We didn't have to wait long until the door to the Carousel Boutique swung open, but when it did, it wasn't Rarity that opened it! Instead, it was a well-known pony that was seen on most magazines across Equestria. I think her name is Sapphire Shores, but I can't recall her living in Ponyville.

She stopped right in front of the entrance, and just stared at Justin in amazement. Then, she looked up and down at the clothes that he was wearing.

"Well, now! I might have to consider hiring YOU for our fashion design! Black and Blue have NEVER went so well! Oh, but darling, you MIGHT want to consider some new shoes, though!" She said, staring at Justin, and apparently rating his clothes. I, however, said nothing, and was shocked that this truly WAS the celebrity from Canterlot!

Justin stared at her a little blankly, and asked, "Th-thank you, miss... umm..." He stared at me, mentally asking me what her name was.

Sapphire gasped, and asked, "Wait a minute! Do you even KNOW who I am?!"

He frowned, then replied, "I'm sorry, ma'am. I'm really not even FROM this planet," his frown turned into a smile, "but I must say, your dress makes me think you're a VERY famous celebrity around here! It's an honor to meet you, ma'am!"

Sapphire Shores smiled, and shook his hand, even though he didn't recall even extending HIS hand. "Well, the pleasure is MINE, dear! You can call me Sapphire Shores! Oh, the two of you look VERY happy together! Careful, Twilight, as he MIGHT just end up having to take care of TWO mares, if he's THIS much of a gentlecolt!"

Suddenly, my eyes widened, and I asked her, "W-wait... how did you know my name?!"

"Well DUH," she began, "who WOULDN'T know an Element of Harmony when they see one? I just ordered five more dresses from the Element of Generosity, Rarity! I knew that SHE would be the one to ask, since I KNOW she'd be willing to do it in a heartbeat! I gotta say, though, I DID notice that her box of diamonds was quite empty, so she's probably gonna need a helping hoof to get more! I sure hope I didn't make things TOO difficult for her!"

I knew Rarity better than that. She'll probably get Spike to help her with the digging, since he has claws that were MADE for digging... still, though, this COULD be a chance for Justin to earn Rarity's trust, AND Spike's as well!

I said to Sapphire, "Thank you for the heads-up, Sapphire! We'll make sure Rarity can get things done without a problem!"

She smiled, then nodded her head. "That would be MOST gracious of you two! Thank you both very much! Oh, and good luck keeping the OTHER mares off of your... stallion-like alien creature!"

I nodded, but suddenly realized the image that I just placed on, not just myself, but Justin as well. My cheeks started burning, and turned dark purple.

"Wait a minute, WHAT?! What do you... mean... us?" I noticed that she was gone as soon as I turned my head back towards her direction.

I sighed, then turned back towards the door, and said, "C'mon, Justin. Let's go, before somepony ELSE starts making rumors about... Justin?" I looked around, and noticed that Justin was gone! I groaned, then said to myself, "Oh, COME ON! Can't a pony STAY on schedule around here?!" Quickly, I trotted inside Rarity's place, and sighed in relief when I saw Justin was in there already. Oh... I guess he's ahead of ME on the schedule this time!

I was somehow pulled inside the store, shortly after Twilight and that Sapphire Shores character spoke, by a light blue force field. I was relaxed when I noticed that the force field was just a magic spell cast by Rarity, the fashionista of this town. I was only relaxed for a short period, until I noticed the worried look on her face.

"Oh, this is DREADFUL! Most AWFUL! The WORST... POSSIBLE... THING... EVER!" She cried out.

"Let me guess," I began, "you need help getting those jewels for the other five dresses, and you can't handle it alone, so you'll need Twilight and I to help you?"

I knew right then that I said the magic words, because her crying tone, along with her sad face, took a COMPLETE 180 degree turn. She smiled, and, without releasing me from her spell, replied, "Oh, good! You're already aware! I may not need Twilight's help, though. I actually wanted to get her friend, Spike, to help us instead! Well, then, let's go get Spike, and the two of you can help me!"

