> Gala with a Dash of Chaos
>  by Tower of 0
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Invinting!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here he is again, at the boutique of one Rarity by request of Fudge. Not that he really minds anyway, it's always nice to visit a friend. Rarity was busy putting some finishing touches on the dress, trying her hardest to just contain some of her squeaks of excitement. Justin would occasionally peer over the top of his book to see how the dress was coming along for his filly.

"When I'm finished with you, darling, you'll be the shining star!" Rarity exclaims in pride as she finalizes some of the finer details of the dress.

"Rares, it's just a school dance, there really isn't any need to go all out." Justin says as his eyes drift back to his book.

"Nonsense! I will be mistaken if any filly or colt won't be looking their best in one of My dresses. Especially if said filly belongs to one of my friends!" Rarity states, almost matter-of-factly as she turns towards the human with a pointed hoof.

He just smiles, knowing she's looking at him. "Thank you, again, for make my Lil Dipp a dress on such short notice."

"It's not a problem at all, darling. She's been such an angel the entire time." Rarity beams at him before turning her attention back to the dress.

What she says is sort of true, Fudge had been still and patient, though somewhat far from quiet. Fudge has been retelling some of the recent bedtime stories her father told her to the white mare. Whom of which listened to the filly go on with such patience and what seems like some interest. That filly had the makings of a storyteller in her, and he can tell she enjoys it. With a small smile he bookmarks the page he's on and closes the book.

A small amount of smoke appears in front of the human as he's about to get up and a scroll pops from it and lands on his lap. Curious, he picks it up to investigate his mail, and sees the small silver ribbon of a seal that keeps it enclosed. That means this is from Luna and now he's even more curious about the contents. Without a moment's more of hesitation, Justin breaks the small seal on the scroll and the piece of silver flashes away in a bright light, presumably back home.

"What is it, darling?" Rarity asks, apparently having been watching him from the mirror.

"Oh, just some mail from Luna is all." Justin looks back at her reflection with a small grin. "Nothing too special really."

"It must be if it's from one of the princesses!" Fudge chimes in, a bit giddy.

Justin just continues to smile and shake his head, hearing Rarity basically agree with the filly. Sure, being pen pals with a princess isn't a normal occurrence here. Yet for the past several months, it had become normal for the human to receive a daily letter or two from Luna. It started out as her checking in on him to make sure he was all right after the whole dream fiasco, then it turned into her asking about his day, beyond that came full on letters.

Justin doesn't think anything much of this one either as he starts to unfurl it to give it a read. A small, golden ticket flutters out of the letter and onto his lap. A curious hum leaves his lungs as he picks up the small item between his fingers, giving it a quick once over. His attention shifting back to the letter.


Dearest Justin,

After some deliberations and some persistence on our end with my dear sister, I have managed to sneak you onto the guest list of the Grand Galloping Gala this year! Although, it was a bit later than I had anticipated with the ticket. I assure you there will be fun to be had! Between drinks, music, dancing, and seeing us there, I hope you will have a blast! It would warm or heart to see you there just to enjoy yourself. I hope you come!

With love,
Luna


Boy, does he appreciate that mare, but one question was on his mind. "Hey, Rares?"

"Yes~" Rairty almost sings at him.

"What's the Grand Galloping Gala?" Justin asks, the mare dropping what she's doing to look at him.

"Have you not been to the Gala before?" Rarity asks to which he just shakes his head at her. "It's the biggest formal event of the year! Anypony that's anypony is going to be there!"

Justin nods his head a little, fiddling with the small ticket in his hand. "I see. Much rather be a nobody here, keep out of the limelight, y'know?"

"Nonsense, dear! If Luna invited you, it's best you go." Rarity reasons.

To be fair, she did have a point. With the way the letter is written does have it to where Luna really wants him to go. Plus it has been a little while since he was last at the castle. With a sigh, he carefully folds the letter around the ticket. Then he stows the prize in his back pocket as he rises to his feet.

"I take you girls are going to be there?" Justin asks as we walks over to the two.

"Why of course, darling! We all have our tickets already!" Rarity excitedly exclaims. "And all our dresses are ready for the Gala at the end of the month!"

Justin freezes a bit. "End of the month? I don't even have a suit!" The panic is starting to set in.

Rarity presses a hoof against his chest, causing him to look down to her all-to-well knowing of a smile. "Relax, dear, I've got your suit covered for the event. Still got your measurements after all" She sings that last part.

The offer itself brings him some means of calm, the smile of one of his friends more so. Thanks, Rare, how much would I owe ya for the suit?"

"Think nothing of it and consider it a favor for saving us form those dreadful dreams." Rarity replies.

"I wasn't the only one, y'know." Justin gives the white mare a small smile. "How much for Fudge's dress?"

"Hmm." Rarity is contemplating, the dress is done, and it looks fabulous. "How abou-"

She gets cut-off by the human just handing her a moderate amount of bits in a bag. "Just take it, a little extra in there for good measure."

Justin leaves the boutique after the exchange and walks with Fudge by his side as they make way for the school. The dance is some kind of charity event that he helped pitch in for by making some of the sweets. Now he is one of chaperones to make sure all goes well. When they arrive, the dance is out in the field near the school, the music is happy, foals are looking their best, and quite a few parents are there. Justin just smiles as he watches Fudge go off into the crowd of children, this is something he wouldn't trade for.





The door to the house swings open after hours of them being gone. Justin walks in with a chocolate coated unicorn filly cradled in his arms. Apparently having danced a little too hard that she passed out shortly after asking to to be carried. Dear ol' dad didn't mind as he just hauled her flank up the stairs and right to her room. He proceeds to tuck her in for the night, quietly leaves her room, and closes the door.

Justin makes his way back down the stairs and plops himself right onto his couch. He fishes the folded parchment from his pocket and smiles a little, remembering to write Luna back. With a snap of his fingers, a clean parchment, quill, and ink pot appear on the coffee table in front of him. Thanks to Twilight's somewhat continued training, he's honing his skills with Chaos magic. Silent contemplation overtakes him as he fixes his eyes on the piece of paper on the table. Soon the quill is dipped into the ink and he starts to write out a letter to Luna. A smile forming across his features as he rights out the words, "Dearest, Luna..."
> So a Human Walks into a Library...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's another beautiful morning in Ponyville, albeit a little bit on the chilly side since Autumn rolled in. That matters not to the human leaving his some in the cool fall morning. He breathes in with a smile, his nostril being filled with the seasonal smells, and exhales. His legs start to move, bringing him to his first stop of the day; the market. He spends a little bit of time doing his usual greeting and waving, buying a few things for the house, and creating small talk with several ponies there.

After tending to his personal matters at the market, he moves on to his next stop of the day, and most likely where he'll be for the rest of it. There he stands in front of Golden Oaks, waiting for Twilight to answer the door. Justin gives the door another firm knock. Still no answer after several minutes of standing around. Twilight asks for his help on something and now isn't answering the damn door. After another short time of silence, the door opens with the lavender mare in question peeking out at him.

"Oh! Good morning, Justin." Twilight greets with with a yawn. "You're here early."

"Twi, it's noon. Did you not sleep last night?" Justin leans in, almost examining the tired mare.

"Nope! Was up all night, studying!" Twilight seems to giggle as she opens the door wider for him. "Come in!"

Justin nods a little bit and steps into the library with Twilight. His gaze quickly looking over the main room to find it in an terrible mess. He knows Twilight liked to study, but this was bit much. He sets his bags down near the door and fixes his gaze on the lavender alicorn with an almost amused expression at this point. Twilight hasn't registered yet that he's looking at her.

"What exactly were you studying?" Justin asks with a smirk.

"Magical theory and all known instances where magic could shift." She may be tired, but hell, she was on point at least.

"Let's get you some coffee before you fall asleep boring yourself." Justin teases as he guides her to her own kitchen.

After brewing up a pot of joe for the mare, the two sit at her table. Justin has to sit in a sort of uncomfortable way, but he's way too stubborn in making it work. Twilight is feeling way better after drinking some of the ground up bean liquid and starts to go on about her findings. Well, more of a recap of what they both know. Not that he minded, he has an interest in magic and Twilight was always happy to help ponies learn.

"So, what anything about magic just switching hosts?" Justin asks after the presentation.

"None from what I could find." Twilight admits, staring at her coffee.

Justin reaches across the table and prods her hoof with a finger. "You'd think with Equestria's lengthy history, there'd be some kind of event like this."

"Hopping realities isn't really something ponies are known for either." Twilight states, finally looking across the table at her guest. "I'll keep looking though, for both our sakes."

