//------------------------------// // Chapter 14: Carnival Funtime/Return of the Dazzlings // Story: A Place in Equestria III: Lost in Another World // by GoebelTron //------------------------------// Meanwhile, The Mane Eight, including Starlight, were walking down the hallway while Rarity was holding Thomas in her arms as he laid his head on her left breast and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and he was sleeping while Rarity covered his ears with one hand on one side of his head, and he had his ear listening to the sound of her heartbeat. “My animals were so kind to him when he gave my kitty some treats, and then I let him lay on my lap before I handed him a bunny to nuzzle with. After that, I pushed him on the swings, and then Vice Principal Luna mentioned something about him being homesick,” Fluttershy said. “Well, I guess he probably misses his family, including his ma,” Applejack said. “Aww, the poor darling,” Rarity said, before giving him a kiss on the forehead without waking him up, and then she rubbed his back soothingly. “I’m glad you’re handling him really well,” Sunset said. “Guess they don’t call you the Element of Generosity for nothing, huh?” Starlight asked. “I guess,” Rarity said. “But someone’s got to make sure that every adorable little child is in good care.” Thomas then made a moaning sound as he began to awaken. “Aww... looks like someone’s waking up on the wrong side of the bed,” Sci-Twi said. “Do you feel better, darling?” Rarity asked. Thomas nodded, and then held her hand. “So, what do you want to do now, since we’ve got ourselves tonight?” Sunset asked. Thomas then tugged her shirt gently, and showed her a flyer for the annual carnival later on in the afternoon and evening. “I think our little friend just gave us an idea,” Sunset said, showing them the flyer. “Of course! The carnival!” Rarity exclaimed generously. “Wheeeeee! So much cotton candy and caramel popcorn!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed excitedly. The girls laughed, and then Rarity thought of an idea, “Thomas, since it’s going to be cold tonight, how about if I make you a nice warm fleece for you to wear underneath your jacket?” Thomas nodded, and then they left the school together. Later on, they left for Rarity’s boutique in the city, which was a huge department store that was built as her house. Thomas was in the pedestal with Rarity as she worked on his measurements for his new fleece. When she was done with the sketches and the measurements, Thomas stood off the pedestal and went to go wait with the others, and then sat on Fluttershy’s lap. Few minutes later from waiting, Rarity came out with Thomas’s fleece, which was black with royal blue and green plaid all over, and it had blue cuffs, and a green crest with 3 silver clip buttons. “It looks nice. I think I like it,” Thomas said. Rarity then walked over to him, and wrapped her arms around him for a hug towards her belly. “You’re welcome, darling,” Rarity said. Thomas then put the fleece on and then placed his sweatshirt over him. “I made it an undershirt type of fleece in case he gets cold during these type of weathers,” Rarity said, while ruffling Thomas’s hair. “And we’ll have one special moment at the carnival later on, but I made us all outfits for tonight.” “Well, let’s get to it!” Rainbow Dash said, as the girls made agreeable comments, and then went to go try on their outfits for the carnival. When they arrived at the carnival, it had a few tents for fun games, a tent for Trixie’s magic show, which was blue and had purplish indigo stripes and a pattern of violet stars, a concert stage for performing guest singers, a mirror maze, laser tag, a bush maze, and some theme park attractions like a boat ride, spinning tea cups, and a ferris wheel. When they paid for their tickets, they entered the park. The girls also had some outfits that Rarity made for herself and her friends, but Starlight went as she was. Sunset wore a dark reddish violet jacket with orange arrow stripes and grayish dark reddish violet shoulder flaps and zipper over a light orange and pink shape patterned top, two red bracelets but with one that was a watch, dark reddish violet yoga pants with a orange belt around her and a picture of her cutie mark on one side and glitter underneath, and dark crimson red boots with tan soles and orange shoelaces. Rainbow Dash wore a blue short sleeve vest jacket with gradients of waves over her casual t-shirt, a green and white visor cap, blackish blue cropped shorts with red rings with a rainbow gradient lightning streak on each side over black sweatpants that reached her knees, and black sneakers with rainbow colored linings, red soles, blue lightning bolts, and yellow shoelaces. Pinkie Pie wore a sky blue vest over a pink shirt that had the picture of