I woke up one morning feeling very well rested. We were coming up on a very special day. Nyx’s Birthday! It’s going to be her second one, from what Pinkie Pie told me. I want to give her something special for that day, but I don’t know what.
Nyx had her hoof on me like she almost always does when I wake up. I moved a little bit to try and get out from under, but then I felt her other hoof pull me closer to her.
“No good morning hug, little brother?” she asked. I turned around to face her, and saw her giving me a pout and her cat eyes got rounder and started quivering. My heart started feeling funny when she made that face.
“Um, if I give you one, will you stop making that face, please?” I asked. Her eyes went back to normal, her mouth turned into a big smile, and I thought I heard a squeak noise. “How do you do that?” I asked her.
“It’s a gift,” Nyx said as we hugged each other. After we finished our hug, we went downstairs and had breakfast with Mommy and Spike. After breakfast, Nyx and I went to school. It was Friday, and Nyx’s birthday would be on a Sunday, which meant I had two more days to think of something for a present for Nyx. I really wanted to do something special, but I didn’t know what. During recess at school, I asked for help from Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Twist, since they knew Nyx longer than I did.
“Hey Joshua!” Sweetie Belle said as I came up to them.
“Hey girls,” I said, “I’ve got a little problem.”
“What’s wrong?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Nyx’s birthday is this Sunday, and I don’t know what to do for her present,” I explained to her, “Do you all know what she would like?”
The four of them each put one of their hooves to their chins and thought for a minute. After a little bit, they looked back up at me.
“Well, we could tell you some of the things Nyx likes,” Scootaloo said, “Maybe an idea will come to you while we tell you.”
“Thanks,” I said to them smiling.
For the rest of recess, they told me a lot of the things that Nyx liked. Some of them I knew. Others I didn’t. Then Sweetie Belle said something that gave me a little idea.
“She also likes songs,” she said.
“Songs?” I asked, “She’s only heard me sing once, and that was trying to help my Cousin Guard go to sleep.”
“Well, did she like your song?” Scootaloo asked.
“She did clop her hooves on the ground when I finished singing,” I said.
“You could give her a song for a present then,” Twist suggested, “I’m sure she’d love something like that.”
“Thanks, girls,” I said, “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Just then, the bell rang. Recess was over. We all went back into class and listened to another lesson from Miss Cheerilee. After school was done, Mommy came to pick us up and take us home. I got my homework done so I could try and think of a song to make for Nyx. I then remembered a song from my old world that I thought would fit with Nyx’s life story, and wrote it down on a piece of paper. I hoped Nyx would like it when I sang it to her, but I wanted to do it with music. Who in Ponyville could help me with that? I tried to think of the ponies that I knew, and there was only one who could help.
Vinyl Scratch.
I hadn’t seen her since my welcome party. She made songs almost all the time, and I listened to a few of them on her radio station. I then decided tomorrow, I would go to Vinyl’s place to ask for her help. Hopefully, she would make some good music for it.
The next day, I woke up and found Mom downstairs reading another book.
“Mommy?” I said. She looked up, saw me coming down, and smiled.
“Good morning, Joshua,” she said. She put down the book she was reading as I came over to her. She then picked me up, hugged me, and kissed me on the cheek. “Have a good night’s sleep?” she asked.
“Yeah, I did,” I said. We then pulled away and looked at each other, but she kept holding me in her hooves. “Mommy, I know what I want to give Nyx for her birthday, but I need somepony’s help with it.”
“What is it?” she asked.
“I wrote a song from my world to sing to her,” I said holding up the words I wrote, “but I need Vinyl Scratch’s help to make music for it tomorrow. Can you take me down to Vinyl’s house so I can ask her, please?”
Mom looked at the words to the song I wrote, then looked back at me and smiled again.
“These words are perfect for a song for her, Joshua,” she said, “Of course I will.”
“Thanks, mommy,” I said hugging her again. After Nyx and Spike woke up, and after we all had breakfast, Mommy and I left for Vinyl’s place. When we got up to her door, I stopped Mommy before we went in.
“Can I go in and ask her by myself?” I asked Mommy.
“Sure, sweetie,” she said, “I’ll be waiting out here for you when you’re done.”
Mommy then went around to the side of the house, looked back at me, and winked. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. It opened up and I saw Vinyl at the door. She looked down and smiled when she saw me.
“Hey, J-man!” she said, “Long time, no see.”
“Hi Vinyl,” I said, “Can I come in? I want to ask you something.”
“Sure, dude,” she said nodding, “C’mon in.”
I walked in and sat down on one of the bean bag chairs she had. She then sat down in one next to me, and took off her big purple sunglasses. This was the first time I saw her eyes, and they looked a lot like Rainbow Dash’s.
“So, what’s shaking?” she asked.
“Well, Nyx’s birthday is coming up,” I said.
“Yeah, I know,” she said, “I got an invite from the Pinkster for it. Is there a problem about it?”
“Sort of,” I replied, “I know what I want to give her for a present, but I need your help with it.” I pulled out the words to the song I wrote. “I wrote a song from my world to sing to her, but I want some music to go with it. That’s why I came to you. If you can’t help me, I understand.”
Vinyl took the piece of paper in her magic and looked at the words. She then looked back at me.
“Think you could sing the first verse and the chorus of the song for me so I can get an idea of how the music will play?” she asked.
I nodded and did what she asked. After I finished, she smiled.
“I think I’ve got a good idea of what you want,” she said.
“You’ll do it?” I asked.
“Sure, bro-ski,” she said mussing my hair with a hoof, “I’ll have it ready for you before the party tomorrow night.”
“Thanks Vinyl,” I said standing up and giving her a hug. She wrapped one of her forelegs around me and returned it.
“No prob, man,” she said. After we finished the hug, I went to the door. “Stop by and visit again, ‘kay? You and I could make some rocking songs with that singing voice of yours.”
“I’ll think about it,” I said waving to her, “Bye Vinyl.”
“Later, J-man!” she said waving back. I stepped out of her house and went back over to Mommy.
“How’d it go?” she asked.
“Great!” I said, “She said she’ll have it ready for me before the party tomorrow night.”
“That’s wonderful!” Mom said hugging me, “I’m sure Nyx will love it.”
The next day...
It was Nyx’s birthday today! Mom told me a plan to have Nyx out of the library so she, Pinkie, and their friends could help get the library set up for the party tonight. Mom said she got Mayor Mare to let Nyx show me her old castle today, and after lunch we would go play with our friends until dinner. I was looking forward to seeing the party tonight. I really hoped Nyx would like the song I wrote for her.
I was on Nyx’s back as she took me to her old castle.
“I want you to stay close to me at all times, Joshua,” she said as we got close, “It’s a lot bigger on the inside than it looks outside.”
“I will, Nyx,” I said. Soon, we were at the entrance.
“You ready?” she asked me.
“I’m ready,” I said. We then walked in.
*Twilight’s P.O.V.*
Now that Nyx and Joshua were gone, my friends and I could get started on getting the library ready for the party tonight. Just a few minutes after they left, Pinkie was the first to stop by.
