Shade the Dark Latios - Thanks for the compliment! I'll be sure to keep you in mind if I get stuck somewhere.

GentlestCobra2 – As I said before, I'm only going to be posting one chapter a week except for special occasions to ensure I can stay on a constant update schedule.

A/N – I only have a few short announcements for you this week; the first being that for anyone who's interested, there is an app for this site called FanFiction Reader. (There are a few with similar names, the one I'm referring to has an icon that looks like a stack of books with a red book with brass accents on top and bound by a green strap.) The second is that I will have several secret "Achievements" that once unlocked, I will treat you all with a double update on the next scheduled update. I mentioned this in a reply to a review, but I wanted to put it into an Author's Note as well. That's all for now; enjoy and thanks for reading!

After about two minutes of prancing about and babbling incoherently, the mint green pony, who I managed to see had a lyre for a cutie mark, managed to calm down enough so that Vinyl could introduce us. "Blake, I'd like you to meet Lyra Heartstrings, she's something of a human aficionado in her spare time. Lyra, this is Blake Marshall, who you already know is a human."

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" Lyra began nearly hyperventilating. Vinyl levitated a paper bag from her pack and gave it to Lyra with her magic. Lyra took it in her hooves and began breathing into it. Man, Vi must've known exactly how this was gonna go if she was this prepared.

Once she calmed down again, Lyra reared up on her hind legs and extended a foreleg towards me. When she stood up like that, she was just as tall as I was and could look me in the eye. I took her hoof and shook it, in what I guess I should call a hoof-shake. "H-hi B-Blake, it's n-nice to meet you." She suddenly seemed very nervous and dropped back to all fours. "I've wanted to meet a human my whole life… Please tell me you're real?"

I smiled at that, glad I could make her wish come true, with a lot of help of course. "Of course I'm real, you just shook my hand, didn't you?"

She smiled and nodded at that before a look of realization dawned on her face. "Oh my gosh, I shook a human's hand!" She gasped again. "EEEE! I got to touch his fin~gers!" She squealed excitedly in a sing-song tone.

Vinyl chuckled. "Well, I s'pose I'll give you two some space, gotta get my spare shades anyway." She said as she walked off, leaving me and Lyra to get to know one another.

"So Lyra, I imagine you have all kinds of questions for me?" She looked up at me and nodded. "I chuckled, "I figured as much. How 'bout we go someplace more comfortable than a doorstep, and I'll answer everything I can?" Her eyes lit up so bright I would've been surprised if they didn't glow in the dark.

She turned and beckoned me to follow; leading me from what I could tell was back the way we came. We ended up in the park close to where her house was, there was a bench on a small hillock where you could see quite a bit of the surrounding area. It wasn't exactly a secluded place, but it was quite peaceful nonetheless. When we got to the bench, Lyra sat down next to me with her back against the backrest of the bench and her hind legs hanging off the front, much like a human would. "Oh my gosh, I have so many questions! I have no idea what to ask first!" She exclaimed once we were comfortable.

I couldn't help but chuckle at this, "Well, why don't we start with the basics and work up from there? I'll even start to help kick things off. I'm a male; I'm twenty eight years old, I've worked construction since I was eighteen, and as far as I know, I'm the only human here…" Saying that out loud brought back a flurry of memories and the revelation that while I had others to call friends; I was alone in a strange place. I hadn't had time to think about it before, but I was separated from my loved ones. I forced those thoughts from my mind however; after all, if I could be brought here, why not others?

Lyra seemed to notice my hesitation though; "Hey, are you okay? We can talk another time if you've got something on your mind…" She sounded worried.

I shook my head, both to clear it and to answer her. "No, no; I'm fine. Just thinking is all. Now, where were we?" We conversed for quite some time, mostly me answering Lyra's questions as best I could. I'm not sure for how long we talked, but it seemed like the sun was starting to set by the time Lyra started to run out of questions to ask. We had run the gambit from food to fashion to entertainment, we even got into technology a bit, though she didn't understand too much of that last one, so we didn't get too into it. Fortunately she steered clear of questions about my personal life before I came here, which I wasn't ready to talk about just yet.

We were about to part ways for the day when we heard a voice call out to me from behind. "Hey, there you are Blake, I was worried!" We turned around to see none other than Derpy flying our way. She slowed down for a landing and somehow managed to trip on her own hooves, sending her tail over teakettle.

