I headed through town, trying to find the old dirt road that led to Fluttershy's cottage. As I looked around, the only things in my vision were the beautiful scenery of Ponyville and other ponies walking around merrily. As I searched for the road once more, I heard three familiar voices behind me.

"Hi, mister!"

I turned around and my suspicions were confirmed when I saw all three of the Cutie Mark Crusaders and their adorable smiles staring up at me.

"Uh, hey there." I said, not really sure how to respond to seeing the three adorable fillies.

"Are ya lost, mister? You seem lost." Apple Bloom said.

"Um, actually, I-"

"We could get our cutie marks for helping lost ponies!" Scootaloo jumped up and down excitement.

"Well I'm not-"

"Yeah! Hey wait...You look like that pony my sister has been talking about!" Sweetie Belle said with suspicious eyes.

"Um...what?"

"So that means he's not lost. Darn it!" Scootaloo said, disappointed.

"Uh, sorry but-"

"Well, what can we help you with, mister?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Do you know how to get to Fluttershy's cottage?" I said quickly, before any of them had another chance to talk. Maybe they'll get their cutie marks for interrupting people.

"Sure!" They said in unison. They started walking so I followed. We finally came to the familiar dirt road that led to Fluttershy's cottage.

"Do you think we'll get our cutie marks for helping a pony find where he wanted to go?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I sure hope so! I wonder what it'll look like!" Scootaloo speculated.

"Maybe it'll be a compass or a map!" Apple Bloom suggested.

"Yeah!" Scootaloo and Sweetie said together. They looked so excited taking me to Fluttershy's cottage. And I have to admit, they were more adorable than I could ever imagine.

As we traveled farther down the road, I kind of blocked out the Cutie Mark Crusaders' conversations from my mind and I enjoyed the nature. There were birds peacefully flying about, squirrels climbing trees and storing acorns, and even rabbits hopping around and playing. It was all so peaceful and calm. It was all so perfect.

I got taken out of my trance by the Crusaders.

"We're here!" All three said as we arrived at the bridge that led to Fluttershy's house.

"Thank you-" I was cut off.

"Scootaloo!"

"Sweetie Belle!"

"Apple Bloom!"

"We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" They said the last statement together with incredibly cute smiles.

"Thank you, Cutie Mark Crusaders."

"You're welcome!"

As I turned toward the cottage and started walking to the front door, I could already hear the Crusaders conversing.

"Did we get it? Did we get it?"

"I don't think so..."

"Do I have one?"

I trotted up to the wooden door and knocked. A moment later, I was greeted with the creaking of wood as Fluttershy opened the door.

"Oh, hello, White Flash." She said with a friendly smile.

"Hey Fluttershy, how's it going?" I asked.

"Great. I was just about to feed my animals. Care to join me?"

"Sure!"

I walked in and admired all of Fluttershy's animals while she went to get the animal food. I definitely didn't think it was possible that this many animals could be in one place, but I'm not complaining. Even on the show it didn't look like there were nearly this many animals. Fluttershy came back a few moments later with a large bag. I walked over and helped her carry it into the room and we laid it on the ground. Next, she went and got several bowls and lined them up.

"Now, if you could just fill these bowls with the food from the bag, I'll take them over to the animals." Fluttershy told me. I picked up the bag in my mouth, which was incredibly hard with that giant bag, and I filled all of the bowls evenly. Each time I filled a bowl, Fluttershy took it over to a group of animals and they started chowing down as if they hadn't eaten in weeks. After I had filled the last bowl and Fluttershy had delivered it to the last of the hungry animals, we sat back and admired our work.

"They must have been extra hungry today!" Fluttershy said as we stood out of the way of everything to watch the animals enjoy their meals.

"I guess so." I said, enjoying the sight of the various different animals ravaging the food. "By the way," I said, breaking the few moments of silence, "I need to ask you something."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get you caught up in the animals..." Fluttershy said with her quiet and apologetic voice.

"Oh no, it's fine." I said. I cleared my throat, a little embarrassed at the fact that I was even going to ask a question like this. "I just wanted to know how to...well..." I hesitated.

"Yes?" Fluttershy asked, looking a little worried.

"Well, I just wanted to know how to...make friends." I said the last couple words with a quiet voice. Fluttershy's worried expression quickly turned into an understanding smile.

"Oh, that's all? Making friends is easy!" Fluttershy said.

"Yeah, well...not so much for me..." I said, looking down.

"Didn't Rainbow Dash introduce you to our other friends?" She asked, looking a little sad as well.

"Yeah, but where I come from, I never really had anypony to call my friend. And even though I like you and your friends and you were all nice enough to be friends with me, I still don't know how to just go out and make them..." I said, suddenly feeling sad at the realization of my old life on Earth and how pitiful it was. Fluttershy must have seen my sadness.

"Hey, cheer up." She said, holding my head up with her hoof on my chin. "I'm sure we can help you learn how to make new friends." She said with a hopeful smile. Looking up and finding myself looking into her adorable green eyes brightened my mood.

"Come on, I'm sure Applejack will be glad to help us." Fluttershy made her way to the front door and opened it, looking back at me. "Let's go." She said. I slowly cantered over to her and she closed the door on my way out. She cam up next to me and we started walking down the dirt road leading into Ponyville. I was still feeling a little down on myself, but being outside and seeing the gorgeous scenery again made me feel a little better.

"Listen, Fluttershy, I really appreciate that you're doing this for me. I really do." I said to her as we walked.

"Oh, you're very welcome. I can't imagine how tough it must have been for you not having any friends before. You poor dear." Fluttershy said sympathetically.

"You have no idea." I said under my breath.

We walked toward Ponyville, hopeful that I would be able to experience the magic of friendship.