“Hey, Twilight!” she chirped happily.
“Hey, Pinkie,” I said, “You ready to start decorating?”
“Does hot sauce taste good with a cupcake?!” she asked. I shivered remembering the drink I accidentally poured myself at my welcome party. Pinkie bounced in, rolling her party cannon along with her. I looked out the door and saw the rest of my friends trotting up. And I also saw Vinyl Scratch coming.
“Howdy, Twi!” Applejack said coming in.
“We’re ready to help!” Rainbow said.
“This place will look fabulous when we’re finished,” Rarity added.
“Yay!” Fluttershy cheered in her quiet manner. Vinyl stopped next to me. She had her DJ stand hitched up in a cart behind her.
“Hello Vinyl,” I said to her.
“’Sup, Princess?” she asked, “Hey, is the J-man around?”
“No, Nyx took him on a tour of her old castle,” I explained.
“Ah, I see,” Vinyl said, “Well, the music he asked me to make for the song is all set and ready to be played.”
“Wonderful!” I said, “I really want this birthday to be special for Nyx.”
“Oh it will be, Twilight,” Pinkie said, “Trust me.”
*Joshua’s P.O.V.*
Nyx showed me almost every room in the whole castle. The only room left was the throne room. Soon, we came up to two huge, closed doors.
“Is this the throne room?” I asked.
“Yep,” She said, “This is the room where Twilight and I spent those couple hours together before freeing Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.” She then tried to push open one of the doors, but it was too heavy, so I helped her a little bit. Soon, we got the door to open and walked in. Inside, there were some torn cloths, broken windows, and stone seat on the other end of the room.
“The broken windows are from when I freed Spell Nexus from the dark magic that brainwashed him,” Nyx explained, “It almost took me over at one point, but thanks to Spell Nexus’ sane half, I was able to beat back that dark magic.”
“It must’ve been hard if the windows broke like that,” I said.
“It was, believe me,” Nyx replied.
I then walked over to the seat and looked at it. I tapped it a couple times.
“That’s my old throne,” I heard Nyx say behind me, “You can sit on it if you want.”
I pulled myself up onto the seat and sat down on it. It felt a little hard on my bottom. After a few minutes, I got off the seat and walked back over to Nyx. She was standing in the middle of the room.
“This spot right here is where Twilight and I spent those couple of hours reading, eating, and resting with each other,” she said.
“It’s your favorite memory, huh?” I asked.
“My favorite memory with Twilight, yeah,” she replied.
“Do you have a favorite memory with others?” I asked again.
“Yeah,” she said, “I think I have a favorite memory of almost everypony I know.” She then looked at me, and frowned a little. “Everypony, except you,” she said sadly. I felt a little sad after hearing that. I then felt Nyx put a hoof on my shoulder. “Don’t worry though. I’m sure one will come soon. Come on, let’s go have some lunch.”
“Okay,” I said.
That evening...
*Twilight’s P.O.V.*
It took us all day to get the library decorated for Nyx’s birthday party, but we were able to do it. Now it was almost time for dinner, and Nyx and Joshua would be back soon. Spike was looking out a window keeping watch. Just then, he jumped down from the window.
“Here they come!” he said, “Everypony, hide!”
Everypony that had been invited came. Even Apple Bloom’s cousin Babs from Manehatten came to celebrate with us. Soon, the lights went out after everypony hid. Soon, the library door opened and we saw Nyx walk in with Joshua on her back. After the door closed, the light turned on and everypony jumped out.
“SURPRISE!!!”
Nyx jumped a little bit in surprise, but not so much to knock Joshua off her back.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NYX!!!” everypony said.
“Oh wow!” Nyx said amazed, “Thank you, everypony!”
The party had several games to play, refreshments and snacks to eat, and dinner was pizza. Soon after we all had our share of pizza, Pinkie pushed out a big cake that had “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NYX!!!” written in frosting on it. After eating the cake, it was time for Nyx to open up her presents.
While she was doing that, Joshua went up to Vinyl.
*Joshua’s P.O.V.*
While Nyx was opening up her presents, I walked up to Vinyl at her DJ stand.
“Vinyl?” I said. She looked down and smiled.
“Hey J-man!” she said, “You almost ready?”
“Almost,” I said, “I wanna wait until Nyx opens up everypony else’s presents.”
“Gotcha,” she said mussing my hair again, “You just let me know when she’s done, ‘kay?”
“Okay, Vinyl,” I said. I walked back over to Nyx and saw that she had opened up a lot of her presents. Apple Bloom then came up with a small piece of paper.
“Nyx,” she said, “This is actually from Granny Smith.”
“Granny Smith?” Nyx said nervously, “It’s nothing bad is it?”
“She didn’t say,” Apple Bloom replied, “She just asked me to give it to ya.”
Nyx took the piece of paper from Apple Bloom and opened it. As she read it, her eyes were their normal size at first, but then, they widened in surprise.
“Nyx?” I asked her, “What is it?”
“She’s...she’s...”
“What?” I asked.
“She’s made amends with me,” she said.
“Really?!” a lot of us said in surprise.
“Yeah, listen to this,” she said reading the letter out loud.
Dear Nyx,
I know you and I didn’t get started on the right hoof after you came back. After the “episode” you and I had at Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack and Apple Bloom tried to convince me that you weren’t bad no more. I didn’t believe ‘em at first, but my Applejack almost never lies. So I decided to check on it myself. I’ve been watching you for a while, and during those times, I’ve never seen you do one bad thing. I wasn’t completely convinced, but after showing how much love you give that little human feller you call brother, I can see that my grandkids were right all along.
So I want to apologize for all the things I did wrong to you, and I want you to know that you’re welcome on my farm anytime now. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.
See ya soon, and Happy Birthday.
Sincerely,
Granny Smith
We were all surprised. Granny Smith apologized and accepted Nyx now. Just then, there was a knock at the door.
Spike went over to answer it and after opening it, Granny Smith was at the doorway. When Nyx saw her, she rushed over and nuzzled her forelegs.
“Of course I forgive you Granny Smith,” she said.
Granny Smith looked down at Nyx and smiled. She then wrapped a foreleg around Nyx’s back and hugged her.
“I forgive ya too,” Granny Smith said, “For what ya did to my grandkids.”
The two of them kept that hug for a while, and eventually stepped away from each other. Nyx then came back over to me.
“Hey, Joshua,” she said, “I don’t think I’ve gotten your gift yet. Do you have anything for me?”
“I do Nyx,” I said, “Be right back.” I then went back over to Vinyl.
*Nyx’s P.O.V.*
I began to wonder what it was that my little brother got for me. Why was he going over to Vinyl’s DJ stand? He stood up next to Vinyl and whispered in her ear. Vinyl nodded and placed a record down on one of her turntables. She then gave Joshua a microphone with her magic. Joshua took it in his hand and tapped it. The feedback screeched as we all folded our ears down on our heads at the loud noise.
“Sorry, everypony,” Joshua said sheepishly, “Um, I’ve got a really special present for Nyx.” He then nodded to Vinyl. She set the needle down on the record, and music began playing. “This is a song called You Are More. It’s from my world, and I think it goes with Nyx’s story. I hope you all like it, especially you, big sister,” Joshua finished. He then began singing.