Justin gives her a small smirk. "So, about that thing you wanted help with."

Twilight stares at him for a moment, then her eyes widen. "Oh, right!"

This is not what he was expecting. The previous mess he walked in on turned into an even bigger mess now that there are about half a dozen other versions of him ending to the shelves. The ever so famous Library Re-Organization Day is today, and here he is helping with it. The "prime" Justin is leaning up against a wall, carefully watching his other versions to make sure nothing funny happens. He knows himself all too well, these other copies weren't any better but knew exactly who the original was. Twilight comes out of the kitchen with her lunch, happily humming to herself.

"Was this an excuse to get me to do your chores?" Justin asks her as she approaches.

"What? No! Of course not.... okay maybe." Twilight responds. softly kicking a hoof against the floor. "Atleast you get to try something new with the chaos magic!"

"Smooth." Justin mutters to her with a smirk. "Got tired of watching me perform some basic stuff like conjuring stuff and teleporting?"

Twilight just smiles at his words and takes a bite of her sandwich.

"Uh, Twilight?" A Justin copy walks over with a book in his hands and a piece of paper with the number '4' on it. "Where does this go?"

Twilight is quick to swallow the bite of food and look over the book's cover. "Classical Equestrian History, that section can be found over there." She replies while pointing a hoof in the direction he needs to go. He gives her a nod and walks off to put away the book. "This is kind of uncanny."

"What, that there be like seven of me in your library?" Justin looks down to her and she just nods. "They're all like me and know that they be fake."

"I know, it's still weird to think you can just do this now." Twilight comments, taking another bit of food and chewing on it for a few moments before swallowing. She decides on a change of subject. "How's the home life?"

"It's fine, everyone is happy." Justin calmly replies. "Derpy does her own thing. Fudge is just happy, probably cause of the better life. Vinyl is still out on tour, somewhere."

"Did... did something happen between Vinyl and you?" Twilight asks while turning her gaze to look at him.

"Nah.. nah. I think the novelty wore off for them, if I'm being honest. I want them to do what makes 'em happy." Justin lets out a sighs as he shifts against the wall. "That's okay though, things change, and I still get updates from Vinyl about where she is."

"What about Derpy?" The alicorn leans in a it closer to him now.

"She doesn't want me to be alone, which is rather sweet of her. On a plus side, she knows that there's someone for her to rely on." Justin gives as a reply with a slight smile. "I think it's time for these guys to take a lunch break, what do you think?"

"I think they've earned it, I'll help." Twilight smiles back up at him.

The two disappear into the alicorn's kitchen to prepare a feast for the gaggle of busy humans. It took Justin mere moments to settle on the simplest of meals: PB&J. Except he replaces the jelly with jam for less of a mess. Or so he thinks, Twilight decides to get a little devious with and launch some peanut butter at him, hitting him square on the cheek. He looks at the mare with a smirk, wiping some of the peanut spread off his cheek and wiping it back on hers.

"Little punk." Justin mutters with a smile.

Twilight just giggles at his reaction and uses her magic to remove the stain. Both of them tending to making the rest of these sandwiched for the impromptu library crew. Once the food is ready, Justin leans his head out the door and whistles loud enough to catch the others' attention. With their attention nabbed and leading them back into the kitchen. With all the copies of the same human now feasting, Twilight takes the moment to slip out of the kitchen. She doesn't go unnoticed by her human friend and he soon follows.

"Hey, Twi, you doing okay?" Justin asks as he approaches her.

"Wha? Oh, yeah, just checking their progress is all." Twilight seems to have fallen to a daze before he approached.

"How they doin?" The human leans down next to her.

"Much how I expected about six other of you to perform." She looks at him with a smile. "Followed directions and now almost done."

"Excellent, successful test I take it?" He grins at her and she nods. His face shifts a bit. "Twi, I know it's been a while and I haven't really asked... but how did you feel after you severed the bond?"

At first, Twilight was taken back by the question, her ears folded back against her head. "Uh... well.. if I'm being honest, as if something was missing." Her eyes start to scan his face, watching his features soften. "How did it feel for you?"

"Kind of the same. Though, more of an empty feeling too." Justin admits as he takes a seat on the floor. "Probably why I held myself up in Canterlot Castle for so long."

"How did you spend your time there?" Twilight asks with curiosity.

"I learned to read Ponish. Got a tour of the Castle. Made my second friend there." Justin glosses over, looking towards Twilight with a smirk. "Spent some time with the princesses. Nothing too special really."

"Keeping secrets from me, have you?" Twilight chuckles a bit.

"Don't tell me you don't have some of your own you haven't told anyone." Justin smirks and presses his finger against her snout for a quick moment. "Anyway, I think break time is over for the boys."

Twilight watches him get up, contemplating on telling him something. She ends up deciding against it and letting him gather up his copies to finish up their work. The alicorn moves out of the way once she hears him start to rally the other versions back to their work. She glances over all the books that are left and estimates that it'll only take them about an hour, maybe two. The crew of the same humans come filing out with the original not far behind, always wearing that pendant. She smiles a little at seeing him and goes to the stairs, taking herself a seat on one of the steps and watching the rest of the work go by.

So it actually takes them three hours, but it's done. The two friends are happily chatting on the stairs, and it's just the two of them now. Twilight couldn't be more thankful for the slight privacy with the human, even if the six others were just the same. To her, this feels more natural, but they both now know he can do it with the newfound magic. Also allows her to examine the nature of Chaos without the annoyance of Discord. To be fair, she found Justin to be better company than the actual spirit of chaos.

Nevertheless, the two continued to carry out a conversation of varying topics. At first, Twilight was asking about the astronomy book. Justin is all too happy to tell her what he learned about the constellations, including a few that bore some similarities to the ones back on his world. This information did pique the alicorn's interest some and so she decided to ask him about it.

"What constellations did you find similar?"

"Well." Justin starts, scratching the side of his face. "The Ursa Major and Minor are exact copies of the human counterparts from what I know."

"Mhm." Twilight nods her head. "Anything else?"

"You Starswirl constellation has a belt to it that's more vertical compared to the one I'm used to. We called it Orion's Belt, also part of a larger constellation with the same name."

Twilight made a mental note to add that to her current stash of knowledge on humans. Then something else comes to her mind and she looks at him. "How does it feel?"

"Feel?" Justin looks to her curiously. "How does what feel?"

"Well, you know. When you use your chaos magic, how doe it feel?" Twilight asks a little more clearly. "Since, well, humans aren't magical in nature."

Justin chuckles a little at the nervous nature his friend displays at the question. Almost as if she were asking him inappropriate. "Huh. Never really thought about how it felt." The human continues to hum for a moment in thought, trying to remember the feeling. "Y'know.... I don't really know how to describe the feeling. Never really thought about it until now."

"Awe." Twilight sounds a little disappointed at first until she looks at the time. "We should probably get you out of here. Shall we meet a little early next Tuesday?"

"Sure, but what's the occasion?" Justin asks her with a small chuckle, gathering up his things near the door.

"I have an idea for what we can do next with your magic." Twilight informs him with a smile.

Justin just smiles back and agrees, the two say their farewells and part ways. The human decides to take a small detour and head towards the boutique to check up on Rarity. He gives the door to the boutique a good hard knock to ensure the mare knows that there is a visitor there. The door opens and the white unicorn gazes out in front of her first, then her gaze follows the midsection up. A wide grin breaks across her face as she realizes who her visitor is.

"Darling!" She all but squeals. "So glad you stopped by, I need you to try on your suit!"

Before the human can even protest, her magic incases his body and drags the man inside, and the door slamming shut behind him. Justin is quickly stripped down to his underwear, something he is thankful didn't go anywhere, nor would it be the first time this mare has seen him like this. As excited as Rarity is, Justin can almost forgive the forced stripping. In almost the blink of an eye, he's fully clothed again in a really nice suit.

Justin let out a long whistle as he looks himself over in the mirrors with Rarity standing not too far away. She seems more interested in seeing his reaction than what her work looks like on him. To say the human is impressed is an understatement, his expectations were essentially stuffed into Pinkie's Party Cannon and blown clear out whatever door they came in through. The dark shoes and slacks fit his body with a comfortable snugness that was almost divine. What really steals the show for him though is the top. Its a matching blazer to the slacks and shoes that laid over a royal purple dress shirt that was sewn in a scale-like pattern. The tie has a sheen to it, golden as well, or is it actually made from gold? He'd have to find out.

"Wow... Rares." Justin continues to admire the ensemble.

