Aliens in Equestria, Part II

by knightcommander

Coming to Equestria

The sun rose bright and early over the bustling tarmac of Washington Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Virginia. Planes from both the domestic carriers of the reborn American airline industry and flag carriers from across the world took off and landed in the soft light of the autumn dawn. Airport personnel rushed to service the incoming jets, from small regional airliners to massive wide-bodies capable of crossing oceans in a single trip. The terminals and gate areas filled with arriving and departing passengers, eager to begin their journeys at the early hour.

At gate C18 at C Terminal of the massive airport, a small United Express Embraer ERJ-145 operated by Chautauqua Airlines pulled up and parked next to an enormous Boeing 747 of Lufthansa. The jet bore the classic "battleship" United Airlines livery from 1993 until 2004. A jetbridge was extended and attached the jet's cabin door, allowing passengers to deplane once the all clear was given. The bleary eyed passengers, mostly business people who worked in the Washington, D.C. area, had departed early in the morning from Norfolk International Airport on what was practically a red eye flight. The fact that the plane was small and decidedly not very comfortable didn't help them much. One pair in particular was looking ragged.

A young human male, barely out of his twenties, rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he stepped out of the jetbridge and into the terminal. He shivered, both from the cold unusually chilly autumn morning and from his body protesting the lack of sleep and caffeine from the normal morning coffee he took. He was dressed in simple faded blue jeans and tan t-shirt bearing a design vaguely reminiscent of a medieval coat of arms, along with a black zipper hoodie and navy blue Boston Red Sox baseball cap. He even topped it all off with red and white scarf that had been had knitted by his girlfriend as a gift.

He adjusted the thick glasses he wore and brushed a stray strand of his curly brown hair out of the way. He stared around the airport terminal with deep brown eyes that always seemed to have a spark of life within them, looking for an information panel to get their gate number for the flight they would be taking out of Dulles to Brussels Airport in Belgium. Justin Thompson, a native of Virginia Beach, was exhausted so much he could practically feel it in his bones. But he fought through it and finally located an information panel. Pan American World Airways, a rebirth of the famed airline that revolutionized the Golden Age of Air Travel and the latest and most successful in a line of highly profitable start ups in the reborn American airline industry, Flight 239 to Brussels left Gate A34 at 5:30 that evening. They had plenty of time to travel from C Terminal to the Main Terminal to A Terminal and get something to eat along the way. Which was a good thing, because a sound from behind him told him that his traveling companion for this trip was getting hungry.

"Shall we get breakfast, love?" He asked, turning to his longtime girlfriend, Laramie Winters. She brushed a strand of her long brown hair from her face and looked back at him with bluish green eyes.

"Please?" She asked. She removed the rolling backpack she had been using as her carryon bag and placed it on the ground, adjusting her gray hoodie and fiddling with her bracelet, which bore images of various saints and of Jesus. Justin planted a gentle kiss on her lips.

"We shall, then." He said. She smiled at him, wrapping her arm around his and taking her carryon in the other. He took his own navy blue American Tourister rolling carryon and together they trekked off into the terminal, deciding to visit the greater variety of shops to be found in the airport's A terminal. It was a short hop over to the famous mobile lounges that were a feature of the airport for a long time, for a short trip over to the main terminal where they would catch the underground AeroTrain system to the A and B gates. A trip on the mobile lounge later, taking in the sight of various huge aircraft, and they arrived at the main terminal. From there it was a very short train ride over to the A and B gates. Laramie, who was a first timer to the busy airport, awed at the size of the place when they stepped off the AeroTrain.

"It's huge!" She exclaimed. "How do people find their gates?"

"One of humanity's oldest inventions," Justin replied, "maps." He jokingly pointed over at the map of the terminal. Laramie giggled. They soon found a Dunkin' Donuts, and a few dollars later were munching on tasty breakfast sandwiches and donuts. Laramie had herself a Coke while Justin contented himself with a freshly brewed coffee, which seemed to rejuvenate him.

"So where is this planet we're supposed to be going to?" Laramie asked. The two of them had been fortunate winners of a contest hosted by the Altarian government. The Altarians were making formal contact with a new species, and had invited humanity to join them in the endeavor. The Altarians not only invited several important heads of state, but also one hundred lucky humans to chance to win a trip for them and two guests to come to planet with them to meet this new species and exchange cultures. Justin was one of the lucky winners, and as his guest he invited his beloved Laramie to accompany him. He also tried to get a friend of his to come to, but other obligations prevented it.

"Be'nar says his government hasn't given it a formal name yet, but some of the locals are calling their neck of the woods 'Equestria'." He said. Be'nar Kanobe had won a similar contest on Altair and was taking his family with him; his wife, Seli'itana "Selii" Tu'val, and his fraternal twin children, two month old Curzon and Shastin Kanobe. They would be meeting them at the newly build international star port in Belgium, on the grounds of Brussels Airport. The airline sponsor of the contest, the newly reborn Pan American, would be taking them as a way to celebrate its opening of service to the European market.

"What are the people like?" Laramie asked, taking a bite of a jelly donut. Justin took a swig of coffee before replying.

"Funny, Benny didn't let on." He said. Laramie gave him an incredulous look. "Usually that means he doesn't know himself. Though, he did mention that they were four-legged." Laramie giggled.

"Maybe a dog planet." She said. "Pound Puppy planet." Justin snickered.

"Maybe." He said. They both shared a happy laugh.

"Our chariot has arrived." Justin announced as a massive Airbus A380, painted in the classic 1960s livery of Pan American, pulled up to the gate. The huge airliner loomed over the gate workers servicing the plane. Laramie felt a twinge of worry. She still was rather unaccustomed to air travel and large planes made her nervous. Justin put a comforting arm around her, which helped immensely. They snuggled together as they waited for the call to board, which came surprisingly quickly. They were ushered into the first class section of the plane, were they were amazed to see that they had what amounted to private suites. As part of the package, they would be flying first class with complimentary amenities.

"It this an airplane or the Titanic?" Justin asked when he saw their seats. A smiling flight attendant in a Pan American's classic blue uniform of the 1960s giggled at his comment, while others groaned at his mention of the Titanic.

"This is our standard first class seating, sir." She replied. "We sought to recapture the Golden Age of Air Travel, with some improvements." She explained, pointing out each of the features they got in first class; fine food, fine wine, entertainment on demand, free Wi-Fi, and even a complimentary heated blanket. "And for this trip, everything is free for our contest winners." She continued.