As Joshua was singing the song, I felt tears stinging my eyes: tears of happiness. This song really fit with my life story. When he reached the bridge, I started to walk closer to the stand to get a closer look at him singing. I smiled at him warmly when he neared the end.
When he finished, I stepped up onto the stand and pulled Joshua into a big hug.
“That was beautiful, Joshua,” I said sniffling a little bit, “I loved it.” I then pulled back to look at him, “You remember how I said I didn't have a favorite memory of you yet?” He nodded. “I think this is it.” I hugged him again and nuzzled his cheek. He returned the hug. “I love you, little brother.”
“I love you too, big sister,” he said, “Happy Birthday, Nyx.”
“Bye, Nyx! Bye, Spike!” I called to my brother and sister as Mommy and I left the library.
“Bye, Joshua!” Nyx called back waving.
“Have fun, you two!” Spike added.
Today, Mommy and I were going to Canterlot to have some time together, just the two of us. She was going to show me some other parts of Canterlot that I haven’t seen during my time there at Hearth’s Warming. I was looking forward to it. After getting to the station and after Mommy bought the tickets, we got on the train.
After a few hours, the train was starting to slow down.
“Now, Joshua,” Mommy said, “I want you to stay close to me at all times, okay? Canterlot is a big city and easy to get lost in, understand?”
“Yes, Mommy,” I said nodding. The train then stopped. Mommy and I got off the train and walked into the streets. First, Mommy took me a park. She said that this park was where Aunt Cadance took her while she foalsat her. Mommy pushed me on a swing set that was there for a while. Then we played some hide-and-seek together. The last time Mommy found me while we were playing, she tickle attacked me.
Now, I’m very ticklish, and I ended up laughing a lot as Mommy tickled me with her hooves. I only hope Nyx doesn’t find out I’m ticklish.
Next we went to have some lunch at a small outdoor restaurant to have lunch. While we were eating, two unicorns came up to us. One was a stallion, the other was a mare, and both of them had white coats and were a little taller than Mommy.
The stallion had a blue mane and tail, light blue eyes, a small blue mustache on his muzzle, and his cutie mark was three gold crowns. He also wore a black suit kind of like the one I wore on my date with Dinky with a purple bowtie. He also had a small glass circle in front of his left eye.
The mare had a pink mane and tail, purple eyes with white purple eye shadow on her eyelids, and her cutie mark had three funny looking shapes; the big one in the middle was purple and the two smaller on either side of it were yellow.
“Good day, your majesty,” the stallion said, “How are you this fine day?”
“Good day to you Fancy Pants, Lady Fleur,” Mommy said, “I’m doing wonderfully, thank you.”
The stallion then looked at me. “And who might this young lad be?” he asked.
“This is my adopted human son, Joshua,” Mommy said, “Joshua, this is Fancy Pants and his wife Fleur Dis Lee. They’re both good friends with Rarity.”
“Hi,” I said, “It’s nice to meet you both.”
“It’s nice to meet you too, young man,” Fancy Pants said.
“Indeed,” Fleur added nodding and stepping forward a little, “How long have you been in Equestria?”
“Almost a year now,” I said, “What is that you two do?”
“Well, I work as a fashion model here in Canterlot,” Fleur said, “I put on fancy dresses and pose for cameras that take pictures for fashion magazines.”
“As for me, I’m in the trading business,” Fancy Pants said, “The business I run helps trade items between Equestria and the surrounding countries.”
“Cool,” I said, “So how do you two know Rarity?”
“Well, I met her when she was visiting Canterlot,” Fancy Pants said, “We accidentally bumped into each other while she was buying some fabric for her friend, your mother.”
“She made me a special outfit for my birthday,” Mommy said.
“I found it lovely,” Fancy Pants said, “You still have it, yes?”
“I do,” Mommy said, “But I might have Rarity modify it for me so that my wings can move freely.”
“Tell me, Joshua, are your clothes Rarity-made?”
“Yeah, they are,” I said, “Do you like them?”
“I certainly do,” Fancy Pants said smiling, “What about you dear?”
“I do as well,” Fleur said, “They make you look handsome.”
I blushed at that.
“Well, we’ll leave you two to your meal,” Fancy Pants said, “It was wonderful seeing you again, your majesty. And it was just as wonderful meeting you as well, Joshua.”
“I hope we can see you again,” Fleur added.
“It was nice meeting you both as well,” I said as they walked away. “Wow, they were so nice.”
“Yep,” Mommy said, “They have a lot of influence around other nobles.”
After we finished our lunch, Mommy took me to a giant building. She called it the Canterlot Archives. There were a lot of rooms that she called wings. And there was even one wing that had the works of a unicorn named Starswirl the Bearded.
“Who’s Starswirl the Bearded?” I asked.
“He’s the brightest unicorn mind of his time!” Mommy said excitedly, “He created over 200 spells, including the amniomorphic spell and a time-travel spell.”
“Time-travel?!” I asked surprised, “Time-travel works?”
“With magic, nearly anything is possible,” Mommy said.
“Wow,” I said.
“Also, his secret, unfinished masterpiece is what helped me become a princess,” Mommy added.
“How?”
“One night, while Spike was taking one of his seven hour bubble baths,” Mommy said rolling her eyes, “I received a package from Princess Celestia. It contained a book that held Starswirl’s secret unfinished masterpiece. He was never able to get it right and abandoned it. Celestia knew that I was the only one who could understand and rewrite it. I cast the spell to find out what it was, but nothing happened at first.
“The next day, I found what happened: the spell changed the Elements of Harmony, and switched all of my friends cutie marks.”
“Switched their cutie marks?” I asked.
“Yes,” Mommy nodded, “at first, I didn’t know what to do, but then Spike reminded me that my friends mean more to me than anything. I then figured that if I couldn’t remind them of who they are, then I could remind them of what they mean to each other. So Spike, Nyx, and I headed out with the Elements to help fix our friends’ true selves. After we did that, I figured out how to fix the spell. When I did, I found myself in a vast area with stars and galaxies and cosmic dust all around me.”
“Hey! That’s where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna found me after my parents sent me through the machine they made!” I said, “That’s where you became a princess?”
“It was,” Mommy said, “Princess Celestia told me that I had fulfilled my destiny and had achieved my title as princess. I then reappeared in Ponyville with these.” She then opened up her wings to their full length. “All my friends were really surprised and happy to see them, especially Nyx.”
“That’s really amazing, Mommy,” I said.
“Indeed it is,” said a voice. I jumped and looked behind me. Princess Celestia was behind us.
“Princess Celestia!” I said surprised.
“Hello you two,” she said, “What brings you here?”
“Joshua and I are spending the day together, just the two of us,” Mommy said.
“Yeah,” I said, “It’s been fun so far.”
“Well, I hope you two enjoy the rest of it,” Princess Celestia said walking away.
“Bye Celestia!” Mommy said waving.