After I made sure she was ok, she reached into her bag and pulled out a letter. "Here ya go, Blake, this one's for you!" She stated proudly as she handed me the letter. "Oh, before I forget, I have one for you too Lyra." She reached into her pack and pulled out… a muffin? Realizing her error, she put the muffin back into her pack and pulled out another letter. "Heheh, oops, my bad." She said with a sheepish grin before flying off again.

Lyra watched as I opened my letter, probably still marveling at the fact that I had fingers. It was a party invitation at a place called 'Sugarcube Corner'. It said that it was a party for 'Ponyville's newest resident'. Guess Vi was right, but how the heck did a party get thrown together in just a few hours? And how does whoever sent out the invites already know my name, or that I'm a new resident, have I already met them?

While I was thinking about this, Lyra opened her letter; finding it to be the same as the one I had received. She looked up at me and smiled, "Well, looks like the party's for you Blake, you're the only 'new resident' that I know of, and the party starts in just a little over an hour. Do you wanna go?"

I could tell already I was gonna like this place; I had only been here for just over a day and I was already being thrown a welcoming party by an entirely different species who had been nothing but hospitable so far. "Sounds good to me, though you wouldn't happen to know where I could get a new shirt by chance? I feel kinda exposed without one."

She cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Then why aren't you wearing one now?" I had to admit it was a good question.

"I had one before, but it got ruined by a pair of timberwolves…" Her eyes went wide when she heard that. "A friend of mine named Fluttershy tried to fix it for me, but it was too far gone."

She frowned at this before her eyes went wide again and her jaw dropped. "Wait a minute, you're the one who saved Fluttershy and Scootaloo from the timberwolves yesterday?!" She seemed both excited and worried. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they're ok, but you're an endangered species, what if you hadn't been able to fend them off?!"

I shrugged. "I know it sounds kinda grim, but I'd rather have tried and failed to help than sat back and done nothing while the timberwolves… you know…"

She turned somber at that. "I know… it was a really great thing you were there. I don't know how any of us would have taken it if you hadn't been there and something would've happened…" Her voice was nearly a whisper when she finished.

She was staring at the ground and looked like she was about to tear up, so I knelt down and gave her a firm but gentle hug, which she returned with a foreleg. "Hey, it's ok, there's no need to think like that. Everything turned out for the best and we're all still here, so we should be happy." I said in a comforting tone.

She squeezed me a little tighter before releasing the hug and looking at me with a grateful smile. "Thanks Blake, you're right. Now, about that shirt…" She said, tapping a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. "Ah! I know just the pony for the job, follow me!" she said before she turned and headed towards a part of town I hadn't yet been to.

We were only walking for around five minutes by my estimate before we came to an… interesting building. The outside was painted in various shades of blues and purples with several diamond and heart shapes painted onto it. The architecture reminded me of a somewhat gaudy carousel, even having carousel… ponies? Incorporated into the design. If this place doesn't have 'carousel' somewhere in its name, I'm gonna hafta call shenanigans.

Lyra walked up to the door of the place and motioned me to follow before opening the door and stepping inside, with me close behind. As she opened the door, I heard the tinkle of a small bell from above. Hmm… been awhile since I've seen one of those. "Comiiing!" A feminine voice called in a sing-song tone from another room.

The room we were in seemed just as gaudy as the exterior of the building, with purple curtains everywhere; and off to one side there was a small dais surrounded on three sides by mirrors being suspended by what looked like the conical top of a carousel. Suddenly a strikingly white unicorn with a highly styled, brilliant indigo mane and very light blue eye liner walked in from a side door with head held high and eyes closed. "Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic, unique, and magnifique!" She said with a great deal of pride.

She opened up her almond-shaped eyes when she finished, revealing that they were a shining azure. "Oh hello Ly…" She paused as she noticed me standing behind Lyra. "LYRA! LOOK OUT! A MONSTER!" She shrieked as her horn began to glow a light blue color.

Lyra looked back to me, then behind me, presumably looking for the 'monster' this unicorn was terrified of. I didn't get to see much else though, as one of the heavy purple curtains was thrown at me, the weight and momentum knocking me off my feet. I landed bodily on my back and smacked my head painfully on the ground, the impact fortunately being softened somewhat by the curtain enveloping me; though the impact was still enough to daze me slightly and cause me to see stars. I then heard Lyra. "Rarity! What was that for?! You might've hurt him!"

