

“Yeah, animals can really soothe a soul once you get used to it. You feel connected or one with Mother Nature.”

“You ain’t wrong, Luke.” Iron Will agreed with the Human. “I do feel more calm and... happy around these guys, and I thought it was just a hippy thing.”

“Nah, that’s just a dumb stereotype. Anyone can love animals if they want to.” Luke said.

“Yes, it is an amazing experience.” Fluttershy agreed.

“It’s...  actually working.” Twilight Said. “Can you believe it, Spike? Iron Will might change like Starlight and Discord.”

“Yeah, it’s going way more better than how you changed me. At least... it’s not catastrophic.” Starlight admitted sheepishly. “Anyway, this is going rather nicely.”

“I think we just made ourselves a new friend.” Said Flitter.

“Same here.” Pip agreed. “I think we have just turned over s new Minotaur underneath him. Just a couple more lessons and he will be a perfectly changed Minotaur.”

“Ooh, I can imagine a Welcome to the Pony Family party!” Pinkie Said.

“Maybe friends is all he needs after all.” Pip Said to himself. The young colt was feeling happy with these results and watched as the Minotaur was interacting with more animals in the shelter.
> True Reformation (Edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Iron Will suddenly felt more calm and relaxed, thanks to these animals he was interacting with, and felt something new when it comes to these different types of creatures, even thought he didn’t really consider them as tough as he is. Still, the Minotaur was feeling quite better about himself.

Looking at Spike again, he wondered if he should apologize to him for accidentally hurting his feelings like that a little while back.

Luke and Fluttershy were a big help and tried to make as much animals in the shelter as happy as possible with all the food, water, and toys to keep them from getting bored. Iron Will has been trying to do the same thing as these two have, and he was doing rather well for the first time.

“Twilight, Starlight, And a couple of the other friends decided to John them in an attempt to encourage Iron Will and boost his confidence.

“Oh my.” Said Rarity. “Do you think all these animals need a bath to you? Or is it just me?”

“I’m pretty sure it’s just you.” Applejack joked at her. “Kinda critical with animals, aren’t you Rarity?”

“Oh ha ha, very funny.” Rarity Said sarcastically. “I just heard of the germs and bacteria that can crawl on your skin, so do ‘t come crying to me when you grow I’ll of those germs.”

“Ah Rarity. Dramatic as ever.” Applejack remarked. “You’ll be fine, i’ll Do this with the animals at the farm all the time.”

“Oh, right.”

For little Spike, he was still slowly starting to feel a little better, and wondered if he should talk Iron Will again after this week as finished. Pip was playing with some of the smaller animals like the pigs and goats and other types of small livestock and birds while the rest just watched at the progress.

Yes, Iron Will was certainly feeling quite comfy and relaxed in this state right now. He even had the pleasure of gently letting a small fox with his hand very gently, making the canine squeak happily. “Oh, that is kinda.. adorable.” He admitted as he continued petting it.

“He likes you.” Luke says. “Just keep treating him nicely, and you have made yourself a New Friend.”

The Minotaur smiled with hope on his face. “Good. But how come I feel more calm around these little guys?”

“Because,” Fluttershy began to explain. “It’s a really calming se relaxing experience, with animals around, it’s like your probably all just disappear.”

“Heh, well you’re not exactly wrong there, Fluttershy.” Twilight Said.

“Yeah, it’s a very experience.” Spike agreed. “Although Angel Bunny hates me and wants nothing to do with me.”

“Oh that's not true, Spike.” Fluttershy doubted. “Angel doesn’t hate you.”

“Ho ho yes he does.”

“No, he just... thinks the whole world revolves around him, but he forgets that he can’t always get everything his way.”

“Angel is a spoiled rabbit.” Luke remarked.

“Well... spoiled is kind of a strong word.”

“No he’s right.” Spike pointed. “You just need to be more firm on him, and show him that you mean business with discipline.”

“I always discipline him whenever he misbehaves.” The yellow Pegasus defended.

“Well. If you like, I can do a little brute force on that puny bunny, that should get him to stop walking all over you.”

“No no no. Brute force is not the answer.” Fluttershy Said. “All I need to do is just put my hoof down.”

“That’s our Fluttershy.” Said Applejack proudly. After at least thirty minutes, the owner of the shelter thanked all of the participants for their help around the place, especially Iron Will, and the Minotaur felt more proud of himself than ever before. He began thinking that maybe he can do this if he keeps up these good deeds and all that. They all exited the shelter and the snow stopped falling on the ground, and Iron Will felt his spine creep down from the plummeting temperatures that just dropped to probably ten degrees.

The Minotaur made shivering noises from his teeth and said "Brr, Iron Will sure knows how cold it can be this time of year. I knew I should have brought more than a scarf with me."

"I thought the fur on you keeps you warm?" Luke asked. "Well... on the legs anyway?"

"Yes, but I'm not a yak or a highland cow."

"That's a very fair point." the human remarked. "Need a coat?"

Sighing in defeat, Iron Will admitted by flatly saying "Please."

Fluttershy gave him yet another warm smile, and said “Of course. I’ll get you a nice, cozy jacket for you to wear, and i’ll Make sure it has a fleece in it.”

The Minotaur made a big smile of gratitude. “Thanks, Flutters.” And they all went to Rarity's Boutique, and of course, Since Rarity owned the place, Fluttershy got a ninety percent discount for just three bits for a coat.

“Wait, I just remembered, I don’t have gigantic coats made for Minotaurs. Not to worry though, I can easily sew one.”

“How long will it take, Rarity?” Asked Iron Will.

“Patience airon Will, Patience.” Rarity Said. “You cannot rush art.”

“Alright. I’ll wait.” Then Iron Will waited around the fireplace trying to warm up from all the freezing temperatures outside. It took a rather long time, probably up to fifteen or twenty minutes, but when it was done, Rarity came back downstairs with a large leather jacket with a white fleece within. “Voila! Perfection.” Rarity sang with a French accent.

The Minotaur tried it on and it fit him well. “Ooh, stylish and functional.” He remarked. “Iron Will like.”

“It makes you look cool, too.” Rainbow pointed.

“Yeah, this is perfect for me.” And he made a few poses, showing off his incredibly large biceps again. “I bet it’s a lady magnet.”

“Don’t get too ahead of yourself, partner.” Said Starlight Glimmer. “We still have some work to do.”

“I know that.”

And when Iron Willstepped back outside with that jacket on, he felt so much more warmer and cozier than ever before thanks to the fleece within the jacket. Now that this was all settled, they can all help Iron Will be a better Minotaur.

“So where do we go next?” Asked Applejack.

“Hmm, I honestly don’t know about what to do next.” Luke said. “We tried many things to help him be a better creature.”

“Yes, and I think he is making great progress.” Fluttershy remarked.

“Oh, if it isn’t the Elements Of Harmony.” Said a peculiar voice. They all looked and it was Spoiled Rich wearing a fur coat and a fur hat on her head. Her husband, Filthy Rich was with her also with a fur coat, and a pair of boots. “And Luke, what a nice surprise.”

The Human just gave her a stern and disdainful look on his face with his eyes narrowed in hatred. “Spoiled.” He Said flatly, And he turned his head away from her, trying to ignore this pompous and pretentious mare.

“And who is this brute?”

“Brute? I ain’t no brute! I am Iron Will! That’s my name, and training ponies is my game!” And he flexed his muscles yet again.

“Well... that is certainly a catchprase.” Filthy Rich said uncomfortably.

“Hmph, i’m Pretty sure he teaches them how to be ruffians.”

“Oh shut up Spoiled.” Rainbow Said. “Nopony Asked you."

“Tut tut, Rainbow Dash.” Said Spoiled Rich. “Why So hostile on me? I deeply admire your efforts in saving Equestria countless times.”

“Yeah, Well you’re the reason why your daughter has been bullying my sister!” Rainbow pointed.

“What? I was only trying to have her follow the old traditions of my family.”

“The most hated family in Equestria as a matter of fact.” Her husband muttered.

“What did you say?!”

“Nothing! Nothing at all, sweetie pie.”

Spoiled just gave him a suspicious look on her face. “Look, I was only trying to show her ways in life over Equestria by trying to beat the little blank flank from Trottingham.” She obviously referred to Pip.

“You cannot talk about Pip like that!” Fluttershy defended.

“I can talk about anypony however I Please. And besides, it’s not like anyone is here to stop me.”

“Remember what happened last time you went too rash?” Luke reminded. He cracked his knuckles loudly at her with a fierce, intimidating look on his face, showing some of his teeth.

Spoiled Rich did absolutely remember the last time Luke beat her up a little, and gulped. “I swear to you, Luke. If you hit me, and I will sue you for everything you have.”

“Good luck with that.” Luke muttered sarcastically. “And I have a lightsaber.” Then he ignited it. “I swear to god I am not afraid to cut your head off with this.”

“Easy there, Luke.” Twilight intervened. “Please, let’s not be too hasty now. I know you would never do that.”

“Honey.” Filthy warned her. “Do not make me rat you out to Princess Celestia again.”

“Oh you’re bluffing, Filthy.”

“Try me. I did it once, and I can do it again.”

Looking in her husband’s eyes, she realized he was not bluffing after all, and made a sigh. “Very well. I suppose we have an important meeting to go to with Cheerilee about the school board.”

“Better.” Filthy Rich smiled. “I am so very sorry about my wife. I’ll put a leash on her next time she does something like this again.”

“No hard feelings, Filthy.” Said Applejack. “We know very well who to blame about this.” Then the couple went down the road to the school.

“Sorry about her, Pip.”

“Nah, it’s alright. I’ve been called worse names in me life.” The colt replied. “Words can’t really hurt me, i’m too tough for insults.”

“Ooh, that's my boy. You got  some real toughness in ya.” Iron Will remarked proudly with a hearty laugh.

“Well, you did ‘t even hurt her for insulting you, Iron Will.” Bon Bon admired. “You did a very good job holding back your anger.”

“I... I did.” He realized. “She was giving ole Iron Will a hard time, and I just rebuffed it.” And he made a funny victory pose in triumph. “You know, i’m Really getting the hang of this.”

Luke smiled and said “glad to hear that. That mare is a nuisance to ponies everywhere. That hag is like the wicked witch of Ponyville.”

“Yeah, you can say that again.” Pinkie agreed.

“So you actually best her up before?” Iron Will Asked him curiously.

“Mildly. Yeah.” The Human replied. “I just punched and kicked her a little to cause a little bleeding from her nose and mouth.” And he felt a small touch of proudness within himself. “Heh, I even remember how sorry her face looked when I was finished with her. Kinda funny with how I handled her.”

“Oh Luke, you don’t mean that.” Fluttershy doubted.

“Well, she called me a retard, and she didn’t like me because i’m a Human. She kinda broke my spirit when she said that to me.”

“We understand.” Said Starlight. “But it will get you in trouble if you’re not careful.”

“I know, but sometimes, it does feel so good. Besides, you all hate how pompous Spoiled Rich acts to ponies she deems as below the pyramid.”

“Perhaps.” Said Lyra. “But still, it’s best to just ignore their type and just walk away.”

“I never thought I Say this, But she’s right. It might make things worse.” The blue Minotaur Said. “I know what you’re all thinking: you are all wondering I never thought Iron Will would say something like that before. or That doesn’t sound like the Iron Will we know of. But it’s true.”

“It’s good. It shows you really can change.” Fluttershy admired.

Iron Will paused for a moment and realized he was right. Talking like that against senseless violence like that sounded like he was making great progress on trying to change. Maybe he doesn’t need to use violence for everything at all. Besides, being called a brute kinda made him feel like being in somepony else’ shoes.

“This is Wonderful!” Said Twilight. “I think we did it.” And they all cheered in the success of changing Iron Will into a better Minotaur. “We should celebrate with hot cocoa.”

“Oh! Can we make that with marshmallows? Iron Will loves marshmallows.”

“Of course.” Said Fluttershy. They all had some hot cocoa at Sugarcube Corner, And everyone enjoyed it.

Iron Will suddenly looked over at Spike, and realized he still might be hurt by what he said. “Still feel like apologizing to him, Iron Will?” Luke asked, noticing what he was looking at.

“I do.”

“Don’t worry. Just go to him and tell him you’re sorry.”

“Alright.”

“And remember, tell him you really mean it and show how sorry you are.”

“Gotcha.” The Minotaur took a deep breath and went over to the baby dragon l who stopped drinking his cocoa, and looked up at the Minotaur. “Spike,” He Said, clearing his throat. “I am very sorry for accidentally hurting you. I never mean to hurt your feelings, honest, and I just want you to know how sorry I am.” And he bowed his bull head in shame. “If you can't forgive me for what I unintentionally said, or won’t be my friend, Iron Will understands completely.”

At first, the baby dragon didn’t say anything at first, but then he smiled and said “It’s okay, I understand.” Then he gave the big lug a hug. “I forgive you.”

Iron Will then smiled being embraced like that. He never been hugged like that before, and now he understood what friendship meant to him. Then he felt all the other ponies coming in for a hug, and it turns out, he just made new friends after all.

Luke smiled and was proud of the Minotaur for changing his bullying ways. Turns out Hearth’s Warming innthe coming days will turn out great for Iron Will.
> Conversation With Cranky Donkey
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hearth's Warming Day was just around the corner, only a day away as a matter of fact. Everypony in Ponyville, Canterlot, Manehattan, and many other parts all over Equestria could hardly wait for the greatest Equestrian holiday to come at last. More and more decorations were hung up over the buildings such as the Hearth's Warming lights, and ornaments. Decorations were already set up at Fluttershy’s cottage a few days ago, thanks to Luke and his mighty muscles.

Harry the bear, and some of the other animals were in there hibernation until the spring comes a few months prior. Still, it will be fun anyway since not all animals are in their long sleep.

This Hearth’s Warming will be even better than the Ponyville Winter Fair a few weeks ago, and Luke’s closest friends and family back home will be back in Equestria to celebrate with him again. What’s Even more fun and exciting is that there will be a Hearth’s Warming Eve party in Canterlot, and a lot of ponies who matter will all be there, including Equestria’s only Human.

Iron Will, the redeemed Minotaur from a few days before will also be attending, for he was openly invited by Princess Celestia and Luna themselves out of courtesy.

Meanwhile, Luke decided to take a look around at the beautiful winter scenery outside. He never got tired of that gentle, yet cold winter breeze blowing against him. Grey skies were hovering about him, with small patches of sunshine in scattered parts above.

It was a good thing there was no blizzard, otherwise, it wouldn't have been good, for snow was falling on the ground again, and it happened for a few days, too.

"Oh my family and friends back home will love this party. Hellyeah!" Luke thought triumphantly. "My dad always dreamed of going into a castle, even if it's not exactly in England."

Another thought that came to him was trying to come up for a song for the party in the night to come. He was having a slight writer's block, but he'll get the song ready before he and the others will know it.

"Hello Luke." Said an old man's voice. The human looked and it was Cranky Doodle Donkey, and his loving wife, Matilda the mule. "Enjoying the scenery out here?"

"Oh yeah." Luke replied. "It might not be green, but I still think it looks beautiful."

"Agreed." Matilda said. 

"Even though I don't really like freezing cold weather so much." Cranky remarked. "No sir."

"Oh, Cranky." Matilda smirked. "We really look forward to the party in Canterlot. All the food, along with our family and friends coming together to celebrate the holiday."

"You guys got invited too?"

"Yep." said the old donkey. "Me and my wife always attend festivals and parties when it comes to Princess Celestia and princess Luna. Me and Matilda wouldn't miss it for the whole world in all of Equestria."

"I can imagine how fun it will be when I get there tonight." Luke speculated, still looking on at the winter scenery in front of him. "And not to mention I'm going to have my friends and family back home in Oregon celebrate with me, too."

"Really?" said Cranky. "it must be more exciting for you."

"Yes, seeing all your old friends and family members is truly exciting." Matilda agreed.

Luke smiled, and said "I know. I can imagine how excited they are to see me again, and come to Equestria again. Luckily, Discord will teleport them all here."

"Discord?" the married couple asked in question. "What if he tried and pull tricks on them and sends them to Tartarus?" asked Matilda in worriment.

The human shook his head in great doubt. "Nah. Fluttershy is his closest friend, and that guy is a changed man, or drancequus I mean. And she is keeping an eye on him to make sure he doesn't pull on anything tricky, or evil so he doesn't go back to his old ways, which I highly doubt will happen any time soon."

"Fair enough. Fluttershy can be stern to that trickster when she needs to." Cranky agreed.

"Exactly the point. Besides, he's brought my family and friends here in Equestria before this, on Thanksgiving day, one of the holidays in my country in my dimension."

"Oh. I see." said Matilda. "Well, me and my husband can hardly wait to see your own family and friends."

"We're quite curious about your homeworld, Luke." said Cranky.

"Are you?"

"Of course. It's always fun trying to go to another part of the world, or another dimension."

"Well, let me tell you Cranky, my world can be quite boring at times, no magic, no cool monsters like Minotaurs, or griffons, or chimeras."

"It's alright." said the donkey flatly. "I prefer the peace and quiet with no chaos from those creatures you mentioned. Yes sir, just enjoy the peace and quiet of no problems."

“Well, Maybe it will be okay for you to live in my world that has no magic, but I assure you, living in Equestria is much more better than back home.” Luke said. “And besides, nature does have it’s hazards: bears, mountain lions, wolves, moose, and other dangerous animals that could be a threat to you and your home.”

“Fair enough. I heard how aggressive bears are when provoked. The last thing I need is to get sliced by there sharp claws.”

“But still, we know how to avoid those animals that we come in contact with.” Matilda said.

“Good. It can be survival of the fittest out there in the wilderness.”

“Heh. The others were right.” Said the old donkey. “You are a smart human.”

“Oh well, you know.” Luke bragged mildly. Then he began walking back to Fluttershy’s cottage to keep himself warm from these freezing temperatures and not get a cold or a flu. Cranky and Matilda followed him as Luke continued having good conversations with them. “So Cranky, how’a That toupee working for you?” He asked the donkey curiously.

“Rather well actually. It can be quite a burden trying to cover my bald spot on my head. It looks like a freshly laid egg up there. Not to mention the annoying wind trying to blow it away,”

“Well at least this one is firmly attached to your head.”

Cranky made a small giggle. “Yes it is, dear.” And he turned back to the Human. “So Luke, How is life in Equestria for you since you first came here?”

“To be honest, it’s really fun and cool here. No problems without a care in the world.”

“Well there are some cases where something evil breaks out in Equestria, and tries to take over the world, like Chrysalis or Tirek.”

“I don’t know much about this Tirek Guy, but Chrysalis is no longer a problem to you all. Me and all my friends defeated her during the winter fair.”

“We have heard of that, dear.” Matilda said. “We heard you have fought well against that evil changeling. Not to mention that she's not the queen of the Changelings anymore.”

“Right. Spike told me about the new leader of that race called Thorax. What’s he like?”

“I honestly cannot say, Luke.” Cranky admitted modestly. “I never even met the new Changeling king before. But, from what I heard from Spike, he is a very nice guy and does everything he can to make sure every one of his subjects are happy and safe.”

Luke was feeling more curious about the changeling race now. “I wonder if i’ll See Thorax at the party tonight, too.”

“That is quite a big possibility, dear.” Matilda said. “Spike was trying to see if he can bring his best friend over to the party.”

“Are they that close?”

“From what I hear, yes.” Cranky remarked. “I honestly didn’t believe that a changeling could change from evil to good, but Spike did change Thorax, and Thorax changed all the other changelings as well with a new path to fill their hunger, well, minus Chrysalis.”

“Didn’t surprise me. When I met her, she was a nasty piece of work, Cranky.” Luke remarked. “But still, at least she’s locked up for good, mostly because I cut off her horn so she might never use her magic ever again.”

Matilda made a rather surprise look on her face, and the mule remarked “You cut off her horn? I wasn’t told of that.”

“Yeah, it wasn’t easy, and not really.... intentional, but I did it.” The Human admitted.

“It was for the greater good, my boy.”

“Yeah, at least she can never use it to hurt or even kill anyone with it ever again.”

“Precisely.”

“Luke!” Called a voice. It was Spike, running after him on his little feet. “Oh there you are.” He panted after he stopped to catch his breath. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“Hey Spike. What’s up?”

“I wanna introduce you to a friend of mine, Thorax.”

“Thorax? The changeling friend you mentioned before?”

“Yep, the new changeling king.” Spike nodded his eyes boldly. “He’s coming to Ponyville anytime now.”

“Perfect! Me and Fluttershy gotta Help the others out with some decorating at Town Hall and at the Park.”

“Great!”

“Well we better go Luke, we’ll see you at the party.” Said Cranky. “Clem on, Matilda. We got outfits to prepare for tonight.”

“See you both soon.” The Human called as the couple walked away back to their house on the outskirts of town.

Luke and Spike walked to Fluttershy’s cottage and she joined them on their trip to Ponyville to help out some ponies prepare for the holiday, and Luke was feeling a little excited to meet this changeling, and hoped he wasn’t evil like that Chrysalis was.
> Luke’s First Hearth’s Warming Eve
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In town, Luke continued following Spike to Twilight's Castle, and was anxious to meet this Thorax creature. He continued following the baby dragon upstairs.

"Okay, so he should be in the study room." Spike said. He slowly opened the door to the reading room, and there was an insect-like pony creature with the color of yellow and green on his skin, and bug-like eyes. He had orange horns on his head that looked like pinchers. His height was almost as equal as the two princess' in the castle. "ah Thorax, there you are."

"Spike! Good to see you, old friend." said the changeling. Then they both hugged one another like they were truly close friends indeed. Thorax then noticed the human and said "Ah, you must be Luke." he recognized him immediately.

"Uh-huh." Luke replied warmly. "So you're Thorax, huh? You look very different than Chrysalis."

"You can say that again. Rest assured, I am nothing like that evil former queen of my people." Thorax stated. "You're looking at the new king of Changelings."

"Nice. Do I have to formally address you as such?"

"Nah, you can just call me Thorax."

"I thought so. I wonder, how did you even become the changeling king in the first place?"

"It's a rather long, yet incredible story." Thorax remarked. Then Luke had a seat, and drank some root beer he brought with him to drink to listen to Thorax' interesting, and true tale. "I first met Spike in the Crystal Empire when the city was on high alert about a changeling problem. 

"Hmm."

"I met Spike on the outskirts of town, and he helped me fit in with everyone else. Of course, I was feared by everypony around me, so I had to do a disguise first."

"How did you get found out?"

"Shining Armor and Princess Cadence' baby girl, Flurry Heart was so adorable and precious, it was just so much love for me to handle, and I turned back to my real form in seconds, and the alarm was sounded.

"What do you mean so much love?"

"Well, we changelings used to feast on love, and we were all starving, looking for love to eat."

"Huh, kinda sounds like an Incubus or a Succubus." Luke thought.

"What's that, Luke?"

"Nothing Spike. Continue, Thorax."

"Right, so I was finally accepted after Spike persuaded them all."

"Wow, that's cool. So how did you become the king?"

"One day, Chrysalis and her army suddenly abducted Twilight, Fluttershy, their friends, including Spike, and the princess', and held them all captive in the castle, and it was only up to Discord, me, Starlight Glimmer, and Trixie."

"Trixie huh. Who is she?"

"Ah she's just a magician who kinda thinks she's better than everypony else, she calls herself the Great and Powerful Trixie." Spike said. But, they all saved me and my friends from Chrysalis, and all four of us have been award for bravery. And I shown the other changelings that we don't need to forcefully feast off of love to thrive, and that's how we all became the all new changeling race."

"Wow. "That must have been a huge honor for you."

"It was. Especially becoming the new king. Celestia herself said that I was the perfect candidate for my people. But unfortunately, Chrysalis was still evil and stubborn to see that."

"FIgures. I just had a run-in with her many days ago. Me and the guys all defeated her nonetheless, and she's locked up forever."

"That's good. it's one less loose end to worry about."

"Exactly. So you coming to the Hearth's Warming Party too?"

"Of course! I would love to attend a soiree like tonight's. A couple of my subjects are coming over to celebrate, too."

"Nice."

"So Spike told me you came from another dimension, right?"

"He told you right. Yep, I came here from a shooting star, and so, here I am, Equestria's only human."

"Ooh, that sounds fascinating. What kind of music do you like?"

"Almost all except for pop music, techno, and many rap stuff. Metal and rock are my favorite, and as long as there is a guitar solo or a combination of rock and a rap tune mixed together with a guitar solo, I'm pretty much okay with it."

"Nice, I'm open to pretty much about anything. And you're good at guitar like Spike told me, right?"

"I most certainly am. I've been practicing ever since I was a little boy, and you should hear me play it."

"heh, I'll certainly hear you at the party tonight. Well. It was nice meeting you, Luke. I'll see you at the party tonight."

"Same with you, Thorax." and he shook his hand with his hoof."

Thorax cleared his throat and said "Well, I gotta go try some hot cocoa at Sugarcube Corner with Spike."

"Okay, au revoir."

"See you soon." Then Luke exited the castle back to Fluttershy's, and Spike walked to the sweets shop with Thorax to have some cocoa together.





Luke was more than happy and excited to be back in Equestria’s capital city, Canterlot. Yes, lots of decorations for Hearth’s Warming on every building big and small. It was seven in the evening and the moon rose up to the sky while the sun set below the mountains far abroad. Everypony In the city was wearing winner clothing to keep them warm, and so many lights were lit here and there. Several Christmas trees were seen scattered across the city, making it all the more beautiful.

“We’ll Here we are.” Said Twilight. “You glad to be in Canterlot, Luke?”

“Oh yeah.” The Human replied. “It feels so good to be back in this beautiful city. I can hardly wait to go to the party in the castle. I can imagine my family and friends faces when they see me again.”

Fluttershy was close to him, and smiled as she looked at the holiday scenery. “Oh my, it’s so beautiful this time of year.” She remarked.

"I do concur." Rarity agreed. Despite what she just said, she was shivering from the cold, even with the warn clothing she was wearing. "Oh dear, really should have worn a coat with more fleece in it."

"Didn't really think that through, eh Rarty?" Applejack teased.

"Ha ha, very funny." The white unicorn narrowed her eyes at her.

"Well come on, everypony." Twilight said. "Let's go." And everyone followed Twilight to Celestia and Luna's castle to enjoy the party.

They all gave their tickets to the two guards standing post on the open drawbridge, and promptly went in the foyer.

"Wow, look at the decorations in here." Spike admired the scenery within.

"I know, right?" Rainbow agreed. "This is totally cool."

Just then, Discord appeared out of nowhere as usual with his mischievous magic, startling his friends as usual.

Lyra made a small growl before she said "are you gonna keep doing that to us? Because it's getting pretty old now."

"As long as I am still having fun with this, then yes." Discord replied woth a devilish smile on his face. "Anywho, look who's here to see you, Luke."

And the human. Saw his closest friends and family again, all happy to see him again. "Luke!" Said the father.

"Guys!" And then he ran up to them ready to hug all of them all at once. As usual, Luke's parents were the first to hug him, since they technically raised him. Larry and Louise always felt so glad to hold their son once again after being gone for yet another while. "Glad you can all make it here."

"Wouldn't have missed it for the better, buddy." said Larry. "this party looks really nice."

"Yeah, I'm glad Discord brought us here." said Luke's cousin Frank, who was ten years old and lived in Salt Lake City. "This party looks so much fun."

"You can say that again." Pinkie agreed with the small boy. "it's gonna be fun fun fun!" and she joyfully bounced three times to show her enthusiasm to make her point.

"You should try the candy I made for all of you." Bon Bon said. "Lyra and me made them ourselves." then she pulled out a bag of lemon drops for everyone to snack on. All of Luke's family and friends had a taste of her sweet, sweet hard candy, and they thought it was delicious.

"Oh god." said Grandpa Robert. "This is possibly the best lemon drop I ever had in my life."

"Glad you all like it!" Lyra remarked in a friendly voice. "There's plenty more treats from us where we came at in this party. And if you like, I can show you my beautiful Lyre skills."

"Ooh, that would be nice." said Uncle Jim. "Listening to sweet sounds of a harp. Wait, how can you even do that with only four fingers total?"

"Easy." and Lyra used her magic to create fingers from her hoof, making everyone gasp in amusement like a magic trick that Chris Angel would do. "Ta-da! Couple of fingers to help me play my favorite instrument." she said boldly.

"Don't show yourself off Lyra."

"Oh shut up." Lyra chuckled jokingly. "I thought you know me better than anypony."

Bon Bon made a cute smirk on her face "You bet i do."

"Well come on." Spike said. "The night is very young and let's celebrate Hearth's Warming Eve."

"And bring Christmas to Equestria." said Louise. Then they all went to enjoy this wonderful soiree. All of them went to the ballroom where many wreaths were hung up on the walls, and there was a gigantic Hearth's Warming tree so hard, the very top of it almost brushed the ceiling with the big glowing star on it.

Many ponies from both Ponyville and the city of Canterlot outside of this castle, attended the room to celebrate with their own friends and family as well. Luke decided to have the honor of looking out the gigantic window, looking at the snowy garden below them. It looked very beautiful on the valley below him, the snow falling, and the lights spread on the hedges and trees in the garden to fit in the holiday spirit.

Another thing was that he could hardly wait to do a holiday song for everypony in this castle, for he knows that everyone will love it for sure. Of course, he didn't exactly know what the song would be yet, but he is certainly think about what he was going to play for all his friends, fans, and audience who haven't heard of him all at once.

Meantime, he just decided to enjoy the party and unwind in this wonderful privilege the princess' have given him. He looked over and saw Cranky and Matilda having a conversation with his grandparents, and the same with Granny Smith, and even had a good laugh together.

Another thing he saw was his young cousins that were kids playing with Pip, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and one of them, Alana was having a little talk with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, talking about how pretty their dresses looked.

Looking at the large tree towering the whole ballroom, Luke knew this was a symbol of love and the spirit of the holidays.

It was just then he began hearing Lyra’s beautiful playing on that lyre of hers, soothing his soul.

Discord suddenly scared him by appearing out of magic in front of his face. “Boo!” The Human jumped and fell on the floor while still sittering on the chair.

The Human was quite annoyed by his prank, but he didn’t stay completely because of him bringing his friends and family back to Equestria to see him again. “Discord, I hate it when you do that!” He complained as he got back on his feet. “But I really Thank you for bringing my friends and family from home back to Equestria.”

“De rien, Luke.” Discord replied with a humble chuckle. “De rien. They were all excited to come see you again. How could I even turn down such a nice deal for them on the Discord express? And it didn’t even cost them a single bit.”

“And the best part is my family and friends are showing Equestria Christmas.” Luke said. “For a minute, I thought you were going to send them to another dimension besides here.”

“Pish-posh, my boy.” Discord Said. “I would never do an act so evil and vile such as that.”

“Okay, Okay.” Luke admitted. “I know you would never do that to my whole friends and family. Besides, i’m Pretty sure if you did, Fluttershy would have a cow.”

A chill crept down Discord’s spine just thinking of how furious and angry his closest friend would be, and he would have to face her wrath. If there was one thing Discord was certain, it was not to make Fluttershy angry. “I can imagine that.” He said flatly. “I’ve seen how horrifying she can be when mad.”

“Right. But at least you’re better than Angel Bunny.”

The master of chaos made a chuckle and replied “thst is so true. I for one hate that Bunny with a burning passion myself.”

“Well, I wouldn’t hate him, because it’s a strong word.” Luke admitted flatly. “I just don’t like his spoiled attitude at times.” And he went to take a sip of his hot chocolate from a fresh cup with little marshmallows in the delicious beverage. “I just wish that rabbit would understand the world doesn’t revolve around him.”

“Angel is like a little kid, Luke.” Discord Said. “And kids need limits.”

“Heh, Angel is comparable to a fat, spoiled child.” Said the Human, taking a sip of his drink. “I honestly wish I can spank that little rabbit’s ass to make him behave.”

“Ha! I like the way you think, Luke.”

“Ah well, no one’s perfect.” He flushed. “So enough of that. Are you enjoying the party?”

“Of course, I always enjoy this wonderful privelage. Of course, she would have a number of guards to keep an eye on me in case if I cause any mischief around here.”

“And do you still cause mischief in parties like this?” Luke asked cursiously.

“Never!”

The Human just raised his eyebrow skeptically and didn’t really respond to that.

“Well... i’m The master of chaos! What can you expect from me? It’s all good fun.”

“Good point.”

“Anywho, I have to go run now. I want to listen to Lyra’s beautiful Harp playing.” Then he rushed forward to hear Lyra playing more of her nice tunes and strumming. Luke decided to do a little exploring in this really big party. He honestly didn’t know where to start exploring in the ballroom.

“Ah Luke, I thought we would find you here.” Said a British voice. The Human looked to his right side, and saw Fancy Pants, and his good friend, Fleur De Lis, both walking up to greet him. The Human was just as happy to see them. “Happy Hearth’s Warming, my good chap.”

“Same with you, Fancy.” Luke replied before taking a sip of his hot cocoa again. “I honestly can’t believe it’s almost the end of the year.”

“Indeed, time does go by fast.”

“Bonjour, Luke.” Fleur greeted warmly. “Comment Ca va?”

“Ca va bien, Fleur. Et vous?”

“Ca va bien, aussi.” Fleur promptly replied. She and Luke exchanged small kisses on their cheeks to show more flattery, and Luke even had the honor of gently lifting her right hoof and kiss the tip of it. “Oh you are so sweet, Luke. Merci.”

“De rien, ma Cherie.” Luke replied. “So, you both enjoying the party?"

"Of coruse." said Fleur. "We always enjoy what the princess give to ponies like us at their beautiful parties. Especially for Hearth's Warming." She waved her mane around two times to show off her beauty.

"And the best part, no paparazzis to harass us because of our fame and social status. You got to be careful who you make friends with, you know?"

"Well to be honest, I'm not that kind of a celebrity like you or Sapphire Shores would be, at least I never had a posse of paparazzi swarming close to me and harassing me, and I hope it will stay that way."

"Good for you, old boy. Always avoid a group of those annoying photographers at all cost if you ever become as famous as we are."

"I'll take your word for it." Luke admired. 

"Do tell me, Luke." Fleur said. "Do you know what you are going to perform for us tonight at this party? I am quite curious."

"Actually. I am going to do a couple of songs that would fit the spirit, I honestly don't know if they will have vocals or not, probably just be instrumental."

"That's perfectly alright." said Fleur. "You play whatever fits you best."

"Indeed, it is your call." Fancy added.

"Ah Luke, there you are." said a familiar African voice. It was Zercora, who was wearing a beautiful foreign dress from Zebrica that was sleeveless and she had her mane down. "Are you enjoying this soiree? Because this is the best one I have had all day."

"Zecora, nice to see you again as always." Luke said, then he kissed her cheeks two times to show flattery. "This party looks beautiful tonight, especially for Hearth's Warming.  Create any potions lately?"

"Not recently, no. But a special type of brew is a go."

"What kind of brew?"

"It's called sleeping lion serum. It's guaranteed to make even a gigantic dragon sleep with one drop of that liquid to his tongue, and it could be quite handy for good luck."

"Nice. Who's it for?" 

"My family back home in Zebrica, for they all suffer from insomnia, and are in desperate need of sleep to gain more stamina." Zecora replied.

"Nice. It's glad you can be here."

"Of course, my dear. I would never miss it for the better. You never cease to fascinate me, and I am glad that there will be another performance that I will eventually see."

"Actually my dear Zecora." Fancy Pants stated. "Luke said he might do a small number of performances instead of just one."

Zecora made a bigger smile on her face. 

"So listen, I'm still thinking of visiting your home one of these days. Do you think you can take me?"

"Of course I can." the zebra replied warmly. "You are always welcome to my homeland. My family and other types of animals will like you, for in Zebrica, there is so much to do."

Luke built a smile of hope on his face. "Awesome, maybe when the holidays are over?"

"of course? We will talk, but for now, I cannot wait to see you rock."

"Right."

Then Luke continued walking with Zecora while Fancy Pants went to mingle with more ponies, and wished him luck on the upcoming performance.

"So it is beautiful over there, right?"

"In Zebrica, there are wondrous beauties, many you will definitely love, sweetie." said Zecora. "of course, the savannas and grasslands hide many dangers, but the grass can hide you as well, as your savior."

"Perfect." He can already dream of going to Equestria's version of Africa. Sure, it might not be exactly his favorite continent in his homeworld, but this place sounds just as promising. "I can already imagine me going over there and seeing the animals. But wait, what if all the other zebras and the antelope and buffalo think of me as a monster?"

"Oh don't worry about that." Zecora doubted. "They hardly, minus the buffalo, hardly get mad."

"That's good. I'll be sure to ask you about it after the holidays are over."

"And I look forward to it."

Next, after his nice little chat with Zecora, Luke saw Iron Will, the Minotaur from a few days ago munching on the food table like Donkey Kong rapidly eating his bananas. He smirked and decided to shoot the breeze with him now. He was wearing a black tie tuxedo, and despite the name of the gown, he was actually wearing a red tie below his neck, a clip-on one, too. "Uh, you enjoying the food, big guy?"

The large beast immediately stopped his eating and noticed Luke. "Ah, fancy meeting you here, human." he said joyously. Without warning, Iron Will immediately hugged Luke with his mighty muscles, almost squeezing the human to death. "Oh right, can't hug you too tight." he suddenly remembered, and let Luke go, making him drop on his hindquarters.

"Ow! That hurts." he said. He got himself back up and swiped away dirt from his rear. "Anyway, are you enjoying the party?"

"Oh yeah, Iron Will is greatly honored by the princess' to attend to this party. I never even been invited to a party before.

"Glad you're enjoying it, Iron Will." and the sound of Lyra's beautiful harp playing caught his ears again. "Boy, Lyra is a damn good harp player."

"Huh, I know!" the Minotaur agreed with a hearty chuckle. "Impressive for a pony to create fingers from her hoof so she can play that sissy music thing."

"Well, glad you're enjoying the party."

"Oh Iron Will, try not to eat all the food on the table." Fluttershy sighed. "Please."

"Sorry, sorry, it's kind of a habit. I mean look at me, I have four stomachs like ordinary steers would have." then he patted his abs.

"You should participate in an eating cottage." Luke suggested."

"That sounds like a perfect idea." The Minotaur began thinking of participating of a hay-burger eating contest, being a big winner of the competition and holding a big, golden trophy to flaunt his victory, along with his muscles of course.

"You alright, Luke?" asked Fluttershy

"Of course, just enjoying the cool party." Luke replied flatly. "I hope my family and friends are having a really good time."

"They are." the yellow pegasus replied. "We are having good laughs with them all."

"Awesome."

"Ah Luke. I found ya." said a voice Luke recognized from earlier in the day. It was Thorax, who didn't really dress formally, but it didn't really matter. "I thought I found you at the party."

"Hey Thorax. W'sup?"

"Not much. You enjoying this soiree?"

"You know it."

"Me and Spike cannot wait to hear you play Hearth's Warming and this... Christmas holiday song. Is that what it's called in your home?"

"Yep. I promise you will all like it." Luke assured. "These songs will all melt your hearts with holiday joy."

"I look forward to it." said the changeling king.

"Why don't you go meet Luke's friends and family back home, Thorax?" Spike suggested. "They would be fascinated to meet you."

"Sure. I always love meeting new faces." Then the changeling king went to meet Luke's friends and Family, where Zecora was mingling with all of them as well.

A few hours left in the party, Celestia, with Luna right next to her, made a big announcement. She cleared her throat into the microphone, and began: "Attention everypony, the time has come for Luke Smith to perform beautiful, holiday songs for us all. And a tremendous uproar from the crowd was heard.

The human promptly went onstage and pulled out a chair to sit on for when he was going to play on the guitar.

"Good luck, Luke." Luna remarked warmly

"Thank you." Luke cleared his throat and said "Hello everyone. First of all, I wish you all a happy Hearth's Warming, and a merry Christmas to my family." and another sound of cheering was heard, the loudest from Luke's friends and family members. "I hope you are all having a good time at the party and I will play you holiday songs to fit the mood.



When he was done playing the first song, everyone loved it, and a tremendous uproar of cheering was heard once again. "Alright, now I'm gonna perform a more acoustic song to all of you." and Discord appeared next to him. "Alright, is the flamenco guitar ready?"

"Yep, all said."

"Thanks Discord." then the master of chaos poofed back into the audience again.



After Luke was done playing the second song, a bigger sound of applause was heard, some of the audience had tears in their eyes. Many of Luke's friends came on stage to congratulate him personally. "Luke, that was so amazing!" said Thorax.

"And beautiful." Pip added.

"You sure have some talent, buddy." said Rumble.

"You should totally do this again next year." Cloudchaser suggested, giving him a gentle tap on his arm with her elbow.

"Aw thanks guys. You are all too much."

"That was so beautiful, that even bring a tear to Iron Will's eye." said the Minotaur.

"Luke, my boy, you never cease to make us proud." said Larry."

"Yes, sweetie, you truly are talented." said Louise in agreement.

Then everyone began chanting Luke's name again, and enjoyed autograph signing like he would usually do with his fans and new ponies who have heard his music for the first time, then everyone went back into the party to enjoy themselves. this time, Luke was becoming the talk of it now.
> Present Opening
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everything at the Hearth’s Warming Party was still going great for everyone celebrating on the ballroom. Luke was just done signing some autographs from his very loyal fans, along with new ones who had heard him for the first time, including Thorax.

Fluttershy looked on at Luke proudly as he was talking with Pip and Thorax near the stage. The young Human was having a marvelous time with the young cold and the new king of the changelings.

“Okay Thorax, Be honest, was I really that good on stage? I would like an opinion from someone.” Lue asked curiously before taking a sip of hot cocoa in his hand. “I mean, if you want to point out some mistakes I did on the stage, then that’s fine.” And he took another sip of his warm beverage.

Thorax smirked and said “Well to be honest, Luke. You didn’t really make any mistake while doing those beautiful songs. As a matter of fact, nopony else thought you did either. You were truly great up there. I honestly don’t know if I can perform a song or two like that on stage like, you just did.

“Yeah, it just have taken you a lot of courage to do those performances for all of us.” Pip wondered.

“Well, I do tend to get nervous, but I don’t really get stage fright. At first, when I first Performed for my friends. I was more nervous than a baby giraffe trying to adapt to the world after being born. Then I would just keep thinking to myself, it was in front of people or ponies I know, so it shouldn’t be so bad.”

“That must have taken a lot of courage for you to take in to perform in front of audiences like that.”

“To be fair with you, Thorax,” Luke said. “If I was in a place like a football stadium like Guns N‘ Roses or a band called U2 would okay in, I honestly don’t know if I would be able to perform in front of all those faces, pony, Dragon, or Human.”

“Even if it was in front of me, Twilight, Princess Luna or other friends of ours?” Pip asked him

“Oh no. I always enjoy performing on front of you or everyone else in Ponyville, Pip. And I have done that so many times.”

“True.”

“And at home, there is an old trick to get rid of stage-fright, it would be imagining the audience wearing nothing, but their underwear.”

“Their underwear?” Said Thorax in question. “Why would that even help?”

“Ummmm.... how can I explain this delicately?” The Human was trying to think of a way to explain to his two friends about nudity in his homeworld. “In my home, wearing no clothes out in public like you all do most of the time is against the law becasue of indecent exposure.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s complicated Pip.” Luke explained. “Anyway, I would get in big trouble if I ever go around naked with my underwear off. A lot of people wouldn’t want to see that. And there are some people in the world I do not want to see without their clothes.”

“Oh, I see, it’s because you lack fur on your whole body but on top of your head.” The changeling king speculated

“Yeah, that's a light way to put it. So the point is, seeing someone in their underwear in public is laughable and considered ridiculous and foolish. Imagining an audience in their underwear would make those fears go away if they just think deep enough.”

“Does it work?”

“For most people, Yes. Eighty-five percent of humans feel so much relieved of stage-fright when imagining the audience in their underwear. But honestly, I don't think I really need to do that trick. I already got more confidence to perform next time.

"Wonderful to hear." Said Pip. 

"Attention Everypony." Said Princess Celestia. "It is time for Luke's family and friends from his homeworld to open their presents under the big tree."

"Everyone from Luke's home, come on up." Said Luna.

Just like that, all of Luke's family and friends from his world went up to the Christmas tree, and they were all surprised to see a small mountain of presents, just for them.

"Oh my god." Said Bobby. "Thank you Santa Claus!"

"Yeah, I didn't expect this much presents to be for us." Brad agreed with a smile on his face. "God, I don't even know what to open first."

Then they all hurriedly went to all their presents with their name on it like a sale in Walmart on a Black Friday, except there wasn't really fighting over what present is which, and everyone wasn't going savage over what they have touched. Luke's two twin boys Roy and Troy however, were fighting over a present with both of their names like Phil and Lil from Rugrats would do if they would want the same thing.

Their mother, Aunt Angelina caught sight of them and sighed in irritation. "Oh god." she muttered. Walking over to them, she said "Boys, what did I tell you about Santa watching you on Christmas?"

Both twins immediately let go of their first present and said in unison "Sorry mom."

Angelina smiled warmly seeing her boys instantly getting along again. "Better. That's my boys." And her sons continued opening the present in a more calm and pleasant manner this time. Both of the kids were happy to receive a miniature train set to play with. Two trains as a matter of fact since it has both their names on it. One wash blue and one was green.

Luke’s grandfather, Robert found a rather small present and it intrigued him when it revealed to be a book titled Creatures and Monsters of Equestria. Along with a map of the whole world in this dimension, and he certainly loved sightseeing and learning about other worlds. “Well i’ll Be.” He muttered.

Elise was surprised herself when she revealed her first present to be an Equestrian cookbook. “My, these recipes look so yummy.” She remarked.

For Michael, he got a pretty nice looking skateboard with hot rod flames imprinted on it to make it cool. “Aw Yeah.” He Said.

Brad, Bobby, and Jacob were all happy when they received new instruments to play with. Brad had a killer looking drum set with a skull on the pedal drum below the Set, Bobby got a bass guitar that looked like a firebird in a light blue color. Jacob got a nice looking dean Razorback with an evil looking wolf on it with the color of pitch black for the rest of it. The wolf on the guitar had red eyes of evil while bring it’s teeth in an evil smile.

“Holy crap.” Brad muttered. “These are so cool.”

“Yeah, I always wanted a firebird bass.” Said Bobby in awe.

“How did you even know how much we want these instruments?” Jacob asked Luke gratefully.

The Human smirked and replied “because I know you guys well. You are my best friends, and I knew this will make you happy.

“Yeah, But it’s even more nice to spend Christmas, and or Hearth’s Warming with you and our new friends here in Equestria.” Said Larry. “Son, this was one of the best parties we had in a while.”

“Oh dad.” Luke flustered.

“Luke, I could never be so proud of you.” Said Louise. 

“Mom.” Luke groaned in embarrassment. “Please, not in front of my friends.”

“Oh you.”

“I think we can all agree on something.” Said Flitter. “This is a great Hearth’s Warming. That’s for sure.”

“Sis, I was just thinking about the same thing.” Cloudchaser agreed.

“And not to mention that there are friends in other dimensions too.” Said Twilight. “I learned that good friends can come from anywhere, from this dimension or not, there will always be somepony that will be a good Friend if you accept them.”

“Yeah I know. We all meet Luke and he’s a pretty cool human.” Spike agreed with his sister. “I say we propose a toast to Luke and his family for bring a Christmas love and joy to Equestria.”

“An excellent idea, Spike.” Said Princess Celestia. “Let’s bring a toast to Luke for bring the wonderful holiday of Christmas to Equestria.” They all helped their hot cocoa and other drinks up.

“A toast!” Luna said with enthusiasm

“A toast!” Everyone else in the ballroom all followed along with her.

So the present opening continued on for quite some time, and everyone was happy. 

“Happy Hearth’s Warming eve to all, and to all a good night.” Luke said boldly.
> Bless the Rains down in Zebrica.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a week after the Hearth’s Warming and Christmas celebration in Canterlot, and Luke was just out in Ponyville looking for Zecora to see how he can visit Zebrica, her home.

It was just his luck he found her buying some fruits and vegetables in the farmer's market with a winter cloak to keep her warm, along with a hood.

The human smiled in hope, happy to see her again. Going through the snowy ground to her, Luke was about to talk to her when he was suddenly interrupted by someone. “Excuse me, Luke?” The Human looked down and saw Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoom with a rather curious look on those two cute little faces.

“Oh hey Diamond. Silver.” Luke greeted them flatly with a small smile on his face.

“Luke, we would like to know your honest opinion.” Said Diamond Tiara. “If I was going to give a Pip one of these,” she pulled out two pairs of sunglasses, one green and one yellow. “Which do you think he will love best?”

“Why not get both of them. It works both ways, and everyone wins.” Luke said.

The two rich fillies looked at each other and began thinking if Luke says true. Smiles slowly formed on their faces with an idea. Probably going to take Luke’s advice. “Wow, that’s a pretty good idea.” Silver Spoon admired. “What do you think Diamond?”

“I think I concur with you!” Her friend replied with excitement. “I can make Pip even more happy with both of these given to him.”

“Why are you buying Pip sunglasses anyway?” Luke asked the pink rich filly. Diamond Tiara gave him a rather shy and sheepish look on her face, and said “Nothing, I just thought that Pip would like some glasses to keep the hot sun from hurting his eyes.”

“Uh, you realize it’s winter, and mostly cloudy, right?”

“Pfft, I know that.” She scoffed in denial. “I mean like in the hot summer when you will be able to hit the beach or pool.”

“Ah, I see.” Luke said. “Butnhave yoy thought of giving him a scarf or a new jacket to keep him warm out here?”

“She has.” Said Silver Spoon. “But he says he doesn't really need one at the moment.”

“Well, I still don’t understand why you’re trying to buy Pip some-“ And he had a sudden realization. “Oh ho ho. I see what’s going on here.” He remarked. “You Like Pip, don’t you Diamond Tiara?”

“No!” She said in denial. Diamond’s cheeks were flushing s crimson red from embarrassment and gently pawed her hoof at the ground. Looking at Luke, he gave her a look saying that he doesn’t believe her, and he knows that she was lying like this. His eyes were narrowed and one mildly bushy eyebrow was raised up. “Yes.” She Said. “I do like Pip. There, I said it. You happy?”

“Diamond calm down, it’s okay.” Luke chuckled. The Human bent down and gently patted her back. “Look, I think it’s cute you like Pip.”

“I do.” She Said flatly. “He’s nice, sweet, smart, kind, and cute at the same time. Just look at those cute little cheeks of his.”

“Look, why don’t you just tell him how you feel?”

“Becasue.... i’m a little shy.” 

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, I promise you.”

“Yeah but.... why does Pip have to be so cute and handsome?” And she made a small growl of frustration. “I can talk to him, but I’m afraid he’ll say no and reject me, and if there’s one thing I cannot stand, its rejection.”

Luke knew what she was talking about, for he has the same problem when he was in third grade with a beautiful girl. “I understand, I know how that feels. And you’re right, rejection hurts, even if it is not trying to hurt you, but you just gotta face the music, you know?”

“What do you mean?” Said Silver Spoon.

“What I mean is that you should tell Pip how you feel. You need to get it out of your system, Diamond.”

“Yes, I know.” Diamond sighed “but then, there’s mother, she would, never let me have Pip as my boyfriend.”

“Oh screw what your mother says. And don’t forget your dad has power as well, think of how happy your father would be if he found out.”

Thinking deep in her head, Diamond Said “you know what, you’re right. What does my mother even know? She’s nothing but a pompous hypocrite.” And she worried that her meter was there, Here what she said “Don’t tell her I called her that.”

“Don’t worry.” Luke chuckled. "I'm not the snitching type of human." And he winked at her. "And besides, you remember what I did to her the last time she insulted me." Then he cracked both his knuckles with loud crunching heard.

"No no." Said Silver Spoon. "There's no need for senseless violence to persuade Spoiled Rich."

"I know, but it just feels so good." Luke admitted. "Besides, does your dad have a little more power than her, Diamond?"

"Between you and me..." Diamond said "my mother has to be more nicer because my daddy warned her that if she doesn't change her ways, he'll file a divorce with her."

"Oh. No offense, but I think your dad would be better off without her."

"No." Diamond admitted. "You're right. Maybe I think my dad is better off without my mom anyway. Besides, her trying to turn me into a horrible filly was just inexcusable."

"You are putting your foot down on here, right?" The human asked

"Of course I am. I have stood up to my mom countless times to be a better pony to let me do as I please."

"But don't you get grounded by her?" Silver asked her best friend

"Oh I don't care. Being locked in my room with privileges taken away can't hold me down." Diamond remarked boldly.

“Ooh, I like the sound of that. I always love that kind of attitude.” Luke admired. “ us this is just my opinion when I say you’re better off without your mother.”

“Sometimes I just wish she was never born.” Silver admitted.

“Well, I don’t know about that Spoon. Because if it was like that, Diamond Tiara probably wouldn’t be here and be your best friend.”

The grey colored filly had a loom of sudden realization on her face and said “you’re right.”

“So like I said, just have some confidence in yourself, Diamond. Just be yourself and go talk to him like a normal pony. You don’t have to do anything special or over the top, just be you. It’s all a boy wants.”

“You think so, Luke?” Diamond asked him

“I know so.” Luke humbly replied to her. "Not saying you can't give him those glasses, I'm just saying just be yourself."

The rich pink filly made a smile of hope on her face. She thought hat maybe she and Pip can work out between one another after all. "Okay. I'll take your word." Luke looked proud of her and he knows that Diamond will try to be brave to ask Pip out. "Come on Silver, I gotta give him both of these."

"Of course."

"And Diamond,"

"Yes?"

"Screw what your mom would think of you being with Pip. She doesn't know anything."

"Right." then the two rich best friends went off to find Pip to present him with both those sunglasses when he needed it. Luke looked back to where Zecora was, but then he saw that she was already gone. He turned his back away from her for a few long minutes, and she already vanished like a spirit or a ghost would do.

The human was a little confused about what just happened. He went to Applejack and Big Mac's stall and cleared his throat. "Hey AJ, Big Mac. Zecora was here, where did she go?"

"She said she was gonna help a sick filly with strep-throat. Poor little gal." said Applejack. "I think it's Dinky she said who was sick."

"Oh. Well I don't want to bother her little cure ritual or whatever she's going to do for Dinky."

"Good idea." said Big Mac. "Wouldn't want ya to get sick either."

"Why don't you wait for her? she said she was gonna go to Sugarcube Corner for a slice of cake after that." Applejack suggested.

"Alright." Luke said. He heard his stomach growling loudly like a mountain lion would do. "I gotta find something to eat anyway." and he patted his stomach three times. "You got any apples left to sell?"

"Of course, we are always selling apples. Considering the fact we live in an apple farm."

Luke made a chuckle from himself. "Point well taken." and he shared with her two bits for a big, juicy Granny Smith apple that was probably the biggest one in the stall yet. "Thanks Applejack, Big Mac." he replied. "This should save me from having a stomach monster burst out of my chest." he joked

All three of them laughed at what he said. "Anytime, Luke." said Big Mac. "Catch ya later."

"Au revoir." and Luke went off to sit on a bench to eat his apple. After he was finished, he put the core into a trash bin. "Hi Luke." said a voice. It was the green pegasus mare named Sprinkle Medley, coming over to possibly have a friendly conversation with the human.

"Hi Sprinkle. How goes it?"

"Doing very nice, thank you. That was a very nice performance you did at Canterlot at the Hearth's Warming Eve Party and uh.... what was that other holiday called?"

"Christmas?"

"Yeah! That's it. You really rocked the stage back there."

"Thanks." Luke flushed. "You ever been to my other performances in the past?"

"Of course! I've been to all of them when it involves you, the Nightmare Night one, the Animal Fundraiser that Fluttershy organized many months ago, all of those performances."

"I'm really glad you like them, Sprinkle. So whatcha doing out here?"

The green pegasus mare slouched on the bench like she was just done doing something rather laborious that she worked herself to the bone for it. "Kicking and busting clouds can be so exhausting. All those snow clouds floating around the sky, and we pegasus ponies gotta keep the weather in check. But I just got done and I am so happy I am done for the day."

"Heh, I know how that feels. It was like that with school. Everyday when i go there it was just boring, and I'm so glad I am not in school anymore, no more pencils, no more homework, blah blah blah. Still, I learned that I gotta deal with these kind of things and the whole world doesn't revolve around me."

She giggled when Sprinkle said "I know, I agree. And we can't always get what we want, that's for sure, even though we all want things."

Then Luke said "And I'm really glad you like my performances here."

"Like them? I love them! Luke, you really know how to rock." Sprinkle said with enthusiasm, then she cleared her throat. "So what are you doing out here?"

"Waiting for Zecora to come back out here from treating a sick filly so I can talk to her about going to Zebrica, her home one of these days."

Sprinkle had a surprised look on her face and said "You want to go to her home? That sounds exciting. Do you know what it's like?"

Luke was rather frank when he said "I do not, but I hear it's like one of my places in my home; Africa. Zebrica sounds a lot like Africa and I would love to see their animals and their cultures and all. Plus I hear the other zebras over there are very welcoming to others outside of their home. But there is one thing that might worry me."

Sprinkle Medley gave him a rather sympathetic look on her face to him. "What's wrong?"

"What if they all see me as a monster or a demon when I go over to a village or a city over there? I don't want them to start throwing rocks or dirt at me to shoo me away."

"Oh that's silly." Sprinkle doubted. "If Zecora is friendly, then I think the other zebras will be the same way as her."

"Maybe, but I heard there are buffalo some antelopes and rhinos that can talk. African buffalo are not to be very dangerous and hot-tempered in my world, not to mention unpredictable."

"Come on, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't think of you as a monster. You'll do just fine."

"You think so?"

"I know so." said Zecora who was walking up to him and Sprinkle Medley. "Do not worry Luke, Zebrica, my home, is definitely where you must go."

"See, Zecora agrees with me." said Sprinkle.

"Yeah, You're right. I guess I shouldn't be so paranoid about this." and he felt a slight shiver creep down his spine. He was getting a little too cold outside right now like the temperatures are dropping in an instant. "Oh man. I need some cocoa."

"Excellent idea. Perhaps I should join you my dear."

"Now I want some cocoa." Sprinkle said.

"Ah you guys are more then welcome to come with me. I don't mind the extra company." Luke remarked as he got off the bench. "My treat."

As they all went to Sugarcube Corner, they saw Fluttershy and Pinkie pie having a conversation with one another. "Of course Pinkie." said the yellow pegasus mare. "I would love to take care of Gummy for you. When do you leave for Yak Yakistan?"

"Tomorrow." the pink pony replied happily. "I'm going to go tomorrow morning to spend some time with all my yak friends. In the meantime, Gummy needs his daily baths, feedings, and walkies."

Fluttershy made a small laugh. "Don't worry, Pinkie. I'll treat Gummy the way you do, with love and care like all animals. What's his favorite type of snack again?"

"Cupcakes!"

Fluttershy couldn't help but smirk at her answer. "Okay. Just please give me some cupcakes enough for Gummy to stay with me for the next three days." And then she noticed the three walking inside the shop. "Oh, Luke, Zecora, Sprinkle Medley. What a nice surprise."

"Hey guys." Luke greeted. "Pinkie, can me, Sprinkle, and Zecora have some cocoa on the double?"

"But there's three of you." said the pink earth mare.

"No, i mean- ah forget it, is there any cocoa available."

Pinkie Pie made a bounce of joy when she replied "Of course I do, silly-willy Lukie. I always carry a big supply of hot chocolate for happy ponies to enjoy." Then they three have a seat at a booth nearby and Fluttershy happily joined them. "Here you go, three hot cocoa on the house."

"Thank you Pinkie Pie for bringing these nice beverages to me and friends of mine." Zecora said. And she took a sip of her beverage with marshmallows in it.

"So Zecora, when do you think is a good time to visit your homeland? Because I would really love to go there someday."

"Hmm, what would you like to do? That decision is up to you." The zebra remarked. "In Zebrica, there is never a bad visiting time, my good friend of mine."

Luke was thinking in his head and he replied "Well, I was thinking to be honest maybe in a few days or a week, because I want to enjoy this winter some more."

Zecora made a humble chuckle from herself. "Perfectly understandable, for I like a creature that thinks in something expandable."

"And I was thinking if Fluttershy, Twilight, Pinkie, and the others would like to come with me on this trip. What's so good of having a good time over there without anyone to share it with."

"Oh, that's sweet of you, Luke." Fluttershy admired. "I would love to go to Zebrica with you. I can imagine what cute and amazing animals are over there. My friends would love it over there too. Rarity would be fascinated by how the zebras would dress in many outfits."

"It is a wondrous place filled with everlasting grace. Fluttershy, you would really love the animals. There are so many creatures beyond imaginable."

The yellow pegasus was feeling more curious and wanted to go over there with Luke even more. "You know what, I think I will go over to Zebrica with you. And of course, I'll just talk to my friends and see if they want to come."

"I honestly don't think they won't refuse." said Sprinkle Medley. "Aren't you guys that close?"

"Of course we are, Sprinkle. Me, Spike, Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash are very close together. We're the elements of harmony. We are inseparable as friends together."

"And, I always wanted to bring my dad with me to Africa, or a place that is exactly similar to Africa to say the least. I'll give him a call about it and ask him if he wants to come with us."

"Wonderful." said Fluttershy.

"So. Maybe we'll go in about a week maybe?"

"Of course. That sounds like a perfect time for all of us to visit there. And you'll be with us, right Zecora?"

"Indeed. I would love to visit my home, and then some." Zecora said happily.

And all three had some of their hot cocoa some more and They began having regular, random conversations with one another. "So wait, you're helping Diamond Tiara talk with this foal named Pipsqueak?" Sprinkle Medley said with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh-huh. She told me she really likes him."

"I thought she was mean to everypony?" asked Sprinkle

"She USED to be, but now she's a changed person- i mean filly now. It's like how Discord reformed, except she was just only a bully, nothing more." Luke said. "Anyway, I just told her to be herself and keep this from her mother, Spoiled Rich." 

Sprinkle made an "Ugh!" sound in disgust. "Yeah, Spoiled Rich is a hoity-toity mare who is a self absorbed.... I'm not gonna say it, not in civilized company." and they all continued having good laughs and drinking cocoa. Luke could hardly wait to go to Zebrica in a week from now with all his closest friends, he dreamed of how fun it would be to travel over there.

Rights for the Song go to Toto


> Some Things Don't Work Out
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another day has passed since Luke had that talk with Zecora about visiting her home. The human can hardly wait to go over to Zebrica in over a week. He already talked to his father about it, and he was more than happy to say yes to Luke. 

His father was also fascinated in Africa or a place closely related to the second largest continent (mostly because of his son showing him cool animals that he has never heard of.)

Till then, he decided to wait patiently and go about his life like he would normally do in Equestria. He was just helping Fluttershy groom Remus the wolf, Linus the Lion, and Tyson the Tiger.

"Have no worries my sweeties." Said the yellow pegasus. "You'll be cleaner than a small patch of gems from Maud Pie’s cave."

And it took a rather long time, and after it was finished, Luke promptly dried all three animals off with towels to clean them up. The three carnivores were very grateful by Luke and Fluttershy's act and licked their faces as a reward to show them both thanks.

"Aww, you're all welcome." Fluttershy said. After they were relaxing together, she said to the human: "Um Luke, I know i've said thus many times before, but thank you for letting me come to Zebrica with you."

"No problem." Luke chuckled. "I know you'll love it. I know i'be never been there before, but still."

And they both had a good laugh while having some hot cocoa.

Over the course of their ten minutes, there was a knock on the door, and Fluttershy promptly answered it. It revealed to be Diamond Tiara. "Oh, hello Diamond Tiara." She said.