"Don't say free. Have you met me before?" Justin said. "I will move in and live on this plane." Laramie laughed as they settled into their seats for takeoff. Justin took a few moments to e-mail his folks before the sign to turn off all electronic devices came on. The massive jet's four massive Engine Alliance GP7000 turbofans powered up as the enormous airliner taxied away from the terminal and out to the runway, stopping to allow a United Boeing 777 bound for Frankfurt to take off. The giant A380 pulled up to the runway after the wash from the triple 7 subsided and began to power up, it's four engines working hard to send the plane down the runway at takeoff speed. Finally the wings bit into the air and the plane lifted off into the sky as gracefully as one would expect from a machine designed to do nothing but fly. The two settled down into their seats for the long eight hour flight ahead of them.

Are people in really such a rush to catch planes at this hour of the day, asked the black and white furred bipedal being to himself as he entered the terminal of the star port in Brussels. Be'nar Kanobe, a male Altarian who had spent the last several years of his life living on Earth, scanned the terminal with his jade green eyes. He was a tall young man of twenty-one and possessed an athletic, slightly muscular build. His right ear was scarred from an injury in his younger years, and bore a similiar one on his arm. His outfit of the day consisted of the casual Earth ensemble he had become used to; comfortable blue jeans, a red t-shirt and an pair of black Vans sneakers. In addition, he sported a pair of yellow and black leather fingerless gloves on his hands, something he had picked up and always wore. He considered them something of a "lucky" pair, as he had been wearing them when he got into a car accident due to a senseless speeder without any serious injuries.

Seeing nothing of note, he fished a digital camera out of the carryon bag that he had with him on the Lufthansa flight over from Berlin. He turned around and snapped a photo of the female Altarian coming in behind him. Unlike the more common straw blonde, her hair was bright, almost platinum. She looked at the world through a rounded pair of violet eyes that almost always seemed to have a sparkle in them. Her simple black denim pants and pink tank top accentuated her near perfect features, though still presented an air of modesty. Selii Tu'val-Kanobe could easily pass for a model or actress, instead of the oldest child of the wealthy family she came from.

She instinctively winced a bit at the sudden flash, but recovered. She grinned at her husband as she leaned lightly on the stroller carrying the young couple's twins, boy Curzon and girl Shastin.

"You might want to save room on that thing." She said to him in the light and flowing accent that was typical of those who resided on the colonies of the Republic's mid-zone worlds. "We do have an entire planet to explore, after all." Be'nar cracked a smile. He loved her voice. Even for a mid-zoner it was lovely, almost as though she were singing without even trying to sing. He could listen to it all day.

"Yes dear." He replied, putting the camera away. "Though I should tell you I brought seven extra memory sticks for emergencies." She giggled.

"Mother was right. You do overpack." She said with another giggle. He rolled his eyes. Just then, the announcement came over the PA system in both English and French that the Pan American flight their friends were coming in on was due to arrive. "Shall we?" She asked. He nodded.

"Let's not keep the future Mr. and Mrs. Thompson waiting." He quipped. She laughed musically as they began walking toward the gate area to meet their friends.

"Wake up love." Laramie heard the voice of her boyfriend say. "We're getting ready to land." She stirred in her sleep and stretched before putting her lie-flat seat back up into it's proper position. She was amazed at how well she had been able to sleep on the plane. It was though she were flying on a cloud. Course, she was lucky to be in first class, with its comfortable seats and sumptious food and drink, and not trapped back in economy where everyone had to made do with good food put not so good seats. Both of them buckled their seat belts and stowed all their things before the plane began to descend into Brussels airport. Laramie cautiously watched the ground get closer and closer as the huge Airbus closed in for a landing, and finally a tell-tale thump told them the plane successfully touched down. Air brakes and thrust reversers were deployed, which eventually slowed the speeding airliner to a stop on the runway. After a short taxi, they pulled up to the gate and prepared to deplane. Making sure they had their carryons, they departed the plane and entered the airport terminal. Laramie was the first to spot their friends.

"Hello!" She called out to them, waving. Justin smiled as the Kanobe family approached them. Selii enveloped the two of them in a hug and gave them each a kiss on the cheek, as was the custom among their people.

"How are you, old friend." Be'nar asked, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Exhausted." Justin said, with a tired sigh. "Jet lag is not funny." Be'nar reached into the bag they carried on the stroller and produced a pair of travel mugs.

"One's coffee, the other's hot chocolate." He said, handing Justin the one with coffee in it. "I forgot the cream and sugar, unfortunately." Justin drank it anyway. He always relished a cup of coffee in the early morning. Laramie took a sip of hers, then busied herself playing with the twins, who had just woken up. The sounds of their giggles brought a smile to the two young men's faces.

"The star port is this way." Be'nar said, gesturing over toward the entrance. "They want us onboard at least an hour before departure, so we'd better get moving."

"I could use a nap anyway." Justin said. "Lead the way." He took Laramie's hand as they followed them to the star port.

Docked at the gates that normally one would find servicing aircraft, there were parked small shuttle craft known as runabouts. These little ships resembled, to Justin's eyes, the plane mates they had seen at Washington Dulles, with the addition of wings with engine pods and a rounded nose. They were boarded much like aircraft. The sole purpose of these shuttles was to take passengers to star ships in orbit. Thankfully, there wasn't a long rush to get to them, and they were able to board and take off with ease. Laramie was once again nervous, fidgeting in the comfy leather seat as the ship broke the atmosphere and went into orbit. She quickly calmed down, however, when Justin held her. She appreciated that immensely.

When they docked with the star liner they would be taking on their trip through space, they were ushered off by friendly, smiling crew members and directed to the cozy first-class cabins. With luxurious decor resembling designs from Earth cultures, a fine wine and food menu, and palatial rooms, the cabins looked more like something a diplomat would travel on. The Altarians were used to it, but the humans marveled. Never before had they experienced such luxury. It was going to be a wonderful journey, that much they could tell.

"So this is it?" Justin asked.

"This is it." Be'nar replied. The two of them were standing in the liner's observation lounge. The window was filled with a picture that could capture the front page of any magazine on Earth, Altair and beyond. They could see nearly every continent with their white-peaked mountains, golden brown deserts and vast, green plains and highlands. The seas were a perfect crystal blue. It was a mesmerizing sight for anyone, much less a human who had never seen it before.

Justin took a sip of the strong ras'jil, the sweet tasting beverage warming him to his very core. He took in the entire sight with a look of wonder on his face. Outside the ship, large Altarian vessels, Republic Navy ships, were circling patrolling around. Evidently their visit was important enough to warrant a Naval escort of some kind. "Navy's out in force today." He remarked.