"I think you look rather dashing." Rarity chimes in.

"You really outdid yourself here. I'm really loving it."

"I'm glad you feel that way, darling. I may need to make a few minor adjustments, but I assure you that it will be ready by the time the Gala arrives!" Rarity declares, then her horn starts to light up.

Quick to react this time, Justin stops her. "Woah there. I think I can undress myself."

Rarity gives a little shrug and flips her mane at him. "Fine, have your way." Did she jut smirk at him?

Justin is left with that last thought as he make a beeline for one of her changing rooms. Now in his street clothes, he carefully folded the exquisite suit and returns it to Rarity. More farewells were bid between the two before the human leaves the boutique. Almost as if it were on time, a scroll appears in font of him and he snatches out of the air to look at it. Another letter from Luna and he smiles. Justin quickens his pace home since the sun is starting to set, he has a princess to respond to and stars to look at.
> Down on the Farm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another week and another Tuesday has rolled around. Justin finds himself in the library, sitting on rather comfortably on the stairs, and reading the astronomy book again. Twilight is still upstairs getting ready since he arrived way earlier than she thought he would. Not that he minds, it allows him to catch up on his reading. His own personal research so to say, not that he would admit to it, but he does enjoy the stargazing.

He hears hoof steps coming down the stairs a couple of minutes later. Justin looks up from the book and gazes over to the lavender mare descending the stairs. Twilight gives him a small smile, feeling rather refreshed and glad to see the human again. She continues down the stairs until she reaches Justin and takes a seat next to him, looing over to the book for a quick moment.

"Enjoying the book?" Twilight asks.

"Greatly, thank you again for lending it to me." Justin smiles back at the mare, marking the page and closing the book. "You still never told me where we're going today."

"Please, feel free to help yourself to any of the books here." Twilight lets out a small giggle, registering the second part of what he said. "As for the where, it's Sweet Apple Acres."

"Oh? Why there?" Justin asks, setting the book to his side.

"Well, I may have talked Applejack into letting us use one of the fields for what I have in mind." Twilight explains.

"This is going to be fun." Justin gives her a little smirk.

After a quick and easy breakfast, oatmeal with brown sugar hits something fierce here apparently, the two are off. The walk is at a deliberately slow pace mostly due to Justin wanting to enjoy the autumn morning. Twilight wasn't going to protest at the content walk through town. The walk is mostly quiet, the two staying side-by-side as they listen to the morning symphony of sounds throughout the town. Twilight gave his hand a slight nudge and he responds by resting his palm on the back of her neck. She can feel his calmness and content through the action and may have leaned a little to the touch.

It doesn't take them long to come across the dirt path that leads to the farm, flanked on both sides by rows and rows of apple trees. Their leaves were changing from the rich, bright green to shades of yellow, orange, and red. The colors made the path warm and inviting as the two continue their slow pace. Along the path, they both spot a certain yellow pegasus mare with a long pink mane headed their way.

"Oh, hey it's Flutters." Justin remarks, trying not to draw attention as it seems she hasn't spotted him yet. "Must've gotten some things for her animals by the looks of things."

Twilight trots a bit ahead to get her friend's attention. "Fluttershy!"

Fluttershy looks up to spot Twilight and gives her a small smile. Justin comes into her view and the smile is quickly replaced with fear. She lets out a small yelp and quickly takes off into the skies. Twilight is looking confused, and the human just grunts in frustration.

"Strange, I thought she liked you." Twilight remarks, looking at the human.

"She's been avoiding me since the nightmares." Justin admits. "It's gonna take a while for her to come around, again."

"That's silly." Twilight seems to scoff at the idea. "She knows you wouldn't hurt any of us, right?"

Justin didn't respond immediately, his face looks hurt as he just watches the mare fly off into the distance.

"Right?' Twilight asks again, a bit more worried.

Justin finally looks at her and shakes his head. "No, but I don't think she knows that."

"It's ridiculous that she would still think that." Twilight says as something crawls into her mind. "Although, this is Fluttershy we're talking about."

Justin just nods his head a little. "Flutters will come around in time. Pretty sure of it."

"Oooorr, not have to wait at all." Twilight says as a lightbulb seems to go off above her head that noone else sees, except the human.

"Twilight... what're you thinking." Justin says as he shoos away the lightbulb into a cloud of nothing.

"You'll find out." Twilight says with a grin as she turns around and starts trotting down the dirt path.

Justin gives chase after a small shake of his head and follows the lavender alicorn. From what little experiences he has with Twilight and her ideas, this would either go over well or snowball in to a disaster. Those thoughts leave his head after catching up with the librarian and replacing his hand where it was before. It wasn't long before they meet up with Applejack just outside her barn.

They all greet one another and chat for a little while. The they move on to the matter of their visit, the farm mare seems more than happy to lead the pair to a part of the orchard that they left unused. Twilight shows her eagerness for whatever she plans to have the human do next with his new power. She trots right into the orchard after thanking Applejack for guiding them and Justin is quick to follow after doing the same.

"All righty, Twi." Justin says after they come to a halt. "Why are we out here?"

"Well, according to my brief time with Discord..." Twilight starts, looking at each of the surrounding trees. "I know he can shapeshift his entire body or parts of it to meet whatever ends he needs. Pranking included."

"So... like.. what? You want me to transform into a pony or something like that?" Justin asks as he starts to stretch some.

"You could say something like that." Twilight muses as she approaches a tree and uses her magic to mark an 'X' on the trunk. "Here!"

Justin raises a brow as he stares at her. "Okay? Now what?"

"Transform a limb and kick it!" Twilight exclaims with some excitement and pulls out a notebook with a quill.

Justin just nods a little and shakes his legs one after the other. He finds some sort of concentration to form his focus around. Twilight watches with excitement, seeing the fledgling beginnings of something happening around his legs. Instead of transforming however, they seem to glow and form ethereal hind legs around his own, going all the way up to his knees. She takes down notes on what she's seeing.

"Interesting." Twilight mutters, a little too loud.

"What?" Justin asks, shifting his gaze to his legs and seeing exactly what's happening. "Oh, that's so cool."

Justin takes a moment to appreciate the ethereal look of the 'boots.' Twilight sort of coughs to get his attention back to the task she wanted him to perform. The human gives her a small a nod, walking up to the tree, and gives it a good kick. Their jaws dropped as they watched the tree splinter in two pieces and the top half flying off towards the distance at great speed. Maybe that kick was a little too good.

With the snap of some fingers, the tree is restored to before the kick. Twilight is still in a bit of a daze as she stares way off into the distance. It takes Justin tapping her on the shoulder to get her back to the present. The mare shakes her head and looks at the human with some surprise.

"What in Equestria was that?!" Twilight practically screams at him.

"A kick, maybe a little too strong of one." Justin sheepishly says as he rubs the back of his neck.

"A kick?! You snapped the tree like it was a twig!" Twilight exclaims.

"I know, I know. I'll go softer next time." Justin reassures her.

Before the two could continue on with their... discussion, a pink mass comes falling out of the tree and rolling it's way towards the human. Justin tries to take a step back but all too late as the mass of pink springs open to a pony and latches itself on his torso. Pinkie starts to squeeze the human in the tightest of tight bear hugs she can muster with her strength. Justin is powerless in his struggles to get some air in his lungs.

"Pink... air." Justin manages between gasps.

"Whoops! Sorry!" Pinkie apologizes and relents the hug of death.

Twilight seems to still be fixated on the sky, particularly in the direction the top half of the tree flew.

Justin continues to gasp for some air, getting his bearings again. "Pinkie... why're you here?"

"Oh, just checking up on the bestest chao-infused human in all of Equestria!" Pinkie beams with an unnaturally wide grin.

"Pretty sure I'm still the only one." Justin mumbles as he takes a knee to be eye level. "Whatchu want, Pink."

"Oh noooothing." Pinkie sings at him. "Exceptmaybejustasmallbitofcottoncandyraincould!"

Of course. Justin just smirks and rolls his eyes and with a swift snap of his fingers, a small morsel of cotton candy in the form of a cloud appears next to the pink party being. Yes, being. This man is still convinced some supernatural being shared the pony's body and caused their minds to meld to some capacity. Pinkie let out a good short squeal of excitement before grabbing the pink treat and trotting a short distance away.

Pinkie spits the cotton candy into her forehoof. "Thank you, Justin! See you at the gala!"

"Gala?" Out of all things, that snaps Twilight from her daze and turning her attention to the human. "You got a ticket this year?"

"Yeah, it was a bit last minute." Justin replies to her. "Mostly thanks to Luna, bless that soul."