What she saw in the former bully was a look of sadness and had tears streaming down her face, sobbing. "Hello Fluttershy." She said tearfully, wiping her nose.

The yellow pegasus frowned at seeing her miserable like this for some reason. "What's the matter?" She asked her while bending on her knees to make better eye contact with her.

"I wanted to ask Pip put, but he wasn't interested in me." And she began sobbing a little more wretchedly Than before.

Luke perked his head up in suprise. "What? He didn't say yes?" And walked up to her to look Diamond in the face.

All the rich filly replied to him was a head nod, telling him no.

The human had a look of guilt on his face, and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. “I... I am so sorry Diamond Tiara.” He Said.

“No, it’s okay.”Said The filly. “I know I should just face rejection, and.... he wasn’t trying to hurt me,  but... i’m The prettiest filly in the whole world.” She started to sound a little angry. “Nopony has ever rejected me before.” And she made a small huff like a bull calf would do if angry. “And was I would normally reject a colt if they would ask me out.”

“Calm down, sweetie.” Fluttershy Said. “Your former self is showing.”

Diamond Tiara made a small look of realization on her face, and felt guilt having memories of her former mean self. “Sorry.” She Said. “I know I was supposed to be brave. But... but...”

And Luke bent down and wrapped his arm around her small body. “It’s okay Diamond Tiara. Like I said before, you can’t always get what you want. But I deeply commend you for taking the courage to ask him out.

“Diamond Tiara?” Called Pip, who was running to the cottage, obviously looking for her and see if she was okay. “Are you in there?” Silver Spoon was with him since she was Diamond’s best friend of course. “Oh there you are.” He immediately found her.

“Don’t look at me.” And th Rich filly looked away in shame.

“Diamond. Are you alright?” Pip asked him.

“I’m fine.” She Said.

“You don’t sound like it.” Fluttershy reminded.

“Come on Diamond. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. It’s just that-“

“Just that what?!” She shouted at his adorable face. “Am I not goood enough for you?! WhaT, I get it, you love the Cutie Mark Crusaders, don’t you?!”

“Hey!” Luke raised his voice like a dog would give out a fierce bark. “That’s no way to talk to Pip, little girl!”

Everyone in the room was surprised by his little outburst of anger. Diamond Tiara was the one most surprised and felt like shedding tears after being spooked like that.

Realizing what he just did, he immediately regretted his action. “Oh my god, Diamond. I am so sorry.” Luke said to her. 

“No, I deserved it, Luke.” She admitted, bowing her head in more shame. She looked at Pip, and said to him “Pip, I’m sorry if I just screamed at you like that.”

“It’s alright.” Pip Said. “Besides, it wasn’t the first time you ever acted like that.”

“So True it hurts.” Said Silver Spoon.

“And i’m Sorry if I hurt your feelings.” The colt replied. “Diamond... you are beautiful Lyman’s you’re a good filly.... now, but you’re.... not my type. Not to mention that you were mean to me and other foals without cutie marks.”

“I know. And you’re right.” Diamond said. “I have been the meanest filly in Ponyville, all thanks to my mother.”

“What’s in the past is done.” Luke reminded her again. “All is forgiven and the past horrible deeds are forgiven.”

“Yes Diamond,” Said Fluttershy. “We all have those feelings, but please try not to be so angry.”

“I know, Fluttershy.

Silver Spoon went up to her best friend and tried to console her. “Diamond Tiara, i’m Sure you’ll find love someday.”

Diamond Tiara smiled at her best friend and put a hoof on Silver Spoom’s shoulder. “Thanks.” She said to her softly.

“Diamond, can you ever forgive me for making you cry like that?” Pip sounded a little sheepish saying that, because he was worried that Diamond would verbally attack him again. He pawed his hoof at the floor, waiting for a response. He suddenly felt Diamond Tiara gently hug him to show how sorrynshe was.

“Of course I do, Pip. And do you forgive me for yelling at you like that?”

“What are friends for?” Pip replied. “And we can still be friends, right?”

“Absolutely.”

“See, All is forgiven, Diamond Tiara.” Luke said,

“ thanks.” She said to the Human.

“So Luke, we here you’re going to Zebrica, right?” Asked Pip

“You heard right, kiddo.”

“Wow, That must be a wonderful opportunity. I wish I can come with you over to Zecora’s land.”

“You can I’d you want to. I just need to talk to my parents.”

“Really?”

“Heck yeah. I always love extra company. And if your parents have to come along with you because they love you, it’s okay, too.”

Young Pip made a smile of hope and excitement on his little face. “That would be delightful. It would be so cool.”

“Although I don’t know if you would be able to come with me on He first trip, it was kinda.... last notice.”

And the colt’s face turned into a small frown. “Oh.” He muttered, feeling bummed out.

“Oh it’s okay Pip, there’s always a second visit.” Fluttershy reassured the young lad. “Luke can take you on a trip one of these days.”

“Right. So since you are all here, would you like some hot chocolate?”

“Ooh, I love me some hot cocoa.” Pip Said with delight, trotting happily over the couch. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon all joined in around the fire as well. There was no point of keeping all that cocoa and marshmallows to themselves, so both Luke and Fluttershy offered them the hot chocolate and enjoyed the hot chocolate together on the usual, cold day.
> Zebrica
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

At last, today was the big day. This was the very day where Like gets to go to Zebrica with Zecora and his closest friends for a whole week. The human could hardly wait to get on that train to visit there, as a matter of fact, he packed his bags early, and he was all set for the visit and the upcoming train.

Fluttershy was already prepared and Sprinkle Medley was going to watch the whole cottage for the day while she is gone. Still, the train wasn’t coming for another hour and thirty minutes on schedule.

Many animals were saddened to see that she was going away for a whole week, but she greatly assured all of them that it will not be forever, only seven days total, and told all of her about how nice and sweet Sprinkle was. “Come on, my friends. Just cooperate with her and she will give you all the love you need.”

“You ready, Fluttershy?” Luke asked her excitedly.

“Yes. It will be so fun, but we still need to wait for Sprinkle Medley to come over here so I can explain everything to her.”

“I know. I’m just so excited about this.” Luke admitted. “I can already imagine what the atmosphere would feel like.”

“Me too. I can!t wait to see we all those animals abundant over there.” Fluttershy added. “And correct me if I”m wrong,  but, Zecora Said She will meet us at the Train station, right?”

“That’s what she said. And Twilight Said She will pay for everything since she’s a princess. And I hope we get a discount for that.”

The yellow pegasus made a cute giggle. “Me too. That would be nice. I’m pretty sure the zebras over there will recognize her and show her the upmost respect she deserves.”

Luke then clipped his lightsaber to his belt. He felt like in case something bad comes up, he would use it just in case a monster or bandits would try and kill and rob him blind. The place might not have any bandits, but Luke is a guy who likes to be better safe than sorry.

“Are you sure you want to take your lightsaber with you, Luke?” Fluttershy asked him with one eyebrow raised over her eye.

“I know it sounds a little crude, but I want to bring it for good measure. I’ll never know when something dangerous will come up and try to kill me.” Then he cracked both his knuckles to look more tough and pumped for the trip

“I understand. Maybe that is a good idea after all.”

“And besides, you guys are the elements of harmony so nothing can really stand in your way. Discord’s been reformed before I was here, and Chrysalis has finally been sent to the Stony Lonesome for crimes against Equestria.”

“That’s right. I just hope it will stay that way.”

“I’m pretty sure it will.” And he took a sip of his water. It was just then Discord showed up and brought Luke’s dad to Equestria. “Dad!” Luke said in happiness.

“Luke!” And they hugged one another. “You ready for this big trip?”

“You know it, dad. And you?”

“I’m all set. I got my longer freezing water bottle, my magnum, sunscreen, and other belongings i’ll Need for Zebrica. And of course, I had my shots against any diseases that insects might have over there.”

“Awesome! But wait, you’re not going to go out and hunt for trophies, are you?”

“No way, that’s never going to happen.” Larry said. “I only brought my gun so that in case something tried to attack us first or if any robbers try to kill and steal our belongings.”

“Ah, Alright.”

“I can see how eager you are for the trip, Luke.” Discord Said. “Are you afraid?” He had that smug look on his face again.

The human shrugged and said "No, of course not." however, deep down inside of him, he was feeling a little anxious about this trip. He hoped he wouldn't get treated as an outcast or a monster when he arrived in Zecora's homeland by the zebras, buffalo, or other ungulates or animals that can talk over there.

Still, he decide not to worry about that so much, and have faith in the zebra and know that his closest friends will be with him to support him if needed, along with is father and Zecora herself will be there to help him out.  It was just then Sprinkle Medley came to the front door, and knocked on it four times. Fluttershy promptly answered it, and kindly allowed her to step in her nice little cottage.

"Hi Fluttershy. I'm here." she said.

"Perfect! here is the list of things you need to do while we're gone for the whole week." and the yellow pegasus handed her the list of things the green pegasus needed to do around the place and help the animals out.

"Okay. And don't worry, I can handle this place like no problem at all." Sprinkle mildly bragged. "I'm pretty sure me and the animals will get along just fine." She looked at the critters and they all waved and greeted her with hand waves and random animal sounds.

So, everything was all set for Luke, his father, Discord, and Fluttershy to go on this exciting trip.

"I love you all, my critter friends." The yellow pegasus said. "We'll be back in a week, and please listen to Sprinkle Medley."

All the animals inside nodded their heads a yes to her in reply

"Good. Well come on." And everyone followed Fluttershy out the door while Sprinkle was wishing them all a good trip.

"Okay, this should be easy." Said Sprinkle.

Meanwhile, arriving at the train station, they saw the rest of their friends and Zecora waiting for them. Lyra and Bon Bon were also with them, possibly coming on the trip, too.

"Guys, there you are!" Twilight said. "We were all waiting for you."

"Of course you were." Said Discord. "Luke's feeling quite nervous about this who trip."

"I am not!" The human exclaimed defensively. They all looked at him with their eyes perked at his sudden reaction. ".... okay, I am a little to admit it."

Zecora made a humble chuckle and said "don't worry, Luke. Everything will be just fine, good friend of mine." And the zebra wrapped her arm around him. "Just stick with me and Zebrica will be the greatest visit you will want to see."

"She's right, Sugarcube." Said Applejack. "There ain't nothing to worry about."

"It will he fun!" Said Pinkie I'm a joyous bounce.

"I can hardly wait to see those cheetahs over there. I hear those guys are super fast." Said Rainbow Dash, thinking racing with one of those cats.

It didn't take long for the train to finally come, and Zecira promptly gave the tickets to the conductor who stepped put of the vehicle.

"Enjoy your trip to Zebrica now, all aboard." Sad the conductor. Luke, his dad,  then all his friends hopped in the cart. As soon as everyone was settled in their seats the train slowly started to move in motion, then picked up speed moments after the departure.

Luke's excited feeling grew more and more with every moment and how the world was moving outside the window. He wondered how long this trip would take, and just decided to be patient, because he knows he can't speed up the time.

Fluttershy promptly sat next to him, along with his father. "You excited, buddy?" Larry asked his son

"Hellyeah. I am more than excited, dad." Luke replied. "Just you and me and my friends in a place similar to Africa, and look at any safaris available to look at abinals, meet creatures I haven't seen, that sort of thing." Ad he relaxed his arms behind the back of his head

"I can hardly wait to set foot on Zebrica for the first time." Said Fluttershy.

Lyra made a small chuckle, and said "We're all excited, Fluttershy. I know how fun this will be for a whole seven days. Just looking at the animals, having as much fun as we can, the delicious food, everything."

"We will definitely enjoy it while we can, for there are so many beautiful wonders in my homeland." Zecora remarked.

"I certainly hope I get to see what they do for fashion. I always heard about the beauty of Zebrican clothes and dresses." Rarity dreamed. "Not to mention the gold jewelry and accessories that they have."

"If only Applebloom would be here with us. She would love to have come with us."

"There's always another day, Appejack." Pinkie Pie remarked.

Appejack smiled at her "that's true."

"And Discord, you're not going to cause any trouble over there, are you?" Spike asked him suspiciously.

"What? Moi, cause trouble? I would never do something as atrocious as that!"

"Right." Spike said, not convinced by his words of milk and honey. "The last thing we need is chaos running amok in Zebrica because of you."

"It's okay, Spike." Fluttershy reassured him. "I will keep a close eye on him in case he does something mischievous. You'll behave, right Discord?"

"Anything for you, my dear Fluttershy." Twilight, do be on the safe side, checked behind Discord's back to see if he didn't have his fingers crossed. Sure, ponies only have one toe on each foot, but she knows very well that a creature crossing fingers behind his back while making a promise, means he's lying. Luckily, Discord didn't have his fingers crossed behind his back, which was good.

The purple allicorn herself was very curious about history in Zebrica. For she was always one for historical things from all over this world, and she was certain many histories from zebras, rhinos, antelopes, and buffalo and other tribes that live in that beautiful piece land.

Around around three and a half hours, Luke was starting to get bored a little fast, thanks to his autism, he was growing a little impatient, but he knew that he couldn't just throw a temper tantrum, no, he is far too old for that, and they would embarrass himself if he ever did that. "He sighed heavily into the glass, still listening to his music.

"You okay, Luke?" his father asked

"Just fine, dad. Really." Luke replied. 

"Don't worry, we'll be there." said Larry, giving Luke a gentle pat on the back.

"Just need to be a little patient, darling." Rarity reassured.

"I know, I'm just excited and eager. Almost as excited as Pinkie Pie would be." The human admitted.

"We understand, but time waits for No pony." Twilight said. "Believe us, we're just as excited as you."

"I know that." And the human looked at the zebra. "So, do you know where we're going to stay at for the week? Like a hotel? or a guesthouse, Zecora?" He asked the zebra curiously.

"We don't really have any need for a hotel." she replied. "I have a family that can give us shelter and many stories to tell."  

"That's wonderful." Discord remarked. "It saves us the trouble from spending a single bit at a hotel room."  

"Luke, look!" Fluttershy pointed. Everyone looked out their windows, for they were beginning to see some grasslands, and a few isolated trees.Luke could tell this was definitely Zebrica, for he recognized the landscape in an African savanna. He wondered if there are deserts, rainforests, or mountains across the land.



The human smiled, knowing that he was almost to their destination. Outside, he saw many wonders like a couple of giraffes walking past them, and elephants migrating in a large family together. Not only that, but a large herd of white rhinos were galloping next to the train.

"Wow, look at those rhinos." said Applejack.

"They look so strong and powerful." Fluttershy remarked. "I hope they are not aggressive."

"Not to worry, Fluttershy." said Zecora. "We are in no hurry." She looked out the windows, and saw a couple of rhinos smiling at the windows, possibly wanting them to notice them all. The number was probably up to thirty to forty rhinos in this stampede. It was a rather impressive looking number in a rhino herd like this one.

"And do not worry, these rhinoceri are not aggressive. Many of them are very peaceful and passive." Zecora noted. "But one thing to remember is not to make them angry, for they can have a very bad temper."

"I'll keep that in mind." said Luke. 

The elephants in Zebrica were particularly gigantic, and had big ears like the African counterparts would have. After many more yards, they saw a lake were a group of large hippos would hang out together. Including a few males fighting one another to the death.

"The hippos, It would be best to stay clear of." said Zecora. "They do not really like to share water they swim below, or land above." Zecora reminded. "But most of the time, they are also passive creatures."

"Yeah, by the looks of how they are fighting for dominance like that. Boy, I would hate to get in the middle of that." Spike said. "Or get crushed to death by those massive teeth."

It took a couple more miles, and finally, there was a nice-looking settlement that was absolutely thriving with zebras all around them, doing many things like eating at restaurants or cafes, or even shopping for something. The houses and huts were made of hard claw and the roofs of them were made if straw.

As soon as the doors opened, Luke knew that he was finally at his destination. At firsf, he was a little nervous about this, and didn't know what to expect from the townsfolk or visitors from other tribes.

Zecora stood next to him, an smiled at him. Larry was at his other side and patted his shoulder. "Everything will be fine, buddy." Said the father.

They all stepped out of the train, and immediately felt the air of Zebrica rushing through them. It was rather warm, but it was alright.

Walking through the street, they all saw many things like bazaars with many fruits, vegetables, hay, and oats in them.

Rarity was intrigued by the fashion the zebras would wear, many types of dresses and robes and jewelry.

Some of them were staring at Luke and his father, for they have probably never seen a human before. Another lot of them were staring at Zecora, probably knowing who she is.

Still, Luke had to believe in Zecora when she said everything will be fine. Perhaps they might accept him if they get to know the human a little better.

"Okove!" The zebra called out to a broad-looking peculiar zebra with a rather long mane on his head and neck. He had much darker stripes than Zecora and looked identical to Big Mac. He wore three gold rings on each of his ankles as well, shining under the sun.

The zebra stallion looked at who called his name, and was excited to meet her. "Zecora!" He said with joy. He ran up to her and gave her the biggest hug that Zecora had ever experienced.  "It it so wonderful to see you again. Oh how we all missed you here."

"It is always a pleasure to see you too, my brother." She remarked. "You know me like no other."

"You're brother?" Asked Lyra. "Interesting. I didn't know you had a brother, Zecora."

"Indeed, I am her brother." Said Okove. He then walked up to the group. "And I take it you are all Zecora'a friends."

"Yes. I am Twilight Sparkle, the princess of Friendship." The first one introduced herself.

"A princess?" Zecora's brother remarked in surprise. "Forgive me, your majesty. We have all heard so much about you."

Twilight giggled and said "you don't have to be so formal. You can just call me Twilight."

"Aright."

"My name is Fluttershy." The yellow pegasus said after Twilight. "And i'm really honored to be in your home."

"And I am glad you have come to visit our home, Fluttershy." Okove remarked.

The others than introduced themselves, with Luke and his dad the last ones. "My name's Luke, and yeah, I am certainly not from around. Another dimension to be exact."

"Another dimension?" Okove asked. "That is rather intriguing."

"And i'm Larry, his father."

"A pleasure, especially creatures that are not from this world." And he looked at the Master of Chaos with a not-so-amused look on his face "and I very much know who you are, Discord. Here to cause trouble I presume?"

"What? Of course not. Just here for a nice, lovely visit." Okove still dodn’t look very convinced.

“It’s okay. I’ll keep an eye on him. He has to listen to me.” Fluttershy Said. “And he’s changed, he’s not evil anymore.”

And the master of Chaos conjured an angel suit. Wings behind his back, and a glowing halo on his head, trying to look as innocent as possible to show how much he will behave (mostly)

“Either way, What brings you all here?”

“Well brother our friend Luke here wanted to visit a place like this, for he is quite fond of it. And there is absolutely no denying it.” Zecora answered. “And he would love to spend a good time, bit brother of mine.”

The stallion looked at Luke again, who waved at him with his fingers.

“It’s true.” Said the Human. “You see, I really love this kind of stuff, and in my world, there is a place similar to this called Africa, and it is like this place, accept humans like me are dominant species and not zebras. I’ve always been fascinated in the cultures, and animals like lions, leopards, cheetahs, rhinos, elands, and other cool animals in it.”

A couple of zebras were murmuring to themselves what to think of this peculiar, and interesting human being. Honestly, they didn’t know what to really think of this, and wanted to know more about him and his father already.

"Well, it is definitely a pleasure for you to visit here, along with the rest of you." Said Okove. "I bid you welcome to Zebrica." And he have the human a hug to show how warm he was.

The human looked at Zecora, who winked at him, proving him right about not to worry about coming to this wonderful place. Turns out this trip will be way better than expected.

"How long will you all be staying?" asked Okove

"About one week." said Rainbow Dash.

"I see. Come, why don't I show you to where you will be staying for the whole week." and he looked at his younger sisters again. "It is so good to have you back home, Zecora..... even if it is for only one week, and I hope you will all enjoy your stay here."

"I'm pretty sure we will." said Lyra. "This will be so fun."

"You can say that again, Lyra." Bon Bon agreed. They all went to a rather nice looking palace, not as big as Celestia and Luna's castle, but still looks very nice and majestic. There, it had a big guesthouse, three guesthouse rooms to be exact.

"Do you come from royalty, Zecora?"

"Well, before I moved to Ponyville to increase my potions interest, I was a princess."

"A Princess?" said all of them in unison.

"Yes. It was not easy being a Zebrican princess. I didn't want to be pampered all around me, for it was a life not meant for me to be."

"Really?" said Luke. "I did not know that. I can tell you kinda have a reputation here."

"Indeed, I do. surprised reactions from my family and old friends here wouldn't be something new."

"I hope you will all make yourselves comfortable here." said Okove. "For we have so much to talk about, such as lost time with my little sister." He smiled at Zecora and she smiled back at him. "In the mean time, you should all settle in."

"Good idea." said Larry.
> Getting Settled In
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the large Guestroom, Luke was looking out the window at how beautiful it was outside in Zebrica. If there was one thing for sure, Luke could hardly wait to see all the wonders of this piece of land, along with seeing cool animals and tribes.

He was listening to some music on his iPod Touch to enlighten the mood. Everything was unpacked in the room, and his friends were also trying to settle in.

Larry stood next to him, and gently tapped his shoulder and his son took off one earbud. "You excited to be here, buddy?" He asked him. Luke smiled at him warmly.

"You know that I am, dad. This is gonna be awesome, I know it will. And it's better since your here."

"I couldn't agree more, Luke." Larry concurred with him.

"It will be awesome alright." Said Rainbow Dash. "I can't wait to see some cheetahs around here."

Luke suddenly felt the need to use the restroom. "Uh-oh. I think I drank too much lemonade. I'll be right back." As he went to tinkle, Spike was just relaxing on the bed he will sleep on for the next seven days.

"What do you think, Spike?" Twilight asked him. "Is that bed comfortable enough for you?"

"You bet, Twilight." The baby dragon replied. "But what about the others? I don't want tell natives here think I am a mindless monster?"

"Oh don't be silly." Twilight said. "It'seems like Zecora said, everything will be just fine."

"Yes, especially with a buffalo or a rhino. My dear Spike, Would they ever think you are a monster? No, I do not think so." Said Zecora. "Besides, we should not try and doubt in front of Luke. The last thing I would want is for him to think this trip was a mistake and a fluke."

"You're right, Zecora." Said Larry. "Do you guys know how important it is for Luke to go to Africa? Or a place similar to Africa?"

"Of course we do." Said Fluttershy. "I have know Luke long enough for him to see how much he loves Africa, Larry."

"I know, Fluttershy."

"We're his closest friends after all." Said Applejack.

"Totally!" Said Pinkie Pie.

"And I simply love how the decor looks in this peculiar palace." Rarity remarked, looking at a fascinating painting of a zebra warrior wearing army that looks like from the Zulu tribe.

It was just then Luke got back. "You know Zecora," he said "I'm still a little confused about you being a princess of this peculiar place."

"I never really been asked about it." She said. "I'm pretty sure that if I told you all back in Ponyville, you wouldn't even cate about it."

"I care." Said Luke.

"And you know how i'm always interested in new things." Said Twilight. 

"My apologies, but now I have told you my dearies." And it was just then Okove set foot inside the guestroom.

"Is everyone settling in?" He asked curiously.

All of them replied yes or words similar to yes. "Oh yes, Okove." Said Fluttershy. "Everything looks beautiful here."

"Wonderful, wonderful." Said Zecora's brother. It was just then a couple of zebra servers came in with plates of fruit ranging from grapes to honeydew to watermelon. They all looked absolutely delicious. "You all must be hungry from all of that traveling on that train."

The waiters all stood in front of them for any fruit they would like to eat. Luke was more than happy to take a banana and a honeydew melon that was half-open, and began cutting it with a small knife turning them into small cubes. Everyone else had other types of fruits, including honeydew, grapes, oranges, watermelon and others.

Unlike the two humans who were eating the melons in cube form, the rest of them were eating it naturally by just chomping on the melons, and they tasted good. The servants then went out of the room with the empty plates still in their hooves. "Now that everypony and of course baby dragon, human, and Master of Chaos alike is happy with their food, would you like anything else?"

"No thanks." said Spike. "I think the fruit should keep me satisfied for a little while." and he took a bite of his melon. "Ooh, this is so good." and he continued munching down on the inside.

“Good. Now, sister, how is life in Ponyville for you?”

“It is absolutely marvelous. The peculiar city of Ponyville is always tremendous. Sure, it might be be absolutely perfect, but I will certainly not move away from there and defect.”

“Hmm, you have always described Ponyville in your letters to me, but I have never actually been there.”

“You should visit there. It might not look like Zebrica,” Said Applejack “There arellenty kf fun things to do over in our hometown.”

Okove was a little more curious about this town. “I see.” And he turned his attention to the human. “So Luke, I am also more curious about your world and your race.” And he sat down next to him. “Is there anything you can tell me about your people?”

“There are many things, but not everything.” Luke replied. “But one of the things I can say for sure is that we humans are the dominant species of my home world. My and dad’s definition of Earth has so many wonders, And whenever there are wonders, there are some hazards as well.”

“It your world like this earth you walk on?” Okove Asked

“Oh yes, except there is no magic or magical powers, or monsters like manticores or dragons. My world can be very boring at times.”

“Yeah, this place is certainly something else.” Said Larry. “Luke came here through a shooting star and Discord saw this and decided to grant his wish.”

“Oh ho, I flush.” Said the master of chaos. “Indeed, Luke is in this world because of me, for his world is quite boring.”

Now Okove was even more interested in this human and his father. “If you got transported here, then I would predict your world is a little boring.”

“Well, i’m Just visiting here from the home world.”

“I see.”

“Okove, are there any elands or buffalo that can talk?”

“Oh yes.” The make zebra chuckled. “We certainly have those kinds of animals here. We get along quite well with the elands that would come here and visit. As for the buffalo.... they are ‘gore first, ask questions later’ type of creatures, but they can still be passive as long as you don’t make them angry.”

“Pardon me.” Said Fluttershy. “But where can we go on safari? I’ve always been fascinated in the animals living in Zebrica.”

“Ho ho, here are many safari parks in Zebrica, and it is a pretty diverse place. You must all know that there are not just Savannas or grasslands in Mama Zebrica. No, there are also deserts, mountains, jungles, forests. Beaches, and other wonders here.”

“Wow, that’s cool.” Said Rainbow Dash.

“And if you all want, there is a souvenir shop for visitors that came here by train.” Okove remarked. “They are affordable at a price for only two bits.”

“Wonderful!” Said Starlight Glimmer. “Might as well get something to remember us by when we leave at the seventh day.”

“Come on, Starlight.” Said Lyra. “There’s always another day. It won’t be a final goodbye, Yeah, these good zebras seem very friendly and hospitable.”

“And it looks like a perfect winter getaway.” Bon Bon added. “I can get tired of the snow in winter back home.”

“Well, I can assure you all that you are more than welcome to set foot here on my home any time you want to, or see fit.”

“You don’t have to tell us twice, Okove.” Said Larry. “This place looks very interesting.”

“And what about me?” Asked Spike. “Am I allowed to set foot in Zebrica if I want to? I don’t want to be casted out by an angry mob with torches trying to kill me.”

“Come on Spike, e already discussed this.” Said Lyra.

Okove let out another chuckle, and said “Yes Spike, we know you are only an infant, and not cause destruction on purpose like a brutish adult dragon would do. Oh, not saying you are brutish of course.”

“I know. I know.” Said Spike.

“I think I could buy something at the gift shop.” Luke thought. “Anyone want to come with me?”

“Oh! I’ll come with you!” Fluttershy volunteered adorably.”

“I’ll go too.” Said Twilight. “Come on Spike, I always wanted something to study on Zebrica for years.”

“Alright Twilight.” Spike chuckled. “I’m coming with ya,”

“I will come too, I want to show you many fun things here to do.” Zecora added

“And I should come with you in case you get lost in the city out there.”

“Good idea.” Luke remarked. “Anyone else wanna come with us?”

“I’ll do it.” His father offered.

“And we can use some exercise.” Lyra got off the bed and stood next to the group heading out. The rest of them Chose to stay at the guesthouse and rest for a bit. And the small group went to the souvenir shop. It was an intriguing shop, and Spike was feeling a little nervous, but some zebra foals were warming up to him, and decided to interact with Spike.

The crafts were amazing, ranging from masks to small statues made of wood, painted tribal shields, and more.
> Zebrican Safari Adventure
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a rather warm day over the Zebrican savanna, but it was a rather nice weather for fun activities such as safari tours. Luke could hardly wait to look for cool animals while on this safari, and he was determined to look at as much Zebrican animals as much as possible.

"Okove, do you know a zebra to give out safari tours that he will help us hear a lion's roar?" Zecora asked her brother.

"Trust me, my dear sister." Said Okove. "I know a wise zebra named Wakka-Shu. I have known him for a long while. And he will he a perfect guide for us." The others continued to a small stop where a group of tour-giver zebras were in a line filled with many foreign visitors and native zebras alike.

"Okove. I'm curious. What kind of monsters are in Zebrica?"

"Well, there are so many ferocious beasts and dangerous creatures out there. Some of them are so dangerous enough to be powerful enough to kill a full-grown elephant."

"Why do you ask that question?" Said Zecora. "Was it a suggestion?"

"I was just curious, just in case something dangerous attacks us in the safari." Luke replied. "I'll never know when a spitting cobra would be on the ground and if I accidentally stepped on one in the grass, then... you know the rest of that."

"You are absolutely right, young Luke." Okove chuckled. "The grass out here hides so many dangers that are quite unpredictable, but, they can hide you as well if you're careful enough."

"Fair point. And... don't get scared of this, but I have brought something with me in case a vicious monster or demonic creature would dare attack us."

"And what is that?" Said a tour guide, noticing the group Luke and Fluttershy were in together. "Pardom me for the interruption, but I am Wakka-Shu, and I will be your tour guide on this fantastical safari through the plain. Ah, and Zecora, you have finally returned home."

"Well. Not exactly." Said Rainbow Dash Uncomfortably. "Zecora's only visiting here."

"Oh. I see."

"Umm, I think proper introductions are in order" said Twilight. They all introduced themselves to Wakka-Shu one at a time.

"The princess of friendship?" Said the tour guide in amazement. "It is quite an honor, your highness. I have always heard of you but I never thought I would actually meet you in the flesh."

"Charmed." Said Twilight on flattery.

"And of course I have heard of the infamous Elements of Harmony. Always a pleasure to meet all of you as well."

And then he looked at the human. "And as for you, Luke, what are you?" He asked curiously.

"I'm a human. I know, I know. You never seen someone like me before in your whole life, but I am Equestria's only human at the monent

"A human? Are you some kind of.... ape of some kind?"

"Well... no, we humans are in the primate family though. I'm from another world and my kind are the dominant species of it."

"Fascinating. I am already taking a liking to you." Said Wakka-Shu

"And I'm his father." Larry said. "I helped raised him and grow up."

"Always a pleasure to meet any visitor from anywhere, especially from another dimension." said Wakka-Shu. "Now, forgive me, but you said you had something to ward off any dangerous creatures. May I ask what you mean."

"Of course." said Luke boldly. He pulled out his lightsaber again, and activated the green, glowing blade with a push of the button on the hilt. The tour guide was impressed by how this colorful weapon looked. "Behold, the Lightsaber. This is more powerful than any other sword in any universe. This thing can cut through steel if needed."

"Lightsaber, huh? Well, I don't think it is really needed to have this sword with you on this trip."

"Still, Zecora and Okove said the grass can hide many dangers out here in Zebrica."

"Cannot argue with that. That point is well taken." Wakka-Shu laughed "Very well. Besides, I love the color of this blade. And on the way, I think we have so much to talk about on this wondrous trip."

"I couldn't agree more, Wakka-Shu." Luke agreed.

"Now, the rules are stay with the group, and it's best not to approach any wild animal here, unless if they come to you." he instructed to the group. "Be sure you have lots of water with you, and feel free to let me know if you need a break. Does everyone understand what I am talking about to you?"

"We do, Wakka-Shu." said Fluttershy quietly. "I think we're ready."

"Yep, let the safari begin." said Lyra.

“Wonderful. Then let us all be off, and of course, I got my eye on you, Discord. Considering the fact that I do not trust you in being the Master of Chaos.”

“Don’t worry.” Said Spike. “Fluttershy will keep a good eye on him.”

And then they were all off in the trail where Waka-Shu was taking them all to on this safari. They all looked around for any intriguing animals to look at. “Oh! Look up there in that tree, my friends.” The tour guide pointed out with a hood. “The giant eagle owl, one of the largest owls in the world.”

“Can they also turn their heads like any other owl in the world?” Twilight asked him cursorily .

“Of course. This owls are superb predators who should mostly feed on small animals like meerkats, or any other animal like the meerkat.”

“Aww, how adorable.” Said Fluttershy. “Look at those cute little eyes on his chubby face. Oh I just wish I can hold one.” And it was all of a sudden the giant eagle owl swooped down and gently perched on Fluttershy’s back with his talons, it looked like her wish was granted saying that. “Hello there.” She said softly.

The owl made a few small “hooting” sounds from himself and looked to and fro with his head at his surroundings.

“Wow, it’s giant alright.” Said Spike. “It’s huge!”

“Hence the name giant eagle owl.” Said Bon Bon. “I mean, look at the size of this bird.”

“Yeah, it can pick up a gopher and scarf the whole thing down his throat.” Applejack remarked

“Ooh, dkn’t Even way that, Applejack.” Rarity Said. “I know it’s natural, but it is still a little... unnerving for me, not to mention squeamish when even thinking about those sort of things.”

“Come on, Rarity.” Said Rainbow Dash. “Don’t be such a wuss. I love watching that kind of stuff happen, I think it’s cool when stuff like that happens.”

“Of course you do, Rainbow Dash.” Rarity Said. “But it does look like a rather adorable animal.”

Luke went up to the raptor and began to pet it gently. “Oh, I wouldn’t do that, Luke!” The tour guide said. “A bite from that owl could hurt and make you lose a finger.”

“it’s okay.” Said Fluttershy. “He just wants to say hello to us.” And the owl let out a fpcouole more hoots while nodding his head at everyone. The giant eagle owl then let Luke pet him some more around his round neck. The majestic bird-of-prey was really enjoying this type of treatment by the human.

“Oh, he likes you, Luke.” Fluttershy noticed.

“Thanks to your gift with animals.” Luke said. Unexpectedly, the eagle owl used his sharp talons to try and climb on Luke’s arm. It’s talons felt like very sharp needles and felt like they were piercing the skin of his arm.

“You okay, Luke? You need the owl off of ya?” Applejack Asked with Concern.

“No. Ah! It’s fine. These talons are probably not as bad as Th martial eagle or the crowned eagle, that’s for sure.” And then the eagle owl looked at the Human with it’s cute little face, and tilted sideways to the right, and then to the left. “Aren’t you a cool bird.” Luke said to it. And the owl made a smile on his face, and twisted his head around once like any other owl would do.

“Here, let me help you.” Said Fluttershy. She made clicking noises and the owl immediately got off Luke’s arm, perching back on Fluttershy’s back. “What did you think of him?” She Asked the Giant eagle owl.

And then the bird made a couple of chirping noises in response to what she asked her. Fluttershy’s smile grew a little wider and giggled.

“What did he say?” Said Lyra.

“He said that Luke was an intriguing person. And he liked you, Luke.”

The human was rather touched to hear that, and petted the owl again, knowing how much he loved that. “You can communicate with animals, Fluttershy?” Asked Wakka-Shu in amazement. “How is hat even possible?”

“It’s my special talent. That’s what my cutie mark is for.”

“Yep, That’s Fluttershy’s calling. Animals are definitely her passion.” Said Twilight. “She has so many animals on her cottage back home in Ponyville, and you’d be surprised to see what kind of animals live with her.”

Wakka-Shu didn’t really know what to what to think about this. “That’s rather amazing. Why aren’t there more ponies or zebras like you around his world? Perhaps your talents could be a great use to us here.”

The yellow Pegasus flushed and said “Well, I don’t know what to say.” And gently pawed her right hoof on the ground. “I don’t want to break any rules in the safari and get in trouble for it, you know?”

“Ah, come on. They know about you’re talent now, so there’s no point in holding back, Fluttershy.” Said Luke with a wink.

“Yes, Perhaps this trip would need you. If you can talk to that giant eagle owl, I am certain you can talk to other animals here, right?” Asked Lyra.

“Of course. I can speak their languages, their dialects, and tell how they feel.” Fluttershy Said.

“There you go, Shy.” Said Spike encouragingly. “Besides, you are great with animals. We have seen what you’re capable of with those critters, especially woodland ones.”

Fluttershy smiles and said “I know. You’re right. Well, I don’t want to keep you all waiting. I know how much you want to see this, Luke.”

“I do,” Said her closest human friend. “Let’s continue on.”

“Of course. Onward.” Said Wakka-Shu. They all followed the tour guide once again. And looked around for any cool animals along the dirty path. Twilight was suddenly spooked by something and she hovered in midair with a small scream.

She never looked so scared before in her life before,mane hid behind Larry. The others looked confused. “Twilight, What is it?” Asked Larry.

“Cobra! Cobra!” She exclaimed. “I hate snakes! Please make them go away!”

They looked deeper in the bushes and saw a green and blue cobra raising his head in an intimidating way. “Uh-oh. It’s a Grass Spitting Cobra. These guys shoot venom from their mouths by spitting and when it gets in your eyes, it hurts.”

The reptile made low growling sounds and spat venom at the group, but didn’t hurt anyone’s eyes.

“Don’t worry, i’ll Take care of this,” Said Fluttershy

“What? Wait! Don’t do this!” Said Rainbow Dash. “You’ll get blinded!” But it wasn’t enough to stop the yellow Pegasus. She went over to the spitting cobra, and gave it the “Stare” with her eyes.

Just when the snake can shoot venom from his mouth, it suddenly froze in place and lowered his head. “Why are you attacking us?” She Said innher sweet demeanor. The snake began growling and hissing at her, trying to talk to her in snake language. “What? You got kicked out of your hole by another male who stole your mate?” She Said in shock.

And the snake began looking angry again.

“I understand, but you cannot let that guy bother you, or get under your scales. You need to stand up to him, and fight back. If you really want to win your love back, you need to put your tail and fangs down.”

Realizing she was right, the snake had a small burst of courage in him and decided that she was right. It nodded it’s head,mane began to crawl up her.

“Oh my.” She Said. “You’re a curious snake. Aren’t you?”

“Is that even safe?” Said Pinkie.

“It’s Fluttershy,” Said Lyra. “She’ll he just fine.”

“Yeah. She does have snake friends at home.” Twilight agreed. The Grass Spitting cobra gave her a kiss by using her tongue to touch the cheeks of her face to show his affection. "Even though I'm still very terrified of them." and then she made a gulp of fear down her throat.

The Yellow pegasus felt the cobra coiling down her legs and went off to fight off the intruder male that kicked him out of his hole and reclaim his mate for himself.

All the members of the group continued on and Rainbow saw a couple of cheetahs laying on the ground under a tree as shade. There were probably up to three of them under the nice shade from the sun. One of them was a king cheetah, one with more spots and some long, wide stripes running down it's body.

"Whoa! Cheetahs!" said Rainbow Dash "Finally we found cheetahs. I wonder how fast I can go with them, or if they can keep up with me." and she had a bold face on herself, and then the cheetahs began running faster than any other land animal they have all seen. Rainbow decided to fly up to them and see if those three big cats could keep up with her.

Of course, she didn't want to really race them. No, she wanted to see how fast they truly were from what she heard about them. She was in between the cats, both of the regular-looking cheetahs to her side, and the king cheetah right behind her as she was flying in front of them.

"Ooh, you're a cool-looking cat." she admired it. "Never seen a cheetah like you before."

All three of them didn't really say anything, but just kept running with their amazing speed. They suddenly turned to their right, and Rainbow followed after, and then to the left, and the group watching her was absolutely amused by how this was turning out.

"What a fast pegasus mare." said Wakka-Shu, obviously the one most amazed by Rainbow's gift of flight. "I guess the Wonderbolts were right to have her on their fly team."

"You can say that again." said Applejack. "Rainbow Dash is possibly the fastest thing this world has ever seen before."

"Indeed. And i perfectly understand how she is one of the elements of harmony, and a savior of your home."

"Yep. She is the Element of Loyalty, after all." Luke said. "Hey Rainbow!" he called out to her. "I think you had your fun with them now!" The human wondered if she even heard him, and then she suddenly came back, landing back on the savanna ground. "Was that fun?" he asked her curiously

"Yeah! I wished that it would have lasted longer, thought." the Cyan pegasus admitted

"Maybe later." said Bon Bon. "But first, I want to see more of this safari."

"We all do." said Lyra. "This is getting more and more exciting."

"I could not agree more, Lyra." said Fluttershy. "But we still need to be careful, right?"

"Of course." said Okove. "There might be more spitting cobras hidden in the tall grass around us."

"Okove speaks true, my friends." said Wakka-Shu. "We should always exercise caution in these beautiful fields." and they continued pushing forward with the tour. Through it, they encountered and or saw many intriguing animals on the way, such as meerkats, mongooses, bee-eater birds, lovebirds, and other types.

A rather upsetting sight caught Luke's eyes "Oh god." he muttered. the other went over to where he was standing and saw a couple of black vultures cawing in a very harsh type of sound, eating remains of a dead spotted hyena, piece by piece of it's flesh, and the bones were becoming more and more visible. It's face was almost gone, and it's eyes were gouged out by the vultures beaks.

"Oh disgusting." said Larry. "Poor hyena. Really hate to be in what he's in right now."

"Ew." Rarity muttered in disgust. She felt like throwing up seeing that very grotesque sight far from them. 

"I wonder what happened to that poor thing." said Starlight Glimmer. "Maybe the sun was so hot and he died of dehydration."

"I doubt the sun is warm enough for that. It is still technically winter this time of year." said Zecora. "Perhaps it was attacked by something, Starlight dear."

Luke was thinking of it, and had a thought. "I think a lion, or a lion pride attacked it somehow. Lions and hyenas are supposed to be bitter, mortal enemies. Even though hyenas technically have more powerful bite force than lions, they are not as large."

"You're right." said the tour guide. "Or perhaps it was attacking a group of rhinos or elephants and was certifiable enough to try and challenge the whole herd."

"Another good speculation." said Twilight. "But i don't think we should worry about that so much. It was only trying to survive out here."

"It's all part of the circle of life, Twilight." Luke said. "It can be a cruel world out here."

"You're absolutely right, my boy." said Discord in agreement. "We shouldn't let this ruin our fun, should we?"

"No, of course not." said Starlight. "Let's keep moving." As the group continued with the tour, Luke felt like someone, or something was watching them from the tall grass. He cautiously looked around at his surroundings, and ingited the lightsaber just in case something dangerous was about to pop out.

Hearing the lightsaber being activated, Fluttershy said "What is it, Luke?"

"I get the feeling.... we're being watched somehow. Something's waiting to pop out and attack us any time soon." And the human looked at the surroundings, and his father pulled out his magnum just in case to protect his son. It was all quiet, and then, something charged at them. Something big, and black, weighing over a ton was charging at Luke, and he looked quite fierce. It was a cape buffalo bull, with his horns looking quite lethal. Despite how fast it was running, Luke and his father dodged out of the way just in time.

They fell to the soil and saw the bull looking quite fierce like it was seeing the color of red.

"Wait!" said Wakka-Shu. "Babatunde! Do not hurt them!"

The buffalo turned around and had his eyes wide to see Zecora and Okove with them. "Wakka-Shu? Forgive me, I was just protecting you all from these two monsters."

"They are not monsters!" said Fluttershy. "They're friends of ours."

"Your friends?" Said the buffalo. "I have never seen animals like you before."

"That's because we're from another world." Luke clarified. And then he put the lightsaber away.

The Cape buffalo had a rather intrigued look on his face. "Another world? I do not understand."

"Of course you wouldn't understand." Said Discord. "It figures a hot-headed cow like you would be able to understand anything."

Babatunde then turned completely angry and shouted like a bull would. "How dare you call me a cow!" And he began charging at the Master of Chaos with astonishing speed almost as fast as a car.

Discord didn't even looked scare of being gored to death by a bull Cape buffalo. Okove, Wakka-Shu, and Okove were pushing him back, trying to calm the bovine down and ease his anger.

"Calm down!" Zecora grunted. "You need to control your anger now."

It took a long while, but Babatunde immediately stopped huffing and let his anger die down. "I'm sorry." He sighed.

"Pay no attention to Discord." Said Fluttershy. "He's a troublemaker." Then she sternly looked at the master of chaos. "Discord, tell Babatunde you're sorry."

"Alright, alright." Discord cleared his throat, and said to the buffalo very quietly "sorry."

"Say it like you mean it, mister." Flutterhy scolded.

"Okay! I'm sorry." The Master of Chaos repeated in a louder voice.

"Better " spike said with a satisfied smile. "We're very sorry about him."

"It's alright. Zebrican buffalo like ourselves  can be quick to anger."

"Ourselves?" Said Starlight in question.

From the grass, a large herd of buffalo emerged and shown themselves to the group looking at them. It was a large family ranging from hundreds or even thousands of them.

"This is a full house." Luke remarked. "Anyway, me and my dad are not monsters rest assured you all. We're from another world."

"And of we were trying to hurt or kill you, our friends would be dead right now." Said Larry.

"Oh." And Babatunde had a nervous look on his face. And the beast walked in front of the human boy. "Please forgive me for my rash action." And he bowed his head to him and his father. "I am very sorry for the inconvenience, boy."

"It's alright. I heard of how dangerous it is anyway."

"Now, my name is Chief Babatunde, leader of my family you all see before me."

"Name's Luke. This is my dad."

"Yeah, I'm Larry."

"Well met Luke."

"I would love to stay her and chat with you some more, but we're in a middle of a safari tour, and I don't want to keep all my friends waiting."

"We understand. We live close by. I am certain we'll see each other soon. For now, I have to help all my family and friends here look for water."

"I'll see you soon." Luke remarked on a warm voice. Then Babatunde, and all his family and herd within his tribe migrated west from the direction everyone in the safari group was going. It was a rather extraordinary sight seeing a large group of Cape buffalo moving as a large herd as one.

Everyone else followed Wakka-Shu down the path again.

More and more remarkable animals caught their eyes ranging from giraffes to wildebeest, hartebeest, dik-dik antelopes, and many others.

"Uh-oh. Savanna monitor lizard. These reptiles are quite aggressive." Wakka-Shu warned everyone.

A medium-sized lizard was in front of them, hissing with a nasty temper.

Fluttershy went up to it, and avoided many strikes from the lizard's teeth, and gave the monitor her stare.

It immediately froze in place seeing her eyes, and became far more calm. "Was that a nice way to greet anyone?" She asked

The lizard then bowed his head in shame.

"Oh. It's okay. I forgive you." Fluttershy sweetly replied to the Savanna monitor. And the lizard immediately went off into the brush.

Another intriguing sight that was unexpected happened; a pack of painted dogs were curious enough to look at the group and interact with them, much to Wakka-Shu's amazement.

"Never thought this would happen." Like said, gently stroking a wild dog's head and ears.

Fluttershy was also having fun interacting with the painted dogs trying to say hello to her.

"They do not have rabies, do they?" Rarity asked in a worried voice.

"No. Of course not." Said Larry. "If they did have rabies, they would try and attack us and eat us as their lunch."

"Heh. That is so true." Said Spike. And a dog came up to Spike. Sniffing his face and gently locking his cheeks like a domestic dog would do.

Twilight giggled. "Oh Spike." She remarked.
> Attacked By a Minotaur
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everyone was still having fun on this Zebrican Safari adventure looking st cool and majestic animals to interact and take a picture with. Luke was still interacting with the wild dogs before, and getting playfully trampled on by the pups.

Fluttershy was experiencing the same thing as Luke, and both were having fun, and the dogs were being very friendly. It was like even though they are "wild" dogs, they were acting so much like pet dogs instead of vicious wolves that would attack on sight. Wakka-shu was still a little concerned by how the two were interacting with the painted dogs, and never knew when they might suddenly turn on them

"It's alright." said Twilight. "Luke and Fluttershy will be just fine, Wakka-shu. Besides, we told you that Fluttershy is a natural with animals, didn't we?" and she looked on at Fluttershy playing with some of the pups, and the little animals were having good fun while wagging their tails happily.

"I know, just trying to make sure everyone is safe and not hurt by any animal in any way." said the tour guide. Just then the dogs suddenly went off, saying their byes to Luke and the yellow pegasus.

"You wish you had dogs like those, buddy?" Luke's father asked him.

Luke made a small smirk, and he replied to Larry "To be honest, I wished I had dogs like that, but they're wild, and I shouldn't keep them away from their natural instincts. But hey, a guy can dream, can he?" They all laughed with him

"Indeed." said Okove. "once can certainly dream about any wondrous idea."

"Well, moving on now." said Wakka-shu. Just like that, they all continued on with the tour.

So far, it was still going perfectly, for many animals they saw never ceased to amaze the others. In a distance, over a large water hole, there was a very abnormally large frog the size of a bowling ball, or even bigger than one.

It's colors were a tri-color of red, yellow, and green which deeply reminded Luke of many African countries with those colors such as Ethiopia, Senegal, Guinea, Mali, and others.

"Ah. You noticed the Rainbow Goliath frog." Said Wakka-Shu. "This amphibian sure is a beautiful one, isn't it?"

"Nice." Said Spike. "It's so colorful. Look at it."

The gigantic amphibian looked at the group, and blinked with it's very big eyes once, And then a second time.

"These majestic creatures are supposedly the largest frogs in all of Zebrica, along with the most colorful ones." Wakka-Shu said. "They are also one of the most toxic ones, but despite that, they are also gentle giants as long as you treat them right."

"How big can they get?" Asked Applejack curiously.

"They can grow up to the size of a large pig, with a maximum of three hundred pounds max."

"Geez, three hundred pounds?" Said Rainbow in surprise. 

"That's a very big frog alright." said Starlight in amazement. "It wouldn't surprise me if they didn't have any predators that would hunt them and eat them."

"Well, when they die, their poison they have on their skin dies with them." Said Okove. "It would be a perfect meal with lions, hyenas, golden wolves, and other carnivores roaming the Zebrican savanna, not to mention the wild dogs we have encountered before.

It was just then the large amphibian was coming towards them with sounds of thinking as he was hoping towards them. It was coming up to Spike and it was looking at him.

"Uhhh.... hello." Spike said.

The frog blinked twice and sniffed Spike's face curiously, then suddenly licked his face with his abnormally large, blue tongue, with traces of saliva running down Spike's face.

"Nice introduction." Said Spike, not sounding amused.

"Aww come on, Spike." Twilight chuckled. "That was rather cute. And I think you made a new friend like that." And the frog licked the baby dragon's face again, and it was more bigger and affectionate than the last one he had given him. The creature made a loud croak that lasted for two seconds, and blinked it's gigantic eyes again.

"Oookay." said the baby dragon.

"Good thing I got this on picture." said Luke. "I thought that was precious." Spike finally gave in, and made a small chuckle.

"Okay, okay." said the baby dragon. "I guess I made a new friend after all." just then, the Pan-African colored frog suddenly began jumping away from the group, and the ground was mildly rumbling with every pounce he took, and went back into the large water hole with a loud splash heard in a distance.

"Well, I guess we should move on now." said Zecora. "Let's not waste time eating grass like a cow." and they continued with the safari tour yet again. All of a sudden, after two-hundred more yards, a low growling was heard. It was so low and loud that it made the ground shake a little.

The others were a little afraid, but they all kept their ground, and stood guard for anything dangerous that might attack them. Luke ignited the lightsaber again, and his father once again, pulled out his Raging Bull magnum revolver. Looking to and fro, they kept their guard up for any bad guys or dangerous animals wanting to kill them and their friends.

“Shh. What was that?” Fluttershy Said quietly. A rustling was heard in the tall grass like it was moving in lightning speed.

“I have no idea.” Said Lyra.

It was all quiet and then something jumped out of nowhere. It looked like a creature half man and half bull with a large khopesh sword as his weapon. He had horns like an African buffalo, and muscles on his arms.

This thing was trying to slice Luke in half, but Luke and his father dodged out of the way just in time. Larry fired his magnum with a lout bang, trying to hit this monster, but the beast dodged out of the way and deflected the bullet with his mighty sword.

They all looked at what appeared to be a Minotaur that looked so much like an African buffalo. He had three fingers on his hairy hands, and the khopesh he was holding looked deadly and lethal. He had a scar over his left arm, looking quite red, and his fur was the color of Night it’s large, yellow eyes that blazed like fire. “Not a bad dodge, creature.” Said the thing in a 5ick a
African voice.

“What the hell are you?” Luke asked, raising his lightsaber.

“And why are you attacking us?” Okove Said.

“I am Balthazar, your worst nightmare, and I demand you hand over as much bits and riches you possibly posses with you.” Said the Minotaur. “Or else, you will all die!”

“Go away, you ruffian!” Said Rarity. “You have no business here.”

“Oh, but it is you who should be doing business with me.

“We don’t want any trouble, sir.” Said Luke. “Just let us pass.”

Balthazar just made a wicked chuckle and said. “Well apparently you have yourself trouble already. Now, hand me all your riches, or I will kill you all and take them anyway.”

“Oh yeah?” Said Rainbow Dash boldly. “You and what army?”

“I have no need for an army, stupid pony.” Balthazar rudely remarked. “Because I am not a weakling like you.”

“I’ll show you weak!” Said Rainbow. “You’ll regret saying those wrong words, buddy!”

“I look forward to it.” Said the Minotaur in a smug tone-of-voice. “But I hardly doubt you can try and take on me.” Then he pounded his right chest with his right hand like a gorilla would do to show how mighty he was. Balthazar threw his head back wnd let out a loud bull scream. “You’re all going to die, scum!”

The monster charged at Luke and his father, and Larry was trying to shoot him to take this bandit down,  there no matter how many bullets he had, Balthazar wouldn’t die and cease hostility.

The Minotaur swung his mighty khopesh at Luke with a horizontal slice, then Luke jumped out of the way, and swung the lightsaber at the bandit, but that Minotaur was fast, and did a backflip in midair.

The monster than gave Luke a powerful punch to the stomach while trying to Slash at him with the lightsaber, making Luke grunt in pain.

Before Balthazar could react, he felt something stinging hot piercing his skin like lava. Luke impaled the minotaur with his lightsaber, and yelled in pain before falling right on his back to the ground with a loud “thud!”

Luke was panting for he knew he has won and turned the lightsaber off. Fluttershy and the others went to help him recover back on his feet. “Luke, are you okay? I was so worried.” Said Fluttershy.

“Yeah. I’m fine. I can always take a punch to my stomach. Don’t worry about me you guys, but are all Minotaurs in Zebrica always like this?”

“Oh no.some of them are while many of them are not.” Said Zecora. “ but, we always do the right thing by turning away and trot.”

“Good thinking. I am so glad I brought the lightsaber with me.”

“And me and my gun.” Said Larry. They all pushed forward with the safari once more, and tried to forget about what just happened while the Minotaur will probably be eaten by the lions, hyenas, or other Zebrican carnivores.
> Rhino Movement
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The safari was still in full swing, even though a minotaur just attacked the group. Luke was sure glad he brought his lightsaber with him, otherwise, the minotaur would have gored him, and his friends.

What mattered was that they were all safe and sound from any attacks. As long as Luke had his saber. And his father had his magnum on him, it wouldn't be so dangerous.

Wakka-Shu was still more than happy to lead the others along the way through this safari tour. The others were getting a little hot under the Zebrican sun. Still, they had plenty of water with them to keep them hydrated and  refreshed.

Deciding to take another quick stop, they all rested under a large tree, standing over a picnic table below it.

"You guys still glad we came here?" Luke asked his closest friends.

"Yeah! This is awesome!" Rainbow said with enthusiasm. "I'm so glad we came here in the first place."

"I absolutely concur." Rarity added. "Despite the scorching heat from the sun, I am certainly enjoying this." and she began sweating a little. "But I am desperately parched! I need some water." and she promptly took her water bottle and drank it like crazy like she was in the middle of the Sahara desert with no oasis.

Applejack just rolled her eyes while chuckling at how silly her friend was being. "Did you have to wear a sunhat, Rarity?" she asked her curiously.

"Of course I did. The last thing I want is to have a swarm of mosquitoes drinking out of my skin." And then she made a shudder. "I don't even want to think about that."

"Well I'm sure them little varmints wouldn't even bother trying to suck our blood dry like a bunch of vampires."

"Or the Nandi bear." said Okove.

"The what?" asked Twilight with a raised eyebrow.

"The Nandi bear is a monstrous being that would only eat brains of any animal, including zebras, and ponies." Said Okove. “This demon is a spawn of hell, and he even brings it wherever he goes.”

Spike made a small gulp of fear written all over his face. “Gosh, what kind of creature would want to suck the brains out if their victims? I would not want to be next on his list of victims.”

“Oh Spike,” Twilight chuckled. “We would never let some monster like this Nandi bear try to eat your brain.”

“Yeah Spike.” Said Fluttershy. “It sounds like a very evil creature who would eat brains against it’s victims free will. It would have to answer to me if he would try and hurt you at all. You would be in good hooves w Hey us,”

“I know. I’m just glad that the Nandi bear is not here to suck all our brains out.”

“Oh! Don’t even think about that.” Lyra Said. “This kind of creature sounds so creepy and disgusting he is with this habit.”

“The Nandi bear is quite terrifying no to the bone.” Said Zecora. “But still, we have never a encountered such a foul monster like me neither have suggested before. But what I can probably say is that it’s finally gone.”

“One can only hope.” Said Wakka-Shu. “But that beast is always elusive from many eyes. He would be over here, if he would be over there instrwad, like in the speed of light.”

"Have there been any attacks bu this monster?" Asked Larry curiously

"No. There hasn't been any attack from the Nandi bear in quite a long time." Said Okove.

"Maybe it died of old age." Starlight speculated. "Or what if a group of rhinos or elephants killed him? Those animals are very strong and powerful."

"Possibly." Said Wakka-Shu. "But it's like Pkove said; we can only hope. Who knows when that creature from hell could attack us by surprise."

"Not a problem for us." Rainbow boasted. "No brain-sucking bear is gonna make a meal out of my brain. We're the elements of harmony after all."

"Right." Said Twilight. "A monster like that wouldn't mean that much if a threat, considering the fact that we have defeated Tirek to it.

"We have heard of that great accomplishment  princess said Okove. "and you have done extremely well of sending him back to the pits of Tartarus, along with all your friends helping you out with it."

"Come on, guys." Said Lyra. "Let's not think about it so much. Luke killed a minotaur and we're on a fun safari for crying out loud."

"Of course." Said Wakka-Shu in agreement. Looking up the tree out of curiosity, Luke thought he saw something up there moving, and thought that maybe it was just a large bird up there, and decided it was nothing.

Enjoying the shade a little more, the others heard a low growling noise, and Luke looked up again at the tree branches. His heart stopped when he saw large leopard at the lowest branch, looking down on him and the others.

"What was that?" Asked Pinkie.

"Nothing it was just a leopard." Like said, thinking it was nothing, but then his eyes perked up in sudden realization, becoming afraid again. He gasped and exclaimed "LEOPAAAARD!"

Just then, the big cat jumped down from the tree with a growl, and landed on the table, looking quite fierce and angry.

Luke readied his lightsaber and his dad was ready to shoot it down with the magnum to protect everyone.

"No!" Said Fluttershy. "Wait. I'll handle this."

"Give him the stare, Flutters." Luke said.

The yellow pegasus had a bold look on her face and went up to the leopard, giving it the stare like she did with the spitting cobra a little while before.

At first, the big cat made a few roars at her, baring its teeth at her. Overtime, Fluttershy didn't take her eyes of it.

It took over one minute, but then the leopard started to slowly submit to her scary gaze. The next thing it did was sit on it's leg's, no longer baring it's sharp teeth. "Now, were we disturbing you?" Fluttershy asked in her kind voice. And the big cat made a few growling sounds in reply. "Oh, we didn't mean to disturb you. We didn't know you were helping your babies up there."

Then the leopard made a more menacing growl at her, baring her teeth again, and looked like she was going to maul Fluttershy to death.

Despite giving her the stare again, the yellow pegasus began gently soothing her with her left hoof around her soft, furry head. The cat began to calm down and lose her anger again. "Shh, it's okay. We mean you no harm. We were just finding a little shade." Then the mama leopard made a small growl. "I know you're sorry, but we mean you no harm at all."

It was all of a sudden the leopard began moving around her like a cat would do, and it was trying to purr. Luke couldn't help but walk up and try to interact with the leopard himself. "W-wait Luke!" Larry warned. "It might be dangerous."

Not heeding his father's warnings, Luke bent down and tried to interact with the cat since she was far more calm now. Trying to reach a hand to her slowly, the leopard looked a little cautious at him, but then she began sniffing his fingers, and it didn't take long for her to lick them, and she was starting to slowly warm up to the human. Luke smiled and he was gently stroking her head, and the leopard was enjoying it.

The others looked at this with amazement. What would they all do without the stare? "Can we at least share the tree with you?" Fluttershy asked her

The leopard nodded a yes, and went back to her tree to tend to her cubs. Everyone went back to the large picnic table and took their little break some more. The leopard and her cubs would even come down from the tree to interact with the others out of curiosity.

After their little break under the shade, they said their byes to the leopards and hoped they will meet again soon. Continuing on with the safari, they looked around for even more animals to see and or encounter, dangerous or not. So far, nothing yet, but they know they will see something soon enough.

Through their little journey, they saw many wonders like gazelles and impalas prancing about the grasslands in the Zebrican savanna, and a large lion taking down a large wildebeest with his teeth and claws with a faint thud heard over the horizon.

"Oh goodness." said Fluttershy. "Poor wildebeest. I know that lion is hungry, but still, it's... a little heartbreaking to watch." Luke wrapped his arm around Fluttershy for comfort.

They all watched as the lion ahead of them was busy eating the entire antelope, and then the rest of the pride came had a dip in it, and it turned into a family feast.

"Wow, look at all those lions eating that wildebeest." said Applejack.

"Ugh, i just can't bear to stand such a barbaric and grotesque sight." Rarity said, feeling like throwing up. "I am so glad we are not so primal like those big cats, and that Opal does not behave like that."

"In Zebrica, it is survival of the fittest for all animals. The environment can be cruel in these magnificent lands." said Wakka-Shu. "It would be every animal for himself out here in the savanna. Just imagine if we were all like lions trying to find something to eat instead of going to a restaurant or working in a kitchen."

"You know, he makes a good point." said Lyra. "They're just hungry, looking for food and following instincts. I can imagine if we were lions and we didn't know the skills to access kitchen supplies or go to restaurants."

"Maybe." Bon Bon agreed with her best friend. "It would be a little hard to try and get food that way, we probably wouldn't even talk."

"There you go." said Zecora. "At least you should all know."

"At least they're not evil." said Starlight Glimmer. "I mean, Lyra's right, they are just following their instincts. Anyway, we should probably stay clear of them. They probably don't like to be bothered while we're eating."

"Nopony does." said Rainbow. "Well, let's get a move on." The others agreed with her and continued with the little tour.

While walking, Luke, out of curiosity "Are the hippos aggressive here?"

"Well... they are not very 'Tolerant' of visitors." said Wakka-Shu. "They leave us alone and we'll leave them alone. Moreover, they are not really evil. They... can be a little territorial. Like Buffalo, it's not very wise to make a hippo angry, Luke."

"Hmm. I'll take your word for it. Do they hate zebras?"

"No, no, of course not." said Okove. "Hippos are just a little irritable, like munch first, ask questions later. It is best if you leave them be, unless if it's absolutely necessary, like an emergency, or if they like you."

"Right. At least buffalo are a little more friendly and welcoming." Luke remarked. "Babatunde and his heard are already taking a liking to me and my dad, and are accepting, minus their anger issues of course."

"Indeed. Those buffalo are very friendly."