"The Audacity, the Courageous, and the Longsword." Be'nar replied, pointing out the ships as they passed by. "Vessels of our Seventh Fleet, if I'm not mistaken." He took a sip of his own ras'jil. "If that's the case, Excelsior should be here too." He scanned the scene in front of them for any sign of the great battleship, the lead of her class. She wasn't to be seen. They didn't have too long to wonder why though, as soon the passengers of the ship were called to report too the shuttle bay for a trip over to Republic One. Be'nar had informed them that this was the personal transport of the Praetor of the Republic. Apparently she wanted to address them all before they left for the planet's surface. Their loved ones, who had been busy chatting among themselves, followed them out. Laramie too her boyfriend's arm, yawning. He kissed her cheek.

"Not much longer and we'll be setting foot on an alien planet." She smiled.

"I wonder what we'll find." She said, looking out a window at the planet. He nuzzled her.

"We'll see."

The gang was surprised to see just how many nationalities they had managed to fit into this intrepid group of humans. Justin counted at least five different European nationalities, ranging from German to French to even Finnish. And there were of course representatives from Asian nations from South Korea to Thailand, and Latin American countries from Brazil to Mexico. He even noticed a few that were of Middle Eastern descent, Israelis judging by the language. They took seats next to a pair of French university students, and Justin was able to pick up some of their speech due to his knowledge of the language. Apparently, they were wondering if the trip would get them credit for their courses. He rolled his eyes.

"Thank God, those days are behind me." He quipped. The room fell silent almost as soon as they were all seated. A holographic display showing the Seal of the Republic flashed behind a podium. The seal bore the image of a stylized Altarian phoenix bursting forth from a flame, its arching wings holding letters spelling out the Republic's motto; LIBERTY, JUSTICE, PEACE. An apparent Navy captain stepped up and delivered a brief introduction and benediction before introducing Praetor Ki'la Va'ashil. The middle-aged female Altarian stepped out on stage. In place of her normal praetorial robes, she wore an elegant white dress trimmed with gold and inlaid with mother of pearl. The dress was sleeveless except for two pieces that extended from her elbow to her wrist, and were capped off by long flowing pieces that appeared to be made of silk. Her dark blond hair was tied up in a bun and secured with platinum hairpins. A fancy platinum earring with shimmering red jewels hung from her right ear, and matched the platinum chain bracelet she wore. She stepped up to the podium and faced the audience with a pair of burgundy eyes that reminded Justin of red wine. She smiled at the assembled humans before beginning her speech.

"Ta'iga se kebo za'rish, my friends." She said, addressing them in the warm and friendly manner that was a hallmark of the Altarian species, who truly did not have a mean bone in their bodies. "On behalf of the Altarian people, I welcome you and thank you for being able to be here with us today." She seemed to look right at the four friends as she spoke. "Today is a very momentous day in your history. Today, you take your first real steps as an interstellar civilization. Below you is the planet of Equestria. They, like you, have just discovered the secrets of faster-than-light travel and have had the entire galaxy opened to them. The people here have been granted an grand opportunity, that of meeting a people from beyond not only their own borders, but of their own homeworld. It is your turn now, my friends, to meet them. It is an opportunity long in the making, ever since you first slipped the warm embrace of your homeworld to touch the ancient stars. I challenge you, my friends, to make this a moment worth remembering in the annals of history. I challenge you not only to learn, but to teach. But, most important of all, I challenge you to forge a friendship that will last until the end of time. Good luck, and may your endeavors be blessed." The audience applauded after she finished her speech. Praetor Va'ashil bowed before taking her leave. Justin and Laramie were beaming. Both of them were now more excited than ever to get down to the planet and take on her challenge.

It was time to go to Equestria.

A light thump indicated that the shuttle which took them down to the surface touched down. Laramie could hardly contain her excitement. Justin couldn't help but snicker with amusement at her staring out the window, practically hopping up and down as a hover transport disembarked and drove off to where they had been assigned to stay for the year they would be on Equestria. Their escort, Master Chief Petty Officer L'or Mal'gan, explained that they would be staying in a small town called Ponyville. Justin snickered again at the high similarity that was developing between this planet and Earth. They had already been briefed on the three different types of beings that inhabited this particular country; the earth ponies, who were master farmers and laborers and were the strongest of all; the unicorns, the intellectual powerhouses of Equestria; and the pegasi, flying ponies with the ability to walk on clouds and manipulate the very weather itself. All of this amazed the humans and Altarians alike. This was definitely a planet worth seeing.

When they finally reached the outskirts of the town, Mal'gan had them stop for lunch. Some tasty Altarian food was distributed, and he allowed them look around for a bit. Laramie accepted her food and savored it, declaring it some of the best cuisine she had ever had.

"I'm think I'm going to stay here." She said. "I still have space lag." She laughed. Justin smiled and kissed her.

"I'm gonna go look around for a bit, and see what I can see." He eskimo kissed her. "I'll be back in a flash." She smiled and kissed him. Selii smiled at them before preparing bottles for her babies. Be'nar took out a pair of high-tech compact binoculars and began looking around. Justin waved to them before going off into a nearby copse of trees. He trekked through the trees until he emerged into a hilly area. A cool autumn breeze waved across the land, shaking loose some leaves. Justin took a deep breath of the clean, sweet-smelling air before taking in the scenery. He could see a forest in the distance that was colored brilliant maroon and orange. It was a sight that could rival the best Earth had to offer.

He tightened the warm sweatshirt he wore around him and walked over to a nearby tree and sat down, deciding to take breather and enjoy the outdoors for a bit. He was just getting comfortable when he heard a noise off to his right. It was coming from a nearby bush. He shrugged, figuring it was an animal. He'd worry about looking at flora and fauna later. Right now he could use a nice relaxing rest in the great outdoors.

Rustle, rustle

He heard the noise again. This time, it was louder. He looked at the bush. Whatever it was, it was fairly good size. And, he could swear he heard a voice.

"Hello?" He said. "Is anyone there?" He asked. No answer. "It's OK, you can come out." He said warmly. The bush began to rustle again, and slowly something began to emerge from behind it. First, he could make out a red bow, which quickly revealed itself to be attached to a smock of apple red hair.

And soon he found himself being looked at by a pair of large, bright gamboge eyes.

"What have we here?" He asked. The creature ducked back down, and it seemed he had scared it off. But, it soon re-emerged from behind the bush, waking cautiously up to him. He now got a clear look at it, and noticed that he was looking at an earth pony filly. Her tail, like her mane, was bright amaranth red. The bow she wore in her mane was pinkish red and seemed to be size too big for it. Her coat was a kind of yellow that reminded him of the inside of a ripe apple. She stopped a few feet away from him, just looking at him with an expression of both wonder and the type of nervousness that children often exhibited when confronted by a stranger. He felt a warm smile creep over his face at the adorable little foal in front of him.

