//------------------------------// // Ponyville - Fluttershy // Story: A Changeling Alternative // by UsedTeaBag //------------------------------// "Hurry up, Alternate! Fluttershy´s cottage is right over there!", yelled the pink earthpony with a big smile on her face. She was way faster than him, her hopping all the way. Alternate frowned, he found her a bit impatient. He didn´t pay any attention to the path though. So guess what happened? He bumped into Pinkie Pie again as she had suddenly stopped. "We´re there!", she exclaimed and went up the wooden door of a cottage. Alternate tilted his head to the side, looking at the cottage from another angle. Pinkie Pie turned to him and smiled brightly creating a soft smile on Alternate´s face. "Now, Fluttershy is VERY shy! So don´t scare her, ok?", she informed him, which didn´t surprise Alternate at all. The information she just told him I mean. It was in the name after all. Pinkie knocked on the wooden door and they waited for somepony to open it. Alternate looked behind himself awkwardly -five minutes had passed already and they were still waiting for somepony to open the door. "M-maybe she´s not there?", Alternate guessed but Pinkie just shook her head and pointed towards the door. As if on queue, the door practically slammed open and they were greeted by a grumpy looking bunny. A bit startled by the loud noise the door had made, Alternate took a step back just to be dragged in by Pinkie Pie. Pinkie smiled at the white bunny who had let them in and asked it where Fluttershy was. Alternate heard the bunny grumble something in his language as he hopped up the stairs giving us a sign to wait before he disappeared upstairs. Suddenly Alternate heard a girly squeak from upstairs and somepony bumping into stuff ad fall on the ground. He winced at the sounds. He looked over at Pinkie Pie, questioning why she didn´t even flinch, even though she clearly must have heard what he had heard. Suddenly she looked to the side, deep in thought apparently, and mumbled something about having to search for somepony later. Who it was Alternate couldn´t catch though. Alternate turned his head to look back at the stairs. Suddenly, being chased down the stairs came a light pink haired mare with yellow coat, blue eyes and pink butterflies as cutie mark. She didn´t see the last step on the stairs and fell flat on her face while the white bunny just jumped on top of her and then down on the ground. Alternate frowned at the bunny and shook his head at it before he helped the light pink haired mare off the ground. "Are you ok?", he asked concerned. "Y-yes . . . I-i am . . .", she almost whispered, nearly trying to hide herself behind her mane. "Well, uhm, my name is Alternate View, but you can of course call me Alternate for short. I am very pleased to meet you. May I know your name?", he tried asking in a way as to not intimidate her. He found that she was a type of pony that was easily scared and/or intimidated by something that should not create that kind of reaction. The mare in front of him let a small smile on her lips and nodded slightly. "M-my name is Fluttershy . . . And I find it nice to meet you too! B-but, uhm, how come you would visit me?", she asked her voice becoming more silent at every word she spoke giving Alternate a difficult time understanding what she said. "Uhm, you see, I´m new in town. And Pinkie Pie brought me here to introduce me to you and- Wait, where is Pinkie Pie? Uh, nevermind. Well, she wanted me to meet you, for you were one of the ponies who weren´t present in the welcoming party she had set up for me. So she wanted me to meet you! And, well, here I am!" he smiled "I would just love to get to know you and maybe even become friends. How would you like that?" "Well, it does sound nice to maybe gain a new friend." she admitted "Maybe you would like, uh, something to drink maybe? O-or something to eat?" "A cup of tea would be just fine, thank you.", they both smiled and Fluttershy went to make some tea. Suddenly he felt something hit his left leg, and, looking down, he found it was the grumpy looking white bunny from before. He asked him what was wrong and was just hit again as an answer followed by, what he guessed, were swears. Alternate growled a bit, but pushed the bunny almost gently aside. He didn´t want to hurt him, even if just accidentally, and ruin a possible friendship by upsetting Fluttershy with that. He briefly looked around the room he was in and sat down at a small table he found. The bunny kept hitting him, he tried to ignore him, but he continued even after Alternate had pushed him away several times. He started to get annyoed with the bunny and he felt his patience being challenged quite a bit. Soon Fluttershy came in with a tablet with two teacups, two little bowls with teabags and sugar in it, a small cup of milk and a kettle placed on it. The bunny stopped hitting him as he noticed Fluttershy´s arrival. He run to