"You know.. you could've come with me as a plus one." Twilight muses, albeit probably more sheepishly than she intended. "If you really had wanted to go."

"Thanks for the offer, Twi, but I never really did... large crowds." Justin mutters a little. "Especially the Canterlot crowd."

"Did... did something happen?" Twilight asked, taking a step closer.

"Nothing, don't worry about it." Justin says, getting ready for another kick. "Let's just get back to the test."

Wish you'd let me inside that head of yours sometimes. Twilight just gives him a small nod and readies her notepad. "Ready."

Justin lets out an exhale through his mouth. Twilight could swear she saw black smoke come out of him. He raises his leg and kicks the tree again. He puts less force into the kick but it's still strong enough to cause the tree to bend at the impact point. Twilight's eyes widen as she writes down their findings. Justin looks at the tree, snapping his fingers to return it back to normal.

"Ready to go again?" Twilight asks, feeling the slight tinge of anger somewhere. It's not hers though.

"Ready." Justin replies, readying himself again.

They spend several hours like this. Twilight observing the human while Justin experiments with varying how much power he puts behind each kick. Each one a varying degree of output from the tree being knocked clean out of the ground by the roots to kicking some bark clean off the tree. With each snap, the tree gets restored back to a state before the kick. Justin drawing some heavier breaths and wipes a bit of sweat from his brow.

"Seems like ya might be workin' up a sweat there, sugarcube." Applejack chimes in with a small smile.

"Oh hey, AJ. Didn't hear you come up." Justin comments, giving the farm mare a smile back.

"S'pose not with ya buckin' that tree like ya are." She smirks a little at him and walks up to the both of them. "Anyway, I brought y'all some lunch. Figured an appetite was worked up n' all." She gestures to the covered basket that's expertly balanced on her back.

"Thank you, Applejack." Twilight gives her friend a smile. "Call it a day after lunch, big man?"

Justin raises a brow at Twilight. "You takin' pages from Dash, are we?"

Twilight just giggles at his reaction and the three set up a picnic in the middle of the orchard. The three enjoying their lunch and company with chatter and some jokes sprinkled in. Twilight casts the occasional glance in his direction when he wasn't looking. Seeing his smile made her feel warm, like this was who he is. They all share laughs and cheers in good comraderies amongst each other.





Twilight and Justin return to the library for some light reading. The human taking up the stairs yet again since that's the only spot he can comfortably sit. In his hands is a book about magical artifacts, idly thumbing through the pages. The princess has one of her old spell books out, looking over a particular spell. She ponders about telling him about some of what she feels that isn't her own. Feelin the time isn't right and continues reading.

She does discover something interesting as she's reading over that familiar summoning spell she accidently casted a while back. One side effect of the spell being that master and familiar will share a bond, with some of what is cautioned at improper separation of said bond. An interesting note she found is that the familiar may resort to isolation in absence of the bond. The more important note that stands out is that sometimes the bond never severs and only falls dormant until achieved again. Twilight hums as she muses at the implecations.

"Hey, Twi." Justin's voice fishes her from her concentration.

"Yes?" Twilight looks over at him, to which he just waves her over.

"What exactly is an 'Alicorn Amulet?'" Justin asks as he flips the book over to show her the picture on the page.

"Well, it's right there. Why don't you read it?" Twilight looks at the human.

"I know." Justin replies and flips the book back to his side. "I want to hear it from you."

Twilight shakes her head a little bit and shakes her head. "It was an artifact that grants the wearer great magical power. Speculation points to it giving the bearer arcane potential to that of an actual alicorn but at t great price."

"Hm.." Justin muses as he is also reading the description himself. "That price being that it slowly corrupts whoever decided to wear it?"

"Correct." Twilight replies.

"Has anyone found it?" Justin asks.

Twilight pauses for the moment, taken back by the question. "Erm... yes... Trixie found it somehow in an antique shop and used it against me to take over Ponyville. My friends and i tricked her into taking it off then I gave it to Zecora to hide." Twilight finishes as he closes the book. "Why the sudden interest in that particular artifact?"

"What color was Trixie's magic while using it?" Justin leans forward a bit, a small smile creeping across his face.

"Re-" Twilight stops, realizing what he's implying. "You don't think He found one in his world, do you?"

Justin nods in the slightest as he gets up and walks over to the book cases. He replaces the book back in where he found, turning to face Twilight. His legs give him a stride back over to the mare and takes a knee in front of her. His hands find places on both of her shoulders. Her deep purple eyes peering back at his.

"I didn't forget the color of those lightning storms, Twi." Justin muses to her.

Twilight seems to nod a bit in understanding now, still not believing what he's implying. She didn't deny the possibility of it if he was on to something. From what they learned a while back, he does posses some magical ability but it never dawned on her her how he got it. Justin left shortly after, promising to come back next week.
> The Fluttershy Effect
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight has been spending her entire morning preparing her kitchen for this afternoon. What is this afternoon? Why, Twilight invited Fluttershy over for some tea of course! Albeit with a little bit of an impromptu surprise in the mix. A surprise she has the utmost confidence will work. She happily hums away to herself as she pulls out a tray of cookies from the oven, setting them on the counter to cool. Her ears perk up at a knock coming from the front door.

"I'll be there in a minute!" Twilight calls out, pulling out some dishes and sets the table.

The visitor knocks yet again and Twilight finally starts to make her way to the door.

She encases the knob in her magic, twisting to unlatch the door and it opens. "Glad you could make it, Justin!" Twilight sounds a little too excited to see him.

"Uh, hey, Twi." Justin responds as he slinks into the library. "Are you sure this'll work and not result in Fluttershy running out the door?"

"I've made sure of it." Twilight shoots back at him s she trots back to the kitchen.

Justin sighs as he follows the librarian princess into the kitchen, the smell of freshly baked cookies infesting his nostrils. "Damn, been busy here I see."

"Mhm!" Twilight adjusts some of the dishes laid out on her table. "Gotta make sure everything's just right."

"Why's it only set for two if you want me to be here?" Justin asks, his hand reaching for a cookie.

Twilight turns to him in the nick of time and swiftly swats his hand away from the treats with a hoof. "You're not supposed to be here, at least, that's what I told Fluttershy."

"Oh, you deceitful little mare you." Justin teases with a smirk as his hand reels back to his body.

"Tease me all you want AFTER Fluttershy's visit." Twilight softly hisses at him with her own smirk. "Now go hide somewhere."

Before she knows it, Justin disappears into a puff of smoke. Twilight blinks her eyes a couple of times while looking around to see where he was. Noticing nothing really out of ordinary and shrugging as she turns her attention back to the table. There it is, near the edge, was a lone book. A book she never seen before. Twilight just shakes her head at him and shrugs.

"Clever. I guess it'll do." Twilight comments after leaning in close to the cover.

"I thought so too, nothing out of ordinary at Twilight's when she has a book near her!" Justin's voice is distant, but is coming out of the book. "Are you taking this down?"

"Yup." Twilight quickly writes this down in her notes and teleports the pad and quill away after she's done. "I had no idea you could do that."

"Honestly, me neither." Justin comments in turn. "Chaos magic is becoming rather handy."

Twilight opens her mouth to respond to him but something else caught her eye. Her eyes dart towards the window. Nothing. She could've sworn she saw something peeking in. Justin gets her to sit down and open his cover, revealing his face made up of words. This little tidbit amused Twilight as they talked about what is supposed to be the plan to confront Fluttershy.

Without thinking about it, Twilight removes the whistling tea pot using her magic and places it on the saucer in the middle of the table. She gets out of her seat, keeping the book open to hear her friend better. Twilight starts setting the table for the impending tea time as the hour grows near. She has those little sandwiches set out along with some tea biscuits, and the cookies she made. Twilight stands back to admire the set up and apparently so does the human.

"Very nice." Justin comments, how he can see anything it beyond her at this point.

"Everything should be within hooves reach." Twilight happily states. "So she can he-"

Twilight gets interrupted by a second knock to the door today. She's about to trot off to the door but remembers the face in the book will spook the timid mare and turns around. The face is gone from the pages, the words in the familiar script and format as one of her normal books. Smooth as he is proving to be at this point. The knocking comes again, causing Twilight to look towards the door and make her way there.

Same as before, she opens the door with a bit of her magic and smiles at her timid friend. "Hey, Fluttershy! Sorry I didn't come right away, got caught up in a bit of light reading."

"Oh it's quite alright, must be a good book if it has you distracted." The yellow mare gives her friend a small smile. "What was it it about?"