"Hi there." He said warmly. The filly said nothing, just continued to look at him. "It's OK, I won't hurt you, I promise." The filly trotted a bit closer. Justin slowly held his hand up in front of her, a universal gesture of peace. The filly curiously looked at his hand, taking in the gold college ring he wore on his finger, before extending her own foreleg and gently tapping his hand with her hoof. Justin then moved his hand down beneath her hoof. She looked at his hand for a moment, then gave a cute little smile before thunking his hand with her hoof in a "low-five" gesture. Smiling, the human then held his hand up higher. The filly jumped up and thunked it with her hoof, giggling a bit.

"Hi again." Justin said, trying again to talk to the little filly. Now apparently emboldened, the filly smiled back at him.

"Hi." She said, her voice thick with a surprising accent. It reminded Justin of a Texan or Ozark accent. But that didn't matter. He accomplished what he wanted, which was get the little filly talking.

"My name's Justin." He introduced himself. "What's yours, sweetheart?" He asked.

"Apple Bloom." She replied. He smiled.

"Cute." He said. She smiled again. "You're little ways away from home Apple Bloom. Ponyville, I'm told, is back that way." He pointed in the direction of town.

"Actually, ah live a little ways outside town." She answered. "Mah family owns and runs the apple orchard. In fact, we're sittin' on it." Justin looked around.

"Hmm, I don't see many apple trees." He said. "Is this part of the farm not being used?"

"Not at the moment." She replied. "We ain't gotten around to planting new trees, though I heard Applejack say she wanted to put out some new golden delicious trees."

"Well I apologize for stepping on to your property." Justin said apologetically. "I didn't see a sign." Apple Bloom just smiled at him.

"It ain't no trouble." She said. "Mah friends and I actually come out here a lot. There's a crick not far from 'ere that we like to go fishing in. Say, you wanna meet my friends?" She asked with a big grin on her face.

"I'd be honored." Justin said. Apple Bloom beckoned for him to follow her and led him off down toward the creek she had spoken of. It's babbling added to the sound of rustling cattails to create a near perfect atmosphere. Justin took out his camera and snapped a picture while following the little earth pony.

"Huh, that's funny, this here is where I last saw..." Apple Bloom began, but was interrupted by a sudden squeak and the rustling of a nearby patch of cattails. The two of them turned to see a pink and purple tail that curled much like Justin's own hair. Apple Bloom giggled. "Found one of 'em." She grabbed onto the tail with her teeth and gently pulled another filly out of the cattails. The filly's coat was a white with a very slight grayish tint. Her mane matched her tail in both color and curls. She had her hooves over her eyes, but he could see a small horn poking out.

"A real, honest to goodness unicorn." He remarked. Apple Bloom gently poked the filly in the side.

"It's alright, Sweetie Belle." She said soothingly. "This here's mah friend." The white unicorn filly removed her hooves from her eyes, revealing them to be a sap green color. She shivered a bit. She was certainly a lot more nervous around strangers than Apple Bloom.

"Are you sure?" Sweetie Belle asked. "I've never seen a creature like that before." Justin smiled.

"I promise, I'm nice." He said warmly. Sweetie Belle looked at her friend, who smiled reassuringly. Sweetie Belle got up onto her hooves and looked at him. Justin reached out, causing her to recoil a bit, but a smile from both him and Apple Bloom stopped her from running off. Justin finally reached down and began scratching the little unicorn behind the ear.

"Hey!" She yipped, giggling. "That tickles!" Justin smiled at her before withdrawing his hand. The unicorn filly was now smiling at him.

"See?" Apple Bloom said with a grin. "Ah told you 'e was nice." Sweetie Belle smiled.

"What's your name?" She asked him.

"Justin." He said. Sweetie Belle smiled.

"Are you an alien, like the Altarians?" He nodded.

"That's right, ah never asked you where y'all came from." Apple Bloom remarked, realizing she had completely forgotten. Justin reached into another pocket and pulled out a picture of Earth.

"I live here." He said. "This is Earth."

"Hey, like me." Apple Bloom said with happy grin. "Earth pony." Justin laughed.

"Yes..." He began to make a quip, but was interrupted when Sweetie Belle suddenly yelled at him to take cover. He whipped around to see a small orange and purple mass flying straight at him. With no time to dodge the flying intruder, he simply reached out and managed to catch it. He grunted as the little mass slammed into him. The impact bowled him over and briefly knocked the wind out of him. He shook it off and then took a look at the offending creature. It turned out to be a third filly. This one was was a pegasus, who's bright orange coat contrasted with the softer hues of the autumn leaves. Her feather-shaped mane was a brilliant fuschia color, causing him to quip to himself that his mother would love it. Her eyes, comically spinning around in their sockets, were a violet color with just the tiniest hint of gray softening its brightness.

"Oh mah gosh, are y'all OK?" Apple Bloom asked. Justin managed to wriggle his way upright and picked the dazed little pegasus off of his chest. He was surprised at how light she felt.

"Yeah, I'm alright." He said. "I'm not sure about this one, though." He said.

"Urgh... is that you, mama?" The pegasus slurred. "I don't wanna go to school today..." The other two fillies snickered at her, while the poor human was left baffled as to what to do. The snickering seemed to help, though, as the pegasus soon shook her head vigorously to clear it out before looking right at him. In contrast to the others who were nervous when meeting him, the little pony's eyes lit up upon seeing the mysterious creature that now held her.

"Are you alright, little one?" Justin asked. The pegasus filly flapped her wings excitedly.

"Oh wow! Are you an alien!?" She chattered. Justin was taken aback by the sudden outburst. "This is so cool! I've never seen an alien like you, before? Where are you from? What's your planet look like? Do you guys like air shows? We have the most awesome flying team in history called the Wonderbolts, and they..." Apple Bloom suddenly shoved her hoof into her mouth to stop the unending stream of questions from the excited pegasus.

"Calm down, Scoots!" She hissed. "'E just got here." She turned back to Justin. "I'm sorry about that, but she just gets so plum excited sometimes." Justin merely waved it off.

"Don't worry about it." He said.

"Anyway," Apple Bloom continued. "Justin, this 'ere's Scootaloo. Scootaloo, this 'ere's Justin. He's from Earth." She said. Scootaloo just looked up at him with a twinkle in her eye, the kind that kids got when they saw something that really interested them. In this case, wonder at the meeting a new species.

"Howdy." Justin said with a warm smile. "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly where you trying to do?"

"I was practicing flying." Scootaloo replied with a huge grin. "How'd I do?"

"I think my sore ribs testify that you need a bit more practice." He answered her. "No offense meant, of course." Scootaloo hung her head.