"Oh who am I kidding?" Luke said. "There's good and bad parts in everywhere in the world. And it can be dangerous out there in this evil world."

"Words never true than that, my boy." said Discord. "At least we're not that wildebeest over there." Looking over at the lions eating the carcass again, and the lion pride already ate the flesh and the guts out of the wildebeest, only it's bones were remaining, along with the skull.

Spike looked rather uneasy, along with the others, except for Luke and his father, who knew that it was only the circle of life and it was just the way mother nature created animals like this. In the wild, it would be "Eat or be eaten".

“Come on, let’s get out of here before those lions see us,” luke suggested.

“Good idea.” Said Spike. Quietly sneaking away from the lions, everyone got past them, and the Safari was still in full swing. Just then, something came charging at them, and it looked like a large group of rhinos up to twenty or thirty, almost as much as Babatunde’s herd of buffalo.

They all stood still, and waited to see if they were truly going to charge at all do them at once.

“Wait.” Said Okove. “It’s only good friends of ours.’

“Friends?” Said Twilight

Zecora looked over and she gasped at what the rhinos looked like. “Oh no, these are a group of rhinos me and my family know.” She remarked. The rhinos were running so fast and dust was flowing through as they went by galloping.

“Zecora!” Called the leader in a low, rumbling voice. “We have found you!”

“Dakari!” Zecora called out

“it is Dakari!” Okove recognized the leader of this herd.

The rhinos all stopped in front of the group, and their leader as a male withnthe longest horns on his nose, and he was obviously the largest in his family, weighing up to somewhere like eight-thousand pounds or close to that weight.

Like back home, these rhinos were large with bone and armored muscle. They were white rhinos, for they had square lips on their mouths and the other species of their family had hooked upper lips.

“Zecora,” Said the leader in a deep voice. He walked up to her and hugged her.

“Dakari.” She Said, hugging him back. “It is good to see you again, for it has been far too long, my friend.”

“Yes. At last, we meet again.” Said the leader. “I am so glad you have came back to Zebrica after all these years. And of course, it is a pleasure to see eye you, Okove.” 

“Dakari.” Zecora’s brother bowed to him in respect.

“Zecora returns my friends!” The rhino leader called out to his friends and family behind him. “Rejoice!” And there was a tremendous uproar among the gigantic mammals, and the sound of cheering was heard as well. Dakari looked at the group, and he asked “And who might these all be?”

“These are my friends.” Said Zecora. “They will be here for me with no ends.”

“Hmm. Welcome to Zebrica.” Said Dakari warmly. Then he looked at Discord. “You? The master of chaos? How dare you set foot here again!”

“Now now, my good friend. I am no longer evil, I am a changed drancequus.” Discord Said calmly. “There’s no need to be so irrational now.”

“He speaks the truth.” Zecora Said. “Even though he can be a little uncouth.”

“But he’s a changed guy.” Spike Said. “He uses powers for good now.”

“Are you... a dragon?” Asked a rhino in surprise.

“Well yeah, but i’m only a baby dragon.” Spike Said modestly. “But i’m not a monster. I promise you all.”

Every rhino in the herd murmured to one another while Dakari was quite intrigued to even say anything. “That is rather extraordinary. And you don’t have a hoard of gold that you Guard over for yourself. What is your name, little one?”

“Spike? Well met. I am Dakari, the leader of my tribe that you all see in front of you. We come from a city called Kifaru, and we humbly welcome you to Zebrica.”

“Hmm. I have so much to ask you all about.” Twilight Said excitidely. “This could be interesting to show princess Celestia and Luna.”

“You know the princess’?” Asked a female rhino with her calf.

“Of course. I’m Twilight Sparkle, the princess of Friendship.” Everyone gasped hearing those words.

“You’re Princess Twilight?” Asked Dakari

“Of course. These are my friends.”

All of them introduced one another, except for Zecora, Okove, and Wakka-Shu, for the herd recognized who they all were. Discord didn’t even need an introduction, for he is famous enough as it is.

“And this might sound crazy, but me and my dad come from another world.” Luke said. “But i’m not a bad human. I promise you all that.”

“Well, we can certainly see that. We rhinos can tell who is good or who is bad by looking at their eyes. Well, I can assure you that if you ever want to visit our humble home of Kifaru, all of you are more than welcome to, especially the Elements of Harmony.”

And another cheer was heard amongst the crowd of rhinos. Luke was even more excited to be told that he can set foot in the home of the second largest land mammal in Zebrica.

“I am rather curious, what brings you here?”

“We’re just going on a safari.” Luke said.

“Ah, I see. Well it is the perfect weather for a safari like this. So many animals that you can find and.... wait.” The leader looked a little cautious. “I saw something move on the brush.”

Everyone was starting to look alert again, and stood still. Luke readied his lightsaber, Larry readied his handgun, and they waited in silence for something to happen. The ground began shaking again, and a large, scary-looking hippo appeared, charging at Luke with it’s big mouth.

The monster was charging at him and his friends at full speed, once again with his mouth open, Larry was about to shoot the mouth, and Luke was about to swing st the monster in case a bullet wouldn’t kill it.

Before the hippo could hurt them all, Dakari charged at the hippo, knocking him out with his horns like a runaway freight train, knocking the hippo to the ground with a loud thud. “How dare you attack a group of innocent tourists like that!” Said Dakari in anger.

“Ow! You guys were in my turf, now get out!” The hippo shouted. “Ah, I need a bath.” Then the hippo walked away in a huff.

“Are you all Alright?” Asked the leader

“Yeah, we’re fine.” Said Fluttershy. “It Just spooked us there.”

“Don’t worry. It was probably just a grumpy hippo that is so cantekerous. Know we wish we could stay with you more, but we really need to all look for water. It was a pleasure meeting you all, and have a safe trip.”

“I hope we meet again soon.” Said Twilight.

“Of course. Just come and find us, princess. Kifaru is not very far from here.”

“Perfect!”

Then the rhino went to look for some water with grunting heard. Everyone looked at them, and Luke said “What cool, magnificent creatures.”
> King Zuma
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everyone was coming back from the safari tour that Wakka-Shu was more than happy to give to all of the visitors from Earth and Equestria at the same time. Luke was certainly getting tired from all that walking through the savanna, but he was happy to have gone on an actual safari like an actual African safari, or in this case, a Zebrican safari. His legs were getting a little tired, and his father's too, but everyone was glad to have gone to a safari like this. It was almost the evening, somewhere around five o' clock, and everyone was just ready to call it a day on their first visit.

“Boy was that fun?” Luke said with a yawn. “Hope to do more of this stuff while staying here.”

“I am sure you will my boy. There is still plenty of wonderful opportunities for you to enjoy.” Zecora remarked. “But for now, I need some rest, for I could even sleep in a turaco’s nest.”

“Way ahead of ya, Zecora.” Said Rainbow, letting oh a loud yawn from herself. I really need some shuteye when we get back the palace.”

“Heh, good luck with that, Rainbow.” Said Larry. 

The cyan Pegasus was more than glad to go back inside the guesthouse, and immediately crashed into her bed, possibly sleeping the whole day away from all that flying and walking around the savanna like that.

For the others, they also went back inside and Rarity was more than glad to set foot inside the guesthouse herself, and tried to spray as much perfume that smelled like flowers as much as possible. “Goodness, I certainly hope that tropical air didn’t make my allergies act up.”

“Oh Rarity don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy that safari earlier.”

“Don’t be silly. Darling.” Said Rarity.”Of course I enjoyed it, but it’s just that I don’t want to get any dirt in my eyes, or my mouth. I better take a shower before that worsens.” And she hurriedly went to the bathroom to rinse herself off.

“He He, i’m sure she did enjoy it, Sugarcube.” Applejack Said with a chuckle. “We all did out there, sure we almost got killed by a Minotaur and a hippo, but still, that was a darn tooting good time.”

“I thought it was more exciting when we were all in terrible danger. I so love that kind of chaos.” Said Discord. He conjured a sneezing pinata out of thin air, and the little thing began sneezing like crazy.

“Of course you do.” Said Twilight. “But yeah, I thought it was fun. i just hope that I never have to see a spitting cobra ever again.” She began feeling the scary and creepy feeling of encountering that cobra which Fluttershy tamed and befriended on the tour. “Snakes really terrify me.” And then the princess of friendship made a gulp down her throat.

“Come on Twi.” Spike Said. “I’m sure that they would only attack if provoked or frightened. Besides, we turned out alright on the tour.” And he relaxed on the bed he would sleep on for the week.”

“I know, and you did make a friend with that gigantic rainbow Goliath frog.” Twilight Said with a smirk.

“Guilty as charged.”

“I know, it was so so fun doing all of that.” Said Fluttershy. “I just hope that the fun never ends.”

“Fluttershy, you have read my mind.” Said Pinkie Pie.

“I for one, am glad you were all there to witness the beauty of a safari.” Said Okove. “How I imagine you all being so happy having more fun on your stay here in my homeland.”

“I can hardly wait for tomorrow.” Said Lyra having some watermelon. “More animals to see, and many tribes to look at. Oh! And I think it would be more fun to see those rhinos in their village.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea.” Said Bon Bon. “They seem like an interesting bunch.”

“And maybe I can learn more about them and their society.” Twilight Said. “We can learn a thing or two from those rhinos, and the buffalo we met before.” Then she drank from her aloe Vera juice with pulp.

“Should we still be careful out there?” Luke asked, putting his lightsaber away. “Like that minotaur and hippo that Applejack Said before?”

“Oh yes.” Said Okove. “As long as you are aware of your surroundings and careful, you will do just fine out here. And after all, as long as you got that beam sword with you, it shouldn’t be a large problem for you and your father.

“I know.” Then he began listening to his iPod and looking up on his smartphone.

Larry himself was glad to spend some time with his son like this, and looked out the window. Watching the sun set over the horizon. “Beautiful out there.”

“So what do you guys want for dinner?” Luke asked. “I can go for some jollof rice.”

“Should we wake Rainbow up and wait till Rarity gets out of the shower?” Spike asked curiously.

“I think Rainbow will be just fine. By the looks of her, she’ll just snooze the whole night away.” The cyan Pegasus was snoring so loudly that she was sounding like a gigantic pig oinking so loudly, and then she turned over to her right side.

Everyone laughed at her being lazy and slouching like that and decided to wait until Rarity was out of the shower to have a dinner together as a whole group. It took about twenty more minutes but then Rarity was all nice and clean, well, more cleaner than usual, and she was sparkling while checking her mane.

Spike ended up looking lovestruck at her as usual sine he has a gigantic crush on her and all that. “Wow Rarity.” He Said “you look so beautiful in that light.”

“Oh, thank you Spikey-Whikey.” Then Rarity gage the baby dragon a kiss on his left cheek to show how grateful she was for the compliment.

“So Zecora, I still can’t believe you were a princess before.”

“I was.” She Said. “ it it caused a small rift among the family and I was temporarily lost.”

“What do you mean?” Asked Larry curiously.

“I wanted to be a herbalist and potions maker, but my life was being chosen by my father. He said he only wanted what was best for me, but being a princess was one life I was not meant to be.

"I can see that." Luke said. "I hope you don't get offended by this, but I for one, don't think you would have been a good princess"

Zecora made a small chuckle from herself. "No offense taken." She said. "My father surely has had me mistaken."

"Zecora." Said a deep voice. They all looked and it was a regal-looking zebra that looked a lot like Okove, but taller and his dreadlocks were braided with gold rings. He also looked a more darker black than Zecora's brother did. Another intriguing feature he had was a long, black beard with a hooked tip at the end.

This stallion wore a crown over his head that had feathers spreading out from it, Making it look like a lion a little bit.

"Father." Zecora said with a smile. She walked up to the stallion and have him a hug. "It has been so long."

"It is so good to see you again my daughter." Said the stallion in a bold voice. "I knew you would come back home someday."

"Well. This is only a visit, father." Zecora remarked. "But still, we are flattered to be here in my homeland."

"Ah, and I take it you are princess Twilight Sparkle, am I correct?" Said the king, noticing the purple allicorn, and her friends. "Allow me to introduce myself: I al king Zuma of the zebras and I am glad you are visiting here in Zebrica."

"Thank you, your majesty." Twilight said. "We already went to a safari with Wakka-Shu, and we really enjoyed it."

"That's good. Wakka-Shu is an excellent guide for a safari tour. I promise you all that." Zuma remarked

"Although, we were attacked by a minotaur and a hippo along the way." Spike admitted

"Oh. Are any of you hurt?" Asked Zuma

"No, but Luke and his dad saved us from them." Said Applejack. "We'ed be dead if not for them."

And the king looked at the two humans, Luke was laying in his bed while listening to more of his music, and Larry was having a phonecall with his boss.

"Hmm. Peculiar." Zuma walked up to the humans and cleared his throat. Luke perked up and took off his earbud instantly. "Hello strangers. I am the ki g of this land, Zuma."

"I heard about you." Said Luke. "I'm really flattered to be in Zebrica like this. That guy talking on the phone is my dad: Larry. He's just talking to his boss from where he works."

"I see. What brings you and your father here to Zebrica?"

And then Luke began telling the king about the land similar to Zebrica, which was Africa. Zuma was intrigued about them coming from another world.

"Africa, eh?" It sounds similar."

"It is, but humans like us are the dominant species, and not zebras, or rhinos, or buffalo."

"Hmm. Your friends here say that you saved them from a minotaur and a hippo."

"Well, I did from a minotaur, but the hippo was stopped by Dakari and his crash of rhinos."

"Ah. Dakari." Zuma recognized that name. "He is a very good friend of mine, and a noble rhinoceros, too. Now, I take it you all must be the elements of harmony, am I right?"

"Yes." said Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash didn't hear because she was still asleep.

"Rainbow, wake up." Said Applejack.

"What? What?" Rainbow perked her head up. "What did I miss?"

"Sorry about Rainbow Dash." Said Fluttershy. "She can be a little.... what's a nice way to put it?"

"Uncouth." Said Rarity.

"That is quite alright." Said the king "I've heard so much about you all. You give everyone in Equestria hope."

"We're quite awesome, aren't we, your majesty?" Rainbow gloated.

Zuma let out a small chuckle. "Indeed. Well, dinner is ready for all of you. Jollof rice is ready for you."

Everyone was happy to hear that dinner was on the way, and they went to the dining room, and the jollof rice looked so good.

Everyone thought it was delicious and began eating it like there was no tomorrow, and had a baguette bread piece on the side of their plates with some watermelon juice.

"This is so good." Said Larry. "Thank you so much, you're highness."

"The pleasure is all mine." Said King Zuma. "I certainly hope that you will all enjoy your stay here in Equestria for seven days."

"We will, father." Said Zecora. "In fact, I think we should make up for lost time."

"I could not agree with you more, little sister." Said Okove. Everyone continued eating their dinner, and their bellies were full.

After dinner, everyone went to bed for the night and Luke could hardly wait for tomorrow to come.
> Rhino Civilization
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, it was the early morning and everyone was fast asleep, except for Luke, who wanted to get a head-start and be up early to have so more fun while staying in Zebrica. He got himself in the shower, rinsed himself off with soap and shampoo, he dried himself off and got himself dressed for the new day.

Listening to more of his music on the iPod, Luke noticed something outside the window: like a creature of some kind. He couldn’t exactly know what that thing was, for the grass was tall and the thing was camouflaged within.

He decided to go outside and check out who was hiding down there. Not wanting to wake everyone else up, Luke tip-toed his way out of the room with his lightsaber with him. Heading outside, the human cautiously looked in the grass with his saber in hand.

Rustling was heard in the grass, and waited for something to happen. Like looked at his surroundings for anything dangerous that might try and pounce on him by surprise. So far, it was silent, and nothing happened, but then; something appeared and Luke ignited the lightsaber.

It was a large silverback Gorilla, looking larger than an average gorilla would look like. He was as tall as Luke,mane it had a fierce look on his face.

“Oh, just a gorilla.” Luke thought in relief. “Easy there, stay back, I don’t want any trouble.”

The beast made a small grunt with a funny look on his face. “I never seen a creature like you before.” It said.

“Whoa, a talking gorilla.”

“No, not gorilla.” It Said. “But Mangani.”

“Mangani?” Luke asked. He heard that name before in his world, and it was the name of the fictional apes that adopted Tarzan in the book by Edgar Rice Boroughs. He didn’t actually think they were real. Still, he was astonished to see such an ape like this. “I’m sorry, but you kinda look like a gorilla.”

“Ooh Ooh Ah.” The ape grunted. “No worries, me and my kind get that a lot. We’re just larger and more intelligent than gorillas.”

“Heh, yeah I can see that.” Said Luke. “I hope i didn’t scare you back there. I just noticed something sneaking up behind the place where i’m Staying at.”

“No, of course not. I’m fascinated by your glowing stick.” Said The Mangani, the. He rushed towards him. “Gimme! Let me see that.”

“No no, this is a very dangerous weapon. This thing can cut through anything, including metal and steel. Just watch.” Then he showed the Mangani creature how powerful the lightsaber was by tracing it on the ground, burning the dirt like metal moving on a line of pavement.

The Mangani was rather impressed with this blade and touched his finger at a burning spot, then he jerked it back goose to him, obviously hurting his finger. “Yeah, that’s a very dangerous glow stick alright.” He remarked.

Like put the lightsaber down and asked “May I ask why you’re out here?”

“Yes, I heard my old friend, Zecora, has returned home.”

“Ah, N’dugo, Hello.” Said Zecora’s voice. “It’s so wonderful to see you my old ape friend.”

"Zecora!" Said the Mangani. The ape promptly went up to her o  all fours and hugged her so tightly with his gigantic arms. Arms like those could lift five weights at a time instead of just one barbell.

"Ah! Could you please not kill me N'dugo? Can you please let me go?" And the ape immediately let her go with a thud.

"Sorry." Said N'dugo. "I am just so happy to see you back home again, I just wanted to welcome you back to Zebrica." And he looked at Luke again. "And then I met your peculiar albino ape friend."

"Well, I'm not an ape, but I am a primate." Luke admitted.

"Hmm." The Mangani got a good look of Luke's hands, trying to compare him with his own set, but obviously, they were bigger than Luke's puny hands. "Hmm. I never seen someone like you before." Then the ape took a good look at the human's nose up close by touching it with his large fingers. "Your nose looks a little funny."

"Ah! Could you please stop that?" Luke asked. "You're invading my personal space."

"Don't worry, Luke. Mangana apes are like the curious type of creatures." said Zecora

"Hmm-mm. We Mangani are a curious race. Although... many of my kind tend not to interact with zebras."

"Why not?"

"They deem zebras as ignorant beasts and not as intelligent as a Mangani. They don't particularly hate zebras, just see them as... pardon me if I say that Zecora, dumb creatures."

"No offense taken, my old friend." said the zebra. "But come, let us make a time for an amend."

"Excellent idea." said N'dugo." then he pounded his chest with excitement like a regular gorilla would do, and he went up to Zecora. "And this guy fascinates me, and we should talk."

"Good idea." said Luke. The three of them went inside of the castle and the other guards just stared at the Mangani ape as he was walking in on all fours, like any other ape would do. The human was thinking that maybe the zebras around here didn't take a liking to this peculiar ape either.

Everyone else out out from bed and they all looked a little tired, and wondered where Luke and Zecora were. King Zuma was getting ready to sit on his throne, then he saw the gigantic, silver-backed ape with his daughter and the human. Zuma didn't smile, but he didn't look unhappy to see the ape either. "Ah, N'dugo. What brings you back here in my castle?"

"Forgive me, your majesty, but I am here to see my old friend; your daughter." said the Mangani. He pulled Zecora close to him for a side-hug. 

"I see. As for you Luke, and my dear Zecora, how did you both sleep?"

"We slept okay." said Luke. "N'dugo seems like an interesting Mangani, your highness."

The zebra king just raised his left eyebrow, not looking very amused. "Indeed, but it is a shame that many of his kind see us as inferior beasts."

"I don't." said N'dugo. "I think you zebras are just as intelligent as my own race." and he looked at Zecora. "Thanks to one of my closest friend here."

"Oh you."

Zuma was silent for a moment, and then he ultimately stated: "Fair enough. At least you are not like the other Mangani apes. I just wish that the rest of your kind can understand that we zebras are more than they think."

"I try and I try again to convince my friends to see that you zebras are a very smart race and are more than capable of doing anything, but I just can't convince all of them to see the facts. Many of the Mangani do not really trust outsiders anyway, unless if it was other Mangani of course."

"You guys sound way more accepting than hippos, that's for sure." Luke remarked.

"Oh, of course, we are far more tolerant creatures than hippos would be like." said N'dugo. "We would never try and charge at you in full speed and trample you to death like one would do."

"Figures, I just had an encounter like that with a hippo one time." Luke said.

"Luke?" called out Fluttershy's voice. Luke recognized her sweet, soothing voice too well. By the sound of it, the yellow pegasus sounded worried about him. "Where are you?"

"Zecora?" Spike called out to her. "You there?"

Everyone in the group walked in the throne room, and they saw the ape in surprise. "Whoa, am I going gorilla here, or is there actually a gorilla in here?" said Rainbow Dash.

"Actually, he's a Mangani." said Zuma. "A race of primates more intelligent and powerful than an ordinary gorilla would be like."

"Goodness, that is so incredibly wonderful." said Fluttershy. "I always heard about them from Zecora's stories, but I never thought I would actually see one."

"Hello." said the ape. "I am N'dugo, and King Zuma is correct, I am a Mangani, and not a gorilla."

"A talking Mangani?" asked Pinkie

"Yes. We are capable of speech, for we are indeed more intelligent than gorillas would be like." said N'dugo.

"Wow. What brings you here?" asked Applejack. "Wait, y'all are here to see Zecora, right?"

The ape made a small chuckle. "yes."

"So Luke, where have you been buddy?" asked his dad

"I got up early, and I heard rustling in the grass outside, and saw a figure, and went to check it out, then I saw N'dugo, and Zecora heard the commotion a little."

"Ah."

"Perhaps we should leave these two alone." Rarity suggested. "i suppose you and Zecora have lost time to make up from the past, am I correct N'dugo?"

"Yes. I think that would be a good idea." said the Mangani.

"Better give them some privacy." said Twilight. Then they all went to a seperate room to give Zecora and N'dugo some alone time to have a talk with one another. As everyone in the room, minus Zecora, her father, and her ape friend left the room, Luke was wondering more about this Mangani race that he thought was only a fictional race from Edgar Rice Boroughs imagination.

He thought that Edgar making that race up in Tarzan was only a coincidence, he smiled and thought: "Boy would Edgar Rice Boroughs be happy and surprised to see a real-life Mangani. And he thought they were just creations of his imagination! Ha!" and he went to fetch himself a drink from one of the castle servants, and he had a cup of iced aloe-vera juice for him to drink, and for breakfast, he had some bread called chai and mandazi, a dish that is like a doughnut with ground cardamom seeds, and it tasted so good.

With everyone's bellies, they all relaxed for a little while. Zecora and N'dugo came into the guesthouse, and the ape said: "Our apologies for that. Me and Zecora were only making up for lost time. Perhaps it is best if I got to know opal or you before I go back to my home."

Everyone agreed in the guestroom, and they went out for a little walk in the city while they have introductions. First: Everyone said their names to the Mangani, minus Luke and Zecora, and had interesting conversations about what they would do in their lives and what they like to do in their free time.

Lyra and Bon Bon got themselves a bottle of water to drink in case they get parched. 

Things were going really well for all of them, and they had good conversations with eachother.





A little later in the day, Everyone approached the rhino settlement of Kifaru , the home of Dakari and his whole crash of white rhinos in his group.

It was only ten miles north from the city where Luke and his friends would be staying in. The town was obviously smaller than the other one, but it was still a thriving one filled with life. Luke was amazed by how these rhinos would build a society like this.

Houses were made of wood and roofs made of straw, and some other houses were claw or stone with wooden roofs. There were also some shops and bazaars like zebras would have, but they wouldn’t have so much variety in stalls that zebras had in their bazaars, but their was still fruits and vegetables in a variety.

“Ooh, this is something I can write about in rhino society.” Said Twilight. She even pulled out a notebook and used the magic from her horn to write down many things that she saw many rhinos doing.

All of a sudden, there was a loud sound, and everyone looked to see what it was. They all saw two white rhinos fighting, or sparring. It did look so much like a fight to the death, but there was a small crowd of other rhinos, calves or full grown ones on the audience cheering on the two bulls in this little fight.

This was only just a sparring match, like a boxing or a wrestling match by these two giants, and it was rather loud as one bull was trying to push the other one out of the ring.

“Ooh, That looks fascinating.” Said Twilight writing in her notes. “Imcan’t wait to see what else they do.”

“Take it easy, Twilight.” Spike chuckled. “You don’t have to observe everything the rhinos do,”

“But think of the great contribution I can bring to Equestria with knowledge of these rhinos.” She didn’t stop writing down her notes on the pad, and she was getting more eager every second just thinking about it.

The two rhinos sparring continued their little match, and then the biggest one easily outmatched the second, smaller opponent out of the ring,mane there was a loud thud heard as he fell to the ground.

“Oh my goodness.” Fluttershy Said in surprise. She couldn’t help but rush to the guy’s aid and try to help him up. “Are you all right?” She Asked him

“Of course,” Said the rhino in a smile, and he easily got back up on his feet. “You need not worry about me, rhinos like us have thick skin.”

“Yes, we were just having a little match to see who was the best.” Said the winning male. Looking at his opponent, he jokingly said “But we are just getting started. Hehe.”

“Oh ho, Roy, you clever dog.” Said the smaller one with a smirk on his face. “You always want another match.”

“You know I do, Kony.” Said the other rhino in a small chuckle. “Say, I never seen you all here in Ivoire city before.”

“Ivoire City?” Said Rarity. “That’s quite a divine name.”

“Yeah, and it looks very beautiful here.” Said Starlight Glimmer. “But is it tradition for you all to have fights or matches like this?”

“We’re rhinos, little pony.” Said Kony. “It is in our blood to be a fast, and strong warrior with tough skin covering our bodies.”

“I like the sound of that, sounds tough.” Rainbow admired.

“And those horns look like they can kill anything.” Lyra complimented.

“You are too kind.” Said Roy, obviously touched by her compliment. “We rhinos also take pride on our horns, for it is our most distinguishing mark for us.”

“We would love to chat with you some more, but we really need to take a break from all that fighting.” Said Kony. “But we’ll chat another time. Till then, I hope you enjoy our glorious city.”

“Thank you, Kony.” Said Luke gratefully. “Hope to see you guys again.”

“And we hope the same, little man.” Said Kony. “Well come on, brother, I desperately need some water right now.”

“You have read my mind like a psychic.” The bigger rhino joked, and they said their byes before walking away to look for some water. Those two bulls seem like a friendly bunch. Luke was glad to set foot in this settlement, along with his father.

“I wonder where the king is.” Said Larry.

“Oh! There he is!” Pinkie pointed. Her hoof was aiming directly at the king with a couple of guards and a calf with him. The little guy only had one horn on his nose, and he looked rather adorable.

All of them went up to him, and Dakari was obviously happy to see them all again, except for a Discord a little. “Ah, welcome my friends.” He remarked. “I see you have all found the glorious city of Ivoire”

“It’s so beautiful.” Said Bon Bon.

“Thank you.” Said a touched Dakari, and the calf looked a little nervous to see all of them, and hid behind his father. “Oh Rigby, there is no need to be afraid, my son. You have seen all of them before.”

“I know.” Said the calf in a quiet voice. He slowly walked up to the group and sniffed Larry’s leg. “Hello.” He Said

“Hey.” Luke said.

“Friends, this is Rigby, my son, And next in line for the throne of this land when I die someday.”

“N-nice to meet you.” Said Rigby in a timid voice.

“He can be shy at times, but he will warm up to you.” Said Dakari. “Come, why don’t we have a little talk?”

“Sure.” Said Fluttershy. They all began walking together, and Fluttershy asked curiously “How long have you been king?”

“For the past twenty years, Fluttershy.” Said the rhino king. “Of course, we lived under a tyrant named Omar. I led a resistance against him and his army, and I successfully became king of this city.”

“Was he a bad rhino?”

“He was a monster.” Said a Guard. 

“But I banished him from our home and he lives in the badlands, and he never even bothered to set foot here ever since.”

“Don’t you ever worry he will come back and have revenge on all of you?” Asked Fluttershy.

“No, of course not.” Said Dakari. “He is probably too old to even fight anymore. No, a real problem would be an Emela Ntouka that we consider an abomination.”

“What’s an.... whatever you call it?” Lyra asked

“It is a monster that looks like a rhino, but it is a creature of pure evil. It is also known as-“

“The Killer Of elephants.” Luke recognized that name,

“Yes, exactly.” Said Dakari. “How did you know, Luke?”

“There’s a monster in my world that sounds just like this one, does he have a large horn like rhinos would have.”

“Yes, And it’s bigger than ours.” Said Rigby

Luke honestly didn’t know what to think of this, and he said “does he attack you often?”

“No, but he has been giving us all trouble recently.”

“What if I took care of him, your majesty?” And he ignited the lightsaber.

“Whoa Whoa Whoa, I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” Said Larry. “That name sounds pretty terrifying if it kills elephants. If you got killed, I would never forgive myself.  Otto mention that your mom would kill me if you got hurt by a monster like that.”

“You can help me, dad.”

“Oh, if you put it that way, then i’ll Do it.” Said Larry. “Where is he?”

“He would usually be near the lake east from here. That is where he lives.” Said a second Guard.

“Okay. I’ll see what we can do. How dangerous is he?”

“He is very dangerous Luke.” Said Dakari. “You do not want to underestimate him, we have lost five rhino soldiers to him recently. And you don’t have to do this, you might get hurt.”

“Yeah Luke.” Said Fluttershy. “He could really hurt you.”

“We don’t know what we’ll do without you.” Spike added.

‘Thanks for looking out for me, guys, but i’ll Be okay,” Luke remarked. “Dad, come with me.”

“Right behind you, Luke.” Larry followed his son out of town with the magnum in his right hand, and the others watched them in a worried look on their faces seeing those two wander out into the savanna like this. For all they know, this monster could be more dangerous than they all think.
> All a Misunderstanding
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Going through a little path through the Zebrican savanna, Luke and his father were looking specifically for the Emela Ntouka that the rhino king had told them about. This monster could be more dangerous than they thought he would be, so it was a good idea they brought their weapons out with them, since this monster has allegedly killed a few of the king's soldiers recently. Dakari couldn't afford to lose any more soldiers on his side, or any other from his kind within the city.

Both humans went to look for any footprints of where this beast might have gone to. Luke suddenly remembered the stories and information about the Emela-Ntouka being a semi-aquatic animal like a hippopotamus would be like. Then he suddenly spotted a nearby lake nearer than he thought it would be

"Hmm, Luke, you know about these kind of.... what do you call these like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster again?" said Larry

"Cryptids?"

"Yeah, exactly! Do you know know about about this guy?"

Brainstorming in his head, Luke was thinking if he was in the right kind of territory this monster would be in, and he ultimately said "Usually, people in the Lingala tribe would say he lives in semi-aquatic environment like hippos or crocodiles would be like. Now that I see a large lake in front of us, I guess we'll find it here maybe."

"Hmm. I got your back, son." and the father, patting Luke's back, readying his magnum in case something dangerous comes out and jump-scares them. "For our sake, I hope he's not like a vampire. Or that Naandi bear we heard about."

"No, I think he's just like any other animal, but we'll have to find out, if he's even here. Just keep your wits about you dad. Use that gun wisely."

"I always do." Then the two looked around at their surroundings curiously, and cautiously at anything they can find. It was a little quiet, ans a lion roaring in the distance, since their roar can be heard from miles away. It was a rather nice thing to hear, for it sounded so cool and majestic.

"At least it's not a lion doing all of these kind of problems." Larry suggested

"Totally. I would hate to kill one of those animals. They're too cool to kill or hunt. Sometimes I wish that I can just find the man who killed Cecil the Lion, and make him him suffer, and leave him in anguish."

"I know Luke, but don't let that get to you." said his dad. "You shouldn't really worry about what you can and cannot fix in the world."

"Right. We just need to focus on what is happening now."

"There you go." And they went back to look for this Emela-Ntouka creature. It was looking a little mangrove like a swamp with some cattails being seen on the shorelinesm, and a bunch of beautiful birds in the waters like Egyptian geese, coots, moorhens, swans, and over types of birds in this lake

A saddle-bill stork was seen hovering over the shore waters and it landed it's feet below, possibly looking for fish. It was a female one, and Luke could tell, because it had yellow eyes, and the males had beady or brown eyes on their heads. All of a sudden, in the mangrove brush, Luke heard rustling in the bushes, and he was cautious.

His father kept close to him, and waited for something to pop up at them to attack. All of a sudden, something popped up out of the water, and it had sharp teeth. It was a gigantic crocodile that almost got Luke in his jaws, and the human fell back on the ground. Crawling back in fast speed, the Crocodile was trying to eat him, but then a few gunshots were heard, and the beast suddenly fell dead, thanks to his dead, still aiming his gun at the creature

"Whew, thanks dad, you saved me back there." then Larry helped his son back on his feet.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine." and they both had a good long look at the dead crocodile. It looked larger than an average crocodile would be like back home on Earth. It's jaws looked more dangerous, lethal and formidable than the normal ones, sharper than knives.

Just then, another crocodile came out of the water and charged at the two humans at full speed, with his mouth wide open while snarling. This time, however, Luke ignited his lightsaber and at the very last second, he sliced at the creature's head, killing it instantly, leaving burn marks over his mouth and jaws.

"Nice slice, buddy." said Larry in admiration.

"Thanks. Apparently these rivers can be dangerous." Luke remarked. "Maybe we're in the right place to find this monster?"

"Maybe."

Luke looked back at the dead crocodiles and felt remorse for killing those gigantic reptiles, and he stopped to look back, feeling guilty about killing them in the first place. It didn't take long for Larry to look back, and notice Luke looking at the dead crocodiles. "Hey," he said. "I know they are animals, son, but you had to do it, our lives were on the line, and they would have killed us if we had not killed them."

"I know dad, but still. They didn't really deserve to be killed like this. I mean, I don't really wish to take life, even dangerous lives like crocodiles."

Larry patted his son's right shoulder to comfort him. "Come on, everything will be okay."

"Alright." Luke said flatly, then they both continued the search for the Emela-Ntouka. It wasn't really over yet, for there was more rustling in the cattails and tall grass.

It was too quiet and it felt eerie. All of a sudden, something came charging towards the both, and the ground was shaking with every step this thing took. It went past them in the speed of light. It was a large triceratops-like creautre, except it was mammalian, and it had green skin, and no frills over his head, and he had a large, gigantic horn on his nose, looking like an Elasmotherium, except it was thinner than that extinct rhino's horn.

It's ears looked a little similar to an elephants ear, but they were fall smaller, yet still a little floppy like pig's ears would be. This giant was bigger than a rhino, but definitely smaller than an elephant would be like, and it had a large, long, and thick tail at the end of his body. This was exactly what Luke have heard about this ctyptid in his homeworld.

That creature looks like he can kill anything with that one, long horn on the tip of his nose. It made a grunt, and he was ready to charge at them again.

"Tell me that's the guy." said Larry

"Yeah, that's the Emela-Ntouka." Luke said, igniting his lightsaber once more.

"Go away, trespassers!" Said the Emela-Ntouka in a menacing, and tough tone of voice. "This is my home!"

"Easy big guy." Said Luke. "We just want to-" but then he was cut off by the beast charging at him and his dad again. The force was strong it made both of them stumble to the ground, with Larry setting his gun off by accident.

"Look. Why are you attacking those rhinos in Ivoire city?" Luke asked, trying to reason with the behemoth.

"I just wanted for them to leave me alone, and they thought I was a monster." Said the beast.

"Father?" Said a kid's voice. The two looked at who said that, and it revealed to be another adult Emela-Ntouka, and a smaller one as well, like.... a calf. The second full-grown one was a little smaller than the first one, and a much smaller horn with a brighter green color on its skin.

The baby had a very small horn on his nose and was an even more l lighter green then the other two.

"Get back, Bongo." Said the Male one. "These albino apes are dangerous."

"A family?" Luke muttered to himself. "Wait. Please." Then he put his lightsaber away.

"Luke, what the hell are you doing?" Larry quietly screamed at him.

"Just trust me, dad, and don't shoot either." To the three Emela-Ntouka's, Luke said: "please, I just want to talk."

The Male one wasn't so sure, but he looked at his family for approval. Both of them nodded a yes to him, and ultimately said "Very well. Why are you here?"

"We've been told to come find you and see why you have been attacking the city of Ivoire, the home of the rhinos, and their king Dakari."

"Hmph. They have started it. He would send out his soldiers to attack my family and thinks we are nothing but mindless monsters."

"Have you... tried making an approach at them?" Luke asked

"Well... yes," said the female one. "But many creatures judge us before they know us since they call us 'elephant killers', but we are just trying to survive out here."

"Yeah, dad says that we're better off alone since no one in the world likes us."

Both Luke and Larry couldn't help but feel sorry for the family. "Oh." Luke muttered. "I think you guys just might have got off on the wrong foot."

"What do you mean?" Asked the Male

"You always get negative responses to animals you meet because of your name and looks, but looks don't matter."

"That is true, but rest assure. I wouldn't mean to kill those rhinos, I was just protecting my family and to live in peace."

"I understand, mister....."

"Ethan. My name is Ethan." Said the Male one.

"I'm Emily." Said the female

"And I'm Bongo." Said the calf in a cheerful tone.

"You know what, Luke, you're right. Maybe we've been told wrong about these guys."

"Yep. You guys just need a more gentle approach and a confidence boost. You guys are smarter than crocodiles."

"Oh ho, those brutes I can definitely handle since it's their natural instinct." Said Ethan

"Maybe we should make Dakari understand that they got it wrong about you all."

"I don't know. I can imagine them impaling us with their horns.' Said Edgar.

"If they won't listen to you, they'll listen to me." Luke said.

The family was a little reluctant, but they ultimately agreed to go with Luke and his dad to Ivoire and settle this dispute.

Luke was right about one thing: if everyone will not be reasonable with these interesting creatures, they'll at least listen to him and his father.
> Clearing a Name
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke was walking back to Ivoire city with his father and the Emela-Ntouka, Ethan, and his family, Emily and Bongo with them to explain everything to the rhinos and how this creature was being unfairly mistreated like this. Larry was walking right beside him, with his magnum in the holster on the left side of his waist. In his head, the rhino-like creature was unsure if he would be able to go along with this plan. Ethan certainly had a bad feeling about this, like he was going to be charged and trampled to death by a whole army of rhinos and not listen to reason with the human.

Still, he should at least show some consideration in going along with this by listening to him, and his father. The city was just in front of them, and Luke waited to see his friends and the king of the white rhinos.

"Don't worry." Said Luke. "Just let me do the talking and convincing. Like I said before; if they won't listen to you, they'll listen to me at least."

"If they do all kill me and family for this, you will regret this, human."

"Nonsense." Said Luke. "They really like me a great deal. Not to mention that you will like my friends, especially Fluttershy. She’s from Equestria.”

“Very well.” Said Emily. Her face was still blank and unchanged, trying to be brave and strong about this. She was mostly concerned with Bongo’s safety, thanks to her maternal instincts, which was a mother’s greatest weapon.

When they all arrived at the city, many of the residents made faces of horror when they saw the emela-ntouka family setting foot inside the boundaries. “What does he think he’s doing?” Said a female rhino

“It’s the monster!” Exclaimed a male. “What is he thinking?”

King Imari was still with Fluttershy Zecora, and the others, and they all looked surprised and ready to attack as well. “Guys, before you say anything, this is not what it looks like.”

“Really?” Said Dakari sarcastically. “Because it looks like you have brought death to us all with that monster!”

“Wait! He’s not a monster.” Luke begged. “Your majesty, I beg you to see reason with me. All they want is to find a good home to live in, with peace.” And he looked at Fluttershy and her friends. “Flutters, you gotta back me up here.”

“Is... is this true?” Asked the yellow Pegasus.

“Come on, Have I ever lied to you before? One of your closest friends?” Luke said. “You’re good with animals so you should know.”

“Wow, I never though I would see a creature like this in the flesh.” Said Twilight.

“But it’s reputation.” Said Zecora. “It has recently caused a commotion.” She didn’t sound very convinced by Luke’s word. “That monster has been terrorizing the city, and now you are saying ‘believe me’?”

“Yeah. It was like when I met that Mangani friend of yours earlier.”

Realizing he was right, Zecora knew he made a very good statement about that. She ultimately said “That is true. I... I do understand what you are trying to do.”

“Guys, He has a family with him, and he was just trying to protect them from any danger since he is always judged before he is known by any creature here.”

The elements of harmony, Spike, Lyra, Bon Bon, Starlight Glimmer, And Zecora were surprised to hear this. All of them honestly didn’t expect something like this, but then the elements of harmony remembered about when they first met Zecora, and they judged a book by it’s color.

“We did not know he has a family.” The king admitted. “But why did you attack us by coming directly into our city?”

Sighing, Ethan replied by saying : “Because, I just wanted to teach you all a lesson for attacking my home like that. I only do it for my family like Luke said. I thought that if I set foot in your city and try to attack you, it would teach you all a lesson for scaring us like that.” And he sighed again. “I didn’t mean to kill anyone. I just want you to understand that I am not the monster you all think I am.”

Fluttershy couldn’t help but feel sorry for him, and his family before hovering up to them. “Does everyone always judge you before they get to know you?”

“Yes.” Ethan admitted. “Rhinos, elands, kudus, and zebras get one good look at us, and they would always be like ‘Ahhh! Run for your lives! It’s an Emela-Ntouka.”

“You poor thing.” Fluttershy Said. “You’re not a monster.”

“But everyone else here thinks so.” Bongo Said with a gulp.”

“That’s why I brought you and your parents here, so I can show all these rhinos and their king that they have been completely misunderstood about you guys.” Turning back to the king, Luke Said “King Dakari, please, just give them a chance and see a whole new animal underneath them.”

A little bewildered and unconvinced by this, Dakari stared at the three creatures, who had a look on their faces telling him to accept them as a friend to them and his subjects. Larry stepped up and cleared his throat before saying: “Listen to my son, your highness. At least give it a try.”

“How do you both know they are not lying?” Asked Dakari suspiciously. “And why trust a killer of elephants?”

“They ain’t lyin’, your majesty.” Applejack Said. “I sense they are all telling the truth, and these three are more than they appear after all.”

“Yes, Applejack is the element of honesty after all.” Twilight said. “I think we should give the family a chance to interact and bond with other creatures. Sure, they look so tough and intimidating,  yet they are not going on a rampage trying to kill anything in their way. No offense.”

“None taken.” Emily said.

“We can have a party!” Pinkie bounced.

“And an interesting look for the three to stand out to all of you.” Rarity suggested.

“Besides, they seem pretty cool.” Spike Said.

“See? My friends here agree with me.” Luke said. “Just take this into consideration.”

“Like we always say; Friendship is magic.” Rainbow Said. “Don’t judge someopony or someone because of their looks, no matter how scary they look.”

“Twilight and her friends taught me a thing or too, and they helped me fix my mistakes in the past. Without them, I wouldn't know what to do.” Said Starlight Glimmer. “If you can trust us, you can trust these Emela-Ntouka.”

“Please, king Dakari?” Fluttershy begged with the puppy dog face, her eyes looking like she was going to cry. “At least let them try and warm up?”

“Well.... Alright.” Said The king. “But if they all go around trashing our beautiful city, it will be your fault, Luke. Are we clear?”

“Yes, your majesty.” Said Luke. “Well come on, let’s just all try and be friends here and relax.”

And the three creatures introduced themselves to the zebras and the Equestrian visitors. Zecora was still a little unsure about this, but she decided to go along with this as well, just for Luke’s sake. She decided that she will keep an eye on the three Emela-Ntouka if they are going to try and make peace with the rhinos in this city. Every other rhino continued their lives while the three stayed with Luke, his father, and their friends. They all went inside the castle to have a little talk by walking down the corridors and hallways.

“Although I’m curious,” Said Lyra. “Why do they call you a killer of elephants?”

“Well, I didn’t choose to be called that title. Elephants, well.... they can be aggressive creatures if you are not careful. And you are aware if how territorial they can be when someone visits their territory. Another reason I would call that is because my horn can easily outclass a mere elephant’s tusks.”

“True.” Said Bon Bon. “Those horns are massive on you guys.”

“Yes, they look white big and dangerous.” Fluttershy Said. “They could puncture a whole tree bark if hard enough.”

“Not to worry, little one.” Said Ethan. “We know how to use our horns wisely. And we would use it in case crocodiles would attack us. Those animals can be a real problem.”

“You’re not wrong.” Said Zecora. “In rivers across Zebrica, there are many things going on: crocodiles, hippos, Goliath tigerfish, And other dangers that can be hidden in the fresh waters around us. It would result in a terrible loss.”

“I’ve seen tigerfish before.” Luke said. “Those guys are terrifying, and they make piranhas look weak and foolish with those teeth they carry to maul their prey.”

“Terrifying indeed.” Said Bongo. “But we know better not mess with them, and they know not to mess with us. They know how much of good swimmers we are, and who would win in a fight between them and us.”

“The same with crocodiles.” Said Emily. “Although the hippos like to give us trouble.”

“Ah, hippos are kind of mean creatures.” Said Twilight. “They’re known to be very territorial towards other animals living close to them.”

“Exactly.” Said Ethan. “But of course, they are afraid of us for a good reason, for I am bigger and stronger than those beast’ overgrown teeth.”

“Heh. The last thing I want is to get chomped into minced meat by those guys.” Spike remarked. “At least they’re not like diamond dogs.”

“What is a diamond dog?” Asked Ethan

“It’s... a long story.” Said Rarity. “They are just a bunch of mongrels who are the greediest creatures alive. Still, I can see that you are certainly not like those brutes, Ethan. A quite unique and stylish horn on your nozzle.”

“Oh well, thank you.” Said the male Emela-Ntouka, flattered by her compliment. “Your majesty, I know I did bad things to you by killing those soldiers you sent after me,  It they gave us no choice. I never mean to kill them, as a matter of fact, I wish I can just go back and stop ,twelfth from doing so.”

“No, I am the one to blame, Ethan. I didn’t even know you had a family with you to protect, so I can appreciate that, for I have a family myself.”

“Everyone in this city?” Asked Emily

“Yes, nothing means more to me than all of my subjects and their happiness and well-being. Now that I look at you, we do have a few things a like, Despite the horns on our noses.

Luke smiled, as did his friends, l owing that this was going good for these two. Perhaps this would be a better success than he and his father thought it would be. These two were bonding without trying to kill one another, and haven’t been insulting each other for the past thirty minutes into their walk.

“This is actually going okay.” Said Fluttershy. “Oh, I forgot to ask you, Luke; did you hurt yourself out there while looking for Ethan?”

“No, but me and my dad did have a close call with a couple of crocodiles in a lake where the three here lived close to. I would have been dead meat if not for my dad killing the fries one, who caught me off guard for a second.”

“Goodness. I hope they didn’t hurt you.”

“No, I promise, they didn’t pay one of their sharp teeth on my skin.” Luke reassured. “There’s probably even more dangerous things out there that could be more powerful.”

“Right you are. In Zebrica, there are more creatures that are completely dangerous, and you would have to show them your star.” Said Zecora. “But, I am glad you are taking precaution, the last thing I would want is for you and the rest to get a bad concussion.”

“Don’t you worry, Zecora.” Said Spike. “We’ll be just fine. We have saved Equestria countless items before, well, they did.”

“Oh come on, Spike.” Said Twilight. “You helped us save Equestria couple times before.”

“That’s true.” Said The baby dragon.

“Well, why don’t we have a little lunch? For i’m Getting hungry.”

“You read my mind, Luke.” Said Larry, patting his tummy. They all went to the dining room and sat at the table, although the Emela-Ntouka didn’t really sat at the table, for they are bigger than a rhino. Luke and Fluttershy still hoped things will go nicely and smoothly around these two races.

The rhinos all had some fruit and straw at the table while Luke and his feather just had fruit, for they did’t have the right teeth to chew on it. There was still no negative energy or hostility between these two, for they were starting to get along quite nicely.
> Hippo's Revenge
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later on in the day, Luke was still hanging out with his friends in the city where Zecora was born in within Zebrica. The young lady was feeling quite proud of himself for Helping the Emela-Ntouka family: Ethan, Emily, and Bongo for King Dakari and his rhino subjects.

Now the three creatures and the horned mammals were friends and on really food terms.

King Dakari was quite pleased by how this turned out. He has certainly misjudged the three Emela-Ntouka family members and decided that they will be more than welcome to visit Ivoire any time they want to.

As of now, Luke was getting ready to go swimming at a safe lake not far from the village, for he had his swimming trunks on, and so did his father.

Everyone else was just naked since it was normal for nudity to happen in this world. Pinkie Pie, on the other hand, overdid it for herself. She had a large float for her in the shape of a dragon and had a diving mask and a snorkel, and some flip flops on her hind-feet.

"Pinkie, is all that swimming geese really necessary for y'all?" Applejack asked her

"Of course it is, silly." Said the Pink pony. "I just love swimming! It will be fun-a-fun fun!" and she began bouncing for joy like she would normally do."

"I know this is a very safe side of the river, but we should still be careful." said Zecora. "Especially if you, Pinkie Pie, are going to be very cheerful."

"She's not wrong." Luke agreed with her. "This is crocodile country alright. I mean, crocodiles are a common sight in Zebrica, right?"

"Oh yes." said Okove. "You certainly must be careful in the rivers, lakes, and ponds here. You'll never know when a crocodile will rise up from the waters, and gobble up your face whole." Everyone got a horrified look on their face, and Okove was worried that he might have caused an uproar with what he just said, and he ultimately added: "But you all know what you are doing. After all, Luke, you and your father have weapons with you in case they do attack us."

"You got it, Okove." said Larry boldly. "No Crocodile will try and ruin our day like this." and he cocked his magnum to show how much he wanted to spend fun with his son and friends together. "And we go Fluttershy's stare to help calm them down, since last time me and my son were attacked by crocodiles, she wasn't with us."

"Right. If she was with me, I wouldn't have to kill them." Luke said, feeling the guilt from before again.

"Oh Luke, i told you." said Larry. "Our lives were on the line back there, and we were just trying to stand up to ourselves."

"Your dad's right, Luke." said Rainbow Dash. "If you guys didn't kill those crocs, you would have been chow for them."

“We all do things we regret doing.” Said Starlight Glimmer. “But you were just trying to do the right thing and stay alive. And we know you would never kill somepony out of pleasure or wickedness.”

"I know, I know." said Luke, remembering the encounter quite well like a dark, terrible nightmare. Sure, those beasts looked quite ferocious, but they are still animals, and only fulfill their part in the circle of life in their everlasting quest for survival in this world. For now, he just decided not to let the guilt get to him. After all, he was in a place similar to where he wanted to go as one of his biggest dreams. "You guys are right. Those crocodiles didn't give me and my dad a choice anyway."

"There you go." said Applejack. "Besides, at least it wasn't a hippo."

"That's true. Otherwise, me and dad would have been in really big trouble. I mean, yeah, hippos wouldn't stand a chance against lightsabers since they can cut through anything. It would only take one slice with this baby to kill something, if it was in the right place."

"Which is?" asked Pinkie

"You know, the heart and the brain since they are the two most important parts of your body. After all, you need to keep yourself alive, as long as their is blood flowing." said Luke.

"That is so true." Fluttershy agreed with him.

“They are vital organs after all.” Starlight pointed out. “Definitely need those to stay alive.”

Fluttershy cleared her throat and said "Well, come on, The last thing I want is to think of these kind of things. They make me unhappy."

"Agreed." said Everyone else, minus Discord

"Well... they do kinda make me happy, to be most fair with you all." said the Master of Chaos. "But of course, that is just my opinion."

"Oh shut up, Discord." said Spike in an exasperated voice.

"Now now, I was just being honest."

"Alright, come on. The cool waters await for us all." said Luke

They all agreed with him, and looked for this peculiar, small lake for the public to take a dip in. It was only about half a mile from the city, and it looked so beautiful and sparkling in the waters. One opposites sides of it, there were two canals that led to the great Zebonga river. The waters were also surrounded by the tall grass and cattails surrounding both the lake and the canals leading to the river.

Many waddling birds were seen floating by. A fish eagle was just sitting on a lone tree branch with her mate, who was smaller than her. "Wow, look at this view." Luke said

"I know. It's so beautiful." said Fluttershy. "Is the water murky below?"

"Oh no." said Okove. "We have been keeping this part clean for a long time for the public to swim in. But, it does not mean you are one-hundred percent safe from crocodiles, hippos, or tigerfish. But still, as long as you got a light sword, a firearm, and... a master of chaos respectively, we will be just fine."

"Memo received." said Rarity. "I can always use a cold, refreshing dip under the glamorous sun."

They all walked into the pool, and Luke was the first to set his toes in the liquid. It felt so nice, and a little cold. It was a perfect temperature for him to cool off under the hot, Zebrican sun. Everyone else decided to just enjoy this water and get wet like there was no tomorrow at all.

They weren't alone of course, for a couple of other zebras from the village were enjoying themselves, for this was technically a community lake. Still, it would be fun. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash had the pleasure of playing catch with a beach ball while enjoying their time.

"Marco!" Applejack called out

Rarity then sprung out of the water yelling: "Polo" in a sing-song tone. Like even got a glimpse of animals trying trying to cool off as well, such as warthogs, crested porcupines, mongoose, And other creatures.

This water was certainly refreshing for them, was certainly not murky belowmthe surface. Some small fish and snails were seen underwater like cichlids or guppies minding their own business. The sun was shining over the lake waters and there were logs covered in moss within it.

Not only that, but a small number of water bugs were seen swimming and they had really menacing-looking pinchers as their mouths. Despite their somewhat scary appearance, they did not bite apple, or any of his friends while swimming.

Luke was searching for intriguing animals or thigh that are out of sight from everyone else like treasures, or surprises. His father helped him out, but they both had not found anything nice or useful yet.

Just then, Luke froze when he saw a large tigerfish looking at him with his sharp teeth, which looked like rows of daggers. Wanting to panic, Luke knew that if this fish smelt fear, it will attack immediately.

He pulled out his lightsaber and readied himself for the dangerous fish to charge at him. Waving his lightsaber around a little bit, Luke saw it coming and it had it’s mouth wide open to get a good bite of his flesh.

Nonetheless, Luke repented, and slice at the fish horizontally. The dead creature floated about the waters and it was just then one free dish eagles swooped down on it and grasped it with it’s talons.

Everyone around Luke and his father were very intrigued and surprised by that little hunting technique the fish eagle had just done.

“Did you see that?” Spike noticed. “Somepony should have gotten this on film.”

“I Know! I could have written it down in my notes.” Twilight agreed with him.

“Are you Alright, Luke?” Fluttershy asked him

“Just fine, thank you.”

All of a sudden, rustling in the bushes were heard again, and out of the cattails came a large hippo looking quite angry. “Ah-Ha! There you are you little freak!” It shouted in anger.

“Wait,” Luke realized  something. “You Again?!”

“That’s right, twerp.” Said The hippo. “We ain’t finished with our business just yet. Not until i bite you in half!” The hippo shwoednhs menacing, large incisors in his mouth,mans made a loud roar. He was about to charge at him, and his father, but then Fluttershy stopped him with her stare.

“stop right where you are!” She ordered. The hippo stopped and sat on his hind-legs. “Who do you think you are trying to ruin our vacation? You are a mean bully who is so insecure about his behavior.”

The hippo didn’t really say anything, for he was too afraid to say or do anything.

“Now, I want you to leave and don’t ever make me catch you trying to hurt anyone again! Domy Understand me?”

The hippo smiled and didn’t: “Oh yes, of course” he looked quite nervous and then this brutengave a nervous smile and ran away from them with the ground shaking at every step he took.” 

“Wow Fluttershy. You Should have come with us when we were looking for Ethan and his family

“Thank you.” She flushed. “Don’t worry we’re safe.”Then they all continued enjoying the poolside.

“Oh Bon Bon. Isn’t this great?” Lyrs asked her best friend.

“Yes. These waters really smooth my soul.” Bon Bon agreed with her.
> Red River Hog Pool Time
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke was still having fun in the lake next to Zecora's home town with all his friends and father. It was a rather close call that Fluttershy shooed a hippo away with just her infamous stare.

The young human was also happy that he didn't have to kill an animal with his lightsaber this time, thanks to his closest pony friend.

In the lake, some small birds were hanging next to Fluttershy like Egyptian geese, moorhens, coots, and a few small herons would come hang with her. The yellow pegasus would make good conversations with the birds that wanted to talk with her.

"You really have a gift with animals, Fluttershy." Said Okove, noticing what she was doing.

"Thank you. I always know how to communicate with animals." And a small bee eater flew away into the sky. "The animals around here are quite friendly."

"Well. Maybe to you." Said Twilight. "But I think they are still afraid of the rest of us, Fluttershy." And she lowered her body down the water, with her head peeking up. "I highly doubt that we would be able to control that mean hippo like you."

"Well, we were in danger. I had to do something to make him go away."

"Do not worry. Hippos are not really ones to make friends so easily. But you did save our lives, my dearie." Said Zecora.

"And at least I didn't have to kill another animal." Said Luke. "So how about this. What do you guys want to do next?"

"I was thinking we can drop in on Babatunde, and the buffalo's village." Twilight suggested."

"You totally read my mind, Twilight." Said Spike. "Those guys seem cool. I mean, do you all remember seeing the horns on their heads yesterday?"

"Oh yes." Said Fluttershy. "They are very intriguing, I think we shoums go see him after we are all done swimming."

"I could not agree with you more,  sweetie." Said Rarity. "Although I am not one for excessive violence, I guess I can compliment them all for their horns."

"They are like a strong-willed type of buffalo herd. They look like they can fight with honor like the ones back in Ole Appleoosa." Said Applejack.

"I guess it's settled then." Luke said. "Babatunde and his herd's town it is." And he washed his long, dark-brown hair down his back. "I'm getting curious about them myself." And he took a sip of his glass of lemonade.

"Oh yes, even though they have peanut-sized brains, it would be quite interesting to meet them all once again." Said the Master of Chaos with his mischievous grin on his face.

"Yoy behave yourself, Discord." Larry warned him flatly with his eyes narrowed in irritation at him. "The last thing we want is for you to cause a stampede because of your mischief."

"Yeah Discord. The last time you insulted Babatunde, you almost caused him to go on a rampage like a runaway train." Said Rainbow Dash. "Fluttershy, you'll keep an eye on him, right?"

"Of course, Rainbow Dash." And in a more stern voice. She said "Discord, will you please treat them nicely?"

"Of course."

"Do the Pinkie promise."

"Very well." Discoes sighed, and then he swore the oath by saying "cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a dagger through my eye. There, I said it. Happy?"

This made Fluttershy smile. "Yes, thank you, Discord." Then she made an adorable sneeze that sounded like a kitten mewing. Something else caught Luke’s eye, which was a large, black and white martial eagle, for those birds of prey were completely huge and gigantic in size.

It’s talons looked so sharp, and deadly. So deadly enough to penetrate through a full-grown human’s skull, and easily gouge their eyes out. “Ooh. Wow.” He muttered in fascination.

“What is it, Luke?” Asked Spike. He looked over and saw the eagle jus perching on the nearby dead tree. “Ooh, That eagle looks massive.”

“I know. Just look at it.” Said Rainbow.

“And it looks so beautiful.” Fluttershy agreed in awe. “Those feathers are so gorgeous.”

“Oh yes, the martial eagle is the largest eagle in all of Zebrica.” Said Okove. “And certainly one of the most formidable.”

“Can it fly as fast as me?”

“Not Everything is a contest, Rainbow Dash.” Twilight pointed out to her.

“Uh, Everything is always a compitetion to me.”

“Of course it is.” Applejack muttered sarcastically. “Besides, you got to race with those cheetahs yesterday.”

Rainbow had a bold look on her face. “True. They didn’t stand a chance against me back there.”

“Well, it wouldn’t be a fair advantage.” Said Luke. “Cheetahs don’t have wings like you do.” And he took a sip of his glass of aloe Vera juice. “Let me ask ya: what would you think of you were a cheetah ad had wings?”

“I would feel.... spotty?” Reinbow Said modestly. They all laughed at what she just said. “And I would be thinnand skinny.”

“A rather true statement.” Said Rarity before putting on her sunglasses. “Ah. I a, so glad we have decided to take a little dip in this nice little spot of water to enjoy ourselves in.

Lyra splashed the hair from her mane before saying: “Yeah, you can say that again, Rarity.” Then she looked underwater for anything dangerous or sneaky to her, and the rest of the group. “So far, No tigerfish.”

“Whew, that’s good.” Bon Bon Said.

“Cannonbaaaaaaal!!” Shouted a voice from above them. It was Pinkie Pie with her own diving board. She was falling in a ball position with great speed.

“Oh no.” Starlight muttered. “Brace for impact!” Everyone stood out of Pinkie’s way when she was going to hit the water. It was like a nuclear bomb hit the lake and water exploded on the air, falling back in the hole, making the lake filled with water again.

Everyone was soaking wet, and Luke wagged his hair like a dog would do after a bath. “Jesus, that got me all wet.” He muttered, pushing his hair back.

“Oh! Pinkie Pie!” Rarity complained to her. “Must you do that? It could have messed up my beautiful mane.”

“And I think you scared the eagle away.” Fluttershy pointed out. She was right, the martial eagle left the branch to not get hit or splashed with water before the bomb-like impact.

“Sorry.” Pinkie sang. “This is just so fun!” Then she put on her snorkeling mask on herself. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I got fish to find.” And she dove down below like a seal or a walrus. Like and the the others were looking annoyed with her shenanigans, and just continued with their business.

“Oh, i think I got water up my nose.” Starlight complained. “Pinkie Pie.” All of a sudden, something caught her attention when she saw a softshell turtle minding it’s own business. It was small, and it had yellow eyes with a rather long nose. It’s head somewhat made him look like a snake, and it slowly blinked it’s eyes twice. She approached it and the reptile crept his head in his large, flat shell. “Hey there, little guy.” She tried to talk to it

“Uh-oh. Easy, Starlight.” Said Zecora noticing her. “A Zebrican softshell turtle can, if angered, delivery a nasty bite.”

Looking back at the turtle, Starlight heard it making rumbling and chittering sounds, then looked at her. It opened it’s mouth slightly wide, and lunged at her with a fast strike, trying to bite her.

“Oh my.” Fluttershy Said.

“Whoa, That is fast.” Rainbow admired the little creature. “Not to worry. I have a tortoise, and I know how to deal with them.” She bragged. She hovered above it, and smiled. “Hey there, you’re a cute little guy. Yes you are, yes you are.”

Just then. The turtle lunges at her nose, hanging on to it with it’s beak.

“Ah!” Rainbow exclaimed. “Get it off me! Get it off me!”

Pinkie Pie was trying to pry it off of her friends’s nose, but the turtle was having a firm grip on it with his mouth.

Luke couldn’t help but laugh seeing how silly this looked to him. Sure, it sounded cruel,but he did find it a little funny. Discord, on the othe hand, began guffawing on the ground so hard, a few tear were coming out of his eyes.

The softshell turtle did not budge and still held his mouth onto Rainbow Dash’ nose. “Ah! I can’t get it off of me” einaiv exclaimed. “Could somepony please pry this crazy turtle off ,y face?!”

“Don’t worry Rainbow Dash, hold still.” Then Twilight used themagic from her horn to make the turtle’s lower jaw let go of Rainbow’s nose. Despite the softshell putting up white a fight, Twilight managed to pull it off of Rainbow’s nose, and carefully place it into another part of the river.