I looked over towards Twilight, who just walked in, and asked her, "Hey, Twilight! Would it be okay if I helped Rarity here for a moment? I'll try not to take too long!"

Twilight smiled at me, and replied, "Of course! Hurry back!" Then, she looked at Rarity, and said, "But Rarity, you DO know that Justin can WALK, right?"

Rarity looked up at me, and blushed, with an embarrassed smile following shortly after. "O-of course, dearie! Sorry about that, I just tend to get carried away when help is actually OFFERED to me! Oh, speaking of which, I just realized that you're not in that armor!" Actually, I think I'M the one being carried away here.

I smiled, then said, "Well, I guess there's a first for EVERYTHING, huh?" I noticed her grip faded, and I was standing on the ground again.

"Ooh, so THAT is what a human's clothing looks like! Why, though, do you seem to WEAR it like you're going on a special occasion? Are you REALLY trying to make a good first impression with clothing? Because if you ARE, we'd rather you be YOURSELF, instead of somepony you aren't! Plus, the shoes there don't really match the outfit, if you know what I mean? Brown and blue just seems so... out of fashion these days!" She said, staring at my clothing.

I held my hands out defensively, and said, "Well, ACTUALLY, since I don't have any fur, clothing is a REQUIREMENT for humans... and they're hiking boots! They're not meant to LOOK pretty, but they're supposed to get me to places that have rough environments with ease!"

Rarity and Twilight both stared at me in awe, and asked in unison, "Wait, so humans DON'T have fur?! What happens if the clothes that you wear isn't able to keep you warm, then?" How did they say THAT long of a sentence at the same time?! THESE unicorns are CRAZY!

"Well," I began, "when a human is too cold, we just bundle up in either MORE clothes, or carry blankets around. Usually the first one if we're going outside, but the second one if it's cold in our houses."

Suddenly, I saw, what looked like, a sparkle in Rarity's eyes when she smiled at that statement.

"So humans wear clothing ALL the time?" she asked, to which I responded with a nod.

"Then in that case," she began, now levitating a ton of measuring tape in front of her, "perhaps I can get your measurements BEFORE we get the jewelry for Sapphire Shores! If you will, please follow me, and I'll take you to the measuring room!"

I was about to object, back up, and imply that we REALLY need to get going, but instead, I was caught in one of her spells that levitated me towards her, so I had no say in this situation. Okay, Justin... you can do this... just a couple measurements, right?

I stopped in midair, and was now facing Rarity, who had a smile on her face. "Oh, darling! Of course not! I will need to measure MUCH more than just a couple areas, if I am to make clothes for you that fit PERFECTLY!" And NOW I don't like where this is going... wait... crap, NOT HER TOO!

Rarity giggled, then turned to Twilight. "Don't worry, Twilight. I'll have his measurements in less than five minutes! Could you be a dear and get Spike for me, please?"

Twilight nodded her head, then trotted out of the shop, while Rarity turned her head towards me, and examined a roll of measuring tape that floated near her.

"Now then," she began, "I'd suppose we'll have to start with your forehead. Humans DO wear ordinary hats, right?"

I nodded my head, and replied, "Yes ma'am... but honestly, I don't think this is necessary! I mean, I don't even have any money to pay you back with!"

She glared at me, and retorted in a defensive tone, "Nonsense! I insist that I make you more clothing! It is, after all, my job as, not just a fashionista, but a FRIEND, to ensure that MY friends get what they need, WHEN they need it, and quite frankly, my dear, you don't even HAVE more clothes available, do you?" Well, she's got me beat there... She smiled. "Exactly!"

I sighed in defeat, then shook my head. "Still, though, I literally DON'T have any money on me! I won't be able to pay you back!"

She fanned her right hoof dismissively, and replied in a normal tone again, "Don't worry about it! While the prices of other creatures' clothes are usually higher for the extra time put into measurements, I wouldn't charge you a single bit, since you're new to this world!" Wow... The Element of Generosity really DOES suit you well!