"Awww man." She moaned. Justin frowned a bit, then hit on an idea.

"Say, girls." He said. "You introduced me to each other, and I'd like to repay to favor. Would you like to meet my friends?" He asked. That perked Scootaloo right up.

"Realy? Can we?" She asked, smiling brightly. Her tone indicated that she would be hopping up and down if it weren't for the fact that she was still being held. Justin smiled and nodded.

"If you girls will follow me, I'll take you to them." He instructed. The three fillies cheered and followed him away from the river and back down the path he came. When they arrived, the smell of cooking food wafted into their nostrils. MCPO Mal'gan apparently had some hot food cooking for them. The fillies openly marveled at the big transport they saw as they approached. Selii was busy playing a game of peekaboo with Shastin when she saw her friend approach. Her eyes sparkled when she saw the three fillies.

"They followed me home." Justin said with a mischievous grin. "Can I keep them?" Selii paid no attention to his joke, her focus completely on the fillies.

"Awwww." She cooed. "Lu'lu, come and look at this." She called, using a traditional Altarian term of endearment. Be'nar shuffled into view, eating an Altarian meat pastry. He grinned at what he saw.

"I don't believe this." He said. "We're planetside for less than a day and already you're gathering a fan club." He quipped to his friend. Justin rolled his eyes.

"Girls, this my wannabe comedian friend Be'nar Kanobe." He introduced. "The one sitting in the transport is his wife, Selii. Guys this is..."

"Don't tell me." Be'nar interrupted him. "Moe, Larry and Curly." Selii scowled at him for that one, while Justin just laughed.

"Actually, their names are Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo." He replied, gesturing to each of them. "I ran into Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle down by a creek, and Scootaloo, well, she ran into me." He said. Scootaloo grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry about that." She said sheepishly, pawing the ground with her hoof. Justin pat her on the head as if to say "no hard feelings". Apple Bloom smiled up at him. Scootaloo sniffed the air.

"Mmm, that smells good." She said. "What are you guys making?" Selii brought out another pastry, this time filled with cheese a vegetables.

"Try it." He said, breaking into three pieces. "It's delicious." Scootaloo sniffed the piece that was offered to her and took a small bite. She smiled as the taste of sharp cheese and delicious vegetables filled her mouth, and she eagerly devoured the rest of the piece. Her fellow crusaders followed suit.

"Yummy!" They chirped. Their voice got the attention of Laramie, who had been making smash sandwiches for them inside the transport. She came out and spotted the three fillies. She smiled at the three.

"Awww." She cooed. "Who are these?"

"The Three Amigos." Justin said, causing Scootaloo to scowl.

"Nuh uh! We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" She said.

"The whadda whuttin?" Selii asked, confused.

"Why don't you girls tell us all about that on the way to Ponyville." Justin suggested. "You can give us the grand tour." The fillies beamed.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders Tour Guides! Yay!" They cheered, so loud that the humans and Altarians had to cover their ears. Only MCPO Mal'gan was unfazed.

"Heh, cute." He remarked as he came into view. "Reminds me of my own daughters back home. Pile in everyone, we'll have to finish lunch on the way in."

"Can we stop just up ahead?" Apple Bloom asked. "I wanna show y'all Sweet Apple Acres before we get to Ponyville." Mal'gan nodded, and gestured for them to board.

This is going to be an experience. He thought with a silent chuckle.

"Here we are!" Apple Bloom announced as they approached a fenced in area near the town. "Sweet Apple Acres! From here, the finest apples in all of Equestria!" She puffed her chest out proudly. Laramie giggled at her.

"All of Equestria?" She asked. Apple Bloom nodded vigorously. Just as she was about to led them inside the orchard, a tree shook as though it had been struck with something, causing several apples to fall from it. Some landed in the road... and one fell on a certain human's head.

"Ow!" Justin yelped as the red delicious apple conked him on the noggin. He picked up the offending apple. "Now I know how Sir Issac Newton felt."

"Oh gosh, did I hit you?" A voice bearing an accent much like Apple Bloom's sounded from behind the tree. "I'm awful sorry." Apple Bloom smiled.

"It's OK, Applejack!" She called. "He's alright!" From behind the tree, another earth pony emerged. This one was clearly an adult, her own orange coat and straw blonde mane contrasting with Apple Bloom's. "Guys, this here's mah sister, Applejack! AJ, this here's Laramie, Justin, Be'nar and Selii. They're gonna be staying in Ponyville with us." Justin was about to introduce himself when Applejack suddenly grabbed his hand and began shaking it so vigorously his teeth chattered.

"Well howdy do!" Applejack said happily. "Welcome to Equestria! Ah'm Applejack, co-owner and chief hand of Sweet Apple Acres. A pleasure makin' your acquaintance!" When she finally stopped shaking his hand, his arm apparently didn't get the message, as it still continued to shake up and down. Laramie giggled and grabbed a hold of it until it stopped twitching.

"Thanks, hon." He said. She kissed him on the cheek, causing Scootaloo to wretch and Applejack to chuckle. Justin smiled. "I'm Justin. It's likewise a pleasure to meet you Applejack. This my lady love, Laramie." Laramie waved as she was introduced. "And this over here are my friends, Be'nar and his wife Selii." Applejack tipped her hat to them.

"We're taking them on a grand tour of Ponyville." Sweetie Belle chirped. "And we thought we'd start here with the farm."

"Well shoot, I'd love to take y'all on a tour of our little orchard, but that'd take all day." She said. "And we're a might busy with a bumper crop of honeycrisp that just came in." Laramie perked up.

"Honeycrisp?" Applejack nodded and bucked a nearby tree, causing a cascade of honeycrisp apples to fall into a barrel. Laramie's mouth began to water. Honeycrisp was her favorite cultivar. Applejack seemed to picked this up, as she sorted out four choice apples and passed them over with a flick of her tail. "These are all yours." She said with a warm smile. "A little 'welcome to Ponyville' present." Laramie beamed and squeaked a thank you before taking a huge bite of the apple. It tasted perfect, just the right amount of sweetness complimented by tartness.

"Mmm mmm." She said dreamily. The others dug into their apples as well, equally impressed by the taste.

"Dang, Apple Bloom wasn't kidding when she called them to best in the land." Be'nar remarked. Selii was too busy savoring hers to say anything. "Thank you very much." He said.

"Aww, weren't nothin'." Applejack replied. After they finished their apples, they left Applejack to continue her work, promising to meet up later to chat with her. The Crusaders boarded the transport and led them on into town.

"It's such a lovely day today." Selii said, busying herself with feeding her babies. The gang took in the clear blue and cloudless sky as they entered the quaint little town.

"It certainly is." Be'nar replied.