“Ow!” Rainbow Said, covering her nose. “Jeez, That turtle can really bite. Gah! My nose really smarts.” Her nose looked like a swollen, red tomato, fresh from the plant in a garden. 

“Are you Okay, Rainbow?” Fluttershy asked 

“Despite that turtle giving me a nasty bite, i’m Perfectly fine.” She noticed Discord laughing his  butt off at seeing Rainbow’s misfortune like that

“You look like a piggy!” Discord Said before laughing again. Rainbow wanted to kill him for making fun of her like this, but she knew that Fluttershy wouldn’t allow it, and she was powerless compared to the master of chaos.

“You know what? Laugh it up, Discord.” Rainbow stated flatly. “I don’t care, i’m on a cool trip with all my friends on vacation.”

“Thanks to me.” Luke said

“And me,” Zecora added. “I am certainly glad that you all have come along for this trip was meant to be.”

“I agree wit you, Zecora.” Said Luke. “I’m glad as well.” A couple of snorting noises were heard in the bushes, and it sounded like oinking. From right behind Luke and his father, there was a red river hog sniffing at his hair.

“Oh well. You look cool, don’t ya?” Luke admired the wild pig his unusual and somewhat silly looks on his face. The red river hog licked Luke’s face, and another came from the grass, and licked alarry’s faces like a dog showing affection.

“Aww, hello.” Fluttershy greeted them. “Aren’t you just the cutest little pigs on the world?

A couple of the piglets went up to Fluttershy, sniffing her with their little snouts, and it felt rather ticklish to her. A few of them backed away, possibly feeling shy or scared of her at first,

“It’s okay, little babies.” She reassured them all. “I won’t hurt you.” And the red river piglets began to warm up to her. Some of the grownup pigs went up to her as well, trying to get a closer look at her.

“Look at these lil piggies.” Applejack Said. “Those are some of the most unusual looking piggies I have ever seen before my life.”

“They look a little... repulsive.” Rarity modestly remarked. “Rather a little barbaric on their faces. Just then, an adult red river hog went up to her out of curiosity, and sniffed her. “Oh ho, that does tickle me a little.” Then she got a treatment of being licked on her face by it’s tongue and nuzzled by the pig’s body.

“Oh look.” Said Lyra. “You’re getting new friends, Rarity.”

“Alright, Alright.” Said The white unicorn. “I take it back. These little swine are just so cute.”

“Yeah. Just look at those ears. Kinda remind me of goblins a little. In a good way of course.” Lyra Said.

Then some of them decided to take a swim with Luke and his friends. The young human honestly never seen an unusual creature like a red river hog, which was native to Africa in Luke’s home world as well. All of a sudden, a crowned eagle swooped down out of nowhere, and snatched one of the babies with it's mighty talons.

It was a jarring sight for all of them to see. Fluttershy was absolutely saddened and had tears in her eyes seeing a baby red river hog being swiped by a predator like that as it's next dinner. Luke went up to comfort her. "You okay, Fluttershy?"

"yes. I just never seen such horrible, tragic.... sad...." then she couldn't hold it in anymore, and cried into Luke with a hug. "He was just a baby."

"Shh, I'm here, Fluttershy." Luke soothed her. "Please don't cry."

Then her other friends went to comfort her as well, especially Discord, whom he always considered Fluttershy as his closest friend of all. Poor Fluttershy was certainly torn by what she just saw. "Don't cry, Fluttershy." said Twilight. "It just caught us by surprise, it's not the end of the world."

"So what if an eagle took away one of the baby piglets as a lunch to be mauled and eaten by him, doesn't mean-"

Then Fluttershy began crying even harder than before, and more tears streamed down her face. "Pinkie!" They all scolded her.

"What? I was just making a point."

"Two words Pinkie. Not. Helping." Said Larry.

"There there, sweetie." Rarity added.

Meanwhile, the pigs, and the other piglets went out of the water and mourned for the loss of a love one like this. They all gathered around and bowed their heads with tears streaming down their goblin-like faces. It was indeed a heart-wrenching sight that they just witnessed, but the crowned eagle was just following it's instinct.

Discord suddenly picked poor Fluttershy up, and hugged her in his arms now. "Please don't be so disheartened by this. I'm sure the eagle was just hungry and looking for food is all. After all, you told me about how animals in the wild just fight to survive."

"That's... true." she hiccuped. "But... It was just.... horrible."

"Don't be sad." said Discord. "These things happened. And this is exactly what you told me about how lives for animals work. And... it's pretty much like Wakka-shu and Okove said; It's survival of the fittest out here in Zebrica."

"That's right. It can be a cruel world out here, but animals need to do what thamey have to do to survive out here on the savanna." Okove reminded.

"Would you like some alone time, Fluttershy?" Asked Larry.

"Yes. I- i- I think that would be best." She replied while whimpering.

"I better come with her." Luke said. "You guys can have a little fun without me. I have a friend to comfort."

"Thank you, Luke." Said Bon Bon.

"We don't wanna have fun without you." Spike said. "We came here just for you."

"It's okay, Spike." Twilight said. "We won't go anywhere without them."

"Thanks, guys." Luke said. He got out of the pool and went with Fluttershy to comfort her some more.

"Poor Fluttershy. I know how much she hates seeing a poor creature like that piglet die." Zecora remarked with sympathy.

"I know. She's always one with animals." Lyra agreed. "I hope she'll be okay."

"We all do." Said Applejack.

The red river hogs went back to swimming and tried interacting with the other patrons again.

Meanwhile, Luke, Fluttershy, and Discord were a couple yards away and both Discord and Luke were trying so hard to comfort Fluttershy in any way possible.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked 

"A little." She replied. "It just broke my heart to see such an innocent piglet get snatched and eaten by that eagle."

"We know how hard it is." Said Discord. "But if you want, I can go and kill that bird and bring back the baby for the hog family."

"No, no." Said Fluttershy while wiping some tears from her face. "I know you mean well, Discord, but you can't just kill a carnivorous animal for killing and eating another animal. They just want to eat and survive."

"At least you fo understand." Luke said.

"Hmm-mm. It just...  surprised me back there." Said the yellow pegasus mare. "I know the eagle was just looking for food."

"But look at it this way," Luke reassured. "At least the eagle got something to eat so it won't starve to death."

"You're right." Said Fluttershy. "But what of the family of red river hogs?"

"Oh, they can produce more babies." Said Luke.

"Besides, I am certain that there is such thing as a runt of the litter for these pigs. Just as much as farm pigs would have"

"That's true." And she began to calm down. "You are right. Maybe that poor baby would have died anyway."

"There you go. Like I always heard, it's a cruel world out there sometimes, and we just learn to live with it." And Look tried to make eye contact with her. "Come on, Fluttershy. Give me one of those adorable smile of yours. Please?"

She tried her best for him and only let out a sad smile at him. "Oh Luke. I appreciate you trying to make me feel better."

"What are friends for?" Luke replied boldly.

"And me." Said the master of chaos. "Surely, you would not forget about me, would you?"

"Oh come here, Discord." Fluttershy said, smiling a little more on her face. She embraced him for a hug, and Discord was quite happy with that, and did his best to comfort her some more. "I think I'm feeling better now."

"Good wanna come back to the pool?"

"Yes." And they all went back to the pool to have some fun. Everyone was glad to see Fluttershy pull through from what she just witnessed.

"Feel better now, sugarcube?" Asked Applejack.

"Uh-huh. I'm feeling better now." Said Fluttershy. "At least you piggies still have each other." And the other hogs lined and squealed happily at her and embraced her.

Everyone was happy again, and continued with this fun pool commune.

On the upside, at least crocodiles didn't take one of those piggies, and there weren't any tigerfish, or any of them crocs seen around this part of the river.
> Blackhorn
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later on in the day, Luke and his friends were going out to see Babatunde and his tribe of Zebrican buffalo for a visit. The settlement of buffalo was not far from them, in the village Zecora grew up in. It was called Blackhorn, and it sounded like a nice little settlement, but of course, like the rhinos, it sounded a little rough since they are warriors creatures. It would not surprise them if they would have wrestling or roughhousing lessons with their horns, ramming into each other with them.

Despite their intimidating appearance, Babatunde seemed like a nice buffalo bull, and an honorable chief to his clan. Everyone couldn’t wait to look at this settlement that they were getting close to now.

It was still rather warm out here on the Zebrican atmosphere, but it felt like a very nice and beautiful day outside nonetheless. Looking over at the horizon, they all saw a settlement in He mirage below the knoll they were all standing on.

“So Fluttershy, are you feeling better about those red river hogs now?”

“Hmm-mm. I’m doing just fine now.” Said she. “I just needed to cool off from seeing that happening.”

“Good.” Luke smiled. “I’m glad that you’re pulling through.”

“I am.”

“So that’s Blackhorn, huh?” Said Applejack. “Doesn’t look so far from here. Probdgly like two or three miles or more.”

“Indeed. It will only take about four miles to get there.” Said Zecora. “But have patience, we will be alright one we get over to Blackhorn, with mingling and stories to share.”

“You always know what to say, my little sister.” Said Okove proudly. “And our father is lucky to have you as his daughter.”

“That’s very kind of you, big brother. We are family, and we will be there for each other.” And they bith hugged by their sides. They all continued the path down Blackhorn, and it would not be long before they reach it now.

All of a sudden, the ground started rumbling like an earthquake, like this part of the world was going to explode with lava from the core of the planet. Feeling a little startled, they all back away and stopped. Dozens of wildebeest were prancing and running past them to the left.

“Whoa, The was way too close.” Said Larry.

“Goodness, I wonder if something has scared these wildebeest.” Fluttershy speculated. “What if it’s a lion on the hunt?”

“Excellent question.” Said Twilight. She was rather thrilled to see the behavior and movement of the wildebeest antelope (at a safe distance, of course) It was a large number of these infamous antelope, somewhere around hundreds or even thousands of them running past them in a migration.

Calves, bulls, cows, many types of wildebeest going off in astonishing speed, many of them making grunting sounds as they passed by, similar to cows mooing. It took a little while, but after five minutes, the last wildebeest ran past the group, and they were free to continue on with the path to Blackhorn

The village looked like any other type of African-style village; some houses made of clay, many of them made of straw on the walls and roofs. Many buffalo were passing by the roads and dirt streets within the boundaries. Walking through the town, they all saw many peculiar things about how these buffalo live in their type of lifestyle: a few arguing buffalo that would instantly turn into a small fight with horn to horn.

"Goodness, that looks really violent." said Fluttershy.

"I know. Such barbaric behavior." said Rarity

"don't be rude, Rarity." said Twilight. "Come on, dragons are like that, and you don't have a problem with that, do you?"

"no, of course not."

"Well, I don't really wrestle." Spike pointed out

"Oh yes, I know that, Spikey-poo." and she gently rubbed the top of his head with her hoof. This made the baby dragon blush a crimson red on his cheeks, liking how much he likes it when his little crush does this kind of affection for him. "You're perfect just the way you are."

Well, you know me." said Spike, still flushing. "I'm a more civilized dragon than the others, but don't tell Ember that."

Twilight giggled and said "Don't worry, Spike. She won't know what you said." And they continued going down the little road. Many buffalo recognized the group, and properly waved at them, or said hello to them in a friendly matter. Luke and his friends would do the same, and looked at a few stalls that were in store to sell. The food the bazaars were selling were oats, grass, and some fruits and vegetables.

Most fruits was like watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, apples, and others. For the vegetables, there were some carrots, squash, and celery, along with the kiwano, also known as the horned cucumber. Everything looked so fresh at the stalls, and Applejack couldn't help but purchase a perfectly good watermelon with a few bits to cover for it.

She took a big bite of it with her mouth, and thought it was delicious

"My, you were hungry, weren't you, pony?" asked the stall vendor.

"Yep. I have a big appetite."

"Hmm, you ever thought about participating in an eating contest before?" Larry asked curiously. Applejack couldn't help but flush on her face, like there was something stupid she did in the past.

"Actually, she did participate in an eating contest, and she won by a long shot!" Rainbow said. "She completely owned the other competitors in the game."

"Including you." said Applejack smugly

"Ha ha, very funny." Rainbow said sarcastically while rolling her eyes. Just then, her stomach growled, and said "Uh-oh, gotta feed my tummy." and she pulled out a few bits. "One cantaloupe cut in half, please."

"of course." said the buffalo vendor. "Coming right up." then he dug into the cupboard below the stall, and pulled out a half-open piece of a big, juicy watermelon. She promptly dug her face into the red, juicy fruit within the green shell, and simply enjoyed it. The fruit was so delicious, and so juicy, despite the little seeds within the flesh.

“So, do you know where your chief: Babatunde, is anywhere, sir?” Luke asked.

“Of course.” Said the vendor. “He likes to make his rounds every once in a while, and go around for a little stroll around our glorious city. Fair warning to you, he has a couple of guards around with him just in case someone tries to overthrow him.”

“Why would someone want to overthrow him? Other than the fact that his horns looked completely like a macho mustache.” The master of chaos joked.

“Ugh, we certainly remember you from the safari trip, Discord.” Said the vendor. “You almost put our leader out of sorts because of your snarky behavior.”

“We can assure you that he will be at his best behavior.” Said Fluttershy, Then she looked at him with a stern look. “Right, Discord?”

“Of course. I will be on my best best behavior, Fluttershy.” Said The Master Of chaos.

“You better.” Starlight threatened flatly. “The last thing we want is for you to start a stampede that would get us all killed.”

“Nonsense.” Said the vendor. “We buffalo know better than that.” Just then, the sound of horns clashing was heard with a small boom. It startled the Mane Six, and their friends. Turns out, there was just a sparring match with two bulls. “Do not worry. We like to spar with one another to test our strength.”

“Hmm, I should give that a try.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Said Lyra. “They are giant compared to you.”

“Nah, nothing can beat me.”

“When it comes to your speed, no.” Luke corrected her. “ But in a strength, you would totally be crushed.”

“Whatever.”

“What happened to your nose?” The vendor noticed the mildly swollen nose on Rainbow’s face. It looked like a little red tomato a little.

“I don’t wanna talk about it.” She said with a not-so-amused look on her face. “Trust me, it’s stupid.”

“She got bitten by a softshell turtle.” Pinkie blurted.

“Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow exclaimed in an exasperated tone of voice.

The vendor made a small chuckle and said “Forgive me. You have to admit, it is rather funny. Those turtles can have a nasty attitude if you provoke them.”

“Yeah, I got that.” Rainbow muttered. “Oh, I need a bag of ice for my nose.”

“Ah, Twilight Sparkle, And her friends,” Said a noble, familiar voice. It was chief Babatunde, accompanied by two guards on one side. “So glad you all come to the city of Blackhorn.”

“Nice to see you again, Chief Babatunde.” Said Twilight. “I’m really curious about you and your subjects. though, you do play it... rough.”

The buffalo made a small chuckle and replied. “Of course. We are tough, for it is useful for if any lions, leopards, hyenas, or jackals try to hunt us down for our meat. It is all just sparring, not really an actual fight.”

“We know. You are certainly not like those hippos.” Twilight Said. “Maybe we can establish diplomatic ties with here and Equestria.”

“An excellent idea, Princess Twilight. Come, let me show you all around.” And they all went for a little walk around the city. Babatunde and his buffalo subjects and followers were more than happy to see Luke, and his friends again.

“How have you all been keeping?” Asked Luke curiously.

“We have been fairing very well.” Said The Chief.

“Well, this is quite a beautiful town you have here. The houses, the huts, and the bazaars are really intriguing.” And he looked at another pair of buffalo bulls who were rather fighting besides sparring. “It’s really cool at how you guys spar and or fight like that.”

“Yeah. I wanna wrestle with you guys.” Rainbow Said.

“No!” Luke, Fluttershy, and their friends snapped at her
> Kilano
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke was having a wonderful time with Babatunde and his cohorts in this Cape buffalo settlement. The group was eating in a restaurant called the “Cocky Elephant” cafe that had really good food. The buffalo were an interesting pair, and they had a good drink with the elements of harmony, and the other ponies. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was trying to make her nose less sore from the bite by putting a bag of ice over it. The way she was holding it on her nose was rather silly, like a seal performing a ball trick in a circus.

“Oh, it still looks like a big tomato.” The cyan Pegasus complained softly. “I’ll never look at Tank the same way again.”

“Don’t let it get to you, Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy reassured her. “There’s no need to feel embarrassed about it.” And she gave her a gentle pat on the back.

“That’s easy for you to say.” Said Rainbow Dash. “You can talk to animals, and they understand you perfectly. Ah!?

Fluttershy made a giggle, and said “Nopony is perfect.”

“Okay, Okay. You got me there.” The chan Pegasus admitted. “Next time, i’ll Think before interacting with a turtle or tortoise that is not Tank.” And she took a sip of her jus de bissap, a type of hibiscus tea that is a drink common in Western Africa in Luke’s world.

“My, this tea is simply divine.” Said Rarity. “What do you call this delicious drink again?”

“This is called, Jus de Bissap, Rarity.” Said Zecora. “If you want a drink that is delicious, this one tastes good entirely.”

“Yes, this drink is so delicious.” Fluttershy Said. “I never tried this kind of tea before. As a matter of fact, i’m Going to get a refill.”

“Me too!” Lyra added in excitement. As both of them went to get a refill at the drink station, Luke let out a loud burp. The buffalo were impressed by that little action,mane applauded.

“Very nicely done, Luke.” Said Babatunde. “Rather impressive. You know, I was the victor for a burping competition for three years straight.”

“Three years?” Said Larry. “That’s most impressive.” And he took a bite of his fufu, a type of dish from casava root similar to mash potatoes.

“You wanna know something?” Said Applejack. “My brother, Big Mac, was always a big winner for a contest on who can make the best turkey call year after you.”

“And, he finally met his match by someone familiar.” Said Pinkie Pie.

“And who might that be, Pinkie Pie?” Asked a buffalo named Lusuku.

“Me!” Pinkie replied happily. She then made a turkey call that sounded like the most realistic turkey call ever, making everyone laugh.

“And then he lost his voice and we couldn’t find a bass singer for my group: the Ponytones.” Said Rarity. “But, we sismget a little help from a pony, who I will not name for good reasons.” And she looked over at Fluttershy, who gave a warm smile at her.

“Do tell me, Zecora.” Said Babatunde, “how does it feel to set foot upon on your homeland’s symbol after all these years?”

The female zebra was a little frozen for a a second, but she ultimately said: “It feels so good to be back home after all this time. Seeing my old family and friends, itmwas just like old times.”

“Wait, you didn’t rhyme this time, Zecora.” Lyra noticed. 

“Yeah, you always rhyme when you talk.” Bon Bon added.

"Even I need a break from my own habits, Bon Bon." Zecora winked at her. "Babatunde, do tell me, are you still having diplomatic relationships with my father?"

"Of course. We need diplomatic relations between us buffalo and the good zebras everywhere. Food, education, diplomacy, and much more between us buffalo and zebras."

"How long have you been in diplomatic relations together?" Twilight asked curiously.

"Heh heh, as long as we can all remember, princess." said Lusuku. "over hundreds of years since we have been partners and close allies. Of course, we stumbled along the way, like fighting corruption, or settling small conflicts, trying to settle disputes between one another."

"What kind of disputes?" said Twilight

"Well, our differences such: as who has the tougher job in trading, stopping coup d'etats over the centuries. You see, we had some tyrants ruling over our tribes every once in a while since our ties began."

"What kind of tyrants?" Spike asked

"Well, we had very good leaders who cared about our freedom and personal rights, such as myself." said Babatunde. "And, we had leaders who only cared about themselves, and would do anything to sustain their power, especially if it would mean doing the unthinkable to get what they want, or rig votes in elections. For instance, there was one recent leader we had, who was a nasty piece of work named: Kilano."

"What was he like?" asked Luke

"Someone that you would not want to be friends with, that's for sure." said the buffalo chief. “This Bull was ruthless, and would do anything to stay in power. Of course, that is when I set foot in his village, I challenged him to a fight, and I won by a long shot.”

“Wasn’t this your village?” Said Rainbow Dash.

“Yes, but when Kilano came to power, he exiled me, but I came back twenty years later.”

“Twenty years?” Said Applejack in surprise. “That must have been horrible, not being able to see your family like that for so long.”

"Indeed. But, they would secretly visit me out of Blackhorn. You see, they would like to the authorities saying they went to get more water, or fresh-grown crops for them to eat."

"That's clever." Said Fluttershy. "Did you overthrow that mean Kilano?"

"Oh yes. After all these years, u managed to gain some support from Zecora's father, along with King Silver Horn and Lighthoof of the rhinos to help me with the cause, and we successfully overthrew him. That's when I came back as a new leader of my subjects."

"Wow. That sounds intriguing." Said Starlight Glimmer. "How long have you been ruling over Blackhorn?"

"For the past thirty years since that event had come to this glorious city. Kilano did some pretty unforgivable things when he was in power: starve buffalo to death, take away their freedom, execute anyone who defied him or spoke out against him."

"That's terrible." Said Lyra. "He does sound like a nasty piece of work."

"At least you won't have to worry about him anymore." Said Larry.

"Well...." the chief sounded a little uncomfortable, and he said "Kilano would occasionally... try and organize an attack on our village to reclaim it for himself in revenge and spite, but we would always drive him out of Blackhorn after every failed attack."

Just then, a buffalo barged into the restaurant and rushed up to the chief, panting heavily. "Chief! Kilano is back!" He said.

The others looked concerned about this. They all rushed out of the cafe, and went to the gates that bordered the city.

A fierce-looking buffalo bull that was as black as night came up, and he looked quite intimidating with a small beard patch on his chin that was the color of white. Another distinguishing feature he had was the left horn was chipped off and an eyepatch over his right eye, and a pink scar running down his face.

"Babatunde!" He called in a thunderous, booming voice. "This time, I will take back my city! And I brought more friends to help me out."

"This is not your city!" Babatunde called out to his arch-rival. "Leave now, or suffer the consequences!"

The former dictator of Blackhorn let out a laugh, and said "I don't think so. Because this time, I brought more friends." A group of enemy buffalo and some Minotaurs with swords and axes with them as weapons.

All of them looked quite intimidating and scary, but Luke had a weapon that was better than any of those weapons those minotaurs had, and he can easily overpower them all with it.

Twilight had an idea, and stepped up. "I, Twilight Sparkle, the princess of Friendship, command you to leave this village, and never come back!"

"Oh. I have heard all about you, princess." Said Kilano sinisterly. "But you have no power here. This is not Equestria. This is Zebrica."

"Then, you give us all no choice." Said Twilight. It didn't take long for a battle to ensue.

It became a battlefield outside of the city in a matter of seconds. Twilight was zapping away at enemy buffalo and minotaurs with her magic. Many of them would fall, but some would keep going and try to swing their swords, axes, or simply charge at her.

Discord conjured himself some knight armor on himself, and a claymore sword that was double-handed, slashing away at enemy buffalo and minotaurs without ease.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash certainly had no problem with their opponents, for they would evade any hits or attacks from them by hovering or flying in the air, and they waited for the opportunity to strike.

Rainbow Dash would land a fury of punches and kicks at her opponents faces until they could no longer fight, and collapsed of exhaustion. Fluttershy was just as quick and nimble with her wings, and charge into Minotaur bellies without hesitation. Of course, she can be scared and intimidated by the buffalo and Minotaur's mighty appearance, and Rainbow would have to come to her aid and save her.

Despite this, Fluttershy kept on fighting to save her friends from any attacks.

Applejack and Rarity also fought gallantly and full of zeal, dodging many attacks from their foes

Starlight was also using her magic to fight off her own enemies from attacking the village, and even rode a few buffalo on their backs.

Lyra and Bon Bon used their little team attacks like a double-wheel spin, Lyra picking up Bon Bon with her magic and swinging her around like a toy or a puppet. As Bon Bon was hovering she would pound her enemies with her fist like Superman swooping down on a bad guy. Another method would be Bon Bon holding her friend and he the magic from her horn as a machine-gun, blasting away at their opponents here ant there.

Spike would try and taunt any enemy buffalo or minotaur to get their attention, and it got them all wound up, and try to charge at him. At the last second, Spike dodged out of the way, and Pinkie Pie would shoot at them with her party cannon.

Babatunde, Zecora, and Okove were fighting side by side against their enemies, and they fought more valiantly than the others.

The buffalo chief himself fought against Kilano, and it was an interesting grudge match between them. Despite having his horn chipped off, Kilano was still fighting on an on against his rival, and they tried pushing one another with their strength, trying to make their opponent fall to the ground in the process.

It was hard to tell which one of these two was winning and they both had equally large amount of strength within them. "I have waited a long time for this, Babtunde!" said Kilano. "Soon, I will have what is rightfully mine!"

"it was never yours to begin with, Kilano!" Babatunde countered. "What will it take for you to stop these attacks!?"

"As soon as I get my city back!"

Luke was slicing and dicing with his lightsaber, and his father was shooting any enemy buffalo or Minotaur that was coming at him. His son would cover him to give him time to reload his handgun. Of course, being as tough as they were, it took more than one gunshot to take them down, and they were no match for Luke's lightsaber, which he would use to slice at their torso in a deep cut.

In the battle, it looked like Kilano was winning, for he knocked Babatunde to the ground, and was about to stomp on him to death with his hooves. Luke saw what was happening, and charged over, then sliced at his other horn, causing him to howl in pain.

"GAAAHHH!! Damn Mangani! You broke my horn!" shouted Kilano. "Now you will suffer!"

"No! You leave the buffalo of Blackhorn alone. They are free of you, and I am not a Mangani. I am Luke, a human from another world. These buffalo are free of you. I say so, Babatunde says so, my friends say so! Leave now, and never come back, for you are outclassed!"

Kilano looked at his surroundings, and saw some of his troops dead, many of them wounded, and some severely injured and cowardly fleeing for their dear lives. "Fall back!" he ordered. "Retreat!" and his remaining troops gladly exited the outskirts of Blackhorn to never return.

"You will pay for this!" Kilano shouted. "You will PAAAYYY!!!" and he ran off into the savanna brush. Luke, his father, and their shouted in triumph.

"Thank you all for helping us against my old enemy." Babatunde congratulated his old and new friends.

"Hey, no sweat." said Rainbow Dash boldly.

"It was a good we were here before they were." said Twilight. "They could have taken over Blackhorn again."

"They appeared to have stronger fighters on their side than last time. Minotaurs are quite powerful." said Okove. "I hope this is the last time he will attack the city."

"I admit, he caught us by surprise with those Minotaurs." the chief confessed. "We probably would have been back under his control again if not for you all. Especially you, Luke." the young human smiled being acknowledged. "And for you Zecora, Okove, and all your friends."

"Just doing our duties as protectors of piece of Harmony." said Fluttershy. "Let's have a feast."

"An excellent idea." said Applejack. " 'Cause boy I am starving right."
> The Feast
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a rather nice feast Luke and his friends were given in the town of Blackhorn. It was mostly fruits and salads and vegetables. The fruit was so good, consisting of honeydew, cantaloupe, watermelon, the kiwano melons, lychee fruits, and many more types of fruits. There was also some course dishes like rice, and a type of dish from casava roots called Fufu whcih tasted a little bit like mashed potatoes.

Yes, it was a very flattering treatment that Luke, his father, the Elements of Harmony, and their friends have been given for helping Babatunde defeat his sworn enemy. They all hoped that the former dictator would be gone for good after his most recent defeat, even though he swore revenge against the village again, and Luke may have made a new enemy in his life.

"How are you enjoying the fruit, Luke?" asked Babatunde to the young human.

"I love it." said Luke. "The honeydew is very good." and he took another bite the half-cute melon on the inside of it. The seeds inside the melon had already been taken out, and it tasted so scrumptious, despite having an eventual aftertaste when he is through eating it.

"You all have accomplished a magnificent thing for us all." said Lusuku. "You may have rid Blackhorn of our sworn and most fear enemy."

"We won't have to worry about him attacking our peaceful city anymore." Babatunde added. "For years, he has given us quite a lot of grief and tried so hard to take back the throne by force, but, if not for you, Princess Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Spike, Lyra, Bon Bon, Starlight Glimmer, Zecora, Okove, Luke, Lawrence, and of course," he sounded a little uneasy when he finished by saying "Discord of course."

The Master of Chaos himself was very flattered to be called a hero once again. "Well, you know." he flustered, although he did try to hide it with no avail. 

"Come on, Discord." said Starlight Glimmer. "You gotta admit, it feels good to be treated as a hero again. Remember when we had to rescue our friends and the princess' from Chrysalis?"

"Ho ho, I am very familiar with that time, my dear Starlight." said Discord, having a sip of his jus de bisaap. "Do i get a medal for showing more bravery?"

They all laughed "There's more to in life than just medals." said Fluttershy. "You should feel good about yourself, Discord."

Discord smirked and chuckled while sipping his drink again. "I know that. At least I get to spend some time with you while in Zebrica." then he suddenly made a loud and long burp that made the ground shake around him like an earthquake erupting. "Pardon me." he said, like it was nothing to worry about at all.

"Oh Discord." said Twilight. "This could be the start of a new relationship between ponies and rhinos in Ponyville. Have you ever thought of any of you attending the school of friendship?"

"Hmm, that sounds intriguing." said a medium-sized buffalo bull. "Is it a new school?"

"Yep. All creatures are more than welcome to attend the school next to my castle in Ponyville. It's fun, and it teaches you the importance of friendship and how much it values to you."

Some of the buffalo sounded rather intrigued by the new school, and were thinking of whether to attend it or not. Some of them were already fascinated by Equestria and the cultures that it had.

Twilight added "I also happen to be the principal of the whole school. It's fun, and a very creative environment. We have griffons, yaks, hippogriffs, changelings, dragons, and other creatures from faraway lands."

"You'll like it there if you want to know more about friendship." Spike added.

"I will be sure to look at that, your highness." said the buffalo chief. "For now, we will wait and think more about this school of Friendship of yours."

"That's fine." said Twilight. 'I am not forcing you all to attend, I just thought i would tell you all about it. I know I said this many times before, but: All creatures are welcome to attend my school, well, our school if counting all my closest friends."

"And, if you need some guidance or advice, I'm the right pony for the job." said Starlight before taking a sip of her vitamin water. "I mean, if you really want my help."

Twilight giggled before saying: "I think they will be more than happy to come to you for advice if needed, Starlight."

After the feast, everything was cleaned up at the large table in the chief's house, and Luke was about to leave the village with his father and all his closest friends to look for something else fun and new that they haven't seen in Zebrica before. "I suppose this is farewell for now." said Babatunde. "But you will come and visit us again soon, right?"

"of course. Where the heart leads a man like me must follow." said Luke. "I just hope this is truly the last time you will see Kilano again."

"Godspeed." said the chief. "But, after what you and your friends have done to accomplish, I am certain that there will be a very slim chance he and his followers will come back and wreak havoc once more. Especially after seeing how scared they were seeing your magical beam sword."

"What? Oh, you mean my Lightsaber." said Luke, pulling it out to flaunt with it again. The green color on the sword brightened once again. "Yep, I love how priceless their faces looked when they were running away screaming to get away from this." And he deactivated it once more. 'So, we'll come visit you from time to time. I promise."

"So do we." said Fluttershy, her and her friends stepping up to add their promise to the cape buffalo herd. "And we really loved it here in Blackhorn."

"Wonderful. Many tourists are pleased by how our beautiful city is like and how it looks." said a cow.

"I'm flattered to be here." Said Larry. "And so is my son."

They all bid their farewells to the buffalo tribe and went back to the guesthouse they were all staying in.

Yes, it was a very nice time that Luke and his father got to be with actual cape buffalo that were not dangerous or unpredictable, and didn't even charge ar them or their friends. Not like the African buffalo back home.

This trip was getting better and better for Luke, and the same was said for his dad and friends.

"Well that was intriguing." Said Lyra. "Being friends with actual Zebrican buffalo, and fighting an epic battle like that."

"Yeah. I haven't fought like that in a while." Said Bon Bon.

"I wonder what other fun things we'll do in Zebrica together." Spike remarked

"Don't worry." Said Twilight. "There is still plenty of time to do more fun things, Spike."

"I still hope we get to see some eland or kudu on this trip." Said Luke.

"We will." Said Zecora. "Elands are known to be wise and posses a strong will."

Luke was all the more curious to see a tribe or a herd of the largest antelope in the world. He hoped that he will see one or a dozen of them when he, his dad, and his friends get the chance.

As they all set foot back in the village, they all settled themselves inside the guesthouse once again. Luke never got tired of seeing the beautiful view from the large window with the scattered trees, including baobab, and one of the trees was sheltering a small lion Pride up to three, four, five, or even six lions, including cubs.

He even decided to listen to some metal music to broaden his mood. While hearing the sweet guitar solo on his iPod, Rarity was a little bothered by the noise it was creating. She went up to him and gently tapped his right shoulder. “Pardon me, darling, but must you listen to that rock n roll music so loudly?”

“Come on, Rarity.” Luke said. “It’s a perfect way to get you hyped and pumped up. “This is the kind of music that helps you express how you feel.”

“Maybe for you.” Said Rarity modestly. “But, I cannot seem to see what you mean, it is certainly not my cup of tea.”

“Don’t listen to her, Luke.” Said Rainbow Dash. “I agree with ya, this music is the best!” And she gently patted his back with her right hoof.

“Thanks, Dash.”

“And, remember when you accidentally caused your mane to loose hairl and you decided to change your look for the time being?” Said Fluttershy. “You were wearing a heavy metal type of Look with that mane.”

“Ah. She makes a good point, Rarity.” Said Applejack. “Who can even forget about that nice look on ya?”

“Well, That is a fair point, but it was just a look.”

“And you heard his amazing Luke is with that electric guitar. I think he is absolutely wonderful and talented in music, and holds a good taste.”

Luke flustered, and said “Oh, thanks Fluttershy.”

“So, I know a perfect settlement where the eland live in.” Said Zecora. “Tomorrow is a good time to begin.”

“I concur. I am feeling quite tired from the battle with Kilano.” Okove remarked. “My legs are getting a little sore from all that kicking.” And he took a sip of water.

“Yeah, I think it is good to call it a day. What can you tell me about the eland here you know?” Asked Luke

“She is referring to King Imari. You will love him.” Okove replied. “He is a gentle spirit and a wonderful leader. Me and my sister have known him for a long time, and I am certain that he will be very happy to see my sister again after all this time.”

“I concur.” Zecora agreed. “I just hope I am not mentally a blur.”

“Nonsense, Imari still remembers you. He will love seeing you again.”

Zecora smiled. “Good.” And everyone just settled in again, and tomorrow will be a new day for Luke will get to see a herd of eland for the first time.
> Elands of the East
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day had passed, and everyone was getting up and all showering one at a time. King Zuma couldn't help but pay a little visit on the whole group, mostly to see his daughter again as the reason. "Good morning, my friends." he said in his humble voice. "Did you all get a good night sleep yesterday?"

Luke smiled and cleared his throat while brushing his long hair, and he said: "We did, your highness." and he pulled his handsome hair back behind his neck, and wagged it a little. "I am really liking this Zebrican trip, your majesty."

King Zuma smiled gratefully. "I am quite happy to hear that, young Luke. Tell me, where do you think you will go next?" Luke smiled, and thought of the eland village that he heard about. "I suppose it is something very exciting today." he added encouragingly.

"Oh Yeah. We're going to see King Imari and his eland tribe that your daughter told us about."

"Ah, a very good choice." Said Zuma. "I have known Imari for a long time, when I was a foal and he was a calf."

"What's he like?" Asked Larry

"He is a wonderful eland." Said Okove. "You will love him."

"Yes. He is a very welcoming bull eland to any outsider. Well, almost any outsider." Zuma added.

"What does he not welcome?" Asked Spike

"Hippos." Said the three family members. That kind of answer wouldn't surprise them all since they had a run-in with a hippo yesterday and the day before. "Being highly territorial creatures," said Zecora "they would not care if they hurt any other culture's features."

"Wouldn't surprise me." said Applejack. "That hippo that Luke fought was a nasty piece of work there. Reckon we don't encounter a dangerous varmint like that again."

"You should have seen Kilano and his horde of buffalo and minotaurs against Babatunde and his fellow buffalo." said Rainbow Dash. "Those guys were pretty nasty, too."

"Kilano?" said Zuma. "We would have helped Babatunde and the subjects of Blackhorn if we had heard in time."

"There was no need to." said Twilight Sparkle. "Luke and his lightsaber pretty much forced them all to retreat, and it was the last time we'll see Kilano and his minions."

Fluttershy made a cute giggle out of herself. "You should have seen they were when they saw Luke's sword."

"Yes, they were a bunch of sniveling cowards on the inside of their muscular and terrifying appearance." Rarity added.

"They didn't stand a chance against us." Lyra added. "We all beat them in the end, and the best part? No casualties and we didn't even get hurt."

"Ha! Those buffalo and Minotaurs were playthings compared to other enemies we fought over the years." said Rainbow Dash. "We defeated changelings, evil ponies, but those guys we fought were comparable to them."

"As long as you all didn't get hurt. I am happy." said Zuma. "Kilano is certainly a dangerous bull to reckon with. I'm glad that this was the last time that cutthroat will terrorize the peaceful town of Blackhorn again."

"That's what I'm hoping to, king Zuma." said Luke. He couldn't help but activate his lightsaber again to show his green blade. "With this, Kilano will know never to mess, harass, or terrorize the city of Blackhorn ever again." and he deactivated it once more, and clung it to the left side of his belt where it belongs. "So yeah, the village where this king Imari lives is where we'll go next on this trip."

"Wonderful. I am aware you know what you are doing, but please be careful out there. The hippos, crocodiles, Kilano, and other dangerous animals were only the beginning. The grasslands in the Zebrican savanna can be dangerous if you only trend lightly, which you should not do."

"With my lightsaber, my dad's gun, and Discord's chaotic nature and unpredictability, nothing can possibly stop us from enjoying this cool trip." and he cracked both his knuckles, first his left hand, and then his right. "I am prepared for anything that will get in my way, and in my friends way."

"I love your style, Luke." said Lyra. 

"Thanks."

"Would you all love some breakfast before you make your way into the trip for Eleena?"

"Is that the name of the city?" asked Fluttershy

"Oh yes. It is a wonderful and prosperous city to visit in." Okove said. "Many friendly faces around at every corner of the streets and shops and restaurants, and fresh food at the bazaars."

"Hmm. I'm curious, but I don't want to go there on an empty stomach." said Applejack patting her belly three times. "I'm hungrier than a groundhog that just woke up from a great nap through the winter." and her belly was heard growling again.

"Good, because we have prepared a delicious breakfast for you all before you have awoken from your slumber." said the zebra king. They all followed him through the corridors and settled in the dining room they have all eaten before. The long dinner table was filled with many fruits, rice, and other non-meat dishes, looking quite delicious and scrumptious.

The fruits consisted of many types of melons, lychee fruits, bananas, and other types beyond imagining. The rice looked especially delicious with the carrot cubes, celery pieces, and okra bits blended with tomato paste in it for the flavoring. The drinks were water, lemonade, and the infamous hibiscus beverage: Jus de Bissap with crushed ice in the drink to make it cold for an extended period of time.

They all took their seats in the usual spots they were in before on the first breakfast, except for Pinkie Pie's plate, there was a large tower of waffles with whipped cream and fruits like blueberries, and cherries on top of it. The pink earth pony smiled, knowing she was in heaven this morning. She promptly took a seat, and began chomping away on the Belgian-style waffles like there was no tomorrow at all like Pac-Man eating all those yellow dots in the video game.

For Pinkie Pie, it took about at least ten seconds to eat all of those waffles all by herself. King Zuma, Okove, and some of the guards were really surprised to see how a pony with a small stomach can eat all of those by herself

"How can you possibly eat all of those waffles?" said King Zuma

"That's just Pinkie Pie." said Bon Bon. "She's unpredictable."

"That's me!" she sung in agreement. Then she let out a loud burp so loud, it made the whole castle shook like an earthquake. "Oops, excuse me." she said before covering her mouth innocently. They all just laughed and excused her for that little action.

"Everyone else dug in to their breakfast dishes, and thought it was as delicious as it should be. Luke himself had some jus de bissap to drink, and still thought it was one of the best beverages he had ever tasted in his life, and he might consider it one of his new favorite beverages along with root beer, lemonade, coco-cola, and diet coke together. Yes, he really loved the taste of the juiced hibiscus flowers turned into this delicious beverage.

The jollof rice was also very good to Luke's taste buds, like yesterday, and the day before that. As a matter of fact, everyone loved the taste of the jollof rice on their plates, even though they were not really a breakfast dish to be speaking. 

It took around twenty minutes, and after everyone was done eating, they were about to go out and see the eland village of Eleena, which might be a long walk from where they were standing. The village was on the other side of a large lake that was almost seven miles long, called lake Zetoria.

Of course, it was a really good thing that there was a ferry that would get them all across the river. There were other ways to get to that town, but this was a short cut, and it was also a safari boat tour as well. Who doesn't like going on a safari boat tour after all?

Luke was glad to go on this little ferry ride, and look around at this beautiful lake. He saw a striped hyena eating a wildebeest carcass, and a couple of Ruppell's vultures were eating out of the body as well, cawing in their harsh call. For the hyena, he didn't mind the extra company, but he would lash out to any vulture that was getting in it's way with his teeth that could crush a foal's skull

"Ugh. Just look at that hyena eating that poor thing." Rarity said in mild disgust. "Granted, he is only trying to survive in these conditions in nature, but still."

"Just look away, Rarity." said Twilight. "I know it's a little.. queasy, but the hyena is only trying to eat."

"At least someone understands." said Luke. "I get that you don't really like that kind of stuff, Rarity, but come on."

"Just ignore her, Luke." said Fluttershy. "She was just being honest."

Luke smiled at the yellow pegasus. "I know that, Flutters."



"I'm really excited and eager to see how these elands live out here." Fluttershy remarked. "I have heard about them, but I never seen them up close before."

"I have." said Larry. "They are huge, well, the bulls are huge from what I heard. When I say huge, i mean giant compared to other antelope in the world."

Okove chuckled and said "You are certainly not wrong, Lawrence. Bull eland are large in size, especially the dangling dewlap from their necks. Despite their size, they are quite gentle in their hearts, and very open to pretty much any creature that would want to set foot into their village, especially you Luke. I know King Imari, and the other eland will like you when we arrive.

"Hey guys, look at this!" Rainbow called out. They all went to the left side of the boat, which was where she was standing, and they all noticed a heard of impala drinking water from the lake. A crocodile was seen stalking them without those antelope knowing it was their. "Oh, this should be cool." 

"What is it?" asked Spike

"That crocodile is about to seek it's prize, and those antelope don't even suspect a thing! Haha!" and she handed Twilight the binoculars.

"Man, I want some of those, too." Luke complained.

"No problem." said Discord. He snapped his finger, and everyone else got some binoculars to see the soon-to come event, and waited for either the impala to go away while they have a chance, or see if the Crocodile can snatch one of them in time before they noticed.

It took a few minutes of silence, and it felt like time had stopped all of a sudden. Finally, the crocodile, fast as a snake, latched onto a drinking impala, gripping its teeth around the neck.

Quite a surprising and startling sight, the other impala ran off while they still can. The poor one who got itself bit in the neck by this crocodile wasn't so lucky.

Another thing it did was roll around the struggling prey. "What's it doing?" Asked Lyra

"He's performing the death roll." said Luke. "It's a technique that crocodiles use to tear off someone's piece of flesh or limb off, and subdue their prey.

A loud snap was heard, for the crocodile ripped the antelope's head off.

Rarity gasped and fainted on the spot seeing such a grotesque sight like this. The crocodile was munching on the carcass and crushing the bones.

"Good nelly." Applejack said.

"I can't watch!" Sisd Bon Bon, then she threw the binoculars into the water in an irrational way.

"Oh, the poor thing." Said Fluttershy sympathetically. Despite her feeling quite sorry for that impala, she was looking on it this little hunt. "Well, at least the crocodile is not hungry anymore."

"I think that impala was more like a snack." Said Luke.

"He is right. Crocodiles here are powerful to take down even a hippo with all their strength and might." Said Zecora. "But do not worry, it is life, and a very interesting story."

"I know." Said Fluttershy. Then she looked at the horizon where the boat was taking them to, and they can see a very prosperous and fairing city right in front of them all.

It was a little bigger than Blackhorn ever was, and there were docks with a couple of more ships.

"Here we are." Said Okove. "Welcome to Eleena."

Luke and all his cronies were absolutely impressed by how this city looked to their eyes. The elands looked so majestic, bull, cow, and calf alike. Even though this was a little on the outskirts of the beautiful city in front of them, it looked really promising.

"Wow, look at this place." Said Twilight. "This looks like an interesting culture that these eland have."

"Just don't try and make a fool of yourself, Twilight." Discord teased her with a smug look on his face.

"Hey! I would never do that." Twilight said. "I know very well to respect other creatures' personal space."

"He's nuet joking with ya, Twilight." Said Luke. They all set foot off the boat, and many eland faces were looking at the group.

Many of the eland antelopes were friendly and greeted them warmly.

This place might be better than Luke might expect it to be, and when they set foot in the city borders, it looked absolutely big.

"Wow. That's just... wow." Said Larry.

"I know. Look at how big this city is." Lyra added.

"Those docks over there are part of the city, but they plan to be more independent from Eleena." Said Okove. "That port is called 'Malingi Port.' A good place for trade and fishing."

Not only were there eland, but a number of zebras, kudu, rhinos, and buffalo were walking around the streets of the city.

It told Luke that they were right about this city being a very friendly place and flattering center for commune.

Restaurants, stores, plazas, and other buildings were surrounding them.

"Come on." Said Zecora. "We surely cannot laze on."

"Oh boy, I can't wait to see what this place is like." Said Fluttershy.

"Same here, Fluttershy." Said Luke. They all followed Zecora, and as they were going down some streets, they all began seeing some eland statues made out of pure gold.

"My oh my." Said Twilight. "Look at these statues here."

"These eland know how to decorate a beautiful city like this." Rarity noted in awe. “These statues must be at least twenty-four karat gold.”

“So Zecora, how are we going to find the king here?” Asked Luke curiously.

“Not to worry, Luke.” Said Zecora. “I have been good friends with Imari for a long time, for he is a very close friend of mine.”

“Well I hope is is as friendly and gregarious as you say he is.” Said Spike. “Look at all these zebras in a city founded by eland here.”

“Hello.” Said a Bull walking up to them. He was bulky was a common eland for Luke could recognize the horns on his head, and the lack of white stripes on his back. He had a dangling dewlap hanging from his neck, and his horns looked sharp, along it his size easily towering the ponies. “Welcome to Eleena, the pride of eland, and a nice tourist attraction for every creature to enjoy. Can I- Zecora?” He recognized the female zebra.

“Abioye?” Zecora recognized him. They both smiled and began hugging one another while laughing in joy. “It is so good to see you old friend! I honestly thought that the last time e met would be the end.”

“I concur. I never thought I would see you again, Zecora.” Said The eland. “Welcome back to Zebrica.” And they hugged again. He looked over at the group. “And who might you all be?”

“Greetings. I am princess-“

“Twilight Sparkle?” Asked Abioye.

“Yes. That’s right. How did you know my name?”

“You are the talk of Equestria, princess.” Said Abioye. “Many Equestrian tourists who come here talk about you more than enough times, and before you know it, word of mouth is happening! Hahahaha!”

“Wow. Looks like you’re getting more recognition outside of Equestria already, Twi.” Said Spike.

“I know. And who might you be?”

“Abioye. I was a good friend of Zecora a long time ago before she moved away.” And he looked at the zebra again. “We were friedns since childhood, and we were always a great team.”

“I’m... deeply sorry for moving away like that. I wanted to start a better, new life, That’s all. Do not fret. I never forgot about you when I left. I remember all the laughs, the good times we had together, everything we did in the past.”

“Good.” The eland bull smiled. “As for you all, I know who you are. The other elements of harmony: Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, And Pinkie Pie. Ami correct?”

“Yes. You are absolutely correct.” Said the yellow Pegasus. 

“I believe I do not know who you two mares are.” The eland was referring to Lyra and Bon Bon.

“Right. My name’s Lyra.”

“And i’m Bon Bon.”

“Besties!” They both Said in unison.

“A pleasure to meet you.” Then he looked at Starlight Glimmer next. “And who might you be, little mares.”

“Starlight Glimmer.” She replied.

“Hmm, you look... rather similar to Twilight. Are you not sisters?”

“Sisters?” Said Twilight and Starlight in confusion. They looked at eahother in confusion, and blinked two times before saying “We’re not sisters.”

“Oh. My apologies. You both look a little similar, the marks on your flanks, you manes, your coats of fur, both of you having horns. It’s a rather confusing mixture.”

“Come on.” Said Twilight in an irritated voice. “We don’t really look that alike.”

Starlight looked at er again, and asked “do we?”

“Well.... why don’t you come with me, Zecora. King Imari will be more than happy to you again after all this time.”

“A wonderful idea. I can already imagine how much he misses me, dear.” They all followed the eland bull to a palace where down a flight of stairs, came a large giant eland bull with long horns, twelve stripes on his back, and dreadlocks running down his mane.

Zecora smiled, recognizing that peculiar bull anywhere. It was the king himself, and when he saw Zecora, he was absolutely surprised to see her face again. He walked down, and went up to her. “Zecora.” He Said in a very low, calming voice. “Is that really you?”

“Hello, your majesty.” She bowed to him. They embraced for a hug, and chuckled.

“It has been far too long.” Said The eland king. “I always had a feeling you would come back home someday.”

“Well... this is only a visit, Imari.” Said Zecora. “I am deeply sorry.”

“I understand. I still give you a welcome back to Zebrica.” He looked on at Luke and his friends, looking quite eager to meet him. Imari went up to Luke, easily towering over his height. And sniffed his head with his nose curiously. “Who are you exactly?” He Asked the young man

“My name is Luke Smith, but you can just call me Luke. And yeah, I am not from here. I came from another world, but i’m getting tired of telling this story over and over again.” And he bowed on one knee to show some respect to Imari. ‘Forgive me for not bowing, your majesty.”

Imari chuckled. “That is quite alright. Luke. You see, like an interesting little man. Can you tell me what you are?”

“Hmm-mm. I’m a human, and tenchincally, i’m in the primate family.”

“You do have a peculiar look that says you are a primate.” Said The king.”just look at those hands you have.”

“Yeah. I’m not an ape, a different species from those kind of primates,mane more intelligent of course.”

Imari could not help but laugh. “I like you already, human. I give you and all your friends welcome to Eleena, our beautiful city.” Luke smiled, and knew that he was going to have a good time today.
> Tour of Eleena
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

These eland were more than flattering and welcoming than Luke had expected them all to greet him and his friends and father. Abioye, the eland friend that Zecora had known for a long time, was trying to make sure that everyone was comfortable as possible in this little chat between the former zebra princess and the eland king.

"I want you to realize that I am not moving back here, no." Zecora said. "Only visiting because Luke wanted to come here, and he wanted my help coming here to do so."

Imari just smiled, and said: "I understand, my dear old friend. Even though you do not live in your homeland of Zebrica anymore, you are always more than welcome to visit here as much as you see please. We are no strangers to you, Zecora, or your friends here."

"And we thank you, your majesty." Said Twilight gratefully. "We are all really loving this trip."

Imari and the other eland smiled gratefully hearing those kind words. "We certainly are flattered, princess Twilight." Said the king humbly. "I certainly hope this trip will be all worth your while while staying."

"Don't worry, your majesty." Said Fluttershy. "We all enjoy this trip. Even though we had a few dangerous encounters before. Other than that, it is doing well."

"It is best to keep all your wits about you." Said Abioye. "Especially with the lions, hyenas, and elephants. The bulls can be quite aggressive during musth season."

"What's Musth?" Asked Lyra.

"It's when a bull elephant goes through a period when their hormones grow bigger. And they are at their meanest. I've seen that happen before."

"You are smart, Luke." Said Imari.

"He speaks correctly." Said an Eland named Cosono. "That periodic time for the bull elephant is the most dangerous when you can try and attempt to see one up close."

"Eesh. I've heard of hormones," said Rainbow Dash. "But that's just ridiculous. I mean, I was.... moody when I was going through them, but I wouldn't try and scare anypony away from me."

"Well, at least it is good we know the time to stay away from them so we cannot get trampled to death by one of those elephants."

"And, try not to curl up into a ball." Said another eland bull named Seeolee. "Elephants are one of the largest walking animals in the world, and one step on you with their hooves is certainly enough to crush you to death like a watermelon."

"We'll keep that in mind." Said Twilight. "Matter of fact, we encountered one a few days ago."

"Was it a bull?" Asked the king.

"Yeah, a big elephant bull." Lyra answered. "I will never forget how deadly those tusks looked on that big guy."

Luke then remarked by saying: "but, we managed to set out of his way and continued on with the safari walk."

"Good. You did the right thing doing that. Niw would any of you like some water before we continue?"

"I would like some." Said Applejack. "I'm feeling more parched than a prairie dog in an acorn parade."

Rarity cleared her throat. "I too would like a little refreshments. This warm air is starting to make my mane stick a little."

"I'll have a drink, too." Said Starlight Glimmer.

"No thanks. I got my own water to drink." Said Luke, pulling out his water bottle that keeps the beverage cold for longer times.

"So do i." Said Larry before taking a sip of his own. His bottle was the same as his son's and immediately took the opening out of his mouth with a sigh. "Hell, that is refreshing."

The others declined as well, with Discord boasting himself by saying: "that is rather kind of you, Imari, but I can just conjure my own beverages." Then he created a red cocktail out of thin air, in a fancy glass.

"Address him with respect, Discord." Abioye scolded him.

"It is quite alright." Said Imari. "I am alright with Discord's company, for I have heard of his reformation." Then he zoomed into Fluttershy's right ear. "Although, it would be a good idea for you to keep an eye on him. And make sure he behaves, Fluttershy."

"Don't worry, Imari." The yellow pegasus said. "I always keep a good eye on my friend here." Then she gave him a stern and suspicious look. "Right, Discord?"

"Oh yes. Of course. You do a rather fine job watching me like a hawk." Said Discord before taking another so of his cocktail.

Then everyone else that wanted a drink of water went into a small store to purchase some water with just one bit from them each. It was a flattering and cheap price for getting some water, mostly because weathers here in Zebrica can be a little harsh and brutal when the hot sun is out. Still, they weren't about to let the heat get to all of them on this fun trip.

After everyone has had their drinks, they continued on with this tour of Eleena. So far, everyone was still happy to enjoy this little tour from the eland king.

"Do you get a lot of visitors here, your majesty?" Asked Luke curiously.

"Yes. Of course, it would be more local visits, zebras, elands from other cities, kudu, rhinos, wildebeest, minotaurs, Abyssinians, and other types of visitors."

"What are Abyssinians?" Asked Luke

"They are a race of anthropomorphic cats, darling." Said Rarity. "They hail from the country of Abyssinia."

"Have you met any?" Asked Larry.

"Oh yes. It is a rather fascinating story, Lawrence." Rarity added. "When Equestria  was under siege from the evil Storm King, as traveled to a few places beyond Equestria for help, and we ran into an Abyssinian named Capper in a city called Klugetown."

"Equestria was under siege before?"

"It was, Luke." Said Twilight. "We were asked to go seek help from the hippogriffs."

"Hippogriffs? Oh, I heard of those. The half horse, half eagle. Kinda similar to a griffon."

"Yep. That's the one." Said Rainbow Dash. "It's a long but awesome story."

"Right."

"Abyssinians are a rather litigious type of race, but Capper helped us out in the end." Rarity continued.

"I have heard of him." Said Imari. "He is a rather sneaky con-artist that is good at deception and trickery."

"Well, he is not like that anymore." Said Fluttershy. "He became a powerful ally and a good friend in the end. He helped us defeat the Storm King."

"Hmm. Well., I would still advise you to be careful with him."

"Don't worry, king Imari." Said Twilight. "He is reformed like Discord, and he is a good guy now."

"I will take your word, princess." They stopped at the large, golden eland statue from before. He looked a little similar to the king here, but with a longer dewlap dangling from his neck. "This is my father, Adewale." Said Imari

"Your father?" Asked Spike.

"Yes. Adewale was a great and honorable leader to eland everywhere. He was a fair and noble king who ruled over Eleena with compassion. He actually knew princess Celestia before."

"Really?" said Applejack.

"Did he know Luna?" Asked Luke

"Unfortunately, no." The eland king replied. "Princess Luna was locked away on the moon."

"Right. It's a shame he didn't meet Luna." Said Spike. "She is just as loving and compassionate as her big sister."

"I have heard that for sure. I have met them a number of times myself."

"Wait, you have?" Asked Twilight. "Why didn't Celestia tell me any of this before?"

"Maybe because you guys save Equestria and friendship problems with the map?"

The elements of harmony all laughed. "That is so true." Said Pinkie Pie. "We answer the mal wherever it takes us."

"Well, how would you like to see a performance from the Zeezu brothers? They are the best dancers in the city."

"That sounds fun." Said Luke

"We can always use the entertainment." Starlight agreed.

"And I'm curious about Zebrican music." Lyra added.

They all followed the king to an outside stage that looked a little Greek or Roman, and there was a group of eland with tribal clothing on them with traditional makeup on their faces.

When everyone was seated, the sound of the african drums and kalimbas played in a fast pace, and the sound of rain sticks were heard once every ten seconds.

Luke was happy to see this kind of entertainment in person, even though this wasn't really Africa he was visiting in. The Zeezu brothers were all prancing about and clopping their hooves in an elegant manner. Fluttershy, who was sitting next to Luke and his father, really liked it, and Rarity mostly loved this because of the clothes and hats they were wearing.
> Helping a Creature in Need
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

These dances that these brothers were performing really amazed Luke, and his friends, and the sound of drums beating was heard as the Zeezu brothers kept dancing and prancing around to the groove. When the song was over, there was a tremendous round of applause from the crowd, and they all gave praise to it. “That was awesome!” Said Luke. “Bravo! Bravo!” He continued clapping his hands with enthusiasm, and wished that the Zeezu brothers would do another song to dance to.

“My, That was so amazing.” Said Fluttershy. “I never seen a dance like that.” Then she stopped clapping her hooves. “I’m really glad we came here to Eleena.”

“You’re telling me.” Said Twilight. “That was some quality entertainment there. Now this can be something to write on for if I create a book about elands and their culture. As a matter of fact. I’ll write that down on my notes now.” Then she pulled out a pen and a notebook to put down observation sentences.

Spike rolled his eyes with a smirk. “Oh Twilight,” He Said. “I know you!re excited, but come on. Enjoy the show. Besides, you already got so many notes on rhino, buffalo, zebra, and eland down on your pad already.”

“I know, Spike.” Said Twilight as she finished writing things down with her magic. “Who knows what other interesting things will turn up?” Then the sound of African drums and kalimba were heard again, and it sounded a little faster than before.

These brothers were certainly a talented group to show everyone in this city. “How do you all like the show, my friedns?” Asked Imari

“I love it!” Said Luke. “I love how the drums sound.”

“Look at them go.” Said Larry. “They must have had a long time to practice this dancing, have they?”

“Oh yes, Lawrence. The Zeezu brothers had spent many years practicing and dancing through classes and lessons since they were calves. They are truly gifted on the art of tribal dance.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more, my king.” Said Rarity. “Not to mention those garments they are all wearing while dancing. Just look at those patterns on their robes, and that fine jewelry they are all wearing on their necks.”

“It’s so fun!” Said Pinkie Pie. “I wish I can join them on that stage. As a matter of fact, I will." then she took it upon herself to join those dancers on the stage. Despite some of the bodyguards restraining her from doing such an action, she was dancing along with the Zeezu brothers, and they were all happy to have another dancer with them.

"Oh, let Pinkie Pie have her fun." said Twilight with a smirk.

"Yep, she's just being herself." Applejack added with a small chuckle. Pinkie just enjoyed the dancing with the eland brothers, and it was a blast for her, and she thinks life is like a big party to her.

“So Luke, how long will you and your friends stay in Zebrica?” Asked Imari.

“About four more days, my king.” The human replied. “That’s why I want to see as much fun things to do in Zebrica as possible before I leave after the final day.”

“Don’t worry, Luke. We will do many things considered fun.” Said Zecora. “Whether on a rainy day, or under the sun.”

“that’s all I needed to hear.”

“I wonder if we will see more animals in more safaris.” Said Fluttershy. “ I really want to see more animals, some I have never seen before, too.”

“You’ll get the chance, Fluttershy.” Said Imari. “All animals of Zebrica are unique and interesting in their own way.”

“Well, one animal I want to see if the Honey Badger. I hear those guys are so tough and they are invincible to snake bites.” Said Rainbow Dash. “I think that animal is totally cool.”

“I know. I was thinking we could look for one of those guys.” Said Larry.

“You should exercise caution when you see the honey badger on your next safari.” Said Okove. “They might be smaller than lions, leopards, and cheetahs, but they can have a rather fierce attitude on their side.”

“We’ll keep that in mind.” Said Twilight. “And the last thing I want is to be attacked by a hippo or a crocodile when near the rivers and lakes, like water we see with the impalas drinking at the lake.”

“Just watch your step, and trend carefully on your walk, and you will be just fine.” Said Starlight Glimmer. “I’m sure the lesser we can do is have Fluttershy talk to the. Like she did with that cobra.”

“Here here.” Bon Bon agreed.

They all continued watching the dance, and when it was over, another uproar of cheering from the crowd was heard again. The brothers and Pinkie bowed down a thank you to all of the,  then the pink mare went back to her friends. “That was fun!” She exclaimed.

“Did you all enjoy that performance?” Asked the king

“Yeah.” They all replied to him.

“Perfect. No one can ever get enough of the Zeezu brothers. Everyone loves to watch them dance with their talented legs.”

“Father! Father!” Screamed a kid’s voice. It was an eland calf, who hurried over to the eland king like there was an emergency he should tell him about. “Father, Thank the gods I found you. You have to help me!”

“Nene, What is it, son?” Asked Imari.

“My brother, Keke, is being chased by a large pride of lions outside of Eleena. We were playing. In the fields and they suddenly ambushed us!”

Imari gasped “What? Where is he?”

“You go across the southern fields over there, and he is trying to evade those lions as long as he can. You have to help me!”

“I’ll help you, your highness.” Abioye stepped up boldly. “I am one of the fastest runners in the city. Maybe I can save Keke before he is lion food.”

“Go ahead.”

“Wait, you might need my help!” Luke stepped up. “I want to help you out.”

“You do?” Asked Abioye 

“Yeah. Fluttershy, can you help me?”

“Of course. The least I can do is help talk to those lions.” Said the yellow Pegasus.

“Here, climb on my back, Luke.” The human did as the eland bull told him to do, and climbed on his back. It felt a little weird, for it was certainly not like riding on a mere horse. That was for sure. 

“Okay. Let’s go.” Said Luke. Just like that, Abioye went off with astonishing speed, and Luke realized that he wasn’t kidding when he called himself one of the fastest eland. Fluttershy followed them while flying as fast as she could.

While riding on Abioye, Luke felt like he was riding on a roller coaster, although not as fast, and he held on to the bull's horns behind him

"Try not to hold on by horns so hard, alright?" Abioye said.

"Sorry Abioye." Like said. "This is just kind of fun."

"Glad you're enjoying it, my friend." About a mile away from the city, they spotted Keke being chased by a large pride of lions, probably up to twenty, thirty, or even forty or fifty of them.

"Help me!" Said the calf in desperstion. 

"We're coming, Keke!" Said Abioye. "Don't stop running!"

Puke suddenly jumped off of the eland bull and activated his lightsaber. The lions set back a few steps, obviously puzzled by the green color of this blade.