I could feel something that I presumed to be Lyra's magic, begin attempting to untangle me from the curtain. Unfortunately, I was still somewhat dazed, and my attempts to help get myself untangled only seemed to make things worse. I then heard another voice, one that I recognized to be Fluttershy's, "Oh my, what happened?" She asked in a worried tone.

Lyra grunted a response. "Rarity threw a curtain at my new friend for some reason; I brought him here to see about getting Rarity to make him a new shirt for the party later."

It was the voice that I guessed belonged to this 'Rarity's turn to respond this time. "Oh dear, I'm so so sorry Lyra, I didn't realize that was a friend of yours, I thought it was a monster! Here, let me help you!" I was suddenly lifted to my feet and the curtain was quickly untangled from me.

I was somewhat disoriented, but I could see that I was facing all three now, Lyra in front of me to my left, with Rarity a few feet directly in front of me, and Fluttershy standing in the same doorway that Rarity had come from. Her eyes opened wide when she recognized me and she came flying at me. "Blake! I'm glad you're ok!" She exclaimed as she tackled me for a hug, nearly knocking me over again.

Rarity's jaw dropped at this. "This is Blake?!" She exclaimed, levitating a small brush over to me and began dusting me off with it as Fluttershy released her hug. "I simply can't tell you how sorry I am for that little… mix up." She said sincerely. "When dear Fluttershy told me of the brave hero that saved her and little Scootaloo from those dreadful timberwolves, I admit that I was somewhat… skeptical of her description. But seeing you standing here has erased those doubts from my mind." She set the brush down as she turned to Fluttershy, who was now standing at my side. "I must also apologize to you for doubting your word Fluttershy…"

Fluttershy blushed at this and tried to hide her face in her copious pink mane. "That's ok Rarity; it was pretty hard to believe."

Rarity shook her head. "Nonsense, I'm your friend and I should have believed you." She turned her attention back to me. "Now, I believe both Fluttershy and Lyra have mentioned that you're in need of a new shirt to replace the one that was… umm, damaged… If you'll kindly follow me into my inspiration room, we can get your measurements and I can start work immediately afterwards."

I looked around nervously. "I appreciate the offer… but I don't have any… umm, whatever the currency here is, so I wouldn't be able to pay for it."

Rarity waved a hoof in the air dismissively. "Nonsense Darling, after how you risked your life to save dear Fluttershy and little Scootaloo, I won't hear of payment. Besides, I do relish the challenge of designing for someone of your… stature…" I think I caught a slight blush at that last remark. "Oh, and our currency is called 'bits', just so you know Darling."

She led me through a different door than the one that she and Fluttershy had come through earlier, into a room that I could only describe as chaos. There were balls of yarn and patches and rolls of fabrics strewn about, rough sketches pinned to just about everything, piles of books stacked on a desk next to a red, old-fashioned looking sewing machine, and placed about, seemingly at random were… mannequins? Ponnequins? I wasn't sure what to call them; dressed in varying fineries, mostly dresses. "Now, is there anything you had in mind?" She asked, turning to face me again.

"Well, I usually prefer button-ups, like the one I had before; but I imagine that one's still back at Fluttershy's cottage, so I can't really show you what I mean."

She turned her head to a nearby table and her horn glowed, levitating a dark blue piece of folded fabric. It looked like my shirt… "Where did…" I wondered aloud.

Rarity looked back to me with a small smile as she unfolded my shirt and began inspecting it. ""Fluttershy brought it with her since you were unavailable for measurements at the time… Oh dear, this simply won't do!" she exclaimed. "While Fluttershy did an extraordinary job hoof-stitching the tears, I'm afraid this… ugh… blood hasset in, it'll never come out now…" She shivered as she mentioned the blood. "However, all is not lost; for I, Rarity, shall craft a new one for you!"

Rarity turned and walked over to the desk with the sewing machine resting on it and began to levitate a few different materials over to herself. "Now then, what would you like Ponyville's premier fashionista to weave for you today, hmm? I know, how about a bright gold color to bring out your eyes? Or maybe-"

I stopped her by gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "If it's alright with you Miss Rarity, for now I'd just like a replacement of this one. I've never had an eye for fashion, and I tend to be fairly active, so my clothes often take a beating anyway; my clothing often doesn't last a full year before it's so worn out that I need to replace it. I appreciate the offer, but would it be alright if we stick to something basic that'll withstand an active lifestyle?" I paused a moment and looked around, "Judging by what I can see in here, your works are quite detailed and have a lot of care put into making them… I'd hate to ruin something like that with everyday wear-and-tear."