her three yellow and blue balloons, a tutu with three layers of pink, sky blue, and creamy yellow, a pair of light pink pantyhose leggings with light blue and yellow polka dots, and a pair of sky blue pumped booties with yellow fuzz and pink shoelaces, and she braided some of her hair with miniature pom pom ponytails while the rest hung normally. Applejack wore a blue jean fabric vest jacket with gold pockets and studs over a white dress with red apple on her crest, green buttons on her abdomen section, and a picture of a red and green flower all over each corner of her skirt, red and green apple sunglasses, and a new pair of brown boots with three red apples in the front. Rarity wore a blue to bluish violet to moderate indigo gradient jacket with sapphire studs and a blue faux fur collar, a violet to sky blue fleecy dress top with a pattern of linings and a picture of her three blue diamonds on the center, darker bluish violet cropped yoga pants underneath a skirt in a gradient of navy blue to violet, and purple cargo boots with sapphire studs on the sole and blue pumps. Sci-Twi wore a brilliant rose polo shirt with a white collar and sleeve cuffs, and had her cutie mark symbol on the front, a dark moderate purple skirt, dark moderate purple leggings, moderate sapphire blue rain boots, a bag with a belt around her waist, a pink and purple bracelet, and a purple glittery Star hair piece on the left side of her hair. Fluttershy wore a light aqua green fleecy dress with purple and dark pink butterflies all over and a light aqua green cuff on her skirt, a pair of sneakers with moderate pink, light pink, and dark pink linings, and aqua green socks. Before they went in, Rarity suddenly looked down at Thomas and bent herself down a little, “Thomas... if a lady may ask, what made you want to come to this enjoyable place?” “I’ve never been to a carnival,” Thomas said. “Right. You lived in an orphanage with other children, but they were very rude to you,” Sci-Twi said, until she hugged him for comfort. “I’m sure we’ll have some fun here,” Sunset said, as Starlight was ruffling his hair. “Come on! Let’s go play some games, and catch up on the other things!” Rainbow Dash said, and then they all went off to play some carnival games. After a couple of games, Thomas saw Trixie, who was now wearing a short dark blue dress/shirt with long sleeves, a short puffy skirt, yellow lining and shoulder pads, light blue stars on the sleeves, purple clips and necklace, purple knee high socks, dark blue high heel shoes with gold stars and sky blue bows on them, and a dark blue top hat with a yellow lining and 2 purple feathers. “Hello, Thomas!” she exclaimed. “Uh, hi, Trixie,” Thomas replied. “And would the little one like to see some thrills of the Great and Powerful Trixie?” she asked. “Can we, Auntie Sunset?” Thomas asked. Sunset then looked at the girls who shrugged their shoulders in agreement, “It’s alright with me.” “Excellent, now step inside, and we shall get started,” Trixie said, as she unveiled the curtain in her tent, and then let them enter. They then watched Trixie perform some magic tricks for a few minutes, until she concluded the show with a puff of smoke. Thomas then saw Sunset win him a turtle plushie that was almost as tall as his teddy from a ring toss game, and then they went to get his face painted with Spider-Man’s upper face on his eyes and forehead. After Thomas got his face painted, the girls saw how cute he looked. Rarity smiled warmly at Thomas, “Aww, I love your face paint, Thomas darling.” Thomas blushed softly, “Thank you, Rarity.” Rarity then kissed him on the cheek. Fluttershy’s face was a rabbit’s nose. “I like yours too, Fluttershy,” Thomas said. “Thank you, sweetheart,” Fluttershy said, until she kissed him on the other cheek, and hugged him without ruining his face paint. “Hey, guys! What’s better... without cotton candy?!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, handing them all some cotton candy in both blue and pink. She also had a clown face paint. They then went to go do some co-op laser tag as a group and then they scored together. After that, they went through the hall of mirrors that went with neon lights, and then did a photo booth all together. Later on, they went to a picnic bench and had some pizza, fries and soda. “So, are you enjoying the carnival, Thomas?” Sunset asked. “Yeah! This is so much fun!” Thomas replied. Sunset chuckled, and then ruffled his hair, “I know it is. I’m glad you’re having a good time, too.” “Yes, darling. And thank you so much for coming up with such an idea like this,” Rarity said, until she kissed him on the cheek again. When Thomas finished his pizza and fries, he cuddled with his plushie, but he suddenly felt himself sitting on Fluttershy’s lap as she wrapped her arms around him for a hug and kissed the top of his head, and then he wrapped his little arms around hers and held her hand that was softly stroking him on the chest and hugging his Snuggle Bear teddy. “So, what do you think we should do next?