"Distracted is right." Twilight mutters under her breath and steps aside to let her friend in. "Oh, you know, Equestrian History."

Fluttershy nods at the answer and heads right for the kitchen. "Learn anything new?"

"Not really." Twilight replies as she follows suit. "Never hurts to brush up though!"

Half-Truths and nothing more.~

Twilight stops for a moment and her eyes go wide. Did she just hear Justin inside her head? Fluttershy calls her name and shakes her from her daze. With a sheepish grin, she enters the kitchen while apologizing.

"Are you feeling okay, Twilight? We can always do this another day. If that's okay with you." Fluttershy shifts in her chosen seat, the one across from the open book as she averts her gaze to the floor.

Awe, look at her, she's so precious.

"What? No! No." Twilight shakes her head as she takes up the seat across from the yellow mare. "I'm feeling fine, just... remembered something is all." She slams the book shut, causing Fluttershy to jump at the random act.

OW! Not so rough! You'll ruin the pages!

Will you please be quiet!

Fluttershy still keeps her gaze glued to the floor while Twilight just gives her an apologetic smile. The lavender mare pours her friend some of the fresh tea before filling her own cup. The human that somehow wormed his way inside her head seems to be quiet for the time being. Slowly, but surely, Fluttershy starts to warm back up again, giving the librarian a small and appreciative smile as she thanks her for the tea. Twilight even goes as far as to levitate a cookie towards her friend.

Eventually the two start to chat, some of it being idle chatter. They talked about Fluttershy's animals, some of what is on Twilight's reading list (the nearby book definitely not counting), and generally how they both are recovering after the whole nightmare thing some time ago. Fluttershy relents a little and reveals that she hasn't been in the best of mindsets. Then again, Twilight hasn't fully recovered herself.

"Twilight." The shy mare calling her name draws her from her thoughts at the moment. "I don't think you ever told us what you were dreaming of during that time."

"It's... uh... It's not important. Really." Twilight replies as a yellow hoof reaches across the table to touch her own.

You should tell her, she's your friend and deserves to know. She deeply care about you, y'know.

Begrudgingly, he was right. Fluttershy does care about her and wants her to be okay. Twilight lets out a defeated sigh, looking into the eyes of one of her closest friends. "You're right. I never told anypony. I didn't want to tell anypony else."

Fluttershy nods at the lavender mare with mild interest, retreating her hoof back to her side. "Whenever you're ready, Twilight."

Twilight gives her a small sort of smile. "To be as forward as possible, my nightmare was me. In the terms of a certain resident human, beating the snot out of every single one of my friends. For an entire week the same dream."

"Oh my, that sounds terrible." Is all Fluttershy could say. "How did you manage?"

"I almost didn't, if I'm being honest." Twilight replies, idly taking a sip of tea before continuing. "At least I wasn't until Princess Luna and Justin came along to help."

"Mh." Fluttershy hums, nodding her head again. "I remember, just wish I wasn't scared enough to properly thank him."

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened?" Twilight leans in a bit.

So Fluttershy tells her what happened during that week. Of the differing places that were familiar. Of the relentless hunt of the animalistic human that chased her. Of the terrible things that did happen a couple of nights were she was caught. She has an overwhelming fear now of Justin, one she doesn't quite comprehend how to get over, but she's also scared that those horrendous events will come true if she goes anywhere near the human.

Twilight is... surprised to say the least. Not at Fluttershy opening up like that but just hearing all she went through during that week of nightmares. Leaving the alicorn to wonder if the others experienced the same treatment while that went on. Justin decides that he has heard enough to finally bring himself in.

Twi, do it.

"Uhm, I'll be back in a bit. I'm gonna go put this book away." Twilight says as she takes up the tome in her magic.

Fluttershy nods in understanding. "Oh, no worries. Take your time."

Twilight smiles, slips out of the kitchen and around the corner. In a blink of a dim light, the book transforms back into the human. Gazing up at him, she can see the sort of determination now. He nods for her to go back to Fluttershy and so she does so. Fluttershy has a warm smile on her face as her friend returns and sits across from her. Twilight puts on a sheepish smile.

"Well, Fluttershy, you may get the chance to thank him." The librarian tells her.

"What do you mean?" Fluttershy tilts her head while asking.

The Justin appears in the doorway, leaning down a bit to enter the room so he doesn't hit his head off the frame. "Hey, Fluttershy."

The yellow mare freezes up in her overwhelming fear, her eyes wide as she stares him down.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you." The human says as he cautiously approaches the table, keeping his hands in line of sight. Once her reaches the table, he kneels at Fluttershy's side.

Fluttershy refuses to move, no, she can't move. Magic is holding her in place, making her anxiety just that much worse. She's trying to convince herself that this is for the best.

"Fluttershy, I need you to listen to me. Okay?" Justin requests, getting a meek head nod in response. "Good, because... I'd never be able to bring myself to hurt any of you girls. I don't want to. If I ever do hurt you though, I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing I have."

Twilight slowly releases the magical hold on the yellow mare and Fluttershy is staring at the human. Her fear is gone now, being replaced with something else. She leans in a bit closer to Justin with that look.

"Promise?" She nearly whispers.

"Pinkie Promise" He replies, going through the motions, and knowing full well he'd have to answer for them if broken.

Fluttershy does a little squee and tightly engulfs the man in an embrace. Twilight sits there with a smile of relief and so does Justin. He looks over to Twilight and gives her a wink before letting the yellow pegasus pull away. The human gets up and is about ready to leave until a certain Princess of Friendship tugs on his shirt with her magic.

"Why don't you join us? We'd appreciate the company."





Later on, Justin lays sprawled out on a cloud he conjured up in the middle of the library with Twilight laying across his stomach. Fluttershy has gone home long ago, leaving the two to their devices, or in this case, Princess Snuggling. Something that doesn't happen often, but after today and a few days prior, it was much needed. The alicorn would murmur a little as his fingers work their way through her mane all the way down to her wings. She wouldn't admit any of this to any other ponies, though she can't hide it from the human that holds her.

"So.." Twilight manages to muster between her content murmurs. "How'd you do it?"

"Do what?" Justin asks innocently, still working his fingers around her with diligence.

"You know." Twilight can't think straight with his fingers doing their thing. "The mind thing."

"Oh! You mean the telepathic link?" Justin asks, getting a lazy nod from the mare in turn. "Dunno. Something told me to do it after turning into a book." His fingers hi a particularly fantastic spot on her that earns a pleased squeak. "Works both ways though."

"Do you.." Another pleased squeak comes from her lips as he finds another spot. "Do you think you could keep it open?"

Sure thing, Twi.

Twilight couldn't help to smile at his response and the two continue on with their evening.
> Prank the Rainbow
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight is making her way through town now after receiving a rather.. odd.. telepathic request. All he said was to 'meet him under the rainbow,' whatever that meant. Which she just assumes she would find out knowing the human that sent it. Sure, it was a weird request but he insisted that he had to show her something she wouldn't want to miss. There was an internal eye roll but decided to go see what he wanted. She had her saddle bags packed and out the door she went

Find the human, she did. Justin was standing under a small patch of cloud, staring up at it with a grin. Twilight just walked up to him and nudged him with a wing. The motion was simple, yet effective in grabbing his attention. His grin seems to get wider at seeing her.

"Twilight!" Justin exclaims in a hushed whisper as he leans down and gives the princess a hug. "Glad you can see this!"

Twilight returns the hug but stares up at him. "What is it you wanted me to see?"

Justin just smirks a little at his friend and lifts his arms, that are now missing his hands. Wait, where are his hands?

"Uh, Justin?" Twilight is staring at his handless nubs of wrists. "Where did your hands go?"

"They're giving you a hand." Justin seems quite pleased with himself at the pun. "Or two."

Twilight just rolls her eyes and before she can retort, his hands appear in front of her with her notes and quill. "Thanks, but why'd you want me to come here?"

Justin just points up to the small cloud with a grin, both of his hands now back on his wrists. "Up there is a sleeping Rainbow."

Twilight's eyes go wide and she scrunches her face at him. Justin, no!

Justin, yes! YEET!

Twilight is a bit late to stop the human as he pops off his left hand and launches it up onto the cloud. She doe manage to jump on him but only after the hand lands on his target. She can hear the maniacal laughter of Justin in her head as he just smiles up at her. Soon his dies down and is replaced by the incontrollable laughter of a laughing, sporty pegasus mare above them.

Little do most know, our little Dash here is very ticklish.