"The weather teams must have taken extra care to ready the sky for you." Mal'gan remarked.

"I still find it hard to believe that they can control the weather." Justin said. "I just sounds crazy." The fillies were focused entirely on what was ahead, pointing out various landmarks. They were just about to point out a small confectioner's shop when they suddenly spotted something. It looked like a small wagon, richly decorated with party themed images and colors.

"What do we have here? The welcome wagon?" Justin joked. Everyone rolled their eyes at that one. "Eesh, tough crowd." Scootaloo approached the wagon and found a note attached to what appeared to be some kind of trigger mechanism.

Whoever finds this, please do not push the button unless you are an alien!

Love, P.P.

"Huh." She said. "I guess it was meant for you guys?" She wondered, showing them the note. They looked at each other.

"Well, I guess one of us should press the button." Justin said. When no one moved, he chuckled. "Well gee, don't everyone volunteer at once." He said with mock sarcasm. Laramie giggled as he jumped off the transport and walked up to the wagon. "Stand back, kids." He said to the fillies, who dutifully backed up. With a light tap, he pushed the red button that had previously been covered by the note. A few clicks and whistles, and the top of the wagon opened causing a multitude of flags and even what appeared to be a fully functional oven. Justin leaped back as a bright and cheery song began to play. His surprised was doubled when seemingly out of nowhere, a bright pink earth pony with curly mane and bright blue eyes suddenly popped into view. The pony began to hop around and dance, all the while singing along to the music.

She capped off her song by sliding on her "knees" toward them in the manner of a big show stopping number. She came to rest right in front of them, her cyan eyes shining with sheer excitement and joy.

"Wait for it!" She chirped. The oven on the wagon suddenly shot open with a boom, causing a freshly baked and frosted cake to shoot out and land in front of them. Another loud boom followed as some candy striped pipes shot an explosion of colorful confetti into the air. "Yay! I got the cake and the confetti in the right places for the first time!" She yipped happily, jumping up and down for joy. The four of them were left baffled by the sudden appearance of the pink intruder, but the three fillies seemed completely unfazed.

"Hi, Pinkie." Sweetie Belle said, grinning.

"Oooh, right! I never introduced myself." The pink mare immediately began hopping up and down around the small group of aliens. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! Are you the guys who are going to be staying with us? Are ya? Are ya? Huh? Huh? Huh?" She jabbered on at seemingly impossible speeds and getting right into Laramie's face as she spoke. Laramie backed away, a bit put off at her seemingly lack of respect for personal space.

"Um, hello." She said, backing up behind Justin a bit. "I'm Laramie, this is my boyfriend Justin and my friends Be'nar and Selii Kanobe." She said. "Oh, and their little ones, Curzon and Shastin." She said, pointing at the little bundles the couple carried. If it were possible, Pinkie's eyes would have had shooting stars flying from them with the sudden onrush of sparkles that appeared at the mention of the babies.

"Ooh! Ooh! Can I see? I wanna see the babies! Lemme see 'em!" She chirped, bouncing up and down at a seemingly impossible rate. By now the shock of her sudden appearance had left the couple and they found themselves amused at the mare's excited antics. Be'nar chuckled as he unlatched Curzon from his carrier and held him up for the mare to see, Selii doing the same for Shastin. Pinkie Pie let out a high pitched "squee" when she saw them.

"Awwwww!" She squealed. The twins looked at her with a mix of wonder and confusion. Pinkie began to make funny faces at them. Despite being a strange being they had never seen before, the two of them began to giggle and coo at Pinkie. Pinkie giggled and laughed right along with them. The adorable display got the two humans immediately warming up to her.

"So, Pinkie Pie, if you don't mind me asking, what is you do around here?" Justin asked, wanting to start a conversation. If he was here to learn, a good place to start would be getting to know the locals. Pinkie Pie just grinned and pointed at her rump, which was emblazoned with three party balloons. "Um, how does a tattoo on your butt answer my question?" He asked, and then immediately shoved his fist in his mouth and began mentally kicking himself for saying something so potentially insulting. To his relief, Pinkie just laughed.

"That's not a tattoo, silly!" She remarked. "That's my cutie mark!"

"Well it's certainly cute." Selii said. "But what exactly is it?"

"Our cutie marks tell us what our special talent is." Apple Bloom answered. "Every pony gits one." Justin made a mental note to pay attention to these cutie marks. They seemed to be pretty important.

"Let me guess, when that happens, the appear in a puff of smoke?" Justin asked, miming a "poof".

"Actually, it's a flash of light." Pinkie said off to one corner.

"No two cutie marks are exactly alike." Scootaloo said, remembering the last lesson she had about them. She then looked at her blank rump and sighed. "We still haven't figured ours out yet. That's why we're the Cutie Mark Crusaders." The others nodded. Not wanting to see the fillies upset, Be'nar turned to Pinkie.

"Say, Ms. Pie, care to join us? These three were giving us a tour of the town." Pinkie beamed.

"Yaaay!" She chirped. "I can introduce you to all my friends while we plan your 'welcome to Ponyville' party! Follow us, everypony!" She cheered, allowing the Crusaders to take the lead. Shaking their heads and smiling at the mare's boundless energy and silliness, they followed them, eager to see what else they had in store.

"This is where my sister works." Sweetie Belle said, leading them to an elegantly designed building that almost looked like a carousel. Fitting look too, Justin thougth, when he read the sign on the front of the shop.

"Carousel Boutique." He read out loud. "Fancy." Sweetie Belle led them inside. A small shop bell rang over head as they entered the richly decorated shop. The mannequins, bolts of fabric stashed in cubby holes, and various other items led them to deduce that this was a high end fashion designer's shop. Judging by the looks of some of the half-complete items in the store, the place looked like it catered to the more fashion conscience of Ponyville, especially those who had money to burn. Justin spied a pair of silk top hats. Grinning, he put one on and mimed holding a monocle.

"I say old boy!" He said, turning to Be'nar and affecting his best "rich British guy" accent. "This day is a perfect for a stroll about the park, is it not?" Be'nar put the other hat on and mimicked his friends mimes.

"Indubitably, my good sir." He said, mimicking Justin's accent. The girls were overcome with giggling fits, especially Pinkie Pie, who rolled around on the floor laughing.

"Sweetie Belle?" A light and high class sounding voice suddenly called out. "Is that you? Do we have customers?" Justin and Be'nar quickly put the hats back, not wanting to get in trouble or cause a bad impression.

"We're in here, sis!" Sweetie Belle called. They watched as a white unicorn mare emerged from a back room, her azure blue eyes complimenting her indigo mane and ivory white coat. A cursory glance revealed her cutie mark to consist of three diamonds. The white mare was about to say something to her sister when she suddenly gasped at their visitors.