After we left the Canterlot archives, we went and had dinner at a different restaurant. We heard music playing there from a group of ponies Mommy called the Canterlot Symphony Orchestra. She said they played at a big dance she went to a couple years ago called the Grand Galloping Gala. After we finished, we went to the train station to go back to Ponyville.
“Did you have fun today?” Mommy asked me.
“I did,” I said hugging her, “Thank you for today, Mommy.”
“You’re welcome,” she said hugging me back.
After a couple hours, we were back at the library. Nyx and Spike were happy to see us back. I wanted to go to bed when we got back though, so I went upstairs to get my pajamas on and brush my teeth. When I left the bathroom, Nyx was standing in the bedroom doorway with a mischievous smile on her face.
“Coming to bed with me, Nyx?” I asked as I got into bed.
“In a little bit,” she said climbing into bed with me, “But Twilight told me something that I didn’t know about you before.”
Uh oh.
“She didn’t tell you I was...”
“She did,” Nyx said, her smile growing bigger. She got closer to me. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked placing her hooves on my chest.
“Nyx,” I said getting worried, “Can we do this la-AUGH!!!” I yelled as Nyx knocked me onto my back on the bed and began rubbing her hooves on my chest. “NO!!! NO!!! NONONONONONO!!!” I yelled starting to laugh, “STO-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP!!!”
“Sorry, little brother,” Nyx said over my laughing, “But I have to make up for lost time!” She then started to tickle me faster, making me laugh harder.
“MOOOOM!!!” I called to Mommy.
“Yes sweetie?” Mommy called back.
“Why *giggle* did you tell *laugh* her?!”
“Sorry, Joshua. She asked me to tell her everything that happened.”
I had just woken up. Nyx wasn't in the bed this morning. I was confused. Where was she? I then saw a note on the bed.
Dear Joshua,
Nyx and I had something important to attend to this morning, but Spike will be here when you wake up to help you with breakfast. We’ll see you later today, though.
Love,
Mommy
I got up, got dressed, and went downstairs to see Spike up and dusting the library.
“Good morning, Spike,” I said. He turned and looked at me.
“Morning, bro,” he said, “Would you like some breakfast?”
“Yes, please,” I said following him into the kitchen. Spike set out a cereal bowl and a spoon on the table for me. I went to the pantry to grab a cereal to pour for myself. After I had my breakfast, I went to brush my teeth. After that, I went downstairs and saw Spike was feeding Peewee.
“Hey Spike?” I said to him.
“Yeah?” he replied.
“What did Mommy and Nyx have to do?”
“They went to find their friends to talk to them about something,” he said looking at me with a smile.
“Oh,” I said, “I’m going to try and find them, okay?”
“Sure,” he said, “Just be careful out there, alright?”
That last part he said had me confused. Why would I need to be careful? I left the library and shut the door behind me. I started walking through Ponyville looking for Mommy and Nyx. I was walking by Diamond Tiara’s house when I saw her step out.
“Hey Joshua!” she said.
I saw Silver Spoon come up next to her.
“Hey girls,” I said.
“Do you mind coming inside for a sec?” Diamond Tiara said to me waving a hoof toward her. I walked towards them. When I got inside, Diamond Tiara closed the door behind her.
“Girls, have you two seen Nyx at all today?” I asked them.
“She came by here a few minutes ago. She left us with a rather interesting fact about you,” Silver Spoon said with a smirk as she and Diamond Tiara walked closer to me.
“What do you mean?” I asked getting nervous and backing up. I bumped into a chair as they got closer, both of them smirking.
“She said that you were... ticklish,” Diamond Tiara said as she and Silver Spoon pushed me onto the chair I had my back against.
“Oh no,” I said. I was now lying down on the chair, and the two fillies were standing on either side of me. I tried getting up, but they both placed one hoof on both of my hands and pushed me back down.
“Nice try,” Diamond Tiara said, “But you’re not getting away that easily.” She then looked at Silver Spoon and placed her other hoof on my chest. “Silver Spoon, how about we see how ticklish he really is?”
“Why not?” Silver Spoon replied placing her other hoof my chest. The two of them began rubbing their hooves on my chest really quickly, making me laugh.
“AHHAHAHAHAHAH!!!” I laughed, “Stop! I can’t take it!”
“What was that?” Diamond asked, “You can take it? Let’s double the treatment, Silver Spoon.”
“You got it!” she said. The two of them leaned their noses in and started nuzzling my cheeks, making me laugh harder.
“Please!” I said having a little trouble breathing while laughing, “Stop!”
They didn't stop though. They continued tickling my belly and nuzzling my cheeks for a little bit more. Soon, they lifted their hooves off my hands and chest and moving their noses off my cheeks. I wrapped my arms around my chest and continued laughing a little bit more until I stopped.
“You alright?” Diamond Tiara asked me after I caught my breath.
“Yeah, I think so,” I said getting up, “Why did Nyx tell you two I was ticklish?” They didn't answer; they just smiled at me. “She said not to tell?” They nodded. “Well, I’m going to find her and ask her myself,” I said standing up.
“Bye, Joshua!” they said as I walked out.
“Bye girls!” I said to them.
Later I was walking by Sugarcube Corner to see if maybe Mommy was there. She wasn't though. And neither was Pinkie Pie. I was about to leave Sugarcube Corner when I heard a giggle behind me. I turned around to see who giggled, but I didn't see anypony. I saw a piece of paper taped to the wall with an arrow drawn on it pointing upstairs. I was curious. I walked over to the stairs and saw more pieces of paper with arrows drawn on them all the way up. I walked up the stairs and saw the pieces of paper with arrows continued. I followed them until I found Pinkie’s room. Her door was wide open. I walked in wondering if who made that giggle downstairs was in here. Just then, I heard the door close behind me. I turned around and saw Pinkie had her hoof on the door. She also had her big smile on her face.
“Hi Joshie!” she said to me taking her hoof off the door.
“Hi Pinkie,” I said, “Was that you giggling a little while ago?”
“Yeppers!” she said, “and I’ve got a little surprise for you.” She started walking over to me.
“What is it Pinkie?” I asked.
“Oh, nothing much,” she said as she stopped in front of me tucking in her forelegs. “Twilight came by today and told me something that I found cute.”
Uh oh.
“She told you I’m ticklish?” I asked.
“Mmmm-hmmmm,” Pinkie said slowly. I turned around and tried running away, not wanting to get tickled again, but Pinkie caught me in her forehooves and pulled me against her. “Oh, no you don’t!” she said. She then moved me around in her forelegs until she had me laying down in one of them like how you hold a baby in one arm. I looked up at her and she was still smiling. She then put her other foreleg on my chest and began tickling me with it.
“HEHEHEHE!!!” I laughed, “NO!!! NOT AGAIN!!!” I tried to take Pinkie’s foreleg off my chest, but she had it in place. I couldn’t move it. “STOP PINKIE!!! HAHAHAHA!!! NO MORE!!!”
“More?” Pinkie asked, “You asked for it!” She then pulled my shirt up and blew a raspberry on my tummy, making me laugh harder.
“PLEASE, STOP IT!!!” I said still laughing.