Twilight is bout to jump to action, but an arm wraps around her barrel and a flash of light engulfs her vision. Once it fades, leaves fill her vision. The man has teleported them both to a nearby bush to watch the unfolding chaos. The lavender mare can only helplessly watch as Rainbow writhed and kicked at the rather elusive detached hand assailing her weak spots. Her laughing starting to reach the bush the two are hiding in.

The two of them start to hear Rainbow beg for the tickle assault to stop with a small group of ponies gathering underneath the cloud.

Ah, yes. The begging.

Justin, stop this! What is this about?

OH, right! I'm getting Rainbow back for making it rain on me the other at the market, and figured you wanted to see something else I figured out: Pieces of Human!

Really?

The human just nods to her and starts to sit up. He gently sets her in his lap as he pulls out a note already written on. A light engulfs the note and it's replaced with the missing hand. Justin just pops his hand bac on to its respective wrist and peers out towards the cloud where a heavy-breathing Rainbow Dash lay with the note now on her face. She's taking the moment to recover.

"What's so funny up there, Rainbow Dash?!" Pinkie's voice exclaims in an excited manner.

Rainbow's eyes widen as she picks the piece of parchment up from her muzzle and peers over the edge of the cloud. "J-Just remembering a good joke, Pinkie." She stammers out as a response.

"Oh. Okie Dokie!" The pink party mare seems to accept this answer and goes bouncing away.

The gathering of ponies linger for a bit longer before slowly dispersing. Rainbow finally taking time to read the revenge note left by the human. She scoffs a little as she reads it and crumples it up when she's done. She flies down to the ground and tosses the note into the nearby trash bin.

"Oh, it is on, Big Guy."

"Suck it, Skittles!" Justin pops up from the bush that's not too far off in the distance, giving her the double bird. Not that any of them know what it means, but it'll do.

"Just you wait! I'll get you back!" Rainbow yells back at him, watching him run off towards the center of town while laughing his head off.

Twilight is soon to follow the human, causing Rainbow to tilt her head a little as she exits the bush shortly after him. Along with some of the other town ponies that are still lingering about staring with wide eyes.





Justin is wandering around the market yet again. Yesterday's excitement has died down  with him, but not the constant murmur and whispers while he was around some of the ponies. He pays them no heed, figuring they weren't about him as he goes about his business. He stops by one of his usual stands, the flower stand, and chat up the mares there about some gardening tips.

He seems to be unaware about his stalker who's flying between rooftops to keep him in their sights. The plan was to stay out of his sight and when the opportunity came, hit the human with some itching powder she got from the prank store. Simple enough but should be enough to get back at him for his little stunt yesterday. A sly smirk crosses her face as she follows him away from the flower stand. Waiting to pounce with her attack.

Then the opening she has been waiting for finally comes. Rainbow is quick, in the blink of an eye she has the packet open and covers her target in the dust of itchy goodness. She quickly ducks behind a tree and diverts back to a roof top once he can't follow the trail. She peeks over the top of the roof to bask in her success. Rather, what should be, he's just standing there, motionless.

"Oh c'mon, Hotshot. Itching power is so weak." His voice calls out next to her.

Rainbow lets out a shriek and nearly falls off the roof, seeing the human there with her. "What! How'd you..?"

"Find you? Oh my dear ol' Skittles. It's easy when you know a pegasus prankster." Justin smiles at her. "You forgot something." He puts out his hand a blows some dust on her.

Rainbow's nose twitches a bit and then she sneezes. Then again and again as the human just smiles at her now. It soon dawns on what he just did: blew pepper in her face.

"Keep trying, Skittles. I may just let you get one-up on me." Justin coos before disappearing a prectrum of lights, leaving the poor athlete to sneeze uncontrollably.

A couple of hours pass by, now with the human making his way through town with a flower. A lily to be precise, for a certain mare to help him get to her good graces. Particularly his favorite shy mare, with all them animals, the cute ones. Justin was humming a tune to himself while he walks long his path. Still got a little ways to go, so he decided to strike up a conversation.

Hey, Twi

Yeah?

Whatcha doooin'?

Uh... reading. Why?

Just seeing what you're up to.

Uh-huh. What are you up to?

Going to see Fluttershy. Why so glum?

Have you not heard the town's latest rumor? About us? In a bush?

Well, no, you know I don't do the gossip thing like Rares. Though I did get a bit of what's going around from Rose and the girls at the flower stall.

And?

I told them you were helping me prank Rainbow Dash

I WASN'T though, that's the problem!

Twi, Twi, Twi. That definitely sounds like it is worse than just agreeing that you were helping.

Fine, but only if that is you solution to this.

Justin just gives her a hearty internal chuckle. The kind he usually gave when he thought Twilight was being adorable and she knew it all too well. She gives him a mighty 'hmpf'.

I hate it when you laugh like that.

Love ya too, Twi.

Twilight starts to stutter inside his head while he actually smiles this time. Unfortunately for him, Justin wasn't paying attention to the low-hanging cloud following close behind him. He lets out  smaller chuckle and fiddles with the potted flower a little. Rainbow gives the back of the human and evil grin and kicks the cloud.

"Winter Wra- OH SHIT!" Justin yells as the loud crack interrupts his train of thought and soft singing. Almost causing him to drop the lily.

Rainbow starts to laugh out loud as she swats the cloud away. "Got ya!"

Justin turns to look up at the mare, at first he seems angry at her. Then his features soften and he sets the plant down and applauds her. "Well done, Skittles, well done. Got me while I was distracted." He smiles up at her after picking the potted lily back up. "Thunder cloud next to me. Got to admit, I wasn't expecting that."

Rainbow just grins at him and puffs out her chest in pride. "I have my moments. THAT should make us even."

"For now." Justin interjects while smirking at her.

"Wait, what?" Rainbow looks confused at first, almost shocked even. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"See you around, Skittles!" Justin waves goodbye as he turns around to head off.

"Wait!" Rainbow flies up next to him and hovers while he follows by his side. "What does that mean?"

"Powers of Chaos, could be anything, if I can do it." Justin reminds her as he continues his stroll.

"Oh." Rainbow reacts as if it were obvious. "Where you heading anyways, Big Guy?"

"Fluttershy's, wanna give her this lily I bought from Rose for her garden." Justin looks down at the mentioned flower with a small smile.

Rainbow nods, bids him farewell, and finally flies off. Justin waves to the rainbow mare a second time as she flies away from him, already formulating how he might get back at her. Probably something practical, nothing scarring, or too serious to handle. He continues to muse all the way to Fluttershy's cottage. Maybe something tried and true, like a whoopie cushion.

Justin puts his musings on hold as he approaches the home of the little yellow mare. He walks right up to the door and knocks on the wood a few times. Not even a minute passes by when the door cracks open a smidge and a teal eye peers out at the visitor. Justin gives her a small wave with a warm smile.

"Hey, Fluttershy, I brought you a little something for your garden." He says to her while presenting the potted lily.

The yellow mare opens the door a bit wide to reveal more of her face, a small smile now graces her features. Her eyes fall upon the small gift he brought her. Fluttershy opens the door wider to let the human visitor in. Justin returns the gesture with a grateful grin of his own and steps into the cottage. The door softly closes behind him, signaling that visiting hours have officially begun.





The human exits the cottage, Fluttershy at his side to see him out. Justin turns to her and takes a knee to reach her level. She wraps her forelegs around his shoulders and hugs him tight. He doesn't waste any time in doing the same, but she adds a little nuzzle to his cheek when wraps his arms around her. It's a surprise to him, a pleasant surprise no less, and accepts it with a smile.

"Thank you again for the flower, Justin. I'll make sure to get it planted as soon as possible." Fluttershy tells him.

"You better take care of that thing, or I will be back to tickle your flanks without mercy." Justin playfully threatens.

They both chuckle at his remark and say one more goodbye before parting ways. Justin breathes in some of the late afternoon air before continuing his path. One more stop ahead, to get one last prank in on a certain rainbow-maned athlete. Off he goes, armed with his simple idea, a classic, an oldie, but to him it's a goodie. He soon finds himself standing underneath Rainbow's cloud home. She had always said that he was welcome if he could ever find a way to walk on clouds, or fly for that matter. He has always thought about asking Twilight to enchant some of his shoes with a cloud walking spell.

Now, was different, he didn't need spells for this. He smiles a little to himself as he knows that by this time, Rainbow is home. Probably reading. Probably eating. He promptly goes invisible without thinking about it really as he floats right up to the underside of the cloud structure. The light material giving way as he pushes through the floor. Hope breaking and entering isn't a crime yet, because he's about to make it one if so.

