On the way to Ponyville, Whim had some time. Time to think about where to start. He figured that he would have plenty of time to learn about friendship, since it seemed to be prevalent throughout all of Equestria. As such, he decided that he would start out by finding Pinkie Pie, the pony who, as far as he knew, most closely had a trait that resembled whimsy. This should be easy, he thought. After all, Pinkie seems like she would be the very first one to greet a new pony in town.
Whim arrived in Ponyville's town square. He looked at his surroundings and saw a couple of ponies walking around. Looking at the low sun, he realized it must still be early in the morning. He walked up to Bon-Bon and asked her if she had seen Pinkie Pie around, and she responded with a bit of surprise.
"Well, of course not. It's awfully early, I'm just here to meet a friend. Knowing Pinkie, she's probably still asleep, resting after a big party or something or other."
Whim thanked her and began to walk away, when she said, "I haven't seen you around. Are you new in these parts?"
Whim realized that he had forgot to introduce himself. "Oh, gee, I'm sorry. I never introduced myself. Excuse me for being so rude. I'm Whim." Whim smiled and put his hoof out, which Bon-Bon met uneasily but steadily. Whim thought of walking away again, but realized that, since he would have nothing to do for a couple of hours, he should probably find a place to take a nap.
"I hope you don't mind if I ask a favor of you. You see, I'm from Manehattan, but I don't have a place to stay here. Could you possibly allow me to stay in your house, just for a quick nap? I mean, if you have a guest room."
"I do have a guest room, but if you don't mind me asking, why are you fresh in from Manehattan without a place to stay? Are you in some kind of trouble?"
"Trouble? No. Not me. It's just that, uh, I wanted to move to a new place and leave everything behind, and Ponyville seemed right. It'll just be for a while. I just don't want to have to sleep under a bench or something." Realizing that he was not doing a very good job of proving that he was not stuck-up, he interjected with an awkward "...y'all. Heh."
Bon-Bon's suspicions only grew. "I don't mind letting you stay at my place, but if you're new, how come you know Pinkie Pie?"
Whim thought quickly. "Well, you see, we've met before, when I came here to place an order for a wedding cake."
Bon-Bon was satisfied with this explanation, and did not want to think too much of it, so she waved at Lyra, told her she'd be back in a few minutes, and led Whim to her house.
Whim woke up a few hours later, feeling tired and with a rusty taste in his mouth, so he decided to go back to sleep. He couldn't help but notice the framed picture of Lyra and Bon-Bon on the nightstand, and wonder about their relationship. He brushed off the thought and drifted into a deep sleep.
Whim awoke silently, and opened his eye to see Bon-Bon pushing him in his bed. He let his hooves hang off the side of the bed and listened to Bon-Bon.
"You've been asleep for nearly 7 hours, did you know that? Not that it's a big deal, I just wanted to make sure you knew, 'cuz it seemed like you had something important to talk to Pinkie about."
"Mm. Yeah. Thanks." Whim climbed out of bed and got up to his feet, stretching his body out as he often did when waking up. "Thank you for letting me stay, it was very kind of you."
"You're welcome. I made you breakfast, or I guess it would be lunch by now."
"Really? Thank you very much, I really appreciate this. You didn't have to."
Bon-Bon blushed a bit. "Don't flatter me, it's just some eggs and toast. Now go on, I bet you're hungry." Whim nodded in agreement and headed downstairs.
After finishing his meal, Whim put the dishes in the dishwasher. He found it surprisingly easy to pick things up with his mouth, something new that he was not used to doing as a pony. As he walked out the door, he yelled, "Thanks again!" but Bon-Bon was already gone.
Whim easily spotted Sugarcube Corner, and headed over. When he knocked on the door, Mrs. Cake answered, and Whim asked, "Is Pinkie Pie here?"
"Pinkie? I haven't seen her all day. Probably out with her friends. Want me to tell her you were here?"
"No thanks, that's all right. I'm Whim, by the way." He considered adding that he was new in town, but thought against it, considering all the explaining he had to do with Bon-Bon. He outstretched his hoof, and Mrs. Cake shook it, smiling.
"I'm Mrs. Cake. Me and my husband own this store, but you probably already knew that," Mrs. Cake said with an earnest smile, a sight that was always welcome to Whim. He thanked her for helping him out, said goodbye and walked away, thinking of where to go next for another lead.
Whim figured he might as well head to Twilight's library, since it seemed like a meeting place of sorts, and even if nopony was there, at least Spike would be. He had a bit more trouble finding the tree, but after a bit of wandering about he came across it.
He knocked on the door, and it opened slightly. Supposing Twilight was expecting a visitor, he poked his head in and looked around. Almost all of the books were strewn across the floor, as usual for Twilight. But more worrisome, Spike was not there. Whim thought it over, and realized that the ponies must be at their pony-pet playdate. This would explain why Spike and all the other ponies were nowhere to be found. Content with his discovery, Whim trotted down the path to the park.
Whim saw the park in the distance, along with the many ponies that were there having a picnic or a walk or relaxing on the bench. However, he did not see Pinkie, Twilight, Spike, or any of the other ponies there. He thought this unusual, because he did not know of anywhere else that the ponies could take their pets... except for Fluttershy's house. Whim started walking there, continuing the search.
By the time Whim had gotten to Fluttershy's house, the sun had started to set. I've been walking around all day just to find Pinkie Pie, Whim thought to himself. Most of Fluttershy's pets were lying around or playing with one another. Whim walked up to the front door and knocked three times, but nopony answered. After waiting a bit, he decided to go back, when he suddenly heard a softly spoken "Hello?"
"Good afternoon! I'm Whim, and I was wondering if you had seen Pinkie Pie around. I've been trying to find her all day, but with no luck."