"Oh, I see…" she said, seeming somewhat flustered. "Thank you, I do so love to hear my work appreciated. You may call me Rarity by the way, while I do appreciate good manners, formalities are unnecessary among friends." She smiled warmly as she said 'friends'. "Now, let us get back to the matter of your new garment; shall we? I shall gladly craft you a new one using the most durable materials at my disposal, to ensure its longevity as per your wishes. Are there any specific colors or patterns you wish to have incorporated into the design?"

I shrugged. "I'm not really picky, as long as it fits and won't wear out too quickly, I really have no preference. Though I admit that I generally stick to either dark or woodsy colors, like tans and dark greens, like this." I showed her my bracelet to emphasize my preference.

She looked at the bracelet for a moment and nodded. "I see. Fluttershy has similar preferences, although she tends towards lighter colors. Very well, I shall begin as soon as I record your measurements. I'll only need the dimensions of your upper body for now; however, if you would like me to craft anything else in the future, I'll need the rest of your measurements." With that, she levitated a cloth tape measure over to me and began taking my measurements, using her magic to manipulate my body into whatever position she needed me in to do so while she recorded her findings.

After only a few minutes, she set the tape measure down and began shooing me to the main room. "Thank you Blake, I have everything I need for now, please feel free to wait in the lobby while I craft your new attire. If Fluttershy or Lyra are still here, I'm sure they'd enjoy your company."

As it turned out, they were both still there, sitting on a small, fancy-looking sofa that I hadn't noticed before. They seemed to be making small talk when I entered the room. I walked over to them and we conversed for awhile until Rarity walked proudly into the main room from her inspiration room, carrying a new shirt that I was glad to see was a simple dark khaki color that seemed to be identical in design to my original one.

She handed me the shirt with a smile. I began trying on the new shirt as her expression turned pensive and she asked; "Darling, forgive me if I seem rude, but wherever did you find the shirt you were wearing before? I compared the measurements I took from you to it, and the fit was positively horrendous."

I chuckled at that. "I don't doubt it; it was just a store-bought, mass-produced shirt. It wasn't fitted to me or anything; it was just generally a size that fit."

She seemed horrified at the thought, "How could you buy a mass-produced fashion accessory like that?!" She seemed incredulous.

I chuckled again and shook my head. "It's more complicated than that Rarity, like I explained to Fluttershy, humans wear clothes for two main reasons: the primary being that our bodies don't adapt very well to adverse conditions, especially cold and heat, so we wear clothing to compensate; the secondary is that it's a social taboo, and in almost all places illegal to be in public without certain areas of our bodies hidden from view; and since we have no built-in mechanism to do that, we wear clothing."

She nodded at that, seeming to understand. "I see, it would seem our two cultures vary greatly in some respects then. For ponies, wearing clothing is almost exclusively a fashion choice." I had finished putting the shirt on by that point. "I must admit, I had my doubts… but seeing it in use, that style and color does seem… right… for you somehow."

I smiled and knelt down to her eye level, "Thank you Rarity, I can't tell you how much I appreciate this."

She wrapped me in a hug with her forelegs at this, a wide grin on her face. "No need to thank me Dear, it was a pleasure to help a new friend, especially a brave one like you…" She released me from the hug and I stood back up. "Now, if I recall, I do believe there is to be a welcoming party for you beginning shortly, if we leave now, we should make it in plenty of time."

We all agreed and headed out of Rarity's shop, with Rarity in front and Lyra and Fluttershy on either side, since I didn't know where I was going. It wasn't long before I noticed a somewhat dark orange pony with three white freckles beneath each of her emerald eyes and a long straw-blond mane beneath a Stetson pulling a cart of what looked to be baked goods up a side street towards us.

The pony also seemed to notice us and called out in a feminine voice with a typical southern accent. "Howdy y'all, how's everypony doin'?" We all answered in the affirmative. "Who's yer new friend girls? Ah don't think Ah've seen 'im around Ponyville before." As she drew up to us, I could see that her cutie mark was three red apples.