One lioness charged in front of him, but Luke waved his lightsaber at her to prevent her from coming closer to him by swiping him with her claws or biting him with her sharp teeth.

Some males, who were considerably larger than the females charged at Luke as well. But he scared them away with the lightsaber as well 

"Get back, big boy!" Luke warned one Male getting close to him. "Back I say!

Meanwhile, Abioye was attacking with his long deadly horns at any lion that was trying to claw or bite him. It was a rather regal and impressive display, for he managed to push back a small number of those big cats, probably up to two, or three of them, back. He also kicked at some lions who were trying to attack him from behind while he was distracted trying to shoo away his enemies at the front of him.

The sound of roaring continued as they were trying so hard to maul at the two. It was when Fluttershy came to their aid, and she stopped in front of the male lion who was the largest, hence he was the alpha male of this whole pride. She had a bold look on her face, and she used her stare on each of these lions. The alpha male caught glimpse of her eyes, and stopped dead in his tracks, and he was right in front of her, towering over her height.

"Now, I know you are all hungry," said Fluttershy. "But that baby eland was terrified, and he was just playing! Look, i know you are all following instincts and you just want to eat, but why him?"

The Lion made a small growl, and it was obviously in a language only Fluttershy can understand. Then he blinked twice at her.

"Oh. I see." said Fluttershy.

"What did he say?" Luke asked curiously.

"He said that they haven't found any food in three days, and they are all very hungry." Fluttershy answered him. "Well, I really wish I could...." then she had a thought. "Discord." The master of chaos appeared out of nowhere again, and had that smug look on his face again. "Can you please conjure a large pile of meat for all these lions to eat?"

"No problemo." then he snapped his finger and a large pile of meat was falling on the ground. It was more than the lions could ever want, and then some. These big cats were more than happy to have their own buffet of different kinds of meat. "There, I suppose everyone is more than happy."

"But what about other predators who want all of this?" asked Luke

"Well, I know it sounds harsh, but we need to let animals hunt food themselves, even if it is not successful." said Fluttershy. "I don't want them to forget about hunting because of this."

"Right. It would tamper with the laws of nature." Luke agreed with her. Just then, a herd of wildebeest had arrived and there were a large number of them, up to thousands, or even ten-thousands in the numbers. Now, it really turned into a buffet for these lions here.

"I think you guys might be getting more of this." said Discord. Some of the other lions, but not all of them, went off to catch a couple of wildebeest for them to hunt while the others stayed behind to ear the other meat that Discord had given them.

Meanwhile, Keke saw the whole thing from a safe distance. He figured it would be a little safe for him to see what just happened and how Luke, Abioye, Fluttershy, And Discord did to save his backside from being Lion chow. “Wow. What just happened?” He Asked

“We saved you.” Said Luke boldly.

“Thanks to the one and only: me.” Discord boasted. I saved you from those lions who were trying to eat you.” 

The calf noticed the other lions eating the carcasses and meat chunks to clench their hunger for a long while, probably a whole month of two. At least lions can last longer than humans and ponies can.

“Don’t worry, Keke.” Said Fluttershy. “They won’t hurt you. All they were doing was looking for some food, that’s all. I’m sure they will leave you alone now.”

“They will?” Keke Asked.

“Yes.” Said Abioye with a warm smile. “I am so glad you are doing alright.”

Without warning, the alpha male lion went up to Fluttershy, and began to lick her face, like she was Siegfried or Roy, except she didn’t get hurt. “Oh, you are such an adorable lion, are ‘t you.” Said Fluttershy. Yes you are, yes you are.” 

Oh the big cat was simply enjoying a nice belly rub from the yellow Pegasus, and he let out a small roar of joy having his belly being touch ped like this. Luke couldn’t help but join in on the fun with this.

Many of these lions cuddled around Luke and he was really enjoying it himself.

“Now this is what lion taming should be like.” He Said.

“Very extraordinary.” Said Abioye in awe. “I am really surprised that you managed to tame all these lions by yourself, Fluttershy. How did you even accomplish this magnificent feat?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say tame.” Said Fluttershy in her honest voice. “I only made friends with them. Sometimes, you have to show a little kindness to some type of creatures. Dangerous or not.”

“Words never said true than that, Fluttershy.” Said Luke while snuggling one of the males. “You are such a big boy.” He playfully patted his back

“Well, come on. We should return to town and tell everyone that Keke is alright.” Abioye suggested. They all bid farewell to the lion pride, and went back to Eleena to tell Imari that his son was alright and unharmed. The lions stayed behind and continued eating their gift from a Fluttershy.

Imari saw Keke, and he couldn’t be any more happy to see his son not hurt by those big cats. “Keke!” He Said.

“Father!” The calf exclaimed in joy and happiness. He ran up to the king, and his brother joined him in a family hug with him.

“I never thought I would see you again.”

“I”m okay, father.” Said Keke.

“What about you, Nene? Are you hurt?”

“No, father. I wasn’t harmed at all.”

“Good. I will start keeping a close eye on you two so you won’t get hurt anymore.” Imari looked at Fluttershy, Abioye, Luke, and Discord with a face of gratitude. “Thank you all for hoping my son. If not for you, he would not have survived.”

“It was nothing to it, your highness.” Said Luke.

“And they won’t bother you or this specify anymore.” Fluttershy added. “I was glad to help your son out. Those lions were only hungry.”

“I know, dear one.” Said Abioye. “All those lions were dough was trying to search for food. It is like I have heard: survival of the fittest, even in Zebrica.”

“Well, I suppose we should reward you for saving my son.” Said Imari. “And you are absolutely right, those lions are not monsters, just animals trying to survive in the world.”

“At least you all understand what they want.” Said Twilight. “How else are they going to eat.”

“And don’t worry, we didn’t kill any lions out there.” Luke remarked. “I’m not one to do bloodshed.”

“I think I know you enough that you would not kill in cold blood.” Said Abioye.

“Yes, Luke is such a darling and a gentleman. Always kind, always honest, and a very capable human being.” Said Rarity. Luke flushed from hearing those kind compliments from her. “Here’s why don’t you have some hibiscus tea?” She then conjured am iced glass of hibiscus juice for him to drink.”

“Thanks.” Then he began drinking the jus de bissap.
> Mothers Worries
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke felt even more good about himself saving the young eland calf: Keke. It was a really close call that he, Fluttershy, Discord, and Abioye, the humble eland bull, went to help him out and save him from those hungry lions. If not for them, the poor, scared calf would have been minced meat for those ferocious, yet majestic big cats that are top predators around these parts. Still, Keke was perfectly alright, and he was brought back to the safety of his hometown.

King Imari was very grateful that these four helped find his son and saved him, and he said to Luke. "Well, you certainly accomplished a magnificent task, Luke. I am glad you have helped my son."

"Well, I wouldn't take all the credit." said Luke. "My friends helped out, too." he looked at Fluttershy, Discord, and Abioye, who were looking just as noble as he was. "So you should thank them, too, your majesty."

"Of course. For that, you are all welcome to visit us and our glorious city of Eleena whenever you please, plus, a twenty percent discount for when you purchase a meal at any restaurant here, or purchase any food from a bazaar, or any marketplace."

It sounded really nice that Luke was given a special treatment like this. "Thank you, my king." he replied gratefully. "I hope any lions don't give you any trouble the next time they try to get you."

"Don't you worry about that." said Nene. "Most lions prefer to keep to themselves from our city. They all know they would be greatly outnumbered around hundreds to thirty."

"We are a much larger city than that, my son." said Imari. "We are a number of five-hundred and fifty thousand eland living in Eleena. As long as I am a king, and that we all help one another, this city will be one of the greatest in all of Zebrica. And of course, this will go to Princess Twilight and her friends."

The others smiled at the king's great kindness and generosity. "Will the cakes have discounts for us too?" asked Pinkie Pie with her infamous, big smile on her face. 

Imari couldn't help but chuckle in a humble way. "Of course, Pinkie Pie." then he turned into the yellow pegasus. "So Fluttershy, I am rather curious: how did you accomplish this? How did you tame a large pride of lions by yourself?"

Fluttershy replied by saying to the eland king: "Oh, it was nothing. I just have a gift with animals. Talking to them and communicating with them is my special talent." and she turned to her left to show her left flank. “It’s What my cutie mark represents.”

“And I think it fits you perfectly.” Said Imari. “And of course, I deeply commend you for your own bravery, Abioye. I have known you long enough to see how capable and courageous you are in the face of danger.”

“Oh, you were always the modest one, my old friend.” Said Abioye. “A good eland never backs down from a fight, unless he is is no longer able to.”

Turning to the master of chaos, Imari didn’t really look as amused as the other three. “As for you, Discord.” He Said with his eyes narrowed in slight annoyance. “I, Of course thank you for helping my son as well, even though you can be unpredictable and a good deceiver.”

“Me? A good deceiver? Never.” The Master Of Chaos Said in mock offense. “I would never deceit any of my friends here.”

Twilight, Spike, Lyra, Starlight Glimmer, And the other friends just looked at him with faces telling him they were not amused by his usual lying. “Really?” Said Twilight. “Need I remind you of your past mistakes?”

“That was then, Twilight.” Said Discord. “This is here and now.” Then he magically made a cape, a heroic sword, and a shield appear. He also wore a golden plate of armor to show his bravery. “I have said this many times before, but, I am now a hero. Need I remind you that I saved you and your friends with the help of Starlight Glimmer, Thorax, And Trixie?” He had that smug look on his face.

Applejack couldn’t help but laugh when she said: “Guilty as charged. Without y’all, Chrysalis would have taken over Equestria with one stomp of her hooves. You all saved us and Equestria from another uprisin’ from her.”

“She’s not wrong.” Starlight agreed. “That makes us heroes of Equestria too. Even though, we are no perfect. I committed mistakes myself.”

“But you learned from them.” Said Abioye. “And it is perfectly alright to create mistakes, as long as you learn from them.”

“That’s what our father always taught us.” Said Nene.

“Well, about those lions; hat became of them?” Asked the eland king.

“Well, I think they had a buffet and gotten quite enough to eat.” Said Luke. All of a sudden, his phone was ringing and the chorus for “Hail to the King” was playing on his ringer. It spooked him for a second, but he looked at it. “Uh-oh. It’s mom. Give me a second.”

It caught him by surprise, but Luke answered the phone. His mother was obviously checking on him on this fun trip. While on the phone, Luke answered it, and it was indeed, his mother. "Hi Luke." said Louise on the other line. "How are you?"

"Just fine, mom." said Luke. "How are things back on Earth?"

"Oh, everything is still fine. Mr. Chamberlain just came to my front door and wanted to know how you were doing in Equestria."

"Does he believe me?" 

His mother made a chuckle through the other line before replying: "Of course he believes you, Luke. He knows you long enough to see how much of an honest, and sweet man you are."

"Okay mom. I was starting to worry my other friends wouldn't believe me about me being transported to another world and all."

"Don't worry about that. You can't convince some people their hair is on fire." said Louise. "They can be pretty hard to convince out there." Luke let out a small breath in agreement.

"True that."

"So how's your trip with your dad?"

"It's going so awesome. I like how this place is very similar to Africa back home. The animals, the climate, the creatures, although there are no humans around these parts. That's the only major difference."

"So are zebras the dominant species of that place?"

"Zebras, antelope such as eland, kudu, white and black rhinos, and there are some animals and creatures that don't exist in my homeworld: Mangani from Tarzan of the Apes, weird-looking types of animals and so much I can't describe all at once to you."

"Good. I'm glad to hear that you are happy and having fun. Is your dad drinking again?"

Luke made a mildly irritated groan after Louise asked him that rather annoying question. He knew that alcoholism was a problem for his father years ago, but he simply replied: "No mom. My dad is absolutely sober. Why can't you believe me when I say or he says that he hasn't been drinking vodka, bourbon, whiskey, or any alcoholic drinks in five years? If you won't listen to him or believe him when he says it, will you listen to me, believe me?"

"Look," said Louise. "I do believe you, but I just worry about you. I'm your mother after all."

"I know. I know." said Luke. "But you don't need to worry about me too much. I'm no longer a little kid."

Louise was silent for a moment, but she ultimately said at last: "I know, Luke. But, I am your mother, and I love you very much."

"Oh boy." Luke muttered under his breath. He looked around and felt embarrassed, but he quietly said: "I love you too, mom. Anyway, I'll be just fine, and it will only be a few more days before I go back to Ponyville with my friends."

"Good. Just checking. Just stay safe, and stay away from lions. I wouldn't want you to get mauled to death by a pride. I wouldn't even know what I would be if you died like that."

"Mom." Luke groaned. "Please. I won't be dying any time soon. I promise I'll live a long, and good life."

"Good. Bye Luke, have more fun on the trip."

"I will mom. Talk to you soon." then he hung up. He sighed in mild irritation. He always has a feeling that his mother will never stop treating him like a full-grown adult. Luke couldn't really blame his mother though, for she was just trying to be a good parent. He thought that he just wish his mother wouldn't have to worry about him like this all of the time because of his disability. 

It was one thing that certainly irritated him between him and her. "What did your mom say, Luke?" asked Fluttershy curiously

"She was just checking on me, and asking if i was alright. God knows that she can be crazy sometimes."

"Oh come on. She was just checkin' on ya because she's your mom, sugarcube." said Applejack.

"Yeah. I suppose." Luke sighed. 

"Tell me Luke. What was that musical tone that your phone had released?" Asked Imari

"Oh, that's just called a ringtone. This works like any other phone. And it was from a metal band called Avenged Sevenfold."

"Heavy metal?" Asked Abioye. "I did not know you listen to that kind of music."

"Yep. It's one of my favorite genres."

"Have you grown up listening to it?" Asked Imari

"Oh yeah. My dad had a collection of CD's with him, and I always enjoyed listening those kinds of bands."

"You should hear Luke play on that electric guitar and sing. He is a pro at music."

"Really?" Said the eland king with more curiosity. "Could you show us how good of a mucisian you are, Luke?"

"Well... because you asked nicely, I'll do it."

"Wonderful. Wonderful. I am certain you will do great in your performance."

"I hope it won't be too loud for you I don't want to scare any calves."

Abioye chuckled and said "Nonsense. Some of us eland have heard of this kind of music before. We are open to just about any genre of music."

"Good. And, we can have some traditional drums that the band for the Zeezu brothers did in their cool dance."

"An excellent idea." Said Imari. "It can blend with our own music. I like the sound of it."
> Bringing Metal to Zebrica
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Honestly, out of all the concerts he did in Equestria, or in this magical world, Luke was feeling a little more nervous than he felt in the past concerts he did while living in this world. Not really because of so many eland coming to see what he is capable of in the art of heavy metal, he has performed for his friends countless times before, he can handle that. No, what he was worried about what the eland in this city would think, like he would be worried they would accuse him of dark sorcery, necromancy, or witchcraft with the song and the lyrics he will sing to all of them. Still, at least if they do accuse him of being a warlock or a dark wizard, his friends could at least back him up if he tells them he wouldn't commit wizardry.

As of now, Luke was readying his signature guitar, and the stage was all set for him to perform.

It looked all easy-peasy for him to manage, and he was tuning his guitar to the right pitch. After that was done. He gulped, and hoped that this will go perfectly okay for him and the eland. Discord appeared in front of him, possibly to check on him and see if he was ready for this big performance.

"The Zeezu brothers are ready for dancing whenever you are ready." Said the Master of Chaos. "Are you all set?"

"Yep. I just hope the eland out there don't mistake me for a monster or a necromancer because of this style of the music I am about to perform for them."

"Pish posh." Said Discord. "You will be absolutely fine out there. You are an amazing artist, in music sense of course. Besides, there will be Zebrican music playing along with it, so that should he very flattering for these good eland out there behind the curtain."

Luke was thinking in his thoughts again, and said: "yeah, That's true. Plus, the Zeezu brothers will dance along the music as icing on the cake."

"I wouldn't say the C word put loud, especially in front of Pinkie Pie."

"Right. She can be quite a sucker when it comes to candy and sweets." Luke agreed. "Besides, she has a cake detector in her."

"Anyway, you might want to get on out there. Wouldn't want to keep all those fans waiting."

"Gotcha." Then the curtain opened and the Zeezu brothers stood next to him.

"This is a really good idea." Said one of the eland bulls.

"Yes, this should be really interesting."

"Thanks guys." Luke smiled. "you remembered the dance I asked you to do, right?"

"Of course." said the second brother. "We perfectly remember dance as our sole purpose in life."

"Good." As the curtain opened, there was a sound of applause and cheering. Luke looked at King Imari, who was sitting on a throne, who smiled and winked at him good luck.

Fluttershy, her friends, and Discord smiled and waited anxiously for Luke to perform on his guitar and sing this song.

"Ahem. Hello Eleena. I am here to rock your horns off." Luke announced. "I hope you all enjoy this, and the music. Ready Zeezu brothers?"

"Ready." Said the eland brothers in unison. They sounded very enthusiastic to perform once again, for they really adore their fans in this beautiful and glorious city. 

"Awesome. Alright everyone, prepared to have your mind blown." With a last sudden thought, Luke was thinking if he should really do this, and ultimately, with his mind made up, he decided to play his guitar in a rhythmic tune, and the sound of the tribal drums played.

Rights for the song go to Skinflint



It was so far, so good for Luke, the rhythm in the guitar was a nice tune as usual. Not long after, many eland were enjoying the sound of his music, along with watching the Zeezu brothers dance to the groove.

During the intro, the drums were a nice touch to fit the mood of this.

As he played through the song, it was getting heavier. It was sort of like an Iron Maiden thing where in some songs: they would be changing rhythm in some parts of them.

Much to Luke's amazement and happiness, he was glad to see pretty much all the eland in the audience enjoying the tune he was playing.

"Come, let me hear you scream!" Said Luke.

An uproar of cheering was heard amongst the crowd, and it was going better than he thought it would.

Of course, his friends were the most supportive of this since they were his closest cronies in this world. It didn't surprise him his father was the one most supportive and cheering the loudest for him.

Luke felt his confidence boosting inside of him more in more with every minute he was playing this song.

He was shredding on the guitar solo as usual, and the Zeezu brothers were dancing in a more faster pace than before.

King Imari hinself thought that the lyrics he was hearing were interesting and it sounded like a page-turning story. He even began tapping his right hind-hoof to the. est of this heavy metal tune.

After the song was over, there was silence for a moment, and Luke began to feel very nervous. It was as if there was a freeze in time, stopping all creatures and their movement.

Just then, the sound of heavy applause was heard amongst the whole crowd in front of him.

Luke felt proud of himself once again for performing for his loyal fans, old and new fans alike. The Zeezu brothers went around him and they bowed their heads to the whole crowd to show appreciation for their loving cheers.

"Thank you!" Said Luke. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." He bowed his head to show thanks, and kissed at the whole adoring crowd.

He then saw Fluttershy coming on stage to congratulate him for yet another amazing and awesome performance by his truly.

"That was truly magical." Said the yellow pegasus. "It was like a story that you told through your song."

"Yep. I wanted to amaze the crowd and get them in the right spirit." Said Luke." He looked on at the crowd again, and added: "And it really worked."

"Yoy can say that again." Said Twilight. "They all love you, Luke. You're already gaining quite a reputation in Eleena."

"Indeed he is, princess." Said King Imari. "It was like no other talented performance I have ever seen before in my entire life. I have heard of heavy metal, but I did not know how amazing and musical it really was."

"I thought he did pretty amazing." Said Abioye with his fatherly smile. "Perhaps he can perform another song for us. I love the sound of his guitar."

"Luke! Luke! Luke!" Keke and Nene chanted his name. The other concertgoers  joined the top calves, and Luke was touched that these new fans want to hear him play another song.

It was exactly what he decided to do for all of them, and his friends.

"Come on, Luke." Said Zecora. "Do play for us some more."

"Please. I am really starting to like heavy metal." Okove added.

Luke chuckled again, and he said at last: "alright. Alright. I'll play an encore for you guys. Might as well give my fans what they want." And he looked at the Zeezu brothers. "What do you dancers say? You want to help me with this again?"

"Of course!" Said the third brother. "We certainly love pleasing the crowd like this."

"These are your fans, too." Luke said.

"Yes." Said the first brother. "We can please them all once more. It is always a good idea to give all of them what they want instead of of rejecting their wishes."

"True that." Luke agreed. "Okay. Get in places fellas, we have another performance to do." then the eland brothers cheered and went back in place behind him.

Rights for the Song also go to Skinflint



This song also started our slow, but then, there was a breakdown after the instrumental intro.

All of the Zeezu brothers were dancing in a slow pace and elegantly going "heh! Heh! Heh!" Every few seconds.

This song sounded rather interesting too, for the guitar still sounded heavy to the beat of this.

Not only did the song pick up pace, but the Zeezus began dancing a little more aggressively to the beat, tapping their hooves on the stage, and prancing while moving their legs left and right before hitting the rock.

Another type of dande they did was doing a wave, like where if rhendiest brother jumped, the second would follow after, and so on and so forth for the rest of the dancer.

The solo in this song was also mindblowing doe everyone to listen too, and Spike had the pleasure of shredding his own air guitar to the music.

It suddenly became a little slow again, and the eland brothers were back to their mild dancing, except with their hooves stomping on the stage at their cue.

Everyone couldn't get enough of Luke's amazing guitar playing and aggressive vocals during this performance.

This seemed like a rather long song, and the rest was instrumental, but nonetheless, it was a rather harmonious tune for everyone to hear.

Luke played out in the song a few more times, and after he stopped, he heard the sound of applause and cheering again. He bowed his head again to show his gratitude to all his loving fans.

"Thank you all for your cheers!" Said Luke. "Of course, let's give credit and a shout out to the Zeezu brothers here for helping me."

And the cheering turned to the eland performers for their elegant and graceful dancing

"Thank you guys for helping me out."

"No, thank you, Luke." Said the first brother. "For being kind to entertain all of these eland and our glorious king."

After Luke got down from the stage, he was greeted by his friends, along with the king and Abioye.

"Well. That was a very inspiring performance you have given to all of us." Said Imari. "I am proud of you, Luke."

"Yes. You were good on that guitar of yours." Abioye added.

"See? I told you Luke was an amazing musician." Said Rainbow. "He really knows how to rock."

"It was a performance like no other." Said Okove. "I am really glad you brought Luke here on your visit, Zecora."

"I knew you would all like him." Said Zecora. "He is a very good and valuable friend till the end."

"Luke is one of a kind." Said Spike, flapping his wings in joy. This caused him to hover in the air in excitement. "He's cool, talented, smart."

"Kind." Fluttershy added.

"He is like a guitar wizard." Said Lyra. "He was born to rock."

"Oh. You guys are going to make me blush." Luke said.

"Well, I got it on video, buddy." Said Larry. He pulled out his smartphone, and showed everyone the videos he had captured, and it captured a rather silly side of Luke, but most of it was good. "Look at you, Luke. You're like a real rock star. I bet Ozzy Osbourne would he so proud of you for this."

"I know. I wish Ozzy would have been here to watch me. Well, I don't know about you guys, but I feel like going back to the zebra village."

"You read my mind, Luke." Said Applejack. "I need a break from all this. Nothing against you eland."

"Of course, you are all probably tired and need to have a rest."

"Exactly." Said Bon Bon.

"Come on guys." Said Starlight Glimmer. "Let's go back to the village."

They all said their byes to Imari, his children, and Abioye.

"It was nice meeting all of you." Said Fluttershy."

"Yes, Fluttershy. At hope to see you and the rest of you next time. Feel free to drop by on our beautiful city as you all please." Said Imari.

"And good luck on the rest of your visit in Mama Zebrica." Said Abioye.

Then Luke and his friends went back on the boat back to the village and were more than happy to relax in the guestroom after such an interesting day with a large group if Eland.
> Mangani Madness
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

King Imari and all his eland friends and subjects were certainly a friendly bunch of antelope, and it would make sense since eland are basically the only antelope that can be tamed for their milk and meat in Luke’s homeworld. Just about every one of these eland were really welcoming and Twilight  and her friends may have formed a new alliance with them, along with some zebras, white rhinos, and a bunch of Cape buffalo to do diplomatic missions with.

Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, And the other friends couldn't wait to teach these soon-to-be students at the School of Friendship.

As of now, alike was relaxing at the guesthouse with his friends and father, all of them just coming back from the beautiful and large city of Eleena, feeling tired from all of that sightseeing and walking around the city during the little tour by the king himself.

“So Dad, What do you think of this trip?” Luke asked Larry.

“Yeah. I love this. I mean, the animals are cool, and I like how diverse this place is.” Said the father with a smile before having a sip of his hibiscus tea. “God, i can’t wait to see what we’ll do next.”

“Indeed, Zebrica is very diverse.” Zecora remarked. “One of the most beautiful places in the universe. We’ll just have to wait and see, Larry.”

“Here here, Zecora.” Said Luke’s Father. “This tea is so good. I’m gonna go and get some more.” Meanwhile, Luke was thinking of something else that might be fun to do in this Zebrica adventure for him, and he was thinking of N’dugo, the friendly Mangani creature that he met before, who was one of Zecora’s companions before going to Ponyville.

Could he possibly meet him again, and take a look at the Mangani creatures that he read about in the Tarzan series? It was like Zecora mentioned before: he will just have to wait and see. Luke was a type of human that would let nature “take it’s course” and was a firm believer in this old, trje saying: “Time waits for no one.”

Besides, he has had enough of walking and traveling for one day, for his legs were feeling like jello, or twigs about to snap and cause him to fall on the floor. Luke knew it would never happen, but he thought that if it did, he would have to either have robotic legs, or having inclined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life, and he certainly did not want to be crippled Pie that for the rest of his life.

Fluttershy herself was very happy to be on this trip, from seeing new types of animals to meeting new friendly faces, she was just as happy and intrigued as Luke was. Moreover, the yellow Pegasus was thinking about Angel Bunny and her critter friends back home, wondering if they were okay.

She knew she couldn’t just go and see how they are doing for herself, for she was certainly not a speedy Pegasus like Rainbow Dash is. Still, she was quite happy with this trip and how well it is going for her, and the others she cares about.

“Twilight, do you think there are other dragons here in Zebrica?” Spike Asked her

“Well, I doubt it. Dragons mostly just keep to themselves, even if Ember is the new dragon lord. Who knows? There might be a similar creature out here.”

“I don’t know if I would want to encounter that.” Said a Fluttershy with a small shiver of fear. “My goodness, I don’t want to even think about encountering a dangerous dragon-like monster out here.”

“Come on, Fluttershy.” Said Applejack. “Smolder is a friendly dragon, and so is Ember.”

“True. That’s true.”

“And Luke has his cool lightsaber in case an evil dragon comes and tries to eat us. Luke would skin him alive.” Rainbow Dash remarked.

"Damn right I would." Luke agreed, looking at his laser blade that rested on the nightstand next to him.

"Well despite this heat and humidity that is slightly killing my mane, I think this is turning out rather nicely." Said Rarity. "Although, I feel like I should wear a sun hat next time I go out there."

"Shade is absolutely necessary." Said Okove. "Along with drinking plenty of water out there in the sun."

"You don't have to tell us twice." Said Applejack. "I will need as much water to fill me up."

Meanwhile, Luke was thinking about what other fun things they can do for the reminder of this trip, and he hoped to see more animals when he, his father, and his friends all get the chance.

He can't rush these sort of things, but it was almost like his dream about going to Africa had at last, come true, and he couldn't be happier.

King Zuma came in the room with N'dugo, the Mangani that he met before. "Zecora," he said. "Mangana is here once more and he would like a word with you."

"Thank you father. And do not worry, he will not be a bother."

The gigantic ape smiled and happily set foot in the guestroom while walking on all fours. "I hope I was not intruding, my friends." He said

"Of course not." Said Twilight. "What brings you here?"

"Well, Princess. I thought that since you and your friends are going to stay for just a number of more days, I thought I would tell you all a good place to visit."

"What's that?" Asked Bon Bon.

"The Silverback forest, my home." The Mangani answered boldly. "There are so many wonders in that jungle, many times of animals beyond extraordinary."

Luke and his friends sounded interested in this, but Zecora and her brother thought differently.

"I don't know." Said Zecora. "That is a very generous offer, but we might be unwelcomed guests there, N'dugo."

"Many of those Mangani think badly of us zebras, or lowly or us." Okove added.

"Nonsense. It is a large part of Zebrica." The ape insisted. "My tribe and leader will not even know you are there at all."

Luke stepped up and said: "I think we should go there. The place sounds similar to the Congo rainforest at my homeworld. And I want to see what kind of animals it has in store for me to see."

"Yes. I think we should go, too." Said Fluttershy. "I heard that it has three-eyed Bush babies in the Silverback forest. And unheard that they are so cute!"

"And purple leopards in there. I heard they are fierce and totally awesome." Rainbow added

"The pink crested swan." Rarity added. "I simply love the feathers of that bird, and the three dangling crests from it's head are simply divine and a unique appearance for that beautiful avian."

"And correct me if I'm wrong, but I have read that the gigantic stone lizard lives in that area." Said Applejack. "I've heard about those kind of critters."

"Yeah. They are like the size of a large boulder." Said Fluttershy. "Although, they can roam in other parts of Zebrica."

Applejack made a chuckle, and said: "you know about animals more than I do, Fluttershy."

"Guilty as charged." Said the yellow pegasus

"Alright, alright." Said Zecora with a small laugh. "I suppose we can go into that little area. N'dugo will show us the way. Will you, my old friend?"

"Of course. I know that rainforest better than any other creature." Said the gigantic ape.

"Do be careful out there." Said Zuma. "Sure. A lot of places in Zebrica are dangerous and unpredictable, but in the Silverback forest, it can hide more dangers than you would bargain for.

"Don't worry, father." Said Zecora. "Need I remind you that I am a filly no longer?"

Zuma sighed and said: "I know. I know you are not a little filly anymore, but you're my daughter after all. Okove, please take good care of your sister when you approach there."

"Do not worry, father." Said Okove. "She will he in perfectly good hooves. Besides, she absolutely knows what she is doing."

"Well come along, my cronies." Said N'dugo. And they all followed him out of the castle.

After hitting a regional train, they noticed the fields were becoming greener and greener and they saw a large line of tall trees in a forest. Many if the trees were thick and covered with vines, and many plants were surrounding them.

It had to be the place. "Here we are." Saif the ape.

They all followed him and it was certainly a whole new type of environment. It was like any other rainforest, humid, wet, and tropical.

"Wow. Look at this place." Said Lyra. "It's huge. I mean, look at these trees, it looks bigger than the Everfree forest."

"I hope it's not as deadly or dangerous as Everfree." Luke said. "Okay N'dugo. Lead the way."

The mangani smiled and lead them deep in this jungle. It might turn put to be quite a journey for Luke, his father, and their friends here.
> Luke of the Apes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Silverback forest was really large in this part of Zebrica, humid and hot too. A couple of monkeys were seen in the tall trees, some of them jumping from one tree branch to another, and others eating leaves from the branches. There were species of colobus monkeys, de brazza monkeys, roloway monkeys, and many many more.

Everyone was fascinated by how much monkeys there were in this dense jungle. All of a sudden, a blue monkey appeared dangling from a vine with a curious look on it’s face. It caught everyone by surprise and it tilted it’s head sideways to the left.

“Careful.” Said Zecora. “You should always be cautious around these type of monkeys, no matter if they are happy and cheerful.” The blue monkey dropped down on the ground, and climbed his way up to Applejack. This creature then used his fingers to search her mane.

“Oh, look.” Said Fluttershy. “You made a new friend, Applejack.”

“Heh heh, yeah, I never had a monkey climb on ma back before.”

“What's it doing?” Asked Pinkie Pie.

“It is searching for ticks and insects inside of her mane so it can eat them if there are.” Okove explained. “It’s a rather common sight to see zebras being groomed by some monkeys, along with a monkey’s mates or partners.”

“Oh yes. Many monkeys around Silverback are very friendly and docile creatures. As long as you treat them with respect, they will treat you nicely right back.” Said N’dugo. “Some monkeys even like to hang on our backs and eat ticks from them.”

“It’s like that old saying: you scratch my back, and I scratch yours.” Luke remarked with a sense of deja vu. “Literally and figuratively.”

The Mangani let out a chuckle, and said: “Yes! Exactly like that. What you said is a perfect example of how we live together as one.”

Just then, the monkey leaped on Rarity now, and searches her mane for any ticks or insects. “Oh Celestia.” She Said. Rarity wasn’t really liking that kind of feeling like Applejack was before, and she thought it felt so wrong to her. “Not my beautiful mane.”

“He’s just doing his job, Rarity.” Said Larry.

Discord then conjured a camera on himself, and took a picture of Rarity’s misfortunes and suffering. “Ha! This will make a terrific Hearths Warming card!”

“Discord, it’s not nice to take a picture of Rarity like that.” Said Pinkie.

“No no.” Said Luke. “Let him have it. It! kinda fun that way.” And they all laughed at him, ans Rarity Of course. This blue monkey jumped on another vine and crawled back to the tall trees. Everyone continued onward for anything cool and interesting to find.

For Rarity, she was using a hairbrush to stroke her mane off of what she called: “Monkey germs” from it despite that, she was trying her ebst to keep it cool for the rest of the trip, only for her friends, even though adisford got a picture of her little misfortune back there. Inside, she was wishing she brought a sun hate.

“Whoo-wee.” Said Twilight. “It’s so... humid in this place.”

“It is a rainforest.” Said Fluttershy.

“Yeah.” Lyra added. “It’s like being in a steam room walking in a place like this, Twilight. It won’t be long before we sweat like an apple pie coming out of the oven.”

"Don't let that get you down, everypony." Said Pinkie Pie. "We can still have fun in this jungle."

"I'm with her." Said Bon Bon. "So what if it's a little... sticky out here? Doesn't mean we can't enjoy this."

"That's the kind of talk I wanted to hear." Said Luke. "Lead on, N'dugo.

"Of course."

While walking a few hundred yards, Luke noticed something moving and rustling in the bushes.

Everyone was being cautious, and Luke was ready to pull the lightsaber out to scare whatever it was away.

It was quiet for a moment, except for the many sounds of different birds chirping, and then, something appeared from out of the bushes.

It was a large baboon with a colorful face, and a short tail, and it had a colorful butt on it's hindquarters. Luke recognized what this monkey was. "Oh wow." He muttered. "A mandrill."

The gigantic monkey just looked at the group, and smelled the air for an unknown reason. Then, it showed his sharp canines and teeth. It looked like it was going to attack them, but it was just yawning.

"Aww. Look at it." Said Fluttershy. 

"My, what a colorful face it has." Rarity said.

"What's it called?" Asked Twilight.

"A mandril. These are the largest monkeys to exist in my world."

"Right you are, Luke." Said Okove. "This is indeed a mandrill. Rather passive type of monkey, despite their intimidating appearance."

"I wouldn't really call them intimidating unless you count those teeth in their mouths." said Rainbow Dash. "And it kinds looks like a dog."

"Yeah, the face does." Lyra greed. "Just look at the size of that guy."

The mandrill then made a somewhat intimidating look on his face, showing his teeth, looking quite fierce. It made the others quite concerned. "N'dugo stepped up and tried to have a conversation with it. He made sounds of grunting and low growling at the world's largest monkey. The baboon-like monkey made an ear-piercing screeching sound to start off, and then it made sounds like: "ooh ooh ah ah aaaaah." and other types of monkey sounds.

Luke and the others couldn't quite tell what they were saying to one another, except for Fluttershy, who kept that adorable smile on her face. It was thanks to her that it would make things easier for getting around dangerous animals. That, and her infamous stare on any animal if needed.

As the conversation continued, it sounded a little loud, like there was going to be a violent grudge match against these two primates. Luke prepared for the worst and gripped on the handle of his lightsaber, and prepare for the worst if all else fails. After a few more yelling and ranting against one another, N'dugo and the Mandrill settled down, and the Mandrill became very calm.

"What were they saying?" Applejack murmured to Fluttershy.

"The mandrill only wanted to know why we came all the way to this part of the rain-forest. I think we were walking into his territory, and he wanted to know why we were here."

"That would make sense. Mandrills can be territorial." said Luke. "Especially when it's mating season for them.:

All if a sudden, the gigantic monkey ran up to Luke, and climbed on his back, perching on his right shoulder.

"Oh god." He muttered in irritation. The weight was so much to take in for the young human, and everyone couldn't help but laugh at that.

It was almost like a barbell was trying to crush his spine from trying to work out in the gym lifting weights 

The young monkey looked around at his surroundings, and then to Fluttershy.

The sound of a camera taking a picture was heard, and it was Larry, who couldn't help but get a picture of the funny situation his own son was dealing with right now.

"Do Mandrills get along okay with you Mangani?" Asker Discord

"Of course. We respect one another, and were are both primates after all." Said N'dugo. "If you would have all came here without me, these monkeys would have killed you and eat you for his dinner."

"Wait, those monkeys can eat us?" Said Pinkie Pie in confusion.

"They could if they wanted to." Said Zecora. "Baboons, the Mandrill, and the Drill are all omnivores possessing sharp canines to go with their dog-like faces."

"Drill?" Asked Rainbow Dash.

"It's a cousin of the mandrill, but it's way less colorful, and a little smaller than their bigger counterpart." Luke remarked.

All of a sudden, a dozen more madrills appeared from out of the bushes and looked at the visitors. Most of the. were females and babies.

"Aww. Look at those baby baboons." Said Fluttershy. She couldn't help but gently pet the mandrill down his back, and the large Monkey was obviously liking it. "He must be the alpha Male of this movement."

"It's always the biggest ones that are alpha." Said Twilight. "This is amazing. I never thought we would get to see mandrills this close up."

"You certainly have an impressive gift with animals, Fluttershy." Said N'dugo

"It's her special talent." said Lyra. "Fluttershy is one with animals."

All of a sudden, the baboon leaped off of Luke, and he went back to his little family of mandrills. He videotaped the others farewell, and he went off deep into the woods.

This little tour continued, and they were seeing more cool animals and creatures along the way. 

One thing that caught Spike's eye was a large millipede crawling on a large rock, and he got a look at it. This insect was as long as his arms, and he tried picking it up with his left arm.

"Wow. You're a beauty." Said the baby dragon. The small legs the insect had tickled his skin like a brush, and the millipede was crawling all around his body.

"Oh Spike." Twilight chuckled. "You made another friend."

"Ah, a millipede." Said Okove with an amused look on his face. "These little creatures are harmless, and a common sight to see in Zebrica. Especially where there are large rocks, boulders, or caves."

Applejack looked at the little critter a little closer and thought of how intriguing it was. "You're quite a small little critter, aren't ya?" She said to the millipede.

Rarity gave a disgusted look, for she was not very fund of insects at all, even sticking her tongue out going: "Ugh!"

"Come on, Rarity." Spike said. "He's a cute little guy. He won't bite."

"No thank you, sweetie." Rarity replied. "I do not want to have a millipede crawling on my fur, disgusting little creatures."

"Don't listen to her, Spike." Said Fluttershy. "I think it is so adorable."

After a little while, Spike gently put the millipede back on the rock and they continued onward deeper into this jungle.

It was a long walk, and they decided to take a little breather by looking for a place to relax for a little while.

Drinking water was certainly a good option for going through this hot, humid piece of land.

Spike sat in front of a round piece of rock that looked gigantic, about the same height as Luke. Sighing, a reptilian face appeared in front of Spike from the right side. It had green eyes, a wide mouth, and it's face looked similar to a bearded dragon, then it blinked at him two times.

"Ah!" The baby dragon made a small yell and backed away to Twilight for protection from this large creature.

"Do not worry, Spike." Said Starlight Glimmer with a chuckle. "I don't think this guy will hurt you."

"This is a rock lizard." Said Zecora. "These reptiles are large and passive creatures."

The gigantic animal slowly got up, and it made a yawn opening his mouth horribly wide. This creature had a gray-green color on it's scales and skin. It slowly walked in front of Spike, and sniffed him.

Before he could think any further, Spike felt his face being licked by the rock lizard's slimy, warm tongue.

Everyone couldn't help but laugh at what just happened to him.

"Eww." Said Spike in disgust. "I'm gonna smell like lizard slobber."

"It wasn't that bad, Spike." Said twilight. "I thought that was cute."

As usual, Fluttershy thought it was adorable like the other animals she and the others have seen during their walk.

Luke couldn't help but try and touch the gigantic lizard, and it's scales felt rather soft, despite being called a rock lizard . Still, it was a very extraordinary animal to encounter on this fine day.

Then the creature slowly went off. This lizard had a sluggish movement, but it made sense since this was a large animal.

Going down further and further in these humid woods, they all saw a large family of gorillas. Luke and a few of his friends knew they weren't Mangani, for these gorillas were way smaller than Mangani.

It was a rather extraordinary sight, and the others kept their distance from the gorillas so they wouldn't intrude.

Walking around these majestic aids, Like couldn't help but ask N'dugo: "Do you Mangani and gorillas make nice?"

"It's... a matter of debate." Said the gigantic ape. "We tend to have our disagreements, but we learned to get past them for the sake of our tribes and interests."

"Good. The last thing i want is to see a bloodbath between you guys." Said Rainbow Dash.

"There are usually never any bloodbaths." N'dugo reassured. "Most of my tribe are smarter than that."

"And what about your leader?" Asked Twilight.

"Oh ho ho. Our leader: Sogozi, is the most stubborn ape i have ever met before. He can be prideful and brag about his strength."

"What can we expect of him?" Asked Fluttershy 

"Well... let me do the talking for now." The ape replied. "It is best if I was the one to speak first."

All of a sudden, a bunch of other Mangani appeared from above the group, landing on the ground with a loud thud. 

These brutes looked more fearsome and intimidating than N'dugo, looking fierce and angry. These apes didn't have any weapons on them, but the hands and strength on their side.

About six of these apes surrounded the group, prompting Luke and his father to pull out their weapons.

N'dugo stopped them: "no!" He said. "I know these apes."

Just then, a black Mangani appeared from behind of the the lighter Mangani, and he looked more terrifying than the others.

"N'dugo." He said flatly in a low voice. "You have a lot of nerve bringing these creatures here in our homeland."

"Sogozi," said N'dugo. "These friends of mine mean us no harm."

And the leader looked at the group, then let out a loud breathing from his nose. "What business have you all here?" He asked

"Our business is none of yours!" Said Rainbow Dash defensively.

"Rainbow, don't!" Said Fluttershy

"Pfft. I ain't scared of these guys."

Sogozi then let out a loud, monstrous roar right in her face. The force was powerful enough to make Rainbow's mane fly backward like strong wind pulling it back.

Poor Rainbow Dash was so terrified of that roar and her eyes widened in fear. 

"You were saying?" Said the alpha Mangani with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah.... I stand corrected." Said Rainbow Dash, staying away from Sogozi. A lesson she learned from this was to not make a dangerous and powerful Mangani angry.

"Please, sir." Said Luke. "We don't want any trouble. All we wanted was to explore this place."

"Luke, please." N'dugo muttered. "I'll do the talking."

"Is that so, ape?"

"I'm no ape. I'm a human."

"Well, you will come with us." Said the chief. He looked down to see Zecora and gave her a bitter look. "Zecora." He said coldly.

"Sogozi." The female zebra replied in the same tone.

"We want to see what you all really are." 

And they all followed the leader of these apes as their possible prisoners.
> Sporting Chance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deep through the Silverback Forest, Luke, his father, and their friends were walking with the group of other Mangani, and their leader: Sogozi. this gigantic ape looked absolutely terrifying in some of his friends eyes. They had all the more the reason for doing so, because; this Mangani looked so tough, and he meant business.

Remember reading Tarzan, Luke hoped that this ape was not an aggressive tyrant or monster like Kerchak was. He can only hope that Sogozi was a reasonable leader like Imari, Zuma, Dakari, and Babatunde.

"How far is your home?" Luke couldn't help but ask.

"Not far now." Replied one of the Mangani soldiers.

"Anything you can tell me about your home?" Rainbow murmured to N'dugo's right ear.

"Our town of Kerchak is a beautiful place, and we are an intriguing civilization."

"Oh quiet you." Said Sogozi. "If you all must know, our wonderful city of Kerchak is a beauty of this very jungle. We normally do not get a lot of visitors here, and normally when we do, it would mostly be gorillas, chimpanzees, baboons, and our... lower cousins."

"What do you have against zebras?" Asked Applejack. 

"I do not have anything against zebras. I tolerate zebras as much as any other Mangani beyond these many trees."

"Then why did you capture us like this as if we were prisoners?" Asked Larry. "We mean you no harm."

"I will decide whether me and my people can trust you or not." Sogozi then gave N'dugo the skunk eye. "As for you, N'dugo, who are these colorful zebras you have brought to Zebrica?"

"Hey! We're not zebras, we're ponies!" Pinkie exclaimed defensively.

"Calm down, Pinkie." Said Twilight. "I'm princess Twilight Sparkle from Ponyville."

"Ponies, hmm?" Said Sogozi in a mildly surprised look on his face. "I have heard about that peculiar type of creature, but I have never seen on in the flesh, until now."

The Mangani all stopped on a small hill, and Luke looked down to see an intriguing little village.

"Behold, Kerchak." Said Sogozi. "The capital of this very jungle."

The others were quite impressed by how this town looked in their eyes. The buildings almost looked at identical as the modern buildings looked like back home in Luke's world.

For Luke, he was very intrigued by how these apes lived in this human-like lifestyle. Yet again, he thought, this is a totally different world.

Every building was made of rock or stone, with twigs and bamboo as the rooftops for many. Many more Mangani were walking down the muddy sidewalks, and a there was a mother ape cleaning her son by feeding ticks or parasites off his head.

Honestly, the Mane Six, Starlight Glimmer, Lyra, and Bon Bon have never seen anything like this before. 

"Sweet Celestia." Said Rarity in complete and utter fascination. "This is absolutely marvelous. And I simply adore how they chose fashion, especially the leaves as drapes."

"Like I have mentioned before, Rarity." Said N'dugo. "We are a proud and intelligent race."

"Hmph, too had you lost your pride when you chose to live among the zebras and their lifestyle." Sogozi said begrudgingly. "Now keep moving!"

Applejack suddenly felt herself pushed from behind, and let out a loud grunt of slight pain. She looked back at the brute with a nasty glare on her face. Applejack did not like to be pushed like that at all.

Despite that, they all kept moving and when they walked through the city streets, many Mangani began to stare at Luke and all his friends.

Luke was hearing murmuring amongst some of these apes. He had good hearing and he was listening to some conversations about N'dugo coming back to this place. Most of them weren't very friendly or nice, saying bad things about this ape behind his back.

For all he and his friends knew, things might take a turn for the worse for them. Maybe if all else fails, he looked at his lightsaber again, and knew what to do. 

"Hey, Fluttershy," Twilight whispered in the yellow pegasus' right ear. "Do you think you can do the stare on this guys?"

"No. Let's not ge too rash, Twilight." Fluttershy replied.

They all walked up to a stone palace to the north of Kerchak, and Sogozi stopped, then he turned around, facing everyone. "Now, why are you all here?" He asked with his eyes narrowed.

"My friends here just wanted to visit the Silverback Forest, that is all." N'dugo explained to the leader.

"He's telling the truth, my liege." Said Rarity. "Or, how do we formally address you?"

"Just call me Sogozi, little pony." Turning back to N'dugo, she he said: "and why would you even show up back here after all you did?"

"I was showing my old friend a 'welcome back' gift by showing her my own home."

Sogozi didn't say anything at first, but he replied: "I see. But you know how I feel about you fraternizing with these zebras."

"There are more to us zebras that meet the eye." Zecora stepped up in a defensive voice. "I see that you Mangani refuse to leave your home and visit the outside world, so worried that you will die."

Some of the other apes made menacing growls in offense. "We are not afraid!" Said a Male Mangani.

"We are the ultimate creatures if Zebrica, you petulant zebra!" Shouted a female.

"Indeed." Said Sogozi in a calm voice. "I do not understand why this land is called Zebrica when we should be the dominant species over these lands. It should be called Mangania instead."

"Mangania?" Said Starlight Glimmer. "That is completely ridiculous! Zebras are an intriguing type of creature."

"Yeah! Don't even call them stupid, or weak, or feeble!" Lyra added.

The leader of the Mangani began growling and baring his sharp teeth once more. "How dare you even backtalk to me? You are all weak compared to us." He looked at Fluttershy. "Especially you, little one."

Fluttershy pointed to herself, and asked: "you mean me?"

"Yes, you. You couldn't even survive out there in the world even if you wanted to. You are weak, and worthless. You have no claws, no sharp teeth, no killer attitude."

Fluttershy was hurt by those words, and Luke couldn't help but stand up for her. "Fluttershy is not weak, you stupid son of a bitch!"

"Luke, don't!" Said Larry. "We can't let you come to a fight with him."

"You will get killed!" Discord said. "The last thing I want is for one of my friends to get mutilated to a million tiny pieces of minced meat."

"No. No one ever talks that way to a sweet pony like Fluttershy. She is the exact opposite of weak! She has a heart of pure gold, and an awesome, fierce friend."

Sogozi was surprised a creature a little shorter than him would stand up to him like this.

"Fluttershy is one of the greatest ponies I have ever met in my life, and she always comes around when we need her!"

The yellow pegasus was truly touched by Luke's kind words, and she smiled. "Oh, thank you. Luke. You are really a good friend."

Sogozi then had an angry look on his face, and said: "You dare to talk down upon me, human? The chief of the Mangani?"

"Someone had to." Said Luke. "No one talks badly about my friends. You can trash talk about me, but when you try and hurt my own friends, that's when you really piss me off!"

"The impudence!" Sogozi roared in fury. "Never in my entire life has anyone insult me like this!"

"Well then count this as the first time!"

Sogozi then took a small breath to calm himself down, and he said in a more mellow type of voice: "I do commend you for standing your ground against me like that. Someone with a sporting chance."

Luke then ignited his lightsaber again, spooking the other Mangani nearby. "So unless you want me to spice you in half, you better watch what you say about my friends! Got it?"

"Heh heh. I really like a creature with a strong will such as your own. But, why don't we try putting it to the test?"

"Test?"

"A match, wrestling match."

"Wrestling? Oh my gosh." Said Spike.

"Luke, this is crazy!" Said Lyra, feeling like panicking. "You can't wrestle him!"

"If anything had happens to you like this, your mom will kill me!" Larry reminded.

Luke didn't say anything, but he said: "fine."

Everyone gasped hearing what Luke just said.

"Good, good. However, no swords, no spears, or magical weapons such as yours." Sogozi warned.

"Fine."

"At the outskirts of town in exactly fifteen minutes." Sogozi said

Luke promptly stood up, and shook his right hand. "Deal."

Fluttershy completely fainted seeing what she thinks she is. Boy things did bot look good, and Luke might get himself killed if he actually does this.
> An Act So Certifiable
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke was getting ready for his big match with Sogozi, the leader of these Mangani primates, and he was wearing nothing but a wide cloth around his waists. He was feeling more nervous than he ever was in his entire life, but he wanted to Defend Fluttershy's honor.

After he was done, he had a stern look on his face, looking at Sogozi preparing himself with his match against him. 

Boy, did that ape look as tough as a full-grown square-lipped rhino, but Luke knows that if he gets severely injured or maimed, his father and close friends would sustain his injuries and cuts.

Just then, Fluttershy, Twilight, Spike, and the others came up to him. "Luke, you can't do this." Said Twilight. "That monster will kill you."

"He looks so terrifying." Said Rainbow. "You know he's waaaaay stronger than you, don't ya?"

"Yes, I know." Luke said. "But no one hurts my friend's feelings and gets away with it."

Fluttershy stepped up to him with a begging look on her face, and she said: "please, Luke. I know you just want to help me, but you don't have to do this."

"It's not just about that." The young human sighed. "It's about what the Mangani think about the zebras and other creatures other than themselves."

"We understand what you mean, buddy." Larry remarked. "But, if you got seriously injured from this, your mom will bury me alive and dance on my grave."

"You're father speaks wisely." Said Zecora. "Taking on a full-grown Mangani would be suicide, so just pleaseisten to us and throw this aside."

Luke was silent, but he ultimately said: "I will do this, and no one is going to stop me from doing so."

He then walked out of them, and cracked his knuckles to show how tough he was with the Mangali leader. The beast didn't look scared, he just stood there looking tough with a blank look on his face.

Luke just glared at the brute from a distance. 

"You will need my help, Luke." Said N'dugo. "At least in a tag-team."

"Thanks, but I need to do this alone, N'dugo."

"Are you sure there's no talking you out of this?" 

"I'm sure of it, Lyra."

Then the match was about to begin. Many Mangani gathered around the arena to watch the upcoming fight. 

Luke felt more nervous about to take on the Mangani by himself, but be kept his cool the whole time.

The sound of heavy tribal drums were heard, and some of these primates began making gorilla sounds. Twilight, and the others looked so worried and scared about what will happen next, and Fluttershy just felt like fainting.

The human and the chief Mangani slowly circled around one another. "You do not have to do this, little one."

"Yes I do. You mess with my friends, and you mess with me."

"I see. Prepare yourself."

It was silent for a moment, but then, Sogozi jumped a great height in the air, and his teeth was showing.

Luke then made a jump himself, and readied a punch. He hit the center of the chief's face, but it had almost little affect.

Sogozi made a small grunt of pain, gritting his teeth. The human began punching him in the stomach multiple times over and over again.

Despite his good effort, this guy was strong and powerful, and threw Luke against a tree, almost knocking him out cold.

Luke's father and friends gasped in horror.

"Don't worry Luke, we'll help you!" Fluttershy was about to step up and help him with this fight, but he was stopped by N'dugo with his meaty arm.

"No!" Said the ape. "This is Luke's battle."

"Ohh, I can't watch."

Luke immediately got back on his feet, and wiped his face with his left arm. "Not bad, but I suffered worse pain."

"Hmm, you are brave challenging me." Said Sogozi. "I do commend you for your bravery."

"You can't break me that easily." Luke replied. He charged at Sogozi with a yell and in a fast run, and he was rolling around the ground with him into the bushes.

The chief punched Luke in the left side of his face, making his vision a little blurry, but he quickly recovered and gave Sogozu and uppercut with his legs together.

It was getting more fierce so the battle went on. Luke was dodging as much swings from the ape's arm, and he climbed on Sogozi's back, then hit the top of his head with his left elbow, causing a mild concussion on the chief's head, making him fall on his back.

"How do you like that?" Luke said.

"Ugh. Really clever, but you will have to be more clever than that." Then the human found himself being flipped by Sogozi with his two arms, landing flat on his back.

There was a loud sound of cheering and grunts from the Mangani around him.

Sogozi looked on at his subjects, and pounded his chest with his fist like a gorilla would do.

Luke quietly got back up and picked up a large branch, and hit Sogozi from behind his head with it.

The chief staggered forward a few steps and tried to hit Luke with his right arm with a punch, but the human was fast, and slid under him in between the ape's legs, then he was behind Sogozi

Releasing a powerful kick to his groin, Luke landed an elbow dive on the ape's back, making him yell some more, and he was punching his face left and ride a dozen times.

"Yeah Luke!" Said Rainbow Dash, cheering on for his bravery and cleverness.

Sogozi then kicked Luke in the chest with his right leg, and the human tumbled backwards in a reverse somersault. Spitting out a few drops of dirt from his mouth, Luke got back up, and found himself pounded in the face three times, but he dodged the fourth punch, and swiped his left arm with his right leg.

Without hesitation, the Mangani began charging at him on all fours, going in an incredibly fast speed, but Luke side-stepped at the last minute he was about to touch him like a bull.

Picking up the same large branch he had before, he hit Sogozi on his back, making the branch snap like a twig would do if broken.

Applejack, Fluttershy, Spike, Discord, Okove, and their friends and family were surprised at seeing how well Luke was doing in this fight.

Larry was so proud at Luke for going out like this for this long, and smiled. "Well done, Luke." He muttered to himself.

Luke charged at Sogozi again, and the ape was grabbing his small hands with his big black ones. They were both rolling around in the dirt like a loose wheel going down the road.

The leader of these apes eventually triumphed over this with his brute strength, and held Luke down on the ground.

He was about to poud him with his fists like a chef beating down a dough of pizza, but Luke bit Sogozi's right hand to break free, making him grunt in pain.

Before the ape could pound him into dust, Luke got behind him, and wrapped his arms around the brute's neck, trying to choke him, and it was like riding on a bull a little for Sogozi was roaring and trying to throw him off.

Despite the leader's best efforts, Like held on tightly like a collar around a dog's neck. "You are a persistent little human, aren't you?" Said Sogozi.

"Ask anyone!" Like replied, still holding on tight. "I mean it when I say: no one hurts Fluttershy emotionally, or physically!"

Just then, after holding on for five minutes, Sogozi suddenly slammed him on the ground with a loud thud, right on his back.

Luke's vision turned black for a moment. And then he was picked up by the leader's  left arm.

He felt himself in a headlock, and felt his torso being grabbed by the ape's right arm.

Trying so hard to break free, Luke knew he couldn't break free from this beast.

"Kogoda?" Asked Sogozi.

That word hit Luke, and he has heard it from the Tarzan novel. "Surrender." Was the meaning of that word the leader just asked him.

He was running out of energy in himself. This fight was making him exhausted in every second this fight continued 

Of course, Luke knew that this wasn't how he wanted to spend this cool vacation, but he wanted to defend his friend's honor, the very first friend he ever made in this world.

At last, left with no other option, he ultimately said: "Kogoda." Then the weight behind him came off instantly. Panting, and grunting in soreness, Luke was actually feeling glad he threw in the towel like that.

Fluttershy, his father,Pinkie Pie, Zecora, and the others came to Luke's aid to see if he was alright. 

"Oh Luke. Are you okay?" Asked Fluttershy.

"Ah! Be gentle." The young human grunted. "I'm fine. Just a little sore." Larry carried him by his right side. Hanging on to his son. "I did it for you, Fluttershy."

"Oh, Luke." Twilight sighed. "I know you meant well."

"I hope you know how lucky you are to survive this." Said Lyra. "But, I'm just glad you're okay."

"And, I do commend you for taking on the chief of the Mangani in a fisticuffs like that." Aaid Discord. "Though, I was sure you were going to win."

The ponies just looked at him telling him: "really?"

"Okay, I had my doubts." The Master of chaos admitted. "But, with all to respect, you fought pretty well against him."

"Indeed. You had wits and quick thinking right on your side." Said Okove. "And Lyra speaks the truth when she says that you are quite lucky to survive a fight with Sogozi himself."

"Not even a lot of Mangani who challenged him were... not so fortunate." Said N'dugo.

"Oh you poor thing." Said Rarity. "We better bandage you back to health."

They all looked at the chief Mangani, who looked a little tired himself, gently clasping his throat.

Fluttershy immediately got angry, and a grat range built up inside of her. She rushed up to Sogozi, gritting her teeth, growling like an angry lion.

"You should be ashamed of yourself!" She said in rage. Sogozi felt surprised being scolded and yelled at like that. "You nearly killed my friend in your fight!"

Sogozi didn't say anything back to her, he just kept panting of exhaustion.

"Luke is my best friend, and no one tries to kill him and get away with it! You have gone too far, and now, you are going to have to deal with me!"

The adorable yellow pegasus closed her face around Sogozi's ape-like face. The ape never looked so scared in all Jo's entire life. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and her other friends looked surprised that she was yelling at this ale like that (even though she has done the same thing to s large, red dragon before.)

It didn't take long, but Applejack stepped up to the gigantic ape as well. "Y'all are a no-good varmint! I should kick in the unmentionables right now!"

"Now now, ponies." Said Sogozi

"Guys, ah!" Luke grunted in mild pain once more. "He won fair and square. I- I'm sorry if I did this in the first place."

"Easy, Luke." Said Spike. "You're hurt. Wouldn't wanna make your pain worse."

"I'll be okay, Spike."

"Are your bones broken? Asked the baby dragon.

"Honestly i.... don't know." Said Luke. "My legs don't feel broken. Just sore."

"Well," said Sogozi. "I have to admit this from myself. You fought well, Luke." He felt a small pain around his chest. "You were rather brave fighting me like this."

"You could have killed me, you know?"

"I wouldn't have actually killed you, child."  The ape admitted. He then spat out a tooth from his mouth, covered in blood.

"Ha! You lost a tooth!" Rainbow taunted.

"I thought you said the other Mangani weren't lucky when they fought your leader?"

"that was different." Said N'dugo. "Those were when they challenged him for power."

"Yes. And you did not want leadership." Sogozi added. "Besides. I knew you would not last a whole thirty minutes against me anyway."

"Actually, he lasted about... twenty-three minutes against you." Said Pinkie Pie. "And thirteen seconds!"

"Bring in a medical group." The chief ordered.

Just then a group of paramedic apes came and say Luke on an ambulance bed.

"Ow! Not so hard!" And he looked at Sogozi. "I don't get it. Why help me out like this?"

"Because." Saof the chief. "You have courage in yourself, boy. And we Mangani have a code: always admire the bravery in all creatures."

"Unless they perform evil deeds in hubris." N'dugo added.

"Alright." Then they rushed Luke to a medical hospital. After a while, he rested on the bed, and an x-ray was scanning over his body.

He didn't look broken at all, but he had some bruises on him. And some sores. "Goodness Luke, I'm just glad you're okay." Said Fluttershy. Then she gently hugged his left side

"I'm sorry, you guys." And he looked at his father. "I understand if you're disappointed in me, dad."

Larry looked a little disappointed in him at first, but he ultimately smiled proudly. "I'm just glad you're okay. Luke." And he patted his right leg. "Besides. You four real well out there, and hard too. I'm proud of you, my son."

"Yeah, you should have seen yourself when you were fighting him." Said Rainbow Dash. "You didn't back down no matter how strong you were."

"And you were very brave against Sogozi." Said Bon Bon.

"Although it was stupid of you to do that, but still, you pulled through." Lyra added.

"Thanks guys." Said Luke. Then he was given a watermelon juice r next to him, and when he drank it, he thought it tasted so delicious. It felt nice for him to be given a beverage like this.

"And, I suppose I may have misjudged zebras." Sogozi admitted. "Perhaps there is more than meets the eye." And he looked at Zecora. "I welcome you back to my home, Zecora."

"Thank you." The female zebra went up to the young human and said to him: "it is a good thing you are alright, Luke. Either you are very strong and capable, or this was a fluke."

"I wonder if it was Lady Luck on my side or something else. Maybe even god has actually given me strength to fight him."

"Whoever that god might be, he made the right decision to protect you and your body."

"You can say that again." Luke agreed with her. "Anyway, is there anything else you can tell me about the city of Kerchak, chief?"

"There are so many things to tell you about." Said Sogozi. "For instance, we have been here since thousands of years."

"Really?"

"Yes. We started out as a typical village. But then, we progressed our society over the centuries. It was a long struggle through time, but we managed to be the dominant species of these rainforests."

"Wow. Fascinating." Said Twilight, writing down facts about the Mangani in a book called: "Mangani, Super Apes" on it.

"Why so secretive?" Asked Rarity curiously.

"It is not that we want to be secretive." Said a doctor. "It is only that: we are a little afraid of the outside world."

"We worry that we will abandon our old traditions if we do too much contact with the other creatures that inhabit Zebrica, the eland, kudu, zebras, and others."

"Even though you tend to- ah! Socialize with gorillas?"

"That's different." Said Sogozi. "Gorillas are... lesser beings than us. We do have our differences, mind you."

"Well, there's nothing wrong with the other creatures in or out of Silverback forest." Said Starlight Glimmer. "Who knows? You and maybe rhinos or zebras might have some things you have in common."

"Such as?" Asked the nurse.

Starlight was thinking in her head, and she ultimately said: "you have a love for music, and love to dance and sing songs."

"that is true. We always sing and dance to praise to the gods above."

