//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Visiting Ponyville, Part 2 // Story: A Place in Equestria // by GoebelTron //------------------------------// As Fluttershy and Rarity were walking around the streets of Ponyville, they saw some ponies staring at Thomas riding on Fluttershy’s back with confused faces and making some murmuring comments about his physical appearance, causing him to hide underneath her mane again. Fluttershy saw that he was feeling nervous from the stares by the ponies. “Why is he hiding underneath your mane, darling?” Rarity asked. Fluttershy turned her head and saw Thomas nervously shaking underneath her mane, then saw the ponies with concerned looks, “He’s probably just nervous about those other ponies looking at him. Meeting strangers upsets him, so that’s why I let him hide underneath my mane before we came to see you.” “Oh, I see. You alright in there, darling?” Rarity asked, poking Thomas’s knee gently. Thomas shook his head underneath Fluttershy’s mane. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. They’re not against you, but somehow confused about your species,” she said. They suddenly saw a familiar pony they recognized. She was an earth pony with orange fur, blonde mane that was braided, a tan leather Stetson hat, green eyes, white freckles on her cheeks, and her flank had a cutie mark of three red apples. “Howdy there, Fluttershy!” she said. “Applejack, darling!” Rarity said. “Hi,” Fluttershy said. “Where’re ya two headin’?” Applejack asked. “Oh, we’re going over to Twilight’s castle,” Fluttershy said. “What for?” Applejack asked, until she saw Fluttershy’s mane shaking and she could hear Thomas softly whimpering while breathing. “Is somethin’ wrong with your mane?” Fluttershy nervously smiled, then softly giggled nervously. “If you’re too shy to say it, it’s fine,” Applejack said. “No, no, no, I don’t want to say right now, I just wanna wait until we get to the castle,” Fluttershy said. “But can I at least know who it is?” Applejack asked. “I’m not forcin’ ya. I’m just curious.” Fluttershy made a sad heavy sigh, then she turned towards her mane, “Thomas, you can show yourself.” Thomas then revealed himself from Fluttershy’s mane and he saw Applejack staring at him, “Well I’ll be. I don’t know what kind of creature this little feller is, but he is kinda cute lookin’.” Thomas suddenly blushed, then Applejack walked over a little, then she softly ruffled his hair, “So your name was Thomas? My name is Applejack and it’s really a darn tootin’ pleasure to meet ya, sugarcube.” “Hi,” Thomas said adorably, then Applejack went over and gave him a hug, Rarity and Fluttershy were pleased by Applejack’s kindness towards Thomas. “Mind if I tag along?”Applejack asked. “Okay, but can you keep it down? Other ponies are watching,” Fluttershy said. “Don’t worry, sugarcube. My lips are sealed,” Applejack said, then the three mares walked over to a giant castle made of crystals. When they got there, they walked to the door, then Fluttershy looked over at Thomas underneath her mane, “We’re here, sweetheart.” Thomas peeked a little and saw the big castle, “What is this place?” “This is called the Castle of Friendship. It’s a good home to our dear best friend, Princess Twilight Sparkle. She’s also good with books and magic, and she’s very polite,” Fluttershy said. “They’ll probably understand, sugarcube,” Applejack said. “Just hope she’s home.” “Let’s find out,” Rarity said, then she knocked on the door. Suddenly the door opened and it revealed a light grayish mulberry alicorn with dark sapphire blue mane and tail with purple and magenta streaks, purple eyes, and her flank had a cutie mark of five small white stars surrounding a pink star. “Oh, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity. Hello,” she said. “Come on inside. I’ll ask Spike to make some snacks.” She then let the three mares inside and let them sit on the couch or on the pillows on the floor, until they saw Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie playing cards. “Hey, girls! Glad you could make it,” Rainbow Dash said. After the mares got settled in, and when Spike brought some apple slices, cookies and carrot sticks, Fluttershy suddenly remembered why she came. “Fluttershy, Applejack told me that you were taking care of an interesting creature nopony’s ever seen,” Twilight said. “And maybe I can help you find out what species he is.” “Thank you, Twilight. But he’s very shy,” Fluttershy said. “Do you want to meet him?” “Of course,” Twilight said, then Fluttershy reached into her mane with her nuzzle to find Thomas. “Thomas, are you in there?” Thomas shook nervously and made a small peek at Fluttershy’s face. “Don’t be scared, sweetheart. My friends just want