After another raspberry, she stopped. I was able to catch my breath.
“Wait,” I said, “If Spike said Mommy and Nyx were talking to their friends about something... Oh no, they told them all what they told you, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon.”
“If I were you,” Pinkie said whispering in my ear, “I’d stay hidden for a little while if you don’t want that.”
“That might be a good idea,” I said to her, “I’ll see you later, okay Pinkie?”
“Bye for now, Joshie!” she said opening the door for me.
After I left Sugarcube Corner, I tried to be careful of where I went while in Ponyville. If Mommy and Nyx told all their friends, I was in for a lot of tickles. I know Rainbow would catch me easily if Mommy told her. Also, if Nyx told Dinky I was ticklish, she wouldn't stop if she caught me.
While I was thinking, I found myself in front of the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse. I didn't hear any noise coming from inside. Either the Crusaders weren't there or they were hiding and waiting for me to come in. I decided to take a peek inside.
Big mistake.
I stuck my head in the doorway, when I felt somepony push me inside with their head. I turned my head and saw a pink bow behind the pony’s head. Apple Bloom. When she pushed me all the way into the clubhouse, the door closed. Scootaloo was the one who did that. Then, I saw Sweetie Belle come out from under the table. How did I not see her there?
Then, all three of them stood in a line in front of me. I gulped.
“H-Hi girls,” I said, “What’s going on?”
They didn't say anything. They just smiled at me.
“Nyx told you, didn't she?” I asked.
They nodded. Apple Bloom then grabbed one of Scootaloo’s feathers with her mouth and took it out of Scoot's wing.
“Ow!” Scootaloo said. Apple Bloom then turned back to me. They all grinned at me mischievously.
"Hold him down, girls," Apple Bloom said with the feather still in her teeth. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo walked towards me. Then they grabbed me with their forehooves and laid me down on my back. Apple Bloom then put the feather down and began taking off my shoes and socks with her mouth.
"Not there Apple Bloom!" I said, "Please not there!"
She didn't listen to me. Instead, she, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all took a deep breath and yelled, "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS TICKLE MONSTERS!!! YAY!!!" Apple Bloom then took the feather back into her mouth and started tickling my bare feet with it. That spot is where I'm really ticklish.
"HAHAHAHAHA!!!" I laughed. I couldn't help it; they had me held down, and I was laughing too hard to concentrate on my magic to make them stop. Just then, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo each put a hoof on my chest and tickled me there while Apple Bloom kept on tickling my bare feet with the feather. "PL-PL-PLEASE!!! STOP!!!" I said still laughing.
They didn't stop tickling me, though; they kept going. After a couple more minutes, Sweetie Belle spoke up.
“Okay girls,” she said, “Let’s let him breathe.”
They finally stopped and backed away from me. I stopped laughing and sat up to look at the Crusaders.
“We should’ve tried this long ago,” Apple Bloom said, "That was fun!"
"It sure was," Scootaloo said, "Even if we didn't get cutie marks from it."
“You girls aren't the first ones to tickle me today,” I said to them.
“Who was the first one?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“It was Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, then Pinkie,” I replied, “But you girls were really good in tickling my feet. I’m still trying to find Mommy and Nyx. Do you know where they are?”
“Nope,” Scootaloo said, “Nyx left just as soon as she came.”
“Well, I’m going to see if I can find them,” I said going to the door, “Bye girls.”
“Bye, Joshua!” they said.
After I got down the ramp, I felt myself being lifted off the ground really quickly.
“WHOA!” I said. I looked down the ground was really far down below. I then saw two blue forehooves wrapped around my chest.
“Rainbow Dash?” I said.
“Yep!” said Rainbow’s voice above me.
“Why did you pick me up, where are we going, and did you see Mommy today?” I asked her.
“You’ll have to wait and see, my house, and yes,” Rainbow answered.
“Your house?!” I said now scared. Mommy told me only pegasi and alicorns can walk on clouds. Unicorns, earth ponies, and humans couldn't though!
“Don’t worry, dude,” she said, “Your mom took care of that problem. She put a cloud-walking spell on you while you were asleep.”
I felt better now, but I was still wondering why Rainbow was taking me to her house. Unless...
“Did... Mommy tell you?” I asked her.
Rainbow didn't answer me. I looked ahead and saw her house coming closer. When we were inside, Rainbow moved her forehooves to under my arms.
“Alright, first let’s see if it worked,” she said slowly bringing me down to the floor of her cloud house. When one foot touched the cloud, it sunk in a little but didn’t fall all the way through. I brought the other foot down, and it did the same. Rainbow then let go of me, and I kept standing.
“Hey, it does work!” I said.
“Now as for your earlier question,” Rainbow said as she landed next to me, “Yes, she did tell me. She told both of us actually.”
“Us?” I asked.
“Us,” said a quiet voice. I looked behind me and saw Fluttershy. She had one of her feathers in her teeth. I looked back at Rainbow and saw she had one of her feathers in her teeth too.
“Oh no, not feather tickling again!” I said.
“Somepony already got you with that?” Rainbow asked as she and Fluttershy got closer.
“Apple Bloom did with one of Scootaloo’s feathers,” I said.
“Well, now it’s time to get double the treatment,” Rainbow said smirking. I backed up until I fell backwards on top of something. It was a cloud that was as a little bigger than me. Rainbow placed stood on one side while Fluttershy stood on the other side. Both of them grabbed my hands with their hooves and used their feathers to tickle my sides, making me laugh again.
“HEHEHEHEHEHE!!!” I laughed, “I...I...I...can’t help it!!!”
“We’ll stop eventually,” Fluttershy said, “But Rainbow and I just want to have some fun with you.”
I was laughing too hard to say something else. Feather tickling tickled more than being tickled on the feet. After a few more minutes of tickling, they stopped. Fluttershy and Rainbow spit the feathers out of their mouths, and Fluttershy was next to me a second later.
“Are you okay?” she asked me as she pulled my shirt back down over me, “We didn’t tickle you too much, did we?”
“No, it’s okay Fluttershy,” I said, still giggling, “Everypony has been tickling me all day. It’s not that bad though.”
“Oh, okay,” she said.
"Hey," Rainbow said to me, "Sorry if I scared you by snatching you up like that earlier."
"You did scare me a little bit," I said, "But it's okay. I know you didn't mean to. Can you take me back down to the ground, though?"
"Sure," she said. She picked me up, placed me on her back, and walked out the door. I turned back around to wave goodbye to Fluttershy.
"Bye, Fluttershy," I said.
"See you later, Joshua," she said.
Rainbow flew me back down to the ground near where she found me and placed me back down. She then flew away.
"See ya around!" she said zooming off.
"Bye, Rainbow!" I called to her, "Now where was I? Oh yeah! Trying to find Mommy and Nyx. Maybe Applejack saw them."
When I got to Sweet Apple Acres, I saw Big Mac bucking apple trees.
"Hey Big Mac!" I said to him. He turned to look at me and smiled.
"Howdy," he said.
"Did Mommy come by here?" I asked.
"Eeyup," he said.
"Is she still here?"
"Nnnope."