"Oh my stars!" She cried. "Sweetie Belle, why didn't you tell me we were going to have guests!?" The immediately began cleaning up some of the minor messes that she had left about during work and brewing a pot of what smelled like an herbal tea. Her horn glowed as she manipulated objects with her telekinesis. The humans were slightly taken aback by this, until reassured that there was nothing spooky about it by both Be'nar and Sweetie Belle. When Rarity was finally finished, she was panting heavily.

"Are you alright?" Selii asked. Rarity managed a smile at her.

"Yes, I'm fine." She said. "I'm so terribly sorry, but I seem to have forgotten that you were coming." She grinned sheepishly.

"We're taking them on a tour of Ponyville, sis." Sweetie Belle said, before introducing them. Rarity oohed at Selii's name. "This my sister Rarity, best fashionista in all of Equestria." Sweetie Belle said with her seemingly characteristic voice crack. Rarity blushed at her sister's compliments.

"You're a designer?" Laramie asked. Rarity nodded and accepted Laramie's handshake offer, as well as Selii's and Justin's. When Be'nar was offered a hoof, he instead held it and kissed the palm of his hand and placed it on top. Rarity blushed at this gesture. Selii giggled.

"Still the perfect gentleman, eh?" She remarked. He nodded. The others snickered. A whistle indicated the tea was finished, which Rarity fetched for them. Surprisingly, despite not being big tea fans, the humans enjoyed it. While they drank, Rarity took the time to talk to her guests while the Crusaders waited to continue the tour. Justin was busying himself discussing the intricacies of something called "baseball" when Rarity had a sudden flash of inspiration.

"Ideaaaa!" She said in a sing song voice, suddenly jumping and almost spilled her tea.

"What is iiiit!" Laramie replied in a copycat voice, eliciting giggles and chuckles.

"In honor of your visit, I'm going to design an outfit for each of you, free of charge, and I already know what I want to do." She said, hopping up and down. "I've been so anxious to design an outfit for our visitors ever since those sailors first came here." The poor aliens were taken aback.

"Uh, well, miss, you see..." Justin began.

"We'd hate to impose..." Selii tried to get in. Rarity shushed them.

"It's not imposition at all, darlings." She said. "It would be my esteemed pleasure." Justin was about to say something else when Scootaloo tugged his hand.

"Don't bother arguing." She said. "It's impossible to get her to change her mind when she wants to make something for you." He looked back at Rarity, who was wearing a hopeful smile. Now none of them felt they could say no, especially to such a generous offer from someone who had just met them.

"Well in that case, we'd be happy to." He said. Rarity gave a happy squeal and fetched a measuring tape, whipping it about between them and carefully taking down their measurements. When she was done, she bid them farewell, promising to have some designs for them by the next morning. They thanked as they left, Be'nar giving her another gentlemanly kiss on the hoof before he left.

"So, where to next girls?" Laramie asked the Crusaders.

"I'm kind of anxious to find out more about that power Rarity had." Justin said. "If I'm not mistaken, only unicorns have it, right?" He asked.

"Mmmhmm!" Sweetie Belle said. "It comes from inside our bodies. Say, I know someone who can teach you all about unicorns."

"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" Apple Bloom asked. Sweetie Belle nodded.

"Come on, guys!" Scootaloo said. "This way."

"Oh, Saints preserve us." Justin said. "They led us to the Keebler elves." They had been led by the Crusaders to a big tree in the middle of the town that had somehow been furnished into a functional house.

"Maybe they'll give us free samples." Laramie joked.

"Ooooh, free samples of what?" Pinkie Pie asked, popping out from behind a nearby bush. They jumped.

"Whoa!" Be'nar said. "We thought we lost you back there. Where did you come from?"

"That's Pinkie Pie for you." Scootaloo said. "Trust me when I say it's better if you don't think about it."

"I'll keep that in mind." Justin said. "I'm getting a headache already." Sweetie Belle knocked on the door of the tree building.

"This here's the Ponyville Library." She explained. "It's not used very often, but it's a cozy place to relax if you want to read a book." The sound of clopping hooves soon sounded from inside the building before the door glowed purple and opened to reveal another unicorn mare. This one was lavender with a dark purple mane streaked with pink. Her eyes were a moderate violet. Justin took note of her cutie mark, which looked like some sort of fancy starburst pattern. I bet this one turns out to be a wizard, he thought.

"Oooh goody! You're here!" The unicorn chirped. "Please come in!" They hesistated, surprised at how inviting she was, indeed the whole town was. They entered the library and were greeted by the smell of both old and new books. A pile of them lay cluttered on a nearby reading desk. The lavender unicorn picked several of them up and handed them to her visitors. Justin was surprised at one of the titles.

"The Summa Theologica?" He asked. "You're reading Aquinas?" She nodded.

"Aquinas, Kierkegaard, Voltaire, Augustine, nearly every major philosopher in your history." She said, showing them more texts. "I've read treatises from theologians, political theorists, economists, everything I could get my hands on. Your history and society are so fascinating." She said with a smile on her face and a sparkle in her eye. The humans were surprised at how much the unicorn had absorbed.

"We're... we're flattered Miss... uh..." Laramie stammered.

"Oh, how silly of me." The unicorn said. "I'm Twilight Sparkle." She said, extending her hoof, which everyone took the chance to shake.

"Twilight's the Ponyville librarian." Apple Bloom explained. "She's also the personal student of the princess!"

"Huh ho, fancy." Be'nar said in a good-natured way. Twilight blushed a bit, then perked up as she remembered something.

"Spike! Where are you?" She called. "Don't tell me he's napping. I told to be ready when you all arrived." As if in response, a purple and green form came rushing the stairs and tumbling to a stop in front of Laramie. She was surprised to see that it wasn't another pony, but;

"A dragon?" She asked. "A real dragon?" Spike looked up at her with a curious expression.

"What were you expecting?" He asked. Twilight scowled at him.

"Spike, behave yourself!" She chastised him. "I'm very sorry about that. Spike is a great friend and assistant, but he forgets his manners sometimes." The aliens just shared a laugh.

"It's no trouble at all." Justin said. "My younger brother is like that. Why, he never fails to be walking around the house with no shirt and his hand down his pants whenever we have company."

"Oh my, that does sound embarassing." Twilight said. Shastin cooed, which got Twilight's attention. The ever proud Kanobes held their babies up for her to view. "Awwww!" She cooed, trotting over and tickling them on the tummy. The little ones giggled up a storm.

"Yes, they are adorable, aren't they?" Laramie said. "You know they named us their godparents?" Twilight smiled.