her right leg and hit it hard, startling her and making her let go of the tablet. Before the things could hit the ground and break, Alternate´s horn glowed green and the green glow quickly surrounded the objects, levitating them. He gently placed them on the table, also making sure the liquids went back to where they belonged in. He then focused his magic on the bunny, who was now hitting Fluttershy like he had hit him before, also levitating him and putting him on the opposite side of the room. "Uhm, pardon me asking, but what is it with your bunny being so, well, violent? Is that a thing that happens often?", he carefully asked, pointing with his hoof towards the bunny. "W-well, kinda yes. His name is Angel Bunny by the way. Uh, let´s just drink some tea, yes?", she looked uncomfortable and had a pleading look directed to Alternate, almost begging for him to change the topic. "Uh, nevermind. Yes, I agree, let´s have the tea before the water gets cold." she nodded and Alternate placed the teacups in front of himself and Fluttershy, put the teabags and poured the hot water in with his magic and put, upon request, a spoon of sugar and a bit of milk into Fluttershy´s tea. "Well, how did you get to Ponyville?", she asked, trying start a conversation without it being awkward as she started to drink her tea in tiny sips. He drunk his own tea without any sugar or milk and answered Fluttershy´s question the same way he had answered Rarity when she had asked him. He told her about how he had lost his bag in the forest, how he met Zecora and everything that had happened in the small time he was in Ponyville. "Well, as far as I can tell, the ponies here are pretty nice and I might even consider staying here for a longer period of time than I originally intended to! If I make any friends that is.", he chuckled. He never intended to make any actual friends though. Neither did he ever intended to stay any longer as needed to, but thinking it over, he heard that Ponyville has a lot of love in the ponies heart and that was what Alternate was partially looking for. Thinking about that he suddenly heard his stomach grumble. He was hungry. He cursed under his breath and hoped Fluttershy didn´t notice. Too bad, she did. "Oh? Are you hungry? Should I go get you something to eat?", she asked attempting to stand up, but was interrupted by Alternate. "N-No! Uhm. . . I´m fine, thanks. You don´t have to get me anything and besides, uh, I´m allergic to many things. Really, it´s very hard to find things to eat I´m not allergic to." Really? That´s the best you can come up with? Ugh! , he thought, not very fond of this lie. "Oh? Is that so? Well, uhm, if you really don´t want to eat, I guess I won´t get you anything.", she looked a bit confused, but let it go and didn´t ask any further. Alternate levitated his teacup up to his mouth to drink, only to realize it was empty. "Well, I suppose I should take my leave. Thanks for the tea, Fluttershy, I enjoyed it. I also enjoyed your company and look forward to meet you again. Goodbye!", he stood up and after Fluutershy said her Goodbye to him he made his way out the door of the small cottage. He breathed in the fresh air from outside. He just now realized the air in the cottage was . . . less good air than outside to say the least. Must have come from the animals. Walking the way back to Ponyville he suddenly felt something jump on his back and, upon turning his head, he saw that it was Angel Bunny, looking down as if he was embarrassed. Alternate gave him a questioning look, but soon found it more confusing as he smelt a rather interesting smell coming from the bunnys chest. Alternate recognized that smell, yet it was unfamilar to him. Maybe it was because it was an animal he smelt it from, but it still interested him greatly. Could that actually be? He shook his head no and sighed. The bunny suddenly seemed very angry and cursed at Alternate with his squeaky language that Alternate could not entirely understand yet, but he could make out at least the words idiot, hate and even an why . . . it have . . . be you?, but he couldn´t make out anything else he said. "I´m sorry, but you cursing at me won´t get you anywhere, friend. First of all, I don´t like to be yelled at- I doubt anyone does- and second of all, I don´t fully udnerstand your, uh, language.", he explained to the bunny who was now silent but still angry as you could see by his adorable angry pout that made Alternate chuckle. "So . . . Why are you here- on my back of all places- anyway? If you´re here to bother me: please don´t, I had enough of that when you were not only hitting ME but were abusing FLUTTERSHY! So if bothering me was your plan, go away!", he looked the bunny straight in the eye as they now had an angry staaring contest while growling at each other too. Eventually Alternate gave up- his eyes started hurting- and he just didn´t care about the bunny anymore and went his way to find Pinkie Pie.