"Did she talk to Applejack?"
"Eeyup."
"Is she here?"
"Eeyup."
"Is it okay if I go see her?"
"Eeyup."
"Thanks Big Mac," I said walking toward the barn house, "Bye."
"Bye for now," he said going back to bucking.
When I got to the house, I knocked on the door, Applejack answered it a few seconds later.
"Hey sugarcube!" she said, "You're just in time for lunch. Why don't y'all c'mon in?"
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Sure Ah'm sure," she said, "Rarity and Ah could use some more company."
"Okay, thanks," I said stepping in. I followed her into the kitchen and saw Rarity sitting at the table already.
"Hello there, darling!" she said smiling when she saw me.
"Hi Rarity," I said to her. I walked over to the table and sat down next to her.
After we all had lunch, Rarity and Applejack took me into the living room, and we all sat down.
"So Joshua," Rarity said, "What have you been up to today?"
"Walking around Ponyville," I said. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either.
"Anything else?" she asked again. My cheeks started feeling warmer when she asked that. Rarity and Applejack smiled and giggled at me. "I think I know what else."
"Somethin' is tellin' me that you don't want to say what it is though, right?" Applejack asked me. I nodded. "Well, Twilight came by earlier and said somethin' intersetin' about ya to us."
The two of them got off their seats and started walking toward mine. I didn't try to get away, because Rarity would probably catch me with her magic. I just pushed back into my seat. When they got close enough, they each put a hoof on me and started tickling me. Once again, I started laughing.
"NOT AGAIN!!!" I said laughing, trying to curl up to stop them, but it wasn't working. They kept on tickling me. "PLEASE!!! STO-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HOP!!!"
"What was that, sweetie?" Rarity asked, "Keep going?"
"Well, he asked for it," Applejack said. They then placed their other forehooves on my chest and tickled me more, making me laugh harder. I was laughing too hard to say anything else. Soon though, they took their hooves off, with me still giggling.
"Sorry about that darling,"Rarity said, "We couldn't help ourselves." She then nuzzled my belly, making me giggle again.
"If you're wonderin' where Twilight is, she went back to the library after she finished speakin' with us," Applejack said.
"Okay, thank you," I said after I finished giggling, "Bye, Rarity. Bye Applejack." I gave them both goodbye hugs before leaving the barn. Just then, I heard somepony galloping toward me.
"Oh Joshie!"
Uh oh. There were only two ponies who called me that: Pinkie and Dinks. And that was not Pinkie's voice.
I turned around and saw Dinky running to me.
"Better get ready for a big tickling, Joshie!" she said getting closer to me.
"You'll have to catch me first!" I said starting to run away.
"You're not going to get away that easily!" she said running after me. Dinky chased me all over Ponyville while I tried to get away from her. I got back to the library, went in, and closed the door behind me. I saw Mommy and Nyx inside when I got in. They looked up when I came in.
"Hey, Joshua," Mommy said, "What's up?"
"Dinky's coming for me!" I said running to the stairs, "If she gets me, she won't stop!"
"Stop what?" Nyx asked me.
"Tickling me!" I said closing the bedroom door. I then ran over to mine and Nyx's bed and crawled under it. A couple minutes later, I heard the door open.
"Joshie?" Dinky called out to me in a sing-song, "Where are you?" I heard her close the door to the bedroom behind her. "You can't hide from me. I'm going to find you." Her voice was right near the bed. I saw her hooves standing right in front of my face. Her face the appeared in front of mine as she looked under the bed. "BOO!" she said.
"Ah!" I yelped. I tried backing away, but her hooves caught one of my hands and she pulled me out from under the bed. I tried to pull away from her, but she then pushed me down onto the floor on my back. I tried to cover my chest, but she put her hooves on it before I could.
"Nice try, but you can't avoid getting a tickle from me," she said, "And before you ask, yes, Nyx told me."
I tried to put my hands on her hooves to lift them off, but she started tickling me before I could.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" I laughed, "D-D-Dinks! I've been tickled all day! I don't think I can take any more!"
"Huh?" Dinky asked playfully, "You think you can take more? You got it!" She started tickling my chest more and started nuzzling one of my cheeks making me laugh harder.
Just then, I felt my shoes and socks being taken off. I opened an eye and saw Mommy standing there using her magic to take them off. Dinky looked back at her and winked. Mommy smiled and walked back downstairs. I then felt Dinky's tail brush against my bare feet. It was starting to become too much for me.
"NONONONONONO!!!" I said still laughing, "Not there, Dinks! HEHEHEHE!!! Please not there!"
"Did you say tickle you there?" she asked, "Okay, if you say so."
She started brushing her tail on my feet faster, making me laugh even harder.
"P-P-PLEASE!!!" I said laughing with tears falling out, "STO-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HOP!!!"
She tickled me for a little bit more, and then she finally stopped. The both of us were laughing and rolling on the floor after she finished.
"Oh boy!" she said, "That was the most fun I've had in a long time!"
I was still giggling after she said that.
"Y'know Joshie," she said looking at me, "If you wanna know, I'm pretty ticklish myself."
I smiled mischievously to myself. I looked over at Dinky, sat up, and started tickling her. She burst into giggles as I did. I tickled her everywhere I could, on her chest, her sides, and the bottom of her hooves. She seemed giggle even more when I tickled her on her hooves. Probably because my fingers tickled more than hooves did.
What a day this has been. Being tickled by my friends, Mommy's friends, and my filly friend. I hope I would get a break from it for a while.
It was a few days after my day of tickles from my friends, Mommy’s friends, and Dinky. I stayed in the library to calm down from that. Nyx and I were working on schoolwork while Spike was cleaning. I just finished when the door knocked. I opened it and saw Rainbow Dash standing there.
“Hi, Rainbow!” I said.
“Hey, buddy,” she said giving my head a noogie, “You’re just the human I wanted to see.”
“Aren’t I the only human in Equestria?” I asked. Rainbow chuckled.
“Good point,” she said, “I was wondering if you’d like to visit Cloudsdale with me.”
“The city of pegasi?” I asked.
“Sure,” Rainbow said, “Twilight told me you had an interest in it. So, do you wanna come with?”
“Yeah, let me just ask Mommy first, okay?” I said. Rainbow nodded her head. I then went upstairs to Mommy’s room. She was reading another book, trying to find something. Nyx was in the room too, still working on her homework. “Hey Mommy?” I said to her. She looked up at me.
“Who was at the door?” she asked.
“Rainbow Dash,” I said.
“Rainbow?” Mom asked confused, “She usually just flies through the window. Well, what did she want?”
“She wants to take me to see Cloudsdale,” I said, “Can I go Mommy?”
“Only if you’ve finished your homework,” she said.
“I did, Mommy,” I said.
“Okay then,” she said standing up, “Let me just put the cloud-walking spell on you and then you can go.” She walked over to me, activated her magic, and wrapped me up in her aura. I felt the magic going through my feet as the spell was being put on them. After a minute, the magic stopped. Mommy then walked up to me and pulled me in for a hug. “Now you listen to Rainbow Dash and stay close to her, okay?” she said to me.