He can hear Rainbow in her bedroom, definitely reading by the sounds of her excitement and 'so awesome.' So most likely another one of her Daring Whos-it novels. No matter, he is on a mission and needs her to leave her room for a hot minute to enact it. He looks around the room he's currently occupying: the foyer. It's going to have to be something she won't get mad about breaking. Which may be easier said than done, this room is filled with trophies and mementos of hers. He wasn't too keen on that thought, he needs a different plan now.

Then an idea pops into his head and a wicked grin spreads its way across his mouth. He doesn't need to break something when he can make her think something broke elsewhere. Up against a wall he went and using some magic, made the sound of a dish or glass breaking. Just loud enough for Rainbow to hear. He hears her groan out in irritation and get off her bed. An internal laugh starts to plague his thoughts, causing his friend to chime in.

What're you laughing about?

Nothin'. Don't worry about it.

...You're pranking Rainbow Dash again, aren't you?

...Maybe...

Rainbow just happens to walk by as Twilight groans inside the human's head. Justin has to stifle an actual laugh when it happens, waiting for the rainbow-maned target to pass by. He watches the mare enter her kitchen to start looing around, checking to see if any of her dishes broke. Rainbow looks around for a few minutes and shrugs once she sees nothing too out of the ordinary. Then she goes to get something out of the pantry.

"Could do with a snack while I'm here." Rainbow mutters to herself.

She gets something out of her pantry and starts to make her way towards her table. Justin chose this time to strike, making a whoopie cushion appear just as she starts to sit down in one of the chairs. A long and loud sound of flatulence leaves the cushion when the mare sits on the cushion. Rainbow has her snout scrunched up in embarrassment and a red tint plasters her cheeks. The human reveals himself as he is absolutely loosing his mind at the sound and the reaction of poor Rainbow. The mare looks at his direction with some mild anger and annoyance.

"Really dude? A whoopie cushion?" Rainbow chastises the human that's just laughing his ass off. "What are you. a school colt or something?"

Justin takes a moment to gather just enough of himself to stop laughing, but still grinning. "Something is right, though, for all you know. I could be both!"

Rainbow just rolls her eyes at him and swats the toy out from under her. "That was lame, Big Guy, even for you."
> The Big One
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Big One, it was finally here. The big night. THE Grand Galloping Gala. Justin couldn't be anymore nervous than he is now. Sitting on the train to Canterlot, bouncing his leg off the floor, and trying his damn hardest to not to run his hands though his carefully groomed appearance. He spent all day letting himself get gussied up for the Gala and none of his anxiety has been lessened at the effect. To be honest with himself, he does look fantastic, might even call himself handsome at his own reflection. Rarity has told him several times today that he looks "absolutely dashing." Hw wasn't one to argue with a mare who know how to do such a thing.

The suit was impressive, even as a gift. Dark blazer jacket, slacks, and a pair of dress shoes to match the main ensemble. A purple silk button-up with a unique pattern that looks like scales shows itself from underneath the blazer. This shirt is accompanied by a tie that he could swear Rarity made the thing out of gold. It has a sort of metallic shine to it he wasn't aware of at the time, but looking at it now, he realizes just how all-out the mare went. If he didn't know any better, he might've thought she was trying to draw attention to him.

"Uhm, excuse me, but is this seat taken?" A mare's voice pulls him out of his musings. He looks over to see a mare he didn't quite recognize, but have seen around Ponyville.

"Oh! Sorry, no. Help yourself." Justin tells her a he scoots in and sits up to give the mare some room.

The mare smiles at him and takes up the seat across from him. "Nervous?"

"Yeah, you could say that." Justin gives the mare a meek smile.

"Seen that same look on dozens of stallions before, you have nothing to worry about." The mare gives him a warm smile, reaching a hoof over and placing it on his knee. "Trust me."

"I'll.. uh.. keep that in mind, thanks." Justin says to the mare and turns his attention to the window.

The train finally lurches forward and begins to leave the station in Ponyville. Justin continues to look out towards the evening sky to let his mind wander a bit. The girls are probably still getting ready, if they aren't already on a carriage to Canterlot. Twilight did offer to give him the lift and save him some bits, but he declined in favor of not wanting to be cramped in the smaller space. He releases an internal sigh as to not alarm his visitor from across the way. He isn't ready for this. It's been a while since Justin was last in Canterlot in general. Almost as if sensing some of his distress, a voice pipes up in his head.

Are you holding up all right, Justin?

Yeah, my train just left the station so I'll probably arrive when you all do, if not, a bit early.

Should have just rode with us. Maybe some of your doubts would weigh less on your mind.

Yeah, but being crammed into a carriage meant for ponies doesn't seem like a good time.

Okay, meet us at the Gala then? We'll be sure to have a good time as friends.

Sure thing. Can't wait.

Twilight lets out a sigh and looks out the carriage window to see the train moving up the mountain towards their destination. She was a bit worried about the human that it carries. He's nervous, but that's only a cover for the fear that he's feeling. The unusual bond they shared before is definitely back somehow, but she doesn't think he's aware it is. For all she knows, it might not be effecting him yet like it's been to her for a while now. She has to store her concerns away for now. Her friends are calling to her and a little distracting won't hurt.





The train finally pulls in to the Canterlot Station, the sun has sunken below the horizon and covers most of the land in cool darkness. Justin fishes his trusty pocket watch from its confines and opens the lid to check the time. Seven at night, just enough time to walk around the city for a little bit before the Gala even starts. He takes a moment to stand and stretch his legs a bit before heading off the train. The mare from before is long gone, almost without a trace, making him feel as though she may just be a figment of his imagination.

The man steps on to the busy platform and into the bustling station crowd. He gets a few of the odd stare here and there as he makes his way through the sea of finely dressed ponies. Looks he knows are more of surprise then of disgust. That matters to him very little as he makes his way out the station's front doors and on to Canterlot proper. Justin kind of just stands there, taking in the sights that he hasn't seen in some time. Maybe he should leave Ponyville more often, Canterlot is a beautiful city still. Maybe all this won't be as bad as he's making himself believe it will be either.

Justin begins his walk through the almost perfect streets of the Capital, looking over the closed storefronts and even passing through the restaurant quarter to take in those wonderful smells. He did have one place he'd like to visit before making his appearance at the castle tonight and that was the small doughnut joint he would make the daily trips to while staying in the castle. To his pleasant surprise that he does remember where the diner is, taking the moment to breath in the lingering smell of doughnuts. He waits just long enough for it to not look odd, reaching his hand out and pushing the door open.

"Hey hey! There's somepony I haven't seen for a while!" Joe reacts upon seeing the human. "Here I thought you left us ponyfolk!"

"Heh, yeah." Justin rubs the back of his neck as he approaches the counter where the gruff stallion stands. "I kinda did leave, got sent back home, came back, sent home again, then came back and stayed." The human explains as he takes up one of the less than accommodating stools at the counter. "Crazy to think about really."

"Sounds like you had a wild ride, kid. Take it by the fancy get-up that you're attending the Gala?" Joe nods to the human's dress, causing the man to look at himself.

"Courtesy of one Princess Luna." Justin chuckles a little and smiles back at Joe. "The suit a gift from Rairty."

Joe lets out a long whistle. "Sounds like ya got some friends in high places, kid. Remind me to not make you mad." The stallion teases with a good, hearty chuckle. "That Rairty mare is somethin' else, lemme tell ya."

Justin chuckles with the stallion. "Nah, you couldn't make me mad at you, Joe. Even if you tried. No need to tell me about Rares, I know well enough how she is." He seems to smile at some of the memories he has with her.

"Well, anything I can get ya, kid?" Joe asks, ready to take his order. "The usual?"

"No, just wanted to stop in and say hi. Maybe later though, after the event." Justin tells the stallion, whom which gives him a small nod. "Speaking of... I should be getting my move on. See you later, Joe!"

"See ya, kid." Joe says back while waving.

Justin gives the stallion a wave bye as he gets up and heads for the door. During his stride across the diner, something catches his eye. His reflection in the window to be more specific, for the briefest of moments it looked like he was being followed by... something. Whatever it was has already disappeared when his eyes actually look at his own reflection. The human doesn't stop his stride, instead opting to fix his collar a little bit, and leaves.

Now back on the street, Justin makes way for the castle. At some decent timing too as the sea of technicolor coats and fine attire was still thin as can be pouring through the front gates. The human fishes the ticket out of his breast pocket and shows it to the guard ponies. They give him a nod and allow him inside and one of the first things he does is the small meet with Celestia. She gives him a small smile upon seeing him, sticking her hoof out for him. Justin wastes little time in wrapping his fingers around her hoof and giving her a small shake.