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Well, we’ve got a few more options before doing the ferris wheel,” Sunset said. “Well, that’s fine, darling,” Rarity said. “I bet we could do something funny fun fun!” Pinkie Pie said. The girls laughed at her comment, as she laughed with her. “How many days do I have left?” Thomas asked. “Well, according to the calendar, you now have...” Sunset looked at her phone for the calendar. “12 days left, but don’t worry, sweetheart. We’ll keep you safe. I did promise your mother and Princess Twilight.” Thomas nodded, and then leaned back towards Fluttershy’s chest, until she gently rocked back and forth to comfort him. When they finished their dinner, they went on the ferris wheel, and Thomas sat on Fluttershy’s lap as she sat next to Sunset and Rarity. “Still miss your mother?” Rarity asked. “Yeah, but I’m sure she’s fine,” Thomas replied. “Yes, we know,” Rarity said. Thomas then felt himself being hugged by Fluttershy, and then Thomas hugged her arms. After the ferris wheel ride, Rarity helped Thomas with the face paint removal with a bucket of water and some paper towels, until the girls then saw colorful stage lights appearing on the stage, so they went to go look. As they went up for a closer look, they saw three girls that were the same age as the Mane 8 behind the curtains. The one on the left had pale light grayish fuchsia skin, moderate purple hair with moderate aquamarine streaks and silver two-star hair clips that braided it into two ponytails on each side, moderate mulberry eyes with moderate mulberry eyeshadow, and she was wearing a reddish violet sweatshirt with white polka dots underneath a lime green faux fur short sleeve vest with light gray streaks, a moderate purple scarf around her neck, darker reddish violet pants with light aqua green streaks, and dark magenta boots with lime green fur on the back. The one on the right had arctic bluish white skin, light arctic blue hair with moderate persian blue streaks and was tied into a ponytail, moderate raspberry eyes, and she was wearing a moderate magenta dress with some sides of darker magenta with grayish magenta glitter, and one long sleeve in darker magenta and one short sleeve, and tacos on the center and both the right and left side of her skirt, moderate magenta and dark magenta striped socks and light aqua green sneakers with dark magenta tongues, pale light aqua green soles and darker magenta shoelaces. The one in the middle had pale apple green skin, huge luminous vivid orange bobby and curly hair with brilliant yellow streaks and a black hairband with long purple spikes, brilliant raspberry eyes, and she was wearing a pale light grayish fuchsia top with light grayish fuchsia triangles all over, a black collar with gold studs, a golden belt around her waist and gold necklace around her neck, a darker grayish indigo leather jacket with gold spikes on the cuffed sleeves, gold bracelets and black wristbands with gold spikes, purple glittery cuffed and cropped shorts, and darker grayish indigo and purple thigh-high boots with orange studs on the top, gold gems on the buckles and gold spikes on the heels. “The Dazzlings are back?!” Sunset asked. “Who are they?” Thomas asked, while nervously hugging Rainbow Dash’s leg. “Those three up there are some troublesome evil people we dealt with before,” Rainbow Dash said. “And they’re also the three sirens I told you about before,” Sunset said. “They don’t look like sirens,” Thomas said. “That’s because they lost their magical power from them rubies they were wearin’,” Applejack said. Thomas then saw the Dazzlings walk out and then they started singing. Rainbow Dash then lifted him up onto her shoulders for a better look. “They must be a last-minute addition!” Pinkie Pie said. “But they lost their voices! They gotta be using magic!” Rainbow Dash said. “That or vocal processin’,” Applejack said. “They wouldn't! Wait, what am I talking about? Of course they would,” Rainbow Dash said. “Shhhhhh... Listen,” Thomas said. When the Dazzlings finished singing, the crowd applauded for them. Adagio then sighed, “That song's called Find the Magic. Thanks for your time.” She then dropped the mic, “Human scum.” She and the other two walked off. “Seriously?” Sunset asked. “The chord progression is kind of samey-samey,” Rarity said. “I don’t see anything wrong with them. They reminded me of my Momma’s singing like when she puts me to sleep or if I have a nightmare,” Thomas said, as he was being held by Applejack. “This may sound crazy, but I kinda feel bad for hurting them, except for the evilness type of thing,” Sunset said. “Still no excuse for lazy songwriting,” Rarity said. “So what are we gonna do?