“Yes, Mommy,” I said hugging her back, “I love you.”
“I love you too, sweetie,” Mommy said kissing my forehead, “Have fun!” We let go of each other, and I went downstairs.
“Bye, Nyx!” I said to my big sister.
“Bye, Joshua!” Nyx said waving to me.
“Have him home in time for dinner, Rainbow!” Mommy called to Rainbow Dash.
“I will, Twi!” Rainbow said to Mommy, “Climb on, dude.” She lowered herself down and I climbed up onto her back. I wrapped my arms around her neck, and she began flying up.
A few minutes later...
“Wow,” I said quietly.
“Amazing, isn’t it?” Rainbow asked me.
When we made it to Cloudsdale, I was amazed at what I saw. There were a lot of clouds shaped together to make buildings and some rainbow waterfalls. There were also lots of pegasi flying around too.
“It is Rainbow,” I said, “And you were born here?”
“Yep, me and Fluttershy,” Rainbow said, “First I’ll take you to the weather factory where they make Equestria’s weather. Next we’ll head to my parents’ house for lunch. Then, we'll go to the Cloudosseum where they hold competitions. Finally, we’ll go to the history museum, and I’ll show you a section of one of the most famous pegasi in history.”
“Okay,” I said.
After Rainbow landed, I slowly got off her back. My feet touched the cloudy ground of Cloudsdale and didn’t fall through. Keeping close to Rainbow, I walked with her through Cloudsdale. I could see a lot more pegasi up close than from far away now.
“Hey Joshua!”
That voice sounded familiar. I looked up and saw one of my classmates, Rumble, waving down at me. He was flying with an older, black pegasus with a light bluish gray striped mane and tail, gold eyes, and a gray cloud with a lightning bolt for a cutie mark.
“Hi Rumble!” I said waving at him, “Who’s that with you?”
“This is my older brother, Thunderlane,” he said pointing a hoof at the black pegasus. Thunderlane waved at me, and I waved back. “What are you doing here?”
“Rainbow’s showing me around Cloudsdale,” I said.
“Cool!” Rumble said, “Thunderlane and I were visiting our parents. We’re heading back towards Ponyville now.”
Just then, Thunderlane coughed. I saw Rainbow looking at him seriously.
“Better make sure that’s not feather flu again, Thunderlane,” she said.
“Oh, uh, look at the time, Rumble!” Thunderlane said quickly, “We’ve gotta head home now! See ya around!”
Thunderlane quickly flew off.
“Hey bro!” Rumble said, “Wait up! I’ll see you later, Joshua!” He then flew off after Thunderlane.
“What was that about?” I asked looking back at Rainbow.
“Thunderlane has a tendency to slack off on his weather duties,” Rainbow said, “He’s part of Ponyville’s weather team, which I’m the captain of. Well, let’s head to the weather factory.”
Rainbow placed me on her back again and started flying over a hill of clouds. When we reached the top, I saw all different kinds of weather things, like ice, thunder clouds, normal clouds, and rainbows. Before we went inside, Rainbow gave me a small white coat and a white hard hat, while she put one on herself. It was one of the rules to wear these before going in. First, she showed me where the snowflakes were made. It got colder when we entered.
“Brr,” I said shivering a little, “It’s cold in here.”
“Yeah,” Rainbow said looking at me, “It needs to be cold. Otherwise all these snowflakes will melt.” She then placed a wing around me and pulled me closer to her. It warmed me up a little bit. She then looked back at all the pegasi making the snowflakes. “Each one is hoofmade. It’s a really delicate operation.”
Rainbow walked me over to get a closer look at them. They were really beautiful. Each one was also different. No two snowflakes are the same.
“Wow,” I said, “This is so cool.”
“Twilight told me that you said the weather handles itself where you came from, right?” Rainbow asked me.
“Yeah,” I said, “But seeing the weather being made before it happens is amazing.”
After looking at the snowflakes a little more, Rainbow took me to another part of the weather factory. It had rainbow colored waterfalls and pools filled with rainbows.
"This is where they make the rainbows," she said.
"Make rainbows?" I asked.
"Yep," she replied. I knelt down in front of one of the pools and looked at it. I was about to put my hand in it, but Rainbow put a hoof on my hand to stop me.
"I wouldn't taste it if I were you," she said.
"Why not?" I asked.
"Ask your mom when I get you home, okay?"
I nodded, but was still confused. We then moved to another room. There, purple spouts pointing up were making clouds.
"Is there where they make clouds?" I asked. Rainbow nodded. "What about the storm clouds, the ones with lightning?" I asked.
"That's a part of the factory where we have to wear additional gear to view it," Rainbow said leading me to doorway where some other pieces of clothing hung. After giving some to me, putting some on herself, and putting on goggles over our eyes, we went inside. The pegasi inside were wearing the additional gear like me and Rainbow. They were also standing around a really big machine that had a big ball on top of it.
"What's this?" I asked Rainbow.
"That's the lightning generator," she said, "Each cloud is picked carefully by one of these pegasi, and it's then taken to this machine. From there, it's put in that slot where it travels through a tube until it's under the lightning generator. Then the magic happens."
One pegasi placed a white cloud in the slot Rainbow pointed at, and it went through the tube. When it was under the lightning generator ball, a lever was pushed down and everypony stepped back. Lightning started shooting out of the ball and around the room. It came kinda close to us. One bolt hit the ground in front of my feet. I yelped and jumped back a bit, but Rainbow put a hoof on my shoulder and rubbed.
"Relax, buddy," she said, "You're fine. You won't get electrocuted from a lightning bolt while wearing this protective gear."
I felt a little better and continued watching the ball make the white cloud into a grey storm cloud. It was very cool.
Later, after we returned the clothes we had to wear, Rainbow and I left the weather factory. She said our next stop was lunch with her parents. I was on Rainbow's back when we came to a small house made out of differently shaped clouds. There was also a mailbox with two symbols on it: a blue star with blue, red, and yellow stripes behind it and a blue lightning bolt. Rainbow knocked at the door, and it was opened by a purple-blue pegasus stallion with a rainbow mane and tail like Rainbow's, only shorter, gold eyes, and the star mark from the mailbox for a cutie mark. He smiled when he saw Rainbow.
"Dashie!" he said wrapping his forelegs around Rainbow's neck.
"Hey, Dad," Rainbow said hugging him back.
Rainbow's dad had his eyes closed while hugging her, so he didn't see me. When they let go of each other, Rainbow's Dad stepped back.
"What brings you by?" he asked.
"I figured I'd drop by and have lunch with you and Mom today, plus I've got someone for you two to meet," she said. She then turned to the side and showed me to him. "Dad, this is Joshua. My friend Twilight adopted him a little less than a year ago. Joshua, this is my dad, Rainbow Prism. Now you know where I got my mane tail from."
"Hello," I said.
"Nice to meet ya, son," Rainbow Prism said patting my back, "Why don't you both come on in?" He then walked into the house with me and Rainbow Dash following. Inside, I could smell food being cooked.
"Who was at the door, Prism?" said a voice like Rainbow Dash's but a little lower than her's.