"Glad to see I was proven wrong." Celestia says to him rather quietly. "It's good to see you here."

"Yeah, didn't want to disappoint Luna since she seemed like she really wanted me to come." Justin says with a somewhat defeated tone.

"Well, she certainly won't be the only one in that regard." Celestia smiles a bit wider at him. "I'll have one of the staff notify her of your arrival. Why don't you go enjoy yourself for the time being?"

Justin returns her words with a reluctant smile and nods, heading away from the main staircase and towards the ballroom. There his ears are met with some calming classical notes and quiet idle chatter. There were a couple of nobles slow dancing to the music, but that isn't what he's here for. He weaves his way through the high-class of Canterlot, some looking at him with mild disgust as they notice his presence. Justin is getting anxious at the occasional glances as he just bobs his way to the banquet area for a drink.

He get across the room and out another set of doors, putting him in the Castle Gardens. Thankfully there are less of the nobles out here and even fewer of those who would give him some funny looks. A nice quiet area for him to collect himself, after a glass of punch. Does it take him long to find the table? No, but it also didn't take long for a surprise hug from behind. The force of the impact sends him stumbling a few steps forward with a small chuckle. Justin brings his hands up to the pair of dark blue hooves.

Luna isn't usually the one to show any sort of affection towards any other ponies besides her sister. The human currently being squeezed by her hooves is one exception to this, perks of being pen pals one may suppose. He openly returns such affection with his own, unable to really hug back he just settles on a cheek nuzzle. The alicorn just giggles at this and finally lets him go, allowing the human to turn around.

"It is nice to see you made it, Justin." Luna grins at him as she watches him. "I was worried you would not come."

"And make the glorious Princess Moon Butt sad?" Justin teases with faux confidence. "In. Your. Dreams." Each word is punctuated with a light boop.

"Well, my sister certainly is happy that you are here, me more so." Luna seems to take the jest and drapes a wing over his back. "Shall we get something to drink, my friend?"

"Of course, I did wanna hang out with you." Justin smiles something genuine now as he walks with the princess to the punch bowl.

The time to two share is rather brief with Luna still having her duties to attend to. It was still nice though, the two chatted for a bit, teased on another, and share a few chuckles. Twilight and the girls happen upon the two as they are entering back into the ballroom. A brief meeting takes place between all of them before Luna leaves the human in the care of his friends. Justin smiles a bit at the six mares that now accompany him. He was especially happy to finally see Twilight, but wasn't minding being with the rest of the girls. He still catches some of the upper-class ponies staring at him from time to time, but being with the girls is doing him plenty knowing he's around those who will accept him.

"Justin." He hears Twilight's voice call from his right.

After a bit of teasing Dash back, he looks to where Twilight is supposed to be, or he thought she was, and sees... well, not her. "Hey, has anyone seen Twi?"

"Strange, she was just here a second ago." Rarity replies, looking around with the rest of her friends.

"Eh, probably went to the little fillies' room." Rainbow shrugs.

Justin is about to say something until his vision gets engulfed in a white light and is thrust into a void. A void where drifts a bit aimlessly for a few moments. The he is plucked, rather suddenly, and now finds himself standing on one the castle's many tower balconies. Standing rather stiff on the railing at the sight before his eyes. It's an Equestrian Night Sky, tranquil as can be, sullied by the appearance of his would-be kaper of humans: Discord. The very Entity of Chaos  grinning at the man in question and the man in question staring rather annoyed at him.

"What's the meaning of this, Discord." Justin demanded.

"Why, what ever do you mean, my little human?" Discord says with a grin.

"I mean that why..." Justin stops and sticks his arms out at hearing a loud yelp, catching Twilight from falling, her crown falling snugly on his head. "Why did you bring us all the way out here?"

"Oh, no reason!" Discord says while curling around in the air. "Except maybe to help two friends talk about a private matter!"

Twilight huffs and begins to squirm in Justin's grasp. The human steps down of the railing and set the princess down on her hooves, his eyes leaving the Spirit as he helps the mare straighten out her dress. "And what would that be?"

"Why doesn't the princess tell you herself? Or need I have you feel a little deeper inside to find it?" Discord muses, seeming to keep himself at a distance.

"You wanna know how I'm feeling?" Justin asks as he rises back to his full height, forgetting about the crown on his head, a finger pointed at Discord. "I'm feeling overly irritated at the fact that YOU felt the need to pull both Twilight and me from our friends!" Justin starts to close the gap, each step punctuated his words as he steps back on to the railing and walks across the open air.  He grips the Draconeques by the goatee and pulls his face close to his. "And for what? To force Twilight's hoof in telling me something she can handle herself?"

"Justin, I-" Twilight starts but is shushed by a finger from the human.

"Hold on to that thought, Twi." Justin tells her in an alarmingly calm voice as opposed to the tone he was using with Discord. "Lemme finish up here."

"My my, what a surprise."  Discord smiles.

"You. Shut up." Justin's demeanor changes yet again once his attention is back on him, taking steps back and resting back on to the balcony, where his feature soften again as he goes back to Twilight. "You wanted to tell me something, no thanks to this ass hat?"

Twilight looks to the ground and nods a little. "Y-yeah. I was sort of hoping to not have to tell you this during the Gala, but.."

"But what?" Justin is already taking a knee to be at her eye level.

"I think that little bond we had.. isn't... severed... exactly." Twilight quietly says at a volume that she hopes only the human hears.

"Like... it's still there?" Justin asks, reaching a hand up to her cheek.

Twilight just nods as she leans in to the touch, trying her best to ignore the audible gag from Discord. "I wanted to say something earlier, but I think fear was keeping me from telling you."

"Scared about what?" Justin asks while using his thumb to rub her cheek.

"I guess how you'd react. I thought that you'd maybe get mad that it wasn't gone." Twilight mutters, still refusing to meet his eyes.

"Okay, I wouldn't really see it that, I don't see it that way." Justin gives her a smile as she finally looks up at him. "Think of it as something found after being lost, cause it sounds like we both need it."

Twilight returns the smile, and feels relieved at the fact she got the matter off her chest. Justin's hands leaves her cheek and he rises again and looks over Discord's way with a mild glare.

"Anything else you want to say, Discord?" Justin asks on approach to the railing and setting his hands on the metal.

"Well, now that you asked...." Discord flips over and gets in a lounging state. "I do wanna ask when you were going to tell me about your recent acquisition of chaos magic."

"Who told you?" Justin asks.

"No pony in particular, just got the shivers thanks to a magic surge." Discord informs them both with a smug smirk of amusement. "After seeing some of it tonight, I'm almost hurt you tried to hide it from little old me."

"Yeah, cause you'd get jealous." Justin retorts with a pointed finger, his eyes narrowing. "I know you are the type, I can smell it."

"Oh you hurt me so!" Discord feigns his heart breaking. "Who knows, maybe I want to help you get a better hold of them."

Justin blinks a little bit in surprise, his face going blank. "Wat."

"Oh well! Maybe another time!" Discord waggles his fingers at the two. "Ta-ta! Enjoy the rest of the Gala!"

"Discord, wa-" It was too late as he has already disappeared in a bright light. "Dammit."

Twilight comes up from behind, propping herself up on the railing with him and draping a wing over his shoulders. "We should get back to the Gala."

"Yeah, let's go." Justin sighs with a nod.

There's an audible pop of magenta light in the courtyard, from that light stands Twilight and Justin. The human stands a little dazed from the teleport. He is quick on the recovery, takes the crown off his head, placing it back on its owner's head, and starts to walk with Twilight back to their friends. The Gala is a little more packed with ponies now as the two start to weave their way through the sea of visitors. After a little while of dodging some ponies here and there, they find the group at the exact table they were left at. Rainbow made some sort of snide comment upon seeing the two return.

They spend the rest of the Gala just having fun with each other. Rainbow and Justin kept going around with various playful insults toward one another. At some point during the event Rarity got the human to dance with her, even if for a little bit. He somehow instigated and hoof wrestling match between Applejack and Rainbow, much to Twilight's annoyance and mild amusement. After the event, the group of seven sit around a table at Joe's, happily chowing down on After-Gala doughnuts and hot cocoa. Smiles and laughs being shared amongst friends.

Twilight gives the human a slight nudge, making sure the idle chat and laughter will cover what she's about to tell him. "When we get back to Ponyville, I have something we can try."

Justin looks at the princess with a raised brow and a doughnut hanging from his lips. "Wat."