"Akut, the god of fatherhood, and Wiifala, the goddess of peace, all of those deities always protect us." Said N'dugo. "We would always perform dances and songs to appease them."

"Oh, you see?" Said Starlight. "You might have some stuff in common."

Sogozi had a thinking face on him, and he ultimately replied: "we will talk about this some more."

"So, how is he, doctor?" Asked Fluttershy.

"He will be just fine. He only had a few scrapes on Jo's back, and bruising around his arms, but he will most certainly live and sustain from his injuries."

The yellow pegasus signed in big relief. "Oh, thank goodness. Can you walk, Luke?"

"Yeah. I can walk."

The human slowly got back up, grunting in a light pain, but he was pulling through  with this."

"Oh, That's my boy." Said Larry. "Always tough like his grandpa was."

"So, can I have some more watermelon juice?"

"Of course."

As the doctor went to give Luke a refill in his drink, Twilight asked the chief. "Can we see the rest of your town, sir?"

"Well.... because you are a princess," said Sogozi. "We will give you a little tour of Kerchak."

"Don't do it without me." Luke said

"We won't." Said Fluttershy.

"So tell me human, where are you from?"

"It's  a really long story, sir." Luke replied.

"I see. We will talk on our little walk."

"Good idea."
> No Hard Feelings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Poor Luke was still feeling a little sore from that little fight with Sogozi back there, but be was sure as hell glad none of his bones are broken. It was like he said to his friends before: he got lucky in this match against a gigantic, powerful Mangani like Sogozi.

He slowly got up and got himself a root beer from his father's cooler, and it was still cold.

"Man, That's the last time I ever try to do a hand-to-hand combat challenge with someone like him." He remarked before taking the first sip of his can.

He, along with his friends were back in the village that Zecora grew up in, and Fluttershy was there to make sure he was alright.

"Oh dear." She muttered. "Does your side still hurt?"

"Not so much." Luke replied. "I can still walk around and get up. Like I said, I suffered worse pain. Ah, but I think my left arm is a little disfigured."

"Don't you worry. I'll fix that." The yellow pegasus volunteered herself. She gently readied her arms.

"Thanks, Fluttershy. I can always count on you to be as gentle as-" just then, the yellow pegasus relocated his arm like a mechanic fixing a bolt with a wrench. A loud crunch was heard across the guestroom.

"Ah! Ow." Luke grunted in pain. "Jesus, that hurt."

"I'm so so sorry, Luke." Said Fluttershy 

"Nah. It's alright." Luke said tending his left arm. "I needed it actually. He moved his arm in front of him, and wagged his fingers around a little bit, and it no longer felt dislocated.

"Good. I never mean to hurt you."

Luke smiled at her.

"Here," Larry gave him a bag of ice for his left arm. "Here's this in case if it hurts some more, buddy."

"Thanks dad."

"We're just glad you're okay." Said Twilight. "... mostly okay anyway."

"Yeah. I know, I could have been killed out there against Sogozi."

"But still," said Fluttershy. "That was a very nice thing you did for me. Defending my honor like that."

"Well, now that this is all taken care of, what should we all do in Zebrica next?" Asked Zecora curiously. "We can go look at the silver rock spires, or the te burnt woods where there was a terrible event of fires."

"A terrible fire?" Asked Applejack. "What happened?"

"It is a really interesting story." Said Okove. "Thousands of years ago, there was a terrible war between two tribes. One was a tribe of Bongo antelopes called the Sana tribe, and another tribe which consisted of lesser kudu called the Pongo tribe."

"These tribes hated each other so much it was difficult for them to come to any agreement. Even in defense of their own interests." Zecora added.

"Wow. That must have been ugly." Starlight remarked. "How did the forest get razed in flames?"

"Well, two lovers, who are on the opposite sides couldn't stand the fighting. It was a princess from the Pongos and a prince from the Sana, whose names are unknown even to this day. At last one day in the fighting, they could stand it no longer." Okove continued. "They both decided to wipe out the conflict by ending the woods that is now the razed dead lands many of us zebras know today."

"Whoa. That is a total drama bomb there." Said Rainbow Dash. "Nothing lives in that area anymore?"

"Not a trace of life in that piece of land." Said Zecora. "But it is still quite a sight to see for a zebra, pony, and even man."

Luke had a thinking look on his face, and said: "those both sound like a lot of fun to go to. I don't know which one to go first."

"Are you sure, Zecora?" Asked Lyra. "Luke still looks a little hurt."

"Come on guys. I'll be okay." Luke said before taking another sip of his drink. "Besides. We still only have a few more days until I get back to Equetria."

"I, for one," said Discord. "Think we should  do some more sightseeing on the landscape and animals that inhabit this diverse continent."

"And who know what animal we'll all encounter next?" Fluttershy concurred with him. "We could see more lions or leopards or Rainbow Goliath frogs out there."

"Maybe Spike can be with those frogs who befriended him and make him their king." Rainbow said teasingly.

The others couldn't help but laugh over what she said.

"Ha ha, very funny." Spike muttered sarcastically in a small frown.

"Ah. Come on, Spike. I'm just joking. Come on, smile." She gently patted his right arm playfully. "Come on, laugh."

"Okay, okay." Spike admitted with a smirk. "That's kind funny." And he rubbed the back of his head in a bashful fashion.

"Are there any deserts or mountains here in Zebrica?" Luke asked.

"Oh yes. The dunes of the Stripess Desert can be perilous and scorching. Scorpions. Snakes, vipers, jerboas, and the great sapphire river flows through the land of Anugypt and beyond it's borders. Land like Anugypt can be exciting." Said Zecora

"What lives in Anugypt?" Asked Bon Bon

"The dominant species of those lands are the jackalians. They are like regular jackals, but they are built like a minotaur would be."

"I've heard of them." Said Twilight. "Wasn't it ruled by King Anubis and his dynasty that lasted for one thousand years?"

"Oh yes." Said king Zuma, coming in the guestroom with Sogozi next to him.

"Oh father," Zecora noticed. "What brings you to our room? I hope it is not something bad to make you mad with an angry boom."

Her father laughed heartily and replied: "No, of course not. If you were all in trouble, you would know. Anugypt is a wonderous place, but you should also exercise caution in that country as well."

"What are the Jacaklians like?" Asked Luke.

"They are friendly." Said Zuma. "Although they do have a reputation for... being a little shady, and tend to keep to themselves. Of course, they will not hurt you or your friends, Luke. Speaking of which, my friend Sogozi here told me about how you challenged him to a fight."

"Oh boy." The young human muttered. "And what have you been talking about exactly?"

"I am rather impressed by how you managed to stand up to a powerful Mangani like this one who stands next to me."

"Impressed?" Said Luke 

"Of course. Despite your courage, I hope you realize how very fortunate you are to survive a match like this one."

"I promise, I won't do it again. I just did it for my friend."

"And he did so good." Said Pinkie Pie. "He was tough and he stood up to the mean meanie-pants with all his might! Oh, no offense, chief."

The ape made a chuckle. "No offense taken, pink pony." He said. "I am actually rather proud of him. I have not fought a good match like that in a long time."

"Why are you here?" Asked Fluttershy."

"I want to establish relations between the Mangani and zebras together as one."

"Really?" Said Spike. "That's good news."

"Indeed, little dragon. You have shown me the error of my ways about my views of zebras and their relatives. Perhaps it is time I make amends and start a new leaf."

"That's wonderful!" Said Twilight happily.

"And, perhaps if you are running a school for friendship, princess," Sogozi continued. "I will be happy to send you a number of willing Mangani who would like to attend it to Equestria."

Twilight grew a bigger smile on her face. "Yay! I'm al happy!" And she stopped herself from geeking out any further and tried to look as professional as she was before. "I mean: I am glad to hear of this news."

Sogozi walked up to Luke, and said to him: "I wouldn't mean to break your bones or your neck. For I I have told you the Mangani's code of honor before."

"I know, sir." Luke said. "I hope I didn't hurt you too much. Ah, who am I kidding? You're way stronger than me anyway."

"You have made me a little sore in some areas too, but I have suffered far worse pain than a few blows and kicks from you."

Just then, N'dugo came into the room standing next to the chief. "If it would be good, Sogozi," he said. "Maybe I can attend the school of friendship along with the other willing Mangani of our tribe."

"That would be a terrific idea, and... welcome back old friend." Then they both embraced in a hug.

"You're welcome be back to Kerchak?"

"Yes. Brother."

"And, no hard feelings right?" Luke asked the chief.

"Not at all." Sogozi smiled warmly. "....brave human. Now, you said you would tell me where you came from."

"Right." The Luke began explaining about his homeworld and how he came to this one. The leader of the Mangani looked impressed and a little unsure at the same time.

Another thing Luke told Sogozi about was the place called Africa, and how similar It was to Zebrica. The animals, the tribes, and how the land was alike to this one.

"Hmm. That is rather fascinating." said the ape.

"Yep, but Discord brought me here and I am more happy in this world than in my home."

"What else?"

"It is a really fascinating story."
> The Lion and the Human
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twas another beautiful day on the land of Zebrica. The sun was shining, and a large group of elephants walked over the rising sun, which made the skies less red and more blue every minute it was rising.

Luke and his friends were being escorted by Zecor through the tall grass and looked around at their surroundings for anything dangerous, or something that might pop up at them.

Zecora thought of another interesting place she could show all her friends in this beautiful piece of land. It was a place called Ugala Swamp not far from the Savannah. It was said to be a home to many species of birds from the crested heron, the six-legged moorhen, the three-eyed eagle, and others.

One danger she pointed out was a creature called a Ladon, a type of dragon-like creature with no wings and only the size of a baobab tree.

"Is a Ladon aggressive?" Asked Lyra

"Oh yes." Said Okove. "The Ladon is a powerful creature that you do not want to make angry."

It was funny, Luke heard about that creature from Greek Mythology, as one if the many monsters that Hercules killed in the story. For one thing he was a fan of was Greek Mythology.

"Any other dangers in that place?" Asked Larry.

"Oh yes. Well, there is another creature that you need to watch over with caution."

"What's that, Zecora?" Asked Spike

"It is a creature called the Catoblepas." Said Zecora. "This monster is a true menace on the plains of Zebrica."

"Catoblepas?" Said Luke. "Never heard of it. What is it?"

"The Catoblepas is a horrible, vile monster that is a sadistic killer." Said Okove. "A beast with a body of a cow or an ox, a head of a boar, and a large body to go with a long neck like a giraffe would have. It's head is always dangling for it was too heavy for him to lift. He has a very poisonous breath, a breath so putrid and pungent enough to permeate the air around him."

"What makes him a very dangerous creature is that: if you look at it in the eyes, it will turn you to stone with his sinister gaze. So it is a good thing his head is so heavy that he needs to dangle it for the rest of his days."

"That kind sounds silly." Said Rainbow Dash.

"I wouldn't say that." Said Applejack. "It sounds like a cockatrice, but it sounds way more dangerous than that kind of varmint."

"Indeed, it is, Applejack." Said Okove. "He also has very sharp horns on his head like a cow's pair."

"A Catoblepas, hmm?" Said Discord. "I might have heard of that creature. "Well, rest assured, i will protect you all from this foul beast with my life."

"Aww. Thanks, Discord." Said Fluttershy gratefully, hugging him.

The Master of Chaos smiled for he always loved a little hug from his closest friend.

"What color is it?" Asked Twilight

"This beast has a color in a purple-black type of shade. It makes it more intimidating and remind us on why to evade." Zecora answered. "They can even kill a horde of plants with their breath. But other zebras say that this creature can just stare you and it will just cause immediate death.”

"I've heard of silent but deadly," said Rainbow Dash. "But, wow. Wait, did you say if you look at it in the eye, it can kill you?”

Zecora nodded in response.

“Wow. That is spooky.” The cyan Pegasus admitted.

All the way across the grass, everyone was feeling a little tired from all they walking, but they were almost to the Ugala swamp now.

They all decided to have a rest and take a little breather from all that walking. They were all obliged to have a drink of water in their bottles, and looked for shade around a large, isolated dead tree..

Luke was panting, and felt like his legs were about to snap, but he didn't want to be a whiner and quit. No, it would take a lot more than a mildly sore body to hold him back from this Zebrican adventure. No, he has indeed, suffered worse pain.

"I hope everypony has had a lot of water to drink." Said Twilight. "That was a rather long walk."

"You can say that again." Said Fluttershy. "Good thing I have wings."

"Couldn't agree with ya more, Fluttershy." Said Rainbow, giving her a gentle pat on her side with her left elbow.

After they all had their drink, Luke suddenly felt something in his bowels. "Uh-oh." Be muttered. "Guys, I need to tinkle."

"That's fine. Just don't go wander off too far." Said Larry. "And you know where to find us, right?"

"No problem, dad."

"Be careful out there." Said Bon Bon. "Spitting cobras might be in the grass."

"Or scorpions." Lyra added.

"Don't worry, I have a weapon with me, remember?" Then Luke went off half a mile to look for a good spot to urinate.

While looking, he watched his step for any snakes, scorpions, aggressive lizards and other types of dangerous animals lurking in the grass. 

At last, he found a perfect spot to do his business, and he was done. "Oh man, sweet relief." He muttered, feeling much better.

As he was about to head back to the group, something caught his attention in the tall grass. He couldn't quite make out what it was, but it looked big, probably as tall as his elbows.

Luke looked around to and fro at his surroundings for anything that might pounce on his him by surprise, but nothing came up.

After a few minutes of silence, he dismissed it as nothing, and he was just imagining things. 

A low growl was heard and the young man was becoming a little more nervous, and frot he was being watched once again.

"Hello?" He said sheepishly. "Whoever you are, come on out."

All of a sudden, Luke felt something gently touch his left calf, and some creature was breathing on him.

He slowly tilted his head to the left side downward, and what he saw sniffing his leg caught him by surprise.

It was a large, male lion with a long, thick mane of black and gold color. He was visit, and had a majestic face.

Luke leaped back in a small Yelp. The lion took a step back too, and began growling cautiously at him. The human didn't know what to think of this, but he decided not to run away, for he knew lions can run faster than humans, and the only human that can keep possibly keep up with a lion would be Usain Bolt himself.

Animals can definitely smell fear and if this big cat smelt any trace of fear, he will attack and eat him.

"Hello." Said Luke. He slowly extended his left arm at him, trying to make peace with this majestic animal. "It's okay. We're friends."

The lion stopped his low rumbling for a second and slowly inspected Luke's hand with his nose. Sniffing at it, Luke thought that this was probably a stupid idea, but it was too late to change anything now.

After a while , the lion began sniffing his hand, as if it was slowly warming up to the human.

"I won't hurt you." Then he slowly began to stroke his back. The lion small jumping growl when Luke placed his hand on his back, but he was slowly getting used to it.

It was almost like an extraordinary bond just happened between these two.

Either it was a miracle, Luke was just feeling so lucky that he is not getting mauled and ripped to shreds by this big cat.

As he was continuing to gently stroke his back, Luke began to touch his mane a little, and it felt so soft and fluffy.

As he was fluffing the mane, Luke noticed that the right paw of his right front leg was being held up for some reason.

"Hmm, What's wrong with your paw?" Luke asked. He slowly reached his arms at the leg, but when he touched it with his fingers, the lion backed up a little in a small growl.

It was what Luke expected. His paw was hurt by something.

"Shh, hey hey, it's alright. I'm just trying to help."

"Luke?" Called out Fluttershy's voice. "Are you okay?"

She and the others saw Luke trying to interact with the lion.

"Luke. What are you doing?" Larry quietly screamed at his son.

"Wait." Said Fluttershy. "He's just fine."

"Oh. I can't watch." Said Twilight.

Like slowly began touching the paw again, trying to see what was wrong with it. This time, the lion didn't fuss. And decided to let the human take a look at his paw.

Like was looking at the palm of his mighty paw, and saw a big, red thorn piercing the center of it. It was huge and there was a small amount of blood coming out of it.

"Oh god." Luke muttered in disgust.

Fluttershy smiled, for this reminded her of the time when she first became close close friends with the elements of harmony in the first place when they were trying to defeat Nightmare Moon.

What made her remind her of that time was the Manticore she befriended in the Everfree Forest after she removed a painful thorn from his gigantic paw, and saved him from any more pain. 

Yep, this was all coming back to her just looking at this touching sight.

"It will only hurt for a second, big fella." Said Luke. He carefully grasped the thorn with his left finger and thumb and yanked it from the lion's paw.

The big cat made a small roar of pain, but then he was happy that Luke pulled that infernal thorn from his paw. Perhaps this was a start of a new relation between a man and lion out in the Zebrican Savannah.

Luke'a friends and father thought of how touching that looked between them, for the Lion began licking Luke's face in total gratitude. 

Not only that but made a few small. Light roars of affection as Luke began rubbing his mane.

If Kevin Richardson, the Lion Whisperer was there to see, he would have been proud of Luke for trying to tame this lion.

Fluttershy couldn't help but interact with the lion as well, and he was taking a liking to her too.

Sure, they had interacted with wild Zebrican lions before, but not like this. This kind of bond was... special to Luke and Fluttershy

"This is nice." Said Twilight. "Luke made another new friend."

"I know. But I hope he doesn't attack us all with out backs turned." Spike remarked.

"No. I'm sure We'll be just fine." Said Rarity. "We can always count on Fluttershy to help us with these kind of problems."

"I couldn't agree with you more, Rarity." Said Pinkie Pie.

After Luke and Fluttershy were done interacting with the lion, the cat made a yawn and walked away to look for food.

"You think we might see him again, Fluttershy?" Asked Luke

"Of course. He will recognize you when he sees you when you visit here again."

"Good." Luke smiled and looked at the big cat majestically walking down the Savannah grass.

Yes, this was a truly remarkable encounter for Luke to experience. He thought to himself that maybe he will see him again someday. It was good for him that he made another new friend out here in Zebrica.

"Well, I suppose now That's over." Said Zecora with a smile. "Let us continue on to the swamp."

They all began following her and her older brother again to the Ugala swamp.

"You know, that was a rather miraculous thing I have ever seen in a long time, Luke." Said Okove

"Yeah. Maybe I just got lucky."

"Still. that was a rather enjoyable sight for us to see and witness."

"I know, right?" Said Lyra. "That was just incredible. That lion could have killed and eat Luke, but he didn't."

"It was thanks to me he didn't."

"Right."
> Leviathan in a Swamp
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ugala swamp, a home to many mysterious, dangerous, and amazing creatures all at the same time. The waters were murky and green in many parts of the river that stretched through this yucky and humid place.

It didn't take long for all of them to sweat a little from the heavy moisture. "Ugh! My goodness," said Rarity. "I have never felt so hot in my life!"

"Tell me about it." Starlight agreed. "And I thought Ponyville could get a ninety percent chance of humidity." She even conjured a fan to try and keep her cool, waving it around with her magic.

"Ah come on." said Luke. "Granted, it is kind like a steam room in this place, but we shouldn't let that bring us down."

"We didn't say anything like that, Sugarcube." Said Applejack. "We're thrilled to come here." And she wiped her forehead of any sweat dripping down.

"Yeah, we're both going to turn back just yet." Twilight added. "Besides, I can do research in this swamp. I just hope we don't run into the Ladon."

"Well, I think with Fluttershy with us," Discord said "she can use her stare on him and Luke with his lightsaber."

"And me with my gun." Larry added, holding up his magnum. "I'll try and shoot it in the eye if it tries to attack."

"Right you are, Larry." Dosxord agreed. "You can make him bleed out, and his guts will be leaking lead once you're through with him.

"Ooh, I wouldn't go that far." Said Twilight. "That sounds a little.... sadistic."

"Well, maybe I can try and reason with him, Zecora said that he is like a dragon, or dragon-like."

"I doubt that, Spike. The Ladon is not the understanding type."

"Well, when we encounter, or if we encounter it, let's not panic." Said Lyra

"At least let me do my stare on him to prevent any..." fluttershy gulped. "Bloodshed."

Pinkie looked around at her surroundings, and asked: "what about that other monster? What's it called?"

"The Catoblepas?" Fluttershy said

"Yeah! That one. I don't wanna be turned to stone by that mean, meanie-pants."

"Just stick with us," said Okove. "And you will all be just fine."

"Maybe there's a reason why he would turn us to stone." Lyra suggested

"I doubt it. Maybe he's an evil, sadistic monster like a cockatrice would be like." Bon Bon theorized.

"I don't even want to find out where we can find it. That's the last thing I want to do." Spike said. "Besides, the last thing i want is to be: a dead, living statue."

Twilight said to the baby dragon: "oh, don't say that. We're not troublesome foals who like to cause trouble."

"Yeah, we're smarter than that." Rainbow agreed.

"Well, I'm sure that not all the animals here are venomous and dangerous." Said Luke. "I mean, who knows what else we'll find in this place?"

A screech was heard, like a hawk cry. They all looked to the east in the direction, and saw a yellow raptor sitting on a branch.

It looked like any other eagle, but as soon as everyone assumed it looked normal, a third eye appeared on his forehead. 

Luke looked a little creeped out, but he decided not to judge it by his cover. 

"Oh my." Said Fluttershy. "That's a little peculiar."

Then the eagle flew away letting out another loud screech.

"I think we just found a three-eyes eagle." Said Spike. "But it doesn't look so bad.'

"I know." Rainbow agreed. "Looks kinda cool that way."

Everyone looked at the small lake, and at the murky waters. "It looks a little green or yellow here." Rarity remarked.

"I hope a crocodile doesn't come out and bite my head off." Said Lyra. Then she cautiously looked at the murky waters for anything dangerous. "This looks like a safe haven for them."

“Always good to be so cautious, Lyra.” Said Okove. Luke then boticed a large and slender bird as black as night. It looked like a heron with yellow eyes, and a three crests on his head that were slightly curved down, and a patch of white was horizontally visible across his face, under his eyes.

Luke couldn’t help but pull out his phone and take a picture of this mysterious avian in the shallow water. It bent it’s head down slowly and fast as a dart, it picked up a large fish, And gulped it right down it’s mouth.

“Wow, so that's a crested heron.” Luke remarked. Fluttershy couldn’t help but take a Look at that beautiful bird.

“Oh my.” She Said. “What a beautiful bird.”

“Ah yes.” Zecora noticed. “The crested heron. Sometimes, we would wall it the crested night heron because of the color of it’s plumage. The white spots make it look like a pair of moving stars in the sky.”

“It looks big.” Spike remarked. Then a caw was heard from the large bird. It sounded like a gurgling caw, and then another.

Not long after the heron flew away, slowly flapping it’s wings while hovering over the water in midair. It was another intriguing site to see for everyone to see in this kinda creepy swamp, and the all looked around the small swampy lake for anything else cool or interesting.

So far, there wasn't really anything else at the moment, but then, on a tree above them, Luke spotted a purple-colored leopard on a tree with glowing indigo spots on it. It looked cautious, and barred it's canine teeth, wagging it's tail slowly.

"Oh wow." Applejack said. "Good nelly, is that a leopard?"

"A stormy leopard." Okove said. "They are a very rare species of big cat, only found in this very swamp we are in now."

"How many of them are there left?" said Discord

"About seven-hundred of them." Zecora answered. "They are called a stormy leopard because of the similar blinking pattern on their skin. It is a common mistake for many zebras or natives of Zebrica to mistake them for tigers somehow because of their few strips on their back."

"Wow. That's really fascinating." Twilight acknowledged in amusement. All of a sudden, with a growl, the leopard leaped down from the tree branch, and landed next to the group, looking a little weary.

"I'll handle this." Fluttershy volunteered herself. She approached the leopard with no fear or any worries, along with a cute smile on her face, and the stormy leopard swayed it's right paw in a ferocious manner. Fluttershy was surprised when it did that to her, but she was unharmed. "Shh, it's okay." she said softly to it.

The yellow pegasus mare reached her left hoof, gently petting the big cat's head, and it didn't take long before the stormy leopard took a liking to her, and closed it's eyes in relaxation as he let Fluttershy pet him some more. "Goodness." said Discord. "She never ceases to impress me like this. Now we won't have to worry about this gigantic fur ball trying to kill us."

"Don't say that, Discord." said Fluttershy. "He was just being careful. Isn't that right?" she turned her attention back to the leopard. "Yes you were, yes you were."

The stormy leopard let out a few small growls of affection, and even let her rub his belly like a house dog. After a long while, the leopard knew that Fluttershy wanted him to leave him and her friends alone.

"Can you please leave. I promise we don't mean you any trouble."

Then this mysterious big cat let out a few more jumping growls from himself.

"What did he say?" asked Larry

"He says he was only being careful on why we were close to his tree."

"Okay." then the leopard went to lay on his tummy on the branch he was resting on before., and watched as the group waked away from the lake and into a different direction through this swamp.

Looking around at the surroundings, there were so many animals, many of them being some small antelope, and a small animal that looked like a deer. Luke and Fluttershy thought they knew what it was, for it looked like an unusual creature that lived in the continent of Africa called: the water chevrotain. This peculiar mammal was one of Africa's native deer species, along with the Atlas stag, which was a species of red deer.

When it saw the group, it froze, but then it pranced away into the bushes.

It was yet another rather long walk, but they stopped at a larger lake as wide as a whole town. It reminded Luke of Lake Oswego in Oregon, where he would go visit sometimes. The waters, like the smaller lake he and his friends went to, also looked murky.

"Wow, look at the size of this lake." said Applejack

"It looks a little... dirty." Rarity said.

"it's a swamp." said Rainbow Dash. "Lakes and rivers in swamps are supposed to be dirty."

A low rumbling was heard, like the ground was mildly shaking. Was it an earthquake? Everyone was becoming a little scared now as the shaking continued to erupt. Just then, something erupted from the lake, right in front of them. Something big, something gigantic, and it almost looked like a dinosaur.

This creature looked enormous, almost as big as a mall house, and it was a color of veredian green with a path of white going down his neck. This certainly looked like a dinosaur or a lake monster.
> The One Who Stops the Flow of Rivers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

This monster, or whatever this thing was, looked very terrifying and formidable for Twilight, Applejack, and the others to fight head-on. It had a long neck as wide as a tree trunk, and Luke prepared his lightsaber, as his father with his magnum pistol.  The creature barred it's rather sharp, toothpick-like teeth glowing a yellow color. When Luke was about to slice it at the neck, Fluttershy stopped him by getting in-between him and This mysterious leviathan. "Wait!" she shouted.

Luke thought he recognized this kind of monster before. He remembered reading about African cryptids before in a book, and this creature reminded him of this monster that could possibly live in Cameroon or central Africa called: The Mokele-Mbembe, one of the dark continent's most dangerous cryptids.

The others steadied themselves from attacking, and knew what she might do with this creature. The yellow pegasus turned around, and the leviathan-like animal made a small rumbling that made the ground mildly shake like a small earthquake. It was growling at her, and it snapped his jaws at her, but it missed. "Excuse me!" she scolded him. "How dare you try and eat me! I just wanted to be friends with you!" the creature stopped his growling, for she was giving him the stare. has met his match against her is what it looked like, and it slowly backed away a few steps. "Look, we mean you no harm." Fluttershy reasoned with it. "We just wanted to look around the swamp and see what we can find."

Just then, the creature made a small howl at Fluttershy that reminded Luke of a silt-strider from the Elder Scrolls series. A rather spine-tingling, but majestic type of small howl. Then this creature made another small howl, then another.

"Oh. I see. You were just curious." Fluttershy said. "What are you?"

"That is the Mokele-Mbembe." said Zecora. "It is also known as: the one who stops the flow of rivers."

"I knew it!" Luke exclaimed with joy. "I was right!"

"Wait, you know about this creature?" said Okove.

"Well, there is information about this big guy." said the human. "In my world, he is a creature that is described in Cryptozoology, like I have shown you guys the Maryland Goatman many months ago when I first arrived in Equestria."

"Oh yeah. I remember you showing us that." said Pinkie Pie.

"So this guy is a creature that might or might not be real in your world?" said Applejack.

"Yep. I've seen a few illustrations of this guy fighting a small group of hippos." Luke said. "But it doesn't surprise me that it lives in a world like this."

"Well, you certainly know how to do your homework my boy."

Luke flustered. "Well, I'm not in school anymore, but I still plan to go to college." then he put his lightsaber away. "When I heard about this guy, it is in a language called the Lingala, that he's called: the one who stops the flow of the rivers too. The natives around that area where he supposedly lives believe his is a god or a deity.

"Hmm. That is what the other natives around here in the swamp believe, too." said Zecora. "Although it is a good idea to be careful when this kind of creature is around you."

The Mokele-Mbembe got a glimpse at Spike, and lowered his head towards him. The creature began sniffing his small body, and made a small growl, then licked all around him. "Oh, yuck!" Spike exclaimed in disgust.

"Oh come on, Spike." said Twilight. "That's kind of cute. Maybe he is taking a liking to you like that frog a few days before."

"Yeah. I guess so." all of a sudden, the Mokele-mbembe nuzzled his head against his small body like cat demanding attention from it's owner.

"Aww, isn't that cute." said Fluttershy. "he has taken a liking to you, Spike."

"So this big guy was just curious is all?" asked Larry

"Yes. He just wanted to say hello." Fluttershy replied. "I wonder if there are other Mokele-Mbembe like him." Just then the intriguing leviathan bowed his head in sadness. "Oh, what's the matter?" she asked the creature. The dinosaur-like beast made a small whimper, and another howl. Fluttershy gasped, and she said: "You poor thing." then she hugged his head gently.

"What did he say?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"He's one of the last of his kind." said the yellow pegasus mare, feeling like shedding a few tears of sadness. "He only has his girlfriend left."

The others began to feel sorry for this dinosaur-like leviathan. "He must be alone." said Lyra. "Especially if he and his mate is the last of their kind. I can imagine how alone he must be."

"Or his mate." Lyra dded.

"Well, maybe once they fool around together," said Luke. "Maybe they might produce babies together."

"Fool around?" said Spike. "What do you mean fool around?"

"It's... complicated." said Twilight." You'll understand when you're a little older, like a teenager maybe." Unfortunately, the baby dragon still didn't understand what he meant, but decided to just go with what Twilight said. "And yeah, that must be sad how he is one of the last of the Mokele-Mbembe. What happened to the rest of them anyway?"

"They used to be a common sight in ancient times." said Okove. "But, that was the prehistoric times in Zebrica. This kind of creature shouldn't even be here. No offense."

The Mokele-Mbembe made yet another small growl in reply. "He says that he's starting to wish that was true." Fluttershy clarified. "Do you think you can show us your mate?" Then the legendary creature made a few more grunts, small howling, and small growls to her. Fluttershy made a gasp, and she exclaimed: "That's terrible! Where is she?"

"What'd he say?" said Discord.

"She is captured by a group of poachers who want to sell her thick hide."

Everyone gasped in shock. If there was one thing that Luke hated in the world more than Nazis, the Klu Klux Klan, and Spanish, it was poaching. A small amount of anger built up inside of him, and he felt like finding these poachers and slicing them into little chunks of meat, that not even their own mothers would recognize them. "Poachers. I know what kind of people they are. Scum and lowlifes that only care about making money." he said

"You said it, Luke." said Rainbow Dash. She pounded her hooves together to show how tough she was about this. "I'm ready to kick some poacher butt."

"As am I." said Rarity

"I can never stand poachers." said Fluttershy. A gigantic rage built up inside of her, like she was about to turn into the Incredible Hulk. "I will make sure that those mean poachers pay for what they had just did!!" she exclaimed in fury.

"You go, girl." said Discord.

"Where are they?" asked Starlight Glimmer

Then the Mokele-Mbembe gave out a few more growls, and pointed his head to the northwest direction from where he was. "he said that they went over there when they abducted his wife." Fluttershy translated for her friends.

"Come on, we got no time to lose." said Zecora.

"You might want to stay out of sight. I wouldn't want you to be spotted by them." Fluttershy told him

The Mokele-Mbembe nodded his head and slowly went back underwater. Fluttershy, Twilight, Starlight, and the others rushed to where the poachers have gone to.  After running three miles, they saw a light from where they were, and it appeared to be a campsite.

Everyone ducked behind a couple of bushes. Applejack peeked over and tried to make out what that place was. She gasped at what she saw. "Rainbow, you might wanna have a look at this." The cyan pegasus peeked over next to her friend, and she made a bigger gasp.

"It's freaking Caballeron!" she shouted quietly. "Of course he's the one behind all this!"

"Shh! Keep it down!" said Twilight, pulling Rainbow down. The rest peeked over to see who it was, and it revealed to be a small band of no-good stallions. The leader looked like a right-hand man for a very evil villain, and his henchmen looked like a stereotypical type of hit-men for this guy. He had a brown coat and had a white collared shirt with a five o'clock shadow on his face, and his cutie mark was a golden horse skull

"You know this guy?" asked Larry

"He's Daring Do's arch-nemesis." Rainbow said. "And we've met him and his goons a few times before."

"They are mean." said Fluttershy. "They have always been a thorn on Daring Do's side as she is to them all."

"Oh yes. We have heard of this scum." said Okove. "He has been here before, and arrested countless times in our home. He has been permanently exiled from Zebrica, but apparently, he and his friends always sneak in to try and find treasures or other illegal activities."

"and look!" Starlight pointed to a large creature in a cage that was way to small for it. "That must be the other Mokele-Mbembe." Fluttershy's anger was coming back to her again. It really pained her to see a poor creature in prison like this.

"I got an idea." said Luke. "While you guys are busy fighting that guy and his baddies, i can break that dinosaur out of the cage, and we can finish them all off together, and reunite her with her mate."

"Good luck." said Discord. "Those are iron bars that thing is held up in."

"Need I remind you that a lightsaber can cut through metal?"

"Oh. Right."

"No problem. We know how to handle this guy." said Rainbow Dash. She quietly got out of the bushes and approached them. "Hey! Caballeron. Remember me?"

The bad stallions looked at her, ready for a fight. "Ah, Rainbow Dash." said the leader. "What a pleasant surprise. Don't you ever learn to give up or stay out of our plans?" his voice sounded like a Spanish, Latin American accent of some kind. "You cannot just leave well enough alone?"

"Not if you're still causing trouble all over the world, i won't. Let that Mokele-Mbembe go!"

"Never!" said Caballeron. "We are going to sell it for money."

"Not if we have anything to say about it, scoundrel!" said Zecora. She and the others stepped up next to Rainbow Dash while Luke and his father quietly sneaked over to the cage.

"Don't worry," Luke whispered to it. "We'll get you out of there."

"Well, since you're here, we can finally have out revenge on you for foiling our previous plans." said the henchman with the glasses over his eyes in a German accent.

"Right you are, Hausser." said the leader. "Get them boys!" then an all-out battle commenced between both sides. While the fighting ensued, Luke pulled out his lightsaber, ignited it, and began slicing at the thick, iron bars. Just then, something caught Luke's arm, one of the henchmen was on to Luke and trying to subdue him. Despite that, Luke kicked him in the face, throwing him off-course with a loud grunt.

"who the hell are you?" said the leader, noticing Luke and his father.

"Two humans you're gonna wish you have never met in the first place!" Luke said. He slashed his lightsaber at more iron bars, and the creature was free from the infernal cage. The female Mokele-Mbembe looked rather mad that these stallions put her in a prison like this, and now, she will have her revenge.

"Uh-oh." said another one of the henchmen. "The creature is lose!" it sounded like a Russian accent from him.

"Just great!" said another henchman. Then they all ran away in fear, except for the leader.

"Gah! Curse you, creature!" said Caballeron in fury and anger. "That monster was going to make me and my boys a fortune!"

Luke sneered at him. "No one tries to trap a poor creature like that and gets away with it! Can't always get what you want, Svoloch!" He then pointed his lightsaber at the leader, and the stallion charged. Luke slashed at him with his sword three times, two horizontal and one vertical, but he missed.

Caballeron kicked Luke in the face, but Luke recovered quickly, and returned the favor by pulling his mane, and punching him in the face four times. Giving Luke a kick to the stomach, he was about to finish Luke off by stomping on him to death, but then a gunshot was heard, and the leader of the bandits screamed in agony, and tumbled off of him.

It revealed that Larry shot him in the right eye before he could finish off his son. 

"Gah! What was that?!" said Caballeron, covering where his right eye used to be. A small amount of blood was pouring out of his socket, looking at Luke's father with rage and hatred.

"Never heard of a gun before, partner?" said Larry with a smug look on his face, blowing at the end of his magnum like a gunslinger.

Caballeron didn't say anything, but growled in hatred. "This is not over, Rainbow Dash!" he shouted at last. "I will have my revenge against you!" then he ran off into the swamp. The good guys have won this battle, and the female Mokele-Mbembe made a small rumble of happiness.

"Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked her. The female nodded a yes to her in reply with a rather adorable smile on her face. "Well, your mate was looking for you."

Letting out a small yelp of happiness, the female leviathan was more than eager to meet her soulmate again after what she had been through. "Come on, girl." said Applejack. "We'll take you to him." Then the female followed the group to the lake where they met the male Mokele-Mbembe before, and they waited for him to arrive.

Waiting for three minutes, the male creature submerged once again and he was more than happy to see his own wife again. They both hugged one another and nuzzled their face against one another. It was a really touching sight for Luke and his friends to see, and they both howled into the sky with joy.

Both of them looked at the group after they were done howling, and they both nuzzled against Fluttershy as a thank you gift, and the same for everyone else, starting with Luke. Their skin felt really slippery like wet bread dough, or a wet pole, or cement on a rainy day.

They all made yet another pair of new friends in this Zebrican vacation. Twilight herself was even thinking of writing down her notes on a book about Equestrian monsters or creatures for the eyes of Equestria to read one day. "Hey Twilight," said Fluttershy. "I think it's best if you didn't write notes about these two."

"Why?"

"Well, we wouldn't want ponies like Caballeron to capture them for trade again, wouldn't we?" said Lyra.

Twilight had a sudden realization and she said: "I think your right." then she looked at the two Mokele-Mbembe again. "I wouldn't want put them both in danger because of me."

"Well, at least they know who we are, now." said Spike.

"You're right, Spike." then she hugged him.

"Well, it was wonderful seeing you two lovebirds." said Zecora. "We all hope to see you again." then the two leviathans bowed their heads with a smile at them both and slowly went back into the large lake.

Everyone was feeling terrific about themselves, saving a very rare creature from Caballeron and his band of thieves like that, and even increase a chance of those species surviving in Zebrica one day. "I think we should tell the Equestrian Society of Rare creatures about those animals. They can help protect the species." Fluttershy suggested.

"Perfect idea, Fluttershy." said Luke. "Maybe when we get back, we can tell them about this creature. Oh, be careful who you talk to though."

Fluttershy made a small chuckle. "I will."

"Well, that was quite an adventure." said Okove. "Saving a pair of legendary leviathans like that from a group of poachers like that."

"Right. Well, I suppose we have had enough of this swamp." said Discord. "Everyone agreed with him, and decided to head back to the village, and Luke could hardly wait for another adventure on the next day in his Zebrican vacation with his friends.
> The Ladon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

While walking through the Ugala swamp, Twilight, Fluttershy, Spike, and the rest of their friends decided to take a little rest. It was a rather long walk from where they all saved the Mokele-Mbembe couple from Cabalerron and his goons.

All in all, everyone was feeling good about themselves in saving those two rare creatures from those band of poachers.

Luke couldn't help but take a sip of his water in his longer-cold cup. He especially felt like a hero to those Mokele-Mbembe. And felt very proud of himself for it.

"You fought well against those guys, Luke." Said his father. 

"Yeah! If only Daring Do was there. She would have been so proud of ya, Luke." Rainbow Dash added.

"I shouldn't take all the credit." Luke modestly replied. "You guys all had a part to play in that rescue back there."

"Oh yes. Mokele-mbembe are extraordinary creatures, and they are part of the fauna we love dear." Said Zecora.

"I just hope they will be able to.... reproduce." Okove added.

Twilight made a small chuckle. "I'm sure they will manage all of that." She said

"And it's a good thing we haven't seen that Ladon creature. That's what it's called, right?" Asked Spike

"Yes. It is a really good thing. The Ladon is a terrifying monster that you do not want to mess with, along with the Catoblepas. He can be a tough creature to fight, even if it was one of him against all of us." Zecora explained.

After Luke was done drinking some water, he put his bottle back in his pouch.

"Drink as much water as you need, Luke." Said Larry, giving him a pat on the back. "God, it's so humid in this place." He wiped a few drops of sweat from his forehead. 

"I could not agree with you more, Lawrence." Said Rarity. "It's like a hot shower or a steam room in this swamp."

"Oh come on." Said Applejack. "It's not that bad out here. Besides, it's nice to have a little break from the snow once in a while. There's no harvesting that can be done at ma farm right now."

"True. I can imagine how cold it is back home right now." Pinkie agreed. 

All of a sudden, there was a loud growl that sounded reptilian that scared everyone.

It sounded really scary and they all huddled together.

Luke ignited his lightsaber and his father pulled out his magnum, loading it with all six bullets. All waiting for something to come out of the swampy brush, there was a just a rabbit with a row of spines going down it's back.

"Aww, cute." Said Fluttershy.

Just then, something ambushed it from behind, and the rabbit was eaten whole, leaving poor Fluttershy quite flabbergasted.

This thing was huge and it had an indigo color on its scales. The body and head resembled a snake, but with long, stocky legs and a wide tail. Four teeth were protruding from its upper jaw and four from it's lower jaw, and yellow, reptilian eyes.

To Luke, it almost reminded him of a monitor lizard, but less stocky in body and it's eyes looked a little more scary than a monitor.

Another feature it had was a bunch of spines from it's back, bunched together, and it let out a spine-tingling roar that sounded like a mix of gargling and a t-rex roar.

"Ummm, is that what I think it is?" Aaked Fluttershy, feeling a little scared.

"Yes." Said Zecora. She didn't look scared, but deep down, she was feeling a little afraid. "The Ladon."

Discord was the only one who was not very convinced, for he was far more powerful than this kind of creature, and he could kill it with one claw tied behind his back. Despite that, he didn’t want to even bother trying to save his own friends (unless if it was Fluttershy in grave danger),  because he thought of how interesting this was.

“Be careful. That creature breaths fire.” Said Okove. They all waited for this beast to try and attack them so they can strike back at it.

It was looking at Spike and sniffed at his body curiously. It almost looked like the Ladon is mistaken Spike for another Ladon. At first, it didn’t do anything, but then, it tried eating Spike by chomping his head with his razor-sharp teeth. Luckily, Twilight used her magic to pull the baby dragon away from the clutches of this vicious creature.

Luke swung his lightsaber at the monster vertically, and horizontally after. Sure, he was doing the best he can against this monster, but thanks to it’s skinny body, the !adon was able to dodge his swings and attacks.

“Get out of my swamp!” The thing barked at the others. “This is my home!”

Before everyone could react, he shot a large wall of flames at them all, trying to burn them into crisps.

Lyra, Starlight, And Rarity used their magic to conjure a force field over them and their friends from getting burnt alive. “Bah! Persistent little ponies, aren’t you?” The Ladon Said. “You think you can just come into my swamp like you own it? You are no landlord!”

“Hey, Calm down.” Said Lyra. “We were just passing through, that’s all.”

“Like I never heard that before.” The monster scoffed. “That is what my previous.... guests said before I... took care of them all.”

“Please don’t burn us all to piles of ash.” Spike Said.

“Well, I can’t do that to you, because you are a dragon.” The Ladon pointed. “ it, I do wonder what you taste like.” And a wicked smile appeared on it’s face, then he licked his lips, looking really hungry

“Over my dead body!” Rarity stood up defensively. “No monster like you should ever try to hurt, or consume Spikey-Whikey!”

"Hmm... you're a rather feisty pony." Said the monster.

Rarity took a great offense hearing that word about her. "I beg your pardon!!" She shouted in fury. "How dare you say such hubris!"

"Easy. It's not hard to say."

"Look," said Twilight. "We mean you no harm. We just came to this swamp to have a look around the place and see the kind of wonders and sights to see, That's all."

"Pfft, that's what many travelers who come here say." Said the Ladon. "But what do they do? Come to attack me and I just eat them for their trespassing."

"Come on!" Said Starlight Glimmer. "If we wanted to kill you, we would all try to skin you all alive!"

"Fair point, but this is my home."

"Well, we're sorry." Said Bon Bon.

"Yeah, well, you'll have to deal with me!" He got ready to shoot another breath kf hot fire at them like a flamethrower.

Before he could do so, however, he was suddenly stopped by Fluttershy, who hovered in front of him, giving it the stare of hers.

At first, the Ladon didn't feel very convinced, but it eventually gave in, and laid on it's belly.

"Excuse me, mister!" Said Fluttershy. "But, we have done nothing but visit this beautiful piece of land!"

Not saying anything, the Ladon looked terrified. It almost looked like an angry mother scolding or berating her son.

"Is it too much to ask about visiting the swamp?! Is it?!"

"Well... no, but-"

"Then why are you treating us like this?!"

Not being able to say anything else, The Ladon then replied: "because... because... I'm better off alone." He sighed in defeat.

Fluttershy's voice became a little more calmer hearing that, and she couldn't help but ask: "what do you mean?"

"Many zebras, antelope, buffalo, and other animals get one good look at me, and they go: 'Ah! No! A scary monster!' They judge me before they even know me."

The others couldn't help but feel sorry for this thing. 

"That's why I'm better off by myself."

"Oh, listen, Ladon." Said Fluttershy.

"I have a name, it's Darrell."

"Darrell," Fluttershy continued. "Just because you look scary, doesn't mean you actually have to be scary."

"But, look at me." Said the Ladon. "My rows of sharp teeth, don't I look intimidating."

"Yeah, you can scare a tough stallion from a bar fight with those teeth and spikes."

"Not helping!" Said Luke. Looking at Darrell, he said: "Fluttershy's right. You might look scary, but it doesn't mean you actually have to be one. Matter of fact, it's on the inside that counts."

The Ladon made a small growl in question, and asked: "how do you all know that?"

"Because, I have seen many creatures and monsters that looked intimidating, but are gentle in nature."

"It's like the co-ruler of Equestria: Princess Luna, who was once Nightmare Moon, but then she changed." Twilight added

"Yeah, you're not a bad Ladon. You just need a more positive approach."

"Do you thunk you?"

"I know so." Said Discord. "I know Fluttershy better than anyone in my life, and she has never veiled at anything."

"Oh, thank you, Discord."

"And, if you really like your privacy," said Larry. "All you have to do is say that you want to be left alone instead of scaring away visitors, and or eating them."

"Fair enough. Visitors can taste a little yummy."

"Isn't there other food you can eat around here, Darrell?" Asked Luke

"Oh yes. Chevrotain, some antelope, large fish, and other creatures such as dotted dolphins and crocodiles."

"Okay. Look, can you please just let us go?" Said Spike.

"Well... I suppose you can." The Ladon sighed.

"Look, we are friends." Said Fluttershy. "And I don't want any tension to rise. So can we please start over with this?"

"Well.... I could try." Said Darrell. He made a small smile, showing his scary teeth. Making everyone feeling uncomfortable and queasy. It looked like they could use a flossing, or at least brush their teeth.
> Helping a Ladon Make Friends
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

While sitting near the lake the Ladon lived in, Fluttershy was giving him some advice on how to be more friendly to visitors and not to just eat them if they attack them and see reason why they would attack him In the first place.

Darrell let out a sigh with his eyes closed and he admitted: "I don't know. Fluttershy. "They are usually quick to judge when they see me."

"Oh, Darrell." Said the yellow Pegasus. "I know you can get nervous, but you need to try and be as friendly as possible for anyone that is seeing you for the first time."

"Yes, but... most of the time, they would try and throw spears or rocks at me in return."

"But don't ever bring you down. Just try and be more friendly and tell them calmly that you mean no harm." Said Fluttershy. “Besides, senseless violence isn’t the answer to everything.”

Darrell let out another sigh from himself, and he remarked: “I never said it was always my answer for everything.” Then he made a wide yawn, showing his sharp, knife-like teeth. “Maybe it’s my Looks. I mean, just look at me. I’m scary, tough, and intimidating.” Then he turned around to show her his sharp spines. “Have you seen these babies on me?”

“That sure does look scary and intimidating.” said Fluttershy a little nervously.

“And it’s a unique feature about you.” Luke pointed. “Where I come from, we have an old saying that goes back centuries in my homeworld: “Never judge a book by it’s cover’. That sort of thing.”

“Right.” Twilight agreed with him. “I have heard that old saying countless times before, and it’s absolutely true about those kind of ponies or monsters.”

“Try telling that to Chanellor Neighsay.” Spike Said jokingly.

“Yeah. He’s nothing but pure evil!” Said Rainbow Dash. “I just want to bash him in the head with a gold club until his brains ooze out of his skull.”

“Calm down there, turbo.” Applejack intervened. “Granted, He is a bigoted, pompous varmint, but he’s still the leader of the Equestrian Board Of Education, And we need to respect him for that.”

“Well, let’s not talk about that now.” Said Rarity. “The point is, you are not a terrible monster. Just because you look a little... brutish, doesn’t mean you actually have to behave like a mindless brute.”

“Rarity’s right.” Said Spike. “I mean, look at me? I’m a baby dragon and I have a lot of friends.”

“Sure. you do. Only because you are still a child, a baby dragon who lives a happy-go-lucky life without a care in the world, while I am a full-grown Ladon That has to take responsibilities for his own actions.”

“Fair enough.” Said Larry. “But, That shouldn’t stop ya from making any friends at all.”

“Are you sure?” Asked Darrell.

“Positive.”

Letting out yet another sigh, the Ladon licked the top of his right paw like a dog or a cat. "Okay, I'll try to give it a shot. If I can't convince anyone that I am not a big, horrible monster, at least you can."

"Don't worry." Said Twilight. "We'll see what we can do about this."

"Yeah, you can count on us to help ya out." Lyra added boldly

"As a matter of fact, why don't you come to town with us?" Bon Bon offered.

"Wait a minute." Said Okove. "I am glad we are helping this creature out, but, the last thing I would want is to have my father scream at the top of his lungs at me and my sister for bringing in the village."

"Not that we are against the idea if you making friends of course, Darrell." Zecora added. "Father would kill us both if he saw what we brought."

"But you're their son and daughter." Said Rainbow Dash. "Should he at least listen what he has to say?"

"Fair enough." Said Fluttershy. "Maybe you can do a little persuasion for King Zuma."

"We can try," Zecora theorized. "But, I doubt we will get anywhere with that plan."

"Can't kill for trying." Said Discord. "Besides, I always love a good bloodbath."

"Discord!" Fluttershy scolded him. "Don't pay any attention to him, he just loves getting reactions from everypony."

"It's quite alright." Said the Ladon. "I for one like to see a couple of violent moments like a couple of tribes fighting one another for beliefs and territory. It's one of the many fun things you can see."

"Goodness." Said Fluttershy. "It's not fun watching zebras or buffalo kill one another because of a dispute."

"Indeed, all that bloodshed and barbaric matter." Said Rarity. "It is just simply upsetting for my own eyes to behold upon."

"Well, I don't think we'll find any bloodshed here. This is a visit anyway." said Luke.

"Right." said Pinkie Pie. "But I think, maybe we should bring you into town, Darrell. Just so how easy it can be to make friends once you warm up."

"I doubt it." said the Ladon. "As soon as they get a good look at me, they will clearly throw their spears and iklwas at me until I lie on the ground dead, and the ground covered in blood, and then use my bones as ritual parts."

"Nonsense." Zecora exclaimed. "Do you know how crazy that even sounds?"

"Yeah, that's just crazy talk." Rainbow added. "I doubt they will even do that. Many zebras in that city are the friendliest zebras you will ever see." The Ladon was silent, but he ultimately decided to agree in this little plan to help him be accepted by society. The others were happy to hear of this decision and they lead him to the village where many zebras were surprised and terrified to see an actual Ladon in the whole village.

"Is that a..." a female zebra pointed.

"What do they think they are doing?" said a stallion, just as scared and shocked to see that monster in this peaceful village. 

"Well, I expected something like this to happen." Darrell muttered quietly to Fluttershy

"It's okay, just keep walking, and don't listen to what they say about you." Fluttershy murmured.  Darrell then made a yawn, and everyone in the town looked more afraid since they were seeing his rows of sharp teeth. "Calm down, everypony." she announced. "This Ladon means you all no harm."

"Well," said a familiar voice. "What have we here?" It was Zuma with a couple of guards around him, looking quite terrified seeing the Ladon's presence. The king however, looked mighty calm as usual. "What have you done this time, Zecora?"

"Father," the daughter cleared her throat. "I know this looks certifiable, but this is now what you think. Yes, he is a Ladon, but he is not a complete and mindless monster."

"It's true, your highness." said Darrell. "I might look a little... brutish, but I am not an evil monster."

"He spoke." a zebra foal whispered to another zebra foal in the crowd.

"Look, I know that I look intimidating, but I am a Ladon, and I am just doing what I can to survive. All my life, I have been treated like a demon from the pits of Tartarus, and treated like garbage or an elephants feces. You zebras, buffalo, eland, or kudu judge me before you even get to know me." he bowed his head in shame.

Some of the other zebras began to feel sorry for him, while other still felt unfazed by this monster's story. "Come on," said Twilight. "Would you ever doubt us, the Elements of Harmony and Princess of Friendship?"

There was murmuring among the crowd, knowing that Twilight has made a good point, and they wouldn't doubt the new princess of Friendship. Some of them were slowly starting to understand, and then Luke said: "I wouldn't doubt her." then they were all looking at him. "Haven't you all heard of this old saying: Never judge a book by it's cover?"

"Yes." all of the townspeople replied in unison.

"We have heard of that old phrase before." said Zuma. "Perhaps you speak the truth. Darrell, why don't you make yourself at home. However, if you eat one of us, you will suffer the consequences."

"But, your highness, what if this beast decides to just kill and eat everyone in it's path?" said the servant next to him. "He cannot be trusted-"

"Enough, Kibango!" The king scolded him. "If you cannot see the advantage of learning a thing or two from the princess of Friendship herself, then it would be bad in our relations with Celestia and Luna, economically and personal."

The servant bowed his head in defeat. "Yes sir." he said at last.

"Are you sure? Must we trust this creature?" said the one on the left.

"We must, and we will Tinoq. I trust in my children, and their friends. So should you both." Then he turned his attention back to the Ladon. "Darrell, I suppose a proper introduction is in order. I am King Zuma of the zebras. And I suppose you know about the elements of harmony, Discord, and my children."

"Thanks for not trying to throw any spears or iklwas at me." the Ladon said flatly.

"We know better than that." the king with a chuckle. "Come, I suppose you are hungry."

"What do you zebras eat?"

"Come."

Then the zebra king escorted him to a restaurant on the other side of the village called the "Bleeding Elephant", and showed him the type of food they had inside. So far, since they were zebras, they didn't have any meat, which was the Ladon's favorite food, and he was technically a carnivore. "This is all nice, your majesty." said Darrell. "But, I only eat meat."

"Well, I'm sorry." said the owner, "but we are not meat eaters"

"That's fine. I can just hunt for my own food."

Everyone, minus the heroes made a gasp inside the restaurant.

"Oh relax!" Darrell said. "Not you! Like warthogs or small antelope, or wildebeest and that's all." then everyone made a sigh of relief hearing that. There was a loud bellowing outside, and there was an angry wildebeest running loose in the town. The Ladon saw this as a perfect meal for him and licked his lips before pouncing on the aggressive antelope. He bit it's neck with it's sharp teeth, and in seconds, it was dead.

Many of the zebras were a little scared by what just happened, but they were glad the zebra has been subdued and taken down like that. That, and it would also be a common sight for 
zebras, wildebeest, or other type of animals to e hunted as food for lions, leopards, and other predators every once in a while, since Zebrica can be just of a savage place as Africa can.

“Thank you for taking care of that wildebeest.” Said one of the zebras. It seemed pretty angry about something, but I don’t know why.”

Darrell ripped off a piece of flesh from the carcass, and gulped it down his throat with a loud burp. “Oh, that is good wildebeest.” He remarked. “I wish that there would be more if them passing by my home.”

Rarity felt queasy and squeamish again just looking at a savage sight of how nature works, and she felt like throwing up. “I think I am going to feel nauseous.” She remarked, trying to hold in her vomit down her stomach.

“Well, at least you are well-fed now.” Said Lyra with a nervous chuckle. Now there was almost only bones left from the dead wildebeest, and the Ladon was eating rather quickly like a pig. At last, the carcass turned into a skeleton, and there was only bones from the antelope, or the remains of it.

“Ah, yummy.” Said Darrell.

“Do you think you should get rid of the bones?” Fluttershy suggested to him.

“Oh, right. Of course. I forgot you zebras aren’t used to that kind of stuff.” Then the Ladon picked up the skeleton and took it far away from the village so that nature can take its course on the bones.

“Well, now that this is settled.” Said Zuma. “Would you like anything to drink?”

“Hmm... what do you have?”

“Here.” Luke said. “Have some root beer. It tastes so good.” Darrell curiously picked the Can up with his right arm, and an drinking the soft drink. He was liking the taste and gulped it down until there was nothing left of the beverage. 

“What kind of a liquid is this?” Asked Darrell

“Root beer. One of the greatest drinks in the whole world.”my He Human replied. “Glad you like it.”

“I love it! Where can I have some more?” Luke pulled out another can for him to drink out of and gave it to him. “Thank you, Luke.” Then he gulped the whole root beer down his throat in five sips. 

“You know what,” Said a zebra stallion. “Maybe we have misjudged you.”

Hearing that made the Ladon smile, it looked like he was about to be accepted by these zebras and become friends with them all. Twilight and her closest friends were proud and happy to see that this creature  warmed up to by these zebra folk.

“It’s working.” Discord murmured in Larry’s ear.

“This is great!”

“Despite That moment of you eating that wildebeest.” Said Zuma. “Perhaps, we have all misjudged you after all, Darrell. Feel free to come by and visit whenever you feel like it.”

Darrell smiled and he said: “Thank you, your majesty. I’m really grateful.” Then he looked at Fluttershy, ad smiled at her, then her other friends.

“See? I told you it was a good idea ringing you here.” Said Luke. “Now you’re accepted by society now like no problem at all.”

“That’s what the power of friendship is all about.” Said Fluttershy. “I’m glad you have listened to us and not oot any anger get the best of you, Darrell.” Looking deep down in himself, Darrell realized he was right, and he didn’t act so malicious or savage (minus the wildebeest pouncing).

Some of the other zebras approached the Ladon, and began befriending him, even the little ones were taking a liking to Darrell already.

“You were Right about the whole never judge a book by it’s cover, Luke.” Said Discord. “And of course, you deserve some credit for being this creature some friends he deserves, Fluttershy.”

“Aww, thank you, Discord.” Said The yellow Pegasus. “I’m glad to have met that fascinating Ladon. “Now nopony here thinks he’s a monster anymore.”

“Although I get the feeling he’s not accepted by the other races yet.” Luke theorized. “What would the eland, kudu, Buffalo, or other zebras outside of this town think of him?” He felt something pat on his left shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Luke.” Said Larry. “I’m sure that he will get up there someday.”

“And he can come to the school of Friednship, right?” Spike Asked the purple alicorn.

“Of course he can, Spike.” Twilight replied with her warm smile.
> Stripeless Desert
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rights for the Song go to Namco



The Stripeless desert was a place of harsh environment, with hardly any water or oasis to be seen in the vast desert sands. Many dunes of golden sand were covering much of this place, with a couple of dead trees scattered around, and everyone kept a sharp eye out for any snakes or scorpions that might pop out of the sand, for they were common animals of the desert environment.

Everyone was having hoods over there heads so they can be covered from any possible sandstorms. Luckily, Anugypt wasn't too far away from where they were walking now. With all honesty, Luke felt like he looked like Boko Haram agent or soldier, or an Al Queda agent with this hood, and it made him feel ashamed to have this kind of Bedouin hood like this. Still, it would help him keep from getting sand in his eyes, or in his mouth, nose, or ears.

The sun was scorching in the sky, but everyone remembered to get themselves some extra water before going on this trip.

All through the journey, there were interesting sights in this peculiar landscape, such as a couple of ruined temples that looked Egyptian, and some pyramids in a Sudanese type of style.

Of course, they saw many animals like the infamous dromedary camel, and Luke pointed to a herd of them at the southeast side of where he and his friends were. There had to be fifty camels in this group of humped herbivores, and they looked mighty going down liens of sand dunes in the wind.

“How do they do it?” Said Pinkie

“Do what?” Asked Bon Bon

“How do camels survive out here without water?”

“The hump on their backs is to help store water in then, and helps them from dying of thirst.” Said Luke. “They can go up to weeks without having water thanks to those humps.” He looked at the herd again, and those camels were making low, grunting noises as they continued walking on their journey for god-knows-what.

“Well, moving along now.” Said Okove. “The sun can be a harsh object out here in the Stripleless Desert.”

“Ugh! And I thought the humidity in the swamp was bad enough, but, this wasteland takes the case!” Said Rarity before wiping her face of sweat.

“Ah come on.” Said Larry. “To be fair, humidity is way worse than dry heat. Out here, you can easily cool off in the shade, but you can still sweat in very humid places.”

“You ain’t wrong, Larry.” Said Rainbow Dash. “The Everefree forest can get humid in the summer. Absolutely brutal.”

“Heh, you should have seen Big Macintosh when he was there last summer.” Said Applejack. “He was sweating like an apple fritter right out of the oven!” She and the other five elements of Harmony laughed with her.

Fluttershy was the first to speak after that, and she said: “yeah, poor Big Mac. Still, he got a  ice dip in that refreshing pool next to the tree of harmony.”

Pinkie Pie couldn’t help but gasp, and she asked Fluttershy: “He didn’t go in the mirror pool, did he?! That pool is bad news! I thought we sealed it?!”

“Pinkie, Calm down.” Said Twilight. “It’s. It the mirror pool, besides, after we put the rock over the cavern entrance, I sealed it with my magic to keep anypony from moving it.”

“Oh yeah, right,” the pink mare remembered.

“Should we be on the lookout for any bandits?” Asked Luke. “I’ve heard of bedouins before in my world.”

“Yes we should.” Said Zecora. “Bandits and bedouins can be a problem out here in the Stripless Desert, especially by night.”

“And you still got your lightsaber, right?” Said Discord.

“Yes. Just in case.”

“And I still have my gun with me.” Larry added. “ no bandit or Bedouin will get the best out of us as long as I have this on my side.”

After a long walk in these golden fields of sand, they were all getting a little tired, and their legs were becoming a little sore. Howmthey all just needed to look for an oasis in these parts of this land for some shade and to get some more water if needed. Looking high and low, Rainbow Dash was in the sky about hundreds of feet high, and she was looking down on her, finding no luck in an oasis close to her and her friends.

She came back down after looking deeper. “Anything, Dash?” Asked Lyra

“Nope. Zippo.”

“Oh great, we’re in the middle of nowhere.” Said Discord.

“No we’re not.” Okove argued. “Anugypt is not far from where we are now.” He wiped a few drops of sweat from his face. “We just have to keep moving onward.”

“But i’m So hot!” Said Fluttershy. “It is almost like an oven out here.”

“Come on, Fluttershy.” Said Twilight. “We still got some water left in us.”

“I know. As a matter of fact, I better take a sip.” Then, she began drinking her liquid down her throat with no hesitation. Lyra, Bon Bon, Luke, And Twilight followed after, and took. It sips of their waters. “That was so refreshing.” The yellow Pegasus remarked after she was done. “Much better.”

“Totally.” Bon Bon agreed with her. “I hope we can get all the way to Anugypt with the water we have.”

“Same here, Bon Bon. I can really use some more water once we get there.” Lyra panted.

“Well, I can assure you, Neighro is a city with a large, winding river that many jackals and zebras like to take a swim in if needed.” Said Okove. “It will all be worth it once we get over to that beautiful city that we call a desert jewel.”