Fluttershy slowly opened the door, and when she saw Whim's eager eyes, looked down. "Th... The last I heard, she was going to meet Applejack, at her farm."
"Sweet Apple Acres, right?"
"Yeah, s-s-Sweet Apple Acres."
Whim smiled, glad that he finally had a good lead. "Thank you, miss Fluttershy."
"Oh, you can just call me Fluttershy."
"Alright. Thank you kindly, Fluttershy."
Fluttershy watched him walk away, outstretched her hoof for a second, and said a little louder than usual, "Hey, wait!"
Whim turned his head around. "Huh?"
"Could you, maybe, tell Pinkie Pie when you see her that Gummy's finished his bath and grooming?"
A bit unsure of how one could groom a baby alligator, Whim replied clumsily, "Uh, sure. See ya 'round."
Fluttershy noticed the setting sun, and yelled again, "Wait! One more thing."
Whim was getting a bit impatient, but didn't want to show it. He turned around and asked, "What is it?"
"It's getting kinda dark, and I'm sure that whatever Pinkie and Applejack were doing is probably finished by now. I've never seen you around Ponyville. Are you new here?"
"Yeah. I'm from Manehattan. I came here for a change of scenery."
"So are you staying at a friend's house?"
"Actually, no. I don't have any friends around here."
Fluttershy remembered her life before she met her friends, and felt a bit of sympathy towards Whim. "Well, like I said, it's getting dark. Maybe you should stay in my house tonight. We can find Pinkie in the morning, and Gummy will be fine here for a night or two."
Whim smiled at this gesture of hospitality. "Sounds good to me. I mean, if you don't mind."
"No, not at all. I'm glad to help any animal or pony in need."
Whim knew Fluttershy was kind, but he couldn't help but grin ear to ear. Fluttershy wanted to take him to his room, but he insisted he wasn't tired yet.
"Whatcha doin' tonight?"
"Well, I was going to go head to the market and get some food for my pets."
"I don't really have anything else to do. Mind if I tag along?"
"Sure. I mean, no, I don't mind. It's just that... I don't want you to get bored."
"Don't be silly. It'll be fun! Besides, I can help carry some stuff." Whim looked at his bag, which bore the same cutie mark as his flank did.
"Alright, if you really want to. Let's go before it gets too dark." And so the ponies set off, Whim smiling and Fluttershy looking away, still shy about meeting someone new.
The ponies returned from the market, their bags filled to the brim. Fluttershy was still looking away timidly but smiling this time. As they arrived, Whim asked, "Where should I put all this stuff?"
"Oh, I'll take care of it. Just leave it inside, somewhere high where the animals can't all dig into it."
Whim chuckled. "All right. I'm gonna head on up to bed. All that walking has got me dog-tired."
I can't remember the last time I saw a dog tired, Fluttershy thought. Applejack's dog is always running around or doing something.
Whim set his bags down on top of a table and started walking upstairs. Fluttershy was relieved to have some time to herself. She was still a bit uncomfortable around Whim, but enjoyed his company nonetheless. He's a nice pony, Fluttershy thought. At least he won't be lonely tonight.
Rainbow Dash burst open the door and flew in. "Fluttershy, wake up! Today's Apple Bloom's birthday! We're having a big party for her, remember?" Rainbow waited, but heard no response. "Fluttershy? Are you sleeping in again?" She marched up to Fluttershy's room and looked in, but saw nothing. Rainbow thought to herself, where could she be? She looked in the guest room and saw Fluttershy curled up in the guest bed, and a tall stallion with a concord grape coat and a maroon mane next to her, sleeping soundly. Rainbow blushed and looked down in embarassment.
"Oh. Sorry Fluttershy. I'll come back later, I guess."
Whim opened his eyes and stared at Rainbow.
"You're awake! Heh."
Whim slowly stretched and started to get up, when he noticed Rainbow staring back at him. Wondering what she was staring at, he looked around and was very surprised to see Fluttershy right next to him, still in deep sleep. He looked back at Rainbow, still staring, and realized what she was probably thinking.
"Uhh, there's nothing going on here. I didn't even realize that she was here." He then whispered somewhat harshly at Fluttershy, "Hey Fluttershy! Wake up! Your friend is here!"
Rainbow was not convinced. "I'll leave you guys alone. I have to go feed Tank, anyway." As Rainbow started backing out, Fluttershy woke up and stretched her arms. She saw Rainbow staring at her nervously and Whim looking at her as if to ask her to say something, and guessed what was going on.
"Oh! Good morning, Rainbow Dash! I just, uh... I got scared because there was this huge thunder storm, and I went to lie down next to him. This is Whim, by the way. He's new in Ponyville, and I offered him a place to stay for the night 'cuz he had no place else to sleep. He helped me with getting food for the animals," Fluttershy said with a meek smile. By the time Fluttershy had finished explaining, Whim got out of bed and stretched himself out in his regular fashion.
Rainbow Dash still had questions. "I don't recall any storms last night," she said, without trying to be rude.
"Oh, maybe I just imagined it or something." Fluttershy thought right afterwards, what a dumb thing to say.
Rainbow wanted to get off of the topic. "We should get to Apple Bloom's party now."
Fluttershy got out of bed and started walking out. She turned her head to look at Whim, and not wanting to leave him alone, said "You're more than welcome to come with us, Whim. You can meet everypony else there." Rainbow looked at Fluttershy disapprovingly, but Fluttershy stood resolute. As they left with Whim walking behind, Fluttershy whispered, "He's new here. Give him a chance." Rainbow thought about it for a second, and then nodded in agreement. Whim pretended not to notice the exchange.