Lyra introduced us, "Blake, this is Applejack, she runs Sweet Apple Acres at the edge of town. Applejack, this is Blake Marshall!" She said my name rather proudly. "He's a genuine human; today's only his second day in town and he's already saved Fluttershy here and Scootaloo from a pair of timberwolves! We're actually on our way to Sugarcube corner for his 'Welcome to Ponyville' party right now."

Applejack held out a hoof for me to shake, which she did with gusto when I took it. "Howdy Blake, Pleased ta meet ya! Ah heard what y'all did from Rainbow Dash earlier. Gotta say, it takes a heap a guts ta take on two timberwolves by yerself. Anypony who'd do something like that ta help somepony else's alright by me. Speakin' of the party, that's actually where me 'n this here cart of apple treats are headin'. Why don't we walk together, and y'all can tell me what happened with them varmints yourself."

And with that, we were off, with me giving Applejack a more detailed version of the confrontation with the timberwolves. It wasn't long before the building in question came into sight. There weren't any signs stating the name of the building, save for a hanging sign with a picture of a cupcake on it, but since the building essentially looked like a giant gingerbread house, complete with frosting trim, candy cane pillars, and even having an attic room in the shape of a giant cupcake with three lit candles on top, this had to be the place.

I must've been gawking, because Applejack started chuckling next to me. "Yup, it gets that reaction outta just about everypony when they see it for the first time. Ah'll warn ya now though pardner, ya can't eat it, it just looks like ya can." She started forward again. "Let's get along everypony, the party's gonna start soon!"

Lyra, Rarity, Fluttershy and I all headed towards the main entrance, while Applejack headed around the back, presumably to deliver her wares for the party.

The others hung back for a moment and waited for me to enter. I opened the door to find that the lights were out. I took a step inside and suddenly the lights turned on and a chorus of 'SURPRISE!' greeted me. My hand twitched to move to my non-existent pistol, but I held it in place through an act of will, not wanting to scare anyone or draw attention to the movement.

That tension inside myself was relieved when the same pink pony that Vinyl had said was going to throw this party jumped from her hiding spot and shouted her own 'SURPRISE', almost a full second too late, followed by "Shoot!" I had no words for what I was seeing, from what I could tell, it looked like the entire town showed up just to welcome me. There were too many to count, and I wasn't entirely sure how they all fit inside the building so easily.

The pink pony shot towards me and somehow literally stopped in place, like her hooves suddenly became welded to the spot the stopped on; she began speaking so fast that the only things I managed to make out were: "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie!", "Did we surprise you?", and "Welcome to Ponyville!".

Before I could respond to Pinkie's rapid-fire conversation, I was slammed into by a purple blur. I looked up from my new position on the ground to see a light purple unicorn with a dark purple mane with a violet and pink streak running through it on the left side of her horn giving me an imploring look through her dark violet eyes. "PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE tell me you're a human from Earth named Blake Marshall!" She practically begged me.

"Yeah, that's me. How do you know who I am though?" I haven't told anybody here that I'm from another world, how the heck does she know I am?

She breathed a sigh of relief and hopped off of my chest, allowing me to stand up before saying; "My name is Twilight Sparkle." When she said this, I suddenly heard a familiar voice that I couldn't place in my mind; "You will be sent to the home of Twilight Sparkle, my personal student." I remembered hearing the voice say. For some reason, that made my head hurt.

Twilight continued, oblivious to what was going inside my head. "My mentor, Princess Celestia was supposed to send you to my home yesterday, but the spell she and her sister cast to send you here misfired, causing you to end up somewhere else instead. I'm-"

She stopped, and suddenly she and everyone else bowed. "I am afraid that was my fault…" I heard another familiar voice that I couldn't place coming from behind me. Hearing it made my head hurt worse. I turned to see the two alicorn princesses I remembered seeing before I came here standing behind me. "I was… distracted during the casting of the spell." The smaller one said in the same voice that had just spoken. I remember their faces, but why can't I remember their names?

The taller one stepped forward and began speaking in a motherly tone. "I'm glad to see that you're alright Blake Marshall, my sister and I were worried that the spell might have sent you beyond our reach when it misfired." I felt a tugging on my pant leg. I looked down to see Twilight still bowed, motioning with her hoof in what I could only guess was for me to do the same. "It's alright my faithful student, he need not bow before us; in fact, you may all rise. This is a-" The rest of what she said was cut off as my mind was suddenly flooded with jumbled images and conversations.

My mind was swept away in the torrent of returning memories, and the last thing I remembered was the pain of my body impacting the floor…