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Uh... girls, where’d Thomas go?” Sunset asked. They girls suddenly looked around for their nephew, until they found out about where he went and followed him. When Thomas went backstage, he then saw the Dazzling’s tour bus near the parking lot, until he hid behind black crates full of musical equipment and saw them coming out. He gazed at how seductively gorgeous they were. “Ooooh, that was our best show yet!” Sonata exclaimed. “The loop on our rhythm is really working,” Aria said. “Of course it's working. It was my idea,” Adagio said. “Loop in our rhythm? What do they mean?” Thomas asked himself, but then he hid himself again. Once the Dazzlings passed by without him being seen, Thomas snuck into the van, while the girls watched from behind. “Okay, I’ll go get him. Could you meet me over there?” Sunset asked, and then the girls nodded and went to go wait for her after she went on ahead. Meanwhile, The Dazzlings were at the carnival and walking around to find something to do. Adagio suddenly stopped and felt like she forgot something, “Wait a moment. Before we left, did one of you remember to take the bread out of the toaster?” “Don’t look at me. It's not my job to not start fires,” Aria said, until she looked at Sonata. Sonata then scoffed, “Well, how was I supposed to know you can't put tacos in the toaster? I mean seriously, who invented these things?” Adagio groaned with frustration, “You two are so annoying. Let's go.” The three then started to walk back to the parking lot. Meanwhile, in their van, Thomas was looking through their van in wonder and did some cleaning up around some rooms and picked up the trash, but he suddenly heard the toaster go off, and saw two pieces of toast in there. “Who would leave toast in a toaster?” he asked while holding it with some oven mitts. “I probably shouldn’t.” He then put the toaster down and took off the oven mitts. Until Thomas heard footsteps coming back, he started to panic and hid underneath the kitchen cupboard and hugged his Snuggle Bear teddy, and then breathed quietly. Sunset then entered the van and looked around for her nephew, “Thomas? Thomas? Where are you?” Sunset suddenly saw the toaster full of the toast. “Who leaves toast in a toaster? Honestly,” Sunset asked. The van door suddenly opened, and then Adagio spoke up, “Don't even think about eating our toast, Sunset Shimmer!” Sunset then took a deep breath and then calmly put the toaster down before turning around, “I wasn’t.” “What are you doing on our bus?” Adagio asked, with her hands on her hips. “Sorry, not sorry, Adagio,” Sunset said. “But it's time to take this track off the air. I heard you admit that you’re probably up to no good, like last time!” “Up to no good? What? We looped a vocal track,” Adagio said. The Dazzlings then started laughing, until Sunset grasped Adagio’s arm and looked into her memories. “You’re telling the truth,” Sunset said. “Of course I am!” Adagio said. “Now, could someone please tell me what’s going on and why you snuck into our bus?” “Hey, what’s goin’ on here?” Applejack asked, while the others came. “That’s what we’re trying to know,” Aria asked. “This is so confusing!” Sonata said. “We’re looking for someone, and I thought he was here,” Sunset said. “Oh really? Well, I assure you that we had no reason to...” Adagio suddenly saw Thomas crawling out of the cupboard. “Is that you, Auntie Sunset?” Thomas asked fearfully. “Yeah, it’s really me,” she replied. Thomas then crawled out of the cupboard and then went over to Sunset for a hug. “Y-Y... Y-You’re... You’re...” Sonata said, until she suddenly felt excitement in herself before she zoomed over and hugged him into her soft chest. “YOU’RE SO CUTE!” The other girls d’awwwwed at Sonata’s hug, until they heard him whimpering and suffocating underneath Sonata’s bosom, so Rarity gently pulled him out of there, and held him in her arms. “Sonata darling, you really need to go easy on him! You’re scaring the poor thing,” Rarity said, as Thomas was held in cradle position and nuzzled with her breasts. “Was that your actual nephew?” Adagio asked. The Mane 8 nodded in agreement. “So, you’re just singing for your own benefit for either a good or bad deed?” Sunset asked. “That's about being stuck in this miserable human world with no magic or hope of returning to Equestria,” Adagio said. “And by the way, if there's Equestrian magic afoot around here, we call dibs,” Aria said. “I thought if anyone would want to be able to take over our world with magic like last time we’ve encountered, it's you three,” Sunset said. “We made the mistake of using our powers to manipulate Canterlot High School, and we've