"It's Rainbow Dash, honey," Prism said, "And she's brought someone else along with her."
When I got off Dash's back, a pink pegasus mare came from a doorway. She had a blue mane and tail that was messy like Rainbow Dash's, purple eyes, and the blue lightning bolt I saw on the mailbox for a cutie mark.
"Hey Mom," Dash said to the mare.
"Rainbow Dash!" the mare said wrapping one hoof around her neck and giving her a noogie with the other, "How's our Wonderbolt-to-be been?" she asked after she finished noogying Dash.
"I've been doing alright," Dash said, "And like Dad said, I've brought someone along for you to meet." She then placed a hoof around my shoulders. "Mom, this is Joshua. He was adopted by my friend Twilight. Joshua, this is my mom, Firefly."
"Hi, it's nice to meet you," I said to her.
"Nice to meet you to, little guy," Firefly said mussing my hair. Looks like Rainbow got her attitude from her mom. "Why don't we head on into the kitchen and have lunch. We can get to know each other while we eat."
Firefly placed a hoof around my back and led the three of us into the kitchen. After we all sat down, we started talking with each other. I told Rainbow Prism and Firefly where I came from and what happened. They were sad to hear that. Then they told me about where they worked in Cloudsdale. Rainbow Blitz worked at the weather factory in the afternoons, while Firefly worked as a cloud sculptor, which means she shaped clouds into works of art. She showed me some of her works after we finished. They were amazing.
After that, Dash showed me her bedroom. There were Wonderbolt posters everywhere, trading cards, and small figures of them too.
"Wow, Rainbow Dash," I said, "This is a lot of Wonderbolt stuff. Do you know any of them."
"Sure do," she said, "I'm on pretty good terms with the captain of the team, Spitfire, and her wing pony, Soarin. I'm definitely going to bring you to one of their performances one of these days. Then you'll get see how awesome they are."
"That sounds like fun, Rainbow," I said.
Later after saying goodbye to her parents, Rainbow took me to a big arena.
"Welcome to the Cloudosseum, Joshua," she said, "This is where Cloudsdale holds their competitions. In fact, I won one a few years ago here."
"Really?" I asked.
"Yep," she said, "It was the Best Young Fliers Competition. First prize was a full day with the Wonderbolts. I won after saving Rarity and some of the Wonderbolts and performing the Sonic Rainboom for the first time since I was a filly."
"How was Rarity in trouble while you were saving her?" I asked.
"Well, your mom and the rest of our friends were thinking up a way to come to Cloudsdale to cheer me on," Rainbow explained, "So she performed a spell that gave Rarity some pretty cool like butterfly wings. It was too tough to do again, so she found the cloud-walking spell to put on herself and the others. Rarity entered the competition, but she got too close to the sun, and her wings burned up. She started falling, and some of the Wonderbolts flew after her to save her, but she kept waving her legs about and accidentally knocked them out. I was about to enter the final phase of my performance when I saw what was going on. So I rushed after them as fast as I could, and then BOOM! I pulled off the Sonic Rainboom and managed to save Rarity and the Wonderbolts."
"Wow, that's amazing, Rainbow," I said.
"Too bad I was knocked out to not witness it," said a voice behind me. I turned around and saw a yellow pegasus mare with an orange and yellow fiery mane and tail, orange eyes, and orange flames for a cutie mark.
"Hey there, Spitfire," Rainbow said, "How's it hanging?"
"Pretty good, Rainbow Dash," Spitfire replied. She then looked at me. "Who's this?"
"This is Joshua," Rainbow said introducing me, "He was adopted by my friend Twilight as a son. Joshua, meet the captain of the Wonderbolts, Spitfire."
"Hi," I said, "It's nice to meet you, Spitfire."
"Nice to meet you as well, dude," Spitfire said, "Rainbow been showing you around Cloudsdale?"
"Yeah, she showed me the weather factory first, then I met her parents, and now she's showing me this place," I said it's been a lot of fun."
"Glad to hear it," Spitfire said, "The other Wonderbolts and I are proud to call this place home. Well, I need to head back. We've got another training session coming up."
"See ya around," Rainbow said as Spitfire flew away, "Well, only one more place left to show you, the Cloudsdale History Museum." I then got back on Rainbow's back and we flew towards a building with pillars standing up in the front. Rainbow and I entered the building. Inside, there were pictures of a lot of pegasi, even pictures of the ponies Rainbow and Fluttershy played in the Hearth's Warming Pageant.
"Hey, Joshua," Rainbow said when we stopped walking, "Look at this." I looked in front of me and saw a big room that had pictures and other things about the pony I learned about on my first day at school.
"Hey!" I said, "This is all about Snowdrop!"
"Yep," Rainbow said, "Learned about her in school?" I nodded. "Well, I'm sure this will help you learn more about her."
It sure did. It showed things I already knew about her, like how she made the first snowflake, how her ears could hear almost everything around her, and her cutie mark. The new things I learned was that she was one of Luna's best friends before Luna became Nightmare Moon, and that she started the snowflake making part of the weather factory when she was older.
"Wow," I said, "Snowdrop is even more amazing than I thought. I wonder if Princess Luna knows anything more?"
"I'm sure she does," Rainbow said, "Maybe you could ask her next time you see her." Rainbow then looked out the window. "Well, buddy, it's about time to head back. It's getting late." I looked out the window and saw the sun starting to set.
"Okay," I said climbing onto Rainbow's back, "Thanks for bringing me here today, Rainbow. I had a lot of fun with you."
"No problem, kid," she said mussing my hair, "I was glad to bring you."
She then flapped her wings, and we flew back to the library.
*Twilight’s P.O.V.*
While Rainbow Dash was showing Joshua around Cloudsdale, I was busying myself with a very special surprise to give to Joshua on his birthday. Hopefully, I would have it ready in time. I prepared my horn and began charging for a while. Finally, when I had enough power, I released the spell. When the spell finished, I looked down at myself, and smiled in accomplishment.
"Perfect!" I said to myself, "Now to get my friends and Joshua's friends prepared for this. I hope he'll like this." I then changed myself back to normal. After i did that, I heard the door open. I looked back and saw Joshua and Rainbow standing there.
"Hi, Mommy!" Joshua said running up to hug me.
"Hey, Joshua," I said hugging him back, "How was Cloudsdale?"
"It was really cool!" he said letting go of the hug, "I saw where they make weather, met Rainbow's mom and dad, saw the Cloudosseum, met Spitfire, and I learned a lot more about Snowdrop at the history museum!"
"Sounds like you two had a lot of fun," I said smiling, then looking at Rainbow Dash, "Thanks for looking after him, Rainbow."
"No prob, Twi," she said, "I gotta head home now and check on Tank. See ya around!" She then rushed off.
"Mommy?" Joshua spoke up.
"Yes, Joshua?" I said looking at him.
"When we were at the weather factory where they make the rainbows, Rainbow said I shouldn't taste it," he said, "I asked her why, but she said to ask you."
"Hang on," I said, "Let me show you." I then lit my horn and a moving picture screen showed up.