“And there is so much to do in the city. Anugypt is a country of beauty, and Neighro is the heart of it all.” Zecora added.

Just then, Luke got an idea, and snapped his left finger. “Say Discord, I got a solution that might help us in the road.”

The Master Of Chaos perked his ears like a dog who’s owner just called it’s name. “And what might that solution be, dear boy?” He Asked

“Why don’t you conjure a gigantic block of ice that we can relax from, and use that as a shade? It might help us, and we can even use it as a board to lay on and relax.”

“Hmm, That does sound rather unusual.” Said Rarity. “But, Maybe we should give it a try. This horrible hot weather is starting to get to my mind.”

“I think it’s a wonderful idea.” Said Fluttershy.

“Well, Very well. I suppose it is the least I can do for all my good friends here.” Then with a snap of a finger, Discord co juried a gigantic block of ice as big as a small house. Everyone took shade behind this thing.

Spike relaxed his back on the block and it felt so good in this hot weather. Of course, out here, it wouldn’t be long before the ice will melt into water, so everyone enjoyed this block of ice for as long as it will last.

“This was a really good idea, Luke.” Said Zecora. “I cannot believe we didn’t think of that before. This ice cube is giving me a feeling that I adore.”

“Oh yes.” Fluttershy agreed. “I have never been so refreshed like this before.

“Say, Maybe we can make little ice cubes out of this one when we’re done with it and put it in our drinks.” Larry suggested.

“Another good idea!” Lyra exclaimed. “Oh yeah, this hits the spot.” As everyone continued to enjoy the relaxing, refreshing shade. Luke put his arms behind his back, and he looked at the sun in the other side of the ice block, and then the ice cube.

Just then, when he sat back down on the sand, he felt something sniffing, then licking his hand like a flypaper. He looked to the right, and he was startled to see a Stripes hyena with it’s dog-like face, and it took a step back, feeling a little startled itself. Luke didn’t know what to say about this, and was thinking if he should pull out his lightsaber against this hyena.

“Hello.” He Said flatly. He slowly reached his right hand over to the animal again, and it began licking his finger again. Luke suddenly remembered about researching about striped hyenas being easily tamed, and how the ancient Egyptians would use them as hunting animals for food.

The striped hyena looked really majestic and had a narrow mane running down it’s back, all the way down to it’s tail. He slowly bent down on his knees to make better contact with the animal, and the beast began licking his cheeks like a dog.

“Luke, we heard a scream!” Said Fluttersh. She and everyone else were coming to check on him and see if he’s alright, and when they saw the hyena, they looked surprised, “oh my goodness,” She Said

“Whoa!” Rainbow Said.

“Are you crazy, Luke?” Said Larry. He was about to pull his gun out and shoot the hyena to try and protect his son. “Alright, Luke. Stand back” he said, about to cock his magnum. Larry was suddenly stopped by Discord.

“Easy. I think this hyena means us no harm.”

His father was a little reluctant at first, thanks to paternal instincts, but he knows Luke has a lightsaber on hi.pm in case something goes wrong.

“It’s okay guys.” Said Luke. “It’s only a striped hyena. They can be tamed easily on my world.”

“Oh indeed.” Said Zecora. “The Jackalians, Khajiit And Minotaurs out here like to have them as their own pets, and use them to hunt for meat.” Said Zecora.

Just then, the striped hyena began nuzzling Luke’s face, and began to like the melting block of ice. “Ah, of course. I guess he wanted to take shelter here, too.”

“I wouldn’t blame him for it.” Twilight remarked. Just then, from behind the block, four more hyenas appeared, looking a little smaller than the one Luke was interacting with right now, and began to come around the black of ice, too.”

“Oh look,” Said Fluttershy. “He has a family.”

This small group was three adults and one cub with them, very eager to relax with the ice block. Matter of fact, they all began to kick it, and rub their bodies against it to enjoy the soothing cold object.

“Ah, they just want shelter here.” Said Luke.

Fluttershy couldn’t help but asked the alpha of this family: “Are you just thirsty? And you just want a little shade?”

The hyenas all made a laughing sound in reply, and nodded their heads a yes to her in reply, then they began licking the thing some more to stay hydrated.

“Well, it won’t last forever.” Said Larry. “Of course, we should still get some ice cubes for us to Neighro.”

“Absolutely.” Said Pinkie Pie. She pulled out a pickax from her mane, and hit an edge of this block. Small bunches of ice was cracking, and everyone got as much Alice cubes as they can, but luckily, the block did not collapse, for it was gigantic.

“Got the cubes. Come on.” Said Luke. They all continued their journey to Anugypt and the striped hyenas stayed next to the block to keep themselves cool until it melts into cold water.
> Anugypt
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After another walk through this very harsh desert, They found an oasis near the city of Anugypt. It was a round lake the size of a college football field, and the waters under the scorching sun looked beautiful, especially with the sun reflecting on the shores. Like most desert oasis, there were some palm trees and some grass and cattails scattered across the wide area, and some herons and egrets were bathing at this oasis, and some geese, ducks, and a few grebes and loons were taking a swim

"Oh my." said Rarity. "This is a rather interesting scenery." She dipped her right hoof in the water, and it felt refreshing, almost wanting her to make a swim in it to cool off in the desert weather. When she put her foot in it, a couple of small, tiny fish the size of Luke's fingers were swimming in it, and it showed life lived in this very lake at this lone oasis.

"Aww, look at the little adorable fish." said Fluttershy. She went over the water herself to interact with these little creatures. About thirty of them poked their heads above the surface, having dolls eyes on their faces. "Hello, little ones." she said. "Do you all live here?" The little fishes nodded their heads a yes to her. "It must be a lovely home you all live in."

"This oasis can be a home to many," said a male voice in an Egyptian accent. They turned around to see a large, tall creature that looked like the Egyptian god of the dead: Anubis. He had muscles on his arms, and wore a cloth with yellow and blue stripes. He had a color of black on his fur, and a gold-blue head-crown over his head, with his pointy ears erecting out of it.

Everyone didn't know what to think of this creature, and Luke cautious grasped his lightsaber in his hand just in case this man was a bandit. "And who are you?" asked Rainbow Dash in a cautious voice. "You're not here to steal our goods, are you?"

The Jackal-like being made a small chuckle. "Do not be alarmed. I am Bayek from Anugypt. I understand that you are not from these lands, are you?"

"No sir." said Discord.

"Oh, I certainly recognize You, Discord himself. You caused quite a disturbance with our ancient King Anubis a long time ago." The Jackal-like monster gave him a rather stern look on his dog-like face.

The Master of Chaos rolled his eyes, and he said: "Will you Anugyptians please let that go?"

"What did you do?" asked Fluttershy suspiciously. 

"Well... I caused some funny jokes to the people of Anugypt, and the Khajiit that live around here also." Discord answered in a sheepish voice.

Fluttershy sighed in mild disappointment, and she said: "Oh Discord." Then she looked at Bayek after that, and she said to him: "Did he really hurt you with his pranks?"

"Well.... sometimes he did. If not for Celestia and Luna, he would be running around with more chaos. Now that he is back, I don't know if we are truly safe again."

Fluttershy gave Discord a mildly stern look, and remarked: "Discord is not evil or mean anymore. He's changed. Thanks to me."

"Fluttershy's right." said Twilight. "He was an evil trickster that wanted to take over Equestria with his evil chaos, but, thanks to her, he's a changed Discord." Then she looked at him now. "Even though he can still play a few mild.... what's the proper word to put it?"

"An avid trickster if needed?" asked Lyra

"Yeah, exactly. But, mostly he is a good master of chaos who has changed and accepted Friendship." Discord has a grateful smile on his face. "As long as he behaves and is good, he is a friend to us."

"Thank you guys." said Discord. He pulled his friends over to him in a large hug, and it was almost tight enough to strangle them to death like an anaconda.

After letting them all go, Fluttershy reminded him: "Don't you think you owe him and his race an apology?"

"Yes." the Master of Chaos admitted. "You're right. I do. But, I prefer if I would do it in front of the entire Jackals in the city so they can all see how sincere I am."

"That sounds like a better idea." said Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah, better everyone than one person." Luke agreed.

"Perhaps. But enough of that, what brings you here to Anugypt?" asked Bayek to the others in curiosity.

Twilight cleared her throat and answered: "My name is princess Twilight Sparkle. These are my best friends: Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity." They all said hello to the Jackalian to show how friendly they were. 

"Ah, I have heard about you, and how you managed to save this world countless times from a certain evil." said the creature. "From the time you defeated Discord, then Chrysalis, and then Tirek from sucking up all the magic in this world."

"I'm Lyra, another good friend of the princess, and this is my bestie, Bon Bon."

"Hello. I make really good candy if you would like to try my gummy mint candies." said the earth mare. She then pulled out a plate of free samples for the peculiar creature to try from it. "Free sample?"

Letting out a small laugh, Bayek let out a small laugh, and he said: "Sure. I could go for a little treat." He promptly took one of the mint candies out of Bon Bon’s adorable little plate, and threw it in his mouth. They were like wolves or a dogs’ pair of sharp teeth. “Hmm, yummy.” 

“I’m Spike, if you know about me,” Said he.

“Oh yes. I have read a few archives about you being a hero, or an accomplice to your friends. And what about you zebras?”

“Zecora is my name, and herbs and potions making is my game.”

“And I am Okove, her elder brother. Our father is king Zuma.”

“Zuma? Well, that would explain it.” Bayek remarked. “Lastly, you two. You look.. familiar.” He was obviously referring to Luke and Larry. “Rather interesting brings that I have never seen before.”

“My.. my name’s Luke Smith, and, this is my dad.”

“Name’s Larry.” The Father flatly stated.

“We came here to Zebrica because Luke wanted to come here,” Fluttershy explained. “He’s fascinated with the animals and the cultures here, and we all agreed to come here on vacation.”

Bayek looked at Luke, and smiled at the young human. “Well, I am glad you are here.” He Said. “I can assure you that you made a good chocks of coming here on holiday.”

“Good. We encountered so many things out here in Zebrica.” Luke stated. “Some of it is a little interesting. Like, a little while ago we encountered a small striped hyena family.”

“Hyenas?” The jackalIan’s eyes went open in surprise. “You did not get rabies, did you?”

“Nah, of course not.” Said Larry. “Although, I was a little bit scared about my son’s Safety with those animals. They just wanted to look for shade and they were curious about us.”

“You week I conjured an ice block to cool us all off under the sun, but I m certain it is already melting right now,” Discord explained. “Those hyenas wanted that as well, but could you blame them?”

“No. That is a rather clever trick, Discord. Of course, some actions have consequences, it could attract some dangerous creatures seeking shelter from the scorching sun.”

“That’s okay, Bayek.” Said Fluttershy. “I have a gift with animals, and I know how to communicate with them. You might have seen me talking with those fish in this oasis.”

“Indeed. Those doll-eyes guppies are always a curious bunch in this oasis. This one in particular is called the “Addax oasis” the closest one to my homeless which you can probably see in a distance over there.” Bayek pointed with his left arm to the direction where his home was, and it was about seven miles from where he was now. “But, It is not so far now.”

“Good. Are the people over there welcoming?” Asked Luke

“Of course. Tourists are one of the common folk to see in the city. And it’s not just Jackalians like me, but Khajiit, some zebras like Zecora and Okove, and addax antelopes are one of the many types of inhabitants.”

“Wow, Anubis sounds like a diverse city.” Said Twilight.

“It is. Many attractions like the statue of our first king is in the center of town, and it is a glorious landmark that represents our town quite nicely.”

“Wow. What about food and bazaars?” Asked Rainbow Dash. “Because i’m Feeling a little hungry right now.”

“Well, come. I can take you to the city of Anubis. You will all be satisfied with what his city will offer for you.”

“Do lead us,” Rarity Said with gratitude. They all followed Bayek to the city of Anubis, and it looked absolutely gorgeous to everyone’s eyes. Many buildings and houses were all brown or yellow in color, and there were some Muslim-style mosques scattered across the whole area.” 

This sort of thing wouldn’t surprise Luke, since Egypt is an Islam country, and this country looked way similar to Egypt on so many levels. “Wow. What a place,” Said Luke. “Kinda makes me feeling i’m Actually visiting Egypt, Algeria, or Arabia.”

“Heh heh. I agree with you, buddy.” Said his father. “Just look at all these Jackalians.”

The lot of the inhabitants were wearing the sa,e headwear as Bayek was, and some were not. The female Jackalians were a little smaller and thinner than the male counterparts, and most of them were wearing Egyptian-style dresses, and a few were wearing bras made of played gold, and baggy pants that belly-dancers would wear.

Bayek was also right about many Khajiit living in this place, and they looked absolutely cool. Many of them had spots or stripes like some housecats, and some had plain fur, and many colors. Their tails were as long as a walking stick, and they moved around slowly, and gracefully.

“So wait, what’s an addax?” Asked Applejack

“It’s a type of antelope that is a of medium-size.” Luke answered her. “It’s mostly white with some brown covering his face. “They also have long, corkscrew-like horns on guest heads.”

“Ah. Fascinating. Wait, I saw one.” She pointed out. “Wow, that’s a mighty beauty of an antelope there.”

“Yeah, look at hose horns. That looks like they can kill anypony in their path.” Said Rainbow Dash. “Let’s see anypony like Chrysalis try and get past those.”

“Addax are a rather peaceful race.” Bayek Said. “But, it is best not to make any creature or animal with a horn angry.”

“That is so true.” Spike agreed. “Those horns look kinda scary.”

“Well, come along, I can show you quite a lot about the city.” Continuing with the tour, many Jackalians, Khajiit, and Addax looked at the group in curiosity. “Do not worry, Hey have never seen humans humans before. Or... I think it is Discord that they are looking at.”

“I don’t care. I’m used to that kind of attention,”

“I’m shocked.” Lyra muttered sarcastically. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Watch it, Lyra.” Discord sang. “I have ears like a hawk, you know?”

“So Bayek, are there any bandits around here?” Luke Asked the Jackal-like creature. “Or is there something we should be careful about?”

“Well, it is certainly best not to travel the desert by night.” Bayek replied. “Scorpions And venomous snake’s can attack since they have good eye vision. And, for bandits, there are some groups that like to steal from tourists. Money, clothes, food, and other valuable objects.”

Luke put his left hand under his chin in fascination. “Good. What about around here?”

“There is some crime like mugging, robberies, and some... grave robbers like to come and settle here.”

“What about these Khajiit things?” Asked Rarity. “They look a little.... shady,”

“It is a common misconception for all Khajiit to be called thieves, but that is only a small percentage of them.” Okove reminded. “Many Khajiit justnwant to make a peaceful life out here.”

Just then, a whitish-grey Khajiit with a turban over his head ran up to Bayek. He had some small muscles on his arm, and an Arabic type of pants. “My friend, I have finally figured out the problem with my formula to sell to any patrons that are interested.”

“Calm down there, Meneki. What is all this about?”

“My Bissap drink. You know how I was trying to Perfect my own beverage with some delicious taste and flavoring? I believe I have found the key ingredient to make it delicious: The pedals from Horus’s tears flowers. A really rare find that can only be found in many scattered oasis’.”

He then looked at Luke, Fluttershy, Twilight, and the rest of their friends. “Is there a problem here, Bayek?” Asked Luke.

“No, no, of course not. This is just a good friend of mine. Meneki, these are new friends of mine visiting from Equestria.”

“Equestria you say?” Said the khajiit. “Well, I have been to that place before a couple of times. Only about three times, and the last visit was about ten years ago. And,” he made a gasp.” And the Elements of Harmony? A rather fine honor to meet you all.”

“Howdy.” Said Applejack.

“How are you doing?” Spike Asked in a friendly tone.

“Correct me if I am wrong, but you are Spike, are you not?”

“How do you know my name?”

“In Anugypt, word gets around fast from the visiting tourists in the city. Especially from the ponies.” Meneki answered. “True or false, we have heard many things of your adventures.”

“He speaks true.” Said Bayek. “Tourists talking about the events that happen in Equestria.”

“That would all make sense.” Said Zecora. “Conflicts and lose ends.”

“What else do you hear?” Asked Pinkie Pie

“Recently, you have opened a new school of friendship in the town of Ponyville.” Bayek andwered. “A place where all creatures from all over can attend to in order to learn about friednship.”

“Right. And yeah, any creature is more than welcome to come to my School.” Twilight Said. “Any creature is welcome, dragon, Griffon, hippogriff, Jackalian, Khajiit, eland, Zebra, And other types of creatures can join my classes.”

Meneki made an “hmmm.” Sound. “That sounds rather interesting. Some Khajiit here can use a little guidance in friendship.”

“And many Jackalians too,” Said Bayek. “My son Kente is lacking social skills and he could really use some help in learning about making friends.”

The ponies grew smiles on their faces. “Well, Ponyville is the right place for studying about Friendship.” Said Lyra. “You would love it in Ponyville, and the school is darn good being run by the Princess of Friendship herself.”

“Oh stop it, Lyra.” Twilight flushed.

“Well, I will certainly look at that.” Said Bayek.

“Well, is there a place where we can get something to eat?” Asked Rainbow.

“I’m feeling a little hungry myself.” Said Fluttershy.

Meneki smiled and he said: “You happen to be in luck. I have my own restaurant with bountiful food with good taste.”

“Oh wonderful.” The yellow Pegasus said with joy. They all followed Bayek and Meneki to a restaurant called the “Sandy Camel.”

“Since you are here, we have so much to talk about.” Said Bayek.
> Love is Missing
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Sandy Camel was quite an interesting eatery with ginger juice that was a little spicy, but Luke was alright with it, and so were his friends and father. He was happy to have gotten himself some baked chicken as his main course, and began eating it a little greedily, for he hasn’t had the taste of chicken in a long time.

“So, correct me if I am wrong,” Said Meneki the Khajiit. “But, you have come from another reality?”

“Uh-huh. And let me tell you, I honestly didn’t think it would actually work, but i’m Glad it did either way.” Said Luke. “Can I have some jus de bissap, s’il vous plait?” He Asked 

Bayek made a smal, chuckle, and replied: “Oui. Do give him a taste of hibiscus juice, Meneki.”

“Of course, always happy to satisfy a customer.” The Khajiit then pulled out another glass to the young human, and it was a different drink with ice. It would be something to help his mouth from suffering the hotness of the ginger juice he drank before.

Larry thought it looked good, and he said: “I’ll have some of that, please?”

“Of course, of course.” Meneki handed the elder human a jus de bissap of his own to drink from. Larry thought this drink was out of this world and loved the taste of ten dried hibiscus flowers squeezed and turned into juice. 

“Hmm, I love this stuff,”. Not only was he having the hibiscus drink, but Larry was also having a plate of kushari, a type of food indigenous to Egypt, and it turns out it was a common dish in Anugypt, too.

Twilight and her friends just had salads since ponies don’t eat meat and all. “Yum, these are good fava beans.” Said Bon Bon. “You're a really good cook.”

The Khajiit blushed mildly at the earth mare’s compliment. “Oh, you are very kind, little pony.” He said with flattery. “And to be fair, that must have been quite a ride coming here from another world, eh Luke?”

“Yet again,” bayek said. “This is Discord we’re talking about,” the Jackalian game the master of. Hal’s a mildly stern look again, making him poof ufo some angel wings and a halo over his head. That did not fool Bayek obviously, and he knew what kind of creature Discord was, even when he is reformed and no longer evil. “But yes, it is all rather fascinating for you to be wished to this world.”

“Like I mentioned, I didn’t think it would ever work.” Luke reminded before taking another sup of his ginger ale. "God, that is one hot drink, even though it has ice in it." He then took a sip of his bissap to help cool off his mouth again. "And i'm not really one into spicy foods."

"I am." said Rainbow Dash. "Bring on that ginger juice!" Meneki chuckled and he did a Rainbow Dash asked from him. After she took a sip, she felt the spiciness in her mouth already. "Wow, that is some hot stuff. Still, tastes so great."

"Glad you love it, Rainbow Dash." Bayek said. "You know, it is certainly an honor for the Princess of Friendship and her friends to be visiting my humble home of Anugypt. The Last time we have had a princess from Equestria visit our home was about... fifty years ago, and it was only Celestia."

"Yeah, Luna was still Nightmare Moon, and it was long before we were around," said Applejack.

"Good. Our king himself was curious about meeting Luna in the flesh, but he has never actually planned a visit to Equestria to have a meeting with her." said Bayek.

Meneki let out a loud burp, and covered his mouth. Rarity was a little disgusted, and she couldn't help but say to the Khahiit: "Rather unnecessary. At least brush your teeth."

"Rarity," Twilight muttered in the white unicorn's ear.

"No, it is quite alright. We khajiit are really used to insults regarding personal hygiene." said Meneki. "But rest assured, my breath does not smell."

"And we are certainly not barbarians like the Red Scar." said Bayek. "Those thieving heathens are ones to pick a fight for any reason."

The others have never heard of that kind of name before, making Pinkie ask: "Who's the Red Scar?"

"Just this horrid group of bandits that will kill anyone to get their hands on something." said another Jackalian. "It is best to stay away from those bandits."

A female with braids in her hair added: "They have been a big scourge in Anugypt for a little while now. Nothing but a band of scum and lowlifes."

"Yes. They don't care about any rules, or morals, they would only fight or kill to win by any means necessary, along with rob desert goers blind." Bayek stated. "The Red Scar themselves can be a bunch of ghosts if needed."

"Ghosts?" Spike said. "How can you fight a band of ghosts?"

"No no, little one." Meneki stated. "he meant that they go around places fast."

"Their leader, Waraabe, is a very bad Jackalian. A ruthless one of our kind that should not exist in this world." A sudden anger was rising in the Jackalian. "My brother, Farid, was sent to find Waraabe and kill him so that he and his group of thieving Bedouins wouldn't be a big problem for all of Zebrica anymore."

"What happened to him?"

"I... don't know."

"It happened about four years ago when this happened." said a male khajiit.

“He’s been missing since then.” Bayek added shortly and gravely. “Some speculate he has been dead and killed by those mauraders, but I don’t think he is truly dead. I can sense it in my heart that he is still alive.”

“Why don’t you look for him?” Asked Twilight

“I wish it was that simple, but Farid explicitly told me he had to go with it alone. I tried to tell him it was too dangerous, but he went all across the desert just to search for Waraabe and the rest of the Red Scar Anyway.”

“But he is your brother. You can’t just sit around doing nothing.” Said Fluttershy. “We see you are very worried about him, so why not go and look for him?”

Bayek sighed. “Look,” He Said. “I appreciate all of your concern, but I am fine. And the Red Scar is a very dangerous band of marauders, and powerful warriors. Many of out king’s best soldiers have tried to kill them and Waraabe, but none of them prevailed. My brother was the last one if the finest soldiers out to go and look for them.”

“Aren’t you a fighter?”

“Yes, but my brother was always one step ahead of me when we spar with our khopesh in training. Although Farid Said I am a very good swordsman myself. And I have been trying to find where their hideout is to look for him and free him from their clutches.”

The others were a little silent on this. “Is Waraabe and his bandits way worse than Cabelleron?”

“Oh ho, they are far worse than Daring Do’s arch-nemesis and his bodyguards.” Meneki warned.

“Indeed. Cabelleron and his friends are only simple thugs when it comes to stealing valuables.” Said another male Jackalian.

“Waraabe is way worse than him, Daring Do wouldn’t stand a chance against him.” Said an Addax Bull.

“Hmm....” Luke was thinking of something in his head. “I’ll go find him.” And he got out of the chair, ready for another journey. His friends were surprised and protested against this with some clamoring.

Fluttershy was the first one to speak by saying: “Wait a minute! You can’t go out there and just put yourself in danger.”

“It’s okay, Fluttershy.” Luke Said. “I have a lightsaber.”

“I can take him on and look for Bayek’s brother.”

“You can’t go out there!” Twilight Said. “You’ll get killed out there, and they will do horrible things to you if they catch you.”

“They are Right darling.” Rarity agreed. “It would be completely certifiable going out and taking on a group of murderous brutes alone.”

“If you do that, you’ll die.” Said Lyra. “We might lose you forever.”

“And I would never forgive myself.” Larry added. “My own son being killed by these terrorists by himself. It’s goddamn stupid.”

Luke was silent for a moment, and he ultimately said: “He misses his brother, and I want to help him. Besides, these good residents of Anubis are threatened by these evil cutthroats, and no city should ever suffer that.”

Bayek and some of the other patrons in the restaurant were touched to hear those words. This boy has grown to care for the city, even though he is just setting foot in it for the first time. 

“You’re not going there Luke.” Said Spike stopping him. “At least.... not without me.” 

“And me,” Fluttershy stepped up. “You are a very good friend to me and I can’t let you die out there.”

“Count me in.” Said Applejack.”

“Me too.” Bon Bon added.

“Not me, i’m Staying here.” Discord Said. It was expected of him to give thag kind of answer, and everyone just looked irritated.

“Well, i’m Coming with you, Luke.” Said Larry. “I am your father.”

Luke smiled. “Well, Thanks Guys, but I don’t want all of you to get hurt By the Red Scar, or whatever these crooks are called.”

“You’ll need our help Luke.” Fluttershy Said. “Please trust us.”

“We’ll have a better chance of taking care of that Red Scar gang together.” Lyra added.

“Well... Okay. We’ll find your brother and stop the Red Scar.” Luke stated

The Jackalian smiled and said: “Good. I thank you. On. And when you find their hideout, I want to ask a favor. Can you look for his khopesh in there too? He took it with him to fight. It was given to him from our father before he died.”

“No problem.”
> Recovering a Family Heirloom
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun out here in the Stripeless Desert was getting hotter every minute Luke, his father, and their friends were passing on to look for the hideout of the Red Scar marauder clan.

"Ugh! Why are we even doing this?" Said Rainbow Dash with sweat going down her face.

"Uhh, because it's a decent thing to do?" Luke replied sarcastically. "Come on Rainbow. I thought you love adventures, kicking ass, and all those fun things?"

Rainbow Dash let out a sigh before she said: "I know. I do love those thing but it's just hot out here."

"This is certainly not good for my beautiful mane." Rarity added.

"Quit your bellyaching, Rarity." Said Discord. "There's no point in whining your way out of this."

"Whining?" Aaid Rarity. "When do I ever whine?"

Everyone looked at her with a glare on their faces. "Really?" Asked Applejack. "When do you ever whine?"

"Oh. Right." The white unicorn remembered the times about her complaining like this. "But I'm not whining, I am only complaining."

"Okay. We get the point." Said Twilight. "But come on, everypony. It can't be that far from here."

"Bayek said that the Red Scar live in that direction." Spike added. "But I don't remember if they live underground or in a cave."

"The Red Scar you say?" Said a Male voice. They looked over in the direction where it came from, and it was a lone scimitar-horned oryx with long, curvy horns that looked lethal.

He was about the size of a large sheep, or an argali type of size. "Who are you?" Said Bon Bon

"You're not a bandit, are you?" Asked Twilight suspiciously.

"No no, of course not. "I am not a murderous cutthroat that would take anything I can. My name is Oded and I hear you are looking for the Red Scar bandits.

"Yes. Who wants to know?" Asked Luke.

"Well, I know where they are hiding at. I have had a run-in with their leader: Waraabe before, and he gave me this." He turned to the right side of his body to reveal a red scar that was as long as his body.

Everyone was rather shocked at how bad this scar looked on his torso.

"That looks like it hurt." Lyra remarked uncomfortably.

"It hurt like absolute hell." Said the oryx. "Still, I managed to fight off Waraabe and his cronies from killing me. I managed to return the favor by bruising the leader's torso with my horns."

"Wow. That sounds epic." Larry admitted. "Can you take us to where they are hiding at?"

"Yes. But I will not help you along the way, only because I don't think I will be as lucky as last time." Oded admitted. "I remember the path and I know it well."

The others smiled, knowing they might probably find Waraabe and his wicked gang out here in this desert.

As the oryx told them what to do, they went to another perilous walk across the desert, except for Discord and Rainbow Dash who were hovering above the ground with their wings.

Common sights were some snakes, which freaked Twilight out due to her fear.

Another type of animals they see were the gigantic black scorpions crawling on the brown-orange sand on these arid plains.

"At least these scorpions don't come charging at us like hippos or elephants." Applejack remarked 

"You need not he alarmed, by friends." Said the scimitar oryx. "Scorpions are a vastly common sight to see around here, and so are the snakes and cobras."

"And hyenas." Luke added. "We just saw a small family of them not too long ago."

"Interesting. Those hyenas can be a very curious type of animal, especially with dead animals and creatures."

"Are skeletons a common sight here?" Asked Fluttershy.

"Well, there are a few cases where we see a number of Jackalian skeletons, and the same for zebras, oryx like myself. antelope, and other animals.

"Most of those cases would be because they were captured by bedouins and left out here to die." Oded said. "Somethibg Waraabe and his gang would do from time to time."

"Oh, I'm certain we can get through this. The beautiful city of Anu is not all that far from here after all." Said Zecora confidentially.

"Yeah, we can see the ancient city right where we are now." Okove added. Everyone looked back to where Okove was looking at and the city was behind them with a mirage flowing over it.

After about another mile, the oryx stopped and pointed to an entrance to what looks like a mausoleum or a crypt.

"Here we are." Oded pointed. "Waraabe and his band of brutes are hiding in this forgotten crypt. Now, this is as far as I go for you all. For now, Anubis has where I must go."

"Are you sure you'll he alright, Oded?" Asked Fluttershy qoth concern. "You look really hurt by what Waraabe did to you."

"I'll be just fine. I have suffered worse pain, and besides, This scar is about four years old."

"Oh. Okay.:

"Farwell and good luck. Oh, and beware of Waraabe's watchdog, Hefir."

"Hefir?" Asked Discord. "Never heard of him."

"He's a real piece of work." Said Oded. "Hefir is a really slimy, sneaky, and cowardly Jackalian. Waraabe chose him to be his right-hand in his group." 

"Is he dangerous?" Asked Pinkie Pie

"I wouldn't call him a worthy effort." said the oryx. "He's not even worth killing. I've seen how he cowers and runs away from fighting."

"He does sound like a coward." said Rainbow Dash. "Thanks for the tip."

"Anytime. Good luck on your search." then the scimitar-horned oryx went all the way back to Anubis. Looking back at the cavern entrance, looking a little uneasy by the sight of it. Still, they were doing this for a new friend, and trying to see if his brother, Farid, was alive or not.

"Are we really going in there?" asked the yellow pegasus in a mildly shaky voice.

"That we are." said Luke, igniting his lightsaber, and his father with his pistol. "Don't worry Fluttershy. We'll be fine. The least we can do is trend quietly in this crypt."

Pinkie Made a gasp of horror, an exagerrated and long gasp before saying: "But, what about mummies!? They might rise from the grave and eat all our brains! I don't wanna go in there."

This made Fluttershy eveb more scared now. "Come on, Pinkie." Said Luke with great doubt. These bandits probably cleared out this crypt and took care of the mummified bodies when they discovered and settled in it."

"Luke has a point, Pinkie." Said Twilight. "Besides, we have faced scarier enemies and monsters worse than mummies."

"Ohhh. Right."

"Just in case." Said Luke. "Discord, do you think you can make us invisible so we can sneak ourselves inside?"

"No problemo." The master of chaos boldly said. With a snap of his finger, he proofed himself and the others invisible. "And I think it would be best if you put your lightsaber away."

"Good idea."

Then Luke turned his lightsaber off and they all cautiously went in the cavern. As they were all inside, they suddenly got a cold feeling, like stepping into a tool shed on a warm day. Luke knew that he and the others were in for one wild ride.

Lines of torches hung on the wall stretched all the way down in a far end if the corridor. Quietly and carefully, the heroes went down the hall to look for this Waraabe and his band of cutthroats, and they saw a rather short Jackalian that looked like he was ready to skin someone alive with his shorts curvy knife. “Gah, Waraabe doesn’t pay me enough to do this job.” He muttered.

His voice sounded a little like a guitar in tune. This creature’s back was slightly hunched, and he wore baggy pants the color of purple, and his skin and fur were bone white. Another feature he has was some small braids dangling from his head, and he had two sharp teeth protruding from his mouth.

“That must be Hefir.” Zecora whispered to her friends.

All of a sudden, Spike made a sneeze so loud, it echoed through the hallway. “What? What the hell is that?” He pulled out another knife that looked like his first one. “Come out whoever you are!”

“I got an idea.” Said Twilight. “Discord, turn Luke divisible when I give you the signal.”

“What signal? We’re invisible.”

“Just look at the magic from me horn.” 

“Oh. I see.”

Luke slowly approached Hefir quietly from behind and ignited his lightsaber. The sound of the colorful blade igniting scared the living daylight out of the coward, and turned around to see not Luke, but the glowing blade from the lightsaber. “Sweet Horus!” Hefir exclaimed. “It’s a ghost!”

Twilight’s magic appeared and Discord turned Luke divisible again. “Heeeeere’s Lukey!” He Said. He swung his lightsaber at him, but the Jackalian was fast and dodged in time to try and slice Luke with his two daggers.

Larry shot his weapons from his hands, and Hefir tried running away, but he was caught in midair by Twilight’s magic. Starlight glimmer pulled out some rope and tied the coward down. “Gah! Unhand me!” Hefir struggled. “What do you want from me?!”

“Give us Waraabe, and we’ll let you go.” Luke said sternly.

“The bowels!” Hefir shouted in desperation. “Waraabe is in the bowels beneath this crypt! That’s all I know, i swear!”

“Thank you.” Spike.

They were all about to go down the caverns to look for Waraabe and Hefir exclaimed: “Wait, wait! Let me go!”

“Fat chance, buddy!” Said Rainbow Dash,

“We Said we would let you live, not unhand you from that rope.” Said Okove.

“I expected someone a little braver than you, Hefir.” Luke remarked. “ it, you’re just a big, fat coward. What would your leader have to say about this?”

Hefir continued struggling and trying to break free from the rope, but to no avail. For good measure, Starlight put some duct tape over his mouth so that none of the other Red Scar bandits would hear him scream or call for help.

“Do you think he was telling the truth?” Asked Starlight

“I think he was.” Said Applejack. “I can tell by his eyes that he was,”

“Well I hope he doesn’t escape.” Said Fluttershy. “He can go and warn his leader about our presence,”

“Nah, I tied him up real good, Fluttershy.” Applejack gloated. “I am a pretty good wrangler. No animal would ever try to escape from my rope before.”

“True.” The yellow Pegasus admitted. “You’re right. He’s too afraid of us to ty and tattletale on us to his leader.”

Discord snapped his finger again and he and the others were all invisible again. There were a few staircases to go down from, and the torches on the walls were showing them the way down in this crypt.

Overtime, they encountered many types of bandits in this crypt: zebras, addax, oryx, khajiit, And Jackalian. There were some unpleasant conversations between these brutes, like a khajiit member said to anither Jackalian: “Did you see the way I slight her throat?” And he gave a loud laugh.

“It can’t be as funny as when I kicked that little zebra boy.” Said The Jackalian. “The way he cried was hilarious! And he was like a puny insect trying to escape death!”

Twilight, Spike, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, And the others were very unnerved and angered by how cruel and evil they sound. 

“Not to mention how you fed that baby khajiit to our dogs.” Said the Jackalian.

“I fed a dog to a pair of hyenas after I was done killing it.” The Khajiit remarked.

Fluttershy herself was becoming extremely angry hearing about animals suffering like this. “How dare they?” Was what she was thinking. “Hay dare they do that to those poor babies?!”

“Calm down, Fluttershy.” Said Lyra. “We’ll deal with them later. For now, Waraabe is our top priority.”

Everyone just snuck past these guards in this place, Twilight thought to herself: “This is just awful, I never met a group of marauders so cruel.”

“Just wait until princess Celestia and Luna find out about this monsters.” Spike thought, feeling just as appalled by these monsters as Twilight and Fluttershy were.

Some of the guards were taken down by Luke’s lightsaber so that they wouldn’t alert their boss. At last, they stopped and hid behind a large pile of gold these brutes had stolen, and the peeked to see a lone Jackalian on a golden throne, looking mighty like an actual king or a sultan.

This Jackalian had a headdress on his head that looked like a pharaoh's crown, except it was more gold than Bayek, and it was the only color. He had red eyes glowing from his sockets and he looked like a lazy type of Jackalian. He had a small plate of armor on his right shoulder made of silver with a protruding spike growing out of it, yes, this person had to be Waraabe. He looked more clever and intimidating than any of his mates, not to mention that scar on his right left made him look more tough.

Luke looked on and now that they had all found Waraabe, they needed to look for Farid and see if he was still alive. They heard Waraabe sigh in relaxation. "I really love the good life of being a king of bandits, what more could a humble Jackalian like me want in life?"

"What about that Farid fella?" asked an Addax warrior.

"Heh. He put up a good fight." said Waraabe coldly. "At least, he gave me this scar to prove how much of a good fighter he was before I... put an end to him."

Whilst while he still didn't notice the heroes watching him, they all gasped hearing that. It turns out that they were too late in saving Farid, and this was all for nothing. However, Luke remembered Bayek asking him to bring his brother's khopesh back where it belongs.

"Does that mean we failed?" asked Fluttershy

"Not quite." Luke replied. "At least we can get that sword back to Bayek. And Waraabe still needs to be stopped."

"Where you go," said Twilight. "We'll go with you."

"And we'll help you every step of the way." said Lyra boldly.

Just then, an oryx guard came rushining in the room, looking quite frantic. "Boss, boss!" he shouted, bowing to his leader. "Some of our boys are dead! I don't know who did it, but someone's in here trying to kill us!"

Waraabe had a troubling look on his face, and had a thinking face on. "Damn. I bet it's that Bayek. He probably wants revenge on me for killing his pathetic brother."

"We don't know who it was," said the oryx. "But this person seems deadly."

"Just muster the guard and find this assassin. Bring me his head on a pike as a trophy."

"Got it." then the oryx went to rally his men on the intruders.

Luke gulped, knowing he was in deep trouble now. Still, he needed to look for the khopesh in this crypt. They quietly sneaked away past this marauder leader and they found themselves in a room where a skeleton was. He had a noble armor with the seal of king Anubis on the breastplate. Luke immediately recognized who this was. They turned divisible and looked at the corpse.

"Poor Farid." said Fluttershy. She felt like crying. "What will we tell Bayek?"

"Sometimes it's too late to save a life." said Larry. He picked up the khopesh, and looked at it. It was golden and curvy, and the handle was the color of black. "At least we can do is bring this back to Bayek and his family where it belongs."

"I think not." said a voice. From behind them, Waraabe was behind them with a smug look look on his evil face. "You thought you could all hide from me?"

"Waraabe!" said Zecora. "How did you all figure out we were all here?"

"We Jackalians have an excellent sense of smell." then he pulled out a curvy scimitar from his back. What brings you all here to my hideout?"

"We're here to help our friend Bayek out in a favor."

"Ah, so that coward sent you to kill me?" Waraabe's smirk grew. "Well that was a poor choice of him. He should have came to me himself. No matter, I'll send him a message that he should not have someone do his work for him, especially for avenging his worthless brother."

"You have committed very unforgivable crimes, Waraabe!" said Twilight. "If princess Celestia and Luna were here, you would be immediately arrested for your crimes."

"And be put in jail for the rest of your life!" said Spike.

Waraabe couldn't help but emit a loud laugh. "Do you really think jail would keep me from doing what I want? If I want to kill, I kill."

"No!" Luke said. "You're terrorizing over the land of Anugypt ends now." then he turned on his lightsaber again, and aimed it at the bandit leader.

"I am not afraid of anything, especially Princess Twilight, and the Elements of Harmony." the six friends gave a surprise look. "Oh yes. I know all about you and your little gang. It will be a real pleasure for me to kill you all." he made an evil laugh, and was ready to attack them all. "Farid brought me the most wonderful gift you know, and I hope you have something to compare."

"Over my dead body!" Luke shouted in irritation.

"That's the idea." Waraabe smile evilly. "Come out, my friends!" A large group of his friends came from behind him, and ready to kill Luke and his friends.

"You're no match for us, you dog!" said Discord, pulling out his ninja armor again with a snap of his finger, and had nunchuks in his hand, making ninja sounds.

"Kill them all!" the leader barked. Just like that, an all-out battle began between both sides. Starlight Glimmer kicked an addax bandit in the face, making him fall into a pile of gold, and she shouted: "is that all you got?!"

Spike was dodging many slices from scimitars, khopeshes, and claws from some khajiit, a preferable weapon for that race. He was able to breath fire on some of them, even burning their buts just for fun. These bandits were very quick on their feet, and nimble in combat. Despite how fast, everyone fought the best they can against these cutthroats. Fluttershy managed to break one of the Jackalian bandits' neck, killing him instantly, Rainbow Dash was butting heads with an oryx, suffering a few bruises in the process, but she was eventually victorious.

"There's so many of them!" said Starlight.

"We can't give up!" Lyra said before kicking a khajiit bandit in the torso. "We all need to keep on fighting!"

Luke was swinging his lightsaber here and there at many enemies, killing them instantly with no mercy. Larry was suddenly tackled by a khajiit, trying to slice him with his claws like a rabid raccoon, but Larry managed to kick him in the face with boh his feet, and shot him in the head as he was lying on the ground.

Just then, he heard the sound of an enemy charging from behind him, but Luke's father was just as quick as his incoming opponent. It was a Jackalian, and he dodged a slice from his khopesh by ducking, and punched him in the face before shooting him from his chin, going through his brain.

"Nice shot, Larry." Okove remarked.

"Thanks. I too two years of training with a gun."

Meanwhile, Luke was dodging many attacks from Waraabe himself, and he was fighting so hard against this merciless cutthroat. He wanted to help Bayek avenge his brother's death by killing the man who caused his death. Slicing and dicing, Waraabe was putting up a good fight, and he kicked Luke in the face, making him fall to the ground, but Luke was just as quick, and rolled out of the way to not be pierced from Waraabe's incoming scimitar.

Luke kicked him in the face back, and punched him two times. He then had an idea, and when Waraabe was going to slice him horizontally to the right, Luke grabbed his right hand by the wrist, and cut it off with the lightsaber. The evil jackalian cried in agony, and fell to his knees on the floor. "My hand!"

"Surrender, Waraabe!" Luke demanded, pointing his sword at him. "Just come with us quietly, and everything won't be worse for you."

Waraabe made a small growl. "You think I will surrender to a scab like you, boy?! I would rather forfeit my life. I am the greatest thief of them all!"

Then the leader looked around, and saw all of his crew were dead, and he was the only one left alive in this posse. Left with no other options, he tried charging at Luke one more time with his scimitar in his left hand, but he was sliced in the torso, falling dead on the ground.

At last, justice has been served and this group was no more. Luke picked up the khopesh in his left hand and put his lightsaber back on the right side of his belt. He looked at Farid's skeleton and he said: "Rest in piece." to it

"Are you okay, Luke?" asked Fluttershy

"Just fine. Like I said, sometimes it's too late to save a life."

Fluttershy smiled. "I know. You fought so well. I'm proud of you." and she gave him a pat on the back two times. "Bayek will want this khopesh back with him."

"Agreed. Let's get out of here." said Discord.
> May Farid Walk the Field of Reeds
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a rather wild ride, for The bad guys have been cleared out in their cave of a hideout and Justice had (almost) been served. Waraabe was probably still at large and out in hiding, feeling so disgraced and injured from what Luke had done to him, but that was not important. Now, Luke had Farid's Khopesh and he needed to bring it back to Bayek and his family to honor them all.

"Discord, can you maybe teleport us back to Anubis?" asked Larry. "i don't feel like walking all the way back there on foot."

"My feet are getting a little tired from all that fighting." Luke remarked. "My arms, too."

"no problemo." Discord boldly said, then with a snap of his right finger, he and his friends were back in the flourishing city of Anubis and they just needed to find Bayek now.

Just about everyone was feeling tired, except for Rainbow Dash, whom she loved fighting more than anyone else in this posse.

"God, I need to get more water." Luke said in an exasperated voice. He opened his  little and saw that he was all out if the soothing cold liquid, with only the ice cubes left.

"Ah. There you all are." Said Bayek, recognizing everyone in the group. He helped Luke up. And a couple if Jackalians, Khajiit, addax, oryx, and zebras helped them up. "Are you all alright?"

"Just fine." Fluttershy said. "We have gotten ourselves into trouble down there where those bandits lived."

“Did they all hurt you?” Asked the Jackalian.

“Just a few... minor scratches on us.” Twilight replied. “But we managed to get out of there alive. Waraabe was a very awful Jackalian.”

“Indeed. He has no morals, and he does not care who he kills, as long as it involves money.” Bayek remarked. “But, you all look a little tired from all that traveling and fighting. Come. We’ll go to Meneki’s ans Treat you well.”

“Free water and hibiscus tea on the house when we get there.” Meneki boldly Said with pride. They all followed the two back to the Sandy Camel for some water to cool themselves off from the desert heat outside.

Bayek sat with Luke, and he asked: “Did you find Farid.”

The young human bowed his head in shame and sadness. “I have.” He Said. “I!m very sorry Bayek, but he’s dead.”

Bayek felt like sobbing hearing that sad news. “I see.”

“Trust me, I really wished I could have saved him. I just wish I could have gone there sooner to save him-“

“You need not worry about that.” Said Meneki. “There was nothing you could have done.”

“Sometimes it’s too late to save a life.” Said Bayek. “What of the khopesh?”

“That I did bring back.” Said Luke. He pulled out the golden, gleaming sickle-Sword, and showed it to the Jackalian. “I believe this is yours and your family’s.” He gave it to Bayek, and he smiled warmly.

Thinking in his head: “May you walk the field of reeds, my brother,” and he was silent as he was looking at this weapon some more. “It’s a really fine piece of crafting material made out of crocodile teeth and rhino horn.”

Luke looked up at him in shock. “You don’t kill rhinos, do you?”

“No, no, no, of course not. There are some rhinos around here that willingly have their horns cut off for if they do not want to live a warrior’s life.”

“Ah. Okay. That’s fine. As long as you didn’t poach him then that!s Okay.” Luke remarked.

“What about Waraabe?”

“Did you kill him?” Asked an addax customer.

“Well.... almost.” Said Luke. “I almost killed him, but he coasted smoke at us and he got away from us. I cut off his right hand and all, but I didn’t kill him. I’m very sorry Bayek. I shouldn’t have hesitated to do kill him when I had the chance.”

"It is alright. As long as he felt my pain after what he did to Farid."

"What if he comes back?" Asked Spike. "He'll really kill us all after we killed all of his crew. Except for one."

"Who else escaped?" Asked Meneki.

"It was a guy named Hefir." Discord replied

"Hefir?" Bayek recognized that name. "That would not surprise me that he would run away from all the fighting and commotion you all caused."

"Hefir has no sense of honor like Waraabe. He's a spineless coward that can't even take care of himself." Neneki remarked. "Pfft, he wouldn't even be worth being put to the sword in the name of justice."

"Yeah, that guy was such a cryababy." Rainbow Dash said.

"All of those brutes we have defeated and completely uncouth."

"Well," said Applejack. "Does this mean the Red Scar is no more?"

"I wouldn't say that." Said a familiar voice. It was that oryx that Luke and all his friends met before. 

"Oded. It's you." Said Bon Bon.

"I have heard justice has been done." Said the scimitar-horned oryx.

"Almost. You might have heard, but Waraabe and Hefir have escaped from us."

"They will not get far." Said an addax cow. "Both of them are wanted criminals and they will be recognized by everyone in Anugypt."

"Yeah, the authorities will probably take care of him now." Said Applejack. "But. What if he follows us back to Equestria?"

"Nah. It's not like he can just replace his right hand with a deadly, robotic hand." Luke said.

Everyone laughed at Luke's thought. "That is so true." Lyra agreed. "Maybe be bled to death from the amount of blood be lost."

"Goodness!" Fluttershy said. "I don't want to think about that. Too gruesome."

"Agreed." Said Lyra.

"Well, here's your khopesh, Bayek. I've brought it back for you." Luke remarked. 

Bayek smiled gratefully, and he looked at Luke. "You should keep it." He thought.

Luke's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? But, I'm not a member of your family and I don't want to disrespect you by wielding this. What if you have a kid you want to be a warrior and have him wield it?"

"Holding it would be a rather painful memory, it would remind me if Farid too much, and this was his sword. And besides, it will do no one any good by being mounted on a wall, or moldering in a forgotten crypt."

"True. So true." Luke said. He took the Golden sickle sword and looked at it. He thought of how handy this weapon can be. "Hmmm. This is a really cool sword." He thought to himself.

"Carry it with honor." Said Bayek.

"Thank you. I will Bayek."

"Lucky you." Said Rainbow Dash. "That is so awesome!"

"Here. I'll hold on to it for you, Luke." His father said.

"Thanks, dad."

Just then, a couple of guards came in the room with shields and sickles in their hands. "You!" Said the first one. "Are you the ones that dealt away with the Red Scar?"

Fluttershy, Spike, and the others were a little scared by how they looked. These guards looked terrifying a little. "Uhhh, yeah. That's us."

"Why?" Asked Pinkie Pie.

"King Anubis the sixty-third wants to talk to all of you over what you just did." Said the second guard.

"Follow us." Said the third.

"Are we in trouble?" Asked Fluttershy nervously.

"Just come with us." The first guard just replied flatly. The heroes all followed him while Bayek, Meneki, and the other patrons of the Sandy Camel looked on in great concern. It certainly looked like they were in trouble for a crime they didn't commit.

Still, they all didn't know that for sure. The guards didn't say they were all in trouble per se. They didn't really sound pissed or angered either, so the heroes might be in for a big surprise once they get to the palace.
> King Anubis the 63rd
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The royal palace in the center of Anubis city looked so beautiful inside. Especially the decorations and hieroglyphics painted on the walls and stone cylinders. Lamy swords and khopesh were mounted on the wall for display, and Egyptian shields were on them as well.

It was a very interesting display of decorations and Egyptian culture, except no humans of course.

Despite how beautiful and interesting it looked, Luke was still feeling a little scared about what the king of this place wanted of him and his friends. He thought that Perhaps maybe king Anubis wanted to commend him for taking care of the Red Scar.

A couple of Khajiit women were seen taking water from one of the ponds near the entrance, wearing elegant Egyptian-style silk dresses

Several Jackalian guards were standing firm and tall near the passageway, along with some torches mounted on the wall colored in yellow fire.

The guards stopped and there was a Jackalian sitting on a golden throne and two elite soldiers next to him with long spears behind their backs, and straight swords made of copper and breastplate armor. Their shields were round and made of silver with the jackalian insignia at the center.

As for the king himself, he looked so majestic, and he was as black as night. He wasn't majestic in an unctuous way like Waraabe was sitting on his little throne. King Anubis himself worked a golden loincloth and had a golden sword that was straight and had a black hilt.

He had a headdress on his head with dreadlocks and beads in it. Anubis' hair was longer than Bayek's, a little past his waist, and his eyes blazed a red.

Despite how a little intimidating he looked, Luke didn't want to be too quick to judge him. The king slowly arisen from his throne, and walked down.

Luke and Larry knew he was a king and they both bowed to him, on their left knees to show him the respect he deserves.

Twilight, Spike, Lyra, Fluttershy, and the others in this group did the same thing and bowed to Anubis in respect. The king looked down, and Luke found himself in front of his dog-like feet. His claws looked shiny glistening under the light. “Welcome, visitors.” Said The king in a humble voice. It was a little lower than Bayek’s, and a little more wiser as well, but everyone was a little nervous by how this will end in meeting him for ten first time. “Rise up.”

Then Everyone got back up, standing straight. “You are King Anubis the sixty-third, right?” Asked Larry.”

“Yes. I am the proud ruler of this glorious city, and Anugypt.” The king replied before chuckling. “Now that you are all here, I heard that you have slain the Red Scar.”

“Well.... almost.” Luke Said. “Waraabe got away, and so did Hefir.”

“Hefir was there?” Asked Anubis.

“Uh-Huh.” Larry replied. “They were very clever when it comes to fighting.”

“My lord!” A voice said. They all looked at the doorway, and Bayek came rushing through panting and catching his breath. “Please, Wait!”

“Bayek.” Anubis recognized him. “I did not summon you.”

“Your majesty, please listen to me. They did not do anything wrong.”

“Of course not.” The king remarked. “Why would you even think they would be in trouble, my friend?”

“Well your guards came in the Sandy Camel like they were about to be arrested.” Bayek explained. “They took out the Red Scar.”

“I know that. That is what I heard from my source.” The king said. Looking back at the heroes, he addressed to them all: “You have all done a really excellent service for me, and all the good people of Anugypt.”

“Even though the leader escaped?” Asked Fluttershy nervously.

“Well, I was about to kill him,” Luke explained next. “But he stunned me and my friends with a smoke bomb. I did cut off his right hand though.”

“Hmm. Interesting.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t kill him and hesitated before.” Luke Said. “I was just thinking to myself If I should have killed him or not.”

“There is no need to apologize for that, child.” Said Anubis. He gently put a hand on his left shoulder. “We all have those feelings of conflict within us, and you were only trying to figure what was right and what was wrong.”

“Now i’m Worried that Waraabe will wreak havoc again, and rebuild a new order of Red Scar.” Said Luke. “He might kill me after what I did to his hand, and Hefir is at large, too.”

“You need not worry about that.” The king reassured him. “Waraabe is one of the most wanted criminals in all of Anugypt, and so is Hefir.”

“What’s The price on his head?” Asked Rarity.

“Five-hundred thousand golden drachmas dead or alive.”

“Five-hundred thousand drachmas?” Said Rainbow Dash. “I need to find him, then i’ll Be rich!”

“Calm down there, Rainbow.” Applejack intervened. “We don’t even know where he is now. Who knows where he might be hidin’ in right now.”

“She speaks the truth.” Said king Anubis. “He would know better not to set foot here, or any other city or settlement. In Anugypt, everyone knows everyone, and he would be arrested on the spot by individuals. Waraabe’s face is someone jackalians like us, Khajiit, addax, oryx, zebra, or anyone else in Anugypt would never forget about. Now, do tell me all your names.”

Luke was the first one to introduce himself to Anubis and bowed his head to respect to him. Then Rarity was next, then Pinkie Pie, Then Applejack, And Discord was the last. “I reckon you might know what I am.”

“Oh yes.” Said king Anubis in irritation. “I know who you are too well, master of chaos. You have caused quite a lot of grief and the people of Anugypt all those years ago. My ancestor was most displeased when you offended him.”

Discord gulped. “Look, I am very sorry, your majesty. I know I have done some horrible pranks to all of you, but.... that was the past and.... I have reformed and I am no longer the creature you all hated in the past. Can you not see my as a stranger asking for forgiveness, not an old enemy?”

Anubis was silent, But he ultimately replied: “I suppose I can. And it is like you said, Discord. That was all in the past and it cannot be undone.”

Discord smiled gratefully. “good. I’m glad you have decided to forgive me.”

“However, I would like you to make amends for my people and inhabitants of Anugypt by doing more good.”

“I can assure you he will do his best to Right his wrongs, your majesty.” Fluttershy implied. “Right Discord?”

“Right.” the Drancequus nodded his head to her boldly. "Look, I would truly like to make things right with all of you good people of Anugypt."

The king smiled. "Good." And he looked at Luke. "Young Luke. I am certainly pleased by the great service you have done for me and all my good subjects of my kingdom. Yes, you might not have killed Waraabe and Hefir, but they will not go far after what you just pulled."

"Well, I don't want to hog all the credit to myself." Luke modestly stated. He looked back at his father and his newest friends. "I had a little help."

"There is no shame in having those who care about you help you out, my child." Said Anubis the sixty-third.

"And I wanted to help save Bayek's brother, Farid, but i was too late."

"Oh yes. Farid was one of my finest soldiers. So loyal, so brave, so dutiful. At least his death was not in vain after all you have done."

"He was my brother, my king." Bayek said. "Luke has Indeed, done us a really great service to rid us of the Red Scar."

"Yes. For that, I name you all heroes of Anugypt." Abubis announced. An uproar of cheering was heard from the small crowd of witnesses to this meeting.

"And let them be recognized as true friends of Anubis city." Bayek added.

"Agreed."

"Well. I don't know about a reward." Said Spike. "I'm sure what we did was thanks enough."

"Perhaps, child." The king remarked. "But still, you have done us a magnificent task for us all. All of you."

"Bayek was more than happy to let Luke have his brother's sword." Said Zecora. "And he is a Jackalian of his word."

"Yes. A rather honorable gift for someone who has defeated the Red Scar." Okove added.

"Bayek did say that it will do nopony any good in a crypt." Lyra noted

"And I absolutely agree with him. A Jackalian, khajiit, or a human in this case, should carry a weapon with honor."

"They are all heroes to us." Said a female khajiit.

"Yes. Very brave, very heroic, very loyal." Anubis agreed. "I name you all welcome to Anubis city whenever you want, and name you heroes first class."

Another uproar was heard. Twilight, Pinkie Pie, their friends, and the two zebra siblings smiled at being called heroes like this.

"Now, I think you all deserve a reward for your bravery in riding us of those bandits." Said Anubis. "I hereby give you all free access to the city whenever you feel like visiting and a Diamond to all of you."

"Diamond?" Asked Rarity. "Well, that is certainly flattering of you, your majesty. That should certainly suffice for the deed we have accomplished."

"Yeah. I love gems." Spike added.

King Anubis made yet another chuckle, and he said: "I know you do, Spike. I know very well of dragons and what they eat." He snapped his finger, and an oryx servant came out with two bags on his side. Both of them were containing diamonds in them to share with everyone.

Rarity was the first one to have one, and so did Spike. Then Luke, his father, the elements of harmony, Lyra and Bon Bon, Zecora and Okove, and Discord."

These diamonds looked so beautiful and shiny under the light, a color of gleaming white, and everyone can see through through the shards.

"Now, let us hear it for princess Twilight, her friends, and the heroes who saved us from the Red Scar menace!" Anubis announced in a roar.

Am even bigger hearing was heard in the crowd, almost as loud as at a football field with a large audience.

"Congratulations. And may you accomplish more on your journeys."

"Are we finished here?" Asked Luke.

"That you are, boy."

"Oh. Good."

"This calls for a celebration." Said Bayek. "Some food is a good suggestion."

"Agreed!" Rainbow said.

"Yeah. I'm hungrier than a timber wolf in the middle of May." Applejack added.

They were all escorted out and before Luke went out the door, Anubis stopped him. "My sincere apologies for halting you." He Said. "But, I really thank you and your friends for dealing with this threat of bandits. And Luke,"

"Hmm?"

"I hope you have a good stay in Zebrica. And when this happens again, never hesitate and before to do what you think is right." 

Luke smiled in gratitude. "Thank you, your highness. I will enjoy the remainder of my trip here."

"May Anubis, my ancestor who was the first, who turned into a god of course, guide you along the way to good fortune."

"Were all those kings named Anubis?"

"Of course. There is no other name greater that would fit a king here."

"Fair enough."

"And the first one became the god of the dead and protector of us all."

This sounded like the mythological god of the dead and mummification in his home, except, Anubis was real in this world.

"And also, may Horus help you as well."

"Thanks. Nice meeting you, King Anubis." Abd Luke gave him one last bow in respect before leaving the palace.

For Luke, this was an honor to see yet another king out here in Zebrica.

Fluttershy was walking next to him on his right, and she asked: "what did he want from you?"

"He just told me good luck and all that. That's all."

"Oh. Well these diamonds are so beautiful. I think I will put them somewhere safe in my cottage when we get back home."

"Same with me." 

"So do you feel like a hero, Luke? Because that was a very nice thing you did for Bayek, and all the Jackalians, Khajiit, addax, zebras, and antelope of Anugypt."

"I always feel like a hero here. The time I saved you from Chrysalis, and other things."

"I know." She smiled adorably
> Finicky Little Foxes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The food was absolutely good at the Sandy Camel and Everyone was full with the yummy Anugyptian cuisine in their bellies. Of course, being travelers, they all had to leave and go back to the city of Agbaje, Zecora's home village.

Still, it was very fun while it lasted in Anugypt. Luke also knew that he will come back and it was not a final goodbye to Bayek, Meneki, King Anubis, and the other inhabitants of Anubis city, and the same for his friends around him.

Luke was just outside of Anubis city and looked at the oasis near the thriving town. It was still glistening a sparkling glow at the surface under the sun. He hoped that this oasis will last and keep many animals hydrated and happy as possible. At the horizon, Fluttershy saw a maribou stork looking for fish to eat, and walking on it’s stilt-like legs.

“It must have been quite an honor for you to be a hero, Luke.” Said Zecora. “Whether it was intentional, or you just got lucky and it was a fluke.”

“Like I have Said before, Zecora.” The young human noted. “I don’t want to hog all the credit, you guys helped me and taking Waraabe and his men alone would be certifiable.”

“Yeah. We’re all heroes.” Said Rainbow Dash. “I hope everypony in Zebrica knows how awesome I am.”

Everyone laughed. “I’m pretty sure they do, Rainbow.” Said Twilight. “And it was an honor to see King Anubis. And I can hardly wait for Jackalians, addax, oryx, or Khajiit to come and attend the school of Friendship.”

“It’s still a long way to go, Twilight.” Said Applejack.

“I know, I know. But still. It would be nice to have some new students wanting to learn more about friendship.”

It was just then the maribou storm flew away with a big fish in it’s beak. The others just decided to go head back to the train station a few miles from where the city was and wait for the next stop to Agbaje.

Just then, Larry stopped to get a drink of water when he saw a black emperor scorpion crawling on his black, heavy-duty shoes. He yelled and shook it off. “Larry What happened?” Spike Asked.

“Just a scorpion crawling on my shoe.”

“Oh.” Fluttershy looked at the scorpion as she bent her head, and then she picked it up with her hoof. “Look at how cute he is.”

“Careful Fluttershy. Scorpions are very venomous.” Okove warned her.

“Don’t worry. These scorpions are harmless.” Said Fluttershy. “He was only curious about Larry’s shoe.” She then put the arachnid down, and said to it: “Just be more careful where toy are crawling.”

The large black scorpion nodded his head go her and dug itself in the golden sand.

“Well come on.” Said Discord.

Luke pulled out his new khopesh sword while walking to the train station, and looked at how shiny and golden it was under the glistening sun. This sword looked beautiful and deadly, and he can imagine how scared his enemies will be when they get sliced and pierced with this weapon. He can even imagine how afraid his foes would be before being decapitated with this golden blade.

“I hope you will be careful with that sword, Luke.” Said Larry. “I know you’re a grownup now, but you can still poke your eye out if you’re not careful.”

“Don’t worry dad,” said Luke. “I’ll be just fine.”

“A stylish yet functional accessory, even though I am not one for such weapons like this one.” Rarity remarked.

"That's just like ya, Rarity." Said Rainbow Dash. "Always choosing fashion over violence."

"And qhat's wrong with that, darling?" Asked Rarity.

"Nothing. Just saying."

All of a sudden, Spike suddenly tripped and fell over and saw a little burrow that had to be the home of some unknown animal.

"Spike. Are you okay?" Twilight said, getting him back up. "Do you have sand in your eyes?"

"Nah. Just fine. I just didn't know where u was going." Spike replied. "U wonder who lives down there."

"Probably some snake or cobra." Twilight remarked. A shiver went down her spine. "I don't want to stay here and find out."

They all continued walking and stumble across a couple if medium-sized rocks clung to one another. It was a rather interesting type of scenery put here in the Stripeless desert and it made Luke wonder if any kind of creatures lived in these rocks.

Not only rocks, but there were about six burrows around the area. All of a sudden, a crean-colored canid popped it's head out of one of the holes, and it slowly descended to looked around for possibly, food.

It's ears were big and it looked at the group and it gave a weary stance. It was a fennec fox that came out of that hole.