paid the price for it with our magic,” Adagio said. “Unless you count the magic of vocal processing,” Sonata said using the quotation fingers. “Which I don't!” Adagio said. “What I'm saying is we already get a perfect start with every new day. It's called living a normal life.” “Yeah. You all should try it sometime,” Sonata said, until The Dazzlings laughed at them. “I can't! And neither can’t he!” Sunset said. “Poor Sunset Shimmer. Are you mad?” Aria asked in a teasing tone. “Hey! Leave her alone! Auntie Sunset’s been working hard to live in this world after she’s been reformed and before you showed up! We didn’t mean to ruin your evening! We just thought if you had anything to do with me being stuck here!” Thomas said, as he nuzzled his cheek on Sunset’s arm, until she hugged him. “Why are you crying?” Aria asked. “He’s been a little bit fussy since now. He hates it when there are people arguing or fighting,” Starlight said. “Poor little guy,” Adagio said, until she walked over to the boy and gave him a kiss on the cheek to make him feel better. “You’re cute, you know that?” Adagio said, until Thomas noticed her hand softly stroking his face. Sunset then looked at her watch and realized that it was getting late. “Hey, uh, girls. We need to get going. It’s a school night, and we kinda need to be up on time,” Sunset said. Thomas then asked Fluttershy if she could put him down, and then Thomas went to Adagio and wrapped his arms around her waist for a hug. “I also liked your singing,” Thomas said. Adagio and the other two smiled warmly at him, and then she hugged him back as he rested his head towards her stomach. When Thomas ended the hug, Sunset lifted him up in her arms and carried him along the way. The girls then made it back to the city, as it got late later on. Thomas suddenly began to get sleepy as he yawned and rubbed his eyes. “Sunset? Do you think it’s time he was in bed?” Rarity asked. As Sunset lowered him to look at him, he suddenly started to fall asleep, “Don’t worry, sweetheart. We’re almost there.” Thomas nodded as Sunset gently patted his back. “Umm... Sunset? If it’s okay with you, could I maybe take Thomas with me to my place for tonight? I just want to give him some extra company there,” Fluttershy said, as she smiled lightly and reached out her hand to softly stroke Thomas’s hair. “Yeah, I don’t mind, Fluttershy,” Sunset said, and then she carefully moved the little boy over to Fluttershy’s arms, as the gently shy girl took him in both arms and then cradled him against her breasts so he can stay warm and he then turned over and rested his head on her shoulder, as he hugged himself with his Snuggle Bear teddy against her soft breasts, until Sunset went to her apartment to grab a few things for Thomas. “I’ll make sure that he’s up on time,” Fluttershy said, and then she said goodnight to the others and walked over to her house. When Fluttershy arrived at her house, which was also a huge animal shelter with rectangular and cube shaped rooms. When she reached into her vest for a key to unlock and open the door, she looked down at Thomas and saw that he somehow fell asleep along the way. After she went inside, Fluttershy put him on the couch and put his stuff in her bedroom, but she suddenly saw Thomas walking over. “Hello, Thomas sweetie. Are you almost ready for bed?” Fluttershy asked. Thomas nodded, “The Dazzlings also sounded friendly a little.” “I know, sweetie. I know,” Fluttershy said, while gently hugging Thomas. “But I think it’s time for a quick bath, and then it’s straight to bed, okay?” Thomas nodded and then went with Fluttershy to her bathroom. When they got to the bathroom, Fluttershy turned on both faucets of hot and cold water to mix it into really warm water, and poured some soap into it for a bubble bath. When the water was fully warm enough and covered with clouds of bubbles, Thomas privately took off his clothes so Fluttershy could wash them before school tomorrow, and then lifted Thomas into the bathtub so she could wash him up. After a few minutes of a quick bath, Thomas put on his Spider-Man pajama set and slippers, and then brushed his teeth. When he was ready, Fluttershy put her pajamas on herself and then got him a bedtime story book from Thomas’s bag. Fluttershy set Thomas on her lap and then she read a few quick chapters from the book, until he fell asleep later on. Fluttershy then went to her bed, and then laid down until Thomas suddenly scooted over to her and laid his head on her breasts and near the pillow, so Fluttershy brought him over for a hug to keep him warm and comfortable all night, and then went to sleep. While he was sleeping peacefully, Thomas then thought to himself about his family back in Equestria, ‘Momma, I miss you and everyone else, but I hope I get home soon. I love you all.’