"Aww." She said with warmth. "Oh, I'm distracting myself." She began arranging the books she had read, along with some papers which they guessed where reports. "Ever since I learned you were coming, I've been anxious to talk to you."

"Uh, Twilight, before you go gettin' ahead a' yourself, we were kinda takin' 'em on a tour." Apple Bloom said. "Sorry." Twilight looked a bit crestfallen. Clearly she had really wanted to talk about what she had learned with them. Be'nar felt sorry for her.

"Say, Pinkie Pie was going to host a party for us." He said. "There will be plenty of time to talk then. In fact, we'd welcome that." Twilight's expression brightened.

"In the meanwhile, may we take a look around?" Laramie asked.

"Please do!" Twilight said happily. "Spike, could you fix us some tea?" Spike saluted and ran off to the kitchen. The gang began looking around, mostly checking out the books. Justin himself headed upstairs. He noticed a collection of pictures along the wall of various ponies.

"Say, Twilight." He asked. "Who are these?" He held up one of the pictures, a photo of two unicorns. One was midnight blue, the other white with a purple striped mane.

"Oh, those are my parents, Nightlight and Twilight Starshine." She explained. She proceeded to point out the other pictures; a white unicorn with an electric blue mane who she indentified as her brother, Shining Armor, alonside a hot pink unicorn with a multicolored mane, who she said was her sister-in-law, Princess Cadence; two regal looking winged unicorns who she indentified as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, her mentor and her younger sister; and finally an orange earth pony with a mane the same color as Justin's hair, who she said was her "coltfriend", Caramel. This one she also said was a relative of the Apple family, which included her friend Applejack. He grinned at the dreamy look on her face, reminded of his own relationship with Laramie.

After their brief tour of the library and a drink of hot tea, it was time to leave. Twilight agreed to meet them later at Sugarcube Corner, and Pinkie Pie left with her to finish planning the party. The Crusaders next led them off toward a nearby lake. Scootaloo in particular appeared to be very excited about taking them here.

The first thing that greeted their eyes was a huge house made entirely out of cloud. It took their breath away to look at it, especially when they also noticed that it had waterfalls of what appeared to be rainbow falling from it. Justin snickered.

"Will Cheech and or Chong please report to the customer service desk." He joked. Laramie, Be'nar and Selii howled with laughter. The Crusaders did not get it in the slightest, but they just shrugged their shoulders while Scootaloo took off and fluttered up to the cloud house. They waited for her down below, the aliens wondering how such a thing could even be built, until they heard Scootaloo shout "aww man" and she fluttered back down to them.

"What's wrong?" Laramie asked.

"I wanted to introduce you to Rainbow Dash." Scootaloo said, clearly crestfallen. "She's not home." Justin pet her.

"Hey,maybe she'll be at the party." He said. "You can introduce us then." He gave her a winning smile. Scootaloo smiled a bit, though still clearly disappointed. They rounded out the tour by showing them the lake.

"This here's Lake Dressage." Apple Bloom said. "It's great for swimming."

"And there's lots of fish." Sweetie Belle said. As if on cue, a fish jumped up in front of them.

"Big ones, too." Laramie said. "Reminds of back home in North Carolina. Say, mind if we explore around a bit?" The Crusaders nodded. Justin and Laramie took off together on a walk around the lake. They took note of the beautiful wildflowers where bees and butterflies flitted about in abundance. Justin even managed to catch a friendly turtle that wandered over near them.

"Heyyyy, it's Franklinnn!" He sang. Laramie giggled at him, which brought a smile to his face as he let the turtle go... until he felt something pull on his hand. "Whoa." He said.

"Um, Mr. Human, sir?" A soft voice, so soft they almost didn't hear it, spoke from behind him. They turned around and were confronted by a full grown pegasus. Her flowing mane was a bright pink color, which matched her tail and complimented her cream yellow coat and cyan eyes. What especially stood out was how much more feminine she looked, even in relation to Rarity, than the other ponies they had encountered so far. It was almost as though she was designed to be cute. Laramie in particular thought she was the most adorable thing she had ever seen, and she said so, which caused the pegasus to blush. This only caused them to think she was even cuter.

"Hi." Laramie said cheerfully. "I'm Laramie and this is my boyfriend Justin. What's your name?" The pegasus shyly looked up at them.

"I'm... I'm Fluttershy." She said. The name very much fit her, as painfully shy as she was. "Um, I was wondering, if you don't mind that is, well... when they told us you were coming I, I put something together for you." She said. "Um, would it be alright if I showed you? I mean, I can show you later if you're busy..." Justin stopped her from rambling on.

"We'd love to see it, Fluttershy." He said with a warm smile. Fluttershy smiled and led them past the lake to a nearby tree. As with the others, they took note of her cutie mark; three cute pink butterflies. Perched on the tree was a flock of colorful birds. Laramie smiled at the sight.

"Are we going birdwatching?" She asked.

"Oh, no, even better." Fluttershy said. She flew up to the birds. "OK everyone, just like we practiced." She held up her hoof like a conductor's baton. "A one, a two, a one two three." She counted down. To the humans' great surprise, the birds began to sing a tune as though in a choir. And, it was a tune they recognized. Smiling, they began to sing along.

Fluttershy was surprised at their singing. When the song wrapped up, she turned to face them.

"Oh my goodness, you sing beautifully." She said. "But I didn't know there were words. I thought it was just a pretty song, and Twilight said that was a traditional one for humans." Justin smiled.

"Yes, there are words to it." He said. "It's an old American patriotic song. It's called 'America the Beautiful'. I haven't heard that tune in a long time. Thank you so much." Fluttershy gave a soft "squee" at the appreciation.

"Both of us used to sing it in school during music class." Laramie said. She frowned. "Sadly, they don't sing it anymore, at least I haven't heard my niece singing it in school..." Justin hugged her. Laramie smiled though. "Thank you for this, Fluttershy. It brought back a lot of good memories."

"I did?" Fluttershy asked. "Oh, that's so incredibly wonderful." She fluttered in air happily, despite her perpetually quiet voice. The Crusaders, wondering where their friends were, trotted over to them.

"Hi, Fluttershy!" Sweetie Belle said. "You met our friends?"

"Oh yes. They're wonderful." Fluttershy said. Seemingly having opened up despite her obviously shy nature, she fluttered over and gave the humans a hug. Each of them warmly returned the gesture. Both of their faces were plastered with warm smiles. They had never expected this. First being welcomed with song by Pinkie, then Rarity offered to make them a gift to celebrate their visit, and now Fluttershy performed a song for them.

This was going to be a year to remember.

A/N: I respectfully ask for no debates in the comment box, plox.