"Aww, hello." Fluttershy said. She went up to the fox and tried to interact with it. The little guy gave a little nip and growled softly. "Shhh, it's okay, little baby." She quietly said to it.

It took a little while, but the fox eventually came to accept her once she began scratching it's chin with her left hoof, and it apparently liked it.

"Yes, yes." Fluttershy said playfully. "You're such a cute little fox, aren't you?" The little fennec fox made a cute squeal noise, and enjoyed more petting from Fluttershy.

"What is that?" Asked Applejack

"A fennec fox." Luke said. "These guys are also native to Africa, the Sahara desert to be exact. Sometimes, these guys are kept as pets."

"Who could blame humans for keeping them?" Said Pinkie Pie. "They look soooooo cute!"

"Just look at those ears?" Said Lyra. "Looks like this guy can hear anything within miles away from here."

Just then, a couple norenfoxes came out of there hole and interacted with Fluttershy.

Luke couldn't help but join in on the fun, and then Pinkie Pie. He gently held the fox and felt one of them pawing his right calf.

"Those ears are just to die for." Said Pinkie Pie.

It was a rather adorable little scene to experience for everyone. "Is there no animal Fluttershy can tame?" Asked Okove. "It is a really good thing we have her on our side."

"Yes. Fluttershy can tame any animal. Even if it sounds quite impossible and inevitable." Zecora agreed with her older brother.

"Well, I wish we can be with you a more, but we really need to go back to Agbaje." Fluttershy said. The fox got off her arms m, and the same for the one Luke was holding, and almost all of them went back to their holes. The biggest one waved bye to the group and went back inside the hole.

First a family of striped hyenas and now fennec foxes? Could this get any better for Luke?

"Well that was adorable." Said Rarity. "Just look at the cutest wittle ears." Now she wished she could have held a fox in her arms right now. Of course, there was Opal, who she really misses back home, and Spike to keep her company.

While waiting for a train back to Agbaje, Luke looked around at the desert again, looking beautifully golden-orange, and the wind blowing through the sand dunes. He knew that this trip to Zebrica was almost over, but he knew it was worth it, and he can always come back here whenever he felt like it, and all the friends he made on this beautiful piece of land.

He couldn’t wait to get back in the guest room, and get some rest yet another long yet fun day. In his head, Luke wondered if there was a gigantic mountain similar to Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, like a gigantic tic mountain covered in glaciers and ice caps on top of it. 

“So did you have fun, Luke?” Asked Discord curiously.

"Yeah, that was awesome. Meeting a king and getting this nice khopesh sword as a present and or souvenir." Luke replied.

"Not to mention how many bandits we killed." The drancequus noted. "And how you brutally incapacitated Waraabe by cutting his arm off."

"Oh Discord." Bon Bon said in disgust. "That's a little too far. Are you bloodthirsty or something?"

"Don't listen to him." Said Applejack.

"Discord just loves getting a reaction from anypony he can interact with." Twilight said. "You know how much he loves to get under ponies skins."

"What? Me? I wouldn't even know how." Discord said in mock-offense. It sounded very exaggerated, and they all knew he was lying.

It was just then the train came and picked the group up. "I can't believe qe're almost done with the trip." Spike noted.

"I guess we were having so much fun I lost track of what the time was." Fluttershy added.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted." Luke said. "Besides, we only got two more days until we all get back to Equestria."

"The least we can do is make the best of it." Zecora added. "We can have as much fun as possible and enjoy Zebrica before we depart home."

"Are you sure you want to remain in Equestria and not Agbaje?" Said Okove. "Father misses you, I miss you, and everyone else misses you, little sister."

Zecora made a small sigh. "I know, older brother, but I have said that Equestria is my home."

Okove made a sad sigh and he replied: “I may not like it, but I do understand and respect your decision.” Zecora smiled with flattery at what his sibling said. Granted, she did miss all the fun things she did with him together, but moving to Equestria was her own decision and she was happy with it. Bedsides, Okove Can at least visit Equestria whenever he felt like coming over to see his sister if she doesn’t really want to move back to Agbaje.

“So what do you think we should do tomorrow?” Asked Applejack.

“Well, I heard of this really nice beach called: Rockhopper Beach.” Said Rarity. “The waters over there are lovely and sparkling under the sun. A perfect place for a dip in the ocean and bathe under the sky.”

She began daydreaming and she was interrupted by Fluttershy with a gasp. “I’ve heard of it, and it is a place with the largest penguin colony in Zebrica. Rainbow penguins, curvy-beaked penguins, Vulture penguins, oh I can’t even describe them all.”

“Rockhopper beach would be a good idea.” Said Zecora. “A beautiful place to gaze at it’s beauty around here.”

“Well then, Rockhopper beach it is.” Said Larry. “That does sound like a lot of fun.” Then everyone was in agreement on this whole plan and how it will go down tomorrow. Everyone should at least think of more things to do before they go on the train home.
> Zebrican Beach Time
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was the second-to-last day on the trip in Zebrica, and Luke was feeling a little bummed, but he did miss Ponyville a little, and he was happy to go back there in two days from now. Still, there was a large beach in Lake Zetoria, about twenty miles from where Agbaje was, and it was the largest lake in Zebrica, like how Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa. This place was a really nice spot to go swimming in and enjoy swimming with fish and other harmless wildlife, and the place even had their own penguins over at the gigantic lake. It looked way bigger than Lake Superior in the United States back home, and it certainly felt like an ocean by what everyone heard from the Zebrican inhabitants.

It was a good thing that Larry brought himself a pair of swimming trunks for both him and his son with him just in case. His own suit was a plain black color and Luke's was a color of green with some palm trees imprinted on it.

Bot was everyone getting ready for this fun time at a beach-like place. Lake Zetoria was quite a hotspot for the tourists and inhabitants alike, and for those good reasons listed. The train to pick them all up to Zetoria will be at Agbaje station very soon, and Luke and his friends made sure they had everything they needed to go.

While waiting at the train station, Luke noticed a gigantic bird looking around for food on the ground, and it looked like somewhat of a crane or a heron, except it's beak was not at long.

It's wings were spotted and it had a brpad-feathery neck, and it walked with a majestic type of walk and pecked at the ground a few times.

Another extinguishing feature it had was a small line of feathers from it's head, and it was like a Crest on it's noggin. It looked like he was three feet tall and it's neck was long.

"Wow. A kori bustard." Luke muttered to himself, trying to get a closer mock at the bird with a pair of binoculars. This truly was a Magnificent type of bird for him to see.

"What's that, Luke?" Pinkie asked, obviously hearing what he had muttered. She looked at the bustard, and her eyes widened with a small gasp. "Ooh. That's a pretty bird."

The others heard what she said and they looked to where this creature was. Everyone else were just as amazed as Luke and Pinkie Pie.

"Gorgeous." Rarity remarked. "Toy are absolutely right, Pinkie Pie. It is a beautiful bird."

"What kind of bird is that?" Asked Bon Bon.

"A kori bustard." Fluttershy recognized it. "So incredible."

"A what?" Asked Lyra

"A kori bustard." Luke said. "These are one of the largest flying birds in my world." Then he pointed out to it with his left finger. "It likes to spend time on the ground most of it's life, and it likes to eat insects, small mammals, and snakes."

The bird began to puff out it's neck in a mating display and it almost looked like a sage grouse with it's neck puffed out like that. "What the hay is it doing?" Asked Rainbow Dash

"Ah, it's just displaying it's feathers on his neck. It's mating season and it's trying to woo a girlfriend with his neck." Luke explained to her. "Probably not always successful."

It was just then the train arrived and the next stop was Lake Zetoria, exactly where the gang had to go next. "All aboard!" Saif the zebra conductor. "All aboard to Lake Zetoria."

"Whoop! That's us." Said Discord. Everyone was obliged to get on the train, and it was just then the bird flew away, showing off it's beautiful wings.

"You know, Luke," Said Fluttershy. "I think I know a perfect job for you."

"What's that, Fluttershy?" Asked Luke curiously as he was preparing to listen to his iPod.

"I think a zookeeper would be a good career for you." The yellow pegasus answered in a cheerful voice.

"A zookeeper?"

"Of course. You really love animals and you would do anything to help them out as much as I do."

"She has a point, Luke." Said the father. "You've always been fascinated with animals since you were a little kid. I haven't forgotten about the time me and your mom bought a zoobook magazine when you were four years old."

Luke did remember that time when his parents got him those magazines when he was just a boy, and he was so happy to get them when he was around that age.

He always loved those kind of books, and how he would always go to the zoo with his parents once in a whole before they got divorced all those years ago. "Maybe. Still I am young and I still don't know what i should do in my life."

"Oh don't be coy." Said Twilight. “I think that would be a perfect career for you. Besides, we all seen how well you handle animals with Fluttershy.”

“That would be fun to do.” Spike added. “Maybe The perfect job for you.”

“Good point, but still, I just need to think about what I should do in my life for a living.” Luke Said. “Besides, I still got some time to think.”

“Oh we know that,” Said Applejack. “Nopony’s forcing ya to change one bit.” And she looked out the window for anything exciting outside.

“I know that. I never said you guys were.”

“Well, Lake Zetoria will be a wondrous spot to visit and have fun in.” Said Okove. “It is a perfect getaway for zebras who want to get away from the scorching rays of the sun that is shining down on these very fields of grass.”

“I can’t wait to see those adorable little penguins that live around the lake. They are just so cute!”

“And I can’t wait to swim with a school of sharks.” Discord added. “Mmmm, maybe I should scare a couple of tourists that are swimming just for kicks.”

“Absolutely not, Discord.” Fluttershy Said.

“Oh, you heard me?” 

“Yes.” Fluttershy replied. “I have a good sense of hearing, Discod, and you know it.”

“Alright alright, I promise, I won’t play shark at all the pool goers.” The Master Of Chaos vowed to her. “Besides, I just hope that this lake is not very far from Agbaje. I singly cannot Wait a long time on the train.”

“Oh, it will not be long, Discord.” Said Zecora. “Trains are faster than the fastest horse.” She peeked out the window and saw a flock of twenty ostriches running through the fields together. “Behold the speed of an ostrich.” She showed her friends the gigantic birds and how they were behaving. “They are absolutely not sweet and innocent like a little partridge.”

“You mean they’re dangerous?” Asked Rainbow Dash

“If you are not careful,” Said Okove. “Then yes,”

“Wouldn’t want to be chased by those birds.” Luke remarked. “They can totally run faster than humans. That’s for sure. And look at the claws at the end of their two feet.”

“They don’t look sharp.” Said Twilight.

“It’s not the sharpness that counts, it’s how fast they move and how fast they can run into you while charging.”

“Good point, Luke.” Said Spike. “They can probably stomp on you with their feet.”

“Hey, look at those birds.” Said Lyra. They all looked over to the right side of the train and saw a couple of ground hornbills hanging out together in peace and harmony. 

“What are those things?” Asked Spike

“Ground hornbills.mthey are like toucans a little, but they are their own species and their beaks are a little more curvy. As their name implies, they like to be on the ground most of the time.”

“Wow. I can see why you love Africa so much.” Said Fluttershy. “They must have animals as beautiful as the ones here.”

After about ten minutes of more looming out the windows, the train stopped and there was the lake on the right of the tracks. They were all there and got ready to get out of this train and have fun in the lake.

As soon as everyone got off, everyone sss so amazed and intrigued by how enormous and beautiful this lake looked. The waters were sparkling under the sun and a flock of geese passed through to the right, honking and hissing as they were passing by.

Of course, it wouldn’t really be a lake without it being surrounded by cattails, green grass, and other plants surrounding the waters. Many semi-aquatic birds were bathing in the lake and some animals like warthogs, wildebeest, and many others were coming to get a drink from it.

“Oh my god.” Luke Said.

“It’s so beautiful out here.” Said Fluttershy. “So incredibly wonderful.”

“Guys glad I suggested Zebrica?” Luke Asked

“Of course we’re glad.” Said Rarity. “I simply admire the scenery and fashion from the tribes here in Zebrica. It is quite an honor to be here in these lands.”

“And it feels so good to visit my old home again.” Zecora added. “It’s like a bear guiding hikers over the mountain.”

“Good. Glad you all like it.” Said Luke.

Looking over at the lake, they saw a large colony of penguins that represented African penguins or mallegenic penguins, at least a species that looked similar to those two species of the flightless birds. These penguins were waddling about the wide, open beach and there were many swimmers around here: eland, kudu, bongos, zebras, Buffalo, and even pony swimmers.

“Oh look at them,” Said Fluttershy. “These penguins are so cute.”

“Oh yes. The Zebrican penguins.” Said Okove. “Rather curious birds and referred to as pests by a number of communities.”

“Come on,” Said Rainbow Dash. “How can a bunch of cute penguins be considered pests?” Okove pointed over to the beach, and there wasa penguin digging in one of coolers on the sand, poking his head inside.

“They’re obviously hungry and looking for food.” Said Spike.

“And they have a tendency to walk on sandcastles.” Okove added.

“Can’t be as bad as getting attacked by a hippo.” Applejack remarked.

“A fair point.” Said Zecora. “Still, it is always good to be careful.”

“What about the crocodiles?” Asked Twilight. “What if they come here in the lake?”

“Not to worry.” Said Zecora. “The lake has an underwater fence to keep away any crocodiles, bull sharks, and other dangerous beasts from trying to eat any swimmers that it would want to eat.

Luke then took off his shirt, leaving his upper body exposed, and Larry did the same thing, and put their shirts in a bag to know where they were after they were done swimming. “Well come on,” Said Pinkie Pie. “Beach party!”

And they they all went to the beach to have some watery fun. The waters of the lake were not so cold, and it was a good temperature to swim in on this warm day in Zebrica. Luke was trying to get a glimpse of any underwater animal that might be lurking below him, and enjoyed swimming inside the lake while doing so.

Of course, anither fun thing he did was hang out with some penguins and swim with them, and he was having a blast with this experience. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were playing the game: Marco Polo, And had a beach ball with them to Play some catch.

“Marco!” Rainbow called

“Polo!” Pinkie replied.

Rarity was just bathing under the sun and didn’t really feel like swimming right now, and had a tanning mirror with her while sunbathing. “This is certainly a paradise for a mare like moi. Such bliss, such relaxation.”

Discord couldn’t help but pull a prank by putting a bunch of chips on her tummy, slowly and quietly. While she was sleeping, Rarity felt something ticklish on her tummy and awoke to see a flock of seagulls squawking and chirping as they were all sitting on her stomach and eating the chips. Rarity immediately freaked out and got out of her reclining chair. “Ha Ha Ha! Oh I love this prank.” Discord Said mischievously.

Poor Rarity was just screaming and trying to thwart off many seagulls as possible. “Get away from me you winged vermin! Go find somewhere else to eat!” But the seagulls didn’t listen and chased after her.

Larry couldn’t help but laugh at what just happened right now. “Hah! Poor Rarity.” Then He took a sip of sprite and hopped in the pool. Fluttershy was having a blast herself and interacted with the many penguins herself as she was swimming, and even talked with them, having nice conversations.

Over the course of time, there was the sound of the penguins braying like donkeys once in a while, but it didn’t bother everyone too much. Spike was relaxing on an inflatable bed above water and had a glass of lemonade as he looked at the sky. He felt something ticklish rubbing against his right side, and he saw a penguin coming up to him. “Hello.” He Said. 

Before he knew it, Spike felt the penguin hop on him, and walk all over his face. 

“Hey! Get off me!” Spike said, pulling the bird away. Despite him swiping it off, the left funk got back on him, and a couple of more penguins joined in. “Oh come on!” He shouted in irritation.

Twilight giggled, seeing what was going on with her little brother right now. “Oh Spike.” She Said. All of a sudden, she saw a fish eagle swooping down next to her, and picked up a trout from the lake, flying all the way back to it’s nest. “Oh my.” She Said. “That was amazing.

Inside the lake was very diverse, many cichlids, catfish, trout, bass, and a couple of harmless eels lived in this gigantic lake. Another thing that amazed Luke was seeing a manatee in this place, and he never really saw a manatee up close before. It was over five feet long, and it was very chubby and broad with his  adorable face.

The young human couldn’t help but gently let it, and the beast was liking it. Manatees were rather unusual animals in the kingdom, but interesting at the same time, and this one went down below to feed on kelp, and seaweed that it can find.
> Thinking About Home
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A small series of braying from the Zebrican penguins were around Lake Zetoria. It wouldn’t surprise Luke since he knew a lot of things about African penguins, like the fact that they tend to bray like a donkey, and it was the reason why they were given another named called: the jackass penguin because of that.

“Ugh. These penguins.” Said Rainbow Dash. “I’m okay with then swimming and all, but they are sounding like mules. It’s starting to become a little annoying.”

“Come on. They are just communicating with one another, Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy Said. “It’s only natural for them to behave like this.” She was feeding one of them some small fish, probably a couple of sardines or anchovies.

Meanwhile, building a sandcastle, Bon Bon And Lyra were making a somewhat large sandcastle, and it turned out great. One little flaw was that, some of these penguins were taking notice. Thanks to their gigantic curiosity.

Bon Bon  tried to stop them from wreaking havoc. “No no no! Don’t touch that-“ one if the penguins stepped and trampled on one of the smaller towers. “Ohhh, we worked so hard on that castle,” she complained.

“Come on, Bon Bon. Think of it as a monster movie where the gigantic monster is attacking a whole city.” Lyra noted. She then saw one of the penguins fluffing it’s feather, And waddling about it’s business, being an animal it is. “Besides, they are just penguins. They can’t do anything to hurt us.”

Bon Bon smirked. “Good point.”

Then even more braying from some penguins were head. Meanwhile, Spike was a little annoyed by how these penguins were invading his personal space a little.

"Come on, you guys." Spike groaned in mild irritation. The baby dragon thought to himself: "well, at least they are not biting me or pecking at me with their beaks."

Applejack was eating a couple of apple fritters from her lunch and she was about to eat the last one, but then,  adore she knew it, she took a bite of nothingness, and saw one of the penguins snatch it from her and eat it himself. 

The bird was happy and began munching l  the fritter like a seagull would do. "Hey!" Applejack exclaimed. "You can't just take things that don't belong to you, you tuxedo varmint!"

"Ah, they're just hungry. And just keep better track of your food." Said Luke

"Heh. I know I know. I wasn't looking right." Applejack chuckled.

Enjoying more swimming time, Luke say a fish eagle swooping down and catching a bass from the lake waters.

It was another interesting sight to see out here in Zebrica, and he never saw a fish eagle up close like that before. He was so glad that there weren't any hippos or crocodiles in this part of this gigantic lake. Otherwise, he would have been in big trouble.

Luke got out and took a sip if his root beer to replenish himself, and he knew he couldn't just drink lake water.

As he went back in the water, he was thinking of Equestria again, and wondered what it will be like once he gets back home. He hoped that nothing has changed so much since he departure five days ago on this vacation.

The next thing he thought of, was all the other friends he knew in Ponyville: Cloudchaser, Flitter, Pip, Thunderlane, Big Mac, Cheerilee, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Diamond Tiara, and others over there.

He really wished that they could all be there with him to witness the beauty of this African-like atmosphere, and enjoy the atmosphere of what it was like.

Perhaps when he gets back home and if the time was right, he will come back and bring some of these friends to Zebrica with him, and explore the wonders of it as he did before.

He went outside of the lake for a little while, and took a break from swimming. He took a while in this to bath ubder the sun and take more sips of his root beer.

Larry couldn't help but sit next to him on the right. "You okay, Luke?"

"Just fine, dad." His son replied flatly. "Just taking a breather from all that swimming. So, what are you gonna do when you get back to Earth?"

"Just get back to work at the Atlantis casino." Said Larry. "Then get in touch with your mom again. She might pester me about how your trip was and if I did a good job taking care of you."

"You know my mom." said Luke.  "Always worried sick about me from time to time."

"She's your mother."

"I know. But I'm an adult, I can take care of myself like every adult should do in their lives."

"I know. Just trying to be a good father here." Larry remarked. "And I'm glad no crocodiles or hippos are here to chomp us in two."

"Zecora and Okove said that this is a very protected part of the lake. No crocs or hippos will kill us over here."

"Agreed. Did you see any fish in there?"

"Cichlids, some catfish, sardines, guppies. Not to mention some crayfish, and all those penguins swimming around to catch those fish."

"This lake is filled with extraordinary wonders." Said Zecors, sitting next to the young human on his other side. "Of course, it is not a good idea to try even the slightest blunder."

"No argument there, Zecora." Said Luke. "So, do you miss Ponyville?"

"Of course." Saidntbe zebra. "Ponyville will always be my home. And as long as my friends and family are alive, I never feel alone. Why do you ask?"

"Just.. kinda starting to miss Ponyville, too."

"Ah, no shame it, Luke." Said Larry, giving him a pat on the back. "I miss my friends at work and your grandparents in Reno."

"Still, it is good for me to visit my old friends and family back home here." Zecora added. "You would not believe how happy I am to see my father and my elder brother here after all his time."

"And how long has it been since you left them?" Asked Luke.

"About five years."

"Five years?" The young human asked in surprise. "Where were you before you came to Ponyville?"

"In Democratic republic of Drongo." Said Zecora. "I was looking for a place to live and I needed money. At first, Drongi seemed like a rather nice and decent place, but then I realized that it wasn't really the proper place for me. I moved into Ponyville, in the Everfree forest, and since it was so quiet and filled with exotic ingredients for potions, I knew that was where I belong."

"Huh." All of a sudden, there was a small barking from the bushes, and out of them came a chacma baboon, looking for something to eat. At last, the monkey found a ripe penguin for the taking while it was not looking at it 

"Uh-oh. Baboon." Okove pointed. "They can be really aggressive if provoked to be so."

All of a sudden, the baboon, pounced on the right penguin and let out a few grunting sounds while the penguin began braying for help. Alas, the rest of the penguins swam into the lake waters where the baboon couldn't touch them at all. That monkey just munch until the penguin can no longer breath and began eating it, with it's dog-like muzzle slightly covered in blood.

Rarity took a look at that, and she looked disgusted and sad by how that poor penguin was mutilated, and even felt like throwing up. "Goodness." she said under her breath. "The poor little penguin."

"Need a doggy bag?" asked Discord

"S'il vous plait." Rarity replied, feeling something coming out of her mouth. She promptly vomited in the doggy bag, probably two times, and her face was all green. "oh no. I think I'll need another." she said. 

"No problem. Another doggy bag a la mode." then with another snap of his finger, Discord created another paper bag out of thin air. Poor Rarity was certainly feel so queasy about watching that baboon eat that bird so barbaric-like. That monkey was already almost done with the bird, and it let out a loud burp, patting his belly.

"Goodness. That baboon must have been hungry" said Fluttershy

"I was never really fund of those monkeys anyway." said Rainbow Dash. "Just look at those mouths and teeth."

"He was only just hungry." said Fluttershy.

After a little while, some vultures came and circled around the corpse, high in the sky, and everyone knew what that meant.

The lone baboon was curious about the humans and couldn't help but climb on Luke's head. The weight was just so much for him to take. "Ah! Can someone please get this monkey off my head?"

"I'll take care of it." said Fluttershy. She hovered over to make eye contact with the chacma baboon, and the monkey began to growl at her a little, trying to be very cautious. "Shhh, calm down." she said to it quietly. "Please, what are you doing here?"

Then the monkey made a few screeching noises and and barks at her in reply.

"Oh. Okay. You were just hungry." said the yellow pegasus. "But can you please get down from my friend? He is not a rock or a tree."

The baboon made a few more barks and promptly got down from Luke. The human was sure glad that monkey didn't use his head as a bathroom, otherwise, he would have sliced the baboon in two with the lightsaber.

The baboon just wandered off into the bush, and the penguins came back out of the water, and mourned for the loss of their fallen family member.

"So, do you know what you will do when you get back to Ponyville?" asked Okove curiously

"I... honestly don't know what I'll do when I get back home." the human remarked. "Probably just unload my things and relax after another long trip on a train."

Okove made a small chuckle and he remarked: "That is a rather good idea. Travelling can be a little exhausting." Then he looked at his little sister. "Listen, Zecora, I am really glad you came back here to Agbaje. So is father. It is a shame you really have to leave soon."

"Do not worry, brother." said Zecora. "I can always visit here, and besides, we still have one more day before I go back to Ponyville with my friends."

Okove smiled. "Good. It is always good to have you around."
> Last Day in Zebrica
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ah, the last day in beautiful, yet mysterious Zebrica. It was about eight o'clock in the morning and Luke was the first one to awaken and take a shower. Washing his body with a bar of lemon-scented soap, and washing his hair with coconut shampoo, Luke could hardly wait to spend the last day in Zebrica to do something fun before he and his cronies go back to Ponyville tomorrow. As soon as he was rinsing out his hair in the shower, he heard a knock on the door. "Luke, is that you in there?" it was Fluttershy, and Luke recognized the sound of her sweet, gentle voice anywhere when it pierces his eardrums.

"Yeah, it's just me, Flutters." the young human called back to her. "Just about to get out of the shower."

"Oh. Okay, I only wanted to make sure." She called to him. "So, do you know what you would want to do today? This is our last day here on our visit."

Luke made a sigh out of slight sadness, for he knew that his closest friend in Equestria wasn't wrong about that. "This sounds stupid but," he said. "I honestly don't know what else to do in Zebrica. Besides, I don't want to just think about what I want."

"It's okay, Luke." said Fluttershy. "We can figure a way out to do something fun."

After a few more minutes in rinsing and cleaning himself off, Luke pulled out his razor and shaved around his face to keep a mustache or a beard from growing around his mouth. Soon as he was finished with his shaving routine, he went forward to brush his teeth, and then his hair to keep it nice, long, and straight.

Yes sir, Luke was already good to go for this last day in Zebrica. He stepped out, and he awoken a few of his friends, which was Lyra, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Spike, Zecora, and Okove. "You're up early in the morning." said Okove. "I can see you are more than ready to get ready for the day."

"Well yeah. This is the last day in Zebrica for me, and I depart back to Ponyville tomorrow morning with my dad and friends." He grabbed himself a bottle of water from the cooler his father given him. "I don't really know what I want to do today to be honest."

"We can always think of ways of something we can do today." Twilight said. "We have already gone on a safari, seen so many animals in Zebrica, swam with penguins and fish yesterday,"

"Do you think we should just go back home today?" asked Lyra.

"No way." said Spike. "I wanna do something before we get back home."

"Same here." Said Larry. "Isn't this place a little bigger than Equestria?"

"Indeed, it is." Said Zecora. "A little more larger, Lawrence. There is still far more land to see around these parts."

"Still, there's always another day." Said Discord. He then muttered to himself under his breath: "although I couldn't really toy with any of the animals and make them funny."

"What was that?" Said Bon Bon, who probably hearing what the Master of Chaos muttered. 

"Nothing. Just thinking of how nice it would be if we stayed her for another week." He lied.

"Kinda thinking the same thing." Said Luke. "But I'm almost done with this trip in Zebrica."

"And i need to get back to my job back home." Said his father.

"Besides, we can always come back here whenever we feel like it, or at least if we don't have super duper big plans." Said Pinkie Pie. "Besides, we have made many friends here already."

"Our father has surely taking a liking to you all." said Okove. "Especially you, Discord." The Master of Chaos looked at him and he pointed his finger to himself. "Yes," Zecora's brother sighed. "I mean you. There is only one Master of Chaos in existence, and that is you."

Discord himself blushed like a little fangirl. "Oh, well, I am really flattered."

"Of course you are." said Rainbow Dash sarcastically. “We all know how proud you are to be the Master if chaos in existence.” Then she made a yawn, still looking a little tired. “Well, gotta hit the shower myself.”

Then she zipped in the bathroom and the sound if the water running in the bathtub was heard again from the other side of the bathroom door. Everyone else waited for their time to use the bathroom to bathe and get ready for their last day in Zebrica.

It was just then King Zuma came in the room, accompanied by two soldiers to give him protection from any possible danger. “Good morning to all.” He addresses them all in his deep, mighty voice. “How did you all sleep the last night?”

“I slept like a filly.” Said Fluttershy.

“Same here.” Applejack added.

“Possibly one of the most pleasant sleeps I have had in a long while.” Said Rarity. “Although, I can really do something about my mane when I get in the shower.”

“Just wait your turn.” Said Applejack. “You’ll get your chance when Rainbow  omesout If There. Just don’t try to waste so much water,”

“When have I ever wasted water in the shower?” Asked Rarity. Her friends just looked at her with an annoyed look on their faces. “Well, I am always mindful if the water bill. Even if I am in somepony else’ shower.”

About ten more minutes passed and Rainbow Dash came out of the bathroom, then Rarity was the third to set foot in the bathroom for a shower. King Zuma went up to the young human, who was putting on a new set of jeans. “Well Luke,” he addressed him. “Did you enjoy staying here in Zebrica?”

“Heck yeah I did, your majesty.” Luke replied boldly. “I’m bummed about going back to Equestria but still, it was fun while it lasted.”

“And There is always next time.” Fluttershy reassured him. “Besides I miss Angel Bunny and all my critter friends back home in my cottage.”

“And I miss Applebloom, and my family back home on the farm.” Applejack added. “Heh, I can imagine how happy they will be to see me. Might have to take Applebloom with t time I come here.”

“Well, your friends speak true, Luke.” Said The zebra king. “There is always another day to visit Agbaje, or other places in Zebrica. And of course, you are all welcome to come back here to my beautiful city whenever you see fit on returning to Zebrica sometime.”

Everyone in the room was grateful to hear that, and Twilight said to him: “Thank you, your majesty. We are really flattered to hear those words.”

Zuma bowed his head to her in respect before saying: “You are very welcome, princess Twilight.” Then he turned back to the human. “I am really glad you have had fun around here, Luke. “And Zecora, it was certainly a big honor and pleasure for you to visit me once again. We all missed you sidne you last departed to Ponyville.”

“It’s a shame you have to go back there tomorrow morning.” Okove added.

“I’ll miss you so much, but like I have stated before: Ponyville is my one, true home. Now that we are together as a family again, I can come back here at any time I see fit in my spare time.” Then she let out a small yawn. 

All of a sudden, Luke had an idea on what he and his friends should do today. First, he wanted to wait for Rarity to come out of the bathroom and clean herself, and everyone else in the building to hear his idea.

Right after Rarity was Fluttershy. Then Twiliht, then Lyra, then Bon Bon, then Applejack. All the way to Discord. As soon as everyone was finished with their bathing, Luke then Said: “I think I have an idea for how we should spend our last day in Zebrica together.”

“What’s that?” Asked Fluttershy curiously

“I can perform a little concert for the good folks of Agbaje.” Luke thought. “I can do a song or two to everyone in town to give them a taste of heavy metal.”

“Ooh. I think that is a wonderful idea.” Said Fluttershy. “I think everyone in Agbaje would love it. You can play guitar and sing songs to them, and entertain them.”

“Perfect!” Said Discord before snapping his finger. Luke’s signature guitar was conjured and Luke was a little lost in thought of what kind of song he should perform in front of everyone that would attend this soon-to-be concert. He remembered the kind of performance he gave to the subjects to Eleena and king Imari, and how those eland love Luke’s Little Rock performance in a combination of metal and African sound.

“You are a musician?” Asked Zuma

“Yes. He is a natural when it comes to music, Father.” Said Zecora. “When you hear him play, it will help you forget any worries and any troubles in your life. Even though he won’t play a flute or a fife.”

“Hmm. That should be interesting.” Said king Zuma. “Perhaps we can all use a little show around here.”

“Not a problem.” Said Rainbow. “We can manage things easy.”

"Well, do you guys think they will like it?" asked Luke curiously. "I don't want them to think I am a demonic spirit or being playing this."

"Nonsense." said Okove. "We know better than that. Everyone will understand what kind of music you will play.

"Okay."

"Then, it's settled." said Twilight in an upbeat voice. "We hear Luke perform a song or two for Agbaje later on. And, anything else we should do?"

"Well, I don't think so." said Lyra. "I think that sounds fine to me. We have been on a safari once and seen so many things here that fascinated me."

"And me." Bon Bon added.

“Yeah, I guess you guys are right.” Spike agreed. “Should we help Luke then? Is there a stage that Luke can perform on?”

“We do,have a stage outside for theatre and or music.” Said king Zuma. “You can try and build the equipment on there.”

“Perfect.” Luke said happily, and confidently. “Might as well get the guitar ready for the performance and warm up.”

“Good idea, Luke.” Fluttershy remarked.

“But first, would any of you like some breakfast before we do anything?” Asked the king.

“Please.” Said Larry. “I can’t do anything on an empty stomach.” He then patted his belly that sounded a little hallow like a small log. After that, everyone went into the kitchen and got themselves some rice with eggs, some melon and fruit, and hibiscus juice as the beverage.

As usual, the food tasted so good and everyone’s belly was happy to be filled with all these scrumptious foods to fill their appetites. The waiters and cooks came and took the plates and glasses into the kitchens to clean them all up, and everyone got off the dining table.

Now, Luke was going to perform for the good folk of Zecora’s home and make them all amazed and astonished. One thing that worried Luke however was, Will they like it? Or will they think he is a demonic spirit by emitting this music? Eleena was one thing, but this is a town that has a majority population of zebra in it.

Nonetheless, he didn’t want to let his fans down, and tuned his strings at the right tune. Rainbow Dash and Applejack helped build the amplifiers and Twilight worked with the technical equipment such as the microphone, and the sound check.

Peeking through the curtain of the stage. Luke saw a lot of audience members attending to this thing. He didn’t want to get stage fright and remembered his own friends will be watching to give him support as well.

Everything was ready, and Zuma tapped into the microphone. “Welcome subjects of Agbaje. You are all wondering what this will be about.” He spoke to the audience. “Our friend Luke from Equestria will perform a song for all of you, and I hope you will enjoy the show,” A tremendous uproar was heard. “As your beloved king, I give you Luke Smith.”

An even bigger applause was heard from the other side of the curtain where Luke was peeking through. His guitar was set and he saw the curtains moving to reveal him from behind.

He knew there was no turning back now. “Alright, Agbaje. Prepare to rock.”

Rights for the song go to Skinflint
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSuu7R4RsAY

While playing, everyone was enjoying at how nice the drums and the guitar sound in a steady rhythm. It was exactly what Luke wanted to see, for he didn’t hear any booing or heckling from everyone in front of him.

This intro of the song was a long, instrumental interlude that sounded harmonious and nice in a way.

A few zebras were starting to tap their feet on the ground with a “clop, clop, clop.” Heard to the beat.

It sounded like it was over at first, but Luke began to go faster and that was when he began to sing the lyrics. So far, the zebras, kudu, eland, and other species that lived in Agbaje, or visiting it were impressed by how nice the tune was.

His closest friends were enjoying his music style as usual (even Rarity), and she was not really fond of those kind of lyrics. Maybe perhaps, in many cases, the music is better than the words and lyrics written in a song.

The more he played, Luke grew more confident in doing this kind of favor. “Profit!” He sang. “Making! Funeral!” He repeated the chorus over a few times until he finally hit the solo, which he was completely shredding on it like a complete pro.

The zebras applauded when he finished the solo and the song took a little more slower turn. A few things were repetitive like the lyrics, and the way he was playing the chords and notes again, but still. Everyone loved it.

It became fast again, and the, after that, it was back to the second slow version of it, like an Iron Maiden type of song. Finally, when he hit the last notes, a gigantic roar of applause was heard, while the King smiled at him with his two guards.

Luke knew he did a good thing by doing this performance. His friends went and congratulated him as usual and complimented how nicely he played the guitar and sang to everyone in front of him.

“Good job as usual.” Said Spike.

“Thanks.”

“That was really impressive.” Okove Said. “Do Your fingers hurt, Luke?”

“I’ve suffered worst pain before in my life. I’m used to it.”

“Heh. Good. Very good. Well, you did very excellent and played so musically.” Okove congratulated him some more. “Just as good as in Eleena.

“That was a very impressive performance.” Said king Zuma. “You did very well, Luke.” His compliments made the human smile boldly and proudly. Boy, was he glad to do this thing, no one could question his musician skills, That was for sure.

“Thank you!” Luke called out in the microphone. “Thank you all very much.”

“They love you, Luke.” Fluttershy remarked. “They really do.”
> Departure
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A rooster was crowing in the morning, and it was the day Luke and his friends all depart back to Ponyville and be back home.

Everyone who had gotten out of bed packed their bags with their supplies, and took turns in taking showers and cleaning themselves off.

Yes, everyone was bummed out that they has to go back to Ponyville, but Ponyville was their home, and Larry had to gone back to the real world. Besides, it was like Luke said: "there is always another day."

Meanwhile, Zecora and Okove were having a little talk outside the room, discussing on how sad they will be when departing from one another.

"Sis," said Okove. "Please come back home here with us. We all miss you here."

Zecora made a sad sigh with her eyes closed. "I know you did, elder brother." She replied. "But you know why I cannot move back here.'

Okove board his head. "It is a shame to be most fair with you. Father missed you so much since the time you left our home."

"I'm sorry." 

"No, no it is quite alright, Zecora. To be most fair with you, It was fun while it lasted."

The zebra mare made a small chuckle with her elder sibling.  "Yes, exactly.  And I can always come back here."

"Yes, this is not a final goodbye." Okove admitted. "Still, you are my little sister after all, and I will miss you deeply."

"And I will miss you too, older brother. Unlike years ago however, you will not have to wait for a visit any longer."

Her big brother smiled warmly. "Thst is sk correct. You will visit us again more often, will you?" 

"Of course. We're family." Then they both hugged for a long period of time. It was just when King Zuma came in at this moment.

"My dear daughter," he said in his low voice. "Would you like an escort for your departure to the railroad station?"

"That is really kind of you father, but we will all be just fine." She replied confidently.

"Would you please visit us again one if these days?" Asked Zuma. "We all miss you so much."

He felt his daughter hug him in reassurance. "I will, father. I promise." Then Zuma hugged her back in response. 

"I want you to know how much I love you."

"And I love you too, father."

Meanwhile, Luke was gone with the shower and brushing his teeth and packed the last remaining things for the departure back to Ponyville, his belongings, books, clothes, and a few other things.

"Such a shame." Luke muttered to himself. "But yeah, I'll come back here soon one of these days." He let out a small yawn after that, for he was still trying to wake up a little more.

Pretty much everyone was packed on their cases and bags, except for Discord, who didn't really bring anything, for he was the master of chaos, and he can do whatever he wants (as long as Fluttershy says it's okay to do so.)

At least Luke got some really nice souvenirs on his trip, a new sword, some pictures on his time here over this week, and a few others. His friends and dad got a few small knick knacks with them all like hats, snow globes, necklaces, bobbleheads and a few other small things.

Outside, the train will be at Agbaje soon, probably around ten or fifteen minutes before it arrives for a stop to Ponyville. 

Everyone made sure that they didn't leave anything behind or if every one of their belongings is present and accounted for inside their bags.

Of course, even if they all miss a train, Discord proposed that he can teleport him and his friends back to Ponyville.

"I can barely wait to see Angel Bunny again when I get back to my cottage." Fluttershy daid in excitement. "And Harry the bear, and all my other critter friends. I'm sure they will be happy to see you too, Luke."

"Heh. I can imagine." Luke remarked. He hoisted his suitcase with his left arm, next to his waist, and everyone noticed they have everything in their bags and cases.

At last, they were ready, and promptly went out the large doors that led inside the palace.

"Ooh. Sweetie Belle will be so happy to see me. Little ole Rarity." Said she. "And my dear Opal as well." She began thinking of how mean and nasty her own cat can be sometimes, but she tolerated those kind of antics from her.

"I'll have to bring Applebloom, Big Mac, and Granny Smith the next time I ever come back 'ere." Said Applejack. "They would sure as gum love to see this."

"I wonder if I can bring the Baby Cakes with Mr. And Mrs. Cake's permission." Pinkie thought.

"This trip was so awesome." Rainbow Dash said, looking around at her surroundings. "Going on safaris, fighting a few monsters, and Cabalerron and his goons, flying with a few cheetahs. So cool."

"Oh, I can just imagine the eland, zebra, rhino, and Jackalian friendship students that will attend my school." The princess of friendship sounded rather eager to say that news. "And wait till i create books about some Zebrican history and it's animals."

"I can help with the animal books, Twilight." The yellow pegasus offered.

"Thanks, Fluttershy. I would like that actually."

"Don't forget about the eland, buffalo, the Emela-Ntouka, Mokele Mbembe, and those other monsters we've seen." Spike added.

"And those adorable little penguins." Lyra remarked. "They were just so adorable to swim with."

"I'm glad that the zebras here liked my candy samples." Said Bon Bon.

"Should we worry about Cabelleron when we get to Ponyville?" Asked Larry. "He'll know who you guys are, and take revenge."

"No, I don't think we'll worry about him do much." Said Twilight. "Besides, Larry, you will be back on Earth, not Equestria, and he'll be after you since you shot his eye out."

"Oh. Good point. And it's a good thing he will never try and kill me in Reno."

"Exactly." Said Twilight. "So we'll worry about him if he ever tries to take revenge."

"I just hope he will be less likely to see with only one eye, now." Rainbow added.

"Cabelleron?" Said King Zuma. "That evil treasure hunter who us a complete scoundrel?"

"Yep," Rainbow replied boldly. "That's the one. Daring Do's arch-nemesis himself."

"Well, I never thought you would all come across him she his band of thieves."

"Me and Cabelleron have... a history together." The cyan pegasus rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

At last, they were at the train station and waited for the arrival of a new iron horse to come. While waiting, King Zuma looked at Luke, and he asked the young human: "So, what do you think of Zebrica, Luke? Did you enjoy your stay here with your friends and my daughter?"

Thinking about it in his head, Luke ultimately replied: "Of course I liked it. I loved it, your majesty." and he took a sip of his water. "I had a really good time here on the visit."

"What was your favorite part?" Asked Okove curiously. He, and Luke's other friends looked at him, a waiting an answer from him.

"Well, I honestly don't know what my favorite part of Zebrica was." He ultimately answered. "I thought everything was amazing out here, except for the red river hog piglet getting eaten, but that's only a minor setback."

"Indeed." Said Zecora. "It is hot survival of the fittest out there is the savanna."

"Well. I am so glad I got to spend time here," Luke continued.  "I am really looking forward to coming back here again if I feel like it."

Zuma smiled humbly. "Wonderful. We will all remember you and your name when you come back, Luke. And I hope you really loved your visit."

"I did sir, and thank you." 

The train came and the doors were open. Zecora looked back at her father and brother, and smiled. She gave them one final hug and all three of them shed a tear of both sadness and happiness.

"I will see you all soon." Zecora said.

"Do come back soon." said Okove.

"And bring your friends if you can." Zuma added. "We love you."

"And I love you both too. I will see you later." Then she broke the hug and went aboard the train. As soon as the doors closed, the train was off, and Luke looked out the window, and stared at Agbaje, and kept on looking at it until it was no longer in reach of his vision.

Now, he was going home.
> Home
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A cellphone rang, and it was Luke's in his left pocket of his jeans. The human pulled out his phone while still riding on the train back to Ponyville, and he saw that it was his mom that wanted to tall to him.

Promptly answering it, Luke said: "hi mom."

"Hi Luke." Said Louise on the other line. "I hear you're going back to Ponyville from your trip to Zebrica. I just thought I wanted to talk to you, and ask how your trip was overall."

Luke made a small smirk before replying: "well. It was a very fun trip. I'll have to send you some pictures on my phone when I get back home."

Louise was silent for a moment, but she said: "that's good. I would love to see some pictures of you and all the things you took a picture of."

"Good. I know you'll love them."

"So what did you do exactly?"

"Well, we went to a place that looks like Egypt a little bit, and helped the country by  take out a group of evil marauders in it.

"Marauders?"

"Yeah, but I'm okay, I didn't do it alone. I had my friends and my dad help me in the fight."

"Oh. I know you're an adult now, but I don't like it when you go into some conflicts like that."

Luke made a sigh of slight irritation, and he replied: "mom, we've been over this. I am not a little kid anymore, and I am my own man."

"Yeah I know, but... you know how old you are, you'll always be my baby."

"Yeah, I know. But I can make my own decisions."

Louise sighed on the other line. "I know, but still, i can't help if I worry about you so much."

"I know. Well I'll talk to you in a bit when I get back to Ponyville."

"Okay Luke, I love you."

Looking around at his surroundings, he was embarrassed to say it in front of his friends, and Luke quietly Said to her: "I love you too, mom." Then he hung up.

"Who was that?" Asked Larry curiously

"Just mom." Luke replied. "She just wanted to check on me, dad. Nothing else."

"Are you going to send her the pictures of Zebrica when you get back home?"

"I most certainly will, dad."

"Well, I really had a fun fun fun time in Zebrica. Meeting Zecora's family and friends, meeting different creatures."

"Don't forget about all the animals we saw in Zebrica." Fluttershy reminded her. "And that lion Luke made friends with when we visited Eleena."

"What do you think you would name it, Luke?" Asked Lyra.

"Ah, he's not a pet, just a friend I made during my visit. Besides, I don't know what I would even name him."

"That's okay," Fluttershy said.

"So dad, I thank you for coming with me on this trip. It meant so much to me." Luke said to his father.

"Of course. I'm glad to have been with you in Zebrica." Larry said. "What would he better than to spend a whole week with my own son?" Then he hugged Luke's side to show some more support.

Luke made a smirk on his handsome face. "So when you get back to the Atlantis casino, what do you think you'll do?"

"The usual things as a bartender, serve drinks, give food to the customers, living or visiting in Reno."

"Well, can you please not tell your co-workers about Zebrica?"

"Why not?"

"They'll think you're crazy and they won't believe you."

"Even if I have pictures with me?" Asked Larry with his left eyebrow raised.

"Yeah."

"Ah, don't worry about what my friends will think about me."

"Okay. Still, I would rather not."

"So Twilight, don you still plan to make books or encyclopedias on Zebrican things?" Asked Applejack

"Of course. As a matter of fact, I am trying to work on my first book right now." Indeed she was, she was scribbling some notes with the magic from her Horn and a quill pen.

"Don't overwork yourself." Spike said.

"Oh come on, Spike. When have I overwork myself?"

The baby dragon looked at her telling her: "really?"

"I won't be doing that all night to write the books and illustrations." Then she continued doing her notes some more.

Looking out the window, Luke noticed that the environment outside was changing, from savanna grassland to temperate fields and more trees seen around the area.

"So Luke. I'll go back to earth when we get off the train in Ponyville." Said Larry.

"Okay, dad. No problem. And listen, it was fun spending time with you again. I hope we have more time together on your next visit."

His father smiled warmly at Luke. "I'm sure we will some time. For now, just wait for me, and I'll bring your mother next time I come back."

"Cool."

"And I certainly hope that you have had an amazing time in my home." Said Zecora. "Now you got what you wanted... a little."

"Yeah, it might not be Africa, but still, it was close enough." Luke admitted.

"And don't forget," Zecora continued. "You are always welcomed back to my homeland. So you can go there and spend some time in Zebrica once again."

Luke knew she wasn't wrong, making all those new friends while visiting her home, seeing those amazing animals and creatures along the way.

After one and a half hours inside the train, everyone was finally back in Ponyville. Where there was still cold, white snow blanketing the ground. 

When everyone got out, they felt thr cold air brushing against their bodies, even if they were wearing their coats to keep them warm.

Luke and his father then looked at one another and gave one final hug. "Well I'll see you on the other side, dad."

"Love you, Luke."

"I love you too, dad." Luke replied after breaking their hug.

"Okay Discord," Larry then pulled up his cases with his arms. "You know what to do."

The Master of Chaos gave a bold look and he said: "you got it, Larry. Back to Reno you go." Larry stood next to the hovering god of chaos, and waved at Luke one last time before Dsicord snapped his finger and transported him back to Reno.

“You Okay, Luke?” Asked Rainbow Dash.

“Yeah, Just fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” Asekd the human

“Well, your dad is back on earth.” Said Spike.

“Will you be okay without him?” Asked Fluttershy.

Luke nodded his head in reply. “Of course. And like he said: this is not a final goodbye, or he’s not dying or anything. I’ll see you again.”

“Heh. That is so true.” Said Bon Bon.  “You know, that was a fun trip going to Zebrica with you. It gave me a little break from the snow.”

“Yeah. I am so glad to have come with ya on this trip, Luke. It was so fun and exciting.” Lyra added. “And That Sword you have as a souvenir.”

“And what did you get to take with you?” Asked the human.

Lyra pulled out a nice-looking snow globe with the city of Agbaje in it. “I got this, and this.” She then pulled out a rather unusual string instrument that looked a little bit like sitar, or it looked kind of like a harp as well. “A kora. This is a nice instrument with a nice sound to it.”

“Kora?” Asked Applejack.

“Oh yes.” Said Zecora. “A fine craft from many zebra tribes.”

“Yeah, i’ve Read about it,mane I am definitely keeping this at my house.” Lyra remarked. She began to play with it a little, and it sounded rather nice in its tone from the strings being strum here and there.

A couple of bystanders were taking notice of Lyra’s playing, and they seem to take a liking to that kind of instrument. More and more passengers and a few train employees applauded after she was done playing.

Honestly, Lyra didn’t expect to get this much attention from her playing, and she played it like she would usually play a lyre. The kora was a harp-like instrument after all, and it worked similarly like one.

“Wow. That was amazing,” Said Fluttershy. “It sounded like magic.”

“Thank you, Fluttershy. And I never even touched a Kora before.” Lyra admitted. “Still i’m Glad to have bought this. Now, I will add it to my instrument collection.” Then everyone got off the waiting docks and walked on the snow to find their houses.

“Well, I can imagine how happy Applebloom, Big Mac, and Granny Smith will be to see my again.” Said Applejack.

“Applejack!” A voice called out to her. It was Bug Macintosh himself, And Applebloom was right next to him, along with Winona in his other side. Applejack found herself being squeezed by her big brother’s arms. “You’re home!” Said The stallion. “We missed ya so much, AJ.”

“Ah! Big Mac, can you... please let me go?” Then Applejack felt the weight being removed around her body and dropped on the snow. 

“Sorry.”

“I’m so glad to see y’all too.” Said The Orange mare. “How’s the farm?”

“Just fine, Applejack.” Applebloom replied boldly. “We fed the animals, gave them blankets, and we gave Winona a bath.”

Happily panting with her tongue out, the sheepdog barked three times in happiness and licked all over Applejack’s face, making her laugh.

“Winona!” Applejack laughed. “Yeah, yer a good girl!”

The sheepdog continued licking her owner's face like a gigantic block of salt.

"She just missed ya, Applejack." Said Big Mac

"Come on, Winona, get off her." Said Applebloom. Then the yellow filly pried the family dog off of her big sister, who was still Waging her tail in complete, utter joy.

From afar in the snow, Rarity saw the one thing that always made her smile, and she was running towards her. "Sweetie Belle!!" She said with her heart filled with joy.

"Rarity!" The filly called back to Rarity in a distance, she and her sister ran up for a hug and  lung on for an extended period of time. "I've missed you!"

"Oh Sweetie Belle." Rarity almost felt like crying tears of happiness right now. "I've missed you, too."

"How was Zebrica?"

"A little rather humid, but still, it was rather fun and interesting. I might have came up with a good idea for a fashion lineup inspired by Zebrican cultures."

"That sounds fun! You need to tell me about your time over there."

"We will after i get settled back home in my boutique." Raroty remarked.

All of a sudden. From behind Rainbow Dash, something hugged her from behind. She was a little startled at first, but she turned back, and smiled to see her little godsister: Scootaloo. "Hey, buddy!" She said, ruffing the tomboyish filly's purple mane of hare.

"Rainbow Dash, you're back!" Scootaloo shouted. "How was your trip!"

"It was awesome. There's so much to tell about on my cool trip." Rainbow said. "So many animals, many zebras, those things."

"Cool. I can't wait to hear them!" Said Scootaloo.

"We'll see you guys in a little while." Said Fluttershy. "I want to see all my little critter friends again. I can't wait to see their adorable, cute smiling faces. Come on, Luke."

"Right behind you." Said the human he followed her down the snowy path of the outskirts of town, and he was happy to see the usual road he would take back to the cottage.

At last, there it was, as normal as it should be, minus the snow on the roof of course. When Fluttershy opened the front door, she and the human heard many clamoring sounds of chittering, squeaking, and other animal sounds, and the yellow pegasus smiled.

"Hello my babies!" She said. Before Fluttershy knew it, she felt something heavy pull her like a magnet. It was Harry the bear, who gave her a literal bear hug.

"0h, I miss you too, Harry." Said the yellow pegasus. Several birds began to perch on Harry's arms so they can all greet her. "How can I forget all about my own feathered and winged friends?"

Meanwhile, Luke himself was happy to see many of these animal roomies, too. Matter of fact, Linus the lion, Tyson the Tiger, and Remus the wolf came up to Luke, and the human felt a gigantic hug from the white tiger.  "Hey guys." Luke said to all three of them. 

Tyson began licking his face, and thanks to his gigantic size, he caused Luke to topple over on his back. Before the human know it, he felt his face being licked all over by a bunch of tongues, but just these three, but other animals as well.

"Aww, they missed you too, Luke."

Laughing from the bunch of tongues tickling his his own face, Luke said: "Stop it! Hahahaaha! Stop it! I can't take it. You guys!"

Fluttershy smiled and chuckled by how much love Luke was getting, and then angel bunny came and hopped on her back.

He himself, didn't really miss Luke as much as the other did, not rather a surprise, but still, he was rather glad to see him back home.

"Oh wait! I almost forgot!" Thw him a. suddenly remembered while getting back on his feet. "I need to send my mom those pictures."

He sat on the couch and sent many pictures to Louise on his phone, and when he was done with sending all of them to her, he waited for a response.

Linus couldn't help but sit with him, and asked to be petted by Luke. "Ah, I missed you two, boy." Luke said to him. Just then, he felt his head being patted gently on top, and it was Harry, who smiled with his sharp teeth, and let out a small bear growl. "Yeah. I missed you too, Harry."

It was just then the doorbell rang. Fluttershy went to answer it, and it was Sprinkle Medley, the green pegasus mare that took care of the place while the yellow pegasus was away. "Oh, hello Sprinkle. Was everyone okay when I was away?"

Sprinkle nodded her head at her. "Yep. They were just fine. Although... Angel was a little... demanding, Fluttershy." The yellow pegasus looked at the rabbit in a rather stern look while Angel Bunny himself pretended to be innocent and whistled to the ceiling. "But, everything was fine with me. The animals here were so nice, even the scary ones like Linus, and Tyson."

Fluttershy smiled again. "Good. As long as they were all well-fed and given their baths." she remarked.

"Well, how was your trip?" asked Sprinkle.

"It was so amazing and beautiful. Luke should show you the pictures he captured on his phone to you."

Sprinkle Medley liked that idea, and she stepped right inside the cottage. "Sure, I would love to see some pictures."

"Ah, just give me a moment, Sprinkle." said Luke. "I need to send this pics to my mom."

"Okay, no problem."

It took about five minutes and after Luke was done, he showed Sprinkle Medley the pictures next.

The green pegasus was certainly amazed by how nice this place looked and how fun it was. "Boy, I wish I could have been there."

"You would love it over there." said Luke. "A very cool place."

After showing more pictures to her Sprinkle became more and more amazed by how interesting Zebrica was. "Yeah, I definitely need to go there someday."

"Totally."

"Well, I gotta go and help Spitfire with some cloud busting today."

"Okay, see you soon, Sprinkle." Said Fluttershy.

The green pegasus went out of the cottage and Luke finally got a text from his mother telling him that she loved the pictures that her son sent her, and told him that she loved him so much like any mother would say to her son.

"Ah, mom." Luke smirked. "Glad you like them."

"What did she say?"

"Thank you for the pictures, and I love you."

"Oh, that's sweet." Fluttershy remarked.

"Well, good thing that our friends didn't see it. It would have been embarrassing."

"Come on, Luke. She's only trying to be a good mother. At least show her some love and concern."

"I know. I know. That's why I shown her some of the pictures of me and toy guys."

"Yeah, I know." He went upstairs and unpacked everything back in his room, as did fluttershy in her own room.

He was so happy to have gone to a place similar to Africa, and see the different kind of lifestyles within that peculiar continent.

Getting undressed she pulling out his pajama pants, Luke got himself some hot cocoa for this cold, snowy day in Ponyville.

Everything was back to the wag how it should be for him, just going about his normal, every day life, and he couldn't be any more happier about being back home.

"Well. It's good to be home, right Fluttershy?"

"Right, Luke." The yellow pegasus agreed. She got herself some herbal tea to drink that was a little warm. "I'm so glad we went to Zebrica. We've seen so many animals that I haven't seen before."

"And the fact that we saved a Mokele-Mbembe pair from becoming extinct." Luke added after taking the first sip of his beverage.

"Oh yes. It was so wonderful helping those two creatures. I can't wait to go back there someday."

"We should probably bring Zecora again since it is her home, and she knows it well."

"Good point."

All of a sudden, Discord reappeared out of nowhere with his magic, spooking both the two inhabitants of the cottage. "I'm back!" He sang while hovering in midair.

"Discord, you did get my dad back home safely, right?"

"Of course I did, little man. I swear on my mother's grave that i did."

"Well, I'm going to call him and check just in case." He pulled out his phone and waited for his father to answer.

Finally, after ringing four times, Larry finally said on the other line: "what is it, Luke?"

"I was just checking to see if Discord took you back to Reno for sure, dad."

"Don't worry, Luke. Discord got me home just fine." Larry reassured. "I'm back in Reno right now, just about to unpack my things."

Luke sighed in relief. "Good. Just wanted to make sure you were okay. Discord can be a little.... shady."

"Don't worry. I'm just fine, buddy. Well, tall to you soon, buddy."

"Bye, dad." Then Luke hung up.

"When have I ever been a shady type of creature?" Discord asked in mock offense. Fluttershy and Luke looked at him, not amused at all.

"Do you need to ask that question?" Asked Fluttershy.

"Right. So, It was really good to hang out with all my friends, mostly with Fluttershy that is." Discord modestly said with a smirk on the right side of his mouth. 

"What was your favorite part?" asked the human

"Hanging out with Fluttershy, of course." then the Master of Chaos hugged her tightly like his own teddy bear or other stuffed animal. "What can be better than hanging out with the very first friend I have ever made in my life?" Fluttershy was touched and she smiled on her adorable face.

She then said: "Aw, Discord." then she hugged him back. "I'm glad you came with us on the trip."

"And, thanks for not causing so much chaos and havoc." Luke added.

"Yes." Discord sounded a little bummed when he admitted it. "Still, I knew you would not want me to have a little fun. And at least we got to kill some bad guys in Anugypt when we were stopping Waraabe."

"Well, I suppose you should settle back in your house?" Luke asked him curiously

"Oh yes. Silly me, how can I possibly forget about my humble home?" and he sang in a nice tune: "There is no place like hooooome!  Well, catch you all on the flip side!" And he teleported back to the realm of chaos.

Luke and Fluttershy were alone with their an animal friends in the cottage and the human began to relax and enjoy himself.

"Are you all hungry?" Fluttershy asked all her animal friends. Every one of the critters all looked excited, telling her that they wanted some lunch. "Oh, I knew you would all say yes."

The yellow pegasus went to feed her animal friends some food and emptied many food in many animal bowls to make them all happy and well-fed.

Luke decided to help out with that too, and she was more than happy to have some extra help around her. He helped her carry some bags of chow and food that Fluttershy could not, and helped got the feeding done a lot faster.



"Thanks, Luke." Said Fluttershy. "I always love it when you help me."

Smiling gratefully at her, the young human replied: "you're welcome, Fluttershy. To be fair I'm glad to call Equestria my home."

"Me too. I don't know what I would he without you." Then they both shared a hug with one another. "I know I have said this before, but making friends with my closest friends and becoming the element of kindness, I'm really glad to have met you."

"Same with me."

After the broke off the hug, Luke got a call from Brad, one of his friends, and he answered the phone. "Hey Brad. What's up?"

"Hey Luke. I heard you went on a trip to Africa."

"Well, Zebrica, but you were close, Brad.” Luke remarked before going back  to drinking his hot cocoa.”

“How was it?”

Luke began telling one of his closest friends from home about his journeys and amazing experiences over in Zebrica, and he was rather proud to tell him these kind of details. “I even got myself a sword as a souvenir.”

“A sword? Hell yeah man! That’s some cool shit, Luke.” Brad Said. “Do ya have any pictures to show me, dude?”

“Yep. I’ll show you in a bit. I just got back from vacation and I need to settle things back in the cottage, and I just a little time to relax from all that traveling. If you ever come back to Equestria, you really need to go there. Tell Bobby and the other guys, too.”

“I’ll think about it. So, what was it like?”

“It looks so much like Africa, except, no humans of course. Zebras, buffalo, and many antelope species are the dominant ones in that place.”

“Huh. I would love to see those pictures when you get the chance.”

“I will. Just give me a little while.” Luke replied. “But how are things back in my home world?”

“Same as always, a little boring to be honest. Snowing in Bend a little.”

“Huh. Why am I not surprised?” Then Luke took another sip of his cocoa. “Well, it’s snowing here at Equestria and i’m Glad to be back home in Ponyville. Let me tell ya, Brad, I am so happy to call Equestria my home.”

“I wish that Earth could be like Equestria.” Said Brad. “Although I think it would be cooler if there was more monsters and heavy metal stuff in it.”

“That’s not a problem for me. I have my own guitar, and I can bring metal wherever I go, thanks to my talents.”

“Totally.”

“Well. Talk to ya soon, Luke. Let me and the guys know if you want us to come to Equestria again."

"Bye, Brad." then Luke hung up and enjoyed his cocoa some more. He just lazed around after feeding the animals and he felt like enjoying the nice, soothing mist from the humidifier upstairs to keep himself warm from the cold, chilly air around him. Enjoying the Humidifier, Luke looked around, and he missed the same ole bathroom that he would use to shower or use the toilet.

All in all, that was a very fun adventure going to Zebrica, and he could not wait to go over there for another visit one day. For now, he will wait until the time is right.

He was glad to be back home, and one thing he couldn't wait for was having more adventures in weeks, months, or years to come someday. Luke always loved a good adventure, especially to be with his friends. Maybe Luke might even bring that new khopesh sword he had gotten in Anugypt on his vacation.

One thing for sure was that he did not know when another adventure would come, for it might come sooner or later than he thought it would be. Soon, where the heart leads, a man must follow in it, and that would the number one thing for a male human being to have in himself.

He was in the humidifier for about fifteen minutes, and he felt warmer than usual already. Coming out of the bathroom, He got himself some root beer, for Luke already felt a little too warm while in that steam for so long. "So, what would you like to do tomorrow, Luke?"

"To be fair with you, Fluttershy? Maybe just relax and take the load off. I'm a little... exhausted." Luke admitted. "We just got home and besides, I would probably expect our other friends to ask how our adventures were. And you'll never know when a friendship problem will come for you."

Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle at Luke's point. "That is true. I'll have to keep an eye out now that we are back."

The door was knocked three times again, and it was Luke who answered it. It was the schoolteacher, Miss Cheerilee with a happy smile on her face. "Hey, Cheerilee. What's happening?"

"I heard you and your friends have came back from Zebrica, and I was wondering if you would like to give a presentation on Zebrica for my class. I'm sure they would love to hear your stories. What do you say?"

Luke had his thinking face on, and he said: "Maybe one of these days, I will."

"Perfect! Let me know if you are ready."

"I will. See you soon."

"Bye Luke. Have a good day." then Cheerilee left the cottage.

"Well, this should be interesting to tell the kids."

"I know. I know they will love your stories, Luke."

"For now, I'm just glad to be back home." and he put on his iPod and listened to some music. For Luke, it was certainly Home sweet Home for him.


The End