Rarity giggled again, then said, "Now, then... onward to the chest... I will need you to remove your shirt, please." Okay... now I REALLY don't like where this is going... Twilight? If you can still hear me, then PLEASE hurry up!

I trotted to The Golden Oak as fast as I could, since I wanted the schedule to go as planned, even though we were already getting later than anticipated! Still, though, it was nice to see that, while we were going through the schedule, Justin was already befriending the others. I didn't want to delay any longer, so I decided to teleport into The Golden Oak, which caused Spike to jump up, and drop a pile of books he was sorting out.

"Aah! Twilight! Don't... DO that! You already know that this is the time that I need to think about where to put the books!" Spike grunted.

I giggled, then replied, "Oh, Spike... you KNOW that you don't need to worry about that ALL the time! Still, though, thank you for helping me out with organizing things! Since I caused you to drop those books, I'LL be the one to do the rest of the sorting! Besides... aren't those the NEW books that I ordered?"

He started picking them up again, and said, "Yeah! They came in, like, about five minutes before you "popped" in here!"

"Well," I began, "since you DON'T have anything better to do, perhaps you and I can head to Rarity's! I'm certain that she and Justin will need your help finding diamonds for a new set of dresses she's making!"

Just mere seconds after I finished speaking, I turned my head, and saw Spike standing at the door, waiting anxiously for me to go with him. While standing there, however, he was holding a hand mirror, and grooming his face.

I giggled, then opened the door and said while dragging Spike, all with my magic, "Okay, Spikey-Wikey, let's go!"

"Hey," he grunted, "only Rarity is permitted to call me that!" He looked up, and said with a dumbed out smile, "Then again... she can call me WHATEVER she wants, and I'll take it as a word from an Angel..."

I sighed, smiled, then continued the journey, thinking to myself, boys...

So we JUST made it back to The Carousel Boutique, but when I was about to open the door, Justin walked out of it, and his cheeks looked much more redder than mine was when I ate Pinkie's cupcake with hot sauce on it the day I moved to Ponyville.

I turned around, and asked him, "So, how was it?"

He looked at me with a frightening expression, slowly pointed at my horn, then replied in a slightly annoyed tone, "Never... again..."

I looked at Rarity, who's face was also red, and asked her, "So, what happened?"

She replied, "Well... the human anatomy IS rather different from the way how a pony's is... and to cover some of those different features, humans wear undergarments... which I didn't notice what it was until the last second..."

I looked at her confused, but when I thought back on the faces that both of them were giving, I quickly caught on to what she was talking about, and even MY cheeks turned red at the thought... but another thought crossed my mind. Just how different IS the human anatomy from a pony's? I might have to ask Justin... but not now, though... he might want to recover from THIS "explanation" first.

As soon as I finished my thoughts, I turned around, and realized that Justin and Spike were both staring at each other wide-eyed. I guess they haven't really introduced themselves to each other yet. I smiled, and thought, Hey! This can be a GREAT way to change the subject!

I trotted overt to the two of them, and said, "Oh! Spike, this is Justin! He's from a whole different version of 'Earth'! Maybe a different dimension!" I turned to Justin. "Justin, this is Spike! He's a baby dragon, AND my number one assistant!"

They both stared at each other for a long while, both wide-eyed, and not saying a word. When I addressed them to each other, though, they nodded, but their expressions didn't change. I wondered what they were thinking about.

I was lost for words. Was that REALLY a dragon?! I know this place has myths like unicorns and pegasi, but DRAGONS?! And to think that THIS one was a baby! Do they keep the big eyes, or do they look more ferocious when they grow older? So many questions popped into my head at once, and I couldn't decide which one to ask first.

"It's... nice to meet you, Mr. Spike!" I said, stretching my hand out to shake his... claws? At least he took the hint and shook my hand. Yeah... thankfully I was in my armor, because I didn't know just how sharp those claws could be, but I didn't want to risk finding out the hard way.

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Justin! You don't need to call me 'Mr.' though. I'm not THAT old!" Spike replied while shaking my hand. Hmm... so I guess formal names are used here, too...