to say hello to you. You can come out.” Thomas then carefully let go of Fluttershy’s neck and she used her wing to introduce him to the mares. He stood there by Fluttershy’s foreleg, until she wrapped both her forelegs over him. “Hi,” Thomas nervously said. Pinkie Pie suddenly gasped, then she zoomed over and wrapped her forelegs around Thomas and gently squished him towards her barrel and belly for a hug, “Aww... aren’t you such a little wittle cutie wutie?! Yes, you are! Yes, you are!” Pinkie Pie suddenly nuzzled her cheek against his, “Hi there, little guy! My name’s Pinkie Pie! And you’re just so cute I could just eat you up! I like to set up big or small parties, bake yummy treats, like cookies, cakes, pies, cupcakes, muffins, and throw parties-!” Thomas suddenly felt Applejack take Thomas and placed him between her front legs, “Alright, Pinkie Pie, simmer down there now.” “Oh, you’re such a party pooper, Applejack!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. Thomas suddenly shook nervously, until Applejack offered him a small box of apple juice, which he accepted and took nervously. Thomas took a sip from the straw, and was suddenly amazed about how sweet and tangy it tasted, so he decided to finish it slowly. When he was done with his juice, Thomas then hugged the country mare’s leg. “You’re welcome, sugarcube,” Applejack said, hugging him back. “And don’t ya worry about Pinkie Pie. She might be a little bit hyper, but she’s one of the nicest ponies you’ll ever meet.” Thomas nodded in understanding. Rainbow Dash then came over and placed Thomas on her back, “Hey, little dude. My name’s Rainbow Dash, one of the best and fastest flyers in all of Equestria!” She ruffled his hair gently and then gave him a wink. “By the way, I know it’s your first time here in Equestria and that you’re still trying to calm your nervousness, but how about next time, I take you for a little joyride?” “I think that’d be wonderful, Rainbow Dash! But we need to give Thomas some time to get used to this place,” Fluttershy said. “Don’t worry, I said I’d give some time to calm himself and until he gets used to being around here, and I promise he’ll love it!” Rainbow Dash said. Twilight then went over to the boy after he climbed off Rainbow Dash’s back, “Hello, sweetie. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and it’s a pleasure to meet you.” She saw him nervously blushing, so she leaned forward and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. “There’s no need to be afraid anymore.” Thomas then looked into her eyes, “It’s nice to meet you too, Twilight. Are you really a princess?” Twilight sat on her haunches and wrapped her foreleg around him for a hug, then she spoke to him, “Yes. I’m also an alicorn. But back then, I used to be a regular unicorn. I was always the smart and wisest one.” Thomas then pressed his cheek on the fur of her foreleg, then he saw Spike enter, revealing himself as a small purple and green baby dragon. “Is that a dragon?” Thomas asked. “Mmhmm. Thomas, I want you to meet Spike. He’s my number one assistant and best friend,” Twilight said. “And he’s the cutest little dragon we’ve ever had as a friend,” Fluttershy said. Spike shook hands with Thomas, “Nice to meet you, buddy.” “Thank you,” Thomas said. “I’ve always wanted to see a dragon in real life, but they only exist in fairy tales, especially unicorns and pegasi.” “Well, it’s your first time,” Spike said. Twilight then walked back over towards Thomas, “Sweetheart, could you tell us what species you are and how old you are?” “I’m a human and I’m 5 years old,” Thomas said. “A human!?” The girls said in unison. “But I thought humans were urban legends,” Rarity said. “I think I have the answer for that. I’ll take a look,” Twilight said, until Spike handed her a big brown hardcover book with gold and black bindings on the side. “Thanks, Spike.” Spike nodded and went to make some tea, then Twilight levitated the book over to the table and surfed through the pages until she found the page that said ‘Humans.’ The picture had a time lapse of a ape evolving into a human. “I think I just found the answer,” Twilight said. “According to this, it says here that humans are a culture of intelligent and primitive terrestrial creatures that walk on two legs and carry stuff with hands, and they also have complex brains, and they eat fruits, vegetables and they have meat. According to the meat, part they only eat beef, pork, chicken and fish, and some of the meats carry protein.” The girls sighed in relief. “Well, that’s a relief,” Rarity said, comforting Thomas with her right foreleg on his shoulder. Thomas suddenly started to softly yawn and blink his eyes tiredly after rubbing them. “Twilight? I think he’s getting tired,” Rainbow Dash said. The other mares saw him rubbing his eyes as he saw tears in some of them. “No, wait… is he crying?” Pinkie Pie asked. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Fluttershy asked, until he went to her for a hug and buried himself underneath her chest. Fluttershy then hugged him back and stroked his hair with her hoof, “Shhhhhh… I’m here, sweetie. I’ve got you… Shhhhhh...” The others felt concerned about him as well, until Twilight thought of an idea. While knowing of a way to calm him down, she walked over to Fluttershy and asked very gently, “Fluttershy, can I hold Thomas for a few minutes, if it’s okay with you?” Fluttershy was somehow a bit hesitant. She didn’t know how Thomas would react since she’s the only one that could calm him down, but with a little confidence, Fluttershy nodded and decided to let Twilight hold the boy. Twilight then sat down on her haunches and held her hooves out. Fluttershy then gently placed Thomas in Twilight’s hooves as she cradled him closer towards her chest. Thomas then began to cry and became nervously scared of being in the hooves of somepony else besides Fluttershy. “Shhhhhh… it’s okay, sweetheart. It’ll be okay. Just relax. We’re right here,” Twilight said softly, until she began to rock him gently while making a soft hushing sound. Thomas’s crying continued until Twilight suddenly started to hum a soft lullaby in his ear. Lulula lulu Hush a bye Dream of the pegasi Way up high Lulula lulu Don’t you cry We won’t go away Dream in our arms while you still can Fillyhood is but a day As Twilight sang her song, Thomas’s sobs turned into sniffles as she rocked him gently and made another soft hushing sound once more while stroking his back with her hoof. Thomas suddenly yawned and fell asleep in Twilight’s forelegs, as she kissed him on the forehead and laid him down on a cushion she provided from one of her chairs, then Fluttershy lowered herself towards the boy’s level and wrapped a wool blanket over him, and then she laid beside him, and placed her right wing over him as a blanket, then Thomas scooted closer towards her tummy and curled up into a fetal position but he had one arm wrapped around her wing. “Goodnight, sweetheart,” Fluttershy whispered, then she gave him a kiss on the cheek. She then could feel Thomas’s soft breathing touch her fur. “He is indeed a sweet little colt,” Fluttershy said. “How about if you all stay over for the night? I need to write to Princess Celestia about Thomas,” Twilight suggested. The mare’s nodded in agreement, then Twilight and Spike went to the writing desk and started to write the letter. ‘Dear Princess Celestia, Today, my friend, Fluttershy discovered something unusual this morning. This unusual discovery was no other than a human. His name is Thomas, he’s 5 years old, he’s the size of a colt, and he’s very sweet, caring and polite. If you and Princess Luna aren’t too busy, I was wondering if me and my friends would come over to Canterlot and bring the young one to meet you both. I’ll wait for your reply in the morning. Sincerely, your fellow student and princess, Princess Twilight Sparkle’ Spike then put the quill back on the stand and then rolled up the scroll and tied it with a sealed red ribbon. After a small breath of green fire, the scroll magically vanished into ash. “There, all done,” Spike said. “Thanks, Spike,” Twilight said. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.” “I’m just happy to help,” Spike said, until he yawned. “Is it okay if I turned in for the night?” “Sure,” Twilight said, until she gave Spike a hug. “I’ll see you in the morning, Spike,” Twilight said. “Goodnight, Twilight,” Spike said. After she saw Spike walk into his bedroom, Twilight then went back to her friends, “Maybe we should all get some sleep. We can have breakfast early tomorrow morning. It should give us time to prepare to leave for Canterlot. And don’t worry, Fluttershy. I’m sure Princesses Celestia and Luna will love to meet Thomas.” “Oh, I know. He’s just so cute and polite,” Fluttershy said “Thank you for making him feel comfortable, by the way.” “You’re welcome, Fluttershy,” Twilight said. “It was just a little something I used to do for Spike when he was a hatchling.” She then yawned, and walked over to Thomas to give him one more kiss on the forehead, “Sweet dreams, little one.” After another yawn, she looked at Fluttershy and rose up, “I’ll see you and Thomas in the morning.” Twilight walked down the hall to her bedroom and tucked herself into her bed, and then went to sleep. Before she went to sleep, she took on more look at him, “Don’t worry, sweetie. You’ll be safe here.” Fluttershy gave him one more kiss on the cheek then she rested her head on top of him.