"Ooh, my Spikey-Wikey's here to save the day!" Rarity squealed when she noticed Spike outside. Spikey-Wikey? Wait, can DRAGONS read minds?! I looked at Twilight, who shook her head with a smile. Alright... NOW this mind reading is getting ridiculous...

"Anyways," I began, "now that we're ALL here, Twilight, will you be joining us in this mining trip?"

Twilight smiled, and shook her head, replying, "Sorry, Justin, but I have to go over the plans a little more, since we've already cut out too much time to finish the tour in one day. When you return, though, I expect a good report, Mister!" She gave me a wink before trotting off to the library again. Wait... did she just... WINK at me?!

Did I just WINK at him?! Why did I just... wink at him like that?! My cheeks started turning red, so I trotted away more faster, to keep everypony around the area from noticing.

Shaking the confusion out of my head, I decided to turn to Rarity, who was now pulling an empty wagon out of the boutique with her magic. While doing so, however, Spike ran up to the wagon, and decided to pull the handle himself. When he turned around and began pulling, though, I noticed an odd look in his eyes... almost like hearts were forming in them. His mouth was also open, and he was smiling, as if he was seeing the best-looking thing in the world. Ha. I know THAT look from anywhere! Someone's got a crush... wait, he's a BABY dragon... is that even LEGAL?!

Rarity levitated a checklist in front of her, and unwinded it, while I stared nervously, expecting it to be about as long as Twilight's. Luckily, though, THIS list was the size of ordinary paper, so I sighed in relief.

"Oh, shoot," she began, "I grabbed the wrong list... AH, here we go!" She levitated another one, and unfolded it, which revealed it to be about five meters long. I groaned at the sight of it. Dang... well, at least it isn't as long as Twilight's paper.

She giggled, then said, "Don't worry, Justin. I have a spell that can locate the diamonds that we're after, so it shouldn't take long at all!" Well, THAT'S music to my ears!

"Alright," I said, "lead the way!"

With the plan set in motion, we all three headed towards a large open area, the opposite end of the mountains. Huh... didn't see THAT coming...

It took us twenty-five minutes to walk to the location where we could find diamonds, and only five minutes of digging to get the wagon halfway full. At first, I found it odd that the diamonds that we found were buried, instead of attached to the walls of a cave, or something like that, but I decided to just go with it. Different Earth, different rules, I guess.

I was surprised at the ways Spike was able to dig the holes to get to the diamonds, too! At first, he was digging with his claws, but then he started using his tail to shovel dirt. And then his LATEST way to dig was the one that caught me off guard the most. He stood on both ends of his tail's shovel-like tip, and began bouncing on it like it was a jackhammer. Was there a jackhammer near us when he did that? I thought I heard one, that's for sure!

"Oh, boys," Rarity began, "I think I see some in this nearby bush! I'll go check it out! The two of you are doing well, by the way! Keep up the good work!"

I guess I can't blame Spike for his "special" methods of digging. I could tell why he used the "shovel" technique because I happened to have a shovel WITH me at the time, and it seemed he was copying my methods of digging. Can't blame him, though. He IS a BABY Dragon, after all. Only right that he copy others to find the best way of doing things!

"So, Justin! What do you think about Rarity?" Spike asked me. I looked over at him, and could see a serious-looking expression on his face.

I shrugged, then replied, "To be honest, Spike, I think she's a great friend! So far, she's only been complimenting our work we've been doing for her. I gotta say, though, I think she likes the way YOU work much more better than me, though!" I kid you not, either, buddy. I think it has something to do with "you being here longer than me", or SOMETHING like that.

Suddenly, Spike's eyes widened, and he asked, "R-really?! You think she likes MY work more?! But she's been looking at YOU more, though!" I could see where this is going, so I decided to clarify the situation in an easier way, while avoiding getting on his bad list by publicizing his obvious crush for her.

"Well, yeah!" I began. "It's NOT that she notices MY work more than YOU, but it's just that I'm new to this planet, and she most likely just wants to see how a human would work. You know... simple curiosity, that's all!"

That looked like it calmed him down a lot. I could see that he gave a quick sigh, and smiled. "You know, you're right. Sorry about questioning you like that... it's just that... can you move your head a little closer, please?" He looked both ways while asking that, making sure nopony was around. I did as he asked, and lowered my head, while he whispered, "I... MIGHT have a crush on Rarity!"

I smiled, and said, "Really?! That's awesome! Perhaps when you're older, you'll be able to impress her in MORE ways than just hard work!"

He looked at me confused, then asked, "R-really? But how?"

"Well," I began, "when you work hard, your body gets stronger. When your body gets stronger, your body begins forming into a more 'macho-looking' shape, which from MY world, would impress the ladies quite well! When you look more fit from your hard work, I bet you'd impress her by just STANDING there! Just keep working hard, and you'll see what I mean someday!"

His confused look was replaced with a smile. "You know," he began, "you're a lot cooler than you look! We should talk more often, because I could use a friend of my own!"

I smiled back, and replied, "Well, sure! Any friend of Twilight's is a friend of mine, so any friend of THEIRS is ALSO a friend of mine!" I held my fist out for a second, while he just stared at it. I smiled at the curious look he gave me, and bumped my two fists together, then held it out again. THIS time, he got the picture, and stretched HIS fist out, and we both bumped hands.

"So THAT'S how humans bump their claws, or hooves!" Spike said.

I laughed, and replied, "Actually, Spike, humans don't have claws OR hooves! THESE," I held my hands up, fingers separated, "are called 'hands'! They're not as sharp as claws are, but they have a similar purpose! For instance, I can-"

Suddenly, we both jumped up when we heard a loud scream coming from my left, and Spike's right.

At the same time, we both gasped, and yelled, "RARITY!"

Spike was the first to run towards the bush, and call her name even more, but when I was about to run, I felt a large blunt object hit me in the back of the head. Dang it... I should've been... wearing my armor...

When I landed, my vision started to quickly blur, and I could faintly see a large group of dogs that stood on two legs running past me, towards where Spike ran. Then, after five more seconds of blurry vision, everything went dark.

Author's Notes:

*SNEAK-PEEK*

Twilight Sparkle: Ugh, what's TAKING them so long?! Usually Rarity's able to find diamonds in LESS than thirty minutes! I only hope things aren't as bad as they seem... who knows WHAT they'll run into?

Meanwhile, in the distance...

Spike: *pant* *pant* Have... to warn... the OTHERS!

Announcer: It looks like Justin, Rarity, and Spike have all gotten themselves in a jam! And just who exactly WERE those dogs that knocked Justin unconscious? What're they after? Tune in NEXT time, in Chapter 4: Caved In!

*NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR*

Whew! Finally, Chapter 3 is done! Sorry for the delay, everyone! I was having MAJOR problems with Comcast, since the bills couldn't be paid. As a result, I had to use my PHONE'S internet (C-Spire) to get anything done, but even so, I had to rewrite this chapter several MORE times, due to disconnections, and many MORE issues with C-Spire...

But even the lack of internet ITSELF will not stop me from showing MY support to my viewers and followers!

Before you ask, nothing "TOO" inappropriate happened in Rarity's shop. All that happened was that she requested my character remove his pants for measurements, and as a result, she noticed the underwear. Yeah, I'm sure you know where THAT went...

Also, unmentioned in this part is the fact that Justin couldn't remove his watch, wristband, OR belt whenever he had to "get measured". He told Rarity the reasons, but I'm not gonna spoil that until later! Until then, though, I hope y'all enjoy this story!

P.S. I'm STILL using C-Spire, but so far, everything's working more smoothly. If it keeps THIS up, I may be able to get the next chapter in MUCH more faster than THIS one took!

Again, I apologize for the LONG delay! I can't promise it won't happen again, but I CAN say that y'all are ALL in my mind every step of the way! I also would like to thank those of you who show your support, and help me through this story (sense-making isn't ENTIRELY my skill, if you know what I mean!)

Thank you all, and until next time!
Brohoof! /)